Steeped in esotericism

“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 20^th 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 19^th century and early 20^th 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.