Divine Feminine

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Divine Feminine divine feminine TheJohns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science 119th series (2001) 1.JoyDixon Divine Feminine: Theosophy and Feminism in England JOY DIXON DIVINE FEMININE Theosophy and Feminism in England TheJohns Hopkins University Press baltimore and london ᭧ 2001 TheJohns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2001 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 246897531 TheJohns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dixon, Joy, 1962– Divine feminine : theosophy and feminism in England / Joy Dixon. p. cm. — (The Johns Hopkins University studies in historical and political science 119th ser.) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8018-6499-2 (alk. paper) 1.Theosophical Society (Great Britain)—History. 2.Feminism—Religious aspects—Theosophical Society (Great Britain)—History of doctrines. 3.Feminism— England—History. I. Title. II. Series. BP573.F46 D59 2001 299Ј.934Ј0820941—dc21 00-009881 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Frontispiece: Lectures at the Leeds Lodge, Theosophical Society (Adyar Library and Research Centre) Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 part one domesticating the occult 1.The Undomesticated Occult 17 2.TheMahatmas in Clubland: Manliness and Scientific Spirituality 41 3.“ADeficiency of theMale Element”: Gendering Spiritual Experience 67 4.“Buggery and Humbuggery”: Sex, Magic, and Occult Authority 94 part two political alchemies 5.Occult Body Politics 121 6.The Divine Hermaphrodite and the Female Messiah: Feminism and Spirituality in the 1890s 152 7.ANewAgefor Women: Suffrage and the Sacred 177 8. Ancient Wisdom, Modern Motherhood 206 Conclusion 227 Notes 235 Works Cited 265 Index 285 Illustrations Lectures at the Leeds Lodge, TS frontispiece Thegroundbreaking ceremony at the TS London Headquarters in 1911 2 Artist’s sketch of the proposed TS Headquarters 9 H. P. Blavatsky 22 Annie Besant 58 Jiddu Krishnamurti 78 English Co-Masons 81 C. W. Leadbeater 97 “The Streams of Vitality,” from The Chakras, by C. W. Leadbeater 128 Septimus E. Scott, “The Dawn,” Bibby’s Annual, 1917 178 George Arundale and Rukmini Devi 221 Preface This project had its beginnings in a paper I wrote many years ago as a postgraduate at the University of Sussex. I was working on a study of representations of the women’s suffrage movement in the popular press, tracking down caricatures of the “shrieking sisterhood” in magazines like Punch and in comic novels. Much of what I found was predictable: the suffragette (according to the comic novelists at least) was a woman of a certain age, sexually frustrated, resolutely unfashionable, and pos- sibly hysterical. But there were other, more surprising elements in the picture: the typical suffragette was also (again according to the comic novelists) a vegetarian, an animal rights activist, and a devotee of the Higher Thought, Cosmic Consciousness, or the Masters of the Wis- dom. Turning to the classified advertisements in suffrage newspapers, I discovered a feminist culture that had been largely ignored by histori- ans. Central to that culture was a self-conscious attempt to create a feminist spirituality. There were advertisements for women’s spiritualist seances, lectures on the Divine Feminine, and prayer circles that met to offer intercessory prayer on behalf of women imprisoned for suffrage militancy. In the midst of all of this activity, one organization occupied aprominent place: the Theosophical Society, which had its headquar- ters in India and had been founded by one woman (Helena Petrovna Blavatsky) and led by another (Annie Besant). Since that discovery, I have been preoccupied with the effort to un- derstand the place of spirituality in general, and theosophy in particu- lar, in the English feminist movement. This book is the result of that preoccupation. Part I, “Domesticating the Occult,” traces the process by which both eastern mysticism and women’s spirituality were created and consoli- dated, focusing on the ways in which gendered understandings of east- ern spirituality were shaped by the contingencies of the historical moments in which they emerged. On the most obvious level, to domes- ticate is to tame, and there were many efforts to tame the power of the occult, to assimilate it into existing religious and scientific systems, or xi xii preface to force it to accommodate itself to class and social hierarchies. At the same time, “eastern” occultism was an exotic import—a product of colonial trade which arrived in England along with cashmere shawls and Benares ware. But to domesticate occultism was also to locate it in the home, to make it the peculiar province of women and a “femi- nine” spirituality. Theprocess of domestication was erratic. Chapter 1,“The Undo- mesticated Occult,” lays out the challenge that H. P. Blavatsky and her mysterious trans-Himalayan Mahatmas posed to those who wished to assimilate this new eastern wisdom into European culture, and espe- cially into the rational and masculine language of late Victorian sci- ence. It also explores the contradictions inherent in the founding of the Theosophical Society, which were never fully resolved. These contradic- tions were reflected in the differences between the two founders: Henry Steel Olcott, the organizer and practical man of business who envi- sioned the society as a kind of religious and philosophical debating club, versus Blavatsky, the mystic, occultist, and seer who emphasized the society’s function as a school of occult development and who bol- stered her claims with impressive displays of “phenomena.” The differ- ences between Blavatsky and Olcott were reflected in the society’s pecu- liar sense of its own mission: to proclaim publicly occult or esoteric truths, truths that by definition are secret, hidden, and known only to the initiated. After this early phase (which ended in 1885,whentheSocietyfor Psychical Research published a damning report on Blavatsky and her followers), members of the Theosophical Society turned to new strate- gies. Chapter 2,“TheMahatmas in Clubland: Manliness and Scientific Spirituality,” explores another effort to domesticate the occult, this time by distancing the society from scandal and sensation. During this period the Theosophical Society in England was dominated by upper- or upper- middle-class men; it was an eminently “clubable” creed. The Theosoph- ical Society in the 1880sand1890swas a quasi-public/quasi-private or- ganization in the tradition of more mainstream late Victorian voluntary associations. As such, it was dominated and controlled by respectable gentlemen who stamped their impress on the society and its teaching. These men emphasized theosophy’s scientific claims and its celebration of the “manly” virtues of rationality and independent judgment. There were various efforts to maintain this version of theosophy, as part of a public culture of rational discussion implicitly and explicitly defined as masculine, in the face of challenges from those who saw the- osophy as a feminine form of spirituality. This is the central theme of preface xiii Chapter 3,“‘A Deficiency of the Male Element’: Gendering Spiritual Experience.” With Annie Besant’s conversion to theosophy in 1889 the Theosophical Society gained a new public prominence. Over time, and particularly after Besant’s election as president in 1907,the character of the organization changed dramatically. Besant reanimated its Esoteric Section and demanded greater commitment and energy from members. Besant’s “neo-theosophy” was criticized both as feminine and as a sub- mission to “Oriental despotism,” and many of the respectable gentle- men who had formed the core constituency a generation earlier aban- doned the society during this period. In the end, the conflicting factions reached a modus vivendi on the basis of a sexual division of spiritual labor that distinguished between feminine modes of mystical experience and a more virile, magico- clerical occult tradition. But because the vision of gender relations on which these divisions were based was itself internally divided, the ver- sion of feminine spirituality that emerged was a contradictory one. The supposedly virile tradition of occultism also contained contradictions, and was in fact often stigmatized as effeminate. In the scandal that came to be known as the Leadbeater Case, the Theosophical Society’s leading occultist was accused of the sexual abuse of young boys in his charge. The occult tradition thus became entangled in explosive de- bates about sexuality—and especially male homosexuality. This is the subject of Chapter 4,“‘Buggery and Humbuggery’: Sex, Magic, and Occult Authority.” Part II, “Political Alchemies,” explores the role of these new visions of spirituality in feminist political culture in England. Like the utopian socialists a century earlier, many theosophists emphasized that political change needed to be accompanied by moral and ethical transformation. Just as the alchemists had attempted to turn lead into gold, theoso- phists attempted to spiritualize politics. Chapter 5,“Occult Body Poli- tics,” focuses on esoteric understandings of the body and their political implications. Theosophists—and particularly women within the Theo- sophical Society—drew on the immanentist teaching of the One Life to oppose liberal definitions of the distinctions between individual and community, secular
Recommended publications
  • Rider's Review
    OCCULT REVIEW A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE INVESTIGATION OF SUPER­ NORMAL PHENOMENA AND THE STUDY OP PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS E d i t e d b y RALPH SHIRLEY “ Nullius addictus jurare in verba magislri" Price Nin k pbn ce net ; poet free, T b n pen c e. Annual Subscription, N in e S h illin g s (Two Dollars twenty-five Cents). A merican A gents : The International News Company, 85 Duane Street, New York ; The Macoy Publishing Company, 45-49 John Street, New York ; The Western News Company, Chicago. Subscribers in India can obtain the Magazine from A. H. Wheeler A Co., 15 Elgin Road, Allahabad; Wheeler’s Building, Bombay; and#39 Strand, Calcutta; or from the Tkeosophisi Office, Adyar, Madras. All communications to the Editor should be addressed c/o the Publishers, William R id e r A Son, L td ., Cathedral House, Paternoster Row, London, E.C. 4. Contributors are specially requested to put their name and address, legibly written, on all manuscripts submitted. V o l . XXX. DECEMBER 1919 No. 6 NOTES OF THE MONTH IN a series of,very remarkable essays,* which are well described as “ outspoken,” the Dean of St. Paul’s grapples, from a very independent standpoint, with many problems of the present day, a number of which are, indeed, not related to one another, except ,, by the fact that they may, almost all of them, be „ designated as topical. Perhaps the only two not ' falling under this head are those dealing with Cardinal Newman and St. Paul. The two last essays of the book are certainly not likely to attract less attention than the remainder; though it may be questioned whether the Dean is not at his best in some of the others, notably on Our Present Discontents, on the Birth Rate, and on the Future of the English Race.
    [Show full text]
  • The Early Days of Theosophy in Europe by A.P
    The Early Days of Theosophy in Europe by A.P. Sinnett The Early Days of Theosphy in Europe by A.P. Sinnett Theosophical Publishing House Ltd, London, 1922 NOTE [Page 5] Mr. Sinnett's literary Executor in arranging for the publication this volume is prompted to add a few words of explanation. There is naturally some diffidence experienced in placing before the public a posthumous MSS of personal reminiscences dealing in various instances with people still living. It would, however, be impossible to use the editorial blue pencil without destroying the historical value of the MSS. Mr. Sinnett's position and associations with the Theosophical Society together with his standing as an author in the Theosophical movement alike demand that his last writing should be published, and it is left to each reader to form his own judgment as to the value of the book in the light of his own study of the questions involved. Page 1 The Early Days of Theosophy in Europe by A.P. Sinnett CHAPTER - 1 - NO record could truly be called a History of the Theosophical Society if it concerned itself merely with events taking shape on the physical plane of life. From the first such events have been the result of activities on a higher plane; of steps taken by the unseen Powers presiding over human evolution, whose existence was unknown in the outer world when their great undertaking — the Theosophical Movement — was originally set on foot. To those known in the outer world as the Founders of the Theosophical Society — Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott — the existence of these higher powers, The Brothers as they were called at first, was more or less imperfectly comprehended.
    [Show full text]
  • Occult Review V29 N3 Mar 1919
    OCCULT REVIEW A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE INVESTIGATION OF SOPER. NORMAL PHENOMENA AND THE 8TUDY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS E d i t e d b y RALPH SHIRLEY “ Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri” Price Nin bpen c b nkt ; post free, T enphnck. Annual Subscription, N inb S h illin gs (Two Dollars twenty-five Cents). A merican A g e n t s : The International News Company, 85 Duane Street. New York ; The Macoy Publishing Company, 45-49 John Street, New York ; The Curtiss Philosophic Book Co., Inc., 1731 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.; The Western News Company, Chicago. Subscribers in India can obtain the Magazine from A. H. Wheeler St Co., 15 Elgin Road, Allahabad ; Wheeler's Building, Bombay; and 39 Strand, Calcutta; or from the Theosophist Office. Adyar, Madras. All communications to the Editor should be addressed c/o the Publishers, William R id er St S on, L td ., Cathedral House, Paternoster Row, London, E.C. 4 Contributors are specially requested to put their name and address, legibly written, on all manuscripts submitted. V o l. XXIX. MARCH 1 9 1 9 No 3 NOTES OF THE MONTH AMONG all the men and women whom the world has classed under the general title of “ mystic,” not one certainly occupies so singular a position as Emanuel Swedenborg. If we decide to accept the world’s verdict—and it seems difficult to do other­ wise—and agree to call Swedenborg a mystic, we are confronted by the fact that we can find no parallel either to his personality or to his career, though we search the roll of the mystics of all the ages.
    [Show full text]
  • EOSOPHIST Official Organ O F the THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY in a M Erica
    THE AMERICAN ThEOSOPHIST Official Organ o f THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY in A m erica IN THIS ISSUE The Sense of Beauty S h r im a t i R u k m in i D evi The World’s Concert of Nations C a p t a in S idney R a n s o m The Music of the Universe D r. H . D o u g l as W ild Address to Members C a p t a in S idney R a n s o m SEPTEMBER * 1936 Under the Auspices of THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ADYAR To a Friend T LOVE YOU not only for what you are, but for what I I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of your­ self, but for what you are making me. I love you for that part of me you bring out. I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all the weak, foolish and frivo­ lous things you can’t help seeing there, and bringing out into the light all the beautiful radiant belongings which no one else has ever looked quite far enough to find. I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool and weakling in me, and for laying firm hold to the possibilities o f good in me. I love you for closing your ears to the discords in me and adding to the music in me by worshipful listening. I love you for helping me to make of the lumber of my life, not a tavern, but a temple, and of the words of my everyday life — not a reproach, but a song.
    [Show full text]
  • An Appreciation of Pamela Colman Smith, Creatrix of Modern Tarot
    An Appreciation of Pamela Colman Smith, Creatrix of Modern Tarot Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story edited by Stuart R. Kaplan, contributors: Mary K. Greer, Elizabeth Foley O’Connor, Melinda Boyd Parsons [U.S. Games Systems Inc., 9781572819122] Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story brings together the work of four distinguished scholars who have devoted years of research to uncover the life and artistic accomplishments of Pamela Colman Smith. Known to millions as the creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, Pamela Colman Smith (1878-1951) was also a stage and costume designer, folklorist, poet, author, illustrator of ballads and folktales, suffragette, and publisher of books and broadsheets. This collaborative work presents: a richly illustrated biography of Pamela's life with essays on the events and people that influenced her including Jack Yeats, Ellen Terry, Alfred Stieglitz, Bram Stoker and William Gillette. There is also a chronological survey of her folktales, art and poetry and an exploration of her lasting legacy. Over 400 color images of Pamela's non-tarot art have been curated from her publications including A Broad Sheet, The Green Sheaf, Blue Beard, Annancy stories, Russian ballet, costumes, stage designs, Irish magazines, book illustrations, posters and much more. This 440-page volume also includes: • Select pages including autographs with sketches and scribblings reproduced from Pamela s 1901 1905 Visitors book • Pamela s personal documents, correspondence, portraits, and photographs • Rare archival material from several leading museums and libraries • Extensive Bibliography of 525 entries and Index with over 2,000 listings Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story is the most comprehensive and exhaustive collection of works by and about Pamela Colman Smith published to date.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theosophical Quarterly
    The Theosophical Quarterly Subscription price, $1.00 per annum; single copies 25 cents Published by The Theosophical Society ^ at 64 Washington Mews, New York, N. Y. :r > 1* July; October; January; April Address all communications to P. O. Box 64, Station O, N ew York In Europe, single copies may be obtained from and subscriptions may be sent to John M. Watkins, 21 Cecil Court, Charing Cross Road, London, W. C. 2, England; or to Mr. E. H. Lincoln, 9 Beaconsfield Road, Low Fell, Gateshead-on-Tyne, England, from whom all back numbers may be obtained. Annual subscription price, 6s., postpaid. CONTENTS OF VOL. XXVIII, NO. 1 July, 1930 PAGE NOTES AND CO M M EN TS......................................................................... 5 FR AG M EN TS................................................................................................... 13 THEOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLES IN THE PLANT WORLD .......... 14 W AR MEMORIES, V III............................................................................... 25 HIGHER EDUCATION, A New T ranslation..................................... 34 THOUGHTS OF A NEW MEMBER ....................................................... 43 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT AND KALI YUGA .............. 45 BRIHAD ARANYAKA UPANISHAD, Part IV, Section 4 .................. 58 ON TH E SCREEN OF T IM E .................................................................... 64 T. S. ACTIVITIES: Convention Report; Letters of Greeting . 73 R E V IE W S.........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2016, Volume 12, Number 3
    Fall 2016, Volume 12, Number 3 The Esoteric Quarterly An independent publication dedicated to the trans-disciplinary investigation of the esoteric spiritual tradition. ______________________________________________________________________ Esoteric philosophy and its applications to individual and group service and the expansion of human consciousness. Washington, DC, USA. www.esotericquarterly.com e-mail: [email protected] The Esoteric Quarterly The Esoteric Quarterly is an online, peer-reviewed, international journal, published by The Esoteric Quarterly Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Washington, DC. It is registered as an online journal with the National Serials Data Program of the Library of Congress. International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) 1551-3874. Further information about The Esoteric Quarterly, including guidelines for the submission of articles and review procedures, can be found at http://www.esotericquarterly.com. All corres- pondence should be addressed to [email protected] Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief: Donna M. Brown (United States) Editor Emeritus: John F. Nash (United States) Alison Deadman (United States) Celeste Jamerson (United States) Katherine O'Brien (New Zealand) Miguel Malagreca (Italy) Facebook Administrator Miguel Malagreca (Italy) Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2016. All rights reserved. Copies of the complete journal or articles contained therein may be made for personal use on condition that copyright statements are included. Commercial use or redistribution without the permission of The Esoteric Quarterly is strictly prohibited. Note that the copyright volumes 1 thru 8 copyright remain with the School for Esoteric Studies. Fall 2016 The Esoteric Quarterly Contents Volume 12, Number 3. Fall 2016 __________________________________________________________________________ FEATURES Editorial 4 Publication Policies 5 Letters to the Editor 6 Poems of the Quarter 11 “The Last Incarnation” and “Arahat,” by Adam A.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of Occult and Fantastic Beliefs Vol.4: S - Z
    Bruno Antonio Buike, editor / undercover-collective „Paul Smith“, alias University of Melbourne, Australia Bibliography of Occult and Fantastic Beliefs vol.4: S - Z © Neuss / Germany: Bruno Buike 2017 Buike Music and Science [email protected] BBWV E30 Bruno Antonio Buike, editor / undercover-collective „Paul Smith“, alias University of Melbourne, Australia Bibliography of Occult and Fantastic Beliefs - vol.4: S - Z Neuss: Bruno Buike 2017 CONTENT Vol. 1 A-D 273 p. Vol. 2 E-K 271 p. Vol. 3 L-R 263 p. Vol. 4 S-Z 239 p. Appr. 21.000 title entries - total 1046 p. ---xxx--- 1. Dies ist ein wissenschaftliches Projekt ohne kommerzielle Interessen. 2. Wer finanzielle Forderungen gegen dieses Projekt erhebt, dessen Beitrag und Name werden in der nächsten Auflage gelöscht. 3. Das Projekt wurde gefördert von der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Sozialamt Neuss. 4. Rechtschreibfehler zu unterlassen, konnte ich meinem Computer trotz jahrelanger Versuche nicht beibringen. Im Gegenteil: Das Biest fügt immer wieder neue Fehler ein, wo vorher keine waren! 1. This is a scientific project without commercial interests, that is not in bookstores, but free in Internet. 2. Financial and legal claims against this project, will result in the contribution and the name of contributor in the next edition canceled. 3. This project has been sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany, Department for Social Benefits, city of Neuss. 4. Correct spelling and orthography is subject of a constant fight between me and my computer – AND THE SOFTWARE in use – and normally the other side is the winning party! Editor`s note – Vorwort des Herausgebers preface 1 ENGLISH SHORT PREFACE „Paul Smith“ is a FAKE-IDENTY behind which very probably is a COLLCETIVE of writers and researchers, using a more RATIONAL and SOBER approach towards the complex of Rennes-le-Chateau and to related complex of „Priory of Sion“ (Prieure de Sion of Pierre Plantard, Geradrd de Sede, Phlippe de Cherisey, Jean-Luc Chaumeil and others).
    [Show full text]
  • The Theosophist
    THE THEOSOPHIST VOL. 133 NO. 3 DECEMBER 2011 CONTENTS On the Watch-Tower 3 Surendra Narayan Buddhi 6 I. K. Taimni Freedom of Thought: Is It Essential? 8 Linda Oliveira Indian Systems of Philosophy — Samkhya Darsana 15 Bhupendra R. Vora A Word to the Student 21 N. Sri Ram A Philosophic Look at the Organization 23 N. C. Ramanujachary Tread the Path — the Theosophical Way 25 R. Revathy Fragments of the Ageless Wisdom 30 To Service the Whole Universe is Yoked 31 T. K. Nair Convention Programme 36 International Directory 38 Editor: Mrs Radha Burnier NOTE: Articles for publication in The Theosophist should be sent to the Editorial Office. Cover Picture: Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor), Adyar — Dr T. P. Alaganantham Official organ of the President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky, 1879. The Theosophical Society is responsible only for official notices appearing in this magazine. 1 THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY Founded 17 November 1875 President: Mrs Radha Burnier Vice-President: Mrs Linda Oliveira Secretary: Mrs Kusum Satapathy Treasurer: Miss Keshwar Dastur Headquarters: ADYAR, CHENNAI (MADRAS) 600 020, INDIA Secretary: [email protected] Treasury: [email protected] Adyar Library and Research Centre: [email protected] Theosophical Publishing House: [email protected] & [email protected] Fax: (+91-44) 2490-1399 Editorial Office: [email protected] Website: http://www.ts-adyar.org The Theosophical Society is composed of students, belonging to any religion in the world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society’s Objects, by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill, whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truths and to share the results of their studies with others.
    [Show full text]
  • Theosophical Accounts in Japanese Buddhist Publications of the Late Nineteenth Century an Introduction and Select Bibliography **
    Akai Toshio* Theosophical Accounts in Japanese Buddhist Publications of the Late Nineteenth Century An Introduction and Select Bibliography ** 1. Introduction 1.1. Th e purpose of this article Th e 1880s were the years when serious interest in the Th eosophical Society rapidly grew among Buddhist reformers in Japan. Th e spread of their attention is evidenced by the abundance of reports on the Th eosophical movement then written for Buddhist publications. Judith Snodgrass’ analytical review in Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West (2003) schematizes the political climate of the age, when Buddhism was driven into a tight corner by the expansion of Christianity and the nationalization of Shintō. Ingeniously she visualizes the trajectory the Japanese Buddhist reform movement followed, from the excessive expectations to “white Buddhists,” to the utter disappointment with Th eosophy as a movement worthy of making an alliance with. Th e present article aims to supplement her scheme by presenting a select bibliography of the Th eosophical accounts recorded in Buddhist publications of the late nineteenth century in Japan, and thereby to present an outline of the Japanese Buddhist journals issued by reformers with an interest in Th eosophy. 1.2. Th ree agents of transmission for Japanese Buddhists Traceable from the accounts recorded in those journals is that Buddhist reformers in their genesis relied heavily on three sources who transmitted information about Buddhist activities taking place overseas to Japan, each of whom pursued their own interest. Th e fi rst agent was the Th eosophical Society, the second was Herman Vetterling, also known as Philangi Dasa, and the third Condor Pfoundes.
    [Show full text]
  • Queen of Tarot Transcript
    1 You’re listening to imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief. I’m Eric Molinsky. SUSAN: All right. So first thing I do when I do a tarot reading is I like to shuffle the cards. And as I do that, I ask you to let go of looking for answers and just ask for guidance. That is Susan Wands. She’s an author and a tarot card expert, although she uses the European pronunciation, ta-ROW. I had never had a tarot or ta-row reading before. I was both skeptical and nervous. On one hand I didn’t really believe but on the other hand I believed to the point that I was worried she would tell me something awful was about to happen me. But it was actually more like a therapy session with the cards doing the talking. SUSAN: Okay. This is the hermit. So this means that the work and the place that you come from has all been self-initiated, is that you build your world according to your own ideas of how the world should be. (FADE UNDER) Now I didn’t meet with Susan to get a tarot card reading, it just happened at the end of the interview. I came to Susan’s home to talk with her about the person who designed those cards. She was using what’s commonly known as the Rider-Waite deck from 1909. Rider was the publisher. Waite was the author. But a lot of tarot card experts prefer to call it the Smith-Waite deck, playing homage to the woman who illustrated the cards, Pamela Colman Smith.
    [Show full text]
  • Women Writing Decadence European Perspectives, 1880-1920
    CONFERENCE PROGRAMME WOMEN WRITING DECADENCE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES, 1880-1920 7-8 JULY 2018 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD Organised by: Katharina Herold (Oxford) Leire Barrera-Medrano (Birkbeck, London) SATURDAY 7 JULY 9:00 - 9:30 AM REGISTRATION 9:30 - 9:45 AM WELCOME REMARKS 9:45 - 11:00 AM KEYNOTE 1 Professor Melanie Hawthorne (Texas A&M University) 'Renée Vivien and Transnational Sapphism' 11:00 - 11:30 AM COFFEE BREAK 11:30 - 13:00 AM PARALLEL PANELS A. DISLOCATING DECADENCE Alex Murray (Queen's University Belfast) Decadent Daffodils: Michael Field and Alice Meynell Revising Romanticism Ellis Hanson (Cornell University) Virgile, Non? Lesbian Guides through Decadent Underworlds Sondeep Kandola (Liverpool John Moores University) 'Who’s Afraid of Vernon Lee?' From Decadence to Neo-Victorian Decadence in Vernon Lee’s Hauntings (1890) and Melissa Pritchard’s Palmerino (2014) B. WRITING THE SELF Lena Magnone (University of Warsaw) First female psychoanalysts and their 'poetic mothers' Anna Ready (Oxford University Press) A ‘Hysterical Woman’? Sophie Gaudier-Brzeska as a Trilingual Writer Joseph Thorne (Liverpool John Moores University) Recovering Mabel Beardsley: Female Dandy and Life-Writer SATURDAY 7 JULY 1:00 - 2:00 PM LUNCH 2:00 - 3:20 PM PARALLEL PANELS C. COSMOPOLITAN AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES Jad Adams (School of Advanced Study, University of London) Looking North – 1890s Women and Scandinavia Susana Bardavío Estevan (University of Burgos) Rethinking Decadence through Emilia Pardo Bazán: La Sirena Negra Tina O’Toole (University of Limerick) George Egerton’s Irish Decadence D. IRONY AND PARADOXES Pirjo Lyytikäinen (University of Helsinki) Willful Performances in the Jungle of Decadent Paradoxes: the Agonies of a Decadent Femme Fatale in L.Onerva’s Mirdja Viola Parente-Čapková (University of Turku) Decadent New Woman’s Ironic Subversions Jean-Paul Socard Une Décadente by Georges de Peyrebrune: A Defence of Anti-decadence 3:20 - 3:50 PM COFFEE BREAK SATURDAY 7 JULY 3:50 - 5:10 PM PARALLEL PANELS E.
    [Show full text]