Madame Blavatsky - Russian Occultist and Esoteric Philosopher

Pioneer. Visionary. Provocateur. Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky—mystic, occult writer, child of Russian aristocrats, spiritual seeker who traveled five continents, and founder (with Henry Steel Olcott) of the Theosophical Society—is still being hailed as an icon and scorned as a fraud more than 120 years after her death. In this talk, Gary Lachman, the acclaimed biographer of Rudolf Steiner and Jung the Mystic, examines the controversy and legacy of this influential thinker who helped define modern alternative spirituality.

In 2018, our National Trust salons focus on the subject of women and power and Lachman will use this premise to discuss her unique and singular contributions toward introducing Eastern and esoteric spiritual ideas to the West during the nineteenth century, as well as the controversies that continue to color the discussions of her life and work.

Gary Lachman

Gary Joseph Lachman, also known as Gary Valentine, is an American writer and musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1970s as the bass guitarist for the punk rock/new wave band Blondie. He is now a full time writer and the author of twenty-one books on topics ranging from the evolution of consciousness to literary suicides, popular culture and the history of the occult.