The Leaders of the Soho Group
|
The three men who were the lynchpins of the Soho group are described here. In the mid-1960s, that group dispersed, and these three then broke away to form their own study groups and lines of work.
|
Alan Bain (1933-2006)
|
Alan Bain, 1970s
|
Glyn Davies, 1960s
Glyn Davies (1929-2007)
Glyn Davies was born in Llanelli, S. Wales. He joined the RAF at the age of 18, and served at bases in Germany and the UK for ten years, chiefly as a radar fitter. While stationed in Patrington, near Hull, he encountered a ‘hidden’ teacher of Kabbalah known to us only as John Smith, who passed on a Kabbalistic line centred on the Tree of Life, to no more than two or three pupils. This line was said to have come to the UK from Holland after World War One. After his discharge, Glyn moved to London, and took on a series of ‘hand-to-mouth’ jobs, including running a second hand bookstall, working as an electronics engineer, and as a jobbing jeweller. His main focus was on helping to run ‘The Group’ with Alan Bain and Tony Potter, where he was recognised as a teacher, but preferred to work from the sidelines. He also explored other lines of work in meditation, yoga, freemasonry and magic, with the avowed aim of broadening his knowledge. Although trained in a highly secretive tradition, he perceived a need to open up Kabbalah, and to reformulate it for modern and future times. During the 1960s and 70s, he set up different Kabbalah and Society of the Common Life groups, in London, Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford and Leeds. His aim was to enable others to run these groups, while remaining available for advice. He was instrumental in helping to found Saros (see below). More detail on Glyn is available here.
Note: It is interesting that the famous poet, Ted Hughes, also studied Kabbalah and was also stationed at RAF Patrington during the same year as Glyn, although their times didn’t quite coincide. Were they in fact both students of John Smith?
Glyn Davies was born in Llanelli, S. Wales. He joined the RAF at the age of 18, and served at bases in Germany and the UK for ten years, chiefly as a radar fitter. While stationed in Patrington, near Hull, he encountered a ‘hidden’ teacher of Kabbalah known to us only as John Smith, who passed on a Kabbalistic line centred on the Tree of Life, to no more than two or three pupils. This line was said to have come to the UK from Holland after World War One. After his discharge, Glyn moved to London, and took on a series of ‘hand-to-mouth’ jobs, including running a second hand bookstall, working as an electronics engineer, and as a jobbing jeweller. His main focus was on helping to run ‘The Group’ with Alan Bain and Tony Potter, where he was recognised as a teacher, but preferred to work from the sidelines. He also explored other lines of work in meditation, yoga, freemasonry and magic, with the avowed aim of broadening his knowledge. Although trained in a highly secretive tradition, he perceived a need to open up Kabbalah, and to reformulate it for modern and future times. During the 1960s and 70s, he set up different Kabbalah and Society of the Common Life groups, in London, Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford and Leeds. His aim was to enable others to run these groups, while remaining available for advice. He was instrumental in helping to found Saros (see below). More detail on Glyn is available here.
Note: It is interesting that the famous poet, Ted Hughes, also studied Kabbalah and was also stationed at RAF Patrington during the same year as Glyn, although their times didn’t quite coincide. Were they in fact both students of John Smith?
Portrait of Tony Potter, 1967, by John Pearce, (posted with artist's permission)
Tony Potter (1931-2001)
Tony Potter was born in April 1931, and his family lived near Solihull in the Midlands. It’s thought that he attended one of the high-ranking King Edward VI schools in Birmingham. He did National Service, perhaps as a sergeant in the education corps. Tony related that he worked for one of the Secret Services, something that has never been definitively proved or denied. Most informants report that he was a clever man, but not always reliable in his claims. He certainly had scientific expertise and edited an engineering journal. In the 1980s he also edited the short-lived esoteric journals ‘New Occult’ and ‘Pentacle’. After his introduction to Kabbalah, probably through Alan Bain, he swiftly took up a role as an articulate ‘front man’ for the Group in Soho, and in the 1960s began to teach his own groups in North London. In the 1980s, he moved to the West Country where he practised astrology and ran further groups, although his main teaching phase ended before he left London. He also became involved with the Independent Catholic Church. He died in Minehead in 2001. For more information see https://esoterichistory.wordpress.com/contents/tony-potter/
John Pearce’s account of Tony Potter’s Highgate group can be found at https://johnnpearceartist.com/art-and-realityart-and-reality/
Tony Potter was born in April 1931, and his family lived near Solihull in the Midlands. It’s thought that he attended one of the high-ranking King Edward VI schools in Birmingham. He did National Service, perhaps as a sergeant in the education corps. Tony related that he worked for one of the Secret Services, something that has never been definitively proved or denied. Most informants report that he was a clever man, but not always reliable in his claims. He certainly had scientific expertise and edited an engineering journal. In the 1980s he also edited the short-lived esoteric journals ‘New Occult’ and ‘Pentacle’. After his introduction to Kabbalah, probably through Alan Bain, he swiftly took up a role as an articulate ‘front man’ for the Group in Soho, and in the 1960s began to teach his own groups in North London. In the 1980s, he moved to the West Country where he practised astrology and ran further groups, although his main teaching phase ended before he left London. He also became involved with the Independent Catholic Church. He died in Minehead in 2001. For more information see https://esoterichistory.wordpress.com/contents/tony-potter/
John Pearce’s account of Tony Potter’s Highgate group can be found at https://johnnpearceartist.com/art-and-realityart-and-reality/
A meeting of Tony Potter's group
by Stan Green (posted with artist's permission)
Second phase - Teachers following on from the Soho Group
Robin Amis
Robin Amis (1932-2014)
Robin Amis took part in the early core Soho group, and in a satellite group run by Walter Lassally. Like various other members of these groups, he also joined the Study Society, (https://studysociety.org/) which at that time was linked to the Ouspensky teachings. Robin worked first in electronics and then as a copy-writer. In 1979, he had his first encounter with the Orthodox Church, and converted to Eastern Orthodoxy in 1983; he was a frequent visitor to Mount Athos. During the succeeding years, he worked on his own teaching system of ‘Hesychasm’, or contemplative prayer, and founded the Praxis Research Institute, which continues its work today. Among books he has written are A Different Christianity and Views from Mount Athos. His second marriage was to the American artist Lillian Delevoryas (1932-2018), and their final years were spent in Bristol.
Robin Amis took part in the early core Soho group, and in a satellite group run by Walter Lassally. Like various other members of these groups, he also joined the Study Society, (https://studysociety.org/) which at that time was linked to the Ouspensky teachings. Robin worked first in electronics and then as a copy-writer. In 1979, he had his first encounter with the Orthodox Church, and converted to Eastern Orthodoxy in 1983; he was a frequent visitor to Mount Athos. During the succeeding years, he worked on his own teaching system of ‘Hesychasm’, or contemplative prayer, and founded the Praxis Research Institute, which continues its work today. Among books he has written are A Different Christianity and Views from Mount Athos. His second marriage was to the American artist Lillian Delevoryas (1932-2018), and their final years were spent in Bristol.
Warren Kenton (Z'ev Ben Shimon Halevi)
Warren Kenton (Z’ev Ben Shimon Halevi) (1933-2020) Warren Kenton (whose Jewish name was Z’ev Ben Shimon Halevi) became one of the most prominent teachers of Kabbalah in the current era. He was the author of many books and the founder of the Kabbalistic ‘Toledano Tradition School of the Soul’. He was born into a Sefardi Levite family, spending his childhood in London and High Wycombe; his early training and career was in art and theatre design. In pursuit of spiritual interests, he became a member of the School of Economic Science and the Study Society; here he met Glyn Davies, who became a lifelong friend and introduced him to Kabbalah. Warren later referred to Glyn as his ‘instructor’ (The Path of a Kabbalist). An early collaboration was on the Extended Tree, or The Ladder of Jacob, as it is known. However, Warren’s own Kabbalistic work developed along independent lines. ‘Over the past 45 years, Halevi has continued to reformulate the Teaching and clarify its principles. He sees it his task to update its mythology and metaphysics in terms of modern science and psychology.’ (See https://www.kabbalahsociety.org/ and http://www.toledanotradition.com/ He lived in London with his wife Rebekah.
Margaret Bain (1934 – 1994)
In the late 1950s Margaret and her then husband Gordon were members of Alan Bain’s group in London. As her marriage broke down, she became close to Alan, and a year or two later they left London for the West Country. A few years later Alan left Margaret and they separately returned to London. There she established herself in the occult world, publishing a number of articles on Qabalah. She taught Qabalah and ritual with a number of partners over the years, and wrote an unpublished book with the aim of enabling the complete beginner to grasp Qabalah, entitled Kingdom at Your Feet. Margaret’s students carry on her work through a registered charity called the Rockwax foundation (rockwax.org.uk), whose purpose is to keep alive the Hermetic and Kabbalistic traditions through public lectures, publications, and small-group teaching. More detail on Margaret is available here.
(No photograph of Margaret Bain is currently available)
Margaret Bain (1934 – 1994)
In the late 1950s Margaret and her then husband Gordon were members of Alan Bain’s group in London. As her marriage broke down, she became close to Alan, and a year or two later they left London for the West Country. A few years later Alan left Margaret and they separately returned to London. There she established herself in the occult world, publishing a number of articles on Qabalah. She taught Qabalah and ritual with a number of partners over the years, and wrote an unpublished book with the aim of enabling the complete beginner to grasp Qabalah, entitled Kingdom at Your Feet. Margaret’s students carry on her work through a registered charity called the Rockwax foundation (rockwax.org.uk), whose purpose is to keep alive the Hermetic and Kabbalistic traditions through public lectures, publications, and small-group teaching. More detail on Margaret is available here.
(No photograph of Margaret Bain is currently available)
Organisations
Here are some of the key organisations which have their roots in the groups mentioned above. Those listed have their own identity, and are either totally or in part independent of the teachers who gave rise to them. This is not a comprehensive list, and it is not our aim to trace the branching off of further organisations. They give an indication of how the dedicated work of those committed to the early groups has helped to create new teaching schools with a wide-reaching influence.
Here are some of the key organisations which have their roots in the groups mentioned above. Those listed have their own identity, and are either totally or in part independent of the teachers who gave rise to them. This is not a comprehensive list, and it is not our aim to trace the branching off of further organisations. They give an indication of how the dedicated work of those committed to the early groups has helped to create new teaching schools with a wide-reaching influence.
Saros sprang out of the Kabbalah groups set up around the UK in the 1970s by Glyn Davies, and his students. It was founded in 1978, with the aim to ‘perpetuate knowledge’, chiefly by a re-formulation of traditional Kabbalistic teaching. For many years, Saros ran a residential centre in Buxton, Derbyshire, and held courses on topics such as philosophy, meditation, astrology, divination, women’s spirituality and dance. Various satellite organisations were ‘born’ from Saros, some of them establishing an independent existence as Nine Ladies, High Peak Meditation and Royle-Bantoft Dance. From 1988 public seminars were held in city venues, inviting well-known speakers to address the big issues such as ‘the religion of the future’ and ‘learning without limits’. Although the formal Saros organisation closed in 2001, it remains as a loose network of associates, and Saros philosophy is used as a teaching tool. The name Saros refers to the recurring cycle of the eclipses of the sun and moon, first discovered by the Babylonians. See https://esoterichistory.wordpress.com/contents/saros/
The Alef Trust is co-directed by Les (Brian) Lancaster, who was also a founder member of Saros, and is an Emeritus Professor of Transpersonal Psychology. https://www.aleftrust.org/ It offers educational programmes from online Open Learning courses up to PhD level, focusing on themes of consciousness and transpersonal psychology, and drawing traditions of Kabbala, Shamanism and Meditation into a broader framework of scientific and psychological research. The Alef Trust's Kabbalistic embodied movement project is developing a series of movements in relation to the symbolism of the Hebrew letters.
Toledano Tradition
The School of the Toledano Tradition is based on Kabbalah as formulated and taught by Warren Kenton. It aims to integrate science, psychology and art into its teachings, and uses the Extended Tree (‘Jacob’s Ladder’) as its central glyph. The school takes its name from the Spanish city of Toledo, which in medieval times was a meeting place for Christian, Jewish and Islamic scholars. It holds group meetings and summer schools, in the UK and around the world. http://www.toledanotradition.com/ http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/wp/
The School of the Toledano Tradition is based on Kabbalah as formulated and taught by Warren Kenton. It aims to integrate science, psychology and art into its teachings, and uses the Extended Tree (‘Jacob’s Ladder’) as its central glyph. The school takes its name from the Spanish city of Toledo, which in medieval times was a meeting place for Christian, Jewish and Islamic scholars. It holds group meetings and summer schools, in the UK and around the world. http://www.toledanotradition.com/ http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/wp/
Other Organisations
See also Rockwax Foundation under Margaret Bain, and the Praxis Research Institute under Robin Amis
See also Rockwax Foundation under Margaret Bain, and the Praxis Research Institute under Robin Amis