Aspects of Occultism

by Dion Fortune, Gareth Knight (Introduction)

When Dion Fortune wrote Aspects of Occultism , "occultism" was an umbrella word used to describe hidden lore, secret traditions, and arcane knowledge. Today, when the word "occult" is often confused for "cult," and all its negative aspects, Fortune's essays would be better referred to as "esoteric studies." In this book she discusses evocative magic, the sites of Druid worship, parallels between Christianity and the Qabalah, the astral plane, auras, spiritual healing, power cycles, and our relationship with the Higher Self. This revised edition includes a new introduction by Gareth Knight, an index, and an additional essay by Fortune"The Myth of the Round Table." People familiar with Fortune's work will love this book!

Genres: Occult, Nonfiction, Paganism, Magic

94 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Violet Mary Firth Evans (better known as Dion Fortune), was a British occultist and author. Her pseudonym was inspired by her family motto "Deo, non fortuna" (Latin for "by God, not fate").

From 1919 she began writing a number of novels and short stories that explored various aspects of magic and mysticism, including The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, and The Secrets of Dr. Taverner. This latter is a collection of short stories based on her experiences with Theodore Moriarty. Two of her novels, The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic, became influential within the religion of Wicca, especially upon Doreen Valiente.

Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine, meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism; The Mystical Qabalah, an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah; and Psychic Self Defence, a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries.

Reviews

[Sarah Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to rate a compilation of primary texts in a book you are reading for study - so the stars here are not about my feelings on her philosophy but more that this is a neat, short way of introducing the themes of her magical work and useful for a critic, practitioner or historian.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read. Still fits in current collection development parameters of personal collection. A collection of essays from one of the 20th century's foremost occult practitioners.

[John Cramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much is assumed in this short collection of writings on numerous esoteric topics. My problem with the book centers around its way of taking for granted that the reader is well-versed in subjects as diverse as astral projection and auras. My rating is based entirely on what I got out of the book, and not on the veracity of the contents, seeing as how I know essentially nothing about much of it. Worse, when she starts talking about stuff like the Atlanteans, I felt like I was reading really dry and bad sci-fi. Simply not for me. The only part I can corroborate and accept as presented is her short passage on meditation, which I found to be intelligent and insightful. Her insistence that fully effective meditation practice should include a variety of techniques is something you never hear in the new age, be-your-best-self era we live in today. Other than that, though, I can't recommend.