8. The Risks Incidental To Ceremonial Magic-i

She spoke from an Eastern standpoint and judged Western esoteric conditions by those she had seen in the East, where Tantric magic has become depraved in the hands of Dugpas and similar sects. In the dense and materialistic atmosphere of the West it is exceedingly difficult to get any results worth mentioning without the use of some form of ceremonial. Even the Theosophical Society, of which she was the foundress, has unconsciously drifted into Western methods, adopting the Catholic ceremonial and the Masonic initiations as side chapels to its main temple, and the mixture is giving trouble. The “Back to Blavatsky” movement within its ranks may be able to produce a much purer ethical and metaphysical teaching, but I think we may safely prophesy it will produce no practical results, in Europe at any rate. Ought we to eschew ceremonial methods because occasionally, in inexpert hands or under unsuitable conditions, they lead to disastrous results? Ought we to eschew motor racing, or mountaineering, or flying, or research into the nature of radio-active substances? All these take their toll of life each year. There is an unjustifiable risk which no level-headed person will run if they can help it, and there is a justifiable risk which everybody must be prepared to take who wants to come out of the ruck. It is not every follower of the Inner Way who is suitable for ceremonial work, just as it is not every individual who is fitted to handle the controls of an aeroplane; but there are some people, both men and women, to whom a spice of danger is a spur which brings out the mettle of their pasture, and these will always be found in the van of great adventure.