George MacNie Cowie

Born: 25 May 1861 in St. Ninians, Stirlingshire, Scotland.

Died: 1948 in Scotland.

Scottish art editor George MacNie Cowie was deaf as a result of scarlet fever; he often felt alienated from others because of his handicap, and in 1885, he served as president of the Edinburgh Deaf and Dumb Benevolent Society. Born in St. Ninians, Stirlingshire, to shoemaker William Cowie and Margaret King MacNie, he had an older half-sister, Christian (a dressmaker born in Ireland), and a younger sister, Isabella. He worked as a lithographic artist and designer, and the 1901 Scottish census lists him as married to Elizabeth Cowie, who was born around 1851 in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.

Cowie was in his forties when, reading the commentary on creation in The Perfect Way (1890) by Anna Kingsford (1846–1888) and Edward Maitland (1824–1897), he converted to vegetarianism. He was in his fifties when, on 1 November, he became one of only three probationers to join the A∴A∴ in 1911, choosing “Quarens Serenitatem” (I will seek serenity) as his motto. Employed as art editor for Edinburgh publisher Nelson’s, this new student prompted Crowley to note, “His character was unselfish and noble, his aspiration intense and sincere.”

He would prove to be one of Crowley’s more valuable students, advancing to Neophyte as Frater Fiat Pax (Let there be peace), and, in O.T.O., reaching the VIII° and serving as Grand Treasurer General. Although he was very scrupulous about the Order's funds and often provided Crowley with money from his own pocket, he was removed from the position of Grand Treasurer General by Crowley in 1918. Crowley later on stated falsely that Cowie had stolen funds from the treasury.