Good girl occultism

Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth, 1890-1946) was a British esotericist with a background in Theosophy and the Golden Dawn tradition. She eventually formed an esoteric order of her own, the Fraternity of the Inner Light. “Sane Occultism” really is a remarkably sane book, free from most of the usual mumbo-jumbo, dogmatism and guru-worship. Unfortunately, the Kindle edition is poorly formatted, so you will need meditative patience to sift through it! Some chapters are remarkably lucid, others are more tedious and talkative. Overall, however, I think “Sane Occultism” is worth a read, especially if most of your experience is from the insane end of the occultic spectrum.

One thing that immediately struck me when reading this material is the “Christian” angle, with Fortune regarding Jesus as “the” Master, and constantly emphasizing the power of prayer and the sacraments. Jesus stands above all earthly masters, and the reader is advised to pray to the Master for guidance and protection when choosing an occult teacher. Another striking trait of Fortune's book is the psychological and psychoanalytic angle (the author had worked as a psychologist). Fortune has a tendency to reduce esotericism to psychology (a kind of cosmic psychology, to be sure). She also believed that esoteric truths could be demonstrated scientifically through the use of “free association”, a method she freely associates with Jung and his school.

Another repeated theme in the book is the constant struggle between higher and lower forms of occultism. Fortune rejects the so-called Left Hand Path out of hand, seeing it as a form of black magic. It's associated with egotism, hypnotism, psychic vampirism, illicit sexuality and drugs. Fortune claims that there is a secretive “occult police” tasked with combating the evil magicians and their influence! I guess that Fortune's constant warnings on the dangers of the negative side of occultism might be connected to her work with psychiatric patients, but Aleister Crowley may have been very much on her mind, too!

Here are some other interesting ideas found in “Sane Occultism”. Revelations from the Akasha Chronicle are often unreliable, since the Akasha records not just past events, but also past thoughts. Thus, a medium who “sees” Atlantis or Jesus in the Akasha might simply see *another medium's* subjective speculations about the same! Most memories of past lives are false. Only highly evolved adepts can see their previous lives unsullied by psychic dross. Drugs should be rejected, since they open up our minds to the spiritual worlds, but without developing our ability to deal with them properly. Vegetarianism should not be compulsory, since different humans need different diets (apparently a controversial claim in some circles). The elaborate ritual displays and myths of most secret societies are not to be taken literally, but are a kind of “exoteric esotericism” (my term) to prepare the neophyte for real initiation. Teachers who don't live morally upright lives should be rejected, and so should teachers who demand economic compensation for their teachings. Fortune has a surprisingly “physical” view of kundalini and the chakras, identifying the latter with endocrinal glands in the body!

On some points, Dion Fortune is “politically incorrect”. She attacks homosexuals and homosexuality. Esoterically speaking, homosexuality can be used to store energy for black magic purposes Apparently, the spiritual cosmos has a male-female polarity which homosexuality “blocks”. However, it's obvious that Fortune dislikes gay men for secular reasons, as well. She accuses the British police of being too lenient on them! Lesbianism is not discussed at all. Fortune has an essentialist view of race, with every racial (or ethnic?) type having its own form of spirituality. Thus, activating the chakras is bad for Westerners, since they have a different endocrinal balance than Indians. The minds of the races are also different. Madame Blavatsky is criticized for trying to introduce Eastern forms of spirituality to the West, while being commended for not teaching improper forms of magic. Fortune sounds more positive towards Rudolf Steiner, but mentions him only in passing. That being said, the author doesn't sound outright racist: the races are simply different, not “higher” or “lower”.

The most intriguing idea in “Sane Occultism” is that Americans (including White Americans) can't copy European or Eastern forms of spirituality. Instead they must connect with the local spirits of the land, working with them to further spiritual evolution. Today, this would be seen as cultural appropriation on a massive scale! The local spirits are, of course, the deities of the Native nations. Fortune explicitly predicts that one day a prophet will arise and combine ancient Maya spirituality with the needs of modern America. It's interesting to note that faux Mayan spirituality was popular in the run up to 2012, but its results were mostly negative…

Recommended, all things considered.