View from the Big Hills

There she is staring out at you...or maybe that should be "in to you"! Whether writing as Violet Firth, Violet M Steele or Dion Fortune, the person behind these names was a prolific author, with some 20 plus works of non-fiction and a further 9 works of fiction. Just in case you can’t get above 20, don’t forget her two lesser known works of The Soya Bean: An Appeal to Humanitarians and  The Psychology of the Servant Problem: A study in social relationships . Not a bad track record for someone who was busy lecturing and teaching, as well as setting up and running her own esoteric fraternity. Most readers seem to appreciate her no-nonsense, down-to-earth and eminently readable style. It tends to lack the occasional pomposity and arrogance peppered throughout Crowley’s highly impressive output. True, some of her writing is now woefully dated in ways that much of Crowley’s isn’t. Similarly, some of the “facts” she presents have not withstood the test of time. Howeve...

The year following the end of the horrific First World War marked a pivotal time in the development of British Occultism. In 1919, Violet Mary Firth was initiated into the London A.·.O Lodge of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It was at this point in her life that she made an important connection, for participating in the young Soror D.N.F.’s initiation was a certain Maiya Curtis Webb.  Maiya’s magical motto at the time was, “Ex Fide Fortis,” essentially meaning, “Of Strong Faith,” and she is understood to have also become Violet’s superviser after her initiation. The two worked the Mysteries together on and off over the subsequent two and a half decades. Further biographical details from my earlier researches can be found here . At the time, as is still customary in many magical groups nowadays, Violet was required to choose a Mystery Name by which she would be known to her fellow Brethren and also to the Inner Planes. Making a relatively unoriginal choice, she ad...