The Silver Star, the
Rosy Cross, and the Golden Dawn are three secret societies created by Aleister
Crowley (1875–1947).
The Great White Brotherhood is another name for this
organization, however Theosophists prefer to use that phrase.
The letters AA stand for Argenteum Astrum, and the triangle
of dots represents a secret club linked to ancient secrets.
Crowley felt he had attained the exalted degree of the
Silver Star and was therefore a Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn during his time
in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (GD).
Crowley founded his own organization, the Silver Star, or
AA, in 1906, based on the Golden Dawn's rituals and doctrines.
In March 1909, he started publishing the Equinox as the
A.A.'s official organ, with the Outer Order of the Society's rites included in
the second issue.
Members of the Golden Dawn were worried, and S. L. MacGregor
Mathers, one of the Golden Dawn leaders, filed legal action to stop Crowley
from publishing the rites.
Although a temporary restraining order was issued, Mathers
lacked the financial means to fight an appeal, and Crowley proceeded to publish
his own version of GD secret rites.
Crowley received extra attention as a result of the court
process, as well as a public performance of "the Rites of Eleusis" in
Caxton Hall, University of London, in 1910.
This ritual included seven invocations of the gods, as well
as dance by Crowley's follower Victor Neuburg, violin playing by Leila Waddel
(dubbed the "Scarlet Woman" by Crowley), and the reading of Crowley's
poetry.
The performances were remarkable, albeit perplexing to the
general audience, who paid five guineas per head to see them.
Surprisingly, there were harsh critiques of such a bold
presentation in the prudish culture of the period.
The publication the Looking Glass published a critical
review of the Rites, ridiculing the lyrics as "gibberish." The
Looking Glass featured spectacular charges against Crowley and his allies Allan
Bennett and George Cecil Jones in a subsequent edition.
Jones responded by suing the magazine in 1911, and the court
case garnered a lot of attention for Crowley.
Although Crowley may have enjoyed the spotlight, he lost
some friends as a result of it, including his pupil J. F. C. Fuller, who wrote
Crowley's eulogy, The Star in the West (1907).
Meanwhile, Crowley had joined the Ordo Templi Orientis
(OTO), a secret organization that placed a significant emphasis on the potency
of sex magic.
The A.A. discontinued operating as a group in London when
Crowley left for the United States at the end of 1914.
Further Reading:
King, Francis. Ritual Magic in England: 1887 to the Present Day. London: Neville Spearman, 1970.
Suster, Gerald. The Legacy of the Beast. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1989.
Symonds, John. The Great Beast: The Life and Magick of Aleister Crowley. London: Macdonald, 1971. Rev. ed. London: Mayflower, 1973.
The King of the Shadow Realm. London: Duckworth, 1989
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