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

WAITE, Arthur Edward (died 1942)

An influential English occultist and a strong proponent of pseudo-Christian mysticism.

In 1890 Waite became a member of Golden Dawn (see HERMETIC ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWN) but, with his mystical leanings, was essentially against the Magical aspects of the Order. In 1901 he was initiated as a Freemason and the following year became a member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglica (SRIA).

In company with William Ayton and Marcus Blackden he left the original Golden Dawn in July 1903 during the period of infighting, for which he claimed considerable responsibility, and which effectively brought its demise as a functioning body. In doing so he became part-of the triumvirate heading the reconstituted governing body, the Second Order, which took over and continued with the name of the Isis-Urania Temple but which maintained the old Golden Dawn rituals, more or less unchanged, until 1910 when they were fundamentally re-drawn.

The original Golden Dawn members, who felt the direction should be more closely focused on Magick and astral contact with the Secret Chiefs, formed the Amoun Temple of Stella Matutina.

In 1915 Waite founded a new Order, the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, including an Inner Order, the Ordo Sanctissimus Roseae et Aureae Crucis, which he staffed largely with Freemasons and Theosophists and equipped with rituals described by R A Gilbert as 'ponderous and unexciting'. The FRC survived until his death when it was disbanded.

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