Editing Helena Blavatsky (section)

==== Arriving in New York City ====
[[File:Helena Blavatsky.jpg|thumb|upright|Blavatsky in 1875]]
Blavatsky alleged that she departed Tibet with the mission of proving to the world that the phenomena identified by [[Spiritualism (movement)|Spiritualists]] were objectively real, thus defending Spiritualism against accusations of fraud. However, she also stated that the entities being contacted by Spiritualist mediums were not the spirits of the dead, as the Spiritualist movement typically alleged, but instead either mischievous [[elementals]] or the "shells" left behind by the deceased.{{sfnm|1a1=Godwin|1y=1994|1p=282|2a1=Lachman|2y=2012|2pp=77–78, 81}} She proceeded via the [[Suez Canal]] to Greece, where she met with another of the Masters, [[Master Hilarion]].{{sfn|Lachman|2012|p=78}} She set sail for Egypt aboard the {{SS|Eunomia}}, but in July 1871 it exploded during the journey; Blavatsky was one of only 16 survivors.{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1p=93|2a1=Cranston|2y=1993|2p=105|3a1=Godwin|3y=1994|3p=279|4a1=Lachman|4y=2012|4p=78}} Reaching Cairo, she met up with Metamon, and with the help of a woman named [[Emma Cutting]] established a ''société spirite'', which was based largely on [[Kardecist spiritism|Spiritism]], a form of Spiritualism founded by [[Allan Kardec]] which professed a belief in [[reincarnation]], in contrast to the mainstream Spiritualist movement.{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1pp=94–96|2a1=Cranston|2y=1993|2pp=105–106|3a1=Godwin|3y=1994|3p=279|4a1=Goodrick-Clarke|4y=2004|4p=5|5a1=Lachman|5y=2012|5p=79}} However, Blavatsky believed that Cutting and many of the mediums employed by the society were fraudulent, and she closed it down after two weeks.{{sfnm|1a1=Cranston|1y=1993|1p=106|2a1=Godwin|2y=1994|2p=279|3a1=Lachman|3y=2012|3pp=80–81}} In Cairo, she also met with the Egyptologist [[Gaston Maspero]], and another of the Masters, Serapis Bey.{{sfn|Lachman|2012|p=82}} It was also here that she met up with Metrovitch, although he soon died of [[typhoid]], with Blavatsky claiming to have overseen the funeral.{{sfn|Lachman|2012|p=83}}

Leaving Egypt, she proceeded to Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon, there encountering members of the [[Druze]] religion.{{sfnm|1a1=Cranston|1y=1993|1pp=105, 106|2a1=Lachman|2y=2012|2pp=83–84}} It was during these travels that she met with the writer and traveler [[Lidia Pashkova]], who provided independent verification of Blavatsky's travels during this period.{{sfn|Lachman|2012|p=84}} In July 1872 she returned to her family in Odessa, before departing in April 1873.{{sfnm|1a1=Cranston|1y=1993|1pp=106–107|2a1=Lachman|2y=2012|2p=84}} She spent time in [[Bucharest]] and Paris,{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1pp=96–97|2a1=Cranston|2y=1993|2p=107|3a1=Lachman|3y=2012|3p=84}} before{{spnd}}according to her later claims{{spnd}}Morya instructed her to go to the United States. Blavatsky arrived in New York City on 8 July 1873.<ref>Higgins, S. (2018). From the Seventh Arrondissement to the Seventh Ward: Blavatsky's Arrival in America 1873. Theosophical History: A Quarterly Journal of Research, XIX(4), 2nd ser., 158–171.</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1p=101|2a1=Cranston|2y=1993|2pp=107–108|3a1=Washington|3y=1993|3p=40|4a1=Lachman|4y=2012|4p=84}} There, she moved into a women's housing cooperative on [[Madison Street (Manhattan)|Madison Street]] in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Lower East Side]], earning a wage through piece work sewing and designing advertising cards.{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1p=102|2a1=Washington|2y=1993|2p=40|3a1=Lachman|3y=2012|3p=87}} It was here that she attracted attention, and was interviewed by the journalist Anna Ballard of the New York newspaper ''[[The Sun (New York)|The Sun]]''; this interview was the earliest textual source in which Blavatsky claimed to have spent time in Tibet.{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1pp=102–103|2a1=Lachman|2y=2012|2pp=88–89}} Indeed, it was while in New York that "detailed records" of Blavatsky's life again become available to historians.{{sfn|Washington|1993|p=40}} Soon after, Blavatsky received news of her father's death, thus inheriting a considerable fortune, allowing her to move into a lavish hotel.{{sfn|Lachman|2012|pp=89–90}} In December 1874, Blavatsky met the [[Georgians|Georgian]] Mikheil Betaneli. Infatuated with her, he repeatedly requested that they marry, to which she ultimately relented; this constituted [[bigamy]], as her first husband was still alive. However, as she refused to consummate the marriage, Betaneli sued for divorce and returned to Georgia.{{sfnm|1a1=Meade|1y=1980|1pp=116–117, 137, 145|2a1=Kuhn|2y=1992|2p=58|3a1=Washington|3y=1993|3pp=48–49|4a1=Lachman|4y=2012|4pp=121–122}}