Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers | |
|---|---|
 Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual ofIsis in the rites of theGolden Dawn | |
| Born | 8 January 1854 |
| Died | 5 or 20 November 1918 (aged 64) |
| Alma mater | Bedford School |
| Occupation | Occultist |
| Known for | Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn |
| Spouse | Moina Mathers |
| Parent | William M. Mathers |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn |
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Samuel Liddell (orLiddel) MacGregor Mathers (8 January 1854 – 5 or 20 November 1918), bornSamuel Liddell Mathers, was a Britishoccultist and member of theS.R.I.A. He is primarily known as one of the three founders of theHermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, aceremonial magic order of which offshoots still exist. He became so synonymous with the order that Golden Dawn scholarIsrael Regardie observed in retrospect that "the Golden Dawn was MacGregor Mathers."[2]
Mathers was born on 8 January 1854 inHackney, London, England. His father, William M. Mathers, a commercial clerk, died while he was still a boy. He lived with his widowed mother (whose maiden name was Collins) inBournemouth, until her death in 1885. Mathers attendedBedford Grammar School and subsequently worked as a clerk, before moving toKing's Cross in London, following the death of his mother.
Mathers metMina Bergson, sister of philosopherHenri Bergson, in theBritish Museum Reading Room where he spent much of his time. The two had an immediate rapport and were married on 16 June 1890, despite the opposition of Mina's family. The couple lived inForest Hill until they had to move to central London due to poverty.[3] There, they were financially supported byAnnie Horniman, a wealthy tea heiress who helped Mathers get a job ather family museum and eventually joined the Order of the Golden Dawn. Horniman continued supporting the couple until 1896.[4]
Mathers was fascinated byCeltic Symbology and his purportedHighland Scottish ancestry from an early age. According to his wife, he was related toIan MacGregor of Glenstrae, an ardentJacobite who went to France after the1745 uprising and fought at theBattle of Pondicherry, underThomas Arthur, comte de Lally.Louis XV made him Comte de Glenstrae for his services.[5] Mathers adopted the "MacGregor" prefix to honour his ancestor.
As a young man, Mathers became acquainted withKenneth R. H. Mackenzie, a notedFreemason andoccultist, who was friends withEdward Bulwer-Lytton. It was through Bulwer-Lytton andAnna Kingsford that Mathers got introduced toHelena P. Blavatsky in 1887. Blavatsky invited Mathers to collaborate with her in the formation of what later became known as theTheosophical Society, but, notwithstanding his admiration for Blavatsky, Mathers declined her invitation as there were some important differences between her philosophy and his.
According to the records of theHermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the organization's foundational documents, called theCipher Manuscripts, were passed from Mackenzie to the Rev.A. F. A. Woodford. In turn, Woodford passed them on to FreemasonWilliam Wynn Westcott in 1886, who managed to decode them a year later, and upon doing so, called on Mathers for a second opinion. Mathers is credited with the design of the curriculum and rituals of the Order, and together with Woodford and Westcott, he is considered as one of the three founders.[6]
Mathers was a practicing vegetarian, or (according to some accounts)vegan, an outspoken anti-vivisectionist, and anon-smoker. He was also a supporter ofwomen's rights and he had little interest in money. It is known that his main interests weremagic,military tactics andwarfare, his first book being a translation of a French military manual,Practical Instruction in Infantry Campaigning Exercise (1884).[7] He was also a keen student ofboxing andfencing.
Mathers became increasingly eccentric in his later years as was noted byW. B. Yeats.[8]
Mathers was introduced toFreemasonry by a neighbour,alchemist Frederick Holland, and was initiated into Hengist Lodge No.195 on 4 October 1877. He was raised as aMaster Mason on 30 January 1878. In 1882 he was admitted to the Metropolitan College of theSocietas Rosicruciana in Anglia as well as a number of fringe Masonic degrees. Working hard both for and in the SRIA he was awarded an honorary 8th Degree in 1886, and in the same year he lectured on theKabbalah to the Theosophical Society. He became Celebrant of Metropolitan College in 1891 and was appointed as Junior Substitute Magus of the SRIA in 1892, in which capacity he served until 1900. He left the order in 1903, having failed to repay money which he had borrowed.[citation needed]
In 1891, Mathers assumed leadership of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn upon the death ofWilliam Robert Woodman. He moved with his wife to Paris on 21 May 1892.[8] After his expulsion from the Golden Dawn in April 1900, Mathers formed a group in Paris in 1903 calledAlpha et Omega (its headquarters, the Ahathoor Temple).[9] Mathers chose the title "Archon Basileus".[10]
Mathers was apolyglot; among the languages he had studied were English, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Gaelic andCoptic, though he had a greater command of some languages than of others. His translations of such books asThe Book of Abramelin (14th century),Christian Knorr von Rosenroth'sThe Kabbalah Unveiled (1684),Key of Solomon (anonymous, 14th century),The Lesser Key of Solomon (anonymous, 17th century), and theGrimoire of Armadel (17th century), while probably justly criticised with respect to quality, were responsible for making what had been obscure and inaccessible material widely available to the non-academic English-speaking world. They have had considerable influence on the development of occult and esoteric thought since their publication, as have his consolidation of theEnochian magical system ofJohn Dee andEdward Kelley, and his studies in Egyptology.
In addition to many supporters, he had many enemies and critics. One of his most notable enemies was one-time friend and pupilAleister Crowley, who portrayed Mathers as a villain named SRMD in his 1917 novelMoonchild.
Earlier, Crowley wrote in hisConfessions that: "As far as I was concerned, Mathers was my only link with theSecret Chiefs to whom I was pledged. I wrote to him offering to place myself and my fortune unreservedly at his disposal; if that meant giving up the Abra-Melin Operation for the present, all right."[11]
InThe Doctrine and Literature of the Kabalah (1902),A. E. Waite criticises Mathers' previously published work on the subject, in the following terms: "theKabbalah Unveiled [1887] of Mr. S. L. MacGregor Mathers, which is largely translation and commentary, and, in addition to other limitations, embraces therefore only a small portion of an extensive literature."[12]
Mathers died on 5 or 20 November 1918 in Paris, during theSpanish influenza pandemic.[13] His death certificate (now lost) listed no cause of death and for many years his burial site remained unknown, leading some to claim he did not die and had achieved immortality. The grave has since been found in Paris.[14]Aleister Crowley, in hisConfessions, wrote of the decline of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, as well as that of MacGregor Mathers. He lamented what he saw as the irredeemable changes by Waite in his order and MacGregor Mathers's legacy of well-meaning but low-quality leadership in his last years.[a]
