History UsefulNotes / HelenaBlavatsky

* She appears in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' as one of the Caster (later Archer) class Servants the player can use, her psychic powers -- [[BerserkButton which are very real, by the way]] -- being the result of her magic circuits. She's portrayed as a teenage girl for some reason, though some of her dialogue subtly implies that she's making herself look younger with magic. She makes note of some other Servants (such as Creator/ArthurConanDoyle and Creator/LewisCarroll) being members of the Society for Psychical Research when they were alive, which she has a grudge against [[SarcasmMode for some inexplicable reason]]. In RealLife, Doyle was an active admirer of Blavatsky until the Hodgson Report was published (though he remained an enthusiast for Theosophical ideas).

* Blavatsky is scathingly lampooned as Madame Buloz, the queen of Aldous Huxley's titular ''Literature/{{Island}}''. She is portrayed as creating a ScamReligion called Crusade of the Spirit and claims spiritual inspiration from a heavily-implied-to-be-phony Spiritual Master named Koot Hoomi,[[note]]Not coincidentally, the exact same name as the primary of the Mahatmas that Blavatsky claimed to communicate with. Even less subtly, Madame Buloz is explicitly called an "ardent Theosophist" when introduced.[[/note]] all as a pretense to remake her island's pacifistic Buddhist culture according to her own design and exploit its oil reserves.

Much of Blavatsky's life is shrouded in mystery. It is known that she was born Helena von Huhn in the Russian Empire in around 1831. She was later [[ArrangedMarriage married off]] to the much older nobleman Nikifor Blavatsky, though this only lasted about 3 months before she ran off. No one really knows where she went off to or what she was doing, but somehow she ended up in New York in 1873, homeless, penniless, and with a newfound fascination with the occult. She met the retired Colonel Henry Steel Olcott during a spirit séance in Vermont, and the two of them formed a [[PlatonicLifePartners lifelong partnership]]. Convinced that Blavatsky was a powerful medium who had spent her dark years training with a secretive cabal of spiritual masters in Tibet, Olcott helped Blavatsky found the Theosophical Society, dedicated to the study of the occult and esoteric sciences, the creation of a universal brotherhood of mankind, and encourage the study of different religions. Theosophy quickly became the major player in the occult world, thanks to a combination of Madame Blavatsky's magnetic, larger-than-life personality, her surprisingly comprehensive knowledge of occult lore, and the intrigue of her communication with the hidden "Masters," who communicated with her via letters manifested through the astral realm. Beyond the celebrity of Blavatsky's work, her greatest accomplishment was introducing the doctrines of Hinduism and Buddhism to the West, free from the distortions of orientalists and Christian missionaries, and, through her personal connections, publicizing hidden doctrines usually reserved for a special elite.[[note]]Many orthodox Hindus, especially Brahmin priests, did not take kindly to their secrets being bandied about by a group of outsiders. Many Buddhists straight up accused her of making up "esoteric" Buddhist doctrines whole-cloth.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', there isn't much guess where the name of the character Marianna Blavatsky comes from.

* ''[[VideoGame/ShadowHearts Koudelka]]'': The eponymous character was adopted by Blavatsky after her surviving family, feared her latent psychic power, abandoned her in London. Under her tutelage, Koudelka honed her skills until Blavatsky passed away in 1891.

* She appears in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' as one of the Caster (later Archer) class Servants the player can use, her psychic powers -- [[BerserkButton which are very real, by the way]] -- being the result of her magic circuits. She's portrayed as a teenage girl for some reason, though some of her dialogue subtly implies that she's making herself look younger with magic. She makes note of some other Servants (such as Creator/ArthurConanDoyle and Creator/LewisCarroll) being members of the Society for Psychical Research when they were alive, which she has a grudge against [[SarcasmMode for some inexplicable reason]].

The society quickly became a worldwide phenomenon: Olcott became famous for his revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka (where he is still revered by Buddhists), the Society was becoming an important player in the Indian Independence and Hindu reform movements, and Blavatsky herself was causing quite a stir in polite society in Europe and America. To her admirers, she was the real deal, a font of spiritual knowledge set to revolutionize religion the world over. Those of a more traditionally religious bent were near universal in deriding her as a charlatan, scandalized not only by her promotion of Hindu, New Age, and Buddhist doctrines as a superior form of spirituality, but also the sometimes overtly anti-Christian nature of her writings. Her claims to discovering a new spiritual aspect to science, her critique of Darwanian evolution, and her anthropological theories, which claimed humanity decended from an ancient [[AdvancedAncientHumans super-race]] called the [[{{Atlantis}} Atlanteans]], placed her firmly in crank territory as far as the orthodox scientific community was concerned. Other occultists, such as the various Hermetic Orders and others studying Eastern mysticism disliked her syncretic approach, believing she presented a [[InterfaithSmoothie perverted mish-mash of distinct spiritual traditions.]] And the British government didn't take to kindly to her political connections in India, accusing her of sedition.

In death, as in life, Blavatsky is a ''highly'' polarizing figure. The most controversial aspect of her life was her communication with the so-called Masters, whom allegedly dictated all of her spiritual doctrines to her, and with whom she acquired her formidable command of occult lore. The existence of the Masters is considered a fact only by dedicated Theosophists, and even then not all of them agree on their nature: are they physical beings on a mountain in Tibet or spiritual creatures from another plain of existence? And if they aren't who Blavatsky said they are, who are they? An idealization of her true teachers? A fiction to attribute occult knowledge she got from other sources to more impressive authors? An inside joke that was taken too far? No one knows for sure. The apparent racism and antisemitism of her works also tends to draw the ire of modern-day critics. Most notably, the Nazis used the vaguely racialist implications of her works to justify their own racial anthropology, [[HitlerAteSugar which tainted Blavatsky's work by association]]. Blavatsky herself does not seem to have harbored overtly racist views ([[FairForItsDay at least, not in the context of her times]]), but the basis of her anthropology in the idea of Root Races has not aged well.

Much of Blavatsky's like is shrouded in mystery. It is known that she was born Helena von Huhn in the Russian Empire in around 1831. She was later [[ArrangedMarriage married off]] to the much older nobleman Nikifor Blavatsky, though this only lasted about 3 months before she ran off. No one really knows where she went off to or what she was doing, but somehow she ended up in New York in 1873, homeless, penniless, and with a newfound fascination with the occult. She met the retired Colonel Henry Steel Olcott during a spirit seance in Vermont, and the two of them formed a [[PlatonicLifePartners lifelong partnership]]. Convinced that Blavatsky was a powerful medium who had spent her dark years training with a secretive cabal of spiritual masters in Tibet, Olcott helped Blavatsky found the Theosophical Society, dedicated to the study of the occult and esoteric sciences, the creation of a universal brotherhood of mankind, and encourage the study of different religions. Theosophy quickly became the major player in the occult world, thanks to a combination of Madame Blavatsky's magnetic, larger-than-life personality, her surprisingly comprehensive knowledge of occult lore, and the intrigue of her communication with the hidden "Masters," who communicated with her via letters manifested through the astral realm. Beyond the celebrity of Blavatsky's work, her greatest accomplishment was introducing the doctrines of Hinduism and Buddhism to the West, free from the distortions of orientalists and Christian missionaries, and, through her personal connections, publicizing hidden doctrines usually reserved for a special elite.[[note]]Many orthodox Hindus, especially Brahmin priests, did not take kindly to their secrets being bandied about by a group of outsiders. Many Buddhists straight up accused her of making up "esoteric" Buddhist doctrines whole-cloth.[[/note]]

Blavatsky's popularity took a serious hit after accepting the London Society for Psychical Research's invitation to study her powers. The report issued by the Society conclusively argued that Blavatsky was "[[DamnedByFaintPraise one of the most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting imposters in history]]". The report was later criticized and disclaimed for the apparent bias and spurious research practices of its chief investigator, Richard Hodgson, but the damage had already been done. Many of Blavatsky's most prominent supporters denounced and abandoned her, convinced they had been party to an ingenious fraud, and the society lost much of its standing the world over. However, it remained a staple of Indian society for quite some time after Blavatsky's death, thanks in no small part to the organization's support for Indian independence from British Rule.

* In ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', there isn't much guess where the name of the character Mariana Blavatsky comes from.

* IN ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', there isn't much guess where the name of the character Mariana Blavatsky (a {{Ghostapo}} priestess) comes from.

!!Portrayals of Madame Blavatsky in fiction:

* Dietlinde Eckart, the villainess of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'', is a CompositeCharacter of Blavatsky and Dietrich Eckart, blending the former's passion for occultism and the latter's fanatical Nazism.

Who is Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (12 August [31 July in the Old Style calendar] 1831 – 8 May 1891)?

* She appears in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' as one of the Caster class Servants the player can use. She's portrayed as a teenage girl as she used magic to make herself look pretty. Her psychic powers are explained as being the result of her magic circuits. She later appears as an Archer class Servant.

Who is H.P. Blavatsky?

Much of Blavatsky's like is shrouded in mystery. It is known that she was born Helena von Huhn in the Russian Empire in around 1831. She was later [[ArrangedMarriage married off]] to the much older nobleman Nikifor Blavatsky, though this only lasted about 3 months before she ran off. No one really knows where she went off to or what she was doing, but somehow she ended up in New York in 1873, homeless, penniless, and with a newfound fascination with the occult. She met the retired Colonel Henry Steel Olcott during a spirit seance in Vermont, and the two of them formed a [[PlatonicLifePartners lifelong partnership]]. Convinced that Blavatsky was a powerful medium who had spent her dark years training with a secretive cabal of spiritual masters in Tibet, Olcott helped Blavatsky found the Theosophical Society, dedicated to the study of the occult and esoteric sciences, the creation of a universal brotherhood of mankind, and encourage the study of different religions. Theosophy quickly became the major player in the occult world, thanks to a combination of Madame Blavatsky's magnetic, larger-than-life personality, her surprisngly comprehensive knowlege of occult lore, and the intrigue of her communication with the hidden "Masters," who communicated with her via letters manifested through the astral realm. Beyond the celebrity of Blavatsky's work, her greatest accomplishment was introducing the doctrines of Hinduism and Buddhism to the West, free from the distortions of orientalists and Christian missionaries, and, through her personal connections, publicizing hidden doctrines usually reserved for a special elite.[[note]]Many orthodox Hindus, especially Brahmin priests, did not take kindly to their secrets being bandied about by a group of outsiders. Many Buddhists straight up accused her of making up "esoteric" Buddhist doctrines whole-cloth.[[/note]]

* She appears in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' as one of the Caster class servants the player can use. She's portrayed as a teenage girl as she used magic to make herself look pretty. Her psychic powers are explained as being the result of her magic circuits.

* Dietlinde Eckart, the villainess of Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa, is a CompositeCharacter of Blavatsky and Dietrich Eckart, blending the former's passion for occultism and the latter's fanatical Nazism.

* One of the tie-in comics to ''Literature/{{Baltimore}}'' has a young magician attempting to resurrect Madame Blavatsky.

* She appears in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' as one of the Caster class servants the player can use. She's portrayed as teenage girl, and her psychic powers are explained as being the result of her magic circuits.

Much of Blavatsky's like is shrouded in mystery. It is known that she was born Helena von Huhn in the Russian Empire in around 1831. She was later [[ArrangedMarriage married off]] to the much older nobleman Nikifor Blavatsky, though this only lasted about 3 months before she ran off. No one really knows where she went off to or what she was doing, but somehow she ended up in New York in 1873, homeless, penniless, and with a newfound fascination with the occult. She met the retired Colonel Henry Steel Olcott during a spirit seance in Vermont, and the two of them formed a [[PlatonicLifePartners lifelong partnership]]. Convinced that Blavatsky was a powerful medium who had spent her dark years training with a secretive cabal of spiritual masters in Tibet, Olcott helped Blavatsky found the Theosophical Society, dedicated to the study of the occult and esoteric sciences, the creation of a universal brotherhood of mankind, and encourage the study of different religions. Theosophy quickly became the major player in the occult world, thanks to a combination of Madame Blavatsky's magnetic, larger-than-life personality, her surprisngly comprehensive knowlege of occult lore, and the intrigue of her communication with the hidden "Masters," who communicated with her via letters manifested through the astral realm.

Blavatsky's popularity took a serious hit after accepting the London Society for Psychical Research's invitation to study her powers. The report issued by the Society conclusively argued that Blavatsky was "[[DamnedByFaintPraise one of the most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting imposters in history]]. The report was later criticized and disclaimed for the apparent bias and spurious research practices of its chief investigator, Richard Hodgson, but the damage had already been done. Many of Blavatsky's most prominent supporters denounced and abandoned her, convinced they had been party to an ingenious fraud, and the society lost much of its standing the world over. However, it remained a staple of Indian society for quite some time after Blavatsky's death, thanks in no small part to the organization's support for Indian independence from British Rule.

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