Talking to the Gods
Subtitle: Occultism in the Work of W.B. Yeats, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, and Dion Fortune
By: Susan Johnston Graf
Series: SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions; SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Albany, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 166
ISBN-13: 9781438455556; 9781438455570
Subjects: Spiritualism; Occultism; English literature; History and criticism; Criticism and interpretation; Literatur; Occultism in literature; Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; Spiritualism in literature; Literature; Okkultismus; Spiritismus; History
Description: Talking to the Gods explore the linkages between the imaginative literature and the occult beliefs and practices of four writers who were members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. William Butler Yeats, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, and Dion Fortune were all members of the occult organization for various periods from 1890 to 1930. Yeats, of course, is both a canonical and well-loved poet. Machen is revered as a master of the weird tale. Blackwood's work dealing with the supernatural was popular during the first half of the twentieth century and has been influential in the development of the fantasy genre. Fortune's books are acknowledged as harbingers of trends in second-wave feminist spirituality. Susan Johnston Graf examines practices, beliefs, and ideas engendered within the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawg and demonstrates how these are manifest in each author's work, including Yeats's major theoretical work, A Vision. -- from back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: An overview of the Golden Dawn system of magic; title: W.B. Yeats; title: Arthur Machen; title: Algernon Blackwood; title: Dion Fortune.