California Fires Destroy Priceless Theosophical Archive

1/9/2025

According to Prof. Wouter Hanegraff, writing on social media this morning, the apocalyptic fires devastating the Los Angeles area have completely destroyed the archives of the Theosophical Society, one of the largest collections of material on nineteenth-century esoteric beliefs in the world:

I was just told that the entire property of the Theosophical Society in Altadena near Pasadena has been completely destroyed by the fires in Los Angeles. This was the world's largest archive of Theosophical materials, including a library with 40.000 titles, the entire archive of the history of the TS, including ca. 10.000 unpublished letters, pertaining to HPB, the Mahatmas, W.Q. Judge, G.R.S. Mead, Katherine Tingley, and G. de Purucker, membership records since 1875, art objects, and countless other irreplaceable materials. The archives also contained works of Boehme, Gichtel, donations from the king of Siam including rare Buddhist scriptures, and so on.

News photographs showed the burned shell of the Theosophical Library Center, which housed the Society's collection. This is a devastating intellectual loss that only compounds the tragedy unfolding in California. Ironically, the first Theosophical Society headquarters in Altadena also burned to the ground in 1894.

20 Comments

Regardless

1/9/2025 03:04:09 pm

This is a sad loss regardless of how one feels about Theosophy. I never thought much of it myself, however, the level some people have sunk to in their comments is bewildering. Especially from otherwise intelligent people.

Have we lost anything of value

1/9/2025 04:55:59 pm

Except that is, a compendium of fairy tales for adults ??

Kent

1/10/2025 10:26:24 am

Which reminds me of a current TV commercial which refers to Pickleball as "tennis for babies for adults". Applying the Hatcher-Childress Principle "you have to wonder" where were Julio and Ernesto P. Grenadine at the time? There's a record of animus and derangement there. Maybe Wolter's Masonic firebug from a few years back using the wildfires as cover.

E.P. Grondine

1/11/2025 02:17:53 pm

Sorry, Kent, but the KIeninger piece never found a market.
(I was not the only person who tried to make a buck off of his amazing but true tale.)

While I am sure that the LA materials would have been interesting to go through for crimimality or confusion, Impact studies are doing quite fine.

Kent

1/12/2025 09:55:33 am

Talking about *your* animus and derangement Chief. Now adding tone-deafness to the list. That giant sucking sound? Impact studies. Maybe if you had $40,000 you could endow a chair in Kissinger Studies. You're like a human Spirograph, endless hours of entertainment and for that I thank you.

E.P. Grondine

1/10/2025 11:15:36 am

https://www.academia.edu/115931714/PART_1_IN_WHICH_RICHARD_STEALS_A_RELIGION_INSERTS_HIMSELF_AS_MESSIAH_FOUNDS_HIS_OWN_TOWN_AND_IS_THEN_THROWN_OUT_OF_IT_FOR_HIS_MULTIPLE_SEXUAL_PREDATIONS

Kent

1/11/2025 03:14:57 am

Jeepers Christ Chief, are you still going on with this "I was mistreated" bullshit? No one cares.

And apparently you don't care about Leadbeater being a child molester. Uh, okay, I guess. Whether any rational human should trust you to set priorities is another question.

At the end of the day you shoot the same wad over and over. What's up with that?

E.P. Grondine

1/12/2025 12:46:12 pm

Who the hell was "leadbeater", and why should I or anyone else care?

For over 3 decades my work has been defining the impact hazard
I would not mind picking up some spare change from popular writing,

There is a difference between spiritual theft and ordinary theft.

Kent

1/14/2025 03:46:18 pm

"E.P. Grondine
1/12/2025 12:46:12 pm
Who the hell was "leadbeater", and why should I or anyone else care?

For over 3 decades my work has been defining the impact hazard
I would not mind picking up some spare change from popular writing,

There is a difference between spiritual theft and ordinary theft.
_____________________________

Huhwhat now? Your huge decades long animosity against Theosophy and you didn't pick the low hanging fruit if I may say and I must say, Masturbator Leadbeater? Sloppy. In my day you would have won the Tin Train to Toodleville. Not a fun ride. Say hello to M. Leadbeater.

Corey

1/12/2025 03:12:17 am

It's no different fromthe great loss of an archive of any religion. All religions are fairy tales to those who do not believe.

Heather Lowe

1/10/2025 01:47:45 pm

Can you confirm, besides this one source, that it is burned? I can't find the photographs you mentioned. Thank you!

Factchecker

1/10/2025 11:41:50 pm

The photos have not appeared online in the UK so far, Probably been published in American Press.

A. Kühlmann Foyle

1/12/2025 11:47:34 am

You can see photos of before and after if you scroll down here https://yahoo.com/news/23-photos-show-devastating-damage-145438980.html

Kent

1/11/2025 03:32:39 am

Hannukah lightning? T7? What's the insurance situation? This is gonna take both Banacek and Johnny Dollar. You raise a very good point. Ashamed I din't think o' it. Shaka when the walls fell.

I bow to your super sharp thinking.

Bill

1/11/2025 05:13:19 pm

This source has it
https://wildhunt.org/2025/01/la-fires-claim-theosophical-society-building-and-archives.html

Crash55

1/11/2025 09:56:13 am

They are in CA and they have already burned once but didn’t have the archives protected? Or at least scanned in?

Truly important archives are housed in vaults with fire suppression. Also there should have been an effort to digitize the collection. If it wasn’t worth the effort to do either of these things, just how valuable was it?

Require N Made

1/12/2025 02:40:31 am

Hello, Jason. I do not have anything to say about the tragedies taking place in California and Tibet. Since I do not use Musk's X, I thought I should leave a comment on your blog to let you know that Derek Gilbert mentioned you by name on the radio on Monday night/Tuesday morning.
https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2025-01-06-show/
https://www.reddit.com/r/coasttocoastam/comments/1hvdgei/monday_1625_ancient_aliens_the_occult_fairies/
I did not really learn anything new when I listened to that show. Come to think of it, everything Derek Gilbert said on that show can be found on your blog. We can be certain that you are mentioned in the footnotes of the new book Derek Gilbert wrote. I know that show was broadcast six days ago. I did not check the internet until this morning. Sorry to bring this to your attention too late if somebody else already brought this to your attention earlier. By the way, you may be interested in whom I am listening to right now.
https://www.theothersideofmidnight.com/2025-01-11-30000-year-old-pyramids-are-real/
As I type this comment, Richard C. Hoagland is interviewing Dr. Semir Osmanagich talking about hills in Bosnia and Indonesia. This is somewhat relevant to the tragic topic of this blog post. The show page includes a link to the tragic story of the fires in the first of David Sereda's items near the bottom of the page. You have written about Richard C. Hoagland, Dr. Semir Osmanagich, and Maria Wheatley on your blog, but a quick search of your website reveals that you have not written anything about David Sereda on your website. Wondering if you knew him from television or radio. Also wondering what Graham Hancock and Robert Schoch would say about Dr. Semir Osmanagich now that he is involved with the story of the hill in Indonesia. Really curious about what you might have to say about this too. Unfortunate how this started with a story about tragic fires which seem to be increasing in frequency. Goodbye.

Kent

1/12/2025 12:56:36 pm

Thank you for your very helpful and big and meaty post. Going forward, imagine this.

{hit the Enter key twice you stupid idiot}

Paragraphs. I'm telling ya they're gonna be a thing, increasing

readability and whatnot.

I wonder if there's a county agency that lassoos folks who don't cotton to paragraphs and readability and the good of society.

You're not MarchOfDimes you're just lazy.

Rock Knocker

1/12/2025 03:28:00 pm

More photos. It’s tragic every time irreplaceable documents are lost, regardless of their currently perceived value.

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/firefighter-hoses-down-the-theosophical-library-center-news-photo/2192693336

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanavalko/before-and-after-photos-la-fires

The Forgotten

1/13/2025 06:55:22 pm

Too bad, but had to happen because global warming. As rightful President Al "That Massage Guy" Gore taught us, "Out of one, many". I'd be curious to know where Julio and Ernesto P. Grenadine were at the time.

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California Fires Destroy Priceless Theosophical Archive

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