“For
the egg was now red-hot, and inside it something was moving. Next
moment there was a soft cracking sound; the egg burst in two, and out
of it came a flame-coloured bird. It rested a moment among the
flames, and as it rested there the four children could see it growing
bigger and bigger under their eyes.
Every
mouth was a-gape, every eye a-goggle.
The
bird rose in its nest of fire, stretched its wings, and flew out into
the room. It flew round and round, and round again, and where it
passed the air was warm.”
The
Phoenix and the Carpet by Edith Nesbit
In
the biography Dion Fortune and the Inner Light, Gareth Knight
writes an illuminating chapter entitled “The Flight of the
Phoenix.” Appearing towards the end of the book, the chapter
summarises an important transformational point in the story of Dion
Fortune and the Society of the Inner Light. Somewhat like a pressure
cooker, the weight of circumstances—which had been building in the
background since the group’s formal ritual Inauguration of the
Lesser Mysteries on the 21st December 1928—seemed to
have reached a critical state. Something needed to shift, and the
winds of change were demanding it!
In
1961, the then Warden, Arthur Chichester, had dismantled the
Society’s grade structure and stripped everything right down to the
bare bones of the First Degree. At the time it was felt that this was
needed as a safety valve. However, as Knight himself comments, “If
the enclosed part of the Society of the Inner Light retrenched to
preserve the spiritual principles of Dion Fortune in a condition of
pristine purity, so, after another manner, did the spirit of Dion
Fortune or rays from the Inner Light move out into the world.”
The
reality was that this kind of restrictive modus operandi couldn’t
remain unchanged indefinitely. The Inner Plane Adepti needed a range of
alternative routes to express and teach the Mysteries. Key members of the time also felt that the wider magical and ceremonial
methods previously taught in the Society—but which had now been
ceased—had a particular relevance for the emerging Aquarian epoch.
The Phoenix needed to rise and fly out into the world to allow the
regeneration of these methods into new forms appropriate for a New
Age.
The
Phoenix seems a most apt symbol for this part of the Inner Light’s
story. It is often seen as a symbol of the Risen Christ because of
its regenerative abilities. Similarly, in Ancient Egypt, the Bennu
bird had also been the symbol of the resurrected god Osiris. Within
the Qabalistic Tradition, the Phoenix is also seen as the symbol of
Enoch, who “walked with God, and was not, for God took him,”
eventually becoming the eternal Archangel Metatron. Transfigured and
transformed by the Divine fire, Enoch became the deathless “Prince
of the Countenance”.
In
Egyptian mythical tradition, each 500 years the Phoenix would fly
across the skies of the world until it came to the temple city of
Heliopolis. There the priests and priestesses had prepared a large
mound of sweet smelling frankincense wood for the bird’s arrival.
This would serve as both a cremation pyre as well as its fiery nest
and womb for the immortal bird’s subsequent rebirth. Once the
Phoenix alighted, the light of the Sun would be directed to further
ignite the wood and the bird would be consumed by the flames. Later
on the same day, the Phoenix would arise anew as the “Bird of
Splendid Flame,” exemplifying the Mystery of Regeneration.
Gareth
Knight’s “The Flight of the Phoenix” tells a little bit about
some of the key personalities and groups which flew out from the ashes of the old forsaken methods and teachings
of the Inner Light; going out into the world to teach afresh and
further develop the Western Mystery Tradition along the lines
promulgated by Dion Fortune. Like the Inner Light itself, many of
these groups or indeed their own offspring are still around today,
some quite public and others remaining hidden from the well-trodden
roads.
One
of the senior members Gareth Knight mentions as having departed the
Society in the 1960s on the flight of the phoenix was Charles
Fielding. With two other ex-members of the Society he would go on to
first form the Society of Western Mythologists and then, in 1975, the
London Group, based for over three decades in the capital city before
moving to the heart of England. Two photographs of the London Group's
publicity leaflet are shown below. On the other side of the pond,
Fielding would also form the Star and Cross group on Euclid Avenue,
in the Highland Park district of Dallas, Texas, with the help of
talented Jungian Analyst and writer, Dr James Hall MD, and wealthy
philanthropist, Carr P Collins Junior.
Fielding
would also leave a legacy of two important books. The first of these
was The Story of Dion Fortune published by Red Wheel/Weiser in
1985 and again in 1998 by Thoth Publications. Despite its
incompleteness, flaws and occasional misassumptions, for many years,
this was arguably the most definitive book on the subject matter by
insiders who were living and breathing the Western Mysteries.
Following
this, Fielding wrote The Practical Qabalah which was first
published by Red Wheel / Weiser in 1989 and then again in 2008. In
many respects it remains one of the simplest, clearest and most
profound expositions available on a magical and psychological
approach to the Qabalah. The postscript to this book nicely captures
the encouraging, pragmatic and occasionally provocative approach he
and his groups applied to seekers and initiates alike:-
“Why
did you read this book? What is the point of it all? Where are you
going now?
The
point of it all is the regeneration of yourself, your community,
nation and planet: the fulfilment of the plan. And what is the Great
Plan after all but the sum-total of the fulfilment of each
individual’s own plan? So your efforts and struggles and triumphs
are all parts of the whole and supremely worthwhile.”
With
the exception of a very small number of lectures and public meetings in London, Fielding
remained a relatively private man who was keen to avoid the pitfalls,
glamour and distractions which often plague those who choose a public
life in magic. He was also keen not to waste time on those who had endless questions and a solely intellectual curiousity about the Mysteries but who were unable to take any practical steps along the path. I can understand that.
Living
during the 1950’s in the Society’s enclosed community of 3
Queensborough Terrace, Bayswater, London, Fielding embarked on a career with
the Royal Air Force, eventually working as a University lecturer in the East of England, as
well as getting married and raising two children. Born in Elstead,
Surrey, on the 21st of October 1929, he passed over to the
other side on the 16th of March 1998 in Shropshire.
Not much else about his life is currently in the public domain.
As
one of the people described by Knight in “The Flight of the
Phoenix,” who figuratively flew forth from the Inner Light,
Fielding’s wider esoteric legacy—apart from his limited published
works—is likely to remain hidden to the majority of people, at
least for the foreseeable future. Whether this will change over time
remains to be seen. However, I suspect that is exactly as he would
want it.
Readers
may be interested in the following extract from an erudite article
written by Fielding in 1972. Much
of what he says remains fresh and relevant some 42 years later,
although I’ve made a very small number of edits for clarity’s
sake. I hope you enjoy it.
Occultism
– the White, the Black and the Fatuous
About
fifty years ago Dion Fortune wrote a series of articles about her
local occult scene. Later, in summing up her findings, she said that
three sorts of occult activity existed; the white, the black and the
fatuous.
That
was half a century ago, yet the situation today is curiously similar.
Once again there is a marked increase of interest in occultism, magic
and ritual and a proliferation of groups, Societies and covens of all
shapes, sizes and shades of whiteness. In the writer's opinion, black
occultism is very rare as it calls for a one-pointed dedication to
evil as complete as the white adept's devotion to good. And true
adepts (of either hue) are few and far between - very few and far
between. The dividing line between fatuous and serious activities is
fairly simply defined. The fatuous operation is performed for
personal amusement or self-aggrandisement, while the serious one is
carried out either for personal regeneration or the good of
humankind. The first is self orientated and seeks to draw something
towards the operator; the second is universally orientated and
intended to give out something to all humanity. The former attracts,
the latter radiates.
Obviously
all generalisations such as this are over simplification and must be
unfair in some cases. Most serious occultists start their career with
a nebulous philosophy, ill-formulated aims and enormous enthusiasm.
But after a series of flirtations with Abramelin, Crowley and the
Golden Dawn, the serious seeker starts to analyse their own motives
and to define their goals. The answers they get determines their
subsequent involvement. Either they decide to get themselves trained
in the theory and practice of their art or remain a dabbler. The
difference is the same as that between a knight and a collector of
weapons and armour. The latter shows off their toys and has fun
dressing up and waving their sword about; but the knight uses lance
and blade in the quest for the Holy Grail. To the one it is a hobby;
to the other a way of life.
The
word “occultism” is often used as if it were synonymous with the
Western Mystery Tradition. It is not. Occultism is simply a set of
techniques. A plough is not to be confused with the cultivated land
which its proper use produces. Neither should the occult powers be
confused with the goal of the initiate, yet they are the means
whereby that goal may be attained. Humankind is by nature a
form-builder and the occultist simply extends their operations to
other levels. By their knowledge and the proper use of their tools
they build a structure which towers into the other worlds. But the
object of the form is simply to enable them to observe the higher
planes and work therein. Once they have established themselves, the
scaffolding can be removed.
“Magic”
is another subject of great interest these days. Rightly for it is
simply applied occultism. One definition of magic describes as “the
science and art of building forms for the focussing, direction and
application of subtle forces”. This is a very illuminating
interpretation, if properly considered. Again there is the idea of a
structure, purpose built to perform a stated task. Neither do ethical
considerations apply to a structure; only to the way it is used.
Four
things really determine the difference between the fatuous and the
serious in the occult world: aptitude, dedication, training and
context. The serious worker, whether a solitary or a member of a
group will display natural aptitude for occult work. They will not
merely be a sensation-monger or a dabbler trying out a few techniques
to see if they work. They will be a committed person. They will also
be a person either already trained (and the training may have gone on
for many lives) or in the process of being trained by competent
people. And finally, and possibly most important of all, they will
see the work they are doing in context, as a part a great structure,
a structure which is universal and not merely personal.
Which
brings up the subject of the Structure itself. Occultists do not like
creeds. No serious occult group will ask a prospective member to
prove their suitability for entry by reciting a list of "I
believes". And a very good thing too, because no one really
knows. A neophyte's experience in working on the material enriches
the group experience. But if they disagree constructively and offers
an explanation better than the traditional one, then so much the
better. Nevertheless, despite the need for a liberal attitude and a
questing mind, serious work can only be performed against an agreed
background or frame of reference. Certainly facts must be assumed as
axiomatic or at least agreed upon as a working hypothesis if results
are to be achieved in occultism as in any other field. A first solo
is not the best time for a pilot to question the law of gravity. A
minimum of fundamentals must surely be agreed upon between occultists
working together, the question is which?
On
a matter of this sort no one person can make the laws for another,
but the writer would hesitate to do any serious work with anyone who
could not accept as working hypothesis the following:
- that there is an invisible reality which lies
behind physical phenomena and that material forms and forces are the
outer manifestation of inner causes
- that humanity is an evolving spiritual being of the same
nature as the Deity, although vastly junior to It in development, and
possessed of free-will in the limits of the system which it is
currently working
- that everything is in a state of evolution and that there
exists a plan or purpose which guides evolution
- that Humankind has its own individual part to play in the
great evolutionary scheme
- that the evolutionary scheme in which Humankind is
currently working is hindered by its errors and by the action of
intelligent forces deliberately working against the evolutionary plan
- that Humankind assumes many bodies in its long
evolutionary journey and that, as action generates reaction, so is a
human's present state environment the result of attitudes and actions
set in motion by them in the past
- that when a person has learned the lessons of matter,
they need no longer incarnate but continue to evolve on non-physical
levels
- that the concepts of the evolutionary scheme are passed
down an inner hierarchy of beings of whom physical Humankind is the
terminal in dense matter responsible for embodying these ideas in the
material world
Possibly
all occultists take these things for granted, yet the amount of
ineffectual dabbling makes one doubt it. If we train others, let us
do it properly. If we are looking for someone to train us, let us
accept nothing but the best and be prepared to search until we find
what we want.
If
all the fatuous were properly trained, the devil would have a hard
time of it!
Further
sources readers of View from the Big Hills may wish to explore
include:
The
Story of Dion Fortune,
Fielding and Collins, Thoth Publications
The
Practical Qabalah, Charles
Fielding, Thoth Publications
Dion
Fortune and the Inner Light,
Gareth Knight, Thoth Publications
Yours
Very Truly, Gareth Knight,
Skylight Press
I
Called It Magic, Gareth
Knight, Skylight Press
Priestess,
Alan Richardson, Aquarian Press
The
Quest for Dion Fortune, Janine
Chapman, Weiser
Persuasion's
of the Witches' Craft:
Ritual Magic in Contemporary England,
Tanya
M. Luhrmann, Harvard
University Press
Fifty
Years of Wicca, Fred Lamond,
Green Magic
Sects,
Cults and Alternative Religions: A World Survey and Source Book,
David Barrett, Blandford Press
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