Alexandrian Witchcraft: Battling the Scourge of Historical Inaccuracy — Fact by Fact . . .
Recently there have been a number of mistakes regarding the contents of the Alexandrian Book of Shadows and how certain Alexandrian practices came into being. I hope they are genuine mistakes as we all know how easy it is to change Occult history, which is a detriment to the pure workings of many a Tradition.
I have been a practising Priestess in The Alexandrian Tradition since its beginnings in 1964 and have been in close connection for much of that time with Alex, which is rather obvious given we have two children together and a mutual love of the Occult, particularly Witchcraft.
Given I am one half the namesake of this Tradition, I have a sense of responsibility for the events that occurred, the teachings that developed, and their evolution from that time to be recorded as truthfully and accurately as possible, whether joyous or painful, and most certainly in cases where past events are blatantly misrepresented.
It is important that new Initiates just beginning their journey on the Alexandrian Path who are studying its history are not ill-informed.
The Order of the Morning Star: Madeline Montalban’s Angelic System . . .
A recent article on the Medium platform is stating that Alex Sanders, founder of the Alexandrian Tradition of Witchcraft made Madeline Montalban’s Angelic System part of his Book of Shadows.
He did not.
Not only did he do no such thing; the statement is of such a degree of misrepresentation of historical fact that Mr Alfred Douglas, the current custodian of Madeline’s Order of the Morning Star, could justifiably take offence.
Queen Alexandra Mansions, at the end of Shaftesbury Avenue. It was one
of two taken for the partwork ‘Man Myth & Magic’ and appeared in one of
the supplements about famous figures in the occult world — Alfred Douglas
To be clear, the Angelic system is not Witchcraft. Although it was and continues to be studied and practised by many Alexandrians who enjoy the system, Alex was a strong advocate of not mixing one’s drinks, especially when it came to obviously conflicting disciplines.
That said, he encouraged students to do as he himself had done, and study different systems of Magic whilst bearing in mind which drink belonged where and when and what one was doing when one was drinking it.
The Angelic system was taught in the Temple of the Mother, circa 1974. The Temple of the Mother acquired a copy from Alex who had received it from Betty Brittain, in whose house he was living at the time. Betty was a student of Madeline’s. The Temple of the Mother revised and distilled it for our purposes and created an Initiatory rite to go with it.
Madeline would later comment favourably on what we had created with the caveat that it was for Initiates only and should never be published, something the then High Priest would later do after he left the Temple of the Mother. Whether he did so with or without the appropriate permissions, I don’t know, which renders it another story for another time.
The original form of Madeline’s Angelic system is still acquirable from The Order of the Morning Star as a correspondence study course run by the aforementioned, Alfred Douglas.
Madeline’s daughter continues to hold the copyright to all her mother’s writings and entrusted the running of the Angelic course (and others) to Mr Douglas and his late wife in 1982 following Madeline’s death. The couple, with the oversight of Mrs Douglas’s solicitor son Joseph Fryer, drew up a standard publisher’s contract under which Madeline’s daughter as the copyright holder, granted them an exclusive licence to publish her mother’s correspondence course for as long as demand continued, in return for a royalty on each part sold. In addition, the executors of Madeline’s Will, Pat Arthy and Rick Hayward, signed a document affirming that in her Will Madeline had left the copyrights in all her literary work to her daughter, and agreeing to the licensing arrangement.
Creations of Magical Systems & Orders during the Derrick Taylor era at Bexhill, (1973 — ‘88/’89) . . .
The man who was the cause of and who did try to add several systems to the Alexandrian Book of Shadows, as well as with the Craft in general, was called Derrick Taylor. He was and continues to be despised by those who knew him for his deplorable brutality and exploitive treatment of Alex and his magical works.
I might as well say it here — Derrick beat, physically abused, and starved Alex in the last years of Alex’s life. Hence why I refer on many an occasion to Alex having ‘to sing for his supper.’
Magical man that he was, Alex could knock together an Order in no time, and, based on our conversations during the late Bexhill years, I knew he was writing to stave off the beatings and to get something to eat.
The Opening & Closing Temple Rite: Creation and Inspiration formed from a chivalric Victor Sanders, aged six . . .
The Medium article makes the inaccurate assumption that Alex created ‘The Opening and Closing Temple’ Rite.
He did not.
The Rite was created by myself and the then High Priest of the Temple of the Mother in 1978. Alex was not around and had nothing to do with its creation, though later he would favourably regard it.
When my son, Victor was six years old, we were visiting Tekels Park which at the time was thought of as the Theosophical Society’s headquarters.
It was here that we first saw a ritual performed by a group of children — it was designed to inspire chivalry.
It was me, with the then High Priest of the Temple of the Mother — not Alex, who recognised the potential the ritual had to prepare the Temple for the Circle and to create a higher state of consciousness within the Priests.
With a few minor adjustments, The Temple of the Mother adopted the rite which proved to be a powerful addition to our magical work. We titled it ‘The Open Temple Rite’ and ‘The Closing Temple Rite’. As I said, it was created in 1978, some six years after Alex left for Bexhill.
Over the years many have asked to copy this Rite which is in The Temple of the Mother’s Book of Shadows.
The Golden Cross of Equilibrium . . .
Whilst on the subject of who created what, let’s turn to the Golden Cross of Equilibrium or, as it is referred to in the article translated into English, the ‘Cross of Balance’:
I created the Golden Cross of Equilibrium practice in 1972. At that time I was in a state of emotional turmoil as my marriage was coming to its end. I was studying the effects of certain magical meditations and Hermetic workings and realised not every student could cope.
For several years I had seen students of the Occult have unpleasant reactions to certain workings. After experimentation using the Golden Cross of Equilibrium, I introduced my results into our workings. The system developed over the years and is now a complete Hermetic working that when taught and used properly has positive results.
Returning to Bexhill and The Book of Planets . . .
Another system spoken of in the article is ‘The Book of Planets’ as being added to Alex’s Book of Shadows. The Book of Planets was a useful system taught by Alex quite separately from the workings of the Craft. Recall the not mixing drinks philosophy. Derrick, who had no regard for this as his aim was self-serving, sought to create misplaced interest amongst seekers and new initiates by including it in the Alexandrian Book of Shadows.
It is, therefore, up to the reader to look at the letters from Derick Taylor to realise his footprint. As with many things, my silence or non-response to various claims over the years should never be construed as acceptance or agreement.
When, however, I see the seeds of misinformation being planted, deliberately or otherwise, under cover of a non-English language by a writer who was not there, it is my duty to speak up.
The Order of Deucalion . . .
The writer also speaks of the ‘Order of Deucalion.’
‘The Order of Deucalion’ was created by Alex in 1968. The Medium article’s suggestion is that Alex incorporated the Order of Deucalion or the Order of the Flood (taken from the Bible, Old Testament) into the Craft.
He did not.
It is easy to forget that Alex was a practising Magician.
Other Orders . . .
The article does not go into detail regarding other Orders that Alex created, eg The Ordine Della Luna which was an offshoot of the Order of the Romaic Crescent of Constantinople, a Continental order that gave us the titles of ‘Chevalier’ and ‘Dame’ to reward us for our charitable work in the late summer of 1967.
Alex created Orders which were originally given as a gift to those who performed charitable/good works. Sadly, these ‘Orders’ would later become as empty as ‘sounding brass’ and easily became fodder for Derrick Taylor to lead the sheep and make a name for himself, a common curse amongst immature members of the Craft.
Fortunately, the world of Witchcraft began to know Derrick for what he was and treated him accordingly, with the contempt he deserved, especially towards the end of Alex’s life and later when Derrick began to exert his falsely assumed authority.
In recent years, the advent of online campaigns of open expression allows me now to state what many knew at the time — not only that Derrick beat and physically abused Alex but that Derrick was a psychiatric patient who was repeatedly sectioned under the Mental Health Act. A point worth bearing in mind when reading and relying on documents in isolation without the benefit of first-hand context.
One of Alex’s curses which could also be a blessing proved most apt for those who received it.
‘May you get everything you deserve.’
Derrick Taylor drowned whilst performing a sea rite with a man who had become his student.
~Maxine Sanders~
