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Violet Mary Firth Evans, born Violet Mary Firth (December 6, 1890 – 1946) and better known as Dion Fortune, was a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 occultist and author. Her pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
 was inspired by her family motto
Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used....
 "Deo, non fortuna" (Latin for "by God, not fate").

was born at Bryn-y-Bia in Llandudno
Llandudno

Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy , Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community ....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, and grew up in a household where Christian Science
Christian Science

Christian Science is a religious belief system claimed to have been discovered in the year 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy. Practiced most prominently by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist that she founded, Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are, correctly viewed, spiritual rather than material; that truth an...
 was rigorously practiced. She reported visions
Vision (religion)

In spirituality including religion, visions comprise inspirational renderings, generally of a future state and/or of a mythologyical being, and are believed to come from a deity, sometimes directly or indirectly via prophets, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation or an Epiphany ....
 of Atlantis
Atlantis

Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias .In Plato's account, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC....
 at age four and the developing of psychic abilities during her twentieth year, at which time she suffered a nervous breakdown; after her recovery she found herself drawn to the occult.






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Violet Mary Firth Evans, born Violet Mary Firth (December 6, 1890 – 1946) and better known as Dion Fortune, was a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 occultist and author. Her pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
 was inspired by her family motto
Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used....
 "Deo, non fortuna" (Latin for "by God, not fate").

Early life

She was born at Bryn-y-Bia in Llandudno
Llandudno

Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy , Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community ....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, and grew up in a household where Christian Science
Christian Science

Christian Science is a religious belief system claimed to have been discovered in the year 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy. Practiced most prominently by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist that she founded, Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are, correctly viewed, spiritual rather than material; that truth an...
 was rigorously practiced. She reported visions
Vision (religion)

In spirituality including religion, visions comprise inspirational renderings, generally of a future state and/or of a mythologyical being, and are believed to come from a deity, sometimes directly or indirectly via prophets, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation or an Epiphany ....
 of Atlantis
Atlantis

Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias .In Plato's account, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC....
 at age four and the developing of psychic abilities during her twentieth year, at which time she suffered a nervous breakdown; after her recovery she found herself drawn to the occult. She joined the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society

The Theosophical Society was the organization formed to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy....
 and attended courses in psychology
Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
 and psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
 at the University of London
University of London

Based primarily in London, England, United Kingdom, the University of London is a federal mega university made up of 31 affiliates: 19 separate university institutions, and 12 research institutes....
, and became a lay psychotherapist at the Medico-Psychological Clinic in Brunswick Square.

Her first magical mentor was the Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
 occultist and Freemason Theodore Moriarty. In 1919 she was initiated into the London Temple of the Alpha et Omega
Alpha et Omega

The Alpha et Omega was an occult order, initially named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, co-founded in London, England by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in 1888....
 before transferring to the Stella Matutina
Stella Matutina

The Stella Matutina was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation....
 order.

Writing

From 1919 she began writing a number of novel
Novel

File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
s and short stories
Short story

The short story refers to a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, usually in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books....
 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 Witchcraft
Witchcraft

Witchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or Magic powers....
, especially upon Doreen Valiente
Doreen Valiente

Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente , who used the craft name Ameth, was a highly influential figure in the neopagan religion of Wicca, being a High Priestess of Gardnerian Wicca and an initiate of both Roy Bowers and the Coven of Atho....
.

Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine, meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism, The Mystical Qabalah, an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah
Hermetic Qabalah

Hermetic Qabalah , is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for Magic societies such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Thelema orders, Mysticism societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, and is a precursor to the Neopaganism, Wiccan and New Ag...
, and Psychic Self Defence, a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries.

Later magical career

Fortune fell out with Moina Mathers
Moina Mathers

Moina Mathers, born as Mina Bergson , was an artist and occultist at the turn of the 20th century. She was the sister of French philosopher Henri Bergson, the first man of Jewish descent to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1927....
, head of the Alpha et Omega
Alpha et Omega

The Alpha et Omega was an occult order, initially named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, co-founded in London, England by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in 1888....
, and claimed she was coming under magical attack. In 1922, with Moina's consent, Dion Fortune left the Alpha et Omega
Alpha et Omega

The Alpha et Omega was an occult order, initially named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, co-founded in London, England by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in 1888....
 and with her husband, Penry Evans formed the Fraternity of the Inner Light
Fraternity of the Inner Light

The Fraternity of the Inner Light was a magical society and Western mystery tradition....
 as an offshoot of the Alpha et Omega
Alpha et Omega

The Alpha et Omega was an occult order, initially named the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, co-founded in London, England by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in 1888....
. This brought new members to the Alpha et Omega. 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 commonly thought of as her masterpieceThe Mystical Qabalah was first published in England in 1935, and is regarded by many occultists as one of the best textbooks on magic ever written.

Dion Fortune claimed to have participated in the "Magical Battle of Britain", which was supposedly an attempt by British occultists to magically aid the war effort and which aimed to forestall the impending German invasion during the darkest days of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. Her efforts in regard to this are recorded in a series of letters she wrote at the time. The effort involved in this endeavour is said to have contributed to her death shortly after the war ended. 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), and Servants of the Light
Servants of the Light

Servants of the Light is a modern-day Western mystery tradition which teaches the esoteric sciences through correspondence. These sciences, which in their true form constitute the Yoga of the West, have previously been 'occult' , but nowadays they can be taught in a more open fashion....
, headed by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is a United Kingdom occult author, psychic, and esotericism practitioner. An associate of Walter Ernest Butler, she succeeded him as Director of Studies of the Servants of the Light ....
.

She died in 1946 from leukemia
Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood Cell , usually white blood cells ....
.

Bibliography

Fiction:
  • The Secrets of Dr. Taverner, 1926
  • The Demon Lover, 1927
  • The Winged Bull, 1935
  • The Goat-Foot God, 1936
  • Sea Priestess, 1938
  • Moon Magic, 1956


Non-fiction :
  • The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage, 1924
  • The Mystical Qabalah, 1935
  • The Cosmic Doctrine, 1949
  • 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


External links