,,author3 ,burgoyne1 ,thomas ,h4 ,,title3 ,the light of ,egypt 3 or1 ,the science of the soul and the stars _/ ,,edition3 #eth ed4 ,,place3 ,denver1 ,colo4 3 ,,publisher3 ,astro ,philosophical ,pub4 ,co41 ,,year3 #aijc ,,pub ,,type3 ,book ,,format3 #b v4 3 ill4 2 #bb cm4 ,vol4 #b has title3 ,the light of ,egypt1 by ,thomas ,h4 ,burgoyne 444 ,denver1 ,colo41 ,the ,astro-philosophical publishing co41 #aijj4 ,dictated by the author from the subjective plane of life through ,belle ,m4 ,wagner4--,pref41 vol4 ,,ii4 ,,subject3 ,astrology4 ,occultism4 ,,other3 ,wagner1 ,belle ,m4 -- ,,author3 ,wagner1 ,h4 ,o4 ,,title3 ,a treasure chest of wisdom3 jewels of thought2 the tablets of ,aeth in verse _/ ,,place3 ,denver 3 ,,publisher3 ,h4 ,o4 ,wagner1 ,,year3 #aifg ,,pub ,,type3 ,book ,,format3 #fc p4 2 #ba cm4 ,,notes3 ,verses by ,dr4 and ,mrs4 ,henry ,wagner4 ,a supplement to the tablets of ,aeth in ,the light of ,egypt1 volume ,,ii1 by ,t4 ,h4 ,burgoyne4 ,,subject3 ,occultism4 ,,other3 ,wagner1 ,henry1 #ahej- ,wagner1 ,belle ,m4 ,burgoyne1 ,thomas ,h4 ,the light of ,egypt4 ,scanned by ,charles ,keller for ,sarah with ,omni,page ,professional ,,ocr software ,,the ,,light ,,of ,,egypt ,,or ,,the ,,science ,,of ,,the ,,soul ,,and ,,the ,,stars ,,volume ,,ii ,,by ,,thomas ,h4 ,,burgoyne ,,zanoni ,write the things which thou hast seen1 and the things which are1 and the things which shall be hereafter2 ,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,the ,,seven ,,stars1 which thou sawest in my right hand4 ,revelations1 ,chap4 ,i1 #ai and #bj4 ,dedication ,to the ,budding ,spirituality of the ,occident and ,the ,rising ,genius of the ,western ,race1 ,this work is respectfully dedicated1 ,by the ,author ,,contents ,the ,science of the ,soul and the ,stars ,,volume ,,ii ,introduction ,chapter ,i ,the ,zodiac ,chapter ,,ii ,the ,constellations ,chapter ,,iii ,the ,spiritual ,interpretation of the ,twelve ,houses of the ,zodiac ,chapter ,,iv ,astro-,theology ,chapter ,v ,astro-,mythology ,chapter ,,vi ,symbolism ,chapter ,,vii ,alchemy ,part ,i 7organic7 ,chapter ,,viii ,alchemy ,part ,,ii 7occult7 ,chapter ,,ix ,talismans ,chapter ,x ,ceremonial ,magic ,chapter ,,xi ,magic ,wands ,chapter ,,xii ,the ,tablets of ,aeth in three parts ,part ,i the ,twelve ,mansions ,part ,,ii the ,ten ,planetary ,rulers ,part ,,iii the ,ten ,great ,powers of the ,universe ,chapter ,,xiii ,penetralia ,,publisher',s ,,preface ,no explanation is thought necessary1 further than to corroborate the author in all he has said in his somewhat unusual preface4 ,we have enjoyed1 immensely1 our work of giving to the world this remarkable series of books on ,occultism1 and appreciate the large patronage they have received from the reading public1 for which we return our sincere thanks4 ,we hope the near future will give us the work referred to by the author in his preface1 as doubtless it will be a great revelation of ,occult laws that govern our little ,earth in its relation to our ,sun and solar system1 of which it forms a part1 and give much light on those subjects that have been shrouded in mystery4 ,the ,light of ,egypt will be found to be an ,occult library in itself1 a textbook of esoteric knowledge1 setting forth the wisdom ,religion of life1 as taught by the ,adepts of ,hermetic ,philosophy4 ,it will richly repay all who are seeking the higher life to carefully study this book1 as it contains in a nutshell the wisdom of the ages regarding man and his destiny1 here and hereafter4 ,the ,london and ,american first edition1 also the ,french edition1 ,vol4 ,i1 met with lively criticism from ,blavatsky ,theosophists1 because it annihilates that agreeable delusion of ,karma and ,reincarnation from the minds of all lovers of truth for truth's sake4 ,the ,tablets of ,aeth is a great and mighty work1 as it contains the very quintessence of ,occult and ,hermetic philosophy1 as revealed by spiritual law4 ,penetralia is a new revelation1 and invaluable to ,occult students1 as it is the personal experience of a developed soul4 ,to all lovers of ,truth we respectfully recommend this ,book of ,books1 as it has justly been called by many who are competent to criticise its teachings4 ,it was the author's wish that his name be withheld from the public1 knowing full well that the teachings contained in his works will prove his motto3 ,omnia ,vincit ,veritas4 ,now that our author has passed beyond the power of the world to flatter or condemn1 and has given his thought for the uplifting of the human family1 it is but simple justice that he be made known to the world as its teacher of a higher thought than has preceded him4 ,he shrank from public notoriety1 and modestly refused to be publicly known to the world as one of its spiritual leaders for the cycle upon which the ,earth and its inhabitants have entered1 but the time has come to announce publicly the authorship of the works published anonymously under the symbol of 1 and his writings are to be judged by their merits1 and not by prejudice nor personal bias as viewed from the human plane of life4 ,he moved in the world1 comparatively unknown to the world at large1 and his greatest friends1 though mystified1 did not understand his true worth in spiritual greatness4 ,the mask1 or person1 often hides from view the angel in disguise4 ,therefore our author must be judged by what he has written1 and not by his personators and calumniators4 ,the true student of ,occultism always judges the tree by its fruits4 ,if the writings of our author are judged by this standard1 they will stand as a beacon light to higher rounds than ours4 ,,preface ,these lessons were issued to a few of my pupils as ,private ,studies in ,occultism1 several years ago4 ,the time has now come to give them to the world as a companion to the first volume of ,the ,light of ,egypt4 ,it is the duty of ,occult students to familiarize themselves with the subjects herein discussed4 ,they should know the ideas of our ancestors regarding them and be familiar with their thought1 in order to appreciate the sublime wisdom and knowledge of ,nature as taught by them1 otherwise we are sure to do them1 as well as ourselves1 great injustice4 ,the history of ,occultism bears out the fact that there is very little that is new to the present time4 ,the arrangement and classification of thought differs during each cycle of time on the different spirals1 and1 like the fruitage on lower rounds of ,nature's progressive wheel of destiny1 variety and quality are diverse1 so1 likewise1 do we find the mental manifestations4 ,this age1 however1 is blessed with a great variety and abundance of thought1 in clear-cut language1 that should enlighten the races of the ,earth with ,mother ,nature's modus operandi in every department of human thought4 ,we hope these chapters will aid to this end1 and doubtless many students will find in them the key to unlock the mysteries veiled in symbol and hieroglyphic by ancient writers4 ,the author's object has been to make plain and easy of understanding these subjects4 ,much1 however1 has been left for private study and research1 for many large volumes might be filled if a detailed description of each subject were entered upon1 which task is left for those who feel so inclined4 ,a rich reward is in store for those spiritual investigators who will follow out the paths and lines herein mapped out on ,spiritual ,astrology1 ,alchemy1 and other subjects4 ,meditation and aspiration will open up hidden treasures that will prove a boon to ,occult students1 for ,astrology and ,alchemy are the two grand sciences that explain the why and reasons for what we see and experience on every plane of life4 ,in this age there should be no concealing of these ,divine truths4 ,we cannot hide anything in the air1 and for this reason the ,sun in ,aquarius will unearth and reveal to man all that the present cycle has to give during the ,sun's passage through this airy sign4 ,the watery sign1 ,pisces1 through which the ,sun manifested during the past #b1afj years1 gave up to man their secret powers and hidden attributes in steam as a motive power1 which man has completely mastered4 ,he will likewise master the airy forces during the present sub-cycle of the ,sun in ,aquarius4 ,already we see him using liquid air and compressed air as a motive power1 which will gradually take the place of steam as the ,sun gets farther into the sign1 or constellation1 of ,aquarius4 ,men will become immensely wiser than they have been1 and it is to be hoped they will leave the written record of their achievements in science and art to show to future races their status of mind on every subject for the edification and enlightenment of coming races4 ,our ancestors were denied this great privilege4 ,consequently their wisdom is only symbolized to us in a way that it is difficult to read and interpret correctly1 yet we who have the key to their symbols can read accurately the truth they wish to convey1 which stands out clearly to all capable of understanding and interpreting symbolism and correspondence correctly4 ,history and ,nature repeat themselves in every cycle of time2 therefore these forces and potentialities are natural to the sign through which the ,sun manifests4 ,we can go backward or forward through the ,sun's ,zodiac and read correctly the history of the hoary past1 as well as the present and future1 by bearing in mind the sign and cycle in manifestation at any given period4 ,when the proper time arrives1 a work will be given to the world to prove to mankind the law of cycles4 ,god is present in all ages and races1 manifesting ,his love and wisdom throughout infinite creations1 and that ,he records1 in ,his own way1 the most detailed record of any event which takes place1 thus giving to man a complete history of ,his works and will1 for man's enlightenment1 so that he1 too1 may cooperate intelligently with his ,god in every way that intelligence wills to manifest4 ,prehistoric history is not blotted out from ,nature's laboratory4 ,the ,astral ,book of ,karmic evolution will one day reveal its hidden treasures to a waiting world in such a manner as to surprise and enlighten mankind as the recording angels give up those gems of truth they have so jealously guarded for untold cycles of time1 simply because the time was not ripe for its divulgence4 ,there is a time for everything1 and when that time arrives all past history of our planet's evolution will be written in an intelligent manner for the illumination and education of man as the masterpiece of the ,living ,god4 ,in this way man will worship ,deity and perfect his ,god-nature1 even to ,angel-hood4 ,if this volume of ,the ,light of ,egypt meets with the same appreciation that was accorded the first volume1 which has passed through four editions1 and is still growing in favor every day 7besides being translated into the ,french71 the author will feel that his efforts have not been wasted1 and he trusts the race will have been made better for having read his writings4 ,as this is his posthumous contribution to the world1 the author wishes1 in this connection1 to pay a debt of gratitude and grateful recognition to his esteemed pupil and friend1 ,dr4 ,henry ,wagner1 who has so generously published nearly all of his writings4 ,without his aid and assistance we would not have been able1 of ourselves1 to have given these works to the world4 ,therefore1 honor to whom honor is due4 ,mrs4 ,belle ,m4 ,wagner has been chosen by the ,masters as my spiritual successor and representative of the ,hermetic ,brotherhood of ,luxor1 and thus perpetuate the chain of outward connection between those in the realm of the higher life with those upon the outward plane4 ,she is our choice1 and a most worthy one to take my place4 ,i make this statement in this connection for the benefit of my pupils and ,hermetic students generally1 as ,i am being personated by frauds and imposters1 claiming to be ,zanoni4 ,verbam sap4 ,it is my request that a fac-simile of my signature and symbol accompany this preface4 ,dictated by the author from the subjective plane of life 7to which he ascended several years ago7 through the law of mental transfer1 well known to all ,occultists1 he is enabled again to speak with those who are still upon the objective plane of life4 ,the additions found in this volume1 not in the original manuscripts1 have been supplied in this manner4 ,the two planes of life1 the objective and subjective1 are scientific facts1 no longer disputed by well-informed minds1 and the exchange of thought will become almost universal among educated minds during the present cycle4 ,hence great progress will come to the ,earth during the next #b1afj years1 while the ,sun manifests his glorious influence through the symbol of the ,man4 ,thanking each and all who have aided in any way to give my writings to the world1 ,i am1 in love and fraternal greetings1 ever yours4 ,omnia ,vincit ,veritas4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,vol4 ,,ii ,what study is more sublime1 inspiring and profitable1 in the highest sense1 than the language of the stars--those silent monitors of the midnight sky1 who reveal ,,his ,,will as secondary causes in the administration of universal law8 ,the science of the stars is the ,divine parent of all science4 ,the more earnest our study1 the more recondite our research and thorough our investigation of the ,science of the ,stars1 the more fully shall we realize the truth of the teacher's words3 ,astrology is the key that opens the door to all occult knowledge4 ,it is the key that unlocks the mysteries of man's being2 his why1 whence1 whither4 ,within the temple of ,urania lies concealed the mystery of life4 ,the indices are there1 written by the finger of the ,infinite in the heavens above4 ,it is our privilege to make this language our own1 and it should be the earnest work of every true student of ,nature to acquire a right understanding and correct interpretation of these ,divine symbols4 ,and1 as thorough students of any language seek out the derivation of words and expressions1 search for the root1 or stem word1 and its origin1 so should the student of astrology1 by sincere desire and earnest study1 seek to know the origin and root of these starry words and complex expressions of the language of the stars4 ,the ,sun1 ,moon and five planets99 of our solar system are to us symbols of the reflected and refracted rays of the triune attributes of the great ,central1 ,spiritual ,sun3 ,life1 ,light and ,love1 analogous to the three primary colors in ,nature1 which become still further refracted into four secondary or complementary colors1 rays or attributes1 the seven constituting the active principles of ,nature1 the seven rays of the solar spectrum1 the seven notes of a perfect musical scale1 there being throughout a perfect correspondence1 and all are but different modes of vibration or activities of the ,supreme ,intelligence4 99 ,uranus and ,neptune belonging to a higher octave4 ,and1 as we know1 the seven rays of color reflect an almost infinite variety of tints1 that1 octave upon octave1 are built upon the seven natural tones in music1 so1 also1 are these seven active principles divided and subdivided into innumerable forms1 qualities and manifestations of the first trinity--,life1 ,light1 ,love1 life being the manifestation of the second two1 love and wisdom1 which in turn are the dual expressions of the ,one4 ,upon the knowledge of these ,divine truths ,pythagoras built the theory of the music of the spheres4 ,let us pause and listen to this celestial music4 ,suns and their systems of planets sound forth the deep bass tones and rich tenor1 while angelic races take the silvery treble of the ,divine melody1 octave upon octave1 by more and ever more ethereal system upon system1 to the very throne of ,deity--the ,infinite1 ,eternal source of ,light1 ,life and ,love4 ,let us learn1 through the knowledge of the stars1 to attune our souls to vibrate to the ,divine harmony1 so that we may take our places in the celestial choir and blend our voices with those of the celestial singers1 chanting the ,divine anthem3 ,we ,praise ,thee1 ,o ,god6 ,to resume4 ,if we would gain a correct knowledge of astral science we should study astrology in its universal application1 side by side with its more intricate phase and the details1 as manifested upon the individual man and his material destiny4 ,let us digress for a moment4 ,the intellectual minds1 the material scientists1 who cavil at the science of the stars1 declaring it to be mere fortune-telling1 consequently false1 do but air their ignorance of this most profound subject1 not knowing that it embraces and contains all sciences1 all religions1 that have ever been or ever will be1 comprises all history of every age1 of races1 empires and nations2 that it is the only true chronology1 and marks the destiny1 not only of personal man on every plane1 but of the human family as a whole4 ,all mythologies find their explanation in this starry language1 and every religion is founded upon the movements of our solar system4 ,the rise and fall of empires and races of men are written in its pages4 ,to master as far as we are capable1 and our limited space of life here will permit1 we must pursue the study in its broad sense1 as already stated1 in the external application of the starry influx and upon the interior planes of action from ,god to the mineral1 the mineral to man2 aye1 and man to the angel1 finding in every section a complete and perfect correspondence4 ,to master the alphabet should be the first step1 whose vowels1 diphthongs and consonants are the planets and shining ,zodiac4 ,it is very essential to clearly comprehend the action and reaction of the planets upon the human organism1 as an integral part of the universal organism2 ever remembering that the starry vowels1 in combination with the consonants1 or ,zodiac1 form the infinite expressions comprising the language of the starry heavens in their threefold manifestation upon the external planes of life2 while the radiant constellations are the ideas which find expression through this language1 which is likewise a science1 accurate in its mathematical construction and perfect in geometric proportion4 ,the student should ever bear in mind that astrology1 like every other science1 is progressive4 ,the underlying principles are always the same4 ,these are like the laws of the ,medes and ,persians1 but the plane of action is constantly changing4 ,it is a well-established and indisputable truth that from the ,sun1 the solar center of our system1 is derived all force1 every power and variety of phenomena that manifests itself upon ,mother ,earth4 ,therefore1 when we remember that the solar parent passes through one sign of his celestial ,zodiac in #b1afj years1 a twelfth part of his orbit of #be1ibj years1 we see that from each sign in turn he 7the ,sun7 rays forth an influx peculiar to that special sign2 and1 as there are no two signs alike in nature or quality1 hence the passage of the ,sun from one sign into another causes a change of polarity in planetary action1 which can be fully demonstrated and conclusively proven4 ,it follows1 as a natural sequence1 that the rules formulated and taught by astrologers in reference to the plane of planetary influence in one sub-cycle will not hold good in the next4 ,to illustrate3 ,in the year #ahha the ,sun passed from the sign ,pisces into ,aquarius1 thus beginning a new cycle of solar force4 ,the human race has entered upon a cycle in every respect differing in nature and action from the past cycle of #b1afj years4 ,the sign ,aquarius is masculine1 electric1 positive4 ,it is intellectual in character1 scientific1 philosophic1 artistic1 intuitive and metaphysical4 ,it is the sign of the ,man4 ,the truths of the past are becoming etherealized4 ,our solar parent has scarcely crossed the threshold of the sign ,aquarius1 and already we observe in many directions the activities of the peculiar influx4 ,true1 it is but the first flush of the dawn of a new era1 the harbinger of a glorious day to our race4 ,in the light of this truth1 ponder well on the nature of the influx radiating from the solar center1 each orb of his shining family absorbing a different ray1 or attribute1 of solar energy1 corresponding to its own peculiar nature4 ,the ,earth1 in her annual passage about her solar parent1 receives the harmonious or discordant vibrations of this astral influx according to the many angles she forms to the various planets4 ,we see1 then1 that the ,earth is enveloped in an atmosphere1 or zone1 of occult force we recognize as humane1 mental1 positive1 etc41 acting and reacting upon the human family through the laws of vibration in strict and exact ratio to its interior capacity to receive and ability to externalize upon the material plane of being4 ,the results1 as far as this stage of existence goes1 will be manifest as man vibrates harmoniously or otherwise to the stellar cause4 ,the present sub-cycle producing an entirely different influence to that of the past cycle1 whose force was watery1 magnetic and feminine1 causes a warring of elements1 confusion and uncertainty1 until the old are displaced by the new conditions4 ,we should learn from these facts that it is folly to brand as false and condemn as worthless the rules and formulas1 and even religious thought1 of the past when we find upon careful investigation and crucial tests their inadequacy to account for present conditions4 ,they were true in their cycle1 and applied to past conditions and states of mental development4 ,but in this new era1 upon whose threshold we now stand1 the vibrations become more intense4 ,man's whole nature is being tuned to a higher key4 ,we must not forget that these cycles apply to the race in their effect1 and to the individual only as an integral part of the whole4 ,to illustrate4 ,the sign ,aquarius is an electrical1 positive1 masculine influence1 and will consequently manifest its chief activities upon the masculine qualities of the human soul2 and to-day we have evidence of this in the gradual enfranchisement of woman1 arousing the positive attributes of her nature in demanding equal rights with her brother1 man1 in the political arena1 as she has already done in the educational field4 ,the masculine portion of the race is becoming more aggressive1 mentally1 asserting greater individuality1 independent thought and action4 ,the intellect of the race is being directed1 however slowly1 into scientific channels1 while the human soul is slowly awakening to a sense of a deathless immortality and a desire for spiritual truth4 ,it is slowly but surely shaking off the yoke of an effete priesthood and the fetters of superstition and tyranny4 ,intelligent man talks of the new scientific and intellectual era that has dawned upon the world2 of the necessity for a new religious system1 based upon scientific truths1 which can be demonstrated1 combined with the pure spiritual essence found in all systems of religion2 a religion with more spirituality and less theology2 a broader charity and less dogma1 and deeper love for ,god and man1 its only creed4 ,we must now consider the astral influence of the cycle upon the physical organism of mankind1 and particularly of the ,western races1 who are moving upon the upward arc of the cycle4 ,it is quite evident that a radical change must take place in the physical form and constitution with the influx of more intellectual1 ethereal and spiritual vibrations4 ,the organism must become more refined and compact1 a greater degree of sensitiveness be attained1 with a highly nervous system4 ,the forerunner of this superior organism is now apparent in the numerous schools of physical culture and gymnasiums throughout the land1 the many articles and pamphlets on deep1 rythmic breathing disseminated among the people1 and last1 but not least1 the various schools of mental healing1 etc4 ,the masses look on and wonder1 while they exclaim3 ,what marvelous changes are coming to the world6 but are utterly ignorant of the cause of the mysterious change4 ,to the student of ,hermetic ,philosophy there is no mystery involved4 ,he knows the cause1 and confidently watches for the effect4 ,each one must seek to comprehend for himself1 according to the light he may receive1 basing his premises upon the ,,true ,,principles of astrology1 carefully noting the triune aspect of planetary influence upon humanity1 ever remembering that the ,sun and ,moon are the great factors in human destiny1 and that his premises and conclusions must occupy the same plane4 ,having acquired a knowledge of the science in its application to the individual1 take the broader field1 or universal aspect1 as it applies to human races1 and you will find the rise and fall of nations1 empires and families marked upon the celestial dial1 and in perfect accord with the influence of the ,sun and planets upon ,mother ,earth1 in her various movements4 ,and last1 but most important1 seek with an earnest desire for truth to learn the relation of those glittering constellations of the shining ,zodiac to the human soul and their influence in shaping its eternal destiny4 ,this will reveal the whole of involution and evolution in a general sense4 ,a faithful1 earnest and devout study of the ,science of the ,starry ,heavens will lead us on to other planes of thought1 relating to still more interior realms of knowledge than we perhaps now dream of1 and1 in the words of the master3 ,a true knowledge of the stars will include a true knowledge of the soul1 and we shall realize the mystical link that binds the soul to the stars4 ,,minnie ,,higgin4 ,,chapter #a ,,the ,,zodiac ,to the ordinary astrologer the ,zodiac is simply a band of space1 eighteen degrees wide1 in the heavens1 the center of which marks out the pathway of the ,sun during the space of one year of #cfe days1 etc4 ,the twelve signs are to him simply thirty degrees of the space 7#ab times #cj equal #cfj71 bearing the names of the constellations which once occupied them4 ,nay1 he1 as a rule1 still imagines in some sense that the signs 7constellations7 are still there1 and that the power and potency of the twelve signs is derived from the stars which occupy the ,zodiacal band of the skies4 ,but this is not so1 as any ordinary astronomer well knows4 ,this single fact1 i4e41 the gradual shifting of the constellations1 the ,,displacement1 let us say1 of the starry influx from one sign to another without any ,,allowance being made in the astrologer's rules for any such change1 has been one of the greatest obstructions to the popular spread of the art among ,,educated ,,minds4 ,argues the scientist3 ,the fiery influence of ,aries1 if depending upon the stars of that constellation1 ought now to be shedding forth their caloric from the sign ,pisces1 and ,aries ought to be lumbering along with the earthy ,taurine nature4 ,so1 also1 the lords of these signs ought to be changed1 but that they are not can be proved by the fact that our earliest records of that dim1 historic past show1 equally as well as your latest text-book1 that ,mars is the lord of ,aries--a fiery planet in a fiery sign2 but astrologers still say that ,pisces is watery and ,aries fiery1 ,,which ,,is ,,not ,,the ,,case1 ,,if ,,the ,,stars ,,have ,,any ,,influence ,,at ,,all4 ,it is not necessary1 say these logical thinkers1 to learn your abstruse science if we can demonstrate that the very basis upon which your conclusions rest is in every sense fundamentally false4 ,the scientific facts of the case are as follows3 ,the influence of the twelve signs1 as described by astrologers1 is a delusion1 because in all ages they are reported the same2 whereas ,,we ,,know that every #b1afj years each sign retrogrades to the extent of thirty degrees1 and1 as your art does not make allowance for this1 it is false4 ,for1 if the influence of the twelve signs does not emanate from the stars occupying the space of those signs1 it must emanate from nothing--a doctrine well suited1 no doubt1 to musty old sages of your superstitious ,chaldea1 but quite out of court in our progressive age--the last decade of our cultured and scientific nineteenth century4 ,so far1 so good4 ,and so the world rolls along its bright pathway in the heavens1 little heeding the logical conclusions of an exact science4 ,but to an initiate of those inner principles of our planet's constitution all these mental conflicts have a meaning and a purpose within ,nature's divine economy2 for it is neither wise nor expedient that the masses1 with popular science in the lead1 should grasp the truths which ,mother ,nature reserves ,,alone for her own devoted priests4 ,the shining ,zodiac1 with its myriad constellations and its perfect galaxy of starry systems1 derives its subtle influence1 as impressed astrologically upon the human constitution1 from the solar center of our solar system1 ,,not ,,from ,,the ,,stars which occupy the twelve mansions of space4 ,aries1 the fiery1 and ,,pisces1 the watery1 ,,are ,,always ,,there1 and1 instead of its being an argument against astrology1 it is one of its grandest truths that1 in all ages and in all times1 ,aries1 the first sign of the ,zodiac has been found ,,ever ,,the ,,same1 equally as well as ,pisces the last4 ,in order to convey our meaning1 let us digress for a moment and bring forth a fitting illustration4 ,the condition of our atmosphere and the surrounding objects--vegetation1 etc4--have a peculiar condition and a magnetism wholly their own when surveyed exactly at sunrise4 ,there is a freshness and peculiar sense of buoyancy not visible at any other time4 ,if this state could be registered by any instrument and compared with any other set periods during the day1 it would offer a remarkable contrast4 ,two hours later there is a very different influence1 and at noon there is a wonderful contrast4 ,the same may be said of sunset1 and again at midnight2 and1 lastly1 note the difference two hours before dawn4 ,this is the coolest period of the whole twenty-four hours4 ,these are facts1 and yet our hearts are all beating to the same life-flow1 and the ,earth is no farther away from the parent ,sun2 and yet it is the angle at which we1 ,,the ,,inhabitants1 receive this ,sun's light that makes all the difference between dawn and sunset1 noon and midnight4 ,when to these facts it is further added that it is sunrise1 noon1 sunset and midnight at the same instant1 all the time1 to some of the various1 different portions of the globe1 it demonstrates most conclusively that the ,earth itself is enveloped1 so to say1 in a complete circle of conditions very similar to the twelve signs of the celestial ,zodiac4 ,if we apply the foregoing illustration to the twelve signs of the ,zodiac1 we shall see a perfect analogy4 ,we shall find that when the ,sun reaches the celestial equator1 so that it is equal day and equal night on the ,earth1 that he is on the line of the celestial horizon2 it is cosmic sunrise4 ,hence ,aries1 the fiery ,azoth1 begins his active influx1 and extends for thirty degrees1 equal to two hours of the natural day4 ,it is the fiery red streams of awakening life that we all manifest at sunrise2 then comes a change of magnetic polarity after the first fiery flush of cosmic life2 the gleeful chattering of the birds and the cackling of the poultry4 ,a reaction is noted2 all things before active become restful and quiet4 ,so it is with vegetation1 so it is with infant life1 and so it is with cosmic conditions4 ,this corresponds with the sign ,taurus4 ,it is the solar influx1 thirty degrees removed from his point of equilibrium toward the ,north4 ,as this sign represents the powers of absorption1 we see that at this period vegetable and animal life is quietly absorbing1 for its own use1 the fiery streams of solar life4 ,again we view the activity of solar influx from a different angle and change of polarity1 and all things become active1 ,it is executive force4 ,this corresponds to the sign ,gemini4 ,it is the solar influx1 sixty degrees removed from his point of equilibrium4 ,then comes another change of magnetic polarity4 ,it is rest from labor2 it is noon4 ,this corresponds to ,cancer4 ,the analogy is perfect4 ,it is the solar influx1 ninety degrees removed from his point of equilibrium toward the ,north1 and the highest point in the arc of his apparent journey and of cosmic life4 ,it is the equilibrium of life forces4 ,again the fiery influx begins its activity1 and1 as the hottest part of the day is about two hours after noon1 or middle of the day1 so is solar influx most potent at this point in the ,zodiac4 ,this corresponds to the sign ,leo4 ,it is the solar influx1 removed #abj degrees from his point of equilibrium and thirty degrees toward the ,south4 ,and so on month after month1 until the last one1 ,pisces1 which well corresponds to the watery skies of ,february and the lifeless period two hours before dawn of a new day upon the ,earth1 a new year to man and a new cycle in the starry heavens4 ,the ,zodiac1 then1 as it applies to the human constitution and the science of astrology1 has its foundation in the ,sun1 the center and source of life to the planet2 and the twelve signs are the twelve great spaces of our ,earth's annual orbit about her solar parent1 each one typical of its month1 and each month typical of its corresponding action upon our ,earthy conditions4 ,as each sunrise is different in its aspects1 so are no two signs of the ,zodiac alike4 ,the sunrise on the first of ,march is wholly different from the sunrise upon the first of ,may4 ,so is the beginning and ending of each sign1 and the beginning and ending of each natural day1 peculiar unto itself4 ,when we reflect upon the inner laws of this action and interaction1 we come nearer and nearer to the one great occult fact1 viz43 ,,the ,,divine ,,oneness ,,of ,,life4 ,we find a perfect analogy between the destiny1 the life1 and expression of life on the ,earth1 and the life and material destiny of embodied man4 ,he1 too1 has his sunrise1 the beginning of a new day of life1 the seedtime1 the flowering season1 when life wears a roseate hue2 the ripening fruits of experience1 his harvest-time--it may be tares or golden grain2 his gradual decay1 the ebbing of the life forces and the icy winter of death2 his gentle zephyrs and destructive hurricanes1 floods and tempests1 periods of drought and plenty4 ,within his triune constitution there are spring tides and low tides of physical1 intellectual and spiritual forces4 ,man also makes the annual journey about the solar center1 when1 at the beginning of each new year to him1 the life forces of his soul are renewed1 regalvanized1 so to say1 according to the magnetic polarity of his constitution4 ,and so1 every form of life has its ,zodiac1 its orbit of life and destiny4 ,it may be infinitesimal1 or vast beyond conception1 each in its own peculiar plane4 ,so we see that1 the whole visible universe is one vast organism1 the medium of expression for the invisible1 real universe-- the soul and ,god1 the great central ,sun1 the eternal center of all life1 binding the whole into unity--,,one ,,life4 ,the celestial signs of the shining ,zodiac have no existence to us apart from the graceful and unwearying motion of our ,mother ,earth4 ,she alone makes our seasons1 years and destiny2 and she alone1 by her motion about the ,sun1 determines the thrones and mansions of the planetary powers4 ,the astrological ,zodiac of a ,saturn or a ,mars cannot be like ours4 ,their years and seasons are peculiar to themselves and their material conditions2 hence the twelve constellations have no existence as objective facts of concrete formation or cosmic potentiality4 ,no6 ,but as unalterable symbols of occult truth1 the starry pictures of the shining constellations have an eternal verity4 ,they pertain to the living realities of the human soul and its varied experience4 ,what the mysteries are1 and what connection they have with the twelve constellations1 will form the subject of our next chapter4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,constellations ,the twelve great constellations of the zodiacal belt which forms the ,earth's orbit and the ,sun's shining pathway around the celestial universe have been considered as mere imaginary figures1 or emblems1 invented by an early1 primitive people to distinguish the monthly progress of the ,sun and mark out1 in a convenient manner1 the twelve great divisions1 or spaces1 of the solar year4 ,to this end1 ,,it ,,is ,,thought1 the various star groups1 termed constellations1 were fancifully imagined to represent the various physical aspects of the month1 under1 or into1 which they were consecrated by the ,sun's passage during the annual journey1 so that1 in some sense1 the1 twelve signs or constellations were symbolical1 not only of the seasons1 but also of the labors of the year4 ,that such a system seems perfectly natural to the learned mythologist1 and that granting the ancients so much is a very great concession toward this ,,childish ,,knowledge is1 of course1 quite excusable when we are constantly told1 or reminded1 that actual science--that is to say1 ,,exact ,,science1 does not date backward more than a couple of centuries at most4 ,even the modern astrologer1 much as be descants upon the influence of the twelve signs1 has but little1 if any1 real knowledge of this matter above and beyond the purely physical symbolism above mentioned4 ,and perhaps it is as well that such a benighted condition prevails1 and that the ,divine1 heavenly goddess is unsought and comparatively unknown4 ,the celestial ,urania1 at least1 in such isolation remains pure and undefiled4 ,she is free from the desecrating influence of polluted minds4 ,such1 in brief outline1 is the general conception of mankind regarding the shining constellations that bedeck1 like fiery jewels1 their ,maker's crown1 and illumine with their celestial splendor the wondrous canopy of our midnight skies4 ,is there no more than a symbol of rural work in the bright radiance of the starry ,andromeda1 the harbinger of gentle spring8 ,nothing1 think you1 but the fruit harvest and the vintage is in the fiery1 flushing luster of ,antares and the ominous ,scorpion8 ,are men so spiritually blind that they can perceive nothing but the symbol of maturing vegetation and the long summer's day in the glorious splendor of ,castor and his starry mate and brother1 ,pollux8 ,it would1 indeed1 seem so1 so dead is the heart and callous the spiritual understanding of our own benighted day4 ,to the initiate of ,urania's mysteries1 however1 these dead1 symbolic pictures become endowed with life2 these emblems of rural labor or rustic art transform themselves from the hard1 chrysolitic shell and expand into the fully developed spiritual flowers of spiritual entities1 revealing in their bright1 radiating lines the awful mystery of the soul's genesis1 its evolution and eternal progressive destiny amid the mighty1 inconceivable creations yet to come2 pointing out each step and cycle in the soul's involution from its differentiation as a pure spiritual entity1 a ray of ,divine intelligence1 to the crystallization of its spiritual forces in the realms of matter and its evolution of progressive life2 the same eternal symbols of the springtime1 the glorious summer1 the autumn and winter of its eternal being4 ,in making this attempt1 probably the very first within the era1 to convey in plain and undisguised terms the interior mysteries of the twelve constellations1 the reader and student is advised to ponder deeply upon the outlines presented4 ,the subject is too vast to present in one or two chapters4 ,therefore we hope that this revelation may incite the student to further research4 ,the real significance1 the true1 spiritual importance of such mysteries1 can only be realized and fully appreciated after prolonged meditation and careful study4 ,with this brief digression1 which we consider needed advice1 we will resume our task1 and attempt to usher our student into the weird labyrinth of ,solomon's starry temple--the house not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens4 #a4 ,aries ,first ,aries1 in his golden wool4 ,this constellation represents the first ,divine idea1 the word of the ,kabbalist1 and the first active manifestation of the glorious ,en ,soph4 ,in other words1 it is ,,mind ,,in ,,action1 the first pulsation of ,deity in the dual aspects of ,lord and ,creator4 ,to the human soul it is1 and always typifies1 the unknown1 invisible power which we term ,,intelligence2 ,,that ,,which ,,knows1 and gives unto each ,deific atom of life that distinguishing1 universal1 yet deathless force which not only constitutes its spiritual identity and physical individuality1 but enables it to pronounce1 in the presence of its ,creator1 those mystic words3 ,i am that ,i am4 ,in other words1 this beautiful constellation symbolizes the first pulsation of that ray of pure intelligence which constitutes the ,divine ,ego of the human soul4 ,it is the force that impels ever onward the life atom in its evolutionary progress1 and reveals to us the beginning1 or first manifestation1 of the ,divine ,ego as an active1 self-existing atom of ,infinite spirit1 within angelic spheres4 ,seeing the actual1 spiritual reality symbolized in ,aries1 how easy it is to note its full significance upon the external plane when refracted and reflected into the planes below through the complex action of the human organism1 conveying the same radical influx in the first astrological month and the first sign of the ,zodiac4 ,we can read a perfect parallel in the astral influx upon the human body1 as set forth in the ,light of ,egypt1 vol4 ,i1 which says ,aries symbolizes the sacrifice and represents the springtime1 the beginning of a new year4 ,the first action of pure intelligence brought forth the first expression of form1 and led to the sacrifice of its angelic state1 and1 having gained the victory over the lower realms of matter1 once more the springtime of a new life1 with the promise of life1 light and love4 ,the sign ,aries represents the thinking powers of humanity2 in short1 the active1 intellectual being1 the lord of material creation--,man2 and in its cosmic relations1 as shown under ,the ,occult ,application of the ,twelve ,signs 7vol4 ,i71 we find the same perfect analogy4 ,,ii4 ,taurus ,he 7,aries7 turns and wonders at the mighty ,bull 7,taurus74 ,the second constellation of the shining twelve represents the first reaction of spiritual conception4 ,in other words1 it is the mind's attention to its own ideas4 ,in the ,kabbalah it represents that peculiar state of executive force whereof it is symbolically said3 ,and the ,lord saw that it was good1 after each act of creation4 ,when intelligence first manifests itself form is a matter of necessity1 and1 as no form can possibly exist without matter1 so ,taurus is the first emanation of matter in its most etherealized state4 ,hence it is feminine1 ,venus the ruler thereof1 and it represents the first pure form of the human soul1 as it existed in its bright paradise within the angelic spheres of its parents1 and reveals to us the first surprise of intelligence in embryo1 the first sensation of consciousness1 so to say--conscious of its ,divine selfhood4 ,hence ,he 7the male spirit of pure fire1 ,aries71 glorious in his golden 7solar7 wool1 turns 7expressing reaction7 and wonders at the mighty bull 7or material form74 ,thus the first idea of pure intelligence in embryo1 the result of action in ,aries1 becomes objective to its consciousness and is surprised at its own conception4 ,it is the first sensation of pure1 ,divine love within angelic realms1 and it 7the male spirit of pure fire7 sees that it is good4 ,bringing this spiritual reality within our conception1 and comparing it with its reflected astrological influx1 what a beautiful harmony we find1 and yet so simple that verily we cannot refrain from once more quoting our old-time1 worn1 yet1 nevertheless1 golden law3 ,,as ,,it ,,is ,,above1 ,,so ,,it ,,is ,,below2 ,,as ,,on ,,the ,,earth1 ,,so ,,in ,,the ,,sky4 ,reflecting that ,taurus is an ,earthy sign1 and a symbol of servitude1 we see that matter is ever the servant of spirit1 a necessary means for the manifestation of intelligence1 again recognized in the fecundating forces of this astrological sign on every plane of its action4 ,and it is ruled by ,venus1 the love element in ,nature1 her sympathies ever finding expression in this beautiful sign4 ,what can be clearer1 more understandable1 than1 that the involved principles and ,deific attributes1 as represented by the shining constellations1 when refracted through the human organism1 so complex in its constitution1 reflects qualities which are the external and parallel expression of the subjective principles1 and1 further1 that form is absolutely necessary for the manifestation of intelligence8 ,,iii4 ,gemini ,he 7,taurus7 bending lies with threatening bead1 and calls the ,twins 7,gemini7 to rise4 ,they clasp for fear and mutually embrace4 ,this bright constellation 7,castor and ,pollux71 ,gemini1 is spiritually representative of the second spiritual action4 ,hence it is1 of course1 a masculine sign and positive4 ,we have witnessed act ,i of the soul's drama1 and1 as some have said1 tragedy1 and in this1 the third of the shining twelve1 we find the opening scene of act ,,ii1 viz3 ,the evolution of the twin souls1 or1 more correctly1 the differentiation of the ,divine soul into its two natural component parts--male and female4 ,here we approach one of the most arcane secrets within the wide scope of ,occult philosophy1 hence must be exact1 and at the same time clear1 in our statements4 ,note1 then1 that after the male spirit of pure1 ethereal1 divine fire 7,aries7 bad conceived the first idea1 and ,taurus1 the material envelope1 had given that idea objective existence to its 7the ,ego's7 consciousness1 we find ,,sensation ,,as ,,the ,,result4 ,no sooner sensation than aspiration2 i4e41 longing4 ,this closes the action and the reaction4 ,ever1 in obedience to the unsatisfied wants of an immortal soul ,nature immediately responds4 ,hence ,he bending lies with threatening head1 7that is demanding71 and calls the twins 7the twin souls7 to rise 7to appear or evolve forth71 and as a first rude shock caused by their separation1 or1 rather1 by their separate existence as two distinct1 yet mutually dependent1 forces1 we have the context4 ,they clasp for fear and mutually embrace4 ,this most impressive scene in the soul's drama is one of profound interest and sublime beauty4 ,in the ,kabbalah we find the same parallel1 wherein it is stated3 ,and so ,god created man in ,his own image 7the action of ,aries and ,taurus72 in ,his own image 7mind7 created ,he him1 male and female created ,he them4 ,in other words1 ,aries1 ,taurus and ,gemini are thus spoken of in pure allegory4 ,the mundane ,bible of the ,jews1 like everything else esteemed sacred1 finds its original and perfect expression in the great ,astral ,bible of the skies4 ,to the average student the evolution of the ,twin ,souls is a profound mystery1 embracing1 as it does1 the whole of involution and evolution1 seeing that this beautiful constellation represents to us the first recognition1 or consciousness1 of the ,divine ,ego of its dual forces1 sensation and aspiration1 called forth by the action of ,aries and ,taurus4 ,how beautifully has the poet expressed this first pulsation of ,divine love3 ,they clasp for fear1 etc4 ,evolved by the ,divine will of pure intelligence1 they must ever remain as separate1 yet mutually dependent1 forces1 positive and negative1 male and female1 upon whose action and reaction rest the perfect evolvement of the powers and possibilities of the ,one4 ,in order to clearly grasp the whole of these ramifications1 we again invite our student's careful attention to the same sign1 ,gemini1 in its astrological aspect1 as it is representatively expressed by refraction upon the human organism4 ,we find that this sign 7the representative of the constellation always7 signifies the union of reason with intuition1 and that it governs the arms1 hands and executive forces of man4 ,surely1 as we reflect upon the almost marvelous inter-relationship between things spiritual and things temporal1 we must conclude1 with the man ,jesus1 that ,they have eyes but they see not1 and ears1 but alas they hear not4 ,if it were not so man would1 indeed1 by virtue of the latent forces within him1 take the kingdom of ,heaven by storm and reign supreme as enthroned king of all material forms4 ,man1 in his blindness1 has relegated intuition to obscurity2 has neglected the cunning of the left hand and debauched the pure love of the divine state4 ,consequently1 the executive forces within him are unbalanced1 thus rendering him the slave of material forms1 instead of being their lawful sovereign4 ,therefore1 not until1 with clean hands and pure heart1 he restores intuition to her throne1 united with reason1 can he hope to ,,comprehend the reality of this arcane mystery of the twin souls1 ,gemini4 ,,iv4 ,cancer ,and next the ,twins with an unsteady pace ,bright ,cancer rolls4 ,in this beautiful constellation we witness the reaction of ,gemini1 the closing scene in act ,,ii4 ,hence it is1 of course1 a feminine force we are observing4 ,in other words1 it is that period 7or rather one of them7 wherein the ,kabbalah expresses the reaction of the ,en ,soph1 via his ,creators1 as ,and behold the ,lord saw everything that ,he had made1 and behold it was very good4 ,just so ,cancer1 spiritually interpreted1 means equalizing1 hence ,,harmony1 which is indeed very good as contradistinguished from chaos4 ,to the human soul ,cancer is the period of exalted rest4 ,it is the highest point in the arc of the ,divine ,soul's ,angelic ,cycle4 ,from this glorious1 but subjective1 summit or altitude in the realm of spirit it must descend4 ,restless energy and the still unsatisfied longings of its own immortal nature are the forces that bring such evolution about4 ,having evolved the dual forces of its divine nature1 the ,ego sees that it is good and rests from its labor4 ,but as this exalted state is purely subjective1 and ideal1 it must of necessity1 to satisfy the longing for further unfoldment and desire to know1 descend into material realms and conditions4 ,from this point begins the soul's involution downward1 until the lowest point in the arc is reached1 viz41 ,capricorn4 ,refer now to the sign ,cancer1 and carefully study out the parallel upon its astrological planes and also under its ,occult aspects1 as given forth in the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 ,i1 where we read3 ,cancer rules the respiratory and digestive functions of humanity1 and governs the reflective organs of the brain4 ,note the parallel4 ,within subjective realms the ,divine soul has inspired and assimilated all that is possible to that angelic state1 and knows a period of blissful rest4 ,but the longings of its immortal nature urge on the soul4 ,so we see that the sign ,cancer symbolizes tenacity to life2 to live we must breathe and eat and assimilate upon every plane of our being4 ,it necessarily follows that1 the mentality expressed by ,cancer must be susceptible to inspirational currents2 to inspire is to indraw4 ,in its application1 we find that this sign symbolizes love4 ,how beautiful the harmony and contrast of the constellation and its astrological representative4 ,v4 ,leo ,then ,leo shakes his mane4 ,herein is typified the third grand spiritual action which1 as we find throughout ,nature1 travel in pairs2 hence ,leo is a positive1 masculine constellation4 ,having attained the highest point in the super-celestial states of subjective1 embryonic existence2 having evolved sensation and aspiration2 now1 inspired by a desire for immortality1 the ,,dual ,,soul of the ,divine ,ego is once more impelled forward2 but1 as all evolution works in spirals1 it cannot ascend higher without first apparently descending lower2 so ever onward in its eternal march4 ,this beautiful constellation symbolizes the first action on the downward portion of the are4 ,it is the affinities of the heart1 so to say1 working from within to without4 ,matter1 in its more etherealized form1 begins to assert its sway4 ,the allegorical serpent of ,eden is working upon the feminine portion1 symbolized by the heart1 and1 like a magnetic tractor1 the soul's affinities are drawn downward1 and1 as if in defiance of all responsibilities1 consequences1 and ,karma1 the soul1 lion-like1 shakes his mane in the imperiousness of deathless courage4 ,as we read these weird allegories1 written by ,deity in the starry vaults of heaven1 the interested soul bows in reverence and awe before that almighty power we term ,providence1 and the profane call ,god4 ,no man has altered these pure records of divinity2 no finger has interpolated one single line4 ,they are as beautifully clear to the soul now as they were in the very dawn of ,nature's awful creation4 ,to the ,initiate into ,urania's mysteries it is unnecessary to draw a parallel between the constellation and its astrological sign4 ,they are too clear1 magnificent and impressive to escape notice4 ,to the majority of students the resembance may not be so apparent1 hence1 for their benefit1 we will point out a few aspects of this interesting parallel4 ,we read that the sign ,leo is the solar ,lion of the mysteries1 that1 ripens with his own internal heat the fruits brought forth from the ,earth by the moisture of ,isis 7the soul74 ,just so1 the ,divine ,ego1 by its eternal energy and strength1 the pure fire of intelligence1 externalizes through material forms the principles involved in the downward portion of the arc1 as qualities and attributes of the soul 7reflected in the physical man as traits and qualities74 ,again we are told1 this sign reveals to us the ancient sacrifice and the laws of its compensation4 ,in the imperiousness of a deathless courage1 the soul defies all consequences and responsibilities4 ,surely1 this is the supreme sacrifice1 to leave its pure1 ,edenic state to gain knowledge1 to evolve its latent forces4 ,and from this lion of the ,tribe of ,judah1 is born that ,divine love and sympathy which ultimately redeems and purifies the soul and saves it from death in matter4 ,the laws of its compensation are fulfilled in the prefected man4 ,in its intellectual aspect1 we learn that the mental forces of those dominated by this sign are ever striving to attain unto some higher state4 ,their ideas are grand1 compared with the nature of the constellation1 and all that it implies4 ,the reflection is clear1 natural and beautiful4 ,when we reflect upon this awful period in the involution of the dual souls of the ,divine ,ego1 as symbolized by the constellation1 and the grand truths represented by the astrological sign when refracted through the human organism1 the reason for ,leo being named the ,royal ,sign becomes quite plain4 ,,vi4 ,virgo ,and following ,virgo calms his rage again4 ,beautifully expressive are these lines to those who read their mystic import aright4 ,virgo is the reaction of the leonine force1 and is1 consequently1 a feminine symbol4 ,action and reaction are the eternal laws upon which the cosmos is founded4 ,they constitute the inseparable affinities1 attraction and repulsion1 of everything within the realm of manifested being4 ,in this mystic constellation1 we see the first ideas of maternal instinct arise4 ,this is a necessary result of the impulsive action of the heart in ,leo--the reaction from a state of imperious1 defiance4 ,the heat of rage or energy and deathless courage results in the ,,ideas of something to be encountered1 overcome1 and of self-preservation4 ,the dual soul descends still another volve in the spiral of its celestial journey toward crystallized forms4 ,virgo1 the ,virgin of the skies1 and eternal symbol of that ,divine1 immaculate conception1 shows wherein these forces lie4 ,here is conceived1 in a pure1 holy sense1 the first instinct of love within the dual soul4 ,it represents that awful period in the ,biblical ,garden of ,eden1 wherein the ,,virgin ,,wife stands before the tree of knowledge1 of good and evil1 where she is fascinated by the allurements of matter and is unconsciously becoming enveloped in the coils of the serpent4 ,in other words1 after the cosmic force had ,,shaken ,,its ,,mane in defiance of material forces1 it is the reaction of his subjective half which sees ,,how ,,good material things are2 or1 in other words1 and following ,virgo calms his rage again4 ,the masculine half1 or positive force of the soul1 yields to temptation and is soothed by the alluring prospects4 ,it will be noticed in this connection that pity1 reflection1 and compassion1 are the peculiar actions of the sign ,virgo in the ,zodiac 7not the constellation71 and that astrologically it governs the bowels4 ,this symbolism is really very beautiful when closely compared and studied4 ,that immaculate conception of pure love of the soul for its other half1 upon the astrological plane1 becomes refracted and reacts as compassion and pity4 ,again1 the soul1 within subjective realms1 sees how good material things are1 and its refraction represents the assimilating functions of the human organism4 ,it also reveals to us the significance of the ,lord's ,supper4 ,at this stage of its journey1 the ,divine ,ego knows for the last time that close communion with the twin soul before the crucifixion1 the wine typical of the sacrifice1 the bread1 and the sustaining forces1 of its own immortal being4 ,the intellectual aspect of the sign ,virgo forms a perfect analogy to the constellation1 and is too evident for further remarks4 ,,vii4 ,libra ,then day and night are weighed in ,libra's scales2 ,equal awhile1 at last the night prevails4 ,another volve in the spiral1 and we reach the grand climax of the soul's journey1 within the spiritual world4 ,the nature of this constellation was1 for ages1 concealed from all but ,initiates2 for the reason that1 it contains the most important mysteries connected with the human soul4 ,it is the grand transition are between the spiritual world and the astral world2 in other words1 between ideal conceptions and elemental forms1 between the world of design and the realms of force4 ,one of the chief mysteries of ,libra is1 that1 it is androgyne1 or bisexual1 in nature4 ,so far the dual soul has evolved within the realms of spirituality2 here it stands1 in the celestial balance1 between the two1 giving way to temptation1 takes the forbidden fruit and instantly awakes from its purely spiritual state to become surrounded by the illusions of matter4 ,the struggle of the soul with the attracting forces of matter is very clearly expressed in the line3-- ,equal awhile1 at last the night prevails4 ,in other words1 astral and physical darkness bedim the soul's spiritual sight1 and1 leaving the realms of innocence and bliss1 they sink into the vortex of the great astral world4 ,the celestial state is now forever lost as a realm of angelic innocence4 ,it can only be regained amid trial1 sorrow1 suffering1 and experience1 and1 when regained1 it is as ,lord and ,master1 not as the innocent cherub4 ,but when1 having gained or reached the equator of the upward arc of its progress1 and1 united once more to its missing half1 gives expression to that deathless force with which it started from the opposite point1 ,aries3 ,i ,,am ,,that ,i ,,am2 no longer an embryo1 but being within the ,,universal ,,soul of being4 ,before closing this symbolic constellation1 we must reveal the mystery of its ,,bi-,,sexual ,,nature4 ,in the higher or first portion of the sign it is 1 positive to some extent1 and masculine4 ,the soul is still within the ,garden of ,eden and pure1 clad in the raiment of ,god1 and is represented by the ,chaldean statues of ,the ,bearded ,venus1 or ,venus1 the ,angel of ,libra1 as a morning star1 bright ,lucifer4 ,but in the latter half1 after the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil 7positive and negative1 you see7 has been partaken of1 bright ,lucifer falls4 ,the ,sun of the ,morning1 shorn of his glory1 becomes the symbol of night1 or ,vesper1 the evening star1 and the symbol is thus 1 and the soul loses its heavenly raiment1 or spiritual consciousness1 and becomes clothed with matter1 the symbol of night4 ,the sign ,libra in the ,zodiac1 in its astrological aspect1 is a very external correspondence of all the foregoing4 ,,viii4 ,scorpio ,and1 longer grown1 the heavier scale inclines1 ,and draws bright ,scorpio from the winter signs4 ,we now behold the gates of ,paradise guarded by the ,,flaming ,,sword which points to the four quarters of the world4 ,this sword is1 according to ,genesis1 to guard the way of the tree of life1 and such1 esoterically1 it really is4 ,the soul is no longer dual1 but separated into male and female personalities2 and behold they see that they are naked4 ,stripped of their spiritual raiment1 they feel the chill of matter and the lusts of an animal nature4 ,they need clothing1 so ,god made them coats of skin4 ,sex is the symbolism herein typified1 and the evolution of the animal passions of procreation1 of multiplication and evolution4 ,it is the complete entry of the soul into elemental conditions1 and the flaming sword guarding the four quarters of the ,earth to the way of life are the four great realms of the astral world2 the way to physical life in concrete forms2 and the way to life eternal through the realms of the ,sylphs1 ,gnomes1 ,undines and ,salamanders4 ,they are the basis of all matter1 known as ,air1 ,earth1 ,water and ,fire4 ,here we see that1 through the evolution of sex and its accompanying desire for procreation1 these blind forces of ,nature find their avenue of expression4 ,spiritual consciousness almost lost1 and without reason1 the soul becomes the prey1 so to say1 of these forces of the astral world1 which is the realm of design4 ,the soul's creations must be met and vanquished upon the upward arc of the ,cycle of ,progress4 ,they guard or oppose the way to eternal life4 ,here the soul1 having gained the victory1 stripped forever of its earthy raiment and the lusts of the flesh1 arrayed once more in its spiritual raiment1 purified and sanctified1 it will stand once more at the gates of ,paradise1 where1 reunited with its missing half1 it will partake of the fruit of the ,tree of ,life and become as ,gods4 ,astrologically the correspondence is perfect1 and so thinly disguised as to need no explanation4 ,,ix4 ,sagittarius ,him ,centaur follows with an aiming eye1 ,his bow full-drawn1 and ready to let fly4 ,deeper and deeper sinks the soul into material forms4 ,the evolution of sex has produced the necessary avenues for the entrance of countless forces1 and the soul is now rapidly losing the last vestiges of its spiritual conscience4 ,in other words1 ,sagittarius symbolizes that state of the soul wherein it is descending to its polarizing point1 and is1 therefore1 the vortex of innumerable opposing forces1 seeking expression in different forms4 ,it is the bow 7strength or force of the soul71 ,,full-drawn and ready to let fly its arrows 7of energy7 in any direction that may afford proper opportunity4 ,here we see the expression of that deathless1 fiery force1 and imperious daring and courage1 within more material states2 the primal fire reflected from another angle4 ,but everything is unsettled4 ,it is a masculine force1 and restless1 and is represented under the allegory of the ,tower of ,babel and the utter dispersion of the people 7entities7 to the four corners of the ,earth1 and finally becomes involved in dense matter1 and its migrations are at an end on this side of the ,cycle of ,necessity4 ,upon the astrological plane1 the zodiacal sign ,sagittarius rules the motive forces and the pedestrian instinct1 the thighs1 or basis of locomotion2 hence1 we see1 even here1 a most perfect analogy4 ,this sign symbolizes1 also1 the governing forces of humanity1 which see the necessity of law and order2 hence government4 ,in this expression1 we find the bow 7strength or force7 ready to let fly its arrows of energy in any direction the opportunity may afford2 when refracted upon the human organism and reflected upon the external plane1 these forces manifest as the restless spirit1 that ever impels onward1 seeking new fields of expression1 out of which develops a sense of order1 restraining and training1 or the governing of self and control of others4 ,when we reflect upon these symbols of starry truths the mind bows in reverence before the wisdom that created them4 ,x4 ,capricorn ,next narrow horns the twisted ,caper shows4 ,the ,goat1 and in the realms of spirit1 the crystallized mineral is the reaction of the former1 and shows to us death1 inertia and rest2 hence ,kronos1 or ,saturn1 the symbol of death1 is lord of this state and condition4 ,it is the polarizing point of the soul's evolution in matter1 and therefore1 forms the lowest are in the ,cycle of ,necessity4 ,herein we behold the soul1 imprisoned within the mineral state4 ,the fire of the flint1 and the spark in the crystal1 are the only avenues of its lonesome expressions4 ,but1 as the lowest point1 it is also the promise of a higher1 and the symbol of a higher state1 and the symbol of another spiral in its endless life4 ,this constellation1 as the symbol of inertia and death1 is also the symbol of awakening life1 and prepares the soul for the more perfect expression of its powers in its forthcoming upward journey4 ,if we pause for a moment and consider the force and power necessary to evolve out of this dark1 dense1 mineral realm1 the foregoing sentence will become clear and forcible4 ,hitherto1 the soul has been slowly drawn down into coils of matter1 imprisoned by material forces4 ,it has penetrated the lowest depths1 and can go no farther4 ,rest here1 is to gather strength1 force4 ,mark well the difference and parallel between ,cancer and ,capricorn1 opposite points in the arc4 ,cancer is the symbol of exalted rest within angelic realms2 ,capricorn the symbol of rest in dense matter4 ,from the former state the soul is impelled forward on its downward journey2 from the latter state the soul awakens to the struggle for life on the upward are2 and must now give expression to the positive powers of its immortal being1 which have become involved in material form2 that shall make it the master1 and give it the victory over death and material forces4 ,surely1 this is truly the promise of a new day1 and higher state of existence4 ,it will he instructive to study this by a comparison of the zodiacal sign1 ,capricorn1 as set forth in the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 #a1 wherein we read3 ,this sign signifies the knees1 and represents the first principle in the trinity of locomotion1 viz41 the joints1 bending1 pliable1 movable4 ,the analogy is perfect4 ,the soul1 which has been pliant1 bending to material forces1 now reverses this action1 and bows the knee in awe and reverence to the higher powers of its being4 ,when refracted upon the human organism1 we find that the cold1 lonesome state1 and weary struggle within the mineral realm1 becomes love of self1 directing its energies to the attainment of selfish ends4 ,what could be more natural8 ,,xi4 ,aquarius ,and from ,aquarius' urn a flood o'erflows4 ,the soul1 released from its crystallized cycle of matter1 now rapidly evolves into states1 though material1 yet entirely different4 ,its previous arc1 from ,libra to ,capricorn1 has been amid inorganic matter4 ,it is now rushing with lightning speed upon its weird1 toilsome1 upward1 journey through purely organic forms1 from vegetable to animal2 and1 as all organic forms have their primary origin in water1 so does this celestial urn express the primary conception of this physical state4 ,further1 to more fully express this1 ,aquarius is typical of man1 as prototype of the last grand goal of the soul's future material state--in other words1 the last quadrant of the four elements1 viz43 ,bull1 ,lion1 ,eagle1 ,man4 ,there is something exceedingly significant in all this1 and the more we ponder on this spiritual allegory of the shining constellation1 the more we are impressed with the divine wisdom of those early instructors of our race1 who thus preserved truth in an incorruptible form4 ,from this weird1 but beautiful constellation1 we learn how the soul has progressed1 finding innumerable avenues of expression of its latent forces2 the manifestation of its powers in the various chemical changes1 and development of functions expressed through countless forms1 on the lower planes of existence4 ,the sacrifice of its angelic innocence1 the imperious defiance and deathless courage1 symbolized by ,leo1 have obtained the victory over the lower kingdoms2 which will be incorporated into his vast empire4 ,yet1 unstable as water1 it cannot excel2 or1 in other words1 cannot rise to a higher state within this are1 of its progressive life4 ,we find that the astrological expression of this constellation1 the sign ,aquarius1 governs the legs1 and is the natural emblem of the changeable1 moveable1 migratory forces1 of the body1 forming a perfect parallel with its interior symbol4 ,there is a great deal contained in this zodiacal sign worthy of deep study and reflection4 ,,xii4 ,pisces ,near their loved waves cold ,pisces take their seat1 ,with ,aries join1 and make the round complete4 ,once more a reaction--the last scene of the soul's impersonal drama4 ,the constellation 7if ,pisces is the symbol of rest and expectation4 ,the soul has now completed the first round1 or rung1 in the ,cycle of ,necessity2 and its next state is that of incarnated man4 ,it has triumphed over every sphere below1 and defied1 in turn1 every power above1 and is now within that sixth state of the embryonic soul-world that transforms all its past knowledge1 sorrow1 and suffering1 into experience2 and produces the impersonal man4 ,it has traveled through constellated states within matter and spirit1 and1 as a human soul1 with reason1 intuition1 and responsibility1 it will1 in its next state1 become subject to those same powers when reflected from a different plane4 ,the twelve constellations of its soul will manifest a complete rapport with the twelve signs of solar light and power4 ,with this we close4 ,the mystic sign of this constellation is 1 or completion1 a seal and a sign of its past labors4 ,and1 as we have seen1 the shining constellations are the soul's progressive history from its genesis1 to its appearance within embodied conditions as man2 and so1 by correspondence1 are the twelve solar signs symbols of man and his material destiny4 ,the foundation has been laid1 the material and resources are at hand1 for his kingdom is exclusive4 ,with his own hands he must build his temple 7the symbol of the perfected man71 each stone accurately measured1 cut1 polished1 and in its proper place1 the proportions symmetrical1 hence1 harmonious2 the keystone of whose arch is ,,will1 its foundation love4 ,this accomplished1 be will have completed the second round of the great ,cycle of ,necessity4 ,and who1 after contemplating the wondrous harmony of this beautiful system1 and the complete accord of each part1 can refuse to agree with the truly inspired ,addison that-- ,ever moving as they shine1 ,the hand that made us is divine4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,spiritual ,,interpretation ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,houses ,,of ,,the ,,horoscope ,as a sequel to the foregoing subjects1 viz41 the ,zodiac and constellations1 we will add the spiritual interpretation of the twelve houses of an horoscope1 which completes the triune expression of these celestial symbols of eternal truths4 ,in revealing this mystery1 we would impress upon the mind of the student that the order of the ,zodiac is the reverse of the external1 in its spiritual application1 to the twelve houses of the horoscope4 ,as the four cardinal signs1 viz41 ,aries1 ,cancer1 ,libra and ,capricorn1 correspond to the four angles of a natal figure1 it is our purpose to explain1 first1 the symbology of the four angles1 or cardinal points2 believing the whole revelation will thus become clear and forcible4 ,the four angles of the horoscope correspond to the four elements1 the four triplicities1 and the four cardinal points1 or epochs1 in the soul's involution from pure spirit to the crystallizing1 inert1 mineral state4 ,the first angle is the ascendant1 or ,house of ,life4 ,it is the eastern horizon1 and symbolized by ,aries4 ,upon the interior1 this first angle stands for the birth1 or differentiation1 of the ,divine ,ego1 as the result of the creative action1 or impulse1 of the ,deific mind4 ,the ,ego rises upon the eastern horizon of celestial states1 a glowing1 scintillating atom of pure intelligence1 an absolute1 eternal ,ego1 rising out of the ocean of ,infinite ,love4 ,the ,south angle1 meridian1 or ,tenth ,house1 pertaining to honor1 etc41 is symbolized by ,cancer2 the highest point in the arc of the soul's involution1 as a differentiated atom of ,deity within angelic spheres4 ,having evolved the first dual expression of its 7the ,ego's7 self1 the twin souls--,sensation and ,aspiration1 or ,love and ,wisdom1 the ,ego rests awhile1 radiant with celestial love and wisdom1 and inspiring the ,divine breath of life4 ,again the restless impulse of the creative purpose arouses the ,ego to further action4 ,the culminating point has been reached1 and now must begin an apparent downward course toward the western horizon4 ,the seventh angle1 or ,house of ,marriage1 etc41 is represented by ,libra 7the ,balance71 or point of equilibrium2 where the two souls are still one1 balanced upon the western horizon4 ,the alluring temptations of material illusions draw the souls downward1 and1 divorced from their celestial state1 the radiance of ,divine love becomes obscured1 until the twilight of consciousness of that former state is lost in the night of material conditions4 ,this house signifies1 also1 law1 and open enemies1 and 7,libra7 justice4 ,sex is the law4 ,the antagonism is surely too apparent to require explanation4 ,the fourth angle1 or ,nadir1 the point opposite the ,m4 ,c41 signifies the frozen ,north1 and is symbolized by ,capricorn1 the crystallizing point in the soul's involution4 ,it is death1 inertia2 that is1 crystallization of the soul's spiritual forces4 ,it is the lowest point of the are in the monad's downward journey4 ,it is the night1 before the awakening of a new day upon a higher plane of existence4 ,the remaining houses are the lights and shadows that1 fill out and complete the picture1 upon this1 the first round of the ,cyclic ,ladder4 ,the ,twelfth ,house1 symbolized by ,taurus1 represents the first expression of form of the human soul4 ,it is matter in the most etherealized state4 ,it is the trail of the serpent2 the silent1 secret1 tenacious1 negative principle2 that ultimately draws the soul down into the vortices of gross matter and death4 ,the ,eleventh1 or ,house of ,friends1 whose symbol is ,gemini1 the ,twins1 expressive of the first emanation of this sublime relationship1 the dual attributes1 love and wisdom1 closest friends4 ,it is sensation and aspiration1 which enable the spirit to attain to the exalted state indicated by the ,tenth ,mansion4 ,the ,ninth ,mansion of the celestial map is the ,house of ,science1 ,art1 ,religion1 ,philosophy1 etc41 and its symbol is ,leo1 the ,heart1 with its emotions1 love1 and longings1 and sympathies4 ,having evolved the twins1 and inspiring the ,divine breath of wisdom2 glowing with ,deific love1 the ,ego aspires to know2 and all the sympathies of the soul are aroused4 ,dauntless and fearless1 defying all opposition and consequences1 ,it 7the ,ego7 is ready to sacrifice this angelic state and explore the boundless ,universe in pursuit of knowledge1 and goes forth on its long voyage upon the ocean of ,infinite1 fathomless love and wisdom4 ,the ,eighth1 or ,house of ,death and ,legacies1 is symbolized by ,virgo1 the virgin wife1 standing before the ,tree of ,knowledge of ,good and ,evil1 fascinated by the flattering prospects of greater power and wisdom4 ,desire and sympathy draw the soul down into realms which lead to death1 and the beginning of a heritage of sorrow1 ,the ,sixth1 or ,house of ,sickness1 ,menials1 and ,sorrow1 is symbolized by ,scorpio4 ,the fall1 from ,libra through ,scorpio 7sex71 created the first condition of what we recognize as sickness and affliction4 ,it is evident that this house is related to the elementals of the astral plane1 which become the servitors of man4 ,the ,fifth1 or ,house of ,children1 etc41 symbolized by ,sagittarius1 signifies the offspring of sex 7,scorpio71 entities sent forth to people the ,earth1 to take their chances of life1 speculating on its future course1 fearlessly eager for the struggle1 gaining pleasure in its migrations and activities4 ,the ,third ,house is symbolized by ,aquarius4 ,this is the first step of the upward journey1 or evolution1 from the inert mineral state4 ,the changes are now rapid2 the journeys innumerable2 through mineral1 vegetable1 and animal planes1 of existence4 ,here1 the ,soul ,monad brings into actual practice the knowledge gained on its long voyage4 ,the magical powers of the soul are brought into action to effect these changes in form and function1 conquering material forces and planes of life1 transmuting ,nature's elements to its uses and purposes1 and writing its history1 as it journeys ever onward1 step by step4 ,and further1 this house stands in opposition to the ,ninth ,house1 symbolized by ,leo2 longing to expand its 7the ,ego's7 possibilities through trial and suffering2 gaining knowledge through bitter experience2 yet fearlessly braving all things2 guided and sustained by the imperial will of spirit4 ,the recompense promised by that supreme sacrifice has been won in ,aquarius--the ,man--consecrated now to a higher existence1 baptized in the waters of affliction 7experience71 ready to be transmuted into actual knowledge4 ,this is ,aquarius1 and the ,third ,house4 ,the ,second ,house1 signified as ,pisces1 the ,house of ,wealth1 that which has been accumulated on the long and toilsome journey--the wealth of experience1 acquired through trials and struggles4 ,and now1 with higher1 greater possibilities1 the soul eagerly awaits the hour when it shall be born again1 a conscious1 responsible human being1 to begin the second round of the ,cyclic ,ladder2 on this second round1 to externalize the knowledge gained1 to evolve the involved attributes and forces of being1--a creature of will and intellect1 to work out its destiny1 as the lord of material creation4 ,observe1 the order of the ,zodiac is reversed upon the external human plane4 ,but1 ,aries is always symbolical of the first angle1 and ,libra of the seventh1 being the point of equilibrium1 while the tenth1 or ,south1 angle becomes ,capricorn and the fourth ,cancer4 ,the mission of the soul now is to evolve the positive1 spiritual attributes4 ,aries rules the brain and the fiery1 imperial will4 ,it signifies courage1 daring1 etc41 the first qualities necessary for the battle of life4 ,ruling the head1 the sign and house show us the ability of man to view the field of action1 to mark his chart1 and arm for the war 7which will be incessant72 responsible for his acts1 a creature of unfolding consciousness1 an individual1 whose measure of free will enables him to wander so far ,north or ,south of his celestial equator1 within his orbit1 or ,zodiac4 ,the ,south angle1 or ,tenth ,house1 now ruled by ,capricorn1 tells of the honor1 position1 fame1 etc4 7or the reverse7 acquired by patient labor4 ,the crystallized material gains1 the concrete result of ambition1 skill1 and talent1 which will1 at the close of his earthly career1 become liquefied by the universal resolvent2 symbolized by ,cancer upon the opposite angle1 symbolical of the grave1 the end of mundane affairs2 when they will be mirrored forth in new forms in that great white sea1 according to the manner in which he gained his worldly accumulations and prestige4 ,the seventh angle is ,libra1 ,house of ,marriage2 that all-important relation which may make or mar a life1 the ,balance is so easily disturbed in its equilibrium4 ,to preserve its harmony1 equality must reign1 blending love and wisdom4 ,it is the perfect poise of body1 mind1 and soul1 achieved by loving obedience to the higher laws of our being and the true union of intuition and reason4 ,the ,second ,house1 now represented by ,taurus1 shows us that personal wealth and possessions must come through patient servitude1 steady application1 and diligence1 in being able to choose and assimilate the knowledge1 that will enable man to battle with material conditions1 and wrest from the abundant sources of ,mother ,nature his share of treasure and experience4 ,it is the battle-ground to which humanity1 armed with brain and will1 life and energy1 goes forth to battle with material forces for the bread he must earn by the sweat of his brow1 and through the silent1 subtle forces of mind and soul conquer matter1 thus storing up a wealth of knowledge and experience4 ,the ,third ,house is ruled by ,gemini1 the ,twins1 ,reason and ,intuition1 the brethren who aid and guide us on our many journeys in the pursuit of knowledge4 ,as this sign governs the hands and arms and the executive forces of humanity1 we see1 that1 the hands become the magical agents of mind1 moulding into outward form the ideas conceived in the mind1 projecting these into the field of active life1 that he may write a bright record in the ,book of ,life4 ,the hands should be kept clean1 the images pure2 and the perfect poise gained by the equal exercise of love and wisdom1 intuition and reason1 making the basis of education2 the evolution of the interior or real self4 ,this is the true meaning of this house upon the external plane4 it is ,occult1 because it means projecting the powers of the soul into conscious life1 externalizing the qualities and magical forces of spirit1 as shown in the first instance by ,aquarius4 ,this can be accomplished only through pure desire and aspiration4 ,otherwise1 the unbalanced scales1 with floods and cataclysms1 will be the results4 ,the ,fifth ,house1 ruling children1 etc41 is symbolized by ,leo 7the ,heart74 ,the joys and sorrows that offspring of every kind bring1 all belong to this ,house of the ,heart4 ,the sacrifice indicated is too obvious for comment4 ,the ,sixth ,house governs sickness1 disease1 etc41 and its symbol is ,virgo1 an ,earthy sign1 clearly showing us that the material form is the matrix1 out of which are born disease and suffering4 ,but1 the perfect assimilation of the fruit of the ,tree of ,knowledge of ,good and ,evil2 transmuting the trials1 experiences1 sorrows1 and suffering of the physical and external life into true wisdom2 makes man master of his material universe2 and the blind forces of ,nature become his servants4 ,having accomplished the task1 and attained the harmonious poise1 or balance1 in ,libra1 the individualized soul arrives at the eighth step in the journey4 ,the ,eighth ,house1 or ,house of ,death and ,legacies 7,scorpio74 ,the old ,adam dies4 ,the sensuous has no place in the balanced1 harmonious being1 but recognizes sex as the law1 the door to regeneration now1 and that a new legacy is awaiting him4 ,the ,ninth ,house1 ,sagittarius4 where1 with the knowledge acquired1 self sits in judgment upon the works of the hands and mind1 whether or no they have been well done2 the sacrifice of the lower nature properly made1 control of the triune being established1 the transmutations correct and accurate1 assimilation perfect and free from dross1 harmony gained by loving obedience to the higher law of being1 and thus becomes ruler of his kingdom2 the long journey almost accomplished1 so far as ,earth is concerned1 perceiving and understanding that all sciences1 philosophies1 and religions1 have their origin from one primal source4 ,having penetrated the depths in reverent obedience to the ,divine law of creation1 and evolved the attributes of the dual constitution1 the forces of his being become crystallized4 ,he has reached the culmination of his earthly pilgrimage1 and stands forth the perfected human reflection of the higher self4 ,the ,eleventh ,house is represented by ,aquarius on the human plane4 ,friends surround and welcome him4 ,these friends are the pure thoughts1 noble impulses1 lofty ideals1 and generous deeds4 ,the bread cast upon the ,waters of ,life returns to nourish and sustain him in his encounter with the secret foes1 symbolized by the ,twelfth ,house and ,pisces4 ,the idols1 false ideas1 and vampires of his own creation1 are to be cleansed and washed away by the ,waters of ,love1 the universal solvent that is ever seeking to bring about change and new forms2 born again of water to make the round of the astral ,zodiac1 until1 having again reached the equator of the ascending are1 where he is reunited to the missing half of his soul1 the true friend of the ,edenic state2 the highest point in the arc of human progress won2 the honor and glory of a perfected soul2 the ,lord and ,master1 the ,i am that ,i am1 to rest in peace in the heart of ,infinite ,love and ,wisdom4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,astro-,,theology ,there is one species of ,divine revelation which has not1 and cannot1 be tampered with1 one great ,bible1 which forms the starry original of all ,bibles4 ,this sacred ,bible is the great ,astral ,bible of the skies2 its chapters are the twelve great signs1 its pages are the innumerable glittering constellations of the heavenly vault1 and its characters are the personified ideals of the radiant ,sun1 the silvery moon1 and the shining planets1 of our solar sphere4 ,there are three different aspects of this sacred book1 and in each aspect the same characters appear1 but in different roles1 their dress and natural surroundings being suited to the natural play of their symbolical parts4 ,in fact1 the whole imagery may be likened unto a play1 or1 rather1 a series of plays1 performed by the same company of artists4 ,it may be a comedy1 or it may be melodrama1 or it may be a tragedy2 but the principles behind the scenes are ever the same1 and show forth the same ,divine ,oneness of ,nature2 demonstrating the eternal axiom4 ,,one ,,truth1 ,,one ,,life1 ,,one ,,principle1 ,,and ,,one ,,word1 and in their fourfold expression1 is the four great chapters of the celestial book of the starry heavens4 ,in this aspect the visible cosmos may be represented as a kaleidoscope4 ,the visible constellations1 planets1 and other heavenly bodies1 are the bits of colored glass2 and ,deity the invisible force1 which keeps the instrument in motion4 ,each revolution produces a different pictorial figure1 which1 complete in its harmony of parts1 is perfect in its mathematical proportions1 and beautiful in its geometrical designs4 ,and yet each creation1 each form1 and each combination of forms1 are produced by the same little pieces of glass2 and all of them1 in reality1 are optical illusions2 i4e41 natural phenomena1 which deceive the physical senses4 ,so it is with ,cosmic ,nature4 ,it must not1 however1 be supposed1 because of this perfect and continual illusion of ,nature's playful phenomena1 that all visible creation is purely an illusion of the senses1 as some cranky metaphysicians would have it1 because this is not so4 ,going back again to our kaleidoscope1 we can clearly see that without it1 and its tinted beads1 no such optical illusion is possible4 ,there is1 then1 a basis of spiritual reality to all visible physical phenomena2 but this basis lies concealed1 because of the perfect illusion which the reflected image produces upon the material plane of the physical senses4 ,the beads themselves are real4 ,these are the basis1 and the different pictures are the result1 not of the beads1 but of the angle from which they are reflected to our earthly vision4 ,in other words1 ,,the ,,plane ,,from ,,which ,,we ,,behold ,,the ,,phenomena4 ,hence1 the nearer we approach the ,divine center of our being1 the less complicated ,nature's original designs become1 and the farther we are removed from that central source1 the more weird1 mysterious1 complicated1 and incomprehensible1 does ,mother ,nature appear1 to the finite human mind4 ,and this is especially so1 to man's theological instinct1 his religiosity1 that constitutes one of the fundamental factors of his being4 ,nature is ever one in her original truths and their duplicate reflections2 but ever conflicting and contradictory in her multiplied refractions through the minds of men4 ,therefore1 we will present the primary concept of that grand ,astro-,theology formulated by man's great progenitors2 and view the simple machinery1 by which they typified to the primitive mind a general outline of ,nature's ,divine providence4 ,all sacred books begin with an account of physical creation1 the culmination of which1 is the appearance of man and woman1 as the parents of the race2 and1 while they will differ considerably in detail and make-up1 the basic ideas embodied are essentially the same in all cosmo-genesis2 so that in the ,jewish ,bible1 accessible to all1 one can read the primitive story of creation from a ,jewish point of view1 and1 when read1 rest satisfied that he has read the revelation vouchsafed to man in every age and in every clime4 ,the only difference is one of mental peculiarity and national custom1 along with climatic conditions4 ,hindoo1 ,chaldean1 ,chinese1 ,persian1 ,egyptian1 ,scandinavian1 ,druidic and ancient ,mexican are all the same--different names and drapery1 to suit the people only1 but essentially the same in the fundamental ideas conveyed4 ,,the ,,creation ,,of ,,the ,,world ,the simple story of creation begins at midnight1 when the ,sun has reached the lowest point in the arc--,capricorn4 ,all ,nature then is in a state of coma in the ,northern ,hemisphere1 it is winter time1 solar light and heat are at their lowest ebb2 and the various appearances of motion1 etc41 are the ,sun's passage from ,capricorn to ,pisces1 #fj degrees1 and from ,pisces to ,aries1 #cj degrees1 making #ij degrees1 or one quadrant of the circle4 ,then begin in real earnest the creative powers1 it is spring time4 ,the six days are the six signs of the northern arc1 beginning with the disruptive fires of ,aries4 ,then1 in their order1 ,taurus1 ,gemini1 ,cancer1 ,leo1 ,virgo2 then ,libra1 the seventh day and the seventh sign1 whose first point is opposite ,aries and is the opposite point of the sphere1 the point of equilibrium1 equal day and equal night1 it is autumn4 ,it is the sixth sign from ,aries1 the first creative action1 and so the sixth day following the fiery force1 wherein ,god created the bi-sexual man4 ,see ,genesis1 #a3e-bg3 ,so ,god created man in ,his own image2 in the image of ,god created ,he him1 male and female created ,he them4 ,it is the seventh1 or day of the ,lord 7man71 the climax of material creation and ,lord of all living things1 and be rests in the blissful ,garden of ,eden4 ,this seventh day and seventh sign is the concealed sacred ,libra the perfect union of the sexes4 ,then comes the fall from ,libra1 through ,scorpio1 and banishment from the ,garden of ,eden4 ,that is the victory of ,satan1 or ,winter1 over ,summer1 etc4 ,it is useless to repeat the same old1 old story4 ,the yearly journey of the ,sun around the constellated dial of ,deity is the ,astro basis of all primitive cosmology4 ,,the ,,scheme ,,of ,,redemption ,in addition to the creation of the world and the fall of man through sin1 we find all people in possession of a grand scheme of redemption1 and1 like the former1 we shall find them all essentially the same4 ,they all require a mediator between the angry ,god and disobedient man1 and they all require that this mediator shall be ,divine1 or semi-,divine4 ,nothing less can satisfy ,deity's demands2 or1 rather1 let us say man's own carnal imagination4 ,it is simply another turn of our cosmic kaleidoscope1 and behold6 the actors have changed4 ,capricorn becomes the stable of the ,goat1 in the manger of which the young ,savior of the world is born4 ,as a type of all1 we will take the ,gospel ,savior4 ,it is again midnight4 ,the ,sun enters the sign ,capricorn on the twenty- first of ,december4 ,this is the lowest point of the arc1 ,south1 and for three days he is stationary1 or in darkness4 ,and now it is ,christmas ,eve4 ,he 7the ,sun or ,savior7 begins to move1 and at midnight is born as the celestial ,virgo is rising upon the ,eastern quadrant of the skies2 hence the ,sun-,god is born of a ,virgin4 ,then comes the flight to escape ,kronos1 or ,saturn 7ruling ,capricorn71 who kills the young babes4 ,there is a period of silence in the ,god's history while the ,sun is in transit through the signs ,capricorn and part of ,aquarius4 ,that is1 he is hidden or obscured by the clouded skies of this period4 ,we hear of him but once again until he1 the ,sun-,god1 or ,savior1 is thirty years old1 or has transited thirty degrees of space4 ,he has entered the sign ,aquarius 7symbolical of the ,man47 ,now begins the period of miracles4 ,let us digress for a space1 and refer to our chapter on the constellations4 ,we shall find a perfect analogy between this miracle- working period and the constellations ,aquarius and ,pisces1 as therein given4 ,the first miracle we read of is turning water into wine4 ,this may be seen in a threefold aspect4 ,the ,sun-,god changes by his life- forces the waters of winter into the rich vintage of the harvest1 where the ,virgin 7,virgo7 ,mother again appears4 ,again1 the wine becomes the blood--the life offered up on the vernal cross to strengthen1 renew and make merry with new life our ,earth and its people4 ,the devil 7or winter71 with his powers of darkness1 is defeated and man saved4 ,the final triumph is the crucifixion in ,aries1 the vernal equinox1 about the twenty-first of ,march1 quickly followed by the resurrection1 or renewal of life4 ,then the ,god rises into heaven1 to sit upon the throne at the summer solstice1 to bless his people4 ,we read1 that1 the ,savior of mankind was crucified between two thieves4 ,very good4 ,the equinoctial point is the dividing line between light and darkness1 winter and summer4 ,in other words1 the ,sun is resuming his northern arc1 to replenish the ,earth with his solar force and preserve his people from death in the coming winter4 ,the life of a ,buddha1 a ,krishna or a ,christ1 are all found in their completeness in the life of ,horus2 while the ,father1 ,son and ,holy ,ghost are ,isis1 ,horus and ,osirus4 ,the same trinity1 under different names1 are found in all nations4 ,it is the ,sun1 ,moon and ,human ,soul1 which is the only true mediator of ,man4 ,there is another version of this celestial crucifixion1 wherein the ,sun-,god-,savior1 after the supper of the harvest in ,virgo1 is crucified at the autumnal equinox upon the equator4 ,we read that he was dying from the sixth to the ninth hours--three hours1 three signs1 or from the #bast of ,september to the #bast of ,december1 when he is laid in the tomb4 ,this is the lowest point of the ,sun's journey in the southern hemisphere1 and darkness holds the balance in our northern hemisphere4 ,the three days in the tomb are the three months1 or three signs1 before the vernal equinox1 or the resurrection1 the rising out of the ,south to bring salvation to the northern portion of our ,earth4 ,we have now only to glance over various diverging lines of the same cosmology and the same redemption4 ,all these allegories typified ,,truths4 ,they all teach the ,initiate the mysteries of creation1 of man's destiny and his necessary ,cycle of ,material ,probation4 ,some of the most beautiful parables may be read in this light4 ,abraham1 and the story of his wanderings in the deserts of ,asia ,minor2 of ,lot and his unfaithful wife1 are to be seen still written in the heavens4 ,hagar and ,ishmael are still there2 so also are ,esau and his brother ,jacob2 the story of ,joseph and his brethren2 of ,sampson and his twelve labors4 ,this is the same beautiful story4 ,the ,sun1 shorn of his glory1 or solar force1 at the autumnal equinox1 stands upon the equator between the two pillars of the temple 7or light and darkness71 and pulls down the temple 7or signs7 into the southern hemisphere4 ,and behind this we have the eternal truth of the soul1 when1 giving way to the allurements of matter 7,delilah71 the soul is shorn of its spiritual covering1 or conscience1 and sinks into matter and death4 ,and the story of ,david and ,goliath can be read to-day as clearly as of yore4 ,they are eternal1 spiritual verities of human nature1 and record1 not only the history of the human race1 its mutations and transmutations1 but of the individual man and the suffering and delusive joys of his material life4 ,aye1 more6 ,it is the record of all his past existence and a type of his eternal destiny in the future4 ,another turn of our cosmic kaleidoscope1 and lo6 the scene changes --the play extended1 the angles greater1 caused by the revolution of our solar parent through his celestial ,zodiac4 ,as the ,sun passes out of one sign into another1 or1 in other words1 forms a different angle to his own center of force1 a new dispensation is born to the world2 or1 rather1 re-born under a new guise4 ,the great ,sun-,god appears to change his nature and manifests an entirely different set of attributes4 ,that is the way man personified this play of ,nature1 through his imperfect conception of the cause of this change4 ,but to him it was1 and is1 a truth1 and man's effort to externalize these attributes in a ,divine personality was1 and is1 strictly from the plane of his mental development and spiritual unfoldment4 ,the two pictures of this ,astro-,theology1 as set forth in the two divisions of the ,jewish ,bible1 will illustrate our meaning4 ,the ,sun had entered the sign ,aries some time prior to the exodus from ,egypt4 ,aries is the constellation of ,mars1 the fiery1 destructive and warrior element1 or force1 in ,nature1 and we find the ,jewish conception of ,god a perfect embodiment of these attributes3 ,the ,lord of ,hosts1 a ,god mighty in battle1 delighting in the shedding of blood and the smell of burnt offerings1 ever marshalling the people to battle and destroying their foes and the works of his own hands2 a ,god imbued with jealousy1 anger1 and revenge4 ,this was the type set up by the ,jewish savior and lawgiver1 ,moses4 ,after a period of #b1afj years1 we find the ,christian cosmology ushered in4 ,the ,sun has entered the sign ,pisces1 which is ruled by ,jupiter1 the beneficent father4 ,the ,christ1 or mediator1 of the ,christian ,gospel was an embodiment of the joint qualities of the sign and ruling planet4 ,gentle1 loving and merciful1 ,his words were messages of love and peace2 ,his work was with the poor1 oppressed and fallen2 he eschewed sacrifices and burnt offerings2 a contrite heart was the best offering2 ,he taught the people that ,god was their ,father1 loving all1 just1 yet merciful4 ,but a strong taint of the old conception has remained with the human race1 hiding1 at times1 the beauty of the latter concept4 ,these are1 again1 the refractions of eternal truths1 viewed by man from his material plane4 ,the elements are here presented1 the alphabet and its key clearly defined4 ,therefore1 let each one explore this tangled labyrinth of ,astro-,theology for him or herself1 and work out the various correspondencies at leisure4 ,it is enough to indicate the starry originals of all this seemingly confused mass of so-called ,divine revelation in sacred books4 ,they1 one and all1 pertain to the same celestial phenomena1 and the various ,bibles are the outcome of man's serious attempt to tabulate and externalize this heavenly order1 to record his conceptions of these starry aspects and movements with their corresponding effects upon the ,earth4 ,probably the purest system to us is that which may yet be derived from ,chaldean sources4 ,this sacerdotal caste were the most perfect in their astral conceptions and complete in their symbolic system of recording1 and if the great work found in ,king ,sargon's library in seventy tablets is ever translated1 it will prove of priceless value to the student of these weird1 but sublime1 astrological mysteries4 ,in conclusion1 as we reflect upon the fourfold aspect of the subject that we have presented in outline in these pages1 the whole imagery passes in review before the mental vision4 ,we see that the radiant constellations of the heavenly vault1 with the beautiful reflection and counterpart1 the shining ,zodiac1 are the two halves of the great ,cycle of ,necessity1 the spiral of eternal1 universal life1 which binds the whole into unity1 and unity into infinity4 ,it is the grand scheme of creative life4 ,the seven principles of ,nature1 or ,divine ,activities1 are the forces producing the phenomena within seven angelic states1 seven kingdoms1 and1 by seven planets1 upon the external plane2 the planets being the passive mediums of the positive spiritual forces4 ,upon this dual spiral1 which reflects the seven rays of the solar spectrum is produced seven musical notes2 one half of the spiral in sound and color being the complementary of the other half4 ,man1 the ,earth1 and our solar system1 are revolving1 each orb in its own key1 and its own peculiar ray1 meeting and blending with other spirals1 and the whole blending into one mighty spiral ,cycle of ,progressive ,life1 revolving around the ,eternal1 ,infinite ,ego-,god1 ever involving and evolving the attributes1 powers and possibilities of the ,one great central source of ,being4 ,it is a grand orchestra1 pealing out in richest melody and sublime ,,harmony1 the grand ,anthem of ,creation3 ,we ,praise ,thee1 ,o ,god4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,astro-,,mythology ,the ,astro-,mythological system of the ancients1 though forming the last section1 so to say1 of the mysteries of the ,divine ,urania1 is1 perhaps1 the most beautiful of its general features1 and perfect in the complete fulfillment of the purpose for which it was intended1 viz43-- to convey to the human mind a lesson1 a moral1 a truth in ,nature2 and last1 but not the least1 to serve as a basis upon which its inner aspirations and its more external faith might rest in security4 ,when we come to examine the deep1 philosophical principles of such a wise system1 we are almost astounded at the result of our researches and the wisdom of human nature displayed in formulating such perfect analogies of truth1 semi-truth1 and of falsehood1 according to the plane occupied by the individual4 ,let us take one instance1 which will clearly explain all the rest1 for they are built and formulated after the same model4 ,aeneas1 of ,greek myths and fables1 is reputed to be the son of ,venus by a ,,mortal father1 upon the plane of reality4 ,as that of actual ,,parent and ,,child1 of course this is an utter falsehood4 ,to the rural population of long1 long ago1 and their simple1 rustic conceptions1 ,,it ,,was ,a ,,truth4 ,why so8 ,because they believed it1 and to them it taught the required lesson of obedience to the powers that be4 ,but if in reality it was a falsehood1 how can it become a truth by the simple addition of acceptance and belief8 ,because it possessed a metaphysical truth1 though not a physical one1 in the sense accepted4 ,aeneas1 son of ,venus1 whose history is so beautifully preserved by the immortal ,virgil1 was 7metaphysically speaking7 son of the goddess1 because he was1 in his astral and magnetic nature1 ruled and governed by ,venus1 born under one of her celestial signs and when she was rising upon the ascendant of the ,house of ,life1 even as ,jesus ,christos was born of a virgin1 because ,virgo was rising at ,his birth4 ,thus ,aeneas was1 in strict metaphysical reality1 a son of ,venus4 ,having satisfied the rural mind1 which thus1 unconsciously1 accepts an absolute truth under a physical disguise1 the metaphysical thinker1 the philosopher1 also accepts the same fable1 knowing and realizing its more abstract truth1 ,but1 again1 we are met with the objection that such a truth is only apparently a truth2 i4e41 on the plane of embodied appearances1 and naturally the question arises1 where 7if at all7 is the real truth of the mythos8 ,that truth which is beyond the mere metaphysical thinker and commonplace philosopher2 the truth which the ,initiates recognize--where is it8 ,that truth lies far beyond the purview of ,astro-,mythology4 ,it is connected with the center of angelic life4 ,sufficient here to say that1 as there are seven races of humanity1 seven divisions to the human constitution1 seven active principles in ,nature1 typified by the seven rays of the solar spectrum1 so are there seven centers of angelic life1 corresponding to the seven planetary forces formulated in ,the ,science of the ,stars1 and1 as each one of us must of necessity belong to one of the particular angelic centers from which we originally emanated1 the ,initiate can see no reason why ,,aeneas ,,may ,,not ,,in ,,reality belong to that celestial vortex represented by ,venus upon the plane of material life4 ,this being the case1 we see how beautiful the ancients' system of temple worship must have been4 ,the simple rustic1 in reverence and awe1 accepting the gross and physical meaning--the only one possible to his dark1 sensuous mind4 ,the scholar and philosopher bow their wiser heads with equal humility1 accepting with equally sincere faith the more abstract form of the allegory2 while on the other hand1 the priest and the ,initiate1 lifting their loftier souls above the earth and its formulas of illusion and matter1 accept that higher and more spiritual application1 which renders them equally as sincere and devout as their less enlightened worshipers4 ,it is thus we find these astro-myths true for all time1 true in every age of the world1 and ,,equally ,,true ,,of ,,all ,,nations4 ,and this is the real reason why we find every nation under the ,sun possessing clear traditions relating to the same identical fables1 under different names1 which are simply questions of nationality4 ,and when mythologists1 archaeologists1 and philologists once recognize the one central1 cardinal truth1 they will cease to wonder why nations1 so widely separated by time and space1 possess the same basic mythology4 ,they will then no longer attempt its explanation by impossible migrations of races1 carrying the rudiments with them4 ,they will find that this mythology was a complete science with the ancient sages1 a ,,universal ,,mystery ,,language1 in which all could converse1 and that it descended from the ,golden ,age1 when there was but ,,one nation on the face of the ,earth1 the descendants of which constituted the basic nucleus of every race which has since had an existence4 ,in this light all is simple1 clear1 and easy to comprehend--all is natural4 ,the astronomer-priests of the hoary past1 when language was figurative1 and often pictorial1 had recourse to a system of symbols to express abstract truths and ideas4 ,in order to impress the minds of pupils with a true concept of the attributes of the celestial forces1 we call planets1 they personified their powers1 qualities1 and attributes4 ,just as the average mind of to-day cannot conceive of ,deity apart from personality1 so did primitive man clothe his ideas in actual forms1 and in these impersonations1 they combined the nature of the celestial orb with that of the zodiacal sign or signs1 in which the planet exerted its chief and most potent activities4 ,for instance1 the planet ,mars1 whose chief constellation is ,aries1 was described as a great warrior1 mighty in battle1 fierce in anger1 fearless1 reckless1 and destructive2 while the mechanical and constructive qualities were personified as ,vulcan1 who forged the thunderbolts of ,jove1 built palaces for the gods1 and made many useful and beautiful articles4 ,then1 again1 we find that ,pallas ,athene was the goddess of war and wisdom4 ,she sprang from the head of ,zeus4 ,aries rules the head1 and represents intelligence4 ,athene overcame her brother ,mars in war1 which shows that intelligence is superior to brute force and reckless courage4 ,here1 we see three different personages employed to express the nature of the powers and phenomena produced4 ,they were called gods and goddesses4 ,this was quite natural1 as the planets of our system are reflections of ,divine principles4 ,esoterically1 ,mars symbolizes strength1 victory--attributes of ,deity4 ,mars is said to have married ,venus1 teaching us that the union of skill and beauty are essential in all artistic work4 ,mythology tells us that the god ,mars was supposed to be the father of ,romulus1 the reputed founder of ,rome4 ,romulus displayed many characteristics of the planet4 ,the mythos is no doubt a parallel to that of ,aeneas4 ,rome was founded when the ,sun in his orbit had entered the sign ,aries1 and ,mars was the god most honored by the ,romans4 ,in time1 with the degeneration of human races and their worship1 to the rural mind1 the subjects of the mythos became actual personalities1 endowed with every human passion and godlike attribute1 the former characterizing the discordant influence of the heavenly bodies upon man4 ,gai1 ,rhea and ,ceres1 or ,demeter 7,greek71 represent the triune attributes of ,mother ,earth4 ,gai signifies the ,earth as a whole1 ,rhea the productive powers of the ,earth1 and ,ceres utilizes and distributes the productive forces of ,rhea4 ,in the charming story of ,eros 7,divine ,love71 son of ,mars and ,venus1 he 7,eros71 we are told1 brings harmony out of chaos4 ,here1 we see the action of ,aries and ,taurus1 ruled respectively by ,mars and ,venus4 ,the beautiful myth of ,aphrodite1 born of the sea foam1 is ,venus rising out of the waters of winter1 to shine resplendent in the western skies at evening1 and typifies the birth of forms1 as all organic forms have their origin in water4 ,in all lands the ,sun was known under various names1 typical of solar energy1 especially in reference to the equinoctial and solstitial colures4 ,henry ,melville1 in his valuable work1 ,veritas1 says no reliance can be placed upon ancient dates1 either of ,europe1 ,asia1 or anywhere else1 and he conclusively shows that such dates are ,astro-,masonic points on the celestial planisphere1 the events recorded being1 as it were1 terrestrial reflections of the celestial symbols4 ,to attempt to wade through all the various systems of mythology1 and explain each in its proper order1 would be to write a large encyclopedia upon the subject4 ,we have given a few examples as keys1 and suggest works for study4 ,we have here given the real key1 and the student must fathom particulars for himself4 ,the chief work1 and most valuable in its line1 is ,ovid's ,metamorphoses4 ,the next1 also the most valuable in its line1 is ,the ,mythological ,astronomy of the ,ancients1 with notes 7these latter are the gist and constitute the real value71 by ,s4 ,a4 ,mackey2 and last1 and1 perhaps1 in some sense1 not the least1 is the ,wisdom of the ,ancients1 by ,lord ,bacon4 ,this is published in ,bacon's ,essays4 ,a careful study of ,ovid1 with the key which this chapter supplies1 will reveal ,,all that pertains to ancient gods1 demi-gods1 and heroes1 while a study of ,mackey1 and a careful comparison with ,la ,clef and ,la ,clef ,hermetique will reveal all that pertains to cosmic cycles and astral chronology1 which is the only chronology that is quite trustworthy1 as far as ancient history is concerned4 ,while we are on this subject1 we must point out some of the delusions1 into which the subtle1 magical teachings of the ,orient would lead the student4 ,all the monster sphinx1 half human1 half animal1 etc41 which the ancients have preserved1 are simply records of the past4 ,they are chronological tables of cosmic time1 and relate to eras of the past1 of the ,sun's motion1 and not by any means to living creatures of antediluvian creations1 as some wiseacres have imagined4 ,many of these ancient monuments1 monstrous in form1 are records of that awful period of floods and devastation known as the ,iron ,age1 when there was a vertical ,sun at the poles2 or1 in other words1 when the pole of the ,earth was ninety degrees removed from the pole of the ecliptic4 ,to those who can read aright1 every lineament tells as plainly as the written word the history of that awful past1 marking the march of time1 recording the revolutions of the ,sun in his orbit of #be1ibj years1 and relating with wonderful accuracy the climatic changes1 in their latitudes1 which took place with each revolution of the ,sun and corresponding motion of the ,earth's pole of less than four degrees4 ,all the greater myths of the dim past were formulated to express cosmic time1 solar and polar motion1 and the phenomena resulting therefrom4 ,these monuments of antiquity prove that1 the ancients knew a great deal more of the movements of heavenly bodies and of our planet than modern astronomers credit them with4 ,madame ,blavatsky1 in her ,secret ,doctrine1 seriously states that all these monstrous forms are the types of actual1 once living physical embodiments1 and1 with apparent sincerity1 asserts that the ,adepts teach such insane superstitions4 ,such1 however1 is not the case1 neither is there anything true1 or even approaching the truth1 in the cosmogony given in the work in question4 ,and1 lastly1 we have but one more aspect of the grand old ,astro- ,mythos to present to your notice4 ,this aspect reveals the whole of the ancient classification of ,,work and ,,labor1 and gives us a clear insight into the original designs1 or pictorial representations1 of the twelve signs and the twelve months of the year4 ,it also clearly explains many things which are to-day attributed to superstitious paganism4 ,as each month possesses its own peculiar season1 so are1 or were1 the various labors of the husbandman1 and those of pastoral pursuits1 altered and diverted4 ,each month1 then1 bad a symbol which denoted the physical characteristics of climate and the temporal characteristics of work4 ,as the ,sun entered the sign1 so the temple rites varied in honor of the labors performed1 and the symbol thus became the object of outward veneration and worship4 ,so we see that the twelve signs1 and principally the four cardinal ones1 became ,deities1 and the symbols sacred1 but in reality1 it was the same ,sun to which homage was paid4 ,there is a large sphere of study in this direction1 as1 of course1 each climate varied the symbol to suit its requirements4 ,in ,egypt there were three months when the land was overflowed with water2 hence1 they had only nine working months out of doors1 and from this fact sprang the ,nine ,muses1 while the ,three ,sirens represented the three months of inactivity in work1 or three months of pleasure and festivity4 ,mackey tells us that the great leviathan mentioned in the ,book of job was the river ,nile4 ,in nearly all mythologies1 we find that the gods assembled on some high mountain to take counsel4 ,the ,olympus of the ,greeks and ,mount ,zion of the ,hebrew ,bible mean the same1 the ,pole-,star2 and there1 on the pictured planisphere1 sits ,cephus1 the mighty ,jove1 with one foot on the ,pole-,star and all the gods gathered below him4 ,the ,pole-,star is the symbol of the highest heaven4 ,with this we close1 leaving the endless ramifications of this deeply interesting subject to the student's leisure and personal research1 trusting the keys we have given in this chapter and their careful study may induce the reader and student of these pages to search out for himself the meaning concealed in all ,astro-,mythologies4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,symbolism ,at this point of our study it is necessary to make a halt2 and1 before proceeding further1 to attempt to formulate and realize that1 which1 so far1 we have been pursuing4 ,first1 then1 we have passed in review the ,zodiac1 and then the constellations4 ,from this we mentally surveyed both ,astro-,theology and ,astro-,mythology2 and now1 it is our first duty to realize these in their real significance1 and this consists in a clear comprehension of the ,grand ,law of ,correspondences4 ,what is this law8 ,it is the law of symbolism1 and symbolism1 rightly understood1 is the one ,divine language of ,mother ,nature1 a language wherein all can read1 a language that defies the united efforts of both time and space to obliterate it1 for symbolism will be the language of ,nature as long as spirit expresses itself to the ,divine soul of man4 ,no matter where we turn nor where we look1 there is spread out to our view a vast panorama of symbolic forms for us to read4 ,in whatever form1 angle1 or color they present themselves1 the true student of ,nature can interpret and understand their symbolic language aright4 ,it has been by the personification of ,nature's symbols1 that man has become ignorant of their language4 ,there is no form1 sound1 nor color but what has its laws of expression2 and only a perfect knowledge of symbolism will enable man to know the law1 power1 and meaning1 lying behind such manifestations4 ,the law of expression is exact1 and as unalterable as ,deity ,himself4 ,the physical senses cannot vibrate to these interior forces1 and through them1 comprehend their law4 ,the physical senses vibrate to the spirit's expression1 not to the powers1 forces1 and laws1 which brought them into objective existence4 ,countless numbers of mystics1 if such they deserve to be called1 among present-day students1 speak and write very learnedly upon the ,law of ,correspondence1 and few1 if any1 of them really understand or know anything at all of that law4 ,the intellect alone cannot solve the problems of this law4 ,it cannot grasp the true1 interior and spiritual meaning1 except in just so far as intellect is capable of externalizing them4 ,the inmost spiritual truths1 that cannot be demonstrated to the outward senses1 never have1 nor never will1 appeal to any one who has not the interior ability to comprehend them4 ,there was a time when men ruled by pure intellect1 without its accompanying other half1 intuition3 they were looked upon as monstrosities4 ,this state of purely intellectual development has been brought about by the positive1 masculine principle1 reason1 absorbing its counterpart1 the intuition1 the feminine portion2 and the result1 by correspondence1 is as fatal as upon the interior plane1 where the positive1 masculine soul denies the existence of his mate2 thus setting upon his throne1 only a portion of himself as his idol1 and then1 reasons himself into the belief that he is complete4 ,love has been cast out1 ignored and forgotten until at last she departs1 leaving a vacancy1 that eternity cannot fill4 ,this is somewhat similar to their illusive ,devachan1 an ideal1 a mere mystical sentiment to gush over1 but a something they do not in reality comprehend4 ,therefore1 we shall do our utmost to explain this universal law1 and to point out wherein its first principles are manifest4 ,once these are mastered1 the ,golden ,rule will explain all the rest3 ,as it is below1 so it is above2 as on the earth1 so in the sky4 ,here1 then1 is our first lesson on the subject of ,,reality1 which constitutes the ,hermetic science of ,correspondences4 ,first1 realize that a line or an angle1 for instance1 is something more than its mere mathematical outline4 ,it corresponds to some power1 force1 or principle within the great ,anima-,mundi of the mysteries1 that are trying to find expression1 in their evolutionary journey1 in forms4 ,let us illustrate our meaning4 ,a point or dot is what8 ,well1 externally it is the alpha of all mathematics4 ,it is the first finite manifestation of the spiritual force4 ,within that dot lies concealed1 in embryo1 all the future possibilities of the manifesting principle4 ,this dot or point is a something to begin with1 a form externalized1 from which all future forms may spring forth1 and they may be infinite1 both in number and variety4 ,first a primary1 simple idea1 from which all ideas and thoughts1 intricate and complex1 have their being4 ,a point extended is a straight line1 scientifically expressed 7whereas in real truth there is no such thing as a straight line72 that is to say1 it is a form increased or multiplied by itself1 and therefore1 is an extension in space that can be measured1 and each extension means a new form1 an additional symbol4 ,it has taken on new aspects1 new relations1 hence contains the second principle of mathematics1 so to say2 but1 besides being points1 ,,they ,,are ,,symbols4 ,they are principles in ,nature as clearly related to each other as the leaf and the stem of plant life4 ,each monad1 or point in the universe1 is the beginning of something2 equally so1 it is also the termination of its own forces in that particular action1 and will remain inert until it becomes acted upon by something else4 ,a point1 then1 is a primary1 simple idea1 a straight line4 ,an angle is the same idea1 rendered greater and more complex1 and refers to the same forces upon a different plane1 and the more we multiply the angles the more complex and far-reaching becomes the symbol and the more numerous and diverse become its planes of action4 ,here we will introduce an example4 ,a trine represents three forces or angles1 and1 when united1 form a trinity1 hence harmony4 ,its apex 7when above7 is celestial1 therefore represents the male forces of spirit4 ,a trine reversed also represents the same forces1 with its apex in matter1 hence it is negative4 ,in these two complex ideas1 clearly represented by these symbols1 we have ,,all matter and spirit2 and yet they are but extensions of our point in space1 rendered far-reaching and complex1 by the position and the number of angles presented4 ,let us turn the key once again1 and we find that1 both spirit and matter possess the same outline in their primal concept1 except reversed 7polarized74 ,let us unite these two trines1 and we have a still more potent form2 a symbol almost infinitely complex4 ,we have spirit and matter united1 or1 rather1 three rays of force1 positive1 meeting three rays of force1 negative1 at a given point4 ,thus we have six points1 also six sides1 the ultimate of which is a cube4 ,all are now equal4 ,it is the first force of a crystallization 7creation7 of matter4 ,once again let us turn the key1 and we have our two conceptions in a metaphysical sense2 the trine with its apex above is as the trine with its apex below1 both the same in form1 yet vibrating to very different planes1 and a very different language is required to read and interpret their meaning aright4 ,the spiritual1 or the trine with its apex above1 draws its influence from the celestial1 and as it condenses and takes on form in the trine of matter1 it transmits this same ,divine force through its apex1 which points below1 to matter4 ,the double trine is found upon every plane1 obeying the ,divine ,law of ,correspondences4 ,it is1 in this sense1 called ,solomon's ,seal1 because it is the grand hieroglyphic of the ,hermetic law3 ,as it is above1 so it is below2 as on the ,earth1 so in the sky4 ,to continue this line of reasoning1 or speculation1 let us say1 would lead us beyond the firm basis of human reason2 it would escape the grasp of intellect1 to which ,i am compelling this course of instruction to bend1 but it would never take us beyond the real limits of the universe2 yet1 not to extend our investigations1 we would ever remain in the lower trine1 in the realms of effects1 and lose sight entirely of the trine of spirit1 from whence originated the force and potency in the form of matter4 ,therefore it is1 that the science of ,symbolism has been evolved and formulated4 ,the symbols1 the manifestations1 are ever present1 and the study of effects will1 to a developed soul1 suggest the cause1 the nature of the principle back of it1 as well as the law which would produce such effects4 ,such is the science of symbolism2 and it bounds and binds back into a religio-philosophical system1 each class of symbols and each plane of manifestation2 as securely as modern savants have defined the province of chemistry1 magnetism1 and mathematics2 and1 so far1 these bounds are useful4 ,but it is only a question of time and space1 after all1 because1 when resolved back1 or1 let us say1 evolved up into their abstract principles2 chemistry1 magnetism1 and mathematics1 are purely arbitrary terms to express special features of the same one eternal thing or science--which is ,,existence2 and it1 in turn1 is ,,consciousness2 not that external consciousness of existence1 not that knowledge and love of living1 but that interior1 conscious knowledge1 which tells us why and how we exist1 by what force and power we are sustained and permitted to obey and carry out the law of mediumship1 reception and transmission1 attraction and repulsion1 spiritual and material1 that ultimately blend and become as one1 the double trine1 and1 united with the ,divine ,ego of its being1 becomes complete2 seven1 the perfected number of form4 ,the sum total1 then1 of all1 and the value it may possess to the individual1 is measured by his ability to perceive2 for there is nothing external that is not in some sense mental1 and there is nothing mental that is not in some sense spiritual4 ,the sides of the triangle1 physical1 mental1 and spiritual1 and the apex where meet the mental and spiritual1 forms the center of contact to higher trines in realms above4 ,where mind is not1 there are no symbols1 no ideas1 no manifestations4 ,the spirit has not yet reached that point in its evolutionary journey where it can yet crystallize its projected force1 power1 or ideas1 into forms2 for everything that is1 is the outcome of ,divine thought1 and expresses within itself the symbol of its being4 ,this is the arcana of the ,law of ,correspondences4 ,remember the above teaching1 because upon its full comprehension rests the ability to read symbols aright4 ,it will aid the soul to fully realize that1 the vast universe is but the mental image of the ,creator2 that there is no such thing as manifested existence apart from mind2 and consequently1 the infinite worlds that float securely in space1 blushing and scintillating with light of life and love of the ,father1 revealing to mortal minds some faint conception of the awful resources and recesses within ,nature's star-making laboratory1 are but the scintillating reflection of life1 the reactions of mental phenomena4 ,so1 too1 with the mental creative powers of the mind of man1 for1 not a vibration that proceeds from his every thought but what creates its correspondence in the creative realm of spirit4 ,hence1 symbolism continues giving to the soul of man1 throughout eternity1 food for thought and contemplation4 ,all symbols1 then1 are objectified ideas1 whether human or ,divine2 and as such possess a real meaning2 and this meaning is altered1 extended and rendered more complex with every additional thing or influence by which we find it surrounded1 or with which1 we find it correlated4 ,for instance1 #a4jj means one dollar2 add six ciphers to the left #jjjjjja41 and it is still the same #a4jj1 and no more1 because their position is previous1 or before1 the #a4 ,but add the same number of ciphers to the right1 #a1jjjjjj1 and lo6 we find a wondrous change of force1 power1 and consequence4 ,we see all the mighty power of our million of money1 and the possibilities and responsibilities with which1 in these days1 it becomes associated4 ,so it is with everything else in ,nature4 ,man pays the penalty by increased responsibility1 for every step in knowledge that be takes1 as well as every dollar in gold be procures4 ,dollars1 as well as talents1 have to be accounted for1 and their usefulness increased tenfold4 ,the dollars must not be buried nor hoarded any more than our talents1 but each1 unfolded and doubled1 so that we may be instrumental in helping our coworkers in their upward path1 in the ,cycle of ,necessity4 ,knowledge is the basic foundation in reading ,nature's language4 ,purity of thought1 truth in motive1 and unselfish benevolence1 will lift the veil that now lies between the two trines1 cause and effect1 spirit and matter4 ,we have given the key and explained the alphabet of this wondrous law2 therefore we close4 ,each must1 by the same rules1 work out the special links in the chain for him or herself4 ,the angle from which each take their view determines the reading and interpretation of the symbols presented1 whether that be from the apex1 the sides or the base1 for every symbol has its trinity in principles and form4 ,cause and effect are but the action and reaction2 the result is the symbol which reveals the correspondence of both4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,alchemy--,,part ,i ,what a weird yet strangely pleasing name the term ,alchemy is4 ,it is simple1 yet so infilled and intermixed with the possible verities of exact science and the philosophical speculations on the infinite and the unknown1 as to elude our mental grasp1 as it were1 by its own subtle essence1 and defy the keenest analysis of our profoundest generalizers in science4 ,and yet1 in spite of this self-evident truth1 how fascinating the sound of the word becomes to the mystic student's ear1 and bow pregnant with awful and mysterious possibilities it becomes1 to the immortal powers embodied within the complex human organism termed man4 ,words1 if we but knew it1 have the same innate1 magnetic influence1 and possess the same power of affinity and antipathy1 that the human family possesses2 as well as all organic and inorganic forms and substances2 and how sad1 to a developed soul1 to witness the inharmony existing in our midst1 caused by the misapplication of names4 ,most human beings are very conscious of personal1 or human magnetism1 and its effects4 ,but they stop right there1 and do not dream of the subtle1 silent influences emanating from a name1 a word1 and the power existing in words1 when properly used4 ,the human mind is so absorbed in ,nature's manifestations1 which are only the husks1 that they fail to see the true1 hidden meaning and realities1 concealed beneath the material shell4 ,we will first notice the meaning of the words which constitute our subject1 viz41 ,alchemy1 then give a brief review of its physical correspondence1 chemistry1 and its true relation to its spiritual counterpart1 ,alchemy4 ,al and ,chemy are ,arabic-,egyptian words which have much more in them than appears upon the surface1 and possess a far different meaning from the one which the terms usually convey to the average mind4 ,terms1 and the ideas we associate with them1 vary according to the age in which we live4 ,so with those1 from which the word ,alchemy is derived4 ,let us penetrate beneath the mere verbal husk with which linguistic usage and convenience have clothed them1 and which1 in the course of ages1 has become nothing but the dross of decomposed verbiage1 and see if we can excavate the living germ1 that has become buried within4 ,if we can do so1 we shall1 at the commencement of our study1 have attained unto a realization of the ancient meaning and real significance of the terms employed4 ,and this will be no small gain1 and will form no unimportant part of the equipment in our present research4 ,the ,arabians1 who derived the whole of their ,occult arcana from the ,egyptians1 are the most likely to render us the most truthful and direct significance of the word1 and so we find them4 ,thus1 ,al1 meaning the1 and ,kimia1 which means the hidden1 or secret1 ergo ,,the ,,occult1 from which are derived our modern term ,alchemy1 more properly ,al ,kimia4 ,this is very different from the popular conception to-day1 which supposes that the word relates to the art of artificially making gold by some chemical process1 and viewing it only as some sort of magical chemistry1 forgetting that1 the science of chemistry itself is also derived from the ,kimia of ,arabian mystics1 and was considered as one and the same thing by every writer of the ,middle ,ages4 ,at this time1 the physical man was not so dense and grasping for husks2 hence the soul and spiritual part had greater control1 and could impart the real1 the alchemical side1 of ,nature to him2 hence the ,law of ,correspondences was understood1 and guided the educated in their considerations1 researches1 and conclusions4 ,do you ask why1 if they were so enlightened1 they have veiled their knowledge from the world at large8 ,the power of mind over matter was as potent in those days as now1 and the masses were as correspondingly corrupt as they are today4 ,therefore1 to put this knowledge into the hands of the multitude would have been generally disastrous4 ,so they wrote it in mystical language1 knowing that all educated students in ,nature's laws1 at that time1 would understand2 yet they little dreamed how much their language would be misunderstood in the centuries to follow1 by those who look to their ancient ancestry for aid on subjects that have become at the present day so lost in mystery4 ,having ascertained1 beyond question1 that ,alchemy was1 and consequently is1 the secret science of ,occultism--not the philosophy1 mind you1 but the science2 let us proceed1 for1 we shall find that these two aspects may often differ1 or appear to differ1 widely from each other1 though they can never do so in reality1 for the latter produces and establishes the facts1 while the former occupies itself in their tabulation and deductions4 ,the science constitutes the foundation1 and the philosophy1 the metaphysical speculations1 which rest thereon4 ,if these important distinctions are borne in mind1 all the apparent confusion1 contradiction1 and other intellectual debris1 will either disappear or resolve themselves into their own proper groups1 so that we may easily classify them4 ,it is at this very point1 that1 so many students go astray amid the labyrinths of science and philosophy4 ,they1 unconsciously1 so mix and intermingle the two terms1 that nine-tenths of the students present only one side of the question--philosophy1 which soon runs into theory1 if not supported by the science1 which they have lost in their volumes of philosophy4 ,you may say1 one subject at a time4 ,yes1 this may be true1 if its twin brother is not absorbed and forgotten4 ,in this chapter1 we shall deal especially with organic ,alchemy4 ,organic ,alchemy deals exclusively with living1 organic things1 and in this connection differs from the ,alchemy of inorganic matter4 ,these two aspects may1 in this one respect1 be compared to organic and inorganic chemistry1 to which originally they belonged2 as astrology did to astronomy4 ,alchemy and astrology--twin sisters--were the parents of the modern offspring1 known in chemistry and astronomy as exact science4 ,these latter1 however1 deal with shadows and phenomenal illusions1 while the former concern the living realities1 which produce them4 ,therefore1 there can be no new thing under the sun1 saith ,solomon4 ,first1 let us deal with the most lovely form of our art1 that which pertains to the floral and vegetable kingdoms4 ,every flower or blade of grass1 every tree of the forest and stagnant weed of the swamp1 is the outcome of1 and ever surrounded by1 its corresponding degree of spiritual life4 ,there is not a single atom but what is the external expression of some separate1 living force1 within the spaces of ,aeth1 acting in unison with the dominant power corresponding with the type of life4 ,if science could only behold this wonderful laboratory within the vital storehouse of ,nature1 she would no longer vainly seek for ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,life1 nor wonder1 what may have become of the missing link in scientific evolution1 because1 she would quickly realize that1 biogenesis is the one grand truth of both animate and inanimate ,nature1 the central1 living source of which is ,god4 ,science would also1 further realize that1 this biune life is ever in motion throughout the manifested universe2 circulating around the focii of creative activities1 which we term suns1 stars1 and planets1 awaiting the conditions which are ever present for material incarnation2 and under all possible combinations of circumstances and conditions1 conceivable and inconceivable1 adapting itself to continuous phenomenal expression4 ,links1 so called1 in this mighty chain of evolution1 may appear to be missing here and there1 and1 for that matter1 whole types may seem to be wanting1 but1 this is only because of our imperfect perception1 and1 in any case1 can make no real difference with the facts1 because1 if such be a reality1 if there be what we may term ,,missing ,,links in the scheme of evolution1 it only shows that spirit1 although associated with1 is ever independent of matter4 ,but matter--what is to become of it8 ,is it independent of spirit8 ,the kindness of the ,divine spirit heeds not the unconscious mind of matter and its boasted independence1 and works silently on1 and at last1 accomplishes its mission--the evolution of matter1 the uplifting of the soul of man1 as well as the universe4 ,the blindness of man is dense1 and the saddest part to admit is that1 they will so stubbornly remain so4 ,if1 for one instant1 the penetrating eye of the soul could shine forth through the physical orbs of vision1 and imprint the scenes1 beheld behind the veil1 upon the tablets of the brain of the physical organism1 a fire would be kindled that1 could never be quenched by the fascinating allurements of the material1 perishable things1 of matter4 ,that development of the real atom of biune life can1 and does1 go forward1 irrespective of the gradation of physical types1 needs no convincing proof1 other than visible ,nature4 ,,man ,,is ,,not ,,the ,,outcome ,,of ,,physical ,,evolution1 and produced by a series of blind laws1 that lead him upward from protozoa to man1 as a child climbs up stairs1 advancing regularly1 ,,one ,,step ,,as ,a ,,time4 ,this latter conception1 we know1 is the theory of exact science1 but not of ,alchemy1 not of the science of ,occultism4 ,man1 according to ,wallace1 ,darwin1 ,huxley1 and ,tyndall1 is what progressive stages of physical evolution have made him4 ,but the very reverse is true4 ,the fauna and flora of past geological periods are what the human soul has produced1 by virtue of its gradual advancement to higher states and conditions of life1 so that1 so far from man being the outcome of the planet's development1 such material progress is the outgrowth of man's advancement1 proving again that1 matter is not independent of spirit1 neither can spirit be independent of matter for its expressions4 ,they so interblend that1 the dividing line cannot be detected by the untrained eye of the exact scientist4 ,but1 that time is not far distant1 when the scientists will prepare and evolve their interior being to take up the spiritual thread1 exactly where the visible thread ends1 and carry forth the work1 as far as the mortal mind of man can penetrate1 while embodied in the physical form4 ,god hasten this day is my prayer1 for then man will become more spiritual and aspiring for advancement and knowledge1 thus1 setting up vibrations that will create higher and loftier conditions for the physical man4 ,aye6 then they will know that1 even the birth of the world itself1 owes its primal genesis to the desire of the human atom for earthly embodiment4 ,here is where exact science1 or the counterpart of ,alchemy1 becomes both profitable and helpful4 ,says ,paracelsus3 ,the true use of chemistry is not to make gold1 but to prepare medicines4 ,he admits four elements--the ,,star1 the ,,root1 the ,,element and the ,,sperm4 ,these elements were composed of the three principles1 ,,sideric ,,salt1 ,,sulphur1 and ,,mercury4 ,mercury1 or spirit1 sulphur1 or oil1 and salt1 and the passive principles1 water and earth4 ,herein we see the harmony of the two words1 ,alchemy and ,chemistry4 ,one is but the continuation of the other1 and they blend so into each other that1 they are not complete1 apart4 ,the chemist1 in his analysis of the various component parts of any form of matter1 knows also the proportional combinations2 and thus1 by the ,law of ,correspondence1 could1 by the same use of the spiritual laws of ,alchemy1 analyze and combine the same elements from the atmosphere1 to produce the corresponding expression of crystallized form4 ,by the same laws1 are affinities and antipathies discovered and applied1 in every department of ,nature's wonderful laboratory4 ,chemistry is the physical expression of ,alchemy1 and any true knowledge of chemistry is3--not the knowing of the names of the extracts and essences1 and the plants themselves1 and that certain combinations produce certain results1 obtained from blind experiments1 yet1 prompted by the ,divine spirit within2 but1 knowledge born from knowing the why and wherefore of such effects4 ,what is called the oil of olives is not a single1 simple substance1 but it is more or less combined with other essential elements1 and will fuse and coalesce with other oils and essences of similar nature4 ,the true chemist will not confine his researches for knowledge to the mere examination1 analysis1 and experiments1 in organic life2 but will inform himself equally1 in physical astrology2 and learn the nature1 attributes1 and manifested influences of the planets1 that constitute our universe2 and1 under which1 every form of organic matter is subject1 and especially1 controlled by4 ,then1 by learning the influence of the planets upon the human family2 and that special planetary vibration that influences the individual2 he can intelligently and unerringly administer medicines to remove disease in man4 ,a familiarity with the mere chemical relations of the planet to man1 makes still more apparent1 the mutual affinity of both to the soil1 from which they appear to spring1 and to which1 they ultimately return2 so much so that1 we have become conscious1 that1 the food we eat is valuable or otherwise as a life sustainer1 in proportion to the amount of life it contains4 ,we are so complex in our organization that1 we require a great variety of the different elements to sustain all the active functions and powers within us4 ,man1 being a microcosm1 or a miniature universe1 must sustain that universe1 by taking into the system the various elements1 which combine to make up the ,infinite ,universe of ,god4 ,animal flesh is necessary to certain organized forms1 both animal and man4 ,when ,i say necessary1 ,i do not mean an acquired taste and habit of consuming just so much flesh a day2 but a constitution1 which would not be complete in its requirements1 without animal flesh4 ,i am thankful such do not constitute the masses4 ,science would say1 you only require certain combinations of oxygen1 hydrogen1 nitrogen1 and carbon1 to sustain all the activities of the physical body4 ,apparently1 this is true4 ,upon the surface it is1 but in reality it is not2 because if it were really true there could be no famines4 ,science could make bread out of stones1 as was suggested at the temptation of ,christ in the wilderness4 ,and yet1 no one knows better than the academies of ,science1 themselves1 that their learned professors would quickly starve to death1 if they were compelled to produce their food from the chemical properties of the rocks4 ,they can make a grain of wheat chemically perfect1 but they cannot make the invisible germ by which it will grow1 become fruitful1 and reproduce itself4 ,they can reproduce from the stones in the street the same chemical equivalents that go to compose gluten1 albumen1 and starch--the trinity which must always be present to sustain life2 but they cannot1 by any known process1 make such chemical equivalents of these substances1 do the same thing4 ,now1 if not1 why not8 ,science cannot answer this4 ,a very mysterious shake of the head and profound silence is the only answer4 ,ask ,science ,,how ,,the ,,plant ,,grows1 what causes the atoms of matter to build up root1 stem1 leaf1 bud and flower1 true to the parent species from which the germinal atom came4 ,what is there behind the plant that stamps it with such striking individuality8 ,and why1 from the same soil1 the deadly aconite and nutritious vegetable can grow1 each producing qualities in harmony with its own nature1 so widely different in their effects upon the human organism1 ,,yet1 ,,so ,,completely ,,identical ,,as ,,regards ,,the ,,source ,,from ,,which ,,they ,,appear ,,to ,,spring4 ,there must be a something to account for this1 and this something1 ancient ,alchemy alone can scientifically reveal and expound2 and1 this knowledge lies just beyond that line which calls a halt to material scientists1 and says3 ,you can go no farther2 this is beyond your purview4 ,the end of the material thread has been reached1 and unless you can connect it with the thread of the next plane1 your researches must stop4 ,before entering upon and answering these vital questions1 we must digress a little1 and make ourselves perfectly familiar with the ideas and revelations of advanced physical science upon the subject1 and for this purpose no more trustworthy guide can be consulted than the new edition of ,the ,chemistry of ,common ,life1 by the late ,james ,f4 ,w4 ,johnson1 ,m4 ,a41 ,england1 and revised by ,arthur ,herbert ,church1 ,m4 ,a4 ,in chapter ,,iv on page #ef of this work1 upon the anatomy of plant life1 we read3 ,how interesting it is to reflect on the minuteness of the organs by which the largest plants are fed and sustained4 ,microscopic apertures in the leaf suck in gaseous food from the air2 the surfaces of microscopic hairs suck a liquid food from the soil4 ,we are accustomed to admire1 with natural and just astonishment1 how huge1 rocky reefs1 hundreds of miles in length1 can be built up by the conjoined labors of myriads of minute zoophytes1 laboring together on the surface of a coral rock2 but it is not less wonderful that1 by the ceaseless working of similar microscopic agencies in leaf and root1 the substance of vast forests should be built up and made to grow before our eyes4 ,it is more wonderful1 in fact2 for whereas1 in the one case1 the chief result is that1 dead matter extracted from the sea is transformed into a dead rock2 in the other1 the lifeless matter of the earth and air are converted by these minute plant-builders into living forms1 lifting their heads aloft to the sky1 waving with every wind that blows1 and beautifying whole continents with the varying verdure of their ever-changing leaves4 ,further on in the same chapter1 on pages #fb-c1 the same eloquent writer continues3 ,but the special chemical changes that go on within the plant1 could we follow them1 would appear not less wonderful than the rapid production of entire microscopic vegetables from the raw food contained in the juice of the grape4 ,it is as yet altogether incomprehensible1 even to the most refined physiological chemistry1 how1 from the same food taken in from the air1 and from generally similar food drawn up from the soil1 different plants1 and different parts of plants1 should be able to extract or produce substances so very different from each other in composition and in all of their properties4 ,from the seed-vessels of one 7the poppy7 we collect a juice which dries up into our commercial opium2 from the bark of another 7cinchona7 we extract the quinine with which we assuage the raging fever2 from the leaves of others1 like those of hemlock and tobacco1 we distil deadly poisons1 often of rare value for their medicinal uses4 ,the flowers and leaves of some yield volatile oils1 which we delight in for their odors and their aromatic qualities2 the seeds of others give fixed oils1 which are prized for the table or use in the arts 99 99 99 ,these1 and a thousand other similar facts1 tell us how wonderfully varied are the changes which the same original forms of matter undergo in the interior of living plants4 ,indeed1 whether we regard the vegetable as a whole1 or examine its minutest part1 we find equal evidence of the same diversity of changes and of the same production1 in comparatively minute quantities1 of very different1 yet often characteristic forms of matter4 ,from the whole of the foregoing1 we observe the exact position to be the one we have previously stated4 ,if such wondrous things can be revealed to us through the physical science of chemistry1 what think you must be hidden from our physical sight and knowledge by the veil which hangs between matter and spirit8 ,think you not1 it is worth the effort to penetrate beyond that point where the atom disappears from the view of the scientist8 ,if plants produce such wonderful phenomena in their life and influence1 what must the ,divine organism of man have concealed within his microscopic universe1 to study and comprehend8 ,plant life is merely the alphabet of the complex1 intricate1 and multitudinous processes1 going on in the human body4 ,and1 as the mechanical microscope of physical science cannot reveal the why and the wherefore1 let us1 for a brief moment1 disclose some of the wonders that declare their existence1 when subjected to the penetrating alchemical lens1 of the inward spirit4 ,the first thing that intrudes itself upon our notice1 by virtue of its primary importance1 is the grand fact of biogenesis--life emanating from life4 ,we perceive every external form to be the physical symbol of a corresponding degree of spiritual life2 that each complete plant represents a complete cycle1 state1 or degree of interior existence2 that it is made up and consists of countless millions of separate atoms of life2 that these atoms of spiritual activity are the real instigators of the life and motion of corresponding material atoms2 that they ever obey the ,divine impulse of co-operative unity1 in their chemical1 as well as their spiritual affinity4 ,consequently1 everything in the form of material substance must be1 and is1 but the means for the phenomenal expression of incarnating spirit2 the organism of man1 a tree1 a plant1 or an animal1 being no exception to this ,divine1 omnipresent law of creative life4 ,to the true ,alchemist there can be no mystery surrounding the wonderful phenomena mentioned in the work we have quoted1 in plants extracting from the same rocks1 soil1 and air1 qualities so manifestly different--deadly poisons1 healing balsams1 and pleasant aromas1 or the reverse1 from the same identical plant foods4 ,nothing is more wonderful or mysterious1 than1 the same alchemical processes1 which1 are hourly being enacted within our own bodies4 ,from the same breath of air and the same crust of bread do we concoct the blood1 the bile1 the gastric juice1 and various other secretions2 and distil the finer nervous fluids1 that go to build up and sustain the whole of our mental and dynamic machinery4 ,it is the same ancient story of the atoms2 each part and each function endowing the same inorganic chemicals with their own spiritual1 magnetic1 and physical life-qualities1 by what appears1 to the uninitiated observer1 a miraculous transmutation of matter1 but which is1 in reality1 the evolution of organic form from inorganic materials1 in obedience to the ,divine law of spiritual progression4 ,who could stop with exact science8 ,for1 when we come to consider the apparent mysteries of life and growth by the aid of this alchemical light1 the shadows flee1 and all the illusions of ,nature's phenomenal kaleidoscope vanish before the revelation of the underlying spiritual realities4 ,we know that the plant1 being the physical expression upon the material plane of a more interior life1 endows its outward atoms with their peculiar qualities4 ,,these ,,qualities ,,are ,,not ,,drawn ,,directly ,,from ,,the ,,soil2 the soil only becoming the medium for their complete or incomplete expression1 as the case may be2 i4e41 supplying the necessary inorganic atoms4 ,hence1 the deadly qualities of aconite1 and the generous life-sustaining qualities of the nutritious vegetable1 ,,being ,,spiritual ,,life ,,endowments1 conveyed to the material substance1 abstracted from the soil and withdrawn from the atmosphere1 are no mystery2 their effect upon the human organism being exactly that1 which is produced by their spiritual affinity or antipathy1 as the case may be4 ,and this also shows and explains1 why purely inorganic chemical atoms1 though they be exactly the same as the organic substances1 from a strictly scientific standpoint1 ,,yet ,,fail ,,to ,,support ,,life1 because such chemical equivalents lack the organic spirituality of the interior life1 which alone1 gives them the power and function to support the same4 ,they fail to fulfill the requirements of the alchemical law of life for the support of life--in other words1 biogenesis4 ,and1 too1 this inorganic life may be parted from the plant or vegetable1 if it be too long severed from the medium which transmits the spiritual life1 from the inorganic world to that of organic matter4 ,vegetables1 fresh from the ground1 or parent stem1 retain this life if at once prepared for food1 if not overcooked1 which is so often ignorantly done4 ,this is the secret of sustenance from foods4 ,nature's perfected fruits and vegetables are overflowing with the life-giving essences1 and1 if eaten direct from the tree or parent stem1 that life is not lost1 but transmitted to our organisms1 and replenishes the wasting system with a living life4 ,much less of such food is required to completely satisfy and nourish the body than if the life had partly departed or been destroyed4 ,briefly stated1 then1 everything within organic ,nature is the expressional symbolic manifestation of spirit2 every form being a congregation of innumerable atoms of life1 revealing their presence in material states2 each organic form1 or1 rather1 organism1 evolving under the central control of some dominating ,deific atom or soul1 which1 by virtue of past incarnations and labors in its cycle of evolution1 from the mineral up to man1 has achieved the royal prerogative to rule within its own state4 ,man being the highest representative form--the grand finale in the earthly drama--sums up and contains within himself everything below1 and ,,the ,,germs ,,of ,,everything ,,beyond1 ,,this ,,state4 ,he is truly a microcosm1 and represents in miniature the grand ,cosmic ,man of the ,heavens4 ,every living force beneath him corresponds to some state1 part1 or function1 which he has graduated through and conquered1 and which1 in him1 has now become embodied1 as a part of his universal kingdom4 ,consequently1 all things are directly related to him1 in the grand universal unity of spiritual life4 ,this cannot be realized and comprehended by the physical man1 nor conveyed to his outer senses by the physical sciences4 ,he must bring into active use the inner man1 the real being1 which inhabits and controls the outer organism1 and through its instrumentality1 understand the interior source and workings behind the phenomena of manifested being4 ,so we see that1 exact science cannot take us far1 yet1 it is a mighty factor1 in the evolution of the microcosm ,man1 and in consciously relating him to the ,infinite ,macrocosm--,god1 ,spirit1 ,all4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,alchemy-,,part ,,ii ,paracelsus1 the most celebrated of the alchemists of the ,middle ,ages1 thus mystically speaks of his art3 ,if ,i have manna in my constitution1 ,i can attract manna from heaven4 ,melissa is not only in the garden1 but also in the air and in heaven4 ,saturn is not only in the sky1 but also deep in the ocean and ,earth4 ,what is ,venus but the artemisia that grows in your garden1 and what is iron but the planet ,mars8 ,that is to say1 ,venus and ,artemisia are both products of the same essence1 while ,mars and iron are manifestations of the same cause4 ,what is the human body but a constellation of the same powers that formed the stars in the sky8 ,he who knows ,mars knows the qualities of iron1 and he who knows what iron is knows the attributes of ,mars4 ,what would become of your heart if there were no ,sun in the ,universe8 ,what would be the use of your ',vasa ,spermatica'99 if there were no ,venus8 ,to grasp the invisible elements1 to attract them by their material correspondences1 to control1 purify1 and transmute1 them by the ever-moving powers of the living spirit--this is true ,alchemy4 99 ,astral germs of subjective life forms3--it is the latent1 to be4 ,thus1 in a very few simple words1 we find this master of the art revealing the whole arcana of that mysterious science1 which has for its chief object and goal1 the discovery of the philosopher's stone1 which confers upon its fortunate possessor the blessings of immortal youth4 ,therefore1 we cannot possibly do better in the commencement of our present study than1 to minutely examine each particular sentence and endeavor to discover his true meaning1 which1 like all mystical writing1 is so apparent1 yet cunningly concealed1 as to excite the student's admiration4 ,if ,i have manna in my constitution1 ,i can attract manna from ,heaven4 ,the manna here spoken of does not specify any particular thing1 but is of universal application1 and is simply used as an unknown quantity1 like x1 y1 z in mathematics4 ,but1 ever since the days of ,paracelsus1 half-initiated mystics and bookworm occultists1 have endeavored to discover what this manna really was4 ,some1 the more spiritual1 were of the opinion that1 it was spiritual power1 or purity of spirit2 others imagined it to mean special magnetic qualifications1 similar in nature to the so-called gifts of modern spiritualistic media4 ,the concealment of the truth is unique1 and consists in its very simplicity2 and1 when correctly expounded1 should read3 ,i am the microcosm1 and all the visible and invisible universe dwells within me1 so that whatsoever power ,i have in my constitution1 ,i can attract its correspondence from ,heaven4 ,paracelsus must have smiled to himself when he wrote ,if ,i have manna1 etc41 because his whole writings strive to prove man the miniature of ,deity4 ,further along1 he explains himself by pointing out the real ,law of ,correspondence1 thus3 ,melissa is not only in the garden1 but also in the air1 and in ,heaven4 ,saturn is not only in the sky1 but also deep in the ocean1 and ,earth4 ,the illustrations are beautiful1 ,the life of the plant1 the anima floralis1 pervades the atmosphere and the interior states of spiritual life1 where it becomes in the highest degree beautiful1 and beneficial to the soul4 ,a reference upon this point to ,the ,light of ,egypt ,vol41 ,i1 may not be considered out of place4 ,upon page #gd it is written3 ,the flower that blooms in beauty1 breathing forth to the air its fragrance1 which is at once grateful to the senses and stimulating to the nerves1 is a perfect specimen of ,nature's faultless mediumship4 ,the flower is a medium for the transmission to the human body of those finer essences1 and of ,,their ,,spiritual ,,portion ,,to ,,the ,,soul2 for the aroma of the flower is spiritualized to such a degree as to act upon the life currents of the system1 imparting to the spiritual body a nutriment of the finest quality4 ,thus1 here is where the knowledge of the alchemical attributes of plants1 as applicable to man1 can be most beneficially utilized4 ,plants and flowers1 whose attributes and aromas harmonize with the complex organism of man1 should be selected for the house and garden1 for1 they are mediums to transmit the finer essences and aromas to the spiritual constitution of man2 the plant to the physical1 and the aromas and essences of the flowers to the soul4 ,antipathies in plants and flowers would bring a similar evil influence1 as the discords of the antagonistic human magnetism4 ,it would not be so apparent1 but more subtle1 yet nevertheless effective in result4 ,our attention is next drawn to the planet ,saturn1 which1 we are informed1 is not only shining in his starry sphere of the heavens1 but is also buried in the ocean depths and embodied in the stratas of the earth4 ,it is almost needless to add that1 our author refers to those substances naturally ,saturnine in their quality of life and expression1 such as lead1 clay1 and coal1 among the minerals1 and various deadly plants among the flora1 the chief of which is the aconite or monkshood1 so significant of ,saturn and the isolated1 monkish hermit4 ,after some repetition1 in order to impress the truth of correspondences1 our author exclaims3 ,what is the human body but a constellation of the same powers that formed the stars in the sky8 ,truly1 what else8 for1 he who knows ,mars knows the qualities of iron1 and he who knows what iron is knows the attributes of ,mars4 ,could anything be plainer8 ,we think not4 ,from the foregoing1 which a long experience and much critical investigation and research have demonstrated as true1 we cannot avoid the conclusion that ,alchemy1 equally as well as every other science1 religion1 or system of philosophy formulated by man1 resolves itself1 ultimately1 in all its final conclusions1 into the one universal parent of all wisdom4 ,,astrology1 the ,science of the ,stars1 in unison with the ,science of the ,soul1 was1 and still is1 the one sublime center of real learning4 ,it constituted the sacred fountain of living waters1 from whose placid depths there rayed forth the ,divine revelations of man1 his whence1 where1 and whither2 and under the careful conservation of a long line of gifted seers1 it shone forth to the sons of men1 as the sacred ,hermetic light in the ,astro-,masonic wisdom of ,egypt's ancient priesthood4 ,it is not lost to us to-day4 ,the same book lies open before us that faced our ancient forefathers4 ,it is standing out clear and distinct1 waiting to be read by the sons of men4 ,we can learn its language1 and from its pages1 we ourselves can read our relation to ,god and our fellowman4 ,shall we not heed the whispering intuitions of the soul and place ourselves in conscious rapport with the whole8 ,this sublime ,book of ,wisdom was written by ,god ,himself1 to convey to ,his children the knowledge of ,his powers1 attributes1 and relation to all creative life4 ,we cannot see that ,divine ,spirit which we call ,god4 ,no2 but as long as the finite form exists as such1 we will have the spirit's manifestations to learn from4 ,never will the ,book of ,god be closed to the searching eye of the soul4 ,there will always be presented to his vision lessons to study1 and practical experiments to perform1 to lead the soul into deeper mysteries4 ,until man fathoms his own universe1 he cannot understand ,god4 ,know thyself is as applicable to-day as when the famous1 immortal and mystic utterance was inscribed on the porch of the temple at ,delphi4 ,before this wonderful1 divinely elaborated1 but complex system can be fully realized1 it is necessary that the student should comprehend1 very distinctly1 the two states of existence1 the internal and the external1 and become familiar with the laws of correspondences4 ,and it seems strange that of all ,sciences1 that of medicine should have so completely failed to grasp this living truth1 since every atom of medicine administered1 invariably acts upon this alchemical principle4 ,when the human organism has become discordant in some of its parts1 it is because the interstellar vibrations have aroused various states within the human kingdom into a condition of rebellion against the supreme will4 ,man's ignorance favors such seditious movements1 and his general habits and code of morals stimulate them to undue activity4 ,the final result is disease--disorganization of the parts and functions1 and those medicines corresponding ,,to ,,the ,,same ,,functional ,,degree ,,of ,,life ,,within ,,the ,,grand ,,man1 cure the disorder1 when administered properly and ,,in ,,time1 whereas1 if given to the perfectly healthy organism1 ,,the ,,atoms ,,produce ,,similar ,,symptoms ,,to ,,the ,,diseases ,,they ,,alleviate1 because it is their mission to either subdue or be subdued1 and when disease prevails the medicinal atoms1 acting in unison with the natural parts and functions they affect1 conquer or subdue the inharmony1 and vice versa1 as before stated4 ,in all cases of disease and medicine1 it is a simple question of ,a ,,war ,,between ,,the ,,atoms1 and1 therefore1 the most potential forces within ,nature are always at the command of the true ,alchemist1 because he knows bow and when to select his fighting forces1 and when to set them in motion1 for the best results4 ,hahnemann1 the founder of the ,homeopathic system1 has approached ,,the ,,nearest to this alchemical truth1 and as a consequence1 we find it is in actual practice1 the most natural1 scientific1 and successful system of medicine1 yet given to the world2 based1 as it is1 upon the well-known law of affinites1 ,similia similibus curantur1 like cures like1 being a very ancient axiom in the astrological practice of physic4 ,bulwer ,lytton1 who had become thoroughly convinced of the great value and importance of uniting ancient ,alchemy with modern medicine1 makes the hero of his immortal story declare3 ,all that we propose to do is this3 ,to find out the secrets of the human frame1 to know why the parts ossify and the blood stagnates1 and to apply continual preventives to the effects of time4 ,,this ,,is ,,not ,,magic2 ,,it ,,is ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,medicine1 ,,rightly ,,understood4 ,it is a fact that1 the molecules of the body are all changed within twelve months2 that every cell in the human organism is born and grows to maturity within that space of time4 ,nature is absolutely impartial4 ,she draws from the atmosphere that she may reproduce a fac-simile of everything she finds upon the surface of the body4 ,so1 if there be a sore1 or festering ulcer1 the atoms which are thrown off attract similar atoms1 so as to reproduce the ulcer or sore1 and thus prevent the disease from getting well of itself until it has worn itself out4 ,further1 every vein and canal throughout the entire body1 from youth to maturity1 is being coated with carbonate of lime1 or lime in some form4 ,the coating of the walls of the veins in such a manner1 prevents the free circulation of the living matter2 then1 the real vitality of the food which we eat1 is simply passed off through the pores1 or through the bowels1 or through the system1 because it is unable to penetrate through the lime4 ,if that prevention which produces old age can be attained1 then physical youth will continue4 ,the first step to take is to dissolve the lime in the body4 ,drink nothing but distilled water1 in either tea1 coffee1 or any other form1 and drink freely of the sweet juices of the grape and apple4 ,the food that we eat contains lime in a living form1 and it is the living lime we need to build up the living bones1 for the lime and the magnesia that we take in the water is crystallized dead mineral1 possessing no responsibility of life1 and the lime in our food is quite sufficient for all purposes4 ,for everything we take in excess1 ,nature makes us pay the penalty4 ,the first principle of long living is to keep all channels of the body perfect and free from coatings of lime4 ,the second is that of youthful ideals of the mind4 ,the soul never grows old4 ,the third principle is dynamic breathing1 which is storing up the oxygen in sufficient quantities1 to supply the tissues with sufficient fuel1 for combustion4 ,these three principles1 acting in unison1 contain the true basis of physical life and a means of long living4 ,old age is simply the petrifaction of the body through lime1 and the incorporating of erroneous thoughts into the organism4 ,it is the true ,alchemy of human existence1 and the preventives1 in each and every case must contain the spiritual correspondence to the cause they seek to remedy2 and1 though the followers of ,hahnemann base the whole of their procedure of treatment upon their master's fundamental law of ,similia similibus curantur1 yet1 there may be a few rare cases wherein1 this undeviating method would not apply with the required effect4 ,in such a case1 the ,alchemist would resort to the well-known law of opposites1 and base his treatment upon the dogma of ,contraria contrariis curantur1 so long the pet theory of the ,allopathic school4 ,they work upon the hypothesis that1 like attracts like1 and1 if disease exist1 those elements must be administered to set up the vibrations that will produce the polar opposite4 ,if the body was racked with pain1 those medicines would not be given that would create or increase similar conditions1 but1 their antipathy would be introduced into the system or applied locally to extinguish the foe4 ,so long as mankind remain within the semicrystallized state of soul development1 so as to require the aid of external forces to support the human throne within its earthly temple1 mercenary troops will exist to supply these supposed supports4 ,unquestionably1 the astrological law is the true system of medicine1 which treats disease by sympathy or by antipathy1 according to the nature of the case1 and the efficacy of the remedies at hand4 ,this method is the only natural one1 and has been thoroughly demonstrated by the numerous provings of drugs under ,hahnemann's law4 ,happily1 the time is not far distant when1 the incarnated spirit will be able to use its own slumbering forces1 and subdue all suffering and symptoms of disease in their very first inception1 by virtue of its purer life and the dynamic potencies of its own interior1 spiritual thought4 ,already1 mental therapeutics is taking an advanced position among liberal1 progressive minds1 and nothing demonstrates so clearly and forcibly the grand1 alchemical law of life-growth and decay1 as the imponderable1 invisible forces1 which1 constitute the materia medica1 or remedial agents1 of mental1 magnetic1 and spiritual healing4 ,perhaps the most recondite subject connected with the healing art divine is1 the modus operandi of medicinal action1 upon the human body4 ,a subject so simple and self-evident to the ,alchemist1 remains a profound mystery to the educated physician of the medical college2 so much so that1 we are tempted to ask of them3 ,can you explain the modus operandi of drugs8 ,dr4 ,william ,sharp1 one of the most advanced physicians of the ,homeopathic school1 in one of his well- known ,essays on ,medicine1 says3 ,in respect to the manner of action of drugs we are in total darkness1 and we are so blind that the darkness is not felt4 ,,knowledge ,,of ,,this ,,kind ,,cannot ,,be ,,attained2 it is labor lost and ,,time wasted to go in search of it4 ,true1 hypotheses may be easily conceived2 so may straws be gathered from the surface of the stream4 ,but what are either of them worth8 ,there is this difference between them--straws may amuse children1 and hypotheses are sure to mislead physicians4 ,it is when the ,occult ,initiate observes to what helpless conditions the practice of medicine has fallen1 that1 he would1 if be could with any possibility of success1 implore the angelic guardian of the human race to open the spiritual sight of men1 that they might see1 as he sees1 the ,divine relationship1 and spiritual correspondence1 of everything in the wide universe to man4 ,nature's laws move slowly and imperceptibly1 yet surely and exact1 and the time will certainly come when man will be forced into consciousness of these laws1 whether he will or no4 ,nature is no respecter of persons1 and those who will not move and progress1 in harmony with her laws of advancement1 must1 of necessity1 pass out with the old4 ,alchemy1 as it relates to the healing art1 is the most noble in its object and beneficial in its effects1 of all the many subdivisions of the sciences1 because1 it alleviates the pains and morbid afflictions of suffering humanity4 ,we have given quite sufficient of its astrological aspect in the second part of ,the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 ,i1 wherein the four ancient elements are translated into their chemical correspondences of oxygen1 hydrogen1 nitrogen and carbon1 which still constitute the four primary elements of the most advanced chemistry to-day4 ,they enter more or less into every organic form and substance1 which is known1 in various combinations and proportions4 ,the human organism is principally composed of them2 so1 likewise1 is the food that supports physical life1 and the air we breathe is but modifications of the same atoms4 ,as man's constitution embraces a microscopic atom of all the essences and elements1 corresponding to the whole2 so does the air2 and much1 that we depend upon our food to supply1 can be extracted from the atmosphere by breathing4 ,every breath we breathe is new life1 or death4 ,herein is the secret of success or failure1 in certain localities1 and under certain conditions4 ,if we have iron within us1 could we extract or attract iron from ,saturn's district8 ,or1 if the element within us could attract gold1 could we obtain it from the coal fields8 ,therefore1 it is only natural that the medical remedies we employ to restore the organism1 when afflicted with disease1 should group themselves into similar correspondences1 and so1 in a general sense1 we find them2 for we note that the brain1 the circulation1 the lungs1 and the stomach1 are the four chief citadels of the body2 the heart1 of course1 representing the center of circulation4 ,and this also explains1 further1 if that were necessary1 why the principal remedies of the homeopathic system are so speedy and direct in their action4 ,the four principal drugs1 which stand as representatives of their class1 are aconite1 belladonna1 phosphorus1 and pulsatilla4 ,these represent the quadrant1 for light is not more nicely adjusted to the eye1 nor sound to the ear1 than aconite to the circulation1 belladonna to the brain1 phosphorus to the lungs1 and pulsatilla to the stomach2 while ramifying in the seven directions indicated by the seven primary planets1 we find stimulants1 tonics1 narcotics1 nervines1 alteratives1 cathartics and diuretics1 as the natural material correspondences thereof4 ,that we assign phosphorus to the lungs may appear startling to the orthodox student1 especially when1 he calls to mind the fact that phosphorus has long been recognized in medical science as a brain food and medicine4 ,anticipating such mental questions1 we reply that in medicine1 from the alchemical view1 we are occupying a wholly different standpoint2 i4e41 the power of controlling the functional action of the body1 in this view of the case1 and the fact that1 the lungs and the brain are in the most perfect affinity1 there will remain no mystery upon the subject4 ,the ,alchemy of stones and gems attracts our next attention4 ,affinites and antipathies to the human constitution1 are to be found in these crystallized representatives of the subtle1 invisible influences emanating from our planetary system4 ,they are the mediums for the transmission of corresponding attributes and influences of existing powers and potencies1 and if carried or worn upon the person1 they will bring the person in direct rapport with the invisible forces within the universal system4 ,here again ,hahnemann's scientific philosophy would prove effectual1 that ,similia similibus curantur4 ,would the fiery influence of a topaz attract much from the realms of a chrysolite8 ,or1 the crystallized1 airy forces of a sapphire be a suitable medium for the earthly forces of a jasper8 ,gems and stones are dead or living realities4 ,they live1 slumber and die1 and have their potent existence as do the organic forms of matter4 ,they are1 usually1 imbued with the vivifying spark of ,divinity1 and shine forth and exert their influence through the magical powers attracted to them from the forces of ,nature4 ,a real1 living entity abides within them that can be seen by the clairvoyant vision1 and to the trained student in ,occult lore1 this entity can be made to become an obedient servant1 giving warning of the approach of danger1 impressions of men and things1 and warding off discordant influences surrounding us2 or that1 which we may contact from the magnetic and personal environments in our relations in the social world2 or that which may be projected to us from the invisible realms of life4 ,think you the pryamids would be intact to-day1 if the stones from which they were built had been promiscuously selected8 ,they were chosen by ,adepts in the knowledge of the ,laws of ,correspondence and antipathy and affinity4 ,the sphinx also stand as monuments to the heights of wisdom that man can attain4 ,metals also can be followed out on the same lines as the gems and stones4 ,much as we would like to continue1 we are compelled to bring this discourse to a close1 even though in doing so we must of necessity omit much of vital interest to the student4 ,we will1 therefore1 only add that the seven basic metals stand as the crystallized representatives of their respective groups3 ,gold for the ,sun1 ,silver for the ,moon1 ,tin for ,jupiter1 ,copper for ,venus1 ,quicksilver for ,mercury and ,lead for ,saturn4 ,each finds it own sphere of action within the temporary abiding place of the human soul on earth--the physical body4 ,so1 likewise1 the twelve constellations and their corresponding talismanic gems1 representing in their glittering array the anatomical ,zodiac of the human frame1 and typifying the spiritual quality of the atoms1 there congregated1 in every degree of life4 ,these1 and a thousand other mysteries1 had we the time1 might be unfolded to the student's view with considerable advantage1 but we are compelled to refrain4 ,the philosopher's stone is near at hand4 ,seek it not in remote spheres or distant parts of the earth1 for it is ever around you and within1 and becomes the golden key of true wisdom1 which prepares the soul for its higher life and brighter destiny4 ,it is the still1 small voice of the awakened soul1 that purges the conscience from suffering1 and the spiritual body from earthy dross4 ,it is that1 which treasures not the corrupting1 delusive wealth of ,earth1 nor the transient powers of mammon1 but garners the fruits which spring from the pure life1 and treasures the jewels of heaven4 ,vainly will you seek for this stone of the wise philosopher amid the turmoils1 sufferings1 and selfishness of life1 unless you accept your mission upon earth as a duty1 delegated to the soul1 from ,heaven4 ,eschew the evil thereof1 and hold fast that which is good4 ,to do this1 means to expand with the inward truth and become one of the pure in heart1 in which blessed state1 the magical white stone1 conveying ,a ,,new ,,name1 reveals the living angel within1 to the outward man4 ,then1 and then alone1 doth he know the ,adonai4 ,such are the ,divine1 spiritual principles upon which the higher ,alchemy of life is based4 ,they seek only to establish a ,divine1 conscious at-one-ment between the angel1 the man1 and the universe1 and to this end1 we conclude with the words of the immortal ,paracelsus3 ,to grasp these invisible elements1 to attract them by their material correspondences1 to control1 purify1 and transmute them by the ever-moving powers of the living spirit1 ,,this ,,is ,,true ,,alchemy4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,talismans ,words are the symbols of ideas1 and bear the same correspondence to the physical brain as matter does to spirit1 a medium of expression1 and are subject to continual change in their application and meaning1 in exact proportion to the changing mental and moral condition of the people4 ,as the planet1 as well as man1 is continually progressing1 so must there be a higher and nobler conception of ideas4 ,hence1 words or expressions must change1 to convey the progressive spirit1 that is constantly taking place4 ,therefore1 it is always interesting1 as well as valuable1 for the ,occult student to go to the root of each word connected with his philosophy1 in order to learn the real sense in which the word was used by the ancients1 from whom his mystic lore has descended4 ,the true meaning1 as well as the words themselves1 have become as mystical as the lore itself4 ,hence1 each student must commence as a beginner in any foreign language1 which he does not at present understand4 ,in following this method of procedure he will1 at least1 escape the dense and interminable confusion of modern opinions upon subjects of which the writers thereof1 are partially or wholly ignorant4 ,no better illustration of this can be afforded than by the word ,talisman1 derived from the ,greek verb teleo1 which means1 primarily1 to accomplish1 or bring into effect4 ,but1 in its real1 and therefore higher1 sense1 it means to dedicate1 consecrate1 and initiate into the arcana of the temple mysteries4 ,but1 in the present day it means a piece of imposture1 connected with some magical hocus pocus of the ignorant and superstitious mind1 a vulgar charm1 that is supposed to bring the owner thereof some material benefit1 irrespective of his mental1 magnetic1 and moral condition1 and1 says the learned ,webster1 after describing his idea of such things1 they consist of three sorts1 astronomical1 magical and mixed4 ,but in what sense the astronomical differed from the magical we are not informed1 nor is any light thrown upon the peculiar nature of that class designated as mixed4 ,in fact1 the lexicographer so mixes up his definitions that1 we are unable to distinguish anything in particular1 but his own individual ignorance4 ,so it has become1 in every branch of learning4 ,words and their meanings have become so mixed in their use and application1 that1 the world is full of discords and misunderstandings1 which lead into dissensions and contention1 among all schools of thought1 sects1 and isms2 and lastly1 though not the least serious1 it has reached into the close relations of the human family4 ,all writers and speakers1 as well as the readers and listeners1 should acquaint themselves with the derivation and meaning of words4 ,the fact stands very clearly defined that1 ,talismans are confused in the minds of the present generation with magical charms1 which depend for their effects1 upon the power of the idea or thought1 which the formulating magician impresses upon the substance of which they are composed4 ,if the magical artist be expert1 and endowed with an exceedingly potent will1 his charm may become very powerful1 when worn by the person for whom it was prepared4 ,but1 if this one grand essential be lacking1 no amount of cabalistical figures and sacred names will have any effect1 because1 there can be no potency in symbols apart from the ideas and mental force they are capable of arousing in the mind of the maker4 ,solomon's ,seal is no more powerful1 when drawn upon virgin parchment1 with a weak will1 or in a mechanical state of mind1 than a child's innocent scribbling upon its slate4 ,but1 if the artist realizes the mysteries symbolized by the interlacing triangles1 and can place his soul en rapport with the invisible elements they outwardly represent2 then1 powerful effects are often produced4 ,i am sorry to say that1 the knowledge of charms is not confined to the creation of beneficial talismans4 ,its perversion has led to the diabolical practices of the ,voodo and ,black ,magician1 whose work is wholly1 either for gain or revenge4 ,nothing1 but the most extreme selfishness lies beneath such immoral practices1 but1 as there must be a light to reflect a shadow1 so a charm must follow a talisman4 ,magical charms1 then1 are simply natural objects1 possessing but little active virtue in themselves1 but1 owing to the mediumistic nature of their substances1 are endowed with artificial powers1 of temporary duration1 by virtue of the idea and thought impressed upon them1 through the mental magic of the maker2 and in this sense1 a charm must be clearly distinguished from teleo1 the ,talisman4 ,the very names suggest their difference1 and1 above all other men1 students in ,occultism should strive to become thoroughly educated in the true sense of the term1 ,,men ,,of ,,letters1 by virtue of 7as ,ruskin calls it7 the kingship of words4 ,charm is derived from the ,latin carmen1 a song that fascinates1 and means to control by incantation1 to subdue2 while ,teleo concerns the secret powers and wisdom of consecration and initiation4 ,it is because of modern misuse of antique terms that1 we have considered this somewhat lengthy explanation necessary1 in order to clear away the accumulated debris of the ages1 from the true foundation of our present study4 ,a ,talisman is a natural object1 containing the elemental forces of its own degree of life1 in a state of intense activity1 and capable of responding to the corresponding quality of life1 ,,outside ,,of ,,itself1 that emanates from the same spiritual state1 either by sympathetic vibration or antagonistic currents1 the nature1 power1 quality1 and degree of life1 which the various natural objects represent1 being a part of the temple curriculum of initiation4 ,hence1 the name1 by which the latent power of these natural objects became known1 was in strict harmony with the facts involved4 ,in order to prevent any possible misconception upon the subject1 let us briefly restate the definition in a different way3 ,a ,talisman is the exact antipodes of a charm4 ,this latter is the artful and temporary result of man's mental power2 the former1 the natural production of universal ,nature1 and as permanent and enduring as the substance of which it is composed1 ,,during ,,the ,,present ,,cycle4 ,and yet in some sense1 it may be quite correct to say that1 a ,talisman ,,acts ,,like ,a ,,charm1 and vice versa1 that charms ,,act ,,like ,a ,,talisman1 providing that1 the real vital difference between them1 is maintained in the statement4 ,now that we have our subject clearly defined1 let us carefully examine ,,how ,,and ,,in ,,what ,,sense a given natural object becomes ,talismanic1 for it must appear self-evident to all that1 one and the same substance cannot constitute a ,talisman for everyone1 and for everything4 ,they must naturally differ1 as widely in their nature and quality1 as mankind differ in physical1 mental1 moral1 ethical1 and temperamental1 development4 ,and1 yet1 though1 man may so differ from his fellow man2 the ignorant ,esquimau1 killing seals in his kayak1 may belong to the same spiritual quality of life as the ,harvard professor1 who obtains his subsistence by daily discourse upon the sublime harmony of the infinitely small with the infinitely great1 throughout the manifested universe of matter1 and wherever we find this ,,kinship of the spirit1 we shall find the same identical ,talisman acting alike upon each1 whenever they shall come en rapport with it4 ,mental1 moral1 and physical development1 never alter the real nature of the internal man4 ,culture only brings to the surface1 into active use1 the latent possibilities lying concealed within the human soul4 ,it only allows him to exercise his functions upon different planes1 and with different effect4 ,every natural department of ,nature corresponds to some peculiar specific quality and degree of life4 ,these have been divided1 for the sake of convenience1 into four primary groups2 and each group again subdivided into three1 corresponding to the four cardinal1 four succedent1 and four cadent houses1 of the astrological chart2 therefore1 the twelve signs of the ,zodiac2 these constituting the ,cycle of ,necessity within physical conditions1 wherein1 the ever-measuring or decreeing tidal flow of life from solar radiation throughout the year1 represents the twelve groups of humanity1 of lower animated ,nature1 of vegetation1 and crystallized gems4 ,every human being is ushered into the world under the direct influx of one or more of these celestial divisions1 and by virtue of the sign occupying the horizon at the moment of birth1 absorbs such influx1 and becomes endowed with a specific polarity1 by virtue of which1 lie ever afterward1 during such expression within physical conditions1 inspires with every breath1 that specific life quality from the atmosphere1 corresponding to the same degree of the universal spirit4 ,consequently1 that gem1 or those gems1 representing and corresponding to ,,his ,,house ,,of ,,life1 become to him1 a ,talisman1 because of their relationship--their spiritual affinity4 ,these are all given in the second part of ,vol4 ,i4 ,,the ,,metals never become ,talismanic1 because of their comparatively negative degree of life1 and for this reason also1 they make the most powerful charms4 ,certain combinations of metals1 and in proper proportions1 increase the potency and magnetic influence of a charm2 and here1 too1 the laws of antipathy and affinity come into practical use4 ,a true expert will know his metals1 or metal1 and his client1 before commencing his magical work4 ,those persons who derive most virtue from a ,talisman are those who belong to the most sensitive1 or interior state1 within such degree of life1 and who are dominated by one sign only4 ,thus1 if we find one sign occupying the whole of the ,house of ,life1 or practically so1 as when the first face of a sign ascends1 we may be sure1 other things not interfering1 that such a native will receive great benefit from wearing its ,talismanic gem4 ,if a person of good intellectual powers and sensitive spirituality1 be born when the lord of the ascendant occupies the ,,rising ,,sign1 as1 for instance1 ,mars in ,aries1 or ,sun in ,leo1 we may be sure that1 the ,talismanic gem1 in their case1 will be exceedingly powerful1 because1 all the ,astro-physical conditions are then most favorable for the expression of natural forces1 and1 if worn upon1 or near that part of the body which the sign rules1 the power and influence is more powerful and beneficial4 ,in wearing them1 take them to you as a part of yourself1 a part of your higher self1 a thing to be heeded1 listened to and obeyed4 ,they will usually make their presence most pronounced when something arises to disturb the harmonious vibrations that naturally and quietly go on between the person and the interstellar spaces above4 ,they are like the sensor and motor nerves--they never make their presence known1 except1 when danger encroaches4 ,having explained in what sense gems become talismanic1 we have now to disclose the modus operandi--,,the ,,how4 ,the gems contain the life quality of their own astral nature4 ,man1 as a higher expression1 only1 of the same universal biune life1 contains the same4 ,like two electric currents1 ,,man1 ,,the ,,positive ,,pole 7comparatively71 attracts unto himself ,,the ,,mineral ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,gem1 which thus1 becomes the negative pole4 ,a complete circuit is formed and maintained1 as long as they remain in contact4 ,gems belonging to a different quality of life1 not being en rapport with his astral state1 have no good effect1 because1 no current flows between them4 ,thus1 the ,talisman acts in unison with the psychic1 or soul-principle1 of man1 aiding the organism to sustain health1 stimulating the mental perceptions1 and spiritual intuition1 and affording in a remarkable manner1 many premonitions of coming danger1 when the individual is sufficiently sensitive to perceive them4 ,and now1 per contra1 as there are gems that act in sympathy with man1 there must be1 and in fact are1 gems that act upon contrary principles2 i4e41 antagonistic1 and these belong to purely antagonistic elements1 as ,air to ,earth and ,fire to ,water1 unless the native be born under ,,both forces1 as ,mars in ,cancer rising1 or the latter part of one sign and nearly the whole of another of an opposite nature1 occupying the ascendant4 ,such natives are pure neutrals1 and such might wear the gems that belong to the most powerful planet of the horoscope1 or that triplicity holding the most planets2 then1 they are usually combined1 the planet and the triplicity4 ,there are1 of course1 innumerable substances1 more or less1 capable of talismanic virtue to particular individuals4 ,but those gems1 and similar ones1 that are given in ,the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 ,i1 are the most powerful4 ,to these may be added the opal1 under ,scorpio2 the garnet1 under ,aries2 and the turquoise1 under ,cancer1 when ,saturn is therein2 and the aquamarine1 under ,pisces2 and among the temporary talismans of vegetation we may add that1 the young shoots1 bearing the flower and seed vessels1 are the portions of chief virtue1 and the young shoots of trees4 ,these are often used in locating mines1 wells1 oils1 etc41 that lie hidden beneath the surface of the earth1 and in the hands of a negative1 sensitive person1 seldom fail to reward the searcher with success4 ,these should always be gathered when their ruling correspondences are rising1 or1 ,,better ,,still1 ,,culminating ,,upon ,,the ,,meridian4 ,these will be explained in the chapter on ,the ,magic ,wand4 ,we have now reached the limits of our present study1 and have only to state that all gems1 like the human organism1 are in one of three conditions3 alive and conscious1 asleep and ,,unconscious1 or dead and powerless4 ,these conditions can only be discovered1 in stones1 by the trained lucid or the instructed neophyte4 ,stones that are sleeping require to be awakened4 ,this1 also1 can only be done by the trained student or ,adept4 ,those that are dead1 are ,,useless as ,talismans1 no matter how beautiful they appear as ornaments4 ,gems and stones are also sexed1 and those who wear them would receive the best effect if they should wear those of opposite sex1 although either is powerfully potent in their influence upon the individual4 ,how very ignorant the children of men are1 of the subtle1 silent1 yet obedient servants1 that everywhere1 surround them4 ,here1 again1 that ,divine spark1 which lies embedded within the crystallized forces of ,nature1 is exerting its subtle1 spiritual influence1 in making man's very selfishness1 and love of ornament and show1 a means1 to bring forth these silent monitors1 knowing ere long that1 their true power and potency will be known1 and consciously utilized by him1 as potent factors in his soul's evolvement and physical development4 ,the twelve representative gems within the cold stratas of matter1 stand as the material representatives of their stellar counterparts in the sky1 and constitute the beautiful1 glittering1 but crystallized1 ,zodiac of man's physical anatomy4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,ceremonial ,,magic ,the above title has been selected1 chiefly1 because1 in most works treating upon magic we find it wrongly used1 and therefore1 take the opportunity of explaining the matter1 for1 there were no such terms in the vocabulary of the ancient ,magi4 ,it is unfortunate1 that1 words of ancient origin are not more carefully used1 and that1 we should attach so many different meanings to the same word4 ,the terms ceremony and ceremonial are nothing more nor less than1 what that eminent critic1 ,john ,ruskin1 would designate as bastards of ignoble origin1 which1 somehow or another1 have usurped the places of rite and ritual4 ,the word rite has descended to us from the ,latin ritus of our ,roman ancestors1 and they received it from the more ancient riti of the ,sanskrit1 the ,greek equivalent of which is reo1 and means the method or order of service to the gods1 whereas1 ceremony may mean anything and everything1 from the terms of a brutal prize fight to the conduct of divine service within the church4 ,but1 no such chameleon-like definition or construction can properly be placed upon the word rite1 for it means distinctly1 if it means anything at all1 the serious usage and sacred method of conducting service in honor of the gods1 or of superiors1 and requires the attendance of the prophet or priest1 or some one duly qualified to fulfill such sacred functions for the time being4 ,the ritual of magic1 then1 is the correct title of this present study1 and as such1 we shall1 henceforth1 term it as we proceed with the course4 ,man is especially1 and above all creatures1 an organizing force1 and when to this fact1 we add the most interior and powerful of his sentimental instincts--veneration for the powers that be1 and for the higher1 invisible forces of ,nature1 his religiosity1 as it has been aptly termed1 we cannot wonder that1 the earliest races of which we possess any record are chiefly distinguished for their imposing and elaborate religious rites4 ,in fact1 it is to the stupendous temples and a colossal sacerdotalism1 that1 we are indebted for nine-tenths of the relics and records which we possess of them4 ,so true is this that1 from what we have been able to discover1 we are quite justified in asserting that the ancient races were1 above all other things1 a profoundly religious people4 ,the temple was the center around which revolved all their genius and art1 and the sacred edifice became their grandest achievement in architecture1 and its high priest the most powerful individual in the state4 ,in fact1 it was in consequence of the real power invested in such sacred office that it was so intimately connected with the throne1 and why royalty so frequently belonged to the priesthood or exercised priestly functions4 ,and there can be no real doubt1 but that1 amongst the pastoral and more spiritual races of ,earth's earliest inhabitants1 the priest1 by reason of his superior wisdom1 was the first law-giver2 and1 by virtue of his sanctity of person and elevation of mind became their first1 primitive king1 a patriarchal monarch1 whose scepter and symbol of power was the shepherd's peaceful crook2 just as among the ruder nomads of the inhospitable ,north1 we find the greatest hunters invested with the dignity of chief1 whose significant symbol and scepter of royalty1 upon their ,nimrod thrones1 was the trusty1 successful spear4 ,and the times in which we live have bad their full effect upon these symbols1 so significant of rule4 ,the monarch has transformed the spear into the less harmful mace1 while the ,church has added an inch of iron to the crook4 ,therefore1 the former has become less war-like1 and the latter less peaceful1 and1 verily1 in actual life we find them so1 ,the patriarchal sire1 head of the tribal household1 was the original priest2 and the hearthstone the first altar around which the family rites were performed2 and from this pure and primitive original have been evolved1 through progressive ages1 the stately temple and the sacred person of the despotic pontiff2 from the sincere prayer the pure aspirations of the human heart and the joyous offerings of fruits and flowers to the invisible powers around them2 and from the souls of their beloved ancestors has arisen the costly and complicated ritual of theology4 ,and1 if the theologians of to-day really knew the lost1 secret meaning of their complicated rituals1 and the unseen powers lying behind their external symbols1 their anxieties for the continued life of their dying creeds would be turned to new hopes and faith1 which could be demonstrated to their equally blind followers2 that1 that which they were teaching they knew1 and could practically use the knowledge given forth in their sanctuaries2 and1 instead of offering up their supplications to an imaginary1 personal ,deity1 their words1 rites1 and ceremonies1 would take on the form and power that such should command1 and they would become truly1 what their title really means1 a doctor of the soul4 ,then could they1 intelligently1 lead and direct the souls of their followers to the path of ,christ 7,truth71 which leads up to salvation2 not a vicarious atonement1 but gaining the at-one-ment through the individual soul's development to a conscious relation1 to that ,divine spirit1 we call ,god1 where it can say ,i know4 ,out of those simple gifts1 which were the spontaneous offerings of loving remembrance and unselfish charity1 have grown the prayers1 penances1 sacrifices1 and servile worship1 of sacerdotalism4 ,out of the paternal consideration and love of the aged sire has evolved the haughty1 chilling pride of the selfish1 isolated priest1 and which reflects its baneful influence upon the worshipers at their feet4 ,they have also changed their once sacred1 faithful1 and reverent1 obedience into suspicion and distrust1 and with the educated to utter disgust4 ,the light has been extinguished1 and priest and people alike are groping about in darkness4 ,it is strange1 yea1 passing strange1 the amount of human ignorance and folly that is revealed4 ,when we look upon this picture and then upon that1 verily we cannot help but ask the question1 is mankind really progressing8 ,we know that it is2 we are keenly alive to the truth that the ,anthem of ,creation sounds out ,excelsior--move on1 but how1 and in what way 7,,spiritually7 we fail to comprehend4 ,the cyclic development of the human soul is an inscrutable mystery4 ,all the considerations above presented must be thoroughly weighed and understood in order to arrive at the true value of the dogma and ritual of high magic1 as ,eliphas ,levi terms it2 because1 amid the vast array of tinselled drapery1 the outcome of man's vain conceit and bombastic pride1 we shall find very little that can be considered as vital and really essential to the rites of magic4 ,the show1 the drapery1 the priestly ornaments and instruments1 are to the really spiritual ,occultist1 but1 as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal4 ,that they had1 and still have1 their legitimate uses1 is true1 but these uses do not concern magic1 per se1 nor its manifold powers4 ,they awed the popular mind1 and impressed upon the masses a due reverence for the powers that be4 ,they were instrumental in holding the untrained passions of the common herd in check1 by a wholesome fear of summary vengeance from the gods1 so that this pageantry of magic1 the outward priestly show1 was more of a politic development than a spiritual necessity1 an astute but1 philosophical method of enabling the educated few to govern the uneducated many4 ,and it was only when the educational and initiatory rites of the temple became corrupt1 and the priest became the persecuting ally of the king--when1 in real fact1 the priest lost his spirituality in the desire for temporal power and place1 that the people began to disbelieve his professions and rebel against his tyrannical control4 ,the powers that be1 are now wielding their sword of justice1 and unfurling the knowledge of freedom and truth to the aspiring mind of man4 ,he has begun to feel his bondage and the yoke of oppression4 ,the words of promise and love1 instead of lifting him up to the ,god he has been taught to worship1 bow him down in slavish obedience to his priest4 ,mankind cannot remain in this mental and spiritual darkness much longer4 ,already ,i see the break of day1 the dawn of a new life1 a new religion2 or1 rather1 the re-establishing of the true1 which is as old as ,time itself4 ,there is but ,one ,law1 ,one ,principle1 ,one ,word1 ,one ,truth and ,one ,god4 ,the original requirements for the office of priest1 and the rites of magic1 were1 as shown1 a primitive1 i4e41 pure mind2 one that had outgrown the lusts and passions of youth1 a person of responsibility and experience2 and even to this day the priest of the ,roman ,church is called by the familiar title of father4 ,and as ,nature does not alter her laws and requirements in obedience to the moral development of the race1 we may rest assured that the same requirements1 of ten thousand years ago1 still hold good to-day4 ,you may enter your magic circle1 drawn with prescribed rites1 and you may intone your consecrations and chant your incantations2 you may burn your incense in the brazen censer and pose in your flowing1 priestly robes2 you may bear the sacred pentacles of the spirit upon your breast and wave the magic sword to the four quarters of the heavens2 yea1 you may even do more--you may burn the secret sigil of the objurant spirit2 and yell your conjurations and exorcisms till you are black in the face2 but all in vain1 my friend--all in vain4 ,it will prove nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit unless the inward self1 the soul1 interblends with the outward ,word1 and contacting by its own dynamic intensity-- the elemental vibrations of ,nature--arouses these spiritual forces to the extent of responding to your call4 ,when this can be done1 but not until then1 will your magical incantations have any effect upon the voiceless air4 ,not the priestly robes nor magic sword1 not the incantations1 ,,written ,,word1 nor mystic circle1 can produce ,nature's response to ,occult rite2 but the fire of the inward spirit1 the mental realization of each word and mystic sign1 combined with the conscious knowledge of your own ,deific powers--this1 and this only1 creates ,nature's true magician4 ,who and where can such be found8 ,are they so few that the echo answers back ,where and who8 ,yet1 there are many such upon the ,earth at the present time1 but the present mental conditions forbid them making their identity known4 ,they would not be recognized and accepted as the ,,true teachers1 but reviled and persecuted and dubbed as insane4 ,but silently1 they are sowing the seed of truth that will spring up and bear fruit1 where and when least expected4 ,because evil is so active1 truth is not lying dormant4 ,the spirit of ,god1 that ,divine spark of ,deity within every human soul1 never sleeps1 never rests4 ,on and upward is its cry4 ,omnia vincit veritas4 ,the grand sublimity of man's conception of at-one with the ,infinite ,father1 at-one with the limitless universe of being1 at-one with1 and inheriting1 all the sacred rights and inalienable prerogatives of the ineffable ,adonai of the deathless soul1 is the only test of man's qualification for the holy office2 for1 as ,bulwer ,lytton has truthfully said1 the loving throb of one great ,,human ,,heart will baffle more fiends than all the magicians' lore4 ,so it is with the sacred ritual4 ,one single aspirational thought1 clearly defined1 outweighs all the priestly trappings that the world has ever seen4 ,the success of all incarnations depends upon the complete unison of ,,voice and ,,mind1 the interblend of which1 produces the dynamic intonation1 that chords with the inward rhythmic vibrations of the soul4 ,once this magical1 dynamic1 vibration is produced1 there immediately springs into being the whole elemental world belonging thereto1 by correspondence4 ,vocalists who hold their audiences spellbound do so by virtue of the magical vibrations they produce1 and are in reality practical1 even though unconscious1 magicians4 ,the same power1 to a degree1 lies in the voice when speaking1 the graceful movement of the hand when obeying the will1 and the eye rays forth the same dynamic power and becomes magical in its effects4 ,these powers are exercised more upon the physical plane1 and no better illustration can be given1 than1 the power man is able to exert over the animal when gazing into its eyes4 ,here1 as well as in incantations and invocations1 within the power of the will1 lies the success or failure4 ,at this point it may be asked1 what1 then1 is the use of magical rites1 of symbols and priestly robes8 ,we answer1 in themselves alone1 nothing1 absolutely nothing1 except the facility and convenience we derive from system1 order and a code of procedure4 ,to this may be added the mental force and enthusiasm of soul which such things inspire1 just as men and women may feel more dignified1 artistic1 and refined1 when dressed in accordance with their ideas4 ,so may the average priest feel more priestly1 holy2 and consequently1 more powerful mentally2 when arrayed in the robes of his office and surrounded by the outward symbols of his power and functions4 ,but1 in themselves alone1 there is not1 nor can there be1 any real virtue4 ,the same may be said of the incantations4 ,the words used in their composition are the hieroglyphics of mystical ideas4 ,therefore1 the correct pronunciation of the words or the grammatical construction of a sentence is nothing1 if the underlying idea is conceived in the mind and responded to by the soul4 ,will and motive form the basis of true magic4 ,one word more and we have completed our subject4 ,magic swords1 rings1 pentacles1 and wands1 may1 and often are powerful magical agents in the hands of the magician1 by virtue of the power1 or charm1 that is invested within them when properly prepared2 but apart from such preparation1 by those who know1 they are as powerless as unintelligible incantations4 ,all the foregoing are aids1 but if physical manifestations of magical forces be required1 there must always be present the necessary vital1 magnetic pabulum1 by means of which such phenomena are made to transpire2 and in every case1 to be successful1 the assistance of a good natural magician1 or seer1 is necessary2 for without this essential element the whole art1 in its higher aspects1 becomes abortive4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,magic ,,wand ,this is the last lesson of our present course that requires a clear definition of the terms employed in the title thereof1 for the twelfth1 and final study is1 perhaps1 fortunate in having for its title a word that has not1 so far1 been misused and distorted from its original sense4 ,the ,magic ,wand4 ,the words savor of everything that the young tyro in ,occult art can picture to his mind2 of the midnight magician and his mysterious1 if not diabolical1 arts1 muttering his incantations1 working his gruesome spells1 and raising the restless ghosts of the dead4 ,strange fancies1 these1 and yet1 so corrupt and ignorant have become the conceptions of the popular mind regarding the once sacred ,science of the ,temple and the psychological powers of ,nature1 that we very much question1 if the ideas above stated were not very similar to the originals of each modern student1 before he had become acquainted with the deeper truths--the realities of ,occult philosophy4 ,we will commence our study by a careful investigation of the original meaning of the words ,magic ,wand1 since those who were the masters and originators thereof1 are far more likely to know more about them than their degenerate offspring of a later age4 ,few1 comparatively1 would believe that the words ,,magic1 ,,mason1 and ,,imagination1 are the present unrelated descendants of the same original conception--,,the ,,root ,,idea2 but such is the case4 ,first1 then1 we will examine their modern meanings4 ,magic is the unholy art of working secret spells1 of using invisible powers1 and holding intercourse with the unseen world of ghosts and demons1 by means of enchantments4 ,it also means the expert deception of the senses by the tricks of a conjurer1 ,,so-,,called hocus-pocus and fraud1 and a magician is either an evil-minded1 superstitious mortal1 fool enough to believe in charms1 or an expert pretender and imposter of the first water1 who cheats and deceives the people4 ,a mason is the honorable designation of a builder1 who works in stone2 metaphysically1 a member of a semi- secret society1 whose sole advantage is social intercourse and standing2 who proclaim fraternity and universal brotherhood theoretically and practice the reverse in reality2 a man who apes the ,egyptian ,mason1 knows nothing in reality of ,hiram1 his master2 who knows nothing of the starry ,solomon or his mystic temple in the heavens1 which ,hiram built2 and who misconceives the import of the three villains1 or assassins2 and who1 further1 knows nothing of that wonderful sprig of myrtle3--in short1 a ,free ,mason1 speaking generally1 is a man who delights in ideals1 social equality1 secret fraternity1 and plays at mysticism2 who parades on the ,masonic stage and enacts a role he does not understand4 ,the first meaning1 that of a builder1 is the most correct4 ,lastly1 the imagination is the exercise of mental imagery--the picturings of silent thought4 ,and now we will proceed ,,backwards4 ,imagination is from the word image1 a form1 a picture1 and has descended to us from the ,latin imago1 which1 in its turn1 was derived from the old ,semitic root1 mag4 ,mason comes to us from the ,latin mass1 which means to mould and form1 i4e41 to build2 and the word mass1 through various transformations1 was also derived from the root-word mag4 ,consequently1 originally1 there was but little difference in the ancient idea of building pictures in the mind and erecting the mental idea externally in stone4 ,it is from this fact1 that1 we have to-day ,mental ,masons1 a la the secret orders1 and stone masons1 who labor for wages4 ,the ,mental ,masons have merely lost the knowledge of their art4 ,they should1 by rights1 be as active and correspondingly useful to-day as their more physical brothers1 the masons of stone4 ,this art would never have fallen into disgrace and disuse1 if their daily bread1 or material accumulations1 had depended upon their efforts in building up the mental1 moral1 and spiritual attainments1 of each other1 and bringing their knowledge into more external use1 by making the material edifice1 the physical body1 a purer and more fitting temple1 for the ,divine soul4 ,magic comes from the ,latin magi and the ,greek word magos1 which means wise1 learned in the mysteries1 and was the synonym of wisdom4 ,the initiated philosopher1 the priest1 and the wise men1 are all of them included in the magi4 ,again1 tracing this word to its remote ancestor1 we find it terminating in the same ,semitic root1 mag1 but of this strange root no one was able to say much1 except that it seemed to belong to the ,assyrian branch of the great ,semitic race4 ,but quite recently1 thanks to our scientific explorers and archaeologists1 versed in the mysterious meaning of cuniform inscription2 ,assyrian scholars now inform us that they have found the hoary1 primitive original of it1 of magic1 magi and imago1 etc4 ,it is from an old ,akkadian word1 imga1 meaning wise1 holy1 and learned1 and was used as the distinguishing title of their wisest sages1 priests1 and philosophers1 who1 as may be supposed1 gradually formed a peculiar caste1 which merged into the ruling priestly order4 ,the ,semites1 who succeeded the old ,akkadian race in the valley of the ,euphrates1 as a mere matter of verbal convenience1 transformed many of the old ,akkadian words to suit their own articulation1 and imga became mag1 and thus magi4 ,,the ,,blend between the ,semetic and the older ,akkadian race1 produced1 by fusion of racial blood1 the famed ,chaldeans4 ,so that we see how old are the words which many of us daily use1 but with different meaning4 ,verily1 it makes one feel1 when be thinks of magic and its origin1 as though he were quite nearly related to the people who honored ,king ,sargon1 the ,wise1 the earthly original of the mystic ,solomon of ,biblical tradition4 ,the term ,wand is an old ,saxon word1 which primarily signifies to set in motion1 to move4 ,from this we derive our word wander1 i4e41 to roam1 and wandering1 i4e41 moving and continually restless4 ,we have now the original1 therefore real1 meaning of the words ,magic ,wand2 thus an object that sets in motion the powers of the magician1 and the magician1 an ,initiate of the sacred rites--,a ,,master ,,of ,,wisdom1 possessing all the resources that enable him ,,to ,,build mould1 and form2 to create in fact1 by virtue of his knowledge of the secret powers of mental imagery and the potential use of his own imagination4 ,he is both ,mental ,mason and learned philosopher4 ,the student may doubtless ask1 why all this care and labor regarding mere definitions8 ,we reply that1 it is because1 the real meaning of the words we have purposely selected for the title of our studies are1 in themselves1 a far better revelation than we could possibly have written4 ,originally1 ideas and words were related as absolute expressions or correspondences1 of each other4 ,this is not so now4 ,as the different races became interblended1 the purity of both language and morals retrograded1 and the people grew more to the external4 ,the intuitions and spirit were compelled to retreat1 giving place to only the intellectual and mental4 ,the blending of the languages gave birth to many words wherein different meanings were transmitted2 hence1 the trouble arising to-day over the numerous interpretations of a single word4 ,hybrid races have no such thing as a pure language4 ,their ideas and language1 like their blood1 is badly mixed up1 confusing1 and unsatisfactory1 so far as the real meaning of the words are concerned4 ,for this very reason we find so many different meanings for the same word2 and also for this reason1 we cannot formulate a legal enactment in the ,anglo-,saxon tongue that1 a learned lawyer1 versed in this senseless jugglery of words1 cannot demonstrate1 to the satisfaction of the courts1 means something the very opposite of the real intentions-- the spirit--which the framers thereof1 intended it to convey4 ,anciently1 it required no artful cunning of the lawyer to interpret the laws4 ,the words had only one simple and obvious meaning4 ,if a language could be so constructed to-day1 and the antiquated precedents of the courts annihilated2 the legal profession would be exterminated inside of twelve months1 and an affliction removed from the people4 ,the philosophy of the ,magic ,wand is this4 ,it is a magnetic1 electric conductor for the magician's will4 ,it directs the flow of his thought and concentrates it upon a given point in space or an object4 ,it is1 magically1 what the sights of a rifle are to a sportsman4 ,it enables him to focus his powers with exact precision upon the mark against which1 or upon which1 his will is directed4 ,apart from this there is no power1 per se1 in the ,wand itself1 any more than there is in a lightning conductor without the electric storm4 ,ergo1 the ,wand is the conductor1 in the magician's hand1 for the lightnings of the soul2 and just as the lightning rod is most useful and most powerful to protect1 when the storm is the strongest2 so is the ,wand most powerful in the hands of the most potential magician4 ,we can only transmit through this ,wand the degree of force we may happen to possess in the soul4 ,in a properly prepared ,wand lies the most powerful weapon1 to protect or destroy1 that can be placed within a magician's hands4 ,with his own spiritual force and knowledge1 combined with the magic power attached to the instrument1 nothing can withstand its power1 when directed with a determined and powerful will4 ,many substances have been employed in the manufacture of these ,magic ,wands4 ,metals or stones will not serve this purpose1 unless covered with some organic matter4 ,in any case stones are worthless4 ,the very finest ,wands are made from the live ivory of a female elephant4 ,a short ,wand1 twenty-one inches long1 tipped with gold at the largest end and silver or copper at the other1 is very powerful4 ,next to these costly articles are ,wands with a gold or copper core1 a wire1 in fact1 cased with ebony1 boxwood1 rosewood1 cedar or sandalwood4 ,english yew also serves the purpose2 so does almond wood4 ,simpler1 less expensive1 and almost as effective1 are ,wands made of witch-hazel4 ,in fact1 apart from the ,wands of live ivory1 ,i consider that witch-hazel is as powerful as the golden ,wand4 ,next in force to this witch-hazel are the shoots of the almond tree1 and1 lastly1 the peach and swamp willow4 ,the proper time to manufacture a ,magic ,wand is whenever you can find the person who is able to do the work4 ,but after it is constructed it must be thoroughly magnetized1 with proper ceremony and aspiration1 the first or the second full ,moon after the ,sun enters ,capricorn1 at midnight1 when the ,moon will be culminating in her own sign upon the mid-heaven4 ,the best time ,,to ,,cut a shoot of witch-hazel or other material for a ,wand is the first full ,moon after the ,sun's entry into ,capricorn1 at midnight1 and then magnetize it upon the next full ,moon at the same hour4 ,in conclusion1 let us repeat that1 the ,magic ,wand is but the highly sensitive magical medium for transmitting and concentrating the force of the learned magician2 that it is equally powerful under great excitement of mind1 ,,whether ,,used ,,consciously ,,or ,,not4 ,the stream of mental fire will go in the direction the ,wand happens to be pointed1 and1 therefore1 should never be in the hands of the wicked or foolish1 any more than firearms4 ,it is potential or otherwise1 in exact proportion to the artist's wisdom and dynamic mentality1 and is useless in the hands of the idiotic or weak-minded4 ,a ,magic ,wand requires brains and vigorous mental force to make it effective1 just as the steam engine requires an apparatus for generating the steam1 that moves it4 ,with a determined will1 and a mental conception of one's inward power1 any man or woman can1 by means of this sensitive ,wand1 defy all the legionaries of ,hell1 and quickly disperse every form of spiritual iniquity4 ,the firearms which have become so intricate in their mechanism and so destructive in their operations1 are only a degeneration of the ,magic ,wand4 ,the first weapons of warfare and slaughter were very crude and clumsy1 then larger and more destructive1 until at last they have become as fine in texture and mechanical genius1 compared with their early brothers1 as the ,magic ,wand is to-day1 above and beyond1 the present weapons of warfare4 ,at last1 the original mode of defense will be rediscovered and become a utility in the hands of the majority of mankind4 ,at the same time1 the mental and moral nature will be evolving into better conditions1 too1 so that their use will not be given to the ignorant and evildoers1 but placed in charge of the educated1 those who are morally capable of leading and ruling4 ,yes1 we are now stepping upon the plane of reason and intuition1 where right1 not might1 will prevail and rule the world4 ,the present mode of government and rule will be changed1 and one of humanitarian justice take its place4 ,god hasten the ,millenium4 ,,the ,,book ,,which ,,is ,,called ,,the ,,tablets ,,of ,,aeth ,,the ,,sacred ,,scroll ,,which ,,is ,,called ,,the ,,tablets ,,of ,,aeth ,,now ,,for ,,the ,,first ,,time ,,transcribed ,,from ,,the ,,astral ,,records ,,and ,,done ,,into ,a ,,book1 ,by ,,zanoni ,,to ,,which ,,is ,,added ,a ,,series ,,of ,,interpretative ,,reflections ,,for ,,the ,,spiritual ,,meditation ,,of ,,the ,,faithful4 ,,foreword ,thy temple is the arch ,of yon unmeasured sky2 ,thy ,sabbath the stupendous march ,of grand eternity4 ,to my ,brothers and ,sisters of the ,hermetic ,brotherhood of ,luxor3 ,,greeting--,for some years it has been my desire to leave a spiritual legacy to the many devoted friends and followers who have braved so much amid present truth and error for my sake4 ,in choosing the present work for such a purpose1 ,i have had in view the deeper spiritual needs of the soul--the prophetic element of the interior spirit1 which can best exalt itself through the contemplation of ,nature's arcane symbolism of the starry heavens--not the material expression of the glittering splendors of the midnight sky1 but the spiritual soul-pictures of those blazing systems that reveal to the seeing eye the shining thrones of ,,the ,,rulers--the ,powers that ,be4 ,ever since the dawn of intellectual human life upon our ,mother ,earth1 long before the days of the cave man1 or even the first frost that heralded the coming of the ,ice ,age1 souls have hoped and hungered and souls have quailed and fallen in their struggles with the mysteries of ,god4 ,but ever and anon some bright flower of the race has gained the spiritual victory4 ,a ,messianic soul has responded to aspirations of a great-hearted1 great-souled woman1 pregnant with spiritual yearnings beyond her race1 and she has unconsciously blessed her kind for the generations yet to come with that incarnated mystery--,,the ,,son ,,of ,,god4 ,blessed1 ,o ,woman1 is thy patient mission on the earth1 and transcendent are the holy mysteries of thy maternity4 ,every human birth is a ,divine miracle in humanity1 performed by the ,motherhood of ,god4 ,hence it is that1 from the earliest ages of life1 triumphant souls have stormed the gates of the sanctuary and penetrated ,nature's most occult mysteries and there recorded their spiritual victories4 ,amid these sacred records lies one great scroll1 that none but the brightest and bravest may read4 ,this sacred scroll1 sealed with the seven mystic seals of the heavens1 contains ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 a record of the soul's experiences upon the planes of both conscious and sub-conscious life-spirit and matter1 that are expressed in a series of universal symbols1 which manifest to the seer the processes of creative life1 of spiritual cause with material effect4 ,and1 finally1 the mystery of the seven vials and the seven stars of ,saint ,john are written therein2 for the ,tablets are the hieroglyphic keys which unlock the realities of truth involved within the unrealities of external life1 and open up1 to the aspiring soul1 inconceivable vistas of knowledge yet possible of realization1 within the ,divine womb of the uncreated ,aether4 ,myriads of exalted spirits1 who have toiled for the treasure which doth not corrupt1 have added1 and are adding1 their portion of personal conception to this universal conception of life1 so that the sacred symbols themselves1 inscribed upon these imperishable ,tablets1 ,,are ,,evolutionary--are slowly unfolding through the eons of time1 and revealing wider and yet deeper processes of the light1 life1 and love1 of the ,motherhood of ,god4 ,therefore1 all ,divine revelation of infinite truth is limited and finite as to its conception1 when revealed through a finite capacity4 ,all ,divine truths are universal2 all personal conceptions of such truths are limited2 hence springs the unquenchable fountain of the ,,one eternal truth1 eternally repeating itself1 in cosmic as in human life1 by the progressive unfoldment of ,nature's unlimited potentialities4 ,the outward doth from the inward roll1 ,and the inward dwells in the inmost soul4 ,the true poet is always a seer1 and he might have added that the ,,inmost ,,soul is the uncreate1 and1 the yet uncreated itself1 lies buried in the ever eternal beyond2 hence the immortality of the human spirit4 ,this sacred astral scroll1 rightly and reverently studied by the disciple of the higher law1 becomes a boundless source of knowledge and inspiration4 ,there is no mood of the mind or yearning of the soul that cannot be satisfied and refreshed from this inexhaustible fountain of spiritual truth1 no passion of the human heart that cannot be eased of its burden and soothed of its pain4 ,its spiritual refreshment falls like the dew from heaven upon those who are weary and heavy laden with the trials and sufferings of external life4 ,accept it1 then1 even as it is given unto you4 ,my friends and brethren1 accept it as ,zanoni's last work on earth--his legacy to you1 and may the spirit of the ,all-,father-,mother1 the ineffable spirit of ,life1 ,light1 and ,love1--the ,unknowable1 whom men call ,god1 rest upon you and be with you now and forever4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,book ,,which ,,is ,,called ,,the ,,tablets ,,of ,,aeth1 ,,wherein ,,are ,,described ,,the ,,formulas ,,of ,,meditation4 ,,the ,,formulas ,,of ,,meditation1 ,,to ,,the ,,dragon1 ,,fountain ,,of ,,youth4 ,when first1 a musing boy1 ,i stood beside ,thy starlit shimmer1 and asked my restless heart ,what secrets ,nature to the herd denied1 ,but might to earnest hierophant impart2 ,when lo6 beside me1 around and o'er1 ,thought whispered1 ',arise1 ,o seeker1 and explore4' ,the ,tablets of ,aeth are the culminating expression of symbolical ideas1 and the studious meditation thereof is to be approached and continued in this wise3 ,first1 commit to memory1 as near as may be1 all the ideas involved in the astrological laws and principles laid down in ,the ,science of the ,stars1 formulated in the second part of ,the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 ,i1 especially as regards the symbolism there given and manifestation thereof on the intellectual plane4 ,mentally digest these aspects of truth most thoroughly4 ,second1 carry forward the same course of mental training with regard to the preceding chapters in this volume1 from ,no4 #a to ,no4 #ab4 ,there are thirteen chapters1 but ,no4 #ac1 the last one1 being ,the ,penetralia1 should not be included in this course1 but1 rightly used1 should be reserved as the last and final revelation for spiritual contemplation4 ,the twelve chapters just mentioned continue the great astral laws given in ,the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 ,i1 from this plane to that of the soul life of the human monad 7both prior to and after human incarnation74 ,at this point we leave the finite and step into the realms of the infinite4 ,from the sphere of limitations which surround the microcosm we enter the starlit path of the macrocosm1 and here1 with the illimitable ocean of eternal life sweeping onward before us1 we hear the first strains of the ,grand ,march of the ,universe burst forth from the organs of ,god6 ,the suns of creative life swell the infinite chorus of sound2 archangels swing their fiery batons to the march of the heavenly host2 and all earthly sound has ceased4 ,we are absorbed in the music of the spheres4 ,we are now in the realm of universals1 the domain of living realities4 ,the ,tarot of ,mother ,nature revolves before us1 revealing her mystic meanings to the soul4 ,all ideas are symbols1 and symbols are reservoirs for the conservation of thought4 ,and this is a very truth3 ,even so on earth as it is in heaven4 ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 then1 constitute a spiritual astrology1 a spiritual science of the stars1 void of mathematics1 yet possessing all the exactitude of figures1 constructed on the principles of astronomy1 yet expressed by the methods of the ,kabbalah4 ,the transmission of spiritual truth from inward to outward form1 though differing according to the age in which it is expressed1 is ever the same in principle4 ,and in the same way that the sacred clavicula of ,solomon became the ,tarot of ,bohemian gypsies1 so did the ,tablets of ,aeth manifest their mysteries in the starry science of ,chaldean lore4 ,but there is this sharp line of demarcation between them1 namely1 the ,tablets of ,aeth deal with universal human life and nature1 with infinite principles from which all finite laws radiate4 ,the ,tablets of ,aeth express and symbolize the cause4 ,all other mundane systems of occult study1 astronomical or metaphysical1 are spirito-natural effects1 the individual intellectual fruits1 gathered from the one universal tree of knowledge4 ,uncreated1 ,unlimited ,potentiality1 is the one impersonal truth shining forever in the ,great ,white ,light of ,god4 ,all the laws1 powers1 and principalities1 manifested in the moving ,universe1 are but the colored rays1 blazing with glorious life through the prisms of matter4 ,having stated thus much1 the neophyte will perceive in what meditative sphere of thought the ,tablets may be used4 ,the method of study is1 as shown1 a purely synthetic deduction of human ideas from spiritual symbols of universal principles4 ,the ,tablets themselves constitute a grand arcane ,tarot of man1 ,god and the universe1 and of all the powers that dwell therein4 ,they may be studied singly1 as1 for instance1 meditating upon some one great universal idea or principle2 or they may be studied in trines1 as they appear in each separate book1 or chapter1 or as squares1 like two1 five1 eight1 eleven1 or as the seal of two trines1 one1 three1 five1 seven1 nine1 eleven1 with ,no4 twelve in the center1 as the revealer of the mystery4 ,and1 finally1 they may be contemplated as the ,grand ,oracle of ,heaven1 in the following manner3 ,make a circle of the tablets1 as you would with a pack of ,tarot cards1 beginning with ,no4 #a1 on the eastern horizon1 and proceeding in the exact opposite order from a figure of the heavens--,no4 #b1 being on the ,twelfth ,house1 ,no4 #c1 on the ,eleventh1 and on the ,m4 ,c4 of the figure1 as in the ,astro-,masonic chart1 given in the second part of ,the ,light of ,egypt1 ,vol4 ,i1 and so proceed with the rest of the twelve tablets of the stars4 ,this figure will represent the potentialities of the macrocosm1 the starry signs symbolizing the possibilities of things past or to be1 and the rulers the active executors thereof4 ,study the figure in all its aspects as such1 first singly1 tablet by tablet1 then as a whole--the cosmos4 ,next1 place the ruler of any given tablet at the side of the ,mansion1 and try to penetrate its various meanings1 powers and possibilities4 ,then proceed the same with a trine and a square1 and1 last1 with all the rulers1 in the order of their celestial lordship of the signs1 each in his appointed place1 as a whole ,arcana4 ,in any grave crisis of mental or physical affairs1 wherein nations1 and not individuals1 are concerned1 the tablets may be used as a celestial scheme of the heavens1 thus3 ,cast a figure of the heavens for the ,sun's first entry into the sign ,aries at the vernal equinox1 calculated for the meridian of the capital city of the country under consideration4 ,degrees and minutes are not wanted4 ,then place the twelve tablets in place of signs1 exactly as they would occur in an astrological figure4 ,then place the rulers of the ,sun1 ,moon and planets therein 7each having its own tablet71 as they are found to be situated in an ephemeris for the time of the figure4 ,this done1 study the whole from a spiritual standpoint as the causes and ultimates of the crisis1 according to astro laws4 ,the foregoing simple directions will1 ,i think1 be sufficiently plain for all purposes1 never forgetting that this holy study is not a system of divination1 as commonly understood1 but of ,divine revelation1 in its highest and most holy religious sense4 ,long study and most reverent meditation will be required to master this mystery1 and many errors of judgment will occur to the beginner4 ,the interpretative reflections are added for the purpose of guiding and guarding the spiritually untrained seer from possible error in fundamental conceptions only4 ,they must not by any means be taken as a complete revelation of the tablets1 but only as a series of skeleton keys by means of which all things may be revealed to the earnest seeker thereof4 ,to have added more than is given would only be to defeat the object of this work4 ,each seeker for the truth must excavate the mines of knowledge1 and dig further into this universal well of truth for himself4 ,remember that all interpretation will be personal to each student4 ,of no one can it be affirmed1 thou hast said1 and so endeth the matter4 ,not so4 ,to each1 according to his talent1 shall the mysteries of the kingdom be revealed1 to every one according to his humility1 spiritual light1 and merit4 ,but from the arrogant1 the selfish1 and spiritually proud1 shall all things be taken away1 and truth shroud herself in the veil of delusion4 ,in simplicity of mind1 then1 and purity of soul1 approach the ,holy of ,holies4 ,suffer little children to come unto ,me1 saith a messenger of the ,most ,high1 for of such is the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,verily1 therefore1 ,i say unto you1 that not until you can look upon all the works of ,nature--beauty in her nakedness or vice and crime in their repulsiveness1 with pure thought and holy feeling1 can you inherit eternal life4 ,here endeth the introduction to the book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth4 ,,part ,i ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,mansions ,here beginneth ,chapter ,i of the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein is transcribed the ,first ,quadrant of the ,twelve ,mansions4 ,i sent my soul through the invisible1 ,some lesson of that after life to spell2 ,and by and by my soul returned to me ,and answered1 ',i1 myself1 am ,heaven and ,hell4' ,the moving finger writes2 and1 having writ1 ,moves on2 nor all your piety nor wit ,shall lure it back to cancel half a line 1 ,nor all your tears wash out a word of it4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,first ,aries ,,symbol ,a deep blue ,sky1 a blaze1 as if something were about to rise4 ,i ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,first ,the blush of dawn of a new life1 all nature quivering with the sense of coming1 conscious life2 ,isis1 vibrant with love of the coming child1 her bosom flushed in expectation of the little son soon to breathe on her yearning breast4 ,in this we trace the great lesson of preparation1 of sending the light before the form1 of the prophecy before the fulfillment4 ,dawn must precede sunrise4 ,what you expect will be your destiny4 ,it is the longing of centuries that incarnates a god1 a real ,sun-,god1 whose vibrant love-life can thrill other lives into prayer--aspiration1 the struggle for eternal life4 ,the dawn represents the expectant maternity of ,nature--,god4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,see that thou expecteth much1 and that thy aspirations are reflected in thy outward life4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,second ,taurus ,,symbol ,a red sun on the horizon of an inky sea4 ,,ii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,second ,nature has shown forth her glory1 as brought forth by young ,horus1 but her creative force is still unreflected4 ,the sea is black and inky4 ,the ,son of ,god is born1 but the sea of human life still remains unconscious1 in primeval darkness4 ,the angles of the ,sun and the sea are not yet in right relation to each other4 ,a few1 standing on the watch-towers of life1 seeing the red glow of the risen sun1 call ,look6 ,but the unfortunate ones in the outer darkness cry1 as they beat their breasts2 ,no6 ,there is no light6 ,you do but dream6 ,and yet the ,sun of ,life has risen--the ,divine light glows4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,remember that ,in ,him was life1 and life was the light of man1 and the light shineth in the darkness1 and the darkness comprehended it not4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,third ,gemini ,,symbol ,two stars are rising at angles to each other and to the ,polar star1 while eight stars shine faintly in the black space of background4 ,,iii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,third ,the ,divine symbol of soul-matehood is here signified in the two stars rising in the foreground2 not only the soul-affinities of humanity1 but the eternal father-mother forces manifested in the biune spirit of universal life and nature1 the two great creative powers1 ,life and ,light1 whose harmony creates love1 attraction and repulsion1 and the straight lines of law and justice1 which blend in the spiral of mercy4 ,the two stars are rising at an oblique angle to the pole-star1 the center around which1 material things revolve4 ,so1 too1 life and love are balanced by the star of wisdom4 ,love in the spirit is adaption to the environment in matter and providence in universal life4 ,the eight stars reveal the mystery of the tablet--universal death1 present with life1 the final end of all discord glimmers faintly afar off1 and man questions the love of ,god1 seeing that all things pass away1 not realizing that death is the germinal promise of life1 of transformation1 of the realization of unrealized hopes1 of the union of loving hearts in their starry pilgrimage back to the ,father's home4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,listen unto the words of the ,teacher3 ,i and the ,father are one4 ,suffer little children to come unto me1 for of such ii the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,,part ,i ,here beginneth ,chapter #b of the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein is transcribed the ,second ,quadrant of the ,twelve ,mansions4 ,how they struggle in the immense ,universe6 ,how they whirl and seek6 ,innumerable souls1 that all spring forth ,from the vast world-soul4 ,they drop from planet to planet1 ,and in the abyss they weep ,for their forgotten land4 ,these are thy tears1 ,o ,dionysus1 ,o ,spirit vast1 ,divine ,one1 ,liberator4 ,draw back thy daughters to the breast of light4 ,ah1 love6 ,could you and ,i with him conspire ,to grasp this sorry scheme of things entire1 ,would we not shatter it to bits8 ,and then ,remould it nearer to the heart's desire4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,fourth ,cancer ,,symbol ,a woman's face unconscious1 in trance1 surrounded by clouds4 ,,iv ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,fourth ,the dreaming woman1 whose brooding thoughts shape the coming man4 ,the race is never any farther advanced than the average thought of the woman4 ,she is yet sleeping1 knowing not her powers4 ,so1 not until she awakes and recognizes herself as conceiving by the ,holy ,ghost and the mother of the incarnate ,god1 will that ,god be brought forth unto universal knowledge4 ,in this is the great lesson to woman3 ,ever remember thy creative power as the mother of the humanity of the future4 ,the sun in thy mansion exerts its highest power4 ,awake1 therefore1 ,o soul1 and eclipse not its brightness with thy dreams of sublunary power4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,ever honor the womb that gave thee birth1 and know that all thy earthly greatness received its seed therefrom4 ,a fountain cannot rise higher than its source4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,fifth ,leo ,,symbol ,a man's arm1 bent1 exceedingly muscular1 a knife in the hand1 a streak of lightning opposite the arm1 which is defying the lightning4 ,v ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,fifth ,here we have the symbol of the incarnate fire of the spirit defying the mere natural fire of the heavens4 ,the woman sleeps and broods and dreams1 but the man she has brought forth is awake1 and bids defiance to the fiery forces of ,nature4 ,he has armed himself with the keen knife of action1 and with it has conquered the forces of matter4 ,he has harnessed the lightning1 and made the electric fluid his obedient slave4 ,and thus has he mastered all forces inferior to spirit--that spirit of conscious life which is his birthright4 ,the lesson to be gleaned from this is that1 the kingdom of ,nature must be taken by storm4 ,not for rest1 but for work1 has ,mother ,nature sent forth her man child2 not for peace1 but for battle2 not for inertia1 but for effort4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,arm yourself with the sword--mayhap the sword of affliction--and1 gallantly raising the strong right ann aloft1 hurl defiance at the chaos of ,nature1 sure that the fire from the ,sun of the spirit is burning in every vein of that arm4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,sixth ,virgo ,,symbol ,a ,lotus1 rising from the water1 coiled around its stem a snake1 whose efforts fail to reach the flower4 ,,vi ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,sixth ,here we have the sacred flower1 symbol of the virgin soul1 uncontaminated by the snake of passion1 which can only enfold the body-- the stem2 the snake of matter--of lust--of evil4 ,but the flower of the spirit--the soul--lifts its pure white petals upward as an incense cup to the ,sun of the ,spirit4 ,in this symbol read the great lesson of the experience of evil4 ,if1 the flower of the soul1 blossoms2 the mud of the soil and the snake of the passions are but the surroundings of its roots and stem4 ,both are necessary for the perfection of the flower4 ,the roots sink deep into ,mother ,earth1 and draw nourishment and life1 lifting matter upward1 while the snake of passion becomes1 under another aspect1 the serpent of wisdom4 ,coiled around the stem of this life1 it gives to the incarnated soul that wisdom which later blossoms in the ,seraph of the ,sun spheres4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,take suffering1 if it forge the sword of the spirit4 ,take evil and passion1 and turn them into deep lessons of life1 blossoming the evil into good1 changing passion into wisdom4 ,only the pure in heart can see ,god4 ,,part ,i ,here beginneth ,chapter #c of the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein is transcribed the ,third ,quadrant of the ,twelve ,mansions4 ,to know what really exists1 one must cultivate silence with ones self1 for it is in silence that the eternal and unexpected flowers open1 which change their form and color according to the soul in which they grow4 ,souls are weighed in silence1 as gold and silver are weighed in pure water4 ,the worldly hope men set their hearts upon turns to ashes2 or it prospers1 and anon1 like snow upon the desert's dusty face1 lighting a little hour or two1 is gone4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,seventh ,libra ,,symbol ,a crowned king1 with a scythe raised in the air1 looks closely at two boys wrestling beneath him in a field of grain1 a red poppy below them4 ,,vii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,seventh ,the symbol of ,nature's eternal war for the impossible equilibrium between spirit and matter2 the symbol1 also1 of ,time1 which is but the illusion in which eternity clothes itself2 forever putting on and forever putting off new garments of matter4 ,the crowned king is the victorious soul1 waiting1 with the scythe of ,time1 to reap the harvest of the world2 while incarnated man1 as represented in the wrestling youths1 is struggling for that which he did not produce1 and which only death can reap4 ,the poppy reveals the secret of the illusions of ,nature's master-showman4 ,all earthly things are unreal to the spirit1 which is the only real thing4 ,man's effort to hoard and save the things of this world ,,is ,,injustice ,,to ,,others4 ,the struggle is eternal1 and no matter how careful or cunning man is to monopolize either power1 truth or wealth1 swift-footed time will readjust all things without error4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth1 where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,eighth ,scorpio ,,symbol ,a wide1 and plain1 on it a skeleton2 a dull1 grey sky1 in which an ,eagle soars1 full-fed1 it seems1 from the flesh of the skeleton4 ,,viii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,eighth ,a significant symbol to the seer1 showing forth the two ultimates of life and death1 of earthly things and sex4 ,scorpio is both the eagle of the spirit1 soaring aloft1 well fed with all that is worth carrying away from the earth2 and also the scorpion1 whose natural home is the desert4 ,in sex1 either way1 life is given4 ,shall it be to your spirit making fat and full your immortal self1 or will the other interpretation be yours8 ,and will you leave yourself dead and annihilated1 a skeleton1 to the ,ego1 the ,divine spirit8 ,for sex is indeed the foundation of all4 ,raised to the region of ,libra1 it is power and magnetism4 ,to the bosom it is love2 to the brain it is enthusiasm4 ,it is the promethian fire of life1 the creative force1 giving vigor to whatever region to which it is raised2 or1 lowered1 to be spent with no returns1 it debases and renders life a desert of dry bones4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,reflect on the fall of man from spirit to matter1 and combine the wisdom of the serpent with the purity of the dove1 and lest ye partake of the tree of life ye shall surely die4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,ninth ,saggitarius ,,symbol ,a child in a shell1 holding in its hand a feathered lance1 is drawn by five stars1 grouped in an under arc4 ,,ix ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,ninth ,the symbol of the conscious soul4 ,the shell is the body1 drawn by the five senses--stars--which form an under arc1 to represent the world of material things and our relation thereto4 ,the child1 armed with the feathered lance1 is the soul2 riding thus1 fully armed1 in the shell of the body1 it realizes the duality of truth2 that all things are changeable2 and that each thing is true upon the plane of its manifestation1 while an illusion to that which is interior to its life1 while the soul is in its dream state4 ,sagittarius represents conservatism and the permanence of crystallized institutions2 but1 when the spirit awakes and bursts the shell of matter1 the senses1 instead of being the guardians and jailors of its environment1 become its servants1 and the means by which1 united as the one ,ego1 sense-perception1 it races o'er the fields of ,aeth--a being of life and beauty1 shining in the empyrean of ,god4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,ever remember that temperament and environment constitute the north and south poles of human possibility1 and that ability1 combined with opportunity1 is the measure of responsibility4 ,,part #a ,here beginneth ,chapter #d of the ,book which is called--,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein is transcribed the ,fourth ,quadrant of the ,twelve ,mansions4 ,a hair1 perhaps1 divides the false and true4 ,yes1 and a single alif were the clue-- ,could you but find it--to the treasure house1 ,and1 peradventure1 to ,,the ,,master1 too4 ,beware1 ,o my son1 of self-incense4 ,it is the most dangerous on account of its agreeable intoxication4 99 99 99 ,learn1 ,o my beloved1 that the light of ,allah's truth will often penetrate an empty head more easily than one too crammed with learning4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,tenth ,capricorn ,a deep1 black ground1 o'er which shimmers a phosphorescent light2 at each side an aurora borealis rises1 mountain like2 above all1 a tiny star4 ,x ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,tenth ,here is revealed the symbol of the messenger of the ,most ,high4 ,the star hovers over the phosphorescent light cast on the darkness as the spirit hovers over the blackness of matter4 ,the aurora borealis stands as the emblem for the magnetic attraction of ,earth on spirit1 the ,christ soon to be born in the manger of the ,goat2 the descent of the ,holy ,ghost into material form1 so that heavenly truth may illumine the drear speculum of earthly thought with the ,divine iridescence of celestial light4 ,it is the lowest arc of the cycle that reveals the new birth of death unto life--the divine egg of ,brahma1 containing the promise of the new law3 ,peace on ,earth1 good will towards men4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,be thou the star1 and not a dweller of the outer darkness1 and ,let your light so shine before men1 that1 they may see your good works4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,eleventh ,aquarius ,,symbol ,a stormy sea is seen2 above it the eight stars shine1 brilliant and clear4 ,,xi ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,eleventh ,this tablet symbolizes the complete materialization of man--man1 perfect on the earth and the lord thereof1 in so far as material forces are concerned4 ,the storm is the tempest of life1 the whirl of the elements of matter in their battle with the spirit4 ,the eight stars1 brilliant now 7for they are the same stars that were dimly seen in ,gemini71 show that the conquest of matter is complete1 the great fall of spirit finished2 the end of involution4 ,and this would bring stagnation and death1 if peace now ensued4 ,the lesson taught is that1 not in peace and rest can the soul grow2 but amidst the earthquakes that shake thrones1 the floods that overwhelm countries1 the fires that reduce to ashes1 has the strong man-soul grown to its present state and power4 ,so fear not the storm1 but the calm2 not the unrest1 but the quiet2 fear not the battle1 but the ignoble peace of the coward4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,the astral soul must learn to do and dare4 ,not over the brave man's grave shall it be written1 ,rest in peace1 but ,i will arise1 and go to my father4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,twelfth ,pisces ,,symbol ,a comet1 beyond it infinite things1 only dreamed of as yet1 a world floating in an ocean and in night1 beneath are two hands clasped palm to palm4 ,,xii ,,tablet ,,the ,,twelfth ,a ,,revelation ,,of ,,the ,,to ,,be4 ,the comet is the twelfth ,avatar1 the herald1 coming forth from the starry abyss of the infinite1 staying with us a little while1 and then flashing on his shining way to other worlds than ours1 bearing ,,the ,,divine ,,word from sun to planet1 as the fiery messenger of ,god4 ,and here the soul may well ask3 ,who8 ,where8 ,whence and ,whither8 ,for behold1 he has come1 and gone1 and ,earth could not answer2 nor the seas that mourn ,in flowing purple1 of their ,lord forlorn2 ,nor rolling ,heaven1 with all his signs revealed ,and hidden by the sleeve of night and morn4 ,the world floating in the sea of the infinite and resting in night shows the present state of humanity4 ,but1 the blush of dawn is ready to gladden the soul1 and the expectant seer1 from his lonely vigil on the hilltop1 awaits the sunlight which will soon flood the world anew4 ,the two clasped hands point to many problems1 chiefly soul- matehood1 the message of the starry messenger1 universal brotherhood1 and the ,father-,motherhood of ,god4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,watch and pray1 that a voice of the silence may speak unto you4 ,here endeth the four ,quadrants of the ,tablets of the ,twelve ,mansions1 wherein are revealed the signs and symbols thereof1 as faithfully transcribed from the sacred roll in the astral records and called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth4 ,april1 #ahic4 ,,part ,,ii of ,the ,book which is called ,,the ,,tablets ,,of ,,aeth ,,of ,,the ,,ten ,,planetary ,,rulers ,,part ,,ii ,here beginneth ,chapter ,i of the ,second ,part of the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein is transcribed the ,first ,trinity of the ,planetary ,rulers4 ,the human heart is the true temple of ,god2 enter ye into your temples and illumine them with good thoughts4 ,the sacred vessels1 they are your hands and your eyes4 ,do ,i say that which is agreeable to ,god--doing good to your neighbors8 ,but1 first embellish wherein dwells ,he1 who gave you life4 ---- ,how small soever your lamp be1 never give away the oil which feeds it1 but only the light and flame1 which crown it4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,first ,the ,sun ,,symbol ,a flaming splendor1 a center of light1 radiating in all directions4 ,i ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,first ,the symbol of all created life1 spiritual and material2 of all goodness1 human or ,divine2 the center of all thought1 from brutal instinct to ,deific wisdom2 of all creations1 from starry systems to man1 and from man back again to invisible gas2 of all action1 from the imperceptible vibrations of nerve energy to the awful destruction of worlds4 ,all creative potency lies within a ,sun sphere4 ,light is life4 ,the planets are but the offspring of light and life4 ,so in this symbol1 we read the source of the human ,ego1 of our own life4 ,we are1 as it were1 the planets of the spiritual ,sun4 ,our souls are the attributes of the ,sun1 of the spiritual ,ego4 ,only from the ,ego can we receive life eternal and make immortality a fact4 ,obeying this spiritual life-force1 the human monad is but an attribute1 a reflection1 of the ,divine ,ego1 and if it fails to awake to a consciousness of this union1 it withers and dies like a flower plucked from the parent tree of life4 ,o child of ,adam1 in reverence and awe do thou meditate upon this ,tablet1 for it is a thing of beauty1 a being of light1 life and love1 manifesting its creative mission4 ,it is the ,vicegerent of ,god1 flaming forth ,his splendors in the sky4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,second ,mercury ,,symbol ,an elephant1 kneeling between two square columns2 on one an eagle1 on the other a vulture4 ,at the side a boy1 with bow and arrows1 standing in doubt which to shoot4 ,below these a human face1 composed of various flowers1 whose roots are snakes1 a poppy1 forming an eye1 which winks4 ,,ii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,second ,a vision revealing the earthly drama of the microcosm4 ,the elephant represents the highest expression of intelligence1 minus the spirit2 kneeling between the square columns of matter1 i4e41 guarded by them4 ,the external mind is sleeping1 or1 at most1 dreaming of the things of the spirit4 ,above sleeping mind sit the two birds1 who represent spirit and matter1 each waiting for the slowly preparing feast4 ,the boy1 the soul with its weapons1 has a choice4 ,shall it be the sensuality of the flesh that he shall destroy1 or the possibilities of the spiritual life on earth4 ,the problem awaits solution4 ,the eagle sits ready to bear aloft the spirit of the sleeper4 ,the vulture hopes for sleep to end in death1 that he may live upon the carrion thereof4 ,the flowers of the external mind have for their roots the snakes2 and1 in a larger sense1 the flowers of immortality have the serpent of wisdom for their roots4 ,and the poppy winks4 ,it knows its own power of illusion1 and the double significance of the snake2 the necessity of evil in the evolution of good4 ,it is the ,tablet of ,wisdom4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,third ,venus ,,symbol ,an altar3 on it two cups1 one full1 the other spilled2 near them two bleeding hearts1 in one a snake1 in the other a dagger4 ,above--clouds1 from which comes a woman's face1 a wreath in the hand1 coming out of the cloud2 in the wreath an angel1 going upwards1 with wings outspread4 ,,iii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,third ,there is but one altar1 but one blood of the sacrament in two cups1 but one flesh of the ,christ--the ,ego--in two hearts1 two experiences in love1 ecstacy1 and pain2 two results of experience1 the serpent and the dagger1 symbolizing wisdom and affliction4 ,above the altar the divine woman holds the wreath encircling the angel4 ,the angel of immortal life rises from the altar of sacrifice4 ,some of the wine is spilled as offering4 ,the cup that is filled is raised to ,ra4 ,to serve at the altar of love is the soul-mission of all1 even as ,christ served his disciples4 ,each soul must find its own service1 and then the pilgrims of the ,sun return to the mansions of the blessed4 ,the great mother-god1 ,venus1 ,urania1 quivers and thrills as she holds forth her offspring--the angel1 the young ,eros of life eternal4 ,o child of ,adam1 this is the ,tablet of ,love4 ,meditate thereon1 as the last of the triune ,god4 ,in this ,tablet lies the secret of suffering and pleasure4 ,he who vibrates in pain will quiver in ecstacy4 ,only those who have agonized in ,hell can thrill in ,heaven4 ,,part ,,ii ,here beginneth ,chapter #b of the ,second ,part of the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein is transcribed the ,second ,trinity of the ,planetary ,rulers4 ,thou art called forth to this fair sacrifice ,for a draught of milk2 with the ,maruts ,come hither1 ,o ,agni6 ,they who know the great sky1 the ,visve ,devas without guile2 with those ,maruts ,come hither1 ,o ,agni6 ,they who are brilliant1 of awful shape1 ,powerful1 and devourers of foes2 with the ,maruts come hither1 ,o ,agni6 ,they who in heaven are enthroned as gods1 ,in the light of the firmament2 with the ,maruts ,come hither1 ,o ,agni6 ,let us meditate on the adorable light of the ,divine ,rulers4 ,may it guide our intellects4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,fourth ,the ,moon ,,symbol ,,night ,a wonderful spider's-web2 ,the web glitters in the faint moonlight against a dark background of blue2 moon invisible2 on the outside of web a star1 in the center a spot of light1 underneath a coffin filled with stones4 ,,iv ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,fourth ,the web of life has caught the monad of the soul and thus incarnated the universe1 for each soul incarnates its universe at birth1 each one's world being different1 and peculiar unto himself4 ,at the first breath1 the young child polarizes his relations to stars and earth1 and it is the affinity and repulsion which make his life experience4 ,and the stars weave the web in their lines of sextile1 square and trine1 of opposition and conjunction1 thus enveloping the monad in the ,circle of ,necessity4 ,outside the star of the spirit1 the ,ego1 shines clear1 free from the entanglements of the web and unaffected by the magnetic glamour of the ,moon4 ,and lo6 the coffin is filled with stones1 a symbol of death and the ,moon1 which is but a casket of stones4 ,therefore1 little monad1 caught in the tangle of the web of life and the glamour of earthly things1 take heart1 for1 beyond all1 is the star of your being4 ,call down the law of that star into yourself1 and the web is broken and waves its tattered shreds in the breeze4 ,the moonlight1 the reflected light1 pales as the ,star-,sun of your being rises1 and the moonlight of ,earth gives place to the ,sun-spheres of ,ra4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,the beginning of sorrow is the dawn of spiritual life4 ,the wise man rules the stars2 the fools of ,earth obey4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,fifth ,mars ,,symbol ,an immense helmet on pedestal1 across which a streak of lightning flashes2 beside it a naked child painting pictures on the helmet2 beneath1 a broken sword4 ,v ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,fifth ,can greater irony be shown than in this astral symbol4 ,mars is externally represented as a fierce warrior1 awful to behold2 the reality1 a little child1 painting toy pictures on the helmet1 too big for his curly head4 ,the lesson in this is indeed1 that the pen is mightier than the sword2 that the big and blustering helmet will become a plaything for the child4 ,soon1 that the sword of bloodshed1 rape1 and ruin1 will be broken and war relegated to the past1 looked at1 but1 as pictures1 painted with hideous reality by the childhood of the race4 ,the symbol also reveals the great executive forces of humanity1 the child4 ,the soul can paint1 execute its ideas1 its hopes and its fears in any color--the lurid red of blood1 the black of ignorance and crime1 or in the living light of beauty4 ,all the same1 it is the childhood of man painting its ideals in the material world4 ,o child of ,adam1 curb the anger of ,mars1 that thy painting may set the dove at liberty4 ,let the magic of thy soul transform the savage of the desert into the angel of mercy4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,sixth ,jupiter ,,symbol ,a cave in the mountain side2 a face like the sphinx comes out of the cave1 there is a blackness behind it2 it looks with upturned head to a light that is way beyond2 it is a face that means something awful1 a godlike defiance to the things that are4 ,,vi ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,sixth ,again we are impressed with the contrast of internal and external things4 ,jupiter1 the symbol of authority1 conservatism1 church1 and state1 and the stability of human institutions1 and the things that are1 as the things that are the best4 ,but oh1 how widely different the internal1 the real ,jupiter1 that governing power of the spirit that hurls defiance at unjust authority1 the cruelty and tyranny of the world4 ,the soul sees the light beyond1 and1 emerging from the dark chasm of matter1 knows the battle that must be fought against wrong4 ,it is the awful--yea1 terrible--symbol of defiance to gods and men who oppose its onward1 upward march to the shining goal of light4 ,make way1 then6 ,make way6 ,for ,earth has given birth to her giant son--the ,spirit4 ,for1 listen closely1 my friend1 to the axiom of ,immortality4 ,what is soul8 ,not the spirit1 mind you2 not the deathless ,ego1 of which you at present1 perchance1 know absolutely nothing4 ,soul is mere memory2 a scavenger in earthly states2 and a gleaner1 a hired help1 in the fields of heaven2 and to become immortal1 there must be something more than soul as the result4 ,it must take such a vital interest in its ,lord's work that1 finally it becomes too valuable to lose1 and must be taken into partnership1 so to say4 ,the ,ego--,lord-- has found a valued servant1 a trusted steward1 after much seeking1 and at once adopts it as its very own4 ,and so the soul becomes heir to the heavenly estate and receives the immortal1 vital principle of spiritual union1 and awakes from the son of ,earth a ,god-like being1 free from the shackles of ,time--a dweller in eternity4 ,the soul must awake and realize the ,deific atom around which it revolves before it is too late4 ,unless this is so1 the seed of immortal life1 sown in matter by the ,ego1 has not germinated1 and it returns unfruitful and dies--it is an abortion4 ,many1 many seeds never germinate4 ,many good orthodox1 but animal-like lives1 live1 move1 and die1--yes1 die in very truth4 ,would to ,god ,i could make all mankind realize this awful1 inconceivable privilege of life1 that1 ,jupiter-like1 they would turn and face the light4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,,part ,,ii ,here beginneth ,chapter #c of the ,second ,part of the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 wherein the ,third1 and last1 ,trinity of the ,planetary ,rulers is faithfully transcribed4 ,thou hast entered the immeasurable regions4 ,i am the ,dweller of the ,threshold4 ,what wouldst thou with me8 99 99 99 ,dost thou fear me8 ,am ,i not thy beloved8 ,is it not for me that thou bast rendered up the delights of thy race8 ,wouldst thou be wise8 ,mine is the wisdom of the countless ages4 ,kiss me1 my mortal lover4 ,thus man pursues his weary calling1 ,and wrings the hard life from the sky1 ,while happiness unseen is falling ,down from ,god's bosom silently4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,seventh ,saturn ,,symbol ,a human figure with a scepter of power1 a being of light crowned with flames4 ,,vii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,seventh ,in the external we remember ,saturn as an old man1 and as a skeleton with a scythe--as ,time1 in fact4 ,but see1 ,o immortal soul1 the real ,saturn1 as the ,angel of ,life1 having from time gathered the experiences which crown him with light1 holding the rod of power2 the ,christ born in the manger of ,capricorn1 the ,goat--life born of death2 the conqueror of evil4 ,he throws off the mask of age1 and divine youth beams on us4 ,he doffs the mantle of rags1 and royal splendors clothe him4 ,he lifts the hood1 and behold the crown4 ,he raises the crutch1 and lo6 the rod of power4 ,he drops the scythe of death for the jewel of eternal life4 ,om ,mani ,padme ,um4 7,oh the jewel in the lotus47 ,o child of ,adam6 ,meditate on the transmutations of life4 ,behold the earthly miracle of the caterpillar and the butterfly1 of the toiling mortal and the transcendent ,god6 ,,tablet ,,the ,,eighth ,uranus ,,symbol ,a human eye1 from which darts lightning upon an ocean of matter4 ,,viii ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,eighth ,the state of soul and spirit--penetration2 the wonderful power of soul-perception1 which sheds its light on all visible things1 receiving their images and interpreting them into the spirit1 the all-seer--what does it not convey8 ,the perception that can see deep into your soul and see1 as it were1 the yet unborn thought2 that can distinguish the motive of action2 that judges the realities of your soul4 ,such is the ,astral ,uranian4 ,for with us all1 are three planes of mind3 ,the drift plane1 the intellectual1 and the spiritual1 or internal plane2 and thought- reading can be on one or all of these different states4 ,but only the ,uranian seer can read the inmost mind1 and so really know the possibilities of your spirit4 ,imagine an image of soft wax1 covered with a sensitive skin4 ,all impressions on the skin shape the plastic wax1 but go no deeper-- do not reach the soul4 ,you can separate these impressions from your real self1 when calm and alone1 and look upon emotion as a surface play4 ,but the tragedies of life strike deep4 ,they affect the soul1 and go to the center of being4 ,verbum sap4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,watch the tempest of life closely4 ,the ,ego may sit calm amidst the storm1 but1 if that be stirred--,,beware6 ,the ,god acts2 the soul alone watches4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,ninth ,neptune ,a ,winged ,globe4 ,,ix ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,ninth ,an unknown quantity1 a hope of progression1 ideal love1 and all true mental and spiritual ideals2 aspiration to become that which we feel to be noble and true2 the symbol of the monad1 the soul which1 receiving its life from the ,sun--the ,ego--is constantly revealing new forces and potencies of that ,god-life4 ,each soul's ,ego is its maker and ,god4 ,the ,ego is like the ,deific potency of the universe1 unlimited in potential power1 but limited by its monad as to what will be evolved from its awful depth of being4 ,deity progresses through its expressions of the cosmos4 ,the ,ego1 your ,god1 finds progressive expression through you1 through your soul4 ,that soul is not immortal that becomes separated from its ,ego--its ,god4 ,so1 soul1 spread your spiritual wings and soar upward4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,know these three things3 ,eternity is the creator of the universal life2 universal life creates the world1 and the world is the creator of time4 ,and of these1 the ,universe is ,life1 and the ,world is ,mind1 and ,time is the ,soul4 ,the sum total of all is ,experience4 ,and this is individual1 conscious life--,jacta est alea 7the die is cast7--the wings are spread4 ,,tablet ,,the ,,tenth ,the ,cypher - the unknown ,,symbol ,a ,shining ,nebulae2 within it a dot1 aimlessly wandering around an unknown center4 ,x ,,reflection ,,tablet ,,the ,,tenth ,the unknown in very truth4 ,it is everything--it is also nothing4 ,inconceivable visions arise within the mental universe1 but nothing assumes definite form4 ,it is all that is past4 ,it is likewise everything that the future has in store4 ,amen4 ,o child of ,adam6 ,canst thou bring forth ,mazzaroth in his season8 or loose the bands of ,orion8 ,,part ,,iii of ,the ,book which is called ,,the ,,tablets ,,of ,,aeth ,,of ,,the ,,ten ,,great ,,kabbalistical ,,powers or ,,angels ,,of ,,the ,,universe ,,part ,,iii ,,vision ,each angel standing in front of the symbol is dimly outlined and transparent4 ,through the angel's form is seen its symbol4 ,,first ,a luminous something1 which gives the impression of sleep4 ,,second ,something moving1 like an ocean4 ,,third ,a storm1 and lightning4 ,,fourth ,a mist4 ,,fifth ,an animal moving1 resembling a turtle4 ,,sixth ,a blue light2 in the center a star with three points4 ,,seventh ,an expanse of water1 a blue sky1 a shining disk rising on the horizon4 ,,eighth ,a lurid sky1 like a red dawn2 in the water floats an egg4 ,,ninth ,five stars on a convex arc1 like a rainbow2 the shell of the egg is broken and forms continents4 ,,tenth ,a man lying fast asleep under a magnificent palm tree1 with his face turned toward the horizon of the sea4 ,,explanation ,only the pure in heart can see ,god1 and to those pure souls ,i commend the following brief explanation of the ,vision of the ,angels of ,life1 which ,i have here recorded for the benefit of all whom it may now and hereafter concern4 ,in the original ,vision of the ,tablets of ,aeth a great circle was seen1 in the center a head1 a faint shimmer above the head1 as if the light were about to dawn2 a dull1 lurid glow beneath1 as if of chaos or hell2 the hair around the head like floating clouds1 the beard like strange cloud-streaks4 ,each sign of the ,zodiac surrounding the center head had within it a faintly seen face4 ,beginning with the first1 it became more and more distinct and perfect with each sign until it evolved into godlike beauty in ,pisces4 ,the symbolic planets were around the ,zodiac1 and beyond these1 making a third grand circle1 were the ten ,evolutionary ,angels4 ,the vision is that of the evolution of all life1 spiritual and material4 ,we gaze at the cosmic sex mystery1 and the discerning mind1 the loving spirit1 can read the correspondence of the great sacred conjugal act of both man and ,god2 of its heights1 of its depths1 and of all that lies between4 ,to aid in meditation on the bead at the center1 herein is written a vision1 an experience of the soul in the ,sleep of ,sialam4 ,the ,hermetic brethren encircled my astral body1 which was deeply entranced4 ,from whence1 the great question1 quivered through my inmost being4 ,to answer that awful problem of the soul the released spirit went on its fearsome journey1 back through star systems2 back1 back beyond all stars1 back to the blackness of nothing-- that awful nothing1 whose outside ring vibrated with fearful flames2 the fiery cherubim1 winged1 taking all possible shapes1 and unformed living shapes4 ,a human flamed and changed and vanished4 ,the tornado of whirling1 flashing1 chaotic life swirled and drove through the darkness of chaos of nothing from nothing--and that great1 unknown abyss is ,god6 ,but the life is ,,evolutionary4 ,deity is progressive1 so never can man cease to be4 ,never can he return to that awful center of nothingness1 or be absorbed within the bosom of the unmanifested being4 ,on1 and on1 and on1 with ,deific power1 ,god moves in ever-increasing whirls of evolution4 ,thus came the answer of the ages3 ,from primeval force1 from the mighty breath of unmanifested being1 through every phase of action and reaction1 from the energies of storm and lightning1 from star-dust to sunlight1 has come the spirit of man6 ,and the ,astral ,brethren understood4 ,,the ,,two ,,seals ,,of ,,the ,,earth ,i ,,symbol ,a human being1 with a flaming1 burning heart4 ,,ii ,,symbol ,a round disk inside a light1 as from a sun1 conceived1 but not seen4 ,so here endeth the ,book which is called ,the ,tablets of ,aeth1 transcribed from the astral originals in the ,year of ,doom ,,mdcccxciii4 ,omnia ,vincit ,veritas4 ,,thy ,,kingdom ,,come4 7,zanoni7 ,april1 #ahic ,,chapter ,,xii ,,penetralia ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,the ,,soul ,we have now arrived at our final study1 which we have approached step by step amid the labyrinth of the mysteries concealed beneath the ,veil of ,isis4 ,we stand at last upon the very threshold of the sacred ,adytum1 the ,holy of ,holies1 from whence proceeds our final revelation of that inmost conception of ,man's identity with his ,creator--the ,penetralia of his ,being--the last secret of the incarnated soul4 ,the written word almost fails us--does fail in fact1 when we come to the difficult task of externalizing ideas1 the sublimity of which is so infinitely beyond the crystallized images of matter that1 they can only be realized in their true glory1 when the purified soul can view them from the ineffable heights of eternal spirit4 ,we are lost1 dazed1 at the brilliancy of the spiritual imagery that opens out before us1 in its fathomless stretch of the eternities that are past1 of the ever- imperishable present1 and the unborn eternities yet to be2 all of them linked together in one grand chain of spiritual relationship and deathless identity2 as ,man1 the ,angel1 ,god2 and ,god1 the ,angel1 ,man2 as the triune ,cycle of ,being1 within the incomprehensible ,cycle of ,necessity2 which constitutes ,nature's cosmic university for the complete graduation1 education1 and purification1 of that self-conscious1 ,deific atom of life1 whose expression becomes the human soul4 ,ah6 my brothers could you1 but for one single instant1 realize ,,who you are1 ,,where you are journeying1 and ,,what your final destiny1 every earthly moment at your disposal would be rightly used1 and every hour considered too short for your efforts to aid your fellow-man4 ,selfishness1 wealth1 and power1 would be so utterly contemptible in your sight that their possession would be considered a fearful affliction and a curse1 the moment they exceeded the comfortable requirements of mundane existence4 ,leave self and the world behind you for the present1 and1 for the moment1 leave your life1 with its manifold vanities1 in the outer court1 and together let us cross the threshold and enter the door of the ,temple4 ,there6 ,at last we have entered the ,sacred ,sanctuary1 my brother1 and we stand face to face with the imperishable truth of our being--the truth which makes us free1 the truth which must ultimately prevail1 by virtue of its own inherent ,divinity2 and we realize ,man as he really is1 not as he outwardly seems to be4 ,we view him as a molecule1 composed of a congregation of separate atoms1 all of them held in their places by the centripetal force of the central human atom of life4 ,and yet1 small as he is1 small as his kingdom is1 compared with the mighty creation of which he is a part1 he possesses all the inherent qualities of the whole4 ,this1 then1 is our first conception--,man1 is a microcosmic molecule1 an atom of divine life4 ,the scene changes within the chamber1 and upon the shimmering1 luminous veil1 yet before us1 we view the large and mighty planet called the ,earth4 ,not as a revolving satellite of the ,sun1 but as she really is1 a vital organ of the macrocosm1 the stellar womb of the solar system1 the matrix which produces the material organic form of humanity4 ,when the ,earth was without form and void1 as we are informed in the mystical language of ,genesis1 the human soul had not yet reached the state1 or grade1 in the celestial university that desired the ,earth and its temporary illusions4 ,hence this state was void1 an unborn idea1 the ,to ,be1 and darkness1 symbolical of complete lack of life and intelligence1 was upon the face of the deep1 silent space4 ,again the scene changes1 and one by one the numberless planets1 planetoids1 moons1 meteors1 comets1 and other attendant bodies1 pass before the eye of the soul as we gaze upon the curtain of this ,sacred ,penetralia1 each orb belonging to some portion of the ,astral ,man1 each great planet constituting some vital function of the macrocosmic organism1 and conferring those qualities upon each and every single atom pertaining to that degree of life1 so that the solar system becomes individualized as a grand cosmic organism1 its attendant satellites constituting its vital organs1 and the shining ,zodiac its outward form4 ,so1 also1 each planet is a living1 cosmic individual1 intensely alive2 living1 moving1 breathing1 and bringing forth its offspring of like substance1 matter1 in obedience to the potential demand of incarnating spirit4 ,the ,sun is alive1 glowing with life1 and constitutes the heart and arterial center of all the circulating fluids of the stellar anatomy4 ,scientists may continue to predict1 as they have been predicting1 the day when solar radiation will cease1 but their predictions will prove as worthless as the sighing of the summer wind1 so far as reality is concerned4 ,it is an incomprehensible mystery to science1 says ,sir ,robert ,ball1 in his ,story of the ,heavens1 how the ,sun has been able to maintain its heat with such regularity in the past1 for there has been no appreciable change in the ,earth's temperature for thousands of years4 ,what it is to-day it was ten thousand years ago--yea1 ,sir ,robert ,ball1 and will be in ten thousand years to come4 ,you may wonder1 and the ,royal ,college may wonder1 but in the meantime the mighty1 pulsating ,sun continues beating out its rhythmic vibrations of spiritual and dynamic life--continues1 and will continue1 to send the exhilarating current throughout every atom1 to the remotest part of his solar dominions1 and the same current ,,returns ,,to ,,him ,,again1 ,,undiminished1 for the purification which his glowing1 transmuting photosphere alone1 can give1 to be sent forward again1 upon its mission of light1 life1 and love1 around the vital1 organic worlds of the astral organism4 ,there is nothing lost1 no radiation of energy dispersed upon the unformed1 lifeless ether4 ,from the radiating solar focus of ,divinity it comes1 and to him1 undiminished it returns1 and so on forever and ever2 until the last ,deific atom has won its laggard way back to the shining throne of ,god4 ,the ,sun breathes4 ,the pulsating process of dynamic respiration1 eternally repeated during the grand period of a solar lifetime1 renews its vital energies1 and supplies itself1 with the full abundance of the ever-living spirit1 transmitted from the shoreless ether in which it lives4 ,it needs no other food1 except the magnetic nutriment it receives from each vital organ1 or planet1 in return for the electrical life current it transmits to them4 ,just as the human lungs inflate themselves with the vital atmosphere1 7which is only the ether1 dynamically diluted by the ,earth to harmonize with our conditions71 to oxygenate the blood and add fresh fuel to the physical furnace1 or supply finer essences to the nervous centers4 ,just as the human heart1 with its continual1 rhythmic pulsations1 propels forth the circulating fluid to every part of the human frame2 so does the central heart and lungs of the ,grander ,man of the ,skies1 7the ,sun7 send forth its vitalizing energy to every part of the universe4 ,such are the crowding thoughts1 born of interior knowledge1 that flood the mind as we view these sacred revelations within the sacred chamber of the soul4 ,as yet1 we are gazing upon the undulating flow of the astral light4 ,we yearn within our utmost being to become the center of the ,penetralia and gaze upon the glorious radiance of the ,adonai1 from whose ineffable presence we are only screened by the last shining veil of semi-transparent matter1 that waves and trembles with every spiritual aspiration4 ,the soul sends forth its pleading cry for light3 ,who and what is ,god8 ,faintly1 as the distant vesper sounds upon the cooling eve1 comes the answer3 ,who and what art thou8 ,what canst thou see8 ,what delectable blessing does ,nature vouchsafe to the pure in heart8 ,we tremble with the awful1 yet thrilling1 revelation4 ,we know dimly1 yet fail to realize in our outward consciousness the full import thereof4 ,we realize wherein the mistaken selfhood hath become the only begotten of the ,father1 but the revelation is too much1 and too little4 ,we know that1 faint as the voice seemed to the yet unprepared soul1 an echo only1 ,,it ,,was ,,the ,,voice ,,of ,,the ,,adonai ,,behind ,,the ,,veil4 ,and now we crave the knowledge of the ,where and ,whither4 ,again1 we see the ,earth as the vital function of the interplanetary being4 ,it is composed of substance termed matter1 which substance is the aggregation of countless atoms1 which science has not1 and never can1 resolve into their individual selves4 ,these atoms are rings of the atomless ether1 which1 thus differentiated from the formless ether1 become centers of force1 the center of such force being a vacuum within the atomic ring--a center so small that a microscope with lens one thousand times as powerful as the most perfect modern instrument would fail to reveal it4 ,these atoms form systems1 under the control of another apparent vacuum2 or1 rather1 this vacuum seems to be the focus1 or center1 about which they revolve4 ,,this ,,system ,,constitutes ,a ,,scientific ,,molecule ,,of ,,matter1 and1 in response to the innumerable vibrations1 they assume different forms or dimensions1 and become1 indifferently1 molecules of oxygen1 hydrogen1 nitrogen1 or carbon1 as the case may be1 all of which are but different modes of motion of the same primitive atoms1 there being in ,nature but three things--,ether1 ,intelligence1 and ,motion4 ,what ,ether is1 no one knows4 ,we call it the formless spirit1 the unmanifest1 etc4 ,but1 there can be no doubt but1 that ,motion is the product of ,intelligence1 since we never see ,motion but as the manifestation of evolution1 and this is the expression of ,mind4 ,therefore1 we have a duality--,ether and ,intelligence2 one the living spirit1 the other the eternal substance for its manifestation4 ,every molecule of matter is the outward form1 the center of which1 is the incarnating spirit1 in some degree of progress4 ,man's physical organism is a system of life and development for countless billions of them4 ,so the ,earth1 in its functional expression as the womb of ,nature for the outward expression of ,man1 is only so in a material sense4 ,,he ,,is ,,prior ,,to ,,the ,,planet4 ,he 7,man7 is only the offspring of the planet by virtue of his material body being a part of the substance of the ,earth4 ,this life is a stage1 only1 of his material journey2 and1 just as ,man's body is continually throwing off useless dead matter and replacing the same with new life1 so1 too1 the countless organic forms of ,earth are hourly returning to the ground from which they sprang1 and new forms1 rising from the same dust1 are taking their places4 ,here1 then1 is the sum total3 ,first is revealed to us the grand ,astral ,man1 the ,zodiac being the outward idea or form1 the ,sun and his system the vital functions thereof4 ,the ,earth1 apart from its functional expression or place1 is also an individual4 ,man1 apart from forming a molecule of the planetary womb1 by comparison1 is also an individual4 ,and1 lastly1 every molecule of ,man's organism is also1 in reality1 an individual1 and small only by comparison with the human frame4 ,and as there are the high ,solar ,archangels of the ,sun1 and a chief amongst these seated upon his throne of fire1 so there is an ,archangelic ,chief of the ,earth1 surrounded by descending degrees of wisdom and power to ,man1 who also1 in his turn1 stands as the ,deific center and chief of his being1 his soul being the sphere of consciousness1 which1 when united to the feminine soul1 constitutes the ,angel of ,life1 ,eternal4 ,down still we go1 and find that this ,divine scale of life and being is1 from the lowly molecule1 system upon system climbing1 sphere upon sphere1 upward and onward1 forever1 evermore1 and all eternity cannot bring nearer the end of ,man's glorious immortality4 ,in the full revelation of this divine scheme of creation1 so full of light1 life1 love1 joy and harmony1 a scheme void of death and annihilation1 the mind once more reflects upon the physical illusions of slowly advancing scientific thought4 ,camille ,flammarion1 the great psychomaterialist of ,france1 has painted1 in his various novels1 a lurid1 almost horrible1 picture of what the mighty universe must become from the logical deductions of his own school of thought2 a school which would be best named as transcendental materialism4 ,according to this conception1 thousands1 aye1 millions of worlds are rushing through space1 inert1 frozen1 and dead4 ,suns have cooled down and ceased to give forth the life-sustaining element of light1 but have still retained their mighty attraction upon their attendant planets1 according to the laws of gravity1 by virtue of their material mass1 and thus hold their planetary offspring in the eternal1 cold1 icy grasp of death4 ,our ,sun1 too1 is cooling fast2 the ,earth has already lost a great portion of her own internal heat4 ,she has passed her prime of life1 and death--cold1 icy death--has already begun to encroach upon her extremities4 ,the ,south pole 7the feet7 is now practically lifeless in one perpetual covering of ice4 ,so1 too1 her head2 her locks are the white of perpetual snow4 ,no longer has she the blush and beauty of youth1 no longer adorned with the healthy covering of verdue which youthfulness gives1 and as our geologists prove was once the case4 ,so that1 although the time may still be long1 according to our reckoning of years1 it is only a brief moment in eternity when this fair ,earth1 and also the beauteous splendor of the silent stars1 will be locked forever in darkness1 and the final sleep of doom4 ,if this be so1 we ask of the inmost soul1 if life be but the fitful awakenings of the indestructible spirit1 ebbing and flowing in response to the rise and fall of ,nature's cosmic barometer and the transmutations of matter2 if life is1 in reality1 but a brief and passing moment1 eternally repeated1 from the flush of youth1 the gilded salon to the bier and the shroud1 then why1 ,o why should the spirit of mortal be proud8 ,why aspire to penetrate the inward realities of life and enter the ,holy of ,holies--to seek and find out ,god8 ,as the rushing torrent of this thought swept o'er the mental chambers of the soul and saturated the spirit with its icy sting1 as it lay still chained within the prison house of matter1 the higher self rose1 sublime in its grandeur1 and consciousness of divine relationship1 and1 in the last earthly appeal for light1 for divine truth1 as to ,man and his immortality1 it turned in reverence and awe before the still1 shimmering veil of the sacred ,penetralia4 ,the trial had come1 the crucial test1 whether of life or death1 the final revelation to ,man4 ,in purity of heart and humility of soul we await in agonizing suspense4 ,there is a thrilling sensation1 as though of ten thousand electric currents consuming the frame1 and a swaying to and fro1 as if drifting upon an ocean of fire2 then a dead silence1 so profound that whole eternities seem to pass1 without either beginning or end4 ,and the sight of the inward spirit is opened slowly4 ,who8 ,where8 ,what8 ,for the shadows have fled1 the luminous curtain fades1 is gone1 and flashing before the inward sight stands the ineffable ,adonai4 ,it is ,i--,,you6 ,there is no ,god but this1 and in one moment the interior consciousness becomes at-one-with-self1 ,god1 and from that inconceivable height of profound vision we again look upon ,nature4 ,behold ,sun1 ,moon and planets in all the original magnificence of their nebulous luminosity2 from nebulous rings we proceed1 stage after stage1 each producing its own degrees of life4 ,on1 on we pass the ages1 the geological cycles of inconceivable duration in time1 but only a mere instant in eternity2 and on and on1 as the changes roll1 until we see ,earth as she is now2 still on1 at the ever-urging desire of the triumphant ,soul1 and a remarkable change is apparent4 ,from forces1 at present latent1 there comes a change2 and1 instead of so-called physical2 electrical races have superceded the present humanity4 ,crystallization has ceased2 and all things become lighter in density and more ethereal in nature2 ,,and ,,the ,,orbit ,,of ,,the ,,earth ,,grows ,,less4 ,nearer and nearer shines the mighty ,sun2 first ,vulcan1 then the swift messenger of the gods are indrawn within the solar vortex1 each absorption producing a cataclysmic change upon our ,earth4 ,then comes the turn of ,venus1 while slowly and surely the orbit of the ,earth contracts1 and nearer shines the ,sun4 ,and1 finally1 the beautiful ,earth1 her mission over1 the last atom of life beyond her rule1 inward she sweeps1 and is lost in the mighty ocean of fire as a stone is lost in the lake4 ,verily is the word of prophecy a literal truth3 ,the ,earth shall be destroyed with fire4 ,and so on with the rest1 each planet in its proper turn fulfilling the functions at present performed by the ,earth1 each becoming the grand theater of material and ethereal life1 and the cometary bodies1 to-day chasing unknown orbits in the realms of ether1 gradually fall into line when their erratic cycle is ended1 taking the places of the present outermost planets4 ,no such thing as death1 no such thing as the dark silence of eternal night1 for any organic creation of the ,most ,high4 ,from the ,sun they come1 and unto the ,sun each must ultimately return1 even as the body of ,man1 coming from the dust of ,earth1 must also return thereto1 to be taken up in new forms and furnish substance for other degrees of life4 ,and thus will it be1 until the ,sun1 in its mighty solar heavens of purified spiritual life1 will form the last1 the final battle ground of matter1 receiving ,,its ,,new ,,life ,,from ,a ,,greater ,,center ,,than ,,itself4 ,a glorious solar world1 well typified in the last ,battle of the ,gods1 and the new ,earth--a ,world whereon the ,angels tread in superlatively beautiful forms1 clothed with the ideals and emanations of their own divine purity--,souls clothed in ,air1 treading the ethereal ,realms of ,light1 as the children of ,god1 and the inheritors of the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,must the searching eye of the ,soul seek further8 ,must the insatiable thirst of the ,spirit launch out upon the trackless infinities of the yet ,to ,be8 ,must it still penetrate further in the profound beyond1 where time ceases to be1 where the past1 present1 and the future1 are forever unknown1 but exist only as the ,deific consciousness of the eternal ,now8 ,no4 ,the ,soul at last rests satisfied4 ,the final revelation is over4 ,my brother1 we have done2 and1 in closing1 have only to add that1 not until the speculating philosophy of earthly schools blends with the ,science of the ,spheres in the full and perfect fruition of the wisdom of the ages1 will ,man ,,know and ,,reverence his ,creator1 and1 in the silent ,penetralia of his inmost being1 respond1 in unison with that ,angelic ,anthem of ,life3 ,we ,praise ,thee1 ,o ,god6