In 1934, sixty-nine years old and depressed over his physical and creative decline, Yeats submitted to the Steinach operation (vasectomy), widely heralded at the time as a procedure which would significantly increase sexual vitality and general well-being. Following the operation Yeats experienced improved disposition, increased physical vigor, and a return of his creative powers. Pruitt, addressing the psychogenic effect of the procedure, points out that throughout his life Yeats had been drawn to occult, magical movements, such as theosophy, the Hermetic Students of the Golden Dawn, and astrology.