THE ASTRAL BODY

AND OTHER ASTRAL PHENOMENA

by Arthur A.Powell
The Theosophical Publishing House, London, England; Wheaton,Ill, U.S.A.;
Adyar, hennai, India
Published in !"#$, reprinted in !"%& and !"'%
(E(IATI)*
This boo+ is dedicated ,ith gratitude and appreciation to all those ,hose
painsta+ing labour
and researches ha-e pro-ided the .aterials out o/ ,hich it has been co.piled
0To +no, .an is to +no, 1od.
To +no, 1od is to +no, .an.
To study the uni-erse is to learn both 1od and .an;
/or the uni-erse is the e2pression o/ the (i-ine Thought,
and the uni-erse is .irrored in .an.
3no,ledge is necessary i/ the SEL4 ,ould beco.e /ree
and +no, Itsel/ as Itsel/ alone.0
Annie 5esant
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Introduction XIII
1 General Decri!tion 1
" Co#!oition and Structure $
% Colour 11
$ &unction "%
' C(a)ra# %1
* +undalini %,
- T(ou.(t &or# $%
, P(/ical Li0e *$
1 Slee!2Li0e ,"
13 Drea# 1%
11 Continuit/ o0 Concioune 13$
1"
Deat( and t(e Deire2
Ele#ental
13-
1% A0ter2Deat( Li0e 4 Princi!le 11"
1$ A0ter2Deat( Li0e 4 Particular 1"3
Clic) on t(i line 0or t(e 0ollo5in. c(a!ter
1'
A0ter2Deat( Li0e 6 S!ecial
Cae
1%,
1* T(e Atral Plane 1$*
1-
Micellaneou Atral
P(eno#ena
1'-
1, T(e &ourt( Di#enion 1*%
11 Atral Entitie 4 Hu#an 1*,
"3 Atral Entitie 4 Non2Hu#an 1-*
"1 Atral Entitie 4 Arti0icial 113
"" S!irituali# 11$
"% Atral Deat( "3*
"$ Re2Birt( "31
"' T(e Mater/ o0 E#otion "1'
"*
De7elo!#ent o0 Atral
Po5er
""$
"-
Clair7o/ance in S!ace and
Ti#e
"%$
", In7ii8le Hel!er "%,
"1 Dici!le(i! "'"
%3 Concluion "',
Inde9 "*1
P:BLISHER;S PRE&ACE
THE author6s purpose in co.piling the boo+s in this series ,as to sa-e students
.uch ti.e and labour by pro-iding a condensed synthesis o/ the considerable
literature on the respecti-e sub7ects o/ each -olu.e, co.ing .ostly /ro. the
pens o/ Annie 5esant and . W. Leadbeater. The acco.panying list sho,s the
large nu.ber o/ boo+s /ro. ,hich he dre,. So /ar as possible, the .ethod
adopted ,as to e2plain the /or. side /irst, be/ore the li/e side8 to describe the
ob7ecti-e .echanis. o/ pheno.ena and then the acti-ities o/ consciousness that
are e2pressed through the .echanis.. There is no atte.pt to pro-e or e-en
7usti/y any o/ the state.ents. 9arginal re/erences gi-e opportunity to re/er to the
sources.
The ,or+s o/ H. P. 5la-ats+y ,ere not used because the author said that the
necessary research in The Secret (octrine and other ,ritings ,ould ha-e been
too -ast a tas+ /or hi. to underta+e. He added8 0The debt to H. P. 5la-ats+y is
greater than could e-er be indicated by :uotations /ro. her .onu.ental
-olu.es. Had she not sho,n the ,ay in the /irst instance, later in-estigators
.ight ne-er ha-e /ound the trail at all.0
INTROD:CTION
THE purpose o/ this boo+ is to present to the student o/ Theosophy a condensed
synthesis o/ the in/or.ation at present a-ailable concerning the Astral 5ody o/
.an, together ,ith a description and e2planation o/ the astral ,orld and its
pheno.ena. The boo+ is thus a natural se:uel o/ The Etheric (ouble and Allied
Pheno.ena published in !"#%.
As in the case o/ The Etheric (ouble, the co.piler has consolidated the
in/or.ation obtained /ro. a large nu.ber o/ boo+s, a list o/ ,hich is gi-en,
arranging the .aterial, ,hich co-ers a -ast /ield and is e2ceedingly co.ple2, as
.ethodically as lay ,ithin his po,er. It is hoped that by this .eans present and
/uture students o/ the sub7ect ,ill be sa-ed .uch labour and research, being able
not only to /ind the in/or.ation they re:uire presented in a co.parati-ely s.all
co.pass, but also, ,ith the help o/ the .arginal re/erences, to re/er, should they
so desire, to the original sources o/ in/or.ation.
In order that the boo+ .ay /ul/il its purpose by being +ept ,ithin reasonable
di.ensions, the general plan /ollo,ed has been to e2pound the principles
underlying astral pheno.ena, o.itting particular e2a.ples or instances.
Lecturers and others ,ho ,ish speci/ic illustrations o/ the principles enunciated,
,ill /ind the .arginal re/erences use/ul as a clue to the places ,here the
e2a.ples they see+ .ay be /ound.
Again, so /ar as the co.ple2ities and ra.i/ications o/ the sub7ect per.it, the
.ethod has been to e2plain the form side /irst, be/ore the life side8 i.e., to
describe /irst the ob7ecti-e .echanis. o/ pheno.ena, and then the acti-ities o/
consciousness ,hich are e2pressed through that .echanis.. The care/ul
student, bearing this in <Pa.e 9i7 = .ind, ,ill thus recognise .any passages,
,hich at /irst glance .ight appear to be repetiti-e, in ,hich the sa.e
pheno.enon is described /irst /ro. the point o/ -ie, o/ the outer .aterial /or.
and then again later /ro. the point o/ -ie, o/ the spirit or consciousness.
It is hoped that the present -olu.e .ay be /ollo,ed by si.ilar ones dealing ,ith
.an6s 9ental and ausal bodies, thus co.pleting the consolidation o/ all
in/or.ation so /ar a-ailable regarding .an6s constitution up to the ausal or
Higher 9ental le-el.
There is today a great deal o/ in/or.ation on these and si.ilar sub7ects, but it is
/or the .ost part scattered o-er large nu.bers o/ boo+s. In order, there/ore, to
.a+e the ,hole o/ it a-ailable /or the student, ,hose ti.e /or intensi-e study is
li.ited, such boo+s as the present is intended to be, are ;in the ,riter6s opinion<
urgently needed. 0 The proper study o/ .an+ind is .an 8 0 and the sub7ect is so
-ast, so absorbing, and so i.portant that e-erything possible should be done to
.a+e readily accessible to all ,ho thirst /or such +no,ledge the ,hole o/ the
in/or.ation ,hich has so /ar been accu.ulated.
Arthur E.Po,ell
CHAPTER I
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
<Pa.e 1= 5E4)=E proceeding to a detailed study o/ the astral body, and o/
pheno.ena associated ,ith it, it .ay be use/ul to lay be/ore the student a brie/
outline o/ the ground it is proposed to co-er, in order to gi-e in proper perspecti-e
a -ie, o/ the ,hole sub7ect and o/ the relati-e dependence o/ its se-eral parts.
5rie/ly, the astral body o/ .an is a -ehicle, to clair-oyant sight not unli+e the
physical body, surrounded by an aura o/ /lashing colours, co.posed o/ .atter o/
an order o/ /ineness higher than that o/ physical .atter, in ,hich /eelings,
passions, desires and e.otions are e2pressed and ,hich acts as a bridge or
.ediu. o/ trans.ission bet,een the physical brain and the .ind, the latter
operating in the still higher -ehicle > the .ind?body.
While e-ery .an possesses and uses an astral body, co.parati-ely /e, are
conscious o/ its e2istence or can control and /unction in it in /ull consciousness.
In the case o/ large nu.bers o/ persons it is scarcely .ore than an inchoate
.ass o/ astral .atter, the .o-e.ents and acti-ities o/ ,hich are little under the
control o/ the .an hi.sel/>the Ego. With others, ho,e-er, the astral body is a
,ell?de-eloped and thoroughly organised -ehicle, possessing a li/e o/ its o,n
and con/erring on its o,ner .any and use/ul po,ers.
(uring the sleep o/ the physical body, an unde-eloped .an leads a drea.y,
-ague e2istence, in his relati-ely pri.iti-e astral body, re.e.bering little or
nothing <Pa.e "= o/ his sleep?li/e ,hen he re?a,a+ens in his physical body.
In the case o/ a de-eloped .an, ho,e-er, the li/e in the astral body, ,hilst the
physical body is ,rapped in slu.ber, is acti-e, interesting and use/ul, and the
.e.ory o/ it .ay, under certain conditions, be brought do,n into the physical
brain. The li/e o/ such a .an ceases to be a series o/ days o/ consciousness and
nights o/ obli-ion, beco.ing instead a continuous li/e o/ unbro+en
consciousness, alternating bet,een the physical and the astral planes or ,orlds.
)ne o/ the /irst things a .an learns to do in his astral body is to tra-el in it, it
being possible /or the astral body to .o-e, ,ith great rapidity, and to great
distances /ro. the sleeping physical body. An understanding o/ this pheno.enon
thro,s .uch light on a large nu.ber o/ so?called 0occult 0 pheno.ena, such as 0
apparitions 0 o/ .any +inds, +no,ledge o/ places ne-er -isited physically, etc.
The astral body being par excellence the -ehicle o/ /eelings and e.otions, an
understanding o/ its co.position and o/ the ,ays in ,hich it operates is o/
considerable -alue in understanding .any aspects o/ .an6s psychology, both
indi-idual and collecti-e, and also pro-ides a si.ple e2planation o/ the
.echanis. o/ .any pheno.ena re-ealed by .odern psycho?analysis.
A clear understanding o/ the structure and nature o/ the astral body, o/ its
possibilities and its li.itations, is essential to a co.prehension o/ the li/e into
,hich .en pass a/ter physical death. The .any +inds o/ 0 hea-ens0, 0 hells 0 and
purgatorial e2istences belie-ed in by /ollo,ers o/ innu.erable religions, all /all
naturally into place and beco.e intelligible as soon as ,e understand the nature
o/ the astral body and o/ the astral ,orld.
A study o/ the astral body ,ill be o/ assistance also in our understanding o/ .any
o/ the pheno.ena o/ the s@ance roo. and o/ certain psychic or non?physical
.ethods o/ healing disease. Those ,ho are interested <Pa.e %= in ,hat is ter.ed
the /ourth di.ension ,ill /ind also a con/ir.ation o/ .any o/ the theories ,hich
ha-e been /or.ulated by .eans o/ geo.etry and .athe.atics, in a study o/
astral ,orld pheno.ena, as described by those ,ho ha-e obser-ed the..
A study o/ the astral body o/ .an thus ta+es us /ar a/ield and e2pands
enor.ously a conception o/ li/e based solely on the physical ,orld and the purely
physical senses. As ,e proceed, ,e shall see that the physical senses,
in-aluable as they are, by no .eans represent the li.it o/ ,hat .an6s -ehicles
.ay teach hi. o/ the ,orlds in ,hich he li-es. The a,a+ening into /unctioning
acti-ity o/ astral /aculties re-eals a ne, ,orld ,ithin the old ,orld and, ,hen a
.an beco.es able to read aright its signi/icance, he ,ill obtain such an
e2panded -ie, o/ his o,n li/e, and all nature, as ,ill re-eal to hi. the al.ost
li.itless possibilities latent in .an. 4ro. this, sooner or later but ine-itably, there
,ill co.e the i.pulse, and later the unsha+able deter.ination, to .aster these
,orlds, and hi.sel/, to rise superior to his earthly destiny, and to beco.e an
intelligent co?operator ,ith ,hat has been aptly ter.ed the Supre.e Will in
E-olution.
We ,ill no, proceed to study, in detail, the astral body and .any astral
pheno.ena <Pa.e $=
CHAPTER "
COMPOSITION AND STR:CT:RE
AST=AL .atter e2ists in se-en grades or orders o/ /ineness, corresponding to
the se-en grades o/ physical .atter, ,hich are solid, li:uid, gaseous, etheric,
super?etheric, sub?ato.ic and ato.ic. *o na.es /or these astral states, ho,e-er,
ha-ing so /ar been de-ised, it is usual to describe the., either by the nu.ber o/
the grade or sub?plane, the /inest being *u.ber !, the coarsest *u.ber $, or by
the corresponding physical grade. E.g., ,e spea+ o/ astral solid .atter, .eaning
thereby the se-enth or lo,est -ariety8 astral etheric .atter, .eaning the /ourth
/ro. the /inest8 and so on.
Astral .atter, being .uch /iner than physical .atter, interpenetrates it. E-ery
physical ato., there/ore, /loats in a sea o/ astral .atter, ,hich surrounds it and
/ills e-ery interstice in physical .atter. It is o/ course, ,ell +no,n that e-en in the
hardest substance no t,o ato.s e-er touch one another, the space bet,een t,o
ad7acent ato.s being in /act enor.ously larger than the ato.s the.sel-es.
)rthodo2 physical science long ago has posited an ether ,hich interpenetrates
all +no,n substances, the densest solid as ,ell as the .ost rare/ied gas; and 7ust
as this ether .o-es ,ith per/ect /reedo. bet,een the particles o/ densest .atter,
so does astral .atter interpenetrate it in turn, and .o-es ,ith per/ect /reedo.
a.ong its particles. Thus a being li-ing in the astral ,orld .ight be occupying the
sa.e space as a being li-ing in the physical ,orld ; yet each ,ould be entirely
unconscious o/ the other, and ,ould in no ,ay i.pede the /ree .o-e.ent o/ the
other. The student should thoroughly /a.iliarise hi.sel/ ,ith this /unda.ental
conception, <Pa.e '= as, ,ithout grasping it clearly, it is not possible to understand
large nu.bers o/ astral pheno.ena.
The principle o/ interpenetration .a+es it clear that the di//erent real.s o/ nature
are not separated in space, but e2ist about us here and no,, so that to percei-e
and in-estigate the. no .o-e.ent in space is necessary, but only an opening
,ithin oursel-es o/ the senses by .eans o/ ,hich they can be percei-ed.
The astral ,orld, or plane, is thus a condition o/ nature, rather than a locality.
It .ust be noted that a physical ato. cannot be directly bro+en up into astral
ato.s. I/ the /orce ,hich ,hirls the ;appro2i.ately< /ourteen thousand .illion 0
bubbles in +oilon 0 into an ulti.ate physical ato. be pressed bac+ by an e//ort o/
,ill o-er the threshold o/ the astral plane, the ato. disappears, releasing the 0
bubbles.0 The sa.e /orce, ,or+ing then on a higher le-el, e2presses itsel/, not
through one astral ato., but through a group o/ /orty?nine such ato.s.
A si.ilar relationship, represented by the nu.ber &", e2ists bet,een the ato.s
o/ any t,o other contiguous planes o/ nature8 thus an astral ato. contains &"% or
#A#,&$%,#&" 0 bubbles,0 a .ental ato., &"& bubbles, and so on.
There is reason to belie-e that electrons are astral ato.s. Physicists state that a
che.ical ato. o/ hydrogen contains probably /ro. $BB to !BBB electrons. )ccult
research asserts that a che.ical ato. o/ hydrogen contains AA# astral ato.s.
This .ay be a coincidence, but that does not see. probable.
It should be noted that ulti.ate physical ato.s c are o/ t,o +inds, .ale and
/e.ale 8 in the .ale, /orce pours in /ro. the astral ,orld, passes through the
ato. and out into the physical ,orld 8 in the /e.ale, /orce passes in /ro. the
physical ,orld, through the ato., and out into the astral ,orld, thus -anishing
/ro. the physical ,orld.
Astral .atter corresponds ,ith curious accuracy to <Pa.e *= the physical .atter
,hich it interpenetrates, each -ariety o/ physical .atter attracting astral .atter o/
corresponding density. Thus solid physical .atter is interpenetrated by ,hat ,e
call solid astral .atter8 li:uid physical by li:uid astral, i.e., by .atter o/ the si2th
sub?plane 8 and si.ilarly ,ith gaseous and the /our grades o/ etheric .atter,
each o/ ,hich is interpenetrated by the corresponding grade o/ astral .atter.
Precisely as it is necessary that the physical body should contain ,ithin its
constitution physical .atter in all its conditions, solid, li:uid, gaseous and etheric,
so it is indispensable that the astral body should contain particles o/ all the se-en
astral sub?planes, though, o/ course, the proportions .ay -ary greatly in di//erent
cases.
The astral body o/ .an thus being co.posed o/ .atter o/ all se-en grades, it is
possible /or hi. to e2perience all -arieties o/ desire to the /ullest possible e2tent,
the highest as ,ell as the lo,est.
It is the peculiar type o/ response possessed by astral .atter ,hich enables the
astral .atter to ser-e as the sheath in ,hich the Sel/ can gain e2perience o/
sensation.
In addition to the ordinary .atter o/ the astral plane, that ,hich is +no,n as the
Third Ele.ental 3ingdo., or si.ply as the Ele.ental Essence o/ the astral
plane, also enters largely into the co.position o/ .an6s astral body, and /or.s
,hat is called the 0 (esire?Ele.ental,0 ,hich ,e shall deal ,ith .ore /ully in later
chapters.
Astral ele.ental essence consists o/ .atter o/ the si2 lo,er le-els o/ the astral
plane, -i-i/ied by the Second )utpouring, /ro. the Second Person o/ the Trinity.
Astral .atter o/ the highest or ato.ic le-el, si.ilarly -i-i/ied, is +no,n as
9onadic Essence.
In an unde-eloped .an, the astral body is a cloudy, loosely organised, -aguely
outlined .ass o/ astral .atter, ,ith a great predo.inance o/ substances /ro. the
lo,er grades; it is gross, dar+ in colour, and dense > o/ten so dense that the
outline o/ the physical <Pa.e -= body is al.ost lost in it > and is thus /itted to
respond to sti.uli connected ,ith the passions and appetites. In siCe, it e2tends
in all directions about ten or t,el-e inches beyond the physical body.
In an a-erage .oral and intellectual .an the astral body is considerably larger,
e2tending about !A inches on each side o/ the body, its .aterials are .ore
balanced and /iner in :uality, the presence o/ the rarer +inds gi-ing a certain
lu.inous :uality to the ,hole, and its outline is clear and de/inite.
In the case o/ a spiritually de-eloped .an the astral body is still larger in siCe and
is co.posed o/ the /inest particles o/ each grade o/ astral .atter, the higher
largely predo.inating.
There is so .uch to be said regarding the colours o/ astral bodies that the
sub7ect is reser-ed /or a separate chapter. Here, ho,e-er, it .ay be stated that in
unde-eloped types the colours are coarse and .uddy, gradually beco.ing .ore
and .ore lu.inous as the .an de-elops e.otionally, .entally and spiritually.
The -ery na.e 0 astral,0 inherited /ro. .ediae-al alche.ists, signi/ies 0 starry,0
being intended to allude to the lu.inous appearance o/ astral .atter.
As already said, the astral body o/ a .an not only per.eates the physical body,
but also e2tends around it in e-ery direction li+e a cloud.
That portion o/ the astral body ,hich e2tends beyond the li.its o/ the physical
body is usually ter.ed the astral 0aura.0
Intense /eeling .eans a large aura. It .ay here be .entioned that increased siCe
o/ the aura is a prere:uisite /or Initiation, and the 0 Duali/ications0 should be
-isible in it. The aura naturally increases ,ith each Initiation. The aura o/ the
5uddha is said to ha-e been three .iles in radius.
The .atter o/ the physical body ha-ing a -ery strong attraction /or the .atter o/
the astral body, it /ollo,s that by /ar the greater portion ;about "" per cent.< o/ the
astral particles are co.pressed ,ithin the periphery o/ the physical body, only the
re.aining <Pa.e ,= ! per cent, /illing the rest o/ the o-oid and /or.ing the aura.
The central portion o/ the astral body thus ta+es the e2act /or. o/ the physical
body and is, in /act, -ery solid and de/inite, and :uite clearly distinguishable /ro.
the surrounding aura. It is usually ter.ed the astral counterpart o/ the physical
body. The e2act correspondence o/ the astral body ,ith the physical, ho,e-er, is
.erely a .atter o/ e2ternal /or., and does not at all in-ol-e any si.ilarity o/
/unction in the -arious organs, as ,e shall see .ore /ully in the chapter on
ha+ra.s.
*ot only .an6s physical body, but e-erything physical, has its corresponding
order o/ astral .atter in constant association ,ith it, not to be separated /ro. it
e2cept by a -ery considerable e2ertion o/ occult /orce, and e-en then only to be
held apart /ro. it as long as /orce is being de/initely e2erted to that end. In other
,ords, e-ery physical ob7ect has its astral counterpart. 5ut as the astral particles
are constantly .o-ing a.ong one another as easily as those o/ a physical li:uid,
there is no per.anent association bet,een any one physical particle and that
a.ount o/ astral .atter ,hich happens at any gi-en .o.ent to be acting as its
counterpart.
Usually the astral portion o/ an ob7ect pro7ects so.e,hat beyond the physical
part o/ it, so that .etals, stones, etc., are seen surrounded by an astral aura.
I/ so.e part o/ a .an6s physical body be re.o-ed, e.g., by a.putation, the
coherence o/ the li-ing astral .atter is stronger than its attraction to,ards the
se-ered portion o/ the physical. onse:uently the astral counterpart o/ the li.b
,ill not be carried a,ay ,ith the se-ered physical li.b. Since the astral .atter
has ac:uired the habit o/ +eeping that particular /or., it ,ill continue to retain the
original shape, but ,ill soon ,ithdra, ,ithin the li.its o/ the .ai.ed /or.. The
sa.e pheno.enon ta+es place in the case o/ a tree /ro. ,hich a branch has
been se-ered. <Pa.e 1=
In the case o/ an inani.ate body, ho,e-er, such as a chair or a basin, there is
not the sa.e +ind o/ indi-idual li/e to .aintain cohesion. onse:uently, ,hen the
physical ob7ect is bro+en the astral counterpart ,ould also be di-ided.
Duite apart /ro. the se-en grades o/ .atter, arranged in order o/ /ineness, there
is also a totally distinct classi/ication o/ astral .atter, according to its type. In
Theosophical literature the degree o/ /ineness is usually designated the
horizontal di-ision, and the type the vertical di-ision. The types, o/ ,hich there
are se-en, are as thoroughly inter.ingled as are the constituents o/ the
at.osphere, and in e-ery astral body there is .atter o/ all se-en types, the
proportion bet,een the. sho,ing the disposition o/ the .an, ,hether he be
de-otional or philosophic, artistic or scienti/ic, prag.atic or .ystic.
The ,hole o/ the astral portion o/ our earth and o/ the physical planets, together
,ith the purely astral planets o/ our Syste., .a+e up collecti-ely the astral body
o/ the Solar Logos, thus sho,ing that the old pantheistic conception ,as a true
one.
Si.ilarly each o/ the se-en types o/ astral .atter is to so.e e2tent, regarded as
a ,hole, a separate -ehicle, and .ay be thought o/ as also the astral body o/ a
subsidiary (eity or 9inister, ,ho is at the sa.e ti.e an aspect o/ the (eity, a
+ind o/ ganglion or /orce?centre in Hi.. Hence the slightest thought, .o-e.ent or
alteration o/ any +ind in the subsidiary (eity is instantly re/lected in so.e ,ay or
other in all the .atter o/ the corresponding type. Such psychic changes occur
periodically8 perhaps they correspond to in?breathing and out?breathing, or to the
beating o/ the heart ,ith us on the physical plane. It has been obser-ed that the
.o-e.ents o/ the physical planets /urnish a clue to the operation o/ the
in/luences /lo,ing /ro. these changes8 hence the rationale o/ astrological
science. Hence, /urther, any such alteration .ust to so.e e2tent a//ect each
.an, in proportion to the a.ount o/ that type o/ .atter ,hich he <Pa.e 13=
possesses in his astral body. Thus, one change ,ould a//ect the e.otions, or the
.ind, or both, another .ight intensi/y ner-ous e2cite.ent and irritability, and so
on. It is this proportion ,hich deter.ines in each .an, ani.al, plant or .ineral
certain /unda.ental characteristics ,hich ne-er change > so.eti.es called his
note, colour, or ray.
To pursue this interesting line o/ thought /urther ,ould ta+e us beyond the scope
o/ this boo+, so the student is re/erred to The Hidden Side of Things, Eol. I, pp.
&F?%A.
There are se-en sub?types in each type, .a+ing /orty?nine sub?types in all.
The type or ray is per.anent through the ,hole planetary sche.e, so that an
ele.ental essence ;see p. '< o/ type A ,ill in due course ensoul .inerals, plants
and ani.als o/ type A, and /ro. it ,ill e.erge also hu.an beings o/ the sa.e
type.
The astral body slo,ly but constantly ,ears a,ay, precisely as does the physical,
but, instead o/ the process o/ eating and digesting /ood, the particles ,hich /all
a,ay are replaced by others /ro. the surrounding at.osphere. *e-ertheless, the
/eeling o/ indi-iduality is co..unicated to the ne, particles as they enter, and
also the ele.ental essence included ,ith each .an6s astral body undoubtedly
/eels itsel/ a +ind o/ entity, and acts accordingly /or ,hat i/ considers its o,n
interests.<Pa.e 11=
CHAPTER %
COLO:RS
To clair-oyant sight one o/ the principal /eatures o/ an astral body consists o/ the
colours ,hich are constantly playing through it, these colours corresponding to,
and being the e2pression in astral .atter o/ /eelings, passions and e.otions.
All +no,n colours, and .any ,hich are at present un+no,n to us, e2ist upon
each o/ the higher planes o/ nature, but as ,e rise /ro. one stage to another
they beco.e .ore delicate and .ore lu.inous, so that they .ay be described
as higher octa-es o/ colour. As it is not possible to portray these octa-es
physically on paper, the abo-e /acts should be borne in .ind ,hen considering
the coloured illustrations o/ the astral body ,hich are re/erred to belo,.
The /ollo,ing is a list o/ the principal colours and the e.otions o/ ,hich they are
an e2pression8>
Black8 in thic+ clouds8 hatred and .alice.
Red8 deep red /lashes, usually on a blac+ ground8 anger.
A scarlet cloud 8 irritability.
Brilliant scarlet8 on the ordinary bac+ground o/ the aura8 0 noble indignation0.
Lurid and sanguinary red8 un.ista+able, though not easy to describe8 sensuality.
Bron!grey 8 dull, hard bro,n?grey8 sel/ishness8 one o/ the co..onest colours in
the astral body.
Bron!red8 dull, al.ost rust?colour8 a-arice, usually arranged in parallel bars
across the astral body.
"reenish!#ron8 lit up by deep red or scarlet /lashes 8 7ealousy. In the case o/ an
ordinary .an there is usually .uch o/ this colour present ,hen he is 0in lo-e0.
<Pa.e 1"=
"rey8 hea-y, leaden 8 depression. Li+e the bro,n?red o/ a-arice, arranged in
parallel lines, con-eying the i.pression o/ a cage.
"rey$ livid8 a hideous and /right/ul hue8 /ear.
%rimson8 dull and hea-y8 sel/ish lo-e.
Rose!colour8 unsel/ish lo-e. When e2ceptionally brilliant, tinged ,ith lilac 8
spiritual lo-e /or hu.anity.
&range8 pride or a.bition. )/ten /ound ,ith irritability.
'ello8 intellect8 -aries /ro. a deep and dull tint, through brilliant gold, to clear
and lu.inous le.on or pri.rose yello,. (ull yello ochre i.plies the direction o/
/aculty to sel/ish purposes8 clear gam#oge indicates a distinctly higher type;
primrose yello denotes intellect de-oted to spiritual ends; gold indicates pure
intellect applied to philosophy or .athe.atics.
"reen8 in general, -aries greatly in its signi/icance, and needs study to be
interpreted correctly8 .ostly it indicates adaptability. "rey!green, sli.y in
appearance8 deceit and cunning. )merald green8 -ersatility, ingenuity and
resource/ulness, applied unsel/ishly. *ale$ luminous #lue!green8 deep sy.pathy
and co.passion, ,ith the po,er o/ per/ect adaptability ,hich only they can gi-e.
Bright apple!green see.s al,ays to acco.pany strong -itality.
Blue8 dar+ and clear8 religious /eeling. It is liable to be tinted by .any other
:ualities, thus beco.ing any shade /ro. indigo or a rich deep -iolet to .uddy
grey?blue. Light!#lue, such as ultra.arine or cobalt8 de-otion to a noble spiritual
ideal. A tint o/ violet indicates a .i2ture o/ a//ection and de-otion. Luminous lilac!
#lue, usually acco.panied by spar+ling golden stars8 the higher spirituality, ,ith
lo/ty spiritual aspirations.
+ltra!violet8 higher and purer de-elop.ents o/ psychic /aculties.
+ltra!red8 lo,er psychic /aculties o/ one ,ho dabbles in e-il and sel/ish /or.s o/
.agic.
Goy sho,s itsel/ in a general brightening and radiancy <Pa.e 1%= o/ both .ental
and astral bodies, and in a peculiar rippling o/ the sur/ace o/ the body.
heer/ulness sho,s itsel/ in a .odi/ied bubbling /or. o/ this, and also in a
steady serenity.
Surprise is sho,n by a sharp constriction o/ the .ental body, usually
co..unicated to both the astral and physical bodies, acco.panied by an
increased glo, o/ the band o/ a//ection i/ the surprise is a pleasant one, and by
an increase o/ bro,n and grey i/ the surprise is an unpleasant one. The
constriction o/ten causes unpleasant /eelings, a//ecting so.eti.es the solar
ple2us, resulting in sin+ing and sic+ness, and so.eti.es the heart centre,
causing palpitation and e-en death.
It ,ill be understood that, as hu.an e.otions are hardly e-er un.i2ed, so these
colours are seldo. per/ectly pure, but .ore usually .i2tures. Thus the purity o/
.any colours is di..ed by the hard bro,n?grey o/ sel/ishness, or tinged ,ith the
deep orange o/ pride.
In reading the /ull .eaning o/ colours, other points ha-e also to be ta+en into
consideration8 -iC., the general brilliance o/ the astral body8 the co.parati-e
de/initeness or inde/initeness o/ its outline8 the relati-e brightness o/ the di//erent
centres o/ /orce ;see hapter %<.
The yello, o/ intellect, the rose o/ a//ection, and the blue o/ de-otion are al,ays
/ound in the upper part o/ the astral body8 the colours o/ sel/ishness, a-arice,
deceit and hatred are in the lo,er part8 the .ass o/ sensual /eeling /loats usually
bet,een the t,o.
4ro. this it /ollo,s that in the unde-eloped .an the lo,er portion o/ the o-oid
tends to be larger than the upper, so that the astral body has the appearance o/
an egg ,ith the s.all end upper.ost. In the .ore de-eloped .an the re-erse is
the case, the s.all end o/ the egg pointing do,n,ards. The tendency al,ays is
/or the sy..etry o/ the o-oid to re?assert itsel/ by degrees, so that such
appearances are only te.porary.
Each :uality, e2pressed as a colour, has its o,n special type o/ astral .atter, and
the a-erage position <Pa.e 1$= o/ these colours depends upon the speci/ic gra-ity
o/ the respecti-e grades o/ .atter. The general principle is that e-il or sel/ish
:ualities e2press the.sel-es in the co.parati-ely slo, -ibrations o/ coarser
.atter, ,hile good and unsel/ish :ualities play through /iner .atter.
This being so, /ortunately /or us, good e.otions persist e-en longer than e-il
ones, the e//ect o/ a /eeling o/ strong lo-e or de-otion re.aining in the astral
body long a/ter the occasion that caused it has been /orgotten.
It is possible, though unusual, to ha-e t,o rates o/ -ibrations going on strongly in
the astral body at the sa.e ti.e, e.g., lo-e and anger. The a/ter?results ,ill go on
side by side, but one at a -ery .uch higher le-el than the other and there/ore
persisting longer.
High unsel/ish a//ection and de-otion belong to the highest ;ato.ic< astral sub?
plane, and these re/lect the.sel-es in the corresponding .atter o/ the .ental
plane. They thus touch the causal ;higher .ental< body, not the lo,er .ental.
This is an i.portant point o/ ,hich the student should ta+e especial note. The
Ego, ,ho resides on the higher .ental plane, is thus a//ected only by unsel/ish
thoughts. Lo,er thoughts a//ect, not the Ego, but the per.anent ato.s ;see p.
#B$<.
onse:uently, in the causal body there ,ould be gaps, not bad colours,
corresponding to the lo,er /eelings and thoughts. Sel/ishness, /or e2a.ple,
,ould sho, itsel/ as the absence o/ a//ection or sy.pathy8 as soon as
sel/ishness is replaced by its opposite, the gap in the causal body ,ould be /illed
up.
An intensi/ication o/ the coarse colours o/ the astral body, representing base
e.otions, ,hilst /inding no direct e2pression in the causal body, ne-ertheless
tends so.e,hat to di. the lu.inosity o/ the colours representing the opposite
-irtues in the causal body.
In order to realise the appearance o/ the astral body, it .ust be borne in .ind
that the particles o/ ,hich <Pa.e 1'= it is co.posed are al,ays in rapid .otion8 in
the -ast .a7ority o/ cases the clouds o/ colour .elt into one another and are all
the ,hile rolling o-er one another, appearing and disappearing as they roll, the
sur/ace o/ the lu.inous .ist rese.bling so.e,hat the sur/ace o/ -iolently boiling
,ater. The -arious colours, there/ore, by no .eans retain the sa.e positions,
though there is a nor.al position to,ards ,hich they tend to return.
The student is re/erred to the boo+, ,an -isi#le and .nvisi#le, by . W.
Leadbeater, /or illustrations o/ the actual appearance o/ astral bodies 8 >
Plate EII., p AA, Astral body o/ sa-age.
Plate H., p. "&, Astral body o/ a-erage .an.
Plate HHIII., p. !#F, Astral body o/ de-eloped .an. ;Edition !"B#.<
The .ain characteristics o/ the three types illustrated > the sa-age, the a-erage
.an and the de-eloped .an > .ay be brie/ly su..arised as /ollo,s 8>
Savage Type. > A -ery large proportion o/ sensuality, deceit, sel/ishness and
greed are conspicuous8 /ierce anger is i.plied by s.ears and blots o/ dull
scarlet8 -ery little a//ection appears, and such intellect and religious /eeling as
e2ist are o/ the lo,est possible +ind. The outline is irregular and the colours
blurred, thic+ and hea-y. The ,hole body is e-idently ill?regulated, con/used and
uncontrolled.
Average ,an.>Sensuality is .uch less though still pro.inent8 sel/ishness is
also pro.inent and there is so.e capability o/ deceit /or personal ends, though
the green is beginning to di-ide into t,o distinct :ualities, sho,ing that cunning is
gradually beco.ing adaptability. Anger is still .ar+ed8 a//ection, intellect and
de-otion are .ore pro.inent and o/ a higher :uality. The colours as a ,hole are
.ore clearly de/ined and distinctly brighter, though none o/ the. are per/ectly
clear. The outline o/ the body is .ore de/ined and regular.
(eveloped ,an.> Undesirable :ualities ha-e al.ost entirely disappeared8
across the top o/ the body there <Pa.e 1*= is a strip o/ lilac, indicating spiritual
aspiration8 abo-e and en-eloping the head there is a cloud o/ the brilliant yello,
o/ intellect8 belo, that there is a broad belt o/ the blue o/ de-otion8 then across
the trun+ there is a still ,ider belt o/ the rose o/ a//ection, and in the lo,er part o/
the body a large a.ount o/ the green o/ adaptability and sy.pathy /inds its place.
The colours are bright, lu.inous, in clearly .ar+ed bands, the outline is ,ell
de/ined, and the ,hole astral body con-eys the i.pression o/ being orderly and
under per/ect control.
Although ,e are not in this boo+ dealing ,ith the .ental body, yet it should be
.entioned that as a .an de-elops, his astral body .ore and .ore rese.bles his
.ental body, until it beco.es little .ore than a re/lection o/ it in the grosser
.atter o/ the astral plane. This, o/ course, indicates that the .an has his desires
thoroughly under the control o/ the .ind and is no longer apt to be s,ept a,ay
by surges o/ e.otion. Such a .an ,ill no doubt be sub7ect to occasional
irritability, and to undesirable cra-ings o/ -arious sorts, but he +no,s enough no,
to repress these lo,er .ani/estations and not to yield to the..
At a still later stage the .ental body itsel/ beco.es a re/lection o/ the causal
body, since the .an no, learns to /ollo, solely the pro.ptings o/ the higher sel/,
and to guide his reason e2clusi-ely by the..
Thus the .ind body and the astral body o/ an Arhat ,ould ha-e -ery little
characteristic colour o/ their o,n, but ,ould be reproductions o/ the causal body
in so /ar as their lo,er octa-es could e2press it. They ha-e a lo-ely iridescence,
a sort o/ opalescent, .other?o/?pearl e//ect, ,hich is /ar beyond either description
or representation.
A de-eloped .an has /i-e rates o/ -ibration in his astral body 8 an ordinary .an
sho,s at least nine rates, ,ith a .i2ture o/ -arious shades in addition. 9any
people ha-e %B or !BB rates, the ,hole sur/ace being bro+en up into a .ultiplicity
o/ little ,hirlpools and cross?currents, all battling one against another <Pa.e 1-= in
.ad con/usion. This is the result o/ unnecessary e.otion and ,orries, the
ordinary person o/ the West being a .ass o/ these, through ,hich .uch o/ his
strength is /rittered a,ay.
An astral body ,hich -ibrates /i/ty ,ays at once is not only ugly but also a serious
annoyance. It .ay be co.pared to a physical body su//ering /ro. an aggra-ated
/or. o/ palsy, ,ith all its .uscles 7er+ing si.ultaneously in di//erent directions.
Such astral e//ects are contagious and a//ect all sensiti-e persons ,ho approach,
co..unicating a pain/ul sense o/ unrest and ,orry. It is 7ust because .illions o/
people are thus unnecessarily agitated by all sorts o/ /oolish desires and /eelings
that it is so di//icult /or a sensiti-e person to li-e in a great city or .o-e a.ongst
cro,ds. The perpetual astral disturbances .ay e-en react through the etheric
double and set up ner-ous diseases.
The centres o/ in/la..ation in the astral body are to it ,hat boils are to the
physical body > not only acutely unco./ortable, but also ,ea+ spots through
,hich -itality lea+s a,ay. They also o//er practically no resistance to e-il
in/luences, and pre-ent good in/luences /ro. being o/ pro/it. This condition is
pain/ully co..on8 the re.edy is to eli.inate ,orry, /ear and annoyance. The
student o/ occultis. .ust not ha-e personal /eelings that can be a//ected under
any circu.stances ,hate-er.
)nly a young child has a ,hite or co.parati-ely colourless aura, the colours
beginning to sho, only as the :ualities de-elop. The astral body o/ a child is
o/ten a .ost beauti/ul ob7ect > pure and bright in its colours, /ree /ro. the stains
o/ sensuality, a-arice, ill?,ill and sel/ishness. In it .ay also be seen lying latent
the ger.s and tendencies brought o-er /ro. his last li/e ;see p. #!!<, so.e o/
the. e-il, so.e good, and thus the possibilities o/ the child6s /uture li/e .ay be
seen.
The yello, o/ intellect, /ound al,ays near the head, is the origin o/ the idea o/ the
ni.bus or glory round <Pa.e 1,= the head o/ a saint, since this yello, is .uch the
.ost conspicuous o/ the colours o/ the astral body, and the one .ost easily
percei-ed by a person on the -erge o/ clair-oyance. So.eti.es, o,ing to the
unusual acti-ity o/ the intellect, the yello, .ay beco.e -isible e-en in physical
.atter, so as to be perceptible to ordinary physical sight.
We ha-e already seen that the astral body has a certain nor.al arrange.ent,
into ,hich its -arious portions tend to group the.sel-es. A sudden rush o/
passion or /eeling, ho,e-er, .ay te.porarily /orce the ,hole, or al.ost the
,hole, o/ the .atter in an astral body to -ibrate at a certain rate, thus producing
:uite stri+ing results. All the .atter o/ the astral body is s,ept about as i/ by a
-iolent hurricane, so that /or the ti.e being the colours beco.e -ery .uch
.i2ed. oloured e2a.ples o/ this pheno.enon are gi-en in ,an -isi#le and
.nvisi#le 8>
Plate HI., p. "', Sudden rush o/ A//ection.
Plate HII., p. "A, Sudden rush o/ (e-otion.
Plate HIII., p. !BB, Intense Anger.
Plate HIE., p. !BF, Shoc+ o/ 4ear.
In the case o/ a sudden ,a-e o/ pure a//ection, ,hen, /or e2a.ple, a .other
snatches up her baby and co-ers it ,ith +isses, the ,hole astral body in a
.o.ent is thro,n into a -iolent agitation, and the original colours are /or the ti.e
al.ost obscured.
Analysis disco-ers /our separate e//ects8 >
;!< ertain coils or -ortices o/ -i-id colour are to be seen, ,ell?de/ined and solid?
loo+ing, and glo,ing ,ith an intense light /ro. ,ithin. Each o/ these is in reality a
thought?/or. o/ intense a//ection, generated ,ithin the astral body, and about to
be poured /orth /ro. it to,ards the ob7ect o/ the /eeling. The ,hirling clouds o/
li-ing light are indescribably lo-ely, though di//icult to depict.
;#< The ,hole astral body is crossed by horiContal pulsating lines o/ cri.son light,
e-en .ore di//icult to represent, by reason o/ the e2ceeding rapidity o/ their
.otion. <Pa.e 11=
;F< A +ind o/ /il. o/ rose?colour co-ers the sur/ace o/ the ,hole astral body, so
that all ,ithin is seen through it, as through tinted glass.
;&< A sort o/ cri.son /lush /ills the entire astral body, tinging to so.e e2tent the
other hues, and here and there condensing itsel/ into irregular /loating ,isps, li+e
hal/?/or.ed clouds.
This display ,ould probably last only a /e, seconds, and then the body ,ould
rapidly resu.e its nor.al condition, the -arious grades o/ .atter sorting
the.sel-es again into their usual Cones by their speci/ic gra-ities. Iet e-ery such
rush o/ /eeling adds a little to the cri.son in the higher part o/ the o-al and
.a+es it a little easier /or the astral body to respond to the ne2t ,a-e o/ a//ection
,hich .ay co.e.
Si.ilarly, a .an ,ho /re:uently /eels high de-otion soon co.es to ha-e a large
area o/ blue in his astral body. The e//ects o/ such i.pulses are thus cu.ulati-e8
and in addition the radiation o/ -i-id -ibrations o/ lo-e and 7oy produce good
in/luences on others.
With the substitution o/ blue /or cri.son, a sudden access o/ de-otion, surging
o-er a nun engaged in conte.plation, produces an al.ost identical e//ect.
In the case o/ intense anger, the ordinary bac+ground o/ the astral body is
obscured by coils or -ortices o/ hea-y, thunderous .asses o/ sooty blac+ness, lit
up /ro. ,ithin by the lurid glare o/ acti-e hatred. Wisps o/ the sa.e dar+ cloud
are to be seen de/iling the ,hole astral body, ,hile the /iery arro,s o/
uncontrolled anger shoot a.ong the. li+e /lashes o/ lightning. These terrible
/lashes are capable o/ penetrating other astral bodies li+e s,ords and thus
in/licting in7ury upon other people.
In this instance, as in the others, each outburst o/ rage ,ould predispose the
.atter o/ the entire astral body to respond so.e,hat .ore readily than be/ore to
these -ery undesirable -ibrations.
A sudden shoc+ o/ terror ,ill in an instant su//use the ,hole body ,ith a curious
li-id grey .ist, ,hile horiContal lines o/ the sa.e hue appear, but -ibrating <Pa.e
"3= ,ith such -iolence as to be hardly recognisable as separate lines. The result
is indescribably ghastly8 all light /ades out /or the ti.e /ro. the body and the
,hole grey .ass :ui-ers helplessly li+e a 7elly.
A /lood o/ e.otion does not greatly a//ect the .ental body, though /or a ti.e it
.ay render it al.ost i.possible /or any acti-ity /ro. the .ental body to co.e
through into the physical brain, because the astral body, ,hich acts as a bridge
bet,een the .ental body and the brain, is -ibrating so entirely at one rate as to
be incapable o/ con-eying any undulation ,hich is not in har.ony ,ith it.
The abo-e are e2a.ples o/ the e//ects o/ sudden and te.porary outbursts o/
/eeling. There are other so.e,hat si.ilar e//ects o/ a .ore per.anent character
produced by certain dispositions or types o/ character.
Thus, ,hen an ordinary .an /alls in lo-e, the astral body is so co.pletely
trans/or.ed as to .a+e it scarcely recognisable as belonging to the sa.e
person. Sel/ishness, deceit and a-arice -anish, and the lo,est part o/ the o-al is
/illed ,ith a large de-elop.ent o/ ani.al passions. The green o/ adaptability has
been replaced by the peculiar bro,nish?green o/ 7ealousy, and the e2tre.e
acti-ity o/ this /eeling is sho,n by bright scarlet /lashes o/ anger ,hich per.eate
it. 5ut the undesirable changes are .ore than counterbalanced by the splendid
band o/ cri.son ,hich /ills so large a part o/ the o-al. This is, /or the ti.e, a
do.inant characteristic, and the ,hole astral body glo,s ,ith its light. Under its
in/luence the general .uddiness o/ the ordinary astral body has disappeared,
and the hues are all brilliant and clearly .ar+ed, good and bad ali+e. It is an
intensi/ication o/ the li/e in -arious directions. The blue o/ de-otion is also
distinctly i.pro-ed, and e-en a touch o/ pale -iolet appears at the su..it o/ the
o-oid, indicating a capacity o/ response to a really high and unsel/ish ideal. The
yello, o/ intellect, ho,e-er, has entirely -anished /or the ti.e > a /act ,hich the
cynical .ight consider as characteristic o/ the condition J <Pa.e "1=
The astral body o/ an irritable .an usually sho,s a broad band o/ scarlet as a
pro.inent /eature, and, in addition, the ,hole astral body is co-ered ,ith little
/loating /lec+s o/ scarlet, so.e,hat li+e notes o/ interrogation.
In the case o/ a .iser, a-arice, sel/ishness, deceit and adaptability are naturally
intensi/ied, but sensuality is di.inished. The .ost re.ar+able change, ho,e-er,
is the curious series o/ parallel horiContal lines across the o-al, gi-ing the
i.pression o/ a cage. The bars are a deep bro,n in colour, al.ost burnt sienna.
The -ice o/ a-arice see.s to ha-e the e//ect o/ co.pletely arresting de-elop.ent
/or the ti.e, and it is -ery di//icult to sha+e o// ,hen once it has gained a /ir.
hold.
(eep depression produces an e//ect in grey, instead o/ bro,n, -ery si.ilar to that
o/ the .iser. The result is indescribably gloo.y and depressing to the obser-er.
*o e.otional condition is .ore in/ectious than the /eeling o/ depression.
In the case o/ a non?intellectual .an ,ho is de/initely religious, the astral body
assu.es a characteristic appearance. A touch o/ -iolet suggests the possibility o/
response to a high ideal. The blue o/ de-otion is unusually ,ell de-eloped, but
the yello, o/ intellect is scanty. There is a /air proportion o/ a//ection and
adaptability, but .ore than the a-erage o/ sensuality, and deceit and sel/ishness
are also pro.inent. The colours are irregularly distributed, .elting into one
another, and the outline is -ague, indicating the -agueness o/ the de-otional
.an6s conceptions.
E2tre.e sensuality and the de-otional te.pera.ent are /re:uently seen in
association8 perhaps because these types o/ .en li-e chie/ly in their /eelings,
being go-erned by the. instead o/ trying to control the. by reason.
A great contrast is sho,n by a .an o/ a scienti/ic type. (e-otion is entirely
absent, sensuality is .uch belo, the a-erage, but the intellect is de-eloped to
<Pa.e ""= an abnor.al degree. A//ection and adaptability are s.all in :uantity and
poor in :uality. A good deal o/ sel/ishness and a-arice is present and also so.e
7ealousy. A huge cone o/ bright orange in the .idst o/ the golden yello, o/
intellect indicates pride and a.bition in connection ,ith the +no,ledge that has
been ac:uired. The scienti/ic and orderly habit o/ .ind causes the arrange.ent
o/ the colours to /all into regular bands, the lines o/ de.arcation being :uite
de/inite and clearly .ar+ed.
The student is urged to study /or hi.sel/ the ad.irable boo+ /ro. ,hich the
abo-e in/or.ation is ta+en, this being one o/ the .ost -aluable o/ the .any
,or+s produced by that great and gi/ted ,riter > . W. Leadbeater.
As ,e ha-e been dealing here ,ith colours in the astral body, it .ay be
.entioned that the .eans o/ co..unication ,ith the ele.entals, ,hich are
associated so closely ,ith .an6s astral body, is by sounds and colours. Students
.ay recollect obscure allusions no, and again to a language o/ colours, and the
/act that in ancient Egypt sacred .anuscripts ,ere ,ritten in colours, .ista+es in
copying being punished ,ith death. To ele.entals, colours are as intelligible as
,ords are to .en. <Pa.e "%=
HAPTE= &
&:NCTIONS
THE /unctions o/ the astral body .ay be roughly grouped under three headings8
>
!. To .a+e sensation possible.
#. To ser-e as a bridge bet,een .ind and physical .atter.
F. To act as an independent -ehicle o/ consciousness and action.
We ,ill deal ,ith these three /unctions in se:uence.
When .an is analysed into 0 principles,0 i.e., into .odes o/ .ani/esting li/e, the
/our lo,er principles, so.eti.es ter.ed the 0Lo,er Duaternary0, are 8>
Physical 5ody.
Etheric 5ody
PrKna, or Eitality.
3K.a, or (esire.
The /ourth principle, 3K.a, is the li/e .ani/esting in the astral body and
conditioned by it8 its characteristic is the attribute o/ /eeling, ,hich in rudi.entary
/or. is sensation, and in co.ple2 /or. e.otion, ,ith .any grades in bet,een
these t,o. This is so.eti.es su..ed up as desire, that ,hich is attracted or
repelled by ob7ects, according as they gi-e pleasure or pain.
3K.a thus includes /eelings o/ e-ery +ind, and .ight be described as the
passional and e.otional nature. It co.prises all ani.al appetites, such as
hunger, thirst, se2ual desire8 all passions, such as the lo,er /or.s o/ lo-e,
hatred, en-y, 7ealousy; it is the desire /or sentient e2istence, /or e2perience o/
.aterial 7oys > 0the lust o/ the /lesh, the lust o/ the eyes, the pride o/ li/e0.
3K.a is the brute in us, the 0ape and tiger0 o/ Tennyson, the /orce ,hich .ost
a-ails to +eep us <Pa.e "$= bound to earth and to sti/le in us all higher longings by
the illusions o/ sense. It is the .ost .aterial in .an6s nature, and is the one that
binds hi. /ast to earthly li/e. 0 It is not .olecularly constituted .atter, least o/ all
the hu.an body, SthLla Sharira, that is the grossest o/ all our 6 principles6, but
-erily the .iddle principle, the real ani.al centre; ,hereas our body is but its
shell, the irresponsible /actor and .ediu. through ,hich the beast in us acts all
its li/e0 ;Secret (octrine,Eolu.e I, pages #AB and #A!.
3K.a or (esire is also described as a re/lection or lo,er aspect o/ At.a or Will,
the distinction being that Will is Sel/?deter.ined, ,hereas (esire is .o-ed to
acti-ity by attractions to or repulsions /ro. surrounding ob7ects. (esire is thus
Will discro,ned, the capti-e, the sla-e o/ .atter.
Another ,ay o/ regarding 3K.a has been ,ell e2pressed by 9r. Ernest Wood in
his illu.inating boo+ The Se-en =ays8 3K.a 0 .eans all desire. And desire is the
out,ard?turned aspect o/ lo-e, the lo-e o/ the things o/ the three ,orlds; ,hile
lo-e proper is lo-e o/ li/e and lo-e o/ the di-ine, and belongs to the higher or
in,ard?turned sel/.0
4or our purposes in this boo+ desire and e.otion are /re:uently used as
practically synony.ous8 strictly, ho,e-er, e.otion is the product o/ desire and
intellect.
The astral body is o/ten +no,n as the 3K.a =Lpa8 and so.eti.es, in the older
no.enclature, as the Ani.al Soul.
I.pacts /ro. ,ithout, stri+ing on the physical body, are con-eyed as -ibrations
by the agency o/ PrKna or Eitality, but they ,ould re.ain as -ibrations only,
.erely .otion on the physical plane, did not 3K.a, the principle o/ sensation,
translate the -ibration into /eeling. Thus pleasure and pain do not arise until the
astral centre is reached. Hence 3K.a 7oined to PrKna is spo+en o/ as the 0breath
o/ li/e0, the -ital sentient principle spread o-er e-ery particle o/ the body. <Pa.e "'=
It appears that certain organs o/ the physical body are speci/ically associated
,ith the ,or+ings o/ 3K.a8 a.ong these are the li-er and the spleen.
It .ay be noted here that 3K.a, or desire, is 7ust beginning to be acti-e in the
.ineral +ingdo., ,here it e2presses itsel/ as che.ical a//inity.
In the -egetable +ingdo. it is, o/ course, .uch .ore de-eloped, indicating a /ar
greater capacity o/ utilising lo,er astral .atter. Students o/ botany are a,are that
li+es and disli+es, i.e., desire, are .uch .ore pro.inent in the -egetable ,orld
than in the .ineral, and that .any plants e2hibit a great deal o/ ingenuity and
sagacity in attaining their ends.
Plants are :uic+ to respond to lo-ing care and are distinctly a//ected by .an6s
/eelings to,ards the.. They delight in and respond to ad.iration8 they are also
capable o/ indi-idual attach.ents, as ,ell as o/ anger and disli+e.
Ani.als are capable to the /ullest possible e2tent o/ e2periencing the lo,er
desires, though the capacity /or the higher desires is .ore li.ited. *e-ertheless
it e2ists, and in e2ceptional cases an ani.al is capable o/ .ani/esting an
e2ceedingly high :uality o/ a//ection or de-otion.
Passing no, to the second /unction o/ the astral body > to act as a bridge
bet,een .ind and physical .atter > ,e note that an impact on the physical
senses is trans.itted in,ards by PrKna, beco.es a sensation by the action o/
the sense?centres, ,hich are situated in 3K.a, and is perceived by 9anas, or
9ind. Thus, ,ithout the general action through the astral body there ,ould be no
connection bet,een the e2ternal ,orld and the .ind o/ .an, no connection
bet,een physical i.pacts and the perception o/ the. by the .ind.
on-ersely, ,hene-er ,e thin+, ,e set in .otion the .ental .atter ,ithin us; the
-ibrations thus generated are trans/erred to the .atter o/ our astral body, the
astral .atter a//ects the etheric .atter, this, in turn, acting on the dense physical
.atter, the grey .atter o/ the brain. <Pa.e "*=
The astral body is thus -eritably a bridge bet,een our physical and our .ental
li/e, ser-ing as a trans.itter o/ -ibrations both /ro. physical to .ental and /ro.
.ental to physical, and is, in /act, principally de-eloped by this constant passage
o/ -ibrations to and /ro.
In the course o/ the e-olution o/ .an6s astral body, there are t,o distinct stages8
the astral body has /irst to be de-eloped to a /airly high point as a transmitting
vehicle8 then it has to be de-eloped as an independent body, in ,hich the .an
can /unction on the astral plane.
In .an, the nor.al brain?intelligence is produced by the union o/ 3K.a ,ith
9anas, or 9ind, this union being o/ten spo+en o/ as 3K.a?9anas. 3K.a?9anas
is described by H. P. 5la-ats+y as 0 the rational, but earthly or physical intellect o/
.an, encased in, and bound by .atter, and there/ore sub7ect to the in/luence o/
the latter0; this is the 0lo,er sel/0 ,hich, acting on this plane o/ illusion, i.agines
itsel/ to be the real Sel/ or Ego, and thus /alls into ,hat 5uddhist philosophy
ter.s the 0 heresy o/ separateness0.
3K.a?9anas, that is 9anas ,ith desire, has also been pictures:uely described
as 9anas ta+ing an interest in e2ternal things.
It .ay, in passing, be noted that a clear understanding o/ the /act that 3K.a?
9anas belongs to the hu.an personality, and that it /unctions in and through the
physical brain, is essential to a 7ust grasp o/ the process o/ reincarnation, and is
su//icient o/ itsel/ to sho, ho, there can be no .e.ory o/ pre-ious li-es so long
as the consciousness cannot rise beyond the brain?.echanis., this .echanis.,
together ,ith that o/ 3K.a, being .ade a/resh each li/e, and there/ore ha-ing no
direct touch ,ith pre-ious li-es.
9anas, o/ itsel/, could not a//ect the .olecules o/ the physical brain cells8 but,
,hen united to 3K.a, it is able to set the physical .olecules in .otion, and thus
produce 0 brain?consciousness0, including the brain .e.ory and all the /unctions
o/ the hu.an <Pa.e "-= .ind, as ,e ordinarily +no, it. It is, o/ course, not the
Higher 9anas, but the Lo,er 9anas, ;i.e.$ .atter o/ the /our lo,er le-els o/ the
.ental plane<, ,hich is associated ,ith 3K.a. In Western psychology, this
3K.a?9anas beco.es a part o/ ,hat in that syste. is ter.ed 9ind. 3K.a?
9anas, /or.ing the lin+ bet,een the higher and lo,er nature in .an, is the
battleground during li/e, and also, as ,e shall see later, plays an i.portant part in
post?.orte. e2istence.
So close is the association o/ 9anas and 3K.a that the Hindus spea+ o/ .an
ha-ing /i-e sheaths, one o/ ,hich is /or all .ani/estations o/ ,or+ing intellect and
desire. These /i-e are8 ?
1 Ananda#a/a)o(a t(e Bli (eat( Budd(i
" >i.n?na#a/a)o(a t(e Dicri#inatin. (eat( Hi.(er Mana and
+?#a
% Mano#a/a)o(a
t(e (eat( o0 Intellect and
Deire
Lo5er Mana and
+?#a
$ Pr?na#a/a)o(a t(e >italit/ (eat( Pr?na
' Anna#a/a)o(a t(e &ood (eat( Dene !(/ical 8od/
In the di-ision used by 9anu, the prKna.aya+osha and the anna.aya+osha are
classed together, and +no,n as the 5hLtKt.an or ele.ental sel/, or body o/
action.
The -ignKna.aya+osha and the .ano.aya+osha he ter.s the body o/ /eeling,
gi-ing it the na.e GM-a8 he de/ines it as that body in ,hich the 3no,er, the
3shetragna, beco.es sensible o/ pleasure and o/ pains.
In their e2ternal relations, the -ignKna.aya+osha and the .ano.aya+osha,
especially the .ano.aya+osha, are related to the (e-a ,orld. The (e-as are
said to ha-e 0entered into0 .an, the re/erence being to the presiding deities o/
the ele.ents ;see page !AA<. Those presiding deities gi-e rise to sensations in
.an, changing the contacts /ro. ,ithout into <Pa.e ",= sensations, or the
recognition o/ the contacts, /ro. ,ithin, this being essentially a (e-a action.
Hence the lin+ ,ith all these lo,er (e-as, ,hich, ,hen supre.e control has
been obtained, .a+es .an the .aster in e-ery region o/ the Uni-erse.
9anas, or .ind, being unable, as said abo-e, to a//ect the gross particles o/ the
brain, pro7ects a part o/ itsel/, i.e., lo,er 9anas, ,hich clothes itsel/ ,ith astral
.atter, and then ,ith the help o/ etheric .atter per.eates the ,hole ner-ous
syste. o/ the child be/ore birth. The pro7ection /ro. 9anas is o/ten spo+en o/ as
its re/lection, its shado,, its ray, and is +no,n also by other allegorical na.es. H.
P. 5la-ats+y ,rites ;3ey to Theosophy, p. !A&< 8 0 )nce i.prisoned, or incarnate,
their ;the 9anas< essence beco.es dual; that is to say, the rays o/ the eternal
di-ine 9ind, considered as indi-idual entities, assu.e a t,o?/old attribute, ,hich
is ;a< their essential, inherent, characteristic, hea-en?aspiring .ind ;higher
9anas<, and ;b< the hu.an :uality o/ thin+ing, o/ ani.al cogitation, rationalised
o,ing to the superiority o/ the hu.an brain, the 3K.a?tending or lo,er 9anas0.
Lo,er 9anas is thus engul/ed in the :uaternary, and .ay be regarded as
clasping 3K.a ,ith one hand, ,hilst ,ith the other it retains its hold on its /ather,
the higher 9anas. Whether it ,ill be dragged do,n by 3K.a altogether and be
torn a,ay /ro. the triad ;at.K?buddhi?.anas< to ,hich, by its nature it belongs,
or ,hether it ,ill triu.phantly carry bac+ to its source the puri/ied e2periences o/
its earth li/e > that is the li/e?proble. set and sol-ed in each successi-e
incarnation. This point ,ill be considered /urther in the chapters on After!(eath
Life.
3a.a thus supplies the ani.al and passional ele.ents; lo,er 9anas rationalises
these and adds the intellectual /aculties. In .an these t,o principles are
inter,o-en during li/e and rarely act separately.
9anas .ay be regarded as the /la.e, 3K.a and the physical brain as the ,ic+
and /uel ,hich /eed the /la.e. The egos o/ all .en, de-eloped or unde-eloped,
<Pa.e "1= are o/ the sa.e essence and substance8 that ,hich .a+es o/ one a
great .an, and o/ another a -ulgar, silly person, is the :uality and .a+e?up o/ the
physical body, and the ability o/ the brain and body to trans.it and e2press the
light o/ the real inner .an.
In brie/, 3K.a?9anas is the personal sel/ o/ .an8 Lo,er 9anas gi-es the
indi-idualising touch that .a+es the personality recognise itsel/ as 0I0, Lo,er
9anas is a ray /ro. the i..ortal Thin+er, illuminating a personality. It is Lo,er
9anas ,hich yields the last touch o/ delight to the senses and to the ani.al
nature, by con/erring the po,er o/ anticipation, .e.ory and i.agination.
Whilst it ,ould be out o/ place in this boo+ to encroach too /ar into the do.ain o/
9anas and the .ental body, yet it .ay help the student at this stage to add that
/ree,ill resides in 9anas, 9anas being the representati-e o/ 9ahat, the
Uni-ersal 9ind. In physical .an, the Lo,er 9anas is the agent o/ /ree,ill. 4ro.
9anas co.es the /eeling o/ liberty, the +no,ledge that ,e can rule oursel-es,
that the higher nature can .aster the lo,er. To identi/y the consciousness ,ith
the 9anas, instead o/ ,ith 3K.a, is thus an i.portant step on the road to sel/?
.astery.
The -ery struggle o/ 9anas to assert itsel/ is the best testi.ony that it is by
nature /ree. It is the presence and po,er o/ the ego ,hich enables a .an to
choose bet,een desires and to o-erco.e the.. As the lo,er 9anas rules 3K.a,
the lo,er :uaternary ta+es its right/ul position o/ subser-ience to the higher triad
> at.K?buddhi?.anas.
We .ay classi/y the principles o/ .an in the /ollo,ing .anner8>
212
@t#a
Budd(i
Hi.(er Mana
I##ortal
2"2 +?#a2Mana Conditionall/ I##ortal
2%2
Pr?na
Et(eric Dou8le
Dene Bod/
Mortal

<Pa.e %3= We co.e no, to consider the third /unction o/ the astral body > as an
independent -ehicle o/ consciousness and action. The /ull treat.ent o/ this
portion o/ our sub7ect > the use, de-elop.ent, possibilities and li.itations o/ the
astral body on its o,n plane > ,ill be dealt ,ith step by step in .ost o/ the
succeeding chapters. 4or the present it ,ill su//ice to enu.erate -ery brie/ly the
principal ,ays in ,hich an astral body can be used as an independent -ehicle o/
consciousness. These are as /ollo,s 8 >
!. (uring ordinary ,a+ing consciousness, i.e., ,hile the physical brain and
senses are ,ide?a,a+e, the po,ers o/ the astral senses .ay be brought into
action. So.e o/ these po,ers correspond to the senses and po,ers o/ action
possessed by the physical body. They ,ill be dealt ,ith in the ne2t chapter, on
%hakrams.
#. (uring sleep or trance it is possible /or the astral body to separate itsel/ /ro.
the physical body and to .o-e about and /unction /reely on its o,n plane. This
,ill be dealt ,ith in the chapter on Sleep!Life.
F. It is possible so to de-elop the po,ers o/ the astral body that a .an .ay
consciously and deliberately, at any ti.e that he chooses, lea-e the physical
body and pass ,ith unbro+en consciousness into the astral body. This ,ill be
dealt ,ith in the chapter on %ontinuity of %onsciousness.
&. A/ter physical death the consciousness ,ithdra,s itsel/ into the astral body,
and a li/e, -arying greatly in intensity and duration, dependent upon a nu.ber o/
/actors, .ay be led on the astral plane. This ,ill be dealt ,ith in the chapters on
After!(eath Life.
These di-isions o/ our sub7ect, ,ith nu.erous ra.i/ications, ,ill constitute the
.a7or portion o/ the re.ainder o/ this treatise. <Pa.e %1=
CHAPTER >
CHA+RAMS
THE ,ord ha+ra. is Sans+rit, and .eans literally a ,heel, or re-ol-ing disc. It
is used to denote ,hat are o/ten called 4orce?entres in .an. There are such
ha+ra.s in all .an6s -ehicles, and they are points o/ connection at ,hich /orce
/lo,s /ro. one -ehicle to another. They are also inti.ately associated ,ith the
po,ers or senses o/ the -arious -ehicles.
The ha+ra.s o/ the etheric body are /ully described in The Etheric (ouble, and
the student is re/erred to that ,or+, as a study o/ the etheric ha+ra.s ,ill
.aterially assist hi. to understand the astral ha+ra.s.
The etheric ha+ra.s are situated in the sur/ace o/ the etheric double and are
usually denoted by the na.e o/ the physical organ to ,hich they correspond.
They are8 >
!. 5ase o/ Spine ha+ra..
#. *a-el ha+ra..
F. Spleen ha+ra..
&. Heart ha+ra..
%. Throat ha+ra..
'. 5et,een the Eyebro,s ha+ra..
$. Top o/ the Head ha+ra..
There are also three lo,er ha+ra.s, but as these are used only in certain
schools o/ 0 blac+ .agic,0 ,e are not concerned ,ith the. here.
The astral ha+ra.s, ,hich are /re:uently in the interior o/ the etheric double,
are -ortices in /our di.ensions ;see hapter !A<, thus ha-ing an e2tension in a
direction :uite di//erent /ro. the etheric8 conse:uently, though they correspond to
the etheric ha+ra.s, they are by no .eans al,ays coter.inous ,ith the.,
though so.e part is al,ays coincident. <Pa.e %"=
The astral ha+ra.s are gi-en the sa.e na.es as those in the etheric double,
and their /unctions are as /ollo,s8>
!. Base of Spine %hakram.>This is the seat o/ the Serpent 4ire, 3undalini, a
/orce ,hich e2ists on all planes and by .eans o/ ,hich the rest o/ the ha+ra.s
are aroused.
)riginally, the astral body ,as an al.ost inert .ass, possessing but the -aguest
consciousness, ,ith no de/inite po,er o/ doing anything, and ,ith no clear
+no,ledge o/ the ,orld surrounding it. The /irst thing that happened ,as the
a,a+ening o/ 3undalini at the astral le-el.
#. /avel %hakram.> 3undalini ha-ing been a,a+ened in the /irst ha+ra., it
.o-ed to the na-el ha+ra., ,hich it -i-i/ied, thus a,a+ening in the astral body
the po,er o/ /eeling > a sensiti-eness to all sorts o/ in/luences, though ,ithout
as yet anything li+e the de/inite co.prehension that conies /ro. seeing and
hearing.
F. Spleen %hakram.>3undalini then .o-ed to the spleen ha+ra., and through
it -italised the ,hole astral body, this ha+ra. ha-ing as one o/ its /unctions the
absorption o/ PrKna, the Eitality 4orce, ,hich also e2ists on all planes. The
-i-i/ication o/ the spleen ha+ra. enables the .an to tra-el in his astral body
consciously, though ,ith only a -ague conception as yet o/ ,hat he encounters
on his 7ourneys.
&. Heart %hakram.>This ha+ra. enables the .an to co.prehend and
sy.pathise ,ith the -ibrations o/ other astral entities, so that he can instincti-ely
understand their /eelings.
%. Throat %hakram.>This ha+ra. con/ers the po,er in the astral ,orld ,hich
corresponds to hearing in the physical ,orld.
'. Beteen the )ye#ros %hakram.>This ha+ra. con/ers the po,er to
percei-e de/initely the shape and nature o/ astral ob7ects, instead o/ .erely
-aguely sensing their presence.
Associated ,ith this ha+ra. appears also the po,er <Pa.e %%= o/ .agni/ying at
,ill the .inutest physical or astral particle to any desired siCe, as though by a
.icroscope. This po,er enables an occult in-estigator to percei-e and study
.olecules, ato.s, etc. The /ull control o/ this /aculty, ho,e-er, belongs rather to
the causal body.
The po,er o/ .agni/ication is one o/ the siddhis described in )riental boo+s as
0the po,er o/ .a+ing onesel/ large or s.all at ,ill.0 The description is apposite,
because the .ethod e.ployed is that o/ using a te.porary -isual .echanis. o/
inconcei-able .inuteness. on-ersely, .ini/ication o/ -ision .ay be obtained by
the construction o/ a te.porary and enor.ously larger -isual .echanis..
The po,er o/ .agni/ication is :uite distinct /ro. the /aculty o/ /unctioning on a
higher plane, 7ust as the po,er o/ an astrono.er to obser-e planets and stars is
:uite a di//erent thing /ro. the ability to .o-e or /unction a.ongst the..
In the Hindu sutras it is stated that .editation in a certain part o/ the tongue ,ill
con/er astral sight. The state.ent is a 0 blind,0 the re/erence being to the pituitary
body, situated 7ust o-er this part o/ the tongue.
$. Top of the Head %hakram.>This ha+ra. rounds o// and co.pletes the astral
li/e, endo,ing the .an ,ith the per/ection o/ his /aculties.
There appear to be t,o .ethods in ,hich this ha+ra. ,or+s.
In one type o/ .an, the si2th and se-enth ha+ra.s both con-erge upon the
pituitary body, this body being /or this type practically the only direct lin+ bet,een
the physical and the higher planes.
In another type o/ .an, ho,e-er, ,hile the si2th ha+ra. is still attached to the
pituitary body, the se-enth ha+ra. is bent or slanted until its -orte2 coincides
,ith the pineal gland. In people o/ this type the pineal gland is thus -i-i/ied and
.ade into a line o/ co..unication directly ,ith the lo,er .ental, ,ithout
apparently passing through the inter.ediate astral plane in the ordinary ,ay.
<Pa.e %$=
In the physical body, as ,e +no,, there are specialised organs /or each sense,
the eye /or seeing, the ear /or hearing, and so on. In the astral body, ho,e-er,
this is not the case.
The particles o/ the astral body are constantly /lo,ing and s,irling about li+e
those o/ boiling ,ater8 conse:uently, there are no special particles ,hich re.ain
continuously in any o/ the ha+ra.s. )n the contrary, all the particles o/ the
astral body pass through each o/ the ha+ra.s.
Each ha+ra. has the /unction o/ a,a+ening a certain po,er o/ response in the
particles, ,hich /lo, through it, one ha+ra. the po,er o/ sight, another that o/
hearing, and so on.
onse:uently, any one astral sense is not, strictly spea+ing, localised or con/ined
to any particular part o/ the astral body. It is rather the ,hole o/ the particles o/
the astral body ,hich possess the po,er o/ response. A .an, there/ore, ,ho has
de-eloped astral sight uses any part o/ the .atter o/ his astral body in order to
see, and so can see e:ually ,ell ob7ects in /ront, behind, abo-e, belo,, or to
either side. Si.ilarly ,ith all the other senses. In other ,ords, the astral senses
are e:ually acti-e in all parts o/ the body.
It is not easy to describe the substitute /or language by .eans o/ ,hich ideas are
co..unicated astrally. Sound in the ordinary sense o/ the ,ord is not possible in
the astral ,orld ? in /act it is not possible e-en in the higher part o/ the physical
,orld. It ,ould also not be correct to say that the language o/ the astral ,orld is
thought?trans/erence8 the .ost that could be said is that it is the trans/erence o/
thoughts /or.ulated in a particular ,ay.
In the .ental ,orld a though is instantaneously trans.itted to the .ind o/
another ,ithout any /or. o/ ,ords 8 there/ore in the .ental ,orld language does
not in the least .atter. 5ut astral co..unications lies, as it ,ere, hal/?,ay
bet,een the thought?trans/erence o/ the .ental ,orld and the concrete speech
o/ the physical, and it is still necessary to <Pa.e %'= to /or.ulate the thought in
,ords. 4or this e2change it is there/ore necessary that the t,o parties should
ha-e a language in co..on.
The astral and etheric ha+ra.s are in -ery close correspondence; but bet,een
the., and interpenetrating the. in a .anner ,hich is not readily describable,
there is a sheath or ,eb o/ closely ,o-en te2ture, co.posed o/ a single layer o/
physical ato.s .uch co.pressed and per.eated by a special /or. o/ PrKna.
The di-ine li/e ,hich nor.ally descends /ro. the astral body to the physical is so
attuned as to pass through this shield ,ith per/ect ease, but it is an absolute
barrier to all the /orces ,hich cannot use the ato.ic .atter o/ both planes. The
,eb is natural protection to pre-ent a pre.ature opening up o/ co..unication
bet,een the planes, a de-elop.ent ,hich could lead to nothing but in7ury.
It is this ,hich nor.ally pre-ents clear recollection o/ the sleep?li/e, and ,hich
also causes the .o.entary unconsciousness ,hich al,ays occurs at death. 5ut
/or this pro-ision the ordinary .an could at any .o.ent be brought by any astral
entity under the in/luence o/ /orces ,ith ,hich he could not possibly cope. He
,ould be liable to constant obsession by astral entities desirous o/ seiCing his
-ehicles.
The ,eb .ay be in7ured in se-eral ,ays 8 ?
!? A great shoc+ o/ the astral body, e.g.$ a sudden /right, .ay rend apart this
delicate organis. and, as it is co..only e2pressed, dri-e the .an .ad.
A tre.endous outburst o/ anger .ay also produce the sa.e e//ect, as .ay any
other -ery strong e.otion o/ an e-il character ,hich produces a +ind o/ e2plosion
in the astral body.
#? The use o/ alcohol or narcotic drugs, including tobacco. These substances
contain .atter ,hich on bra+ing up -olatilises, so.e o/ it passing /ro. the
physical to the astral plane. E-en tea and co//ee contain this .atter, but only in
in/initesi.al :uantities, so that only long?continued abuse o/ the. ,ould produce
the e//ect. <Pa.e %*=
These constituents rush through the ha+ras in the opposite direction to that /or
,hich they are intended, and in doing this repeatedly they seriously in7ure and
/inally destroy the delicate ,eb.
This deterioration or destruction .ay ta+e place in t,o ,ays, according to the
type o/ person concerned and to the proportion o/ the constituents in his etheric
and astral bodies.
In one type o/ person the rush o/ -olatilising .atter actually burns a,ay the ,eb,
and there/ore lea-es the door open to all sorts o/ irregular /orces and e-il
in/luences. Those a//ected in this ,ay /all into deliriu. tre.ens, obsession o/
insanity.
In the other type o/ person, the -olatile constituents, in /lo,ing through, so.eho,
harden the ato. so that its pulsation is to a large e2tent chec+ed and crippled,
and it is no longer capable o/ being -italised by the particular type o/ PrKna ,hich
,elds it into a ,eb. This results in a +ind o/ ossi/ication o/ the ,eb, so that
instead o/ too .uch co.ing through /ro. one plane to another, ,e ha-e -ery
little o/ any +ind co.ing through. Such sub7ects tend to a general deadening
do,n o/ their :ualities, resulting in gross .aterialis., brutality and ani.alis., in
the loss o/ all /iner /eelings and o/ the po,er to control the.sel-es. This type is
said to be -ery co..on a.ongst sla-es o/ the tobacco habit.
All i.pressions ,hich pass /ro. one plane to the other are intended to co.e
only through the ato.ic sub?planes, but ,hen the deadening process ta+es place
it in/ects not only other ato.ic .atter, but e-en .atter o/ the second and third
sub?planes, so that the only co..unication bet,een the astral and the etheric is
/ro. the lo,er sub?planes, upon ,hich only unpleasant and e-il in/luences are to
be /ound.
The consciousness o/ the ordinary .an cannot yet use pure ato.ic .atter, either
o/ the physical or astral and there/ore there is nor.ally /or hi. no possibility o/
conscious co..unication at ,ill bet,een the t,o planes. The proper ,ay to
obtain it is to puri/y the -ehicles <Pa.e %-= until the ato.ic .atter in both is /ully
-i-i/ied, so that all co..unications bet,een the t,o .ay pass by that road. In
that case the ,eb retains to the /ullest degree its position and acti-ity, and yet is
no longer a barrier to the per/ect co..unication, ,hile it still continues to pre-ent
close contact ,ith the lo,er and undesirable sub?planes.
F ? The third ,ay in ,hich the ,eb .ay be in7ured is that +no,n in spiritualistic
parlance as 0sitting /or de-elop.ent0.
It is :uite possible, in /act -ery co..on, /or a .an to ha-e his astral ha+ras
,ell de-eloped, so that he is able to /unction /reely on the astral plane, and yet
he .ay recollect nothing o/ his astral plane ,hen he returns to ,a+ing
consciousness. With this pheno.enon and its e2planation ,e shall deal .ore
appropriately in the hapter on (reams. <Pa.e %,=
CHAPTER 6
+:NDALINI
The student is re/erred to The )theric (ou#le /or a description o/ 3undalini ,ith
special re/erence to the etheric body and its ha+ras. Here ,e are concerned
,ith it in connection ,ith the astral body.
The three +no,n /orces ,hich e.anate /ro. the Logos are8 ?
!. 4ohat 8 ,hich sho,s itsel/ as electricity, heat, light .otion, etc.
#. PrKna ; ,hich sho,s itsel/ as -itality.
F. 3undalini 8 also +no,n as the Serpent 4ire.
Each o/ these three /orces e2ists on all planes o/ ,hich ,e +no, anything. So /ar
as is +no,n, no one o/ the three is con-ertible into any o/ the others8 they each
re.ain separate and distinct.
3undalini is called in The -oice of the Silence 0the 4iery Po,er0, and 0the
World6s 9other0. The /irst, because it appears li+e li:uid /ire as it rushes through
the body; and the course it should /ollo, is a spiral one, li+e the coils o/ a
serpent. It is called the World6s 9other because through it our -arious -ehicles
.ay be -i-i/ied, so that the higher ,orlds .ay open be/ore us in succession.
Its ho.e in .an6s body is the ha+ra. at the base o/ the spine, and /or the
ordinary .an it lies there una,a+ened and unsuspected during the ,hole o/ his
li/e. It is /ar better /or it to re.ain dor.ant until the .an has .ade de/inite .oral
de-elop.ent, until his ,ill is strong enough to control it and his thoughts pure
enough to enable hi. to /ace its a,a+ening ,ithout in7ury. *o one should
e2peri.ent ,ith it ,ithout de/inite instruction /ro. a teacher ,ho thoroughly
understands the sub7ect, /or the dangers <Pa.e %1= connected ,ith it are -ery real
and terribly serious. So.e o/ the. are purely physical. Its uncontrolled
.o-e.ent o/ten produces intense physical pain, and it .ay readily tear tissues,
and e-en destroy physical li/e. It .ay also do per.anent in7ury to -ehicles higher
than the physical.
)ne -ery co..on e//ect o/ rousing it pre.aturely is that it rushes do,n,ards in
the body instead o/ up,ards, and thus e2cites the .ost undersirable passions ?
e2cites the. and intensi/ies their e//ects to such a degree that it beco.es :uite
i.possible /or the .an to resist the., because a /orce has been brought into
play in ,hose presence he is :uite helpless. Such .en beco.es satyrs,
.onsters o/ depra-ity, the /orce being beyond the nor.al hu.an po,er o/
resistance. They .ay probably gain certain supernor.al po,ers, but these ,ill
be such as ,ill bring the. into touch ,ith a lo,er order o/ e-olution, ,ith ,hich
hu.anity is intended to hold no co..erce, and to escape /ro. its thralldo. .ay
ta+e .ore than one incarnation.
There is a school o/ blac+ .agic ,hich purposely uses this po,er in this ,ay, in
order that through it .ay be -i-i/ied those lo,er ha+ra.s ,hich are ne-er used
by /ollo,ers o/ the 1ood La,.
The pre.ature un/old.ent o/ 3undalini has other unpleasant possibilities. It
intensi/ies e-erything in the .an6s nature, and it reaches the lo,er and e-il
:ualities .ore readily than the good. In the .ental body, a.bition is -ery readily
aroused, and soon s,ells to an incredibly inordinate degree. It ,ould probably
bring ,ith it a great intensi/ication o/ intellect, acco.pagnied by abnor.al and
satanic pride, such as is :uite inconcei-able to the ordinary .en.
An uninstructed .an ,ho /inds that 3undalini has been aroused by accident
should at once consult so.e one ,ho /ully understands these .atters.
The arousing o/ 3undalini ? the .ethod o/ doing ,hich is not publicly +no,n ? and
the atte.pt to pass it through the ha+ra.s ? the order o/ ,hich is <Pa.e $3= also
deliberately concealed /ro. the public ? should ne-er be atte.pted e2cept at the
e2press suggestion o/ a 9aster, ,ho ,ill ,atch o-er His pupil during the -arious
stages o/ the e2peri.ent.
The .ost sole.n ,arnings are gi-en by e2perienced occultists against in any
,ay atte.pting to arouse 3undalini, e2cept under :uali/ied tuition, because o/ the
real and great dangers in-ol-ed. As is said in the Hathayogapradipika ; 0It gi-es
liberation to Iogis and bondage to /ools0. ;III, !B$<.
In so.e cases 3undalini ,a+es spontaneously, so that a dull glo, is /elt8 it .ay
e-en begin to .o-e o/ itsel/, though this rare. In this latter case it ,ould be li+ely
to cause great pain, as, since the passages are not prepared /or it, it ,ould ha-e
to clear its ,ay by actually burning up a great deal o/ etheric dross, ,hich is
necessarily a pain/ul process. When it thus a,a+es o/ itsel/ or is accidentally
aroused, it usually tries to rush up the interior o/ the spine, instead o/ /ollo,ing
the spiral course into ,hich the occultist is trained to guide it. I/ it be possible, the
,ill should be set in .otion to arrest its on,ard rush, but i/ that pro-es to be
i.possible, as is .ost li+ely, no alar. need be /elt. It ,ill probably rush out
through the head and escape into the surrounding at.osphere, and it is li+ely
that no har. ,ill result beyond a slight ,ea+ening. *othing ,orse than a
te.porary loss o/ consciousness need be apprehended. The ,orst dangers are
connected, not ,ith its up,ard rush, but ,ith its turning do,n,ards and in,ards.
Its principal /unction in connection ,ith occult de-elop.ent is that by being sent
through the ha+ra.s in the etheric body, it -i-i/ies these ha+ras bet,een the
physical and astral bodies. It is said in The -oice of the Silence that ,hen
3undalini reaches the centre bet,een the eyebro,s and /ully -i-i/ies it, it con/ers
the po,er o/ hearing the -oice o/ the 9aster ? ,hich .eans, in this case, the
-oice o/ the ego or higher sel/. The reason is that ,hen <Pa.e $1= the pituitary
body is brought into ,or+ing order it /or.s a per/ect lin+ ,ith the astral -ehicle,
so that through it all co..unications /ro. ,ithin can be recei-ed.
In addition, all the higher ha+ra.s ha-e to be a,a+ened, in due course, and
each .ust be .ade responsi-e to all +inds o/ astral in/luences /ro. the -arious
astral sub?planes. 9ost people cannot gain this during the present incarnation, i/
it is the /irst in ,hich they ha-e begun to ta+e these .atters seriously in hand.
So.e Indians .ight succeed in doing so, as their bodies are by heredity .ore
adaptable than .ost others 8 but it is /or the .a7ority o/ .en the ,or+ o/ a later
=ound altogether.
The con:uest o/ 3undalini has to be repeated in each incarnation, since the
-ehicles are ne, each ti.e, but a/ter it has been once achie-ed these repetitions
,ill be an easy .atter. Its action ,ill -ary ,ith di//erent types o/ people. So.e
,ould see the higher sel/ rather than hear its -oice. Also this connection ,ith the
higher has .any stages; /or the personality it .eans the in/luence o/ the ego 8
but /or the ego hi.sel/ it .eans the po,er o/ the .onad 8 and /or the .onad in
turn it .eans to beco.e a conscious e2pression o/ the Logos.
There does not appear to be any age li.it ,ith regard to the arousing o/
3undalini8 but physical health is a necessity o,ing to the strain in-ol-ed.
An ancient sy.bol ,as the thyrsus ? that is, a sta// ,ith a pie?cone on its top. In
India the sa.e sy.bol is /ound, but instead o/ the sta//, a stic+ o/ ba.boo ,ith
se-en +nots is used. In so.e .odi/ications o/ the .ysteries a hollo, iron rod,
said to contain /ire, ,as used instead o/ the hyrsus. The sta//, or stic+, ,ith se-en
+nots represents the spinal cord, ,ith its se-en ha+ra.s. The hidden /ire is, o/
course, 3undalini. The thyrsus ,as not only a sy.bol, but also an ob7ect o/
practical use. It ,as a -ery strong .agnetic instru.ent, used by initiates to /ree
the astral body /ro. the physical ,hen they passed in <Pa.e $"= /ull
consciousness to this higher li/e. The priest ,ho had .agnetised it laid it against
the spinal cord o/ the candidate and ga-e hi. in that ,ay so.e o/ his o,n
.agnetis., to help hi. in that di//icult li/e and in the e//orts ,hich lay be/ore hi..
<Pa.e $%=
CHAPTER 7
THO:GHT2&ORMS
The .ental and astral bodies are those chie/ly concerned ,ith the production o/
,hat are called thought?/or.s. The ter. thought?/or. is not ,holly accurate,
because the /or.s produced .ay be co.posed o/ .ental .atter, or, in the -ast
.a7ority o/ cases, o/ both astral and .ental .atter.
Although in this boo+ ,e are dealing pri.arily ,ith the astral, and not ,ith the
.ental body, yet thought?/or.s, as 7ust said, are, in a -ast .a7ority o/ cases, both
astral and .ental. In order, there/ore, to .a+e the sub7ect intelligible, it is
necessary to deal -ery largely ,ith the .ental as ,ell as ,ith the astral aspect o/
the sub7ect.
A purely intellectual and i.personal thought ? such as one concerned ,ith
algebra or geo.etry ? ,ould be con/ined to .ental .atter. It on the other hand
the thought has in it so.ething o/ sel/ish or personal desire,it ,ill dra, round
itsel/ astral .atter in addition to the .ental. I/, /urther.ore,the thought be o/ a
spiritual nature,i/ it be tinged ,ith lo-e and aspiration or deep and unsel/ish
/eeling, then there .ay also enter in so.e o/ the splendour and glory o/ the
buddhic plane.
E-ery de/inite thought produces t,o e//ects8 /irst, a radiating -ibration8 second, a
/loating /or..
The -ibration set up in and radiating /ro. the .ental body is acco.panied ,ith a
play o/ colour ,hich has been described as li+e that in the spray o/ a ,ater/all as
the sunlight stri+es it, raised to the nth degree o/ colour and -i-id delicacy.
This radiating -ibration tends to reproduce its o,n rate o/ .otion in any .ental
body on ,hich it .ay <Pa.e $$= i.pinge8 ..e.$ to produce thoughts o/ the sa.e
type as those /ro. ,hich the -ibration originated. It should be noted that the
radiating -ibration carries, not the sub7ect o/ the thought, but its character. Thus,
the ,a-es o/ thought?e.otion radiating /ro. a Hindu sitting rapt in de-otion to
Shri 3rishna ,ould tend to sti.ulate de-otional /eeling in any ,ho ca.e under its
in/luence, not necessarily to,ards Sri 3rishna, but, in the case o/ a hristian, to
the hrist, in the case o/ a 5uddhist, to the Lord 5uddha8 and so on.
The po,er o/ the -ibration to produce such e//ects depends principally upon the
clearness and de/initeness o/ the thought?e.otion, as ,ell, o/ course, as upon
the a.ount o/ /orce put into it.
These radiating -ibrations beco.e less e//ecti-e in proportion to the distance
/ro. their source, though it is probable that the -ariation is proportional to the
cube o/ the distance instead o/ ;as ,ith gra-itation and other physical /orces< to
the s:uare, because o/ the additional ;/ourth< di.ension in-ol-ed.
The distance to ,hich a thought?,a-e can radiate e//ecti-ely also depends upon
the opposition ,ith ,hich it .eets. Wa-es in the lo,er types o/ astral .atter are
usually soon de/lected or o-er,hel.ed by a .ultitude o/ other -ibrations at the
sa.e le-el, 7ust as a so/t sound is dro,ned in the roar o/ a city.
The second e//ect, that o/ a /loating /or., is caused by the .ental body thro,ing
o// a -ibrating portion o/ itsel/ shaped by the nature o/ the thought, ,hich gathers
round itsel/ .atter o/ the corresponding order o/ /ineness /ro. the surrounding
ele.ental essence ;see page '< o/ the .ental plane, This is a thought?/or. pure
and si.ple, being co.posed o/ .ental .atter only.
I/ .ade o/ the /iner +inds o/ .atter, it ,ill be o/ great po,er and energy, and .ay
be used as a .ost potent agent ,hen directed by a strong and steady ,ill.
When the .an directs his energy to,ards e2ternal ob7ects o/ desire, or is
occupied ,ith passional or <Pa.e $'= e.otional acti-ities, a si.ilar process ta+es
place in his astral body 8 a portion o/ it is thro,n o// and gathers round itsel/
ele.ental essence o/ the astral plane. Such thought?desire /or.s are caused by
3K.a?9anas, the .ind under the do.inion o/ the ani.al nature, 9anas
do.inated by 3K.a
Such a thought?desire /or. has /or its body the ele.ental essence, and /or its
ani.ating soul, as it ,ere, the desire or passion ,hich thre, it /orth. 5oth these
thought?desire /or.s, and also purely .ental thought?/or.s, are called artificial
elementals. The -ast .a7ority o/ ordinary thought?/or.s are o/ the /or.er type, as
/e, thoughts o/ ordinary .en and ,o.en are untinged ,ith desire, passion or
e.otion.
5oth .ental and astral ele.ental essence, ,hich possess a hal/?intelligence li/e
o/ their o,n, respond -ery readily to the in/luence o/ hu.an thought and desire8
conse:uently e-ery i.pulse sent out, either /ro. a .an6s .ental body or /ro. his
astral body, is i..ediately clothed in a te.porary -ehicle o/ ele.ental essence.
These arti/icial ele.entals thus beco.e /or the ti.e a +ind o/ li-ing creature,
entities o/ intense acti-ity ani.ated by the one idea that generated the.. They
are, in /act,o/ten .ista+en by untrained psychics or clair-oyants /or real li-ing
entities.
Thus, ,hen a .an thin+s o/ a concrete ob7ect ? a boo+,house, landscape, etc. ?
he builds a tiny i.age o/ the ob7ect in the .atter o/ his .ental body. This i.age
/loats in the upper part o/ that body, usually in /ront o/ the /ace o/ the .an, and at
about the le-el o/ the eyes. It re.ains there as long as the .an is conte.plating
the ob7ect, and usually /or a little ti.e a/ter,ards, the length o/ li/e depending
upon the intensity and the clearness o/ the thought. The /or. is :uite ob7ecti-e
and can be seen by another person possessed o/ .ental sight. I/ a .an thin+s o/
another person he creates a tiny portrait in 7ust the sa.e ,ay.
Thought?/or.s ha-e been use/ully co.pared to a Leyden 7ar ;a -essel charged
,ith static electricity<, <Pa.e $*= the 7ar itsel/ corresponding to the ele.ental
essence and the electric charge to the thought?e.otion. And 7ust as a Leyden 7ar
,hen it touches another ob7ect discharges its stored electricity into that ob7ect, so
does an arti/icial ele.ental, ,hen it stri+es a .ental or astral body, discharge its
stored .ental and e.otional energy into that body.
The principles ,hich underlie the production o/ all thought?e.otion /or.s are 8 ?
!. %olour is deter.ined by the 0uality o/ the thought or e.otion.
#. 1orm is deter.ined by the nature o/ the thought or e.otion.
F. %learness of &utline is deter.ined by the definiteness o/ the thought or
e.otion.
The li/e?period o/ a thought?/or. depends upon N!O its initial intensity; N#O the
nutri.ent a/ter,ards supplied to it by a repetition o/ the thought, either by the
generator or by others. Its li/e .ay be continually rein/orced by this repetition, a
thought ,hich is brooded o-er ac:uiring great stability o/ /or.. So again thought?
/or.s o/ si.ilar character are attracted to and .utually strengthen each other,
.a+ing a /or. o/ great energy and intensity.
4urther.ore, such a thought?/or. appears to possess instincti-e desire to
prolong its li/e,and ,ill react on its creator, tending to e-o+e /ro. hi. rene,al o/
the /eeling ,hich created it. It ,ill react in a si.ilar, though not so per/ect,
.anner on any others ,ith ,ho. it .ay co.e into contact.
The colours in ,hich thought?/or.s e2press the.sel-es are identical ,ith the
colours /ound in the aura, -ide page !!?!#.
The brilliance and dept o/ the colours are usually a .easure o/ the strength and
the acti-ity o/ the /eeling.
4or our present purpose ,e .ay classi/y thought?/or.s into three +inds 8 ;!<
those connected solely ,ith their originator 8 ;#< those connected ,ith another
person 8 ;F< those not de/initely personal <Pa.e $-=
I/ a .an6s thought is about hi.sel/, or based on a personal /eeling, as the -ast
.a7ority o/ thoughts are, the /or. ,ill ho-er in the i..ediate neighbourhood o/
its generator. Any ti.e, then, ,hen he is in a passi-e condition, his thoughts and
/eelings not being speci/ically occupied, his o,n thought?/or. ,ill return to hi.
and discharge itsel/ upon hi.. In addition, each .an also ser-es as a .agnet to
dra, to,ards hi.sel/ the thought?/or.s o/ others si.ilar to his o,n, thus
attracting to,ards hi.sel/ rein/orce.ents o/ energy /ro. outside. People ,ho are
beco.ing sensiti-e ha-e so.eti.es i.agined, in such cases, that they ha-e
been te.pted by the 0de-il0, ,hereas it is their o,n thoughts?desire /or.s ,hich
are the cause o/ the 0te.ptation0. Long brooding o-er the sa.e sub7ect .ay
create a thought?/or. o/ tre.endous po,er. Such a /or. .ay last /or .any
years and ha-e /or a ti.e all the appearance and po,ers o/ real li-ing entity.
9ost .en .o-e through li/e enclosed literally ,ithin a cage o/ their o,n building,
surrounded by .asses o/ /or.s created by their habitual thoughts. )ne i.portant
e//ect o/ this is that each .an loo+s out upon the ,orld through his o,n thought?
/or.s, and thus sees e-erything tinged by the..
Thus a .an6s o,n thought?/or.s re?act upon hi., tending to reproduce
the.sel-es and thus setting up de/inite habits o/ thought and /eeling, ,hich .ay
be help/ul i/ o/ a lo/ty character, but are o/ten cra.ping and a hindrance to
gro,th,obscuring the .ental -ision and /acilitating the /or.ation o/ pre7udice and
/i2ed .oods or attitudes ,hich .ay de-elop into de/inite -ices.
As a 9aster has ,ritten8 09an is continually peopling his current in space ,ith a
,orld o/ his o,n, cro,ed ,ith the o//spring o/ his /ancies, desires, i.pulses and
passions. 0These thought?/or.s re.ain in his aura, increasing in nu.ber and
intensity, until certain +inds o/ the. so do.inate his .ental and e.otional li/e
that the .an rather ans,ers to their <Pa.e $,= i.pulse than decides ane,8 thus
are habits, the outer e2pression o/ his stored?up /orce, created, and thus is
character built.
9oreo-er, as each .an lea-es behind hi. a trail o/ thought?/or.s, it /ollo,s that
as ,e go along a street ,e are ,al+ing a.idst a sea o/ other .en6s thoughts. I/ a
.an lea-es his .ind blan+ /or a ti.e, these thoughts o/ others dri/t through it 8 i/
one happens to attract his attention, his .ind seiCes upon it, .a+es it its o,n,
strengthening it by the addition o/ its /orce, and then casts it out again to a//ect
so.ebody else. A .an, there/ore, is not responsible /or a thought ,hich /loats
into his .ind, but he is responsible i/ he ta+es it up, d,ells upon it, and then
sends it out again strengthened.
An e2a.ple o/ thought?/or.s is that o/ the shapeless clouds o/ hea-y blue ,hich
.ay o/ten be seen rolling along li+e ,reaths o/ dense s.o+e o-er the heads o/
the congregation o/ a church. In churches ,hen the le-el o/ spirituality is a lo,
one, the .inds o/ the .en .ay create ro,s o/ /igures, representing their
calculations o/ business deals or speculations, ,hile the .inds o/ the ,o.en
.ay create pictures o/ .illinery, 7e,ellery, etc..
Hypnotis. pro-ides another e2a.ple o/ thought?/or.s. The operator .ay .a+e
a thought?/or. and pro7ect it on to blan+ paper,,here it .ay beco.e -isible to his
hypnotised sub7ect8 or he .ay .a+e the /or. so ob7ecti-e that the sub7ect ,ill
see and /eel it as thought it ,ere an actual physical ob7ect. The literature o/
hypnotis. is /ull o/ such e2a.ples.
I/ the thought?/or. is directed to,ards another person, it ,ill go to that person.
Either o/ t,o e//ects .ay then result. ;!< I/ in the aura o/ the person concerned
there is .aterial capable o/ responding sy.pathetically to the -ibration o/ the
thought?/or., then the thought?/or. ,ill re.ain near the person, or e-en in his
aura, and, as opportunity ser-es, auto.atically discharge itsel/, thus tending to
strengthen in the person that particular rate o/ -ibration. I/ the person <Pa.e $1= at
,ho. a thought /or. is ai.ed happens to be busy, or already engaged in so.e
de/inite train o/ thought, the thought /or., being unable to discharge itsel/ into the
.an6s .ental body, ,hich is already -ibrating at a certain deter.inate rate,
hangs in the -icinity until the .an6s .ental body is su//iciently at rest to per.it its
entrance, ,hen it i..ediate discharges itsel/.
In doing this it ,ill display ,hat appears li+e a -ery considerable a.ount o/
intelligence and adaptability, though really it is a /orce acting a long the line o/
least resistance ? pressing steadily in one direction all the ti.e, and ta+ing
ad-antage o/ any channel that it can /ind. Such ele.entals can, o/ course, be
strengthened and their li/e?period e2tended by repetition o/ the sa.e thought.
;#< I/, on the other hand, there is in the person6s aura no .atter capable o/
response, then the thought?/or. cannot a//ect it at all. It ,ill there/ore rebound
/ro. it, ,ith a /orce proportional to the energy ,ith ,hich i.pinged upon it, and
return to and stri+e its creator.
Thus, /or e2a.ple,the thought o/ the desire /or drin+ could not enter the body o/ a
purely te.perate .an. It ,ould stri+e upon his astral body, but it could not
penetrate and it ,ould then return to the sender.
The old saying that 0urses ;to ,hich .ight be added blessings< co.e ho.e to
roost0 con-eys this truth and e2plains cases ,here, as .any ha-e +no,n, e-il
thoughts directed to a good and highly ad-anced .an a//ect such a .an not at
all, but re?act, so.eti.es ,ith terrible and de-astating e//ect, on their creator.
Hence also the ob-ious corollary that a pure heart and .ind are the best
protection against ini.ical assaults o/ /eeling and thought.
)n the other hand, a thought?/or. o/ lo-e and o/ desire to protect, strongly
directed to so.e belo-ed ob7ects, acts as a shielding and protecting agent 8 it ,ill
see+ all opportunities to ser-e and de/end, ,ill <Pa.e '3= strengthen /riendly /orces
and ,ea+en un/riendly ones, that i.pinge on the aura. It .ay protect its ob7ects
/ro. i.purity, irritability, /ear, etc.
4riendly thoughts and earnest good ,ishes thus create and .aintain ,hat is
practically a 0guardian angel0 al,ays at the side o/ the person thought o/, no
.atter ,here he .ay be. 9any a .other6s thoughts and prayers, /or e2a.ple,
ha-e gi-en assistance and protection to her child. They .ay o/ten be seen by
clair-oyants, and in rare cases they .ay e-en .aterialise and beco.e physically
-isible.
It is thus apparent that a thought o/ lo-e sent /ro. one person to another in-ol-es
the actual trans/erence o/ a certain a.ount both o/ /orce and o/ .atter /ro. the
sender to the recipient.
I/ the thought is su//iciently strong, distance .a+es absolutely no di//erence to it8
but a ,ea+ and di//used thought is not e//ecti-e outside a li.ited area.
A -ariant o/ our /irst group consists o/ those cases ,here a .an thin+s strongly o/
hi.sel/ in a distant place. The /or. thus created contains a large proportion o/
.ental .atter, ta+es the i.age o/ the thin+er, and is at /irst s.all and
co.pressed. It dra,s around itsel/ a considerable a.ount o/ astral .atter and
usually e2pands to li/e siCe be/ore it appears at its destination. Such /or.s are
o/ten seen by clair-oyants, and not in/re:uently are .ista+en /or the .an6s astral
body or e-en /or the .an hi.sel/.
When this ta+es place, the thought or desire .ust be su//iciently strong to do one
o/ three things8 ;!< To call up by .es.eric in/luence the i.age o/ the thin+er in
the .ind o/ the person to ,ho. he ,ishes to appear8 ;#< by the sa.e po,er to
sti.ulate /or the .o.ent that person6s psychic /aculties so that he is able to see
the astral -isitor; ;F< to produce a te.porary .aterialisation ,hich ,ill be
physically -isible.
Apparitions at the ti.e o/ death, ,hich are by no .eans unco..on, are -ery
o/ten really the astral /or. o/ the dying .an8 but they .ay also be thought?/or.s
called into being by his earnest ,ish to see so.e /riend <Pa.e '1= be/ore he
passes on. In so.e instances the -isitor is percei-ed 7ust a/ter the .o.ent o/
death, instead o/ 7ust be/ore 8 but /or -arious reasons this /or. o/ apparition is /ar
less /re:uent than the other.
A /a.ily ghost .ay be ;!< a thought?/or., ;#< an unusually -i-id i.pression in the
astral light, or ;F< a genuine earth?bound ancestor still haunting so.e particular
place.
In this connection, it .ay be added that ,here-er any intense passion has been
/elt, such as terror, pain, sorro,, hatred, etc., so po,er/ul an i.pression is .ade
on the astral light that persons ,ith but a /aint gli..er o/ psychic /aculty .ay be
i.pressed by it. A slight te.porary increase o/ sensibility ,ould enable a .an to
-isualise the entire scene8 hence .any stories o/ haunted places, and o/ the
unpleasant in/luences o/ such spots as Tyburn Tree, the ha.ber o/ Horrors at
9ada.e Tussaud6s, etc..
Apparitions at the spot ,here a cri.e ,as co..itted are usually thought?/or.s
pro7ected by the cri.inal ,ho, ,hether li-ing or dead, but .ost especially ,hen
dead, is perpetually thin+ing o-er again and again the circu.stances o/ his
actions. Since these thoughts are naturally specially -i-id in his .ind on the
anni-ersary o/ his cri.e, it .ay happen that the thought?/or. is strong enough to
.aterialise itsel/ so as to be -isible to physical sight, thus accounting /or .any
cases ,here the .ani/estation is periodical.
Si.ilarly, a 7e,el, ,hich has been the cause o/ .any cri.es, .ay retain the
i.pressions o/ the passions pro.pting the cri.es, ,ith uni.paired clearness, /or
.any thousands o/ years, and continue to radiate the..
A thought o/ pheno.enal energy and concentration, ,hether it be a blessing or a
curse, calls into being an ele.ental ,hich is practically a li-ing storage?battery
,ith a +ind o/ cloc+,or+ attach.ent. It can be arranged to discharge itsel/
regularly at a certain our daily, or upon a certain anni-ersary, or its discharge
.aybe contingent upon certain occurrences. 9any instances o/ this class o/
ele.ental are on record, <Pa.e '"= particularly in the Highlands o/ Scotland, ,here
physical ,arnings occur be/ore the death o/ a .e.ber o/ the /a.ily. In these
cases it is usually the po,er/ul thought?/or. o/ an ancestor ,hich gi-es the
,arning, according to the intention ,ith ,hich it ,as charged.
A su//iciently strong ,ish ? a concentrated e//ort o/ intense lo-e or en-eno.ed
hate ? ,ould create such an entity once /or all, an entity ,hich ,ould then be
:uite disconnected /ro. its creator, and ,ould carry on its appointed ,or+
entirely irrespecti-e o/ later intentions and desire on his part. 9ere repentance
could not recall it or pre-ent its action any .ore than repentance could stop a
bullet once discharged. Its po,er could be to a considerable e2tent neutralised
only by sending a/ter it thoughts o/ a contrary tendency.
)ccasionally an ele.ental o/ this class, being unable to e2pend its /orce either
upon its ob7ect or its creator, .ay beco.e a +ind o/ ,andering de.on, and be
attracted by any person ,ho harbours si.ilar /eelings. I/ su//iciently po,er/ul, it
.ay e-en siCe upon and inhabit a passing shell ;see page !$!<, in ,hich it is
able to husband its resources .ore care/ully. In this /or. it .ay .ani/est through
a .ediu., and, by .as:uerading as a ,ell?+no,n /riend, .ay obtain in/luence
o-er people upon ,ho. it ,ould other,ise ha-e little hold.
Such ele.entals, ,hether /or.ed consciously or unconsciously, ,hich ha-e
beco.e ,andering de.ons, in-ariably see+ to prolong their li/e, either by /eeding
li+e -a.pires upon the -itality o/ hu.an beings, or by in/luencing the. to .a+e
o//erings to the.. A.ong si.ple hal/?sa-age tribes they ha-e /re:uently
succeeded in getting the.sel-es recognised as -illage or /a.ily gods. The less
ob7ectionable types .ay be content ,ith o//erings o/ rice and coo+ed /oods 8 the
lo,est and .ost loathso.e class de.and blood?sacri/ices. 5oth -arieties e2ist
today in India, and in greater nu.bers in A/rica.
5y dra,ing .ainly upon the -itality o/ their <Pa.e '%= de-otees, and also upon the
nourish.ent they can obtain /ro. the o//erings, they .ay prolong their e2istence
/or years, or e-en centuries. They .ay e-en per/or. occasional pheno.ena o/ a
.ild type in order to sti.ulate the /aith and Ceal o/ their /ollo,ers, and they
in-ariably .a+e the.sel-es unpleasant in so.e ,ay or other i/ the sacri/ices are
neglected.
The blac+ .agicians o/ Atlantis ? the 0lords o/ the dar+ /ace0 ? see.s to ha-e
specialised in this type o/ arti/icial ele.entals, so.e o/ ,hich, it is hinted, .ay
ha-e +ept the.sel-es in e2istence e-en to this day. The terrible Indian goddess,
3Kli, .ay ,ell be a relic o/ this type.
The -ast .a7ority o/ thought?/or.s are si.ply copies or i.ages o/ people or other
.aterial ob7ects. They are /or.ed /irst ,ithin the .ental body and then pass
out,ards and re.ain suspended be/ore the .an. This applies to anything about
,hich one .ay be thin+ing 8 persons, houses, landscapes, or anything else.
A painter, /or e2a.ple, builds out o/ the .atter o/ his .ental body a conception o/
his /uture picture, pro7ects it into space in /ront o/ hi., +eeps it be/ore his 0.ind6s
eye0, and copies it. This thought and e.otion?/or. persists and .ay be regarded
as the unseen counterpart o/ the picture, radiating out its o,n -ibrations and
a//ecting all ,ho co.e ,ithin its in/luence.
Si.ilarly a no-elist builds in .ental .atter i.ages o/ his characters, and then, by
his ,ill, .o-es these puppets /ro. one position or grouping to another, so that
the plot o/ the story is literally acted out be/ore hi..
A curious e//ect arises in such a case. A play/ul nature?spirit ;See hapter #B<
.ay ensoul the i.ages and cause the. to do things other than those ,hich the
author intended the. do to. 9ore /re:uently a dead ,riter .ay percei-e the
i.ages and, being still interested in the cra/t o/ ,riting, .ay .ould the characters
and in/luence their actions according to his <Pa.e '$= o,n ideas. The actual ,riter
thus o/ten /inds his plots ,or+ing the.sel-es out according to a plan :uite
di//erent /ro. his original conception.
In reading a boo+, it is possible /or a genuine student, ,ith attention /ully
concentrated, to get into touch ,ith the original thought?/or. ,hich represents
the author6s conception as he ,rote. Through the thought?/or. the author hi.sel/
.ay e-en be reached, and additional in/or.ation thus obtained, or light gained
on di//icult points.
There are in the .ental and astral ,orlds .any renderings o/ ,ell?+no,n stories,
each nation usually ha-ing its special presentation, ,ith the characters dressed
in its o,n particular national garb. There thus e2ist e2cellent and li/e?li+e thought?
/or.s o/ people li+e Sherloc+ Hol.es, aptain 3ettle, =obinson rusoe,
Sha+espeare6s characters, etc..
In /act, there are on the astral plane -ast nu.bers o/ thought?/or.s o/ a
co.parati-ely per.anent character, o/ten the result o/ the cu.ulati-e ,or+ o/
generations o/ people. 9any o/ these re/er to alleged religious history, and the
sight o/ the. by sensiti-e people is responsible /or .any :uite genuine accounts
gi-en by untrained seers and seeresses. Any great historical e-ent, ha-ing been
constantly thought o/, and -i-idly i.aged by large nu.bers o/ people, e2ists as a
de/inite thought?/or. on the .ental plane, and ,here-er there is any strong
e.otion connected ,ith it, it is .aterialised also in astral .atter and
conse:uently can be seen by a clair-oyant.
The abo-e applies e:ually, o/ course, to scenes and situations in /iction, dra.a,
etc..
onsidered in the .ass, it is easy to realise the tre.endous e//ect that these
thought?/or.s or arti/icial ele.entals ha-e in producing national and race?
/eelings, and thus in biasing and pre7udicing the .ind 8 /or thought?/or.s o/ a
si.ilar +ind ha-e a tendency to aggregate together and /or. a +ind o/ collecti-e
entity. We see e-erything through this at.osphere, e-ery thought is .ore or less
re/racted by it, and our o,n <Pa.e ''= astral bodies are -ibrating in accord ,ith it.
As .ost people are recepti-e rather than initiati-e in their nature, they act al.ost
as auto.atic reproducers o/ the thoughts ,hich reach the., and thus the
national at.osphere is continually intensi/ied. This /act ob-iously e2plains .any
o/ the pheno.ena o/ cro,d?consciousness ;See hapter #%<
The in/luence o/ these aggregated thought?/or.s e2tends still /urther. Thought?
/or.s o/ a destructi-e type act as a disrupti-e agent and o/ten precipitate ha-oc
on the physical plane, causing 0accidents0, natural con-ulsions, stor.s,
earth:ua+es,/loods, or cri.e, disease, social uphea-als and ,ars.
It is possible also /or dead people and other non?hu.an entities, such as
.ischie-ous nature?spirits, ;see page !A!< /or e2a.ple, to enter and -i-i/y these
thought?i.ages. The trained seer has to learn to distinguish the thought?/or.,
e-en ,hen -i-i/ied, /ro. the li-ing being, and pro.inent /acts o/ the astral ,orld
/ro. the te.porary .oulds into ,hich they are cast.
)ur third class o/ thought?e.otion /or.s consists o/ those ,hich are not directly
connected ,ith any natural ob7ects, and ,hich there/ore e2press the.sel-es in
/or.s entirely their o,n, displaying their inherent :ualities in the .atter ,hich
they dra, around the.sel-es. In this group, there/ore, ,e ha-e a gli.pse o/ the
/or.s natural to the astral and .ental planes. Thought?/or.s o/ this class al.ost
in-ariably .ani/est the.sel-es on the astral plane, as the -ast .a7ority o/ the.
are e2pressions o/ /eeling as ,ell as o/ thought.
Such a /or. si.ply /loats detached in the at.osphere, all the ti.es radiating
-ibrations si.ilar to those originally sent /orth by its creator. I/ it does not co.e
into contact ,ith any other .ental body, the radiation gradually e2hausts its store
o/ energy and the /or. then /alls to pieces; but i/ it succeeds in a,a+ening
sy.pathetic -ibrations in any .ental body near at hand, an attraction is set up,
and the thought?/or. is usually absorbed by that .ental body. <Pa.e '*=
4ro. the abo-e ,e see that the in/luence o/ a thought?form is less /ar?reaching
than that o/ a thought?vi#ration, but it acts ,ith .uch greater precision. A thought?
-ibration reproduces thoughts o/ an order similar to that ,hich ga-e it birth. A
thought?/or. reproduces the same thought. The radiations .ay a//ect thousands
and stir in the. thoughts o/ the sa.e le-el as the original, though none o/ the.
.ay be identical ,ith it. The thought?/or. can a//ect only -ery /e,, but in those
/e, cases it ,ill reproduce e2actly the initiatory idea.
4or pictorial, coloured illustrations o/ .any +inds o/ thought and e.otion /or.s,
the student is re/erred to the classic ,or+ on the sub7ect8 Thought!1orms$ by
Annie 5esant and .W.Leadbeater This ,hole chapter, indeed, is largely a
condensed su..ary o/ the principles enunciated in that ,or+.
Eague thoughts or /eelings sho, the.sel-es as -ague clouds. (e/inite thought
or /eelings create clearly de/ined /or.s. Thus a /or. o/ de/inite a//ection directed
to a a particular indi-idual shapes itsel/ not unli+e a pro7ectile8 a thought o/
protecti-e a//ection beco.es so.e,hat li+e a bird, ,ith a central portion o/
yello, and t,o ,ing?shaped pro7ections o/ rose?pin+8 a thought o/ uni-ersal lo-e
beco.es a rose?pin+ sun ,ith rays in e-ery direction.
Thoughts in ,hich sel/ishness or greed are pro.inent usually ta+e a hoo+ed
/or., the hoo+s in so.e case actually cla,ing round the ob7ect desired.
As a general principle, the energy o/ a sel/ish thought .o-es in a closed cur-e,
and thus ine-itably returns and e2pends itsel/ upon its o,n le-el. An absolutely
unsel/ish thought or /eeling, ho,e-er, rushes /orth in an open cur-e, and thus
does not return, in the ordinary sense, but pierces through into the plane abo-e,
because only in that higher condition, ,ith its additional di.ension,can it /ind
roo. /or its e2pansion. 5ut, in thus brea+ing through, such a thought or /eeling
opens a door, as ,e .ight say sy.bolically, o/ di.ension e:ui-alent to its
dia.eter, and thus pro-ides a <Pa.e '-= channel through ,hich the higher planes
can pour the.sel-es into the lo,er ? o/ten ,ith ,onder/ul results, as in the case
o/ prayer, both /or the thin+er and /or others.
Herein lies the highest and best part o/ the belie/ in ans,ers to prayer. )n the
higher planes there is an in/inite /lood o/ /orce al,ays ready and ,aiting to be
poured through ,hen a channel is o//ered. A thought o/ per/ectly unsel/ish
de-otion pro-ides such a channel, the grandest and noblest part o/ such a
thought ascending to the Logos Hi.sel/. The response /ro. Hi. is a descent o/
the di-ine li/e, resulting in a great strengthening and upli/ting o/ the .a+er o/ the
channel, and the spreading all about hi. o/ a po,er/ul and bene/icent in/luence,
,hich /lo,s through the reser-oir that e2ists on the higher planes /or the helping
o/ .an+ind. It is this adding to the reser-oir o/ spiritual /orce ,hich is the truth in
the catholic idea o/ ,or+s o/ supererogation. The *ir.Kna+Kyas are especially
associated ,ith this great reser-oir o/ /orce.
9editation upon a 9aster .a+es a lin+ ,ith Hi., ,hich sho,s itsel/ to clair-oyant
-ision as a +ind o/ line o/ light. The 9aster al,ays subconsciously /eels the
i.pinging o/ such a line, and sends out along it in response a steady strea. o/
.agnetis. ,hich continues to play long a/ter the .editation is o-er. =egularity in
such .editation is a -ery i.portant /actor.
A thought o/ de/inite, ,ell?sustained de-otion .ay assu.e a /or. closely
rese.bling a /lo,er, ,hilst de-otional aspiration ,ill create a blue cone, the ape2
pointing up,ards.
Such thought?/or.s o/ de-otion are o/ten e2ceedingly beauti/ul, -arying .uch in
outline, but characterised by cur-ed up,ard?pointing petals li+e aCure /la.es. It
is possible that the /lo,er?li+e characteristic o/ de-otion /or.s .ay ha-e led to
the custo. o/ o//ering /lo,ers in religious ,orship, the /lo,ers suggesting the
/or.s -isible to astral sight. <Pa.e ',=
Intense curiosity, or desire to +no,, ta+es the /or. o/ a yello, sna+e8 e2plosi-e
anger or irritation, o/ a splash o/ red and orange8 sustained anger, o/ a sharp, red
stiletto8 spite/ul 7ealousy sho,s itsel/ as a bro,nish sna+e.
4or.s produced by people ,ho ha-e .ind and e.otion ,ell under control and
de/initely trained in .editation, are clear, sy..etrical ob7ects o/ great beauty,
o/ten ta+ing ,ell?+no,n geo.etrical /or.s, such as triangles, t,o triangles
interlaced, /i-e?pointed stars, he2agons, crosses, and so on, these indicating
thoughts concerned ,ith cos.ic order, or .etaphysical concepts.
The po,er o/ the united thought o/ a nu.ber o/ people is al,ays /ar .ore than
the su. o/ their separate thoughts8 it ,ould be .ore nearly represented by their
product.
9usic also produces /or.s ,hich are perhaps not technically thought?/or.s ?
unless ,e ta+e the., as ,e the., as ,e ,ell .ay, as the result o/ the thought o/
the co.poser, e2pressed by the s+ill o/ the .usician through his instru.ent.
These .usic /or.s ,ill -ary according to the type o/ .usic, the +ind o/ instru.ent
,hich plays it, and the s+ill and .erits o/ the per/or.er. The sa.e piece o/ .usic
,ill, i/ accurately played, al,ays build the sa.e /or., but that /or. ,ill, ,hen
played on a church organ or by an orchestra, be enor.ously larger than, as ,ell
as o/ di//erent te2ture /ro. that produced ,hen played upon a piano. There ,ill
also be a di//erence in te2ture bet,een the result o/ a piece o/ .usic played upon
a -iolin and the sa.e piece e2ecuted upon a /lute. There is also a ,ide
di//erence bet,een the radiant beauty o/ the /or. produced by a true artist,
per/ect e2pression and e2ecution, and the relati-ely dull e//ect produced by a
,ooden and .echanical player.
9usic /or.s .ay re.ain as coherent erections /or a considerable ti.e ? an hour
or t,o at least ? and during all that ti.e they are radiating their characteristics
<Pa.e '1= -ibrations in e-ery direction, 7ust as thought?/or.s do.
In Thought!1orms three coloured e2a.ples are gi-en, o/ .usic /or.s build by
.usic o/ 9endelssohn, o/ 1ounod, and o/ Wagner respecti-ely.
The /or.s ,hich are built -ary .uch ,ith di//erent co.posers. An o-erture by
Wagner .a+es a .agni/icent ,hole, as though he built ,ith .ountains o/ /la.e
/or stones. )ne o/ 5ach6s /ugues builds up an ordered /or., bold yet precise,
rugged but sy..etrical, ,ith parallel ri-ulets o/ sil-er and gold or ruby running
through it, .ar+ing the successi-e appearances o/ the motif. )ne o/
9endelssohn6s Lieber ohne Worte .a+es an airy erection, li+e a castle o/ /iligree
,or+ in /rosted sil-er.
These /or.s, created by the per/or.ers o/ the .usic, are :uite distinct /ro. the
thought?/or.s .ade by the co.poser hi.sel/, ,hich o/ten persist /or .any
years, e-en /or centuries, i/ he is so /ar understood and appreciated that his
original conception is strengthened by the thoughts o/ his ad.irers. Si.ilar
edi/ices are constructed by a poet6s idea o/ his epic, or a ,riter6s conception o/
his sub7ect. So.eti.es cro,ds o/ nature?spirits ;see page !A!< .ay be seen
ad.iring the .usic ?/or.s and bathing in the ,a-es o/ in/luence ,hich they send
/orth.
In studying pictorial representations o/ thought?/or.s it is i.portant to bear in
.ind that thought?/or.s are /our?di.ensional ob7ects. It is there/ore a practical
i.possibility to describe the. ade:uately in ,ords ,hich pertain to our ordinary
three?di.ensional e2periences, still less to portray the. in t,o?di.ensional
pictures on paper. Students o/ the /ourth di.ension ,ill realise that the .ost that
can be done is to represent a section o/ the /our?di.ensional /or.s.
It is re.ar+able, and possibly deeply signi/icant /act,that .any o/ the higher types
o/ thought?/or.s assu.e shapes closely rese.bling -egetable and ani.al /or.s.
We thus ha-e at least a presu.ption that the /orces o/ nature ,or+ along lines
so.e,hat si.ilar <Pa.e *3= to those along ,hich thought and e.otion ,or+. Since
the ,hole uni-erse is a .ighty thought?/or. called into e2istence by the Logos, it
.ay ,ell be that tiny parts o/ it also result /ro. the thought?/or.s o/ .inor
entities engaged in the sa.e creati-e ,or+. This conception naturally recalls the
Hindu belie/ that there are FFB,BBB,BBB (e-as.
It is also ,orthy o/ notice that, ,hilst so.e o/ the thought?/or.s are so
co.plicated and so e2:uisitely /ashioned as to be beyond the po,er o/ the
hu.an hand to reproduce, yet they .ay be -ery closely appro2i.ated by
.echanical .eans. The instru.ent, +no,n as a Har.onograph, consists o/ a
/ine point guided in its path by se-eral pendulu.s, each o/ ,hich has its o,n
independent s,ing, all o/ these being ,elded into one co.posite .o-e.ent,
,hich is co..unicated to the pointer, and ,hich the pointer registers on a
suitable sur/ace.
)ther, though si.pler /or.s, rese.ble the sand /igures produced by the ,ell?
+no,n hladni6s sound plate or by the Eidophone N-ide )idophone -oice
1igures$ by 9argaret Watts Hughes<.
Scales and arpeggios thro,n out lasso?li+e loops and cur-es8 a song ,ith a
chorus produces a nu.ber o/ beads strung on a sil-er thread o/ .elody 8 in a
glee or part?song intert,ining threads o/ di//erent colours and te2tures are
produced. A processional hy.n builds a series o/ precise rectangular /or.s, li+e
the lin+s o/ a chain or the carriages o/ a rail,ay train. An Anglican chant .a+es
glittering /rag.ents, :uite di//erent /ro. the glo,ing uni/or.ity o/ the 1regorian
tone, ,hich is not unli+e the e//ect o/ Sans+rit -erses chanted by an Indian
pandit.
9ilitary .usic produces a long strea. o/ rhyth.ically -ibrating /or.s, the regular
beat o/ these undulations tending to strengthen those o/ the astral bodies o/ the
soldiers, the i.pact o/ a succession o/ steady and po,er/ul oscillations supplying
/or the ti.e the place o/ the ,ill?/orce ,hich, through /atigue, .ay ha-e been
slac+ened. <Pa.e *1=
A thunderstor. creates a /la.ing band o/ colour, a crash .a+ing a /or.
suggesti-e o/ an e2ploding bo.b, or an irregular sphere ,ith spi+es pro7ecting
/ro. it. Sea?,a-es brea+ing on the shore create ,a-y, parallel lines o/ changing
colour, beco.ing .ountain ranges in a stor.. Wind in the lea-es o/ /orest co-ers
it ,ith iridescent net,or+, rising and /alling ,ith gentle ,a-e?li+e .o-e.ent.
The song o/ birds sho,s as cur-ing lines and loops o/ light, /ro. the golden
globes o/ the campanero to the a.orphous and coarsely?coloured .ass o/ the
screa. o/ a parrot or .aca,. The roar o/ a lion is also -isible in higher .atter
and it is possible that so.e ,ild creatures are able to see it clair-oyantly, thus
adding to their terror. A purring cat surrounds itsel/ ,ith concentric rosy cloud?
/il.s8 a bar+ing dog shoots /orth ,ell?de/ined sharp?pointed pro7ectiles not unli+e
a ri/le bullet, ,hich pierce the astral bodies o/ people and seriously disturb the..
The bay o/ a bloodhound thro,s o// beads li+e /ootballs, slo,er in .otion and
less liable to in7ure. The colour o/ these pro7ectiles is usually red or bro,n,
-arying ,ith the e.otion o/ the ani.al and the +ey o/ his -oice.
The lo,ing o/ a co, produces blunt?ended clu.sy shapes li+e logs o/ ,ood. A
/loc+ o/ sheep .a+es a .any?pointed yet a.orphous cloud not unli+e a dust?
cloud. The cooing o/ a pair o/ do-es .a+es grace/ul cur-ed /or.s li+e the letter S
re-ersed.
Turning to hu.an sounds, an angry e7aculation thro,s itsel/ /orth li+e a scarlet
spear8 a strea. o/ silly chatter produces an intricate net,or+ o/ hard bro,n?grey
.etallic lines, /or.ing an al.ost per/ect barrier against any higher or .ore
beauti/ul thoughts and /eelings. The astral body o/ a garrulous person is a
stri+ing ob7ect?lesson on the /olly o/ unnecessary, useless and unpleasant
speech.
A child6s laughter bubbles /orth in rosy cur-es8 the gu//a, o/ an e.pty?.inded
person causes an e2plosi-e e//ect in an irregular .ass, usually bro,n or dirty
green. A sneer thro,s out a shapeless pro7ectile <Pa.e *"= o/ dull red, usually
/lec+ed ,ith bro,nish?green and bristling ,ith sharp points.
The cachinations o/ the sel/?conscious produce the appearance and colour o/ a
pool o/ boiling .ud. *er-ous giggles creates a sea?,eed li+e tangle o/ bro,n and
dull yello, lines, and ha-e a -ery bad e//ect upon the astral body. A 7olly, +indly
laugh billo,s out in rounded /or.s o/ gold and green. A so/t and .usical ,histle
produces an e//ect not unli+e that o/ a s.all /lute, but sharper and .ore .etallic.
Tuneless ,histling sends out s.all piercing pro7ectiles o/ dirty bro,n.
4idgetiness or /ussiness produces in the aura tre.ulous -ibrations, so that no
thought or /eeling can pass in or out ,ithout distortion, e-en good through that is
being sent out ta+ing ,ith it a shi-er that practically neutralises it. Accuracy in
thought is essential, but it should be attained not by hurry or /uss but by per/ect
cal.ness.
The strident screech o/ a rail,ay engine .a+es a /ar .ore penetrating and
po,er/ul pro7ectile than e-en the bar+ o/ a dog, producing upon the astral body
an e//ect co.parable to that o/ a s,ord thrust upon the physical body. An astral
,ound heals in a /e, .inutes, but the shoc+ to the astral organis. disappears
by no .eans so readily.
The /iring o/ a gun produces a serious e//ect upon astral currents and astral
bodies. =i/le or pistol /ire thro,s out a strea. o/ s.all needles.
=epeated noises a//ect the .ental and astral bodies precisely as blo,s a//ect the
physical body. In the physical body the result ,ould be pain8 in the astral body it
.eans irritability8 in the .ental body a /eeling o/ /atigue and inability to thin+
clearly.
It is abundantly clear that all loud, sharp or sudden sounds should, as /ar as
possible, be a-oided by any one ,ho ,ishes to +eep his astral and .ental
-ehicles in good order. Especially disastrous is the e//ect, e.g.$ o/ the ceaseless
noise and roar o/ a city upon the plastic astral and .ental bodies o/ children.
<Pa.e *%=
All the sounds o/ nature blend the.sel-es into one tone, called by the hinese
the 01reat Tone0, or 3U*1. This also has its /or., a synthesis o/ all /or.s, -ast
and change/ul as the sea, representing the note o/ our earth in the .usic o/ the
spheres. This is said by so.e ,riters to be the note 4 o/ our scale.
It is, o/ course, possible to destroy a thought?/or., and this is so.eti.es done,
/or e2a.ple, ,here a person a/ter death is pursued by a .alignant thought?/or.,
created probably by the hate o/ those ,ho. the person had in7ured ,hilst in the
physical ,orld. Although such a thought?/or. .ay appear al.ost as a li-ing
creature ? an instance is gi-en ,here it rese.bled a huge distorted gorilla ? it is
si.ply a te.porary creation o/ e-il passion and in no sense an e-ol-ing entity, so
that to dissipate it is si.ply li+e destroying a Leyden 7ar, and it is not in any sense
a cri.inal action.
9ost .en recognise that acts ,hich in7ure others are de/initely and ob-iously
,rong, but /e, recognise that it is also ,rong to /eel 7ealousy, hatred, a.bition,
etc., e-en though such /eelings are not e2pressed in speech or deed. An
e2a.ination o/ the conditions o/ li/e a/ter death ;hapters !F to !%< re-eals that
such /eelings in7ure the .an ,ho harbours the., and cause hi. acute su//ering
a/ter death.
A study o/ thought?/or.s thus brings ho.e to the earnest student the tre.endous
possibilities o/ such creations, and the responsibility attaching to a right use o/
the.. Thoughts are not only things, but e2ceedingly puissant things. E-ery one is
generating the. unceasingly night and day. )/ten it is not possible to render
physical aid to those in need, but there is no case in ,hich help .ay not be gi-en
by thought, or in ,hich it can /ail to produce a de/inite result. *o one need
hesitate to use this po,er to the /ull8 pro-ided al,ays that it be e.ployed /or
unsel/ish purposes, and /or /urthering the di-ine sche.e o/ e-olution. <Pa.e *$=
CHAPTER ,
PHYSICAL LI&E
In hapter # ,e considered, in general outline, the co.position and structure o/
the astral body. We shall no, proceed to study it, in greater detail, as it e2ists
and is used during the ordinary aking consciousness o/ the physical body.
The /actors ,hich deter.ine the nature and :uality o/ the astral body during
physical li/e .ay be roughly grouped as /ollo,s8 ?
!? The physical li/e.
#? The e.otional li/e.
F? The .ental li/e
!? The *hysical Life. ! We ha-e already seen ;page A< that e-ery particle o/ the
physical body has its corresponding astral 0counterpart0. onse:uently, as the
solids, li:uids, gases and ethers o/ ,hich the physical is co.posed .ay be
coarse or re/ined, gross or delicate, so ,ill be the nature o/ the corresponding
astral en-elopes. A physical body nourished on i.pure /ood ,ill produce a
corresponding i.pure astral body, ,hilst a physical body /ed on clean /ood and
drin+ ,ill help to puri/y the astral -ehicle.
The astral body being the -ehicle o/ e.otion, passion and sensation, it /ollo,s
that an astral body o/ the grosser type ,ill be chie/ly a.enable to the grosser
-arieties o/ passion and e.otion8 ,hereas a /iner astral body ,ill .ore readily
-ibrate to .ore re/ined e.otions and aspirations.
It is i.possible to .a+e the physical body coarse and at the sa.e ti.e to
organise the astral and .ental bodies /or /iner purposes8 neither is it possible to
ha-e a pure physical body ,ith i.pure .ental and astral bodies. All three bodies
are thus interdependent. <Pa.e *'=
*ot only the physical body, but also the higher bodies also, are a//ected by the
/ood ,hich is eaten. arni-orous diet is /atal to anything li+e real occult
de-elop.ent and those ,ho adopt it are thro,ing serious and unnecessary
di//iculties in their o,n ,ay, /or /lesh /ood intensi/ies all the undesirable ele.ents
and passions o/ the lo,er planes.
In the ancient 9ysteries ,ere .en o/ the ut.ost purity and they ,ere in-ariably
-egetarian. The =K7a Iogi ta+es especial pains to puri/y the physical body by an
elaborate syste. o/ /ood, drin+, sleep, etc., and insists on /oods ,hich are s2tvic$
or 0rhyth.ic0. A ,hole syste. relating to /oodstu//s is built up to help in the
preparation o/ the body /or use by the higher consciousness. 4lesh /oods are
ra32sic$ i.e., they co.e under the :uality o/ acti-ity, being sti.ulants, and built up
to e2press ani.al desires and acti-ities. They are utterly unsuited to the /iner
type o/ ner-ous organisation. The yogi there/ore cannot a//ord to use these /or
the higher processes o/ thought.
4oods on the ,ay to decay, such as ga.e, -enison, etc., as ,ell as alcohol, are
tam2sic$ or hea-y, and also to be a-oided.
4oods ,hich tend to gro,th, such as grain and /ruits, are s2tvic, or rhyth.ic,
being the .ost highly -italised and suitable /or building up a body sensiti-e and
at the sa.e ti.e strong.
ertain other substances also a//ect the physical and astral bodies detri.entally.
Thus tobacco per.eates the physical body ,ith i.pure particles, causing
e.anations so .aterial that they are /re:uently perceptible to the sense o/ s.ell,
Astrally, tobacco not only introduces i.purity, but tends also to deaden the
sensibility o/ the body8 0soothing the ner-es0, as it is called. While this .ay, in
conditions o/ .odern li/e, be so.eti.es less har./ul than lea-ing the ner-es
0unsoothed0, it is certain undesirable /or an occultist, ,ho needs the capacity o/
ans,ering instantly to all possible -ibrations, co.bined, o/ course, ,ith per/ect
control. <Pa.e **=
Si.ilarly, there is no doubt ,hate-er that /ro. the point o/ -ie, o/ both astral and
.ental bodies the use o/ alcohol is al,ays an e-il.
5odies /ed on /lesh and alcohol are liable to be thro,n out o/ health by opening
up o/ the higher consciousness8 and ner-ous diseases are partly due to the /act
that the hu.an consciousness is trying to e2press itsel/ through bodies clogged
,ith /lesh products and poisoned ,ith alcohol. In particular, the pituitary body is
-ery readily poisoned by e-en a -ery s.all a.ount o/ alcohol, and its highest
e-olution is thereby chec+ed. It is the poisoning o/ the pituitary body ,ith alcohol
that leads to the abnor.al and irrational -ision associated ,ith deliriu. tre.ens.
In addition to the direct coarsening o/ the physical and astral bodies, .eat,
tobacco and alcohol are open also to the serious ob7ection that they tend to
attract undesirable astral entities ,hich ta+e pleasure in the scent o/ blood and
spirits8 they surge around the person, i.pressing their thoughts upon hi., /orcing
their i.pressions on his astral body, so that the person .ay ha-e a +ind o/ shell
o/ ob7ectionable entities hanging on to his aura. Principally /or this reason, in the
Ioga o/ the =ight Hand Path .eat and ,ine are absolutely /orbidden.
These entities consist o/ arti/icial ele.entals, gi-en birth to by the thoughts and
desires o/ .en, and also o/ depra-ed .en i.prisoned in their astral bodies,
+no,n as ele.entaries ;see page !&%<. The ele.entals are attracted to,ards
people ,hose astral bodies contain .atter congenial to their nature, ,hile the
ele.entaries naturally see+ to indulge in -ices such as they the.sel-es
encouraged ,hile in physical bodies. An astral clair-oyant can see hordes o/
loathso.e ele.entals cro,ding round butchers6 shops, ,hilst in beer?houses and
gin?palaces ele.entaries specially gather, /easting on the e.anation o/ the
li:uors,and thrusting the.sel-es so.eti.es into the -ery bodies o/ the drin+ers.
*early all drugs ? such as opiu., cocaine, <Pa.e *-= theine in tea, ca//eine in
co//ee, etc. ? produce a deleterious e//ect upon the higher -ehicles. )ccasionally
they are, o/ course, al.ost a necessity, in certain diseases8 but an occultist
should use the. as sparingly as possible.
)ne ,ho +no,s ho, to do it can re.o-e the e-il e//ect o/ opiu. ;,hich .ay
ha-e been used to relie-e great pain< /ro. the astral and .ental bodies a/ter it
has done its ,or+ on the physical.
(irt o/ all +inds is also .ore ob7ectionable in the higher ,orlds e-en than in the
physical and attracts a lo, class o/ nature?spirits ;see page !A!<. The occultist
there/ore needs to be stringent in all .atters o/ cleanliness. Especial attention
should be paid to the hands and /eet, because through these e2tre.ities
e.anations /lo, out so readily.
Physical noises, such as pre-ail in cities, 7ar the ner-es and thus cause irritations
and /atigue8 the e//ect is accentuated by the pressure o/ so .any astral bodies
-ibrating at di//erent rates, and all e2cited and disturbed by tri/les. Although such
irritation is super/icial, and .ay pass out o/ the .ind in ten .inutes, yet an e//ect
.ay be produced in the astral body lasting /or /orty?eight hours. Hence it is
di//icult, ,hilst li-ing in .odern cities, to a-oid irritability, especially /or one ,hose
bodies are .ore highly strung and sensiti-e than those o/ the ordinary .an.
In general, it .ay be said that e-erything ,hich pro.otes the health o/ the
physical body also reacts /a-ourably upon the higher -ehicles.
Tra-el is another o/ the .any /actors ,hich a//ect the astral body, by bringing to
bear on the tra-eller a change o/ etheric and astral in/luences connected ,ith
each place or district. )cean, .ountain, /orest, ,ater/all, each has its o,n
special type o/ li/e, astral and etheric as ,ell as -isible, and there/ore its o,n set
o/ in/luences. 9any o/ these unseen entities are pouring out -itality, and in any
case their e//ect on etheric, astral and .ental bodies is li+ely to be healthy and
desirable in the long run, though a change .ay be so.e,hat tiring at the ti.e.
Hence an occasional <Pa.e *,= change /ro. to,n to country is bene/icial on the
ground o/ e.otional as ,ell as physical health.
The astral body .ay also be a//ected by such ob7ects as talis.ans. The .ethods
o/ .a+ing the. ha-e already been described in The )theric (ou#le$ pages !!F
to !!". We shall here deal only ,ith their general e//ects.
When an ob7ect is strongly charged ,ith .agnetis. /or a particular purpose by a
co.petent person, it beco.es a talis.an, and ,hen properly .ade continues to
radiate this .agnetis. ,ith uni.paired strength /or .any years.
It .ay be used /or .any purposes. Thus, /or e2a.ple, a talis.an .ay be
charged ,ith thoughts o/ purity, ,hich ,ill e2press the.sel-es as de/inite rates o/
-ibration in astral and .ental .atter. These -ibratory rates, being directly
contrary to thoughts o/ i.purity, ,ill tend to neutralise or o-erpo,er any i.pure
thought ,hich .ay arise. In .any cases the i.pure thought is a casual one that
has been pic+ed up and is not there/ore a thing o/ great po,er in itsel/. The
talis.an, on the other hand, has been intentionally and strongly charged, so that
,hen the t,o strea.s o/ thought .eet, there is not the slightest doubt that the
thoughts connected ,ith the talis.an ,ill -an:uish the others.
In addition, the initial con/lict bet,een the opposing sets o/ thoughts ,ill attract
the .an6s attention, and thus gi-e hi. ti.e to recollect hi.sel/, so that he ,ill not
be ta+en o// this guard, as so /re:uently happens.
Another e2a.ple ,ould be that o/ a talis.an charged ,ith /aith and courage.
This ,ould operate in t,o ,ays. 4irst, the -ibrations radiating /ro. the talis.an
,ould oppose /eelings o/ /ear as soon as they arose, and thus pre-ent the. /ro.
accu.ulating and strengthening one another, as they o/ten do, until they beco.e
irresistible. The e//ect has been co.pared to that o/ a gyroscope ,hich, once set
in .otion in one direction, strongly resists being turned into another direction.
Secondly, the talis.an ,or+s indirectly upon the <Pa.e *1= .ind o/ the ,earer8 as
soon as he /eels the beginnings o/ /ear, he ,ill probably recollect the talis.an,
and call up the reser-e strength o/ his o,n ,ill to resists the undesirable /eeling.
A third possibility o/ a talis.an is that o/ its being lin+ed ,ith the person ,ho
.ade it. In the e-ent o/ the ,earer being in desperate circu.stances, he .ay call
upon the .a+er and e-o+e a response /ro. hi.. The .a+er .ay or .ay not be
physically conscious o/ the appeal, but in any case his ego ,ill be conscious and
,ill respond by rein/orcing the -ibrations o/ the talis.an.
ertain articles are to a large e2tent natural a.ulets or talis.ans. All precious
stones are such, each ha-ing a distinct in/luence ,hich can be utilised in t,o
,ays8 ;!< the in/luence attracts to it ele.ental essence o/ a certain +ind, and
thoughts and desires ,hich naturally e2press the.sel-es through that essence;
;#< these natural peculiarities .a+e it a /it -ehicle /or .agnetis. ,hich is
intended to ,or+ along the sa.e line as those thoughts and e.otions. Thus, /or
e2a.ple, /or an a.ulet o/ purity, a stone should be chosen ,hose natural
undulations are inhar.onious to the +ey in ,hich i.pure thoughts e2press
the.sel-es.
Although the particles o/ the stone are physical, yet, being in a +ey identical at
this le-el ,ith the +ey o/ purity on higher le-els, they ,ill, e-en ,ithout the stone
being .agnetised, chec+ i.pure thought or /eeling by -irtue o/ the o-ertones.
4urther.ore, the stone can readily be charged at astral and .ental le-els ,ith
the undulations o/ pure thought and /eeling ,hich are set in the sa.e +ey.
)ther e2a.ples are ;!< the rudra+sha berry, /re:uently used /or nec+laces in
India, ,hich is especially suitable /or .agnetisation ,here sustained holy thought
or .editation is re:uired, and ,here all disturbing in/luences are to be +ept a,ay;
;#< the beads o/ the tulsi plant, ,hose in/luence is so.e,hat di//erent.
)b7ects ,hich produce strong scents are natural talis.ans. Thus the gu.s
chosen /or incense gi-e <Pa.e -3= out radiations /a-ourable to spiritual and
de-otional thought, and do not har.onise ,ith any /or. o/ disturbance or ,orry.
9ediae-al ,itches so.eti.es co.bined the ingredients o/ incense so as to
produce the opposite e//ect, and it is also done today in Luci/erian cere.onies. It
is generally desirable to a-oid coarse and hea-y scents, such as that o/ .us+ or
o/ satchet po,der, as .any o/ the. are a+in to sensual /eelings.
An ob7ect not intentionally charged .ay so.eti.es ha-e the /orce o/ a talis.an8
e.g.$ a present /ro. a /riend, ,orn on the person, such as a ring or chain, or e-en
a letter.
An ob7ect, such as a ,atch, habitually carried in the poc+et, beco.es charged
,ith .agnetis. and is able, i/ gi-en a,ay, to produce decided e//ects on the
recipient. oins and .oney notes are usually charged ,ith .i2ed .agnetis.,
/eeling and thought, and .ay, there/ore, radiate a disturbing and irritating e//ect.
A .an6s thoughts and /eelings thus a//ect not only hi.sel/ and other people, but
also i.pregnate the inani.ate ob7ects round hi., e-en ,alls and /urniture. He
thus unconsciously .agnetises these physical ob7ects, so that they ha-e the
po,er o/ suggesting si.ilar thoughts and /eelings to other people ,ithin range o/
their in/luence.
;#< The )motional Life. ? It is scarcely necessary to insist that the :uality o/ the
astral body is largely deter.ined by the +ind o/ /eelings and e.otions ,hich
constantly play through it.
A .an is using his astral body, ,hether he be conscious o/ the /act or not,
,hene-er he e2presses an e.otion, 7ust as he is using his .ental body
,hene-er he thin+s, or his physical body ,hene-er he per/or.s physical ,or+.
This, o/ course, is :uite a di//erent thing /ro. utilising his astral body as an
independent -ehicle through ,hich his consciousness can be /ully e2pressed, a
.atter ,hich ,e shall ha-e to consider later, in due course.
The astral body, as ,e ha-e seen, is the /ield o/ .ani/estation o/ desire, the
.irror in ,hich e-ery /eeling <Pa.e -1= is instantly re/lected, in ,hich e-en e-ery
thought ,hich has in it anything that touches the personal sel/ .ust e2press
itsel/. 4ro. the .aterial o/ the astral body bodily /or. is gi-en to the dar+
0ele.entals0 ;se page &%<, ,hich .en create and set in .otion by e-il ,ishes
and .alicious /eelings8 /ro. it also are bodied /orth the bene/icent ele.entals
called into li/e by good ,ishes, gratitude and lo-e.
The astral body gro,s by use, 7ust as e-ery other body does, and it also has its
o,n habits, built up and /i2ed by constant repetition o/ si.ilar acts. The astral
body during physical li/e being the recipient o/ and respondent to sti.uli both
/ro. the physical body and /ro. the lo,er .ental, it tends to repeat auto.atically
-ibrations to ,hich it is accusto.ed; 7ust as the hand .ay repeat a /a.iliar
gesture, so .ay the astral body repeat a /a.iliar /eeling or thought.
All the acti-ities that ,e call e-il, ,hether sel/ish thoughts ;.ental< or sel/ish
e.otions ;astral<, in-ariably sho, the.sel-es as -ibrations o/ the coarser .atter
o/ those planes, ,hist good and unsel/ish thought or e.otion sets in -ibrations
the higher types o/ .atter. As /iner .atter is .ore easily .o-ed than coarse, it
/ollo,s that a gi-en a.ount o/ /orce spent in good thought or /eeling produces
perhaps a hundred ti.es as .uch result as the sa.e a.ount o/ /orce sent out
into coarser .atter. I/ this ,ere not so, it is ob-ious that the ordinary .an could
ne-er .a+e any progress at all.
The e//ect o/ !BP o/ /orce directed to good ends enor.ously out,eighs that o/
"BP de-oted to sel/ish purposes, and so on the ,hole such a .an .a+es an
appreciable ad-ance /ro. li/e to li/e. A .an ,ho has e-en !P o/ good .a+es a
slight ad-ance. A .an ,hose account balances e2actly, so that he neither
ad-ances nor retrogresses, .ust li-e a distinctly e-il li/e8 ,hilst in order to go
do,n,ards in e-il a person .ust be an unusually consistent -illain.
Thus e-en people ,ho are doing nothing consciously to,ards their e-olution,
and ,ho let e-erything go as <Pa.e -"= it ,ill, are ne-ertheless gradually e-ol-ing,
because o/ the irresistible /orce o/ the Logos ,hich is steadily pressing the.
on,ards. 5ut they are .o-ing so slo,ly that it ,ill ta+e the. .illions o/ years o/
incarnation and trouble and uselessness to gain e-en a step.
The .ethod by ,hich progress is .ade certain is si.ple and ingenious. As ,e
ha-e seen, e-il :ualities are -ibrations o/ the coarser .atter o/ the respecti-e
planes, ,hile good :ualities are e2pressed through the higher grades o/ .atter.
4ro. this /ollo, t,o re.ar+able results.
It .ust be born in .ind that each sub?plane o/ the astral body has a special
relationship to the corresponding sub?plane o/ the .ental body; thus the /our
lo,er astral sub?planes correspond to the /our +inds o/ .atter in the .ental body,
,hile the three higher astral sub?planes correspond to the three +inds o/ .atter in
the causal body.
Hence the lo,er astral -ibrations can /ind no .atter in the causal body capable
o/ responding to the., and so the higher :ualities alone can be built into the
causal body. Thence it e.erges that any good ,hich a .an de-elops in hi.sel/
is per.anently recorded by a change in his causal body, ,hile the e-il ,hich he
does, /eels, or thin+s cannot possibly touch the real ego, but can cause
disturbance and trouble only to the .ental body, ,hich is rene,ed /or each /resh
incarnation. The result o/ e-il is stored in the astral and .ental per.anent ato.s8
the .an, there/ore, has still to /ace it all o-er and o-er again, until he has
-an:uished it, and /inally rooted /ro. his -ehicles all tendency to respond to it.
That is e-idently a -ery di//erent .atter /ro. ta+ing it into the ego and .a+ing it
really a part o/ hi.sel/.
Astral .atter responds .ore rapidly that physical to e-ery i.pulse /or. the ,orld
o/ .ind, and conse:uently the astral body o/ a .an, being .ade o/ astral .atter,
shares this readiness to respond to the i.pact o/ thought, and thrills in ans,er to
e-ery thought <Pa.e -%= that stri+es it, ,hether the thoughts co.e /ro. ,ithout,
i.e.$ /ro. the .inds o/ other .en, or /ro. ,ithin, /ro. the .ind o/ its o,ner.
An astral body, there/ore, ,hich is .ade by its o,ner to respond habitually to e-il
thoughts acts as a .agnet to si.ilar thought ? and e.otion?/or.s in its -icinity,
,hereas a pure astral body acts on such thoughts ,ith repulsi-e energy, and
attracts to itsel/ thought ? and e.otion?/or.s o/ .atter and -ibrations congruous
,ith its o,n.
4or it .ust be borne in .ind that the astral ,orld is /ull o/ thoughts and e.otions
o/ other .en, and that these e2ert a ceaseless pressure, constantly bo.barding
e-ery astral body and setting up in it -ibrations si.ilar to their o,n.
In addition, there are nature?spirits ;see page !A!< o/ a lo, order, ,hich en7oy the
coarse -ibrations o/ anger and hatred, and thro, the.sel-es into any current o/
such nature, thus intensi/ying the undulations and adding /resh li/e to the..
People yielding the.sel-es to coarse /eelings can depend on being constantly
surrounded by such carrion?cro,s o/ the astral ,orld ,ho 7ostle one another in
eager anticipation o/ an outburst o/ passion.
9any o/ the .oods to ,hich .ost people are sub7ect, in greater or lesser degree,
are due to outside astral in/luences. Whilst depression, /or e2a.ple, .ay be due
to a purely physical cause, such as indigestion, a chill, /atigue, etc., e-en .ore
/re:uently it is caused by the presence o/ an astral entity ,ho is hi.sel/
depressed and is ho-ering around either in search o/ sy.pathy or in the hope o/
dra,ing /ro. the sub7ect the -itality ,hich he lac+s.
4urther.ore, a .an ,ho, /or e2a.ple, is beside hi.sel/ ,ith rage, te.porarily
loses hold o/ his astral body, the desire?ele.ental ;see page '< beco.ing
supre.e. Under such circu.stances the .an .ay be seiCed upon and obsessed
either by a dead .an o/ si.ilar nature or by so.e e-il arti/icial ele.ental. <Pa.e
-$=
The student should sternly and especially disregard depression, ,hich is a great
barrier to progress, and at least should endea-our to let no one else +no, that he
is oppressed by it. It indicates that he is thin+ing .ore o/ hi.sel/ than o/ the
9aster, and it .a+es it .ore di//icult /or the 9aster6s in/luence to act upon hi..
(epression causes .uch su//ering to sensiti-e people, and is responsible /or
.uch o/ the terror o/ children at night. The inner li/e o/ an aspirant ought not to be
one o/ continual e.otional oscillation.
Abo-e all things, the aspirant should learn not to ,orry. ontent.ent is not
inco.patible ,ith aspiration. )pti.is. is 7usti/ied by the certainty o/ the ulti.ate
triu.ph o/ good, though it is true that i/ ,e ta+e into account only the physical
plane it is not easy to .aintain that position.
Under the stress o/ -ery po,er/ul e.otions, i/ a .an lets hi.sel/ go too /ar, he
.ay die, beco.e insane, or be obsessed. Such obsession need not necessarily
be ,hat ,e call e-il, though the truth is that all obsession is in7urious.
An illustration o/ this pheno.enon .ay be ta+en /ro. 0con-ersion0 at a religious
re-i-al. )n such occasions so.e .en get ,or+ed up into a condition o/ such
tre.endous e.otional e2cite.ent that they s,ing beyond the degree o/ sa/ety8
they .ay then be obsessed by a departed preacher o/ the sa.e religious
persuasion, and thus t,o souls .ay be te.porarily ,or+ through one body. The
tre.endous energy o/ these hysterical e2cesses is contagious and .ay spread
rapidly through a cro,d.
An astral disturbance is set up o/ the nature o/ a gigantic ,hirlpool. To,ards this
pour astral entities ,hose one desire is /or sensation8 these are all +inds o/
nature?spirits ;see page !A!< ,ho delight in and bathe in the -ibrations o/ ,ild
e2cite.ent, o/ ,hate-er character, be it religious or se2ual, 7ust as children pay in
the sur/. They supply and rein/orce the energy so rec+lessly e2pended. The
do.inant idea being usually the sel/ish one o/ sa-ing one6s o,n soul, <Pa.e -'=
the astral .atter is o/ a coarse +ind, and the nature?spirits are also o/ a pri.iti-e
type.
The e.otional e//ect o/ a religious re-i-al is thus -ery po,er/ul. In so.e cases a
.an .ay be genuinely and per.anently bene/ited by his 0con-ersion0, but the
serious student o/ occultis. should a-oid such e2cesses o/ e.otional
e2cite.ent, ,hich /or .any people are apt to be dangerous. 0E2cite.ent is alien
to the spiritual li/e0.
There are, o/ course, .any causes o/ insanity8 it .ay be due to de/ects in one or
.ore o/ the -ehicles ? physical, etheric,astral, .ental. In one -ariety it is caused
by a ,ant o/ accurate ad7ust.ent bet,een the astral particles and the particles o/
either the etheric or the .ental body. Such a case ,ould not reco-er sanity until
he reached the hea-en?,orld, i.e.$ until he had le/t his astral body and passed
into his .ental body. This type o/ insanity is rare.
The e//ect on the astral body caused by astral -ibrations o/ another astral body
has long been recognised in the East, and is one o/ the reasons ,hy it is such an
i..ense ad-antage to a pupil to li-e in close pro2i.ity to one .ore highly
e-ol-ed than hi.sel/. An Indian teacher not only .ay prescribe /or his pupil
special +inds o/ e2ercises or study, in order to puri/y, strengthen and de-elop the
astral body, but also by +eeping the pupil in his neighbourhood physically see+s
by this close association to har.onise and attune the pupil6s -ehicles to his o,n.
Such a teacher has already cal.ed his o,n -ehicles and accusto.ed the. to
-ibrate at a /e, care/ully selected rates instead o/ in a hundred pro.iscuous
/renCies. These /e, rates o/ -ibration are -ery strong and steady, and each day
and night, ,hether he is sleeping or ,a+ing, they play unceasingly upon the
-ehicles o/ the pupil, and gradually raise hi. to his teacher6s +ey.
4or si.ilar reasons, an Indian, ,ho ,ishes to li-e the higher li/e, retires to the
7ungle, as a .an o/ other races ,ithdra,s /ro. the ,orld and li-es as a her.it.
He thus has at least breathing space, and rest /ro. <Pa.e -*= /ro. the endless
con/lict caused by the perpetual battering on his -ehicles o/ other people6s
/eelings and thoughts, and can /ind ti.e to thin+ coherently. The cal. in/luences
o/ *ature are also to a certain e2tent help/ul.
So.e,hat analogous are the e//ects produced on ani.als ,hich are closely
associated ,ith hu.an beings. The de-otion o/ an ani.al /or the .aster ,ho.
he lo-es, and his .ental e//orts to understand his .aster6s ,ishes and to please
hi., enor.ously de-elop the ani.al6s intellect and his po,er o/ de-otion and
a//ection. 5ut in addition to this, the constant play o/ the .an6s -ehicles on those
o/ the ani.al greatly assist the process, and thus prepare the ,ay /or the ani.al
to indi-idualise and beco.e a hu.an entity.
It is possible, by an e//ort o/ ,ill, to .a+e a shell o/ astral .atter on the periphery
o/ the astral aura. This .ay be done /or three purposes8 ;!< to +eep out
e.otional -ibrations, such as anger, en-y or hatred, intentionally directed at one
by another; ;#< to +eep out casual -ibrations o/ lo, type ,hich .ay be /loating in
the astral ,orld and i.pinge upon one6s aura; ;F< to protect the astral body
during .editation. Such shells do not usually last /or long, but need to be
/re:uently rene,ed i/ re:uired /or any length o/ ti.e.
Such a shell ,ould, o/ course,+eep -ibrations in as ,ell as out. The student
should there/ore .a+e the shell only o/ the coarsest astral .atter, as he ,ill not
,ish to +eep a,ay, or to pre-ent /ro. passing out,ards, -ibrations in the higher
types o/ astral .atter.
As a general principle, it .ay be said that to use a shell /or onesel/ is to so.e
e2tent a con/ession o/ ,ea+ness, as i/ one is all one should be, no arti/icial
protection o/ this +ind ,ould be needed. )n the other hand, shells .ay o/ten be
used ,ith ad-antage to help other people ,ho need protection.
It ,ill be recollected ;see page '< that a .an6s astral body consists not only o/
ordinary astral .atter, but also o/ a :uantity o/ ele.ental essence. (uring the
<Pa.e --= .an6s li/e this ele.ental essence is segregated /ro. the ocean o/
si.ilar .atter around, and practically beco.es /or that ti.e ,hat .ay be
described as a +ind o/ arti/icial ele.ental ;see page &%B i.e.$ a +ind o/ se.i?
intelligent separate entity +no,n as the (esire?Ele.ental. The (esire?Ele.ental
/ollo,s the course o/ its o,n e-olution do,n,ards into .atter ,ithout any
re/erence to ;or, indeed, any +no,ledge o/< the con-enience or intention o/ the
Ego to ,ho. it happens to be attached. Its interests are thus dia.etrically
opposed to those o/ the .an, as it is see+ing e-er stronger and coarser
-ibrations. Hence the perpetual struggle described by St.Paul as 0the la, in the
.e.bers ,arring against the la, o/ the .ind0. 4urther.ore, /inding that
association ,ith the .ental .atter o/ the .an6s .ind?body brings to it .ore -i-id
-ibrations, it endea-ours to stir up the .ental .atter into sy.pathy ,ith it, and to
induce the .an to belie-e that he desires the sensations ,hich it desires.
onse:uently, it beco.es a sort o/ te.pter. *e-ertheless the desire?ele.ental is
not an e-il entity8 in /act it is not an e-ol-ing entity at all, ha-ing no po,er o/
reincarnation8 it is only the essence o/ ,hich it is co.posed ,hich is e-ol-ing.*or
has this shado,y being any e-il designs upon the .an, /or it +no,s nothing
,hate-er o/ the .an o/ ,ho., /or the ti.e, it /or.s a part. It is thus in no ,ay a
/iend to the regarded ,ith horror, but is as .uch a part o/ the di-ine li/e as the
.an hi.sel/, though at a di//erent stage o/ its un/old.ent.
It is a .ista+e to i.agine that by re/using to grati/y the desire?ele.ental ,ith
coarse -ibrations, a .an is thereby chec+ing its e-olution8 /or this is not the case.
5y controlling the passions and de-eloping the higher :ualities, a .an drops the
lo,er and helps to e-ol-e the higher types o/ essence8 the lo,er +inds o/
-ibrations can be supplied by an ani.al, at so.e later ti.e, e-en better than by a
.an, ,hereas no one but a .an can e-ol-e the higher type o/ essence.
All through li/e a .an should de/initely /ight against <Pa.e -,= the desire?ele.ental
and its tendency to see+ /or the lo,er, coarser physical -ibrations, recognising
:uite clearly that its consciousness, its li+e and disli+es, are not his o,n. He has
hi.sel/ created it and should not beco.e a sla-e to it, but learn to control it and
realise hi.sel/ as apart /ro. it.
This .atter ,ill be /urther considered in hapter !#.
F< The ,ental Life. ! )ur third and last /actor ,hich a//ects the astral body during
ordinary ,a+ing consciousness is the .ental li/e. The .ental acti-ities ha-e the
.ost /ar?reaching e//ects on the astral body /or t,o reasons8 ?
;!< 5ecause lo,er .ental .atter, 9anas, is so ine2tricably lin+ed ,ith astral
.atter, 3K.a, that it is al.ost i.possible /or .ost people to utilise one ,ithout
the other8 i.e.$ /e, people can thin+ ,ithout at the sa.e ti.e /eeling, or /eel
,ithout at the sa.e ti.e, to so.e e2tent, thin+ing.
;#< 5ecause the organisation and control o/ the astral body rest ,ith the .ind.
This is an e2a.ple o/ the general principle that each body is built up by
consciousness ,or+ing in the plane ne2t abo-e it. Without the creati-e po,er o/
thought the astral body cannot be organised.
E-ery i.pulse sent by the .ind to the physical body has to pass through the
astral body, and produces an e//ect on it also. 4urther, as astral .atter is /ar .ore
responsi-e to thought?-ibrations than is physical, the e//ect o/ .ental -ibrations
on it is proportionately greater than on the physical body. onse:uently a
controlled, trained and de-eloped .ind tends also to bring the astral body under
control and to de-elop it. When, ho,e-er, the .ind is not acti-ely controlling the
astral body, the latter, being peculiarly susceptible to the in/luence o/ passing
thought?currents, is perpetually recei-ing these sti.uli /ro. ,ithout, and eagerly
responding to the..
So /ar, ,e ha-e dealt ,ith the general e//ects produced on the astral body, during
ordinary li/e, by the nature o/ the physical, e.otional and .ental li/e. <Pa.e -1= We
ha-e no, to deal, but in general outline only, ,ith the use o/ the special /aculties
o/ the astral body itsel/, during the ,a+ing consciousness.
The nature o/ these /aculties, and their connection ,ith the -arious ha+ra.s in
the astral body, ,e ha-e already described in hapter %. 5y .eans o/ the po,ers
o/ astral .atter itsel/, de-eloped through the agency o/ the ha+ra.s, a .an is
enabled not only to recei-e -ibrations /ro. etheric .atter, trans.itted through the
astral body to his .ind, but also to recei-e i.pressions direct /ro. the
surrounding .atter o/ the astral ,orld, these, o/ course, being also si.ilarly
trans.itted through the .ental body to the real .an ,ithin.
5ut in order to recei-e i.pressions in this .anner direct /ro. the astral ,orld, the
.an .ust learn to /ocus his consciousness in his astral body, instead o/, as is
usually the case, in his physical brain.
In the lo,er types o/ .en, 3K.a, or desire, is still e.phatically the .ost
pro.inent /eature, though the .ental de-elop.ent has also proceeded to so.e
e2tent. The consciousness o/ such .en is centred in the lo,er part o/ the astral
body, their li/e being go-erned by sensations connected ,ith the physical plane.
That is the reason ,hy the astral body /or.s the .ost pro.inent part o/ the aura
in the unde-eloped .an.
An ordinary .an o/ our o,n race is also still li-ing al.ost entirely in his
sensations, although the higher astral is co.ing into play8 but still, /or hi., the
pro.inent :uestion ,hich guides his conduct is not ,hat is right or reasonable to
do, but si.ply ,hat he hi.sel/ desires to do. The .ore cultured and de-eloped
are beginning to go-ern desire by reason8 that is to say, the centre o/
consciousness is gradually trans/erring itsel/ /ro. the higher astral to the lo,er
.ental. Slo,ly as the .an progresses it .o-es up /urther still, and the .an
begins to be do.inated by principle rather than be interest and desire.
The student ,ill recollect that hu.anity is still <Pa.e ,3= in the 4ourth =ound,
,hich should naturally be de-oted to the de-elop.ent o/ desire and e.otion; yet
,e are engaged in the un/olding o/ intellect, ,hich is to be the special
characteristic o/ the 4i/th =ound. That this is so is due to the i..ense sti.ulus
gi-en to our e-olution by the descent o/ the Lords o/ the 4la.e /ro. Eenus, and
by the ,or+ o/ the Adepts, ,ho ha-e preser-ed /or us that in/luence and steadily
sacri/iced the.sel-es in order that ,e .ight .a+e the better progress.
It should also be recollected that, in the s.aller cycle o/ races,the 4i/th =oot
=ace is ,or+ing at the .ind?body, ,hereas the 4ourth =oot =ace is .ore
especially concerned ,ith the astral body.
In spite o/ the /act that, in the -ast .a7ority o/ cases the centre o/ consciousness
is located in the astral body, .ost .en are :uite una,are o/ the /act, +no,ing
nothing at all about the astral body or its uses. They ha-e behind the. the
traditions and custo.s o/ a long series o/ li-es in ,hich the astral /aculties ha-e
not been used; yet all the ti.e those /aculties ha-e been gradually and slo,ly
gro,ing inside a shell, so.e,hat as a chic+ gro,s inside the egg. Hence a -ery
large nu.ber o/ people ha-e astral /aculties, o/ ,hich they are entirely
unconscious, in reality -ery near the sur/ace, so to spea+, and its probable that in
the near /uture, as these .atters beco.e .ore ,idely +no,n and understood, in
great nu.bers o/ cases these latent /aculties ,ill brea+ through, and astral
po,ers ,ill then beco.e /ar .ore co..on than they are today.
The shell spo+en o/ abo-e is co.posed o/ a great .ass o/ sel/?centred thought
in ,hich the ordinary .an is al.ost hopelessly ento.bed. This applies also,
perhaps ,ith e-en greater /orce, to the sleep li/e,,ith ,hich ,e shall deal in the
ne2t chapter.
We spo+e abo-e o/ /ocusing the consciousness in the astral body. The
consciousness o/ .an can be /ocused in only one -ehicle at a ti.e, though he
.ay be si.ultaneously conscious through the others in a -ague ,ay. <Pa.e ,1= a
si.ple analogy .ay be ta+en /ro. ordinary physical sight. I/ the /inger be held up
be/ore the /ace, the eyes can be so /ocussed as to see the /inger per/ectly8 at the
sa.e ti.e the distant bac+ground can also be seen, though i.per/ectly, because
it is out o/ /ocus. In a .o.ent the /ocus can be changed so that the bac+ground
is seen per/ectly, but the /inger, no, out o/ /ocus, only di.ly and -aguely.
Precisely in the sa.e ,ay, i/ a .an ,ho has de-eloped astral and .ental
consciousness /ocuses hi.sel/ in the physical brain, as in ordinary li/e, he ,ill
see per/ectly the physical bodies o/ people, and at the sa.e ti.e he ,ill see their
astral and .ental bodies, but only so.e,hat di.ly.In /ar less than a .o.ent he
can change the /ocus o/ his consciousness so that he sees the astral /ully and
per/ectly8 but in that case he ,ill see the .ental and physical bodies also, but not
in /ull detail. The sa.e thing is true o/ the .ental sight and o/ the sight o/ higher
planes.
Thus in the case o/ a highly de-eloped .an, ,hose consciousness has already
de-eloped e-en beyond the causal ;higher .ental< body, so that he is able to
/unction /reely on the buddhic plane, and has also a .easure o/ consciousness
upon the Kt.ic plane, the centre o/ consciousness lies bet,een the higher
.ental and the buddhic plane. The higher .ental and the higher astral are in hi.
.uch .ore de-eloped than their lo,er parts, and though he still retains his
physical body, he holds it .erely /or the con-enience o/ ,or+ing in it, and not in
any ,ay because his thoughts and desires are /i2ed there. Such a .an has
transcended all 3K.a ,hich could bind hi. to incarnation, and his physical body
is there/ore retained in order that it .ay ser-e as an instru.ent /or the /orces o/
the higher planes to reach do,n e-en to the physical planeA<Pa.e ,"=
CHAPTER 9
SLEEP-LIFE
The real cause o/ sleep ,ould appear to be that the bodies gro, tired o/ one
another. In the case o/ the physical body, not only e-ery .uscular e2ertion, but
also e-ery /eeling and thought, produce certain slight che.ical changes. A
healthy body is al,ays trying to counteract these changes, but it ne-er :uite
succeeds ,hilst the body is a,a+e. onse:uently ,ith e-ery thought, /eeling or
action there is a slight, al.ost i.perceptible loss, the cu.ulati-e e//ect o/ ,hich
e-entually lea-es the physical body too e2hausted to be capable o/ /urther
thought or ,or+. In so.e cases e-en a /e, .o.ents o/ sleep ,ill be su//icient /or
recuperation, this being e//ected by the physical ele.ental.
In the case o/ the astral body, it -ery soon beco.es tired o/ the hea-y labour o/
.o-ing the particles o/ the physical brain, and needs a considerable period o/
separation /ro. it to enable it to gather strength to resu.e the ir+so.e tas+.
)n its o,n plane, ho,e-er, the astral body is practically incapable o/ /atigue,
since it has been +no,n to ,or+ incessantly /or t,enty?/i-e years ,ithout
sho,ing signs o/ e2haustion.
Although e2cessi-e and long?continued e.otion tires a .an -ery :uic+ly in
ordinary li/e, it is not the astral body ,hich beco.es /atigued, but the physical
organis. though ,hich the e.otion is e2pressed or e2perienced.
Si.ilarly ,ith the .ental body. When ,e spea+ o/ .ental /atigue, it is in reality a
.isno.er, /or it is the brain, not the .ind, that is tired. There is no such thing as
/atigue o/ the mind. <Pa.e ,%=
When a .ean lea-es his body in sleep ;or in death<, the pressure o/ the
surrounding astral .atter ? ,hich really .eans the /orce o/ gra-ity on the astral
plane ? i..ediately /orces other astral .atter into the astrally e.pty space. Such
a te.porary astral counterpart is an e2act copy, so /ar as arrange.ent is
concerned, o/ the physical body, but ne-ertheless it has no real connection ,ith
it, and could ne-er be used as a -ehicle. It is .erely a /ortuitous concurrence o/
particles, dra,n /ro. any astral .atter o/ a suitable +ind that happens to be at
hand. When the true astral body returns, it pushes out this other astral .atter
,ithout the slightest opposition.
This is clearly one reason ,hy e2tre.e care should be e2ercised as to the
surroundings in ,hich a .an sleeps8 /or, i/ those surrounding are e-il, astral
.atter o/ an ob7ectionable type .ay /ill the physical body ,hile the .an6s astral
body is absent, lea-ing behind in/luences ,hich cannot but react unpleasantly
upon the real .an ,hen he returns.
When a .an 0goes to sleep0, his higher principles in their astral -ehicle ,ithdra,
/ro. the physical body, the dense body and the etheric body re.aining by
the.sel-es on the bed, the astral body /loating in the air abo-e the.. In sleep,
then, a .an is si.ply using his astral body instead o/ his physical8 it is only the
physical body that is asleep, not necessarily the .an hi.sel/.
Usually the astral body, thus ,ithdra,n /ro. the physical, ,ill retain the /or. o/
the physical body, so that the person is readily recognisable to any one ,ho
+no,s hi. physically. This is due to the /act that the attraction bet,een the astral
and the physical particles, continued all through physical li/e, sets up a habit or
.o.entu. in the astral .atter, ,hich continues e-en ,hile it is te.porarily
,ithdra,n /ro. the sleeping physical body.
4or this reason, the astral body o/ a .an ,ho is asleep ,ill consist o/ a central
portion corresponding <Pa.e ,$= to the physical body, relati-ely -ery dense, and a
surrounding aura, relati-ely .uch rarer.
In the case o/ a -ery unde-eloped .an, such as a sa-age, he .ay be nearly as
.uch asleep as his physical body, because he is capable o/ -ery little de/inite
consciousness in his astral body. He is also unable to .o-e a,ay /ro. the
i..ediate neighbourhood o/ the sleeping physical body, and i/ an atte.pt ,ere
.ade to dra, hi. a,ay in his astral body, he ,ould probably a,a+e in his
physical body in terror.
His astral body is a so.e,hat shapeless .ass, a /loating ,reath o/ .ist, roughly
o-oid in shape, but -ery irregular and inde/inite in outline8 the /eatures and shape
o/ the inner /or. ;the dense astral counterpart o/ the physical body< are also
-ague, blurred and indistinct, but al,ays recognisable.
A .an o/ this pri.iti-e type has been using his astral body, during ,a+ing
consciousness, sending .ind currents through the astral to the physical brain.
5ut ,hen, during sleep, the physical brain is inacti-e, the astral body, being
unde-eloped, is incapable o/ recei-ing i.pressions on its o,n account, and so
the .an is practically unconscious, being unable to e2press hi.sel/ clearly
through the poorly organised astral body. The centres o/ sensation in it .ay be
a//ected by passing thought?/or.s, and he .ay ans,er in it to sti.uli that rouse
the lo,er nature. 5ut the ,hole e//ect gi-en to the obser-er is one o/ sleepiness
and -agueness, the astral body lac+ing all de/inite acti-ity and /loating idly,
inchoate, abo-e the sleeping physical /or..
In a :uite une-ol-ed person, there/ore, the higher principles, i.e.$ the .an
hi.sel/, are al.ost as .uch asleep as the physical body.
In so.e cases the astral body is less lethargic, and /loats drea.ily about on the
-arious astral currents, occasionally recognising other people in a si.ilar
condition, and .eeting ,ith e2periences o/ all sorts, pleasant and unpleasant,
the .e.ory o/ ,hich, hopelessly con/used and o/ten tra-estied into a grotes:ue
<Pa.e ,'= caricature o/ ,hat really happened ;See hapter !B on (reams< ,ill
cause the .an to thin+ ne2t .orning ,hat a re.ar+able drea. he has had.
In the case o/ a .ore e-ol-ed .an, there is a -ery great di//erence. The inner
/or. is .uch .ore distinct and de/inite ? a closer reproduction o/ the .an6s
physical appearance. Instead o/ the surrounding .ist?,reath, there is a sharply
de/ined o-oid /or. preser-ing its shape una//ected a.idst all the -aried currents
,hich are al,ays s,irling around it on the astral plane.
A .an o/ this type is by no .eans unconscious in his astral body, but is :uite
acti-ely thin+ing. *e-ertheless, he .ay be ta+ing -ery little .ore notice o/ his
surroundings than the sa-age. *ot because he is incapable o/ seeing, but
because he is so ,rapped up in his o,n thought that he does not see, though he
could do so i/ he chose. Whate-er .ay ha-e been the thoughts engaging his
.ind during the past day, he usually continues the. ,hen he /alls asleep, and he
is thus surrounded by so dense a ,all o/ his o,n .a+ing that he obser-es
practically nothing o/ ,hat is going on outside. )ccasionally a -iolent i.pact /ro.
,ithout, or e-en so.e strong desire o/ his o,n /ro. ,ithin, .ay tear aside this
curtain o/ .ist and per.it hi. to recei-e so.e de/inite i.pression. 5ut e-en then
the /og ,ould close in again al.ost i..ediately, and he ,ould drea. on un?
obser-antly as be/ore.
In the case o/ a still .ore de-eloped .an, ,hen the physical body goes to sleep,
the astral body slips out o/ it, and the .an is then in /ull consciousness. The
astral body is clearly outlined and de/initely organised, bearing the li+eness o/ the
.an, and the .an is able to use it as a -ehicle, a -ehicle /ar .ore con-enient
than the physical body.
The recepti-ity o/ the astral body has increased, until it is instantly responsi-e to
all the -ibrations o/ its plane, the /ine as ,ell as the coarser8 but in the astral body
o/ a -ery highly de-eloped person <Pa.e ,*= there ,ould, o/ course, be practically
no .atter le/t capable o/ responding to coarse -ibrations.
Such a .an is ,ide a,a+e, is ,or+ing /ar .ore acti-ely, .ore accurately, and
,ith greater po,er o/ co.prehension, than ,hen he ,as con/ined in the denser
physical -ehicle. In addition, he can .o-e about /reely and ,ith i..ense rapidity
to any distance, ,ithout causing the least disturbance to the sleeping physical
body.
He .ay .eet and e2change ideas ,ith /riends,either incarnate or discarnate,
,ho happen to be e:ually a,a+e on the astral plane, He .ay .eet people .ore
e-ol-ed than hi.sel/, and recei-e /ro. the. ,arning or instruction8 or he .ay be
able to con/er bene/its on those ,ho +no, less than hi.sel/. He .ay co.e into
contact ,ith non?hu.an entities o/ -arious +inds ;see hapters #B and #! on
Astral )ntities<8 he ,ill be sub7ect to all +inds o/ astral in/luences, good or e-il,
strengthening or terri/ying.
He .ay /or. /riendships ,ith people /ro. to their parts o/ the ,orld8 he .ay gi-e
or listen to lectures8 i/ he is a student, he .ay .eet other students and, ,ith the
additional /aculties ,hich the astral ,orld gi-es, he .ay be able to sol-e
proble.s ,hich presented di//iculties in the physical ,orld.
A physician, /or e2a.ple, during the sleep o/ the body, .ay -isit cases in ,hich
he is especially interested. He .ay thus ac:uire ne, in/or.ation, ,hich .ay
co.e through as a +ind o/ intuition to his ,a+ing consciousness.
In a highly e-ol-ed .an, the astral body, being thoroughly organised and
-italised, beco.es as .uch the -ehicle o/ consciousness on the astral plane as
the physical body is on the physical plane.
The astral ,orld being the -ery ho.e o/ passion and e.otion, those ,ho yield
the.sel-es to an e.otion can e2perience it ,ith a -igour and a +eenness
.erci/ully un+no,n on earth. Whilst in the physical body .ost o/ the e//iciency o/
an e.otion is e2hausted in trans.ission to the physical plane, but in the astral
<Pa.e ,-= ,orld the ,hole o/ the /orce is a-ailable in its o,n ,orld. Hence it is
possible in the astral ,orld to /eel /ar .ore intense a//ection or de-otion than is
possible in the physical ,orld8 si.ilarly an intensity o/ su//ering is possible in the
astral ,orld ,hich is uni.aginable in ordinary physical li/e.
An ad-antage o/ this state o/ a//airs is that in the astral ,orld all pain and
su//ering are -oluntary and absolutely under control, hence li/e there is .uch
easier, /or the .an ,ho understands. To control physical pain by the .ind is
possible, but e2ceedingly di//icult8 but in the astral ,orld anyone can in a .o.ent
dri-e a,ay the su//ering caused by a strong e.otion. The .an has only to e2ert
his ,ill, ,hen the passion straight,ay disappears. This assertion sounds
startling8 but it is ne-ertheless true, such being the po,er o/ ,ill and .ind o-er
.atter.
To ha-e attained /ull consciousness in the astral body is to ha-e already .ade a
considerable a.ount o/ progress8 ,hen a .an has also bridged o-er the chas.
bet,een astral and physical consciousness, day and night no longer e2ist /or
hi., since he leads a li/e unbro+en in its continuity. 4or such a .an, e-en death,
as ordinarily concei-ed, has ceased to e2ist, since he carries that unbro+en
consciousness not only through night and day, but also through the portals o/
death itsel/, and up to the end o/ his li/e upon the astral plane, as ,e shall see
later ,hen ,e co.e to deal ,ith the a/ter?death li/e.
Tra-elling in the astral body is not instantaneous8 but it is so s,i/t that space and
ti.e .ay be said to be practically con:uered8 /or although a .an is passing
through space, it is passed through so rapidly that its po,er to di-ide is nearly
non?e2istent. In t,o or three .inutes a .an .ight .o-e round the ,orld.
Any /airly ad-anced and cultured .an a.ong the higher races o/ .an+ind has
already consciousness /ully de-eloped in the astral body, and is per/ectly capable
o/ e.ploying it as a -ehicle, though in .any <Pa.e ,,= case he does not do so,
because he has not .ade the de/inite e//ort ,hich is at /irst necessary, until the
habit beco.es established.
The di//iculty ,ith the ordinary person is not that the astral body cannot act, but
that /or thousands o/ years that body has been accusto.ed to being set in
.otion only by i.pressions recei-ed through the physical -ehicle, so that .en do
not realise that the astral body can ,or+ on its o,n plane and on its o,n account,
and that the ,ill can act upon it directly. People re.ain 0una,a+e0 astrally
because they get into the habit o/ ,aiting /or the /a.iliar physical -ibrations to
call out their astral acti-ity. Hence they .ay be said to be a,a+e on the astral
plane$ but not in the least to the plane, and conse:uently they are conscious o/
their surroundings only -ery -aguely, i/ at all.
When a .an beco.es a pupil o/ one o/ the 9asters, he is usually at once
sha+en out o/ his so.nolent condition on the astral plane, /ully a,a+ened to the
realities around hi. on that plane, and set to learn /ro. the. and to ,or+ a.ong
the., so that his hours o/ sleep are no longer a blan+, but are /illed ,ith acti-e
and use/ul occupation, ,ithout in the least inter/ering ,ith the healthy repose o/
the tired physical body.
In hapter #A on .nvisi#le Helpers ,e shall deal .ore /ully ,ith care/ully planned
and organised ,or+ in the astral body8 here it .ay be stated that e-en be/ore that
stage is reached, a great deal o/ use/ul ,or+ .ay be and is constantly being
done. A .an ,ho /alls asleep ,ith the de/inite intention in his .ind o/ doing a
certain piece o/ ,or+ ,ill assuredly go and atte.pt to carry out his intention as
soon as he is /reed /ro. his physical body in sleep. 5ut, ,hen the ,or+ is
co.pleted, it is li+ely that the /og o/ his o,n sel/?centred thoughts ,ill close round
hi. once .ore, unless he has accusto.ed hi.sel/ to initiate /resh lines o/ action
,hen /unctioning apart /ro. the physical brain. In so.e cases, o/ course, the
,or+ <Pa.e ,1= chosen is such as to occupy the ,hole o/ the ti.e spent in sleep,
so that such a .an ,ould be e2erting hi.sel/ to the /ullest e2tent possible, so /ar
as his astral de-elop.ent per.its.
E-ery one should deter.ine each night to do so.ething use/ul on the astral
plane8 to co./ort so.e one in trouble8 to use the ,ill to pour strength into a /riend
,ho is ,ea+ or ill8 to cal. so.e one ,ho is e2cited or hysterical8 or to per/or.
so.e si.ilar ser-ice.
So.e .easure o/ success is absolutely certain, and i/ the helper obser-es
closely, he ,ill o/ten recei-e indications in the physical ,orld o/ de/inite results
achie-ed.
There are /our ,ays in ,hich a .an .ay be 0a,a+ened0 to sel/?conscious
acti-ity in his astral body.
;!< 5y the ordinary course o/ e-olution, ,hich though slo,, is sure.
;#< 5y the .an hi.sel/, ha-ing learnt the /acts o/ the case, .a+ing the re:uisite
steady and persistent e//ort to clear a,ay the .ist /ro. ,ithin and gradually
o-erco.e the inertia to ,hich he is accusto.ed. In order to do this the .an
should resol-e be/ore going to sleep to try ,hen he lea-es the body to a,a+en
hi.sel/ and see so.ething or do so.e use/ul ,or+. This, o/ course, is .erely
hastening the natural process o/ e-olution. It is desirable that the .an should /irst
ha-e de-eloped co..on sense and .oral :ualities8 this /or t,o reasons8 /irst,
lest he .ay .isuse such po,ers as he .ay ac:uire; second, lest he be
o-er,hel.ed by /ear in the presence o/ /orces ,hich can neither understand nor
control.
;F< 5y so.e accident, or by unla,/ul use o/ .agical cere.onies, he .ay so rend
the -eil that it can ne-er ,holly be closed again. Instances o/ this are to be /ound
in A Beitched life by H.P.5la-ats+y, and in 4anoni by Lord 5ul,er Lytton
;&< A /riend .ay act /ro. ,ithout upon the closed shell surrounding the .an and
gradually arouse the <Pa.e 13= .an to higher possibilities. This, ho,e-er,,ould
ne-er be done unless the /riend ,ere :uite sure that the .an to be a,a+ened
possessed the courage, de-otion, and other :uali/ications necessary /or use/ul
,or+.
5ut the need o/ helpers on the astral plane is so great that e-ery aspirant .ay be
certain that there ,ill not be a day6s delay in arousing hi. as soon as he is seen
to be ready.
It .ay be added that ,hen e-en a child has been a,a+ened on the astral plane,
the de-elop.ent o/ the astral body ,ould proceed so rapidly that he ,ould -ery
soon be in a position upon that plane but little in/erior to that o/ the a,a+ened
adult, and ,ould, o/ course, be .uch in ad-ance, so /ar as use/ulness is
concerned, o/ the ,isest .an ,ho ,as as yet una,a+ened.
5ut unless the go e2pressing hi.sel/ through the child?body possessed the
necessary :uali/ication o/ a deter.ined yet lo-ing disposition, and had clearly
.ani/ested it in his pre-ious li-es, no occultist ,ould ta+e the -ery serious
responsibility o/ a,a+ening hi. on the astral plane. When it is possible to arouse
children in this ,ay, they o/ten pro-e .ost e//icient ,or+s on the astral plane, and
thro, the.sel-es into this ,or+ ,ith a ,hole?souled de-otion ,hich is beauti/ul
to see.
Also, ,hile it is co.parati-ely easy to ,a+en a .an on the astral plane, it is
practically i.possible, e2cept by a .ost undesirable use o/ .es.eric in/luence,
to put hi. to sleep again.
Sleeping and ,a+ing li/e are thus seen to be in reality but one8 during sleep ,e
are a,are o/ that /act, and ha-e the continuous .e.ory o/ both, i.e.$ astral
.e.ory includes the physical, though, o/ course, the physical .e.ory by no
.eans al,ays includes the .e.ory o/ the astral e2periences.
The pheno.enon o/ sleep?,al+ing ;so.na.bulis.< .ay apparently be produced
in se-eral distinct ,ays.
;!< The ego .ay be able to act .ore directly upon <Pa.e 11= the physical body
during the absence o/ the .ental and astral -ehicles8 in cases o/ this nature a
.an .ight be able, /or e2a.ple, to ,rite poetry, paint pictures, etc., ,hich ,ould
be /ar beyond his ordinary po,ers ,hen a,a+e.
;#< The physical body .ay be ,or+ing auto.atically, and by /orce o/ habit,
uncontrolled by the .an hi.sel/. Instances o/ this occur ,here ser-ants rise in
the .iddle o/ the night and light a /ire or attend to other household duties to
,hich they are accusto.ed8 or ,here the sleeping physical body carries out to
so.e e2tent the idea do.inant in the .ind be/ore /alling to sleep.
;F< An outside entity, incarnate or discarnate, .ay seiCe the body o/ a sleeping
.an and use it /or his o,n ends. This ,ould be .ost li+ely to happen ,ith a
person ,ho ,as .ediu.nistic, i.e.$ ,hose bodies are .ore loosely 7oined
together than usual and there/ore .ore readily separable.
With nor.al people, ho,e-er, the /act that the astral body lea-es the physical
body during sleep does not open the ,ay to obsession, because the ego al,ays
.aintains a close connection ,ith his body and he ,ould :uic+ly be recalled to it
by any atte.pt that .ight be .ade upon it.
;&< A directly opposite condition .ay also produce a si.ilar result. When the
principles or bodies /it .ore tightly than usual, the .an, instead o/ -isiting a
distant place in his astral body only, ,ould ta+e his physical body along as ,ell,
because he is not ,holly dissociated /ro. it.
;%< So.na.bulis. is probably also connected ,ith the co.ple2 proble. o/ the
-arious layers o/ consciousness in .an, ,hich under nor.al circu.stances are
unable to .ani/est the.sel-es.
losely a+in to sleep?li/e is the condition o/ trance, ,hich but the sleep state,
arti/icially or abnor.ally induced. 9ediu.s and sensiti-es readily pass out o/ the
physical body into the astral body, usually unconsciously. The astral body can
then e2ercise its /unctions, <Pa.e 1"= such as that o/ tra-elling to a distant place,
gathering i.pressions there /ro. surrounding ob7ects and bringing the. bac+ to
the physical body. In the case o/ a .ediu. the astral body can describe these
i.pressions by .eans o/ the entranced physical body8 but, as a rule, ,hen the
.ediu. co.es out o/ the trance,the brain does not retain the i.pressions thus
.ade on it, no trace being le/t in the physical .e.ory o/ the e2periences
ac:uired. )ccasionally, but rarely, the astral body is able to .a+e a lasting
i.pression on the brain, so that the .ediu. is able to recollect the +no,ledge
ac:uired during trance. <Pa.e 1%=
%HA*T)R 56
DREAMS
onsciousness and acti-ity in the astral body are one thing8 the .e.ory in the
brain o/ that astral consciousness and acti-ity are a totally di//erent .atter. The
e2istence or the absence o/ physical .e.ory in no ,ay a//ects the
consciousness on the astral plane, nor the ability to /unction in the astral plane
,ith per/ect ease and /reedo.. It is, in /act,not only possible, but also by no
.eans unco..on, /or a .an to /unction /reely and use/ully in his astral body
during the sleep o/ the physical body, and yet to return to the physical body
,ithout the slightest .e.ory o/ the astral ,or+ upon ,hich he has been
engaged.
The brea+ in consciousness bet,een the astral and the physical li/e is due either
to un?de-elop.ent o/ the astral body, or to the ,ant o/ an ade:uate etheric
bridge bet,een the astral and the dense physical .atter o/ the bodies.
This bridge consists o/ the closely?,o-en ,eb o/ ato.ic .atter, through ,hich
the -ibrations ha-e to pass, and ,hich causes a .o.ent o/ unconsciousness,
li+e a -eil, bet,een sleeping and ,a+ing.
The only ,ay in ,hich .e.ory o/ the astral li/e can be brought through into the
physical brain is by su//icient de-elop.ent o/ the astral body and by an
a,a+ening o/ the etheric ha+ra.s, one /unction o/ ,hich is to bring /orces /ro.
the astral to the etheric. In addition, there .ust be acti-e /unctioning o/ the
pituitary body, ,hich /ocuses the astral -ibrations.
So.eti.es, on a,a+ening, there is a /eeling that so.ething has been
e2perienced o/ ,hich no .e.ory re.ains. The /eeling indicates that there has
been <Pa.e 1$= astral consciousness, though the brain is insu//iciently recepti-e to
recei-e the record. At other ti.es the .an in his astral body .ay succeed in
.a+ing a .o.entary i.pression on the etheric double and the dense body,
resulting in a -i-id .e.ory o/ the astral li/e. This is so.eti.es done deliberately
,hen so.ething occurs ,hich the .an /eels that he ought to re.e.ber on the
physical plane. Such a .e.ory usually -anishes :uic+ly and cannot be
reco-ered8 e//orts to reco-er the .e.ory, by setting up strong -ibrations in the
physical brain, still /urther o-erpo,er the .ore delicate astral -ibrations, and
conse:uently render success e-en .ore i.possible.
There are so.e e-ents, too, ,hich .a+e such a -i-id i.pression upon the astral
body that they beco.e i.pressed upon the physical brain by a +ind o/
repercussion ;see page #&#<.
In other cases, a .an .ay succeed in i.pressing ne, +no,ledge on the
physical brain, ,ithout being able to con-ey also the .e.ory o/ ,here or ho,
that +no,ledge ,as gained. Instances o/ this, co..on to .ost people, occur
,here solutions o/ proble.s, pre-iously insoluble, suddenly arise in the
consciousness, or ,here light is suddenly thro,n on to :uestions pre-iously
obscure. Such cases .ay be ta+en to indicate that progress is being .ade ,ith
the organisation and /unctioning o/ the astral body, although the physical body is
still only partially recepti-e.
In cases ,here the physical brain does respond, there are -i-id, reasonable and
coherent drea.s, such as occur to .any people /ro. ti.e to ti.e.
4e, people, ,hen in the astral body, care ,hether the physical brain re.e.bers
or not, and nine out o/ ten .uch disli+e returning to the body. In co.ing bac+ to
the physical body /ro. the astral ,orld there is a /eeling o/ great constraint, as
though one ,ere being en-eloped in a thic+, hea-y cloa+. The 7oy o/ li/e on the
astral plane is so great that physical li/e in co.parison ,ith it see.s no li/e at all.
9any regard the daily return to the physical body as .en <Pa.e 1'= o/ten do their
daily 7ourney to the o//ice. They do not positi-ely disli+e it, but they ,ould not do it
unless they ,ere co.pelled.
E-entually, in the case o/ highly de-eloped and ad-anced persons, the etheric
bridge bet,een the astral and the physical ,orlds is constructed, and then there
is per/ect continuity o/ consciousness bet,een the astral and the physical li-es.
4or such people li/e ceases to be co.posed o/ days o/ re.e.brance and nights
o/ obli-ion, and beco.es instead, a continuous ,hole, year a/ter year, o/
unbro+en consciousness.
)ccasionally, a .an ,ho has nor.ally no .e.ory o/ his astral li/e, .ay
unintentionally, through an accident, or illness, or intentionally by certain de/inite
practices, bridge o-er the gap bet,een astral and physical consciousness, so
that /ro. that ti.e on,ards his astral consciousness ,ill be continuous, and his
.e.ory o/ his sleep li/e there/ore be per/ect. 5ut, o/ course, be/ore this could
ta+e place, he .ust already ha-e de-eloped /ull consciousness in the astral
body. It is .erely the rending o/ the -eil bet,een the astral and physical that is
sudden, not the de-elop.ent o/ the astral body.
The drea. li/e .ay be considerably .odi/ied as a direct result o/ .ental gro,th.
E-ery i.pulse sent by the .ind to the physical brain has to pass through the
astral body, and, as astral .atter is /ar .ore responsi-e to thought?-ibrations
than is physical .atter, it /ollo,s that the e//ects produced on the astral body are
correspondingly greater. Thus, ,hen a .an has ac:uired .ental control, i.e.$ has
learned to do.inate the brain, to concentrate, and to thin+ as and ,hen he li+es,
a corresponding change ,ill ta+e place in his astral li/e; and, i/ he brings the
.e.ory o/ that li/e through into the physical brain, his drea.s ,ill beco.e -i-id,
,ell?sustained, rational, e-en instructi-e.
In general, the .ore the physical brain is trained to ans,er to the -ibrations o/
the .ental body, the .ore is the bridging o/ the gul/ bet,een ,a+ing and
sleeping <Pa.e 1*= consciousness /acilitated. The brain should beco.e .ore and
.ore the obedient instru.ent o/ the .an, acting under i.pulses /ro. his ,ill.
The drea.ing o/ ordinary e-ents does not inter/ere ,ith astral ,or+, because the
drea.ing ta+es place in the physical brain, ,hile the real .an is a,ay attending
to other .atters. It does not really .atter ,hat the physical brain does, so long
as it +eeps itsel/ /ree /ro. undesirable thoughts.
)nce a drea. is started, its course cannot usually be changed8 but the drea.?
li/e can be controlled indirectly to a considerable e2tent. It is especially i.portant
that the last thought on sin+ing to sleep should be a noble and ele-ating one, as
this stri+es the +eynote ,hich largely deter.ines the nature o/ the drea.s ,hich
/ollo,. An e-il or i.pure thought attracts e-il and i.pure in/luences and
creatures, ,hich react on the .ind and astral body and tend to a,a+en lo, and
earthly desires.
)n the other hand, i/ a .an /alls asleep ,ith his thoughts /i2ed on high and holy
things, he ,ill auto.atically dra, round hi. ele.entals created by si.ilar e//orts
o/ others, and conse:uently his drea.s ,ill be lo/ty and pure.
As ,e are dealing in this boo+ .ainly ,ith the astral body, and pheno.ena
closely associated ,ith it, it is not necessary to atte.pt to deal e2hausti-ely ,ith
the so.e,hat large sub7ect o/ drea. consciousness. *e-ertheless, in order to
sho, the proper setting o/ the part ,hich the astral body plays in the drea. li/e, it
,ill be use/ul to gi-e a -ery brie/ outline o/ the .ain /actors operati-e in
producing drea.s.4or a detailed study o/ the ,hole .atter the student is re/erred
to that e2cellent te2tboo+, (reams by .W.Leadbeater , /ro. ,hich the /ollo,ing
/acts are e2tracted.
The /actors concerned in the production o/ drea.s are8 ?
!? The loer physical #rain$ ,ith its in/antile se.i?consciousness, and its habit o/
e2pressing e-ery sti.ulus in pictorial /or.. <Pa.e 1-=
#? The etheric part of the #rain$ through ,hich s,eeps a ceaseless procession o/
disconnected pictures.
F? The astral #ody$ palpitating ,ith the ,ild surgings o/ desire and e.otion.
&? The ego ;in the causal body< ,ho .ay be in any state o/ consciousness, /ro.
al.ost co.plete insensibility to per/ect co..and o/ his /aculties.
When a .an goes to sleep, his ego ,ithdra,s /urther ,ithin hi.sel/, and lea-es
his -arious bodies .ore /ree than usual to go their o,n ,ay. These separate
bodies8 ;!< are .uch .ore susceptible o/ i.pressions /ro. ,ithout than at other
ti.es; and ;#< ha-e a -ery rudi.entary consciousness o/ their o,n.
onse:uently there is a.ple reason /or the production o/ drea.s, as ,ell as /or
con/used recollections in the physical brain o/ the e2periences o/ the other
bodies during sleep.
Such con/used drea.s .ay thus be due to8 ;!< a series o/ disconnected pictures
and i.possible trans/or.ations produced by the senseless auto.atic action o/
the lo,er physical brain; ;#< a strea. o/ casual thought ,hich has been pouring
through the etheric part o/ the brain; ;F< the e-er?restless tide o/ earthly desire,
playing through the astral body and probably sti.ulated by astral in/luences; ;&<
an i.per/ect atte.pt at dra.atisation by an unde-eloped ego; ;%< a .ingling o/
se-eral or all o/ these in/luences.
We ,ill brie/ly describe the principal ele.ents in each o/ these +inds o/ drea.s.
!? *hysical Brain (reams. ! When in sleep the ego, /or the ti.e, resigns control
o/ the brain, the physical body still has a certain di. consciousness o/ its o,n8
and in addition there is also the aggregate consciousness o/ the indi-idual cells
o/ the physical body. The grasp o/ the physical consciousness o-er the brain is
/ar /eebler than that o/ the ego o-er the brain, and conse:uently purely physical
charges are capable o/ a//ecting the brain to a -ery .uch greater e2tent.
E2a.ples o/ such physical changes are8 irregularity in the circulation o/ the
blood, indigestion, heat and cold, etc..<Pa.e 1,=
The di. physical consciousness possesses certain peculiarities8 ;!< it is to a
great e2tent auto.atic; ;#< it see.s unable to grasp an idea e2cept in the /or. in
,hich it is itsel/ an actor8 conse:uently all sti.uli, ,hether /ro. ,ithin or /ro.
,ithout, are i..ediately translated into perceptual i.ages; ;F< it is incapable o/
grasping abstract ideas or .e.ories, as such, but at once trans/or.s the. into
i.aginary percepts8 ;&< e-ery local direction o/ thought beco.es /or it an actual
spatial transportation, i.e.$ a passing thought o/ hina ,ould transport the
consciousness instantly in i.agination to hina; ;%< it has no po,er o/ 7udging
the se:uence, -alue or ob7ecti-e truth o/ the pictures that appear be/ore it; it
ta+es the. all 7ust as it see.s the., and ne-er /eels surprised at anything ,hich
.ay happen, ho,e-er incongruous or absurd; ;'< it is sub7ect to the principle o/
association o/ ideas, and conse:uently i.ages, unconnected e2cept by the /act
that they represent e-ents ,hich happened near to one another in ti.e, are apt
to be thro,n together in ine2tricable con/usion; ;$< it is singularly sensiti-e to the
slightest e2ternal in/luences, such as sounds or touches, and ;A< it .agni/ies and
distorts the. to an al.ost incredible degree.
The physical brain thus is capable o/ creating su//icient con/usion and
e2aggeration to account /or .any, but by no .eans all, drea. pheno.ena.
#. )theric Brain (reams. ! The etheric brain is e-en .ore sensiti-e during the
sleep o/ the body than it is during ordinary ,a+ing consciousness to in/luences
/ro. outside. Whilst the .ind is acti-ely engaged, the brain thereby being /ully
e.ployed, it is practically i.per-ious to the continual i.pinge.ent o/ thought
/ro. ,ithout. 5ut the .o.ent the brain is le/t idle, the strea. o/ inconse:uent
chaos begins to pour through it. In the -ast .a7ority o/ people, the thoughts ,hich
/lo, through their brains are in reality not their o,n thoughts at all, but /rag.ents
cast o// by other people. onse:uently, in sleep li/e especially, any passing
thought ,hich /inds so.ething <Pa.e 11= congruous to itsel/ in the brain o/ a
sleeper, is seiCed upon by that brain and appropriated, thus starting a ,hole train
o/ ideas8 e-entually these /ade a,ay and the disconnected, purposeless strea.
begins /lo,ing through the brain again.
A point to notice is that, since in the present state o/ the ,orld6s e-olution there
are li+ely to be .ore e-il thoughts than good ones /loating around, a .an ,ith an
uncontrolled brain is open to all sorts o/ te.ptation ,hich .ind and brain control
.ight ha-e spared hi..
E-en ,hen these thought?currents are shut out, by the deliberate e//ort o/
another person, /ro. the etheric brain o/ a sleeper, that brain does not re.ain
co.pletely passi-e, but begins slo,ly and drea.ily to e-ol-e pictures /or itsel/
/ro. its store o/ past .e.ories.
F. Astral (reams ?These are si.ply recollection in the physical brain o/ the li/e
and acti-ities o/ the astral body during the sleep o/ the physical body, to ,hich
re/erence has already been .ade in the preceding pages. In the case o/ a /airly
,ell?de-eloped person, the astral body can tra-el ,ithout disco./ort to
considerable distances /ro. its physical body8 can bring .ore or less de/inite
i.pressions o/ places ,hich it .ay ha-e -isited, or o/ people ,ho. it .ay ha-e
.et. In e-ery case the astral body, as already said, is e-er intensely
i.pressionable by any thought or suggestion in-ol-ing desire or e.otion, though
the nature o/ the desires ,hich .ost readily a,a+en a response in it ,ill, o/
course, depend on the de-elop.ent o/ the person and the purity or other,ise o/
his astral body.
The astral body is at all ti.es susceptible to the in/luences o/ passing thought?
currents, and, ,hen the .ind is not acti-ely controlling it, it is perpetually
recei-ing these sti.uli /ro. ,ithout, and eagerly responding to the.. (uring
sleep it is e-en .ore readily in/luenced. onse:uently, a .an ,ho has, /or
e2a.ple, entirely destroyed a physical desire, ,hich he .ay pre-iously ha-e
possessed /or alcohol, so that in <Pa.e 133= ,a+ing li/e he .ay /eel e-en a de/inite
repulsion /or it, .ay yet /re:uently drea. that he is drin+ing, and in that drea.
e2perience the pleasure o/ its in/luence. (uring the day, the desire o/ the astral
body ,ould be under the control o/ the ,ill, but ,hen the astral body ,as
liberated in sleep, it escaped to so.e e2tent /ro. the do.ination o/ the ego, and,
responding probably to outside astral in/luence, its old habit reasserted itsel/.
This class o/ drea. is probably co..on to .any ,ho are .a+ing de/inite
atte.pts to bring their desire?nature under the control o/ the ,ill.
It .ay also happen that a .an .ay ha-e been a drun+ard in a past li/e and still
possesses in his astral body so.e .atter dra,n thereinto by the -ibrations
caused in the per.anent ato. by the drun+enness. Although this .atter is not
-i-i/ied in this li/e, yet in drea.s, the control o/ the ego being ,ea+, the .atter
.ay respond to drin+?-ibrations /ro. ,ithout and the .an drea.s that he drin+s.
Such drea.s, once understood, need not cause distress8 ne-ertheless they
should be regarded as a ,arning that there is still present the possibility o/ the
drin+?cra-ing being re?a,a+ened.
)go (reams ! 9uch as the nature o/ the astral body changes as it de-elops, still
greater is the change o/ the ego, or real .an, that inhabits it. Where the astral
body is nothing but a /loating ,reath o/ .ist, the ego is also al.ost as .uch
asleep as his physical body, being blind to the in/luences o/ his o,n higher plane8
and e-en i/ so.e idea belonging to it should .anage to reach hi., since he has
little or no control o-er his lo,er bodies, he ,ill be unable to i.press the
e2perience on the physical brain.
Sleepers .ay be at any stage /ro. that o/ co.plete obli-ion up to that o/ /ull
astral consciousness. And it .ust be recollected, as already said, that e-en
though there .ay be .any i.portant e2periences on the higher planes, the ego
.ay ne-ertheless be unable to i.press the. upon the brain, so that there is
either no physical .e.ory at all, or only a .ost con/used .e.ory. <Pa.e 131=
The principal characteristics o/ the consciousness and e2periences o/ the ego,
,hether or not they be re.e.bered in the brain, are as /ollo,s8 ?
;!< The ego6s .easure o/ ti.e and space are so entirely di//erent /ro. that ,hich
he uses in ,a+ing li/e that it is al.ost as though neither ti.e nor space e2isted
/or hi.. 9any instances are +no,n ,here in a /e, .o.ents o/ ti.e, as ,e
.easure it, the ego .ay ha-e e2periences ,hich appear to last /or .any years,
e-ent a/ter e-ent happening in /ull and circu.stantial detail.
;#< The ego possesses the /aculty, or the habit, o/ instantaneous dra.atisation.
Thus a physical sound or a touch .ay reach the ego, not through the usual ner-e
.echanis., but directly, a /raction o/ a second be/ore e-en it reaches the
physical brain. That /raction o/ a second is su//icient /or the ego to construct a
+ind o/ dra.a or series o/ scenes leading up to and cul.inating in the e-ent
,hich a,a+ens the physical body. The brain con/uses the sub7ecti-e drea. and
the ob7ecti-e e-ent, and there/ore i.agines itsel/ to ha-e actually li-ed through
the e-ents o/ the drea..
This habit, ho,e-er, see.s to be peculiar to the ego ,hich, so /ar as spirituality
is concerned, is still co.parati-ely unde-eloped. As the ego de-elops spiritually,
he rises beyond these grace/ul sports o/ his childhood. The .an ,ho has
attained continuous consciousness is so /ully occupied ,ith higher plane ,or+
that he de-otes no energy to this dra.atisation, and conse:uently this class o/
drea. ceases /or hi..
;F< The ego possesses also to so.e e2tent the /aculty o/ pre-ision, being
so.eti.es able to see in ad-ance e-ents ,hich are going to happen, or rather
,hich .ay happen unless steps are ta+en to pre-ent the., and to i.press the
sa.e on the physical brain. 9any instances are recorded o/ such prophetic or
,arning drea.s. In so.e cases the ,arning .ay be heeded, the necessary
steps ta+en, and the /oreseen result either .odi/ied or entirely a-oided. <Pa.e 13"=
B&< The ego, ,hen out o/ the body during sleep, appears to thin+ in sy.bols8 an
idea, ,hich do,n here ,ould re:uire .any ,ords to be e2pressed, is per/ectly
con-eyed to hi. by a single sy.bolical i.age. I/ such a sy.bolic thought is
i.pressed upon the brain, and re.e.bered in ,a+ing consciousness, the .ind
.ay itsel/ translate it into ,ords8 on the other hand it .ay co.e through .erely
as a sy.bol, un?translated, and so .ay cause con/usion. In drea.s o/ this
nature, it see.s that each person usually has a syste. o/ sy.bology o/ his o,n8
thus ,ater .ay signi/y approaching trouble8 pearls .ay be a sing o/ tears8 and so
/orth.
I/ a .an ,ishes to ha-e use/ul drea.s, i.e.$ to be able to reap in his ,a+ing
consciousness the bene/it o/ ,hat his ego .ay learn during sleep, there are
certain steps he should ta+e to bring about this result.
4irst, it is essential that he should /or. the habit o/ sustained and concentrated
thought during ordinary ,a+ing li/e. A .an ,ho has absolute control o/ his
thoughts ,ill al,ays +no, e2actly ,hat he is thin+ing about, and ,hy; he ,ill also
/ind that the brain, thus trained to listen to the pro.ptings o/ the ego, ,ill re.ain
:uiescent ,hen not in use, and ,ill decline to recei-e or respond to casual
currents /ro. the surrounding ocean o/ thought. The .an ,ill thus be .ore li+ely
to recei-e in/luences /ro. the higher planes, ,here insight is +eener and
7udg.ent truer than they can e-er be on the physical plane.
It should scarcely be necessary to add that the .an should also be co.plete
.aster o/ at least his lo,er passions.
5y a -ery ele.entary act o/ .agic, a .an .ay shut out /ro. his etheric brain the
rush o/ thoughts ,hich i.pinge upon it /ro. ,ithout. To this end, he should,
,hen lying do,n to sleep, picture his aura, and ,ill strongly that its outer sur/ace
shall beco.e a shell to protect hi. /ro. outside in/luences. The auric .atter ,ill
obey his thought, and /or. the shell. This step is o/ appreciable -alue to,ards
the desired end. <Pa.e 13%=
The great i.portance o/ /i2ing the last thought, be/ore /alling to sleep, on high
and noble things, has already been .entioned; it should be practised regularly by
those ,ho ,ish to bring their drea.s under control.
It .ay be use/ul here to add the Hindu ter.s /or the /our states o/
consciousness8
72grat is the ordinary ,a+ing consciousness.
Svapna is the drea. consciousness, ,or+ing in the astral body, and able to
i.press its e2periences upon the brain.
Sushupti is the consciousness ,or+ing in the .ental body, and not able to
i.press its e2periences on the brain.
Turiya is a state o/ trance, the consciousness ,or+ing in the buddhic -ehicle,
being so /ar separated /ro. the brain that it cannot readily be recalled by outer
.eans.
These ter.s, ho,e-er, are used relati-ely, and -ary according to the conte2t.
Thus, in one interpretation o/ 32grat$ the physical and astral planes are co.bined,
the se-en sub?di-isions corresponding to the /our conditions o/ physical .atter,
and the three broad di-isions o/ astral .atter .entioned on page !&A.
4or /urther elucidation the student is re/erred to An introduction to 'oga$ by Annie
5esant, page !', et se0.$ and also to A Study in %onsciousness, ,ere ,a+ing
consciousness is de/ined as that part o/ the total consciousness ,hich is ,or+ing
through the outer.ost -ehicle. <Pa.e 13$=
%HA*T)R 8
CONTIN:ITY O& CONSCIO:SNESS
As ,e ha-e seen, /or a .an to pass in unbro+en consciousness /ro. one -ehicle
to another, e.g.$ /ro. the physical to the astral, or vice versa$ it is a re:uisite that
the lin+s bet,een the bodies should be de-eloped. 9ost .en are not conscious
o/ these lin+s, and the lin+s are not acti-ely -i-i/ied, being in a condition si.ilar to
that o/ rudi.entary organs in the physical body. They ha-e to be de-eloped by
use, and are .ade to /unction by the .an /i2ing his attention upon the. and
using his ,ill. The ,ill sets /ree and guides +undalini, but unless the preli.inary
puri/ication o/ the -ehicles is /irst thoroughly acco.plished, +undalini is a
destructi-e instead o/ a -i-i/ying energy. Hence the insistence, by all occult
teachers, on the necessity o/ puri/ication be/ore true yoga is practised.
When a .an has rendered hi.sel/ /it to be helped in -i-i/ying the lin+s, such
assistance ,ill ine-itably co.e to hi. as a .atter o/ course, /ro. those ,ho are
e-er see+ing opportunities to aid the earnest and unsel/ish aspirant. Then, one
day, the .an ,ill /ind hi.sel/ slipping out o/ the physical body ,hile he is ,ide
a,a+e, and ,ithout any brea+ in consciousness he disco-ers hi.sel/ to be /ree.
With practice the passage /ro. -ehicle to -ehicle beco.es /a.iliar and easy.
The de-elop.ent o/ the lin+s bridges the gul/ bet,een physical and astral
consciousness, so that there is per/ect continuity o/ consciousness.
The student thus has not only to learn to see correctly on the astral plane, but
also to translate accurately the .e.ory o/ ,hat he has seen /ro. the astral to
the physical brain8 and to assist hi. in this he is trained to carry his
consciousness ,ithout brea+ /ro. the <Pa.e 13'= physical plane to the astral and
.ental and bac+ again, /or until that can be done there is al,ays a possibility that
his recollections .ay be partially lost or distorted during the blan+ inter-als ,hich
separate his periods o/ consciousness on the -arious planes. When the po,er o/
bringing o-er the consciousness is per/ectly ac:uired, the pupil ,ill ha-e the
ad-antage o/ the use o/ all the astral /aculties, not only ,hile out o/ the body
during sleep or trance, but also ,hile /ully a,a+e in ordinary physical li/e.
In order that the physical ,a+ing consciousness should include astral
consciousness it is necessary that the pituitary body should be /urther e-ol-ed,
and that the /ourth spirillae in the ato.s should be per/ected.
In addition to the .ethod o/ .o-ing the consciousness /ro. one sub?plane to
another, of the same plane, /ro., e.g.$ the astral ato.ic to the lo,est sub?plane
o/ the mental$ there is also another line o/ connection ,hich .ay be called the
ato.ic short?cut.
I/ ,e picture the ato.ic sub?planes o/ astral, .ental, etc., as lying side by side
along a rod, the other sub?planes .ay be pictured as hanging /ro. the rod in
loops, as though a piece o/ string ,ere ,ound loosely round the rod. )b-iously,
then, to pass /ro. one ato.ic sub?plane to another one could .o-e by a short
cut along the rod, or do,n and up again through the hanging loops ,hich
sy.bolise the lo,er sub?planes.
The nor.al processes o/ our thin+ing co.e steadily do,n through the sub?
planes8 but /lashes o/ genius, illu.inati-e ideas, co.e through the ato.ic sub?
planes only.
There is also a third possibility connected ,ith the relation o/ our planes ,ith the
cos.ic planes, but this is too abstruse to be dealt ,ith in a ,or+ ,hich purports
to deal only ,ith the astral plane and its pheno.ena.
9erely to obtain continuity o/ consciousness bet,een the physical and the astral
planes is, o/ course, :uite <Pa.e 13*= insu//icient in itsel/ to restore .e.ory o/ past
li-es. 4or this a .uch higher de-elop.ent is re:uired, into the nature o/ ,hich it
is not necessary to enter enter.
A .an ,ho has thus ac:uired co.plete .astery o-er the astral body .ay, o/
course, lea-e the physical body, not only during sleep, but at any ti.e he
chooses, and go to a distant place, etc..
9ediu.s and sensiti-es pro7ect their astral bodies unconsciously, ,hen they go
into trance8 but usually on co.ing out o/ trance there is no brain?.e.ory o/ the
e2periences ac:uired. Trained students are able to pro7ect the astral body
consciously and to tra-el to great distances /ro. the physical body, bringing bac+
,ith the. /ull and detailed .e.ory o/ all the i.pressions they ha-e gained.
An astral body thus pro7ected .ay be seen by persons ,ho are sensiti-e or ,ho
.ay chance to be te.porarily in an abnor.al ner-ous condition. There are on
record .any cases o/ such astral -isitations by a dying person near the ti.e o/
death, the approach o/ dissolution ha-ing loosened the principles so as to .a+e
the pheno.enon possible /or people ,ho ,ere unable at any other ti.e to
per/or. the /eat. ;See also page %B /or a si.ilar pheno.enon produced by a
thought!form9. The astral body is also set /ree in .any cases o/ disease.
Inacti-ity o/ the physical body is a condition o/ such astral 7ourneys.
A .an .ay, i/ he +no,s ho, to set about it, slightly densi/y his astral body by
dra,ing into it, /ro. the surrounding at.osphere, particles o/ physical .atter,
and thus 0.aterialise0 su//iciently to beco.e physically -isible. This is the
e2planation o/ .any cases o/ 0apparitions0, ,here a person, physically absent,
has been seen by /riends ,ith their ordinary physical sight. <Pa.e 13-=
CHAPTER !
DEATH AND THE DESIRE2ELEMENTAL
At death, the consciousness ,ithdra,s /ro. the dense physical body into the
etheric double /or a short ti.e, usually a /e, hours, and then passes into the
astral body.
(eath thus consists o/ a process o/ unrobing or unsheathing. The ego, the
i..ortal part o/ .an, sha+es o// /ro. itsel/, one a/ter the other, its outer casings,
/irst the dense physical8 then the etheric double8 then e-en the astral body, as ,e
shall see later.
In al.ost e-ery case the actual passing?a,ay appears to be per/ectly painless,
e-en a/ter a long illness in-ol-ing terrible su//ering. The peace/ul loo+ on the /ace
o/ the dead is strong e-idence in /a-our o/ this state.ent, and it is also borne out
by the direct testi.ony o/ .ost o/ those ,ho ha-e been :uestioned on the point
i..ediately a/ter death.
At the actual .o.ent o/ death, e-en ,hen death is sudden, a .an sees the
,hole o/ his past li/e .arshaled be/ore hi., in its .inutest detail. In a .o.ent he
sees the ,hole chain o/ causes ,hich been at ,or+ during his li/e; he sees and
no, understands hi.sel/ as he really is, unadorned by /lattery or sel/?deception.
He reads his li/e, re.aining as a spectator, loo+ing do,n upon the arena he is
:uitting.
The condition o/ consciousness immediately a/ter the .o.ent o/ death is usually
a drea.y and peace/ul one. There ,ill also be a certain period o/
unconsciousness, ,hich .ay last only /or a .o.ent, though o/ten it is a /e,
.inutes, or se-eral hours, and so.eti.es e-en days or ,ee+s.
The natural attraction bet,een the astral counterpart and the physical body is
such that, a/ter death, <Pa.e 13,= the astral counterpart, /ro. /orce o/ habit, retains
its accusto.ed /or.8 conse:uently a .an6s physical appearance ,ill still be
preser-ed a/ter death al.ost unchanged. Al.ost ? because in -ie, o/ the /act
that astral .atter is -ery readily .oulded by thought, a .an ,ho habitually thin+s
o/ hi.sel/ a/ter death as younger than he actually ,as at the ti.e o/ death ,ill
probably assu.e a so.e,hat younger appearance.
Eery soon a/ter death, in .ost cases, an i.portant change ta+es place in the
structure o/ the astral body, o,ing to the action o/ the desire ele.ental.
9uch o/ the .atter o/ the astral body is co.posed o/ ele.ental essence ;see
page '<8 this essence is li-ing, though not intelligent8 and /or the ti.e it is cut o//
/ro. the general .ass o/ astral essence. 5lindly, instincti-ely, and ,ithout reason
it see+s its o,n ends and sho,s great ingenuity in obtaining its desires and in
/urthering its e-olution.
E-olution /or it is a descent into .atter, its ai. being to beco.e a .ineral
.onad. Its ob7ect in li/e, there/ore, is to get as near to the physical as it can, and
to e2perience as .any o/ the coarser -ibrations as possible. It neither does or
could +no, anything o/ the .an in ,hose astral body it is /or the ti.e li-ing.
It desires to preser-e its separate li/e, and /eels that it can do so only by .eans
o/ its connection ,ith the .an8 it is conscious o/ the .an6s lo,er .ind, and
realises that the .ore .ental .atter it can entangle ,ith itsel/ the longer ,ill be
its astral li/e.
)n the death o/ the physical body, +no,ing that the ter. o/ its separated li/e is
li.ited, and that the .an6s astral death ,ill .ore or less :uic+ly /ollo,,in order to
.a+e the .an6s astral body last as long as possible, it rearranges its .atter in
concentric rings or shells, the coarsest outside. 4ro. the point o/ -ie, o/ the
desire ele.ental this is good policy, because the coarsest .atter can hold
together longest and best stand /riction.
The re?arranged astral body is called the '2tan2 , or su//ering body8 in the case
o/ a -ery e-il .an in <Pa.e 131= ,hose astral body there is a preponderance o/ the
coarsest .atter, it is called the (hruvam or strong body.
The re?arrange.ent o/ the astral body ta+es place o-er the sur/ace o/ the
counterpart o/ the physical body, not o-er the sur/ace o/ the o-oid ,hich
surrounds it.
The e//ect is to pre-ent the /ree and /ull circulation o/ astral .atter ,hich usually
ta+es place in the astral body. In addition, the .an is able to respond only to
those -ibrations ,hich are recei-ed by the outer.ost layer o/ his astral body. The
.an is thus shut up, as it ,ere, in a bo2 o/ astral .atter, being able to see and
hear things o/ the lo,est and coarsest plane only.
Although li-ing in the .idst o/ high in/luences and beauti/ul thought?/or.s, he
,ould be al.ost entirely unconscious o/ their e2istence, because the particles o/
his astral body ,hich could respond to those -ibrations ar shut in ,here they
cannot be reached.
onse:uently, also, being able to sense only the coarsest .atter in the astral
bodies o/ other people, and being entirely unconscious o/ his li.itations, he
,ould assu.e that the person he ,as loo+ing at possessed only the
unsatis/actory characteristics ,hich he ,ould be able to percei-e.
Since he can see and /eel only ,hat is lo,est and coarsest, the .en around hi.
appear to be .onsters o/ -ice. Under these circu.stances it is little ,onder that
he considers the astral ,orld a hell.
The re?arrange.ent o/ the astral body by the desire ele.ental does not in any
,ay a//ect the recognisability o/ the /or. ,ithin the o-oid, though the natural
changes ,hich ta+e place tend on the ,hole to .a+e the /or. gro, so.e,hat
/ainter and .ore spiritual in appearance as ti.e passes on ? /or reasons ,hich
,ill presently be .ade clear.
In course o/ ti.e, the outer.ost shell or ring disintegrates8 the .an then
beco.es able to respond to the -ibrations o/ the ne2t higher le-el o/ the astral
plane, and thus 0rises to the ne2t sub?plane08 and so <Pa.e 113= on /ro. one sub?
plane to another. His stay on each sub?plane ,ill, o/ course, correspond to the
a.ount and acti-ity o/ the .atter in his astral body belonging to that sub?plane.
When ,e spea+ o/ a .an 0rising0 /ro. one sub?plane to another, he need not
necessarily .o-e in space at all8 he rather trans/ers his consciousness /ro. one
le-el to another. In the case o/ a .an ,ith a rearranged astral body, the /ocus o/
his consciousness shi/ts /ro. the outer shell to the one ne2t ,ithin it. The .an
thus gradually beco.es unresponsi-e to the -ibrations o/ one order o/ .atter and
ans,ers instead to those o/ a higher order. Thus one ,orld ,ith its scenery and
its inhabitants ,ould see. to /ade slo,ly a,ay /ro. his -ie,, ,hile another ,orld
,ould da,n upon hi..
As the shell usually disintegrates gradually, the .an thus /inds the counterparts
o/ physical ob7ects gro,ing di..er and di..er, ,hile thought?/or.s beco.e
.ore and .ore -i-id to hi.. I/ during this process he .eets another .an at
inter-als, he ,ill i.agine that that .an6s character is steadily i.pro-ing, .erely
because he is hi.sel/ beco.e able to appreciate the higher -ibrations o/ that
character. The re?arrange.ent o/ the astral body, in /act, constantly inter/eres
,ith a .an6s true and /ull -ision o/ his /riends at all stages o/ their astral li/e.
This process o/ re?arrange.ent o/ the astral body, ,hich ta+es place ,ith .ost
people, can be pre-ented by the .an setting his ,ill to oppose it8 in /act, anyone
,ho understands the conditions o/ the astral plane should altogether decline to
per.it the re?arrange.ent o/ the astral body by the desire?ele.ental. The
particles o/ the astral body ,ill then be +ept inter.ingled, as in li/e, and in
conse:uence, instead o/ being con/ined to one astral sub?plane at a ti.e, the
.an ,ill be /ree o/ all the sub?planes, according to the constitution o/ his astral
body.
The ele.ental, being a/raid in its curious se.i?conscious ,ay, ,ill endea-our to
trans/er its /ear to the <Pa.e 111= .an ,ho is 7olting hi. out o/ the re?arrange.ent,
in order to deter hi. /ro. doing so. Hence one reason ,hy it is so use/ul to ha-e
+no,ledge o/ these .atters be/ore death.
I/ the re?arrange.ent, or shelling, has already occurred, it is still possible /or the
condition to be bro+en up by so.eone ,ho ,ishes to help the .an, and /or the
.an to be thus set /ree to ,or+ on the ,hole astral plane, instead o/ being
con/ined to one le-el. <Pa.e 11"=
CHAPTER "
A&TER2DEATH LI&E4 PRINCIPLES
It cannot be too strongly insisted that it is not /ound that any sudden change
ta+es place in .an at death8 on the contrary, he re.ains a/ter death e2actly ,hat
he ,as be/ore, e2cept that he no longer has a physical body. He has the sa.e
intellect, the sa.e disposition, the sa.e -irtues and -ices; the loss o/ the
physical body no .ore .a+es hi. a di//erent .an than ,ould the re.o-al o/ an
o-ercoat. 9oreo-er,the conditions in ,hich he /inds hi.sel/ are those ,hich his
o,n thoughts and desires ha-e already created /or hi.. There is no re,ard or
punish.ent /ro. outside, but only the actual result o/ ,hat he has hi.sel/ done,
and said, and thought, ,hile li-ing in the physical ,orld.
As ,e proceed ,ith our description o/ the astral li/e a/ter death, it ,ill be
recognised that the true /acts correspond ,ith considerable accuracy ,ith the
atholic conception o/ purgatory, and the Hades or under,orld o/ the 1ree+s.
The poetic idea o/ death as a uni-ersal le-eller is a .ere absurdity born o/
ignorance, /or, as a .atter o/ /act, in the -ast .a7ority o/ cases, the loss o/ the
physical body .a+es no di//erence ,hate-er in the character or intellect o/ the
person, and there are there/ore as .any di//erent -arieties o/ intelligence a.ong
the so?called dead as a.ong the li-ing.
This is the /irst and the .ost pro.inent /act to appreciate8 that a/ter death there
is no strange ne, li/e, but a continuation, under certain changed conditions, o/
the present physical plane li/e.
So .uch is this the case that ,hen a .an /irst arri-es on the astral plane a/ter
physical death he by no .eans al,ays +no,s that he is dead8 and e-en ,hen
<Pa.e 11%= he does realise ,hat has happened to hi. he does not al,ays at /irst
understand ho, the astral ,orld di//ers /ro. the physical.
In so.e cases people consider the -ery /act that they are still conscious, an
absolute proo/ that they ha-e not died8 and this in spite o/ the .uch?-aunted
belie/ in the i..ortality o/ the soul.
I/ a .an has ne-er heard o/ astral plane li/e be/ore, he is li+ely to be .ore or less
disturbed by the totally une2pected conditions in ,hich he /inds hi.sel/. 4inally,
he accepts these conditions, ,hich he does not understand, thin+ing the.
necessary and ine-itable.
Loo+ing out upon the ne, ,orlds, at the /irst glance he ,ould probably see -ery
little di//erence, and he ,ould suppose hi.sel/ to be loo+ing upon the sa.e ,orld
as be/ore. As ,e ha-e seen, each degree o/ astral .atter is attracted by the
corresponding degree o/ physical .atter. I/, there/ore, ,e i.agined the physical
,orld to be struc+ out o/ e2istence, ,ithout any other change being .ade, ,e
should still ha-e a per/ect replicate o/ it in astral .atter. onse:uently a .an on
the astral plane ,ould still see the ,alls, /urniture, people, etc., to ,hich he ,as
accusto.ed, outlined as clearly as e-er by the densest type o/ astral .atter. I/,
ho,e-er, he e2a.ined such ob7ects closely he ,ould percei-e that all the
particles ,ere -isibly in rapid .otion, instead o/ only in-isibly as on the physical
plane. 5ut, as /e, .en obser-e closely, a .an ,ho dies o/ten does not +no, at
/irst that any change has co.e o-er hi.. Thus .any, especially in Western
countries, /ind it di//icult to belie-e that they are dead, si.ply because they still
see, hear, /eel and thin+. =ealisation o/ ,hat has happened ,ill probably da,n
gradually, as the .an disco-ers that though he can see his /riends he cannot
al,ays co..unicate ,ith the.. So.eti.es he spea+s to the., and they do not
see. to hear8 he tries to touch the., and /inds that he can .a+e no i.pression
upon the.. E-en then, /or so.e ti.e he .ay persuade hi.sel/ that he is
drea.ing, /or at other ti.es, ,hen his /riends are <Pa.e 11$= asleep, they are
per/ectly conscious o/ hi. and tal+ ,ith hi. as o/ old.
5y degrees the .an begins to realise the di//erences bet,een his present li/e
and that ,hich he li-ed in the physical ,orld. 4or e2a.ple, he soon /inds that /or
hi. all pain and /atigue ha-e passed a,ay. He also /inds that in the astral ,orld
desires and thoughts e2press the.sel-es in -isible /or.s, though these are
co.posed .ostly o/ the /iner .atter o/ the plane. As his li/e proceeds, these
beco.e . ore and .ore pro.inent.
9oreo-er, though a .an on the astral plane cannot usually see the physical
bodies o/ his /riends, yet he can and does see the physical bodies o/ his /riends,
and conse:uently +no,s their /eelings and e.otions. He ,ill not necessarily be
able to /ollo, in detail the e-ents o/ their physical li/e8 but he ,ould at once be
a,are o/ such /eelings as lo-e or hate, 7ealousy or en-y, as these ,ould be
e2pressed through the astral bodies o/ his /riends.
Thus, although the li-ing o/ten suppose the.sel-es to ha-e 0lost0 the dead, the
dead are ne-er /or a .o.ent under the i.pression that they ha-e lost the li-ing.
A .an, in /act, li-ing in his astral body a/ter death is .ore readily and deeply
in/luenced by the /eelings o/ his /riends in the physical ,orld than ,hen he ,as
on earth, because he has no physical body to deaden his perceptions.
A .an on the astral plane does not usually see the ,hole astral counterpart o/ an
ob7ect, but the portion o/ it ,hich belongs to the particular sub?plane upon ,hich
he is at the ti.e.
9oreo-er, a .an by no .eans al,ays recognises ,ith any certainty the astral
counterpart o/ a physical body e-en ,hen he sees it. He usually re:uires
considerable e2perience be/ore he can clearly identi/y ob7ects, and any atte.pt
that he .a+es to deal ,ith the. is liable to be -ague and uncertain. E2a.ples o/
this are o/ten seen in haunted houses, ,here <Pa.e 11'= stone?thro,ing, or -ague,
clu.sy .o-e.ents o/ physical .atter ta+e place.
4re:uently, not realising that he is /ree /ro. the necessity to ,or+ /or a li-ing, to
eat, sleep, etc., a .an a/ter death .ay continue to prepare and consu.e .eals,
created entirely by his i.agination, or e-en to build /or hi.sel/ a house in ,hich
to li-e. A case is recorded o/ a .an ,ho built /or hi.sel/ a house, stone by stone,
each stone being separately created by his o,n thought. He .ight, o/ course,
,ith the sa.e a.ount o/ e//ort ha-e created the ,hole house at once. He ,as
e-entually led to see, that as the stones had no ,eight, the conditions ,ere
di//erent /ro. those obtaining in physical li/e, and so he ,as induced to
in-estigate /urther.
Si.ilarly, a .an ne, to the conditions o/ astral li/e .ay continue to enter and
depart /ro. a roo. by a door or ,indo,, not realising that he can pass through
the ,all 7ust as easily. 4or the sa.e reason he .ay ,al+ upon the earth ,hen he
.ight 7ust as ,ell /loat through the air.
A .an ,ho has already during earth li/e ac:uainted hi.sel/, by reading or
other,ise,,ith the general conditions o/ astral li/e, naturally /inds hi.sel/ a/ter
death on ground .ore or less /a.iliar, and conse:uently he should not be at a
loss to +no, ,hat to do ,ith hi.sel/.
E-en an intelligent appreciation o/ occult teaching on this sub7ect, as e2perience
has sho,n, is o/ enor.ous ad-antage to a .an a/ter death, ,hile it is a
considerable ad-antage /or a .an .erely to ha-e heard o/ the conditions o/
astral li/e, e-en though he .ay ha-e regarded such teachings as one o/ .any
hypotheses, and .ay not ha-e /ollo,ed the. up /urther. In the case o/ others,
not so /ortunately situated as to their +no,ledge o/ the astral ,orld, their best
plan is to ta+e stoc+ o/ their position, endea-our to see the nature o/ the li/e
be/ore the., and ho, they can .a+e the best use o/ it. In addition, they ,ould do
,ell to consult so.e e2perienced /riend. <Pa.e 11*=
The condition o/ li/e re/erred to abo-e constitute 3K.alo+a, literally the place or
,orld o/ 3K.a or desire8 the Li.bus o/ scholastic theology. In general ter.s
3K.alo+a is a region peopled by intelligent and se.i?intelligent entities. It is
cro,d ed ,ith .any types and /or.s o/ li-ing things, as di-erse /ro. each other
as a blade o/ grass is di//erent /ro. a tiger, a tiger is di//erent /ro. a .an, there
being o/ course, .any other entities li-ing there besides deceased hu.an beings
;See hapters !" to #!<. It interpenetrates the physical ,orld, and is
interpenetrated by it, but, as the states o/ .atter in the t,o ,orlds di//er, they co?
e2ist ,ithout the entities o/ either ,orld being conscious o/ those o/ the other.
)nly under abnor.al circu.stances can consciousness o/ each other6s presence
arise a.ong the inhabitants o/ the t,o ,orlds.
3K.alo+a is thus not di-ided o// as a distinct locality, but is separated o// /ro. the
rest o/ the astral plane by the conditions o/ consciousness o/ the entities ,ho
belong to it, these entities being hu.an beings, ,ho ha-e sha+en o// the dense
and etheric bodies, but ,ho ha-e not yet disentangled the.sel-es /ro. 3K.a,
i.e.$ the passional and e.otional nature. This state is also called Pretalo+a, a
preta being a hu.an being ,ho has lost his physical body, but is still
encu.bered ,ith the -esture o/ his ani.al nature.
The 3K.alo+ic condition is /ound on each sub?di-ision o/ the astral plane.
9any ,ho die are at /irst in a condition o/ considerable uneasiness, and others o/
positi-e terror. When they encounter the thought?/or.s ,hich they and their +ind
ha-e /or centuries been .a+ing ? thoughts o/ a personal de-il, an angry and cruel
deity, and eternal punish.ent ? they are o/ten reduced to a pitiable state o/ /ear,
and .ay spend long periods o/ acute .ental su//ering be/ore they can /ree
the.sel-es /ro. the /atal in/luence o/ such /oolish and utterly /alse conceptions.
It ought, ho,e-er, in /airness to be .entioned that <Pa.e 11-= it is only a.ong
,hat are called Protestant co..unities that this terrible e-il assu.es its .ost
aggra-ated /or.. The great =o.an atholic hurch, ,ith its doctrine o/
purgatory, approaches .uch .ore nearly to a true conception o/ the astral plane,
and its de-out .e.bers, at any rate, realise that the state in ,hich they /ind
the.sel-es shortly a/ter death is .erely a te.porary one, and it is their business
to endea-our to raise the.sel-es out o/ it as soon as .ay be by intense spiritual
aspiration, ,hile they accept any su//ering ,hich .ay co.e to the. as
necessary /or the ,earing a,ay o/ the i.per/ections in their character, be/ore
they can pass to higher and brighter spheres.
Thus ,e see that although .en should ha-e been taught by their religion ,hat to
e2pect, and ho, to li-e on the astral plane, in .ost cases this has not been
done. onse:uently a good deal o/ e2planation is needed regarding the ne,
,orld in ,hich they /ind the.sel-es. 5ut, a/ter death, e2actly as be/ore it, there
are /e, ,ho attain to an intelligent appreciation o/ the /act o/ e-olution and ,ho,
by understanding so.ething o/ their position, +no, ho, to .a+e the best o/ it.
Today, large nu.bers o/ people, both 0li-ing0 and 0dead0, are engaged in loo+ing
a/ter and helping those ,ho ha-e died in ignorance o/ the real nature o/ the a/ter?
death li/e ;vide hapter #A on In-isible Helpers<. Un/ortunately, ho,e-er, on the
astral plane, as on the physical, the ignorant are rarely ready to pro/it by the
ad-ice or e2a.ple o/ the ,ise.
To a .an ,ho has, be/ore he dies physically, already ac:uainted hi.sel/ ,ith the
real conditions o/ li/e on the astral plane, one o/ the .ost pleasant characteristics
o/ that li/e is its rest/ulness and co.plete /reedo. /ro. those i.perious
necessities, such as eating and drin+ing, ,hich burden physical li/e. )n the astral
plane a .an is really /ree, /ree to do ,hate-er he li+es, and to spend his ti.e as
he chooses.
As already indicated, a .an ,ho has died physically, is steadily ,ithdra,ing into
hi.sel/. The ,hole cycle <Pa.e 11,= o/ li/e and death .ay be li+ened to an ellipse,
o/ ,hich only the lo,est portion passes into the physical ,orld. (uring the /irst
portion o/ the cycle, the ego is putting hi.sel/ /orth into .atter8 the central point
o/ the cur-e should be a .iddle point in physical li/e,,hen the /orce o/ the ego
has e2pended its out,ard rush and turns to begin the long process o/ ,ithdra,al.
Thus each physical incarnation .ay be regarded as a putting o/ the ego, ,hose
habitat is the higher part o/ the .ental plane, out,ards into the lo,er planes. The
ego puts the soul out, as though it ,ere an in-est.ent, and e2pects his
in-est.ent to dra, bac+ added e2perience, ,hich ,ill ha-e de-eloped ne,
:ualities ,ithin hi..
The portion o/ the li/e a/ter death spent on the astral plane is there/ore de/initely
in the period o/ ,ithdra,al bac+ to,ards the ego. (uring the latter part o/ the
physical li/e the .an6s thoughts and interests should be less and less directed
to,ards .erely physical .atters8 si.ilarly, during the astral li/e, he should pay
less and less attention to the lo,er astral .atter, out o/ ,hich counterparts o/
physical ob7ects are co.posed, and occupy hi.sel/ ,ith the higher .atter, out o/
,hich desire ? and thought?/or.s are .ade. It is not so .uch that he has
changed his location in space ;though this is partially true, See hapter !&<, as
that he has .o-ed the centre o/ his interest. Hence the counterpart o/ the
physical ,orld ,hich he has le/t gradually /ades /ro. his -ie,, and his li/e
beco.es .ore and .ore a li/e in the ,orld o/ thought. His desires and e.otions
still persist, and conse:uently, o,ing to the readiness ,ith ,hich astral .atter
obeys his desires and thoughts, the /or.s surrounding hi. ,ill be -ery largely
the e2pression o/ his o,n /eelings, the nature o/ ,hich .ainly deter.ines
,hether his li/e is one o/ happiness or o/ disco./ort.
Although ,e are not in this boo+ dealing ,ith that portion o/ the li/e a/ter death
,hich is spent in the 0hea-en?,orld0, i.e.$ on the .ental plane, ne-ertheless, in
order to understand /ully ,hat is happening to the <Pa.e 111= astral body on the
astral plane, it is desirable to bear in .ind that the astral li/e is largely an
inter.ediate stage in the ,hole cycle o/ li/e and death, a preparation /or the li/e
on the .ental plane.
As ,e ha-e seen, soon a/ter physical death, the astral body is set /ree8
e2pressed /ro. the point o/ -ie, consciousness, 3K.a?9anas is set /ree. 4ro.
this, that portion o/ lo,er?.anas, ,hich is not ine2tricably entangled ,ith 3K.a,
gradually /rees itsel/, ta+ing ,ith it such o/ its e2perience as /it /or assi.ilation by
the higher .ental body.
9ean,hile, that portion o/ the lo,er .anas ,hich still re.ains entangled ,ith
3K.a, gi-es to the astral body a so.e,hat con/used consciousness, a bro+en
.e.ory o/ the e-ents o/ the li/e 7ust closed. I/ the e.otions and passions ,ere
strong, and the .ental ele.ent ,ea+, then the astral body ,ill be strongly
energised, and ,ill persist /or a considerable ti.e on the astral plane, It ,ill also
sho, a considerable a.ount o/ consciousness, due to the .ental .atter
entangled ,ith it. I/, on the other hand, the earth li/e 7ust closed ,as
characterised by .entality and purity rather than by passion, the astral body ,ill
be poorly poorly energised, ,ill be but a pale si.ulacru. o/ the .an, and ,ill
disintegrate and perish co.parati-ely rapidly. <Pa.e 1"3=
CHAPTER #
THE A&TER2DEATH LI&E4 PARTIC:LARS
In considering the conditions o/ a .an6s astral li/e, there are t,o pro.inent
/actors to be ta+en into account8 ;!< The length o/ time ,hich he spends on any
particular sub?plane8 ;#< The a.ount o/ his consciousness upon it.
The length o/ time depends upon the a.ount o/ .atter belonging to that sub?
plane ,hich he has built into his astral body during physical li/e. He ,ill
necessarily re.ain upon that sub?plane until the .atter corresponding to it has
dropped out o/ his astral body.
(uring physical li/e, as ,e ha-e already seen, the :uality o/ the astral body ,hich
he builds /or hi.sel/ is directly deter.ined by his passions, desires and
e.otions, and indirectly by his thoughts, as ,ell as by his physical habits ? /ood,
drin+, cleanliness, continence, etc.. A coarse and gross astral body, resulting
/ro. a coarse and gross li/e, ,ill cause the .an to be responsi-e only to lo,er
astral -ibrations, so that a/ter death he ,ill /ind hi.sel/ bound to the astral plane
during the long and slo, process o/ the disintegration o/ the astral body.
)n the other hand, a re/ined astral body, created by a pure and re/ined li/e, ,ill
.a+e the .an unresponsi-e to the lo, and coarse -ibrations o/ the astral ,orld,
and responsi-e only to its higher in/luences8 conse:uently he ,ill e2perience
.uch less trouble in his post?.orte. li/e, and his e-olution ,ill proceed rapidly
and easily.
The a.ount o/ consciousness depends upon the degree to ,hich he has -i-i/ied
and used the .atter o/ the particular sub?plane in his physical li/e. <Pa.e 1"1=
I/ during earth?li/e the ani.al nature ,as indulged and allo,ed to run riot, i/ the
intellectual and spiritual parts ,ere neglected or sti/led, then the astral or desire
body ,ill persist /or a long ti.e a/ter physical death.
I/, on the other hand, desire has been con:uered and bridled during earth li/e, i/ it
has been puri/ied and trained into subser-ience to the higher nature, then there
,ill be little to energise the astral body, and ,ill :uic+ly disintegrate and dissol-e
a,ay.
The a-erage .an, ho,e-er, has by no .eans /reed hi.sel/ /ro. all lo,er
desires be/ore death, and conse:uently it ta+es a long period o/ .ore or less /ully
conscious li/e on the -arious sub?planes o/ the astral plane to allo, the /orces
,hich he has generated to ,or+ the.sel-es out, and thus release the higher
ego.
The general principle is that ,hen the astral body has e2hausted its attractions to
one le-el, the greater part o/ its grosser particles /all a,ay, and it /inds itsel/ in
a//inity ,ith a so.e,hat higher state o/ e2istence. Its speci/ic gra-ity, as it ,ere,
is constantly decreasing, and so it steadily rises /ro. the dense to the lighter
strata, pausing only ,hen it is e2actly balanced /or a ti.e.
To be upon any gi-en sub?plane in the astral ,orld is to ha-e de-eloped
sensiti-eness o/ those particles in the astral body ,hich belong to that sub?plane.
To ha-e per/ect -ision on the astral plane .eans to ha-e de-eloped
sensiti-eness in all particles o/ the astral body, so that all the sub?planes are
si.ultaneously -isible.
A .an ,ho has led a good and pure li/e, ,hose strongest /eelings and
aspirations ha-e been unsel/ish and spiritual, ,ill ha-e no attractions to the astral
plane, and ,ill, i/ entirely le/t alone, /ind little to +eep hi. upon it, or to a,a+en
hi. into acti-ity e-en during the co.parati-ely short period o/ his stay. His
earthly passions ha-e been subdued during physical li/e, and the /orce o/ his ,ill
ha-ing been directed into higher channels, there is but little energy <Pa.e 1""= o/
lo,er desire to be ,or+ed out on the astral plane. onse:uently his stay there
,ill be -ery short, and .ost probably he ,ill ha-e little .ore than a drea.y hal/?
consciousness, until he sin+s into the sleep during ,hich his higher principles
/inally /ree the.sel-es /ro. the astral body, and enter upon the bliss/ul li/e o/ the
hea-en?,orld.
E2pressed .ore technically, during physical li/e 9anas has puri/ied 3K.a ,ith
,hich it ,as inter?,o-en, so that a/ter death all that is le/t o/ 3K.a is a .ere
residuu., easily sha+en o// by the ,ithdra,ing ego. Such a .an there/ore ,ould
ha-e little consciousness on the astral plane.
It is :uite possible that a .an .ight, as a result o/ is pre-ious incarnations,
possess a good deal o/ coarse astral .atter in his astral body. E-en i/ he has
been so brought up, and has so conducted his li/e, that he has not -i-i/ied that
coarse .atter, and although .uch o/ it .ay ha-e dropped out and been replaced
by /iner .aterials, yet there .ay be :uite a good deal le/t. onse:uently the .an
,ould ha-e to re.ain on a lo, le-el o/ the astral plane /or so.e ti.e, until in /act
the coarse .atter had all dropped out. 5ut, as the coarse .atter ,ould not be
-i-i/ied, he ,ould ha-e little consciousness and ,ould practically sleep through
the period o/ his so7ourn there.
There is a point +no,n as the critical point bet,een e-ery pair o/ sub?states o/
.atter8 ice .ay be raised to a point at ,hich the least incre.ent o/ heat ,ill
change it into li:uid8 ,ater .ay be raised to a point at ,hich the least incre.ent
o/ heat ,ill change it into -apour. And so each sub?state o/ astral .atter .ay be
carried to a point o/ /ineness at ,hich any additional re/ine.ent ,ould trans/or.
it into the ne2t higher sub?state. I/ a .an has done this /or e-ery sub?state o/
.atter in his astral body, so it is puri/ied to the last possible degree o/ delicacy,
then the /irst touch o/ disintegrating /orce shatters its cohesion and resol-es it
into its original condition, lea-ing hi. /ree at once to pass on to the ne2t <Pa.e
1"%= sub?plane. His passage through the astral plane ,ill thus be o/ inconcei-able
rapidity, and he ,ill /lash through the plane practically instantaneously to the
higher state o/ the hea-en?,orld.
E-ery person a/ter death has to pass through all the sub?planes o/ the astral
plane, on his ,ay to the hea-en?,orld. 5ut ,hether or not he is conscious on any
or all o/ the., and to ,hat e2tent, ,ill depend upon the /actors enu.erated.
4or these reasons, it is clear that the a.ount o/ consciousness a .an .ay
possess on the astral plane, and the ti.e he .ay spend there in his passage to
the hea-en?,orld, .ay -ary ,ithin -ery ,ide li.its. There are so.e ,ho pass
only a /e, hours or days on the astral plane8 others re.ain there /or .any years,
or e-en centuries.
4or an ordinary person #B or FB years on the astral plane a/ter death is a /air
a-erage. An e2ceptional case is that o/ Dueen EliCabeth, ,ho had so intense a
lo-e /or her country that she has only :uite recently passed into the hea-en?
,orld,ha-ing spent the ti.e since her death in endea-ouring, until recently
al.ost ,ithout success, to i.press upon her successors her ideas o/ ,hat ought
to be done /or England.
Another notable e2a.ple ,as that o/ Dueen Eictoria,,ho passed -ery rapidly
through the astral plane and into the hea-en?,orld, her s,i/t passage being
undoubtedly due to the .illions o/ lo-ing and grate/ul thought?/or.s ,hich ,ere
sent to her, as ,ell as to her inherent goodness.
The general :uestion o/ the inter-al bet,een earth?li-es is co.plicated. It is
possible here to touch brie/ly only on the astral portion o/ those inter-als. 4or
/urther details the student is re/erred to The .nner Life$ Eolu.e #, pages &%A?&$&.
Three principal /actors ha-e to be ta+en into account8?
;!< The class o/ ego
;#< The .ode o/ indi-idualisation.
;F< The length and nature o/ the last earth?li/e. <Pa.e 1"$=
The /ollo,ing table gi-es a general a-erage o/ the length o/ the astral li/e, as
deter.ined by the class o/ ego.
MOON2MEN4 &IRST ORDER
Indi7idualied in Moon2C(ain
Round NoA
Preent t/!e
A$er%&e len.t( o0
Atral li0eA
'
Ad7anced e.o
B#an/C o0 t(ee are
ta)in. continuou
incarnation o t(at
0or t(e# t(e
Duetion o0 inter7al
8et5een li7e doe
not arieC
' /ear4 an e.o #a/
e7en !a t(rou.(
ra!idl/ and
unconcioul/
Men ditin.ui(ed
in artE cience or
reli.ion
General tendenc/ i
to5ard a lon.er atral
li0eE e!eciall/ in t(e
cae o0 artit and
reli.iou #enA
*
Countr/ .entle#en
and !ro0eional
#en
"32 "' /ear
- :!!er #iddle cla "' /ear
Cla o0 E.o
Moon2Men4 Second Order Bour.eoiie $3 /ear
Moon2Ani#al2Men S)illed 5or)er $3E on #iddle le7el
Moon2Ani#alE &irt Cla :n)illed la8ourer $32'3E on lo5er le7el
Moon2Ani#alE Second Cla
Drun)ard and
une#!lo/a8le
$32'3E uuall/ on *t(
le7el
Moon2Ani#alE T(ird Cla Lo5et o0 (u#anit/ 'E on -t( le7elA
A certain di//erence is produced by the .ode o/ indi-idualisation , but this
di//erence is .uch less in proportion in the lo,er classes. Those indi-idualised
through intellect tend to ta+e an inter-al bet,een li-es rather longer than that
ta+en by those ,ho indi-idualised in other ,ays. <Pa.e 1"'=
1enerally spea+ing, a .an ,ho dies young ,ill ha-e a shorter inter-al than one
,ho dies in old age, but is li+ely to ha-e a proportionately longer astral li/e,
because .ost o/ the strong e.otions ,hich ,or+ the.sel-es out in astral li/e are
generated in the earlier part o/ the physical li/e.
It .ust be recollected that in the astral ,orld or ordinary .ethods o/ ti.e?
.easure.ent scarcely apply8 e-en in physical li/e an2iety or pain ,ill stretch a
/e, hours al.ost inde/initely, and on the astral plane this characteristic is
e2aggerated a hundred?/old.
A .an on the astral plane can .easure ti.e only by his sensations. 4or a
distortion o/ this /act has co.e the /alse idea o/ eternal da.nation.
We ha-e thus seen that both ;!< the ti.e spent, and ;#< the a.ount o/
consciousness e2perienced, on each le-el o/ the astral plane depend -ery largely
upon the +ind o/ li/e the .an has led in the physical ,orld. Another /actor o/ great
i.portance is the .an6s attitude o/ .ind a/ter physical death.
The astral li/e .ay be directed by the ,ill, 7ust as the physical li/e .ay be. A .an
,ith little ,ill?po,er or initiati-e is, in the astral as in the physical ,orld, -ery
.uch the creature o/ the surroundings ,hich he has .ade /or hi.sel/. A
deter.ined .an, on the other hand, can al,ays .a+e the best o/ his conditions
and li-e his o,n li/e in spite o/ the..
A .an, there/ore, does not rid hi.sel/ o/ e-il tendencies in the astral ,orld,
unless he de/initely ,or+s to that end. Unless he .a+es de/inite e//orts, he ,ill
necessarily su//er /ro. his inability to satis/y such cra-ings as can be grati/ied
only by .eans o/ a physical body. In process o/ ti.e the desires ,ill ,ear
the.sel-es out and die do,n si.ply because o/ the i.possibility o/ their
/ul/il.ent.
The process, ho,e-er, .ay be greatly e2pedited as soon as the .an realises the
necessity o/ ridding hi.sel/ o/ the e-il desires ,hich detain hi., and .a+es the
re:uisite e//ort. A .an ,ho is ignorant o/ the true state o/ a//airs usually broods
o-er his desires, thus <Pa.e 1"*= lengthening their li/e,and clings desperately to
the gross particles o/ astral .atter as long as he can, because the sensations
connected ,ith the. see. nearest to the physical li/e /or ,hich he still cra-es.
The proper procedure /or hi., o/ course, is to +ill out earthly desires and to
,ithdra, into hi.sel/ as :uic+ly as possible.
E-en a .erely intellectual +no,ledge o/ the conditions o/ astral li/e, and, in /act,
o/ Theosophical truths in general, is o/ inesti.able -alue to a .an in the a/ter?
death li/e.
It is o/ the ut.ost i.portance that a/ter physical death a .an should recognise
:uite clearly that he is ,ithdra,ing steadily to,ards the ego, and that
conse:uently he should disengage his thoughts as /ar as .ay be /ro. things
physical and /i2 his attention upon spiritual .atters ,hich ,ill occupy hi. ,hen,
in due ti.e he passes /ro. the astral plane into the .ental or hea-en?,orld.
5y adopting this attitude he ,ill greatly /acilitate the natural disintegration o/ the
astral body instead o/ unnecessarily and uselessly delaying hi.sel/ upon the
lo,er le-els o/ the astral plane.
9any people, un/ortunately, re/use to turn their thoughts up,ards, but cling to
earthly .atters ,ith desperate tenacity. As ti.e passes on, they gradually, in the
nor.al course o/ e-olution, lose touch ,ith the lo,er ,orlds8 but by /ighting e-ery
step o/ the ,ay they cause the.sel-es .uch unnecessary su//ering and
seriously delay their up,ard progress.
In this ignorant opposition to the natural course o/ things the possession o/ a
physical corpse is o/ assistance to a .an, the corpse ser-ing as a +ind o/ /ulcru.
on the physical plane. The best re.edy /or this tendency is cre.ation, ,hich
destroys the lin+ ,ith the physical plane.
A /e, typical e2a.ples o/ astral a/ter?death li/e ,ill best illustrate the nature and
rational o/ that li/e.
An ordinary colourless .an, neither specially good nor specially bad, is o/ course
in no ,ay changed by <Pa.e 1"-= death, but re.ains colourless. onse:uently, he
,ill ha-e no special su//ering and no special 7oy8 in /act,he .ay /ind li/e
so.e,hat dull, because, ha-ing culti-ated no particular interests during his
physical li/e, he has none in his astral li/e.
I/ during his physical li/e he had no ideas beyond gossip, sport, business or
dress, he ,ill naturally, ,hen these are no longer possible, be li+ely to /ind ti.e
hang hea-ily on his hands.
A .an, ho,e-er, ,ho has had strong desires o/ a lo, type, ,ho has been, /or
e2a.ple, a drun+ard or a sensualist, ,ill be in /ar ,orse case. *ot only ,ill his
cra-ings and desires re.ain ,ith hi. ;it ,ill be recollected that the centres o/
sensation are situated, not in the physical body, but in 3K.a, see page #&<, but
they ,ill be stronger than e-er, because their /ull /orce is e2pressed in astral
.atter, none o/ it being absorbed in setting in .otion the hea-y physical
particles.
5eing in the lo,est and .ost depra-ed condition o/ astral li/e, such a .an see.s
o/ten to be still su//iciently near to the physical to be sensiti-e to certain odours,
though the titillation produced is only su//icient still /urther to e2cite his .ad
desires and tantilise hi. to the -erge o/ /renCy.
5ut, as he no longer possesses a physical body, through ,hich alone his
cra-ings can be allayed, he has no possibility o/ grati/ying his terrible thirst.
Hence the innu.erable traditions o/ the /ires o/ purgatory, /ound in nearly e-ery
religion, ,hich are no inapt sy.bols /or the torturing conditions described. Such a
condition .ay last /or :uite a long ti.e, since it passes a,ay only by gradually
,earing itsel/ out.
The rationale and auto.atic 7ustice o/ the ,hole process is clear8 the .an has
created his conditions hi.sel/, by his o,n actions, and deter.ined the e2act
degree o/ their po,er and duration. 4urther.ore, it is the only ,ay in ,hich he
can get rid o/ his -ices. 4or, i/ he ,ere to be reincarnated i..ediately, he ,ould
start his ne2t li/e precisely as he /inished the <Pa.e 1",= preceding one8 i.e.$ a
sla-e to his passions and appetites8 and the possibility o/ his e-er beco.ing
.aster o/ hi.sel/ ,ould be i..easurably reduced. 5ut, as things are, his
cra-ings ha-ing ,orn the.sel-es out, he ,ill be able to co..ence his ne2t
incarnation ,ithout the burden o/ the.8 and his ego, ha-ing had so se-ere a
lesson, is li+ely to .a+e e-ery possible e//ort to restrain its lo,er -ehicles /ro.
again .a+ing a si.ilar .ista+e.
A con/ir.ed drun+ard ,ill so.eti.es be able to dra, round hi.sel/ a -eil o/
etheric .atter, and thus partially .aterialise hi.sel/. He can then dra, in the
odour o/ the alcohol, but he does not s.ell it in the sa.e sense as ,e do. Hence
he is an2ious to /orce others into the condition o/ drun+enness, so that he .ay be
able partially to enter their physical bodies and obsess the., through their bodies
being once .ore able to e2perience directly the tastes and other sensations /or
,hich he cra-es.
)bsession .ay be per.anent or te.porary. As 7ust .entioned, a dead
sensualist .ay seiCe upon any -ehicle he can steal in order to grati/y his coarse
desires. At other ti.es a .an .ay obsess so.eone as a calculated act o/
re-enge8 a case is recorded ,here a .an obsessed the daughter o/ his ene.y.
)bsession can be best pre-ented or resisted by an e2ercise o/ ,ill?po,er. When
it occurs it is al.ost al,ays because the -icti. has in the /irst place -oluntarily
yielded hi.sel/ to the in-ading in/luence, and his /irst step there/ore is to re-erse
the act o/ sub.ission. The .ind should be set steadily against the obsession in
deter.ined resistance, realising strongly that the hu.an ,ill is stronger than any
e-il in/luence.
Such obsession is o/ course utterly unnatural and in the highest degree har./ul
to both parties.
The e//ect o/ e2cessi-e tobacco?s.o+ing on the astral body a/ter death is
re.ar+able. The poison so /ills the astral body that it sti//ens under its in/luences
and is unable to ,or+ properly or to .o-e /reely. 4or the ti.e, the .an is as
though paralysed ? <Pa.e 1"1= able to spea+, yet debarred /ro. .o-e.ent, and
al.ost entirely cut o// /ro. higher in/luences. When the poisoned part o/ his
astral body ,ears a,ay, he e.erges /ro. this unpleasant predica.ent.
The astral body changes its particles, 7ust as does the physical body, but there is
nothing to correspond to eating and digesting /ood. The astral particles ,hich /all
a,ay are replaced by others /ro. the surrounding at.osphere. The purely
physical cra-ings o/ hunger and thirst no longer e2ist there8 but the desire o/ the
glutton to grati/y the sensation o/ taste, and the desire o/ the drun+ard /or the
/eelings ,hich /ollo, the absorption o/ alcohol, being both astral, still persist8 and,
as already stated, they .ay cause great su//ering o,ing to the absence o/ the
physical body through ,hich alone they could be satis/ied.
9any .yths and traditions e2ist, e2e.pli/ying the conditions described. )ne o/
the. is that o/ Tantalus, ,ho su//ered /ro. raging thirst, yet ,as doo.ed to see
the ,ater recede 7ust as it ,as about to touch his lips. Another, typi/ying a.bition,
is that o/ Sisyphus, conde.ned to roll a hea-y roc+ up a .ountain, only see it roll
do,n again. The roc+ represents a.bitious plans ,hich such a .an continues to
/or., only to realise that he has no physical body ,ith ,hich to carry the. out.
E-entually he ,ears out his sel/ish a.bition, realises that he need not roll his
roc+, and lets it rest in peace at the botto. o/ the hill.
Another story ,as that o/ Tityus, a .an ,ho ,as tied to a roc+, his li-er being
gna,ed by -ultures, and gro,ing against as /ast as it ,as eaten. This
sy.bolised a .an tortured by the gna,ings o/ re.orse /or sins co..itted on
earth.
The ,orse that the ordinary .an o/ the ,orld usually pro-ides /or hi.sel/ a/ter
death is a useless and unutterably ,eariso.e e2istence, -oid o/ all rational
interests ? the natural se:uel o/ a li/e ,asted in sel/?indulgence, tri-iality and
gossip here on earth.
The only things /or ,hich he cra-es are no longer possible to hi., /or in the astral
,orld there is no <Pa.e 1%3= business to be done, and, thought he .ay ha-e as
.uch co.panionship as he ,ishes, society is no, /or hi. a -ery di//erent .atter,
because all the pretensions upon ,hich it is usually based in this ,orld are no
longer possible.
9an thus .a+es /or hi.sel/ both his o,n purgatory and his o,n hea-en, and
these are not places but states o/ consciousness. Hell does not e2ist8 it is only a
/ig.ent o/ the theological i.agination .*either purgatory nor hea-en can e-er be
eternal, /or a /inite cause cannot produce an in/inite result.
*e-ertheless, the conditions o/ the ,orst type o/ .an a/ter death are perhaps
best described by the ,ord 0hell0, though they are not e-erlasting. Thus, /or
e2a.ple, it so.eti.es happens that a .urdered is /ollo,ed about by his -icti.,
ne-er being able to escape /ro. his haunting presence. The -icti. ;unless
hi.sel/ o/ a -ery base type< is ,rapped in unconsciousness, and this -ery
unconsciousness see.s to add a ne, horror to the .echanical pursuit.
The -i-isectors also has his 0hell0, ,here he li-es a.id the cro,ding /or.s o/ his
.utilated -icti.s ? .oaning, :ui-ering, ho,ling. These are -i-i/ied, not by the
ani.al souls, but by ele.ental li/e pulsing ,ith hatred to the tor.entor,
rehearsing his ,orst e2peri.ents ,ith auto.atic regularity, conscious o/ all their
horror, and yet i.pelled to the sel/?torture by the habits set up during earth?li/e.
Such conditions are not produced arbitrarily, but are the ine-itable results o/
causes set in operation by each person. *ature6s lessons are sharp, but in the
long run they are .erci/ul, /or they lead to the e-olution o/ the soul, being strictly
correcti-e and salutary.
4or .ost people the state a/ter death is .uch happier than li/e upon earth. The
/irst /eeling o/ ,hich the dead .an is usually conscious is one o/ the .ost
,onder/ul and delight/ul /reedo.; he has nothing to ,orry about, and no duties
rest upon hi., e2cept those ,hich he chooses to i.pose upon hi.sel/.
=egarded /ro. this point o/ -ie,, it is clear that <Pa.e 1%1= there is a.ple
7usti/ication /or the assertion that people physically0ali-e0, buried and cra.ped as
they are in physical bodies, are in the true sense /ar less 0ali-e0 than those
usually ter.ed dead. The so?called dead are .uch .ore /ree and, being less
ha.pered by .aterial condition as, ar able ,or+ /ar .ore e//ecti-ely and to co-er
a ,ider /ield o/ acti-ity.
A .an ,ho, not ha-ing per.itted the re?arrange.ent o/ his astral body, is /ree o/
the entire astral ,orld, does not /ind it incon-eniently cro,ded, because the
astral ,orld is .uch larger than the sur/ace o/ the physical earth, ,hile its
population is so.e,hat s.aller, the a-erage li/e o/ hu.anity in the astral ,orld
;see page !#&< being shorter than the a-erage in the physical.
In addition to the dead, there are also, o/ course, on the astral plane about one?
third o/ the li-ing, ,ho ha-e te.porarily le/t the physical body during sleep.
Although the ,hole astral plane is open to any o/ its inhabitants ,ho ha-e not
per.itted the re?arrange.ent o/ their astral bodies, yet the great .a7ority re.ain
near the sur/ace o/ the earth.
Passing to a higher type o/ .an, ,e .ay consider one ,ho has so.e interests o/
a rational nature, e.g.$ .usic, literature, science, etc. The need to spend a large
proportion o/ each day in 0earning a li-ing0 no longer e2isting, the .an is /ree to
do precisely ,hat he li+es, so long as it capable o/ realisation ,ithout physical
.atter. In the astral li/e it is possible not only to listen to the grandest .usic but to
hear /ar .ore o/ it than be/ore, because there are in the astral ,orld other and
/uller har.onies than the relati-ely dull physical ears can hear. 4or the artist, all
the lo-eliness o/ the higher astral ,orld is open /or his en7oy.ent. A .an can
readily and rapidly .o-e /ro. place to place and see the ,onders o/ *ature,
ob-iously /ar .ore easily than he could e-er do on the physical plane. I/ he is a
historian or a scientist, the libraries and the laboratories o/ the ,orld are at his
disposal8 his co.prehension o/ natural processes ,ill <Pa.e 1%"= be /ar /uller than
e-er be/ore, because he can no, see the inner as ,ell as the outer ,or+ings,
and .any o/ the causes ,here pre-iously he sa, only the e//ects. In all these
cases his delight is greatly enhanced, because no /atigue is possible ;see page
A#<A
A philanthropist can pursue his bene/icent ,or+ .ore -igorously than e-er be/ore
and under better conditions than in the physical ,orld. There are thousands
,ho. he can help, and ,ith greater certainty o/ con/erring real bene/it.
It is :uite possible /or any person upon the astral plane a/ter death to set hi.sel/
to study, and to ac:uire entirely ne, ideas. Thus, people .ay learn o/ Theosophy
/or the /irst ti.e in the astral ,orld. A case is on record e-en o/ a person learning
.usic there, though this is unusual.
In general, li/e on the astral plane is .ore acti-e than on the physical plane,
astral .atter being .ore highly -italised than physical .atter, and /or. being
.ore plastic. The possibilities on the astral plane, both o/ en7oy.ent and o/
progress, are in e-ery ,ay .uch greater than those on the physical plane. 5ut
the possibilities are o/ a higher class, and it needs a certain a.ount o/
intelligence to ta+e ad-antage o/ the.. A .an ,ho has ,hilst on earth de-oted
the ,hole o/ his thought and energy solely to .aterial things, is little li+ely to be
able to adapt hi.sel/ to .ore ad-anced conditions, as his se.i?atrophied .ind
,ill not be strong enough to grasp the ,ider possibilities o/ the grander li/e.
A .an ,hose li/e and interests are o/ a higher type .ay be able to do .ore good
in a /e, years o/ astral e2istence than e-er he could ha-e done in the longest
physical li/e.
Astral pleasures being so .uch greater than those o/ the physical ,orld, there is
danger o/ people being turned aside by the. /ro. the path o/ progress. 5ut e-en
the delights o/ the astral li/e do not present a serious danger to those ,ho ha-e
realised a little o/ so.ething higher. A/ter death a .an should try to <Pa.e 1%%=
pass through the astral le-els as speedily as possible, consistently ,ith
use/ulness, and not yield to their re/ined pleasures any .ore than to those o/ the
physical.
Any de-eloped .an is in e-ery ,ay :uite as acti-e during astral li/e a/ter death
as during his physical li/e8 he can un:uestionably help or hinder his o,n progress
and that o/ others :uite as .uch a/ter death as be/ore, and conse:uently he is all
the ti.e generating +ar.a o/ the greatest i.portance.
In /act, the consciousness o/ a .an li-ing entirely in the astral ,orld is usually
.uch .ore de/inite than it has been during his sleep astral li/e, and he is
correspondingly better able to thin+ and act ,ith deter.ination, so that his
opportunities o/ .a+ing good or bad +ar.a are the greater.
It .ay be said in general that .an can .a+e +ar.a ,here-er his consciousness
is de-eloped, or ,here-er he can act or choose. Thus actions done on the astral
plane .ay bear +ar.ic /ruit in the ne2t earth li/e.
)n the lo,est astral sub?plane a .an, ha-ing other things to occupy his
attention, concerns hi.sel/ little ,ith ,hat ta+es place in the physical ,orld,
e2cept ,hen he haunts -ile resorts.
)n the ne2t sub?plane, the si2th, are /ound .en ,ho, ,hilst ali-e, centred their
desires and thoughts chie/ly in .ere ,orldly a//airs. onse:uently, they still ho-er
about the persons and places ,ith ,hich they ,ere .ost closely associated
,hile on earth, and .ay be conscious o/ .any things in connection ,ith these.
They ne-er, ho,e-er, see physical .atter itsel/, but al,ays the astral counterpart
o/ it.
Thus, /or e2a.ple, a theatre /ull o/ people has its astral counterpart, ,hich is
-isible to astral entities. They ,ould not, ho,e-er, be able to see, as ,e see
the., either the costu.es or the e2pressions o/ the actors, and the e.otions o/
the players, being not real but si.ulated, ,ould .a+e no i.pression on the astral
plane. <Pa.e 1%$=
Those on the si2th sub?plane, ,hich is on the sur/ace o/ the earth, /ind
the.sel-es surrounded by the astral counterparts o/ physically e2isting
.ountains, trees, la+es, etc..
)n the ne2t t,o sub?planes, the /i/th and /ourth, this consciousness o/ physical
a//airs is also possible, though in rapidly di.inishing degree.
)n the ne2t t,o sub?planes, the third and second, contact ,ith the physical plane
could be obtained only by a special e//ort to co..unicate through a .ediu..
4ro. the highest, the /irst sub?plane, e-en co..unication through a .ediu.
,ould be -ery di//icult.
Those lo-ing on the higher sub?planes usually pro-ide the.sel-es ,ith ,hate-er
scenes they desire. Thus in one portion o/ the astral ,orld .en surround
the.sel-es ,ith landscapes o/ their o,n creation8 others accept ready?.ade the
landscapes ,hich ha-e already been constructed by others. ;A description o/ the
-arious le-els or sub?planes ,ill be gi-en in hapter !'<.
In so.e cases .en construct /or the.sel-es the ,eird scenes described in their
-arious religious scriptures, .anu/acturing clu.sy atte.pts at 7e,els gro,ing on
trees, seas o/ glass .ingled ,ith /ire, creatures /ull o/ eyes ,ithin, and deities
,ith a hundred heads and ar.s.
In ,hat the Spiritualists call the Su..erland, people o/ the sa.e race and the
sa.e religion tend to +eep together a/ter death 7ust as they do during li/e, so that
there is a +ind o/ net,or+ o/ su..erlands o-er the countries to ,hich belong the
persons ,ho ha-e created the., co..unities being /or.ed, di//ering as ,idely
/ro. each other as do si.ilar co..unities on earth. This is due not only to
natural a//inity but also to the /act that barriers o/ language still e2ist on the astral
plane.
This principle applies, in /act, to the astral plane in general. Thus at spiritualist
s:ances in eylon,it ,as /ound that the co..unicating entities ,ere 5uddhists,
and that beyond the gra-e they had /ound their religious preconceptions
con/ir.ed, e2actly as had <Pa.e 1%'= the .e.bers o/ -arious hristian sects in
Europe. 9en /ind on the astral plane not only their o,n thought?/or.s, but those
.ade by others ? these, in so.e cases, being the product o/ generations o/
thought /ro. thousands o/ people, all /ollo,ing along the sa.e lines.
It is not unco..on /or parents to endea-our to i.press their ,ishes on their
children, e.g.$ ,ith regard to so.e particular alliance on ,hich their heart is set.
Such an in/luence is insidious, an ordinary .an being li+ely to ta+e the steady
pressure /or his o,n sub?conscious desire.
In .any cases the dead ha-e constituted the.sel-es guardian angels to the
li-ing, .others o/ten protecting their sons, husbands their ,ido,s, and so on, /or
.any years.
In others cases a dead ,riter or .usical co.poser .ay i.press his ideas upon a
,riter o/ co.poser in the physical ,orld, so that .any boo+s credited to the li-ing
are really the ,or+ o/ the dead. The person ,ho actually e2ecutes the ,riting
.ay be conscious o/ the in/luence, or .ay be entirely unconscious o/ it.
)ne leading no-elist has stated that his stories co.e to hi. he +no,s not
,hence ? that they are in reality ,ritten not by hi., but through hi.. He
recognises the state o/ a//airs8 there are probably .any others in the sa.e case
,ho are :uite unconscious o/ it.
A doctor ,ho dies o/ten continues a/ter death to ta+e an interest in his patients,
endea-ouring to cure the. /ro. the other side, or to suggest to his successor
.ethods o/ treat.ent ,hich, ,ith his ne,ly?ac:uired astral /aculties, he sees
,ould be use/ul.
Whilst .ost ordinary 0good0 people, ,ho die natural deaths, are unli+ely to be
conscious o/ anything physical at all, as they s,eep through all the lo,er stages
be/ore a,a+ening to astral consciousness, yet so.e, e-en o/ these, .ay be
dra,n bac+ into touch ,ith the physical ,orld by great an2iety about so.eone
le/t behind.
The grie/ o/ relati-es and /riends .ay also attract the attention o/ one ,ho has
passed to the astral plane <Pa.e 1%*= and tend to dra, hi. do,n into touch ,ith
earth li/e again. This do,n,ard tendency gro,s ,ith use and the .an is li+ely to
e2ert his ,ill to +eep in touch ,ith the physical ,orld. 4or a ti.e his po,er o/
seeing earthly things ,ill increase; but presently it ,ill di.inish, and then he ,ill
probably su//er .entally as he /eels his po,er slipping /ro. hi..
In .any cases people not only cause the.sel-es an i..ense a.ount o/ ,holly
unnecessary pain, but o/ten also do serious in7ury to those /or ,ho. they .ourn
,ith intense and uncontrolled grie/.
(uring the ,hole period o/ the astral plane li/e, ,hether it be long or short, the
.an is ,ithin the reach o/ earth in/luences. In the cases 7ust .entioned the
passionate sorro, and desires o/ /riends on earth ,ould set up -ibrations in the
astral body o/ the .an ,ho had died, and so reach and rouse his .ind or lo,er
.anas. Thus aroused /ro. his drea.y state to -i-id re.e.brance o/ earth li/e,
he .ay endea-our to co..unicate ,ith his earth /riends, possibly through a
.ediu.. Such an a,a+ening is o/ten acco.panied by acute su//ering, and in any
e-en the natural process o/ the ego6s ,ithdra,al is delayed.
)ccult teaching does not /or a .o.ent counsel /orget/ulness o/ the dead8 but it
does suggest that a//ectionate re.e.brance o/ the dead is a /orce ,hich, i/
properly directed to,ards helping his progress to,ards the hea-en?,orld, and his
passage through the inter.ediate state, .ight be o/ real -alue to hi., ,hereas
.ourning is not only useless but har./ul. It is ,ith a true instinct that the Hindu
religion prescribes its ShrKddha cere.onies and the atholic hurch its prayers
/or the dead.
Prayers, ,ith their acco.panying cere.onies, create ele.entals ,hich stri+e
against the 3K.alo+ic entity6s astral body, and hasten its dis/iguration, thus
speeding hi. on to,ards the hea-en?,orld.
When, /or e2a.ple, a 9ass is o//ered ,ith a de/inite intention o/ helping a dead
person, that person ,ill undoubtedly bene/it by the do,npouring o/ /orce8 <Pa.e
1%-= the strong thought about hi. ine-itably attracts his attention, and ,hen he is
dra,n to the church he ta+es part in the cere.ony and en7oys a large share in its
results. E-en i/ he be still unconscious, the priest6s ,ill and prayer directs the
strea. o/ /orce to,ards the person concerned.
E-en the earnest general prayer or ,ish /or the good o/ the dead as a ,hole,
though li+ely to be -ague and there/ore less e//icient than a .ore de/inite
thought, has yet in the aggregate produced an e//ect ,hose i.portance it ,ould
be di//icult to e2aggerate. Europe little +no,s ho, .uch it o,es to those great
religious orders ,ho de-ote the.sel-es night and day to ceaseless prayer /or the
/aith/ul departed. <Pa.e 1%,=
CHAPTER 1'
THE A&TER2DEATH LI&E4 SPECIAL CASES
<Pa.e 1%,=There is practically no di//erence bet,een the consciousness o/ a
psychic a/ter death and that o/ an ordinary person, e2cept that the psychic, being
probably .ore /a.iliar ,ith astral .atter, ,ill /eel .ore at ho.e in his ne,
en-iron.ent. To be psychic .eans to possess a physical body in so.e ,ays
.ore sensiti-e than those o/ .ost people8 conse:uently, ,hen the physical body
is dropped, this ine:uality no longer e2ists.
A sudden death, such as /ro. an accident, need not necessarily a//ect the astral
li/e in any ,ay /or the ,orse. At the sa.e ti.e, /or .ost people, a .ore natural
death is pre/erable, because the slo, ,asting a,ay o/ the aged or the ra-ages o/
a long?continued illness are al.ost in-ariably acco.panied by a considerable
loosening and brea+ing up o/ the astral particles, so that ,hen the .an reco-ers
consciousness upon the astral plane, he /inds so.e, at any rate, o/ his principal
,or+ there already done /or hi..
In .ost cases, ,hen earth li/e is suddenly cut short by accident or suicide, the
lin+ bet,een +K.a ;desire< and prKnK ;-itality< is not easily bro+en, and the astral
body is conse:uently strongly -i-i/ied.
The ,ithdra,al o/ the principles /ro. their physical encase.ent, o,ing to sudden
death o/ any +ind, has been aptly co.pared to the tearing o/ the stone out o/ an
unripe /ruit. A great deal o/ the grossest +ind o/ astral .atter still clings around
the personality, ,hich is conse:uently held in the se-enth or lo,est astral sub?
plane.
The .ental terror and disturbance ,hich so.eti.es acco.pany accidental death
are, o/ course, a <Pa.e 1%1= -ery un/a-ourable preparation /or astral li/e. In certain
rare cases the agitation and terror .ay persist /or so.e ti.e a/ter death.
The -icti.s o/ capital punish.ent, apart /ro. the in7ury done to the. by suddenly
,renching /ro. the physical the astral body, throbbing ,ith /eelings o/ hatred,
passion, re-enge, and so /orth, constitute a peculiarly dangerous ele.ent in the
astral ,orld. Unpleasant to society as a .urderer in his physical body .ay be, he
is clearly /ar .ore dangerous ,hen suddenly e2pelled /ro. the body8 and, ,hilst
society .ay protect itsel/ /ro. .urderers in the physical body, it is at present
de/enceless against .urderers suddenly pro7ected on to the astral plane in the
/ull /lush o/ their passions.
Such .en .ay ,ell act as the instigators o/ other .urders. It is ,ell +no,n that
.urders o/ a particular +ind are so.eti.es repeated o-er and o-er again in the
sa.e co..unity.
The position o/ the suicide is /urther co.plicated by the /act that his rash act has
enor.ously di.inished the po,er o/ the higher ego to ,ithdra, its lo,er portion
into itsel/, and there/ore has e2posed hi. to other and great dangers.
*e-ertheless it .ust be re.e.bered, as already said, that the guilt o/ suicide
di//ers considerably according to circu.stances, /ro. the .orally bla.eless act
o/ Socrates through all degrees do,n to that o/ a ,retch ,ho co..its suicide in
order to escape the physical results o/ his o,n cri.es, and, o/ course, the
position a/ter death -aries accordingly.
The +ar.ic conse:uences o/ suicide are usually .o.entous8 they are certain to
a//ect the ne2t li/e, and probably .ore li-es than one. It is a cri.e against *ature
to inter/ere ,ith the prescribed period appointed /or li-ing on the physical li/e. 4or
e-ery .an has an appointed li/e?ter., deter.ined by an intricate ,eb o/ prior
causes ? i.e..$by +ar.a ? and that ter. .ust run out its appointed sands, be/ore
the dissolution o/ the personality. <Pa.e 1$3=
The attitude o/ .ind at the ti.e o/ death deter.ines the subse:uent position o/
the person. Thus, there is a pro/ound di//erence bet,een one ,ho lays don his
li/e /ro. altruistic .oti-es and one ,ho deliberately destroys his li/e /ro. sel/ish
.oti-es, such as /ear, etc..
Pure and spiritually?.inded .en, ,ho are the -icti.s o/ accident, etc., sleep out
happily the ter. o/ their natural li/e. In other cases they re.ain conscious ? o/ten
entangled in the /inal scene o/ earth?li/e /or a ti.e, held in ,hate-er region they
are related to by the outer.ost layer o/ their astral body. Their nor.al +K.alo+ic
li/e does not begin until the natural ,eb o/ earth?li/e is out?spun, and they are
-i-idly conscious o/ both their astral and physical surroundings.
It .ust not /or a .o.ent, there/ore, be supposed that because o/ the .any
superiorities o/ astral o-er physical li/e, a .an is there/ore 7usti/ied in co..itting
suicide or see+ing death. 9en are incarnated in physical bodies /or a purpose
,hich can be attained only in the physical ,orld. There are lessons to be learnt in
the physical ,orld ,hich cannot be learnt any,here else, and the sooner ,e
learn the. the sooner ,e shall be /ree /ro. the need to return to the lo,er and
.ore li.ited li/e. The ego has to ta+e .uch trouble in order to incarnate in a
physical body, and also to li-e through the ,eariso.e period o/ early childhood,
during ,hich he is gradually and ,ith .uch e//ort gaining so.e control o-er his
ne, -ehicles, and there/ore his e//orts should not be /oolishly ,asted. In this
respect the natural instinct o/ sel/?preser-ation is one ,hich should be obeyed, it
being a .an6s duty to .a+e the .ost o/ his earthly li/e and to retain it as long as
circu.stances per.it.
I/ a .an, ,ho has been +illed suddenly, has led a lo,, brutal, sel/ish and sensual
li/e, he ,ill be /ully conscious on the se-en astral sub?plane, and is liable to
de-elop into a terribly e-il entity. In/la.ed ,ith appetites ,hich he can no longer
satis/y, he .ay endea-our to grati/y his passions through a .ediu. or any
sensiti-e person ,ho he can obsess. <Pa.e 1$1= Such entities ta+e a de-ilish
delight in using all the arts o/ astral delusion to lead others into the sa.e
e2cesses in ,hich they the.sel-es indulged. 4ro. this class and /ro. the
-italised shells ;see page !$#< are dra,n the te.pters ? the de-ils o/
ecclesiastical literature.
The /ollo,ing is a strongly ,orded account o/ the -icti.s o/ sudden death,
,hether suicides or +illed by accident, ,hen such -icti.s are depra-ed and
gross. QUnhappy shades, i/ sin/ul and sensual, they ,ander about... until their
death?hour co.es. ut o// in the /ull /lush o/ earthly passions, ,hich bind the. to
/a.iliar scenes, they are enticed by opportunities ,hich .ediu.s a//ord to grati/y
the. -icariously. They are the PishKchas, the Incubi and Succubae o/ .ediae-al
ti.es8 the de.ons o/ thirst, gluttony, lust and a-arice8 ele.entaries o/ intensi/ied
cra/t, ,ic+edness and cruelty8 pro-o+ing their -icti.s to horrid cri.es, and
re-elling in their co..issionJR
Soldiers +illed in battle do not :uite co.e under this category, because, ,hether
the cause /or ,hich they are /ighting be in he abstract right or ,rong, they thin+ it
to be right8 to the. it is the call o/ duty, and they sacri/ice their li-es ,illingly and
unsel/ishly. In spite o/ its horrors, there/ore, ,ar .ay ne-ertheless be a potent
/actor in e-olution at a certain le-el. This, also, is the grain o/ truth in the idea o/
the 9oha..edan /anatic that the .an ,ho dies /ighting /or the /aith goes
straight to a -ery good li/e in the ne2t ,orld.
In the case o/ children dying young, it is unli+ely l that they ,ill ha-e de-eloped
.uch a//inity /or the lo,est sub?di-isions o/ the astral ,orld, and as a .atter o/
e2perience they are seldo. /ound on the lo,est astral sub?planes.
So.e people cling so desperately to .aterial e2istence that at death their astral
bodies cannot altogether separate /ro. the etheric, and conse:uently they
a,a+en still surrounded by etheric .atter. Such persons are in a -ery unpleasant
condition8 they are shut out /ro. the astral ,orld by the etheric shell ,hich
surrounds the., and at the sa.e ti.e they are <Pa.e 1$"= also, o/ course, shut o//
/ro. ordinary physical li/e because they ha-e no physical sense?organs.
The result is that they dri/t about, lonely, du.b and terri/ied, unable to
co..unicate ,ith entities on either plane. They cannot realise that i/ they ,ould
only let go their /renCied grasp on .atter they ,ould slip, a/ter a /e, .o.ents o/
unconsciousness, into the ordinary li/e o/ the astral plane. 5ut they cling to their
grey ,orld, ,ith their .iserable hal/?consciousness, rather than sin+ into ,hat
they thin+ co.plete e2tinction, or e-en the hell in ,hich they ha-e been taught to
belie-e.
In process o/ ti.e the etheric shell ,ears out, and the ordinary course o/ *ature
reasserts itsel/ in spite o/ their struggles8 so.eti.es in sheer desperation they
rec+lessly let the.sel-es go, pre/erring e-en the idea o/ annihilation to their
present e2istence > ,ith a result o-er,hel.ingly and surprisingly pleasant.
In a /e, cases, another astral entity .ay be able to help the. by persuading
the. to let go their hold on ,hat to the. is li/e and sin+ out o/ it.
In other cases, they .ay be so un/ortunate as to disco-er a .eans o/ re-i-ing to
so.e e2tent their touch ,ith physical li/e through a .ediu., though as a rule the
.ediu.6s Qspirit?guideR -ery properly /orbids the. access.
The QguideR is right in his action, because such entities, in their terror and need,
beco.e :uite unscrupulous and ,ould obsess and e-en .adden a .ediu.,
/ighting as a dro,ning .an /ights /or li/e. They could succeed only i/ the ego o/
the .ediu. had ,ea+ened his hold upon his -ehicles by allo,ing the indulgence
o/ undesirable thoughts or passions.
So.eti.es an entity .ay be able to seiCe upon a baby body, ousting the /eeble
personality /or ,ho. it ,as intended, or so.eti.es e-en to obsess the body o/
an ani.al, the /rag.ent o/ the group?soul ,hich, to an ani.al, stands in the
place o/ an ego, ha-ing a hold on the body less strong than that o/ an ego. This
obsession .ay be co.plete or partial. The obsessing <Pa.e 1$%= entity thus once
.ore gets into touch ,ith the physical plane, sees through the ani.al6s eyes, and
/eels any pain in/licted upon the ani.al > in /act, so /ar as his his o,n
consciousness is concerned, he is the ani.al /or the ti.e being.
A .an ,ho thus entangles hi.sel/ ,ith an ani.al cannot abandon the ani.al6s
body at ,ill, but only gradually and by considerable e//ort, e2tending probably
o-er .any days. Usually he is set /ree only at the death o/ the ani.al, and e-en
then there re.ains an astral entangle.ent to sha+e o//. A/ter the death o/ the
ani.al such a soul so.eti.es endea-ours to obsess another .e.ber o/ the
sa.e herd, or indeed any other creature ,ho. he can seiCe in his desperation.
The ani.als .ost co..only seiCed upon see. to be the less de-eloped ones >
cattle, sheep and s,ine. 9ore intelligent creatures, such as dogs, cats and
horses do not appear to be so easily dispossessed, though cases do
occasionally occur.
All obsessions, ,hether o/ a hu.an or an annual S body, are an e-il and a
hindrance to the obsessing soul, as they te.porarily strengthen his hold upon the
.aterial, and so delay his natural progress into the astral li/e, besides .a+ing
undesirable +arrnic lin+s.
In the case o/ a .an ,ho, by -icious appetite or other,ise, /or.s a -ery strong
lin+ ,ith any type o/ ani.al, his astral body sho,s ani.al characteristics, and
.ay rese.ble in appearance the ani.al ,hose :ualities had been encouraged
during earth li/e. In e2tre.e cases the .an .ay be lin+ed to the astral body o/
the ani.al and thus be chained as a prisoner to the ani.al6s physical body. The
.an is conscious in the astral ,orld, has his hu.an /aculties, but cannot control
the ani.al body nor e2press hi.sel/ through that body on the physical plane.
The ani.al organis. ser-es as a 7ailer, rather than as a -ehicle8 and, /urther, the
ani.al soul is not e7ected, but re.ains as the proper tenant o/ its body.
ases o/ this +ind e2plain, at least partially, the belie/ o/ten /ound in )riental
countries, that a .an <Pa.e 1$$=
.ay under certain conditions reincarnate in an ani.al body.
A si.ilar /ate .ay be/all a .an as he returns to the astral plane on his ,ay to re?
birth, and is described in hapter #& on Re!#irth.
The class o/ person ,ho is de/initely held do,n to earth by an2iety is o/ten
ter.ed earth?bound8 as St. 9artin e2pressed it, such .en are Qre.ainersR, not
QreturnersR, being unable thoroughly to tear the.sel-es a,ay /ro. physical
.atter until so.e business is settled in ,hich they ha-e a special interest.
We ha-e already seen that a/ter physical death the real .an is steadily
,ithdra,ing hi.sel/ /ro. his outer bodies8 and that, in particular, .anas, or .ind,
endea-ours to disentangle itsel/ /ro. +K.a, or desire. In certain rare cases, the
personality, or lo,er .an, .ay be so strongly controlled by +K.a that lo,er
.anas is co.pletely ensla-ed and cannot disentangle itsel/. The lin+ bet,een
the lo,er and the higher .ental, the Q sil-er thread that binds it to the 9asterR,
snaps in t,o. This is spo+en o/ in occultis. as the Q loss o/ the soulR. It is the loss
o/ the personal sel/, ,hich has separated /ro. its parent, the higher ego, and has
thus doo.ed itsel/ to perish.
In such a case, e-en during earth?li/e, the lo,er :uaternary is ,renched a,ay
/ro. the Triad, i.e., the lo,er principles, headed by lo,er .anas, are se-ered
/ro. the higher principles, At.a, 5uddhi and Higher 9anas. The .an is rent in
t,ain, the brute has bro+en itsel/ /ree, and it goes /orth unbridled, carrying ,ith it
the re/lections o/ that .anasic light ,hich should ha-e been its guide through li/e.
Such a creature, o,ing to its possession o/ .ind, is .ore dangerous e-en than
an une-ol-ed ani.al8 though hu.an in /or., it is brute in nature, ,ithout sense
o/ truth, lo-e or 7ustice.
A/ter physical death, such an astral body is an entity o/ terrible potency, and is
uni:ue in this, that under certain rare conditions it can reincarnate in the ,orld o/
.en. With no instincts sa-e those o/ the <Pa.e 1$'= ani.al, dri-en only by
passion, ne-er e-en by e.otion, ,ith a cunning that no brute can ri-al, a
,ic+edness that is deliberate, it touches ideal -ileness, and is the natural /oe o/
all nor.al hu.an beings. A being o/ this class > ,hich is +no,n as an
)lementary > sin+s lo,er ,ith each successi-e incarnation, until, as the e-il
/orce gradually ,ears itsel/ out, it perishes, being cut o// /ro. the source o/ li/e. It
disintegrates, and thus as a separate e2istence is lost.
4ro. the point o/ -ie, o/ the ego there has been no har-est o/ use/ul e2perience
/ro. that personality8 the QrayR has brought nothing bac+, the lo,er li/e has been
a total and co.plete /ailure.
The ,ord Ele.entary has been e.ployed by -arious ,riters in .any di//erent
senses, but it is reco..ended that it be con/ined to the entity described abo-e.
<Pa.e 1$*=
CHAPTER 1*
THE ASTRAL PLANE
THIS chapter ,ill be con/ined, so /ar as the co.ple2ities o/ the sub7ect per.it, to
a description o/ the nature, appearance, properties, etc., o/ the astral plane or
,orld. A later chapter ,ill be de-oted to an enu.eration and description o/ the
entities ,hich li-e in the astral ,orld.
The intelligent student ,ill recognise the e2tre.e di//iculty o/ gi-ing in physical
language an ade:uate description o/ the astral ,orld. The tas+ has been
co.pared to that o/ an e2plorer o/ so.e un+no,n tropical /orest being as+ed to
gi-e a /ull account o/ the country through ,hich he has passed. The di//iculties o/
describing the astral ,orld are /urther co.plicated by t,o /actors8 ;i< the di//iculty
o/ correctly translating /ro. the astral to the physical plane the recollection o/
,hat has been seen8 and ;#< the inade:uacy o/ physical plane language to
e2press .uch o/ ,hat has to be reported.
)ne o/ the .ost pro.inent characteristics o/ the astral ,orld is that it is /ull o/
continually changing shapes8 ,e /ind there not only thought?/or.s, co.posed o/
ele.ental essence and ani.ated by a thought, but also -ast .asses o/
ele.ental essence /ro. ,hich continually shapes e.erge and into ,hich they
again disappear. The ele.ental essence e2ists in hundreds o/ -arieties on e-ery
sub?plane, as though the air ,ere -isible and ,ere in constant undulating .otion
,ith changing colours li+e .other?o/?pearl. urrents o/ thought are continually
thrilling through this astral .atter, strong thoughts persisting as entities /or a long
ti.e, ,ea+ ones clothing the.sel-es in ele.ental essence and ,a-ering out
again. <Pa.e 1$-=
We ha-e already seen that astral .atter e2ists in se-en orders o/ /ineness,
corresponding to the se-en physical grades o/ solid, li:uid, gaseous, etc. Each o/
these se-en orders o/ .atter is the basis o/ one o/ the se-en le-els, sub?
di-isions, or sub?planes ;as they are -ariously called< o/ the astral plane.
It has beco.e custo.ary to spea+ o/ these se-en le-els as being ranged one
abo-e the other, the densest at the botto. and the /inest at the top8 and in .any
diagra.s they are actually dra,n in this .anner. There is a basis o/ truth in this
.ethod o/ representation, but it is not the ,hole truth.
The .atter o/ each sub?plane interpenetrates that o/ the sub?plane belo, it8
conse:uently, at the sur/ace o/ the earth, all se-en sub?planes e2ist together in
the sa.e space. *e-ertheless, it is also true that the higher astral sub?planes
e2tend /urther a,ay /ro. the physical earth than the lo,er sub?planes.
A -ery /air analogy o/ the relation bet,een the astral sub?planes e2ists in the
physical ,orld. To a considerable e2tent li:uids interpenetrate solids, e.g., ,ater
is /ound in soil, gases interpenetrate li:uids ;,ater usually contains considerable
-olu.es o/ air<, and so on. *e-ertheless it is substantially true that the bul+ o/ the
li:uid .atter o/ the earth lies in seas, ri-ers, etc., abo-e the solid earth. Si.ilarly
the bul+ o/ gaseous .atter rests abo-e the sur/ace o/ the ,ater, and reaches
.uch /urther out into space than either solid or li:uid.
Si.ilarly ,ith astral .atter. 5y /ar the densest aggregation o/ astral .atter lies
,ithin the li.its o/ the physical sphere. In this connection it should be noted that
astral .atter obeys the sa.e general la,s as physical .atter, and gra-itates
to,ards the centre o/ the earth.
The se-enth or lo,est astral sub?plane penetrates so.e distance into the interior
o/ the earth, so that the entities li-ing on it .ay /ind the.sel-es actually ,ithin
the crust o/ the earth.
The si2th sub?plane is partially coincident ,ith the sur/ace o/ the earth. <Pa.e 1$,=
The third sub?plane, ,hich the Spiritualists call the QSu..erlandR, e2tends .any
.iles up into the at.osphere.
The outer li.it o/ the astral ,orld e2tends nearly to the .ean distance o/ the
.oon6s orbit, so that at perigee the astral planes o/ the earth and .oon usually
touch one another, but not at apogee. ;*.5.>The earth and .oon are nearly
#&B,BBB .iles apart.< Hence the na.e the 1ree+s ga-e to the astral plane> the
sub?lunar ,orld. It /ollo,s that at certain ti.es o/ the .onth astral co..unication
,ith the .oon is possible, but not at certain other ti.es. A case, in /act, is
recorded ,here a .an reached the .oon, but had to ,ait till co..unication ,as
re?established by the approach o/ the satellite to its pri.ary be/ore he could
return.
The se-en sub?di-isions /all naturally into three groups8 ;a< the se-enth or lo,est8
;b< the si2th, /i/th and /ourth8 and ;c< the third, second and /irst. The di//erence
bet,een .e.bers o/ one group .ay be co.pared to that bet,een t,o solids,
e.g., steel and sand, the di//erence bet,een the groups .ay be co.pared to that
bet,een a solid and a li:uid.
Sub?plane $ has the physical ,orld as its bac+ground, though only a distorted
and partial -ie, o/ it is -isible, since all that is light and good and beauti/ul see.s
in-isible. 4our thousand years ago the Scribe Ani described it in an Egyptian
papyrus thus8 Q What .anner o/ place is this unto ,hich I ha-e co.e T It hath no
,ater, it hath no air; it is deep, un/atho.able; it is blac+ as the blac+est night, and
.en ,ander helplessly about therein; in it a .an .ay not li-e in :uietness o/
heart.R
4or the un/ortunate hu.an being on that le-el it is indeed true that Qall the earth
is /ull o/ dar+ness and cruel habitationR, but it is dar+ness ,hich radiates /ro.
,ithin hi.sel/ and causes his e2istence to be passed in a perpetual night o/ e-il
and horror > a -ery real hell, though, li+e all other hells, entirely o/ .an6s o,n
creation.
<Pa.e 1$1=
9ost students /ind the in-estigation o/ this section an e2tre.ely unpleasant tas+,
/or there appears to be a sense o/ density and gross .ateriality about it ,hich is
indescribably loathso.e to the liberated astral body, causing it the sense o/
pushing its ,ay through so.e blac+, -iscous /luid, ,hile the inhabitants and the
in/luences encountered there are also usually e2ceedingly undesirable.
The ordinary decent .an ,ould probably ha-e little to detain hi. on the se-enth
sub?plane, the only persons ,ho ,ould nor.ally a,a+e to consciousness on that
sub?plane being those ,hose desires are gross and brutal > drun+ards,
sensualists, -iolent cri.inals, and the li+e.
Sub?planes ', % and & ha-e /or their bac+ground the physical ,orld ,ith ,hich
,e are /a.iliar. Li/e on *o. ' is li+e ordinary physical li/e, .inus the physical
body and its necessities. *os. % and & are less .aterial and .ore ,ithdra,n
/ro. the lo,er ,orld and its interests.
As in the case o/ the physical, the densest astral .atter is /ar too dense /or the
ordinary /or.s o/ astral li/e8 but the astral ,orld has other /or.s o/ its o,n ,hich
are :uite un+no,n to students o/ the sur/ace.
)n the /i/th and /ourth sub?planes, .erely earthly associations appear to beco.e
o/ less and less i.portance, and the people there tend .ore and .ore to .ould
their surroundings into agree.ent ,ith the .ore persistent o/ their thoughts.
Sub?planes F, # and !, though occupying the sa.e space, gi-e the i.pression o/
being /urther re.o-ed /ro. the physical ,orld and correspondingly less .aterial.
At these le-els entities lose sight o/ the earth and its a//airs8 they are usually
deeply sel/?absorbed, and to a large e2tent create their o,n surroundings,
though these are su//iciently ob7ecti-e to be perceptible to other entities.
They are thus little a,a+e to the realities o/ the plane, but li-e instead in
i.aginary cities o/ their o,n, partly creating the. entirely by their o,n thoughts,
<Pa.e 1'3= and partly inheriting and adding to the structures created by their
predecessors.
Here are /ound the happy hunting?grounds o/ the =ed Indian, the Ealhalla o/ the
*orse.an, the houri?/illed paradise o/ the 9usli., the golden and 7e,elled?gated
*e, Gerusale. o/ the hristian, the lyceu.?/illed hea-en o/ the .aterialistic
re/or.er. Here is also the QSu..erlandR o/ the Spiritualists, in ,hich e2ist
houses, schools, cities, etc., ,hich, real enough as they are /or a ti.e, to a
clearer sight are so.eti.es pitiably unli+e ,hat their delighted creators suppose
the. to be. *e-ertheless, .any o/ the creations are o/ real though te.porary
beauty, and a -isitor ,ho +ne, o/ nothing higher .ight ,ander contentedly
a.ong the natural scenery pro-ided, ,hich at any rate is .uch superior to
anything in the physical ,orld8 or he .ight, o/ course, pre/er to construct his
scenery to suit his o,n /ancies.
The second sub?plane is especially the habitat o/ the sel/ish or unspiritual
religionist. Here he ,ears his golden cro,n and ,orships his o,n grossly
.aterial representation o/ the particular deity o/ his country and ti.e.
The /irst sub?plane is specially appropriated to those ,ho during earth?li/e ha-e
de-oted the.sel-es to .aterialistic but intellectual pursuits, /ollo,ing the. not
/or the sa+e o/ bene/iting their /ello,?.en, but either /ro. .oti-es o/ sel/ish
a.bition or si.ply /or the sa+e o/ intellectual e2ercise. Such persons .ay re.ain
on this sub?plane /or .any years, happy in ,or+ing out their intellectual
proble.s, but doing no good to any one, and .a+ing but little progress on their
,ay to,ards the hea-en?,orld.
)n this, the ato.ic sub?plane, .en do not build the.sel-es i.aginary
conceptions, as they do at lo,er le-els. Thin+ers and .en o/ science o/ten utilise
/or purposes o/ their study al.ost all the po,ers o/ the entire astral plane, /or
they are able to descend al.ost to the physical along certain li.ited lines. Thus
they can s,oop do,n upon the astral counterpart o/ a <Pa.e 1'1= physical boo+
and e2tract /ro. it the in/or.ation they re:uire. They readily touch the .ind o/ an
author, i.press their ideas upon hi., and recei-e his in return. So.eti.es they
seriously delay their departure /or the hea-en?,orld by the a-idity ,ith ,hich they
prosecute lines o/ study and e2peri.ent on the astral plane.
Although ,e spea+ o/ astral .atter as solid, it is ne-er really, but only relati-ely
solid. )ne o/ the reasons ,hy .ediae-al alche.ists sy.bolised astral .atter by
,ater ,as because o/ its /luidity and penetrability. The particles in the densest
astral .atter are /urther apart, relati-ely to their siCe, than e-en gaseous
particles. Hence it is easier /or t,o o/ the densest astral bodies to pass through
each other than it ,ould be /or the lightest gas to di//use itsel/ in the air.
People on the astral plane can and do pass through one another constantly, and
through /i2ed astral ob7ects. There can ne-er be anything li+e ,hat ,e .ean by a
collision, and under ordinary circu.stances t,o bodies ,hich interpenetrate are
not e-en appreciably a//ected. I/, ho,e-er, the interpenetration lasts /or so.e
ti.e, as ,hen t,o persons sit side by side in a church or theatre, a considerable
e//ect .ay be produced.
I/ a .an thought o/ a .ountain as an obstacle, he could not pass through it. To
learn that it is not an obstacle is precisely the ob7ect o/ one part o/ ,hat is called
the Qtest o/ earthR.
An e2plosion on the astral plane .ight be te.porarily as disastrous as an
e2plosion o/ gunpo,der on the physical plane, but the astral /rag.ents ,ould
:uic+ly collect the.sel-es again. Thus there cannot be an accident on the astral
plane in our sense o/ the ,ord, because the astral body, being /luidic, cannot be
destroyed or per.anently in7ured, as the physical can.
A purely astral ob7ect could be .o-ed by .eans o/ an astral hand, i/ one ,ished,
but not the astral counterpart o/ a physical ob7ect. In order to .o-e an astral
<Pa.e 1'"= counterpart it ,ould be necessary to .aterialise a hand and .o-e the
physical ob7ect, then the astral counterpart ,ould, o/ course, acco.pany it. The
astral counterpart is there because the physical ob7ect is there, 7ust as the scent
o/ a rose /ills a roo. because the rose is there. )ne could no .ore .o-e a
physical ob7ect by .o-ing its astral counterpart than one could .o-e the rose by
.o-ing its per/u.e.
)n the astral plane one ne-er touches the sur/ace o/ anything, so as to /eel it
hard or so/t, rough or s.ooth, hot or cold8 but on co.ing into contact ,ith the
interpenetrating substance one ,ould be conscious o/ a di//erent rate o/
-ibration, ,hich .ight, o/ course, be pleasant or unpleasant, sti.ulating or
depressing.
Thus i/ one is standing on the ground, part o/ one6s astral body interpenetrates
the ground under one6s /eet8 but the astral body ,ould not be conscious o/ the
/act by anything corresponding to a sense o/ hardness or by any di//erence in the
po,er o/ .o-e.ent.
)n the astral plane one has not the sense o/ 7u.ping o-er a precipice, but si.ply
o/ /loating o-er it.
Although the light o/ all planes co.es /ro. the sun, yet the e//ect ,hich it
produces on the astral plane is entirely di//erent /ro. that on the physical. In the
astral ,orld there is a di//used lu.inosity, not ob-iously co.ing /ro. any special
direction. All astral .atter is in itsel/ lu.inous, though an astral body is not li+e a
painted sphere, but rather a sphere o/ li-ing /ire. It is ne-er dar+ in the astral
,orld. The passing o/ a physical cloud in /ront o/ the sun .a+es no di//erence
,hate-er to the astral plane, nor, o/ course, does the shado, o/ the earth ,hich
,e call night. As astral bodies are transparent, there are no shado,s.
At.ospheric and cli.atic conditions .a+e practically no di//erence to ,or+ on the
astral and .ental planes. 5ut being in a big city .a+es a great di//erence, on
account o/ the .asses o/ thought?/or.s.
)n the astral plane there are .any currents ,hich tend to carry about persons
,ho are lac+ing in ,ill, <Pa.e 1'%= and e-en those ,ho ha-e ,ill but do not +no,
ho, to use it.
There is no such thing as sleep in the astral ,orld.
It is possible to /orget upon the astral plane 7ust as it is on the physical. It is
perhaps e-en easier to /orget on the astral plane than on the physical because
that ,orld is so busy and so populous.
3no,ledge o/ a person in the astral ,orld does not necessarily .ean +no,ledge
o/ hi. in the physical ,orld.
The astral plane has o/ten been called the real. o/ illusion > not that it is itsel/
any .ore illusory than the physical ,orld, but because o/ the e2tre.e unreliability
o/ the i.pressions brought bac+ /ro. it by the untrained seer. This can be
accounted /or .ainly by t,o re.ar+able characteristics o/ the astral ,orld8 ;!<
.any o/ its inhabitants ha-e a .ar-ellous po,er o/ changing their /or.s ,ith
protean rapidity, and also o/ casting practically unli.ited gla.our o-er those ,ith
,ho. they choose to sport8 and ;#< astral sight is -ery di//erent /ro. and .uch
.ore e2tended than physical -ision.
Thus ,ith astral -ision an ob7ect is seen, as it ,ere, /ro. all sides at once, e-ery
particle in the interior o/ a solid being as plainly open to the -ie, as those on the
outside, and e-erything entirely /ree /ro. the distortion o/ perspecti-e.
I/ one loo+ed at a ,atch astrally, one ,ould see the /ace and all the ,heels lying
separately, but nothing on the top o/ anything else. Loo+ing at a closed boo+ one
,ould see each page, not through all the other pages be/ore or behind it, but
loo+ing straight do,n upon it as though it ,ere the only page to be seen.
It is easy to see that under such conditions e-en the .ost /a.iliar ob7ects .ay at
/irst be totally unrecogniCable, and that an ine2perienced -isitor .ay ,ell /ind
considerable di//iculty in understanding ,hat he really does see, and still .ore in
translating his -ision into the -ery inade:uate language o/ ordinary speech. Iet a
.o.ent6s consideration ,ill sho, that astral <Pa.e 1'$= -ision appro2i.ates .uch
.ore closely to true perception than does physical sight, ,hich is sub7ect to the
distortions o/ perspecti-e.
In addition to these possible sources o/ error, .atters are still /urther co.plicated
by the /act that this astral sight cogniCes /or.s o/ .atter ,hich, ,hile still purely
physical, are ne-ertheless in-isible under ordinary conditions. Such, /or e2a.ple,
are the particles co.posing the at.osphere, all the e.anations ,hich are
continuously being gi-en out by e-erything that has li/e, and also the /our grades
o/ etheric .atter.
4urther, astral -ision discloses to -ie, other and entirely di//erent colours beyond
the li.its o/ the ordinary -isible spectru., the ultra?red and ultra-iolet rays +no,n
to physical science being plainly -isible to astral sight.
Thus, to ta+e a concrete e2a.ple, a roc+, seen ,ith astral sight, is no .ere inert
.ass o/ stone. With astral -ision8 ;!< the ,hole o/ the physical .atter is seen,
instead o/ a -ery s.all part o/ it8 ;#< the -ibrations o/ the physical particles are
perceptible8 ;F< the astral counterpart, co.posed o/ -arious grades o/ astral
.atter, all in constant .otion, is -isible8 ;&< the uni-ersal li/e ;prKna< is seen to be
circulating through it and radiating /ro. it8 ;%< an aura ,ill be seen surrounding it8
;'< its appropriate ele.ental essence is seen per.eating it, e-er acti-e but e-er
/luctuating. In the case o/ the -egetable, ani.al, and hu.an +ingdo.s, the
co.plications are naturally .uch .ore nu.erous.
A good instance o/ the sort o/ .ista+e that is li+ely to occur on the astral plane is
the /re:uent re-ersal o/ any nu.ber ,hich the seer has to record, so that he is
liable to render, say, !F" as "F!, and so on. In the case o/ a student o/ occultis.
trained by a capable 9aster, such a .ista+e ,ould be i.possible, e2cept through
great hurry or carelessness, since such a pupil has to go through a long and
-aried course o/ instruction in this art o/ seeing correctly. A trained seer in ti.e
ac:uires a certainty and con/idence in dealing ,ith the <Pa.e 1''= pheno.ena o/
the astral plane /ar e2ceeding anything possible in physical li/e.
It is :uite a .ista+en -ie, to spea+ ,ith scorn o/ the astral plane and to thin+ it
un,orthy o/ attention. It ,ould, o/ course, certainly be disastrous /or any student
to neglect his higher de-elop.ent, and to rest satis/ied ,ith the attain.ent o/
astral consciousness. In so.e cases it is indeed possible to de-elop the higher
.ental /aculties /irst, to o-erleap the astral plane /or the ti.e, as it ,ere. 5ut this
is not the ordinary .ethod adopted by the 9asters o/ Wisdo. ,ith their pupils.
4or .ost, progress by leaps and bounds is not practicable8 it is necessary
there/ore to proceed slo,ly, step by step.
In The Eoice o/ the Silence three halls are spo+en o/. The /irst, that o/ ignorance,
is the physical plane8 the second, the Hall o/ Learning, is the astral plane, and is
so called because the opening o/ the astral cha+ra.s re-eals so .uch .ore than
is -isible on the physical plane that the .an /eels he is .uch nearer the reality o/
the thing8 ne-ertheless it is still but the place o/ probationary learning. Still .ore
real and de/inite +no,ledge is ac:uired in the Hall o/ Wisdo., ,hich is the
.ental plane.
An i.portant part o/ the scenery o/ the astral plane consists o/ ,hat are o/ten,
though .ista+enly, called the =ecords o/ the Astral Light. These records ;,hich
are in truth a sort o/ .aterialisation o/ the (i-ine .e.ory > a li-ing photographic
representation o/ all that has e-er happened< are really and per.anently
i.pressed upon a -ery .uch higher le-el, and are only re/lected in a .ore or
less spas.odic .anner on the astral plane; so that one ,hose po,er o/ -ision
does not rise abo-e this ,ill be li+ely to obtain only occasional and disconnected
pictures o/ the past instead o/ a coherent narrati-e. 5ut ne-ertheless these
re/lected pictures o/ all +inds o/ past e-ents are constantly being reproduced in
the astral ,orld, and /or. an i.portant part o/ the surroundings o/ the
in-estigator there. <Pa.e 1'*=
o..unication on the astral plane is li.ited by the +no,ledge o/ the entity, 7ust
as it is in the physical ,orld. )ne ,ho is able to use the .ind?body can
co..unicate his thoughts to the hu.an entities there .ore readily and rapidly
than on earth, by .eans o/ .ental i.pressions8? but the ordinary inhabitants o/
the astral plane are not usually able to e2ercise this po,er; they appear to be
restricted by li.itations si.ilar to those that pre-ail on earth, though perhaps less
rigid. onse:uently ;as pre-iously .entioned< they are /ound associating, there
as here, in groups dra,n together by co..on sy.pathies, belie/s, and
language. <Pa.e 1'-=
CHAPTER 1-
MISCELLANEO:S ASTRAL PHENOMENA
THE=E is reason to suppose that it .ay not be long be/ore so.e applications o/
one or t,o super?physical /orces .ay co.e to be +no,n to the ,orld at large. A
co..on e2perience at spiritualistic s@ances is that o/ the e.ploy.ent o/
practically resistless /orce in, /or e2a.ple, the instantaneous .o-e.ent o/
enor.ous ,eights, and so on. There are se-eral ,ays in ,hich such results .ay
be brought about. Hints .ay be gi-en as to /our o/ these.
;!< There are great etheric currents on the sur/ace o/ the earth /lo,ing /ro. pole
to pole in -olu.es ,hich .a+e this po,er as irresistible as that o/ the rising tide,
and there are .ethods by ,hich this stupendous /orce .ay be sa/ely utilised,
though uns+ill/ul atte.pts to control it ,ould be /raught ,ith the greatest danger.
;#< There is an etheric pressure, so.e,hat corresponding to, though i..ensely
greater than, the at.ospheric pressure. Practical occultis. teaches ho, a gi-en
body o/ ether can be isolated /ro. the rest, so that the tre.endous /orce o/
etheric pressure can be brought into play.
;F< There is a -ast store o/ potential energy ,hich has beco.e dor.ant in .atter
during the in-olution o/ the subtle into the gross, and by changing the condition o/
the .atter so.e o/ this .ay be liberated and utilised, so.e,hat as latent energy
in the /or. o/ heat .ay be liberated by a change in the condition o/ -isible .atter.
;&< 9any results .ay be produced by ,hat is +no,n as sympathetic vi#ration. 5y
sounding the +eynote o/ the class o/ .atter it is desired to a//ect, <Pa.e 1',= an
i..ense nu.ber o/ sy.pathetic -ibrations can be called /orth. When this is done
on the physical plane, e.g., by sounding a note on a harp and inducing other
harps tuned in unison to respond sy.pathetically, no additional energy is
de-eloped. 5ut on the astral plane the .atter is /ar less inert, so that ,hen called
into action by sy.pathetic -ibrations, it adds its o,n li-ing /orce to the original
i.pulse, ,hich .ay thus be .ultiplied .any?/old. 5y /urther rhyth.ic repetition o/
the original i.pulse, the -ibrations .ay be so intensi/ied that the result is out o/
all apparent proportion to the cause. There see.s scarcely any li.it to the
concei-able achie-e.ents o/ this /orce in the hands o/ a great Adept ,ho /ully
co.prehends its possibilities8 /or the -ery building o/ the Uni-erse itsel/ ,as but
the result o/ the -ibrations set up by the Spo+en Word.
The class o/ .antras or spells ,hich produce their result not by controlling so.e
ele.ental, but .erely by the repetition o/ certain sounds, also depend /or their
e//icacy upon this action o/ sy.pathetic -ibration.
The pheno.enon o/ disintegration also .ay be brought about by the action o/
e2tre.ely rapid -ibrations, ,hich o-erco.e the cohesion o/ the .olecules o/ the
ob7ect operated upon. A still higher -ibration o/ a so.e,hat di//erent type ,ill
separate these .olecules into their constituent ato.s. A body thus reduced to
the etheric condition can be .o-ed /ro. one place to another ,ith -ery great
rapidity; and the .o.ent the /orce ,hich has been e2erted is ,ithdra,n it ,ill be
/orced by the etheric pressure to resu.e its original condition.
It is necessary to e2plain ho, the shape o/ an ob7ect is preser-ed, ,hen it is
disintegrated and then re?.aterialised. I/ a .etal +ey, /or e2a.ple, ,ere raised to
the -aporous condition by heat, ,hen the heat is ,ithdra,n the .etal ,ill solidi/y,
but instead o/ being a +ey it ,ill be .erely a lu.p o/ .etal. The reason o/ this is
that the ele.ental essence ,hich in/or.s the <Pa.e 1'1= +ey ,ould be dissipated
by the alteration in its condition8 not that the ele.ental essence can be a//ected
by heat, but that ,hen its te.porary body is destroyed as a solid, the ele.ental
essence pours bac+ into the great reser-oir o/ such essence, .uch as the higher
principles o/ .an, though entirely una//ected by heat or cold, are yet /orced out o/
a physical body ,hen the latter is destroyed by /ire.
onse:uently, ,hen the .etal o/ the +ey cooled into the solid condition again,
the Q earthR ele.ental essence ,hich poured bac+ into it ,ould not be the sa.e
as that ,hich it contained be/ore, and there ,ould there/ore be no reason ,hy
the +ey shape should be retained.
5ut a .an ,ho disintegrated a +ey in order to .o-e it /ro. one place to another,
,ould be care/ul to hold the ele.ental essence in e2actly the sa.e shape until
the trans/er ,as co.pleted, and then ,hen his ,ill?/orce ,as re.o-ed it ,ould
act as a .ould into ,hich the solidi/ying particles ,ould /lo,, or rather round
,hich they ,ould be re?aggregated. Thus, unless the operator6s po,er o/
concentration /ailed, the shape ,ould be accurately preser-ed.
Apports, or the bringing o/ ob7ects al.ost instantaneously /ro. great distances to
spiritualistic s:ances are so.eti.es produced in this ,ay8 /or it is ob-ious that
,hen disintegrated they could be passed ,ith per/ect ease through any solid
substance, such as the ,all o/ a house or the side o/ a loc+ed bo2. The passage
o/ .atter through .atter is thus, ,hen understood, as si.ple as the passage o/
,ater through a sie-e or o/ a gas through a li:uid.
,aterialisation or the change o/ an ob7ect /ro. the etheric to the solid state, can
be produced by a re-ersal o/ the abo-e process. In this case also a continued
e//ort o/ ,ill is necessary to pre-ent the .aterialised .atter /ro. relapsing into
the etheric condition. The -arious +inds o/ .aterialisation ,ill be described in
hapter #AI on In-isible Helpers.
Electrical disturbances o/ any sort present <Pa.e 1*3= di//iculties in either
.aterialisation or disintegration, presu.ably /or the sa.e reason that bright light
renders the. al.ost i.possible > the destructi-e e//ect o/ strong -ibration.
Reduplication is produced by /or.ing a per/ect .ental i.age o/ the ob7ect to be
copied, and then gathering about that .ould the necessary astral and physical
.atter. The pheno.enon re:uires considerable po,er o/ concentration to
per/or., because e-ery particle, interior as ,ell as e2terior, o/ the ob7ect to be
duplicated .ust be held accurately in -ie, si.ultaneously. A person ,ho is
unable to e2tract the .atter re:uired directly /ro. the surrounding ether .ay
so.eti.es borro, it /ro. the .aterial o/ the original article, ,hich ,ould then be
correspondingly reduced in ,eight.
*recipitation o/ letters, etc., .ay be produced in se-eral ,ays. An Adept .ight
place a sheet o/ paper be/ore hi., /or. a .ental i.age o/ the ,riting he ,ished
to appear upon it, and dra, /ro. the ether the .atter ,here,ith to ob7ecti-ise the
i.age. )r he could ,ith e:ual ease produce the sa.e result upon a sheet o/
paper lying be/ore his correspondent, ,hate-er .ight be the distance bet,een
the..
A third .ethod, :uic+er and there/ore .ore o/ten adopted, is to i.press the
,hole substance o/ the letter on the .ind o/ so.e pupil and lea-e hi. to do the
.echanical ,or+ o/ precipitation. The pupil ,ould then i.agine he sa, the letter
,ritten on the paper in his 9aster6s hand, and ob7ecti-ise the ,riting as 7ust
described. I/ he /ound it di//icult to dra, the .aterial /ro. the ether and
precipitate the ,riting on the paper si.ultaneously, he .ight ha-e in+ or coloured
po,der at hand on ,hich he could dra, .ore readily.
It is 7ust as easy to i.itate one .an6s hand?,riting as another6s, and it ,ould be
i.possible to detect by any ordinary .eans a /orgery co..itted in this .anner. A
pupil o/ a 9aster has an in/allible test ,hich he can apply, but /or others the proo/
o/ origin .ust lie solely in the contents o/ the letter and the spirit breathing <Pa.e
1*1= through it, as the hand?,riting, ho,e-er cle-erly i.itated, is -alueless as
e-idence.
A pupil ne, to the ,or+ ,ould probably be able to i.agine a /e, ,ords at a ti.e
only, but one ,ith .ore e2perience could -isualise a ,hole page or e-en an
entire letter at once. In this .anner :uite long letters are so.eti.es produced in
a /e, seconds at spiritualistic s:ances.
Pictures are precipitated in the sa.e .anner, e2cept that here it is necessary to
-isualise the entire scene at once8 and i/ .any colours are needed they ha-e to
be .anu/actured, +ept separate, and applied correctly. E-idently there is here
scope /or artistic /aculty, and those ,ith e2perience as artists ,ill be .ore
success/ul than those ,ithout such e2perience.
Slate!riting is so.eti.es produced by precipitation, though .ore /re:uently tiny
points o/ spirit hands are .aterialised 7ust su//iciently to grasp the /rag.ent o/
pencil.
Levitation, that is the /loating o/ a hu.an body in the air, is o/ten per/or.ed at
s:ances by Qspirit handsR ,hich support the body o/ the .ediu.. It .ay also be
achie-ed by the aid o/ the ele.entals o/ air and ,ater. In the East, ho,e-er,
al,ays, and here occasionally, another .ethod is e.ployed. There is +no,n to
occult science a .ethod o/ neutralising or e-en re-ersing the /orce o/ gra-ity,
,hich is in /act o/ a .agnetic nature, by .eans o/ ,hich le-itation .ay be easily
produced. (oubtless this .ethod ,as used in raising so.e o/ the air?ships o/
ancient India and Atlantis, and it is not i.probable that a si.ilar .ethod ,as
e.ployed in constructing the Pyra.ids and Stonehenge.
Le-itation also happens to so.e ascetics in India, and so.e o/ the greatest o/
hristian Saints ha-e in deep .editation been thus raised /ro. the ground > /or
e2a.ple, S. Teresa and S. Goseph o/ upertino.
Since light consists o/ ether -ibrations, it is ob-ious that any one ,ho
understands ho, to set up these -ibrations can produce Qspirit lightsR, either the
<Pa.e 1*"= .ildly phosphorescent or the daCCling electrical -ariety, or those
dancing globules o/ light into ,hich a certain class o/ /ire ele.entals so readily
trans/or. the.sel-es.
The /eat o/ handling /ire ,ithout in7ury .ay be per/or.ed by co-ering the hand
,ith the thinnest layer o/ etheric substance, so .anipulated as to be i.per-ious
to heat. There are also other ,ays in ,hich it .ay be done.
The production of fire is also ,ithin the resources o/ the astral plane, as ,ell as
to counteract its e//ect. There see. to be at least three ,ays in ,hich this could
be done8 ;!< to set up and .aintain the re:uisite rate o/ -ibration, ,hen
co.bustion .ust ensue8 ;#< to introduce /ourth?di.ensionally a tiny /rag.ent o/
glo,ing .atter and then blo, upon it until it bursts into /la.e8 ;F< to introduce
che.ical constituents ,hich ,ould produce co.bustion.
The transmutation of metals can be achie-ed by reducing a piece o/ .etal to the
ato.ic condition and rearranging the ato.s in another /or..
Repercussion, ,hich ,ill be dealt ,ith in the hapter on .nvisi#le Helpers, is also
due to the principle o/ sy.pathetic -ibration, described abo-e. <Pa.e 1*%=
CHAPTER 1,
THE &O:RTH DIMENSION
There are .any characteristics o/ the astral ,orld ,hich agree ,ith re.ar+able
e2actitude ,ith a ,orld o/ /our di.ensions, as concei-ed by geo.etry and
.athe.atics. So close, in /act, is this agree.ent, that cases are +no,n ,here a
purely intellectual study o/ the geo.etry o/ the /ourth di.ension has opened up
astral sight in the student.
The classic boo+s on the sub7ect are those o/ . H. Hinton8 Scientific Romances,
Eols. I and II8 A /e )ra of Thought; The 1ourth (imension. These are strongly
reco..ended by . W. Leadbeater, ,ho states that the study o/ the /ourth
di.ension is the best .ethod he +no,s to obtain a conception o/ the conditions
,hich pre-ail on the astral plane, and that . H. Hinton6s e2position o/ the /ourth
di.ension is the only one ,hich gi-es any +ind o/ e2planation do,n here o/ the
constantly obser-ed /acts o/ astral -ision.
)ther, and later boo+s are se-eral by laude 5ragdon8 The Beautiful /ecessity;
A *rimer of Higher Space; 1ourth (imensional -istas; etc., Tertium &rganum ;a
.ost illu.inating ,or+< by P. (. )uspens+y, and no doubt .any others.
4or those ,ho ha-e .ade no study o/ this sub7ect ,e .ay gi-e here the -ery
barest outline o/ so.e o/ the .ain /eatures underlying the /ourth di.ension.
A point, ,hich has Qposition but no .agnitudeR, has no di.ensions8 a line,
created by the .o-e.ent o/ a point, has one di.ension, length8 a surface,
created by the .o-e.ent o/ a line, at right angles to itsel/, has t,o di.ensions,
length and breadth8 a solid, created by the .o-e.ent o/ a sur/ace at right angles
to itsel/, has three di.ensions, length, breadth and thic+ness. <Pa.e 1*$=
A tesseract is a hypothetical ob7ect, created by the .o-e.ent o/ a solid, in a ne,
direction at right angles to itsel/, ha-ing /our di.ensions, length, breadth,
thic+ness and another, at right angles to these three, but incapable o/ being
represented in our ,orld o/ three di.ensions.
9any o/ the properties o/ a tesseract can be deduced, according to the /ollo,ing
table8>

properties o/ a tesseract Points Lines Sur/aces Solids
A Point has !
A Line has # !
A 4our?sided sur/ace has & & !
A ube has A !# ' !
A Tesseract has !' F# #& A
The tesseract, as described by . H. Hinton, is stated by . W. Leadbeater to be
a reality, being :uite a /a.iliar /igure on the astral plane. In Some &ccult
)xperiences by G. Ean 9anen, an atte.pt is .ade to represent a &?di.ensional
globe graphically.
There is a close and suggesti-e parallel bet,een pheno.ena ,hich could be
produced by .eans o/ a three?di.ensional ob7ect in a hypothetical ,orld o/ t,o
di.ensions inhabited by a being conscious only o/ t,o di.ensions, and .any
astral pheno.ena as they appear to us li-ing in the physical or three?di.ensional
,orld. Thus8
;!< )b7ects, by being li/ted through the third di.ension, could be .ade to appear
in or disappear /ro. the t,o?di.ensional ,orld at ,ill.
;#< An ob7ect co.pletely surrounded by a line could be li/ted out o/ the enclosed
space through the third di.ension.
;F< 5y bending a t,o?di.ensional ,orld, represented by a sheet o/ paper, t,o
distant points could be brought together, or e-en .ade to coincide, thus
destroying the t,o?di.ensional conception o/ distance.
;&< A right?handed ob7ect could be turned o-er through the third di.ension and
.ade to re?appear as a le/t?handed ob7ect.
;%< 5y loo+ing do,n, /ro. the third di.ension, on to a t,o?di.ensional ob7ect,
e-ery point o/ the <Pa.e 1*'=
latter could be seen at once, and /ree /ro. the distortion o/ perspecti-e.
To a being li.ited to a conception o/ t,o di.ensions, the abo-e ,ould appear Q
.iraculousR, and co.pletely inco.prehensible.
It is curious that precisely si.ilar tric+s can be and are constantly being played
upon us, as is ,ell +no,n to spiritualists8 ;!< entities and ob7ects appear and
disappear8 ;#< Q apportsR o/ articles /ro. great distances are .ade8 ;F< articles
are re.o-ed /ro. closed bo2es8 ;&< space appears to be practically annihilated;
;%< an ob7ect can be re-ersed, i.e., a right hand turned into a le/t hand8 ;'< all
parts o/ an ob7ect, e.g., o/ a cube, are seen si.ultaneously and /ree /ro. all
distortion o/ perspecti-e8 si.ilarly the ,hole o/ the .atter o/ a closed boo+ can
be seen at once.
The e2planation o/ the ,elling?up o/ /orce, e.g., in ha+ra.s, apparently /ro.
no,here, is o/ course that it co.es /ro. the /ourth di.ension.
A li:uid, poured on to a sur/ace, tends to spread itsel/ out in t,o di.ensions,
beco.ing -ery thin in the third di.ension. Si.ilarly a gas tends to spread itsel/ in
three di.ensions, and it .ay be that in so doing it beco.es s.aller in the /ourth
di.ension8 i.e., the density o/ a gas .ay be a .easure o/ its relati-e thic+ness in
the /ourth di.ension.
It is clear that there is no need to stop at /our di.ensions8 /or all ,e +no,, there
.ay be in/inite di.ensions o/ space. At any rate, it see.s certain that the astral
,orld is /our?di.ensional, the .ental /i-e?di.ensional, and the buddhic si2?
di.ensional.
It should be clear that i/ there are, say, se-en di.ensions at all, there are se-en
di.ensions al,ays and e-ery,here8 i.e., there is no such thing as a third or
/ourth?di.ensional being. The apparent di//erence is due to the li.ited po,er o/
perception o/ the entity concerned, not to any change in the ob7ects percei-ed.
This idea is -ery ,ell ,or+ed out in Tertium &rganum by )uspens+y. <Pa.e 1**=
*e-ertheless a .an .ay de-elop astral consciousness and still be unable to
percei-e or appreciate the /ourth di.ension. In /act it is certain that the a-erage
.an does not percei-e the /ourth di.ension at all ,hen he enters the astral
plane. He realises it only as a certain blurring, and .ost .en go through their
astral li-es ,ithout disco-ering the reality o/ the /ourth di.ension in the .atter
surrounding the..
Entities, such as nature?spirits, ,hich belong to the astral plane, ha-e by nature
the /aculty o/ seeing the /our?di.ensional aspect o/ all ob7ects, but e-en they do
not see the. per/ectly, since they percei-e only the astral .atter in the. and not
the physical, 7ust as ,e percei-e the physical and not the astral.
The passage o/ an ob7ect through another does not raise the :uestion o/ the
/ourth di.ension, but .ay be brought about by disintegration > a purely three?
di.ensional .ethod.
Ti.e is not in reality the /ourth di.ension at all8 yet to regard the proble. /ro.
the point o/ -ie, o/ ti.e is so.e slight, help to,ards understanding it. The
passage o/ a cone through a sheet o/ paper ,ould appear to an entity li-ing on
the sheet o/ paper as a circle altering in siCe8 the entity ,ould o/ course be
incapable o/ percei-ing all the stages o/ the circle as e2isting together as parts o/
one cone. Si.ilarly /or us the gro,th o/ a solid ob7ect -ie,ed /ro. the buddhic
plane corresponds to the -ie, o/ the cone as a ,hole, and thus thro,s so.e
light on our o,n delusion o/ past, present and /uture, and on the /aculty o/
pre-ision.
The transcendental -ie, o/ ti.e is -ery ,ell treated in . H. Hinton6s story Stella,
,hich is included in Scientific Romances, Eol. II. There are also t,o interesting
re/erences to this conception in The Secret (octrine, Eol. I, page '", and Eol. II,
page &''.
It is an interesting and signi/icant obser-ation that geo.etry as ,e ha-e it no, is
but a /rag.ent, an e2oteric preparation /or the esoteric reality. Ha-ing lost the
true sense o/ space, the /irst step to,ards that +no,ledge is the cognition o/ the
/ourth di.ension. <Pa.e 1*-=
We .ay concei-e the 9onad at the beginning o/ its e-olution to be able to .o-e
and to see in in/inite di.ensions, one o/ these being cut o// at each do,n,ard
step, until /or the physical brain?consciousness only three are le/t. Thus by
in-olution into .atter ,e are cut o// /ro. the +no,ledge o/ all but a .inute part o/
the ,orlds ,hich surround us, and e-en ,hat is le/t is but i.per/ectly seen.
With /our?di.ensional sight it .ay be obser-ed that the planets ,hich are
isolated in our three?di.ensions are /our?di.ensionally 7oined, these globes
being in /act the points o/ petals ,hich are part o/ one great /lo,er8 hence the
Hindu conception o/ the solar syste. as a lotus.
There is also, vi2 a higher di.ension, a direct connection bet,een the heart o/
the sun and the centre o/ the earth, so that ele.ents appear in the earth ,ithout
passing through ,hat ,e call the sur/ace.
A study o/ the /ourth di.ension see.s to lead the ,ay direct to .ysticis.. Thus
. H. Hinton constantly uses the phrase Qcasting out the sel/R, pointing out that in
order to appreciate a solid /our?di.ensionally it is necessary to regard it not /ro.
any one point o/ -ie, but /ro. all points o/ -ie, si.ultaneously8 i.e., the Qsel/ R or
particular, isolated point o/ -ie, .ust be transcended and replaced by the
general and unsel/ish -ie,.
)ne is also re.inded o/ the /a.ous saying o/ St. Paul ;Ephesians iii, !$?!A<8
QThat ye, being rooted and grounded in lo-e, .ay be able to co.prehend ,ith all
saints ,hat is the breadth, and length, and depth and height.R <Pa.e 1*,=
CHAPTER 11
ASTRAL ENTITIES4 H:MAN
To enu.erate and describe e-ery +ind o/ astral entity ,ould be a tas+ as
/or.idable as that o/ enu.erating and describing e-ery +ind o/ physical entity. All
,e can atte.pt here is to tabulate the chie/ classes and gi-e a -ery brie/
description o/ each.
ASTRAL ENTITIES
Hu#an
P(/icall/
Ali7e
P(/icall/ Dead
Non2Hu#an Arti0icial
12 Ordinar/
Peron
12 Ordinar/
Peron
12Ele#ental
Eence
12 Ele#ental
0or#ed
unconcioul/
"2 P/c(ic "2S(ade
"2Atral Bodie
o0 Ani#al
"2Ele#ental
0or#ed
concioul/
%2Ade!t or (i
!u!il
%2S(ell %2Nature2S!irit %2Hu#an Arti0icial
$2 Blac)
Ma.ician or
(i !u!il
$2>italied S(ell $2De7a

'2Suicide and
>icti# o0 Sudden
Deat(


*2>a#!ire and
Fere5ol0


-2Blac) Ma.ician
or (i !u!il


,2Pu!il a5aitin.
Reincarnation

12Nir#?na)a/a
<Pa.e 1*1= In order to .a+e the classi/ication :uite co.plete, it is necessary to
state that, in addition to the abo-e, -ery high Adepts /ro. other planets o/ the
solar syste., and e-en .ore august Eisitors /ro. a still greater distance,
occasionally appear, but although it is possible, it is al.ost inconcei-able, that
such 5eings ,ould e-er .ani/est the.sel-es on a plane as lo, as the astral. I/
they ,ished to do so they ,ould create a te.porary body o/ astral .atter o/ this
planet.
Secondly, there are also t,o other great e-olutions e-ol-ing on this planet,
though it appears not to be intended that they or .an should ordinarily be
conscious o/ each other. I/ ,e did co.e into contact ,ith the. it ,ould probably
be physically, their connection ,ith our astral plane being -ery slight. The only
possibility o/ their appearance depends upon an e2tre.ely i.probable accident
in cere.onial .agic, ,hich only a /e, o/ the .ost ad-anced sorcerers +no, ho,
to per/or.8 ne-ertheless this has actually happened at least once.
THE HU9A* LASS, ;a< Physically Ali-e.
!. The &rdinary *erson. > This class consists o/ persons, ,hose physical
bodies are asleep, and ,ho /loat about on the astral plane, in -arious degrees o/
consciousness, as already /ully described in hapter " on Sleep Life.
#. The *sychic. > A psychically?de-eloped person ,ill usually be per/ectly
conscious ,hen out o/ the physical body, but, /or ,ant o/ proper training, he is
liable to be decei-ed as to ,hat he sees. )/ten he .ay be able to range through
all the astral sub?planes, but so.eti.es he is especially attracted to so.e one
sub?plane, and rarely tra-els beyond its in/luences. His recollection o/ ,hat he
has seen .ay o/ course -ary /ro. per/ect clearness to utter distortion or blac+
obli-ion. As he is assu.ed not to be under the guidance o/ a 9aster, he ,ill
appear al,ays in his astral body, since he does not +no, ho, to /unction in his
.ental -ehicle.
F? The Adept and His pupils. > This class usually <Pa.e 1-3= e.ploys, not the
astral body, but the .ind body, ,hich is co.posed o/ .atter o/ the /our lo,er
le-els o/ the .ental plane. The ad-antage o/ this -ehicle is that it per.its o/
instant passage /ro. the .ental to the astral and bac+, and also allo,s o/ the
use at all ti.es o/ the greater po,er and +eener sense o/ its o,n plane.
The .ind body not being -isible to astral sight, the pupil ,ho ,or+s in it learns to
gather round hi.sel/ a te.porary -eil o/ astral .atter, ,hen he ,ishes to
beco.e perceptible to astral entities. Such a -ehicle, though an e2act
reproduction o/ the .an in appearance, contains none o/ the .atter o/ his o,n
astral body, but corresponds to it in the sa.e ,ay as a .aterialisation
corresponds to a physical body.
At an earlier stage o/ his de-elop.ent, the pupil .ay be /ound /unctioning in his
astral body li+e any one else8 but, ,hiche-er -ehicle he is e.ploying, a pupil
under a co.petent teacher is al,ays /ully conscious and can /unction easily
upon all the sub?planes.
&. The Black ,agician and his pupils.>This class corresponds so.e,hat to that
o/ the Adept and His pupils, e2cept that the de-elop.ent has been /or e-il
instead o/ good, the po,ers ac:uired being used /or sel/ish instead o/ /or
altruistic purposes. A.ong its lo,er ran+s are negroes ,ho practise the rites o/
the )beah and Eoodoo schools, and the .edicine?.en o/ sa-age tribes. Higher
in intellect, and there/ore .ore bla.e,orthy, are the Tibetan blac+ .agiciansA
THE HU9A* LASS. ;5< Physically (ead.
!. The &rdinary *erson after (eath.>This class, ob-iously a -ery large one,
consists o/ all grades o/ persons, in -arying conditions o/ consciousness, as
already /ully described in hapters !#I to !% on After!(eath Life.
#. The Shade.>In hapter #F ,e shall see that ,hen the astral li/e o/ a person is
o-er, he dies on the astral plane and lea-es behind hi. his disintegrating astral
body, precisely as ,hen he dies physically he lea-es behind hi. a decaying
physical corpse. <Pa.e 1-1=
In .ost cases the higher ego is unable to ,ithdra, /ro. his lo,er principles the
,hole o/ his .anasic U.ental< principle8 conse:uently, a portion o/ his lo,er
.ental .atter re.ains entangled ,ith the astral corpse. The portion o/ .ental
.atter thus re.aining behind consists o/ the grosser +inds o/ each sub?plane,
,hich the astral body has succeeded in ,renching /ro. the .ental body.
This astral corpse, +no,n as a Shade, is an entity ,hich is not in any sense the
real indi-idual at all8 ne-ertheless it bears his e2act personal appearance,
possesses his .e.ory, and all his little idiosyncrasies. It .ay there/ore -ery
readily be .ista+en /or hi., as indeed it /re:uently is at s@ances. It is not
conscious o/ any act o/ i.personation, /or as /ar as its intellect goes it .ust
necessarily suppose itsel/ to be the indi-idual8 it is in reality .erely a soulless
bundle o/ all his lo,est :ualities.
The length o/ li/e o/ a shade -aries according to the a.ount o/ the lo,er .ental
.atter ,hich ani.ates it8 but as this is steadily /ading out, its intellect is a
di.inishing :uantity, though it .ay possess a great deal o/ a certain sort o/
ani.al cunning, and e-en :uite to,ards the end o/ its career it is still able to
co..unicate by borro,ing te.porary intelligence /ro. the .ediu.. 4ro. its
-ery nature it is e2ceedingly liable to be s,ayed by all +inds o/ e-il in/luences,
and, being separated /ro. its higher ego, it has nothing in its constitution capable
o/ responding to good ones. It there/ore lends itsel/ readily to -arious .inor
purposes o/ so.e o/ the baser sort o/ blac+ .agicians. The .ental .atter it
possesses gradually disintegrates and returns to the general .atter o/ its o,n
plane.
F. The Shell.>A shell is a .an6s astral corpse in the later stages o/ its
disintegration, e-ery particle o/ .ind ha-ing le/t it. It is conse:uently ,ithout any
sort o/ consciousness or intelligence, and dri/ts passi-ely about upon the astral
currents. E-en yet it .ay be gal-anised /or a /e, .o.ents into a ghastly
burles:ue o/ li/e i/ it happens to co.e ,ithin reach o/ a .ediu.6s <Pa.e 1-"= aura.
Under such circu.stances it ,ill still e2actly rese.ble its departed personality in
appearance and .ay e-en reproduce to so.e e2tent his /a.iliar e2pressions or
hand,riting.
It has also the :uality o/ being still blindly responsi-e to such -ibrations, usually
o/ the lo,est order, as ,ere /re:uently set up in it during its last stage o/
e2istence as a shade.
&. The -italised Shell.>This entity is not, strictly spea+ing, hu.an8 ne-ertheless,
it is classi/ied here because its outer -esture, the passi-e, senseless shell, ,as
once an appanage o/ hu.anity. Such li/e, intelligence, desire, and ,ill as it .ay
possess are those o/ the arti/icial ele.ental ;see page &%< ani.ating it, this
ele.ental being itsel/ a creation o/ .an6s e-il thought.
A -italised shell is al,ays .ale-olent8 it is a true te.pting de.on, ,hose e-il
in/luence is li.ited only by the e2tent o/ its po,er. Li+e the shade, it is /re:uently
used in Eoodoo and )beah /or.s o/ .agic. It is re/erred to by so.e ,riters as an
Qele.entaryR.
%. The Suicide and -ictim of Sudden (eath.>These ha-e already been
described in hapter !% on After!(eath Life. It .ay be noted that this class, as
,ell as Shades and Eitalised Shells, are ,hat .ay be called .inor -a.pires,
because ,hen they ha-e an opportunity they prolong their e2istence by draining
a,ay the -itality /ro. hu.an beings ,ho. they are able to in/luence.
'. The -ampire and <ereolf.>These t,o classes are today e2tre.ely rare;
e2a.ples are occasionally /ound, chie/ly in countries ,here there is a
considerable strain o/ 4ourth =ace blood, such as =ussia or Hungary.
It is 7ust possible /or a .an to li-e such a degraded, sel/ish and brutal li/e that the
,hole o/ the lo,er .ind beco.es i..eshed in his desires and /inally separates
/ro. the higher ego. This is possible only ,here e-ery glea. o/ unsel/ishness or
spirituality has been sti/led, and ,here there is no redee.ing /eature ,hate-er.
Such a lost entity -ery soon a/ter death /inds hi.sel/ unable to stay in the astral
,orld, and is irresistibly <Pa.e 1-%= dra,n in /ull consciousness into Qhis o,n
placeR, the .ysterious eighth sphere, there slo,ly to disintegrate a/ter
e2periences best le/t undescribed. I/, ho,e-er, he perishes by suicide or sudden
death, he .ay under certain circu.stances, especially i/ he +no,s so.ething o/
blac+ .agic, hold hi.sel/ bac+ /ro. that /ate by the ghastly e2istence o/ a
-a.pire.
Since the eighth sphere cannot clai. hi. until a/ter the death o/ the body, he
preser-es it in a +ind o/ cataleptic trance by trans/using into it blood dra,n /ro.
other hu.an beings by his se.i?.aterialised astral body, thus postponing his
/inal destiny by the co..ission o/ ,holesale .urder. The .ost e//ecti-e re.edy
in such a case, as popular QsuperstitionR rightly supposes, is to cre.ate the body,
thus depri-ing the entity o/ his point d=appui.
When the gra-e is opened, the body usually appears :uite /resh and healthy, and
the co//in is not unusually /illed ,ith blood. re.ation ob-iously .a+es this sort
o/ -a.piris. i.possible.
The Were,ol/ can /irst .ani/est only during a .an6s physical li/e, and it in-ariably
i.plies so.e +no,ledge o/ .agical arts > su//icient at any rate to enable hi. to
pro7ect the astral body.
When a per/ectly cruel and brutal .an does this, under certain circu.stances the
astral body .ay be seiCed upon by other astral entities and .aterialised, not into
the hu.an /or., but into that o/ so.e ,ild ani.al, usually the ,ol/. In that
condition it ,ill range the surrounding country, +illing other ani.als, and e-en
hu.an beings, thus satis/ying not only its o,n cra-ing /or blood, but also that o/
the /iends ,ho dri-e it on.
In this case, as so o/ten ,ith ordinary .aterialisations, a ,ound in/licted upon the
astral /or. ,ill be reproduced upon the hu.an physical body by the curious
pheno.enon o/ repercussion ;see page #&#<. 5ut a/ter the death o/ the physical
body, the astral body, ,hich ,ill probably continue to appear in the sa.e /or.,
,ill be less -ulnerable. <Pa.e 1-$=
It ,ill then, ho,e-er, be also less dangerous, as unless it can /ind a suitable
.ediu., it ,ill be unable to .aterialise /ully. In such .ani/estations, there is
probably a great deal o/ the .atter o/ the etheric double, and perhaps e-en so.e
o/ li:uid and gaseous constituents o/ the physical body, as in the case o/ so.e
.aterialisations. In both cases this /luidic body see.s able to pass to .uch
greater distances /ro. the physical than is other,ise possible, so /ar as is
+no,n, /or a -ehicle containing etheric .atter.
The .ani/estations o/ both -a.pires and ,ere,ol-es are usually restricted to the
i..ediate neighbourhood o/ their physical bodies.
$. The Black ,agician and his *upil.>This class corresponds, mutatis mutandis,
to the pupil a,aiting reincarnation, but in this case the .an is de/ying the natural
process o/ e-olution by .aintaining hi.sel/ in astral li/e by .agical arts>
so.eti.es o/ the .ost horrible nature.
It is considered undesirable to enu.erate or describe the -arious sub?di-isions o/
this class, as an occult student ,ishes only to a-oid the.. All these entities, ,ho
prolong their li/e thus on the astral plane beyond its natural li.it, do so at the
e2pense o/ others and by the absorption o/ their li/e in so.e /or. or another.
A. The *upil aaiting Reincarnation.>This is also at present a rare class. A pupil
,ho has decided not to Qta+e his de-achanR, i.e., not to pass into the hea-en?
,orld, but to continue to ,or+ on the physical plane, is so.eti.es, by per.ission
only o/ a -ery high authority, allo,ed to do so, a suitable reincarnation being
arranged /or hi. by his 9aster. E-en ,hen per.ission is granted, it is said that
the pupil .ust con/ine hi.sel/ strictly to the astral plane ,hile the .atter is being
arranged, because i/ he touched the .ental plane e-en /or a .o.ent he .ight
be s,ept as by an irresistible current into the line o/ nor.al e-olution again and
so pass into the hea-en?,orld.
)ccasionally, though rarely, the pupil .ay be placed directly in an adult body
,hose pre-ious tenant <Pa.e 1-'= has no /urther use /or it8 but it is seldo. that a
suitable body is a-ailable.
9ean,hile the pupil is o/ course /ully conscious on the astral plane and able to
go on ,ith the ,or+ gi-en to hi. by his 9aster, e-en .ore e//ecti-ely than ,hen
ha.pered by a physical body.
". The /irm2nakaya.>It is -ery rarely indeed that a being so e2alted as a
*ir.Kna+aya .ani/ests hi.sel/ on the astral plane. A *ir.Kna+aya is one ,ho,
ha-ing ,on the right to untold ages o/ rest in bliss unspea+able, yet has chosen
to re.ain ,ithin touch o/ earth, suspended as it ,ere bet,een this ,orld and
*ir-ana, in order to generate strea.s o/ spiritual /orce ,hich .ay be e.ployed
/or the helping o/ e-olution. I/ He ,ished to appear on the astral plane he ,ould
probably create /or hi.sel/ a te.porary astral body /ro. the ato.ic .atter o/ the
plane. This is possible because a *ir.Kna+aya retains His causal body, and also
the per.anent ato.s ,hich He has carried all through His e-olution, so that at
any .o.ent He can .aterialise round the. .ental, astral or physical bodies, i/
He so desires. <Pa.e 1-*=
CHAPTER "3
ASTRAL ENTITIES4 NON2H:MAN
I. )lemental )ssence.>The ,ord Qele.entalR has been used by -arious ,riters
to .ean .any di//erent +inds o/ entities. It is here e.ployed to denote, during
certain stages o/ its e2istence, .onadic essence, ,hich in its turn .ay be
denned as the outpouring o/ spirit or di-ine /orce into .atter.
It is .ost i.portant that the student should realise that the e-olution o/ this
ele.ental essence is ta+ing place on the do,n,ard cur-e o/ the arc, as it is o/ten
called8 i.e., it is progressing toards the co.plete entangle.ent in .atter ,hich
,e see in the .ineral +ingdo., instead o/ a,ay /ro. it; conse:uently /or it
progress .eans descent into .atter instead o/ ascent to,ards higher planes.
5e/ore the QoutpouringR arri-es at the stage o/ indi-idualisation at ,hich it ensouls
.an, it has already passed through and ensouled si2 earlier phases o/ e-olution,
-iC., the /irst ele.ental +ingdo. ;on the higher .ental plane<, the second
ele.ental +ingdo. ;on the lo,er .ental plane<, the third ele.ental +ingdo. ;on
the astral plane<, the .ineral, -egetable and ani.al +ingdo.s. It has so.eti.es
been called the ani.al, -egetable or .ineral .onad, though this is distinctly
.isleading, as long be/ore it arri-es at any o/ these +ingdo.s it has beco.e not
one but many .onads.
We are here dealing, o/ course, only ,ith the astral ele.ental essence. This
essence consists o/ the di-ine outpouring ,hich has already -eiled itsel/ in .atter
do,n to the ato.ic le-el o/ the .ental plane, and then plunged do,n directly into
the astral plane, aggregating round itsel/ a body o/ ato.ic astral .atter <Pa.e 1--=
Such a co.bination is the ele.ental essence o/ the astral plane, belonging to the
third ele.ental +ingdo., the one i..ediately preceding the .ineral.
In the course o/ its #,&B! di//erentiations on the astral plane, it dra,s to itsel/
.any and -arious co.binations o/ the .atter o/ the -arious sub?planes.
*e-ertheless these are only te.porary, and it still re.ains essentially one
+ingdo..
Strictly spea+ing, there is no such thing as an ele.ental in connection ,ith the
group ,e are considering. What ,e /ind is a -ast store o/ ele.ental essence,
,onder/ully sensiti-e to the .ost /leeting hu.an thought, responding ,ith
inconcei-able delicacy, in an in/initesi.al /raction o/ a second, to a -ibration set
up in it by an entirely unconscious e2ercise o/ hu.an ,ill or desire.
5ut the .o.ent that by the in/luence o/ such thought or ,ill it is .oulded into a
li-ing /orce, it beco.es an ele.ental, and belongs to the Q arti/icialR class, to
,hich ,e shall co.e in our ne2t chapter. E-en then its separate e2istence is
usually e-anescent, /or as soon as its i.pulse has ,or+ed itsel/ out, it sin+s bac+
into the undi//erentiated .ass o/ ele.ental essence /ro. ,hich it ca.e.
A -isitor to the astral ,orld ,ill ine-itably be i.pressed by the protean /or.s o/
the ceaseless tide o/ ele.ental essence, e-er s,irling around hi., .enacing
o/ten, yet al,ays retiring be/ore a deter.ined e//ort o/ the ,ill; and he ,ill .ar-el
at the enor.ous ar.y o/ entities te.porarily called out o/ this ocean into
separate e2istence by the thoughts and /eelings o/ .an, ,hether good or e-il.
5roadly, the ele.ental essence .ay be classi/ied according to the +ind o/ .atter
it inhabits8 i.e., solid, li:uid, gaseous, etc. These are the Qele.entalsR o/ the
.ediae-al alche.ists. They held, correctly, that an Qele.entalR, i.e., a portion o/
the appropriate li-ing ele.ental essence, inhered in each Qele.entR, or
constituent part, o/ e-ery physical substance.
Each o/ these se-en .ain classes o/ ele.ental <Pa.e 1-,= essence .ay also be
sub?di-ided into se-en sub?di-isions, .a+ing &" sub?di-isions.
In addition to, and :uite separate /ro., these horizontal di-isions, there are also
se-en per/ectly distinct types o/ ele.ental essence, the di//erence bet,een the.
ha-ing nothing to do ,ith degree o/ .ateriality, but rather ,ith character and
a//inities. The student ,ill be /a.iliar ,ith this classi/ication as the Q
perpendicularR one, ha-ing to do ,ith the se-en QraysR.
There are also se-en sub?di-isions in each ray?type, .a+ing &" perpendicular
sub?di-isions8 The total nu.ber o/ +inds o/ ele.ental essence is thus &"2&" or
#,&B!.
The perpendicular di-ision is clearly /ar .ore per.anent and /unda.ental than
the horiContal di-ision8 /or the ele.ental essence in the slo, course o/ e-olution
passes through the -arious horiContal classes in succession, but re.ains in its
o,n perpendicular sub?di-ision all the ,ay through.
When any portion o/ the ele.ental essence re.ains /or a /e, .o.ents entirely
una//ected by any outside in/luence > a condition hardly e-er realised > it has
no de/inite /or. o/ its o,n8 but on the slightest disturbance it /lashes into a
be,ildering con/usion o/ restless, e-er?changing shapes, ,hich /or., rush about,
and disappear ,ith the rapidity o/ the bubbles on the sur/ace o/ boiling ,ater.
These e-anescent shapes, though generally those o/ li-ing creatures o/ so.e
sort, hu.an or other,ise, no .ore e2press the e2istence o/ separate entities in
the essence than do the e:ually change/ul and .ulti/or. ,a-es raised in a /e,
.o.ents on a pre-iously s.ooth la+e by a sudden s:uall. They see. to be .ere
re/lections /ro. the -ast storehouse o/ the astral light, yet they ha-e usually a
certain appropriateness to the character o/ the thought?strea. ,hich calls the.
into e2istence, though nearly al,ays ,ith so.e grotes:ue distortion, so.e
terri/ying or unpleasant aspect about the.. <Pa.e 1-1=
When the ele.ental essence is thro,n into shapes appropriate to the strea. o/
hal/?conscious, in-oluntary thoughts ,hich the .a7ority o/ .en allo, to /lo, idly
through their brains, the intelligence ,hich selects the appropriate shape is
clearly not deri-ed /ro. the .ind o/ the thin+er8 neither can it deri-e /ro. the
ele.ental essence itsel/, /or this belongs to a +ingdo. /urther /ro.
indi-idualisation e-en than the .ineral, entirely de-oid o/ a,a+ened .ental
po,er.
*e-ertheless, the essence possesses a .ar-ellous adaptability ,hich o/ten
see.s to co.e -ery near to intelligence8 it is no doubt this property that caused
ele.entals to be spo+en o/ in early boo+s as Qthe se.i?intelligent creatures o/ the
astral lightR.
The ele.ental +ingdo.s proper do not ad.it o/ such conceptions as good or
e-il. *e-ertheless there is a sort o/ bias or tendency per.eating nearly all their
sub?di-isions ,hich renders the. hostile rather than /riendly to,ards .an.
Hence the usual e2perience o/ the neophyte on the astral plane, ,here -ast
hosts o/ protean spectres ad-ance threateningly upon hi., but al,ays retire or
dissipate har.lessly ,hen boldly /aced. As stated by .ediae-al ,riters, this bias
or tendency is due entirely to .an6s o,n /ault, and is caused by his . indi//erence
to, and ,ant o/ sy.pathy ,ith, other li-ing beings. In the Qgolden ageR o/ the past
it ,as not so, any .ore than it ,ill be so in the /uture ,hen, o,ing to the changed
attitude o/ .an, both the ele.ental essence and also the ani.al +ingdo. ,ill
once again beco.e docile and help/ul to .an instead o/ the re-erse.
It is thus clear that the ele.ental +ingdo. as a ,hole is -ery .uch ,hat the
collecti-e thought o/ hu.anity .a+es it.
There are .any uses to ,hich the /orces inherent. in the .ani/old -arieties o/ the
ele.ental essence can be put by one trained in their .anage.ent. The -ast
.a7ority o/ .agical cere.onies depend al.ost entirely upon its .anipulation,
either directly by the ,ill o/ the .agician, or by so.e .ore de/inite astral entity
e-o+ed by hi. /or the purpose. <Pa.e 1,3=
5y its .eans nearly all the physical pheno.ena o/ the s:ance room are
produced, and it is also the agent in .ost cases o/ stone?thro,ing or bell?ringing
in haunted houses, these latter being the results o/ blundering e//orts to attract
attention .ade by so.e earth?bound hu.an entity, or by the .ere .ischie-ous
pran+s o/ so.e o/ the .inor nature?spirits belonging to our third class ;see p.
!A!<. 5ut the Qele.entalR .ust ne-er be thought o/ as a pri.e .o-er8 it is si.ply
a latent /orce, ,hich needs an e2ternal po,er to set it in .otion.
#. The Astral Bodies of Animals.>This is an e2tre.ely large class, yet it does not
occupy a particularly i.portant position on the astral plane, since its .e.bers
usually stay there but a -ery short ti.e. The -ast .a7ority o/ ani.als ha-e not as
yet per.anently indi-idualised, and ,hen one o/ the. dies, the .onadic essence
,hich has been .ani/esting through it /lo,s bac+ again into the group?soul
,hence it ca.e, bearing ,ith it such ad-ance.ent or e2perience as has been
attained during earth li/e. It is not, ho,e-er, able to do this i..ediately; the astral
body o/ the ani.al rearranges itsel/ 7ust as in .an6s case, and the ani.al has a
real e2istence on the astral plane, the length o/ ,hich, though ne-er great, -aries
according to the intelligence ,hich it has de-eloped. In .ost cases it does not
see. to be .ore than drea.ily conscious, but appears per/ectly happy.
The co.parati-ely /e, do.estic ani.als ,ho ha-e already attained indi-iduality,
and ,ill there/ore be re?born no .ore as ani.als in this ,orld, ha-e a .uch
longer and .ore -i-id li/e on the astral plane than their less ad-anced /ello,s.
Such an indi-idualised ani.al usually re.ains near his earthly ho.e and in close
touch ,ith his especial /riend and protector. This period ,ill be /ollo,ed by a still
happier period o/ ,hat has been called doCing consciousness, ,hich ,ill last until
in so.e /uture ,orld the hu.an /or. is assu.ed. (uring all that ti.e he is in a
condition analogous to that o/ a hu.an <Pa.e 1,1= being in the hea-en?,orld,
though at a so.e,hat lo,er le-el.
)ne interesting sub?di-ision o/ this class consists o/ the astral bodies o/ those
anthropoid apes .entioned in The Secret (octrine ;Eol. I, p. !A&< ,ho are
already indi-idualised, and ,ill be ready to ta+e hu.an incarnation in the ne2t
round, or perhaps so.e o/ the. e-en sooner.
In Qci-ilisedR countries these ani.al astral bodies add .uch to the general /eeling
o/ hostility on the astral plane, /or the organised butchery o/ ani.als in slaughter?
houses and /or Q sport R sends .illions into the astral ,orld, /ull o/ horror, terror
and shrin+ing /ro. .an. )/ late years these /eelings ha-e been .uch intensi/ied
by the practice o/ -i-isection.
F. /ature!Spirits of all >inds.>This class is so large and so -aried that it is
possible here to gi-e only so.e idea o/ the characteristics co..on to all o/
the..
The nature?spirits belong to an e-olution :uite distinct /ro. our o,n8 they neither
ha-e been nor e-er ,ill be .e.bers o/ a hu.anity such as ours. Their only
connection ,ith us is that ,e te.porarily occupy the sa.e planet. They appear
to correspond to the ani.als o/ a higher e-olution. They are di-ided into se-en
great classes, inhabiting the sa.e se-en states o/ .atter per.eated by the
corresponding -arieties o/ ele.ental essence. Thus, there are nature? spirits o/
the earth, ,ater, air, /ire ;or ether< > de/inite, intelligent astral entities residing
and /unctioning in each o/ those .edia.
)nly the .e.bers o/ the air class nor.ally reside in the astral ,orld, but their
nu.bers are so prodigious that they are e-ery,here present in it.
In .ediae-al literature earth?spirits are o/ten called gno.es, ,ater?spirits
undines, air?spirits sylphs, and ether?spirits sala.anders. In popular language
they ha-e been -ariously called /airies, pi2ies, el-es, bro,nies, peris, d7inns,
trolls, satyrs, /auns, +obolds, i.ps, goblins, good people, etc.
Their /or.s are .any and -arious, but .ost <Pa.e 1,"= /re:uently hu.an in shape
and so.e,hat di.inuti-e in siCe. Li+e al.ost all astral entities they are able to
assu.e any appearance at ,ill, though they undoubtedly ha-e /a-ourite /or.s
,hich they ,ear ,hen they ha-e no special ob7ect in ta+ing any other. Usually
they are in-isible to physical sight, but they ha-e the po,er o/ .a+ing
the.sel-es -isible by .aterialisation ,hen they ,ish to be seen.
At the head o/ each o/ these classes is a great 5eing, the directing and guiding
intelligence o/ the ,hole depart.ent o/ nature ,hich is ad.inistered and
energised by the class o/ entities under his control. These are +no,n by the
Hindus as ;!< .ndra, lord o/ the A+Ksha, or ether8 ;#< Agni, lord o/ /ire8 ;F< *avana,
lord o/ air8 ;&< -aruna, lord o/ ,ater8 ;%< >shiti, lord o/ earth.
The -ast +ingdo. o/ nature?spirits, as stated abo-e, is in the .ain an astral
+ingdo., though a large section o/ it appertains to the etheric le-els o/ the
physical plane.
There is an i..ense nu.ber o/ sub?di-isions or races a.ong the., indi-iduals
-arying in intelligence and disposition 7ust as hu.an beings do. 9ost o/ the.
a-oid .an altogether8 his habits and e.anations are distaste/ul to the., and the
constant rush o/ astral currents set up by his restless, ill?regulated desires
disturbs and annoys the.. )ccasionally, ho,e-er, they ,ill .a+e /riends ,ith
hu.an beings and e-en help the..
The help/ul attitude is rare8 in .ost cases they e2hibit either indi//erence or
disli+e, or ta+e an i.pish delight in decei-ing and tric+ing .en. 9any instances o/
this .ay be /ound in lonely .ountainous districts and in the s:ance room.
They are greatly assisted in their tric+s by the ,onder/ul po,er o/ gla.our they
possess, so that their -icti.s see and hear only ,hat these /airies i.press upon
the., e2actly as ,ith .es.erised sub7ects. The nature?spirits, ho,e-er, cannot
do.inate the hu.an ,ill, e2cept in the case o/ -ery ,ea+?.inded people, or o/
those ,ho allo, terror to paralyse <Pa.e 1,%= their ,ill. They can decei-e the
senses only, and they ha-e been +no,n to cast their gla.our o-er a
considerable nu.ber o/ people at the sa.e ti.e. So.e o/ the .ost ,onder/ul
/eats o/ Indian 7ugglers are per/or.ed by in-o+ing their aid in producing collecti-e
hallucination.
They see. usually to ha-e little sense o/ responsibility, and the ,ill is generally
less de-eloped than in the a-erage .an. They can, there/ore, readily be
do.inated .es.erically and e.ployed to carry out the ,ill o/ the .agician. They
.ay be utilised /or .any purposes, and ,ill carry out tas+s ,ithin their po,er
/aith/ully and surely.
They are also responsible, in certain .ountainous regions, /or thro,ing a
gla.our o-er a belated tra-eller, so that he sees, /or e2a.ple, houses and
people ,here he +no,s none really e2ist. These delusions are /re:uently not
.erely .o.entary, but .ay be .aintained /or :uite a considerable ti.e, the .an
going through ?:uite a long series o/ i.aginary but stri+ing ad-entures and then
suddenly /inding that all his brilliant surroundings ha-e -anished, and that he is
le/t standing in a lonely -alley or on a ,ind?s,ept plain.
In order to culti-ate their ac:uaintance and /riendship, a .an .ust be /ree /ro.
physical e.anations ,hich they detest, such as those o/ .eat, alcohol, tobacco,
and general uncleanliness, as ,ell as /ro. lust, anger, en-y, 7ealousy, a-arice
and depression, i.e., he .ust be clean and unob7ectionable both physically and
astrally. High and pure /eelings ,hich burn steadily and ,ithout ,ild surgings
create an at.osphere in ,hich nature?spirits delight to bathe. Al.ost all nature?
spirits delight also in .usic8 they .ay e-en enter a house in order to en7oy it,
bathing in the sound?,a-es, pulsating and s,aying in har.ony ,ith the..
To nature?spirits .ust also be attributed a large portion o/ ,hat are called
physical pheno.ena at spiritualistic s:ances8 indeed, .any a s:ance has been
<Pa.e 1,$= gi-en entirely by these .ischie-ous creatures. They are capable o/
ans,ering :uestions, deli-ering pretended .essages by raps or tilts, e2hibiting
QspiritR lights, the apport o/ ob7ects /ro. a distance, the reading o/ thoughts in the
.ind o/ any person present, the precipitation o/ ,riting or dra,ings, and e-en
.aterialisations. They could, o/ course, also e.ploy their po,er o/ gla.our to
supple.ent their other tric+s.
They .ay not in the least .ean to har. or decei-e, but nai-ely re7oice in their
success in playing their part, and in the a,e?stric+en de-otion and a//ection
la-ished upon the. as Qdear spiritsR and Qangel?helpersR. They share the delight
o/ the sitters and /eel the.sel-es to be doing a good ,or+ in thus co./orting the
a//licted.
They ,ill also so.eti.es .as:uerade in thought?/or.s that .en ha-e .ade,
and thin+ it a great 7o+e to /lourish horns, to lash a /or+ed tail, and to breathe out
/la.e as they rush about. )ccasionally an i.pressionable child .ay be terri/ied
by such appearances, but in /airness to the nature?spirit it .ust be re.e.bered
that he hi.sel/ is incapable o/ /ear and so does not understand the gra-ity o/ the
result, probably thin+ing that the child6s terror is si.ulated and a part o/ the
ga.e.
*one o/ the nature?spirits possess a per.anent reincarnating indi-iduality. It
see.s, there/ore, that in their e-olution a .uch greater proportion o/ intelligence
is de-eloped be/ore indi-idualisation ta+es place.
The li/e periods o/ the -arious classes -ary greatly, so.e being :uite short,
others .uch longer than our hu.an li/eti.e. Their e2istence on the ,hole
appears to be si.ple, 7oyous, irresponsible, such as a party o/ happy children
.ight lead a.ong e2ceptionally /a-ourable physical surroundings.
There is no se2 a.ong nature?spirits, there is no disease, and there is no
struggle /or e2istence. They ha-e +een a//ections and can /or. close and lasting
/riendships. Gealousy and anger are possible to the., but see. :uic+ly to /ade
a,ay be/ore the o-er,hel.ing <Pa.e 1,'= delight in all the operations o/ nature
,hich is their .ost pro.inent characteristic.
Their bodies ha-e no internal structure, so that they cannot be torn asunder or
in7ured, neither has heat or cold any e//ect upon the.. They appear to be entirely
/ree /ro. /ear.
Though tric+y and .ischie-ous, they are rarely .alicious, unless de/initely
pro-o+ed. As a body they distrust .an, and generally resent the appearance o/ a
ne,co.er on the astral plane, so that he usually .eets the. in an unpleasant or
terri/ying /or.. I/, ho,e-er, he declines to be /rightened by the. they soon
accept hi. as a necessary e-il and ta+e no /urther notice o/ hi., ,hile so.e .ay
e-en beco.e /riendly.
)ne o/ their +eenest delights is to play ,ith and to entertain in a hundred di//erent
,ays children on the astral plane ,ho are ,hat ,e call QdeadR.
So.e o/ the less childli+e and .ore digni/ied ha-e so.eti.es been re-erenced
as ,ood?gods or local -illage gods. These ,ould appreciate the /lattery paid
the., and ,ould no doubt be ,illing to do any s.all ser-ice they could in return.
The Adept +no,s ho, to use the ser-ices o/ the nature?spirits, and /re:uently
entrusts the. ,ith pieces o/ ,or+, but the ordinary .agician can do .so only by
in-ocation, that is, by attracting their attention as a suppliant and .a+ing so.e
+ind o/ a bargain ,ith the., or by e-ocation, that is, by co.pelling their
obedience. 5oth .ethods are e2tre.ely undesirable8 e-ocation is also
e2ceedingly dangerous, as the operator ,ould arouse a hostility ,hich .ight
pro-e /atal to hi.. *o pupil o/ a 9aster ,ould e-er be per.itted to atte.pt
anything o/ the +ind.
The highest type o/ nature?spirits consists o/ the sylphs or the spirits o/ the air,
,hich ha-e the astral body as their lo,est -ehicle. They ha-e intelligence e:ual
to that o/ the a-erage .an. The nor.al .ethod /or the. to attain to
indi-idualisation is to associate ,ith and lo-e the .e.bers o/ the ne2t stage
abo-e the. > the astral angels. <Pa.e 1,*=
A nature?spirit ,ho desires e2perience o/ hu.an li/e .ay obsess a person li-ing
in the physical ,orld.
There ha-e been ti.es ,hen a certain class o/ nature?spirits ha-e physically
.aterialised the.sel-es and so entered into undesirable relationships ,ith .en
and ,o.en. Perhaps /ro. this /act ha-e co.e the stories o/ /auns and satyrs,
though these so.eti.es also re/er to :uite a di//erent sub?hu.an e-olution.
In passing, it is ,orth noting that although the +ingdo. o/ the nature?spirits is
radically dissi.ilar /ro. the hu.an > being ,ithout se2, /ear, or the struggle /or
e2istence > yet the e-entual result o/ its un/old.ent is in e-ery respect e:ual to
that attained by hu.anity.
&. The (evas.>The beings called by the Hindus de-as are else,here spo+en o/
as angels, sons o/ 1od, etc. They belong to an e-olution distinct /ro. that o/
hu.anity, an e-olution in ,hich they .ay be regarded as a +ingdo. ne2t abo-e
hu.anity.
In )riental literature the ,ord de-a is also used -aguely to .ean any +ind o/ non?
hunVan entity. It is used here in the restricted sense stated abo-e.
%. They ,ill ne-er be hu.an, because .ost o/ the. are already beyond that
stage, but there are so.e o/ the. ,ho ha-e been hu.an beings in the past.
The bodies o/ de-as are .ore /luidic than those o/ .en, the te2ture o/ the aura
being, so to spea+, looser; they are capable o/ /ar greater e2pansion and
contraction, and ha-e a certain /iery :uality ,hich is clearly distinguishable /ro.
that o/ an ordinary hu.an being. The /or. inside the aura o/ a de-a, ,hich is
nearly al,ays a hu.an /or., is .uch less de/ined than in a .an8 the de-a li-es
.ore in the circu./erence, .ore all o-er his aura than a .an does. (e-as
usually appear as hu.an beings o/ gigantic siCe. They ha-e a colour language,
,hich is probably not as de/inite as our speech, though in certain ,ays it .ay
e2press .ore.
(e-as are o/ten near at hand and ,illing to e2pound and e2e.pli/y sub7ects
along their o,n line to any hu.an being su//iciently de-eloped to appreciate
the..<Pa.e 1,-=
Though connected ,ith the earth, the de-as e-ol-e through a grand syste. o/
se-en chains, the ,hole o/ our se-en ,orlds being as one ,orld to the.. Eery
/e, o/ our hu.anity ha-e reached the le-el at ,hich it is possible to 7oin the de-a
e-olution. 9ost o/ the recruits o/ the de-a +ingdo. ha-e been deri-ed /ro. other
hu.anities in the solar syste., so.e lo,er and so.e higher than ours.
The ob7ect o/ the de-a e-olution is to raise their /ore.ost ran+ to a .uch higher
le-el than that intended /or hu.anity in the corresponding period.
The three lo,er great di-isions o/ the de-as are8 ;!< 3K.ade-as, ,hose lo,est
body is the astral8
;#< =Lpade-as, ,hose lo,est body is the lo,er .ental8 ;F< ArLpade-as, ,hose
lo,est body is the higher .ental or causal.
4or =Lpade-as and ArLpade-as to .ani/est on the astral plane is at least as rare
as /or an astral entity to .aterialise on the physical plane.
Abo-e these classes are /our other great di-isions, and abo-e and beyond the
de-a +ingdo. are the great hosts o/ the Planetary Spirits.
We are concerned here principally ,ith the 3K.ade-as. The general a-erage
a.ong the. is .uch higher than a.ong us, /or all that is de/initely e-il has long
ago been eli.inated /ro. the.. They di//er ,idely in disposition, and a really
spiritual .an .ay ,ell stand higher in e-olution than so.e o/ the..
Their attention can be attracted by certain .agical e-ocations, but the only
hu.an ,ill ,hich can do.inate theirs is that o/ a certain high class o/ Adepts.
As a rule they see. scarcely conscious o/ our physical ,orld, though
occasionally one o/ the. .ay render assistance, .uch as any o/ us ,ould help
an ani.al in trouble. They understand, ho,e-er, that at the present stage, any
inter/erence ,ith hu.an a//airs is li+ely to do /ar .ore har. than good.
It is desirable to .ention here the /our (evar23as, though they do not strictly
belong to any o/ our classes.
These /our ha-e passed through an e-olution ,hich <Pa.e 1,,= is certainly not
anything corresponding to our hu.anity.
They are spo+en o/ as the =egents o/ the Earth, the Angels o/ the /our ardinal
Points, or the hatur 9ahKrK7as. They rule, not o-er de-as, but o-er the /our Q
ele.entsR o/ earth, ,ater, air and /ire, ,ith their ind,elling nature?spirits and
essences. )ther ite.s o/ in/or.ation concerning the. are /or con-enience
tabulated belo,8>
Na#e
A!!ro!riate Point o0
Co#!a
Ele#ental
Hot
S/#8olical
Colour
D(ritar?(tra Eat Gand(ar7a F(ite
>irGd(a)a Sout( +u#8(anda Blue
>irG!a)(a Fet Na.a Red
>ai(r?7ana Nort( Ya)(a Gold
The Secret (octrine .entions the. as Q,inged globes and /iery ,heelsR, and in
the hristian 5ible ECe+iel atte.pts to describe the. in -ery si.ilar ,ords.
=e/erences to the. are .ade in the sy.bology o/ e-ery religion, and they are
al,ays held in the highest re-erence as the protectors o/ .an+ind.
They are the agents o/ .an6s 3ar.a during his earth li/e, and they thus play an
e2tre.ely i.portant part in hu.an destiny. The great 3ar.ic deities o/ the
3os.os, the Lipi+a, ,eigh the deeds o/ each personality ,hen the /inal
separation o/ the principles ta+es place at the end o/ its astral li/e, and gi-e as it
,ere the .ould o/ an etheric double e2actly suitable to its 3ar.a /or the .an6s
ne2t birth. 5ut it is the (e-arK7as, ,ho, ha-ing co..and o/ the Qele.entsR o/
,hich that etheric double .ust be co.posed, arrange their proportion so as to
/ul/il accurately the intention o/ the Lipi+a.
All through li/e they constantly counterbalance the changes introduced into .an6s
condition by his o,n <Pa.e 1,1= /ree ,ill and that o/ those around hi., so that
3ar.a .ay be accurately and 7ustly ,or+ed out. A learned dissertation on these
beings ,ill be /ound in The Secret (octrine, Eol. I, pp. !##?!#'. They are able to
ta+e hu.an .aterial /or.s at ,ill, and cases are recorded ,here they ha-e done
so.
All the higher nature?spirits and hosts o/ arti/icial ele.entals act as their agents in
their stupendous ,or+8 but all the threads are in their o,n hands and they
assu.e the ,hole responsibility. They seldo. .ani/est on the astral plane, but
,hen they do they are certainly the .ost re.ar+able o/ its non?hu.an
inhabitants.
There .ust really be se-en, not /our, (e-arK7as, but outside the circle o/ Initiation
little is +no,n and less .ay be said concerning the higher three. <Pa.e 113=
CHAPTER "1
ASTRAL ENTITIES4 ARTI&ICIAL
THE arti/icial entities /or. the largest class and are also .uch the .ost i.portant
to .an. They consist o/ an enor.ous inchoate .ass o/ se.i?intelligent entities,
di//ering a.ong the.sel-es as hu.an thoughts di//er, and practically incapable
o/ detailed classi/ication and arrange.ent. 5eing entirely .an6s o,n creation,
they are related to hi. by close +ar.ic bonds, and their action upon hi. is direct
and incessant.
!. )lementals formed +nconsciously. > The ,ay in ,hich these desire ? and
thought?/or.s are called into being has already been described in hapter $. The
desire and thought o/ a .an seiCe upon the plastic ele.ental essence and .ould
it instantly into a li-ing being o/ appropriate /or.. The /or. is in no ,ay under the
control o/ its creator, but li-es out a li/e o/ its o,n, the length o/ ,hich is
proportional to the intensity o/ the thought ,hich created it, and ,hich .ay be
anything /ro. a /e, .inutes to .any days. 4or /urther particulars the student is
re/erred bac+ to hapter $.
#. )lementals formed %onsciously.>It is clear that ele.entals /or.ed,
consciously, by those ,ho are acting deliberately and +no, precisely ,hat they
are doing, .ay be enor.ously .ore po,er/ul than those /or.ed unconsciously.
)ccultists o/ both ,hite and dar+ schools /re:uently use arti/icial ele.entals in
their ,or+, and /e, tas+s are beyond the po,ers o/ such creatures ,hen
scienti/ically prepared and directed ,ith +no,ledge and s+ill. )ne ,ho +no,s
ho, to do so can .aintain a connection ,ith his ele.ental and guide it, so that it
,ill act practically as though endo,ed ,ith the /ull intelligence o/ its .aster. <Pa.e
111=
It is unnecessary to repeat here descriptions o/ this class o/ ele.ental, ,hich
ha-e already been gi-en in hapter $.
F. Human Artificials.>This is a -ery peculiar class, containing but /e, indi-iduals,
but possessing an i.portance :uite out o/ proportion to its nu.bers, o,ing to its
inti.ate connection ,ith the spiritualistic .o-e.ent.
In order to e2plain its genesis it is necessary to go bac+ to ancient Atlantis.
A.ong the lodges /or occult study, preli.inary to Initiation, /or.ed by Adepts o/
the 1ood La,, there is one ,hich still obser-es the sa.e old?,orld ritual, and
teaches the sa.e Atlantean tongue as a sacred and hidden language, as in the
days o/ Atlantis.
The teachers in this lodge do not stand at the Adept le-el, and the lodge is not
directly a part o/ the 5rotherhood o/ the Hi.alayas, though there are so.e o/ the
Hi.Klayan Adepts ,ho ,ere connected ,ith it in /or.er incarnations.
About the .iddle o/ the nineteenth century, the chie/s o/ this lodge, in despair at
the ra.pant .aterialis. o/ Europe and A.erica, deter.ined to co.bat it by
no-el .ethods, and to o//er opportunities by ,hich any reasonable .an could
ac:uire proo/ o/ a li/e apart /ro. the physical body.
The .o-e.ent thus set on /oot gre, into the -ast /abric o/ .odern spiritualis.,
nu.bering its adherents by .illions. Whate-er other results .ay ha-e /ollo,ed, it
is un:uestionable that by .eans o/ spiritualis. -ast nu.bers o/ people ha-e
ac:uired a belie/ in at any rate so.e +ind o/ /uture li/e. This is a .agni/icent
achie-e.ent, though so.e thin+ that it has been attained at too great a cost.
The .ethod adopted ,as to ta+e so.e ordinary person a/ter death, arouse hi.
thoroughly upon the astral plane, instruct hi. to a certain e2tent in the po,ers
and possibilities belonging to it, and then put hi. in charge o/ a spiritualistic
circle. He in his turn Qde-elopedR other departed personalities along <Pa.e 11"= the
sa.e lines, they all acted upon those ,ho sat at their s:ances, and Qde-elopedR
the. as .ediu.s. The leaders o/ the .o-e.ent no doubt occasionally
.ani/ested the.sel-es in astral /or. at the circles, but in .ost cases they .erely
directed and guided as they considered necessary. There is little doubt that the
.o-e.ent increased so .uch that it soon got :uite beyond their control; /or
.any o/ the later de-elop.ents, there/ore, they can be held only indirectly
responsible.
The intensi/ication o/ the astral li/e o/ the QcontrolsR ,ho ,ere put in charge o/
circles distinctly delayed their natural progress, and although it ,as thought that
/ull co.pensation /or such loss ,ould result /ro. the good +ar.a o/ leading
others to truth, it ,as soon /ound that it ,as i.possible to .a+e use o/ a Qspirit?
guideR /or any length o/ ti.e ,ithout doing hi. serious and per.anent in7ury.
In so.e cases such QguidesR ,ere ,ithdra,n, and others substituted /or the.. In
others, ho,e-er, it ,as considered undesirable to .a+e such a change, and then
a re.ar+able e2pedient ,as adopted ,hich ga-e rise to the curious class o/
creatures ,e ha-e called Qhu.an arti/icialsR.
The higher principles o/ the original QguideR ,ere allo,ed to pass on to their long?
delayed e-olution into the hea-en?,orld, but the shade ;see p. !$B< ,hich he le/t
behind ,as ta+en possession o/, sustained, and operated upon so that it .ight
appear to the circle practically 7ust as be/ore.
At /irst this see.s to ha-e been done by .e.bers o/ the lodge, but e-entually it
,as decided that the departed person ,ho ,ould ha-e been appointed to
succeed the late Qspirit?guideR should still do so, but should ta+e possession o/
the latter6s shade or shell, and, in /act, si.ply ,ear his appearance. This is ,hat
is ter.ed a Qhu.an arti/icialR entity.
In so.e cases .ore than one change see.s to ha-e been .ade ,ithout
arousing suspicion, but, on the other hand, so.e in-estigators o/ spiritualis.
ha-e <Pa.e 11%= obser-ed that a/ter a considerable ti.e di//erences suddenly
appeared in the .anner and disposition o/ a QspiritR.
*one o/ the .e.bers o/ the Hi.Klayan 5rotherhood ha-e e-er underta+en the
/or.ation o/ an arti/icial entity o/ this sort, though they could not inter/ere ,ith any
one ,ho thought it right to ta+e such a course.
Apart /ro. the deception in-ol-ed, a ,ea+ point in the arrange.ent is that others
besides the original lodge .ay adopt the plan, and there is nothing to pre-ent
blac+ .agicians /ro. supplying co..unicating spirits, as, indeed, they ha-e
been +no,n to do. <Pa.e 11$=
CHAPTER ""
SPIRIT:ALISM
THE ter. Qspiritualis.R is used no,adays to denote co..unication o/ .any
di//erent +inds ,ith the astral ,orld by .eans o/ a .ediu..
The origin and history o/ the spiritualistic .o-e.ent ha-e already been described
in hapter #!.
The etheric .echanis. ,hich .a+es spiritualistic pheno.ena possible has been
/ully described in The Etheric (ouble, to ,hich ,or+ the student is re/erred.
There re.ains no, /or us to consider the -alue, i/ any, o/ this .ethod o/
co..unicating ,ith the unseen ,orld, and the nature o/ the sources /ro. ,hich
the co..unications .ay co.e.
In the early days o/ the Theosophical Society, H. P. 5la-ats+y ,rote ,ith
considerable -ehe.ence on the sub7ect o/ spiritualis., and laid great stress on
the uncertainty o/ the ,hole thing, and the preponderance o/ personations o-er
real appearances. There see.s little doubt that these -ie,s ha-e largely
coloured and deter.ined the un/a-ourable attitude ,hich .ost .e.bers o/ the
Theosophical Society ta+e to,ards spiritualis. as a ,hole.
.W. Leadbeater, on the other hand, a//ir.s that his o,n personal e2perience
has been .ore /a-ourable. He spent so.e years e2peri.enting ,ith spiritualis.,
and belie-es that he has hi.sel/ repeatedly seen practically all the pheno.ena
,hich .ay be read about in the literature o/ the sub7ect.
In his e2perience, he /ound that a distinct .a7ority o/ the apparitions ,ere
genuine. The .essages they gi-e are o/ten uninteresting, and their religious
teaching he describes as being usually Qhristianity and ,aterR 8 ne-ertheless, as
/ar as <Pa.e 11'= it goes, it is liberal, and in ad-ance o/ the bigoted orthodo2
position.
.W. Leadbeater points out that Spiritualists and Theosophists ha-e .uch
i.portant ground in co..on, e.g., ;!< that li/e a/ter death is an actual, -i-id,
e-er?present certainty; and ;#< that eternal progress and ulti.ate happiness, /or
e-ery one, good and bad ali+e, is also a certainty. These t,o ite.s are o/ such
tre.endous and para.ount i.portance, constituting as they do so enor.ous an
ad-ance /ro. the ordinary orthodo2 position, that it see.s so.e,hat regrettable
that Spiritualists and Theosophists cannot 7oin hands on these broad issues and
agree, /or the present, to di//er upon .inor points, until at least the ,orld at large
is con-erted to that .uch o/ the truth. In this ,or+ there is a.ple roo. /or the t,o
bodies o/ see+ers a/ter truth.
Those ,ho ,ish to see pheno.ena, and those ,ho cannot belie-e anything
,ithout ocular de.onstration, ,ill naturally gra-itate to,ards spiritualis.. )n the
other hand, those ,ho ,ant .ore philosophy than spiritualis. usually pro-ides,
,ill naturally turn to Theosophy. 5oth .o-e.ents thus cater /or the liberal and
open?.inded, but /or :uite di//erent types o/ the.. 9ean,hile, har.ony and
agree.ent bet,een the t,o .o-e.ents see.s desirable, in -ie, o/ the great
ends at sta+e.
It .ust be said to the credit o/ spiritualis. that it has achie-ed its purpose to the
e2tent o/ con-erting -ast nu.bers o/ people /ro. a belie/ in nothing in particular
to a /ir. /aith in at any rate so.e +ind o/ /uture li/e. This, as ,e said in the last
chapter, is undoubtedly a .agni/icent result, though there are those ,ho thin+
that it has been attained at too great a cost.
There is undoubtedly danger in spiritualis. /or e.otional, ner-ous and easily
in/luenced natures, and it is ad-isable not to carry the in-estigations too /ar, /or
reasons ,hich by no, .ust be apparent to the student. 5ut there is no readier
,ay o/ brea+ing <Pa.e 11*= do,n the unbelie/ in anything outside the physical
plane than trying a /e, e2peri.ents, and it is perhaps ,orth ,hile to run so.e
ris+ in order to e//ect this.
.W. Leadbeater /earlessly asserts that, in spite o/ the /raud and deception ,hich
undoubtedly ha-e occurred in so.e instances, there are great truths behind
spiritualis. ,hich .ay be disco-ered by anyone ,illing to de-ote the necessary
ti.e and patience to their in-estigation. There is, o/ course, a -ast and gro,ing
literature on the sub7ect.
4urther.ore, good ,or+, si.ilar to that done by In-isible Helpers ;see hapter
#A<, has so.eti.es been done through the agency o/ a .ediu., or o/ so.e one
present at a s:ance. Thus, though spiritualis. has too o/ten detained souls, ,ho
but /or it ,ould ha-e attained speedy liberation, yet it has also /urnished the
.eans o/ escape to others, and thus opened up the path o/ ad-ance.ent /or
the.. There ha-e been instances in ,hich the deceased person has been able
to appear, ,ithout the assistance o/ a .ediu., to his relati-es and /riends, and
e2plain his ,ishes to the.. 5ut such cases are rare, and in .ost cases earth?
bound souls can relie-e the.sel-es o/ their an2ieties only by .eans o/ the
ser-ices o/ a .ediu., or o/ a conscious QIn-isible HelperR.
It is thus an error to loo+ only at the dar+ side o/ spiritualis.8 it .ust not be
/orgotten that it has done an enor.ous a.ount o/ good in this +ind o/ ,or+, by
gi-ing to the dead an opportunity to arrange their a//airs a/ter a sudden and
une2pected departure.
The student o/ these pages should not be surprised that a.ongst spiritualists are
so.e ,ho are bigoted and narro,, ,ho +no, nothing, /or e2a.ple, o/
reincarnation8 it is probable, in /act, that the .a7ority o/ English and A.erican
spiritualists do not yet +no, o/ that /act, though there are schools o/ spiritualis.
,hich do teach it. We ha-e already seen that ,hen a .an dies, he usually
resorts to the co.pany o/ those <Pa.e 11-= ,ho. he has +no,n on earth8 he
.o-es a.ong e2actly the sa.e +ind o/ people as during physical li/e. Hence
such a .an is little .ore li+ely to +no, or recognise the /act o/ reincarnation a/ter
death than be/ore it. 9ost .en are shut in /ro. all ne, ideas by a host o/
pre7udices8 they carry those pre7udices into the astral ,orld ,ith the., and are no
.ore a.enable to reason and co..on?sense there than in the physical ,orld.
)/ course a .an ,ho is really open?.inded can learn a great deal on the astral
plane8 he .ay speedily ac:uaint hi.sel/ ,ith the ,hole o/ the Theosophical
teaching, and there are dead .en ,ho do this. Hence it o/ten happens that
portions o/ that teaching are /ound a.ong spirit?co..unications.
It .ust also be borne in .ind that there is a higher spiritualis. o/ ,hich the
public +no,s nothing, and ,hich ne-er publishes any account o/ its results. The
best circles o/ all are strictly pri-ate, restricted to a s.all nu.ber o/ sitters. In
such circles the sa.e people .eet o-er and o-er again, and no outsider is e-er
ad.itted to .a+e any change in the .agnetis.. The conditions set up are thus
singularly per/ect, and the results obtained are o/ten o/ the .ost surprising
character. )/ten the so?called dead are 7ust as .uch part o/ the daily li/e o/ the
/a.ily as the li-ing. The hidden side o/ such s:ances is .agni/icent8 the thought?
/or.s surrounding the. are good, and calculated to raise the .ental and spiritual
le-el o/ the district.
At public s:ances an altogether lo,er class o/ dead people appear, because o/
the pro.iscuous 7u.ble o/ .agnetis..
)ne o/ the .ost serious ob7ections to the general practice o/ spiritualis., is that
in the ordinary .an a/ter death the consciousness is steadily rising /ro. the
lo,er part o/ the nature to,ards the higher8 the ego, as ,e ha-e repeatedly said,
is steadily ,ithdra,ing hi.sel/ a,ay /ro. the lo,er ,orlds8 ob-iously, there/ore,
it cannot be help/ul to his e-olution that the lo,er part should be re?a,a+ened
/ro. the natural and <Pa.e 11,= desirable unconsciousness into ,hich it is
passing, and dragged bac+ into touch ,ith earth in order to co..unicate through
a .ediu..
It is thus a cruel +indness to dra, bac+ to the earth?sphere one ,hose lo,er
.anas still yearns a/ter +K.ic grati/ications, because it delays his /or,ard
e-olution and interrupts ,hat should be an orderly progression. The period in
+K.alo+a is thus lengthened, the astral body is /ed, and its hold on the ego is
.aintained; thus the /reedo. o/ the soul is de/erred, Qthe i..ortal S,allo, being
still held by the birdli.e o/ earthR.
Especially in cases o/ suicide or sudden death is it .ost undesirable to re?
a,a+en TrishnK, or the desire /or sentient e2istence.
The peculiar danger o/ this ,ill appear ,hen it is recollected that since the ego is
,ithdra,ing into hi.sel/, he beco.es less and less able to in/luence or guide the
lo,er portion o/ his consciousness, ,hich, ne-ertheless, until the separation is
co.plete, has the po,er to generate +ar.a, and under the circu.stances is /ar
.ore li+ely to add e-il than good to its record.
4urther.ore, people ,ho ha-e led an e-il li/e and J6 are /illed ,ith yearnings /or
the earth li/e they ha-e le/t, and /or the ani.al delights they can no longer directly
taste, tend to gather round .ediu.s or sensiti-es, endea-ouring to utilise the.
/or their o,n grati/ication. These are a.ong the .ore dangerous o/ the /orces so
rashly con/ronted in their ignorance by the thoughtless and the curious.
A desperate astral entity .ay seiCe upon a sensiti-e sitter and obsess hi., or he
.ay e-en /ollo, hi. ho.e
and seiCe upon his ,i/e or daughter. There ha-e been .any such cases, and
usually it is al.ost i.possible
to get rid o/ such an obsessing entity.
We ha-e already seen that passionate sorro, and desires o/ /riends on earth
also tend to dra, departed entities do,n to the earth?sphere again, thus o/ten
causing acute su//ering to the deceased as ,ell as inter/ering ,ith the nor.al
course o/ e-olution.
Turning no, to the +inds o/ entities ,ho .ay <Pa.e 111= co..unicate through a
.ediu., ,e .ay classi/y the. as /ollo,s8>
(eceased hu.an beings on the astral plane.
(eceased hu.an beings in de-achan.
Shades.
Shells.
Eitalised shells.
*ature?Spirits.
The .ediu.6s ego.
Adepts.
*ir.Kna+Kyas.
As .ost o/ these ha-e already been described in hapter !& on Astral )ntities,
little .ore need be said about the. here.
It is theoretically possible /or any deceased person on the astral plane to
co..unicate through a .ediu., though this is /ar easier /ro. the lo,er le-els,
beco.ing .ore and .ore di//icult as the entity rises to the higher?sub?planes.
Hence, other things being e:ual, it is natural to e2pect that a .a7ority o/ the
co..unications recei-ed at s:ances ,ill be /ro. the lo,er le-els and there/ore
/ro. relati-ely unde-eloped entities.
The student ,ill recollect ;see page !FA< that suicides, and other -icti.s o/
sudden death, including e2ecuted cri.inals, ha-ing been cut o// in the /ull /lush o/
physical li/e, are especially li+ely to be dra,n to a .ediu., in the hope o/
satis/ying their Trishna, or thirst /or li/e.
onse:uently, the .ediu. is the cause o/ de-eloping in the. a ne, set o/
Skandhas ;see page #B"<, a ne, body ,ith /ar ,orse tendencies and passions
than the one they lost. This ,ould be producti-e o/ untold e-ils /or the ego, and
cause hi. to be re?born into a /ar ,orse e2istence than be/ore.
o..unication ,ith an entity in de-achan, i.e., in the hea-en?,orld, needs a
little /urther e2planation. Where a sensiti-e, or .ediu., is o/ a pure and lo/ty
nature, his /reed ego .ay rise to the de-achanic plane and there contact the
entity in de-achan. The <Pa.e "33= i.pression is o/ten gi-en that the entity /ro.
de-achan has co.e to the .ediu., but the truth is the re-erse o/ this8 it is the
ego o/ the .ediu. ,ho has risen to the le-el o/ the entity in de-achan.
),ing to the peculiar conditions o/ the consciousness o/ entities in de-achan
;into ,hich ,e cannot enter in this boo+<, .essages thus obtained cannot
altogether be relied upon8 at best the .ediu. or sensiti-e can +no,, see and /eel
only ,hat the particular entity in de-achan +no,s, sees and /eels. Hence, i/
generalisations are indulged in, there is .uch possibility o/ error, since each
entity in de-achan li-es in his o,n particular depart.ent o/ the hea-en?,orld.
In addition to this source o/ error, ,hilst the thoughts, +no,ledge and senti.ents
o/ the de-achanic entity /or. the substance, it is li+ely that the .ediu.6s o,n
personality and pre?e2isting ideas ,ill go-ern the /or. o/ the co..unication.
A shade ;see page !$B< .ay /re:uently appear and co..unicate at s:ances;
bearing the e2act appearance o/ the departed entity, possessing his .e.ory,
idiosyncrasies, etc., it is o/ten .ista+en /or the entity hi.sel/, though it is not itsel/
conscious o/ any i.personation. It is in reality a Qsoulless bundle o/ the lo,est
:ualitiesR o/ the entity.
A shell ;see page !$!< also e2actly rese.bles the departed entity, though it is
nothing .ore than the astral corpse o/ the entity, e-ery particle o/ .ind ha-ing
le/t it. 5y co.ing ,ithin reach o/ a .ediu.6s aura it .ay be gal-anised /or a /e,
.o.ents into a burles:ue o/ the real entity.
Such Qspoo+sR are conscienceless, de-oid o/ good i.pulses, tending to,ards
disintegration, and conse:uently can ,or+ /or e-il only, ,hether ,e regard the.
as prolonging their -itality by -a.pirising at s:ances, or polluting the .ediu. and
sitters ,ith astral connections o/ an altogether undesirable +ind.
A vitalised shell ;see page !$#< .ay also co..unicate through a .ediu.. As ,e
ha-e seen, it consists o/ an astral corpse ani.ated by an arti/icial ele.ental, and
<Pa.e "31= is al,ays .ale-olent. )b-iously it constitutes a source o/ great danger
at spiritualistic s:ances.
Suicides, shades and -italised shells, being .inor -a.pires, drain a,ay -itality
/ro. hu.an beings ,ho. they can in/luence. Hence both .ediu. and sitters are
o/ten ,ea+ and e2hausted a/ter a physical s:ance. A student o/ occultis. is
taught ho, to guard hi.sel/ /ro. their atte.pts, but ,ithout that +no,ledge it is
di//icult /or one ,ho puts hi.sel/ in their ,ay to a-oid being laid .ore or less
under contribution by the..
It is the use o/ shades and shells at s:ances ,hich brands so .any o/
spiritualistic co..unications ,ith intellectual sterility. Their apparent
intellectuality ,ill gi-e out only reproductions8 the .ar+ o/ non?originality ,ill be
present, there being no sign o/ ne, and independent thought.
/ature!Spirits. The part ,hich these creatures so o/ten play at s:ances has
already been described on pages !A# et se0.
9any o/ the pheno.ena o/ the s:ance?roo. are clearly .ore rationally
accounted /or as the tric+y -agaries o/ sub?hu.an /orces, than as the act o/
QspiritsR ,ho, ,hile in the body, ,ere certainly incapable o/ such inanities.
The medium=s ego. I/ the .ediu. be pure and earnest and stri-ing a/ter the light,
such up,ard stri-ing is .et by a do,n?reaching o/ the higher nature, light /ro.
the higher strea.ing do,n and illu.inating the lo,er consciousness. Then the
lo,er .ind is, /or the ti.e, united ,ith its parent the higher .ind, and trans.its
as .uch o/ the +no,ledge o/ the higher .ind as it is able to retain. Thus so.e
co..unications through a .ediu. .ay co.e /ro. the .ediu.6s o,n higher
ego.
The class o/ entity dra,n to s:ances depends o/ course -ery .uch on the type o/
.ediu.. 9ediu.s o/ lo, type ine-itably attract e.inently undesirable -isitors,
,hose /ading -itality is rein/orced in the s:ance!room. *or is this all8 i/ at such
s:ances there be present a .an or ,o.an o/ correspondingly lo, <Pa.e "3"=
de-elop.ent, the spoo+ ,ill be attracted to that person and .ay attach itsel/ to
hi. or her, thus setting up currents bet,een the astral body o/ the li-ing person
and the dying astral body o/ the dead person, and generating results o/ a
deplorable +ind.
An Adept or ,aster o/ten co..unicates ,ith His disciples, ,ithout using the
ordinary .ethods o/ co..unication. I/ a .ediu. ,ere a pupil o/ a 9aster, it is
possible that a .essage /ro. the 9aster .ight Qco.e throughR, and be .ista+en
/or a .essage /ro. a .ore ordinary QspiritR.
A /irm2nak2ya is a per/ected .an, ,ho has cast aside his physical body but
retains his other lo,er principles, re.aining in touch ,ith the earth /or the sa+e o/
helping the e-olution o/ .an+ind. These great entities can and do on rare
occasions co..unicate through a .ediu., but only through one o/ a -ery pure
and lo/ty nature. ;See also page !$%<
Unless a .an has had -ery ,ide e2perience ,ith .ediu.ship, he ,ould /ind it
di//icult to belie-e ho, .any :uite ordinary people on the astral plane are burning
,ith the desire to pose as great ,orld?teachers. Usually they are honest in their
intentions, and really thin+ they ha-e teaching to gi-e ,hich ,ill sa-e the ,orld.
Ha-ing realised the ,orthlessness o/ .erely ,orldly ob7ects, they /eel, :uite
rightly, that i/ they could i.press upon .an+ind their o,n ideas the ,hole ,orld
,ould i..ediately beco.e a -ery di//erent place.
Ha-ing /lattered the .ediu. into belie-ing that he or she is the sole channel /or
so.e e2clusi-e and transcendent teaching, and ha-ing .odestly disclai.ed any
special greatness /or hi.sel/, one o/ these co..unicating entities is o/ten
i.agined by the sitters to be at least an archangel, or e-en so.e .ore direct
.ani/estation o/ the (eity. Un/ortunately, ho,e-er, it is usually /orgotten by such
an entity that ,hen he ,as ali-e in the physical ,orld, other people ,ere .a+ing
si.ilar co..unications through -arious .ediu.s, and that he paid not the
slightest attention <Pa.e "3%= to the.. He does not realise that others also, still
i..ersed in the a//airs o/ the ,orld, ,ill pay no .ore attention to hi. and ,ill
decline to be .o-ed by his co..unications.
So.eti.es such entities ,ill assu.e distinguished na.es, such as 1eorge
Washington, Gulius aesar, or the Archangel 9ichael, /ro. the :uestionably
pardonable .oti-e that the teachings they gi-e ,ill so be .ore li+ely to be
accepted than i/ they e.anate /ro. plain Gohn S.ith or Tho.as 5ro,n.
So.eti.es also, such entities, seeing the .inds o/ others /ull o/ re-erence /or
the 9asters, ,ill personate these -ery 9asters in order to co..and .ore ready
acceptance /or the ideas they ,ish to pro.ulgate.
Also there are so.e ,ho atte.pt to in7ure the ,or+ o/ the 9aster by assu.ing
His /or. and so in/luencing His pupil. Although they .ight be able to produce an
al.ost per/ect physical appearance, it is :uite i.possible /or the. to i.itate a
9aster6s causal body, and conse:uently one ,ith causal sight could not possibly
be decei-ed by such an i.personation.
In a /e, instances the .e.bers o/ the lodge o/ occultists ,ho originated the
spiritualistic .o-e.ent ;see page !"!< ha-e the.sel-es gi-en -aluable
teachings on deeply interesting sub7ects, through a .ediu.. 5ut this has
in-ariably been at strictly pri-ate /a.ily s:ances, ne-er at public per/or.ances
/or ,hich .oney has been paid.
The Eoice o/ the Silence ,isely en7oins8 QSee+ not thy 1uru in these .aya-ic
regions.R *o teaching /ro. a sel/?appointed preceptor on the astral plane should
be blindly accepted8 all co..unications and ad-ice ,hich co.es thence should
be recei-ed precisely as one ,ould recei-e si.ilar ad-ice on the physical plane.
Teaching should be ta+en /or ,hat it is ,orth, a/ter e2a.ination by conscience
and intellect.
A .an is no .ore in/allible because he happens to be dead than ,hen he ,as
physically ali-e. A .an .ay spend .any years on the astral plane and yet +no,
no .ore than ,hen he le/t the physical ,orld.<Pa.e "3$=
Accordingly ,e should attach no .ore i.portance to co..unications /ro. the
astral ,orld, or /ro. any higher plane, than ,e should to a suggestion .ade on
the physical plane.
A .ani/esting QspiritR is o/ten e2actly ,hat it pro/esses to be8 but o/ten also it is
nothing o/ the +ind. 4or the ordinary sitter there is no .eans o/ distinguishing the
true /ro. the /alse, since the resources o/ the astral plane can be used to delude
persons on the physical plane to such an e2tent that no reliance can be placed
e-en on ,hat see.s the .ost con-incing proo/. It is not /or a .o.ent denied
that i.portant co..unications ha-e been .ade at s:ances by genuine entities8
but it is clai.ed that it is practically i.possible /or an ordinary sitter to be :uite
certain that he is not being decei-ed in hal/ a doCen di//erent ,ays.
4ro., the abo-e it ,ill be seen ho, -aried .ay be the sources /ro. ,hich
co..unications /ro. the astral ,orld .ay be recei-ed. As said by H. P.
5la-ats+y8 QThe -ariety o/ the causes o/ pheno.ena is great, and ,e need to be
an Adept, and actually loo+ into and e2a.ine ,hat transpires, in order to be able
to e2plain in each case ,hat really underlies itR.
To co.plete the state.ent, it .ay be said that ,hat the a-erage person can do
on the astral plane a/ter death he can do in physical li/e8 co..unications .ay be
as readily obtained by ,riting, in trance, or by utilising the de-eloped and trained
po,ers o/ the astral body, /ro. e.bodied as /ro. dise.bodied persons. It ,ould
there/ore see. to be .ore prudent to de-elop ,ithin onesel/ the po,ers o/ one6s
o,n soul, instead o/ ignorantly plunging into dangerous e2peri.ents. In this
.anner +no,ledge .ay be sa/ely accu.ulated and e-olution accelerated. 9an
.ust learn that death has no real po,er o-er hi.8 the +ey o/ the prison?house o/
the body is in his o,n hands, and he .ay learn ho, to use it i/ he ,ills.
4ro. a care/ul ,eighing o/ all the e-idence a-ailable, both /or and against
spiritualis., it ,ould <Pa.e "3'= see. that, i/ e.ployed ,ith care and discretion, it
.ay be 7usti/iable, purely in order to brea+ do,n .aterialis.. )nce this purpose
is achie-ed, its use see.s too beset ,ith dangers, both to the li-ing and the
dead, to .a+e it ad-isable, as a general rule, though in e2ceptional cases it .ay
be practised ,ith sa/ety and bene/it. <Pa.e "3*=
CHAPTER "%
ASTRAL DEATH
WE ha-e no, reached the end o/ the li/e?history o/ the astral body, and little
re.ains to be said regarding its death and /inal dissolution.
The steady ,ithdra,al o/ the ego, as ,e ha-e seen, causes, in a ti.e ,hich
-aries ,ithin -ery ,ide li.its, the particles o/ the astral body gradually to cease to
/unction, this process ta+ing place, in .ost cases, in layers arranged according to
degree o/ density, the densest being on the outside.
The astral body thus slo,ly ,ears a,ay and disintegrates as the consciousness
is gradually ,ithdra,n /ro. it by the hal/?unconscious e//ort o/ the ego, and thus
the .an by degrees gets rid o/ ,hate-er holds hi. bac+ /ro. the hea-en?,orld.
(uring the stay on the astral plane, in +K.alo+a, the .ind, ,o-en ,ith the
passions, e.otions and desires, has puri/ied the., and assi.ilated their pure
part, and has absorbed into itsel/ all that is /it /or the higher ego, so that the
re.aining portion o/ +K.a is a .ere residue, /ro. ,hich the ego, the I..ortal
Triad o/ At.K?5uddhi?9anas ;as it is o/ten called<, can readily /ree itsel/. Slo,ly
the Triad or ego dra,s into itsel/ the .e.ories o/ the earth?li/e 7ust ended, its
lo-es, hopes, aspirations, etc., and prepares to pass out o/ +K.alo+a into the
bliss/ul state o/ de-achan, the Qabode o/ the godsR, the Qhea-en?,orldR.
Into the history o/ the .an ,hen he has reached the hea-en?,orld ,e cannot
enter here, as it lies beyond the scope o/ this treatise8 it is hoped, ho,e-er, to
deal ,ith it in the third -olu.e o/ this series.
4or the .o.ent, ho,e-er, it .ay be said, in brie/, that the period spent in
de-achan is the ti.e /or the <Pa.e "3-= assi.ilation o/ li/e e2periences, the
regaining o/ e:uilibriu., ere a ne, descent into incarnation is underta+en. It is
thus the day that succeeds the night o/ earth?li/e, the sub7ecti-e as contrasted
,ith the ob7ecti-e period o/ .ani/estation.
When the .an passes out o/ +K.alo+a into de-achan, he cannot carry thither
,ith hi. thought?/or.s o/ an e-il type; astral .atter cannot e2ist on the
de-achanic le-el, and de-achanic .atter cannot ans,er to the coarse -ibrations
o/ e-il passions and desires. onse:uently all that the .an can carry ,ith hi.
,hen he /inally sha+es o// the re.nants o/ his astral body ,ill be the latent ger.s
or tendencies ,hich, ,hen they can /ind nutri.ent or outlet, .ani/est as e-il
desires and passions in the astral ,orld. 5ut these he does ta+e ,ith hi., and
they lie latent throughout his de-achanic li/e, in the astral per.anent ato.. At the
end o/ the +K.alo+ic li/e, the golden li/e?,eb ;see A Study in %onsciousness,
pages "!?"F< ,ithdra,s /ro. the astral body, lea-ing it to disintegrate, and
en,raps the astral per.anent ato., ,hich then retreats ,ithin the causal body.
The /inal struggle ,ith the desire?ele.ental ;see pp. ' W !BA< ta+es place at the
conclusion o/ the astral li/e, /or the ego is then endea-ouring to dra, bac+ into
hi.sel/ all that he put do,n into incarnation at the beginning o/ the li/e ,hich has
7ust ended. When he atte.pts to do this he is .et ,ith deter.ined opposition
/ro. the desire?ele.ental, ,hich he hi.sel/ has created and /ed.
In the case o/ all ordinary people, so.e o/ their .ental .atter has beco.e so
entangled ,ith their astral .atter that it is i.possible /or it to be entirely /reed.
The result o/ the struggle is there/ore that so.e portion o/ the .ental .atter, and
e-en o/ causal ;higher .ental< .atter is retained in the astral body a/ter the ego
has co.pletely bro+en a,ay /ro. it. I/, on the other hand, a .an has during li/e
co.pletely con:uered his lo,er desires and succeeded in absolutely /reeing the
lo,er .ind /ro. desire, there is practically <Pa.e "3,=
no struggle, and the ego is able to ,ithdra, not only all that he Qin-estedR in that
particular incarnation, but also all the QinterestR, i.e., the e2periences, /aculties,
etc., that ha-e been ac:uired. There are also e2tre.e cases ,here the ego loses
both the QcapitalR in-ested and the QinterestR, these being +no,n as Qlost?soulsR or
ele.entaries ;see page !&%<.
The /ull treat.ent o/ the .ethod in ,hich the ego puts a portion o/ hi.sel/ do,n
into incarnation and then endea-ours to ,ithdra, it again, .ust clearly be
reser-ed /or the third and /ourth -olu.es o/ this series, ,hich ,ill deal ,ith the
.ental and causal bodies.
The e2it /ro. the astral body and the astral plane is thus a second death, the
.an lea-ing behind hi. an astral corpse ,hich, in its turn, disintegrates, its
.aterials being restored to the astral ,orld, 7ust as the .aterials o/ the physical
body are returned to the physical ,orld.
This astral corpse, and the -arious possibilities ,hich .ay happen to it, ha-e
already been dealt ,ith in hapter !" on Astral )ntities, under the headings
Shades ;page !$B<, Shells ;page !$!<, Eitalised Shells ;page !$#<, etc. <Pa.e "31=
CHAPTER "$
RE2BIRTH
A4TE= the causes that carried the ego into de-achan are e2hausted, the
e2periences gathered ha-ing been ,holly assi.ilated, the ego begins to /eel
again the thirst /or sentient .aterial li/e, that can be grati/ied only on the physical
plane. That thirst is +no,n by the Hindus as trishn2.
It .ay be considered, /irst, as a desire to e2press hi.sel/8 and second, as a
desire to recei-e those i.pressions /ro. ,ithout ,hich alone enable hi. to /eel
hi.sel/ ali-e. 4or this is the la, o/ e-olution.
TrishnK appears to operate through +K.a, ,hich, /or the indi-idual as /or the
os.os, is the pri.ary cause o/ reincarnation.
(uring the de-achanic rest the ego has been /ree /ro. all pain and sorro,, but
the e-il he did in his past li/e has been in a state, not o/ death, but o/ suspended
ani.ation. The seeds o/ past e-il tendencies co..ence to ger.inate as soon as
the ne, personality begins to /or. itsel/ /or the ne, incarnation. The ego has to
ta+e up the burden o/ the past, the ger.s or seeds co.ing o-er as the har-est o/
the past li/e being called by the 5uddhists skandhas.
3K.a, ,ith its ar.y o/ s+andhas, thus ,aits at the threshold o/ de-achan,
,hence the ego re?e.erges to assu.e a ne, incarnation. The s+andhas consist
o/ .aterial :ualities, sensations, abstract ideas, tendencies o/ .ind, .ental
po,ers.
The process is brought about by the ego turning his attention, /irst to the .ental
unit, ,hich i..ediately resu.es its acti-ity, and then to the astral per.anent
ato., into ,hich he puts his ,ill.
The tendencies, ,hich ,e ha-e seen are in a condition <Pa.e "13= o/ suspended
ani.ation, are thro,n out,ards by the ego as he returns to re?birth, and dra,
around the.sel-es, /irst, .atter o/ the .ental plane, and also ele.ental essence
o/ the second great +ingdo., these e2pressing e2actly the .ental de-elop.ent
,hich the .an had gained at the end o/ his last hea-en?li/e. He thus begins in
this respect e2actly ,here he le/t o//.
*e2t, he dra,s round hi.sel/ .atter /ro. the astral ,orld, and ele.ental
essence o/ the third +ingdo., thus obtaining the .aterials out o/ ,hich his ne,
astral body ,ill be built, and causing to re?appear the appetites, e.otions, and
passions ,hich he brought o-er /ro. his past li-es.
The astral .atter is gathered by the ego descending to re?birth, not o/ course
consciously, but auto.atically.
This .aterial is, .oreo-er, an e2act reproduction o/ the .atter in the .an6s astral
body at the end o/ his
66 last astral li/e. The .an thus resu.es his li/e in each ,orld 7ust ,here he le/t it
last ti.e.
The student ,ill recognise in the abo-e a part o/ the ,or+ings o/ +ar.ic la,, into
,hich ,e need not enter in this present -olu.e. Each incarnation is ine-itably,
auto.atically, and 7ustly lin+ed ,ith the preceding li-es, so that the ,hole series
/or.s a continuous, unbro+en chain.
The astral .atter thus dra,n round the .an is not yet /or.ed into a de/inite
astral body. It ta+es, in the /irst place, the shape o/ that o-oid ,hich is the nearest
e2pression that ,e can realise o/ the true shape o/ the causal body. As soon as
the baby physical body is /or.ed, the physical .atter e2erts a -iolent attraction
/or the astral .atter, ,hich pre-iously ,as /airly e-enly distributed o-er the o-oid,
and so concentrates the great bul+ o/ it ,ithin the periphery o/ the physical body.
As the physical body gro,s, the astral .atter /ollo,s its e-ery change, "" per
cent, o/ it being concentrated ,ithin the periphery o/ the physical body, and only
about I per cent, /illing the rest o/ the o-oid and constituting the aura, as ,e sa,
in an earlier chapter ;see page $<. <Pa.e "11=
The process o/ gathering .atter round the astral nucleus so.eti.es ta+es place
rapidly, and so.eti.es causes long delay; ,hen it is co.pleted the ego stands
in the +ar.ic -esture he has prepared /or hi.sel/, ready to recei-e /ro. the
agents o/ the Lords o/ 3ar.a the etheric double, into ,hich, as into a .ould, the
ne, physical body ,ill be built ;see The Etheric (ouble, page '$<.
The .an6s :ualities are thus not at /irst in action8 they are si.ply the ger.s o/
:ualities, ,hich ha-e secured /or the.sel-es a possible /ield o/ .ani/estation in
the .atter o/ the ne, bodies. Whether they de-elop in this li/e into the sa.e
tendencies as in the last one ,ill depend largely upon the encourage.ent, or
other,ise, gi-en to the. by the surroundings o/ the child during his early years.
Any one o/ the., good or bad, .ay be readily sti.ulated into acti-ity by
encourage.ent, or, on the other hand, .ay be star-ed out /or lac+ o/ that
encourage.ent. I/ sti.ulated, it beco.es a .ore po,er/ul /actor in the .an6s li/e
this ti.e than it ,as in his pre-ious e2istence; i/ star-ed out, it re.ains .erely as
an un/ructi/ied ger., ,hich presently atrophies and dies out, and does not .a+e
its appearance in the succeeding incarnation at all.
The child cannot thus be said to ha-e as yet a de/inite .ind?body or a de/inite
astral body, but he has around and ,ithin hi. the .atter out o/ ,hich these are
to be built.
Thus, /or e2a.ple, suppose a .an ,as a drun+ard in his past li/e8 in +K.alo+a
he ,ould ha-e burnt out the desire /or drin+ and be de/initely /reed /ro. it. 5ut
although the desire itsel/ is dead, there still re.ains the sa.e ,ea+ness o/
character ,hich .ade it possible /or hi. to be sub7ugated by it. In his ne2t li/e his
astral body ,ill contain .atter capable o/ gi-ing e2pression to the sa.e desire;
but he is in no ,ay bound to e.ploy such .atter in the sa.e ,ay as be/ore. In
the hands o/ care/ul and capable parents, in /act, being trained to regard such
desires as e-il, he ,ould gain control o-er the., repress the. as they <Pa.e "1"=
appear, and thus the astral .atter ,ill re.ain un-i-i/ied and beco.e atrophied
/ro. ,ant o/ use. It ,ill be recollected that the .atter o/ the astral body is slo,ly
but constantly ,earing a,ay and being replaced, precisely as is that o/ the
physical body, and as atrophied .atter disappears it ,ill be replaced by .atter o/
a .ore re/ined order. Thus are -ices /inally con:uered and .ade -irtually
i.possible /or the /uture, the opposite -irtue o/ sel/?control ha-ing been
established.
(uring the /irst /e, years o/ the .an6s li/e the ego has but little hold o-er his
-ehicles, and he there/ore loo+s to his parents to help hi. to obtain a /ir.er
grasp and to pro-ide hi. ,ith suitable conditions.
It is i.possible to e2aggerate the plasticity o/ these un/or.ed -ehicles. 9uch as
can be done ,ith the physical body in its early years, as in the case o/ children
trained as acrobats, /or e2a.ple, /ar .ore can be done ,ith the astral and
.ental -ehicles. They thrill in response to e-ery -ibration ,hich they encounter,
and are eagerly recepti-e o/ all in/luences, good or e-il, e.anating /ro. those
around the.. 9oreo-er, though in early youth they are so susceptible and so
easily .oulded, they soon set and sti//en and ac:uire habits ,hich, once /ir.ly
established, can be altered only ,ith great di//iculty. Thus to a /ar larger e2tent
than is realised by e-en the /ondest parents, the child6s /uture is under their
control.
It is only the clair-oyant ,ho +no,s ho, enor.ously and ho, rapidly child?
characters ,ould i.pro-e i/ only adult characters ,ere better.
A -ery stri+ing instance is recorded ,here the brutality o/ a teacher irreparably
in7ured the bodies o/ a child so as to .a+e it i.possible /or the child in this li/e to
.a+e the /ull progress that ,as hoped /or it.
So -itally i.portant is the early en-iron.ent o/ a child that the li/e in ,hich
Adeptship is attained .ust ha-e absolutely per/ect surroundings in childhood.
In the case o/ lo,er?class .onads ,ith unusually strong astral bodies, ,ho
reincarnate a/ter a -ery <Pa.e "1%=
short inter-al, it so.eti.es happens that the shade or shell le/t o-er /ro. the last
astral li/e still persists, and in that case it is li+ely to be attracted to the ne,
personality. When that happens it brings ,ith it strongly the old habits and .odes
o/ thought, and so.eti.es e-en the actual .e.ory o/ that past li/e.
In the case o/ a .an ,ho has led such an e-il li/e i that his astral and .ental
bodies are torn a,ay /ro. the ego a/ter death, the ego, ha-ing no bodies in
,hich to li-e in the astral and .ental ,orlds, .ust :uic+ly /or. ne, ones. When
the ne, astral and .ental bodies are /or.ed, the a//inity bet,een the. and the
old ones, not yet disintegrated, asserts itsel/, and the old .ental and astral
bodies beco.e the .ost terrible /or. o/ ,hat is +no,n as the Qd,eller on the
thresholdR.
In the e2tre.e case o/ a .an, returning to re?birth, ,ho by -icious appetite or
other,ise, has /or.ed a -ery strong lin+ ,ith any type o/ ani.al, he .ay be
lin+ed by .agnetic a//inity to the astral body o/ the ani.al ,hose :ualities he has
encouraged, and be chained as a prisoner to the ani.al6s physical body. Thus
chained he cannot go on,ard to re?birth8 he is conscious in the astral ,orld, has
his hu.an /aculties, but cannot control the brute body ,ith ,hich he is
connected, nor e2press hi.sel/ through that body on the physical plane. The
ani.al organis. is thus a 7ailor, rather than a -ehicle. The ani.al soul is not
e7ected, but re.ains as the proper tenant and controller o/ its o,n body.
Such an i.prison.ent is not reincarnation, though it is easy to see that cases o/
this nature e2plain at least partially the belie/ o/ten /ound in )riental countries
that .an .ay under certain circu.stances reincarnate in an ani.al body.
In cases ,here the ego is not degraded enough /or absolute i.prison.ent, but in
,hich the astral body is strongly ani.alised, it .ay pass on nor.ally to hu.an
re?birth, but the ani.al characteristics ,ill be largely reproduced in the physical
body > as ,itness the <Pa.e "1$= Q.onstersR ,ho in appearance are so.eti.es
repulsi-ely ani.al, pig?/aced, dog?/aced, etc. The su//ering entailed on the
conscious hu.an entity, thus te.porarily cut o// /ro. progress and /ro. sel/?
e2pression, is -ery great, though, o/ course, re/or.atory in its action. It is
so.e,hat si.ilar to that endured by other egos, ,ho are lin+ed to hu.an bodies
,ith unhealthy brains, i.e., idiots, lunatics, etc., though idiocy and lunacy are the
results o/ other -ices.
Insanity is o/ten the result o/ cruelty, .ore especially ,hen the cruelty is o/ a
re/ined and intentional character.<Pa.e "1'=
CHAPTER "'
THE MASTERY O& EMOTION
THIS boo+ ,ill ha-e been co.piled in -ain i/ the student has not beco.e
i.pressed ,ith the necessity, /irst, o/ controlling the astral body8 secondly, o/
gradually training it into a -ehicle o/ consciousness, co.pletely subser-ient to the
,ill o/ the real .an, the ego8 and thirdly, in due ti.e, o/ steadily de-eloping and
per/ecting its -arious po,ers.
The a-erage ,orldly person +no,s little and cares less about such .atters8 but
to the student o/ occultis. it is clearly o/ /unda.ental i.portance that he should
attain /ull .astery o-er all his -ehicles > physical, astral and .ental. And
although /or purposes o/ analysis and study it is necessary to separate these
three bodies and study the. indi-idually, yet, in practical li/e, it ,ill be /ound that
to a great e2tent the training o/ all o/ the. can be carried on si.ultaneously, any
po,er gained in one helping to so.e e2tent in the training o/ the other t,o.
We ha-e already seen ;page '&< the desirability o/ puri/ying the physical body, by
.eans o/ /ood, drin+, hygiene, etc., in order to .a+e slightly less di//icult the
control o/ the astral body. The sa.e principle applies ,ith e-en greater /orce to
the .ental body, /or it is in the last analysis only by the use o/ .ind and ,ill that
the desires, e.otions and passions o/ the astral body can be brought into per/ect
sub7ection.
4or .any te.pera.ents, at least, a care/ul study o/ the psychology o/ e.otion is
o/ -ery great assistance, as it is clearly .uch easier to bring under control a /orce
the genesis and nature o/ ,hich is thoroughly understood.
4or this purpose, the present ,riter -ery strongly reco..ends a thorough study
o/ the principles laid <Pa.e "1*= do,n in that .asterly treatise The Science of the
)motions, by 5haga-an (as. ;An ad.irable epito.e o/ this ,or+ has been
,ritten by 9iss 3. 5ro,ning, 9.A., under the title An )pitome of the Science of
the )motions.< The .ain thesis .ay be -ery brie/ly set out as /ollo,s.
All .ani/ested e2istence .ay be analysed into the Sel/, the *ot?Sel/, and the
=elationship bet,een these t,o.
That =elationship .ay be di-ided into ;!< ognition ;1nyKna.<8 ;#< (esire
;IchchK<8 ;F< Action ;3riyK<. To +no,, to desire, and to endea-our or act > those
three co.prise the ,hole o/ conscious li/e.
4eeling or e.otion is o/ t,o +inds > pleasurable or pain/ul. Pleasure,
/unda.entally a sense o/ .oreness, produces attraction, lo-e ;ragK<8 pain,
/unda.entally a sense o/ lessness, produces repulsion, hate ;d-esha<.
4ro. attraction proceed all lo-e?e.otions8 /ro. repulsion proceed all hate?
e.otions. All e.otions arise /ro. lo-e or hate, or /ro. both, in -arying degrees
o/ intensity.
The precise nature o/ a particular e.otion is also deter.ined by the relationship
bet,een the one ,ho e2periences the e.otion and the ob7ect ,hich is the
occasion o/ the e.otion. The one ,ho e2periences the e.otion .ay be, so far
as the circumstances connected ith the particular emotion are concerned, ;!<
1reater than8 ;#< E:ual to8 or ;F< Less than the ob7ect.
Pursuing this analysis, ,e arri-e at the si2 possible types o/ e.otion?ele.ents
gi-en in colu.n three o/ the table appended. olu.n /our gi-es sub?di-isions o/
the pri.ary ele.ents in -arying degrees o/ intensity, the strongest being at the
head and the ,ea+est at the /oot o/ each group.
All hu.an e.otions consist o/ one o/ these si2 e.otion?ele.ents, or, .ore
/re:uently, o/ t,o or .ore o/ the. co.bined together. The student .ust no, be
re/erred to the treatise .entioned abo-e /or a detailed elaboration o/ the
/unda.ental principles set /orth abo-e. His labour ,ill be a.ply re,arded.<Pa.e
"1-=
GENESIS O& EMOTIONS
Relation to5ard t(e o8Hect
Iualitati7e
212
Iuantitati7e
2"2
Pri#ar/
E#otion2Ele#ent
De.ree o0 t(e
E#otion
Lo7e B0orC
Su!erior Re7erence
For(i!
Adoration
Re7erence
Etee#
Re!ect
Ad#iration
EDual A00ection
A00ection
Co#rade(i!
&riendline
Politene
In0erior Bene7olence
Co#!aion
Tenderne
+indne
Pit/
Hate B0orC
Su!erior &ear
Horror
Dread
&ear
A!!re(enion
EDual An.er
Hotilit/
Rudene
A7erion
Coldne
Aloo0ne
In0erior Pride or T/rann/ BaC
Scorn
Didain
Conte#!t
Su!ercilioune
BaC T(e En.li( lan.ua.e a!!ear to !oe no one 5ord 5(ic( accuratel/
decri8e t(i e#otion2ele#entA
Another -aluable line o/ study, /or the student ,ho is ai.ing at sel/?+no,ledge in
order to attain sel/?.astery, is that o/ collecti-e or cro,d?consciousness. 5y /ar
the best boo+, ,ith ,hich the present ,riter is ac:uainted, on this interesting
sub7ect is The %rod in *eace and <ar, by Sir 9artin on,ay. <Pa.e "1,=
With ,onder/ul lucidity and richness o/ illustration ? Sir 9artin de.onstrates the
/ollo,ing /unda.ental /acts.
;!< The great .a7ority o/ .en are brought up in, and all their li-es belong to,
certain psychological Qcro,dsR, i.e.$ groups o/ people ,ho thin+, and abo-e all,
/eel si.ilarly. Such cro,ds are those o/ the ho.e, /riends and associates,
schools and uni-ersities, pro/essions, religious sects, political parties, schools o/
thought, nations, races, and so on. E-en those ,ho read the sa.e ne,spapers
or belong to the sa.e club /or. a psychological Qcro,dR.
;#< Such cro,ds are in the .ain /or.ed by, nourished on, and do.inated by
/eeling or e.otion > not #y thought. A cro,d has all the e.otions, but no
intellect8 it can /eel, but it cannot thin+. The opinions o/ cro,ds are seldo. or
ne-er reached by reason, but are .erely in/ectious passions ,hich s,eep
through the ,hole body li+e an electric current, these /re:uently originating /ro.
a single brain. )nce caught up in the cro,d, the indi-idual rapidly loses his
po,er o/ indi-idual thought and /eeling, and beco.es one ,ith the cro,d,
sharing its li/e, its opinions, its attitudes, pre7udices, and the li+e.
;F< Eery /e, e-er ha-e the courage or the strength to brea+ a,ay /ro. the
-arious cro,ds to ,hich they belong; the -ast .a7ority re.ain all their li-es under
the s,ay o/ the cro,ds ,hich ha-e absorbed the..
)ur author then proceeds to enu.erate and describe the -arious cro,d -irtues
and to sho, that they di//er /ro. the -irtues o/ the indi-idual, being on the ,hole
at a .uch lo,er and .ore pri.iti-e le-el.
E-ery cro,d, being unable to lead itsel/, needs and /inds a leader. )/ such
leaders there are three .ain types.
;a< The %rod!%ompeller. He is one ,ho do.inates and leads the cro,d by
i.posing upon it his o,n ideas by the sheer /orce o/ his o,n personality.
E2a.ples o/ this type are *apoleon, (israeli, aesar, harle.agne. <Pa.e "11=
;'< The %rod!)xponent. This type, totally distinct /ro. the ro,d?o.peller, is
one ,hich /eels by natural sensiti-eness ,hat the cro,d /eels, or is going to /eel,
and ,hich e2presses in clear and usually graphic language the e.otions o/ the
cro,d, ,hich on its o,n account is inarticulate. Such .en seldo. thin+ out
proble.s /or the.sel-es and then proclai. their gospel. =ather they ,ait /or the
e.otions o/ the cro,d to ta+e /or.8 then they plunge into the thic+ o/ the /ray and
say ,ith elo:uence, po,er and enthusias. that ,hich people about the. are
di.ly and -aguely /eeling. E2a.ples o/ this type are -ery co..on, especially in
the /ield o/ politics,
;c< The %rod!Representative. ro,d leaders o/ this type are pictures:ue
/igureheads rather than indi-idual /orces. Typical e2a.ples are a constitutional
+ing, a consul, an a.bassador, a 7udge ;at any rate in England<. These .en are
.erely the people, Qpublic opinionR, personi/ied8 they spea+ ,ith the -oice o/ the
people, act /or the., and stand /or the. in the sight o/ the ,orld. They .ust
suppress or conceal their o,n indi-idual opinions, and appear to /eel as the
public /eels, to act in con/or.ity ,ith the public ,ishes and senti.ents.
The abo-e is the .erest s+etch o/ the leading principles enunciated in the
e2tre.ely able boo+ .entioned, and the student is urged to .a+e a care/ul study
o/ that ,or+ /or hi.sel/. It ,ill help hi. not only to appreciate .ore 7ustly the
/orces by ,hich Qthe publicR is s,ayed, but also to assess at their true -alue
.any o/ his o,n belie/s, opinions and attitudes to,ards .any :uestions o/ the
day.
It is clearly o/ the ut.ost i.portance that, in all his /eelings and thoughts, the
student o/ occultis. should act deliberately and consciously. The 1ree+ saying
"nothi seauton, 3no, Thysel/, is a /ine piece o/ ad-ice, /or sel/?+no,ledge is
absolutely necessary to any candidate /or progress. The student should not allo,
hi.sel/ to be s,ept o// his /eet by beco.ing; sub.erged in a collecti-e e.otion
> or thought?/or., <Pa.e ""3= ,hich /or.s a +ind o/ at.osphere through ,hich
e-ery thing is seen and by ,hich e-erything is coloured, and ,hich so .ani/estly
do.inates and s,ays the .any cro,ds a.ongst ,hich he .o-es. It is no easy
.atter to stand against a strong popular bias, o,ing to the ceaseless beating
upon us o/ the thought?/or.s and currents o/ thought ,hich /ill the at.osphere8
yet the student o/ occultis. .ust learn to do so.
He should, .oreo-er, be able to recognise the -arious types o/ cro,d?leaders
and to re/use to allo, hi.sel/ to be do.inated, persuaded or ca7oled into
accepting ideas or /ollo,ing lines o/ action unless he does so :uite deliberately,
and ,ith all his o,n /aculties alert.
The in/luence o/ psychological cro,ds and cro,d?leaders in the ,orld today, as
,ell probably as in e-ery age, is -ery great indeed, and the /orces they ,ield
subtle and /ar?reaching, so that the student ,ho ai.s at sel/?.astery and ,ho
,ishes to lead his o,n e.otional and intellectual li/e, .ust be continuously on
his guard against these insidious in/luences.
The present ,riter is o/ opinion that a study o/ The Science of the )motions and
The %rod in *eace and <ar is an in-aluable preli.inary to the tas+ o/ training
and de-eloping the astral body till it beco.es a use/ul and obedient ser-ant o/
the so-ereign ,ill o/ the ego.
)ne other line o/ study is also strongly urged upon the student, -iC., that o/ the
sub?conscious .ind, today o/ten called the QunconsciousR 4or this purpose, as an
introduction to the sub7ect, The La of *sychic *henomena by T. G. Hudson, is
reco..ended.
In studying this boo+, the student should recollect that it ,as ,ritten in !A"#. In
the light o/ present day +no,ledge it is not necessary to subscribe ,holly to
Hudson6s analysis, classi/ication, or ter.inology. 9oreo-er, in the opinion o/ the
present ,riter, Hudson builds a great deal too .uch on his pre.ises, straining
his theories /ar beyond brea+ing?point. *e-ertheless, the boo+ is still o/ great
-alue, /irst as encouraging a healthy scienti/ic scepticis. to,ards accepting too
readily plausible and glib e2planations o/ .any psychic <Pa.e ""1= pheno.ena,
and secondly, in bringing ho.e ,ith great /orce the tre.endous potentialities
latent in the subconscious part o/ .an6s nature, ,hich .ay be utilised by the
care/ul and discreet student to considerable e//ect in bringing his o,n astral
nature under control and, in general, puri/ying and building up his o,n character.
There are, o/ course, hosts o/ other and .ore .odern boo+s ,hich ,ill also help
to,ards this end. 5rie/ly, Hudson states8>
;!< That the .entality o/ .an is clearly di-isible into t,o parts, each ,ith its o,n
separate po,ers and /unctions. These he calls the o#3ective and the su#3ective
minds.
;#< That the ob7ecti-e .ind is that ,hich ta+es cognisance o/ the ob7ecti-e ,orld,
using as its .ediu. o/ obser-ation the physical senses, and ha-ing as its highest
/unction the reason.
;F< That the sub7ecti-e .ind ta+es cognisance o/ its en-iron.ent by .eans
independent o/ the physical senses. It is the seat o/ the e.otions and the
storehouse o/ .e.ory. It per/or.s its highest /unctions ,hen the ob7ecti-e
senses are in abeyance, e.g., in a state o/ hypnotis. or so.na.bulis.. 9any o/
the other /aculties attributed by Hudson to the sub7ecti-e .ind are clearly those
o/ the astral body, e.g., the ability to tra-el to distant places, to read thoughts, etc.
4urther.ore, ,hilst the ob7ecti-e .ind is not controllable by QsuggestionR. against
reason, positi-e +no,ledge, or the e-idence o/ the senses, the sub7ecti-e .ind is
constantly a.enable to the po,er o/ suggestion, ,hether /ro. other people, or
from the o#3ective mind of its oner.
With the help o/ .odern +no,ledge regarding our astral and .ental bodies, and
the nature and use o/ thought and e.otion /or.s, the student ,ill recognise here
.any interesting and independent con/ir.ations o/ ,hat he has learnt /ro.
Theosophical authorities, and, as already said, he ,ill be better able to realise
that -irtually li.itless po,ers latent in his o,n psychological <Pa.e """= .a+e?up,
,hich he .ay proceed to use along lines laid do,n by occultists o/ repute8 such
as that o/ .editation, /or e2a.ple. He ,ill also, perhaps, realise rather .ore
-i-idly than be/ore the ,ay in ,hich +K.a, or desire, and .anas, or .ind, are
entangled, and ho, they .ay be disentangled, to the great bene/it and
strengthening o/ both.
It .ust e-er be re.e.bered that it is by thought that desire can be changed, and
/inally .astered. As .ind learns to assert control, desire beco.es trans.uted
into ,ill, the go-ernance then not being by e2ternal ob7ects that attract or repel,
but by the spirit o/ the .an, the ego, the inner ruler.
We shall no, return to our .ore speci/ic QTheosophicalR authorities, and proceed
to consider certain other /actors in the de-elop.ent and training o/ the astral
body.
It is ob-ious that the student should ai. at .astering and eli.inating certain
.inor de/ects, such as e.otional ,ea+nesses or -ices. In this tas+ it is i.portant
to recollect that such a -ice as irritability, /or e2a.ple, ,hich has beco.e a habit
through repeated indulgence, is stored up, not in the ego as an inherent :uality,
but in the astral per.anent ato. ;see page #B$<. Ho,e-er great the /orce that is
there piled up, it is a scienti/ic certainty that perse-erance ,ill in due ti.e lead to
-ictory. )n the side o/ the ego, there is the /orce o/ his o,n ,ill, and behind that
the in/inite /orce o/ the Logos Hi.sel/, because progress by .eans o/ e-olution is
His ,ill. A grasp o/ the idea o/ unity thus gi-es the .an an ade:uate .oti-e /or
the undoubtedly hard, and at ti.es distaste/ul, ,or+ o/ character?building.
Ho,e-er great the struggle, the /orces o/ in/inity being on his side, he is bound
ulti.ately to o-erco.e the /inite /orces /or e-il ,hich he has stored up in his past
li-es.
A .an ,ho see+s to +ill out desire, in order to balance his +ar.a per/ectly and so
obtain liberation /or hi.sel/, .ay achie-e his ob7ect. He cannot, ho,e-er, escape
/ro. the la, o/ e-olution, and sooner or <Pa.e ""%= later he ,ill be s,ept /or,ard
again into the strea. by its resistless pressure, and so be /orced into re?birth.
3illing out desire is not the path o/ the true occultist.
Personal lo-es are not to be +illed out, but are to be e2panded till they beco.e
uni-ersal8 lo-es are to be le-elled up, not do,n. The /ailure to realise this, and
the tre.endous di//iculty o/ the tas+, ,hen realised, ha-e led in so.e cases to
the sti/ling o/ lo-e instead o/ its gro,th. 5ut o-er/lo,ing lo-e, not lo-elessness,
,ill sa-e the ,orld. The 9ahKt.K is the )cean o/ o.passion8 not an iceberg.
To try to +ill out lo-e is the ,ay o/ the le/t?hand path.
It is, ho,e-er, necessary to +ill out co.pletely the lo,er and coarser desires; the
re.ainder .ust be puri/ied and trans.uted into aspirations, and resolution. It is
,aste o/ /orce to desire or ,ish8 the occultist ,ills instead. Will is a higher aspect
o/ desire.
It has also been said that ,e should slay the Qlunar /or.R, i.e., the astral body.
This does not .ean that all /eelings and e.otions should be destroyed, but
rather that the astral body should be co.pletely under control, that ,e should be
able to slay the lunar /or. at ,ill. As the .an de-elops, he .a+es his ,ill one
,ith the ,ill o/ the Logos, and the Logos ,ills e-olution. *eedless to say, such an
at?one?.ent ipso facto eli.inates such desires as a.bition, desire /or progress,
and the li+e.
The Eoice o/ the Silence ,arns us that beneath each /lo,er in the astral ,orld,
ho,e-er beauti/ul it .ay be, lies coiled the serpent o/ desire. In the case o/
a//ection, /or e2a.ple, e-erything o/ a grasping nature .ust be altogether
transcended8 but high, pure and unsel/ish a//ection can ne-er be transcended,
since it is a characteristic o/ the Logos Hi.sel/, and is a necessary :uali/ication
/or progress upon the Path ,hich leads to the 9asters and to Initiation. <Pa.e ""$=
CHAPTER "*
DE>ELOPMENT O& ASTRAL POFERS
THE possession o/ psychic po,ers does not necessarily in-ol-e high .oral
character, any .ore than does the possession o/ physical strength, neither are
psychic po,ers in the.sel-es a sign o/ great de-elop.ent in any other direction,
e.g., that o/ intellect.
While, there/ore, it is not true that the great psychic is necessarily a spiritual
person, it is true, on the other hand, that a great spiritual person is ine-itably
psychic.
Psychic po,ers can be de-eloped by anyone ,ho ,ill ta+e the trouble, and a
.an .ay learn clair-oyance or .es.eris. 7ust as he .ay learn the piano, i/ he
is ,illing to go through the necessary hard ,or+.
Astral senses e2ist in all .en, but are latent in .ost, and generally need to be
arti/icially /orced i/ they are to be used in the present stage o/ e-olution. In a /e,
they beco.e acti-e ,ithout any arti/icial i.pulse; in -ery .any they can be
arti/icially a,a+ened and de-eloped. The condition, in all cases, o/ the acti-ity o/
the astral senses is the passi-ity o/ the physical, and the .ore co.plete the
physical passi-ity the greater the possibility o/ astral acti-ity.
lair-oyance is o/ten possessed by pri.iti-e peoples, or by ignorant and
uncultured indi-iduals o/ .ore ad-anced races. This is so.eti.es called the
lo,er psychis., and is by no .eans the sa.e thing as the /aculty possessed by
a properly trained and .ore ad-anced .an, nor is it arri-ed at in the sa.e ,ay.
The occasional appearance o/ psychis. in an unde-eloped person is a +ind o/
.assi-e sensation -aguely belonging to the ,hole -ehicle rather than an e2act
and de/inite perception co.ing through specialised organs. This ,as especially
characteristic o/ the Atlantean <Pa.e ""'= ;4ourth< =oot =ace. It ,or+s not through
the astral ha+ra.s, but through the astral centres connected ,ith the physical
senses. These are not distincti-ely astral, although they are aggregations o/
astral .atter in the astral body. They are o/ the nature o/ connecting bridges
bet,een the astral and physical planes, and are not de-eloped astral senses in
the proper sense o/ the ter.. QSecond sightR belongs to this type o/
sensiti-eness, and is o/ten sy.bolical, the percei-er trans.itting his +no,ledge
in this curious sy.bolical ,ay. To sti.ulate the centres ,hich are bridges,
instead o/ e-ol-ing the ha+ra.s, ,hich are the astral organs, is a co.plete
blunder. This lo,er psychis. is also associated ,ith the sy.pathetic ner-ous
syste., ,hereas the higher psychis. is associated ,ith the cerebro?spinal
syste.. To re-i-e control o/ the sy.pathetic syste. is a retrograde and not a
/or,ard step.
In course o/ ti.e the lo,er psychis. disappears, to re?open at a later stage
,hen it ,ill be brought under the control o/ the ,ill.
Hysterical and highly ner-ous people .ay occasionally beco.e clair-oyant, the
/act being a sy.pto. o/ their disease, and due to the ,ea+ening o/ the physical
-ehicle to such a degree that it no longer presents any obstacle to a .easure o/
etheric or astral -ision. (eliriu. tre.ens is an e2tre.e e2a.ple o/ this class o/
psychis., -icti.s o/ the disease o/ten being able te.porarily to percei-e certain
loathso.e ele.ental and etheric entities.
4or those ,ho ha-e not yet de-eloped astral -ision, it is desirable to appreciate
intellectually the reality o/ the astral ,orld, and to realise that its pheno.ena are
open to co.petent obser-ation 7ust as are those o/ the physical ,orld.
There e2ist de/inite .ethods o/ Ioga by ,hich the astral senses .ay be
de-eloped in a rational and healthy ,ay. 5ut it is not only useless, it .ay be
dangerous, to atte.pt these until the preparatory stage o/ puri/ication has /irst
been passed. 5oth the physical and the astral body .ust /irst be puri/ied, <Pa.e
""*= by brea+ing the bonds o/ e-il habits in eating, drin+ing, gi-ing ,ay to hate?
e.otions o/ all +inds, etc.
Spea+ing generally, it is not desirable to /orce the de-elop.ent o/ the astral body
by arti/icial .eans, /or until spiritual strength is attained the intrusion o/ astral
sights, sounds, and other pheno.ena is apt to be disturbing and e-en alar.ing.
Sooner or later, according to the +ar.a o/ the past, one ,ho /ollo,s the Qancient
and royalR path ,ill /ind +no,ledge o/ astral pheno.ena gradually co.ing to hi.8
his +eener -ision ,ill a,a+en, and ne, -istas o/ a ,ider uni-erse ,ill be un/olded
to hi. on e-ery side. It is an illustration o/ the saying8 QSee+ ye /irst the 3ingdo.
o/ Hea-en, and all these things shall be added unto you.R
The attain.ent o/ astral po,ers as an end in itsel/ ine-itably leads to ,hat is
called in the East the laukika .ethod o/ de-elop.ent8 the po,ers obtained are
only /or the present personality and, there being no sa/eguards, the student is
e2tre.ely li+ely to .isuse the.. To this class belong the practices o/ Hatha Ioga,
prKnaya.a or breath?control, in-ocation o/ ele.entals, and all syste.s ,hich
in-ol-e deadening the physical senses in so.e ,ay, actively by drugs ;e.g.,
bhang, haschish, etc.<, by sel/?hypnotisation, or, as a.ong the der-ishes, by
,hirling in a .ad dance o/ religious /er-our until -ertigo and insensibility
super-ene8 or passively by being .es.erised > so that the astral senses .ay
co.e to the sur/ace. )ther .ethods are crystal?gaCing ;,hich leads to nothing
but the lo,est type o/ clair-oyance<, the repetition o/ in-ocations, or the use o/
char.s or cere.onies.
A .an ,ho entrances hi.sel/ by the repetition o/ ,ords or char.s .ay probably
return in his ne2t li/e as a .ediu. or at any rate be .ediu.istic. 9ediu.ship
should not be regarded as a psychic po,er at all8 /or a .ediu., so /ar /ro.
e2ercising po,er, on the contrary abdicates control o-er his o,n bodies in /a-our
o/ another entity. 9ediu.ship is thus not a po,er but a condition.<Pa.e ""-=
There are .any stories o/ so.e .ysterious oint.ent or drug ,hich, ,hen
applied to the eyes, enables a .an to see /airies, etc. Anointing o/ the eyes .ight
sti.ulate etheric sight but could not by any possibility open astral -ision, though
certain oint.ents rubbed o-er the ,hole body ,ill greatly assist the astral body to
lea-e the physical in /ull consciousness > a /act, the +no,ledge o/ ,hich see.s
to ha-e sur-i-ed to .ediae-al ti.es, as can be seen /ro. the e-idence gi-en at
so.e o/ the trials /or ,itchcra/t.
The lokottara .ethod consists o/ =K7a Ioga or spiritual progress, and this is
un:uestionably the best .ethod. Though slo,er, the po,ers gained by it belong
to the per.anent indi-iduality, and are ne-er again lost, ,hile the guiding o/ a
9aster ensures per/ect sa/ety so long as His orders are scrupulously obeyed.
Another great ad-antage o/ being trained by a 9aster is that ,hate-er /aculties
the pupil .ay achie-e are de/initely under his co..and and can be used /ully
and constantly ,hen needed8 ,hereas in the case o/ the untrained .an such
po,ers o/ten .ani/est the.sel-es only -ery partially and spas.odically, and
appear to co.e and go, as it ,ere, o/ their o,n s,eet ,ill.
The te.porary .ethod is li+e learning to ride by stupe/ying the horse8 the
per.anent .ethod is li+e learning to ride properly, so that any horse can be
ridden. The per.anent .ethod .eans real e-olution, the other does not
necessarily in-ol-e anything o/ the sort, as the po,ers gained by it .ay perish
,ith the death o/ the body.
The ,ider sight o/ the astral plane is not an un.i2ed blessing, as it re-eals the
sorro, and .isery, the e-il and greed o/ the ,orld. The ,ords o/ Schiller spring
to .ind8 QWhy hast thou cast .e thus into the to,n o/ the e-er?blind, to proclai.
thine oracle ,ith the opened sense T Ta+e bac+ this sad clear?sightedness; ta+e
/ro. .ine eyes this cruel lightJ 1i-e .e bac+ .y blindness > the happy
dar+ness o/ .y senses; ta+e bac+ thy dread/ul gi/tJ R <Pa.e "",=
lair-oyant po,er, i/ properly and sensibly used, .ay be a blessing and a help8
.isused, it .ay be a hindrance and a curse. The principal dangers attendant
upon it arise /ro. pride, ignorance, and i.purity. It is ob-iously /oolish /or a
clair-oyant to i.agine that he or she is the only one thus endo,ed, and the one
person specially selected under angelic guidance to /ound a ne, dispensation8
and so on. 9oreo-er, there are al,ays plenty o/ sporti-e and .ischie-ous astral
entities ready and an2ious to /oster such delusions and to /ul/il any r?le that .ay
be assigned to the..
It is use/ul /or a clair-oyant to +no, so.ething o/ the history o/ the sub7ect and to
understand so.ething o/ the conditions o/ the higher planes, as ,ell, i/ possible,
as to possess so.e +no,ledge o/ scienti/ic sub7ects.
4urther, a .an o/ i.pure li/e or .oti-e ine-itably attracts to hi.sel/ the ,orst
ele.ents in the in-isible ,orld. A .an ,ho is pure in thought and li/e, on the
other hand, is by that -ery /act guarded /ro. the in/luence o/ undesirable entities
/ro. other planes.
In .any cases a .an .ay ha-e occasional /lashes o/ astral consciousness
,ithout any a,a+ening o/ etheric -ision at all. This irregularity o/ de-elop.ent is
one o/ the principal causes o/ the e2tre.e liability o/ error in .atters o/
clair-oyance in at any rate its earlier stages.
In the nor.al course o/ things people a,a+e to the realities o/ the astral plane
-ery slo,ly, 7ust as a baby a,a+es to the realities o/ the physical plane. Those
,ho are deliberately and, as it ,ere, pre.aturely entering upon the Path, are
de-eloping such +no,ledge abnor.ally, and are conse:uently .ore liable to err
at /irst.
(anger and in7ury .ight easily co.e ,ere it not that all pupils under proper
training are assisted and guided by co.petent teachers ,ho are already
accusto.ed to the astral plane. That is the reason ,hy all sorts o/ horrible sights,
etc., are sho,n to the neophyte, as tests, so that he .ay understand the. and
<Pa.e ""1= beco.e accusto.ed to the.. Unless this ,ere done, he .ight recei-e
a shoc+ ,hich .ight not only pre-ent his doing use/ul ,or+ but .ight also be
positi-ely dangerous to his physical body.
The /irst introduction to the astral ,orld .ay co.e in -arious ,ays. So.e people
only once in their ,hole li-es beco.e sensiti-e enough to e2perience the
presence o/ an astral entity or so.e astral pheno.enon. )thers /ind the.sel-es
,ith increasing /re:uency seeing and hearing things to ,hich others are blind
and dea/ 8 others again begin to recollect their sleep?e2periences.
When a person is beginning to beco.e sensiti-e to astral in/luences, he ,ill
occasionally /ind hi.sel/ suddenly o-erpo,ered by ine2plicable dread. This
arises partly /ro. the natural hostility o/ the ele.ental ,orld against the hu.an,
on account o/ .an6s .any destructi-e agencies on the physical plane, ,hich
react upon the astral, and partly to the .any un/riendly arti/icial ele.entals, bred
by hu.an .inds. This has been especially noted in and near such a city as
hicago.
So.e people begin by beco.ing inter.ittently conscious o/ the brilliant colours
o/ the hu.an aura8 others .ay see /aces, landscapes, or coloured clouds
/loating be/ore their eyes in the dar+ be/ore they sin+ to rest. Perhaps the .ost
co..on e2perience is to begin to recollect ,ith increasing clearness
e2periences o/ the other planes ac:uired during sleep.
So.eti.es a person once in his ,hole li/e ,ill percei-e, /or e2a.ple, the
apparition o/ a /riend at the point o/ death. This .ay be due to t,o causes, in
each the strong ,ish o/ the dying .an being the i.pelling /orce. That /orce .ay
ha-e enabled the dying .an to .aterialise hi.sel/ /or a .o.ent, in ,hich case,
o/ course, no clair-oyance is needed8 .ore probably it .ay ha-e acted
.es.erically upon the percipient and .o.entarily dulled his physical and
sti.ulated his higher sensiti-eness.
A .an ,ith de-eloped astral -ision is o/ course no longer li.ited by physical
.atter8 he sees through all <Pa.e "%3= physical bodies, physically opa:ue
substances being to hi. as transparent as glass. At a concert, he sees glorious
sy.phonies o/ colours8 at a lecture, he sees the spea+er6s thoughts in colour and
/or., and is there/ore in a position to understand hi. .ore /ully than one ,ithout
astral -ision.
A little e2a.ination ,ill re-eal that .any people gain /ro. a spea+er .ore than
the .ere ,ords con-ey8 .any ,ill /ind in their .e.ory .ore than the spea+er
uttered. Such e2periences indicate that the astral body is de-eloping and
beco.ing .ore sensiti-e, responding to the thought?/or.s created by the
spea+er.
So.e places a//ord greater /acilities /or occult ,or+ than others8 thus ali/ornia
has a -ery dry cli.ate ,ith .uch electricity in the air, ,hich is /a-ourable /or the
de-elop.ent o/ clair-oyance.
So.e psychics re:uire a te.perature o/ AB degrees in order to do their best
,or+8 others do not ,or+ ,ell e2cept at a lo,er te.perature.
A trained clair-oyant being able to see a .an6s astral body, it /ollo,s that on the
astral plane no .an can hide or disguise hi.sel/8 ,hat he truly is, that he is seen
to be by any unpre7udiced obser-er. It is necessary to say unpre7udiced, because
a .an sees another through the .ediu. o/ his o,n -ehicles, ,hich is so.e,hat
li+e seeing a landscape through coloured glass. Until he has learnt to allo, /or
this in/luence, a .an is liable to consider as .ost pro.inent in another .an
those characteristics to ,hich he hi.sel/ .ost readily responds. Practice is
needed to /ree onesel/ /ro. the distortion produced by this personal e:uation so
as to be able to obser-e clearly and accurately.
9ost o/ the psychics ,ho occasionally get gli.pses o/ the astral ,orld, as ,ell as
.ost o/ the co..unicating entities at spiritualistic s:ances, /ail to report .any o/
the co.ple2ities o/ the astral plane ,hich are described in this boo+. The reason
is that /e, people see things as they really are on the astral plane until a/ter -ery
long e2perience. E-en those ,ho do see /ully are o/ten <Pa.e "%1= too daCed and
con/used to understand or to re.e.ber, and hardly any one can translate the
recollection into physical plane language. 9any untrained psychics ne-er
e2a.ine their -isions scienti/ically8 they si.ply obtain an i.pression, ,hich .ay
be :uite correct, but .ay also be hal/ /alse, or e-en ,holly .isleading.
Also, as ,e ha-e seen, /re:uent tric+s are played by sporti-e deniCens o/ the
astral ,orld, against ,hich the untrained person is usually de/enceless.
In the case o/ an astral entity ,ho constantly ,or+s through a .ediu., his /iner
astral senses .ay e-en beco.e so coarsened as to beco.e insensiti-e to the
higher grades o/ astral .atter.
)nly the trained -isitor /ro. the physical plane, ,ho is /ully conscious on both
planes, can depend upon seeing both astral and physical planes clearly and
si.ultaneously.
True, trained, and absolutely reliable clair-oyance de.ands /aculties belonging
to a plane higher than the astral. The /aculty o/ accurate pre-ision also belongs
to that higher plane8 yet /lashes or re/lections o/ it /re:uently sho, the.sel-es to
purely astral sight, .ore especially a.ong si.ple?.inded people ,ho li-e under
suitable conditions > ,hat is called second?sight a.ong the Highlanders o/
Scotland being a ,ell?+no,n e2a.ple.
There are astrally, as ,ell as physically, blind persons, so that .any astral
pheno.ena escape ordinary astral -ision. At /irst, in /act, .any .ista+es .ay be
.ade in using astral -ision, 7ust as a child .a+es .ista+es ,hen it /irst begins to
use its physical senses, though a/ter a ti.e it beco.es possible to see and hear
as accurately on the astral as on the physical plane.
Another .ethod o/ de-eloping clair-oyance, ,hich is ad-ised by all the religions
ali+e, and ,hich i/ adopted care/ully and re-erently can do no har. to any hu.an
being, is that o/ .editation, by .eans o/ ,hich a -ery pure type o/ clair-oyance
.ay so.eti.es be de-eloped. A succinct account o/ the processes <Pa.e "%"=
in-ol-ed in .editation is gi-en in The &ther Side of (eath, by . W. Leadbeater,
pages &'"?&$', as ,ell o/ course as in .any other boo+s.
5y .eans o/ .editation e2tre.e sensiti-eness can be de-eloped, and at the
sa.e ti.e per/ect balance, sanity and health.
The student ,ill readily recognise that the practice o/ deter.ined .editation
builds higher types o/ .atter into the bodies. 1rand e.otions .ay be /elt, ,hich
co.e /ro. the buddhic le-el, i.e., /ro. the plane ne2t abo-e the higher .ental,
and are re/lected in the astral body. It is, ho,e-er, necessary also to de-elop the
.ental and causal bodies in order to gi-e balance. A .an cannot leap /ro. the
astral consciousness to the buddhic ,ithout de-eloping the inter-ening -ehicles.
With /eeling alone ,e can ne-er obtain per/ect balance or steadiness8 grand
e.otions that ha-e s,ayed us in the right direction .ay -ery readily beco.e a
little t,isted and s,ay us along less desirable lines. E.otions pro-ide .oti-e
/orce, but directing po,er co.es /ro. ,isdo. and steadiness.
There is a close connection bet,een the astral and the buddhic planes, the astral
body being in so.e ,ays a re/lection o/ the buddhic.
An e2a.ple o/ the close relationship bet,een the astral and buddhic planes is
/ound in the hristian 9ass. At the .o.ent o/ onsecration o/ the Host a /orce
rays out ,hich is strongest in the buddhic ,orld, though also po,er/ul in the
higher .ental ,orld8 in addition, its acti-ity is .ar+ed in the /irst, second and third
astral sub?planes, though this .ay be a re/lection o/ the .ental or an e//ect o/
sy.pathetic -ibration. The e//ect .ay be /elt by people e-en /ar a,ay /ro. the
church, a great ,a-e o/ spiritual peace and strength passing o-er the ,hole
countryside, though .any ,ould ne-er connect it ,ith the 9ass being
celebrated.
In addition to the abo-e, another e//ect is produced as a result o/ and in
proportion to the intensity o/ the conscious /eeling o/ de-otion o/ each indi-idual
during the celebration. A ray, as o/ /ire, darts /ro. the <Pa.e "%%= upli/ted Host and
sets the higher part o/ the astral body glo,ing intensely. Through the astral body,
by reason o/ its close relation ,ith it, the buddhic -ehicle also strongly a//ected.
Thus both buddhic and astral -ehicles act and react on one another.
A si.ilar e//ect occurs ,hen the 5enediction gi-en ,ith the blessed Sacra.ent.
<Pa.e "%$=
CHAPTER "-
CLAIR>OYANCE IN SPACE AND TIME
THE=E are /our .ethods by ,hich it is possible to obser-e e-ents ta+ing place
at a distance.
I. 5y means of an astral current. This .ethod is so.e,hat analogous to the
.agnetisation o/ a bar o/ steel, and consists o/ ,hat .ay be called polarisation,
by an e//ort o/ the ,ill, o/ a nu.ber o/ parallel lines o/ astral ato.s /ro. the
obser-er to the scene he ,ishes to obser-e. All the ato.s are held ,ith their
a2es rigidly parallel to one another, /or.ing a +ind o/ te.porary tube, along ,hich
the clair-oyant .ay loo+. The line is liable to be disarranged or e-en destroyed
by any su//iciently strong astral current ,hich happens to cross its path8 this,
ho,e-er, seldo. happens.
The line is /or.ed either by the trans.ission o/ energy /ro. particle to particle, or
by the use o/ /orce /ro. a higher plane, ,hich acts upon the ,hole line
si.ultaneously8 the latter .ethod i.plies /ar greater de-elop.ent, in-ol-ing the
+no,ledge o/, and po,er to use, /orces o/ a considerably higher le-el. A .an
,ho could .a+e a line in this ,ay ,ould not, /or his o,n use, need such a line at
all, because he could see /ar .ore easily and co.pletely by .eans o/ a higher
/aculty.
The current or tube .ay be /or.ed e-en :uite unconsciously and unintentionally,
and is o/ten the result o/ a strong thought or e.otion pro7ected /ro. one end or
the other > either /ro. the seer or /ro. the person ,ho is seen. I/ t,o persons
are united by strong a//ection, it is probable that a /airly steady strea. o/ .utual
thought is constantly /lo,ing bet,een the., and so.e sudden need or dire
e2tre.ity on the part o/ one o/ the. .ay endue this strea. te.porarily <Pa.e "%'=
,ith the Xpolarising po,er ,hich is need/ul to create the astral telescope.
The -ie, obtained by this .eans is not unli+e that seen through a telescope.
Hu.an /igures, /or e2a.ple, ,ould usually appear -ery s.all, but per/ectly clear8
so.eti.es, but not usually, it is possible to hear as ,ell as to see by this .ethod.
The .ethod has distinct li.itations, as by it the astral telescope re-eals the
scene /ro. one direction only, and has a li.ited and particular /ield o/ -ie,. In
/act, astral sight directed along such a tube is li.ited .uch as physical sight
,ould be under si.ilar circu.stances.
This type o/ clair-oyance .ay be greatly /acilitated by using a physical ob7ect as
a starting point > a /ocus /or the ,ill po,er. A ball o/ crystal is the .ost co..on
and e//ecti-e o/ such /oci, as, o,ing to its peculiar arrange.ent o/ ele.ental
essence, it also possesses ,ithin itsel/ :ualities ,hich sti.ulate psychic /aculty.
)ther ob7ects are also used /or the sa.e purpose, such as a cup, a .irror, a pool
o/ in+ ;Egypt and India<, a drop o/ blood ;a.ong the 9aories o/ *e, Yealand<, a
bo,l o/ ,ater ;=ed Indian<, a pond ;=o.an and A/rican<, ,ater in a glass bo,l ;in
4eC<, or al.ost any polished sur/ace, or, on the other hand, a dead blac+ one,
produced by a hand/ul o/ po,dered charcoal in a saucer.
There are so.e ,ho can deter.ine ,hat they see by their ,ill, that is to say they
can point their telescope as they ,ish8 but the great .a7ority /or. a /ortuitous
tube and see ,hate-er happens to present itsel/ at the end o/ it.
So.e psychics are able to use the tube .ethod only ,hen under the in/luence o/
.es.eris.. There are t,o -arieties o/ such psychics8 ;!< those ,ho are able to
.a+e the tube /or the.sel-es8 ;#< those ,ho loo+ through a tube .ade by the
.es.eriser.
)ccasionally, though rarely, .agni/ication is also possible by .eans o/ the tube,
though in these cases it is probable that an altogether ne, po,er is beginning to
da,n. <Pa.e "%*=
#. 5y the pro3ection of a thought!form. This .ethod consists o/ the pro7ection o/ a
.ental i.age o/ onesel/, round ,hich astral .atter is also dra,n, such
connection ,ith the i.age being retained as ,ill render it possible to recei-e
i.pressions by .eans o/ it8 the /or. thus acts as a +ind o/ outpost o/ the
consciousness o/ the seer. Such i.pressions ,ould be trans.itted to the thin+er
by sy.pathetic -ibration. In a per/ect case, the seer is able to see al.ost as ,ell
as he ,ould i/ he hi.sel/ stood in the place o/ the thought?/or.. In this .ethod it
is possible also to shi/t the point o/ -ie,, i/ desired. lairaudience is perhaps less
/re:uently associated ,ith this type o/ clair-oyance than ,ith the /irst type. The
.o.ent that the intentness o/ the thought /ails the ,hole -ision is gone, and it
,ill be necessary to construct a /resh thought?/or. be/ore it can be resu.ed.
This type o/ clair-oyance is rarer than the /irst type because o/ the .ental control
re:uired and the /iner nature o/ the /orces e.ployed. It is tedious e2cept /or :uite
short distances.
F. By travelling in the astral #ody, either in sleep or trance. This process has
already been described in pre-ious chapters.
&. By travelling in the mental #ody. In this case, the astral body is le/t behind ,ith
the physical, and, i/ it is desired to sho, onesel/ on the astral plane, a te.porary
astral body, or .KyK-irLpa is /or.ed, as described on p. #%%.
It is possible also to obtain in/or.ation regarding e-ents at a distance by in-o+ing
or e-o+ing an astral entity, such as a nature?spirit, and inducing or co.pelling
hi. to underta+e the in-estigation. This, o/ course, is not clair-oyance, but
.agic.
In order to /ind a person on the astral plane, it is necessary to put onesel/ en
rapport ,ith hi., a -ery slight clue being usually su//icient, such as a photograph,
a letter ,ritten by hi., an ob7ect ,hich belonged to hi., etc. The operator then
sounds out the .an6s +eynote ,hen, i/ the .an sought is on the astral plane, an
i..ediate response ,ill be /orthco.ing. <Pa.e "%-=
This +eynote o/ the .an on the astral plane is a sort o/ a-erage tone ,hich
e.erges /ro. all the di//erent -ibrations ,hich are habitual to his astral body.
There is also a si.ilar a-erage tone /or each .an6s .ental and other bodies, all
the +eynotes together /or.ing the .an6s chord > or .ystic chord as it is o/ten
called.
The trained seer attunes his o,n -ehicles /or the .o.ent e2actly to the .an6s
note, and then by an e//ort o/ ,ill sends /orth its sound. Where-er in the three
,orlds the .an sought .ay be, an instant response is e-o+ed /ro. hi.; this
response is at once -isible to the seer, so that he is able to /or. a .agnetic line
o/ connection ,ith the .an.
Another /or. o/ clair-oyance enables the seer to percei-e e-ents that ha-e
happened in the past. There are .any degrees o/ this po,er, /ro. the trained
.an ,ho can consult the A+Kshic =ecords /or hi.sel/ at ,ill, do,n to the person
,ho gets occasional gli.pses only. The ordinary psycho.eter needs an ob7ect
physically connected ,ith the scene in the past that he ,ishes to see, or, o/
course, he .ay use a crystal or other ob7ect as his /ocus.
The A+Kshic =ecords represent the (i-ine .e.ory, ,hich is brie/ly .entioned on
p. !%%. The records seen on the astral plane, being but a re/lection o/ a re/lection
/ro. a .uch higher plane, are e2ceedingly i.per/ect, /rag.entary in the
e2tre.e, and o/ten seriously distorted. They ha-e been co.pared to the
re/lections in the sur/ace o/ ,ater ru//led by ,ind. )n the .ental plane the
records are /ull and accurate and can be read ,ith e2actitude8 but this, o/ course,
de.ands /aculties pertaining to the .ental plane. <Pa.e "%,=
CHAPTER ",
IN>ISIBLE HELPERS
THE student o/ the preceding pages ,ill by no, ha-e percei-ed that the
instances o/ Qinter-entionR in hu.an a//airs by in-isible agents, ,hich occur /ro.
ti.e to ti.e, and ,hich are, o/ course, :uite ine2plicable /ro. the .aterialistic
standpoint, .ay readily be e2plained, rationally and si.ply, by one ,ho
understands so.ething o/ the astral plane and its possibilities.
In the East the e2istence o/ Qin-isible helpersR has al,ays been recognised; e-en
in Europe ,e ha-e had the old 1ree+ stories o/ the inter/erence o/ gods in
hu.an a//airs, and the =o.an legend that astor and Pollu2 led the legions o/
the in/ant republic in the 5attle o/ La+e =egillus. In .ediae-al ti.es there ,ere
.any stories o/ saints ,ho appeared at critical .o.ents and turned the /ortune
o/ ,ar in /a-our o/ the hristian hosts > such as that o/ St. Ga.es ha-ing led the
Spanish troops > and o/ guardian angels ,ho so.eti.es sa-ed a tra-eller /ro.
serious danger or e-en death.
Help .ay be gi-en to .en by se-eral o/ the classes o/ inhabitants o/ the astral
plane. It .ay co.e /ro. nature?spirits, /ro. de-as, /ro. those ,ho are
physically dead, or /ro. those ,ho, ,hilst still ali-e physically, are able to
/unction /reely on the astral plane.
The cases in ,hich help is gi-en to .en by nature?spirits are /e,. *ature?spirits
;see hapter #B< .ostly shun the haunts o/ .an, disli+ing his e.anations, his
bustle and his unrest. Also, e2cepting so.e o/ their higher orders, they are
generally inconse:uent and thoughtless, .ore li+e happy children at play than
li+e gra-e and responsible entities. As a rule they cannot be relied upon /or
anything li+e steady co?operation in <Pa.e "%1= this class o/ ,or+, though
occasionally one o/ the. ,ill beco.e attached to a hu.an being and do hi.
.any a good turn.
The ,or+ o/ the Adept, or 9aster, lies chie/ly upon the arLpa le-els o/ the .ental
plane, ,here He .ay in/luence the true indi-idualities o/ .en, and not the .ere
personality, ,hich is all that can be reached in the astral or physical ,orld. It is
seldo., there/ore, that He /inds it necessary or desirable to ,or+ on a plane so
lo, as the astral.
The sa.e consideration applies to de-as, those o/ this class o/ entity, ,ho
so.eti.es respond to .an6s higher yearnings or appeals, ,or+ing on the .ental
plane rather than on the astral or physical, and .ore /re:uently in the periods
bet,een incarnations than during physical e2istence.
Help is so.eti.es gi-en by those ,ho ha-e recently died physically and ,ho
re.ain still in close touch ,ith earthly a//airs. The student ,ill readily percei-e,
ho,e-er, that the a.ount o/ such help .ust in the nature o/ things be
e2ceedingly li.ited, because the .ore unsel/ish and help/ul a person is, the less
li+ely is he to be /ound a/ter death lingering in /ull consciousness on the lo,er
le-els o/ the astral plane, /ro. ,hich the earth is .ost readily accessible.
4urther.ore, in order that a dead person .ay be able to in/luence one still li-ing
physically, either the latter .ust be unusually sensiti-e, or the ,ould?be helper
.ust possess a certain a.ount o/ +no,ledge and s+ill. These conditions are o/
course /ul/illed only -ery rarely.
It /ollo,s, then, that at present the ,or+ o/ helping on the astral and lo,er .ental
planes is chie/ly in the hands o/ pupils o/ the 9asters, and any others ,ho are
su//iciently e-ol-ed to /unction consciously upon these t,o planes.
Earied as is this class o/ ,or+ on the astral plane, it is all, o/ course, directed to
the one great end o/ /urthering e-olution. )ccasionally it is connected ,ith the
de-elop.ent o/ the lo,er +ingdo.s, ele.ental as ,ell as -egetable and ani.al,
,hich it is possible <Pa.e "$3= to accelerate under certain conditions. It is, in /act,
in so.e cases only through connection ,ith or use by .an that the progress o/
these lo,er +ingdo.s ta+es place. Thus, /or e2a.ple, an ani.al can
indi-idualise only through certain classes o/ ani.als ,hich ha-e been
do.esticated by .an.
5y /ar the largest and .ost i.portant part o/ the ,or+ is connected ,ith hu.anity
in so.e ,ay or other, chie/ly ,ith his spiritual de-elop.ent, though -ery rarely
e-en purely physical assistance .ay be gi-en.
In the classic boo+ on the sub7ect, In-isible Helpers, by . W. Leadbeater, a
nu.ber o/ typical e2a.ples o/ physical inter-ention are gi-en. So.eti.es an
in-isible helper, ,ith his ,ider -ision, is able to percei-e a danger ,hich is
threatening so.e one, and to i.press the idea upon the person threatened, or
upon a /riend ,ho ,ill go to his assistance. In this ,ay, ship,rec+s ha-e
so.eti.es been pre-ented. At other ti.es the helper .ay .aterialise hi.sel/, or
be .aterialised by a .ore e2perienced helper, su//iciently to lead so.e one out
o/ danger, e.g., to ta+e a child out o/ a burning building, to sa-e so.e one /ro.
/alling o-er a precipice, to bring ho.e children ,ho ha-e lost their ,ay, and so
on. )ne instance is gi-en ,here a helper, /inding a boy ,ho had /allen o-er a cli//
and cut an artery, ,as .aterialised in order that he .ight tie a bandage and so
stop the bleeding, ,hich other,ise ,ould ha-e pro-ed /atal, another helper
.ean,hile i.pressing the idea o/ danger upon the boy6s .other and leading her
to the spot.
It .ay be as+ed ho, it is that an astral entity beco.es a,are o/ a physical cry, or
an accident. The ans,er is that any cry ,hich has in it a strong /eeling or
e.otion ,ould produce an e//ect upon the astral plane, and ,ould con-ey
e2actly the sa.e idea there as on the physical plane. In the case o/ an accident
the rush o/ e.otion caused by pain or /right ,ould /la.e out li+e a great light,
and could not /ail to attract the attention o/ an astral entity i/ he ,ere any,here
near. <Pa.e "$1=
In order to bring about the necessary .aterialisation o/ an astral body, so that a
.eans o/ per/or.ing purely physical acts .ay be obtained, a +no,ledge o/ the
.ethod o/ doing this is clearly essential.
There are three ,ell?de/ined -arieties o/ .aterialisation8 ;#< that ,hich is tangible,
though not -isible to ordinary physical sight; at s:ances, this is the co..onest
+ind; it is used /or .o-ing s.all ob7ects and /or the Qdirect -oiceR. An order o/
.atter is used ,hich can neither re/lect nor obstruct light, but ,hich under certain
conditions can be used to produce sound. A -ariety o/ this class is one ,hich is
able to a//ect so.e o/ the ultra?-iolet rays, thus enabling Qspirit?photographsR to
be ta+en. ;#< That ,hich is -isible, but not tangible. ;F< The per/ect
.aterialisation, ,hich is both -isible and tangible. 9any spiritualists are /a.iliar
,ith all these three types.
Such .aterialisations as ,e are here considering are brought about by an e//ort
o/ ,ill. This e//ort, directed to,ards changing .atter /ro. its natural state into
another, is te.porarily opposing the cos.ic ,ill, as it ,ere. The e//ort .ust be
.aintained the ,hole ti.e, /or i/ the .ind be ta+en o// it /or one hal/?second, the
.atter /lies bac+ to its original condition li+e a /lash o/ lightning.
At spiritualistic s:ances, a /ull .aterialisation is usually brought about by utilising
.atter /ro. the etheric and the physical bodies o/ the .ediu., and also /ro.
those o/ the sitters. In such cases, it is clear that the -ery closest connection is
thus set up bet,een the .ediu. and the .aterialised body. The signi/icance o/
this ,e shall consider in a .o.ent.
In the case o/ a trained helper, ,ho /inds it necessary to produce a te.porary
.aterialisation, :uite another .ethod is e.ployed. *o pupil o/ a .aster ,ould
e-er be per.itted to put such a strain on anyone else6s body as ,ould occur
,ere .atter /ro. that body to be used /or the .aterialisation8 nor, indeed, ,ould
such a plan be necessary. A /ar less dangerous .ethod is to condense /ro. the
circu.a.bient ether, or e-en /ro. <Pa.e "$"= the physical air, such a.ount o/
.atter as .ay be re:uired. This /eat, though no doubt beyond the po,er o/ the
a-erage entity .ani/esting at a s:ance, presents no di//iculty to a student o/
occult che.istry.
In a case o/ this +ind, ,hilst ,e ha-e an e2act reproduction o/ the physical body,
it is created by a .ental e//ort, out o/ .atter entirely /oreign to that body.
onse:uently, the pheno.enon +no,n as repercussion could not possibly ta+e
place, as it could happen ,here a /or. is .aterialised ,ith .atter dra,n /ro. a
.ediu.6s body.
=epercussion occurs ,here an in7ury in/licted upon a .aterialised /or. is
reproduced, ,ith /aith/ul accuracy, upon the corresponding part o/ the .ediu.6s
body. )r it .ay occur, as is -ery co..on at spiritualistic s:ances, ,here chal+ is
rubbed, say, on a .aterialised hand; a/ter the .aterialised hand has -anished,
the chal+ is /ound upon the hand o/ the .ediu..
An in7ury to a /or. .aterialised by a helper /ro. the ether or air could no .ore
a//ect the helper6s physical body by repercussion than a .an could be a//ected
by an in7ury to a .arble statue o/ hi.sel/.
5ut i/ on the astral plane one is un,ise enough to thin+ that a danger ,hich
belongs to the physical, e.g., a /alling ob7ect, can in7ure one, an in7ury to the
physical body through repercussion is possible.
The sub7ect o/ repercussion is abstruse and di//icult, and as yet by no .eans /ully
understood. In order to understand it per/ectly, it ,ould probably be necessary to
co.prehend the la,s o/ sy.pathetic -ibration on .ore planes than one.
There is no doubt ,hate-er as to the stupendous po,er o/ ,ill o-er .atter o/ all
planes, so that i/ only the po,er be strong enough, practically any result .ay be
produced by its direct action, ,ithout any +no,ledge or e-en thought on the part
o/ the .an e2ercising the ,ill as to ho it is to do its ,or+.
There is no li.it to the degree to ,hich ,ill .ay be de-eloped. <Pa.e "$%=
This po,er holds good in the case o/ .aterialisation, . although ordinarily it is an
art ,hich .ust be learnt 7ust li+e any other. An a-erage .an on the astral plane
,ould no .ore be able to .aterialise hi.sel/ ,ithout ha-ing pre-iously learnt
ho, to do it, than an a-erage .an on this plane ,ould be able to play the -iolin
,ithout ha-ing pre-iously learnt to do so.
There are, ho,e-er, e2ceptional cases ,here intense sy.pathy and /ir.
deliberation enable a person to e//ect a te.porary .aterialisation e-en though he
does not consciously +no, ho, to do it.
It is ,orth noting that these rare cases o/ physical inter-ention by an astral helper
are o/ten .ade possible by the e2istence o/ a +ar.ic tie bet,een the helper and
the one to be helped. In this ,ay, old ser-ices are ac+no,ledged and a +indness
rendered in one li/e is repaid in a /uture li/e, e-en by such unusual .ethods as
those described.
)r, in great catastrophes, ,here .any people are +illed, it is so.eti.es
per.itted /or one or t,o persons to be Q.iraculouslyR sa-ed, because it so
happens that it is not their Q+ar.aR to die 7ust then, i.e., they o,e to the (i-ine
la, no debt that can be paid in that particular /ashion.
Eery occasionally, physical assistance is gi-en to hu.an beings e-en by a
9aster.
.W. Leadbeater describes a case ,hich happened to hi.sel/. Wal+ing along a
road, he suddenly heard in his ear the -oice o/ his Indian teacher, ,ho at the
tune ,as physically $,BBB .iles a,ay, cry QSpring bac+J R He started -iolently
bac+ 7ust as a hea-y .etal chi.ney pot crashed upon the pa-e.ent less than a
yard in /ront o/ his /ace.
Another re.ar+able case is recorded ,here a lady, ,ho /ound hersel/ in serious
physical peril in the .iddle o/ a dangerous street fracas, ,as suddenly ,hirled
out o/ the cro,d and placed :uite unin7ured in an ad7oining and e.pty by?street.
Her body .ust ha-e been li/ted right o-er the inter-ening houses, and set do,n
in the ne2t street, a -eil, probably o/ etheric <Pa.e "$$= .atter, being thro,n round
her ,hilst in transit so that she should not be -isible as she passed through the
air.
4ro. a perusal o/ the chapters on After!(eath Life, it ,ill be e-ident that there is
a.ple scope /or the ,or+ o/ in-isible helpers a.ong people ,ho ha-e died. 9ost
o/ these being in a condition o/ co.plete ignorance regarding li/e a/ter death, and
.any, in ,estern countries at least, being also terri/ied at the prospect o/ QhellR,
and Qeternal da.nationR, there is .uch to be done in enlightening people as to
their true state and the nature o/ the astral ,orld in ,hich they /ind the.sel-es.
The .ain ,or+ done by the in-isible helper is that o/ soothing and co./orting the
ne,ly dead, o/ deli-ering the., ,here possible, /ro. the terrible though
unnecessary /ear ,hich but too o/ten seiCes the., and not only causes the.
.uch su//ering, but retards their progress to higher spheres, and o/ enabling
the., so /ar as .ay be, to co.prehend the /uture that lies be/ore the..
It is stated that this ,or+ ,as in earlier periods attended to e2clusi-ely by a high
class o/ non?hu.an entities; but /or so.e ti.e past those hu.an beings ,ho are
able to /unction consciously upon the astral plane ha-e been pri-ileged to render
assistance in this labour o/ lo-e.
In cases ,here the rearrange.ent by the desire?ele.ental o/ the astral body has
ta+en place, an astral helper .ay brea+ up that arrange.ent and restore the
astral body to its pre-ious condition, so that the dead .an can percei-e the
,hole o/ the astral plane instead o/ only one sub?plane o/ it.
)thers ,ho ha-e been longer on the astral plane .ay also recei-e help /ro.
e2planations and ad-ice as to their course through its di//erent stages. Thus they
.ay be ,arned o/ the danger and delay caused by atte.pting to co..unicate
,ith the li-ing through a .ediu., and so.eti.es, though rarely, an entity already
dra,n into a spiritualistic circle .ay be guided into higher and healthier li/e. The
.e.ory o/ such <Pa.e "$'=
teaching cannot, o/ course, be directly carried o-er to the ne2t incarnation, but
there al,ays re.ains the real inner +no,ledge, and there/ore the strong
predisposition to accept it i..ediately ,hen heard again in the ne, li/e.
So.e o/ the ne,ly?dead see the.sel-es on the astral plane as they really are,
and are there/ore /illed ,ith re.orse. Here the helper is able to e2plain that the
past is past, that the only repentance ,orth ,hile is the resol-e to do better in
/uture, that each .an .ust ta+e hi.sel/ as he is and steadily ,or+ to i.pro-e
hi.sel/ and lead a truer li/e in the /uture.
)thers, again, are troubled by their desire to .a+e reparation /or so.e in7ury
they did ,hilst on earth, to ease their conscience by disclosing a discreditable
secret they ha-e 7ealously guarded, to re-eal the hiding place o/ i.portant
papers or .oney, and so /orth. In so.e cases it is possible /or the helper to
inter-ene in so.e ,ay on the physical plane and so satis/y the dead .an; but in
.ost cases the best he can do is to e2plain that it is no, too late to .a+e
reparation and there/ore useless to grie-e o-er the trouble, and to persuade the
.an to abandon his thoughts o/ earth ,hich hold hi. do,n in close touch ,ith
earth?li/e, and to .a+e the best o/ his ne, li/e.
An i..ense a.ount o/ ,or+ is also done /or the li-ing by putting good thoughts
into the .inds o/ those ,ho are ready to recei-e the..
It ,ould be per/ectly easy > easy to a degree :uite incredible to those ,ho do
not understand the sub7ect practically > /or a helper to do.inate the .ind o/ an
a-erage .an and .a+e hi. thin+ 7ust as the helper pleased, ,ithout arousing
any suspicion o/ outside in/luence in the .ind o/ the sub7ect. Such a proceeding,
ho,e-er, ,ould be entirely inad.issible. All that .ay be done is to thro, the
good thought into the person6s .ind a.ong the thousands that are constantly
surging through it, and hope that the person ,ill ta+e it up, .a+e it his o,n, and
act upon it.
Eery -aried assistance can be gi-en in this .anner, <Pa.e "$*= onsolation is
o/ten gi-en to those in sorro, or sic+ness; reconciliations are atte.pted bet,een
those ,ho ha-e been separated by con/lict o/ opinions or interests; earnest truth?
see+ers are guided to,ards the truth; it is o/ten possible to put the solution o/
so.e spiritual or .etaphysical proble. into the .ind o/ one ,ho is ? spending
an2ious thought upon it. Lecturers .ay be helped by suggestions or illustrations
either .aterialised in subtler .atter be/ore the spea+er or i.pressed upon his
brain.
A regular in-isible helper soon ac:uires a nu.ber o/ QpatientsR, ,ho. he -isits
e-ery night, 7ust as a doctor upon earth .a+es a regular round a.ong his
patients. Each ,or+er thus usually beco.es the centre o/ a s.all group, the
leader o/ a band o/ helpers /or ,ho. he is al,ays able to /ind constant
e.ploy.ent. Wor+ can be /ound in the astral ,orld /or any nu.ber o/ ,or+ers,
and e-ery one ,ho ,ishes > .an, ,o.an or child > .ay be one o/ the..
A pupil .ay o/ten be e.ployed as an agent in ,hat practically a.ounts to the
ans,ering o/ prayer. Although it is true that any earnest spiritual desire, such as
.ay be e2pressed in prayer, is a /orce ,hich auto.atically brings about certain
results, it is also a /act that such a spiritual e//ort o//ers an opportunity o/
in/luence to the Po,ers o/ 1ood. A ,illing helper .ay thus be .ade the channel
through ,hich energy is poured /orth. This is true o/ .editation to an e-en
greater e2tent.
In so.e cases such a helper is ta+en to be the saint, etc., to ,ho. the petitioner
prayed, and there are .any stories to illustrate this.
Pupils ,ho are /itted /or the ,or+ are also e.ployed to suggest true and beauti/ul
thoughts to authors, poets, artists and .usicians.
So.eti.es, though .ore rarely, it is possible to ,arn people o/ the danger to
their .oral de-elop.ent o/ so.e course that they are pursuing, to clear a,ay
e-il in/luence /ro. about so.e person or place, or to counteract the
.achinations o/ blac+ .agicians. <Pa.e "$-=
There is so .uch ,or+ /or in-isible helpers on the astral plane that it is clearly
e.phatically the duty o/ the student to /it hi.sel/ by e-ery .eans in his po,er to
assist in its per/or.ance. The ,or+ o/ the in-isible helpers ,ould not be done
unless there ,ere pupils at the stage ,here it is the best ,or+ that they can do.
As soon as they pass beyond that stage and can do higher ,or+, the higher ,or+
,ill certainly be gi-en to the..
It should be borne in .ind that ,hen po,er and training are gi-en to a helper,
they are gi-en to hi. under restrictions. He .ust ne-er use the. sel/ishly, ne-er
display the. to grati/y curiosity, ne-er e.ploy the. to pry into the business o/
others, ne-er gi-e ,hat at spiritualistic s:ances are called tests, i.e., he .ust
ne-er do anything ,hich can be pro-ed as a pheno.enon on the physical plane.
He .ight ta+e a .essage to a dead .an, but not, unless under direct instructions
/ro. his 9aster, bring bac+ a reply /ro. the dead to the li-ing. Thus the band o/
in-isible helpers is neither a detecti-e o//ice nor an astral in/or.ation bureau, but
is intended si.ply and :uietly to do such ,or+ as is gi-en to it to do or as co.es
in its ,ay.
As an occult student progresses, instead o/ assisting indi-iduals only, he learns
to deal ,ith classes, nations, and races. As he ac:uires the re:uisite po,ers and
+no,ledge, he begins to ,ield the greater /orces o/ the K+Ksha and the astral
light, and is sho,n ho, to .a+e the ut.ost possible use o/ each /a-ourable
cyclic in/luence. He is brought into relationship ,ith the great *ir.Kna+Kyas, and
beco.es one o/ their al.oners, learning ho, to dispense the /orces ,hich are
the /ruit o/ their subli.e sel/?sacri/ice.
There is no .ystery as to the :uali/ications needed by one ,ho aspires to be a
helper8 to so.e e2tent /l these ha-e already been incidentally described, but it
.ay be use/ul also to set the. out /ully and categorically.
;i< Single!mindedness, so.eti.es called one?pointedness; the ,ould?be helper
.ust .a+e the ,or+ o/ <Pa.e "$,= helping others his /irst and highest duty8 the
,or+ ,hich the 9aster ,ould ha-e hi. do .ust be the one great interest o/ his
li/e.
4urther.ore, intelligent discri.ination is needed not only bet,een use/ul and
useless ,or+, but also bet,een the di//erent +inds o/ use/ul ,or+. Econo.y o/
e//ort is a pri.e la, o/ occultis., and e-ery student should de-ote hi.sel/ to the
-ery highest ,or+ o/ ,hich he is capable. It is also essential that the student
should on the physical plane do the ut.ost that lies in his po,er to /urther the
sa.e great ends o/ helping his /ello,s.
;#< Self!%ontrol.>This co.prises co.plete control o/ te.per, so that nothing
seen or heard can cause real irritation, /or the conse:uences o/ such irritation
,ould be /ar .ore serious on the astral than on the physical plane. I/ a .an ,ith
/ully a,a+ened /aculty on the astral plane ,ere to /eel anger against a person on
that plane, be ,ould do hi. serious and perhaps /atal in7ury. Any .ani/estation o/
irritability, e2cite.ent or i.patience in the astral ,orld ,ould at once .a+e a
helper a /earso.e ob7ect, so that those ,ho. he ,ished to help ,ould /ly /ro.
hi. in terror.
A case is recorded ,here an in-isible helper +eyed hersel/ up to such a state o/
e2cite.ent that her astral body greatly increased in siCe, -ibrating -iolently and
/lashing /orth /iery colours. The ne,ly?dead person she ,as hoping to help ,as
horri/ied to see the huge, /la.ing, /lashing sphere rushing at hi., too+ it /or the
theological de-il in propri2 persona, and /led in terror, his terror being increased
by the ,ould?be helper persistently /ollo,ing hi..
In addition, control o/ ner-e is essential, so that none o/ the /antastic or terrible
sights that .ay be encountered .ay be able to sha+e the student6s dauntless
courage. As pre-iously stated, it is to .a+e sure o/ this control o/ ner-e, and to /it
hi. /or the ,or+ that has to be done, that candidates are al,ays .ade, no, as in
days o/ old, to pass ,hat are called the tests o/ earth, ,ater, air and /ire <Pa.e
"$1=
The student has to realise that in the astral body the densest roc+ o//ers no
i.pedi.ent to his /reedo. o/ .o-e.ent, that he .ay leap ,ith i.punity /ro. the
highest cli//s, and plunge ,ith absolute con/idence into the heart o/ a raging
-olcano or the deepest abyss o/ the /atho.less ocean. These things ha-e to be
su//iciently realised /or the student to act upon the. instincti-ely and con/idently.
4urther, control o/ .ind and desire are needed8 o/ .ind, because ,ithout the
po,er o/ concentration it ,ould be i.possible to do good ,or+ a.id all the
distracting currents o/ the astral plane; o/ desire, because in the astral ,orld to
desire is -ery o/ten to ha-e, and, unless desire ,ere ,ell controlled, the student
.ight /ind hi.sel/ /aced ,ith creations o/ his. o,n o/ ,hich he should be heartily
asha.ed.
;F< %almness.>This .eans the absence o/ ,orry , and depression. 9uch o/ the
,or+ consisting o/ soothing those ,ho are disturbed and cheering those in
sorro,, it is clear that a helper could not do such ,or+ i/ his o,n aura ,ere
-ibrating ,ith continual /uss and ,orry, or grey ,ith the gloo. o/ depression.
*othing is .ore /atal to occult progress or use/ulness than ,orrying o-er tri/les.
The opti.istic -ie, o/ e-erything is al,ays nearest to the di-ine -ie,, and
there/ore to the truth, because only the good and beauti/ul can be per.anent,
,hile e-il by its -ery nature is te.porary; unru//led cal. leads to a serenity ,hich
is 7oyous, .a+ing depression i.possible.
As stated pre-iously, depression is e2ceedingly contagious, and .ust be entirely
eli.inated by one ,ho ai.s at beco.ing an in-isible helper. Such an one ,ould
be characterised by his absolute serenity under all possible di//iculties, and by his
radiant 7oy in helping others.
;&< >noledge.>The .ore +no,ledge a .an has in any and e-ery direction, the
.ore use/ul he ,ill be. He should /it hi.sel/ by care/ul study o/ e-ery thing that
has been ,ritten about the astral plane and astral ,or+ in occult literature, /or he
cannot <Pa.e "'3= e2pect others, ,hose ti.e is already /ully occupied, to e2pend
so.e o/ it in e2plaining to hi. ,hat he .ight ha-e learnt /or hi.sel/ in the
physical ,orld by ta+ing the trouble to read boo+s.
There is perhaps no +ind o/ +no,ledge o/ ,hich a use cannot be /ound in the
,or+ o/ the occultist.
;%< Love. > This, the last and greatest o/ the :uali/ications, is also the .ost
.isunderstood. E.phatically it is not bac+boneless senti.entalis., o-er/lo,ing
,ith -ague and gushing generalities, ,hich /ears to stand /ir. /or the right lest it
should be stig.atised by the ignorant as QunbrotherlyR. What is ,anted is lo-e
strong enough to act ,ithout tal+ing about it; the intense desire /or ser-ice ,hich
is e-er on the ,atch /or an opportunity to render it, e-en though it pre/ers to do
so anony.ously; the /eeling ,hich springs up in the heart o/ hi. ,ho has
realised the great ,or+ o/ the Logos, and, ha-ing once seen it, +no,s that /or hi.
there can be in the three ,orlds no other course but to identi/y hi.sel/ ,ith it to
the ut.ost li.it o/ his po,er > to beco.e, in ho,e-er hu.ble a ,ay, and at
ho,e-er great a distance, a tiny channel o/ that ,ondrous lo-e o/ 1od ,hich, li+e
the peace o/ 1od, passeth .an6s understanding.
It ,ill be recollected that /or t,o persons on the astral plane to co..unicate ,ith
one another astrally, it is necessary that they should ha-e a language in
co..on; there/ore the .ore languages an astral plane helper +no,s, the .ore
use/ul he is.
The standard set /or an In-isible Helper is not an i.possible one; on the contrary
it is attainable by e-ery .an, though it .ay ta+e hi. ti.e to reach it. E-ery one
+no,s o/ so.e case o/ sorro, or distress, ,hether a.ong the li-ing or the dead
does not .atter. )n going to sleep a resolution should be .ade to do ,hat is
possible, ,hilst asleep and in the astral body, to help that person. Whether the
.e.ory o/ ,hat has been done penetrates into the ,a+ing consciousness or not
is o/ no conse:uence; it .ay be ta+en as a certainty that so.ething has been
achie-ed, and so.e day, <Pa.e "'1= sooner or later, e-idence ,ill be /orthco.ing
that success has been attained.
With a person ,ho is /ully a,a+ened to the astral plane the last thought be/ore
going to sleep ,ould .atter less, because he ,ould ha-e the po,er o/ turning
readily /ro. one thought to another in the astral ,orld. In his case, the general
trend o/ his thought ,ould be the i.portant /actor, /or e:ually during day and
night his .ind ,ould be li+ely to .o-e in its accusto.ed /ashion. <Pa.e "'"=
CHAPTER "1
DISCIPLESHIP
=e/erence has already been .ade to the possibility o/ recei-ing training, ,ith
special re/erence to the astral body, /ro. a 9aster o/ the Wisdo.. It is possible
to add a little /urther in/or.ation on this sub7ect, ,hich is one o/ -ery great
.o.ent to the occult student.
The necessary :uali/ications o/ character ha-e already been described in detail
in the preceding chapter.
When a .an is approaching the stage at ,hich he ,ill be /it to be accepted as a
pupil o/ a 9aster, the 9aster .ay place hi. upon QprobationR, ,hich .eans that
/or so.e ti.e he ,ill re.ain under -ery close obser-ation. The 9aster .a+es
,hat is called a Qli-ing i.ageR o/ the probationary pupil, i.e., an e2act duplicate o/
the .an6s causal, .ental, astral and etheric bodies. This i.age He +eeps in a
place ,here He can easily reach it, and He places it in .agnetic rapport ith the
.an, so that e-ery .odi/ication o/ thought or /eeling in the .an6s o,n -ehicles is
/aith/ully reproduced in the i.age. These i.ages are e2a.ined daily by the
9aster, ,ho in this ,ay obtains ,ith the least possible trouble a per/ectly
accurate record o/ His prospecti-e pupil6s thoughts and /eelings, and /ro. this He
is able to decide ,hen He can ta+e hi. into the /ar closer relationship o/ the ne2t
stage > that o/ the accepted pupil.
When a pupil is QacceptedR, the li-ing i.age is dissol-ed, and the pupil is ta+en
into his 9aster6s consciousness to so great an e2tent that ,hate-er the pupil
/eels or thin+s is ,ithin the astral and .ental bodies o/ his 9aster.
Should, un/ortunately, a thought co.e into the <Pa.e "'%= .ind o/ the pupil ,hich
is not /it to be harboured by the 9aster, He at once erects a barrier and shuts o//
/ro. Hi.sel/ that -ibration.
The e//ect produced by this ,onder/ully close association is the har.onising and
attuning o/ the pupil6s -ehicles. The pupil thus beco.es a +ind o/ outpost o/ the
9aster6s consciousness, so that the strength o/ the 1reat )nes .ay be poured
out through hi., and the ,orld .ay be de/initely the better /or his presence in it.
When the pupil sends a thought o/ de-otion to his 9aster, it is as though a -al-e
,ere opened8 there is a tre.endous do,n/lo, o/ lo-e and po,er /ro. the
9aster, the 9aster6s po,er /lo,ing e-er out,ards and in all directions li+e the
sunlight.
The pupil is so closely in touch ,ith the 9aster6s thought that he can at any ti.e
see ,hat that thought is upon any gi-en sub7ect, and in that ,ay he is o/ten
sa-ed /ro. error. The 9aster can, .oreo-er, at any .o.ent send a thought
through the pupil either in the /or. o/ a suggestion or a .essage.
An accepted pupil has the right and the duty to bless in the 9aster6s na.e.
The use by a 9aster o/ His pupil6s body .ust on no account be con/used ,ith
ordinary spiritualistic .ediu.ship, as the condition is a totally di//erent one. The
highest /or. o/ spiritualistic control .ay possibly .ore or less appro2i.ate to the
relation bet,een a 9aster and His pupil, but probably this is -ery rarely reached,
and hardly e-er co.pletely.
The di//erence bet,een the t,o pheno.ena is /unda.ental, the t,o conditions
being as ,ide as the poles asunder. In .ediu.ship a person is passi-e, and lays
hi.sel/ open to the in/luence o/ any astral entity ,ho happens to be in the
neighbourhood. When under the in/luence he is usually unconscious and he
re.e.bers nothing ,hen he a,a+es /ro. his trance. His state is really one o/
te.porary obsession. E-en the spirit?guide, ,ho is generally present, is
so.eti.es unable to protect the .ediu. /ro. undesirable or e-en disastrous
in/luences. <Pa.e "'$=
When, on the other hand, a 9aster chooses to spea+ through one o/ His pupils,
the pupil is /ully conscious o/ ,hat is being done, and +no,s per/ectly to Who.
he is /or the .o.ent lending his -ocal organs. He stands aside /ro. his -ehicle,
but re.ains +eenly alert and ,atch/ul. He hears e-ery ,ord that is uttered
through hi., and re.e.bers e-erything clearly. There is nothing in co..on
bet,een the t,o cases e2cept that in both o/ the. the body o/ one .an is
te.porarily used by another.
The third stage is one o/ e-en .ore inti.ate union, ,hen the pupil beco.es a
QsonR o/ the 9aster, the ego o/ the pupil in the causal body being en/olded ,ithin
that o/ the 9aster.
This union is so close and so sacred that e-en the po,er o/ the 9aster cannot
undo ,hat has been done, to the e2tent o/ separating the t,o consciousnesses
e-en /or a .o.ent. *aturally be/ore this stage is reached, the 9aster .ust ha-e
been :uite certain that nothing can arise in the .ind or astral body o/ the pupil
,hich ,ill e-er need to be shut o//.
These relationships > Probation, Acceptance and Sonship > ha-e o/ course
nothing ,hate-er to do ,ith Initiations or steps on the Path. These latter are
to+ens o/ the .an6s relation, not to his 9aster, but to the 1reat White
5rotherhood and its august Head. All these .atters are dealt ,ith /ar .ore /ully
than is possible or desirable here in The ,asters and the *ath, by . W.
Leadbeater, a boo+ o/ i..easurable -alue to the serious student o/ White
)ccultis..
5e/ore, ho,e-er, lea-ing the sub7ect, it .ay be .entioned that at Initiation, the
9onad identi/ies hi.sel/ ,ith the ego, this act ha-ing an interesting e//ect on the
astral body8 a great rhyth.ical s,ing is gi-en to it, ,ithout disturbing the stability
o/ its e:uilibriu., so that it is able thence/orth to /eel ,ith /ar greater +eenness
than be/ore, ,ithout being sha+en /ro. its base, or escaping /ro. its o,ner6s
control.
Pupils ,ill be e.ployed by their 9asters in .any di//erent ,ays. So.e are set to
ta+e up the lines o/ <Pa.e "''= ,or+ ,hich ,ere indicated in the preceding chapter
on .nvisi#le Helpers8 others are e.ployed speci/ically in assisting the 9asters
personally in so.e piece o/ ,or+ ,hich They .ay ha-e underta+en. So.e are
set astrally to deli-er lectures to less de-eloped entities, or to help and teach
others ,ho are /ree te.porarily during sleep, or ,ho are li-ing their a/ter?death
li/e.
When a pupil /alls asleep he usually reports hi.sel/ to his 9aster. I/ there
happens to be nothing special /or hi. to do, he ,ill pursue his usual nocturnal
,or+, ,hate-er that .ay be. There is al,ays plenty o/ astral ,or+ to be done8
sudden catastrophes, /or e2a.ple, thro, out a large nu.ber o/ people into the
astral plane in a condition o/ terror, and in need o/ help. 9ost o/ the training in
astral ,or+ is usually gi-en by one o/ the older pupils o/ the 9aster.
The student .ust not con/use an ordinary astral body ,ith a 9KyK-i =Lpa, or
Qbody o/ illusionR. A pupil o/ the 9asters habitually lea-es his astral body ,ith the
physical ,hen he goes to sleep, and tra-els in his .ental body. When he needs
a te.porary astral body /or astral ,or+ he .aterialises one /ro. the surrounding
.atter. Such a body .ay or .ay not rese.ble the physical body, the /or. gi-en
to it being adapted to the purpose in hand. It .ay also be .ade physically -isible
or in-isible at ,ill8 it .ay be .ade indistinguishable /ro. a physical body, ,ar.
and /ir. to the touch, as ,ell as -isible and able to carry on a con-ersation li+e
an ordinary hu.an being. )nly 9asters and Their pupils ha-e the po,er to /or.
true 9aya-i =upas, this po,er being ac:uired at or near the Second Initiation. An
ad-antage o/ using the 9aya-i =upa is that it is not sub7ect to deception and
gla.our on the astral plane, as is the astral body.
When a .an /unctions in the .ental -ehicle and lea-es his astral body behind
hi. in a condition o/ suspended ani.ation, along ,ith the physical, he can, i/
necessary, easily surround the torpid astral body ,ith a shell, or he can set up
-ibrations ,hich render it i.per-ious to all e-il in/luences. <Pa.e "'*=
In the lesser .ysteries o/ Ancient 1reece, celebrated at Agrar, the principal
teaching concerned the astral plane and the astral li/e a/ter death. The o//icial
dress o/ the initiates ,as the s+in o/ a /a,n, the spotted appearance o/ ,hich
,as thought to be e.ble.atical o/ the colours o/ an ordinary astral body.
)riginally the teacher produced out o/ astral and etheric .atter i.ages
representing ,hat, in the astral ,orld, ,ould be the results o/ certain .odes o/
physical li/e. Later, the teachings ,ere represented in other ,ays, by a +ind o/
play or dra.a, the parts being ta+en by the priests, or e-en by puppets
.echanically .o-ed.
The initiates had a nu.ber o/ pro-erbs or aphoris.s peculiar to the.sel-es,
so.e o/ ,hich ,ere -ery characteristic8 thus8 Q(eath is li/e, and li/e is deathQ ,as
one8 another ,as8 Q Whosoe-er pursues realities during li/e ,ill pursue the. a/ter
death8 ,hosoe-er pursues unrealities during this li/e ,ill pursue the. also a/ter
death.R
The 1reater 9ysteries, celebrated at Eleusis, dealt ,ith the .ind?body and the
.ental plane, the golden /leece o/ Gason being the sy.bol o/ the .ental body.
Another o/ the sy.bols used in the .ysteries ,as the Thyrsus, a sta// ,ith a pine
cone on its top8 /re:uently it ,as said to be /illed ,ith /ire. In India a ba.boo ,ith
se-en +nots is used. The Thyrsus ,as .agnetised by the priest and laid against
the spinal colu.n o/ the candidate, thus gi-ing hi. so.e o/ the priest6s
.agnetis. and helping the candidate to pass in /ull consciousness to the astral
plane. The /ire sy.bolised +undalini.
The Southern 5uddhists enu.erate /i-e psychic po,ers ,hich .ay be gained by
the .an ,ho is .a+ing progress on the Path, ;!< The ability to pass through the
air and through solid ob7ects, and to -isit the hea-en?,orld ,hile still physically
ali-e. This .ay perhaps .ean nothing .ore than ability to /unction /reely in the
astral body, the hea-en?,orld .entioned being perhaps .erely the higher le-els
o/ the astral plane. ;#< (i-inely clear hearing, this is e-idently <Pa.e "'-= the astral
/aculty o/ clairaudience. ;#< The ability to co.prehend and sy.pathise ,ith all
that is in the .inds o/ others8 this appears to be thought?reading, or telepathy. ;&<
The po,er to re.e.ber /or.er births. This is clearly a /aculty o/ the higher
.ental or causal body. ;%< (i-inely clear -ision, i.e., clair-oyance. In so.e lists
there is added also the deli-erance by ,isdo., ,hich .eans the attain.ent o/
/reedo. /ro. re?birth. This?is clearly a -ery high attain.ent and scarcely see.s
to belong to the sa.e category as the other po,ers enu.erated. <Pa.e "',=
CHAPTER %3
CONCL:SION
Although there are at present relati-ely /e, ,ho possess direct, personal
+no,ledge o/ the astral ,orld, its li/e and its pheno.ena, yet there are .any
reasons /or belie-ing that this s.all group, o/ those ,ho +no, these things /ro.
their o,n e2perience, is rapidly gro,ing and is li+ely to be -ery largely increased
in the near /uture.
Psychic /aculty, especially a.ong children, is beco.ing less and less rare8 as it
gradually beco.es accepted, and ceases to be regarded as unhealthy or QtabuR,
it is li+ely to increase both in e2tent and in intensity. Thus, /or e2a.ple, boo+s
ha-e recently been published, and ,idely read, dealing ,ith nature?spirits, better
+no,n as /airies, and sho,ing e-en photographs o/ these dainty creatures and
their ,or+ in the econo.y o/ nature8 ,hilst any open?.inded en:uirer ,ill
e2perience little di//iculty in /inding people, young and old, ,ho /re:uently see
/airies, at ,or+ and at play, as ,ell as .any other entities and pheno.ena o/ the
astral ,orld.
Again, the enor.ous -ogue o/ spiritualis. has .ade the astral ,orld and .any
o/ its pheno.ena ob7ecti-ely real and thoroughly /a.iliar to .any .illions o/
persons in e-ery part o/ the globe.
Physical science, ,ith its ions and electrons, is on the threshold o/ the astral
,orld, ,hile the researches o/ Einstein and others are rapidly .a+ing acceptable
the conception o/ the /ourth di.ension, ,hich /or so long has been /a.iliar to
students o/ the astral ,orld.
In the real. o/ psychology, .odern analytical .ethods gi-e pro.ise o/ being
able to re-eal the true nature o/, at any rate, the lo,er /raction o/ .an6s <Pa.e "'1=
psychic .echanis., con/ir.ing, incidentally so.e o/ the state.ents and
teachings put /or,ard by ancient Eastern boo+s and by Theosophists and
occultists o/ today. Thus, /or e2a.ple, a ,ell?+no,n author o/ boo+s on
psychology and psycho?analysis, recently in/or.ed the present ,riter that in his
-ie, the Qco.ple2R ,as identical ,ith the Qs+andhKraR o/ the 5uddhist syste.,
,hile another psychologist o/ ,orld,ide repute told a /riend o/ the present ,riter
that his psychological > not psychic > researches had led hi. irresistibly to the
/act o/ re?incarnation.
These are so.e o/ the indications that the .ethods o/ orthodo2 Western science
are leading to results identical ,ith those ,hich ha-e /or ages been co..on
+no,ledge in certain parts o/ the East, and ,hich ha-e, during appro2i.ately the
last hal/?century, been redisco-ered by a s.all group o/ indi-iduals ,ho, guided
by Eastern teachings, ha-e de-eloped ,ithin the.sel-es the /aculties necessary
/or the direct obser-ation and in-estigation o/ the astral ;as ,ell as higher<
,orlds.
It ,ould be a platitude to re.ar+ that the acceptance by the ,orld in general o/
the e2istence o/ the astral plane and its pheno.ena > ,hich cannot be .uch
longer de/erred > ,ill ine-itably and i..easurably enlarge and deepen .an6s
conception o/ hi.sel/ and his o,n destiny, as ,ell as re-olutionise his attitude
to,ards the outer ,orld, including the other +ingdo.s o/ nature, physically -isible
and in-isible. )nce a .an succeeds in establishing to his o,n satis/action the
reality o/ the astral ,orld, he is co.pelled to re?orient hi.sel/, and to .a+e /or
hi.sel/ a ne, set o/ -alues /or the /actors ,hich a//ect his li/e and deter.ine his
acti-ities.
Sooner or later, but ine-itably, the broad conception that .erely physical things
play a -ery s.all part in the li/e o/ the hu.an soul and spirit, and that .an is
essentially a spiritual being, un/olding his latent po,ers ,ith the help o/ the
-arious -ehicles, physical, astral, and other, ,hich /ro. ti.e to ti.e he assu.es
> ,ill <Pa.e "*3= displace all other -ie,points and lead .en to a co.plete re?
align.ent o/ their li-es.
A realisation o/ his o,n true nature, o/ the /act that through li/e a/ter li/e on earth,
,ith interludes in other and subtler ,orlds, he is steadily e-ol-ing and beco.ing
.ore and .ore spiritual, logically and ine-itably leads .an to see that, i/ and
,hen he chooses, he .ay cease /ro. dallying ,ith li/e and ,ith dri/ting on the
broad current o/ the e-olutionary strea., and .ay instead assu.e the hel. o/
his o,n li/e?-oyage. 4ro. this point in the gro,th o/ his Qa,arenessR o/ things,
and o/ his o,n inherent possibilities, he ,ill pass to the ne2t stage, ,here he
approaches the Qancient and narro,R Path, upon ,hich he ,ill /ind Those Who,
outstripping Their /ello,s, ha-e achie-ed the .a2i.u. possible in purely human
de-elop.ent. These are They Who, eagerly, yet ,ith li.itless patience, ,ait /or
Their younger brothers to co.e out o/ the nursery o/ ordinary ,orldly li/e into
Their higher li/e ,here, ,ith Their guidance and assisted by Their co.passion
and po,er, .an .ay rise to the stupendous heights o/ spirituality to ,hich They
ha-e attained, and beco.e in his turn a sa-iour and helper o/ .an+ind, thus
speeding the .ighty plan o/ e-olution to,ards its goal.<Pa.e "*1=
INDEX
A 5e,itched Li/e, A"
Accepted pupil, #%#
Accident, death /ro., !FA, !&B
Accidents caused by thought, %%
Accident on astral plane, !%!
Adaptability, colour o/, !#
Adept on astral plane, !'"
Adeptship and childhood, #!#
A//ection, colour o/, !#
Agni, !A#
Agrar, #%'
Airships, !'!
Air?spirits, !A!, !A%
A+Ksha, /orces o/, #&$
A+Kshic records, #F$
Alche.ists, $, !%!, !$$
Alcohol
? and nature?spirits, !AF
? and in7ury to ,eb, F%
? and .an6s bodies, '%, ''
Alcoholics on astral plane, !#A, !#"
A.bition,
? colour o/, !#
? intensi/ication o/, F"
? a/ter death, !#"
A.putation, A
A.ulets, '"
Ananda.aya+osha, #$
Angels, !A'
? guardian, %B, !F%
? o/ the ardinal Points, !AA
Anger,
?colour o/, !!
? e//ect on ,eb, F%
? /lash o/, !"
? thought?/or.s o/, %A, '!
Anglican chants, 'B
Ani.al
? characteristics in .an, #!F
? lin+ ,ith, !&F, #!F
? obsession o/, !&#
? reincarnating as, !&F
? soul, the, #&
Ani.als,
? association ,ith .en, $'
? astral bodies o/, !AB
? clair-oyance o/, '!
? /eelings o/, #%
? indi-idualisation o/, $', #&B
Anna.aya+osha, #$
Anthropoid apes, !A!
Apogee o/ .oon, !&A
Apparitions, %B, %!, !B', ##"
Appearance o/ .an a/ter death, !BA
Apple?green in aura, !#
Apports, !%", !A&
Arhat, bodies o/, !'
Arpeggios, /or. o/, 'B
Arti/icial ele.entals, &%,!$$,!"B
Artist on astral plane, !F!
ArLpade-as, !A$
Aspiration, colour o/, !#
Assi.ilation o/ e2periences, #B$
Astral
? and buddhic planes, #F#
? centres, ##%
? current, #F&
? currents, A&
? death, #B'
? drea.s, ""
? entities,
??? arti/icial, !"B
??? hu.an, !'A
??? non?hu.an, !$'
? light, !%%
? Light, the, %!, #&$
? .atter, grades o/, &
? origin o/ ,ord, $
? ,orld, siCe o/, !F!
Astrology, rationale o/, "
Atlantis,
? airships o/, !'!
? and spiritualis., !"!
?blac+ .agicians o/, %F
?language o/, !"!
Zt.a, a principle in .an, #"
At.K?buddhi?.anas, #A, #", #B'
At.osphere on astral plane, !%#
Ato.ic
? astral .atter, !&, !$'
? .atter, F'
? short?cut, !B%
? sub?plane o/ astral, !%B
? sub?planes, F', !B%
? ,eb, "F
Ato.s, %
? line o/, #F&
? .ale and /e.ale, %
<Pa.e "*"=
Ato.s,
?spirillae in, !BF
Atrophy o/ :ualities, #!!
Attitude o/ .ind a/ter death, !#%
Aura, $, #!B
?/or.ing shell round, !B#
?o/ de-a, !A'
?o/ .etal, stone, etc., A
?regularity in, ##
Author, reaching thought o/, %&
Authors and .ental i.ages, %F
Auto.atis., physical, "!
A-arice,
?colour in aura, !!
?e//ect on aura, #!
A-erage
?length o/ astral li/e, !F!
?.an a/ter death, !#!
?.an6s astral body, !%
A,a+ening on astral plane, A"
5A5I
?body, obsession o/, !&#
?physical body, #!B
5ach, %"
5a.boo, $ +notted, &!, #%'
5ars in astral body, !!, #!
5ase o/ spine cha+ra., F!, FA
5eer?houses, ''
5ell?ringing, !AB
5enediction ;hurch ser-ice<, #FF
5et,een eyebro,s cha+ra., F!
5haga-an (as, #!'
5hang, ##'
5hLtKt.an, #$
5lac+ in aura, !!
5lac+ .agic and lo,er cha+ra.s F!. F"
?and shade, !$!
? -a.pires and ,ere,ol-es,!$F
?and Spiritualis., !"F
5lac+ .agicians o/ Atlantis, %F
?on astral plane, !$B, !$&
5la-ats+y and spiritualis., !"&, #B&
5lindness, astral, #F!
5liss sheath, #$
5lood and -a.pires, !$F
5lood, scent o/, ''
5loodhound, baying o/, '!
5lue in aura, !#
5lue?green in aura, !#
5ody o/ illusion, #%%
5oils, !$
5oo+ seen astrally, !%F
5oo+s, ,ord o/ dead, !F%
5ragdon, laude, !'F
5rain drea.s, "$
5rain intelligence, #'
5rea+ in consciousness, "F
5reath?control, ##'
5ridge, astral body a, #F, #%, #'
5ridge, etheric, "F, "%
5ro,n?grey in aura, !!
5ro,nies, !A!
5ro,ning, 9iss 3., #!'
5ro,n?red in aura, !!
5rutality o/ teacher, #!#
5ubbles in +oilon, %
5uddha, aura o/, $
5uddhi
?and thought?/or.s, &F
?principle in .an, #"
?sheath o/, #$
5uddhic plane, #F#
?-ehicle, !BF
5uddhists,
?and s+andhas, #B"
?and psychic po,ers, #%'
5utchers6 shops, ''
5utchery o/ ani.als, !A!
A44EI*, '$
age o/ thoughts, &$
ali/ornia, #FB
al.ness, #&"
apital punish.ent, !F"
aptain 3ettle, '&
arni-orous diet, '%
asting out the Sel/, !'$
astor and Pollu2, #FA
atalepsy, !$F
atastrophes, #&F
at6s purring, '!
ausal body,
?and lo,er -ibrations, $#
?e//ect o/ astral on, !&
?entangled ,ith astral, #B$
?gaps in, !&
?lu.inosity, !&
?o/ 9aster, #BF
?other bodies rese.ble, !'
?po,er o/ .agni/ication, FF
ells, consciousness o/, "$
entre o/ consciousness, $"
entres, astral, ##%
erebro?spinal syste., ##%
ere.onial .agic, !'"
ha+ra.s, F!, $"
?and /ourth di.ension, !'%
?and .e.ory o/ astral li/e, "F
ha.ber o/ horrors, %!
hange o/ particles in astral body, !#"
harle.agne, #!A
har.s, ##'
hatter, silly, '!
hatur 9ahara7as, !AA
heer/ulness, !F
he.ical a//inity, #%
hicago, ##"
hild, aura o/, !$
hildren
?and city li/e, '#
?dead, !A%
?dying young, !&!
?.ental body o/, #!!
?on astral plane, "B
?terror o/, $&
hinese, 'F
hladni6s sound plate, 'B
hord, .ystic plate, #F$
ities, li/e in, !$, '#, '$
lairaudience, #F'
lair-oyance,
?danger o/, ##A
?in space and ti.e, #F&
?not un.i2ed blessing, ##$
?reliable, #FB
?untrained, #FB
leanliness, '$
li.ate
?and astral plane, !%#
?and occult ,or+, #FB
linging to physical li/e, !#',!&!
losed cur-es, %'
oarse astral body, !#B
oarse bodies, '&
ocaine, ''
o//ee, F%, '$
oils in astral body, !A
oins, $B
ollecti-e e.otion, #!"
ollision on astral plane, !%!
olour?language, ##, !A'
olourless .an a/ter death, !#'
olours,
?.eaning o/, !!
?o/ thought and e.otion, &F, &'
?position o/, !F
?:uality o/, $
o..unicating entities, !""
o..unication on astral plane, F&, !%'
o.position o/ astral body, '
oncrete thoughts, &%
onsciousness, physical, in drea.s, "$
onsciousness, unbro+en, A$
ontinuity o/ consciousness, A$, "%. !B&
ontrol o/ astral body, $A
ontrol o/ thought, !B#
ontrols, spiritualistic, !"#
on-ersion, religious, $&
on-aulions, %%
on,ay. Sir 9artin, #!$
orpse,
?astral, !$!, #BA
?physical, !#'
orrespondence o/ sub?planes, $#
os.ic planes, !B%
ounterpart,
?a/ter death, !B$
?co.position o/, $
?during sleep, AF
?:uality, '&
?o/ boo+s, !%B
?o/ child, #!B
?o/ de-eloped .an, A%
?o/ ob7ects, A
?o/ ob7ects, .o-ing, !%#
?o/ physical ,orld, !!A
?o/ roc+, !%F
?o/ unde-eloped .an, !%#
?re?arrange.ent o/, !B"
?seeing, !!&
o,, lo,ing o/, '!
ra-ings a/ter death, !#$
re.ation, !#', !$F
ri.inals, !&"
ri.son in aura, !#
ritical state o/ .atter, !##
ro,d?co.peller, #!A
ro,d?consciousness, %%, #!A
ro,d?e2ponent, #!"
%rod in *eace and <ar, #!$
ro,d?leaders, ##B
ro,d, psychological, #!A
ro,d psychology, #!$
ro,d?representati-e, #!"
ro,ds, li-ing a.ongst, !$
rystal?gaCing, ##'
rystal, nature o/, #F%
ruelty, +ar.a o/, #!&
unning, colour o/, !#
uriosity, colour o/, %A
urrents, astral, A&, !%#
urses co.e ho.e to roost, &"
ycle o/ li/e and death, !!$
(EATH, !B$
?appearance a/ter, !BA
?astral, #B'
?usually painless, !B$
(eath?,arnings, %#
(ecaying /ood, '%
(eceit, colour o/, !#
(eliriu. tre.ens, F', '', ##%
(e.ons, !&!
(ensest astral .atter, !&"
(ensity o/ gas, !'%
(epression,
?barrier to progress, $&
?causes o/, $F
?colour o/, !#, #!
?.ust be eli.inated, #&"
<Pa.e "*$=
(er-ishes, ##'
(esire and ,ill, #&
(esire?ele.ental, ', !B, $$, !B$
?do.inance by, $F
?/inal struggle ,ith, #B$
(esire, +illing out, ###
(estruction o/ thought?/or.s, 'F
(e-achan, #B'
?co..unicating ,ith, !""
?gi-ing up, !$&
(e-arK7as, !A$
(e-as, !A'
?lin+ ,ith, #$
?nu.ber o/, 'B
?,or+ o/, #F"
(e-eloped .an, astral body o/, !%
(e-otion, colour o/, !#
(e-otional thought?/or., %$
(hritarKshtra, !AA
(hru-a., !B"
(iet, '%
(irect -oice, #&!
(irt, '$
(iscipleship, #%#
(iscri.inating sheath, #$
(iscri.ination, #&A
(isintegration, !%A, !''
?o/ astral body, !B", !#', !F'
?o/ +ey, !%A
(israeli, #!A
(istance thoughts tra-el, &&, %B
(i-ine .e.ory, !%%, #F$
(7inns, !A!
(octor a/ter death, !F%
(og bar+ing, '!
(og?/aced .an, #!&
(o.inating .ind o/ another, #&%
(o-es, cooing o/, '!
(oCing consciousness, !AB
(ra.atisation by ego, "$, !B!
(read, ine2plicable, ##"
(rea. consciousness, !BF
(rea.s, "F
?and astral ,or+, "'
?astral, ""
?brain, "$
?changing, "'
?con/used, "$
?controlling, "'
?ego, !BB
?etheric brain, "$
?ho, produced, "'
?.odi/ication o/, "%
?sy.bols in !B#
?-ague, "F
?-i-id, "&
?,arning, !B!
(rin+ cra-ing, !BB
(rugs, '', ##'
(run+ard
?a/ter death, !#$, !#", !&"
?and rebirth, #!!
(run+enness, drea.s o/, !BB
(-esha, #!'
(,eller on threshold, #!F
(ying young, !#%
EA=TH?5)U*( persons, !&&
Earth ele.ental essence, !%"
Earth:ua+es, %%
Econo.y o/ e//ort, #&A
Egg shape o/ aura, !F
Eidophone, 'B
Eighth sphere, !$F
Einstein, #%A
Ego
?a//ected by thoughts, !&
?and desires, #"
?and +undalini, &!
?and personality, #A
?asleep, !BB
?consciousness o/, !B!
?direct action o/, "!
?dra.atisation by, "$, !B!
?drea.s, !BB
?hold on -ehicles, #!#
?.easure o/ ti.e and space, !B!
o/ .ediu., #BB
pre-ision o/, !B!
sy.bols used by, !B#
,ithdra,al o/, !!$, !!A, !#', !F', !"A, #B', #BA
Electrical disturbances, !%"
Electrons, %
Ele.ental essence, !$'
? and heat, !%"
? and re?birth, #!B
? and talis.ans, '"
? appearance o/, !&'
? earth, !%"
? e-olution o/, !BA
? in astral body, ', $'
? in thought?/or.s, &&
? responsi-eness o/, &%
Ele.ental +ingdo., third, '
Ele.ental +ingdo.s, !$'
Ele.ental sel/, #$
Ele.entals, !"B
? arti/icial, &%
? /ro. astral body, $!
? li+e a storage battery, %!
? o/ air and ,ater, !'!
? o/ alche.ists, !$$
? o/ /ire, !'#
Ele.entary, '', !&%
Eleusis, #%'
EliCabeth, Dueen, !#F
<Pa.e "*'=
El-es, !A!
E.erald green in aura, !#
E.otion, #&
?collecti-e, #!"
E.otion?ele.ents, #!'
E.otions,
?genesis o/, #!$
?intensity o/, A'
?.astery o/, #!%
Entangle.ent o/ +K.a and .anas, !&&
Entities, astral, !'A, !$', !"B
Etheric
?brain, "$
?brain?drea.s, "A
?bridge, "F
?currents, !%$
?double
??? and +ar.a, !AA
??? and .aterialisations, !$&
??? and re?birth, #!!
??? principle in .an, #"
???pressure, !%$, !%A
???shell a/ter death, !&!
E-ocation, !A%, !A$, #F'
E2cite.ent,
?dangers o/, $&
on astral plane, #&A
E2plosion on astral plane, !%!
ECe+iel. !AA
4AULTIES,
?astral, $"
?latent, AB
4airies, !A!
4alling in lo-e, #B
4atigue,
?ner-ous, '$
?not in astral body, A#, !!&
?not in .ental body, A#
4auns, !A!, !A'
4a,n, s+in o/, #%'
4ear,
?colour o/, !#
?on astral plane, A"
4eet, e.anations o/, '$
4idgetiness, '#
4iery Po,er, FA
4i/th
?=oot race, AB
?round, AB
?sub?plane, !F&, !&"
4il. on astral body, !"
4ire
?ele.entals, !'#
?handling, !'#
?production o/, !'#
4irst sub?plane, !&", !%B
4i-e di.ensions, !'%
4lash o/ anger, !"
4leece o/ Gason, #%'
4lesh /ood, '%, '', !AF
4loating thought?/or.s, %%
4lo,er?li+e /or.s, %$
4lo,ers in ,orship, %$
4lush in astral body, !"
4lute, %A
4 note, 'F
4ocus o/ consciousness, $", A!,!!B
4ohat, FA
4ood, '&, '%
4ood, not /or astral body, !B,!#"
4ood?sheath, #$
4orce?centres, F!
4orcing de-elop.ent, ##'
4orests, in/luence o/, '$
4our di.ensions, F!, %"
4our?di.ensional globe, !'&
4ourth di.ension, !'F
1ourth (imension, The, !'F
4ourth
?root race, AB, !$#, ##%
?round, AB
?spirillae, !BF
?sub?plane, !F&, !&"
4reedo. on astral plane, !FB
4ree,ill, #"
4unctions o/ astral body, #F
4ussiness, '#
1A95)1E in aura, !#
1andhar-as, !AA
1enesis o/ e.otions, #!$
1enius, /lashes o/, !B%
1eo.etrical thought?/or.s, %A
1eo.etry, !''
1hosts, %!
1iggles, ner-ous, '#
1la.our
?on astral plane, !%F
?o/ nature?spirits, !A#
1lutton a/ter death, !#"
1no.es, !A!
1nyKna., #!'
1oblins, !A!
1oing to sleep, thought be/ore, A%, AA, "', !BF, #%B
1old in aura, !#
1olden age, !$"
1olden cro,ns, !%B
1ood and e-il,
?e//ect o/, $!
?ho, stored, $#
R 1ood People,R !A!
1orilla?li+e thought?/or., 'F
1ra-itation and astral .atter, !&$
1ra-ity, neutralising, !'!
1reat Tone, the, 'F
<Pa.e "**=
1reen in aura, !#
1reenish?bro,n in aura, !!
1regorian tone, 'B
1rey
?in aura, !#
?li-id, !#, !"
1rey?green in aura, !#
1rie/ /or the dead, !F%, !"A
1ro,th o/ ob7ects, !''
1uardian angels, %B, !F%
1u//a, thought?/or., '!
1uide, spirit, !&#, !"#, #%F
1u.s in incense, '"
1un?/ire, '#
1uru, #BF
1yroscope, 'A
HA5ITS,
?ho, /or.ed, &$
?o/ astral body, $!
Hall
?o/ Ignorance, !%F
?o/ Learning, !%%
?o/ Wisdo., !%%
Handling /ire, !'#
Hands, e.anations o/, '$
Hand?,riting, i.itating, !'B
Happy hunting?grounds, !%B
Hardening ,eb, F'
Har.onograph, 'B
Haschish, ##'
Hate?e.otions, #!'
Hatha Ioga, ##'
Hatred, colour o/, !!
Haunted houses, !!&, !AB
Haunted places, %!
Health, physical, '$
Hearing, astral, F#
Heart cha+ra., F!
Hea-en?,orld, !!A, #B'
Hell
?apparent, !B"
?a /ig.ent, !FB
Helping by thought, 'F
Her.it, $%
Higher .anas, #"
Highlands, %!
Hi.Klayan 5rotherhood, !"!
Hinton, . H., !'F
Historical e-ents, %&
Hoo+ed thought?/or.s, %'
HoriContal di-isions, !$A
Host, The, #F#
Hostility o/ ele.entals, ##"
House, building on astral plane, !!%
Hudson, T. G., ##B
Hu.an arti/icials, !"!
Hungary, !$#
Hypnotis., &A, ##!
Hysteria, $&
? and clair-oyance, ##%
IHHA, #!'
Idiots, #!&
Illusion and astral plane, !%F
I.ages in .ental body, &%
I.ages o/ pupils, #%#
I.aginary cities, etc., !&", !%B
I.personal thought, &F
Incense, '"
Incubi, !&!
Indian 7ugglers, !AF
Indigo in aura, !#
Indi-idualisation,
?helped by .an, $', #&B
?.ode o/, !#F, !#&
Indi-idualised ani.als, !AB
Indra, !A#
In/la..ation, centres o/, !$
Initiation,
?:uali/ications /or, $
?Second, #%%
Initiations, #%&
In7ury to astral body, !%!
Insanity, F', $%, #!&
Instigation to cri.e, !F"
Intellect, colour o/, !#
Interpenetration, &, !%!
Inter-als bet,een li-es, !#F
In-est.ent o/ ego, !!A, #BA
In-isible helpers, #FA
In-ocation, !A%, ##', #F'
Iridescence, !'
Irritability in aura, !!, %A
Irritable .an, #!
Irritation,
?causes o/, '$
?on astral plane, #&A
GA1=AT, !BF
Gealousy,
?colour o/, !!
?thought?/or. o/, %A
Ge,els, %!, '"
GM-a, #$
Goy in aura, !#
Goy o/ li/e on astral plane, "&
Gu.ping on astral plane, !%#
3ALI, %F
3K.a, #F, #A, $"
? and lo,er .anas, !!"
? cause o/ reincarnation, #B"
? re/lection o/ At.a, #&
? transcended, A!
3K.ade-as, !A$
3K.alo+a, !!'
<Pa.e "*-=
3K.a?.anas, #', #$, #A, #", &%, $A
?/reeing /ro. !!"
3K.a?rupa, #&
3ar.a
?and re?birth, #!B
?on astral plane, !FF
3ar.ic deities, !AA
3ey, disintegration o/, !%A
3eynote o/ .an, #F'
3illing out
?desire, ###
?lo-e, ##F
3no,ledge, :uali/ication o/, #&"
3obolds, !A!
3oilon, bubbles in, %
3riyK, #!'
3shetragna, #$
3shiti, !A#
3u.bhandas, !AA
3undalini, F#, FA, !B&, #%'
3ung, 'F
LA3E =egillus, 5attle o/, #FA
Language
?on astral plane, F&, !F&, !%', #%B
?on .ental plane, F&
Latent /aculties, AB
Laughter, thought?/or.s o/, '!, '#
Lau+i+a .ethod, ##'
La of *sychic *henomena, ##B
Layers o/ consciousness, "!
Leadbeater and Spiritualis., !"&
Length o/ astral li/e, !#&
?a-erage, !F!
Le-itation, !'!
Leyden 7ar, thought?/or.s li+e, &%, 'F
Li/e?ter., appointed, !F", !&B
Light, destructi-e e//ects o/, !'B
?on astral plane, !%#
Lilac?blue in aura, !#
Li.bus, !!'
Lines in astral body, !#, !A, #!
Lin+s bet,een bodies, !B&
Lipi+a, !AA
Li-er, #%
Logos, astral body o/, "
Lo+ottara .ethod, ##$
Loosening o/ principles, !B'
Lords
? o/ 3ar.a, #!!
?o/ the dar+ /ace, %F
?o/ Eenus, AB
Loss o/ the soul, !&&
Lost souls, #BA
Lotus and solar syste., !'$
Lo-e,
?+illing out, ##F
?:uali/ication o/, #%B
?sel/ish, colour o/, !#
?unsel/ish, colour o/, !#
Lo-e?e.otions, #!'
Lo,er
?cha+ra.s, F!, F"
?.anas, #A, #"
??? and 3K.a, !!"
?part o/ aura, !F
?psychis., ##%
?sel/, #'
?:uaternary, #F
Lu.inosity o/ astral .atter, !%#
Lunar /or., slaying, ##F
Lunatics, #!&
9A1IAL cere.onies, A", !$"
9agnetised ob7ects, 'A
9agni/ication, FF, #F%
9ahat, #"
9alice, colour o/, !!
9anas, #"
9anas and 3K.a, $A, !!"
9anas, pro7ection /ro., #A, #"
9ano.aya+osha, #$
9antra.s, !%A
9anu, #$
9ass, hristian, #F#
9ass e//ect o/ thoughts, %&
9asses /or the dead, !F'
9aster,
?causal body o/, #BF
?co..unication /ro., #B#
?consciousness o/, #%F
?i.personation o/, #BF
?.editation on, %$
?,or+ o/, #F"
,asters and the *ath, #%&
9astery o/ e.otion, #!%
9aterialisation, !%"
?by drun+ard, !#A
?o/ astral body, !B'
?o/ thought?/or., %B
?-arieties o/, #&!
9aterialis., brea+ing do,n, !"'
9aterialists on astral plane, !%B
9KyK-irLpa, #F', #%%
9eals on astral plane, !!%
9editation
?and psychic de-elop.ent, #F!
?and shell to protect, $'
?on 9aster, %$
?opens up channel, #&'
?thought?/or.s o/, %A
<Pa.e "*,=
9ediu.6s ego, #B!
9ediu.s
?and trance, "#, !B'
?co..unication through, !F&, !F'
?passing into astral body, "!
9ediu.ship, ##'
?not a po,er, ##$
9e.ory
?o/ astral li/e, F%, F$, "#, "F,!B&
?o/ past li-es, !B%
?on astral plane, "B, !%F
9endelssohn, %"
9ental body,
?a//ected by e.otion, #B
?astral body rese.bles, !'
?consciousness, !BF
?o/ child, #!!
?used by pupils, etc., !$B
9ental .atter, entangle.ent o/, !BA
?unit, #B"
9es.eric action o/ thought, %B, ##"
9es.eris.
?a+in to gla.our, !A#
?to sti.ulate psychis., ##', #F%
?to ,a+en .an on astral plane, "B
9etals, trans.utation o/, !'#
9etaphysical thought, %A
9ilitary .usic, 'B
9ineral .onad, !BA
9inerals, +K.a in, #%
9ini/ication, FF
9inor -a.pires, !$#, #B!
9iser, #!
9oha..edan /anatic, !&!
9o.ent o/ death, !B$
9onad, &!
?and ego, #%&
?po,ers o/, !'$
9onadic essence, ', !$'
9onads, ani.al, -egetable, etc., !$'
9oney, $B
9onsters, #!&
9oods, $F
9oon?.en, !#&
9oon6s orbit, !&A
9orality o/ thought, 'F
9ountains, in/luence o/, '$
9ourning, in7urious, !F%, !"A
9o-e.ent
?o/ astral particles, A,!%,F&,!!F
? o/ astral ob7ects, !%!
9urderer a/ter death, !FB, !F"
9usic
?and nature?spirits, !AF
? /or.s, %A
9usic
learning on astral plane, !F#
on astral plane, !F!
9us+, $B
9ysteries, Ancient, '%, #%'
9ystic chord, #F$
9ysticis. and /ourth di.ension, !'$
9yths, ancient, !#"
*A1AS, !AA
*apoleon, #!A
*arcotics, F%
*ational thoughts, %&
*ature?spirits, !A!
? and coarse -ibrations, $F
? and dirt, '$
? and .usic, %"
? and spiritualis., !AB, #B!
? as in-isible helpers, #FA
? ensouling thought?/or.s, %F, %%
?/aculties o/, !''
?gla.our o/, !A#
?higher types, !A"
?irresponsible, !A&
?playing ,ith children, !A%
?see+ing sensation, $&
*a-el cha+ra., F!, F#
*er-ous diseases, !$, ''
*e, Gerusale., !%B
*i.bus, !$
*ir.Kna+Kyas, %$, !$%, #B#, #&$
*ir-Kna, !$%
*oises, '#, '$
*o-elist a/ter death, !F%
)5EAH, !$B, !$#
)b7ecti-e .ind, ##!
)bsession
?and .ediu.ship, #%F
?and religious re-i-als, $&
?and sleep, "!
?and ,eb, F%, F'
?by desperate entity, !"A
?by drun+ard, !#A
?by nature?spirit, !A'
?by sensualist, !#A
?o/ drun+ards, ''
?o/ .ediu.s, !&#
?resisting, !#A
?through loss o/ control, $F
)bstacles on astral plane, !%!
)cean in/luences, '$
)dours, !#$
)int.ents, ##$
)ne?pointedness, #&$
)pen cur-es, %'
)piu., '', '$
)pti.is., #&"
<Pa.e "*1=
)range in aura, !#
)rchestra, .usic?/or. .ode by, %F
)rdinary .an a/ter death, !#F
)rgan, church, %A6
)ssi/ication o/ ,eb, F'
)uspens+y, P. (., !'F, !'%
)utline
?o/ astral body, ', $, !F
?o/ thought?/or., &'
)utpourings, !$'
PAI*,
?control o/, A$
?on astral plane, A$
?produces repulsion, #!'
Painters, %F
Paradise, !%B
Paralysis o/ astral body, !#A
Parents and children, #!#
Parrot screa., '!
Particles, rapid .o-e.ent o/, A, !%, F&, !!F
Passage through .atter, !%"
Passions and +K.a, #F
Passi-ity o/ physical body, ##&
Pa-ana, !A#
Pearls, a drea. sy.bol, !B#
Perigee o/ .oon, !&A
Peris, !A!
Per.anent ato.s, ###
?and lo,er thoughts, !&
?and re?birth, #B"
?at end o/ astral li/e, #B$
?e-il stored in, $#, !BB
?o/ *ir.Kna+Kyas, !$%
Peroulu.s, 'B
Personality, the, #', #"
Perspecti-e and astral sight, !%&
Philanthropist on astral plane, !F#
Physical
?consciousness, "$
?ele.ental, A#
?li/e, '&
Physician in sleep?li/e, A'
Piano .usic?/or.s, %A
Pictures, precipitation o/, !'!
Pig?/aced .an, #!&
Pineal gland, FF
Pishachas, !&!
Pituitary body
?and alcohol, ''
?and astral consciousness, !B%
?and .e.ory o/ astral li/e, "F
?and top o/ head cha+ra., FF
?lin+ ,ith astral body, &!
Pi2ies, !A!
Planetary
?in/luences, "
?spirits, !A$
Planets,
?astral, "
?7oined /our?di.ensionally, !'$
Plants, /eeling in, #%
Plasticity o/ -ehicles, #!#
Pleasure and genesis o/ e.otions, #!'
Pleasures o/ astral li/e, !F#
Poet, thought?/or.s o/, %"
Pole to pole currents, !%$
Politics and cro,d?psychology #!"
Population o/ astral ,orld, !F!
Potential energy, !%$
PrKna,
?a /orce /ro. Logos, FA
?a principle o/ .an, #F, #"
?and +K.a, #&
?and spleen cha+ra., F#
?sheath o/, #$
?special type in ,eb, F'
PrKnK.Kya+osba, #$
PrKnaya.a, ##'
Prayer,
?ans,ers to, %$, #&'
?/or the dead, !F'
Precious stones, '"
Precipitation, !'B
Pressure o/ thoughts, $
Preta, !!'
Pretalo+a, !!'
Pre-ision, !B!
Pride,
?colour o/, !#
?satanic, F"
Pri.rose yello, in aura, !#
Principles in .an, #F, #"
?/itting tightly, "!
?loosening o/, !B'
Probationary pupil, #%#
Proble.?sol-ing in sleep, "&
Production o/ /ire, !'#
Pro7ection
?o/ astral body, !B'
?o/ thought?/or., %B, #F'
Protecti-e thought, &", %'
Protection against thoughts, &
Protestantis., !!$
Psychic
?a/ter death, !FA
?/aculties, !#
??? de-eloping, ##&
??? on astral plane, !'"
Psychis.
?and spirituality, ##&
?lo,er and higher, ##%
? spas.odic, ##$
<Pa.e "-3=
Psychology, .odern, #%"
Psycho.eter, #F$
Public opinion, #!"
Pupil
?a,aiting incarnation, !$!
?a,a+ing on astral plane, AA
?on astral plane, !'", !$B
?,or+ o/, #%&
Purgatory, !!$, !#$
Puri/ication o/ bodies, #!%
Pyra.ids, ho, built, !'!
DUALI4IATI)*S
?/or initiation, $
?/or the Path, #&$
Duality o/ astral body, !#B
Duaternary, #A, #", !&&
Dueen EliCabeth, !#F
Dueen Eictoria, !#F
=AE?4EELI*1S, %&
=adiating thought?-ibrations, &F,%'
=Kga, #!'
=ail,ay engine screech, '#
=K7asic /oods, '%
=K7a Ioga, ##$
?Iogi, '%
=ates o/ -ibration in astral body, !&, !'
=ay o/ .anas, #A, #"
=ays, !B, !$A
=earrange.ent o/ astral body, !BA
?brea+ing up, in, #&&
=e?birth, #B"
=ebounding thought?/or., &"
=ecords o/ astral light, !%%
=ed in aura, !!
=eduplication, !'B
=e/ine.ent o/ bodies, '&
=egents o/ the Earth, !AA
=egularity o/ aura, ##
=eincarnation
?and +K.a?.anas, #'
?and spiritualis., !"'
?in ani.al, #!F
=eligious
?e2cite.ent, $&
?.an, #!
R =e.ainers,R !&&
=e.orse a/ter death, !#", #&%
=epentance, %#
=epercussion, #&#
?and sy.pathetic -ibration, !'#
?in7uries through, !$F
?on physical brain, "&
=eplica o/ physical ,orld, !!F
=eproduction o/ thoughts, %B
=eser-oir o/ spiritual /orce, %$
=esponsibility o/ thought, 'F
=est/ulness o/ astral li/e, !!$
=e-ersal on astral plane, !%&
=e-ie, o/ li/e at death, !B$
=e-i-al, religious, $&
=hyth.ic /oods, '%
=i/le?/ire, '#
=ippling o/ astral body, !F
=ising through sub?planes, !B"
=obinson rusoe, %&
=oc+ seen astrally, !%&
=o.an atholic hurch, !!$
=ose?colour in aura, !#
=udra+sha berry, '"
=Lpade-as, !A$
=ush o/ /eeling, !A
=ussia, !$#
SAHET po,der, $B
St. Ga.es, #FA
St. Goseph o/ upertino, !'!
St. 9artin, !&&
St. Paul, $$, !'$
St. Teresa, !'!
Sala.anders, !A!
Sat-ic /oods, '%
Satyrs, F", !A!, !A'
Sa-age,
?astral body o/, !%
?,hile asleep, A&
Scales, .usical, 'B
Scarlet in aura, !!
Scenery,
?i.aginary, !&", !%B
?on astral plane, !F&
Scents, '"
Schiller, ##$
Science of the )motions, #!'
Scienti/ic .an, astral body o/, #!
Scientific Romances, !'F
Scientist on astral plane, !F!,!%B
Scribe Ani, !&A
Sea?,a-es, '!
Second
?sight, ##%
?sub?plane, !F&, !&", !%B
?)utpouring, '
Sel/?centred thoughts, &$
Sel/?control, #&A
Sel/?hypnotis., ##'
Sel/ish
?religionist, !%B
?thoughts, %'
Sel/ishness, colour o/, !!
Sensation
?and astral .atter, '
?and +K.a, #F, #&
?and prKna, #&
Sense centres, #%
Senses, astral, F&
<Pa.e "-1=
Sensualist a/ter death, !#$, !&"
Sensuality, colour o/, !!
Separateness, heresy o/, #'
Serpent /ire, F#, FA
Serpent o/ desire, ##F
Se-en =ays, The, #&
Se-enth sub?plane
?and sudden death, !FA, !&B
? description o/, !&A
? locality o/, !&$
? type o/ inhabitant, !FF, !&"
Se2 and nature spirits, !A&
Shade, !$B
?and re?birth, #!F
?and spiritualis., #BB
Shado,s on astral plane, !%#
Sha+espeare6s characters, %&
Shape o/ ob7ects, disintegrated, !%A
Sheaths o/ .an, #$
Sheep, baaing o/, '!
Shell, !$!
?and re?birth, #!F
?and spiritualis., #BB
?during .editation, $'
?during sleep, !B#, #%%
?o/ thought, AB
?-italised, !&!
Sherloc+ Hol.es, %&
Shield, ato.ic, F%
Ship,rec+s, pre-ention o/, #&B
Shoc+, e//ect o/, F%
Short?cut, ato.ic, !B%
ShrKddha, !F'
Siddhis, FF
Sight, astral, !%F
Single?.indedness, #&$
Sisyphus, !#"
Sitting /or de-elop.ent, F$
Si2?di.ensional ,orld, !'%
Si2th sub?plane, !FF, !F&, !&$, !&"
SiCe o/ astral body, $
?o/ thought?/or.s, &%, %B
S+andhas, !"", #B"
Slate ,riting, !'!
Sleep,
?cause o/, A#
?going to, AF
?o/ astral body, A&
?o/ a-erage .an, A%
?o/ de-eloped .an, A%
?o/ unde-eloped .an, A%
?on astral plane, !%F
?surroundings in, AF
?thought be/ore going to, A%, AA, "', !BF, #%B
?,or+ during, AA
Sleeping through astral li/e, !##
Sleep?li/e, A#
Sleep?,al+ing, "!
S.ell on astral plane, !#A
Socrates, death o/, !F"
Solar ple2us, !F
Soldiers +illed in battle, !&!
Some &ccult )xperiences, !'&
So.na.bulis., "!, ##!
Song o/ birds, '!
Sons o/ 1od, !A'
Sonship, #%&
Sorcerers, !'"
Speci/ic gra-ity o/ astral .atter, !&,!"
Spells, !%A
Spine, &B, &!
Spiral course o/ +undalini, FA, &B
Spirit
?guide, !&#, !"#, #%F
?hands, !'!
?lights, !'!, !A&
?photographs, #&!
Spiritualis., !"&
?achie-e.ents o/, !"%
?and reincarnation, !"'
?dangers o/, !"%, !"A, #B&
?history o/, !"!
?ob7ections to, !"$
Spiritualistic pheno.ena, !AF
Spirituality, colour o/, !#
Spleen, #%
?cha+ra., F!
Spoo+s, #BB
Sport, !A!
Stars in aura, !#
Stella, !''
SthLla Sharira, #&
Stonehenge, ho, built, !'!
Stone thro,ing, !!%, !AB
Stor.s, cause o/, %%
R Strong 5ody,R !B"
Study in %onsciousness, #B$
Study on astral plane, !F#, !%!
Sub?conscious .ind, ##!
Sub?di-isions o/ astral plane, !&$
Sub?lunar ,orld, !&A
Sub?planes, correspondence o/, $#
Sub?types, !B
Sub7ecti-e .ind, ##!
Succubae, !&!
Sudden death, !FA, !&!, !$#
?rush o/ /eeling, !A
Su//ering on astral plane, A$
R Su//ering 5ody,R !B"
Suggestion, ##!
Suicide, !FA, !F", !&!, !$#
?not 7usti/iable, !&B
Suicides and spiritualis., !"A
Su..erland, !F&, !&A, !%B
Super?physical /orces, !%$
<Pa.e "-"=
Surprise in aura, !F
Sushupti, !BF
S-apna, !BF
Sy.bols, used by ego, !B#
Sy..etry o/ aura, !F
Sy.pathetic
? syste., ##%
? -ibration, #F#
??? and astral pheno.ena, !%$
??? and pro7ected thought?/or., #F'
???and repercussion, !'#, #&#
Sy.pathy, colour o/, !#
TALIS9A*S, 'A
?lin+ed, '"
Ta.asic /oods, '%
Tantalus, !#"
Tea, F%, '$
Teacher, association ,ith, $&
Telescope, astral, #F%
Te.perature and occult ,or+, #FB
Te.pters on astral plane, !&!
Te.pting R de-ils,R &$
Tendencies in per.anent ato.s, #B$
Terror,
?a/ter death, !!', !FA
?colour o/, !"
Tertium &rganum, !'F, !'%
Tesseract, !'&
Test o/ earth, etc., !%!, ##A, #&$
Test pheno.ena, #&$
Theatre, counterpart o/, !FF
Theine, '$
Third sub?plane, !F&, !&A, !&"
Thought?control, !B#
?currents, ""
?/or.s, &F
?trans/erence, F&
Throat cha+ra., F!
Thunderstor., '!
Thyrsus, &!, #%'
Tightness o/ principles, "!
Ti.e
?and space, /or ego, !B!
?not /ourth di.ension, !''
?on astral plane, !#%
?spent on sub?planes, !#B
Tityus, !#"
Tobacco,
?and nature?spirits, !AF
?and undesirable entities, ''
?deadening e//ect, F'
?detri.ental e//ects, '%
?e//ect on astral body, !#A
?e//ect on ,eb, F%
Tongue, .editation in, FF
Top o/ head cha+ra., F!, FF
Touching astral ob7ects, !%#
Trail o/ thoughts, &A
Trance,
?a+in to sleep?li/e, "!
?and Turiya, !BF
?o/ .ediu.s, !B'
Trans.utation o/ .etals, !'#
Tra-el, bene/it o/, '$
Tra-el
?in astral body, F#, A', #F'
?in .ental body, #F'
Triad.
?higher, !&&
?i..ortal, #B'
TrishnK, !"A, !"", #B"
Trolls, !A!
Tube, astral, #F&
Tulsi plant, '"
Turiya, !BF
T,o?di.ensional ,orld, !'&
Tyburn, %!
Types
?o/ essence, !$A
?o/ .atter, "
?.en, ani.als, etc., !B
ULT=A?=E(
?in aura, !#
?on astral plane, !%&
Ultra?-iolet
?in aura, !#
?on astral plane, !%&
Unconsciousness a/ter death, !B$
Undines, !A!
Unit, .ental, #B"
United thought, %A
Uni-ersal .ind, #"
Upper part o/ aura, !F
EA1UE thoughts, %'
EKishrK-ana, !AA
Ealhalla, !%B
Ea.pires, %#, !$#
? .inor, !$#, #B!
Ean 9anen, G., !'&
Earuna, !A#
Eegetables and +K.a, #%
Eegetarianis., '%
Eenus, Lords o/, AB,
Eersatility, colour o/, !#
Eertical di-isions, !$A
Eertigo, ##'
Eices, o-erco.ing, ###
Eictoria, Dueen, !#F
EignKna.aya+osha, #$
Eillage gods, !A%
Eiolet in aura, !#
Eiolin .usic /or.s, %A
Eirudha+a, !AA
<Pa.e "-%=
EirLpa+sha, !AA
Eision, astral, !%F
Eisitors /ro. other planets, !'"
Eitalised shells, !&!, !$#, #BB
Eitality, !#, #F, #", F#, F', FA, '$
?sheath, #$
Ei-isection, !A!
Ei-isector on astral plane, !FB
-oice of the Silence, !%F, #BF, ##F
Eoodoo, !$B, !$#
Eortices in astral body, !A
WA1*E=, %"
Wa+ing another on astral plane, A"
Wa+ing consciousness, !BF
Wandering de.ons, %!
War,
?causes o/, %%
?+illed in, !&!
Warning drea.s, !B!
Watch seen astrally, !%F
Water, a drea. sy.bol, !B#
Water/alls, in/luence o/, '$
Water?sprites, !A!
Web, ato.ic, F%, "F
?in7ury to, F%, F$
Were,ol/, !$#
Whirlpools in astral body, !'
Whistling, '#
White auras, !$
Will
?and desire, #&
?directing thought?/or.s, &&
?on astral plane, !#%
?po,er o/, #&#
Willing and ,ishing, ##F
Wind, '!
Wine, detri.ental e//ect o/, ''
Witchcra/t, ##$
Withdra,al o/ ego, !!$, !!A, !#'. !"A, #B', #BA
?delayed, !F'
Wood?gods, !A%
World6s 9other, FA
Worries in astral body, !$
Worry, to be a-oided, $&
Wound in astral body, '#
IA3SHAS, !AA
IatKna, !BA
Iello,
? in aura, !#
?and ni.bus, !$
?ochre in aura, !#
Ioga, !B&, ##%
Yanoni, A"