History of the Golden Dawn

In 1888 three British men founded the Golden Dawn order at the time of Queen Victoria. They were (left tonight above) Dr William Robert Woodman, Dr William Wynn Westcott and Samuel MacGregor-Mathers, all freemasons and members of the masonic Rosicrucian side-order known as Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA). They had been looking for something more than what was taught in freemasonry; they wanted a truly esoteric society with practical applications of theurgical rituals and occult study. In addition the founders were adamant that, unlike Freemasonry at the time, their order would admit men and women on an equal basis. This enabled its female members to make a significant contribution to the esoteric knowledge of the time. Key female Adepti who played leadership roles in the Order included Moina Mathers, Florence Farr and Annie Hornimann.

Dr William Robert Woodman - a medical doctor and leading light in London's Royal Horticultural Society, he ensured support for the project within the SRIA, as their Supreme Magus at the time. Within Freemasonry he held the rank of Grand Sword Bearer of the United Grand Lodge of England and other high ranks in different orders. His initial motto in the Golden Dawn was Magna est Veritas et Praelavebit ('Great is the Truth and it Shall Prevail'). 

Shortly after the Golden Dawn was founded, he passed away in Willesden, London in 1891. 

Dr William Wynn Westcott - a medical doctor with an interest in psychiatry, he wrote what was probably Britain's first medical textbook on suicide and founded the Society for the Study of Inebriety, to help colleagues address alcohol addiction. He was appointed Coroner for a large area of London. He was married to Elizabeth and had six children, some of whom died when young. He succeeded Woodman as the SRIA Grand Magus and was also a member of several Freemasonic societies and the newly developed Theosophical Society. His initial motto in the Golden Dawn was Sapere Aude ('Dare to Know'). Westcott is thought to have obtained the original blueprint for the Golden Dawn via European masonic networks, in particular a once highly secretive order known as Orden Der Gold und Rosen Kreutz (aka Fraternity of the Gold and Rosy Cross) in Germany. 

A few years after he retired Westcott moved to South Africa to live with his daughter and died age 76 in Durban in 1925. 

Mr. Samuel Liddell MacGregor-Mathers - a Freemason and member of SRIA, where he reached the rank of Junior Substitute Magus, who devoted his life to developing the Golden Dawn. He was a polyglot, speaking at least seven languages and he spent extensive time researching magical texts in libraries, such as the British Library in London and the Libraire Arsenal in Paris. He translated several, now well-known, magical grimoires and manuscripts and used these with other materials to create the magical system of the Golden Dawn and the Enochian magical system of its Inner Order. He was a vegetarian,  anti-vivisectionist and had an interest in theory of war. He was married to Moina Mathers, also a Golden Dawn member and artist whom he met while studying in the British Library. His motto in the Golden Dawn was initially S'Rioghal Mo Dhream (Gaelic for 'Royal is my Tribe'). 

Not long after he moved to Paris he was expelled from the Golden Dawn in 1800, following internal division and conflict. This act led to a schism of the order into several spin-off groups. Little is known about his final years and he died in Paris in 1918. 

Further Reading

You will find considerable information on the history of the Golden Dawn online. In addition we recommend the following reading:

• The Golden Dawn Companion: A guide to the history, structure and workings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn  by R A Gilbert. Published by Thoth Publications in 2021
• What You Should Know About the Golden Dawn. by Israel Regardie (recent edition edited by Cicero and DuQuette). Published by New Falcon Publications in 2021. 
• The Essential Golden Dawn by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabitha Cicero. Published by Llewellyn Publications in 2003.
• Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses by Mary K. Greer. Published by Park Street Press in 1996.