Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00088)

Steve wrote:
>Unless I am mistaken, Diomn Fortune was an Hermetic >Kabbalist and not
>a Theosophist.

Steve,
While DF was definitely a hermetic qabalist, she was also for many years a
member of the TS -- and was once in charge of the Christian Mystic Lodge of
the TS, founded in London by Daisy Grove. While she had issues with certain
things that Blavatsky did or said, and was no fan of the Eastward bent of
the Society, she continued to recommend books like The Secret Doctrine to
the end of her days. The promotion of Krishnamurti as the vehicle of the
Maitreya Buddha was the focus of her departure from the TS.

If you are interested in DF, and her connection to the TS, the very best
place to start is Dion Fortune and the Inner Light by Gareth Knight (Thoth
Publications, 2000). This biography was prepared with the full cooperation
of the Society of the Inner Light and with access to their archives. It is
much better -- and much more accurate -- than any of the other bios out
ther.

Steve also wrote:
>Her best book was PSYCHIC SELF-DEFENCE, which has to
>be one of the weirdest books ever written. I have not read it >yet,

If you haven't read it, how do you know? Most of DF's students, then and
now, would disagree that Psychic Self-Defense is her best book. That
accolade is usually reserved for The Mystical Qabalah, which is a wonderful
text, and very important in history of modern esotericism. In my own
opinion, Psychic Self-Defense is an interesting book, and still worth
reading, although it has suffered from being rather sensationally titled.
I don't find it particularly weird. (If you want DF at her weirdest -- go
for something like Secrets of Doctor Taverner.) My personal favorite among
her books is Mystical Meditations on the Collects, followed closely by her
novel, The Sea Priestess.