Arnold Crowther (1909-1974)
Written and compiled by George Knowles.
Arnold Crowther was a skilled stage magician and ventriloquist with interests in
paganism and witchcraft. He
co-authored two books and a radio series on witchcraft, with his wife Patricia
Crowther, and wrote numerous articles for a variety of magazines.
His greatest claim to fame though comes as the connecting influence
between Gerald B Gardner, and Aleister
Crowley.
Born in Chatham, Kent, on the 6th October 1909, Crowther was one side of twin
brothers. His mother was Scottish
and his father, an optician came from Yorkshire. Crowther from an early age was fascinated with
sleight-of-hand magic, ventriloquism, and puppeteering.
From the age of eight he began practicing tricks and perfecting his
technique in the secrecy of his bedroom. By
the time he was twenty he was a professional magic act, working in cabaret,
touring around the country and overseas.
His career peaked in 1938-39 when he was invited to entertain Princesses
Elizabeth and Margaret at Buckingham Palace.
This led him to numerous like engagements entertaining the landed gentry
of England, and also into contact with many of the days leading occultists and
magicians. At this time Crowther
was a Freemason with interests in Buddhism, he didn’t enter the craft until
very much later in 1960.
Crowther was a founder member and President of the Puppet Guild, and as a
master puppeteer he made over 500 puppets during his career, mainly for use in
his ventriloquism act. He also
collected unusual puppets and oddities, regularly giving lectures at his Masons
Hall, and to other interested societies, on curios from around the world.
Before the start of World War II, Crowther met Gerald
Gardner and his wife Donna after they had been to view one of his lectures
on curios. He and Gardner became
good friends, sharing many similar interests.
Crowther soon became a frequent visitor at the Gardner’s London flat,
and from there they would venture out together and browse the many antique
stalls at the nearby Caledonian Market. Rubbing
shoulders with Gardner, Crowther soon became interested in the craft, however
Gardner’s coven was still wary of adverse publicity.
They felt that Crowther might use craft information in his act, and
refused to accept him. Gardner
predicted that “a very special person with fair hair” would initiate him
when the time was right.
During the war years Crowther joined the Forces Entertainment’s Corps, and
entertained troops all over Europe with his show “Black Magic”, the show
also included an African Basuto choir. Crowther
would perform where and whenever he was required, like on the 10th November 1943
while en-route from Tripoli to Malta, he performed aboard a DC 3 airplane flying
at 4,000 feet.
For a time during the war Crowther was stationed in Paris, and there he first
learned of his past life as a Tibetan beggar monk.
He and an officer went to visit palmist, “Madame Brux”, who invited
them to a séance. After
introductions the medium went into a trance and began to communicate with a
masculine spirit. The spirit
claimed to have been Crowthers teacher in a previous life, and was his guide in
this present one. The spirit
reported that Crowther had been a student in a Tibetan lamasery, he mentioned
the name “Younghusband” and that he had been killed in a battle.
“Your possessions will be returned to you,” said the medium, and an
object fell onto the séance table. It
was a Tibetan prayer wheel inscribed with “OM MA NI PAD ME
HUNG” (Translation)
After the war had ended other Tibetan objects came into his possession, they
included: a butter lamp, a trumpet made from a human thighbone, a drum made of a
human skull, and a small rattle hand-drum.
An expert explained to Crowther that the “Zi-jed-pa” (The Mild Doer),
a homeless medicant class of Yogi regarded as saints, used such items.
They believed they would attain Nirvana after death and not have to be
reborn again.
That being so, why then had he been reincarnated as Crowther he reasoned?
The expert explained that if he, as the monk, had killed someone, then he
would have to be reincarnated to balance the karma.
Later at an exhibition of Tibetan curios in London, Crowther discovered
that a Colonel “Younghusband” had led a military attack against Tibet in
1904. During the attack
“Younghusband” had killed another soldier, before he himself was killed.
Crowther returned to the public stage after the war, and continued to tour
about the country. During his
travels he met and made the acquaintance of Aleister
Crowley. It wasn’t long before he introduced his friend Gardner to
Crowley on the 1st May 1947. An
entry in Crowther’s dairy for that date reads: “Dr. G.B.Gardner Ph.D.
Singapore and Aleister Crowley Prof, a magician, came to tea…”
In 1958 while travelling to perform on the Isle of White, Crowther met a lady
“with fair hair”, Patricia Dawson. She
was performing in the same show as he, and they soon discovered a mutual
interest in witchcraft. Crowther
offered to introduce her to his friend Gardner. Over the following two years and after regularly meeting with
him, Gardner initiated Patricia on the 6th June 1960 at his home in Castletown,
Isle of Man. Patricia in turn
initiated Crowther, and the prediction Gardner had made to Crowther many years
earlier, came true.
Patricia Crowther
Later that same year on the 8th November 1960, Arnold Crowther and Patricia
Dawson where married in a private handfasting ceremony, officiated by Gerald
Gardner. The following day on the
9th November they married again in a civil ceremony, this attracted the
attention of the media and was heavily publicized.
The Crowthers settled in Sheffield and used the media publicity to spread
the word about witchcraft, and started many new covens throughout the country.
Crowther passed into the next world on the 1st May 1974.
“Or did he”? If from his past life as “Colonel Younghusband”, he
revisited as “Arnold Crowther”, has not his karma been corrected? One wonders if he has finally achieved Nirvana?
In addition to his collaborated works with his wife Patricia, Crowther’s
other published credits include: “Let’s
Put On A Show” (1964), a book of “how-to-do” magic, illustrated by
himself. “Linda and the
Lollipop Man” (1973), a road safety book for children, and “Hex
Certificate” (Late 1970’s), a collection of cartoons he drew on
witchcraft themes. His
autobiography “Hand in Glove”, has not been published, but was
serialized on BBC Radio in Bristol, Sheffield, Medway and Leeds between 1975 and
1977.
Translation of “OM MA NI
PAD ME HUNG”:
Many thanks to "Moon Witch" an informative e-mail friend for her
translation and detailed explanation of this inscription:
Literal translation "Hail to jewel in the lotus", this was a
mantra, chant or prayer written in Sanskrit.
"Buddha Amitabha instructed, "If you want to relieve the suffering
of the six realms, you must propagate the Six-Syllable Mantra "OM MA NI PAD
ME HUNG" which will stop the rebirth and sufferings of the beings of the
six realms. Each of the syllables
will eliminate the cause and condition to be reborn in one of the respective six
realms. "OM" will
eliminate the cause and condition to be borne in the gods’ realm.
"MA" will eliminate the cause and condition to be borne in the
demi-gods realm. "NI"
will eliminate the cause and condition to be borne in the human realm.
"PAD" will eliminate the cause and condition to be borne in the
animal realm; "ME" will eliminate the cause and condition to be borne
in the hungry ghost realm. "HUNG"
will eliminate the cause and condition to be borne in the hell realm.
You must engage, keep, recite and absorb this mantra to empty the six
realms."
The merits of the Six-Syllable Mantra are immeasurable and cannot be fully
described even by the Buddha's of the three times. Some of these benefits are: Whoever keeps this mantra,
his body will transform into the vajra body, his bones will transform into the
relics of the Buddha and his ordinary mind will transform into the wisdom of the
Buddha's. Whoever recites the mantra for even one time will obtain
immeasurable wisdom. He will
eventually develop compassion and perfect the six paramitas. He will be
born as a universal monarch. He
will achieve the irreversible stage of the Bodhisattva and finally attain
Enlightenment."
Back to “OM MA NI PAD ME HUNG”
Sources
The Encyclopedia of Witches
&Witchcraft - by Rosemary
Ellen Guiley.
Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft - By Raven Grimassi
Websites
www.themystica.com/themystica.html
www.spiraltree.demon.co.uk/index.htm
www.mystical-www.co.uk
First
published on the 04th May 2001, 21:12:38 © George Knowles
Best
wishes and Blessed Be
