Madame Blavatsky is seen as the founder of the New Age. Despite her short life, she published many books containing her views, which were not in line with many religious beliefs. During the period in which she lived she was far ahead of her time. However, her work found it difficult to gain a foothold because the rest of humanity was not yet ready for her philosophies.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born on August 12, 1831 in Dnipropetrovsk (Yekaterinoslav), Ukraine, into a noble Russian family. She was born as Miss Hahn. Her mother was a novelist, Helena Andrejevna (née De Fadjeev). Her father was Colonel Peter Alexeevich von Hahn.
It was clear from a very young age that Blavatsky had special gifts. In 1849 she married Nikofor V. Blavatsky, due to a bet. Her sister had taunted her that she was so ugly that she couldn’t get even this old fart. A week later she was engaged to the guy. But the family no longer gave permission to break off the engagement.
Her first journey started as an escape from Nikifor Blavatsky, but many say that even if that bet had not been made, she would still travel the world. Like other philosophers (Pythagoras, Apollonius and Plotinus), she searched for the ultimate truth of how the world should work. In the 20 years she wandered she visited and lived in many countries: Tiflis, London, France, Germany, Russia, Greece, Cairo, Odessa, Paris, New York, Bombay, Madras, Paris, Elberfeld, London, Naples, Torre del Greco, Würzburg, Ostend. She eventually died in London in 1891 at the age of 59.
Chronological order of Blavatsky’s life
- 1831 Born on August 12.
- 1849 Married to Nikifor Blavatsky, state officer who was high on the social ladder.
- 1849-50 Left her husband and traveled to Turkey, Greece, Egypt.
- 1851 Meeting her philosophical teacher in London.
- 1852 Started her journey to Canada via New Orleans, Mexico, South America.
- 1852 Blavatsky then traveled to the West Indies and via Ceylon to India.
- 1853 Wanted to enter Tibet but was stopped so returned to England.
- 1854 Left for America and went through the Rocky Mountains with a procession of immigrants.
- 1855 Left for India via Japan.
- 1856-57 traveled through India, Kashmir, Ladakh and parts of Tibet and Burma.
- 1858 Returned to Europe again to stay in France and Germany.
- 1858 Traveled to Russia where she entered Pskov on Christmas Eve.
- 1860 After Russia left again for Caucasus. She lived among the local tribes for about 4 years. To get a grip on her esoteric gifts, she had serious psychological and physical problems.
- 1866 Blavatsky returned to Russia. This time via the Balkans, Egypt, Syria and Italy.
- 1866-67 Left Russia again and traveled extensively in Balkans, Egypt, Syria, Italy. Returned to Italy in 1867 and paid a short visit to southern Russia. On November 3, 1867, Blavatsky was wounded during the battle for Mentana.
- 1868 She traveled to Tibet and India with her teacher.
- 1870 Blavatsky returned to Greece. She had fond memories of it.
- 1871 On July 4 she was stranded near the island of Spetsai during her journey to Egypt.
- 1871 She settled in Cairo. Traveled to Syria, Palestine and Lebanon
- 1872 Blavatsky spent a short time in Odessa.
- 1873 After a few short trips in Eastern Europe, Blavatsky left for Paris.
- 1873 On July 7 she arrived in New York at the request of her teacher.
- 1874 In ,the Eddy farmhouse, in Chittenden, Vermont she met Colonel Henry Steel on October 14.
- 1875 On September 8, she founded the Theosophical Society with Colonel Olcott, William Q. Judge and a number of others.
- 1877 Her first book was published: Isis unraveled.
- 1878 on July 8 she became an official resident of America. However, on December 17, she went to live in Bombay, India, with Colonel Olcott.
- 1879 In October Blavatsky introduced ,The Theosopist, which was her first magazine. This magazine has experienced rapid growth in India.
- 1882 On December 19, the head office was moved to Adyar in India.
- 1884 Blavatsky returned to Europe on February 20, accompanied by Colonel Olcott and many others. After a visit to Nice, she lived in Paris for a while to work on her book ,The Secret Doctrine,. However, this was short-lived because she moved to Germany in the autumn. In October Blavatsky was back in London and on December 21 she returned to the headquarters in Adyar.
- 1885 In February Blavatsky falls ill. On March 31 she travels to Naples and leaves India behind her. After a short stay in ,Torre del Greco, she decided to settle in Germany, Wurzburg to continue writing ,The Secret Doctrine,.
- 1886 In July she arrived in Ostend where she also visited Elberfeld.
- 1887 In May she left for London again to found the ,Blavatsky Lodge,.
- 1887 In December her second magazine was published called ,Lucifer,, as if in a nickname of the devil.
- 1888 After 4 years of writing, ,the Secret Doctrine, was finally published and she founded the Esoteric School.
- 1889 Within 1 year she published both ,The Voice of the Silence, and ,The Key to Theosophy,.
- 1890 Blavatsky established a European headquarters for the Theosophical Society at 19 Avenue Road in London.
- 1891 On May 8, Blavatsky died at 19 Avenue Road in London. She was cremated by Woking Crematorium, Surrey in England.
What has Blavatsky done?
- The Theosophical Society was founded and dedicated to its humanitarian and educational purposes.
- First to interpret Eastern religions in the West, including the beliefs of Karma and Reincarnation.
- Her view was that all major religions descended from one original religious philosophy.
- Demonstrated that the ancient wisdom had not been forgotten (including the teachings of Pythagoras).
- Wrote many books about this ancient wisdom.
- Laid the foundation for morality and brotherhood.
- Enforced that the greatest purpose of the Theosophical Society was based on universal brotherhood. This means without prejudice of background, gender, skin color.
Blavatsky’s books
Blavatsky wrote many books including:
- 1877 Isis unraveled
- 1888 The Secret Doctrine
- 1889 The Voice of the Silence
- 1889 The Key to Theosophy
- An Introduction to The Secret Doctrine
- An Explanation of The Secret Doctrine
- HP Blavatsky at the American Conventions: 1888-1891
Books about her
- The Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavatsky (Sylvia Cranston)
- HP Blavatsky and the SPR (Vernon Harrison)
- HP Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement (Charles J. Ryan)
- Special Issue Sunrise: HPB, Theosophy and the Theosophical Society