Back to the Fools Gallery once again, and we have an absolute Titan here. While many of the denizens of the gallery can be said to have changed the world of Magic, few of them can be said to have intrinsically changed the world. Our focus on this episode is the enigmatic and larger than life character that is Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Some would say that modern spirituality would not be what it is today were it not for her. To bring such a figure into focus, we are joined by Occult Historian, author and Lecturer- the one and only Mitch Horowitz!
Mitch Horowitz is an Occult and Esoteric historian as well as a prolific author of many fantastic books! Mitch’s presence can be found all over the web including Twitter, Instagram, Medium, and YouTube. If you’d like to support Mitch and his work he has a Patreon as well! Recently, he just released a book Daydream Believer which is a crystallization of his perspectives on New Thought, something very close to his heart. He is also currently running a class on Daydream Believer if you are so inclined! For all that Mitch gets up to, click on the pic below!
Show Notes
- Blavatsky Study Center & Blavatsky Archives – Some fantastic stuff here but also – oh my! This site brings me right back to the internet circa 1996. Spend some time clicking around though, lots to unpack
- Blavatsky’s Books at Project Gutenberg – All of HPB’s work here, unedited and available to download
- Madame Blavatsky: The Mother of Modern Spirituality by Gary Lachman – Gary has by far the best Bio of Blavatsky. Well worth a read
- Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth by Marion Meade – very good as well
- Blavatsky Unveiled: The Writings of H.P. Blavatsky in modern English by Moon Laramie – Volume I. Hopefully we get more of these
- Isis Unveiled: Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition by Helena Blavatsky – For my money, Michael Gomes does a wonderful job abridging and annotating HPB’s books
- The Secret Doctrine by Helena Blavatsky – As above, Michael Gomes sifts through the work and gets the gems
- The Secret Doctrine and the Forbidden – Excellent! Mitch gives a full lecture about HPB’s notorious work
- Isis in America: The Classic Eyewitness Account of Madame Blavatsky’s Journey to America and the Occult Revolution She Ignited by Henry Steel Olcott
- The Secret Doctrine Unveiled: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and The Origin of Ancient Wisdom
- Blavatsky on the Mission of the Theosophical Society – Well worth a read if you want to get the quick details of HPB and the Theosophical Society
- The Theosophical Society in America
- The Theosophical Society International
- To Light a Thousand Lamps – A Book outlining all that Theosophy has to offer
- Celestial India: Madame Blavatsky and the Birth of Indian Nationalism by Isaac Lubelsky
- The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences by Jason Ananda Josephson Storm – A very enlightening read
- Old Diary Leaves by Henry Steel Olcott – Scroll to find all 6 volumes
- The Inscrutable Madame Blavatsky: An Interview with Gary Lachman
- Blavatsky and the Lives Sciences
- Madame Blavatsky: a seeker of truth — and a fraud – An interesting episode
- The Secret: The Group of Seven’s Infatuation with the Occult Mysticism of Madame Blavatsky – A little Canadiana for everybody
- Madame Blavatsky and Theosophy with Gary Lachman – New Thinking Allowed
- Edison and Madame Helena Blavatsky: Theosophy Redux
- The Occult & Fascism: A Brief Comment by Mitch Horowitz – well worth a read
- Garibaldi shirt – The Shirt that HPB was wearing which so entranced Olcott
What Magic is This? 