Violet Mary Firth Evans, born Violet Mary Firth (December 6, 1890^[1] - 1946) and better known as Dion Fortune, was a British occultist and author^[2]. Her pseudonym was inspired by her family motto "Deo, non fortuna" (Latin for "God, not fate")^[3]. December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... A pseudonym (Greek: , pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons legal name. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Early life

She was born at Bryn-y-Bia in Llandudno, Wales, and grew up in a household where Christian Science was rigorously practiced^[4]. She reported visions of Atlantis at age four^[5] and the developing of psychic abilities during her twentieth year^[6], at which time she suffered a nervous breakdown; after her recovery she found herself drawn to the occult^[4]. She joined the Theosophical Society^[4] and attended courses in psychology and psychoanalysis at the University of London^[7], and became a lay psychotherapist at the Medico-Psychological Clinic in Brunswick Square^[8]. Look up Female in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... , This article is about the town in Wales. ... This article is about the country. ... Christian Science is a religious teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (first published in 1875). ... In religion, visions comprise inspirational renderings, generally of a future state and/or of a mythical being, and are believed (by followers of the religion) to come from a deity, directly or indirectly via prophets, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation or an epiphany. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... The Theosophical Society was the organization formed to advance the spiritual doctrines and altruistic living known as Theosophy. ... Psychology (from Greek: ψυχή, psukhē, spirit, soul; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. ... Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the work of Sigmund Freud. ... The University of London is a university based primarily in London. ...

Her first magical mentor was the Irish occultist and Freemason Theodore Moriarty^[9]. In 1919 she was initiated into the London Temple of the Alpha et Omega^[10] before transferring to the Stella Matutina order^[11]. American Square & Compasses Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. ... The Alpha et Omega was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation. ... The Stella Matutina was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation. ...

Writing

From 1919^[4] 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 Witchcraft, especially upon Doreen Valiente^[12]. Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... This article is in need of attention. ... For other uses, see Witchcraft (disambiguation). ... Doreen Valiente (1922 - 1999) was a co-creator of Wicca, together with Gerald Gardner. ...

Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine^[13], meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism, The Mystical Qabalah^[14], an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah, and Psychic Self Defence^[15], a manual on how to protect one's self from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity^[16] and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries^[17]. Hermetic Qabalah ( from the Hebrew קַבָּלָה reception), is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition. ...

Later magical career

Fortune fell out with Moina Mathers, head of the Alpha et Omega, and claimed she was coming under magical attack^[4][18]. In 1922, with Moina's consent, Dion Fortune left the Alpha et Omega and with her husband, Penry Evans^[4] formed the Fraternity of the Inner Light as an offshoot of the Alpha et Omega^[19][20]. This brought new members to the Alpha et Omega^[21]. Fortune's group was later renamed "The Fraternity of the Inner Light", and was, later still, renamed "The Society of the Inner Light". This society was to be the focus of her work for the rest of her life. Her masterpiece^[22][23][24]The Mystical Qabalah was first published in England in 1935, and is regarded by many occultists as one of the best textbooks on magic ever written^[4]. She died in 1946 from leukemia. Drawing rendered by Moina Mathers for Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers translation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. ... The Alpha et Omega was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The Alpha et Omega was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation. ... The Fraternity of the Inner Light was a magical society and Western Mystery School. ... The Alpha et Omega was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leukemia or leukaemia (see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ...

Dion Fortune met and corresponded with Aleister Crowley, whom she acknowledged in the introduction of The Mystical Qabalah^[25]. Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947; the surname is pronounced // i. ...

Dion Fortune participated in the "Magical Battle of Britain"^[26], which was an attempt by British occultists to magically aid the war effort and which aimed to forestall the impending German invasion during the darkest days of World War II. Her efforts in regard to this are recorded in a series of letters she wrote at the time^[27]. The effort involved in this endeavour is said to have contributed to her death shortly after the war ended^[28]. Her Society of the Inner Light continues to function, and has also given rise to other orders, including The London Group, until recently headed by Charles Fielding, and Servants of the Light, headed by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki^[4]. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Servants Of the Light School of Occult Science (SOL) is an occult mystery school, registered as a non-profit organization, founded in 1965 by W. E. Butler in England. ... Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is a British occult author, psychic, and esoteric practitioner. ...

Quotes

• "The true nature of the gods is that of magical images shaped out of the astral plane by mankind's thought, and influenced by the mind." -- Dion Fortune, The Mystical Qabalah

• "To say that a thing is imaginary is not to dispose of it in the realm of mind, for the imagination, or the image making faculty, is a very important part of our mental functioning. An image formed by the imagination is a reality from the point of view of psychology; it is quite true that it has no physical existence, but are we going to limit reality to that which is material? We shall be far out of our reckoning if we do, for mental images are potent things, and although they do not actually exist on the physical plane, they influence it far more than most people suspect." --Dion Fortune, Spiritualism and Occultism

• "Psychotherapy may begin with the primitive, but it must end with the divine, for both are integral factors in the human mind." -- Violet M. Firth (Dion Fortune), The Machinery of the Mind.

• "Symbols are to the mind what tools are to the hand--an extended application of its powers." --Dion Fortune, The Mystical Qabalah

• "The spirit of religious persecution is not the special failing of any particular faith, but springs eternal in the human breast." --Dion Fortune, quoted in British esotericist and Fortune biographer Gareth Knight's Experience of the Inner Worlds

• "The driving forces of the universe, the framework upon which it is built up in all its parts, belong to another phase of manifestation than our physical plane, having other dimensions than the three to which we are habituated, and perceived by other modes of consciousness than those to which we are accustomed."--Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defense

• "We live in the midst of invisible forces whose effects alone we perceive. We move among invisible forms whose actions we very often do not perceive at all, though we may be profoundly affected by them." --Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defense

• "All gods are one God, and all goddesses are one Goddess, and there is one Initiator" -- Dion Fortune, Sea Princess

Dr. Basil Wilby, aka Gareth Knight (born 1930) is a British esotericist and occult author who began his esoteric training in 1953 as a member of the Society of the Inner Light, founded by Dion Fortune. ...

References

Red Wheel Weiser Conari, a company also known in different periods in its history as RedWheel/Weiser, LLC and Samuel Weiser, Inc. ... Red Wheel Weiser Conari, also known as RedWheel/Weiser, LLC and Samuel Weiser, Inc. ...

External links

• Dion Fortune Texts and Resources
• Short biography at the Inner Light site
• the MYSTICA.ORG (Contains some erroneous material.)
• The Novels of Dion Fortune and the Development of Gardenerian Witchcraft
• The Society of the Inner Light
• www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Dion_Fortune.htm Has a good bibliography.
• www.mysteriouspeople.com Dion Fortune
• www.servants of the light.org Derivative group
• www.innerlightsociety.org Derivative group