The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavatsky

That's French for "the ancient system," as in the ancient system of feudal privileges and the exercise of autocratic power over the peasants. The ancien regime never goes away, like vampires and dinosaur bones they are always hidden in the earth, exercising a mysterious influence. It is not paranoia to believe that the elites scheme against the common man. Inform yourself about their schemes here.

Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Sat May 12, 2018 10:34 pm

CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP SIGNED BY H.P. BLAVATSKY (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL)

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THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Brother Henry Travers Edge having signed the pledge, is hereby admitted to the Section as a PROBATIONER.

Date: Nov. 7, 1888.

Signed H.P. Blavatsky

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"...the Esoteric Section does not 'conflict' with your previous Chelaship, but it does 'embrace' and expands it. That is to say, as my dear and beloved friend, Brother and Son, W.Q. Judge, will be chartered to represent me in the U.S.A., he will receive instructions from me, and you (of the Aryan Lodge) from him..."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated Nov. 11, 1888

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"The Esoteric Section is to be a School for earnest Theosophists who would learn more (than they can from published works) of the true Esoteric tenets.... There is no room for despotism or ruling in it; no money to pay or make; no glory for me, but a series of misconceptions, slanders, suspicions, and ingratitude in almost an immediate future: but if out of the .... Theosophists who have already pledged themselves I can place on the right and true path half a dozen or so, I will die happy. Many are called, few are chosen. Unless they comply with the lines you speak of, traced originally by the Masters, they cannot succeed. I can only show the way to those whose eyes are open to the truth, whose souls are full of altruism, charity, and love for the whole creation, and who think of themselves last. The blind....will never profit by these teachings. They would make the 'strait gate' a large public thoroughfare leading not to the Kingdom of Heaven, now and hereafter, to the Buddha-Christos in the Sanctuary of our innermost souls, but to their own idols with feet of clay....The Esoteric Section is not of the earth, earthy; it does not interfere with the exoteric administration of Lodges; takes no stock in external Theosophy; has no officers or staff; needs no halls or meeting rooms...Finally, it requires neither subscription fees nor money, for 'as I have not so received it, I shall not so impart it', and that I would rather starve in the gutter than take one penny for my teaching the sacred truths....Here I am with perhaps a few years or a few months only (Master knoweth) to remain on earth in this loathsome, old, ruined body; and I am ready to answer the call of any good Theosophist who works for Theosophy on the lines traced by the Masters, and as ready as the Rosicrucian pelican to feed with my heart's blood the chosen 'Seven'. He who would have his inheritance before I die...let him ask first. What I have, or rather what I am permitted to give, I will give."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated Dec. 1, 1888

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"I have your letter of Dec. 3 inquiring about the Esoteric Sec. T.S. My old friend Mr. W.Q. Judge has been here with me....As you are a friend of his I can explain to you briefly. I leave to him as my sold U.S. representative to go into matters more fully with you & all others in the Section or out of it.

"The 'obedience to the Head of the Sec.' is solely obedience to my direction as to the method of study. None of these probationary students are put under 'orders' requiring blind obedience, but are required to exercise the intellect, judgment & discretion. Hence I should never ask you to do that which will conflict with your duties as a man or citizen. I reserve all my 'orders' to be carried out implicitly for certain chelas who are in a position not only to desire to carry them out but also whose circumstances permit it; & those chelas are those who have been initiated in a way as yet unknown to you. They reached it after long years of struggle.

"As this degree is probationary it is to prove & try & select out of the mass of Theosophists those who really have at heart the true desire to go forward & to benefit the race. Time enough to issue orders for blind execution when I have those chelas who can execute them.

"Yet this degree is very serious, in this, that it begins at the foundation & is a necessary step in theosophic development. All will receive as they deserve...

"One question: if you were ill & called a physician, w'd you not obey his orders? If you learnt a language w'd you not follow the directions of your professor; & if a soldier in the army those of your superior? Of course one who joins must have confidence in me otherwise better he should never join at all."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated Dec. 13, 1888
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Sat May 12, 2018 10:36 pm

H.P.B.'s APPOINTMENT OF W.Q. JUDGE (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL)

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KNOW
DARE
WILL
SILENCE

ESOTERIC SECTION

As head of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society I hereby declare that William Q. Judge of New York, U.S., in virtue of his character, as a ___ of thirteen years standing and of the trust and confidence reposed in him, is my only representative for said Section in America and he is the sole channel through whom will be sent and received all communications between the members of said Section and myself, and to him full faith, confidence and credit in that regard are to be given. Image Done at London this fourteenth day of December, 1888, and in the fourteenth year of the Theosophical Society. Image

H.P. Blavatsky
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Sat May 12, 2018 10:40 pm

THE RULES OF THE E.S.T.S.

I now send you this, all of it being either direct quotations from the messages to me, or else in substance what I am directed to say to you, the different details and elaborations being my own. I had hoped that no such statement would be necessary, but the hope was vain. I have put off writing it since March, 1894, when I issued a circular to the Theosophical Society regarding certain charges which were made against me; but now I am obliged to send this or else to fail in the performance of my duty to you and to the whole T.S. movement, of which the E.S.T. is the real heart. In March this letter seemed to me to be as necessary as it is now, but I was then directed to wait for the conclusion of the matter of the charges made against me, as those had to be first settled and disposed of for the benefit of the constitutional organization. I have since seen the wisdom of this direction, for had I said then what I say now the whole matter would have been mixed up in every way. We have now to deal with the E.S.T. and with our duty to it and to each other; and among those others, to Mrs. Besant.

This is issued in the E.S.T. under the protection of the pledges made by all its members. It is impossible to see them and converse with them, and I have to take the risk of print. If the matter becomes public it will be the fault of those who are not able to keep their pledges, and not my fault nor Karma.

First let me tell you briefly of the E.S.T. foundation and history, and of the Inner Group.

I am not a pledged member of the E.S.T. and never made a pledge in it, as my pledges were long before to the Master direct; I was one of its founders, with H.P.B. Image, and she at the beginning made me manager and teacher in it from the first, under her, for the American part especially. You can remember all she said of that. I wrote the rules of the E.S.T. myself in London in 1888 at H.P.B.’s request and under the direction of the Master. Those were not altered by her, but after reading them and further consulting the Master she added some general paragraphs. I am the only one standing in that position. Mrs. Besant and all other members are pledged and certified in the ordinary way. The E.S. was started in November, 1888. In May, 1887, I sent the following to H.P.B. Image from New York:

18th May.

Dear H.P.B. --- Please reply to this. So many people are beginning to ask me to be Chelas that I must do something, so I have drawn up the enclosed paper which you can send me with some formalities on it as you think right to do so --- or whatever I ought to have. If you do not think so, then please tell me in what way I had best proceed.

I know a good many good ones who will do well and who will form a rock on which the enemy will founder, and this plan would encourage them. So fiat something. As ever,

WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.

Enclosed paper:

To WILLIAM Q. JUDGE: --- You are directed to draw together all those persons, members of the Theosophical Society in the U.S., who have or express the desire to serve the cause of the Blessed Masters. This you are to do with the understanding in writing in every case that the persons taken are not thereby made Chelas of the Masters, but simply that they are thus given a chance to make a preliminary trial of themselves, and in each case you will take from the applicant an expression in writing, before making your private register of the names, that they well understand the basis on which you thus take them. Nothing is promised; each will have just what he or she deserves --- no more, no less. And all must be faithful to the Cause, to Masters, and to the founders of the Theosophical Society.

Given [etc.]

H.P.B. replied that I might go ahead without the paper and soon she would do something else. Later, at the time she was explaining in London the plan of the E.S.T., I telegraphed her asking her to "make public the Inner Section". That telegram was received in the presence of Dr. Keightley and others. She then told me to come to London and help, which I did. The E.S. was founded on the exact lines of the above papers. I do not wish to place myself on the high level of H.P.B., but in Occultism of Master’s Lodge a lower Chela is often used as the instrument for pointing out even to such a great character as H.P.B. the times and seasons and sometimes the plan. That I did in this case, and by the direction of the Master. H.P.B.’s promulgations followed the ideas and also the words in part of my paper.

An Inner Group was later on formed by H.P.B. at London, so that she might give out teachings to be recorded by the members, and, if possible, teach them practical occultism. Of this Mrs. Besant, with George Mead to help her, was made the Secretary, because she had great ability in a literary way, was wholly devoted, and perfectly fit for the task. But this did not make her a Teacher. And even when she bid adieu to H.P.B. on her leaving Europe for America in April, 1891, the very last thing H.P.B. put into her hands as she left her presence, into which she never again entered, was the sealed statement that made her Recorder of the teachings. H.P.B. knew that she would not live to see Annie Besant again, and if she were to have been constituted a "Teacher", that would have been the time to give her the position. But she did not. The death of H.P.B. destroyed of course any further value in the office of "Recorder." I am a member of the Inner Group, and have been since 1891. It was needless to speak of this before now.

The conversations of H.P.B. with the Inner Group were taken down in a more or less fragmentary form by the different members in notes, and later Mrs. Besant and George Mead wrote them out as Secretaries. I have a complete copy of these, and so has each member of the Inner Group, and those copies comprise all the "Instructions" left in the possession of Mrs. Besant or the Inner Group. In my possession and within my control is a large body of Instructions given to me all the time from 1875, which I shall give out and have given out, as far as I am directed. Read page xix of Secret Doctrine (Introduction to vol. I), where H.P.B. says she taught Colonel Olcott and two Europeans. I am one of the latter. Colonel Olcott is the old standard-bearer, and has been the medium for teaching, himself having Chelas whom he has instructed, but always on the lines laid down by the Master through H.P.B. He was selected by the Master to do a certain and valuable work not possible for anyone else, and he was never taken into the E.S. by a pledge, for, like myself, he was in the very beginning pledged directly to the Master. His main work has been that great and far-reaching work in the world, among not only ordinary people, but with kings and rulers, for the sake of this cause which the Masters knew he was to do for them.

Mrs. Annie Besant has been but five years in this work, and not all of that time engaged in occult study and practice. Her abilities as a writer and speaker are rare and high for either man or woman, her devotion and sincerity of purpose cannot be doubted. She gave many years of her life to the cause of the oppressed as she understood it: against the dread blight of materialistic belief in herself, she worked thus without hope in a future life and in every way proved her altruistic purpose and aim. Since 1889 she has done great service to the T.S. and devoted herself to it. But all this does not prevent a sincere person from making errors in Occultism, especially when he, as Mrs. Besant did, tries to force himself along the path of practical work in that field. Sincerity does not confer of itself knowledge, much less wisdom. H.P.B. and all the history of occultism say that seven years of training and trial at the very least are needed. Mrs. Besant has had but five. Mistakes made by such a disciple will ultimately be turned to the advantage of the movement, and their immediate results will be mitigated to the person making them, provided they are not inspired by an evil intention on the person’s part. And I wish it to be clearly understood that Mrs. Besant has had herself no conscious evil intention; she has simply gone for awhile outside the line of her Guru (H.P.B.), begun work with others, and fallen under their influence. We should not push her further down, but neither will the true sympathy we have blind our eyes so as to let her go on, to the detriment of the movement. I could easily retire from the whole T.S., but my conceptions of duty are different, although the personal cost to myself in this work is heavy, and as I am ordered to stay I will stay and try my best to aid her and everyone else as much as possible. And the same authority tells me that "could she open her eyes and see her real line of work, and correct the present condition in herself as well as the one she has helped to make in the T.S. and E.S.T., she would find herself in mental, physical and spiritual conditions of a kind much better than ever before, for her present state is due to the attacks of the dark powers, unconsciously to her."

And now it becomes necessary under instructions received to give the members of the School some account of the things behind the scenes in connection with the recent investigation attempted at London upon the charges against me.

The two persons around whom its noise arose are Mrs. Besant and myself. Prior to that in 1891, after the death of H.P.B., Col. H. S. Olcott, the President, was the center of a disturbance due to his resignation, and that disturbance was due to the same forces working from behind to try and disintegrate the T.S. by causing its old-time President to leave office before his death. The recent troubles centered around us because I was made the object of an attack in the guise of an attempt to purify the Society, and Mrs. Besant was thrown forward as the official accuser of myself -- a friend who was certified to her by H.P.B., her teacher, and well known as working for the T.S. for many years. All this needs light, and the best interests of Mrs. Besant and of the E.S.T. demand that some of the secret history shall be given out, however disagreeable it may be, in order that the very purgation which was improperly directed to the wrong quarter shall take place now. The difficulty arose when in January or February Annie Besant finally lent herself unconsciously to the plot which I detail herein; but prior to that (from August, 1893), those managing that plot had begun to work upon her.

The plot exists among the Black Magicians, who ever war against the White, and against those Black ones we are constantly warned by H.P.B. This is no fiction, but a very substantial fact. I have seen and also been shown the chief entity among those who thus work against us and who desire to destroy the whole movement and especially to nullify the great work which H.P.B. began for the Western nations. These Black Magicians have succeeded in influencing certain Brahmans in India through race-pride and ambition, so that these, for their own advantage, desire to control and manage the T.S. through some agent and also through the E.S.T. They of course have sought, if possible, to use one of our body, and have picked out Mrs. Besant as a possible vehicle. One object of the plot is to stop the current of information and influence started by H.P.B. by deflecting thought back to modern India. To accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to tear down the tradition clustering around the work of H.P.B.; her powers and knowledge have to be derogated from; her right to speak for the Masters has to be impugned; those Masters have to be made a cold abstraction; her staunch friends who wish to see the real work and objects carried on have to be put in such a position as to be tied hand and foot so as not to be able to interfere with the plans of the plotters; it has to be shown that H.P.B. was a fraud and forger also. These men are not the Chelas of our Masters.

The name of the person who was worked upon so as to, if possible, use him as a minor agent of the Black Magicians and for the influencing of Mrs. Besant is Gyanendra N. Chakravarti, a Brahman of Allahabad, India, who came to America on our invitation to the Religious Parliament in 1893. At the first sincerely desirous of helping the race by bringing to the American people the old truths of his forefathers, he nevertheless, like so many before him, permitted ambition to take subtle root in his heart. Fired with the ambition of taking position in the world as a Guru, though doubtless believing himself still a follower of the White Brotherhood, he is no longer in our lines; on the contrary, his mediumship and weakness leave him a vehicle for other influences also.

He was then a Chela of a minor Indian Guru and was directed to come to America by that Guru who had been impressed to so direct him by our Master. That he was not a Chela of our Master he distinctly admitted to several persons, among others to me. While in that relation he was telepathically impressed in Chicago with some of the contents of a message received by me from the Master. It corroborated outwardly what I had myself received. It was however but a part and was moreover deficient in matter, Chakravarti himself being only aware of it as a mental impression, and I am informed that at the time he was not fully aware of what he was doing. His ability to be used as an unconscious vehicle was made known to me when he was made to receive the message. Although he was not fully aware of it, not only was the whole of his tour here well guarded and arranged, but he was personally watched by agents of the Masters scattered through the country unknown to him, who reported to me. On several occasions he has taken people into his confidence, believing that he was instructing them, when in fact they were observing him closely for the Lodge, helping him where right, and noting him fully, though they did not tell him so. This was also so in those parts of his tour when he believed himself alone or only with Mrs. Besant. His report of the message is as follows:

"You should tell Judge that we are satisfied with his work in America. He has our best thanks for his exertions in the field of Theosophy. He should try his best to keep always in the light of his higher nature, and thus alone he will be able to find out truth from its shadow. Thus alone he will be able to shut out the powers of darkness that every now and again try to smother his true and noble self which is pure and sincerely devoted to us."

I informed Mrs. Besant in September, 1893, of the message. But afterwards, when Mr. Chakravarti’s work under me was finished, and when ambition, aroused through that visit, had grown strong, he tried to destroy the effect of that message on Mrs. Besant’s mind by cunningly construing it to mean that, although I was thus in all things commended, yet the last part of it contradicted the first and supported the charge of forgery and lying. This is madness when not deliberate. The psychological delusion of Mrs. Besant is also here shown: for she said that perhaps I would rely on that message to refute the charges, and if I should, the last paragraph of it was the part that would go to show that the Masters knew I was guilty. She accepted the cunning construction, permitting herself to think that the Master could commend me for all the work I had done, of which the pretended acts of forgery would be a part, and at the same time send me a delusive message, part of which was to be immediately used as condemnation if brought forward by me. If I was guilty of what I was accused, then Master would be shown as conniving at forgery and lying --- a most impossible thing. The only other possibility is that Mr. Chakravarti and I "got up" the message. But he and Mrs. Besant have admitted its genuineness, although she is perfectly unable herself to decide on its genuineness or falsity. But further, Mrs. Besant admitted to several that she had seen the Master himself come and speak through my body while I was perfectly conscious. And still further, H.P.B. gave me in 1889 the Master’s picture on which he put this message: "To my dear and loyal colleague, W. Q. Judge".

Now, then, either I am bringing you a true message from the Master, or the whole T.S. and E.S.T. is a lie, in the ruins of which must be buried the names of H.P.B. and the Masters. All these stand together or they fall together. Let it be proved that H.P.B. is a liar and a fraud, and I will abandon the T.S. and all its belongings; but until so proved I will remain where I was put. Lastly, as final proof of the delusions worked through this man and his friends I will mention this: Many years ago (in 1881) the Masters sent to the Allahabad Brahmans (the Prayag T.S.) a letter which was delivered by H.P.B. to Mr. A. P. Sinnett, who handed a copy over to them, keeping the original. It dealt very plainly with the Brahmans. This letter the Brahmans do not like, and Mr. Chakravarti tried to make me think it was a pious fraud by H.P.B. He succeeded with Mrs. Besant in this, so that since she met him she has on various occasions said she thought it was a fraud by H.P.B., made up entirely, and not from the Master. I say now on Master’s authority that it was from the Master, and is a right letter. Only delusion would make Mrs. Besant take this position; deliberate intention makes the others do it. It is an issue that may not be evaded, for if that letter be a fraud then all the rest sent through our old teacher, and on which Esoteric Buddhism was made, are the same. I shall rest on that issue; we all rest on it.

Mrs. Besant was then made to agree with these people under the delusion that it was approved by the Masters. She regarded herself as their servant. It was against the E.S.T. rules. When the rule is broken it is one’s duty to leave the E.S.T.; and when I got the charges from her I asked her to leave it if it did not suit her. The depth of the plot was not shown to Mrs. Besant at all, for if it had been she would have refused. Nor was Col. Olcott aware of it. Mrs. Besant was put in such a frightful position that while she was writing me most kindly and working with me she was all the time thinking that I was a forger and that I had blasphemed the Master. She was made to conceal from me, when here, her thoughts about the intended charges, but was made to tell Mr. B. Keightley in London and possibly few others. Not until the time was ripe did she tell me, in her letter in January, from India, asking me to resign from the E.S.T. and the T.S. offices, saying that if I did and would confess guilt all would be forgiven and everyone would work with me as usual. But I was directed differently and fully informed. She was induced to believe that the Master was endorsing the persecution, that he was ordering her to do what she did. At the same time, I knew and told her that it was the plan there to have Col. Olcott resign when I had been cut off, the presidency to be then offered to her. It was offered to her, and she was made to believe it was the Master’s wish for her "not to oppose". She then waited. I did not resign, and the plot so far was spoiled for the time. The delusion was so complete that she did not take the pains to contradict the rumor sent out by others, attached to her name, that Master ordered her to do as she did. Why? Because the Brahmans and their agents had made her silent. Showing the delusion further, note this: She wrote me that I must "resign the office of successor to the President", the hint being that this was one of the things Master wanted me to do. The fact was I had no such office and there was no such thing to resign. The Master knew it, and hence he never ordered it. She felt and expressed to me the greatest pain to have to do such things to me. I knew she so felt, and wrote her that it was the black magicians. She replied, being still under the delusion, that I was failing to do Master’s will.

Her influencers also made her try psychic experiments on me and on two others in Europe. They failed. On me they had but a passing effect, as I was cognizant of them; on one of the others they reacted on health, although she did not desire any harm at all; she was made to think it best and for my good. She then sent word to these people that she had not succeeded. This is all the effect of pure delusion; the variance between such things and her usual character is shown in her all the time writing me the most kind letters. In all this Mr. Chakravarti was her guide, with others. She was writing him all the time about it. He went so far as to write me on a matter he was supposed to know nothing of: "No matter what Annie may do to you as Co-Head of the E.S., she means you no harm". He must have known what she was doing from her. It was quite true, and I knew why it was true that she meant no harm -- she was deluded.

Informed as I was of all these inside facts, I drew up under Master’s direction my circular on the charges in March, 1894, and there outlined what would be done. It was all done as I said and as the Master in March told me would be the case. The London investigation ended as Master predicted through me in my circular, and for the benefit of the T.S. But all that time the conspirators used all means against me. They had all sorts of letters sent me from India with pretended messages from the Masters asking me to resign and confess. One of those was anonymous and signed "A Brahman who loves you". I know the author. The object of these things was to confuse my mind if possible and render me unfit to act at all, while they went on with the plot and the influencing of Mrs. Besant. But Master kept me informed and told me what steps to take. He even told me that, much as it might seem the contrary from the official papers, Col. Olcott would be the central figure and the one through whom the adjustment of the matter would come. This also turned out true.

The Master says that the T.S. movement was begun by Them in the West by western people, and that it is not Their desire to turn it into a solely eastern movement nor to have us run after the present East and its exoteric teachers; they confirm the statement so often made by H.P.B. that there are not to-day in modern India any true Initiates teaching the people; that cyclic law requires the work in the West for the benefit of the world; that They do not live in India, and that They find it very hard to break down the walls of theological and other prejudices in the East; that the Egos of the West include many who helped to make the religion, the philosophy, and the civilization of the ancient East; that the new race is being prepared for in the West, and to divert thought back to the teachers of to-day in the East would be dangerous; that many Initiates have remained with the West as Nirmanakayas for its help in its destiny, and that through the great work in the West the whole East as well as West will be benefited. And They say that if the task of raising up the almost suffocated spirituality of India could have been done by working wholly there and thus benefiting the West, the time spent by the Messengers of the Lodge in the West was wasted. They also say that Nature’s laws have set apart woe for those who spit back in the face of their teacher, for those who try to belittle her work and make her out to be part good and part fraud; those who have started on the path through her must not try to belittle her work and aim. They do not ask for slavish idolatry of a person, but loyalty is required. They say that the Ego of that body she used was and is a great and brave servant of the Lodge, sent to the West for a mission with full knowledge of the insult and the obloquy to be surely heaped upon that devoted head; and they add: "Those who cannot understand her had best not try to explain her; those who do not find themselves strong enough for the task she outlined from the very first had best not attempt it". The T.S. and its devoted members should so pursue the aim that the great work may at last be accomplished, so that when the next great Messenger shall arrive the obstacles that were found in 1875 will not be there, to be again overcome only through long years of effort.

A distinct object H.P.B. had in view I will now on the authority of the Master tell you. The work of the dark powers and their conscious and unconscious agents is against this object. They wish to defeat it. It is an object of the highest value and of the greatest scope, unrevealed before by H.P.B. to anyone else that I know of, though possibly there are those to whom she hinted it. All her vast work in the West, with western people, upon western religions and modern science, was toward this end, so that when she comes again as Messenger --- as hinted at in the Key to Theosophy --- much of the preparatory work should have been done by us and our successors. It is, the establishment in the West of a great seat of learning where shall be taught and explained and demonstrated the great theories of man and nature which she brought forward to us, where western occultism, as the essence combined out of all others, shall be taught. This stupendous object the Black Lodge would prevent. And even the exoteric theological Brahman would also prevent it, because it will in the end obliterate that form of caste which depends alone on birth, for there will be developed those whose inner vision will see the real caste of the inner man and put him down in a lower one for his discipline if he is not truly in his place. To-day the four natural castes are all confused, and those who are black within strut about as keepers of the key to the shrine of truth, when in fact they should be lower down, as learners. Shall her great object be worked against by us and its foundations overthrown? Never, if the vast powers of the Masters can be drawn to its support; never, if we are faithful to our pledges and to our trust.

I also state, on the same authority, that H.P.B. has not reincarnated. That Ego is quite conscious and working toward the final accomplishment of the end in view, which depends very largely upon the members of the Theosophical Society, and on their loyalty. If the plotters succeed, the Black Lodge will win by turning our thoughts to the modern East with its Yogis and Fakirs, its hide-bound castes, its subtle and magnificently intellectual theology, its Hatha Yoga and all the dangers attending that.

In some minds this question has arisen: "Why does not the Master objectively communicate directly at one and the same time with Col. Olcott and all these others, so as to stop all trouble, and by bringing about a clear understanding smooth out all difficulties?" To do this would be contrary to the rule and dangerous for us. The force given out by doing it would allow --- through the law of equal reaction --- a similar amount of force to the Black Lodge, who also would be thus shown those who were involved. Greater trouble would follow. This law is well known. How often has H.P.B. said that, while such exercise of power cannot hurt the Adept, it arouses the sentinels at the threshold, who then precipitate themselves on the unprotected neophyte. Were it now done, then all the hundreds connected with us would be targets for assaults, on this plane of desires and passions, by the dark powers. The Masters protect us while we are still without our own weapons, by keeping themselves on the spiritual plane --- save to those who have obtained the means for self-protection. And in this is much information as well as warning. It is not well to vibrate a string that you want to raise up to a high note, unless you are strong enough to stand the consequences of its inevitable vibration to one equally low. At that low point lie the dark forces, and the vibrations rouse them up. We must be sure of the below before we try to go to the above. Practices, such as the Indian books are full of, lead to unwise vibrations, before we are ready. When we are encased in the steel of true devotion it will be time to try those experiments.

We are all therefore face to face with the question whether we will abide by Masters and their Messenger on the one hand, or by the disrupting forces that stand on the other, willing to destroy our great mission if we will but give them the opportunity.

WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.
E.S.T. Circular
"By Master's Direction",
November, 1894, p. 2.

"I have been asked as to the writing of The Book of Rules, and can only say that, to my knowledge, Mr. Judge wrote The Book of Rules under the guidance of Master M. and H.P.B. Image . E.T. Hargrove and myself have both seen the original manuscript in Mr. Judge's handwriting, with written additions in H.P.B.'s handwriting. This manuscript is in the possession of Mr. Judge...."

Archibald Keightley
E.S.T. Circular,
Jan. 12, 1895, p. 11.

"The Archives of the E.S. (Pasadena) contain Mr. Judge's handwritten draft of the Preliminary Memorandum and Rules, with H.P.B.'s changes, delestions and additions. This document has been seen many times by the present writer....

Boris de Zirkoff
H.P.B.'s Collected Writings,
Volume XII, p. 482

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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Sat May 12, 2018 10:53 pm

PRELIMINARY MEMORANDUM OF THE E.S.T.S. (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL)

STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

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The Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society

Preliminary Memorandum

[Strictly Private, Confidential, Personal, for Members only.]

One object of the present memorandum is to give an opportunity to anyone who has signed the pledge to withdraw it, should such person feel unable or unwilling to accept fully and without reserve the instructions which may be given, or the consequences that may result, and to do the duties whose performance shall be asked. It is but fair to state at once that such duties will never interfere with, nor encroach upon, the probationer's family duties; on the other hand, it is certain that every member of the Esoteric Section will have to give up more than one personal habit, such as practiced in social life, and to adopt some few ascetic rules.

Therefore, anyone who wishes to retire after reading what follows, can have his name removed from the list, and the pledge returned, by applying in writing to that effect with postage enclosed. Such applications to be made within three weeks from the receipt of this; by members in Europe directly to H.P. Blavatsky, 17 Lanadowne Road, Holland Park, London, and by members in America to William Q. Judge, General Secretary American Section, T.S.; Box 2,659, New York.

This degree of the Esoteric Section is probationary, and its general purpose is to prepare and fit the student for the study of practical occultism or Raj yoga. Therefore, in this degree, the student -- save in exceptional cases -- will not be taught how to produce physical phenomena, nor will any magical powers be allowed to develop in him; nor, if possessing such powers naturally, will he be permitted to exercise them before he has thoroughly mastered the knowledge of self, of the psycho-physiological processes (taking place on the occult plane) in the human body generally, and until he has in abeyance all his lower passions and his personal self.

The real Head of the Esoteric Section is a Master, of whom H.P. Blavatsky is the mouthpiece for this Section. He is one of those Adepts referred to in theosophical literature, and concerned in the formation of the Theosophical Society. It is through H.P. Blavatsky that each member of this section will be brought more closely than hitherto under His influence and care if found worthy of it. No student, however, need inquire which of the Masters it is. For it does not matter in reality; nor is there any necessity for creating one more chance for indiscretion. Suffice to say, such is the law in the East.

Each person will receive in the way of enlightenment and assistance, just as much as he or she deserves and no more; and it is to be distinctly understood that in this Body and these relations no such thing is known as favor -- all depends upon the person's merits -- and no member has the power or knowledge to decide what either he or another is entitled to. This must be left to those who know -- alone. The apparent favor shown to some, and their consequent apparent advancement, will be due to the work they do, to the best of their power, in the cause of Universal Brotherhood and the elevation of the Race.

No man or woman is asked or supposed to do any more than his or her best; but each is expected to work to the extent of their ability and powers.

The value of the work of this Section to the individual member will depend entirely upon:

1st. The person's power to assimilate the teachings and make them a part of his being; and

2nd. Upon the unselfishness of the motives with which he seeks for this knowledge; that is to say, upon whether he has entered this Section determined to work for humanity, or with only the desire to benefit or gain something for himself alone.

Let all members, therefore, take warning in time, and seriously examine into their motives, for to all those who join this Section certain consequences will ensue.

And at this stage it is perhaps better that the applicants should learn the reason for the formation of this Section, and what it is expected to achieve:-

The Theosophical Society has just entered upon the fourteenth year of its existence; and if it has accomplished great, one may almost say stupendous, results on the exoteric and utilitarian plane, it has proved a dead failure on all those points which rank foremost among the objects of its original establishment. Thus, as a "Universal Brotherhood," or even as a fraternity, one among many, it has descended to the level of all those Societies whose pretensions are great, but whose names are simply masks, -- nay, even shams. Nor can the excuse be pleaded that it was led into such an undignified course owing to its having been impeded in its natural development, and almost extinguished, by reason of the conspiracies of its enemies openly begun in 1884. Because even before that date there never was that solidarity in the ranks of our Society which would not only enable it to resist all external attacks, but also make it possible for greater, wider, and more tangible help to be given to all its members by those who are always ready to give help when we are fit to receive it. When trouble arose, too many were quick to doubt and despair, and few indeed were they who had worked for the Cause and not for themselves. The attacks of the enemy have given the Society some discretion in the conduct of its external progress, but its real internal condition has not improved, and the members, in their efforts towards spiritual culture, still require that help which solidarity in the ranks can alone give them the right to ask. The Masters can give but little assistance to a Body not thoroughly united in purpose and feeling, and which breaks its first fundamental rule -- universal brotherly love, without distinction of race, creed or color; nor to a Society, many members of which pass their lives in judging, condemning, and often reviling other members in a most untheosophical, not to say disgraceful, manner.

For this reason it is now contemplated to gather the "elect" of the T.S. and to call them to action. It is only by a select group of brave souls, a handful of determined men and women hungry for genuine spiritual development and the acquirement of soul-wisdom, that the Theosophical Society at large can be brought back to its original lines. It is through an Esoteric Section alone -- i.e., a group in which all the members, even if unacquainted with one another, work for each other, and by working for all work for themselves -- that the great Exoteric Society may be redeemed and made to realize that in union and harmony alone lies its strength and power. The object of this Section, then, is to help the future growth of the Theosophical Society as a whole in the true direction, by promoting brotherly union at least among the few.

All know that this end was in view when the Society was established, and even in its mere unpledged ranks there was a possibility for development and knowledge, until it began to show want of real union; and now it must be saved from future dangers by the united aim, brotherly feeling, and constant exertions of the members of this Esoteric Section. Therefore, anyone who has signed the pledge without realizing this is earnestly recommended to reconsider his position, and to withdraw unless he is prepared to devote himself to the carrying out of his purpose. Once offered the grand example of practical altruism, of the noble lives of those who learn to master the great knowledge but to help others, and who strive to acquire powers but to place them at the service of their fellow-men, the whole theosophical community may yet be steered into action, and led to follow the example set before them.

The Esoteric Section is thus "set apart" for the salvation of the whole Society, and its course from its first steps will be arduous and uphill work for its members, though a great reward lies behind the many obstacles once they are overcome. He who wants to follow the working of his inner self and nature for the purpose of self-mastery, has to understand them by comparison; he has to strive to fathom the mysteries of the human heart in general, before he can hope to learn the whole truth about the mysteries of his own soul. The power of Occult self-introspection is too limited in its area if it does not go beyond the Self, and the investigation of isolated instances will remain forever fruitless if we fail to work it out on firmly established principles. We cannot do good to ourselves -- on a higher plane -- without doing good to others, because each nature reacts upon other natures; nor can we help others without this help benefiting ourselves.

Disappointment is sure to come to those who have joined this Section for the purpose of learning "magic arts" or acquiring "occult training" for themselves, quite regardless of the good of other people less determined. Abnormal, artificially-developed powers -- except those which crown the efforts of the Black Magician -- are only the culmination of and reward for, labors bestowed unselfishly upon humanity, upon all men, whether good or bad. Forgetfulness of the personal Self and sincere altruism are the first and indispensable requisites in the training of those who are to become "White Adepts" either in this or a future incarnation.

If any member of this Section agrees to all this, and yet says to himself that, notwithstanding what is said, he will seek for the knowledge for himself, caring little -- provided he acquires the powers -- as to whether he shall end as a Black or White Adept, let him know that disaster awaits him much sooner than he thinks, and that, although he tries to conceal his motive, it will be known and shall cause a reaction upon him which no one will be able to avert.

No blame will be attached to anyone for a constitutional lack of capacity for assimilating the teachings given, if he works earnestly and continually, if his aspirations do not relax or weaken; his efforts will be known in the right quarter, and it is in strict accordance with his deserts that help will be given him when he expects it the least.

Let every member know, moreover, that the time for such priceless acquisition is limited. The writer of the present is old; her life is well-nigh worn out, and she may be summoned "home" any day and almost any hour. And if her place is even filled up, perchance by another worthier and more learned than herself, still there remain but twelve years to the last hour of the term -- namely, till December the 31st, 1899. Those who will not have profited by the opportunity (given to the world in every last quarter of a century), those who will not have reached a certain point of psychic and spiritual development, or that point from which begins the cycle of adeptship, by that day -- those will advance no further than the knowledge already acquired. No Master of Wisdom from the East will himself appear or send any one to Europe or America after that period, and the sluggards will have to renounce every chance of advancement in their present incarnation -- until the year 1975. Such is the Law, for we are in Kali Yuga -- the Black Age -- and the restrictions in this cycle, the first 5000 years of which will expire in 1897, are great and almost insuperable.

As to the relations of the Masters to this Section, it may be further said, paradoxically, that with Them everything is possible and everything is impossible. They may or may not communicate personally on the outer plane with a member, and those who are continually wishing to receive "orders," or communications directly from Them on this plane, either phenomenally or otherwise, will in all probability be disappointed. The Masters have no desire to prove Their power or give "tests" to anyone whatever. And the fact that a member has concluded that a crisis of some kind or other is at hand, when, according to his wise opinion, the Master or Masters ought to speak and interfere personally, is no sound reason for such an outward interference.

It is, however, right that each member, once he believes in the existence of such Masters, should try to understand what their nature and powers are, to reverence Them in his heart, to draw near to Them, as much as in him lies, and to open up for himself conscious communication with the guru to whose bidding he has devoted his life. This can only be done by rising to the spiritual plane where the Masters are, and not by attempting to draw them down to ours.

Inasmuch as growth in spiritual life comes from within, members must not expect to receive any other communications than those through H.P.B. The additional help, instruction, and enlightenment, will come from the inner planes of being, and will, as said, always be given when deserved.

To achieve this, the attitude of mind in which the teachings given are to be received is that which shall tend to develop the faculty of intuition. The duty of members in this respect is to refrain from arguing that the statements made are not in accordance with what other people have said or written, or with their own ideas upon the subject, or that, again, they are apparently contrary to any accepted system of thought or philosophy. Practical esoteric science is altogether sui generis. It requires all the mental and psychic powers of the student to be used in examining what is given, to the end that the real meaning of the Teacher may be discovered, as far as the student can understand it. He must endeavor as much as possible to free his mind, while studying or trying to carry out what is given him, from all the ideas which he may be impressed upon him apart from the words in which they are clothed. Otherwise, there is constant risk of his ideas becoming colored with preconceived notions as those of the writers of certain otherwise excellent works upon esoteric subjects who have made the occult tenets more subservient to modern Science than to occult truth.

In order, also, that the student may receive as much benefit as possible, it is absolutely essential that the superficial and inattentive habits of thought, engendered by Western civilization, shall be given up, and the mind concentrated upon the instructions as a whole as well as upon every word in them. To this end students are required to practice the habit of careful and constant concentration of mind upon every duty and act in life they may have to do, and not to reserve their efforts in that direction for the consideration of these teachings only. The student must make all his desires lean to, and centre upon, the acquirement of spiritual knowledge, so that the natural tendency of his thought may be in that direction. He must, therefore, in every moment of leisure revert to these subjects, as well as have a special time set apart for their consideration.

Students must not look for tests and trials of a special nature; these will come in the affairs of life and in relations with fellow-men. Specific tests will not in general be given, but even the manner in which the student approaches these teachings will be in itself a test or trial. The Masters do not judge students simply by their ability to do this or that special or difficult thing, but by the actual self-development and progress accomplished.

In entering this Section, the student begins to look his own nature in the face, and in accordance with the intensity of his aspirations, will be his difficulties. These difficulties may exhibit themselves on the physiological, mental, moral, or psychic planes of his being, or in the circumstances of his life. Having signed the pledge, his first failure to keep any one of its clauses is the failure to stand the first trial. Such a failure, however, is not defeat, so long as a further sincere endeavor is made.

RULES

In the following the masculine includes the feminine; the singular, the plural; and vice versa.

1. Groundless condemnation on hearsay of others, theosophists or not, must be refrained from, and charity to each other's faults widely practiced within, as well as without, the theosophical area.

2. Repetition of statements or gossip derogatory of others must be avoided. But condemnation of crime, of social evils and systems of every description, in the abstract, is a duty of every member. Above all, the duty of every member is to fight against cant, hypocrisy, and injustice in every shape.

3. A derogatory or slanderous statement made against a fellow theosophist in the presence of a member, shall not be permitted by him to pass without protest, unless he knows it is true, in which case he should remain silent.

4. No member shall boast of being in this Section.

5. No member shall pry into the standing in this Section of a Brother, nor shall he uninvited seek to know if another theosophist is a member of it. Members may use the password of the Section for the purpose of recognition, but never from curiosity, nor a desire to discover if the person addressed is a member of the Section.

6. Any member may, if he chooses, remain unknown as such, and that desire, if suspected by others, must not be talked about nor referred to.

7. If a member, whether falsely or truly, asserts that he has received letters or communications from Masters, unless directed to divulge the same, he will ipso facto cease to derive any benefit from the teachings, whether the fact be known or unknown to himself or to others. A repetition of such offense gives the Head of the Section the right to expel the offender in discretion. In every case where a member shall receive a letter or communication purporting to come from Master or Masters, and which directs the divulgation of its contents or a part thereof, the same before being divulged shall be communicated to H.P.B. directly, if the recipient is in Europe, and to William Q. Judge, if in America, for transmission to said H.P.B. For deception is easy, and, without great experience, members are not able to decide whether such a communication is genuine or not.

8. No member shall, under any circumstances, bring any charge or whatever nature against another member, whether to H.P.B., William Q. Judge, or any other member of the Section. This rule does not imply that the Masters condone, excuse, or tolerate any fault or crime. But no member is the judge of the acts of another member or theosophist, in this Section less than in any other. For, while in every Exoteric Branch, its President and Council decide upon any charges against their Fellows, in this Section each member is to be judged by his Karma and the Masters alone.

9. No member shall pretend to the possession of psychic powers that he has not, nor boast of those which he may have developed. Envy, jealousy, and vanity are insidious and powerful foes to progress, and it is known from long experience that, among beginners especially, the boasting of, or calling attention to, their psychic powers almost invariably causes the development of these faults and increases them when present. Hence --

10. No member shall tell to another, especially to a fellow-member, how much he has progressed or what recognition he has received, nor shall he by hints cause such to be known. Where students of similar tastes and dispositions desire to form a group or groups for mutual help in training, application must be made to H.P.B. for permission and advice as to the same. But hasty judgment as to the advisability of forming such groups must be avoided. For it may so happen, that two or more members united by a real friendship, may yet be so contrary in their magnetic idiosyncrasies and conditions that their friendship may be changed into hatred on the occult plane, if they form groups without esoteric knowledge.

11. No member shall ask for any orders or instructions as to the conduct of his business affairs or the management of his social relations, or the ordinary affairs of life, nor as to the cure of diseases, whether in himself or in any other person. Questions relative to the instructions given will alone be accepted and attended to.

12. It is required of a member that when a question arises it shall be deeply thought over from all its aspects, to the end that he may find the answer himself; and in no case shall questions be asked out of curiosity, nor until the person has exhausted every ordinary means of solving the doubt or of acquiring himself the information sought. Otherwise his intuition will never be developed. He will not learn self-reliance; and two of the main objects of the Section will be defeated. For an adept becomes such by his own exertions, by the self-development of his own power; and no one but himself can effect this work. "An adept becomes, he is not made." The office of Guru or Guide is to adjust the disciple in his progress, and not to drag or push him forward.

13. The use of wine, spirits, liquors of any kind, or any narcotic or intoxicating drug, is strictly prohibited. If indulged in, all progress is hindered, and the efforts of teacher and pupil alike are rendered useless. All such substances have a direct pernicious action upon the brain, and especially upon the "third eye," or pineal gland (vide "Secret Doctrine," Vol. II, p. 288 [d] et seq. ) They prevent absolutely the development of the third eye, called in the East "the Eye of Shiva."

14. The moderate use of tobacco is not prohibited, for it is not an intoxicant; but its abuse, like that of everything else -- even pure water or bread -- is prejudicial.

15. As to diet: The eating of meat is not prohibited, but if the student can maintain health on vegetables or fish, such diet is recommended. The eating of meat strengthens the passional nature, and the desire to acquire possessions, and therefore increases the difficulty of the struggle with the lower nature.

16. Each member is expected to set apart a certain time of the day or night, of not less than half an hour's duration, for meditation upon the instructions received, for self-examination and self-study. If possible, the place selected for this should be used for no other person, nor for any other purpose; but the providing of such a special place, if inconvenient, is not insisted upon.

17. Harboring doubt as to the existence of Masters in general is no crime, since it is often but the effect of ignorance, and comes involuntarily. But it will inevitably prevent the pupil from attracting the attention of the Master; and he will fail to draw to himself His influence. Suspicions as to the character of the members of the Section are also prejudicial to advancement. In short, any malevolent feeling, especially malice, envy or revenge toward any person high or low, creates peculiarly obstructive conditions in the student's path, and will absolutely prevent progress of every sort. The elimination of the desire for reward aids the student in his development.

18. No member of this section shall belong to any other body, association, or organization for the purpose of mystic study or occult training, except Masonry and the Odd Fellows, if they so desire. But they must be as careful to guard the secrecy of this Section from Masons as they are to preserve the secrets of Masonry from Theosophists. The reason for this rule is so self-evident as to need no explanation.

19. It is expected that all members of this Section shall have the following books and magazines where they can be referred to, as constant reference to them will be made in the course of the instruction, and no extended extracts will be furnished. Works on metaphysics and articles expounding the teachings of our Special School should be procured. The following books and theosophical magazines should be especially attended to: -

"The Secret Doctrine."
"Patanjali's Yoga Philosophy"
"The Bhagavad Gita"
"The Theosophist"
"Light on the Path"
"Lucifer"
"The Path"


This rule is not intended to force members into the purchase of these books and magazines, but the undersigned has no time to copy extracts, giving explanations that have already appeared in print. Much has been already published, and it will be necessary to refer very often to such matter, and if a member is actually unable to procure the publications referred to, it is expected that others who are able will, upon request, furnish the desired book or a copy of the matter referred to. And herein the plea of poverty -- if a pretense -- will be as prejudicial to the student as any other vice.

20. As "the first test of true apprenticeship is devotion to the interest of another," it is expected that members will endeavor to fully comply with clauses 1 and 5 of the pledge. Theosophy must be made a living power in life, and, as a beginning, it must be applied in all relations, whether business, social, or personal. "The doctrine," as a whole, "promulgated by the Adepts being the only true one, must -- supported by such evidence as they are prepared to give -- become ultimately triumphant as every other truth. Yet it is absolutely necessary to inculcate it gradually, enforcing its theories, unimpeachable facts for those who know, with direct inferences deduced from and corroborated by the evidence furnished by modern exact science. For these doctrines to practically react on the life through the so-called moral code or the ideas of truthfulness, purity, self-denial, charity, etc., we have to preach and popularize a knowledge of Theosophy. It is not the individual or determined purpose of attaining oneself Nirvana, which is, after all, only an exalted and glorious selfishness, but the self-sacrificing pursuit of the best means to lead our neighbor on the right path, and cause as many of our fellow creatures as we possibly can to benefit by it, which constitutes the true Theosophist."

21. Members of the Section will therefore not neglect the exoteric branches of the Theosophical Society, but are expected to infuse into those as much energy in theosophical work as they can. Although all cannot be teachers, yet each one can familiarize himself with theosophical doctrines, and promulgate them to those who are inquiring. "There is hardly a theosophist in the whole Society unable to effectually help it by correcting erroneous impressions of outsiders, if not by actually propagating the ideas himself." The efforts of those members who benefit the Cause should never be impeded by criticism on the part of others who do nothing, but all should be encouraged and as much help given as is possible, even if that assistance be limited through circumstances to mere encouragement. Every sincerely based work for theosophy will bear good fruit, no matter how inappropriate it may appear in the eyes of those members who have set to themselves and everybody else only one definite plan of action.

Further rules will be made if exigency requires.

ORGANIZATION

The communications to be made will be forwarded in Europe directly from H. P. Blavatsky; in America all communications will be sent through William Q. Judge, P.O. Box 2659, New York, U.S.A.; and all questions addressed to H. P. Blavatsky by members of this Section in America must be forwarded to said William Q. Judge, and shall bear upon them the number of the member as found on his certificate. As some early certificates of admission were sent without bearing this reference number, every member holding such a certificate should immediately apply for his number. William Q. Judge is authorized to establish regulations in his discretion in respect to the method to be followed in America for the transmission of communications, questions and answers, and also in respect to the appointment of assistant secretaries.

(Signed) H. P. B.

LONDON, December 14, 1888.

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

[Lucifer, December, 1888, p. 341.]

P.S. -- Is not the "Esoteric Section" of the T.S. likely to run counter to the views of your Editorial on “Lodges of Magic”? Who is to ensure that the Esoteric Members are not only willing to, but will “abide by its rules”?

A.E.

6th November, 1888.

_______________

NOTE.

Our correspondent’s question is a natural one—coming from a European. No, it does not run counter, because it is not a lodge of magic, but of training. For however often the true nature of the occult training has been stated and explained, few Western students seem to realize how searching and inexorable are the tests which a candidate must pass before power is entrusted to his hands. Esoteric philosophy, the occult hygiene of mind and body, the unlearning of false beliefs and the acquisition of true habits of thought, are more than sufficient for a student during his period of probation, and those who rashly pledge themselves in the expectation of acquiring forthwith “magic powers” will meet only with disappointment and certain failure. -- [ED.]

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"Ask Judge for the confidential rules (a pamphlet) issued for those of the Esoteric Section, and send him your Number ..."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated Dec. 23, 1888 to James Pryse

"It is to preserve Theosophists from such dangers that the 'Esoteric Section' of the T.S. has been founded. It's Preliminary Rules and Bye laws prove that the way to the acquisition of occult powers and the conquest of the secrets of Nature leads through the Golgotha and the Crucifixion of the personal Self. The selfish and the faint-hearted need not apply."

H.P. Blavatsky
Editorial Note to an article
Lucifer, Jan. 1889, p. 435.
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Sun May 13, 2018 12:22 am

LETTER TO E.S.T.S. MEMBERS IN U.S.A. BY WILLIAM Q. JUDGE (FACSIMILE OF 1889 ORIGINAL)

E.S.T.S.

Members of this Section will please observe the following, directed by H.P.B.

1. Each letter from a member sent to H.P.B. or the undersigned, must bear upon it the address of the sender.

2. The envelope in which each letter concerning the work of the Section is sent must be marked "private".

3. No letters about books, magazines, or other business not connected with the Section shall be sent in the same envelope which contains any reference to this Section; and in letters referring to this Section there shall be no remittances, orders or queries about any other business whatever.

4. Attention is called to the rule that all communications relating to this Section from American members must be sent through the undersigned, and in each case the necessary foreign postage [5 cts. per 1/2 oz.] must be enclosed.

Several members may perhaps think the foregoing unnecessary but as already in several cases there have been violations, as the other work of those who have charge of this Section is already sufficiently onerous.

January 7, 1889.

William Q. Judge

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"It is only now that I begin to work in dead earnest; & if out of the 300 Esoterists & Theosophists whom I am now beginning to teach, I succeed in having only two dozen to whim I will have imparted even half the knowledge I have & emplanted in them only a tithe of my enthusiasm I shall have succeeded in my mission & my work will live for ever."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated Jan. 7, 1889

WILLIAM JUDGE ON THE E.S.T.S.

"The first instruction will soon be forwarded from London...."

William Q. Judge

Letter dated Feb. 13, 1889
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Sun May 13, 2018 12:29 am

THE PRINTING OF THE E.S. INSTRUCTIONS

H.P.B.'s Instructions were first issued in 1889 in mimeographed form. H.P.B. refers to this process in these words:

'Five or six wretched voluntary martyrs among my esotericists have to draw, write and lithograph during the nights, some 320 copies of [E.S. Instructions] ....'

Using a "primitive" mimeograph, Hentry T. Edge and several other E.S. members made stencils and mimeographed copies using an ink roller. Sheets had to be spread out to dry.

Copies were then sent to members throughout the world. Copies were sent to Judge for distribution to E.S. members in America.

In late 1889, William Judge founded the Aryan Press. James M. Pryse typesetted and printed in book form Instructions I, II and III. This first printed edition was completed by early summer 1890. This edition was marked "Printed privately on the Aryan Press". Copies were sent to London.

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PRINTED PRIVATELY ON THE ARYAN PRESS.

James Pryse tells the story:

"My brother John and I, returning from a trip to South America, landed in New York City, We found Mr. Judge perplexed by a difficult problem: H.P.B. had directed him to send her Instructions to all the American members of the E.S., but had sent him only one copy, and he had no facilities for making the many copies needed. We solved that problem for him by establishing the Aryan Press [6] and printing the Instructions in book-form. Then, in response to a cable from H.P.B. I went to London to do the same work there, and started the H.P.B. Press...." (The Canadian Theosophist, March, 1935, p. 2)

Elsewhere, Pryse gives more details about the reprinting of the E.S. Instructions in London:

"I started the H.P.B. Press, the capital being supplied by Dr. Archibald Keightley, to reprint the E.S.T. Instructions, which my brother John and I had previously printed in New York. It was slow work, as I did nearly all of it myself. For a time I had an outside compositor, and Thomas Green, a lawyer's clerk, in his spare hours helped me fold the sheets for binding. The work was finished to H.P.B.'s satisfaction...." [7] (The Canadian Theosophist, May, 1939, p. 75)

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PRINTED PRIVATELY ON THE H.P.B. PRESS

_______________

Notes:

6. "...Have started a small press here with an FTS in charge and shall print lots and save expense...."

William Q. Judge
Letter dated Oct. 16, 1889

"THE ARYAN PRESS....is a new effort put forth by New York Theosophists. It is a printing-press fully established now for the purpose of reducing cost of printing tracts, circulars, notices, and all such matter ...." The Path, Dec., 1889, p. 290.

"...The attention of our readers is drawn to the fact that the Aryan Press is now in fully working order.... The Path, Jan., 1890, p. 238.

7. "...Mr. James M. Pryse, who has had charge of the Aryan Press since its establishment, sailed on Sept. 4th for the purpose of conducting a similar Press at the London Headquarters. The value of such an institution has been copiously demonstrated at the American Headquarters, and will be also in London...." The Path, Oct., 1890, pp. 228-229.

"We are...now in possession of a printing machine (Bro. Jas. M. Pryse, who had charge of the Aryan press, having come over to assist us), and this will add infinitely to our possibilities of rapid and successful work....London, Oct., 1890. C.F.W. [right]." The Path, Dec., 1890, pp. 294-95.

"Members of the E.S. are herewith notified that the new, privately printed copies of Instructions, I, II, and III, are ready....One thousand copies of the Instructions have been printed, and No. IV is now going through the press...." E.S. Circular, "Reprint of Instructions I, II and III", dated April, 1891, p. 1 & 4.

***

Note about Text of H.P.B.'s Esoteric Instructions

In the Foreword (p. xxi) to Volume XII of H.P.B.'s Collected Writings, Boris de Zirkoff writes that "... the student will find in its [Volume XII's] pages the complete, unaltered and unedited text of H.P.B.'s Esoteric Instructions." Unfortunately, the text of the Esoteric Instructions in Volume XII is found in a number of instances to be incomplete, altered and edited when compared with the 1889 and 1890 editions of H.P.B.'s Instructions.

For example, the reader can compare the text found in H.P.B.'s Collected Writings, Volume XII, pp. 515-516 with pp. 83-85 of the present compilation. Almost all of the text on pp. 84-85 is missing from the Volume XII version.

Also if the student carefully compares the rest of the text, he will find a good number of other changes. Whatever the reason(s) for these deletions and changes, the Volume XII version does not accurately reflect H.P.B.'s text as issued in 1889 and 1890.]
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

Postby admin » Tue May 15, 2018 12:05 am

Part 1 of 2

E.S. INSTRUCTIONS NO. I BY H.P. BLAVATSKY (FACSIMILE OF 1890 ARYAN PRESS EDITION)

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STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

PRINTED PRIVATELY ON THE ARYAN PRESS.

INSTRUCTIONS NO. 1

January and February, 1889.

Strictly Private and Confidential.

[NOT THE PROPERTY OF ANY MEMBER, AND TO BE RETURNED ON DEMAND TO THE HEAD OF THE SECTION OR TO WILLIAM Q. JUDGE, P.O. BOX, BOX 2659, NEW YORK, N.Y.]

E.S.T.S. -- No. 1

A Warning Addressed to All Members of the Esoteric Section.

There is a strange law in Occultism which has been ascertained and proven by thousands of years of experience; nor has it failed to demonstrate itself, almost in every case, during the thirteen years that the T. S. has been in existence.

As soon as anyone pledges himself as a “Probationer,” certain occult effects ensue. Of these the first is the throwing outward of everything latent in the nature of the man: his faults, habits, qualities or subdued desires, whether good, bad or indifferent.

For instance, if a man is vain or a sensualist, or ambitious, whether by Atavism or by Karmic heirloom, all those vices are sure to break out, even if he has hitherto successfully concealed and repressed them. They will come to the front irrepressibly, and he will have to fight a hundred times harder than before, until he kills all such tendencies in himself.

On the other hand, if one is good, generous, chaste, and abstemious, or has any virtue hitherto latent and concealed in him, it will work its way out as irrepressibly as the rest. Thus a civilized man who hates to be considered a Grandison, and therefore assumes a mask, will not be able to conceal his true nature, whether base or noble.

This is an immutable law in the domain of the occult.

Its action is the more marked, the more earnest and sincere is the desire of the candidate and the more deeply he has felt the reality and importance of his pledge.

Therefore let all members of this Section be warned and on their guard; for even in the last three months, even before the esoteric teaching began, several of the most promising candidates have failed ignominiously.

ESOTERIC SECTION.

A Few Words as Preface.

Before entering upon the first installment of the Instructions to be given to the Esoteric Section, it is necessary to call the special attention of its members to a new and rapidly growing danger which is threatening the Theosophical Society and the spread of the pure Esoteric Philosophy and knowledge in the U.S.A.

I allude to those charlatanesque imitations of Occultism and Theosophy of which the “Call to the Awakened,” lately published in the Boston Esoteric, is the most glaring example.

The danger in this particular case is the greater because some men of real scientific attainments and knowledge seem to have been drawn into it, and thus give to it an appearance of real knowledge which may easily deceive the unwary.

By pandering to the prejudices of people, and especially by adopting the false ideas of a personal God and a personal, carnalized Saviour, as the groundwork of their teaching, the leaders of this “swindle” (for such it is) are endeavoring to draw men to them and in particular to turn Theosophists from the true path. The H. B. of L., [Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor] of shameful memory in England, has now found a worthy substitute in the Esoteric College in Boston founded by a “Brahmin of Irish descent, thousands of years old,” (Vide “A Call from the Unseen,” etc.)


When a man or woman has meditated upon Life, has seen the great truth that it has mind, consciousness, all that has been attributed to God, and that our ideas of a conscious Deity are absolutely true, that there is an independent thinking, conscious intelligence that takes cognizance of, and reciprocates with every sympathy, every emotion, and with all human intelligence as well as with life everywhere, then when a man enters into a covenant with that divine intelligence, he at once rests in that covenant.

--A Call to the "Awakened" From "The Unseen and Unknown," for an Esoteric College, and For G.....R Dept. No. 1, by Vidya-Nyaika.


A personal god is a deity who can be related to as a person instead of as an "impersonal force", such as the Absolute, "the All", or the "Ground of Being". In the scriptures of Abrahamic religions, God is described as being a personal creator, speaking in the first person and showing emotion such as anger and pride, and sometimes appearing in anthropomorphic shape. In the Pentateuch, for example, God talks with and instructs his prophets and is conceived as possessing volition, emotions (such as anger, grief and happiness), intention, and other attributes characteristic of a human person. Personal relationships with God may be described in the same ways as human relationships, such as a Father, as in Christianity, or a Friend as in Sufism.

-- Personal God, by Wikipedia


Advaita Vedanta's rejection of theism is a consequence of its insistence that “Brahman [ultimate reality] is without parts or attributes…one without a second.” (Shankara [traditional attribution], second half of the 8th century: 101) If the Brahman has no properties, it necessarily lacks the properties of omniscience, perfect goodness, omnipotence, and personhood, and cannot therefore be understood as God.

The rejection of theism also follows from Advaita's conviction that Brahman contains no internal diversity (“is without parts”) and is identical with the whole of reality (”is one without a second”). If Brahman is all there is, for example, then there is nothing outside Brahman that could serve as an object of its knowledge. And if it is devoid of internal diversity, there can be no self-knowledge either, for self-knowledge involves an internal differentiation between the self as knower and the self as known. Nor can the Brahman be a causal agent. If Brahman is maximally perfect, it must be unlimited. But it is limited if something exists outside it. The Brahman must therefore be all there is. If the Brahman is identical with the whole of reality, though, and Brahman contains no plurality, then reality as a whole is an undifferentiated unity. The space-time world with its distinctions between times, places, and events is consequently unreal. Real causal relations are relations between two real things, however. So Brahman is neither the cause of the space-time world as a whole nor of the events in it, and is thus neither the space-time world's creator nor its ruler. It follows from these considerations that Brahman is neither an omniscient mind nor an omnipotent and active will. It cannot be a maximally perfect person, therefore, and so cannot be God.

-- Concepts of God, by William Wainwright


That Deity is outside of, or apart from its creation, is a doctrine of Christianity, one that only a few great religious systems teach. All enlightened pagans taught that the material universe is the physical body of the creating Principle. Plato called the universe the "Eternal Animal," and the Neo-Platonists of Alexandria described the world as "the body of a Blessed God." The modern occultist accepts this philosophical doctrine. He does not seek in the distant heavens for the Spiritual Cause of all things, but finds the creation itself bearing splendid witness to its indwelling divinity.

-- Healing: The Divine Art, by Manly P. Hall


The “Breath” of the One Existence is used in its application only to the spiritual aspect of Cosmogony by Archaic esotericism; otherwise, it is replaced by its equivalent in the material plane — Motion. The One Eternal Element, or element-containing Vehicle, is Space, dimensionless in every sense; co-existent with which are — endless duration, primordial (hence indestructible) matter, and motion — absolute “perpetual motion” which is the “breath” of the “One” Element. This breath, as seen, can never cease, not even during the Pralayic eternities. (See “Chaos, Theos, Kosmos,” in Part II.)

But the “Breath of the One Existence” does not, all the same, apply to the One Causeless Cause or the “All Be-ness” (in contradistinction to All-Being, which is Brahma, or the Universe). Brahma (or Hari) the four-faced god who, after lifting the Earth out of the waters, “accomplished the Creation,” is held to be only the instrumental, and not, as clearly implied, the ideal Cause. No Orientalist, so far, seems to have thoroughly comprehended the real sense of the verses in the Purana, that treat of “creation.”

Therein Brahma is the cause of the potencies that are to be generated subsequently for the work of “creation.” When a translator says, “And from him proceed the potencies to be created, after they had become the real cause”: “and from IT proceed the potencies that will create as they become the real cause” (on the material plane) would perhaps be more correct? Save that one (causeless) ideal cause there is no other to which the universe can be referred. “Worthiest of ascetics! through its potency — i.e., through the potency of that cause — every created thing comes by its inherent or proper nature.” If, in the Vedanta and Nyaya, nimitta is the efficient cause, as contrasted with upadana, the material cause, (and in the Sankhya, pradhana implies the functions of both); in the Esoteric philosophy, which reconciles all these systems, and the nearest exponent of which is the Vedanta as expounded by the Advaita Vedantists, none but the upadana can be speculated upon; that which is in the minds of the Vaishnavas (the Vasishta-dvaita) as the ideal in contradistinction to the real — or Parabrahm and Isvara — can find no room in published speculations, since that ideal even is a misnomer, when applied to that of which no human reason, even that of an adept, can conceive.

To know itself or oneself, necessitates consciousness and perception (both limited faculties in relation to any subject except Parabrahm), to be cognized. Hence the “Eternal Breath which knows itself not.” Infinity cannot comprehend Finiteness. The Boundless can have no relation to the bounded and the conditioned. In the occult teachings, the Unknown and the Unknowable mover, or the Self-Existing, is the absolute divine Essence. And thus being Absolute Consciousness, and Absolute Motion — to the limited senses of those who describe this indescribable — it is unconsciousness and immoveableness. Concrete consciousness cannot be predicated of abstract Consciousness, any more than the quality wet can be predicated of water — wetness being its own attribute and the cause of the wet quality in other things. Consciousness implies limitations and qualifications; something to be conscious of, and someone to be conscious of it. But Absolute Consciousness contains the cognizer, the thing cognized and the cognition, all three in itself and all three one.

-- The Secret Doctrine -- The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky


Stealing from us our esoteric Sanskrit terms, our facts --- which he disfigures --- and even our motto, “There is No Religion Higher than Truth,” this self-styled illuminator is sure to prepare thousands of enemies to Theosophy, when those “awakened” by him will awaken to the sad truth of having been swindled by this “Brahmin” & Co. Let all Theosophists be warned in time by the Esotericists.

There will never be any doubt about the truth of our creed, or the value of our teachings.

-- A Call to the "Awakened" From "The Unseen and Unknown," for an Esoteric College, and For G.....R Dept. No. 1, by Vidya-Nyaika.


True knowledge comes slowly and is not easily acquired. In this attempt the students will be at first confronted by the great difficulties of the disciple’s first steps upon the path of true Occultism. Even members of the E. S., especially those who crave for magic powers, are not unlikely to grow impatient and to rebel against the apparently slow progress made at first and at the amount of metaphysical and theoretic study required of them. To such the deceptive promises of quick results and grand achievements, of growth and progress, that are promised by the “Esoteric College” from day to day (??) will appear most attractive. But let all such take warning in time and avoid a snare in which they will at least leave the contents of their purses, even if they save their reputations.

A close examination will assuredly reveal the whole scheme as a mere device for money getting and selfish gratification
, in which materials largely stolen, as said, from Theosophical writings are distorted and falsified so as to be palmed off on the unwary as revelations of new and undreamed of truths. But many will neither have the time nor the opportunity for such a thorough investigation; and before they become aware of the imposture they may be led far from the Truth, as well as be despoiled of their property and, worse than that, of their health.

Under these circumstances, it is the duty of all members of the E. S. in America to do their utmost to unmask such movements, for nothing is more dangerous to Esoteric Truth than the garbled and distorted versions disfigured to suit the prejudices and tastes of men in general.

Finally, the attention of all members of the E. S. is expressly called to Rule 18 of the Preliminary Memorandum, no infraction of which can or will be allowed.

ESOTERIC SECTION.

Instruction for January and February, 1889.

The ancient occult axiom, “Know Thyself,” must be familiar to every member of this Section; but few if any have apprehended the real meaning of the Delphic Oracle. You all know your earthly pedigree, but who of you has ever traced all the links of heredity, siderial, psychic and spiritual, which go to make you what you are? Many have written and expressed their desire to unite themselves with their Higher Self, yet none seem to know the indissoluble link connecting their “Higher Selves” with the One Universal SELF.

For all purposes of Occultism, whether practical or purely metaphysical, such knowledge is absolutely requisite. It is proposed, therefore, to begin the esoteric instruction by showing this connection in all directions with the worlds: Absolute, Archetypal, Spiritual, Psychic, Siderial, Astral and Elemental. Before, however, we can touch upon the three higher worlds --- Archetypal, Spiritual, and Psychic --- we must master the relations of the seventh, the terrestrial world, the lower Prakriti, or Malchuth as in the Kabala, to the four worlds or planes which immediately follow it. (See Secret Doctrine, vol. I, p. 200 et seq.)

It is clear that once the human body is admitted to have direct relation with such higher worlds, the specialization of the organs and parts of the body will necessitate the mention of all parts of the body without exception. In the eyes of truth and nature, no one organ is more noble or ignoble than any other organ. The ancients considered as the most holy precisely those organs which we associate with feelings of shame and secrecy: for they are the creative organs corresponding to the Creative Forces of the Kosmos.

The Esotericists are therefore warned that unless they are prepared to take everything in the spirit of truth and nature, and to forget the code of false propriety bred by hypocrisy and the shameful misuse of primeval functions, once considered divine --- they had better not study Esotericism.

***

“OM,” says the Aryan Adept, the son of the Fifth Race, who with this syllable begins and ends his salutation to the human being, his conjuration of, or appeal to, non-human PRESENCES.

“OM-MANI,” murmurs the Turanian Adept, the descendant of the Fourth Race; and after pausing he adds, “PADME-HUM.”

This famous invocation is very erroneously translated by the Orientalists as meaning, “O the Jewel in the Lotus.” For although, literally, OM is a syllable sacred to the Deity, PADME means “in the Lotus,” and MANI is any precious stone, still neither the words themselves, nor their symbolical meaning, are really correctly rendered.

In this sentence -- the most sacred of all eastern formulas -- not only has each syllable its secret potential power producing a definite result, but the whole has seven different meanings and can produce seven different results, each of which may differ from the others.

The seven meanings and the seven results depend upon the intonation that is given to the whole formula and to each of the syllables; and even the numerical value of the letters is added to or diminished according as such or an-other rhythm is made use of.

Let the student remember that number underlies form, and number guides sound. Number lies at the root of the manifested Universe; numbers and harmonious proportions guide the first differentiations, of homogeneous substance into heterogeneous elements; and number and number's set limits to the formative hand of nature.

Know the corresponding numbers of the fundamental principle of every element and its sub-elements, learn their action and inter-action and behavior on the occult side of manifesting nature, and the law of correspondences will lead you to the discovery of the greatest mysteries of macrocosmical life.

But to arrive at the macrocosmical, you must begin by the microcosmical; i.e., you must study MAN, the microcosm -- in this case as physical science does -- inductively, proceeding from particulars to universals. At the same time, however, since a keynote is required to analyze and comprehend any combinations of differentiations of sound, we must never lose sight of the Platonic method, which starts with one general view of all, and descends from the Universal to the individual. This is the method adopted in Mathematics -- the only exact science that exists in our day.

Let us study man, therefore; but if we separate him for, one moment from the Universal Whole, or view him in isolation, from a single aspect, apart from the “Heavenly Man” the Universe symbolized by Adam Kadmon or his equivalents in every philosophy, -- we shall either land in black magic or fail most ingloriously in our attempt.

Thus the mystic sentence, “OM MANI PADME HUM” when rightly understood, instead of being composed of the almost meaningless words, “O the Jewel in the Lotus,” contains a reference to the indissoluble union between man and the Universe, rendered in seven different ways and having the capability of seven different applications to as many planes of thought and action.

From whatever aspect we examine “it”, it means “I am that I am” “I am in thee and thou art in me.” In this conjunction and close union the good and pure man becomes a god. Whether consciously or unconsciously he will bring about, or innocently cause to happen, unavoidable results. In the first case if an Initiate - of course an Adept of the right-hand Path alone is meant - he can guide a beneficent or protecting current, and thus benefit and protect individuals and even whole nations. In the second case, although unaware of what he was doing, the good man becomes a shield to whomsoever he is with.

Such is the fact; but its how and why have to be explained, and this can be done only when the actual potency and presence in sounds, and hence in words and letters, have been rendered clear. The formula, “OM MANI PADME HUM” has been chosen as an illustration on account of its almost infinite potency in the mouth of an Adept, and of its potentiality when pronounced by man. Be careful, all you who read this: do not use these words in vain, or when vain anger, lest you become yourself the first sacrificial victim, or what is worse, endanger those whom you love.

The profane Orientalist, who all his life skims mere externals, will tell you flippantly and laughing at the superstition, that in Tibet this sentence is the most powerful six-syllabled incantation and is said to have been delivered to the nations of Central Asia by Padmapani, the Tibetan Chenresi. (See Secret Doctrine, vol. II, pp. 178 and 179.)


But who is Padmapani in reality? Each of us must recognize him for himself whenever he is ready. Each of us has within himself the “Jewel in the Lotus,” call it Padmapani, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, or by whatever name we may give to our Divine Self. The exoteric story proves this.

The Supreme Buddha, or Amitabha, they say, at the hour of the creation of man caused a rosy ray of light to issue from his right eye. The ray emitted a sound and became Padmapani Bidhisattva. Then the Deity allowed to stream from his left eye a blue ray of light which, becoming incarnate in the two virgins Dolma, acquired the power to enlighten the minds of living beings. Amitabha then called the combination, which forthwith took up its abode in man, “OM MANI PADME HUM” (‘`I am the Jewel in the Lotus and in it I will remain.”) Then Padmapani, “the one in the Lotus”, vowed never, to cease working until he had made humanity feel his presence in itself and thus saved it from the misery of rebirth. He vowed to perform the feat before the end of the Kalpa, adding that in case of failure, he wished that his head would split into numberless fragments. The Kalpa closed; but humanity felt him not within his cold, evil heart. Then Padmapani's head split and was shattered into a thousand fragments. Moved with compassion, the Deity re-formed the pieces into ten heads, three white, and seven of various colors. And since that day man has become a perfect number or TEN.

In this allegory the potency of Sound, Color, and Number is so ingeniously introduced as to veil the real esoteric meaning. To the outsider it reads like one of the many meaningless fairy tales of creation; but it is pregnant with spiritual and Divine, physical and magnetic meaning. From Amitabha - non-colors or the white glory - are born the seven differentiated colors of the prism. These each emit a corresponding sound, forming the seven of the musical scale. As Geometry among the Mathematical Sciences is especially related to cosmogony, so the ten Jods of the Pythagorean Tetrad, or Tetractys, being made to symbolize the Macrocosm, Microcosm, or man, its image, has also to be divided into ten points. For this Nature herself has provided, as will be seen.

But before this statement can be proved and the perfect correspondence between the Macrocosm and Microcosm demonstrated, a few words of explanation are necessary.

To the learner who would study the Esoteric Sciences with their double object: (a) of proving man to be identical in spiritual and physical essence with both the Absolute Principle and with God in Nature, and (b) of demonstrating the presence in him of the same potential Powers as exist: in the creative forces in Nature, - to such an one a perfect knowledge of the correspondences between Colors, Sounds, and Numbers is the first requisite. As already said, the secret formula of the far East, “OM MANI PADME HUM” is the one best calculated to make these correspondential qualities and functions clear to the learner.

Let those, I say again, who feel themselves too much the children of our age to approach the many mysteries which have to be revealed, in a truly reverent spirit, even though references be made to such subjects and objects as seem improper and, to use the correct term, indecent, in our modern day - let him abandon these teachings at once. For I shall have to use terms and refer, especially in the beginning, to the most secret organs and functions of the human body, the bare mention of which, is certain to provoke either feelings of disgust and shame or an irreverent laugh.

It is such feelings which have invariably led the generations of writers on symbolism and religions, ever since the day of Kircher, to materialize every natural emblem and ideograph, in their impure thought and finally to sum up all religions, Christian included, as phallic worship. It is quite true that ever since the days of Pythagoras and Plato the exoteric cults began to deteriorate, until they debased the symbolism into the most shameful practices of our worship. Hence the horror and contempt, with which every true Occultist regards the so-called “personal God” and the exoteric ritualistic worship of the Churches - be they heathen or Christian. And even in the days of Plato it was so. It was the persecution of the true ierophants and the final suppression of those mysteries which alone purified man's thoughts, and led to Tantrike (sexual worship) and through the for-getting of Divine Truth, to Black Magic, whether conscious or otherwise.

Dozens and hundreds of works have been written upon the subject, especially in the latter part of our century. Every student can read for himself such works as those by Payne Knight, Higgins, Furlong, Inman, and finally Hargrave Jennings' Pallicism and Allen Campbell's Phallic Worship. All are based on truth with regard to the facts given; all are erroneous and unjust in their fundamental conclusions and deductions. To say, as the last-named does, "as the ancients did not conceive of an infinite divine being they naturally thought of a number of gods," is as untrue historically as it is misleading. It is because the ancients conceived, too well of an infinite Sat, BE-NESS -- philosophically and logically there can be no such creature as an "infinite" being, no more than a "personal" Absolute, -- that they anthropomorphized every force in Nature, which, if intelligent, must be a being higher than terrestrial man, or lower, as the case may be -- a thinking something in any case.

The above words are addressed to students in order that - knowing how bitter some Occultists feel both the carnalizing Churches and materialistic thinkers who see phallicism in every symbol -- they should not at the outset jump to the conclusion that, after all, the Occult Sciences likewise are based on nothing but a sexual foundation. Man and woman in their physical aspects and corporeal envelopes are but higher animals, and the various parts of their bodies, if studied at all, must be referred to in terms comprehensible to the student. But the idea of the unclean acts with which some of these organs are connected, in their present conception of humanity, does not militate against the fact that each organ has been evolved and developed to perform its sex functions on six different planes of action, besides its seventh, the lowest and purely terrestrial function on the physical plane. This will suffice as an introduction to what follows.

In the allegory of Padmapani, the Jewel (or Spiritual Ego) in the Lotus, or the symbol of androgynous man, the numbers 3, 4, 7, 10 as synthesizing the Unit, Man, are prominent, as I have already said. It is on the thorough knowledge and comprehension of the meaning and potency of these numbers, in their various and multiform combinations, and with their mutual correspondence with sound or (words) and colors or rates of motion (represented in science by vibrations) that the progress of a student in OCCULTISM depends. Therefore we must begin by the first, incipient word, Om, or Aum. Om is a blind. The sentence The sentence “Om Mani Padme Hum” is not a six but a seven-syllabled phrase, as the first syllable is double in its right pronunciation, and triple in its essence, A-um, it represents:

The forever-concealed primeval triune differentiation, not from but IN the ONE Absolute, and is therefore symbolized by the 4, or the Tetractys in the physical world. It is the Unity-ray, or Atman.

It is Atman, the highest spirit in man, which, in conjunction with Buddhi and Manas, is called the upper Triad, or Trinity. This Triad with its four lower human principles is, moreover, enveloped with an auric atmosphere, like the yolk of an egg (the future Embryo) by the albumen and shell. This, to the perceptions of the higher beings from other planes, makes of each individuality an oval sphere of more or less radiancy.

To show the student the perfect correspondence between the birth of Kosmos, a World, a planetary Being, or a child of sin and earth, a more definite and clear description must be given. Those acquainted with philosophy will understand it better than others.

Who, having read, say the Vishnu or other Purana, is not familiar with the exoteric allegory of the birth of Brahma (male-female) in the egg of the world, Hyranyagarbha, surrounded by its seven zones, or rather planes, which in the world of form and matter become seven and fourteen Lokas; the number seven and fourteen reappearing as occasion requires.

Without giving out the secret analysis, the Hindus have from time immemorial compared the matrix of the Universe, and also the solar matrix, to the female uterus. It is written of the former: “Its womb is as vast as the Meru,” and “the future mighty oceans lay asleep in the waters that filled its cavities, the continents, seas, and the mountains, the stars, planets, the gods, demons and mankind.” The whole resembled, in its inner and outer coverings, the cocoa-nut filled interiorly with pulp, and covered exteriorly with husk and rind. “Vast as Meru,” say the texts. “Meru was its amnion, and the other mountain was its Chorion,” adds a verse in Vishnu Purana, book I, ch. 2.

In the sane way is a man born in his mother's womb. As Brahma is surrounded, in exoteric traditions, by seven layers, within and seven layers without the mundane egg, so is the embryo - the first or the seventh layer, according to the end from which we begin to count. Just as Esotericism in this cosmogony enumerates seven inner and seven outer layers, so Physiology notes the contents of the uterus as seven also, although it is completely ignorant of its being a copy of what takes place in the Universal Matrix. These are:

1. Embryo. 2. Amniotic Fluid, immediately surrounding the Embryo. 3. Amnion, a membrane derived from the Foetus, which contains the fluid. 4. Umbilical Vesical, which serves to convey nourishment originally to the Embryo and to nourish it. 5. Allantois, a protrusion from the Embryo in the form of a closed bag, which spreads itself between 3 and 7, in the midst of 6, and which, after being specialized into the Placenta, serves to conduct nourishment to the Embryo. 6. Interspace between 3 and 7, (the Amnion and Chorian), filled with an albuminous fluid. 7. The outer layer, or Chorion.
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

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Part 2 of 2

Now every one of these seven contents correspond with, and is formed from, an antetype, one on each of the seven planes of being -- with which correspond in their turn the seven states of matter and every other force, sensational or functional, in Nature. The following is a bird's-eye view of the seven correspondential contents of the wombs of Nature and of mortal woman. We may contrast them thus:

COSMIC PROCESS. / HUMAN PROCESS.
(UPPER POLE.) / (LOWER POLE.)


(1) The mathematical Point, called the "Cosmic Seed," the Monad of Leibnitz; which contains in itself, as the acorn of the oak contains the tree itself, the whole Universe. This is the first bubble on the face of boundless homogeneous Substance, or Space, the bubble of differentiation in its incipient stage. It is the beginning of the Orphic or Brahma's Egg. It corresponds in Astrology and Astronomy to the Sun. / (1) The terrestrial Embryo, which contains in it the future man with all his potentialities. In the series of principles in the human system it is the Atman, or the meta-spiritual principle, just as in the solar or physical system it is the Sun.

(2) The vis vita of our solar system exudes from the Sun. / (2) The Amniotic Fluid exudes from the Embryo.

(a) It is called, when referred to the higher planes, Akasa. / (a) It is called, on the plane of matter, Prana.

(b) It proceeds from the ten "divinities" (the ten numbers of the Sun which is the "Perfect Number") called Dis (Space is reality) -- the forces spread in Space, threes of which are contained in the Sun's Atman, or seventh principle, and seven are the rays shot out by the Sun. / (b) It proceeds, taking its source in the universal One Life, or Jivatma, from the heart of man, and the Buddhi, over which the SEven Solar Rays (Gods) preside.

(3) The Ether of Space, which, in its external aspect, is the plastic crust (photosphere?) which is supposed to envelope the Sun. On the higher plane it is the whole Universe, as the third differentiation of evolving Substance, Mulaprakriti becoming Prakriti. / (3) The Amnion, the membrane which contains the fluid of that name, which envelopes the Foetus or Embryo. After the birth of man it becomes the third layer, so to say, of his magneto-vital aura.

(a) It corresponds mystically to the manifested Mahat, or the Intellect or Soul of the World. / (a) Manas, the third principle (counting from above), or the Human Soul in Man.

(4) The Sidereal contents of Ether, the substantial parts of it -- unknown to modern science. Represented: / (4) Umbilical Vesicle, serving, as science teaches, to originally nourish the Embryo, but as Occult Science avers to carry osmosically to the Foetus the cosmic influences extraneous to the mother.

(a) In the Occult and Kabalistic Mysteries, by Elementals. / (a) In the grown man these become the feeders of Kama Rupa, over which they preside.

(b) In physical Astronomy, by meteors, comets, and all kinds of cosmic casual and phenomenal bodies. / (b) In the physical man, his passions and actions -- the moral meteors and comets of the Human nature.

(5) Life currents in Ether, having their origin in the Sun: the canals through which the vital principle of that Ether (the blood of the Cosmic Body) passes to nourish everything on the Earth and on the other planets: from the minerals, which are thus made to grow and become specialized, from the plants, which they feed, to animal and man, to whom they impart life. / (5) The Allantois, a protrusion from the Embryo which spreads itself between the Amnion and Chorion; it is supposed to conduct thenourishment from the mother to the Embryo. It corresponds to the life-principle, Prana or Jiva.

(6)The double radiation, psychic and physical, which radiates from the cosmic seed and expands around the whole Kosmos as well as around the solar system and every planet.
In Occultism it is called the upper Divine and the lower material Astral Light.
/ (6) The Allantois is divided into two layers. The interspace between the Minion and the Chorion contain the Allantois and also an albuminous fluid. (All the uterine contents having a direct spiritual connection with their cosmic entetypes, and on the physical plane potent objects in Black Magic - therefore considered unclean).

(7) The outer Crust of every sidereal body, the Shell of the Mundane Egg, or the sphere of our solar system, of our earth, and of every man and animal. In sidereal space, Ether proper; on the terrestrial plane, Air, which again is built in seven layers. / (7) The Chorion, or the Zona Pellicida, the globular object called Blastedermic Vesicle, the outer and the inner layers of which membrane go to form the physical man. The outer (or ectoderm) forms his epidermis; the inner (or eritoderm) his muscles, bones, etc. Man's skin, again, is composed of seven layers.

(a) The primordial potential world-stuff becomes (for the Manvantaric period) the permanent globe or globes. / (a) The “primitive” becomes' the “Permanent” Chorion.


Even in the evolution of the races we see the same order as in nature and man. (vide Secret Doctrine, vol. II.) Placental Animal-man become such only after the separation of the sexes in the Third Root race. In the physical-evolution, the placenta is fully formed and functional only after the 3rd month of uterine life.

Let us set aside such human conceptions as a personal God, and hold to the purely Divine, to that which underlies all and everything in boundless nature. It is called by its Sanskrit esoteric name in the Vedas, TAT (or THAT); a term for unknowable Rootless Root. If we do so, we may answer these seven questions of the Esoteric Catechism, thus:

(1) Q. - What is the External Absolute?

A. - THAT.

(2) Q . - How came Kosmos into being?

A. - Through THAT.

(3) Q. - How or what will it be when it falls back into Pralaya?

A. - In THAT.

(4) Q . - Whence all the animate, and suppositionally, the inanimate in nature?

A. - From THAT.

(5) Q. - What is the Substance and Essence of which the Universe is formed?

A. - THAT.

(6) Q. - Into what has it been and will be again and again resolved?

A. - Into THAT.

(7) Q. - Is that then both the instrumental and material cause of the Universe?

A. - What else is it or can be than THAT.

As the Universe, the Macrocosm and the Microcosm, are ten, why should we divide Man into seven “principles?” This is the reason -- one which cannot be given out publicly -- why the perfect number ten is divided into two. In its completeness, i.e., super-spiritually and physically, the forces are TEN, to wit: three on the subject and inconceivable, and seven on the objective plane. Bear in mind that I am now giving you the description of the two opposite poles: (a) the primordial triangle, which as soon as it has reflected itself in the “Heavenly Man,” the highest of the lower seven––disappears, returning into “Silence and Darkness”; and (b) the astral paradigmatic man, whose Monad (Atman) is also represented by a triangle, as it has to become a ternary in conscious Devachanic interludes. The purely terrestrial man being reflected in the universe of matter, so to say, upside-down, the upper triangle, wherein the creative ideation and the subjective potentiality of the formative faculty resides, is shifted in the man of clay below the seven. Thus three of the ten, containing in the archetypal world only ideative and paradigmatic potentiality, i.e., existing in possibility, not in action, are in fact one. The potency of formative creation resides in the Logos, the synthesis of the seven Forces or Rays, which becomes forthwith the Quaternary, the sacred Tetraktys. This process is repeated in man, in whom the lower physical Triangle becomes, in conjunction with the female One, the male female creator or generator. The same on a still lower plane in the animal world. A mystery above, a mystery below, truly.

This is how the upper and highest, and the lower and most animal, stand in mutual relation.

Image
DOUBLE-PAGE DIAGRAM.

In this diagram we see that physical man (or his body) does not share in the direct pure wave of the divine Essence which flows from the One in Three, the Unmanifested, through the Manifested Logos (the upper face in the diagram). Purusha, the primeval Spirit, touches the human head and stops there. But the Spiritual Man (the synthesis of the seven principles) is directly connected with it. And here a few words ought to be said about the usual exoteric enumeration of the principles. As those not pledged could hardly be entrusted with the whole truth, an approximate division only was made and given out. Esoteric Buddhism begins with Âtman, the seventh, and ends with the Physical Body, the first. Now, neither Âtman, which is no individual “principle” but a radiation from and one with the Unmanifested Logos; nor the body, which is the material rind or shell of the Spiritual Man, can be, in strict truth, referred to as “principles.” Moreover the chief “principle” of all, one not even mentioned heretofore, is the “Luminous Egg” (Hiranyagarbha) or the invisible magnetic sphere in which every man is enveloped. [1] It is the direct emanation: (a) from the Âtmic Ray in its triple aspect of Creator, Preserver and Destroyer (Regenerator); and (b) from Buddhi-Manas. The seventh aspect of this individual aura is the faculty of assuming the form of its body and becoming the “Radiant,” the Luminous Augoeides. It is this, strictly speaking, which at times becomes the form called Mâyâvi-Rûpa. Therefore as explained in the second face of the diagram (the astral man), the Spiritual Man consists of only five principles, as taught by the Vedântins, who substitute tacitly for the physical this sixth, or Auric Body, and merge the dual Manas (the dual mind or consciousness) into one. Thus they speak of five koœas (sheaths or principles), and call Âtman the sixth yet no “principle.” This is the secret of the late Subba Row’s criticism of the division in Esoteric Buddhism. He knew well our difficulty, and had accepted our exoteric enumeration at one time, but took advantage of my pledge of secrecy and the impossibility I was in to defend myself publicly before the profane world. (Vide. Secret Doctrine, vol. I, p. 157, for the Vedantic exoteric enumeration.) But let the student now learn the true esoteric enumeration. It was not given to Mr. A.P. Sinnett, who would never pledge himself, and was known to contemplate from the first giving out his information to the public. Therefore the division of the "principles" is given in Esoteric Buddhism exoterically.

Image
COLORED DIAGRAM.
In the above diagram, we see that ATMA is no "principle," but stands separate from the Man, whose seven "principles" are represented as follows:
7th Principle ... The Auric Egg, colored blue.
6th Principle ... Buddhi, colored Yellow.
5th Principle ... Manas: The Upper, its apex pointing upwards, colored Indigo Blue. The Lower, its apex downwards, colored Green.
4th Principle: ... Kama, represented as a five-pointed star, with the "horns of Evil" upwards, embracing the Lower Manas, colored Blood-Red.
3d Principle ... Linga Sakira, colored Violet as the vehicle of Life (Orange), and partaking of Kama (Red), and occasionally of the Auric Envelope, which is Blue.
2d Principle ... Prana, Life, colored Orange, the hue of the ascestic's robes.
1st Principle ... The mayavic contour of the large five-pointed star within the Auric Egg represents the physical body of Man.


The reason why it is not permitted to speak of the Auric body is because it is so sacred. It is this which, at death, conveys, by assimilating the, the spiritual principles, or essence of Buddhi and Manas, which are not objective, and then, with the full radiation of Atma upon itself, it ascends as Manas-Taijasi into the Devachanic state. Therefore is it called by many names. It is the Sutratma, the silver thread which "incarnates" (follows, rather) from the beginning of Manvantara to the end, threading upon itself the pearls of human existence, i.e., the spiritual aroma of every personality it follows through the pilgrimage of life. (Vide Lucifer, Jan. 1889, "Dialogue upon the Mysteries of After-Life.") It is also the material from which the Adept forms his astral bodies, from the Augoeides and the Mayavi-Rupa downwards. After the death of man, when its most ethereal particles have drawn into themselves the spiritual principles of Buddhi and the Upper Manas, and are illuminated with the radiance of Ãtmâ, the Auric Body remains either in the Devachanic state of consciousness, or, in the case of a full Adept, prefers the state of a Nirmânakâya, that is, one who has so purified his whole system that he is above even the divine illusion of a Devachanee. Such an Adept remains in the astral (invisible) plane connected with our earth, and henceforth moves and lives in the possession of all his principles except the Kâma Rûpa and Physical Body. In the case, alter ego within the body -- as the radiant aura was without it -- the Linga Sarira, strengthened by the material particles of the aura which it leaves behind, remains near and outside the death body, and soon fades out. In the second case, the body alone becomes subject to dissolution, while the center of that force which was the seat of desires and passions disappears, of course, with its cause -- the animal body. But during the life of the latter all these centers are more or less active and in constant correspondence with their prototypes -- the cosmic centers -- and the microcosms of these -- the principles. It is only through these cosmic and spiritual, that the physical centers (the seven openings of the upper, and the triad of the lower body) can benefit by their occult interaction. It is these orifices, or openings, that are the channels conducting into the body the influences that the will of man attracts and benefits by, i.e., the cosmic forces; although that will has to act primarily through the spiritual principles. To make this clearer:

In order to stop pain in the physical eye -- say the right one -- one has to attract to it the potent magnetism from that cosmic principle which corresponds to that eye, as also in Buddhi. Create, by a powerful will effort, an imaginary line of communication between Buddhi -- locating it as a center in the same portion of the head -- and the right eye. That line though we may call it "imaginary," is in reality as good as real, once you succeed in seeing it with your mental eye and give it a shape and color. A rope in a dream is not and yet is. Besides which, according to the prismatic color you endow your line with, so will the influence act. Buddhi and Mercury correspond with each other, and both are yellow, or radiant and golden colored. In the human system, the right eye corresponds with Buddhi and Mercury; and Manas with the left and Venus, or Lucifer. Thus, if your line is golden or silvery, it will stop the pain: if red, it will increase it -- as red is the color of Kama and corresponds with Mars. Mental or Christian Scientists have stumbled upon the effects without understanding the causes. They have found by chance the secret of producing such results owing to mental abstraction, and they attribute them to their union with God (whether a personal or impersonal God they know best), whereas it is simply the effect of one or another principle. However it may be, they are on the path of discovery, although they must remain wandering for a long time yet.

Let not the students of the E. S. commit the same mistake. It has often been explained that neither the cosmic planes of substance nor even the human principles could be located or thought of as anything, within Space and Time -- except our body and the lowest physical plane or world, which, as said, are no "principles." As the former are seven in ONE, so we are seven in one -- the same Absolute Soul of the World, which is both matter and non-matter, Spirit and Non-Spirit, Being and Non-Being. Impress yourselves well with this idea; all those of you who would study the mysteries of SELF.

Remember that with our physical senses alone at our command none of us can hope to see beyond gross matter. We can do so only through one or another of our seven spiritual senses, if these are trained, or if one is a born seer. Even with this capacity and when seeing in the astral light, unless one is an Adept, ignorance of the whole truth can only lead the most honest and sincere clairvoyant (as witness Swedenborg and several others) to mistake the denizens of such spheres, of which he may occasionally get a glimpse, for God or Angels.

These seven senses of ours correspond with every other septenate in Nature and in ourselves. Physically, though invisibly, the human auric envelope (the amnion of the physical man in every age of life) has seven layers, just as our physical epidermis and as Cosmic Space have. It is this aura which, according to our mental and physical state of purity or impurity, either opens for us vistas into other worlds, or shuts us out altogether from anything but the three dimensional world of matter.

Each of our seven physical senses (though two remain unknown to Science), as also our seven states of consciousness -- i.e., (1) the waking; (2) the waking-dreaming; (3) the natural sleeping; (4) the induced or trance-sleep; (5) the psychic; (6) the super-psychic, or siderial; and (7) the purely spiritual state of consciousness,-- corresponds with one of the seven cosmic planes, developes and uses one of the seven supersenses, is connected directly with the cosmic and divine center of force that gave it birth, and which is its direct creator, in its use on the terrestro- spiritual plane. Each is also connected with, and under the direct influence of, one of the seven sacred planets. These belonged to the Lesser Mysteries, whose followers were called Mystes (the veiled), who indeed were allowed to see things only as through a mist; while the Initiates of the Greater Mysteries were the Epoptai (those who see things unveiled.) It was the latter only who were taught the true mysteries of the Zodiac and the relations and correspondences between the twelve signs (two secret) of the Zodiac and the ten human orifices. [2] The difficulty which some students will experience in reading this can be easily explained. For the first difficulty, vide infra note: magic is coeval with the Third Root Race, which began creating through Kriyasakti and ended by generating its species in the present way (vide Secret Doctrine, vol. 1, p. 207 et seq.) As it is woman who was left with the full or perfect cosmic number ten (the divine number of Jehovah), she was deemed higher and more spiritual than man. In Egypt, in days of old, the marriage service contained an article that the woman should be the "lady of the Lord" and real lord over him, the husband pledging himself to be "obedient to his wife" for the production of alchemical results such as the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, the spiritual help of the woman being needed by the male alchemist. But woe to the alchemist who should take this in the dead-letter sense of physical union, as this would become black magic and be followed by certain failure. The true alchemist of old took aged women to help him, carefully avoiding the young ones; and if some of them happened to be married they treated their wives for months before and during their operations as sisters.

As for the Zodiacal signs, of which the ancients are credited with having known but ten, the error is explained in Isis Unveiled, vol. II, pp. 456, 465 et seq. The ancients did know of them, but viewed these signs differently to what we do. They never took singly into consideration either Virgo or Scorpio, but regarded them as two in one, since they were made to refer directly and symbolically to the primeval dual man and his separation into sexes. During the reformation of the Zodiac, Libra was added as the twelfth sign, though it is simply an equilibrating sign, at the intersection -- the mystery of separated man. (Vide Isis, vol. II, p. 461.)

Let the student learn all this well. Meanwhile we have to recapitulate what was said.

(1) Each human being is an incarnation of his God, in other words, one with his "Father in Heaven," just as Jesus, an Initiate, is made to say. So many men on earth, so many Gods in Heaven, and yet these Gods are in reality ONE, for at the end of every period of activity, like the rays of the setting sun they are withdrawn into the Parent Luminary, the Non-Manifested Logos, who in his turn is merged in the One Absolute. Shall we call these "Fathers" of ours, whether individually or collectively, and under any circumstances, our personal God? Occultism answers, Never. All that an average man can know of his "Father" is what he knows of, through and within himself. The soul of his "Heavenly Father" is incarnated in him; this soul is himself, if he is successful in assimilating the divine individuality while in his physical, animal shell. As to the spirit thereof, as well expect to be heard by the Absolute. Our prayers and supplications are vain, unless we add potential acts to potential words, and make the aura which surrounds each of us so pure and divine as to permit the God in us to act outwardly, i.e., to become like an extraneous Potency. Thus Initiates, Saints and very holy and pure men could help others as well as themselves in an hour of need, and could produce what are foolishly called "miracles," each by and with the help of the God within himself, whom he alone enabled to act on the outward plane.

(2) The word AUM, or OM, which corresponds to the upper triangle, pronounced by a very holy and pure man, will draw out, or awaken, not only the less exalted potencies residing in the planetary spaces, and elements, but even his Highest Self, or the "Father" within him. Pronounced by an averagely good man in the correct way, it will help to strengthen him morally, especially if between two "Aums" he meditates intensely upon the "AUM" within him, concentrating all his attention upon the ineffable glory. But woe to the man who pronounces it after the commission of some far-reaching sin: he will only attract thereby to his own impure photosphere invisible presences and forces which could not otherwise break through the divine envelope. All the members of the Esoteric Section are invited to pronounce -- if earnest in their endeavor to learn -- the divine word before going to sleep and the first thing upon awakening, Brother Judge, of New York, has the right accent and he can impart it to those in the United States.

Aum is the origin of Amen.
Now Amen is not a Hebrew word, but, like the word Halleluiah, was borrowed by the Jews and Greeks from the Chaldees. The latter term is often found repeated in certain magical inscriptions upon cups and urns among the Babylonian and Ninivean relics. (See in the British Museum.) Amen does not mean "so be it," or simply "verily," but meant in hoary antiquity almost all that the word Aum means. The Jewish Tanaim (Initiates) used it for the same reason and with a like success: the numerical value of AMeN in Hebrew letters being 91, the same as the full value of YHVH [3] 26, and ADoNaY, 65, or 91. Both words mean the affirmation of being, or existence, and of the sexless "Lord" within us.

(3) Esoteric Science teaches that every sound in the visible world awakens its corresponding sound in the invisible realms, and arouses to action some force or another on the occult side of nature. Moreover, every sound corresponds to a color and a number, a potency spiritual, psychic or physical, and to a sensation on some plane. All these find an echo in every one of the so-far developed elements, even on the terrestrial plane, in the Lives that swarm in the terrene atmosphere, thus prompting them to action.

Thus a prayer, unless pronounced mentally and addressed to one's "Father" in the silence and solitude of one's "closet," must have, in view of the ignorance by the masses of the effects which they produce, more frequently disastrous than beneficial results. To produce good effects, the prayer must be uttered by "one who knows how to make himself heard in silence," when it is no longer a prayer but a command. Why is Jesus shown to have forbidden going to the public synagogues? Surely every praying man was not a hypocrite and a liar, nor a Pharisee who loved to be seen praying by people. He had a motive, we must suppose: the same motive which prompts the experienced Occultist to prevent his pupils from going into crowded places now as then, from entering churches, seance-rooms, etc., unless one is in sympathy with the crowd.

There is one piece of advice to be given to beginners, who cannot help going into crowds -- one which may appear superstitious, but which in the absence of occult knowledge will be found efficacious. As well known to good astrologers, the days of the week, though they bear the names of the planets and sun and moon, are not in the order of those planets whose names they bear. The fact is that the ancient Hindus and Egyptians divided the day into four parts, each day being under the protection, (as ascertained by practical magic) of a planet; and that every day, as correctly asserted by Dion Cassius, received the name of that planet which ruled and protected its first portion. Let the student protect himself from the "Powers of the Air" (Elementals) which throng public places by wearing either a ring, some jewel of the color of the presiding planet, or else some metal sacred to it. But the best protection is a clear conscience and a firm desire of benefiting Humanity.

Let me close this first instruction to those who have honored me with their confidence by taking the pledge, with a few words addressed to them. They must in all necessity be separated into two broad divisions: those who have not quite ridden themselves from the usual skeptical doubts, but who long to ascertain how much truth there may be in the claims of the Occultists; and those others who, having freed themselves from the trammels of materialism and relativity, feel that true and real bliss must be sought only in the knowledge and personal experience of that which the Hindu philosopher calls the Brahmavidya, and the Buddhist Arhat the realization of Adibudha, the primeval Wisdom. Let the former pick out and study from the instructions received only those explanations of the phenomena of life which profane science is unable to give them. Even with such limitations, they will find by the end of a year or two that they will have learned more than all their Universities and Colleges can teach them. As to the sincere believers, they will be rewarded by seeing their faith transformed into knowledge. True knowledge is of Spirit and in Spirit alone, and cannot be acquired in any other way except through the region of the higher mind, the only plane from which we can reach into the depths of the all-pervading Absoluteness. He who carries out only the laws established by human minds, who lives that life which is prescribed by the code of mortal and fallible legislation, chooses as his guiding star a beacon which shines on the ocean of Maya, or of temporary delusions, and that lasts but for one incarnation. These laws are necessary for the life and welfare of the physical man alone. He has chosen a pilot who directs him through the shoals of one existence, a Master who parts with him, however, on the threshold of death. How much happier that man who, while strictly performing on the objective, temporary plane the duties of daily life, carrying out each and every law of his country -- and giving, in short, to Caesar what is Caesar's -- leads in reality a spiritual, therefore permanent existence, a life with no breaks of continuity, no gaps, no interludes, not even during those periods which are the termini of the long pilgrimages of purely spiritual life, called "post-mortem" states. All the phenomena of the human (lower) mind disappear like the curtain of a proscenium, allowing us to live in the region behind it, the plane of the Noumenal, the one true. If man but succeeds in suppressing, if not destroying, his selfishness and personality, to know himself as he is behind the veil of physical Maya, he will soon stand beyond all pain, all misery, as beyond all the wear and tear of change, which is the chief originator of pain. Such a man will be physically of matter, he will move surrounded by matter, yet live beyond and outside it. His body will be subject to change, but he himself be entirely without it, will experience everlasting life even while in temporary bodies of short duration. All this may be achieved by the development of unselfish, universal love for Humanity and the suppression of personality, or selfishness -- the cause of all sin, as of all human sorrow. H. P. B. Image

AUM.

_______________

Notes:

1. So are the animals, the plants and even the minerals. Reichenbach never understood what he learned through his sensitives and clairvoyants. It is the odic or rather the auric or magnetic fluid which emanates from man, but it is also something more. Of the animal, mineral and vegetable auras I will treat later.

2. The latter are, of course ten in the female alone now, and nine only in the male; but this is only external. In the second volume of the Secret Doctrine it is stated that till the end of the Third Root Race (when androgynous man separated into male and female) the ten orifices existed in the hermaphrodite, first potentially, then functionally. The evolution of the human embryo shows it. The only opening first formed is the buccal cavity, "a cloaca communicating with the anterior extremity of the intestine." This becomes later the mouth and the back opening: the Logos differentiating and emanating gross matter on the lower plane, in occult parlance.

3. Jod-Hevah, or male-female on the terrestrial plane, as invented by the Jews, and now made out to mean Jehovah; but signifying in reality and literally, "giving being" and "receiving life."

***

Image
TABULAR DIAGRAM.
These Correspondences are from the Objective, Terrestrial Plane.
ATMAN is not a Number, and corresponds to no visible planet, as it proceeds from the Spiritual Sun; nor does it bear any relation either to Sound, Color, or anything else, as it includes them all.
As the Human Principles are no Numbers, per se, but only correspond to Numbers, Sounds, Colors, etc., they are not enumerated here in the order used for exoteric purposes.


NUMBERS / METALS / PLANETS / THE HUMAN PRINCIPLES / DAYS OF THE WEEK / COLORS / SOUND. MUSICAL SCALE

1 and 10, Physical Man's Key-note / IRON / ImageMARS. The Planet of Generation / KAMA RUPA. The vehicle or seat of the Animal Instincts and Passions. / TUESDAY / 1. RED / SA. / DO.

2. Life Spiritual and Life Physical / GOLD / ImageTHE SUN. Giver of Life Physically. Spiritually and esoterically the substitute for the inter-Mercurial planet, a sacred and secret planet with the ancients / PRANA, OR JIVA. Equals "Life." / SUNDAY. Dies Solis. / 2. ORANGE / RI / RE

3. Because BUDDHI is (so to speak) between ATMA and MANAS, and forms with the seventh, or AURIC ENVELOPE, the Devachanic Triad / ImageMERCURY. (Mixed with SULPHUR.) As BUDDHI is mixed with the Flame of Spirit. See Alchemical Definitions. / MERCURY. The Messenger and the Interpreter of the Gods. / BUDDHI. Spiritual Soul, or Atmic Ray, and its vehicle. / WEDNESDAY. Day of Buddha in the South, and of Wodin in the North -- Gods of Wisdom. / 3. YELLOW. / GA / MI

4. The middle principle -- between the purely material and purely spiritual triads. The conscious part of animal man. / LEAD / ImageSATURN / KAMA MANAS. The Lower Mind, or "Animal Soul." / SATURDAY / 4. GREEN / MA / FA

5. / TIN / ImageJUPITER / AURIC ENVELOPE / THURSDAY. Dies Jovis, or Thor / 5. BLUE / PA / SOI

6. The Double Triad, partaking of the Human and the Divine / COPPER. When alloyed becomes Bronze: -- Dual principle / ImageVENUS. The Morning and the Evening Star. / MANAS. The Higher Mind, or Human Soul. / FRIDAY / 6. INDIGO, OR DARK BLUE / DA / LA

7. Contains in itself the reflection of Septenary Man / SILVER / ImageTHE MOON. Parent of the Earth / LINGA SARIRA. Or the Astral Double of Man. The Parent of the Physical Man. / MONDAY. Day of the Moon. / 7. VIOLET / NI / SI


APPENDIX.

The Planets, the Days of the Week, and Their Corresponding Colors and Metals.

In the accompanying diagram the days of the week do not stand in their usual order, though they are placed in their correct sequence as determined by the order of the colors in the solar spectrum and the corresponding colors of their ruling planets. The fault of the confusion in the order of the days revealed by this comparison lies at the door of the early Christians. While adopting from the Jews their lunar months, they tried to blend them with the solar planets, and made a mess of it; for the order of the days of the week as they now stand does not follow the order of the planets.

Now the ancients arranged the planets in the following order: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, counting the Sun as a planet for exoteric purposes
. Again, the Egyptians and Indians, the two oldest nations, divided their day into four parts, each of which was under the protection and ruling of a planet. Each day came after a time to be called by the name of that planet which ruled its first portion -- the morning. Now, when the Christians arranged their week, they proceeded thus: they wanted to make the day of the Sun, or Sunday, the seventh, so they named the days of the week by taking every fourth planet in turn, e. g., beginning with the Moon (Monday) they counted thus: Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun -- Mars; thus Tuesday, the day whose first portion was ruled by Mars, became the second day of the week; and so on. Moreover, the Moon, like the Sun, is a substitute for a secret planet.

The word week was in Latin septimam, signifying "measure of time," because composed of seven mornings (from septem and matinam), or seven diurnal Suns. Also the present division of the solar year was made several centuries later than the beginning of our era: and our week is not that of the ancients and the Occultists. The septenary division of the four parts of the lunar phases is as old as the world, and was begun by the people who counted by the lunar months. The Hebrews never had it nor used it, for they counted only the seventh day, the Sabbath, though the second chapter of Genesis seems to speak of it. Till the days of the Caesars there is no trace of a week of seven days among any nation save the Hindus. From India it passed to the Arabs, and reached Europe with Christianity. The Roman week consisted of eight days, and the Athenian of ten. (Vide Notice Sur le Calendrier, par. J. H. Ragon.) It is one of the numberless contradictions and fallacies of Christendom to have adopted the Indian septenary week of the lunar calculation and to have preserved at the same time the mythological names of the planets.

Neither do the modern Astrologers give the days and planets with their corresponding colors correctly; and while the Occultists can give good reason for every detail of their arrangement; colors, etc., it is doubtful whether the moderns can do the same. H. P. B. Image

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"... I have no authority whatever in the Society excepting over the Esoteric Section which is entirely independent of Adyar (see rule in Jan --- Theosophist) .... As the new Adyar Rules stand, I have no power nor authority, neither would I accept it did they want to give it me, for most probably I will never go back to India. I will stop here & fight for Theosophy in Europe & America till I drop dead. With every day I have greater & greater numbers of real esotericists ... who join the Section of which I am the supreme head. And when several hundreds of honourable men will have learnt what I know & what I can teach, then I will be vindicated in the eyes of posterity, & Theosophy will be carried onward by them even when I am dead. I take no money, I have no benefits or worldly gains by this teaching ...."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated Feb. 19, 1989
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

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E.S.T.S. DOCUMENT SIGNED BY BERTRAM KEIGHTLEY

The Esoteric section of the Theosophical Society.

It has become necessary that the attention of all members of this section should be called to the first sentence in the second clause of the Pledge which they have taken, and which runs as follows:

"I pledge myself to support, before the world, the Theosophical movement, its leaders and its members;"

The first necessity of the Esoteric Section as a body is the existence of a strong feeling of mutual solidarity among its members, and a deep conviction that it is their duty not to sit passive waiting to be taught, but on the contrary to do all that lies in their power to assist the cause of Theosophy, and in one respect especially the members of this Section have neglected their duty and drawn down upon themselves severe reproof from the "Teachers".

This neglect of their duty, amounting in many cases to a breach of the Pledge, lies in the fact that they have permitted attacks on the Society, on its Founders, and worse than all, disparaging remarks about the Sacred Science and Philosophy, to be made in various Newspapers without protest of any kind. It is true that letters from one or two individuals only, would produce but little effect on the minds of Editors. But if every member of the Esoteric Section made it his duty, a duty never to be omitted to write and protest vigorously against such attacks whenever and wherever made, the persistent action of a large body like this Section, backed as it would be by support on a higher plane, would relieve, at all events, the Members from the stigma of not acting up to their pledged word.

This applies with special force in the case of the Spiritualistic Journals, which cannot deny a priori either the philosophical basis or the phenomenal evidence of Theosophy, but which are nevertheless among the most frequent assailants of the Society and its leaders, as witness the Religio-Philosophical Journal in America and the Medium and Daybreak in England? Now the former would hardly venture to publish such scurrilous attacks on Theosophy as those of W.E. Coleman, if the members of the E.S. in America with one accord wrote and protested, and, if their protest remained unheeded, ceased subscribing to the paper, and induced as many of their friends as possible to follow their example--- writing at the same time to the Editor to state their reasons for so doing. Nor in England would the Medium and Daybreak think of publishing such paragraphs as those which have many times appeared therein, the latest one concluding with these words: "The 'Mahatmas' are simply 'spirit-guides', and their work has been far outdistanced by what has been done in Spiritualism," if the Editor found that such statements cost him subscribers, as well as bringing down on him a shower of protests.

It is the spirit of thorough solidarity alone which can make the Esoteric Section a power in the world on the side of Theosophy, and it is only by making it such a powerful agent for the work of the Masters that the members of the Section can expect to deserve teaching, guidance and help, at the hands of those Servants of Humanity.

Yours Fraternally,
Bertram Keightley,
Hon. Sec. E.S.
March 17, 1889

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"As many of you are aware, we have formed the 'Esoteric Section'. Its members are pledged, among other things, to work for Theosophy under my direction. By it, for one thing, we have endeavored to secure some solidarity in our common work: to form a strong body of resistance against attempts to injure us on the part of the outside world, against prejudice against the Theosophical Society and against me personally. By its means much may be done to nullify the damage to the work of the Society in the past and to vastly further its work in the future.

"Its name, however, I would willingly change. The Boston scandals have entirely discredited the name 'Esoteric'; but this is a matter for after consideration."

H.P. Blavatsky

Letter dated April 7, 1889. Read by William Q. Judge on April 28, 1889 to the Third Annual Convention of the American Section of the Theosophical Society

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"... Every month I write from forty to fifty pages of 'Esoteric Instructions,' instructions in secret sciences, which must not be printed. Five or six wretched voluntary martyrs among my esotericists have to draw, write and lithograph during the nights, some 320 copies of them, which I have to superintend, to rectify, to compare and to correct, so that there may be no mistakes and my occult information may not be put to shame. Just think of that! White-haired, trained Cabalists and sworn Free-Masons take lessons from me ...."

H.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated early 1889

***

H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION

"... I [have] over 450 pledged Esotericists in America alone ....The Esoteric Instructions I give are plain, sound occultism .... These instructions ... are genuine, bonafide occult knowledge of Eastern Science, which I alone can give. None of the Members pay one penny except postage, & many of them not even that .... to certain devoted disciples here it cost hundreds of pounds a year to prepare all these hand-done MSS. instructions ....."

B.P. Blavatsky
Letter dated April 30, 1889
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Re: The Esoteric Papers of Madame Blavatsky, by H. P. Blavat

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Part 1 of 2

E.S. INSTRUCTIONS NO. II BY H.P. BLAVATSKY (FACSIMILE OF 1890 ARYAN PRESS EDITION)

INSTRUCTIONS NO. II.

March and April, 1889.

Strictly Private and Confidential.

[NOT THE PROPERTY OF ANY MEMBER, AND TO BE RETURNED ON DEMAND TO THE HEAD OF THE SECTION OR TO WILLIAM Q. JUDGE, P.O. BOX 2659, NEW YORK, N.Y.]

E. S. T. S. -- No. II.

Instruction for March and April, 1889

IT seems useful, in view of the abstruse nature of the subjects dealt with, that we should premise by explaining some points which remained obscure in the instruction for January and February, as well as some statements in which there was an appearance of contradiction.

Astrologers, we hear, -- and we have many among the Esotericists -- are likely to be puzzled by some statements distinctly contradicting their teachings; whilst those who know nothing of Esoteric Astrology may perhaps find themselves opposed at the outset by some of their friends who have studied the exoteric systems of the Kabala and Astrology. For, let it be distinctly known, nothing of that which is printed broadcast, i. e.; available to every student in public libraries or even museums, is really esoteric, but is either mixed with deliberate blinds, or cannot be understood and studied with profit without a complete glossary of the occult terms and their equivalents.

The following teachings and explanations, therefore, may be useful to the student in assisting him to formulate the teaching given in the instruction for January and February.

In the first place we may have to speak of the diagrams which accompanied the first instruction, and which for the sake of brevity may be referred to as: (1) the Double-Page Diagram=D. P.; (2) the Colored Diagram=C.; (3) the Tabular Diagram=T.

First. in regard to the Double-Page Diagram, it will be observed that centers 3, 7and 10 therein treated are respectively as follows:

(a) The 3 pertain to the spiritual world of the Absolute, and therefore to the three higher principles in Man.

(b) The 7 belong to the spiritual, psychic and physical world and to the body of man. Physics, metaphysics and hyperphysics are the triad that symbolizes man on this plane.

(c) The sum-total of this, or the 10, is the Universe as a whole, in all its aspects, and also its Microcosm -- Man, with his ten orifices.

Therefore, laying aside. for the moment, the Higher Decade (Kosmos) and the Lower Decade (Man) -- this comes to saying that the three numbers of the separate sevens have a direct reference to the Spirit, Soul and Auric Envelope of the Human Being; as much as to the Higher, Supersensual World. The lower four, or the four aspects, belong to Man also, as well as to the Universal Kosmos, the whole being synthesized by the Absolute.

If these three discrete or distributive degrees of being be conceived as symbolized and comprehended in all the Eastern religions in one Ovum, or EGG, the name of that EGG will be Swabhavat, or the ALL-BEING on the manifested plane. This Universe has, in truth, neither center nor periphery; but in the individual and finite mind of man it has such a definition, in consequence naturally of the limitations of human thought.

With regard to the Tabular Diagram, as remarked in its right-hand corner, no notice need be taken of any numbers used in the left-hand column, as these numbers refer only to the Hierarchies of the Colors and Sounds on the Metaphysical plane, and are not the characteristic numbers of the human principles or of the planets. The human principles elude enumeration, because every man differs from another, just as there are no two leaves or blades of grass on the whole earth absolutely alike. Numbering here is a question of spiritual progress and of the natural predominance of one "principle" over another. With one man it may be Buddhi that stands as number one; with another, the Lower Manas -- if the man be a bestial sensualist. With one the physical body, or perhaps Prana, the life principle (in an extremely healthy man, full of vitality), will be on the first and highest plane; with another it may come as the sixth or even seventh downward. Again, the colors and metals, as will be observed, corresponding to the planets and human principles, are not those known exoterically to modern Astrologers and Western Occultists.

As an instance, and in order to show whence the modern Astrologer got his notions about the correspondence of planets, metals and colors. The modern Orientalist, judging on appearances, credits the ancient Akkadians (also the Chaldeans, Hindus and Egyptians) with the crude notion that our Universe (and the earth likewise) was like an inverted, round, bell-shaped bowl! This he demonstrates by pointing to the Akkadian representations of some symbolical inscriptions and to the Assyrian carvings. It is no place here to explain how mistaken is the Assyriologist, for all such representations are simply symbolical of the Khargak-kurra, the "World-Mountain," or Meru, and relate only to the North Pole, the land of the Gods. (Vide Secret Doctrine, vol. III p. 357, and vol. 1, p. 127 et seq.) But this is how the Assyrians arranged their exoteric teaching about the planets and their correspondences:

NUMBERS / PLANETS / METALS / COLORS / SOLAR DAYS OF WEEK

1 / Saturn / Lead / Black / Saturday. (Whence Sabbath, in honor of Jehovah.)
2 / Jupiter / Tin / White, but as often purple or orange / Thursday
3 / Mars / Iron / Red / Tuesday
4 / Sun / Gold / Yellow-golden / Sunday
5 / Venus / Copper / Green or yellow Friday
6 / Mercury / Quicksilver / Blue / Wednesday
7 / Moon / Silver / Silver-white / Monday


This is the arrangement now adopted by Christian Astrologers, as will be shown, -- save in the case of the days of the week, of which order they have, by associating the solar planetary names with the lunar weeks, made a sore mess. (Vide Instructions No. I.) It is the Ptolemaic system in which the Concentric Diagram that represents the Universe shows our Earth in the center of the Universe and the Sun as a planet -- the fourth in number. Thus:

Image
The Heaven of the Moon
The Heaven of Mercury
The Heaven of Venus
The Heaven of Sun
The Heaven of Mars
The Heaven of Jupiter
The Heaven of Saturn
FIRMAMENT.
WATER: THE CRYSTALLINE, EARTH


And if the Christian religion is being daily denounced as based on an entirely wrong astronomical foundation, as regards its week and chronology, it is high time to begin a reform in Astrology built on these lines, which comes to us entirely, too, from the Chaldean and Assyrian exoteric mob.

But the correspondences given in our instructions are purely esoteric. For this reason it follows that when the planets of the solar system are named or symbolized (as in the Tabular Diagram) the planetary bodies themselves must not be taken as being referred to, except as types on a purely physical plane of the septenary nature of the psychic and spiritual worlds. A material planet can only correspond to a material something. Thus when Mercury is said to correspond to the right eye, it does not mean that the objective planet has any influence on the right optic organ, but both stand rather as corresponding mystically through Buddhi. Man derives his spiritual soul (Buddhi) from the essence of the Manasa-Putra, the "Sons of Wisdom," who are the Divine Beings (or Angels) ruling and presiding over the Planet Mercury.

In the same way Venus, Manas and the left eye are set down as correspondences. Exoterically there is, in reality, no such association of the right eye with Mercury or of the left with Venus, as physical eyes and physical planets. But esoterically there is a good deal; for, as just said, the right eye is the "Eye of Wisdom," i.e., it corresponds magnetically with that occult center in the brain which we call "the Third Eye" (see Secret Doctrine, vol. II, p. 288 et seq.); while the left eye corresponds with the intellectual brain, or those cells which are the organ on the physical plane of the thinking faculty. The Kabalistic triangle of Kether, Chocmah and Binah shows this. Chocmah and Binah, or Wisdom and Intelligence, the Father and the Mother, or, again, the Father and Son, are on the same plane and react mutually on one another. When the individual consciousness is turned inward, a conjunction of Manas and Buddhi takes place. In the spiritually regenerated man this conjunction is permanent, the Higher Manas clinging to Buddhi beyond the threshold of Devachan, and the Soul (in our case the Spirit -- not to be confounded with Atma, the Meta-spirit) is there said to have the "single eye." Esoterically, in other words, the "third eye" is active. (See Secret Doctrine, vol. II.) Now since Mercury is called Hermes, and Venus, Aphrodite, their conjunction in man on the psycho-physical plane gives him the name of the Hermaphrodite, or Androgyne. The absolutely spiritual man is, however, entirely disconnected from sex. The latter corresponds directly with the higher "colored circles," the divine prism which emanates from the One Infinite White Circle; the former, or physical man, from the Sephiroth, which are the Voices or Sounds of Eastern philosophy. And these "Voices" are lower than the "Colors," for they are the seven lower Sephiroth, or the objective Sounds, seen, not heard, as the Zohar (11, 81, 6) shows, as also even the Old Testament. For, when properly translated, verse 18 of chapter XX Exodus would read: "And the people saw the Voices," (or Sounds, not the "thunderings," as now translated); and these Voices or Sounds are the Sephiroth. (See Franck's La Kabbala, p. 314 et seq.)

In the same way the right and left nostrils, into which is breathed the "Breath of Lives" (Genesis 11, 7) are here said to correspond with the Sun and Moon, as Brahma-Prajapati and Vach, or Osiris and Isis, are the parents of the natural life. This Quaternary constitutes the Kabalistic Guardian-Angels of the four corners of the Earth. It is the same in the Eastern esoteric philosophy, but with the following explanations. The Sun and the Moon -- being, one (the Sun) not a planet, but the central star of our system; and the other (the Moon) a dead planet, from which all the principles are gone, -- both stand as substitutes: the one for an invisible trans- mercurial planet still nearer to the Sun, and the other for a planet which seems to have now altogether disappeared from view. They are the four Maharajahs of the Secret Doctrine (vol I, p. 122), the "Four Holy Ones" connected with Karma and Humanity, Kosmos and Man, in all their aspects. They are: the Sun, (or its substitute), Michael; Moon, (or substitute), Gabriel; Mercury, Raphael; and Venus, Uriel; and it need hardly be said here again that the planetary bodies themselves, being but the physical symbols, are not often referred to in the Esoteric Doctrine, but, as a rule, their Cosmic, psychic, physical and spiritual forces are symbolized under these names. In short, it is the seven physical planets which are the lower Sephiroth of the Kabala and our triple physical Sun, whose reflection only we see, which was symbolized, or rather personified, by the Upper Triad, or Sephirothal Crown. All this will be demonstrated. [1]

Then, again, it will be well to point out that the numbers attached to the psychic principles (second paragraph of the Double-Page Diagram) appear the reverse of those in the Colored Diagram. This again is because numbers in this connection are purely arbitrary, changing with every school. Some schools count three, some four, some six, and others seven, as all the Buddhist Esotericists do. In the Colored Diagram, the numbers of the principles disagree with the numbers used in the Double-Page Diagram, simply because the first are those hitherto used in the semi-exoteric teachings of Theosophy. (See Esoteric Buddhism.) As said in the Secret Doctrine (vol. I, p. 122), the Esoteric school has been divided since the fourteenth century into two departments, one for the inner Lanoos, or higher Chelas, the other for the outer circle, or lay Chelas. Mr. Sinnett was distinctly told in the letters he received from one of the Gurus that he could not be taught the real Esoteric Doctrine given out only to the pledged Disciples of the Inner Circle. Therefore, it would perhaps simplify matters if each student would add to the exoteric enumeration of the order in the Colored Diagram on his copy the secret one as given in the Tabular Diagram. But even that would require special study. The numbers and principles do not go, like the skins of an onion, in regular sequence, but the student must work out for himself the number appropriate to each of his principles when the time comes for him to enter upon practical study. The above will suggest to the student the necessity of knowing the principles by their names and their appropriate faculties apart from any system of enumeration, or by association with their corresponding centers of action, colors, sounds, etc., until they become inseparable.

The old and familiar mode of reckoning the principles given in the Theosophist and Esoteric Buddhism leads to another and apparently perplexing contradiction, though it is really none at all. In the Colored Diagram, it will be seen that the principles numbered 3 and 2, vis: Linga Sarira and Prana, or Jiva, stand in the reverse order to that given in the Double-Page Diagram. A moment's consideration will suffice to explain the apparent discrepancy between the exoteric enumeration, as printed on the Colored Diagram, and the esoteric order given in the Double-Page Diagram. For in the Double-Page-Diagram Linga Sarira is defined as the vehicle of Prana, or Jiva, the life- principle, and as such must, on the esoteric plane, of necessity be inferior to Prana, not superior as the exoteric enumeration in the Colored Diagram would show.

The colored part of the Diagram is profoundly esoteric, but the old and more familiar exoteric enumeration in the old order below it was used to force upon the attention of the student the fact that the principles do not stand one above another, and thus cannot be taken in numerical order, their order depending upon the superiority and predominance of such or another principle, and they must therefore differ in every man.

The Linga Sarira is, as the name denotes, the double, or protoplasmic antetype, of which the body it is united to is the image; and in this sense it is called in the Tabular Diagram the parent of the physical body, i.e., the mother by conception of Prana, the father. This idea is conveyed in the Egyptian mythology by the birth of Horus, the child of Osiris and Isis, although, like all sacred Mythoi, it has both a threefold spiritual, and a sevenfold psycho-physical application. To close the subject, Prana, as life-principle, can bear, in sober truth, no number, as it pervades every other principle, or the human total. Each number of the seven would thus be naturally applicable to Prana-Jiva exoterically as it is to the Auric Body esoterically. As Pythagoras showed, Kosmos was produced not through or by number, but geometrically, i.e., following the proportions of numbers.

To those who are unacquainted with the exoteric astrological natures ascribed in practice to the planetary bodies, it would be useful if we set them down here after the manner of the Tabular Diagram, in relation to their dominion over the human body, color, metals and planets, etc., and explain at the same time the raison d'etre why in genuine esoteric philosophy they have to differ from the astrological claims. Say the Astrologers:

Image Saturn rules Saturday: metal, lead: the right ear, the knees and bony system of the body; and in color, black. [In Esotericism, green, as there is no black in the prismatic ray.]

Image Jupiter rules Thursday; the metal tin: the left ear, the thighs and feet and the arterial system: color, purple. [Esoterically, light blue, because, as a pigment, purple is a compound of red and blue, and because in Eastern Occultism blue is the spiritual essence of the color purple, while red is the material basis. In reality, Occultism makes Jupiter blue because he is the son of Saturn, who is green, and because light blue as a prismatic color contains a good deal of green. In fact the Auric Body contains much of the color of the Lower Manas, if the man is a material sensualist, just as it will contain much of the darker hue if Manas the Higher has preponderance over the Lower.]

Image Mars rules Tuesday: iron; the forehead and nose, the skull, sex-function and muscular system; color, red.

Image Sun rules Sunday: gold: the right eye, the heart and vital centers; color, orange. [The Sun in esoteric Astrology can have no correspondence with eye, nose or anything, since, as explained, it is no planet, but a central star. It was adopted as a planet only by the post-Christian Astrologers, who had lost the secrets of Initiation. Moreover, the true color of the Sun is blue, and he appears yellow only owing to the effect of absorption of (chiefly metallic) vapors by his atmosphere. All is Maya on our Earth.]

Image Venus rules Friday; copper: the chin and cheeks, the neck and veins, and the venous system; color, yellow. [Esoterically: color, indigo, or dark blue, which is the complement of yellow in the prism. Yellow is a simple or primitive color. Manas being dual in its nature, as is its siderial symbol Venus, the planet which is both the morning and evening star, hence the dark blue and green denote the difference between the higher and the lower principles of Manas -- whose essence is derived from the Hierarchy which rules Venus -- and to show their character and relation. Green -- the Lower Manas -- resembles the color of the solar spectrum which appears between the yellow and the dark blue -- the Higher, Spiritual Manas. It is (a) the intensified color of the heaven or sky, to denote its upward tendency toward Buddhi, or the heavenly, Spiritual Soul; and (b) the indigo color is obtained from the Indigoferra tinctoria, which is a plant of the greatest occult properties in India, and is much used in White Magic; the plant is, moreover, occultly connected with copper. This is shown by the indigo color assuming a coppery luster, especially when rubbed on any hard substance. Another property of the dye is that it is insoluble in water and even in ether, being lighter in weight than any known liquid. No symbol has ever been adopted in the East without being based upon a logical and demonstrable reason. Therefore the Eastern symbologists, from the earliest ages, have connected the dual mind of man (the spiritual and the animal) the one with the dark blue (Newton's indigo), or true blue, free from green; and the other with the purely green color.]

Image Mercury rules Wednesday; quicksilver; the mouth, hands and abdominal viscera, the nervous system; color, dove or cream. [We say yellow, because the color of the Sun is orange, and Mercury now stands next to the Sun in distance, as it does in color. The planet which stood before was still nearer the Sun than Mercury now is, and was one of the most secret and highest planets. It is said to have become invisible at the close of the Third Race.]

Image The Moon rules Monday; silver; the breasts, left eye, the fluidic system, saliva, lymph, etc.; color, white. [In Esotericism, violet, because, perhaps, violet is the color assumed by a ray of sunlight when transmitted through a very thin plate of silver; and also because the Moon shines with light borrowed from the Sun, as the human body shines with qualifications borrowed from its double -- the aerial man. As the astral shadow starts the series of principles in man, on the terrestrial plane, up to the Lower, animal Manas, so the violet ray starts the series of prismatic colors from its end up to green, -- both being, the one as a color, and the other as a principle, the most refrangible of all the colors and principles. Besides which, there is the same great occult mystery attached to all these correspondences, namely, celestial and terrestrial bodies, colors and sounds. In clearer words, there exists the same law of relation between the Moon and the Earth, the astral and the living body of man, as between the violet end of the prismatic spectrum and the indigo and the blue. But of this more anon.]

Thus it will be seen that the influence of the solar system in the exoteric Kabalistic Astrology is distributed by this method over the entire human body, the primary metals, and the gradations of color from black to white; but that Esotericism recognizes neither black nor white as colors, because it holds religiously to the seven solar or natural colors of the prism. Black and white are artificial tints. They belong to the Earth, and are only perceived by us men by virtue of the special construction of our physical organs. White is the absence of all colors; and therefore no color; black is simply the absence of light, and therefore the negative aspect of white. The seven prismatic colors are direct emanations from the seven Hierarchies of Being, each of which has a direct bearing upon and relation to one of the human principles, since each of these Hierarchies is, in fact, the creator and source of the corresponding human principle. Each prismatic color is called in Occultism the "Father of the Sound" which corresponds to it; sound being the Word, or the Logos, of its Father-Thought. This is the reason why sensitives connect every color with a definite sound, -- a fact well recognized in modern science (e. g., Francis Galton's Nature and Nurture.) But black and white are entirely neutral colors, and have no representatives in the world of subjective beinghood.

Kabalistic Astrology says that the dominions of the planetary bodies in the human brain is also defined thus: there are seven primary groups of faculties, six of which function through the cerebrum, and the seventh through the cerebellum. This is perfectly correct esoterically. But when it is further said that: Saturn governs the devotional faculties; Mercury, the intellectual; Jupiter, the sympathetic; the Sun rules the governing faculties; Mars, the selfish; Venus, the tenacious; and the Moon rules the instincts; -- we say that the explanation is incomplete and even misleading. For, in the first place, the physical planets can only rule the physical body and the purely physical functions. All the mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual faculties are influenced by the occult properties of the scale of causes which emanate from the Hierarchies of the Spiritual Rulers of the planets, and not by the planets themselves. This scale, as given in the Tabular Diagram, leads the student to perceive in the following order: (1) color; (2) sound; (3) the sound materializes into the spirit of the metals, i.e., , the metallic Elementals; (4) these materialize again into the physical metals; then the harmonial and vibratory radiant essence passes into (5) the plants, giving them color and smell, both of which "properties" depend upon the rate of vibration of this energy per unit of time; (6) from plants it passes into the animals; and finally (7) culminates in the "principles" of man.

Thus we see the divine essence of our Progenitors in heaven circling through seven stages; spirit becoming matter, and matter returning to spirit. As there is sound in nature which is inaudible, so there is color which is invisible, but which one hears. The creative force, at work in its incessant task of transformation, produces color, sound and numbers, in the shape of rates of vibration; which vibrations compound and dissociate the atoms and molecules. Though invisible and inaudible to us in detail, yet the synthesis of the whole becomes audible to us on the material plane. It is that which the Chinese call the "Great Tone," or Kung. It is, even on scientific confession, the actual tonic of nature, held by musicians to be the middle Fa on the keyboard of a piano. We hear it distinctly in the voice of nature, in the roaring of the ocean, in the sound of the foliage of a great forest, in the distant roar of a great city; in the wind, the tempest and the storm: in short, in everything in nature which has a voice or produces sound. It culminates, to the hearing of all who hearken, into a single definite tone, of an unappreciable pitch, which, as said, is the F, or Fa, of the diatonic scale. From these particulars, it will be evident to the student of Occultism wherein lies the difference between the exoteric and the esoteric nomenclature and symbolism. In short, Kabalistic Astrology, as now practiced in Europe, is the semi-esoteric secret science, adapted for the outer and not for the inner circle. It is, furthermore, often left incomplete and not infrequently distorted to conceal the real truth. While it symbolizes and adopts its correspondences on the mere appearances of things. Esoteric philosophy, concerning itself preeminently with the essence of things, accepts only such symbols as cover the whole ground, i.e., such symbols as yield a spiritual as well as a psychic and physical meaning. Yet even Western Astrology has done excellent work, for it has helped to carry the knowledge of the existence of a Secret Wisdom throughout the dangers of the Medieval Ages and dark bigotry up to this day, when all danger has disappeared.

The order of the planets in exoteric practice is that defined by their geocentric radii, i. e., the distance of their several orbits from the Earth as a center, vis: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. In the first three of these we have symbolized the celestial triad of supreme power in the physical, manifested universe, or Brahma, Vishnu and Siva; while in the last four we recognize the symbols of the terrestrial quaternary ruling over all natural and physical revolutions of the seasons, quarters of the day, points of the compass and elements. Thus:

Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter
Morning / Noon / Evening / Night
Youth / Adolescence / Manhood / Decay
Fire / Air / Water / Earth
East / South / West / North


But Esoteric Science is not content with analogies on the purely objective plane of the physical senses, and therefore it is absolutely necessary to precede further teachings in this direction with clearer explanations about the real value of the word Magic.

***

What Magic Is, in Reality.

Esoteric Science is, above all, the knowledge of our relations with and inseparableness, in divine magic, [2] from our divine Selves -- the latter meaning something else besides our own higher spirit. Thus, before proceeding to exemplify and explain these relations, it may be useful, perhaps, to give the student a correct idea of the full meaning of that most misunderstood word "magic." Many are those willing and eager to study Occultism, but very few have even an approximate idea of the science itself. As very few of the American and European students can derive benefit from Sanskrit works, or even their translations, -- all these translations being, for the most part, exoteric blinds to the uninitiated, -- I propose to offer to their attention demonstrations of the aforesaid drawn from Neo-Platonic works. These are accessible in translations; and in order to throw light on that which has hitherto been full of darkness, it will suffice to point to a certain key in them. Thus the Gnosis -- pre-Christian and post-Christian -- will serve our purpose admirably.

There are millions of Christians who know about Simon Magus, but only the little that is told about him in the Acts; but very few who have even heard of the many motley, fantastic and contradictory details which tradition records about his life. The story of his claims and his death is only to be found in the prejudiced, half-fantastic records about him in the works of the Church Fathers -- Irenaeus, Epiphanius, St. Justin, and especially in the Philosophomena. Yet he is an historical character, and the appellation of "Magus" was given to him and was accepted by all his contemporaries -- including the Heads of the Christian Church -- as a qualification indicating the miraculous powers he possessed, and irrespective of whether he was regarded as a white (divine) or a black (infernal) magician. In this respect, opinion was always made subservient to the Gentile or Christian proclivities of the writer.

It is in his system and in that of Menander, his pupil and successor, that we find what the term "magic" meant for the Initiates in those days.

Simon taught that our world was created by the lower angels, whom he called AEons, as all the other Gnostics did. He mentions only three degrees of such, because, as explained in the Secret Doctrine, he found it useless to teach anything about the four higher ones, and therefore begins at the plane of globes A and Z of the terrestrial chain. His system is nearer to occult truth than any, so that we must examine it, as well as his own and Menander's pretensions to magic, to find out what they meant by this term. Now, for Simon, the summit of all manifested creation was fire. It is, with him as with us, the Universal Principle, the infinite Potency, born from the concealed Potentiality. This fire was the primeval cause of the manifested world of being, and was dual, i.e., had a manifested and a concealed or secret side. "The secret side of the fire is concealed in its evident or objective side, and the objective is under the secret side," he writes: which amounts to saying that the visible is ever present in the invisible, and the invisible in the visible. This was but a new form of stating Plato's idea of the Intelligible and the Sensuous, and Aristotle's teaching on the Potency and the Act. For Simon, all that can be thought of, all that can be acted upon, was perfect intelligence. Fire contained all. And thus all the portions of that fire, being endowed with intelligence and reason, are susceptible of development by extension and emanation. This is our teaching of the Manifested Logos, and these portions in their primordial emanation are our Dhyan Chohans, "the Sons of Flame and Fire," or higher AEons. This "Fire" is the symbol of the active and living side of divine Nature. Behind it lay infinite Potency, to which he (Simon) gave other names, e g., "That which is, was, and will be" -- or permanent Stability and personified Immutability.

From the power of Thought, divine Ideation thus passed to Action. Hence the series of primordial emanations through Thought begetting the Act, the Intelligent or objective side of Fire being the Mother, the secret side of it being the Father. Simon called his emanations Sysigies (a united pair, or couple), i.e., they emanated two by two, one as an active, the other as a passive AEon. When three couples had thus emanated (or six in all, the Fire being the Seventh) Simon gave them the following names: "Spirit and Thought" (Nous and Epinoia); "the Voice and the Name;" "Reason and Reflection;" the first in each pair being male, the last female. From these primordial six emanated the six AEons of the middle world. Let us see what Simon says himself: "Each of these six primitive beings contained the entire infinite Potency [of its parent]; but it was there only as Potency, and not as an Act. That Potency had to be called forth (or conformed) through an image in order that it should manifest in all its essence, virtue, grandeur and effects; for only then could the emanated Potency become similar to its parent, the eternal and infinite Potency. If on the contrary, it failed to be conformed by, or through an 'image,' then the Potency would not pass into action, but would get lost:" in clearer terms, it would get atrophied, as the modern expression goes. (Philosophomena, lib. IV, No. 9, p. 250.)

Now what do these words mean if not that to be equal in all to the Infinite Potency the AEons had to imitate it in its action, and themselves to become, in their turn, emanative principles, as their parent was; to give life to new beings and become potency in actu themselves? To produce emanations, or to have acquired the gift of Kriyasakti (vide Secret Doctrine, vol. I, p. 293 et passim), is the direct result of that power, an effect which depends on our own action. That power, then, is inherent in man, as it is in the primordial AEons, or even in the secondary emanations, by the very fact of their and our descent from the One Primordial Principle -- Infinite Power or Potency. Thus we find in the system of Simon Magus that the first six AEons, synthesized by the Seventh -- the Parent Potency -- passed into Act, and emanated, in their turn, six secondary AEons, which were each synthesized by their respective parent. In the Philosophomena we read: "'It is written,' said Simon in his . . . . . . . , 'that there are two kinds of AEons having neither beginning nor end, issued both from the same Root -- the invisible and incomprehensible Potentiality -- named Silence [Sige.] One of these [series of AEons] appears to us superior to the other. This one is the "Great Intelligence" [Universal Mind, or divine Ideation] of all things; it rules all and is male [it is the Mahat of the Hindus). The other is much inferior, for it is [manifested] Thought, the great female AEon: these two kinds of AEons, intercommunicating with each other, form and manifest the intermediate [the middle sphere, or plane], the incomprehensible Air which has neither beginning nor end'." (Philosophomena, p. 261, lines 13 to 16.) This female "Air" is our Ether, or the Kabalistic Astral Light. It is, then, the Second World of Simon, born of FIRE, the principle of everything. We call it the ONE LIFE, the Intelligent, Divine Flame, omnipresent and infinite. In Simon's system this Second World was ruled by a Being, or Potency, both male and female, or active and passive, good and bad. This Parent- Being is also called "that which is, was, and will be," so long as the manifested Kosmos shall last. When it emanated in actu and became like unto its own parent, it was not dual nor androgyne. It is the Thought that emanated from it which became as itself (the Parent), having become as its image (or antetype); the second had now become in its turn the first (on its own plane or sphere). As the author of Philosophomena has it: "The Parent (or Father) was alone on it, containing in itself the Thought, not being the first, though existing before anything else and though manifesting by its own virtue (or quality). But it was not called Father before Thought gave it that name. While developing itself, the [future] 'Father' manifested itself in its own Thought, but, once manifested, the thought did not act; but it hid in itself that 'Father' which it had seen, i.e., that second Potency of the intermediate world. Two Beings existed thence, the male-female Potency (or the Parent) and Epinoia (its Thought.) They were two yet one, though they manifested in a dual way: the male principle containing in itself a female potency, which is Spirit in the Thought [Nous and Epinoia], both being inseparable and one." (Ibid, No. 18, p. 261 et seq.)

"He (Simon) calls the first Sysigie of the six Potencies and of the seventh, which is with it, Nous and Epinoia, Heaven and Earth; the male looks from on high and purveys to his spouse, for the Earth receives the spiritual fruits from Heaven whence they descend and are analogous with it." (Ibid., No. 13. p. 251.)

Simon's Third World with its third series of six AEons and the seventh -- the Parent -- is emanated in the same way. It is the same note which runs through every Gnostic system -- gradual development downward into matter by similitude; and it is a law which is to be traced down to primordial Occultism, or Magic. With the Gnostics, as with us, this seventh Potency, synthesizing all, is the Spirit brooding over the dark waters of undifferentiated Space -- Narayana, or Vishnu, in India; the Holy Ghost in Christianity. But while conditioned and dwarfed in the latter by its limitations necessitating faith and grace, the Eastern conception shows it pervading every atom, conscious or unconscious. Irenaeus supplements the information on the further development of the six AEons. We learn from him that Thought having separated itself from its Parent and knowing through its identity of Essence with the latter what it had to know, it proceeded to create on the second or intermediate plane, or rather World (each consisting of two planes, the superior and inferior, male and female, the latter assuming finally both Potencies and becoming androgyne), -- proceeded to create inferior Hierarchies: Angels and Powers, Dominions and Hosts, of every description, which in their turn created, or rather emanated out of their own Essence, our world with its men and beings, over which they watch.

It thus follows that every rational being -- called Man on Earth -- is of the same essence and possesses potentially all the attributes of the higher AEons, the primordial seven. It is for him to develop, "with the image before him of the highest," by imitation in actu, the potency with which the highest of his Parents, or "Fathers," is endowed. This, again, is found in Philosophomena, which speaks of the "three AEons," and says, "the first exists as That which is, was, and will be," or the uncreate Power, Atman; the second is generated in the dark waters of Space (Chaos, or undifferentiated Substance, our Buddhi) from or through the image of the former reflected in those waters, the image of him, or It, which moves on them; the third World (or, in man, Manas) will be endowed with every power of that eternal and omnipresent Image if it but assimilates it to itself. For, "all that is eternal, pure and incorruptible is concealed in everything that is," if only potentially, not actually. And "everything is that Image, provided the lower image (man) ascends to that highest Source and Root in Spirit and Thought." Matter as Substance is eternal and has never been created. Therefore neither Simon Magus nor any great Gnostic ever speaks of its beginning, any more than does any Eastern philosopher. "Eternal Matter" receives its various forms on the lower AEon from the Creative Angels (Builders, we call them): Why should not Man, the direct heir of the highest AEon, do the same thing by the potentiality of his thought, which is born from Spirit? This is Kriyasakti, the power of producing forms on the objective plane through the potency of Ideation and Will, and from the invisible, indestructible Matter.

Truly says Jeremiah (chap. 1 v. 5): "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctioned thee," for Jeremiah stands here for Man when he was yet an AEon, or Divine Man, whether with Simon Magus or Eastern philosophy. The first three chapters of Genesis are as occult as what is given in Instructions No. I. The terrestrial Paradise is the Universal Womb, says Simon, Eden the membrane which envelopes the Foetus. The river which went out of Eden to water the garden is the Umbilical Cord; the four Heads (streams) that flowed out of it, the four canals which serve to carry nutrition to the Foetus, i.e., the two arteries and the two veins which are the channels for the blood and convey the breathing air, the unborn child being, according to Simon, entirely enveloped by the Amnion, and it being fed through the Umbilical Cord and given vital air through the Aorta. [3] (Philosophomena, p. 253.)

The above is given for the elucidation of that which has to be said now. The disciples of Simon Magus were numerous, and he is known to have also instructed them in magic; they making use of so-called "exorcisms" (as in the New Testament), incantations, philters; believing in dreams and visions, and producing them at will; and finally forcing the spirits of the lower orders to obey them. (Philosophomena and others.) Simon Magus was called the "Great Power of God." All this was termed Magic. We call it now Theosophia, or Divine Wisdom, Power and Knowledge.

His direct disciple, Menander, was also a great magician. Says Irenaeus, among other writers: "The successor of Simon was Menander, a Samaritan by birth, who reached the highest summits in the Science of Magic." Thus both master and pupil are shown as having attained the highest powers in the art of enchantments, which powers can only be obtained (as Christians claim) through "the help of the Devil." Yet they produced all that is spoken of in the New Testament, wherein such phenomenal results are called divine miracles, and are therefore, believed in and accepted as coming from and through God. But the question is, have the Christ- and Apostolic "miracles" ever been explained any more than are to this day the magical achievements of so-called sorcerers and magicians? I say, never. We Occultists do not believe in supernatural phenomena, and the Masters laugh at the word "miracle." Let us see, then, what is really the sense of the word Magic.
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