Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00060)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "kpauljohnson" <kpauljohnson@y...> 
wrote:
> > I've always been partial to the perspective of the ex-Theosophist 
> > Dion Fortune (Violet Mary Firth)-- that the Masters as we 
perceive 
> > them are all imagination, but that the Masters are also real. (DF 
> > famously said about Blavatsky: "I think she faked the letters, 
but 
> I don't think she faked the Masters.") 
> 
> Very much in accord with the conclusions of A.O. Hume, and it 
> perplexes me that Hodgson ignored/rejected that alternative in 
favor 
> of the no Masters hypothesis.

Actually, Hodgson said in his Report that he thought Blavatsky had 
been imposed upon by some people in India whi (mis)represented 
themselves as masters, but he does not seem to have worked that 
thesis out. The Report was filled with serious flaws, but was no 
worse than every single one of the Theosophical defenses against it, 
all of whch were equally bad. Special pleading is no better when 
used to attack than when used to defend Theosophy.

Unless I am mistaken, Diomn Fortune was an Hermetic Kabbalist and not 
a Theosophist. Her best book was PSYCHIC SELF-DEFENCE, which has to 
be one of the weirdest books ever written. I have not read it yet, 
but Stanislas de Guaita's CLEF DE LA MAGIE NOIRE has been described 
in terms which suggest it may also be in that category.