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absolutely familiar with the terminology and theory of Magick from a strictly intellectual 
standpoint. I still think, however, that this course of study should precede initiation and that it 
should not be mixed up with it. Consider the analogy of poetry. One could, to a certain extent, 
teach a man to write poetry, by offering to his soul a set of spiritual and emotional experiences, but 
his technique must be based on the study of grammar and so on, which have no essential relation 
with art. 
Talking over these matters with Jones and Baker, I found them quite in sympathy with my pint of 
view; but they insisted, rightly enough, that I was not in a position to judge the circumstances. I 
must first reach the Second Order. 
Accordingly, I took the grade of Zelator in December, of Theoricus in January and of Practicus in 
February. One could not proceed to Philosophus for three months, so I did not take that grade till 
May. The Philosophus cannot proceed to the Second Order in less than seven months; also he must 
be specially invited. 
In the spring of 1899, at some ceremony or other, I was aware of the presence of a tremendous 
spiritual and magical force. It seemed to me to proceed from a man sitting in the east, a man I had 
not seen before, but whom I knew must be Very Honoured Frater Iehi Aour, called among men Allan 
Bennett. The fame of this man as a Magician was already immense. He was esteemed second only to 
Mathers himself; and was, perhaps, even more feared. 
After the ceremony we went into the outer room to unrobe. I was secretly anxious to be introduced 
to this formidable Chief. To my amazement he came straight to me, looked into my eyes, and said 
in penetrating and, as it seemed, almost menacing tones: "Little Brother, you have been meddling 
with the Goetia!" (Goetia means "howling"; but it is the technical word employed to cover all the 
operations of that Magick which deals with gross, malignant or unenlightened forces.) I told him, 
rather timidly, that I had not been doing anything of the sort. "In that case," he returned, "the 
Goetia has been meddling with you." The conversation went no further. I returned home in a 
somewhat chastened spirit; and, having found out where Iehi Aour lived, I determined to call on him 
the following day. 
I should have explained that, on deciding to join the Order, I had taken a flat at 67 and 69 Chancery 
Lane1. I had already determined to perform the Operation of Abra-Melin, but Jones had advised me 
to go through my 
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1. My innocence after three years at Cambridge may be gaged by my 
conduct in the matter of choosing a residence. I understood it as a fixed 
principle of prudence, "When in a difficulty consult your lawyer." Knowing 
nothing, whatever about renting apartments, I was in a difficulty. I 
therefore consulted my lawyer and too the first place he suggested. He, 
of course, never gave a though to my convenience or the appropriateness 
of the district. He saw and took the chance of obliging a business 
acquaintance.  
initiation first. However, I began to busy myself with the preparations. Abra-Melin warns us that our 
families will object strenuously to our undertaking the Operation. I resolved, therefore, to cut 
myself off absolutely from mine. So, as I had to live in London, I took the flat under the name of 
Count Vladimir Svareff. As Jones remarked later, a wiser man would have called himself Smith. But I 
was still obsessed with romanticism, while my summer in St. Petersburg had made me in love with 
Russia. There was another motive behind this --- a legitimate one. I wanted to increase my 
knowledge of mankind. I knew how people treated a young man from Cambridge. I had thoroughly 
appreciated the servility of tradesmen, though I was too generous and too ignorant to realize the 
extent of their dishonesty and rapacity. Now I wanted to see how people would behave to a Russian 
nobleman. I must say here that I have repeatedly used this method of disguise --- it has been 
amazingly useful in multiplying my points of view about humanity. Even the most broad-minded