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THE SWORD OF WISDOM
MacGregor Mathers & the Golden Dawn

SwordOfWisdom

by Ithel Colquhoun

A Brief Review by Adam Forrest

Published in the mid-70s, The Sword of Wisdom has been superceded on the factual front by the notable efforts of such researchers as R.A. Gilbert, George Mills Harper, and Ellic Howe. However, Colquhoun's idiosyncratic, gossipy conjectures and insights along with her deep sympathy with the Order and its Members still make the book a valuable resource for those interested in the Golden Dawn as a true Magical Order.

Contents

Acknowledgements 5
On the Portait of Deo Duce Comite Ferro
(Poem by Ithell Colquhoun, 1970) 		12

PART I. AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Chapter I. Links 15
II. Chiefs (1) 23
III. Chiefs (2) 32
IV. Images 40

PART II. BIOGRAPHY
Chapter V. Vestiges 49
VI. A Sword: Fact (1) 60
VII. A Sword: Fact (2) 73
VIII. A Sword: Fact (3) 83
IX. A Sword: Fact (4) 96
X. A Sword: Fiction 108

PART III. ORGANISM
Chapter XI. Roots 117
XII. Regular Growth 131
XIII. Legitimate Breed:
Allan Bennett
Dr. Edward W. Berridge
Dr. John W. Brodie-Innes
Mabel Collins
Florence Farr
Maud Gonne
Annie E. F. Horniman
Sir Gerald F. Kelly
William Sharp
Alfred P. Sinnett
Dr. William Wynn Westcott
Dr. William R. Woodman
William B. Yeats 		144
Chapter XIV. Dissident Spread:
From Ahathoor 		179
Chapter XV. Dissident Spread:
From Isis-Urania (1) 		190
Chapter XVI. Dissident Spread:
From Isis-Urania (2) 		199
XVII. Bend-Sinister Issue:
Algernon Blackwood
Aleister Crowley
Dr. John W. Brodie-Innes
Dr. Robert W. Felkin
Violet M. Firth
William T. Horton
Arthur Machen
Edith Nesbit
Evelyn Underhill
Arthur E. Waite
Charles W. S. Williams 		209

PART IV. LEGACY
Chapter XVIII. Magia 243
Chapter XIX. Enochiana 254
Chapter XX. Alchemia 269
Chapter XXI. Tantra 285
Elegy on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
(Founded 1888) (Poem by Ithell Colquhoun, 1955) 		298
Index 301

Publication Information

Ithel Colquhoun, The Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and "The Golden Dawn"
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1975
Hardcover. 307 pp. Black & white photos and illustrations.

SBN 399-11534-8

To Order

Out of Print



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