Leila Waddell | |
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 Waddell performing during theRites of Eleusis | |
| Born | Leila Ida Bathurst Waddell (1880-08-10)10 August 1880 |
| Died | 13 September 1932(1932-09-13) (aged 52) |
Leila Ida Nerissa Bathurst Waddell (bornLeila Ida Bathurst Waddell, 10 August 1880 – 13 September 1932), also known asLaylah, was an Australian violinist who became aScarlet Woman ofAleister Crowley, and a powerful historical figure inmagick andThelema in her own right.
Leila Ida Bathurst Waddell was born inBathurst,New South Wales, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Waddell.[1] While biographerToby Creswell posited that Leila was part-Maori,[2] he provides no evidence of this; in fact,New South Wales births, deaths, and marriages records show she was the granddaughter of John Crane (of Coventry, England) and Janet McKenzie (of Fort William, Inverness-shire, Scotland) and John Waddell and Elizabeth McAnally (both of County Monaghan, Ireland).[3]
She began her professional career as a violin teacher atPresbyterian Ladies' College,Croydon, andAscham andKambala schools.[citation needed]
In 1908, Waddell was a member of the gypsy band inA Waltz Dream at Daly's London Theatre. It was while in London that she metAleister Crowley.[2] They studied the occult and tookmescaline together.[4]
Waddell was familiarly addressed by Crowley as "Laylah", and he immortalised her in his 1913 volumeThe Book of Lies and his 1929 autobiographyThe Confessions of Aleister Crowley. Crowley referred to her, variously, as "Divine Whore", "Mother of Heaven", "Sister Cybele", "Scarlet Woman", and "Whore of Babylon". HisBook of Lies was largely dedicated to Waddell, with poems like "Duck Billed Platypus" and "Waratah Blossoms". A photograph of her in ritual is reproduced in the volume.[2]
Waddell herself was an accomplished writer andmagician. In October and November 1910, Crowley starred Waddell and other members of his magical order theArgenteum Astrum in his series of dramatic planetary-based magical rites, theRites of Eleusis, at London'sCaxton Hall.[4]
In 1912, Waddell, and fellow Crowley students Mary Desti andMary Butts, were given co-authorship credit on Crowley'sMagick (Book 4) as they wrote down his words, helped shape them by asking defining questions, and elicited Crowley's commentary on pertinent points.[4]
Crowley also starred Waddell, along with other 'fiddlers', in aseptette called "The Ragged Ragtime Girls" on the London stage. This vaudeville troupe also toured Europe, the US and Russia, promoted by Crowley.[4]
Laylah was probably Aleister Crowley's most powerfulmuse, as she inspired numerous poems in addition to numerous chapters inThe Book of Lies. Crowley based two of his short stories on Leila – "The Vixen" and "The Violinist".[5]
In 1915, Crowley stood at the base of theStatue of Liberty (formallyLiberty Enlightening the World) and declared an Irish Republic in a long and impassioned speech accompanied by Waddell on the violin. The relationship with Crowley disintegrated as a consequence of his infidelities.[2]
In 1923, Waddell returned to Sydney to nurse her ailing father. She performed with JC Williamson Ltd Orchestra at Her Majesty's Theatre and the Criterion, and with the Conservatorium and Philharmonic Societies Orchestras. In between times she resumed teaching, this time at theConvent School of the Sacred Heart in Sydney'sElizabeth Bay.[citation needed]
She died, unmarried, of cancer at age 52.[2]The Sydney Morning Herald noted: "Besides possessing an excellent technique, Miss Waddell's style as a violinist was particularly marked by charm and refinement."[1]
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