Did you know? Atlantis and the Occult

Belief in the Occult was very popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Notable personalities from Adolf Hitler to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turned to it in search for answers to their most puzzling enigmas. The case can be made it's still popular today. (Famous—or infamous—take your pick) Russian occultist Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891) inspired many to search for Atlantis and other lost civilizations, both during and after her lifetime.

American mysticist Edgar Cayce was such an example. Known as the “sleeping prophet” because his readings came when he fell into trances, he predicted the mountaintops of Atlantis would appear off the coast of North America. Then in 1968, divers discovered the “Bimini Road” in the Bahamas. Though there isn't much evidence to support these claims, Cayce's followers continue to comb the islands for Atlantis today.

Perhaps my favorite example is British explorer Sir Percy Fawcett. He was friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who later used his expedition reports to write The Lost World. Fawcett had studied various ancient legends along side the works of Madame Blavatsky, and convinced himself that he was destined to discover a lost city and possess its secret powers. With his son Jack, he trekked off into the Amazon jungle in 1925, and was never seen again.

Just so we're all on the same page here, I don't go for any of these ahem, theories. Aside from their obvious crackpot elements, I find them downright creepy. But perhaps that's the reason they make for such great entertainment? Just ask Paramount Pictures. “The Lost City of Z” is in the works, with Benedict Cumberbatch rumored to star as Percy Fawcett.

Photo sources and further reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Fawcett

http://www.unmuseum.org/fawcett.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Blavatsky

http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/atlantis.aspx

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