An Illusion of Legitimacy

It was a foregone conclusion that Helena Blavatsky would find an audience for her outpourings. The latter part of the nineteenth century saw a frenzy of interest in occultism: spiritualism, clairvoyance, Theosophy, Golden Dawn etc. In the "age of reason" many people had become disenchanted with institutionalised religion and were looking elsewhere for spiritual fulfilment. Writers like Bavatsky realised a bit of pseudo-science helped create an illusion of legitimacy.