I wonder what it was that made so many of the British Raj - especially the ladies - dabble in the fringes of occultism. My mother and grandmother both claimed to the personification of clairvoyance. Certainly my mother was most convincing to the degree that she made my teenage down to earth hair stand on end!...........Billllll...........!

Bill Stabler wrote: > I wonder what it was that made so many of the British Raj - especially the ladies - dabble in the fringes of occultism. My mother and grandmother both claimed to the personification of clairvoyance. Certainly my mother was most convincing to the degree that she made my teenage down to earth hair stand on end!. Bill - Two quick points. It was not only in India that there was a surge of interest in the occult and related subjects during Victorian and Edwardian times. India has had a long association with such matters, which led to two threads amongst Westerners. There were those like Capt. Edward Sellon who, having studied it during his service in India, introduced certain aspects to the underground spiritual world of Britain. (Check Google - if you do not mind a mention of pornography). In adition there were also echoes of Indian spiritualism that were taken aboard by certain Western groups and beliefs, such as Theosophy. Strangely, a seperate twig of Sellons were very much bound up with Theosophy which is still very much a force for good, including one becoming their international treasurer, based in India, during the 1920/30s. In fact these Sellons were resident on the east coast of the USA. Yours Aye Andrew Sellon In routing out a nest of consecrated cobblers, and in bringing to light such a perilous heap of trash as we were obliged to work through in our articles upon the Methodists and Missionaries, we are generally conceived to have rendered an useful service to the cause of rational religion. Rev. Sydney Smith 1717-1854, Canon of St. Paul's.