By the late 1890s Orage was disillusioned with conventional socialism and turned for a while to theosophy. In 1896, Orage married Jean Walker, an art student at the Royal College of Art who was a passionate member of the Theosophical Society. The couple frequented the Northern Federation headquarters in Harrogate where Orage first met Annie Besant and other leading theosophists and began to lecture on mysticism, occultism and idealism in Manchester and Leeds as well as publishing material in the "Theosophical Review". Orage was influenced by Edward Carpenter's belief that women were behind the new force that would bring change to society. Alfred and Jean opened a theosophist branch in Leeds called the Alpha Centre, even though a regular lodge already existed in the city, and Jean represented it in Harrogate until 1900 when the Leeds lodge was re-founded by the Orages as well as Jean's cousin Miss A. K. Kennedy. Jean lectured at the Northern Federation Conference in 1904. Jean also helped Alfred with the council meetings of the Leeds lodge. Jean was an excellent needlewoman and sharp debater; she finally left Alfred to pursue her textile career in Haslemere and later working on the looms for William Morris's firm in Oxford Street, London.