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u uu uu
OR

M n dan e, Sb M n dan e an dSper M n dan e

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SF R T SM

A T R EA T I SE

I N T H R E E PA R T S A ND T WE NT Y T H R E E SE C T I ONS,
-

D E SCRIPT IVE

M A G IC SPIRI T I SM T H E D IFFEREN T ORDER S O F

OR I N
SPIRI T S I N T H E UNIVER SE KNO W N T O B E RELA T ED T O
COMMUNIC A T ION WI T H M A N ; T O G E T H ER WI T H D IREC T ION S
INVOKIN G CON T ROLLIN G A N D DI SCH A R G IN G
FOR
SPIRI T S A N D T H E U SE S A N D A B U SE S D A N G ER S
A N D P O SSI B I L I T I E S OF M A G IC A L A R T
OF A R T

C H I C A G O , I LL
PR O G R ESSIVE T H I N KE R PU BLI SH I N G H O U SE
.

I 8 98

SI DI

3
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T h e Pror
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u

n c e a t on c e t o f or m
Sp i r i t a li s t i c
or O c c lt L i b r a ry a n d t h s k e e p i n t h e f ro nt
r a n k s o t h e a d v a n c i ng c o l m n of P rog r e s s
f
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PA R T F I R ST
A U T HOR S P R E F A CE

E DI T OR S P RE F A CE
I N T ROD U C T ORY

PA G E

9- 1 1
13
1 5- 1 7

SE C T I O N I

A
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OL R NIVER E M
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SE C T I O N I I

R G UMEN T S DE V I S ED C HIE F L Y F R O M A NCIEN T H I ST ORY

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P RECEDIN G P A G E W I T H E X T R A C T S F ROM T H E V ED A S

SE C T I O N I I I

A
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31 -33

NCIEN T A N D M ODERN P HILO S OPHER S A N D

SPIRI T U A LI S T S C ONCERNIN G T H E N A T U RE A N D I N
D I VI DU A L I T Y O F O N E SUP REME B EI N G
OF

2 4-3 0

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T O SE C T I O N I V

SU P P LE M E N T
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42 5 3

54- 56

W OR SH I PI T S

C ONT E NT S
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SE C T I O N

N T I QU I T Y A N D M E A NIN GT H E C O N
N E C T I O N O F SE X SOL A R A N D SE R P E N T W O R SH I P T H E
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SE C T I O N V I

SY M OL S A N D E M
SC R I P T R A L N A ME S

T H E

65-70

U NIVER S E A

E G ODS IN
N G EL S SPIRI T S
T U T EL A R Y D EI T IE S SOUL S A N D E LEMEN T A RY SPIRI T S
O PINION S OF T H E A NCIEN T SJ E W I S H C A B A L A
NA T

5 7-64

SU P P L E M E N T T O SE C T I O N V I

J E WI S

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F ROM C L A SSIC A L A U T HOR S

A ND

HI S

C URIOU S

RU T H QU O T A T IO N S

SE C O N D

SE C T I O N V I I

8 1 -8 4

E A RLIE ST C OM M UNIO N W I T H S PIRI T S S PIRI T I SM

IC M UND A NE , SU B M UNDA NE A N D S P ER
A ND M A
M UND A N E SPIRI T I SMT H E M Y ST IC L A DDER

MANS

PA R T

708 0

SE C T I O N VI I I

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SE C T I O N I X
A

8 5- 9 3

9 4 1 07

P ROPH E T S SP IRI T U A L G I F T S
NCIEN T P RIE ST S
W OM A N A S P RIE ST E SS A N D SY B ILC L A SS I F IC A T I O N
A ND

OF SPIRI T U A LL Y E NDO W ED P ER SON S

SE C T I O N X

G
IC
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A
G E N ER A L SUMM A RY OF T H E C ONDI T IO N
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P ROCE SS E S O F M A G IC A L P R A C T ICE S T H E L INE
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1 08- 1 2 5

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BE

SE C T I O N X I

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ON XI

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ON INUED I LLU ST R A T ION S O F
M A G I C IN
R T
M A G IC IN I N DI A N A RR A T IVE S O F DI S T IN G UI SHED

T R A VELE R S R ECORD S O F P ER SON A L E X P ERIENCE S

T H E B O W L I N G DE R VI SHE S
SU P P L E M E N T

B R A HMINIC A L O RDER W HENCE DE

A R T M A G IC IN I NDI A

RIVED F OR E ST A NCHORI T E S F OUND A T ION OF T H E

P RIE ST L Y

1 2 6 1 38

T O SE C T I

1 3 8- 1 53

1 53 - 1 7 4

C ON T E N T S ,
SE C T I O N XI I

N S T

G IC A MON G T H E M ON G OLI A
H E C HINE S E S G RE A T

M
A G IC
S PIRI T I S M O F T W O DI ST INC T
DEVO T IO N T O
KI N DSP ER F ORM A NCE O F E X T R A M U N DA NE F E A T S

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P
SU P P L E M E N T T O SE C T I O N X I I I

I T S P O SSI B LE U SE A N D
T H E G RE A T P YR A MID OF E G Y P T
T H E M I CROCO SM O F
T H E U NIV E R S E
O B J E C T M A N

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1 7 5 1 82
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1 84 1 9 5
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SE C T I O N XI V

P IRI T I SM

G IC

MON G

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N T I QUI T Y O F
T H E J E W S DI S PU T E D A B R A H A M M O S E S T H E P RIE ST S

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C A BA L A
I B LE E ZEKIEL S WH EEL
A N D P R OP H E T s
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T H E

SU P P L E M E N T T O SE C T I O N XI V

2 07 2 1 9
-

Y A N D A NCIE N T SCRIP T UR ESOME O F T H E M ODES

OF DIVIN A T I ON B O T H L A WF U L A N D U NL A W F U L
P R A C T I CED A MO N G T H E J E WS

DO L A T R

XV

SE C T I O N

M A G IC

A ND

T O W ER
H I ST O R

S PIRI T I S M A MON G ST T H
OF B A
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UO T A T ION S
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OF M A

B Q
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H A L DE A N ST H E

F RO M E N N E M OSE R
N G DE R V I SH E S

2 2 5 2 36
-

R Y O F LI F E S ST ERNER P RO SEM A G IC
R EEK S A N D R OM A N S
T H E M YST ERIE S
R A CE A N D E LEU SI S

P O ET
G

SE C T I O N XV I

2 1 9 2 24

MO N G

0F SA

T H E

M OT H

2 3 7 -2 52

PA R T T H I R D

SE C T I O N

XVI I

E DI E VA L T H EO SOP H Y E L V E S OR F A I R I E S E L E M E N T A R Y
A N D P L A NE T A R Y SP IRI T S O R T H E SU B M U ND A N E A N D
SU P ER M U N D A NE SP IRI T I SM T H E J E WI S H C A B A L A
SE C T I O N XVI I I
WI T CHCR A F T SPIRI T O F P ER SECU T ION I N C H RI ST I A N

C HURCHE S
C A U SE S
O F T H E U N P C P U LA R I T Y OF
S PIRI T I S M A LCHEMI ST S S T ONE H EN G E
SU P P L E M E N T T O SE C T I O N XVI I I
A LCHEMI ST S A N D P H I L O SO P H E R s H I ST ORY O F T H E SE V
EN T EENT H
A N D E I G H T EEN T H C E N T URIE S G ENE R A L
U NI FORMI T Y OF T HEIR O PINIO N S
M

2 53 2 69
-

2 7 0-2 7 9

28028 2
-

C O NT E N T S

SE C T I O N XI X

H EP T A

MERON OR M A G IC A L E LEMEN T S OF P E T ER D A B A N O

C I R CLE S A N D T H E C OMPO S I T ION T HEREO F SI GN S

SI G IL S N A ME S O F A N G EL S E T C

SE C T I O N XX

A
C
E
L
ORNELIU
G
RIP
P
A
SU
S
s
C
yT H E

T
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A
A
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W E A P ON SA L VE
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T H E C A SE O F J A NE B ROO K S
I
C
T
W T CH R F

A S

P H I L O SO P H YuP A R

SE C T I O N XXI

T O SE C T I O N XXI

S C O M O SI T ION
C OMMUNIC A T IO

S PI R I T
F O RMUL E
O F N O ST R A

SU P P L E M E N T

HE

OM A
DA MU S

FR

P LA

NE T A RY

30031 0
-

A
I
V
IN
A
T
IO
N
B
ELOM
NC
Y
E LI SH A A N D T H E A R RO WS
D
G EOM A NC Y
C RY ST A L SEEIN G
BA T H
C LE OM A N C Y

A
KOL C H I R OM NC Y T H E C OLOR DOC T OR

A G IC M I R ROR
I T

283-2 99

31 1 3 2 6
-

XXI I

T
O
F
M
A
T
P
I
OR
Y
G
N
E
I
M
YCHOLO
G
Y
S
S
C L A IRV O YA NCE
H S
T HEIR C ONNEC T ION W I T H A NCIEN T
M A G IC
T HE
G R E A T M ODER N T RI A DP A R A C E L SU S
SE C T I O N XX I I I

A
P
I
T
U
LI
T
IC
L
I
T
E
T
URE
H A RMONI A L P H I LO SOP H Y
I
S
S R
R
A
A N D I T S F OUNDER A NDRE W J A CK SON D A V I S M O D ER N

S PIRI T U A LI SM I T S U NIVER SA LI T Y O F P H ENOME N A

E PIL O G UE T O T H E DR A M A O F A R T M A G IC
SE C T I O N

327-334

335-34 6

346-3 64
3 65- 366

P U B LI S H E R S P R E FA C E

In sending out Art M agic to th e read ers of The Progressive

T hinker we do so with the rm convicti on that w e ar e presenting
them with a most remarkable book one th at will not only prove
ve ry interesting but highly instructiv e While many will not
endors e by any m e ans all that it contains yet they will n d t h ere
in a vaSt fund of hi storical spiritual philosophic al and occult i n
formation which will prove of p ri celess value
R eaders of Art M agic will nd in its pages much quaint

queer and curi ous l ore relating to occult subj ects and occult for
mulas an d practice s during all p ast history and among the various
esoteric cults that h ave ourish ed in the ages gone
Some of
these c lts are being revived in some de gree , at the present day
The student who wish e s to delve into the ancient myste ries
as tr aced in occult lore will nd this volume invaluable ; for here
is condens ed a vast fund of information th at could not otherwise
b e obtained without many years of patient research, an d with
access to rare and scarce sources of k nowledge
There has been for se v eral years a great demand for this work
by thinking minds as high as $ 2 5 being paid for a single copy
and even at that price the supply fell far short of the demand
The C opyright having nearly expired M r s Emma H ardinge Brit
ten gave s the privilege to republish the work thus giving to the
many what was only possessed by a sele c t few We are pr ofoun dly
thankful to thi s estimable lady for the privilege ; th e great g oOd
that will be accomplished thereby will redound to her credit
Just think of it about
Ghost Lands distributed in one
year and e v en m or e than that number of Art M agi c will be sent
forth as gifts to the subscribers of The Progressiv e Thinker on
c onditions set forth in that paper
J R FR AN C I S, P b li sh er
,

A U T H O R S P R E FA C E

The following pages were written at the solicitation of h i ghly

e steem ed European friends who de emed that the author s long
ear
of
experience
as
a
student
and
de
t
in
Spiritism
of
s
a
t
h
e
y
p
m any lands might furnish to th e world some valuable informa tion
concerning the mysteries of that spiritual comm union now so
pre vale n t throughout th e civilized world
In order to gratify these too p ar tial advisers th e a th or at
rst collated his personal experiences into a series of a tob i o
graphic al sketches t h e few rst c hapters of which were p u b lished
under t h e title of Ghost Land ; or R e searches into th e R ealm of

Spiritual Existence i n Emma Hardinge Britte n s high toned

American M agazine the Western Star

As the c alamitous
res which devas tat ed the city of Bos ton some ve or six ears
ago caused the suspension of M rs Britt en s excellent perio ical
the author determined to lay h i s papers aside for any use poster
ity might derive from them but the s ame frien dly spirit of ap
preciation which had dictated the transcri ption of the a tob i og
ra h
subsequently
pleaded
for
i
t
continuan
e
or
the
pre
ara
s
c
p y
t i on of a stil l more oc c lt w ork in which the much ne eded e si d
erat m
of a compre hensive philosophy covering the principle s
which underlie spiritual existence should be given to the world
as a basis on which to found the supe rstructure of spirit al
science
This suggestion w as too much in accordance wi th the a

thor s ha bits of tho ght to be lightly rejected

A h asty and
fragmentary sketch of the work was drawn up but when c om
pared with the vast el ds of untrodden revelation that yet r e
main ed to be gleaned the author would fain have committed his
abortive attempt to the am es an d trusted to time to unfold that
mighty realm of magical philosophy which can ne v er be disclosed

u
u

u
u
,

A U TH O R S PR EFAC E

11

in a single life time much le ss condensed into one v olum e But

the all too appreciative friends to whom the author s despair of
purpose was revealed thought otherwise
They deeme d the broken g leams of light submitted to them
were all s f ci en t for th e age in w h i ch they were to be given
and urg ed that the suggestions rendered belonged to humanity
and could not fai l to throw light upon many of the mysteries of
spiritual manifest ations
incognito
through
the
cities
of
the
United
Wh ilst wandering

S tates still seek i n g to add fresh records of Spiritualistic interest

to an already full treasury of facts the author had the pleas ure
of m eeti ng with h i s highly esteemed Englis h friend M r s Emma
Har ding e Britten In addition to urgent appe als from this a
th ori tati v e source to publi sh his book of magic the author was
farther tempted by the generous pr omise that he would b e r e
li eved of all the vexations and technical details of the publication
Shrinking with unconquerable repugnance from any en
counter with those butchers of human character self styled

critics whose chief delight i s to exercise their carving knives

upon the bo di es of slain reputations without regard to q ali
cation for the act of dissection and equally averse to entrusting
the dan g erous and difcult proces ses of magical ar t to an age
wherein e ven the most sacred elements of religion and Spirit
ali sm are so often p r ostituted to the arts of imposture or me a
n
trafc the author s reluctance to the proposed publication e v en
w ith all the advantag es o f his English friend s invaluable c o
operation would hardly have been conquered had not loved and
trusted Spiri t fri ends taken the helm of the storm tossed mind
and advising the excision of such passages as would be dangerous
to th e h alfinformed spirituality of the present age these well
tried counselors themselves suggested the conditions of publica

tion which they deemed most in harmony with the a th OI s

wishes an d position conditions subsequently embodied in the
circular which announced the publication p f this volume
The reception which that circular met with the unworthy
jibes sneers and c ruel insults which have been leveled against
the excellent lady who volunteered to stand between the author
an d his shrink ing spirit
h ave caused him the deepest remorse
for havi ng placed her in such a position an d induced a frequent
solicitation on his part that the publication of th e book should be
abandoned In c on di n g the management of this work to his
friends the author had entire condence that the invaluable
services rendered by the noble editress to the Spiritualists of
-

AUTH

12

OR

S PR E F A C E

America would have been sufciently appreciated to pro tect her

ag ainst misrepresentation and unjust attack
That these expectations have been so rudely di sappointed
only proves how much better the spiritual intelligences who di e
tate d the conditions of publication understood the elements to
be dealt with than the trusting mortals they counseled
That Emma Hardinge Britten has found ve hundred friends
I n
America who put faith alike in her judgment and honesty is
deemed by her as a sufcient triumph for one lifetime Should

th e author of
Art M agic nd ve hundred readers who can
appreciate its occult pages that sh all be esteemed as an equal
meed of recompense for his share of the work
Having already made confession of ineffi ciency to cope with
so vast a subj ect in so sma ll a space acknowledging that a mere
sketch is here presented instead of the full length portrait of A r t
M agic the author s mind had conceived and given to all whom
it may concern the ra tionale of how this publication came to be
launched upon the world we shall conclude in the quaint words
of R obert Turner the translator of Cornelius Agrippa s fo rth

boo k of O ccult Philosophy into English who in presenting

his introductory words to the public says :

There be four sorts of readers sponges which extract all

without distinguishing ; hour glasses which re c eive and pour out
as fast ; bags which retain only the dregs of spices and let the
wine escape ; and sieves which retain the best only Some there
ar e of the last sort and to them I present this O ccult Philosophy

knowing that they shall reap good thereby

A conclusion i n
which Dr R obert Turner is cordially j oined by
THE AUTH O R
,

E DI T O R S P R E F A C E

presenting the followi ng pages in an English dress I f eel

it necessary in my capacity as editor to excuse the m any short
comings to be found in its context on the following ground
The author of thi s work although a perfect master of the
English language in conversation fails to rend er h i s glowing
thoughts in writing with equal perspicuity
In p reparing these writings for the press I found many
Latin quotations and numerous foot notes encumbering the text
and to render th e rst into English by the aid of a better scholar
than myself and embody the second into the sense of the page
obliged me in many instances to sacrice the construction of the
sentences I interpolat ed In much of the idiomatic phras e ology
which appears in this work also I could have wished to effect
chang es but the pressure on my own professional duties leaving
me but litt l e time for literary occupation an d the haste enj oined
u pon me by the author who d esired to complete the work with as
little delay as possible induced me to trust th at the sublimity of
the sentiments the grandeur of int ention and the high toned
philosophy which pervades thi s noble work will make ample
amends for erfor s in orthography or foreign modes of expression
Trusting also that the warmly cherished friends who have
so generously and c on di n gly stood by me during the preparation
of thi s work will derive as much pleasure fr om its perusal as the
self appointed critics who have never read it see m to have de
rived from attacking its unknown contents and well known e d
i tor I close by commending it heartily to that brave ve hun
dre d who dare advance without fear or favor to the investigation
of Art M agic
New York
E M M A HA R DINGE B R ITTE N
ln

S P I R I T U A LI ST S DI VI DE D
Th

O PI N I O N

di v i de d v er y w i d e ly I n Opi i on T h e
in
m s do n ot a g r e e e v e n
sp e ak e s a n d m e di u
n

e y ar e

ost

pr om i n

en

h o r a,
r e fe r e n c e t o on e
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e
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e xc e
t h e e x i ste n c e o f an i m a ls o n t h e s p i r i t
g
e ath
s i e o f li fe
So m e e m p h a ti c ally e n y t h a t a n i m a ls s r v i v e t h e
e c la r e t h e y do
of t h e b o y , w h i le o t h e r s as e a r n e s t ly
T h e y i ffe r
a n d v a r i o s ot h e r s b
e q a lly a s w i e ly i n r e fe r e n c e t o re i n c a r n a t i o n
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n
e
c
e r s i ty
e
o
s
e
i
e
w
j
g y
g
i v e rs i e
of o p i n i o n s a n d c o n i c t , A r t M a g i c c a lm ly s te p s i n w i t h i t s
t h e or i e s , s ta t e m e n t s , O p i n i o n s, e t c , s i m p ly e m a n i n g a h e a r i n g , a n d
W h i le n o on e p e r so n w i ll p r ob a b ly e n o r se a ll i t c on ta i n s , t h e r e a e r
w i ll n d t h e r e i n
an
e x c e e i n g ly v a l a b le m i n e o f o c c lt lo r e t h a t
wi ll p r ov e i n te r e sti n g a n d i n s t r c ti ve , a n d th at , too, a t a n om i n al cost
an

u u

d d
d

u
.

d
d

u
d

T
F

A G I e

PA RT
'

I N T R O DU C T O R Y

Standi ng as we do upon the sublime heights to which the

progress of ag es has elevat ed us we are enable d to loo k back u po n
the footprints left b y the a sc ending feet of those who have pre
ceded s and take acc ount of every ob stacle they have sur
moun ted every impulse that has swayed them to the right or the
left and almost hear the pulse b e ats of the pilgrim h earts that
have throbb ed in re spons e to the eternal cry of Life s M arshals

O nward and Upward !

The piercing and an alytical ey e of
and d etermine almost
s cience can inv e st igate these footprints
with mathematical precision th e ph ysi cal cha r acteristics of the
bei n gs who have made them The speci es or class to which the
toile r b elonged becomes a letter in tha t alphab et wh er eb y science
as clearly unravels the unwritten past as the s c ale of a sh or the
fossiliferous imprint of a vanished organism can interp r et the
s pe cies and class to which the relic belo n ged ; but th e far more
penetrating gaz e of the s oul looking int o the meta physical
which underlie all physical effe c t s be holds an outstretched pano
rama of being which transcends those spheres of knowledge
bounded by physic al horizon s ; hence it can pi erce not only the
causes b t master also the ultimat e s an d controlling forces of
mortal existence
T o arrive at a C ompl ete apprehe n sio n of truth Or that which
i s w e m ust call up th e witness of that which w as that which
shall b e and that which m ov es as well as that wh i ch is moved
u pon T h e anatomi st wh o n um b ers p th e b ones , re cit es th e
,

u
,

"

ART

16

AGIC

names and describes the forms and f nctions of the tissues organs
and apparatuses which constitute the physical structure expl ains
nothing of the true man except the house he lives in
The physiologist who expl ains the motions which proc e ed
through out the wonderful housek eeping processes of human life
supplements in one degree the sci ence of anatomy but does no
more than his conte mporary by way of un v eiling th e mystery of
that being which inhabits the many sided structure O h how
lon
how wistfully and yet in wh at agonizing yearning for light
I h t upon the mystery of self knowledge light upon the prob
g
lems of who am I ? what am I whose am I ? whence do I come ?
and whither am I b o n dP has the I am of mortal existence
waited ! Can the answer ever be render ed ? If so it must come
from the realm of true knowledge the esoteric innermost from
whence and to which the exoteric is but a temporary pilgrim !
Those who have stood face to face with this esoteric sunbeam
who have beheld it vanishing behind the clouds of matter for
the span of a mortal term of existence but emergin g again into
the clear noonday radiance of a day which knows n o n i gh t a
r m am en t whose unbounded vistas e n shroud no mysteries a
realm of being limited only by the capacity of nite p erception
such an one surely has the right to s ay I k n ow an d such an one
writes and alleges he will re v eal the order of Di vine w isdom as
manifest in human existence an ! declared by the souls who have
lived and struggled b ehi n d the veil broken their way by the
sword of death through its misty envelopment and nally at
tai n e d to that breadth of vision where cause and effect cohere like
pe arls on the unbroken thread of destiny where past and future
lie outstretched in the boundle s s panoram as of a never b egin
ning never ending present
Any attempt to elucidate the problems of bei ng conducted
in one di rection and by one method alone must fail
Those philosophers who reason from induction alone only
arrive at a mayhap perception of truth nor do they fare any bet
ter who con duct their arguments through the half declared pro

cesses of deduction Both methods are es sential to master the

entire situation
The ory must prompt th e p ossibility of new discoveries and

facts must goad us on to the evolvement of new theories even

phenomena are needed to startle our self conceit from the arro
gant as sumptions of half enlightened half blind belief and fail
ures must follow on th e heels of success es ere we can presume to
erect a milestone on the p ath of destiny for th e guidance of oth
Wh en e v ery metho d h as b een exh a st ed an d all av en es to
ers

ART

18

M AGIC

SE C T I O N I

SPI R I T T H E G R EA T FI R ST C A U SE , T H E C O R N E R ST O N E

NI E R E M

A
T
T
I
U
ION
OL
R
ER
T
S
E XT EN
T
IMPENE T RA B ILI T Y E T HER F ORCE
SIO N D IVI SI B ILI T Y
AT T RA C T ION A N D R EPUL SION SPIRIT P RIMORDI A L W ILL
The Solar Universe of which the earth is a part c onsists of
M atter Force and Spirit
M atter is an aggregation of m i nute indestructible atoms
existing in th e four states kn own as solid i d gaseous and ethe
real The general attributes w h i ch distinguish matter i n the
t h ree rst conditions are indestructibility extension di visibility
impenetrability and inertia
By indestructibili ty is meant that property whi ch is the an
ti th esi s of annihi lation and utterly pre v ents the assumption that
a single atom of m atter however minute whether in the nes t
condition of air or the hardest of crystal can e v er be wholly put
out of existenc e
Extension is the property by which an atom of matter c an
be changed so as to occupy more or less space
Divisibility is the property b y which an atom can be di vided
or reduced to the smallest known particles and yet each particle
preser v e some c apacity for farth er subdivision
Impenetrability implies the impossibility of one atom occupy
I n
the
space
of
another
and
inertia
is
the
tendency
of
matter
;
g
to c ontinue either in that condition of rest or motion in which
it h as on c e been set by the application of force unti l another
force change s the former direction There are many other de
n i ti on s applicable to matter ; such as cryst alline
porous dense
elastic etc but the ve general properties enumerated above
wi ll suf ciently explain its nature for our present purpose
Ether is matter in so rare and sublimated a condition that its
di vi sibility into particle s is no l on ger possib l e to man i n his pres
HE

C ON ST

or T H E

,
.

ART

AGIC

19

tage of scienti c attainment It far transcends the rare

facti on of th e nest of gases hydrogen and lling up e v ery space
of the solar universe explored by m an not occ upied by particled
matter may with prop riety be called n par ti c led matter
Force is the life principle of b eing It is the second of the
grand Trinity of elements whic h constitute existence and r anks
therefore next to matter which it permeates vitalizes and mo v es
It is motion per se and though matter is never e xhibited without
it F orce a s we shall hereafter prove can exist without a mate
rial body for i ts exhibition
I ts attributes are dual and should be named At traction and
R epulsion
The vast and extend ed orbits of planetary bodies are marked
out and regulated by Force with its dual attri b tes n ow attract
ing the revolving s atellite to the cen tre now forcing it off into a
r elative point of distance but always m ai n tai n g it in a gi v en path
or orbit between the oscillations of its contending motions
Force is the unresting life which charges every atom of mat
ter and ts in organic masses to become organic It is Electricity
in the air ; M agnetism in the earth ; Galvanism between different
metallic particles cohesion disintegration gravitat ion c en tri p
etal and centrifugal forms of motion ; Life in plants animals and
men the aural astral or magnetic body of spirits
Spirit is the one primordial uncreated eternal i n n i te A lph a
and O me ga of Being
It may have subsisted independent of
Force and M atter evolving both from its own incomprehensible
but illimitable perfection ; but Forc e and M atter could never have
originated Spirit as its on e sole attribute comprehends and em
braces all others must antedate govern and surpass all others
and is itself the cause of all effects That attribute is Will
A s th er e are but two attributes of Force namely attraction
an d repulsion yet many varieties of modes in which attraction
and repu l sion are perceived so whilst there is but on e attr ibute
of Spirit namely Will there are many subordinate pr1 n 01 ples
emanating from Will Such are Love Wisdom Use Beauty
In t elligence Skill etc The most m arked and disti n ctive pro
c e d r e s are however nine ; namely Love
Wisdom and Power ;
Creation Preserv ation and Progress ; Life Death and R egener
ation
In M atter Force and Spirit then is the grand Trinity of
Bein g which constitutes the solar universe an d its inhabitants
R easoning from an alogy and still more founding upon the
assertions of wis e teach i ng angels and the vague shadows of an
t

en

u
,

<

M AGI C

ART

20

tique beliefs founded in a Spiritual enlightenment far in advance

of the present we have authority for supposing that the astral
and all other universes included in the illimitable elds of being
m ay have proceeded from and include the same primordial Trin
ity of elements and that Spirit Force and M atter form tha t stu
Ego
the
totality
of
which
to
nite
beings
is
vaguely
n
o
s
d
e
p
called God the separated units of which include Astral and Solar
Systems Suns Satellites Worlds Spirits M en , Animate and I n
an imate Things and Atoms
,

,
,

SE C T I O N I I

SPE C U LA T I O N R EG A R DI N G T H E O R I G I N O F M A N

CHEME
OF
OL
R
NIVER
S
E
T H E F A LL OF M A N B U T
H
A
T
T
S
E S
U
T H E SH A D O W
T H E F A LL O E SP IRIT M A N T H E M ICROCO SM
OF B EIN G H I S P R E E XI ST E NCE
All human beliefs that are derived from oral traditional
monumental or sacerdotal sources incline to ascribe the origin
of man to a purer an d more spiritualized cause than that of human
generation
The favorite and widely di ffused idea of the ancients that
man incurred the penalty of mortal birth and the disciplin e of a
mortal existence by disobedience pervades so universally the
foundations of all relig ious systems that i t demands from phil
osophy some more rational explanati on than the contemptuous

stigm a of myth
Whenc e comes myth and can it any more
explain the origin of ideas than a shadow can account for form
without a substance ? We can accept nothing learn nothing
hope for nothing from modern theology ; for it teaches no phil
osophy owns allegiance to no science and is amenable to no rs
i
m
n
r
e
e
t
of
reason
or
justice
And
yet
even
she
cherishes
in
s
q
h er usual materialistic way the dogmas of original sin and the
fall of man from a state of primeval innoce n ce
Who can render account of these opinions ? And since tim
can not quench them nor the devotees of classical lore and an

'
tique philosophy blot them out from th e w i sdom of the ages
why not seek to harmonize them with those glimp ses of an inner
and higher life with which all human records are so mysteriously
illuminated ?
The Fall of M an is but the shadow of a still diviner truth

the substance of which is The Fall of Spirit All existence

originates in Spirit As the curious mechanism of th e clock
the ship the steam engine are all creations rst of the mechan
HE

A R T M A GIC

22

ical mind in which their several parts are contained ere they can
become red ced to a material expression so the clockwork of the
sidereal heavens the worlds which s ail through the oceans of
space an d the mechanism of every org anized form from the
rounding of a dewdrop to the complicated structure of a man
must have had their origin in mind Since mind is but an attri
bute of Will and Will i s Spirit we cannot escape from the conclu
sion that the creation of th e physical universe is but the expres
sion of a spiritual idea The c r eation of a physical man i s no
more n o less The human race is the external expression of a
Spiritual idea because ideas mus t originate with spirit ere they
can be expressed in matter
T h e watch the ship the steam
engine are as much genuine creations of the soul before as after
they are modeled out in matter Should they never be thus 1 n
c ar n ate d they ha ve been and are
and e v er will remain in the
imperishable realm of spiritual entities
M atter c reates nothing
It is only the mold which Spirit
uses to externalize its ideas for the sake of external uses
The th i ngs which will appear as new inventions the methods
of science which will take their places as new discoveries on earth
i n ages yet nborn are all in imperishable existence n ow and ever
have been i n the eternal realms of spirit Can man be exempt
from this universal law of procedure ?
M an w h o is the microco sm of being the c onservator of all

forms of force all varie ties of matter can he be the sole e xc ep

tion to the all embracing order of Divine procedure ? O nly in
the superstitious and uns cientic belief of the bigot or the scarce
ly less unreasonable blindness of m ater i ali sin
M an w as a spirit
er e he was born into matter
In the primordial conditions of planetary life creatures so
nely organized as man could not be sustained henc e long ages of
preparatory growth were essential to t this or any earth for his
recepti on
When matter had been sufcientl y lab or ated by the success
ive births and de structions of millions of g enerations of organ
i ze d beings in the vegetable and animal kingdoms the earth
awaited the advent of a still higher and nobler creature than any
that had yet a pp e ared ; on e who should in its perf ection and
c r oc osm i c powers nish the work of creation
cap the climax of
animated being and close up the succession of m or tal for m s by
the introduction of an immortal being The earth called for
man and h e came H e was already an i mmortal existence a
spirit ; not a perfected self conscious individualized entity but a
H e was the
bright luminous emanation of the Divine mind
,

M AGI C

ART

23

Divine idea in the shape of the man that should be Angelic in

essence Spiritual in substance he lived in a paradise appropriate
to him pure and innocent but still wholly lacki ng in those ele
ments of love wisdom and power which can be perfected alone
through incarnation in a material body and progress through
robationary
states
p
That man existed as a pure spiritual being a sinless para
di sai cal unit previous to h i s incarnation in a material body is
not only the opinion of those sages of antiquity who studied from
the original books of life rather th an from records made and
altered to s it the purposes of successive ge n erations of interested
p riests but it is the witness of the human spirit itself ere it b e
or its memories
c ame bent and perverted by theological myths
were dimm ed by time and the more vivid impres sions of mortal
experiences In every primordial condition of the human family
the belief in a fall or desc ent of the spirit from heaven to earth
from purity to transgression is an unquenchable element in man s
nature Belief it can scarcely be call e d ; it is a memory growing
fainter and fainter as it recedes from i ts s ource but still an inde
str c ti b le link of connection in that chain of destiny which h as
nally incarnated the soul in a mor tal body
We shall close this section by citations from some few out of
t h e countless host o f authoritative m i nds who have favored the
opinions herein announced as the rationale of the rst act in the
Divine drama of human existence
.

ART

24

M A G IC

SU PPLE M E N T T O SE C T I O N I I

H I N DO O VE DA S T

H E O LDEST

WR I T T E N

SC R I PT U R ES

R G UMEN T S D ERIVED C H I EFLY FROM ANCIEN T H I ST ORY IN SU P

P ORT OF T H E P HILO SOPHY AFFI RMED IN T H E PRECEDI N G
P A G E S WI T H E XT R A C T S FRO M T H E VED A S
T h e oldest written Scriptures in existence are supposed to b e
the Hindoo Vedas
They repeatedly a ffirm th e original and independent e xist
ence of s pirit as the sole cre ative cause of Being an d claim that
m an
was an emanation from this di vine el ement that he w as
originally pure and good and that his existence on earth and his
successive transmigrations through various animal forms are sim
ply designed as p r i cati on s through which his soul may regai n
that alli ance with Brahm the Supreme Being which he has lost
by a descent from a spiritual to a material existence

'

E XT R ACT S F R O M THE VEDAS

T hat spirit who is n ot matter is one ; He is the i n c om pr e
h en si b le Being from whom all proceed to whom all must return

He is Brahm The Spirit

As ten thousand beams em anate from on e c en tr al re thus
do ten thousand souls emanate from H i m th e one Eternal soul

and return to Him

M ay this soul of mine which is a ray of perfect wisdom
pure intellect and eternal essence which is quenchless light and
eternal heat x e d within a changeful created body be r e united
by devout meditation an d di v i n e sci en c e with the Spirit s

l
r
m
e
blest
and
innitely
wise
e
y
p
In all clear and thorough analyses of the Egyptian mysteries
th e corn er st on e of belief rests on the as sumption that the First
.

26
th

ART

M AGIC

Somnambules of Alphonse C ah agn et a working man of Pari s

once a materialist ; a mere curious experimenter in the outset with
the modern m arvel of animal magnetism but one who as an i m
partial and intelligent interpreter of unlo c ked for revelations r e
c ei v e d th r O
h
m
the
agnetic
sleep
constitutes
one
of
the
best
and
g
least questionable of the witnesses for spiritual truth and revela
tion in the nineteenth century
About the year 1 8 4 6 or 7 M ons C ah agn et having become
v ery familiar with somnambulistic revelations from the world of
spirits and enjoying the privilege of t h i s communion through
several of the most re m arkable an d lucid subjects that the age
afforded received a number of communications affirm i ng the fact
of the soul s existence anterior to its a ppearance upon earth
Whilst de nying emphatically any belief in the doctrines of the
R e i n carn ati on i sts and declaring against it in the most posi tive
terms th e communicating spirits un i formly alleged that when
freed from the trammels of matter th e y all remembered having
lived in an ant erior state of purity and innocence as spirits ; that
they perceived how truly and wisely their earthly lives were de
s i gned for probationary purposes an d meant to impart vigor and
knowledge to the soul ; but that once undergone it was nev e r
again repeated and the return of the soul to its f orm e r Spiritual
s ta te was never i n terrupted by r e incarn ati ons on earth These
Spirits too alleged that the sphere of eternity afforded the souls
of evil or unprogressed men all the Opportunities necessary to
purify them from sin and its e ffects through innum erable stages
of progress
A witness so unexp ected as these spirits afford and revela
tion s so full of evid ence of thei r genuine character cannot be dis
missed without a few examples of their style of teaching
A spirit communicating with the ecst atic B runo says : We
are born and die but once ; when we are in heaven it is for eter

nity

?
Q Do we recollect our earthly existence

A
Yes and our anterior one als o

Q What anterior existence ?

A
Before appearing on earth m an lived in a Spiritual
Each
wor l d similar to the on e in which he lives on quitting earth
aw aits his turn in this world to app e ar on e arth an appearance

necessary a life of trials none can escape

Through the b e st of all M ons C ah agn et s Lucides Adele in
an interview with th e spiri t of the illustrious Swedenborg these
words were given : The life an terior whi ch we have all passed
throu gh was so to speak a l ife of nothin gness; of ch i ldbirth of
e

'

A R T M A G IC

27

happiness like that which we enj oy on our exit from the earth ;
b t this happiness cannot be comprehended because it is not ac
companied with sensations to prove it s sweet re ality ther efore
God has deemed t that we Should p as s through these successive

h
i
t
o
lives the r st on the glob s of w ch I Speak
you a l ife n

known Of beatitude devoid of sens ation the se cond the one

you enj oy a life of action s e n sation a p ainful life placed b e

tween th e two t o demonstrate through i ts contrast the sweetness
of the third the life of good and evil without whi ch w e should

not be able to appreciate the happy state res erved for us

M any more spirits communicating through di fferent media con
rmed these opinions an d elaborated upon their truth and reason
ablenes s but th e limitation of our space forbids further extracts
In one of the principal cities of Hindostan there resides in
the very focus of religious and political conservatism a noble
Hindoo whose o fcial rank and standing is by no means com
mensurate with his extreme poverty Bound by t h e latter r e
striction and a careful observ ance of the forms and ceremo n i als
which belong to his nation he is compelled to hide in the depths
of his highly spiritualiz ed and intellectual nature the e xtr a or di
nary revelati ons that have been made to him from inv isible a
th or s th r o gh the mediu m ship of his little n i ece a chi ld of some
twelve years old In the presence of this little one whole quires
of blank paper are rapidly lled up by no visib le hands an d with
o t even the ordinary appliances of p e ns pencils or ink
It is enough to lay the blank sheets on a tripod carefully
s cr eened from th e direct rays of light but still dimly visible to
the eyes of attentive observers The child sits on the ground
and lays h er he ad on the tri pod em b r aci n g its sup p orts with her
little arms In this attitude Sh e most commonly sleeps for an
hour during whi ch time the sheets lying on the tripod are lled
up with exquisitely formed characters in the ancient San scrit
O ver four volumes of these writings have be en thus produced
and that in something less than a period of three years
Questions are often laid in simple H i n dostan ee On the tri
pod when information is sought by the famil y oi the Hindoo
and the responses are always found embodied in some portions
of th e next writin gs received
In answer to several questions concerning the ori gi n of Soul
and the doctrine of its transmigration through the forms of ani
mals one of the Sanscrit writings contained the following sen

'

ten

ces

That the Soul is an emanation from Deity and in its ori gi

al essence is al l purity truth and wisdom is an axiom which the
,

A R T M A GI C

28

disembodied learn when the powers of memory are s ci en tly

awakened to perceive the states of existence anterior to mortal
birth In the P aradises of purity and love souls spri ng up like
blossoms in the all Father s garden of immortal be auty It is
the tendency of that Divine nature whose chief attributes are
Love and Wisdom Heat and Light to repeat itself eternally and
mirror forth its own p erfections i n scintillations from itself
These sparks of heavenly re become souls and as the effect must
Share in the nature of the cause the re w h i ch warms into life
also illuminates into light henc e th e soul emanations from the
Divine a r e all love and heat whilst the illumination of light
which streams ever from th e g r eat central Sun of being irradiates
all souls with corresponding beams of light Born of love which
corresponds to Divine heat and warmth and irradiated with
Light which is Divine wisdom and truth the rst and most pow
e r f l soul emanations repeated the action of their Supreme O rigi
nator gave off emanations from their own being some higher
so me lo wer the highest tending upward into Spiritual essences
the lowest forming particled matter These denser emanations
following out the creative law aggregated into suns satellites
worl ds an d each repeating the story of creation suns gave birth
to sys tems an d every member of a system became a theatre of sub
ordinate states of Spiri tual or material existence
Thus do ideas descend into forms and forms ascend into
ideas Thus is the growth development and progress of cre
ation endless an d thus must spirit originate and ever create worlds
of matter for the purposes of i ts own progressive unfoldment
Will the mighty march of creation never cease ? Will the
cable anchored in the heart of the great mystery Deity stretch
out forever ?

Forever ! Shout the bl azing suns l ea ping on in the ery

orbits of thei r Shining life and trailing in their glittering pathway
te n thousand satellites and meteoric Sparks wh irling ashing in
their j eweled crowns all embryonic germs of n ew young worlds

that Shall be
Earths that have attained to the capacity to s pport organic
life nec essarily attract it Earths demand it Heaven supplies
it From whence ? As the earths groan for the lordship of s
perior beings t o rule Over them the Spirits in their distant Edens
hear the whispers of the tempting serpent the animal principle
the urgent intellect which appealing to the blest souls in their
distant paradise s ll them with indescribable longings for change
for b r Oade r Vistas of knowledge for mightier powers ; they would
be as the gods and know good and evil ; an d in this urgent appeal
,

u
,

u
,

ART

AGIC

29

of the earths for man and this involuntary yearning of the spiri t
for intellectu al knowledge the union i s effected between the t w o
and the spirit becomes precipitated into the realms of matter to
undergo a pilgrimage through the probationary states of earth
and only to regain its p aradise again by th e fulllment of tha t
pilgrimage
When Spiri ts lived as such in paradise emanation s from a
spiritual Dei c source they kne w no sex nor reproduced their
kind
When they fell and th e earth like magnetic tra c t
ors drew them within the vortex of its grosser element they b e
came what the earths compelled them to be In the earlier ages
of these gro w ing worlds the conditions of life were rude an d
Violent hence the creatures on them partook of thei r nature
Then too rst obt ai ned the nature of sex and the law of genera
tion To people these earths man like the other living crea
tures must reproduce his kind All things in matter are male
and female ; minerals plants animals and men
Spirit the
creative energy is the m asculine principle that creat es ; nature
the passive recipient is that which germi nates ; hence creation

M an must obey the law ; hence sex and generation

M yriads
M an lives on many earths before he reaches this
of worlds swarm in space where the soul in rudimental states p er
forms its pilgrimages ere he reaches the large and Shining planet
named the Earth the glorious function of which is to confer
self consciousness At this point only is h e man ; at every other
stage of his vast wild j ourney he is but an embryonic being a

eeting temporary Shape of matter a creature in which a part

but only a part of th e high imprisoned soul Shines forth ; a rudi
m ental shape with rudimental functi ons ever living dying sus
taining a eeting Spiritual existence as rudimental as the ma
ter i al Shape from whence it emerged ; a buttery sp ri nging up
from the chrysolitic shell but ever as it onward rushes in new
births new deaths n e w incarnations anon to die and live again
but s till stretch upward still strive onward still rush on the
giddy dreadful toilsome rugged path until it awakens once

more once more to live and be a material Shape a thing of dust

a creature of esh and blood but now a man

It is from the dim memory that the soul retains rst of its
original brightness and fall next of its countles s migrations
through the various undertones of being that antedate its appear
ance on this earth as a man, that the belief in the doctrine of the
met empsychosis ( transmigration of souls thr ough the animal
kin gdom ) has ar isen
Yet it is a sin against di vine truth to belie v e that the ex
,

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alted soul that has once reached the dignity and upright stat ure
of manhood Should or could retrograde into the bodies of creep

ing things or crouching an i mals Not so not so I

In the eeting images which antec edent states leave on the

piri
ual
br
a
in
in
the
half
e ffaced and half imperfect perceptions
S
t
of existence which each new stage of progress and each successive
j ourney through various lower earths leav e like an unquiet ill
remembered dream on the Spiri t s consciousness the past becomes
co n fused with the present and something of what we h ave been
imposes i ts Shado w across the path of the future as a dim possi
bili fy of what we m ay be

After the soul s birth into humanity it ac q i res self con

and closing up
sc i o sn ess knowledge of its own individuality
forever its career of material transform ations with th e death of
the mortal body it gravitates on to a fresh series of existences in
purely spiritual realms of being Here the farther p ri c ati on s
of the soul comm ence anew ; commence with that sublime at
tribute of self knowledg e which enables even the wickedest spirit
to enj oy and pro t by the change for me mory supplies him with
lessons which urge him to struggle forward into conquest over sin
and prophetic Sight stim ulates him to aspire until he shall attain
by well directed effort the sublime heights of purity and good

ness from which he fell to become a mortal pilgri m

The triumphant souls who enter He aven by e ffort are God s
ministeri n g angels Angels of power wisdom strength and
beauty The dwellers in the primal states of Eden are only Spir

its The rst are God men heavenly men strong and mighty
Powers Thrones Dominions World Builders glorious h i er ar
chi es of Sun bright Souls who nevermore can fall Spir its are
but the breath the spark the shadow of a God ; Angel s are Gods
in p erson
During the various transitional states of the
soul in passing through th e myriads of forms an d m yriads of
earths whereon their probations ar e outwrought the changes are

during the
all effected by a process analogous to huma n death
period that subsists ere the soul expelled from one material shape
enters another the drifting spirit still enveloped by the magnetic
aural body which binds it to the realm of matter becomes for its
sh or t term of intermedi ate Spiritual e xi stence an Elementa ry

Spirit
'

'

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AGIC

SE C T I O N I I I

DE I T Y T

s T

31

H E SU P R E M E B EI N G O F B EI N G S

H ERE O N E OR M A NY G OD S W H O C A N KNO W T H E U NKNO W

NO WN L E A D U P T O WH A T H A S B EEN
A B LE M A Y N O T T H E K
D EEMED T H E U NKN O WA B LE ?

It is easier for the imagination to rest upon the idea of one

God than m any and still more natural for the soul of man to
accept of Polytheism than Atheism
The utter i n sufciency of any argument which attempts to
i es the nite mind
Shut out an idea beca se its m ag n i t de b a
has never been more completely demonstrated than when man
the puny shadowy phantom who i ts through a few sand grains
of time and then disappears for an eternity attempts to argue
against the existence of any higher being than himself Simply
because he by his sensuous perception c an not apprehend it
No man can by sensuo s perception apprehend the exist
ence of his own soul Socrates well understood this truth when

he said I respect my soul though I cannot se e it and the Apos

tle Paul equally well appreciated its force when he declared that
the Spiritual man alone could judge of the things of the Spirit
From th e revelations of spirits who are in the experience of
spiritual entities and the sublime imaginings of those who in th e
childlike faiths of antiqui ty were n earer to God than are th e
mammon worshipers of to day will we erec t our scheme of the
Divi ne Godhead surroundi n g the noble tem ple with such a sca f
folding of testimony as will enable every reader to climb to th e
highest pinnacle of thought which th e nite mind can reach

That God is a Spiri t and t h e eternal uncreated self

existent and innite realm of Spirit is God none c an deny w h o
profoundly analyze the depths of being pointed to in our rst
two Sections ; but as to the m ode i n which God can be appr e
,

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AGIC

hended or whether there be one or many Gods remain questi ons

open to much broader elds of sp eculation
Were it not more in th e order of these writings to present
th e res lts of v as t m en tal str ggles and the conclusions drawn
from researches which have only permitted the panting Soul to
pause for brea th at the gates which lead from one stage of innity
to another we should precede our own denitions of Godhead
by the opinions of the authorities we propose to cite ; but th e
responsibility of afrmation is ours and surrounded as we are

by a cloud of witnesses who wave the lustrous banners of spir

i t al truths above our pag e how c an we hesitate or in the cold
world s materialistic phrase why fear to commit ourselves to
op inions we know in our Soul to be Divine truth ?
The Solar System of w hich our earth is a part moves around
the physical sun as a centre of light heat and attraction
By well dened astronomical laws we know that this Solar
System forms only a par t of a larger and far grander aggregation
of starry worlds c alled the Astr al System
The exact centre of thi s system is not arr i ye d at yet all the
observations of astronomy point to such a pivotal centre and the
known laws of Science determine that in the visible uni v erse all
motions proceed in and are sustai n ed by the dual modes of cen
tr i f gal and centripetal force
That the stars discovered by
as tronomical Science are only a pa r t of an array of systems w h i ch
occupy the spaces of in n i ty is an axiom universally ack n ow lf

edged ; hence indeed the terms inni ty an d boundless as

applied to the sidereal heav ens ; b t in the mi dst of that unknow
able which stretches away into vistas where the glass of the
astronomer cannot penetrate and the mind of the most aspira
ti on al becomes palsied e v en there the steadfas t helm of physic al
science guides the Ship an d prophesies of an inevitable port of
knowledge yet to be reached

The law which rounds a dew drop Shapes a world and the
pri nciples w h i ch inhere in one System prevail throughout space
We c annot nd a telescope th at will pierce into the Astral Centre
nor resolve all the oating masses of nebulae that crowd the
galaxy into blazing Suns ; but we know by analogy that that
Centre and those Suns exist and th at the only horizon that shuts
them out f rom human di scovery i s human ignorance an d
incap acity
In the mids t of all our baf ed wisdom and enlig htened i gn o
rance physical Science an d spiritual re v elation supplementin g
each oth er as s r e us th er e is on e grand central S n of b ein g
,

34

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AGIC

SU PPLE M E N T T O SE C T I O N I I I

EA R LY C O N C E PT I O N S O F T H E H I N DOOS

O PINION S O F ANCIEN T
I ST S C ONCERNIN G
SU PREME B EIN G

ODERN P HILO SOPHER S A N D SPIRI T

N A T URE A N D INDIVID UA LI T Y OF O N E
M

A ND

T H E

The best of Philologists agree in attributing to the nations

or people s c alled Ary an or Indo European the rst linguistic
records w e pos ses s
M en do not in v ent names for things of which they have no

idea
T h e Word h as al ways been recogni zed as the ttest Symbol

of Truth an d the purest mani festation of Deity

The Aryan
nam e for God w as Di v which signies The clear light of
and this word has become the root word of all worship for untold
ages until we arrive at its mod ern appellative Deity
In fragmentary accounts given of th e most early histori c
people classied as Aryan it is as serted that th ey k ept res con
stan tly burning as their chief element in religious worship
Fus
tel de Coulanges in his ne epic ( for such it is ) entitled La

Cite Anti que published in Paris in 1 8 7 0 clearly pro v es that

the Aryan s religious belief reco gni zed in re the symbol of God
i n light his wisdom i n material forms an expression of his

potential word a n d i n Guardi an Spirits his M inistering Angels

or tute lary deities

When we trace th e e arly conceptions of the Hindoos that

most ancient of contemplative men those children of the Spirit
who communed with Nat re s God through the profoundest study

of Nature herself w e nd they cherished ideas so exalted of th e

First Great Cause that they v ent red not to embody their
thought of Him in any form symbo l or even to as sign Him a
n a me
-

'

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35

The Supreme Being was with them the Unknowable and

Only became typied as Brahm which interpreted signies T h e

Void T h e Silent R egion which cannot be pierced the n fath

That the hum an
om ab le which cannot be ga ged or understood
mind might rest on a Providenti al scheme the Sages of India
taught that there were three Subordinate emanations from th e
First Great Cause who embodied th e Grand Trinity of h i s Dei c
attributes This primordial T rinity consisted of Brahma the
Creator ; Vishnu the Preserver ; and Siva the Destroyer and R e
producer
Each of these Dei c emanations were so intimately con
n e c te d in the Hindoo mind with the attributes of heat and light
that the earliest H i n dostan e e worship may with truth be
assumed to have laid the foundation of that stupendous system
known i n later ages as the astronomical religion A large pro
portion of the Vedas the oldest of the Hindoo Scriptures con
sist of epics in praise of Light ; accounts of the miracles out
wrought by the mighty Sun God ; invocations to the spirits of the
ai r moon
stars the sacred re and different elements M any
are the prayers addressed to Indra the starry robed R uler of the
constellated heavens as well as to the spirits of different depart
ment s of the Universe Fire was h eld sacred in every househol d
and employed in all sacerdota l rites The very shape of the
pyramidal Temples or the blunted pylons signied the all per
vading reverence of the Hindoo mind for the symbol of the tape r
ing ame
In one of the most ancient of the Vedic hymns addressed
to the H er an yagarb h a occurs the following passages :
In the beginning there arose the Sourc e of golden light
He w as the only born Lord of all that is He estab lished the
earth and the sky To what other God shall we offer s acri ce ?
He through w h om th e Sk y is bright and the earth is rm ; who
measured out the light in the ai r To what other God etc etc
Whe rever the mighty water clou ds went ; where they placed
the seed and lit the re ; thence arose He who is the only life 6f
the bright Gods To what other God etc etc
There was neither entity nor non entity then
neither
atmosphere nor Sk y beyond
Death was not nor therefore
immortality ; nor day nor night That O ne breathed breathless
by itself There was nothing di fferent from it nor beyond it
The covered germ burst forth by mental heat ; then rst came
Love upon it the Spring of min d The rays shot across and
there were mighty powers producing all things Nature beneath

an d Energy above
,

ART

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AGIC

The Vedic hymns are nearly all invocations to the Solar an d

Astra l sources of light and heat the Vedic philosophy specula
tions on the origin of Being ever r e af rm i n g the inuence of
Solar and Astral agency in Creation
The following pass age descriptive of the Hindoo s God will
convey an idea of h i s sublime concep tions of Deity :
Heaven i s his head ; the sun and moon are his eyes ; the
earth his feet ; space his ears ; air his breath He is the Soul of
the Universe The Sun of all luminaries All Creation derives
light from him alone The wise call him the Supreme Light

giving Spirit
In the Egyptian and Persian Theogony the direct ac k n owl
e dg m en t of one Supreme Bein g corr esponding to the Sun and
its attribut es is as marked as in th e Aryan and Indian records
The elaborate woof of Grecian and R oman M yth ology p artake
of the same golden thre ads of b elief and whilst ramifying into
a complete system of Polytheism still refer back to the Indian
and Egyptian idea of Creation springing from one Supreme
Sour c e and this a spiritual centre of h e at or creati v e energy an d
light or creative wisdom
In the O r phic Songs the one rst Great Cause celebrated
as Zeu s is more completely associated with the Egyptian idea of

a Sun God a spirit without parts or passion se x or nature

than in the theories of later philosophers O rpheus the Sag e,
to Whom the introduction of Egypti an Theogony i n to G ree ce is
mainly due chants thus of the Supreme Being :
Zeus is male Zeu s is female Zeus is the Spirit of all things
Zeus is the rushing of uncreated re Zeus is the king ; he is the
sun and moon Zeus is the mighty power the demon the one
mighty frame in which this universe revolves He is re and
water earth and ether day and night All things unite in the

body of Zeus
Pythagoras Plato Socrates Aristotle and other of the most
distinguished Grecian sages taught more directly of God as a
Spirit and as th e source from which all subordinate gods pro
,

c e e de d

Passing on to the mediaeval and still later ages we nd the

most illuminated of the M ystics either reafrming the ancie n t
beliefs of India and Egypt in the Great Central Sun or claimin g
to receive conrmation of this truth from spiritual inspi ration
direct revelations or intercourse with superior orders of being
Co r nelius Agrippa Parac el sus Jacob Behmen and Sweden
borg taught th is idea of Deity with more or less distinctnes s
Swedenb or g in particular wh o elevates his c onception of Jes s
,

u
.

M AGI C

ART

37

C hrist i nto the Lord, from whom and to whom , all th e activiti e s
,

return

of the Created Universe proceed and

clearly teaches that

the Lord is only seen as a Sun In his essay on Creation b y

Two Sun s he afrms that The Sun of Heaven i s the Lord th e

light there is Divine truth and th e heat there i s Divine goo d
which proceed from the Lord as a S n
From that ori gi n are all

things which exist an d appear i n th e heavens

Again he says :
That th e Lord actually appe ars in heaven as a Sun h as not only
been told me by the angels but has also been given me to se e
several times wherefore wh at I have see n and heard conc erning
the Lord as a Sun I would here desc r i be etc , etc
O f still more recent date are the teachings of certain spirits
claiming to have had a mo rt al existence m any thous ands of years
a o but who found themselves impelled to return to earth during
g
the great spiritu al outpouring of the last quarter of a century in
the United States of America We shall quote fro m those who
manifested their presence at the Spirit house of Jonathan Koon s a
farmer residing in th e remotest wilds of Athens County O hi o
and who gave their testimony speaki ng through trumpets with
an audible voice under circumstances which deed the prob ab i l
ity of collusion or imposture and with a power and spirituali ty
of tone and presence acknowledged by all who heard them to have
been truly sublime and authoritative
T h e communications given by these spirits orally were tran
scribed b y th ose present and subsequently corrected b y them

selves others were written by spirit hands in the presenc e of

many witnesses or found in locked drawers From the M SS
preserved of these wonderful writings the history of the Athens
County manifestations are elabo rately described in H ar di n g e s

Twenty Years History of M odern American Spiritualism and

it is from th e page s of this highly aut hentic work that we submi t
the following excerpt
The author says :

These spirits declar e that there is an electric element

di vided through space by another element which bears no a f n i ty
to it ; that spirits at leas t s ch as communicate with earth c ann o t
thems el ves penetrate this interior element ; in fact to thei r appr e
h en si on no one in the uni verse can do so save only God and t h i s
;
my sterious innermost with all its hidden and impenetrable glo

ries is called by the spirits the s b ter uid They declare that
the electric element form s the various path s in which planets
an d all other known bodies in space travel and move in their r
e
spe c ti ve orbits but that nothing visi b le to s irits or
com pr eh en
p

ART

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M AGI C

ible to them as of an organic nature can penetrate the realm s

of the s b ter uid yet it divides and permeates all space and
seems to hold in control the innite realms of the electric ele

ment R ays of light however they say can and do penetrate

the s b ter uid as they appear to i ssue from and return to it

incessantly Also There is a grand central territory in the uni

verse known to exist by all spirits and in all worlds It embraces
illimitable though unknown realms ; yet its position as a vast cen
tral point is dened from the fact that from thence and to
thence seem to trend all the illimitable lines of attraction gr
tati on
and force which connect terrestrial bodies and link to
gether rm am en ts teeming with lives and systems All the
innumerable r m am en ts spangled with an i n n i t de of solar and
astral systems seem to revolve around an d derive attractive and
living forces from this unknown centre Sometimes it i s called

the Celestial R ealm Again The Central Sun Heaven God

The Innite R ealm The Eternal Life

While rm am en ts
thickly sown with suns and revolving satellites appear but as
s pecks of li ght in comp arison with the in conceivable vastness of
this celestial labor atory i nvisible and boundless as it is from
which ows out through all universes the centrifugal and cen

tri petal forces of being

In C ah agn et s Celes tial Telegraph se veral spirits comm a

n i cati n g through celebrated Somnambules startled their hearers
preconceived opinions on the subjec t of Deity by afrming posi
ti v ely that he was s een and known by highly exalted angels as a
Grand Central Spiritual Sun
Through th e ecstatic Bruno it was asked : Do angels such

as you describe your Guardian Gabriel to be see God ? A Yes

Q In what form ? A In that of the Sun Q Is it our ter

r e str i al Sun ?
A No ; there is in the heaven of heavens but one
Sun which is the Spiritual Sun the form in which God appears
O ur terrestrial sun is but the reection of the rays dispensed from

the gr eat Central S piritual Sun which is God

The Hindoo child seeress Sanoma heretofore referred to
also afrmed when in ecstati co a t the tender age of ve years
when her infant mind had never b ee n impressed with one sin gle
idea of theolo gy that the G od of the un iverse was a Spiritual S n
whilst all the s ns and stars visible or invisible to the naked eye
derived their light and heat only from Him When question e d
by Sir J ames M ac kintosh the eminent astronomer whether the
sun of our solar system was not an incandescent body an d the
originator of all the ligh t and heat received by his s atellite s she
s

"

ART

AGIC

39

emphatically denied that it was so and exposed with wonderful

in her lisping child like tone but with penetrating
a cumen
scientic arguments the fallacies of those astr onomer s who en
deav or to defend the incandescent theory of the sun s body
This youth ful ecstatic a f rmed that all the light and heat in
the universe proceeded from the great Central Spiritual Sun and
was reected fro m thence to e very body in space according to i ts
size si t uation and the en er gy of th e centrifugal and centripet a l
forces operating between s ns s atellites and syst ems
D ring an unbroken system of com munion extending over
a period of nearly half a century between the author of these

pages and sp i rits of various degrees during perceptions of

a ngelic spheres observed by his liberated spirit amongst the
realms of the wise an d blest similar testimony to the existence
of a Deity who is no mystery to His creatures h as been rendered
It seems strange and not in the order of the Providenti al
scheme that the one sole mystery of the universe should be the
Being most capable of originating revel ation namely a Firs t
Great Cause But has this Suprem e O ne been a mystery from the
beginn i ng ? or would He have contin ed so if man in his ego
ti sm and pride had not attered himself with the assumption
th at s b or di n ate beings tutelary spirits and even spe c i ally i n
spired men we re the real Gods of the Universe condescendi n g
to come and m i nister in person to h m anity ? Did n o t the rst
m e n of the earth fresh i n their pri m itive inspiration from Deity
Have not the P r oph
r ightly apprehend Him in the beginni n g ?
ets Seers M agians M ystics and modern Ecstatics ever per
c e i v e d and known God in gleams of the original brightness
dimmed by ages of m aterialism and perverted by gl oomy earth
made theolog ies ? Wherever the voices of the angels nd rever
berating echo es in human inspiration there this Great M ystery
of God is solved in the revealment of the uncreated self existe n t
innite and etern al Spiritual Sun f om which emanate and to
which return all rays of life light heat germinative creative
an d sustaining power
Wherever we se e the people of e arth stra y i ng a w ay in sea rch
of human idols striving to discover in their God man made man
shaped and man like personalities ; w h erever we see an interested
ignora n t and selsh priesthood enslaved by their own passions
aiming to k eep the people enslaved to their
an d preju di ces

opinions there look to n d the face of the Innite veiled in

mystery ; the truths of Godhead na tural sci ence and spiritu al
inspiration crowded back i n to th e re alms of myster y; and m ys
tery the mother of all abo m inatio n s setting up idols for human
,

'

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MA

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worship which change with the customs of the age and the fash
ion of the hour To drown the voice of Spiritual science and that
reason which insists that th e most obvious existence in Creatio n
must be C r e ati on s A th or the epithets of Pagan He athen

Indel Heretic Fire Worshiper and Blas phemer have be e n

shouted through th e highways of life s common places and still
echo in o r ears even in this analytical nineteenth century ; for
the rule of M ystery Babylon the Great The M other of Harlots
and Abominations of the Earth is n o t yet broke n and until it i s
h er votaries will ght for her and perish soul and body for her ;
an d all the while the light will b e
shining in the darkness

though the darkness c om pr eh e n deth it not

in his primitive appear anc e on earth came only as a
M an
poor untutored savage the mere form of the being he w as to b e
come only a prophecy of the Lord of Creation he should be
As he emerged from savagism to the dawn of an intellectu al
morning the perception of his descent from an antecedent sphere
of spiritual existence possessed his memory and a p erception of
his return to that blest state of purity and h appiness i n spired his
power of previ sion
His gradually awakening intellect taught him to an alyze an d
understan d himself Casting about for the causes of existence
the supports on which it res ted and the aims for which he lived
man dedicated all his ear liest powers of mind to reli gion Even
h i s e arliest triumphs in the arts of civilization were but used as
mean s to the one end H i s superb temples of worship h i s solemn
preparations for another life and his colossal monumental records
of his religious beliefs remain almost imperishable evidences of
h i s deep an d undivided interest in the problems of religion ; whi lst
of his social and commercial pursuits only the i n ost fragmentary
an d unimporta nt vestiges can be found
India Egypt Arabia
the recesses of the mighty Himalayas and the giant Koh Kas th e

lovely v al es and smiling plains of Asia vales blooming like

glimpses of the fabled Ede n an d savage wilds deserted now deso
late and ruined all bear witness to the unquenchable devotion
of the early man to his religious belief ; all are thickly str ewn over
with colos sal remains of that stupendous system in which tha t
belief found expression The burning lands of the O rient are one
vast Bible overwritten with distinct asseverations t hat to the early
man God was not the Unk nowable and religious faith was no
mystery Whence came this faith if not from m an s intuitive
knowledge an d the obvious facts of creation ? Sun moon stars
the constellated glories of th e heavens their eternal order an d
their maj estic march throu g h i n n i ty these were scri p tur es in
,

'

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42

SE C T I O N I V

H O W T R A DI T I O N S BEC O M E SC R I PT U R ES

S
ANCIEN T F O R M OF
OR HIP T H E A ST
.

H E

M O ST
R ELI G ION ,
G OD S

OR

T H E

SUN B E A M

SY ST

EM

RONOMIC A L
SOL A R A N D A ST R A L

The shelves of any ordinary sized library could be entirely

lled with fragments of literature conce r ning the worship of the
ancients and t h e peculiar character of those myths which h ave
been preserved fro m the remotest d ays of antiquity an d n ow
underlie all the present systems of theological belief It is a r e
mar kable fact that notwithstanding the vas t collection of writ
ings extan t on this subj ect there is no one compendious and
accessible text book from which the masses generally could derive
reliable information and as similate the knowledge thus widely
diffused ; an d it is no less worthy of observation that whilst the
mythical char acter of early worship is stamped with unmistakable
delity upon every f orm of modern theology this damaging fac t
seems to make no difference in the idolatrous veneratio n with
which the modern worshiper clings to the items of his faith ; on
the contr ary whilst the eviden ce accumulates around h i m tha t
the i deas to which he r en der s di vi n e h omage are paraphrases of
ancient ctions he all the more sturdily battles for his idol and
denounces every attempt to shake the authenticity of legends
which he translates into divine revelations
Perhaps it i s for want of an authentic text book ; perhaps
because the literature of th e subj ect i s too widely diffused and
broken up into too many scattered fragments that this apathy
of idolatry pr evails so universally and tha t the common sense and
intelligence of the nineteenth century is contented to bow down
with purse an d person before lifeless husk s from which the spirit
h as depart ed ; the husks which at best only contain e d in thei r
original form the spirit of an impersonated myth
,

'

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M AGIC

ART

43

It i s not for the sake of converting one single idolator of th e

ninet eenth century that we now write It is not with the desire
of pr ovm g to any sincere worshiper of the name of Christ that
he is ado ring the Sun God of the ancients that we now collect
the torn fragments of the great O siri o body and present a con
crete though necessarily microscopic view of the original str e
ture When the idolatries of r e wors hip have done their work
their perversions will die the natural death which the divine order
of the universe demands ; until that time arr ives we write for the
t r uth s sake alone ; let who will accept or reject us Truth i s

which unlocks all mysteries furnishes the

th e M aster s Word
clue to all religious beliefs underlies the magical history of the
race and therefore i ts free enunciation i s demanded in this work
At what period the early man rs t commenced to worship
t h e starry host of heaven or in what n ation th e germ w as rs t
planted of th at stupendous system which overl ai d the e arth with
temples and survived all the wrecks of chance change and time
none can say We nd the m anifestation of its completeness only
when humanity had acquired th e art of recording its opi n i ons
in picture writing symbolical engravings hieroglyphical and
alphabeti c al Scriptur e s
Traditions come wafted down the ages on the tongues of men
with an impress as authoritative as graven Scriptures ; for ere men
had learned to record their thoughts they depended on memory
for their preservation ; hence they cultivated and strengthened
this faculty held i ts integrity sacred an d hence the perpetuity
and universality of or al traditions
Tradition a frms that when the mind of m an rose out of the
lethargy of savagism to t h e dawn of re ason an d bec ame red with
all those anxious inquisition s into the n ature of caus e an d e ffect
which reason prompts he began to perceive that all the grand
machinery of nat r e was coincident with the apparition and di s
appearan ce of th e r e splen den t lights which Spangled the canopy
of the over arching heavens The God whom his ear liest percep
tions re cognized in th e maj estic Sun was unquestionably the
source of those cli m actri c changes which formed the principal
theme of his primal studies
To cultivate the ground feed and protect his ocks and
determine the best times to perform the simple duties of agri c l
turi st and herdsman it became necessar y to Study the succession
of the seas ons and consider not only the familiar alt ernations
of n i ght and day but the equally importa nt order which marked
the change s in tides and times together with all th e v ariations
of climate and their effects in heat and cold
.

ART

44

M AGI C

None could fail to observe that e v ery change on th e face of

n ature k e pt step with the succession of cert ain solar and astral
phenomena
From the e arly dawn of these perceptions up to the maturity
of the stupendous astronomical religion man learned to read the
ery Scriptures of the skies and the ever mobile face of nature
with a profound depth of nderstanding
How many ages it required to outwork a complete th e ology
from the book of nature an d the starry he av ens man may nev er
determi ne
Thought grows fast or slowly according to the amount of
momentum that i s imparted to it The world is very old in rela
tion to that s ccession of changes we call time
M illions of years hav e been consumed in laying down the
rocky walls that extend from th e circumference to the interior
of the e arth s c rust It occupied the world builder s untold age s
to develop a spear of moss or a tuft of lichen from a mass of
primary granite Time is noth i ng in the issues of di vine p r
poses ; a second or a billion of ye ars are but indi ces on th e di al
plates w hich m ark the rounds of eternal progress and sinc e the
rst human worshiper veiled h i s adoring eyes in the passion of
his soul s communion with the Spirit who dwells in the orbs of
primal light up to th e age when reverend scholarly men wer e set
apart by the busy multitude to watch the order of m arching

worlds from the high towers of the early episcopacy many s e

cessions of times seasons generations an d ag es had come an d
gone The constellated heavens had b een studied o t ; char ts had
been drawn ; nu m eric al Bibles written The Starry legions h ad
been divided into geometrical proportions an d their motio n s cal
c late d with mathematical precision
Even the forward move
ment of the entire solar sys tem around what science n ow as serts
to be an undiscov ered but in evitable c entre had been p erceived
and the preces sion of th e equinoxes was understood The whole
gran d scheme involving the awful majesty of the Sun God the
mild radiance of th e moon the glory of the xed stars the erratic
motions of the wandering planets the terric appar ition of ery
comets ashing meteors and the deep an d un fathomable mystery

of oating nebulae all these no les s th an their inuence upon

the fair green earth with its lofty mount ains an d shoreless seas
its sombre forests an d quiet vales its half savage half divine

inhabitants all this realm of power and mystery sublimity an d

littleness sole m n silence and restless eloquence the ancient mind
discovere d by thous ands of years of patient and untiring stu dy

to be all in motion motion of one continuous and corre sp onden

.

'

M AGIC

ART

45

tial order motion which swept the he avens and th e e arth and

all that in the m i s through regions of space unknown an d n

kno wable but still dened to th e piercing intelligence of the
astronomical priesthood as one grand and interblended universe
of Love Wisdom an d Power
From the results of our forefathers sublime discoveries from
the mass of varied records they have left and the fragmentary
collections that we h ave gathered up of their wisdom, we give in
the following pages a b ri ef an d most imperfect co m pendium of
their religious belief It is only neces sary to consul t the di agra m
of the he av ens as mapped out on any common almanac school
atlas or celesti al globe to perceive that the apparent path of the
sun is laid do wn in an imagi nary waving track called the Ecliptic
Thi s path ( assuming as did the ancients that the sun moves
around the earth ) crosses the equ ator or fanciful belt encircli ng
the ear th at tw o periods of time which by the rel ati v e positions
of the sun towards the earth divide up the solar year into winter
and summer and place the sun in the as pect of south and north
towards the earth
The path of the sun on the Ecliptic was dened by ancient
astronomers between two lines parallel to e ach other Sixteen
degrees apart the sun s march being between them
This space was and still is called the Zodiac The Zodiacal
circle was divided into three hundred and sixty degrees the se
a gain into four right angles of ninety degrees each and the whole
into twelve signs consisting each of thirty degrees
These Signs were with the ancients arbitrary divisions of
certain groups of stars called constellations They were named
chiey in accordance with the c li m ac tr i c chan ges transpiring on
the earth at the period when the s n w as passing through them
In J anuary now called the rst month of the year the sun
passed t h r ough the constellation or group of stars called from the
season of storms an d heavy rains that then prevail Aquarius th e
washer or the Gre ek Baptizo In February he enter s the sign
of Pi ce s or the F i sh es a time of famine de arth and distress
when the fr i ts and roots ar e consumed and little is left to the
primitive man but the spoil of the accumul ating waters
In M arch the sun enters Aries the Lamb signican t of the
young and tender pr oducts of the approach i ng Spring In April
when the energy of the agricultural season is to be typied the
constell ated group through which the sun passes is called the
Bull In M ay when Summer and Winter are reconciled and th e
the sweet genial period of owers and bloom seems to knit up the
opposing s easons in fraternal harmony the constell at io n then pre

ART

46

AGIC

vailing is called Gemini or the Twin s I n June when the s n

appears to undergo a retro grade mo ti on signicantly expl ai ned
in astronomy the Sign in the ascendant is termed C ancer or the
Crab In July the raging heat of the burning Summer suggest s
for the ascendan t Sign the signicant title of the Lion whil st the
Virgin of August the Scales of September the Scorpion or Great
Dragon of O ctober the Archer of November and the Goat of
December are supposed to have somewhat more dir ect r eference
to fancied resemblances in the shapes of the constellations than
for the physical correspon dence betw ee n their names and the cli
m ac tr i c conditions of the earth
Besides these subdivisions of the
Zodiacal path there were two o ther methods of m arking the
astronomical year The rst was the division of the whole twelve
months into four seas ons e ach of which cont ained ninety degrees

and were symbolized by a special emblem as an O x a Lion an

E agle and a M an
The O x denoted the agricultural pursuits of
the Spring th e Li on the erce heat of the Summer the Eagle
was adopted for certain symbolical reasons as a substitute for the
Scor pion of Autumn and the M an w as Still retained as the Winter
emblem of Aquarius or the water bearer Added to this quater
nial division of the year were the two primal and opposing con di
tio n s of Summer and Winter always held si gnicant b y the
ancients of good and evil principles
The most solemn and impor tant periods of the as tronomic al
year were when the Sun d es cended from the North at the close
of Summer to cross the plane of the autumnal equinox and tha t
when he as cended from the So th in the Spring to cross the ver
nal equinox The rst motion heralded death to the gr eat ligh t
bringer famine and desolation to the e arth ; the second i n a g
rated the rejuvenating power of his triumph and glory in the
promise of Spring and the fulllment of Summer
Slight as seems this foundation for a theology it is on th is
only that the superstructure of ever y th eologi cal system of the
earth h as been upreared
Besides the general titles assigned to the twelve Zodiacal con
stellati on s each separate st ar visible in the heavens had its nam e
and w as supposed to exert an inuence peculi ar to itself for good
or evil upon mankind Thus all the stars through the pl ane of
or near which the s n p as sed in Summer were deemed to be b e n ef
i c en t and in harmony with th e celestial travel ler of the skies
favorable also to the inhabitants of e arth to whom they aided in
dispensing seed time and harvest fruits owers and all manner
of blessings O n the other hand the stars of Winter were assumed
to exert a malignan t inuence not only on the mighty Sun God
,

uu

u
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ART

AGIC

47

whom they opposed but also upon man and his planet causing
storms tempests pestilence and famine By these malignant
astral in ences the gracious Sun was shorn of h i s heat dispens
ing powers and the hour s of his illumination upon earth wer e
shortened The majesty of Day was so obscured by the hosts of
m ali g n an t Spi r i ts supposed to inhabit the wintry star s that h e
vainly strove to contend against them O n the opposing Spiritual
forces inhabiting the Summe r an d Winter constellations was

founded the apocalyptic legend of th e war in heaven an d end

less ights of visionary ast ronomical myths
In this celestial scheme every s tar becam e a symbol of som e
good or evil genius ; every constellation was a realm peopled by
innumerable legions of b en e c en t or malignant angels and th e
entire eld of the sidereal heavens was mad e the battle ground
of innite squadrons of Opposing angelic inuences
O n the earth th e solar year was mapped out into grand sub
divisions of time in which the impersonated stars an d their rival
inuences enacted a mi ghty drama with the Sun God for its hero
the inhabitan ts of earth for an adoring audience an d a royal
astrono mical priesthood for i ts historians
These ancient priests called from their custom of studyi ng
the face of the heaven s from high watch towers Episcopacy
became in ages of practice familiar with every phase of the sub
li me epic they wrote They occupied centuries i n correcting thei r
calend ars and amending their Zodiacal charts They invented
thousands and tens of thousands of allegorical fables descr iptive
of the scenes incidents an d angelic personages of the celestial
drama Th ey v aried names images and symbols to suit the pro
e
ress
of
ideas
in
revolving
ages
and
inv
sted
their
astral
Gods
g
with all the attributes which fervent O riental fancy could suggest
A S an ex ample of the leadi ng ideas which prevailed throu gh
out this stupendous system i t is proper to recite some of th e m ain
features wh ich clustered around th e supposititious history of the
magnicent Sun God When thi s light bringing luminary en
ter e d the Sign of Aries or the Lamb in M arch h e was assumed to
have crossed the vernal e quinox and become the R edeemer of the
world from the sufferings and privations of Winter Th e n the
earth and i ts inhabitants rej oiced greatly The young Sa vior
had entered upon his divi n e mission b ri n gi ng the earth out of
darkness into light ; miraculously healing the sick ; feeding starv
ing multitudes and lling the world with bles sing
This triumphant career culminated to its fullest glory b e
tween the months of July and Au gust which in th e gurati ve
,

ART

t8

AGIC

language of the astronomical religion was sometimes called the

b etrothal of the Virgin sometimes th e marriage feast of the
Lion of July and the Virgin of August This w as the season
of the grape harvest the time when the Sun converted by h i s
radiant heat the waters which had desol ated the e arth in Winter
into the luscio s wine of the vint age Then it w as as the ancien t
astronomers proclaimed that the great miracle of the sol ar year
was performed and the Sun manifested forth his most tri ump h
ant glory
From thence the constellation of th e Scales or the Balance s
seemed for a time to maintain the celesti al her o in a just an d e ven
path ; his m iraculous power and life giving presence was hailed
with feasts and rej oicings which lasted until the fatal period
when the Great Dragon of the Skies the m i ghty Scorpio of O cto
ber appears in the ascendant Then sorrow and lamentation pos
The Savior of men must cros s th e autumnal
Sessed the eart h

equinox and from thence descend into the South the Hades
Acheron Sheol H ell Pit of many ancient nations
T o announce the dire calamity at h and the Dragon of O cto
ber is preceded by a bright and glorious st ar called in the Sp r ing
Vesper or the evening star ; in autumn Lucifer or the Son of

the morning
In the sweet v ernal se ason this splendid luminary
is the her ald of Summer the brightest and m ost b ea tif l of all
the heave n ly host Then it appears high in th e h eaven s and
occupies what i s Signican t ly called the seat of pride Appearing
in the boding se as on of Autumn low on the edge of the horizon
and Shini n g o n ly in the early dawn i ts name is changed with i ts

station i t is now the fallen Angel ; the mighty r ebel w h o

seduced by pride and vaulti n g ambition has been dethroned and
cast down to the ominous depths of the lowest hell Transform ed

into Lucifer Son of the M orning this star becomes the herald
of th e dar k e st ill that c an beset th e path of the cel estial Savior
As it appears in advance of the great cons tellation of the Drago n
it is as sumed to be the rebel Angel that incited a third of the host
of heaven to disobedience hence it is often c onfounded with the
Dragon of which however it is only th e prototype
The constellation of the great Dragon is the most powerful
of the entire Zo diac From its p e culiar form and the immense
group of sh ini n g star s that extend in the convolutions of i ts
respl endent train it has been called the Starr y S er pent of the
Skies Its attendant lumi n aries are assumed to be that third of
the host of h eaven seduced by the rebel A ngel from their allegi
ance and its position as the inaugural constellatio n
of th e m ch
,

uu

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ART

AGIC

one of the Sun Gods of the Hindoos and the M arys

who weep at the sepulchre for the Christ of the Jews all the
nations of antiquity throughout the O rient each of whom
under many names and in m any forms have adored the Sun God
and believed in h i s annual birth life miracles de ath and resur

r e ction all have united to celebrate the new birth of their idol
on the 2 5 th of D e cember the period at whi ch th e solar orb ac t
ally passs es through the constellation of the Zodiacal Si
Cap
g
n

ri corn or th e renewer of life

After the 2 5 th of Decem b er
the leg end again loses sight of its n ew born Savior
In all Eastern theogonies Egypt is represented as the l and
of darkness and the symbol of obscurity During the prevalence
of the two constellations of January an d February it is supposed
that antagonistic inuences t h reaten the young child s life The
royal po w er of Winter wit h its storms and tempests is in the
ascendant hence the world s R edeemer is in danger from a
mighty King To avert the evil the young child i s c ar ri ed by
ste alth to the land of Egypt ; there in concealm ent he re m ains
until the season of danger is passed when he recro sses the eq a tor
at the vernal equinox ascending from the so th ern d e p th of
Egypt in to the light and glory of an acknowledged worker of
miracles A gain the earth rej oices in the pres ence of th e young

Lamb of Spring w h o t aketh away the sins of the world an d

redee ms i t from the f amine desolation and evils of the pas t Win
ter From this time forth the Sun God proclaims p eace on

earth an d good will to men and fullls his promise in miracles

of healing feeding the hun gry cloth i ng the naked an d bringi n g
life an d pl enty to all
O n taking a retrospective gl ance at this famous myth it wi ll
be seen that the Sun God is its central gure an d his pass age
through the constellated stars of the Zodiac together with the
peculiar ch anges of atmo sphere climate an d natural productions
effected on earth by sol ar and astral congurati ons form the con
n e c te d woof of the celestial dr ama
Next in i m porta nce in th e myth i cal h i story is the imper
sonation of the Virgin M oth er of the Sun God This c on stel
lated gure is assumed to hold in her hand a sprig ower or
fruit which Sh e extends in th e attitude of invitation to a minor
constella tion named Bootes J o seppe or Jos eph w h o from i ts
proximity to the Vir gin of Summ e r is sometime s impersona t ed
as her betrothed sometimes as the Father of men Adam yielding
to the seduction s of Eve tempting h i m by the extended fruit Sh e
holds in her han d The next an d not least important gure in
the legend is the imper son ation of th e evenin g star of Spri n g
C h ri sh

n a,

"

ART

AGIC

51

transformed from an angel of light into Lucifer the leader of

the rebel hosts and the morning star of Autumn
This evil star i s followed by another important actor in th e
Astral Drama namely the grea t Dragon the antagonistic power
of all system s b y whom the b en e c en t Sun God is put to death
on the cross of the autumn al equinox ; crucied between th e two
evil wintry cons tellations prevailing in November and December
According to an ancie n t Sabean tradition one of these evil angels
symbolized by the Goat of December r epented h i m of the wrong
done to the sinless God who w as crucied with him hence he b e
comes at rst the hoary sign of Winter the Goat who pa r ticip ates
in the death of th e beloved Sun and then the friend of the dying
God sheltering him in his manger and protecting the fruitful
Virgin in her hour of parturition This phase of the legend like
thousands of others is doubtless an attempt to reconcile th e an
tag on i sti c characteristics of the wintry Sign during which the
Sun is lost with the favorable as pect of the same constellation
i n the las t p art of h i s month of power when he is r epresent e d as
ushering th e new born God into being under th e title of the
renewer of life
Endless are the fantasies of this kind int erwo v en with the
Zodiac al legend The discoveries of each succee di ng age afforded
to the astronomical priesthoo d a boundles s eld for the exercise
of their favorite method of symbolic al expression thus whilst we
always nd the main ideas of the scheme preserved intact th e
divergent branches of ideality which spring forth from the p aren t
root are i n truth a realization of the parable of the mustard seed
of the Jewish Scriptures In the p araphras e of the Christian his
tory of the Sun God the wr iters repres ent one of the thi eves cru
i e d with the Savior of mankind as becoming penite n t at the last
c

dread ho r of death Jes s, in allusion to his appro aching n ew

birth answers him t o day sh alt th o be with me in Paradise

This is a h i ghly ingeniou s an d creditable mode of disposing of
the difculty w h ich an cient astronomers experienced in re present
ing the cons tellation of December at once ant agonistic and favor
able to the dying God
The Capricorn of Winter Shares the Sun
God s evil fat e but bec omes favorable to him in the h o r of h i s

n e w birth in
Paradise
We have n ow brought the legend up
to that point when it i s to recommence with the rene w al of the
Zodiac al history
The Sun of righteous n ess is n ow to be r e born i n the stable
of the Goat through the maternity of the immaculate Virgin
and thus the light of the world th e L amb of Spring the Lion
of th e trib e of J dah the
ood
m
ast er of th e tw el v e Z
i
c
o
d a al
g
,

ART

52

AGIC

Apostles is ever sacriced that he m ay take away the sins of the

world and ever r estored to life that all may have h Ope of i m m or
tality in h i s res rrection etc etc etc

It would indeed be vanity and vexation of spirit to attemp t

to discover the exact order in which the antique mind rst
clothed the starry heavens with these fantastic symbolisms and
yet we must not suppose that the exoteric me aning of which we
have given a brief sketch is the all of this an cient and most won
der f l faith
Later on in thi s volume we shall see that every
symbol has a correspondential spiritual meaning and that th e
esoteric philosophy veiled under this mass of symbolism is th e
real heart of its religious signicance ; These explanations h ow
ever we must re serve for the present How the ancients ulti
m a tely evolved an
exote r ic sch eme from the external fac e of
nature and its correspondential relations to the spangled heaven s
can be no marvel to those who will consider th eir wisest and best
minds as de v oted during the course of thous ands of years to thi s
one grand eld of observation The origin growth an d per fec
tion of such a system is far less problem atical than is the conduc t
of modern theologi ans in reference to it So long as the famo s
astronomical religi on was practiced and t aught amongst tho se
nation s whom Christi ans contemptuously den dm i n ate
th e

heathen it was denounced by them as the vilest of idolatries

but at th e point where they attempt to build up a theology of
their own they rst begi n by stealing the as tronomi cal my th ,
then transpose its origin to a far later date rechristen its person
ages locate them in fresh birth places declare them to be genuine
pers onalities inv est them with th e most sacred names and attri
butes fall down and worship them an d then call upon the na m e
of the M ost High God as a witness to the credibility of thei r au da
c i o s ctions
In c onsideration of the v as t and cumulative m ass of t esti
mony which the discoveries of archaeology and philology supply
us with concerning the fo ndation of all theological systems the
idolatry of the nineteenth century puts to Sham e the devotion of
humanity s infancy to myth and mysticism
The ant ique man would blush for th e mend acity of th e
modern Priesthood who not onl y steal the images of thei r fore
fathers creation but reclothing them with the tinsel and v ar
nish of ecclesiastical trumpery set them up in shrines to w or
ship as the legitimate o ffspring of divine inspiration
With those who have dared to dispute the authenticity of
th ese m on strou s fab ri cations , the Ch ri stian w orld h as o ffered n o
,

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A R T M AG I C

53

other arguments than re and sword torture an d denuncia tion ;

and as the culminating point of the monstrous wrong which m od
ern Priestcraft h as perpetrated on the people by foisting on them
the myths of antiquity as genui n e subjects for worship it hesi
tates not to afx the awful name of that God who is a spirit not
only as above stated in witness of their blas phemous plagiaris m s
but as an actual participator in a Drama which if removed fr om
the realm of myth to actuali ty would s bvert every law of rea son
decency justice or morality that h as ever been promulgated
Since time began
We comm enced th i s section by afrming that if all the frag
ments that have been written on the history of the Sun God
and the ord er of the astronomical religio n were gathered
together they Would ll a library
O ur only regret is that the present hour doe s not f urnish
us with the opportunity to give to the world a thorough but com
pen di o n s aggregation of these severed fragments in one concrete
body of testimony We can only glance at them now ; but w e
may not altogether omit to notice them for ere we can describe
the origin progress and development of the Spirit al idea of
which Art M agic is in part the external form we must give the
outlines of that religious system in which the human spirit took
shape as in a matrix ; in which its conceptions were rst unfolded
and from which its aspiratio n s ra di ated forth i n the insa tiate
demand for spiritual bread At th i s present writing we only feel
justied in raising the veil sufciently to Show the rst point of
co n tact between God and M an the Creator and the Creature
R eligion the Body and Spiritualism the Soul of the Universe ;
b t we reserve to ourselves the duty ( G od i n spi r i n g and mortal
span of life permitting) of inscribing a volume in the future
wherein shall be shown in its completeness how the Teraphim of
the ancients were fash ioned and h ow the moderns have stolen
and worshiped them :when and in what mode ide as descended
to m an in the past from the starry heavens and in what absurd
perversions the Pries thood of the present endeavor to plant those
ideas in di vi ne soil until the abomination of desolation sits in
the hol y places of human thought an d scientic reasoning men
and pious p re m inded women worship a God whose example
if imitate d would ll the earth with monsters of injustice i m p
rity and wickedness
,

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A R T M A GI C

54

SU PPLE M E N T T O SE C T I O N I V

B I O G R A PH I ES o r C H R I SH N A A N D B U DDH A

SA KI A

N T I QUI T Y T H A T H A VE W ORSHI P ED
A N D A CCEP T ED H rs
A S A N IMPER SON A T ION
T H E SU N
H I ST ORY A S D I SPL A YED IN T H E A ST RONOMIC A L O RDER OF
T H E ST A RRY H E A VEN S

SH O WIN G

T H E

NATI
G OD

OF

ON S

The Hindoos the oldest n ati on th at possesses scriptural as

well as monumental records dating back to the highest antiquity
even to pre historic ages believed in one Supreme Om n i c Cen
tral Source of Being and fr om Him descending emanations cor
responding i n many respect s to the mythical pe rsonages of th e
astronomical religion
The biographies of two of their principal Avatars or i n c ar
n ate d God men C h r i sh n a and Buddha Saki a are closely accord
ant with the history of the Sun God The births of these Av at ars
through th e motherhood of a pure Virgin their lives in inf an cy
threatened by a vengeful king their i ght an d concealment in
E gypt their return to work miracles s ave heal an d redee m the
world suffer persecu tion a violent death a descent into hell an d
a reappearance as a new born Savior are all item s of the Sun
God s history which have alr eady been r e cited and maintain i n
every detail the correspondence between the Hindoo faith and
the Sabean system The feasts fasts seasons of lamentation an d
rej oicing the reverence paid to re ame he at light and even
the minutest details of ceremonial rites practiced in the mos t
ancient astronomical worship are scattered through the varyi n g
forms of Hindoo theology until the parity of the two s ystems
cannot be questioned An equally faithful adherence to the
Sabean legend is to be found in the story of the Indian Dyon i si s
subse quent ly repeated in E gypt and forming the basis of th e
Osi r i c legend
v

"

M AG I C

ART

55

E gypt taught the Sun God s history and that in a series of

m yths and mysteries still more elab orate than those of India
The stories of O siris Isis H orn s and Typhon are direct
transcripts of the astronomical scheme The myths of the Gods
Z li s and M emnon the w orship of Heliopolis the gorgeous order
of the famous mysteries and the mythical person ages scattered
throughout the wonderful woof of Egyptian Theogony are but
elaborations of th e Zodiacal fable and the w or sh i p of the powers
of nature
The sublime system of Zoroaster recites the history of the
Sun God in that of M ithra nds in A ri m an es the gr e at Dragon
of the Skies and in all the sacred times and seasons ceremonials
and traditions a complete transcript of the astronomical religion
The Chaldeans Ethiopians Phoenicia n s and the most set
tle d of the Arabian tribes taught the same basic idea in their
varied systems of worship
The disinterred ruins of the once mighty city of Nineveh
i s one complete inscription of the Sun God s history and worship
The most ingenious and varied symbolisms of Astral and
Solar worship speak in unmistakable tones of evidence from the
magn i cent remains of Babylon from the ruins of Tadmor in the
Desert and in innumerable groups of once famous though now
nknown vestiges of human habitation scattered throughout
C entral Asia Even the Troglodyte remains be ar witness to the
prevalence of Solar worship in rude carvings and grotesque imi
tati on s of the heavenly bo di es
From the ruin s profusely scattered throughout Asia M i nor
from the land of the P h asc an n a Iberians Albanians Phrygians
an d Ionians
the author of this work has collected an immen se
number of photographic representations of planetary and Sol ar
worship
The Scythian nations generally worship r e and preserve
traditions of a crucied Sun God They celebrate the Sun s
birthday on the 2 5 th of De cem b er and amongst some tribes of
the Tartars the author has attended all the festal ceremonies
described as appertaining to the astronomical religion
The r eligi ons of China and Japan were originally founded
on the myth i cal history of the Sun God M any additions and
interpolations upon the basic legend have obtained in Chinese
and Japanese worsh i p but the foundation is uni que and th e
feasts ceremonial rites and seasons of observance all prove th e
parity of worship amongst these peop l e with the Sabean system
In the Islands of C eylon Java the Ph i lli pi n e and M oluc

'

A R T M A GI C

56

uforms of Solar and Astral worship hav exi sted f

a g es
The Dru
i di cal system of wors h ip though largely inter
v ar i o

c as,

or

spersed with other ideas to be hereafter de scribed was rmly

planted on the Sabean system and recognized a Sun God M edi
ator with a complete Zodiacal history in the incarnated deity
they called H es s
The entire of the splendid imagery of Grecian and R om an
mythology was but a paraphrase of Egyptian Solar worship en
lar ge d embellished n d b e a ti e d by the poetic mentality of
Greece and R ome
The idea of the Great Spiritual Sun of the ancients the
unknown and unknowable nds its perfect correspondence in

the Greek Zeus the God who dwells alone and from whom pro
c ee d as subordinate emanations all the impersonated powers of
nature planetar y and astral spirits who gure i n the f amous
Apollo M ercury or He r mes Bacchus Prom etheus
P antheon
and E Sc lapi S w er e S n Gods M ediators Savior s ; Ceres Pro
ser pi n a and Pluto played their special parts in the Astral Drama
but all derive their n ames and histories from the s ame source
Hindoos Egyptians Arabians Parsees Greeks and R omans all
drank at the same celestial fountain and only v aried their ri tes
ceremonials n ames and gures to suit the ideali ty of the lan d
whose age or c li m ac tri c i n uence determined their intelligence
The Jews whose records of war bloodshed violence laws
customs dresses upholstery and cuisine the C hristi ans hold
sacred as the ins pired word of G o d worshiped a D eity who was
only one of the E loi h i m or astr al t telar y spirits of the Egypti ans
Bel B el S B aal Baalpeor M oloch Dago n Jehovah Jah I Am
etc etc etc these and the names of the various other Go ds
or tutelary Deities worsh i ped by the various nations of Arabia
an d Asia M inor including the Jews are only so m any synonym s
of the one M ediatorial Sun God who h der every conceivable
variety of form an d title reappears in the stupendous system of
Astral and Solar worship itself an external e xpression of the sub
lime and harmonious order of the uni v erse
,

u
.

'

uu
.

'

,
.

u
,

,
,

ART

58

A GIC

measure re duced to systematic expression at the e arliest period

when man began to le ave records of his thoughts
There are no Shadows without a substance no fable s with
o t a genuine ide a to allegorize upon
The fable of the G arden of Eden the te mptation and fall
of m an i s very g enerally assumed by materialistic writers to have
a purely astronomical origin and to have b een founded on the
following astral order The August constell ation of the Virgin ;
represents a woman holding a ower sprig or fruit in her hand
beckoning to Bootes or Joseph the constellation a little to th e
north Of the Virgin but in close proximity to her Thi s c on g
of the he avenly sign s it is alleged may be as often inter
ra ti on
nto
the
f
bled
relations
of
Adam
and
Eve
as
the
Vir
in
r
e
t
e
d
a
g
i
p
The radianc e bloom and beauty of the season
M ary and Joseph
in which these constellations appear signies the earthly Eden
T h e astral woman tempts the as tral man she herself is tempte d
by the Serpent w h o presently appears in the skies as th e Great
Dragon The woman gives of the fr i t she holds to man h e eat s
and falls The Cher bim a n d Seraphim of the skies ( the typic al
drive them forth from the Ed en of
Signs of constellated stars )
Summer into the gloom and famin e of Winter To restore the
fallen man to a future paradise a Savior must be found an d th i s
is effected in the birth of the S n God at m i dwinter and h i s
renovating inuence during the succeeding Spring and Summer
To accept of th i s fable without allowing for a spiritual Si g
n i c an c e conce aled beneath it
is equivalent to th e assumption
that the ancien ts actu ally worshiped the sun moon and st ars as
personal Gods ; but the ancients never enunciated s acred ideas
except in allegorical form s of speech and never mapped out the
scheme of an alle gory without a profoundly spiritual meaning
veiled by it

A S it i s abo v e so i s it below
O n th e earth as in the

skies were the sentences by which the mystics of old were accu s
t om e d t o afrm th e univers al correspondence between the b ar
monies of the natural and spiritual in every department of being
T o understand how the ancient s interpreted these astral
hie roglyphics int o such a s ystem as would explain the fall of man
and yet preserve the corresponden ce between his e state on earth
an d th e mo v ements of the heavenly bodies it is nec ess ary to r ev ert
to th e th eory en nci at e d in Section I wher e it was shown that
the So l ori ginal ly dwelt in a purely Spiritual state of existence ;
but bei n g tem pted by th e craving desire fpr eart hly knowledge
it became attracted to this planet incarnate d in the form of m an
,

ART

M AGI C

59

and hence the fall of spirit into matter

With all that rev

erence which nite being must feel when it presumes to speculate
on innity we m ay imagine that the form of the highes t spirit
ual existences may admit of no parts or angles but may be i h
deed like the perfection of the spiritual Sun a Globe ; but all
organic forms are sections of the perfect sphere and man is obv1
o sly a complex assemblage ol i n eS and circles uniting in him
s elf all the details of mathematical proportion subordinate to
th e perfection of gure assumed to exist in the Spiritual Sun
I n taking on a material existence therefore and changin g
from a purely Spiritual entity to become an organ ized material
being the rst principle of earthly lif e to be evolved must needs
be the m ean Sto produce and reproduce it
This in an earthly state of being i s just as sacred and para
mount a theme as the formation of worlds and the birth of suns
and system s in the aggregate of the Universe
As the function of creation is the high est and most won
der f l with which the mind can invest Deity so the imitat i ve
law must become the noblest and most sacred function of Go d s
creatures In th e begi nning of earthly existence we believe it
w as thus esteemed and in those remote ages when s ex worship
was incorporated into a religious system the highest and noblest
elements of human thought clustered around the subj ect of gen
elevating it to the topmost pinnacle of human worship
er ati on
As the clear intuitions of th e early man carried him back
to his state of primeval spiritual innocence and recognized in
h i s bir th into matter a descent in the sc ale of being synonymous
w ith the idea of a f all so he imagined he perceived the order of
this scheme mapped out in the constell ated Zodiac of the skies
A S he r ecognized t h e generative functions to be the immediate
means of the Soul s birth into matter so he elevated them into
divine signicance and Set up their emblems as t subj ects for
religious reverence In process of time the instinctive appetites
of man s sensual nature stimulated sex worship into excess and
degraded a holy ide a into gross licentiousn ess But this w as the
abuse not the true ori gi n of sex worship Physical generation
was once esteemed as the gate b y which the Soul entered upon
the stupendous pathway of progress and became tted for i ts
angelic destiny i n the ce l esti al heavens ; but like al l sacred ideas
when translat e d into m atte r the law of physical g eneration c ame
to be regarded as mere physi c al enjoyment ; it sank into s en sual
ity an d h ence the n eces sity which the wise and ph i los0ph i c
riesthood
of
old
per
c
eived
of
v
eiling
all
teachings
on
this
sub
p

'

60

A R T M A GI C

jcet i n mysteries an d expressing all ideas i n its connection in

obscure symbolism
There are m arked evidences in the vestiges of antiquity as
to h ow th e sexual idea encroached upon the forms of Solar wor
ship
The primitive conceptions of creation were exalted s b li m e ;
but when the id ea of sex worship became universal even the
Astr al religion became imbued with i ts m ater i ali sti c inuence
The impersonations of the stars and th e powers of n ature were
divided into male and female
The story of creation w as woven into romantic legends of
amorous Gods and Goddesses ; the embl ems of generation were
profusely interspersed with astronomical signs and any descri p
tion of animal however loathsome so long as it w as remarkable
for procreative power became deied as a type of the creative
energy
To those who esteem the spiri tual idea as antagonistic to the
material and believe with the most exalted of the Essenes th at
in heaven angelic e ssences are pure and free f rom all the i m
pulses and attributes of matter it mus t indeed have seemed a
fall for the Soul to descend to earth and become inc arnate only
through the process of physical generation And yet s uch is ob vi
In the order of the Universe
o sly the law of physi cal being
spirit is the primal essence in which there is neither sex age sin
n or capacity for pain
With the descent of Soul into physical life man becomes
dual male and female with sex as the dividing line between
them Then too ensues that mysterious transformation of the
soul s faculties which converts spiritual love into m aterial pas
sion intuitional knowledge into human reason boundless per
c e ti on
into
dim
memory
and
vague
prescience
eternal
t
h
ings
p
into tem poral and a creat re without parts or passions into one
all organs
and swayed by every emotion that ranges from the
depths of vice to the heigh ts of virtue
The brief race on earth run spiritual spheres of progress
opening up fresh avenues of p urication to the pilgrim Soul
still preservi n g all the faculties acquired by its birth and asso
c i ati on
with matter the celestial Angel stands related to the germ
spirit as the fully unfolded blossom to the emb ryonic seed In
thi s order of pro gr ess it is clearly shown that the means wh ereby
the sp i rit dweller of the original Eden becomes the perfected
Ange1 of a celesti al heaven are :mortal birth a pilgrimage
through sphere s of t rial discipline and purication and an or
,

'

ART

M AGIC

61

made up of separate parts with appropriate functions

the due and legitimate exercise of which constitut e the methods
of progress In such a scheme every trial and sn er i n g has i ts
meaning and e v ery pas sion ( even the tendencies to vice an d
crime ) their use in shaping the rudimental Angel through r e
morse an d penalty into ultimate strength and divine proportion
A familiar but apposite illus tration of the relative differ ence
between the ger m spirit that descends fro m realms of pri m eval
innocence to be born into matter and that sam e spi r i t unfolded
through spheres of discipline into the perfected Angel is foun d
if we liken th e t wo states to those of the acorn and the full grown
oak
The on e is sti ll the oak in germ but the noble proportions
of the tree its o v ershadowing branches the vast girth of its
mighty t runk th e splendor of its Briareus arms wide stretched
to the winds wi th its ten thousand leafy hands tossed abroad
on the ambient air ; its rich harvest of countless germs and the
unborn forests that are to be furnished from their r epr od cti ve
pow ers all grow out of the association of the primal acorn with
the formative matrix of earth
E v en so is i t with the Soul
T o become an Angel it must
rst be a M an then a Sp i rit struggling on through sphere s of
grad ated unfoldment and when all is done the Soul originally
expelled from its Eden of innoc enc e and ignorance will regain it
wit h the strength wisdom and lo v e which alone can constitute
it an Angel of God
It was with th i s perception of the Soul s destiny that the
ancients esteeme d the generativ e functions as di vine an d the
dei c ati on of their emblems as an act of religious duty
Whilst
we believe this view of th e ori gin of sex worship the true one
those who regard i t simply from th e standpoint of results and
contem plate the abomin ations practiced in its ce l ebration might
well beli ev e it to be th e o ffspring of man s merely animal an d
instinctive nature ; such it undoubtedly became when it san k into
that corruption and abuse which too often attends the decadence
of ideas however exalted in their source There was much too
in the Jewish Theog ony to fav or the tendency to e xcess in sex
worshi p
Throughout the writi n gs of the Pentateuch th e utmost i m
portance is attached to the production of offspri ng Every means
was adopted by th e priestly law givers to promote the propagation
of the specres
Ch il dl ess wom en were b ran ded Wi th th e bitterest re proa ch
an
g

i sm

'

'

ART

62

AGIC

Eunuchs or persons a fi cted with personal blemishes were for

bidden to hold sacred of ces Every inducement which a strin
gent law could hold out to compel the people to multiply and

replenish the earth w as an essential of the Jewish religion O n

the other hand the prophetic writings of the Jews abound with
fulminations of th e Divine wrath against those who car ried thei r
ideas of s ex worship to excess and sensualism The unsparing
denunciations of the Hebrew prophets against the practic e of

sacricing to s trange Gods are accompanied by the plainest

descriptions of what those sacricial rites were and give color
to the belief that the religious veneration which had once sancti
e d the idea of the generative functions as a divine mystery had
s nk into an all pervading and soul corrupting sensualism
In comparison with Egypt Chaldea Assyria and H i n do
stan J dea w as but a modern nation
The nomadic tribes of th e Jew s had mad e no mark on the
world s history when Egypt was hoary with age and India had
recorded cycles of time lost in the n i ght of antiquity The exo
te r i o remai ns of solar and sex wors h i p tog ether with all their
signs and symbo ls presented to the Jews only a dying vestige of
faith s of whose resplendent maturity no historic epoch howev e r
remote can show an authentic record
We only know it must h av e been so M aps of the he avens
and perfected ch arts of astral motions involving intricate c alc
lati on s Which must have required thousands of yea rs to arrive
at were all handed down from pre historic to the commencement
of historic times and that wi th a completeness which fully s s
tains th e enormous claims of the Hindoos for the existence of
their dynasty d ri ng cycles of time which baffle the human mind
to conceive of
How many times have the silent but most eloquent cat a
combs of the old eart h in the form of upturned plains the beds
of rivers the depths of artes ian wells and the recesses of newly
discovered caver n s brought to light conclusiv e testimony th a t
man lived labored wrought in clay stone pott ery and metals
tens of thousand s of years ago on the face of the earth !
The author h as himself spent ye ars in Indi a studying o t
that wonderful system of numerals which point to the antiquity
of man and the fact that he commenced astronomical calcula
tions more than twenty thousand years ago Some of these silent
voices indi cate axi al changes in t h i s planet wh ich could not have
O thers prov e
tran s pired in l e ss t h an a h n dred th o sand years
.

-K

ART

AGIC

63

that the Hindoos clearly understood the precession of the equi

noxes ages before the Christian era
About the commencement of that peri od the co l ossal for m s
of the mystic Sphinx might have been found in long and maj es
tic rows in the various temples of old India and yet the mystery
of the Sphinx could only have been solved by a people who had
correctly nderstood the precession of the equinoxes To effect
a change in the position of the s n in th e Zodiac al path from
one sign to another m st occ py at least 2 1 4 0 years ; and yet such
changes had oc c r ed been f l ly cal c ulated and recorded in the
astronomical riddle of the Sphi nx a composite gure design e d
to celebrate the sun s passage from the sign of the Virgin to that
of the Lion when the Jews were unknown as a people
What amount of intellectual power had the mind of man
arrived at ere these record s of astrono m ical lore mechan ical skill
and artistic power were achieved ?
The remains of tropical plants now found amidst the awf l

desolation of the Arctic and Antarctic regions the constan t

stre am of revelation silently but surely upheaving i ts mystic
writings from the superincumbent debris under which the earth

of a million years ago lies buried the stony voices that thunder
through the colossal remains of ruined cities and the swift b t
immutable footprints of th e ery squadrons whose march through
the skies the mind of man has followed up through ages of n r e
corded ti me all proclaim that the movements of the Universe
transpire in spiral and ever revolving cycles
Like the path of the s n on the Ecliptic now ascending
on the royal arch of the northern hemisphere now descending
into the southern b ow but ever moving in gyrating circles p
ward typifying the march of planets nati ons ages of time and
human souls so that those who study the part may comprehend
the whole all these stupendous Witnesses gure out the law by
which cycles of civilization are born grow ascend to their cul
m i n ati n g point of splendor then turn the hill of time d escend
lower and lower into engulng depths lower and l ower into cor
ruption degradati on death ! And yet they rise again and Phoe
n i x like spring from the funeral ashes of their pyre to be reborn
in nobler higher forms of younger civilizations
So has it been with man and his religious beliefs
Solar and
se x worship
born of man s highest conceptions of the Divi n e
plan rose into an almost perfect science the science by which the
antique man perceived the correspondence betwe e n the earth an d
th e h eavens , the Cr eator an d his cr eat res
Thi s fa m ou s er a
.

u u
u
u

u
u

'

u
.

ART

64

AGIC

of ancrent civiliz ation culminated crossed the equinox of pro

death
descended
into
the
night
of
corruption
and
sensual
h
i
e
t
c
p
ism and perished with the clo sing up of O riental dyn asties
The real spiritual truths of antiquity have never di ed ; but
their
ex
bition
has
only
at
times
illuminated
the
ages
with
h
i
e
t
y
corruscations of light so little understood that their holy ra di
ance has been mistaken for the baleful glare of Supernatural

ism
They have never died ; but as yet they only give promise
not a full assurance of the resurrec tion that is at hand
M ankind absorbed in its devotion to the pursuits of material
science has ignored its spiritual interests or carelessly commi tted
them to the charge of an ignorant an d selsh Pri esthood ; b t
when the day of true spiritual aw akening comes when the Soul
of the Universe s h all be kno w n an d felt in the Souls of His C rea
tures the light of this spiritual revelation will s hine upon husks
and gm en ts of the dead past of which reason no less than intui
tion will be ashamed It will show the lifeless bodies of ancient
faiths from wh i ch the soul has long ed leaving nothing but
dust and ashe s forms and ceremonies surplices and shav en
crowns behind
It will sho w th e painted Clown and many colored Harle
quins of an ecclesiastical circu s still performing their dre ary
tricks in an amphitheatre from w h i ch the stately personage s of
the grand Drama have vanished where the curt ain h as fall en the
lights ar e quenched on which the eternal midnight of a dead age
has set in with nothing to relieve the silence but the uttering
wing s of the spectral ideas which already begin to i t forth into
the morning of a n ew day s e eking the re surr e cting life and light
of a new Spiritual religion
,

ART

66

AGIC

ing would crimson the cheek of every virtuous matron with

shame
Up to the days when European civilization prevailed and
the inuence of a temperate equatorial climate m oderate d th e
excessive energy of that emotional nature wh i ch man in herits
from h i s association with matter stimulated to immense activity
in the fervid heat of tropi cal climes h i s religious aspirations were
all tinct red with the idiosyncrasies of his physical natur e He
deemed of h i s God as of himself
The sublime beauty of the spangled h eavens the obvio s
correspondence of heat light and planetary inuence with h i s
material well being and the nal mystery and power of the gen
er ati v e functions were the most di rect and natural appeal s tha t
h e could nd in the universe to h i s sense of reverence and h i s
ideas of power I s it any marvel that he wors h i ped the heavenly
host and deemed the laws of gene ration the most direct r epr esen
tati on s of Dei c action in creation ?
The c h i ef sy mbols of these interblended systems are found
in the various form s of crosses extant ; in the Phallus or Ling
ham and the Yoni the male and female emblems of generation ;
in the triangle or Tau, the origin of the cross the Serpent who
in so many ways w as esteemed as a dei c emblem and every ob
jc et natur al or articial wh i ch bore the leas t resemblance to
the g r es enumerated above
As regards the cross it has frequently been attempted to
show that it owes its s acred character to the instrument of p n
i sh m en t upon which the Christian s God was supposed to have
suffered death
Ages before the Jews were known as a nation the cross w as
regarded all through the East as a sacred symbol
To remove the obscen i ty of the idea attached to its origi nal
meaning from the image wh i ch modern civilization so devoutly
cherishes it has been urged that it was reverenced by the E gyp
tians be c ause it was used as a N ileom eter or measure of the river
Nile Granting this and admi tting that the Nile w as held sacred
by the Egyptians as the source of plenty and irri gation hence
that the N i leom eter with its upright post and cross piece to mark
the height to wh i ch the waters attained was also held sacred as
an emblem of redemption from famine or a sign of possible
destruction still thi s does not account for the prevalence of the
cross nor the reverence attached to it in lands where no N i leom e
ter was req i red and in di stant ages ere N ileom eters were in
v ented
,

'

'

67

M A G I CQ

ART

Sculptured over every temple of the East the cross in many

forms w as used to signify the generative power
It was originally designed to represent a Trinity and thus gave
r ise to the sacredness attached to the number three with all its
multiples and in all the varieties of form in which the cross is
found from the plain letter T the Tau of the Scandinavians or
the hammer of Thor to the eight sided cross of the Templars
nothing
an d in all its variousness it si g n i e d and does signify
more or less than the fertility fecundity and creative structure
of the masculine principle of generation The fact that the sun s
two chief incidents of Zodiacal travel were the crossings of the
Ecliptic plane at Spring and Aut m n deepened the reverence
which antique nations cherished for this all prevailing symbol
but instead of removing it from the earth to the skies it simply
showed in this dual signicance the unity of design expressed
throughout the cosmic motions of the uni verse
The female emblem wa s signied by an u n it a circle a boat
shaped shell a lozeng e or any obj ect animate or inanimate that
resembled these gures or implied receptivity fruitfulness or
maternity The union of the female unit with the male tria d
was designated by the sacred and mystic number 4 or symbol
i z e d by a serpent with his tail in his mouth two shes bent to
form a circle the rite of circumcision and many other symbolical
rites and gures
The origin of Serpent worship arose rst from the un i v ersal
prevalence of these creatures throughout the O rient ; the extreme
subtlety of their natures implying wisdom their custom of cast
ing their skins denoting renewed youth and immortality their
tremendous and deadly powers of destruction an alogO s to the

wrath of God their supposed healing virtue indicativ e of the

life giving power of the s n the glory of their shining scal es
imitating li ght ; but above all the Serpent W
as deied as the
antagonistic power of the skies dened in the great constellation
of the Dragon which did annual war with the heav enly legions
of the sun
E n dles s were the fable s invented to typify the wisdom and
life givi n g properties of serpents ; endless the myths in which
they gured as the represent atives of good an d evil Genii
Serpent w orship is in all probability as old as Sex and Solar
worship and a thorough understa n ding of the three systems
forms a clue to all th e signs symbols allegories and mysteries
of all the ancient faiths that prevailed before the Christian era
T h e i deas i n di cat e d b y these s ymbols an d the legends at
,

'

u
,

68

AR T

AGIC

tac h ed to the m , underlie all those stupendous rites , solemn mys

terfes and gigantic monuments of art that have overlaid the once
splendi d O rient with r i ns that will remain the myste ry and

dmiration of the race till time shall be no more The myths

and sym bols of these interblended systems prevailed indeed long
after the Christian era and were preserved by the Gnostics M ani
Neo Plat onists and many of the early sects amongst
c h ean s
Chri stians and Philosophic Greeks ; they are preserved and pre
va il amongst the most civilized of sects to day but alas ! without
any re al appreciation of the ideas that once vitalized the image s

M uch of the mysticism of the

Divine Plato and the
numerical wisdom of Pythagoras owed their ideality to the
esoteric m e aning veiled in O riental symbolism
The famo s mysteries of El e usis the Bacchic and Dyon i
sian rites the fe asts in honor of Ceres the orgies of Cybele and
oth er mythical personages of the Greek Pantheon ; ancient ma
s on r y both spec lative and operative and its degraded and imbe
cile descend ant modern masonry founded their ori gin upon th e
basic principles of these ancient systems of worship and the mass
of legendary lore to which they gave rise
Curious as w ould be the tracery of these p rim i tive r oots
through all the tendrils branches and reproductive germs that
have overlaid the world with theological s ystems the work must
be reserved for another place and time and this part of o r sub
j ae t must close with a fe w words in evidence of the la m entable
tendency to degeneracy which all great ideas suffer when they
outlive their day and usefulness ; whilst the ar k of th e t abernac le
survives though the sacred ame that of old dwelt between the
Cherubim and Seraphim is quenched in eternal n i ght
Throughout the churches of Christendom th e name of the
M os t High God the Alph a an d O mega of Being the Great Spirit
who dwells alone an d unknown in central orbs of p rimal light is
scarcely remembered and ever subordinated to the worshi p of
the Cross with all its vari eties of expres sion and form
The m yth of the Sun God reappears in every phase of the
Ch ristian s creed
The surplices robes and fant astic adorn m ents of high eccles
i asti c i sm are simply imitations of the wom en s garments which
the priests of antiquity wore to indicate that God was both male
and female
The bells and holy candles the Lambs Bulls Eagles M en
Lions and twelve apostolic personages the Serp ents etc e tc
wh i ch cas t their prismatic glory fro m c ostl y pai n t ed wi n d ow s
a

-o

A R T M AG I C

69

on the chequered marbles of th e oor beneath are all but so

many astronomical signs of antique re worship or emblems of
sexual religion The very shape of the steeples that crown the

houses of God are memento s of the reverence accorded to the

sacred ame or veiled ef gi es of th e divine Li n gh am

It would be equally painful and humiliating to analyze the
mythi cal character of every si gn and symbol of modern ecclesias
ti c i sm were we not deeply reverentially conscious that the spirit
that no longer vi vi es the dead husks of extinct faiths still per
vades the earth still m a n i fests its undying love for poor idola
trous humanity still illumines the heart and sustains the droop
ing tendrils of that religion which erects its alt ar in the soul and
nds its most imperishable s h rine in the depths of man s spiritual
consciousness

Witnesses too witnesses on the sensuous plane of life are

not wanting to the truth of this undying spiritual inux per m e
ating every age and adapting its rev elations to all forms of fai th
that recognize spiritual existence
Like the waving lines of the shi n i ng Ecliptic ever bounding
yet ever sustaining the sun like progress of human destiny comes
down the ages the tracery of an all pervading realm of spiritual
existence at once the cause and e ffect of earthly being
Soul and spiritual essence is the God and the procedure the
Creator an d the c reature ; all t h i ngs else ar e phantasmagoric
shapes born of the hour as formative mo l ds in which soul
essences grow perishing with the hour when their oi c e i s ended
Were it not for the as suranc e that there is a realm of spiri t
adequate to prod ce sustain and guide the tangled woof of crea
tion the pictures we hav e drawn however fai t h f ul to the exoteric
history of the rac e would be but a temporary assemblag e of dust
and ashes heaped together into grotesque and incomprehensible
images With this compass to steer o r way through the restless
billows of life s storm tossed ocean we may rise and sink drift
far and wide of our mark stagnate for awhil e on the sluggish
sea of m aterialism or seem to founder amidst the foam crested
upheavals of convulsed Opinions but we are in the hands of that
Love that will never forsake us that Wisdom that is all suffi cient
to direct us that Power that is almighty to save us

God lives an d reigns ! said stout hearted M artin Luther

when standing alone he b ore testimony to his faith before
fO
r
rinces
potentates
and
h
oppo
ing
of
earth
s
assembled
t
e
s
ce
p
great ones
His stre ngth is ours an d in that str ength we can afford to
,

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A R T M A GI C

stand by and watch the wreck of empires and dynasties ecclesias

tical faiths and man made dogmas
We are immortal parts of the immortal Soul of the Universe
and we ne v er can be lost or perish out of his hand
,

SE C T I ON VI

SU BO R DI N A T E G O DS I N T H E U N I VE R SE

N G EL S SPIRI T S TU T ELA RY D EI T IE S SOUL S A N D E LEMEN T A RY

H
E
T
PIRI
PINION
OF
T
ANCIEN
T HE JE WI SH C A B
S
T
S
S
O
S
B A LA C L A SSIC A L AUT HORIT IE S
When the Spiritual in human history rs t dominated the
mind is as impossible to ascertain as who was the rst man
A celebrated materialistic writer of the eighteenth century
s ays :The idea of subordinate Gods becomes a necessary se quence
to th e acknowledgement of dei c existence at all and it would
be as useless to se arch for the country or time when Gods Spirits
and Angels were rst believed in as to attempt ascertaining the

locality and period where and wh en religious worship beg an

Th i s is essentially true though an adversary writes it
The ori gin of man s belief in Deity must be supplemented
by his acceptance of interme di ate spiritual existences for the
S o l which is the witness of the one proclaims the other and
the chief di fference between th e opinions on thes e points is that
whilst the deepest an d mos t incommunicable emotions of the
Soul res t on its Autho r and Finisher Deity the s enses may bear
witness to the presence and operation of subordin ate Spiritual
existences in the phenomena that attend their ministrations
It is enough to affirm that the vestiges of humanity in every
country and age bear testimony to man s belief in the ministry
and interposition in human affair s of orders of beings both supe
rior and inferior to mortals operating for good and evil but
always through methods beyond th e power of mortal achieve
ment appealing to the senses through modes of action not pos
sible to man without their aid and after a fash i on which proves
them to be limite d by none of the known laws of nature
From the days when the most ancient Sanscrit writings laid
down modes of inv oking spirits described their qualities an d ln

ART

AGIC

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71

prescribed the conditions under which mortals

should hold communion with them up to the nineteenth century
when the Spiritualists who permeate ev ery land of civilization
print their little tracts descriptive of the best means of forming

circles for the purpose of evoking spirit presence and com

munion there never was an age or time when m an in some form
or other did not believe in Spiritual existences subordinate to
the Deity ; in the me ans of communing with them and i n their

inuence on human action for g ood or evil

From the co llected Opinions of the Hindoo s Chalde ans Per
sians Jews Hebrew and O riental Cabbalists T almudis ts Greek s
and R omans as well as from the author s own personal experi
ence with spirits of di er en t orders and grades we present the
following general summar y of ideas concerning the v arious de
grees of Spiritual existences in the Universe
Whilst ne arly every nation of antiq i ty deemed of God as
the Demiurgus ; neither male nor female yet both ; as of a Central
Source of life li ght heat and creative energy on e alone , yet i n
comprehensible ncreated and indestructible all taught of sub
ordinate procedures from Him The rst of th ese was a Divine
Being corresponding to the Bramah of the Hindoo Tri n i ty th e
O siris of Egypt the O rmuzd of Persia the Logos of Philo the
Adam Kadm an of the Cabbalists
The idea embodied in this T heogony was that in the Deity
resided the masc line principle of Pow e r an d the femin i ne of
Wisdom called by the Cabbalists En Soph and Sophia From
the incomprehensi ble union of these two proceeded a th i r d the
Logos or Word through which the will of God became mani

fest i n expressi o n that is in the evolutio n of forms worlds

suns systems reproductiv e germs an d realms of progressive b e
ing In this stupendous system the superior emanations were
Gods directing the bir th formation an d destinies of worlds ;
then came Archangels charged with missions of Almighty power
and wisdom To them succeeded le gions of Angels some e n
trusted with the direction of Planets Ear ths Nations Cities and

Societies hence called Tutelary Angels an d worshiped as Gods

O thers exercising rule i n specic groups an d classied by H e

brew Cabbalists as Thrones Dominions Powers

The division of Angels and Spirits into grand Hierarchi es
Legions and specic ofces of divi n e mi n i stration would occupy
a volume and gi ve a vast and exalted perception of the antique
view of Spiritual existence Descending from the grander scale
of angelic ministration recited abo v e we notice that the Sa e s
g

an

en c es,

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72

A R T M A GIC

and Seers of ant i quity identied certain spirits as the inspirin g

agencies of art science di fferent branches of industry and all
the occupations of social artistic and even commercial life The
Hebrew Scriptures continually declare that God put it into the
heart of such and such individuals to work in brass or wood ne
li nen or rich coloring In the direct and intuitional communion
with Spiritual existences enj oyed by the Hebrews i t was assumed
that all good or exc eptionally great powers res ulted from inspira
tion and as explained in the New Testament tho se were called
Gods to whom the word of God came ; so when the terms God
or Lord were made use of to signify the source of the idea Spir
i t al inuence w as the ke r n el implied in the expression
B elow all the inspiring agencies for good were as sumed to
e xist le gions of e vil spirits almost as numerous and scarcely less
pow erful to tempt and destr oy th an good Angels were to bles s
Between t hese two realms of opposing power s were ranged
human Souls not only in their incarnate forms of mortal being
but also as disembodied spirits vast realms of spiritual existence
being assigned to them interpenetrating an d surrounding the
earth through which in successive stages of growth an d progress
the pilgrim Soul was pe rmitted to win its way back to the celestial
state from which it had fallen by mortal birth
Every human Soul was suppos e d to attract to itself from the
moment of birth two Spirits the one powerful to inuence for
good the oth er for evil These Spirits were c alled by th e an
c i en ts good an d evil Ge n i i ; an d the natural proclivities to vice or
v irtue in the individual to whom they m i nistered were supposed
to be stimulated or exalted according as the Soul gave heed to
the inspiration of the tempt er or the counsellor
Besides the realms of being above enumerated it was
claimed that other orders existed neither wh olly good or purely
e vil ; neither entirely spiritual n or actually material in their na
tures ; creatures of the elements corresponding in their state
power and function to the di fferent elements in the universe
an d lling up all the realms of space with uncounted legions of
embryonic and r dimental forms
Th ese beings were by reason of their semi spiritual n a t re
invisible to man and because of the gross tincture of matter in
their compositio n unable to discern any orders of being but
themselves except through rare and exceptional rifts in their
They corresponded to the ether air
atmospheric surroundings
atmosphere water earth minerals plants and di fferent elements
o f which the earth an d the uni v erse generally i s composed
Some
,

,
,

'

M A GI C

ART

74

There canno t be a grain of matter but has its corresponding

spiritual counterpart R anging from the innitely large to the
innitely little from a world to a monad all things in the n i
v erse of matter are supplemented by an un i v erse of spirit and it
i s as unreasonable to suppose that mighty suns and resplendent
planets should be destitute of Providential law order guidance
and maintenance through dei c tutelary Angels as that a sand
grain or a dew drop should be left to the direction of its own
unai ded and non intelligent movements All all are but exter
nal expressions of the immortal soul which in fragments and
atoms suited to the thing it vitalizes animates permeates and
sustains all being even as the Soul of man vitalizes his material

structure
We have given this teaching as a compendium of antiq e
and chiey of O riental thought ; but we now preface all farther
attempts at el cidating the subject matter of this work by cl aim
ing every iota of this philosophy to be the truth as it appears to
the mind of the author
From long years of communion with spirits of every grade
high and low perfected and rudimental ; from the privilege of
wandering in their spheres in th e clair voyant condition from
visits made spiritu ally to the realms of elementar y being where
the poor imperfect dwellers beheld in the astral body of their
visitant an imaginary God from dreams tran ces visions Open
and oral communion with angelic b ei n gs an d ministering spirits
the author insists that the doctrines herein enunciated are tran
scripts of the order of the Universe as clearly laid down as the
half pr Oph eti c half bedimmed vision of humanity can appr e
hend it and that whether accepted or rejected it contains holy
truth s which belong to the best interests of humanity t o compre
hend ; re v ealments which our fathers understood and we have
lost s ight of from our undue devotion to material interests and
our blind fanaticism in ignoring all spiritual rese arch save such
as comes through an effete and materialistic ecclesiasticism
We are quite aware that if this volume should fall into the
hands of one idead self styled scientists the avowal of faith just
recorded will amply justify such readers in committing the work
to the ames as the ravings of a lunatic Should it be read by
any of those presumptuous and narrow min ded Spiritualists who
assume that there is no other realm of spiritual being than that
occupied by their own p articular familiars we antic ipate the wail
of d en nciation they will raise insisting that no th eory c an be
t rue or w orth studying that has not been spelled out by their
.

ART

M AGIC

75

rapping Spirits declared in doggrel rhymes through their se m i

tranced media or lisped out in comic al broken English by the

spirits of little Indian maids or big braves once reno w ned

for eloquence and w i s m b t transformed through medium
i sti c witchery into imbecil e s an d buffoons
Should it be read by
the too devoted followers of the soul illumined Seer of Sweden
who cannot admi t of any truth which the mind of Swedenborg
failed to grasp they will say these writings ar e dictated by lying
spirits and that because he the conservator and revelator of
all truth to the minds of the bigoted affirmed that all angels
even the highest that moved around the throne of God had once

been men
Should these pages fall into th e hands of the intelligent
modern Spiritualist whose ince ssant watch word is light more

light ! his comment will be this may be true or false but b e

cause I don t know i t to d ay I will endeavor to prove it to mor

row and accept or reject it only as I can prove it

Should the work fall into the han ds of a learned Pagan

well read Heathen or instructed O rient alist he will say

Surely this writer has heard the voices of the O racles ; beheld
the glories of the mysteries ; and sat at the feet of the Sages who
quaffed from th e eternal fountain of revelation !
He is an initiate a Hierophant a Brother who speaks the
word of truth known only to the few ; the M as ter s Word is w h i s
pered in these pag es thrilling through the bones to the v er y m ar
row of human ity
According to some but n ot by any means the most i n telli
gent or best ed cated of the Americ an Spiritualists there is

no God at all only a principle an d nothing higher in the scale

of being than the spirits of their deceased friends and kindred ;
but these materiali stic philosoph ers form but a small part of that
intelligent nation of thi nkers and their teachings have but little
weight beyond a few score of poor people who gather togeth er
and in grandiloquent phr as e ology congratulate each other on b e
ing the great I Ams of the Universe
The majority of pe rsons convinced by wonderful signs and
tokens in America that the souls of men live and communicate
to their friends on earth have seemed to the author to be wait
ing for some philosophy or revel ation that should c arry the m b e
yo n d this one isolated fact and reduce spiritual existenc e and
human life to correspondential and appr eciable doctri nes of
scienc e
,

M AG I C

A RT

76

Would that t h ese humble writings might aid to practica l i ze

their noble aspirations !
The sacred books of Hermes once supposed to have been
the most ancient writings in the world but now more generally
deemed to have been copies of the Hindoo Vedas transpl an ted
from India into Egypt gi ve most elaborate accounts of the di ffer
ent orders of angelic beings in the Unive rs e and render des c r i p
tions of the spiritual counterp arts of every plant mineral rain
drop or speck of dust in the earth and its atmosphere
Eusebius the Christi an Bishop of Caesarea who wrote in
the fourth century of the Christi an era claimed to have been
familiar with these famous Hermetic writings He s ays they
often repeat the question :Have you not been told that all spirits
ar e sparks from the Divine Soul of the Universe ; Gods Demons

Souls yet in their variousness all emanations from Him ?

J am b li ch s quoting from the same source wr ites : From
this one came all Gods that be ; all souls all spirits g ood and
bad and many that be neither very wicked nor yet good
Th ere be many kinds of spiritual essences besides souls
the sea running waters and e ven some
as spirits of the e arth
that do inhabit the holes of r e pti le s th at l ive on the banks of riv
ers or the d epth of mines
Their abiding places can
not so much as be named without enumerating all the secret
corn ers of the e arth
That these SplI i tS are often under
the domini on of man I s as true as that they may be transformed
by the arch enemy of mankind into instruments of ill to work

the deeds of darkness in which he delights

Lao Kiun a cotemporary of the great Chinese Sage Con
f c i s founded a school whi ch for the spirituality of its doc
trines far transcended the teachings of Confucius His text of
religious faith was : Tao ( meaning God) produced on e; on e pro

d ce d two tw o produced three an d three produced all things

During the li fetime Of th i s philosopher a book c on tai h i n g
the n am e s an d ofces of innumerabl e compan i es of spirits was
found as it was asserted suspended on the royal gate of Pekin
placed there by no mort al hand and supposed to be full of direct
revelations from heaven
This miraculous v olume is said to have contained magi cal
formulae for the evocation and control of spirits ; directions how
to cast out devils and he al diseases ; also th e profounde st secrets

of alchemy n amely the compositi on of the philosophe r s s to ne

and the elixir vitae
To satisfy the bigotry and superstitious fears of succeeding
,

'

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AGIC

generations this b ook together with all other magical writings

was destroyed Still i t was asserted that private copies had been
made and circulated of its contents From a curious an d very
ancient roll of M SS in the royal libr ary of Pekin the author
has had the pri vilege of copyin g a ne astrological chart and a
magical evocatio n of elementary spirits assumed to have been
rst written in the aforesaid book
In Chaldea the only great nation of antiquity in which
Phallic an d Yo n ic emblems are not foun d proving by the
universal prevalence of pure astronomical symbols the ext reme
a belief in various as
antiquity of the worship there practiced
c en di n g and descending grades of spirits and angels everywhere
speaks out from the mighty and stupendous ruins The same
belief only on a much m ore elaborate scale was che ri shed
amongst the M edes and Persians and taught in all its minutiae
by Zoroa ster
The universal prevalence of image worship throughout the
East is due to th e ide a that the spirits of Stars Planets Angels
Seraphs Cherubs and Elementary Spirits could be attracted to
their i mages when consecrated under magical formulae and not
only x the worshipers mi nds upon the Spirits represented in
the images but actually dra w them into those m ate ri al recepta
cles The strange and grot esque forms of consecrated images
may thus be a cc ounted for
The winged Bull of Nineveh w as the personication of th e
Cherubim The winged Serpe n t represented the Seraphim
The immense number of insects birds and ani mals esteemed
as sacred and rendered homage to in animal images were all sup
posed to be attend ed by spiritual essences whose power resided
in the particular shape of the crea tures venerated
The Persian Theogony not only includes all the idea s we
h ave dwelt upon in oth er systems but is divided by Zoroaster
int o interminable chains of Spiritual existences two of whom

one good and another evil is assigned as an Attendant Ferver

to every living creature Besides these are hosts of Elementary
Spirits assumed to exert a b en e c en t or m alignant inuence
upon every particle of the vegetable and animal kingdoms Zo
roaster s system like that of the ancien t Hindoos and Egyptian s
w as full of high moral teachings and save for the cruelty and
reckless waste of life manifested in its system of sacricial rites
forms a code of ethics not inferior to the sweetness and beauty
of the teach i ngs ascribed to Jesus of Nazareth Here as in Cab
b ali sm Spirit is ass m ed to be a primal essence, containing th e
,

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78

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archetypes of all ideas God is the one central source of light

O rmuzd the rst Divine emanation the King of Light M ithra
an d A ri m an e s the ne xt procedures are representatives of the r e
splendent God of Light heat and goodness and the terric
prince of cold darkness and evil All created forms are pat
terned after the archetypal ide as existing in the Divine M ind
and endless chains of good and evil Spirits Angels Genii and
E lem en tar i es ll up all spaces i n the invisible realms in which
matter oats
As in Chaldea the most r enowned methods of interpreting
the will of God were by sooths aying an d divination so in Persia
the favorite resort was to Astrology The Persians claimed that
the Stars were divine Scriptures in which the order of visible
nature was plainly mapped out ; that th e numerous changes and
congurations of the heavenly bodies produced relativ e changes
in the simplicity of the scheme indicated on the path of the Z0
diac That each star had its special inuence upon th e plant or
living creature which was born during its as cendency
M inerals earths waters and places were directly governed
by planet ary inuence The m i n d w as govern ed by the phases
of the moon All colored objects or glittering stones by the sun
or one of the six plane ts ; in f act the rise an d fall of n ations
and the destinies of individuals were spelled out by Persian As
t r ologer s on the starry heavens and he would have been c on si d
ered an ignoramus Or an a daci o s skeptic worthy of de ath who
should presume to dispute the prophetic dictum of any well
versed Persian Astrologer
The Priest s of this nation were called M agi and it seems
probable that this term signifying Wise men was used for th e
rst time in t h i s connection Besides the Art of Astrology and
S oothsaying in w hich the Persian M agi were instructed as par t
of their education they practiced in later days enchantment an d
divination and a s these arts began to be used popular ly in other
nations and were Often combi n e d with Sorcery Necromancy and
hases
of
agic
the
term
of the most questionable character
M
p
M agician was at length applie d to those wh o abused the power
of M agic exercised it for unholy purpos es or by aid of evil spirits
It w as in this sense that the writers of the Pentateuch designated
tho se Priests of Egypt who contended with M oses They call ed
them M agicians whilst M oses in their phraseolo gy was the Ser
vant of God They ( the M agicians ) a c ted under the i n en cc

of Demon s
M oses un der that Of the Hebrews T telar y

It i s th u s th at we learn h ow th e tit l e of M a gici an

Deity
.

,
.

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AGIC

79

originally synonymous with superior wisdom and divine knowl

edge may be used as a term of reproach by rival practitioners
To the egotistical translators of th e Sept agi n t the perform
an e cs of M oses with frogs serpents lice and other abo m in ations

were the work of God acting through his chosen servant ; tha t

of the Egyptian Priests M agic a w ord as abominable in Je w

ish lips as it was honorable amongst Egyptians or Persians
There is a S anscrit word si gn ifying worship which some
what resembles M agus or Ench anter a term synonymous in Chal
The translators of the Se pt a
daic with the Persian M agian
gint all ege that the Babyloni an High Priest was called R ab M og
or M ag ; h ence it seems that M agi c M ag ian M agician and all
their derivative s were in the rst in s t an ce signicant of deep
religiou s me an i ng ; but subsequently became corrupted into base
and injurious terms by the misuse that was made of the power
they referred to
In a curious old treatise by Godwyn on the manner s times
and theological worship of the an cient R omans published in
1 6 2 2 there are the following items of information conce r ning
the subdivisions of their Gods an d Spirits etc :
Though Satan had much blinded the hearts of men I n old
times yet was n ot the darkness so great but that they did easily
perceive that there was some g o v er n o r some rs t mover as
Aristotle saith ; some rst ori gi n all of all g oodn e sse as Plato
teacheth ; so that if any made this question whether there was a
God or no they were urged to confess the truth tha t there was a
God ; yet were they very blind in discerning the true God and
hence hath been invented such a t edious catalogue of Gods that
as Varro averreth ; their n mber hath exceeded thirty thousand
The second kind of Gods were called Sem i de s id est demi
Gods ; also Indigites id est Gods adopted or canonized or men
deied For as the select God s had possession of he aven by
their own right so these Gods canonized had it no other way
than by right of donation being therefore translated into

heaven because they lived as Gods upon earth

Then fol
lows a description of the rights of canonizati on unnecess ary to
quote The author goes on to say :But that we may unders tand
what is meant by these Semones ( Gods of th e third order) we
must remember that by them are si gn i ed not the Gods th at

appertain to s but the necessaries of man s life as his victuals

c loath i n
g and the like to the which well being of man were
Gods of good and evil fortune inclining to give or wi thhold
We read likewise, of divers names giv en to many G o ds

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who did se v erally a fford help unto many so that they were called
tutelares such as had undertaken the protection of any City or
Towne an d thence are named for the City or Towne as St
George of Engla n d ; St Den i s of France ; St Patrick of Ireland
etc and the R omans being fully persuaded of this kind of
guard held by tutelares when they went about to besiege a
Towne by certa ine enchantments or spells they would rst call
out the Tutelar God because they deemed it impossible to cap
ti v ate the City as long as these Gods were within and least
others might use the s am e means in b esei gi n g R ome therefore
a s divers authors have t h ought th e true name of the R oman City
was neve r k nown least thereby the name of their Tutelar God
A n d as they supposed some Tutelar
might be de sc r yed
spirit to have the charge of whole countries so did they believe
that others had the charge of parti cular men and that so soon as
any man was born two Spirits did presently accompany h i m i n
visibly the one tearm ed the good A ngell or bonus Genius per
s adi n g him to that which i s good; the other called the M alus
Genius or evi l A n geli tempti ng to that which should be h urtful
insomuch that they thought all the actions of men we re gui ded
by these Genii so that if any misfortune b efel a man they would

say We have gri eved our Genius or O ur G e nius being di s

pleased with us or opposed to us
T h ese Genii wer e

thought to be a m iddle essence between Gods and men

They appear in divers forms but oftener as a erce tr agi call
as did the evil G enius who warned Brutus of his fate or a
m an
decrepit old man or a sad one or i n many such for m s of anger

or woe as m ank ind doth as sum e

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Cabbalistic readers understand that as Sara was old her Spouse

only wept for her a little
In a certain pass age th e syllables Isch signifying a man
and E scha a woman will be found with a point against the word
man absent in w riting the word w oman ; next there occur s a
point in the wor d woman lacking in writing the word man ; when
the two points are combined in the same sentence they signify
God ; when one alone is there the word re is implie d Without
the pointing the idea conveyed is man and woman do agree well
together With the interception of the subtle points in the
peculiar mode of Cabbalistic writings the sentence would read
When man an d woman agree together God is with them ; when
they disagree re is between them
The study of a lifetime would fail to master all the subtle
ties wi th which these writings abound and th e determi nation
which the author s of the Jewish Cabbala manifest to veil the
meaning of th eir sentences under the mask of cypher ; an d hence
it is doubtful how much the popular tran slations of t his cele
b r ated collec tion can be relied on especially when they ar e given
to the world by M ystics as much inter ested in reserving C ab b al
i sti c ideas as their original authors
The Talmud very probably contains a fair digest of the Cab
b ala although the latter is richer in occult lore From a com
parison of th e two we may glean the following summ ary of
ancient Jewish opi ni ons concerning th e Divine order of c os
,

m og on

God is a Trinity to wit :

Light Spirit and Life His rst
emanations are also t ri n e namely :En Soph the masculine of
Innity ; Sophia the feminine of Wisdom an d the Word th e
divine Activity proceeding from the union of the two A third
tri ad of principles is indicated namely :M atter the form ati ve
mould ; Life the active principle of form ation ; and Soul th e
eternal and innite form of Spirit M uch stress is laid on th e
ine ffable mystery of Triune being that is Three in one and
one in three also on the science of numerals the exact p ri nciple
of mathematics and the immutable order by which creation is
designed on geometric al proportions M athematics and geom
e try are as inextricably interwoven with Cabb alistic ideas as Spiri t
and matter

The rst man Adam Kadm an I s mysteriously mixed p

w ith the Jewish Christ the Adam of the fall ; King David and

the original only begotten Son of God

It would take all the
craft of the unsc rupulous Eusebius to disentangle the exact rela
ti on s of Adam R adman with h i s subse quent appear an ces on

u
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83

earth and all the faith of the most unquestioning of Christian b e

li e v er s to swallow the Cabbalistic methods of interpreting the
scheme of unaccountable perdition and unaccountable salvation
for man There i s some probability that the wild an d n s s
tai n ed theories of modern rei n carnatio n i sts borrow their fantasies
from these Cabbali stic r amblings ; still there is much of beauty
much too of scie n tic val e in the suggestions thrown out con
cerning the j ust proportions of the universe and the profoun d
mathematical b as es on which the structure of creation rests To
a great exten t the scheme of descending emanations in creation
and ascending sp h eres providing for the progr ess of fallen spiri t s
and elementary existences agrees with the views of other ancien t
Theologians whose Opinions we have cited C abbali stic wri ters
are very diffuse in their descriptions of different orders of R e

splendent Angels T telary Spirits Guardian Angels of every

grade and function Souls of m en Spirits and legions of Elemen
taries lling all space crowding all elements and peopling th e
universe with realm s of Spiritual existence corr esponding to th e
Archetypes Spiritual principles and ultimates of form
We shall have occasion to draw from the Cabbala again in o r
sections on M agic ; meantime we close this brief notice by affirm
ing that the very best and m ost reliable digests of Cabbalistic wis
dom are to be fo n d in the songs of O rpheus the p h i los ophy of
Plat o the doctrines of Pythagoras Appolonius of Tyana and the
7
modern mystics an Helmont and Behmen M any others h av e
borrowed fragments from this collection of writings an d though
we ar e unprep ared to assert that the celebrated Gree k sages
named above derived their ideas from the Cabb ala we are s atis
e d that they all a n d each drew from the same source an d tha t
the fountains of wisdom that supplied them pour ed fort h their
treasures from the grand old rang e s of the mighty Himalayas
and trembled i n the dewy chalices of the white lotuses that
frin ged the shores of the sacred h le
The more we pursue the Wi s om of the ancients through all
their ramications of varied speech allegorical forms and sym
b oli c representation the more surely we shall come to the con
e lusion that they are all tributary streams from one centr al
source ; that this source was th e Book of N ature wri tten over
with owers an d bloom on the fair gr een earth w i th s n s and
stars in the spangled vault of He aven that the great School
master who rst instructed men an d angels in the letters of thi s
divine alphabet was :
God the Father of Spi ri ts ; that the means
of teaching were intuition inspiration and dire ct communi on
with An gels the messengers of God ; ma ic as the ar ti c er of a
g
,

uu

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8 4:

AGIC

new form of communion when the child like early man lost th e
power of intuition and broke the links of direct communion by
the corruptions of a materialistic civiliz ation an d all means com
b i n e d when the pure heart and the clear brain can elevate the
soul to its native heav ens and le arn to master the occult forces
of nature by science Perhaps we m ay never return t o the sim
ple an d child like attitude which the early men of the earth s s
tai n e d towards their God
They conversed with their tutelary spirits as a man speaks
with his friend
They looked and saw that God w as
They
listened and God s Angels Spoke to them in v oices as cle ar as the
sighing of the breeze or the murmuring of the brook They r e
e c te d and their past spiri tual origi n and present destiny cast
their images on the mirror of their minds as truthfully as the
limpid waters of the lake reects the lustre of the stars
Had you asked the intuitional man of old h ow he knew th ese
things he would have gazed upon you with astonishment and
questioned back How is it poss ibl e that y o should fail to know
them ?
Socrates said I respect my own soul though I cann o t
see it
The men of our purely materi alistic and external age doubt
the existence of their own souls because they cannot see them
How then can they expect to see spi ri ts hear their v oices

or apprehend the nature of that God who i s a Spirit ?

-

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PA R T I I

85

SE C T I O N VI I

M A N S E A R LI EST C O M M U N I O N

WI T

H SP I R I T S

SPIRI T I SM A N D M A G IC M UND A NE SU B M UND A NE A N D SUPER

M UN DA NE SPIRI T I SM T H E M Y ST I C L A DDER A N I N T E R M I N
A B LE C H A IN OF L OVE A N D H A RMONY
-

an s earliest religious history is also the history of Spiri t

ism or his communion with the realms of Spiritual existence
To effect this communion the human organis m must be
adapted to the perception of Spiritual entities or else means
must be found to promote this adaptation
We have mis spent our time in sketching out the ancie n t
forms of religious belief if we have failed to Sho w that men once
communed with their Tutelary God s and ministering Spirits i n
t i ti v ely i n spi r atipn ally and even directly but that in process of
time either by reason of changes in man s receptivity or from
th e alt ered condit i ons w hich civilization imposes that commun
ion bec ame interrupted then more and more diffi cult ; in some
periods it ceased altogether and nally became limited to a fe w
exceptionally endowed individuals in which category ( with occa
si on al irruptions of a more diffusive ch aracter
it
has
continued
)
down to the present day
The spontaneous and natural communion with Spiritual b e
ings whether it be exercised by co m munities or individuals w e
may term Spiritism The arts by which this communion is pro
cured through prepared conditions should with equal propriety
be designated M agic and whether these arts be practiced for
good or evil purposes the i r m ethods must involve a knowle dge
of the occult forces existin g in nature and the me ans of calling
them forth and tilizing them If the understanding and ap

M AGI C

ART

86

plication of Nature s laws in any one department of being is a

science then must all knowledge and all arts which are but the
applications of knowledge be included in the term science hence
magic howev er ominous its name may sound in superstitious ears
and however m ch it may have been perverted to purpose s of
evil is stil l a branch of science an d as such should be studied
and legitimately used
M agic may be termed the science of Spi ritism and whilst
it would be as idle to tender it to the acceptance of those whose
natural endo wments supply them with the art it professe s to
teach as to paint the cheek of the rose or blanch the lily white
its careful study may furnish us with a clue to the better use and
g i dance of natural gifts and where these are lacking instruct
us in the methods of supplying the deciency In order to point
out the spheres of power in which magic operates it is nec ess ary
to dene the o rder of communion which nature permits through
the exception al endowments of her most hi ghly gifted children
t h e world s Seers Prophets Sybils an d M ediums
The rst gift included in the discernment of Spiritual b e
ings is that of vision or the faculty of seeing Spirits r ecognizi n g
their signs in aerial pictures their writings when insc ri bed in
Spiritual subst ances also of perceiving the spirits of fellow m en
reading the thoughts and characteristics m as ked to th e mortal
eye and taking cognizance g enerally of the Spiritual p art of
things in the Univ erse
The second gift of the prophetic order is the faculty of
hearing sounds w h ether in the form of Spirit voices music or
other vibr ations made on the ethereal medium in which spirits
live rather than on the atmosphere which mortal s breathe and
dwell in
The power of seei ng and he aring spirits opens up two of th e
principal avenues of intelligence to our Souls and in like man
ner the spiritual senses of smell tas te and touch can be operated
u pon
Through one or other of these gates to the inner c onscio s
ness all spiritualistic p henomena must act but the phenomena
themselves are v ery v arious
Sometimes the Soul of man itself looks forth through i ts
material enc asements acting from within and sees hears tas tes
smells and touch es spiritual entities
Sometimes m i nistering spirits produce e ffects ac ting from
without upon the inner senses of m an
Both methods are com
mon both belong to the one gifted individual
Sometimes the inux of spiritual ideas is so silent natural
,

"

ART

M AGIC

87

and unmarked b y physical di st b an ces that their subj ect kno w s

not that an Angel speak s or that the soul has transcended the
laws of sensuous percepti on an d derived ideas unconsciously
from its n ear proxi m i ty to the realms of spiritual entities
To account for the op era tion of the powers described abo ve
it is necessary to revert to the last section of the First Par t and
bear in m i nd that the realms of spiritual being are very near i n
fact all around an d about us ; th at though spirits of every grade
and class swarm through the universe ranged in their di fferen t

spheres an d orders yet that th e Spirit world or th e spher es

through wh i ch the souls of men ar e making pilgrimage upwards
and onwards to h eaven are approximate to this e arth even as
the soul of man is rel ated to his body ; that these spheres in ter
penetrate every atom of m atter on this globe with a spiritual ele
ment and again as the disembodied spirits of e arth are in the
most direct; natural an d harmonious pr oxim i ty to their still em
bodied fri ends it is to the Spirit spheres of humani ty that the
most ready access to the hum an soul is obtained and through
which the most constant inux into the natural world transpires
To expect th at the r ealm s of disembodied human Spirits should
be the ne arest in atmospheric proximi ty to m an the most in ao
c or dan c e with his g rade of intelligence an d the m ost prom pt to
ser v e bless an d instruct him by ties of love kindness and ad apta
tion is just as rational as to suppose that the human mother
would be the rst to render aid to her suffe ring child or th at the
child wo l d be more likely to appeal for that aid to a tender pa
rent than to some un sym p athizing stranger This phase of inter
course between spirit s an d mort als we disting i sh as M undane
Spiritism and this we cl ai m to be the most natural direct and
spontaneous product of that di vine plan which connects all con
di ti on s of being from the highest to the lowest in one unbroken
ch ain of love an d harmony the links of which are millions of
spheres of super mund an e mun dane and s b mundane Spiritual
exist ences
There are b t few an alo gies disco v erable on the surfac e of
mundane life between the l aws which separately gove r n Spi r i t
the more
an d matter but the closer we pursue o r researches
clearly w e recognize correspondence if not actual analo gi es b e
tween these elements Amongst these are the laws of physical
an d mor al gravit ation
As the heaviest an d gros sest bodies sink to the centr e so the
leas t intelligent and exalted conditions of spiri tual being obey
the same law and hence sub mundane Spiritism c onsists in com
mun i on with these lowers orde r s of being who are in point of
,

'

M A GIC

ART

88

position in the Universe n o less th an in mo ral and mental n

foldm en t lower than man and whom the philosophers an d m ys

tics of old hav e signicantly deno m i nated the E lem en tar i es

It would be impossible to do jus tice to the immense multi
tudes of those beings who crowd the elements an d exist in all
grades of semi spiritual semi mat erial bodies from such pro
r esse d but still rudimental conditions
as
almost
imping
upon
e
g

the pe rfection of m an hood down to the Pigm i es who emerge

from rude almost inorgan ic life e v olved from minerals plants
water earth atmosphere and r e
There are luxuri ant and enormous growths gigantic forms
exceeding the proport ion s of humanity who abound in forests
mountains hills and desert places ; s tunted dw ar sh beings who
frequent mines caverns and the deep recesses of e arth corr e
s on di n g to the undeveloped elements of inorg anic nature
p
Bea tiful , though still embryonic existences there ar e wh o
belong to the ner spheres corresponding to owers and air
F ant as tic an d di si v e shapes of elementary life crowd the w a
ters and re splendent globular n part i c le d essences exist and can
be detected in the r ealms of light and heat represente d by re
All are included in the title of E lem en tar i es All possess differ
ent functions exert power in the p articular elements to which
they belong are n either good nor e vil per se but malignant or
b en e cen t in part to thos e whom th ey a e c t or di slik e ; th ey pos
sess in short v aried p owers and characteristics ; and c on m n i on
with them may be classed in the category of Sub mundane Spir
,

M yri ads upon myri ads there are in whom special anim al i h
sti n c ts prevail , giving to their embryonic forms a similarity to
These eleme n
th e creatures whose natures they corr espond to
.

tary spirits ar e all ranged and clas sed in the divine order of crea
tion under the same law of adaptation that is manifest in the
pl ants animals and other products of different countrie s and
climes Every creature is as much in its place and an inb ah
i tan t of its appropriate sphere as is the material particle to which
it co rresponds Hanging on th e same divine thread of b en e
ce nce which binds man to the heart of Deity these E le m en tar i e s
could no m ore be riven away from th e interminable chain of b e
ing than the Planetary order of th e skies could afford to par t
with M ercury the younge st child of the solar system becau se it is
not so perfectly developed as M ars nor yet cast out of the shin
ing s tarry family that circ les round the parent sun th e planet
E ar th bec aus e it has not attained to the size lustre and glory of
J pit er
,

90

ART

M AGIC

take its place as a pure ly perfected and self conscious spiri t en

tity in those realms where it awaits in com mon with myriads of
other spirits a mortal birth on this or some other e arth in the
Universe Yet such is God s plan at least such does it appe ar to
the most patient of studen ts ; those who have toiled through the
esoter ic si gn i cati on s of human history and learned their spiri t
ali sti c les sons from the very beings who are in th e e xpe r i en c e of
the truths th ey reveal Such is God s plan unless the philosophic
minds who have gathered up the accumulated wisdom of past
ages and studied nature an d the mysteries of spiritual existen c e
i n their profoundest depths have learned less than modern theo
rists who never study such subj ects at all
Either the wisdom an d occult knowledge of cycles of ages
is worth less th an the scornful denial of utterly uninformed skep
ti c i sm or our brief revie w of sub mund ane Spiritism is a correct
one as far as it goes
R ese r ving more p articular descriptions of the E lem en tar ies
for future sections we now proceed to notice the realms of super
mundane Spiritism
Here legions of Archangels and Angels throng the Uni
verse of whom the imagination may conceive but to whos e being
do no justice
an d nature the power of language can
In Whatever realms of spiritu al life the entranced soul of the
ecstatic may wander with Whatever resplendent beings that soul
may be perm itted to hold converse the mind is always directed to
higher states and higher individualities still Like the r ev elat
ing Angel addressing the Apocalyptic writer John every Spi ri t
or Angel that has ever communed with m an ignores worship an d
ascribes all power and all glory to something still beyond to
De i c existences incompreh ensible but ever felt in the under
standing and ever holding that central point of all devotion an d
worship which we vaguely call God Bear this fact in mind and
we Shall be held guiltless of presumption when we write of wha t
the eyes of Seers have beheld of Spirits with whom our fathers
like John of old have identied even the Lord of life and light
and striven to worship as God ; of mighty Angels who lik e the
spirit that spoke through the thunders of Sinai or from the mi ds t
of the burning bush seem to man the last apex of glory on which
the nite mind rests its conceptions of God Higher and still
h igher ever stretching away where roads are made of star dust
and paths are strewn with glittering Suns ; where time is no more
and space is lost in innity ; stretching away into hemispher e s
w here new sideral heavens for m the boundary walls and gateways
to new co rridors of an Universe wherein end there is none
-

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Loos e

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91

the reins of the imagination and let the ery steeds of

a new m en tal Phoebus seek to traverse thes e high roads of i n
n i ty ! People t h em all with A n gels as cending and still asc end
ing in the scale of grandeur power and immensity and then
question of the highest still an d still the choiring worlds will an
swer Higher yet ! higher yet ! There still are realms of being

h i gher yet !
We veil o r presumptuous eyes against these vain specula
tions retreat to our spheres of littleness content to nd t h at
Angels Guar dian Spirits and Spirit friends surround us mi ni s
ter to our ear thly powers and functions only as our minds can
grasp an d comprehend them and thus we m ay concentrate our
wandering thoughts on the rm assurance that God is though
man may never kno w Him and rest in the certainty that all we
hope and strive for will yet be ours as the heirs of immortal
progress
Super mundane Spiritism teaches of Tutelary Spirits or
Gods and Planet ary Angels
The Jehovah of the J ews affords a well marked denition
or Tutelary Gods
Of the ancient belief i n E loih i m
The r evelat i n g Angels so often described by the Hebr ew
Prophets and H e who was claimed by the authors of the Apoca
lypse to have mapped out the masonic order of creation in that
gorgeous vis ion said to hav e been shown in the Isle of Patmos
or the isolation of the entranced Soul clearly illustrate the n a
ture of these celes tial visitants who in the O riental dispensation
t alked with men face to face In our degenerate and unspiritual
ag e we have little to illuminate our prosaic lives save the reve la
tions of our Fathers From time to time bright beings ash
athwart our path more glorious than the forms of men or spirits
and the assurance that the realms of space must be lled with the
mes sengers of God induces us to yield acc eptance to the C ab b al
i sti c division of the higher orders of Angels into Thrones Do
minions Powe rs ; An gels of the Pl anets Tutelary Spirits
Guardians of Nations Cities M en the Souls of Ancestors and

beloved Spirit friends

The reader will remember the de sc r i p
tion so often rendered by S wedenborg in his ecstatic wandering s
through Celestial sphe re s of his h aving seen God as a Spiri t al
Sun The s ame statement is made by several of the best modern
Brahmins w h o are Seers It was r e af r m e d by C ah agn et s Som
n am b les under th e control of many spirits who professed to have
beheld the glory of this Spi ritual Sun and it was stated in opp o
si ti on
to all the preconceived opinions of surrounding listene r s
by the Spiri ts w h o spoke with human voices at Koon s Spirit
:

ART

92

M AGIC

room in the Opening of the American Spir itual Dispensation

It h as freq ently been stated to the author by teaching Spir
its that th e Tutelary Angel of every planet appears only as a
Spiritual Sun himself deriving light heat force and being from
the Central Sun of the Universe ; that these stupendous an d sub
lime centres the Spiritual Suns of Earths Pl anets and Satel
lites impart their lif e giving light radiance and gravitating
forces to the Physical Suns of the systems to which they belong ;
that these Physical S n s ar e the most progressed aggregations
of world matter in the Universe henc e become centres and pa
rents of revolving Satellites who derive a cert ain measure of light
and heat from the Sun of their system h ut like that material
body they would fade perish and dissolve into their original ele
ments were they not vitalized by the Spiritual Sun which is to
that system as the Soul to the human body
To the true Hierophant who can connect ancient mysteries
with personal s piritual endowments those who wear the P r oph
et s mantle yet analyze its fabric by th e light of modern science
Tutelary Spirits and Planetary Angels reveal themselves as di s
ti n c tly now as when they spoke from between the Cherubim and

Seraphim of the Ark of th e C ovenant or reected their l s

trous rays from mimic skies outstretched above the Hieroph ants
of ancient mysteries
Planetary Spirits respond to inv ocations from the sincere Spir
i t ali st and often hold watch and ward over the favored ones of
ea r th to whom through p rep ared conditions they communicate
many of the great truths of the Universe unattainable to mor
t als without their aid Few of them are inf erior to the highest
of human intelligences save the Spirits of M ercury and Venus
who h o ld seldom be invoked or en couraged to commune with

E ar tI

Generally speaking the Planetary Spirits are n ot attracted

to earth except on special missions or by evocations procured as

a ov e stated through prepared conditions

of which more her e
,

er

anging under th e category of Super mundan e Spiritism we

place the Sou l s of men who hav e attained to the highest condi
tions of Angelic exaltation and who ar e attr ac te d to Earth as
messengers of b en e c en c e beauty and goodness
Souls of men that h ave enjoyed ages of progress and at
tai n e d to radiant conditions of celestial happiness sometime s r e
turn to earth for materi al kn owledge to study lower conditions of
being an d gather elements of use imparting in return the noblest
teachings and very generally associating their mission with some
-

MA

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GIC

93

m ast er mind of earth through who m they become b y inspiration

and heavenly in uence the promoters of mighty reforms great
upheavals of hum an thought culminating in social political or
religious revolutions
On every round of that vision ary ladd er whose foot is on
earth whose apex in h eaven T A n g els who have once been men
Spirits who have lived and labored on earth and risen from the
as hes of death victor br e wed to a triumphant inheritance b e

yond ; household lares
heart loves who h ave just left us but
still hover on the threshold they have crossed to smooth our rough
and rugged p ath over the stones their torn feet have trod all
such ministers of l ove and blessing as these asc end and descend
on this mystic ladder forming an interminable chain of love and
h armony between the highest and the lowest conn ecting e ach
an d all by the links of sympathy bearing up the tired hands that

are dropping life s burdens for ve ry weariness catching at the

outstretched arms that are tossed abroad in the agony of frantic
supplication to the God of many creeds and nations tenderly
wafting up to heaven the piteous prayers that long ago they lisped
forth in accents as faltering as our own and returning inspiration
for aspiration peace and blessing for the incoherent appeals of
human ignorance and impotence
These are the beings that ll up the s m of man s limited
an d
nite span of knowledg e concerning Sup er mundan e
Spiritism
,

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AGIC

SE C T I ON VI I I

M A N T H E M I C R O C O SM O F T H E U N I VE R SE

M A N T H E TRI N I T Y OF E LEMEN T S :
SOUL, SPIRI T , M A T T ER R O SI

T
A
A
R
L
P
IRI
A
R
L
I
G
H
R
I
A
N
H
E
T
T
S
T
A
L
T HE
I SM
C UC
S
S
T
,

AN CIEN T A N D M ODERN P RI E ST
The modus Operandi by which the worlds invisibl e I JO the
outer senses of man can become so man if est as to convince him
of their existence must depend rst on some element resident in
the human organism and n ext upon correspondential mean s op
crati ng upon man from the invisible realms of being :
Were there not such operations mutually subsisting between
the worlds of spirit and matter all man s imaginings ho wever
sublime all his i ntuitive faculties however penetrating and even
the witness of his own interior nature would never be susceptible
of demonstrating God i n the light of reason never b ri ng h i m face
to face with Spirit as the absolute esse of b ei n g never enable him
to construct such a religious belie f as the Father could comm un i
cate to the child or the Priest impart to the People The re can
be no doubt that the Soul s deepest and most intuitive p ercep
tions of truth are its own most acceptable witnesses still these
are incommunicable and the Spirit s witness of i tself its Deity
and its faith in immo rtality can never be fully translated into
human speech
Happily however for those b lunted natur es
which are not developed up to transcendent heights of spi ritual
truth the realms of invisible being approximate to earth hav e
found means to establish processes of communion whi ch pl ace
their existence varied offices of ministry even their very n atures
beyond all Sh adOW Of doubt or deni al to those who c are to consult
the occult as well as the material Side of human history
Setting the question of e vidence aside however or l eaving
it only as a subject of warfare between contentious factions of
m aterialist s and cr eedi sts our part i s to e xa m i ne int o th e m e th ods
.

M AGIC

ART

95

by

which the communion between man and the invisible worlds

of being transp i re
M ere opi n i on s c on c ern i n g the facts of the phenomena fur
nish no clue to their means of occurrence
Spirits come an d go app arently by no law analogous to those
which govern h man action
Beings of an order w h olly di fferen t in their essential nature
and similar only in form and intelligence to man interpenetrate
his atmosphere like the m agical appearance of the light n i ng s
ash and disappear in the same inexplicable mystery
Sounds sight mo v ements impressions sometimes appealing
to man with the subtle semblance of a vision sometimes com
pelling him by a for ce he cannot resist all captivate his sen ses
sway his soul and ll him with awe and wonder
The commonplace and secularizing modes of spiritual inter
course that hav e prevailed throughout the s ec on d half of our
resent
century
have
doubtless
tended
to
st
r ip the world of s
p
rn at r ali sm of its terrors as well as much of its exaltation and
e
p
spiritual beauty still it has e ffected a wonderful revolution in
man s intellectual appreciati on of spiritual existence c onr m i ng
him in knowledge upon subjects that were before di vi ded b e
tween myth an d superstitious credulity and bringing under the
dominion of reason an d j dgment problems that were deem e d
h ert ofor e i n sol b le upon any other ground than the assumption
of miracle
In treating of nature as of the visible and sensuous univ erse
we ar e no
an d super natur e as of the inv i sible and spiritual
longer driven to th e necessity of premising our philosophy wi th
an if and such e vents really transpired or leaning upon the a
th ori ty of some great Sage or world r enowned Pundit before we
can demand accep tance for our facts
Howe v er commonplace or even puerile many of the phas es of
modern Spiritual communion may be however foolishly th a t
communion may have been abused by making it the Shibboleth
for the introduction of all sorts of s bversive ideas into social r e
li gi o s and even politic al life the immense ood of light it h as
diffused upon the great problems of life death immortality a n d
the nature of the human spirit rank it as one of the most re v ol
i on ary and powerful re v elations that have been vouchsaf ed to
man since the closing p of the O rient al and M ythologic al Dy
n asties
It is aS m ch b y the positive sensuous demonstrations af
forded to us in this great modern Spiritual outpouring as
thro gh a study of ancient or medi aeval r ecords that we are en
.

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abled to present the composite but absolute philosophy of Spir

i ti sm recited in this Section ; b t here let us premise that we do

not propose to pause in our de n i tions to say t his is A rte ph i s

and that is Plato ; thus arg ed the Fire Philosophers of the mid
dle ages and thus mus ed the Cabbalists of antiquity Now as
heretofore our reference to authori ty must be sought for in the
context of the work rather than in the list of names cited

M an is a M icrocosm or Univ erse in l i ttle as such he is th e

conservator of all forces the image of all obj ective forms the
embodiment of all subj ective ideas and the connecting link b e
twee n all existences higher and lower than himself
In himself taken to pieces by chemistry and analyzed by th e
display of h i s powers and relations to the invisible world he is a
trinity of elements namely :Body spirit and soul His body is
a conservator of al l the powers and functions of matter ; his spirit
the animating principle is made up of all the forces we vaguely
call life ; his Soul is the pure De i c and immortal essence whose
attribute is Wil l or Intelligence It i s the attempt to analyze
thes e three elements which has formed a groundwork of philos
m
o h
an
d
a
the
e
of
learned
speculation
for
thousands
of
y
e
ars
p y
Judging from effect s rather than assumed causes may we

not believe with the Fire Philosophers of the m i ddle ages that

like
its
source
the
Central
Sun
of
being
i n its na
s
the soul i
ture and e s sen ce pure un alloyed Spirit al Light ?
That it is the invisible and innitely sublimated Spirit of
Fire n ot t h e gross visible element th at can be seen felt and ap

prehended by the senses but th at wonderful innermost light

which whilst i t reveals and proves all thi n gs in its own m an i fes
tati on
is itself invisible unknown and uncomprehende d?
It is this essenti al innermost and divine p rinciple of soul
which survives all change which is neither subj ect to decay nor

disintegration ; which is the spark derived from Deity the Alpha

and O mega of being an d the link which unit es the Creature to

the Creator
Encom p assing this divine essence of soul and clothi n g it as
a spiritual body is the subtle and re ned element which in i ts
effects is force ; in its action through organic bodies is life ; and
in its all pervading inuence through out th e realms of space is
vaguely termed magnetism and electri cti y
I t is the sec ond of that grand tri n ity Of pri n ci ples whose
union constitutes man a living being
It is this element which we described in our rst section as
recognized throughout th e U n i v er se by the apparent duality of
i ts modes call ed attraction and repulsion or centri fuga l an d cen

ART

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AGIC

category

Inertia i s the only property of matter in this

heat
or repulsion its counteracting for c e attraction the exhibition of
the vis ine rtia of atoms
We do not care to dismiss these propositions without a far
ther elaboration of their bas ic idea and for this purpose we pr o
pose to offer a few excerpts fro m one of those writ ers who has as
sumed the office of describing the principles of the R osicrucian
Brotherhood As far as the Opinions of this remarkab l e associa
tion can be dened in language the quotations s elected will give
a fair i dea of their views on the subj ect under discussion :
If the above abstractions are caught by the thinker it will
appear no wonder that the anci ent people considered that they
sa w God that is with all their innermost possibility of thought

in Fire which Fire is not our vulgar gross Fire neither is i t

e ven the purest material or el ectric re which h as still some
thing of the base bright light of the world about it ; but it is an

occult mysterio s supernatural Fire not m agnetic and yet a

re al sensible mind It is the inner Light the God containi n g
all things the soul of all things into whose inexpressibly in t ense
all consuming all creating divine though ery essence all the
worlds in succession will fall ; back into whose arms of Immortal
Light on the other side as again receiving them th e worlds
driven off into space an d being heretofore by the Divine energy

will again rush back to him

The hollo w world in which that es sence of th i ngs called

Fire plays in its esc ape in violent agitation to us combustion

is deep down within us deep sunken inside of the time stages of

whi ch we are i n the esh rings of being subsidences of Spirit

N arr ow ly considered it will be found that all religions
transcend up into this Spiritual Fi re oor on which so to speak
the phas es of time were laid M aterial Fire which is brightness
as the matter upon which it prey s is d arkness is the shadow of
the true Spi ri t Li gh t which i nv ests i tself in re as a m ask in
which alone it can act possibly on matter Thus materi al light
being the opposite rather than th e expression of God the E gyp

tians who were undoub te dly acquainted with the Fire r evela

tion could not represent God as light material light They

therefore expressed their idea of Deity by darkness Their ador
ation was paid to darkness for in thi s they bodied forth the i m

age of the Eternal

Though re is an element in which
e v erything inheres an d of which it is the life still it is its elf an
element existin g i n a second non terrestrial h on physical ethe
real re in which the rst or t errestrial Coarse re ickers
wav es brandishes consume s destroys The rst is natural m a
,

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99

gross ; but this familiar element seen and known in the

natural world as re is contained in a celestial n parti cled i n

which celestial re is its matri x and of

n i tely extended medium

which in this human body we know nothing

We here interrupt these excerpts rendered c h i ey as frag
mentary representations of R osicrucian ide as on the D eity t o
interpret the obscure language of the writer and st ate th at the
celestial r e referred to in the above passage is the all per vading
element we have described which in its action through space is
termed the Astral Light and in its i n y esti t r e of the soul as a
Spiritual body is termed the Astral Spirit
The innermost of the
R osicr cian Celest i al Fire l i ke that of the huma n spirit is the i h
comprehensible essence of li ght n ot its subst ance Soul R obert
Fludd a R osicruci an mystic o f the middle ages teaches that the
M acrocosmos or great Universe of intelligible and intelligent
forms is divided i nto three prin cipal regions which are den om i
n ate d the Empyreum
the A eth e r e m and the Element ary re
gion Each are lled with Celestial Fire and trave rsed by i h
numerable oceans of Astral Light but the qu an tity and quality
of these divine elements diminishes as thes e subdivisions of space
recede farther from the Central Source of all
It is the union of the Celestial Fire and Astral Light which
constitutes the Soul of the Universe
The R osicruci an biographer proceeds to say :
There ar e three ascending Hierarchies of b en e ci en t A n
gels whose nature is of the purer portion of the Celestial Fire and
these are divided into nine ord er s These tlH eefold Angelic H i
e r ar c h i e s are :
The Teraphim the Ch e rubim and Seraphim ; also
there is a correspondential realm of darkness divided into nine
s h er esg the residuum of being peopled with m i ghty but adverse
p
Angels who boas t s till of the relics of their lost or eclipsed con

dition once all li ght an d heav enly glory

The Elemen
tary region includes the earth man and his belongi ngs also the
low er creatures This sphere is the ux subsidence ashes of the
ethereal r e and man himself is the microcosm or indescribably
small copy of the macrocosm or great world This earth having
been produced by the contention of light and darkness has dense
ness in its innumerable heavy concomit an ts which contain less
an d less of the original divine light and heat an d thicken and so
li di fy until it is rent ap art torn disintegrated an d distributed
into forms by the still prevalent action of the Divine element of
invisible re
The inner jew e l of li g ht is never absent even from the
e
m
a
t
ross
s
atom
and
thou
h
it
ake
a
es
to
e
o
lv
e
st
l
l
t
i
v
i
w
l
l
g
g
y
g
teri al,

1 00

ART

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this di vine light ever ten ding to purify rene and elevate al
chemically convert base things into ne gross matter into ethe
real and the earth itself into a radiant and gloriously spiritua l
i z ed planet
Unseen and unsuspected there is a divine ethereal
spirit an eager re conned as in prison struggling through all
solid objects which are imbued with more or less of this sensitive
life as they are more or less rened through the changing purga
tions of r e Thus all minerals in this spark of light have the
rudimentary possibility of plants and growing organisms ; plants
have rudimentary sensibilities which might in distant ages trans
mute them into locomotive creatures and all vegetation might
pass off into new and independent highways of being as their
original spark Of life li gh t th r i lls expands and urges nature for
ward with more informed force and directed by the unseen A n

geli o M inisters of the Great O riginal Architect

It is with
terrestrial re that the Alchemist breaks asunder the atomic
thickness of visi b le nature which yielding up its secret destiny
of unlimited progress sinks into the ery furnace in its basest
proportions to arise thrice puried an d forced upwards on the
h
athway
of
a
hig
er
round
of
the
ladder
p
It is with the celestial re that the R osicrucian bursts
asunder the bonds of error and darkne ss that hold the soul in a
He becomes the Pontifex (bridge mak er)
m aterial prison house
which conducts the Soul across th e dar k water s of ignorance
from the realms of the known to the unknown from the gates of
matte r to the bright roads of Spirit ; from earthly blackness to cc
lesti al light fro m the visible res of pur gation to the invisible

soul light of eternity

O ur readers may pardon us for interblendin g so many frag
ment s of R osicrucian musings with the practicalities which we
prof ess to aim at but to the genuine student of the Occult sci
e n c es it may not be uninteresting to learn something of the real
opinions of a sect to whom so much that is false and mythical has
been attributed A S God is the solvent for all the problems of
pio s ignorance so elec tri ci ty plays the same part in the realm of
unexplained p h enomena The na m e of the R osicrucians seems
to ha v e been borrowed in the same sense and applied by s persti
tious and utterly misinformed babblers to cover up all the occult
mysteries which science could not explain and bigotry feared to
tamper with
It is something to kn ow ourselv es not less to be truly known
by others
We do not press these fragments of R osi c r ci an i srn on the
read er s atte n ti on for th e mere pur pose of citin g abstra ct opi n
,

A R T M AG I

1 02

with its counterpart in opposing motion the erce concussion re

s lts in combustion ; this mighty shock eliminates ame or light
ning an d in the all devouring action of the material re the sur
rounding particl es are consumed Destruction by re or what is
called ele ctricity then is the material exhibition of two contend
ing bodies moving in opposite di rections under the energetic
action of the spiritual re In i ts prima l condition the Astral
light of th e Universe is like tha t of the Spiritual body in man
invisible latent inscrutable unknown except by i ts effects in
life warmth and motion In its external and last analysis it is
the consuming re and i ts action i s to reduce all things back
again into their own invisible essence ; thus is it the Alpha and
O mega of being the rst and the last ; Deity
The Astral Spirit in man is not a single original el ement
like the Soul it is a combination of all the imponderables of th e
Universe Its rst derivation or original essence is from the S n
and planetary system Ether air atmosphere earth with all
its freight of organic and inorganic life combine to send off ema
nations which make p the s m Of the wonderful structur e called
the Astral Spirit in man It is a true cosmos of the Universe
and upon its exterior form is engraved all the sand grains of char
acter motives powers functions vices virtues hopes, and mem
ori ce which the Soul has gathered up in its process of growth
through the material body ; hence it is as much a perfect micro
co em of the indi vidual s mind within as of the visible and i n vi s
ible Univ erse without Not a deed word or thought which has
helped to mak e up the sum of a human life but what is photo
graphed upon the spiritual body of the man with as much del
ity as the m i nd of the Creator is written in st arry ln er oglyph i c s
upon the glittering skies I t k eeps as faithful a record as true
a doomsday book an d pronounces as sure a judgment upon h
man life and cond ct as ever the Egyptian O siris could h ave done
in his ste r nest moods of God like j us tice
Its many l ayers of graduated eth ereal ess ence are fel t by
S ensitives as rings or Spheres Those ne arest the body are per
c e i v e d as life spheres and these ch ange with the body s chang es
and in its decay and death recede and become the outermost of
the new born Soul s envelope Those most interior to the body
and nearest the So l are the Sun spheres and connect the Soul
with the Solar and Astral in uences un der wh i ch the individual
was launched into b ein g
These interior spheres too ch an ge in respons e to Solar an d
planetary changes and thence they affect the mind in enc e the
character a n d constitute the links of connection by wh ich the

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1 03

stars act upon the in di vidual s destiny As man s Astral Spirit

i s aggreg ated from so many forces in th e U n i v er se so it is subj ect
to the inuence of changes occuring in ev ery department of Na
ture
The state of th e ear th atmosphere an d aromal emanations

given off in different seasons of the year all these with their
changing inuenc es contrib t e to form the essence of the embry
The inherited tendencies of
on i c being ere it sees the light
m i nd body and spirit imposed by parental law impart to the life
g erms their ow n peculiar idiosyncrasies The physical suste
nance mental temperament the v ery employments and thoughts
of every mother combine also to impress with fateful im ages
their unborn offsp ri ng ; but above all the order of the planetary
scheme and th e conjunctio n which eve ry star sust ains rst to the
Sun next to the earth and nally to each other at the moment of
mortal birth must determine the nature of every spirit an d shap e
the springs upon which hinge the framework of human character
Adm i tting then the Soul s origin in Deity and the Astral
Spirit s ori gi n ji n the solar system how vastly momentous upon the
newly born being s character and organization must be the sol ar
and plan etary inuences which prevail in the hour of th e ger m s
inception through every stage of embryonic life and at th e v ery
moment when drawn by solar and planetary inuence from th e
dar k n ess of its e mbryonic prison it is launched in sp ace as a
living creature !
Ages ago the ancient astronomer disco v ered that all th e
vast crystal vault of the skies th e illimitabl e elds of Space dotted
ov e r with millions of ery blossoms seemingly so xed So calm
so immobile in their solemn silence and mysteriou s beauty were
all moving !
M o ving on in const ant b t still ever chan gi n g or
bits The certainty of these stupendous changes was absolutely
determined by the di scov ery of that remarkable motion called

the pr ecession of th e equinoxes a motion which in a gi v en pe

r i od of ti m e
varying between tw o and three thousand year s ,
swept the blazing sun of the solar system with all i ts planetary
hosts from one Sign of the Zodiac to another Later on i n fact
up to our own tim e astronomical observ ations have determ i ned
that all the st ars of the sidereal h e avens gorgeous elds of sp ace
lled with th e march of s ns and systems speed on with a mo
mentum so tr emendous that th e mind of man shrinks back awe
struck at the attempt to trace those footprints of re through
spaces wherein millions of miles ar e measured by hour s and min
utes
Whilst the ext ernal as pect of these spangled hea vens
changes but little to the eye of the observer during m an y cent l

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1 04

of time the real permanence of the SCh em e is only app ar ent

O nly constant in eternal nrest might be traced in every gl i t

tering poi n t of th e sidereal heavens Ever the same in the xi di ty
of matchless order e v er changing in the spiral circles of ascending
progress If thi s be so as S cience proves it is h ow inevitably
must the endless changes of the M acrocosm affec t the nat re of
the M icroco sm an d man the world in li ttle partak e of the i n
nite variousness which discourse s so elo quently through the epic
of the star ry skies !
There cannot be two planetary conjunctions in the eld of
:
spac e which in all respects exactly duplicate each other ; and this
is the r eason why those creatures launched every second into h
man life under the inuence of ev er vary ing astral ch anges ; must
differ so widely from each other in all the es sentials of physical
mental intellectual an d Spiritual states As the planets see m to
return to stated points an d re enact their mystic conjunctions in
the shining pathway of the Zodiac so there seem to be recurrences
of certain types of character and duplicates of certain facial lin
r I es

eam en

ts

Vi ewing the v alley of the then from the mountain heights

of the now we are fain to give up this stereotyped opinion and
own that history only rep eats itse lf in generalities not in par
ti c lar s an d th at there is not a wave which b e ats on th e shores of
e arth that ever re turns with just the saR I e force as thos e that
have gone befor e no never ! And all this change in the plan et
ary order is e ffected by the unceas ing energy of the lif e that is
throbbing and burning an d blazing on in its mad career of e ter
n al unrest in the m i dst of ev ery starry road and thrilling down
and pulsating through the v ery central he art of every starry
world ; an d all this ceas eless movement heard in the echoing feet
of the tramping ages is due to that same life spirit burning up
shrivelling into ashes and scatt eri ng into dust the forms of the
past in order th at their liber ated spirits may become incar nate
in the fr esher fair er form s of the ages that are to be !
The c onsideration of these di ffusive generali ties ar e not irrel
e vant to our subject ; on th e contrary th ey need to be thought o t
and appreciated ere the unaccustomed th i nker can appr ehend
why the motions of a single point of re gleaming through th e
immensity of space can affect the ch aracte r and destiny of an i n
dividual removed from its orbi t by incalc lable s ms \of di s
tance ; why all nature animate and inanimate moves acts an d
speaks with an univers al chord of sympathy conn ecting the who le ;
why ights of birds wheeling high in air the motions of 8 dan
cing buttery a quiverin g sunbeam a crawling worm hummi n g
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would take the trouble to translate himself ought in modern

estimation to b e quite sufficient to make a magici an and teach
ne ladies to summon Sylphs and Undines for the amusement of
an idle hour just as a few pigments of Latin an essay done into
bad Greek and worse Hebrew by a professional colleg e drudge for
the benet of his ri ch p aying patr on is suf cient passport to those
holy orders of our modern priesthood in which God Angels Spir
its the immo r tal soul s origin destiny and powers together wi th
all the glories marvels and myst eries of th e boundless and eternal
Unive rse are the themes which demand interpretation
The most supercial retrospect of the lives education and
preparatory methods of discipline enforced upon the ancient
p ri e sthood invest that body with the true dignity of men in holy

orders ; but how do these compare with the careles s lax system
te rn of m ere book learning which i n our own time is deemed all
sufficient to grind out a p riest the man who of all others should
be bound by his s acred offi ce to interpret the mysteries of being
n a
s
who
hould
be
deemed
unworthy
of
that
ofce
so
long
as
y
mysteries re m ain unsolved
Nature has no secrets from her tru e votaries She st ernly
veils spiritual entities from the rude gaze of materialism an d r e
fuses to render up any knowledge beyond the plane from which
the inquiry originates
The Chemist Geologist Astronomer
an d other di sciples of the natural sciences coldly set to work to
examine Nature through her know n formulae of physical l aws ;
aught that transcends these they will none of hence the occult
Si de of N ature is an unexplored realm to them and yet they are
prompt enough to acknowledge that that occult side exists
though their sneer is loud an d lon g against those who claim to
have mastered its mysteries
It is because the experience of past ages conducted through
thousands of years of study by aid of carefully prepared condi
tions has been devoted to the occult in Nature th at the ancients
transcend the moderns in this respect as much as modern sci
en ce in the direction of utilitarianism transcends the colossal but
cumbrous grandeur of antique civilization There lives not now
upon the fac e of the earth one hum an being save perchance a
s olitary adept of the old order or a very pure and highly endowed
s pi ri t medium who in respect to the under st anding of true The
osophy Th eurgy and ev ery dep artment of spir it al science is t
to hold the o ffi ce of Priest to the peopl e or i nstr ct humanity in
those gran d truths which lie beyond the ken of physical scienc e
It is to Show the results of opinions which arose from countless
ages of resear ch into occult truths that this section has been
,

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It is to present to the candid and bold thinker the

fruits of that knowledge which w as gathered in through th e disci
pline of asceticism fasting and prayer and the study of the
Whole Universe not less in the realm of soul and Spirit than in
body an d function that we now write Despis e these treasures
mind garnered up through thousands of years if ye will but I
is thus alone that the Unive rse h as ever yielded an answer to the
soul s urgent ques tioning ; thus alon e can man ever sol v e the m ys
tery of h i s being and that of his planet
To point the way we have written ; to show the ke rnel of
the mighty fruit of the tree of occult knowledge will these pages
be devoted But he who would eat of that fruit underst andingly
must rst p lant the tree with his own hands tend and culture it
with a philosopher s patience and then an d then alone will it
l
ield
to
his
taste
the
true
knowledge
of
good
and
evil
then
on
y
y
will he eat for himself and not through the senses of another
We shall conclude this section by an other brief excerpt from
th e pages of the author whose denitions of R osicruci anism we
have given above :
Is it reasonable to conclude at a period when knowledge
w as at the highest and when human powers were in comparison
with ours at the present time prodigious that all these i n dom i
tab le physical efforts such gigantic achievements as those of the
Egyptians were devoted to a mistake ? That the myriads of the
Nile were fools laboring i n the dark and that all the magic of
their great men was forgery ? or that we in despising that which
we call their superstitious and was ted power are alone the wise ?
Not so There is much more in these old religions than i n the
audacity of modern denial in the condence of these sup erci al
science times and in the derision of these days without fai th we
can in the leas t de gree suppose
We do not understand ; then why should we v enture to de

ride thes e ancient time s?

written

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1 08

SE C T I O N I X

A N C I E N T P R I EST S A N D P R O P H ET S

SPIRI T U A L G IF T S W OM A N

Y B IL

PRIE ST E SS
CLA SSIFICA
T ION O F SPIRI T UA LLY E NDO WED PER SON S M A G NE T I ZER S M E
D I U M S T HE I R SPECI A L T IE S PO W ER O F T H E HUM A N SPIRI T
The chief duties of the an cient Priesthood were rst to nd
out the points of conta ct or nity between man an d higher ex
i sten c es than himself ; next to dis c over the laws of man s being
and teach h i m to adj ust h i s actio n s to the will of those higher ex
i sten ces ; and nally to invoke or solicit their aid for man in the
performance of h i s earthly mission These were th e duties of the
an cie nt Priest and should be no less obligato ry upon offi cials of
the s am e order to day but whi lst we se e some attempt i n the ex
ternal rites of ecclesiasticism to perform the third part of the se
priestly ofces w e look in v ain to discover any religious body
which fai thfully emulates the ancient Priest in the performance
of the two rst named duties
It is enough for the historian to record that it has been done
ofces
an d show that it was upon the performance of the solemn
of Spiritual ministry that the structure of ancient Priesthood was
upreared
Amongst the Hindoos Egypti ans Chaldeans Persians and
Hebrews, fre q uent mentio n is m ade of the Prophets as a class
distinct from the Priesthood although at times as sociated with it
When the Prophets did take part in the temple services they
were esteemed the most honored of the Priestly ord er and their
dictum w as received wi th unquestioning reverence as the voice
of Deity
Some a thoritative writers intimate that it w as upon the
foundation of t r e prophetic gifts that the Pri esthood w as i n
stitut ed and when it was found that Spiritual gifts bel onged to

f
f
e
special individuals not to an o ice or cast ar ti ci al means
A ND

A S

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admitted to cert ain prophetic ofces in the temple and several

ladies of rank amongst the R o m ans and Egyptians including th e
daughter of the famo s Egyptian M on arch Sesos tris were
n ow n e d for their prophetic endowments
The elevation of woman to conditions of perfect equality
with man is now acknowledged to be the highest evidence of a
true and rational ci vilization b t wheth er w e are treating of an
cient or modern conservatism God in natur e h as proved through
the unbroken lines of history that Spiritual gi fts ar e innate i n
tuitional and feminine in quality and belong to those more rare
and precious attributes of being which particularly distinguish
the female sex If Soul essence is unique and matter is shaped
and determined chiey by the energy and quantity of the Astral
Spirit it is to that realm of being that we mus t look in order
to analyze the specialty that constitutes natural prophe tic e h
dowments or spiritual gif ts whether in the male or female sex
At the very outset of our inquiry we nd two specialties of
organism which more commonly belong to the mal e th an the fe
mal e the study of which is important to a clear understanding of
our subject The rst of these representative physiques discloses
an in di vidual with a compact self centred well knit frame i n
c li n i n g to the n utritive in temperament and the adipose in tissue
In m anner these individuals ar e generally s traightfo rward som e
what aiI th or i tati ve occ asionally egotistic and fond of di splay ;
k ind heart ed benevolent and especially attracted to sick persons
They generally have a clear eye direct glance and some
times a piercing expression withal With such peculi arities of
temperam ent the Astral uid exists in excess endowing the indi
vidual with good health a vigorou s frame a moderately active
mind and a general tendency towards social life and material en
n ts
o
e
m
j y
These pe rsons ar e almost always what i s popularly t ermed

good magnetizers and the excess of Astral uid which develops

itself in the above descri bed idiosyncras ies ordinarily ind ces th e
wish to use their gift and impels th em to magnetize sick people
It was from this class that the an cient s selected their Thera
peutie healers and the Prie sts who were employed in the magnetic
healing rites of Temple service The eye as th e window of the
Soul and the hand as the prime conductor of the Astral uid are
al w ays well de veloped in these natural mesmerizers
Wh ere the rst is full clear and luminous and the second
soft and wa r m the astral uid is inv ariably of a healthf l and
vivifyin g charact er
Wh ere the eye is piercing brilliant, or di stingui shed b y th e
,

M AGIC

ART

111

long O riental shape of the almond and the hand is dam p and
moist or hard and dry look to nd a stronger mental than physi
cal impression produced but in all varieties of this type of man
the person may be esteemed as a good m esmerizer and the more
e rqi an si v e the fronta l region of the brain the better will be the
e ffects and the more healthful the power produc ed
As the magnet or loadstone only yields up its potency to th e
direction of skill so these m agnetic structures require th e action
of well informed mind and concentrated will to render them
serviceable ; with these mental attributes to guide their powers
and direct the proj ection of th e A stral uid they may become ad

mirable healers of th e sick or skillful biologists o v er sensiti ve

subjects
The second i ndividuality to which we would introduce our
reader is a more concentrated and energeti c type of the rst and
one in whom the intellectual temperament prevails ove r the nu
tri ti v e or social
In the type of man now under consideration a vast amount
of the Astral uid circulates but it clusters chiey about the
crowning portions of the cerebr m elevating the cran i al apex i n
a remarkable degree The cerebrum and nervous system absorb
the s rplus of the Astral uid rather than the brous an d mus
c lar tissues
Such persons exhibit many varieties of form and
feature ; but their speciality is a large and n ely developed head
Persons of this type become ne psychologists or in ancient
phras eology such ar e Adepts M aster Spirits or Priestly Hiero

h
an
t
s
In both types described above it is the abundan ce of
p
th e Astral spirit infused by inheritance an d pl anetary and solar
inuence during embryonic life and at the period of birth which
determin e s their characte ri stics ; and it is the distribution of this
Astral uid in the one throughout the whole system and in the
other in certain regions of the brain which constitutes the differ
ence between the mere magnetic healer and the psychologist
Neither of these individuals may technically recognize the pee n
li ari ti es with which the y are endowed but the one will always
bring a powerful an d soothing inuence to the sick and the other
'
prove a controlling and masterful mind in whatever spheres o f
life he may be placed If these persons und erstand their soul s
capacities they will know that by mustering the excess of Astr al
uid permeatin g their systems to the dominion of the will they
can induce a self magnetized condition i n which the body Sleeps
and the soul goes forth and traverses Space as in the phenomenon
of somnambulism natural clairvoyance or in the exit of the spiri t

fro m th e body wh en it i s se en an d term e d th e Do ble , or

,

'

u
u

ART

112

AGIC

Wraith
They can induce these powers in others by magnetic
and psychologic contact an d it only ne e ds self knowledge an d the
exertion of strong and concentrated will to call them into exercise
There are no phenomena produced by disembodied spi ri t s
which m ay not be affected by th e still embodied human spirit
provided a correct knowledge of these powers is directed by a
The conditio n s wi ll be described in
s trong and p ow er fri l will
our sections on Art M agic but the potency of the will can never
be too strongly insisted upon in all Spiritualisti c operations In
the physique above described as No 1 the excess of the Astral
uid gen erally clusters aro nd the epigastric and cardiac regions
rendering the person thus endowed highly powerful in physical
magnetization and healing Operations but as before hinted the
cerebral development is rarely proportionably marked and th e
best of physical magnetizers ar e not the giants of intellect an d
psychological control
The reverse of this position obtains -i n the organisms classed
as No 2 In them the Astral uid inheres more closely to th e
soul than the body ; exalts t h e top of the cranium rather than the
front ; compels a predominanc e of the organs of comm and an d
ideality ; proj ects its sphere of indomitable inuence on all
around and unfolds th e intellectual faculties into singular prom
i n en c e in whatever direction they exist rendering the individu al
remarkable as a Statesman General Author Priest Physician

or if d evoted to the study irresistible as an Adept M agician

and controller of mundane and sub mundane spirits Such in di
v i d als are generally as eager as they are capable of penetratin g
into nature s profoundest depths
We might rank the amiable and highly gifted Anton M esmer
an d the noble sages of Greece
as a type of the organism No 1
Apolloniu s and Pyth agoras as shining illustrations of the type
described as No 2
Prophets or M ediums are persons in whom from inherited
causes and Astral inuences prevailing at birth an immense
amount of the Astral uid exists but who by the peculiar c on
formation of the tissues which mak e up their physical structures
In
ar e too ready to part with their super abundant life principle
the types of organism already described as good magnetizers and
powerful psychologists the Astral uid i s concentrated the ti s
sues e f the body rm and compact and the efflux of magn eti c
power is due only to its superabundance The medium with the
same excess of magnetic force is totally lacking in the concentra
tion and solidarity which distingui shes the other class T h e on e
i n physi que as i n character i s wholly positive ; the other p urely

,
,

'

ART

1 1 4;

AGIC

are composed permeates this atmosphere like oceans of light

hence spiritual life is to this planet what the Soul is to the body
only that the strata of spiritual life nearest the earth are gradu
ated from the Spirits of those who are most in rapport wi th earth
to elementary beings who i n reality constitute no inconsiderable
portion of the earth itself hence it is that mediumistic persons
susc e tible to the inuences of varied life that swarms around
p
them are often moved by nameless and incomprehensible moni
tions of danger th e presence of evil or the tendency to actions
from which their own better natures and judgment would revolt
The chief points of di fference between the ancient Prophe t
the M ediaeval Witch and the modern M edium consist in the aim s
and inuences which severally actuated them and inspired the
spirits that surrounded them The prophetic men and women
of old were intensely religious persons They lived in devo tional
ag e s
too when their exceptional gift s marked them out for a
species of reverence which almost amounted to worship Sep
ar ate d from their fellow men by the peculiar sanctity attach e d
to the prophetic charac ter their religiou s as pirations an d th e
asceticism of their lives attracted to them beings of a far higher
order than those wh om we n ow invoke in the communion with
family spirits and kindred ties
M os t of the ancient Prophets Seers and Sybils prepared for
the communion with higher intelligences than earth by methods
to be h ereafter described hence their powers were more coneen
tr ate d and phenomenally greater than those of the work a day
trading media of th e present time
As to the Spiriti sm of the mediaeval ages unless it existed
in the persons of learned mystics who cultured it after the anci en t
fashion or it fell as a m an tle of inspiration on poets painters
musicians inventors religious reformers etc it degenerated int o
ugly and often injurious obsession by ignorant spirits attracted
to media of a char acter kindred with themselves Thus the study
of di ffer ent phases of spiritual inux proves how much its rep
r e sen tati on
is determined by the age spirit of the time and char
acter of the communicating intelligenc e
Europe and America are at pres ent in the heyday ush of
materialistic ci vilization
Utilitar i an ism is the genius of the nineteenth century If
religion could be put to some practical use or reduced to a seien
ti c analysis it would be as much the fashion now as it was ve
th ousand years ago ; but whatever comes in the shape of religio s
belief even scientic discoveries conc erning the occult side of
n ature must conform to the materialistic and utilitarian spiri t of
,

'

ART

AGIC

115

the age or the age will no ne of it Such is the crucible of human

opinion through which the Spiritism of this century has to pass
i
t
hence
mediumship
is
a
trade
an
amusemen
or
a
cur
osity ;
an d
Spiritism a marketable commodity or a fas hionable mode of
beguiling an idle hour As inspiration invariably descends from
the sam e plane to which aspirati on ascends spir it answers Spiri t
from corr eSpon den ti al realms of thought and intelligence
As it is below so is i t above ; in the skies as on the ear th
Having briey depic ted the general characteristics of those
throu gh whom spirits communicate we shall proceed to classify
the groups into which prophetic or mediumistic gifts resolv e
themselves
Premising that each mediumistic person is so by inheritance
or the awakening of latent but still functional powers and that
we ar e not now treating of that magic which compensates by art
for the lack of natural endowments we shall render such de n i
tion s of our subject as practical experience suggests
The T rance state ranges from that of Ecstasy in which
Vi si ons of the highest and most transcendental nature are r e
ve aled through all the v arious stages of Somnambulism to that
semi conscious sleep waking condition in which the ego is not
lost but wherein the origin of the thought whe ther from the sub
early
own
mind
or
the
impression
of
a
nother
s
is
not
cl
e
t
s
c
j
discerned
Inspiration is the addition of higher m en tali ty to that of the
subj ect s own individuality It does not necessitate any abnega
tion of self consciou sness ; it only stimulates that cons ciousness
to extraordin ary exaltati on
In all these states the inuence of spirits is more th an likely
to be the superinducing cause That inuence is exerted in pre
c i sely the sa me fas hion as th e simply human processes of electr o
biology and by Operators who have either practiced this method
of contro l on ear th or been en do w e d with the power by nature to
do so The spirit proj ects his Astral spirit in the fashion of the
earthly magnetizer upon his mediumistic subject ; by this uid
the system becomes charged and the magnetic sleep semi con
scious trance or the exaltation of inspiration is induced
These graduated conditions represent the am ount of passiv
ity or mental activity of the subject total un cons ciousness usu
ally falling upon a very receptive and passive mind an d inspira
tion stimulating rather than subduing the powers of an already
highly unfolded intellect When the system is sufciently satu
rated wi th the Spiritual magnetizer s Astral uid as to be subj ect
to control ; the operator by strong will infuses his thought into
.

'

ART

116

AGIC

subject s mind ; but wh atever the sp ecialty of th ought may b e

it becomes shaped tinctured and not unfrequently marred to a
greater or less degree by the idiosyncrasies of the medium s habits
of speech and methods of expression There must always be an
adaptation between the subj ect on earth and the Operator of th e
A spirit of a totally foreign and unsympathetic nature
Spheres
to the medium could not obtain control except in th e case of
obsession and that transpires through the b rutal and resistless
power of a gross strong earth bound spirit acting upon a gen
er ally frail Susceptible and most probably sickly organism
n the ordinary exercise of spirit control the Spirit acting
as a good magnetizer chooses a well adapted subject whose mind
and physique are calcula ted to assimilate with his own and thus
presents his ideas through the ai d of a borrowed vehicle of
thought This m ode of inuence corresponds in many respect s
to the v ati c i n ati on s of the Sybils and Prophetesses of old only
that the utterance of the Spirits termed Gods or Demons com
bodies Which had prev i ously been prepared
m on ly took place i n
by fastings ablutions and some times by the inhalations of vapors

whic h subdued the senses sti m ul ated them to mantic frenzy

or prepared the system for the infusion of a superior conscious
ness to their own
These modes of control by spirits speaking thr ough the lips
of entr anc e d or inspired media are not limited in their e ffects to
the e xh ibition of merely curious mental transformations In
ancient as in m odern times these oracular utterances have been
productive of a far wider range of good and revolutionar y thought
than is dre amed of by those who listen go hence and deem they
hav e simply been int erested for the moment and will certainly
forget the ideas they have heard
The Soul never forgets The o v er laden brain of humani ty
retains the impression of every image presented to it As e ac h
fresh succession of images photographs its elf on th e m ind s tab
lets the last seem to crowd out an d efface the impress of the earl
ier ones T h ey vanish from sight truly but they are still there
an d ther e they rem ai n forever
Unconsciously to their posse ssors
they enter into every phase of character They linger like a
subtle perfume in the sphere of unconscious cerebration pervade
the sentiments enter into the mental str cture sh ape the motives
externalize themselves in words which linger in others ears in
deeds which affect others destinies and sil ently inte rweave them
selves into invisible but indestructible images reected upon the
Astral light of the Universe Could this most subtle b t most
otential
realm
of
bein
be
thoroughly
explored
a
l
l
thou
hts
h
t
e
g
,
p
g
th

,
,

A R T M A GI C

118

Spirits making use of the Astral light which permeates al l

space sometimes impress upon it Visionary pictures of futur e
events ; sometimes shadowy representations of their own f orm s
and always in such shape as will identify them with those who
have been deemed dead and laid away in the quiet grave
Spirits ar e full of ingenious resource highly constructive ,
an d far more widely informed upon the arcanum of nature than
mortals hence can produce a gr eater variety of e ffects and i n
much shorter periods of time than we can conceive of hence th eir
methods of representation strike us as abnorm al and m agic al
They are simply due to magnetization of the medium s Spirits by
the invisible Operator and psychological impres sions produced
through will upon th e medium s spiritual consciousness
The third order Of media who specially distinguish them
selves in the modern spiritual movement are those through whom
strong powerful earthbound spirits can act upon mate rial
bodies and cause them to become telegraphic signs of their pres
ence
The persons through whom these theurgic Signals are m ade
for the most part absorb the Astr al i d which is their life
through the cerebellum the epigastric nerves and the great so l ar
plexus Though not necessarily decient in cerebral dev elop
ment they are rarely distinguished in this region and in some
ins tances the preponderance of nervous force in the ganglionic
or sympathetic system is greatly in excess of the cerebro spin al
thus stimulating th e instinctive appetites especially those w hich
corr espond to animal tendencies
This is not invariably the case b t it has and does character
ize much mediumship of this order It is also a signicant fact
an d one which should commend itself to the attention alike of th e
physiologist and psychologist that persons afflicted with scrof la
an d glandular enlargements
often seem to supply the pabulum
which enables spirits to produce ponderous manifestations of
physical power

Frail delicate women persons too whose natures ar e r e

ned innocent and pure but whos e glandular s ystem has bee n at
tacked by the demon Of Scrofula h ave frequently been found 8
c e ti b le of becoming the most remarkable instruments for physi
p
cal demonstrations by spiri ts In som e instances mediums for
thi s cl as s of phenome n a are persons i i i the enjoyment of ru de
health and vigo rous constitutions
The author has witnessed
mani festations of the most astounding character elimin ated
through the mediumship of rugged country girls and stout men
especially the nati ves of Ireland an d Northern G ermany ; but a
,

M AGIC

ART

119

close an d car ef l scrutiny of these remar kably endowed me di a

will often reveal a tendency to epilepsy chorea and functional de
rangements of the pelvic apparatus which proves that the cere
bellum and th e ganglionic system of nerves are unduly charged
and that the magnetism of spirits of a similar temperament to
their own may exaggerate these constitutional tendencies into ex
cess and disease It is a fact wh i ch we may try to mask or the
acknowledgement of w h i ch w e may indignantly pro test agai nst
yet it is a fact nevertheless that the e xistence of remarkable me
di m powers argues a want of balance in the system ; and whils t
the theory of too rapid ebb of the life forces and their excess and
unequal distribution renders physical an d scientic cause s for
this str ctural inharmony it also proves what i s the character of
the pabulum which spirits se to produce the mag netic psycho
logic and physical effects which are rendered through these n
evenly balanced organ i sn i s
It has frequently been asked whether there is any p h i losophy
to explain these aberrations of nature to which we reply as
The Astral uid becomes characterized by every
s r e dly there i s
I t is at once the cause
mat erial atom through which it passes
and effect of all varieties in nature Its abundan ce an d the eh
ergy of its action is determined by the quantity and qu ality of
the atoms through which it ows ; but once incorporated in or
g ani e bodies as their at tri bute its own quality becomes mat erially
affected by the quality of the particles it vit alizes ; and here it is
proper to recur to the Opinion of many illuminated Seers namely
that there are several layers or strata of these Astral currents
forming as a totality one spiritual body Those nearest the Soul
are the nest in quality and represent the spheres related to th e
Solar and Astral system Those layers on the outer surface of
the spiritual body most nearly inhering to the m at erial atoms
form the life sp h eres permeate the body partake of its quality
deteriorate or improve with it are gross coarse or dense as the
body s habits or m i nd s tendencies characterize it ; in a word it is
this portion of the Astral spirit which s treams forth from the
medium in a ood of emanation and hence becomes the exact
gauge of the medium s physical and mental state It is partic les
of this latter description which form the life p rinciple Of plants
and m ineral s
It is these ery elements of uni v ers al life fo r ce which are
struck out in radiant sparks from the hard i n ty rock or crystal
line i ron
Vio l ent ac tion wil l dri v e forth the lambent am es of
life from every solid body an d cause them to q ui v er between the
They stream forth in odic lights
strokes of every concussio n
,

1 20

M AG IC

ART

from shells crystals magnets and all magnetic bo di es T h ey

reach out their ngers of latent ery force to gather up k indred
particles around the loadstone They stream up in pencilled rays
of many color ed glory painting over the norther n Skies with gor
geons illuminations in the wonderful Aurora Borealis
They
form the electric paths in which rolling worlds suns and systems
are held in innumerable lines Of force Th ey ash in the wild
res Of contending cloud ar mies The y dischar ge solemn peals
of heavenly artillery in the roar of the battling tempest
They shout their anthems of power in the heaving billows
and sob away the last echoes of sound in the murmur of the half
slumbering waves These invisible latent all per vadi n g ames
of life these direct emanations from the Central Sun of all being
connect suns and planets earths and satellites by th e stupendo s
chains of force and ll all space with oceans of invisibl e but eve r
living res They ll all creation with life but tak e on the pro
tean forms of every atom through which their living currents are
forever eb b i n g a n d owing
Then need we not marvel that the Astral uid which ows
through the rened particles of a pure and healthful human o r
f
f
m
might
a
ord
intellectu
a
l
spirits
an
opportunity
of
a
n
i
s
i
m
g
pre ssing the brain with high inspirational ideas yet fai l to gi ve
lity which
O ff that superabundance of quan tity or denseness of qu a
is requisite to produce manifestations of a ponderable character
on the other hand remembering the almost innite varieties of
exhibition which the Astral uid assumes in accordance with th e
variousn ess of the particles through which it ows we need not
feel surprised that a human body abundantly endowed with thi s
same life uid so constituted as to eliminate it thro gh every
pore but giving Off a quality which is especially redolent of i n

ted in the vital and nutritive system of nerves should

e n ces gener a
furnish that pabulum which enables spirits to construct forms
and produce manifestations Of a purely physical character
In this scheme of nat ral order dis ease must impress itself
upon every imponderable particle of the Astral sphere and since
the body laboring under disease is really being disintegrated and
parts too rapidly an d freely with its life principle so do sick per
sons give O i n the most abundance and Of th e most dense qual
ity the element which spirits can use for the production Of stro n g
physical manifestations
The same philosophy with certain modicatio n s applies to
the mediumship Of little chil dren
Endowed with a superabundan ce of that vital force which
is necessary for the purposes of gro w th young children dispose
,

'

M AGI C

ART

1 22

the hu m an body into the atmosphere that surroun ds

it If we could arrive at any method of separating the organic
from the inorganic p articles that ll th e air and charge the at
m osph er e with living emanations where human life abounds we
might crystallize the m back again into human bodies an d hence
the claim of the Spiritualists to have found in spiritual magnetism
that crystallizing element by w hich they can r e clothe the spirit
with a material body gathered up from the atmosphere whi ch
surrounds a circle of investigators is n either so wild or i m pr ob

able after all

It would b e a fact in Spiritual phenomena even if it we r e

wild and improbable in hypothesis ; but to those who are ao

qu ainted with the nature of the Astral i d its identity with the

universal element we call force its existence in man as a spiritual

b ody in the Spiri t s organism as an external body an d in the at
m osph er e as force per se ; it only needs an appreciation of the phys
i ologi cal idea above suggested as to the character of our emana
tions to understand why spirits having at command a dense and
powerful stream of the Astral ui d exhaled from peculiar Organ
isms can easily use that as a force for crystallizing the i m pon de r
able elements which abound i n the atmospher e into a t empora ry
physical covering for themselves
The medium s very esh and all the ui ds and solids of his
h
n
i
are
ven
o
f
f
by
exhalations
and
remain
i
the
atmos
i
s
e
p y q
g
h
r e ab n d
These
exhal
tions
from
the
physical
me
ium
e
r
a
d
a
e
p
ant i n quantity powerful and magnetic in quality and so long as
they can be extracted by the magnetism of attendant spirits and
sustained by the combined magneti sms Of other human beings
their crystallization by the aid of spiritual chemi stry c an be read
ily effected and Spirits can thus t emporarily r e clothe themselves
in atoms of actual esh and blood They p ass sparks of ele ctric
ity through these imponderable exhalations just as chemists can
crystallize gases into uids an d uids into solids by the sam e
process By aid Of strong will an d having all the elements held
in solution in the atmosph ere spirits can even communicate ob
e
c
t
i
e
t
o
v
solidity
the
images
in
their
minds
and
thus
prese
n
t
j
again the ponderable semblances of ornaments clothes and
other physical fabrics ; n ay more by impar ting to these tempora
rily formed substances a sufcient amount of the Astral uid to
produce cohesion they can be kept in being for a consid erable
time after the rst formative process has b e en effected
There i s no witchcraft or sorcery in these transformations
although they may with propriety tak e rank as spiritual magi c ;
e r e Of

tosph

ART

M AGIC

1 23

the Spiri t is th e M an ; the Soul the designer ; the Astral body th e

force the mover the motion the executant
The material body is Only a vehicle enabling the S oul
throug h th e Astral body or spirit to come into contact with mat
ter In the ab ove necessarily brief description of spiritual phe
n om e n a we o n ly touch on the results O f comm nion effected b e
tween spirits and mortals wh ere the former n d conditions spon
tan eo sly prepared by nat re for their s e
We shall conclu de
this section by reviewing the possibilities which exist in every h
man being for producing extra mundane e ec ts through the ap
plication Of natural laws to spiritual forces

The gifts of the spirit are spiritual sight hearing tas te

smell and touch wholly independent of th e m ate r i al avenues of
sense The power of proj ecting the Astral i d fro m one indi
vidual to another through magnetic manipulations contact or
will an d the power Of impressing the will of one individual by
the sup erior force of another The soul also possesses the power
of so concentrating i ts own astral spirit as to temporarily s b j
gate the outer senses steep them in forgetfuln ess and then with
draw from the body wander forth at will preserve the body from
death by leaving a suf ci ent portion of the Astral uid to main
tain its integrity and subsequently return to and resume its oc en
pancy of the body There are still other powers of the embodied
human Soul of which w e shall yet spe ak more in detail suf ce it
for the p resent to sum up by saying the Soul cannot only per
form all the phenomena now executed by the aid Of disembo di ed
Spirits but it can command the assistance of inferior grades to
man and c ompel their aid in subjugating the forces of matter
M an can read the hidden things of another s mind and even
temporarily obses s it and by aid of inferior spirits psycholo gize
many persons at on ce compelling them to see hear taste or feel
the subj ective images of h i s creation
He can envelope some Objects in the Astral uid rendering
them invisible to the m aterial eye ; create disturbances in th e at
m osph er e or calm them by the same means ; promote rapid and
spontaneous growth in the vegetable world ; wound the body and
heal it in the same minute Of time ; render himself i n sensible to
pain re an d the effects of gravitation and so oat in mid air ;
cause himself to be buried alive during entrancement and resume
the functions of life when disinterred
All th ese th i n gs w e positively a f rm man can do through
the op eration Of his own w ill an d the aid of powerfu l spirits an d
all these things the a thor posi tively af rms he has witnessed
and proposes in the forthcoming sections to give the philosop h y
.

uu

ART

1 24

M AGIC

of as gathered from personal exp erience and the descri ptions of

Fakeers Yogees Dervishes B r am i n s and the adepts of O riental
systems of magic
Whether our readers will Observ e the conditions necessary
for the performance of these extra mundane acts of spiritual
power is a question which we do not propose to decide upon ; b t
we commend our clo sing remarks to special consideration
The Soul is an emanation from Deity ; therefore Dei c in
ower
and
attributes
The
Astral
spirit
which
clothes
the
Soul
p
and vitalizes the body is a par t of all the great motor power of th e
Universe the source and c ause of all motion
T h e two combined though te m p or ar ily sh r o de d in matter
and limited by the encasements of a material body still form a
Dei c and therefore all powerful existence which only requires
the light of spiritual s cience to render its functio n s as De i c as i ts
sourc e Something of this is shown when the soul is eman e i
pated from the body and returns to earth manifesting its aston
i sh i n g and exte nded powers through what is called
spiritual

phenomena
O ther glimpses of these powers shine forth through the lives
of ecst atics seers and magians ; but what illimitable possibilities
yet remain unfathomed and u n dreamed of !
Who can say wh ere the terminal line is drawn between God
and His creatures or why man should not manifest as a mic o
c osm
all th e creative attributes w h ich belong to his Divine A
thor the M acrocos m ?
The superiority of ancient over modern Theosophy does n o t
arise from any r e tr ogr essi on i n m an or his planet It i s no arres t
or backward step in the march of intellect ; but it res ults from
the proforrn d devotio n with which the ancient man regarded
spirit al thi n gs and the cold materialism of the present day ; from
the unceasi n g aspiration Of our f orefathers towards Spiritual
light an d kn owledge and the u n i versal contempt or i ndifference
w ith which such subjects ar e regarded now
The people of antiquity generally and the priesthood in
particul ar studied into the laws of spiritual forces and spent gen
e r a ti on
after generation in analyzing their principles an d the r e
lati on s they bear to visible nature
Thos e thinkers of the nineteenth century who strive to mas
ter the occult in nature at all aim at doing so by seeking for the
Spiritual thro gh th e laws of the material
and expect to push
their way pward from the known to the unknown from matt er
to Spirit
Let those who would emulate the Divine pla n an d work
,

u
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1 26

AGI C

SE C T I O N

A R T M A G IC

G ENERA L SUMM A RY O F

CONDI T ION A N D PRO C E SSE S O F M A GIC A L

PRA C T ICE S T H E LINE B E T WEEN A NCIEN T T HEO SO P HY A N D O C
C U LT I SM A PPLIC A T ION O F T HEORIE S
T HE

We adopt

caption of Art M agic for this section b e

cause we desir e to draw the line b etween that vas t amount of spec
lati v e phi losophy which is i n extricably m i xed up with ancie n t
Theosophy and the occult practices which constitute much of
th at Theosophy in application
Hitherto we have written chiey of the theories by which
the an ci n ts explained th e order Of being and th e elements of
life power an d motion by which being itself becomes operative
Until the principles thus laid down are thoroughly well digested
our attempts to Show their application to the practices of magic
will fail
With th e most Si ncer e desire to explain the modes by which
ar ticial means can be induced to evoke the occult powers in na
ture or in other words to practice the art of magic our e ffor ts
will be in vain if the r e ader fai ls to apprehend what natur e is ;
to comprehend the structure of man in his threefold character as
a material ma gi cal and divine being ; to follow us in our de n i
tions of the Astral uid which vitalizes all things in nature and
the Astral spirit which constitutes the Spiritual body O f man ; Of
Angels Spirits and Deity
th e connecting links between :M en
and th e difference between Prophets and M agicians the adept
who comm ands spirits and the medium who is commanded by
them
Without these preparatory steps for ac quiring occult kn owl
edge magic will remain magic in its lowest and most Obscure
s en s e an d M a gic it W
ill be to th e end of the chapt er

th e

'

ART

AGIC

1 27

agnetism an d Psychology are the two pillars that suppor t

the Temple of Spiritism
They are the Herculean columns through which the under
standing lead s the soul into supernal realms of power ; the

J ac h i m and Boaz by which the over arching vault of the h eav

e n s is upheld which canopies the Grand Lodge of Spiritu al M a
sour3
B y magnetism the impond erable all per v ading life element
termed Astral uid is communicated from one body to another
By psychology the power of one mind subjugates and controls
that of another and it is in these two spheres of Operation that
all the marvels of m agic transpire T h e di fculties which op
pose the scholar s mastery of this art as practiced by the ancien t
and media eval philosophers ar ise from a concatenation of causes
all combin i ng to darken knowledge rather than to promote it
and t ending to Obscure whatever light could be thrown upon the
subj ect
I n the rst place the Priests of antiquity w a o w ere th e
chief repositories of occult science maintained their authority
t
i
s
ovei the populace by reserving t understanding exclusiv ely o
th eir own order It w as not alone that they deem ed such knowl
edge too high for vulgar minds th ey felt that th eir own exclusive
possession of its s ecrets was essenti al to th e continuanc e of their
autho ri ty hence it would ha v e been suicidal to entrust th e mul
ti t de w i th th at reserved force by vi r t e of which th e y h eld their
Ofce
It h as oft en been alleg ed by modern w rit ers th at the ancient
mysteries were the conservatories of all occult science and that
those alone who became Hierophants therein could arrive at a
true understanding of Art M agic It has lately become a r e
c ei v ed opinion too that a study of th e ancient C ab allah o of the
Hebrews and O rientals would supply this much desired informa
tion an d initiate any pati ent student of their pages into the area
num of magic Neither of these positions is correct The mys
t eri e s i n doc tri n ate d th ei r initiates into those theorems of speen
lative philosophy Of which our former sections hav e given brief
summari es
The C ab allah o hav e been perused and studied with the mos t
unwearied c are by many a learn ed scholar who at the las t has t
terly fai led to enact one single rite of ma gic successfully
Let the facts be plainly stated In all th e writings of tr e
and highly endowed M ystics whether ancient or modern it is
distinctly stated in the language of Cornelius Agrippa that a

magician must be born so fr om h i s m oth er s womb an d that n

M

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1 28

AGIC

less he is so gifted by nature the processes by which real physi

logical changes are to be wrought in h i s system are slow painful
and diffi cult of performance
We have written to little purpose if we have failed to i m
press upon our readers that the source of all s piritual powers and
functions reside s in that mysterious combination of imponderable
elements which we have termed th e Astral spirit or spiritual body
of man ; that it is to the original an d constitutional structure of
that Astral spirit that prophetic or mediumistic endowments are
d e and that when these exist inherently in the organism man
is a prophet a medium and '
e an readily exalt his powers into those
of a magician The read er may inquire wherein consists the dif
ference between a medium and a magician ? We answer chiey
in degree The medium i s one through whos e Astral spirit other
spirits c an manifest making their presence known by various
kinds of phenomena Whatever these consist in the medium i s
only a passive agent in their hands He can neither command
their presence nor will thei r absence can never compel the
p erformance of any special act nor direct its nature T h e ma
i
c
i
an
on
the
contrary
can
summon
and
dismiss
spirits
at
will
;
g
c an
perform man y feats of occult power through his own spirit ;
can compel the presence and assistance Of Spirits of lower grades
of being than himself and e ffect transformations i n the realm of
nature upon a n i m ate and inanimate bodies He can control his
fellow am e n physically an d mentally by will irrespective Of di s
tance and even cause changes in the destinies of individuals and
societies These powers seem in rehearsal fabulous neverthele ss
th ey h av e been achieved and we know that they are still attain
able to man The rst gr eat prerequisite however i s as above
stated a prophetic or naturally mediumistic organiz ati on and
Where this exists culture w i ll do the rest ; where it is not bestow e d
by nature the nex t step i s to change th e ph ysi q e and so modify
its inherent tendencies as to afford prepared conditions for the
exercise of ma g i cal powers and it is th e recital Of these conditio n s
that will engage our attention during this an d the followi n g few
sections
In th e rst place let us dis abuse the m i n ds of those who
have been inform ed that magical knowledge was to be procured
only through initiation i nto the ancient mysteries or cert ai n
modern branches of th ese o rders that may still be fo und banded
together in the O rient Thi s is emphatically a mistake if not a
wilful pe rversion of the truth on the part of those wh o may be
still interested in throwing the halo of mystery around their cher
o

"

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1 30

ART

fe w

AGIC

general denitions we proceed to say that the rst pr epara

tory step for the eliminati on of magical power is abstinence
A bstinence not alone in food but from the indulgence of all ani
m a l appetites
If for i n stance the student proposes to essay th e
performance of magical ri tes at any given period h e sh o ld set
apart certain days during several months for total abstinence
an d during a s e t period of probation obse rve the s trictest laws of
tem p er an c e an d chastity
The Prie sts Of antiquity were often
m arried men but as we have before stated the y were not always

prophetic men o the other h and the Prophets were almost

i n variably ascetics and tha t of the strictest order never i n d lg
i n g i n the se of wine seldom of meat the society of the femal e
Se x or th e en j oyment O f social and conjug al relatio n s
T h e more ut terly ascetic they were the more exalted became
their spiritual pow ers but without a certain amoun t of fasting an d
a sceticism
let n o ne expect to succ ed in magical practi ces for
the physiological effects which fasting and asceticism produce
are unalterably essential alike to the male or female sex in th e
de v elopm en t of the power unde r consideration
The North A merican Indians no less than the C h ari b s and
South American tr ibes of poor uneducated abo ri gines compel
th eir young m en to undergo probationary fasts for a pe ri od of
s ome eight or nine days wandering meanwhile through the for
ests and c arefully avoiding contact with any of their fello wmen
These ascetic practices antedate their assumption of the duties
o f m anhood
or th e posi ti on s of power and trust to which the
red men deem their sons may become eligible and it is claimed
that this discipline is necessary to enkindle the n oblest res of
manhood quicken thei r powers of perception accustom them to
end rance and above all stimulate the latent spirituality of their
Souls to p erc eive and commune with invisible G uardian Spirits
Duri n g th e se probationary states it is claimed that their Spiri t
Guides appear to th em reveal their destiny instruct them in their
C h oice of a m ission and establish a rapport between the spirit and
mort al w h i ch is continu ed through life
Thus do these children of nature these poor savages as the
proud Ci vi lian contemptuously denominates them instinctively
perform t h ose initiatory ri tes which it was the boast of the highest
philosophy of an tiquity to have instituted
Every nation of antiquity practiced this specl es of discipli ne
pr evious to e ntering on a career of spiritual prow ess
The Sybils of Greece an d R ome the Hebre w prophets the
Indian Ecstatics and Egypti an mystics ; the Chaldean sooths ayers
and R oman augurs th e M ed e s Persians Chi n ese an d Ja pan ese
a

ART

AGIC

1 31

taugh t these necessary modes of preparation for prophe ti c

Ofces
Al l the mystics of the M iddle Ages exalt the practices Of ah
O f all classes Of religious
sti n en c e an d insist upon i ts necessity
thinkers the Christians should b e the mo st fai thful in the Ob ser v
pon th em both by the ex
ance of this rite since it w as charged
ample and precept of their founder and pres c ri bed as an essen
ti al of spiritual discipline both in the O ld and N e w Testament
an d yet the R oman Catholics a l one Of all the sects of Christianity
obser ve abstinence as a part of their religious duty ; and perhaps
it is to this cause that we may attribute the greater prevalence
of spiritual manifestations amongst them than with an y other
religious thinkers of Christendom Another mode of prep aratory
exercise for Spiritual exaltation is prayer Prayer not in the m ere
routine fo r m of verbal solicitation but sincere aspiration of soul
towards th e great Source of all life light and inspiration And
prayer mus t be sup plemented by solitar y communion with th e
i nner consciousness long periods of seclusion from the external
world and a complete abstraction of the senses from all outward
Observances; soul musings on the gre at I Am and that deep ab
sorption of the reective powers upon the spirit within which
constitutes the triumph of the Soul over matt er and its belong
ings Ablution too i s anoth er method of preparing the physi que
for the ow Of the Astral uid By frequent ablutions the skin
the organ of the dual functions O f evaporation and absorption
is prepared for a free transmission and recepti on of that Astral
uid w h i ch constitute s the magical element During the inter
va ls of fas ting the food sh o ld\b e very light consisting chiey of
veget ables and fruit s whils t all stimulants or salacious substances
calculated to excite the senses or pamper the appetites Should be
carefully avoided Tea and coffee have not only been deemed
but taken in m oder ate q an ti ti es are recommended
admissi b le
by some modern mystics altho gh the stri cter order repudiate
their use It i s quite evident that the ancients un derstood the
uses of animal m agnetism The temples of the east are cover ed
w ith r e presentations of this practice in the treatment of the sick
an d the constant allusion to it in anc i ent and classical writings
leaves no doubt but that it was the universal method of th er ape
tic practice :
Animal magnetism w as also the method by which th e highest
rites of initia tion into the sacred mysteries were completed Using
this term in its modern sens e we nd it was the special virtue by
which both in ancient and modern mysticism the potential pow
er s of the ma gical ele m en t i n m an is awak en ed
all

'

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1 32

AG I C

The chief value of the initiatory rites of all secret societies

lies in the psych ological effect they exert on the senses by the
fumi gations of incense the presentation of scenic illusions th e
perf ormance of delightful music no less than the effect which
t h e rehearsal of high thoughts and sublime ide as must produce
When to all this i s added the
on
th e already over wrought m ind
ma gnetic effect imparted by the presence and manipulations of
powerful adepts whose A stral uid charged with magical
s t rength i s infused in to the system of the Neophyte it can hardly
be wo n dered at that the nal rites Of initiation in such societies
as are b anded toge ther for the purpose of discovering an d r ac ti c
p
t
in
the
highest
an d most occ lt laws O f N ature
cannot
fail
o
g
send forth Hierophants who feel as did Pythagoras whe n issuing
from the crowni n g rites of Egyptian mysticism that he had
been in the p rese n ce of th e Gods and drank the waters of li fe

ane w from divine chalices

A S a special ill stration of our subj ect we commend the fol

lowing item of philosophy extracted from Ghost Land to the

i
r e a der s attention
It refers to the experien ces of the most p
e r f l order O f magicians now in existence :
They acknowledged that the realm of Spiritual being was
ordinarily invisible to th e material and only known through its
effects being the active and controlling principle of matter ; but
they had discovered by repeated experiments that Spiritual forms
co l d become visi b le to the m aterial under certain con ditions
th e most favorable of wh i ch w as somn ambulism procured through
This state they found could be induced
th e magnetic sleep
someti mes by drugs vapors and aromal essences ; sometimes by
or through music intently staring into crystals the eye s
Spells
of snakes running water or other glittering subs tances ; occasion
ally by intoxication cau sed by dancing spinning around Or di s
tracting clamors ; but the best and most e f cacious method of ex
alting the Spirit into the superior world and putting the body to

sleep was as th ey had proved through ani m al magnetism

After an experience of m ore than forty years sub se quent to
the p eri od w h en th e author learned the truth of the above quoted
fragments Of p h ilosophy h e lives to conrm them in every iota
to his appr eh en
an d espec i ally the last sentence q ote d w h i c h
sion cont ains th e t rue gi st Of all magical experiences
N O methods ever h ave been found s o potent for kindling up
the m ost exalted fi res Of th e soul or transmuting its latent pow

e rs into active Oper ation as the laying on of hands or the mag

well intentioned magnetizers
n etic m anifestations of powerful
i n a word, the inf sio n of th e vi tal for ces O f a mi ghty and hi gh ly
,

1 34

M AG I C

ART

tions and they ca n not fail to perform the las t best work of con
v erting the Neophy te into the Adept the passive subj ect into the
acti v e operator
I n the nal formul ae O f evocation the mind must be con
c e n tr ated fully on the purpose and presence most desired
Th s
if the Obj ect be to summ on the attendance of beloved spiri t
frie n ds the ordi n ary methods of waiting either alone or in a
small har m onious gathering now so popularly practiced amon gst
m odern Spiritists in Europe and A m eric a may be s f c i en t to
e n sure the desired r esults
The performance of very good and spiritually inspired music
hould
always precede
or
rather
form
the
invocatory
process
in
s
such circles the ef ect O f good music producing as great a differ
ence in the atmosphere as on the feelings and sensations of the
listeners
The light on such occasions should always be subdued as
light is motion in th e atmosphere and tends to promot e an en
e r g y of action which is unfavorable to the inuence of the Astral
li ght in which spirits live and move and hav e their being
M aterial l i ght an d A str al light are as antagonistic to each
other as the north poles of separate magnets They mutually r e
pel each other ; hence avoid as much as possible the action of ma
For obvious reasons the custom Of sittin g in to tal
ter i al l i ght
darkness should be held equally Obj ectionable except under strin
gent test conditions and where remarkable evide n ces of physical
power is demanded
The fumi gations of aromatic and fragrant essences contrib te
gre atly to p romote the conditions under which Elementary Spirits
can manifest but retard the approach of human spirit visitants
The introduction of streams of ozone into th e apartment will be
found a highly favorable condition to promote the communi on
between Sp irits of mortals and their friends in the form Besides
this the action of a gentle current of electricity evolved from an
electro magnetic battery Should be infused into the systems of
the investigators as it not only incr eases the strength and quan
tity of the Astr al uid present in each organism but benets the
health and prevents the depletion of vital force The ethere al
character of ozone and the force of electro magnetism are also
strongly in harmony with the Astral uid which forms the b Odi c s
of spirit al beings hence their use at spirit circles wil l be found
effective and benecial
A s the Spi ri tists of this age ha v e enj oyed an exte n ded e xpe
ri en ce in the constant intercourse presence an d counsel Of their

household Lares it is needless for us to offer farther s gges

,

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AGIC

1 35

tions on this branch Of our subject at present sa v e to add that th e

methods of intercourse with all spiritual existences will be found
reduc e d to general principles in this volume and may therefore
be applied universally to all forms of communion between the i n
visible and visible worlds
The mean s of awakening latent Spiritual forces or the pro
cesses of invoking and proc r i n g the presence of spirits may be
conducted through any of the avenues to the material senses For
example :the magnetic sleep on the one hand and th e mantic

frenzy on the other may both be produced by appeals to th e

sense of heari n g The one is induced by soft and delightful
strains of music the other by noise and distra cti ng clamor C i v
i li z e d nations are n aturally most satis factorily affected by th e for
mer mode ; barbarous or semi civilized peoples by the latter Dull
monotonous rhythmical intonations act an intermediate part b e
tween these two extremes and are particularly fav orable to th e
commencement of all magical ceremonials
Appeals t o the spirit can also be successfully made through
the eye The sight of frightful Obj ects causes a revulsion in the
en tire circulatory system lower s its tone and may even suspe n d
its functio n s to the point of swooning The reverse of this action
is produced by pleasing Objects beautiful colors charming scen e s
or persons all of wh i ch Sights stimulate and quicken the circula
tion tending to diffuse a soothing and healthful glo w through
o t the whole system
Another very effective mode of acting upon th e sense of
vision results from gazing intently on mirrors crystals precious
stones shining bodies or pure uids The magnetic rays which
a r e reected back into the eye from these Objects pierce the br ai n
an d charge it with Astral light whilst the xi di t
of
the
action
y
i n duces that self m agnetization which is the rst step i n som n am
b li sm tr ance and ecstasy
Still another mode is in the inhala
t ion of stimulati n g narcotics or aromatic vapors
As before r e
marked these processes are essential to the control of Elementary
Spirits and produce no inconsiderable effect upon the senses of
the magi ci an
N i trous oxide gas ether and other Stimulating and an aes
thetic vapors are po w erful means Of inducing either the trance

s tate or
mantic frenzy
For the evolution Of the latter condi
tion no m ethod has proved so effective as violent gesticulations
dancing jumping leaping spinning around in circles in a word
emulating the actions of the O riental Ecstatics in whom th e

mantic frenzy and the exhibition of the most astounding pre

tern at ral powers seem al ways to require these preparatory pro
,

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A R T M A GI C

1 36

'

cesses And here w e m st strictly impress on the reader s mi n d

the fact that in describi n g t h ese abnormal proceedings we do
not present them as examples for imitation or commend them

as even p ossible for the execution of

well to do ladies and gen
moving in the rst circles of London Paris or Ameri ca
tlem en
We are simply answering the oft repeated question raised by th e
a dmirers of A r t M agic
What can we do to perfect ourselves in

i ts practice ?
We may have conclusions to draw ere we close this volum e
which wi ll induce the aspirants for magical powers to regard
with more interest and reverence the pearls Of spiritual beauty
they are constantly treading under foot whilst their eager gaze
i s directed longingly on so m e glittering bauble far away up the
mountain heights whose rugged paths their daintily slippered
feet would essay in vai n to climb ; but these conclusions c an only
be understandingly arrived at when our work is done ; to the act of
'
present duty therefore we must now return
The use of Hasheesh Napellus O pium th e Juice of the I n
dian Soma or Egyptian Lotus plant besides many other n arcotics
of special virtues constitute a larg e portion of the preparatory
exercises by which O riental Ecstatics produce their abnormal
conditions ; but when we name the last essential for the due per
for m an ce of ma gi cal rites we may condently assure our readers
we include all lesser means and are about to disclose th e tr e
s ecret of th e Philosopher s Stone and the mystic Elixir Vitae
nay we speak Of an element m ore potent than either for we poi n t
to the source and en d Of all Dei c no less than human capacity
the all omnipotent and resi stless power of will
When the great Essenian Teacher Jesus of Nazareth assur ed
h i s Disciples if they had faith as a grain of must ard seed they
could move mountains and cast them into the sea he uttered no
myth spoke in no parable but enunciated a truth which th e
Adept Of every country and every age wi ll fully conrm
The power of faith is the power of will the essence Of So l
and Soul s action in produ cing forms and emulating the creative
functions of the Divine Will
Will i s the purpose Of the Eternal O ne outwrought in ex
i sten c e and its Operation in the outgrowth of more fully perfected
mind a g es will elevate mankind to the functions of Deity by i ts
triumphs
Every M ystic Sage M agician and Psychologist every stu
dent ancient or modern r ange s the power of the human will i n
the category of all supreme intelligence and attributes to its ex
Still it
erc i se the highest achie vements of the true magician
.

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1 38

ART

AGIC

u
pon the full exercise of which the magician s triumphs depend

Fail now and you fail forever Cherish but one spark of
hope to ligh t your way t h rough the labyrinthine paths we are
destined to tread together and every mind of ordinary i n telli
gence an d indomitable purpose may by the perusal of t hese pages
become an Adept in Art M agic
,

SE C T I O N XI

A R T M A G I C I N I N DI A

MO ST A NCI EN T L A ND B RA HMINIC A L ORDER W HENCE

D E R I VE D FORE ST A NCHORI T E S FOUND A T ION OF T H E PRIE ST
LY O RDER A N D C A ST E RI T E S OF i N I T I A T I O N A N D ME T HOD O F
P R E RA R I N G FOR T H E M A G IC A L PO W ER S
T h e v ery name of Hindostan with its long descended li n e s
of G r oos Brahmins Yogees and Fakeers ; initiates all into the
highest and mos t potential of nature s occult powers , i s itself sug
r cially
es
i
t
of
agic
and
few
th
re
are
who
have
glanced
supe
v
e
M
e
g
at this subject or read the extracts from popul ar literature in th e
periodicals of the day relating to it who do not regard Indi a as
the birth place of all that is wild weird and w on de rful in the oc
cult side of man s n ature
The immen se antiquity of the H i n dostan e e dynasty the i n
vincible tendency Of the Hindoo mind to regard the scheme of

being as xed an d unchangeable and the belief in Yugs or

cycles of time through which mankind must inevitably p ass i n
the fulllment of a desti ny as immuta ble as the Will of Deity
h ave paraly zed all eor t at advancement hence the basic princi
ples O f the Hindoo s belief nay most of their practi ces of a
Theosophical chara cter are as muc h the stereotyped copies of
what their an cest ors believ ed and did ve thousan d years ago as
ar e their wonderful temples and colossal images the expression
of the same far distant period of time It i s almost imp ossible to
s eparate th e magi c al practices of th e H i n doos from the elements
of their religion and the change s which time has wrought in the
a spect of nature and the political institutions which have been
shattered by e v ery description of national calamity have fai led
to affect the deep metaphysical characteristics which soil scenery
climate and the doctrines of fatalism have engrafted on the Hin
doo m ind
IN D I A

T H E

M AGIC

ART

1 39

Since the tone of ancient metaphysics has changed but little

then with the onward march of the ages the following brief s m
mary may be regarded as a transcript Of Hindoo m agic both i n
P assing over the mo r e sublime prin
antique and modern times
ci ple s of Theism the doctrines of the Trinity Inca r nation Ema
nations the T r an sm i g r a ti orf of Souls etc etc we come to the
direct practices which the highest forms of religious belief i n i
posed u p on Hindoo Priests a n d Devotees
The laws of Caste assigned to the ancient Brahmins the s
preme control over all other classes and the direction not only
O f spiritual ideas and teachings b t also gave them prerogativ e
ri ghts of succession by whi ch through th e ass m e d transmissi on
of heredi tary virtues their sacred Caste w as to be preserved i n
cert ain famili es and entailed upon long lines of posterity There
be no doub t that the Brahminical order itself sprang from
c an
the natural endowments of th e se ancient Anchorites who at the
v ery edge of historic times an d perhap s long before, had retired
from the busy hum of the cities and in th e depths of th e wildest
solitudes held communion with Nature and Nature s God and
by the practice of excessive devotion and rigid asceticis m disci
l
i
i
both
soul
and
body
nto
communion
with
the
invisible
n
e
d
p
worlds of being The following graphic description of these an
ci ent Forest priests is given in the charming an d truthful lan
guage of M r s L M Child This gifted authoress s ays :
In times Ancient beyond conjecture there were men who
withdrew altogether from the labors and pleasures of the world
an d in solitary places devoted thems elves to religious contempl a
tion This lonely existence on the silent mountains or amid the
darkness of imm ense forests i n fested by serpents and wild beast s
and as they b elieved by evil spirits also grea tly excited popular
imagin ation The human so l uns atised in i ts cage of ni te
limitation is always aspiring after the good and the true always
e agerly hoping for messengers from above an d therefore prone
to believe in th em Thus th es e saintly hermits came to be Ob
e
f
s
extreme
veneration
among
the
people
traveled
far
c
t
O
e
n
M
j
to i n quire O f them how sins might be expiated or diseases cured
for it w as believed that i n thus devoting themselves to a life b e
y ond the tumult of the passions occupied solely wit h penance and
prayer they approached very near to God and received direc t
re v elations of His di vine wi sdom
I n the b e gi nnin g these anchorites were doubtless i ri
'
en c e d b y sincere devotion and mad e honest efforts t o attai n
wh at
seemed to them the highest standard of purity and holiness Their
m ode of life was simple an d austere in the extreme They lived
~

u
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A R T M A GI C

1 40

'

in c averns or under the shelter of a few boughs whi ch they

twisted together in the shadow Of some great tree Their furni
ture consisted merely of an ante lope skin to sleep on a v ase to
receive alms a pitcher for water a basket to gather roots and wild
be rries a hatchet to cut wood for sacrices a staff to help them
through the forest and a rosary made of lo t us seeds to assist in
repea ting their numerous prayers The beard and nails were suf
fer e d to g row and to avoid trouble with their hair it was twisted
into peculiar knots resembling the close curls of an African
In later times they shaved their heads probably from mo
However high might have been their cas te
ti ves of cleanliness
in th e socie ty of the world they retained no ornament or badge
of distinction They w e r e simply a coarse yellowish red gar ment
made of the br e of bar k Their food consisted Of wild roots
fruit and grain ; and of these they must eat merely enough to s s
tain life They might receive food as alms or even ask for it
in cases of extreme necessity; but they must s trive to attain such
a state of indifference th at they felt no regret if refused an d no
pleasure if they received it They were bound to the most ri gid
chastity in thought as well as deed SO far as they coveted the
'
slightest pleasure from any Of the senses SO far w ei e they from
their standard of perfect san ctity
Some made a vow of continual silence and kep t a skull
before them to remind them c onstantly Of death
In addition to this routine they prescribed to themselves
tasks more or less severe according to the degree of holiness th e y
wished to attain or had courage to pursue Some fasted to th e
very verge O f dissolution In summer they exposed themselv e s
to the scorching s n or surrounded themselves with res In
winter they wore wet garments or stood up to the chin in water
They went forth uncovered amid frightful tempests They stood
for hours and days on the point of their toes with arms stretched
upward motionless as a tree They sat on their heels closing
their ears tight with their thumbs their eyes with the for e n ger s
their nostrils with the m iddle ngers and their lips with the little
ngers ; in this attitude they remained holding their breath till
they often fell into a swoon
These terrible self torments resulted from their belief that
this life was merely intended for ex piation ; tha t the body was
an incumbrance an d the senses entirely evil ; that relations to
outward things entangled the soul in temptation and sin ; that
man s great Obj ect Should be to withdraw himself entirely from
nature and thus become completely absorbed in the eternal Soul
O f the Universe from which his own soul originally emanated
,

1 42

ART

AGIC

political inuence an d religious knowledge to those who have

not protested from their form of belief M any sects have arisen
howe ver dividing up the reli gi ous world of India into almost as
many di fferent shades O f opinion as Christianity itself ; still it i s
a curious and si g nicant fact that no class of the community
not even the fame d Buddhist Priests ever att ained as an ord er to
such remarkable powers in the realm of magical achievements as
the m ighty Brahmins of India
It is not that their creed teaches any special devotion to mag
ical art or aims to develop miraculous powers as an es sential of
Brahminical life In this respect Brahminism differs from Chris
ti an i ty whose Founder repeatedly demanded the p erformance
of wonderful works as a sign of Chri stian fai th
No s ch charg e i s enforced in the education O f the Brahmins ;
neither are all Brahmins wonder workers ; but the truth is that the
asc etic lives practiced by the strictest devotees of the order their
profound Study of nature and Obedience to nature s laws ; the i r
contemplative habits purity of diet si m plicity of dress and per
haps the i nherited tendencies bequeathed to them by a long line
of spiritualized ancestors all tend to endow this cas te of men with
the rare and peculiar gifts that distinguish so many amongst their
ranks
The sacred writings of the Hindoos which are very numer
ous and rich i n sublime ideality contain many dir ection s for i n
v ok i n g s p irits controlling the inferior orders and soliciting th e
aid and protection of the superior
Instructions also ar e given for the preparation Of the b ody b y
fasting chastity ablutions and self m orti cati on
T h e spiri t is
to be disciplined by prayer the singing of hy mns long p eri ods of
Sile n t contemplation solit ary communion with God nature spir
Seated
i ts and p erfect soul abstraction from all external things
in peculiar and far from luxurious attitudes with the eyes xed
an d the very respiration regulated by abstract methods the Atma
or soul within is to be co n tinua lly trained to complete ab sor p
tion i n Dei c ideas to the exclusion of all worldly aims desires
pursuits or scenes
Directions are g iven in the sacred books for the use and prep
aration of the Soma dri nk Of napellus hasheesh opium an d other
narco t i cs by which ecstasy and trance are to be induced Fumiga
tions also and the use of Spices gums and aromatic herbs ar e
described ; still a large portion of th e initiatory rites by which
m agical p owers are to be evolved are not committed to writing ;
but from time immemorial have been orally comm n i cated b y
Ade pts to i niti at es an d stu den t s
.

ART

M AGIC

1 43

Bei n g Versed in those oral traditions and sufciently i n

formed u p on the methods of i n i ti ati On to know how far these rites
be disclosed without f ear of misunderstanding we may ven
c an
ture to state that every temple of ancient or modern India
abounds with crypts and secret chambers where devote es m ay
pass their time absorbed in silent communion with God and
Angels or engaged in wagi n g erce mental warfare with the Evil
Spirits who ever beset the path of the Neophyte and strive to win
him from the kingdom of light to the realms of darkness in
whi ch their own unblest natures most delight

To comba t these subtle but ever present enemies and guard

their wandering thoughts agains t the intrusion of vain desires

also to regain that internal respiration which tradition teach es

was once the privilege of humanity enabling God to ll the i n
te ri or man and preserve the breath from pollution by admixtur e
with the outer ai r the devotee is required to suspend h i s respira
tion and inwar dly repeat s i xteen times the sacred syllable A U M
the ineffable word which contains the name and attributes of
Deity and thus by such methods of mental introversion it i s
beli eved complete absor pti on in Divine things may be attained
Directions are often given for the attit de to be assumed in these
exerci ses Sometimes the vision is to b e directed towa r ds th e
end Of the nose ; sometimes to the region of the heart liver or
umbilicus In each of these points it i s assumed special virtues
reside ; these are under the government of certain planets and th e
spirits who inhabi t them
By sitting square on four points that is resting on the he els
and so xing the thumbs and ngers as to exclude the action of
external sight and hearing the soul concentrated on the se several
centers of life an d Astral inuence will call down the spirits of
the planets who govern such regions of the body and thus will
be sti m ulated into superm ndane force the virtues which abound
in th ose mystic centers of creative force
Towards the middle ages a strange peaceful sect aro se who
from their methods Of completely abstracting the senses from all
extern al Obj ec ts and concentrating their soul powers in certai n
regions of the body were termed H esy c h i asts They took p
their abode in the region of M ount Athos where under the dir c e
tion of an Abbot and laws founded upon the rigid discipline of
monasticism they de voted themselves to acts of charity the cure
of the sick and the comp lete abstractio n Of all the senses from

mundane things Thei r mode of effecting this mental absorption

is thus stated by one Of t h eir writers :
Sitting alon e i n a corner obs erv e wh at I tell yo
Lock
,

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M AGIC

ART

1 44

your door an d rai s e your m ind from every worldly thing Then
sin k your beard upon y our breast and x yo r eyes upon the cen
ter of yo r body Con tract the air passages tha t breathing m ay
be impeded Strive mentally to nd the position of the heart
where all the m i nd s powers reside At rst you will di scover only
darkness and unyielding densi ty but if you persevere night and
day you will m iraculously enj oy unspeakable happiness for the
soul then p erceives that which it never saw before the radi ance
in which God resides ; a great light dwel ling between the heart

an d the soul
The parity between these instructions and those which O c
h as suggested the
c py a portion O f the Hindoo sacred books
i dea that this order of ascetics drew their i deas from the Ve di c
writings es p ecially those directi ons comm unicated to the Neo
h
i
a
m
ng
to
attain
to
the
exalted
cond
tion
called
Nir
na
a
i
i
v
s
t
e
p y
a
s
:
peace
God
The
Hindoo
teachers
h
f
O
t
e
)
y
(
It i s necessary nay due to the soul to free it from every h
man desire ; to cut Off all sources of delight save those w h i ch i t
finds in Nirvana
Avoid contact with those Of an inferior caste the i n d l
ence
of
vain
thoughts
or
the
ascendancy
of
any
habit
which
g
draws the soul down to earth and a way from companionship with
G od O bey with out questio n i ng thy teachers and follow out each
point in t h i ne initiations though they seem to lead thee to the
feet Of Siva Abate not one moment of t h i ne hours nor let th y
si ght wander from the points where thy plan et r les or the b en ef

i c en t spirits of the stars do dwell in thee

Such exercises as th ese wi th incessant periods o f f asting
abstinence self mortification Of every kind th e severest penances
for the most tri i ng offenses especially the least infraction of
probat ionary di scipline lasted for ye ars ere the devotee w as
de emed t for adm i ssion t o the higher rites of initiation These
t oo were commu n i cated very gradually and occupied months or
ye ars according to the Neophyte s aptness an d wi llingness to en
dure more personal su ffering than the amount prescribed
In
these aS i n the preliminary rites oral communi cations preserved
the Temple secrets from the supposed dangers of entrusti ng them
to w ri ting A m ongst the higher methods of preparato ry di sci
pli n e the scholar w as req ired to listen to recitations from the
m os t occult portions of the Vedas to com m i t many of them to
memory and repeat them constantly He was also instructed in
the principles as far as they were known of algebra geometry
astronomy and astrology
The Hindoos
an d ma t hematics
though n ot s o expert or devoted to the latter science as the Chal

'

M AGIC

ART

1 46

he becomes a Yogee a degree which excels all others in magical

power He may become a Brahmin admitted to the rs t order of
Priesthood and be permitted to marry and rear offspring e
tering into all the uses an d dutie s which belong to the p riest ly
class If his choice inclines him to still higher realms of spiritual
absorption if he feels that the last stag e of divine unio n with

Deity called Nirvana

is yet to be reached he must contin e
his ascetic practices nay double and treble their severity retire
to some dim forest solitude deep cavern or temple crypt and
there continue in the p erformance Of the most terrib le auste rities
until his puried spirit is no longer of the earth until he has ele
y ated himself above the necessity or desire for food the habitues
of physical being and then will the triumphant Spirit spurn the
dungeon walls of a material existence The Angels of Siva will
respond to the Soul s cry for liberty the gates of the emaciated
body will y open and let the puried Soul go free !
The narcotics chiey used by Eastern Ecstatics to elevate
them to the hi ghest conditions of somn ambulism ar e rst th e
Soma dri nk or Asclepias acida
This plant is prepared by expressing out the juice either b e

tween two stones braying it in a mortar or pounding it in pre

pared
vessels
the
li
uid
thus
obtained
is
then
carefully
strained
q
'
m ixed with claried butter laid for a season on ne fresh dewy
grass then g athered p and swallowed as occasion requires In
preparing this drink many magical ceremonies are used the v alue
of which will be di sc ssed in their appropriate place Still it i s
deemed nec essary to se exorcisms to evil spirits invocations to
good and lunar and astral observations in the preparation of all
materials employed in magical rites The Soma juice hasheesh
Opium the napellus and di stillations procured from two or three
species of acrid fungi are considered the mo st effective n ar cotics
a ppropriate for inducing the trance con di tion
A great variet y
of anaesthetics are now in use in the E ast unknown to th e an
c i en ts
The fumi g ations made use of were and are very numer
ous M yrrh cassia frankincense different preparations of lime
aloes aromatic woods gums and Spices as well as amber am ber
gris an d other delicate perfumes constituting a large portion of
the medicaments used
"
The Laws of M an n
one of the Hindoo sacred books al
leges that there are only t h ree states in wh i ch human soul s can
exist whilst inhabiting the mort al tenement ; these are alterna

tions of waking Sleeping and trance

The waking state of t h e
body is the soul s period of darkness material light always being
deem ed, in O riental Theosophy the opposite of Di vin e l i ght
,

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ART

AGIC

1 47

In thi s condition all the evils which belong to a materi al

state are perceived an d have power to op erate In sleep the soul
oscillates between the attractions of matter produced by the rela
tions it s s tains to the body and its natural tendency to ascend to
its true home in a spiritual state of being
The more perfectly th e s enses of the sleeper have been sub
dued by di sci pli n e th e more do es the soul recede from the body and
gravitate to the Divine light ; h en c e arise those healthful slumbers
from which so much str ength and refreshment proceeds ; but
where the body is indisposed or binds th e soul in the chains of
earthly attraction un q uiet dreams bear witness to the struggle
between the opposing forces of matter an d spirit and n less
guardian spirits induc e the dream for purpose s of their own the
sleeper awakes but little refreshed from the mental strif e
M uch is written concerning the philosophy of sleep which
Trance is considered to be the com
w e h ave not space to q uot e
l
li
eration
of
the
soul
from
the
chains
of
materialism
as
e
t
e
b
p
except a small portion of the Astral uid which inh eres to the
'

body and maint ains the action of instinctive life the fetters o f
matter now become so loosened that the soul can go forth an d
wander abroad in Space Its spirit al senses have free exercise
It is all eye all ear all perception It can ascend to the third

heavens traverse the spheres wander o ver the earth read the
hidden things of the hear t penetrate into all secrets behold the
past present and future outstretched as in a vas t panorama in
short Atma ( the Soul ) then becomes the true spark Of Di vinity
and enj oys unfettered powers and unlimited functions
The full perfection of the trance st ate is very seldom reached
until Death sets the soul at liberty ; but even an approximation
to this divine co n dition is eagerly coveted by illuminated m i nds
M uch stress i s laid upon lunar inuence in seeking to enter
the t rance state and hence the real effects which th e moon ex
erts on material bodies especially in Sleep in lunacy and in pro
d ci n g rapid growth in plants and decomposition in dead matter
form the subj ect Of much scientic speculation and afford mat
ter for highly suggestive t h ought
Besides the processes necessary to prepare a true Br ahmin
the Priesthood admitted other devotees to certain ini tiatory rites
There w ere many classes of ascetics in India ranging fro m the
High Priests or G r ooes down to th e begging Fakeers who
clamor for a lms in every populous city
The highes t class of the Brahminical order the princely G
r ooes ar e educ ated in all the learning the age can bestow and b e
,

'

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.

ART

1 48

AGIC

sides being practiced in the rigid school of a sceticism abo v e de

scribed are disci p lined in the noblest of moral virtues
The severe discipline and frightful s elf m or ti cati on s i n
i c te d by fan aticism upon the m uch abused body must not be
understood as enj oined by the sacred writings of India These
in many remarkable passages deny the efcacy of such outward
Observances sternly rebuke those who rely on them for salv ation
and abound with beautiful hymns admirable precepts and r e c om
m en dati on s to the practice of deeds Of charity kindness pu ri ty
The excessive tendency to asceticism and self morti
an d truth
ea ti on which has Obtained for t housands O f years in India r e
s lts from obedience to t r aditional law and customs which have
incre ased in stri ngency by the imitative habits of the people and
the exam ples of certain notable Saints and imaginary Avatars
B esides th e Brahminical Priesthood and Often excelling them i n
Spi ritualistic endowments are classes of Saints and Asce tics
own
as San y assi s N i rv an ys and Yogys or Yogees
These ar e emphatically the creme de la creme of Indian
Spiritism and their w onder working powers resulting from the
most horri ble self i n i c ted tor tr es and probationary sufferings
are almost bey ond belief In a free translation from the Dham
mapada the work of a Brahmin writer who ourish ed in the rs t
century B C the following description is given of the status of
the N i r v an y or one of th es e ascetics who had attained to the i n

f
conceivable bliss and purity O Nirvana the state of peace almo st
amounting to absorption in Deity
Patience is the highest Nirvana
This is the word of th e

Buddhas
If like a trumpe t when broken thou art not r oused to
speech thou art near Nirv ana Anger is not known in the e or

there is no noisy clamor in thee

He who h as deepes t insigh t who knows all right and all

wrong w h o has attained to th e highest Him call I a Brah m ana

He who has given p all pain all pleasure who is without
ground for new birth who has overcome matter and all worlds

Him call I a Brahmana

M any writers are still more ent h usiastic in praise Of the Yo
gees than the N i r van y s The latter are mor e speculative the
former the most accomplished in miraculous gift s of the Hindoo
asceti cs The most exalted of the Yogees are selected as a coun
cil of Elders and their decrees are re v erenced as th e v oice of
Deity
They form no inconsiderable portion of those fanatics who
like the Fakeers wande r o v er the east subj ecting th eir b odi es to
.

1 50

A R T M A GI C

It i s p ure for c e cohesi on which divided by the knife can b e

replaced causing the particles bres and all the se v ered tissues
to cohere again exa ctly as before they were severed
It is the cause Of growth in pl ants ; hence if a heavy charge
is poured out on a seed or germ it can cause that growth in a few
seconds which a less q uantity would cause in the slowe r pro
cess es called g rowth A vast accumulation of Ak asa c an c ause
when proj ected by will the heaviest bodies even rocks to move
transport them throug h the air dissolv e solids into uids uids
into airs and recombine them agai n for it is force It can sub
due the ercest beasts by stupefying their senses ; fas cinat e the
serpent charm the B oa and palsy the Cobra de Capello It can
be diff sed like a gauzy veil all through the atm osphere an d upon
it the will of a powerful magician can paint any images he
pleases and thus a whole assembly can see the objects created by
that will at on e and the same time The magician can envelope
himself in Akasa and thus become invisible or visible at pleas ure
He c an ride upon it sail in it stand upon it ; use it as the
chemist uses airs uids solids ; but these stupendous powers are
only given to those who have utterly worn away all bodily impedi
ments by the severe st fasts and penan ces who are fre ed from all
entanglements of sense or sensuous attrac tion s; whos e souls can
aris e to ethereal spheres and communing with Spirits borro w their
Akasa ( Spiritual bo di es ) to aid in these Operations strengt hen
their own powers by those of potent Spi ri ts and thus become at
once a man and a spiri t
A Soul having at command an earthly v ehicle in which to ap
proach mati er is yet by the subjugation of matter and the exalta

tion of Soul at once a m an a spirit a God

The reader will n o w understan d the philosophy of the tre
m en do s discipline enjoined and practi c ed by Hindoo wonder
workers yet if they were not genuine wonder worker s and the
author of these pages had n ot for years proved them to be such
and p artaken alike of their di sc ipline an d their powers these
enormous cl ai ms had never been m ade for them an d th i s exposi
tion of their philosophy had never been written
All Xog ee s all Fakeers all miracle workers Of every age
country and caste summon to their aid the Pitris or spirits Of an
Bear this in mind skeptics of every land c areless and
c e stor s
unthi n king Spiritists who so lightly regard th e p ri vileges you
have enjo y ed but will soo n forfeit if not more reverently used
and more i ntelligently appreci ated Th es e Pitri s are generally
loving Spirit friends who delight to answer the summons Of the
I lluminee and aid him to ascend to their own divine heights of
,

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M A GI C

ART

1 51

b eatitude, or to work those deeds of power which prove the as

of spiri t over matter

The Fakeers amongs t whom are far more numerou s grade s
than amongst the higher classes of asce tics undergo like them
the most severe probationary discipline M any of them inspir e d
by ignoran t rather than intelligent enthusiasm far outvie the YO
ri tes the hideous and distorted atti
ees
in
the
se
erity
of
their
v
g
tudes they ass me and t h e life long mis eries to which they con
Their revolting attitude s mendicant h abit s
dem n themselves
an d disgusting appearance have too Often formed the theme of
travellers sketches to need description her e Still there are as
before intimated many grades amongst them M any p erform
years of initiatory services in the Temples and accomplish them
selves i n the l earn ing of the time and specul ative philosophy
M any of them are intelligent and even handsome men
though most gen erally lean emaciated and erratic Some of thes e
men become r e eaters serpent ch armers magicians fortune
tellers star gazers strikers dancers thousand eyed nder s of
lost pro p erty detectors Of thieves exhibitors Of marvels or men
di c an ts
A S to the wonders they perform the greatest mistake
in estim ating them is to attribute their acts to legerdemai n The
true Indian j ggler is a man of an e ntirely different class A
F akeer in his most degraded condition may become a juggler but
juggl ers are not necessarily Fakeers and their m ar vell ous powers
are for the most p art deri v ed solely from the exaltation O f their

me di umistic or magnetic n atures over their sensuous

Th ey perform by natural physical magic mar vels whi c h
make the myths of the Arabian tale teller pale before them fro m
the act of b ryi n g th em selves alive for weeks or m on th s to per
forming musical symphonies to an admiring audience of d ancing
Cobras an d w altzing Boas
These men like the Yogee s pe r form their marv els through
the ab ndance of the life uid their perfect control of it and the
aid of spirits w h om th ey all insist they can summon at pleasure
They emphatic ally allege this spiritual aid is always presen t
when they perform They deny that they can work without it
and though they are Often urged by bigoted skeptics pious mis
si on ar i es or puzzled mater i alists to deny that they solicit or can
obtain the aid of spirits they one and all a frm an d r e af rm i t
and insist that without th e Pitris ( ances tr al spirits) th ey can do
little or nothin g
And now r eader how li ke you the trai ning necessary to b e
come an accomplished East Indian magian ? and which of our
Eur opean or Am erican aspirants for magic al power will subjec t
c en

dan

cy

ART

1 52

AGIC

th emselves to the di scipline above described for h alf a life time , in

order that the other half may be spent in performing de e d s of

glamour de eds too that will wane in power without a contin al
exercise of the same rigid asceticism by wh i ch the power has been
procured ? It will be urged that Sim i lar if not q i te as powerful
endowments exist in organ i sms that have not been thus trained
n or subjected to such frightful processes of self abuse and sen
s o s abnegation
This is undoubtedly true of those in whom nature h as already

planted the seeds of mediumistic or magical powers In those

whom as we have shown in earlier sections nature has endowed
with an abundance of the wonder working Astral uid it only
re quires Skill some culture an d int elligent direction to turn i ts
ex ercise to such account as the p ossessor desires Still culture is
needed an d where natural endowments utt erly fail or extra mun
dane powers do not exist art must supply th e deciency and indi
c at e the way
We have only to add that in E ast Indian magic as in Amer
i can spi r itism in ancient as in modern ti m s there are good and
g
These attract good and
b ad magicians pure and impure media
bad Pitri s h i gh and low Spirits M agi c no less than spiritism is
di vided into white an d black good and evil The subjects always
attract a cla ss of spirits correspondential to the natures of the op
er ator s and to the purposes designed
The Hindoos from the noble G r ooes to the abj ect beggi ng
Fakeers all believe in E lem en tari es and all believe that they ha ve
Speci al power to ai d in such operations as their natures especial ly
sympathize with
There are spirits of the earth ai r re and water Th ey v ary
in species class and degrees of power just as mortals do ; regard
mankind as their G ods and seek their aid as me ans of reachin g
higher spheres ; desiring to serve them as opportunities of elevat
ing them selves to the degree of immortality which the Souls of
men alone enj oy These poor emb ryonic beings range from the
purely m i schievous and evil to the as pirational an d good They
are the Ginn or Genii of the O rient who ser ve mortals in propor;
tion to their pow er to summon or command them but we co n
e lude with th e as surance that from the v ery he ar t of the secret
crypts of initiation from the lips of noble G rooes dreamy eyed
P r oh i tas abstracted N i r van ys and tribe s Of Fakeers the same
t ale is told
The profo ndest mysteries of initiation are the evocation of

those called dead and the power of the magnetic touch or the
infusion of Astral uid from one potent body to another Both
,

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1 54

In
vain
his
friends
assured
him
these
cet
i
cs
e
r
o
o
r
as
w
e
p
p
merely instruments through whom the inhabitants of oth er
worlds might announce their presence as through the post of ce
or telegraph The mourner required for the manifestation Of an
angelic presence nothing short of an angelic instrument and i n
sisted that if the dead could return at all it must be thr ough
means as holy as their own b eati e d condition
O ne m orning Capt W entered his friend s apartment wi th
a countenance b eam ing with excitement and exclaimed :E reka !
the great Object of my search is found A mighty magician i s
com ing to Benares who can solve all my doubts R eport Speak s
of him as th e greates t of all wonder workers ; the city is alive wi t h

interes t A Sacred Bokt a v eri table Lama an incarnation per

haps o f the Divine Buddha is expected and will arrive th i s very

evening
Anxious to gratify the newly awakened int erest of
their mourning friend the party above mentioned made inquiries
and found that a great T h i b eti an Lama had indeed arr ived and
would give exhibitions of h i s Skill to whoever desired h i s serv ices
Without inquiring in what this skill consisted the party all too
hastily engaged the great M ystic arranging that his rs t perform
ance should be given in the private r esidence of one of their n m

ber in a large Bungalow in the vi cini ty of the city None b t

invited guests were to be present but it was not until some few
ho rs before the ceremonial was to take plac e that the party of
English g en tlem en lear n ed to what they had committed them
selves and th e true nature of the ho rrible entertainment they had
provided for a set Of extremely rened and int elligent visitors
When the true state of the case was disclosed th e love of the
marvellous prevailed over t heir disappointment The Bokt was

no necromancer no seer or visionist but a great ecstatic a Lama

O f such stupendous sanctity that he was about to slay himself di e
and come to life again Whatever he could or co ld not do how
ever the engagement had been made and must b e carri e d out
The presence Of seventy Fakeers of extraordinary power h ad
been secured an audience hall improvised and altar erected seat s
provided all the afr an gem en ts made and the Bokt now illum i nat
ing the sacred city with his presence proposed in view of all b e
holders to rip up the abdomen remove a portion of the intes tines
read in them the decrees of fate replac e them agai n and heal up
the wound inicted without damage to the person of the great
p e rformer It must be c onfess ed that when th e full horror of
this revolting ri te was understood som e of the party pleaded ear n
e stly that the engagem e nt m i ght be c ancelled and the scar cely h
crowd Of participants be dismissed with the promised fees ;
m an
r e ter s

u
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A R T MA GI C

1 55

b t t h e belief in some that the performance could not be real, but

would end in an act of clever legerdemain whilst the h O pe in th e

minds of others of witnessi ng a stupendous triumph of spirit over
matter determined the m all to unit e in suffering the ceremonial
to proceed Wh en the hour of noon arrived the L ama appeared
and took h i s seat before the raised altar on which the candles had
been lighted Behind him was a radiant image of the sun and
on eith er side of the altar were grim idols which had been placed
there by the attendants
The L ama was in person a small spare man with xed glit
tering eyes an emaciated frame and an immense mass of long
black hair which oated over his shoulders He appeared alto
gether like a walking corpse i n whose head two blazing res h a d
been ligh ted wh ich gleamed in unnatural lustre through his long
almond shaped eyes
He was about forty years of age and report alleged that h e
had already performed the great sacricial act he was now abo t
to repeat some four times previously
From the moment this skeleton gure had taken his seat the
seventy Fakeers who surrounded him in a semi circle began to
sway their bodies back and forth singing meanwhile a loud mo
The party of
n oton o s chant in rhyth m with their movements
spectators twenty in number were accommodated with seats in a
little gallery opposite th e L ama and so placed as to command his
every motion
In a few minutes the gesticulations of the Fakeers increased
almost to frenzy ; they tossed their arm s on high bent their bod
ies to earth now forward now backward now swung them around
as if thrown by the hands of others meantime their monotonous
chant rose into shrieks and yells so frightful that the ears of the
listeners were deafened and their senses distracted by the clamor
O n every side of the auditorium braziers of incense were burn
ing
Six Fakeers swung p ots of Frankincense lling the
ai r with intoxicating vapors whilst si x others stood behind beat
ing metal drum s or clashing cymbals which they tossed on hi gh
with gestures of frantic exaltation For some time the howl s
shrieks and distracting action s of this maniac crew produced n o
effect on the i m movable Lam a He sat like one dead h i s xed
and glassy eyes seeming to stare into illimitable distance withou t
heeding the pande m onium that was raging around him
C an he

be really living ? whispered one of the awe struck Englishmen to

h i s neighbor but t h is question was spee dily answered by the se r ies
of convulsive shudderings wh ich at length shook the Lam a s
frame His dark eyes rol led w ildly and n ally nothing but thei r
,

A R T M AG I C

1 56

whites were to be seen sp as m after spasm threaten in g to sh i v er

the frai l tenement and expel its quivering life
The teeth were set and the fe atures distorted as in the worst
phases of epilepsy when suddenly; and just as the tempest of hor
r ible c ries and distortions was at its height the Lama seized the
long glittering knife which was across h i s knees drew it rap
idly p the length of the abdomen and then displayed in all their
revolting horr or the proof s of the sac ric e in the protr di n g
intestines
The crowd of awe struck ascetics bent their heads to the
earth in mute worship ; not a sound broke th e stillness but the
de e p breathings of the spectators At length one of them who
had witnessed such scenes before addres sing the living creature
for living he still was tho gh he uttered no sound nor raised his
drooping he ad from his breast and said : M an ! can you tell us
by what power this deed of blood is performed w ithout destr c

tion of life ?
The L ama is all Atma now responded a thin
F o keeps the
shrill v oice from the bl e eding wreck before us

But why is th at work

M anas ( senses ) until the work is done

necessary ? rej oined the q erist Is it right ?

To show tha t
life and death is his F o can withdraw the Atma ( Soul ) and give

it back ; it is his will to show his power

I s the Lama then dead

now ?
The City of Brahma ( the body) is empty ; Brahma A tma

How long c an the Atma remain absent ?

He
h as retreated
returns even now See he wings h i s way hither and now he must

Ye t
r e enter the City s gate or it is closed agains t him forever
a moment ; the Akasa (life principle ) has it left the esh that is

severed cut ?
Not yet try i t i t is warm but soon the A k
asa will ebb away if your will d etain s the Pitris who g i de home

the Atma
The querist did not as invited examine the wound
nor e v en approach the ghastly gure nearer than was re quisite
A
t o observ e the anatomy of the intes tine s laid b are
dead silence ensued The living corpse moves
I t raises i ts
q i v ering hands and scoops up the blood from the wound bears
it to the lips which breathe upon it ; they then return to the
wound begin to pres s the severed parts together and remake the
mutil at ed body
The Fakeers shout an d send up praise s to
Brahma ; the drums beat the cymbals clash shrieks prayers i n vo
cations resound on all sides The fragrant incense ascends The
flute players planted on th e outskirts of the estate pour forth
their shrill cadence
The harp s of some European servants stationed in a distant
apartment and previously instructed send forth strains of sweet
melody among the frantic clamor
,

'

ART

AGIC

1 59

amels or oxen They told us they were all going to the lamasery
of R ache T ch ri n
When they asked us if our objec t w as the
same as theirs they appeared astonished at our negative response
Their surprise r oused our curiosity At a turn ing of the road w e
overto ok an old lama who appeared to walk with difculty as he

had a heavy package on h i s b ack

Brother we said thou art
old thy white hairs are more n i i m er o s than the black ; thou must
be fatigued ; place thy burden on the back of one of our c amels
After the pilgrim was relieved of his load wh en his walk h ad b e
come m ore el astic and his countenance brighter we asked him

We are all going

w h y all these pilgrims were pacing the desert ?
to R ache T ch ri n
they s aid with accents full of devotion

Without doubt some great solemnity calls you to the lam asery ?

Yes to m orrow ought to be a grand day ; a lama bokt will mani

fest his pow er ; he will kill himself but will not die
We at
once understood the kind of solemnity which had put all these
Tar tars and Orto s on the move A lama was about to rip up his
stomach t ake out h i s entrails place them before him and then
return to h i s normal state This spectacle atrocious and dis g st
ing as it is is nevertheless very common in the lamas eri es of Tar

tary The bokt who is to manif est his power as the M ongols
express it prepares himself for this formidable act by many days
of pray e r and fasting During this time he must forego all com
When
m n i c ati on with other men and keep in absolute silence
the day arr ives the multitude of pi lg rims assemble in th e larg e
court of the lam as e ry an d an altar is rai sed in front of th e doors
of the temple
The bokt appe ars
He advances gravely the
people saluting him with loud acclamations He moves to th e
altar and th ere he sits He draws from his belt a long cutla ss
wh i ch he pl aces on h i s knees At his feet a number of lamas ar
ranged i n a circl e raise lo d invocations As the prayers proceed
the bokt i s perceived to trembl e in all his members an d th en
gradually to fall into phrenetical conv ulsions The lamas become
more an d more excited ; their voices are no longer measured ; their
chants become disord erly till at len gt h their recitations are
changed into howlings And it i s now that the bokt suddenly
casts off th e scarf which env elopes him detaches h i s belt and
s eizing the sacred C utlass cuts up his stomach through all its
len gth ! Whil e the blood is owing from every part the m lti
tude falling before this horrible Spectacle inte rrogates the fanatic
concerning hidd en subjects future events or the destiny of cer
tain persons The bokt replies to all these questions b y an swers
whi ch are regarded as oracles by all
When the de v out curiosity of the num erous pilgrims is sati s

u
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1 60

ART

M AGIC

e d,

the lama s recommence the recitation of prayers with c alm

nes s and gravity The bokt gathers up with his right h and s ome
of the blood carries it to his mouth blows on it three times and
then casts it in th e air with much clamor He r apidly passe h i s
hand over the wound and all returns to i ts primitive state witho t
leaving a trac e of this diabolical op eration beyond extreme lan
r
o
i
The
bokt
rolls
h
s
sc
a
rf
again
around
his
body
recites
a
g
short p rayer with a low voice and all is over And now the pil
s
d
rim
isperse
with
the
exception
of
the
most
devout
who
stay
g
to contemplate and adore the blood stained altar These horribl e
ceremonies occur with suf cient fre quency in the large lamaseries
of Tartar y an d T h i bet
All l amas have n ot the power to operate these pro di gies
Those for example who have the horribl e capacity of cutting
themselves open are never found among the lamas of higher rank
They are ordinarily simple lamas of bad character and held in
small esteem by their colleagues
The lamas who ar e sensible
generally asseverate their horror of spe ctacles of this description
In their eyes all these operations are perverse and diabolical The
good l am as they say ha ve i t n ot in their power to execute thi ngs
of this kind an d are c ar eful to guard against seeking to acquire
th e impious t alent

The above i s one of the most no table sie fa that is pe r vers e

pow er s p ossessed by the lamas
O thers of a like kind are less
grandiose an d more in v ogue These they practi ce at home and
not on public solemnities They will he at a piece of iro n red hot
and lick it with their tongues Th ey will make incisions in thei r
bodies and an instant after not a trace of the wound remains etc
etc All these Operation s should be preceded by prayers
In 1 8 7 0 b eing on a visit to a friend residing near Paris the
auth or was informed that a par ty of Fakeers otherw ise called

Fire e aters who had been denied the opportunity of exh i biting
their powers in London might b e seen and induced to giv e a priv
ate performance by application to their l eader Lal a P ok owr a
These men being known to the a t hor had s olicited him to pro
cure them such patronage as would enable them to return to their
own land With this view several gentlemen u n i ted to arrange
a series of privat e pe r formances the rst of which we propose to
i
v
e
a
brief
transcript
of
in
the
f
o
llowing
narrati
v
e
:
g
Three of the spectators had alre ady become familiar wi th
the performance expe cted ; the rest were entirely sk eptical as to
the re ality of what was described especially Dr L a Corsican sur
geon who insisted that he should be abl e to detect th e trick by
h i s acumen a n d scientic knowledge
.

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1 62

M AGIC

ART

At the rst int onation they rai sed their heads like sleuth
h ounds scenting game then began swaying the i r bodies in time to
the music Shr iller louder q i cker rang o t the tones of the

l
ag e o et er c er sounded th e clashing cymbals ; louder a d
louder shouted th e hoarse voices of the singers and n ow upspring
ing from the ground the four Fakeers are seen whirling spinning
each as it were on h i s own pi v ot arms outstr etched long h air
ying in the circumference of each spinning huma n colum n like
a fringe of bl ack clo d around a water spout at sea F aster and
faster scre ams the age olet faster and faster spin the human
tee to tums till now rst one then the second at length the third
sink down in rigid cataleptic swoons T h e fourth still spins
wh en suddenly tossing on e hand aloft with a whoop that would
have th rilled the blood of a red Indian he snatches with the other
a keen knife from his girdle and dashes it through the eshy part
of th e other extended arm
A torrent of blood follows the
wound but an other and oth er gash succeed in quick succession
until the hands face neck breast and arm s are streaming from
the Open mouths of gaping w ounds O ne of th e surgeons
sp ri ngs forth pale an d trembling and at a signal from the Adep t
the ecstatic stops and the man of science with a face as whi te

as the driven sno w examines the hideous gashes

Great God !

it i s all true ! he cries A few words in H i n dostan ee from the

Adept succeed and now th e bl eeding creature stands motionless
Whilst the Adept s hands rapid ly pass from point to point press
ing the wounds together m ani pulating them slightly rubbing
them o v er making quick passes abo v e them and lo ! the gure
appears a man aga i n
All the surgeons com e fo r ward even th e spectator s those
who have not ed sickened and fainting from the shocking spec
tacle and gaze upon the exposed f orm n ow intact ; not a gash left
not a wound unhe al ed not a cicatri x remai ning A cup cont ai n
ing a stimulating drink of herbs i s handed to the exhibitor who
quietly wiping the still ree k ing gore fr om h i s p erson subsi des
upon his mat with an air of stolid indifference
Meantime the voices of the ch anters have sunk to a low
monotonous cad e nce yet never ceased Now they incre as e in vol
ume again the cymbals clash th e ageolet gives o t i ts pie rcing
tones when the falling Fakeers upspringing fr om their trance
commence to sw ay d ance whirl spin
O ne darts to the blazing re and seizing a red hot iron licks
it w ith ex te nded tongue ; anoth e r gathers up a handful of burn ing
coals an d chews them as a precious morsel then whirling th e
lighted brands abo v e his head h e pile s them up in hea ps, lays on

AR T

AGIC

1 63

them , hugs them , presses them to h i s naked breast , and d ances

Agai n the
wi th them till he appears a co lumn of spinning re
k nives ash , the blood springs from gaping wounds , but now ap
pealing c ries and even shriek s sound o t fr om shivering spe cta

Shouts of Stop this hellish play ! ring from many voices

tors
.

Some fall insensible s ome stop their ears and close their eyes and
others stand like gures of sto n e petried by some Gorgon s head
All are unnerved unmanned and some weep lik e fright e ned
children The sign al to suspend is given in haste and pity ; pity
not to the reeking victims but to the shocked spectators
Again the Adep t and th e two assistants busy themselv es
about the motionless g res They stand as pas sive and unmoved
as logs The blood dries up ; the wounds just bre athed upon ar e
pressed by bu sy hands the bodies stroked and wiped ar e healed
Upright and motionless they stand wh ilst
an d not a sc ar i s left
the trembling spectators steal towar ds them pass their hands
about them and turning to e ach other exclaim : This i s the

work of en ds an d no mistake ! Aye so it ever is Any science

which transcends the power of ignorance to explain is alw ays the
devil s work and horrible revoltin g to humanity and ev ery feel
ing of nature as such exhibitions ar e i t n ee ds them to convince
the m aterial scientist th at there i s a real m of Spiritualism more
tremendously potent th an any that matter has ye t reve aled and
until t h i s re alm is explored science will be driven to the ordi nary
expedient of ignorance and superstition cry ing :This is the work

of ends and n o m i stake !

A narrative so appalling as the abov e demands like the for
Let the reader
m er on e additional testimony t o strengthen it
n d this by perusi n g a sketch writte n b y the Princess de Belgi o
j os a in her charming work entitled Souvenirs de Voyage en
Asie M ineure et en Syri e This narrative w as translated and pub
li sh e d in the L ondon Spi r itual M ag azine of 1 8 6 8 from the pages
of which we avail ourselves of an excellent tran slation
Amongst a variety of other wonders th e Count de Gobi
neau the Ambassador of F rance to Persia a rationalist but a si n
cere an d good obs erver says that everybody in Persi a the M ss l
man s as well as the rest assured him that the N ossayri s on e of the
principal sects in Persia perform the following marvels :T h ey
ll with re a larg e brazier in the middle of the room and whilst
a musician plays the tar a little dr m also call e d dombeck the
N ossayr i approache s the re
He i s agitated he is ex al ted he
lifts his arms and eyes towards heav en with violent conto rtions
Then when he i s excited to such a pitch that the perspiration
i
h
s
ours
from
face
and
fro
every
part
of
body
he
seizes
a
m
i
h
s
p
,

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1 64

ART

AGIC

burning coal and putting it in h i s m outh blow s it in such a man

ner that the ames issue from the nose He receives n o injury
whatever from i t He then seats him self in the midst of the r e
the ames mount up and play in his beard and caress withou t
harming him He i s in the middle of the re and his dress does
n ot burn ; nally he lays h i mself down in the brazier and recei ves

no hurt from it O thers e n ter a bake r s oven in full ignition r e

m ain there as long as th ey like and iss e again without acciden t
What these people do with re others do with the air They
throw themsel ves from rocks with their wives and children with
o t receiving any damage from whatsoever h eight they fall
This
is the manner in which a P rz adeh or descendant of a P r ex

plained these extraordinary phenom en a :Since he said every 5

thing in nature i s God so everyth i ng contains secretly but plen ;
ar i ly the omnipotence of God
F aith only is necessary to put
in motion and m ak e apparent this power Therefor e the more
intense and complete the faith the more m arvelous will be the
effects produced It is n o t merely from the air an d the re that
we can draw prodigies but from obj ects in appearance the most
contemptible If we wish to cal l our interior virtue whatever it
may be into action we have only to apply the ir resistibl e i n str
ment of faith and then nothing i s impossible
Such are the
ideas of the N ossayri s
O ne ne morning as reclining on my divan I endeav ored
but in vain to shake off the stupor and headache caused by the
fumes Of charcoal which issued from a metal stove and circulated
thro gh my closed room I saw enter a little old m an in a white
m ant le with a grey h e ar d a pointed cap of grey felt surrounded
by a turban of green ; he had a lively eye and a countenance frank
an d good natur ed
The old man announced himself as the chief
of ce rtain Dervishes perform ers Of miracles whom the grand
M uphti had sent to show me the ir operations
I o ffered him m y
warmest thanks and expressed myself perfectly ready to witne ss
the spectacl e which they proposed The old man Opened the
door a nade a sign an d quickly reappeared followed by his dis
,

ci ples

They were eight in number and I must confess that if I

had met them on my journ ey at the corner of a wood their ap
n ce would have
i
en
me
little
ple
sure
Their
clothes
ear
a
a
v
g
p
were in rags their long beards untrimmed their visages pale
their forms em aciated a something indescribably ferocious and
haggard in their eyes all which contrasted singularly with the
Open smiling countenance and somewhat gay costume of their
chief These men on enteri n g prostrated themselves before him

1 66

ART

th e litt l e bells
tracting it , he

AGIC

re sound ; then extending his arm an d suddenly r e

plunged the dagger into h i s cheek so deep that the
oint
appeared
in
the
in
ide
of
h
i
s mouth
The
blood
rushed
in
s
p
torrent s f r om both apertures of the wound and I could not r c
strai n a motion of my ha n d to p t an end to this te r rible scene

M ad ame wishes to look a li ttle closer ? said the old m an

aking
si
n
for
the
wounded
man
Observi ng m e atte n ti v el
M
a
g
y
to draw near he made me Observe that the point of the dagger
h ad really passed through the cheek an d he would not be satised
till I had touched the point with my nger

You are satised that th e wound of this man is real ? he

said to me
I have no doubt of it I replie d emphatically

That i s enough M y son he added to the Dervish w h o

rem ained during the e xam i n ati on w i th h i s mouth open lled

with blood and the dagger still in the wound go and be healed
T h e Dervish bowed drew out the dag ger and turning to
on e of his companions knelt and presented his che ek which this
man washed within and without with h i s own saliva T h e oper
ation continued some seconds b t when the wounded man rose
and turned to on e side every trace of the wound had disappear ed
Another Dervish made a wound in his arm under the s am e
ceremonies which was healed in the same manner A third ter
r i e d me
He was armed with a great crooked sabre which h e
seized with his hands at the two extremities and applying the
edge of the concave side to his stomach caused it to enter as h e
executed a see saw motion A purple line instantly showed itself
on
h i s brown and shining skin and I entreated the old m an to
allow it to proceed no further
He smiled assuring me that I
had seen nothing that t h is w as only the prologue ; that these

o
ff
children cut
their limbs with impunity their heads if n e c e s
sary without causing themselves any inconvenience I believ e
h e w as content e d with me and judged me worthy to wi tness their
miracles by which I was n ot par ticul arly attered
B t the fact is I remai ned pensive and confused
Wh a t
was that ? M y eyes had they not seen them ? M y hands had
they not touched them ? Had not the blood owed ? I called to
mind all the tricks of o r most cel ebrated prestidigitateurs but I
found nothing to be comp ared with what I had seen I had had
to do with men simple and ignorant to excess ; their movements
were made with the utmost simplicity and displayed not a t race
of artice I do n ot pr etend to have seen a miracle and I sta t e
faithfully a scene which I for my part know not how to e xplain
The next day Dr P e tr ac ch i for many years the English Consul
at An gora related many such marvels and assured me that the
,

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A R T M A GI C

1 67

De r vi shes possessed natural, or rather supernatural secrets , by

w hich

E gret

they accomplished prodigies equal to those

of

the priests of

Adalbert de Beaumont who vi si ted A s1 a M l I l OI i n 1 8 52

as serts the reali ty of the same wonders as the Countess de Bel
gioj oso He says when the d ancing D ervi shes have reached th e
paroxysm of their excitement they seize on iron r e d hot bit e it
hold it betwe en their teeth and extinguish it with their tongues
O thers take knives an d large needles an d pierce their sides arms
and l egs the wounds of which immediately h eal and leave n o
trace
It i s ti m e to bring the se extravagant horrors to a close We
shall offer only one more example of E ast Indian spiriti sm al
though our repertoire of similar facts and that in personal exp o
r i en c e s would ll volumes
At Bengal about the y ear 1 8 60 there resided a F akeer who
had obtai ned the name of A li A ch m et from a w ealthy Arab in
whose service he had re sided for many years He had been a
renegade to his faith and was little respected in a moral point of
view, but his abilities as a wonder worker had gained him a grea t
reputation amongst for eigner s who visit ed th e city
At the

death of h i s patron Ali claimed that his father s spirit revis it

ing the scenes of earth h e had loved all too well and being bound
to the performance of certai n good deeds that he had left undone
in earth life; once more adopted his favorite and informed him
speaking with a voice that he would enable him to excel every
Dervish in Arabia every Fakeer in H i n doostan
This spirit
kept his word Ali a chieved a great reputation wherever he wen t
and being the inheritor of his adopted father s w e alth he gave his
exhibitions freely; although his excessive vanity prompted him to
tender them wherever h e could nd appreciative witnesses Hav
ing conceived a whimsical friendship for the author he spent
much time exh i biting to him and his friends h i s wonder working
powers
In th e pr es en c e of thi s man many spirits of deceased persons
had actu ally appeared to their friends Their forms had been
seen standing in the waning light of evening with perfect di s
ti n c tn ess and remaining long enough to be fully recognized
Spirit faces distant scenes and the presentment O f living perso n s
residing in foreign countrie s were frequently shown on the sur
face of a mirror wh ich the author kept in h i s apar tment devoted
to that purpose The ordi n ary expedient of calling in a boy from
the street pouring ink walnut or fungus juice in h i s hand and

then b i ologi zi n g him to see and describe the forms the inquirer
M

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ART

1 68

AGIC

wished to summon were phases of power too petty to engage thi s

Adept s attention
Afte r detecting thieves discovering los t property being
raised in the air carried through the grounds on several occa
sions producing all manner of sights sounds and str ange phe
the Fakeer
n om e n a familiar enough amongst modern Spiritists
would often ask his audie n ces suddenly if they would not like
some object brought them from distant lands and when an af
r m ati v e answer w as given and the desired Object named a m t
t er e d prayer a silent in vocation to h i s beloved familiar or per
haps a low chanted son g w as sure to end in the production of
what was required though it had to be transported for a thousand
mile s or brought across the ocean
Many persons residi n g at Benar es will still remember the
time some thirty years ag o when this magac i an e xhibiting h i s
power before the T empl e of Siva in the presence of several thou
Sand persons caused three little half naked I ndian children t o
climb up a pole successively one after the other an d when they
had ascended about half the distance they suddenly di sappeare d
In tw o minutes after the last was lost to sight a shout from the
audience announced that th e whole three were found on a plate au
a hundred feet removed from the pole an d there they had ap
r e d suddenly o t of vacancy
e
ea
The
Fake
r
explained
the
e
h
p
p
by declaring that when the little climbers had ascended
n om en on
to a po i nt where he had directe d a circle of Akasa ( life uid ) to
gird the pole th e Pitris heade d by the spirit of h i s accommodat
ing friend had caught them up concealed them in their own
Akasa ( spiritual atmosphere ) and only put them o t of it ag ai n
when they placed them on the plateau above mentioned The
little ones were en tranced and remembered nothing of t h eir
aerial ight
By sticking a twig brok en from a living tree into the ground
and extending h i s hand o v er it or keeping h i s ngers pointed to
wards i t he could cause a fresh tree to spring up be aring leaves
owers and fruit in less th an twenty minute s
Thi s weird creature being one day alone with the author
was asked to show something which should prove to h i s friend
that he spoke with n o do ble tongue practiced with no doub le
robe that i s no conceal ed appar atus

What would my Brother ch oose to see ? inquired Ali

What can Ali do ?

See ! Ali wears no double robe cried the F akeer cas ting
away his upper g arment entirely
,

ART

AGIC

uu

tank gures began to appear on the surface of the n r le d w a

ter Seventeen presentations of forms known to the behold er ap
the
tranquil
mirror
ear e d and disappeared in slow succession on
p
Most of the apparitio n s represented spirits who
of the wat e r

had long been inhabitants of the silent land some however

were friends residi n g in distant lands and these were surrounded
with scenery appropriate to the position in which they might then
mo st probably be residing
Eve ry picture was cl e ar di sti n c t li fe like and highly ch arac
teri sti c of the individual presented an d the whole ph an tasm ag o
r ia strikingly illustrated t hose two Spiritualistic aphorisms whi c h
have lately become so popular : There ar e no dead and I n
spi ritual existence there ar e neither time space n Or obstacles of

matt e r
The las t forms seen were th os e of the two witness es
th emselves Neither of them however represented the co stumes
they then wore the one being arrayed in an uniform packed up in

a distant wardrobe the oth er that of the Fakeer appearing in

the Arab dress he had long since cast aside The unmistakable
delity of the likenes ses but the singul ar change in the costumes
thus presented convinced the two observers that this manifesta
tion w as designed to show that the whole serie s of p i ctures were
cre ation s of th e will acts of attendant spirits who by exploring
th eminds of the mediums shaped their representations in accord
ance with th e images there impressed or stereotyped in the mem
or i e s of those they des i red to serve
T h e letter s O f European missionari es from India C hina and
other e as tern lands popular accounts of snake charmers Indian
magicians etc especially the writings of M essers Salt Lane
Wolff Laborde Mesdames P oole Martineau an d others h ave so
familiarized t h i s age with the magical wonders wrought i n the
O r ient that the insertion even of the limited number of narra
ti v es this section c ontains might be deemed supererogatory did
we not feel the necessity i n a practical and af rmative work of
this character of s aying we too have seen and can testify of
these things nay more ; let us add we too can perform them ; but
again arises the question c an such things be done without all the
effort s and initiatory processes ab ov e de sc ri b e d or those naturally
occult endowments so rarely conf erred ? O nce more we subj oin
a fragment of philosophy on this subj ect give n by a noble Brah
min the father of the little Hindoo gi rl Sonoma whos e clai rv oy
ance and extraordinary lucidity h as b een refe r red to in an e arlier
s ection
The Brahmin of whom we n ow speak a native of Malabar
was himself an ascetic and celibate p to the age of fty yea rs
,

'

ART

M AGIC

1 71

when in the full exercise of h i s wonderful power procured by

fasting abstinence and contemplation he became a Yogee of th e
rst degree and on e of th e Council of Elders
At times h e was not only levitated in the arr but during th e
performance of a solemn serv ice on the banks of the O riss a he
f
o
a
oated
above
the
heads
f
the
m
ltitude
for
distance
o
w as
over a hundred yards T h e Brahmin was moved in the dir ectio n
of the river and would doubtless have been c arried across it h ad
the minds of the anxious spect ators
n ot the great di sturbance i n
broken the currents of Astral uid in which his spiritual conduc t
n
o
carried
him
and
compelled
them
to
lay
him
gently
down
r
o s
the ri ver s bank
After this aerial ight the Br ahmin withdrew from public
life an d devoted himself to the duties of his calling as a he aler of
the sick a work he performed solely by the laying on Of h ands
He frequently fasted for m any hours sometimes for days to
gether for the purpose of curing some notable case of disease b t
these self renunciations always produced their effect in the i n ev
i table conques t the noble physici an achieved over the malady
however severe
Being present with the author on on e occasion when a Fa
keer who had been buried for eight weeks was disinterred and r e
stored to life i n the perfection of h e alth and good spirits the
Brahmin was pressed by a British Offi e cer whose soldiers had been
appointed to keep guard over the grave to address the party
sembled and render them some explanation of the phenomena
they had witnessed The Brahmin without hesitation answ ered :
Does n ot G od effect all these magica l deeds every day b efore your
eyes an d yet you marvel not at their occurrence ? The only dif
fer ence between H i s procedure and that of the magician is th at
God gives to everyt hing its due share of life s fficient for its
s
r
o
w
t
h
or
its
maintenance
in
being
The
magician
impart
a
g
greater share of life than origin ally belonged to the Obj ect and
calling upon the h elp of spirits good or bad just as he may h i m
self be they too bring a sh are of their life principle
Thus the magician s art consists in accumulating and di s
e
n si n
l
h
more
of
the
ife
f
uid
herself
yields
up
wit
l
n
r
h
t
a
n
a
t
e
p
g
out his aid Whatever n ature does slowly by pro cesses of grow th
an d cha n ge the magician does rapidly by ai d of his larger stock

of mate rials to work with

H ere on e of the mission aries presen t
inquired whether such performances were not in direct Opposition
to the will of God since h ad he designed them for the use of man
he wo ld have himself effected them by processes of chan ge as
rapid as those which the m agician e ffected
,

1 72

ART

M AGIC

See yonder buil dings responded the Brahmin pointi ng to

the city with i ts glittering domes an d Temple ornaments ashing
in the sunlight
God made the stones and the copper the brass
and silver but He did not put them to g ether nor form them in to
a city He give s the ric h es of the ear th and by inspiration
poured into the intellect of man points the way to achie veme n t
but he leaves man to do the work an d whatever man can do tha t
is not hurtful to h i s fellow man he ought to do for the will of

man is only a mi niature re ection of the will of God

Look at thes e roses ! They were once a small shoot a mere
petty twig placed in the ground L eft to the n atur al proces ses
of growth th ey wo ld slowly raise into th e ai r gath er up nourish
ment from the earth light and heat from the atmosph ere All
this they do because their life Akasa works withi n the shoot and
expands it into a tree the tr e e into leav e s branche s owers and
seed s ; but if that small twig placed in the ear th is fed an d irri
gated by the Akas a which men and spirits pour out upon it i n
vast abun dance then it w ai ts not for the processes Of natur e but
spring s up at once shoots owers bears seed an d dies and all
within the hour instead of within the month as the slower

growth of nature would have ordered

But the buried Fakeer questioned th e o f cers

He i s a m an in w hom the body reduced by fas ting and years
of penance scarcely inheres together Nothing but bone sinew

He i s all Akasa all force all

an d a ttenuated matter is there
life Wh en they l aid him in the tomb h i s Soul w as freed by
H i s body w as left alive ti s true for a small portio n
tr an cem en t
of Akasa remained eno gh to keep the particles of matter to
g ether
To prevent these from being excited to motion the ears
nostrils and mouth were stopped with wax no air could enter
and so the body remained intact ; i ts functions were all suspen ded
at a single point and no attrition could take place between th e
It w as as if a clock had b e en stopped and then placed i n
atoms
an exhausted receiver where n o acti on of the oute r air could reach
it or cause its part icles to wear ; remove it from i ts encasemen t
d it resume s i ts action j st where it w as stopped
Yo saw the Fakeer e xhumed the wax removed and the
natural air admitted to the n atural passages The friction used
r e awoke th e slumb ering functions ; th e Aka sa of those around
poured in in streams upon the receptive form The Soul warn ed
of the period when it must return i s attracted back to the unin
jured body and so r e entering the man resumes the machinery of

life just where the clock w as stopped

But the Ofcers would
"

ART

1 74

AGIC

garded or thrown away as an idle superstition O ccult powers

reside in planets stars suns systems inhere in atmospheres
plants stones minerals waters vapors and living beings Na
ture ever demands an equilibrium Matter or spirit will ever h e
in the as cendant in every human organism and wh i chever pre
vai ls draws from all sur rounding obj ects a quality of force to
match i ts own
Thus the gross man the coarse feeder the sensualist the
miser nd throughout nature the quality of element and th e
character of spiritual li fe that feed their speci alty and pander to
their tastes The same law applies to the reverse of this positio n
an d therefore it is that a saint or the worst of sinner s may each
attain to magical powers ; but magic is the sunbeam which gi ves
life to the bloom ing rose when it falls on the rose g erm or q i ck
ens into being the noisome fungus when its radiance fal ls on
heaps of corruption
The forces of spirit are designed for g ood and se or they
could not be accessible to man In ages yet to come when the
e arth and i ts living freight ar e all spiritualized that which i s
magi c n ow will be ordinary practice then The heavens will kiss
the e arth and the thin veil which divides the inhabitants of either
re alm will b ec ome so transpar ent that every eye will pierce its
myste ry and rej oice in its holy revealments U ntil then knowl

edge i s power and all men by knowledge may achieve the power
of practicing art magic
.

A RT

AGIC

SE C T I O N XI I

M A G I C A M O N G T H E M O N G O LI A N S

A
CHI
N
E
G
RE
DEVO
ION
T
M
G
IC
SPIRI T I SM O F T WO D I S
T
O
A T
ES S
T HE
KIND S T H E PERFORM A NCE O F EXT RA MUND A NE FE A T S
T INC T
A N D SPIRI T COMMUNIO N T HROU G H SPIRI T U A L G IF T S
Few nations of th e E ast exhi bit a gre ater amoun t of devotion
t o ma gic th an the Chinese a people whose antiquity i s the prob
lem of histo ry whose priority of origin disputes the palm even
with Indi a yet as far back as h istory can tr ace or tradition b e ar
witness of up to the present day C hina with all i ts sur rounding
M ongolian sister nationalities h as inseparably blended i ts relig
ious belief with faith in spiritism M ongolian spiritis m divides
its elf i nto two kinds ; the one is th e performance of extra mun
dane a cts or feats Of magical power the other communion with
spirits procured through what is now u n derstood to b e n at r al
spiritual endowments : Although there is the closest resemblance
between th e magical practices of the Mongolians and the East I h
dians it would be impossible to overlo ok the spiritism of so vast
a nation as that of China and one in which its pr actices are so
dely engrafted in the people s nature The magic Of the Mon
l
o
i
a
n
l
s
ike
that
of
the
East
Indians
is
in
a
measur
the
resu
ts
e
l
g
of their religious faith
Buddhism the ruli n g faith of the Mongolians is said to be
professed by over four hundred millions of the world s inhabi t
an ts or about on e third of the human race and to have b e en i m
po r t ed by F 0 from Thibet some four thousand years ago The
doctrines of Buddhism differ widely from Brahminism
It
teaches the tot al annihilation of Caste the unity of th e whole h
man family ; i t is kind j st merciful conservative of life r e
specting the rights of every creature from the highest m an to the

lowest worm from the mammoth to the animalculae It admi ts

of no superiority except in morals no difference sa ve in educa
ti on al culture an d de grees of ci vi l izati o n
I ts swee t and gra cio s

'

ART

AGIC

teachings divide the power with Brahminism in Indi a wh ere in

all probability it originated and spread over the ter r itory i n h ab
The Buddhists allege that to those
i te d by the Mongol tri b es
who i n truth purity and constancy put in force the doctrines of
Buddha the following ten powers will be granted :
1 They know the thoughts O f others
2 Their sight pierci n g a s that of the cel e sti als beholds with
o t mist all that happens in the e arth
3 They know the past and presen t
4 They perceive the uninterrupted succession of the Kalpas
or ages of the world
5 Thei r hearing i s so ne that they perceive an d can inter
pret al l the h armonies of the three worlds and the ten divisions Of
the universe
6 They are not subject to bodily conditions and can as sume
any appearance at will

7 Th ey distinguish th e sh adow rn gs of lucky or unlucky

words whether they are near or far away
8 They possess the knowl edg e of all form s and knowin g
that form is void they can assume every sort of form ; and know
i n g that vacancy i s form they can annihilate an d render nought
all forms
9 ; They possess a kno wledge of all laws
1 0 They possess the perf ect science of con templation
With all this vast claim for occult power their means Of at
t ai ning it are chi ey moral an d will be found in the follo wing
transcript of their belief :
From its birth to the present moment true Buddhism
stands alone as a religion without offerings I t i s conned to
good works to prayers to charity to medit ation to the pres enta
tion of fruits and ower s in the temples of the Most High B d
dh i st priests perform few if any functions that are sac erdotal ;
they are confraternities of pio s men who l ive on alms who act as
patterns of the sternest form s of self renunciation or as teache r s
of the highest and purest morality They are celibates who do
vote themselves wholly to religion ; who abstain fr om animal f ood
an d who drink only water who live in nervous fear lest they may
;

des troy even the life of an insect

It will thus be seen that the contemplative life the p rae
tices of asceticism chastity purity an d good works are mad e the
foundation stones of th e e xtr aordinary powers attained to by
numbers Of the Buddhist priests no less than subordinate p erson
ages i n that beautiful system of belief
T h e do c t rine which assumes that the soul of their great
,

ART

1 78

M AGIC

drinks of the same character Also they induce ecstasy by lou d

noise the beating of drums crashing of cymbals braying of wind
instrument s shrieks yells prayers and invocations far more cal :
c late d as one would suppose to scare off the Gods than to a t
tract them Sometimes they dance in circles or spin around n
til they drop down in foaming epil epsy or insensibility
The Chinese sacred books abound with directions for the in
vocation Of spirits and the use of talism ans spells amulets fumi
n s and other means of inducing trance an d spiritual vision
a
t
i
o
g
A vast number Of both males and females in C hina are n a t
ral mediums Writing rapping seeing trance and even mate
r ly
r i ali zi n
mediums
abound
in
the
Mongol
Empire
and
in
nea
g
all the exhibitio n s of spirit power the m edia are more strongly
gifted more honest and far more reliabl e than the professional
Spiritists of Europe and America

Visitors in some parts of the Celestial Empire are invited

to witn ess trials of strength between p arties of spirits controlling
rival practitioners
T h e author was presen t on a n occasion when a large eigh t
Oared boat being brought into a public hall in broad dayligh t
where about a hundred s pectators were ranged aroun d the sides of
the h al l leaving the central space free four Lamas and their at
ten dan ts followed the boa t and placed it at on e end of the cle ared
spac e O ne of the party then read aloud th e names of eigh t
Spirits e ngraved on
the oars and as each name was pronounced
that one of th e oars thu s inscribed was tossed up in the air an d
then returned to its appropriate place by invisible power
Subsequently certain spirits responding to th e cries of th e
Lamas who invoked them by turns began to move the boat ; some
sliding i t th e entire length of the hall othe rs moving it backwards
or forwards a fe w feet ; an d others only an inch or two from i ts
place After these feats were ended the four Lama s produced
mini ature pagodas beautif lly carved and tted up in which as
they cl ai med fo r genii or familiar spirits had taken up their resi
den c e s
These toy houses being placed each on a stand and ap
r i ate invocations ha ving summoned the invisible tenan ts
r
o
p p
on e of them commenced by swiftly carrying his pagod a up to th e
ceiling where i t r em ai n ed l i k e a y adhering to its roof and pin
n eeles for upwards of twenty minutes when it was as swiftly and
suddenly replaced At this token of spiritual power the other
Lama s redoubled their songs and i nc antations calling upon their
familiars by na m e to p t their s cc e s l rival to sha m e by their
M ov ed as it wo l d Seem by th ese represen t a
su peri or power
.

u u

ART

AGIC

tions one of the invisibles slid his house along the oor causi n g
it to gyrate like a dancer ; still another responded by jumping h i s
house about in the air mimicking the well known movements of
the gras shopper after which creature the Ginn supposed to be
operating was named The fourth spirit w h o was called after
the sacred Stork ca sed h i s m ansion to oat maj es tically some
six feet in the air ; there it bec ame balanced then uttering like
the wings of a bird it swooped around in a circle and lighted
back ag ai n upon its stand
A t the conclusion O f each feat the spectators clapped
shr ieked and uttered yell s of commendation at which the pagodas
were moved to ben d w ith all the grace and aplomb of a popular
dancer receiving the plaudits of a fashionable assembly During
these performances the Lamas stood apart each chanting h i s
prayer or invocation whilst the space devoted to the exh i bitio n
w as par ted O ff with a rope making it impossi b le for any one to i n
terv en e with or disturb the operations of the invisible perfo r m ers
In the mo ntain re gions Of Burmah reside a p e ople called
Karens who dwell in small settlem e nts or villages and live liv es
of singular temperance p rity an d honesty
Their religious
teachers ar e called B ok oos or Prophets and their 'oi ce is to i n
c lc ate moral principles
predict the future an d i n ter pr et the
will of the Great Spirit Besides thes e are an inferior class called
Wees or Wizards who c re the sick by spells and ch arms y
through the air bewitch cattle or exorcise the evil spirit o t of
them besides performing Or professing to perform other very
wonderful things
A Christian M issionary who had long been a resident
amo n gst these simple mountaineers
ass red the author their
faith in the presence and m i nistry of the spiri ts of their ances tors
was immovable They declared they saw t h em by night as well
a s day y th e
conversed
freely
with
th
m
signal
knockings
e
b
y
y
voices the ringing of bells and sweet singing They perf orm ed
works of good service and warned their fri ends of dan g er death
an d sickness
O ne of the C hristian M issionari es writing to the
New York Exam i ner a strictly religious paper says :
The Karens believe that the spirits of the dead are ev er

abroad on the eart h

Chi ldren and great grandchildren ! said

the elders the dead are among s Nothing separates us from

them but a white veil
They are h ere but we see them not
O ther genera of spirit al beings are suppos ed to dwell also on the
ear th ; and a few gifted ones ( mediums in modern language ) h a ve
eyes to see into the spiritual world and power to hold converse
with particul ar spirits
On e man told my assi stant h e profe ssed
,

u
.

'

u
,

1 80

ART

AGIC

to believe in C hristianity but w as not a memb e r of the church

that wh en going to M at ah he saw on the way a company of evil
spirits encamped in booths The next year when he passed th e
s ame w ay h e found they had built a village at their former e n
cam pm en t
They had a chief over them an d he had built him
self a h ouse larg e r than the res t precisely on the mo del of the
teacher s without but wit h in divided by seven white cur tains
into as many apar tments The wh ole village w as e ncircled by a
cheval de frise of dead men s bones At another ti m e he saw an
evil spirit th at had built a dwelling near the chapel at M atah and
w as e ngaged with a c ompany of dep e nden ts in planting pointed
stakes of dead m en s bones all around it The man called out t o

the spi ri t :What do you m ean by setting dow n so many stakes

here ? The spir it w as silent but he made h i s followers pull up w
part of the stakes
Anoth e r individual had a famili ar spiri t that he consulted
and with which he conversed ; but on hearing the Gos pel he pro
fessed to become converted and had n o m ore communication with
his spirit It had left him h e said ; it spoke to him no more
After a protracted tri al I baptized him I watched his case with
much int ere st and for s everal years h e led an u n impeachable
C hri stian life ; but on losing his religiou s zeal and disagr eeing
with some of the church members he removed to a distant village
where he could not attend the services of the Sabbath ; an d it w as
soon after reported that he had communicati ons with his f am iliar
I se n t a native pr eacher to visit h im The man
Spirit again
s aid he heard the voice which had conversed with him formerly
but it spoke very differently Its language was exceedingly pleas
ant to h ear and pr oduced great brokenness Of heart It said :

Love each oth er Act righ teously ; act uprightly with other ex
hortations such as he had heard from the teachers An assistant
was plac ed in the villa ge near him when the spirit l eft him again
and ever since he has maintain ed the character of a consi sten t

C hristian
In a s erie s of articles written for the North C h i na H er ald
by the celebrat ed eastern traveler Dr M acgowan ther e occurs

the following des cription of spirit writing a mo de let it be r e

membered by no means rare in the pr esent day in China Jap an
and Thibet :
The table is sprinkled with bran our or other powder and
tw o persons sit down at opposite side s wi t h their hands placed
upon the table A basket of abo ut eight inches diameter such
as is commonly used for washing rice is n ow reversed and laid
down with its edges restin g upon the tips of on e or tw o n ger s of
,

M AG I C

ART

1 82

voted physician made his appe ar ance Laying his h and s on the
m an s he ad with a voice of thund e r he comm anded the demo n to
dep art from h i m an d afflict him no more Almost at the inst an t
this rite commenced the sufferer fell into a sound an d tr anquil
slumber from which he did not aw ake till twelve hours after
w ards wh e n h e arose refreshed an d well an d never from that
hour w as troubled with h i s tormentor ag ain
When will our Christi an ph ysici ans m ak e simil ar s acrices
an d produce simil ar results to their suffering victims ?
The processes by which the most stupendous powers ar e ex
cited h ave been alre ady sufciently dil ated on They v ary not
in an y l and although in Indi a they become tinctured with the
sublime an d met aphysic al n ature of a gre at an d elev ated n ation of
thinkers whilst amongst the M ongols the more mechanic al an d
even childlike ch ar acteristics of th e people lend to their spiritism
an
ai r of superstition or blemish it with an
appe ar ance of leger
dem ain J gglery an d sleight of h and ar e accomplishments pe
c li ar ly in a ccord anc e with the supple forms an d imit ative n a
tures of these ingenious people but none can remain long in their
midst or study their history an d manners attentively without
perceiving th at all the efforts of Ch risti ans to quench th e spirit
th at is amongst them, an d te ach them to despise prophes yings
h av e failed an d will fail evermore
Spiritism ever h as ever will nd its most fertile soil in the
m agic al E ast
Th at l and of Prophets S aviors A v at ars an d O ri

a
ent l Mystics th at l and where matter bends an d sw ays in th e
gr asp of mind as a pigmy wr ithes in the clutch of a gi ant ; a l and
where magic shoots up in every pl ant ; gleam s for th in many col
ored res from lustrous gems an d glittering minerals ; wh ere st ars
tell their t ale s of et ernity undimmed by the thick vaporous airs
of equ atori al l ands an d the sun an d moon imprint their m agic al
me anings an d solemn glories in be am s whose r adi ance goes direct
to th e inner consciousness of aw e struck worshipers
L et the m agic of the O rient combine with the m agnetic spon
tan ei ty of We st ern Spiritism an d w e m ay h ave a religion whose
found ations l aid in scienc e an d stretching aw ay to th e heaven s
in inspiration will revolutioniz e th e opinions of ages an d est ab
lish on e arth the reign of the true Spiritual Kingdom
.

1 84

A R T M A G IC

M A G I C I N E G YPT

Si s tr

u
m

T h e immense pres ti ge

Vi r g i n

Sy m b o l

cquired b y anc i ent Egyp t for n ap

r
m
f
r
a
o
a
every
de
t
ent
t
an d science h as
r oac h ab le excellence i n
p
p
invested the n ame an d history of this l an d with a re p ut ation for
m agic al wisdom which r aises expectati on to the very highes t
pitch A general impression seem s to prevail moreover that
Egyptian monuments incomprehensible hieroglyphics an d
buried c rypts co n ce al tre as res of m agic al l ore unknown to other

n ation s an d in ac cessible to m odern r ese arch B t ass m i n g as

there is good re ason to do th at Hi n do st an pr eceded Egyp t in the
dyn astic order of ancient ci viliz ation I n di a surviving althoug h
Egypt is no more still pre serves the origi n als of those splendid
myths which bec ame the b ri der tOn es of Egypti an s acerdot al sc i
enc e And again how m any of the wisest an d most philosophic
mi nds of Greece visited the Egy pti an priests sat at their fe et

u u

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1 86

M A GIC

famous books of Hermes so pretentiously heralded forth to all

subsequent ages as the writing of Thoth the secret ary of the

Gods found their originals in the still existing four books of the
Hindoo Ved as an d th at those origin als still exist although the
copies ar e s aid to h ave been lost or only reproduced in fr agments
tre asured up as the most pr iceless gems of antiq ity The books
of Hermes like the Ved as were divided into four p arts an d sub
divided into forty two volumes
They tre ated of the s ame subj ects we re c arried in processio n
in the s ame order an d by th e s am e cl asses of P ri ests an d P roph
ets The tre atises cl aimed from time to time to be reproduced as
Hermetic wisdom ar e direct p araphrases of Vedic writings an d
the chief difference th at exists between them is the value which
posterity att aches to th at which i s un att ai n able an d the i n di ffer
ence with which it regards the tre as ures it still possesses There
can
be no question th at the Jewish Ark of the Coven ant found
its model in the Egypti an Or aclesh i p ; th a t the chest held so sa
cred as the r epos i tory of n ameless tre asures c arried about in th e
celebration of B acchic rites is p araphr ased from a similar i n str
ment used in the O siri o mysteries whilst the resembl ance between
th e sol ar an d ph allic em blems crosses obelisks pyr amids an d
temple services of Indi a an d Egypt ar e too obvious to esc ape the
n otice of the most superci al observer The seq uence of descent
from the rites performed at B en ares to those of Heliopolis an d
from thence to E le e si s m ay b e cle arly traced ; i n a word whilst
I n di a m ay be reg arded as the fatherl and of myth an d s acerdot al
mystery the entire E as t inc luding gre at Egypt once splendi d
B abyloni a P alestin e Persi a Greec e an d R ome all m ay b e r e
garded as tri b ut ary n ati ons amongst whom the ages h ave p arted
th e garments of the gre at Hindoo M essi ah the oft reinc arn ated
ori gin al of all t h e worshiped Sun gods of antiquity We ar e
aw are th a t to m any these assertions will be deemed worthy onl y

of an anonymous writer
God nderstands !
And in th at
brief sentence is our r ecompense for all the mi s appr ehension an d
wrong th at our words m ay s ffer at the h ands of hum anity
The speci alties of Egypti an m agic were th ese The pries ts
of Eg ypt who were the sole conserv ators of all the r eligious spir
i t al an d met aphysic al knowledge of their l and were perfect
Adepts in the two gre at spiritu al forces now c alled M agnetism
an d Psychology
In Egypt as in Indi a th e priestly c aste i n
cl ded m any grades the highest of whom were the Prophets a
class who were obviously synonymous with the mod ern Spirit

mediums th at is persons in whom the gifts of the spirit were i m

p lanted b y n ature an d th at wi thout processes of artistic cult r e
,

u
.

M AG I C

ART

Amo n gst th e l ower orders were those wonder workers who

h ave obt ained th e n ame of m agici ans an d bene ath them again
l
l
a
a
a
t
not
necess
rily
included
in
the
priestly
hier
rchy
were
a
an d
iti n erant ascetics who performed m arvelous fe ats by re ason of
n atural m agi c al endowments quickened by culture an d abstinent
practice s c alled Dervishes a cla ss which nds an abund ant r epr e
throughout Egypt to th is day
se n tati on
The Egypti an priest although an ascetic an d rigid di sc i pli n

a
r
t
i

c
o
m
a
n
d
a
a
ri
n
pr
ctice
the
life
long
bnorm
l
self
o
a
n
t
i
d
d
a a
ti ons endured by the F akeers of Indi a an d some of the L am as of
Chin a They were highly educ ated scientic men an d le arn e d
by experi ence th at m or e potenti al virtues existed in n ature th an
were to be elimin ated from the hum an body in a st arved an d m
They understood the n ature of the lo ad
tilate d condition
stone the virtues of miner al an d anim al m agnetism which
together with the force of psychologic al impression constituted
They perfectly n
a l arge portion of their theurgic pr a ctices
der stood the ar t of re ading the inmost secrets of the Soul of i m
pressi n g the susceptible imagin ation by ench antment an d f asci
n ation of sending their own spir its forth from the body as cl air
v oy ants nder the action of p owerful will i n fact they were
m asters of the ar ts n ow known as M esmerism Cl airvoy ance
Electro biology etc
They also re alized the virtues of m agnets gems herbs dru gs
The
an d fumig ations an d employed music to admir able effect
sculptures which so profusely adorn their temples be ar ample
witness to their methods of theurgy an d medic al pr actic e for
which their renown is immort al
Their s acerdot al system w as both exoteric an d esoteric an d
divided into spec l ative philosophy an d practic al m agic
T h e n ature of their Theosophy we h ave alre ady sketched out
in e arlier sections tre ating of the astronomic al reli gi on an d the
worship of the powers of n ature especi ally of the gen er ative
functions
In these systems the w hole arc ana of Egypti an wisdom w as
to b e found Their hier archy of Gods Goddesses an d inter medi
ate Spiritu al agencies were derived from these systems of worship
All their gr andest temples an d p r iestly orders were devoted to
the worsh i p of the spirit al Sun of whom the m ajestic god of
day w as but the extern al an d physic al type
Every st ar pl anet an d element w as imperson ated in some
form ; h ence they found th at immense r ange of correspondences
in n ature which impressed a s ac red ide a on so m an y anim al s
b i rds i nsects repti les an d pl ants
,

A R T M A G IC

1 88

The di er en t powers an d functions of Divinity th at th ey i m

agi n e d to be m a nifest in th ese objects excit ed their reverenti al
feelin gs not th e objects themselves
The s acred tri an le represent ative th rough out the E ast of

the mas culine principle of gener ation the Yoni, circle l oze n g e
or ho rizont al line signic ant of th e fe m inine p rinciple these
with crosses of every v ariety indic ative of th e same gener ative
function s, were e steemed by the Egypti ans as most sacred symbols
ill be found int erspe rs ed in all their sc lptures
an d W
Isis th e m atern al principle in n atu re was very commonly
rep resent ed as a h awk he aded Deity fro m th e s acredness att ach e d
to th e idea th at the hawk w as the bi rd of the Sun c ould as ce n d
to its respl en dent hei ghts an d ga ze with undimmed eye into i ts
bl azing b e am s The s e rp ent w as esteemed in Egypt as i n ot h er
o rient al l an ds , as an em blem alike of th e De i c principles of g ood
im m ort ality rej vene sce n c e wisdom an d he alth an d of
n at ely :
death , t e rror d estructio n an d evil
T h e fam ous Anubis whose e m blem so often occurs in E gyp
ti an sc lpt res w as derived fr om th e Dog St ar whose s i gn in
th e a sce n dan t gav e n otice of th e risi n g of the s ac red R iver Nil e
Worsh i ped for i ts be neficence i n i rrig ati n g the l and
T h e Dog S tar an thi s acc ount Wa s e ste em ed as th e door
He held the key of the po rtals of
k eeper of the house of life
H e Was th e i nvari able atte n d an t of O siri s the Sun
f th e De ad ; hence the dog he aded Deity Anubis
is so constan t ly seen in connec tion with sculptures of reli gious

u
uu

'

i
n
t
a
yp

es c r i ptl on

T heogony is too well kn own to

ere ; nor does it m ateri ally affect the magic al

gre at people We shall on ly th ere fore allude

'

rac tl ce s o
p

ns

1 90

ART

M AGI C

p arted spirits mus t p ass ere they were perm i tted to quit th e e arth
an d enter upon the next st age of the soul s prob ation
The Neophyte s conductor wore the Dog s he ad m ask of A n
b i s The chief Judge representing O siris w as surrounded with
h i s bench of Assessors after th e f as h i on of an actu al j ud gmen t
such as w as held upon dece ased persons er e th eir remai ns were
consigned to the sepulchre A fter the usu al funeral rites were
ended the Neophyte w as advised th at he m st now consider him
s elf as de ad to the world
All its purs i ts ple asures an d attrae
tions must be renounced for ev er an d an embryotic life mu st be
entered upon prep aratory to the expected new birth which he
w as to att ain through a long serie s of p ainf l f atiguing an d soul
distracting p rob ations
As an evidence of the power his Judge s exerted o v er him
the Neophyte w as astonished an d in some in st ances horror struck

to h e ar one a fter another the Assessors st arting forth as his ac

c ser s, e ach in turn rehe arsing all th e errors or shortcomings of
his p ast life dragging to light even his secret desires an d the
hidden things of his inmost n atur e thus proving the extr aor di
n ary f acility with which thes e gre at Ad e pts could cl airvoyantly
perceive all secrets an d re ad the ch ara cters of m en
After thi s
long list of pen ances an d a cts of severest discipline were imposed
upon him During this fe arful tri al th e accused w as not permi t
ted the slightest opportunity of rebutting the ch arges brought
ag ainst him the strictest silence h aving been enj oined all s av e
th e tremendous o aths an d self invoked pen altie s which he w as
both on entering an d quitting the
c alled upon to pronounce
sacred presence
F rom this po int the N eophyte w as required to abide in cer
t ain cry pts sculptured over with anim als typic al of the crimin al
propensities to which the soul is ad di cted an d then instructed l n
the sn ares an d tempt ations to which the p assions were li able t o
seduce him Thus he w as t aught how these p assions m i ght ass ail
him an d in wh at m ann er to subdue them by pen ances prayers
an d abstinence
L ong hours spent in tot al d ar kness processes of
discipline an d even severe scourgings dr am atic scenes r e pr e se n
tati v e of p ass ages in the Sun God s history altern ations of ligh t
an d d arkness ple asure an d p ain f as ting an d fe asting ; some scenes
where the sense s could be indulged others where the me ans of
gratic ation were prese n ted but the Initi ate s strength of resis t
ance w as tested ; all these were but prelimi n ary exercises through
which the em aci ated body an d to rtured soul was re quired to p ass
ere h e c ould become a Priest

u
u

M AGIC

ART

1 91

ppe arances before th e awful Assessors of the So l

tested the actual pro gress he h ad m ade
Sometimes th e Neophyte w as pl aced amongs t the Judges
an d required to pronounce upon the h i dden secrets of others
souls thus c alling forth his intuitional powers an d strength ening
his cl airvoyant perceptions Periods arriv e d when the severity
of the discipline rel axed an d th e tired spirit w as m agnetized to
the somn ambulic or tr ance sleep by powerful Adepts who by
w h i spering in his slumbering ear c aused him to behold scenes
of b eati c be auty an d prophetic ally pointed out the glory of the
h eavens to which conquerers in these fe arful scenes of t r i al would
ultim at ely att ain
Although gle ams of h Ope visions of be auty an d short tf l
periods of rest were thus perm i tted to the h ar assed spirits of as
there
were
i
r an ts for Pries tly honors an d m agic al knowledge
p
m any who s ank under th e tremendous discipline an d p assed to
the h i gher life of th e he avens ere its prototype w as achieved on
e ar th Tho se who survived an d triumph antly endured to the end

were as it w as said often seen to weep but never to smile

Their youth an d all its blossoming fr agr anc e w as crushed out an d
ever after they were stern abstr acted an d isol ated ascetics

a
O ne stage of the initi tion prob ably its h appiest ph ase
consisted in scientic schooling The Neophyte h aving been
previously prep ared in the elements of rudiment ary le ar ning
me di cine mineralogy ,
w as instructed in astronomy astrology
m athem atics geo m etry an d such arts an d sciences as were
M agnetism an d psychology were meth
k nown to that ag e
ods not only p rac ticed on hi mself but every I n i ti ate w as r e
quired to practice it on others an d it w as dur ing these proc esses
th at all the l atent powers of the in di vidu al were exp anded into
stupendous growths
If the Neophyte w as found to be pos
sessed of n atur al pr Oph eti c endowments much of the rigor of
h i s prob ation w as ab ated an d he w as r apidly elev ated to th at
higher r ank amongst the Priests assigned to prophets through
whom the most transcendent spiritu al power s wer e exhibited
Egypti an schol ars h ave st ated to the author th at it w as bec ause
Jos eph the Jew w as found to possess normally the spiritu al pow
ers which the Priests were compelled to acquire by art th at he
w as received into roy al favor an d permitted to ex ercis e such
n
li m i t e d command also they alleged that M oses or in Egypti an
phr aseolo gy Mises ( signifying law giver) w as a Pries t of Heli
opoli s an d being n aturally endowed with wonderful mediumisti c
or spiritual gi fts he h ad excited the envy an d je alousy of inferior
orders of th e Priesthood
A gr eat feu d exi sted the y s aid b etwee n
F requent

'

ART

1 92

M AGIC

the Priests of different Temples an d M oses in his strong reli ance

on his invincible powers revolted ag ainst the arbitr ary authority
of some of h i s op p ressors an d henc e w as b anish ed to the L epers
qu arter a punishment so abhor rent that in revenge he made
h i s esc ape j oined the oppressed Is raelitish c aptives an d re t al
i ated upon his tyr an n i c al countrymen by becoming the leader
an d deliver e r of their
n h appy bon dm en
On e of th e chief duties of the Egypti an p riesthood w as the
cure of the sick an d for this purpos e th e Initi at es were instructed
in the si m pl e arts of medici n e then k n own an d th e routin e of
m agnetic m an ipul at i ons
L o adstones were in const ant use in temple service an d n ot
a fe w of the mo s t re m ark able fe ats of m ag ic w ere d e to th e
knowledge of their se
In ther ap eu tic rites t h ey were fr eq e n tly held in th e h an ds
applied to diffe rent p arts of th e perso n , an d en closed i n
m etal
b alls held b y the p ati ents an d c on n e cte d by ch ains an d ri ngs
Th s th ey wer e f orme d into a kin d of ru de b attery in which the
m e i st r e of the bod y w as dee m e d e f cien t in prod c i n
powerful
g
Herbs drugs ch arms amul et s an d s ac red s ente nces
m agnetis m
inscribed on scr aps of p apyru s w ere often enclo s e d i n m etal ball s
a n d appl i ed to differe n t porti on s of the body
N ot nfrequ ently
the unfortu n ate pat i ents were tre ated to bolu se s m ade of s acre d
words an d occult se n ten c es
So m etime s their afflicted mem ber s were bo n d p with these
t alisman ic p apyri or their fore h e ads were se aled with them after
th e fashion of th e Ph aris aic phyl acteries
Frequent b athin gs the se of i ncense, Spi ess fragran t
a
i
on
s
t
; h erb dri n k s simple medic am en ts s h e rms am ulets spe l ls
g
b t abo ve all friction an d m agnetic m ani
tions
we
the
e
l
r
a
p
m eans by which the Egyp ti ans acquired a s k il l in th e mastery
of di sea s e which h as ne v er; b een e xcelled
erh
p
ne
v
r
eq
lled
a
s
a
e
p
i n an y age or country of th e e arth
On e of t h ei r m as t pcte n ti al
me ans of cure w as to i nduce the f amou s Tem p l e sleep practi ced
at a l ater day so s c cessfull y by th e Gree k s
In this c on di ti o n
which w as in fact so m n ambulic t rance proc re d t h rough th e
m agnetis m of powerf l A depts th e sleep ers were advised by
'
whispers fro m th e well pr actice d watchers to rem e mber wh e n
th ey aw oke all th at the G ods commun ic ated to th em
I n thi s Way dre ams were procure d or v erit ab le visi on s seen
in whi ch the p atient received pre scri p ti ons directi o n s an d pro
h
e
i
t
a
reve
tions which the p ri e sts n ever fail ed tn apply de em
c
l
p
ing thi s th e mo st dir ect an d i n fallible meth od of com m nic ati ng
wi th the G ods an d insuring a c ert ai n c re
,

u
,

u
u

u
u
,

uu

u
,

u
.

ART

1 94

M AGIC

the Pries ts of Egypt ruled their land and held other nations trib
tar i es to their mental achiev e ments continued in full force
For thousands of years th i s n ob le Caste retained their integrity
maintained their justly acquired rep t ation for w isdom and held
their position as the guides of kings th e counsellor s of warriors
the dictators of laws the healers of the sick Prophets of the f
ture wonder workers and interpreters of the will of D eity and the
ministrations of spirits
Always ascetic silent true and faithful ; their m an n ers were
r eserved and taciturn They never smiled nor partook of the
amenities of social life and friendly intercourse Cleanly activ e
pure and industrious ; often tilling their own lands an d taking
the severest of exerci s e in sun shine an d storm they seemed to
have completely ascended beyond the pains penalties or int er
e sts of the world in their own persons and only to b e c onc er n ed
for th e weal woe or elevation of their fellow creatures A more
exalted race of men never won the secret s of eternity from the
Gods or more completely took the kingdom of heav en by storm
through their own sublime powers
Fascinating as are the researches connected with Egyptian
magic it would be useless to pursue them farther as regards their
performance in ancient days Those who pin their f aith on B i b li
cal accounts of the trial of magical power between M oses and the
Egypti an magicians perc eiving in the recorded triumphs of the
one only the interference of their favorite God and in th e
corded failures of the other the displeasure of th e same partial
Deity will arrive at a very poor and imperfect conception of the
truths which underlie the science of Egyptian magic To the
Priest or in fact to any well info rmed inhabitant of Egypt at
this very day the sudden visitation of lice frogs red rain colored
by fine sand to the appearance of blood boils blains murrain
on cattle or even the rapid approach and disappearance of thick
darkness will be no new phenomena n or require the miraculous
intervention of a God to induce them They m ay occur any day
and at all hours and they only req i r e an accurat e knowledge of
atmospheric changes and the natural conditions of the land to
predict their appearance withi n any given space of time
Those who have ever witnessed as th ey may do an y day in
the street s of Cairo the mar ve ls wrought by Egyptian serpen t
charmers those who have seen these iti n eran t p erform ers wand er
ing th r o gh th e cities twini n g hissing snake s round their bare
necks and arms arranging them in dan cing order and form i ng
them into quadrille parties w ill not question that M os es and
A ar on learnt quite enough of serpent procli vities during a v ery

u
,

u
.

u
,

'

ART

l ong residence

M AGIC

in

1 95

ancient Egypt to contend successfully with

s erpent charmers a little inf erior perh aps to thems elves whilst

r
for th e story of the slaughter of the rst bo n of Egypt Pshaw !
the tale is too old and has been repeated too often to suit th e p r
poses of rival sects to be beli eved now of any natio n in particular
O ne th ing is certain If the Pharaoh of th e Jewish h i story did
actua lly cause this hideous drama to b e performed in his o wn
l an d he only paraphras ed an old sto r y long before imported
into his nation b y the Hindoos on whose most ancient t emple
walls sculptured representations of such a massacre may be
found dating back to periods long befor e the Jews were known
The sam e r em ark applies to a similar tragedy said
as a people
to have been enac ted at a still later d ate in J udea under the
reign of King Herod If the writers of the New Testament had
taken the trouble to acquaint themselves with the true ori gin of
this fable or had had skill and learning enough to h av e traced
it from Egypt into India and from mo st ancient Indian Sculp
tures into the realm of ancient mythical creations it is doubtful
if they would have permi tted the same audacious ction to hav e
b e en twice repeated in the same volume
Premising that we shall continue to writ e of O siri o myste ries
in those of E l esi s ; Egyptian Astrology in its succession fro m
Ch al dean Priests to Lilly an d Dr Dee ; of Egyptian ench antments
an d fascinati ons in the magnetic passes of Paracelsus and M es
mer and of their Priests clai rvoyant perceptions of heaven and
earth and all that in them is in the equ ally grand and lucid re ve
lati on s of a modern seer whose na m e is all too little remembered
and honored in his own country but who will ere long be cited
in evidence of the undying perpetuity of spiritual gifts we take
leave of a subj e ct which the progress of ages and the divine econ
om y of life assure us we can never lose sight of in spirit however
the extern al form of its ori ginal may be buried beneath the super
inc mbent masses of ruin and decay The distinguish i ng fe atu re
of Egyptian magic was the union of occult with natural science
the conn ection of super mundan e with mundane Spiriti sm The
specialties of th e Egyptian magician wer e patience devotion an d
self sac ri c e in the acquirement of occult knowledge ; skill in i ts
use purity of lif e delity to his calling and educational culture
upreared on the foundation of natural gifts Th ese are the ele
ments by which a true medium becomes an accomplished magi
c i an
and it was the Pri ests who rendered the name of E gypt
famous through all time and their land the synonym of all that
is wis e in in tellect stupendou s in ar t ele v ated in ideality and
divine in spiritual science
,

u
.

ART

1 96

AGIC

SU PPLE M E N T T O SE C T I ON

T H E G R EA T

PYR A M I D O F EG YPT I T S POSSI BLE U SE A N D O BJEC T ;

M A C R O C OSM OS

OC OSM OS
M

an

t h e M i cr oc os m

th

U n i v er s e.

Amongst the intellectual tri mphs achieved by the E gyptian

mind must be reckoned the knowledge of Astronomy Astrology
M athematics Geometry and a perception of that most profound
of all science s namely the niversal law of correspondenc e
i sti n g between the four bran ches of knowledge abov e named
heaven earth man and all created things
Those who search Egyptian records to their full depths and
can learn abov e all other examples to read perfectly the m ean m g
of the Great Pyrami d the obj ect in its erection the principles
upon which it was built an d the use for which it was designed
will underst and that man and h i s planet w ere fashioned in certain
proportions represented alike in numbers colors soun ds forms
and use s Those wh o understand one department of natural sci
ence ossess a key which unlocks the whole Therefore this
e
r
a
m
i
d
r
at
built
to
illustrate
the
most
perfect
principles
of
g
y

1 98

ART

M AGI C

of all kinds were determined principally by as tral as wel l as solar

inuences
Again it w as argued that laws stern and immutable pri n
must underlie a scheme i n which
c i ple s strict and unvarying
millions of worlds are the actors yet the whole drama is con
ducted in the most unbroken system of harmony and power To
arrive at any just idea of causation it was believed that well de
ned mathematical quantities and geometrical proportions must
be the underlying principles of this stup endous chain of being
all moving living and acting severally and singly l n the most
unbroken power and perfection
E v ery s ound in the uni verse must conform to the harmoni c
rule every shade of color must combine to produce the totality of
pure white light Every creature must be a d enite part every
t h i ng an organ belonging to the vast whole Fanciful methods
of interpreting this gigantic scheme by th e laws of corr e spon
dence must ever remain fanciful unless the keystone w as found
which should combine all the separated p arts of the grand T emple
of huma n i ty by one mighty arch This f air white stone would
be neither oval nor square yet its perfection would delight all
eyes its beauty excite the wonder of all beholder s I n its mys tic
p roportions would be found th e square th e triangle the circle
and the line In its combinations would be expressed the tr ths
of Astronomy or the scienc e of Astral worlds ; Astrology or the

science which connects the sum of worlds with the u n its and
teaches h ow the mass inuences and dispo ses of the integr al p arts ;
M athema tics or the science which assigns to each w orld its num
h er to each component p art its unit and nds in the whole sum
the just relations which each unit sustains to the other and to
the whole Fourthly and last is the scienc e of Geometry by
which th e universe is mapped out in lin es angles squares and
circles i n which all the component parts ar e arranged in just r e
lati on s to each other and united together in the grand circl e of
Innity
Let not our r eaders regard thes e words as meaningless n or
deem them the mere rhapsody of a transc endent al wr iter :
The stone that the builders reject becomes the head of th e

corner
For ag es the great Pyrami d has been this rejected stone
The world has not known it an d the builders of scien ce
ave thrown it away amidst the rubbish of speculati v e possi b il
.

'

1 i es

Long h as it waited for recognition and we deem we do not

,

A R T M AGI C

1 99

c l ai m too much for i t when we prophesy it will yet be read and

understood an d take its place as the keystone in the lost ar t
which interprets the grand science of being as a M asonic Lodg e
All crea tion the Universe itself is the Lodge of the Divine M a
son in w h i ch all the principles of science are found from th e
smallest atom to an Astral system All are arranged in the exact
order of pure mathematics and geometry and the great Pyrami d
w as bui lt to represent this sublime truth to celebrate i ts mys
teri es and perpetuate i ts meaning from generation to generation
We shall now present to the reader a few excerpts from vari
ous authoritative writers whose opinions will strengthen th e
theory vaguely intimated above
Bishop R ussell of St John s College O xford England
advancing the v ery j ust an d reasonable hypothesis that the gre at
Pyramid of Cheops was not built by a descendant of the ancien t
Egyptian dynasty but rather by one who determined to illustrate
in its erection ide as i mported from a still older and more advanced
civilization says in his ne treatise on Ancient Egyptian M on

ments :
It is manifest at rst sight that the dynasty of princes to
whom these stupendous works are ascribed were foreigners and
also that th ey profess ed a religion hostile to the an imal worship
of the Egyptian s for it is recorded by the historian ( Herodot s )
with emphatic distinctness that during the whole period of their
domination the temples were shut sacrices prohibited and th e
p eople subjected to ev ery species of calami ty an d oppression
Hence it follows that the date of the pyr amids must synchronize
with the epoch of the Shepherd Kings those monarchs who wer e
held as an abomination by the Egyptians and who w e may con
den tly assert occupied the throne of the Ph aroahs during
a
part of the interval which elapsed between the birth of Abraham
and th e captivi ty of Josep h The reasoning n ow advan ced wi ll
receive additional conrmation when we consider that buildings
of the pyra m i dal order were not uncommon amongst the nations
of the East
At the present day there are pyramids in India
and more especially at Be n ares
An edice of the same kind
has been observed at M edun in Egypt constructed in di ffe re n t
stories or platforms diminishing in size as they rise in heigh t
until they terminate in a point the exact pattern of which was
supplied by the followers of Buddha in the plan of their ancien t
pyramids as the se have bee n described by European trav elers

on the banks of the Ganges and the Indus

The author of this work has himself visited and exami ned
these Hindoo structures taking part in the rites of i n i ti ation still
,

A R T M A GI C

2 00

practiced in their ancient crypts and that after a fashion which

clearly indicates that the great Pyramid of Cheops was designed
upon the s ame model and for the same purpose Bishop R ussell
adds:
,

Th

o w er o

a b el.

Such too is nderstood to have been the form of the Tower

of Babel th e object of which may have been to celebrate the mys
teri e s of Sabaism ( the astrono m ical religion ) the pures t s per sti
tion of the untaught mind M r Wilford informs us th at on h i s
describing the great Pyramid to several very learned Brahmins
they declared it at on c e to have been a Temple and one of them
asked if it had not a communication with the R iver Nile When
answered that such a passage was said to have existed and that a
well was to be seen to this day they unanimously agreed that it
was a place appropriated to the worship of Padma Devi an d that
the supposed tomb was a trough which on certain festivals h cr
priests used to ll with water and the sacred lotus owers
The most probable opinion respecting the object of this vas t
e di ce is t hat it combines the double use of the sep lchre and
the temple nothi ng being more common in all nations th an to
bury disting ished personages in places consecrated to the rites of
worship If Cheops intended it only for his tomb what occasion
was there for the well at the bottom the lower chamber with a
large niche in i ts eastern wall the long narrow c avities in the
sides of the large upper room encrusted over with the nest mar
ble or for the ante chambers and lofty gallery with benches on
each side that introduce us into it ? As the whole of Egyptian
Theology was clothed in mysterious emblems and gures it seems
reasonable to suppose that all thes e turni ngs apartments and se
e rets in architecture were inten ded for some nobler purpose for
the catacombs are plain vaulted chambers h ewn out of the natu
ral rock and that the Deity rather which was typied in the

outward form of this pile was to be worshiped within

Always desirou s of presenting the views of such writers as
may prove more acceptable to our readers as authority than 0q
,

u
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2 02

M AG I C

ART

the fronts of the pyramid at midday during the whole time th a t

the sun soj ourned in the lumi nous hemisphere ; and that the
northern front should be again covered with shade when nigh t

began to attain h er supremacy in our hemisphere that is at the

moment when O siri s descended into hell The tomb of O siris
was covered with shade nearly si x months after which light sur
rounded i t entirely at midday as soon as he returning fro m hell
regained his empire in passing i n to the luminous hemisphere
Then he had returned to Isi s and to the God of Spring O rus
who had at length conquered the genius of darkness and winter

Wh at a sublim e idea !
That this great Pyramid was built by those who trans cended
the ancient Egyptians in sacerdotal arts sublimity of conception
and the k nowledge of the exact sciences none can question Th at
it was designed for a Temple as well as a tomb all true Initiates
of O riental mysticism will afrm Its external form is the pures t
example of mathematical rule and geometrical proportion in th e
world The perfect square is obtained at its bas e ; perfect tri
angles at each corner and a perfect circle when it becomes as
i t w as designed to be the semi annual pedestal of the Sun and
M oon
According to the hypothesis of Prof Piazza Smythe the oh
j ect of th is gre at Pyramid was to convert it i nto a granary in tim e
of fami n e and a storehouse for the preservation of treasures in
the event of a general inundation or other nati onal cala m i ty
O thers im agine it to hav e been simply designed as the tomb of its
founder Cheops and a monument to h i s memory
These an d
other opinions concerning its destin ed uses are supported with
more or less pla sibility Prof Smythe the chief support er of th e
rst named hypothesis triumphantly pointing to his wonderfully

adj sted scales of mea surement and actually p r oving at l east to

h is own satisfaction that the huge porphyritic co ffer found in

the great upper chamber lidless open empty was designed for
an universal standard of measurement and that its division in to
certain nicely calculated parts will coincide with the standard of
dry measure now in common use throughout Europe and Amer
ica ! A better understanding of the profound height s of meta
physical speculation i n which the O riental mind employed itself
w o ld h av e shown th e learn e d Edinburgh Profes sor that this vast
edice was designed as a sky and earth meter not a mere standard
by which farmers and mark et women could adjust their bargains
during centuries after the great founder had ascended to his p lace
of recompense and rest and that the huge problem of scientic
disco v erers the mystic lidless wholly nornamented uninscribed
,

M AGIC

ART

2 03

the m i dst of the vast unornamented and uni nscribed

chamber was not intended as a model for all generations of s c
c ee di n g corn and seedsmen but a s a sarcop h agus for living m e n
for thos e Initiates who were there taught the solemn problems of
life an d death and throug h \ the instrumentality of that very

co ffer atta ined to th at glorious birt h of the Spirit that second

birth so signicantly described by the great Hieroph ant of Naza
reth when he answer e d those who came to inquire of him by
night saying : Except a man be born again he cannot se e th e

ki ngdom of God
Except a man be born of wat er and of the Spirit he c ann ot
enter the kingdom of God
That which i s born of the esh is e sh and that which is
b orn of the spirit is spirit
M arvel not that I said unto the e ye must be born again
Nicodemus answered and said unto him How can these
t h i ngs be ?
Jesus answered an d said unto him A r t thou a M aster i n
Israel and knowest not thes e things ?
We might ask the same qu estion of the learned Professors
but the succession of ideas reve aling the sublime metaphysics of
b eing transmitted fro m G od through n ature to h i s rst Priests
the ancient Priests of the Aryan tribes from them to the Hin
doos on to the Egyptians forward through M oses to the Hebrews

the M asters in Israel and chief of th em all to the Essenes of

whom Je sus of Nazareth was th e bes t type these ite ms of pure

metaphysics form no part of the learni n g of gr eat E di n b r gh
professors an d so the huge sarcophagus of the mighty Temple of
in
whic
Initiates
were
de
igned
to
be
typically
born
s
h
Cheops
again of water and of the Spi r it became a corn mea surer in th e
eyes of the grea t Briti sh math e matic ian ! When an angel spoke

at th e b aptism of Jesus the b y standers said it thundered

Such b y standers are not all dead yet
The time was w hen E gypt th e young untutored child of the
desert was not th e Q
ueen of arts and sciences who sat enthroned
over the intellectual world The n did sh e become the prey of the

spo iler She w as invaded and conquered by the Pali

Shep

he rd Kin gs or Hyks o s who according to M anetho overran th e

land put the inh abitants to chain s and tributary service and b e
cam e for awhile the R ulers of Egypt What this country w as b e
fore the advent of these Shepherd Kings we can hardly conjee
ture but after their rule eve r y monument pyram id and i n
scription bore th e st amp of O riental i deality It needs n ot tha t
we particular ize th e details of these revolutionary changes ; w e
in

c oer ,

'

A R T M AGI C

only allude to them to account for the wonderful pari ty whic h

xists
between
the
religious
opinions
which
have
enlarged
e
w
e
upon in our descriptions of Hindoo worship and those which r e
appear in Egyptian Theogo n y Let s as Solomon says consider
the conclusion of the w hole matter Cheops a monarch of the
in vading line caused a temple to be erected in conformance with
those stric t rules of science revealed to th e ancient Hindoo meta
physicians as the mode in which God worked
The external of t his g orgeous edice w as the symbolism of
the world ; built upon the purest principles of Astronomy A s
tr ology M athematics and Geometry
The interior was a Temple designed to teach and illustrate
those sciences and as the soul of man Was regarded as an eman ai
tion direc t from Deity so i ts progress through matter i ts fall
from spiritual purity to an alliance with gross matter i ts trans
migration through various forms for the purposes of proba tion
and purication its ultimate birth into manhood and provided
the animal prevailed in its nature i ts descent again into animal
forms and provided the spiritual prevailed i ts n e w birth and n al
transformation into a pure spiritual existence ; these were the
st ages of the gorgeous drama which the Temples were built to
display and chiefe st of all was the great Temple of Cheops which
by profound and correct astronomical calculations the founders
designed should be the physical centre of the world so they also
metaphysically designed it to be the great centre of all those s b
lime teachings which i n the form of mysteries too profound for
the vulgar mind they the ancients org anized into Free M asonry
The base of this great buildi n g occupies something ov er thir
teen acres of land Its base line is 7 64 feet and its vertical heigh t
4 8 0 Descriptions of its bewildering passag e s noble halls cha m
bers galleries sunken shafts ending in secret crypts blocked up
by fallen stones and accumulations of sand the descending pas
sages invariably found leading to all sepulchral edi c es the as
galleries
and
noble
chambers
which
forbid
the
idea
of
its
c e n di n
g
being a monument of death alone i ts em pty lidless sarcophagus
without any signs of attachment whereby a lid could ever have
been used and the perfect absence in the upper chambers of all
inscriptions which could declare the secrets of the rites performed
within it all speak in trumpet tones to the true and instructed
masters in Israel of the design and scope of this wonderful build
ing and its actual nature as a veritable Lodge of Ancient Free
M asonry
We must add that this dumb but most eloquent structure
is full of revelation to the true mystic Its base is the perfect
,

'

2 06

ART

AGIC

quently Speechless waiting for the hour when the builders of th e

new Temple of the divine humanity missing the keystone of the
arch which i s neither oblong nor square shall se arch amid th e
rubbish of antiquity and nding the stone that the builders r e
e
e
d
a
c
t
place
it
s
the
keystone
in
the
arch
by
which
the
he
vens
a
j
overshadow the ea r th and constitute th e universe the Di vine
Lodge of the M aster Builder God
There i s yet another fragment of metaphysical history to b e
given ere we feel free to close this section
The Sun God to whose honor this temple w as dedicated
once in every year dies an d descends into the deepest po r tions of
the earth
So doe s death linger in the lowest cry p ts in the as hes of the
earthly found er of the building
The intricat e pass ages th e
narro w rough and rugged paths and the nal openings into th e
great Temple Hall were only so many practical types of th e Soul s
pr ogress to that of the Sun God through the constellated Zodia c
of the skies In the great Hall to which he at l e ngth ar rives the
Neophyte w as instructed in the las t great lesson of life and dea th
Sl ain by violence and l aid in the coffer with him is destr oyed the
M aster s word on which the building of the Gre at Templ e de
ends
p
The aroma of death directs the searchers to the spot where
he lies
O n th e ve points of human fellowship he i s rai sed to life
again and elevated to the still higher d egree of life eternal Born

again now he becomes the key stone and is placed in the r oyal
arch which completes the building of the Divin e Temple There
the Sun of Heaven sits triumphant on the apex of the Pyramid
the Pyramid which in itself is a symbol of generative life
This temple was the work of those who lived
years ago
Names and i n scriptions have been
I ts d at e i s no uncertainty
found which justify this opinion inferred both by M an etho an d
Herodotus The rites celebrated in this grand old fane at lea st
years ago ar e not quite forgotten yet nor are the principles
upon which they were practiced blotted o t The m oving phan
tasm ag or i a which constituted the glory of ancien t Egypt has di s
a ppeared from the scene perhaps never again to be re placed c e r
tai n ly never by a b an d of actors as sublimely perfect in the high
e st realms of life s melodramatic art as those who gured in the
great Epic of antiq e Egypt s palmy splendors
To day tribes of wan dering Arabs scarcely banded together
n ot ruled by some poor Sheik who will perform magic for the
v al ue of a few En glish shillings or a set of Dervishes who wi ll
,

u
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ART

AGIC

2 02

dance wh i rl howl or t h r ow themselves into epileptic trances for

a few dollars repre sent th e chi ef of what was once so wise power
ful far seeing an d sublime in Egyptian Spiritism
Notwithstanding thi s picture of external degradation the
spirit of ancient Egypt ltered through the epics of clas sic Greece
and the memories of stately R ome still liv es still animates the
earnest student and the patient scholar to fresh research in the
letter of the dead O rient and fr esh discovery in the hidden mean
ing of its immortal Soul The day will come when the magic of
the ancients will be the Science of the modem s and in that morn
i n g light of revelation the Great Pyramid of Cheop s will be
known for what it really is the alphabet which spells out th e si g
n i c ati on of the Di vine Drama of existence
,

SE C T I O N XI V

SPI R I T I SM A N D M A G I C A M O NG ST T H E JEWS

T
A B RA H A M M O SE S T H E PRI E ST S
W
E
D
I
P
U
E
D
S
S
J
A N D PROPHE T S T H E C A B A L A B I B LE CH A L D E A N A N D PER SI A N
IDE A S I N H E B RE W WRI T IN G S PER SON A LI T Y O F JE SU S
The Hindoos and Jews are almost the only ancient O riental
nations who hav e le ft any written records of their religious b e
li ef
The Chaldeans and E gyptians although disputing the palm
of antiquity with I ndia hav e bequeathe d to posterity only monu
mental vestiges of their elaborate systems of worship and the
mysterio s means by which they penetrated into the secrets of
spiritual exis t ence
The sacred writi ngs of the H ebrews have been so faithfull y
pres erved and they contain such a vast repertoire of Spiritual
i sti c events that they would have furnished an invaluable array of
testimony on this subject had not the excessive egotism of Jewish
historians and the unquestioning veneration with which all th ei r
statements were received by succeeding generations intervened to
throw doubts upon the credibility of much that they afrm
It is now fully pro ved that the enormous claims set up by th e
Jews themselves for the antiquity of their Scriptures and the
originality of many of the events related i n them ar e totally at
variance with cotemporaneo s history

UIT Y
A NT I Q

OF T H E

208

ART

AGIC

The all egations of Hellenistic Jews also tha t certain por

tions of Greek philosophy were derived from Hebrew writings
have been proved to be false ; in fact whilst candid students of
the Bible Will nd in it an e xcellent transcript of the manners
customs tradition s and Spiri tism of the Eastern nations gener
ally they will discover only a meagre acco nt of the actual char
ac ter i sti c s of the Jewish people sav e in respect to their p ersonal
adventures and their constant t endency to imitate the vices and
idolatries of other nations
Abraham the fath er of the Jewish nation was a Chaldean
by birth and though he protested against th e idolatrous practices
of h i s ow n lan d an d volunt arily quitted it to found a purer an d
more m on eth ei sti c form of worship still b e impressed upon his
descendants many ideas derived from the astronomical religion
of the Chaldeans especially their re verence for re the custom of
rearing altars to Deity of upright stones their system of sacricial
offerings and direct communion with Tutelary Spirits believed
to have special charge over nations and peoples
Josephus afrms that Abr aham w ent into Egypt and ther e
became an auditor of the Priests wh o grea tly admired him for h is
wisdom It was probably from Egypt that Abraham d eriv ed h i s
ideas of th e s acredness of circumcision a rite which he enjoined
as the most important of all r e ligious obligations upon his pos
His immediate descendants were only herdsmen and far
ter i ty
less instructed than himself yet they openly communed with spir
i t al beings an d received counsel and direction through dreams
and visions
M aking all due allo w ance for the necessity of interpreting
much of the Bible by cabalistic methods that is to say by deem
ing the words written designed to veil rather than to express
their meaning we must either treat the existence of the Jews and
their whole history as myth i cal or allow that they form one of the
most remarkable specimens of The oc ratic gov ernment the world
h as ever known
This people migrated and settled directed their wand erings
even tran s acted their business and governed their Tribes under
the direction of Angels and the inspiration received through
dreams visions or oracular communications With the Jewish
Scriptures so familiarly known to every child in Christendom it
w ould be useless to review its Spiritism in detai l ; it is enough to
say then th at every page is a r ecord of super mundane signs
tokens open intercourse with spiritual beings and all those
phases so familiarly known in th e nineteenth centur y as Spiri t
,

ali sm

judge of

th

origin and charact eri stics of Jewish Spiri t

ART

21 0

AGIC

still the fact of his high inspiration and open co m munion with
th e Tutelary Deity Jehovah , can hardly be doubted withou t
questioning th e fact of his agency in the J ewish history alto
gether
This admitted his power as a magici an affords a stupendous
picture of that esoteric wisdom in which the E gyptian Priest
hood were so well versed ,
His contes t with the M agians of
Egypt his conclusion amidst the awful mysteries of Sinai his es
tab li sh m en t of Priestly laws ordinances and rites ; in a word the
whole orde r of his wonderful and sublim e history gives a s trange
insight into the almost God like powers with which a Hierophan t
of the most ancient mysteries becomes endowed
Another
though a far inferior example of the dual powers of Prophet an d
M agian is described in the person of Bala am who though an en
chanter and diviner one who was evidently familiar with the
magical art s then so common in the East who was hired both to
curse and bless or by strong psychological will to procure good or
evil fortune for pay was yet in modern phrase a Spirit M edium
subj ect to trance and vision and when under the Divine Spiritual
af at s one who w as compelled to speak as the Spiri t gave him
utterance though gold and silver were offered as inducements to
prophesy to a contrary e ffect
The immense i mpor tance attached to psychological power
is manifested in numerous instances throughout the pages of th e
Bible The curse and blessing so solemnly pronounced by M oses
on M ount Ebal and M ount G erizim were deemed as immutably
prophetic as if they had been the utterances of the Deity in pe r
son Curses and blessings were considered so potent in effect
that the trade of Balaam was commonly practiced and Prophets
were either solicited or hired to pr on o n c e words of ban or bless
ing on enemies or friends as was most desired In the d ays of
Samuel school s of the Prophet were established it being thought
that youn g persons by mere association with those holy men and
by ministering to them as servitors might partake of their Divine
gift and receive of their Spirit by contact or laying on of their
hands It was n ot considered dero gatory in the days of Samuel
for Prophets to exercise their gifts of Seers h ip for the recovery of
lost property and the custom of resorting to them for this pur
pose was considere d just as legi timate as th at of seeking oracular

respo n ses from the Lord through Uri m and Thummim O n

the Priestly modes of obtaining these responses we Shall Speak
in the concluding portion of this section ; it is proper to notice
however that whilst prophetic powers were evidently conferred
upon c ertain indi viduals by natural endowment and not by study
,

AR T

AGIC

21 1

art the Prophets of Israel led exc epti on al and de v oted live s
They oft en retired into wild ernesses apart from the haunts of
men ; they observed long fasts and subjecte d themselves to fre
quent penances the latter more generally for the Sins of others
than themselves They wore rough garments most commonly
a m ah tle composed of the sk in s of animals Some amongst them
were accustomed to wound their han ds and rend their garments in
prophetic frenzy They spent much time in pr ayer and were
passionately addicted to the practice of music M any indications
appear throughout the Jewish Bibl e of the constant resort which
the Prophets made to music as a m e ans of stimulating the pro
h
i
f

a
s
e
pecially
in
the
exorcism
of
vil
pirits
n
h
e
t
c
a
t
e
S
a
d
e
s
t
p
rites of Temple worship
There are many commentators on the Hebre w sacred writ
ings who do not hesitate to a f rm that such personages as M oses
Elijah Elisha and Jesus never existed whilst Samson has been
proved to be a mythic al representation of the Greek Hercules
and J epth a a paraphrase of the Greek Agamemnon
The audacious transpositio n of ancient Heroes from their
own lands i nto that of Judea by Jewish historians and the bold
plagiarisms of other nations histories to sustain their own does
not alter the fact that at certain epochs of time great and pro vi
dential ch aracters must have ourished and acted something of
the part s set down for them M oses as we have already alleged
we believe to have be en an Egyptian Pri est an Opinion which is
sustained by M anetho a Greek historian who claims to have a
Still the part sustained by
th en ti c knowledge on this subj ect
this remarkable man in the Jewish Exodus from Egypt the enun
of his noble code of laws his establishment of the priest ly
c i ati on
ordinances and the extraordinary spiritual inuences which a t
tended him an d enabled h i m to bring the Jews into direct and
constant communion with their Tutelary Deity ar e integral por
tions of history which cannot be blotted out Elijah, from his
nam e signifying one of the houses of th e sun l ike his follower
Elisha has sometimes been deemed a mythical personag e a mere
type of the Sun God Even if the p ersonality of both these ex
alted characters were to be resolved into allegory it does not alter
the fact that at certain periods of Jewish history man y wise pow
er f l and spiritually endowed men arose under whose scathing
rebukes and sublime inspirations the rebellio s people were won
back to the worship of one God and the wise st andards of govern
ment prescri bed by M oses
In the advent of Jesus of Nazareth a revolutionary change
in Jewi sh h i story oc cur s w h i ch co l d n ot h av e b een effecte d

or

AR

21 2

AGIC

without the interv ention of just such a pure high an d holy

teacher as h e is represented to have been
From the descriptions given by Philo and other cotemporary
hi storians of the Essenes a sect of pure and holy men who arose
about one hundred years before the advent of Jesus of Nazareth
it has often been supposed that he was one of their number The
doctrines manners and customs of this sect conform ed in almost
e v ery parti cular to those of Jesus and his Disciples Even the
fam ous Sermon on the M ount becomes little else than a transcrip t
of Essenian aph orisms when the two are carefully compare d
The same extraordinary similarity of doctrine and practic e h as
been traced between this sect an d that of th e Sage Pythagoras
an d the uni v ersality of the ide a which marks the great and i n
spired lives of the Jewish and Samian Teachers n aturally sug
gests th at each of them drew th eir Opinions from the same Essen
i an model
As to the identity of the Jewish Christ with the popular
myth of the E astern Sun God w e hav e no op i ni on to o er in
this place
The truth that at least twe n ty di fferent incarnate Gods were
celebrated in the East an d taught of in Greece to each of whom
was attributed a history sim ilar in general det ails to that of the
Christian s M essiah but the still more Signican t facts that these
various incarnations were all supposed to ha v e preceded Jesus in
point of chronology and that th e miracles attributed to him had
been sculptured in Temples gray w ith age before the date assigned
for his birth bring their ow n comment to every mind not closed
against the light of re ason by bigotry or incapabl e Of appr e ci a t
ing the truths of history fro m blind sup erstition
N otwithstanding t h e fact that th e worshipers of the S n
God in the personality of the Jewish M es siah destroy faith in his
very existence by the wilful perversity with whi ch they insist
upon m aintaining for him an impossible biography the origin
growth and Specialties of the C hri stian faith in Jerusalem de
mand the interposition of a human founder and point with con
e lusive tes timony
to the inu ence of a noble Essenian of pre
c i sely the charact er attributed to the meek and gentle Nazarene
The biographies of Jesus were compiled long after his de
cease and were e vidently the work of men who in order that the
Scriptures might be fullled i n h i s person interblended th e rec
ords of his pure and h oly ministry with the miracles Of that leg

end which as the history of the S n God had been so pop

larly engrafted into all reli gi o s systems throughout the E ast for
th ou san ds of years b efor e th e t im e of Je s s
,

u
.

A R T M A GIC

21 4

p eri shed about the time when Constantine the Great usurpe d i ts
name an d fame in order to justify his own iniquities and atro
Its cr ucied remains were buried under the
c i o s murders
Athanasi an Creed an d the ecclesi astical fables of the C O n ci l of
Nice and nothing of it was left but the name; the body withou t
the soul the lett er without the spiri t ; the God without h i s h

m an i ty
h
t e mystery wi thout the meaning noth i ng w as left of
the gospel of the loving Jesus but the name
We have made many allusions in this and former sections
to the Jewish Cabala and it i s now in order to gi v e a brief notice
of the o ri gin and ge n i us of this celebrated work
Despite all the assertions of practical h istori ans to th e con
tr ar y it is quite certain that the Jewi sh sacred writings if n o t
wholly los t or destroyed were r e duced to very few an d sc arce
copies during the di ff erent seasons of captivi ty that so Often over
whelmed the nation despoiled the once glori ous T e mple of Solo
mon and comm i tted alike the books of the law and all the other
sacred writings to the ames This spirit of devast ation w as es
h
e
t
e
c i all
manifested
before
the
Babylonish
captiv
ty
After
i
p
y
return of the exiles to their ruined City an d des ecrated Temp le
the solemn duty of r e transcribing the M osaic law devolved up on
Ezra a learned Priest a most zealous Scribe and one so h i ghly
esteemed in h i s generation that he was commonly called the sec
ond founder of the law Admiri ng R abbis are still accustomed to
say If M oses had not fo n ded the law Ezra w as worthy to have

don e so
In order to fulll his di f cult tas k with the most c on sci en
tious delity Ezr a not only transcr ibed the laws of which he had
made a deep study during his period of c aptivity but he gath
ered together the ancient men of his nation consulted wi th them
carefully not ed dow n th e tradition s which they had committed to
memory and sought in eve r y direction to im prove upon his own
knowledge by the information thus acquired through oral tradi
tion
It was from th i s circumstance that autho ri tative v alue came
to be set on traditional records
In process of time as th es e traditions increased in number
and became easily stretched to suit th e imagination of the nar
r ator s or the t e m
er
o
f
the
times
the
of
the
law
and
the
O
k
O
s
b
p
Prophets compiled by Ezra sank into i n si gn i can c e compared to
the sup erstitiou s v eneratio n wh ich to some minds cluster e d
around these ever growi ng traditions and a sect of believers at
length arose called Sep ara tists or Phari sees who absolutely
pinned their faith an d adj sted their lives manners and acti on s

ART

M AGIC

21 5

entirely on the assu m ed authority of thes e traditions Th i s w as

the eld in which Persian myths an d Chaldean id eas were per
m i tte d to t ake root until they almost supplanted the st ern M ono
theism of Abrah am and M oses Jesus frequently alludes to thes e
traditions as m aking the law of M oses of no effect It is from thi s
source that the fantastic ights of Talmu di c wr iters are drawn
and it is on th e strength of th ese elastic Oral teachings th at the
famous C abala i s founded Cab alis ts an d devoted admir ers of
these writings claim for them an antiquity ascending to Adam
and an origin str etch i n g p to heaven They trace the descent of
this b ook to Se th Enoch No ah Abraham M ose s Joshu a th e
Judges and with occasional ying visi ts back to He aven from
whence it came str ai ght on to the possession of a ce r tain Hell en
i sti c J e w w h o with a few followers after having be en banished
for sedi tion to Alexandria reappe ared from exile about a century
before th e advent of Jesus of Nazareth
O ne of the Cabalistic collections is called Zohar or the Book
of Light and around this volume th e traditions cluster wi th i m
mense enthusi asm
The nat re of Cab alistic wri tings w e have already explained
They are for the most part designed to mask rather th an reveal
the true sense of the words and this mystical style is assumed to
be nece ss ar y in order to preserve sacred ideas from the vulgar i n

s hort not
to gi v e pearls to swine a favorit e expression of th e
C abalists
A collec tion of Cabalistic writings w as m ade in th e se c on d
century an d some rare copies are still extant ; from these we nd
that the wri ters enl arge much on the doctrines scattered through
out the East concerning Deity the divine T ri nity which in i ts
vari ous phase s attributes powers an d personalities i s exalted as
the sublimest mystery of being The Cabala discourses Of th e
v arious eman ations from Deity commencing with Adam Kadm an
the Brahma of the Hindoos ; the O siris of the Egyptian s ; the
M ithra Of the Persians ; the Logos or Word of the Greeks ; th e
Divine E n soph or masculine Wi sdom of Deity ; an d the Sophia
or F eminine principle of Creation From thence it te ache s of
Hierarchies of c elestial emanati ons Angels Archangels Thrones
Dominions Powers Splendors ; Fallen Angels Planetary Spiri ts
E vi l Angels Demons E lem en tari es M en Worlds Spheres and
the entir e order of that creative sch eme on which Hindoo M eta
physicians had speculated for thousands of ye ars an d which the
Egyptian s had inscribed in colossal monuments whos e perm a
h ence wi ll almost bid deance to the destroying scythe of time
The Cabalistic writings besides the veiled mysticism wi th
.

'

'

A R T M A GI C

21 6

which they treat philosophical th eo ri es contain directi ons for

healing the sick exorcising evil spirits invoking good Angels an d
Planet ary spirits ; also for the exer cise of m agic al powers over
winds waves and elements generally These powers are to be pro
cured through purity of life co nduct and thought ; strict atten
tion to ablutions p ri cati on s prayers the se of talismans
Spe l ls charms ceremonial rites and other method s too fam iliar
now to the reader to need farther recital The C abalists put i m
t
i
f
h
h
l
i
c
t
a
i
in
t
s
of
acred
n
a
mes
and
the
combin
tion
of
e
s
e
a
p
certai n numbers
They rehearse seventy two n ames of Dei ty and af rm tha t
accordi ng to the method in which th ey are written an d pro
n o n ced such will b e th e amount of virtue e v ol v ed from their
,

'

The system of numerals vaguely l aid do wn in the Cabala is

e vidently a r ay derived from the Egypti an gure before alluded
to as manifested in the building of the Great Pyr amid but still
more luc idly dened in Pythagor e an Philosophy whilst the allu
sions so often made to the u n i ty of design m anifest throughou t
the universe is a mixture Of ideas derived fro m Zoroaster th e
Chalde an sys tem of plane tary correspondences and a large i n f
sion of Gre ek philosophy The Cabala and Zohar are curious
specimens of litera ture ; compendiums of Eastern ideas and fully
sufcient examples of that style of writing justly termed C ab ali s
tic but when the full meani n g of their Obscure expressions is
arr ived at the student will nd broader f airer and more o riginal
elds of study in the elder nations in their gr and monuments
their most an cient w ri tin gs, and above all in the stately and
inspired utterances of the Hebrew Prophets O ne chapter of the
s ublime Isai ah will convey a far higher conception of the rela
ti ons betw e en man an d his God th an whole pages of th e m y sti e
Zohar an d the books of Ezeki el and R evelations conta in all th e
m y steries so elaborately concealed in Cabalistic writings ; in short
w e cannot promis e our readers an y higher results from the i r
s tudy than such as m ay be attained by the perusal of other works
on the antiquitie s of the East or initiation into the rites of moder n
In the celebr ated R osicruci an diagram of Ezek
F re e M asonry
Therein
i al s wheel the whole he art of the my stery is disclosed
will b e found the Si x ascending Signs of th e Zodiac representing
Heaven Good the ascent of the h man Soul th e Universe or
M acrocosm ; in the Si x descending Si gns are all the opposite pri n
c i ples of evil th e fall of man the descent of the Soul into matte r
In this consists all the mystery of C abalism
etc
etc , e tc
,

-s

A R T M AGI C

21 8

into the nature and unive rsality of the idolatrous practices they
protest against ; the exq i site pathos and beauty of the New T es
tament te achings the mixture of high toned morality and mystic
Gnosticism of the Epistles an d the clue to all ancient myst eries
afford e d by the writings of Ezekiel D aniel and John i n the Apo
c alypse
combine to render the Hebre w Bible one of the mo st
remarkable an d notable specime n s of ancient literature now ex
tant
It is a book which must compel th e Skeptic either to pro
nounce the dictum of wilful falsehood and causeless imposture
against all an cient history or els e to acknowledge that there mus t
in olden time if not now have be e n a substratum of truth in the
immense arr ay of spiritual demo n strations claimed to have been
r endered in the days of antiquity
The Bible is a book of Spiri tism ; an A rb atel of M agic a
storehouse of O riental knowledge an d as such commends itself
to the earnest seeker after magical lore and spirituali stic light
There were periods in th e history of the Jews when the pro
l
i
e
f
latus
was
lost
quenched
as
it
wou
d
s
em
by
the
idola
h
e
t
c
a
f
p
trous pe rversity of the people an d their devo tion to oth er rites
th an those enj oined by their Priests and Prophets
Such w as th e interregnum that occurred after the de ath of
Samuel ; an d agai n after the closing up of the Prophetic era in

the person of M alach i called from thence th e se al of Proph e cy

With the advent of Jesus of Nazareth a new era daw ned upon
the world not only in relation to the sublime te achings which he
inculcated and the good works by which he sealed his commis
sion but by the strictly human evidence s of magnetic an d psy
ch ologi c power which resulted from his mission
All histo ry proves that there are mental as well as physical
e pidemics ; contagious affections of the mind as well as of the
body
When a great reformatory thinker appe ars in th e aren a of
human life when such an one is endowed m oreover with that
mysterious charge of Astral i d which effects cures of diseas e
an d produces other magnetic phenom ena on all who come with i n \

look to se e that comb ination of mental an d phys

n

c
e
i
s
i
n
e
h
ical power di ffusing itself far beyond the sphere of i ts im m edi ate
source
F rom such magnetic and psychologic in u ences arose that
irresistibl e tide of r eligiou s Opinion which spread thr oughou t
the E ast from the minds of inspired teac hers like Confucius ZO
roaster Buddha and Christ Such was the source of those men
and power
tal an d physi cal epid emics which imparted belief i n
-

M A G IC

ART

21 9

to eect the practices of witchcraft in the middle ages ; which i n

en c e d the French Prophets O f the C ev en n oi s with a mighty
enthusiasm equal in e ffect to th e ecstasies O f Indian F akeer s ;
which anim ated the Ecstatics at th e tomb of the Abbe Paris and

rendered the C on v lsi on ai r es insensible to pain ; wh ich exhib

i te d itself in demoniacal po ss essions in th e multitudes who made
up the ghas tly record s of Witc hes an d Wizards in Scotland N e w
Englan d Sweden and in later times in the Valley of M orzine
in short in all cas es of mental epidemic whether it take the shape
of that enthusiasm which enabled frail women young children
and feeble old men to court the agonies Of martyrdom during the
rst centuri es of the Chris tian era or that subjuga tion of s ense
and reason to the control of evil Spirits which m arked the mad
ness Of witchcraft
We shall conclud e thi s section by a supplement giving ex

tracts from an old work en titled M oses and Aaron or an ac

count Of th e civil an d ecclesiastical rites of the ancient Hebrew s
by Thos Godwyn B D published at London in 1 6 2 8
In these curious excerpts the reader w ill nd correct and
graphic descri ptio n s of the various kinds of divination e tc
whether l awf l or forbidden practiced by the Jews of old

SU PPLE M E N T T

SE C T I O N XI V

I D LA T R Y A N D A N C I E N T SC R I PT U R E

OME OF T H E MODE S O F DIVIN A T ION B O T H LA WF U L A N D U NLA WF U L

PRA CT ICED A MON G ST T H E JEWSFIR ST N E B U A H SECON D
RUA CH H A C O D E SC H U R IM A N D T H UM M IM
As Idolatrie originally sprang from mistaking of Scripture
so witchcraft and sorcery seem eth t o have had its rst be gi nning
from an imit ation of God s oracles God sp ak e in divers manners
i
1 ) but the chief me ans Of revealing h i m selfe obser ved
Heb
(
by the Hebre w writers are foure which they term foure de grees
of pr oph e ci e or divine revelation
The rst degree w as N eb ah which w as when God did by
c ertaln e v1 s1 0n s and app aritions r e veale his w ill
The second was R uach H ac odesch or ins piration of the Holy
Ghost whereby the partie was en abled w ithout visions or app ari
tl on s to pr Oph ec i e
Some shewing the difference b etw e en e these
two adde that the gif t of pr oph e ci e did c ast a man into a tr anc e
S

'

u
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220

A R T M A GI C

or extasre all his senses be ing taken from h i m ; but the inspira
tion of the Holy Ghost w as w ithout any such extasi e or abolition
of the senses as appeareth in Davi d and Daniel Both these de
m
rees
a
likewise
Uri
Thum
m
i
m
ea
ed
in
t
h
se
c
ond
T
m
s
an
d
c
s
e
e
g
ple wh ence their an cient Doctors say that after the l atter Pr oph
e ts Ha g ai and M alachy were dead the Holy Gh os t went up or
g
departed from Israel Howbeit th ey had the s e of a voice or
In wh i ch speech w e ar e not to understand
e c c h o from Heaven
that the Holy Ghost wrought not at all the san c ti c ati on of men
but that th i s extraor di nary voice en abling men tO pr oph eci e by
the in spiration of the Holy Ghost then ceas ed ; and in th i s sense
the Holy Ghost w as said to have depar ted from Israel
The thi rd degree w as Urim an d Thummim Uri m si gn i eth
light and Thumm i m perfection Th at they were two o r naments
in the High Priest s brest pl ate is gene r ally a greed upon ; but
what manner Of orn am ents or how they gave answer is hard to
resolve Some th i n k e them to be the foure rowes of stone s in
the brest plate the splendor and b ri gh tn esse of whi ch foreshe w ed
victory and by the rule of contrari es we m ay gather that the
dark n esse of the stones not Sh i ning pres aged evil
O th er s say i t
w as the n a m e J ehovah put i n th e doubli ng of the breas t pl ate
for that was double O the rs declare th e manner Of cons lti n g
with Uri m an d Thummim consisted of all the T ri bes n ame s
and likewis e of the Patriarchs Abr aham Isaak and J acob so
that no l etter Of the Alph abet w as wanting The question being
proposed some sa y that th e letter s which gave the answer did
arise and emi n ently appear above the others An example th ey
tak e fr o m th e 2 n d Sam 2 :1
When David asked th e L ord

Shall I goe up into any of the Citie s of Judah ? th e Lord

ans w ered Goe up

Here say they that the letters wh ich rep
resented the O racle did after a strange manner j oyne thems elve s
into perfect syllables and intire words and made the answer com
pleat T h e fourt h degree was Bath Kol the daughter of a

voice or an echo ; by it i s meant a voice from heaven declaring

the will of God ; it tooke plac e in the second Temple when th e
thr e e former degrees of pr oph eci e ceas ed
THE SEVE R AL S O R T S OF DIVINATI O N F O R BIDDEN
Wee shall nd D eut 1 8 :1 0 1 1 those Diviners which are
by th e law forbidden distinguished into seven kindes not b e
cause there were no others but they w er e the most usual 1 s t
An observer of times 2 d An i n c h an ter 3 d A wi tch 4 th
A charmer 5 th A consult e r with fam iliar spirits 6th A w iz
a
m
s
A
necromancer
To
the
e
we
adde
an
eighth
h
t
7
ard
y
,

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ART

222

AGIC

This evil light on thine ow n e head

The third is M ec asch e ph A Witch properly a J gler T h e
or i gi n all Si gn i e th such a kinde of Sorcerer who b e w i tc h e th the
sens e s and mi des of men by chan gi ng the formes of th i ng s
making th em appear e o therwise than indeed they are The same
word i s applied to the Sorcerers in Egypt who resisted M oses
Exod 7 :1 1 Then Ph ar oh also called M ecasch ph i m the Sor
Now the m ag icians in Egypt they also di d in like manner
c er er s
with their I n ch an tm en ts This latter par t of the text expl ai n
eth what those sorcerers were In that they are called magicians
it i m pli eth their learning that they wer e wise men and grea t
philosoph ers ; the word i n c h an tm en ts declareth the manner of
the delusion and it hath the signication of such a slight where
:
h
m
by the eyes are deluded for La ati
there translated inchant
ments i m porte th the glistening ame of a re or sword where
with the e yes of men are dazled
The G re ek e v ersion doth not n tly term e them compo nd
ers of medicines or if y o please complexion makers such arti
sens who make men and women false compl e xions Henc e it i s
that the Apostle c om par eth such false teachers who under a
forme an d shew of g odli n e sse leade captive Silly women to the
E gyptian Sorcerers Zan n es and Zam b r es who assisted M o ses
2 Tim 3 :
8
These two were of chief not e In the T almud they
are called J oh an n e and M amre
The fourth i s C h ob er a Charmer The Hebrew word si gn i
eth conj oi n i ng or consociating ; eith er from the league and fel
low sh i p which such persons have with th e Devi ll or as Bodine
thinketh because such kinde of Witches have frequent meetings
in wh i ch th e y dance and make merrie together
On k elos tr an slateth such a charmer R aten a M utterer inti
mating the mann er of these Witcheries to be by th e muttering or
soft speak i n g of some Spell e or charme The des cription of a
char mer is thu s : Hee is a charmer who sp eaketh words of a
strange language an d wi thout sense and he in his fooli sh n esse
think eth that these words ar e protabl e ; that if one say so or
so unto a Serpent or Scorpion
it cannot hurt a man and he
that saith so or SO unto a man he c annot b e hurt H ee tha t
w h i spe r eth ov e r a wound or readeth a verse out of the Bi b le
likewise h e that readeth over an infant th at it may n ot bee
frighted or that layeth th e Booke of the Law or the P h i lacteri es
upon a child that it may sleepe such are not only among Inchan t
er s or Ch armers but of those that generally deny the Law of God
because they make the words of the Scripture medicine for the
body wherea s they ar e not b t m edi cin e for th e Scale Of th i s
.

ART

AGIC

223

sort was that whereof B odi n s speaketh That a childe by s ay

ing a certain verse out of the P salm es hindered a woman tha t
:
k
shee could not make her butter ; by reciting the same verse bac
ward h ee m ade her b t ter come presently
The fth Schoel O b a consulter with O b or with familiar
O b si gn i eth pr Operly a Bottle an d is applied in divers
Spi rits
place s of Scripture to M agician s because they being possessed
with an evil Spirit speake with a soft and hollow voice as out of
a bottle The Greek calleth them Ven tri loq os such whose voice
seemeth to proceed out of their belly Such a Diviner was the
Dam osell Acts 1 6 :1 6 in Sai n t A g sti n s judgement and i s
probably thought so by most Expositors w h o are of opinion th at
the spirit Of Python with which this Dam osell w as poss e ssed
is the same which the spirit of Oh w as amongst the Hebrews
Hence the Witch of Endor whom Saul requested to raise up Sam
uel is said in Hebrew to have consulted with O b ; but among the
Latine Expositors she i s commonly translated Pythonissa one
possessed with the spirit Of Python
The sixth i s Ji ddegn on i a Wizard ; he is translated some
times a cunning m an
Hee had h i s name from knowledge which
either the wizard professed himself to have or the common peo
ple thought him to have The R abbies say hee w as called in H e
brew from a certain beas t in shape resembling a m an bec aus e
these wizards when they did utter their prophecies held a bone
of this beast between their teeth This haply might bee so m e
di ab oli c all sacrament or cer em on i e used for the conrmation of
the leag ue b etw een e Satan and th e Wizard P roph an e h i story
m en ti on eth divinations Of the like kinde as that M agicians were
wont to eat the pr i n c i pall parts and mem bers Of such beasts
which they deemed pr oph eti call thinki ng thereby that the soule
of such beasts would be conveyed into their bodies whereby they
m i ght be enabled for prophecy
The seventh is Dor esch el h am m eth i m ; th e G r eek e an swer

eth word for word an e n quirer of the dead a Necrom ancer

Such divi ners consulted with Satan in the Shape of a dead m an
A memorable example wee n de recorded ; 1 Sam :
There
29
King Saul about to warre with the Philisti ns ( God denying to
answer him either by dr eam es or by Urim or by Prophets
upon
)
the fame of the Witch of Endor he repaired to her demanding
that Samuel might bee raised p from the dead to tell him the
issue of the warre Now th at th is was not in truth Sam uel i s
e asily evinced both by testimonie s of the learned and reas ons :
Fi rst it is improbable that God who had denied to an swer h i m
by any ordinary meanes , shou l d n ow deigne h i m an an swer so ex
,

uu
.

M AGIC

ART

224

Seco n dly no Witch or Devil can disturbe the bodies

or soules Of such as die in the Lord because they rest from their
labors ; R ev 1 4 :1 4 Thir dly if it had beene Samuel h e would
doubtless have reproved Saul for consulting with Witches
The eighth is Sc oelm ak le a consulter with his staffe J c
rome saith the manner of thi s divination was thus :T h at i f the
doubt we re b etw ee n e two or three cities which rst should be as
sa lte d; to deter m i ne this they wrote the names of the cities upon
certain staves or arr ow es which being shak e d in a quiver together
the rst that was pulled out determined th e c i ti e
O thers deliver the manner of th is consultation to hav e been
thus :
The consulter measured h i s staffe by spans or by the leng th
of his nger saying as he measured I will g oe I will not goe
I w ill doe such a thing I will not doe it an d as the las t spann e
fell out so h e det ermined This was t ermed by the Heathens
Divination by rods or arr ow es
The ninth w as R oeb ac c ab e d a diviner by i n tr alls Nebu
cadn ez ar being to make warre both with the Jews and the A m
m on i te s and doubting in the way against whether Of thes e h e
should make his rst onset :First h e cons lted with his arr ow es
of which hath beene spoken of immediately before ;
an d staves
Secondly he consulted wi th the en tr alls of beas ts This practice
w as generally received among the Heathens an d because the li ve r
was the pr i n c i pall member Observed it was called Consultation
with the liver Three things were observed in this kind of di vin
ation Fi rst the colour of the i n tralls whether they were all
well coloured ; Secondly their place whether none were di s
placed ; Thirdly the number whether non e were wan tin g Among
those that were wanti n g the wan t of the liver or th e heart chiey
presaged ill That day when Juli s Caesar was slai n e it is storied
that in two fat oxen then sacriced the heart was wanting in
them both

tra or di n

ary

ART

226

AGIC

Warriors no less than the Sons of the Nobles and wealthy

Citizens reso r ted to these famous seminaries of occul t lear ni n g
or sat at the feet of the M agi to dri nk in the elements of their
profound wisdom It w as in these schools that D aniel an d some
of the handsomest and most intelligent of the H ebrew captives
were placed for educatio n after the conq est of Judea by the
Babylonians I t was from thence that th e remarkable admixture
of Chaldean an d Persian philosophy was derived which marks
the literature Of the Jews after th e Babylonish captivity The r e
are many scholars who believeand that upon good foundation
that the writings of the Pentateuch the composition of the C a
bala and the fables of the Talmud owe so mu ch of their peculi ar
Spirit to the Chaldean M agi that those who are well acquainted
with these Hebrew writings lose nothing by the total lack Of
C haldean Scriptures
In Chaldea as in other Asiatic and Eastern nations the con
between religious rites and th e ar t of magic w as i n e par a
n ecti on
ble The highest cla ss of the Priesthood those set apart for

Temple service were Star Gazers or Astrologers healers of

the sick by m agn eti sm ( i

the laying on of hands and even
the High Priest h imself the functionary who vi rtually ruled

h
i
the l and through h i s i n en ce over t e re gning monarch de
livered oracles and often practiced the highe st form of magi c al
rites SO gr e at was the skill of th e Chaldean M agi i n Astrology
that it has become proverb i al in all ages to attribute th e invention
of this art to the Chaldeans and in some lands the terms Astro l
oger an d Chaldean w e r e h eld to b e synonymous
The Babylonish Priests were rep ted to be thoroughly well
acquainted with the occult virtue of Ston es plants herbs vap ors
and narc otics They claimed to b e able to c as t spell s on whole
armies arresting their progress or paralyzin g their power of ac
tion They could even cause th e downfall of n ations thou gh
it is Obvi ous they h ad no Such power in the prese r vation of the i r
own once Spl endid dynasty Their achievem ents during the ush
of their Splen dor and magn icence caused their vast claims for
magical knowledge to b e feared and quoted through all cote m
o
r
n
a
e
o
n
ationalities
s
p
Their methods of interpreting dre am s an d visio n s of proph e
syi n g O r sooth sayin
r e Si gn i
and
resisting
action
f
re
a
t
h
e
o
g
c an tl alluded to in the book of Danie l wherein it cle arly app ears
y
that the natural endowments or in modern phraseology the nor
m al mediumship of the young H e br ew Captives were found s
peri or in t r thful res ults to th e arts Of the instruc ted M agi an s
an d it i s quite probable that if many of the stupendous clai m s
an

'

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,

ART

AGIC

227

set up for the magical practices of a n ti quity could b e brought to

a Similar test they would be found inferior to the true prophetic
gifts which spring from natural endowments It is w ell to no tice
however that Daniel and his compani ons practiced th at strict
regimen and remarkable ab sti nence which has been so uni v ersally
found e f cacious in promotin g s piritual afflatus Let not those
who rely solely on their mediumship with o t culture mistak e this
important suggestion
In Chaldea as amongst all other an cie n t n ation s the m ost
honored class of the Priests w ere true p rophets person s naturally
endowed but these fortunate individual s like the Heb r ews Often
arose outside the priestly ranks and even wh en within them
seldo m accepted of c e p r efer r i n g as tho se gifted by th e pow er of

the Spirit in variably do to act independently of priestly organi

zati on s
Amon gst the priests there were three distinct class e s
The rst w er e th e Singers M usici ans or Ex orcists who were
comm only employed in exorcising demons and ministering to the
sick These by their admirable perform an ces on instruments or
in solemn chants stimulated the minds of wo r shi pers to de v oti on
enchanted the listeners even serpents be coming obedient and
ferociou s beasts yielding themselves up to the spell of their de
li ci o s melodies
The second class were the magicians or wonder
workers through whom all m an ner of s oothsaying was effected
also ordeals by re were shown elements stilled or storms raised ;
spells and enchantment procured and divi natio n or auguries fr om
entrails burnt O er i n gs ights of birds or other natural Objects

Obtained The third and highest class were the Star G az ers
for whom were erected those gigantic temples of which the famous
tower of Babel or Belus forms an example The exterior and ape x
Of these wonderful monuments were used for astronomical Ob ser
v ati on s the interior for those mysterious rites throu h which I n
g
i ti ates were taught and Priestly Hieroph ants r ecei v ed their edu
cation
As these famous mysteries were subs eque n tly i n a g
rated i n Persia under the n ame of M ithraic rites we le arn from
them that the Chaldean originals were simply designed to teach
th e fundamental principles of Sabaeism or the most ancient as
tr on om i cal r eligion
Cic ero in his treatises on Soothsaying and Divination at
tributes paramount excellence to the Chaldeans i n tim ating ; in
fact that to thes e most ancient priests the origi n of Astrolo ical
g
Science and M agical art is due Their modes of initiation and
study were very severe Lives of purity and asceticism wer e de
m an de d but though they were required to abstain from wine and
the e sh of animals they never practiced the ri gid discipline en
,

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228

ART

AGIC

forced upon the Hindoo Fakeers on the contrary they mai n

tai n e d that emaciated bodies an d enfeebl e d frames were more sub
e
j c t to th e attacks of evil Sp i rits an d less capable of resisting
them than healthy pure and well balanced organisms
Although a v ast number of the engraved tablet s found
amongst the ruins of ancient Chal dea exhibit zodiacs and as tro
n om i cal signs in abundance there is no authentic r e cord of the
exac t system of calculation up on which these great Adepts based
their methods of As trology The Persians Chines e and M ediae
val Professors of the art clai m to be in possession of cor rect Chal
dean schemes but whether this be true or false the sci entic as
tr olog er is aw are that the system of calculation by which success
ful results are to be Obtained is as exact and unvarying a scie n ce
as astronomy and does not change with country or clime
Tho se
who can Obtain successful results then even in the nineteen th
century may assure themselves they are in posses sion of the sam e
rul es by wh ich the Ch aldean Adepts achieved their vas t renown
As th e methods Of Astrology ar e v ery elaborate and require mu ch
more space th an we could assign them in this volume we refer
those who may be disposed to study this c rious scienc e to the
man y treatises on the subject that are now e xtant Thos e who
desire to acquaint themselves with the most approved rule s Of the
art should stud y Lilly s Astrology published in 1 64 7 Students
well versed in this branch of occultism claim the work in ques
tion to be the most reliable and authentic now in print
It wo ld be useless to pursue our inves tigation into ancient
Asiatic or African researches farther
The spiritism of the Jews M edes Persians Gnostics Neo
Platonists and early Christians wi th the modications which w e
so often insi st on as the r e sults of gro w th through different
epochs of time and changes induced by varied climes an d scenes
all procl ai m the ste ady and unbroken succession of ideas Spring
ing up from one original source n amely an Observ ance an d w on
Now as heretofore we cl aim th at
Ship of the powers of nature
no thing is lost in history or in natur e
However limited the intercours e between ancie n t n ati on ali

ties might have been their frequent irrup tions into each oth er s
territories the tran smission Of opi n i on s th r o gh mutual c ap tivi
ties through commerce oral tradition and the contagion O f
thought render it ce rt ain that the utter obliteratio n of ideas
from any one land by the destruction of their scriptur es or the
loss Of a key to their hieroglyphical inscriptions is simply i m pos
sible It is the favorite Opinion of mod ern students especially
thos e of a romantic and naturally mystical turn of mind that
,

A RT

2 30

MA

GI C

or even began to equ al th e magi c al mar vels which th e b i ldin g

and f rnishing of one Single modern m an sion displays It is i n
the realm of metaphysic al speculation an d the utilization of Soul
powers , that the an ci ents w ere our masters and that the moderns
m ai n s o
ine
to
re
ar e wilfully b lind and contemptuously deter
m
nay more :
when th e mer e suggestion is thrown o t that spiritual
sciences may correlate those of physics the scoff sn e er and j eer
of Sci entists an d the a n athema maranath a of Pri e sts e ffectu ally
s ti es all attempts at research sav e on the part of those who are
bold enough to face the rack an d thumb and sc rew of moral m ar
tyr dom ; Tak e for instanc e th e correlation of astronomy and as
tr ology
Whilst as tronomy decl ares the m athematics an d g e om
e tr
f
h
O
t
sidere
l
heavens
trology
de
n
s
the
executive
forces
e
a
a
s
e
y
which suns planets an d syst ems m utually exerci s e upon each
other and the inuence which each atom of matt er exercis es upon
every o ther atom Physicists all ow that light an d heat are the
two great motor powe r s of form and being ; yet whilst admi tting
that man i s th e creature of physical organ i zation that his ch arac
ter and physique are det ermi n e d by the plac e wh er e h e i s born
the ante natal i nuences which create his special tendencies he
Shoots out the lip of scorn when Astrology clai ms th at the con
gurati on Of the heavenly bodies the o ri gi n al sources of light
heat an d therefore of all subor din ate e ffects hav e aught to do
with shap ing man s destiny or determi ning th e career h e h as to
run No thing is so thankless and unprotable as the attempt to
pit Spiritual phenomena against physic al formulae or argu e i n
d c ti v ely against bigotry and materialism ; but we venture to as
sert that if one score Of thoroughly well in structed as trolo gists
who ar e both astronom ers an d m athematician s Shall und e rtake
to se t up th e gure Of one life submitted to their methods for an
alysis the res lts in each instance shall be precisely the same and
every leading feature of the physical form m ental tend en cy and
leadi ng e vent s of the human pilgrimage shall closely correspond
every one of the twenty with the other
If such a poss ibility as th e above d oes not indic at e the ele

ments of exact science we are at a loss to know the applicatio n

O f the words
M eantime the modern s pi ri t m e dium of Europe
an d Am eri ca h as within the last quarter of a centur y exhibited
nat ral gi fts and spontan eous pow ers which p t the acquire d arts
of anci ent M agi ans into the s h ade Why they are not as gre at as
the medium s Of Indi a Arabia and Asia M inor, is bec aus e the
Western medium depends entirely on the spirits to do the work
for him and O er s no prepared conditions either physically men
t ally or in circumstan ti al surrounding to aid the spirits whils t

A R T M A GI C

23 1

th e

Asiatic and African medium fasts prays thinks dresses

wash e s and prac ti c e s the Spiri tualistic conditions neces sary for
the h i ghest gi fts through years of discipline Spiritual bigotry
scientic pr ejudice and popular indifferenc e on reli gious subjects
are the underlying causes w h i ch have cas t their blight on Spirit
ism and M agic in the n ineteenth century and cause these wonder
elements of knowledg e to loom up from the antique ag es in
proportions as stupendous and ove r whelming as the Pyramid of
Cheops com pared to a mod ern church or th e cave Temples of
Elephanta and Ellora gauged by the proportions of a London
museum or a Parisian gallery of art
T h e absenc e of m agical ar t is not th e lack Of magic al knowl
edge T h e spirit world will not confer i ts prize s upon dunces an d
idlers T h e natural world is th e open page th e heaven e arth
and all th at in them is ar e the l ett ers of the mag ical alph abet and
until man learns these and enters upon the spelling book of mag
n e ti sm
and th e grammar of psychology t h is pen of ours may
point th e w ay b t every pilgrim foo t must tread th e path for
himself Thus an d thus only m ay we ri val the ancien t man in
the goal of magic al achi evem e nts to which he ascended
We shall conclude this section by a few quotations the rst
of which w e t ake from E n n em oser s History of M agi c in which
he gives an appropriate Sketch of the characte ri stics of the Lapps
and Finl anders whose Spiritism s trongly illustrate s our opin i on
that climate soil scenery an d surroundings e xert rem ark abl e ef
f e ets in modifying natural spiritualistic endowments als o that
these are communicated by the contagio n of thought in com
m n i ti es already predisposed to such affections
The pr esent nations of Asia among whom ecst atic St ates
and visions are to be m et with ar e worthy of menti on Among
them ar e the Sib erian Sc h am an s th e A r ab i an Derv i sh es an d the
Sam oze des and Lapps
Among all these nations a species of som
n am b li sm is common into which th e y f all either by m eans of
natural susceptibility or by peculiar move m ents an d e xercise s of
the body and rarely by th e use of narcoti c substances Among
the north ern nations th e phenomenon of second sight is said to
be frequent
Among th e many M on golian tribe s an d also the L apps par
ti c lar ly e xcitabl e an d susceptibl e pers ons ar e chosen as ghost
see r s an d sorc erers ; in I n dia as Jon gle r s in Sib eria as Sch am an s
With much natural disposition strengthen e d by prac tic e and
mode of li fe the maj ority require nothing more th an to shout
violently to storm to dance and to drum to turn round in a cir
cle to induce in sensibility an d convulsiv e ri gi di ty Among th e
,

'

AR T MA GI C

2 34

our new acqu aint anc es h ad beheld so many evi den c es of i n b o rn

occult powers amongst the n atives that they h ad c ome to a con
e lusion w h ich the well informed Spiritu alist of mod ern times w i ll
no doubt b e ready to e n dorse th at is th at certai n in di viduals of
th e race ar e so peculi arly endowed th at they liv e as it were on
the borders of the invisible w orld an d from time to time see
he ar ac t an d think unde r its inuence as n aturally as o ther i n
di vi d als do who ar e o n ly c ap able of sensing materi al an d extern al
things
M or eover our fri en ds h ad arrived at the opinion that cer
t ain loc alities an d cli m ac tr i c inuences wer e f avor able or other
wise to the develo pment of these inn ate occult endowments
Experi ence h ad sho wn them th at m ounta inous re gions or
highly rare ed atmospheres constituted the be st physic al condi
tions for the evolvement of m agic al po wers an d they therefore
argued tha t the gre at prev al e nce of s pe r m un dan e beli ef s an d
legendary lore in those latitudes arise s from the fact th at inter
course with the interior re alm s of being ar e the unive r s al experi
ence of the people not th at they ar e more ignor ant or s per sti
h ad brought to Engl and
tious th an oth er r aces
L ord D

with him a Sch am an or priest of a c ert ai n distric t i n R ussia

where he h ad given extraordin ar y evid ence of h i s powe r s T h is
man s custom w as to ar ray h i ms elf i n a rob e o f st at e trimm ed
with the nest fur s an d lo aded wi th prec i ous sto n es amongst
which cle ar crystals were the m ost es teeme d
In this co s tume with he ad arms an d f eet b ar e the Sch a
m an would procee d to be at a m ag ic al drum m ade after a pec li ar
f as hion an d adorn ed with a v ariety of sym bolic al an d fant astic
p aintings
Commen ci ng h i s exerci ses by simply st anding wi thin a ci r
cle tr ac ed on th e ground a n d be ating h i s d r m in low r hythmic al
c adence to h i s mutt ere d ch an tings the Sch e m an would grad ally
rise to a conditi on of uncontro l l able frenzy ; his h and s would s e
quire a muscul ar power an d rap i dity which c a sed the dr m to r e
sound with the wildest clam o r an d stro k es whi ch deed the power
of m an to c ount
His body m e an time wo l d sway to an d fr o s pin ro n d
an d n ally be elev ated an d even s spended sever al feet in the ai r
by a power wholly unknown to the witnesses H is cries an d ges

ti c lati on s w e re frightful an d the whole scene of m anticism

would en d by the perf ormer s si n k ing on the e ar th i n a rigid c at a
lepti c st ate d ri ng which he spo k e or acul ar sentence s or gav e
an sw e r s to question s with a voice w hich seemed to proceed f rom
th e ai r s om e feet above h i s pr ostrate form
D ring m y st ay in
,

u
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A R T MA G I C

2 35

E n gan d I w as present at several exp eri mental performances w i th

th i s Sc h am an , an d though he co ld unques tion ably predict the
future an d describe correctly dist ant pl aces an d persons , Professor

were both di sappoint e d in the results which we

expected to proceed from h i s v ery el aborate modes of inducing

accounte d for the infe riority of

the m anti c frenzy L ord D
h i s proteg e s powers by st ating th at th e atmosphere was pr ej di
c i al to h i s peculi ar t e mper am e nt an d tho gh he h ad s tr iv e n to
surround him with favorable conditions it w as obviou s he needed
the spe ci alties of h i s n ative soil an d clim ate for th e c omple te
evolvemen t of the phenom en a he h ad been accustomed to ex
b ibit
We f oun d an other cl ass who see med to h ave no extr aor di
n ary endow m ents of a spiritu al n ature yet in who m the most
wonderful powers of i n ner light c r ative virtu e an d prophe ti c
co ld be aw akened thr ough ar tic i al me ans the most po
vi si on
tent of wh ich wer e th e inh al ation of mephiti c v ap ors pungent e s
or n arcotics ; the action of cl amorous noise or soothing
s en c es
musi c ; the process of looking into glittering stones an d c ryst als ;
e xcessi ve an d violent action especi ally in a circul ar direction an d
l astly thro gh the exh al ations proceeding from the w arm blood
of animated beings All these inuences together with an arr ay
of forms ri tes an d ce rem onials which involve mental action an d
c aptivate the senses I now afrm to cons tit te the ar t of ancient
magic an d I moreover b elieve th at wher ever these proc esses ar e
systematic ally resorted to they will in more or le ss f orce accord
ing to the susceptibility of the subj ect evoke all thos e occult
powers know n as ecst asy somn ambulism cl airvoy ance the gifts
of pr ophec y he al ing etc
We derived another item of philosophy from o r res ear ch e s,
wh i ch w as th at under the inuenc e of m agic al process es the
human organ i sm c an not only be rendered ins e nsible to p ain but
th at wounds bruises an d even m util ation c an be ini cted upon
it without perm an ent injury ; als o th at i t can be rendered posi
tive to the law of gr avitation an d ascend into th e ai r with perfect
e as e
Also th e body c an be so s atur ated with m agnetism or
ch arged with spiritual essence; th at re c annot burn it ; in a word
when th e body becomes enveloped in the indestructible e ssence of
Spirit or the soul element it c an
be m ad e wholly pos itive to all
mat eri al l aw s transcending them in a w ay ast onishing an d i n e x
plic able to uninstructed behold ers O f this cl as s of ph enome n a

le t me r efer to the C on v lsi on ai r e s of St M edard ; th e hist or of

y

the French Prophets of Avi gnon ; the still more recent accounts

d my self

an

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AR T

2 36

M A GI C

of the frightful m ent al epidemic which prev ai led i n th e distri ct

of M orzine in 1 8 64 ; the now w e ll attested f acts of supermund an e
power e n acted by the F akeers Brahmins an d ecstatic s of the
E ast an d m any of the inexplic abl e physic al an d m ent al phenom
en a attributed to mon astic ecsta tics

Amongst the C on v lsi on ai r es of St M ed ard an d the pos

se ssed pe as an ts of M orzin e one of the most f amili ar demon stra
tions of an extra mundane condition w as the delight an d app a r
ent relief which the sufferers represented themselves as experi
e n ci n g
wh en blows violent en ough as i t w o ld seem to h ave
crushed them bone by bone were adm i nistered to them At th e
tomb of the Abbie Paris an d amongst the fren zied p atients of
M orzine th e most p athetic app eals would be made th at powerful
men would pound their bodies with huge m allets an d the cries

?
of He avier yet good brother ! he a vier yet for the love of He aven
w ere amongst the words most const antly uttered
During the fe ar ful struggle m aint ained by the brave an d
devoted prophets of the Cevennes agai nst their oppres s ors every
h i story wheth er fav or able or ant agonistic m akes m ention of the

exhibiti ons by which C avill ac an d others of the inspired proved

their ability under the afat s of ecstasy to resist the action of

re
The ancient Ch aldeans acquired this art not by an y m agic al
process but by the knowledge of such chemic als as asbestos an d
oth er subst ances which would render the body r e proof The
French Pr ophets an d m any spir it medium s of the n in eteenth
century h ave proved their power to resist the action of re n
der S piri tual afat s Another example if more w ere w anting
of the sup erio rity of n atur al spirit alistic endowments over the
m ost occult m ethods of m agi cal ar t
,

,
.

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u
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A R T M AGIC

2 38

which spiritism w as represented in cl assic l ands we Sh all lim it

the pr e sen t n oti c e to a b ri ef account of certain speci alti es not
found in f ormer sections illustr ated by the f amo s mysteries of
Eleusis an d the Syb i lli n e women of Greece
The S amothracian myst eries d ate b ack to the earli est periods
of Greci an history an d attempts h ave been made to Show th at in
these veiled rites the use of th e lo adstone the secret powers of
electricity an d the t win res of m agn etism were br ought into
play an d hence arose the worship of the constell ate d D eitie s C as
tor an d Pollux
There is little c otemporaneo s evidence however to Show
th at the S amo thraci ans po s sessed an y pr actic al k nowledge of
e ral m agneti sm or und e rstood the use of the lo adstone
ough
they ch eri shed a deep an d superstitious reveren c e for i ts m yste:
ri o s properties of attr action an d repu l sion
'
T h e h i gh es t an d most el aborate ri tes a k n owledge of wh i ch
h as d escended to s from the days of an tiquity were tho s e of
Eleusis an d B acchus in G reece an d the S aturn ali a of R ome
These no less th an the S amothraci an rites were unquestion ably
derived from Egypt an d as the Eleusini an mysteries pr ob ab ly af
ford th e be st representa tion of their f amous Egyptia n model the

Isic an d O sir io mysterie s it is to a brief account of this f amous

p age an t th at we shall c all our re aders attention So much h as
b e en written in fragments co n cer ning these gre at mysteries an d
the gen er al ton e of ever y des criptio n so inv ari ably pre supposes
that the re ad er is alre ady acqu ai nted with the b as ic ide as upon
which it di sc our ses th at we deem it not o t of pl ace to pres ent a
consecutive st atement of the myth as well as the underlying
c i ples upon which these m ysterie s were founded
For t h is p r
pos e we avai l ourse lves of an admir able edition of T aylor s Eleu
sini an an d B acch i c rites published by Dr Alexander Wild er of
N ew York in 1 8 7 5 We quote an abridged account of the legend

render e d b y M i n
ti s Felix in Thom as T aylor s tr an slati c n This
auth or s ays :

Proser pi n a the d aughter of C eres by Jupiter as she was

g athering tender owers in the new spring w as ravished from
h er delightful ab odes by P l uto an d bein g carri ed from thence
through thick woods an d over a length of sea w as bro ght by
Pluto into a c av ern the residen ce of dep ar ted spirit s over wh om
she aft erw ards ruled with absolute sw ay But Ceres po n di sc ov
ering th e los s of her d aughter with l i ghted torches an d b egirt
with a se rpent w andered over the w hole e arth for the p rpose of
nding h er till Sh e c ame to Eleusis ; there she foun d h er d aughter
of corn
an d also tau ght to the Eleusini ans the cultiv atio n
N ow
,

uu

u
u
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M AGIC

ART

2 39

this fable Cer es repre sents the evolution of th at intuition al

p ar t o f o r nature which we pr operly d e no m i nate i ntellect an d
Prose rpina th at living self rn ovi n g an d an im ating par t w h i ch
we c al l soul But in orde r to n derst and the secret mea n i ng of
thi s fable it wil l be n ecesssary to give a m or e ex plicit detai l of
the p articul ars attending the ab c ti on from the be autiful poe m
of Claudi an on th i s subj ect Fro m this e le gant prod ction we
le arn that Ceres w h o w as afr aid lest some violence shoul d b e
offer ed to Proserpin a on account of her inimi t able b ea ty c on
v e y e d her priv at e ly to Sicily an d c once aled her in a house bu i lt
on purpose by the C yclopes while Sh e h ers elf directs h er course
Here th en w e
to the temple of Cybele the mother of the G ods
see the rst c ause of the soul s descent n amely the ab andoning
of a life wholly according to the high er int ellect which is occultly
sign ied by th e s e par ation of Pr os e r pin a from Ceres
Afte r ward
we ar e told th at Jupiter instructs Venu s to go to th i s abode an d
betray Pros er pina from her retir em ent th at Pl to m ay be enab l ed
to carry her away ; an d to prevent an y suspicion in the Virgi n s
m i nd he c omma nds Di an a an d P all as to
in
comp
n y
T
he
o
a
g
three g oddes sses arriving n d Proserpin a at work on a s carf f or
h er mother ; in which she h ad emb roi dered the pri m i tive ch aos
an d the f orm ation of the world
N ew b y Venus i n thi s p art of
the n arration we m st underst and desire which even in th e cele s
ti al regions ( for such is the r e si dence of Proserpin a till she is r a v
i sh e d by Pluto ) be gins S ilent ly an d ste al thily to cree p int o the
recesses of the soul By M in erva we must c onceive the r ation al
pow er of the soul an d b y Di an a n ature or th e merely n atur al
an d veget able p art of our composition
both
w
ich
now
h
a
r
e
en
;
sn ared through th e allurement s of desi re A n d l astly the web
in which Proserpi n a h ad displ ayed all th e fai r v ari et y of the m ate
ri al world be autifully repres e nts th e commencemen t of the illu
sive op er ations through which the soul becomes ensn ared with the
be auty of im agi n ative forms
Proserpina, forgetful of h er p arent s commands i s r e pr e
sented as venturi n g from h er retre at through th e tre ach erous per
suasions of Venus
After this w e behold h er issuing on the p l ai n with M in
e r va an d Di an a an d attended by a be auteou s tr ai n
of n ymphs
w h o ar e evid e nt symbols of th e world of
ener
tion
a
an
d
ar
e
g
theref or e the proper c ompanions of the soul about to fall into
its uctuati n g realms
B t th e design o f Pr oserpin a i n v enturing from h er r etre at
i s b eautif lly signic ant of her appro aching desc e nt ; for she r am
bles fr om home for the purpose of gather i ng owe rs ; an d this i n
in

'

u
u

AR T M A G IC

l awn repl ete with the most ench anting v ar iety an d exh aling
the m ost delicious odors This is a m anifes t im age of the so l
operating princip ally according to the n atural an d external life
an d so becoming effemin ated an d ensn ared through the delusive
M inerva ( the ration al faculty in this
a ttra ctions of s e nsible form
c as e ) likewise gives herself wholly to the d angerou s employmen t
an d ab andons the proper ch ar acteristi cs of h er n ature for the de
structive revels of desire
After this Pluto forcing h i s p ass age through the ea rth
seizes on Proserpina an d c ar rie s her aw ay wi th him n otwi th
st anding the resistence of M iner va an d Di an a They indeed
ar e forbid by Jupiter who in thi s pl ace signies F ate to att e mpt
h er deliv e ran ce
Pluto hurries Proserpin a into the i nfern al regi ons ; in other
words the soul is sunk into the pro found depth an d d arkness
of a m ateri al n ature A des cri ption of her m ar ri age nex t suc
c e eds her union with the d ark tenement of the body
Night is with great be auty an d prop riety introduc e d as
st anding by the nupti al couch an d conrming the oblivious
le ague F or the s cul through h er union with a material body
becomes an inh abit ant of d arkness an d subj ect to the e mpire of
n i ght ; in consequence of w hich sh e dwells wholl y with delus i ve
ph antoms an d till sh e bre aks her fetters is deprived of the intu
i ti v e perception of that which is re al an d true
The re ader m ay observe h ow Proserpin a being repr es ented
as conned in the d ark recess of a p ri son an d bound w ith f e tters
conrms the expl an ation of the fable here given as s ym bolic al
of th e descent of the soul ; for such as w e h ave already l argely
proved is th e co n dition of the soul from i ts union with the body
a ccording to th e uniform testimony of the m o s t anc i ent
h
i
l
os o
p
h
r s an d priests
e
p
After th i s th e wander ings o f Cere s for th e discov ery o f
Proserpin a commence Begirt with a se rpent an d bearing two
lighte d torc h es in h er h ands Sh e commences her se arch by nigh t
i n a c ar drawn by dr agons
T h e t e ars an d l amenta tions of Ceres
in her course ar e symbolic al both of the providenti al operations
of int e llect about a mort al n atur e an d the mis eri es with w hich
such O p er ations ar e attended

Thes e sa cred rite s occupie d th e sp ac e of n i ne d ays in thei r

!
c elebr ation ; an d this
doubtless bec ause according to Homer
a

H ym
th

e e ar t

to C e r e s
F or
a n d w h e n th e

i in g

uul

br n
g
A p le l

er,

n e ws

s a so e x

pl a i n

i n e day s di d h oly
i n t h sh i n i n g m o r n

t h a t at t h

De m e te r

ad c

i n i ti a ti o n i n

om e

to t h

pe
,

r am

b l a te

e c a te m e t

M y st e r

ie s of

A R T M AGIC

2 42

Again according to Cleme n s Alexa n drinus the following

confession w as m ade by the Initi ate in these s acred rites in an

swer to the interrogations of the Hieroph ant :I h ave f asted ; I

h ave dr ank the C y c e on ; 1 have t aken out of th e Cista an d pl aced
wh at I h ave t ak en out into the C al athus ; an d altern ately I h a ve
t ake n out of the C al athu s an d p t int o the Cist a
We m ay e as ily perceive th e me aning of the mystic c on fe s
sion I have f asted ; I h ave drank a m i ngled potion etc for by
the former p art of the ass ertion no more is me ant th an that the
h i gh e r intellect previous to imbibing of oblivion through th e de
c e pti v e ar ts of a corp oreal life absta ins from all m ateri al concer n s
an d does not m i ngle itself w ith even the nec ess ary d elights of the
body And as to the l atter i t alludes to the descent of Proserp in a
to H ades an d her r e ascent to th e abodes of her mother Cer es :
th at is to the outgoing an d return of the Soul altern ately falling
into gene r ation an d a scending thence int o the intelligible worl d
an d becomi ng perfectly restored t o her di v ine an d intellectu al
n ature F or the Cist a cont ained the most arc ane symbols of the
Mysteries into wh i ch it w as unl aw ful for the profan e to look
!
A S to its contents
we le arn from the hymn of C allimach s to
Ceres th at they w ere formed from gold which from its inco r
evident symbol of an immateri al n ature And
r pti b i li ty is an
w as
a s to the C al athus or b asket this as we ar e told by Cl au di an
fi lle d with the spoils or fr it s of th e eld which ar e m anifest sym
bols of a life corpore al an d e ar thly So that the c andid at e by
confessing th at he h ad t aken from the Cist a an d pl aced what he
h ad t aken int o the C al athus an d the contr ary occultly ack n ow l
e dged the descent of h i s soul from a condition of being supr a
m ateri al an d immorta l into one m ateri al an d mort al ; an d th at
on th e contrary by living according to the purity which the Mys
t eri es inculc ated he should r e ascend to th at perfectio n of h is

n ature from which he h ad unh app i ly fallen

Throughout th i s c ri o s fable it m s t be b orn e in m i nd th a t
the Egypti an s Greeks an d all ancient as well as cl assic n ation s
b elieved in the doctrines recited i n th e e arlier sections of this
work namely :
th at the Soul h ad onc e existed in a purely spirit
al st at e ; th at tem pted by the de m an ds of sense it h a d ye arned

for mor tal bir th descend e d or fallen into an e arthly condition

,

u
,

uu

T h e e p o p t l oo k i g
s
p e n t a n e g g a n d th e p h a l l u
p on t h e s e w a s r a p t w i t h a w e a s c o te m pl a t i g i th e sy m b ol s t h e
u
t o o k a la s c
de e p e m y s te i e s o f a ll l i f e or b e i g o f a g os s e r t m p e
i ou
T hu
s i m p e ss i o
h e b e h l d w i t h t h e e y e s o f s e se o
s a s a se e
Se n t i m e t :
a n d th e r e a l a po c a l y p s e w a s t h e r e f o e th a t m a d e to h m e l f
of h i s ow n m o a l l i f e a n d c h a a c te r

g o ld e

se r

r,

rv

A R T M AGIC

243

by i ts prob ation ary su ffering s an d tri als on e arth regained

the P aradis aic al b liss from which it h ad f allen (vide sections 2
These ide as ar e represent e d in the myth of Proserpi n e
an d
At
an d constituted the chief legend of all the ancient mysteries
the point ho w ever where our quotation s cea se it is proper to
st ate that the dram a proceeds a fter a fashion the di rect si m pli c
ity of which is a p ar t of th at arc anum wher ein the ancients r epr e
sented th e Soul s alli ance with an d birth into mat eri al form
through e art hly g ener ation
The pl ainness of speech an d characteristic n ature of the
symbols employed would prove revolting to our mod ern sense of
propriety ; but most le arned comment ators admit th at the ancients
sought to strengthen the Soul against sensu al indulgence by
f amili ari zing the mind with ide as an d for ms conn ected with sen
su al rites
Jam b li ch s excuses this p art of the myst eries an d es peci ally
the dramatic scenes which depict the descent of the Soul into
e arth through hum an gener ation by s aying :
Exh i bition s of this kind in th e Mysteries were designed to
free s from licentious p assio n s by gr atifying the Sight an d a t
the s ame time v anquishing desire through the awful s an ctity
with which these rites wer e accomp an i ed ; for the proper w ay of
freeing ourselves from the p as s i ons is :
rst to indulge them with
moderation by which me ans they becom e s atised ; listen as it

were to persuasion an d p assion m ay thus be entirely removed

The mysteries were divided int o tw o sections of which the
rst or l ess er mysteries were mere rudiment ary s tates duri n g
which th e Neophyte w as supposed to undergo those e m bryonic
conditions n ecess ary to prep are him for th e higher r evel ations
of the gr eat mys teries In the rst th e c andid ate w as c al led a

M y sta or veiled one ; in the second he bec ame an E O pta or

p
Seer an d w as henceforth deemed exalted to the highest att ain able
knowledge of hum an life an d de stiny an d th e highest condition
of purity which ceremoni al rites c o ld typify
The chief ai m in thes e celebrations w as to im press the Neo
phyte throughout with th e s acredness an d divine sign i c ance of
life generation the generative functions an d all the rites an d
symb ols thereto belongin g
The ministering priests were all perso n s of th e p rest lives
an d most ascetic h abits
Their g arm ents an d vessels were c on se
crated their orn aments of the most splendid char acter an d their
p erform ances dign ied with a lofty be ari ng impossibl e to be

descri bed
All who took p art in these rit e s were required to be
of pure li f e an d unspotted n ame No n oto ri o sly evil d e er could
an

u
,

A R T M AGIC

2 44

be

dmitted even to the les ser mysteries

every c andid ate

w as requir e d to observ e long f asts strict asceticism prep are for
th e ceremonies by abl tions an d m any
ri c ati on s an d pres ent
p
themselves unspo tted in mind body an d garm en ts an d crowned
w i th freshly gathered wre at h s of myrtle
The Temple devoted to this p rpos e w as v ast an d gorgeous
It w as f ull of magni fi cent h alls solemn crypts long g all eri es
winding p ass ages ascending an d descending fearful preci pices
steep rocks an d g loom y cav er n s
The whole order of these wonderful buildings w as des igned
to typify th e procession of the Soul s sp i ri tu al o ri gin descent in to
m atter i ts str ggles tri als tempt ations new bi r th n al regen

a
an
d r e as cent to th e supern al glori e s of the Elysi an
cr tion
re alms from which it w as assumed to ha ve f allen During th e
rites the Neophyt e w as conducted through scenes most ter rible
to endure most trying to all senses Sometimes he w as envel
O ped i n
thick d arkness an d ass ailed with sh ri eks gro ans w ai ls
an d l ament a tions s y mbolic al of the desp ai ri ng condi tion of the
lost Soul s peering through ames an d torments in th e re alms of
Pluto
Pe als of cr ashing thunder distracted him with t error ; forked
lightnings gle amed tf lly through d arksome abodes revealing
the form s of hissing serpents feroc i ous be asts an d sh e e ted spe e
t res doomed to perdition
O ne of th e n al scenes of this treme
dous Drama w as the descent of the app alled Neophyte thr ough
a ri fted rock designed to ty pify th e Y oni an d thence through a
ro gh an d n arrow cleft the struggli ng victim emerged in to a
fe arful an d unknown re alm th e pe ri ls of which he could o n ly
Surmise by th e awful stillness around him broken by low gro ans
an d convulsive sobs designed to s ig n ify the agonies of new birth
Draw n through the s acred
an d a physic al process of reg e ner a tion
wat er s of a new b ap tism an d borne onw ard by invisible con due
tors the h alf de ad Initi ate w as left for awhile to r epose after the
tremendous str ggle of nal em er gem en t through the S to ny m a t
rix It w as unquestion ably from this gre at centr al idea of the
ancient mysteries th at the Christi an s h ave derived their doctrines
of the new birth an d regener ation ; word s which to all b t tr e
Initi ates ar e merely w ords an d signic ant of nothing more th an
a senseless mystery
After the gre at n al tri al the Soul by p assing through th e
w as deemed to h ave becom e sp otle ss an d
allego ri c al new birth
innocent as a b ab e Holy hymns wer e ch anted eloq ent appe als
to th e Initi ate s c onst ancy an d virtue were uttered ; he w as usher ed
i n to a magn icent Temple where a coloss al im age of the glorio s
a

an

uu

'

AR T

24 6

MA GI C

the gr aceful im agery sp arkling fancy an d abund ant Mytho l ogy

of Greek Spiritism abounds with we ar e only privileged to p au se
for one more notice an d th at i s of the f amous Sibylline wome n
by whom the O racles of Greece we r e delivered for so m any centu
ries an d for thi s purpose we select a few e xcerpts fro m a compre
h e n si v e an d a thentic sketch t aken from the Western St ar befo re

quoted an d written by the uen t pen of Emm a H ardinge B r i

ten :
T H E C U M AEAN SIB YL A N D T H E P YTHIA or DE LPHI
Some cl as sic al authors h ave limi ted th e number of Si b yls
to four but the generality of anci e nt writers give a lis t of ten
to whom they as sign n ames accordi ng to t h e countri es of the ir
birth Varr o thus enumerates them :

The Delphi an elder an d younger ; the C i m eri an an d two

Sibyls both n amed E r yth r aen ; the S ami an th e C m ae an the
H e lle spon ti an
the Phrygi an an d the Tibur tine O f all thes e
the Cum aean an d the Delphi an h ave been the most renow n ed
It i s to the Cum ae an Sibyl th at i s attributed the authorship of
the famous Sibylline books the s ale of whic h to King T ar q i n i s
by an unknown old wom an ( supposed to h ave been the Sibyl her
self ) all classi c al histori an s h ave frequently ment ioned These
books were nine in n m b er w h en rst tendered for s ale to the kin g
When he r efused to purch ase them the old wom an threw three
b f them int o the re an d returning to th e king dem anded th e
s ame p ri c e as before for the remaining si x The oer being still
refused the unknown destroyed three more of her singul ar war es
dem anded the s am e price for th e three
an d ag ain retur n i ng
which s h e h ad asked in th e rst inst ance for th e whol e nine
Str ck with the oddity of this proceeding T ar q i n i s p aid th e
price dem anded but no sooner bec ame p os sessse d of the books
th an the old w om an who h ad sold t h em dis appe ared
O n ex amin ation the contents of the volumes proved to be
th e v aticin ations of the renowned Sibyls an d so gre at w as th e
v alue set upo n these writings th at T ar q i n i s appointed two of
c i als espe ci ally charged with the du ty of gu arding them an d only
permitting them to be inspected an d cons lted by duly consti
t te d authorities in se asons of gre at n ation al emergency
N ot
withst an di ng the high respect wit h which the Sibylline writing s
w ere regarded the ori gin al volum es purch ased b y T ar q i n i s
were destroyed by re O th er mon archs c a sed fresh collections
to b e m ade an d the most c areful rese arches were instituted to
g ather up an d preser ve all the Si b yllin e writings ext ant N ot
withst anding this sever al succeedi n g collections S hared th e fate
of their predecessor ; so it is fair to conclude th at the volum i no s
,

u
,

uu

uu

uu
u

uu

AR T

M A GI C

247

ss of b ooks attributed to the Sibyls an d quoted b y th e earl y

Christi an as well as he athen autho r s i n suppo r t of their f avorite
do gmas cont ained as many inter pol ations as gen i n e wri tings ;
indeed it is q esti on ab fe whether an y of the origin al Sibylline
v aticinations survived the wreck of r e an d revolution which con
sumed the most valuable reco rds of those storm y times O n the
que stion of the n umber of thos e whom history h as design ate d
the Sibyls there c an be no doubt but th at m any pro phe tic Women
wh o succeeded e ach other in the temple services of different dis
tri c ts were c alled by the s am e n ame so th at in fact the c las si
c ation of Varr o given abov e applies rather to the pl aces with
which they were as soci ated th an to the act al limitation of their
n mbers There seems to h ave been some points of di ffer ence
b e tween th e Priestesses the Pythi a of Delphi w and eri ng
Prophetess e s an d the person ages mentioned as Sibyls
The
fact that so m any women of antiquity m ani fested pro ph etic
powers an d were so frequen tly endowed with the faculty of ren
dering oracul ar responses under the af at s of wh at w as deemed

Divine in spiration renders it a t ask of some dif culty to 'di sc ri m

i n ate amongst the v ariety of powe r s from which they de ri ved c e l
ma

eb ri ty

Virgil i n describing the Cum ae an Sibyl s ays sh e w as bo n

in the district of Troy b t went to It aly where for a tim e she
dwelt i n a c avern in the vicinity o f the A v er n i an l ake
She sometimes wrot e her or acles upon p alm le aves which
she l aid at the entr ance of her c ave suffering the winds to sc atter
them an d be ar them whither th e Gods directed At oth er time s
sh e g ave responses or ally to those who c ame to consult her an d
m any ch apters could be written on the m ar velo s accuracy of her
prophecies an d the rem arkable luci dity with whi ch she delivered
her desc ri ptions of dist an t persons an d thin g s In writing of th is

S acred Maid as he style s her Virgil gives the following well

known deline ation of her Coryb antic modes of prophesying :

Aloud she crie s

This is the time ! inquire your desti n i es !

He com es ! Behold the god ! Thus while sh e s aid
And sh i v r i n g at the s acred entry st ai d
Her color ch an ged her fac e w as not the s ame
And hollow gro ans from h er deep spirit c am e ;
H er h ai r stood up convulsiv e rage possessed
Her trembling limbs an d he aved her l abori n g bre ast
Gre ater than human kind she see m ed to look
And with an accent more th an mort al spoke
Her staring eyes with st artling fury r oll
,

M A GIC

AR T

248

And all the God c ame rushing on h er soul

Struggling i n v ain imp atient of her lo ad
And l aboring undernea th th e ponderous G od
The more sh e strove to Sh ake him from her bre ast
With more an d far superior force he pres sed
Comman ds h i s ent ran ce an d without contest

U surp s her org ans an d inspires her so l

Dryden s Tr ansl ation of Aeneis Book VI
.

This Cumae an Sibyl decl ares of herself :

I am entir ely on the stretc h an d my body is so st pe ed
th at I do not kn ow what I say b t the God commands me to
S peak :Why must I publish my song to every one ? an d when my
spirit res ts after the divine hym n th e God comm an d s me in
v aticin ate ( prophesy ) ag ain I know the number of th e grains of
s and an d th e me asure of the s n
I know th e height of th e earth

an d the nu m b er of men st ars trees an d be a s ts

The Cuma ean Sibyl amongst other very import ant pr oph e
cies foretold th at ter ric eruption of Ves vius in which Pli ny
the n atur alist is s aid to h ave perished an d so many cities we re
destroyed She wrote besides many books wh i ch were held in
the highes t vener ation by the R omans an d is sup posed to h ave
been the origin al of the ne st atu e which w as pl aced in t h e tem
of h er
of
Jupiter
i
n
r
epresenting
her
holding
one
l
i
o
l
s
e
C
a
t
p
p
famous Sibylline books in her h and
P as sing over the vivid descriptions rendered by Pl tarch
Varro H er ac li des an d others of th e v arious Sibyls of other
n ames we must now dr aw a slight sketch of the famous Pythi a
o f D elphi who whether one or m any h as been more widely r e
n ow n e d for demonstr ating the f act of prophe tic power th an an y
other n ame i n hi story the Cum ae an Sibyl alone exc e pted
The small town of Delphi in Ph ocis would never h av e
att ained an y celebrity fro m i ts sit ation or commerci al impor t
a nce h ad it not been the site of on e of the most renowned of all

the Greci an oracles th at of the Apollo of Delphi

The site of the once m a gnificent temple so f amed for its
Pythi an oracle is at the northwestern extremity of th e tow n
built on the slope of the be autiful mount ain c alled Parn as sus
Shutting in the crescent lik e i nclosure which comprises the
anci ent site of Delphi i s a v ast mount ai n split as under app ar
ently by volc an ic action an d pres enting two high pe aks or cli ffs

which the Greeks c alled T h e Brothers It is from this circum

stanc e th at the town i s s upposed to h ave derived t h e n ame of Del
phi or Adelphus From the cleft w h ich di vides these two gi gantic
peaks ows out the far famed C ast ali an Spring ; an d here tr adi

u
,

u
,

AR T

2 50

M A G IC

God an d duly inst alled as h i s priestess by t aking her se at on a

tripod or b as in with three c ar s of gold pl aced at the entr ance to
the c avern
Plut arch alleges that the rst an d most celebrated Pythi a
who served the Delphic oracle was a beautiful y oung country
girl n amed Sibylla from the distri ct of Liby a I t i s prob able
th at from this ancient prophetes s w as deri v ed th e n am e of Sibyl
In l ater ye ars it w as found
afterw ards conferred on all her cl ass
nec ess ary to select women of m at re an d s ometimes of adv anc e d
ag e to serve the or a cle the s acred ch ar acter of their profession
h aving been found insufficient to protec t the Pythi a fr om the
licentiousness of the ag e
Plut arch writing of this inspired
wom an s ays :
We derive immense advantages from the favor the God s
h ave conceded to her She an d the priestess of D odon a confer
on m an k i n d th e gre atest benets both public an d private
It would be impossible t o enumerate all th e instan ces in
which the Pythi a proved h er power of foretelling events an d the
f acts themselves ar e so well an d generally known th at it w ould
be useless to bring forth new evidences She is second to no one
in purity of mor als an d ch astity of conduct Brought up b y h er
poor p arents in the country S he brings with her neither ar t nor
experience nor an y t alent wh at ev er whe n S he arrives at Delphi
to be the interpreter of the God She i s consul t ed on all accounts
m arri age travels h arvest dise as e etc etc Her answers though
submitted to the severest scrutiny h ave never prove d f alse or i n
correct O n the contrary the veric ation of them h as lled th e

temple with gifts from all p arts of G reece an d foreign countries

!
A gentlem an who once re sid ed at the spot s o venerated
s with some de sc r i p
as the se at of divine inspir ation f rnishes
tions of the wild region which was the scene of the Cum ae an
Sibyl s v aticin ations He s ays :
The L ake of Avernus w as on ce th e extinct crater of a
m i ghty volc ano an d the w hole reg i on though now fertilized by
i ts w aters be ars the m arks of being r e sc arred an d presents a
most gloomy an d repulsive appe ar ance The clefts in the s avage
rocks abound with c averns exh aling mephitic v apors an d b i t m i n
o s odors
It w as in/one of the wildest grandest yet most aw e
inspiring gorges of these mount ain s that the c avern existed which
tradition afrms to h ave been the dwelling of the Cumae an Sibyl
The sc attered inh abit ants of the surrounding district believe d
th at thi s gloomy grott o w as the e n trance to the n ether worl d;
,

u
.

The

uh o
t

of A

rt

gic

ART

M AGIC

251

t h at th e h amm e r s o f the Tit ans working in the mighty l abora

tories of the Plutonie re alms migh t be he ard ever an d anon r e
verberating through the thick an d sullen ai r T h e dark w aters
of the gloomy l ake were supposed to communic ate directly wi th
the silent ow of the river of de ath the L ethe an stre am m ade
dre adful by the app ari tions of u n blest S pirits who o ated from
the A ver n i an shores to the re alms of etern al night an d torture
Here d w elt the famo s Cum ae an Sibyl an d from the exh al atio n s
of those poisonous regions f at al to the birds th at attempted to
wing th ei r w ay through i ts burdened airs or the living cre atures
th at str ayed am idst its s avage w ilds this weird wom an derived
th at erce ecstasy in which sh e wrote an d r aved of the destiny of
n ations the f ate of armies the downfall of kingdoms an d the
dec ay of dyn as ties
M onarchs an d st atesmen sh aped their acts by her sublime
counsels The secrets of th e unwritten future were m apped out
to her far seeing eyes as on an open p age
The pur poses of the Gods were m ade known to her as if sh e
h ad been their counsellor an d the inexorable fates reveal ed
t hrough her lips the decrees in which thrones an d e mpires crum
bled int o dust as though sh e h ad been the mouthpiec e of the
Etern al O ne
The mournful regions of the A v ern i an L ake were in str an ge
contrast to the equ ally celebr ated but far more attractive scenes
con secrat e d to the oracle of the S n God in the delightful co n
try of the Delphi an Pythi a
All travelers agree th at the neighborhood of M ount P ar
n ass s an d the bea utiful C ast ali an Spring i s of much more ge n i al
ch ar acter sp arklin g as it i s with the sunlight an d fr agrant with
bloom yet there is to my mind an evident connection between
the inuences of the exh al ations d erived from the A v ern i an an d
Delphic c averns The ch as m, so famed as the scen e of the Pyth i a s
utter ances is now no longer to be seen The superb temple of
Apollo w as so built as to inclose an d secure it from the appro ach
of the vulgar an d at this day no sign of such a ch asm i s visible ;
but there are m any clefts in the rocks an d one in especi al which
f orms a deep c avern into which I h ave myself penetrated as far
as I d ared ; but as I descended clinging to its rugged sides with
the intenti on of exploring i t I noticed the exh al ations which aro s e
from it an d soon found th at they w ere beginning to produce upon
me the s ame effect as t h e inh al a tion of nitrous oxide ( l augh i ng )
a
d
a
s
The
following
I
visited
th
t
two
other
c
verns
a
an
d
a
g
y
piercing the mount ai ns in the s ame direction, an d by applying
,

ART

2 52

MA GI C

chemical tests to the v apors exh aling from with i n I found my

suspicions conrmed an d am convinced there ar e chemic als in

these regi ons which continu ally generate nitrous oxide g as

The S tat ely form s of the Sibyl s h ave v anished from the
e arth The white robed priest an d th e vestal virgin n o l onger
o at through multitudes of adoring vot ar ies as mediums bet w een
The alt ar res of the temple s ar e
a rac e of Gods an d men
quenched the coloss al forms of marble deitie s overthrown ; the
or acles ar e dumb an d the books o f the Sibyls all consumed in the
whelming am es of time an d ch ange
T h e bowers of G reci an myrtle an d rose ar e choked up with
tr ailing weeds an d the vol ptuous sh ade of th e l aurel groves a re
deepened into an unbroken night of r an k veget ation F aded
be auty an d living ugliness de ath ruin an d dec ay occupy the
st ately se ats of ancient dev otion an d the sunlight of inspir ation
seems to h ave gilded the p rple an d gold p eaks of P arn assus for
the l as t time ; but the cup of inspiration run dry in cl as sic Greece
is owing full an d abund antly in newer h appier l ands
The links which bind th e mort al an d immortal torn asun
der by the c atastr Oph i es of w ar an d desol ation in ancient l ands
h ave stretched out into telegr aph i e li n es between the worlds of
spiri t an d hum anity ; an d tho gh the modern medium c an never
ll the pl ace which th e Sibyl of antiquity occupied in subli m ity
of inspiration in romantic lore an d he athen splendor she is su ffi
cient for th e age she lives i n ; s f cient to bring to a cold an d m a;
te r i ali sti c world the undoubted proofs of the soul s immort ality

an d the f atherhood of the one univers al God who i s a spirit

,

AR T M A G IC

2 54

prob ability from still older l ands te aches th at besides the Angels
who incl de man y celesti al orders there ar e
a n d Arch angels
between m en an d the lowest condition of fallen or evil angels
intermedi ary Spirits termed Sch edi m who live in the elemen ts
Air
an d were divided into four ord ers co r responding to Fire
E arth an d Water
The rst cl as s belonged to the Fire an d in Germ an Theos

were
termed
S
al am and e rs
They
were
supposed
to
be
o ph
y
wise powerful an d prophetic p art ak i ng very ne arly of the angelic
nature yet not sufciently advanced in the sc ale of b eing to b e
come immortal It w as deemed th at they knew m any of the
secrets of n ature an d to those tow ard whom they were b en e
They
c e n tly inclined they would imp art their knowledge freely
were sometimes s aid to be erce an d even terrible in their wr ath
an d hence were as much dre a ded as courted by the anci ent M a
gi ans The second cl ass were S pirits who p artook of the ery
quality of the rst order but were more properly spiri ts of the
ai r
T h e Sc andin avi an an d Te tonic tra ditions simply dene
them as spirits of the earth but give them a wide r ange of cl ass
an d function an d represent them gen er ally as dan gerous an d very
c apricious
It i s in this order that medi aev al Theosoph i s ts r an ged th e
sweetest an d most popul ar of all the E lem en tar i es those of whom
so m any poets h ave sun g an d tr aditions celebrated the Elves or
F ai ries thos e moonlight loving Sprites whose tiny feet le ave
their impri nt on the green sw ard in m agic rings those imper
s on ate d blossoms of th e e arth an d ai r
on whos e fantas tic an d
h alf mythic al existence so m any thous ands of epics h ave been
f
founded so m any c h ar m i n g legen ds written For ages these fas
c i n ati n g sprites h ave served as the inspiration of the musici an s
sweetest strai ns the sculptor s fairest ide als an d the p ai n ter s
chef d oeuvres Even the royal mind of Shakespe are stooped
to revel am i dst the owers an d bloom th e merry Puck like
tricks an d pretty v agaries of these moonlight h aunting ph an toms
an d the w orld of poetry an d i m agin ative litera ture will miss a
r are stre ak of sunshine from the dre ary p aths of dry matter of
fact n ar rative when pl ain commo n sense sh al l be gi n to reali z e

the duty of exting ishing th e idle superstition of F ai ry l ore

Besides these ch arm ing littl e people whole nations of h al f

a eri al
h alf e arthly beings o f a kindred ch aracter h av e been
r anked in the thi rd cl ass of E le m en tari es especi ally by the Scots
North Britons an d Sc andin avi ans Such ar e the Trolls Nixies
an d Brownies
to say nothing of t h e Pigmies who inh abit th e
low est p ar ts of the e arth ; also the Gnomes an d Kob olds a good

A R T M AGIC

2 55

n atured but very low type of being who ar e sa id to dwel l in

mines c averns crypts where hidden tre asures abound an d pl aces
where met als ar e hid These dw ar sh beings w ere alw ays r e pr e
sented as kindly disposed tow ard h m anity an d espe cI ally prompt
to ai d miners an d other tre asure S eekers in discovering the ob j e t
of their se arch Som eti m es t h e y were m align an d strove to h m
der r ather than assist humanity guarding their e arthly tre asures
with j e alous c are an d using myst erious arts to b afe the s eeker s
for buried we alth ; but as a general rule all miners who ar e not
too strong minded to reject th e ide a of such spi r i ts n i te i n de
th
c lar i n
a t these s b mund ane dw ar fs actu ally e xrst ; th at the
g
workmen often e n counter them an d th at m any of the m h ave been
guided by their friendly lights or directed by the sounds of their

invisible hammers to the best miner al le ads

The author i s in
possession of a v as t m ass of testim ony on this subject some col
lec te d from experiences i n H ngari an Bohemi an an d Cornish
mines in which he h as himself p ar t aken ; others gathered from
re li able sources cont aining n arrati ves of th e m any kind acts of
w arning against danger an d g id ance for good m i ners h av e
recei ved from these subterran ean E le m en tar i e s
Th ere ar e se veral still lower cl asses of impish beings who
correspond to v arious species of anim als an d reptiles an d these

l
though possessing hardly an y tr aits of inte ligence except s ch
as ar e peculi ar to the cre atures of whom they ar e the spiritu al
typ es for the most p art delight in mischief an d ar e re ady when
s m mon ed to ai d hum an beings as low in the sc ale as themselves
in working ill to others
In the gh astly records of medi aev al witchcraft this cl ass of
E lem en tari es were known as Vampires Incubi an d Succubi
They were s pposed to p arasi te on the bodies of the Witch e s

w hom they s erved acting as their Imps or F amili ars

in retur n
for the n ouri shment afforded them an d the c aresses they received
There c an b e no doubt th at the most absurd an d wild exagger a
tions h ave arisen concerni n g the supposed communion betwee n
Demons an d poor degrad e d m ort als who se ignor ance helpless
ness an d perh aps the involunt ary exerc i se of those Occult power s
w h ich often m anifest themselves i n low types of hum anity h a ve
ren dered them obnoxious to the ch arge of wi tchcr aft
To accept th e li ter al truth of all the revolting t ales of such
demoni c intercourse would be a libel upon human n ature but
to deny th at strong an d irresisti bl e symp athies exist between the
v i sible an d in v isible re alms uniting alike the spirits of the low e r
as W
ell as the higher order s of being with m an would be to acce pt
th e t ruth so attering to p i ous e got i sm o f angelic mi n i str y an d
,

u
,

-e

'

AR T

2 56

M A G IC

b lind

our eyes to th at unple as ing correl ative which binds up m an

with the lower gr ades of being an d thus combines t h e whole sc ale
in one interblend ed chain of h armonic dependency

As it i s above so it is below o e arth as in the skies The

U niverse i s an endless ch ain of worl ds in which spiritu al spheres
stretch aw ay from the
above
an d sem i sp i ritu al spheres below
lowest tones of being to the highes t in which embryonic life is
sw arming p w ards to m anhood, as m an himself aspires to spirit :
In this wo n derful O ratorio of Cre at i on
al e xistence b e yond
every key n ote s tr ck by m an n ds an ech o in the c avernous
depths be low an d awakens vibr atory h armonies in the corridors
of he aven above
Spirits an d angels ar e attracted to the necessi ties of human
ity ; elem en tar i e s re ach up to sust ain themselves by m an s super ior
endowments If on the oth er h and he descends by the indulgence
of an imal p assions or sen su al tendencies to the lower re alm s of
bei n g c an it be ques tio n ed th at the cre atures who deri ve in ence
an d inux from m an
should be re ady to r es pond to him in those
p articul ar direc t ions to which th eir own instincts an d impulses
?
point T h e only questions that can legitimately arise in this c on
?
n ec ti on
ar e these : Do such beings a s E le m e n tari es exist a t all
an d c an
they communic ate an d ho ld intercourse with m an ? If
th e re iter ated assertions of S age s, Seers Prophets an d P h i loso
in
the
ntique
an d M iddle ag e s be worth accept ance as tes
h
er
a
s
p

ti m on y i f the experience of modern Mystics an d Seers whose

prejudices do not int erfere to prevent their rec eption of an y form

i
E
l
e
m
n
t
a
r
es
e
of truth deserve credit then do these
exist sw ar m
th rough all dep artments of n ature m an i fest their presence an d
become th e willing subject s of h m an beings when the conditio n s
for intercourse ar e O pen to them The grad ations of element ary
existence extend as we h ave befor e intim ated down to th e very
lowest depths There ar e beings whose rude embryonic life corr e
sp on ds to th e lowest specie s of pl ants e arths stones meta ls an d
m i n era ls
Th e re ar e also two cl ass es of w atery S pirits n amely ; those
who inh abit m arshy l ands s tagn ant pools ditches an d still w ater ;
an d another of a higher type who govern rivers fount ains se as
oce an depths an d all kinds of r nning w aters These were an

Tritons M erm aids M ermen an d U ndines

The
c i e n tly c alled
E ar thly an d Watery E lem en tar i es were as sumed by the C ab al a to
be governed by a po w erful Chi ef termed A sm odi
Th ey were
t aught of in all l ands an d in all times an d tho gh different n a
tions assign to them v ar ieties of n ames an d functions as numer
o s as the v arieties of m atter there i s in all the legend ar y ac
,

u
.

u
.

AR T

58

M A G IC

modeling

the highest grades obvio sly prophes y of

af ter
him though l acking his completeness an d always decient i n
some p art organ or function the lower we descend the more r

It would be di i c lt to convey an
di m e n tal becomes e ach ty pe
t
ide a of the loc alities occupied by this wonderful re alm of exis
ence to those Scientists who a r e accustomed to di vide the world
of matter into solids uids gases ether an d perh aps the still

ner elem ent so vaguely termed Ele ctricity ; but supposing we

were to add to these subdivisions one hundred then one thous and
more an d then multiply th at number by the l argest sum in m ath
eme tics we might conclude by af rming th at Science h ad still
f ailed to nd the two extremes of solidity an d rarefaction an y
more th an the l argest telescope an d the m os t pow erful m i cro
s c ope now in exi stence h ave tr aced the n ali ti es of the inn i tely
l arge an d the innit ely li ttle or the gold be ater with all the
tenuity of his ne st work h as arri ved at the l ast point of di vi si b i l
ity in the atom
Perme ating all sp ace inter p enetrati ng even man s dense
wor ld of solids uids an d g as es , is a realm whose ethere al sub
limations the explor ations of sci e nce h ave never yet mas tered
Vit ali zing this m ateri al world of ours as the Soul ani m ates the
body this subst anti al yet invisible Spiritual kingdom sust ains all
the countless gener ations of human souls th at h ave be en li b er ated
by de ath from the enc asements of mortal structure Between th i s
re alm of pure Astral light with all its freight of living spirits
clothed in bodies of the s am e imperish able el ement is a still
denser re alm neither as gross as the e arth s atmosphere nor as
sublimated as the spirit l and an d yet it p art akes of the quality
an d essence of both
inheres in both an d is indissolubly con
n e c te d with both for between the r aref actions of the one an d the
density of the other o at those str ata of element which form the
world of the embryotic beings of whom we h ave been wr iting
Away up beyond the sunny p aths cleft by the wing of the
so aring e agle ; deep down amidst the cities of pe arl an d kingdoms
of cor al th at p ave the oce an oor ; burrowing in the unexplored
depths of the c averno s rocks wh ere m i le upon mile of mountai n
limestone an d cryst alline gr anite combine to form the over ar c h i ng
roof of the re king s c astle ; i n all th rough all everywhere in
every unit of sp ace there roll the w aves an d o at the winds of
the country inh abited b y the E lem en tari es so that could the eyes
of mo r tality be opened as were those of th e Jewish boy of old in
response to the prayer of Elish a they would gaz e pon oce ans an d
se as of li ving cre atures ner th an the In f uso ri a l ar ger than the

a
a
s
f bled gi nt each i n his place in h i s town city n ati on divi de d
m an

A R T M AGIC

2 59

i n to his peculi ar re alm inh abi ting e ach his speci al portion of
the king dom to which he belongs the whol e c onstituting th e
re alm of the E lem en tar i es
Thes e cre atures c annot ordin ari ly see mortals an y more th an
they c an in t rn be seen Some amongst them endowed wi th
ne r; ins tincts th an others can peer int o the rifts an d r ent s of
m atter an d looking thro gh behold the God like world of h

a
n
m anity just as prophetic cle ar eyed men c
at speci al mom ents
of lucidity gaze upon spirit l and Also they c an be invoked
much after th e fashion that mort als employ in summoning

hum an spiri ts
Ma gicians especi ally thos e who h ave pre
p ared themselves for the control of spirits c an summon the Ele
m e n tari e s an d c ause them to appe ar as re adily as hum an spirits
The powers of the E lem en tari es ar e limited to the pec uli ar de
T
h
ei n g s w h o i n
n ts of n ature to which they belong
e
b
a
r
t
m
e
p
h abit w oods forests an d rural scenes att ach themselves to hunts
men ch arco al burners an d others simil arly employed
Miners shermen s ailors ori sts metallurgists all individ
als who nd their sphe res of l abor in speci al dep artments of n a
ture ar e surrounded by Elementa ry Spirits of a correspond e n
ti al ch ar acter
Persons of peculi ar temperament too attract
di fferent grades of E lem en tar i e s an d thus some ar e speci ally at
tractive to spirits of the r e other s to the aeri al e arthly or
watery S pirits just as the idiosync rasie s of their organisms dispos e
them It m ay be asked how these be ings ar e attr acted to mor
t als if there is no sensuous perception betw e en th e two worlds
Agai n we ar e at a loss to nd an alogies by w hich to expl ain to an
ag e, tot ally in sensible to met aphysic al l aws the intense an d irre
si sti b le symp athi e s which bind up the different obj ects in n ature
prev ailing between m an an d all low er as well as higher exist e nces
diffusing a kind of blind consciousnes s even through the lowest
cl asses of inorg anic m atter How tenderly does the bloss om turn
to the light How will the atoms of m atter seek their chemic al
afnities exhibiting even their preferences dropping one cl as s of
met al an d rushing to another as soon as their favorite appr oaches !
Who instructs the sea gull of the impending storm ? Who
apprizes the terried anim als an d uttering birds th a t an
e ar th
quake is at h and an d wh at ki n d h and closes up the cups of the
owers when the l as t sunbeam h as dis appe ared or w arns th e m to
open their shining pet als to i ts return ? Consider above all the
n ameless an d in des crib able re alm of antip athies an d attr actions
between which our whole system of society an d comp anionship
os cill ates an d then we m ay begi n to compreh end how the h alf
s piri t al, half corporeal creat re s of th e el em ents appreh en d th e
off

u
,

,
,

u
,

ART

2 60

MA

GI

pr e sence of man ; are dr awn to kindr e d n atures or repelled from

antagonistic one s ; revel in the atmosphere of speci al tempera
ments and are driven off from others as men shrink from contact
with uncongenial companions In th e higher teachings of wise
Spirits , we learn that thes e E le m en tar i e s ar e bo r n and die ma r y
r
propagate their species and rear their young even as mortals do
As they die out of earth they ar e born into some other spheres
alternating between spirit spheres and ear ths until they arrive at
that state of perfect self consciousne ss which antedates their bir th
i nto those fully completed organisms cap ab le of maintai ning an
immortal existence M an y of the higher orders of E lem en tar i e s
attracted in the rst instance by sympathy h ave b e come the tute
lary spirits of certain distinguished families an d continu e their
protective care for succeedi n g generati ons This is the o r igin of

n
what h as so generally bee deemed an idle superstition like the

B anshee of Ireland the v i sion of an ar med kn i ght a w ee ping

woman a white Spe c tr e th e n loc k e d for appearan ce of white
pigeons lambs or other nacco ntabl e apparitions prec eding
death sickness or calamity the traditions of which hav e been
handed down through all time alt hough i t has become the fash
i on t o sneer the actu aliti e s out of orthodox accep tance
The R e d Indi ans of North A merica are es pecially distin
for
gua
r di anship of thi s character
i
h
e
d
s
g
Before entering upon the duties of l eadership to their tribes
their young men retire into the w i lder n sss to fast and pray For
the space of nine d ays th e bravest an d best of these wild races
h ave been accustomed thus to await in solemn prepar ation the
visit s of their tutelary sp i rits an d the direction of their future
p ath in life The auth or h as conversed with many of the ancient
of thes e Indi an tribes and they have i n variably conrmed
m en
the report which all tradition alleges namely ; that the spirits who
app ear to the young men durin g or aft er the probation ary days
of th eir long fast ar e seldom human b t though th ey communi
c ate afte r the fash ion of human spee ch or else infuse thoughts
into the mind by the process of inspiration their forms are gene r
ally those of birds be ast or some member of the lower kingdoms
During several of their ceremonial rites at which the author h as

been present their J ok assi ds or Prophets have succeed e d in

n str
i
ummoning
around
them
powerful
spirits
who
could
play
s
m en ts , shake their lodges beat drum s an d create the wilde st
clamor of une arthly voices ; and in all such scenes the Spiritual
perfor mers were sc arcely ever seen by clairvoyants or known by
mediums to wear a h man form T hey were often wise in coun

oo
to
their
ro
hets
sel alw ays pro phetic , and very mi ghty
d
,
g
p p
,

u
u u

'

u
,

A R T M AGI C

2 6?

same perplexing feature s occur r e d in the tr emendous fever of

obses sion th at spread over whole d i stricts causing many of the
unhappy victims to conduc t themselves more like animals than
human beings during their p aroxysms M any of the f e atures of
Fetichi sm and Va dooi sm par take of these dark cha racteristics

and though the author is of opinion founded upon deep study

of the fact s that th e majority of the de m onstrations produced
in Europ e an d Am eric a during th e gr e at dispensation te r med

M odern Spi r i tu alism

though
ar e produced by human spirits
th e m axi mum of all testimony inclines to prov e that the spirits of
humanity are the near est to mortals the mos t ready to ser ve and
inuence and the most efcient to con trol in fact that wherever
intelligence i s rendered i t i s strictly human and implies human
r
es
pi
itual
agency
still
th
re
some
features
of
mediumship
e
ar
e
s
e
c
i
a
ll
s
amongst
those
persons
known
a
physical
f
o
rce
me
d
i
m
s
p
y
w h i ch long since should have aw akened the at tention of philo
sophic al Spiritualists to the fact that there were inuences kin
dred only with animal natures at work somewhere and unless
the agency of certain clas ses of E leme n'tar y spi r its was adm itted
into th e c ategory of occ asion al control h uman i ty h as at tim es as
sumed darker sh ades than we should be wi lling to assign to it
Un fortun ately i n discussing th e se subj ects ther e are many bar
rie r s to the attai n m ent of truth on this subject Courte sy and
compassion alike protest against pointing to illustrations in o r
own tim e whilst pr ejudice an d ignoranc e interven e to stie en
quiry res pecti ng phe n omena which a long lapse of time h as left
us fr e e to investig ate
The Judges whose i gnorance and superstition di sgraced the
Witchcraft tri als of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
found a solvent for all occult or even s uspicious circumstances in

T h e mode r n Spiritualists
the control of S atan and his Imps
with few exception s are equally stubborn in attributing every
thing that transpires i n Spir itualistic circl es e ven to th e wilf l
and cunningly contrived prepar ations for deception on th e par t of
pret e nded M edia to the inuence of disembodied human spirits

good bad or indifferent ; but the autho r s own experienc e con

rme d by th e assur ances of wise teaching spirits imp els him to
assert th at the tendencies to exhibit animal proclivities whether
mental pas sional or phenomen al ar e most generally pr oduc ed by
,

E lem

en

tar i es

The rapport with thi s realm of being is g enerally d e to cer

tain proclivi ties in the individual or when whole communities are
affected the cause proceeds from revolu tionary movem e nts in the
realms of Astral uid ; these contingently aff ect th e E lem en tari es
,

A R T M AGI C

2 63

who in combination with low undeveloped spirits of humanity

avail themsel ves of magnetic epidemics to obs e ss susceptibl e indi
vi d al s an d sympathetically affec t communities
From afflictions of this char ac t er the only succes sful m ethod
of exorcism is through the magnetic p asses of strong heal thful
an d well
disposed m agn eti zersm
Althoug h as we have before stat ed the me ans of summonin g
E lem en tari es are similar to thos e empl oyed in th e evo c ation of
spirits the aims for which their s ervices ar e solicited entirely de
t ermine the clas s of respondents Whether th e spirits invoked
bec ome visible or not the presence is surely there The call i s
always heard and obeyed M an r ules potentially ov e r all lower
existences than h i mself ; but woe to him who by seek ing aid coun
se l or assist ance from lower grad e s of being
bin ds himself to
them ; henceforth he may rest ass red they will become h i s para
sites an d associates and as their i n stinct s like those of th e an i
mal kingdom ar e strong in th e p articul ar direction of their na
ture they ar e powerful to disturb an noy promp t to evil and
avail themselves of the contact induced by man s invi tation to
drag him d own to their own level
The legendary ide a of evil compact between man an d the

Adversary is not wholly mythical

E v ery wrongdo er signs
that compact with Spirits who have sympathy with his evil ac
tions
M any and many a h apless so l which h as shufed off the

mortal coil nds to his cos t tha t his evil deeds on earth hav e
been p erformed in obedience to evil promp tings and th at wh e n he
deemed he w as procuring gratication to himself alone by the i h
d lg en c e of his pass ions he was actually doing the bidding of
E lem en tari es and undeveloped human Souls who by vi rtue of his
subj ection to their will or by reasons of obligations c onferr ed
upon h i m n ow become his r le rs an d enact in reality the fabled
myth of Satan ic compac ts and Satanic possessions
Exc ept for the purpose of scien tic investigation or with a
view of strength ening ourselves against the silent and mysterious
promptings to evil that beset us on every side we war n mere curi
osi ty seekers or persons am b i ti on s to at ach th e legions of an n
t
known world to their service against any attempts to seek com
munion with Elementary spirits or beings of an y grade lower
th an man
Beings below mortality can gr an t n oth i ng that m ortality
ought to ask They can only serve man in some embryo n i c de
ar tm en t of nature an d man must stoop to their st ate befor
e the y
p
c an
thus re ach him
,

u
,

"

A R T MA

2 64

GI C

The author h as in visi on and guided by spirit frien ds an d

radiant Plan etary Angels visited m any spheres of these Element
ar y races
He h as seen them i n e v ery st ag e of degradation an d
progression some almost ready to burst the chryso l itic shell of
their cat erpill ar condition and emerge into that spiritual r ealm
from w h i c h they would be attracted back to matter an d b e born
as men
O thers scarcely consciou s of any higher existence th an
their own, rudimentary beings who would have to undergo ag es
of progr e ssive transition ere they could attain the coveted boon of
immortality
In some of these embryonic spheres th e dwellers conscious
of th e superior exi s enc e and potential inuence of m an and i n
formed by their q ick int itions of the approach of spiritual vis
i tan ts m ade great preparations for their reception and offere d
oblations an d homage to them aft e r the fashion of de i c worsh i p
It will be asked why we allud e to exp eriences so recondite an d
from which we would warn oth ers back as we would guard them
from th e unrest which attends too wide a perception of the mys
ter i es of n atur e
We answer kno wledge is only g ood for us when
we can apply it judiciou sly Tho se who investigate for the sake
of science or with a view of enlarging th e narrow boundar ies of
man s egotistical opin ions may venture much farther into the
re alms of the unknown than mere curiosity s eek er s or p ersons
who desire to apply the secrets of being to selsh purposes I t
m ay be as w e ll also for man to remember that he an d his pl an e t
are not the all of being an d that b e sides the revel ations included

in th e stupendous outpouring called M odern Spiritualism there

are many problems yet to be solved in human life an d pl an etary

exi ste nce which Spiri tualism does not cover nor ignorance
and pr ejudice dre am of
Besides these considerations w e would w ar n man of the
man y subtle though invisible enemies which sur roun d him an d
rath er by the instinct of their embryotic n atures than through
malice prepense seek to lay siege to the garri son of the human
he art We would advise him moreover that into that sacred en
tr en ch m en t no power can enter s av e by invitation of the Soul i t
sel f Angels m ay solicit or demons may t empt but none can
c ompel the spiri t within to action unless i t rst surrend e r s the
will to the inves ting power
After the weird clairvoyant pilgrimages into the secret
crypts or a erial kingdoms of the E lem en tar i es alluded to above
the auth or has speculated curi ously upon th e unborn tri m phs
which Scienc e will yet achieve when h er indomitable researches
shall have advanced from the real m s of invisib le gases into th ose
,

u u
t

A R T M AGI C

2 66

to minister tenderly to t h ose they have left b ehind on th e other

The ties which uni te i n bonds of natural afn i ty the
ants of ear th and their spirit friends an d kindred ar e those of
root an d branch par ents and offspring and c an never be broke n
or superseded in the scale of nat ral harmony
For th e names an d ofces of the Planet ary Spirits who are
chiey instrumental in communicating with mortals as well as
the method of invoking them we refer the reader to th e M agical
Elements of Peter D A b an o to be found in a future section an d
for a concluding notice concerning Element ary Spirits we p oint
to th e followi n g exc erp ts t aken from the Author s A tob i ogra

phy entitl ed Ghost Land

They ( th e Brotherhood) alleged that ev ery fragment of m a t
ter in the univ erse represented a corresponding atom of Spirit al
exist ence hence they claimed there were earthy spirits ; spiri ts of
the ood the re th e ai r ; spiri ts of vari ous animals ; spirits of
plant life in all i ts varieties ; spirits of the atmosph e re ; an d pl an
The spi ri ts of th e pla n
e tary spiri ts without limit or number
e ts and hi gher worlds than earth take r ank far abo v e any of those
that dw elt upon or in i ts interior
Thes e spirits are far more
pow erful wis e an d far seeing than the ear th spiri t They as
sumed that as man s soul was composed of all the elements wh i ch
were repres ented in his body so his s pi rit w as as a whole far s
perior to the spirits of earth, w ater plan ts minerals etc To
hold communion with them however w as deemed by the Broth
er h ood legitim ate an d necess ary to th ose who would ob tai n a ful
understan ding of the special departments of Nature in which
these embry otic existences were to be found Thus th ey invoked
their presence by magic al ri tes an d sought to obtain control over
them for the purpos e of wresting from them th e complete under
standing of an d power over the secrets of Nature They believed
that the soul s essence became progres sed by enteri ng into organic
forms and ultimately formed portions of that exalted race of b e
ings who ruled the fate of nation s an d from time to tim e com
Th ey ta gh t
m n i c ate d wi th the soul of m an as planetary Spirits
that the element ary spiri ts were dissipated into space b y th e ac
tion of death but were taken up in highe r organ i sms an d ulti
mately entered into the composition of human spi ri ts
Pro i es
w as excee dingly generous and dis tributed his abundan t
s or M
means wi th an unstinted hand O ne day di scoursing w ith me
on the subj e ct of h i s lavish expenditure he remarked c ar elessly :

There is tha t mine r al quality in my organ i sm Louis which

attracts to me and easily subj ects to my control the elementary
spirits who rule in th e mineral kingdoms Have I not informe d
.

'

'

ART

M AGIC

2 67

you how invariably I can tell the quality of mines however di s

tant ? how often I have st mbled as if by accident upon buried
tr easures ? and h ow constantly my investments an d speculations
have resulted i n nancial successes ? Louis I a ttract money b e
cause I attract min eral elements an d the spi ri ts who rul e in that
realm of Nature

I neither seek for nor covet wealth

I lov e pr ecio s
stones for thei r beauty an d m agnetic vi rt es b t money as a
mere po ss ession I despise Were I as mercenary in my di sposi
tion as I am powerful in the mea n s of gaining wealth I could be
richer than
Croesus an d command a longer purse than Fortun a
tus Nevertheless th e magn etic a ttractions which draw unto m e
the metallic tre as ures of the e arth fai l to nd an y respon se i n th e
attractio ns of my spi ri t ; wher eas w ere I so cons tituted as to l ack
the force which attracts th e service of th e spi rits of the metals
my whole soul would feel an d yearn for a supply to the deci ency
in const ant as piration for money an d tre asure
And th at is why Professor M w as r ich but did not care for
or value h i s w e al th whilst so many millions who do not posse s s
in their organ isms that peculiar mineral quality which as the
Brotherhood taught w as necessary to attract weal th pine for i ts
possession yet spend their lives vainly in its pursuit
Thus it is that mor al m ental and physic al equilibrium i s

sustai ned throughout the grand m achinery of the universe

I must close this chapter by pointing out to the reader
how n aturally a c areful an aly sis of th e hu m an spirit throws light
upon all the psychologic al problems that have confused th e race
O ne individual becomes ri ch
an d p e rpl e xed the philosopher
wi thout e ff ort inh eri ts wealth nds wealth acquires i t in a thou
sand ways and that without needing or l aboring for it A n other
spends his life in toiling to acquir e i t and yet c an never succeed
No one leaves him an inherit ance h e never purchas e s th e succes s
f l number i n a lottery never succeeds in a nanci al specul ation
M ay there not be truth in th e theory of th e B r o therhood
to wit th at beings potent in the realms of mineral tre as ur e ar e
magnetic al ly attracted to such organisms as as similate wi th their
own ?
I have known on e of the Brothers who pas sed through nine
battles un h armed whilst more than fty of his acquai ntan ces
who had just entered the eld of carn age fell at the rst or sec
ond shot
O ur philosophers alleged that spirits of the ery elem ent s
could av e rt swift blows ( especially such as struck re ) from those
who had a preponderance of a Similar elem ent in them whils t

u u

A R T M AGI C

2 68

others d e cient in that quality of being attracted al l such b l ows

en
h
as
t
e
t
r
o
d
re
They
carried
this
theory
forward
into
ce
d
p
d eney to be drowne d or to avoid the action of the watery element
to become subj ect to a certain class of accidents to be in d anger
from cattle serpents falling bodies and i n deed to all the even ts
of life ass erting that as spirits pervaded e very atom of space and
man s being was made up of all the elemen ts so when certain ele
ments prevai led c orr esponding spiritual inuences were attracted
an d became favorable to h i m ; whereas the reverse of this pos ition
obtained in organ isms decient in special elementary f orces It
was to this cause that they attributed the good and bad luck of
di fferent individuals and special s ccesses and failures in all I
was introduced by one of the Brotherhood to two young girls one
of whom was passionately fond of owers and the other of bir ds?
In the clairvoyant co ndition I w as subsequently shown by our

ruling sp i ri t the crowned angel and the atten dan t spi ri ts who
were attracted to the se yo ng cr eat res ; and I now afrm that all
the fai ry tales and legends of Supernaturalism which have been
written on the subj ect of Sylphs Undines etc pale an d grow
cold before the divine b e auty exq isite p rity and aspirational
gr ace which shines o t through the ee ting fragra nc e of those

spirits that correspond to owers and birds

In a c onvers ation w ith a beautiful M ystic one of the a
tho r s ear liest friends and a ss ociates in the rea lms of spiritual r e
se arch n ow herself a gloried angel the following items of phil
os ophy were suggested :

Constan ce I asked is it giv en you to know what new

form you will inhabi t ? Surely one so good and beautiful can b e
come nothing less than a radi ant plan etary s pi ri t

I shall be the same Consta n ce I ev er w as she replied

I
am an immort al spirit now al though bound in m ateri al chai n s
withi n this frail body

Const ance you dream D eath is th e end of individuali ty

spi ri t may be must be t aken up by the bright realms of
st ar ry being but never as th e C onstance you now ar e

Forever an d forever Loui s I shall be ever the same ! I

have seen worlds of being these M agi ans do n o t dream of Worlds
of bright resurrected human souls upon whom death h as h ad no
power save to di ssolve the earthly ch ai ns that held them in tene
m ents of clay I h ave seen the soul world ; I have seen that it is
imp eri shable

Loui s; there are in these grasses beneath our feet spiritual

essences that never die In my moments of happiest lucidi ty my
soul winged through space and pierced into a brigh t er inte ri or
,

'

u u

AR T

2 70

AGIC

XVI I I

SE C T I O N

SP I R I T I SM A N D M A G I C I N T R A N SI T I O N A L E R A S

F T SPIRI T OF PER SEC U T ION IN CHRI ST I A N CHURCHE S

C A U SE S OF T H E UNPOPULA RIT Y OF SPIRI T I SM A LCHEMI ST S
E
T H E P H ILO SOPHER S ST O N E A N D ELIXIR VI T Z

WI T CHC RA

'

The history Of Spiri tism and M agi c recedes fro m view and
becomes dim to the eye Of the supercial observer as the n i ght of
ruin and dec ay deepens into impenetrable gloom and settles over
the Splendid O rient and the classic be auty of Greece and R ome
With the e xtinction Of national life an d glory in these on e s
powerful dynasties the Spiritualistic inuences they di ffused
throughout th e world seem to wane and nally vani sh from th e
page Of history becoming only a memory a tradition or a sacred
I n y th
But this absence Of metaphysical life from physical history
is more apparent than real M any causes combined to pr ejudice
public Opinion again st the belief in Spiritism yet Spiri tis m
stretching forward in one unbroken chain Of inuence from an
cient to m od e rn times has never c eased to exist and the ch anges
effected by altered conditions altered Opinions and the ri se and
fall of dynasties have no more succeeded i n obliterating spiri t
manifestation s from the page Of h uman destiny than the over
shadowing pall of midnight crushes out the fragran ce and bloom
O f the owers it e ffectually conceals
The early Christian F athers not only retained their faith in
the power an d m i n i str y of Angels and Spirits on e ar th but th ey
proved that faith by the works of the Spirit which they per
formed as their M aster commanded them and for some centuri es
after His death they looked w ith suspicion on those who failed
to render this important testimon y to their belief in Christian ity
Tertullian one of the most zealous of the second centur y
an
ers on s call
con v ert s to C h ri sti anity sternly advi sed that,
y p
,

ART

AGIC

271

them
or
se lv es Christians w h o could n ot even expel demons
g

heal the Sick should be p t to death as impostors

The celebrated Bishops M ontanus and Gregory O rigen St
M artin Theophilus an d numero s other eminent Christian F ath
e r s urged tha t the s ame tests suggested by Tertulli an should be
required of professing Christian s They alleged their own wil
i n g n ess to submi t to such an ordeal an d report afrm s that th ey
gave continu al evidence of their ability to sustain their claims
n
e
R
long
Greece
and
om
maintained
an
independe
t
as
SO
n ationality spi ri t al i n en ces ruled their councils and inter
pen etrated every phase of their hist o r y In China Thib e t India
Spiritis m h as never
an d amongst the Northern Asiati c nations
died out and continues in f orce subject only to modications
in the decadenc e of religio s zeal an d fervor to this day
In every land wher e gregari ou s man yet resolves himself
int o nation al communities the exceptional gifts Of Seer s an d
Prophets h ave furn i shed m eans by which spirit visi tants gl ance
athwart the darkened paths Of mort ality Spiri t voices h ave r e
sounded in th e air The semblances Of the buried dead h ave
glided through the Open door mounted th e stair an d ashed upon
our sight lik e glimpse s of moonlight breaking through thick
banks Of clouds Lumino s forms radiant with the glo ry of th e
better land ; shapes of woe shipwrecked w aifs from the shores of
a retributive hereafter have come and gon e forming a perpetual
chain of spiri tual re v elation which ti m e and chang e have never
had power to break The realms O f spiritu al e xi stence have n ever
been without some witnes s in human consc i ousness Blan k ma
teri ali sm or bigo t ed ecclesiasticism have never had th e excuse to

say in any decade O f time

The vision is closed ; th e gates of

the eternal pity are shut ; th e canon of rev el ation is ended

M agic as an art may have b eeh pursued in the middl e ages
only at spasmodic interv als and that under th e ban Of the church
and the pro h i bitory frown Of the State
We ar e not writing the hi story Of S piriti sm and M agic other
wise we c ould as sign reas ons in abundan ce for thi s decadenc e i n
the faith Of Old; a few suggestions however we feel compelled to
make in this direction and commence by claiming th at the bran d
of reprobation rst launched against the name an d fame of Spir
i ti sm w as cast by the hands of Chri stian Ecclesiastics
By int ern al luxury and ext ernal pride the aris to cratic rulers
of th e Christian churches in the sixth and seventh centuries suc
c e e de d in dri vi ng spirit inuence from their midst
and nding
th emselves deprived of spiritual gifts and rebuked by the sigh t
of laym en performing those a pos tolic wo rk s re quired Of th em i n

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M A G IC

proof O f their faith they resolved in solemn council that hence

forth i t Should be unl awful for any layman to attemp t the rites
by the laying on of han ds
O f exorcism or the cure O f disea se
Public opinion once impelled in th is direction soon gaine d force
by momentum
In Great Britain the ignorant and prejudiced missionaries
who were sent to convert the poo r nati v e s to Chri stianity com
m en ce d their work by le veling their bitterest diatribes against
the prevailing worship Of Druidism
The ancient rites Of th e D r uid s consisted Of solar and sex
worship interblended The heap s Of stones sometimes piled in
single C airns someti m es arra n ged in c i rcles but above all those
gigantic rings formed Of upright unhewn stones with others hori
z on tally laid across them were all symbolical O f the ancient fai th
of the Sun w orshiper blending wi th those emblems signican t
of th e Eastern Phallus and Yoni The upright unhewn pillars
,

St o n

Li th oi wer e

H en g e .

Ph allic emblems the horizontal slab s fo rm ed the

mystic Gate or Tau both importa n t symbols of Phallic worship
O ther Druidical altars form ed of stones there were which either
under th e subtle inuence s communic ated to them by powerful
Prie sts and Priestesses or from s ome peculiar virtue in the stone
itself when b alanced one mass on another could be caused to rock
an d thus give responses to inquirin g worshipers just as the mod
ern Spiritists Obtain communications through the movements Of
inanimate bodies
The curio s investigator Of Druidical remains and an cient

faiths will nd abundant evidence to Sho w tha t these Cromlechs

or rocking stones were nothing les s than oracular tables used by
th e Priestly orders to Obtain res ponses from the in visible world
or

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2 74

M A

GIC

pale of th e church and i ts dependencies were at once branded

with the odiou s charge of witchcraft necromancy and black
ma g1 c
The more vague these charges were and the more difc l t
the m ore they struck terror into the mind of an
O f denition
ignorant populace until it was deemed the highes t ac t O f pie ty
on th e par t of laymen to accuse and churchmen to des troy eve r y
hapless creature whom the superstition Of th e time or th e posse s
sion of actual spiritual endowments furni shed excuse s to b rand
with the fearf l ch ar g e Of witchcraft
It mus t be remembered that whilst th e power Of life and
death w as vested in the hands O f civil governments the power of
conferring e ternal life or et ernal torments was claimed by the
Ecclesiastical Hierarchy O f the middle ages
The Church usurping the n ame and authority of Christ
claimed not only to be God s viceg er ent on earth an d t o hold
the keys of the kingdom but to be the very po r t e r and door
keeper of heaven peddling out passports and selling seats for the
divine amphitheatres of eternity to those who could pay best or
c onfer the richest benets on its luxurious orders
If Spiritual gifts had pas sed away from such a C h urch if
i ts well fed pampere d an d ambitious disciples could no longer
p e rform the works enj oined on them by the houseless an d wander
ing Nazarene was not that s f cien t reason why n o on e else

sho uld presume to do more than themselves

that is no one o t

side of ecclesiastical dependencies for it was as much the policy

of such a Church to encourage the prestige Of miraculous gifts

within the limits Of its own holy ring as it was to burn crush
torture hang drown and slay generally all who made profession
O f the same s tupendo s pow e r s outside their special jurisdiction
Ev ery layman who could perform th e w ork s which Chri s
tian ecclesiastics ought to have done was a living rebuke to them
for their lack of faith and so there was but one remedy and th at
the all potential on e Of death Thus perish ed to the number of
nine thousand the brave and d evoted Stedinger a section of the
F ri eslan der s who red with the love of free dom protested again st
the insolent autocracy of the Church an d SO under letter of
autho rity from the Pope and their Catholic M ajesties of Germany
th ey were exterminated root an d br an ch Thus died the noble
Waldenses a sect Of early Protestants whose death warrant w as
s ealed for the same cause and by the same murderous hands
Thus in the fourteenth century perished miserably fty ni n e
Of the celebrated military knights O f the Holy Temple with their
br av e an d nobl e C ommanders J aq es de M olay an d Guy Of N or
,

'

M AGIC

ART

2 75

mandy all roasted alive bef ore slo w res by Christian Priests
and th at under the accusation Of excelling in those very arts for
which the model man of the Chri stian Bible the great law giv er

M oseS had proved h imself to be SO accomplished

O f th e J e w s
adept namely magic According to the most a th e ntic rec
an
ords Of the times an d fr om tr an scri pts O f the very trials them
selves we learn that between the t w elfth and eighteenth centuries
thus perished amidst tortures too shocking for recital and un der
circumst ances that curdle the blood to remember over
pers ons Of both sexes and all ages and that in Continental Euro p e
alone ! These murders were perpetrated by roasting alive hang
ing burning sl aying and crushing They included the destr c
tion of the pure pious self devoted an d Angel led Joan of Arc
the S avior of her country and the ngrateful monsters who pub
li c ly burned her and all thus p erished eit h er being totally guil t
les s of an y crime or char ged only with the poss ession of tho s e
spiritual gifts which the founde r Of Christian ity demanded as
the evidence Of Christian faith
In all lands but those dominated by C h r istian i ty Spiritism
h as not only prevailed but it still exists ; has been and is ope n l y
ta ght as an ar t engrafted on the services of religion and cul
Under Christian rule alone have its hapl ess
t r e d as a science
v otaries powers been crushed out by torture or Silenced by death ;
and thus it i s that so strange and sudden a decadence appears on
the page Of hi story to ha ve fallen pon th e once popular an d 11 11 1
v ersal methods of interco rse whi ch prevailed between spiri ts
and mortals in the early ag es The attitude O f the Christi an M i n
i str y towards the spiritual side of man s nature has been that of
unceasing hostility and presumptuous denunciation ; can we won
der then that a n al eclipse Of faith has fallen upon the people
thus mate ri alized by the v ery power to whom they have entrusted
the ch arge of their spiritual relations or that the soul Of Christian
humanity has become secularized an d its spiritual functions
d w ar fed almost to ann ihilation by such a process Of train i ng ?
T O gath er up the scattered fragments Of spiritual life an d
phenomena whic h have burst for th like pent p res from every
hamlet city or nati on of civiliza tion duri ng the bitter clerical
proscri ptions Of the m i dddle ages would be impossibl e in a book
O f this ch ar acter
Nothing l e ss than a consecutive and all em
bracing history could do justice to SO v as t a theme ; our p art there
fore must now be limited to a few brief no tices and for thi s p r
pose we select ve clas ses Of r e presentative Spiritists who g red
mos t prominently duri ng the middle ages and connected the rst
or ancient er a of Spiritual history with the present time
,

u
u

'

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276

AGIC

The three rst of these are the Alchemists R osicrucians and

M esmerizers ; a noble triad of schol arly men who inspired with
the b e lief that spirit al pow er s and f orces must b e bas ed upon
scientic laws endeavored to di scov er and practicaliz e th ese by
occult rese arches into nature and the reviv al of magical rites and
ceremonials
The tw o remaini ng classes included all those nfortunates
branded with the crime of witchcraft an d unquestion ably in
many instances endowed with true prophetic powers an d nally
the M odern Spiritualists
O f the Alchemists as a class we h ave but little now to say
Although they professed to be engaged in seeking that m yste
rio n s stone which would e nable them to tran smut e bas e m e tals
into gold and by expres si ng th e vi rt ues Of certai n drugs and he rb s
compo nd an eli xir wh i ch Should prolong life indenitely it is
well known to modern scholars that the prestige Of these p rs uits
w a s designed in many instances to conce al a more occult an d
Alchemy owed i ts introduction into Europe to
Spiritual idea
the Ar abi ans amongst who m A lfar ab i and Avice n n a w ere the
most celebrat e d
Th e se men were no idle pretenders to th e He rmetic phi los
They wer e bo th instructed Physicians w ise M agnetist s
O ph y
and profound Psychologists Some Of their cures e ffected by th e
l aying on Of hands and inimitable performances on the lut e an d
other instruments Of music proved them to be adepts if not in
magical ar t at least in th e po we rs of magnetism and p sychology
The rst Alchemi st O f any repute whose w ri tings are pres erved
Arabian but historically
w as G eber suppo sed to have been an
proved to have been a German This philosoph e r cl ai med that
Alchemy w as rst practiced by No ah and transmitted to h i s son
Shem fr om w h om th e de ri vation of th e word Alchemy w as
traced He proved that which the J e sui t Fath e r M artini and
Lengle t d Fresnoy in their several histo ri es O f the Hermeti c
amely :
n
that
Alchemy
w
as b e
v e clearly shown
h
il
h
h
a
oso
p
p y
li ev e d in and its principles att e mpted if not successf lly pra e
ticed in most ear ly periods Of time The C h i nese taught O f i ts
Dossi b i li ty more than two thous an d year s before the birth of
Chri st and many lear ned Alchemists cl aimed both Abraham an d
M oses as brothers Of their c raft
T h e facts were that the bitter persecutions heaped upon
as
all dissenters from the stereotyped d octrines of Ch ri stianity
e nunc i ated by the R oman Catholic Hierarchy compelled the con
c e alm en t of heretical op i n i ons ben e ath some ext e rn al form O f sc i
ence whose semb l an c e c ould give no Offen se to th e r ling p owers
,

u
,

u
,

ART

2 78
all

M AGI C

bodies and recombine them in whate ver proportions the ac

complished chemist desired or if expressed i nto juices and mixed
in such degree s as would preserve the largest amount of this force

in a liquid form it would b e th e Elixir Vitae of which tho se

who partook drinking in the tr e element of life might prolong

it at will or if supplied with a S i c i en t quan tity from time to

tim e live forever !
Had Alb ertus M agnus Thomas Aquinas Geber A r teph i s
Fri ar R oger Bacon and other great and truly le arned students
O f these occult ideas
once beheld a Voltaic pil e reduci ng hug e
bars of m eta l into a few p art icles of ash in a single ash could
th ey have seen simil ar lightning s parks passing through invisible
airs cr yst allizing the m into drops O f w at e r or acting upon wat er
solidifying it into hard crystals could they have witnessed pro
cess es n ow so simple then SO stupe n dously magical and beheld
as th e only visible agent of these w onderful transmutations noth
i n g but a ash Of lightning who can question that their f ai th in
th e philosopher s ston e w ould have b e en se aled into ce r tainty
and th at they would have j oined in the choral cry Eureka ! The

grand Hermetic secret is revealed !

Again had these Adepts beheld as the auth or has a frai l
wasted dying creature extending i ts emaciated frame on the
couch over which the shadows of impending death were falling
f as t an d watched as th e author h as a simple untaught country
m an w av i n g his r o gh w ar rn hands over the h elpless sufferer un til
without an atom Of visible matte r sed a single particle Of sensu
o s c ause discoverable the color returned to the wan cheek light
to the glazing eye the crimson glow Of life to the pallid lip an d
strength to the wa sted form until upspringing from the couch
O f death an d ag ony the s fferer become s a man again quite r e
stored to life str ength and health would not the watching Sages
have pertinently as ked DO you now question the potency Of the
Elixir Vit ae or doubt th at under its inuence th e mortal might

become immort al and live forever ?

With every day s experi ence in marve ls of transformation
transmutation an d chemical ch an ge wrought by th e all potential
magician Electricity with an equal opportunity for experienc e
to those who dare avai l themselves of it of the no less mar vel lo s
pot ency Of vital magne tism as a restorative of health a healer
restore the entranced and
of dise as e nay a very M essiah who c an
semi dead to life again who can que stion th at the Alchemists of
O ld were Pro phets of the new ? and that their labors vei led mys
ti c i sm and occult symbolism e n ly hovered on the threshold of
those sublime truths which M esmer and Fran kli n have since
,

u
u

u
,

A R T M A GI C

2 79

demonstrated and that even now modern science i s applying the

p h i losopher s stone to every act of simple electrotyping and mod
magnetizers are administering draughts of the Elixir Vitae
ern
with ev ery wav e of their life b ri nging hands
I t boots n ot now to rehearse the names and exploits Of th e
many wise and patient scholars whose heretic al beliefs w ere nec
an d
e ssari ly hidden under the jar g on of alchemical discourses
pre tended rese arches into physical science 1 The Alchemists
st arted upon metaphysical propositions an d arguing from th e
ori gi nal sacredness of re the Dei c principle hidden away under
ev ery at om of matter they proceeded to physical experiments in
order to utilize this di vine re and obtain a perfect command over
all the elements O f nature
They discovered in the course Of their v aried wanderings
from th e visible to the invi sible many useful chemical combina
tions R oger Bacon for example eli m inated man y profound
truths in Astronomy and i m proved upon if he did not actu ally
invent the telescope burning glasses and gunpowder Arnold
de Villeneuve R aymond Lulli Albertus M agn us Thomas Aqu i
nas and many others more or less r enowned preserving faith in
the wonders of chemi stry added constantly to the sum of human
kno wledge in this direction besides advancing st e p afte r step into
those realms of power and achievement which enabled S w eden
borg M e smer Franklin Galvani Volta and even the sc of n g
Faraday to found upon th e experiment s Of unknown and de
spi se d builders those triumphant galleries and co rri dors O f mes
meric magnetic and electrical science Of which the Ancient A l
chemists an d R osicrucians laid the foundation stones
,

'

'

280

ART

M AGI C

SU PPLE M E N T T O SE C T I O N

XVI I I

A LC H EM I ST S A N D P H I LO SO PH E R S

H I ST ORY O F T H E SEVEN T EEN T H A N D EI G HT EEN T H CEN T U RIE S T H E

G ENERA L UNIFORMI T Y O F T HEIR OPINION S T H E CELEB R A T E D
G ILLE S D E LA VA L A N D H I S INF A MOU S PRA C T ICE S
.

It would be impossible in a w ork of this limited nature to

cite all the nam es much les s th e Opinions of that numerous class
distinguished either as Alch emists R osi c rucians A strologers or
Philosophers who formed the ranks Of M ysticism duri ng th e
e n te e n th
and eighteenth centuries Amongst th e mos t distin
i
s
h
f
O
th
se
ill
und
rstood
classes
were
Nostradamus
a
cel
e
e
e
d
g
eb r ate d astronomer and an
exp ert Astrologer ; Par acelsus an ex
c e lle n t Physician an d a scholar who either accidentally or as the
result of research disc overed those truths concerning m i neral
and animal magnetism wh i ch M esmer subsequently reduced to
a system ; Van Helmont a truly proph etic person but one who
cultivated his gifts of Seership by the study and pract ice of mag
ical arts ; Albertus M agnus Thomas Aquinas , A r teph i s Arn old
de Villeneuve R aymond Lulli R oger Bacon Nicholas F lam m e l
George R ipley and many other practical chemists who perceived
the possibilities of Alchemy and who distinguished themselves
from the thirteenth to the eightee n th centuries in writing on th i s
subj ect and awake n ing the terror of the ignorant and the denun
c i ati on s O f the bigoted
In the early part of the fteenth century the study of A l
chemy and the practices O f M agic became at once famous and
infamous through the inuence Of the celebrated Gilles de Laval
a marshal Of France whose wealth unbridled luxury and shame
less debaucheries led him to the practices of magical art for the
sake Of administering to the vilest of passions and the reple n i sh
ment of his exhausted co ffers drained by his unparalleled extr av
agan c e
As this monster in human form supplied to the cti on
mongers of later times the original of the famou s drama Of Blue
,

ART

282

M AG I C

lief peculiar to their time in their magical ri tes Let i t be borne

i n mind however th a t such features of each sy ste m ar e b t th e
exote ric forms in which the esoteric principles are wrapped up
They have no re al potency beyond the satisfaction they procure
to pious minds that they are engaged in no ceremonials dis
pleasing to th eir Gods or contrary to their forms of worsh i p
Pro vided always that the m agici an is duly pr epared by fast
i n g abstinence prayer and cont emplation provided that h i s
magnetism i s potent and his will all powerful the spirits wi ll
O bey and ans wer h i m
whether h e conjures them in the name O f
Buddha O siris Chri st or M ahomet The true potency resides in
the quantity and quality of th e A st ral uid by which the operator
furnishes mean s for the se Of the spirits and the power at
the will by which h e comp els beings less potent t h an h i m
self to Obey him With these premises w e shall only add that
after a car eful study of the occult works of C ornelius A gripp a
we found it wholly impossible to reduce their quaint and involved
style to the comprehension Of the ni neteenth cent ry reader wi th
out infringing upon the inte grity Of the text H appily for our
purpose the same idea occurred to a distinguished p h i losopher

said to have been a pupil of the great Agrippa s one who with
much more perspicuity Of style under takes to reduce the m agical
eleme nts Of h i s renowned prototype into much plainer language
A s ther e is not th e slightest shadow of d ifference between the
systems of A grippa and Abano except in th e superior clear ne ss
of th e latter s style and as both were translated into English i n
1 664 by th e same scholarly e ditor R ob e r t Turner of London
England We select Abano s version as th e one which cannot fai l
to prove th e most accep table to our rea ders
All the signs sigils names Of angels etc h av e been fai th
fully copied with th e utm ost c are

ART

M A G IC

2 83

SE C T I O N XI X

H E PT A M E R O N , O R M A G I C A L E LE M E N T S O F P ET E R D A BA N O

CIRCLE S A N D T H E COMPO SI T ION T HEREOFf SI G N S SI G I L N A ME S

OF A N G EL S E T C T H E B ENE D IC T ION OF PERFUME S T H E G A R
MEN T A N D P E N T A CLE FORM OF A PEN T A CLE A PP A RI T ION S
I n the former book of Agrippa it i s sufciently spoken con
cerning M agical Ce remonies and In i tiations
But because he seemeth to ha v e written to the learned and
well experienced in this Art ; because he doth not specially treat
of the C eremonies but rathe r speaketh of th em in general i t
was therefore thought good to adde hereunto the M agical Ele
ments of Peter de Abano :that those who are hitherto ignorant
an d have not ta sted of M agical Superstit i ons
may have them
in readiness how they may exerc i se themselves therein For w e
see in this book the distinct functions of spirits how they may
be drawn to discourse and communication ; what i s to be done
every day and every hour an d h o w they shall be read ( as if they
were described si llab le by si llab le
In brief in this book are kep t the principles of M agic al con
veyan ce s
But because the greatest power is attributed to the
Circles ; (for th ey are cert ain fortresses to defend the operators
safe from the evil Spirits ) In the rst place we will treat con
cerning the composition of a Circle
O F THE CIR CLE AND THE C O M P O SITI O N THER E O F
The form of Circles is n ot alw ays the same ; but useth to b e
c h anged according to the order of the spirits that are to be called
their places dai es and hours In making a Circle it ought to b e
considered in what time of the yea r day and hour you make the
Circle ; what Spiri ts you call to What Star and R e gi on they do
belong and what functions they h ave Therefor e let there b e
made three Circles of the latitude of nine foot and let them be
distant one from another a hand s breadth ; an d in the middle Cir
,

'

A R T M A GI C

28 4

cle rst write the name of th e hour wherein you do the work
In the second place write the n ame of the Angel of the hour
In the thi rd place the sigil of th e Angel of the hour Fourthly
the name of the Angel that ruleth that day and the names of h i s
In the fth place the name of th e present time
M inisters
Sixthly of the Spirits ruling in that part of time and their Pres
idents Seventhly the name of the head of the Signe ruling in
that part of time wherein you work Eighthly the name of the
earth according to that time Ninthly and for the completing Of
the M iddle Circle write the name of the S n and M oon accord
ing to the said rule of time for as the time i s changed so the
names are to be altered And in the outermost Circle let there be
drawn in the four angles the names of the presidential Angels of
the Air that day where in you Work ; to wit the name of the King
and his three ministers Without the Circle in four angles let
Pentagone s be made In the inner Circle let there be written
four di vine n ames with crosses interposed in th e middle of the
Circle ; to wit towards the East let there be written Alpha an d
toward s the West let there be written O mega ; and let a cross
divide the m iddle of the Circle When the Circle is thus n i shed
according to the rule now before written you shall p roceed
O f the names of the Angels and their Sigils it sh all be
s poken i n their p r oper places Now let us take a view of the
names of the times A y ear is fourfold and is divided into
Spring Summer Harv est and Winter ; the names whereof are
these :
The Spring Taloi The S mmer C asm ar an
A t mn e
A darael Winter Earlas
The Angels of the Spring :Caracasa Core A m ati el Com
.

,
'

m l ssoro s

uu

uu

The hea d of the Signe of the Spring :

Sp gli g el
T h e name Of the Earth in the Spring :
A m adal
The nam es of the Sun and M oon in the Spring :T h e Sun
A b r aym
The M oon A g si ta
T h e Angels of th e Summer :
G ar gatel T ar i cl G avi el
The head of the Signe of th e S m m er :
T b i el
The nam e of the Earth in Summer :
F e stati vi
The name s of the Sun and M o on in S mm er : T h e
A th em ay The M oon Arm atus
The An els of A t m n e :
T ar q am G n ab ar el
T h e hea of th e Signe of A t m n e :
T or q ar et
The n ame of th e E art h in A t m n e :
R ab i an ara
The names of th e Sun and M oon in A t m n e :T h e Sun
C om m taff The M oon A ifateri m
.

u
u

uu

u
uu
uu
u
.

u
uu
.

ART

286

A G IC

The O perator ought to be clean and puried for the space

of n i ne days before the beginning of the work an d to be con
fessed and receive the Holy Comm nion Let him have ready the
perfume appropriated to the day wherein he would perform th e
work H e ought also to have holy water from a Priest an d a
new earthen v esse l with re a Vesture and Pentacle ; and let all

or m

of a

en

t a c le .

these thing s be rightly consecrated an d prepar ed Let one of the

servants carry th e e arthen vessel full of re and the perfumes
and let another bear th e Book another the Garment and Pen
tacle and let the M ast er carry the Sword over which there must
b e sa i d one M ass of the Holy Ghost ; and on the middle of th e
Sword let there be wri tten this name :
Alga ; and on the other side
thereof the name O n And as he goeth to the consecrated place
let him continually read Litanies the servants answeri n g ; and
n
he
he
cometh
t
o the plac e where he will erect the Circle let
w
h i m draw the lines of the Circle as we have before taught ; and
after he hath made i t let him sprinkle the Circle with ho ly
water saying :
Asperges me Domin e etc
The M aster therefore ought to b e p r i ed with fasting
ch astity and ab stinency fro m all luxury the space of thre e who le
.

ART

AGIC

'
28 7

days before the day of the operation ; and on th

day

u
u

that he
wo ld do the work being clothed with pure garments and f r
n i sh ed with Pentacles perfumes an d other things necessary here
unto let h i m enter the Circle and call th e Angels from the fo r
parts of the world which do govern the seven Planets the sev e n
day e s of the week C olours and M etals whose name you shall se e
in their places and with bended knees invocating the said Ange ls
particularly let him say : 0 Angeli s pr adi cti estate adj tor e s
mea peti ti on i et i n adj tori m m ibi in mei s rebus e t peti t i on

ibus
T h en let him call the Angels from the four parts of the world
that rule the Air the same day wherein he doth the work ; an d
ha ving implored s pecially all the names and Spirits written in th e
Circle let him say : 0 vos omnes adjuro atque c on testor per se
dum A don ay per H agios Theos I sch yros A th an atos P ar ac le tos
Alpha et O mega et per hoc tria nomina secreta Agla O n Tetra

m
n
eb eati s adi m pler e quod cup i o
quod
bodie
ra
m
a
o
d
t
g
T hese things being performed let him read the Conjura tion
assigned for the day wherein he maketh the experiment ; but if
they shall be per tinacious and will not yield themselves obedient
neither to the Conjur ati on assigned to the day nor to the pray
ers before made then
se the C onjurations and Exorcisms fol
l owing
AN E XO R CIS M OF T H E SPI R IT S OF THE A I R
We being made after the Im age of G od endued with power
from God and after h i s Will do exorcise yo by the most m i ght y
and powerful name of God El strong and wonderful ( here he
shall name the spirits he would have appe ar of what O rder soever
they be ) and we command you by him w h o said the word an d i s
was done and by all the nam es of G od and by the name A don ay
El Elohi m El ob e Lebao th Elion E sc er ch i e Jah T e tr agram m aton
Saday Lord God most high :We powerfully command you tha t
o
forthwith appear unto us here before this Circle in a fair
y
hum a ne shape without an y deformity or tortuosity ; come ye all
such because we command you by the name of God ; and by these
three secret names Agla O n Tetragrammaton I do adjure y o ;
and by all the other names of the living and true God I exorcise
an d command you that you appear here before this Circle to ful
ll our will i n all things wh i ch shall seem good unto us ; an d by
this n ame P ri m e m aton which M oses named and the earth
opened and swallo w ed up Corah Dathan and Abiram ; and we
c r se you an d deprive you fro m all your ofce joy and place and
do bind you i n the depth of th e b ott oml ess Pit there to remai n

uu

u
,

ART

288

AGIC

until the day of the last J dgment ; un less y o forthwith appe ar

before this Circle to do our will ; Th erefore come ye come ye
come ye A don ay commandeth yo ; Saday the most m i ghty and
drea dful King of Kings whose power no cre ature is able to re
sist be unto you mos t dreadful unless ye obey and forthwith a p
pear before this Circle let miserabl e ruin an d re unquenchable
remain with you ; therefore come ye in the name of A don ay L e
b a OLh A don ay A m i or am ; come come w h y stay you ? hasten !
A don ay Saday the Ki n g of Kings comman ds you ; El Aty Azia
Hin Jen A c h aden V ay E l E 1 E 1 H a Hau Hau Va Va Va

P R AYE R T O G O D T O BE SAID IN THE F O UR PA R TS

O F THE W O R LD IN T H E CIR CLE
.

O my most merciful heavenly Father have mercy upon m e

,

lthough a sinner make appear the arm of thy power in me this

lthough
thy
unworthy
child
against
these
obstinate
and
a
(
)
pernicious S pirits
I humbly implore and beseech thee th at
these Spirits which I call may be bo nd and constrained to come
and give true and perfect answers to those things which I shall
ask them and that they may declare and shew those things whi ch

by me shall be commanded them

Then let h i m stand in the
middle of the Circle and hold his hand towards the Pentacle and
say : By the pentacle of Solomon I have calle d you give me a

true answer
Then let him say : By the most mighty Kings
an d Potentates and the most powerf l Princes M inister s of th e
T artarea n Seat chief Prince of the Seat of the ninth Legion ; l
invok e you and conjure you and strongly comman d you by him
who Spoke and it was done and by t h i s ineffable name Tetra
r am m aton
Jeho
v
ah
which
being
he
a
rd
the
E
lements
are
over
g
thrown th e A i r is shaken the Sea runneth back the Fire i s
quenched the Earth trembleth and all the Hosts of Celestial s
Terrestrials and Infernals do tr emble an d ar e confounded to
r
m
ethe
wherefore
for
hwith
and
ithou
delay
do
you
co
e
t
w
t
;
g
from all parts of the world an d m ake rational answers unto all
thin gs I shall as k of you ; an d come ye now without delay man i
festing what we desire being conjured by th e Name of the eter
nal li ving and true God H eli or e n an d fulll our commands i n

t elli gi b ly and witho t any ambig ity

a

u
,

VIS I O NS AND APPA R IT I O NS

Th ese things duly performed there will appear innite Vis

ions and Ph antas ms beating of O rgans and all kind s of M usic al
I n str ments which is don e by the Spirits th at wi th th e t e rr or
they mi ght force the Companions to go out of the C ir cl e beca se

2 90

ART

T H E F I G U R E OF A
THE L O R

MA

GI C

CI R C LE F OR THE F I R S T H O U R
D S DA Y IN SPR ING TI M E

T h es e
hath spoken con
cern ing M agical Elements
But that you may the better kno w th e manner of compo sin g
a Circle I will set down one scheme ; so that if an y would make
a Circle in Spring time for th e rst ho r of the Lord s day it
must be in the same manner as in th e preceeding illustration
It remaineth now that we explain the Week the several days
thereof and the rst of the Lord s day
C O NSIDE R ATI O NS O F TII E L O R D S DAY
The Angel of th e Lord s day his Sigil Planet Sign of the
Planet an d the name of th e fourth Heav en
.

ART

AGIC

29 1

l
l
a
ra
a
r
i
l
H
d
e
D
a
M
:
An
els
of
Lord
s
day
ichael
h
t
e
The
p
g
:
o
Angels
of
the
Air
ruling
on
the
L
rd
s
day
Varean
The

His M inisters :
Tus Andas C yn ab al
The winde which the Angels of the Air above sai d are under :
The North winde
The Angel of the fourth Heaven ruling on the Lord s day
which ought to be called from the four parts of the world
At th e E ast :Sam ael B aci el Atel Gabriel Vi on atr ab a
At the West :
A n ael Pabel Vstael B r sh at S c er atos Capa
bili
At th e North :A ti el A i el vel A q i el M asgab ri el Sapi el
.

M at y el

u
u

At the South :
H al di el M ach asi el C h ar si el Vri el N ar om i e l
R e d Sanders
The perfume of the Lord s day :
THE C O NJUR ATI O N O F THE L O R D S DA Y

I conjure and conrm you ye strong and holy Angels of

God in the name A don ay Eye Eye Eya which i s he who was
an d is and i s to come Eye Abray and in the name Sad ay C a dos
Cados Cados sitting on high upon the Cherubin ; and by th e
great Name of God h i mself strong and powerful who is exalted
above all Heavens and by th e name of the holy Angels who rule
in the fourth Heaven and by the name of h i s Star which is Sol ;
and by h i s Sign ; an d by all th e names aforesaid I conjure thee
M ichael , oh great Angel who art chief R ler of the Lord s day ;
That thou labor for me and fulll all my petitions according to

my will and desir e in my cause and business

And here thou shalt d eclare thy cause and b sm ess an d for
what thing thou makest this Conjuration
The Spi rits of the Air of the Lord s day are und er the No r th
winde ; their natur e i s to procure Gold Gemmes C arbuncles
R iches ; to cause one to obtain favor and b en evolenc e ; to dissol v e
the enmities of men ; to r aise men to honors ; to carry or take away
i n r m i ti es
But in what m anner they appear it s spoken already
in the former Book of M agical Ceremonies
C O NSIDE R ATI O NS O F M UNDAY
The Angel of M unday h i s Sigil Planet the Sign of th e
Planet and na m e of the rst H eaven
,

ART

2 92

AGIC

The Angels of M unday :

G abriel M ichael Samael
The Angels of the Air ruling on M unday :
Arean King
His M inisters :
B i let M i ssab A b z ah a
The winde which the said Angels of the Air ar e subject to :
The West winde
The Angels of the rs t Heave n rulin g on M unday which
ought to b e called from the four parts of the world
From the East :Gabriel G ab r ael M adi el De am i el J an ael
From the West :Sac h i el L aniel H ab ai el B ach an ael Cora
bael
From the North :M ael U vael Val m Baliel Balay H

u u

u
From the So u
th :
Ch
V tu

u
u
u
i l D b i l D qu
i l Hanun

m astr a

ra

r e

ar

n ay i,

el

The perfume of M unday :

Aloes
THE C O NJU R ATI O N O F M UNDAY
I conjur e and conrm upon y o ye strong an d good A n
gels i n the nam e A don ay A don ay Eye Eye Eye C ados Cados
Cado s Achim Achim Ja Ja strong Ja who appeared in M oun t
Sinai with the glorication of King A don ay Saday who created
the sea and all lakes and waters in th e second day and sealed th e
sea in h i s high name and gave it bo nd s beyond which i t cannot
pass ; an d by the names of the Angels who rule in the rst Legion
who serve Or ph a ael a great an d honorable Angel and by the
nam e of his Star and by all the nam es aforesaid I conjure thee
Gab r iel who art chief R uler of M unday that for me thou labour

and fulll & c as in the Conjuration of Sunday

The Spirits of the Air of M unday are subject to the West
winde which i s the winde of the M oon ; th eir nature is to giv e si l
ver to convey things from place to plac e ; to make horses swift
and to disclose the secrets of persons both present and future ; but
in wh at manner they appear you may see in the former book
C O NSIDE R ATI O NS O F TUESDAY
The Angel of Tuesday his Si gil his pl anet the sign govern
ing that Planet and the na m e of the fth Heaven
.

The Angel of T esday :

Samael Satael A m ab i el
Sam ax Ki ng
T h e Ang els of th e A i r r lin g on Tues day :

'

2 94

M AGIC

ART

Angel s of the second heaven gov erning Wednesday

which ough t to be c alled from the four parts of the world
M ath lai T ar m i el Barabo
At the East :
At the West :
J er esc s M i tr aton
At the North :
Thiel R ael J er i a b el Ven ab el Velel A b n i or i
Th

u
,

Vei r n

ul
e

At th e South :
M i li el N elapa Babel C al el Vel L aq el
M asti ck
T h e F umigation of Wednesday :
THE C O NJUR ATI O N O F WEDNESDAY
I Conjure an d conrm upon you ye strong holy and poten t
Angels in the name of the most dreadful and blessed Ja A don ay
E loi m Sa day S ady E i e E i e E i e A sam i e A sar ai e ; and in th e
n ame of A don ay t h e God of Israel who created the two gre at
lights to distinguish the day from the night and by the name of
all the Angels ser ving in the seco n d host before Tetra a grea t
and powerful Angel ; and by the name of his Star which is M er
cury ; an d by the name of the Seal which is sealed b y God most
mighty an d honourable ; by a ll thing s before Spoken I Conjure
upon thee R aphael a great Angel w h o ar t chief ruler of th e
fourth day ; and by the name of the seat of the Animals havin g

etc as in the Conjuration of

si x wings that for me thou labor
Sund ay
The Spirits Of th e Air of Wednesday are subj ect to th e South
west winde ; their nature is to give all M etals ; to reveal all eart h ly
things past presen t and to come ; to p ac i e Judges to give vic
tories in w ar to re e di e and teach experiments and all decayed
Sciences and to ch ange bodies mixt of Elements conditionally
out of one into anoth er ; to give i n r m i ti es or health ; to raise the
poor and cast down the high ones ; to binde or loose Spirits ; to
open locks or bolts ; such kind of Spirits have the operation of
others ; but not in their p erfect power but in virtue or knowledge
In what m anner they appear it is before spoken
C O NSIDE R ATI O NS O F THUR SDAY
T h eA n g el of T h ursday his Si gil Planet th e Si gne of th e
Planet and th e name of the Sixth H eaven
,

'

The Angels of Thursday :Sach i el Cas tiel A sasi el

The Angels of the Air governing Thursday :
Suth
,

ex

AR T

M AGIC

u u

293

r
if
e
a
c
r
i
x
P
t
inisters
G
h
t
a
:
M
M
g
The winde whi c h the said Angels Of the A M are under :
The
South wi nde
But because there are no Angels of the A i r to be found above
the fth heaven th erefore on Thursday say the prayers followin g
in the four par ts of the world
At the East : 0 great and mos t high God honored world

w ithout end
At the Wes t : C wise pure and just God of di vm e clem
ency I b eseech the e most holy Father that this day I m ay per
Thou who lives t
fec tly understand and accomplish my petition

and reignest world w ithout end Amen

At the North ; 0 God Strong an d mighty from everlasti ng

At the South :0 mighty and merciful God

The perfume Of Thursday :Saffron
THE C O NJU R ATI O N O F THUR SDAY
I Conjur e and Conrm upon you y e holy Angels and by
th e nam e Cados C ados Cados E sc h er ei e E sch er ei e E sch er ei e
Hatim Ya stron g founder of the worlds Cantine Jaym Jan ic
A i e C alb ot Sab b ac B eri say A ln aym ; and by the nam e A don ay
who created Fishes and creeping things in the waters an d Bird s
upon the face of the earth and by the n ames of the angels serv
ing in the si xth host before Pastor a holy Angel and a gr eat
Prince ; and by th e n ame of h i s Star which is Jupiter and by the
name of his Seal an d by the name A don ay the great God
ator of all things :and by the name of all the Star s and
by their power an d by all the names aforesaid I conjure thee
Sac h i el a great An gel who art c h i ef ruler of Thursday that for

me thou labor etc as in the Conju r ation of the Lord s day

The Spirits O the Air of Thursday are subj ect to th e South
nde; their nature is to procure the lo v e Of women to cause men
to be merry and j oyful ; to pac i e strife an d contentions ; to ap
pease enemies ; to h eal the diseased and to disease th e whole ; and
procureth losses or taketh the m away Their m anner of appear
ing is spoken Of alrea dy
C O N S I DE R ATI O NS OF FR I DA Y
The Angel of Fri day his Sigil h i s Planet the Signe govern
ing that Planet and name of the third heaven
,

'

'

A R T M A GI C

296

The Angels of F riday :

Anh el R ach i el Sach i el
The Angels of th e Air reigning on Friday :Sar ab otes Ki n g
A m ah i el Aba A b ali doth
M inisters :
The wind e which the said Angels of the Air are under :
The
West winde
Angels of the third H eaven ruling on Frid ay which ar e to
be called from th e fo r parts of the w orld
At the East :Setc h i el C h e d si tan i el Corat T am ael T e
,

n aci el

At the West :Turiel

C on i el, B ab i el,

Kadie

M alti el,

Hup

alti e l

At the North :
Peniel

ael,

P en

P eri at, R

At the South :Porna Sach i el

Ch

er rn

aphael

i el,

R ai n

el,

Samael San

Dor e

tan

ael,

F am i el

The perfume of Friday :Pepperwort

T H E C O NJU R A TI O N OF F R IDAY
I Conjure and C on r m pon you ye strong Angels holy
and powerful ; in t h e name O n H ey [I eya Ja Je A don ay Saday
and in the name S aday who crea ted f our footed beasts and
creeping things and man in th e six th day and gave to Adam
power over all crea t res ; and by the name of the Angels serv ing
in the third host before Dagi el a great Angel an d powerf l
Prin ce ; and by the name of the Star w hich is Venus and by h i s
Seal which is holy an d by all the n ames aforesaid I conj ure upon
thee A n ael who ar t chief ruler of the sixth day that thou labour

for me etc as before in the Conjuration of Sunday

The Spirits of the Air of Friday ar e subject to the West
winde ; th eir nat re i s to give silver ; to excite men and inclin e
them to luxury ; and to make marri ages ; to allur e men to lo v e
women ; to cause or take away i n r m i ti e s ; and to do all t h i ngs
which have motion
C O NSIDE R ATI O NS O F SATU R D A Y OR THE SABBATH
DAY
The Angel of Saturday h i s Se al his Planet and the Sign e
go v ern ing the Plan e t
.

The Angels of Saturday :

Sassi el

ac h atan

Uriel

ART

298

AGIC

OF T H E ANGELS OF T H E H O U R S AC C O R
T O T H E C O U R SE OF T H E DAYES

TABLES

DING

Sunday Angels of th e hours of the day :1 M ichael 2

A n ael 3 R aphael 4 G abriel 5 C a ssi el 6 Sach i el 7 Samael
8 M ichael 9 A n ael 1 0 R aphael 1 1 Gabriel 1 2 C assi el
Angels of the hours of the night :1 Sach i el
S amael 3
M ichael 4 A n ael 5 R aph ael 6 Gabriel 7 C assi e l 8 Sac h i e l
9 Samael 1 0 M ichael 1 1 A n ae l, 1 2 R aphael

nday
Angels of the hours of the day : 1 Gabriel 2
M
'
C assi el 3 Sac h i e l 4 Sam a el 5 M ichael 6 A n ael 7 R aphael
8 Gabriel 9 C assi el 1 0 Sac h i e l 1 1 Samael 1 2 M ichael
Angels of the hours of the night : 1 A n ael 2 R aphael 3
Gabriel 4 C assi el
Sac h i el 6 Samael 7 M ichael 8 A asl
9 R aphael 1 0 Gab ri el 1 1 C assi el 1 2 Sac h i el
Tuesday An gels of the hours of the day : 1 Samael
R aph a el 5 Gabriel 6 C assi el 7 Sach i el
M ichael 3 A n ael
8 Samael 9 M ichael 1 0 A n ael 1 1 R aphael 1 2 Gabriel
Angels of the hours of the night : 1 C assi el 2 Sach i el 3
Samael 4 M ichael 5 A n ael 6 R aphael 7 Gabriel 8 C assi el
9 Sach i e l 1 0 Sam ael 1 1 M ichael 1 2 A n ael

Wednesday Angels of the ho rs of the day:1 R aphael

'
2 Gabriel 3 C assi el 4 Sac h i el 5 Samael 6 M ichael 7 A n ael
8 R aphael 9 Gabri e l 1 0 C assi el 1 1 Sac h i el 1 2 Samael
Angels of th e hours of the night :1 M ichael 2 A n ael
"
3 R aphael 4 Gabrie l 5 C assi el 6 Sac h i el 7 Samael 8 M ichael
9 A n acl 1 0 R aphael 1 1 Gabriel 1 2 C assi el

Th rsday Ang els of the hours of the day :1 Sach i el 2

Samael 3 M ich ae l 4 A n ael 5 R ap h ael 6 G abriel 7 C assi el
8 Sac h i el 9 Samael 1 0 M ichael 1 1 A n ael 1 2 R aphael
Angels of the hours of the night :1 Gabriel 2 C assi el 3
Sach i el 4 Samael 5 M ichael 6 A n ael 7 R aphael 8 Gabrie l
9 C assi el 1 0 Sac h i el 1 1 Samael 1 2 M ic h ael

Frida y Angels of the hour s of the day :1 A n ael 2 R a

l
3
h
ae
4
a
Gabriel
C
ss
i
l
5
Sama
l
e
i
l
h
ac
e
6
S
e
M
ichael 8
7
p
A n ael 9 R aphael 1 0 Gabriel 1 1 C assi el 1 2 Sach i el
Ang els of the hours Of the night :1 Samael 2 M ichael 3
'
A n ael 4 R aphael 5 Gabriel 6 C assi el 7 Sach i el 8 Samael 9
M ichael 1 0 A n ael 1 1 R ap h ael 1 2 :
Gabriel

Saturday Angels of the ho rs of the day :1 C assi el 2

Sach i el 3 Samael 4 M ichael 5 A n ael 6 R aphael 7 G abriel
8 C assi el 9 Sach i el 1 0 Samael 1 1 M ichael 1 2 A n ael
Angels of the hours of the night :1 R aphael 2 Gabriel 3
C assi el 4 Sac h i el 5 Samael 6 M ichael 7 A n ael 8 R aphael
9 Gabriel 1 0 C assi el 1 1 Sach i el 1 2 Samael
.

u
,

ART

AGIC

299

But this I s to be Observed by the way that the rst hour of

the day of every co ntry and in every season whatsoever i s to be
assigned to the sun rising when he rst appeareth arising in the
horizon ; and the fi rst hour of the night i s to be the thirteenth
hour from the r sr hour of the day ; b t of these things it i s
sufciently spoken

h
The
worthy
Pupil
or
rather
tudent
and
admirer
of
S
t
e
[
great Cornelius Agrippa in his introducti on to the M agical Ele
ments of Peter d A b an o conveys the imp ression to the reade s

mind that the Hep t ameron given above w as written after the
time Of Agrippa as a digest of that great Sage s magical method
Those who are versed in the lives and chronological appearances
of the Alchemists ar e aware that Peter d A b an o ourished so m e
two hun dred years earlier than Agrippa whilst R obert Turner s
"
C ompendium of th e philosophy of both w as do n e into English
n early two centuries later than th e period of Agri ppa s birth
Though Abano s method is decidedly the same as Agrippa s th e
Translator has wisely gi ven the former credit for superior per
s pi c i ty of style
hence the abo v e s election of Abano s Hep
tameron !
,

SE C T I O N

XX

C O R N E LI U S A G R I P P A S PH I LO SO PH Y

P A RA CEL SU S T H E PO WER OF T H E M A G NE T A N D WI LLWE A PO N

CA SE OF JA NE B R O O Ks
SA LVE WI T C H CR A F T T H E
O CC U LT
VIRT UE S OF HER B S ST ONE S G EM S A N D CRY ST A L S
Although there are many remarkable features of interest in
the wri tings of Cornelius Agrippa we deem it unnecessary to give
farther citations of magical practices The reader desirou s to
accomplish himself in the M agician s art would d erive b t little
encouragement from a study of Agripp a s works especially as
he repeatedly af rms that a man m st be born a M agician from

his mother s womb

This passage w ith others of a kindred char
acter plainly imply the great M agician s belief that what we have
s o often termed nat ra lly prophetic or M ediumistic en dowments
are far more available to procure co m munion with and con trol
of spirits than an y arts which he can recommend Again an d
again too Agrippa enl arges on the potency of the will to produc e
magical results H i s opinion of this grea t instrument of power
is con veyed in the following quaint passage ;
Notwithstanding the s e of all these Signs and whether
or no the M agician shall mak e every pentacle duly and writ e
every name in order even if h e do speak all which is here set down
in every circumstance ; yet when no spirit cometh it is the mind
of the i nvocant which doth fail him for all these things ar e b t
a s winds which do blo w on the temper of the mind to stir it up

to action
Unless a man be born a M agician and God have
destined him even from his birth to the work so that spirits do

willingly come of their own accord which doth happen to few

a man must se only of thes e things herein set down or wri t
ten i n our other books of occult philosophy as means to x the
mind upon the wor k to be done ; for it is in the power of the min d
itself that spirits do come and go and magical works are done,
.

er ati on

a bold an d scientic inno v ator an d an o ri ginal di scov

scar cely received jus tice at the han ds of posterity T h e
brief excerpt s from h i s treatise on th e M agnet an d
of the potency of th e human will a fford so m e
th e basic ide as of h i s ph ilosoph y

as

rer hav e
following
h i s views
si ght into
e

M A G IC

ART

3 02

PA R A C ELSU S

F r om

a r ar e

rin

t i

th

Str a s b o

u
rg

C olle cti on

He s ays :
The magnet h as l ain be for e all eyes yet n o on e h as ever
th ought whether it w as of an y further se than that of attracting
iron The sordid doctors throw it in my fac e th at I will not fol
low the ancient s But in wh at Should I follow them ? All that
they have said of the magnet i s nothing save What every p easan t
sees ; namely th at i t attracts iron But a wise man must enquire
and experiment for himself and thu s it is that I have discovered
th at the magnet possesses quite another though conce aled power
from that visible to every one
In Sickness you must lay the m agnet in th e centre from
whe n ce the sicknes s proceeds The m agnet has two poles an
attr a cti n g an d a repelling one
It is not a m atter b f indifference
how these poles are applied ; for instance :where the att ack
affects the head it is proper to lay four magnets on the lower
part of the body with the attr acting pole turned upwards and on
the head place only one with the reecting pole downwards an d

then you bring other means to your aid

I cure by this means :
epilepsy de xi on s of the eyes ears nose and all manner of dis

eases
I nd such secrets hidden i n the magnet that

without it I could in many cases have effected nothing

The religious and magical philosophy of Paracel sus is essen
ti ally t hat of the Cabala from which he d erived n ot on ly h i s
views of Creation Deity angelic essences the doctrine of e ma
n ations, etc , but hi n t s concernin g the occu l t s ecr et s of n at r e,

'

'

A RT

AGIC

3 03

which he as a practical and scienti fi c Physician utilized in his

by herbs magnetic crystals and psychological
s ystem of cure
Impressions
Although Often quoted in fragmentary sketches of Paracel
site philosophy we deem the following O pinions conc erning th e
power of the hum an w ill emi n en tly worthy to be noted in a book
of magi c and more illustrative Of the real mi nd of the philosopher
than the vague and shadowy speculations of s o many of h i s fol
lowers In the Strasbourg edition of Paracelsus v oluminous
writings he says :
It is possible that my spirit without the help of my body
may through a ery will alone and without a sword stab and
wound Others
It is also possible that I can bring my adver sary s spiri t
into an image ( wraith ) then double h i m p and lam e him at
pleasure You are to know that the w ill is a mos t potent opera
tor i n m e dicine M an can hang a disease on man or bea st through
curses but it does not take effect t hrough an image of virgi n

De
w ax but by means of the strength of xed will
te r m i n e d imagination is the beginning of all magical operatio n s
It i s a spell from w hich th e re i s no escape but by reversing the

The imagination of another may be

operator s intent

N O armor protects me
abl e to kill me o r save me

against magic forz i t injures the inward spirit of life

T h e hum an spirit i s s o grea t a thing that no man can express it
God himself is unchangeable and almighty so also i s the mind of

man
If we rightly esteemed the power of man s mind noth

ing on earth wo ld be impossible to him

It would be n eedless to offer further quotations fro m the
writings of the n merous mystics w h o ourished fro m the thir
t ee n th up to the beginning of the nineteent h centuries
The
doctrines of the famous R osicrucians have already been suffi
c i en tly noted
O f their existence or even origin as an order we
do not feel called upon to dilate neither would such a discussion
thro w any additional light on that ar t which we have shown i n
former section s to be dependent upon natural endowments or
metho ds of culture suffi ciently dened for all practical purposes
It only remains now for us to analyze somewhat more in d etail
than formerly the characteristics of t h at wonderful and m yster i
ous drama which occupied such a pro m inent place during th e
middle ages under the title of Witchcraft
Although th e narratives on thi s subj ec t are so numerous
and accounts of th e trials in various countries so fully set forth in
th e writin gs of many emi n e n t aut h oriti es, that an y reit erati o n of
,

ART

3 04

AGIC

them in this place would be superuous sti ll we feel that more

at tention h as been giv en to the details of events than to the elim
i n ati on of a philosophy the attempts at explanation rendered by
the Savan ts of the time being li mited to the universal solvent of
the De vil and his I rn ps and those of the modern Spi ri tualists to
the sole agency of the spirits Of deceased persons
When we can obtain a fair Statement and a sci entic c lassi
cation Of the phenomena exhibited in this weird movement , we
shall assuredly nd a broad eld of action left untouched by eithe r
of these i n ef c ac i o s attempts of explanation
In the rst pla c e a large mass of the accusations w ere cti
tiou s especially i n th e case of t h ose vi ctims of the popul ar fury
w hose age helpless n ess and i gnorance rendered them t subj ec t s
for superstitious dread St i ll another class wer e unconsciously
an d perhap s involun tarily the victims not O f b e n e c en t or eve n
undeveloped human spirits whose i ntelligence and humanity
would have led them to manifest their presence in human mo des
but of E le m en tar i es whose sub mundane propensities were ex
h i b i te d in an imal ac tions and deeds of folly and malignity whic h
favored the popular idea of a Satanic origin It must be r emem
bered that there is as much irrationality in Wholesale and ob sti
nate skepticism as in credulity The trials for Witchcraf t an d
the numerous narra t iv es p t forth concerning it prove that there
existed a certain family resemblance amongs t its details which
sugge sts a basis of facts even for th e most exaggerated accus a

tions For example :

The spectres or wraiths of the accused
were frequently see n apart from their bodies The moder n P sy
c h olog i st must be aware that the ph enomenon O f the
doppel

ganger or the app arition o f the livi n g spirit is too we ll estab

li sh e d a phenome n on to be denied
M any of the accused confessed to the pr actice of an ointi ng

their bodies with th e famous witch salve largely composed o f

Napellus Aconite Belladonna Henbane and other herbs which
notoriously produc e the sensation Of ying through the air
M ay we not here nd a clue to the universal idea that these

e
self delud d beings who in some i n stances at least attered
themselves th at they could communicat e with occult pow ers by

occult practices actually induced the sen sations and visions they
related by th e narc o tics they indulged in ? None can deny th at
th e aspi r ati on s after the unknown and the lon gi ng to commun1
cate with the invisi ble world to say nothing of the attempts to
im prove upon mis erable human conditions by the ai d of inf ernal
or an y avai labl e ar ts th at C ould be arrived at have stimulated
human i ty in eve r y age ; hence , let us b e just , an d Wh ilst we m ay
,

'

ART

3 06

AGI C

him ill an d complai n ing of his right Side i n which the pai n con
tinned the most part of that night And on M onday following
in the eve n i ng the boy roasted the apple he h ad of Jane Brooks
and h aving eaten about half of it w as e xtremely ill and some
times speechless b t being recovered he told his father that a
woman of the town on the Sunday before h ad given h i m that
apple and that she s troked him on th e side He said he knew n ot
her na m e but Should her p erson if he saw her Upon thi s Jone s
was advised to invite the women of Shepton to come to h i s hous e
upon the occasion of his son s illness and the child told h i m tha t
in case the wom an should com e in when he was in his Fit if he
were n ot able to spe ak he would give h i m an intimation by a j ogg
and desired that his father would lead him through th e room for
he said he would p t his hand upon her if she were there After
this he continuing very ill many women came daily to see him
And Jane Brooks th e Sunday after came in with two of her si s
ters when several other women of the neighborhood were ther e
Upon her co m ing in the boy was taken so ill that for some
time he could not see nor speak ; but h aving recovered h i s sigh t
he gave h i s father the Item and he led him about the room T h e
boy drew towards Jane Brooks who was behind her two sisters
among the other women and put his hand upon her which his
father perceiving immediately scratched her face and drew bloo d
from her The youth then presently cried out that he was wel l
and so con tinued seven or eight days ; but then meeting with Alic e

Coward sister to Jane Brooks who passing by said to him :How

do you my Honey ? he presently fell ill again And after that
the said Co w ard an d Brook s often appeared to him The boy
would describe the clothes and habit they w ere in at the time ex
ac tly as th e constable and others h ave found upon repairing to
them though Brook s hous e w as at a good distance from Jone s
This they often try ed and always found the boy right i n his de
,

scr i pti on s

On

a certai n

Sund ay about noon the child being I n a room

with his father and on e G ibson and in his t he on the sudde n
c alled out that h e saw Jane Brooks on the wall and pointed to th e
place where imme di ately Gibson struck with a knife ; upon which

the boy cried out :0 father Coz Gibson hath cut Jane Brooks
hand and tis bloo dy
T h e father and Gibson imme di ately r e
paired to the constabl e a discreet p e rson and acquainting him
with wh at had pa ssed desi red him to go with them to Jane
Brooks house which he did Th ey fo nd her Sitting in her room
on a stool with one han d over the other The constable asked her
h ow sh e di d? Sh e an swered, not well
H e ask ed agai n wh y sh e
,

u
.

ART

AGIC

3 07

sate with On e hand o v er the other ? She replied she was wont to
do SO He en quired if anything were amiss with her hand ? Her
answer was it was well enough The constable desired that he
might see the hand that was n der ; which she being unwilling to
Show him he drew o t and found it bloody according to what the
boy had s aid
Being asked how i t came SO she said I w as

str atc h e d with a grea t pin

O n the 8 th of December 1 6 5 7 the Boy Jane Brook s and
Alice Coward appeared at Castle Cary before th e Justices M
Hunt and M Cary The Boy having begun to give his testimony
upon the coming i n Of the two women and their looking on him
was instantly take n speechless and so remained till the wo m en
were removed o t of the room and then in a short time upon ex
am ination he gave a full rel ation of the mentioned particulars
O n the 1 1 th of January follow ing the Boy was again exam
i n e d before the same J stices at Shepton M allet and upon Sight
of Jane Brooks w as again taken speechless but was not so after
ward s when Alice C oward came into th e room to him
O n the next appearance at Shepton which was on the 1 7 th
of F ebru ary ther e were present man y gentlemen mini sters an d
others ; th e Boy fell into his t upon the sight of Jane Brook s
and lay i n a man s arms like a dead person ; the woman was then
willed to lay her hand on him which Sh e di d and he thereupon
started and sprang out in a very str ange and unusual manner
O ne of the Justices to prevent all possibilities of Legerdemain
caused Gibson and the rest to stand off from the boy and the n
T h e youth being blindfolde d
the Justice himself held h i m
the Justi ce called as if Brook s should touch him but winked to
oth ers to do it which two or three successively did but the b oy
appeared n o t concern ed The Justice then called on the father
to tak e him b t h ad privately before desired M r Geo ffry Strode
to bring Jane Brooks to to ch him at such time as he
should call for his father ; which w as done and the boy
immediately sprang o t after a very O dd and vi olent fashion He
was after touched by several person s and moved not ; but Jane
Brooks being c aused to put her h and upon him he started an d
sprang out twic e or t h rice as before All t h is while he remained
in h i s t and some time after ; and being then laid on a bed in th e
same room the people pres ent could n ot for a long time bow

either of h i s arms or legs

Between the mentioned 1 5th of November and the 1 1 th of
January the two women appeared oft en to the Boy their hand s
cold their eye s staring and their li ps and cheeks looking pale
I n thi s man n e r on a Thursda about noon the B o bein newl
y
,
g
y
y
,

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3 08

AGI C

laid into h i s bed Jane Brooks and Alice Coward appe ared to him
and told h i m that what they had begun they could not perform
but if he would say no more of it they would give him money
and so put a two pe n ce into his pocket After which they to ok
him out of h i s bed laid him on the ground and vanished ; and the
boy was found by those that came next into the room lying on
the oor as if h e h ad been dead T h e two pence was seen by
many and when i t w as put into the re and hot the boy would
fall ill ; but as soon as it w as taken out and cold he would be
again as well as b efore This was seen and observed by a mini s
ter a discreet person when th e boy w as in one room and the tw 0
pence (without his kn owledge ) put into the re in another ; and
this w as divers times tried in the presence of several persons
O n th e 2 5 th of February between two and three in th e af
tern oon
the boy b ei ng at the house of R ichard Isles at Shepton
M allet went out of the room in to the garden ; I sles s wife followed
him, and w as within two yards when Sh e saw h i m rise up from the
ground before her an d so mounted higher and higher till he
passed in the ai r ov r r the garden wall and was carried SO above
ground more than 3 0yards falling at last at one Jordan s door at
Shepton where he was found as dead for a time B t coming to
himself told Jorda n that Jane Brooks had taken h im up by the
arm out of I sle s s garden and carried h i m in the air as related
The Boy at several other times was gone on the s ddai n and
upon se arch after h i m found in anoth er room as dead and at
sometimes strangely h anging above ground his hands being at
against a great bea m in the top of the room and all his bo dy two
or three feet from ground There he h ath hung a quarter of an
hour together ; and being afterwards come to himself he to ld
those that fou n d him that Jane Brooks had carried him to th at
place an d held him ther e Nine people at a time saw th e b oy
s o strang ely hanging by the beam
From the 1 5 th of November to the l 0th of M arch following
he was by reason Of h is ts much was ted in his body and n spi r
i te d; but after tha t time being the day the two women were sen t
to Gaol he had no more of those ts
Jane Brook s w as condemned and exec ted at C h ar de As
sizes M arch 2 6th 1 65 8
This i s the s m of M Hunt s narrative whi ch concludes

with both the justi c es attestation thus

The aforesaid passa ges
were some of the m seen by s and the rest and some other r e
markable on e s not h e re set down were upon examination of se v
er al credible witnesses taken upon O ath b efore us

n ed )
Si
O
BE
T
HUNT
R
R
( g

J OH N C A R Y
,

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A R T M AGI C

SE

CT I ON

31 1

XXI

M A G I C A L ELE M ENT S

D IVIN A T ION B ELOM A NCY ELI SH A A N D T H E A RROWS C LE O M A N C Y

G EOM A NCY C RY ST A L SEEIN G B A T H KO L Q C H IROM A NCY

ET C
A MULE T S
S
S
COLOR
D
OC
OR
M
U
IC
PELL
T
S
T H E
It has been intimate d in v arious p arts of th i s v olume that th e
-

ancients attached the idea of occult virtue to he rbs plants ow

ers earths m i ner als metals certain beasts insects and reptiles
colors tones wor ds forms magical names in v ocations spells
charms talismans an d fumigations
Every object that could impress the senses stimulate them
to mantic frenzy or subd e them into somnambulism formed
some element in ancient m agical practice We hav e written Of
the faith which all nations of antiquity cherished in astrological
calculations and nhesitatingly afrmed that the foundations for
that faith exist to day in as much force as in the Chaldaic Era
and that the basic idea of astrolo gical truth is to be found in the
funda ment al principles which bind up the whole uni v erse i n on e
compendious system of mutual interdependencies
Divination was also obtained th rough an immense variety of
modes chief amongs t whi ch were those already alluded to in the
Section on Jewish M agic Another w as performed amongst the
Arabians by the ight of arrows and called Belomancy Some
allusion to this method is made in th e Bible when Elish a the
Prophet in his last hours was consulted by King J oash whom he
commanded to take bow and arrows and shoot forth from the win
dow saying the arr ow of th e L or d s deli v erance and the arro w of

deliverance from Syria & c & c

In the Arabian method it was customary to wr ite on slips of
paper and attach them to the arrows when according to th e
place in which they alighted or th e obj ect wh i ch they struck so
was the inscribed sentence accepted as oracular
At th e celebrated Temple of Herc les in Achaia the p ri est s
,

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A R T M A G IC

31 2

were accustomed to obtain oracular r eplies by the tossing of d ice

or marked stones ; this mode w as called C le om an cy
Cicero describes sever al modes of divining by birds in which
the color the num b er I n a ock the i r di r ec tl on and divers othe r
minuti ae wer e accep ted as a g rl es for good or evil
Sacri ci al rites were in all ancie n t co ntries deemed i n fal
The motions of th e victim his
li b le me ans of Soo thsaying
struggles or submissi on the con di ti on of the intestines the dirce
tion of the smok e an d other items too numerous and too petty to
be dwelt on were all deemed indications Of the deepest moment
and on the m often depended the fate of nations and the destiny
of Kings There were several modes of divination by wat er by
the swinging of rings or other light o b j e cts suspended from
sacred books which were deemed infallible as portents To this
Species of chance divination belongs that method so elaborate ly
described b y Cornelius Agrippa but invented ages be fore his time

called Geomancy that is divination by points or dots set down

at random Thi s m ode Was supposed to be practiced by the Per
sian M agi w h o made clefts in the ground and then from th e
numbers of marks found they composed a magical gure which
they interpreted into an oracle From the use of th e ground as

the tablet of inscr ip t ion comes the term Geomancy

En dless are th e practices by which the ancients sought to oh
tain that divine direction which they prized far above all earthly
counsel or human judgment They c lti vated the art of crys tal
seeing gazing into mirror s and still water to obtain visions
They attached especial importan ce to dreams and Often accepted
as oracular the voices of passers by and the s entences they
t
ter e d as they sat w aiting by the waysi de or at the gates of their

Temple s for a Sign

This method am ongst the Jews w as
termed Bath K01 or the Daughter of a voice an d was used b y
them when the mysterious tones of the spirit who was wont to
speak from bet w een the Cherubim and Seraphim became hushed
fore v er
Chiromancy or the art of divining by the lines of the hand
still maintains its hold upon the faith of a goodly number of m od
ern votaries Amongst the Syb illi n e people skillful to a pro v erb
in this art are the G ipsies of Englan d the Zingari of Spain and
th e Bohemians of Paris
The success Of the se vagrant wanderers
in reading the character and not unfrequently th e des tiny of
those whose hands t hey examine has often been attributed to
clairvoyance a gift peculiar to most nomadic tribes es pecially to
the Arabians an d Gi psies still there are not wanting m en of m ark
.

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M AGI C

ART

31 4

or those who feel th e pan g

part
may
comp
ehend
the
whole
r
e
that rends her hear t will be sure her s acred frame will shudder
even to th e farthes t extremities of being ! As man is the crown
ing ape x of all created forms as in h i m are centred all powers
forces an d elements that compose the natural body of the pla n et
i s i t n ot reasonable t o suppose that all the lesser parts are in s b
e
i
him
and
in
sympathetic
rapport
with
h
i
destiny
?
W
s
e
on
o
t
t
j p
m ay mistake the indications of these deep sympathies and in o r
egotism imagine they cluster too thickly around o r ow n indi
vidual p athway S till they exist , and only need a scientic i n
stead of an ima g in ative understanding of th ei r pr ofo n d utter
an ces to show us th at all nature is a grand volume in w h i ch th e
hieroglyphi cs of universal bei ng are inscribed in characters of i n i
mutable fate ; in sand grain s and mountains i n dai si e s and forest
trees in ocean billows an d murmuring brooklets in ch i rping i n
sects and th e peals of heaven s artillery in uttering wings of
b irds and hovering angels
The gre at and wise Swedenborg often m i stoo k the ar t of
correspondences b t never th e truth of the science itself
The Magians of old better instr cted in the occult powers of
n ature than we who have strayed so far from her revealments in
the pa ths of arti ce comprehended th e laws of sympathy exist
i n g be tween all o rders of bei ng and man ; hence their correct i n
They und er
ter pr etati on of signs tokens omens and mo n itions
stood that all nature rendered homage to man and that a quiver
sh ook her mighty frame in response to every chord struck on the
harp of life by man s master hand We have no such knowledge
now and so little in terior light to g ide us that the signs fai l
the tokens are mis n dersto od and th e attempts we make to force
them into meani n g betray us into error and co n vert th e child like
faiths of an ti quity into vain superstition
on

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O F ST O NE S , G E MS A N D

C O L O RS

splen did array of e xpe riments by which Baron Von

Reichenbach h as with in the last half century and under the mos t
stringent test con ditions proved that magnetic emanations
streamed from shells stones and crys tals displaying differ ent de
grees of force an d different shade s of color form an d radiance
s upplemen t the opinions of the mos t authoritative writers of dif
fer en t ages on the same subject
T hat all met als an d crystalline bodies gi ve off magnetic for ce
i s n ow proved beyond question ; that they are capable of producin g
somnambulic or ec s tatic e ffects in di fferent degrees Von Reich
with over a hundre d and fty sensitives
e n b ac h s experiments
Th

AR T M AG I C

31 5

r
e
a
b
e
m
an
l
y
e
ns
ra
ed
hence
we
justied
in
t
o
m
t
d
n d t
;
y
garding with some interest the classication of the di fferent
qualities of mineral s and pr ci o s ston es put forth by R abbi
Benoni learned writer of the fourteenth century said to be one
who alleges that
of the most profound Alchemists of h i s time
the lo adstone sapphire and di ain on d ar e all capable of producin g
Somnambulism and when combined into a talisman attract such
powerful P lanetary Spirits as render the bearer almost i n vi n

cible
All pr ec iou s stones when cut with smooth surfaces and
intently gazed upon are capable of producing somnambulism in
the same degree as th e crystal also of i nducing visions '
Their varieties of color prove that they absorb di er en t de
grees of light and they ar e sai d to impart unequal degree s of heat
The Buddh i sts esteemed the sapphire above all gems claiming
that it produces tranquillity of mind and when worn by on e
wholly pure and de voted to God ensures protection against di s
ease danger and venomous reptiles
O rpheus exalts th e virtues of the loadstone almos t as highly
The former says : With
as did P aracelsus that of the Magnet
tl i s stone y o can hea r the voices of the Gods and learn heavenl y

t ings
I t will confer s tren g th banish disease and when worn con
Sitting
stan tly about the person ward off epide m i cs an d plagues
down b efore it and xi ng your gaze earnestly upon it you ha v e
but to ask of the G o ds for light on an y subject and the answer
will come breathed o t through the s tone Y our soul will hear

it and your sense s will discover it clearly

O rpheus says of
stones in general : The eart h produces every good and evil to
man but sh e a1so provi des a remedy for every ill These ar e to
fo nd chiey i n s tones
E very virtue lays hidden withi n
e
em
Benoni a f rms that th e diamond will deprive the loadstone o f
i ts vir tue and i s the most powe rful of all stones to promote spir
i t al e cstasy
Amo n gst a great variety of similar aphorisms h e
says :
The agate quenches thirst if held i n th e mouth and soo thes
fever
The amethyst ban ishes th e desire for drink an d promo tes
chastity
The garnet pr eserves health and j oy
The sapphire impels to all good things like the diamond
The red coral is a c re for indigestion when worn c on
stan tly about the person
Amber i s a c r e for sore th r oat and glandular swellings

h ave ab

M AG I C

ART

31 6

The crys tal promotes sweet sleep and good dream s

The emerald pr o motes friendship and constancy of mind

The onyx is a demon imprisoned in stone who wakes only
of a night causing terror an d disturbance to sleepers w h o wear it
The opal i s fatal to love and sows discord between the giver
and receiver
The topaz is favorable for all haemorrhages and imparts

s trength and good digestion

We give these quaint aphoris m s not as guides or scientic i n
di c ati on s but to show the ideas which the latent powers of mag
netic bodies sugges t ed to observers of natur al forces As to the
effect of colors on th e mind whatev er physical inuence they
may be supposed to produce it would be in vain to deny their pe
psychological e ffects
I n E mma H ar di n ge s
c li ar efcacy i n

noble work The H i st ory of Modern American Spiritualism a

chapter is devoted to the recital of that l ady s interview with a
singular in dividual residing in St L ouis Missouri and professing
to make cures by dete cting the peculiar colors which belonged to
certain organisms th e plus or minus of which according to h is
theory w as the c a se of all di sease This chapter like every
oth er lin e in this e xhaustive treatise is a mine of psychologi c
wealth

The C o l or Doc tor as he was termed being a veritable e c

static would on the rst entrance of h i s visitors go th rough
many of the extraordinary motions gy rations and contortions
pec uliar t o the H indoo F akeers H aving induced in himself and
h is visitors the necessary condition of r apport scenes amounting
to mantic frenzy w ould ensue during which he is reported t o
have effected the most wonderful and naccountable cures H i s
particular theory of color inuence w as demonstrated on the oc
casion of E mm a H ar di n ge s visit i n the following manner :
P lacing the lady and s everal witnesses in one apartment he with
an equal number of persons remained in another where no pos
sible chance could have permitted the one party to observe th e
ac ti m s of the other though all could hea r and communica te to
geter
The O pera tor then touched a piece of cloth of a certai n colo r
pon wh i ch the la dy in the next ap art m ent became i mpelled to
represe n t in pantom imic action some scene signifying deep men
tal emotion for e xa m ple :
When the D octor h eld a piece of yello w
cloth in his hand t h e subject immedi ately prostrated herself in
the at titude of adoration and uttered fervent prayers to the D eity
O n assuming the colo r of scarlet the subj ect became violently
enraged an d threaten ed w ar and des truc tio n to all ar o n d h er

ART MAG I C

31 8

were compelled to display their moral qualities and states of pro

by
the
color
o f their garments or the nature o f the ow
r e ssi on
g
ers ornaments or animal representations with which they were
surrounded
The reader may b e assured there is a magical arcanum in
color the study of which would tend to promote much more har
m e nions arrangements i n dress furniture and physical surroun d
ings than mankind enj oys

O F M U S IC NO I S E W O RDS AN D T O N E S
To avoid inic t i ng on our reader s the recitation of mathe
dening the difference between noise and
m ati c al principles i n
music an d yet to account for their e ffects on the human system
we lay down a brief summary of axiomatic ideas in the followin g
propositions Sound i s an impulse communicated from one body
to another and transmitted to the ear through waves or vibratio n s
in the ai r c a sed by the original impulse Many denitions ha ve
been rendered to show the difference p roduced upon the c ar by
noise and music but we may say i n bri ef that when the waves of
air set in motion by an original impuls e are unequal in length
an other long an d scarcely
on e wave being short and angular
curved and the whol e m ass of vibratory element i s moved in n
equal undulations the result to the ear is noise
When the imp lse given com m unica tes to the air a perfectly
r egular series of un dulations each wave assuming the same curve
an d length the res lt on the ear i s m usic
The e ffect of the s e
di fferent motions on the mind need n ot be discussed here T o
all civi lized nation s and with a few rare exception s to every indi
vidual the differenc e in eec t is analog ous to pain and pleasure ;
for although the re are some few individuals who do not kno w
noise from music as a general rule the appreciation of the di ffer
ence between these tw o varieties of sound and their e ects pon
the taste of comm nities forms a good gauge of national civiliza
tion
The lower a p e opl e may be sunk in the scale of barbarism
the greater is their p r edilection for n 01 se and general insensibility
to music ; whilst the higher the sta tus of civilization ranges the
greater is the perfec tion to which the cultivation of music attains
I t has been shown in th e magical histo ry of nations th at
sounds are amongst the most potenti al means of exciting the
ecstatic afat s T h e effects of sound ar e both physical a n d
mental
I t is of course g enerally understood that concussions violen t
enough to cre at e loud soun ds such e s thunder explosions th e
rin g of artillery heavy blows etc , etc wi ll n ot only c a se
,

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ART MAG IC

3 1 f)

power f l vi brat i on s in all surrounding obj ec ts b t frequen t ly

break displace or even totally destroy them Witness the effec t
houses shattered by explosions transpiring at considerable di s
on
tances windows brok en and furniture thrown down by the ring
of artillery or other concussive disturbances of the atmosphere
Similar vibrations may be felt though in a far less degree by the
sound of a powerful organ or a mass of wind instruments
If such effects can operate on the comparatively unyielding
tissues of inanim ate substances may we not reasonably expec t
that analogous motions must be transpi ring within o r ow n
highly strung and vibratory organisms ?
I s i t not certain in

fact that the elastic bres of th e human system especially the

delicate medullary tissues of the nerves must quiver and r e

Spon d to every tone tha t vibrates through the air whether it be
soft or loud musical or simply noisy ? The correspondential ef
fe ets on the m i nd canno t be questioned and it is doubtless from
the combinatio n of mental an d physical inuences that we see
h ow distracting clamors especially if lon g continued will i n
duce catalepsy convulsion sp asm or even frenzy
The e ects of music on the contrary are delightful and e x
alting T o susc eptible and h i ghly cultivated natures music i s
capable of awakening every emotion of the human soul from the
most rapt devotion to the wildest exhilaration from the most pas
Music pierces pene
si on ate grief to th e excess of mirthfulness
trates thrills never shocks I t play s along the bres of the
nerves quickens the pulse stimula tes the circulation exalt s
the mind alters even th e m olec lar arrangement of the phys
ical atoms and partly by the harmonious order into which it
resolves the layers of the atmosph ere partly by its entrancing ef
fe ets upon the soul it lls the listener wit h a divine magnetism
an d for the time being translates h i m into a superior con di tion
The Rosicrucians theory of music i s that
The whole world i s a music al instrument a chromati c sen
sible instrument; life a chromatic and diatonic scal e of musical
tones The a xis or pole of th e celestial world i s intersected by
the spiritual s n or centr e of sentient being and from thence
stream forth rays of light which divided form color which by
motion gives off tones of music lling the universe with celestial
sound E very man h as a spark or microcosmic s n in his ow n
being and thus microcosmically diffuses rays of light and tones
broken by the incoherencies of matter ti s true but still in es
sence m usical tones E arthly music is the faintest tradition of
the angelic state I t r emai n s in th e mi n d of m an as th e dr eam of
a lost par adi se
,

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ART MAG IC

32 0

Music i s yet master of man s emotions and therefore of

H eavenly music is produced from impact upon the paths
m an
of planets w h i ch stand as chords or strings t o the rays of the s n
hence light and heat travelling between solar centres and circum
fer en c es waken tones notes chords the s m of which i s ethereal

mus 1 c
Thus is earthly music a relic a dream a memory of heaven
an
ef x from the motion of planetary bodies a c elestial speech
whose dim echoes are heard and imitated on earth and thus are
light and tone colors and music inextricably c ombined by on e

producing caus e
I f the eyes of mortals could be Opened to behold the condi
tions of the atmosph e re durin g the yells shrieks and cries of a

party of howling dervishes the beating of tom toms ( dr m sa

or crashing cymbals in the mantic rite s of a pa r ty of Sibe ri an
Sc h am an s L apps or T h i b eti an L amas, t h ey would see the air
tossed and torn into angular curves jagged prominences literally
driven about into croo ked turns and sharp corners This i s no
exaggeration n o mere ight of a mystic s fancy I f we cannot
se e it the science of acoustics assures
s it must be so and this
accounts for the wild an d mantic character of barb aric S piritism
induced as it often i s by noise O n the other hand the same
clairvoyant vision would behold the atmosphere vi brating to ne
music full of regular undulating lines every curve swell and de
pression equal throughout the whole length of the waves and
though the lines might vary each would bear such harmonious
and graceful relations to th e other that the whole atmosphere
would appear as an exq isite lan dscape ; blended lights and shad
ow s wonderfully graduated int o an ocean of billowy air where
n ot a sin gle wave presented an angular inharmonious or irreg
ular curve And these delightfully organized strata of atmos
h
e
r e s impinge upon the physical forms of th e listen ers penetrate
p
the very marrow in the bone and r e arrange the very structure of
e very bre in th e system C an the reader now und erstand the
mysteries of snake charming by the sweet and monotonous e ffect
of certain mu sical instruments ?
Why moreover n early every
beast and bird partakes of the spell which music impar ts ?
We could ll a volume with narratives of the potent effect s
of music upon the animal kingdom and the varie ty of those e f
fe ets pon di fferent creatures under the inuence of different
tone s
The r eader too may understand why the distracting
clamors of the battle eld th e bombardment of a city th e dances
and whoops of the red I ndians the shouts and howls of Dervi shes
an d other ecs ta tics of low gr ade s summon from th e cryp ts of the

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ART MAG IC

3 22

more properly speaking on the wings of i magination di s

tor te d by the use of powerful narcotics we may give on the a
th ori ty Of Grimm H orst V an H elmont and others the following
list of medicaments :
The deadly nightshade the n apellas fo x glove betony root
sweet fern ground ivy origanum toad stool and fungi of various
kinds pounded up ; mandrake gall apple savin vervain sorrel
and fennel seeds These and other herbs of a narcotic or deadly
character were bruised and pressed into unguen ts or distilled
into drinks with all manner Of formidable rites spells and incan
i ots,

or

tati on

Sticks an d sta ffs were to be made from the hazel tree and
fern seed was always carrie d around the person A favorite nos
trum of the witches by way Of food wa s boiled chestnuts and
sorrel ; also they used ointments made from the Oil of hemlo ck
aconite he nbane and four other herbs selected from the above
choice repertoire
A s to the spells, charms and talismans most popular in the
processes of Witchcraft o r pen would fail even to catalogue th eir
number much less to attempt a description of their absurd and
meaningless character
We may mention on e custom very generally adop ted and
supposed to be peculiarly effective in working harm to distant per
sons This was done by constructing an image as n early resem
bling the person of the victim as possible I t w as assumed that
as this image w as slowly roasted before a re or pierced with pins
knives or other sharp instruments corresponding pains and sick
nes ses would be i n d c ed i n th e subject of the endish rites and
even death could be thus procured
To injure the elds crops or cattle of an enemy dust grain s
or sharp instruments were cast into the air accompanied by mut
Sometimes these foul performers
ter e d curs es and incan tatio n s
buried insects toads fruit or other Obj ects for the purposes of
evil enchantment ; but in whatever rites they were employed they
never failed to recite spells or mutter curses th e variety of which
would ll a library b t their potency as methods of projecting
their psychological intention on their vic tim s may be easily n
,

der stood

At thi s point o r reade r s will exclaim D o you then at

tribute potency to the will of a poor old half crazed bei ng who
mutters spells over a cauldro n of s tewed toads or fri casi ed lizards ?
C an the will of such living m ummies h rt cattle blight corn
el ds or sap the life juices of goo d and true m en r em oved from

th ese scen es of di ab l eri e b y gre at di stan ces ?

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323

th i s we an swer assuredly in the afrmativ e I t matters

Old or
n ot whether th e potency proce e d from mal e or femal e
young ri ch or poor
The b ad alone will attempt such wickedness but the true
potency is will and should we deny the possibiliti e s Of i ts exercise
simply to gratify the prejudices of those who have made no S tudy
of psychological powers we sh ould falsify a vast mass of h i storic al
testimony the authoritative experience an d opinion of all ages
senses
an d the life long personal testimony of the Author s ow n
w h i ch have borne witness to thousands of instances wherein the
will operated upon individuals r emov e d by long distances fr om
the source of the inuence
Save and except the physical an d direct effects produced
upon the system by unguents drugs herbs sounds an d vapor s
all the force of Witchcraft lay in the will wh i ch by mere super
sti ti o s faith in the idle rites performed became proj ected with ir
resistible power upon the victim against whom it w as directed
T

M i caoc os

u
os

C R OC OSM OS

an

th e M i c o c os m

th e U

i ve

se.

We have already intimated that mischi evou s E lem en tar i es

who have not yet ri sen into th e S pheres of good are ever ready to
respond to the summons of natures simi l ar to their ow n yet
higher in the scale of creation than themselves We rep e at that
these beings ar e potent in t h e particular realm to which they b e
long and can help wicked m ortals in wicked purposes Remem
b er too the universal laws of sympathy that bind up all nature
animate and inanim ate into on e vast chain of interdependencies
and then cease to wond er why the lower creature s can receive ban
or blessing from their sovereign ruler
m an
We h ave already
dwel t at gr ea t len gth on th e c onne cti on be tween th e pla n etar y
,

ART MAG IC

3 24

sys te m and man The profoundest depths of occult philosophy

deri ve their basis from this correspondence The Ancient M ys
teri e s the Ancient and Modern F re e Masons the best ph i loso
of
Greece
and
Germany
the
C
abalists
and
in
a
word
the
h
r
s
e
p
Metaphysicians of all ages teach that man is the Microcosm of b e
ing as G od Angels and the pper world for m the Macrocosm
The poorest of all literature the penny almanack celebrates
thi s wonderful correspondence in its zodiacal signs marked in
their sever al relations to the human body A s an illustration of
this idea ta ke the following few lines of Rosicrucian doctrine ex
d
the
prece
ing
page
l
n
a
or y of the sketch given on
a
t
p
The Rosicrucian C abala teaches that the three great worlds
above namely the E m pyr ae m E th er ae m and E lementary r e
gions have their copies in the three points of the body of m an ;
that his head answer s to the rst his breast or heart to the second
and his ventral regions to the third I n the head rests t h e intel
lect or the ma gnetism of the assenting judgment ; in his heart is
the conscience or emotional faculty in the umbilical regions r e

side the animal and sensuous facultie s

Thu s man bears in
Reason is the head feeling
h i s body the picture of the Triune
the breast and the mechanical means of reason and feeling is the

epigastric c entr e
The invisible magnetic geo m etrical lati
tudes of these three vital poi nts forms the triune microcosm
which is a copy of the macrocosm or Supreme Archetype of th e

H eavens
We only recall in these passages the comprehensive i dea of an
niversal sympathy i n nature w hich compels the r e echo of b eav
e n ly sounds throughout the spaces of earth ; which connects the
s cenes events and destinies played o t upon the stage of earth
with the grander dramas of eternity performed b y b lazi n g suns

and ashing comets which places everything in this world in

sympathetic subjection to man every human being in sympathetic
relations on e to the other and all to God and Angels
I n the use of spells charms amulets consecrated names and
words can we assign virt u e to such objects ? N o more than did
C ornelius Agrippa in the many passages of protest he e te
against t h i s idea on e of which we have quoted
Some magneti c
virtues some narcotic essences and some sublunary as well as
Astral inuences inhere in every plant that grows on every stone
beneath o r feet ; yet we tread on C abalistic stones pluck C ab ali s
tic plants aye and make use of C abalistic words every day and
nothing comes of it !
O ur poor little tortured school c h i ldren painfully spell o t
.

'

'

u
,

ART

32 6

M AG I C

a mean s of elevating the soul giving i t n ew po w ers for

good and n ew attributes of blessing I n communion with those
bright beings it will ever be foun d that their power and their
will i s n ot only potent for good but more potent than th at of
man s H uman will then can only b e exercised in the choice of
the soul b etween lower and higher existences on the forces of
n ature relation s with o r fellow man and ove r beings lower than
earth
ci pally as

When we operate with

Wi tc h
these lower

F lo t i n g

exi stences we should

en de avor to rule them for good
When with nature to wrest
h er secrets from h er only to use again for good and with o r fel
lowmen for the same aim Then will God and angels heaven and
all the heavenly host be with us and magic in that spirit becomes
man s triumph over mat ter and th e e xal tati on of h i s so l to th e
s p h ere of Godhead
,

SU PPLE M E N T T O SE C T I O N XXI

T H E M A G I C M I R R O R I T S C O M PO SI T I O N
CO M M U N ICA T I O N F R O M A P L AN E T A R Y S P I RI T F O R M U LI E O F N O S
'

Y
H
T
E
C A L L A N D D I S C H A RG E F O R S P I R I T S O F
CR S
T R A DA M U S
T A L O R M IRRO R
.

The following mode Of prep aring and sm g a Magi c Mirror

i s recommended by Alphonse C ah agn et author of th e C eles ti al
Telegraph and as the methods prescribed are simple and the
results obtained are generally e ffi cacious they are sub m i tted to
th e reader i n th e words of C ah agn et himself :
MAG IC M I RR O R
I promised n ot to reserve to myself anything I had learned
from spirits ; I will keep my word by giving the secret of the magic
m i rro r revealed to me by the Spirit of Swedenborg who himself
possessed on e and of which I have already spoken I made tw o in
the way r e c om m en de d to me one Of which I presented to my
friend M Renard w h o after several experiments gave a favor
able report Of it ; mine was equally good This i s how we should
go to work :
Procure a pi ece of glass as ne as possible cut it the
required size place it over a slo w re at the same time dissolving
some very ne black lead in a small quantity of pure oil to give it
the consistence Of a liquid pomade which may easily be spread
over the glass when well dilut ed
The glass being hot incline it on both sides in order that
th e m ixture m ay spread of itself all over alike ; then the gl as s
being pla ced on somethin g quite straight and at let the mixture
dry without disturbing it ; in a few days it will become as hard as
pewt er presenting a very ne dark polish ; put your glass in a
frame an d after well wiping i ts surface hang it up on a wall as
you would a looking glass but always in a f alse light P lace the
person who desi res to see a spirit or a scene before this mirror
h
i
n
h
i
m
sta tio n
ourself
be
x
ing
your
e
e
e
dil
d

t
o
s
a
n
t
h
e
y
y s
y
,

A R T M A G IC

32 8

hi nder part of the brain an d summon the S pirit in a loud vo i ce i n

the name of God in a mann er imposing to the individual looking
in th e mirror
I t may be naturally supposed that this kind of experiment
requires certain conditions the rst of which is to nd an individ
ual endowed with this kind of vision N othing i s general in pey
c h ologi c al facts
There was much talk at on e time of the magic
mirror of D r D ee which w as sold in 1 8 42 among the curi osi
ties i n the possession of H orace Walpole at Strawberry H ill for
the enormous s m Of three hundred and twenty si x francs I t
w as simply a bit of se a coal perf ectl y polished cut in a circula r
form with a h andle This curiosity formerly gured in th e cabi
,

SH EW ST O N E O F DR

th e O

om

r i g i al i
n

th e B

ri ti

DEE

sh

uu
m

se

the E arl of P eterborough I n the catalogue it w as thus

described :A black stone by m e ans of which D octor D ee evoked

spirits I t passed fro m the hands of the E arl in to thos e Of L ady
E lizabet h Germaine then became the proper ty of John last D uke
of Argyll whose grandson L ord C ampbell presented it to Wal

pole The auth or Of th e Theatrum C h em i c m E lias Ashmole

s peak s of th e same mirr or in th e following terms :

By the ai d of this magic stone we can se e whatever per

s ons we desire no ma tt er in what part Of the world they be an d
w ere th ey hidden in th e most r e t i red apartments or eve n in th e
caverns in the bowels of the earth John D ee born i n L ondon
i n 1 5 2 7 w as the son of a wine mercha n t ; he studied the sciences
with success and devoted himself at an early period to judicial
astrology ; Q
ueen E lizab eth took him under h er protection ; he
c omposed several useful works employed much of his tim e in
the science of magic conjured spirits mad e predictions and b e
hel d the invisibl e ; when he had discovered his mirror he returned
thanks gi vings to God H e was occupied during h i s whole life in

the se arch for the philosophe r s stone an d di ed in L on don at the

ag e of eighty four i n a sta te of abject poverty
The C ount de L aborde brough t s a som ewhat similar secret
fr o m E gyp t The Baron D potet comm unicated a like on e to h i s
n et of

AR T M A G I C

33 0

prot by my mirror I would advise the ceremony to be perf orm e d

with a certain dignity and to have recourse only to what may act
the imagination or n erves as much by a normal or spiritual
on
magnetism as by the assistance of perfumes All those that bear
or shed a sweet pleasant smell are suitable for the good spi ri ts ;
s ch as incense musk gum lac etc ; and for evil spirits the seeds
of henbane
hemp belladonna anise or coriander etc E ach
seeks his own atmosphere or on e akin to it ; but above all shun
th e assist ance Of evil spirits
L et the spirit of justice discretion
humanity predominate in you ; or other w ise woe betide y o !
I t will not, perhaps be comprehended why I should r e c om
mend shunning the invocation of evil spirits and yet make known
the perfumes they delight in I presume that I shall be thought
suf ciently consisten t to S peak here only of the apparitions we
desi re to obtain on the score of thefts or oth er crimes committed
to your prej dice I t is the spirits of s ch culprits who will obey
your command to present themselves and seek the nauseous smell
of these perfumes
Y ou have nothing to fear from them since
on
the contrary they have everything to fear from you What
I recommend you to avoid when demanding appariti ons of those
o
s
ee
i
desire
to
pronouncing
words
the
meaning
of
which
s
i
s
y
unknown to you that invite b aneful spirits to your assistan ce

This is true Magi c

Wh en M C ah agn et informs his readers that the dis
ti n g i sh e d Operators whose experien ces h e cites do n ot themselve s
se e aught in their mirror h e omits to add that th e assistance of
on e predisposed t o magnetic seership i s essen tial in fact a magne
ti z e d subj ect is necessary to the success of these methods unless
the operator is himself a Medium or Seer I t will be asked by the
intelligent reader if a Medium or Seer is essential to the success
of experiments by the mirror or crystal why may not the said Me
di m or Seer behold in vision and without the aid of the i n str
?
ments all he desires To this we answer the m agnetism of the
operator the psychological inuence of the invocation and the
xi di ty of the gaze riveted upon the shining surface of the mirror

a
are ids to lucidity though n ot its primal source but our
O pl I l l OI l S on the subject of Magic and natural mediumship have
already been given in detail and we only add accounts of the
methods reco m m e nded and practiced by celebrated mod ern E x
perts to supplement o r views of ancient with modern magic
F or this purpose we subj oin the following communication given
t o a successful Adept of th e pr esen t generation by a P lanetary

spirit
the guardian of his mirror when questioned concerning
th e bes t metho d of di vi n at i on also of r ecei vi n g c om m n i c ati on s
,

u
,

'

ART MAG IC

33 1

from S pirits The words appeared on the mirror i nscri bed therein
by the spirit and were r ead O ff by the Adept :
.

The best and most ancient method of divination was by the

C rystal or Urim and Thummim
I ts origin was divine an d the inspiration visions and com
m n i c ati on s received through this so rce when man was pure and
holy were free from all human agency wholly divine The use
of the crystal in modern times is almost as potent as the Urim
and Thummim of the Jews and provided it is in the han ds of on e
gifted with clear sight its revelations are infallible
Spiri ts do not actually appear in the crystal b t the seer i s
magnetically assisted to look through its pellucid depths into the
S pirit world I n this way he or sh e is brought i n such near con

tact with spirits that they can readily converse with mortals
Another planetary spirit questi oned on the same subjec t
said :
Whenever guardian spi r rts or angels of the higher orders
move in the spirit world the air that surrounds them is cleared
of everyt h i ng that is in any degree more gross than themselves
Th s if an atmospheric spirit meet a more heavenly spirit
the atmospheric S pirit yields to the presssure of the air that s r
rounds th e other and reti res to let him pass I n this way spirits
visit the atmosphere and the spheres lower than their own also
the earth without once com i ng in contact with those below him

unless he wishes to do so Thus too when he is called to con

verse with human beings the I n v ocan t s thoughts or rather will
immediately reach him and he appears separating and sending
before him all influences less angelical than his own
Guardian spirits and angels of high degree are only seen in
the Urim and Thummim the crystal and the mirror the other
modes of divin i ng by vessels of water by circle work by shades
by bands or black uids are only available for seeing deceased
p ersons atmospheric Spir its wandering spi ri ts evil or n devel

oped spirits
The following method especially commendable f or i ts sim
li
i
h
a
c
t
s
n
bee
frequently
employed
with
success
in
magical
o
e
v
p
y
cations of P lanet ary or o ther S pirits by Adepts in the ni neteenth
century
I t i s selected from hundreds of others in the author s pos
session chiey from the perspicuity of i ts wording and the ab
s ence of mystic ass mptions
I ts composition is attributed to th e celebr ated As trologe r
an d C rystal Seer N ostradamus

u
,

3 32

ART

MA G I C

DI R E C T I ON S F O R C RY STA L S EE I N G

H aving procure d a good, clear stone , on e that no sp i ri t h as

.

been called into before the Seer must determine to use it for n o
bad purpose I do not say determine to use it only for good pur
poses because many frivolous and t ri ing things might occur th at
would induce on e to use it for the knowledge of things appe rtain
i n g to the world but having determined to
s e it for no bad or
;
n l ol
e he should dedicate it rst with a fervent pr ayer
r
os
p p ,
,

p
0

u
y

N os t

DO

rad a u
m

s.

make use Of a mediator b t rmly yet humbly

tr st that God will put yo in possession of a Guardian Spiri t

th at will S how y o the visions you may there after wish

H aving done this inspect the C rystal and b efore as king
t o see any vision ask rst to see the nam e of your Guar dian
Spiri t ; h aving done this as k to see him ; wh en h e appears ask
:
h i m to gi ve y o any advi ce he may deem t in using it A sk him
to name the days and hours that he will appear and also those on
which yo may call other spirits A sk h i m to become the Guar
dia n Spiri t of yo r C rystal ; to preven t an y evi l spiri t f ro m a ppear

n ot

ART MAG IC

3 3 4:

F OR A

I n th e name

etc

V I S I ON

I humbly beseech th e Spi ri t of thi s Mirro r

favor me with a Vision that will interest or ins truct s ( or

f avor s with a Vision of such and such a place or event
T O S E E A P E RS O N

In th e name etc Then say R B be p l eased to appear

i n thi s Mirror if conv eni ent and a greeable ( N eve r f ai l i n th i s )
E XO R CI SM

I n th e n ame of the Almighty God i n whom we li ve an d

move and h ave o r being I dismiss the Spirit now visible in thi s

or if he is not a go d an d truthful Spi ri t

Mi rror if h e is n ot
o
This must be said very intently and strongly three times
with the nger upon the C rystal whenever a Spirit i s from an y
c aus e suspected
DI S CH ARGE

I n th e name etc I dismiss from th i s Mi rr or all Spiri ts th at

may have appeared therein an d the peace of God be be tween them
and us forever
This must b e sai d three times upon closi ng even if Sp iri t s
ar e n ot seen as they may have entered and i ts neglec t wi ll soo n

spoil th e Mirror or C rys tal

to

A R T M A G IC

335

H I ST O R Y O F M A G N ET I SM

S
C
OLO
CL A I RVO YANCET H E I R C O NNE CT I O N
A N CIE N T
Y
H
P Y
G

D
D
U
AG
I
C
T
H
E
G
R
E
A
T
E
R
N
T
RI
A
PA
RA
E
L
S
S
S W E D EN
M
O
C
M

D
Z
U
C A H A G N E T , ET C
O
RG
E
S
E
R
I
LLO
T
E
L
E
E
B
M
A ND M
B
.

Thos e who wo l d write the true h i s tory of M agnetism m s t

t h a t of magic for th e on e is j s t as surely a
se e k m a teri als in
re co r d of the other as the prin ci ples of As tr olog y are de r ived
,

We have wr itten to li tt le pur pos e if we h a ve f ail ed to i m

press Our readers w ith the fact tha t the relati ons betw een th e
worlds of i nvi si ble and visible bei ng are o n l y made known
through the occ lt forces wh i ch enable the visible to penetrate

f
into the realm s o the invis ible als o t h at the means by wh i ch

mor tals depe nd

,

w holly

upo n th es e

sa

me oc cul t forces

Whether

el e ct ri city magneti sm or lif e it i s as we ha ve be fore S ho w n

the etern al i ndes tr ctible un i vers al and inn i te element of force
M agic Dei c relati ons Angelic m i n i str y and s pirit commun i on
are but applica tions of thi s force ope rating upon man
and the
v isi ble Un i vers e i s o n l y a ma ni cent chess b o ard on
w
ch
F
orce
h
i
g
i s pla yin g the eternal game of cr ea ti on and des tr uction w ith Suns
and Satelli tes for i ts chess men Whilst it bec omes evident tha t
th e an cien ts Ob ta in ed a wi de con trol o v er th i s st upendous motor
,

u
,

dl e

ages i n a gre at meas ure los t the clue to i ts gui dance and the
a pan tl on al demonstr ati ons of i ts etern al acti vity
reve
a led by
p
h
m
s
es
fr om the worl ds of invi si ble be ing o n ly s erved to sta rtle
g
p
,

in g

the po ten ti a l agen cy at

w ork

ART

3 36

AG IC

earths Angels and Men o t of matter and spiri t b y th e mo tor

t
is
same
life
lightning
The
revelation
now
slowly
f
s
o
o
w
er
o
h
p
yet surely stealing in upon human consciousness has not been
heralded by the roar of the tempest the boom of the thunder or
the throes of the quaking earth
L ike the still small voice that spoke to the Prophet E lijah when
the L ord passed b y i t has come in the low whispers of two new

sciences the science of Life or magnetism and the science of

Soul or psychology O nly the very rst elements of thes e two
magical revelations have as yet d awned upon our age but they
have shown us enough to be assured that when they are fully
understood and scientically applied they will a fford a clue to all
the mysteries of the past and e n able man to achieve by natur al
law all those phenomenal demo n strations which i n ancient time s
were termed miraculous
To trace the advent of these phases of spiritual science i t
wi ll be nece ssary to recall the bold claims of P aracelsus for the
almost miraculou s powers of the magnet
an d though most of
his followers were dreamy and imp ractical mystics who failed
to apply the comprehensive ideas which he suggested they served
to keep alive the ame of occult re which he kindled until the
appearance on the scene of the noble and illumi n ated Sweden
borg who presented as a Seer of unequalled lucidity that glo r ious
element of psychological science which completely supplemented
the opinions of P aracelsus concerning magnetism I t remained
for Anton Mesmer to combine these two supreme soul forces into
their correlative relations and demonstrate by the practical ap
plication of magnetism the possibility of emulating the natural
endowments of Seership through the revelation s of the magneti c
sleep
I t must n ot be supposed that we attribute to that illustri ous
triad of modern philosopher s P aracelsus Swede n borg and M e s
mer any new discoveries in nature
They only rekindled lights of divine science which ignorance
and superstition had sought to s tie if th ey co ld n ot exting i sh
them
Magnetism the life principle and psychology the soul power
of the U n iverse, had been as we have constantly alleged
the
motors o f all magical operations and the knowledge of this fact
and an understanding of how to apply these sublime forces c on

stituted the wisdo m of the Ancients an d the ar canum of all

their my steries But the master spirit of antiquity had been sl ain
b y the destroying demons of time change and revolution
The
Master s word w as los t an d for ages th e building of th e grand
,

u
,

ART MAG IC

338

promoted by his touch receding or suspending altogether whe n

he withdrew A thous and petty incidents commented on at the

time as very curious but subsequently remembered as tokens

were
of h i s e v er present and spontaneous magnetic inuence
constantly occurring from his early childhood up to the time
t
when his unerr ing instincts led him into the arcanum of h i s grea
discovery
H ow this occurred will be best rendered in the language of
Kerner who says :
D uring his fteen years m edical practice in Vienna he
came upon his n e w art of healing t h r ough observing the origin
the form and the career of diseases in connection with the grea t
changes i n o r solar system and the universe ; in short in connec
tion with what he termed U niversal Magnetism H e sought for
this magnetism originally in electricity and subsequently in min
eral magnetism H e made use of the magnet for healing at rst
in 1 7 7 2 led to this disco v ery by the astronomer F ather H el ;
using the magnet ho w ever simply as a conductor from his own
organism through his hands and by this means brought forth
remarkable cures A year subsequently experience showed him
th at without touching the magnet through h i s hands alone he
could operate much more powerfully upon the hum an organism
an d thus originated through him the discovery of A n i m al M agn e
ti sm which he developed into a scienc e

I t was after t h is manner that M esmer reasoned :There must

exist a power which permeates the universe and binds together
all the bodies upon earth and it must be possible for man to bring
this inuence under his command
This power he rst sough t
for in the magnet 3 he ponder ed pon it with regard to m an
and
immediately applied it to the cure of diseases The remarkable
operations whi ch were produced and th e cure of the sick would
in another investigator have brought him to an end of his e xperi
ments Mes mer however went forward E ver accompanied by
the ide a of the primal power which must permeate the universe
and is ever active within it the thought occurred to him that the
inuence must exist yet more powerfully in m an himself than
in the magnet ; since h e argued if the magnet communicates to
the iron the same polarit y which causes itself to be a magnet an
orga n ized body must be able to produce similar conditions in an
other body H e thus perceived that he could not as cribe alone
to the magnet which he held in his h an ds the e ffects which he had
observed produced since h e also must in his turn inu ence th e
magnet U pon this he cast aside his magnet an d with h i s h and s

alone brou ht for th simil ar an d un adulter ated effect s

g
,

u
.

ART MAG IC

339

gre at discovery h as ever yet convulsed the world that h as

not subsequently brought forth its cloud of claimants to share in
its honors O ne says :Why this is nothing new ! I always kne w

it and have observed it a hundred times

This cry is echoed

a
and r e echoed until an hundred
thousand aye half the age
perhaps insists they always knew it was so ; it i s nothing new
N othing c an be truer th an tli i s in relation to magnetism ; yet
with all the wise world s perception of i ts truth it req i red the
genius of a Mesmer to practicalize and above all to reduce it to
scientic theorems

Kerner gives some narrat i ves of Mesmer s methods of treat

ment in h i s earliest st ag es of magnetic practice which although
v ery striking are not sufciently germain to our purpose to adm i t
of quoting here ; we therefore omit them and proceed to presen t
the conclusions they caused the narrator to dra w from them H e
writes thus :
H e as certained that the principal agent in h i s cures dwelt
within himself and that its power increased by use N everth e
l e ss the idea was never combated by Mesmer that persons upon
whom an imal magnetism exercises but a slight inuence are ren
dered more susceptible to this inuence by the assistance of elec
tri c i ty and galvanism
Sei fart remarks that he had observed tha t Mesmer wor e
beneath his linen shirt another of leather lined with silk and s p
pos es that Mesmer sought by this means to prevent the escape of
the magnetic uid H e believes that Mesmer also wore natural
and articial magnets about his person with the intention of
strengthening t h e ma gnetic condition in himself
At all events it is certain that at a later period he employed
for the strengt hening of the m agnetic condition an apparatus
the Baquet or as he called it the Magnetic Basin or Paropo
thus This receptacle as it w as originally formed by Mesmer
w as a large pan or tub lled with various magnetic substances
such as water sand stone glass b ottles lled with water etc I t
i s a focus within which the magnetism nds tself concentrated
i
and o t of which a numb er of conductors proceed ; these c on d c
tors being bent som ewhat pointed parallel iron wand s the on e
end of each wan d being in the tub whilst the other end could
be applied to the seat of the disease T h is arrangement might be
made use of by a number of patients seated around the tub A n y
suitably sized receptacle for water a pond or a fountai n in a

r
e
ga d n would serve a patient as a baquet so soon as the patient
m ade use of an iron wand to conduct the ma netism t
i
d
s
w
o
h
r
m
a
g
No

u
,

or

ART MAG IC

34 0

In vain did Mesmer endeavor to convince his medical con

temporaries of the truth and importance of his discovery ; in

vain w as his announcement of it to the scientic academies With
but a single exception he received no answer from them This
exception was the Academy of Berlin which passed the following
I t would in nowise enter upon an inquiry into a
judgment :
matter which rested on such entirely unknown foundations
Upon this Mesmer brought all his discoveries into the form
of twenty seven aphorisms which he sent to the scientic a c ade
mies in the year 1 7 7 5 These aphorisms contain Mesmer s doc
trine clearly an d briey expressed and it i s important to become
acquainted with them since his ideas ar e here given in his own
words :

1
There exists a reciprocal inuence between th e heav
e n ly bodies the earth an d all living beings

A uid which is spread everywhere and which is so

2
exp anded that it permits of no vacuum of a delicacy which can
be compared to nothi n g besides it self and which through i ts na
ture is enabled to receive movement to spread and to participate
in it is the medium of this inuence

This reciprocal activity is subject to the operati on of

3
mech anical laws which until n ow were quite unknown

F rom this activity spring alternati n g operations which

4
may be compared to ebb and ow

This ebb and ow are more or less general more or

5
less complex according to the nature of the origin which h as
called them forth

Through this active principle which is far more n i

6
versal than any other in nature originates a relat i ve activity b e
tween the heavenly bo dies the earth and its component parts

I t immediately sets in movement since it directly

enters into the substance of the nerves the properties of matter

an d of organized bodies and the alternative operations of these
active existences

I n human bodies are discovered properties which cor

8
respond with those of the ma gnet Also various opposite poles
m ay be distinguished which can be imparted changed disturbed
and strengthened:
The property of the animal body which renders it
susceptible to the i nuence of the heavenly bodies and to the
reci r ocal operation of those bodies which surround it veried
by t e magnet has induced me to term this property Animal Mag
.

n eti sm

10
.

The power

an

d o per ation th us

desi gna ted

as

A n im al

MAG I C

ART

34 2

improve their ope ration call forth more be n ecial cri se s an d con
duct them in such wise as to become master of them

Through communic ation of m y method I sh all in

24
unfolding a new doctrine of disease prove the universal use of
this active principle
Through this knowledge the physician will be en
abled to judge of the origin the progress and the nature even of
the most intricate diseases H e will be enabled to prevent the i n
crea se of disease and bring about th e cure w i thout exposing his
patient to dangerous effects or p ainful conse quences whatever
be the age sex or temperament of the patient

Women during pregnancy and in c hildbirth receive

26
advantage therefrom

The doctrine w ill at length place the physician i n

27
such a position that he will be able to judge the degree of health
possessed by any m an and be able to protect him from the disease
The art of healing will by this
t o which he may be exposed
means attain to its greatest height of
Thus deeply convinced of the truth of his doctrine i t w as
n atural that Mesmer should feel keenly pained by the m i sc on c e p
tion and contempt of m en for whom in other directions he
entertained esteem H e expresses his bitter sorrow i n various of
the writings left behind him

This system which led me to the discovery of animal mag

n etism
he writes was n ot the fruits of a S i ngle day By degr ees
even as th e hours of my life accumulated were g athered together
in my soul the observations which led to it The coldness with
which my earliest promulgated ideas were met lled me with
astonishment as gr eat a s tho gh I had never foreseen such cold
ness The learned ( and physicians especially) laughed over my
system but quite o t of place howe ver for although unsupported
by experiment it must have appeared fully as reas onable as the
greater portion of their systems on which they bestow the grand
nam e of principles

This unfavorable reception induced me again to examine

my ideas I nstead however of losing through this they gained
a higher degree of manifestation and in truth everything con
v i n ce d me that in science bes i des the principles already accepted
there must still be others either neglected or not observed
As o r work i s simply an attempt to elucidate philosoph
from facts we shall pursue the history of Mesmer n o farther
H is followers some few of whom were indeed worthy successors
to so great an original added m an y valuable experience s to his
b t failed to evolve any ideas more thoroughly comprehensive
,

ART
th an

MA GI C

34 3

t h ose gi ven i n his twenty seven aphorisms To sho w why

the mine of rich treasure opened up by Mesmer has been so slowly
and reluctantly transferred to th e mint of national currency in
human practice we have only to remember the bitter persecutions
cruel ingratitude and misrepresentation whi ch followed the good
an d amiable Anton M esm er t h r o gh h i s life and pursued his fol
lowers after h i s decease ;
The narrow conservatism o f the age too and the pitiful j eal
o sy of the Medical F ac lty rendered it difcult and even danger
o s to conduct magnetic experiments openly in E urope within
several years of Mesmer s decease Still such experiments were
not wanting and to sho w their results we give a few exce rpts
from the correspondence between the famous F rench Magnetists
M M D eleuze and Billot from the years 1 8 2 9 to 1 8 4 0 By these
le tters published in two volum es in 1 8 3 6 it appears that M Bil
lot commenced his experiments in magnetizing as early as 1 7 8 9
and that during this space of over forty years he had an oppor t
nity of witnessing facts in clairvoyance ecstasy spiritual medium
ship and Somnambulism which at the time of their publication
transcended the belief of the general mass of readers O n many
occasions in the presence of entranced subj ects Spirits recognized

as having once lived on earth in mortal form would come in

bodily presence before the eyes of an assembled company and at
request bring owers fruits and obj ects removed by dist ance
from the scene of the experiments
M D eleuze frankly admits that h i s experi ence w as more
limited to those phases of Somnambulism in which his subjects
submitted to amputations and severe s rgical operations without
experiencin g the slightest pain also they could disclose hidden
things nd lost property detect crime predict the future speak
in foreign languages and describe distant places with great elo
n ce and power
e
q
I n a letter dated J l y 1 8 3 1 M Billo t writing to D eleuze
-

u
u

u
,

I r epeat I have seen and known all that is permitted to

man I have s een the stigmata arise on magnetized subj ects ; I
have dispelled obsessions of evil spirits with a single word I
have seen spirits bring those material objects I told you of and

'

when requested make them so light th at they would oat and

again a small boiteau de bonbons w as rendered so heavy that I

failed to move it an inch until the power was removed

Alfonse C ah agn et to w h ose invaluable work the C elesti al

Telegraph allusion h as already been made published a series

,

A R T M A GI C

344

experiments with a vast number of lucid subj ec ts wh o by vir

tue of h i s magnetism became C lairvoyants
At rst their lucidity only sufced to discover the things
As the magnetic
of earth and trac e earthly scenes and persons
sleep took deeper hold on their senses however it became appar
ent that a n e w world opened up before them

Without any mental direction from their magnetizers they

on e and all persisted in descri b ing the spirits of those whom the
world deemed dead They discoursed with them sometimes per
s on ate d them gave truthful accounts of their lives on earth and
described their appearances so accurately that scores of en q i r
ing mourners attracted by the fame of C ah agn et s L ucides came
thither to nd their dead restored to them I t was as if a gate had
sudd enly been opened i nto the realms of paradise and poor s f:
feri n g bereaved humanity might be seen crowding upon each
other to gaz e through those gol den portals and discover there all
they had loved all th e y h ad lost and as in a mirror behold the
delightful panoramas of being where t h eir own tired feet were to
nd rest when their bodies should sleep the last sleep of human
ity
T o those who enj oyed the unspe akable pri vilege of listening

to the Somnambules of Billot D eleuze and C ah agn et another

and yet more striking feature of unanimous revelation was poured
forth Spirits of those who had passed away strong in the faith of
Roman C atholicism often priests and dignitaries of that c on ser v
a tive church addressing staunch and prejudiced believers in the

faith too always asserted there w as no creed in H eaven no

sectarian worship n o rem ains of dogmatic faiths
They taught that G od w as a grand Spiritual Sun life on
e arth a probation ; the spheres different degrees of c ompensative
happiness or states of retributive suffering ; each appropriate to
the good or evil deeds done on e arth They described the ascend
ing changes open to e very soul in proportion to its own eor ts to
improve
They all insisted that man was his ow n judge incurred a
penalty or reward for which there was no substitution They
taught nothing of C hrist absolutely denied the idea of vicarious

atonement and represented man as his ow n Savior or destroyer

They spoke of arts sciences and co n tinued activities as if
the life beyond was but an exte n sion of the present on a greatly
improved scale D escriptions of th e radiant beauty supernal hap
i
n e ss and ecst atic sublimity m anifested by the blest spirits w h o
p
had risen to the spheres of paradise H eave n an d the glory of
Angelic companionshi p melts the heart an d lls th e soul with
of

M AG I C

ART

34 6

prejudices of the age in which they lived the generat i ons to com e
will ow e the fact that magnetism and ps ychology h ave r e di sc ov
ered the lost art of ancient magic and transmuted the visionary
stone and elixir of mediaeval mystics into the pure gold of modern
spiri tual science
,

SE C T I O N XXI I I

SPI R I T U A LI ST I C

LI T E R A T U R E

AR M O N I A L PH I LO S O PH Y A N D I T S F O U N D E R M O D E R N S P I RI T
O F P H EN O M ENA S U GG E S T I O N S
U N I V E R S A L I TY
U A L I SM I T S
F O R S CH O O L O F P R O PHE T S D AR K A N D L IG H T C I R CL E S E P I

A R T M A G IC
LO G U E T O T H E D R A M A o r

T HE H

We have reached that point in our review when we nd our

selves at the nal stage of o r journey st anding face to face in

fact with the last great s piritual dispens ation of the ages c om

Modern Spiritualism
m on ly termed
I n touching upon this part of o r record the task resolves
itself chiey into the duty of cat aloguing the many lucid and val
n able expositions of the subj ect which are already extant render
ing the least attempt to add to this vast collection of special litera

t re a work of supererogation I n E ngland The T w o Worlds

by Thos Shorter ; From Matter to Spirit by M r s D e Morgan

the adm irable spiritualistic works of Wm H owitt and Mrs

C rowe s Night Side of N ature o ffer more food for reection

than it would seem the public mind h as as yet been able to assim
ilate whilst hosts of tracts pamphlets able magazines and news
papers furnish continual streams of information from which no
thirsting soul need go away empty F rance is equally rich i n the
literature of Spiritism although the general tone of its later writ
ers is deect ed to sust ain the peculiar Opinions of that body of
believers known
I t would be as useless as
impertinent to cite German literature in support of Spiritualistic
doctrin es or point to its ph alanx of immortal writers whose af r
mations of the Spiritual side of man s nature have never failed
sin ce the advent of the printing press to this hour H olland in
of
its excellent periodicals and R ssia in
its
liberal
patronage
'
S pirit media are also contributing their quota to the general store
ho se of occult knowledge I n the meantime brave uninching
defenders of these truths wri ting in Sp ain from amidst the ghost
,

ART M A G IC

34 7

adows of the grim old I nquisition devoted bands of Spirit

ist e writhing under the proscriptive ban of Priestcraf t in South
A m erica scattering forces from th e Sandwich I slands N ew Zea
land the E ast and West I ndies Australia C alifornia and indeed
wherever civilization h as a foothold all contribute to ll up the
columns of a world wide S piritual Almanac and record the cease
less irruptions of spirit people into thi s mundane world of ours
There are many circu m stances which combine to x th e era
of this great modern movement at or about the date assigned to
"
what has been popularly termed the Rochester knockings
Whilst it would be far more dif cult t o name any period of human
history when Spiritism w as not rather than when it commenced
to act there i s much propriety in assum ing that the rst system
atic effort to reduce the telegraphic signals made by spirits to a
method of direct and continuous communication between them
selves and mortals occurred at Rochester in the State of N ew
Y ork America and commenced in the years 1 8 4 7 and 4 8
The rst public e xhibition of Spiri tual power too occurred
at this place and time conducted under the direction of Spirits
and terminating in reports of C ommi ttees elected by the people
alleging a Spiritual cause for the disturbances that these public
meetings wer e convened to inquire i n to I n America also was
presented for the rst time in history a petition to the Govern
ment of the country signed by many thousands of th e most r e
Sp e c tab le of its citizens
praying for a scientic commission to
inquire into a purely Spiritualistic movement
I t is from these causes together with the immense surfaces

of country embraced in the American manifestations

their pow
er va riety forc e and phenomen al wonder the enormous masses
of i ts believers and the profusion of its literature that mankind
seem to have c ombined with one accord to yield the palm of all
potency number and inuence to American Spiritism
Befor e entering upo n a nal summary o f this movement it
behooves us to render another reason why we should concentrate
upon the Modern Spiritism of the U nited States the deepest emo
tions of respect and gratitude wh ich mankind can render to the
movers and founders of the great spiritual outpouri n g
O n A m eri c an soi l was born and under American skies were
rst poured o t the vaticinations of a Seer who stands second to
n o prophet
religi ous teacher reform e r writer or phenomenal
wonder worker that the page of hist ory h as ever borne witness
of
That Seer is Andre w Jackson D a vis D uring a brief resi
dence in Ameri ca some few years since the author being on a
visi t to a friend in a charming co untry seat found himself made
ly sh

'

ART

348

MA G I C

a noble library of several hundred volumes I n on e por

of that enchanting study just where the beams of the sinki n g
would fall most favorably through the softened lustre of the
s n
stained glass windows stood a rich or m l table where in singu
lar cont ra st to the luxurious obj ects surrounding the m were piled
up a large mass of plainly bound volumes most of them large and
evidently suffi ciently pop lar with their possessor for they bore
more conclusive m arks of wear than any other Of the g orgeously
bound volumes that the room contained O n opening with some
curiosity the most ponderous Of these books the eye fell upon th e
following passages somewhere about the 1 4 2 d page :
As it w as in the beginning so the vast and boundless U ni
the great s n an d centre from which all these worlds
v er c oel m
emanated is still an exhaustle ss fountain Of c h aotic materials and
living inherent energy t o drive into existence billions and mi llions
of billions Of suns with all their appendages more th an ha ve yet
been produced ! F or it has eternal motion and contains the forms
that all things subsequently assume ; and it contains laws that are
displayed in its geometrical and mechanical structure combina
tions laws forces forms and mo tions that have produced and
will still produce an i n n i t de Of systems and systems of systems
whose concentric circles are but an expanse from the great germ
of all existence and ar e incessantly acting and r e acting chan g
ing harmonizing organizing and ethere alizing every particle of

chaotic and undeveloped matter that exists in the vortex !

Struck with the peculiarity of these strange and high strung
words an d their analogy with the Opinions that h e had himself
imbibed from the study O f the Universe and i ts laws the author
proceeded to turn other pages of this volume and found astound
ing and deeply occult descriptions Of God man creation the
Solar and Astral systems the mystery of force li fe being the
order of creation in fact eloquent burning words and thoughts
almost beyond earth l y comprehension for their sublimity in every
line H ours swept on like seconds The wonderful volume w as
glanced through then others were opened
The same writer s mind glowed through all those plain cheap

books books which sh ould have been bound in rubies and sap

h
r es
and
the
reader
became
at
las
almost
paralyzed
at
the
i
t
p
br eadth Of information the intense insight into being and the
maj esty with which some mind more than mortal had swept crea
tion and reduced i ts vast rese arch into th e holiest an d most ele
v ate d language
H our s passed on T h e early morning that had invited the
student into tha t choice retreat now deepened into the gray mist s
of

free
tion

u
u

ART MAG IC

350

poured into the soul when it becomes clairvoyant and

ascends to the spheres of Dei c knowledge ! Why this is ancient
magic ! The secret of all spiritualistic powers and possibilities ;
yet when did any ancient Magian any mind however aspiring
vast or illuminated assume such a depth height and breadth
Answer me my friend H as such a
of comprehension as this ?

paragon ever existed as the author Of this library ?

Swedenborg perhaps Y ou forget him

But these revelations are more human more com pr eh en si
ble and nearer to man s estate than Swedenborg s They might
be breathings of Swedenborg s spirit correcting the shortcomings

of h i s earthly career

P erhaps they are This m an believes in spirits

C an this wonder Of the age exist and the world n ot k n ow

of it ?
Yes ; people know all about him but they don t care for
him now H e i s living in great obscurity somewhere in Jersey I

believe

But the Spiritualists surely those immense bodies Of

thinkers who have disclaimed the false assumptions Of creeds and

the unscientic absurdities of ecclesiastical dogmas do not those

people so wonderf lly taught of the spirit accept h i m as their

prophet their leader their heaven inspired teacher ?

H old hold my friend ! you know not what you say The

They are their ow n Gods their

Sp iritualists are all individuals
ow n
P rophets leaders and teachers ; what ! present any human
leader teacher or Prophet to the great bulk of the American
Spiri t alists ! Y ou will nd yo are treading on dangerous

ground and will soon be warned back with the phrases we wan t
no P opes C ardinals Bishops or Priestly L eaders here
B t L eaders an d Teacher s they must have
DO they not
sustain great mass meetings where the public gather together to

hear their opinions discussed ?

Aye but each one presents his own opinion and none but
his own Sometimes these opinions are as widely divergent as
the heavens and the earth ; and sometimes n ot unlike in essence ,

light and darkness still their pride is to maintain a free plat

form and under this appellation the Angels of darknes s are as

free to have their say as those of light

But this is chaos disorder not Spiritism much less the

sweetness grace and dignity of this H armonial P hilosophy !

The time w as when D avis s revelations startling materi al
i sm o t Of i ts blank negations and compelling attention from the
won derf l an d un prec ed en te d m eth od s O f th eir delivery dr ew
c h ology

u
,

u
,

'

ART MAG IC

351

around him a large class of admiring friends and elevated think

ers who were n ot ashamed to call them selves after him H ar

monial P hilosophers but in the revolutionary spirit Of this great
movement Spiritualism thousands have rushed into i ts ranks
glad to escape from creeds dogmas and ecclesiastical despotism
The memory of this dethron ed tyranny is still too strong upon
them to admit of any present attempts to organize a new reli gious
system The swing Of the pendulum has carried the soul from
despotism into license and until th e revolutionary elements of
thought can subside into equilibrium depend upon it even the

amiable and unassum i ng harmonial ph i losopher s leadership can

n ot be tolerated
But in the meantime were these st upendous revelations
gi ven in vain ? Surely so noble a philosophy received through
inspiration so unmistakably divine so free from human bias
an
or mortal intervention ought to commend itself to every civilized

nation of the present age !

My fri end yo forget the elements Of which this genera
Setting aside the scientists who sco ff o t of
tion is composed
notice every idea connected with spiritual existence or outside the
known routine Of science w h o do yo expect in C at h olic and
E urope to sympathize with the revelations of the
\P rotestant
P oughkeepsie Seer ? Some few there are in every country where
these plain black volumes have made their way w h o regard them
as we do Many who even believe they are the voice of earth s
Tutelary Angel speaking from between the C herubim an d Sera
phi m of past and future ages but they like us must wai t until
the age i s more receptive Of these sublime truths At the present
day the great majority Of E uropean religionists hold up their

hands with holy horror at the name of A J D avis and cry P an

theist ! H eathen P hilosopher ! This i s the man who denies the
Trinity disbelieves in the awful Jehovah with his great white
throne ! This is the hard hearted mo ralist who would take away
o r Savi or from us
deny us the consolation of the vicarious
atonement and compel us all to do personal penance for o r sins
and even abandon them altogether ! This is he who calls God a
Spiritual Sun Jesus an amiable young man creation an ev ol
tion and ies in the face of Genesis and the thirty nine articles !
In after years when th e author had time and Opportunity
to study o t the vast stores O f spi r itu al thought and profound
'
philoso phy displayed in the voluminous writings of this great
modern P rophet the admiration they excited determin ed him
if h e ev er more vi si ted America he w o l d seek o t th i s m a rv el of

ART MAG IC

352

the age even as the D isciples Of classic Greece sat at the feet o f
her master spirits to learn wisdom
The time for the fulllment of this cherished p rpose came
an d in company with an ardent D isciple of the H armoni al P hil
osophy from a dist ant land the author commenced his search
F ew Spiritualists seemed to know even Of the whereabouts
Of th e P oughkeepsie Seer Surely we though t he must be at the
h ead of some great C hurch Temple ; Synagogue a mechanic s
institute at the least or a popular lecture hall ; some place where
S piritually starved souls could feed upon the D ivine revelations
O f nature as taught by one of her purest and most faithful inter
r e te r s !
But
n
o
the
great
Alchemist
who
had
transmuted
the
!
p
Magic of early ages i nto the go ld Of spiritual science the Seer
P hilosop her and greatest phenomenon Of this or any age had
to b e sought for in a little shop in an Obscure street where with
o t followers disciples adm irers and to judge from appearances
with but very few customers amidst his neat well ordered c ollec
tion of books ranged on their shelves in curious lit tle delicate
curves and tastefully ad orned with illuminated mottoes and

Autumn leaves stood the great Seer sellli n g his book s for a
livelihood
The placid mien and gentle tones Of the unassuming s ales
m an betrayed none O f the pangs of grief indignation a n d humilia
tion which tw o foreigners felt f or h i m as they made their silent
purchase with hearts too full for utterance and withdrew
That man i s nobler far in the quiet cheerful dignity with
which he accommodates himself to the sordid necessities of a
petty trade than when he stood as th e interpreter Of Angels dic

tating Nature s D ivine Revel ations

Thus spoke on e Of the
deeply moved visitors
The age is not worthy of him ; he lives a century before

his time rej oined the other

The truths he r e
Aye ! but h i s works will live after h i m

veal s are eternal and the revelator w i ll yet become immortal

E ven so Time the touchstone Of truth will do
w as the repl y
justice to him to all ; and so Andrew Jackson D avis farewell !

r
l
A
a
b
h
il
s
the
Magic
Sta
f
f
P
enetralia
Stellar
K
e
B t w
t
a
:
y

H armonia and D ivine Revelations ar e in print o r even in mem

German or criti c of
ory never let American E nglish F rench

any ot h er lan d presume to say :Spi riti sm has no philosophy

I n the volumes enumerated above it h as the best broadest holiest
an d yet most practical philosophy that was ever enunciated since

God said :L et there be Light and there was Light !

We ar e n ot i n form ed wh eth er Mr Davis ran ks hi m sel f b ef ore
,

'

3 54

ART MAG IC

in the earl i est days of the American movement an d n ow

of its leading organ
occupying
the
distinguished
place
6
1
8
7
(
)
is in itself a complete repertoire Of all the astounding phenom
ena passing events an d celebr ated personages w h o constitute the
history Of Spiritism
The more det ail ed sources of information th s indicated i t
only remains for us to notice some of the principal characteristics
Of the modern movement
I n America these are strikingly tinctured by the national
idiosyn crasies of the people but the methods of signaling by spirit
power are alike all over the world They consist rst of the pro
duction of sounds by knock ing ; table tilting lifting of heavy
bodies the transportation of small articles such as fruits ow
ers jewels etc etc through th e air and their production at
points Of distance from their scene Of depart re The exe cution
of music by spirits playing upon instruments furnished by m or
tals and still more rarely music sung or played by spirits without
an y visible means Of its production
The voices O f spirits are also
heard clairaudiently an d externally sometimes uttering words
only at others long addresses Spirits display their hands feet

faces and sometimes the whole form materialized o t of the

emanations of the mediums and human beings s rr O n di n g them
I n this esh ly masquerade the spirits dance sing disport wi th
the persons around them and perform like players on the mi mic
O ther demonstrations consist of resisting re
stage Of a theatre
the extension of the body also its elevation into the air and oat
ing about the apartme n t Spirits also exhibit feats Of strength
tying and untying thei r Media when bound with ropes and exe
c ti n g just such sleight O f han d tricks as are common to jugglers
Many higher phases of spirit power are exhibited such as trance
speaking and writing ; Seership or th e power Of seeing and de
scribing spiri ts or personating their peculiarities so as to be recog
n i z e d; also th e impressions which the mind receives from spirits
to declare names and other signs of identity by w h i ch mort als can
be assured their spirit friends are present Many photographi c
likenesses of Spirits are said to have been produced through Me
dia whilst others are impelled to draw portraits Of Spirits or
owers and allegorical scenes others to behold visions prophetic
descriptive or symbolical
Many are imp elled to describe di se ases prescribe remedies or
effect cures by the laying on Of h ands This movement h as also
brought to light a great many latent powers Of the so l whi ch
spring up under the s ympathetic contagion of the time and ex
bi bi t th em selves i n psyc h om etri c delin eati on s of character b y
m en ce d

u
uu

u
,

A R T MAG IC

355

clai rvoyance magnetic virtue and prophetic intui tion

Another striking and curious phase is the frequent appari
tion of the spectre or astral spirit disengaged from the still liv
ing body and manifesting its presence at a distance with or with
o t the consciousness Of the subj ect
N ow the great marvel and special interest which attaches to
all these manifestations of spirit pow er in the nineteenth cen
tury is their original spontaneity and the fact that they have in
most instances fallen upon the media through whom they ar e
produced without solicitation or an y form of preparation
I t i s in this spontaneity and the vast abundance Of the phe
n om en a that the modern movement differs so widely from all

preceding examples where except in rare cases years of prep

aration initiation and m agical processes have been required for
the performance of occult work s Modern Spiritism also is more
characteristic of human spirit agency than that of any other era
U p to the close Of the last century when the German and
F rench magnetizers so widely populari zed the pr actices Of Mes
me rism and the powers of P sychology a belief prevailed that oc
cult works were effected by P lanetar y E lementary and Tutelary
Spiri ts chiey and that the apparition Of deceased persons was
rare and exceptional The experiments Of the magnetizers and
the cloud Of witnesses who poured in through their subjects from
the realms Of sp irit land bringing in disputable proofs of their
identity with the souls of dece ased ancestors completely reversed
this Opinion an d ind ced a prevalent belief that all manifesta
tions Of a spiritualistic character originated with the liberated
souls of humanity The author has i n previous sections addu ce d
sufcient reason for assuming a middle ground between these
Opinions ; and whilst there is abundant evidence to prove the con
stant interposition Of human spirits in human affairs and the
i denti ty Of such spirits with a vast amount of the occult phenom
ena produced in every age of the world w e may also res t assured
that the realms of the E lem en tar i e s can and do exercise consider
able inuence up on hum anity especially i n relation to animal
propensities and earthly things ; also that P lanetary Spirits rule
guide and interpose in human destiny and that Tutelary Spirits
take charge of and govern nations planets and all bodies in
space That all these spirits can be seen communed with an d i n
v ok e d i s also sufciently proved in the course of this work
When we consider the stupendous and revolutionary changes
of Opinion that this great Spiritual outpour ing induces we are
driven to accept of three ma n ifest conclusions ; the rst is that we
can n ot b e too gr atef l for th ese dem o n s trati ons n or too c ar ef l
touch ,

"

u
.

ART MAG IC

3 56

to sift them from al l taint Of human folly i mpurity hall c i n a

tion or imposture
N ext we should recognize it as our incumbent duty even an
urgent necessity to preserve to ourselves and posterity the high
privileges Of this b en e c en t and instructive intercourse by study
ing its laws and endeavoring scientically to master its methods
so as to control the communion and be enabled to conduct it at
pleasure
N ext it must strike ev ery reasonable mind with indignation
to perceive that those who have assum ed the high position Of
leaders either i n science or ecclesiasticism should so far abandon
their trust as to permit the people to grope their way blindfold
through the mists obscurities and di f c lties of this vast outpour
ing without lending their ai d to solve its mysteries proving i ts
errors if it had any conser ving its truths if they exist and dem
on str ati n g w h atev er i s t r e or false valuabl e or pernicious in i ts
action
I t is an acknowledged axiom in logic that abuse is no argu
ment ridicule no proof And yet to these petty arms pop guns

worthy only of pugnacious school boys have many Of the most

eminent scientists of the day descended when compelled by the
force of public opinion to deal with the subj ect of Sp iritism
High ecclesiasticism has done worse for it has falsied the
very basis of its own pretensions the corner stone of its authority
being miracle By denouncing the modern power or right to

work what has been n sci en ti cally ter m ed miracle the C hurch
has virtually undermined its own foundations and either proved

itself impious enough to ght against the liv ing G od or hypo

critical enough to m aintain an i nstitutio n fo unded upon myth and
falsehood
F rom these positions there is no escape an d though we h ave
no intention in these brief remarks to wage war upon materialistic
Science or atheistic E c c lesiasticism we point out the position to
o r readers to show them why they must rely on themselves and
cease to utter vain appeals to any human leaders to help them or
continue their humiliating efforts to convert great m en who don t
want to be converted
Many very eminent scientists and excellent members of ec

as individuals n ot as Official members of

c le si asti cal bodies have
an organization taken hold of Spiritualism and h azarded name
and place in its advocacy b t it must be Obvious even to these i l
l m i n at ed t h inkers that the for mulae of material science and the
inu enc es of cre dal faith have n o con n ect i o n with this great in de
d
n t m ov em ent
e
en
p
,

MA G I C

ART

358

methods so as to control the communion and be enab l e d to con

duct it at pleasure
O n this point let it be remembered tha t all the magical arts
and possibilities detailed in previous sec tions are as Open to man
kind to day as ever they were Whether it be expedient to seek
them or no i s not the question We simply reiterate they are at
tai n ab le and with the lights of scie n ce we now enj oy especially
in our improved knowledge of m agnetic psychologic and physi
ological laws they can be arrived at with far less severe proba
ti on ary efforts and with far milder methods of culture than those
formerly exercised
Supercial commentators on this subj ect talk of the los t

ar t of magic
and describe as i m possible achievements for m od
ern E uropeans or American the marvels enacted b y H ind oo F a T
k eer s E gyptian D ervishes an d Arabian Santons Mediaeval E c
statics Witches and Wizards ; but what marvels are much greater
than the talking Spirits whose truth an d spiritual origin were so
clearly demonstrated at Koon s spirit rooms even as early as
What
1 8 5 0? ( vide H ar di n g e s Modern America n Spiritualism )
revelations of Zoroaster Buddha Pythagoras P lato or other
great philosophers of antiq ity have ever rendered a better code
Of morals purer life or more scientic demonstration of creative
order and the mysteries Of the U n i v er c oel m than the en
?
tranced Mystics Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson D avis
D oes
M Jac c oli ot give one single m arvel of H indo o Spiritism that h as
n ot transpired in equal force and greater abundance through the
physical force Mediums of E ngland and Ameri ca ?
The E cstatics of the Monasteries were cano n ized as Saint s
because the stigmata appeared on their bodies ; their forms were
elevated in the air and they could read the t h oughts Of othe rs
prophesy the future etc etc
I t is n ot o r purpos e to detract from the value Of the abun
dant literature n ow before a very unappreciative age by rep eating
the authentic and well attested narratives they contai n A n y n
prejudiced reader will nd the marvels reported Of the Asiatic
Mystics equaled and in many instances transcended by the illus
tr ati on s of spirit power given in H ar di n g e s Modern American

Spiritualism alone
L et it sufce to say that the stigmata Of names gures dates
and signs which hav e convinced thousands of darkened minds of
the Soul s imm ortality have appeared on the persons Of numer ous
mediums Of this century and are still appearing to those who care
to seek for such e vi dence ; that the levitation Of the body is a
common occurrence ; the power of prophec y h as been amply dem
.

MA G I C

ART

3 59

t h ousands of well attested ins tan ces The capacity

to resist re has been abundantly shown
The vaticinations of the Greek and Roman Sybils never ex
c e e de d many O f the eloquent utterances of unlettered boys and
m p os
rl
in
the
modern
Spiritual
movement
and
if
shameful
i
s
i
g
ture and very bad reputations had not intervened so frequently to
destroy faith or even patience with the modern manifestations
they exceed in s e wonder beauty and number a thousand fold
all the marvellous tales recited Of Greek Roman H indoo E gyp
tian P ersian C haldean or H ebrew Spiritism that is when the
latter are sifted down to well proven narratives C abalistic sen
ten c es are translated into plain sense and allegorical ights of
fancy are reduced to actual fact
The failures Of modern Spiritism i ts degradation lack of
organic power evil repute and gradual but sure decadence all
proceed fro m the human side Of the movement I t may be di th
cult perhaps impossible to repair the errors committed by a fast
fading generation but it i s for us to lay the foundation of i m
proved conditions b y dealing with the rising generation and for
this purpose the wisest course we can now p rsue to sho w our de
to the interests Of truth and o r duty to posterity would
v oti on

be to found a n e w School Of the P rophets

I n these young fresh susceptible organisms should be se
lec te d as N eophytes to ll a future order of Mediums P riests and
Mini sters Their food should be p lain and simple their habits
pure and orderly their lives spotless their morals regulated by
the most exalted and dignied standards of truth justice piety
and goodness They should be under the regulation Of a com
pany of holy women and scientic men
Good pure minded
healthful magnetizers should be received into f llow sh i p with
them and on e and all s h o ld be magnetized to eterm i n e who
were o perators and who subjects The rst should be set apart
as P hysicians to th e sick and Operators for mediumistic and clair
voyant development The second as Media Prophets and Min
on strated i n

i ster s

As soon as the aforesaid powers were discovered they should

be classied and the magnetizations continued until the subj ects
felt impressed to di scontinu e them and stan d alone P eriodical
seances should be established at which scientic order should
strictly prevail The oors of the circle room should be inter
se c te d with plateaus of glass to prevent th e escape of the mag
netic i d
The air should Often be puried with streams of
ozone ; the walls surrounded with graceful forms Of art and well
sel e c te d color s
Thos e destined to b ecome Magnetizers or P hys i
,

MA G I C

ART

36 0

should sit in r ooms well supplied with po werful magn ets

Tender susceptible me dia sho ld never commence their sittings
without rst holding the poles of a good electro magnetic battery
in their h ands closing their exercises in the same way
NO
dr gs narcotics or stimulants sh ould be used under any circum
stances but all other legitimate a ppeals to th e sen ses s h o ld be
put into requisition the most potential Of which should be health
ful exercises bathing the perform ance of exquisite music and the
sight of beautiful forms Of art
Those sensitives manifesting tendencies towards clairvoyance
should practice gazing ste adily into the crystal or mirror Those
susceptible of psychometric al delineations should practice their
power remembering that this and all other Spiritual gifts are as
much the result of culture and exerci se as ar e the developments
of muscular strength
or intellectual achievement
N O seances
should ever be attempted without a solemn preparatory invoca
tion to go od and wise Spirits and to any Tut elary Angelic
Guardian or Dei c power in which the I nvocant places faith and
this not only for the purpose of stimulating the mind to aspira
tion and soliciting the presence and inuence Of the good and
wise but also for the purpose of banishin g evil and mischievous
S pirits from interferin g
The same ceremon ial of discharge or
dismissal sh o ld b e used on breaking up a seance in fact we would
recommend at least as much courtesy in the treatment of Angelic
essences as the usages of society demand for ordinary acquaint
c i an s

'

a,

an c e s

School of the P rophets conducted on some such prin

c i ple s as we have thus briey outlined would c ertainly do as much
for this generation as the mysteries and Temple services of an

f
f
r
n
ti q i ty ef ected o the nations i which they were practiced i n
a wor d i t would provide a class of duly qualied Magnetic P hysi
c i an s P rophets Mediums C lear Seers and Spiritualistic persons
whose mor al s characters and gifts being cultured and s peri n
d c e d into religious and scientic methods would ll the world
wi th blessing and usefulness instead Of as n ow desecrating
high and holy gifts to base and sordid purposes Or disgracing
them with cha r cteristics which we do not care to dwell upon i n
this volume
All the public e x ercises of Spiritu alism should be conducted
A general basis of principles should unite
i n decency and order
all persons who believe in Spiritual existence and Spiritual gifts
and well q ali ed expo nders of these subjects should be the Ot
I n these gatherings as in the processes of sci
c i ati n g ministers
en ti c culture the S weetest melodies the noblest harmo n i es th e
A

AR T M A G I C

3 62

S pirit , whate ve r sp irit they summon will be there , b e i t G od or th e

Ad versary ; spirits of the heart s dearest a ffe ctions or goblins from

the metal crypts of earth which avarice would fain r ob of its hid
den treasures I n the meantime i n order to systematize even
these innocent home communings good order and strict c on
formi ty to scientic principles S hould be Observed We are not
n ow unde rtakin g to lay do w n the exact methods in which each
circle for development or communion should be condu c te d We
only touch upon the generalities of the subj ect and would
c an
recommend well wishers to these great tru ths if they desire their
rapid and orderly promotion to abandon the childish an d eg o ti s
tical fear that now paralyzes them lest some competent adviser
or highly inspired person S hould assume leadership amongst them
and remember that to every organism there must be a head as well
as organs to every circumference a centre and in every nation a
r
n
m
o
e
e
n
l
m
i
v
t
a
o
b
a
t
i
on
f
r
f
o
the
protection
the governed no
o
n
c
g
less than for the restraint of the lawless H aving disposed Of this
poor envious phantom which so troubles the peace of some Spir
i ti sts and convinced themselves that it is not necessary that a
well q ali e d adept in S piritual things should require those whom
he counsel s to place a triple crown on his head k i ss h i s slipper

and pronounce his dictum infallible let Spiritists come together

in reverent deliberation and decide what methods of sc ientic i n
v esti g ati on
they can or ought to pursue so as to evolve the basic
principles upon which spirits communicate
e t them appoint qualied persons to prepare reports and
verify their opinions by successful experiments, and until such r e
ports conj oined with such experiments b e ac cepted by the sense
reason and convicted j dgment of the deliberators let the reports
be peremptorily rejected and the investigation continue if it be
necessary from generation to generation until results are
achieved But such a council animated by such a S pirit would
not have to wait long Magnetism is the pabulum by which spir
i ts communicate P sychology the inue n ce
These are the secret
virtues Of Magic Witchcraft and Mediumship in every age and
human nature changes not I f the founders of home circles will
carefully study o t the rules briey suggested as indications in
forming a school for the education and trai n ing of Media they
will surely become in part at least successful enough to reward
them for some time consumed and some sacrices consummated
I f possible a room should be set apart consecrated and held
consecrated to S pi ritual science
0
nholy th i ng shoul d enter there no unholy thoughts b e
i nvi te 1
,

MA G I C

ART

3 63

T h e c i rcle shoul d meet at leas t once , but better twice or

each week N one should enter there until they had fasted
at least four hours previously and assemble together w i th cle an
hands and clean hearts L e t them com e as to a holy place ; and
if neither vocal nor instrumental music Of a s w eet and harmonious
character can be procured a Small but nely toned chime of bells
glas s h armonica or good musical box should invariably be pro

thus the atmosphere will be arranged into harmonious

v i de d;
strata according to the suggestions upon music contain ed in a
previous Section L et the chambe r be adorned with all the little
stores Of beauty and pleasant forms possible F lowers are some
times injurious to media their strong perfume causing too much
excitement to the senses but where ozone can be pr ocured it is
well to pass streams through the air and the use of the electro
magnetic battery held by tw o persons placed at each pole the rest
forming a chain ever strengthens the force and benets all pres
ent Ten minutes se of this machin e should open and close
each seance Also we would e n force the same rule Of opening
w ith an invocation and closing with a courteous discharge to the
spirits suggested above F amily g atherings might experiment
with magnetization as before suggested the strongest healthies t
and most worthy Of the party bein g selected as the operator
C rystals and mirrors should be laid on the circle table also writ
ing materi als and slates
A large circle beneath the tab le s fcient to insulate all the
sitters assembled and prevent even their garments from touching
the ground should be formed of gla s s and this would greatly con
duce to aid the manifestations by preventing the too rapid efflux
of vital force
I t should fOr ev er after be prohibited to si t in totally dark
ened apartments Spirits come to earth in their own Astral light
and to this element material light is Opposed ; still the unqualied
abuses that have arisen from the prevalence of total darkness at
Spiritual seances should induce every wise investigator t o dis
coun tenance them utterly
The fact that many of the most stupendous evidences of
spirit power have been given in semi lighted apartments should
be a sufci ent an swer to those who plead for darkness as a n e c es
sary condition for strong demonstrations ; besides the wise and
faithful investigator can better afford to dispense with strong
demonstrations than good morals decency or spiritual agency
without h uman interferenc e
L et dark circles be abandoned to E lementary Spirits in and
o t of earthly encasements and the impo stors will nd much of
th ei r occup ation gone
thri ce

A R T M AG IC

3 64

F or more de tailed instructions i n thi s and all f o rms O f sp ir

i t al culture , we commend a careful perusal and reperusal Of
these pages Attempts should b e m ade to elaborate the many
suggestion s it contains , by the aid of a council selected from ex

peri enced medi a an d philosop h ic thinkers but whils t the aim in

view should be to perfect those methods by which Spiritism can
be organized into a religio n an d cultivated as a science , both
C hurch and Lyc eum should be left free to expand in every di r ec
tion, open to new light, new conditions of society, and the prog
res s of human Opinion Basic principles S hould be sought for
and lai d\dow n as fund amental rules from which there c an be 1 1 0
departure ; powers of growth and advancement should b e just as

liberally provided for ever remembering that mind grows but

writings do not and that whilst th e Universe is a stupendous or

n
whose
centre
the
grand
man
the
Spiritual
Sun
the
a
i
s
m
g

Unknown and Unknowable changes n ot the manifestatio ns of

h i s innity his variousness his beauty and goodne ss are o t

wrought i n eternal series Of changes Light and H eat Truth

and L ov e are eternal and unchanging principles Their mani
festati on s i n created being are innite
All are ten di n g outward
from a grand central heart to an illimitable circumfe rence yet all
are held in the gravitating arms of immutable law ; all are moved

in the expanding grooves of inevitable progress and all ar e sent

forth on Sun like paths of ascending glory to model after God
Study him honor him glorify him in thyself Thou cans t not
misunderstand or fail to know him I n H eaven in the boundless
Universe he is the Macrocosm the innitely large ; on earth and
in thyself H e is the Microcosm the innitely little I n th e n
der stan di n g of the m ystery of God lies all the secret potency of
A r t Ma gi c
I n the apprehension of his scheme his glorious harp Of cr ea
tion on whi ch his master hand is striking tones from the lowest
bas s to the highest treble ; you hear the majestic symphony whose
notes are suns systems worlds earth men Mundane Sub
Mundane and Super Mundan e Spiritism
,

ART M AG IC

3 66

We ask a care f ul perusal and reperusal of these pages n ot

for their literary merit nor the exactitude of their methods but
for the sakes of the high themes discussed and the weighty s b
o r readers have b e
which
ll
up
each
column
When
e
c
t
s
j
stowed this much study upon the volume they will not need an
I ndex ; until they have done so we have written for them in vain
N either have we followed the well beaten track Of custom in giv
ing a list of authorities cited in this volume Whenever possible
we have given the names of such authors as have supplied s with
felicitous quotations ; but we feel n o impulse to burden o r work

with the abomination of such signs as vols vers chap s etc

etc any more than we rec ognize the propriety Of harassing o r
readers by foot notes or references to literature perhap s unat
And now that
tai n ab le to all but special see kers into occult lore

o r work
not of apology but of sturdy resistance to c on v en
ti on al habits in book making is done what remains save to ten
der everl asting thanks to o r gentle faithful and long suffering

E ditor ; m os t kindly greetings to the brave B anner of L ight

the Spiritual Scientist

L ondon Me dium and Spiri tualist
who have so generously and courteously sustained h er and a po
te n ti al psychologic h eartfelt God speed to the n ob le v e hundred
who in the face of scorn contumely ri dicule and blatant i gn or
a nce have dared to register their honored names as subscrib ers to
A rt Magic four hundred at le ast of them paying their s b sc r i p
tions before they were due trusting gallantly to the good faith
and honesty of E mma H ardinge Britten that they should n ot be
robbed Of their due and the rest signifying their insight and rec
of the divine in humanity with an absence of all sordid
ogn i ti on
motive or fear Of public Opinion which forever protests agains t

the doctrines Of h man depravity ori ginal sin or aught b t

the sublime truth that the word i s made esh an d dwells amon gst
men n ow and evermore !
,

u
u

u
.