Today, May 8, is the Feast of Dame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, best known for her co-founding the Theosophical Society in 1875. Her work and her philosophy were building blocks of western occultism today. According to Thelemapedia, “Aleister Crowley recognized Blavatsky as a Sister of A.’.A.’. (i.e. a Master of the Temple 8°=3# in his system of spiritual grades), specifically pointing her out as his immediate predecessor in ‘The Temple of Truth,’ published in The Heart of the Master through O.T.O. in 1938. He thought it especially noteworthy that he was born in the same year that the Theosophical Society was inaugurated. Crowley reissued Blavatsky’s Voice of the Silence (Extracts from the Book of the Golden Precepts, including ‘The Two Paths’ and ‘The Seven Portals’) with his own commentary as Liber LXXI, a Class B publication of A.’.A.’.” Blavatsky died in London, at the home of Annie Besant.
In honor of Dame Helena Blavatsky, here is a classic Russian recipe.
Beef and Beet Borscht
(from allrecipes.com)
- 1 (1 inch thick) slice bone-in beef shank
- 3 quarts water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups diced peeled beets
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
- 1/4 cup white vinegar, or to taste
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup sour cream, for garnish
- 2 tbs chopped fresh dill, for garnish
