Parapsychology - What Does A∴A∴ Represent?

The Silver Star, the Rosy Cross, and the Golden Dawn are three secret societies created by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947).

The Great White Brotherhood is another name for this organization, however Theosophists prefer to use that phrase.

The letters AA stand for Argenteum Astrum, and the triangle of dots represents a secret club linked to ancient secrets.

Crowley felt he had attained the exalted degree of the Silver Star and was therefore a Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn during his time in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (GD).

Crowley founded his own organization, the Silver Star, or AA, in 1906, based on the Golden Dawn's rituals and doctrines.

In March 1909, he started publishing the Equinox as the A.A.'s official organ, with the Outer Order of the Society's rites included in the second issue.

Members of the Golden Dawn were worried, and S. L. MacGregor Mathers, one of the Golden Dawn leaders, filed legal action to stop Crowley from publishing the rites.

Although a temporary restraining order was issued, Mathers lacked the financial means to fight an appeal, and Crowley proceeded to publish his own version of GD secret rites.

Crowley received extra attention as a result of the court process, as well as a public performance of "the Rites of Eleusis" in Caxton Hall, University of London, in 1910.

This ritual included seven invocations of the gods, as well as dance by Crowley's follower Victor Neuburg, violin playing by Leila Waddel (dubbed the "Scarlet Woman" by Crowley), and the reading of Crowley's poetry.

The performances were remarkable, albeit perplexing to the general audience, who paid five guineas per head to see them.

Surprisingly, there were harsh critiques of such a bold presentation in the prudish culture of the period.

The publication the Looking Glass published a critical review of the Rites, ridiculing the lyrics as "gibberish." The Looking Glass featured spectacular charges against Crowley and his allies Allan Bennett and George Cecil Jones in a subsequent edition.

Jones responded by suing the magazine in 1911, and the court case garnered a lot of attention for Crowley.

Although Crowley may have enjoyed the spotlight, he lost some friends as a result of it, including his pupil J. F. C. Fuller, who wrote Crowley's eulogy, The Star in the West (1907).

Meanwhile, Crowley had joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a secret organization that placed a significant emphasis on the potency of sex magic.

The A.A. discontinued operating as a group in London when Crowley left for the United States at the end of 1914.