Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune) · 126 of 129

20. Methods Of Defence IV-f

I came across them in a manner which serves to illustrate the way in which occultists can “call” for information they may be in need of, and the fortuitious train of circumstances that will supply it.

As a young girl, at the commencement of my interest in occultism, I came in touch with an adept whom I soon realised to be on the Left-hand Path, and with whom I soon severed my connection.

Shortly after I broke with him, I was watching a gymkhana in company with some friends, among them a student of occultism, and we began to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Impelled by I know not what impulse to confide in him what I had never told a soul, I told him of my experiences with the adept I have referred to.

To my surprise he knew all about him.

It seems that my new acquaintance was connected with a group of occultists who had taken for their work the hunting out of Black Lodges; they had already crossed the trail of my black adept and had compelled him to close down, and he had sworn not to reorganise his Order.

They had had reason to believe recently that this oath was not being kept and that he had again organised a Lodge and was working his rituals, but they did not know where to lay their hands on him.

Then here came I, a bit of human flotsam tossed up on a sports field to give them the information they needed at the very moment when they needed it.

These things happen too regularly in occultism for one to be able to look upon them as chance.

It is my belief that It Is possible for anyone who has need of them to get into touch telepathically with this occult police force.

The symbol I was taught to use was a black Calvary Cross with circle on a scarlet ground.

This is pictured in the imagination, and while gazing at it mentally the call is sent out into the Unseen, projecting it from the centre of the forehead.

Various attempts have been made to prove that the occult fraternities are all directed from a single headquarters, said variously to be situated in Germany, Thibet, Mongolia and South America.

Personally I do not believe it.

I suppose that I have a pretty varied acquaintance with the inner workings of the occult movement, and I have never seen anything whatever that indicated any centralised control, whether for good or for evil.

Everything, in fact, points the other way, and indicates that there is no connecting link save that of a common literature, a common idealism, and a set of symbols which, if not common to all sections, are readily translatable by means of well-understood equivalents.

The position in the occult field is analogous to that of Protestant Christianity, not Roman Christianity.

Occultism has no Pope.

Nor do I think that Bolshevism ever gained any foothold in the Lodges, though I believe it tried; as witness the application to my own fraternity.

The average occultist is not interested in politics, his concern is with things invisible.

Moreover, the occult fraternities are too inco-ordinated and scattered to be formidable political weapons even if they were imbued with Bolshevism.

It has also been said that the occult fraternities are controlled by the Jews in the interests of Zionism.

This is quite untrue.

There are very few Jews in the occult movement.

It is true, however, that the Qabalah, the traditional mysticism of the Jewish race, is one of the principal sources of Western occultism, and that any occultist working on that tradition must know at least enough Hebrew to be able to transliterate Hebrew script.

The study of the modern mystical Qabalah is almost exclusively in the hands of Gentiles, and orthodox Jewish scholars know little or nothing of its literature and nothing whatever of its mystical significance.

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Themes

Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The author describes a specific visualization technique: 'This is pictured in the imagination, and while gazing at it mentally the call is sent out.'

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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 author describes projecting a symbol from the centre of the forehead into the Unseen to send a call, implying a medium like the Astral Light for telepathic communication.

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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 author explicitly rejects chance, stating 'These things happen too regularly in occultism for one to be able to look upon them as chance,' implying a guiding order or providence.

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Left Hand Pathpraxis

A magical or spiritual orientation that turns occult power toward self-aggrandizement, domination, or personal ends divorced from — or actively opposed to — service of the divine, contrasted with the Right-hand Path's use of the same powers in reverent service and selfless healing. Distinct from psychic_attack (one specific malevolent technique this orientation may employ, not the standing orientation itself) and forbidden_knowledge (a transgression-against-divine-prohibition narrative, not an ongoing praxis-orientation).

The author explicitly identifies an adept as being on the 'Left-hand Path' and discusses 'Black Lodges' associated with it.

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Occult Policesoteriology

An informal, decentralised network of occultists — operating partly through inner-plane guidance and partly through organised physical-plane fraternities that hunt and disband harmful lodges — that polices the occult field against criminal or malevolent use, acting on inner-voice direction and coincidence-engineering rather than any single headquarters or centralised human command. Distinct from secret_societies (an institution that holds esoteric knowledge collectively, not one organised specifically around enforcement against occult wrongdoing) and left_hand_path (the malevolent orientation this network exists to counter, not the countering network itself).

The author refers to a group of occultists hunting Black Lodges as an 'occult police force' that can be contacted for defense.

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Secret Societiessoteriology

Organized, persisting groups — fraternities, orders, lodges — that maintain esoteric knowledge or practices as an institution distinct from public religion or mainstream society, holding 'the keys' collectively rather than through any one master-disciple pair. Distinct from esoteric_lineage (a genealogical chain of individual transmission, not an institution) and hidden_sayings (the concealment of a teaching's meaning, independent of whether any organized body holds it).

The passage extensively discusses occult fraternities, lodges, Black Lodges, and their organizational structure (or lack thereof), making this a central theme.

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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 author states it is possible to 'get into touch telepathically with this occult police force' and describes sending a call mentally.

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