Bailey, Alice A(nne) (LaTrobe-Bateman)
(18801949)
A noted Theosophist who later founded her own Arcane
School of esoteric teaching. Bailey was born June 16, 1880, in
Manchester, England. An unhappy childhood led her to attempt
suicide; however, at the age of 15, a mysterious stranger
wearing a turban walked into her room, sat beside her, and stated
that she should prepare herself for an important mission.
For many years she believed her visitor was Jesus Christ, but
later she saw a picture on the wall at the Theosophical Society,
which she knew to be the stranger. It was Koot Hoomi, one of
the mysterious mahatmas claimed to have inspired and communicated
with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.
Bailey was raised in the Church of England, and after attending
finishing school in London, she worked for the Young
Womens Christian Association. She spent some time in India
with the YWCA and at a soldiers home there she met Walter
Evans. They married in 1907 and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio,
where Walter studied for the Episcopal priesthood at Lane
Theological Seminary. After graduation, they moved to California,
but the marriage was an unhappy one; eventually they
divorced. Like Annie Besant, who also had an unhappy marriage
with an Anglican clergymen, the emotional ordeal of marital
breakdown culminated in an interest in Theosophy.
In the case of Alice Bailey, she was introduced to Theosophy
by friends in Pacific Grove, California. She was attracted by the
Theosophical concepts of a spiritual hierarchy, karma, and reincarnation.
She joined the society and moved to the headquarters
at Krotona in 1917, where she edited the societys periodical,
the Messenger, and became friendly with Foster Bailey,
national secretary of the society.
In November 1919 while walking in the hills, Bailey was contacted
by another spiritual master, Djual Khul, who came to be
known as The Tibetan. He requested her to be his amanuensis
for a series of books, to be dictated telepathically. The first
book, titled Initiation, Human and Solar commenced in 1920,
and over the next 30 years some 18 other books were produced.
She married Foster Bailey in 1920.
The production of the Tibetan books and the charge by
Alice Bailey that the society was dominated by the Esoteric Section
led to disagreements, and both Bailey and her husband left
the society. They founded the Lucis Trust to publish the books
and the magazine Beacon. In 1923 they founded the Arcane
School to disseminate spiritual teachings. The school became
an international organization, branching into special groups.
The New Group of World Servers was dedicated to uniting people
of goodwill in the goal of creating a new world civilization.
Triangles evolved as a spiritual service through groups of three
individuals uniting with others.
The books of the Tibetan promoted the ideal of a forthcoming
world religion uniting East and West, and the Arcane
School developed special prayers and meditations, such as the
Full Moon Meditation and the Great Invocation, toward
this goal. Another theme arising from the Tibetan writings was
the reappearance of the Christ. After the death of Alice Bailey
in 1949, the Arcane School split into several groups. Foster Bailey
headed the Arcane School and the Lucis Trust until his
death in 1977. The work is currently headed by the Baileys
daughter, Mary Bailey.
Bahir Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed.
144
Sources
Bailey, Alice A. The Unfinished Autobiography of Alice A. Bailey.
New York Lucis Publishing, 1951.
. Works. New York Lucis Publishing, New York, various
dates.
Sinclair, John R. The Alice Bailey Inheritance. Wellingborough,
England Turnstone Press, 1984.
Thirty Years Work. New York Lucis Publishing, n.d.
