Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was a Russian author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy.
Born into an aristocratic family of Russian-German descent in Yekaterinoslav, then in the Russian Empire (now Dnipro in Ukraine), Blavatsky traveled widely around the empire as a child. Largely self-educated, she developed an interest in Western esotericism during her teenage years. According to her later claims, in 1849 she embarked on a series of world travels, visiting Europe, the Americas, and India. She also claimed that during this period she encountered a group of spiritual adepts, the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom", who sent her to Shigatse, Tibet, where they trained her to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of religion, philosophy, and science. Both contemporary critics and later biographers have argued that some or all of these foreign visits were fictitious, and that she spent this period in Europe. By the early 1870s, Blavatsky was involved in the Spiritualist movement; although defending the genuine existence of Spiritualist phenomena, she argued against the mainstream Spiritualist idea that the entities contacted were the spirits of the dead. Relocating to the United States in 1873, she befriended Henry Steel Olcott and rose to public attention as a spirit medium, attention that included public accusations of fraudulence.
In 1875 New York City, Blavatsky co-founded the Theosophical Society with Olcott and William Quan Judge. In 1877, she published Isis Unveiled, a book outlining her Theosophical world-view. Associating it closely with the esoteric doctrines of Hermeticism and Neoplatonism, Blavatsky described Theosophy as "the synthesis of science, religion and philosophy", proclaiming that it was reviving an "Ancient Wisdom" which underlay all the world's religions. In 1880, she and Olcott moved to India, where the Society was allied to the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. That same year, while in Ceylon, she and Olcott became the first people from the United States to formally convert to Buddhism. Although opposed by the British colonial administration, Theosophy spread rapidly in India but experienced internal problems after Blavatsky was accused of producing fraudulent paranormal phenomena. Amid ailing health, in 1885 she returned to Europe, there establishing the Blavatsky Lodge in London. Here she published The Secret Doctrine, a commentary on what she claimed were ancient Tibetan manuscripts, as well as two further books, The Key to Theosophy and The Voice of the Silence. She died of influenza.
Blavatsky was a controversial figure during her lifetime, championed by supporters as an enlightened Sage and derided as a charlatan by critics. Her Theosophical doctrines influenced the spread of Hindu and Buddhist ideas in the West as well as the development of Western esoteric currents like Ariosophy, Anthroposophy, and the New Age Movement.
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Some of their strengths
Helena Blavatsky has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Extroverted, Intelligent, Imaginative, Bold, Confident, and Practical.
Bold and Confident
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Helena Blavatsky is someone who is a bold, confident, energetic, and optimistic person, who is able to combine personal warmth and charisma with intelligence. A person who looks for jobs that tend to reflect their identity.
Soulful and Intuitive
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Helena Blavatsky well know them as someone who can be graceful, romantic, and reserved, like gentle rain.
Imaginative and Sentimental
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Helena Blavatsky as someone who is imaginative, sentimental, and in touch with emotions.
A person who has extremely good memory and analytical skills, likes to make sure that everyone gets along, enjoys all kinds of situations and people, has a talent for travel and languages, and who makes lifelong friends.
Vigorous and Friendly
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Helena Blavatsky is someone who has a vigor and energy that applies itself to all life's activities and endeavors, and a knack for forming family-like structures, groups, and communities.
They are also someone who is intuitive, imaginative, and an agent of change, and who is always dreaming of life's great possibilities and partnering with people to try to achieve those possibilities.
Creative and Leadership-oriented
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Helena Blavatsky tends to be someone who is a natural leader, with determination, motivational powers, and who takes obligations seriously. Who has charisma, a sense of humor, and who tends to attract attention.
Some of Helena Blavatsky's challenges
While Helena Blavatsky has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Helena Blavatsky can be Arrogant, Emotional, Short-tempered, Status-seeking, Hesitant, Narcissistic, and Standoffish.
Arrogant and Status-seeking
One of Helena Blavatsky's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as arrogant and status-seeking.
Helena Blavatsky must also exercise caution as they can be excessive and unrealistic.
Irritable and Moody
Helena Blavatsky is someone who can be irritable and moody, have a tendency to experience self-doubt, be too secretive, can take too many risks, and who can have an extreme approach to managing personal finances.
Domineering and Stubborn
Finally, Helena Blavatsky also can be too rebellious, not respond to criticism well, and be too emotional and extreme about things.
