Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00089)

Steve and all
Here's a talk I gave at the New York Theosophical Society a couple of years
ago, on Dion Fortune. It's just a limited intro, but may help a bit ---

Dion Fortune: An Introduction to Her Life and Work

To tie in with Don's talk on initiation last week - DF felt the primary
reality in initiation was always spiritual self-dedication. In a paper
composed for those preparing for ceremonial initiation, she writes as
follows:

"It is the shifting of the central point of our universe which constitutes
dedication. We cease to be self-centered and become God-centered. This leads
to a complete change in our attitude towards life. We no longer spend all
our time wondering what life has to give us; we begin to ask ourselves
whether we are lifting our share of the world's burden, whether we are
adequately filling our place in the cosmic organism. We have ceased to be
solitary individuals, struggling to maintain ourselves in a hostile world,
our hand against every man and every man's hand against us; we have become
brothers to the stars and sisters to the elements. All things are working
with us to the common end - the manifestation of Life in its fulness. No
longer are we struggling, solitary; we are sweeping onwards in a great tide
of life, gathering momentum as we go.

"Our change of attitude has led to our being caught up in the great tide
setting Godward, a tide
'Too full for sound or foam,
When that which draws from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.'"

Dion Fortune was born Violet Mary Firth on December 6, 1890. Her childhood
religious background was somewhat vague, although her parents had been
briefly involved in Christian Science. (DF later commented that she felt
Mrs. Eddy had uncovered some valid mental principles, but had erred in
trying to turn it into a religion.)

As a young woman, she developed an interest in the new field of psychology,
and became a Freudian lay analyst. She also began to frequent the London
branch of the Theosophical Society, as it was near her office, and had a
good cafeteria. Her interest in spiritual subjects increased when a
psychological client was plagued by poltergeist phenomena, and was unable to
be helped by conventional science. The problem was cured by an esoteric
teacher named Dr. Theodore Moriarty.

An internal crisis about the value of her psychological work was averted by
World War I, when she joined the Women's Land Army, and did agricultural
work, including a role in the development of cheese made from soy milk. The
quiet and solitary work gave her time for meditation, and her increasingly
intense inner experiences drove her back to the Theosophical Society.

Later in life, she stated that she was particularly moved by reading Annie
Besant's book, The Ancient Wisdom - and especially by the following passage:
"Still they (the Masters) teach eager pupils, showing the Path and guiding
the disciple's steps; still they may be reached by all who seek them,
bearing in their hands the sacrificial fire of love, of devotion, of
unselfish longing to know in order to serve; still they carry out the
ancient discipline, still unveil the ancient Mysteries."

After reading this passage, she was in an intense state for ten days, and
then had a powerful dream/vision, which was followed by a similar dream
about a month later, often condensed into one vision in later accounts. In
these dreams, she was walking down a long dark passage, and emerged into
sunlit room, which she recognized as the reading room of the Theosophical
Society library in Tavistock Square. Then the room opened in light, and she
found herself transported in high vision to the Himalayas. The first time,
there were three Masters, representing the Elemental/Nature mysteries, the
Hermetic mysteries, and the Devotional/Mystical mysteries. The second time,
only the Hermetic and Devotional Masters appeared - the latter identified as
Jesus Christ. Somewhat to young Violet's chagrin, she was accepted as a
pupil not by the Hermetic Master, but by the Christ! Years later, she
writes:

"When in the morning, I looked back upon that breathless adventure, seeking
to recover every detail of its memory, I found in my consciousness the
certain knowledge that I had been accepted as a pupil by the Masters. But
here is a curious point, for although the whole bent of my temperament was
towards the Master of Wisdom, I had been handed over to the Most Holy, the
Master of Compassion, and I was not at all happy about it. I wanted the pace
and driving power of the Most Wise; I felt myself to be strong, and wanted
to be worked to my full capacity. I was impatient with the patience of the
Master of Compassion; I thought it was a colorless service compared with
that of the Master of Wisdom, and there were many struggles before I would
submit myself to that gentle yet compelling force. I can see now why I was
placed under His guidance, and not given to the more intellectual type of
Master who was congenial to my temperament; it was in order that I might not
develop the powers of the mind with the faults of my character uneradicated.
Before I had gone very far with my training, however, I was grateful that my
Master was a Master of Compassion, Who would not quench smoking flax. I do
not know how the pupils of the Masters of Wisdom fare; I am sure I could
never have stood the training."

Violet began to recover knowledge of the mysteries from past lives, and
began to actively seek teachers in this life. She studied with the
Theosophical Society, with a Co-Masonic group run by Theodore Moriarty, with
Frederick Bligh Bond (known for his work at Glastonbury), and in 1919 she
joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It was in the Golden Dawn that
she took the magical motto, Deo Non Fortuna (God, Not Luck), which was also
the motto of her family's coat of arms. In later days, it became adapted as
a pen name, Dion Fortune.
After the death of Theodore Moriarty in 1923, Violet formed her own ritual
lodge along Co-Masonic lines. In 1925, she and her close co-worker C.T.
Loveday felt instructed to join the Christian Mystical Lodge of the
Theosophical Society, with Violet eventually becoming president of this
group. The Christian Mystical Lodge was a group of Theosophists with a
devotion to the Master Jesus, seeking initiation through him. Intense
conflict broke out between the Christian Mystical Lodge and the larger TS
over the Krishnamurti affair, and the Order of the Star in the East. Dion
Fortune pressed Bishop Pigott of the Liberal Catholic Church, over whether
the LCC had any place for Jesus, or was a vehicle for Maitreya through
Krishnamurti. She insisted to Bishop Pigott that, at least for us in the
West, "the Master of Masters is Jesus Christ." As a result of these
conflicts, DF resigned as president of the Christian Mystical Lodge in
October 1928 - but two of her closest co-workers (Charles Loveday and Ernest
Butler - himself an LCC priest) continued to lecture for the Christian
Mystical Lodge for the remaining years of its existence.

DF's resignation of office in the Christian Mystical Lodge precipitated the
formation of the "Community of the Inner Light." Going through various
slight name changes over the years, it is now the "Society of the Inner
Light". DF served faithfully and energetically within the SIL for the rest
of her life. Her appreciation for the work of Blavatsky and Besant never
wavered, and she continued to recommend their books to her students. There
was also considerable crossover between the SIL and the TS, Ernest Butler
being perhaps the most famous example of someone with a full foot in each
camp. Around Christmas 1945, she grew ill, and died of leukemia on January
6, 1946, aged only 56.
The SIL has continued to the present day, but has chosen to remain a small
organization, limited to its lodge in London. However, many of its initiates
have gone onward to form other groups built on similar principles - William
Gray, Ernest Butler, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Alan Adams, Gareth Knight,
and so on.

DF's inner work is a topic for a lengthy class, not a one night
introduction. Perhaps the most helpful point to bring out in this
introduction is the triadic nature of the work. Much like her early dream of
the 3 adepts, she believed all balanced inner work needed development along
at least 3 rays (out of the usual 7). She herself worked with a particular
triad of rays, corresponding to the three "Logoic Aspects" - Love, Power,
and Wisdom:

1. The Hermetic Ray of occult wisdom. Originally called the Blue Ray; later
often called the Orange Ray. Seen in books like The Mystical Qabalah and The
Cosmic Doctrine.

2. The Orphic Ray of nature and elemental power; usually called the Green
Ray. Seen in DF's Isis Rituals and the Chant of the Elements. Also in many
of her novels, such as The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic.

3. The Mystic ray of loving devotion, usually called the Purple Ray. Seen in
the Guild of the Master Jesus (later renamed The Church of the Graal), an
SIL subgroup which celebrated an esoteric version of the mass. Also in books
like Mystical Meditations on the Collects. The upmost point of the triangle,
where the other two rays are integrated.

Dion Fortune is often presented along just one of these angles - as a great
qabalist (hermetic ray), or a forerunner of contemporary neopaganism (green
ray). (Less frequently as a devout though unorthodox christian of the purple
ray, although she certainly was such!) I believe she would want her work to
be appreciated along all three lines. Focusing only on one of the three
aspects of her work is to miss the full picture, and (if one believes she
was correct) to risk unbalanced inner development.

For those who wish to explore further, the best biography (which is also a
fine introduction to the themes of her inner work) is Dion Fortune & The
Inner Light, by Gareth Knight. Also worth reading, although more uneven, is
The Story of Dion Fortune by Carr Collins and Charles Fielding. Both books
are in print in paperback from Thoth Publications.

In closing, a few more words from an address by Dion Fortune:
"The way of service has been desired; the way of service lies open. Follow
the steps as already discerned; they lead to a wider path.
The Masters need those who can stand up before them, and before the world,
and interpret them to the world by speech and by their lives.
If you elect to follow the Path and serve the Masters, you elect to forego
the pleasures of the personality. Before the door of the Temple stands the
altar of sacrifice. It is the path by which many have gone, and by which
many will go, and if you tread it aright, it will be easier for those who
come after you.
If you have to walk across a narrow place at a great height, you will do so
if you fix your eyes on the other side. Do not look down or think about the
depths; think of the heights.
Never think of what you are gaining; think of what you are giving. Remember
that when upon the Path, you forego the personality. The Enlightened call
such "the Homeless Ones". Are you willing to be homeless so that others may
find homes?
When the moon sets, the sun rises; and when the way seems dark to you,
remember that it shall be easier for those who come after you.
Many are now ready for the training and the way must be made open to them.
This concerns the way of those who seek the Path of Enlightenment."

Certainly, Violet Firth worked for a lifetime to make the Way easier for
those who came after her. May we be able to say the same.