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

MATHERS, S. L. 'MacGregor'

S. L. macGregor Mathers S. L. Mathers (the 'MacGregor' was a Scottish addition which both he and Aleister Crowley adopted in their Celtophile phase) first came into contact with what was to become the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn when a friend, Dr Woodward, showed him certain ritual texts he had come across in some old books.

At Mathers's suggestion Woodward, himself the leader of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, showed the texts to Rosicrucian colleagues in Nuremberg where they were recognized as genuine documents pertaining to a German branch of Rosicrucianism called the L... L... L... (Licht, Liebe und Leben).

The Imperatrix of the German Order, one Anna Sprengel, authorized the Englishmen to set up a British Chapter to be known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Its members included Annie Horniman, W. B. Yeats, Arthur Machin and Arthur Edward Waite.

The rituals set out in the ancient documents formed the basis of the ceremonial used by the Golden Dawn in their Isis-Urania Temple, but there is evidence that Mathers contributed much from his own head and his private researches in the British Museum - where, incidentally, he first encountered W. B. Yeats.

Mathers married the sister of Henri Bergson, the French philosopher, and settled in Paris.

His magical name was Deo Duce Comite Fero and his book, The Kabbalah Unveiled, is still obtainable.

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