Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses (Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr) [Hardcover]

Mary K. Greer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a society of magicians formed in 1888 that attracted men like William Butler Yeats and Aleister Crowley. Unknown to most is that four women-Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, and Florence Farr-were actively and equally involved in the order. Greer (Tarot for Yourself, Newcastle Pub., 1984) explores alternately the stories of these strong, interesting women from their adulthood to their deaths. Her book is well researched and well written and has an excellent bibliography. However, constructing the narrative of intertwining biographies is confusing and unsatisfactory, and analyzing each woman's horoscope will stretch the modern scholar's credulity more than a little, however important astrology was to these women. Balancing the strengths and the weaknesses of this book, it is a dubious purchase for most libraries.
Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology Lib., Alfred
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in London in 1888. One of several secret magical societies in existence at the time, the Golden Dawn was noted for the equality it offered women both in its internal hierarchy and when performing mystical ceremonies. While this magical order attracted several more famous followers, William Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw among them, Greer's purpose in writing this book is to highlight the lives of four female members. They are Florence Farr, actress; Annie Horniman, patron of the arts; Maud Gonne, aristocratic revolutionary; and Moina Bergson Mathers, artist. All managed to escape suffocating Victorian lifestyles and eventually formed the backbone of the Golden Dawn. In this massive book, Greer explores the many years of intensive study of occult and mystical traditions the women undertook and the personal triumphs and tragedies they experienced along the way. Packed with anecdotes about major literary figures of the time, this account provides a provocative picture of four strong and brilliant women who refused to be hindered by the dictates of Victorian society. However, while this book may prove intriguing as a historical or biographical work, its use of astrology and magic to draw conclusions or explain occurrences may prove distracting to some readers. Kathleen Hughes

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 490 pages
• Publisher: Park Street Press (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892815167
• ISBN-13: 978-0892815166
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,546,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary K. Greer is an independent scholar, writer, teacher, and professional tarot consultant. She has an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Central Florida where she also first taught tarot in 1974. For eleven years, she was a teacher and administrator at New College of California in San Francisco, including teaching tarot as an interdisciplinary subject integrating art, literature, history, and psychology. She is the author of eleven books on tarot and on magic.

Mary's books have pioneered entirely new techniques for learning about and working with the cards, including being the first to present in-depth techniques for reading for oneself. In 2007, Mary received the International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Tarot Studies. She also received the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for "excellence in communication in the metaphysical field," and the 2006 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) award for best divination book. She is also an ordained priestess in the Fellowship and Church of Isis.

Mary has lived in Japan, Germany, England and Mexico and in six states within the U.S., and continues to travel around the world teaching. She currently produces "Mary K. Greer's Tarot Blog" at http://marygreer.wordpress.com which focuses on tarot history and research, tarot in popular culture, and tips and techniques for reading the cards. Her blog posts are frequently translated into other languages and reposted on other sites.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for fans of magic and the Golden Dawn, August 6, 1998

By 

Casca (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses: Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr (Paperback)

The Golden Dawn magical order was founded in 1888. Although it admitted women, they have been often overlooked in histories of the GD.Mary Greer redresses this oversight.The four women in question are Annie Horniman, actress and writer Florence Farr,freedom fighter for Ireland Maud Gonne and the mystical Moina Bergson Mathers.Greer claims that these women were the true heart and soul of the Golden Dawn, and it is hard not to agree with her.Each woman had exceptional talents, and each made her own unique contribution to this magical Order.Much research has gone into this book and it is packed with information not easily found on the subjects.Interesting details of some of the magical workings are given, including some by Maud Gonne and W.B.Yeats.The personal relationships, the bickering, the magic--it's all here.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extensively researched book brings characters to life!, February 1, 2004

By 

Katherine M. Spada-basto (portland, ct USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses (Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr) (Hardcover)

This well written and extensively researched book gave me great insight into the Women of the Golden Dawn. One gets very accustomed to reading only about the male Golden Dawn figures such as Aleister Crowley and Samuel MacGregor Mathers. Finally, a book about the women and what interesting lives they led!
I liked the way Mary Greer divided the 4 featured women into different archetypes, thus explaining the different roles they had within the Golden Dawn. It also gives contemporary women role models and a deeper understanding of our own psyches.
The book was a fascinating read into these women's lives, what they accomplished and how powerful they truly were during the Victorian era!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining and scholarly book, April 8, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses (Maud Gonne, Moina Bergson Mathers, Annie Horniman, Florence Farr) (Hardcover)

Women of the Golden Dawn addresses a subject that is rarely touched on in other books on the Occult Revival: the role of the women in this movement. Mary K. Greer weaves a tapestry of astrology, tarot, metaphysics, biography, and history. The book elucidates many magickal principles as skillfully as it recounts the story of four uncommon women. The extensive endnotes are especially intriguing; tarot readers will be very interested at the in-depth records of Golden Dawn tarot readings and interpretations.