Maud Cracknell

Born: 1895.

Died: 1950.

Maud Cracknell was initiated into the Golden Dawn at its Amen-Ra temple in Edinburgh on 23 November 1896, taking the Latin motto Tempus omnia revelat. Later she joined the Isis-Urania temple in London and was initiated into the 2nd Order there, on 10 October 1898. In 1900 she played a small but important role in the fracas known as ‘the battle of Blythe Road’. She was still a member of the Golden Dawn when it finally split up into several daughter orders, in 1903.

At the time of her original initiation, Maud Cracknell was living at 20 Dublin Street Edinburgh. She was a Londoner by birth, the daughter of pharmacist Charles Cracknell and his wife Sarah Elizabeth. Charles Cracknell was a pharmacist. Charles and Sarah Elizabeth had a large family, beginning with five daughters: Sarah Emily (born 1850); Elizabeth (born 1852); Mary Louisa (born 1854); Susannah (born 1856); and then Maud herself, born in 1858. Then followed twin boys: Henry Watts and Herbert, born 1859; a sixth and last daughter, Alice Lucy (born 1860); and two more boys, Ralph (born 1863); and finally William (born 1866).

Maud, at 33, seems to have taken the breaking-up of the household as a liberation. She set about correcting, as far as she was able, a lack she seems to have felt in that domestic, governess-led education. She spent the academic year 1893/94 as a student at St Andrew’s University. She returned to the university in 1896 to do its summer session. As a result of that one year and few months, Maud became one of the best educated women members of the Golden Dawn.

Back in London in March 1895, Maud also joined the Theosophical Society (TS). The sponsors of her application were Elsie Goring and Lilian Lloyd, both very active TS members, involved in a lot of its social work activities. Maud joined Blavatsky Lodge, which met at the TS headquarters in Regent’s Park and had a very busy programme of lectures and discussion groups.

Maud Cracknell was the 2nd Order member who refused to let Aleister Crowley into its rooms at 36 Blythe Road in April 1900, precipitating the series of events referred to as the "Battle of Blythe Road." Maud had been appointed assistant secretary to the 2nd Order, to help Dorothea Hunter with its administration. It had been Maud that Crowley had written to a few weeks before, requesting some manuscripts available only to 2nd Order members. Maud must have replied that, to be allowed read those manuscripts, he must apply to Dorothea as her superior officer. Crowley did so, and received a letter from Dorothea on behalf of the Golden Dawn’s 2nd Order, saying that they were not prepared to recognise Crowley as a member. On Saturday 6 April 1900 Crowley went round to 36 Blythe Road, where the 2nd Order rented rooms for its rituals. He found Maud Cracknell there, who told him that no one could go into the 2nd Order’s rooms without the consent of the Golden Dawn’s ruling Committee. She suggested that if he wanted to gain permission to enter the vault he should approach one of three Committee members to take the matter up with them and Crowley left. As soon as Crowley was gone Maud sat down and wrote a letter to the members of the committee warning them to expect a visit from Crowley in which he would be demanding to be treated as a 2nd Order member.

Maud continued to be a member of the Golden Dawn through the traumatic years 1901-03, though she did not play a large part in all the debates and arguments about who was to be in charge, and what kind of organisation it should be. However when the Golden Dawn split into two, she was obliged to make a choice, which daughter order to go with. She chose to become a member of Arthur Edward Waite's new order, which was intending to move away from the magical tradition as represented by MacGregor Mathers.