Key to Theosophy, The.
Inscribed
Blavatsky, H.P. The Key to Theosophy. Being a clear exposition, in the form of question and answer, of the ethics, science, and philosophy for the study of which the Theosophical Society has been founded. London…: The Theosophical Publishing Company, Limited…,[1889].
Small 4to.; olive cloth, stamped in blind and gilt; light wear to extremities. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First edition of Helena P. Blavatsky’s (1831-1891) effort to explain Theosophy to the layman; an enormous—and controversial—presence in America, Britain, India, and Europe. A presentation copy, inscribed to Dr. William Wynn Westcott on the dedication page: To Dr. Wynn Westcott M.B. Lond / FFSEE / from the author with / her best & sincere wishes. “H.P.B.”
Westcott (1848-1925), a founder (along with S. L. MacGregor Mathers) of “The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,” was a physician (indeed, the official Coroner for London) who was drawn into the study of the occult through the Masons and an early interest in the Kabbalah. (Kaballah, Cabalah, Qabalah – the ancient Jewish texts of esoteric teachings.) As well as publishing medical articles on subjects such as death and suicide, Wescott translated the Sepher Yetzirah (a famous Kabbalahistic text) into English, and published separate booklets such as The Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn. He was prolific, and wrote many other articles on subjects like alchemy, the Tarot, astrology, Theosophy, etc. Along with W. B. Yeats and other serious students of “the mystery,” Westcott was a member of the Theosophical Society’s “Esoteric Section.” He was also involved in the anti-vivisection movement. In his later years he resided in South Africa where he continued to work for a broader understanding and acceptance of Theosophy.
The early Theosophical schools in the United Kingdom empowered many women who became leaders in the feminist movement, most notably Annie Besant. One scholar writes,
Much of what I found was predictable: the suffragette (according to the comic novelists at least) was a woman of a certain age, sexually frustrated, resolutely unfashionable, and possibly hysterical. But there were other, more surprising elements in the picture: the typical suffragette was also (again according to the comic novelists) a vegetarian, an animal rights activist, and a devotee of the Higher Thought, Cosmic Consciousness, or the Masters of the Wisdom. Turning to the classified advertisements in suffrage newspapers, I discovered a feminist culture that had been largely ignored by the historians. Central to that culture was a self-conscious attempt to create a feminist spirituality. (Preface, Divine Feminine: Theosophy and Feminism in England, by Joy Dixon, Baltimore…, 2001)
Dixon documents the tremendous strength that the women’s movement in the UK derived from the active participation of many in spiritual paths that honored and valued their essential Selves without regard to gender.
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