Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

FRATERNITY OF THE INNER LIGHT

The society founded in 1922 as a branch of the Theosophical Society by Dion Fortune. The society formally split from the more mystically and astrally orientated Stella Matutina in 1927 as an occult order of Magick which claimed to span the Pagan-Christian divide and which derived from principles established in Golden Dawn (see HERMETIC ORDER OF GOLDEN DAWN).

It was said to be guided by spirit entities or 'Masters' residing at the Inner Plane under whose tutelage it practised white magic and believed itself in harmony with the collective soul of the British nation. It included a society within a society formed by Fortune and entitled The Guild of the Master Jesus.

Dion Fortune died without a successor and, although the Fraternity of the Inner Light was taken over by Arthur Chichester, it is said that she continued to run it through her Trance mediums until the late 1950's, when it became known as the Society of the Inner Light. Its membership was content to continue in the Traditions which she had established until Chichester revised the entire structure.

The image of the society was then changed, allegedly moving towards more solidly Christian principles.

At least five fraternities have descended from it which have been identified, collectively, as the Western Mysteries, so-called because they claim to subscribe to the mystery Traditions of Egypt and Eleusis as well as elements of Mithraism, Druidry and Kabbalistic Magick.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc