ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the concept of "glamour" is central to an understanding of Neo-Theosophy. The term "Neo-Theosophy" was originally used to denote the occult Theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky from the Christian theosophy associated with Jacob Boehme and Emanuel Swedenborg. Hence for Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater to claim to have read the akashic records was an ostentatious display of occult powers. By conducting clairvoyant investigations into fields that Blavatsky had not touched, Besant and Leadbeater seemed to imply that they were more psychically gifted than Blavatsky. In addition to correcting or editing Blavatsky's work, Stokes asserts that Besant and Leadbeater promoted their work over and above that of Blavatsky, whose work was increasingly regarded by Adyar Theosophists as heterodox. Leadbeater stresses that both Jesus and "the Christ" were human beings, despite their occult pre-eminence, hence neither can be regarded as an incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity.
