Editing W. B. Yeats (section)

===Mysticism and occult===
Yeats had a lifelong interest in mysticism, [[Spiritualism (beliefs)|spiritualism]], [[occultism]] and [[astrology]]. He read extensively on the subjects throughout his life, became a member of the [[paranormal]] research organisation "[[The Ghost Club]]" (in 1911) and was influenced by the writings of [[Emanuel Swedenborg]].<ref>Burke, Martin J. "[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/seminars/IrishStudies/Oct_2005_minutes.htm Daidra from Philadelphia: Thomas Holley, Chivers and The Sons of Usna] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226174201/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/seminars/IrishStudies/Oct_2005_minutes.htm |date=26 February 2008}}". [[Columbia University]], 7 October 2005. Retrieved on 15 July 2007.</ref> In 1892 Yeats wrote: "If I had not made magic my constant study I could not have written a single word of my Blake book, nor would ''The Countess Kathleen'' ever have come to exist. The mystical life is the centre of all that I do and all that I think and all that I write."{{sfn|Ellmann|1948|p=97}} His mystical interests—also inspired by a study of Hinduism, under the [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophist]] [[Mohini Mohun Chatterji|Mohini Chatterjee]], and the occult—formed much of the basis of his late poetry. Some critics disparaged this aspect of Yeats's work.<ref>[[Edward Mendelson|Mendelson, Edward]] (ed.) [http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7272.html "W. H. Auden"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610074844/http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7272.html |date=10 June 2007}}. ''The Complete Works of W.H. Auden: Prose, Vol. II, 1939–1948'', 2002. Retrieved on 26 May 2007.</ref>

During 1885, Yeats was involved in the formation of the Dublin Hermetic Order. That year the Dublin Theosophical lodge was opened in conjunction with Brahmin [[Mohini Mohun Chatterji|Mohini Chatterjee]], who travelled from the [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophical Society]] in London to lecture. Yeats attended his first [[séance]] the following year. 

Yeats was admitted into the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]] in March 1890 and took the [[magical motto]] ''{{lang|la|Daemon est Deus inversus}}''—translated as 'Devil is God inverted'.{{efn|''{{lang|la|Daemon est Deus inversus}}''—is taken from the writings of [[Madame Blavatsky]] in which she claimed that "...&nbsp;even that divine Homogeneity must contain in itself the essence of both good and evil", and uses the motto as a symbol of the [[Plane (esotericism)|astral plane's]] light.}} He was an active recruiter for the sect's [[Isis-Urania Temple]], and brought in his uncle George Pollexfen, [[Maud Gonne]], and [[Florence Farr]]. Although he reserved a distaste for abstract and dogmatic religions founded around personality cults, he was attracted to the type of people he met at the Golden Dawn.{{sfn|Foster|1997|p=103}} He became heavily involved with Theosophy and with the eclectic [[Rosicrucianism]] of the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]]. He was involved in the Order's power struggles, both with Farr and [[Macgregor Mathers]], and was involved when Mathers sent [[Aleister Crowley]] to repossess Golden Dawn paraphernalia during the "Battle of Blythe Road". After the Golden Dawn ceased and splintered into various offshoots, Yeats remained with the [[Stella Matutina]] until 1921.<ref>Cullingford, Elizabeth. "How Jacques Molay Got Up the Tower: Yeats and the Irish Civil War". ''English Literary History'', Vol. 50, No. 4, 1983, pp. 763–789</ref>

During séances held from 1912, a spirit calling itself "Leo Africanus" apparently claimed it was Yeats's ''[[Daemon (mythology)|Daemon]]'' or anti-self, inspiring some of the speculations in ''Per Amica Silentia Lunae''.<ref>Nally, Claire V. "National Identity Formation in W. B. Yeats' ''A Vision''". ''Irish Studies Review'', Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2006, pp. 57–67</ref>