“Det ockulta sekelskiftet” is a book by Per Faxneld, Assistant Professor
of religious studies in Sweden. The book, which I don´t think has been translated
to any foreign language, deals with female Swedish esotericists during the
first half of the 20th century. Among other things!
A substantial portion of the work is about other (though still related)
topics. Faxneld has written a general introduction to a number of esoteric or
related currents, including alchemy, Theosophy, Spiritualism, Freemasonry,
Rosicrucianism and Swedenborgianism. And yes, there are some really cool photos
of Goetheanum and its interior, taken by Faxneld himself. (That would be
Anthroposophy, btw.) A problem is that the author doesn´t always distinguish
between the main branches of Theosophy, which were quite different from each
other. Something tells me Swedish-Norwegian king Oscar II stayed clear of Annie
Besant and Leadbeater!
A subsequent chapter deals with the cultural influence in Europe of esotericism
or occultism during the late 19th century and early 20th
century, which turns out to have been *considerable*. Examples include the
Spiritualist interests of Victor Hugo and Arthur Conan Doyle, the magical
pursuits of W B Yeats, the novels of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Joséphin Péladan´s
art salons, Stanislaw Przybyszewski´s Satanism, and much of Symbolist art. Zooming
in on Sweden, August Strindberg studied Theosophy (although he pretended not to
like it), his “inferno crisis” could be seen as occultic, and he un-ironically
studied alchemy. Swedish painter Carl Larsson and socialist activist Kata
Dalström studied Theosophy, the latter even joined the Adyar branch. In Finland,
Edith Södergran had a strong interest in Anthroposophy. In Norway, Edvard Munch
was often, rightly or wrongly, considered to be an esoteric painter. The
previously mentioned Oscar II met Colonel Olcott and had contacts with
Katherine Tingley, the leader of the “Pasadena” Theosophists.
The most interesting chapters of “Det ockulta sekelskiftet” deal with a
number of female occultists in Sweden. All of them had an upper class
background and received an excellent education. Huldine Beamish-Mossander
wanted to combine Catholicism, Judaism and Spiritualism. To that end, she
founded the Edelweiss League (Edelweissförbundet). The interest in Judaism is
somewhat ironic, since a certain Hermann Göring once visited the chapel of the
Edelweiss League. The reason? His Swedish wife Carin was a member, and also
Huldine´s daughter! Admittedly, this was before the Third Reich.
Then there was Lucile Lagerbielke, who tried to form a synthesis of
Christianity, Spiritualism and Theosophy. Lagerbielke called herself “Paula”
and claim to have been blind for three days after having her first vision. Sounds
familiar? She argued that Christ was the first socialist, and in 1920 formed
Framtidens-Folks-Förbund (FFF) or the League of the People of the Future. One
thing not spotted by Faxneld is that “FFF” is “666” (F being the sixth letter
in the alphabet), surely something not unknown to a highly educated occultist.
Lagerbielke authored many books and was also a painter. Her sister Princess Mary
Karadja (she was married to an Ottoman diplomat and hence an Ottoman princess),
was an ardent Spiritualist. Bizarrely, Lagerbielke once tried to get her
committed to a mental asylum for hearing voices, and so on!
Next, we have Tyra Kleen, who was a painter and poet, often working in
the Symbolist tradition. Kleen´s works have a dark athmosphere about them. She
later became a Theosophist.
The main character of this book, however, is Hilma af Klint. Today, her
art has become increasingly popular (unfortunately, I missed the exhibition at
Millesgården in Stockholm last year). The reason seems to be that many of her
works are abstract, and she could therefore be seen as a precursor in the realm
of abstract art. I find her output frankly weird and filled with much
Theosophical symbolism. Hilma af Klint was originally a member of
Edelweissförbundet, but later co-founded a small and secretive group simply called
De Fem (The Five). Its purpose was to create the usual synthesis between
Christianity, Theosophy and Spiritualism. Séances were an important part of the
group´s life. The Five claimed to be in touch with a kind of Ascended Masters
simply called “De höga” (The High Ones or the Supreme Ones), which never communicated
directly, but only through six lower spirits. The messages came through by
automatic writing or channeling. Interestingly, De Fem actually administered
communion to its members. After joining the Adyar Theosophists, af Klint formed
a new group called De Tretton (The Thirteen) but failed to unite it with The
Five. Hilma af Klint later left the Adyar society and instead joined
Anthroposophy. It seems her new esoteric friends had little or no appreciation
for her artistic endeavors, and she therefore left that movement, also.
Faxneld ends the book with a brief discussion on present-day esoteric
influence on pop culture, and tries to justify esotericism in some kind of “politically
correct” terms. He sees esotericism as global, open and tolerant. Note also
that many prominent esotericists were women. This is presumably a
counter-reaction to the skeptical discourse on the same topic, which often
depicts occult pursuits as “Nazi”. While that is obviously an
oversimplification, the global-liberal angle doesn´t feel entirely convincing
either. One problematic thing pointed out by the author himself in the main
portion of his book is the elitist aspect. Symbolist painters and poets very
deliberately made their output incomprehensible to the dumb masses, something that
fits hand in glove with the idea of spiritual secret knowledge known only to
the initiated few. Note once again that the female occultists described in “Det
ockulta sekelskiftet” were very atypical women for their time, with means and a
good education.
That being said, I liked this book. It´s another example of a genre I flagged for previously, in which prominent personages previously considered "safe for modernity" turns out to have been steeped in the secret lore...
With that, I leave you for now.
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