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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to John Yarker
John Yarker Esq., Office of the Grand Master General of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Masonry, West Didsbury, Manchester.
24th August 1912.
Dear Grand Master,
Yesterday afternoon, I was surprised and pleased to receive a visit from Henry Meyer with whom I had some two hours' conversation in which we threshed out the whole question with some thoroughness.
It is quite evident that a great difficulty exists with regard to the three first degrees, and I understand that you have an arrangement with the Grand Lodge of England that they will not interfere with the superior degrees, provided that you do not exercise your power to confer the three first. There seems some reason for supposing that they are not keeping this agreement, at least in the spirit, and Brother Meyer told me that the Irish Lodges had threatened to expel any member of your Rite. I am now endeavouring to discover whether the English Lodges have followed suit. I know that they have recently passed some very stringent regulation.
I think they must have been very much annoyed by the Co-Masons. Perhaps the regulation in question is in breech of their arrangement with you. In any case, it appears that you recognise Co-Masons, for I suppose Wedgewood [James Ingall Wedgwood], whom you call 33° is not a member of any Craft Lodge? He, I understand is working under a charter from the Supreme Grand Council of the Grand Lodge of France, from whom, as I think I told you, I derive my 3° degree.
My own impression is that England is determined to tighten things up, to recognise nothing and nobody but their own people. Now if they have acted in violation of the letter or even the spirit of their agreement with you, it seems to me that your hands are untied, and that you can recognise members of the 3° who were made even on English soil, by a charter derived either from France or Germany.
Brother Meyer agreed with me that if this initial difficulty could be got over, the success of the Rite in the hands of a competent and energetic man, would be assured.
Please let me know if you think that the suggestions I make would overcome the difficulty. Of course I understand that it makes a great deal of difference as to whether the agreement with you has been broken, and it will be my immediate endeavour to discover whether this is the case.
Yours fraternally,
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