The Sea Priestess:
Currents and Rhythms
Then I noticed a thing I have noticed before when listening to waves breaking on rocks—the sound of the bells in the water. 15
The Goat-Foot God delves deep into the ancestry of person and place identified with the worship of the old Gods long before the building of Monks Farm. The earth contact is key, and is honoured throughout. With The Sea Priestess, Dion Fortune ranges far and wide into the cosmos, the great spiritual currents of the past that have formed us, and the rhythms of the sea.
Here, the magical work of individuals is linked to the evolutionary current in a far more overt way than in the earlier books: it is the link between them and the magnificent culmination of Moon Magic.
In The Sea Priestess, Wilfred’s first vision of the cosmos and his place in it takes us into uncharted territory; it is the intimation that great things are afoot. The potent combination of moon and sea provides the tidal rhythms reflected in Wilfred’s journeys through the liminal lands of the salt marshes from his everyday world to the sea temple. This deep feeling of the current of cosmic life evokes a response that makes us yearn to do magical work.
For the first time, we have a priestess wholly dedicated to the mysteries. Where Ursula is withdrawn and Mona is disguised, Vivien has led a full life in the world. She has even been on the stage, a reminder that The Winged Bull’s Ursula, according to Astley, is divided between her instincts for stained-glass sainthood and a bohemian life on the stage. Vivien has integrated the two. Her story of occult experiments during her early life of poverty reminds us that Mona, despite her own spiritual work, had to wait for her priest before she could achieve contacted priestesshood, her true form. Vivien has done the groundwork of dedication and making her inner contacts. She has confidence in dealing with the outside world on her own terms. She doesn’t need a man of action to lead her to initiation, but the passive, potent Wilfred, who will enable her magic to arc up from the personal to the cosmological. Everyday concerns are totally subservient to the work of the sea priestess, which is for the evolutionary current to bring the world into harmony with cosmic principles. Her bloodline connects her back to Atlantis, and she has recovered her own deep memories of that civilization.
Appropriately for one who has been a priestess for millennia, the magical partnership is completed this time by a discarnate entity, the Priest of the Moon. The human limitations of earthly mentors are no longer a concern—we are in the realm of direct contacts. In this book, Fortune unequivocally owns her allegiance to the divine feminine, the Deep Mother, in all her complexity and her aspects of dark and light, from whom all life comes and to whom we return to have the wellsprings of our souls refreshed.
It is a theme that will be developed in Moon Magic. And, in case it should become too worthy and indigestible, it is contrasted and complemented by the delicious bathos of Wilfred’s everyday life—reminiscent of most readers’ experiences. Each moment of lyrical beauty and magic is balanced by trivial and ridiculous family squabbles and the minutiae of small-town life with all its irritations.
The Cosmic Theme
The vision of the beginnings of the cosmos sets the tone of the book, and Wilfred swiftly moves from restriction into liminal space and wide horizons. The tip of the headland on which the sea temple stands 16 looks straight across the North Atlantic to the New World. It is a pristine seascape, its movement controlled only by the winds and the magnetic pull of the moon. There, Wilfred can look out on a sea world with no indication of the earth.
His first vision came spontaneously, introducing the themes of the harmony of interstellar space and the machinery of the universe that are at the root of Wilfred’s being: “I preferred that God should geometrise.” 17 It is the beginning of his communication with the moon as mistress of tides and growth. The cosmic theme is constant throughout his visions, and we note that Vivien, who advanced her own psychism with the planchette,18 uses a variety of tools to aid Wilfred’s deep memory.
Wilfred’s meeting with Vivien occurs in the spring, immediately after a dangerous bout of asthma and his vision of the arrival of the sea priestess to the area in ancient times. Already we have been introduced to the Atlantis connection and the theme of sacrifice. Disclosing this vision is a formative moment for Wilfred; with Vivien’s crystal as amplifier, he accesses his deep connection to the landscape of the past, which changes his world paradigm forever and is the beginning of his movement forward.
The next tool is the Fire of Azrael. This takes him back to the high places of the earth and the birth of spirituality, ranging over the ancient world to arrive at the great days of Atlantis and the escape of the sea priestess from its destruction. After building her image, Wilfred’s visions become deeper, and through the next Fire of Azrael he envisions his life and death as the sacrifice to the sea. This helps him to understand Vivien’s precept that the priest and priestess should not be personalities but should represent all men and all women. The vision ends in a blissful union that leads to a severe asthma attack and resumes as he meets the sea gods in a storm that imperils the temple.
This work represents their breaking the trail for society, reintroducing the understanding of the subtle, magnetic relationship between man and woman that should be behind the attractions felt on the physical plane.
In the next vision, prompted by the blazing fire surrounded by seawater, and continuing late into the night, Wilfred sees the beginnings of the formation of the land and the first life proceeding from the sea. The nature of man and woman and the forgotten knowledge of the rhythms of their relationship prepares Wilfred for the final ritual. In the sea cave, Wilfred experiences the machinery of the universe, yet, vitally, it operates with the sensitivity of a living system. When he returns to the temple, the space appears even more liminal, impregnated by a strange sea world; in it Vivien becomes the living embodiment of the Goddess before disappearing, and Wilfred communes with the Priest of the Moon. There are lessons here of respect for the integrity of ritual and trust in the process, which we are wise to heed. These visions and their progression should be visited again and again.
After Vivien’s disappearance, Wilfred shares his experiences with his new wife, Molly. They feel the direct contact themselves as the Priest of the Moon takes on Molly’s education so that she and Wilfred can ground in physical marriage the magical current set in play by Wilfred and Vivien.
In order to experience the tides of nature, the action of the book takes another full year, after the year of Wilfred’s solitary training. As in her other books, Fortune uses the correspondences of the seasons to add emphasis to the action. From the idyllic “secret” summer out at the fort through Wilfred’s winter period of bereavement after Vivien’s disappearance, we come to the spring, with the flourishing of the young vines and sun-warmed herbs to symbolise Molly’s and his new life together.
The Roots of Spirituality
The beginnings of civilizations and their spiritual lineage underpin the story. Through visions, the characters reach far back into the roots of the ancient spiritual and religious systems that have informed those in the world today.
As we’ve seen, Wilfred examines biblical texts in his earliest searches —the first of our four heroes willing to do so, and to use them as a valuable resource. In terms of following the way of the Western Mystery Tradition, it is a major breakthrough that many modern readers have still to make.
Wilfred’s vision of Vivien’s history shows us the death of Atlantis—information that formed part of Dion Fortune’s actual recovered memories in her early childhood. Buying the sandalwood for the Fire of Azrael, Wilfred speculates on the very birthplace of the human race, where people connect back to their ancient lineage and might understand better than civilized people the mind of God. Appreciating the evolutionary nature of the work, Wilfred is pleased to be linked to the place of the gods that made the gods. This echoes an actual vision of Dion Fortune, of the two spiritual beings that first set her on her own spiritual path. By using this association, one speculates that she is finally taking the leap of faith fully to fuse her own journey with a fictional subject. It is a generous imbuing of the story with her inner wisdom and deep understanding.
The Essential Nature of the Sea
The paradox throughout the book is the life-giving and life-taking nature of the sea, and the ethics of magic historically and today: the wonders, the possibilities, and the costs.
The site of the temple is liminal land, on the end of a small peninsula: the elemental contacts are essential for magical work, and Fortune never lets us forget our vulnerability in the face of that power —a lesson vital for our safety. The sea is a constant threat to the old fort, accurately reflecting the situation in the far past when the depredations into the land of the mighty ocean caused the first visit of the sea priestess from Atlantis to these shores. That which gives life can also kill.
Vivien draws on Wilfred’s vitality to recover these mutual deep memories through the Fire of Azrael—again a reference to danger, as Azrael is the angel of death; in Judaic tradition, the separator of the soul from the body. Wilfred has in part experienced these during his asthma attacks, so we can see the archangel as a constant presence as psychopomp throughout the book.
There is much about the dark latter days of Atlantis, inviting us to think deeply about the ethics of magic through hints of the perverse forms of the black magical arts that caused the destruction of Atlantis. The vision showing us the escape of the sea priestess whose blood would later inform Vivien’s fey Breton ancestry reminds us of the conversation in The Winged Bull about human “stud books.” It is not a pleasant idea and is part of a dynamic state of attraction/repulsion that emerges frequently through the book as Wilfred is glamoured and yet periodically repulsed by Vivien’s aloof attitude and lack of empathy. Coming to terms with her priorities and surrendering into being the willing sacrifice to her work enables him to relax into a relationship that, in turn, activates her more human reactions. And he also has to make an accommodation with the ruthless sea, understanding its nature through his frescoes and putting himself totally in its power.
Vivien is a human of the present era as well as a priestess, with a genuine affection for Wilfred. Referencing the human sacrifice of the Atlantean era, the book shows how significant ritual can be enacted in the current era. We see how sacrifice must become appropriate to the present, though the ruthless nature of the elements is highlighted by the death of the builder’s son, which so disturbs Wilfred. Dion Fortune flags his role as sacrifice first by calling him a “moon-calf”—dedicated to the work of the moon current—and by the old superstition that a holy building always demands blood in its building. Nevertheless, in our more sensitized times, his sacrifice is an even more uncomfortable and unacceptable idea for us than it is for Wilfred.
Happy as the eventual outcomes are, they result from the characters’ deep commitment. In our modern times, we interpret sacrifice as a personal matter, subsuming everything else we legitimately and ethically can to the demands of the work. We take responsibility every time we act magically, bearing in mind that evolutionary work can make ultimate demands.
Psychological Journey
Whilst Hugh and Ted escape from their relatives by moving, for Wilfred, his mother and sister are a constant presence in the town, his business, and his house. He makes daily accommodations with these mundane relationships and gradually transforms them as he journeys into true manhood.
The physically slight and ailing man gains self-respect and confidence, gradually abjuring his sly digs at society, behaving in a more straightforward and practical way, and cutting through the emotional blackmail of his sister. Slowly he becomes the man of the house. If some of his actions are reprehensible, he has a lot of ground to make up; we must remember that his actions would not have jarred the readership of the 1930s to the same extent. Secure in his sanctuary and in his frequent visits to the temple, Wilfred starts to assert himself in his house and eventually faces down his future father-in-law’s physical bullying and his sister’s manipulation.
Vivien’s effect on him and his achievements in the inner and outer worlds add to his self-belief, but only when he moves from Dickford to Dickmouth does he realise just how debilitating the atmosphere of antagonism and disapproval has been. Wilfred’s family’s view of him is as more or less half-witted—a distinction he shares with heroes and heroines of Fortune’s short stories. He respects the tough core that resists this influence and he realises how detrimental “psychologising people backwards” can be. By this, he means the common habit of making assumptions about people and treating these as truth, resulting in the unfortunate subject fulfilling them through their lives. It is an important process that has probably happened to us all in some form or other during our formative years.
The Building of the Temple
As with Monks Farm in The Goat-Foot God, we become deeply involved with the careful construction of the temple. Once again, there is an old craftsman, connected to past ways of working and to the natural materials of the earth. With the shoring up of the building we are reminded of the perilous position of a building so close to the ocean. Again we have a sturdy building that has fallen into disrepair: this time it is brought to life and beauty by the skill of the hero and the craftsman working together, in service to the priestess, trusting her whilst not knowing what the outcome may be.
Relationship
So far in Fortune’s fiction, the worship of the divine feminine is through ritual. This novel also shows it in day-to-day relationships and discusses temptations for both sexes.
With Ted in The Winged Bull and Hugh in The Goat-Foot God, both know what is available sexually to their varying social positions and have eschewed affairs. Wilfred, intuitive and open, is more susceptible: his grief over Vivien’s disappearance leaves him very vulnerable to the various temptations of the flesh. He has gradually taken to drink and is shocked at the hold it has on him, only realising it when he honours his promise to Molly’s dying mother. More importantly, he is sliding into an affair. It is a gradual process, which is halted and then resolved as the seasons of grief turn. Wilfred finds that he can cope with reading Vivien’s papers, and by also giving Molly access to them, he sets in train her education into priestesshood. As she grows in vitality and power, she becomes a fit partner for him, so that petty temptations then become irrelevant.
Molly needs Vivien’s training: her father deserted his modest wife and family for another woman, and Molly has not had a grounding in erotic literacy—an instinctive understanding of her sex appeal—which badly brought-up girls whom Fortune called “Aphrodites” have learnt from an early age. Tongue very slightly in cheek, Fortune praises the pictures (movies) for having raised the standard of feminine immorality.
Vivien’s instruction is that it is the woman’s responsibility to take the emotional initiative. It comes at just the right time, as Molly’s family history nearly replicates itself and the bereaved Wilfred, Molly’s husband, is tempted by a predatory sweetshop assistant, who has obvious sex appeal in abundance.
The emotional climate changes after Wilfred and Molly’s move to Dickmouth. As Wilfred emerges from grief and shares his ideas, the vital spiritual element of their marital relationship ignites. This happens at the farm at the landward end of the promontory, a place more of the earth than the sea, yet of the cosmic earth, which is also ruled by Isis.
The atmosphere there becomes ever more otherworldly, a fitting setting for the teaching that will awaken and incorporate the primordial woman within Molly. The sound of the sea, the smell of incense, smoke, and moonlight all combine to herald the manifestation of the Priest of the Moon. There is a flowing and mingling of energy between Wilfred and Molly as they embrace, exchanging the love they feel but which hitherto has had no channel.
For the first time, we are privy to the physical progression of the sacred marriage and its natural consummation as the couple make love.
The changes in Molly and Wilfred in this period deserve very close attention. Following the teaching of the Priest of the Moon, Wilfred feels a subtle connection has been made between them that will set their marriage alight. He realises that they will be used for the Sacred Marriage, and when Molly begins viewing herself as the impersonal representative of the principle of woman and conversing with the Priest of the Moon, she transforms into a dynamic, vital woman. This is the final part of the rite started by Wilfred and Vivien: a human man and woman earthing the magical current by enacting for a whole generation the Sacred Marriage that connects humanity to the greater life of the universe. It coincides with the turning of the cosmic tide to a new aeon, from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius; we are left with no doubt that it is their mating that has helped effect a change in consciousness. Succeeding generations will be enabled to understand human and natural life as holy: “For God is made manifest in Nature, and Nature is the self-expression of God.” 19
The practical end to their story is that Wilfred and Molly are happily married, living in the liminal lands. Whilst they operate fully in the everyday world, their farmhouse on the salt marsh, on the landward end of the peninsula, has become, like Hugh and Mona’s farm, a place of magic and enchantment.
The book’s message is of large vision, and of work, creative and selfless service, and reciprocity. Dion Fortune tells us that the greater laws of the world do not operate on a tit-for-tat basis. We do not give to one person in order to receive from them in turn. The greater harmony of the cosmos ensures that what we do in love and service for the gods, as an act of faith and trust for the evolutionary current, will be rewarded in ways that we cannot predict. It will be entirely right for our enjoyment of life in all fullness. We, like Molly and Wilfred, will be supported by the unseen, fluidly interacting mechanisms of the universe as we harmoniously align our lives with the tides of the time.