Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
Samuel Liddell " MacGregor " Mathers, born as Samuel Liddell ( born January 8, 1854 in London, † November 19, 1918 in Paris ) was an English occultist, Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Kabbalist and co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. His pseudonym " MacGregor " he borrowed from the name of the Scottish clan " Glenstrae ", which was banned because of his steward - fidelity.
Childhood and youth
Mathers was born in London to a poor family. His father, William M. Mathers, died when he was still a boy. His mother, her maiden name was Collins, died in 1885. He attended Bedford Grammar School, but no university. In the early years of his adult life he lived with his mother and worked as a secretary.
Freemason, occultist and Rosicrucian
Mathers was introduced by its neighbors, the alchemist Frederick Holland in Freemasonry and initiated in the Hengist Lodge No. 195 on October 4, 1877. On November 15, 1877, he was promoted to journeyman and raised on 30 January 1878 champion. On December 27, 1882, he resigned from Freemasonry.
In 1882 he was inducted 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 King Anna Ford's Hermetic Society. Shortly thereafter, Mathers began with the Westcott Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn build, which was officially founded in 1888.
In 1890, MacGregor Mathers married the sister of the French philosopher Henri Bergson, Mina Bergson ( Moina Mathers ), and was curator of the Horniman Museum, which belonged to the father of Anne Horniman, who was also a member of the Golden Dawn. However, due to his erratic behavior, he lost the job in 1892. Looking for occult manuscripts, he moved shortly thereafter with his wife to Paris, where he founded another Golden Dawn temple.
Mathers added the suffix " MacGregor " to his name to underscore his Scottish ancestry. However, there is no evidence whether such a family background actually exists.
Within the Golden Dawn MacGregor Mathers became increasingly absolutist. His authoritarian and at the same time inconsistent leadership style impacted more on the order of, when Westcott 1897 withdrew from the Order, as it is now no longer existed that could hold him back. Mathers ' absolute leadership led in 1900 to the fact that the majority of the members of the Order revolted openly against him. Mathers, the this revolt was totally unexpected, could receive only a small part of the Order as Alpha et Omega. Was hit hard again Mathers, as in 1904 and Aleister Crowley, who had remained loyal to him until then, turned against him.
In his last years he forwarded the Alpha et Omega Order. The public performance of his rites of Isis was well received by the Parisian occult scene. After his death on November 19, 1918, his wife took over Moina Mathers, along with William Brodie -Innes and Dr. Edmund Berridge the government of the Order.
Occult Publications
In addition to the basic Kabbalistic work of Christian Knorr von Rosenroth The Kabbalah Unveiled translated and he commented numerous works of Solomonic magic literature, including The Key of Solomon the King and The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage 1898.