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The Occult Exhibition curator Richard Overell, Rare Books Librarian. Thanks to John Williams, Basilisk Bookshop, and Kerry Kulkens Magic Shop for allowing us to display various items as indicated in the text. Keith Richmond is an editor of both Aleister Crowley and Rosaleen Norton, and has just completed a biography of Aleister Crowley's Australian disciple, Frank Bennett.
Illustration from Item 2. Human responses to the mysteries of existence, and our attempts to gain some control over our environment, lives (and possibly afterlives) have been myriad. Indeed these have been so varied that the general terms we use to categorise them: religion, philosophy, mysticism, science etc. frequently prove inadequate when applied to specifics. Perhaps the vaguest - yet most widely used of these terms - is 'the occult.' In its common usage this phrase covers a diversity of beliefs and practices, ranging from humble forms of divination such as tea-leaf reading and cartomancy, through necromancy and witchcraft, to the highly sophisticated practices of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, whose (mostly Anglophone) members were expected to have a least a basic familiarity with Greek, Latin and Hebrew, not to mention mathematics and other 'conventional' sciences. So great is the variety of 'occultisms,' that it is often difficult to find any connecting link between these traditions. The word is derived from the Latin, occullere, to cover over, to hide, or conceal, and all occult belief systems lay claim to some esoteric or hidden knowledge, but so too do many religions and mystical and philosophical systems, which are not defined as 'occult'. It is also clear - at least as far as those 'occult systems' with their own complex cosmologies are concerned - that what might be perceived by an outsider as "occultism", is to the practitioner quite possibly religion. This difference of perception serves to underline the only definite link that can clearly be demonstrated between these disparate 'occultisms': all were (or are) belief systems which existed (or exist) either on the margins of, or altogether outside, the mainstream religious or philosophical orthodoxies of the cultures in which they evolved. The myriad of systems and practices thus covered obviously posed many difficulties in mounting an exhibition such as this, and at best it can only offer a superficial glance at an abundant if largely-unknown literature. For this reason it has been decided to limit the books displayed to those dealing with 'Western' occultism, from the seventeenth century onwards. While it goes without saying that many of these traditions have either been drawn from or are rooted in the varying belief systems of 'the East' and antiquity, the practicalities of limited exhibition space preclude any examination of them in the present context. Some will doubtless wonder just what a bastion of scholarship such as a University library is doing with books of this nature, to which the reply must simply be that the 'occultisms' have shaped the world-view of a great many people, and as such they simply cannot be ignored. It would be easy to underestimate the effect of the occult on our society. Virtually anyone from an English-speaking or European background will know their astrological birth sign, and even the 'quality press' finds space for horoscopes. There are numerous references to the occult in popular culture. A few of the more obvious ones: a shaven-headed Aleister Crowley stares grimly from amongst the portraits of the 'hundred people that we like' on the cover of The Beatles "Sergeant Pepper's" album; David Bowie wrote of being 'dressed in the imagery of the Golden Dawn'; the Rolling Stones sang of their 'sympathy with the devil'; whilst numerous contemporary 'Death Metal' bands pledge their allegiance to a medley of 'Dark Gods.' Allusions to the occult in print are too many and obvious to bear listing, and one needs only to look at the phenomenal (some would say alarming) success of the television series 'The X Files', to ascertain something of the current level of popular fascination with the subject. This, of course, is not simply a modern phenomenon. In the late nineteenth century Australians welcomed Theosophy and Spiritualism with a zeal surpassing that of most other nations, and during the First World War local interest in the occult reached such a level that for nearly two years one Sydney newspaper was able to run a column in which it satirised a different occult group (and sometimes a number of them) every week. It would also be a mistake to think - as many do - that the occult is the sole preserve of the powerless and uneducated, and therefore of little importance in the shaping of world events. Hitler, and a number of key figures in the Nazi party, had a strong interest in astrology - to the extent that one of the many propaganda ploys considered by British Intelligence involved the preparation and dissemination in Germany of specially prepared horoscopes. At least one Australian Prime Minister - Alfred Deakin - was deeply involved with Spiritualism, an aspect of his life that has been examined in the excellent study by Monash historian, John Rickard. Various members of the British Royal family have also been known to exhibit more than a passing interest in astrology; and needless to say, the list goes on..... The membership ledgers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn read almost like a Who's Who of British artistic circles of the time, and includes Lady Wilde, Florence Farr, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, W.B. Yeats and Annie Hornimann (of Abbey theatre fame). During his lifetime the adherents of Aleister Crowley included a Professor of Mathematics, a bevy of poets, a British Army Captain who rose to the rank of Major-General, and - unlikely as it may seem - Jack Parsons, an American astrophysicist, whose part in the development of rocket technology was significant enough for a crater on the moon (Parson's Crater) to named after him. Like it or not, there can be no doubt that belief in one or other manifestations of the occult has played - and continues to play - a significant part in the lives of many people, and this exhibition will provide an unusual opportunity for the not-so-involved to view some of the books on which these beliefs are founded. Keith Richmond Witchcraft Witchcraft has fascinated the human race since the earliest times. Every civilisation seems to have had witches, sibyls and soothsayers. Many references are found in the histories of Egypt and Rome. The references are usually to women with supernatural powers. These powers seem to centre upon the ability to concoct potions from herbs and other arcane ingredients and to use spells. Using such powers for good was an acceptable part of most societies, but the potential for evil has disturbed the relationship of society to the supposed witch. In England during Tudor times, there was a fear of witchcraft being used as a means to political power; this was the main reason behind the passing of Acts against the practice under Henry VIII and Elizabeth. There has always been a religious dimension to witchcraft. Given an agreement among the populace at any particular time that witches have powers, where do they derive their powers from? Is it a remnant of the pagan religions? This is the tradition which modern witchcraft tends to support with their references to the Druidic Wicca beliefs. The more usual line of reasoning assumes that the witches are given their powers in a covenant with the devil. This was why so many witches were executed during the Inquisition by the Catholic Church, and at around the same time by the Calvinists and other Protestant groups. 1. Del Rio, Martin Antoine, 1551-1608. Disqvisitionum magicarvm libri sex : in tres tomos partiti/ auctore Martino Delrio. (Mogvntiae [i.e. Mainz] : Apud Ioannem Albinvm, 1603) (fol.) Martin Del Rio was a Jesuit who taught divinity and belles-lettres in various towns in the Low Countries. He was a friend of Lipsius. The Disquisitionum magicarum was first published in 1599. It consists of a compilation of references to magical practices collected from the Bible and elsewhere. 2. Boulton, Richard, (1676 or 7- 1724?) 3. Boulton, Richard, (1676 or 7 - 1724?) Richard Boulton was a physician who wrote a number of books on such topics as the "heat of the blood", the muscles, the plague, gout and the King's Evil. He seems not to have had a successful practice and compiled an abridgment of Boyle's works in order to support himself and escape "the misfortunes still attending him.". He is of interest to us as the author of books supporting the belief in witchcraft at a time when the learned world was rejecting such beliefs. James I had written his Daemonologie (1597) to refute Reginald Scot's assertion in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584) that there is no such thing as witchcraft. Scot was more than one hundred years ahead of his time. The Puritans persecuted witches during their time on power, and even after the Restoration in 1660, such intellectuals as Sir Matthew Hale and Sir Thomas Browne continued to act upon the belief that people had such powers and were using them for evil. Hale tried and condemned two women at Bury St. Edmunds in 1664, partly on Browne's evidence. Chief Justice North was perhaps the first highly-placed official to expose the absurdity of such charges. The last trial in England was that of Jane Wenham convicted at Hereford in 1712, but not executed. Boulton's Compleat History appeared anonymously at about this time (1715-1716). He presents a compendium of case studies of witches and their activities, including lengthy extracts from trials and confessions, including, in volume two, many from the Salem trials in New England. His avowed purpose was to provide "a full confutation of all the arguments that heve ever been produced against the belief of apparitions, witches, &c." A rebuttal of Boulton's work appeared, Francis Hutchinson's Historical essay concerning witchcraft, originally published London, 1718, 2nd ed. published London, 1720. It was in response to this that Boulton published another volume, The possibility and reality of magick, sorcery, and witchcraft, demonstrated, or, A vindication of A compleat history of magick, sorcery and witchcraft : in answer to Dr. Hutchinson's Historical essay. (London : printed for J. Roberts, 1722)
4. Robison, John, 1739-1805. Although not strictly a book about witchcraft, this work demonstrates the threat felt by society when faced with groups of citizens who belong to secret organisations and lay claim to arcane knowledge. Umberto Eco in his novel Foucault's Pendulum writes about circles of illuminati such as Robison describes. Robison was a well-respected mathematician, scientist and free-mason. He had taken part in the rituals of freemasonry both on the continent and in Scotland, and detected a great difference in the zeal and fanaticism of the masons on the continent. He describes the secret inner organisations of "illuminati" and argues that they are highly intelligent men who practise the dark arts in pursuit of covert power.
5. Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir, 1857-1934 Amulets are charms worn for luck or to ward off evil spirits. Budge was the Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum. He published extensively on a variety of subjects to do with early Egypt, but the book on display draws together material from all of the early Middle Eastern civilisations.
6. Godwin, William, 1756-1836.
Necromancy, or "negromancy", is the art of predicting the future by communication with the dead. It is a term used to refer in general to magical practices. Godwin's book includes a chapter on the historical Macbeth and his relations with the "weird sisters"; and also a chapter on John Dee (1527-1608), perhaps the most famous English necromancer. Dee was an astrologer and mathematician who gained a reputation as a sorcerer by his invention of a mechanical beetle used in a production of Aristophanes' Peace. Queen Mary imprisoned him under suspicion of compassing her death by magic. Perhaps as a result of this, Edward VI and Elizabeth showed him considerable favour. He claimed to have found the philosophers stone, and had a crystal which supposedly allowed him to confer with angels, but he suffered much prejudice from his reputation as a necromancer, and died in poverty.
7.
Institoris, Heinrich, d. 1508.
8. Guazzo, Francesco Maria.
Demoniality / Lodovico Maria Sinistrari ; translated from the Latin with an introduction and notes by Montague Summers. (London : Fortune Press, [1927]) "Published from the original Latin manuscript discovered in London in the year 1872, and translated into French by Isidore Liseux."
10. Remy, Nicolas, 1530 (ca.)-1612.
"Drawn from the capital trials of 900 persons ... who within the last fifteen years have in Lorraine paid the penalty of death for the crime of witchcraft." Montague Summers, (1880-1948) was a very industrious scholar-priest who edited a large number of Restoration plays, and also many of the source documents for the study of witchcraft. Those reprinted here are mostly from the period of persecution by the Inquisition in Europe.
11. Waite, Arthur Edward, 1857-1942.
A. E. Waite is perhaps now best-remembered for his Tarot designs. The Waite pack is certainly the most popular and recognisable. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, but spent most of his life in England. He published extensively on mysticism and the occult; freemasonry, the Kabbalah, and the Holy Grail being some of his areas of interest. The book on display is one of the key works in the revival of modern witchcraft, as it collects and reprints many of the rituals used in occult practices, including a chapter on "The mysteries of infernal evocation".
12. Grillot de Givry, 1870-1929.
This is a French work similar to Waite's. It includes chapters on "The evocation of demons" and "Pacts with demons", as well as a chapter on "Philtres and death-spells". Here is a spell "to gain the love of a girl or woman", While touching the girl's hand with yours you must say the following words: "Bestarberto corrumpit viscera ejus mulieris." (p. 190) A footnote tells us, "Bestarberto entices the inward parts of the woman."
13. Culling, Louis T.
The "Secret Order of the G.*.B.*.G.*." is the "Great Brotherhood of God". This group claims descent from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Aleister Crowley's A.*.A.*. Culling claims in this book to have reduced "the mind-bewildering mass of Magick material derived through the Golden Dawn and Crowley ... to the efficient and essential curriculum offered here as a true "Short Cut to Initiation." Culling tells us that "the purpose of this Initiation, of all magick, is to attain to the Knowledge and Conversation of One's Holy Guardian Angel - one's true Inner Self." Among the chapters we find one on "The three degrees of SEX MAGICK", and another on "Conversation with a God." 14, Magician's ceremonial dagger. Apparently eighteenth century German in origin, it was later used by one of the members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for ritual pratice. (Private Collection) 15. Bronze Incense Burner/oil lamp in the shape of the head of Pan. Pan is a deity popular with witches and other occultists. Believed to be a 1970s copy of an earlier piece. (On loan from The Basilisk Bookshop). 16. Tibetan Kapala - mid twentieth century. The carved cranium of a human skull, set in silver. Originally used in Buddhist tantric practice, such pieces were also popular with some Western occultists because of their necromantic associations. (Private Collection) 17. Skull and snake design silver-mix inkwell. 1920s. A piece of 1920s kitsch, of no specific occult significance but nonetheless the type of object that often found favour amongst occultist on account of its necromantic overtones. (On loan from The Basilisk Bookshop). 18. Pan figure candelabra. As a figure associated with lusty paganism, Pan was a popular motif in the arts of the 1920s (see for example his frequent appearance in the works of Norman Lindsay). This bronze candelabra is probably a 1920s design, though possibly of more recent manufacture. (Private Collection) 19. Pair of brass candlesticks. These show Lincoln, the witches imp. (On loan from Kerry Kulkens' Magic Shop) 20. Crystal ball. (On loan from Kerry Kulkens' Magic Shop)
21. Ouija Board, and planchette. (On loan from Kerry Kulkens' Magic Shop) Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley was without doubt one of the most influential occult practitioners of the this century. Born in Warwickshire in 1875, he soon rebelled against the strict Christian-fundamentalist upbringing of his Plymouth Brethren family. In 1898 he left Cambridge University without taking a degree, and in the same year published his first book of poetry. It was also the year in which he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a group given to the practice of ceremonial magic whose membership include the poet W.B. Yeats and a number of other literary, thespian, and artistic luminaries of the time. In the years that followed Crowley indulged in travel and adventure, wrote and published a large number of poems and some plays, and resigned from the then strife-torn Golden Dawn. In 1904 whilst holidaying in Cairo, he and his wife Rose performed a magical ritual which culminated in the reception, by dictation from a 'praeter-human intelligence' of an extraordinary document called The Book of the Law. In short this document announced the commencement of a 'new aeon,' for which Crowley was to be the prophet. By his own account Crowley initially rejected The Book of the Law and its implications, but was eventually won over, and devoted himself to the spread of its teachings. The fundamental tenet of The Book of the Law is expressed in the statement 'The word of the Law is ' [Thelema] - being the Greek word for 'will.' The actual meaning of this is expanded upon in a number of passages, finding its simplest expression in the command 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.' Crowley often asserted that this apparently Rabelaisian injunction was not the sanction to licence that it might at first appear, and instead relied on the term 'will' being interpreted in a manner reminiscent of its use by Fichte and Schopenhauer. By this definition 'will' could be described as a unique inspired purpose that lies within every individual, and to act in accord with one's 'will' was 'to find the way of life that is compatible with your innermost desires and live it to the full.' Crowley revised many of the magical teachings of the Golden Dawn in line with the doctrines of The Book of the Law, and took them as the basis for his own occult group, the A..A.., whose physical organisation he commenced in 1907. In 1912 he assumed leadership of the British branch of a German fringe-Masonic group, the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.: Order of Eastern Templars), which he also infused with his own beliefs and theories. After spending the war-years in America, Crowley returned to Europe, eventually finding his way to Cefalu in Sicily, where he founded his 'Abbey of Thelema.' This was visited by a small number of converts from throughout the world, including Frank Bennett, then head of the O.T.O. in Australia. By this time Crowley's unorthodox beliefs and activities - which included the use of sex and drugs in occult ritual - had been the subject of considerable hostile and sensational comment in the press, and as a consequence he was expelled from Italy in 1923. After wandering, often near-destitute, from country to country for a number of years, he returned to more or less permanent residence in England in 1929. He continued to attract a small number of followers to his magic and 'law of Thelema,' and it was they who generally underwrote the costs of his often lavish publications. During the Second World War he moved to a boarding house in Hastings, and it was there that he died in 1947. Throughout his life Crowley wrote prodigiously, publishing well over 100 books and pamphlets. Although best known now for his occult writings, Crowley considered himself to be a great poet - once commenting (not entirely with tongue in cheek) - what a strange coincidence it was that the county of his birth, 'should have given England her two greatest poets - for one must not forget Shakespeare.' Perhaps appropriately, both Crowley's first and last published works were volumes of poetry. This case contains a number of early works of poetry by Crowley: 22. The Tale of Archais: A Romance in Verse / by a Gentleman of the University of Cambridge. (London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1898) Crowley was a devotee both of pseudonyms and also of word play, both of which show in his choice of nom-de-plume for his second published book, The Tale of Archais. This is attributed to 'a Gentleman of the University of Cambridge,' presumably in homage to Shelley, who had work published as 'a Gentleman of the University of Oxford.' 23. Jephthah And Other Mysteries : Lyrical And Dramatic. (London : Kegan Paul, 1899) This copy is signed by the author, and has a typed letter, signed, from Crowley to an acquaintance, Felix White, tipped in. Like The Tale of Archais, Jephthah And Other Mysteries, with its simple 'holland-backed' binding and paper label on the spine, shows the influence that the book-design of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press (particularly their famous edition of Chaucer) had on Crowley. 24. Ahab, and Other Poems / by Aleister Crowley: with an introduction and epilogue by Count Vladimir Svareff. (London: Privately printed at the Chiswick Press, 1903) William Morris's typography as well as his bindings appealed to Crowley, and when he commissioned the Chiswick Press to print Ahab, and Other Poems he specified that it should be printed in a Morris typeface: Caxton Antique. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Count Vladimir Svareff who contributed the epilogue was none other than Crowley himself.
25. The Argonauts.
26. The Star & the Garter.
Unfortunately for Crowley his own high regard for his books was not widely shared, and the Kegan-Paul ledgers for 1903 reveal that despite sending out nearly half the print run of Jephthah And Other Mysteries as review copies (82 copies of 200 printed) only ten copies had been sold in nearly four years since its publication. Consequently Crowley decided to try marketing his works himself, and set up his own imprint, the Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth (SPRT), its name a none-too-subtle 'dig' at the long-established Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK). The Argonauts, was the first work to appear under the SPRT imprint. Crowley also bought up unsold sheets of earlier works, such as The Star & the Garter (London, Watts & Co., 1903) and had them issued with a cancel-title page bearing the SPRT imprint. Despite the advent of the SPRT Crowley continued to publish books under other imprints, or, to have them privately printed. Some examples of these include: 27. Mortadello, or, The angel of Venice : a Comedy. (London : Wieland, 1912) 28. The Winged Beetle. ([London]: Privately printed, 1910) Not all Crowley's poetry was as sumptuously produced as these early works, and throughout his life he also produced a number of booklets or broadsheets of varying qualities. Because of their ephemeral nature these are amongst the scarcest of his works: 29. The Creed of the Thelemites [California: about 1940] 30. The City of God. (London : O.T.O., 1943) 31. The Fun of the Fair (Barstow, Cal., U.S.A. : O.T.O., 1942) 32. Hymn to Pan. ([Canada: about 1940]) 33. England, Stand Fast! (London : OTO, 1939) 34. La Gauloise (London, 1942) Alongside his more conventional poetic interests, Crowley also amused himself by writing pornographic verse, which not surprisingly had to be anonymously and clandestinely printed to escape prosecution. 35. Snowdrops from a Curate's Garden / Aleister Crowley; edited with a prolegomenon by Martin P. Starr. (Chicago : Teitan Press, 1986) 36. Clouds Without Water: Edited From A Private M.S. / by C. Verey [pseud of Aleister Crowley] (London : Privately printed for circulation among ministers of religion, 1909) Snowdrops from a Curate's Garden is renowned as perhaps the most indecent of these works, guilty not only of obscenity but also lèse majesté (on account of a particularly lewd story in verse concerning Queen Victoria, the Horse Guard, and their horses). It was originally printed in 1904 in an edition of 100 copies, but very few were distributed, and the remainder are said to have been seized and destroyed by H.M. Customs in 1926. The copy on display is the 1986 Teitan Press edition: the only reprint to date. Far less explicit, but nonetheless replete with erotic undertones, was Clouds Without Water which, like the original edition of Snowdrops from a Curate's Garden was (secretly) printed by Renouard of Paris. This book too, was not without controversy, as an acrostic on page xxi revealed the identity of a young woman whose relationship with Crowley it described in none-too-flattering terms. It was Kathleen Bruce - wife of the explorer Robert Falcon Scott - who apparently divorced her as a consequence. The injunction on the title page, that the book was 'Privately printed for circulation among ministers of religion,' was yet another example of Crowleyan humour It is of course the Magical Works that are at the core of the Crowley canon. Some of these include: 37. 777 vel prolegomena symbolica ad systemam ceptico-mysticae viae explicandae, fundamentum ieroglyphicum sanctissimorum scientiae summae. (London, Walter Scott Publishing Co., 1909) First published in this limited edition of 500 copies, this was essentially a lexicon of Qabalistic correspondences. The Qabalah - from the Hebrew word QBL meaning 'an oral tradition' - is one of the mystical branches of Judaism. By the late nineteenth century it had been adapted by many non-Jewish European occultists, and the Qabalistic Tree of Life was commonly used by members of the Golden Dawn and Crowley as a matrix on which to establish and explore the hidden links which shape the universe and all within it. 777 became something of a standard reference work for occultists, and, with its many reprintings, is perhaps the best-selling of all Crowley's works. 38. The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King : translated into the English Tongue by a Dead Hand and Adorned with Divers Other Matters Germane Delightful To the Wise / the Whole Edited, Verified, Introduced and Commented by Aleister Crowley. (Boleskine, Foyers, Inverness : Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth, 1904) According to Crowley 'Goetia' literally means 'howling' but is used 'to cover all the operations of that Magick which deals with gross, malignant, and unenlightened forces.' The Goetia is the first section of a famous medieval grimoire called The Lesser Key of Solomon the King, which gave detailed accounts of the nature of the various demons and other entities encountered in the practice of ritual magic and necromancy. The 'dead hand,' in the title is a snide reference to the translator: Crowley's former mentor in the Golden Dawn, Samuel L. Mathers, with whom he had had a major falling out. This copy is of particular interest as it has the bookplate, signature and annotations of William George Barron, an associate of Crowley's in the 1920s who incidentally fathered a child by Leah Hirsig, Crowley's 'Scarlet Woman' of the time. 39. The Book of Thoth : a Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians, being the Equinox, Volume III, no. 5 by the Master Therion ; artist executant: Frieda Harris. Published by O.T.O., 1944 (London: Chiswick Press) Crowley's major work on the tarot, was remarkable not least for its unusually handsome production at a time when - due to wartime paper restrictions - most British books were shoddy in the extreme. For the printing of The Book of Thoth Crowley had returned to the Chiswick Press, who somehow managed to unearth a stock of pre-war Arnold unbleached handmade paper. Seemingly rather oddly the Board of Trade had much more stringent restrictions on the use of paper for new books than it did for periodicals, and the fact that Crowley designated the volume as part of The Equinox series, coupled with the origin of the paper enabled him to produce such a lavish publication in a time of austerity. The book was bound in half (sometimes quarter) morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, and issued in an edition of 200 signed copies. The contents of The Book of Thoth clearly owe much to the tarot teachings of the Golden Dawn, although Crowley made a number of innovations: most notably changing the order of two of the trumps in accord with instructions contained in The Book of the Law. The volume is illustrated in colour and black and white with tarot designs executed by Lady Frieda Harris under instructions from Crowley. 40. Thoth Tarot Cards. This tarot pack was designed by Aleister Crowley in conjunction with Lady Frieda Harris. (On loan from The Basilisk Bookshop).
41. Eight Lectures on Yoga / by Mahatma Guru Sri Paramahansa Shivaji
Subtitled 'Yoga for Yahoos,' commonly acknowledged - even by Crowley's detractors - as one of the most lucid and humorous works written by a Westerner on the theory and practice of Yoga.
42. The Equinox, Vol. 1, Nos. 1 - 10 The Equinox took its name from its time of publication, for issues of the first (ten volume) series were published twice annually, at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. It contained an eclectic mixture of plays, poems, stories, book reviews, and magical and mystical books of instruction, including (against the express wishes of the Order's founders) many of the rituals of the Golden Dawn. It also contained the second (and only widely available) appearance in print of The Book of the Law, the first having been included in a work entitled which had an extremely limited print run. In an astonishing display of literary fecundity Crowley himself wrote fully two-thirds of the contents of The Equinox, in the process employing a number of pseudonyms, over sixty of which are listed in an appendix at the rear of No. X.
43. Book 4: Part I / by Frater Perdurabo 44. Book 4: Part II / by Frater Perdurabo 45. Book 4: Part III, Magick in Theory and Practice / by The Master Therion
46. Book 4: Part III, Magick in Theory and Practice / by The Master Therion
To Crowley the design of a book itself could be of magical or talismanic significance, an idea clearly visible in his magickal magnum opus Book Four. Advertised as a 'treatise on magic and mysticism for beginners,' Part I was to deal with mysticism and meditation, Part II with the theory of magic, Part III with its practice, and Part IV with The Book of the Law. The first two parts were intended by Crowley to measure four inches by four inches [they didn't quite make it, but were at least square, retaining the idea of four equal sides] and were priced 'as a function of four;' Part I at 'four groats' (one shilling), and Part II at 'four tanners' (two shillings). The advent of the First World War, and changes in Crowley's circumstances meant that some sixteen years were to elapse between the publication of Parts II and III, by which time Crowley seems to have opted to let practical considerations override the talismanic rather than risk yet more delays. By then (1929) he had been thoroughly demonised by the British 'yellow' press, and having been unable to find a local printer willing to undertake the production of Part III gave the work to the Lecram Press in Paris, ordering a print run of 3000 copies. An unknown number of this first edition - which had as its main title Magick in Theory and Practice - were issued in red wrappers, in four fascicules, thereby continuing the theme of four. Crowley, however, was not satisfied with the published work, for he found the colours of the plate quite wrong and (for reasons unknown) took exception to the wrappers. He therefore ordered that the remaining copies (perhaps 90% of the print run) have the plate removed and be rebound as a single volume in cloth. Book 4, Part IV, did not appear in Crowley's lifetime, although most of the works which he intended to include in it appeared in a number of other volumes. These, and the first three Parts, were posthumously collected, and published in a large single-volume edition by Weiser in 1994.
47. The Diary of a Drug Fiend. (London: Collins, 1922). Sensational as its title might be, the novel The Diary of a Drug Fiend is not only quite innocuous but even rather moralistic in its approach to the subject of drugs. Written with amazing rapidity as a 'pot-boiler' by Crowley during a time of extreme impecunity, it tells the story of a dissolute and spiritually lost young man who visits a remote community led by a charismatic magician who puts him back on track and cures him of his drug addiction. The setting is clearly an idealised portrait of Crowley's Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu, and the magician, Crowley himself. Sadly the reality of the situation was more than a little different, for a number of visitors (including the novelist Mary Butts and Crowley's Australian disciple Frank Bennett) did not lose but rather acquired drug habits during their stay at Cefalu, and Crowley himself battled with heroin addiction throughout his later life. Despite persistent rumours to that effect, the book was never banned and even ran to a second impression (of which this is an example) although it was no bestseller and did not produce the financial windfall Crowley had hoped for. Two other volumes of Crowley's fiction were published in the following decade, Moonchild, a novel about the creation of a homunculus, and The Stratagem, a collection of short stories. Both of these (along with Crowley's autohagiography The Confessions) were published by the Mandrake Press, a London publishing company, run by the Australian P. R. Stephensen. Stephensen felt considerable sympathy for Crowley on account of the smear campaign which had been carried out against him, and with the help of Crowley and his then-secretary Israel Regardie wrote a defence entitled The Legend of Aleister Crowley, also published by the Mandrake Press in 1930.
48. Moonchild : a Prologue.
49. The Stratagem and Other Stories. 50. Stephensen, P. R., The Legend of Aleister Crowley Despite - some might say because of - the magical nature of his books, Crowley was plagued by 'publishers' gremlins' throughout his life. Three examples (of many possible) are shown here. One appears in Crowley's book Konx om Pax, where a passage of Chinese characters were printed upside down. 'Upside down. Damn Jacobi' [manager of the Chiswick Press] Crowley scrawled furiously in the margin of his own copy. The other appeared on the cover of Olla, an anthology of Crowley's poetry which was to be the last book published during his lifetime. This time it was the binders, not the printers who were at fault, for in a mistake overflowing with symbolism they managed to invert the 'sigil of the Beast' stamped in gilt on the upper board! As if these indignities were not enough, the gremlins even followed him to his grave, ensuring that an incorrect date of birth (October 18th instead of October 12th) appeared in The Last Ritual; the order of his funeral service!
51. Konx om Pax
52. Olla: An Anthology of Sixty Years of Song. (London: O.T.O., [1946]) 53. Candle holder with moon figure. This item was originally in the possession of Aleister Crowley. (Private Collection)
Wall Cases Without doubt the most famous Australian occultist was Rosaleen Norton, the New Zealand-born artist whose occult interests and bohemian lifestyle earned her the title the 'Witch of Kings Cross,' and made her the regular subject of popular press attention throughout the nineteen forties to sixties. Born in Dunedin, on October 2, l9l7, Norton moved with her family to Sydney in 1924, where they established themselves in the solidly middle-class suburb of Lindfield. Norton did well at school and went on to study at the art school of East Sydney Technical College. Even in her youth she took a strong interest in the macabre (though not necessarily the occult) which was reflected both in her artwork and literary endeavours. In December 1933, whilst still at East Sydney 'Tech,' she submitted the first of three short stories to Smith's Weekly. These Lovecraftian tales drew the admiring attention of the editor, Frank Marien, who marvelled at the author's 'vivid imagination' that was 'quite beyond the ordinary.' Marien published the stories in Smith's in 1934 (they have since been republished as Three Macabre Stories), and offered Norton a cadetship. Already experiencing difficulties at the 'Tech' as a consequence both of her bizarre themes and refusal to comply with the curriculum, Norton cheerfully accepted Marien's offer, although Marien soon dismissed her for reasons almost identical to those that had caused her troubles at the 'Tech.' For the next few years Norton was happy to drift, hitch-hiking around Australia with her boyfriend (and later husband) Beresford Conroy, and supporting herself with a variety of jobs from pavement artist to waitress. Returning to Sydney she stayed for a while in the picturesquely named 'Buggery Barn,' an artist's enclave near The Rocks, before moving to Kings Cross where she based herself for most of the rest of her life. There she devoted herself to her own art, taking casual work as an artist's model to cover the bills; and attending many artists' balls and parties. Despite some retrospective posturing (including claims to have been a practising occultist since childhood) it was not until the early nineteen forties that Norton began to actively involve herself with the occult. Her early influences were mainly Eastern and Theosophical, although above all she valued the writings of Carl Jung, and for some time regarded herself as more of a Jungian than a mystic or occultist. Slowly, however, she became increasingly interested in the Western esoteric tradition, studying and practising the Qabalah and Ritual Magic, and making use of a wide variety of texts: particularly those by Aleister Crowley, 'Papus,' Eliphas Levi, and Dion Fortune. She became an active proponent of 'sex-magic,' and also made regular use of a variety of drugs (chiefly 'speed') in her ceremonies. These ritual practices were allied to a cosmology that was distinctly her own, but which drew much from ancient mythology as outlined in Fraser's The Golden Bough (which was a favourite book), Theosophy and the Qabalah. Whilst prepared to acknowledge her work as a model, the art world in Australia was generally far from responsive to Norton's art, and she found it all but impossible to have work accepted by any serious galleries. Indeed throughout the 1930s - and much of the rest of her life - the only places where she was able to display her pictures were the walls of the bohemian clubs and cafés that then dotted the Kings Cross area. The advent of a small, unpretentious literary journal, Pertinent, which reproduced a number of her pictures in various issues, at least brought some attention to her art and probably helped secure her one 'real' show of the war years, that held at Pakie's Club, in June 1943. The exhibition was considered quite newsworthy, although virtually all reports were sensational, focussing on the occult and erotic elements which pervaded her works rather than their actual artistry. The experience of the exhibition made a lasting impression on Norton, and was probably a crucial step towards the development of the 'witch' persona that became her trademark in later years, for she learned that by playing up to the press, and hinting at the mysterious occult practices, she could generate the attention usually denied her. Aside from the odd appearance in journal articles, little of Norton's work was published in the 1940s, although she did provide the frontis piece for Dulcie Deamer's The Silver Branch, and cover art for a small publication called Kings Cross Calling. Late in 1945 Norton took part in the 'Ten Sydney Artists' Exhibition,' in Adelaide, but it was not until 1949 that she was to get a major show of her own. In the interim she had separated from her husband and taken up with a young poet named Gavin Greenlees. The show, in the gallery of Melbourne University's Rowden-White library, opened on August l, l949, and received considerable press coverage, most of which again dwelt on the extraordinary subject matter of Norton's works, her bohemian lifestyle and occult interests. It also attracted the attention of the Vice Squad, who seized four pictures: 'Witches' Sabbat,' 'Lucifer,' 'Triumph,' and 'Individuation' and charged Norton with having exhibited obscene articles, the first prosecution of its kind in Victoria undertaken against a woman. Although Norton eventually won the case, with the magistrate taking the unusual step of awarding punitive costs against the police, the resultant publicity was disastrous for the show, which closed quietly with no chance of extension and few paintings sold. Although initially Norton had done everything to encourage the press to take an interest in her, she now became increasingly exasperated with their attentions, and in particular with their ceaseless fascination with her occult interests. She tried hard to debunk the growing number of rumours that she was some sort of 'witch,' but only succeeded in fuelling speculation. Tired, disgruntled, with few paintings sold and no chance of extending the exhibition, she and Greenlees returned to a life of poverty in Sydney. Two years later, Norton and Greenlees were picked up in a police crackdown on undesirables, arrested and charged with vagrancy. Their arrest rated a small column in the Sydney Morning Herald where it was read by Walter Glover, an ex-army man making a living as a freelance publisher. Glover felt it outrageous that two 'youngsters' should face the threat of prison simply for being unemployed, and at the same time sensed a business opportunity. He approached the pair to see if they would be interested in working for him, and from this unlikely genesis evolved the book The Art of Rosaleen Norton, which Glover published in September of 1952. The Art of Rosaleen Norton, was essentially a selection of black and white reproductions of Norton's works, accompanied by the poems of Gavin Greenlees. All involved were aware that the occult symbolism, religious satire and bizarre nudes which filled Norton's work were likely to attract adverse attention, and Glover was probably hoping for a little controversy to stimulate sales. None, however, anticipated the strength and vehemence of the reaction. The day after the distribution of the first copies, the Sunday Sun published a large article with the dramatic headline, 'Witches, demons on rampage in weird Sydney sex book,' and the calls for the book to be banned commenced. Firstly Glover received notification from the Post-Master General that his department had judged the book obscene and he was therefore prohibited from sending copies of it through the post. Then State police issued summonses charging Glover with publishing and selling an obscene book, and the printers, Tonecraft Pty. Ltd, for having printed it. Glover pleaded 'not guilty' to both charges, and a long series of court hearings began. On February 5, 1953, Mr. Solling, S.M., ruled that two of Rosaleen Norton's drawings -'The Adversary' and 'Fohat' - were 'obscene and an offence to chastity and delicacy' and Glover was fined five pounds plus costs for having sold the book. The other charge - of publishing the book - was later withdrawn. Tonecraft, who had pleaded guilty to having printed the book, were fined the token sum of one pound. Although Glover announced his intention to lodge an appeal, he was thwarted by lack of funds. A Customs ban on the book followed, giving The Art of Rosaleen Norton the doubtful honour of being the only Australian art book ever to suffer such a prohibition (an attempt to outlaw the Norman Lindsay number of Art in Australia in 1930 having failed). The mechanics of the local prosecution were such that Glover was not prohibited altogether from selling the book; legal advice suggested that all he had to do was black out the offending pictures. He subsequently emasculated some of the copies by running a roller dipped in printers' ink over the two offending plates, completely obliterating them and thereby fulfilling the legal requirements, whilst none-too-subtly drawing attention to the fruits of censorship. Glover's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful though as he was still barred from distributing the volume through the post and no-one was particularly keen to buy mutilated copies of a book tarred with the brush of 'obscenity.' Glover's attempts to sell overseas rights to the book met with a similar lack of success, and it was rejected by a series of European and British publishers on grounds of its alleged indecency. The publication of The Art of Rosaleen Norton proved disastrous for all concerned, with the stress proving too much for Greenlees, who suffered a series of nervous breakdowns. Unable to sell the books in which he had invested so much time and money, the affair brought financial ruin to Walter Glover, who drifted into bankruptcy. Ironically, among his assets taken over by the government receiver were the rights to the supposedly obscene book. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s press revelations about Norton's 'black magic' activities and decadence continued to excite and titillate the public. In 1955 they made the front pages of Sydney dailies, when police claimed that a New Zealand girl they had arrested had told them that she had suffered all sorts of degradation and misery at the hands of Norton and her 'coven.' The allegations, which the girl subsequently denied ever having made, convinced many worthy Australians that Norton was truly a depraved and evil individual. Shortly thereafter a pair of petty criminals sought to capitalise on this by stealing and attempting to sell a number of photographs, which apparently showed Norton and Greenlees engaged in a variety of occult and sexual activities. On the strength of these the couple were arrested by the Vice Squad, and charged with having 'assisted in the making an indecent photograph' and committing an 'unnatural offence.' Virtually simultaneously other police raided the Kashmir Café - then exhibiting some of Norton's paintings - and charged the owner under the Obscene Publications Act with exhibiting 'lewd, lustful and erotic works.' More charges, and a series of highly publicised court cases followed, during which Greenlees experienced further mental collapse, eventually being confined to an institution. Friends suffered too, and it is now known that the conductor Sir Eugene Goossens' association with Norton was one of the key factors which led to his persecution, prosecution and downfall. For her part Norton was firmly typecast as an eccentric curiosity, the 'Kings Cross Witch' who dabbled in weird and smutty artworks. It was to prove a pervasive image, one which destroyed forever any slender chance she may once have had of gaining recognition as a serious artist.
Unable to reach a wider audience and forced to find some sort of income, Norton had to rely on selling her paintings to friends, acquaintances and the occasional interested outsider. Finding it impossible to rid herself of the image of 'Witch' she accepted the inevitable, and played on it, posing for photographs in caricature 'witches garb,' and selling interviews spiced with unlikely and often tongue-in-cheek claims to a breathless press. She died on December 5, 1979, at the age of sixty-two, having spent the last few years of her life as a semi-recluse.
54. Deamer, Dulcie, The Silver Branch, (Edwards & Shaw, Sydney, 1948). A book of poetry by Rosaleen Norton's friend, the Sydney writer Dulcie Deamer. Published in a limited edition of 250 signed and numbered copies, the book featured a dustwrapper design by Norman Lindsay and frontispiece by Rosaleen Norton.
55. Pertinent,
Vol.1, No. 3, October-November, 1941, Vol. 1, No. 4, November 1941, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 1941.
56. Brewster, H.C. & Luther, V.,
57. Brewster, H.C. & Luther, V.,
Kings Cross Calling, 2nd Edition, With cover design by and text references to Rosaleen Norton. The cover design of the (larger format) first edition of Kings Cross Calling aroused so much public curiosity, that when the second edition was published the authors had Norton add a small note explaining its symbolism. 58. Norton, Rosaleen, & Greenlees, Gavin, The Art of Rosaleen Norton. (Walter Glover, Sydney, 1952). The first edition of The Art of Rosaleen Norton was banned in N.S.W. on the grounds of obscenity in 1953. Despite the stated limitation of 1000 copies, the publisher claimed that only 100 copies were distributed, some of which had two of the plates ('The Adversary' and 'Fohat') blacked out to meet with censorship requirements. This copy has not been thus censored and includes a page of the original typescript, with manuscript alterations by Rosaleen Norton, which shows a number of differences from the published text.
59. Zohar, Attila [Holledge, James], 'Behind the glittering panorama of strip joints and all male shows the Cross has another facade .... mysterious sinister, that ensnares the unwary into Satanic seances and the depraved orgies of black magic. Frenzied sex rites take place which stun and horrify.' A mass-market and generally breathless account of alleged 'Black Magic' practices in 'the Cross,' which included a surprisingly well-researched and balanced chapter on Rosaleen Norton.
60. Norton, Rosaleen, & Greenlees, Gavin,
The Art of Rosaleen Norton. This second edition reproduces the material in the original 1952 printing, along with new introductions and a colour insert.
61. Norton, Rosaleen. 62. Drury, Nevill. Pan's Daughter: The Strange World of Rosaleen Norton. (Collins, Sydney, 1988). A biography with particular emphasis on Norton's occult activities. 63. Moir, Richard, Kings Cross Witch, (The Author, Melbourne, 1994). A memoir by a friend of Norton's in the sixties. Limited to 250 signed and numbered copies. 64. Norton, Rosaleen.
Three Macabre Stories. Three stories by Norton at the age of sixteen and originally published in Smith's Weekly in 1934. The style owes something to that of H. P. Lovecraft. Hand printed and bound in an edition of 150 copies, with a frontispiece portrait of a previously unpublished photograph of Norton. 65. Baranay, Inez. Pagan. (A&R, Sydney, 1990). A novel based loosely on the scandal which arose from the association between Eugene Goossens and Rosaleen Norton.
66. "Here's Rosaleen: guess who's with her.
67. "A warning to Australia. Devil Worship Here!" in Australasian Post, 6 Oct., 1955, p. 3-5. As the witch of Kings Cross, Rosaleen Norton was always good copy for such publications as Australasian Post and Truth. 68. Rosaleen Norton, Pastel, N.D. [circa 1950] 'Behemoth.' (Private Collection). 69. Rosaleen Norton, Pastel, N.D. [circa 1950] 'SS Township of Swanhallowstone' (On loan from The Basilisk Bookshop). 70. Rosaleen Norton, Drawing, N.D. [circa 1943] 'Woman with Spider.' (Private Collection). 71. Rosaleen Norton, Pastel, N.D. [circa 1950] 'Demon.' (On loan from The Basilisk Bookshop)
Spiritualism Spiritualism is the term used to describe communication with spirits from the other side of the grave. Belief in spirits is as old as mankind. Most religions include a belief in spirits such as devils or angels, and in the spirits of the dead. Early references abound. We have four examples on display. John Aubrey's Miscellanies (1696) includes descriptions of spirit phenomena; Andrew Moreton (i.e. Daniel Defoe) offers The Secrets of the Invisible World Disclos'd (1738); the Count de Gabalis' Diverting History (1714) describes "the Rosicrucian doctrine of spirits, viz., sylphs salamanders, gnomes, and daemons", later used by Pope in his "Rape of the Lock"; and one of Swedenborg's works True Christian religion, (1781). The modern Spiritualist movement arose in the United States in 1848. A family named Fox at Hydeville in the state of New York were disturbed over a long period by knockings and the movement of furniture. This of course is not altogether uncommon, the "Cock Lane ghost" investigated by Dr. Johnson in the 18th century involved similar happenings and was found to be false. However, in the Hydeville case, the Fox family children, two young girls, were pronounced to be mediums. They put certain questions to the spirit and, after matching raps to letters of the alphabet, were able to spell out replies. This became a news sensation, and soon other mediums were being reported in America. The interest in spiritualism spread to England and the continent, where such people as Elizabeth Barrett Browning became devotees. Her husband Robert Browning was unimpressed and wrote one of his dramatic monologues, "Mr. Sludge the Medium" debunking mediums. Later, one of the Fox girls, now Mrs. Jencken, revealed that the noises in the original Hydeville rappings were caused by her cracking her knees. There was always a great deal of controversy surrounding the movement. Undoubtedly it involved many rogues adept at conjuring such phenomena as "ectoplasm", but there were many investigations by respectable and apparently rational people such as scientists and lawyers which failed to uncover instances of fraud. Essentially it is a matter of belief, and of faith. Many sought comfort in spiritualism as a means of assuaging the grief felt at the death of a loved one. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to be firm believer after the death of his son the First World War. His friend, Harry Houdini, was just as firmly a debunker. He was able to detect the many tricks used by unscrupulous mediums to hoodwink the gullible.
Flat Case 1
72. Aubrey, John, 1626-1697.
Miscellanies, : viz. I. Day-fatality. II. Local-fatality. III. Ostenta ... XXI.
Aubrey is now best-remembered as the author of Brief Lives, a collection of short biographical accounts of his contemporaries, but the only book he published in his life-time was his Miscellanies. This includes observations on a wide variety of matters which he found worthy of note. Aubrey gathered his information in the spirit of scientific research as it was then understood by the enthusiastic amateurs of the Royal Society, of which he was one of the founding members. Perhaps the best-known spirit observation in this book is the following, Anno. 1670, not far from Cyrencester, was an apparition: Being demanded, whether a good Spirit, or a bad? returned no answer, but disappeared with a curious Perfume and a most melodious Twang. Mr. W. Lilly believes it was a farie. (p. 67) William Lilly was the almanac-maker, a friend of Aubrey's.
73. Villars, abbe de (Nicolas-Pierre-Henri), 1635-1673.
This work is most famous as the source used by Pope for his mock-heroic poem, "The Rape of the Lock". It was first published in French in 1670. It purports to describe the spirits which the Rosicrucians or Illuminati can command to do their bidding. The book begins with an account of the Count de Gabalis, who, they just now write me Word is dead of an Apoplexy. The Virtuosi will not fail to say that that sort of Death is particular to those who blab abroad the Secrets of the Sages: For an Angel-Executor was never wanting to writhe the necks of those who indiscreetly reveal the Cabalistick Mysteries. (pp. 1-2) Fortunately the Abbe de Villars hastens to assure us that the Count had "discover'd everything to me", and he in turn reveals the details of the spirit world to us in this "diverting history".
74. Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731.
Andrew Moreton is here a pseudonym of Daniel Defoe. This work was first published in 1727 with title: An essay on the history and reality of apparitions. In this book Defoe offers us "sure rules to know, by their Manner of Appearing, if they are good or evil". He gives details of "the Nature of seeing Ghosts before, and after, Death: and how we should behave towards them." On the important point of our behaviour towards a spirit, Defoe counsels that we retain our composure. Fear is natural, especially if we feel guilty. He gives case studies. He tells us of an instance, quoted from Aubrey, of a man who died soon after a female spirit appeared to him. Now see the Consequence of Crime: the Sense of Guilt makes this Apparition dreadful to him; when it appear'd, he trembles, falls into convulsions, cries out, O, GOD! here she comes! and in a word, is in an Agony of horror and affright. Had he only conversed with the Lady as a common Acquaintance, had he neither been concern'd with her, or had done any dishonourable thing by her, he had natural Courage to have look'd the Devil in the Face, and boldly have ask'd what business she could have with him. (p. 194) Defoe gives another instance when the spirit, which shows itself to be evil, and is apparently the Devil himself, taxes a woman with various sins which she denies. The Devil then threatens her, You will be damn'd, says he, and I will take you away this minute. Thou canst not take me away without God's Permission, says she, and he will not give me into thy Hands; therefore touch me at thy Peril: and with that she fell down on her Knees, and cry'd, Lord, preserve me from the evil Spirit: with which the Devil left her, and walk'd off. (p. 196) 75. Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688-1772.
Swedenborg was born in Sweden and spent the first half of his life as a successful business man and scientist, but in the years 1743-44 he had a series of strange dreams and professed to have been given free access to the spirit world. He wrote many books describing the inspirations he received from beyond. He based his beliefs on the Bible, in particular the Apocalypse. He interpreted most of the Bible as allegory. He believed that he was the Prophet of a new form of Christianity, and that the current Christian churches came to an end in 1757 in which year he was allowed to witness the Last Judgment in the Spirit World. He professed to be in communication with many dead celebrities, and even with spirits of the dead from the moon and the other planets. He died in London. The Swedenborgian Church is still active in Britain and the United States. In his book, Sapientia Angelica (1764), translated as Angelic Wisdom, (1857 ed.), he gives details of many of the prophecies he received from spirits. He did not always encounter good spirits. At the end of this work he writes of evil spirits who had sought him out, Excuse my adding this relation to fill up the superfluous paper. Certain spirits, by permission, ascended from hell, and said to me, You have written a great deal from the Lord, write something also from us. I replied, What shall I write? They said, Write that every spirit, whether he be good or evil, is in his own delight, - the good in the delight of his good, and the evil in the delight of his evil. I asked them, What may you delight be? They said that it was the delight of committing adultery, stealing, defrauding, and lying. Again I asked, What is the nature of those delights? They replied, that they were perceived by others as stenches from excrement, putrid smells from dead bodies, and the effluvia of stagnant urine. I said, Are those things delightful to you? They replied, Most delightful. I said, Then you are like the unclean beasts which live in such filth. They answered, If we are, we are; but such things are the delights of our nostrils. I asked, What more shall I write from you? They said, Write this, that it is permitted every one to be in his own delight, even the most unclean, as it is called, provided it does not infest good spirits and angels; but as we could not do otherwise than infest them, we were driven out, and cast into hell, where we experience direful sufferings. I asked, Why did you infest the good? They replied that they could not do otherwise. It is as if a certain fury invaded us, when we saw any angel, and feel the divine spheres about him. I said, Then you are even like wild beasts. On hearing this, rage came upon them, which appeared like the fire of hatred; and to prevent them doing any mischief, they were remanded to hell. (pp. 339-340)
Flat Case 2
The Case For
76. Smedley, Edward, 1788-1836
This volume forms part of the Encyclopaedia metropolitana. 1st division. Pure sciences, no. 31. Among the chapters on "The ancients and their fables", "Oracles", "Witchcraft", it includes a chapter on "Modern Spirit Manifestations". Spiritualism seemed to promise the opening of a new dimension of scientific knowledge. It was hoped that communication with the supernatural realm could revolutionise our awareness of the laws of nature.
77. Webster, B.
Scepticism and spiritualism : the experiences of a sceptic / by the authoress of "Aurelia".
This anonymous work is attributed to Mrs. B. Webster. It begins with a poem, "To the Memory of my Beloved Husband". It appears that Mrs. Webster came to spiritualism as a way of keeping in touch with her late husband. This was often the case, and could be a powerful motive for anyone to lay aside their scepticism.
78. Epsilon.
Spiritualism in America / by Epsilon. "Epsilon" was a journalist who sent back reports on spiritualism in America for publication in the Melbourne daily newspaper, The Argus. In the Preface "Epsilon" states that he "entered upon the task of investigating the pretensions of Spiritualism with the intention of exposing their futility and absurdity". However, He soon concluded that he would be doing a greater service to the cause of Truth if he enabled the public to form an idea of the higher developments of Spiritualism, than if he followed in the wake of the run of newspaper writers, and satirised the humbug, quackery, and fraud which hang on to the borders and impede the march of the most extraordinary movement of our day. (p. [3]) "Epsilon" has no hesitation in proclaiming Spiritualism as a new religion. He is typical of the many Victorians who needed reassurance in their belief in an afterlife. It was a time when science and rationalism seemed to be undermining traditional religion based on faith. In the final article reprinted here we find a quotation from Davis' Philosophy of Spiritual Intercourse, And as the ancient pyramids have no place in the sacred affections, and are only objects of wonder in the present age, even so will modern systems of theology lose their influence upon the mind, and be known only as monuments indicating the death and burial place of imperfect forms of thought, to the intelligent interrogator in future generations. (p. 17) "Epsilon" seems very interested in the Spiritualists' information concerning the afterlife, communicated to them by the souls of the deceased. What sort of a place is the "Summer Land" where the spirits dwell, when not engaged in their labour of elevating the aspirations and assisting the noble endeavours of the best among mankind? ... This is how Theodore Parker, one of the most earnest religious teachers of this century, is said, through the mediumship of his friend Dr. Willis, to describe his awakening in the spirit world:- "What a beautiful day it was when my spirit freed from a suffering body, stood revealed in its strength and individual life! I know no feeling of earth that can express in fulness that sense of interior satisfaction. I was. I am. I shall be. Yes, for ever. I live. God is." (p. 17) 79. "Stranger than Fiction", by [Robert Bell], in Cornhill Magazine, vol. 2, 1860, pp. 211-224. Robert Bell was a prominent Victorian man-of-letters, who contributed widely to the periodical press of the time. In this article written for his friend Thackeray's Cornhill Magazine, Bell describes a typical seance of the period. As we saw from Epsilon's Preface, the usual approach taken by journalists was to hold spiritualism and its trappings up to ridicule, but Bell seemed convinced of the genuineness of the manifestations he witnessed. The seance was marked by the movement of tables and the rapping of the spirit in response to questions. Believers in Spiritualism felt sure that the phenomena they witnessed, although contrary to accepted scientific laws, were made possible through the agency of spirits from another realm. A somewhat similar attitude prevails today among people who believe in aliens.
80. Coates, James.
Photographing the invisible : practical studies in supernormal photography, script and other allied phenomena. New and rev. ed.
From the beginning of the spiritualist craze, attempts were made to verify the phenomena by photographing them. Among the manifestations recorded in this way were the ghostly spirits of the departed, sometimes only their faces, other times their bodies. Often these were wrapped in a veil, This of course led to claims of trickery, and there were instances of this which will be referred to later. Ectoplasm was another manifestation often photographed, although the term itself was not used until 1903 when it was first coined by a Frenchman. Coates's book also includes many photographs of mirror-writing and other scripts supposedly produced by the spirits. Some of the photographs reproduced here are of faces mysteriously produced on sheets of unexposed photographic paper left in sealed packets in the seance rooms.
81. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930.
Naturally from the first the movement had its detractors, particularly among the rationalists, but, despite the number of hoaxes revealed, a large number of believers retained their faith. As mentioned above, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was one of the most famous devotees. Many found this surprising in the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle came to Australia in 1926 on a visit to promote spiritualism. (see item 96)
Flat Case 3 The Case Against Attacks upon spiritualism came from its enemies among the rationalists and the Christian Churches. From the beginning the craze attracted many charlatans, and quickly became a notorious with journalists, and the public in general, for providing good stories involving frauds, and confidence tricksters. There was a strong tendency towards belief in many of the educated middle-classes who felt that science had robbed them of any comforting faith in an after-life. The practitioners themselves set up a British National Association of Spiritualists in 1873, in an attempt to regulate their industry, and in 1882 they formed the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). This was an attempt to rid Spiritualist circles of all mediums and their confederates who were guilty of fraud. To establish the genuineness or otherwise of spiritualist manifestations the SPR tried to use techniques based on scientific practices. One result of this was to cause a marked decline in the instances of spirit manifestations in the 1880s and 1890s. Some of the mediums who thought it advisable to leave England found their way to Australia where they were enthusiastically greeted by local devotees. There were instances of exposure in Australia, however. In Sydney in October 1894, a Mrs. Mellon was found impersonating the spirit of a black girl. She was exposed at a seance, on her knees, wearing a black mask.
Other illustrations of tricks used by mediums are also reproduced in the photographs on the screens.
82. Robinson, William E. Communication from the spirits sometimes took the form of messages on slates. These were often written automatically by the medium, or found spontaneously appearing on slates which had been sealed in some way. At times the words appeared as mirror-writing, i.e. back-to-front. Robinson tells us in his "Preface" that he had been brought up from childhood in the belief of spiritualism, but that, at the present writing he does not acknowledge the truth of its teachings, nevertheless he respects the feelings of those who are honest in their convictions. At the same time he confidently believes that all rational persons, spiritualists as well as others, will heartily indorse this endeavour to explain the methods of those who, under the mask of mediumship, and possessing all the artifices of the charlatan, victimise those seeking knowledge of their loved ones who have passed away. (p. iii) He shows how with the use of such things as graphite or slate pencil attached to the fingertip, and specially prepared slates, spirit slate-writing is obtained. He also reveals how levitation occurs with pulleys in darkened rooms, tables move in response to lifting by a medium wearing a leather cuff with a retractable hook, and electric signals are transmitted, sometimes by transmitters concealed in the medium's hair. 83. Maskelyne, John Nevil, 1839-1917.
Like Houdini, Maskelyne was a conjurer who specialised in exposing the tricks employed by mediums to produce their effects. This "yellowback" edition features on its cover, a female medium, pen in hand, presumably to take down some spirit writing, being buoyed aloft by three spirits, one of whom rides a bottle of spirits. It features in the back, an advertisement for performances at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, of Maskelyne and Cooke, the Royal Illusionists and Anti-Spiritualists, who have for years reproduced all the tricks of the Spirit Conjurers, still continue their exposé, and introduce the latest "Phenomenal developments", considerably improved. An original and unique entertainment. Daily at 3 and 8 o'clock. At these performances Maskelyne would perform such feats as levitation, but point out to the public that these tricks are part of the magician's art, not the result of spirit intervention. This was meant as a slight upon the noted medium, D. D. Home who claimed to be able to levitate through windows and thereby float from one room to another. Home had apparently done this before witnesses at one of his seances, but Maskelyne was able to show that he too could perform such things with no supernatural assistance. 84. "Spirits on their last legs" in All the Year Round, vol. 14, no. 327, 5 August 1865, p. 44-48. All the Year Round was one of Dickens's periodicals. It often carried articles critical of the spiritualists. This one begins with a reference to a dispute between the prominent society mediums, D. D. Home, and the Davenports. The journalist remarks that, spirit-rapping has come down to the level of fortune telling, with this difference, that the rappers have a weekly organ through which to communicate their names and addressees to the public; while the old woman with the dirty pack of cards is obliged to prowl about areas, or trust to her private and confidential connexion with the servant-maids. (p. 45) He then goes on to describe a seance which he had recently attended with two mediums, a Mr. and Mrs. Wallace. The manifestations consisted of table-rappings which the journalist detected as being produced by Mrs. Wallace. He then proceeded to copy her hand movements and was able to interject with rappings of his own. The table was described as having one central support with three legs, with the tiltings and the raps being produced by small variations in the pressure of the finger-tips on the table's surface.
85. Hastings, H. L. (Horace Lorenzo), 1831-1899.
86. Grant, Miles.
Many of the critics of spiritualism believed in the existence of spirits; the question which concerned them was, "where do these spirits come from?" The Catholic Church for example believed that the spirits were from Hell. Certainly the more impish, poltergeist-like spirits who were prone to throwing cutlery and breaking plates, seemed mischievous, and there were occasions when the medium would scream obscenities at the group of gentlemen and ladies at the seance. The established churches were inclined to believe that the communications from the spirits were attempts on the part of devils to mislead the faithful. It was another instance of the work of Satan and his followers who had been cast out of heaven but allowed to wander the earth, plotting our downfall.
Flat Case 4
88. Turner, Henry Gyles, 1831-1920.
89. Terry, W. H. (William Henry), 1836-1913.
Spiritualism became a craze in Australia during the 1860s and 1870s. In Melbourne in particular, many people in the literary set became involved. James Smith, a prominent man-of-letters was a promoter of spiritualism, while Henry Gyles Turner, an equally respected writer and editor of the time was opposed to the movement.
90. The Lyceum leader / compiled from the Lyceum
guide for the Melbourne Progressive Lyceum by the conductor. 2nd ed. W. H. Terry was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of spiritualism in Melbourne. He was a draper who found after attending seances that he had powers as a medium. He opened a spiritualist bookshop in Russell Street, and also worked as a "magnetic healer, and clairvoyant herbalist". He edited the Harbinger of Light, the main spiritualist journal, and founded the Melbourne Progressive Lyceum, the Spiritualist Sunday school for the children of spiritualists. The Lyceum Leader is based on the Lyceum guide, compiled by J.M. Peebles, J.O. Barrett and Emma Tuttle, (Boston : Adams, 1870). In his introduction, Terry refers to the founder of the spiritualist Lyceum, Andrew Jackson Davis, whilst in an illuminated state, saw one of these Summerland schools in session, and being impressed with its superiority over those prevailing here, wrote and published a Manual, and started the first Lyceum at New York in 1863. "Summerland" was the term which spiritualists used to refer to paradise, where the spirits dwelt in the afterlife. The book consists of poems for recitation and catechism questions. Apparently the second edition was called for because of demand generated by the opening of a Lyceum in Sydney. One of the "conductors" or teachers at the Progressive Lyceum was the young Alfred Deakin, later to become Prime Minister of Australia.
91. Denovan, W. D. C.
Along with W. H. Terry, William Denovan was one of the most notable figures associated with the spiritualist movement in late 19th century Melbourne. His Evidences of Spiritualism is the major work on the Australian spiritualists of the time. The chapters cover all the manifestations, from table-rapping through spirit photography, to manifestations, and culminating in "Man the Immortal". As mentioned above, Alfred Deakin was one of the early enthusiasts of spiritualism in Melbourne. Denovan mentions that Mrs. Paton, a medium "formerly of Castlemaine, but now of Melbourne" held a "most successful" seance "at the house of Mr. Deakin, South Yarra". (p. 262-263). Mrs. Paton is described by Denovan as "a private medium", who, he states, "is one of the most powerful of living mediums for physical manifestations, either in this, or any other country." (p. 262) She specialised in "matter passing through matter", i.e. the movement of objects. "The heaviest article brought into the room, I think, was a bucket full of sand, and the largest a 10 gallon keg. The longest attested distance, a geranium plant from Geelong to Melbourne." (p. 264) Denovan was a radical politician who was involved in the agitation on the goldfields around the time of the Eureka Stockade. He was later elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for Sandhurst (i.e. Bendigo). The book is open at a "spirit photograph of the late President Lincoln" appearing at a seance.
92. W. , S. G. Spiritual communications, &c. through the mediumship of Elizabeth Armstrong,
Among the spirits communicating through this local medium we find Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. She had this to say, when she was on earth she did not consider the story of Adam and Eve a fable, but at the same time she could never understand it. ... It was said that God created woman as a help to man, and not to be a hindrance to him; that men ought to have known and realised this, and not to have prevented woman from being the help intended, as they have done. Slaves are useless, and worse than useless. Men have got so much into the idea that women have no sense, that when they do meet a sensible woman, they look on her as somewhat of a monster. (p. 151)
93. The modern revelator :
a scientific exponent of spiritual and magnetic agencies actively combining with material forces in the history of life.
This is the only known surviving example of this, presumably short-lived, Ballarat spiritualist journal. The mast-head proclaims that the subjects covered include, "Psychometry, psychology, physiqueism, magnetism, and mediumship."
94. Laelia (Spirit)
Life, past, present and future / by Laelia, an Egyptian spirit. The spirits summoned by mediums tended to be friends or relatives of those present, or prominent figures from history, but it is surprising how often the ancient Egyptians came through the veil. In this respect the situation was not unlike modern-day "channelling". Laelia had healing powers, as witnessed by the testimonials printed in the front of this book, but she also had ideas to pass on to us about a wide range of things, such as the "rearing of children". To-day people have the idea that it is right to put a baby in another room right away from the warmth of its mother's body. This is very incorrect, because until a child is seven years of age it is under its mother's protection, and should be kept constantly close to her, so that it may feed upon her magnetism. She in turn should keep her mind highly elevated, teaching the child the purpose of life, feeding it from her own beautiful body and thoughts. When you put a child in another room it is open to any unseen entity that might feel inclined to come around and take possession of the little mind, causing it to be a very naughty child. In this way many of your so-called badly trained children are made. It is not the child at all, but an outside entity working through that little brain, having a free scope on account of its absence from its mother's protective magnetism. (p. 126)
95. Scouller, John.
Spiritualism : what and whence is it? : an independent investigation and exposition by a practical business man. This work, by John Scouller, "author of Practical Bookkeeping", is a detailed summary of the history of spiritualism and the arguments for and against. Scouller comes out in favour of the phenomenon, but the book is valuable for the amount of information he has gathered. It ends with an appendix "Advice to enquirers", setting out how to begin personal experiments with the forces of spiritualists. This includes advice on how to conduct a seance. Form a circle of from four to eight persons, half, or at least two, of negative, passive temperament and preferably of the female sex, the rest of more positive type. Sit, positive and negative alternately, secure against disturbance, in subdued light, and in comfortable and unconstrained positions, round an uncovered table of convenient size. Place the palms of the hands flat upon its upper surface. The hands of each sitter need not touch those of his neighbour, though the practice is frequently adopted. Do not concentrate attention too fixedly on the expected manifestation. Engage in cheerful but not frivolous conversation. Avoid dispute or argument. Scepticism has no deterrent effect, but a bitter spirit of opposition in a person of determined will may totally stop or decidedly impede manifestations. ... The first indications of success usually are a cold breeze passing over the hands and arms of some of the sitters, and a sensation of throbbing in the table. ... When you think that the time is come, let someone take command of the circle and act as the spokesman. ... Let the intelligence use its own means; if the attempt to communicate deserves your attention, it probably has something to say to you and will resent being hampered by useless interference. It rests greatly with the sitters to make the manifestations elevating, or frivolous and even tricky. ... Increased light will check noisy manifestations. Lastly, try the results you get by the light of reason. maintain a level head and a clear judgment. Do not believe everything you are told, for though the great unseen world contains many a wise and discerning spirit, it also has in it the accumulations of human folly, vanity, and error; and this lies nearer the surface ... Distrust the free use of great names. Never for a moment abandon the use of your reason. ... You will be repaid if you gain only a well-grounded conviction that there is a life after death, for which a pure and good life before death is the best and wisest preparation. (pp. 113-116)
96. Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited Australia in 1920-21, and gave public lectures in the major centres. He was here to promote the cause of spiritualism, but inevitably found that most people wanted to discuss Sherlock Holmes.
Flat Case 5 Among the important literary works connected to spiritualism are Robert Browning's "Mr. Sludge the Medium", a long poem criticising D. D. Home. Home was one of the mediums to hold seances at which the poet's wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, was present. Robert Browning also attended at least one of Home's seances. Mrs. Browning was a keen spiritualist, although she was said to have changed her mind on this shortly before her death. The other work which readily comes to mind is A Vision, by W. B. Yeats. This is a long prose work supposedly dictated by a spirit through Yeats's wife. Conan Doyle wrote various tales centring on spiritualism. Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, and Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time are other examples of works which feature seances.
97. Lytton, Edward Bulwer, Lord (1803-1873)
Lytton was a successful politician, rising to the post of Colonial Secretary under Derby in 1858-1859. The foundation of the colony of Queensland occurred during Lytton's time in office. He is now best remembered as a novelist. He had a prodigious output, in a variety of styles. The body of work which concerns us here is his group of novels on the occult or the supernatural. This side of his creativity was important because he wrote as a believer in the occult. A Strange Story, here seen in a yellowback edition, first appeared in Dickens's periodical, All the Year Round, and in book form in 1862. The plot involves a scientist Dr. Fenwick, who is researching on biological and psychological matters, writing a treatise entitled, "The Vital Principle: its waste and supply", as part of a magnum opus to be called, "Inquiry into Organic Life". The book involves Fenwick coming to recognise the existence of a soul as distinct from the materialism of his scientific outlook. The evil character, Margrave exercises occult powers which threaten to overwhelm Fenwick and his fiancee, Lilian. Lilian goes mad and Fenwick flees with her to the Australian bush, here shown as the ultimate symbol of barren materialism. Fenwick has to find resources within himself and accept the mediumistic visions Lilian experiences.
98. Dickens, Charles
The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Complete. Edwin Drood was Dickens's last novel. He died in 1870 with only six of the twenty parts completed. There was a great deal of speculation as to how the novel was to end. The fact that it was a murder mystery added to the intrigue. John Jasper's Secret was a completion by Henry Morford. It appeared in parts, then in book form in 1872. It was anonymous, but was rumoured to have been written by Charles Dickens Jnr. and Wilkie Collins. This American edition is of special significance as it purports to be complete, with "Part Second of the Mystery of Edwin Drood. By the spirit-pen of Charles Dickens through a medium. Embracing also that part of the work which was published prior to the termination of the author's earth-life." It has as its epigraph, "Cogito, ergo, sum."; an unusual application of Descartes' famous quote.
99. Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 (Spirit)
Although Dickens did not hesitate to bring supernatural elements into his writings, especially into the Christmas Books, he was not involved in spiritualism. He did however feel he had abilities in the field of hypnosis, and was able to use this to good effect to soothe the hysteria of a lady friend in Italy. Dickens's journals, All the Year Round and Household Words, carried various articles which delighted in poking fun at the frauds among the mediums. Thackeray was more openly sceptical, but his Cornhill Magazine carried one of the best of the pro-spiritualist articles (see item 79) These "spiritual communications" from Dickens are rather disappointing. They merely repeat the type of message common among proselytisers for spiritualism; such statements as, "Bright hope fills the heavens with love, that we should all meet in that glorious land." (p. 8) There is a "Preface" signed by Dickens, which reads in part, Dear, dear Readers, since I have lived in Summer-land, I have seen great wonders, and wished that I could convey them to earth, feeling that it would be not only a benefit to the rising generation, but a comfort to those that are travelling their last road. (p. 1) He hurries to quell any arguments that he has lost his touch,
Many of you have no doubt read the works I wrote in my earthly life; you will find them differ much in style from what I now write; but then I wrote as a man of the world, inhabiting the flesh, to amuse the minds of the people, and for the support of my own body: now I write in the spirit, for the comfort and enlightenment of many minds, upon the future; in simple language, that every child, educated or uneducated may read, ponder and understand. In some of my future pamphlets I will use language of the world; hoping you will bear in mind, that I was once in the flesh, moving in the society of the learned of earth; and now am walking with the pure spiritual companions of the Summer-land, hoping that we all shall meet, and you will appreciate these for the sake of the once great writer, The front cover informs us that, These pamphlets will be published the first day of each month, to be had at all the stationers and booksellers in Melbourne Next month being Christmas-month, the next pamphlet will be entitled, "Christmas Stories by the Spirit of Charles Dickens." It is to be regretted that no further pamphlets appeared. (According to Ferguson's Bibliography of Australia, there is some, unspecified connection between this item and item 92 above)
100. Crowe, Catherine (1800-1876)
Catherine Crowe was a successful novelist, and among other literary tasks, abridged Uncle Tom's Cabin for a children's edition. Her Night Side of Nature is a collection of material on the supernatural. It was first published in 1848 and enjoyed quite a vogue. This coincided with the first excitement generated by the spiritualist phenomena being reported from America. Mrs. Crowe joined the spiritualist movement and published a work on the subject, Spiritualism and the world we live in (1859).
101. Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart, 1844-1911. Mrs. Phelps was a American writer who specialised in spiritualist novels. This is perhaps her best-known work, but another in the Monash Collection is The Gates Between (1888).
102. Praed, Campbell, Mrs., 1851-1935.
Nyria / by Mrs. Campbell Praed. Mrs. Praed was an Australian novelist who was deeply committed to spiritualism. Nyria is essentially an historical novel set in ancient Rome, but the framework involves "a very elementary and unlearned young woman" who nevertheless, has "super-normal faculties". The novelist asks us to believe in the factual basis of the story, telling us that the girl first discovers her abilities when she picks up "a fragment of marble I [i.e. Mrs. Praed] had once taken from the Vestal's House, [the girl] seemed to be carried back by force of association to an earlier life in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Domitian." (p. vii) Thus, it is a tale of reincarnation, or "channelling".
Flat Case 6 Theosophy was a movement founded by Madame Blavatsky in 1875. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was a Russian born in 1831. She claimed to have spent seven years in retreat in "Little and Great Tibet", emerging as a medium. She returned to Russia in 1858, and is said to have performed a seance for the Czar. She moved to the United States where, by 1870, she was established as one of the leading mediums. In 1878 she migrated once again, taking her new movement, Theosophy, with her to India. The basic tenet was that there were adepts or mahatmas in Tibet who were able to perform wonders for their disciples, or chelas. This included being able to make apparitions of themselves appear wherever they willed, the apparitions having the ability to communicate and to listen. They also had the ability to travel on the astral plane, and to transport objects over long distances. Spirit writing was also a manifestation of theosophy. The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) investigated the Theosophists in India, after there had been a falling out in the Theosophical hierarchy. The Coulombs, two of Madame Blavatsky's lieutenants had been expelled by their strong-willed leader, and promptly released letters to the press which revealed plainly that these various manifestations were frauds. The SPR found that the apparitions, transportations, and telepathic occurrences were undoubtedly fraudulent, but this seemed to have no ill effects for the young movement. Madame Blavatsky moved to England where her forceful personality soon drew a large following of willing believers. A Theosophical Society branch was also established in Dublin where W. B. Yeats became involved. Madame Blavatsky was, from all reports, a medium of great power, being able to summon spirits almost at will. She had a contempt for science, and put forward as a tenet of Theosophical belief that the world was not a single sphere, but was shaped like a dumb-bell with another ball joining at the North Pole. She had a stuffed monkey dressed in cravat and spectacles, carrying a copy of Darwin's Origin of Species. Theosophy was different from the usual spiritualism in that it was not anchored to Christianity. It included elements of Indian religious beliefs, such as reincarnation. It was in effect a substitute religion. Spiritualists were uneasy with reincarnation as it could not logically be accepted in conjunction with their belief that the spirits of the dead retained their personalities beyond the grave, and could still communicate with their loved ones through seances and mediums. Madame Blavatsky was detected in various pieces of trickery, such as having a device concealed on her person which would cause the sound of "astral bells" in the seance room, but her popularity never waned. She had a "roguish effrontery" which carried it off.
104. Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891.
The foreword to this book of short stories was written by Annie Besant, Madame Blavatsky's eventual successor as the leader of the Theosophists. The first story is entitled, "A Bewitched Life (as narrated by a quill pen)" 105. Pennifold, Mary Charlotte. Blavatsky's philosophy. (Sydney : [s.n.], 1922) In this Australian work on Madame Blavatsky by a staunch supporter of Theosophy, we find a summary of the beginnings of the Theosophical Society, explaining its relationship to the Tibetan mahatmas, The Theosophical Society was founded by H. P. Blavatsky, who was in the outer world the mouthpiece of two of the Great Masters, the Master Koot Hoomi and the Master Moria, whose society it really is, for it is their jurisdiction, and many of the most advanced members of this Society are under their direct observation. These two masters live in the body in seclusion (in Indian bodies) in Tibet, near Shigatse. (p. 31)
106. Besant, Annie, 1847-1933.
Annie Besant : an autobiography. After Madame Blavatsky died in 1891, the Theosophical Society was under the control of her American co-founder, Henry Steel Olcutt. Schisms soon developed, particularly in the American branch. When Olcutt died in 1907, Annie Besant took over control of the English and Indian branches and re-established the headquarters in Adyar, near Madras, where Madame Blavatsky had taken the movement in 1878. Annie Besant was another charismatic character, with outspoken views on such matters as birth control and Indian nationalism. She was born in London in 1847, married a vicar in 1867, but left him in 1873, after the birth of a son and a daughter. In 1877 she wrote and published The Gospel of Atheism, as a result of which she lost custody of her children. She became involved in the Fabian Society, and organised the matchmakers strike in 1888 and formed their union. In 1889 she converted to Theosophy. In 1893 she visited India and discovered that she had been frequently incarnated there. She lived there from 1895, and identified the teachings of Theosophy closely with the tenets of the Hindus. She founded the Home Rule for India League in 1916, which caused her to come to the attention of the authorities. In 1917 she was interned, but was released in time to be elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1918. However in 1919 she was defeated as President of her Home Rule League by Gandhi. Her autobiography is mainly concerned with her life up to her involvement with Theosophy. This takes place in the closing chapter, Thus was ushered in 1889, the to me never-to-be-forgotten year in which I found my way "Home", and had the priceless good fortune of meeting, and of becoming the pupil of, H. P. Blavatsky. (p. 338) She fought against her conversion, because she clearly saw that although she had gained much respect in freethought circles, for her work in organising the matchmakers, and for her work on the London School Board; all would be forfeited if she joined the Theosophists, Was I to plunge into a new vortex of strife, and make myself a mark of ridicule - worse than hatred - and fight again the weary fight for an unpopular truth? (p. 342) She read the report on the frauds of Theosophy written by the Coulombs, but dismissed it because they were involved in the trickery themselves. She reviewed Mme. Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine for W. T. Stead, "I was dazzled, blinded by the parts of a mighty whole, and all my puzzles, riddles, problems, seemed to disappear." (p. 340) She met Mme. Blavatsky, "I was conscious of a sudden leaping forth of my heart - was it recognition? - and then, I am ashamed to say, a fierce rebellion, a fierce withdrawal, as of some wild animal when it feels a mastering hand." (p. 341) She was still active in her union work, and had to attend the Labour Congress in Paris. While not attending the Congress, she found time to visit Mme Blavatsky, who was holidaying there and working on her book, The Voice of Silence. Annie Besant was curious about the spirit manifestations, I had asked her as to the agencies at work in producing the taps so constantly heard at Spiritualistic Seances. "You don't use spirits to produce taps," she said; "see here." She put her hand over my head, not touching it, and I heard and felt slight taps on the bone of my skull, each sending a little electric thrill down my spine. She then carefully explained how such taps were producible at any point desired by the operator, and how interplay of the currents to which they were due might be caused otherwise than by conscious human volition. (p. 353)
107. Besant, Annie, 1847-1933.
Colonel Olcott one of the founders of Theosophy had visited Australia in 1891, and had set up lodges in Sydney and Adelaide, as well as in New Zealand. Annie Besant visited in 1908. In her first lecture reprinted here, "Theosophy and Christianity" she makes it clear that no-one is expected to renounce their religion when they become a Theosophist. Annie Besant preached "Brotherhood" and the unity of all religions. In her other lectures, she made a case for re-incarnation, and encouraged meditation as a means of achieving "astral sight", a form of clairvoyance.
108. Besant, Annie, 1847-1933. Annie Besant was certainly a more cerebral figure than Mme. Blavatsky, but it is not certain that she had mediumistic powers. However, in this book, first published in 1901, she attempted to describe and visualise the manifestations of "thought-forms" she experienced. The introduction is concerned with the boundaries of rational science, " Nature makes no leaps," and as the physicist nears the confines of his kingdom he finds himself bewildered by touches and gleams from another realm which interpenetrates his own. He finds himself compelled to speculate on invisible presences, if only to find a rational explanation for undoubted physical phenomena, and insensibly he slips over the boundary, and is, although he does not yet realise it, contacting the astral plane. (p. 12) Mrs. Besant then goes on to allude to researches undertaken by psychologists into the workings of the brain, referring to Dr. Baraduc of Paris, who "is well on the way towards photographing astro-mental images." (p. 13) We are then given examples from spirit photography and the experiences of clairvoyants as part of theosophical attempts to codify thought patterns. At the present time observers outside the Theosophical Society are concerning themselves with the fact that emotional changes show their nature by changes of colour in the cloud-like ovoid, or aura, that encompasses all living beings. ... a medical specialist (Dr. Hooker, Gloucester Place, London, W.) has collected a large number of cases in which the colour of the aura of persons of various types and temperaments is recorded by him. His results resemble closely those arrived at by clairvoyant Theosophists and others, and the general unanimity on the subject is sufficient to establish the fact, if the evidence be judged by the usual canons applied to human testimony. (p. 16) The volume is open at an illustration of, two thought-forms seen simultaneously ... They were observed at a funeral, and they exhibit the feelings evoked in the minds of two of the "mourners" by the contemplation of death. ... while one of them was still steeped in the dense ignorance with regard to super-physical life which is so painfully common in the present day, the other had the inestimable advantage of the light of Theosophy. (p. 79-80) The blue-grey almost shapeless "thought-form" with the hooked tail expresses "nothing but profound depression, fear and selfishness." The other "thought-form" is conical, colourful, and rises into the stars, denoting the "spiritual aspirations which its contemplation [i.e. the contemplation of death] calls forth." (p. 80-81)
Flat Case 7 Mesmerism, named for Friedrich Mesmer (1734-1815), is usually thought of as an early term for hypnotism. Mesmer was a doctor in Vienna. He discovered this ability in himself to hypnotise others while he, and a Jesuit named Hell, were experimenting with the curative effects of magnetism. The power to be able to "mesmerise", to be able to directly influence the behaviour of another, he referred to as "animal magnetism". Mesmer moved to Paris where mesmerism became a popular means of treatment. He would bring his patients together as a group in a dimly lit room, have them sit in a circle, holding hands while soft music was played, and perfumes were wafted through the air. Mesmerism was promoted as an adjunct to medical treatment and as a means of dulling the pain felt by patients during operations. It was introduced into England in the 1830s. In 1850 Baron von Reichenbach's Researches on Magnetism, &c. as a Vital Force was translated into English. von Reichenbach was part scientist, part occultist. He introduced the concept of "odylic force" or simply, "od force". Those sensitive to this force could see people's auras. Certain crystals could influence these auras and have beneficial effects on a person's health. It became fashionable to have sittings in which people were "magnetised" and "sensitives" claimed to be able to see visions. The ability of one person to put others into a mesmeric trance and perform various feats at command was also a feature of these sittings. Most of the books we have on the subject treat it from the medical perspective. The introduction of chloroform superseded the use of hypnosis as an anaesthetic, although it continued to be used as a treatment in psychosomatic cases and with those suffering problems of addiction.
109. Deleuze, J. P. F. (Joseph Philippe Francois), 1753-1835.
110. Barth, George H. What is mesmerism? : the question answered by a mesmeric practitioner : or, Mesmerism not miracle : an attempt to show that mesmeric phenomena and mesmeric cures are not supernatural : to which is appended useful remarks and hints for sufferers who are trying mesmerism for a cure. (London : H. Bailliere, 1853) 111. Buckland, Thomas.
112. Binet, Alfred, 1857-1911.
113. Heidenhain, Rudolf.
Hypnotism : or, Animal magnetism, physiological observations. 2nd ed. 114. Foveau de Courmelles, Francois Victor, (1862- )
Dr. Foveau de Courmelles was noted exponent of the use of electricity in medical treatment, a vogue much in evidence in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Small Upright Case
115. De la Transformation Metallique [18th century French manuscript volume] Alchemy usually had as its aim the discovery of the "Philosopher's Stone" with which base metals could be converted to gold. Such knowledge was eagerly sought and was often written down in arcane terms with the details obscured in symbolism. This quest gave rise to legends such as Dr. Faustus selling his soul to the devil in return for such knowledge. The volume on display contains three alchemical works here attributed to La Fontaine, Jean de Meung, and N. Flamel. Long after the invention of printing in the middle of the 15th century, manuscript copies were still being made of texts which were difficult to obtain, or were too subversive or salacious to be granted licenses to print. Alchemical works were often exceedingly rare and were jealously guarded. The early owner of this volume has heavily annotated the margins of these three hermetic texts.
116. Receuil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts liberaux,
et les arts mechaniques, avec leur explication. This is one of the volumes of plates published to accompany the French Encyclopedie edited by D'Alembert, and Diderot. It is open at a plate showing a chemical laboratory and the symbols for the various chemical elements. The early history of chemistry grew from the knowledge gained by the alchemists. The symbols shown here were assigned by the alchemists as part of their arcana.
117. Postel, Guillaume, 1510-1581.
Postel was a most remarkable person. From a humble background, he quickly made a reputation for himself as a scholar. He was befriended by the French King, Francis I, who sent him to the east to collect manuscripts. After his return he was made Royal Professor of Mathematics and Languages, but his patron, Chancellor Poyet, fell under the displeasure of the Queen, and Postel lost his Professorship and had to leave France. He wandered through Austria and Italy and became known as a visionary. This brought him to the attention of the authorities who imprisoned him in Rome and Venice. He was considered a lunatic, but was eventually released, after recanting his "errors". He returned to Paris where he was reinstated in his positions, but began spreading his "strange and singular opinions" again, as the result of which he was banished to monastery where he died in 1581. One of his beliefs was that he had died and risen again. Hence he styled himself on the title-page of his works, "Guiliemo Postello Restitutionis"; this can be seen on the pamphlet here displayed. He was enormously popular as a lecturer and public speaker. Some of opinions included the notion that women at a certain period are to have universal dominion over men, (he published a book on this in 1553); that all the mysteries of Christianity are demonstrable by reason; that the soul of Adam had entered into his body; that the secrets of Heaven had been revealed to him by the angel Raziel; and that his writings were dictated to him by Jesus Christ himself. His Signorum Coelestium Vera, is a brief work on the truth and utility of astrology.
118. Praetorius, Johannes, 1630-1680. Chiromancy, or Palmistry has a long history. It appears to have been practised from very early times in India, and was known in classical Greece. Aristotle refers to long-lived persons having one or two lines extending across the whole hand. Pliny also refers to it, and quotes Aristotle as an authority when he asserts that broken lines on the palm fore-tell a short life. Juvenal includes palm reading among the forms of the occult pursued by fashionable Roman women in his time.
119. Nostradamus, 1503-1566.
Nostradamus, or Michel de Notredame was a doctor of medicine who distinguished himself by his courage and skill when the plague reached Lyons in 1530. He began to prophesy in 1547 and his first collection of Centuries appeared in 1555. The prophecies are written in French, in rhymed quatrains. A second, augmented edition appeared in 1558. The verses are obscure and enigmatic, and a vast industry has grown around the possible interpretations. Among other things, he is supposed to have predicted the execution of Charles I, and in our own time, the rise of Adolf Hitler. His work was condemned by the Pope in 1781 when it was interpreted as predicting the fall of the Papacy. He became famous and was taken up by Catherine de Medici, and members of the French aristocracy. The King, Charles IX, made him his physician-in-ordinary. In the Introduction to this English translation, various criticisms of Nostrodamus are reviewed, for example, that he has been accused "of medling with black Art of being a Negromancer, and a Disciple of the Devil". Nostrodamus claimed to be an astrologer, but such predictions as he had made could not come from astrology, as, it cannot reach so far as to foretell a thousand peculiar circumstances, which depend purely from the freedom of Men such as proper names are, and the like, which nevertheless our Author did foretell. (leaf c4r) The argument then runs that, as the predictions contain much that has not proved true, they cannot have come from Divine inspiration so must be from the Devil. The English translator, Theophilus de Garencieres, argues against this, claiming that the inspiration is from the Holy Ghost, and that all the prophecies will eventually be found to be true.
120. Calvino, Italo. This work was originally published in Italian as Castello dei destini incrociati. It reproduces the surviving cards from a tarot pack which was created in Italy in the fifteenth century for the Visconti family. Some of the cards are now held in Bergamo, and some in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. Packs of Tarot Cards. Three decks of Tarot cards. One is based on a traditional French design, the second on those designs used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the third as designed by A. E. Waite. (On loan from The Basilisk Bookshop).
Thanks to Laren for image set |
