Magic Mirrors

Divination, Clairvoyance, Astral Kingdoms, Evocation, Consecrations, the

Urim and Thummim, Mirrors of the Bhattahs, Arabs, Nostradamus,
Swedenborg, Cagliostro

By Paul Sédir

Originally published in 1907 (3 rd edition ) as Les Miroirs Magiques

Translated by Alex Bushman 2019

Copyright © 2019 by Alex Bushman. All rights reserved. Except as

permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this
publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means,
or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Theory

I. The Invisible
 II. Clairvoyance

III. The Mirror

Chapter II: Realization

IV. The Astral Kingdoms

V. The Seers

VI. Classification of Mirrors

Chapter III: Adaptation

VII. The Practice

Bibliography

Introduction

At no time has man been satisfied with the wonders of the physical world;
from the beginning of societies he had the intuition of an beyond and an
invisible, the desire of the infinite; a miserable and lonely creature
struggling incessantly against formidable fate, he instinctively sought in
himself a logic to guide his march, a light to encourage his untiring hope. I
will not repeat the development, easy to describe, of primitive societies, or
rudimentary cults; the readers know this way of the cross of humanity, at all
stages of which the physical wound has bloomed a new spiritual flower.

Divination arose from the cries of anguish and questioning which our pitiful
ancestor uttered to the loud voice of the waters, to the song of the forests, to
the stars; the bird hovering in the heavens, the animal encountered on the
road, the meteor illuminating the night, gave answers to his unspoken
requests; Physical Nature, therefore, contributed first to the edification of
this great science of omens.

But, if we refer to the sources of the occult tradition, we will learn that
angelic entities were always committed by the Supreme Wisdom to the
direction of the triple evolutionary movement of the planet: some of these
angels failed; the cohort of Adepts contains the mystic threads of both
camps. Through them innumerable and scattered notions were united in a
system of science, and their mental theories, assented with perfect
completeness, always identified themselves with archetypal laws.

The principal of these laws, and the most fundamental at the same time as
the most important, is that of the Trinity [1] .

I will try to apply it here to the vast system of Divination.

Man is triple: Body, doubly polarized soul, spirit [2] .

The Cosmos is triple: Natura naturata, Humanity (Adam of Genesis),

Natura Naturans (spirits, planetary geniuses, angels). Placed in the center of
the Cosmos, Man can therefore interrogate each of his three parts specially,
according to one or other of his three faculties: this is the basis of our
classification.

The physical Man questions the body of Nature; hence divination is born by
natural omens; that he questions other men, the soul of Nature, he will
create all the parts of the physiognomy; that he questions the spirits, they
will answer him around the magic circle.

The animistic Man will find the answers of nature in the images of dreams;
he will be able to read in the souls of other men by developing his spiritual
senses; and he will hear the spirits speak to him, in the sacred sleep of
ecstasy. If at last it is the spirit that is anxious and worried, the sky will
answer it by the deductions of astrology, the magic chain of the human
initiation will make speak the tarot, the ancient teraphim, or even the Light
of the Word will inspire him with conscious prophecies. The following table
will better capture these classifications.

We see from the very first glance that by virtue of the very principle of
Yoga, one who wants to possess the control of divination will first have to
ensure that his astral development (box 5 in the table) is the center of the
whole system, the solar point of all culture.

The magic mirror is none other than the instrument of the esoteric culture of
the astral senses. We can judge its importance by that. I will add, however,
that such a subject is beyond my strength, and that I have no intention of
exhausting it in the following pages. A simple preliminary elucidation of
the hyperphysics in man and outside man, with the means of penetrating the
densest regions, this is the plan of this study.

Whatever the imperfections may be, I shall consider myself happy if the
sincere workers can withdraw some useful information from this reading.

However, I must add here that this little book is somehow second best. I do
not advise anyone to practice magic under any of its forms. To give the
reasons for this would require an entire volume; nevertheless, I have written
these pages to give the least dangerous method of voluntarily going into the
astral, so that people in a hurry can satisfy their curiosity without running
any physical risks. They will face other obstacles; but these will be in over a
longer term than the previous ones.

Chapter 1: Theory
 1. The Invisible
More than at any other time in Western history, the minds shaped by today's
science are embarking on the endless labyrinth of the phenomenal world.
Scientists of encyclopedic erudition have succeeded in large numbers to
build simple classifications of the same particular sciences: wasted effort;
the facts of observation come every day to destroy the best built theories,
for want of an elusive link of which very few have known the existence,
and of which a still smaller number, among those who knew it, could use it
effectively.

This link, a balancing term and a channel between two opposites, the reader
has already guessed, is the third term of the Trinity. To the impartial student
of ancient religious symbolisms, the Trinity appears as the capital law of
creation; indeed, all dogmas proclaim it in first place. This general law must
therefore be equally true in its particular applications.

Here we refer the reader to Papus's luminous exposé on the three worlds of
the Universe.

“ Each organic or inorganic form that manifests itself to our senses is a

statuette from a great artist who is called the creator, or rather who comes
from a higher plane which we call the plane of creation.

Between this higher plane and our visible physical world, there is an
intermediary plane to receive the impressions of the higher plane and to
realize them by acting on the matter. [3] ”

It is this intermediate plane that the occult tradition calls the astral plane .

Since any phenomenon belongs ipso facto to the physical world, since its
primary cause belongs to the ideal, metaphysical world, the means by which
it manifests belongs to the world of laws, to the astral world.

Protected by infinite forms, the astral is that milieu, that universal mediator,
which passively receives the positive influences of the principles of the
world ; it nourishes them in its bosom, develops them, organizes them, and
has vitalized them, it serves them, becomes an integral part of itself, and its
own fertile faculties, to the modeling of the ultimate elevation of matter, of
this recently understood protyle [4] . By the effect of the physical forces we
know, this second fertilization will develop the visible phenomena, both
glory and despair of positive science.

Such is the opinion of Tradition: between a cause and an effect always acts
the especially and spontaneously adapted faculty to the double nature of the
principle and the goal to be attained [5] . What I have just sketched so
roughly is none other than the most general quaternary revolution, of which
we can see the movement masterfully described in the admirable works of
the contemporary masters of occultism.

This, then, is the true nature of this invisible mystery, which frightens us by
its depth, and which escapes our research with such versatility as soon as
we wish to interrogate it.

Now, does this protean faculty of adaptation, which is the very essence of
the astral, since it is manifested by movement, is it life? Is the astral a living
being, or a huge community of living individuals? The analogy requires
answering in the affirmative. Moreover, the highest initiates, like the most
famous exoteric philosophers, have recognized the universe as a whole in
perpetual transformation from which death (taken in the strict sense of
equilibrium, of nothingness) is excluded [6] .

Here we are led to conclude, in agreement with the sages of the most
remote times: Like all that moves, all that lives, the Invisible is at once a
being and an immense assembly of beings; physical man is the aggregate of
innumerable cells, he himself is a cell of the cosmic body of Adam
Kadmon. That the gigantic proportions of occult individualities pass our
ordinary conceptions, that what appears to us as an unconscious medium is
in reality an individual endowed with body, soul and spirit, it is what a
deeper meditation will convince us of, it is such a sublime spectacle that the
magic mirror can bring us to witness.

Let’s recapitulate this somewhat obscure data. Extremely simple principles,

infinitely multiple phenomena, between them, channels, organs; thus
appears the universe to which it penetrates from the exterior to the interior.
To prove this Invisible, or better yet, to put every sincere and well-disposed
student on the path that can lead him (if he desires it) to the threshold of the
ocean of light and life in which the worlds float; this is the purpose of this
essay.

2. Clairvoyance
Clairvoyance is the faculty of seeing everything beyond the reach of our
physical sight. Clairvoyance can be exercised in time or in space. In time, it
uncovers future things (forebodings, prophecies, etc.), or it allows one to
see things of the past. In space, it produces what psycho -physiologists
today call "telepathic visual hallucinations" [7] .

Since Mesmer, illustrious philosophers, especially among the Germans,

have occupied themselves with this singular faculty of man; they have
sought the theory; and it is after Kant, Schopenhauer, after the founder of
Monism, Dr. C. du Prel [8] , that I will attempt an elucidation of these little
known phenomena.

To establish this theory let us start from this axiom of common sense that
clairvoyance is a perception.

But what is a perception?

A perception is a sensation brought to consciousness; as nothing exists for

us if we are not conscious of it, these two terms, sensation and perception,
are equivalent in reality.

According to Vyasa (Patanjali commentary), sensation is that manifestation

of intelligence, of the mind, which consists mainly in the recognition of the
specific qualities of objects, that is to say of their phenomenal appearances.

According to Kapila [9] , sensation is that mental manifestation that occurs

as an appearance of what it is en rapport with.

The sensation, as we have seen, has the effect of perception.

Finally the Nyaya defines perception as the act of knowledge by which the
sensory organ comes into connection with or in contact with its object [10] .
These three definitions given by three different systems offer a remarkable
concordance.

They indicate that the act of sensation as that of perception requires three
factors to be realized:

1. That which perceives (the mind, the inner sense).

2. That which is perceived (the object in its qualities of appearance).

3. The means of perception (the sensory organ).

This is the process of knowledge described by Kapila (Aphorisms) [11] ,

and it consists of:

1. The idea that forms the object of knowledge: Grihitri (the

subjective).

2. The known: Grahana (the instrumental).

3. The act of knowledge: Grahya.

If this is the case for sensory perceptions, it must be the same for the
hyperphysical perceptions, of which clairvoyance ranks first and foremost.

For this we refer to the many testimonies of experience contained in the

works of modern magnetizers.

In examining the cases of clairvoyance, we will notice with M. Mohini [12]

that a somnambulist subject who perceives very well the persons with
whom his magnetizer puts him in connection with, and the places where he
sends them is absolutely incapable of hearing what these people say; and
vice versa, if said subject is developed in clairaudience he will not be
clairvoyant; the same remark extends to psychometric manifestations.

It may be inferred from this that if in a magnetized subject the mind

manifests itself sometimes by means of such hyperphysical sense,
sometimes by means of another, each of these senses has a special organ.
Therefore, as there is an eye, a physical ear, the astral eye, the astral ear,
etc., also exist.

But if the astral senses exist, why are their manifestations so rare, and so
difficult to attain? It is because we are not aware of their activities; the field
of consciousness has not yet developed up to the astral plane (transcendent
consciousness of the Germans).

The whole secret of the development of clairvoyance is thus solved in only

this way: expanding the field of consciousness.

Let us try to define exactly this word of consciousness, so that we can find a
way to develop it more quickly.

Consciousness is that faculty of the Self which makes it recognize its

individualistic distinction from other objects. It is the relation that is
established between the self and the non-self by means of the various
systems of sensibility.

Its exercise necessarily supposes that of the faculty of perception.

Now the experience of each day has taught us that we perceive an object
only as much as we give it our attention [13] . On the other hand, all
philosophies recognize that attention is an essentially voluntary
phenomenon [14] . Going back to the chain of deductions that has just been
established, it can be concluded that the only way to extend the field of
consciousness in view of the development of clairvoyance is the
implementation of the will or desire.

How, in this case, should we use the will? Let us call here for the help of
Eastern science; we will accept its teachings a priori , even if it is necessary
to verify them by painstaking experiments.

The ancient sages of India thought that mind and matter are not opposite
things, but two poles of the same light; one of the consequences of this
theory led them to cloth the emotions and the ideas of the human being with
a certain character of materiality.
Above the visible physical body moves the subtle body, formed of pure
elements, and including all the mental apparatus (sense, intellect,
consciousness).

It is in turn animated by the causal body, the first reflection of the Atman,
the Divine Self, the Logos.

The subtle body comprises the five physical senses, the five psychic forces
that move the five outer organs, and the five mediums through which these
five driving forces operate.

On the other hand, the physical body is animated by certain organs which
modern science calls plexus and which the Hindus call Chakrams or
wheels; they count seven of these foci of energy in the human body:

Muladhara Chakra – sacral plexus

Swadhisthana Chakra – prostate plexus

Manipuraka Chakra – solar plexus

Anahata Chakra – cardiac plexus

Viandha Chakra – pharyngeal plexus

Ajna Chakra – cavernous plexus [15]

Sahasrara Chakra – pineal gland (the hole of Brahman)

This last foyer is the point where the physical energies sublimate to provide
nourishment for the activities of the subtle body; it is therefore the point of
departure and the point of arrival of the great animating current of the
physical body which Sankaracharya calls Kundalini, and as such belongs to
the subtle body where the mind and the consciousness are seated.

On the other hand, the sense of psychic sight [16] is localized in the
cavernous plexus; in order to bring to consciousness the impressions of this
organ, it suffices to speak, like the Upanishads, of passing Kundalini
through the Ajna Chakra, that is to say, in the common tongue, to
concentrate by a voluntary act all the nervous force of the body in the
middle of the eyebrows, the point where is the seat of the mental vision (the
eye of Shiva); we will arrive there all the better if we have more nervous
force in availability, by abolishing all other perception [17] .

“The Yogi, says Patanjali [18] , sees things by Pratibha, that is to say, by the
light or knowledge instantly produced by the conjunction of the soul and
the spirit, before the exercise of any reasoning faculty.”

This is what we will study in the following paragraphs.

3. The Mirror
The method previously given to develop the psychic senses is therefore
rather difficult to follow. First of all, it requires constant surveillance of the
astral organism, the sensitivity of which becomes extreme as soon as the
will is directed towards the Invisible; we must then be very consistent. It is,
in short, a new life which must be led, a new direction which must be
printed in the mind as in the unconscious.

In this perpetual struggle with the distractions of ordinary life and with the
canvas of the physical world, the will must find auxiliaries in each of the
three organisms that the human being understands. The intellectual man
will have to put into play his faculty of meditation, by which he will
consciously generate ideas; the Animated [19] Man will develop by
suppressing personal emotions and gaining the power to feel the emotions
of the Universal; the physical Man finally will have to close the door to the
external sensations, by self-hypnosis.

All this will appear unscientific to Western readers. It is none the less true
that such are the strict rules of occult education followed since the most
remote times of which we can acquire the notion [20] .

In fact, the beginner must, to perceive the Invisible, be isolated from the
Visible. It is only later, after a long practice, patient and continued with
persevering ardor, which leads to the mastery that he can be both a spectator
of the occult world and the material world.

To isolate oneself from the visible is to lose consciousness; it is sleep of this

kind of physical sleep, of which our modern scholars have rediscovered the
most rudimentary varieties under the name of hypnotism.

Among the senses by means of which we are in relation with the visible,
two are, by the materiality of their object, absolutely under the control of
the will. In order to not engage the tactile and taste senses, it is sufficient to
remain motionless. Forgive me for the naivety of these remarks. They are
useful, if only for showing the simplicity of the means used by the occult
for results that are "supernatural" according to the common people.

As for the other three senses, they can be nullified by enclosing them, like
the Yogis, in the silence and darkness of an underground retreat.

But then what happens is that the will is reduced to drawing its strength
exclusively from the Invisible, from the astral, by means of an intellectual
concentration whose power is well above the power of the majority of
students, even the advanced ones.

The ideal, then, would be to furnish to the brain by the means of the three
senses mentioned above an adjuvant whose uniformity and persistence
would bring no distractions to the intellect. Thus the physical sense will be
asleep, and the will will find new forces to practice.

The use of these adjuvants is known from the earliest antiquity. These are
perfumes, music and light. The Egyptian and Hindu initiates used them as a
consummated science for the development of their neophytes, and the
tradition of these practices is found among all peoples. To give more details
would be beyond my subject; excellent views, adapted to the modern
intellect, will be found in the Treatise on Practical Magic by Papus [21] .

Simply note this, according to the temperament of the subject [22] , the
ancient sages used to bring one of his senses to the magical sleep. He was
then prepared by the monotonous weakening of the other senses which I
have indicated above, to a move vivid impression of the desired sense,
establishing “hypnosis”.

It is thus that whoever wishes to develop in clairvoyance, will at first

dampen his sense of smell by an appropriate fumigation, his ear, by music
of a special character, while in the semi-darkness of a small lamp he will fix
his eyes on the magic mirror.

These long explanations lead one to look at the magic mirror as an

instrument intended to absorb, to extract from the subject's eyes all the
physical light.

But this is only the first half of its action.

We have seen how difficult and long the development of clairvoyance is

when one cannot connect the latent sensitivity of Shiva’s eye to the astral
medium in space. It seems that if one could focus this astral light into a
focal point, just as the concave mirrors do for the physical light, then
clairvoyance would be much faster. Such a condition is achieved by magic
mirrors. Indeed, wherever there is a concentration of physical light, there is
an ethereal focus, a vibrating node of the generative medium. For spherical
mirrors the problem is solved; place the subject’s eye in relation to the astral
focus, and at the end of a more or less considerable time, according to the
degree of mental concentration or desire, that is to say, according to the
perfection with which the seventh astral force of our body will have
penetrated the Flaming Wheel, according to these conditions, I say (which
depend directly, I repeat, on the power of the will) clairvoyance will occur.
At first it will not be perfect or even precise, but a continuous and careful
exercise will gradually give the astral organs all the sensitivity they are
capable of acquiring.

Thus, the spherical mirrors, that is to say formed of a portion of sphere, are
the most powerful. Flat disks only have the property of absorption. That's
why magic discs are always saturnine in color [23] .

This is the simplest explanation that one can give on the effects of the
magic mirror. Let's summarize it in a few words. Given a latent faculty of
discerning the astral light, to arrive at this result two opposite actions will
constitute the ternary of this operation:

I hope that the rest of these pages will undoubtedly clear up the obscurity of
these explanations, and the desire of the reader will do the rest.

Chapter II: Realization

4. The Astral Kingdoms

Let us try to delve deeper into the mysteries of this universal organizing
soul that we have previously identified; let us try, guided by the analogy
and by the story of the seers, to describe the innumerable cells which
compose it, its spheres, its powers, its hierarchies, an enormous task, and
which I only tackle with my apologies. Analogously, we can first write that
the Invisible is formed, like the visible, of environments and individualities,
one like the other, can be divided into three large planes: the terrestrial, the
lunar and the solar [24] .

As for the environment, we find in each of these three planes forces

analogous to those acting in man: attraction, repulsion, projection,
generation, reception, adaptation and synthesis.

Realizing what they contain requires a triple training for which few men
have a powerful enough mentality.
To immerse oneself in the formidable currents of these cosmic channels, it
is absolutely necessary to have a perfect knowledge of their cycles, their
laws and their qualities. This is not the place to make that presentation.

Considered from the point of view of individuals [25] , the three planes of
the Invisible can be generally attributed to the elements, elementals and
angels. Of these three categories of beings, those with whom our
contemporaries believe to be most easily to enter in contact with are the
elementals, the souls of the dead. This is true, however, only for a very
small part of the Spiritist phenomena. The souls of the dead are sometimes
bound to the earth by an unfulfilled desire; it is up to their pious children to
shorten these torments. The ancestors come willingly, in the holy circle of
the family home, when their descendants invoke them with love; they are
also visible in the magic cup; but a vain curiosity should never dare to
disturb their repose.

Among the elementals, some whose energies were, in the course of their
earthly life, exclusively devoted to selfish ends, fall into the cursed orbs of
the dark satellite. There preside the vampires, black magicians, inversive
friars, doomed to the nameless sufferings of total disintegration. There is
realized the law of death in its most absolute sense.

Let us divert the eyes of the seer from these places of horror, and let them
penetrate into the realms of terrestrial vitality, among the elementals. Here
we are with the spirits of the elements, the Saganes of Paracelsus. Their
number defies calculation; all being, says Kabbalah, every herb, every stone
has its spirit. These are the manifestations, the plastique [26] powers, the
innumerable armies of Nature: the Shadaim . Here are sad, dull greyish eyes
lying in the dreary bosom of ponds and swamps; here, playing on the
iridescent crest of the waves are the newts, the mermaids, and the
capricious undines; sometimes friends of man, more often they are
dangerous fascinators, marvelous forms of passions, the attraction of which
throws man upon the pitfalls of crime and madness.

Do you hear in the underground caverns the crystalline hammers of gnomes

and malicious goblins? In the depths of the invisible forges, the pygmies
enclose pure souls in the shining tomb of gems; while above them, half
aerial, half terrestrial, the Trolls, Nixies, and Brownies, familiar to the
superstitious Welsh, play at the threshold of the cottage.

But, the seer admires the aerial forms of the fairies descending into this
moonbeam; the sweetest figures of art alone can be compared to the
graceful sylphs which are suitable to humans for the sweet delight of their
lips; the entire Middle Ages, overcome by the terrors of dark Christian
mysticism, raised its heart to her hungry for smiles. While the dreamers
who live in the Black Forest –frightened by their caprice and their
perfidious females – venerate the air elves with a little anxiety.

The highest of the cosmic elementals, the igneous subjects of King Jehuel
and his seven ministers live in the subtle spheres of fire. The salamanders
are terrible, and close to the angels, their life is long and their mores pure.

These four classes of beings correspond to the three kingdoms of visible

nature; they are the invisible factors; a hierarchy with infinite degrees links
them to each other; according to Paracelsus, the saganes are born, live,
marry and die [27] ; but after the time of their earthly existence, they do not
retain consciousness; This is why tradition sees them as mortal [28] .
Consciousness, and therefore immortality, becomes possible only when the
divine animating spark has arrived at the human kingdom.

In general we are invisible to the elementals, as they are to us; they always
answer our call, but the eye of flesh can perceive them only if they find in
the external environment a sufficient plasticity to clothe it.

They then become for the one who evoked them, either protectors or
obsessors [29] .

But on this night of the rising moon, let us send the clairvoyant beyond the
sub-human spheres of life; let us place him in observation in the waves of
the subterranean ether, in this ocean of force which vitalizes our planet. His
dazzled eyes will be filled with ecstasy at the glory of these unknown
regions; he will see, among the souls of the just, floating on the harmonious
waves of the cosmic symphony, the Elohim, the secondary suns moving; he
will perceive in the midst of the gigantic waves of the earth spiral the
planetary spirits blessing the spirits of the peoples with their beneficent
influences, while, according to the double hermetic currents, the souls
descend and ascend without end, on the waves of the Celestial Fire.

But for these sublime spectacles, you need pure spectators; it requires a soul
without stain and an invincible will; there we touch the sacred mysteries of
ecstasy. As for such research, we do not advise undertaking it before years
and years of incessant work [30] . A very ample field is already offered for
the student’s exploration if he knows how to limit himself to the field of
physical clairvoyance, and to the study of the most external astral realms.

These are some of the most current data from the Western tradition on the
beings of the astral; we are going to show the reader another aspect of the
same subject by outlining a brief compilation of the Hindu theories about it
contained in the Vedas and Puranas [31] .

According to the Rig Veda (IX, XVI, 20), there are five orders of created
things; they are the Gods, Man, the Gandharvas, the Serpents and the Pitris
(spirits, ancestors) [32] . These are the beings of the third and last class that
we have in mind particularly.

We know that one of the fundamental theories of Vedantism teaches that

Prakriti (the primordial matter), differentiated, has three qualities (the
Gunas) [33] . The first is called Light (Sattva) distinguished from inertia, it is
illuminating and makes things manifest; the second is called Passion
(Radjo-Guna), it causes attraction and movement; the third is darkness
(Tamas), it is inert, obscure, compressive.

All beings possess these three qualities to varying degrees, and it is their
distinction which has served to differentiate the various classes of invisible
beings; Isvara Krishna has eight [34] , Sankhya-Karika (LIII), which he
qualifies with the Bhagavad Gita (IX, 25 and XVII, 4), and Manu (XVII,
44, 47, 49, 50), as indicated by following table that one will like to read as
well as a table of Pythagoras.
Here are, according to more modern authorities, what are the different
orders of existence around us:

a) Rupas-Devas: planetary spirits in relation with the Rupa-Loka.

They are formal.

b) Arupas-Devas: the highest planetary spirits, directing the Arupa-

Loka, they are formless and purely subjective.

c) Pisachas: shells that subsist in the Kama-Loka after the passage

of the Ego in Devachan [35] .

d) Mara-Rupas: shells with abnormal material attractions, whose

spiritual and psychic life is completely null, they cannot be lead to
Devachan.

e) Assuras: elementals in human form.

f) Beasts: elementals of the last rank, belonging to the various

classes of animals or natural forces. These beings will develop later,
along with the preceding, up to the human level.

g) Rakshasas: (demons) souls or astral forms of sorcerers, of men

who have reached the limits of forbidden knowledge. Dead or alive,
they have violated Nature.

These different names simply designate the states of existence ( Karika ,

XLVIII) of the divine spark that evolves through the four astral realms, the
three physical kingdoms to conquer with humanity the terrible and precious
gift of its free will; above him rise the luminous realms of the Devas, below
him are those of the children of Shiva [36] .
These astral beings have bodies, but not conditioned by Karma [37] , more or
less luminous, more or less beautiful or ugly according to their spirituality;
they can, moreover, perfect themselves by contemplating Brahman (
Chandogya Upanishad , VIII, vii, 3).

All these invisible have the power of possession; beneficial in the superiors,
evil in others; one can escape their hold or make them favorable by
honoring them.

Those of the first class are honored by contemplating Atman; those of the
second by the extinction of desires; those of the third through action; the
Gandharvas are sensitive to music, perfumes and flowers; the Yakschas
procure temporal goods; the Rakschasas feed on the vapor of blood shed by
warlike fury; they are dispersed by Mantrams; finally, we get rid of the
elementals by offering them rice balls, fulfilling their desire or by the rites
of black magic [38] .

5. The Seers
When one proposes to begin experiments of this kind, it is not enough to
know a general theory; we must also adapt to the particular case that is in
sight. That is why, after having explained the mechanism of clairvoyance,
we will summarize in a few lines the modifications that must be made to the
general training process, according to the person to whom it is applied.

Not everyone is equally capable of clairvoyance: there are variations of

environment (life, habitat, etc.), birth and habits.

Astrologically, the erection of the horoscope makes it possible to establish

the temperament of the subject in a precise way to indicate to what degree
the psychic senses are developable in him. We will search for these
characters in the influences of the higher planets, Uranus and Neptune,
which assert themselves only in exceptional cases and in individuals far in
advance of the rest of the present race.

“When Neptune is powerful, its aspects with the Sun and the Moon would
greatly tend to produce clairvoyance. Neptune should be considered as
active in the advancement of the present state of humanity only when it is
near the point of the houses I, X, VII and IV, that is to say when it is
angular, and its influx is consequently powerful. [39] ”

Similarly, “Raphael claims to have observed that the quadratures and

oppositions of Uranus with Saturn tend to produce clairvoyance [40] .”

There are still many other positions of planets inclining the subject towards
the hatching of these faculties; they will be found in the two excellent
modern [41] treatises on astrology already cited.

But it is not always possible to resort to the erection of the natal chart (a
detailed and long operation) especially when a quick experiment must be
done. In this case, we can use the theory of four temperaments to classify
the subject [42] ; it is not a dry analytic system, it is a living and fruitful
adaptation of the Great Arcana of the Word to the forms of the human
figure: it gives wonderful results to the intuitive diviners.

Recently updated, this method is continued from the masters. Eliphas Levi
has classified, in one of his books, the magical faculties of these four
temperaments: the Melancholic is predisposed to clairaudience and
geomancy; the Choleric can easily evoke or determine forms; the Sanguine
is rather developable in psychometry; and the Phlegmatic is clairvoyant [43]
.

In the course of our experiments we have noticed that the subjects most
naturally disposed to the development of magical faculties have eyes and
hair of different colors.

Finally, the last and important recommendation: always remember that our
activities generate in the Invisible forms in our image: beautiful if they are
noble, ugly if they are selfish; the horrible forms usually seen at the
beginning of the experiments are but the symbolic image of the ugliness of
the soul, which should have been discarded at first.

6. Classification of Mirrors
Going back through the ages, the oldest written document we found on the
magic mirrors are the indications from Moses' about the Urim and Thumim.
This assertion may seem hazardous at first, as one recalls the disagreement
of the commentators on this subject. Philo the Jew saw in it the image of the
four symbolic animals [44] ; others identified them with the twelve stones of
the ephod, or like Eliphas Levi with the two onyx placed as clips on the
shoulders of the high priest [45] . It has been believed to recognize the
incommunicable name, the names of the twelve tribes: however, the mere
examination of the biblical text shows that none of these explanations fully
satisfies.

Here, however, is the revelation we find in Art Magic , presented in the

crystal by a planetary genius.

“The best and oldest method of divination is that of the Crystal or the Urim
and the Thummim.

Its origin was heavenly, and the inspirations, visions, and communications
received by means of crystal by a holy and pure man, were purely divine
and free from all human influence. The use of crystal in modern times is
almost as powerful as the Urim and the Thummim of the Jews. And in the
hands of a clairvoyant subject, his revelations are infallible.

Spirits do not actually appear in the crystal, but the seer receives a magnetic
aid to penetrate the spiritual world deeply through the translucence of the
instrument, by this way he (or she) is brought to a very intimate contact
with spirits who can willingly converse with mortals.”

The hieroglyphic analysis of the Hebrew words confirms this view.

Thummim's root is T M, "the sign of signs, the symbol of all perfection, the
accomplished image of the universal soul". On the other hand, the plural I
M means universal passive manifestation: the general idea is therefore that
of reflection, of image received and rendered faithfully, of shimmering
water, the magic crystal.

On the other side, Aourim is the general manifestation of light, meaning

that, materialized, leads to that of reflecting mirror.
In any case, I will not insist further, not wishing to impose an opinion.

In India, at the present, the Chelas, “initiated students”, use gold mirrors in
the crypts of the temples.

Historical antiquity has seen a great variety of metallic mirrors, used for
both black magic and white.

“The Sagas of Thessaly once traced on their mirrors their sibylline formulas
with blood. As soon as the moon (another mirror) reflected these bloody
characters, then the answer was printed on its silver crescent. This is how
the oracle was rendered. [46] ”

In Japan, the mirrors are very large, in jade or any other stone of a perfect
polish. You can see some very beautiful specimens at the Guimet Museum.

Papus described in a lecture made to the Independent Group of Esoteric

Studies, a magic mirror brought from India by the painter James Tissot. It
consists essentially of an bright crystal sphere on which the subject fixes his
eyes.

The magicians of the Middle Ages used mainly metallic mirrors, tin or
copper. The crystal of St. Helena was also used by them; we will give its
consecration later. The famous Nostradamus was not an astrologer but
rather a seer; all his prophecies were presented to him in the mirror. One of
the most eminent occultists of the Renaissance, Dr. John Dee received from
spirits a very precious magical stone [47] . The manuscripts preserved in the
Cottonian library speak of it as a crystal; other authors represent it as a
piece of circular coal, perfectly polished, provided with a handle [48] . In
1842 it was with Horace Walpole in Strawberry Hill. It was sold for 336
francs to an unknown purchaser [49] .

Among the black mirrors, we can cite the Arabic Mandeb, whose process
we shall see later; the mirror of du Potet [50] , a circle drawn and blackened
with charcoal on the floor [51] ; among those invented by the students of this
powerful magnetizer, here is one of the best: a piece of oval cardboard,
about ten centimeters long, covered on one side with tin foil, on the other
with a piece of cloth. The operator strongly magnetises this mirror, and
when he finds the occasion,” he takes it in his right hand; pressed against
the palm of his hand, his fingers surrounding the edges like so many
magnetic points through which the fluid escapes, he presents this mirror on
one side or the other, about a foot away from the root of the nose; ten
minutes of fixation is sufficient to obtain vision, if it is to take place [52] .”

The Swedenborg Mirror

Cahagnet describes this mirror in les Arcanes de la vie future and in Magie
magnétique . It was revealed by a spirit that presented itself as the
illustrious Swedish seet, to the somnambulist Cahagnet.

Here is how you can build one:

“We take any quantity of graphite, sifted very fine, which is stirred (in a
suitable vase that can be placed in a fire), with a sufficient quantity of olive
oil so as to form a fairly clear paste; place this mixture over a low heat to
better facilitate the mixing; we take an ordinary looking-glass (without
tinning) that we gently approach the fire to prepare it to receive the mixture
without experiencing a transition that can make it break; place it flat on two
pieces of wood and then the prepared paste is poured on one of its faces, by
turning it from one side to the other side in order to give the liquid the
facility to cover equally all the parts, this is better than to use a brush which
would leave furrows that would ruin the uniformity. If the paste is a little
light, sprinkle the same sifted graphite over all of it, which would make a
more compact amalgam.

This mirror thus prepared is laid flat horizontally on a piece of furniture and
cannot be used until a few days later, having been placed in a suitable frame
for this purpose. This mirror has the advantage, over tinned ones, of tiring
the sight less by not rendering a perfect image of objects; it is good to place
it in a place so that it does not reflect the image of the person who wants to
fixate on it. I am using this mirror like all of those I have spoken of,
standing behind the consultant, magnetically fixing it to the cerebellum
(above the dimple of the neck) with the intention that the fluid that I project
on him by my eyes joins with his to illuminate it. I also mentally pray to
the angel committed to guarding this person, to facilitate this vision if he
finds it suitable. I obtained with this mirror the same results as with the
others. [53] ”

The 1894 Almanach du Magiste ( Magician’s Almanac ) recounts

experiences with a mirror made of a slightly charred wood disk. Here is
how the experimenter accounts for his visions:

“After a few minutes of fixity, the surface of the mirror is veiled and
covered with a slight whitish vapor. Gradually, this vapor increases and is
transformed into a kind of bluish and phosphorescent light. It spreads even
on surrounding objects, to which it communicates a particular brilliance. In
the end, it rolls in big clouds that quickly traverse the field of the mirror. It
is only then that the forms are shown and that I sometimes distinguish very
clearly what I want to see.”

Among the luminous mirrors we note the mirror of Cagliostro, the mirror of
St. Helena, the crystal or magnetic mirror, the narcotic mirror whose water
is obtained by the distillation of magic plants, etc. etc. [54]

“In a carafe full of clear water or a magnetized crystal ball; it is in such

environments, very refractive for the astral light, that Cagliostro had his
colombes focus their gaze upon for a long time. He appointed young boys
who were still innocent or little girls who played the role of passive
clairvoyants, while he was holding them under the irradiation of his
magnetic will. These little beings saw then the chain of the future
contingents, in the form of a series of evidently sibylline images, concrete
kinds of prophecies, which only awaited their translation into demotic [55]
language. The colombes spoke in exclamations. Suddenly Cagliostro in an
inspired and vibrant voice, improvised an oratorical or dithyrambic [56]
commentary, and the most mocking souls and the most skeptical minds
were then subjugated. [57] ”

Finally, the Comte de Gabalis gives the recipe for four kinds of mystical
containers to attract the spirits of the elements. To attract Salamanders, take
glass globes filled with “feu du monde” (world fire) concentrated over forty
days; to attract the sylphs, other spheres filled with conglobated air; for the
undines, these vases will be filled with water, and with salted earth for the
Gnomes. We entrust to the reader's insight the task of discovering the real
meaning of this recipe.

We can see that the mirrors can be classified as follows:

Saturnian mirrors [58] - discs and instruments of black color

Lunar mirrors – vases and crystals filled with water

Solar mirrors – portions of metallic spheres

The first are better suited to young boys, the second to women; the last are
rather synthetic, and are addressed to the seers without a director.

Each of these large classes can in turn be divided into four genera,
appropriate to the various temperaments of those who are called upon to use
them. One can vary the composition, adapting them to the four Zodiacal
temperaments, or the seven planets. This is easy to do when one is a little
versed in the theory of correspondences.

These are the main varieties of magic mirrors. Through experimentation

many more can be found; we will leave to the researchers the pleasure of
these discoveries.

Chapter III: Adaptation

VII. The Practice

The fundamental rule of all occult experience - and those of which we are
speaking here, possess this character in the highest degree - is to never use
any object before having consecrated it, to never begin anything without an
invocation to the invisible.

Thus, any attempt at clairvoyance must be preceded by a consecration of

the instrument. We will list and describe some of these rites starting with
the simplest.

Lucidity with the Glass of Water

Papus recommends the following procedure, applicable in a mundane salon
as well as in the silence of the oratory [59] :

“The simplest magic mirror consists of a crystal cup (not glass) filled with
water to the edge and placed on a table covered with a white cloth. Behind
the cup, two candles are placed and everything is ready for the operation.
This operation requires the assistance of two people: a subject and a
director.

The subject sits in front of the cup in order to see the horizontal surface of
the water.

It is then that the operator approaches and standing, places his right hand
extended on the head of the subject and calls the angel who presides over
this operation three times.

After a minute (if successful) the subject sees the water boiling: then, the
colors of the specter appear, and finally visions are shown and answers to
mental questions are given.”

Metallic Mirror

Here is the rite of consecration used by the Western magicians of the

Middle Ages as given by several manuscripts of the Clavicules [60] .

“Take a shiny, well - polished plate of lightly concave steel, and write on it
with the blood of a male, white pigeon, at the four corners of the mirror the
names:

Jehovah Elohim

Metatron Adonai

Put the steel in new, very clean and white linen.

When you see the new moon in the first hour after the setting sun, come to a
window, look at the sky with devotion, and say:
O LORD! O eternal King! Ineffable God who created all things for my sake,
and by a judgment hidden for the health of man, look upon me, (Name),
your very unworthy servant, and consider my intention pure. Deign to send
me your angel Anael on this mirror whom summons, commands and orders
his companions and your subjects that you have made, O almighty who
have been, who are and who will be forever; that in your name they pray
and act righteously to instruct me and show me what I will ask of them.

Then, throw on burning coals the suitable perfume which is oriental saffron
and upon throwing it, say:

In this, for this, and with this that I pour out before your face, oh my God,
who is triune, good, and in the most sublime elevation, whom sees above
the cherubim and seraphim, and whom is to judge the ages by fire, hear me.

At this moment, the mirror is perfumed by putting it over a new stove of

earthenware or iron so that it is impregnated with the smoke of the perfume,
holding it with your right hand and saying the previous prayer three times.

After saying it, blow three times on the mirror and say:

Come, Anael, come, and may it be your pleasure to be in me by your will, in

the name of the Almighty Father +, in the name of the most wise Son +, in
the name of the most gracious Holy Spirit +; come Anael, in the name of
the terrible Jehovah, come Anael by virtue of the immortal Elohim, come
Anael by the arm of the all-powerful Metatron, come to me N… (Say your
name on the mirror), and command your subjects that with love, joy and
peace, they will show to my eyes the things that are hidden from me. So
mote it be, Amen.

After doing this, lift your eyes to the sky and say:

Almighty Lord, who moves all that pleases you, hear my prayer and may my
desire be pleasing to you; look please, Lord, upon this mirror and bless it,
so that Anael, one of your subjects, is secured with his companions to
satisfy N ..., your poor and miserable servant, O God, blessed and most
exalted of all the heavenly spirits, who live and reign in the eternity of good.
So mote it be.
When you have done these things, make the sign of the cross on you and on
the mirror, the first day and the following for forty-five consecutive days, at
the end of which Anael will appear under the figure of a beautiful child, you
will greet and command his companions to obey you.

Note that it does not always take forty-five days to perfect the mirror; often
the spirit appears on the fourteenth day. It depends on the intention, the
devotion and the fervor of the operator.

Thereafter, when you want to see in the mirror and obtain what you want, it
is not necessary to recite all the aforementioned prayers; but after
perfuming the mirror, say:

Come Anael, may it be your pleasure, etc …. (up to the Amen).

When the operation is over, you will dismiss the spirit by saying:

I thank you, Anael, for coming and satisfying my request; go in peace and
come when I call you.

The scent or perfume of Anael is saffron.

Saturnian Mirrors

Disks and mirrors of this kind are only able to render visible inferior or bad
spirits, or physical objects, there is no special consecration for them.

Mirror of Saint Helena

Make a cross on a crystal glass with olive oil, and under the cross write St.
Helena. Then, give to a child, virgin, born of the legitimate marriage the
crystal glass to hold, kneel behind him, and say the following prayer three
times:

Deprecor, Domina Helena, mater regis Constantini, etc.

When the child will see the angel; he will be able to make such a request to
him as one wishes [61] .
Nostradamus Formula

Frequently used successfully in evocations of planetary or other spirits by

nineteenth century adepts, this rite is one of the highest and purest of its
genre. Only the secret rite of the Hindu Chela is superior to it [62] . Having
obtained a good and clear stone, in which no spirit has yet been called, the
seer will have to determine that for all uses, except for evil. I do not mean
that he should propose to use it only for good use, for many frivolous and
futile questions can be made, which will make the stone serve the
knowledge of worldly things. But that he resolves not to use it for bad or
unholy purposes; he will then dedicate it by fervent prayer to God. Do not
use a mediator for this prayer, but with firmness, with humility, hope that
God will put you in possession of a guardian spirit by which you will
eventually obtain the desired visions.

Having done this, inspect the crystal, and before asking to see any vision,
ask for the name of your guardian spirit; having obtained this name, ask to
see the angel; when it appears, ask it to give you whatever advice it thinks
fit. Ask it for the days and times it would like to appear, and also the times
when you can call other spirits. Ask that it will guard your crystal well, to
prevent evil spirits from appearing there, and to give you warning in time if
it happens to attack you, so that you or it can defend you.

All this being agreed, give it liberty; at the first evocation, it must not be
retained for more than half an hour.

When you evoke it for the second time, exorcise it three times, with a firm
and determined will, before asking it any questions. If it does not vanish,
you can then count on it absolutely.

You can then continue the evocations as long as it will be possible,

according to your convenience and that of the angel; if it wishes to leave, it
can do so without dismissal; but be careful not to forget the "dismissal"
after finishing one night.

When you invoke some atmospheric or lower-level spirit, such as those of

the dead, always use the formula: If it is convenient [63] and pleasant to you
, or According to your pleasure . Do this especially when you are talking to
the spirit of a living person. These words are not needed when it comes to
the guardian or a high grade spirit.

Above all things, you are advised not to use this Angel for any purpose; it is
not a direct or indirect way to make money. It may seem to continue its
services sweetly for some time; you can get the information and visions you
want; but the fatal and lamentable consequences of our ill-considered
demands will come sooner or later.

When at last you are in possession of a good crystal, have confidence in it,
and make sure by all means of its veracity. You can also use a mirror, which
is by far the best.

The mirror is used in the same way as the crystal; but its visions are of a
natural grandeur [64] and by the bay which it opens to the spiritual world, it
makes it possible to be more intimately connected with the spirit to which
one is addressing.

Of all the modes of divination, this one is the easiest and the best; its
information is slow and crude at first, but little by little you are brought by
it to the summum of all human knowledge on spiritual subjects.

The Call :

“ In the name of Almighty God, in whom we live, we move and we have our
being, I humbly implore the Guardian Angel of this mirror to appear .”

When it comes, you can ask it your questions, and get information, such as
when it will let you call it again, and for how long.

For a Vision :
“ In the name of Almighty God, in whom we live, we move and we have our
being, I humbly implore the spirit of this mirror to favor me with a vision
which interests me and which instructs me etc ... (name the vision).

To see a Person :

“ In the name of Almighty God, in whom we live, we move and we have our
being, I pray to you N… to appear in this mirror, if it is convenient and
agreeable to you (never forget these words).

Exorcism :

“ In the name of Almighty God, in whom we live, we move and we have our
being, I dismiss and expel the Spirit currently visible in this mirror, if it is
not N ... (Name the spirit) or if it is not a good and truthful Spirit.

This must be pronounced in a very energetic and very stern voice, repeated
three times, the forefinger on the crystal.

Dismissal Formula :

“ In the name of Almighty God, in whom we live, we move and we have our
being, I dismiss from this mirror all the spirits who have descended here;
and may the peace of God be forever between them and me.

This must be repeated three times, before closing the session, even if the
spirit does not appear.

Mandeb

The magic mirror used by the Arabs consists of a small round of thick ink
that the sorcerer pours into the palm of a child’s left hand; detailed accounts
of visions can be found in the works of Count Laborde and W. Lane. Here
is a brief description of the operation according to Léon de Laborde [65] :

First two formulas are written on two strips of paper: the first is a sentence
from the Koran (chapter 50, verse 21); the other consists of the following
invocation:

“Tarschoun! Tarzuschoun! Descend! Descend! Be present! Where did the

prince and his army go? Where did El-amar go? The Prince and his army?
appear servants of this name!”

This incantation is repeated on six pieces of paper, while the sentence of the
Koran is attached to the subject's headdress; all of it is first offered to the
smoke of an incense composed of equal parts of Takeh mabachi and
Konsombra Diaon (incense, coriander seeds) to which Indian amber is
added.

The figure of the mirror being drawn in the hand of the young object, we
throw the first formula of conjuration into the fire, while intoning these
words:

Anzilu aiouha el Dschemonia and Dshennoum

Anzilu betakki matalabontontron aleikum

Taricki , etc. (2 times)

Anzilu , etc. (3 times)

Taricki , etc. (2 times)

The operator continues holding the subject’s hand until the sweeper
appears:

Note that Jean Dee and Kelley also saw at the beginning of their evocations
a figure of man sweeping a place. Karl Kiesewetter [66] finds it "the symbol
of the destruction of the material obstacles of clairvoyance". One might
consider this as particular to a circle of initiation. In experiments of this
kind undertaken in Paris for some years we have never seen or heard this
symbol.

The magician of Mr. de Laborde came when the sweeper disappears seven
planetary banners in the following order: Mars, Saturn, Moon, Venus,
Jupiter, Mercury, and the Sun, after burning the second formula, then when
the banners have vanished, the third portion is also thrown into the fire. The
subject then sees arriving troops (fourth and fifth formulas) who pitch tents,
kill an ox, cook it and eat it. It is then that he is ready to answer the
questions of the assistants.

Mirror of the Bhattahs

Five English officers, including the narrator [67] , one day attended the
illuminating dance of the Muntra-Vallahs, or Brahman magicians. This rite
was celebrated at Mutra (in the kingdom of Agra, on the west bank of the
Djumna); this city is famous for the output it makes of magical instruments;
it is one of only two places in the world where the preparation of the
Paraphtaline gum used for the mirror vision is known. These Brahmans call
the state in which one is enlightened, the sleep of Siolam.

Some mystical writers believe that they gathered their knowledge in the
"left hand path” where their neighbors the Dougpas of Bhutan would have
directed them. We cannot affirm anything specific about this subject.

We will summarize Colonel Fraser's long description:

On the appointed day, our five officers went, through the gorges of the
Chocki-Hills, to the village where the mysterious "Sebeiyeh" dance was to
take place. The sheik, an old man more than a hundred years old, judging
by the venerable air and the white beards of his grandchildren, received
them with courtesy and immediately began the preparations for the
ceremony.

A circle was first made on the ground by two couples of engaged young
people carrying earthen vessels; a black, viscous, tar-like liquid filled these
vases; the sheikh informed them that this substance, collected in the
volcanic crevices of the Mahadeo Hills (Gondivana, Decan), is harvested by
young boys and girls who have not yet reached the age of puberty; it can
only be found during the month of June; it is then subjected to occult
preparations, during forty-nine days by other young people on the eve of
getting married.
This circle was made around a small altar of stones, on which the sacred
fire of the Garounahs burns without ever extinguishing. A tripod supported
above that fire a large earthen vessel, where the four young operators
poured a quarter of the contents of their vessels; Hundreds of assistants
were ranged around the circle, and some of them frantically sounded drums
and large cymbals, a strange prelude to the following sacred enthusiasms.

The sheikh, meanwhile, indicated to the officers the symbol of fire, the
universal soul of nature, always active; above it, however, are the three
divine powers of Para Brahm: tripod ideal of creation, preservation,
transformation; a pole covered with the skins of cobra snakes (remarkable
coincidence) crowned with a palm nut, is sunk in the ground near the altar;
it is the image of the creative power of the divinity, of the rigid, penetrating
male force, while the vase subjected to the action of fire represents the
passive, fundamental, enveloping power of the feminine force.

In accordance with the exciting rhythms of the supplicating voices, the

bursts of the copper flutes, the sound of the drums and barbarian
instruments, begins a strange dance punctuated by the piercing cries of
women and girls, gradually exalted up to religious fury; while the echoes of
the neighboring rocks respond to this powerful concert like the voices of the
Devas favorable to the desires of mortals.

Moving forward with a voluptuous and gentle movement, to which the

whole body seemed to take part, the young, supple and graceful girls,
adorned with all the splendors of Oriental luxury, expressed with
indescribable charm, by the inflexions of their slender bust, by light
genuflections, by the rolling gestures of their arms, the most ideal poetry of
love; they revolved around the phallic emblem, stirring with silver spatulas
the contents of the vase they carried, while the two couples who had
inaugurated the ceremony performed symmetrical rhythms.

The old Brahmin then spoke; but his voice without timbre, far from
interrupting the state of contemplation in which this spectacle and this
music had thrown the strangers, penetrated with a magnetic power to the
heart of their minds to model them like a soft wax, in the first directions of
occult practice.
He revealed to them in gemmed language the precious flowers of oriental
poetry, the true nature of passion. He showed it to them as the secret root of
the human soul, as the support of all existence, as the invisible spring that
moves every creature; pure essence at first, then divided into the
innumerable hierarchy of Forces, it is the elixir for whom conquers it, it is
sacred and reveals itself as the all - powerful arm of the one who dominates
it.

The substance contained in these vases, added the Sheik, is charged with
passion, and it is by the magical power of the latter, when, just now, crystals
will be covered with this liquid, that the seers will be able to contemplate
not only any scene of earthly life but even the enchanting images of the
sojourn of the Gods. Such is the true Door, concludes the Brahmin in a final
whisper.

The musicians had meanwhile accelerated their rhythm and the dancers
their movements, the first two couples of fiancés suddenly broke away the
eldest of the girls, and while her companions began to stir the black mass
suspended on the fire, uttering magnetic incantations, she left, continuing to
dance, her tunic of gold to offer to the delighted eyes the royal alms of her
beauty.

The perfect contours of her young bust were bathed in the luminous air of
the vespers with transparencies of opal; the entanglement of her untied
black hair brightened the delicacy of her breasts, the noble curves of her
flanks; like the marvelous flower of some dream plant, the fine oval of her
head crowned with splendor the shivering bust of the young bayadère,
while the play of her languid eyelids scattered on all things the magical
prestige of her eyes.

Her art was ignorant of the hasty movements of our choreography; symbols
vivified by force of science from the high conceptions of the sanctuary,
each of her steps revealed an Arcanum, and each of her gestures evoked a
Power. Undulations of the torso, swaying of the hips accompanied the
interlacing of the young arms, while the divine look of the virgin seemed to
deliver her all to the beloved ideal; it was the very palpitations of the soul
which we thought we saw translated into the body of an indescribable and
chaste kind; the undulating waves of her voluptuous movements lent
themselves to the expression of the thousand shades of desire and modesty
that enraptured the silent spectators. For beauty resides only in the
inexpressible mystery.

The colonel was suddenly drawn from his admiring contemplation by the
hieratic dancer who invited him to take a look at the contents of the great
magic vase; instead of a black and boiling mass, he saw with astonishment
some of the most delicate colors, constantly changing into ever - changing
forms of shimmering flowers; the high priest poured a layer of this liquid on
the waters of which our hero saw friends and relatives dear to his heart, as
well as several other extraordinary images

Please excuse the length of the extract that we have adapted; we wanted to
put the mystical reader on the path of one of the most powerful secrets of
the Eastern Temple.

Communication with a Planetary Spirit

Whenever guardian spirits, or angels of the highest order, move in the

spiritual world, the air around them is purified of all that is, to some degree,
less refined than themselves. Thus, when an atmospheric spirit encounters a
more celestial spirit, the atmospheric spirit yields to the pressure of the area
surrounding the other and withdraws to give it passage. In this way the
spirits visit our atmosphere, and the spheres lower than their own, like the
earth, without ever coming into contact with the individualities inferior to it,
unless they desire it. Thus, even when a spirit is called to converse with
human beings, the thought of the Evocateur, or rather his will, immediately
reaches him, and he appears to separate and repel before him all influences
less angelic than his.

The guardian spirits, and the angels of high degree, can only be seen in the
Urim or the Thumim, the crystal and the mirror; the other modes of
divination, by vases of water, by shadows, by blindfold, or black fluids, are
effective only to see dead people, atmospheric spirits, bad or undeveloped
wandering spirits [68] .

……………………….
Let's quickly summarize all of this.

Man possesses latent within his being, the faculty of communicating with
the Invisible. He can do it either by light or by sound, or by each of the five
other organs of the astral senses that esotericism recognizes. In the first case
the power he develops is clairvoyance. We have seen, with certain
environments and certain beings, this faculty put him in contact, we have
finally endeavored to determine what would be the instrument for each
person that would offer him the most effective help in this arduous and
dangerous task. This memento is very incomplete; it has many
shortcomings both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. I do not
present more with confidence to the special public that has interest in it; if
only because it is an almost complete summary of what has been printed so
far on this subject.

Sincere workers will find here the only true and solid basis for the practice
of divination.

Bibliography

1. Art Magic: Or Mundane, Sub Mundane and Super Mundane

Spiritism. 1876

2. Cahagnet. Magie magnétique ou traité historique et pratique, etc.

3. Eliphas Levi. Rituel de haute Magie. Ch. XX.

4. U.-N. Badaud. Coupd’oeil sur la Magie au XIX siècle. 1891

5. Recherches sur la magie égyptienne par Léon de Laborde. 1841

6. Papus. Traité élémentaire de magie pratique. 1893

7. Papus. Les Miroirs magiques, conférence faite au groupe

indépendant d' Etudes ésotériques. (In le Voile d'Isis)

8. Carl Du Prel. Das Kreus am Ferner, roman Suttgard, Cotta. 1891

(or its analysis in L’Initiation issue of June 1892).
 9. William Lane. Moeurs et coutumes des Egyptiens actuels traduit
en allemande par le Dr. Julius-Theodor Zenker.

10. Gorres. Mystique divine, naturelle et diabolique, trad. De Ch. Ste-

Foi

11. Casaubonus. A true and faithfull relation of what passed for many
years between Dr. John Dee and some spirits. (analysis by
Philophotes in L’Initiation, January-April edition 1894).

12. Lettres édifiantes et curieuses, etc.

13. De Sacy. Exposition de la religion des Druses.

14. Potter. Travels in Syria.

15. Von. Hammer. Hist. des Sasseins.

16. Youatt. Research into magic Arts.

17. Col. Fraser. Twelve Years in India.

18. Le grand et le petit Albert.

19. Agrippa: Philos. Occ.

[1] Regarding the Trinity, refer to the admirable works of Lacuria and Barlet.

[2] Papus: Treatise of Practical Magic , 1906 and Sciences of the Mages

[3] La Science des Mages et ses applications

[4] A.B.: protyle – A hypothetical base substance from which all chemical elements were believed to
have been made; subatomic particles.

[5] The faculty of adaptation considered in a general way and in all its forms, is the Fo - Hat of the
initiates of the north of India, it is the Sakti, the feminine of the great gods, for the brahmin initiates,
it is is Adam, Eve, etc. – Refer to Genesis.
There are six of these universal faculties, synthesized in a seventh.

[6] Refer to among others, the Monadology of Leibnitz.

[7] See many examples in the Annales des sciences psychiques (Annals of the Psychic Sciences)
directed by Dr. Dariex, and in general in all the spiritualist periodicals.

[8] See his latest articles in the Berlin Sphinx Review, and his Philosophie der Mystik .

[9] Sankhya Yoga , 1, an excellent summary made by Rama Prasad in 1884 in the Theosophist . We
have borrowed a great deal from Eastern philosophy because its masters have always been
unanimous in recognizing the unreality of the phenomenal world, a conclusion to which Westerners
have only just arrived.

[10] R. Dubois and J. Renaut have established that the phenomenon of vision is reduced ultimately to
a genuinely tactile phenomenon. In the mollusks studied by R. Dubois as in the invertebrates
(Darwin), the passage from darkness to light, the luminous intensity and wavelength, the duration of
the luminous excitation cause contractions of some species even though no rudiment of the eye
exists. The photodermatic functions appear to us as the oldest of the sense of vision. Under the
influence of luminescent rays, the skin of these invertebrates already acts as an elementary retina,
and, by propagating through the superficial teguments, light determines reflex contractions analogous
to those of the iris.

(J. Soury, La Vision mentale , Revue philos., January 95. - R. Dubois, Le mécanisme des fonctions
photodermatiques et photogéniques dans le siphon du Phola Dactylus ).

[11] We prefer Sankhya philosophy because of its deeply naturalistic character which makes it more
accessible to our modern intellect.

[12] Transaction of the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society

[13] Attention: from tendere ad , application of the mind to an object.

[14] Ad. Franck. Dict. Des sciences philosophiques , p. 121.

[15] Chandilly Upanishad , published in English by Tookaram Tatya, Bombay, 1893

[16] This organ is called by the Hindu books light of the head, eye of wisdom, celestial eye, eye of
Shiva; it is the reservoir of light (Tejas), the fire that animates all men (Vaisevanara).

[17] Note also that the sense of sight summarizes and contains all the others. Refer to: Man,
Fragments of forgotten history, 1885
[18] Yoga Sastra , book III. Also refer to the complementary details in the Nyaya Siddhanta , the
Sanhagya-Lakshmi , Dhyana-Bindou , Amrita-Bindou , and Tripura Upanishads .

[19] A.B.: in French “animique”, pertaining to the soul, animated, soulful

[20] We can also find evidence of this antiquity in written documents, by means of astronomy, as do
the current Hindu scholars.

[21] Chapter V. Handling Stimulants

[22] See section 5

[23] See section 6

[24] Refer to Alex. Saint-Yves Les Chefs de l’Orient, La naissance and Papus: l’Etat de trouble 1894

[25] A deeper analysis shows the environment in turn formed by the union of immensely numerous
individuals, such as atoms. But this division denotes less the habits of the Western mind; I therefore
thought it my duty to maintain it.

This ternary classification has been known and developed from time immemorial by the Hindus.
Their 7 Lokas (places) are described by the Aryan adepts; but, wanting to give only brief indications,
I confine myself to the current notions of Western tradition.

[26] A.B.: the term “plastique” in French can refer to flexibility, malleability, and beauty. I don’t
think “plastic” has retained the same connotations in English.

[27] See Le Comte de Gabalis

[28] That is why he aspires, especially those of the lower realms, to draw closer to man. See the same
book.

[29] In India, low caste sorcerers call them mothers, sisters or wives. See H.S. Olcott’s notes in his
translation of Posthumous Humanity by Assier; Many examples of this are found among the
Redskins.

Finally, I will add a few words to this pneumatology; the studious reader may derive some benefit
from the hieroglyphic analysis of the names which follow.

Kabbalah calls the male elementals Rouchin , and the females Lilin .
The spirits of Fire are ruled by Jehuel and seven ministers; those of the Water, by Michel and seven
ministers; those of Earth and Water have prince Asmodee; Ruchiel and three ministers govern the
spirits of the winds; Gabriel those of thunder; Nariel those of hail; the gnomes of the rocks obey
Maktuniel; those of fruit trees by Alpiel, and those of other trees by Sarael; Mesannabel is the king of
the spirits of the worms; Hariel and three ministers govern those of cattle. The creatures of the earth
and the wave live under the control of Samniel; and the birds under that of Anpiel.

[30] To achieve them, instruments and special rites are necessary, of which we are not allowed to
speak here.

[31] We have borrowed extensively from the scholarly booklet Bhutas, Pretas, and Pis'achas by R.
Ananthakrishna Shastry, Madras, 1895.

[32] The Vishnu-Purana (book 1, ch. V) gives a description of this quinary.

[33] Devi Bhagavata, III, VIII, 4. Refer to the Bhagavad Gita, XIV, 6, 7, 8, and Isvara Krishna for the
definitions.

[34] Listed by his commentator Gaudapada. Amara Sinha develops this classification in
Namalinganusasane, I, XI.

[35] Pisachas comes from “ Pisata ” flesh, and “ as ” to eat; they are evil entities; the Pretas
(disembodied souls) are similar to them and the Bhutas; but they stop their obsessions as soon as
their desires have been met.

[36] Shiva is the creator of the spirits of the shadow (Kalki Purana XXXI, 88); these spirits form 26
circles, mostly feminine, and which comprise three great divisions:

1. The Balagrahas, makers of childhood diseases; their leader is Subramaniah, the

youngest son of Shiva.

2. Pramathadi Ganas, who oppose good resolutions and beneficial enterprises; their leader
is Shiva's eldest son, Vinayaka.

3. Matrikas and Baghinis, female elementals, the ugliest of all, ruled by Parvati, Shiva's
wife.

It is these classes of spirits who preside over corpses ( Kalica Purana , ch. 49), the works of the
dead, etc. ( Bhagavata , X. ch. 63)

[37] Vyasa, Vedanta Sutra , I, iii, 26-43

[38] Shad Karma Dipika

[39] Selva. Traité d'astrologie généthliaque . See also the work by Abel Haatan, Astrologie judiciaire
. 1895

[40] Guide to Astrology

[41] A.B.: They were modern in 1907

[42] Refer to the brochure with this name by Polti and Gary.

[43] Let us note, so as not to confuse the students, that the nomenclature of Eliphas Levi does not
correspond to the terms of Polti and Gary: a little practice will quickly see the reason.

[44] See Gaffarel’s Curiosités inouyes

“He therefore says (Philo the Jew), speaking of the history hidden in the aforementioned chapter of
the Judges, that Nichas made of gold and silver three figures of young boys and three young calves,
as a lion, an eagle, a dragon and a dove : so that if anyone would come to know some secret about his
wife, he would question the dove; if it regarded his children, then the young boy; if for riches, then
the eagle; if for strength and power, then the lion; if for fertility, then the horse or calf; if for the
length of days and years, then the dragon.” (Quote by Eliphas Levi)

[45] Rituel , p. 336

[46] Stanislas de Guaita, Temple de Satan , p. 367

[47] Refer to the excellent article Vie de Jean Dee , published in L’Initiation (December 93 to April
94) by our late brother Albert Poisson.

[48] A.B. :remember this was written in 1907, today we know the mirror was obsidian

[49] Art Magic

[50] A.B.: Jules Denis, Baron du Potet (1796-1881) was a French esotericist, mesmerist, and Doctor
of Homeopathy.

[51] Edmond Bourdain published (Paix Universelle 1895 and Progrès spirite) the account of spiritual
experiences realized with the mirror of du Potet. The spirits evoked made appear in the blackened
circle the answers to the questions asked.

See also evocations of the dead, made in India, in bottles filled with ink. Theosophist, August 1882,
March 1883, December 1884.
[52] Cahagnet, Magie magnétique , p. 82

[53] Magie magnétique, p. 83 - Cahagnet has also reissued the metal mirrors of antiquity under the
name of galvanic mirrors, composed of copper and zinc, carefully burnished. This device is very
powerful; its magnetism is positive, electric.

[54] In Ragon’s, Maçonnerie occulte , we will find details of the magnetic disks that an intelligent
experimenter can easily use for lucidity experiments.

[55] A.B.: demotic – denoting or relating to the kind of language used by ordinary people

[56] A.B.: dithyramb – a wild choral hymn of ancient Greece, especially one dedicated to Dionysus;
a passionate or inflated speech, poem, or other writing.

[57] Stanislas de Guaita, Le Temple de Satan , p. 342

[58] We intentionally left out all the theory studying the size of the mirror, its curvature, its handling,
waiting for more complete experiences.

[59] Almanach du Magiste , p. III, and Traité de Magie pratique , passim

[60] What we are going to transcribe is taken from the manuscripts of the library of Papus, and is
reproduced in the Treatise on Practical Magic, p. 308 et seq.

[61] Le petit Albert , and various other grimoires.

[62] Art Magic, p. 420 and following.

[63] A.B.: the term convenable in French can mean – suitable, appropriate, proper, fitting, correct,
etc.

[64] This is a particular kind of mirror, not yet described, and we leave the discovery to the intuition
of students (P.S.)

[65] Karl Kiescwetter (Sphinx, 1890) believes that the Arab magician named Abd-el-Kader-el-
Moghrebi, of which Laborde speaks, is none other than the famous Emir who later became our
enemy.

[66] Akademïsche Monaishefte

[67] Colonel Stephen Fraser

[68] Art Magic, passim.