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Amane Teaching
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PART 1.
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FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
Lesson I. The Arcane Teaching.
Lesson II. Absolute Law.
Lesson III Infinity of Nothingness.
COPYRIGHT 1909 BY
THE ARCANÉ BOOK CONCERN
Lock Box 769
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
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ARTES
LIBRARY
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VERITAS
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SI-QUÆRIS-PENINSULAM-AMŒNAM
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(NAS) MESIA ISI DININIO)
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THE GIFT OF
Prof. Geo. A. Morley
…………
L
1
106
LESSON I.
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
The Arcane Teaching has come down to the
present age through the corridors of time, from
the dim ages of past eras, races, and schools of
thought. Even those highest in the councils of
"The Custodians of The Scroll," are unable to trace
the Teaching, in an unbroken direct line, further
back than the time of Pythagoras (about 500 B. C.),
and a little later in Ancient Greece, although they
find many references to, and extracts from, the
teachings of ancient Egypt and Chaldea, which serve
to show that the Pythagorean and Ancient Grecian
Arcane Schools were founded on occult instruction
still more remote, received in a direct line of succes-
sion of teachers and pupils extending over centuries.
Investigators have found traces of the Arcane
Teaching in the records of Persia and Medea, and
it is believed that the inspiration for the original
philosophical teaching (not the religion or the pes-
BF
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.A87
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2
THE ARCANE TEACHING
simism, however) of Gautama, the founder of Bud-
dhism, was received from Arcane sources. Traces
are also to be found in the Hebrew Esoteric Teach-
ings of the "Kabballah" and the "Zohar."
The Grecian Arcane Teaching was undoubtedly
obtained directly from Egyptian sources through
Pythagoras, the relation between the early Grecian
teaching and philosophies, and the older school of old
Egypt, being very close and intimate. Pythagoras is
known to have received instruction from Egyptian
and Persian hierophants. Besides the traditions of
the Arcanes, there is to be found the closest resem-
blance between the ancient Grecian teachings, and
those of the Egyptian Esoteric Fraternities. Some
of the Teachers, however, hold that the Grecian and
Egyptian schools, respectively, were but two separate
off-shoots of an original and older Teaching which
had its origin in the lost continent of Atlantis. There
are many Arcane traditions connecting the Teaching
with Atlantis, and it is possible that both Egypt and
Greece received it from this common source, instead
of Greece being indebted to Egypt for the line of
transmission. But, be this as it may, it is a fact
that all of the traces of teaching that the various
P
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
3
occult schools gather from the traditions, scraps
of doctrine, and legends regarding Atlantis can be
reconciled with the Grecian Arcane Teaching. And
it is also a fact that the fragments of the Egyptian
Esoteric Teachings, many of which are still pre-
served in an undoubted direct line of succession, are
practically identical, in fundamental and basic points
with the Grecian Arcane Teaching. And, as we
have said, the Persian, Medean, and Chaldean
legends and traditions, and scraps of teaching, show
a common source of origin with that of ancient
Greece.
We are speaking now of the historical view of
the subject, alone. The traditions of the Arcanes
hold that the Teaching, in some form, is as old as
the race itself, and that it has been known to the
advanced minds of every great civilization of the
past, many of which disappeared thousands upon
thousands of years ago, all traces of them having
been lost to the present sub-race. The traditions hold
that the Teaching was handed down from the Elder
Brethren of the race-certain advanced souls who
appeared in the earliest days, in order to plant the
seeds of Truth, so that they would grow, blossom
4
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and bear fruit throughout the ages to follow. We
do not ask you to accept this statement-it is not
material-the Teaching bears the evidence of its
own truth within itself, without needing the belief
in any such authority. It agrees with the highest rea-
son, and intuition of man, and to those who are
ready to receive it, it shows itself as true. We men-
tion the ancient traditions only that you may know
what is accepted as truth by those high in authority
among the Arcanes.
The word "Arcane" is derived from the Latin
word, "arcanus," meaning "shut up, closed, hidden,
away," being derived from "arca," meaning "a
treasure chest." The English word means: "Hid-
den; concealed; secret; esoteric; mystic;" etc.
So, the term "The Arcane Teaching," means "The
Secret Doctrine."
The Arcanes are a loosely organized body of
men, who have lived in all countries, in all times,
since the days of the Ancient Greece, and probably
for thousands of years before. They keep alive
the old Teaching, traditions, legends, and instruction,
and give the same to the few whom they meet who
are deemed ready to receive the same. The innermost
THE ARCANE TEACHING
5
Teaching is never written or printed, and is passed
from mouth to ear-from teacher to student-from
hierophant to neophyte-as in the old days. Much
of this inner Teaching is of a nature that renders
it most advisable that it be reserved for the few,
for it contains instruction of a nature that would
cause it to be most dangerous were it to fall into
unworthy hands. Even as it is, bits of it have
leaked out, from time to time, and falling into the
hands of unworthy persons have been used improp-
erly. Every student of occultism is aware of the
danger of which we speak. But the general princi-
ples of the Arcane Teachings have always been
offered freely to those who felt attracted to them,
and by them. Portions of them may be found in the
various schools of the Hermetic Philosophy, and
among the Roscrucian and similar teachings. In
Freemasonry, there are hints of the ancient teach-
ings, carefully disguised and unrecognized by the
ordinary members of the order.
The exception to the rule regarding written or
printed Teaching, is to be found in what the Arcanes
know as "The Arcane Scroll," which contains many
Arcane Aphorisms, or statements of Teaching, and
6
THE ARCANE TEACHING
which are written and renewed from time to time.
The authorized copies are in the hands of special
persons, high in the Arcane councils, who are known
as "The Custodians of The Scroll," and who are to
be found in every country of the globe, unknown and
working silently. These persons belong to all walks
of life, and society, and carefully avoid notoriety or
public attention, in order to escape the sensational ex-
ploitation of the press, and the idle curiosity of the
"wonder-seekers" who are to be found everywhere.
While many of these Arcane Aphorisms have to do
with the special branches of the Teachings, and are
not allowed to be printed and distributed generally,
still the Custodians have always been willing that
the fundamental Aphorisms be quoted from in
writings and books on the subject. Accordingly
we shall embody a number of the Arcane
Aphorisms in this series of lessons, always quoting
them as such, and printing them in darker type,
that they may be distinguished from our own com-
ments and explanations and personal interpretations.
These Aphorisms contain the highest occult truths,
and principles, and we are very glad to have been
accorded the privilege of presenting them to our
students.
Fi
THE ARCANE TEACHING
7
The Arcane Teaching is based upon the funda-
mental principle of the existence of an Absolute
Supreme Power, which is the Cause and Reason of
the Cosmos and all the manifestations contained
therein-all that men call "the universe.' This
19
Absolute Supreme Power is known in the Arcane
Teaching as "THE LAW," and is represented in
the symbols by the word "Lex."
The Law is regarded as an Abstract Principle of
Power, impossible of being represented by words or
even by symbols. It is not a Pantheistic Deity, or
Being-It is an Absolute Principle, beyond defini-
tion or description. It does not manifest Itself in a
universe of shapes and forms, by separating Itself
into the Many as the Pantheistic Being is held to
do in certain philosophies. Instead of this It causes
Universal Being to proceed from Infinite Not-Being
-causes the Cosmos to arise from Chaos-causes
Manifestation to arise from the Unmanifest-causes
Everything to arise from Infinite Nothing. The Law
is not Being-but the Cause of Being. It cannot
be said to "Be," in the ordinary sense-It causes
the verb "To Be" to have a meaning.
Plato
8
THE ARCANE TEACHING
The Arcane Teaching is not Pantheism, either
expressed or implied-either frankly stated, or
subtly concealed behind words. The Absolute can
never become the Relative. The Law can never
separate Itself into bits of "You and I." Nor is the
Cosmos to be regarded as a nightmare dream; medi-
tation; illusion; delusion; or imagination; of the
Absolute, as some of the philosophical schools of
India, and the pessimistic schools of the West,
would have men believe, against all the natural intu-
ition of the race. The Law does not dream, meditate,
imagine, or "think"-neither is it deluded, or sub-
ject to illusion, delusion or "ignorance," as some
have taught. These are but qualities belonging to
beings-the Law is above beings, and even above
Being. To hold otherwise is to degrade It, and to
deny Its Absoluteness.
The Arcane Teaching holds that other than The
Law there is but Infinity, which is Nothingness. The
Teaching distinguishes between the Absolute Law
and Infinity, in which it differs from the majority
of other philosophies which holds them to be identi-
cal. But this daring conception is defended and
proven to be logical by the Arcane Teachers, and
THE ARCANE TEACHING
9
in this teaching is to be found the only rational
explanation of the Cause and Manifestation of the
Cosmos. The Nothingness of Infinity, is not a condi-
tion of "Not-ness," but a condition or state of "No-
Thingness." Infinity is an Infinite No-Thing, in
which, however, sleeps the latency, possibility, po-
tency, and promise, of Everything, past, present, and
future. In its Infinite Nothingness, no thing IS in
actuality, but every thing is in latency and possibil-
ity, under The Law. The Arcane Teaching on the
subject of the Infinity of Nothingness, is a start-
ling revelation to those who have been searching for
the Truth in other philosophies, but who have found
themselves wandering 'round and 'round in a men-
tal circle-never arriving anywhere. The Infinity of
Nothingness is capable of logical and rational proof.
This doctrine flies squarely in the face of the current
philosophical dogmas of "From Nothing, no thing
comes,” or “Ex Nihilo, nihil fit." On the contrary it
boldly asserts "From Nothing, Everything comes,"
or "Ex Nihilo, Omnis fit." But, it must be remem-
5.
bered, that this Nothing contains within itself_the
possibility, latency, and promise of Everything. It fo
is a No-Thing, instead of a "Not."
The Law is nothin
10
THE ARCANE TEACHING
w
The Arcane Teachings hold that at the expira-
tion of the great cycle of time-after æons of Cos-
mic Night, or Period of Infinite Nothingness, The
Law moves over the emptiness of Infinity, and the
first activities of a new Cosmic Day, or Manifest
Cosmos, begin to show themselves. The first mani-
festation is the Cosmic Will, or Life Principle.
This Cosmic Will is the One Life of the Cosmos,
which many philosophies mistakenly claim to be the
12 Absolute Itself. It is the Universal Being, but it is
under The Law, and relative to It, and is not abso-
lute. From this Cosmic Will, Logos, Demiurge,
World-Spirit, or Universal Life Principle, is mani-
fested the Cosmos or Manifested Universe of life,
shape and form. The Cosmos is alive in every part,
and its real nature vests in the Cosmic Will, which
is ever behind, under, and in, all manifestations of
the universal activities, from lowest to highest. Here
is the World Spirit, or Pantheistic One-All—but it is
under The Law!
W
1
In the Cosmos is contained "The Three Princi-
ples" of Substance, Motion, and Consciousness;
respectively. From the Three Principles arise all the
infinite variety of combinations of mind, energy and
THE ARCANE TEACHING
11
matter, which go to make up the varieties of mani-
festation in the universe. The Arcane Teaching in-
cludes the doctrine of Perpetual Evolution of Sub-
stance, Energy, and Consciousness, respectively, on
all the various planes of activity. The Teaching is
that there are infinite planes of evolution, in groups
of seven, which are sub-divided in seven, and so on.
The Arcane Teaching holds that the Cosmos is
regulated by "The Seven Laws," which are super-
imposed by The Law upon the Cosmic Will, and
thus upon all that is manifested. These Seven Cos-
mic Laws are as follows:
I. The Law of Orderly Trend. Under this law
there is always manifested law and order in the
Cosmos, from suns to atoms; from highest to low-
est; matter, energy, and mind. There is no Dis-
order, Inharmony, or Chance in the Cosmos.
II. The Law of Analogy. Under this law, there
is found a correspondence and agreement between
all of the various forms of manifestation. What is
true of the atom, is true of the sun. What is true
of the amoeba is true of man, and beings above man.
What is true of matter, is true of energy and mind.
To know one is to know all. "As above, so below,"
12
THE ARCANE TEACHING
as the Hermetists express it. "Ex Uno disce Om-
nes"-"From One know All," as the Arcane axiom
says. This law is applied in studying the higher
planes-they may be known by the lower, just as
solar systems may be known by studying the atoms
and molecules.
III. The Law of Sequence. Under this Law,
there is included the activities of what is generally
known as "Cause and Effect." Nothing happens
by chance. Nothing happens without a precedent
manifestation, and a subsequent manifestation. Ev-
erything has its "before and after" things. Nothing
stands alone, and independent of what has gone.
before, nor can it escape from acting upon that
which comes after. Everything proceeds from
something, and is succeeded by something.
IV. The Law of Rhythm. Under this law falls a
variety of phenomena, among which is the impor-
tant phenomenon of Vibration. Everything is in
constant vibration-everything material, mental or
of energy. Upon this fact depends the variety, de-
grees, states and conditions of the manifestations of
the Cosmos. All is in vibration-physical, mental
and spiritual. Vibration is the key of relative power,
THE ARCANE TEACHING
13
and relative activities. To control Vibration is to
control all forces in the universe. The control of
Vibrations forms an important part of the Arcane
formulas.
V. The Law of Balance. Under this law there is
to be found an explanation for the universal equi-
librium, compensation and balance, observed in all
of the manifestations of the Cosmos. One thing
balances another, in the physical, mental and spirit-
ual. Everything has something set opposite it, to
balance it. Everything has its compensation. Ev-
erything has its Cosmic price. In an understand-
ing of the Law of Balance, there is to be found the
Secret of Power and Poise. The Arcane Teaching
contain formulas for Balance.
VI. The Law of Cyclicity. Under this law is
found the cyclic, or circular trend of all things,
physical, mental and spiritual. Everything moves in
circles. The wise and strong convert the circles
into spirals. Instead of traveling around in an
eternal circle, the wise and strong rise in spirals
to attainment and advancement. Worlds and atoms;
Cosmos and Man; all are under this law, and move
in accordance therewith. To convert the Circle into
THERE ARE S
14
THE ARCANE TEACHING
the Spiral, is one of the Arcane Secrets, conveyed
in its formulas.
VII. The Law of Opposites. Under this law is
to be found the explanation of that wonderful fact
in nature-the fact that everything has its opposite;
everything is, and is not, at the same time; every-
thing has its other side; every truth is but a half-
truth; everything is a paradox; every thesis has its
anti-thesis; every truth contains a bit of untruth,
and every untruth a bit of truth; every male contains
female-every female contains male. Also the fact
that opposite things are alike, in the end; that ex-
tremes meet; the contradictions may be reconciled.
In this great Cosmic law is found the fact that dia-
metrically opposite things, physical, mental and spir-
itual, are in reality but the different poles of the
same thing. In this law is found the Mystery of
Polarity-in it vests the Secret of Sex-Generation
and Regeneration-the Arcane Teaching embraces
all these.
The Arcane Teaching, as presented in these Les-
sons, will include the Arcane Formulas whereby the
Seven Laws may be applied under the mind and
will of the individual, enabling him to take advan-
THE ARCANE TEACHING
15
tage of the flood-tide of Rhythm, and to neutralize
the ebb-tide; to enable him to neutralize the Oppo-
sites; to find and hold the Balance and Poise; to
convert the Cycles into Rising Spirals; to take ad-
vantage of the Law of Sequence-thus to Master
Fate, instead of being her Slave; to conquer laws by
laws; to oppose principle to principle; to acquire the
Art of Mental Alchemy, or Transmutation of Mental
States and Conditions. These and many other fields
of occult knowledge will the Arcane Teaching open
out to the earnest seeker. To those who are ready,
this Teaching will appeal. Do you feel attracted
to it-then follow the leading of your intuition. If
not, pass it by for the present, for you are not pre-
pared-instead call the attention of some person
more ready, to it, and thus be an instrument of The
Law.
LESSON II.
ABSOLUTE LAW.
The Arcane Scroll contains the following Aphor-
isms regarding this Supreme Power, which in the
Arcane Teaching is known as "THE LAW."
APHORISM I. "The Law IS."
APHORISM II.
"Beyond The Law there IS
Higher than The Law there IS Not. Elder
Not.
than the Law there IS Not."
APHORISM III. "The Law is the Absolute.
Existing beyond Time, and Space, and Change;
transcending the Three Principles and the Seven
Laws; It ever hath been, ever is, and ever shall
be. Ever Unique; Unconditioned; Immutable;
Self-Existent; Self-Sufficient; Independent; Ab-
stract; It dwelleth Unknowable, Unthinkable,
Ineffable."
APHORISM IV. "The Law is the Efficient
Reason of All-Things; and is the Supreme Power
and Causer."
A consideration of the above four Aphorisms will
throw light on the inner meanings contained within
them. Let us now consider them in detail:
17
18
THE ARCANE TEACHING
APHORISM I. "The Law Is." In this Aphor-
ism the word "IS" denotes "present, actual exist-
ence." It is as strong a term denoting actual exist-
ence as the English language supplies. But, in the
ancient Arcane terminology its Grecian equivalent
was used in a still stronger sense than the ordinary
use of the word "is" indicates. In the English lan-
guage, the word "is" is used as the third person sin-
gular of the verb "Be," in the indicative mood, pres-
ent tense. But the words "is" and "be" have two
entirely different original meanings, particularly
when considered from the point of view of the
ancient Arcane schools. To explain further: The
word "Be" is derived from the Greek word "phuo,"
meaning: "to bring forth; to produce; to be born;"
etc., the original meaning signifying beginning in
time; existence of a preceding cause; relativity, etc.
And, accordingly, the ancient Greek philosophers,
especially those of the Arcane schools, used the term
"be" and "being" to denote the relative existence of
the phenomenal or manifested universe, and not in
the sense of absolute existence. The word "is," on the
contrary, is desired from the word, "esti," which in
turn was derived from the Sanscrit word “asti," both
ABSOLUTE LAW
19
of which denote "existence," in its absolute sense,
without reference to birth, bringing forth, or pro-
duction. In its true and Arcane significance the
word "is" is analogous to "am," which had its
origin in the Sanscrit “asmi,” signifying absolute ex-
istence, which significance was also imparted to anal-
ogous words in the Hebrew, Egyptian and other
Oriental languages. The word "Is" has the signifi-
cance of the word "Am" in the following quotation
from Exodus, iii. 14, in the Hebrew Sacred Books:
"And God said unto Moses, 'I AM That I AM'; and
he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you." This then
is the sense in which the Arcane Aphorism employs
the term "IS"-in the sense of Absolute Existence.
We have taken the pains to explain this to you at
length, not for the purpose of verbal hair-splitting,
but in order to bring out the true occult meaning of
the term. This, particularly, because we shall use
the term "Being" in its relative sense in connection
with the Cosmos, as we proceed. Remember that
there is no "IS-ness" other than that of The Law-
all other "is-ness" is but "Being" which is relative,
created, and phenomenal. In the true sense, there
20
THE ARCANE TEACHING
is no IS other than the existence of The Law. For
this reason we shall always print the word in capital
letters when we use it in its Arcane significance.
APHORISM II. "Beyond The Law there IS
Not. Higher than The Law there IS Not. Elder
than The Law there IS Not." In these three sen-
tences is taught the Absolute Omnipresence; the Ab-
solute Supremacy; the Eternity; and the Self-Exist-
ence of The Law. There is naught beyond It, for
there is no beyond; there is naught elder than It,
for it is eternal and self-existent, there being nothing
precedent to It to have caused or created It. We
must here ask you to consider the fact that the
Aphorism uses the term "Not," instead of "Nothing,"
for the reason that the Arcane meaning of the two
terms is different. In the Arcane sense, the word
"Not" means absolute negation—that is it denotes
the absence of "is-ness," or "am-ness," and also the
absence of even relative "being." "Not" means
absolute not-ness—a condition of non-existence past,
present, or future; absolute or relative. It is a
positive denial of any existence whatsoever, of any
kind, character, or degree, past, present or future.
Further than this, language cannot go. But, the
ABSOLUTE LAW
21
words: "Nothing," and "Nothingness," although
generally used as meaning "not-ness" in the sense
just mentioned, have an entirely different Arcane
significance and meaning. In the Aphorisms, and in
all of the Arcane Teaching these words are used in
a relative sense, a capital "N" being employed to
denote the said use of the word. We shall consider
this "Nothingness," a little later on.
APHORISM III. The first sentence is: "The
Law is Absolute." In this sentence is stated the
highest truth capable of being expressed in words.
Let us examine the term and see what it really
means. "Absolute" means, in its original and essen-
tial significance: "Unbound; Free; Unfettered; Un-
restrained." There are a number of derivative mean-
ings, but the above definition gives the essential
meaning of the term-and that meaning may be re-
duced to one word: "FREE." In other words, Ab-
soluteness means Perfect Freedom-Sovereignty—
Supremacy. There can be nothing higher than Ab-
soluteness. There can be nothing over Absoluteness.
There can be no Power beyond Absoluteness. The
"Law" of a thing, or things, is the sovereign power
that exercises a control over it. And an Absolute
Gra
22
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Law is the supreme, highest and unqualified Power
over all things. Therefore is the Absolute called
Law-therefore is The Law called Absolute. The
term, Absolute Law is the highest and most posi-
tive term in the language, expressing Power and
Control. There can be nothing that can oppose such
Power; or run contrary to It, or overrule It, or
"break" It. It is Power Absolutely Supreme.
The Absolute Law must not only be Self-Gov-
erned and Uncontrolled, but must also be Self-Exist-
ent and Causeless, for if there were aught else to
have created It, or to have caused It to exist, then
that "other" would be the Absolute. The very mean-
ing of the term precludes any outside Cause affect-
ing It-It is Causeless; and It exists of, and because
of, Itself. To speak of aught causing, governing, or
binding the Absolute, is to utter words that have no
meaning. And even if we postulate a Supreme
Being, governed by the "laws of His own inner
nature," then these "inner laws," rather than the
Supreme Being are the Absolute. So, you see that
at the last the Law and the Absolute must be the
one and the same.
The Aphorism continues:
Existing beyond,
ABSOLUTE LAW
23
Time, and Space and Change transcending the Three
Principles and the Seven Laws; It hath ever been,
ever is, and ever shall be. The words: "Is, hath,
ever been, and ever shall be," denotes the Eternality
of The Law," for a Self-Existent, Causeless, Abso-
lute, must be Eternal-for naught could have caused
it, nor could aught ever terminate it. "Beyond
Time and Space" expresses Its Omnipresence and
Eternality-Time and Space belong to the Infinite
Nothingness, which is subject to the Absolute Law.
"Transcending the Three Principles and the Seven
Laws"-by this is meant the Three Principles of
the Cosmos, and the Seven Laws by which The Law
manifests Itself through the Cosmos, when the latter
emerges in Manifestation from the Unmanifest, In-
finity of Nothingness. "Transcending," means, of
course: "surpassing: surmounting: being above";
"being beyond"; etc. As the Three Principles are
aspects of the Cosmos; and the Seven Laws are
caused by The Absolute Law, it follows that the
latter is superior and over them. "Ever Unique; Un-
conditioned; Immutable; Self-Existent; Self-Suffi-
cient; Independent; and Abstract"-let us consider
the meaning of each of the words composing this
remarkable sentence:
24
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Ever: "Always; forever; continually; without
cessation."
Unique: "Without a like or equal; unmatched;
Unparalleled; sole.”
Unconditioned: "Not subject to conditions or
limitations; hence, inconceivable; incognitable."
Immutable: "Unchangeable; invariable; change-
less."
Self-Existent: "Free from Cause; existing inde-
pendent of aught else.”
Self-Sufficient: "Sufficient for self, without aid
or co-operation."
Independent: "Not dependent; not subject to
control; not relying on aught; not subordinate or co-
ordinate."
Abstract: "Apart from aught else; separate from
aught else; existing apart and in Itself"; etc.
The above definitions need no further explana-
tion or comment—they tell their own tale, and con-
vey the meaning of the Aphorism clearly, when thus
defined. The Aphorism closes with the following
words: "It dwelleth Unknowable; Unthinkable;
Ineffable." These three words have the following
meaning:
ABSOLUTE LAW
25
Unknowable: "That which cannot be known,
being too difficult or subtle for the human intellect";
etc.
Unthinkable: "That which cannot be made an
object of thought; incapable of being thought; in-
cognitable; eluding the understanding"; etc.
Ineffable: "Incapable of being expressed in
words; inexpressible; indescribable"; etc.
The combined idea of the three terms is well ex-
pressed by Herbert Spencer in his famous sentence;
"By continually seeking to know, and being continu-
ally thrown back with a deepened conviction of the
impossibility of knowing, we may keep alive the
consciousness that it is alike our highest wisdom
and our highest duty to regard that through which
all things exist as The Unknowable." Or, as Edwin
Arnold in his "Light of Asia" voices the begin-
ning of the teachings of the Buddha:
"Om, Amitaya! measure not with words
Th' Immeasurable: nor sink the string of thought
Into the Fathomless, who asks doth err,
Who answers, errs. Say naught!
26
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Shall any gazer see with mortal eyes;
Or any searcher know with mortal mind?
Veil after veil will lift-but there must be
Veil upon veil behind."
But, it may be asked: If The Law is Unknowable,
Unthinkable, and Ineffable, then why do you attempt
to inform us regarding It; why do you attempt to
teach us about It? The answer, O Neophyte, is this:
We seek not to explain the unexplainable Law to
you-we strive not to describe its nature to you, for
that would be impossible, there being no words to
express It, and no minds capable of understanding
It were It explained. The Aphorism expresses this
truth fully and emphatically. But we do desire to
impress upon your minds and understanding, the
fact that It IS. Not only do we ask you to believe
this because the Arcane Teaching is the repository
of the reports of the highest minds of the race-
the illumined of all ages-but also because the intel-
lect and intuition of every advanced man reports to
him this truth, and informs him that back of, be-
yond, over and under, and in All, there is the Su-
preme Law.
No matter what may be his religion, ancient or
ABSOLUTE LAW
27
J
modern; or his lack of religion-no matter what
may be his philosophy, metaphysics or theology,
named or unnamed-no matter upon what lines he
may have thought, if he has thought at all-Man
must ever recognize the report of his reason, and
his intuition, which informs him of the existence of
a Supreme and Universal Law, governing all things.
To deny this, is to deny reason. Faith is not re-
quired-reason suffices and fully informs that The
Law IS. And with that IS-ness, the report ceases
-the knowledge is then known, to low and high
alike. While advanced beings on higher planes have
reported great knowledge regarding the Cosmos, they
state positively that they know no more regarding the
nature of The Law than does the humble thinker
on our own plane. But from the highest comes the
same report as that which informs the mind of the
lowest-The Law IS. Therefore in asking you to
accept this report of the illumined, the highest of
the race, including those whom we call the Elder
Brethren, we ask you to accept only that which your
own reason informs you to be a basic truth-The
Law IS.
It is true that the race has built around the
28
THE ARCANE TEACHING
conception of the Absolute Law, the varying con-
ceptions of personal deities, and pantheistic beings,
but analyze them all and you will find that the
reason for the activities of these deities, personal or
pantheistic, has been the desire; will; want; inclina-
tion or "inner-laws" which are supposed to actuate
their manifestations, or incite their activities, either
consciously, unconsciously; or according to some of
the Hindu schools, because of ignorance, illusion,
or self-deception. In short, all of these conceptions
of deity are Beings who are actuated by motives,
feelings, desires of "inner-laws," just as are men,
and other manifested or created things. The anthro-
pomorphic idea is evidenced not only in the crude
conceptions of deity held by the savages, but also in
the higher concepts; and even in the conceptions
of a Pantheistic Being, or Absolute Being held by
some of the philosophers and religious teachers of
East and West. The pantheistic conception is ut-
terly illogical, for as Schopenhauer says: “When we
think of Nature as God, we show God to the door."
And as the Arcane Teachers point out, even admit-
ting any of these conceptions of Being, the mind
must see that in the "inner law" that moves Being
ABSOLUTE LAW
29
to activity-the Law of Itself-there alone is to be
found the Absolute. In such case the Law not the
Being, is the Absolute, for it is the causer, and
controller, and mover, and reason of the universe.
It is true that some of the philosophers and teach-
ers try to explain away this fact, by saying that
"Being and Law" are One. But this is no solution,
for even if that be admitted, then the Law within
the Being is the Efficient Reason and Causer of Ac-
tion, and the rest of the Being is controlled, acted
upon and moved by the Law within it. The whole
idea of Being must be discarded in considering the
Absolute. The Absolute is, and can be, only Law.
For in all conceptions, The LAW is, and must be,
seen to be the Ultimate Cause of all activity. The
advocates of Absolute Being, object that they are
unable to conceive of Law without a Lawgiving Be-
ing. But, considering this answer, we soon see that
in order for the Lawgiving Being to proceed to give
or promulgate Law, it must be moved by some inner
law, desire, want, or will of its own nature—and
that simply pushes back the question one step fur-
ther. Try as we may, we cannot escape the convic-
tion that LAW is the First, and Last Cause the
30
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Beginning and the Ending-the Efficient Reason of
All-Things. Law is not a Being-not a Mind-not
a Spirit-not a Thing-It is LAW, and naught else.
We must accept It as Absolute Power, and as the
Aphorisms present It to us. Beyond this we cannot
go. Examine the Aphorisms carefully, and you will
find that they agree fully with the highest reports of
your reason, and in no way run contrary to it.
APHORISM IV. The Law is the Efficient Rea-
son of All-Things, and is the Supreme Power and
Causer of the Cosmos.
In this Aphorism is stated plainly and clearly the
truth that The Law is the Supreme Power of the
Cosmos, and the Causer thereof. The term “Effi-
cient Reason" conveys the entire truth regarding the
creation of or evolution of the Cosmos.
Let us
consider the definition of the two words composing
the term, in order to see the meaning still more
clearly:
Efficient: "Causing or producing effects or re-
sults; acting as the cause of effects; a prime mover;
actively operative; etc."
Reason: "An efficient cause; a final cause; expla-
nation; that which explains or accounts for any-
thing; motive of action; etc."
ABSOLUTE LAW
31
The Cosmos is explainable only by The Law.
Without The Law there could be no Cosmos. The
Law is the cause of the Cosmos, and of every mani-
festation within it. The very word "Cosmos” is de-
rived from the Greek word meaning: "the universe
as governed by law." Not only the Arcane Teach-
ing, but modern science states as its first axiom:
"The Cosmos is Governed by Law." To those who
prefer the idea of an anthropomorphic Being, or a
World-Spirit, as the Absolute, we have to say that,
unfortunately for their idea, the facts of the Cosmos
are all against them-Law is everywhere seen to be
dominant and sovereign, even in its relative manifes-
tations. We cannot escape it, and should not desire
to; and will not desire to, when we understand its
meaning. The explanation of this must wait until
its proper place in these lessons is reached. Enough
for the present to state that in all human ideas of
Law there is to be found the correlated ideas of
Justice and Equity. Know then that this relative
idea, when transformed to the absolute plane, results
in the identification of Absolute Justice and Abso-
lute Equity, with the Absolute Law. Could mortal
ask more? Has he aught to fear of Absolute Equity
1
32
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and Justice? Can he not postulate in the Absolute
all the highest conceptions of Fair Play that he finds
in himself? The Cosmos is Governed by Law!
LESSON III.
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS.
We now invite you to consider the correlative
principle of Truth, in which is set forth the Infinity
of Nothingness-Chaos-the Unmanifest; from
which, under The Law, emerges Everything—the
Cosmos-the Manifest. We have informed you that
The Law is not a Pantheistic Being, either breaking
Itself into bits, or parts, in order to create Universes;
neither does It imagine, mentally create, dream, or
meditate into existence a false and fictitious Uni-
verse "all in its mind," as pseudo-occultism and pes-
simistic philosophies would have you believe. Listen
to the Aphorism:
APHORISM V. "Other than The Law, there
is but Infinity, which is Nothingness. But in that
Infinity of Nothingness, there is Unmanifest, the
Latency, Possibility, Futurity, Potentiality, and
Promise of Manifest Everythingness. It is the
Chaos from which, under The Law, emerges the
Cosmos. It is the Womb of the Cosmos.”
33
34
THE ARCANE TEACHING
?
Postponing for the moment the consideration of
the distinction between the Absolute and Infinity,
which is uncommon in ordinary modern thought, we
wish to call your attention to the fact that Infinity
is not designated as "Not," or as partaking of “not-
ness," but is spoken of as "Nothingness," which is a
state of Nothing. In the Arcane Teaching the words:
"Nothing" and "Nothingness," signify "No-Thing,"
and "No-Thingness," respectively. This may seem.
like metaphysical hair-splitting, but it is not. Not
having common words to express uncommon ideas,
philosophers must needs split common words into
shades of meaning and significance, or else remain
silent with their thoughts unexpressed. In order to
understand "No-Thingness," and a "No-Thing," yout
must understand the meaning of the word "Thing"
to which these words are opposed. A "Thing" is
"whatever exists as a separate object of sense or
thought," in the sense of being and having apparent
qualities which can be thought of in terms of sense-
perception, such as size, shape, form, etc.-something
connected directly or indirectly with physical appear-
ance-something of the relative universe-some-
thing having a correspondence in experience. And
No-thingness must be the opposite of Thingness.
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS
35
sense.
Therefore the Aphorism practically says that In-
finity is a "Latency" that is No-Thing in reality,
but yet has an existence of some kind, at least
potentially. It can contain naught actually apparent
to the senses; naught that can be experienced;
naught that can be sensed; naught that can be
thought of by the intellect, nor pictured in the imagi-
nation-in short, nothing that is capable of inducing
a mental image in your mind. And yet it exists (if
the word can be used) as a state or condition in
which all is in Latency, Possibility, Futurity, Poten-
tiality, and Promise. In short, it is The Unmanifest
containing All Manifestation within it in latency,
possibility and futurity, awaiting the force of The
Law to bid it conceive, produce, and bring forth Be-
ing. We shall learn about this Infinite Nothingness.
shortly, in connection with another Aphorism.
Enough for the present to realize the words of the
Aphorism before us, which informs us that other
than The Law there is Not, with the exception of
the Infinity of Nothingness which exists in latency.
Other than The Law, there IS Not in the absolute
Philosophies and schools of metaphysics have gen-
I
36
THE ARCANE TEACHING
!
erally confused the meaning of the two terms "abso-
hute" and "relative," and have used them as identi-
cal in meaning. The Arcane Teaching makes a
sharp distinction between the two terms, however—
not a difference based upon a metaphysical hair-
splitting tendency, but because there are two entirely
different ideas which must be expressed in these
two words, and, in spite of the customs of the meta-
physicians the distinction must be made. We do
not wish to lead you into an extended metaphysical
discussion, but we think that you should be taught
to make this important distinction in the true mean-
ing of these terms.
The term "absolute," in its true sense and essen-
tial meaning, implies an apartness; separation; inde-
pendence; self-existence; self-sufficiency; supreme;
unfettered; free. The "essence of the essence" of its
meaning is to be found in the words "free, indepen-
dent, self-sufficient." And when used in connection
with the word "law," it represents the Supreme
Power, depending upon no other power; its own sov-
ereign; and the ruler of all else, without restriction.
This conception we have in The Absolute Law,
which is the Independent, Free, Sovereign Lord of
ALL
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS
37
The term "infinite" has an entirely different
meaning, in its true sense, although the philosophers
and metaphysicians often add to it the attributes
of the Absolute, which is a mistake. The word "in-
finite" in its true sense and essential meaning, im-
plies a state of boundlessness; limitlessness; not cir-
cumscribed; as to time, space, variety, possibilities,
combination, shape, form, etc. Its essence may be
understood by referring to the words from which it
sprung, i. e., the Latin words "in," meaning "not";
and “finitus” meaning "finished." In short, the word
"infinite" means "not finished; not complete; capable
of unlimited manifestation, and possibilities." So,
you see, while the idea of "Absolute" means fired,
complete independent state or condition; "Infinite"
means a state of endless and unlimited possibilities
of manifestation and expression.
The true philosophical idea of Infinity, consists
of the conception of any sort of mental object as
having the quality of quantity which cannot be ex-
hausted by any succession of experiences, however
prolonged or extended, in time, space, variety, or
number. By holding this idea in mind, you will
never make the mistake of confounding infinity with
38
THE ARCANE TEACHING
absoluteness, hereafter. The chief cause of the con-
fusion arises from the unauthorized use of the term
"infinite" in relation to "power." Power belongs to
the Absolute, and is not one of the attributes of
Infinity. "Infinite Power" would mean an infinite
possibility of the manifestation and expression of un-
limited power; while Absolute Power means all the
Power there is, fixed, independent and sovereign, un-
varying and immutable, and not subject to changes
of degree, etc. Absolute Law is not an infinite ca-
pacity for expression of power-It is Power-in-Itself.
All the great thinkers of all times, esoteric and
exoteric, have agreed in this idea of the Infinite be-
ing the Unlimited Possibility. The best of the an-
cient Greek philosophers, from Aristotle down, held
to this idea. As Schopenhauer says: "It is already
a doctrine of Aristotle, that Infinity can never be
actu (actual, given, fixed) but only potentia (in pos-
sibility, latency, promise, potentiality).”
And as
Lewes says: "If Zero is the sign of a vanished quan-
tity, the Infinite is the sign of continuity." We trust
that you now see that the Absolute could never
become Relative or Many-and that the Infinite
alone is capable of endless changes in shape, form,
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS
39
variety, in time, space, and number; and contains
within itself the promise, possibility, latency, and po-
tentiality of Everything.
The Arcane Teachers, in the olden time, illus-
trated this to their pupils by the following symbols:
The figure "1" standing for the Absolute, and being
fixed, independent, sovereign, and alone. By itself,
and in itself it is incapable of multiplying or divid-
ing-multiply anything by "1"; or divide anything by
"1," and the thing remains unchanged. Multiply or
divide "1" by itself, and the answer still is "1," show-
ing that the Absolute cannot be increased or divided,
even by itself. Subtract "1" from itself, and the
result is "0," showing that if the Absolute were sub-
tracted from it would cease to exist, and there would
be naught left but the Infinite Nothingness. Then
the Teachers called the attention of the pupil to the
Zero, or "Infinite Nothing" symbol, i. e., "0." In it-
self, “0” means Nothing. Multiply or divide any-
thing by "0," and the answer is always "0." Multiply
"0" by itself, and "0" remains-the Infinite cannot
increase itself, for in its circle it includes All Possi-
bility. But divide "0" by itself-and lo! "0 into 0
goes 1 time": the answer is "1." showing that if the
40
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Infinite be divided by itself, the Absolute is found to
be at its centre, undisturbed, independent, self-exist-
ent. The symbol of Infinity, in mathematics, how-
ever, is not "0" or Unmanifest Infinity, but O
which indicates Manifest Infinity, the symbol always
indicating endless continuation of action.
Now the symbol of the Infinite Nothing, becom-
ing Infinite Everything. Place a string of "O's,” as
follows: 000,000,000,000,000-you see that they still
mean “Nothing." Now place "1" (the symbol of the
Absolute), before the string and we have 1,000,000,-
000,000,000, which we may enlarge to infinite num-
ber by the addition of "O's." Or place the Absolute
“1," behind the string, and we have .000,000,000,-
000,000,1, a very small decimal, which may be car-
ried to infinitesimal smallness by the addition of
"O's." Thus we see, by symbols, that the action of
the Absolute Law on the Infinite Nothingness pro-
duces Infinite Greatness, or Infinite Smallness.
Now that you understand that Infinity means the
Infinite Possibility of Things, rather than an Infinite
Manifest Thing, you may be able to see that the
Infinity of Nothingness of the Arcane Teaching is
not quite so irrational as it appeared at first sight.
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS
41
In order to realize the truth of the Aphorism still
more forcibly, let us consider what Infinity (even
in the ordinary use of the term) really is. You will
find that all thought if analyzed, implies the Noth-
ingness of Infinity.
Non-Being, or Nothingness, was always regarded
by certain schools of the ancient Greek philosophy,
as existent in a philosophical sense. Empty space
was considered as truly existent as the atoms which
afterward appeared in space. Plato regarded Empty
Space as the matrix, or mould, in which the uni-
verse was formed. He held that there was possible
an abstract realization of pure empty space, which is
Nothing; the Void, which is the all-containing re-
ceptacle of creative energy, and in which being,
first distinguished into geometrical figures, becomes
the framework of the physical world. Scotus held
that since Deity creates the world out of Nothing,
then Nothing must exist as an emanation of Deity.
Hegel distinguished between a "nicht," or "Not";
and a "nichts," or "Nothing." Theology has always
held that Deity "created the universe from Noth-
ing," thereby implying at least a quasi-existence of
Infinite Nothingness. Spinoza recognized an "infi-
42
THE ARCANE TEACHING
nitely infinite" which is practically an Infinite Noth-
ing. Plato said that "Space as a Thing is incredible,
difficult of explanation, most difficult to compre-
hend." And Zeno, the Eleatic, said: "If Space is a
Thing, it must be in Something, and so in Space;
for everything that is, is in Something, and so in
Space; and so on ad infinitum. Therefore, Space is
not a Thing." So much for the philosophers. Let
us see what our own reason informs us.
Let us first examine the idea of Space. Space is
the mental symbol for Infinity. Consider yourself
as standing at a fixed point in Space-then you must
realize that there exists an infinite distance or ex-
tension in Space, from that point, in an infinite num-
ber of directions. Leaving out of consideration all
objects in space-considering Pure Empty Space-
and you must see that there is an endless extension
possible, in innumerable directions-extension with-
out end. Imagine a number of miles represented in
a row of figures extending from earth to the most
distant star; then multiply that number by itself; and
then the product by itself; and so on, for a time
equal to the number of years since the Cosmic Day
began. Then you would have a number of miles, the
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS
43
written figures of which would fill all the space that
your mind is able of even conceiving. Then think
of a Being traveling to the extent of that measure-
ment—would he then be near the end of space? No!
the distance traveled by him would be as a mathe-
matical "Nothing" or Zero, compared with Infinite
Space. No mathematician could have figured out
the infinitesimal smallness of the fraction denoting
the comparison, were he to have worked continu-
ally since the dawn of the Cosmic day. The calcu-
lation would be endless, because the result would be
infinitesimal, and at the end, he would have to
place the sign of “infinity" back of it. Just think!
To be able to travel for all Eternity through Space
without coming to an end! You cannot come to
an end of Space, even in thought or imagination—
try it! You will find that think as far as you will
into Space, there must always be Infinite Space be-
yond that imagined point. There is "no up or
down" in Space. Space is something with its cen-
tre everywhere, and its circumference nowhere. At
the last, philosophy and science are compelled to hold
that "Space is merely the possibility of infinite ex-
tension; or the infinite possibility of extension"-
46
THE ARCANE TEACHING
to the Universal Ether. In the end, Ether is called
the Great Mystery of Science. It must be consid-
ered as a Nothing that is a Something. A leading
scientific lecturer said, and wrote, recently: "The
Ether is unconditioned, an entity of no properties but
of all possibilities, or, more exactly, not an entity at
all, but an infinite possibility." And, so we find,
even Matter and Things themselves, arising from
and being resolved into an Infinite Nothingness that
is also Infinite Possibility.
Now, for a moment, let us endeavor to imagine
the condition or state of the Infinity of Nothingness
-the Unmanifest Cosmos-during the Cosmic
Night, and before the faintest dawn of the new Cos-
mic Day. The Three Cosmic Principles are resolved
into the condition of the Unmanifest, but are not
destroyed-there are Nothing, but not "Not!" The
Three Cosmic Principles are Substance; Motion;
and Consciousness, respectively. Substance has as-
sumed its most subtle form, infinitely rarer and
finer than the finest ether-it is practically Nothing,
but yet exists in latency, possibility, and promise.
Motion has assumed a rate of vibration so high
that it is practically at Rest, although not destroyed
INFINITY OF NOTHINGNESS
47
-it is still Motion in latency. Consciousness has
assumed the condition of a deep unconsciousness-
a profound dreamless sleep; a swoon following upon
the infinite ecstasy of the Supreme Cosmic Con-
sciousness of the previous Cosmic Day. It knows
Nothing; is conscious of Nothing-for there is but
Nothing of which it could be conscious, or could
know, for all manifestation has ceased until the
dawn of the new Cosmic Day. It is even uncon-
scious of the presence and power of The Law, al-
though The Law still reigns over it, and will awaken
it once more, as it has many times before, in the
Eternal Chain of Cosmic Days and Nights.
The Cosmos sleeps in the condition of Infinite
Nothingness-the Unmanifest! The Abyssmal Abyss
-the Eternal Deep-the Face of the Waters-the
Void-the Cosmic Womb! The Mother Sleeps! The
Laws of Cyclic Rhythm have brought to Her the
Rest of the Cosmic Night! But she will awaken
and greet her Supreme Lord at the dawn of the
Cosmic Day. From the Cosmic Womb will proceed
The Cosmic Will, which will manifest the universe
of universes; infinitudes of infinitudes of shape,
form, and variety, of things, life, and beings. In her
48
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Existence is the Promise of all that Shall Be
throughout the Ages and Aeons of Eternities of
Eternities. The Mother sleeps, sleeps, sleeps! But,
through the Night, as through the Day, THE LAW
IS, immutable, unchanged, Absolute.
:
i

The Arcane Teaching

OM
VO
10105
Los
E
X
EX UNO DISCE
OMNES
PART II. THE COSMOS.
Lesson IV. The Manifestation.
Lesson V. The Cosmic Will.
Lesson VI. Involution and Evolution.
COPYRIGHT 1909 BY
THE ARCANE BOOK CONCERN
Lock Box 769
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
LESSON IV.
THE MANIFESTATION.
This is the Arcane Teaching regarding the pro-
cess whereby the Unmanifest becomes Manifest; the
Latency becomes Activity; the Possibility becomes
Actuality; the Potentiality becomes Reality; the
Promise becomes Fulfilment. Listen to the Aphor-
ism:
APHORISM VI. "During the aeons of the
Cosmic Night, The Law dwells Alone, in solitude;
The Cosmos remains resolved into its condition of
the Unmanifest-the Infinity of Nothingness.
Then comes the dawn, when The Law superimposes
the Infinity of Nothingness, and causes the Un-
manifest to become Manifest; the Nothing to be-
come Everything; Latency to become Activity;
Potentiality to become Reality; Promise to become
Fulfilment.”
At the extreme swing of the pendulum of Rhythm
-at the point of the Cycle in which End fades into
Beginning the climax of the Cosmic Night is
reached in the form of Absolute Rest, extending over
æons of time. Then after the æons of Absolute
Rest come the first activities of the future Cosmic
49
50
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Day. During the Cosmic Night, as the Aphorism
states: "The LAW dwells Alone, in solitude; The
Cosmos remains resolved into its condition of the
Unmanifest-the Infinity of Nothingness." Then
begin the first stirrings of the birth of the new
Cosmic Day, which the Aphorism describes as fol-
lows: "Then comes the dawn, when The LAW
superimposes the Infinity of Nothingness, and causes
the Unmanifest to become Manifest; the Nothing to
become Everything; Latency to become Reality;
Promise to become Fulfilment." Let us consider
what is meant by the words of the Aphorism.
W
The first step of the new activities is indicated
by the words: "The Law superimposes the Infinity
of Nothingness." These words, at first considera-
tion, would seem to indicate a decided action of
The LAW in the direction of "superimposing" In-
finity. But such is not the Arcane Teaching. The
Teachers hold that The LAW exerts no different
degree or kind of power at the period of dawn, than
at the period of dusk; no more at the period of high-
noon, than at the period of midnight. During the
Cosmic Day and Cosmic Night, The LAW is un-
changeable and constant in its power and influence.
THE MANIFESTATION.
51
The difference is caused by the Cyclic Swing, or
Rhythmic Movement, in the Cosmos itself, Manifest
or Unmanifest. The LAW is over and above
Rhythm or Cyclicity, or any of the Seven Laws, and
is Changeless. The Cosmos, on the contrary is
under the Seven Laws superimposed by The LAW,
and is Changeable-Constantly Changing. The dif-
ference in the degree of power received from The
LAW is due to the changing condition of the Cos-
mos, or Infinity.
In order to understand what has been said, let us
imagine a mighty magnet, constant in its power, and
invariable in its manifestations of magnetic force
upon all within its magnetic field. Then let us
imagine an Infinity of infinitessimal particles of
steel-filings, separated from the magnet by a glass
watch-cover. Let us suppose that owing to the
operation of some unknown magnetic law, the re-
ceptivity of the steel particles changes in rhythmic
periods, or in cyclic recurrence.
In that case, it
would follow that, although the power of the magnet
were unchangeable and its manifestations invariable,
still the action of the steel-particles would cause it
to appear otherwise. For at times there would be a
52
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
marked degree of power shown, and at other times
a much less degree would be exhibited-but the dif-
ference would be in the nature of the steel-particles,
and not in that of the magnet.
Or, suppose, that the Earth were to manifest
varying degrees of receptivity to the Attraction of
Gravitation of the Sun-then while it would seem to
be a varying degree of power of the sun, the differ-
ence would really be caused by the changes in the
Earth, the Sun remaining constant and invariable all
the time. In these two examples, may be seen the
nature of the action of The LAW upon the Cosmos,
or Infinity.
Some of the occult schools who have been in-
fluenced by the Arcane Teaching, hold that The
LAW is attracted by Infinity, or the Cosmos, just as
the latter is by The LAW. In other words, they
hold that there is a mutual attraction and effect-an
action and a reaction-a reciprocal action. But this
is incorrect. The LAW is never attracted or af-
fected in any way by the Cosmos, or Infinity.
It is Absolute and beyond mutual Rela-
tionship. Were the Cosmos and Infinity not to
exist, The LAW would not vary a particle in any
THE MANIFESTATION.
53
way whatsoever. Its Absoluteness raises it above
Relations. But while this is so, the fact of the con-
stant outpouring of the Power of The LAW causes
the Cosmos to be affected by it, just as are the
steel-filings by the Magnet. According to Rhythm,
the degree of Power received by the Cosmos must
vary-but The LAW changes not. In fact, the
Seven Laws, themselves, which produce these
changes in the Cosmos, are a part of the action and
power of The LAW, as experienced by the Cosmos
-they are superimposed by The LAW.
The Aphorism says: "The LAW superimposes
the Infinity of Nothingness." What is meant by
"superimposes"? The word "super" means "over,
or above"; and "impose" means "to lay or place
upon." "Superimpose" means "to place upon from
above," or as used in the Aphorism: "To influence
from above." In other words, the Infinity of Noth-
ingness, or Unmanifest Cosmos, owing to the in-
fluence of Rhythm and Cyclicity, begins once more
to experience the active radiation of the Power of
The LAW, which serves to vitalize and energize
it, and thus begins the dawn of the new Cosmic
Day-and the beginnings of the new Universal Life,
or Cosmic Will.
54
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
In order to understand this awakening, or stir-
ring into activity of the Cosmos, which dwells latent
within the Womb of the Infinity of Nothingness, let
us consider the Three Principles of the Cosmos,
from which all forms, shapes, combinations and va-
rieties of manifestation arise. These "Three Prin-
ciples" are as follows: (1) The Cosmic Principle.
of Substance; (2) the Cosmic Principle of Motion;
(3) the Cosmic Principle of Consciousness. These
Three Principles are Unmanifest during the Cosmic
Night, but awaken into nascency and activity with
the first thrill of the dawn of the new Cosmic Day.
In the end, and at the last, these Three must be con-
sidered as phases of One. But that One, in itself, is
but the reflection, so to speak, of The LAW, al-
though not by any means to be considered as being
"qualities" or "phases" of The LAW. The LAW
has no "qualities" or "phases"-it is over and above
these things, which are but the aspects of Infinity, or
the Cosmos. The Three Principles are fundamental
in all manifestations of the Cosmos, from lowest to
highest-from the simplest to the most complex.
Wherever is found any manifestation of the Cosmos,
there is and must be found the presence of the Three
THE MANIFESTATION.
55
Principles in some degree of development or activity.
If you prefer, you may think of the Cosmos as con-
sisting of merely these Three Principles, manifest
or unmanifest. These Three Principles we can
never know of themselves--we know them only
through and by their manifestations. Let us con-
sider them in detail, by the light of the Arcane
Teaching.
I. The First Principle-Substance. Substance, as
the term is used in the Arcane Teaching, means the
underlying "body" of things-their material quality.
Everything that is manifested in the Cosmos has its
"body" or material quality. Substance includes all
that we may think of as Matter, in its various de-
grees of solidity, or lack of solidity-from the hardest
steel or granite, to the most rarefied gas or vapor
known to science. It includes all that science dares
to think of as material body, even in the highest
flights of its reason or imagination-and then all
that lies beyond those conceptions. The field of
substance recognized by science, as compared with
the real extent of the Principle of Substance, is as
no more than a hair-line drawn across a yard-stick.
There are forms of matter as much more solid and
56
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
dense than steel or granite, as the latter are more
solid and dense than hydrogen gas. And at the
other end of the scale there are forms of substance
that could not be described in words, so near akin
to Nothing are they. Between these two extremes.
there lies a bewildering number of degrees. That
which science calls electricity and other subtle forms
of energy, are not "energy" at all, but merely energy
or motion manifesting through subtle forms of sub-
stance, which act as its body. There are forms of
substance many times finer and rarer than even
these. There are bodies worn by beings on higher
planes which are finer and rarer than electricity.
Even the ordinary Astral Bodies of beings on our
own plane and stage of development, are far rarer
and finer than is electricity, or the finest rays of
light or magnetism. These bodies are just as real.
as is the piece of the hardest steel through which
they may pass as easily as the X Ray passes through
stone. The Universal Ether, which science assumes
to be the extreme limit, and infinity, of subtle
tenuity and fineness, is solid and compact when com-
pared with many of the higher forms of substance.
So much for Manifest Substance.
THE MANIFESTATION.
57
Unmanifest Substance is held by the Arcanes to
be identical with Pure Space. In the preceding Les-
son, you have seen that Pure Space is considered
as Nothing. This Nothing is merely the extreme.
limit of the fineness or rareness of Substance. Space
is not a mere idea-it is substance carried to its
extreme highest limit. The Arcanes do not object
to the term Abstract Substance, although they do
not regard "abstract" as meaning "not." One of
the old Egyptian Hierophants was once asked by
the Ruler of Egypt: "What is that which would
exist were there no universe; no gods; no any-
thing?" His answer was "Space!" And this Pure
Space is the Unmanifest Cosmos, in its aspect or
principle of Substance.
II. The Second Principle-Motion. Motion, as
the term is used in the Arcane Teaching, means the
underlying "energy; force; or motive power" of
things their quality of action. Motion, in the
Arcane Teaching is the Principle in which is gath-
ered the cause of all that we know under the
names of Energy; Force; Motive Power; Action;
Activity; Attraction; Repulsion; of any and all kinds
or degrees. Without Motion there could be no ac-
58
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
tivities, energy or force of any kind. We are fa-
miliar with many manifestations of the Principle
of Motion, such as Gravitation; Cohesion; Chemi-
cal Affinity; Electronic Attraction; Expansion; Con-
traction; Centrifugal and Centripetal Force; the
Motive Force or Energy of Light, Heat, Electricity,
Magnetism; the Energy of the Ultra-Electric Rays;
etc. But these are only a very small fraction of
the forms and varieties of energy and force known
to the advanced students of the Arcane Teachings,
not to speak of the Masters, or those on higher
planes of life. There are Finer Forces not dreamt
of by even the most daring scientist. Motion, like
Substance, is found in each and every manifestation
of the Cosmos. Wherever there is Substance there
is Motion. In its highest form of manifestation
Motion manifests in vibrations of such exceedingly
high degree and effect that there seems to be a
condition of Absolute Rest. This condition is the
one existing before the first stirrings of the dawn
of the new Cosmic Day. Motion is then Motionless,
to all intents and purposes,-but it has not perished
or been destroyed. It is Motion in Latency. There
is no such thing as Absolute Rest in the Manifest
THE MANIFESTATION.
59
Cosmos, but in the Unmanifest Cosmos there is Mo-
tion of so high a degree that it seems motionless
and at rest. Thus do extremes meet, in Infinity.
When the Cosmos becomes manifest, Motion de-
creases its rate of action or vibration, and mani-
festation is really a lowering in the scale of Motion;
just as manifestation is a lowering in the scale of
Substance. There must first be Involution before
there is Evolution, of both Substance and Motion.
III. The Third Principle-Consciousness. Con-
sciousness as the term is used in the Arcane Teach-
ing, means the principle of "awareness" or "mind
action" of things-their quality of mentalizing or
consciousing, or becoming "aware" of other things,
inner and outer. We are familiar with the form
and degree of consciousness manifested in ourselves
and other human beings, and we recognize different
shades and degrees in this. We know a little about
consciousness in the lower animals, in varying de-
grees. And some of us know of the degrees of
consciousness in plants, in varying degrees. And,
those who have studied along occult lines have
become aware of the existence of mind and con-
sciousness in so-called inanimate objects-the min-
60
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
erals, metals, etc., and even in the atoms-and
finally in the Ether. Everything in the Manifest
Cosmos has some degree of Consciousness. But
there are many other higher and lower degrees of
Consciousness, than those just mentioned. From the
Unconscious-Consciousness of the Cosmic Night,
when the Cosmos is conscious of Nothing, because
there is but Nothing of which to be conscious; to the
moment of the High Noon of the Cosmic Day, when
the Cosmos is fully conscious of itself as a whole-
the extreme of Cosmic Consciousness; there is a
scale impossible for man to grasp by reason or
imagination. There are degrees and planes of Con-
sciousness awaiting the Advancing Ego, which
transcend any possible dream or picture. The race
has just begun to manifest Consciousness worthy
of the name. It is just beginning to enter into the
glorious possibilities of Cosmic Consciousness-it is
just "beginning to begin.”
And, so, when "The Law superimposes the Infin-
ity of Nothingness," the stirrings of Manifestation
are felt by the Unmanifest. The Three Principles of
the Cosmos are awakened into activity-Substance,
Motion, and Consciousness begin to combine and be-
THE MANIFESTATION.
61
come active. There is manifested an unrest and
tendency to stir into activity the latent possibilities
of the Cosmos. Consciousness begins to awaken
from its slumber of ages, and strives to know itself,
and to realize its being. This imparts activity to
Motion, which lowers its vibrations in its effort to
manifest itself. This bestirs Substance into chang-
ing degrees of being. Thus do the first indications.
of the Cosmic Day begin to manifest themselves.
From thence onward, throughout the Cosmic Day,
until its close, there is constant change of form,
shape and degree of Substance; constant change in
manifestation of Motion; constant change in mani-
festation of Consciousness.
This first stirring of Cosmic activity has been
symbolized by the first stirring of the embryo within
its temporary home, in which it has lain quietly
since its conception. It is the first signs of the
sprouting of the tiny seed of the plant. It is the
peculiar, wierd and mysterious light which precedes.
the first actual glimmer of the rising sun. Creation
is beginning. The Cosmic Will or Universal Life
Principle is becoming active. The birth of the new
Cosmos is approaching. The One Life is arousing.
62
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
itself. Infinity is preparing to become Manifest.
The "0" is evolving into the O
In the Manifestation of the Cosmos there is ex-
hibited an infinitude of variety, degrees, shapes,
form, and combinations of the Three Principles.
It almost staggers the imagination to think of the
fact that in the entire Cosmos there is never a single
instance of exact duplication-there are never two
things precisely alike. In view of this fact does it
not seem folly to endeavor to make human beings
adhere to a common standard-to fit into a common
mould-to be cut from a common pattern?
And yet through the entire Cosmos there is ever
manifest the Law of Analogy-that law which ever
manifests a correspondence and agreement between
all things on all planes. So true is this that if
we discover certain fixed principles in one thing we
may reason by analogy regarding other things, and
thus discover the unknown "x" quality. "From One
Know All," says the Arcane axiom. "As Above, So
Below," adds the Hermetist.
And through the entire Cosmos there is ever
manifest the Law of Orderly Tred. Everything pro-
ceeds according to Law and Order. There is no
THE MANIFESTATION.
63
Chance or Disorder in the Cosmos. The Universe
is governed by Law. And all things are under the
Laws of the Cosmos.
And throughout the entire Cosmos is ever mani-
fest the Law of Sequence. Events proceed in a con-
tinuous stream, ever flowing onward. No event is
separate or isolated. Every event has its precedent,
also its subsequent and consequent. Everything has
its cause and its effect. Events compose a continu-
ous and unbroken stream.
And throughout the entire Cosmos there is ever
manifest the Law of Rhythm. Everything vibrates.
Everything moves from one pole to the other-
from one extreme to the opposite. Everything has
its vibratory rate. Everything has its pendulum-
like swing between its poles. Day is always fol-
lowed by Night; Summer by Winter; Heat by
Cold; Action by Reaction.
And throughout the entire Cosmos there is ever
manifest the Law of Balance. There is universal
equilibrium, compensation and balance. Everything
has something balancing and counter-balancing it.
Everything has its price. Everything has its compen-
sation. Nature always maintains its balance. And
>
64
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
man finds the Law of Balance always operative un-
der the phase of the Law of Compensation. We
must pay our price for everything-we 'cannot have
our penny and our cake at the same time. We must
ever pay, pay, pay. We can never get Something
for Nothing.
And throughout the entire Cosmos there is ever
manifest the Law of Cyclicity. Everything moves.
in Circles or Cycles, or Spirals. Worlds, nations,
peoples, and individuals travel in cycles-the strong
convert the cycles into Spirals.
And throughout the entire Cosmos there is ever
manifest the Law of Opposites. Everything has its
opposite pole. Everything has its other side. Every-
thing is a paradox. Everything "is and isn't"
at the same time. The Law of Polarity is one
phase of this Law. In it is locked many Arcane
Secrets.
LESSON V.
THE COSMIC WILL.
This is The Arcane Teaching regarding the
World-Spirit; the One-Life; the Life-Principle; the
Logos; the Demiurge, or that Something which men
have called by still other names, but which in Truth.
is but the Cosmic Will from which arises all life,
and action, and shape and form, and change, and
appearance, and variety, and manifestation—in fact,
all that we include in the term "The Cosmos." Lis-
ten to the Aphorism.
APHORISM VII. "From the bosom of the
Unmanifest, arises that which men call the
World-Spirit; the One-Life; the Universal Being;
the Life-Principle; the Logos; the Demiurge; but
which in Truth is but the Cosmic Will from which
arises all life, and action, and shape and form,
and change, and appearance, and variety, and man-
ifestation. The Cosmic Will is the One which be-
comes Many-the Unity in which is Diversity-
the First-Born from the Womb of Infinity,-the
Cosmic Egg from which hatches the Universe.
But this too, is under The Law."
65
66
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
By the term "The Cosmic Will" the Arcane
Teaching designates the One Universal Living
Creative Principle which has been recognized in all
the great philosophies of all times and places. From
the earliest dawn of philosophical thought, the great
thinkers of the race have postulated the existence of
a One Great Universal Living Creative Principle
from which proceeded the Many. In some cases the
One was held to be an Universal Being-even a
Personal Being or Deity-while in others it was
regarded simply as a Principle. But the underlying
conception was the same-a One Living Creative
Something from which the Many emerged-a Unity
from which proceeded Diversity. This Universal
Living Creative Principle was often confounded
with The Absolute, although others held that it was
subordinate. The Atlantean traditions show that
those ancient people held to this fundamental idea;
the Egyptians held to the existence of an Universal
Life-Principle; the Chaldeans likewise; the Hindus.
held to the existence of the principle of Brahman,
or the Universal-Life-Being, and the ancient Greek
philosophers held firmly to the existence of the One
Life Principle.
2
THE COSMIC WILL.
67
The Atlanteans, Chaldeans, and Egyptians held
that this Universal Life Principle subdivided itself
into the many forms of life and things, in obedience
to an inner law of its being. The ancient Hindus.
held that the One manifested as the Many, the
various schools giving different "reasons" for the
manifestation as follows: one school held that Brah-
man manifested as the Many, in order to enjoy
objective existence; another school held that Prakriti,
the Universal Principle of Substance, was acted
upon by the Purushas, or Soul-Principles, which it
had attracted to itself, and manifestations arose by
reason thereof; another school held that Brahman
was merely a subordinate creative principle, which
was caused to create universes by the power of Para-
Brahm; another school held that all manifestation
was merely an illusory dream of Maya (the Creative
Principle), in the mind of The Supreme Being; the
Buddhists held that manifestation was caused by
tanha or "thirst," in the Universal Will-to-Live
which arose from the Void of Nothingness; other
schools held ideas akin to those mentioned, or
variations or combinations of them.
The Greeks always held to the existence of the
68
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
Universal Life Principle, calling it by various names.
The very term, "The Cosmos," was used by the
Stoics and others to represent the idea of the anima
mundi or "world-soul." Heraclitus held to the
"world-spirit" which he symbolized as flame. Pythag-
oras, in his exoteric or popular teachings taught
the doctrine of the Life Principle, symbolizing it as
light or flame. Other schools recognized the exist-
ence of this One Life Principle calling it "Being,"
a term which has persisted in modern philosohy.
By some schools, notably the Platonian, the Uni-
versal Life Principle was called "The Demiurge,"
the term literally meaning the "universal worker."
The Demiurge was held to be an exalted and mys-
terious agent, by and through whom The Absolute
was supposed to have created the Universe-the
life of the Demiurge flowed out into manifold forms,
and became the Many. This idea was adhered to
by the Gnostics of the early Christian church.
The term "The Logos" was also applied by some
of the schools to this Universal Life Principle.
The Logos was held to be the Creative Principle of
Nature, objective in the world, giving order and
regularity to the universe of shapes and forms which
THE COSMIC WILL.
69
it had manifested. This idea of The Logos was
inherent in many ancient religions, and permeated
even early Christianity. Ueberweg, in his History
of Philosophy, says: "The Logos was a being in-
termediate between God and the world.
The
Logos does not exist from eternity like God, and yet
its genesis is not like our own and that of all other
created beings; it is the first begotten son of God,
and is for us, who are imperfect, a god.
Through the agency of The Logos, God created the
world, and has revealed Himself to it."
In the early Christian Church there was much
dispute about The Logos, but the revolution in the
Church, effected by Constantine, drove it from its
place of importance in the Christian theology. But,
nevertheless, the idea has persisted, as witness Cud-
worth, the eminent English theologian and philoso-
pher (1617-1688) who held to the existence of
a "Plastic Nature," of which he claimed: "It may
well be concluded that there is a Plastic Nature,
under God, which, as an inferior and subordinate
instrument, doth grudgingly execute that part of
his providence which consists in the orderly and
regular motion of matter;" Cudworth held that this
70
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
idea of Plastic Nature was reasonable in view of the
fact that "the slow and gradual process in the gen-
eration of things would be a vain and idle pomp,
or a trifling formality, if the moving power were
omnipotent; as also may be noted those errors and
bungles which are committed where the matter is
inept and contumacious; which argues that the mov-
ing power is not irresistible, and that Nature is not
altogether incapable of being sometimes frustrated
and disappointed by the indisposition of matter. An
Omnipotent Moving Power, being able to dispatch
its work in a moment, would always act infallibly
and irresistibly, as no ineptitude and stubbornness
of matter would be able to hinder such a one, or to
make Him fumble or bungle in anything." The
Plastic Nature of Cudworth, and his followers, was
but the old Demiurge, or Logos, of the Gnostics-
but another name for the Universal Living Creative
Principle, subordinate to the Higher Law.
Modern philosophers and thinkers have held to
this idea of the Creative Principle, regarding it
rather as a Life Principle than as a Being, how-
ever. Bruno held the existence of an anima mundi,
or world-soul-principle; others have held to the
THE COSMIC WILL.
71
Principle of "Nature"; Schopenhauer held to the
existence of an Universal Will-to-Live, which mani-
fested its life the universe of shape and form and
variety; von Hartman held that there existed an
"Unconscious," or Creative Principle, similar to that
of Schopenhauer's "Will"; Wundt held to the exist-
ence of an "Universal Will"; Crusius held to an
Universal Dominating Will; Balzac held to a “Uni-
versal Something, akin to Will"; Nietsche held to a
“World-Will”; Maeterlinck holds to a Life Princi-
ple; Bernard Shaw postulates the existence of a Uni-
versal Creative Energy which he calls, "The Life
Forces."
The Naturalistic school of philosophy postulates
the existence of a composite something which it
calls "Nature," which acts as the Universal Creative
Energy; other thinkers speak of "Nature" in its
metonymic sense, as “The agent, producer, or creator
of things; the powers which carry on the processes
of creation; the powers concerned to produce exist-
ing phenomena, whether in sum or in detail; the
personified sum and order of cause and effect."
Spencer postulates the existence of an "infinite
and eternal energy, from which all things proceed,
?
72
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
which transcends our reason and even our
imagination." In short, this Universal Living Cre-
ative Principle or Life-Principle, is found, under
one name or another, in nearly all of the leading
philosophies or schools of thought, ancient or mod-
ern. The highest reports of the human reason agree
in this conception and postulate.
But the true philosophic conception must be dis-
tinguished from that of Pantheism, which at first
thought seems to be the same. Pantheism claims
that this Creative Principle is Deity; God; or The
Absolute-that Deity and Nature are identical—that
the Universe is God, and God is the Universe.
Herein lies a great error, which true philosophers
and true occultists vigorously oppose. The idea of
an Absolute-of an Omnipotent, Omniscient (all-
powerful; all-wise) Being-being compelled to
work Its way up gradually, haltingly, with mistakes
and stumbles, is absurd. Cudworth (quoted a mo-
ment ago) makes this point clear. And to claim
that an Absolute Being is trying to "gain experi-
ence" in this way, is ridiculous. The idea that the
Absolute is "trying to accomplish something" by the
universal manifestation, is illogical-for if It has
THE COSMIC WILL.
73
ZAPU.
not been able to reach its goal in all the past of
Eternity, It can not reach it in all the future of
Eternity, for the one is equal to the other. More-
over, the Absolute must of necessity be self-suffi-
cient, and can want nothing to perfect Itself. In
short any attempt to postulate The Absolute; God;
Deity or other Supreme Thing as being the strug-
gling, striving, evolving Creative Energy, must end
in failure or an illogical conclusion. It is only when
it is assumed that this Creative Energy is subordi-
nate to and ruled by an Absolute Sovereign Power,
that it becomes logically thinkable. Pantheism,
actual or implied, is illogical-even the idea of a
Personal Deity is far more logical than is pure
Pantheism. The Absolute and Nature can never be
the same, try as men may to make it appear pos-
sible. Nature must always be relative, and subordi-
nate to a superior and sovereign Power or LAW,
and the latter must be The Absolute.
Pantheism wears many masks and disguises, and
is the underlying idea of many modern systems bear-
ing high-sounding names. Any system which is
based upon the idea of an Absolute which manifests
as a relative—or of a Supreme Being which mani-
74
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
fests as Nature, and natural things, is but Pantheism,
though perhaps subtly disguised. Beware of this
insidious error of thought. Apply these test-ques-
tions to any system, to puncture the bubble of Pan-
theism, if such is contained within it: (1) Why
does your Absolute Being depart from Its absolute
nature, and become relative, manifold, and divisible?
(2) How can The Absolute lose its absolute nature
and become relative? (3) What becomes of the
absolute nature of The Absolute, when the latter
transforms Itself into the relative? (4) How can
the Unconditioned take on conditions and limita-
tions? (5) How can the Immutable and Changeless
manifest change? (6) How can the Indivisible
divide and separate itself into parts? And if the
teaching in question postulates in Absolute Being,
the quality of Omniscience or Absolute Wisdom, ask
also this question: (7) How can the Omniscient All-
Wise Absolute Being lose Its wisdom, and display
the comparative ignorance of the relative forms?
There are but two possible logical explanations
of the Absolute and Relative, as follows: (I) That
the Cosmos has no existence except in the imagina-
tion of The Absolute Being-either as a dream,
THE COSMIC WILL.
75
meditation, reverie, or deliberate dramatic represen-
tation, lacking all reality; or (II) that the Univer-
sal Creative Principle or Energy is not Absolute, but
is subordinate to a Sovereign LAW. The first is
the answer of certain Idealistic schools of Philoso-
phy-the second is the answer of the Arcane Teach-
ers of Atlantis, Chaldea, Egypt and Ancient Greece.
Take your choice! But if you choose the former,
then you must admit that The Absolute deliberately
and wilfully creates the illusion for no reason except
its own pleasure (for no real result or gain is think-
able in such case), for it is ridiculous to hold that
The Absolute could be subject to Illusion, Ignorance,
or Maya, for if such were so it would no longer be
the Absolute. In either case Pantheism is "escorted
to the frontier." Do not be deluded by Pantheistic
subtleties, or casuistic false reasoning. Pantheism.
at best is but a half-truth-the other half lies in the
recognition of the ABSOLUTE LAW.
The Arcane Teaching holds that the Cosmic Will
-the first-born of the Womb of Infinity-the Cosmic
Egg from which hatches the Universe-is in its last
analysis, SPIRIT. By "Spirit" is meant "ES-
SENCE"-remember this definition. "Essence" is
76
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
·
a term derived from the Latin word, "esse," meaning
"to be." Therefore Essence (or Spirit) means the
"beingness" of Being. Spirit is the essence of the
Cosmos. Spirit is that which is the first-born of the
Infinity of Nothingness-the first thing to BE. And
from Spirit all the Cosmos proceeds-and at the last
the Cosmos is all Spirit. Back of Spirit there is
naught by the Infinity of Nothingness. And over
and above Spirit there is naught but The LAW.
Spirit is Being; and Being is Spirit.
The Arcane Teaching uses the term "Cosmic
Will" to indicate the creative activities of Spirit.
Spirit is the essence of the Cosmic Will-the Cosmic
Will is the outward activities of Spirit. But Spirit
and the Cosmic Will are the same thing-in its the
inner and outer aspects. By "Will" is not meant that
human quality called "will"-this latter is but the
mental quality which calls forth Will. Will is the
principle of all activity-it is activity in itself. Life
is one of the manifestations of the Cosmic Will.
Will is the "lifeness" of Life. Will is the outward
aspect of Spirit.
In the Cosmic Will are inherent the "Three
Principles," viz., Substance; Motion; and Conscious-
THE COSMIC WILL.
77
****
ness. In the infinitude of manifestation of these
Three Principles by the Cosmic Will is found the
explanation of the Cosmos or Universe. In their
play, and interplay, is found the secret of shape,
form, variety and degrees of Substance, Motion, and
Consciousness. And from these arise LIFE. There-
fore, in considering the Cosmos, in its activities and
manifestations, we may now forget the deeper and
more subtle metaphysical and philosophical terms.
which we have been compelled to consider-and, in-
stead, let us see in universal operation and manifes-
tation, a LIVING UNIVERSE or COSMIC LIFE
PRINCIPLE, ever moving, changing, flowing,
evolving, proceeding, desiring, attaining, seeking, ac-
complishing. This is The Cosmic Will of the Ar-
cane Teaching-possessing all the attributes and
qualities of the Universal Being of the Pantheists,
except that of Absoluteness; for greater than the
human imagination can conceive it though it be, yet
it is subordinate to, and ever under, THE LAW.
In this teaching regarding the Cosmic Will, the
Arcane Teaching gives us an intelligible explana-
tion of that most perplexing idea of the One Life, or
Universal Life, which has appeared in various guises
78
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
and under various names in the philosophies of all
times and peoples. That all Life, in the end, is One
-that the individual lives are but manifestations of,
and centres in, One Universal Life, has been the
Truth taught by some of the greatest teachers of the
race the illumined of all ages. The majority of
the schools make the fatal error of ascribing to the
One Life the nature of The Absolute. The moment
this is done the thinker is confronted with the para-
dox of the Absolute becoming Relative-a logical
impossibility. The best modern thought is fast com-
ing to an agreement with the original Arcane prin-
ciple that the Universal Life is not Absolute-not
Independent and Self Governed-not Sovereign
Power-not God, in the highest sense of the word;
but instead is Relative, Subordinate, and under The
Law. The Arcane Teaching that the Universal
Life is not its own law, but is under Law and gov-
erned by Laws, is the only explanation consistent.
with the highest report of the reason-the highest
form of Logic-and the experience of science, based
upon observed facts.
One of the greatest and most glaring of the fal-
lacies of Pantheism or allied systems of thought, is
THE COSMIC WILL.
79
į
that which assumes that The Absolute or Deity is
"trying to" accomplish something-either in the
direction of "gaining experience," or "building up"
some great universe by continual progression. The
idea of an Absolute, which must be Perfect, desir-
ing anything other than it has is illogical. The idea
of an Absolute Pantheistic Deity who must be All-
Wise, trying to "gain experience” or learn something
by playing the game of Many Parts, is childlike and
ridiculous--surely an unworthy role to attribute to
an Omniscient Deity. The idea of an Absolute or
Omnipotent Deity "trying to," or endeavoring to
build up universes by slow and arduous labor be-
longs to the category of child-thought. To think of
such a Being doing "day work" is ridiculous-and
then what could He gain by it, this Perfect and
Self-Sufficient Being? And the fact remains that if
all past Time has not been sufficient to accomplish
perfect results, then all future Time will fail to ac-
complish them-for just as future Time has no end-
ing, past Time has no beginning, and existed forever.
And then, what did this Creative Being do in all
the Eternity before Creation, if it be held that Cre-
ation had its beginning in time?
80
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
At the last analysis, the report of the illumined
of the race will be found to agree with the highest
report of the human reason-the report that the
Universal Life can be but Relative; governed by a
Sovereign Absolute Law; and subject to the Laws
of Rhythm and Cyclicity-having its Ebb and Flow;
its Action and Reaction; its Rise and Fall; its Days
and Nights; its Periods of Creative Activity, and
Creative Rest. And the Arcane Teaching squares
fully with these requirements-for it is founded on
Cosmic Truth.
LESSON VI.
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION.
In order to understand the Arcane Teaching re
garding the processes whereby the Cosmic Will man-
ifests in the universe of life and action; shape and
form; change, appearance, and variety; let us seek
the wisdom of the Aphorisms. Listen to the
Aphorisms:
APHORISM VIII. By the Law of Analogy the
Manifest Cosmos may be known.
"Ex Uno disce
Omnes"-From One know All.
Like unto a
WORLD-BRAIN is the Cosmos.
Its brain-sub-
stance is the Substance-Principle; its thought-
energy is the Motion-Principle; its Mind is the
Consciousness-Principle. Its will is the Cosmic
Will. Its spirit is the Cosmic Spirit. Its laws
are the Seven Laws. Its Sovereign is The Law.
Many philosophies have held that the universe is
mental, in its last analysis, and that the Universal
Mind is the reality behind the appearances. Others
have held that the universe is merely an imagina-
tion, illusion, or dramatization, in the mind of a
81
82
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
Supreme Being. But all of these conceptions use
the terms "mind" or "mental" as something having
no connection with material substance, the latter
being an illusion. But the Arcane Teaching recog-
nizes Substance as being as real and actual as Mind
or Motion-the three being but aspects of the same
thing-the Three Principles which are really One.
And in giving to Substance and Motion equal places
with Mind, the conception is seen to be rather more
like a "World-Brain” than a "World-Mind," for like
the brain it contains the principles of Substance,
Motion and Consciousness. Thought is the product
of these three-the action of Consciousness upon
Substance, by means of the vibrations of Motion.
As in the human brain, so in the Cosmic Brain-"as
above, so below; as below, so above." From One
know All. Substance and Motion are not illusions
-they are co-equal with Mind, in reality and actual-
ity. There can be no Mind without Substance and
Motion; there can be no Substance without Mind
and Motion; there can be no Motion without Mind
and Substance. The "Three Principles" are always
found together-in Everything the Three are found.
There is no separateness in the Three Principles-
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION. 83
there are, and must be, always in combination. And
this combination in the Cosmos, gives us that which
may be called the World-Brain.
APHORISM IX. In the World-Brain of the
Cosmos arises and is manifested all natural phe-
nomena. All natural phenomena is but the perpet-
val action and reaction; combination and re-com-
bination; distribution and redistribution; of the
Three Principles, in the World-Brain, by the
Cosmic Will. As in the human brain material
changes of form, shape, combination, character, and
degree, result from mental activities-organic
structural changes accompany mental states-
states of consciousness are embodied in forms of
material brain substance-so in the World-Brain,
by the Cosmic Will, do Thoughts become Things;
Desires take on Material Form; Ideas become Man-
ifested; Mental Images become reproduced in the
Material and Physical Forms, Shapes, and Appear-
ances. Mental States precede Material Form-
Mental Images precede Materialization.
In this Aphorism is contained a marvelous scien-
tific truth, little suspected by the majority of think-
ers. Every mental state produces a corresponding
material change in the structure and substance of
84
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
the brain-the brain-cells respond to the faintest
mental state. The Arcane Teaching informs us that
the Cosmos, being a great World-Brain, is governed
by the same laws-"as below, so above." This being
so, we may see how the Cosmos while still being
mental may yet manifest in actual material and
physical forms and phenomena, under the direction
of the Mind. There is Mind back of every material
and physical form and appearance. Here is the
reconciliation between mentalism and materialism—
idealism and naturalism. Read the above Aphorism
carefully, a number of times-it contains the key of
the material Cosmos, and the secret of Mentalism.
Read between its lines. It informs you why and
how Thoughts become Things-Mental States pro-
duce Material Forms-Mental Images cause Mate-
rialization. Here is the Key to unlock many Occult
Doors. Can you use it?
APHORISM X. What men call "Matter" is but
the countless centres produced by Will in the
Substance Principle, through the action of the
Motion Principle. What men call "Force and
Energy" is but the action of the Motion-Princi-
ple upon the Substance-Principle, induced by the
Will. What men call "Thought" is but the action
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION. 85
of the Will upon the Consciousness-Principle, em-
ploying the Substance and Motion-Principles in
the operation. In every action of the Cosmic Will
all Three Principles are employed and involved,
in varying degrees and combinations. The Will
is the Motive Power behind all manifestation in
the World-Brain of the Cosmos.
The above Aphorism states that which some of
the more advanced of modern scientists and philos-
ophers now hold to be a proven fact. Science and
Philosophy is fast approaching a meeting point, where
they will see that behind the activities and phenom-
ena of the universe there is to be found a Cosmic
Will manifesting in the multitudinous variety of
shape and form; life and action. Science and the
Arcane Teaching agree upon this point. As a cele-
brated philosopher-scientist said: "The material
universe is but the outer wrapper behind which is
hidden a spiritual creative activity; a striving, feel-
ing, sensing, like that which we experience in our-
selves." Conation (the voluntary power impelling to
effort) is held by Wundt to be the fundamental es-
sence of this activity. Thus Wundt postulates the
existing of a Cosmic Will, similar to that of the
Arcane Teaching. A recent paper by an English
86
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
scientist says: "There is but one substance, and that
is Spirit. Matter, so-called, is nothing but rigid
places in spirit." Matter is now known to be but
combinations of the ions or electrons, which are held
to be little more than "centres of force" in the ether.
Thought without thinking-substance and motion is
held to be unthinkable. Likewise science now holds
that there is life and mind in all material substance,
from atom to protoplasm. Science like the Arcane
Teachers, finds the Three Principles, Substance, Mo-
tion and Consciousness in everything. And science
is beginning to see in "energy and force" the evi-
dences of "something akin to conation." "Conation"
is "the voluntary power impelling to effort; the fac-
ulty of voluntary agency," etc.; or as Mill said:
"Conation, in other words, is Desire or Will." So
that science is meeting the Arcane Teaching face to
face, on level ground. The symbol of the "World-
Brain" is sure to come into general use in the sci-
ence of the future.
And now for the inevitable question-the ques-
tion which punctures the philosophical and meta-
physical bubble of the Pantheists: "Why does this
Cosmic Will manifest this energy, activity, desire,
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION.
87
longing, striving, seeking and evolution?-what is
the necessity of it all?—what is the end sought for?
As difficult as this question may be-and though it
has repeatedly been styled "unanswerable”—the Ar-
cane Teaching does not shrink from its considera-
tion, but gives the logical and only answer, for the
answer exists. Listen to the Aphorism!
APHORISM XI. The Cosmic Will, as the
World-Brain, seeking Consciousness through its
appropriate Principle, manifests the natural phe-
nomena of the universe. From a state of Uncon-
sciousness, through many stages of Semi-Con-
sciousness-through many degrees of Simple Con-
sciousness; Self-Consciousness; Super-Conscious-
ness; and states still higher in the scale, undreamt
by mortal mind, on toward the highest states of
Cosmic Consciousness-Spirit conscious of Itself;
the Cosmic Will proceeds. Consciousness, in all
of its phases, proceeds through Change-Conscious-
ness depends upon Constant Change. Consciousness
always produces Activity, and manifests Motion.
Consciousness always manifests objectively in
Change and Motion in Substance-in substantial
shape and form. In this, then, is to be found the
explanation of the phenomena of the involution
88
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
and evolution of the Cosmos, with all the incidents
thereof-in this is found the answer to the Ulti-
mate "Why."
The above is one of the most important of the
Basic Aphorisms-the one which explains the
"Why" of the Manifest Evolving Cosmos. The
answer is understandable only through the symbol
of the "World-Brain." The Cosmic Spirit or Will,
awakening from its sleep of Unconsciousness, during
the Cosmic Night in the Infinity of Nothingness,
seeks Consciousness. Consciousness is the "living-
ness" of Life—therefore the Cosmos seeks Life it-
self. The Cosmos manifests in order to gain Con-
scious Life. Like the mortal awakening from a pro-
found sleep, almost death-like in its intensity, the
Cosmos begins its task of regaining Consciousness,
which is the "livingness" of its Life. And as to the
mortal sleeper, such Consciousness comes to it
slowly.
In order to fully appreciate the meaning of the
Aphorism, we must regard the nature and meaning
of "Consciousness." Consciousness means "aware-
ness," and, of course, is purely mental in principle.
The Aphorism says: "Consciousness in all of its
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION. 89
|
phases, proceeds from Change-Consciousness de-
pends upon constant Change." Is this borne out by
modern psychology-let us see! The best authori-
ties in modern psychology agree to this statement.
To them, Consciousness is a stream of changing
mental states, with their corresponding physical
changes. The text-books say: "Every act of con-
sciousness involves a change from a past state to a
present." A leading authority says: "Conscious-
ness is in constant change"; also: "No state once
gone can recur and be identical with what it was
before"; also: "Consciousness does not appear to
itself chopped into bits.
It is nothing
jointed; it flows. A 'river' or a 'stream' are the
metaphors by which it is most naturally described.
In talking of it, let us call it the stream of con-
sciousness." Another authority says: "Conscious-
ness results from perpetual change. It is impossible
to maintain a uniform conscious state. A uniform
sensation of pressure becomes quickly unnoticeable
-the pressure must perpetually vary or the sensa-
tion will cease, and this is true of all conscious
states whatsoever." All the best authorities agree
in the above position. The Cosmic Will which is
.
90
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
embodied in the Cosmic Substance, just as is the
will of man embodied in his brain-substance, must
constantly manifest changes within that substance in
order that it may be Conscious. It must do this con-
stantly and perpetually, else it becomes Unconscious.
When it is remembered that states of consciousness
are always accompanied by corresponding material
and physical changes-that thoughts become brain-
things-then we can see the explanation of the
constant change in the physical world, which we
call natural phenomena.
The Aphorism also says:
"Consciousness al-
ways produces Activity, and manifests Motion."
Modern psychology also bears out this statement.
Prof. William James has brought out this point
most forcibly in his works. He says, among much
else on the same subject: "All Consciousness is
Motor"; also: "Using sweeping terms and ignoring.
exceptions, we might say that every possible feeling
produces a movement, and that the movement is a
movement of the entire organism, and of each and
all its parts.
In short, a process set up in
the centres reverberates everywhere, and in some
way or other affects the organism throughout, mak-
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION. 91
ing its activities either greater or less." Is it not
plain that, granted the existence of the Cosmic Will
in its aspect of a World-Brain, then every state of
consciousness within it must produce activity and
motion within it; and must also manifest the corre-
sponding physical and material changes in its sub-
stance and organic structure? Does not this, coupled
with the fact that consciousness depends upon con-
stant change, give us, in the words of the Aphorism,
"the explanation of the phenomena of the involution
and evolution of the Cosmos, with all the incidents
thereof? Does not this explain to us the workings
of the Law of Sequence?
This then is the cause behind the involution and
evolution of the Cosmos as told by Modern Science.
In awakening into Consciousness the World-Brain
creates centres of material shape and form within
itself. Then by slow degrees more complex forms
and combinations appear. Upon the created worlds
appear the material appropriate for the manifesta-
tion of organic life. Then Life, as we know it, ap-
pears. Then higher forms come. Then man. Then,
as on certain of the worlds, being much higher in the
scale than man, appear. And then on, and on, and
92
THE ARCANE TEACHING.
on, ever in an ascending scale of Life and Being;
shape and form; combination and degree.
In the World-Brain, there are many planes of
consciousness, just as there are in your own brain-
mind. There are the instinctive planes, and those
still below-the sub-conscious, and those above-and
the super-conscious, and other stages of which man
does not as yet dream. Just as the various brain-
cells perform their several functions, varying in the
degree of importance and function-so do the vari-
ous centres in the World-Brain play theirs, in the
same varying importance and degree. Each is a
part of the All. And there is a relationship and
interdependence between all. None is alone and sep-
arate. Separateness is an illusion. All is One.
The part played by Man-by YOU-in this great
Cosmic Drama, will be considered in the succeeding
parts of this series of lessons. Therein will be
taught the lesson of "Man, Know Thyself!”
In considering the World-Brain, do not make the
mistake of the average student, in thinking merely
of this speck of dust called the Earth, as being all
that is included in the Cosmos. In the Cosmos are
contained an infinitude of infinitudes of universes;
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION. 93
of suns, and planets. Space itself must be exhausted
before the universes are exhausted. Number itself
must be exhausted, before their number is exhausted.
Remember, they are the products of Infinity, and
consequently their number, degrees, and variety is
infinite in extent and possibility.
Nor, should you make the mistake of explaining
of the Cosmos in the terms of Time, except as a
convenience in thinking. Conceptions of finite time
or space have no place in the consideration of the
Cosmos-that is, the mind is unable to think of a
period of time sufficiently great to cover even one
phase of the Cosmic Process. The Cosmic Day is
unthinkable in figures. The highest figures possible
to the mind of man would not represent the year-
periods involved in a single second of the Cosmic
Day. We are still in the Dawn of the Day, and yet
that which men would call an Eternity has passed
in the present Cosmic Day. Thought fails us. We
are dealing in terms of Infinity. The Symbol is
In this lesson we have heard the answer to the
Ultimate Question of the "Why" of the Cosmos.
We have seen that that Answer is "Necessity and
Law." It is the Law of the Cosmos that the Cosmic
94
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Will should desire and will to live; and, that in
order to live, Consciousness (the "livingness of
Life") is necessary; and that in order to gain con-
sciousness, continual and constant change is an
actual necessity. And this constant change produces
the phenomena of the Manifest Cosmos. In a nut-
shell: The Cosmos manifests in order to Live-and
it Lives because Life is a Necessity of its nature
under the Laws, and subordinate to The Law. This
is the Arcane Answer to the "Unanswerable Ques-
tion" of the philosophers of the schools.
And in the Arcane conception of the World-
Brain of the Cosmos, we have another great funda-
mental truth stated in simple terms, and by a famil-
iar symbol. The human-brain has its analogy in
the World-Brain. In this Arcane Teaching we
may understand the principles of the embodiment
of mind in matter, and the action of mind upon
matter by means of energy. Compare this Teaching
of the World-Brain with the teachings of science,
in its phases of Inorganic Evolution, and Organic
Evolution, and see how the Teaching throws light
on the whole process. See how there is ever a
mental action preceding the physical manifestation.
INVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION. 95
Desire ever precedes function, shape and form.
Mind is always embodied in substance. Substance
always contains mind. The building of the crystal;
the growth of the animal form from the single cell;
the evolution of the chicken from the creative cell
in the egg; all these are manifestations of physical
action, structural change, and substance moving in
response to mental inner causes. From One, know
ALL. The Law of Analogy is ever manifest in the
Cosmos-"As Above, so Below; as Below, so
Above."
The conception of the Cosmic World-Brain also
throws much light upon many phases of mental,
psychic, and occult phenomena, in which the world
is now taking such a decided interest. If Thoughts
become Things in the Cosmic Brain, then follow-
ing the Law of Analogy it is possible for Thoughts
to materialize in Things on other planes of activ-
ity. The same principle is involved-the principle
of mental creative activity. This is the Secret of
Mentalism. This is the Key to Psychic Phenomena.
This is the Explanation of Occultism. With a Cos-
mos, mental in its nature, with energy and sub-
stance; matter and motion; all receptive, respon-
96
THE ARCANE TEACHING
sive, and plastic and obedient to MIND-what can-
not be accomplished by those who understand the
Laws of Mentalism? With WILL as the great
creative power in the Cosmos-what is not possible
to him who understands the Art of Willing. With
DESIRE as the great Creative Energy, can we not
see why Desire should be harnessed, controlled, di-
rected, guided, mastered and employed in our lives,
careers and destinies?
Apply these various conceptions of the Arcane
Teaching to the various philosophical and metaphys-
ical problems which have puzzled you—and see
how many tangles it straightens out; how many in-
harmonies it reconciles; how it brings order out of
the chaos of conflicting theories, dogmas and teach-
ings. The Arcane Teaching is a Disturber of teach-
ings-but it is also the great Reconciler. It is the
Chemical of Truth, which clears the waters of
Thought.
The Arcane Teaching
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
Lesson I.
Lesson II.
Lesson III.
Lesson IV.
Lesson V.
Lesson VI.
PART I.
The Arcane Teaching.
Absolute Law.
Infinity of Nothingness.
Lesson VII.
Lesson VIII.
Lesson IX.
Lesson X.
Lesson XI.
Lesson XII.
PART III. THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
The One and The Many.
Metempsychosis.
Survival of The Fittest.
MOTIVITY.
Lesson XIII.
Lesson XIV.
Lesson XV.
PART II. THE COSMOS.
The Manifestation.
The Cosmic Will.
Involution and Evolution.
Lesson XVI.
Lesson XVII.
Lesson XVIII.
Lesson XIX.
Lesson XX.
PART IV.
Dominant Desire.
Fate or Freedom?
Sovereign Will.
PART V. THE ASTRAL PLANE.
The Astral World.
Astral Beings.
Astral Phenomena.
PART VI. OCCULT FORCES.
Psychic Phenomena.
Mentalism.
Invocation and Evocation.
PART VII. ARCANE SECRETS.
The Secret of The Opposites.
The Secret of Rhythm.
Lesson XXI. The Secret of Balance.
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS.
I. THE ARCANE FORMULAS: or Mental Alchemy.
(A 50-page book of valuable instruction.)
II. THE MYSTERY OF SEX, or Sex Polarity.
(A 50-page book of great occult value.)
PRICE (Postpaid) FOR THE 21 LESSONS, AND THE TWO
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PART III.
THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
Lesson VII. The One and the Many.
Lesson VIII. Metempsychosis.
Lesson IX. Survival of the Fittest.
COPYRIGHT 1909 BY
THE ARCANE BOOK CONCERN
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LESSON VII.
THE ONE AND THE MANY.
We now invite you to consider the important
philosophical problem of The One and The Many,
as explained by the Arcane Teaching. In the philos-
ophies which hold that The One Life is the Absolute,
this problem is unexplainable, for it is impossible
to conceive of the Absolute, which is immutable and
indivisible, changing and dividing itself into parts, or
apparently doing so. With the recognition of the
fact that the Cosmic One Life is not the Absolute,
but is under LAW, then the difficulty vanishes. Let
us listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XII. Know ye, that in Truth,
there is but One Life and not many lives. Sep-
arateness is but relative and partial-illusory-
the creative fiction of the Cosmos. Who teaches
otherwise, errs. In the Cosmic Will there is the
One Life in which, and by which, is manifested
the Many.
In the previous lessons we have seen that the
Cosmic Will is the "lifeness" of all Life, just as
97
98
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Consciousness is its "livingness." Back of, and
under, all manifestations of Life, there is always the
Cosmic Will. But the Cosmic Will precedes the
particular manifestation that we call "Life," for it
existed before Life appeared in the Cosmos. The
great Cosmic energies and activities which mani-
fested in world-building in all its phases, were but
manifestations of the Cosmic Will bestirring itself.
The fundamental activities show but little evidence
of what we call Life-there seems to be but little
Life in the mineral kingdom-but still the Will is
seen in operation there, building up and tearing
down; arranging and rearranging; combining and
recombining. The attraction and repulsion of the
atoms (and of the particles composing the atoms)
shows us that the Will is present and in operation in
these lowly manifestations. In Gravitation, we see
a wonderful evidence of the operation of the Cosmic
Will. In Chemical Affinity and Molecular Cohesion
we have similar evidences. In all the great Natural
Laws, in evidence throughout the Cosmos, we may
see the operation of the Cosmic Will, always. The
laws of Physics demonstrate clearly the existence of
some great Conative power, animating, energizing,
THE ONE AND THE MANY
99
and manifesting in every part and particle of crea-
tion. One must indeed be a blind materialist to
fail to see ever at work that "Something Within"
manifesting as the "Something Without." The
building up of the crystal, from liquid to regular and
exact geometrical form, should be sufficient to con-
vince anyone that there is a "Something at work"
in it. Even the materialist is forced to recognize
these facts—and he does recognize it, and calls that
Something by the name of "Nature." We have no
quarrel with names-if the term "Nature" suits you,
use it by all means. But if you think clearly, you
must recognize that your "Nature" is Conative, and
acts and manifests as a Cosmic Will.
These fundamental activities and manifestations
of the Cosmic Will or One Life, are akin to the
activities and manifestations of our own lives. Stop
to consider that your body was built up from a single
cell by your Live Forces-not only your fleshy parts,
but your hair, nails, teeth, and even the hardest
bones which form your framework. And, likewise,
the flint-like shell of the clam, oyster, and other
hard-shell animals were so built up; not to speak of
the harder geometrical crystal forms of the diamond
+
100
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and other minerals, which are but "built-up" shapes
and forms. The diamond is composed of carbon,
which is but a gaseous substance which becomes solid
under certain conditions. The hard ivory of the
elephant's tusk was built up from cells, by the Life
Forces within the animal itself. So you see that
Life can build up hard substances as well as soft
ones. And the same force that builds up these hard
substances, builds up the rocks and hills, and moun-
tains, and minerals that form the body of Nature.
Just as certain functions of the animal or human
brain manifest in building up the body of the Cos-
mos.
The Cosmic Will from the beginning has sought
to embody itself in objective form, in order to man-
ifest Consciousness, which is the "livingness" of
Life, as we have explained in a previous lesson.
Like the Life Forces in any being, it first concerned
itself in providing a body for itself, in order that
it would have a substantial foundation for further
and higher manifestation of its Life. In the Cos-
mos the material plane of activity is the one first
operated upon. Then comes the slowing down of the
vibrations of Motion, and the Principle of Substance
THE ONE AND THE MANY
101
produces the elementary particles which, combin-
ing, form matter. Then matter begins to evolve
into higher forms, until at last there is produced
the combination in which is possible the manifesta-
tion that we call Organic Life. From the lowly
living cell-like creatures in the slimy depths of the
primeval ocean-beds, arise step by step, slowly, te-
diously, painfully, arduously, and haltingly, but
surely and steadily, form after form of higher and
still higher living organisms. The modern scientific
theory of Evolution-which, however, was antedated
some twenty-five hundred years by the Ancient
Greek Philosophers-tells us a true tale of the slow
rise and development of life forms.
At last Man-a poor, weak, brutal creature with
wonderful possibilities, was evolved by the One Life
in its urge toward Conscious Life. And this poor
creature has advanced wonderfully. And Evolution
does not stop here-for Man is but an intermediate
step. On other worlds in the Cosmos, there are
beings as much higher than Man, as man is higher
than the earthworm. Our planet is but one of
millions upon millions of millions of worlds, in
which Evolution is at work. We are away down
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
low in the scale of worlds and being. There are
beings as great as man's conceptions of the gods of
old, dwelling on some of these planets and worlds.
Some of us have dwelt on these brighter spheres,
but have been sent back a grade or two in order to
complete tasks left undone; or to gain experiences
necessary; or because the fires of material desire
had not yet died out in us, and we needed to "get
enough of it" once more, in order to be free of the
dross. There are planes of Life so transcendentally
grand and exalted, that Man's wildest imagination
cannot conceive of them. And, on the other hand,
there are worlds lower in the scale so sunken in
materiality and foulness, that the orthodox hell
would be preferable to them. Man goes where his
desires take him. He travels the road of his de-
sires and thoughts. He makes his own route-he
guides his own vessel. Man is his own Destiny.
The Many Lives are but Centres of Life in the
great One Life. Separateness is but the "creative
fiction" of the Cosmos-illusory and relative. All
Life is but One, in its fundamental nature. The
entire Cosmos is but One Life, in which we are
parts or centres-in its Being we "live and move and
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103
have our being." The One Life is not far away,
but is all around us, and immanent within us.
While one phase of the Cosmic Paradox shows the
individual to be but an infinitesimal unit in a stu-
pendous whole, the other phase shows the individual
to be identical with the Whole-connected with all
by spiritual bonds and links-and sharing the in-
finite possibilities of the All. The life of the in-
dividual is not bounded by his personal limitations,
but includes the life of the All. In this under-
standing and recognition there is found the recon-
ciliation, unity and agreement between the contra-
dictory phases of life and the universe. True spir-
itual advancement depends upon the increasing
recognition and identification of the individual with
the All.
An important point in the Arcane Teaching is
that which holds that the Cosmos is, and can be,
conscious only through and by means of the various
centres of consciousness within itself. Without
these centres of consciousness within itself-the
consciousness of You and I and all the rest-the
One Life would be unconscious. Just as the in-
dividual can be conscious only through his stream
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
of units of consciousness, so can the One Life be
conscious only through its stream of centres of con-
sciousness. Destroy these centres of consciousness,
and the Cosmos once more is resolved into its con-
dition of Unconscious Nothingness. And, moreover,
the One Life can live only through its centres of
Life-the centres called You and I, and the rest.
Will is the "lifeness" of Life-Consciousness is the
"livingness" of Life-and the individual is the centre
of both Will and Consciousness, and therefore of
Life. As the Cosmos advances in the Cosmic Day,
there is manifested a constantly increasing blending
or unification of the various centres of Life-a con-
stantly increasing identification of the individual
with the All. And, thus is accomplished the ap-
proach to the Cosmic High Noon, when the One
Life, as one life and consciousness, lives, wills and
is conscious. Before that time comes, the illusion
of Separateness is manifested-the "creative fiction"
of the Cosmos operates in working out the approach
to Cosmic Consciousness.
Thus it is seen that the Cosmos, or One Life,
does not manifest as separate units of life in order
to amuse itself, or to try experiments, or any of the
THE ONE AND THE MANY
105
various "explanations" hazarded by philosophy,
metaphysics, or theology. It manifests through the
centres, because it must do so in order to live and
be conscious. Creation and the Universe is not a
matter of whim, unreasoning desire, or arbitrary
fiat of the One Life of the Cosmos. Far from that.
It is the Cosmic Necessity. Just as you must live
in order to be alive so must the Cosmos manifest
Life in order to live and be conscious. Just as you
find the imperative demand for life within yourself;
so does the Cosmic Life find the imperative demand
for Life within itself. The One Life is under the
LAW, just as you are under the Laws. The urge
of "Must" is ever impelling it forward. It is not
Free-it is under the LAW and The Laws. The
LAW is ever over and above it-the Seven Laws
are constantly in operation within it. The One Life
is not a cruel, arbitrary master or ruler. It is your
Greater Self, and subject to the same laws which
govern you. It is doing the best it can, for itself,
and therefore for you. When the individual realizes
this fact-the fact that the One Life is doing the
best it can; is bound by the Laws as much as is the
individual; that there is no manifestation of arbi-
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
trary desire, or unreasoning whim in the Cosmic
machinery; that One is All, and All is One; then
there appears a reason and explanation for much in
life which has hitherto defied explanation or reason;
or theory of justice and equity. Then is there seen.
an explanation of that apparently arbitrary, despotic.
manifestation of power, which caused old Omar
Khayyam to utter his rebellious protests, and cry
aloud:
"Into this Universe, and 'Why' not knowing,
Nor 'Whence,' like Water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not 'Whither,' willy-nilly blowing.
"What, without asking, hither hurried 'Whence'?
And, without asking, 'Whither' hurried hence!
Oh, many a cup of this forbidden Wine
Must drown the memory of that insolence!
"A moment guessed-then back behind the Fold
Immerst of Darkness round the Drama rolled,
Which for the pastime of Eternity
He doth himself contrive, enact, behold.
"We are no other than a moving row
Of Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go
Round with the Sun-illumined Lantern held
In midnight by the Master of the Show.
"But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays
Upon His Chequer-board of Nights and Days;
Hither and Thither moves, and checks, and slays,
And one by one back in the Closet lays.
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107
"The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes,
But Here or There as strikes the Player goes;
And He that tossed you down into the Field,
He knows about it all-He knows-He knows."
Many daring thinkers who setting aside "the
bribe of heaven and threat of hell" have dared to
look Life in the face, have been overcome by a
sense of impotent subjection to an arbitrary Being
who, being able to remedy conditions, and knowing
of the pains of mortal life in the universe, never-
theless has deliberately imposed such conditions.
upon living things. Such thinkers find it impossible
to reconcile the claimed qualities of Love and Good
in such a Being, with the manifestations of apparent
injustice, inequity, pain and suffering which made
pessimists of great souls like Buddha, Lao-tze, and
the writer of the Koheleth or Ecclesiastes. Indeed,
viewing Life from this viewpoint, one finds it hard
to escape the conviction which inspired the bitter
words of old Omar, when he cried:
"What! out of senseless Nothing to provoke
A conscious Something to resent the yoke
Of unpermitted Pleasure, under pain
Of everlasting Penalties, if broke!
"What! from his helpless Creature be repaid
Pure Gold for what he lent him dross-allay'd;
Sue for a debt we never did contract
And cannot answer-Oh, the sorry trade!
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
"O Thou who didst with pitfall and with gin
Beset the Road I was to wander in,
Thou wilt not with Predestined Evil round
Enmesh, and then impute my fall to Sin!
"O Thou who Man of baser Earth didst make,
And ev❜n with Paradise devise the Snake:
For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man
Is blackened-Man's forgiveness give-and take!"
But with the dawning knowledge that the One
Life, or World-Spirit, is not The Absolute, but is
under LAW and Laws superimposed upon it, then
we have a picture of an Universal Being which
suffers with us and through us; rises with us and
through us; strives with us and through us; attains
with us and through us; rejoices with us and
through us; conquers with us and through us—and
whose Life is composed of our lives; whose con-
sciousness is composed of our consciousness. Such
a Being is seen to be, at the last, one with ourselves,
instead of an outside power-and consequently,
such a Being is seen to be eternally making for
Good-making for our good, for we are one with
itself. Such a Being is seen to be but the Com-
posite Self of all the individual selves of the Cos-
mos -the Real Self. And in the recognition of all
this, our bitterness must die away, and a great
THE ONE AND THE MANY
109
feeling of compassion, sympathy, understanding and
love must be manifested by us-and felt by us. Then
must come that sense of Oneness with the All
which is the great reconciler-which harmonizes the
Opposites, and establishes the Cosmic Balance.
This One Life is YOU-and You are it. Cen-
tres of Life, apparently separate are we now--but
steadily growing toward that time, phase and state
of Cosmic Consciousness, in which the All shall
know itself as One-and the One know itself as All.
As the Ego progresses through the stages of Spir-
itual Evolution, its consciousness enlarges and ex-
pands, including more and more of the Cosmos
within it as the Self, until the stages of Cosmic
Consciousness are reached in which the Ego finds
itself blending into the Whole, and the All blending
into the Self. This is what is meant by Cosmic
Consciousness; Spiritual Consciousness; Transcen-
dental Consciousness; the Higher Consciousness;
the Moksha, of the Brahmans; the Nirvana, of the
Buddhists; the Union with God, of the Mystics; the
Divine Marriage, of the Sufis; the Brahmic Splen-
dor, of the Oriental poets—of all those transcenden-
tal states of Consciousness, in which the Self blends
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
into the All, in varying degrees according to the
development of the soul. This is the Secret of the
Mystics of all times and lands-this the Mystery of
Buddha-this the Divine Bliss of the Brahmans-
this the "Wine" of the Sufi symbology. Even old
Omar, in his bitter complaint, was true to his Sufi
instincts, and recognized the One:
"Whose secret Presence, through Creation's veins
Running Quicksilver-like eludes your pains;
Taking all shapes from Mah to Mahi; and
They change and perish all-but HE remains."
And this was the thought that inspired these strik-
ing lines from an unknown poet:
"Thou great Eternal Infinite! Thou great Un-
bounded Whole!
Thy body is the Universe! Thy spirit is its soul!
If Thou dost fill Immensity-If Thou art All-in-
All-
Then I'm in Thee, and Thou in Me, or I'm not
here at all!
How can I be outside of Thee, when Thou fill
Earth and Air?
There surely is no place for Me outside of Every-
where!
If Thou art ALL, and Thou dost fill Immensity of
Space,
Then in Thy BEING do I dwell, or else I have no
place.
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111
And if I have no place at all-what am I doing
Here?
Beyond the All I cannot Be-outside of Every-
where!
Then truly in Thy SELF am I—and Thou must be
in ME;
Or else there is no All-in-Ail-no Me, nor Thee,
to BE!"
This ONE is the great Cosmic Spirit-Cosmic
Will-Life Principle-One Life of The Cosmos-in
which the Arcane Teachers find the Real Self and
Universal Being. This is the great Principle of Life
and Being, in which "we live, and move, and have
our being." This is the great Cosmic Life which
awakens in the Dawn of the Cosmic Day, and thence
proceeds gradually to evolve into the Cosmic Con-
sciousness of High Noon; thence on to rest in the
ecstatic state of transcendental Bliss, Consciousness,
and Being-sat-chit-ananda, the Hindus call it-the
Kingdom of Heaven, other mystics have called it—
during the Afternoon of the Cosmic day, which
state extends over countless æons of time; thence
passing into the dream-like slumber of the Twilight
of the Cosmic Day; thence on toward the resolu-
tion into the state of Unconsciousness in the In-
finity of Nothingness of the Cosmic Midnight;
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
thence on to the Re-awakening at the first glimpses
of the Dawn of the new Cosmic Day. As Above,
so Below; as Below, so Above! From One, Know
All!
Thus is the Great Cycle of the Cosmos-thus the
Working of the Laws. And, ever over all dwells
The LAW, unchanged, peaceful, undisturbed-ever
the same-Alone-Absolute.
LESSON VIII.
METEMPSYCHOSIS.
It is not our purpose to enter into a discussion of
the world-old and world-wide doctrine of Metemp-
sychosis, Re-Birth, Reincarnation, or Re-embodi-
ment, or by whatever other name it may be known.
The modern world has awakened to a new knowl-
edge of this ancient doctrine and truth, but in learn-
ing it is has absorbed much error with the principle
of truth. We shall not attempt to prove the doc-
trine of Metempsychosis. All true occultists know
that every soul which ever has experienced re-em-
bodiment or rebirth has an intuitional assurance of
the truth of having lived before, some time, some
where—an assurance perhaps dim, but still persis-
tent. Those who have not this inner assurance in
some degree have never experienced rebirth, al-
though they may have rebirth awaiting them after
the present earth life. To those who have not this
inner assurance, it is folly to attempt to prove
Metempsychosis-at the best they will receive it
merely as one of a number of idle speculations on
113
114
THE ARCANE TEACHING
the unknowable hereafter. To those who have the
inner assurance, in some degree, no other proof is
necessary, although explanation and teaching re-
garding the same is eagerly sought after. In this,
and the following lesson, we shall ask you to con-
sider the Arcane Teaching regarding the details of
Metempsychosis, Reincarnation, and Re-birth.
Many of the points of the Teaching may seem
strange and startling to those who have studied
other teachings-but careful study and comparison.
will show the Truth in spite of the contradictions
from without. For the first point, listen to the
Aphorism:
APHORISM XIII. Know ye this first Truth of
Metempsychosis:
The Ego is evolved from the
Personal Self. Every living thing possesses
Personal Self, but even among men, many fail to
reach Egohood. Egohood is earned, not bestowed
as an universal natural gift. Many personalities
are born, but few Egos are evolved. Personality
perishes in the Astral World, after the death of
the physical body-Egohood persists in Re-embod-
iment and Rebirth.
This startling truth, embodied in the Aphorism,
is one of the fundamental principles of the Arcane
METEMPSYCHOSIS
115
Teaching. The majority of religions and philoso-
phies have held to the idea of the universality of im-
mortality, although there have been some notable ex-
ceptions to the rule. The Arcane Teaching however
has always held that Egohood (with survival and
re-birth) is conditional and exceptional. It has held
that there must be earned and evolved an Ego, be-
fore that Ego may persist in Re-embodiment and
Re-birth. Many of the ordinary teachings regarding
Reincarnation hold that there is a continuous chain
of Rebirth or Reincarnations from the lowest form
of animal life (and often still lower) to that of
advanced Man and beyond. This is not so held in
the Arcane Teaching. The Arcane Teaching holds
that there is Physical Evolution from the very
lowest life forms to the highest (up to a certain
advanced stage to be noted hereafter), but that
Spiritual Evolution begins only when the Ego is
evolved from the Personal Self of some creature on
the plane of humanity, or some plane equal to it in
other worlds. From thence on there is Spiritual
Evolution, and Metempsychosis, Re-birth or Re-em-
bodiment, which latter continues until the Ego
passes through that stage and thenceforth pursues
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
its Spiritual Evolution without the necessity of Re-
birth. Most positively does the Arcane Teaching
deny that YOU, the Ego, as a soul, have arisen by
steps of Spiritual Evolution from the various soul-
stages of the animals. The Arcane Teachings also
hold that the majority of human beings on earth
to-day have not developed Egohood, and are there-
fore not likely to be reborn or re-embodied, but will,
after a period of life in the Astral World, in their
astral bodies, again die and fade away, being re-
solved into their original elements in the Cosmos.
All living things have Personality, and are able
to distinguish between "Me and Not-Me”—between
their personal selves and the things of the outside
world. But only a portion of the human race have
developed the phase called by psychologists, "Self-
Consciousness," or "The Sense of Individuality," in
which they are able to distinguish between the "I"
and the "Me." By the "Me" is meant the things
of personality-the body, the mental states, the
feelings, the desires, the characteristics of person-
ality, etc. By the "I" is meant that transcendental
Something in oneself which is able to stand aside
and apart and view the "Me" as from outside-
METEMPSYCHOSIS
117
that something which enables one to feel, “I AM”–
that Something which enables one to know that he
is superior to the body, or the personality, and that
he will always be "I AM" no matter in what part
of the Cosmos he may be, or after how many æons
of time he may say it. It is most difficult to de-
scribe this phase of consciousness, but those who
have it will recognize it, and those who have it not
will likewise realize the lack. Some may not rec-
ognize it under the term Ego or the "I Am," but
will understand when we say it is that which may
be called "Soul Consciousness"-that is, a con-
sciousness that You are a Soul, inhabiting a body
and using a mind-a Something over and above
personality and mortal life-a Something destined
to live on, and on, and on-a Something which
feels and knows that it IS. A great many people
do not recognize this Something Within them, but
instead believe that they have a soul, or will have
one at least their idea of "soul" being something
that will emerge from them after death. The true
Soul recognizes itself as being Now-it can say "I
Am the Soul-Here and Now!" This is Egohood
in its early stages.
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
The Cosmic Will, or One Life, begins its work
of physical evolution, working from lowly forms to
higher and higher, the benefits of acquired con-
scious experience being transmitted through the laws
of Sequence or Heredity. In this way the lower
animals advanced in the scale of evolution, and
Man appeared. But Man was, and in many cases is
now, but a higher form of the lower animals—his
soul life comes later. As Man advanced in the
scale, there were evolved personalities which experi-
enced the pangs of soul-birth. They felt the strug-
gles of the developing Something Within, and began.
to realize that they were individuals—the “I Am”
began to manifest itself. These individuals were
not always "good" people-both poles of the oppo-
sites manifested here as elsewhere-they were sim-
ply stronger and more soulful people-people who
felt the Real Self within them. Thus were the
Egos evolved.
When physical death overcame these individ-
uals, after spending their allotted and usual time in
the Astral World, and sinking into the astral slum-
ber preceding the usual astral dissolution and final
death, these Egos awoke to a new life in new
METEMPSYCHOSIS
119
bodies-Metempsychosis in its earlier stages. Each
Ego was reborn into a new body, along the lines of
its general character and desires, although it pre-
served but a faint memory of its past life. The
Ego preserved its Character, however, although its
Personality had slipped away from it. Thenceforth
these Egos proceeded along the lines of Spiritual
Evolution, in connection with Physical Evolution-
and thereby the One Cosmic Life was enabled to
evolve and progress along two lines of Evolution,
instead of one as before-the Cosmic Will doubled
its resources. In order to see the "why" and "how"
of this process of re-embodiment, or re-birth, let us
listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XIV. Know ye this second Truth
of Metempsychosis: Persistence in Egohood in
Rebirth or Re-embodiment, is but the Recollec-
tion or the Memory of the Cosmic Will, in the
World-Brain. As the mortal brain recollects (and
thus embodies) an idea, or thing-so does the
World-Brain recollect (and thus embodies) the
Egos. This is the Truth of Metempsychosis, and
the phases of Life beyond Metempsychosis.
To those who have deemed incapable of solution
the "how" of Re-embodiment, the Truth contained
120
THE ARCANE TEACHING
in the above Aphorism will come like a flash of light-
ning illumining the darkness of midnight. The
analogy is seen at once by those familiar with the
laws of the mind and the phenomena of the brain.
An idea or thing, the impression of which is in the
memory (occultists claim the memory to be largely
astral in its nature) is recalled or recollected, and
immediately passes into the field of consciousness.
And to pass into the conscious field it must be
embodied in the brain substance or cells-it must be
given an appropriate body. The Cosmic Will re-
members the Ego in the Astral World, and in the
World-Brain it again embodies it in material form.
We urge you to study this carefully and thoroughly,
before proceeding further, in order that you may
make this great Truth your own for all time. Con-
sider this: To be remembered by the Cosmic Will
in the World-Brain, is to persist in Being-for
whatever is so remembered cannot perish so long as
the World-Brain persists and exists.
And now listen to the Aphorism, telling the
third truth of Metempsychosis:
APHORISM XV. Know ye this third Truth
of Metempsychosis: In recognizing and knowing
METEMPSYCHOSIS
121
the "I," the individual recognizes and knows the
Cosmic Will-and the Cosmic Will knows and rec-
ognizes the individual. Egohood is mutual con-
scious recognition-all below this phase belongs
to the sub-conscious plane of the World-Brain.
In this Aphorism is contained another remark-
able Truth. It informs us that the "I Am," or "I,"
or "Soul" recognized by the individual, even faintly,
is the conscious recognition of the Cosmic Will or
One Life which is our Real Self. And, likewise,
such recognition is mutual, for in it also is com-
prised the recognition of the individual by the One
Life. When we know, recognize and realize the
"One" within us; then the "One" recognizes us
within itself. And thenceforth it remembers us,
and our Spiritual Evolution begins. As the Aphorism
says: "Egohood is mutual recognition-mutual rec-
ognition between the Individual and the All." The
Aphorism also informs us that below the plane of
Ego, all the life activities of the World-Brain are
along sub-conscious lines-below the plane of Con-
sciousness. In other words, the Being in whom we
are, knows and is conscious of us, only when we
are conscious of Being within us. The recognition
122
THE ARCANE TEACHING
is mutual in consciousness. And, correspondingly,
as we advance in the great scale of Consciousness,
we come into a closer recognition and consciousness
of the One, and the One comes into a closer recog-
nition and consciousness of us. Finally, at the High
Noon of Cosmic Consciousness, we come to know
that we are the One-and the One comes to know
that it is us. And toward this is the aim and goal
of Spirtual Evolution.
But not all the Egos reach this stage—many
fall by the wayside, or sink into the mire. We shall
speak of this in the succeeding lesson, and we men-
tion it here merely to prevent a misapprehension.
The Arcane Teaching does not hold that Re-
Birth is imposed arbitrarily upon the Ego, or by
reason of punishment or reward for deeds "good
and evil" of the physical life; but, on the contrary,
that it proceeds in accordance with the operation of
the Seven Laws following the general path of the
Desire and Character of the Individual. In other
words, the "character" of the individual, which is
composed of the sum of his experience and his
desires, follows the line of the general Expression.
of his Desires in deciding his future embodiments
METEMPSYCHOSIS
123
and life. Desire is the strong motive force of Life,
as we shall explain in a future lesson, and its urge
toward expression leads him into certain channels
of Re-birth. An understanding of Desire and the
Will enables the individual to regulate his char-
acter so that he may practically map out his future
lives instead of allowing them to be determined by
Blind Desire as is the case with the majority of
the race.
Nor does the Arcane Teaching hold that Metemp-
sychosis shall always continue along unconscious
lines. The advanced soul reaches the plane of Con-
scious Re-birth, after a certain stage is passed-
and accompanying this comes the Memory of the
Past Lives, so that Life becomes continuous in
consciousness and memory, after a certain stage of
progress is attained. At present, the average Ego
is undergoing a stage of spiritual evolution akin to
the mental stage of a child of a few years of age.
The child remembers but little of its past-the hap-
penings of a few months ago are forgotten-even the
affairs of yesterday seem dim to-day. But as the
child advances in years it has a better and still
better remembrance of the past. And, in the same
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
way the advancing soul develops a clearer and still
clearer recollection of its past lives. The dim mem-
ories, and flashes of remembrance of the past, which
many of us now have, will be succeeded eventually
by a full remembrance of the details of our past
lives.
Moreover, the Arcane Teaching does not hold
that Metempsychosis is the final stage of spiritual
Evolution. On the contrary, it holds that eventually
the evolving Ego will reach the stage in which Re-
embodiment is no longer necessary-and thenceforth
the Ego will be able to actually create its own bodily
vehicle of life from the Principle of Substance in
which it is immersed.
The Arcane Teaching also hold that Re-embodi-
ment on this one planet continues only so long as
the Ego is attracted by Earth things-when it
passes beyond the attractions of Earth it rises to
meet the attractions of worlds higher in the plane,
and so on and on. Or, likewise, it may become so
gross that it may sink to a lower level of worlds
beneath our own in development. Many of us now
abiding on this planet, have been drawn here by
reason of having fallen from the higher estate of
METEMPSYCHOSIS
125
higher worlds by reason of our material longings.
This accounts for the feeling possessed by many
that they are "far from home," accompanied by dim
and bitter flashes of remembrance of a brighter,
happier and more glorious life on some higher plane
in the past.
But the lesson will be heeded, and
these "lost souls" who are "strangers far from home”
will follow the "kindly light" which will lead them
on to home once more.
The Arcane Teaching holds that the dual-nature
in individuals—the "two natures struggling for su-
premacy" arise from the struggle between the "I"
which is the reincarnated Ego, and the "Me" which
is the Personality received along the lines of hered-
ity, ancestral race, thought, etc. The "I" is the Real
Self-the "Me" is the personality which has been
inherited. The "character of the individual arises
from the balance struck between the two. The weak
soul allows the "Me" to bear down the balance in
its own direction; while the strong soul asserts the
"I," and seats itself upon the throne of Individuality.
The very fact of the existence of such a struggle
between the "Me" and the "I" of the individual,
shows that there must be an “I” or Ego superior to
126
THE ARCANE TEACHING
1
and in a measure independent of the inherited and
acquired "Me." And the fact that the individual
experiences this dual-nature is his proof that he has
attained at least some degree of Egohood, for those
of the race who lack Egohood are like the lower ani-
mals and simply follow inherited and racial desire.
The only "conflict" in the minds of those lacking
Egohood is the conflict between opposing desires of
this kind-there is no "I" to set aside desire, or to
master it by Will. The strong Ego is able to master
Desire by Will-able not only to desire to will, but
to will to will. Desire and Will are the two poles of
the manifestation of "Will." Desire rules the indi-
vidual, unless he masters it by Will. The Ego may
assert its will over the inherited desires of the "Me"
or False-Self.
Personality is connected with the physical body
and its psychical inheritances, and acquired tenden-
cies. Individuality is connected with the Ego, or Real
Self, which is over and above Personality, or the
things of personality. Personality is bound and tied
by the relative things and persons connected with
one's personal present incarnation. Individuality is
free from those bonds, ties, and limitations, and
METEMPSYCHOSIS
127
soars above them in its Cosmic flight. Personality
says "I am John Doe, of Akron, grocer, aged 48";
or "Mary Roe, spinster, aged 45"; as the case may
be. Individuality says "I am that which I Am”—
above names, and forms, and personal sheaths or
vehicles.
Each Ego has been embodied in numerous per-
sonalities during the Spiritual Evolution. Old Atlan-
tis; Chaldea; Egypt; Greece; and other ancient
lands have known us. Rome, Tyre, Carthage, Baby-
lon, Troy, and other cities of the past have been ours.
We have worshipped Jove; Isis; Thor; Wodin;
Baal; Pan; and many other strange gods. We have
learned many lessons-we have had many defeats
and many victories. And we are now emerging into
a conscious realization of what it all means. We
have reached the point where we shall have "some
say in the matter." We are facing the Cosmic
Adventure with open eyes, and bold hearts-we are
going on, and on, and on! The dawn of the Cosmic
Knowing is upon us. The light is rising over the
hills, bidding us awake to the tasks of the day.
Let neither Time nor Space terrify us. Let nations
vanish, and worlds disappear-what is that to us?
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
The Cosmos is our Home-all parts of Space our
own-all Time ours to live in and employ. All the
Time there is-all the Space there is-all the Knowl-
edge there is-is ours to have and to hold. All this
is the heritage of him who can say, and feel, "I
AM!"
LESSON IX.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
Of all the various points of the Arcane Teaching,
that of the law of Spiritual Survival of the Fittest is
one of the most startling, when contrasted with the
ordinary teachings on the subject. Many thinkers
who freely admit the existence in Nature of the law
of Physical Survival of the Fittest, seem to find an
idea of injustice in the correlated doctrine of the
Spiritual Survival of the Fittest, although the two
are but correspondences on two several planes, fol-
lowing the Law of Analogy. When the Teaching is
examined in detail, it will be seen that not only
does it conform to other manifestations of Nature,
but also is in strict accordance with the fullest
equity and justice. Particularly is the absolute
equity and justice of the law seen, when it is per-
ceived that the failure to survive of the Personality
of those lacking Egohood is not the result of arbi-
trary fiat or dicta, but is the result solely of the
desire and will of the entity or "personality" itself.
The entity perishes and dissolves, not in spite of its
desires and will, but because of them.
129
130
THE ARCANE TEACHING
The lowest forms of life perish almost imme-
diately after the moment of physical death. It is
true that even the very lowest creatures have an
Astral Body which survives the death of the Physi-
cal Body, but as all the desires of such creatures.
are bound up in their physical lives they have
nothing to live for after the physical body is de-
stroyed. Such "life" persists for a very short time
in its Astral covering, for Desire fading away, the
Astral Body dissolves into its original elements, and
the entity perishes. As the scale of Life is ascended,
there is a longer survival of the Astral Body of the
creature, for its desires die more slowly, being more
complex and tenacious. The Astral forms of the
higher animals often persist for quite a time after
their physical bodies have perished, but after a time
their desires burn out and the Astral form dissolves
and the entity perishes. In the case of domestic
animals who have become strongly attached to their
human friends, and who have absorbed "something"
from the latters' love for and interest in them, the
Astral form often persists for years finding great
pleasure in being in the proximity of the human
friends, although unseen. In this case the desire for
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
131
survival is strong, and almost reaches the phase of
Will.
When the scale of Man was reached by Evolu-
tion, there was but little change in the manifestation
of Spiritual Survival of the Fittest, for primitive
Man was but a little more than an intelligent beast.
When his Astral form passed out of the physical
body, it was like that of the beast-it found but
little pleasure or satisfaction in life apart from the
physical, for its desires were altogether along physi-
cal lines. It soon found that it "had nothing to
live for," and became filled with weariness, ennui,
and dissatisfaction, and soon found comfort in the
Astral sleep which precedes Astral death. After a
few years, the entity perished-because it had no
desire to live without a physical body. And, as sur-
prising as the fact may be to many, it is true that
the majority of persons to-day have advanced but
comparatively little beyond the spiritual plane of the
savage. Such people are so tied to physical manifes-
tation and sensual gratification, that life outside of
the physical body soon wearies them and fills them
with dissatisfaction. They set into motion the "re-
versal of desire"-the negative pole of the "Will-to-
132
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Live," and accordingly there begins a slow process of
Astral weakening and loss of vitality, which results
in dissolution and the final death of the entity. A
writer reports such an entity as saying (in a com-
munication from the Astral Plane): "The disem-
bodied learn that the Hades of immortality is the
lack of physical body." Lacking desire to continue
disembodied life, and lacking the Will of Egohood
to demand Rebirth-the entity passes away gradu-
ally. Just as people in the physical body die for
lack of interest, and because they have nothing left
to live for-so do disembodied entities on the Astral
plane likewise die because they have nothing to live.
for. Having failed to develop Egohood during
physical life,they have nothing left to survive after
the dying away of the Body of Desire. It is true
that in rare cases, extreme love for, and by, some
person possessing Egohood may develop the seeds of
Egohood in a disembodied entity, on the Astral Plane
and cause it to seek Rebirth. And likewise some
entities develop Egohood in the Astral World,
through instruction from others more advanced than
themselves.
There is a great difference between the Will-to-
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
133
Live of the strong-willed Ego, and the Desire to
live again in the same Personality which is the only
desire possible to these people who have not devel-
oped Egohood or Individuality. When one realizes
the "I Am," over and above Personality, then the
things of Personality are left behind, and the desire
and will is simply to BE. The entity in the bonds
of Personality, however, simply desires to be and
remain what he was-his Personality of "John Doe,
grocer, aged 48," being his idea of his Self. This
Personality having perished, such an entity can-
not find anything in itself to arouse the desire
or will to persist as an "I" independent of the
old Personality. There is no "I" in such a person
-it is all "Me," and the "Me" is the old Person-
ality. Try to grasp this distinction, before proceed-
ing further-it gives the key to the situation.
It must not be understood that there is no
"future life" awaiting these Egoless people, after
they have passed out of the physical body. On the
contrary they have a more or less extended term
of life on the Astral Plane, which yields them more
or less satisfaction, but which must die out in time
because all the old desires have been lived-out and
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
outlived on the psychical plane (see future lessons on
the Astral Plane) and there is nothing left to live
for. Rebirth is not known to them-they cannot
conceive of it for they would think that they would
in that case “be some other person," and their love
of their own Personality shivers and shrinks at the
thought of losing their beloved "self" (?), and so
they repel all idea or desires in that direction. As
we have said, they are all "Me," with no "I." The
"Me" always perishes, sooner or later, the "I" alone
being the Real Self. Where the "I" has not been
evolved or "born,” it cannot exist to persist after the
dissolution of the "Me," of course.
There is seen to be no injustice or inequity in
this failure to grant Rebirth to these Egoless enti-
ties. It is all a matter of their own nature and de-
sires resulting from the same. They have no "I"
which desires and wills to be reborn-consequently
that which is not cannot suffer or be injured or de-
prived of anything. It is like accusing one of de-
priving an unconceived child of life-a meaningless
statement. The "Me" of the Egoless entities passes
many years-often many hundred years-on the
Astral Plane, and exhausts every possibility of its
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
135
nature, good and bad (see future lessons on the
Astral Plane). It lives out to the utmost its pos-
sibilities—and then having out-lived them, it has
no desire for life, or reason for continued life-there
is nothing to live. Therefore the Spiritual Sur-
vival of the Fittest is in perfect accord with
exact equity and justice. Each gets that which his
nature demands and desires. One cannot be robbed
of that which is not his, and which he has not and
never will have.
All through Nature you may see correspondences
on the physical plane of the truth that "many are
called, but few are chosen." Countless life-forms
are created, but few survive. The fish lays millions
of eggs, but only a few fish reach maturity. Count-
less seeds are cast forth by the plant, but only one
or two take root. This is a law of Nature, and in
its operation the inequity is only apparent. The
Law of Balance is preserved. One cannot be robbed
of what he has not. If one has not desires, he can-
not be hurt by not having the result of desires. Place
the savage in a palace, and he dies broken-hearted—
restore him to his jungle and he is happy. Place the
hungry wild-beast in a cage and feed him well, and
136
THE ARCANE TEACHING
you break his heart. Each craves his own. There is
Compensation and Balance manifested on all planes
of life.
And now for a consideration of those who have
attained Egohood. Is their Destiny and Progress
assured? you ask. Not at all! They have simply
begun to climb the ladder of Spiritual Evolution.
They will mount as far as their desire and will-
not a step further. They may tire of the climbing
and begin a retreat. The law of Spiritual Survival
of the Fittest has many phases; many planes; many
stages-it is operative from first to last during the
life of the Ego.
Let us suppose the case of an Ego which has
not as yet reached the plane of conscious Rebirth.
The Ego dwells for many years on the Astral
Plane (see future lessons) and lives out its per-
sonal desires, and profits by its experience in so
doing, for the "I" is there to learn and remember
-for it has the faculty of Egohood, that of “stand-
ing aside and looking on at one's self." Gradually the
personal desires and ideas are outlived, and the
essence of the experience is retained by the Ego,
the latter then feeling a sense of "age" and a need
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
137
for rest. This is followed by the Astral Sleep, which
sooner or later comes to all entities on the Astral
Plane, but from which the Egoless fail to emerge,
and from which they are resolved into Nothing-
ness. But the Ego, having an "I" above Personality,
has something to survive, and accordingly it is
drawn into the channels of Rebirth, according to the
currents of attraction, and again finds a physical
body, this time suited as nearly as possible to the
requirements of its "character." Then begins its
new life on the physical, which may be long or
short. Sometimes the new body is not found fully
adapted to the growing requirements of the Ego-
sometimes sickness or accidents cut short the new
life-and sometimes the needed experience is gained
quickly and the Ego again passes to the Astral
Plane, there to enjoy a period of rest and spiritual
growth and assimilation, which will be manifested
in a new birth later on.
But if the new life persists beyond childhood,
the Ego must progress in order to attain further
stages of Spiritual Evolution. If it simply lives.
its old life over again, without reaching forward
to greater attainment and knowledge, then it is dan-
138
THE ARCANE TEACHING
gerously near falling into the attraction of the
"descending path" which will take it down the lad-
der, step by step; life after life; and which, unless
the Ego learns the lesson and again steps forward,
will eventually cause it to lose its Egohood and be-
come Egoless, which means eventually dissolution.
But these downward steps are not in the nature of
punishment they are simply stages of the law of
Sequence or Cause and Effect, proceeding along the
lines of Desire and Will. These descending Egos
follow their desires, just as much as do the as-
cending ones. It is not Reward or Punishment, in
either case—it is simply Cause and Effect, and the
Path of Desire. Desire is the great motive force.
There are cases known of Egos descending the
scale to such an extent, drawn by their material,
physical and animal desires, that they have even
descended to the scale of animals and eventually
perished as entities, unless rescued by the love and
affection of human friends who aroused in them the
last flickering spark of Spirit, and thus set them
again upon the upward path. These cases, however,
are very rare.
It must not be supposed, however, that all per-
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
139
sisting Egos are "good." On the contrary, there
are many persisting Egos who are giants of "evil,"
possessed of the sense of the "I," but filled with
personal desires of material aggrandizement and
selfish attainment which makes them stand out above
the crowd. But such, sooner or later, are taught
their lesson and either change their natures or else
sink to annihilation, for all real progress must lead
toward the life of the One, not in the direction of
selfish personal attainment and Separateness. The
error of Separateness is often brought to the minds
and understanding of these Egos, by their desires.
finally leading them to a place where they are ac-
tually separated from their kind, and thus they ex-
perience that hunger for human companionship,
sympathy and love which results in a change in
their entire nature. One has but to look at the
inner lives of some of the selfish "great men" of
our own and past ages, in order to see examples of
this stage of experience.
And, so the evolving Ego rises in the scale-if
he be Fit—and reaches higher and higher planes
of life. He passes on to other worlds and universes,
when he is fitted for them. He may fall back, again
140
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and again, but there is always a chance for him to
regain his lost steps. Many in this Earth-world of
ours have fallen back from higher planes, and suffer
soul-hunger for their lost states-these will regain
their lost estates, if they will but look upward and
onward and live the Life. There are glories ahead
of the persistent Egos which cannot be described
in human words. We do not become "God" as the
Pantheists hold-but we become as gods. There
are infinite possibilities ahead for us-there is no
limit to our greatness and attainment, if we are true
to the Inner Light and our Real Self. Finally we
reach the stages of the highest Cosmic Conscious-
ness, in which the Cosmic Will experiences the
consciousness of Itself as Itself-then do we know
that We are It, and It is Us. The Cosmos becomes
conscious only through the consciousness of its Cen-
tres of Consciousness-and we are those Centres.
This is what Spiritual Evolution means—this is what
it is for. This is why the law of the Spiritual Sur-
vival of the Fittest is operative-the Cosmos is en-
deavoring to develop itself to its utmost degree and
stage of Consciousness. Just as do we endeavor to
retain in our consciousness our best and highest
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
141
thoughts, ideas, and knowledge, so does the Cosmos
endeavor to remember and preserye its noblest, high-
est, and fullest creations. The Success of the Cosmos
depends upon this-its Progress is dependent upon
it-its Conscious Life renders it necessary. This is
the End, Aim, and Goal of the Cosmic Evolution.
And it is a worthy end and reason for all that is.
The more that one enters into the spirit of the
understanding of the Universal Life, the more does
he identify himself with that One Life, and the
dimmer and smaller does mere Personality seem.
And in the end, he finds himself willing and de-
sirous of living his life, in, through and by that
One Life of the Real Self-the Cosmic Self-the
"I" of the ALL.
To those who think sadly of the personalities
which disappear during the course of Spiritual
Evolution, we would say that careful thought will
show that even they have lost nothing. Not only
is their dissolution caused by their own desires and
lack of will; but moreover, nothing is really lost.
Personality is nothing but the "creative fiction" at
the best-all that was real in those entities who
dropped by the wayside is preserved. The One Life
142
THE ARCANE TEACHING
is all that was real in them—and that One Life per-
sisted and survived. It was but a changing of form
in the One Life. It was not the destruction of a
real thing. It was but the discarding of a poorly
fitting suit of clothes, worn by the One Life and
Real Self. No one is injured-nothing is lost. The
All remains the All. Personality is but the mask
worn by the One. The One discards its mask, but
remains Itself. Justice and Equity are not violated
even in the faintest degree. The Wise see this and
smile-the Unwise see it not and weep. The reflection
of the sun in the falling raindrop disappears when
the drop falls into the stream-but the stream re-
mains, and the Sun still shines and is reflected in
its running waters. All that Is, remains-though
the shapes, and forms, and illusory appearances
vanish.
The wise and thoughtful of all ages, and races,
have recognized the Illusion of Personality and Sep-
arateness. Men have endeavored to escape it in many
ways. The Buddhists and the German Pessimists
have deemed Personal Life evil, and have devised
plans to escape from the same. The Buddhists
would escape by beating a Retreat and endeavoring
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
143
-
to escape Rebirth by attaining Nothingness or Para-
Nirvana―a Return to the Nothingness from which
all came. The German Pessimists advocate a kill-
ing out of the Will-to-Live-a Cosmic suicide, so
to speak. But the Arcane Teachers scorn the Re-
treat they bid their students to look ahead-they
sound the bugle call of "Forward-Advance-
Charge!" They press forward to the Cosmic Ad-
venture. They urge all to go on, and on, and on
-until the mists of Personality disappear before the
sun of the One, and the individuals find themselves
at One with the All. Surely this is a more glorious
way to reach the goal! It is true that in the end, the
One falls again into the Sleep of Nothingness, only
to reawaken after the æons have passed-but what
of that? Is it not better to advance, than to Retreat?
Is it not better to be Brave than a Coward? Not
to speak of the infinite glories ahead of the advanc-
ing soul, is it not "worth while" to attain Conscious
Oneship with the All, rather than to deliberately
choose the path of Retreat into Unconsciousness?
But to him who falls by the wayside-as well as
to him who persists and survives-there is meted
out an equitable reward. There is "no bribe of
144
THE ARCANE TEACHING
heaven or threat of hell" to those who Know. It
is all Cause and Effect-each gets that for which
he pays each pays his price. And, finally to all
comes that Peace which passeth all Understanding.
There are no Lost Souls. There are None outside
of the All. There is no Outside. All are included
Within the One. Yea, even the last, least, and most
unworthy. For there is but One!
1
The Arcane Teaching
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
Lesson I.
Lesson II.
Lesson III.
Lesson IV.
Lesson V.
Lesson VI.
PART I.
Lesson VII.
Lesson VIII.
Lesson IX.
Lesson X.
Lesson XI.
Lesson XII.
Lesson XIII.
Lesson XIV.
Lesson XV.
The Arcane Teaching.
Absolute Law.
Infinity of Nothingness.
PART III. THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
The One and The Many.
Metempsychosis.
Survival of The Fittest.
MOTIVITY.
Lesson XIX.
Lesson XX.
Lesson XXI.
PART II. THE COSMOS.
The Manifestation.
The Cosmic Will.
Involution and Evolution.
Lesson XVI.
Lesson XVII.
Lesson XVIII.
PART IV.
Dominant Desire.
Fate or Freedom?
Sovereign Will.
PART V. THE ASTRAL PLANE.
The Astral World.
Astral Beings.
Astral Phenomena.
PART VI. OCCULT FORCES.
Psychic Phenomena.
Mentalism.
Invocation and Evocation.
PART VII.
The Secret of The Opposites.
The Secret of Rhythm.
The Secret of Balance.
ARCANE SECRETS.
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS.
I. THE ARCANE FORMULAS: or Mental Alchemy.
(A 50-page book of valuable instruction.)
II. THE MYSTERY OF SEX, or Sex Polarity.
(A 50-page book of great occult value.)
PRICE (Postpaid) FOR THE 21 LESSONS, AND THE TWO
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS
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The Arcane Teaching

மம்
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OM
VOJOS
Lo
XMI
S
EX UNO DISCE
OMNES
PART IV. FATE OF FREEDOM?
Lesson X. Fate and Destiny
Lesson XI. Law, Order, and Seq-
uence
Lesson XII. Dominant Desire and
Sovereign Will
COPYRIGHT 1909 BY
THE ARCANE BOOK CONCERN
Lock Box 769
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CHANGE OF TITLE
We have taken the liberty of making a change
in the title of this part (Part IV.) of the
lessons. The new title we think is more in har,
mony with the text of the lessons composing the
part-and the lesson arrangement is in more
logical sequence.
ARCANE BOOK CONCERN.
SEE THE
IMPORTANT NOTICE
ON
THIRD COVER PAGE!
LESSON X.
FATE AND DESTINY.
From the earliest days of philosophical reason-
ing, metaphysical speculation, and theological dog-
matism, the great questions regarding Fate or Free-
dom have formed an important feature of contro-
versy. In many forms, and in manifold guises, has
this great question presented itself for consideration
by the human mind. Backward and forward has
this tennis-ball of thought been tossed, victory being
claimed by all parties engaging in the game of dis-
cussion. Early philosophy was concerned with the
question of Fate and Destiny vs. Freedom, and able
thinkers arrayed themselves on the respective sides
of the question. Metaphysics joined in the contro-
versy with subtle and hair-splitting definitions,
theories, explanations, and conceptions. Theology
took an active interest in the fray, its particular
tennis-ball being called Predestination, Foreordina-
tion, or Predetermination. Modern Science has now
entered the field and her advanced thinkers insist
145
146
THE ARCANE TEACHING
拳
​upon the truth of the principle of Determination
(but not pre-Determination) by Natural Laws,
which applies to all branches of science, and is seen
in operation in all the fields of universal activity,
physical and psychical.
The Arcane Teaching holds as Truth the idea
that every thing and all things-every event and
all events—are governed by Law. That every thing
and every event is under Law, Order, and Sequence.
That there is no such thing as Chance. That every
event is a link in the Cosmic Sequence of events.
That every thing is a part of, and not apart from,
the Whole Thing. That every event is a part of,
and not apart from, the Whole Event. That nothing
"happens" without precedent causal events proceed-
ing regularly and in logical sequence. That there
are no "accidents," or events outside of the regular
order. Hearing these statements, the student will
feel impelled to ask the inevitable question: "Is
this Reign of Law, Order, and Sequence, but an-
other name for the old fetish of Fate, Destiny, or
Predestination? Are we then ruled by arbitrary
Fate governed by the decree of Destiny? Are
all events Preordained, Predetermined, and Pre-
FATE AND DESTINY
147
!
destined?" And this question must be met-and
shall be met-not ignored and evaded as is cus-
tomary in so many of the teachings, philosophies,
and theologies. Let us consider the matter in the
light of the Arcane Teachings. Listen to the
Aphorism:
APHORISM XVI. Know ye, that Fate is but
the distorted image of Law, Order, and Sequence.
The wise know that Fate, if existent, would be an
exception to Law-a twin-error to Chance. Law
there is; Order there is; Sequence there is-but
Fate there is not. Fate, Destiny, and Predestina-
tion would imply the existence of Decree and Fore-
knowledge in the Cosmic Mind. There is no such
Decree; no such Foreknowledge. When the Cos-
mic Mind "knows" a thing or event, it knows
according to Law, and the knowing and the mani-
festation are simultaneous. Fate, Destiny, and
Predestination, are but names for half-truths-
imperfect visions of Law, Order, and Sequence.
Although to the average mind there appears to
be but slight connection between the idea of Fate
or Destiny and that of the foreknowledge and decree
of Deity, still the former ideas have had their birth
148
THE ARCANE TEACHING
in the latter. Back of the fundamental conception
of Fate or Destiny one always finds the shadowy
form of some Supernatural Being who decrees the
Fate or Destiny. In the old mythologies the gods
decreed the fate and destinies of mortals, and all
cosmic happenings, the details and working out of
the plan being left in the hands of minor super-
natural beings, such as the Parcæ, Fates, or Des-
tinies, who were goddesses believed to preside over
the birth, life, and fortunes of men. In the Grecian
and Roman mythologies these Fates were three in
number, Clotho who held the spindle, Lachesis who
drew out the thread of men's destiny, and Atropos
who cut it off. The Supernatural Being, or beings,
always promulgated the decree of Fate or Destiny.
Fate was never a matter of natural law and order,
but always the working out of an arbitrary decree,
or divine fiat. This idea is seen to be correct by
reference to the definitions of the terms as given
by the best authorities. Consider the following
definitions:
Destiny: "The power which presides over the
lot or fortune of men; the fate, lot, doom, or for-
tune appointed, allotted, or predetermined for each
FATE AND DESTINY
149
:
person or thing; the ultimate fate of a person; etc."
Fate: "The decree of God by which the course
of events is fixed; a fixed destiny depending upon
a superior cause, and uncontrollable by man; ap-
pointed lot; doom; inevitable destiny; etc."
Fatalism: "The doctrine that all things are
ordered for men by the arbitrary decrees of God.
It is carried out to its most pitilessly
logical extreme among the Mohammedans, where
everything that can happen is 'kismet', or Fate.
in theology it has given birth to theories of
Predestination." (By some writers the term is
used also as synonymous with "Determinism,”
which is the scientific doctrine of causation, con-
tinuity, etc., from natural causes.
This usage of
the term is misleading, and is historically incorrect.)
Predestination: "The act of appointing before-
hand by irreversible decree or unchangeable pur-
pose; the act of foreordaining, decreeing, before-
hand, or predetermining events; the purpose of
God from eternity respecting all events;" as, "God's
infallible providence and predestination" (Joyce);
and, "If God presees events, he must have prede-
termined them" (Hale); also, as "By the decree
150
THE ARCANE TEACHING
of God for the manifestation of his glory, some men
and angels are predestined unto everlasting life, and
others foreordained to everlasting death. These
angels and men are predestinated and foreordained."
(Westminster Confession of Faith.)
So, it may be seen, that the decree of a Super-
natural Being is always back of, under, and in, all
true conceptions of Fate, Destiny, Predestination,
etc. These ideas cannot be divorced-they stand
and fall together.
One of the main points of difference between
the opposing conceptions of Law, Order, and Se-
quence, and of Fate, Destiny and Predestination,
is seen to be in the assumption and denial of the
Divine foreknowledge, and decree. Fatalism holds
that some Supernatural Being has foreknowledge,
and exercises arbitrary decrees determining all
events, including the fate or destiny of mankind, as
a race and individually. The theory of Law, Order
and Sequence, on the contrary discards the idea of
foreknowledge, and denies the arbitrary decree and
foredetermination. Instead, it holds that the
Cosmic Activities, and the incidental events, proceed
regularly, orderly, and in sequence, from and by
FATE AND DESTINY
151
reason of the operation of Natural Laws. The
Arcane Teachings hold that these Natural Laws
are superimposed by, and are reflections of, The
Absolute LAW-the Efficient Reason of the Cos-
mos. The modern scientific schools of Determin-
ism agree with the Arcane Teaching so far as the
idea of determination by Natural Laws is concerned,
but differ from it by holding that The LAW is but
a name which may be applied to the sum total of
Natural Laws.
Another great point of difference between
Fatalism and the Arcane Teaching is, that Fatalism
insists upon arbitrary happenings and events, un-
related to, and in spite of, natural law and order.
Fatalism denies that preceding events have any re-
lation to the "fated happening," and holds that the
latter would have happened in spite of any precedent
event. In short, Fatalism makes the "fated happen-
ing a thing standing apart from the Chain of Se-
quence-something resulting from arbitrary and
independent decree. Thus, Fatalism holds that one's
death, for instance, is "fated" (decreed) to happen
in a certain way, at a certain time, and at a certain
place, irrespective of the Law and Order of the
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
Cosmos.
Fatalism carried to an extreme shows
the fallacy of the idea, as for instance the Moham-
medan who refuses to allow his wound to be treated
for the reason that if he is fated to die of the wound
he will die, and if fated to live then he will recover
without treatment. Or, the fanatics who refuse to
run from a wild beast, on the same grounds. Or
those who refuse to rescue a drowning man, lest
they interfere with Fate.
The following quotation from the article on
Fatalism, contained in
in the New International
Encyclopædia, will show the distinctive points be-
tween the teachings of Fatalism and those of the
scientific school of Determinism, which latter agrees
in many important essentials with the Arcane
Teaching. The writer of the article says, in part:
Fatalism is "the doctrine that the course of events
is so determined that what an individual wills can
have no great effect on that course. Fatalism must
be carefully distinguished from Determinism, as the
confusion of these two conceptions has been respon-
sible for much of the popular prejudice existing
against Determinism. Fatalism, as has been said,
denies that Will has efficacy in shaping events.
FATE AND DESTINY
153
Determinism maintains that this causally efficient
will is itself to be casually accounted for; this is
entirely different from the fatalistic assertion that
Will counts for nothing. In fact Determinism and
Fatalism are fundamentally antagonistic. Deter-
minism asserts that events are determined by some
of the events that immediately precede them; that if
the latter were different the former would be differ-
ent. Fatalism denies that immediately preceding
events have anything to do with the origination of
events immediately following: It asserts that the
latter would occur even if the former were changed.
To say that one's death is fixed by Fate is
to deny that it takes place by natural law. Or, more
accurately, it is to say that however much one varies
the cause, one cannot vary the effect.
The
fatalist's position is that the end is predetermined,
but not the means; the determinist's position is that
the events now occurring lead by causality to other
events, which are thus fixed because their causes
are actually existent. Or, to put it still another
way, for the fatalist what actually determines the
event is not another event immediately preceding,
but some mysterious decree issued by some mysteri-
154
THE ARCANE TEACHING
ous agent ages before the event. This enables us
to see that Fatalism gives no scope to the will.
But Determinism, which merely asserts that every
event has its determining conditions in its immedi-
ate antecedents, includes among the antecedents the
human Will.
Thus Determinism is con-
sistent with a belief in the efficiency of Will, and
Fatalism is not."
In short, Determination holds that events are
Determined-Fatalism holds that they are Predeter-
mined. The one recognizes Natural Laws as the
determining power-the other holds that Super-
natural Decree predetermines and foreordains.
Predestination is Fatalism carried to its logical
conclusion; Predestination holds that God appoints
and determines beforehand by irreversible decree or
unchangeable purpose-arbitrarily and irrevocably
predetermines the events of the universe, first and
last, great and small, in general and in detail. Not
only the universe as it is at present, but as it must
have been forever through all eternity, and as it
will be forever through all eternity. If the Divine
Fiat has so gone forth, then everything is predeter-
mined, and the Eternal Universe is but an automa-
FATE AND DESTINY
155
ton registering the Divine Decree, down to the
minutest detail. In this case, everything, indeed,
is caused by "the Will of God."
Theologians endeavor to escape from the above
conclusion by a flow of words-like the cuttle-fish
they darken the waters of thought by the flow of
dark, unintelligible words, and thus make their
logical escape. But a plain consideration of the
facts of the proposition, laying aside theological
subtleties-a consideration in the light of Common
Sense-shows us that admitting a Personal Deity,
possessing All-Wisdom and All-Power, then Pre-
destination must be a logical result. Let us examine
the statement.
If Deity be All-Wise, (Omniscient), then he
must know all things, absolutely, truly, infallibly-
all things, past, present, and future. He must know
the subsequent results of all actions-the subsequent
effects of all causes, the operation of all laws. He
would not be able to make mistakes of judgment,
or errors of foresight. There could be no neces-
sity for any changing of his mind, if his wisdom
is absolute. He must possess perfect and infallible
Foresight, Foreknowledge, and Prescience, which
156
THE ARCANE TEACHING
means: "The quality of having knowledge of, or
foresight into, events before they take place." And
if he so knows what will take place, and his
knowledge be true, perfect and infallible (and it
must be so to be absolute) then these foreseen, and
foreknown, events must take place and occur. As
Hale well says: "If God presees events, he must
have predetermined them." If this be not so, then
the absolute qualities attributed to Deity are false.
and non-existent, or the terms are meaningless.
Moreover, if the All-Wise knows what will
happen (and this he must know if he be All-Wise)
then even his All-Power cannot change the things
that he knows to a certainty. Some theologians,
wishing to escape from this dilemma, have held that
his All-Power may overcome his All-Knowing, and
thus take away his infallible Foresight, Fore-
knowledge, and Prescience-but this is childish, for
Absolute Knowledge could not be destroyed, im-
paired, inhibited, or changed. Deity must be held
to be either absolute or not absolute. If he is
absolute, the above facts must be assumed to be
correct-if he is not, then we must go behind and
beyond him for the true Absolute.
Moreover, if such a Deity exists, he must have
FATE AND DESTINY
157
made the laws of the universe, for there could have
been nothing else to have made them, and if they
existed without his making, then such a Deity would
not be absolute. If he made them, then he must
have set them in motion, and kept them in motion
ever since. And, if so, then he must be held re-
sponsible for all that happens, or can possibly hap-
pen, under them-they are his own creation, and he
is their Cause, and the Cause of all that proceeds.
from them. Moreover his All-Knowing must have
made him fully aware of all the possibilities and
certain effects of the operation of these laws. There
is no escape from this conclusion. No wonder that
old Omar raised his voice in indignant protest
against this conception when accompanied by the
"bribe of heaven and threat of hell" as a reward or
punishment for doing that which must be inevit-
able because it has been predestined by Deity. The
conception of a Personal Deity, or Personal Su-
preme Being, absolute in nature, who created the
universe and its laws, must carry with it as a logical
accompaniment the conceptions of Foresight, Fore-
knowledge, and Predestination which are but
newer names for the old fetish of Fate and Destiny.
In this is found the parodox of theology, from
M
158
THE ARCANE TEACHING
which it can never escape, and which it has never
been able to reconcile.
But the Arcane Teaching does not hold to
Decree and Foreknowledge, either in a Personal
Deity or in the Cosmic Mind. Its Aphorism denies
the "existence of Decree and Foreknowledge in the
Cosmic Mind." It says that "When the Cosmic
Mind 'knows' a thing or event, it knows according
to Law, and the knowing and the manifestation are
simultaneous." For when the Cosmic Brain "thinks"
or "knows" a thing or event-then the "thought"
becomes a thing or event, and is actually manifested.
The Cosmic Mind knows only what is existent, for
what it knows is manifested because of the knowing.
And what it knows, it knows because of the mani-
festation. In the Cosmic Mind, knowing and mani-
festation are identical-simultaneous-one. The
Cosmos is the only BEING that exists and can
know the Cosmic Activities. Other than itself there
is naught but The LAW, which is above Being, and
above Knowing, and above Action, as we know
those terms. Any attempt to attribute to The Ab-
solute the qualities, attributes, and properties of
Man, inevitably results in postulating a Personal
Deity, whose All-Knowledge is the Predestination
FATE AND DESTINY
159
of the Universe-whose will, decree, and fiat, is
Fate. And in that case upon that Deity must be
placed the responsibility for everything that hap-
pens in the universe. In that event, then indeed we
may say with the poet:
"His the credit; His the blame; His the glory;
His the shame.”
In the place of Fatalism, Destiny, and Predestina-
tion, the Arcane Teaching offers the Orderly Trend
under Cosmic Laws inherent within the Cosmos,
proceeding as Law, Order and Sequence. Not the
result of arbitrary fiat or decree, but the result of
natural laws proceeding in regular order, as the Cos-
mos evolves toward Cosmic Consciousness and All-
Knowledge. When the Cosmos is resolved into
Infinite Nothingness, then we find naught existent.
but The LAW. And The LAW is the only thing left
upon which to fix the Final Blame-if blame there
be. Fix it so, if you will. If it belong to The LAW
-give to It Its own. But The LAW is no Person-
no Being-It is ABSOLUTE LAW-constant, un-
changing, invariable, eternal. In LAW we find the
only refuge in our highest flights of thought, reason,
or imagination. It is not a Law Giver-it is LAW
in Itself.
LESSON XI.
LAW, ORDER, AND SEQUENCE.
We live in a Cosmos governed by Laws existent
by reason of the very being of the Cosmos and the
existence of The LAW. There is no blind Chance,
nor Arbitrary Decree in the Cosmos. There is no
place or room for these for Law fills the whole field
of Cosmic Activity. There is no Disorder, or Inhar-
mony. Everything is in Balance. Chaos does not
exist. From The LAW proceeds the Seven Cosmic
Laws, which in turn are subdivided into seven; and
these into seven; and so on, the septenary division
and sub-division extending into the Infinitessimal.
But in large and in small-and both are alike—there
is ever Law and Order, Continuity and Sequence,
Manifesting and in full operation.
And, over all is The LAW of Laws-Absolute-
Alone!
As the mists of the morning disappear before the
rays of the rising sun, so will the superstitions,
fables, and dogmas be dissipated by the knowledge
161
162
THE ARCANE TEACHING
of universal natural law and order. In a universe
governed by eternal laws and Cosmic order there
is no place for the Fates; the Destinies; the Arbi-
trary Decrees; of the fables, folk-lore and legends,
even though they be covered by the robes of philos-
ophy or theology. Before the light of Reason, these
things must melt away, when the Truth is seen, the
half-truths disappear. Fate, Predestination, and
Chance-Threefold Error-flee before the concep-
tion of Law and Order in the Cosmos. Listen to the
Aphorism:
APHORISM XVII. Know ye that, under The
LAW, the Cosmos is governed by Law. Each and
every thing, and all things, proceed in Orderly
Trend. In the Cosmos there is no Chance; no
Disorder; no Inharmony. The Three Principles-
Substance, Motion, and Consciousness—are equally
under Law. Those who teach otherwise, err.
This statement agrees with the report of the reason
of the most advanced minds of the race, past and
present. Every intelligent conception of the Cosmos
must of necessity include the conception of Law.
Without this inherent indwelling Law, the Cosmos
could not exist-the Cosmos would be Chaos. The
1
LAW, ORDER, AND SEQUENCE
163
very origin of the term “Cosmos" shows the underly-
ing thought in the minds of the ancient Greek philo-
sophers who first used it. The word itself is derived
from the archaic Greek word komeo, "to take care
of," and the early Greek philosophers used it first in
the sense of "order," and later in the broader sense of
"the world or universe, from its perfect order and
arrangement, as opposed to Chaos." Its use as "the
World-Soul" came later, and included the earlier
conceptions. Its antithesis the word "Chaos”—has
two meanings, viz.: (1) “A yawning empty space";
and (2) “Confusion; or, a mass of matter in confu-
sion without order or laws; a confused mixed, mass,
without order or regularity." In both of these us-
ages, Chaos is absolutely opposite in meaning to
Cosmos. When we postulate a Cosmos without Law
and Order, we are simply applying the term to what
is really Chaos-either a Nothing, or else an Order-
less Universe. Order always implies the existence
of Law-the two are inseparable. There can be no
such thing as an universe half Cosmos and half
Chaos. Order and Chaos are antithetical. Law and
Chance are antithetical. One annuls the other-
they cannot exist at the same time. The three Pri-
C
164
THE ARCANE TEACHING
mary Axioms of Logic show us this fact. Let us
consider them for a moment:
I. The Axiom of Identity: "The same quality
or thing is always the same quality or thing, no mat-
ter how different the conditions in which it occurs."
II. The Axiom of Contradiction: "No thing can
at the same time and place both be and not be."
III. The Axiom of Excluded Middle: "Every-
thing must either be or not be; there is no other al-
ternative or middle course.'
These are established axioms of Logic. A lead-
ing authority, Prof. Jevons, says of them: "Students
are seldom able to see at first their full meaning and
importance. All arguments may be explained when
these self-evident laws are granted; and it is not
too much to say that the whole of Logic will be plain
to those who will constantly use these laws as the
key."
Therefore we must either hold that the Cosmos is
under Law and Order, or else that it is not. And if
it is not, then Chance or Arbitrary Decree rule the
universe—and the Cosmos is but Chaos. There is no
alternative-there can be no half-and-half about the
matter. Which is it? We need scarcely to assure
the student that the highest modern scientific thought
LAW, ORDER, AND SEQUENCE
165
agrees perfectly with the teachings of the ancient oc-
cultists, to the effect that the Cosmos is governed
by Law in every detail, and as a whole; and that
there is universal order, balance, and harmony mani-
fested through it. Not only is this so, but the ordi-
nary human mind is able to discover the existence
of Law in the universe, in its every phase of mani-
festation. The rising of the sun; the flow of the
tides; the law of gravitation; the mechanical laws;
and Natural Law in all of its phases; show the exist-
ence of Law in the Cosmos. Science shows us that
the entire universe is held together by the operation
of Law-that if the tiniest atom were released from
the operation of Law, the entire universe would be
resolved into Chaos, so interdependent are its parts,
and so incompatible with Universal Law would be
the slightest exception thereto. The Laws of the
Universe can never be "broken"-if we come in con-
tact with them and refuse to govern ourselves ac-
cordingly, we suffer-but the Law remains intact.
We do not "break" the Law of Gravitation when we
step over a precipice-we only prove its existence.
If we could "break" the tiniest Law of the Cosmos,
the Cosmos would be Chaos.
And these Cosmic Laws are not the result of the
166
THE ARCANE TEACHING
arbitrary fiat or dictum of some Being. They are
inherent in the very nature of the Cosmos. There
never has been a moment in the existence of the
Cosmos in which twice two did not make four;
never a moment in which a straight line was not the
shortest distance between two given points; never a
moment in which the laws of mathematics, geometry,
and logic were not as true as they are today. Cosmic
Laws were not made-they are inherent in the Cos-
mos, and inseparable from it. These Cosmic Laws
arise from the reflected power of The LAW itself-
they are superimposed upon the Cosmos in the very
nature of the Cosmos.
Kat
The Aphorism continues: "Each and every thing,
and all things, proceed in Orderly Trend." This is a
statement of the Law of Orderly Trend, one of the
Seven Cosmic Laws. "Orderly" means: "In order;
arranged or disposed in order; observant of order or
method; not disorderly; keeping order; well regu-
lated; free from disorder or confusion; character-
ized by good order; according to established order
or method; according to due order or method; duly;
regularly; etc." "Trend" is a word derived from an
old root meaning “a circle; a ring; round; etc." and
I
LAW, ORDER, AND SEQUENCE 167
its present accepted meaning is: "to move around or
about; to extend or lie in a particular direction; to
run; to stretch; inclination in a particular direc-
tion," or strictly: "to proceed in a particular direc-
tion." Its use in the Arcane Teaching implies a
"proceeding or moving forward," and also (in the
esoteric sense) cyclic progression. Thus the Cosmos
is held to "trend" in an "orderly, regular, estab-
lished" manner, according to Cosmic Laws, and
under The LAW. Evolution is a manifestation of
Orderly Trend and Sequence.
The Aphorism continues: "In the Cosmos there
is no Chance; no Disorder; no Inharmony." We
have seen that where Law and Order govern and
rule there can be no Disorder nor Inharmony. Har-
mony and Balance maintain where Law and Order
govern and control. We wish to add a few words
regarding the subject of Chance, owing to the popu-
lar misconception of the nature and meaning of this
much used word. "Chance" is generally held to be:
"an accident; something happening without a cause;
a supposed agent or mode of activity other than a
force, law, or purpose." The word was derived from
the Latin word cadentia, meaning "the falling of the
168
THE ARCANE TEACHING
dice." An "accident" is "something that happens
suddenly or unexpectedly," but the word is generally
used in the sense of "something happening without
due cause, and out of the established order." The
strict meaning of "Chance" is "without cause," and
it is generally so used. But with the advancing
knowledge of the universal prevalence of causality,
Chance in the original sense of the term is no longer
regarded as existent, possible, or reasonable. The
word is now employed in the scientific sense of:
"The unknown, or unforeseen cause or causes of an
event." As Benley says: "Chance is but a mere
name, and really nothing in itself; a conception of
our minds, and only a compendious way of speaking,
whereby we would express, that such effects as are
commonly attributed to chance, were verily produced
by their true and proper causes." The highest mod-
ern philosophical thought agrees with the Arcane
Teaching that: "In the Cosmos there is no Chance.”
Where Law and Order reign, there can be no
Chance; no "accidents" no "happenings," in the
sense of "without cause." Even the cast of the dice
is now seen to be as much the result of Law and
Order and Sequence as is the motion of the sun,
t
!
LAW, ORDER, and sequencE 169
1
planets and tides. Casualty has been superseded by
Causality in philosophical thought.
APHORISM XVIII. Know ye that each and
every event, and all events, proceed in Orderly and
Logical Sequence. There is always a Something
Before and a Something After, which men mis-
takenly call Cause and Effect, but which, in truth,
are but relative stages of the Cosmic Sequence.
Aphorism XVIII informs us regarding the Law
of Sequence, another one of Seven Cosmic Laws. It
informs us that "each and every event, and all events
proceed in orderly and logical sequence." This
Aphorism declares the principle of what modern
philosophical thought has called the Law of Continu-
ity, by which is meant that universal principle or
law, by virtue of which there is ever maintained a
relationship of precedent and subsequent-cause and
effect-between all events; the idea being diametri-
cally opposed to that which holds that events are
independent and not related to other events. In the
Aphorism the word "orderly" is used in the sense
defined a little further back. The word "logical" is
used in its general sense of "agreeing with the natu-
ral reason"; and therefore, is employed in the Aphor-
170
THE ARCANE TEACHING
ism, in the sense of “in a manner which accepted by
the human reason as natural, orderly, according to
law, and reasonable—and which therefore might be
reasonably expected were the preceding events
known." The word "Sequence" is used in the sense
of: "A succession, or following after, in orderly ar-
rangement and uniformity; a series of things fol-
lowing in a certain order of succession." The word
itself springs from the Latin word, sequens, mean-
ing "to follow," and the idea of following in regular
order or procession constitutes the essential mean-
ing of the term.
The Law of Sequence causes all things to pro-
ceed in a continuous stream or procession of events.
“Continuous" means "unbroken; uninterrupted; con-
nected; with no intervening space." An "Event" is
a "happening; something that occurs; the consequent
or result of any action." Therefore the Law of Se-
quence causes all happenings, occurrences, or events
to flow, proceed, and evolve from previous events,
happenings or occurrences; and likewise to result in
subsequent events, happenings or occurrences, which
flow, proceed, and evolve from them. There is al-
ways a "something before" and a "something after"
LAW, ORDER, AND SEQUENCE 171
every event, happening, or occurrence. Every event
has reasons, and is in itself one of the reasons for
that which must follow after. Just as no link in a
continuous chain can escape having a preceding and
succeeding link, so no event can fail to have prece-
dent and subsequent events connected with and re-
lated to it. No event can be isolated from the Cos-
mic Chain of Sequence, or the Cosmic Streain of
Events. No event, and no thing, can stand alone in
the Cosmos. Every thing and every event is inter-
dependent, from the very nature of the Cosmos it-
self. Thus we see that there can be no such thing
as "Chance" or "accidents" in the Cosmos. Nothing
ever "merely happens," in the usual sense of the
phrase. Everything, every event, every happening,
has its preceding causes, and from it will emerge
the succeeding effects-all being links in the continu-
ous chain of Sequence.
We recognize these things, dimly, in everyday
life, and call them the workings of Cause and Effect.
But the Aphorism makes a distinction here and in-
forms us that that which men mistakenly call Cause
and Effect, "in truth, are but relative stages of the
Cosmic Sequence. Let us proceed to a consideration
of this truth.
172
THE ARCANE TEACHING
The statement of this Aphorism apparently con-
flicts with the accepted philosophical and scientific
conception of the Law of Causation, but the differ-
ence is largely a matter of expression, and the Ar-
cane Teaching is in full harmony with the advanced
conceptions of Causation, as interpreted by the high-
est authorities. The Law of Causation, as advanced
by modern scientific thought, may be stated generally
as the conception that every thing is an effect of
precedent Causes and, at the same time, the Cause
of the effects which arise from it-thus each thing
is a link in an endless chain of Cause and Effect.
Another way of stating this conception is that every
event in time, or thing in space, has Causes; and at
the same time is the Cause of succeeding effects in
the shape of events in time, or things in space. This
conception of the Beginningless and Endless Chain
of Cause and Effect is seen to be very similar to the
Chain of Sequence of the Arcane Teaching. But
here is the difference. The Arcane Teaching does
not hold that the Chain of Sequence is Beginningless
and Endless. On the contrary, it holds that the Cos-
mos emerged from the Infinity of Nothingness at the
Dawn of the Cosmic Day-therefore, this particular
LAW, ORDER, and sequencE_173
Cosmos had an actual beginning in time; and like-
wise, it will have an ending in time, when it again
is resolved into the Infinity of Nothingness. The
LAW is held to be the only Eternal, using the term
in its absolute sense.
The Cosmic Activities proceed according to Law,
Order and Sequence. What you are today-what
happens this moment-is the logical result of all
that has gone before in the Chain of Sequence. What
is, is not because of Chance-but in accordance with
Law, Order and Sequence. What will be tomorrow
-a year hence-a million years hence-will be the
logical result of all the things and events that are
manifesting this moment. There is no break in the
Chain. Everything, and every event, proceeds from
what has gone before. And from every thing, and
every event, develop the seeds of future events and
things. Every thing, and every event, is a blossom
-and contains within itself the seeds of future blos-
soms. Every event is but a stage in the Whole
Event of the Cosmos. Every thing is but a part of
the Whole Thing of the Cosmos. The Cosmos is the
Whole Thing, striving, moving, thinking, and doing,
in myriads of forms and shapes and manifestations
174
THE ARCANE TEACHING
-acting in the countless series of events which to-
gether constitute the Whole Event.
At any particular moment in the Cosmic Day—
at this very moment that you read these lines-cer-
tain things are at certain places, under certain con-
ditions, acting in a certain manner-certain events
are occurring under certain conditions. All this is
the result of Cosmic Causes operating since the first
glimmer of the Cosmic Dawn. And, likewise, at
any imagined moment of the future-a year hence
-a century hence-a million years hence-at any
given moment there will be certain things in certain
places, under certain conditions, acting in a certain
manner-certain events will be occurring under cer-
tain conditions. And this too will be the result of
the Cosmic Causes, operating from the beginning-
operating and in existence in some stage of Se-
quence, today-this moment. All that is proceeds
from all that has gone before. And from all that is
will flow, proceed and evolve all that shall be even
unto the very ending.
And these things and events are "certain," not
because of Fate, Destiny or Arbitrary Decree, but
because of the operation of fixed and certain natural
Al
LAW, ORDER, AND SEQUENCE 175
laws, constant, invariable and immutable. There is
no Fate, no Chance, no Accidents. Cause produces
Effect. Everything has its precedent, and will have
its subsequent. The seeds of the future exist in the
present. The seeds of the present existed in the
past. No thing or event is arbitrary, separate, dis-
connected, independent. We are all parts of a Cos-
mic Whole, taking part in one Cosmic Event. Can
you imagine a single thing or event without prece-
dent causes? Can you imagine a Cosmic Law being
broken? The parts are conditioned by the Whole.
This is not Fate, but Law, Order, and Sequence.
LESSON XII.
DOMINANT DESIRE; SOVEREIGN WILL.
Aphorism XVII informs us that "The Three
Principles-Substance, Motion and Consciousness-
are equally under Law.” The leading scientific
minds of the day hold that the Reign of Law is oper-
ative not only over matter and motion, but also
over mind. There are but few psychologists who
hold otherwise, although a few are reluctant to ad-
mit that the operations of human volition are caused,
and such therefore hold on to the old dogma of
"causelessness" although candidly admitting that the
only other alternative is the theory of Chance. This
reluctance may be explained by the influence of the
old theology which held that the admission of cause
in volition would annul the doctrine of "free will"
(in the sense of free choice), and would destroy
man's moral responsibility. The theologians, how-
ever, do not accept the alternative of Chance, but
murmur something about "special provisions of
Providence," without explaining what they mean by
177
178
THE ARCANE TEACHING
this. But all denials of the operation of universal
law on the mental plane are in direct defiance of
the modern scientific knowledge of the laws of psy-
chology, and the common experience of the race
which informs us that people act and choose because
of motives and reasons. And all human education is
based upon this understanding and principle.
The trouble with the theologians is that they
confuse Law, Order, and Sequence, with the old
fetish of Fate, Destiny, and Predestination. They
recognize the logical absurdity of holding one mor-
ally responsible for doing what for all eternity it
has been predestined, predetermined, or fated one
should do. When Determination is divorced from
Pre-determination, a new light is seen. Notwith-
standing the theological reluctance, its advocates
nevertheless act as if psychological laws were true,
in advocating the "training" of the mind, and in
offering the "motives" of rewards and punishments
for actions. If the volition is free, how could these
"motives" influence or affect it. All education and
training of the mind implies the existence of mental
laws of choice and action. The "Law of Associa-
tion" is but the Law of Sequence. Without Law
DESIRE AND WILL
179
in the mental realm, there is but the alternative of
Chance-theology to the contrary, notwithstanding.
APHORISM XIX. Man on the personal plane
always acts and chooses strictly in accordance
with the nature of his personal character. His
personal character is determined by the nature
of his psychical organism resulting from heredity,
environment, and experience, and consists of a
collection of mental states the motive principle in
which is Desire (including Fear, which is but a
form of Desire). The personal man, like the lower
forms of life, always acts and chooses, according
to the sum or average of his desires and fears, the
strongest motives always dominating and de-
termining the choice and action.
Each man has a personal character-just as each
actor in a play assumes a "character." Each char-
acter, as the Aphorism states, is "a collection of
mental states." These mental states are manifest
as traits, tendencies, temperament, nature, disposi-
tion, personality-what we know as "the nature of
the person," in fact. Different persons are attracted
by different things, in different degrees, and respond
in different ways and in different degrees. No two
180
THE ARCANE TEACHING
persons are exactly alike. Each person has his own
nature, disposition and character. The dictionaries
say that Character is: "The personal qualities or
attributes of a person." Each character has its per-
sonal collection of feelings, desires, wants, inclina-
tions, likes and dislikes, habits of thought, capacity
for thought, degree and character of will, etc. Each
has its sub-conscious collection of stored up impres-
sions, memories, inherited traits, etc., as well as its
-conscious mental faculties-in fact, nine-tenths of the
mental activities arise from this subconscious region.
Each character has its collection of seed-thoughts
which constitute its share of the race experience—
the experiences of its ancestors. And each has its
store of impressions and experiences which have
modified it accordingly. The result of heredity, en-
vironment and experience creates a personality and
character according to which one acts and chooses.
This character, at any particular moment, is just
what a man is at that particular moment. And as he
is, so will he act and choose. He always acts and
chooses by reason of what he is. On the personal
plane, he cannot act differently. And what he is-
his character at the moment-always has as its mo-
DESIRE AND WILL
181
tive power the sum or average of his desires and
fears.
This is the point at which we must consider the
objections of the "free will" theologians who will
not admit that man acts and chooses according to
the sum and average of his desires and fears. These
people put forward the three leading "proofs" that
man does not so act and choose. Let us consider
them, briefly, in detail. They are as follows:
I. That one may refuse to act on a desire or
fear, however strong. He may oppose his will to the
desire or fear and defeat its power. This statement
is unquestionably true, but the explanation is that
in so willing not to act upon the desire, he is really
acting upon other and stronger desires or fears
which urge him not to do the thing in question. Each
desire is a motive-and the strongest motive domi-
nates and decides. Before he may will not to act, he
must first desire or "want to" refrain from the act,
or else fear to act. In short he must want not to
more than he wants to. Instead of disproving the ac-
tion of Desire, it affords a very good proof. He
chooses to do that which he "wants to" most
strongly.
182
THE ARCANE TEACHING
II. That one may choose to act upon a higher de-
sire rather than upon a lower one-to act from a
higher motive than from a lower one. This also is
unquestionably true-but what is the "higher de-
sire" and the "higher motive" but another form of
Desire. If the "higher" is stronger, it conquers—
if the "lower" is stronger, it conquers. Whichever
is felt by the man to be the most desirable according
to his reason, experience and feelings is the strong-
est motive. Sometimes the scales are very evenly bal-
anced, and it requires but a mental speck of dust to
tip it one way or the other. But this does not dis-
prove the rule-it only emphasizes it.
III. That one has the evidence of his conscious-
ness that he is free to act as he pleases—or to choose
between two or more different courses of action. One
feels most strongly that he has the freedom of choice
and action. This is the "proof" considered unanswer-
able by the theologians. It is undoubtedly true, so
far as it goes, but a moment's consideration will
show one that it adds but another proof to the truth
of the power of Desire, and the Law of Cause and
Effect. Waiving entirely the obvious rejoinder that
the feeling or consciousness of freedom has no
DESIRE AND WILL
183
causal relation to the act, we see that the man
merely feels and is conscious of the fact that he may
act and choose as he pleases. Certainly he may, no
one disputes that-but why does he "please"? Why
does he want to do one thing in preference to
another? And why does he finally choose to do one
thing instead of the other? Is it merely Chance?
Is there no reason or cause? Is it not true that he
finds it more desirable, or more satisfactory, to do
the one thing? Does he not weigh the motives, rea-
sons, feelings, and desires, by the light of his own
reason, experience, nature and character, and then
decide in favor of the most desirable course? His
will is free, of course-but his desires, feelings,
"please to," and "choose to" depend upon elements
of his character-and the strongest motive, con-
scious or subconscious, wins the day. Between two
things or objects, one chooses that which appeals
to him as the "most desirable"-that which he
"wants" most, or fears least.
Many will object that if this be true, it is unjust
to punish one for doing what he must do according
to his character. This objection arises from the old
conception of Fate and Predestination, which held
184
THE ARCANE TEACHING
that a man must do a certain thing, in spite of all
that might tend to prevent. This of course would
make all "punishment" a rank injustice, and an ab-
surd proceeding. But the doctrine of Cause and Ef-
fect does not so hold. On the contrary it holds that
one's character may be, and is, changed, modified and
altered by the restraints placed upon certain actions.
These afford new motives for action or non-action.
The theory of human Law, at least, is not that one
shall be "punished" for wrongdoing in the spirit of
wrath or vengeance, but that the "punishment" shall
act as a deterrent, warning, and restraining motive
to prevent the recurrence of the act on the part of the
criminal, and to prevent others from making the
same mistake. It is society's method of protecting
itself—not a system of revenge. The very fact that
the penalties of the law serve to deter some from
wrongdoing is but a proof that the strongest motive
dominates. The birch prevents the schoolboy from
misbehaving, though he so desires very much. He
fears to incur punishment, more than he desires to
misbehave. We may blame people for acting
wrongly, because we regret that their characters
were not better developed, or that their judgment
DESIRE AND WILL
185
was not more perfect. We often make the mistake of
blaming effects, instead of causes. Would it be just
to "blame" or "punish" if our acts resulted from
Chance? In the same way, remorse and regret mean
that we realize that what we did or chose was not
wise or desirable, as seen in the light of subsequent
events-we regret that the higher, nobler, or wiser
motives were not dominant; or feel sorrow at the re-
sults of our actions. These latter feelings are often
cited by those who deny Cause and Effect on the
mental plane. But what, indeed, would be the rea-
son for regret and remorse if our actions had been
decided by Chance instead of by causes? If we
remove Causes, we are in the hands of Chance-
would that be a desirable exchange? If we deny
Law, we must attribute all actions to Chance!
Summing up the fact of Dominant Desire, it may
be said that people act in accordance with the line
of the Greatest Satisfaction. This Greatest Satisfac-
tion depends entirely upon the nature of the person
-his character-which is regulated by his tenden-
cies, disposition, inherited qualities, results of his
experience, environment, education, training, his-
tory, etc., all of which, of course, have other causes
1
186
THE ARCANE TEACHING
behind them. Whatever gives to the person the
Greatest Satisfaction evident at the moment of ac-
tion or choice, that will he do or choose. This is the
rule-test it most rigidly by applying it to your own
acts and decisions, and those of others. But in so
testing, do not overlook the effect of Habit as crys-
tallized Desire; nor the effect of Fear as negative
Desire. When two desires are otherwise equal, the
one most habitual will win the day. The element of
Fear, or Aversion, is but a Desire "not to,” or “to
avoid, or get away from." Compulsion by others
may result in action through Fear. And one often
refrains from manifesting a desire because he fears
to "pay the price."
Did you ever make a choice, or perform an act
which gave you the Least Satisfaction, or which you
knew to be the most undesirable under all the cir-
cumstances of the case? If you did so-WHY did
you do it? If you yield to the suggestions, desires,
reason or will of another person, against your own
inclination and judgment-what is this but the "line
of the least resistance," which gave you the least
trouble or dissatisfaction at the moment, and in
which the negative Desire of Fear had its effect?
DESIRE AND WILL
187
In the case of hypnotic influence, or the domination
of one's will by another by any means, the rule is
not broken, for the stronger person's will influ-
ences and arouses the Desire of the weaker person.
Even in this case, desire or fear is the motive of ac-
tion or choice.
In considering this subject, remember that the
Aphorism says "the sum and average of his desires
-the strongest motives always dominating and de-
ciding the choice and action." We often are forced to
"strike an average" between our conflicting desires.
And then again, wisdom, experience and intelligence
enable us to discriminate between the desirability
of objects and acts, and thus play an important part
in the choice. And imagination gives us a wider
range of choice, by presenting a greater number of
objects before us for choice. But wisdom, experi-
ence, intelligence and imagination result from
Causes.
A Dominant Desire always has for its motive the
attainment of something which will bring the Great-
est Satisfaction, immediate or remote, or the preven-
tion of something which will bring dissatisfaction,
immediate or remote-either to the person himself,
188
THE ARCANE TEACHING
or to others in whom he is interested. Aversion,
fear, or the tendency away from persons or things,
are merely the negative phases of Desire, and come
under the same rule. The "most desirable" thing,
according to the judgment of the moment, is always
chosen the "most undesirable" thing of the moment
is always avoided. Sometimes this necessitates
"striking an average." So in the end we do that
which we "like to"-we do what we "want to" do
most. The "want to" and "like to" arise from Cause,
and are under the Law of Sequence-links in the
Cosmic Chain of Eventuality.
And so, the nature of one's character determines
his acts. This explains many actions in a strange
way. For instance, one man is kind because it gives
his nature the greatest satisfaction; just as another
gains the greatest satisfaction by being otherwise.
One finds satisfaction in doing his "duty"; while
another finds satisfaction in escaping it. One finds
satisfaction in virtue; another in vice. One finds it
in selfishness; another in doing for and giving to
others. One finds more satisfaction in giving his life
for his country; another finds it in running away and
hiding. One finds the greatest satisfaction in giv-
DESIRE AND WILL
189
*
ing; another, in getting. One finds the greatest sat-
isfaction in being moral; another in the reverse.
One takes the greatest pleasure in being a good
citizen; another finds his satisfaction in the opposite.
Each acts according to his nature and character-
just as a cat and dog acts according to its nature.
But man can change his nature, if he so desires. And
he often so desires, while the lower animal does not
-that is the main point of difference.
We have laid much stress upon this subject of
Dominant Desire, because we wish to awaken you
to a realization, perhaps for the first time, of what
an important part Desire plays in the choice and
actions of the man on the personal plane of life-
how much in thrall to it is the race. When one
realizes his bonds, he is in a position to work to rid
himself of them. It is only when the slave realizes
that he is a slave, that thoughts of freedom come to
him. There is a plane above that of Personality-a
plane in which Positive Will takes the place of De-
sire. Sovereign Will is above Dominant Desire.
Listen to the Aphorism:
M
APHORISM XX. When man attains Individ-
uality-Egohood-he enters upon the plane of Will,
190
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and rises above the plane of Desire. Desire and
Will are the opposite poles of the same Principle-
the Centre of Balance being Reason. On the plane
of Will, though one still remains under Law, yet
he may learn to use Law instead of remaining
passive to it. He may learn to oppose Law to
laws. He may learn to create Desire by Will, as
well as to restrain and master Desire by Will.
Furthermore-and this the greatest of all-he may
learn to WILL to Will. He may learn to complete
the Circle of Will. He may learn the Secret of
the Excluded Middle. When this last Secret is
learned, man is well on the road to Mastery.
By rising to the plane of Will, over and above
the plane of Desire, we rise above the lower laws,
and acknowledge supremacy only to the higher laws.
We may then oppose Law to laws, and counteract
and use them. Desire and Will are but the opposing
poles of the same principle-Reason being the Centre
of Balance, as the Aphorism states. The majority
of the race remain centred in the negative pole-
few reach the centre-and still fewer learn the se-
cret of swinging the centre over to the positive side.
He on the negative plane can do no more than to
Desire to Will. He of the positive plane may learn
DESIRE AND WILL
191
to WILL to Will. He who has learned the secret
may transmute his desires, and transform his inclina-
tions, tendencies, and tastes. Such a one is the
Master of Desire, instead of its slave. The art of
WILLING to Will is one of the great feats of
occultism—one of the great attainments of the Ar-
cane Teachings. In it lies also the secret of Will
Power in its outward manifestations, for he who
can change, and create desires in himself, can pro-
duce similar results in the desire-mind of others.
In attaining the plane of Positive Will, one enters
into the field of all Occult Power and Attainment-
the rest is all a matter of progress, practice, exercise
and mastery. When one grasps the Secret of Will,
he has laid hands upon the Sword of Power.
Running back from cause to prior cause, and to
still more remote precedent causes of his desires,
the Individual finds himself at last confronting the
Cosmic Will. Retracing his path back to the pres-
ent, he finds himself confronting his Personal Will,
which is moved by Desire. In other words, he finds
a Chain of Desire extending from the Cosmic Will
to the Personal Will-a chain of countless links,
but having a beginning in Will, and an ending in
192
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Will-an Endless Chain, because it is a Circle.
Thereupon he learns the first lessons of the Ar-
cane Secret of the Excluded Middle, and thenceforth
strives to realize the union of the two ends of Will.
From the realization of this Union arises the Indi-
vidual Will—the Positive Will of the Ego. In this
process the law of Cause and Effect is not violated,
but WILL is made the Cause of Will-the Cause
and Effect merge. When this is attained-then does
Man indeed become the Master!

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Law, Order, and Sequence.
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PART V. THE ASTRAL PLANE.
Lesson XIII. Lower Astral Planes
Lesson XIV. Astral "Black Keys"
Lesson XV. Higher Astral Planes
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LESSON XIII.
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES.
There are three great planes of manifestation in
the Cosmos-the Material Plane; the Astral Plane;
and the Spiritual Plane. There is much confusion
in the use of the term "plane" in the occult writ-
ings, for it is employed in various ways, from neces-
sity and in the absence of other words with which to
express the unfamiliar facts of the case. For in-
stance, many occultists very properly speak of "the
physical plane; the mental plane; and the spiritual
plane, of Thought," meaning respectively thereby:
(1) the plane of thought connected with the sensa-
tions of the body, the physical desires, etc.; (2) the
plane of intellect, reason, etc.; and finally, (3) the
plane of the higher mental activities and manifesta-
tions, familiarly known as the Spiritual Plane of
Thought. The beginner in the study of occultism is
apt to confuse the above usage of the term with that
employed in speaking or writing of the Three Great
Planes of the Cosmos, the Material Plane; the As-
193
194
THE ARCANE TEACHING
tral Plane; and the Spiritual Plane; the second of
which, the Astral Plane, will form the subject of
consideration in the present lesson, and the two im-
mediately following it in sequence.
The word "plane" has been appropriated by occult
writers, from necessity, and given a meaning ap-
parently at variance with the accepted usages. In
ordinary language a "plane" is a "perfectly level,
flat, and smooth surface." In geometry and astrono-
my it is sometimes used in an abstract or ideal
sense, to indicate "an ideal surface supposed to cut
or pass through a solid body or in various directions;
as the plane of an ecliptic, the plane of a planet's
orbit, etc." It is also used in a figurative sense,
implying "a level, or field" as "on the plane of
reason; on the plane of common sense, etc." Gen-
erally speaking, its figurative use implies a layer,
strata, or level, and it is used in occult phraseology
in the figurative sense of a level, or strata of Cosmic
activity or manifestation.
But the student is cautioned against confusing the
term "plane" with any conception of "place." A
plane is not a place. A particular place may include
several planes, and sub-planes; for the planes inter-
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
195
penetrate each other. A plane has no dimensions in
space, and rather more resembles a state or condition.
It cannot be measured in the three dimensions, and
yet it is capable of measurement by degrees in the
Scale of Vibrations. These states or degrees of vibra-
tion interpenetrate each other, without interference,
in which peculiarity they have correspondences or
analogies in physical phenomena. For instance, a
dozen or more currents of electricity may pass along
the same wire, at the same time without interfering
with each other, and may then register each on its
special instrument, providing that the rate of tension
or vibration be different in each case. Or, again,
light vibrations, heat vibrations, vibrations of elec-
tricity and magnetism of several degrees, vibrations
of the X-Rays, sound vibrations, etc., may manifest
and remain present in the space of a room, at the
same time.
The various planes of manifestation blend into
each other, and each of the three planes has seven
sub-planes, which in turn are sub-divided into seven
minor planes, and so on, until seven times seven acts
of sub-division have been made.
On the Physical Plane of the Cosmos occurs the
196
THE ARCANE TEACHING
various manifestations of the physical world-the
world of matter and energy. It is the plane best
known to us, for all of our physical activities are
performed on some of its sub-planes. On these planes
there are manifestations of matter of degrees un-
recognized by the senses of man, as well as the
familiar forms and degrees. Likewise there are
forces and energies of which man of to-day is to-
tally ignorant, with the exception of a few advanced
souls who have risen above the ordinary race lim-
itations. It is not our purpose to enter into a con-
sideration of the Physical Plane in this lesson.
Neither is it our purpose to enter into a consideration
of the Spiritual Plane, the conception of which is
beyond the comprehension of the ordinary human,
and which the words of the ordinary plane of life.
would be utterly inadequate to express. Our subject.
for consideration here is simply the second plane of
the Cosmos-the Astral Plane.
The term "astral" (from the Greek word mean-
ing “a star") is of ancient usage in the occult teach-
ings. Astral "regions" and Astral "beings," were
held to be places and beings of a more ethereal and
finer order and degree than our material world and
A
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
197
beings-so far as the bodies of the latter were con-
cerned, at least. In the Astral regions the disem-
bodied entities and the supernatural beings were held
to abide. The term was often used loosely and in a
manner tending to confuse the student. In fact,
even to-day the term is used with various shades of
meanings, by the different schools of occultism, and
confusion results by reason thereof. Some schools
use the term "Astral Plane" to designate only the
lower sub-planes of the Astral, using other terms to
designate the higher planes, which latter they often
confuse with those of the Spiritual Plane. Others
include the entire series of above-the-Material planes,
lower and higher Astral and Spiritual alike, under
the general term of Astral Plane. The Arcane
Teaching follows the most approved ancient usage,
and applies the term "Astral Plane" to the interme-
diate plane of the Cosmos-the plane lying between
the Material and the Spiritual-including, however,
the higher as well as the lower Astral sub-planes.
Such has always been the custom of the Arcane
Teachers, and it is, moreover, in accordance with the
most ancient and authoritative practice.
There are many sub-planes on the Astral Plane,
198
THE ARCANE TEACHING
many of which bear close analogies to corresponding
planes known to us on the Material Plane. There
are also sub-planes containing life activities, which
are different from the more familiar ones, and which
bear the same relationship to the latter that the black
keys on the piano-board bear to the white keys. On
these "black-key" sub-planes dwell entities strange
to human sight and thought, but which, nevertheless,
form a part of the universal manifestation of life.
These entities are non-human-never were human,
and never will be human. Their evolution has been,
and will continue, along totally different lines. Oc-
cultists group these entities under the general term
of "elementaries," or "elementals," although their
degrees and characteristics vary greatly, one from
another. We shall consider these entities in the fol-
lowing lesson.
Beginning our consideration of the Astral Plane,
we must not fail to take notice of one of the sub-
planes nearest the material-the sub-plane in which
the Thought Currents operate, and also in which the
Astral Bodies of the embodied, and the Auric Colors
are visible. On this sub-plane the phenomena of
Mentalism manifest. This sub-plane is the one near-
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
199
;
est to the ordinary Material Plane, and is often pene-
trated, unwittingly, by persons whose psychic facul-
ties have become sharpened and who have developed
the qualities of Clairvoyance, Astral Sensing, etc.
It is scarcely necessary to explain in detail the
facts relating to the Astral Body of human beings,
for the student is supposed to have had some pre-
liminary acquaintance with the general subject of
occultism. We shall merely note the general facts in
passing. The Astral Body of the person is the finer
body, or inner envelope, of the entity or soul. This
Astral Body has long been known in the traditions
of the race, and has been called by various names,
such as "the ethereal body"; the "fluidic body"; the
"double"; the "wraith"; the "doppelganger," etc. It
is composed of Astral substance, which is much finer
than the matter with which we are familiar. It bears
the same relation to ordinary matter that steam does
to ice. The Astral Body leaves the material cover-
ing, or ordinary body of the person, at the death of
the latter. It also often wanders far from the physi-
cal body when the latter is sleeping. Under certain
conditions it may leave the physical body during
waking hours, and project itself to distant points in
200
THE ARCANE TEACHING
space. The familiar "apparitions of the living" are
instances of this travel in the Astral, and the phe-
nomena of Clairvoyance is largely due to this form
of Astral manifestation. The Astral Body is in-
visible to the ordinary physical senses, although those
possessing Clairvoyant power, or well developed
Astral Senses may see it plainly. It may also lower
its vibrations and "materialize," as above noted, at
which times it becomes visible as a shadowy form
apparent to the ordinary physical senses. During
the life of the physical body, however, the Astral
Pody is always connected with the latter by a thin,
slender filament, which if broken results in the death
of the physical body. Contrary to the ordinary
teaching, the Astral Body is composed of seven
"sheaths" or "layers" of substance, the grosser of
which disintegrate or "sloughs off" when the entity
rises to higher Astral sub-planes, and which must be
again "materialized" when it revisits the lower
planes.
The Aura and Auric Colors of the Astral Body
are in the nature of emanations or radiations from
the Astral Body, which are manifested in some de-
gree by every person, and which recent scientific
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
201
investigation has proven conclusively, by means of
photographs, etc. The Physical Body, even, has its
aura of vitality vibrations, or "Vril," which flow
freely from it, particularly when the vitality of the
person is strong. This "Vril" is the "human magnet-
ism" of the magnetic healers, and others, and which
serves to arouse strength and vigor to those to whom
it is applied. The Astral aura, on the contrary, is
rather an emanation of the mental states, feelings
and emotions of the person's mind. It is egg-shaped,
and extends on all sides of the person to a distance.
of about three feet. It manifests various colors, par-
ticularly around the head, the colors corresponding
to the character of the mental states being mani-
fested, or those habitual to the person. For instance:
Red indicates the animal passions, lust, anger, etc.
Blue represents religious emotion, etc.-light blue.
denoting what is generally called "spirituality," but
which in reality is but an ethereal, refined form of
religious feeling. Spirituality is more a matter of
knowledge and life development, rather than feeling
or emotion. Green denotes jealousy, and, in one
of its shades, that which is generally called "tact,"
"agreeableness," "diplomacy," or in its lower forms,
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"deceit." Gray denotes selfishness. Yellow, intel-
lectuality in its various degrees and forms. Black
is the astral color of hate, malice and vengeful emo-
tion. Persons in whom the faculty of Astral Sensing
is well developed may see these auric colors plainly,
and are thereby informed as to the mental charac-
teristics of the person under observation.
On this lower sub-plane of the Astral are also
manifested the thought waves, thought currents,
thought-forms, etc., which are manifested in the
phenomena of Mentalism. Thoughts and mental
states manifest in objective form. The person mani-
festing active thought or feeling, emanates waves
and currents of thought-force which spread around
him in constantly widening circles in every direc-
tion. In this way great thought-clouds are formed
which hover over and around places to which they
are attracted. Thought-clouds of the same general
character have a tendency to coalesce and mingle.
and blend with each other, and to move toward per-
sons, places and localities in which similar thoughts
or feelings are being manifested. The Law of At-
traction operates in this direction of drawing thought
influences toward those who are manifesting similar
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
203
thought vibrations. Cities, towns and smaller places
-even places of business, office-buildings, houses,
and rooms have their own particular thought atmos-
phere, which may be felt by those sensitive to such
influences, and seen by those possessing the faculty
of Astral Sensing.
Akin to these thought-clouds are what are known
as thought-forms, which are thought-clouds of great
density and power of cohesion, which are also
charged with the strong Will or ardent Desire of
the persons emanating them—and which are often
practically vitalized by the "Vril," or vitality of the
person, which has been infused into them. Such
thought-forms often exert nearly as great a psychic
power over those with whom they come in contact
as would the sender himself, in person. They are
akin to the desire-elementals mentioned in the fol-
lowing lesson.
These thought-clouds and thought-forms avide on
the lower sub-planes of the Astral until they finally
disintegrate. They tend to coalesce and gather
around places in which the vibrations are harmonious
to their own. Some places have their mental atmos-
pheres of vice, others of greed, others of industry,
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
others of the reverse. In short thought atmospheres
exist everywhere on this lower Astral sub-plane,
just as does the material atmosphere exist every-
where on the material plane. One is just as real
as is the other. They have all the correspondences
which one might expect. Those who are able to
travel in the Astral Body find this thought atmos-
pheric phenomena a source of never failing interest,
although at times one is glad to will himself away
from some of the scenes, so gross and base are the
emotions and feelings manifesting in the dark, heavy
suffocating clouds of thought force-so horrible
some of the thought-forms. But even these may be
driven away by an exercise of the Will, and thought-
vibrations of a contrary nature tend to repel them
and scatter them away from one's vicinity.
On a sub-plane of a different class from that just
mentioned, are found the manifestations of what
has been called the "scrap pile of the Astral,” and,
indeed, that term of the workshop very aptly ex-
presses it. On this sub-plane are to be found the
discarded Astral materials of the Astral Bodies
which have been "sloughed off" by entities which
have discarded them as they have moved up higher.
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
205
Also, the disintegrating Astral bodies of entities.
which have failed to survive and whose souls have
been resolved into their original elements and be-
come merged into the general principle of Conscious-
ness, as described in a previous lesson. Remember,
please, that these remnants of the Astral bodies so
discarded and disintegrating, are not in any way
related to the souls which formerly inhabited them.
They are mere shells, without soul or mind, and yet
preserving a slight degree of vitality, or "Vril."
They are astral corpses, just as much a corpse as is
the discarded physical body. But, just as the physi-
cal corpse may be aroused into apparent life activity
by a strong galvanic current, and will roll its eyes,
move its limbs, and even utter groans-so may these
astral corpses be "galvanized" by the "Vril" of a
medium (unconsciously by the latter), if the condi-
tions be favorable, and may be materialized so as
to appear as a shadowy form, acting, moving and
even speaking, the only mind in it, however, being
supplied by that of the medium or the persons pres-
ent at the seance. These astral corpses also become
visible under certain conditions, often around grave-
yards, battle-fields, etc., and are thought to be ghosts,
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
or "spirits" of those who formerly inhabited them.
They are, however, generally but the grossest astral
covering of the Astral body-its "shell" so to speak,
and are no more to be regarded as the deceased per-
son himself than is the physical body lying in the
grave--both are discarded coverings, or "corpses."
A psychic who, by means of untrained or misdi-
rected psychic development, happens to wander on
to this plane of the Astral, experiences a most un-
pleasant sight. It is not pleasant to roam in this
charnel house of the Astral-this tomb of the Earth.
An old Egyptian sage thus recorded his impressions
of it: "What manner of place is this I see. It hath
no water. It hath no air. It hath no light. It hath
no foundation. It is unfathomably deep. It is as
black as the blackest night." A modern investigator
has said of this region-this Golgotha of the Astral:
"Most students find the investigation of this section
an extremely unpleasant task, for there appears to
be a sense of density and gross materiality about it
which is indescribably loathsome to the liberated
Astral Body, causing the sense of pushing its way
through some black viscous fluid, while the inhabi-
tants and influences encountered there are unusually
undesirable."
LOWER ASTRAL PLANES
207
"And are there inhabitants of such a place?" one
naturally asks. Alas, yes! There are denizens of
this loathsome place-inhabitants of this horrible.
abode. Entities, however, not placed there for pun-
ishment, for no Being would entail such a fate upon
the meanest and most depraved-or invent such a
Hell. They are there because of their own abnormal
desires and tendencies, which unfit them for the
planes of even the lowest of disembodied human
entities, and which also render them unfit for asso-
ciation with the disembodied astral forms of the
beasts, which latter persist for a short time after
physical death. "Then, what manner of creatures
must these be?" you ask. "Fit for neither man nor
beasts. Were they human?" And, one is forced to
answer, "Yes!" Subject to the laws of human-
kind they are not allowed the privilege of rapid
annihilation bestowed upon the beasts-they must
live out their peculiar life to the end. They are the
pariahs, the ghoul-like scum of the human race, who
have removed themselves from the race fate and
have entailed upon themselves a fate of their own.
Their fate is a Living Death-a conscious life in a
corpse-like body, among corpses of the Astral. These
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
creatures are the disembodied entities of those who
degenerated along abnormal sex lines-who at
tempted to reverse the Cosmic Law of Sex Polarity,
and thus brought upon themselves the Recoil of the
Life Forces. They were the lowest of the human
Satyrs. Nature finally casts over them the spell of a
deep sleep, from which they never awaken, and
from which they pass into disintegration and anni-
hilation. They polluted the Sacred Altar. They
stole the Divine Fire for devilish rites. They com-
mitted the Unpardonable Sin. They removed them-
selves from the trend of Cosmic Evolution. Their
own Desire was their Fate. We wish it were possi-
ble to speak plainer-but the time has not yet come.
LESSON XIV.
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS."
Before passing on to the sub-planes higher in de-
gree and scale, let us call your attention to some
of the minor sub-planes-the "black-keys" of the
Astral scale. On these sub-planes dwell the non-
human, or semi-human creatures which are grouped
together in the occult classification under the general
name of "elementaries" or "elementals." It is im-
possible for us to enter into a detailed consideration
of this class of entities in a work of this general
nature intended for popular reading. The reasons
therefor would involve explanations which would
crowd out of the space intended for them certain.
other details of the Astral Planes, and would even
then be most incomplete and unsatisfying. Enough
to say that occultists know that this planet, the
earth, is the field and theatre for three distinct pro-
cesses of evoluion-that of the world that we know,
human, animal, and vegetable; and two others of
a different order. These two other fields of evolu-
209
210
THE ARCANE TEACHING
tion have their own planes which are totally unre-
lated to ours. But these other evolutionary processes,
although distinct from ours, nevertheless blend
slightly with certain sub-planes of our Astral Planes
—that is, the "edges overlap," if such a clumsy
term may be used. Consequently, on certain of the
"black-key" planes of our Astral, there may be
found elementaries of a scale of life different from
our own. This is but a general statement, the faults
of which will be obvious to every advanced occultist
who reads it—and yet such advanced student will
see the necessity for the purposely imperfect state-
ment in this place. Those who have read Bulwer's
occult stories-notably "Zanoni," will recognize the
nature of the entities of which we speak.
While the Arcane Teaching includes within its
store of knowledge and information full details re-
garding these particular sub-planes which we have
designated as the "black-keys" on the scale of the
Astral Plane, and its Initiates who have attained
certain degrees are fully informed regarding the
same, still we are unable to make public at this
time, place, and through this particular channel, the
inner Arcane Teaching regarding the same. Per-
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS"
211
sonally, we think the time is ripe for such informa-
tion to be plainly stated, accompanied by the neces-
sary warnings; but those higher in authority among
the Custodians have said to us: "Nay! Wait in
patience! When the propitious hour is indicated by
the planetary symbols-then may you open the sealed
volume to those who would ree its riddles ! For
the present, the vow of silence maintains!"
there is naught left for us but to bow to the superior
authority in the matter.
So
However, while we are not permitted to state the
inner Arcane Teaching in this particular detail, the
prohibition does not extend to our using quotations
from other authorities who have already reported
concerning these sub-planes of the Astral. And, be-
lieving that the said reports would be interesting to
those of our students who take a scientific interest in
this phase of occultism, we have decided to give you,
in this lesson, very liberal quotations from a leading
authority of another school of occultism, who has
paid much attention to the phenomena of certain
phases and planes of the Astral Plane, both in the
direction of studying older and more advanced au-
thorities, and also in the direction of personal inves-
212
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tigation and exploration of these sub-planes, of the
Astral. The latter is a task surrounded with dangers
and risks which but few even advanced occultists
care to undertake, and although we doubt the wis-
dom of the task, nevertheless we must admire the
scientific ardor of the investigator.
The remainder of this lesson, indicated by quota-
tion marks, consists of quotations from the said au-
thority, investigator and explorer of these dark re-
gions of the "black-keys" of the Astral.
The elementaries may be grouped into several
general classes, although the classification is more
or less unsatisfactory and imperfect, at the best. One
of these classes comprise the entities which some
writers have called "Nature Spirits," which term,
however, is less accurate than poetical. These en-
tities have been known in the legends by various
names, prominent among which are the following:
Earth-spirits, or gnomes; water-spirits, or undines;
air-spirits, or sylphs; fire-spirits, or salamanders;
fairies; pixies; elves; brownies; peris; djinns; trolls;
fauns; kobolds; imps; goblins; little people; good
people, etc., etc., of which the aforesaid authority
says:
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS"
213
"Their forms are many and various, but most fre-
quently human in shape, and somewhat diminutive.
in size. Like almost all inhabitants of the astral
plane, they are able to assume any appearance at
will, but they undoubtedly have definite forms of
their own, or perhaps we should rather say favorite
forms, which they wear when they have no special
object in taking any other. Under ordinary condi-
tions they are not visible to physical sight at all, but
they have the power of making themselves so by
materialization when they wish to be seen. There
are an immense number of subdivisions or races
among them, and individuals of these subdivisions
differ in intelligence and disposition precisely as
human beings do. The great majority of them ap-
parently prefer to avoid man altogether; his habits
and emanations are distasteful to them, and the con-
stant rush of astral currents set up by his restless,
ill-regulated desires, disturbs and annoys them. On
the other hand, instances are not wanting in which
nature-spirits have as it were made friends with
human beings, and offered them such assistance as
lay in their power, as in the well-known stories of
the Scotch brownies or of the fire-lighting fairies.
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
This helpful attitude, however, is comparatively
rare, and in most cases when they come in contact
with man they either show indifference or dislike, or
else take an impish delight in deceiving him and
playing cihldish tricks upon him. Many a story illus-
trative of this curious characteristic may be found
among the village gossip of the peasantry in almost
any lonely mountainous district; and any one who
has been in the habit of attending seances for physical
phenomena will recollect instances of practical jok-
ing and silly though usually good natured horse.
play, which almost always indicates the presence of
some of these lower orders of astral spirits.
"The life periods of the different subdivisions vary
greatly, some being quite short, others much longer
than our human lifetime. We stand so completely
outside such a life as theirs that it is impossible for
us to understand much about its conditions; but it
appears on the whole to be a simple, joyous, irre-
sponsible kind of existence, much such as a party
of happy children might lead among exceptionally
physical surroundings. Though tricky and mischiev-
ous, they are rarely malicious unless provoked by
some unwarrantable intrusion or annoyance; but as
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS"
215
a body they also partake to some extent of the uni-
versal feeling of distrust for man, and they generally
seem inclined to resent somewhat the first appear-
ance of a neophyte on the astral plane, so that he
usually makes their acquaintance under some un-
pleasant or terrifying form. If, however, he de-
clines to be frightened by any of their freaks, they
soon accept him as a necessary evil and take no
further notice of him, while some among them may
even after a time become friendly and manifest
pleasure on meeting him.
"The Adept knows how to make use of the scrvices
of the nature spirits when he requires them, but the
ordinary magician can obtain their assistance only
by processes either of invocation or evocation; that
is, either by attracting their attention as a suppliant
and making some kind of bargain with them, or by
endeavoring to set into motion influences which
would compel their obedience. Both methods are
extremely undesirable, and the latter is also exces-
sively dangerous, as the operator would arouse a
determined hostility which might prove fatal to
him. Needless to say, no one studying occultism
under a qualified Master would ever be permitted to
attempt anything of the kind at all.”
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
On other low planes of the Astral there is another
class of elementaries, which have been called “arti-
ficial or man-created entities," of which the afore-
said authority says:
"This, the largest class of Astral entities, is also
much the most important to man. Being entirely his
own creation, it is inter-related with him by the
closest bonds, and its action upon him is direct and
incessant. It is an enormous inchoate mass of semi-
intelligent entities, differing among themselves as
human thoughts differ, and practically incapable of
anything like classification and arrangement. The
only division which can be usefully made is that
which distinguishes between the artificial elementals
made by the majority of mankind unconsciously, and
those made by magicians with definite intent; while
we may relegate to a third class the very small num-
ber of artificially arranged entities which are not
elementals at all.
"The elemental essence which surrounds us on ev-
ery side is in all its numberless varieties singularly
susceptible to the influence of human thought. The
action of the mere casual wandering thought upon
it, causing it to burst into a cloud of rapidly-moving
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS”
217
1
evanescent forms, has already been described; we
have now to note how it is affected when the human
mind formulates a definite, purposeful thought or
wish. The effect produced is of the most striking
nature. The thought seizes upon the plastic essence,
and moulds it instantly into a living being of an
appropriate form-a being which when once thus
created is in no way under the control of its crea-
tor, but lives out a life of its own, the length of
which is proportionate to the intensity of the
thoughts or wish which called it into existence. It
lasts in fact just as long as the thought-force holds
it together. Most persons' thoughts are so fleeting
that the elementals created by them last only a few
minutes or a few hours, but an often-repeated
thought or an earnest wish will form an elemental
whose existence may extend to many days. Since
the ordinary man's thoughts refer very largely to
himself, the elementals which they form remain hov-
ering about, and constantly tend to provoke a repeti-
tion of the idea which they represent, since such
repetitions, instead of forming new elementals, would
strengthen the old one, and give it a fresh lease of
life. A man, therefore, who frequently dwells upon
218
THE ARCANE TEACHING
one wish often forms for himself an astral attendant
which, constantly fed by fresh thought, may haunt
him for years, ever gaining more and more strength
and influence over Him; and it will easily be seen
that if the desire be an evil one the effect upon his
moral nature may be of the most disastrous char-
acter.
"Still more pregnant for good or evil are a man's
thoughts about other people, for in that case they
hover not about the thinker, but about the object of
the thought. A kindly thought about any person, or
an earnest wish for his good, will form and project
towards him a friendly artificial elemental. If the
wish be a definite one, as, for example, that he may
recover from some sickness, then the elemental will
be a force ever hovering over him to promote his
recovery, or to ward off any influence that might
tend to hinder it. In doing this it will display what
appears like a very considerable amount of intelli-
gence and adaptability, though really it is simply a
force acting along the line of least resistance-
pressing steadily in one direction all the time, and
taking advantage of any channel that it can find, just
as the water in a cistern would in a moment find the
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS"
219
:
L
one open pipe among a dozen closed ones, and pro-
ceed to empty itself through that. If the wish be
merely an indefinite one for his general good, the
elemental essence in its wonderful plasticity will
respond exactly to that less distinct idea also, and
the creature formed will expend its force in the
direction of whatever action for the man's advan-
tage comes most readily to hand. In all cases, the
amount of such force which it has to expend, and
the length of time that it will live to expend it,
depend entirely upon the strength of the original
wish or thought which gave it birth; though it must
be remembered that it can be, as it were, fed and
strengthened, and its life-period protracted by other
good wishes or friendly thoughts projected in the
same direction. Furthermore, it appears to be actu-
ated, like most other beings, by an instinctive desire
to prolong its life, and thus reacts on its creator
as a force constantly tending to provoke the renewal
of the feelings which called it into existence. It
also influences in a similar manner others with whom
it comes into contact, though its rapport with them
is naturally not so perfect.
"All that has been said as to the effect of good
220
THE ARCANE TEACHING
wishes and friendly thoughts is also true in the oppo-
site direction of evil wishes and angry thoughts; and
considering the amount of envy, hatred, malice and
uncharitableness that exists in the world, it will be
readily understood that among the artificial elemen-
tals many terrible creatures are to be seen. A man
whose thoughts or desires are spiteful, brutal, sen-
sual, avaricious, moves through the world carrying
with him everywhere a pestiferous atmosphere of
his own, peopled with the loathsome beings which he
has created to be his companions. Thus he is not
only in sadly evil case himself, but is a dangerous
nuisance to his fellow-men, subjecting all who have
the misfortune to come in contact with him to the
risk of moral contagion from the influence of the
abominations with which he chooses to surround
himself.
"It occasionally happens, however, that an artifi-
cial elemental of this description is for various rea-
sons unable to expend its force either upon its object
or its creator, and in such cases it becomes a kind of
wandering demon, readily attracted by any person
who indulges feelings similar to that which gave it
birth, and equally prepared either to stimulate such
ASTRAL “BLACK-KEYS”
221
feelings in him for the sake of the strength it may
gain from them, or to pour out its store of evil in-
fluences upon him through any opening which he
may offer it. If it is sufficiently powerful to seize
upon some passing shell (discarded astral body) it
frequently does so, as the possession of such a tem-
porary home enables it to husband its dreadful re-
sources more carefully. In this form it may manifest
through a medium, and by masquerading as some
well-known friend may sometimes obtain an influ-
ence over people upon whom it would otherwise have
little hold.. Many a well-meaning man, who
is scrupulously careful to do his duty toward his
neighbor in word and deed, is apt to consider that
his thoughts at least are nobody's business but his
own, and so lets them run riot in various directions,
utterly unconscious of the swarms of baleful crea-
tures which he is launching upon the world. To
such a man an accurate comprehension of the effect
of thought and desire in producing artificial ele-
mentals would come as a horrifying revelation.
"Since such results as have been described above
have been achieved by the thought-force of men who
were entirely in the dark as to what they were doing,
222
THE ARCANE TEACHING
it will readily be imagined that a magician who
understands the subject, and can see exactly what
effect he is producing, may wield immense power
along these lines. As a matter of fact, occultists of
both the white and dark schools frequently use arti-
ficial elementals in their work, and few tasks are
beyond the powers of such creatures when scientific-
ally prepared and directed with knowledge and skill;
for one who knows how to do so can maintain a
connection with his elemental and guide it, no mat-
ter at what distance it may be working, so that it
will practically act as though endowed with the full
intelligence of its master.
"By some of the more advanced processes of Black
Magic, also, artificial elementals of great power may
be called into existence, and much evil has been
worked in various ways by such entities. But it is
true of them, as of the previous class, that if they
are aimed at a person whom by reason of his purity
of character they are unable to influence, they react
with terrible force upon their creator; so that the
mediæval story of the magician being torn to pieces
by the fiends he himself had raised, is no mere fable,
but may well have had an awful foundation in fact.
ASTRAL "BLACK-KEYS"
223
•
Such creatures occasionally, for various reasons,
escape from the control of those who are trying to
make use of them, and become wandering and aim-
less demons, as do some of those mentioned under
the previous heading under similar circumstances;
but those that we are considering, having much more
intelligence and power, and a much longer existence,
are proportionately more dangerous. They invaria-
bly seek for means of prolonging their life, either
by feeding like vampires upon the vitality of human
beings, or by influencing them to make offerings to
them; and among simple half savage tribes they
have frequently succeeded in getting themselves rec-
ognized as village or family gods.
By the
vitality they draw from their devotees, they may
continue to prolong their existence for many years,
or even centuries, retaining sufficient strength to
perform occasional phenomena of a mild type in or-
der to stimulate the faith and zeal of their followers."
While the above quoted authority has placed what
we consider to be undue emphasis upon the power
of the elementals-for the human Will is sufficient
to overcome their power, and they are prevented
from coming to the mental atmosphere of all who
224
THE ARCANE TEACHING
do not attract them by virtue of the character of
their own mental vibrations-nevertheless, we have
thought it advisable to give you the benefit of this
investigator's reports, for the purpose of warning
you against dabbling in Evocations, and certain so-
called "magical" methods and practices. Black
Magic in all of its forms result only in pain and evil
to those indulging in them. He who invades planes
of life foreign to his own, takes upon himself the
risks inherent on such planes.
LESSON XV.
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES.
We have now reached the point where we are
called upon to consider the phases of the Astral
Plane concerned with the state or condition of the
disembodied entities of human beings. We call these
the higher Astral Planes, only by way of contrast
with the lower planes mentioned in the preceding
two lessons, for some of these "higher" planes are
quite low indeed as compared with the highest Astral
Planes. Let us begin with the consideration of the
lowest of these higher planes of the Astral, and then
proceed to consider the planes higher in the scale.
In the first place, we must remember that the
disembodied human soul leaves the physical in a
state or condition akin to sleep. It is carried by the
attraction of its nature and character to the highest
plane consistent with its nature—that is, to a plane
corresponding with the highest qualities existent
within itself. And upon that plane it gradually
awakens into the Astral life of that particular plane.
225
226
THE ARCANE TEACHING
The conditions of the Astral Life are so different
from that of the Material Plane that it is difficult to
intelligently describe it in terms of the latter. For
instance, the souls on the higher planes are able to
enter into conscious relationship with those on the
lower planes, but those on the lower planes cannot
enter into conscious relationship with those on the
higher planes except through the act of those dwell-
ing on the higher. Each plane has planes higher and
lower than itself, the above law being operative in
all cases. The higher plane souls have access to the
lower, but the lower may not invade the higher.
And this access is not in the nature of a physical
visit from the higher to the lower, but is in the na-
ture of a psychic consciousness, akin to Clairvoyance,
in which the soul, while remaining on its own plane,
still seems to have traveled to the others, there to
converse with other souls on these planes. The soul
itself, unless very advanced, does not realize the na-
ture of the connection but thinks that it actually
travels to the scene of the lower planes. The analogy
of Clairvoyance on the Material Plane will give you
the idea of the process.
When a soul awakens on its own plane of the
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
227
Astral, it finds it difficult to realize that it is not
alive in the flesh, and often much time is required
before it realizes its true condition. Then it begins.
to manifest an interest in its surroundings, and pays
many visits on its own and other planes (in the man-
ner before mentioned) renewing old acquaintances
and relationships, and manifesting the activities quite
natural for a human being under such circumstances.
But sooner or later this life begins to pall upon it,
and it passes into the Idealistic State, which we
shall describe a little further on. Enough for the
moment to say that in the Idealistic State the soul
begins to manifest its ideals-the things it has
hoped for, dreamed of, and longed for in its earth-
life. The greater the idealistic quality of the soul,
the greater the extent and range of its Idealistic
State. But before considering this interesting phase
of Astral Life, let us see what happens on the lower
planes, to those who have but few ideals, and those
of a most material nature.
On the very lowest of these planes of the Astral
we find the "earth bound” entities, or souls, of many
degrees. These are the souls of those who are so
material in their tastes, habits and trend of thought
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
and desire that they can never rise to the higher
states and conditions of the Astral. They stay close
to the earth, mingling unseen in the scenes which
they so loved during their life in the body, and yet
being unable to actually participate in the carnal.
manifestations, unless, indeed, some particularly at-
tractive dweller in the flesh opens his physical or-
ganism to the obsession of some affinitive and con-
genial companion of the lower Astral Planes and
allows the entity to manifest through his physical
body. These entities are found in great numbers in
the astral atmosphere of low resorts, and similar
places, where they poison the psychic atmosphere to
such an extent that their presence may be felt, and
often seen by sensitive persons who happen to visit
such places. We may add as a caution to those who
are fond of dabbling in the psychic process of
Evocation, that it is largely from this class of entities
that many of the "spirits" appearing at seances are
drawn. It is this class of entities who so often
impersonate your disembodied friends and relatives,
and whose sneers and ribaldry are scarcely con-
cealed behind the loving messages and "spirit wis-
dom" which they pass on to the wondering mortal in
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
229
the flesh who would not dream of associating with
their kind in earth life.
The life of these entities on the Astral Plane is
not long. They find but little pleasure, and much
torment, in life apart from the physical, for their
desires are altogether along physical lines. They are
filled with dissatisfaction, ennui, and weariness. As
a writer has said: "The disembodied learn that the
Hades of Immortality is the lack of a physical body."
Their dissatisfaction soon sets into operation the de-
sire to be relieved of the burden, and the "Will-not-to
Live" manifests itself. They drop into a dream-
state, or somnambulistic condition, in which they
dream out their desires and tastes to the end-until
they have exhausted every mental longing within
their nature. There being nothing left of them,
when these mental states have been lived out, they
weaken and pass into unconsciousness, which is fol-
lowed by death on the Astral with consequent dis-
integration and annihilation as entities. Their dream
state is, in a way, their Idealistic State-all the
Idealistic State they are capable of, at any rate. This
is not in any way a punishment-merely a natural
consequent of their nature. As the old saying goes:
230
THE ARCANE TEACHING
"One cannot make a silk-purse out of a sow's ear."
Nor can one get more than a pint out of a pint
measure. Desire is the cause of their life, and of
their death. Balance is manifested and preserved.
Water cannot rise above the level of its own source.
These entities receive "their own," as much as do
those on the higher planes. There is no injustice
manifested here.
Rising in the scale we find souls who while at-
tached to material things nevertheless have had
ideals during their life-things for which they had
hoped, and dreamt, prayed and longed. As the scale
advances we find that the nature of the ideals ad-
vance from lower to higher-but the principle is the
same. And for the lowest to the highest of these
ideal degrees, the Astral Life contains that peculiar
and wonderful condition or state known as the
"Idealistic State." And this Idealistic State is the
real Astral Life of the soul, into which it enters
after it has tired of the conditions it finds at first
on the Astral Plane. It is composed of a condition
or state, or series of such conditions or states, in
which it lives out in vivid imagination, or realistic
dream-like states all of its unrealized personal ideals,
hopes, expectations, desires, ambitions, aspirations,
longings, and inclinations of its nature.
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
231
It may be objected to that this is but a state of
illusion or delusion, and not a reality. But it must
be remembered that even on the Material Plane:
"Dreams are true while they last." On the Astral
Plane, in the Idealistic State, these dreams exceed
in vividness and reality anything that the embodied
mortal ever experiences. So far as the soul is con-
cerned the experiences through which it lives in the
Idealistic State are just as real as anything that it
ever experienced in physical life. Every element of
reality is there. And there is a reality about it that
all advanced occultists recognize. At the last, one's
experiences in physical life may be resolved to a
"series of mental states"-and what less than this
does the Astral dreamer experience? And what more
than a Dream, after all is the experience of the
earth-life of three-score-and-ten of the average per-
son? "Like dreams they come, like dreams they
go." In its way, and on its plane, the Idealistic
State is just as real as the physical life.
In this Idealistic State, the dreaming soul lives
out countless lives, of infinite variety. Just as in an
ordinary dream, Time is annihilated and one may
live out a lifetime in the space of a second, so in the
232
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Idealistic State the soul lives out centuries of ex-
periences in a moment. To all intents and purposes,
the soul-every soul in fact-lives an Eternity in
the Idealistic State, although the entire experience.
may occur in a few years (as we know time). Time
is measured only by "happenings," and the happen-
ings of an Eternity may be crowded into a very
short space of ordinary time, in the Idealistic State.
Every possibility within its personality is lived out,
outlived, and exhausted in interest, in the Idealistic
State. Just as in the moment of physical death, the
soul sees as in a flash its entire earth-life in one
great panorama-past and present being at once-so
in the Idealistic State the soul lives out every per-
sonal desire, aim, aspiration, hope, ambition, longing,
and wish, in an infinite series of states or lives. It
realizes every personal ideal inherent within it, to
the utmost. Its fullest personal Heart's Desire is
attained. There is no unsatisfied personal longing,
or unrealized ideal, left at the end of the Idealistic
State of the soul on the Astral Plane. Think what
this means, please. Think what it must mean to
live out to the full "The Might Have Been," which
is in the life of every human being. Think what
it must mean to manifest one's love to the utmost-
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
233
to have every wish granted-every ambition satisfied.
Think what it must be to live out one's life as one
wishes it had been lived-with all the mistakes cor-
rected, all the errors remedied, all the problems
solved, all the atonements made, all the injustices.
rectified. The Idealistic State is the living over of
your life As You Wish It Could Have Been. Nay,
more, living it over countless times, each variation
bringing out some new point and feature of unreal-
ized ideals, desires, and wishes! It is a state in
which the verse of Kipling comes true:
"And only the Master shall praise us,
And only the Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money,
And no one shall work for fame;
But each for the joy of the working,
And each in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees it
For the God of Things as They are!"
But it is only a dream, you say. Nay, more than a
dream as you understand the term. A dream it is,
but a dream so real that naught but Omniscience
could distinguish the difference. A dream so real
234
THE ARCANE TEACHING
that it equals the thing that we call Life, in every
element of reality. In the end, one is as Real as the
other-Earth Life and the Astral Idealistic State.
And, also, in the end, one is as Unreal as the other.
But not only are the high personal desires, aspira-
tions and ideals so lived out in the Idealistic State.
The low personal desires, aspirations and ideals are
also passed through this threshing-mill of the Idealis-
tic State. One lives out to the utmost, in some of
the series of these dream-lives, all the possibilities
of his nature or character-good and bad alike. In
fact, the lowest desires and ideals are the first to
manifest, and the first to die out and be lived out.
To those who have no others, the end then comes.
But to those who have higher ideals and desires min-
gled with the lower, there then comes a stage of
living out the higher part of their nature. And as
time passes, the soul rises far above all the dross
and grossness of its nature, and lives in the higher
regions of itself-enjoying to the fullest the satisfac-
tion which comes only from those higher states.
But, the soul must possess the higher in order to
manifest it. Unless the higher be involved within
the soul, it cannot be evolved. What does not exist
cannot be manifested.
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
235
7
While in this Idealistic State, the soul may be at-
tracted by those on earth who are related to it by the
old ties or affection or interest, and in such case it
may manifest by communications. But these com-
munications can contain only that which the soul
knows and experiences at the time. It merely re-
ports what it is experiencing-merely its own per-
sonal experiences of the Idealistic State. And even
this it reports in a dazed, dreamy fashion. Thus the
devout Christian soul will report that it is dwelling in
a Heaven of orthodox surroundings-the golden
streets, harps, and milk and honey being described
in detail. A good Catholic soul will report a Catholic
Heaven, with all the saints present; while a good
Baptist soul will report a Heaven along strictly
Baptist lines-close communion, and only immersed
souls being in evidence. A Moslem will describe
himself as enjoying all the delights of the Heaven
promised by Mohammed. And the soul of the Un-
believer will inform you that "there is nothing in
this Heaven business at all"; and that the "after
life" is merely a life among congenial companions,
thinking along the same lines as himself; and that
he is of the opinion that the church people have per-
236
THE ARCANE TEACHING
ished, instead of having gained immortality. And
so on, each "painting the Thing as he sees it" as
the world of "Things as They Are." And each is
telling the Truth, as he sees it, from his own view-
point. Strange, but true!
Those who complain of the absence of the qual-
ities of Heaven and Hell in this Idealistic State have
not thought deeply enough regarding it. In the at-
tainment of the highest ideals and aspirations, there
is contained all that men have pictured as the joys
of Heaven-and infinitely more. And in the living
out of the consequences of evil desire and low ideals,
and all that goes with this state, there is all that
the most fervent Calvinist could wish for in a Hell
-and infinitely more.
But, remember always, that the Heaven and Hell
of the Idealistic State is not a punishment or reward
bestowed for good or evil deeds—it is but the work-
ing out of Cause and Effect-the fullest manifesta-
tion of Desire and one's Character. And, in the ad-
justment acts restrained by Fear equal Acts per-
formed. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"
in the Idealistic State. In the working out of Cause
and Effect in the Idealistic State of the Astral, it is
indeed true that: "He who hates is an assassin; he
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
237
who covets is a thief; he who lusts is an adulterer;
that the gist of a crime is the desire behind it."
This Idealistic State of the Astral Plane is not
Fate, not Providence, not Destiny, not Reward and
Punishment-it is but the operation of natural laws
of Cause and Effect, Orderly Trend, and Logical
Sequence, on the Astral Plane. "From one, know
All."
And, in the working out of the Idealistic State of
the Astral, the most unpleasant experiences are lived
through first, and then the higher ideals begin to
manifest themselves-the soul rising to higher and
still higher flights, until at last it reaches the high-
est degree possible to it by reason of its constitu-
tion, nature and character. And in that Life, if it
be prepared to receive it, it may receive instruction
from Beings higher in the scale, as well as from
the more evolved souls of our own race who are
attracted to it by reason of its desires and ideals.
Many a soul has received the help which led it to
Individuality, in this Idealistic State. Many an In-
dividual soul has so received instruction which led
to better conditions for growth in the next incarna-
tion. "When the pupil is ready, the Master ap-
238
THE ARCANE TEACHING
pears" on the Astral Plane as on the Material Plane.
If you possess the seed of the ideal, the blossom
and the fruit will surely be yours.
When the impulses arising from the personal de-
sires, aspirations, and ideals of the soul have ex-
pended themselves fully, and the "personality" of
the soul has been "lived out and outlived" in the
process-when there remain no further impulses of
personality to exert themselves in the Idealistic
State-then the soul finds that it "has nothing more
to live for" along the lines of personality. It feels
aged, tired and weary, and the desire for rest creeps
over it, and it gradually sinks into a dreamless sleep,
which ends in the Death of the Personality. If Ego-
hood has not been attained by the soul, then it never
awakens into a new life, for Personality being all
that it possesses, and all personality being ex-
pended and exhausted, then there is nothing left to
persist in new birth. But if Egohood has been at-
tained, and the soul realizes that it is more than
the "Me" of itself, then when the "Me" dies away,
the "I" finds itself still existent and filled with the
impulse of the Will-to-Live of the Cosmic Will,
which urges it forward to re-birth in new bodies, to
HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES
239
seek further and more advanced experience. Even
in this case the soul falls into the deep Astral sleep,
but awakens therefrom when it is reborn into a new
body, under circumstances and environments in ac-
cordance with the Law of Attraction resulting from
the essence of the past life, the latter inhering to
it. The Ego then will be free from its lived-out de-
sires and will no longer be hampered by them. It
will be attracted toward new scenes and fields of
activity. In its new body it will have to combat the
inherited impulses and desires of its new "Me," but
it will alway feel its superiority to the latter, and
will feel the ability to stand aside and look at its
personality.
The advanced Ego, in time, reaches the stage of
conscious re-birth, in which the Ideal Life is con-
sciously continuous with the old life, and which is
consciously followed by the new birth. We have
spoken of these things in our lesson on "Survival of
the Fittest," which you should now re-read in the
light of the present lesson.
There are many planes of the Astral much high-
er than even these which we have described, but a
description of them would be impossible except to
240
THE ARCANE TEACHING
highly advanced occultists. Some of these higher
Astral Planes transcend the imagination of the aver-
age person leading the personal life today, on earth.
And yet, over and above the entire Astral Plane,
there is the great Spiritual Plane, which we would
lack words to even faintly designate. And yet, even
these exalted Planes await your coming, O Neo-
phye, whose feet are now well set upon The Path!
The Arcane Teaching
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
PART I.
Lesson I.
Lesson II.
Lesson III.
Lesson IV.
Lesson V.
Lesson VI.
Lesson VII.
Lesson VIII.
Lesson IX.
Lesson X.
Lesson XI.
Lesson XII.
The Arcane Teaching.
Absolute Law.
Infinity of Nothingness.
Lesson XIII.
Lesson XIV.
Lesson XV.
PART II. THE COSMOS.
The Manifestation.
The Cosmic Will.
Involution and Evolution.
PART III. THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
The One and The Many.
Metempsychosis.
Survival of The Fittest.
PART IV. FATE OR FREEDOM?
Fate and Destiny.
Law, Order and Sequence.
Dominant Desire and Sovereign Will.
Lesson XVI.
Lesson XVII.
Lesson XVIII.
PART V. THE ASTRAL PLANE.
The Astral World.
Astral Beings.
Astral Phenomena.
PART VI. OCCULT FORCES.
Psychic Phenomena.
Mentalism.
Invocation and Evocation.
PART VII. ARCANE SECRETS.
Lesson XIX. The Secret of The Opposites.
Lesson XX. The Secret of Rhythm.
Lesson XXI. The Secret of Balance.
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS.
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The Arcane Teaching

OM
VOJOS
Os
IWX
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DISCE
OMNES
PART VI. OCCULT FORCES
Lesson XVI. Psychic Phenomena
Lesson XVII. Mentalism
Lesson XVIII. Invocation and Evoca
tion
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THE ARCANE BOOK CONCERN
Lock Box 769
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LESSON XVI.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA.
For the sake of convenience in considering the
various phases of the phenomena of the Occult
Forces operative in the Cosmos, we have divided
the same into three general classes, as follows: (1)
Psychic Phenomena, consisting of the manifestation
of the phases generally known as Clairvoyance,
Clairaudience, Psychometry, Telepathy, etc., the dis-
tinguishing feature of which is the "knowing" of
events other than through the ordinary senses; (2)
Mentalism, consisting of the manifestations of Men-
tal Influence, Mind-Power, Thought-Force, Mental
Magic, etc., the distinguishing feature of which is
the exerting of the influence of one mind over other
minds; (3) Invocation and Evocation, consisting of
the "calling upon" supernatural beings, or the "call-
ing forth" of disembodied entities; elementals; vital-
ized thought-entities, etc., from the Astral Plane.
These manifestations, and the force which pro-
duces them have been called "Occult" because of the
241
242
THE ARCANE TEACHING
fact that they belong to the less understood phases
of natural forces and phenomena. The word
"Occult" means: "secret or hidden from the eye or
understanding; not seen or understood; mysterious,
invisible, unknown, undetected, etc." To many per-
sons, Occultism is considered to be concerned with
supernatural forces, things, and manifestations.
This is erroneous, for there is nothing super-natural
-nothing outside of or over nature, of which we
can ever have any knowledge. Every thing in the
Cosmos is natural, and under natural laws. The
Law is the only super-natural that there is or can
be—and we can know It only as being in actual ex-
istence; we can know nothing of its inner nature,
for it is not a "thing" with attributes, qualities or
limitations, as we understand those terms. Every-
thing in the Cosmos is natural-the unknown as well
as the commonly known. Therefore, when we say
"occult" we mean merely some natural thing, force,
or manifestation, not commonly known or recog-
nized by men. When a thing, force, or manifesta-
tion becomes commonly known, it ceases to be re-
garded as "occult." Electricity was once regarded
an "occult" force-but today it is commonly
as
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
243
known and employed, although its real nature is still
a mystery. To the trained and advanced Occultist
the so-called Occult Forces are just as familiar and
natural as are the manifestations of force common to
the knowledge of the race. The Occult Forces are
simply finer forces of nature, which are not rec-
ognized, known or understood by the average person
of the race, today. We wish this to be thoroughly
understood. There are no supernatural forces,
things, or manifestations-all are natural, and under
natural laws.
Let us now proceed to a consideration of the
class of occult phenomena which we have grouped
under the sub-title, "Psychic Phenomena," and
which are known severally as Clairvoyance, Clairau-
dience, Psychometry, Telepathy, etc., the distin-
guishing feature of which is the "knowing" of
events through other channels than the ordinary
senses. These several phases are but modifications
of one general phenomenon-Astral Sensing.
The majority of modern writers upon the subject
of Psychic Phenomena lay great stress upon the
"vibrations, waves, currents, etc.," by which psychic
impressions are transmitted from one mind to an-
244
THE ARCANE TEACHING
other, or by which one "senses" occurrences in points
of space far removed from him. We have no ob-
jection to these terms, for they represent the best
available words to describe the actual details of the
manifestation-but these words must be used under-
standingly. The idea, so commonly advanced, that
these "vibrations" or "waves" or "currents" are
but forms of etheric vibrations similar in nature to
the waves of light, heat, electricity, material mag-
netism, etc., is erroneous, and gives a materialistic
tinge to phenomena which are of a much higher
plane than that of material forces and substance.
While there is a general resemblance between all
planes of the Manifest Cosmos, owing to the Law of
Analogy which causes "correspondences" on all
planes "as above, so below"-and "from one know
all"--still the vibrations, waves and currents con-
cerned in Psychic Phenomena and Mentalism belong
to an entirely different plane from that of those
concerned in the manifestation of light, heat, electric-
ity, etc., which belong to lower planes.
In the preceding lessons, we have shown you that
there are three Principles manifesting and active in
Cosmos, viz., Substance, Motion, and Consciousness.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
245
In each of these three Principles, there are mani-
fested correspondences which we may call "vibra-
tions," "waves," "currents," etc. On the plane of Sub-
stance, we have vibrations and waves of matter,
which result in the various forms, shapes, and ac-
tion of material objects. This is caused by the Prin-
ciple of Motion acting upon the Principle of Sub-
stance. Much that we call energy or force is but
the appearance of fine degrees of Substance ener-
gized by Motion. Electricity, for instance, is but a
fine form of Substance, so energized. The Ether, it-
self, is but a fine form of Substance, almost ap-
proaching Pure Energy, but not passing over the
line which divides Energy from Substance. There
are also vibrations and waves of Pure Motion, which
may be considered, mentally, as independent of Sub-
stance, although we can never know them as such.
There is a plane of Pure Motion, which is unthink-
able except to minds which have been trained to
grasp the subject. And, likewise, there are vibra-
tions, waves, and currents in the Principle of Con-
sciousness, produced by the action of Motion upon
that Principle. And it is to this plane that the
"vibrations, waves, and currents" concerned with
246
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Psychic Phenomena properly belong. They are not
"waves in the Ether," for the Ether is on the ma-
terial plane. They are "waves in the Mind Princi-
ple" itself, which is quite another thing.
Without attempting to lead you into an extended
discussion of the scientific details of the matter, we
would call your attention to his one fact which
should serve to give you a plain mental picture of the
phenomenon—a general outline of a picture, into
which you can fill the details as you proceed in the
study and experimental work along these lines.
This general statement is as follows: The Cosmos
is known to be practically a great World-Brain, in
which Thoughts become Things, taking on Substan-
tial Form. With a Cosmos mental in nature-con-
sisting in fact of but One Universal Mind in which
all particular things are but Centres of Conscious-
ness-can you not see that there must be a Circula-
tion of Consciousness, or Currents of Thought, just
as there is a circulation of water in and by the cur-
rents of the ocean; or as there is a circulation of
air by reason of the currents therein; or as there is
a circulation of electricity, light, and all other forms
of what we call Energy. Consciousness is a Prin-
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
247
4.
ciple, just as is Substance or Motion, and what is
true of one Principle is true of the other two, ac-
cording to the Law of Analogy. Therefore, there
are Vibrations, Waves, and Currents of Conscious-
ness, just as truly as there are corresponding mani-
festations on the material plane. And you may use
these terms, very properly-always avoiding the mis-
take of confusing them with the material corre-
spondences.
In Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Psychometry, and
Telepathy, we have several forms of manifestation
of the existence of these Mental Waves and Cur-
rents, for so we shall call them to avoid the neces-
sity of longer terms. But how does the mind of the
person receive and register the impressions received
through these Mental Currents? It is known to be
a fact that no mind can receive impressions with-
out the agency and medium of some form of material
organ, though that material organ may be extremely
subtle and fine. And this rule holds true in the case
of the phenomena which we are now considering.
And such organs do exist, and are called the Organs
of Astral Sense. In the lessons treating of the As-
! tral Plane, you have been informed of the existence.
248
THE ARCANE TEACHING
of the Astral Body, the subtle counterpart of the
Physical Body. This Astral Body is endowed with
counterparts of the physical senses, which it may
use in sensing the objects and impressions of the
Astral Plane. In this way Astral Sensing becomes
possible. The average person has not used these
Astral Senses sufficiently well to develop them for
active use, but this development is possible to those.
who have sufficient interest and patience to under-
take the task. But here and there are found per-
sons whose Astral Senses manifest their existence in
a degree not known to the average person. These
persons become very sensitive to the impressions of
the Astral Plane, and although, as a rule, they are
untrained and do not comprehend the nature of the
phenomena, still they afford conclusive proof of the
existence of the faculties in question. We shall not
attempt to "prove" the existence of Psychic Phe-
nomena in these lessons. We have not the space at
our disposal, nor is it within the scope of this par-
ticular work. Evidence of such nature as to con-
vince any unprejudiced persons may be found in
many books on the subject, notably the reports of the
English Society for Psychical Research. Moreover
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
249
K
many persons have experienced these facts in their
own lives.
Let us first consider the phenomenon generally
called "Clairvoyance," which is defined as: "A fac-
ulty or power by which the clairvoyant is able to see
mentally things concealed from sight; to see and
describe things happening at a distance." With the
exception of cases in which the person actually
travels in his Astral Body to distant scenes, and
there witnesses with his Astral Senses the events
actually occurring there, all Clairvoyance results
from one general cause, and in the same general way.
Let us suppose an event occurring at a distant place.
In the manifestation of that event there occurs a
constant, regular and continuous series of conscious.
states on the part of all things concerned therein.
Not only on the part of all living things is there con-
sciousness manifested, but there is a consciousness
manifested by all inanimate things present upon the
scene, things inorganic as well as organic, in the
usual use of these terms. As we have said on page
60 (Lesson IV): "Those who have studied along
occult lines have become aware of the existence of
mind and consciousness in so-called inanimate ob-
250
THE ARCANE TEACHING
jects the minerals, metals, etc., and even in the
atoms-and finally in the Ether. Everything in
the Manifest Cosmos has some degree of Con-
sciousness." This being so, it follows that such
Consciousness must follow the natural law, and
transmit waves or currents-waves and currents of
Consciousness-which travel and circulate on the
Astral Plane where they may be sensed by those
astral organs attuned to receive them. Just as the
Marconigrams may be received only by instruments
keyed to the proper degree of receptivity, so may
these currents be received only by those who are
in tune with them.
One whose Astral Senses are sufficiently sensi-
tive, and attuned, may receive and register these
currents, just as the physical eye registers the
light waves of the ether, or the ear the sound waves
of the air. There is not necessarily a projection of
the Astral Body to the scene of the happening—
the Astral Senses may register the impressions
received from the currents of Consciousness. To
those who may doubt the reasonableness of sensing
things and events over thousands of miles, we
would say that it is simply an Astral correspond-
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
251
ence of the Physical phenomenon of Sight, where-
by impressions are received from the distant stars,
over billions of miles-over distances so vast that
it requires centuries for the light waves to travel.
And, remember this-the physical eye never actually
sees the outer objects themselves, but merely sees
the effects produced upon the nerves by the waves
of light. Nor does a person fail to see the outside
object, but he also fails to see even the light-waves
themselves-he merely sees certain vibrations of
nerve-substance set up in the brain by the action
of the light vibrations. And this is in every sense
no less wonderful than the phenomena of Astral
Sensing which we have just described-merely a
little more common and familiar, that is all. If we
had as full and common a development of the Astral
Senses as we have of the physical, we would con-
sider it no more remarkable to see events occurring
in India, than to witness the changes on the planet
Mars. One is as natural as the other. Clairaudi-
ence is but another phase of Astral Sensing, by
which the Astral Senses receive the impression of
sounds, instead of sights. The principle involved
is the same.
252
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common.
So far we have spoken only of Clairvoyance in
its phase of sensing distant objects. There are
other phases, to the consideration of which we shall
now pass. But before leaving this phase, we wish
to put ourselves squarely on record regarding the
nature of the majority of cases of genuine Clairvoy-
ance. In spite of the opinions of many able author-
ities, we believe that the manifestation of the above
form of Distant Clairvoyance is very rare and un-
We believe that but few persons ever
experience it, even spontaneously. We believe that
the majority of recorded cases of Distant Clairvoy-
ance are instances either of Telepathy of a high
order, or else of actual Astral Projection, which we
believe to be far more common than is usually be-
lieved. We believe that a great number of cases
of Clairvoyance are due to the unconscious pro-
jection of the Astral Body to the distant scene, if
even but for a moment-for time is practically
annihilated in Astral Projection.
Clairvoyance of Past Events, is explained by the
Arcane Teachings as resulting from the fact that in
the Cosmic Brain events leave their records and
impression, just as the events of the experience of
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
253
a man leave records and impressions in his brain.
These recorded impressions constitute subconscious
Memory, in the case of both the man's brain and
the Cosmic Brain-"from one know all"-"as below,
so above." On the Astral Plane there are pre-
served the records of the Cosmos-the Cosmic
Subconscious Memory, in fact. Every thing, action,
thought, deed, or activity of any kind, degree or
description, that has been manifested since the
Dawn of the Cosmic Day, is there recorded in the
great unforgetting Subconscious Memory of the
Cosmos. All occultists know this, and have called
this Subconscious Memory Record by different
names. Some minds, peculiarly attuned, occasion-
ally enter into conscious relationship with this Cos-
mic Subconscious Memory, and are able to record,
generally more or less imperfectly, what they sense
there. This may be done, either through psychic
sensing of mental currents arising from these states
of Subconscious Memory, or else by actual contact
with them in the Astral Body. But, the phenomeną
is far less common than is generally supposed, and
many cases are explainable upon the hypothesis of
Telepathy-that is the impressions are thought im-
254
THE ARCANE TEACHING
pressions, either emanating from the mind of some
person now living in the physical, or else some
persistent thought-currents which have maintained
their coherent properties over long periods of time.
It
Clairvoyance of the Future, is a misnomer.
implies actual existence somewhere of a foreknowl-
edge or Foresight of the Future-which does not
exist. If such existed, then Fate or Predestina-
tion would be true. The Cosmic Mind does not
know before the manifestation-for the knowing
causes the manifestation. But the phenomena
which is known by the name of Clairvoyance of
the future, does exist, although the theories con-
cerning it are erroneous. It is true that occasion-
ally individuals seeme able to foretell with more or
less accuracy, the events which afterward come
true at least partially. The secret consists in the
fact that the Laws of Orderly Trend and Sequence
being operative, there must always be in existence
the "shadows cast by the approaching events"—
that is active causes operating in the direction of
bringing about certain effects. Among these active.
causes, Desire and Mental Pictures in the minds
of living human beings play an important part.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
255
The Clairvoyant perceiving the evidences of these.
active causes in the Astral is often able to make
very good guesses or intuitive conjectures of the
events which will follow. Just as one may pre-
dict something that will happen tomorrow, from
something that is happening to-day. But there is
no certainty about the prediction, in either case.
For there may be, and generally are, other causes
which will play their part at the time of action,
and thus defeat the entire prediction. Clairvoyance
of the Future perceives probable effects of existent
causes-but no more. The Future is not in exist-
ence in the mind of any being-not even in the Mind
of the Cosmos. Make no mistake about this. Even
Astrology can indicate only "probabilities" of the
future.
Psychometry, or the receiving of impressions.
from inanimate objects, by which one enters into
rapport (or psychic connection) with the previous.
environment of the object-thus learning its pre-
vious history, particulars of its environment, etc.,
is explained by the fact that in the object's con-
sciousness (for all objects possess a degree of con-
sciousness) there is preserved a memory of its past.
256
THE ARCANE TEACHING
environment, history, etc., which may be read by
the mind attuned to the impressions. Not only this,
but the object is still astrally connected by psychic
filaments with its previous environment, and the
Clairvoyant may thus enter into rapport with the
latter and its stored-up memories. The object gives.
the Clairvoyant "the loose end" of the psychic ball
of memory and association, which he then unwinds.
LESSON XVII.
MENTALISM.
Under the head of "Mentalism" we shall group
that general class of occult phenomena which con-
sists of the manifestations of what has been called
Mental Influence, Mind Power, Thought Force,
Mental Magic, Mental Suggestion, etc., the dis-
tinguishing feature of which is the exerting of the
influence of one mind over other minds. This phase
of occult phenomena is well known to the general
public of to-day, by reason of the great interest
which has been manifested in late years regarding
the influence of the mind over physical states, and
the investigations and literature which have re-
sulted by reason thereof. But this power, and the
knowledge thereof, is no new thing, by any means.
We find traces of it in the history of every one of
the ancient peoples, as well as in the records of the
nations of comparatively modern times. The
hierophants of ancient Egypt, Chaldea and Greece
were adepts in all of the various branches of men-
257
258
THE ARCANE TEACHING
talism and understood the true underlying princi-
ples far better than do the majority of the teachers
and writers upon the subject to-day. The tradi-
tions and legends coming to us from old Atlantis,
inform us of the high degree of knowledge of these
things were possessed by that wonderful people
who inhabited what is now the "Lost Continent."
To understand Mentalism, one must understand
the nature of Telepathy, or Transference of
Thought. We hear much of Telepathy in these
latter days in the many books and magazines de-
voted to the subject, in plays, and in the teachings of
the various metaphysical cults which have sprung
into prominence. Many are the theories advanced
to account for the phenomena, and manifold is the
error that has arisen from imperfect and incorrect
statements of the underlying principles. On the one
hand, we hear much of theories of "the ether
waves" which carry the "thought vibrations," both
being likened to, and held as, but higher forms, of
the other vibrations of the ether. On the other hand,
we hear many theories which seek to account for the
phenomena on supernatural grounds-the desirable.
forms being considered the evidences of divine
MENTALISM
259
power, and the undesirable being regarded as aris-
ing from diabolical sources. But there is nothing
supernatural about the matter, nor are the waves
and vibrations "etheric." We have explained the
matter in the preceding lesson, and have shown
how the Circulation of Mind is sufficient to account
for the phenomena.
That the Thought of man is an actual, moving
force, is a fact well known to all occultists, ancient
and modern. That thought waves travel in cur-
rents and waves is a fact not only believed because
of the ancient teachings, but also because those
who are able to sense on the Astral Plane are able
to see the passage of these thought waves, and cur-
rents, as they pass from one mind to others. Not
only is thought-force exerted consciously, and with
direct intent, but also unconsciously and with.
direct intent and purpose on the part of the person
who exerts it. Thought is as real a force as is
electricity, although it operates on an entirely dif-
ferent plane. It may be compared to magnetism
and electricity, because it is the correspondence of
the physical fine forces, on the mental plane. But
one must not make the mistake of supposing that
260
THE ARCANE TEACHING
these thought waves or currents, or other forms of
influence, travel through the ether as do light,
electricity and material magnetism. On the con-
trary, they have nothing to do with the ether as
a medium. They travel through the Universal
Principle of Mind.
We have seen, in preceding lessons, that the
Three Cosmic Principles pervade all space-the
Cosmos-and one of those Principles is Conscious-
ness-Mind. Do you realize just what this means?
That all the space there is, or can be Infinite
Space is occupied by the Mind Principle of the
Cosmos? That pervading all space there is a great
Cosmic Ocean of Mind, living throbbing, pulsating
with life and energy, in the depths of which there
is the quietude of eternal calm and peace-on the
surface of which are ripples, eddies, waves, cur-
rents and whirlpools-upon and in which there
is manifested the phases of the fiercest tempest and
of absolute calm, rest and peace. And in this great
Ocean of Mind-in the Cosmic Mind Principle-
occur all the multitude of manifestations of Con-
sciousness that are known on the lower planes of
life on the human plane-and on the planes far
S
MENTALISM
261
beyond any possible conceptions of beings on the
lowly scale of mankind of to-day?
The would-be authorities and instructors on the
subject of Mentalism speak learnedly of the
"etheric waves" by which Thought is carried from
mind to mind. They do not dream, these founders
of latter-day schools and cults, that for thousands
of years the Arcane Teachers have known and
taught that even this much vaunted Universal
Ether in which is supposed to abide the founda-
tion principles of all things-this Something which
Science says is a No-Thing containing the infinite
possibilities of Everything-is but the lowest of the
scale of the seven Ethers known to the occultists,
and which highest and lowest Ethers are but mani-
festations in the Cosmic Brain, a result of Mind!
And to suppose that Mind needs this lowest Ether
to convey its currents of mental energy is as much
a folly and inversion of Truth as that conveyed
in the materialistic dogmas that "mind is a secre-
tion and by-product of Matter!" These pseudo-
mentalists do not know the first principle of Mcntal-
ism, when they assert that Mental Currents are
but higher forms of "etheric waves" and energy.
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
In time, they will learn that the Ether is the by-
product of Mind, and rests in the Ocean of Mind
just as the dissolved salt rests in the Ocean of
Water. We do not say this in the spirit of captious.
criticism-that would be a waste of words and
time-but because we realize that unless the funda-
mental Truth is comprehended and realized the
study of Mentalism will be but a phase of the study
of physical science, which it infinitely transcends.
in importance.
Mind requires Substance in order to manifest it-
self, but it travels in its own medium. Its waves
are waves of Mind-its currents are currents of
Mind-its vibrations are vibrations of Mind. Ac-
tivities in a Centre of Consciousness are not con-
fined to that particular centre of manifestation, but
extend in all directions in rapidly widening circles,
unless the sender deliberately concentrates his
thought force in a special and particular direction,
either by conscious intent, or else by reason of in-
tense Desire. This Thought-force flows out in
currents and waves, exerting more or less influence
upon all minds with which it comes in contact,
the degree depending upon the degree of harmony
MENTALISM
263
..
23.
to the particular vibrations which are manifested
in the receptive minds.
But all this is an old story to the majority of
our readers. There is scarcely need for us to
write regarding these fundamental facts of Mental-
ism. They have been told, and often very well
told, by the many writers on the subject, who have
discovered the facts of the operation of these mental
forces, although often in ignorance of the funda-
mental principles involved in the phenomena.
Every student of these lessons has read much re-
garding the operations of thought influence, and to
repeat these familiar facts would be akin to repeat-
ing the instructions in kindergarten work, and the
alphabet, to advanced students. We shall, there-
fore, take it for granted that the student is informed
regarding these elementary facts in Mentalism, and
shall now merely show how they are explained by
the underlying principles of the Arcane Teaching.
In our supplementary work, "The Arcane Formulas;
or, Mental Alchemy," we shall give the formulas
for the actual demonstration and manifestation of
these principles. These lessons are not for begin-
ners, but for those who have acquainted themselves
264
THE ARCANE TEACHING
with the reality of Mental Influence and Thought-
Force, and who have passed the kindergarten stage
of occult attainment and knowledge.
The existence of Mental Influence in its various
phases has been fully established to the satisfaction
of thousands of investigators. The facts of hypnot-
ism are now common property. The existence of
"absent treatments" and other phases of telepathic
influence is now accepted as fact by the majority
of students of the subject. What is known as
"personal magnetism" is now understood to result
from purely mental causes. The Attractive power
of Thought-the Drawing Power of Mind-the
operation of the great Law of Mental Attraction-
these things are recognized by students of the sub-
ject, and hundreds of books have been written ex-
plaining (?) them under one hypothesis or another,
and giving more or less valuable instructions in
their use. We shall not dwell upon these details
at this place our little book
book "The Arcane
Formulas; or, Mental Alchemy" will furnish the
"how" side of this subject, in a condensed, plain,
practical and "usable" form. What we wish to
do now is to acquaint you with the real underlying
K
:
MENTALISM
265
principle of Mental Influence-the one fact which
illumines the entire subject-which has been known
to and taught by the Arcane Teachers for thou-
sands of years, but which does not seem to be known
to the latter-day teachers along these lines. We
ask you to pay close attention to what we have to
say on this point, for when you grasp this under-
lying principle you have the key to the whole
range of phenomena.
The secret of Mental Influence-the effect of one
mind over the other minds-lies in the fact that
there is sex in mind. Under the Law of Oppo-
sites, in its phase of Sex Polarity, we find the
interesting fact that there is to be found evidences
of Sex Polarity on all planes of activity and in all
forms of activity, inorganic as well as organic.
Sex Polarity is manifested even by the atoms, in
the attractions and repulsions. In electricity and
magnetism the polarity manifested is all along the
lines of Sex Polarity. (We explain this in
our supplementary work entitled, "The Mystery of
Sex; or, Sex Polarity.") And on the mental plane
this principle is found in full operation. The mani-
festation of Will is the action of the Masculine
266
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Principle. Desire and Imagination are phases of
the Feminine Principle. Thought, Reason and
Intellectual activities result from the union of the
two principles. Desire, the female principle of
Mind, arouses and attracts the Will, the Masculine
element, and draws it into action. Imagination, an-
other phase of the feminine principle, acts in the
same way. But, yet, the action of Will is the incit-
ing cause of the activities of Desire and Imagin-
ation. The Will can create only by its action upon
the feminine principles of Desire and Imagination-
it cannot create by itself. On the other hand, the
feminine principles of Desire and Imagination can-
not produce and create without the union with the
Will. This is merely the general outline of the ac-
tivities.
But, and here is where the explanation of Mental
Influence is seen, both the feminine Desire and.
the masculine Will of a person may be incited into
activity by the Will or Desire, as the case may be,
of another person.
The Will of another person
may incite and arouse the activities of one's Desire
and Imagination, and render it so active that it will
drag into action its own mate, the Will of the
MENTALISM
267
person affected. And, in the same way, a strong
Desire in the mind of a person, may act to arouse
into activity the Will of another, taking the latter
away from its lawful mate-the Desire of the per-
son affected. In the same way, two Wills (that of
the person affected and that of the person affect-
ing) may struggle for the control, mastery and
possession of the Desire and Imagination of the
first mentioned person. And, likewise, there is often
found the struggle between the feminine principle
of Desire in two persons, each wishing to maintain
and exert influence over the Will of one of the per-
sons. In this statement is contained the actual
secret of the Mental Influence of one person over
another in direct personal relations and contact. It
is the secret underlying hypnotism, mental influ-
ence, personal magnetism, psychic influence, and
all the other forms of direct mental influence.
The same principle is operative in the case of
mental influence at a distance. In it is found the
explanation of the Law of Attraction; the Drawing
Power of the Mind; Absent Treatments; etc., as
well as in the various forms of phenomena gener-
ally grouped together under the head of Mental
268
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Magic. There is found the effect of the masculine
Will principle in the thought-waves and mental
currents upon the feminine principle of Desire in
the minds of those affected. And likewise there is
found the attractive force of the strong feminine
Desire thought-waves or mental currents, which
tend to attract and arouse into activity the mascu-
line principle or Will of those affected. It should
be unneccessary to state that every person, male or
female, has this dual-principle of mind within him
or her the masculine and the feminine mental
phases of mind.
The feminine principle of mind acts always in
the direction of exerting an attracting, drawing
influence upon the will; and also in the direction
of creating and conceiving ideas, mental images and
other forms of mental creative activity. The mascu-
line principle of mind always acts in the direction
of inciting activity within the feminine principles
of mind. The feminine principles of mind may
be said to be dominated and ruled by the mascu-
line principle, so far as the apparent workings of
the mind is concerned; but as a matter of fact, a
closer examination will disclose the interesting fact
MENTALISM
269
that the masculine principle is always attracted and
"managed" by the feminine principle, either its own
lawful mate, or else the feminine principle of some
other mind. We have seen in a preceding lesson,
that the Will is "free" and theoretically at least
may act without restraint from within, but that in
reality it never does act unless aroused by Desire.
It can "act as it pleases," but the “pleases" depends
upon Desire, the feminine principle. So that in
mental phenomena, as in human life, while the
masculine is apparently, and theoretically, the mas-
ter, as a matter of fact, the feminine causes her mate
to do as she "pleases," at the same time allowing
him to think that it is he who "pleases."
The men and women of strong Will Power, who
dominate all around them, and often those far re-
moved from them in space, really emanate strong
currents charged with Will Power, which coming
in contact with the feminine principles in the minds
of others arouse the latter and cause the desires of
those persons to be in accord with the Will of the
strong individual. Great masters of men possess
this power to a great degree, and then "work their
Will" upon others in this way. Their influence is
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
felt far and near, and they make people do as they
like by making them "want to" do that way, or
else by causing them to "fear," which is but a
negative form of Desire, as we have said in another
lesson. In the same way, men of strong Desire and
Imagination-feminine principles of the mind-
may and do exert powerful influence over the minds
and Wills of others, and lead them their way. The
'magnetic" persons manifest these feminine prin-
ciples-they attract, allure, draw on, and often
actually seduce the Wills of other people. They are
emotional, and capture the Will of others, and at
the same time produce a consequent reaction on the
emotional natures of the others, by sympathetic
vibration. The "electric" persons manifest the
masculine principle and cause others to "want to"
do as the person wishes. They are "motional” and
not only arouse the Desire in others, but also over-
awe and terrorize the Will of the others. The men
and women of the greatest power are those who
manifest both the masculine and the feminine prin-
ciples and consequently affect others on the lines.
of both poles of their mentality. One moment they
exert the power of Will; the next the attracting,
MENTALISM
271
drawing, charming power of Desire. If you will
test all instances and classes of the phenomena of
Mentalism by this principle of Mental Sex Polarity,
you will see that it affords an explanation and a rea-
son for them all. We shall have more to say on this
subject in our supplementary book, "The Mystery
of Sex; or, Sex Polarity," of which general subject.
it forms a phase and part. The principle of Sex is
strongly in evidence on the mental plane-as it is
on the physical-and as it also is on the spiritual.
He who leaves Sex Polarity out of the considera-
tion loses the Master Key to the Creative Activities
of the Cosmos. It lies indeed at the very heart of
the cosmos itself.
So much for the influence of mind over mind.
What of the influence of Mind over Things? The
answer to this question is very simple. There is
mind in everything, to respond to the more positive
mind. Moreover, everything is in mind-in the
Cosmic Brain. As we have said elsewhere: If
Thoughts become Things in the Cosmic Brain, then
following the Law of Analogy, it is possible for
Thoughts to materialize as Things on other planes
of activity. The same principle is involved-the
272
THE ARCANE TEACHING
principle of mental creative activity. .
With
a Cosmos, mental in its nature, with energy and
substance; matter and motion; all receptive, re-
sponsive, and plastic, and obedient to Mind—what
cannot be accomplished by those who understand
the Laws of Mentalism? With Will as the great
creative Power in the Cosmos-what is not possible
to him who understands the Art of Willing? With
Desire as the great creative energy, can we not see
why Desire
Desire should be harnessed, controlled,
directed, mastered and employed in our lives,
careers and destinies?
14
LESSON XVIII.
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION.
Under the head of "Invocation and Evocation"
we shall group that general class of occult phenom-
ena which consists of the "calling upon" super-
natural beings; or the "calling forth" of disembodied
entities; elementals; vitalized thought entities; etc.,
from the Astral Plane of Existence. The word "in-
voke" means "To call for solemnly, or with earnest-
ness; to call upon or address in prayer; to solicit in
prayer for assistance or protection." The word
"evoke" means: "To call out or summon forth;
often used in the sense of calling forth of the dis-
embodied souls, and similar entities."
Invocation of the power of superior, or super-
natural beings, by means of prayer, offerings, sacri-
fices, and other ceremonial forms is seemingly as
old as the race. All the ancient peoples invoked
their greater and lesser deities, and other super-
natural beings, and down to the present time we find
prayer actively employed in all forms of religious
273
274
THE ARCANE TEACHING
worship. Even outside of the field of religion, we
find many instances of invocation of the power of
genii and other supernatural beings, by means of
ceremonial magic and similar practices. The old
works upon the Magic Art are filled with directions
for ceremonials of this kind. The modern mind,
however, regards these latter things as merely the
effects of silly credulity on the part of ignorant
people, the prejudice generally extending to the
religious practice of invoking the power of the
angels, saints, and other superior disembodied
entities.
But, even the most ardent objector to the invoca-
tion of lesser beings, if he remain in the bosom of
the churches, is apt to adhere to the old and well
established custom of calling upon Deity for assist-
ance in the affairs of his life, often going so far as
to offer to Deity supposedly valuable hints and bits
of advice regarding the conduct, operation and
management of the Universe at large. To a mind
which has grasped the realization of the transcend-
ent ideal of the Absolute and the Infinite, it is
startling to hear many devout "class-leaders,"
deacons and clergymen, particularly among certain
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION 275
Jand
non-ritualistic
denominations, addressing their
Deity in terms of easy familiarity and good-fel-
lowship, giving Him their opinion on things in
general; finding fault; administering patronizing
commendation and flattery; and in general informing
Him how they, the invokers, wish the world to be
managed and run. Burns's poem, "Holy Willie's
Prayer” gives us an excellent example of this form.
This, however, is a statement of an extreme abuse
of the principle, and our natural revolt at the same
must not blind us to the fact that prayer in other
forms constitutes a source of great spiritual com-
fort and consolation to many a soul in hours of
trouble and pain.
The modern rationalist, seeing no intellectual
"reason" for believing in the efficacy of prayer, is
apt to dismiss the entire subject as but a part of the
outgrown superstition of the race. But this will
not do, for an unprejudiced observer will find be-
fore him many striking and undoubted instances of
"answer to prayer" of results occurring in almost
exact accordance with the nature of earnest and
sincere invocation. These instances are too numer-
ous and common to be dismissed as mere coinci-
276
THE ARCANE TEACHING
dence they must be admitted, and the cause looked
for further. And in the examination and search,
we must not lose sight of the too often overlooked
fact, that these "answers to prayer" come to people
of all shades of heterodox religious belief-heathen,
pagan, idolators, in all parts of the globe, and in
all times as well as to "true believers" in the
particular faith which happens to be "orthodox"
in our particular land at this particular time. The
worshippers of the ancient gods of Rome and
Greece had their prayers answered; the Egyptian
worshippers had the same favors granted them; the
Hindus, ancient and modern, received great bene-
fits from prayer; the Mohammedans are a people
of great prayers, and many are the answers re-
ceived by the faithful Moslem. And so, the investi-
gator must either accept the polytheistic idea of
the existence of many gods of many people, all of
whom hear and answer the prayers of their wor-
shippers, or else the alternative idea that all of these
various worshippers, while worshipping at their re-
spective shrines and altars, in reality bring them-
selves in psychic communication with higher spirit-
ual powers, and thus set in operation natural psychic
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION 277
forces which tend to bring to them their "heart's
desire." Which of the two ideas seem the most ra-
tional and in accordance with the known facts of
the universe?
The Arcane Teachers have always held and
taught that every true and earnest prayer coming
from the heart of a sincere and devout worshipper,
tends to bring that person into a closer relation to
the great Cosmic Spirit-the Essence of the One
Life of the Cosmos. This, not by a reaching out of
the person's mind toward some far away Some-
thing, but by means of an Inward Unfoldment, by
which the Spirit within each soul unfolds itself
and is recognized as present and existent. This
experience of the Indwelling Presence of Deity, or
the Union with Deity, is common to the religiously
inclined soul of all lands, times, and phases of
belief-it is common to the race. Instances are
found in the records of the transcendental of all
times.
This experience, when it occurs to one, leaves
him with a sense of renewed power and strength,
which often operates in the direction of the person
being able to accomplish that for which he prayed.
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
-
Source of Power.
Not only does it act as a Comforter, but also as a
And this is not to be wondered
at, when we realize that it means that the individual
is thus brought much closer to the very Essence of
Being the One Life. An understanding of this
fact will enable us to understand many instances of
renewed strength resulting from prayer, medita-
tion, and self-communion, which cannot be dis-
missed lightly as "mere imagination." All advanced
occultists realize the benefits which result from
"Meditation," in which the same principle is in-
voked. When one comes into close relationship with
the Cosmic Will, is it any wonder that Power re-
sults?
But there is more to the subject than even this.
The person who prays earnestly and with faith in
the result, assumes the mental attitude of Con-
fident Expectation, which is one of the first stages
in Attainment by occult methods. Earnest Demand;
Confident Expectation; Positive Will-these are the
three Co-ordinates of the exercise of Occult Power.
And the first two elements are present in all earnest,
faithful prayer. And the final stage is very often
awakened by the exercise of the two former. More-
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION 279
over, in demanding earnestly, and expecting faith-
fully, the person creates the mental image in the
Imagination which is an important part in all mani-
festation of occult power. By exerting these mental
forces, all of them important and effective, is it any
wonder that the person sets into operation the mental
forces which tend to draw to him the things that
he needs and to materialize the ideals that he is
holding in his mind? It would be a source of
wonder to all occultists if the said results failed
to manifest in some degree. The laws of Mentalism
are set into full operation by earnest, heartfelt,
faithful prayer-it is one of the most potent forms
of invoking the operation of well etsablished laws of
Mentalism. This is apparent to all advanced
occultists-and will be to the student, if he will
but analyze the processes and methods employed
unconsciously by the devout worshipper.
And, moreover, none of us can afford to sneer at
the tales of the interposition of "the saints” and
"angels," and other "holy beings" of the several
religions. These are no mere fantasies, and vain
imaginings. While many of the beneficent re-
sults attributed to them are really due to the causes
280
THE ARCANE TEACHING
above mentioned, still all occultists know that there
are many advanced beings on the higher planes of
the Cosmos, who are undoubtedly attracted by per-
sons on the lower planes who bring themselves in
rapport with them by manifesting the proper mental
and spiritual states. "There are many more things
in heaven and on earth" than are dreamt of in the
philosophies of the day. But, of course, any and all
results of prayer are in full accord with natural
law, and result through the operations thereof.
These things are not supernatural-they are but a
part of Nature's hidden workings.
Let us now consider the subject of "Evocation."
One of the most common of all forms of Evoca-
tion is the familiar "materialization" of disembodied
human beings by means of a "medium," or person in
the flesh, whose vital power is used by the disem-
bodied entity in manifesting itself once more on
the material plane. In some of the instances of this
form of manifestation the disembodied entity volun-
tarily and consciously makes use of the vitality of
the medium in order to manifest itself to persons
in the flesh for the purpose of communicating with
them, or else merely to gratify a desire to assume
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION 281
earthly form and garb once more, and to mingle
with persons in the flesh. But all true occultists are
aware that a large percentage of these manifesta-
tions are not the entities which they purport to
represent, but are imposters from the Astral Plane,
who assume the image of friends and relatives of
those present, copying with more or less perfect
detail the mental image of the departed one which
exists in the mind of the person in the flesh, and
which is called forth by memory by the associations
and suggestions of the seance.
Another form of Evocation, also quite common
in seances, is that where the disembodied entity is
actually "called forth" by the strong desire and
affection of some of the visitors attending the seance,
in which case the materialization is effected through
the vital powers of the medium, inspired into activ-
ity by the strong desire of those who wish to com-
municate with and see once more the form of those
who have passed out of the flesh. In these cases
the disembodied entity is scarcely conscious of the
manifestation, and is like a person in a dream, or
rather like one who walks in his sleep. This fact
accounts for the dazed, startled condition of mind
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
often manifested by these materialized entities when
they are summoned forth at a seance. They are
dwelling in the life of the Astral Plane, wrapt in
their owns dreams and meditations, and it is cruel
to disturb them. In fact, it is quite as unnatural
to place a disembodied entity in this condition as
it is to plunge a person in the flesh into some
abnormal psychic state. Advanced occultists, unan-
imously, condemn the prevelant practice of evoking
these entities, and disturbing their Astral life.
There is a class of earth-bound entities on the
lowest sub-planes of the Astral Plane, who hover
around their old scenes on earth so long as they
are allowed to do so by the laws of the Astral
World. These entities swarm around materializa-
tion seances, and other similar psychic perform-
ances, taking great delight in manifesting their
presence as forcibly as may be, and playing as
many pranks as possible. These entities often act
the part of some celebrated character of history, or
some friend or relative of those present, and make
"exhibitions" of themselves by making Shakespeare
write doggerel verse; or Napoleon tell someone what
to take to get rid of a cold; or Plato to warn a
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION 283
maiden to "beware of the 'light-complected' woman."
This fact has brought genuine spiritualistic pheno-
mena into disrepute in many quarters where the
state of affairs is not known, and caused much pain
and heart-burnings among the sincere early fol-
lowers of spiritualism who were not acquainted with
these psychic facts, but who accepted as "gospel
truth" every communication reaching them from
the "spirit world."
The average spiritualist of to-day, however, is
much better informed, and is disposed to be quite as
particular in forming "spirit" acquaintances and
friendships, as he is in forming earthly ones. Much
of the testimony given at seances by even reputable
and truthful entities is more or less incorrect for
reasons that will be apparent to those who have
read what we said in our lesson on the "Astral
Plane." That is to say, these entities, as a rule, are
familiar only with the particular environment
familiar to them by reason of their affiliations and
their particular charcter. The best proof of this
is the totally contradictory evidence offered by such
entities. Their reports range all the way from the
"happy hunting grounds" of the savage, to the state
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
of transcendental bliss of the idealistic soul. And
each of these reports are equally true, for each re-
ports "the Thing as he sees it," for the world "of
Things as they are" on the Astral Plane. When
these facts are understood, one may begin to recon-
cile the apparent discrepencies of the reports of the
seance.
In some cases disembodied entities may fall in
with the desires of those in the flesh, and will
endeavor to aid them in their purposes in the
earth-life. But they can accomplish no more than if
they were in the flesh-they can employ the thought-
force in the same manner-that is all. They cannot
affect a person whose thoughts are of a higher
degree of vibration, any more than can be done by
one still in the flesh. The influence of these entities
has been grossly exaggerated by some writers on the
subject. They are governed by the Law of Attract-
tion, and can go only where they are attracted.
Moreover, they are apt to end in tormenting those
who have invoked them for unworthy purposes. We
caution all against attempting to make use of such
aid, even if offered.
There is also the Evocation of what are called
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION 285
in a general way, "the elementaries" or "elemental
forces." We do not consider it wise to enter into a
detailed consideration of this subject, for reasons
which will be apparent to all advanced students of
occultism. We have spoken of it in a previous
lesson. Enough to say that in nature there are
semi-intelligent living forces, which under certain
conditions may be evoked and guided by the intelli-
gence of human beings, in certain forms of Black
Magic. Such practices are extremely unworthy, and
invariably result in disastrous results to those dab-
bling in the forbidden practices. We assure the stu-
dent, however, that these influences can work no
harm to those who stand on the higher plane of
thought and life, although those on the lower planes
of thought and life may suffer annoyance from them.
The Law of Attraction governs and regulates these
things-"like attracts like"; "entities, like water
seek always their own level.”
Another form of Evocation, very common and yet
scarcely recognized by many thinkers along these
lines, is the evocation of Thought Forms, Desire
Nebulæ, etc. These peculiar Things are the result
of strong and vital currents of Will and Desire
286
THE ARCANE TEACHING
thrown off from the minds of persons who have
lived, and who may still be living. They have a
tendency to coalesce and combine, and following
the Law of Attraction they gather in the vicinity
where similar mental influences are being exerted.
They are like gathering clouds on the horizon, non-
active in themselves, but capable of manifesting
lightning and thunder under certain conditions.
These lacking conditions are often supplied by per-
sons of strong Desire or Will, who attract them to
them and vitalize them by the energy of their own
emotions or motive mentality. These thought-
clouds then act as if they had been sent out by the
mind of the person animating and energizing them,
and manifest all the phenomena of the thought cur-
rents. They may either be directed toward the ac-
complishment of certain ends of the person, if he
be capable of such direction; or, on the contrary,
they may involve him in a psychic whirlwind or
tempest until he is almost torn asunder. The
consequence is that one often "sows the wind, and
reaps the whirlwind" is literal truth. Beginning
with manifesting these mental states, one is finally
carried off his mental feet by them, and caused
INVOCATION AND EVOCATION
287
great pain and misfortune. The lives of many
prominent men show examples of this phenomena,
although the public does not understand it.
Akin to the above, is the evocation of the Desire
Elementals, and “artificial entities" mentioned in
our lesson "The Astral Plane." In this case the
effect is even more startling that that arising from
the evocation of Thought Forms, etc., to which the
Desire Elementals are closely related. The dif
ference between the Desire Elementals and active
Thought Forms is only a matter of degree, and
many writers confuse the two forms of manifesta-
tion.
It should be unnecessary for us to add that the
Arcane Teachers most positively condemn the prac-
tice of evoking the elementals, and forbid it among
their students. In fact, they withold the inner
teachings on the subject of certain sub-planes of the
Astral, as we have seen, in order to prevent un-
worthy persons taking advantage of certain of the
Teachings. The practice of Evocation often leads
directly to Black Magic, which involves the prac-
titioner in whirlwinds and whirlpools of psychic
energy and occult forces, and often causes his de-
288
THE ARCANE TEACHING
struction. There are many to-day practicing Evo-
cation, under high sounding names, and clothed with
the garments of high pretensions. But such will
feel the Law of Cause and Effect. The Law is
never mocked. It moves with the pitiless and un-
erring certainty of a machine. Each draws his own
to him. None can escape their own good-or evil.
Beware of Evocations! Do not play with fire. Do
not toy with Edged Tools!
The Arcane Teaching
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
PART I.
Lesson I.
Lesson II.
Lesson III.
Lesson IV,
Lesson V.
Lesson VI.
Lesson VII.
Lesson VIII.
Lesson IX.
Lesson X.
Lesson XI.
Lesson XII.
The Arcane Teaching.
Absolute Law.
Infinity of Nothingness.
Lesson XIII.
Lesson XIV.
Lesson XV.
PART II. THE COSMOS.
The Manifestation.
The Cosmic Will.
Involution and Evolution.
PART III. THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
The One and The Many.
Metempsychosis.
Survival of The Fittest.
PART IV. FATE OR FREEDOM?
Fate and Destiny.
Law, Order and Sequence.
Dominant Desire and Sovereiga Will.
Lesson XVI.
Lesson XVII.
Lesson XVIII.
PART V. THE ASTRAL PLANE.
The Astral World.
Astral Beings.
Astral Phenomena.
PART VI. OCCULT FORCES.
Psychic Phenomena.
Mentalism.
Invocation and Evocation.
PART VII. ARCANE SECRETS.
The Secret of The Opposites.
The Secret of Rhythm.
Lesson XXI. The Secret of Balance.
Lesson XIX.
Lesson XX.
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ARCANE SECRETS
PART VII.
Lesson XIX. The Secret of The
Opposites
Lesson XX. The Secret of Rhythm
Lesson XXI. The Secret of Balance
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LESSON XIX.
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES.
Let us now consider The Law of Opposites, or
Polarity, the mastering of which constitute one of
the Arcane Secrets. Listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XXI. Every thing in the Cosmos
has its opposite. Every quality, attribute or con-
dition has its opposite. Every thing and every
quality, attribute or condition is one of a Pair
of Opposites—and yet contains within itself a Pair
of Opposites. Polarity is inherent in every thing.
Every thing has its Two Poles; and also is, itself,
one pole of something else. The Pairs of Opposites
-the two Opposing Poles-are but phases of the
same thing. In the union of the Two Poles, or
Pair of Opposites, there is to be found the "thing-
in-itself" of a thing. There is always a Recon-
ciliation and Agreement possible between Oppo-
sites-always a possible Synthesis of Opposing
Thesis and Antithesis. Every thing "is" and "is
not" at the same time, in its qualities, attributes
and conditions-and the Reconciliation, Agreement
289
290
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and Synthesis reveals a new "Is." And yet the
Reconciliation, Agreement, or Synthesis-the new
"Is"-is but one Pole, or one of a Pair of Oppo-
sites, of a new and higher Polarity or Pair. And,
so on, to infinity. In this Aphorism is contained
the Secret of the Understanding of all things in
the Cosmos.
This Aphorism states a fundamental truth of the
Arcane Teaching-the truth that everything is but
one pole of a Pair of Opposites. And that while
every thing has its Opposite, still the two Opposites,
together, form the Real Thing. Every truth is but
a half truth. Everything is a paradox. There is
"the other side" to everything. There are the "two
extremes" to every thing. In this great Cosmic Law
is found the fact that diametrically opposed things,
physical, mental and spiritual, are in reality but
the different poles of the same thing. In this Law
is found the explanation of all physical phenomena
-the mental activities and states-and the Secret
of Sex-Generation and Regeneration-and many
other important facts and laws of Cosmic Activity.
When one has had his attention directed to the
existence of The Law of Opposites, he will see evi-
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 291
dences of its presence and operation on all sides,
and in all phenomena of the Cosmos. He will soon
see that no matter what may be the quality of a
thing, another quality diametrically opposed to the
first one will always be found. Sometimes it is
difficult to discover the opposing quality—but the
Law is invariable and constant, and a careful search
will always reveal the Opposite. The principle may
be called to your mind by reference to a few
familiar instances. Thus: You will always find an
Up and a Down; a High and a Low; a Right and a
Left; a Hard and a Soft; a Heavy and a Light; an
Abstract and a Concrete; a Long and a Short; a
Broad and a Narrow; a Hot and a Cold; a Sharp
and a Dull; an Easy and a Difficult; a North and a
South; an East and a West; a Positive and a Nega-
tive; a Male and a Female; a Large and a Small;
a Good and a Bad; a Light and a Dark; a Day and
a Night; a Love and a Hate; a Courage and a
Fear; a Truth and an Untruth; and so on until you
will find that, the moment you notice a quality of
a thing, that same moment you will recognize an op-
posite quality.
Your first impression after noticing these Pairs
292
THE ARCANE TEACHING
of Opposites is that they are composed of things.
entirely different from each other-entirely apart―
and far from being "the same thing." But examine
a little closer, and what do you see? Where do you
draw the line between Up and Down? You may
say that one thing is "up" and another "down,” in
comparison with each other, or in relation to some
other thing. But, in the abstract, apart from com-
parison and relativity-where is your dividing line.
which causes one direction in Space to be "up" and
another to be "down." You will find that there is
no such absolute division, and that your “up” and
"down" are but relative and comparative terms, de-
pending upon some imaginary or temporary dividing
line. Astronomers recognize this fact, and one of
the first things they teach their students is: “There
is no 'up' nor 'down' in Space!" The same is of
course true with High and Low; Right and
Left; etc. Also with the cardinal points, which
consist of Pairs of Opposites. Travel North as
far as you can go, and reaching the North Pole you
find yourself in a position in which whatever direc-
tion you travel your next step will lead you South.
Travel East as far as you can and you will find
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 293
yourself returning to your starting point from the
West-for there is no "East or West Pole." What
is West to us, is East to others. China and India
are in the "Great East," but they are West to
America. We can reach them by travelling either
East or West.
You think that Hard and Soft are two entirely
different things, do you not? Then tell us where
you draw the line between Hard and Soft. What
constitutes a thing Hard or Soft-except relativity
and comparison? Where is your Absolute Hard,
or Absolute Soft. Hard and Soft are but names
for degrees of a Something the two Opposites or
Poles of which we call "Hard" and "Soft," respec-
tively. The same is true of Heavy and Light. Where
is your dividing line? The terms are but relative
degrees of weight, are they not?-poles of the same
thing. What is the difference between Long and
Short-Broad and Narrow-Sharp and Dull? These
contrasting qualities are but degrees in the same.
thing. What is the difference between Large and
Small? What particular size makes one thing
Large and another Small? Where is your stand-
ard? What is the difference between an Easy thing
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
and a Difficult one? Is there a positive standard-
are they not merely degrees of the same thing, and
relative to the strength of power employed?
Perhaps this point can be brought out more
clearly by a consideration of "Hot and Cold.” At
first thought no two things seem further removed
from one another than these two-they seem to
have nothing in common. But let us see. We find
that science assumes the existence of a certain
Something called "Temperature." The word is
derived from a Latin Word Meaning "measure;
proportion; degree." Science uses it to indicate the
"intensity of radiant heat." And Heat is held to
be simply a "state or condition of matter, result-
ing from vibration." Temperature then is merely a
term used to indicate varying degrees of vibration
of a certain kind. Therefore we see that "Hot and
Cold" have no real existence as things-in-them-
selves, but are merely degrees in the scale of Heat,
the latter being but a term indicating certain kinds.
of vibrations. Therefore "Hot and Cold" are but
degrees of the same thing, in the end-and that
"same thing" is but a quality of Something Else-
a quality of Motion, having its own Opposite in a
higher scale.
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 295
į
Moreover, even on the lower plane "Hot and
Cold" are seen to be but relative and comparative.
At what point on the thermometer would you draw
a line dividing "Hot" from "Cold"? Everything is
a little "hotter" than something else, and a little
“colder” than a third thing. So far as the sensation
of "Hot" and "Cold" is concerned, it is quite rela-
tive and comparative. Come from a cold hallway,
into a warmer room, and you feel quite warm, even
though those in the room be shivering. Dip one
hand into ice-water, and the other into boiling
water, at the same time-and then plunge both
hands into a basin of luke-warm water, at the same
moment. What is the result? To one hand the
water seems quite warm, while to the other it seems
quite cool-and yet the temperature of the water
is fixed. Where is your "Hot and Cold," then?
You say that to-day is "warm" meaning that it is
warmer than it has been. A month from now, you
may call the same temperature "cool." In the end
you will find that "Hot and Cold" are but names
designating degrees of Heat vibration. You know
very well what you mean by each term-you recog-
nize them as Opposites-and yet you are unable to
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
fix a dividing line between them or to separate
things into two distinct classes of "Hot" and "Cold"
respectively. You find that they blend into each
other, and that the shades of differences between
close degrees are almost indistinguishable in sen-
sation. You see that they are but a Pair of Op-
posites, and together form Two Poles of the same
thing-Heat. The very "Cold" thing is as much a
degree of Heat as is the very "Hot" thing-the
distinction is merely one of degree.
The same Law is operative in the field of Good
and Bad. (We do not refer to "Right and Wrong"
in the moral or religious sense, although even that
comes under the Law, and is a matter of degrees
upon a standard erected by some particular school,
religion, or custom-the standard varying greatly
among the schools, sects, or localities. It is often
very difficult to determine between "Right and
Wrong" in any particular standard or scale, so
closely do the degrees shade into each other.) We
refer to "Good" in the sense of: "desirable; condu-
cive to satisfaction and happiness"; and to "Bad"
in the sense of: "undesirable; conducive to dissat-
isfaction and unhappiness." We find, upon analysis.
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 297
and examination, that these two terms are but
another Pair of Opposites, which represent degrees
of a Something which we may call "Satisfaction"
or "Happiness." A "Good" thing is one which
causes Happiness and Satisfaction; a "Bad" thing,
one which produces Unhappiness and Dissatisfac-
tion. We readily distinguish between these two
results, in general. But when it comes to drawing
a fixed line between them on the scale, we find it
impossible. Some things are "better" than others;
some things are "worse" than others; but these de-
grees are comparative, and relative. A dirty crust
of dry bread tastes very "good" to a starving man;
while the same thing would be very "bad" to the
taste of a well fed person. And so it is with every-
thing "Good and Bad”—all relative.
Moreover, the same thing may be both "Good and
Bad," at the same time-that is, "Good" for some
purposes and "Bad" for others. So we must al-
ways inquire "Good" for what? "Bad" for what?
And, likewise, the same thing may be both "Good
and Bad," at the same time, for the same purpose,
for two different people. "It's an ill wind that
blows Nobody any Good," says the proverb. "One
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
man's Good is another man's Bad," says another.
"One man's Loss is another man's Gain," says a
third. "One man's Meat is another man's Poison,"
says a fourth. And so on, each illustrating the
truth of the general statement. A "Good day's
fishing" may be a "Bad day's work" for the fish.
"Good!" says one man when wheat advances on
the Board of Trade-and yet that advance may mean
the greatest "Bad" for another. A writer on Nat-
ural History once pointed to the long legs and long
beak of the Crane, so well adapted to catching fish,
as a "mark of the Goodness of Providence." The
fish probably thought it an exceedingly "Bad" pro-
vision.
Let us begin with the Positive Pole of Love-Hate,
which we call "Love." We find here a high degree
of the emotional quality which consists of the states
of "affection; regard; attraction; affinity; etc." Then,
on the extreme Opposite of the scale-the Negative
Pole-we find the quality which we call "Hate,"
which consists of "aversion; dislike; repulsion;
etc." These two emotional states seem as different
as any two things can be, do they not? It seems
almost impossible to conceive that they are but the
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 299
Opposite Poles of what we may call "Regard," or
"Attraction," or "Affinity"-and yet such is their
real relation. Returning once more to the pole of
"Love," let us descend the scale. Moving down a
little on the scale we find states of "less regard,"
or "less attraction." Then still further down, we
find states in which the regard or attraction is very
greatly reduced. Finally we come to a point at
which there appears to be no regard or attraction,
and still no repulsion or dislike. This is the neutral
point of balance which is always to be found some-
where in the consideration of every Pair of Oppo-
sites, and yet which is not a fixed or absolute point,
but which varies according to circumstances, per-
sons and various influences. Then passing down the
scale we find manifested a slight repulsion or dis-
like; this increases as we move down the scale.
Finally we notice degrees of intense dislike and
repulsion, until finally we find the Negative Pole of
"Hate." You will understand this readily-you have
noticed the different degrees of Love and Hate, and
have also noticed how these degrees rise and fall
according to circumstances and conditions. But
have you ever noticed that extreme Love often is
300
THE ARCANE TEACHING
suddenly transmuted into extreme Hate, and vice
versa, under extreme emotion or exciting cause.
Who has not seen instances where a woman's in-
tense Love has been transformed into burning Hate,
by the influence of some new cause. In some cases
the emotion moves rapidly backward and forward,
to-and-fro, between these two poles, until the per-
son does not know whether he or she Loves or
Hates. As in one of Kipling's poems a woman says:
"I ate you, grinnin' there.
Ah, Gawd, I
love you so!"
It will be seen that all these transmutations of
emotional states from one pole to the other—from
Love to Hate-from Fear to Courage-are but
changes of Polarity, or a shifting of position on
the emotional scale. But these changes are always
along the scale of the emotion which has the two
poles—and not from one emotion to another. Emo-
tions of different scales cannot be transmuted one
to another-they must belong to the same scale.
Water may be transformed into Steam, and Wood
into Smoke; but Water cannot be transformed into
Smoke, nor Wood into Steam. And so it is with
the emotional states-the transmutation must be
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 301
}
along the degrees of, or between the poles of, the
same scale.
And, so, now we arrive at the point of the Arcane
Teaching in which is made plain the processes of
Mental Transmutation in its phase of Change of
Polarity. This forms an important part of the
Arcane Processes of Mental Transmutation. By
the application of the trained Will, it is possible for
the student to transmute one emotional state to its
opposite, by changing the polarity. Thus, one may
change his Love into Hate, or his Hate into Love,
simply by concentrating the Attention and Will upon
the Opposite Pole of the state or quality. In the
Arcane processes, the student is never told to "fight"
or “kill out” an undesirable emotional quality by op-
posing sheer Will to it-this is a waste of energy,
and is moreover quite unscientific.
The proper
method is to concentrate on the Opposite Pole, and
thus change the vibrations and shift the emotional
center of Balance.
In the same way, and under the same Law, the
emotional states of others may be influenced by
polarizing their minds on the opposite pole of the
scale of the emotion in question. Hate is not to be
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
combatted by Hate-this only adds fuel to the fire.
The proper way is to form the mental image of Like
and Attraction, in your mind, and then concentrate
its effects upon the other person. Just as you may
change you own emotional states, so may you change
his, under the proper conditions and by the proper
methods. And, remember this, this process does not
consist in the sentimental, negative, rabbit-like atti-
tude of mind that many teachers preach to the stu-
dents-it does not consist in "turning the other
cheek" to be smitten. Far from it, this process is
purely volitional and not emotional. It is the bring-
ing into play of the scientific principles of Mental-
ism-not wishy-washy emotional sentimentalism, or
the practice of "kissing the rod that smites you."
The Arcanes are not sentimentalists, nor emotional
weaklings. On the contrary, they live in their heads
with their Balance in the Will. But, nevertheless,
they tell you that the way to combat Hate is by
its opposite Pole. This is a Paradox which requires
thought to solve. It is the principle taught in the
old fable, in which the Sun and the North Wind
dispute their power to tear away a man's cloak from
him. The harder the North Wind blew, the closer
THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITES 303
"
the man hugged the cloak around him. But when
the Sun tried the effect of its heated rays, the man
soon dropped the cloak because he found it uncom-
fortable. Polarizing in an Opposite, negates the
first condition.
If you are strong enough to hear the full truth,
listen to these words: The advanced occultist regards
both Love and Hate as emotions of the "Me" side of
oneself. Therefore he rises above both, and neither
Loves nor Hates, in the ordinary meaning of the
terms. He maintains a balance in his "I," like the
man on the tight rope with his balancing pole,
first shifting the balance to one side, and then to
the other, as occasion renders advisable. He thinks
that the slave to Love is as miserable as the slave
to Hate-and he avoids both extremes. He finds
that the synthesized Love-Hate is in itself but one
pole of a Something Else-and he moves up higher
to that Something. Instead of being compelled to
sail according to the wind of Emotion, he ploughs
his way through the Sea of Life by the power of the
Steam of Will. He knows the Opposites-the Two
Poles of everything, to be but phases of a Synthe-
sis of opposite qualities. He changes them to suit
P
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himself and his purposes. He solves the problem
of the "two ends" by tying them together. He is
Balanced between between the Two Poles. He
neutralizes unnecessary qualities, and undesirable
ones, by changing their polarity. He grasps both
horns of the Dilemna. He embraces the Paradox as
a Whole. He claims all-but allows naught to
claim him. He uses all-but allows naught to use
him. Along this road lies Mastery!
LESSON XX.
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM.
Let us now consider the Law of Rhythm, the mas-
tery of which constitutes one of the Arcane Secrets.
Listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XXII. In the Cosmos every thing
moves. Every thing is in constant motion. Every
thing is undergoing constant change. Every thing
"beats time." Vibration is universal, and, mani-
festing according to the Law of Rhythm, con-
stitutes the difference of degree existing between
things on all planes. Every thing moves to-and-
fro in Rhythm, between its two poles. Every
thing rises and falls, in Rhythm, within the limits
of its nature. Every thing advances and retreats,
in Rhythm, within the limits of its power.
The Aphorism informs us of the truth that in the
Cosmos everything moves; is in constant motion;
is undergoing constant change. This is one of the
fundamental principles of the ancient instruction of
the Arcane Teachers, which has been steadfastly
adhered to throughout the centuries, until now the
305
306
THE ARCANE TEACHING
most advanced modern science has moved to the
same position. Heraclitus, the famous Greek philos-
opher, who lived nearly twenty-five hundred years
ago, and who was affiliated with the Arcane School,
made this principle the basis of his philosophy. His
basic principle was: "Everything moves; every-
thing changes; everything is in flux; everything is
constantly 'becoming.' Clodd, the English scien-
tific writer, says: "Nothing escapes the law of
change. The shrewd speculations of Heraclitus, the
Ionion, who lived two thousand five hundred years.
ago, that everything is in a state of flux, and, there-
fore, that the universe is always "becoming," have
added confirmation in every discovery of modern
physics." Buddha (B. C. 600) said: "Everything
changes but Change."
>"}
Huxley said: "The more we learn of the nature
of things, the more evident is it that what we call
rest is only unperceived activity; that seeming peace
is silent but strenuous battle. In every part, at
every moment, the state of the cosmos is the expres-
sion of a transitory adjustment of contending
forces; a scene of strife in which all the combatants
fall in turn. What is true of each part is true of
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
307
the whole. Natural knowledge tends more and
more to the conclusion that 'all the choir of heaven
and furniture of the earth' are transitory forms or
parcels of cosmic substances wending along the road
of evolution, from nebulous potentiality, through
endless growths of sun and planet and satellite;
through all varieties of matter; through infinite
diversities of life and thought; possibly, through
modes of being of which we have neither a concep-
tion, nor are competent to form any, back to the
indefinable latency from which they arose. Thus
the most obvious attribute of the cosmos is its im-
permanence."
The universal and ceaseless motion of all things
is caused, of course, by the operation of the Principle
of Motion-one of the Three Cosmic Principles,
which acts upon Substance in the many manifesta-
tions arising principally from the action and re-
action of the dual principles of, or rather the op-
posite poles of, Attraction-Repulsion. Its forms and
varieties are as manifold as are those of Substance,
or Consciousness-that is to say, they are practically
infinite. The basic activity of Motion, however, is
that which we call Vibration, of which the Aphor-
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
ism says: "Vibration is universal, and manifesting
according to the Law of Rhythm, constitutes the
difference of degrees between things on all planes."
Modern Science now stands "on all fours" with the
Arcane Teaching in this respect, and not only holds
that all things are in constant vibration, but also,
that the rates of vibration determine the difference
in the elemental nature of all things. Everything,
from the tiny corpuscle, or electron, of which the
atoms are composed, to the greatest masses of mat-
ter known to us, manifest the law of Rhythmic Vi-
bration. Moreover, Science has demonstrated that
the sole difference between the "elements" which
make up the different forms of matter, arises from
the rate and degree of vibration manifested by the
electrons composing them-that is to say, they are
but varying degrees of vibration. The difference
between Gold and Lead consists but of differences
in Vibration. The difference between Light and
Beeswax is but a difference in Vibration.
In previous lessons you have seen that the Cos-
mos, when resolved into the Infinity of Nothingness,
is practically Motionless-the Principle of Motion
is in a condition of Absoltue Rest. And yet, that
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
309
Absolute Rest is analogous to Motion of such a
high degree of Vibration as to be practically Mo-
tionless and at Rest. In this condition, or state,
the two poles of Motion have been resolved into
one-the extremes have merged-Absolute Motion
and Absolute Rest are seen to be identical. But
from the first Dawn of the new Cosmic Day, there
is manifested Vibration on a constantly descending
scale, until the lowest point is reached-then the
upward trend begins. And in these varying de-
grees of Vibration is manifested every thing that
is in the Cosmos, not only the physical things, but
also the mental states. Every mental state, of any
and all kinds, has its own degree of Vibration,
which makes it what it is, and constitutes its dif-
ference from other mental states. And these mental
Vibrations may be transmitted from one brain to
another, in the phenomena of Mentalism.
It should not be necessary here to inform the
student that that which we call sound, light, heat,
magnetism, electricity, the X-Rays, and other forms
of energy, are but varying forms of Vibration. And
that even the most solid piece of material substance
-a diamond or piece of steel, for instance, is com-
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
posed of a countless number of tiny atoms, which in
turn are composed of minute electrons or particles-
all in constant vibratory motion, manifesting in-
tense energy, dashing about and circling around
each other, bounding and rebounding from each
other, each atom resembling a solar system with its
circling planets in constant motion. The elementary
text-books on physical science inform their readers
that every thing, and all things, of which we have
any knowledge through our senses, are but appear-
ances arising from differing rates of Vibration.
And that, moreover, our only consciousness of them
is the result of Vibration.
But, what of the "Law of Rhythm" which causes
everything to "beat time," as the Aphorism states?
Let us consider this Law, for it has a very im-
portant bearing upon Mental States and phenomena.
"Rhythm," according to the accepted usage, is
"movement in measured time," the most familiar
instance of which is the "time" in music, which is
measured by the "beats" of the metronome or the
baton. And scientific investigation, as well as the
ancient occult teachings, show us that everything in
the Cosmos "beats time," and moves in accordance
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
311
with Rhythm. We see this in the swing of the
planets; the beating of the human heart; the in-
breathing and out-breathing of the lungs; the rise
and fall of the tides; and in the operation of Vibra-
tion on every plane, in every thing. As Vibration is
universal-so Rhythm is universal.
A moment's thought will show you that all
the phenomena in Nature manifest this law of
Rhythmic movement between two extremes. There
is always the ebb-and-flow of things. Always the
rhythmic swing of the pendulum between the two
extremes of the thing. Day is succeeded by night;
summer by winter; action by reaction; work by
rest; activity by inactivity; intermittent symptoms in
diseases; "good times" by "bad times" in business;
exaltation. by depression. On every plane may be
observed instances of this universal "pendulum
swing" of Rhythm, which carries the thing to-and-
from between its two polar extremes. As the Aphor-
ism says: "Everything moves to-and-fro, in Rhythm,
between its two poles. Everything rises and falls,
in Rhythm, within the limits of its nature. Every-
thing advances and retreats, in Rhythm, within the
limits of its power." Modern science holds that
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the Evolution of worlds must have had its precedent
Involution, and the Evolution must be followed by
Devolution-and so on, to Infinity. It holds that
just as the suns and planets were evolved by stages
from the nebulæ, so must they return to the nebulæ,
in time; again to begin a new series of evolutionary
world-building. Notice the quotation from Huxley,
in the first part of this lesson. Herbert Spencer
makes this law of Rhythm one of the principles
of his philosophy.
The Arcane Teaching also shows the Law of
Rhythm to be operative in the form of the Days.
and Nights of the Cosmos-the swing of Rhythm
between the Manifest Cosmos and the Unmanifest
Cosmos. The Law of Polarity, and the Law of
Rhythm are twin-laws-they are bound to each other
for Eternity. You will notice the resulting effect,
that the rise and fall, or rhythmic pendulum swing,
is determined, governed and restrained by the length
of the scale of Polarity. Nothing can swing beyond
the limits of its poles-nothing can exceed the lim-
its of its nature or power. Consequently, if a thing
swings far in one direction, it swings back equally
far in the other. If its swing is great, its extremes
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
313
are widely apart-if the swing is small, then the
extremes are close together. The pendulum illus-
tration may be applied to the phenomena on all
planes. A short beat of the metronome allows the
rod to move only a short distance each way—the
long beat admits of a wide swing. And so, those
who enjoy keenly also suffer keenly; while those.
whose natures allow of but limited suffering, are
also capable of only a limited degree of capacity
for enjoyment. A pig suffers but little, and enjoys
but little; while a highly organized, sensitive, "high
strung" human being, suffers the joys of heaven at
times, and also the pain of hell at others. The pen-
dulum swings as far in one direction as in the
other. Only by a Mastery of Mental Rhythm can
man hope to escape the pain that his high develop-
ment would otherwise bring him.
The Arcane Teachers instruct their pupils in the
Art of Mental Transmutation, by an understanding
of which they may apply the energy and power of
Mental Vibrations intelligently, and under the con-
trol of the Reason and the Will. When it is under-
stood that the difference between Mental States is
like the difference between the Physical Elements-
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
merely a rate of Vibration-then Mental Transmu-
tation of Mental Alchemy, becomes as real as the
Physical Transmutation, or Physical Alchemy, of
the ancients, which science is now on the eve of
rediscovering. An understanding of this give one.
the Mastery of Self, and also the Secret of Mental-
ism. Moreover, an understanding of the Law of
Rhythm enables one to take advantage of the flood-
tide of Mental Rhythm, and a neutralizing or rising.
above the ebb-tide. With an understanding of the
Law of Balance, one may so balance and counter-
balance himself that he is not disturbed by the
backward swing of the pendulum of Rhythm, but
instead may take advantage of its energy and trans-
mute it into desirable things. In this understanding
comes the Poise of Power.
Let us now consider the Law of Cyclicity, which
is akin to the Law of Rhythm. Listen to the Aphor-
ism:
Chaga
APHORISM XXIII. Cyclicity is akin to
Rhythm, and arises by reason of it. All events
tend to move in Cyclic Trend-in constant circu-
lar movement of continuous recurrence. The only
escape from Cyclicity is found in the process of
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
315
transmutation into Spirality. This is accom-
plished by Advancing the Central Point of Motion.
The conversion of the Circle into the Spiral is one
of the highest forms of Mental Alchemy.
The Law of Cyclicity manifests in the universal
tendency of things to swing in circles. Cyclicity is
an outgrowth, or more complex form, of Rhythm.
The primal manifestation of Rhythm is action to-
and-fro in a straight line or path-a movement
backward and forward between the limits of the
poles. This would be the invariable movement if
the particular force manifested were the only man-
ifestation of force or energy in that particular field
of the Cosmos. But when the swinging pendulum
(free to move in any direction) is subjected to the
conflicting attractions and repulsions of other man-
ifestations of force and energy, then is manifested
the universal tendency toward the circular trend-
the tendency to convert the straight path of the
swing into a circular path or cycle. The action
and reaction, the attraction and repulsion, arising
from the conflict between the force of the Rhythmic
swing in a straight line on the one hand, and the
attractive and repellant forces from without, on the
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
other hand, tend to swing the moving thing in a
perfect circle around a Central Point of pivotal
centre. And these conflicting forces are in opera-
tion through the Cosmos, and the manifestation of
Cyclicity may be noticed on all planes. There is ever
the evidence of the cyclic trend of things and
events—the tendency to move in circles. The elec-
trons in the atoms move in circles, just as do the
planets around the sun; and just as does the sun
move around some other center in space. The
highest occult teachings, as well as the highest
speculations of science, inform us that there is
always a movement in circles around some given
point; and the movement of this center of motion
around some other center; and so on to Infinity.
The Aphorism states that: "All events tend to
move in cyclic trend-in constant circular movement
of continuous recurrence." And the experience of
man, aided by the reports of history, bear out this
statement. The student of human history is struck
by the continuous cyclic trend manifested through-
out the ages of history. The student of philosophy
is attracted by the same evidence in his own field.
And so it is with every field of human thought—
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
317
Cyclic Trend is noticeable everywhere. Races and
nations rise, flourish, decline and fall; only to be
succeeded by others traveling over the same lines.
"Westward, the star of Empire takes its flight," the
center of political power constantly changing. The
civilizations of Atlantis, Egypt, Chaldea, Rome and
Greece arose and passed away. Our civilization is
but traveling over the same general lines. All
forms of political government, monarchic, auto-
cratic, democratic, in all their variations, were
known in the past as in the present. The same law
is observable in the history of philosophical thought.
Theories popular in Greece over two thousand years
ago afterward fell into disrepute, but are now again.
forcing their way to the front. The scientific theor-
ies of Causation, Continuity, Determinism, and Evo-
lution were popular in Ancient Greece over two
thousand years ago. And they were likewise pop-
ular in Ancient Egypt and in India centuries before
that time. Fashions in literature, dress, and manner
constantly recur-traveling 'round and 'round their
little circles. Laugh as we may at the absurdity
of fashion in dress, nevertheless it proceeds ac-
cording to Cyclic Law. Religious ideas are as old
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
as the world-pantheism, polytheism, monotheism,
and atheism—all have played their parts of fashion
in religious thought, over and over again—and will
play them again. The present-day revival in interest
in occult thought arises from the same law.
And the life of individuals manifests the same
trend and tendency. A little thought will convince
you that the majority of people travel in circles in
life. The same old thing over and over again, re-
curring at intervals of greater or lesser duration,
according to the "nature" of the person. The ma-
jority of persons are like the squirrel in the cage
who travels all day on his whirling wheel-but ends
where he began.
"But," you may say, "if the Cosmos travels around
in a continuous circle it would never progress or
advance into increased consciousness." Very true!
And if the individual continued in the "constant cir-
cular movement of continuous recurrence" he would
never advance on The Path. The Aphorism gives
us the Secret when it says: "The only escape from
Cyclicity is found in the process of transmutation
into Spirality. This is accomplished by advancing
the Central Point of Motion." If the Central Point
THE SECRET OF RHYTHM
319
of Motion of a Circle is moved forward, then the
Circle is converted into a Spiral. The Central Point
is advanced in the Cosmos by the COSMIC WILL
urging forward the entire Cosmic Process, and thus
converting the Cyclic Trend into a Spiral Trend-
onward and upward, in advancing and rising cir-
cles toward Progress.
And by a similar process, the Individual may
convert the Circle of his Life Motion into an Ad-
vancing and Rising Spiral, which while carrying
him around the Life Circle will at the same time
raise him a stage higher at each turn. While ap-
parently traveling around a circle, like the average
person, he will be a stage higher at each turn. The
Mountain of Attainment, around which winds the
Spiral Path, is traveled only in this way. 'Round
and 'round the Pilgrims travel, seemingly retracing
the same steps-but in reality reaching a stage
higher each circle they make. They often complain.
(until they learn better) saying, "I have gone 'round
and 'round, and still reach nowhere." But when
they compare their present stage with that of a year
ago, they see that they have advanced. Is this not
the case with you, friend? Have you not used these
very words? Heed the lesson!
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By advancing the Central Point, by the WILL,
the wise and strong convert the Cycles into Spirals,
and thus attain and advance. As the Aphorism
says, this "is one of the highest forms of Mental
Alchemy."
LESSON XXI.
THE SECRET OF BALANCE.
Let us now consider the Law of Balance, the
mastery of which constitutes one of the Arcane
Secrets. This Law may be considered in its three
phases of Counterbalance, Compensation, and Poise,
respectively. Let us now consider the first phase,
viz., Counterbalance. Listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XXIV. Know ye, that in the Cos-
mos every thing is Counterbalanced. Every thing
is set-off and offset by other things. There is
always Check and Countercheck in every manifes-
tation, on every plane, of the Cosmos.
This first phase of Balance, which is known as
"Counterbalance," is a law, the operation of which
is evident to every investigator of physica' science.
"Balance" in the Arcane usage may be defined as:
"Equipoise; equilibrium; and equality of weight or
force." "Counterbalance" is defined as: "Compen-
sating balance; weight or force opposing equal
weight or force." This phase of the Law of Bal-
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322
THE ARCANE TEACHING
ance, like its other phases, arises from the existence
and operation of the Law of Opposites, or Polarity.
Everything in the Cosmos is dual. There is always
something opposed to, counterbalancing and checking
something else. The Manifest Cosmos could not exist
and remain operative without this law. Just as the
watch or clock requires a nicely adjusted system of
counterweights, countersprings, and counterbalances,
in order that their opposing action may render the
movement of the timepiece uniform and regular, so
does the Cosmos require, and possess, an equally
nicely balanced and counterbalanced system, in or-
der that its activities may be uniform and regular.
The regular and uniform movement of the planets
around the sun is made possible only through the
operation of the counterbalancing forces of centrif-
ugal and centripetal gravity, the former manifest-
ing in the tendency of the planet to fly from the cen-
tral point, the sun; and the latter manifesting in the
tendency of the planet to move toward the central
point, the sun. The counterbalance of these two
opposing tendencies produces regular and constant
movement in the elliptic orbit.
In the same way the two phases of Force or
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
323
flict
Energy oppose and counterbalance each other-one
tending to build up, and the other tending to tear
down. Some authorities have adopted the use of
the term "Force" to designate that form of Motion
which tends "to bind together two or more particles
of ponderable matter, and which retards or resists.
motions tending to separate such particles"; for
instance, Gravitation, Cohesion, Chemical Affinity,
etc. The same authorities use the term "Energy"
to designate that form of Motion which tends "to
separate two or more particles of ponderable mat-
ter, or of the ethereal medium, or which resists or
retards the Force tending to bind them together."
Clodd says: "If Force had unresisted play, all the
atoms in the universe would gravitate to a common
center, and ultimately form a perfect sphere in which
no life would exist, and in which no work could be
done. If Energy had unresisted play, the atoms in
the universe would be driven asunder and remain
forever separated, with the like result of changeless
powerlessness. But with these two powers in con-
the universe is the theatre of ceaseless
redistributions of its contents.”
All through living Nature is this same law of
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Counterbalance in force. The plant-life nourishes
the animal-life, and the latter by means of its waste
matter and its disintegrating forms nourishes the
former. Moreover, the very breathing of the two
great forms of life, tend to support life in each
other. Animals breathe in oxygen in order to sup-
the
port life, and breathe out carbonic-acid gas,
latter being poisonous to animal-life. At the same
time the plants, under the action of the sun's rays,
break up the carbonic-acid gas, absorbing the carbon
which nourishes plant-life, and releasing the oxygen
needed by animal life. Thus the refuse element of
the plant is the life-giving element of the animal;
and the refuse element of the animal is the life-
As Emerson says:
giving element of the plant.
"Whilst the world is thus dual, so is every one of
its parts. The entire system of things gets repre-
sented in every particle. There is somewhat that re-
sembles the ebb and flow of the sea, day and night,
man and woman, in a single needle of the pine, in a
kernel of corn, in every individual of every animal
tribe. There action, so grand in the elements, is re-
peated within these small boundaries. For example,
in the animal kingdom the physiologist has observed
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
325
that no creatures are favorites, but a certain com-
pensation balances every gift and every defect."
In Nature there is always the operation of the
"Check and Countercheck" mentioned in the Aphor-
ism. Each life-form is kept in check by some other
life-form. If this were not so, particular life-forms
would overrun the earth. Darwin says: "There is
no exception to the rule that every organic being
naturally increases at so high a rate, that, if not
destroyed, the earth would soon be covered by the
progeny of a single pair." Clodd adds: "If all the
offspring of the elephant, the slowest breeder known,
survived, there would be in seven hundred and
fifty years nearly nineteen million elephants alive,
descended from the first pair. If the eight or nine
million eggs, which the roe of a cod is said to con-
tain, developed into adult cod-fishes, the sea would
quickly become a solid mass of them. So prolific
is its progeny after progeny that the common house-
fly is computed to produce twenty-one millions in a
season; while so enormous is the laying power of
the aphis, or plant-louse, that the tenth brood of one
parent, without adding the products of all the gen-
erations which precede the tenth, would contain
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more ponderable matter than all the population of
China, estimating this at five hundred millions."
It is the same in plant life. If any single species
were to remain unchecked, the entire globe would
be covered with it inside of less than twenty years.
The fungi, and other lower organisms, multiply so
rapidly (some a billion-fold in an hour) that they
would cover the earth in a year, if not counter-
checked by nature. But the countercheck is always
there. Each animal, plant or fungus has its natural
enemy which preys upon it for food. Every living
thing lives upon other living things-each according
to its kind. This is one of the forms of Nature's
counterchecks. This law is brought forcibly to
mind when certain plants or animals are transported
to other regions, without their natural enemies ac-
companying them, the result being that they speedily
become a danger to the land, and their natural en-
emies have to be brought to the new region to keep
them in check. Students of Evolution see in Nat-
ural Selection, and other laws of Evolution, many
phases of Counterbalance and Countercheck in the
Cosmos-the working out of the law that “Every-
thing is set-off and offset by other things," as the
Aphorism says.
-
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
327
And now let us consider the second phase of the
Law of Balance-the phase of Compensation—the
Debit and Credit phase of the Cosmic Activities.
Listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XXV. Know ye, that there is
always a Cosmic Debit and Credit. In the Cosmos
there is Absolute Compensation. The Cosmic Ac-
counts are always evenly balanced. There is noth-
ing furnished Free-No thing given for Nothing-
in the Cosmos. The Equivalent is always demanded
and rendered. The Price for Every Thing is
always fixed-and Paid.
The truth embodied in the above Aphorism is rec-
ognized by the world's greatest thinkers, although
the average person endeavors to deny it, and re-
fuses to look the Truth in the face. That wonderful
essay upon "Compensation," by Emerson, carries the
truth to every open mind. All true philosophers
have recognized the principle as in existence. Any
one may see the fact, if he will stand apart and
view the world-picture in the proper perspective.
The idea of Compensation is based upon the phases
of Counterbalance and Countercheck-upon Set-off
and Offset. In short, it is always a matter of “Pay-
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THE ARCANE TEACHING
ing the Price." We cannot have the cake, and
keep our penny, at the same time. We must always
give up one thing to obtain another-we must al-
ways relinquish to attain-we must always die to
live. Life is a continuous "Pay, pay, pay!" As the
Aphorism informs us: "There is nothing furnished.
Free-No Thing given for Nothing-in the Cos-
mos"; "The price for Every Thing is always fixed
-and Paid." For every advantage gained, another
must be surrendered. This is the Law of the Cos-
mos, as all wise men know it. It does one no good
to deny or ignore it-it is Law, fixed, constant,
immutable.
Emerson, in his essay on "Compensation," says:
"The theory of the mechanic forces is another
example. What we gain in power is lost in time,
and the converse. The periodic or compensating
errors of the planets is another instance. The influ-
ences of climate and soil in political history are
another. The cold climate invigorates. The barren
soil does not breed fevers, crocodiles, tigers, or
scorpions. The same dualism underlies the nature
and condition of man. Every excess causes a de-
fect; every defect an excess. Every sweet has its
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
329
sour; every evil its good. Every faculty which is a
receiver of pleasure has an equal penalty put on its
abuse. It is to answer for its moderation with its
life. For every grain of wit, there is a grain of
folly. For everything you have missed, you have
gained something else; and for everything you gain,
you lose something. If riches are increased, they
are increased that use them. If the gatherer gathers
too much, nature takes out of the man what she
puts into his chest; swells the estate, but kills the
owner. Nature hates monopolies and exceptions.
The waves of the sea do not more speedily seek a
lever from their loftiest tossing than the varieties
of condition tend to equalize themselves. There is
some leveling circumstance that puts down the over-
bearing, the strong, the rich, the fortunate, substan-
tially on the same ground with all others.
Is a
man too strong and fierce for society, and by tem-
per and position a bad citizen-a morose ruffian,
with a dash of the pirate in him?-nature sends him
a troop of pretty sons and daughters who are get-
ting along in the dame's classes at the village school,
and love and fear for them smooths his grim scowl
to courtesy. Thus she contrives to intenerate the
330
THE ARCANE TEACHING
granite and feldspar, takes the boar out and puts
the lamb in, and keeps the balance true. The farmer
imagines power and place are fine things. But the
President has paid dear for his White House. It
has commonly cost him all his peace, and the best
of his manly attributes. To preserve for so short a
time so conspicuous an appearance before the world,
he is content to eat dust before the real masters who
stand erect behind the throne. Or do men desire
the more substantial and permanent grandeur of
genius? Neither has this an immunity. He who
by force of will or of thought is great and over-
looks thousands, has the responsibility of overlook-
ing. With every influx of light comes new danger.
Has he light? he must bear witness to the light, and
always outrun that sympathy which gives him such
keen satisfaction, by his fidelity to new revelations
of the incessant soul. He must hate father and
mother, wife and child. Has he all that the world
loves and admires and covets?-he must cast behind
him their admiration and afflict them by faithful-
ness to his truth, and become a byword and a hiss-
ing."
As we have said in a previous lesson: The greater
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
331
the capacity for joy, the greater the capacity for
pain. The swing of the pendulum of Rhythm be-
tween the two poles of the Opposites measures our
relative happiness and unhappiness-comparative
satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The capacity for
pain is the symbol of advanced Evolution. The
tramp has nothing and desires nothing beyond his
immediate wants. His arc is small. Another will
have much, but desires still more. His arc is large.
Each, and both, fall a little short of what would
constitute happiness for them. Query: which of the
two is the happiest, or the most miserable? The
answer of Compensation is: "They are equal in
their degree of happiness and unhappiness-in sat-
isfaction and misery. They are twin-brothers of
equal heritage."
A financial panic which makes the millionaire
writhe in fear and terror, passes entirely over the
tramp. The more one has, the more afraid of losing
it is he; and the harder the blow if the loss occurs.
Many ancient philosophical writers insisted that the
measure of pain and pleasure is equally distributed
between persons-although the degrees of each vary
greatly. The man who makes two dollars a day
332
THE ARCANE TEACHING
and is able to save a half-dollar out of it, is possibly
happier and better satisfied than he who makes a
hundred and spends half as much more. What would
bring happiness to a savage would bring misery to
a college professor. Happiness is comparative, and
so is unhappiness. We find happiness where we
least expect it—and unhappiness where it surprises
us. Just as "to know all, is to forgive all"; so, to
know all, is to understand the relativity of satisfac-
tion and happiness. It is said that the "back is
always made strong enough to bear the burden”—we
do not assert this, as a fact, but we feel that the
back gets used to the burden, and feels it not more
than other backs feel lesser burdens. And while the
proverb that "God tempers the wind to the shorn
lamb" may not be scientifically correct, still it is true
that the shorn lamb becomes tempered to the wind,
and "gets used to it."
Clodd says: "The simplicity of the simplest forms
has been their salvation. A high organization brings.
with it many disadvantages, for the more complex
the structure the more liable is it to get out of gear.
We cannot have highly convoluted brains and at
the same time digestive organs simple and renew-
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
333
Death is the
able like those of the sea-cucumber.
price paid for complexity." And pain is the natural
consequence and counterbalance of complexity in
life, knowledge, and possessions.
Each one has his troubles and his joys. Eách
his pains and his pleasures. If we knew all the
inside facts concerned with others' lives we would
not be willing to exchange with them, providing we
had to live exactly their same lives. Who would
wish to exchange his personal life with that of an-
other-taking all that goes with the other's, and
giving up, completely, all that composes his own?
Each man's "cross" is fitted exactly to his particular
shoulders and each man's "crown" is adjusted
nicely upon his particular brow. It takes a philo-
sophical mind to realize this-the tendency is to
consider one's own lot the very worst of all-and
the other man's lot much the better. The other man
is probably thinking the same about your's. Neither
would exchange, if he knew the full facts of the
case-all the counterbalances and counterchecks.
Each has his own "character," and all that goes
with it. Each has his own arc of happiness and
satisfaction—with their opposite poles. As the old
334
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Egyptian proverb ran: "What will you have?' said
the gods to man. 'Take it, and pay for it!''
And now, let us consider the third phase of the
Law of Balance-the phase of Poise. Listen to the
Aphorism:
APHORISM XXVI. Poise is Power. Poise
results from Balance. Balance is secured by ad-
justing and maintaining the Centre between the
Poles of the Pairs of Opposites. By Balanced
Poise the Master neutralizes Polarity and Rhythm,
by resolving them into Unity. In the Heart of
the Storm is Peace. In the Centre of Life there is
Poise and Power. Seek it ever, O Neophyte-for
in it thou shalt find thy Self.
In this Aphorism is contained the seed-thought
generated in the centuries of thought and experi-
ence of the Arcane Teachers. Do not pass it by
because of its simplicity. Poised Balance is the aim
and goal of the Arcane Initiates. It is the Secret
of Mastery. There is always a Center of Every-
thing. But the Center exists only because of the
existence of the Circumference. There is always a
Point or Poise between the Poles of every Pair of
Opposites. But that Point exists only because the
Extremes exist. And in the Central Point is always
THE SECRET OF BALANCE
335
found the Power of the Whole Event or Thing. Im
the Center of Gravity of the Earth, one would be
able to remain in a position of Perfect Poise, un-
supported except by the Concentrated Gravity of the
Whole Earth. So nicely Poised that a mere effort
of the Will would exert sufficient energy to propel
him in any desired direction. The Power of the
Opposites are concentrated at the Central Point.
There is all Power to be found-and there only.
The axiom: "Action and Reaction are Equal” indi-
cates a Central Point in which exists the True Lever
which will move the Whole. At the Center one is
enabled to use Action and Reaction without being
subject to either. The Arcane Initiate strives to
attain this state of Equilibrium and Absolute Poise.
He yearns to master the art of traversing the Razor-
edge Wire of Life, balancing himself perfectly, like
the trained mental athlete that he is, by the Bal-
ancing Pole of the Opposites which he has firmly
grasped. Pitting the Opposites against each other
-neutralizing Pole by Pole-balancing Law by Law
-the Master traverses the slender thread which
separates the World of Desire from the World of
Will.
336
THE ARCANE TEACHING
Oh, Neophyte, in the Center of Life shalt thou
indeed find Poise and Power. In the Heart of the
Storm shalt thou find Peace. In the Center of the
Cosmos shalt thou find THYSELF. He who finds
the Center of Himself, finds the Center of the Cos-
mos. For, at the last, they are ONE.
VALE!

The Arcane Teaching
PART I. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
The Arcane Teaching.
Absolute Law.
Infinity of Nothingness.
Lesson I.
Lesson II.
Lesson III.
Lesson IV.
Lesson V.
Lesson VI.
Lesson VII.
Lesson VIII.
Lesson IX.
Lesson X.
Lesson XI.
Lesson XII.
PART III. THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
The One and The Many.
Metempsychosis.
Survival of The Fittest.
Lesson XIII.
Lesson XIV.
Lesson XV.
PART II. THE COSMOS.
The Manifestation.
The Cosmic Will.
Involution and Evolution.
PART IV. FATE OR FREEDOM?
Fate and Destiny.
Law, Order and Sequence.
Dominant Desire and Sovereign Will.
PART V. THE ASTRAL plane.
The Astral World.
Astral Beings.
Astral Phenomena.
Lesson XVI.
Lesson XVII.
Lesson XVIII.
PART VI. OCCULT FORCES.
Psychic Phenomena.
Mentalism.
Invocation and Evocation.
PART VII.
Lesson XIX. The Secret of The Opposites.
Lesson XX. The Secret of Rhythm.
Lesson XXI. The Secret of Balance.
ARCANE SECRETS.
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS.
1. THE ARCANE FORMULAS: or Mental Alchemy.
(A 100-page book of valuable instruction.)
II. THE MYSTERY OF SEX, or Sex Polarity.
(A 100-page book of great occult value.)
PRICE (Postpaid) FOR THE 21 LESSONS, AND THE TWO
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APR 18 1999

The Arcane Teaching
PART 1. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
The Arcane Teaching.
Absolute Law.
Infinity of Nothingness.
on I.
on II.
on III.
on IV.
on V.
on VI.
on VII:
on VIII.
on IX.
ɔn X.
XI.
on XII.
AT
a XIII.
XIV.
n XV.
PART IN THE COSMOS.
The Manifestation.
The Cosmic Will.
Involution and Evolution.
PART III. THE LIFE OF THE EGO.
The One and The Man
Metempsychosis.
Survival of The Fittest.
PART IV. MOTIVITY.
Dominant Desire.
Fate or Free.ioni?
Sovereign Will,
·
PART V. THE ASTRAL PLANE.
The Astral World
Astral Beings.
Astral Phenomena.
7
PART VI OCCULT FORCES
a XVI.
› XVII.
Psychic Phenomena.
Mentalism.
XVIII. Invocation and Evocation
PART VII. ARCANE SECRETS.
ɔn XIX. The Secret of The Opposites
in XX. The Secret of Rhythm.
on XXI. The Secret of Balance
SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS,
THE ARCANE FORMULAS: or Mental Alchemy
(A 50-page book of valuable instruction.
THE MYSTERY OF SEX, or Sex Polarity.
(A 50-paz, book of great occult value.)
E (Postpaid) FOR THE 21 LESSONS, AND THE TWO
›LEMENTARY BOOKS
ONE DOLLAR
THE ARCANE BOOK CONCERN
Box 769
Chicago, Illinois
my $
Z*******