Geoffrey Hodson (12 March 1886 in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, Retrieved 2013-06-04. – 23 January 1983 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

) was an

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

Theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

,Co-Freemason, mystic, Liberal Catholic priest, philosopher and

esotericist Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

, and a leading light for over 70 years in the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

Early life

Hodson was educated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. According to Hodson, his occult experiences began when he was about five or six years old. He had dream experiences in the half waking state and this seemed to be connected with

Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

, the power of life and one of the great forces also known as the "Serpent Fire". He served in the British Army as an officer and tank commander during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Subsequently he spent his life as an anti-war activist through his teachings and insights. Following demobilisation he married Miss Jane Carter and he joined the YMCA Secretariat.

Angelic visionary

It was around this time he met Mary De La Middleton, who said that her own master, the Master Rakoczy, had instructed her to show him how to awaken clairvoyance when required, focus it at different levels, project energies and heal others. It was at this stage Geoffrey Hodson with his wife toured Lancashire on his motorcycle and sidecar making detailed notes on the various types of fairies and

nature spirits Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, h ...

there. This culminated when he was on holiday in the valley of

Sheepscombe Sheepscombe is a small village in the English county of Gloucestershire. Sheepscombe is located some south-east of the city of Gloucester, north-east of the town of Stroud, and east of the village of Painswick. It lies in a narrow valley, h ...

where he and his wife claimed to have studied the angelic kingdom and that he received teachings from a high angel. This was the beginning of his work with the angelic kingdom. He wrote many books about his investigations there and the angelic teachings given him throughout his life. Hodson was one of many (along with Arthur Conan Doyle) fooled by the Cottingley Fairies hoax.

South Africa, Australia and New Zealand

In 1937 he traveled to South Africa to stay with friends Mr and Mrs Quail and their daughter Ethelwynne, who was an artist. Under Hodson’s direction she painted the illustrations for his book, ''The Kingdom of the Gods''. Hodson then went to Australia to be with his wife Jane, who since 1929 had progressive paralysis due to multiple sclerosis. She died in 1962. He served there as president of the

Blavatsky Lodge The Blavatsky Lodge, officially The Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society, was an English Theosophical Society founded by Helena Blavatsky and 13 other members. History The Blavatsky Lodge was founded on May 19, 1887 in London by 14 membe ...

, while a Perth theosophist Miss Sandra Chase took care of his wife. In 1940 he was invited by the

lodge to tour their main centres. While there he became founder and president of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society. He was also elected president of the Council of Combined Animal Welfare Organisations of New Zealand.

India and America

Hodson also served as the director of studies of the School of the Wisdom at the International Headquarters of the Theosophical Society at

Adyar, Chennai Adyar is a large neighbourhood in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by the Tharamani in the West, Thiruvanmiyur to the South, Besant Nagar in the East, Kotturpuram in ...

in India, for four sessions, in 1953-54, then in 1954-1955 and again in 1961. Hodson was a guest lecturer at the Krotona School of Theosophy in Ojai, California.

Writing

Hodson was the author more than 50 books on spirituality, many being still in print. He wrote on

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

powers,

Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

Spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (w ...

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

, fairies,

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

, health and disease. He also wrote over two hundred articles and radio talks and travelled the world lecturing for the Theosophical Society. He was awarded the Subba Row Gold Medal in 1954 for his contributions to Theosophical literature. There are also several posthumous publications, such as Light of The Sanctuary - the Occult Diary of Geoffrey Hodson. Published by his wife Sandra Hodson. Other books published based on his notes and diaries were: Yogic Ascent to Spiritual Heights, Illuminations of the Mystery Traditions.

Death

He gave his last lecture on 4 May 1982 at HPB Lodge in Auckland, aged 96. Eight months later he died in Auckland, on 23 January 1983.

Bibliography

Works by Geoffrey Hodson:Books by Geoffrey Hodson
from TomFolio.com * ''Faeries at Work and at Play'', 1925 * ''The Kingdom of Faerie'', 1927 * ''The Science of Seership'' 1927 * ''The Brotherhood of Angels and of Men'', 1927 * ''First Steps on the Path'', 1928 * ''The Angelic Hosts'', 1928 * ''Be Ye Perfect'', 1928 * ''Angels and the New Race'', 1929 * ''American Lectures'', 1929 * ''Thus Have I Heard'', 1929 * ''The Miracle of Birth'', 1929 * ''The Inner Side of Church Worship'', 1930 * ''An Occult View of Health and Disease'' 1930 * ''New Light on the Problem of Disease'' 1930 * ''Some Experiments in Four Dimensional Vision'', 1933 * ''The Coming of the Angels'', 1935 * ''Destiny'', 1936 * ''The Seven Human Temperaments'', 1952 * ''Man, the Triune God'', 1952 *

', 1952 * ''Through the Gateway of Death: A Message to the Bereaved'', 1953 * ''Theosophy Answers Some Problems of Life'', 1953 * ''Pathway to Perfection'', 1954 * ''Occult Powers in Nature and in Man'', 1955 * ''Lecture Notes: The School of the Wisdom'', 1955 * ''Vital Questions Answered'', 1959 * ''The Soul's Awakening: Talks on Occultism and the Occult Life'', 1963 * ''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible'', 1963–1980 * ''Man's Supersensory and Spiritual Powers'', 1964 * ''Reincarnation, Fact or Fallacy?'', 1967 * ''Meditations on the Occult Life'', 1968 * ''The Supreme Splendour'', 1967 * ''The Priestly Ideal'', 1971 * ''The Call to the Heights: Guidance on the Pathway to Self-Illumination'', 1975 * ''Christ Life from Nativity to Ascension'', 1975 * ''Music Forms: Superphysical Effects of Music Clairvoyantly Observed'', 1976 * ''At the Sign of the Square and Compass'', 1976 * ''Clairvoyant Investigations of Christian Origins'', 1977 * ''Basic Theosophy: The Living Wisdom (condensed from Lecture Notes)'', 1981 * ''The Concealed Wisdom in World Mythology'', 1983 * ''Clairvoyant Investigations'', 1984 * ''The Occult Philosophy Concealed within Freemasonry'', 1985 Posthumus Publications: * ''Light of The Sanctuary - The Occult Diary of Geoffrey Hodson'', 1988 * ''Yogic Ascent to Spiritual Heights'', 1991 * ''Illuminations of The Mystery Tradition'', 1992 * ''Sharing The Light - The collected Articles of Geoffrey Hodson'', 2008 * ''An Introduction to The Initiate Life'', 2018 * ''The Ancient Mysteries'', 2020

References

External links

Comprehensive authority website by a pupil
from TheLiberalCatholicChurch.org

Works

online book
Extracts from ''Light of the Sanctuary''
the Occult Diary of Geoffrey Hodson * , a Hodson work

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodson, Geoffrey 1886 births 1983 deaths English Theosophists Angelic visionaries New Zealand Theosophists