Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers

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Mathers at a young age

Samuel Liddell "MacGregor" Mathers, born as Samuel Liddell Mathers (born January 8, 1854 in London , † November 19, 1918 in Paris ) was an English occultist , Freemason , Rosicrucian and Kabbalist and co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn .

Childhood and youth

Mathers was born in London to a poor family. His father, William M. Mathers, died when he was a boy. His mother, whose maiden name was Collins, died in 1885. He attended Bedford Grammar School , but no university. In the young years of his adult life he lived with his mother and hired himself as a secretary.

Freemason, occultist and Rosicrucian

Mathers was introduced to Freemasonry by his neighbor, the alchemist Frederick Holland, and initiated at Hengist Lodge No 195 on October 4, 1877 . On November 15, 1877 he was promoted to journeyman and on January 30, 1878 he was promoted to master . On December 27, 1882, he left Freemasonry.

In 1882 he was accepted into the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia , which was headed by William Wynn Westcott . After his mother's death, Mathers went to London in 1885 and became a member of Anna Kingsford's Hermetic Society . Shortly thereafter, Mathers began working with Westcott to build the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , which was officially established in 1888.

In 1890, MacGregor Mathers married the sister of the French philosopher Henri Bergson , Mina Bergson ( Moina Mathers ), and became curator of the Horniman Museum , which belonged to the father of Annie Horniman , who was also a member of the Golden Dawn. Due to his unpredictable behavior, he lost his job in 1892. In search of occult manuscripts, he moved with his wife to Paris shortly afterwards and founded another Golden Dawn temple there.

Mathers added "MacGregor" to his name to underline his Scottish origins. However, there is no evidence that such a family background actually exists.

Within the Golden Dawn, MacGregor Mathers became increasingly absolutist. His authoritarian and at the same time inconsistent style of leadership had an even more negative effect after Westcott had withdrawn from the Order in 1897, since there was now no one left to moderate him. Mathers' absolute claim to leadership led in 1900 to the fact that the majority of the order members revolted against him in public. Mathers, who was completely unexpected by this revolt, could only receive a small part of the order as Alpha et Omega . Mathers was hit hard again in 1904 when Aleister Crowley , who had remained loyal to him until then, turned against him.

In his final years he continued to lead the Alpha-et-Omega order. The public performance of his Isis rites was favorably received by the Parisian occult scene. After his death on November 19, 1918, his wife Moina Mathers took over together with William Brodie-Innes and Dr. Edmund Berridge led the order.

Occult publications

In addition to the basic Kabbalistic work by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, The Kabbalah Unveiled, he translated and commented on numerous works of Solomon's magical literature, including a. The Key of Solomon the King and The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage 1898.

credentials

  1. ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia an Yukon: Samuel Liddel MacGregor-Mathers
  2. ↑ Mather's last instructions, see under: Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.esotericgoldendawn.com

literature

German:

  • Ithell Colquhoun : Sword of Wisdom, MacGregor Mathers and the "Golden Dawn" . Kersken-Canbaz, Bergen 1996, ISBN 3-89423-030-4 .
  • John Michael Greer: Encyclopedia of Secret Doctrines. For the German-speaking area edited and supplemented by Frater VD Ansata Verlag, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-7787-7270-8 .

English:

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mathers, Samuel Liddell MacGregor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Liddell, Samuel (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English occultist, Rosicrucian and Kabbalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH November 19, 1918
Place of death Paris