posted on Feb, 2 2006 @ 03:19 PM
The magical war between Crowley and Mathers was pretty much just some more of Crowley's rhetoric. The actual "war" that took place wasn't very
magical, but had a lot of lodge politics involved. It began with Crowley's writing to Mathers, questioning his authority. Here, Crowley seems to have
been in the right, as Mathers declared himself the supreme chief of the Order without showing any reason why he should be so. The London Adepti at the
Isis-Urania Temple had already been ignoring Mathers for quite some time (Mathers was working out of a Paris Temple at this point).
Crowley's problem was that he had already alienated the London Adepti by having previously sided with Mathers (and his little stunt of showing up at
Mark Masons Hall during a G.'.D.'. meeting, wearing full Highland dress and a mask, demanding on Mather's authority that he be made Chief Adept,
certainly did help his cause any).
Anyway, Mathers simply expelled Crowley, but Crowley refused to recognize the expulsion because he didn't think that Mathers had the authority to
expel anybody. This happened in 1899. It was only in 1904, 5 years later, that Crowley came to believe that he himself had received authority from the
Chiefs of the A.'.A.'., or Third Order, to become Supreme Magus of the Order (immediately expelling Mathers, of course).