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Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses: Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr
These four remarkable women, core members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, left a lasting imprint on the politics, literature, and theater of 19th-century Europe. Less well-known than the famous men in their lives, including Yeats and Shaw, their stories are now told.
490 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
19 people are currently reading
673 people want to read
About the author
Mary K. Greer
51 books144 followersMary K. Greer is a scholar, writer, teacher and professional tarot consultant. With more than forty years experience in tarot as an author and teacher, she advocates a revolutionary approach to learning and using the cards that emphasizes personal insight and creativity. As an expert tarot reader, she works as a ‘midwife of the soul,’ using techniques that are interactive, transformational and empowering.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
With an M.A. in English literature, Mary was a faculty member and administrator of a college in San Francisco for eleven years. She is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently resides in Northern California.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
With an M.A. in English literature, Mary was a faculty member and administrator of a college in San Francisco for eleven years. She is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently resides in Northern California.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 7, 2015
A badly written book about an interesting subject. At least half of this books is the author speculating pointlessly about the inner lives of her subjects, based mostly on her astrological profiles and shallow understanding of the historical period. Just because you use footnotes doesn't make you a scholar.
However, in the bits where she stuck to her source material and refrained from speculating, the book was fascinating. It might not be as fascinating if you don't care about the Golden Dawn.
Someone needs to write about these women in a less bullshit-full format, but for now this is what you've got.
However, in the bits where she stuck to her source material and refrained from speculating, the book was fascinating. It might not be as fascinating if you don't care about the Golden Dawn.
Someone needs to write about these women in a less bullshit-full format, but for now this is what you've got.
April 17, 2015
One of the best books on the Golden Dawn and essential for those who want to understand its history. The men are in the book, too, but it gives important exposure to the pioneering and influential women in the world's most influential occult order.
Other reviewers have griped about the inclusion of astrological content, but the members of the order took astrology very seriously, so it absolutely makes sense to include it (and if you don't care for astrology just skip those bits).
Other reviewers have griped about the inclusion of astrological content, but the members of the order took astrology very seriously, so it absolutely makes sense to include it (and if you don't care for astrology just skip those bits).
Read
February 5, 2012Long fascinating! I did have to skim over some of the more detailed esoterica to enjoy the stories of these marvelous witchie women.
May 6, 2012
This book, being a biography of four women, does a great job of tying together their life stories against the backdrop of the Golden Dawn's tumultuous history. I found Greer's use of astrology to "fill in the gaps" of the biographical pictures — generally as a means of explaining motivations and emotions — as both interesting and frustrating. It certainly makes for a unique kind of biographical methodology, but it seems less than helpful to the would-be Golden Dawn scholar.
November 9, 2023
"The idea of the priestess is at the root of all ancient beliefs. Only in our ephemeral time has it been neglected. ... Is it not illogical to omit woman, who is the principle half of it, since she is the principal creator of the other half - that is, man? How can we hope that the world will become purer and less material when one excludes from the Divine,...that part of its nature which represents... love itself and its highest form - love the symbol of universal sympathy? ... Woman is the magician born of Nature"!!! - Moina Mathers
This book is great for those individuals interested in the metaphysical, ceremonial magic or deeply interested in high functioning women pre WW1.
It's a bit tough to get through both in writing style and content (many pages covering advanced astrology techniques which even to an astrologer can be tough to get through)... reading it for a book club helped me get through this book in truly record time.
That said, it really is soooooooo interesting ... from a historical prospective, from a magic prospective, from a feminist prospective, from an activist prospective, from an arts prospective etc.
And while I complained about the amount of astrology it is such a wonderful tool when there is no other sources to explain what might have been the motivation or cause behind some of the choices the women were making that the author uses with skill (if not also too verbose).
The books follows 4 women but also the men in their lives, from the beginning to the end... these 4 women are the OG creators and members of the Golden Dawn.
Personally, I loved the history, the references to Celtic tradition and magic, fae, astrology, astral travel, how to use sacred items, sex magic, Egyptian tradition and magic, details on some rituals, meditations/mantras, etc
I ended the book LOVING Florence and everything she produced (Specifically her Egyptian plays) or what is known about her (fixed meditation is the only way). Huge fan. She believed personal love must serve spiritual devotion. And also obviously had casual sex, healing sex, and also loved off-colored stories and believed in the power of laughing at ourselves.
I also really enjoyed Maud's crone years/arch. I felt for Annie and her tomboy/cat lady misunderstood persona. The little that is known of Moina's early words/work and clearly her natural talents I'm so impressed with.
This is a MUST read for my feminist magicians.
Quotes:
"After 1900...nobody drank absinthe with their black coffee." - Yeats
"I am the one without motion; giving motion to all things." - Florence, meant to be said as fast as possible with no pauses.
"I see clearly that I have bad aspects but I cannot sit with folded hands waiting for good ones." - Annie
This book is great for those individuals interested in the metaphysical, ceremonial magic or deeply interested in high functioning women pre WW1.
It's a bit tough to get through both in writing style and content (many pages covering advanced astrology techniques which even to an astrologer can be tough to get through)... reading it for a book club helped me get through this book in truly record time.
That said, it really is soooooooo interesting ... from a historical prospective, from a magic prospective, from a feminist prospective, from an activist prospective, from an arts prospective etc.
And while I complained about the amount of astrology it is such a wonderful tool when there is no other sources to explain what might have been the motivation or cause behind some of the choices the women were making that the author uses with skill (if not also too verbose).
The books follows 4 women but also the men in their lives, from the beginning to the end... these 4 women are the OG creators and members of the Golden Dawn.
Personally, I loved the history, the references to Celtic tradition and magic, fae, astrology, astral travel, how to use sacred items, sex magic, Egyptian tradition and magic, details on some rituals, meditations/mantras, etc
I ended the book LOVING Florence and everything she produced (Specifically her Egyptian plays) or what is known about her (fixed meditation is the only way). Huge fan. She believed personal love must serve spiritual devotion. And also obviously had casual sex, healing sex, and also loved off-colored stories and believed in the power of laughing at ourselves.
I also really enjoyed Maud's crone years/arch. I felt for Annie and her tomboy/cat lady misunderstood persona. The little that is known of Moina's early words/work and clearly her natural talents I'm so impressed with.
This is a MUST read for my feminist magicians.
Quotes:
"After 1900...nobody drank absinthe with their black coffee." - Yeats
"I am the one without motion; giving motion to all things." - Florence, meant to be said as fast as possible with no pauses.
"I see clearly that I have bad aspects but I cannot sit with folded hands waiting for good ones." - Annie
November 10, 2017
Greer's study of Florence Farr, Maud Gonne, Moina Mathers and Annie Horniman tries to achieve several different things. At times, it can feels like the interwoven story of these four women has been shoehorned into a pre-determined theory of psychological archetypes without necessarily considering the contradictions and untidiness of their lived experiences (and the apparent blank slate Moina Mathers left behind concerning her life with McGregor Mothers doesn't help). The frequent digressions into arcane astrological terminology probably doesn't encourage the uninitiated either. But at its best, it deservedly and convincingly puts these four women where they belong - at the heart of the development of a unique society and series of events and as key innovators in theatre, magic, spirituality, politics, feminism and education.
December 17, 2008
I think this book is a great look at the women adepts who worked within the ranks of the Golden Dawn. There are not many books written on the Women adepts as they tend to get left behind for the more infamous male adepts.
September 14, 2023
A frustrating volume! On one hand, this is a wonderful account of the Golden Dawn from a perspective rarely seen -- the stories of four women who were leaders (as much as women were allowed to lead) of the paramount occult society of its day. On the other, it's weighed down with astrological detail and digressions into archetype analysis that seem, to this reader, irrelevant and arbitrary.
The historical parts are fascinating and illuminating. I've been interested for years in the interweaving of Mathers' mob of mystics with the Celtic revival, Irish independence, and contemporary art and drama, and there is vastly more on those topics here than in any other source I've seen. I found this book while looking for a good biography of Irish patriot Maud Gonne and hers is one of the remarkable stories told here, though perhaps not in as unbiased a manner as a more traditional work would offer. The other women, Florence Farr (actress and dramatic director), Annie Horniman (primarily a patron), Moina Mathers ("sorceress" and artist), all played important roles in the order and in the larger world beyond it, so that a vivid picture of the era appears in the mystic crystal. Like all good books on obscure subjects, this one points in many interesting directions and provides numerous alleys for deeper exploration. The writing in the historical parts of the book is solid and entertaining and the footnotes helpful.
Unfortunately a significant percentage of the text is consumed by the author's astrological castings for the deceased subjects of her book and is used to inform the reader what they might have been thinking and doing between the historical bits. I'm an astrological agnostic so, while astrology and the tarot are certainly relevant to the GD's story, the use here does nothing to improve the telling.
Any time I read about the Golden Dawn, I'm pushed toward the conclusion that Mathers was a con artist and would-be cult leader, deliberately manipulating gulls to eke out his income. That view, of course, is entirely absent from these pages. Still, an important work and one that anyone with an interest in mysticism in fin de siècle Europe should probably read.
The historical parts are fascinating and illuminating. I've been interested for years in the interweaving of Mathers' mob of mystics with the Celtic revival, Irish independence, and contemporary art and drama, and there is vastly more on those topics here than in any other source I've seen. I found this book while looking for a good biography of Irish patriot Maud Gonne and hers is one of the remarkable stories told here, though perhaps not in as unbiased a manner as a more traditional work would offer. The other women, Florence Farr (actress and dramatic director), Annie Horniman (primarily a patron), Moina Mathers ("sorceress" and artist), all played important roles in the order and in the larger world beyond it, so that a vivid picture of the era appears in the mystic crystal. Like all good books on obscure subjects, this one points in many interesting directions and provides numerous alleys for deeper exploration. The writing in the historical parts of the book is solid and entertaining and the footnotes helpful.
Unfortunately a significant percentage of the text is consumed by the author's astrological castings for the deceased subjects of her book and is used to inform the reader what they might have been thinking and doing between the historical bits. I'm an astrological agnostic so, while astrology and the tarot are certainly relevant to the GD's story, the use here does nothing to improve the telling.
Any time I read about the Golden Dawn, I'm pushed toward the conclusion that Mathers was a con artist and would-be cult leader, deliberately manipulating gulls to eke out his income. That view, of course, is entirely absent from these pages. Still, an important work and one that anyone with an interest in mysticism in fin de siècle Europe should probably read.
May 8, 2024
Hefty information about 4 incredible women of the Golden Dawn. To learn how they influenced the men in this society and yet they are lesser known than their male comrades today saddens me.
Maud was a lioness--- An activist for Ireland and labelled the Irish Joan of Arc, had prophetic visions and dreams through out her life and became obsessed with Celtic magic.
Annie funded and was a patron of a handful of theatre companies still running today. She pioneered the British repertory movement, influencing 20th-century drama, acting and production. She travelled extensivly throughout her life, avid tarot reader.
Florence Farr was an actress, published writer and researcher of ancient ceremonial magic--particularly sound healing and mantra as well as theatre as a way to embody deity.
Moina, the quieter one of the bunch was the artist and drew spirit paintings, she was also a clairvoyant 'seeress'.
To read of these rebellious, independant and eccentric women of the arts and magic in Victorian society was a blast. There needs to be a movie about these women!
I didn't give it 5 stars because too much information was focussed on the men in their lives which bored me, whilst I do think adding them is important to give context, I felt at times it was too much. In places the text was dry and uninteresting.
Maud was a lioness--- An activist for Ireland and labelled the Irish Joan of Arc, had prophetic visions and dreams through out her life and became obsessed with Celtic magic.
Annie funded and was a patron of a handful of theatre companies still running today. She pioneered the British repertory movement, influencing 20th-century drama, acting and production. She travelled extensivly throughout her life, avid tarot reader.
Florence Farr was an actress, published writer and researcher of ancient ceremonial magic--particularly sound healing and mantra as well as theatre as a way to embody deity.
Moina, the quieter one of the bunch was the artist and drew spirit paintings, she was also a clairvoyant 'seeress'.
To read of these rebellious, independant and eccentric women of the arts and magic in Victorian society was a blast. There needs to be a movie about these women!
I didn't give it 5 stars because too much information was focussed on the men in their lives which bored me, whilst I do think adding them is important to give context, I felt at times it was too much. In places the text was dry and uninteresting.
May 19, 2020
Much needed history on four amazing women who greatly contributed in the foundation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Such a valuable and insightful work, the stories of these women were fascinating and deeply inspiring - probably one of the best books ever written on female occultists.
The author Mary Greer did really a terrific job, the book is well written and excellently researched; I also personally loved how Astrology, in particularly aspects and transits, played a key role in the text.
“Those through whom the spirit has once spoken are immortal and shall be remembered forever.” [...] - Maud Gonne
The author Mary Greer did really a terrific job, the book is well written and excellently researched; I also personally loved how Astrology, in particularly aspects and transits, played a key role in the text.
“Those through whom the spirit has once spoken are immortal and shall be remembered forever.” [...] - Maud Gonne
May 9, 2019
Very interesting look at the women who changed the course of Occult Secret Societies through their involvement in the Golden Dawn. This book looks at how they bucked convention, challenged society and influenced the generations of women who have come after them.
September 18, 2020
Loved it! Wonderful to find out how each of these fiercely intelligent women contributed to the organisation which so informed our current practices. Have to admit to liking some of them better than others, but I felt Ms Greer presented each very fairly.
April 18, 2025
Captivating description of the lives of the four women elemental to the development of the Golden Dawn, as well as the order itself and feminist thought.
I was deeply touched by some of the women. And I learnt so much.
I was deeply touched by some of the women. And I learnt so much.
July 10, 2023
I loved reading this book!
It is incredible I found this special book when I was thinking about to read about the Golden Dawn and their beliefs and practices.
I chose to read this one first, not only because I love Mary's books, but because somebody recommended it to me.
Very well writen, it looks , Mary put his heart on it, not only is a bio fo the women mentioned, it is a very concise analysis of impact of them on the order.
Brave women all of them!
Totally recommended book. Brilliant!
It is incredible I found this special book when I was thinking about to read about the Golden Dawn and their beliefs and practices.
I chose to read this one first, not only because I love Mary's books, but because somebody recommended it to me.
Very well writen, it looks , Mary put his heart on it, not only is a bio fo the women mentioned, it is a very concise analysis of impact of them on the order.
Brave women all of them!
Totally recommended book. Brilliant!
May 10, 2013
A great book and I learned about the
way they worked in a few topics. The whole secret chief
stuff is a power thing for me. We all have contacs in
magical work, but we don`t call them contacts or secret
chiefs.
way they worked in a few topics. The whole secret chief
stuff is a power thing for me. We all have contacs in
magical work, but we don`t call them contacts or secret
chiefs.
October 16, 2007
will re-read this one..as first time I didn't get a lot out of it.
February 8, 2008
I love the topic, but it is a boring read. Still, I'm glad to have the book on my shelf!
January 4, 2009
Fascinating women and interesting history. Dense reading.
May 6, 2009
Very enjoyable and informative. Good insights too.
August 25, 2010
These women were fascinating, each lived a very different lifestyle yet came together to explore Astrology and the Tarot.
January 28, 2016
Well researched. Wonderful insight into the lives of the women, and their connections to the western magical tradition, and theater, as well as their relationships with W B Yeats and G B Shaw.
Read
January 8, 2017I considered returning this to the library unread but I'm glad I took a chance on it. Yes, there is some detailed discussion of astrology, which I mostly skimmed, but there's also some really interesting stuff about the ways these weird, witchy women defined their own lives and power in a time when that was arguably much harder than it is now. I appreciated the discussion of outsider archetypes and how those are always going to be projected onto ambitious women if they choose not to or are unable to assimilate, and how that can become something you can claim, incorporate and use as a a source of power.
April 11, 2017
I'm grateful this book exists. how refreshing to get close to the voices of the influential women. I found this work empowering and enlightening.
The author's inclusion of astrology in her biography work was new and interesting to me. But without a strong background in astrology it often left me lost.
The author's inclusion of astrology in her biography work was new and interesting to me. But without a strong background in astrology it often left me lost.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews