The Pentacle Club is one of the world's oldest

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

societies well known by amateur and professional magicians for its longevity and famous members.

Origins

The Pentacle Club was founded in 1919 by Professor W. W. Rouse Ball, J. H. Johnson, C. R. Cosens, F. J. W. Roughton, and W. I. Grantham. The Club, consisting of members of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, was a successor to The Mystics, a pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

club that ran from 1909 to 1914. Rouse Ball, the first President of the club, gathered support from across the university for the first meeting of the club, where the members "saw demonstrations of rope and card tricks, thimble and billiard ball manipulations". The initial subscription rate was half a crown a term.

Later history

During the 1920s, the Pentacle Club became increasingly well known on a national level, thanks in part to a sequence of guest visits to Cambridge, including Douglas Dexter and

Nevil Maskelyne Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created the ''British Nau ...

, the latter inviting the Pentacle Club to undertake a joint performance with the

Magic Circle A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be marke ...

in London. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the club performed in aid of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, with amateur magicians from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, evacuated to Cambridge during the conflict, adding to the membership. In 1963 the club began to admit members from outside the university, leading to a slow change in the club's composition - over the last few decades the membership has been increasingly drawn from the Cambridge region, and less from undergraduates. The club retained its traditional links to the university, however, under the long presidency of Sir

William Hawthorne Sir William Rede Hawthorne CBE, FRS, FREng, FIMECHE, FRAES, (22 May 1913 – 16 September 2011) was a British professor of engineering who worked on the development of the jet engine. Bragg-Hawthorne equation is named after him. Life ...

, Master of

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establish ...

, well known for performing magic.

Present

Past Presidents

Presidents and their tenures: * 1919 - 1925 Professor W W Rouse Ball * 1925 - 1932 Doctor J. Canney * 1932 - 1968 Doctor F.B. Kipping * 1969 - 1969 Sir Gordon Sutherland * 1970 - 1990 Sir William Hawthorne * 1990 - 2008 Claude Perry MIMC * 2008 - 2013 John Davenport MIMC * 2013 - 2018 Chris Kostecki MMC

References

Magic clubs University of Cambridge {{magic-stub