In Isis Unveiled, HPB gave a summary of her early views on magic as part of “the fundamental propositions of the Oriental philosophy which we have elucidated, as yet', as it summarises the most basic ideas:
In a letter written immediately after publication of Isis Unveiled, she writes: If I do not uncover altogether the Saitic goddess, I hope to have at least sufficiently indicated where the Veil of her shrine can be raised by those who are ready to conform to the four cardinal rules of the so called ‘Magic’ or occult Psychology— to Know, Will, Dare, and Keep Silent. Behind the veil lies the Key to modern Spiritualistic phenomena, and there alone can be discovered the Secret of Secrets: what is man, his origin, his powers, and destiny. 2@S: 1: 363 This passage so to say leads from Isis Unveiled to The Secret Doctrine. The magical and alchemical motto HPB quotes (Scire. Potere. Audere. Tacere) is usually ascribed to Zoroaster.
As HPB did not want members of her Esoteric Section to participate in other occult groups, Westcott wrote her a not too friendly letter in early 1889 (Gomes 2010, 156), but she insisted on this rule, applying it only to the Esoteric Section, however. MacGregor Mathers was also held in high esteem: his Kabbala Denudata (a translation of Zoharic texts) HPB said she knew by heart (ibid., 375). This tradition was a major influence in the Golden Dawn, which after initially using rather simple magical practices in the 1890s became a “vehicle for effective magical initiations” (Godwin 1994, 224). The concentration on will and imagination in Crowley’s concept of “magick,” derived in part from the Golden Dawn, is not yet clearly expressed in HPB’s statements. In a study on the pentagram she writes in 1881, however: “What is in a sign?’ will our readers ask. ‘No more than in a name’ we shall reply— nothing except that, as said above, it helps to concentrate the attention, hence to nail the will of the operator to a certain spot” (-* 2: 253).This is essentially the theory of magic that became prevalent in twentieth- century magical occultism. (see 5 & 6 pointed Stars).
Theosophists of the first generation see magic deeply connected to self- restraint: “The foundation of magic is the ability to restrain one’s own emotions and thoughts”._ The impact of Theosophy on more recent ideas of magic cannot be discussed here in more detail. Aleister Crowley’s complex relation with HPB would alone deserve separate treatment. In his Blue Equinox (Equinox 3, 1, from 1929) he included a book lengthay commentary on HPB’s The Voice of the Silence (“Liber 2##)”; cf. also Crowley 1979, 842). This work he included also in the recommended reading lists of his Magick. Liber #6# (Equinox 1, 8, written 1912– 1913), the most complete survey of his approach to “magick.” Isis Unveiled on the other side he regarded as an “hotch- potch of fact and fable” (Crowley 1979, 604), and he saw his “magick” as a “declaration of war” on Spiritualism and Theosophy as it had become, “though I agreed with much of Blavatsky’s teachings” (ibid., 582). This is a typical attitude in the world of magicians, where her deep scepticism about practical magic is never overlooked. B Hartmann 1920, 158: “Die Kunst, seine Gefühle und Gedanken zu beherrschen, ist die Grundlage der Magie” (my translation).
In how far are the famous ‘phenomena’ of HPB related to her understanding of magic? Only a few remarks are possible at this place. They contributed as much to HPB’s fame as her writings (though the first printing of The Secret Doctrine was sold out on its very first day from the subscriptions alone), and kept her name for years in European, American, and Indian newspapers and magazines. They were partly strange acoustic occurrences (ringing bells to be heard from different places of the room, voices and others) that she could clearly produce at will (,'2 1: 424– 428; -* 6: 164), in some cases audible to some persons and not to others in the same room (Hartmann 2000, 30).
Much more noteworthy— and even more odd— were materialisation phenomena that have only little similarity to those familiar from spiritualism. They deserve some attention, and it must be emphasized that most secondary studies do not sufficiently acknowledge the deep ambivalence and conceptual reference frame of these stories already in early Theosophy, and through this neglect create a skewed and much overrated impression of what these phenomena meant for theosophists. In fact, they found them often rather embarrassing. HPB produced these phenomena (with help from her ‘Masters,’ as she understood it), but on the other side she quite ferociously ridiculed those who were too interested in them: for her such interest was a sign of a rather low spiritual standing, of a despicable sensationalism. This attitude, often overlooked in critical studies on Theosophy, exactly repeats Asiatic views, e.g., early Buddhist interpretations of siddhi (supernatural capacities or powers, Tibetan dngos grub). (Major sources for material are Sinnett 1881; ,'2 1 and 2; Barker 1926).
Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840– 1921; cf. the autobiography Sinnett 1986) had been the Editor of the Pioneer, India’s largest daily newspaper, since 1871. He became a main recipient of the ‘Mahatma’ letters, and an early describer of ‘phenomena.’ The grotesqueness of some of the stories is not to be denied: when at a tea party a set of tableware was found to be lacking, and HPB was jokingly asked to supply such one by materialisation; after ‘mental conversation’ with her Masters she pointed to a special place, overgrown with grass and bushes. This place immediately was dug out, and a tea- cup and a saucer were found, not different from the other six cups and saucers brought from the Sinnetts’ house. Strangely plant roots around these items were found intact and had to be destroyed to reach them, and it was ascertained the place had not been dug out before (Sinnett 1881, 66– 68). This story and a large number of similar ones are explainable as elaborate hoaxes or simply hardly credible: and indeed Cf. on the spiritualist background of fairy bells, clairaudience and paranormal music, Hardinge Britten 1970, 57, 90, 105, 165, 173, 183, 200– 203, 301, 304, 463f. they were never given any further attention by HPB, and certainly never used as arguments for anything (though the explanation of this particular story given by Emma Coulomb 1885, 28, is clearly a free invention).
On the other side some ‘phenomena’ are well authenticated and often have a spontaneous, impromptu and playful character that makes elaborate preparation unlikely. Some reserve in judgment might be advisable. More important is her tireless insistence on the little value of such phenomena. Olcott even says her reputation in India suffered from these stories, which were taken as signs of an inferior spiritual standing (,'2 1: 99f.). HPB seems to have treated these phenomena dismissively as harmless amusement for children given by adults: which of course can be interpreted as a sign of ingenuous cunning, taking the wind out of the sails of her critics. Sceptics were allowed to introduce any regulations against fraud that they proposed. A diary entry from 1878 demonstrates nicely how she regarded media coverage: “A reporter from the Graphic comes to interview H. P. B. Is respectfully begged to go to the devil” (HPB 1: 155). Olcott and other theosophists saw these things more as maya, glamour, illusion, than as miracles. Franz Hartmann interpreted the phenomena as meant to attract popular attention, as a church bell is meant to attract people to come and hear a sermon, and not as intrinsically important (Hartmann 1915a, 33). This has been a common persuasion in theosophical circles, and it was also shared by HPB’s family (Solovyoff 1895, 286), by Franz Hartmann and others, and of course has been a controversial subject in the struggles with the Society for Psychical Research, a main competitor of the Theosophical Society for public recognition (cf. Hodgson 1885; Baird 1949, and the documents in Kelly 1990).
The Master letters have been the most widely discussed of these 'phenomena,’ reaching their recipients in an often spectacular manner, flying down from no visible source, appearing inside of clothing or on a blank sheet of paper, once on a seat of a railway station the recipient just decided to enter, a.o.; cf. Cooper 1998; Barborka 1966). Precipitated letters had already been known in older spiritualism, as the letters the farmer Jonathan Koons in the name of his Spirit guide John King made to appear in 1852 in Millfield Township, Ohio (cf. also Hardinge Britten 1970, 195f., 201f., 252). Interestingly precipitated letters are also well- known as magical treats in Islam (cf. already Olcott 1875, 414f.), as of course in the Bible (Dan. 5). But HPB’s letters were said to have their origin with her hidden masters: and these were not spirits, but living though inaccessible spiritual teachers. In the early days of the Theosophical Society, precipitated letters were a prime medium of conveying advice and occult teaching, and as was to be expected they were immediately accompanied by criticism and ridicule from non- theosophists.
Interestingly the letters lost much of their impact when HPB’s own larger books became available, and the discussion on the ‘authenticity’ (which can mean very different things) had in many cases lost almost all contact with a reasonable discussion of their content. The first one of such letters was received by HPB’s Russian family in 1870 (Barborka 1966, 140f.). Reading these ‘master letters’ today after reading HPB’s own publications leaves little doubt many of them were essentially written by HPB: herself or at least with her participation.
