Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tt00163)

Bjorn Roxendal wrote:

> > Here are some criteria that matter to me in defining when decline
> > began. How much influence on wider culture outside Theosophical
> > ranks did HPB's writings have? Did Olcott's work have? How does
> > that compare with the cultural impact of Besant and Leadbeater's
> > writings? (I grant Besant her full due as a leader in Indian
> > education and the Freedom Movement, but these were separate from
> > her Theosophical work.) By this criterion, Theosophy was a vital
> > movement with an impact on cultures around the world in the
> > 19th century, but from early in the 20th it declined into a
> > self-involved cult not taken seriously by anyone much outside its
> > membership.
>
> The influence of Leadbeater's and Besant's writings has been, and still is, vast
> and hard to quantify.

 Especially when you consider that Theosophy has had a lot of indirect influence.
The Golden Dawn has a strong Theosophical influence behind it, and if you look at
the neo-Pagan movement, a LOT of that came from Theosophy, directly and indirectly,
as well. Note a lot of Wiccan rituals come from co-Masonic rituals created by CWL,
for example.

 Bart Lidofsky