Illustrations for the Graphics of Adelma von Vay´s book:

 Ilustrações para os Gráficos do livro de Adelma von Vay:

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“Spirit, Power and Matter”

(Espírito, Poder e Matéria)

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Edited By: CATHARINA, ADELMA AND OEDOEN VAY

Translated By: Robert E. Shiller, J.D., M.B.A., and Grace H. Shiller, Ph.D.

​ 1869-1870, 1948 and 2005

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UMA SÉRIE DE 15 OBRAS, INSPIRADAS NO LIVRO

A SERIES OF 15 PAINTINGS, INSPIRED IN THE BOOK

 

(Esquerda: quadro original em cartolina preta, caneta prateada e dourada e cristais - Left: original painting on black card, with silver and gold ink pen and crystals)

(Direita: obra “iluminada” com efeitos de Luz em cumputador - Right: “Illuminated” Painting with Light computer effects)

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(Dimensão de cada obra – Dimension of each work: 40x30cm)

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(Ambas as obras estão disponíveis em posters - Both works prints available in posters)

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© Joma Sipe, Adelma von Vay, 2012/1869

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Adelma von Vay no seu Estúdio / Adelma von Vay´s Studio

 

 

 

 

Adelma von Vay

1840 – 1925

Adelma von Vay was born on October 20 1840 in Tarnopol in Galicia (now Ukraine) as the daughter of Count Wurmbrand and his wife, Countess Teleky.

She spent her early childhood on the family estate in Schwarzau in lower Austria. After her father’s death she and her mother, who married the Prince Solms-Baruth,

left the Austro-Hungarian territory and they spent ten years in Prussia. When Adelma was twenty years old, she married the Hungarian magnate, Baron Ödön von Vay, with whom she lived idyllically for the next sixty years. The couple first lived for a few years in Tiszalök on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, but soon moved to Slovenske Konjice (then Gonobitz), where they bought a mansion in Prevrat. Adelma’s first encounter with the occult sciences date back to 1865, when her doctor, due to severe cramping, advised her to try to cure herself with the method of automatic writing. Initially, she declined to use this method, but in great distress she made an attempt, and to her surprise discovered that it really reduced the pain. Despite the discomfort, which accompanied her first attempts of automatic writing, she continued with this method supported by her husband and came in contact with different spirits, who assisted her to further develop her mediumistic ability.

With the help of one of them Adelma created homeopathic drugs and with great success healed some severe disease cases.

The news of her exceptional healing abilities spread rapidly and requests for help started to come from various parts of Europe, Russia and America.

She successfully upgraded from homeopathic to magnetic therapy. At that time magnetic healing was also practiced by a Slovenian priest, named Jurij Humar, with whom she was in close contact. There was a genuine atmosphere of trust and understanding between Adelma and Humar, as they were both with great interest investigating “mysterious forces”, along the study of telepathy, clairvoyance and magnetism.

Each of them made an attempt to explain phenomena they were experiencing on their own skin. Adelma’s method of healing from a distance was that of sending a magnetized piece of cotton to her patients. Adelma’s healing and mediumistic abilities were also greatly appreciated by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. In her fundamental work Isis Unveiled she referred to Adelma, as one of the few rare examples of a real medium, bejeweled with honesty and goodness (H. P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled, 1877, p. 325). There is no doubt that this reference in Isis Unveiled contributed significantly to Adelma’s world fame.

Within Theosophical circles she also received affection from Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, the first president of the Theosophical Society, who highly appreciated her clairvoyant abilities. He himself used a special crystal ball for this purpose, which was once donated to him by Adelma (H. P. Blavatsky, Collected Writings IV (1980), p. 180),

who was also in close contact with the next generation of leading Theosophists; Annie Besant was amongst them.

Because of all these contacts, and especially because of the fact that her books were enthusiastically read in the highest circles of the Theosophical movement, we can certainly consider Adelma as the Theosophical pioneer in Slovenia.

But Adelma’s contacts were far from being confined to the Theosophical circles only, as she regularly corresponded with many other well-known spiritualists and occultists of her time from practically all major European countries and from America.

In the An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920) she is mentioned as the initiator of the spiritualism in the Austro-Hungarian Empire,

being a co-founder of the Association of Spiritual Researchers (Verein spiriter Forscher) with her husband and others, on April 1st in Budapest, not long after the publication of her most important book Spirit, Force, and Matter.

The newly established association was not intended to be a dogmatic spiritualistic sect, but was firmly anchored in the framework of Christian faith.

In accordance with her belief that true spiritualism can be practiced only within the solid framework of Christian faith,

the book Spirit, Force, and Matter was once described by Adelma as an example of “pure Christian spiritualism”, and by Franz Hoffmann, professor of philosophy at the University of Würzburg, as “the Revealed Wisdom”.

Together with her husband Ödön, Adelma also financially supported the construction of the hospital, which was opened in 1897 in Slovenske Konjice.

She was widely renowned as a great philanthropist, who never charged anybody for her healing abilities, but selflessly came to the aid of the rich and poor.

Adelma von Vay died on May 25th 1925 in Slovenske Konjice, where she was also buried.

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(Taken from the Foreword to the Slovenian translation of the book Spirit, Power, and Matter by Jan Ciglenečki.)

 

 

 

FIRST PREFACE from “Spirit, Power and Matter”:

The affixed signature confirms that the author has written the following chapters in a mechanic way.

This means that she had never before embraced the idea of a law of numbers or of any positive studies of a related nature. She had a pious Christian education without any special scientific training.

She has learned, by this mechanic work, of things which were completely strange to her before. For three years, guided by this spiritual influence, her mind was carefully educated and developed.

This book was written as a result of that education and experience. During this time, she could not do anything but surrender to God's will and to pray continuously.

The author, in writing this book, conveys to humanity the holy gift that she has received, sure in the thought that it is God's will.

Baroness Adelma Vay, 1869

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Joma working in this Series on his studio, October 2012

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 Joma working in this Series on his studio, October 2012