Sword of Wisdom
I've been reading Ithell Colquhoun's Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and the Golden Dawn. I have really enjoyed it, much more so than Howe's Magicians of the Golden Dawn. I think this is largely because I find Colquhoun herself quite charming (I was saddened to read that she met her end in a house fire in 1988). I have a few quibbles with some of her criticisms of Crowley, but she doesn't do a hatchet job on him. In any case, I found the following quote interesting:
". . .Dion Fortune's original headquarters were retained at 3 Queensborough Terrace. . . the ground-floor front housed the library, of which there was an inner section operating the usual librarian's censorship. Its catalog carried a disclaimer:
'The Fraternity of the Inner Light has no connection with Crowley, neither does it endorse his methods. It has collected his books, however, because of their value to students. Readers should note that many of the formulae in Magick have been altered and are averse.'
In view of certain anecdotes about Dion Fortune which Crowley passed on verbally to his intimates, the foregoing note intrigues."
On the contrary, it's Colquhoun's own final observation that intrigues. I wonder what Crowley is supposed to have "passed on verbally to his intimates" such that Colquhoun was intrigued. It's pretty unfair of her to drop a line like that and not elaborate.
Anybody got a guess?
". . .Dion Fortune's original headquarters were retained at 3 Queensborough Terrace. . . the ground-floor front housed the library, of which there was an inner section operating the usual librarian's censorship. Its catalog carried a disclaimer:
'The Fraternity of the Inner Light has no connection with Crowley, neither does it endorse his methods. It has collected his books, however, because of their value to students. Readers should note that many of the formulae in Magick have been altered and are averse.'
In view of certain anecdotes about Dion Fortune which Crowley passed on verbally to his intimates, the foregoing note intrigues."
On the contrary, it's Colquhoun's own final observation that intrigues. I wonder what Crowley is supposed to have "passed on verbally to his intimates" such that Colquhoun was intrigued. It's pretty unfair of her to drop a line like that and not elaborate.
Anybody got a guess?