Messrs. Crowley (1875 - 1947) and Yeats (1865 - 1939)
'Crowley climbed the stairs. But Yeats and two other white magicians came
resolutely forward
to meet him, ready to protect the holy place at any
cost. When Crowley came within range
the forces of good struck out with
their feet and kicked him downstairs.' [1]
I.
We recently discussed the (non-)relationship between Aleister Crowley and D. H. Lawrence, which basically consisted of a few bitchy and dismissive remarks that the one made about the other and the fact that they had certain ideas in common, moved in similar circles, and were both demonised in the popular press [2].
In other words, they never physically met in person and that is probably just as well, for it's easier to imagine their coming to blows than it is their politely conversing round a dinner table. Having said that, however, Crowley almost certainly would have enjoyed Lawrence's company far more than that of Irish poet W. B. Yeats, with whom he had an actual skirmish that is always worth the retelling.
Ah, let us start from the beginning ...
II.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a short-lived (but hugely influential) secret society devoted to the study and practice of esoteric philosophy and occultism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; kind of a masonic lodge with magical knobs on that, unusually for the time, allowed women to join on an equal basis.
The first temple (Isis-Urania) was established in London in 1888; other temples soon followed, including the Horus temple in Bradford (1888), the Amen-Ra temple in Edinburgh (1893), and the Ahathoor temple established by MacGregor Mathers [3] in Paris (1893), presumably with the full blessing of the Secret Chiefs [4].
By the mid-1890s, the Golden Dawn was well established, with over one hundred members from every class of Victorian society and a number of well-known individuals, including the actress and composer Florence Farr, the Irish revolutionary and suffragette Maud Gonne, and the Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats, who joined the Order in March 1890 and was known by the magical name or motto Daemon est Deus inversus [5].
Aleister Crowley - resented by some as a Johnny-come-lately - was initiated into the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn in November 1898, at the Isis-Urania temple in London. The ceremony was led by MacGregor Mathers, who, by this date, was in complete control of things. Crowley received the magical name Frater Perdurabo (the latter term indicating his determination to persevere with his magical work and endure all hardships).
A year is a long time in the esoteric world, however, and towards the end of 1899 more and more senior Golden Dawn members, including Florence Farr, were becoming dissatisfied with Mathers's autocratic leadership style, his growing friendship with (and reliance upon) Crowley, and the fact that he spent most of his time in Paris rather than London [6].
Cracks were threatening to widen into splits and splits widen into schisms and the ensuing power struggle resulted in an incident known as The Battle of Blythe Road ...
III.
As indicated, young Crowley was unpopular with many members of the Golden Dawn from the first; some were uncomfortable with his idiosyncratic interpretation of ceremonial procedures and rules in general; others didn't approve of his libertine lifestyle involving drugs and bisexuality.
Yeats, for example, favoured a far more structured approach to magic and wanted to incorporate his esoteric beliefs into a broader aesthetico-political project. He had very little time for the darkness and chaos that Crowley thrived in and perpetuated. The two men had such radically different philosophies and personalities and held one another in such contempt that it was almost inevitable that they would end up in a physical altercation.
And when Crowley showed an increasing willingness "to use his occult powers for evil
rather than for good, the adepts of the order, Yeats among them, decided
not to allow him to be initiated into the inner circle", fearing that he'd "profane the mysteries and unleash powerful magic forces
against humanity" [7].
Mathers was obliged to step in when he heard about this, personally enabling Crowley to attain the higher grade he deserved. He also felt it necessary to take further disciplinary action against those challenging his authority. And so, in March 1900, Mathers dismissed Farr as his London
representative.
Unfortunately, however, this only triggered an emergency general
meeting in which a motion was passed calling for his removal from office and, indeed, expulsion from
the Order. The Isis-Urania temple had declared its independence and autonomy and Mathers and Crowley were now personae non gratae.
What happened after this is, depending on one's point of view, either an example of the seriousness with which occultists take matters, or an example of just how farcical these robe-wearing, spell-casting, Golden Dawners could be ...
Acting under orders from Paris, Crowley - with the help of his mistress Elaine Simpson - was sent to take control of the Golden Dawn's London headquarters at 36 Blythe Road in West Kensington, collect some sensitive papers that were held there, and convince as many senior members as possible to sign a pledge of allegiance to Mathers.
Anticipating trouble, Crowley had cast certain spells beforehand; both to protect himself and disenable his enemies. But, just in case - wearing full Highland dress with a plaid thrown over his shoulder and a black mask over his face - Crowley also armed himself with a dagger at his side.
Upon arriving at the address, Crowley attempted to ascend a flight of stairs, only to find his path blocked by Yeats and two other members of the Golden Dawn, who told him to leave in no uncertain terms. When Crowley refused to do so, Yeats resorted to the less than magical means of eviction and kicked Crowley down the stairs.
The latter was then escorted out of the building, whilst Yeats calmly telephoned the police in order to report the incident ... [8]
Golden Dawn Rose Cross Lamen
Notes
[1] Richard Ellmann, 'Black Magic Against White; Aleister Crowley Versus W. B. Yeats', in Partisan Review, Vol. XV, No. 9 (September 1948). I don't know if this story originates with Ellmann - who claimed that Crowley told him it on his deathbed - but it is contradicted by first person accounts, including Yeats's own. See note 8 below.
[2] See the post 'Aleister Crowley and D. H. Lawrence: The Great Beast Versus the Priest of Love' (21 June 2025): click here.
[3] Samuel Liddell (MacGregor) Mathers (1854 - 1918), was a British Freemason and occultist primarily known as one of the three original founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (the other two being William Robert Woodman and William Wynn Westcott).
By 1891, Mathers had assumed leadership of the Golden Dawn, but - as we shall see in part III of the post - personality clashes and challenges to his authority eventually resulted in his expulsion in April 1900. Retreating full-time to Paris, Mathers formed his own secret society called Alpha et Omega (based at the Ahathoor Temple).
Crowley - his one-time friend and ally - became a stern critic in later years and thought Mather's well-meaning, but a piss-poor leader who had been largely responsible for the rapid fading of the Golden Dawn.
[4] The Secret Chiefs are believed to be the spiritual authorities responsible not only for the operation of the cosmos, but for overseeing the day-to-day running of esoteric organisations and magical orders. Some believe them to be incarnate in human form (but with superhuman powers) and working anonymously in secret locations; others insist they exist only on a higher plane.
In 1892, MacGregor Mathers - one of the founders of the Golden Dawn - claimed that he had contacted the Secret Chiefs and that they confirmed his authority. Much to the irritation of those who took all this very seriously indeed, Crowley would declare that he had attained Secret Chief status in 1909.
[5] Yeats was initially given the classical Latin adage Festina Lente, but changed it as he progressed through the ranks of the Golden Dawn. For a recent post on this idea of making haste slowly, click here.
Just for the record, Florence Farr was initiated into the Golden Dawn by Yeats, in July 1890, taking the magical motto Sapientia Sapienti Dona Data (Wisdom is a gift given to the wise); Maud Gonne was initiated in November of the following year, having been invited to join the party by Yeats, and she received the magical motto Per Ignem ad Lucem (Through fire to the light).
For readers who might be wondering, such mottoes (or aspiration names) are taken by initiates in a number of magical orders in order to separate their magical
identity from their mundane identity. Within the Golden Dawn, mottoes were usually in a foreign
language, but not always Latin. Members were free to change
them as they progressed into higher degrees of the
organisations.
See the post published on Halloween 2020 entitled 'On Magical Names and the Nietzsche-Crowley Connection' - click here.
[6] To be fair, Mather's was married to a French woman; the artist and occultist Moina Mathers (born Mina Bergson, younger sister to the philosopher Henri Bergson). Moina was the first initiate of the Golden Dawn in March, 1888. Her chosen motto was Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum (Prudence never retraces its steps). In 1918, following the death of her husband, Moina took over the Alpha et Omega as its Imperatrix. She died in 1928 in London.
[7] Richard Ellmann, 'Black Magic Against White; Aleister Crowley Versus W. B. Yeats', op. cit. Again, I think we should take this statement with a pinch of salt.
[8] It is more than likely that this popular account of events - for which I'm assuming Ellmann's 1948 essay is to blame - is humorously exaggerated, at best; if not entirely fictional. Yeats wrote his own rather more sober statement, which he then printed for circulation among senior members of the London temple Isis-Urania. According to this, Crowley was simply prevented from entering the building and obliged, with the assistance of a policeman, to leave the area.
When the case eventually went to court, the judge ruled in favour of the
London lodge retaining possession of 36 Blythe Road, as they were the ones paying the rent.
To read Yeats's statement in full, see the blog post by Sally North on the Hollythorn Press website (13 June 2024): click here.
