It
took three articles to cover the story of the relationship between August Strindberg
and his secret friend, the man who was determined to make Strindberg admire the
works of Madame Blavatsky and become a theosophist.
The
relationship operated on three levels: it can be looked at in terms of two men
quarrelling and falling out, a cult member attacking a target who refused to be
recruited and two black magicians having an occult battle.
There
is something more to say the black magic aspect. This article will cover some
suspicious deaths that Strindberg mentions in connection with the battle and
its aftermath, the battle that took place only in their letters and on other
dimensions as they never met in real life.
The
first two deaths
Two
prominent men just happened to die shortly after something relevant by
Strindberg had been published, and the secret friend believed that Strindberg
had caused the deaths.
In
Strindberg’s own words:
“By
a diabolical chance during our paper war, the following incident takes
place: L'Initiation publishes an article by me which criticises the
current astronomical system. A few days after its appearance Tisserand, the
head of the Paris observatory, dies. In an access of mischievous humour I trace
a connection between these two things, and mention also that Pasteur died the
day after I published Sylva Sylvarum.
My
friend, the theosophist, does not know how to take a joke, and being
superstitious above the average, and perhaps, more deeply initiated in black
magic than I, gives me clearly to understand that he regards me as a wizard.”
So
Strindberg thought that the two deaths were just coincidences, but his secret
friend blamed him for them. When it comes to the attribution of sinister occult
powers, it is a case of the pots calling the kettles black. The two men really
did deserve each other!
Six
more deaths
Strindberg
describes some more deaths of prominent astronomers, deaths that occurred
shortly after the two men had stopped writing to each other:
“One
may imagine my consternation when, after the last letter of our correspondence,
the most famous of the Swedish astronomers dies of a fit of apoplexy. I am
alarmed, and with reason. To be accused of witchcraft is a very serious matter,
and ‘even after death one will not escape punishment.’
Further
calamities follow. In the course of a month about five well-known astronomers
die, one after another. I fear my fanatical friend, whom I credit with the
cruelty of a Druid and with the power of the Hindu yogis who can kill at a
distance.”
Five
prominent astronomers died in one month? This does seem more than just a
coincidence.
As
I understand it, Strindberg attributes responsibility for some of the deaths to
his secret friend, but fears that he himself will get the blame. Yet it was
Strindberg who criticised the current astronomical system, which may have
directed some malign forces towards the unfortunate astronomers. Why would the
secret friend want these men dead?
Strindberg
fears for his own life
Each
man believed that the other had the power to harm or even kill others remotely.
Strindberg tells how he lived in fear that his secret friend would kill him
from a distance:
“Here
is a new hell of anxieties. From this day onwards I forget the demons, and
direct all my attention to the unwholesome ranks of the theosophists and their
magicians, the Hindu sages, supposed to be gifted with incredible powers. I now
feel myself condemned to death, and keep sealed my papers, in which, in case of
my sudden death, I have specified the murderers. Then I wait.”
Perhaps
the secret friend was living in fear too!
Anyway,
things seem to have died down and we hear nothing more of the battle.
Some connections with other articles
The
idea that some people have the power to harm or even kill others remotely is nothing
new.
Strindberg
twice mentions Hindu masters, attributing the power to kill at a distance to them.
This is very interesting in view of what Joyce Collin-Smith said about the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, John Lennon and the Beatles’ agent Brian Epstein.
Suspicious
and/or convenient deaths that happened around some other well-known people have
been featured in several other articles; Benjamin Disraeli is just one
example.
The
congestion of the brain and the fit of apoplexy that the astronomers died from remind
me of Sheri S. Tepper’s fantasy novel Marianne, the Magus and the Manticore,
in which the witch Madame Delubovoska kills people by suffocating them
from a distance. Marianne’s parents died young from what was said to be inexplicable suffocation.
Background
information
I
did a quick investigation and found some information about two of the
astronomers who died suddenly and prematurely.
The
above-mentioned François Félix Tisserand, French astronomer and director of the
Paris Observatory, died suddenly of congestion of the brain in October 1896. He
was only 51 years old at the time.
Strindberg
said that the most famous of the Swedish astronomers died of a fit of apoplexy.
The only suitable candidate I could find was celestial mechanics expert Johan
August Hugo Gyldén. He died in November 1896. He was only 55 years old at the
time.
François
Félix Tisserand:
Johan
August Hugo Gyldén:
