Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

FARR, FLORENCE (1860-1917)

An English actress (noted for a well-publicized affair with George Bernard Shaw) who, during the late 19th century, was one of the early members of Golden Dawn (see HERMETIC ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWN). She joined the Order in 1890, adopting the magical pseudonym Sapienta Sapienti Dona Data, and was initiated into the Second Order in 1891.

She became allied with the magically-orientated members who believed in the necessity to open contact with the Secret Chiefs of the Order, was obsessed with the notion of astral travel and set up a study group of twelve members, the London Adepti. The pre-occupation with astral magic caused some unrest within Isis-Urania and this was ultimately one of the root causes of the division of Golden Dawn into Alpha et Omega and Stella Matutina.

Despite this, in 1894 Farr became the Praemonstratrix, or female head, of the Isis-Urania Temple and, by 1900, she was the official tenant of the Vault of the Adepts at Blythe Road in Hammersmith.

This was a period of conflict for the Order, largely brought about by S. L. MacGregor-Mathers' increasingly autocratic behaviour that resulted in his being dismissed as chief in favour of W. B. Yeats. Farr and her London Adepts had been particularly offended at the Initiation of Aleister Crowley late in 1899, against the wishes of his Isis-Urania chiefs, by MacGregor Mathers.

She became a successful writer and, in 1910, emigrated to Ceylon where she founded a College for Girls. She died, a victim of cancer, at the age of 57.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc