VOLUME 2 - A Wayfaring Man Part II
INTRODUCTION
Following in the footsteps of Volume I, this volume presents A Wayfaring Man Part II, completing the story of the life of Dr Felkin as told by his wife Harriot. It gives a glimpse of the excitement that the opportunity to set up a Temple in New Zealand presented, and also the toil that was involved. In the same style as Part I, the reader is taken back in time, or on side journeys, to explore different avenues of Dr Felkin’s life. The tale ends naturally with the death of Dr Robert William Felkin.
The first essay, The Rose and its Symbolism, is by an unknown author, and was a paper circulated amongst members of the New Zealand branch of the Order of the Stella Matutina. It is from an early period, and the original, from which this transcript was made, bore a label with the name of T. Mason Chambers, one of the three Temple Chiefs on the Smaragdum Thallasses Warrant.
The second essay, The Magical Monk, gives an account of Father J. Charles Fitzgerald, one of the unsung Adepts of the Stella Matutina. This essay helps put into perspective the role that Father Fitzgerald played in bringing the Stella Matutina to New Zealand, but also the wider role he played in the Order as a Temple Chief. We gain an insight into the dedicated nature of this devout priest, and the discipline with which he must have undertaken his duties as both a monk and an adept. Father Fitzgerald walked the walk. His undoubtedly ‘Rosicrucian’ instincts are no more clearly displayed than in his support of, and influence in, the healing Guild of St Raphael.
Published herein, in Transcript of the ‘Whare Ra’ Warrant, is the full wording used on the Warrant establishing the Stella Matutina in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the Warrant itself did not survive the closure of the Temple, and only one transcript of it’s contents is known to exist. This transcript was originally in “Private Collection A”, and is the source from which Ellic Howe quotes in his Magicians of the Golden Dawn, p. 269, albeit in a greatly abridged form. By cherry picking pertinent parts of the transcript, Howe missed nearly a third of the original text. The copy presented herein was also sourced, with permission, from Private Collection A, and is presented as an un-abridged version to correct Howe’s omissions.
The original transcript, which can now be viewed at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London, is a poorly typed single sheet, containing several typing errors, including over-typed characters and spelling mistakes. There are no illustrations to be seen. In several places editing or correcting has been made in the hand of Dr. Felkin, and his signature as Finem Respice is at the bottom, as if authorising the corrections and changes, suggesting that this transcript is a draft of the Warrant rather than a copy as propounded by Howe.
The last section of Volume II is dedicated to providing an insight into the administration of the New Zealand Temple. A selection of notices and addresses from 1957 to 1960 are provided, the period in which the Order lost the leadership of both G.H. Chiefs M.C. and P.H. Appointment of Wardens, financial reports, number of Ceremonies performed, various addresses, and obituaries fill the pages of the nine documents presented herein.
Whare Ra
The Lantern, Volume II is a hardbound first edition publication, limited to 100 copies. Only one printing will be made.
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