THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ Volume XIII A WAYFARING MAN Part I i THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ “The Torch is passed from Generation to Generation The Candle is passed from Chief to Chief, Thus does Light Perpetual shine.” M.C. ii THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ Whare Ra iii THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ ♀ This edition is limited to 100 copies, numbered from 1912 to 2011. Thus this book marks the year Privately Printed New Zealand 2012 Limited Hardback Edition ISBN 978-0-473-23184-2 iv THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ CONTENTS Introduction Page i Essay I – The Magic of Havelock North Page 1 Essay II – Robert Felkin the Astrologer Page 36 A Wayfaring Man – Part I Page 53 In Memoriam – Fiat Lux Page 156 Essay III – Introducing The Order Page 157 Essay IV – What is the Golden Dawn Page 164 Essay V – My Order Memories Page 166 v THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ vi THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ INTRODUCTION While it has been over 60 years since the serial work The Lantern was last published in New Zealand, the pages within this book flow from the same stream of inspiration, and continue the Tradition, at least for the time-being, a little further on in time. It is anticipated that this will be the first of several new volumes of The Lantern. For this and the subsequent Volume II, the main essay within the book is a re-publication of A Wayfaring Man. Originally issued over several years in the original The Lantern, it is now very scarce and hard to find, particularly in a complete set. A Wayfaring Man was written by Dr Felkin’s second wife Harriot, and recalls the life of the Doctor, albeit partially through allegorical spectacles. Part I of A Wayfaring Man is here presented as originally published, including the use, for instance, of double spacing after full stops, capitalisation, and irregular spelling of such things as country names etc. Only obvious errors have been corrected. None of these things detract from the telling of the story, and have been retained for antiquarian and romantic purposes. Dr Felkin is often described as an “astral junkie” by those who know no better, thanks solely to Francis King’s coining of the phrase in his Ritual Magic in England. Amongst other things, King fails to portray Felkin’s much faceted character adequately, and either was unaware of, or chose to ignore the many excellent other characteristics that he possessed. There is no doubt that Felkin had his feet firmly planted in reality. It was by no coincidence or fluke of circumstance that he attracted many great people to himself, some of whom would not have suffered fools gladly, and influenced many people far outside his sphere of personal acquaintance. It also must be stated that he established and lead the most dedicated and robust of all the old i THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ Golden Dawn Temples, a fact often forgotten often forgotten by proponents of the “Astral Junkie” theory. Deeds and actions speak louder than words. The date of this publication deliberately marks the centenary of the founding of that Temple, Smaragdum Thallasses1, an important event directed by some profoundly inspired people. “Whare Ra”, as the building is called, was designed and purpose built by New Zealand’s leading Arts and Crafts Architect (and senior Order member) James Walter Chapman-Taylor to exacting specifications. This concrete edifice provided a stabilising anchor that other Golden Dawn Temples did not have as they invariably operated in comparatively makeshift and temporary accommodation. At the time the Felkin’s must have seen the opportunity as extraordinary - a utopian dream come true. Preceding A Wayfaring Man Part I is an Essay depicting that fertile ground which was the village of Havelock North, the players, and the events that unfolded around the establishment of the Order in New Zealand. The Magic of Havelock North is an important work as it offers for the first time many historical facts that are little known, and weaves them together with better known facts to paint the most complete picture to date of the events of the time. The second essay, Robert Felkin the Astrologer, provides both an insight into the man from an astrological perspective, as well as into his considerable ability as an astrologer. It also reveals some little known facts for the first time. 1 Ellic Howe in his Magicians of the Golden Dawn: A Documentary History of a Magical Order 1887-1923 appears to have misspelled ‘Thalasses’. Copies of Ritual’s dated 1914 have the spelling ‘Thallasses’. An undated copy of G1 – General Orders, issued to Neophytes of the Order also has the spelling Thallasses. The Mss. in question are in a private collection. ii THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ This volume also contains a memoriam to G.H. Frater Fiat Lux, a largely un-documented but important figure in the history of the Order. Fiat Lux was a dyed in the wool “Golden Dawn” man, having been admitted to the Smaragdum Thallasses Temple as a young man in the 1930’s. He eventually held the Office of Hierophant, Cancellarius, Demonstrator and Chief Adept for many years, rising to the Grade of Exempt Adept, as well as being a confidant to the Chiefs and pall bearer at their funerals. To put some perspective on Fiat Lux’s membership, Dr Westcott had been a member and adherent for 37 years when he died, Dr Felkin for 31 years, and W.B. Yeats for 49 years. Fiat Lux devoted 58 years of his life to the Order - to the very last breath. In the relatively contemporary essays III Introducing the Order and IV What is the Golden Dawn, Fiat Lux describes as clearly as he can the true but simple purpose behind the Order’s method of training, a purpose and method which should surprise most deep thinkers who have been schooled by contemporary authors. “Some of these writers have cast a lurid veil upon the Order”, warns Fiat Lux! Essay V My Order Memories, provides an eye witness account by Fiat Lux of his time in the Smaragdum Thallasses Temple, and an insight into the man behind some very insightful writings. Gentle reader, enjoy this small volume of treasures. May it shed some light on matters of interest. Sic Vos Non Vobis OA iii THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ iv THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ Essay I THE MAGIC OF HAVELOCK NORTH Almost any small town or village worth its salt has one or more of those keenly dedicated folk, usually retired, who apply a significant part of their lives to writing a local history of the various events and personalities which, at some time, were a focal point of interest in the village. Apart from the usual lists of local councillors and mayors, and the customary dates of when the swimming pool or library moved to its present location, it is not unreasonable to say that these labours of love do not ordinarily possess a huge power to engage or entertain the disinterested outsider. Apart from, perhaps, a sort of “train-spotting” fascination, they are often dull to the point of painful tedium. In such a context one might be forgiven for expecting that the past events of a small New Zealand village, Havelock North, fall squarely into this category. Forgiven, but undoubtedly mistaken. For, besides being a pleasant village, Havelock North has the unique distinction of being the location for the very last surviving Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret Victorian occult group which purported to practice magic, and which attracted a number of prominent Victorian personalities, including the poet W.B. Yeats, Constance Wilde - the wife of Oscar - and the notorious occultist Aleister Crowley, once dubbed by the British press as “the wickedest man in the world.” This singularity does not stop there however. It is not simply that Havelock North happened to be one of a number of places where such “temples” existed, such as London, Paris or Edinburgh. Indeed, it is rather that almost every aspect of the Temple, which was called Smaragdum Thallasses, and how it came to be there, possess particular interest for the growing number of accomplished scholars in several 1 THE LANTERN – A Wayfaring Man ____________________________________ fields but particularly those working in the relatively new, and now widely recognised, academic field of Western esotericism. This is important because, as a number of recent studies have demonstrated, the role of fin-de-siècle occultism in general, and that of the Golden Dawn in particular, are increasingly being seen as constitutive of modernity itself. The Temple opened in 1912 and its final curtain call came on 24 August 1978 when the Temple “Chiefs” declared that it had “served its purpose and the Divine Guardians have withdrawn themselves”2. To say that it was the last Golden Dawn Temple to close its doors and cease functioning is not a metaphorical description. Unique amongst all the Temples, Smaragdum Thallasses possessed its own architecturally designed building, named “Whare Ra” or “House of the Sun”, which was constructed for the sole and express purpose of conducting magical ceremonies. With a membership of between 400-500 men and women throughout its relatively untroubled and secret lifespan of 66 years, it was unquestionably the most successful of all the Temples. Yet until relatively recently, virtually nothing has been known of its history and indeed it was still operating in 1972 when Ellic Howe wrote his “definitive”, The Magicians of the Golden Dawn: A Documentary History of a Magical Order 1887-1923, which he regarded as “an essentially antiquarian exercise”.3 Howe records the opening of the Temple in 1912 but makes no further reference to it.