The sexual teachings of the Alpha et Omega and its supposed relation to the Cromlech Temple

Recently the question of sex and the Golden Dawn was raised on the Mishkan ha-Echad blog, which quite eloquently and convincingly tries to deny any connections whatsoever between the two subjects. These objections against sexual teachings of the Golden Dawn has been raised previously but in a more blunt fashion by one irregular Golden Dawn group, which has been refuted by a modern incarnation of the Alpha et Omega. It has however been a long standing debate in academic circles since some private letters of S.L. MacGregor Mathers and his wife Moina Mathers first saw the light of scholarly research.

One such strong evidence both against and in favour of any teachings of a sexual nature in the Golden Dawn is a often quoted letter from Moina Mathers to Annie Horniman in December 31st, 1895. Taking portions of the letter out of the context can easily persuade anyone against the fact, but then again if we read the letter in full, and taking full accounts of the circumstances surrounding this letter, we will easily se it in the light of an apology of MacGregor Mathers who’s teachings Horniman obviously is accusing of being impure. As Horniman's original letter no longer exists we only can speculate on what these “impure” teachings actually amounts to, but obviously the subject of sex comes to mind:

Your letter has made me most unhappy. I promised once to tell you if I thought you were getting exaggerated or in any way tending to what you call a tendency to mania. Probably my advice and opinions are now worthless to you, as I thoroughly reverence all the teaching of the R. C. Order.

But I will anyhow write to you what I think of your conduct in this matter and also about the Elemental Theory which has been the principal subject of the letters.

You say, or something to that effect, that you are asked to give up your self-respect. You know that you are not asked to change your mode of life in any way, or to teach another to do so. Knowing as yet only something of the composition of the human being (as a Theor[icus] Adept[us Minor]), you are really not in a position to give an opinion on these subjects; so that if one of these uncomfortable cases that have been discussed as to elemental or human sexual connection (which I think with all other sexual connections are beastly) came up you would have to refer the question to a member of a much higher grade than Theor[icus] Adept[us Minor].

Any much higher grade (one who understands the subject a little better) would be willing to take the responsibility. In your illogical letter you say that Elementals forming part of your composition has not a bearing on the subject–if Elementals form a considerable part of you, they are not so incongruous to the human as you imply, and this theory bears strongly on the subject for their connection between a human and elemental is not so far removed from the usual one.

When I first heard of this theory it gave me a shock, but not such a horrible one as that which I had when I was young, about the human connection. Child or no, a natural thing should not upset one so. I remember that my horror of human beings for a while was so great that I could not look at my own mother without violent dislike–and loathing.

I have always chosen as well as 'SRMD' [MacGregor Mathers] to have nothing whatever to do with any sexual connection–we have both kept perfectly clean I know, as regards the human, the elemental, and any other thing whatever.

I have tried, and I think succeeded, never to allow myself to think of any subject in that direction, and I think having been pretty well tested, personally as well as from one's own position in G.D., we are competent to give an opinion. To return to the Elementals, the story of Melusina, Undine, and others you will know of all refer to marriages between human and elemental and you think them probably very charming stories, because they have a halo of poetry round them. As to exaggeration in you, you distinctly have a fad as regards sexual subjects, and you know it is a dangerous one to have.

I doubt if you have thought over all these things with an unbiased mind.

If you do divination, when nervous or excitable you are apt (but that you know) to obtain false results. If you divine about this, you should be careful to equilibriate yourself absolutely before commencing.

I cannot feel that those two last letters of yours are written with a sane cool mind. You will certainly be furious with me but this must be said.

Your last letter to 'SRMD' distinctly implies insult to him, for it attacks his teaching as impure–considering the great knowledge you have received through him, you might have at least waited until you had received more knowledge on the subject before you became so violent.

Personally, there is no one in or out of the GD in whose presence I would less allow myself an impure thought or action–next to the Higher Chiefs [i.e. the Third Order] I respect him more than any other being in the world–and it has hurt me so much that you should write as you have done [Mine emphasis].

As the renowned Golden Dawn scholar Tony Fuller have pointed out (on the above referred Golden Dawn blog) some of the statements are somewhat ambiguous considering Moina’s own sexual orientation. According to Fuller while “it may relate to her relations with her husband it can also be read as their attitude towards sex with elementals, which was precisely the topic under discussion. I am more inclined to the latter as a more feasible interpretation.”

But in reading this letter one likewise easily gets confused with the rest of the content. Moina obviously points out the prejudicial attitudes on sex in her close friend, not her self per se (which one easily does when reading her own sentiments about Elemental sex taken out of context; it's Annie Horniman's attitudes which is the subject matter). The sentence "When I first heard of this theory it gave me a shock", etc. relates to her first attitudes which she herself had to combat, i.e. the controversial nature of the subject and the following personal reactions which all magicians have to face. I also get the feeling Moina is exaggerating her own stance about sex with words like "beastly" and her references to "cleanness" regarding her sexual relation to her husband; it seems she has an hidden agenda. It feels like she is trying to deny any further implications about the secret teachings of sex, for someone not ready to receive them.

These teachings obviously were taught orally, as there exists very little written material on the subject. There however existed some written theories on sex in the early Golden Dawn teachings. According to Tony Fuller one “of the (still unpublished) Th[eoricus] A[deptus] M[inor] papers of the GD does actually also enter into this same territory [i.e. of sex] and it was actually reclassified in the late 1920s as suitable only for 8=3. I can't see why personally - it is a remarkably innocuous document”.

Strangely enough, it was a common practice in both the A.O. and the Stella Matutina to elevate earlier teachings belonging to the sub-grades of the Adeptus Minor 5=6 Grade to the grades of 6=5 and 7=4, or even 8=3 and higher.

Regarding the oral teachings which Moina refers to they obviously concerned relations between humans and Elementals. This is confirmed by a letter from S.L. MacGregor Mathers to Annie Horniman dated January 8, 1896, i.e. one week after the letter from Moina, no doubt in apologetic spirit:

And now I must ask you, whenever matters of sex arise in the Order, and you are asked for instruction thereon; to refer them to G.H. Frater N.O.M. [W.W. Westcott]; and not judge them yourself, until you can do so apart from your outer personality [i.e. without the influences of the mundane persona, as opposed to the illuminated personality of the Adept]. I do not want to take up the matter of your previous letters, but I may say: re Amore [Anne J. Carden] – she was recommended Elemental marriage, because of in her case the extreme danger of invoking an incubus instead of a Fay, through want of self control.

In no way is it evidenced that MacGregor Mathers held any negative views about the function of sex. There’s also no other evidence to prove that Moina held these views after the turn of the century and the schism of the Golden Dawn. On the contrary “evidence” points in the other direction, as can bee seen by Frederick Lees' quotaton of Moina Mathers in Conversations With the Hierophant Rameses and the High Priestess Anari, from The Humanitarian: a monthly magazine in February 1900.Vol. XVI: No. 2:

How can we hope that the world will become purer and less material when one excludes from the Divine, which is the highest ideal, part of its nature which represents at one and the same time the faculty of receiving and giving - that is to say love itself and its highest form-love the symbol of universal sympathy? That is where the magical power of women is found.

But besides this there also exists a strange relation between the Alpha et Omega and the so called “Cromlech Temple”, or the Holy Order of the Sun which it also is called, likewise in relation to sexual teachings.

Most of what we know of the Cromlech Temple stems from the original research of Francis X. King, in both his seminal works on Golden Dawn history, Ritual magic in England (later republished as Modern ritual magic) and Astral projection, ritual magic, and alchemy (later republished as Ritual magic of the Golden Dawn).

Francis King regards the Cromlech Temple as a “side order” to the Rosicrucian Order of the A.O. According to King it had “a close fraternal relationship and many members in common with the Golden Dawn, which produced some extremely interesting papers on the significance of the higher Rosicrucian grades in general and that of Exempt Adept in particular”.

According to King the Cromlech Temple “seems to have originated some time between 1890 and 1910, probably in Scotland, and its rituals seem to have derived from those of the dormant Masonic body the Sat B’hai, but with the symbolism transformed from that of the Vedas to that of the religion of ancient Iran. In spite of the Zoroastrian form of these rituals their inner content was a high, mystical, and authentically Gnostic interpretation of Christianity”.

The Cromlech Temple saw its boom in the aftermath of the First World War and attracted numerous Anglo-Catholic clergymen, which according to King “were attracted by the Order’s Gnostic interpretations of such High Anglican doctrines as the Immaculate Conception and the ‘three-branch’ theory of the Universal Church”. Hence it had a strong Christian bias, but from an esoteric point of view. The belief in the doctrine of reincarnation, for example, was taken for granted.

The Cromlech Temple didn’t teach much ceremonial magic or theurgy, which according to King was “largely confined to its initiations, and extremely Christianised version of the Qabalistic Cross, a ritual known as the consecration of the Golden Ark, and the Mystical Adoration of the Quipus, a cord of seven colours worn as part of the Lodge regalia”. On the other hand, the Cromlech Temple regarded membership in the Rosicrucian Order of the A.O. to be a good preparation to its teachings as this MS (belonging to the second Eagle Grade) clearly states:

If you seek for practical instruction in the Occult Arts or Sciences mentioned in the Ritual of this grade instructions may be obtained through the Society of the Golden and Rosy Cross known as the A.O. in the Outer. With the knowledge and training obtained in the higher grades thereof it will be possible for each of you, if ye advance far enough, to communicate personally with the Masters of this Order. And there are good and sufficient reasons why we should direct you to study in this Society rather than give instructions ourselves.

The reference to “the Golden and Rosy Cross” (i.e. the Gold- ünd Rosenkreutz of Germany) is quite interesting, which says a lot of how these matters of lineage and heritage was perceived by the initiates of the early 20^th Century. Even if it seems that both Orders regarded the respective organisations as compatible with regards to each other, there obviously exists discrepancies, as for example the eagle cherub is attributed to Elemental Air, as per the Second Grade (in contradiction to Water as in the Golden Dawn).

It further seems as the Cromlech Temple taught some kind of mystical meditational technique in its Third Grade called “Negative Vision”, which according to King resembles yogic exercises. Through this kind of meditative vision the Adept developed clear-sightedness and thus could perceive the outer world truly. Interesting as this technique may be, the teachings which must come into our closer attention no doubt are the so called “aura papers” which lately have received some attention as they oftentimes touch upon the subject of sex in relation to the occult world view. According to Tony Fuller “Quite a few of the Aura papers (I have them all) refer to sex in a very liberal way: i.e. that NO expression of sexuality should be condemned. This was rather risque for Victorian times. There are no sexual practises, or 'sex magic' however in any of the Cromlech documents. Just theory”.

Peregrin Wildoak has taken it upon his task to present these highly interesting papers for the public eye on his excellent blog Magic of the Ordinary.

Looking through some of them they present interesting theories of practical Christian morality, for example in relation to involuntary procreation of astral offspring, but hardly constitutes any real Hermetic Higher Mysteries of Inner Alchemy. The same may be said of the so called astral intercourse practices of the early Golden Dawn. None of this has anything to do with true alchemy and therefore cannot shed any true light on the subject matter, besides stating the fact that there existed quite liberal attitudes towards sex in combination with occult techniques and doctrines within the original Golden Dawn community.

The reasons behind Moina Mathers' attitudes towards the famous Golden Dawn Adepts and teachers of Paul Foster Case and Dion Fortune, which both had their own quite progressive thoughts on the esoteric principles of sex, sheds further light on this issue however. According to Francis King Moina Mathers “tried to expel Dion Fortune for 'betraying the inner secrets of the Order' in her book Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage, but later forgave her 'when it was pointed out to Vestigia [i.e. Moina Mathers] that Dion fortune had not yet achieved the grade in which this teaching was given'”.

But the more convincing story, which gives a clear reference to higher sexual teachings of the A.O., is the following letter from Moina Mathers to Paul Foster Case dated July 18, 1921:

As I hear that the Sex Theory subject has been under discussion in Thoth Hermes Temple, I should like to say a few words to you on the subject.

I regret that anything on the Sex question should have entered into the Temple at this stage for we only begin to touch on sex matters directly, in quite the higher Grades. In fact, we only give a rather complete explanation of this subject in that Grade where the Adept has been proved to be so equilibrated and spiritualized that he is complete lord of his passional self [i.e. the Adeptus Exemptus 7=4 Grade]. Believe me, this is not mere theory. I am not speaking to you from a merely theoretical point of view, but I have seen the results of this superficial sex teaching in several Occult Societies as well as in individual cases. I have never met with one happy result.

Mary K. Greer concludes in her magnificent work Women of the Golden Dawn that “as most magicians agree, no single part of the person can be left out of the Great Work, including the sexual, without causing a great deal of trouble. This letter from Moina provides proof that a sexual theory was taught in the original Golden Dawn, although probably only a very few of the most advanced initiates were privileged to learn it”.

Tony Fuller on the other hand explains the references of Moina Mathers to teachings of a sexual nature in “higher grades” as pertaining to the Cromlech Temple, and that “we know for a FACT that Macgregor Mathers joined [The Cromlech Temple] around 1908-1910 (revealed in a letter from Felkin to Miss Stoddard). Second, Brodie-Innes succeeded Mathers as Head of the AO and he was also Head, or Metatron, of the Cromlech Temple. Now it is equally the case in both the Stella Matutina and the AO that some of the Chiefs and senior Adepti regarded Cromlech as reserved only for the higher Grades of the AO etc and there are even suggestions of it being either the Third Order or a bridge to it. Thus Cromlech was regarded as 'the Higher Grades'”.

Even if this last assertion of Fuller sounds convincing and presents a quite interesting theory in its own right, I personally still believe it will lead to a dead end regarding the secret sexual teachings of the A.O. Let me explain another feasible solution, and proving Mary. K. Greer right, that sexual teachings were actually handed out in the highest grades, not however in theory but in practice. In my providing of evidences I however will only use indirect references of a genuine and continental source of hermetic transmission, trusting the reader using his or her own deducting faculties.

It is by several scholars and many initiates of continental Europe a generally accepted fact that the highest hermetic mysteries always has dealt with a sexual interpretation of alchemy. This is easily discernable by simply looking at Cagliostro’s Arcana Arcanorum (A.A.) as a well known example. But the A.A. of Cagliostro is actually only one minor example of the inner teachings in European esotericism. This is also confirmed in various eastern traditions of the high arcana.

Now, proof points to the fact that Rosicrucianism stems from that inner alchemical tradition and it is today also generally believed by many that the Golden Dawn tradition actually stems from continental Rosicrucian origins, and not from the imagination of S.L. MacGregor Mathers and William Wynn Westcott, the original founders of the Order of the Golden Dawn in 1888.

It is a fact that the two greatest currents of 18th century Rosicrucianism taught hermetic inner (i.e. sexual) alchemy; the Gold- ünd Rosenkreutz (and its off-shot the Asiatic Brethren) and the Misraïm Rite (Egypian Freemasonry of Cagliostro). Much evidence points to the fact that the Golden Dawn has its origins in the German Rosicrucian heritage of Gold- ünd Rosenkreutz and Asiatic Brethren. Personally I believe that Cagliostro also received his sexual teachings from Germany. I.e. the common fertile soil of all Rosicrucianism (of which the Golden Dawn is a legitimate continuation of) is in Germany. Germany is moreover the country where the notions of “Secret Chiefs”, the Geheimen Oberen, first saw its day. It is easily noticeable in both the Strict Observance (German Freemasonry) of Baron Karl Gotthelf Baron Hund and the Gold- ünd Rosenkreutz of Dr. Bernhard Joseph Schleiss von Löwenfeld.

This reference to “Secret Chiefs” is the true, albeit profoundly cloaked, source of the Highest Hermetic Mysteries of Inner Alchemy and the true teachings of esoteric sexuality, what in the Golden Dawn tradition has been known as the “Third Order”. This pure source is also the real origin of the so called Cipher MSS of the Golden Dawn, as transferred to England through the hands of Kenneth MacKenzie, which received a communication with the Geheimen Oberen in Austria, more than 160 years ago. Or at least MacKenzie claimed a continental Rosicrucian initiation through the mysterious Hungarian Count Apponyi. Later in 1891, MacGregor Mathers claimed to have received communications with the Secret Chiefs of the Third Order through its emissary Lux E Tenebris. The official history of the modern A.O. claims this was the same Third Order which had communicated with MacKenzie to lay the foundation of the first or Outer Order, as MacGregor Mathers received the foundation to build its Second Order, the R.R. et A.C.

All this may sound like a good novel of fiction with little credibility. But scholarly research points to the fact that the Golden Dawn tradition of Qabalah and Theurgy can trace its roots to the Gold- ünd Rosenkruetz and Asiatic Brethren. The Sabbataian influences of its Qabalah is easily spotted and has a strong historical link to the Asiatic Brethren. The Grade structure of the Gold- ünd Rosenkreutz is easily discernable, as are its secret titles of its Grades, as well as certain Theurgical practices and used implements.

Be there as it may, MacGregor Mathers must have had communications with every field of occultism prevailing in France of the late 20^th Century, foremost old Rosicrucian currents, Egyptian Freemasonry of Cagliostro and Martinism. It is known that he met with certain prominent French occultists, for example Papus (which even took the Neophyte Grade in the Ahathôôr Temple of Paris). It is highly feasible to believe that he must have received a strong relationship with continental Rosicrucian currents alive and kicking in France during the turn of the Century.

And as I mentioned above, the traditional Rosicrucian heritage in Europe stems from the German Rosicrucian movements of Gold- ünd Rosenkreutz and the Asiatic Brethren, and from Egyptian Freemasonry of Cagliostro. This latter rite of Misraïm has since the times of Napoleon had a strong presence in France. It is highly unlikely that Mathers wouldn’t have had any communication with this tradition. And there's lots of evidence for sexual alchemical teachings and practices in all of the higher mysteries of these traditions, as I have already pointed out. So if the Third Order actually represents the oldest and most secret European esoteric movement and current, isn't it fair to assume that it does teach sexual alchemy and theurgy?

Anything else is stating that the Golden Dawn didn't have access to any high hermetic mysteries, even though Mathers had claimed he received contact with the Third Order and Lux E Tenebris. And to be honest, I am surprised that this though is still prevailing of a Golden Dawn tradition being based and functioning on its own merits; the Golden Dawn is not an isolated island (i.e. Anglo Saxon culture) in a sea of European occultism. It firmly belongs to the family of Rosicrucianism, of a continental origin. The wheel didn’t reinvent itself on the British islands.

Agreed, documented "evidence" (or rather lack of evidence) points to the contrary of sexual techniques of a higher nature being used in the Golden Dawn. This was also a fact in the early decades of the Golden Dawn. But I firmly believe that these matters changed after Mathers had established contact with Lux E Tenebris. And furthermore, just because there's no documents describing any sexual techniques, it doesn't prove that there wasn't any sexual teachings and practices in the R.R. et A.C. of the A.O. for two main reasons: Firstly, it belonged to the Adeptus Exemptus 7=4 Grade, or rather started at that level. Secondly, inner alchemy has always been an oral teaching because of the rigid secrecy surrounding it. Hence, the notion that G.D. only worked up to and including Theoricus Adeptus Minor only applies to the pre-schism period (i.e. the years before the turn of the century).

It’s also correct to assume that the Third Order level never was implemented within the frame the A.O. under Mathers; the Third Order was always a separate issue in relation to the A.O. and never were open for the Adepts of the R.R. et A.C. Mathers however implemented sexual techniques on a level which included 7=4, were the sexual mysteries were supposed to gather during these times.

Furthermore, Inner alchemy isn't about “sex” in the usual sense of the word. It's about using what God has given us through our bodies which provides us with the subject matter or Materia Prima and the laboratory to work with it. Personally I prefer the term inner (or sexual) alchemy, as "sex magic" has connotations which leads to Pascal Beverly Randolph, Aleister Crowley and O.T.O. The sexual mysteries of real Rosicrucianism has nothing to do with these techniques.

I believe that much of the difficulties of tracing any sexual practices of the original Golden Dawn in England stems from the fact that it grew out of the prevailing Victorian society, which shunned any sexual connotations. It is fair to assume that there still are some residual effects of this prudishness in contemporary Anglo Saxon culture. In continental Europe, from where Rosicrucianism had its origins, the views on sex and esotericism was and is fundamentally different.

Anyone doing some research on continental Rosicrucianism will, after some years come to the conclusion and find that it all converges to teachings of or similar to the Arcana Arcanorum, for example through the Misraïm or Memphis-Misraïm traditions (still living today). Even much of the Martinist traditions converge with M.M. in the highest mysteries. While there exists A.A.:s which doesn't contain sexual teachings, the Cagliostro version (which actually is the real one) does.

Be there as it may, there exists a real difference of attitude thowards the mysteries on the European continent as opposed to the British Islands and New World. The fact is that continental Europe has had an older and longer living tradition of hermeticism compared to Britain. This fact obviously was recognized by Westcott who tried to invent a continental connection to Europe, and also by Mathers who later received a genuine one in Paris. This was his prime motivation for moving with Moina to Paris. This she firmly states in the preface of her husband's The Kabbalah Unveiled in July, 1926, and that “he was told by his Occult teachers to transfer his centre to Paris, where my husband and I lived for the rest of his life.”

S.R.