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Victorian Occultism and the Making of Modern Magic: Invoking Tradition, by Alison Butler; pp. xiii + 225. Basingstoke and new York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, £67.00, $105.00.
A lison Butler's Victor ian Occultism and the Making of Modern Mag ic prov ides a det ailed histor y of the Hermetic order of t he Golden Dawn (founded in 1888) and its influence on making magic modern. organi zed into seven chapters, t his volume both prov ides a histor y of the influences on Victorian magic, including ancient eg ypt ian myster y reli- g ions, masonr y, and rosicrucianism, a nd look s at some of its distinct ive features, such as a collective ethos, t he equalit y of women and men among magic practit ioners, and its interaction w it h ot her Victorian occult groups such as theosophy and spiritualism, as well as at its appeal for t he middle class.
ta king t he Her met ic order of the Golden Daw n a s a principal case study, Butler's work redresses the critical gap in attent ion pa id to "occultism's lineage and its roots in the histor y of western mag ic" (x). the first chapter focuses on william wynn westcott, Dr. willia m robert woodman, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, its founders, and t he first G olden Dawn temple in London dedicated to isis-Urania. Butler points out that this organization was extremely influential and that "most, if not a ll western magical societies . . . eit her t race t heir orig ins back to the Golden Dawn, or proudly proclaim t heir reliance on t he order for their magica l doct rine" (16). Butler goes on in chapter 2 to explain that Victorian magic relies on the idea of " invented tradition," including influences from renaissance esoter icism, Cabala, and the work of Heinr ich Cornelius A gr ippa (17). in fact, Butler...