A New Order

Abstract

At the turn of the century, Victorian Britain witnessed a revival of interest in magic and the occult. All sorts of respectable men and women were dabbling in dubious pastimes such as ritual magic and attempting to communicate with the dead. Medical doctors donned ceremonial dress and wielded wands in magical ritual; an accountant and a tea heiress astrally projected themselves to other planets; actors and poets gathered together to transmute evil into good. Such gatherings were by no means unusual. Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century such individuals gathered together in groups to practise and study magic for a variety of purposes including communicating with one’s guardian angel, healing the sick, interplanetary travel, and even murder. However, while certain individuals did seek such objectives in their pursuit of occult knowledge, the average Victorian magician was seeking something far less sensational but just as radical. Men and women across Britain were joining magical societies in an attempt to evolve into their ‘true selves’. They believed that ancient wisdom passed down over the centuries through cabalistic, Hermetic, alchemical and occult sources held the key for individuals to gain access to their divine beings.