The Western Gate

The Mystical Qabalah
Dion Fortune
Aquarian Press

For my sins I am using my book~ the Mystical Qabalah~ Dion Fortune – Aquarian Press – Softcover 1987 edition, pictured below which I’ve rebound from its softcover as it started to fall apart..

Where to start? from the beginning. Dion Fortune was one of the first, in fact probably THE first, serious author on works of the occult that I had read. Her book Psychic Self Defence coupled with my photographic manual of every form of Kung Fu and Karate posture assuredly would give me the powers ALA Dr.Strange. They didn’t, it didn’t, but whereas my Alpha Male enthusiasm for the physical martial arts waned my hunger to quieten the occult curiosity didn’t, it never has.
Qabalah was first referenced by Dion Fortune to me in that formative book (Psychic self defence) and it struck me that I had, somehow, been privy to this information before, I care not when, why or how but certainly a chord had been struck.
I duly purchased Dion Fortunes Mystical Qabalah and also Qabalism by some bloke called H.B. Pulen-Berry with a view to research… nay… to reacquaint myself with this arcane and strange knowledge.
It all began to fall apart. I felt affinity with certain objects that were spoken of on the Tree Of Life – Otz Chiim (עץ חיים ), but soon realised, in fact, both these books dealt with, what would be called, The Western tradition. And. Though I were but a mere student, a zealot, a probationer, in fact an oiky cowan tresspassing, something inside of me knew, this wasn’t all that it was… as… somehow…I knew .. something else, the western tradition seemed to me to be an interpretation of something else.

Now, Fast forward some 40 years, my hardback edition long since gone (I sold it because I could buy the new 1987 softcover edition and have more than enough change for guitar effects and recreational drugs), and I now leaf through that well worn, dog eared book. I am the only owner and it is testimony to how much it has been referenced or browsed and certainly I have read it at least 5 full times in near 40+ years if I include the original hardback version I owned, not counting the times times I would reference, browse or look something up, which would run into the hundreds.

So ! Dion, is being cancelled, her views are not liked by the new generation of Harry potter and Buffyettes and more so the non-gen-ident’ global stalwarts of the internet. This is ironically, in Dion’s own words – evolution, this is what happens. It is not for us to bemoan how the rivers turn in the future or how the mindsets of our children differ.
So what’s wrong exactly with Dion?
In the first few chapters introducing The Mystical Qabalah we have references such as page 6 – It is for this reason that I would recommend to the white races the traditional Western system, which is admirably adapted to their psychic constitution.

Further on we read;- Far be it from me to maintain that our civilisation is perfect, or that wisdom originated and will die with us, but it appears to me that if our karma (or destiny) has caused us to be incarnated in a body of a certain racial type and temperament, it may be concluded that that is the discipline and experience which the Lords of Karma consider we need in this incarnation &c

Now, these example statements could be brushed aside noting that Blavatsky and her racial pyramid scheme and Rudolph Steiner and Himmler/Hitler were the ultimate in racial pigeonholing were all the rage in ‘them’ and the following days. It was just the way it was … then. Are we to be apologists or even to advocate for reason? Dion talks, as Blavatsky, of races and sub-races in ways without even giving it a thought. In the next breathe we hear talk of “In Our Lords Day” and of course written as a statement of fact, “both St.Paul and Jesus were Jews” she muses as if she knew them personally, the modern mind begins to question. How can we take this woman seriously, who, supposedly had access to Astral worlds and Akashic records and yet speaks of racial identity as if it is a construct of natural order, and of course, despite contrary to historical evidence, Jesus et al actually existed and wasn’t just itself a construct from a failing Roman Empire to appease the growing divisive sects. Who can we judge lest we know the full facts and neither of us here do. We don’t, plain and simple.
And then we have what for me is the most gripes I have with Dion Fortune. She will declare that she is not able to dwell on such matters in one breathe and then decry those priests who sit upon their box of knowledge and refuse to share the bounty ! Complete contradiction. She will refer to her wisdom as being near the stream, the nearer the source the purer the stream, and yet admit that tributaries have access to this stream, which now evolves into our new modern tradition. (however diluted or muddied eh?)
On matters of the Qabalah Dion admits early on that the book would not be about the historical Qabalah. i.e. that which is nearer the source? but the modern version. Indeed in one of the many of imaginative analogies she says “I use the work of my predecessors as a quarry whence I fetch the stone to build my city. Neither am I limited to this quarry by any ordinance that I know of; but fetch also cedar from Lebanon and gold from Ophir if it suits my purpose.” It is a statement worthy of any Chaos magician or eclectic warrior, but of the Qabalah ? can things be so hotch -potch to the point of being abstract?

Dion will not, like Mathers also before her, divulge the methods in practical Qabalah work. Though lets it slip that Crowley unleashed the contents of Pandora’s box. For me, this set me on a path to read all these ‘secrets’ and gorged on Crowley, himself, alike Fortune, laced with race and pedigree snobbery.
Despite protesting she will secretly guard those ‘keys’ , like Hagrid from, yes Harry Potter, throughout the book she lets cats out of bags and then that cat runs amok amongst the pigeons, giving us the names of the “ten mighty archangels” who preside over each Sephira and liberally informs us they are the “barbarous names of evocation” . Thanks for that we say with a nod and a wink grabbing our biro and notepad to scrawl notes and use for our new candlelit dabble.
Dion, wags her finger at us dabblers and fiddlers, just as Dennis Wheatley forewarned us of the perils of daring to unsure foot into the temple of the occult. The more they warn and threaten and espouse the dangers the more the hunger rises, the more spice and fruit they pour on that delicious cocktail of curiosity. Why would any existential pirate not want to dwell upon the threshold and use whatever means or methods they could conjure, formulate or steal?

The Qabalah being the bedrock to most occult practices does require study, it is a storehouse of correspondence by which each little box will emulate its nature. We want to induce rage, we work upon ‘Geburah‘, dressed in scarlet, incence of Mars, Red candles, music to excite etc and armed with our now barbarous names of evocation we call out to them, to hear our demand! our will!
Woe to him, says Dion, those that call~ “Dark Uriel, Azrael and Ammon on the wing.” (grabs biro and notepad, copies the line and duly calls Dark Uriel Azrael and Ammon that very night)

The manifest, everything that is, is symbolised by the tree of life, the Qabalah, the methods of treading and analysing those paths. And so we reach the descriptive of those Sephira, those paths, and all the strange names that us blinded hitherto did not know. It’s not instant, its new words and re-reading, but the symbolism of the tree of life soon manifests itself into the mind.
We can ignore much of the foundation chapters if you so wish and if you are so offended, dismiss the rantings of Dion as someone from the post-Victorian and Edwardian era.
Instead we embark pleasingly upon a description of the tree of life but Dion advises us to refer to Annie Besants – The Ancient Wisdom for clarification on phases of evolution… and soon after references Blavatsky as source of enlightenment and those great storehouse of symbolism in Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine and Isis Unveiled books. Gawd ‘elp us.

Many cite the use of terms such as feminine being negative and masculine positive which were a part of these teachings as being out of touch, an off-shoot of patriarchal dominance. In many ways I would agree though the use of either male or female should be considered as nothing more than polarity, just as the north of magnet either repels or attracts its counterpart, it would be as folly to determine which is male or female or indeed whether by rights one is positive or negative… dependent on whether you look up or down? Equally it matters not when the question is of both in unison or division. Dion talks a little (p.56) on this, and says the nature of this feminine/masculine attribute will be revealed in due course, though one never really gets to grip with the symbolism used , being male or female and its never really fully revealed as being nothing more than a quirky labelling system.

We have a liberal smattering of Dions weird, and often, wonderful paraphrases – one cannot teach a jelly fish to sing by feeding it canary seed.

The discourse imparted herwith of course is most importantly around the description of each Sephira, and here rather than analysing each chapter it is for the reader to digest and understand.

Despite the aberrations that we in the modern age may see, this is seminal work, it is essential work. Even if the Gen z’ers and emerging Gen Alpha’s do try to erase Dion Fortune and her works, her legacy will endure even if some of the thought processes are just disregarded rather than frowned, and her work will undoubtedly last longer than the works any Gen Z or α author on the esoteric or occult will hope to achieve. Or, maybe I’m wrong.

Picture of my original version of this important work, alas this is from bookseller image.

Illustration no.1 from book, the three pillars and the Sephira, showing the descent (the lightning flash) and the manifestation into being.

Illustration 2, The supernal triangles.

Illustration 3. The Tree of Life and the Thirty Two Paths.

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Me at the graveside of Violet Firth aka Dion Fortune in Glastonbury c.2010.
I couldn’t find the grave when I entered the site, at the moment I was to give up I instead found myself watching a Harrier Hawk in the sky nearby which flew down to the SouthWest site of the graveyard and then flew away after hovering over the same area for a minute or two. Of course I went to the area where it had been and there was her grave. Yes, its a story bound to be poo-pooed and laughed at, what do I care, I have no celebrity to uphold or financial profit from such a story. Oh and yes I do look like a bootboy here so if you want to mock the little memory i’ll kick ya Fackin’ ‘ead in.