Crowley Belonged to a Number of Elite Cults
Cults have been around for centuries. They have all gone through many different iterations and have had different ideologies and purposes. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was one cult in particular that grew in popularity among poets, politicians, and educated men. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, more commonly referred to as the Golden Dawn, was an organization that focused on the paranormal, spiritual, and occult practices. The Golden Dawn was a magical order, meaning they practiced magic, that formed in Great Britain. Its original founders were all Freemasons.
Crowley became involved in the Golden Dawn in 1898 after visiting Switzerland and meeting the chemist Julian L. Baker. After being initiated into the Outer Order on November 18, 1898, it was not long before Crowley began causing a stir. Crowley moved into an apartment and invited a senior member, Allan Bennett, from the order to move in with him. Bennett served as a tutor to Crowley, and together they explored ritual magicks involving drugs and ceremonial methods. Crowley progressed quickly through the order and ascending the ranks. Although he was progressing within the group, he was not a popular member. Crowley was not secretive about his bisexuality or his libertine lifestyle. His hedonistic personality and actions caused frictions among even the most popular members, including the famous Irish poet, William Butler Yeats.
It has even been speculated that Crowley’s presence in the Golden Dawn was not of his own accord, but rather under the command of the British secret services to monitor a member who was a known Carlist. It is widely accepted that the group’s strong interest in alchemy, or the protoscientific concept of transfiguration, is what drew Crowley into the organization originally. There is no hard evidence to support that Crowley ever worked for the British secret service.
The Golden Dawn was not the only famous cult Crowley found himself involved in. He also became a prominent member of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an international secret society founded in the early 20th century. Ordo Templi Orientis was originally created to function in ways similar to European Freemansonry, but once Crowley joined his influence overtook the original concept. Eventually, the O.T.O. would serve as an extension of Thelema, the religion Crowley had founded.
