Dion Fortune

Dion Fortune
Born	Violet Mary Firth 6 December 1890 Llandudno, Wales
Died	8 January 1946 (aged 54) Middlesex, London
Occupation	Occultist, author

Violet Mary Firth Evans (6 December 1890^[1] – 8 January 1946), 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 "by God, not fate").^[3]

Early life

She was born in 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]

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]

Books and other writings

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 Wicca, especially upon Doreen Valiente.^[12]

Of her works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine,^[13] a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism, Psychic Self-Defense,^[14] a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks and The Mystical Qabalah,^[15] an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah which was first published in England in 1935, and is regarded by many occultists as one of the best books on magic ever written.^[4] 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]

Tomb of Dion Fortune

Tomb of Dion Fortune, detail

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. The work that is considered her masterpiece by occultists and occult sympathizers is The Mystical Qabalah, first published in England in 1935.^[12][22][23]

Diana L. Paxson, author, sister-in-law and long-time collaborator of Marion Zimmer Bradley, credits Dion Fortune's work on the mystical aspects of the Arthurian legend as being the inspiration for The Mists of Avalon. She stated in a letter which was included on the Random House author bio page for Zimmer Bradley, that Dion Fortune's Vivian Le Fay Morgan was both the progenitor and descendant of the Morgaine that came to life in the Mists novel.

Dion Fortune has written about the, "Magical Battle of Britain",^[24] which was a purported attempt by British occultists to magically aid the war effort during World War II. Her efforts in regard to this are recorded in a series of letters she wrote at the time.^[25] The effort by Fortune is said to have contributed to her death shortly after the war ended.^[26] 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 Alan Adams (aka Charles Fielding),^{[27][28][29][30]} and Servants of the Light, headed by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki.^[4]

She died in 1946 from leukemia in Middlesex, London at age 54.

Bibliography

• The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage, 1924
• The Psychology of the Servant Problem, 1925
• The Secrets of Dr. Taverner, 1926
• The Demon Lover, 1927
• Esoteric Orders and Their Work, 1928
• The Mystical Qabalah, 1935
• The Winged Bull, 1935
• The Goat-Foot God, 1936
• Sea Priestess, 1938
• The Cosmic Doctrine, 1949
• Moon Magic, 1956
• Applied Magic, 1962
• Psychic Self-Defense, 1971
• Glastonbury: Avalon of the Heart, 1986
• The Circuit of Force (with Gareth Knight)
• The Training and Work of an Initiate (with Gareth Knight)
• An Introduction to Ritual Magic (with Gareth Knight), 1997
• What Is Occultism?, 2001
• Mystical Meditations on the Christian Collects, 2006
• Practical Occultism (with Gareth Knight)

References

1. ^ Ithell Colquhoun gives Fortune's birth year as 1891 in "Sword of Wisdom", Neville Spearman, London, 1975, p. 217. However Colquhoun makes a number of obvious errors in the aforementioned book and so her veracity as a reliable source is questionable. For example she states that Fortune was an orphan and this is clearly not the case.
2. ^ Richardson, Alan; "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 1-85538-051-X, p 26.
3. ^ Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth, 1993, ISBN 1-874505-45-0, p 2.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Drury, Nevill (1992). Dictionary of Mysticism and the Esoteric Traditions. Bridport, Dorset: Prism Unity. ISBN 1-85327-075-X. 
5. ^ Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0, pp 14-15.
6. ^ Chapman, Janine; "Quest for Dion Fortune", Samuel Weiser, 1993, ISBN 0-87728-775-9, p 3-5.
7. ^ Chapman, Janine; "Quest for Dion Fortune", Samuel Weiser, 1993, ISBN 0-87728-775-9, p 5.
8. ^ Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0, p29 and Richardson, Alan "the Magical Life of Dion Fortune", p 54. N.B. Janine Chapman however in her book ("Quest for Dion Fortune" p 6) says that Fortune worked at the Tavistock clinic, citing Christine Hartley as her source.
9. ^ Richardson, Alan; "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, ch.4. ISBN 1-85538-051-X and Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0, ch.5.
10. ^ Richardson, Alan; "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, p111. ISBN 1-85538-051-X and Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0, ch.7.
11. ^ Richardson, Alan; "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, p114. ISBN 1-85538-051-X
12. ^ ^{a b} Clifton, Chas, s., http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos474.htm
13. ^ Richardson, Alan, "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, p63, ISBN 1-85538-051-X and Fielding, Charles and Collins, Carr; "The Story of Dion Fortune", Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7, p151.
14. ^ Charles and Collins, Carr; "The Story of Dion Fortune", Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7, p150,
15. ^ Fielding, Charles and Collins, Carr; "The Story of Dion Fortune", Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7, p151 and Richardson, Alan, "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, p137, ISBN 1-85538-051-X
16. ^ Charles and Collins, Carr; "The Story of Dion Fortune", Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7,p150.
17. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 0-85030-335-4, p 1. and Fielding, Charles and Collins, Carr; "The Story of Dion Fortune", Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7, p152.
18. ^ King, 1989, page 144
19. ^ Richardson, Alan, "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, ISBN 1-85538-051-X, p117,
20. ^ Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0, pp 138-139.
21. ^ King, 1989, page 143
22. ^ Richardson, Alan, "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, ISBN 1-85538-051-X, p137
23. ^ Regardie, Israel, (ed), "777 and other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley", intro. (not paginated).
24. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Magical Battle of Britain", Sun Chalice Books, 1993, ISBN 1-928754-21-X and Fielding, Charles and Collins, Carr; "The Story of Dion Fortune", Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 1-870450-33-7, p106-109 and Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0, ch.32.
25. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Magical Battle of Britain", Sun Chalice Books, 1993, ISBN 1-928754-21-X
26. ^ Richardson, Alan, "The Magical Life of Dion Fortune", Aquarian Press, 1991, pp227 - 245, ISBN 1-85538-051-X.
27. ^ Lamond, F. (2005) Fifty Years of Wicca. pp. 48–50.
28. ^ Hans Nintzel biography from the Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts Society. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
29. ^ Knight, Gareth; "Dion Fortune and the Inner Light", Thoth Publications, 2000, ISBN 1-870450-45-0.
30. ^ http://www.thelondongroup.org.uk/page7.html

External links

• Short biography at the Inner Light site
• the MYSTICA.ORG
• The Novels of Dion Fortune and the Development of Gardenerian Witchcraft
• Dion Fortune - In the Golden Dawn Tradition
• Dion Fortune at the Open Directory Project

Persondata
Name	Fortune, Dion
Alternative names	Violet Mary Firth, Violet Mary Firth Evans
Short description	British Occultist and Author
Date of birth	1890-12-06
Place of birth	Llandudno, Wales
Date of death	8 January 1946
Place of death	Middlesex, London