The Theosophists have long had a fascination with lost, ancient civilizations in Central and South America. According to Blavatsky, she traveled to South America in the 1850s to learn occult secrets.[1] (One account claims that she was with an Englishman whom she had met in Germany and a Hindu “Chela,” whom she came across at the Mayan ruins at Copán, Honduras.)[2] For Blavatsky, the similarities of the rites, ceremonies, traditions, and even the names of the gods, between the... Read more
“Mr. George Bernard Shaw is on the platform meeting a friend who has come by the same boat,” said the reporter from The Pall Mall Gazette to Mark Twain. It was June 18, 1907, and Twain had gone to England to receive his honorary degree from Oxford University. “Yes, I know,” replied Twain. “I want to see him.” “In the meantime can you tell us what you think of Mr. Shaw?” “I never give an opinion,” Twain replied,... Read more
I have previously written about Charles Johnston, W.B. Yeats, George Russell, and their role in bringing the Theosophical Society to Ireland. The impact of this extended beyond Ireland, influencing the Irish Literary Revival in America. After the death of W.Q. Judge in March 1896, his successor, Katherine Tingley, planned a global polytheizing mission called the Theosophical Crusade. In honor of Judge’s hometown, the “Crusaders,” as they were called, planned their European Convention to be held in Dublin.[1] When they arrived in... Read more
Oz: A Story Of Ancient Initiation On February 16, 1906, my great-great Grandfather, Domenico Tarallo, left Naples, Italy, on board the Prinzess Irene, arriving in New York on February 28 to begin his new life in America.[1] It was when researching what that journey would have looked like that I learned of a (small) family connection with the author of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. It seems that L. Frank Baum and his wife, Maud Gage Baum, took their... Read more
PRINCE TYUMEN July 1842.[1] These were the times when simple highways were scares within the Russian Empire, let alone railways. A 2,000-mile journey was really difficult. Lelya, Vera, Leonid, Baba Lena, and Antonia, traveled in two large carriages, and, in case of foul weather, they also took a carrycot for their items and people. The sands were deep, so deep that the wheels of their heavy carriages sank up to the hub. The poor horses were no... Read more
PANIKHIDA June 1842. A month or two after arriving in Odessa, Helena Andreevna announced to the girls that their relatives were coming to visit from Saratov. Her health was oscillating. She recovered for a bit, only for her health to decline once more, and just when things looked desperate, she suddenly came back to life and was cheerful, even. On her good days, she was busy, looking for an apartment where everyone, Dede Andrushka, Baba Lena, the whole family,... Read more
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Spring 1842 Helena Andreevna, Antonia, and Elizaveta went to the shops, leaving the Hahn children with the Shemiots to play different games. Lelya decided to dress up and made herself a mask with a beard and put on the old lady Shemiot’s hood. Eulalia dressed Vera up in her nephew’s shirt and overcoat. “I would really like to stay like this forever,” declared Vera, looking in the mirror. Everyone found that Vera was a great boy,... Read more
THE BLACK SEA Spring 1842.[1] The snow had not completely melted. It was a grey, cold, wet spring when Helena Andreevna, the children, both governesses, Annushka, Masha, and the cook Aksentiy, all left for Odessa. Vasily Nikolaevich Benzingir, the military doctor, accompanied them.[2] Colonel Hahn was again left alone with his mustachioed orderly Voronov and his fat wife Marya. Vera, rejoicing that she was going to see the sea again, was too excited to feel sorry for him. She... Read more
“A WINTER EVENING.” Winter 1842.[1] Helena Andreevna was sick so often that winter, that the doctors did not allow her to do as much work as she wished. To take her away from work, and entertain her somewhat, Colonel Hahn prepared to visit Kursk where his mother, Oma Lizaveta, lived there in the village with her daughter. Although they were very affectionate towards the Hahn children, the siblings did not have even a shadow of the feelings for them... Read more
ANTONIA’S STORY. January 1842 “Well, you see,” Antonia began, “I haven’t told you yet that we lived in a small town in Finland when I was a child. My mother was a pastor’s daughter, and my father was in the Russian service. I remember, as if in a dream, that my brother, who was five years older than me, and I, were very happy while my mother was alive, and lived well. She was an excellent housewife and assistant... Read more
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