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Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune) · 124 of 129

20. Methods Of Defence IV-d

I got more and more uneasy, and X., being a good psychic, detected my uneasiness, and I was asked to withdraw from the group he was organising. I felt quite convinced that something sinister was being attempted against the group-mind of my race, but I had no means of gauging its extent or potency. This was not the kind of tale one could take to Scotland Yard; moreover, several of my personal friends believed in the bonafides of X. and were taking part in the group he was organising, and I was very anxious not to involve them in any unpleasantness. In my perplexity I resolved to do nothing upon the physical plane and to invoke the Masters upon the Inner Planes. At this time I was not of a grade which is supposed to have direct access to the Masters, but I determined to try and get them telepathically, though I did not know whether those to whom I was trying to telepath were human or non-human, incarnate in physical bodies or discarnate entities, for at that time I was not very advanced in my occult studies. All I had to hold on to was an abstract idea and the knowledge that in previous difficulties I had been able to get in touch with Something on the Inner Planes which had proved a powerful friend. In telepathing, the usual method of getting in touch is to visualise the person you want to communicate with and call him by name. I had nothing I could visualise and I knew no names. However, I determined to make the attempt as best I might and, metaphorically speaking, I put my head out of the window of this fleshly tabernacle and called for the police. And I got an answer. The Inner Voice replied to me very clearly and distinctly: “You are to go to Colonel Y.” I was taken aback at this, for Colonel Y. was a rather eminent person to whom I had once been introduced, and the last person in the world one would invite to go mare’s nesting. I had no desire to make myself ridiculous by bearding this forminable warrior in his den. My psychological studies had made me familiar with the workings of the subconscious mind and what it can do when dissociated, and I felt that the situation required handling with considerable caution because the results of a mis-step might be unpleasant. I therefore replied to the Inner Voice, “I cannot trust you unless you will give me a sign.” The reply came through, “Colonel Y. will be at our next lecture. Tell him then.” To this I replied, “I know that Colonel Y. cannot be at my lecture because his regiment is ordered abroad, and he will have left before it takes place.” The answer came back, “Colonel Y. will be at your next lecture.” “Very well,” I said, “that shall be my sign. If Colonel Y. is there, I will tell him, and if not, I shall leave the affair to take its course.” The day duly arrived when I was to give a public lecture at a certain town. I arrived at the hall in due course, and the first thing I saw was Colonel Y. going up the stairs! So I determined to take the bull by the horns, and immediately after the lecture I went straight to him and said, “I have got a message for you.” “I know you have,” he replied, “for I have been told to expect it.” It appears that he was sitting in his quarters one evening with his two dogs. They suddenly became disturbed and began to investigate something that wasn’t there. He heard a voice saying distinctly to his inner ear that I should come and ask his help and that he was to give it. He was so impressed by this occurrence that he went to a mutual friend and asked her whether I was in trouble of any sort.
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Themes
Astral Lightcosmology

The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.

The passage describes telepathic communication and the transmission of will/thought between minds ('telepathically', 'Inner Voice'), which aligns with the concept of a medium transmitting influence.

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The arrival of Colonel Y despite being ordered abroad is presented as a divinely orchestrated sign confirming the message's validity.

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Inner Voiceanthropology

A channel of guidance received internally as a distinct voice or clear reply, addressable and answerable in dialogue, whose source — the practitioner's own higher consciousness, or an external discarnate or non-human intelligence — may be genuinely unknown to the one who receives it. Distinct from higher_self (one possible but not certain source of this voice, not the channel itself) and gnosis_direct_knowledge (unmediated apprehension of ultimate truth, not a two-way dialogic exchange with an addressable interlocutor).

The narrator explicitly receives instructions from an 'Inner Voice' which replies clearly and distinctly to her telepathic attempts.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The 'Inner Voice' and 'Masters' are depicted as active, responsive entities that intervene in human affairs rather than abstract principles.

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Magical Willpraxis

The doctrine that human volition, cultivated by discipline and emancipated from passion and servitude, is the primary instrument of magical operation — will confirmed by persistent acts acquires causal power over self, others, and nature; distinct from faith and from mere desire.

The narrator resolves to 'invoke the Masters' and 'determined to try,' demonstrating the use of will to effect spiritual contact.

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Psychic Attackpraxis

The doctrine and practice of one person deliberately inflicting harm on another through trained will, mind-power, or occult technique alone, without physical contact — producing exhaustion, illness, breakdown, or death in the victim; recognised cross-culturally as witchcraft, hexing, or the evil eye, and treated in Western esotericism as a genuine occult hazard requiring diagnosis and defence rather than dismissed as superstition. Distinct from magical_will (the general doctrine that trained volition has causal power, of which this is one malevolent application) and from spirit_conjuration (which subordinates an already-existing summoned spirit, rather than directing the operator's own power at a person).

The passage is explicitly from 'Methods Of Defence' and describes a 'sinister' attempt against the 'group-mind of my race,' fitting the definition of deliberate harm through occult means.

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Telepathyanthropology

The direct transmission of thought, will, or information from one mind to another without physical sensory channels — visualising the intended recipient and addressing them by name being the standard technique for establishing the contact. Distinct from astral_light (the ambient transmitting medium telepathy may operate through, not the mind-to-mind practice itself) and cosmic_sympathy (the general metaphysical doctrine of hidden affinity between all things, of which telepathy is one specific, deliberately-worked mind-to-mind application).

The narrator attempts to communicate telepathically with 'Masters upon the Inner Planes' and describes the usual method of visualising and calling by name.

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