Franz Bardon

INITIATION INTO
HERMETICS

The Path of the True Adept

Volume I
Of The Holy Mysteries

MMXIV

Merkur Publishing, Inc.
Wisdom of the Occident

© 1956 Verlag Hermann Bauer
Freiburg/Breisgau, Western Germany
Der Weg zum Wahren Adepten

© 1962, 1971 Dieter Rüggeberg
Postfach 130844, D-42035 Wuppertal, Germany
First English Edition Translated by A. Radspieler, Graz, Austria
First English Translation: First Publication 1962

© 1999 Dieter Rüggeberg
Second English Translation Translated by Gerhard Hanswille and Franca Gallo
Translated from the original German edition:
Der Weg zum Wahren Adepten

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a mechanical retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic, video, laser, mechanical, photocopying, recording means or otherwise, in part or in whole, without the express written consent of the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles for review.

This Merkur Publishing, Inc. publication is published under license with Dieter Rüggeberg Verlag. The author or appointed representatives retains all rights to this work.

Published: January, 2014
ISBN 978-1-885-92824-5

Merkur Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 171306
Salt Lake City, UT
U.S.A. 84117

Franz Bardon, circa 1946

Dedication

I dedicate this work in sincere friendship to my faithful co-worker and dear student, Mrs. Otti Votavova.

Foreword to the First German Edition

It need not be said that one who is interested in ascertaining true knowledge may search in vain for years, or even an entire lifetime, for a reliable method of instruction. With the help of these instructions the student can begin to realize his most fervent wish, the path to perfection. The yearning towards this exalted goal again and again forces the student to collect, from far and wide, books and works which are considered to be the best on the particular subject of magic. However, for the greater part these collected works are only embellished with eloquent and promising words, but have little or nothing to offer for the actual practice. Over a period of time the student discovers that he cannot make sense of all the methods collected, and the goal for which he yearns unfortunately slips farther and farther away. Even when the neophyte begins work on his progress with a recommended course of instruction, his diligence and good will does not produce any satisfactory results. Besides that, no one can give a dependable answer to the always emerging, nagging question: Was the path he had taken the right one for his individuality?

Divine Providence had an understanding for all these honest human beings seeking and waiting with patience. Divine Providence determined that the proper moment had arrived and requested that one of Its Chosen Ones place a universal work into the hands of those striving for divine truth. This Great Work is based on the initiates’ many years of practically gained and proven insights on all subjects of the Highest Knowledge.

Franz Bardon considered this request by Divine Providence as his holiest duty, and presents to the public in this work his theoretical and practical knowledge with a clear conscience, without striving for recognition or to make a name for himself. It should be mentioned that, in his past lives, Franz Bardon had the highest Oriental initiates as his great masters and teachers, and that he has been blessed by Divine Providence in this way.

The simple style of this work was chosen on purpose in order to make it possible for all seekers of truth, regardless of age or profession, to begin immediately with the enjoyable task of discovering their own true perfection in order to dependably reach the final goal, which is “becoming one with God.”

Since it was the will of Divine Providence to have these works written and published, it therefore remains at the discretion of Divine Providence to make them available to those who most yearn to work on their spiritual ascent in accordance with reliable methods. It can be justifiably said without exaggeration that, from time immemorial, this is the first time that a work as complete as this has been made available to the public.

Otti Votavova
1956

Foreword to the Second German Edition

In a few months the first edition of this work was sold out, which was to be expected. In retrospect it is not surprising, when considering its rich and rare content.

In order to satisfy all those who are interested in this course of instruction, Franz Bardon decided in agreement with the publisher to publish an entirely new and improved second edition in a relatively short time.

Initiation Into Hermetics not only reached many true seekers in Germany, but also in many other countries in Europe. Many scientists who are interested in the true path of perfection have a copy in their possession. In this short time the book has also found its way to other continents, such as America, Australia and Asia. All those who are fortunate and who are in possession of a copy of this book are probably grateful to the publisher. Franz Bardon expresses herewith his gratitude for the great enthusiasm with which the publisher agreed to publish his works.

The author also takes this opportunity with this second edition of Initiation Into Hermetics to sincerely thank all his readers for their many letters. He considers the exceptional interest in his works, which he made available to the public by the express request of Divine Providence, to be the greatest reward for this unselfish task. The author’s profession is not that of a writer but of a naturopath, and as such he is fully occupied. The mission with which he has been entrusted by Divine Providence is mainly to guide all seekers of truth upon the path of perfection. However, due to a lack of time it is not possible to deal with the wishes of individuals, which certainly should be understandable to the reader.

It is evident from the many letters that the author has received that several readers would like to bypass certain steps, or that they prefer those exercises which are more pleasing to them. However, such an approach is not correct from the Hermetic point of view; in this book the author mentions this fact many times, and urgently emphasizes that one must not hasten along, because not only will the result be failure, but the student may also subject himself to various kinds of harm. The fundamental exercises that are published in this course of instruction lead to the development of the body, soul and spirit. The concomitance of these practical exercises, the so-called occult abilities, can be of benefit to the student because he can improve his existence on this earth in accordance with his own wishes, since everyone has different needs, different ideals and different goals. Whoever works thoroughly, practically and conscientiously step by step will be able to favorably carry out his material affairs himself.

The author wishes everyone true divine blessings, plenty of patience, the greatest perseverance and the highest love for this joyful task in Hermetic science. May all future editions of his first volume reach all those who yearn for this knowledge.

Otti Votavova
May 1957

Introduction

Whoever may believe that he has found, in this book, a collection of recipes through which he can effortlessly obtain honor, fame, wealth and power or the means to annihilate his enemies should be told that eventually he will disappointedly put this book aside.

Many sects, religious and the like, as well as schools of thought such as philosophy, understand nothing more under the word “magic” than sorcery and conspiracy with the dark forces. Therefore it is not surprising that many people are somewhat apprehensive at the mere mention of the word. Prestidigitators, illusionists, charlatans, so-called stage magicians and whatever else they may be called often misuse the concept of magic, which circumstance contributes immensely to the fact that magical knowledge has always been regarded with a certain contempt.

Since time immemorial the Magi were always considered to be the highest initiates; the word “magic” originated from them. The so-called sorcerers are not initiates; instead they are only imitators of the Mysteries who exploit the ignorance and gullibility of the individual and of an entire nation in order to achieve their selfish goals through deception and dishonesty. The true magician despises any such actions.

Magic is in reality a sacred science. It is, in the truest sense of the term, the knowledge of all knowledge, because it teaches us how to understand and utilize the universal laws. Whenever you are dealing with true initiation, there is no difference between magic and mysticism or any other similar concepts, regardless of whatever names may be used by the prevailing ideology. It must be proceeded with on the same basis in accordance with the same universal laws. In consideration of the universal laws of the polarity of good and evil, of active and passive, of light and shadow, any science can be employed for good or evil purposes. For instance, the actual purpose of a bread knife is to cut bread, but it can become a dangerous weapon in the hands of a murderer. Everything depends upon the characteristics of the individual. This principle applies to all areas of occult knowledge. In my book, I have chosen the term “magician” for the student as a symbol of his aspiration toward the highest initiation and the highest knowledge.

Many readers are probably aware that the Tarot is not a game of cards serving mantic or prophetic purposes. Instead it is a book of initiation in which the greatest secrets are contained symbolically. The first card or first page of this book introduces the Magician, who represents the mastery of the elements and offers the key to the first arcanum, the secret of the ineffable name Tetragrammaton, the Kabbalistic YOD-HEH-VAU-HEH. Here we find the gate of initiation for magicians. The reader of this book will realize how meaningful and how universal the application of the first Tarot card really is. In no other book that has been published so far has the true sense of the first Tarot card been so clearly described as in this work. This system is structured with the greatest of care and with the utmost circumspection; it is not a speculative method, but the positive result of thirty years of research, practical exercises and repeated comparisons to many other systems of the various lodges, secret societies, and Oriental knowledge which are only accessible to especially gifted individuals and to the chosen few. It is, nota bene, from my own practical experience destined for the use of many. All my students have proved it to be the best and most usable system.

This does not mean, nor do I make the claim, that this book answers all questions about magic or mysticism. If everything were to be written down about this high knowledge, it would encompass many volumes. It can be said that this work is actually the entrance to true initiation: it is the first key of utilizing the universal laws. There is no question that you will find fragments of Hermetic knowledge in the works of various authors, but the reader will hardly find a single book which describes the first Tarot card in as much detail as this work.

In every step of this course of instruction, I have made every effort to be as intelligible as possible in order to make the greatest truths accessible to everyone. To express the truth in simple words so that it is understandable to everyone has been a difficult task. I leave it to the reader’s judgment as to whether I have succeeded in this endeavor. In several instances I found it necessary to intentionally repeat certain statements in order to underline especially important sections and also to save the reader the time of searching for it.

In the past, there have been many complaints by those who are interested in the secret sciences, as well as students of the occult sciences, who were given no opportunity to be initiated by a personal master or guide (guru), and thus true knowledge was only made accessible to the especially gifted or talented. Many true seekers have had to search through many volumes of books to obtain here and there a glimpse of a pearl of truth. Whoever is serious about his own development and who does not pursue this sacred knowledge out of pure curiosity or for the satisfaction of his own desires will find this work the proper guide to initiation. There is not one incarnated initiate, no matter how high-ranking he may be, who can offer more to the neophyte than what is offered in this book. Should the honest student and the attentive reader find in this book what he could not find in any other work, then this book has completely fulfilled its purpose.

Franz Bardon

The Picture of the Magician: The First Tarot Card
Explanation of the Symbolism

At the bottom of the illustration on the opposite page are the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, symbolically expressed.

The woman on the left and the man on the right are the plus and minus in a human being.

The hermaphrodite being in the middle, man and woman in one persona, is symbolic of the equilibration between the male and female principle.

The electric and magnetic fluids are shown in a red and blue color, the electric fluid in red and the magnetic fluid in blue.

The head region of the woman is electric; therefore it is red. The area of the genitals is magnetic and therefore blue. In the man this is reversed; the head region is magnetic and therefore blue and the genitals are electric and therefore red.

Above the hermaphrodite there is a globe as a symbol of the sphere of the earth, above which the magician is symbolized with the four elements.

Above the man are the active elements, the Fire element in a red color and the Air element in a blue color. Above the woman are the passive elements, the Water element in green and the Earth element in yellow.

In the center, surrounding the magician and extending downward to the globe, there is a dark violet color as a symbol of the Akasha principle.

Above the head of the magician there is a silver lotus flower crown edged in gold. It is connected by an invisible band as a symbol of the divinity. Inside the lotus flower is the ruby-red Philosophers’ Stone, through which, as a symbol or quintessence, the entire Hermetic science is expressed. In the background on the right is the sun, golden yellow, and to the left the moon, silvery white, as the plus and minus in the macrocosm and microcosm, the electric and magnetic fluids.

Above the lotus flower, creation is symbolized by a sphere, which in its interior represents the symbol of the procreative plus and minus powers, the act of creation, the act of procreation of the universe.

The infinite, the eternal, the unlimited and uncreated is symbolically expressed by the word AUM and by the dark violet to black color.

INITIATION I: THEORY

The Great Mystery of the Tetragrammaton
Or The Kabbalistic Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh

Motto: Whatever is above is like that which is below
Hermes Trismegistos

The Elements

Everything that has been created came into being through the effects of the elements. This applies to the macrocosm as well as to the microcosm, the large and the small worlds. Therefore, I will deal with these energies right at the beginning of initiation and allude particularly to their profound and multifarious importance. Until now, very little has been said in occult literature about the energies of the elements. For that reason I have made it my responsibility to treat this unsettled subject matter and to lift the veil that conceals these laws. It is of course a difficult task to enlighten the uninitiated so that they are not only made aware of the existence and the activity of the elements, but that they are also capable of working practically with these energies in the future.

The entire universe can be compared to a clockwork with wheels that engage with each other and which are interdependent with each other. Even the concept of the deity as the highest comprehensible being can be categorized in aspects analogous to the elements. A more precise account is given later in the chapter concerning the concept of God.

In the most ancient Oriental writings the elements are called tattvas. In European literature we only pay attention to them in so far as their good effects are concerned, and we are warned about their unfavorable influences. In other words, under the influence of the tattvas particular actions can either be undertaken or not. There should be no doubt as to the accuracy of this fact. But everything that has been published thus far points only to a limited aspect of the effects of the elements. The effects of the elements or tattvas for personal use can be sufficiently determined through books on astrology.

However, I will penetrate deeper into the secret of the elements. For this reason I have chosen another key, one which is analogous to the astrological key but actually has nothing to do with it. I will show how to use this key in many different ways which, up to now, have been unknown to the reader. In the following chapters I will deal in sequence and in detail with the individual tasks, analogies and effects of the elements. Not only will the theory be unveiled, but attention will also be paid to the practice, because it is here that you will find the greatest arcanum.

Even in the Tarot, the oldest book of wisdom, this great mystery of the elements is recorded by having the first Tarot card represent the Magician, who emphasizes the knowledge and control of the elements. On this first Tarot card the sword symbolizes the element of Fire, the wand the element of Air, the cup the element of Water, and the coins the element of Earth. Hence it is obvious that the ancient mysteries depicted the Magician for the first Tarot card and consequently chose the control of the elements as the first act of initiation. In honor of this tradition, I will devote my greatest attention to the elements above all. Furthermore, it will become evident that the key to the elements is a universal remedy with which all problems that may occur can be solved.

The sequence of the tattvas in accordance with the Hindu system is as follows:

Akasha: Principle of Ether

Tejas: Principle of Fire

Vayu: Principle of Air

Apas: Principle of Water

Prithivi: Principle of Earth

In accordance with Hindu teachings, the four coarser tattvas came forth from the fifth tattva, the Akasha principle. Therefore the Akasha is the causal principle and, as the fifth energy, it is to be acknowledged as the so-called quintessence. In the appropriate chapter of this book I shall inform the reader in more detail in regards to this Akasha, the finest of elements. Also, the specific attributes of each element will be alluded to in the following chapters, beginning with the highest plane down to the coarsest physical matter. By now the reader must have concluded that it is certainly no easy task to analyze the great mystery of creation and to find the proper words which will enable one to penetrate into this matter and be able to form a graphic picture of it.

The analysis of the elements is discussed in further detail and their practical value is emphasized, so that every scientist, whether he be a chemist, a physician, a magnetopath, an occultist, a magician, a mystic, a Kabbalist, a yogi, or whatever, can derive their practical benefits. The purpose of this book will be fulfilled if I succeed in teaching the reader to penetrate into this matter at least to the point where he is able to use the practical key for the field of knowledge that is of interest to him.

The Principle of Fire

It has already been mentioned that the Akasha or principle of Ether is the cause of the formation of the elements. According to the Oriental writings, the first element to come out of the Akasha is Tejas, the principle of Fire. This element, as well as the others, is effective not only on our physical plane, but in everything that has been created. The fundamental attributes of the Fiery principle are heat and expansion. That is why, at the beginning of any creation, there is Fire and Light. Even the Bible begins with the words: Fiat lux: Let there be Light.

Light, of course, has Fire as its foundation. Every element has two polarities, namely active and passive or plus and minus, and this applies to the Fiery element as well. The plus is always constructive, creative and procreative, whereas the minus is decomposing and destructive. When we speak of an element, we must always speak of two fundamental attributes.

Religion has always attributed goodness to the active part and evil to the passive part. Fundamentally, however, there is neither good nor evil; this is all based upon human concepts. In the universe there exists neither good nor evil, because everything has been created in accordance with immutable laws. The divine principles are reflected in these laws, and only through knowing these laws will we be able to get closer to the divine.

As mentioned previously, the Fire principle is in possession of expansion; in order to have a better idea of this principle, we will call it the electrical fluid. Later we will discover the reason for the analogy between the electrical fluid and material electricity. The elemental principle of Fire is active and latent in everything created in the entire universe, from the smallest grain of sand to the highest that is visible, as well as that which is invisible.

The Principle of Water

In the previous chapter we became acquainted with the coming into being and the attributes of the positive element of Fire. In this chapter I will describe the opposite principle, the principle of Water. Just like the Fire, this principle came into being out of the Akasha, the Ether principle. In comparison to Fire, it has entirely opposite attributes, its fundamental properties being coldness and contraction. Here we are also dealing with two poles or polarities; the active pole is constructive, life-giving, nourishing and preserving, whereas the negative pole, as with Fire, is decomposing, fermenting, divisive and dispersing. Since this element’s fundamental attribute is contraction, the magnetic fluid came forth from this element. Fire as well as Water are active in all regions. In accordance with the law of creation, the Fire principle cannot exist by itself but must contain within itself an antipole, the Water principle. These two elements, Fire and Water, are the fundamental elements with which everything was created. Consequently we have to reckon everywhere with these two main elements, and furthermore with the electric and magnetic fluids as opposite polarities.

The Principle of Air

Another element that originated from the Akasha is the element of Air. Initiates do not consider this principle as a true element; instead they make the concession of giving it its place as a mediator between the Fiery and Watery principles, whereby the Air principle establishes, so to speak, the neutral equilibrium as a medium between the active and passive activities of Water and Fire. All created life was set in motion through the reciprocal action of the active and passive polarities of the elements of Fire and Water.

In its position as a mediator, the Airy principle has acquired from Fire the attribute of warmth and from Water the attribute of moisture. Life would not be possible without these two attributes. These two attributes also lend the Airy principle two polarities, namely in its positive effect the life-giving polarity and in its negative effect the destructive polarity.

I should like to add to this that in the instance of the aforementioned elements we are not dealing with common fire, water and air, which are actually only aspects of the physical or material plane. Instead we are dealing here solely with the universal attributes of the elements.

The Principle of Earth

We have been told that the Air principle does not actually represent a true element; this also applies to the principle of Earth. This means that out of the reciprocal action of the three aforementioned elements the Earth element came into being as the last element, which, through its specific attribute of solidification, contains all the other three elements. It is this attribute of solidification which has given these three aforementioned elements a concrete form. At the same time, the activities of these three elements have been limited and, as a result, space, measure, weight and time have come into being. The reciprocal action of the three elements together with the Earth element became tetrapolar; therefore the Earth principle can be considered a tetrapolar magnet. The fluid in the polarity of the Earth element is electromagnetic. Since all elements are active in the fourth, the Earth element, all created life can be explained. Through the realization which took place in the Earth element, the fiat, the “let it be done,” came into being.

Regarding details of the specific effects of the elements in the various spheres and kingdoms, such as the kingdom of nature, the animal kingdom, the human kingdom etc., the reader will find information in the chapters that follow. The most important point is that the reader get a general idea of the workshop of the effects of the attributes of the elements in the entire universe.

Light

The foundation of light is the Fire principle. Light would never have come into being without the Fire principle. Hence, light is an aspect of Fire. Every element of Fire can be transformed into light and vice versa. That is why light contains all specific attributes. It is illuminating, penetrating and expansive. The opposite of light is darkness. The darkness came forth from the Water principle. Darkness has the opposite specific attributes of light. Light would not be recognizable without darkness, because without darkness, light could not exist. You can learn from this that light and darkness came into being out of the reciprocal action of two elements, namely Fire and Water. Therefore, light has as its effect the positive attribute and darkness the negative attribute. This reciprocal action is active in all regions.

The Akasha or Etheric Principle

When describing the elements, I have mentioned several times that they originated from the Etheric principle. Therefore, the Etheric principle is the highest, the mightiest, the most unimaginable, the primordial existence, the original cause of all things and everything created; it is the causal sphere. Therefore, the Akasha is spaceless and timeless; it is uncreated, incomprehensible and indefinable. The different religions call it “God.” It is the fifth energy, the primordial energy; it is that which created everything and keeps everything in equilibrium. It is the source and purity of all thoughts and ideas; it is the causal world in which everything created maintains itself, beginning with the highest of spheres downward to the lowest. It is the quintessence of the alchemists. It is the All in All.

Karma: The Law of Cause and Effect

The law of cause and effect is an immutable law that has its aspect in the Akasha principle. Each cause produces its corresponding effect. This is accepted everywhere as the most exalted law. Every deed has an effect and bears fruit as a consequence. Therefore, karma should not only be considered a law for our good deeds, as the Oriental philosophy teaches, but as is obvious from what we have learned so far, its significance is much more profound. Human beings feel instinctively that everything good will bear only good fruit and everything evil must have only evil as a consequence, or as an old proverb states: “For whatsoever a man sowest, that shall he also reap.” Everyone must know and respect this irrefutable law. The law of cause and effect also applies to the elemental principles. I will not enter into any further details about this law, which can be expressed in a very few words, and which are clear and self-evident for every logically thinking human being. The law of development is subject to the law of cause and effect. Therefore development is an aspect of the law of karma.

The Human Being
The Body

The true image of God is the human being, who has been created in the image of the universe. Everything that can be found in the universe on a large scale is reflected in a human being on a small scale. That is why a human being is called the microcosm, in contrast to the universe, the macrocosm. In reality the whole course of nature takes place in a human being, and it is the task of this chapter to teach the student to learn, to observe, to know and to master this.

I will not describe the physical processes in the human body, since one can find these in literature relevant to the subject. Instead I will teach how to observe the human being from the Hermetic point of view, and enlighten those who are interested in how to make proper use of the fundamental key, the effect of the elements, in respect to human beings.

A well-known proverb states: “A sound mind in a sound body.” The profound truth which is contained in these words will become clear to everyone when studying the human being. The question will certainly arise: What is health from the Hermetic point of view? Not everybody will be in a position to answer this question immediately, because most human beings will explain the question of health from an entirely individual point of view. However, from the Hermetic viewpoint health is considered to be a complete harmony of the energies that work in the body in respect of the fundamental attributes of the elements. It is not a necessity that a severe disharmony of the elements must prevail in order to trigger a visible effect, which is called an ailment. Disharmony in the form of a disease is already a vital disturbance in the workplace of the elements in the body. Therefore, it is a prerequisite that the aspiring initiate devote his entire attention to the body. The external visible appearance of the body resembles a beautiful garment, and beauty with all its aspects is, by and large and down to the smallest detail, also an aspect of divine nature. Basically, beauty is not only that which pleases us or is sympathetic to us, because sympathy and antipathy depend upon the reciprocal action of the elements. True health is a prerequisite for spiritual ascent. Should we wish to live in beautiful surroundings, then we must arrange our apartment, our house, or in this instance our body, beautifully and harmoniously.

The elements have to perform particular functions in the body in accordance with the universal law; in principle the elements are constructive, preserving and decomposing. The positive part in the body, the one which is constructive, is the positive or active part of the elements. The preserving or equilibrating part is accomplished by the connecting part of the elements, which is the neutral part, and the decomposing or deteriorating part in the body is conducted by the negative attributes of the elements.

Therefore, to the Fiery principle in its active form with its electric fluid is assigned the active, constructive and expansive activity, and the opposite is assigned to its negative form.

The Watery principle in its active form influences the constructive activities and in its negative form the decomposing activities of all the liquids in the body.

The Air principle is given the task of regulating the electric fluid of the Fire and the magnetic fluid of the Water in the body and keeping them in equilibrium. It is therefore denoted as the neutral or mediating element.

As has been mentioned in the fundamental key in regards to the energies of the Earth principle, the Earth principle has the task of keeping the effects or activities of all three elements together in the body. The Earth element principle in its active form is stimulating, strengthening, constructive, preserving etc.; in its negative form it is the opposite. The development as well as the aging of the body is subject to the Earth principle. Many other analogies in regards to the effects of the elements in the body could be cited, but for the time being these explanations should suffice.

Since the beginning of time, initiates have never written about the effects of the elements in detail, perhaps to prevent any misuse, although the effects were well-known to them. They divided the human body into three fundamental concepts, assigning the head to the Fire principle; the abdomen to the Water principle; and the chest to the Air principle as the mediating principle between Fire and Water.

It is obvious how accurate they were with this arrangement of the human body, because everything that is active, everything that is Fiery, takes place in the head. In the abdomen, however, the opposite takes place, that is the Watery principle, the elimination, the activities of the liquids etc. The chest is subject to Air and has at the same time a mediating function, since breathing takes place there mechanically. The Earthy principle with its cohesion, the energy that keeps everything together, essentially represents the entire human body with all its bones and flesh.

Now the question might arise: How and in which manner will the Akasha or Ether principle show itself in the physical or material body? One who deeply contemplates on this will be able to answer this question by himself, namely, that the Etheric principle is concealed in its coarsest physical or material form in the blood and in the semen, and in the reciprocal activity of these two substances in the vital substance or vitality.

We have learned that the Fiery element produces the electrical fluid in the body and the Watery element the magnetic fluid. Each of these fluids has two polar rays, the active and the passive, and the mutual influences and reciprocal actions of all four polar emanations resemble the tetrapolar magnet, which is identical to the mystery of the Tetragrammaton, the Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh of the Kabbalists. That is why the electromagnetic fluid in the human body in its outward emanation is called the life magnetism or vital magnetism, the Od; it is also known by other names. The right side of the human body is active-electric and the left side is passive-magnetic when it comes to a right-handed person. A left-handed person has the opposite polarities. The intensity of the emanation of the electromagnetic fluids depends upon one’s capacity, in other words, it depends upon the intensity of the activities of the elements in the body. The more soundly and harmoniously these activities of the elements unfold in the human body, the more intense is the emanation.

With the help of particular exercises as well as the right attitude and the exact consideration of these laws, one may either increase or decrease the capacity, strength and power of effect of this electromagnetic fluid or Od, as necessity demands. The manner by which this is accomplished will be described in the practical part of this book.

The electric and magnetic fluids in the human body have nothing directly to do with common electricity and magnetism; they are, however, analogous. The law of analogy is an important factor in the Hermetic sciences and having this knowledge will enable the aspiring initiate to achieve great miracles with this key.

When it comes to nourishment, the elements contained therein are intermixed. The intake of these elements brings about a chemical process through which the elements in our bodies remain preserved. The intake of any kind of nourishment together with breathing calls forth, from the medical point of view, a combustive process. The Hermetic sees in this combustive process much more than just a chemical procedure. He sees the reciprocal dissolution of nourishment, similar to a fire that is kept aflame by burnable substances. That is why the entire life depends upon the continuous supply of burnable substances, that is, from nourishment and through breathing. A supply of various kinds of nourishment which contain the fundamental substances of the elements is advisable, so that every element receives the necessary substances for its preservation. If we were dependent throughout our entire lives upon one kind of nourishment, our bodies would definitely become ill; that is, a disharmony would be caused in the body. Through the decomposition of nourishment and air, the elements are supplied with the substances that maintain them, and their activity is also sustained in this manner. That is the natural way of life for a human being. Should one or another element lack the necessary energy-substance or fuel, there would be an immediate reaction. This lack manifests itself in the functions which are affected by it. For example,

when the Fire element in the body reaches a higher level of effectiveness due to a lack of nourishment among other elements, we feel thirsty;

when the Air element becomes more effective, we feel hungry;

when the Water element becomes more effective, we feel cold; and

when the Earth element becomes more effective, we feel tired.

A satiation of the elements in the body calls forth intensified effects in the particular area. Should there be a preponderance

of the Fire element: the body feels a yearning for movement and activity ensues;

of the Air element: the body curbs the intake of any food;

of the Water element: the process of elimination increases; and

the Earth element: manifests itself in the aspects of one’s sex life, but it does not necessarily express itself through the sex drive in the carnal sense. It can manifest externally, for example in the elderly mostly through an urge for increased physical activity or creative work.

From the chemical and perhaps from the alchemical point of view, the electric and magnetic fluids have in their active and passive polarities the task of forming acid combinations in all organic and inorganic bodies. In the active sense they are constructive and in the negative sense they are decomposing, dissolving and destructive. This explains the biological function in the body. The total result is the cycle of life: it comes into being, it develops, matures and departs, and that is the existence or evolution of everything created.

Diet

A reasonable lifestyle has to be adopted in order to maintain the harmony of the elements in the body. Should a disharmony occur in the effect of the elements whereby one or another element is predominant or is weakened, then particular measures have to be taken as to the intake of nourishment in order to direct the elements into the right channels or at least to influence them favorably in this respect. That is why various diets are prescribed for specific cases. From time immemorial, even the common man has come to this conclusion through numerous observations, without having understood the exact cause.

Should the disturbance of the elements be such that the disharmony becomes visible, then you are no longer dealing with a mere disharmony, but with an illness. That means you have to employ more effective remedies in order to re-establish the necessary harmony if you wish to achieve a complete recovery and have the body function normally again. All healing methods known to us today are established on this foundation. I refrain from mentioning details in regards to these healing methods, since they are commonly known or available.

In general, the naturopath makes use of thermic effects or impacts, such as baths (sitz, hand and foot baths), compresses, poultices, herbs, massage etc. The allopath makes use of concentrated remedies which should call forth the effect corresponding to the elements and should bring about recovery. The homeopath stimulates the opposite element through his healing remedies, similia similibus curantur, in order to bring the threatened element back into equilibrium in accordance with its polarity. Through the use of his remedies, the electro-homeopath works directly upon the electric and magnetic fluids in order to equilibrate the element that has fallen into disharmony through proper strengthening of these fluids, all of course in accordance with the kind of ailment in question.

In this manner every healing method serves the purpose of restoring the disturbed equilibrium of the elements. The magnetopath, through the knowledge of the influence of the elements upon our body, has by far a greater possibility to be effective with his energies, especially when he has the ability to consciously awaken the electric or magnetic fluids, to intensify and transfer them into that part of the body which has come into disharmony. In this book I have devoted a special chapter to the practice of this method of treatment.

The bodily functions as a whole have been explained in detail. Each body part, besides being influenced by the effects of the analogous elements, is also influenced by a specific element which expresses itself in the polarity of the corresponding body part. It is an interesting fact that in the work place, in the clock mechanism or movement, in other words in our mechanism, some organs possess the ability of having the electric fluid flow from the inside to the outside and the magnetic fluid from the outside to the inside in reciprocity, through which the function of the entire organism is carried out harmoniously and analogously. When it comes to other organs the opposite applies; the electric fluid is effective from the outside to the inside and the magnetic fluid from the inside to the outside. The knowledge of this polar emanation is known in the Hermetic sciences as the occult anatomy of the body. It is extremely important for every initiate to possess knowledge of the effects of this occult anatomy if he wishes to know, influence and control his body.

Furthermore I will give an account of the occult anatomy of the human body in regards to the electric and magnetic fluids, that is, in the positive and negative spheres of activity. This information will greatly benefit the magnetopath, because he will be able to treat the particular part of the body in accordance with the seat of the disease either with the electric or the magnetic fluids. However, this knowledge can be of great benefit to everyone else as well.

The Occult Anatomy of the Body

The Head

The front part of the head is electric. The back of the head is magnetic. The right side of the head is magnetic. The left side of the head is electric. The inside of the head is electric.

The Eyes

The front part of the eyes and the back part (rearward) are neutral. The right side and the left side of the eyes are electric. The inner part of the eyes is magnetic.

The Ears

The front part of the ears is neutral and the back part is neutral. The right side is magnetic. The left side is electric. The inside is neutral.

The Mouth and Tongue

The front part is neutral. The back part is neutral. The right side is neutral. The left side is neutral. The inside is magnetic.

The Neck

The front part of the neck is magnetic. The back part of the neck is magnetic. The right side of the neck is magnetic. The left side of the neck is electric. The inside of the neck is electric.

The Chest

The front part of the chest is electromagnetic. The back part is electric. The right side is neutral. The left side is electric and the inside is neutral.

The Abdomen

The front part is electric. The back part is magnetic. The right side is magnetic. The left side is electric. The inside is magnetic.

The Hands

The front part is neutral and the back part is neutral. The right side is magnetic. The left side is electric. The inside is neutral.

The Fingers of the Right Hand

The front part and the back part are neutral. The right side and the left side are electric. The inside is neutral.

The Fingers of the Left Hand

The front part and back part are neutral. The right side and the left side are electric. The inside is neutral.

The Feet

The front part and the back part are neutral. The right side is magnetic. The left side is electric. The inside is neutral.

The Male Genitals

The front part is electric. The back part is neutral and the right and left sides are neutral. The inside is magnetic.

The Female Genitals

The front part is magnetic. The back part is neutral and the right and left sides are neutral. The inside is electric.

The Last Vertebra and the Anus

The front part and the back part are neutral and the right and left sides are neutral. The inside is magnetic.

On the basis of this occult anatomy, the initiate can compile further analogies with the key of the tetrapolar magnet in accordance with his needs. The alchemist will recognize from this that the human body is a true athanor in which the most complete alchemical process, the great work or preparation of the Philosophers’ Stone, visibly takes place. This concludes the chapter on the body. I will not say that I have taken everything into consideration, but I have at least pointed out the most important aspects regarding the elements, the tetrapolar magnet, and I have unveiled the mysteries of the Tetragrammaton regarding the physical body.

The Physical-Material Plane or
The Physical-Material World

In this chapter I will not describe the material or physical world, the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. Nor will I discuss physical processes in nature. I am certain that this has been sufficiently discussed in the schools, for instance that there is a North and South Pole, how rain comes into being, how storms develop, and so forth. The aspiring initiate should be less interested in these occurrences than in his endeavor to know the material world by means of the elements and their polarities. I do not have to make mention of the fact that on our planet there is fire, water, air and earth. This should be clear in everyone’s mind. Nevertheless, it would be an excellent idea for the aspiring initiate to learn the cause and effect of the four elements and understand how to make proper use of them in accordance with the corresponding analogies to other planes. In a future chapter about the practice of magic, you will learn how it is possible through the knowledge of the material elements to contact higher planes at the same time. For the present it is important to know that upon our earth the workings of the elements in their most subtle form is carried out exactly in the same manner as in the human body. When you draw analogies to the human body, you will gain the knowledge of how to establish parallels to the elements, and you will see that the analogy to the human body is justified. In the chapter about the body we discussed the lifestyle and functions of the elements in regards to the body, and should the initiate succeed in making use of the elements in their most subtle form he will be able to perform miracles in his body. Not only that, he has the right to maintain that nothing is impossible in this respect.

The Earth element has within itself the tetrapolar magnet with its polarity and the effect of the remaining elements. In nature, the Fiery principle in its active form causes the vitalizing principle and in its negative form the destructive and decomposing principle. The Water principle does the opposite in its negative form. The Air principle, with its bipolar polarity, is also the neutral, equilibrating and preserving principle in nature. On account of its specific attribute of cohesion, the Earth element has as its foundation the two great fundamental elements of Fire and Water, along with their neutralization through the Air principle. It should therefore be considered the coarsest of the material elements. Through the reciprocal effect of the Fire element and the Water element we have, as mentioned with respect to the body, two fundamental fluids, namely the electric and the magnetic. They have come into being in accordance with the same laws that apply to the body, and they also have their reciprocal effects. Everything that occurs on our earth in the material or physical sense is caused by these two elements with their fluids. They influence all chemical processes within and without the earth in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. From this you can surmise that the electrical fluid is in the center of the earth and the magnetic fluid on the surface. This magnetic fluid of the earth surface keeps everything material or compounded into a solid, except for the attribute of the Water principle with its cohesive force.

Through each body’s specific attributes, which depend upon the composition of the elements, each object has particular emanations in respect to the electric fluid, the so-called electron vibrations, which are attracted by the common magnetic fluid of the entire material world. This attraction is called weight. Therefore weight is a manifestation of the attractive power of the earth.[1] The attractive power of iron and nickel, which is well-known to us, is only a small example of something which emulates a phenomenon that occurs on a large scale upon our whole earth. What is known on our earth as magnetism and electricity is a manifestation of the tetrapolar magnet; we also know that by arbitrarily reversing the polarity we can produce electricity from magnetism and by mechanical means we can again obtain magnetism from electricity. The transformation of one power into another is an alchemical or magical procedure which, in the course of time, became so common that it was no longer considered to be alchemy or magic but was attributed to physics. On this basis we see that the tetrapolar magnet can be utilized here.

Every Hermetic knows the function of magnetism and electricity in accordance with the law “Whatever is above is like that which is below,” and not only in the human body but in the material world as well. Any initiate who understands how to employ the energies of the elements or the Great Mystery of the Tetragrammaton on all planes is capable of achieving great things in our material world, which to the eyes of the uninitiated appear as miracles. However, for the initiate they are not miracles; he can explain even the greatest oddity on the basis of his knowledge of the laws.

All development, maturity, life, and death here on earth depend upon the principles that have been described here. Consequently, it is completely clear to the initiate that the concept of “death” does not indicate to him a decomposition into nothingness. Instead, that which is considered to be annihilation or death is merely a transition from one state into another.

The material world has come into being from the Akasha principle, which is known to us as the Ether. The material world is also regulated and maintained by the Akasha principle. This explains that it is a transference of the electric or the magnetic fluids, upon which all inventions that have to do with telecasts or tele-transmissions through the Ether are based, for instance radio, telegraphy, telephone communication, television. This includes all future inventions that are yet to be achieved by means of the electric and magnetic fluids in the Ether. The fundamental principle and the laws were, are and always will be the same.

A voluminous book with an exciting content could be written about the effects of the individual magnetic and electric fluids upon the material plane. However, the observant reader, who has made the decision to walk the path of initiation and who is not discouraged while studying the fundamental principles, will come into the knowledge of the different variations of the energies and attributes all by himself. The fruit of his efforts will be amply rewarded with knowledge.

The Soul or Astral Body

Through the finer vibrations of the elements, through the polarity of the electric and magnetic fluids, the actual human being, the soul, has come forth out of the Akasha principle or the finer vibrations of the Ether. The functions of the elements in the physical body take place in the same manner as the functions of the soul or astral body. The soul is connected to the body through the tetrapolar magnet with its specific attributes. Their unification will take place analogous to the body through the electromagnetic influence of the elements. The initiates call the working of the elements, the so-called electromagnetic fluid of the soul, the “astral matrix” or “life.” The astral matrix or the electromagnetic fluid of the soul is not identical with the aura of the occultists. I will deal later with the subject of the aura. The astral matrix or the electromagnetic fluid is the bonding agent between body and soul. The Fiery principle causes that which is constructive even in the soul, the Watery principle that which is vitalizing, the Airy principle that which is equilibrating, and the Earthy principle that which is put together, developing and preserving. The astral body is subject to exactly the same functions as the physical body.

Human beings are endowed with five senses which correspond to the five elements. The astral body or the soul, with the help of the corporeal senses, avails herself of the five senses and apprehends the perceptions of the physical world. This apprehension and actuation of the five senses by means of the astral and material bodies occurs through our immortal spirit. The reason why the spirit is immortal will be explained later. The astral body would be without life and would dissolve into its components without the spirit’s activity in the soul.

The spirit could not accomplish his effects without the mediation of the soul; for this reason the astral body is the seat of all the attributes that the immortal spirit possesses. In accordance with his development and maturity, the spirit has a different kind of electric and magnetic fluid vibration, which the soul shows outwardly in the four temperaments.

We differentiate in accordance with the predominant elements the choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic temperaments. Therefore:

the choleric temperament originates from the Fire element,

the sanguine temperament originates from the Air element,

the melancholic temperament originates from the Water element, and the phlegmatic temperament originates from the Earth element.

In accordance with the strength and vibration of the respective element you will also notice in the various attributes the strength, energy and expansion of the respective fluid deviations.

Each of these four elements, which determines the temperament of a human being, has in its active form goodness or good attributes, whereas in its passive form it embodies the opposite, the evil attributes. It would be too voluminous to give an itemized statement here of the effectiveness of the elements, and it would be much more advantageous for the aspiring initiate to discover additional effects through his own meditation, because this serves a particular purpose on the path to initiation.

Nevertheless, here are a few examples:

The choleric temperament has in its active polarity the following good attributes: Activity, enthusiasm, eagerness, determination, bravery, courage, creative energy, assiduity etc.

The choleric temperament has in its negative form the following bad attributes: Voracity, jealousy, passion, irritability, quarrelsomeness, immoderation, destructive urges etc.

The sanguine temperament has in its active polarity the following good attributes: Penetrating power, diligence, joy, adroitness, kind-heartedness, lucidity, absence of worry, cheerfulness, lightness, optimism, liveliness, independence, watchfulness, trustfulness etc.

The sanguine temperament has in its negative form the following bad attributes: Being easily offended, disdain, a passion for gossip, lack of endurance, cunning, talkativeness, dishonesty, fickleness etc.

The melancholic temperament has in its active polarity the following good attributes: Respect, mercy, modesty, humility, seriousness, compliance, fervor, intimacy, power of comprehension, meditation, compassion, tranquility, internalization, immersion, over-trustfulness, forgiveness, tenderness etc.

The melancholic temperament has in its negative form the following bad attributes: Indifference, down-heartedness, shyness, disinterest, unyieldingness, idleness etc.

The phlegmatic temperament has in its active polarity the following good attributes: Respect, reputation, endurance, circumspection, determination, seriousness, firmness, conscientiousness, thoroughness, concentration, sobriety, punctuality, reserve, pertinence, unerringness, a sense of responsibility, reliability, caution, ability to resist, purpose etc.

The phlegmatic temperament has in its negative form the following bad attributes: Shallowness, carelessness, disdain, indifference, irresponsibility, bashfulness, tardiness, ponderousness, idleness, unreliability, taciturnity etc.

The characteristics of the temperaments form the basis of a person’s character, depending upon which attribute is the predominant one. The intensity of the particular attributes that show themselves outwardly depend upon the polarity, the electric and magnetic fluids. The complete influence of the effect of the temperaments has an emanation as a consequence, which is properly called the aura. Therefore the aura cannot be compared to the astral matrix, because between the two exists a considerable difference. The astral matrix is the connecting or bonding substance between body and soul, whereas the aura is the emanation of the effectiveness of the elements in the various attributes, and it has its foundation either in the active or passive form. This emanation calls forth a particular vibration in the entire soul which corresponds to a particular color. On the basis of this color, the initiate can clearly see his own aura or that of other beings with his astral eyes. Those who can see with their astral eyes can not only determine the basic character of a human being with the help of the aura, but can also perceive the effectiveness in respect to the polarity of the soul’s vibration and may be able to influence this soul vibration. This subject will be discussed in more detail in another chapter dealing with introspection. Therefore the temperament of a person influences his character, and both together form, in their effectiveness and as a total result, the emanation of the soul or the aura. Pictures of high initiates and saints are always depicted with a halo, which is identical to the aura we have just described.

Besides the character, temperaments and activities of the electromagnetic fluid, the astral body has two more centers in the brain, namely the seat of the normal consciousness which is located in the cerebrum, and the subconscious, the opposite of normal consciousness, which is located in the cerebellum. In the chapter entitled “The Spirit” you will find more details in regards to their functions.

As aforementioned, the soul is organized in exactly the same manner as the body in accordance with the elements. The psychic or astral functions, energies and attributes have their respective seats in the soul by way of particular centers which Hindu philosophy depicts as “lotuses” analogous to all the elements. In Hindu teachings the awakening of these lotuses is called Kundalini Yoga. I will not enter into any further discussion regarding these lotuses or centers; this knowledge can be gained from literature relevant to the subject. I will merely touch on this subject in passing and say that the lowest center is the muladhara or Earth center, which has its seat in the lowest part of the soul. The next center is that of Water, which the Indians call svadhisthana and which has its seat in the area of the sexual organs. The Fire center, which is the center of the soul, is located in the area of the navel and is called manipura. The center of Air, the equilibrating element, is located in the area of the heart and is called anahata. The center of the Ether or the Akasha principle can be found in the area of the neck and is called visuddha. Another center, the center of the will, reason and intellect is located between the eyebrows and is called ajna. The highest and most divine center is the thousand-petaled lotus called sahasrara, from which all the energies of the other centers originate and are influenced. Starting with the uppermost or highest center, the susumna or Akasha principle, which is already well-known to us, takes its course along the back, as if flowing through a canal, down to the lowest Earth center. It is responsible for the connection and regulation between all the centers. In another chapter I will explain the awakening of the serpent power in the individual centers. When describing the soul, it is our object to establish and give a clear picture of the connection of the elements with their plus and minus polarities in the soul. It becomes obvious that both body and soul and all their effects live and work so that their preservation and destruction are subject to the immutable laws of the tetrapolar magnet (the mystery of the Tetragrammaton) and conform to them. When the person who is to be initiated meditates attentively on this matter, he will clearly understand the function of the body and the soul and will ascertain the proper idea about their interaction in accordance with primordial laws.

The Astral Plane

The astral plane, often depicted as the fourth dimension, is also created out of the four elements and therefore is a density degree of the Akasha principle. Consequently the astral plane forms the basis of everything which has an origin, regulation and life existence, everything which has already occurred, is occurring presently, or will occur in the future in the material world. As has already been mentioned, the Akasha in its most subtle form is the well-known Ether in which, amongst other things, the electric as well as the magnetic vibrations propagate. Therefore it is also the sphere of vibrations in which light, sound, color, rhythm and thus all life in everything created has its origin. Since the Akasha is the source of all existence, it is understandable that everything finds its reflection in the Akasha; that is, everything that has already been produced and has occurred, everything that is presently produced and is occurring, and everything that will be produced and that will occur in the future. That is why you will see in the astral plane the emanation of the eternal, which has neither a beginning nor an end, and is therefore timeless and spaceless. The initiate who finds his way about this plane will find everything here, whether it be the past, the present or the future. The extent of perception depends upon one’s degree of perfection.

Most religions, occultists, and spiritualists depict the astral plane as “the beyond.” It is clear to the initiate that there really is no such thing as this life and the life to come, this world and the world to come (the beyond); that is why he does not fear death, because this concept is foreign to him. If the connecting substance between the physical body and the astral body dissolves through the decomposing activities of the elements or through a sudden severing of the astral matrix, what occurs is what is commonly called death, which in reality is only a transition from the earthly world to the astral world. The initiate does not fear death, because on the basis of this law he knows that he does not enter into uncertainty. By mastering the elements he can, besides many other things, achieve a loosening of the astral matrix and thereby accomplish a spontaneous separation of the astral body from the earthly shell. This will enable him to visit the most remote regions and proceed to the various planes and the like with his astral body. Within this phenomenon we will find the positive clarification of stories wherein some saints were not only seen at the same time in different places, but were even seen working at those very places.

The astral plane has different kinds of inhabitants. Above all, there are departed human beings from the earthly world that linger there in accordance with their degree of spiritual maturity in the corresponding degree of density. In accordance with the various religions, this is depicted as either heaven or hell, yet the initiate perceives this as merely a symbol. The more perfected, noble and purer a being is, he will therefore reside in a much purer and finer degree of density in the astral plane or sphere. The astral body begins to dissolve gradually until it corresponds with the frequency of vibration of its particular level of the astral plane, or in other words until it has become identical with that level of the astral plane. This identification depends upon the maturity and spiritual perfection that the particular being has achieved in the earthly world.

Besides the aforementioned departed human beings, the astral plane is inhabited by many other beings, of which I will mention only a few species. There are, for example, the so-called elementaries, beings with only one or a few attributes which are dependent upon which element-vibrations are dominant. They maintain themselves from the same kind of vibrations that are peculiar to human beings and which people send out into the astral plane. Among them are those who have already reached a certain degree of intelligence. Certain magicians can make use of these lower forces in order to indulge in their selfish intentions. There is also another kind of being, the so-called larvae, which are called into existence through the astral matrix, intentionally or unintentionally, by intensive emotional thinking. They are not actual beings, but merely forms which keep themselves alive from the passions of the animalistic world on the lowest level of the astral plane. Their instinct for self-preservation takes them into the sphere of those human beings whose passions attract them. They attempt to awaken and call forth directly or indirectly the passions which lie dormant in a human being. Should these forms be successful in enticing the individual to a passion which is to their liking, then they nourish, maintain and strengthen themselves from the emanation which this passion brings forth from this person. One who is laden with many passions brings with him a host of such larvae into the lowest sphere of his astral plane and a big struggle ensues with these larvae.

The mastery of the elements is an important component as far as the subject of magic is concerned. You will find more information in regards to passions as they relate to the elements in the chapter dealing with introspection. Besides these, there are elementaries and larvae that can be created artificially by means of magic. You will find details in the practical part of this book.

There is also another kind of being which should not be overlooked because the initiate quite often has to deal with these beings on the astral plane.

They are the beings of the four pure elements. These beings, when they are in the

Fire element are called salamanders, when in the

Air element are called sylphs, when in the

Water element are called mermaids or undines, and when in the

Earth element are called gnomes.

These beings represent, so to speak, the connection between the astral plane and the earthly elements. How to contact and control such beings, and how to achieve anything with them, will be discussed in the practical part of this book, in Step X.

There is also a multitude of other beings such as satyrs, wood nymphs, water sprites etc., which can be added to the above. All of this might sound like a fairytale. However, in the astral plane these are realities, just the same as all the earthly beings are realities. The clairvoyant eye of the initiate can see them at his discretion, and he has the ability to contact them. This immediately removes any doubt as to their existence. First of all, the initiate has to reach a certain level of maturity, must understand how to examine, in order to be able to judge.

The Spirit

It has been mentioned previously that man has been created in the image of God and that he consists of body, soul and spirit. We can gather from the previous chapters that the body and the soul serve only as a shell or a garment for the spirit, for they are only transitory. Therefore, only the spirit is the immortal part and the image of God. It is difficult to analyze something divine, something immortal and something eternal and to find the proper words. Even here, we can employ the help of the key of the tetrapolar magnet, just as we can with any other problem.

Out of the highest primordial principle (the Akasha), the source of existence, out of the prime spiritual substance came forth the spirit, the spiritual “I,” with the specific attributes of the elements which belong to the immortal spirit, who was created in God’s image.

The Fiery principle, the impulsive part, is the will. The Airy principle shows itself in the intellect. The Watery principle makes itself known as life and as feelings. The Earthy principle shows itself as the unification of all three elements in the “I” consciousness.

All the other attributes of the spirit have these four primordial principles as their foundation. The typical part of the fifth principle, the Ether principle (Akasha), shows itself in the highest aspect as belief and in its lowest form as the instinct for self-preservation. Each of the four principles of the elements mentioned here has many more aspects, exactly in accordance with the law of analogy of the polarities, or of the elements in the positive and negative sense. All together they form the “I” or the spirit. Therefore, we attribute to the:

Fiery principle: Energy, might and passion.

Airy principle: Memory, the power to judge and differentiate.

Watery principle: Conscience and intuition.

Earthy principle: Egotism, the instinct for self-preservation and propagation.

It would be too voluminous to list all the qualities of the spirit with respect to the elements. The aspiring initiate can expand upon these qualities on his own through diligent study and intense meditation by considering the laws of analogy of the tetrapolar magnet. This is rewarding work and it should never be neglected, since it produces great success and secures good results as far as cognition and the mastery of the elements are concerned.

In the three chapters dealing with the body, soul and spirit, I have described the human being in his consummate form. By now, it must be obvious to the student how necessary it is to have the knowledge of one’s own little universe for the initiation, namely in the practice of magic and mysticism, yes, in all secrets. Most authors have failed to write about the most important part, the foundation, either because of total ignorance or for sound reasons.

The Mental Plane

Just as the physical body has the earthly plane and the astral body or soul has the astral plane, so has the spirit his own plane, the mental sphere or mental plane (“spirit” can at times be interchanged with “mind”). This sphere is the sphere of the spirit with all its energies or powers.

Both spheres, the material as well as the astral, came into being through the four elements which came out of the Akasha or causal principle of the appropriate sphere. The mental sphere is founded on the same basis; it too came forth from the Akasha principle of the spirit. The spirit forms within himself a tetrapolar magnet through appropriate work, and shows outwardly an electromagnetic fluid analogous to the astral body as a result of the activities of the elements as effects relevant to their polarity; that is how the mental body behaves in the mental or spiritual sphere. Just as the astral body forms an astral matrix through the electromagnetic fluid of the astral world, the so-called astral Od, that is how the electromagnetic fluid of the mental world forms a mental matrix that binds the mental body to the astral body. The mental matrix or the mental Od, the so-called mental substance, is the most subtle form of the Akasha; it regulates and maintains the activity of the spirit in the astral body. As mentioned before, this mental substance is at the same time electromagnetic and serves as a conduit of thoughts and ideas to the consciousness of the spirit. This mental substance sets the consciousness into motion by means of the astral and physical bodies. Therefore, the mental matrix or the mental Od with its bipolar fluid is the subtlest substance that we can imagine in the physical body.

The mental sphere is at the same time the sphere of thoughts, which have their origin in the world of ideas, in the Akasha of the spirit. Each thought is preceded by a basic idea which in accordance with its attribute takes on a particular form and reaches the consciousness of the “I” as a thought-form or a plastic picture through the Ether principle, or in other words through the mental matrix. Therefore, a human being is not the originator of his own thoughts; instead the source of every thought is to be found in the highest spheres in the Akasha or mental sphere. The spirit of a human being is, so to speak, the receiver; he is the antenna for the thoughts that come from the world of ideas in accordance with the position and situation in which he finds himself. Since the world of ideas is the All in All, we may therefore say that every new thought, every new invention, in short everything that human beings believe they have created through their own ingenuity, has been taken out of this world of ideas. Taking these new ideas out of the world of ideas depends upon the attitude and maturity of the spirit. Each thought has within itself a completely pure element, especially when the thought contains abstract ideas. Should there be several combinations from the world of ideas present within that thought, then there are several elements effective among each other in their form as well as in their emanation. Only abstract thoughts have pure elements and pure polar emanations, because they originate directly from the causal world of an idea.

On the basis of this knowledge you can gather that there are pure electric, pure magnetic, indifferent, and neutral thoughts as far as their effects are concerned in existence. In the mental sphere every thought has its own form, color, and emanation (vibration) in accordance with its idea. The thought reaches the consciousness through the tetrapolar magnet of the spirit and is transmitted by this magnet until it becomes reality. Everything created in the physical world has its cause through the thought and the consciousness of the spirit in the world of ideas and of course also its reflection. If you are not dealing directly with an abstract idea, then several forms of thoughts can be expressed. These thoughts are either electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic. It always depends upon what kind of elemental attribute is present in the thought.

The physical or material plane is bound to time and space.

The astral plane, the sphere of the transitory or transformable spirit, is bound to space.

The mental sphere is spaceless and timeless.

The same applies to all attributes of the spirit. However, through the connecting link of the mental and astral matrices, which are bound in their total form to time and space, the mental body requires a certain amount of time to become conscious of the perception of a thought. The train of thought is different with everyone because it depends upon the maturity of the spirit. The more mature and more spiritually developed a person is, the faster the thoughts form in the spirit (mind).

Just as the astral plane has its inhabitants, so does the mental plane. Besides the thought-forms, it is inhabited above all by departed human beings whose astral bodies have dissolved through the elements as a result of their maturity and who, in accordance with their degree of perfection, have been assigned their abode in the region of the mental sphere that is appropriate and analogous to them.

Besides that, the mental sphere is also the sphere of elementals. These are beings that were created either knowingly or unknowingly by individuals through repeated intensive thinking. An elemental being does not possess the density to form or assume for itself an astral shell. It therefore has its effect in the spiritual sphere. The difference between a thought-form and an elemental is that the thought-form has one or more ideas as its basis. The elemental, however, is endowed with a certain amount of consciousness and therefore with the instinct for self-preservation, but otherwise it does not distinguish itself by much from other mental living beings; it can even have the same form as the thought-form. Initiates avail themselves quite often of these elemental beings. In the practical part of this book, a detailed account is given of how such an elemental is created, maintained, and how it can be employed for particular tasks.

Much more could be said about the mental sphere, especially about the particular specific attributes of the individual beings, but this should suffice as a stimulus to work with and as a rough outline in regards to the explanations given about the mental plane.

Truth

Now we will leave the microcosm, the human being with his earthly, astral and mental bodies, and direct our attention towards other tasks with which the aspiring initiate will have to deal in due time. Above all stands the problem of truth. Many philosophers have frequently occupied themselves with this task and it is also incumbent upon us to deal with it.

Here we will only deal with those truths of which we have precise knowledge. Truth depends upon the cognizance of each individual. And since all of us do not have one and the same cognizance, we cannot generalize the problem of truth. That is why every individual, provided he is sincere, has his own truth from his own point of view and in accordance with his maturity and cognizance. Only the one who knows and masters the absolute laws of the macrocosm and microcosm can speak of an absolute truth. Anyone will certainly acknowledge certain aspects of the absolute truth. No one will doubt the existence of life, the will, memory and intellect; certainly he will refrain from denying these things. A true initiate will never force anyone who has not reached a certain level of maturity to accept his truth. That particular person would again view the truth from his own point of view. It would therefore serve no purpose to discuss higher truths with the uninitiated, except for those who strive towards these higher truths and begin to mature for these truths. All else would have to be considered profane and, from the magical point of view, incorrect. Bear in mind the words of the great Master of Christianity: “Do not cast your pearls before swine.”

The ability to differentiate knowledge from wisdom belongs also to truth. Knowledge on all levels of human existence depends upon maturity, receptivity, intelligence, and memory, regardless of whether we have enriched our knowledge by reading, transferal and communication, or other experiences.

There is a vast difference between knowledge and wisdom. It is considerably less difficult to gain knowledge than it is to attain wisdom. Wisdom is not at all dependent upon knowledge, although both are identical to a certain degree. The source of wisdom is within God, in the causal principle, in the Akasha, on all planes of the material, astral and mental worlds. Therefore, wisdom does not depend on the intellect and memory, but upon the maturity, purity and perfection of the personality of the individual. You could also consider wisdom to be a state of development of the “I.” Consequently, cognizance is not given to us only by the intellect, but especially through intuition or inspiration. Therefore, the degree of wisdom determines one’s level of development. That does not mean that we should neglect knowledge; on the contrary, knowledge and wisdom must go hand in hand. That is why the initiate will strive to get ahead in knowledge as well as in wisdom, because one cannot lag behind the other when it comes to development.

When knowledge and wisdom keep the same pace in the development of the initiate, then he is given the possibility of comprehending and recognizing all laws of the microcosm and macrocosm, not only from the point of view of wisdom, but also from the intellectual point of view, or in other words bipolarly, and to make use of them for his development.

One of the many laws, the first major key, the mystery of the Tetragrammaton or the tetrapolar magnet in all planes, has already been discussed. Since it is a universal key, it can be used for solving all problems, all laws, for every truth; in short, it can be used for everything, provided the initiate understands how to use this key properly. In the course of time, while his development unfolds and he perfects himself in the Hermetic sciences, he will learn different aspects of this key and acknowledge these aspects as immutable laws. He will not grope about in darkness and uncertainty; instead he will hold a light in his hand with which he will be able to penetrate any ignorance.

This brief description should suffice for the aspiring initiate to know the position he should take in regards to the question of truth.

Religion

The aspiring magician will profess to a universal religion. He will find that every religion has its good aspects, but also a dark side. Therefore he will keep the best for himself and pay no attention to the weaknesses. This does not mean that he has to acknowledge each and every religion, but he should show the proper respect towards all of them. Every religion has its own God principle, regardless of whether one is dealing with Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, or whatever. Basically, the magician can remain faithful to his own religion. However, he will not be satisfied with the official dogma of his church, but will strive to penetrate deeper into God’s workshop. And that is the purpose of our initiation. The magician will form his own universal ideology in accordance with the universal laws, which will be his true religion. He will see that every defender of religion will make the effort to represent his religion as the best, disregarding its weaknesses. All religious truth is relative and its comprehension depends upon the maturity of the individual. That is why, in this respect, the initiate does not interfere with another’s right to his religious beliefs and does not attempt to dissuade him from his truth or condemn or even criticize him. In the innermost of his soul, the initiate will find only compassion for a fanatic or an atheist, without expressing it outwardly in any way. Therefore, allow everyone to hold firmly to that which he believes and that which makes him happy and content. If everyone would adhere to this principle and make it his own, there would be neither hatred nor religious discord. There would be no reason for differences of opinion and all philosophies or all religions could co-exist happily.

It is of course quite a different matter when a seeker, no longer satisfied with materialism or dogma and yearning for spiritual nourishment, asks an initiate for advice and enlightenment. In such an instance the initiate is duty bound to enlighten the seeker in accordance with his perceptive faculties. The magician should spare neither time nor effort to communicate his spiritual treasures to the seeker and lead him towards the light.

God

Since primeval times humankind has believed in something higher and super-sensible, something he has idolized, regardless of whether it has been a personified or unpersonified concept of God. Whatever humankind could grasp or comprehend was always ascribed to a higher might in accordance with their concepts. The deities of nations, as well as the good and the evil ones (demons), came into being in this manner. In the course of time gods, angels, demiurges, demons and spirits were worshiped, but always in accordance with the mentality of the particular people or nation, regardless of whether they actually lived or existed only in the imagination. The more intellectually developed mankind became, the more this concept of gods diminished, especially when certain apparitions could be explained by modern science which in earlier days were ascribed in general to the gods. It would fill many volumes if you were to attempt to describe the details of the various beliefs in the gods throughout the history of mankind.

Let us turn to the concept of God from the point of view of a magician. The concept of God serves the average man as a support or as a point of reference for his spirit in order to be free of uncertainty and not get lost. That is why his God remains always incomprehensible, inconceivable and unimaginable. This is quite different when it comes to the magician; he knows his God in all aspects. He holds his deity in the highest esteem, because he knows that he has been created in His image, that he is a part of God. Therefore he sees his highest ideal, his highest duty and his holiest goal in becoming one with the deity, in becoming a god-man. Later on I will describe the ascent to this exalted goal. The synthesis of becoming one with God lies in developing the divine ideas, beginning from the lowest level to the highest, to the point at which oneness with the Universal Spirit has been achieved. It is entrusted to one’s own discretion as to whether he then wishes to surrender his individuality or maintain it. Human beings who achieve such greatness will usually return to earth with particularly sacred tasks or missions.

During this ascent the initiated magician is at the same time a mystic. Only when he surrenders his individuality and becomes one will he voluntarily enter into a dissolution which, in mystical terminology, is depicted as the mystic death.

This demonstrates that in true initiation there is neither a mystical nor a magical path. There is only one true initiation which connects both concepts, in contrast to most mystic and spiritual directions which concern themselves immediately with the highest problems through meditation or other spiritual exercises without having worked their way through the lowest levels. This can be compared to someone who immediately attends university without ever having attended elementary school. The consequences of such a one-sided education are in some cases difficult and at times even drastic in accordance with the aptitude of the individual. This error can be mostly attributed to the fact that most of the material in regards to this subject matter comes from the Orient, where the material and astral worlds are regarded as maya (illusion or deceptive appearance) and therefore little attention is paid to them. It is not possible to mention details, because it would exceed the scope of this book. However, a well planned, step by step development will not result in failure or in severe consequences, because the process of maturing is slow, but it is safe. If the initiate chooses Christ, Buddha, Brahma, Allah or someone else as his concept of God, it is at his own discretion. When it comes to initiation, everything depends solely upon the concept. The pure mystic will only approach his god through all-encompassing love. The yogi attends mostly to one single aspect of God as well; the bhakti yogi stays on the path of love and devotion, the raja and hatha yogis are on the path of self-control or will, and the jnana yogi is on the path of wisdom and cognizance.

If we look at the concept of God from the magical point of view in accordance with the four elements, the so-called Tetragrammaton, the Unpronounceable, the Highest, then the following is attributed to the four elements:

The Fire-Prime principle: omnipotence and the all-encompassing energy.

The Air-Prime principle: wisdom, purity and clarity; out of these aspects comes forth the universal lawfulness.

The Water-Prime principle: love and eternal life.

The Earth-Prime principle: omnipresence, immortality and consequently eternity.

These four aspects together form the highest divinity. We will enter practically upon the path to this highest aspect of deity, but step by step, beginning at the lowest sphere in order to achieve within us the true realization of God. The one who achieves this goal in this lifetime can be considered quite fortunate. No one should spare the effort, because sooner or later everyone will arrive at his destination.

Asceticism

From time immemorial all religions, sects, ideologies and educational systems have placed the greatest importance on asceticism. In the instance of some Oriental systems, asceticism has turned into fanaticism, which causes great harm in many cases. When asceticism is taken to extremes it becomes unnatural and unlawful. The mortification of the flesh in general is just as one-sided, for example as if one were to develop just one side of the human body and neglect the other side. Should asceticism serve the human body in the form of a diet to eliminate the various wastes and other impurities, or to remove ailments and equilibrate disharmonies, then the use of ascetic measures is justified. But be on guard when extreme measures are applied.

It would be foolish for someone who performs heavy physical labor to deprive his body of substances which are absolutely necessary for the preservation of his body simply because he occupies himself with yoga or mysticism in private. Such extreme measures inevitably lead to serious consequences as far as the health of the individual is concerned.

Unless vegetarianism serves a particular purpose, as for example detoxification or the purification of the body, it is not absolutely necessary for spiritual progress and development at this point in one’s spiritual development. Occasional abstinence from meat or food prepared from animals is only recommended for specific magical operations, and at the same time as a preparation, and then only for a certain period of time. Abstinence from sexual intercourse also falls into this category.

The idea that eating the meat of animals also causes the transference of animal characteristics is foolish and originates with an ideology which is ignorant of the complete and true primordial laws. The magician does not pay any attention to such notions.

For magico-mystical development the magician must, however, practice moderation in eating and drinking and lead a sensible lifestyle. Exact instruction cannot be given, because the lifestyle of every magician is quite individual. Everyone should know what agrees and what disagrees with him, and it is his sacred duty to keep an equilibrium everywhere. There are three kinds of asceticism:

(1) Spiritual or mental asceticism;

(2) Psychic or astral asceticism;

(3) Corporeal or material asceticism.

Discipline of thought is incumbent upon the first kind; ennobling the soul by controlling passions and urges is incumbent upon the second kind; harmonizing the body by a moderate and natural lifestyle is incumbent upon the third kind of asceticism. Without these three kinds of asceticism a proper magical ascent is unthinkable. They must be developed simultaneously and parallel with one another. None of these three kinds can be neglected, and none should gain priority over the other, otherwise the development will become one-sided. The method of accomplishment will be explained in the practical part of this book.

Before I conclude with the theoretical part of this book, which explains the theoretical principles, I urge everyone to read the entire theory in detail before proceeding to the practice, because it must become everyone’s spiritual property through intensive thinking and meditation, otherwise failure will result. The aspiring magician will attain the cognizance that the labor of the elements in the various planes and spheres determines life. You will notice energies at work and being effective on a small scale as well as on a large scale, in the microcosm and in the macrocosm, in the temporal and in the eternal. From this understanding you can gather that there is no death in the true sense of the word; instead everything continues to live, transform and perfect itself in accordance with the primordial laws. That is why the magician does not fear death, since physical death is merely a transition into a vastly finer sphere, the astral plane, and from there into the spiritual plane etc. The magician does not believe either in heaven or hell. The priests of the various religions adhere to this concept in order to keep their faithful under their control. Their sermons give rise to the fear of hell and purgatory and promise heaven to morally good human beings. For the average person, in so far as he is religiously inclined, this notion has its good sides, because at least he makes the effort to be good out of fear of hell.

On the other hand, these laws of morality serve the magician to ennoble the soul and the spirit. The universal energies can only be effective in an ennobled soul, especially when body, soul and spirit have been trained and developed simultaneously.

INITIATION II: THE PRACTICE OF MAGIC

Step I:
Introduction

This is the part of the book in which we begin with the practice of initiation. We must always bear in mind that it is impossible to acquire and maintain the magical equilibrium if the body, soul and spirit are not trained simultaneously. In the theoretical part of this book I called the reader’s attention in detail to the dangers of one-sided training or development. Everything requires a certain length of time; therefore it is not advisable to hasten during the developmental period. The fundamental conditions of this development are patience, perseverance and tenacity. You will be richly rewarded for the effort which you devote to your development. Should you decide to enter upon the path of magic, make it your sacred duty to practice regularly. Be kind, friendly and lenient towards your fellow man, but unrelenting and pitiless with yourself. You can only expect success in magic when you act in this manner. Never condemn or criticize anyone and first put your own house in order. Allow no one an insight into your inner sanctum. A magician never speaks about his path, his ascent and success. Silence contains the greatest might, and the more this commandment is obeyed, the more accessible and easier to reach are these energies. Arrange your day in such a way that you devote as much time as possible to your ascent. It is unnecessary to pass your time eating and drinking, or waste your time with meaningless company. Time flows like water and never returns. Determine a particular period of time which must be adhered to under all circumstances.

Exceptions are only permissible in unavoidable situations. Human beings are creatures of habit, and once they have become accustomed to a particular hour for their exercises, then the urge to exercise comes automatically. Just as the urge to eat, drink and sleep arises, the same applies to the exercises, in that they must become habit. Only by following the above directions will you be assured of success. You will not progress unless you are diligent. I will endeavor to organize the instructions in such a way that even the busiest person is able to do these exercises. Those of you who have ample time at your disposal may engage in two or more exercises in the proper sequence.

Step I:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit
Thought Control, Thought Discipline, Mastery of Thoughts

(1) Thought Control

Seat yourself comfortably in a chair or lie down on a sofa or bed. Relax your entire body, close your eyes and observe your train of thought for five minutes, and make an attempt to remember these thoughts. In the beginning you will notice that thoughts which pertain to matters of everyday life, professional or job-related matters, worries etc. will rush in on you. Your position to this flow of thoughts should be that of a silent observer, completely free and independent. This exercise will either be difficult or easy, depending upon your situation and your present state of mind. When difficulties occur, do not lose your train of thought and do not lose sight of yourself, but observe your thoughts attentively. Do not fall asleep during this exercise. Should you become tired, immediately discontinue the exercise and postpone it till another time, at which time you will have made up your mind that you will not fall victim to tiredness. People of the Orient, for example India, sprinkle or wash their faces and upper body with cold water in order to remain alert, so that they do not lose valuable time. In order to prevent and overcome tiredness and sleepiness you can take a few deep breaths before you begin your exercise.

The student will in time develop these and similar methods himself. This thought control exercise has to be practiced in the morning and in the evening, starting with five minutes. Every day this exercise should be extended by one minute, so that within a week you are able to observe and control your own thoughts for at least ten minutes without the slightest digression. This period of time is necessary for the average human being. Should this span of time not be sufficient, then you can extend this term in accordance with your own powers of perception. Be conscientious in everything; it serves no purpose to do these exercise in haste. Every person’s development is individual. Under no circumstances should you advance to the next exercise until you have completely mastered the present one.

The attentive student will notice how, in the beginning, he is besieged by thoughts, and how quickly they pass by him, so that it will be difficult for him to remember all of them. However, from one exercise to the next he will notice that these thoughts will appear less chaotically, and will abate little by little until only a few thoughts emerge in the consciousness as if from afar.

You must devote the greatest attention to this thought control exercise because it is extremely important in magical development, a fact which you will later understand.

Provided that you have practiced this exercise sufficiently and mastered it, we can begin with the instruction of the next exercise, namely mental development.

(2) Thought Discipline

We have learned to control our thoughts. The next exercise deals with thoughts which obtrude within us unwanted and persistently, and with not allowing them to emerge in our minds. For example, we must be able to occupy ourselves no longer with the chores and annoyances of our professional life when we are at home or in our private life. We must avoid all thoughts that do not belong in our private life and we must succeed in becoming a different person immediately. And vice versa: While we are at work or pursuing our profession we must direct all our thoughts towards our work and not allow them to be elsewhere, like at home or with private matters. This has to be practiced until it becomes a habit. Above all you must become accustomed to performing all tasks with complete awareness, whether it be in your profession or in your private life, regardless of whether you are dealing with something major or not. This exercise has to be practiced for the rest of your life, as it hones the spirit and strengthens the consciousness and memory.

Once you have achieved a certain proficiency in the practice of this exercise, you may advance to the next. This exercise is as follows: Retain one single thought or idea for a longer period of time while you steadfastly suppress all other thoughts which obtrusively try to join it. Select any idea or train of thought or any other suitable concept for this purpose at your own discretion. Retain this concept with all your power. Vigorously reject all other thoughts which have nothing to do with the one you are practicing. In the beginning you will succeed for only a few seconds, later on it will be minutes. You must succeed in maintaining and following one single thought for at least ten minutes.

(3) Mastery of Thoughts

Once you have mastered this exercise you can proceed with the next exercise. We will learn now to produce a complete vacancy of mind. Relax your entire body by lying comfortably on a sofa or bed or by sitting in a comfortable chair. Close your eyes. Vigorously reject any thought that attacks you. Nothing must be permitted to appear in your spirit or mind; only complete mental vacancy should prevail. Then maintain this vacant state of mind without digressing or forgetting yourself. In the beginning you will succeed, but only for a few seconds. However, through repeated practice you will become more successful. Once you have succeeded in remaining in this state for a full ten minutes without forgetting yourself or falling asleep, then the purpose of this exercise has been achieved.

Carefully record all your successes, failures, duration of your exercises and interruptions or disturbances in a magical diary. (Details follow in the chapter “Magical Schooling of the Soul”). This diary will give the student the means to examine his own ascent. The more conscientiously the student maintains these records, the better and more successful he will be with all the exercises that follow. Prepare a specific schedule for tomorrow or for the coming week and practice self-criticism.

Step I:
Magical Schooling of the Soul
Introspection (Self-Cognizance)

In our abode, which is our body and soul, we must find our way about at all times. That is why the first task is to know oneself. This condition is required by all systems of initiation, regardless of what kind. There will be no true ascent without self-cognizance.

During the first days of soul-schooling we will occupy ourselves with the practice of introspection, the examination or observation of our own characteristics. Record all the negative characteristics of your soul in a magical diary. This diary is strictly for your own use and under no circumstances should it be shown to anyone else. It is a so-called “control book.” When practicing self-control, you have to be pitiless and strict with yourself when it comes to your shortcomings, failings, habits, passions, urges and any other negative character traits. Be unrelenting towards yourself and do not glorify any of your failings and shortcomings. Meditate and contemplate about yourself; place yourself in different situations of your past and consider how you behaved, taking note of the various failings and shortcomings which arose while you were in this situation. Record all weaknesses in their finest nuances and variations. The more you discover, the better. Nothing should remain hidden; everything should be unveiled, whether the failings and weaknesses be significant or insignificant. Students that are especially gifted have discovered hundreds of failings in the finest nuances. These students had the ability of meditating properly and penetrating profoundly into their own souls. Wash your soul completely clean and sweep out all the filth.

This self-analysis is one of the most important parts of magical preparatory work. Many occult systems neglect these important requirements; that is why they have only limited success. This psychic or astral preparatory work is the most important component in achieving magical equilibrium; without it, a consistent ascent in your development is not possible. Devote a few minutes to self-criticism every morning and every evening. Should you have a few free moments during the day, make use of them; contemplate intensively as to whether some failings still lurk in hiding somewhere. Should you discover some, record them immediately so they do not fall into oblivion. Whenever you discover a shortcoming, do not hesitate, but record it immediately.

Should you not be successful in discovering all your shortcomings or failings within one week, then devote another week to your research until your registry of sins is complete. Should you be able to complete it in one or two weeks, then move on to the next exercise. Through deep and intensive contemplation, try to assign each of your negative characteristics to one of the four elements. In your magical diary, allow a column or a page for each of the four elements, under which you record your shortcomings. Should you not be certain which element a characteristic should be assigned to, add another category with the heading “Indifferent.” Eventually, as you advance in your development you will be able to determine to which element a characteristic belongs.

For example, the following are negative characteristics:

Fire element: quick temper, jealousy, hate, vengefulness, anger.

Air element: thoughtlessness, boastfulness, self-conceit, gossip, wastefulness.

Water element: indifference, apathy, cold-heartedness, acquiescence, carelessness, shyness, defiance, inconsistency.

Earth element: being easily offended, laziness, irresponsibility, ponderousness, melancholy, inconsistency.

In the following week meditate on each characteristic in the above-mentioned categories and divide them again into three groups and record them in your magical diary:

Group 1: Those negative characteristics that influence you the most and create the greatest problems, even under the most trivial circumstances.

Group 2: Negative characteristics that occur less frequently and have less of an influence.

Group 3: Negative characteristics that occur infrequently and have little influence on you.

This also applies to the category of “Indifferent.” Be conscientious when recording them, as it is definitely worthwhile.

Everything has to be done in the same form and manner when it comes to positive psychic characteristics. They have to be divided in accordance with the elements, the category with the heading “Indifferent” and the three groups. Here are some examples of positive characteristics:

Fire element: activity, enthusiasm, determination, daring, courage.

Air element: diligence, joy, proficiency, kindheartedness, propensity to work, optimism.

Water element: humbleness, modesty, abstinence, ardency, compassion, tranquility, peace (contentment), forgiveness, tenderness.

Earth element: respect, perseverance, conscientiousness, thoroughness, circumspection, soberness, prudence, punctuality, sense of responsibility.

Through these exercises you will attain two astral soul-mirrors, one black, which represents all your negative astral characteristics, and one white, with your good and noble character traits. These two magic mirrors are considered to be actual occult mirrors and no one but the proprietor has the right to view himself in these mirrors. I should mention again that it is important that the proprietor of these mirrors must work conscientiously and precisely on them so that the final result is a true magic mirror. Should you, in the course of your development, encounter any more good or bad, positive or negative characteristics, add them to your existing records. These two magic mirrors give the magician the ability to accurately determine which element in the black or white mirror is predominant. This knowledge is absolutely necessary in order to reach your magical equilibrium. All your future development depends upon it.

Step I:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body
The Material or Carnal Body

The development of the spirit and soul must go hand in hand with that of our outer shell, the physical body. No part of our “I” should lag behind or be neglected.

In the morning, immediately after rising, brush yourself with a soft natural brush until your skin becomes slightly pinkish. This will open your pores and allow them to breathe better. Through this, for the greater part, your kidneys are relieved. After this, wash your entire body, or at least your upper body, with cold water, then give your body a rubdown with a rough terry towel until you feel comfortably warm. More sensitive individuals, especially during the colder seasons, may begin with lukewarm water and graduate to colder water as they progress.

Make this procedure a daily routine and maintain it for the rest of your life. It eliminates tiredness and has a refreshing effect.

Furthermore, do stretching exercises every morning to keep your body supple. I will not describe any specific physical exercises; the individual should do whatever is best suited for him in accordance with his present physical condition. The main purpose here is that your body should become flexible.

The Mystery of Breathing

Careful consideration should be given to the breathing exercises. In God’s creation, every living creature breathes. Without breath there is no life.

The magician cannot be satisfied with that alone. He has to know considerably more than that he is just inhaling oxygen with nitrogen, which are absorbed by the lungs, and that he exhales nitrogen. The lungs cannot exist without breathing and nourishment. Everything that we require to live, everything that maintains life, in other words breathing and nourishment, is tetrapolar, has four elements plus the fifth, which is the life element, the vital element or the Akasha principle, as it was explained in the theoretical part of this book dealing with the elements.

The air we inhale possesses a finer degree of density than material, physical food. However, both are of the same nature according to the universal laws; both are tetrapolar and serve to keep the body alive. Let us take a closer look at the function of breathing.

Oxygen is subject to the Fire element. Nitrogen is subject to the Water element. The Air element is the intermediary element. The Earth element is the element which holds the oxygen and the nitrogen together. The Akasha or Ether element is the fifth element, the lawful, the causal or divine principle. Just as in the great universe, in nature, so in this instance as well the elements have their electric and magnetic fluids, their polarity.

Even when you breathe normally or instinctively, your body will only be supplied with as much elemental substance as is necessary for its normal maintenance. Here the supply is in accordance with the consumption of the elemental substance.

It becomes a different matter when you begin to breathe consciously. When you transfer a thought, idea or concept, whether abstract or concrete, into the air you are about to inhale, the Akasha principle of that particular air will accept that thought or idea and pass it on to the air substance through the electric and magnetic fluids.

This impregnated substance of the air then has two tasks when it is directed through the lungs to the blood vessels.

First, the material parts or particles of the elements serve to maintain the body.

Second, the electromagnetic fluid charged with the idea or concept will lead the electromagnetic air tinged with the idea out of the bloodstream, through the astral matrix to the astral body, and reflect it from there through the mental matrix to the immortal spirit.

From the magical point of view this is the solution to the mystery of breathing. Many divine schools of thought, for instance the hatha yoga system, make use of and give instruction on conscious breathing without knowledge of the proper procedure. Some of these breathing exercises are extreme and, as a result, many students have severely harmed their health. This has occurred when these breathing exercises were practiced without the guidance of an experienced teacher (guru). It occurs quite often when an inexperienced person is misled by the promise of quick results in acquiring occult powers. In reality this can be achieved considerably faster through a universal system of initiation like the one in this book.

Therefore, the quantity of air inhaled is not as important as the quality in respect to the idea which one places into the air substance. For that reason it is not necessary, nor even advisable, to overload the lungs with air and needlessly strain them in this manner. Instead, do your breathing exercises slowly and calmly, without haste.

Make yourself comfortable, either by lying down on a bed or sofa or by sitting in a comfortable chair. Relax your entire body and breathe through your nose. Imagine that, with the air, you inhale health, tranquility (calmness), inner peace (contentment), success [2] or whatever you are trying to achieve first, [3] and that it passes through your lungs and through your blood over into your body. Whatever you are trying to achieve, whether it be peace or success, must be imagined so intensively that the air which you inhale is impregnated with your wish to the point that it has already become a reality. Not the slightest doubt should arise during this exercise.

In order not to become weary, it suffices to begin with seven breaths of air in the morning and seven in the evening. In accordance with one’s own ability, gradually increase the number of breaths. It would be safe to increase daily by one breath in the morning and one in the evening. When doing these exercises, always take your time (never overdo anything) for everything requires a certain amount of time. Do not change from one wish to another until the initial wish has been completely fulfilled. A highly gifted student will meet with success in seven days at the earliest. Everything depends upon the degree of aptitude and one’s power of imagination. Other students may require several weeks in order to realize their wishes, while others might even require months. Even the kind of wish itself can make a great difference as to how much time is required. It is therefore advisable that in the beginning the wish should not be selfish, but rather select one which is mentioned above, such as health, tranquility (calmness), inner peace (contentment) and success. When you practice these breathing exercises, do not exceed thirty minutes. Later, ten minutes in the morning and ten in the evening should suffice.

Conscious Intake of Nourishment

What we have learned about breathing also applies to the intake of nourishment for our physical body. Here, too, the same elemental processes occur as in the inhalation of air, with the exception that the effect of the elements is more material and coarser. Food which is impregnated with a wish has a particularly strong effect on the material plane, because it is subjected to the coarsest material elemental emanations. A magician would be well advised to consider this aspect if he wishes to achieve success in regards to his own body or other material wishes.

Whenever you have a meal, place the food which you are about to eat directly in front of you and, with the most intense imagination of which you are capable, concentrate on the idea that your wish be embodied in the food and that it is as effective in this manner as if it were already a reality. Should you be alone and undisturbed or unwatched by anyone, you can hold your hands over the food and bless it, and you can also close your eyes. Should this opportunity not present itself, then impregnate the food with your wish. This will give people the impression that you are praying, which is really what you are doing. Then eat the food slowly but consciously, with the inner conviction that your wish actually passes over into your entire body, into the finest nerves, with the food that you are eating. That which is for Christians the communion must be for you the intake of food; it is, so to speak, a sacred act.

It is therefore not advantageous for your magical development to eat in haste. All food and beverages are suitable for the magical impregnation of wishes. But there is a condition: always eat and drink everything that you have impregnated; nothing but nothing should be left over. Never read while you eat. Unfortunately, many people are afflicted with this bad habit. Also, you should not speak or carry on a conversation during your meal. You eat merely for the purpose of maintaining your wish. Furthermore, pay attention that you do not add another wish, especially an opposite one. In other words, when you practice the conscious or magical breathing exercise and you wish for health, you cannot, for example, concentrate on success during the meal. It is advantageous to express the same wish when you practice your breathing exercises as well as when you have a meal, so that you do not produce opposite radiation vibrations in the body. An old proverb states: “Whoever attempts to catch two hares at the same time, catches none.” Those who are prepared, during their conscious intake of food, for the Eucharistic secret will find here the analogous connection. The profound and real significance of Christ’s words will be revealed to such an individual: “Take and eat, for this is My body, drink ye all of it, for this is my blood.”

The Magic of Water

Not only is water one of the most important elements in our daily lives, it is absolutely necessary for drinking, for the preparation of food, for bathing, washing our clothes, cleaning our house, producing steam etc. And yet the Water element is also a great factor in our magical development. This has already been mentioned in the theoretical part of this book, that magnetism or the attractive power is subject to the Water element. It is this attribute which we especially want to employ in our development. In books that deal with healing magnetism, Od emanation etc., you will read that water can be magnetized or loaded with Od. But little is known concerning how this attribute can be expanded upon or how it can be otherwise applied. Not only water but all liquids have the specific attribute of attraction and, as a consequence of this contraction, they have the ability to retain influences, whether good or bad.

The Water element and especially physical or material water can be regarded as an accumulator. The colder the water is, the greater its capacity to accumulate. Water reaches its greatest receptivity at 39°F (+4°C), its fullest specific weight.

This fact is not too significant, because the differences in regards to the receptivity of water (or other liquids) up to 43°F (+6°C) are so minute and so barely perceptible that only a well-versed magician will be able to notice them.

When water becomes warmer as a result of its increasing heat, its receptive ability diminishes rapidly. Water becomes neutral to magnetism between 97° and 99°F (+36° and 37°C).

Pay attention to the following: we are dealing here only with the specific attribute in respect to the attractive power, and with the practical significance in respect to magnetism which comes forth out of the knowledge of the reciprocal effect of the elements and which has to be accepted as a foregone conclusion.

The impregnation of a substance with a wish can be accomplished with any object and at any temperature (no matter what the object, including physical water, as the actual impregnation takes place through the Akasha principle). It could be a piece of bread, a bowl of hot soup, a cup of coffee or tea that is magically charged. This type of charging or loading does not depend upon the accumulative ability of the Water element, but is accomplished through the causal principle, the fifth power of the elements, and becomes effective through the electromagnetic fluid of the respective elements. In order to avoid errors, you have to pay attention to these differences.

For example: A bowl of hot soup cannot be magnetized, because the accumulative ability of the Water element is equilibrated or on the increase through the expansive force of heat contained in the water, provided the temperature rises above 99°F (+37°C). However, the soup can be impregnated with a particular wish.

Now let us begin with the practice of the magic of water. From now on, whenever you wash your hands, concentrate intensively on the fact that you no longer simply remove the dirt from your body by washing it, but you also remove the filth from your soul. Think that you cleanse yourself of sickness, restlessness, discontentment or failure, and that you transfer them into the water. Wherever possible, wash yourself with or under running water so that the dirty water can be disposed of immediately, and concentrate on the idea that your weaknesses are washed away with the water running down the drain.

In the event that there is no running water available and you have only a wash-bowl or sink at your disposal, make certain that after you have transferred all your weaknesses into the water you immediately throw it away, so that no other human being may come into contact with that water.

You can also immerse your hands for awhile in cold water, then concentrate intensively on the idea that the astral-magnetic power attracts all weaknesses from your body and soul.

Be completely convinced that all failures pass over into the water. You will be surprised within a relatively short time by the success of this exercise. Make certain that you dispose of the water immediately. This exercise has an extraordinarily strong effect if you practice it in a river in the summertime where you can immerse the entire body, with the exception of the head.

This exercise can also be practiced the other way around, first by magnetizing or impregnating your intended wash water with a wish. You must be firmly convinced that the power passes over into your body and the wish becomes a reality when you wash yourself with the water.

Should a person have enough time, both exercises can be done one after the other. First, transfer all the negative characteristics into the water, either by letting the water run over your hands under a tap or in a separate wash basin. You can use soap when you wash off your negative characteristics. Secondly, you can wash yourself with water that is impregnated with a wish.

Female initiates, besides the two above-mentioned possibilities, have a third possibility, namely they can concentrate their magnetism upon the water to make the face and complexion fresher, younger, more elastic and attractive. It is therefore advisable not only to wash your face but to immerse your entire face in the impregnated water for a few seconds. Repeat this procedure at least seven times. A pinch of borax can be added to the water for this purpose.

The magician has yet another possibility, and that is to prepare a “magnetic eye bath” in the following manner. First boil enough water to fill a sink to the extent that you can immerse your face in it without the sink overflowing, and then let the water sit overnight in a container. Next morning, pour the water into the sink. Then magnetize the water for your particular purpose or impregnate it with your concentrated wish. Immerse your face in the water and open your eyes, then roll your eyes clockwise and counter-clockwise; repeat this procedure seven times. Should your eyes burn initially, it is only temporary; they will become accustomed to this exercise.

Should you suffer from weak eyesight, it would be advantageous to add a weak infusion of eyebright herb to the water. The botanical name is Euphrasia Officinalis. These eye baths make the eyes more resistant, especially in regards to changes in the weather; they remove weaknesses of the eyes, strengthen the eyesight and make the eyes clear and bright.

Students that have advanced to the level of clairvoyance may further their clairvoyant capabilities through this exercise.

As far as Step I is concerned, this concludes the physical development and schooling of the human body.

Summary of the Exercises in Step I

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

(1) Thought control.

(2) Thought discipline.

(3) Mastery of thoughts.

As to (1): Thought control; practice twice daily from five to ten minutes.

As to (2): Thought discipline; avoidance of particular thoughts that have arisen. Retention of a particular thought which you have chosen.

As to (3): The practice of vacancy of mind. Organizing a magical diary. Self-criticism. Planning and scheduling of thoughts for the next day or the coming week.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Introspection or self-cognizance.

(2) Preparation of the (white and black) soul mirror in regards to the elements and each of the elements in their three spheres of activity.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(1) Adapting a normal and sensible lifestyle as a matter of habit.

(2) Morning exercises.

(3) Conscious breathing.

(4) Conscious eating (the mystery of the Eucharist).

(5) The magic of water.

We should allow anywhere from fourteen days to one month for each of these exercises. This time allotment is for those individuals who have already practiced meditation and concentration. Those students who are inexperienced in Hermetics will probably require more time and therefore have to extend this exercise period in accordance with their needs. Success depends upon the individuality of the student. It serves no purpose in practice to proceed to the next step without first having mastered or properly completed the present step. [4]

End of Step I

Step II:
Auto-suggestion or the Secret of the Subconscious

Before I begin to describe the individual exercises of this step, I should like to explain the secret of the subconscious and its practical significance.

Your normal consciousness has its seat in the soul and is activated by the large brain in the body, the cerebrum, which is located in the front of the head; therefore, the subconscious is also an attribute of the soul and is located in the small brain or the cerebellum, in the back of the head.

In consideration of the practical use of magic, let us attend to the study of the psychological functions of the cerebellum, the small brain, the subconscious.

Any human being who is conscious of his five senses can be considered normal, in other words his sphere of normal consciousness is intact. That means that such an individual has the ability to make continual use of the functions of his normal consciousness.

Research has proven that there is no single power in the universe, and consequently in human beings, that does not display its opposite. Therefore we may consider the subconscious to be the opposite of the normal consciousness. Whatever our normal consciousness conceives or understands under the notion of thinking, feelings, volition, memory, reason, and intellect is reflected in our subconscious as the opposite effect. From a practical point of view, our subconscious can be considered as our opponent or adversary.

The driving force or impulse of everything that is undesirable to us, such as our passions, shortcomings and weaknesses, has its origin in this sphere of consciousness. It is the student’s task during introspection to decode the work of his subconscious in accordance with the key of the elements or the tetrapolar magnet. This is a worthwhile task, because the student will gain complete self-confidence through his own contemplation or meditation.

The driving force behind everything we do not want, everything we do not wish for, is the subconscious.

We will now learn to change this aspect which is ill-disposed towards our “I” to such an extent that not only will we be able to render it harmless but, on the contrary, it will help us to realize our wishes. In the material world the subconscious requires time and space for its realization, two fundamental principles which any thing or object must have in order to be transferred from the causal world to reality.

When we withdraw time and space from the subconscious, then this opposite polarity ceases to exert its influence upon us; consequently we are able to realize our wishes through the subconscious. The key to the practical application of auto-suggestion is the sudden disengagement of the subconscious.

Should we want to impress upon our subconscious the idea that, tomorrow or at any other time, we will not be subjected to one of our passions, let us say the craving to smoke or to drink an alcoholic beverage, this will give the subconscious ample time to place obstacles directly and indirectly in our path until the appointed time. In most cases the subconscious will almost always succeed in overcoming us or causing us to fail, especially when the will-power is undeveloped and weak. Should we, however, withdraw the notion of time and space when we impregnate the subconscious with a wish, then we will find that only the positive part of the subconscious is effective within us, that the upper or normal consciousness is coordinated with it, and hence our wish-impregnation should bring the expected success. This knowledge and possibility is of the greatest significance for magical development and must always be taken into consideration when we practice auto-suggestion.

When you select the formula or formulate the words necessary for auto-suggestion, the phrase or formula must always be in the form of an order and in the present tense. It should never be as follows: “I will stop smoking,” or “I will stop drinking.” The formula or phrase should be as follows: “I am a non-smoker.” “I am a non-drinker.” “I have no desire to smoke.” “I have no desire to drink.”

This of course depends on what you wish to eliminate and to achieve through auto-suggestion, or what negative characteristic you wish to eliminate or which positive characteristic you wish to obtain.

The key to auto-suggestion and obtaining the desired results lies in formulating a positive phrase in the present tense and in the form of an order. This must be adhered to at all times and in every respect if you want to ensure success in auto-suggestion through the subconscious.

At night when we sleep, the subconscious works most effectively and penetratingly. The activity of the normal consciousness is suspended while we are in the state of sleep and the activity of the subconscious takes over. Therefore the most receptive time for the acceptance of an auto-suggestive formula is when you lie in bed tired and are ready to fall asleep, and also immediately after you have awakened, when you are still in a half-awake state. That does not mean that any other time is not appropriate for auto-suggestion. These time periods are the most favorable because the subconscious is most receptive. Knowing this, a magician will never allow himself to fall asleep with thoughts of grief, sorrow and distress and influence his subconscious unfavorably in this manner, because your subconscious continues to work with the sequence of ideas with which you fall asleep. It does not take much imagination to deduce what frame of mind you will wake up with in the morning. Therefore remember: Always fall asleep with peaceful and harmonious thoughts or with thoughts of success, health and inner peacefulness.

Before you decide to begin with the actual exercise or the practice of auto-suggestion, buy or prepare yourself a little chain with thirty to forty wooden or glass beads. Should you have difficulties procuring such a chain, then a string with thirty to forty knots will do. This will serve as an aid for auto-suggestion, so that you do not have to count when you repeat the suggestion formula and your attention is not directed towards something else. This little aid can also be used for counting all disturbances that occur during a certain time span when you do your concentration and meditation exercises; whenever there is an interruption, move one pearl or one knot further.

The practice of auto-suggestion is really quite simple. First formulate what you wish to achieve into a short sentence in the present tense in the form of an order. For example: “I feel better day by day.” “I am a non-smoker.” “I am a non-drinker.” “I am healthy.” “I am content.” “I am happy.” Now we can begin with the actual practice.

Begin this exercise just before you fall asleep by taking the string of pearls, beads or knots and repeating the sentence or suggestion formula in a low voice or whisper or only in your thoughts; do this in the manner you prefer or in accordance with your circumstances. Every time you repeat the sentence, move your fingers from bead to bead. When you have reached the end of the string, you know that you have repeated the sentence forty times.

It is important when practicing this exercise to imagine or visualize plastically that your wish has already become a reality, a fact of which you must be thoroughly convinced. Should you not be tired by the time you have come to the end of your string, then occupy yourself with the thought that your wish has been fulfilled and continue on with this thought until you fall asleep with that particular wish. You should always endeavor to take the wish with you from the waking state into your sleeping state. Should you fall asleep while repeating the formula the second time without reaching the end of your string, the purpose of this exercise will nevertheless have been completely achieved. It should be mentioned, however, that you must repeat the formula at least forty times.

Remember, in the morning when you are still half asleep and, as a result of waking earlier, you have the time to repeat this exercise, reach immediately for the string and begin with the exercise. There are people who wake up during the night, for whatever reason, and should such an occasion arise then the exercise can be repeated and success can be achieved sooner as a result.

Furthermore, we should mention the kinds of wishes that can be fulfilled by auto-suggestion. As a rule, any wish that concerns the spirit, soul and body can be realized, as for example, ennobling the character, battling against negative character traits or other weaknesses and disharmonies, attaining good health, eliminating or promoting various tendencies, developing abilities.

Wishes which have nothing to do with one’s personality cannot be realized, for instance winning the lottery, and so on.

Until you are completely satisfied with the results of the present formula, do not select another. Those who practice these exercises seriously and systematically will soon be convinced of the favorable influence of auto-suggestion, and will maintain this method for the rest of their lives.

Step II:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

In Step I of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit we learned to control and master our thoughts.

In this step of our Magical Schooling of the Spirit we will learn to master thought concentration for the purpose of raising the powers of concentration and strengthening our will-power.

In order to start this exercise, obtain such objects as a knife, a fork, a cigarette case, a pencil, a matchbox, and place them in front of you. Then fix your eyes on one of the objects for a while. Memorize in detail the shape and color of the object. Then close your eyes and attempt to visualize the object plastically, the way it looks in reality. Should the picture of the object leave your imagination, try to recall it again. In the beginning, you may only be able to visualize an object for a few seconds. However, if you persevere and keep repeating the exercise, the object will become clearer and clearer and will disappear and reappear from view less frequently from exercise to exercise. Do not be disenchanted or disappointed with initial failures. Should you become tired, move on to the next object. In the beginning, do not practice longer than ten minutes. However, extend the duration of the exercise little by little up to thirty minutes. In order to control disturbances, make use of the string of beads described in the chapter on auto-suggestion. Move your fingers from bead to bead when you experience an interference; in this manner you will be able to ascertain how many interferences you have had during one exercise. The exercise is complete when you are able to visualize an object for five minutes with your eyes closed without interruption.

Once you have accomplished this, begin to visualize these objects with open eyes. These objects should be suspended in the air and appear before your eyes so plastically that you can almost reach out and touch them. You should be unaware of your surroundings and concentrate only on the imagined object. Here, too, you control the disturbances with the help of your string of beads. This exercise is complete when you can visualize an object suspended in the air plastically for five minutes without the slightest interference.

In the sequence of the exercises, the visual concentration exercises are followed by the acoustic or auditory concentration exercises. In this exercise the power of your imagination is being tested in a different way when compared to the visual concentration exercise. You cannot really say: “Visualize the sound or ticking of a clock,” because the term or meaning of the word “visualization” is usually connected with the sense of sight. When you hear the words “visualization” or “visualize,” you usually have a picture in mind, and that cannot be said when it comes to acoustic concentration exercises. In order to understand this better, we should say: “Imagine that you hear the ticking of a clock.” In the interest of better understanding and to avoid any confusion, we will use the term “imagine that you hear.”

Let us begin with the acoustic concentration exercises. Imagine that you hear the ticking of a wall clock. This exercise is like all the previous exercises; in the beginning you will only be able to do this for a few seconds. But with perseverance it will get better and better and you will have fewer and fewer disturbances. For the purpose of control, use the string of beads and record all interferences in your magical diary; this applies to all your past, present and future exercises. Then continue by imagining that you hear the ticking of a pocket-watch, or a wristwatch, then the pealing of a bell in all its different modulations. Many other acoustic concentration experiments can be done, such as the sound of a gong, the sound of a hammer, tapping sounds, and various other sounds such as scratching, scraping, slurping, and thunder, from the gentle rustling of the wind to a raging storm, the roaring of a waterfall, and, later, the musical sounds of a violin, a piano and other instruments. It is of the utmost importance, when practicing these exercises, that you concentrate on the sound only and do not allow any visualization of pictures. Should a pictorial visualization emerge, you must immediately chase it away; when it comes to the pealing of a bell, you cannot allow the visualization of the bell to occur. The exercise is complete when you are able to maintain the acoustic imagination for five minutes.

Another exercise in the sequence of concentration exercises is the sentience concentration or feeling concentration. Here the object is to call into being the feeling of coldness, warmth, heaviness (feeling of gravity), lightness, hunger, thirst and tiredness. Maintain the feeling until you succeed in holding onto it for at least five minutes without any interruption, either by visual images or acoustic interferences triggered by your own imagination. Once you have reached this level of concentration of calling forth and maintaining at your discretion any feeling, then this exercise is complete and you can begin with the next exercise.

The next exercise deals with the olfactory concentration or concentration of the sense of smell. Imagine that you smell the fragrance of various flowers such as roses, lilacs, violets, or the fragrance of certain perfumes. Hold onto this imaginary smell without visualizing the flower that is connected to the fragrance. Once you have succeeded with the pleasant fragrances, continue this exercise, but this time with various unpleasant odors. This concentration has to be practiced until you are able to call forth in your imagination any fragrance or odor at your discretion for at least five minutes.

The last of the concentration exercises of the senses is that of taste. When practicing this exercise, neither think of nor imagine any kind of food or drink. Concentrate only on the taste. Begin with the most distinct taste sensations such as sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Once you have achieved the required proficiency with the above-mentioned taste, then begin with the taste concentration of various spices such as pepper, garlic, caraway, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, and so on. The selection of spices can be left entirely to the student’s discretion. Once the student has succeeded in calling forth each and every taste sensation and is able to maintain the taste sensation for at least five minutes, then this exercise is complete.

Some students may find that one of these concentration exercises is easier for them while another is more difficult; that is an indication that the cerebral function of that particular sense has either been neglected or is for the greater part stunted or inadequately developed. Most teaching systems only deal with one or two functions and some with three. Concentration exercises that are carried out with all five senses strengthen the spirit or mind, and the will-power. Not only do you learn how to control all fives senses, but you also learn how to develop them further and eventually master them completely. A magician must develop all his senses and be master of them. These exercises are of the utmost importance for magical development and should never be excluded, not even the minutest detail.

Step II:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

In Step I of Magical Schooling of the Soul the pupil learned the practice of introspection. He recorded his good (positive) and his bad (negative) traits in accordance with the four elements and divided them into three groups. In this manner he developed two soul-mirrors, a good (white) and a bad (black) mirror. These two soul-mirrors represent his psychic or astral character. By carefully examining the characteristics which he has recorded in his magical diary, he should be able to ascertain the elementary powers which are predominant in him, whether they be good or evil, and he must establish, at whatever cost, an equilibrium in the effectiveness of the elements. The elements in the astral body must be brought into balance; otherwise magical ascent is not possible.

Therefore the task of this step is to establish the psychic or astral equilibrium. Should the aspiring student have sufficient will-power at his disposal, he can begin by mastering the attributes or passions which influence or affect him the most.

Should the student’s will-power not be sufficiently strong, he should begin at the opposite end by equilibrating his lesser weaknesses and gradually advance to the major shortcomings and weaknesses and battle against them until he has them under his control. The student has three ways in which he may master or control his passions:

(1) Systematic employment or utilization of auto-suggestion, as mentioned in the beginning of Step II.

(2) Transmutation of passions into their opposite good characteristics or attributes, which can either be achieved through auto-suggestion or through frequent meditation, continuous self-assurance of one’s good characteristics.

(3) Attentiveness, circumspection and will-power. By employing this method you do not allow passions to flare up, break out or erupt. You stop them before they have any chance to progress. This method is actually the most difficult and it is mainly intended for those students who have a great amount of will-power at their disposal or who wish to attain a great amount of will-power by battling their passions.

Should the student have enough time at his disposal and should he wish to advance his development at a faster pace, he can employ all three methods. It would be most advantageous if all methods, as for example conscious eating, the magic of water, and so on were to follow one direction. It will not be long before you succeed.

The purpose of this step is to achieve an equilibrium of the elements in the soul. The aspiring student magician should therefore endeavor to quickly and confidently eliminate those passions that hinder him the most if he wishes to be successful in the magic arts. Under no circumstances should the exercises of Step III be undertaken unless those of Step II are completely mastered, especially the equilibration of the elements. You must aspire through the entire course towards the ennoblement of your character. At this step you must already begin to eliminate all evil characteristics that prevail and which represent the greatest impediment for further development.

Step II:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

The exercises in Step I of the Magical Schooling of the Physical Body, such as washing yourself daily with cold water, a rubdown with a coarse towel or brushing your body from head to toe, physical exercises, morning gymnastics, the magic of water, conscious eating etc. are to be continued and must become a daily habit.

The Physical Body Schooling in Step II includes a change in the breathing exercises. In Step I we learned conscious breathing and how to inhale air that is impregnated with a wish (through the Etheric principle) and direct it through the lungs to the bloodstream. In this chapter I will describe conscious pore breathing.

Our skin has two functions: to breathe and to secrete or eliminate. Therefore we can consider our skin to be our second set of lungs and our second set of kidneys.

Now everybody should understand why we should brush our body from head to toe with a dry brush, rub our body down with a coarse towel after washing our body with cold water, and why all the other directions were recommended. First of all, these directions were given to completely relieve our lungs and our kidneys for the greater part and secondly to stimulate the pores to greater activity. We do not have to emphasize that this is advantageous for our health. Conscious pore breathing should be of great interest to us from the magical point of view. Therefore we will begin the practice without any further delay:

Make yourself comfortable in an arm chair or lie down on a sofa or bed and relax all your muscles. Now concentrate and think that not only do your lungs breathe or inhale air with every breath you take, but the entire body as well. Be completely convinced that your lungs, simultaneously with every single pore of your body, absorbs vital energy and supply it to the body. Imagine that you are a dry sponge which is immersed in water and which greedily absorbs the water. You must have this same feeling when you inhale. The vital energy passes in this manner from the Etheric principle and from your surroundings into your body. In accordance with one’s own aptitude, every individual will perceive the penetration of vital energy through the pores differently. Once you have gained, through repetitive exercises, the experience of breathing through the lungs and the entire body at the same time, then combine both methods of breathing for your wish-inhalation, whether it be for health, success, peace, control of your passions; that depends on what you require the most. The fulfillment of your wish (which must be given in the present tense and in the form of an order) is not only accepted by your lungs and bloodstream but also by your entire body. Once you have achieved a certain proficiency with this exercise, you can then also influence the exhalation magically. Every time you exhale you can imagine that you eliminate the opposite of your wish, such as weakness, failure, restlessness or anxiety etc. Once you have succeeded at inhaling and exhaling with your lungs and with your whole body, then this exercise has been completed.

The next exercise deals with the control of the body. It is an art to sit quietly and comfortably and it must be learned. Sit on a chair in such a position that the spine remains completely straight. In the beginning the backrest of the chair may be used for support. While sitting on the chair the feet should be firmly on the ground and should touch, as should the knees; the legs should also form a right angle (90°) at the knees. Lightly rest your hands on your legs close to the knees, right hand on the right knee, left hand on the left knee. Then try to sit without any back support, free of everything, free of tension, without any strain on your muscles, but remembering to sit erect. Set an alarm clock for five minutes and begin the exercise. Now close your eyes and, while in this position, pay close attention to what is occurring in your body. In the beginning you will notice how the muscles are disquieted or irritated by nervous impulses. Muster all your energy to overcome this feeling and force yourself to remain quietly in this position. As simple as this exercise appears to be, it is difficult for the beginner. Should you experience any difficulties in holding your knees and feet together, you can bind them together with a towel or a cord. Should you succeed in sitting in this position for five minutes without any effort and without interruption, extend the exercise time by one minute per exercise until you are able to remain in this position for at least thirty minutes, provided you are totally comfortable, that there are no interruptions, and that you are completely at peace. Once you have achieved this, the exercise is complete. When you have reached this point in your exercises you will notice that no other position will afford you as much rest and recuperation as this one.

Should you wish to use this body posture exercise as a means to achieve your purpose, as for instance for the development of your will-power, you can do this provided you completely master the above-mentioned body posture for one full hour; in other words you have to be able to sit quietly and comfortably, without anything disturbing you, for one hour. You can also select various other positions at your own discretion.

The Hindu yoga teachings recommend and describe various positions called asanas. They also offer the prospect that you will gain various occult powers if you master these positions. Whether or not powers are actually released through these asanas remains to be seen.

For our own magical development, we require a certain body posture (asana); it does not really matter which one we select, the one described being the simplest one. This posture serves to calm the body and to increase the will-power. Above all, the spirit and the soul require a physical body whose workings are undisturbed; this will be discussed in further detail in the relevant exercises.

Any student who, as the result of the exercises of the first and second step, becomes tired mentally and psychically (astrally) and consequently falls asleep regularly during the concentration and meditation exercises, would be well advised to do his exercises in the aforementioned body posture or asana position. The student should also strive to practice the control of his physical body in everyday life. By being observant and attentive, he will be given many opportunities to practice this control.

For instance, should you be tired, force yourself to do some little chore or go for a walk. Should you be hungry, postpone your meal by thirty minutes. Should you be thirsty, do not drink right away, but wait awhile. Should you be in the habit of doing everything in haste, force yourself to do it at a slower pace. On the other hand, if you are a slowpoke, practice doing your chores faster.

It is left to the student’s discretion to coerce and to control his body and nerves through his will-power. This completes the exercises of the second step.

Summary of the Exercises in Step II

I. Magic School of the Spirit

(1) Auto-suggestion or unveiling the puzzle of the subconscious.

(2) Concentration Exercises:

(a) visual (optical),

(b) acoustic or auditory,

(c) sentience or feeling,

(d) olfactory, and

(e) taste.

Exercises concerned with the avoidance of thoughts (vacancy of mind) have to be continued and must be deepened.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Astral or magical equilibrium regarding the elements, transformation or ennobling of the character:

(a) by battling negative qualities or controlling them,

(b) by auto-suggestion, and

(c) by transmutation or transformation into the opposite attribute or characteristic.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(a) conscious pore breathing,

(b) conscious body posture, and

(c) body control in everyday life at one’s discretion.

Before falling asleep, only the most beautiful and pure thoughts should be entertained and taken along into sleep.

End of Step II

Step III:
Introduction

Knowledge, Courage, Volition and Silence are the four pillars of the foundation upon which rests Solomon’s Temple, the microcosm and the macrocosm upon which the sacred science of magic is built. Every magician must have these fundamental attributes, which are in accordance with the four elements, if he wishes to attain the highest, the ultimate, in this sacred science.

Magical Knowledge can be acquired by anyone through diligent study. The cognizance of the laws allows and enables such a person to gradually attain the highest wisdom.

Volition is the aspect of the will which can be attained through tenacity, patience and perseverance, namely by practice, in the holy sciences. Those who wish not only to satisfy their curiosity but who are serious and sincere about entering and ascending the path to the loftiest heights must muster an inexorable will.

Courage: Whosoever does not shun obstacles or sacrifices and does not pay any attention to other people’s opinions, who remains unperturbed, will always continue on his path with his goal in mind, regardless of whether he meets with success or failure. To such a person the Highest will reveal Itself.

Silence: Whosoever praises and boasts about himself and parades his wisdom can never become a true magician. It is not necessary for a magician to be considered an authority; on the contrary, he will do everything in his power not to be recognized as such. Silence is might! The more you keep silent about your experiences and knowledge without separating yourself from humanity, the more you will receive a fountain of knowledge from this source.

Therefore, if it is important for you to acquire knowledge and wisdom, you must do everything in your power to acquire the aforementioned four fundamental attributes; without these you will not be able to achieve anything of importance in sacred magic. Now we will begin with the exercises of the third step.

Step III:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

In Step II we learned how to practice the concentration of the senses. We schooled every individual sense through concentration exercises. In this third step we will expand our concentration, not only by concentrating on one sense, but two or three senses at once. I will cite a few examples from which the competent student will be able to develop and expand his own field of operation.

Imagine a clock with a moving pendulum on the wall. Your imagination must be so complete that it is as if the clock were actually on the wall. At the same time, attempt to perceive the ticking of the clock with your sense of hearing. Try to maintain this twofold imagination of sight and sound for five minutes. Again, in the beginning you may succeed for only a few seconds, but through frequent repetition you will be able to improve upon it and maintain the required length of time. Practice makes perfect! Repeat this exercise with a similar object such as a gong, where you not only hear the pealing of the gong but also see the person striking the gong. Try to visualize a brook and hear the murmur of the water, or visualize a wheat field swaying in the light wind and at the same time listen to the rustling of the wind. For a change you can also implement your own experiments that require two or even three other senses, for example sight and sentience (sense of touch). All senses must be stimulated and concentratively developed. Particular importance must be placed upon the senses of sight, hearing and feeling, which, in the science of magic, are of the utmost importance for any further progress. I cannot reiterate often enough the significance of these exercises for the progress of the student upon his entire magical path. Therefore practice diligently every day. Once you are capable of maintaining two or three sense concentrations simultaneously for at least five minutes, then this exercise is complete.

Should you experience any tiredness during the concentration exercises, terminate them immediately and postpone them to a more favorable time when you are mentally more alert. Beware of falling asleep during your exercises. We know from experience that the most favorable time for these concentration exercises is the early morning hours.

Once you have reached a certain level of concentration as far as the preceding is concerned and you are capable of employing two or three senses for five minutes simultaneously, then you can continue on to the next exercise.

Again, choose a comfortable position as you do with every concentration exercise. Close your eyes and visualize as plastically as you can an area which is well-known to you: a village, particular place, house, garden, meadow, heath, or forest. Maintain this visualization. Make certain that every detail such as color, light and form is maintained. What you visualize or imagine must be so real that it is as if you were personally present at that particular place. Nothing but nothing should escape your attention, and nothing should be overlooked or left out. Should you lose the image or picture or if it becomes blurry, immediately recall the image anew, but much clearer than before. This exercise is complete when you can maintain this picture in your imagination for at least five minutes. Then make the attempt to add the acoustic concentration to these scenes. Should you have visualized a beautiful forest, then listen at the same time to the singing of the birds, the murmur of water in the little stream, the rustling of the wind, the buzzing of the bees, etc. If you are successful with this imagery, choose a similar scenario, but this time something which you select yourself. All the above exercises are to be practiced with your eyes closed. These exercises are complete if you have successfully imagined every region, every place or village, and you have employed two or three senses simultaneously for the duration of at least five minutes.

Once you have reached this level of concentration, then you have to achieve the same level of competence with the same exercises but with open eyes. This is accomplished by fixing your eyes on one point or by staring into empty space or into total nothingness. While practicing this exercise your actual physical surroundings must cease to exist for you and the picture you have chosen must come into being before your eyes like a fata morgana suspended in the air. When you have succeeded in maintaining one picture for at least five minutes, then select another. This exercise is complete when you can call forth any picture you desire with your eyes open and maintain it for five minutes with one or more senses. All future concentration exercises should be practiced in exactly the same manner, just like, after reading a novel, you let the pictures of the events that were described pass by you in your mind’s eye.

We have learned how to imagine places and localities we have seen and know. The next step is to imagine places, villages and cities we have never seen. In the beginning we imagine these places with our eyes closed, and once we are successful with two or three senses simultaneously for five minutes, we then practice the same concentration exercise with our eyes open. This exercise is complete when we succeed in maintaining this imagery with open eyes and with two or three senses simultaneously for at least five minutes.

From motionless objects such as places, villages, towns, cities, houses and forests, we move on to living creatures such as dogs, cats, birds, horses, cows, calves, chickens, and imagine them in exactly the same manner as all the other objects that were the subject of our concentration exercises: first, five minutes with our eyes closed and then five minutes with our eyes open. Once we accomplish that, then imagine these animals moving about; for instance, a cat cleaning herself, a cat catching a mouse or drinking milk, a dog barking and running, a bird in flight or eating etc. The student may choose these or similar situations; that is left entirely to his own discretion. This exercise is first practiced with closed eyes and then with open eyes. If you accomplish this with your eyes closed for five minutes and with your eyes open for five minutes, then this exercise is completed and you can continue on with the next exercise.

In the same manner, imagine human beings: first friends, relatives, acquaintances, departed relatives and friends, and later on strangers and people you have never seen before.

First imagine their facial features, such as eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, teeth, the shape of the face, jaws, cheeks, ears, hair, skin and then the entire head, followed by the clothing the person wears. Always practice this exercise first with your eyes closed and then with open eyes for at least five minutes before you continue on to imagine human beings in motion, as for instance walking, working, speaking. If you have been successful with one sense, namely the visual, then add the acoustic, so that you can hear that person speak, imagining that you hear his voice. Make the effort to have your imagination correspond to reality, for instance the tone or pitch of the voice, speaking slowly or fast. Hear that voice in your imagination in the exact manner in which that person actually speaks, first with your eyes closed and then with your eyes open.

Once you are successful with these exercises, begin imagining total strangers, people you have never seen before. Visualize various facial features and voices. They may be male or female of any age. Then visualize human beings of other races, men, women, children, young and old, Indian, African, Chinese and Japanese. Should you require any assistance in regards to visual stimulation, use books or magazines on the subject. Visits to museums are highly recommended for this purpose.

Once you have achieved all this and you are able to maintain this imagery for five minutes with your eyes closed and with your eyes open, then the Magical Schooling of the Spirit of the third step has been completed.

It requires perseverance, patience, determination and tenacity in order to complete these most difficult exercises. Those students who are willing to make the necessary effort will be greatly satisfied with the powers they acquire through these concentration exercises, and they can improve upon them in the next step.

The concentration exercises of this step not only strengthen the will-power and the ability of concentration, but all our intellectual and mental powers. They elevate the magical abilities of the spirit and are preparatory exercises for thought transference, telepathy, mental travel, clairvoyance and many other things. Therefore these exercises are absolutely necessary. The aspiring magician will not progress without these abilities. Therefore make every effort to work meticulously and conscientiously.

Step III:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

Before you begin with this exercise, the astral equilibrium of the elements in the soul must be established through introspection and self-control; otherwise you will cause great harm to yourself. In the course of your development you should continue to work on the ennoblement of your character, but only when you are absolutely certain that not one of the elements predominates should you begin to work with the elements in the astral body.

It is the task of this step to make the fundamental attributes or characteristics of the elements one’s own and to call them forth and dissolve them again at one’s own discretion. We already know the theory of the effectiveness of the elements, and we are now connecting the theory to the practice in the following manner:

The Fire Element

Fire with its expansion into all directions has warmth as its specific attribute and is therefore spherical. Above all, we should acquire this attribute and call it forth in our soul and in our body at our discretion. In Step II of Magical Schooling of the Physical Body, we chose a posture which the Hindus call an asana. When we assume this posture it allows us to remain comfortable and undisturbed for long periods of time. From now on we will use that terminology for easier understanding and refer to it as the asana posture.

The first step of this exercise is to assume the asana posture and imagine yourself to be in the center of the Fire element, which, in the shape of a sphere, encompasses the entire universe. Imagine that everything around you is fiery, even the entire universe.

Now begin to inhale the Fire element through your nose and also inhale simultaneously with your entire body (pore breathing). Inhale deeply and evenly with regularity, without compressing the air or straining the lungs.

The physical and astral bodies must be like empty containers into which the element is inhaled or drawn with every breath. The heat of the element must be increased with every breath and must be pressed into the body. The heat must continue to increase with every breath. The heat and also the expansive force must continue to increase, as must the fiery pressure, until eventually you feel fiery-hot.

The entire process of inhaling the Fire element through the body is of course a purely imaginary procedure and must be practiced with the plastic visualization of the particular element.

Start this exercise with seven inhalations of the Fire element, and with every successive exercise increase it by one inhalation. As a rule, twenty to thirty inhalations should suffice. Only those students who are physically strong and who possess a great deal of will-power should exceed that number of inhalations in accordance with their ability.

Should the counting interfere with your concentration, just use the string of beads. In the beginning you will perceive the imaginary heat only astrally (in the soul). However, with every exercise the heat becomes more perceptible physically as well as astrally. This heat can increase to the degree that the temperature might elevate to the level of perspiration or even a fever. If the student has established in his soul the equilibrium of the elements in the meantime, then such an accumulation of the elements in the body will do no harm.

Once you have completed the exercise of the imaginary accumulation of the Fiery element, you feel the heat and the expansive force of the fire imaginatively. The next step is the elimination of the Fire element. Inhale normally through the mouth, and exhale the Fiery element into the whole universe through the mouth and the entire body (pore exhaling). The exhalation of the element has to occur as many times as the inhalation. In other words, when you begin this exercise by inhaling seven times, you have to also exhale seven times; the number of times you inhale must correspond to the number of times you exhale. This is important, because after this exercise has been completed the student must have the feeling that not even the minutest particle of the element has remained within him. Also, the feeling of heat that was produced must dissipate completely. It is therefore advisable to make use of the string of beads when you inhale and when you exhale. In the beginning these exercises are to be practiced with closed eyes and later on with open eyes. Alexandra David-Neel, the Tibetan explorer and traveler, describes in her books a similar experiment called tumo, which was allegedly practiced by the lamas. However, this exercise is, for practical purposes and especially for Europeans, incomplete and cannot be recommended for students of magic.

There are initiates in the Orient who, for years, have practiced this exercise, which in their language is called a sadhana. They have the ability to condense the Fire element to such a degree that they can walk about naked and barefoot without being affected by the cold; even if they were to be wrapped in a wet cloth, it would dry in a short time. They affect their surroundings through the accumulation of the Fire element and therewith have a direct effect on nature herself; not only are they able to melt snow and ice which is around them within a few yards, but also at a distance of miles away. This and similar phenomena can be produced by a European as well as anyone else, provided that a person spends enough time on these exercises. However, for our own magical ascent or development it is neither important nor necessary to be in control of just one element, but we must be in control of all the elements, because from the magical point of view it is the only proper thing to do.

The Air Element

This exercise deals with the Air element; the practice employed is the same as with the Fire element, only we have to imagine a different feeling. Assume the same comfortable asana posture as aforementioned, then close your eyes and imagine that you are in the center of an air space, one which occupies the entire universe. You do not perceive anything; you are completely unaware of your surroundings; nothing exists for you other than that the space encompassing the whole universe is filled with air. Inhale the Air element into the empty vessel of the soul and into the physical body through total body breathing (with your lungs and pores). Every breath adds to the amount of air and with more air you fill the whole body. You must maintain the image that with every breath your body is filled with air to such a degree that it resembles an air balloon. At the same time you must imagine that your body is getting lighter, as light as the air itself. The feeling of lightness must be so intense that eventually, because of its lightness, you no longer feel your body.

Begin the exercise with the Air element exactly in the same manner as you did with the Fire element; start with seven inhalations and seven exhalations. After the exercises have been completed, you must have the feeling that not even the minutest particle of the Air element remains in the body and you should feel exactly the same as you did when you began this exercise. So that you do not have to count your inhalations and exhalations, make use of the string of beads or knots. Increase the number of inhalations and exhalations with each exercise, but do not exceed forty.

The initiate will succeed through continuous practice in achieving phenomena such as levitation, walking on water, floating in the air, transposition of the physical body and many other things, especially when he concentrates on this one element only. True initiates, however, are not content with one-sided phenomena, since that is not the goal of a true magician. True magicians want to penetrate much deeper into cognizance and control and they want to achieve much more.

The Water Element

Take up the usual asana posture, close your eyes and forget your entire surroundings. Imagine that the whole universe is an infinite ocean and you are positioned directly in the center. With each total body breath, your body is filled with this element. You must feel the coldness of the water in your whole body. Should your body be filled with the Water element by inhaling it seven times, you must also exhale it seven times. When you exhale, you eliminate the Water element from your body to the point that, when you exhale for the last time, not even the slightest particle remains.

Again, make use of the string of beads. Remember to increase the number of inhalations and exhalations by one with every exercise.

The more often you practice this exercise, the more distinctly you will sense the Water element with its coldness attributes. You must virtually feel like a lump of ice. Each exercise should not exceed twenty minutes. In time you should be able to cause your body to become ice-cold, even on the hottest summer day.

Initiates in the Orient control the Water element so completely that it is easy for them to achieve great phenomena with it. They are able to produce rain during the hottest time of the year, during drought; and they can also do the opposite, they can stop the rain. They can chase away thunderstorms, calm a turbulent and raging ocean, control all the animals below the water, and so on. A true magician knows how this is accomplished and does not require any explanation.

The Earth Element

The Earth element is the last element. You begin your exercise in exactly the same asana posture as with the other element exercises. Now imagine that the entire universe consists only of earth and you are sitting in its center. Do not imagine the earth to be a lump of clay but instead imagine it to be a dense earthy substance. The specific attribute of the earth substance is density and gravity (heaviness). You have filled your body with this heavy earth substance with the help of the total body breathing method. Again, begin with seven inhalations; increase your inhalations by one breath with every exercise. You must be able, through concentration, to accumulate so much of this earth substance within your body that it feels as heavy as lead and, because of this heaviness, you almost feel as if you are paralyzed. The method of exhaling this element is the same as with all the other elements. When you have completed this exercise you should feel as normal as when you began. The duration of this exercise should not exceed twenty minutes.

In Tibet this sadhana exercise is among those most often practiced by the lamas: meditating over a lump of clay, taking it apart and then meditating over it again. The true magician understands how to control the Earth element in a much simpler way by going directly to the root and therefore does not have to resort to such difficult meditative procedures.

The colors of the individual elements may assist you when you do your concentration exercises:

Fire = Red

Air = Blue

Water = Greenish-blue

Earth = Yellow, gray or black

Making use of the above colors during your exercises by applying the respective colors to their particular element is an individual choice; it is not absolutely necessary. Should the color imagination make it easier to practice the exercise, then make use of it in the beginning. Keep in mind that the main purpose of these exercises is strictly directed towards the sense of feeling. After having practiced these exercises for a longer period of time every student must, when it comes to (for instance) the Fire element, be able to produce such a degree of heat that when the temperature is measured with a thermometer it registers a fever. This preliminary exercise for the control of the elements is absolutely necessary and the greatest attention must be paid to it.

The many different kinds of phenomena the initiate can produce when he has the ability to control the Earth element, for instance, are numerous. It is at the individual’s discretion to meditate about this himself. Control of the elements is the most obscure area in magic (little has been said so far about this subject) because it contains the greatest arcanum. It is therefore at the same time the most important subject in the magic sciences. Whosoever does not possess the ability to control the elements will hardly be able to attain anything of importance in magical knowledge.

Step III:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

By now the first step of this course of instruction must have already become a habit, and the student must continue to practice the first step for the remainder of this course. The third step is an extension of the second.

The asana posture of sitting peacefully in absolute stillness is to be extended to thirty minutes. In Step III the pore breathing of the entire body will be specialized and directed towards specific individual organs. The student must possess the ability to have any part of his body breathe through the pores by itself, at his discretion. Begin with the feet and end with the head. Let us begin the practice.

Sit in the usual asana posture and close your eyes. Transpose yourself with your consciousness into one of your legs. It does not matter if you begin with your right or left leg. Imagine that your leg, just like the lungs, inhales and exhales vital energy from the universe in unison with your lung breathing. To clarify this point, the vital energy is inhaled (absorbed) from the whole universe and through exhalation it is exhaled (discharged) again and returned into the whole universe. Should you have accomplished this after seven breaths, then do the same with the other leg. The next step is to breathe simultaneously through both legs. Should you be successful, continue with the hands, first one hand and then the other; following that, have both hands breathe at the same time. Should you achieve the desired results, then continue with the organs that follow, such as the genitals, large and small intestines, stomach, liver, spleen, lungs, heart, larynx and head.

These exercises are complete when you are able to have every organ in your body breathe, even the smallest. This exercise is important because it will give you the ability to control every part and every organ in your body, to charge it with vital energy, stimulate it and restore it to health.

If we are able to accomplish this with our own body, we should be able to accomplish this without difficulty in another body through the transposition of our consciousness. This is important when magnetic energies are transferred in the art of magical healing. Therefore pay great attention to these exercises.

Another exercise of the magical physical body schooling is the accumulation of vital energy. We have learned to inhale and exhale vital energy from the universe through pore breathing with the whole body. Now we will begin with the accumulation of vital energy.

The Practice of Accumulation of Vital Energy

Assume the usual asana posture (seated on a chair), inhaling vital energy from the universe into your body through the lungs and through the pores of your whole body. In this instance do not exhale the vital energy back into the universe; instead, retain it in your body. This is accomplished by thinking of nothing while you exhale the used-up air in a normal manner; with every new breath you take you must feel an increase in vital energy and the accumulation of vital energy in your body. And you must feel within yourself the pressure of this vital energy as if it were compressed steam. Imagine that this compressed vital energy radiates from your body to the outside, similar to a heating element or radiator. With every breath you take, the force of the pressure or the force of this emanation increases, yard by yard, farther and farther, becoming stronger and more penetrating.

Through practice and by repeating these exercises you will eventually be able to emit your penetrating vital energy emanation for miles. You must be able to literally feel this pressure, this penetrating force of your emanation. Practice makes perfect! Begin this exercise with seven inhalations and increase by one inhalation every day. At any given time, this exercise should not exceed twenty minutes.

In practice this exercise is only to be applied when it comes to tasks and experiments. We require a great expenditure of penetrating vital energy for the treatment of ailing human beings, telepathy, magnetizing of objects etc. Should you no longer be in need of this vital energy in such an accumulated form, then the body must be released from this tension and returned to its normal state. It is not advisable to remain in this overwrought state in everyday life. It would have an adverse effect on your nervous system, and it would lead to nervousness and fatigue and cause many other harmful consequences.

This exercise is brought to its conclusion by exhaling the accumulated energy and returning it to the universe through the imagination. Consequently, you inhale only pure air and you exhale the tension of the vital energy until you have the feeling that you have reached an equilibrium. [5]

After an extended period of time, the magician will be able to release the vital energy to the universe all at once in an explosive manner, like the bursting of a fully inflated tire. This form of discharge should only be practiced after you have become proficient in the aforementioned method and when the body has reached a certain level of resiliency. Once you have attained a certain level of proficiency in this method, or in other words once you have mastered the sudden discharge, then you can begin to practice the same experiment with individual body parts, slowly, and step by step. In particular, specialize on your hands. Initiates also specialize on their eyes and are therefore able to control and captivate not only one person through their will but quite a number, at times even entire crowds. A magician who has the ability to load his hands in this manner has “blessed hands.” Within this lies the mystery of blessing, the laying-on of hands for people who are afflicted with ailments, and so on.

The exercises of the third step are complete when you have attained the ability of accumulating vital energy not only in your whole body but also in every single part of your body; and you must also be able to project this accumulated energy to the outside. The Magical Schooling of the Physical Body of the third step is concluded with the mastery of these exercises.

Addendum to Step III

By the time the conscientiously practicing student has reached this level in his magical development, he will notice that a general transformation of his character has already taken place. His magical abilities will increase in all spheres.

In the mental sphere the student will have attained a stronger will, a greater resistance, a better memory, a keener power of observation as well as a clearer intellect.

In the astral sphere the student will notice that he has become calmer and more well-balanced; his latent abilities will start to unfold in accordance with his disposition.

In the material or physical world the student will observe that he has become healthier, more vigorous and rejuvenated. His vital energies far exceed the vital energies of many of his fellow men, and in his everyday life the student will achieve much through his emanating energy.

For instance, through this emanating energy (or radiant power) he can clear any room he is in from any unfavorable or unwanted influences and load the room with his vital energy.

He also has the ability, even from a distance, to help the sick and ailing successfully, since he can project his emanating energy for miles; with this same energy he can load objects with his wishes. These are just a few examples; the student will find out on his own how, where and when he can employ his magical abilities most favorably. The student should always remember that these magical abilities can be used for good, but also for selfish purposes. Therefore always pay heed to this important proverb: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” His goal should always be directed towards the very best.

Working with magnetism offers all kinds of possible variations; so that the student gains a better overview, we will mention a few possibilities.

(1) Room Impregnation

By breathing through the lungs and pores of your body, you inhale vital energy. With the power of your imagination, press this vital energy into your whole body to the point that it radiates dynamically. At this point your body should be like a luminous power, a focal point or burning point. You could easily make the statement that it is an individual sun. With every inhalation, increase the compressed vital energy as well as the luminous power and fill the room with it. With the help of the emanating energy (radiant power), the room should literally be as light as if the sun were shining. It is possible through repeated and continued exercises to illuminate a dark room or a room at night to such a degree that the objects in the room can be seen well, not only by the practicing student but also by the uninitiated, because the light of the vital energy can be materialized by this method into actual daylight which in reality is only the practice of the power of the imagination.

The magician will not be satisfied with these phenomena alone, for he knows very well that the vital energy possesses a universal character. Not only is the vital energy a carrier of his ideas, thoughts and wishes, but also the manifester of his imagination. He can attain everything through this vital energy; however, to realize this is a matter for the plastic imagination.

When the student is filling his room with his emanating energy, he must also imagine what he is trying to accomplish, for instance, that the room will be cleared of all astral and magical influences or that these will vanish, or that not only will the magician feel healthy and well in that room, but so will anyone else who enters or remains there.

Furthermore, the magician can impregnate his room with the wish for proper inspiration, success and so forth in all his undertakings. Magicians that are further advanced have the ability to protect their room, and the moment unwelcome guests enter it they become restless and do not want to remain. Such a room is impregnated with the notion of protection and fear.

You can also impregnate a room in a more stable manner; in other words, if any person enters the room without permission, such a person will be thrown back with a paralyzing effect. As you can surmise, the magician has limitless possibilities at his disposal and on the basis of these instructions he can conceive many other methods.

When exhaling, the magician can return the accumulated vital energy to the universe and retain the emanating energy or the luminous power in the room with the help of his imagination.

He also has another possibility: through his imagination he can project the vital energy directly from the universe into the room without first accumulating the vital energy in his body, especially when he has reached a certain level of proficiency in the accumulation of vital energy in the body. He can impregnate the room in this manner even with his own wishes. There are no set limits when the imagination joins forces with will-power and belief, coupled with a firm conviction.

When the magician performs this type of work he is not limited to a designated room, but can impregnate two or more rooms or even an entire house with his life energy and emanating energy, either through himself or directly from the universe in accordance with the methods described.

Since the power of the imagination knows neither time nor space, this work can be accomplished even from the greatest distance. In time, and with the aid of this technique, the magician will be able to charge any room, small or large, far or near. In respect to his ethical development, he will only entertain good and noble things and through this his might will be limitless. Practice makes perfect!

(2) Bio-magnetism

In this chapter we will learn about another specific attribute of vital energy. This attribute is of the greatest importance for our magical work. We already know that any object, any animal, any human being, any thought form can be charged with vital energy and with the appropriate wish for its realization. The vital energy possesses the attribute of being able to accept, be influenced by, or connect with any thoughts, even thoughts and feelings that are foreign. For this reason, the concentrated vital energy will soon merge with other thoughts and will therefore weaken the effectiveness of the impregnated thought. The thought could even vanish, unless the magician calls forth, through frequent repetition, an increased tension. By doing so he stimulates the wish or the idea, which often causes a great loss of time and at times also influences the success adversely. The desired influence is only effective as long as the tension prevails in its desired direction. Once that is no longer the case, the vital energy fades or vanishes and mingles with the other vibrations and the effect gradually subsides. In order to prevent this from occurring, the magician must become acquainted with the law of bio-magnetism. Vital energy not only accommodates one idea, one concept, one thought or one feeling, but also accepts a concept of time. This law or this specific attribute of vital energy must always be taken into consideration when working with vital energy or later on when working with the elements. Each time you work with the impregnation of a wish with the help of the vital energy, you must always consider both time and space. When working magically you must always adhere to the following rules:

(1) Working in the Akasha principle is spaceless and timeless.

(2) In the mental sphere you work with time.

(3) In the astral sphere you work with space (form and color).

(4) In the material or physical world you work with time and space simultaneously.

With the help of some examples I will make working with bio-magnetism understandable. With the help of vital energy, charge or load a room with the wish that you will feel healthy and well in that room. You limit, or, better, confine the energy with the wish that the influence will remain constant for as long as you are in the room and live in it. When you leave the room or perhaps are absent for longer periods of time, the influence constantly renews itself and then stabilizes itself. Should someone enter your room without being aware that an accumulation of vital energy is prevalent, such a person will also feel quite comfortable in your room. At times you can reinforce the density and the strength of the radiance in your room, apartment, or house by repeating your wish.

When you live in a room or house which is influenced in this manner, the vital energy which is thus confined will have a continuous good influence upon your health, upon your body. The vital energy in this particular room has the wish-vibration for health only. However, should you practice exercises in this room which pursue another idea-vibration and which have nothing whatsoever to do with health, then you will not achieve the good results you would achieve in a room that is not charged at all or in a room charged with a wish in accordance with your idea. It is therefore advisable to impregnate a room with idea-vibrations which you require for your present exercises and tasks.

You can also charge a ring, a gemstone etc., with a wish, and whosoever wears it will meet with success and good fortune. There are two methods of charging and determining a time limit.

The first method is as follows: With the power of imagination and wish-concentration, charge the gemstone or the metal with vital energy and determine the time. You may choose that the energy should remain in the object permanently and even draw more energy from the universe and continuously increase its power and bring success and good fortune as long as the person wears the object, whether it be a ring, a ring with a gemstone, a gemstone etc. Or you can charge the particular object for just a short period of time, for example you can charge it in such a manner that the influence ceases immediately when the desired purpose has been fulfilled.

The second method is called universal loading or charging. The procedure is the same; you only change the wish-concentration to last as long as the object (ring, gemstone, jewelry) exists. Regardless of who the wearer is or will be, it will bring him constant good fortune, success etc. Universal loadings of this kind, if performed by an initiate, retain the energy with complete effectiveness for centuries. We know from the history of the Egyptian mummies how these types of energies or powers may still be effective even after thousands of years. Should a talisman or object which was charged for a particular person come into the possession of another person, it will have no effect upon him. However, should the original owner regain his property, then the talisman will automatically continue to be effective.

There is also another area where vital energy can be employed: in the healing arts, called healing magnetism. Whenever a magician treats an ailing person, whether it be in person by magnetic strokes or the laying-on of hands, or at a distance through the imagination and the will, the magician must always consider the law of time if he wants to achieve great success.

The most commonly used magnetizing method is the one wherein the magnetopath, with the help of the imagination, has his vital energy flow out of his body into the ailing person, mostly through his hands. This method requires a magnetopath who is completely healthy and who has an abundant supply of vital energy, so as not to endanger his own health. I have seen sad cases in which the magnetopath, by relinquishing too much of his own vital energy, incurred so much harm to his health that he was close to a nervous breakdown, besides all the other side-effects such as heart ailments, heart asthma and so on. Consequences of this nature are inevitable when the magnetopath expends more vital energy than he is capable of replenishing, especially if he has many patients in the same time span.

This method also has another disadvantage: the magnetopath transfers his own astral or psychic vibrations and character traits to the patient with his energy and, through this, indirectly affects and influences the patient astrally. (There are books available on the subject of magnetism.) That is why it is a prerequisite and a requirement that every magnetopath must be of a good and noble character. On the other hand, when the magnetopath is dealing with a patient whose character traits are worse than his own, then the magnetopath indirectly attracts these bad influences from the patient upon himself, which is in every respect a disadvantage for the magnetopath. A Hermetically trained magnetopath does not expend his own vital energy upon the patient; instead, he draws the vital energy out of the universe and allows it to flow directly through his hands into the ailing person with the wish-concentration of health. Both these methods require frequent repetitions of the magnetizing if the patient is to achieve a rapid recovery, because the disharmony or ailment or the seat of the ailment absorbs and consumes the transferred energy quickly and craves more energy. That is why the treatment has to be repeated soon if you wish to prevent the condition from worsening.

It is entirely different when the magician is the magnetopath. The patient will not feel any relief until the magician has opened himself astrally or psychically, namely when he has dynamically performed an accumulation of vital energy in his body and then emanated these light-rays of vital energy into the ailing person.

The magician can successfully employ many methods, but he always has to maintain the imagination with the concept of the wish that the patient will improve hour by hour and day by day. I will mention a few methods which the magician may employ in the treatment of ailments.

Above all, the magician must be well-versed in recognizing ailments and their symptoms. This knowledge can be obtained by a thorough study of the respective literature. It is of course self-evident that a good knowledge of human anatomy is a must. The magician will certainly not be so negligent as to treat ailments that require immediate surgical intervention; nor should infectious diseases be solely under the magician’s care. But quite apart from the medical treatment, he has the ability in the above-mentioned instances to accelerate the healing process and to alleviate the pain; he can achieve this even from afar. It would also be a welcome addition if medical practitioners would specialize in this field and, in addition to the allopathic art, would understand how to employ the magical practice. That is why a magician should only deal with those patients that are directly referred to him by a medical doctor for this kind of treatment, or else work together with a medical doctor, in order to avoid being accused of quackery or charlatanism.

Above all, a magician should have only one goal in mind: the welfare or well-being of the ailing person. He should not work in return for monetary rewards or any other selfish gratification, such as praise and acknowledgement. He should think only about the high ideal of kindness; hence the blessing will be inevitable. The idealistic magician helps those who suffer without their knowledge. This kind of help is the most blissful. I will cite a few of the most commonly used methods of which the magician may make use without running the risk of endangering his health and nerve energy.

Before approaching the bed of an ailing person, inhale at least seven times through your lungs and pores, accumulate an enormous amount of vital energy from the universe into your body, and let this vital energy shine like a sun in its brightest light.

Endeavor through repeated inhalations of vital energy to call forth an emanating energy in a circumference of at least ten to twelve yards of your body, which incidentally is equivalent to the vital energy of ten human beings. You must have the feeling that the accumulated vital energy shines like a sun in your body. If you are in the vicinity of a patient when you embody that radiance, he will momentarily experience relief, a pleasant feeling will take hold of him, and should the ailment not to be too painful he will immediately feel better. It is your privilege to transfer the accumulated luminous energy in an individual manner to the patient.

A schooled magician does not need to make use of magic strokes, nor does he have to do any laying-on of hands. All these methods are only auxiliary manipulations and at the same time support an expression of his will. It would be completely adequate if the magician were to take one or both hands of the patient and work with his imagination. He can have his eyes closed or open; he can look at the patient if he so wishes, but he does not have to. Here he works merely with the imagination. The magician can also sit next to the patient during the entire energy transfer without coming into physical contact with him. Imagine that the emanating energy that surrounds you flows into the body of the ailing person and is being pressed into his body by your imagination and penetrates and illumines all his pores. While you are doing this, you order with your will that the compressed luminous energy bring about the recuperation of the ailing person. While you are doing this you must constantly imagine that the ailing person improves hour by hour, that he looks healthier every day. You have to order the luminous energy not to leave the patient’s body until his health is completely restored. When you charge the body of the patient quantitatively with the luminous energy, then in accordance with the ailment you will be able to bring about a surprisingly quick recovery. A healthy person’s radiance range is about 1.09 yards. After a while, repeat this loading procedure, but you have to reinforce the tension of the luminous energy which you accumulated by concentration. The success you achieve will surprise you.

First, the luminous energy cannot escape, because you have contained it and ordered it to constantly renew itself. Secondly, you have determined a time frame in which the body will become healthier hour by hour and day by day. Thirdly, you have determined the space which the energy is to occupy in accordance with the circumference of the body.

It would also be advisable for the emanating energy to be contained to approximately 1.09 yards surrounding the body, which is equivalent to the emanation of an average person. With this method you will have fulfilled the fundamental condition of the material or physical law of time and space.

When employing this method, the magician will notice that his own luminous energy, which he has transferred to the patient, does not diminish but continues to be as intensely luminous as it was at the beginning. This is due to the fact that the compressed vital energy in the body automatically renews itself, as with inter-communicating vessels, and thereby replenishes the consumed emanating energy immediately. Therefore, a magician has the ability to treat hundreds of ailing people without endangering his nerve energy, his spiritual or mental energies.

There is yet another method that the magician can employ which allows him to treat the whole body or just an ailing part of the body. This is accomplished by pressing the vital energy directly through the pores with the imagination so that the vital energy continually renews itself from the universe until the recovery is completed. Even here you should not neglect the wish-imagination of a limitation of time and space in which a recuperation is to be fully achieved.

The above method can only be employed with patients whose nerve energy is not completely exhausted, in order that they may be able to endure a certain amount of pressure due to the accumulating vital energy. In the case of an experienced magician, the accumulated vital energy is already a materialized energy; that means a condensed physical energy, which can be compared to electricity. In comparison to other methods, this is the most popular, because it is simple and extremely effective.

Another peculiar method is that, with the help of the imagination, the magician allows the patient to inhale his own emanating luminous energy. Should the patient have the ability to concentrate, he can do this on his own, for otherwise the magician has to perform the imagination for the patient. In practice this is done in the following manner:

The magician’s luminous energy emanates up to a range of approximately 10.93 yards. Since the magician is in the patient’s close proximity, the patient literally floats in the light of the magician’s luminous energy, which is impregnated with the wish of complete recuperation. It is of the utmost importance that an ailing person who has the ability to concentrate be completely convinced that, with every breath, he inhales the luminous energy of the magician and becomes well. He must think intensely that the healing energy remains within him, and that he progressively gets better even when the magician is no longer in his vicinity. Should the ailing person not be able to concentrate or should the magician be dealing with ailing children, then he himself must imagine that the ailing person is inhaling the magician’s emanating vital energy with every breath and directing it to the blood and thus effecting the recovery. Here, too, the magician must gather the wish-concentration that the inhaled energy keeps on working positively in the patient’s body. This is vital energy breathing conducted from the body of the magician through another person’s body.

Here we can refer to a quote from the Bible as proof of the statements made so far in this book. When Christ was touched by an ailing woman in the hope of getting well, He felt the loss of His vital energy immediately and made the following remark to the disciples that accompanied Him: “I was touched!”

Always remember that time and space must be considered whenever you work with vital energy and magnetism. With this in mind, I have mentioned several examples in regards to the treatment of ailments, and I could mention many more methods in regards to the treatment of diseases from the point of view of magnetism or in which magnetism could be successfully employed. For example, the magician can make contact with the patient’s spirit while the patient is asleep and effect many different methods of treatment. Besides treating ailing people magically with vital energy, the magician has the option to make use of the elements, magnetism and electricity. Detailed descriptions of all methods and possibilities of treatment would fill a voluminous book. Perhaps I will have an opportunity in the future to publish a book about occult healing methods from the magical point of view and make it available to those magicians who are interested in this subject. However, for the time being I leave this to the future. In this work I can only allude to a few methods of treatment in regards to the concept of time and space, in other words, magnetism.

High initiates and saints, whose imaginations are developed to such a degree that anything they imagine immediately becomes a reality in all spheres, do not require any of these methods. They only have to express a wish or their will and it immediately becomes a reality. Every single magician should strive to reach this high level of spiritual development.

Summary of the Exercises in Step III

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

(1) Thought concentration with two or three senses simultaneously.

(2) Thought concentration on objects, regions and places.

(3) Thought concentration on animals and human beings.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Element Breathing: Inhaling the elements into the whole body.

(a) Fire: Warmth

(b) Air: Lightness

(c) Water: Cold

(d) Earth: Gravity (Heaviness)

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(1) Retaining the exercises of Step I, to which you must become accustomed.

(2) Accumulation of vital energy:

(a) lung and pore breathing in the whole body, and

(b) lung and pore breathing in the individual parts of the body.

Addendum to Step III

(1) Impregnation of a room.

(2) Bio-magnetism.

End of Step III

Step IV:
Introduction

Before I begin describing the more difficult exercises, I should also like to point out again that the student should take the appropriate amount of time and not hasten his development if he wishes to achieve absolute success on the magical path. It is therefore absolutely necessary to completely master all of the previous exercises before continuing with those which follow.

Step IV:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

This is the part of the book wherein I describe the transference of consciousness outward. We must understand how to transfer our consciousness into any object, any animal and any human being at our discretion. Let us now begin with the exercise:

First, place in front of you some objects which you make use of every day; do this in the same manner as in Step II, when you practiced the concentration exercises on objects. Then take up your usual asana posture and concentrate for a short while on one of the objects and memorize its form, color and size. Now imagine that you have become this particular object; you must, so to speak, feel and perceive like that particular object and assume all its attributes. You must feel how confined you are to the area in which you were placed and which you can only leave through an outside influence. You also have to imagine the purpose of the object into which you have transformed yourself by means of your imagination. By intensive concentration you should also be able to observe your surroundings from the point of view of the object and assess its proportion and relationship to other objects. If, for instance, the object is located on a table, then you should feel the relationship to the table, as well as to all the other objects on the table, inclusive of the room in which they are all located. Should you successfully complete this exercise with one object, then continue practicing it with the others. This exercise is complete when you have been successful in connecting your consciousness with every chosen object to the degree that you have taken on the form, size and attribute of the object, and when you are capable of remaining in the object without interruption for at least five minutes. During this exercise, the physical body must be completely overlooked and forgotten. Then continue and choose larger objects for your concentrative transference of consciousness, such as flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, etc. The consciousness knows neither time nor space and it is therefore an Akasha principle.

Do not be discouraged by initial failure due to the unusual nature of the exercises. The virtues which will assure you the desired success are patience, perseverance and tenacity. At a later date the student will become fully aware of the future significance of these preparatory exercises as far as magic is concerned. Once the student masters the transference of his consciousness into inanimate objects, then the next obvious step is to transfer your consciousness into living beings.

I mentioned earlier that the consciousness is timeless and spaceless; therefore we do not need to have the selected object before us physically when we do our exercises with living beings. At this point the student must have attained the ability to imagine any being at his discretion.

Begin this exercise by transferring your consciousness into the imagined form of a cat, dog, horse, goat etc. The kind of trial object is not of importance; it could also be an ant, a bird or an elephant.

First, imagine the animals motionless and later on in motion: walking, running, creeping, flying or swimming in accordance with that particulars animal’s abilities.

The student has to be able to transform his consciousness into any form he wishes and also function therein. The exercise is complete when the student can remain in this position without interruption for at least five minutes. Initiates who practice this exercise for many years are able to understand any animal and can control them with their will.

In this connection the legend of the werewolf comes to mind, along with various other stories where sorcerers turn themselves into animals. For the magician, these legends and fairytales have a much deeper meaning and are of far greater significance than they are for the average man. These stories, without a doubt, describe so-called black magicians who do not want to be recognized when they do their unholy, wicked deeds, and thus take on these animal forms in the invisible world. The good magician condemns such actions, and his spiritual abilities allow him to recognize such beings and also identify the true form of the contriver.

These preliminary exercises do not serve to seduce the student into performing contemptuous acts. Rather, they prepare him for higher magic wherein, for certain undertakings, he must assume higher divine forms into which he will transfer his self-consciousness. Once you are able, through this exercise, to assume any animal form with your consciousness and maintain this imagination for five minutes without interruption, then practice the same exercise with human beings. Initially choose acquaintances, friends, family members, relatives, people you have no difficulty in imagining; gender and age are of no consequence. You must always be able to transfer your consciousness into the other person’s body to such a degree that you perceive yourself to be and think like the person you envision.

The next part of this exercise is to progress from people that are well-known to you to total strangers, people you have never seen; and since you have never seen these people, you have to imagine them. Eventually choose people of other races and color as your experimental objects. The exercise is complete when you are able to transfer your consciousness for at least five minutes into a body that you have visualized. However, the longer you are able to maintain your consciousness in this imaginary body, the greater will be the advantage.

Through this exercise the magician attains the power to bond with any human being. He will know the feelings and thoughts that arise in the consciousness of the person he has envisioned and will know his past and present, how he acts. The magician can even influence that person as he pleases. It is, however, advisable to keep this proverb in mind: For whatsoever a man sowest, that shall he also reap.

A magician will never employ his influence for an evil deed or coerce another human being to act against his own will. If the great power over every human being which is given to the magician through this exercise is used by him only for the good of mankind, blessings will come his way. This will give the magician the understanding of why, in the Orient, the student holds his master in the highest esteem. [6] By holding his master in the highest esteem the student bonds himself instinctively with the master’s consciousness; in this manner he will be indirectly influenced, which results in a faster and safer progress. That is why Oriental teaching methods consider a master (guru) absolutely necessary for the development of the student. What is known in Tibet as the ankhur is based upon the same principle, but in reverse order; the master bonds with the consciousness of his student and transfers power and enlightenment to him. The mystics employ the same method, the so-called pneuma-transfer. [7]

Step IV:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

In this chapter we will continue to extend our work with the elements. Thus far we have learned to accommodate one element within us through lung and pore breathing and to perceive its specific attribute in our entire body. Now we will learn how to load individual parts of the body with the appropriate element. There are two methods that can be employed; however, the magician must master both.

Method 1

As described in Step III, inhale a particular element through the lungs and pores into your entire body and accumulate it, then exhale without imagining anything. When inhaling, accompany the imaginary feeling with the specific attribute of the element. When the element is Fire, the specific attribute will be heat; when it is Water, you imagine coldness; when it is Air, the imaginary feeling is that of lightness; and when it is Earth, it will be heaviness (gravity). Begin with seven inhalations, but instead of returning the accumulated element back to the universe and dissolving it there imaginatively, direct the element to a particular part of the body by compressing its specific attribute even more and filling the particular body part with it. You must feel the compressed element with its specific attribute much more intensely in the individual body part than you do in the entire body. Just as steam is compressed in order to produce more pressure, that is how the flesh, bones and skin of the individual body part must be permeated by the element.

Once you strongly feel the specific attribute of the element in the part of the body that was loaded with it, then dissolve it throughout the entire body with the help of your imagination and discharge it through exhalation back into the universe (as described in Step III). This exercise has to be practiced alternately with every element and with every internal and external organ. There is, however, an important exception to remember: do not practice this with the heart or the brain. If you do not wish to suffer great harm, do not accumulate any element in the heart or in the brain, whether for yourself or someone else. Only a master magician who is completely experienced in the control of the elements, one who is master over the elements, can tolerate a certain amount of accumulation in the heart and brain without suffering any harm, because a master knows his own body and has control over it. You can, however, supply any organ, even the heart and brain, with the specific attributes of the elements, but do not accumulate them. A beginner should refrain from accumulating elements or vital energy in the heart or brain, especially if he is not clairvoyant and does not possess the ability to observe the functions of the individual organs.

When you accumulate the elements or vital energy in your whole body, then the brain and the heart become accustomed to this accumulation in general, because the force of this tension is not directed to one particular organ, but is more evenly distributed over the entire body.

Special attention should be given to the hands and feet. You should learn to master the accumulation of the elements and vital energy in your hands and feet, because it is used there frequently in the practical part of magic. Very special attention is to be paid to the fingers.

There is another possibility of discharging an element from an organ or body part. Instead of returning the accumulated element first into your body in order to release it from there, through pore breathing, into the universe, you can discharge the entire element from the particular body part directly into the universe with help of the imagination. The latter procedure is considerably faster. A magician has to be competent in both methods and understand how to make use of them at his discretion.

Method 2

The second method of elemental accumulation into a body part is accomplished by transferring yourself with your consciousness into a particular part of the body, allowing it to inhale and exhale in the same manner as pore breathing. You inhale the element with every breath you take, yet you exhale normally; in other words, you retain the element you have inhaled.

When you have the feeling that you have a sufficient amount of the particular element accumulated in the chosen part of the body, then you release the element through exhaling; in other words, you restore it to the universe from whence you originally inhaled it. This procedure is of course fast and simple, but it requires a certain competency in transferring your consciousness. You must also be competent in accumulating vital energy in any part of the body you determine. Once you master this practice perfectly, you can continue with the next exercise.

We know that the human body is divided into four main regions in accordance with the elements. We will restate them for reasons of better understanding: (1) Earth Element: from the feet to the thighs, the coccyx inclusive of the reproductive organs or genitals; (2) Water Element: the abdominal area with all its internal organs such as the intestines, spleen, gallbladder, liver, and stomach up to the diaphragm or midriff; (3) Air Element: chest, lungs, the heart, and up to the neck; and (4) Fire Element: the head with all its organs.

The purpose of the next exercise is to load the individual regions of the body with the appropriate element. This is done in the following manner:

Take up your favorite asana posture. Through lung and pore breathing, inhale the Earth element with its specific attribute of heaviness (gravity) into the earth region of the body, namely from the feet to the reproductive organs (genitals) and the coccyx. Inhale the Earth element seven times. Exhale nothing or normally, so that the Earth region of your body is filled with the element that influences it. Retain the Earth element in the Earth region and continue by inhaling the Water element seven times into the Water region, the abdominal area, without exhaling the Water element, so that the Water region is also filled with its element. Then continue on in the same manner with the next element. Inhale the Air element seven times and fill the area of the chest and retain it in its region without exhaling it. Then continue with the region of the head; fill it by inhaling the Fire element seven times. Do not exhale the Fire element when you exhale, so that the region of the head remains filled with the Fire element.

When all regions of the body are loaded with the appropriate elements, you must remain in this position for approximately two to five minutes, then begin with the dissolution of the elements. Begin where you left off. In this instance we begin with the head, with the Fire element. Inhale normally seven times, but each and every time you exhale (which is seven times altogether), you exhale the Fire element back into the universe. When the area of the head has been cleared of the Fire element, continue to clear the Air region, then the Water region and finally the Earth region until the entire body has been completely cleared of the accumulated elements.

Once you have reached a certain proficiency in these exercises, you can extend them by not only filling the individual body regions with the appropriate elements but also by compressing the respective elements in these regions. The procedure is the same as the one just described, beginning with the Earth element and concluding with the Fire element. The process of dissolution is the same as the one just described.

These exercises are also of great importance, because they bring the material or physical body as well as the psychic or astral body into harmony with the universal laws of the elements. Should the magician for one reason or another experience any disharmony, all he has to do is practice the above exercise and he will immediately re-establish the harmony. Not only for hours, but for days he will experience the pleasant influence of complete universal harmony which creates and then sustains within him a feeling of peace and bliss.

The harmony of the elements in the body offers a few other possibilities:

(1) Above all, the student is protected from all destructive influences from the negative side of the elements.

(2) When the student has attained magical equilibrium, he will find himself in the center of occurrences; he sees all laws, all coming into being and passing away in the universal, true perspective.

(3) The student is not affected by many ailments and calls forth an equilibrating effect upon his own karma and therefore on his destiny; he becomes increasingly resistant towards unfavorable influences.

(4) He cleanses his mental and astral aura and strengthens his mental and astral matrices.

(5) He awakens his magical abilities; his intuition assumes a universal character.

(6) His astral senses are refined.

(7) His intellectual abilities are elevated.

Step IV:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

The exercises of the first step should by now have become part of your life, a daily habit. The exercises of the second step should be in accordance with time available and, if the possibility exists, reinforced and deepened. By now, you have to have the ability to adhere in the minutest detail to any asceticism to which you subject yourself, without succumbing to temptations or even struggling with them. The exercises of the third step should also be improved upon and deepened to the fullest.

The position of body and limbs must be mastered to such a degree that you are able to remain in the asana posture for hours without experiencing the slightest disturbance, nervousness, tension, or cramping or spasms of the muscles.

The emanating energy must be increased, deepened, and must become more expansive, that is more dynamic; this is achieved through the imagination, the power of the imagination and more profound meditation. The magician must learn how to practically employ the emanating energy to any circumstance and situation. He must reach the point that every wish into which he transfers his emanating energy immediately becomes a reality. This will enable him to help suffering mankind in cases of sickness or accidents; and on this account he will be blessed.

We will now deal with a subject that is not too well-known, namely body postures, gestures and finger positions which are commonly known as rituals. The fundamental principle of rituals consists of confirming an idea or train of thought through an external form of expression or, the other way around, to call forth, or, as expressed in Hermetic terms, to “evoke” an idea or a train of thought through a gesture or an action. This fundamental principle applies to all ritual magic. This confirms that not only can any idea and any being be expressed through an external action, but these can also be bound to a particular task.

Whatsoever does not receive or bear its particular name, its symbol or external sign, is meaningless or of no significance. All magical procedures and rituals are based on this primordial thesis, and from time immemorial every religious system has had its own particular acts of worship. There is, however, a difference as to the significance of these rituals. Very little was ever disclosed to the general public, but was mostly kept in the strictest of secrecy and reserved solely for high priests and initiates. Every ritual serves a special purpose, regardless of whether it is the spell-sorcery of Tibet, the finger positions performed by priests in Bali or during acts of worship in the Orient, or the ritual evocations of magicians. The synthesis always remains one and the same. When giving evidence or testifying in judicial procedures, raising your right hand and extending three fingers as a confirmation of truthfulness can also be considered a magical gesture. From the Christian point of view, three raised fingers symbolize the trinity. Each of the numerous lodges and sects has its own rituals. The Freemasons, for example, are bound to a specific sign, word and grip. Many things could be said about this subject from the historical point of view, but such a study would be completely meaningless for the practice of magic or for education in magic.

The true magician is not influenced when he reads in various books of how some other magician draws his magic circle and considers it to be the symbol of infinity, divinity and untouchableness, or how he transfers his genies and angels into this circle for his protection, or how a lama draws his mandala and, during his rituals, considers his thatagatos as the symbol of a guardian deity. A magician does not require instructions that are foreign to him; he is well aware that these are only focal points for ideas and memory aids for the spirit. In Step IV the magician will learn how to devise his own rituals, acts of worship, gestures and finger positions. Of course, everything depends upon his individuality and gift of perception. Many magicians accomplish considerably more with the most primitive rituals than does the philosophical speculator with complicated acts of worship. There are no specific guidelines, and the student must act intuitively and must understand how to express any idea, any train of thought as well as what he wants to have realized, in the form of a suitable gesture, finger position or through a ritual. For example, he would certainly not express a blessing gesture symbolically with a clenched fist. In accordance with the circumstances or the situation in which he finds himself, he will devise an individual, unpretentious ritual which he will employ in complete secrecy without being observed by anyone. There are magicians who practice ritual magic by employing finger movements with their hands in their pockets, even when in the company of many people, without anyone being aware of it.

This is accomplished by using the elements in accordance with the analogy of the five fingers:

Index finger is Fire

Thumb is Water

Middle finger is Akasha

Ring finger is Earth

Little finger is Air

Right hand is Positive elements

Left hand is Negative elements

May this example suffice.

Learn to assign completely individual signs appropriate to the different ideas. Keep these signs a secret, because if someone else were to employ the same sign for the same idea he would weaken the idea (the effectiveness of the wish) by draining your energy. Whenever you want your personal wish promptly realized, bind it to your own little ritual or gesture. The best is a finger gesture. Imagine that through this gesture your wish becomes a reality, or rather, has already become a reality. The law that the wording of the idea or wish has to be in the present tense as well as in the form of an order applies here too. The imagination that it becomes a reality in connection with the gesture or ritual must in the beginning be executed intensively with a feeling of certainty, as a foregone conclusion, with confidence and an unshakable belief in success.

In the beginning, both the ritual as well as the imagination are to be employed. Later, when you are completely engrossed with the imagination of the wish and its realization, you will automatically, without noticing or being aware of it, feel compelled to make use of the gesture or ritual. When you have reached the point that a wish has become automatized in the imagination, then the procedure is again reversed; you execute the gesture or ritual and the imagination or the particular energy automatically releases the effect. This is the actual purpose of the ritual or gesture, finger position or body posture. Once the ritual with the imagination is automatized, it is sufficient just to execute the ritual in order to achieve the desired effect or influence. A charged battery offers the best comparison, and all that is required is the proper contact in order to have the necessary electricity available. Frequent repetition of the imagination of the gesture or ritual which you have selected establishes a reservoir of energy in the causal sphere of the Akasha principle, which, in accordance with the wish or purpose, assumes the required vibration (electromagnetic fluid), color, sound and all the necessary analogies. The statement could rightfully be made that all these things are immediate blood particles of the entire makeup of this energy reservoir. When this reservoir is loaded through frequent repetition, the mere ritual then releases a part of the energy from the reservoir and causes the necessary effect. It is therefore of the utmost importance to speak to no one about it; otherwise someone else could withdraw this supply of energy with the same ritual and achieve the same effects without any effort. However, the originator would be completely responsible for all the consequences.

There are lodges that have their novices practice rituals through which such an energy reservoir is automatically loaded. This gives the higher initiates an inexpensive supply for their own energy reservoir, and they can make use of it without any effort on their part. Should the student progress to the point that he himself can make use of the energy in the reservoir, then he is told to use that ritual as little as possible.

This knowledge may give many of you the idea that certain political movements and parties perform magical procedures in the manner of their salutations or greeting gestures indirectly, while constantly adding vital energy, even though in small amounts, to the common reservoir through continuous repetition. Such a gesture was used by the National Socialist German Labor Party (NSDAP = Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei). The salutations were accompanied by the raising of the right hand, which was representative, so to speak, of a gesture of power. However, when such a common energy reservoir has become powerful and is misused for greedy and despicable purposes, then this spiritually charged energy, due to its polarity, turns against its originators or founders. The result is decay and destruction, not to mention the execration under which a multitude of people were incarcerated, where some suffered and languished while others were innocently sentenced to death, and still others became victims on the battlefields, all of which invisibly produce an opposite polarity which contributes to the dissolution of this reservoir of energy.

The same law applies to the same degree to all other acts of worship, rituals and cult practices, regardless of whether they are performed by religions, sects or lodges. The miraculous healings at places of pilgrimage or holy places are based on the same fundamental principle. The devout believer draws the spiritual energy from the Akasha principle through his firm belief and his unshakable faith in the sacred picture or statue (icon). This energy is accumulated by the worshippers and the miraculous effects are achieved in this manner. A magician who is properly instructed will always find the true explanation for these or similar phenomena on the basis of the universal laws.

If he so wished, a magician could, on the basis of his knowledge of the laws of polarity, use the energy which has been accumulated in such a cult reservoir for his own purposes and thus achieve such miraculous healings and many other seemingly miraculous occurrences. However, an ethical magician of high standing would consider such an act as larceny and would therefore never lower himself to such a level, because he has many other possibilities at his disposal. These examples are given only for the reader’s information. We will now continue with the subject at hand, the rituals.

As mentioned before, any idea, any wish, and any imagination can become a reality through a ritual regardless of the plane in which you operate, whether it be the physical, astral or spiritual. The time elapsed before it becomes a reality depends in the first instance upon spiritual maturity and secondly upon diligence in the utilization of the ritual. The magician should always select rituals he can make use of for the rest of his life; as such they should be rituals of a universal character. The fewer wishes he has, the sooner will he meet with success. If the rituals that have been selected do not give the desired effects at first, do not add any other rituals. In the beginning you should really be content with one ritual, but you should not exceed three. Having reached this level of development, the magician will know his boundaries and his limits in regards to his capabilities of loading.

Summary of the Exercises in Step IV

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

Transference of consciousness to the outside:

(a) into objects,

(b) into animals,

(c) into human beings.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Elemental Accumulation:

(a) in the entire body, and

(b) in the individual parts of the body with two methods.

(2) Establishing the harmony of the elements in the appropriate regions of the body:

(a) Fire: head

(b) Air: chest

(c) Water: abdomen

(d) Earth: coccyx, reproductive organs or genitals, feet

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

Rituals and their practical applications:

(a) gestures,

(b) body postures,

(c) finger positions

End of Step IV

Step V:
Introduction

Archimedes once said: “Show me a point in the universe and I shall lift the world out of its hinges!”

Very few people really know the significance of this sentence. It contains a great occult secret, namely the secret of the fourth dimension. We all remember being taught in school that everything that has a form, as for example a stone, a plant, an animal or human being, in other words anything that has a physical body also has length, width and height. If we imagine a double intersection in the center of a form, for instance a sphere, then at the point where all these lines intersect we have the so-called lowest point or depth point or nadir. And this is the point which Archimedes had in mind, because it is the origin, the starting point and the point of departure; it is the nucleus of every form. Any form, when observed from this point, is proportionately objective, which means that the form happens to be in its true equilibrium. Within this lies the mystery of the fourth dimension, the concept of time and space, the concept of timelessness and spacelessness, and also the secret of space magic. It would be advantageous for the student to meditate thoroughly about the above subject, because it will disclose to him undreamed-of depths, and a high degree of intuition will be his reward. The Magical Schooling of the Spirit of the fifth step is dedicated to space magic.

Step V:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

Through the previous exercises the student acquired a certain ability in concentration and learned to transform his consciousness at his convenience or to adapt it to any form, enabling him to look farther and deeper. The information given in the fifth step instructs us how to transfer the consciousness into the central point of any form, from the tiniest atom to the highest universe. Through this the student will not only learn to understand, conceive and grasp any form from its central point, he will also learn how to control it from the central point. The abilities acquired after completing the exercises that now follow will be of great importance for all future magical exercises, because only through these exercises can the mental or spiritual equilibrium be established in accordance with your wishes and at your own discretion. The spiritual or mental equilibrium is the specific fundamental attribute of the Akasha or causal principle of the spirit. Let us therefore begin with the practice.

Start the exercise in the now familiar asana posture. Place some larger objects in front of you, as for instance a ball, a cube or dice, etc. In the beginning it is advisable to choose objects that are solid throughout. Observe one of these objects carefully for a short while. Then close your eyes and transfer your consciousness into the depth point, in other words into the exact center of the object. Imagine that you yourself are in the center of the object; you must also feel that you are there. The transference of your consciousness must be so intense that you are completely unaware of your physical body. This exercise is difficult, but it will make you a master. Do not be discouraged by failure in the beginning, but continue to exercise diligently. Since we are only accustomed to three dimensions, we will initially encounter difficulties, but these will diminish from exercise to exercise. Gradually you will become accustomed to it and you will be able to concentrate yourself into the depth point of any object. When you have attained the proficiency to remain for at least five minutes in the center of your chosen object, then you are ready to continue with the next exercise.

Should you have been successful so far, you may now select objects for your exercise which are not symmetrical. Every time you practice this exercise, you must be able to transfer your consciousness into the center (depth point) of any object you choose and have the feeling that you are no bigger than a poppy seed or even as small as an atom. Should you be able to succeed without interruption every time you do this exercise, continue with the next exercise by trying to ascertain from your depth point the size and form of the object. The smaller you imagine yourself to be and the more your consciousness shrinks, the larger must the circumference or the expanse of the object appear to you. For you, the chosen object must represent a whole universe. Maintain this feeling as long as you possibly can. Should you be successful in performing your exercises without interruption with both symmetrical and asymmetrical objects, then you can continue on with the next exercise. These exercises can be considered complete when you have achieved the same level of success with every object you have selected. After much practice with this exercise you will attain the ability to see through any object, and you will intuitively gain the knowledge of the material as well as the spiritual structure of any object. At the same time, you will also have attained the ability to influence any object from its depth point, in other words from the nucleus, and to load it magically at your convenience and in this manner impregnate the mental sphere of any object with your wish. In the fourth step we learned to master this through the accumulation of vital energy from the outside to the inside. This step gives us the maturity to accomplish the same, but in a much more intensive form and from the inside to the outside.

A magician must be able to achieve the same with animals and human beings. He must also be able to accomplish this with objects that are not directly within his visual range. Our consciousness knows no limits; therefore the magician can transfer his consciousness over great distances. Once the student has reached this point in his development, he can continue with the next exercise, namely the transfer of his consciousness from his own body into the fourth dimension of his body, his little universe, the microcosm, the Akasha principle of his own being. The practice is as follows:

Sit quietly in your usual asana posture and close your eyes. Transfer your consciousness to the center of your body, the solar plexus. You must have the feeling that you are a mere dot, an atom in the depth point or central point which is located between the frontal solar plexus and the outer spine. This central point is the depth point of your body. Try to remain in this point with your consciousness for at least five minutes; use a watch or any other timing device. Observe your body from this depth point. The smaller you imagine yourself to be, the larger and more voluminous will be your perception of the circumference of your body, which will appear to you as a large universe. While in this depth point, meditate and use these or similar words: “I am the central point of my body, and I am the determining power therein!” Do not be discouraged by initial difficulties. Should you be able to succeed for only a few seconds, continue the exercise, for out of seconds come minutes. The student must be able to remain in this depth point with his consciousness for at least five minutes. When the student has properly completed this step he must be able to transfer himself at any minute and in any situation into this depth point, into the Akasha principle, and from thence to recognize and effect everything that concerns his own being. The true magical state of trance is the transference of the consciousness into your own Akasha principle, a preliminary step in connecting with the cosmic consciousness. The practice of connection with the cosmic consciousness will be described in another step.

The magical state of trance is not to be confused with the condition that spiritualist mediums call forth. The question might arise: How often is one dealing with a genuine spiritualist medium? Mostly you are dealing with fraud or charlatans that mislead the gullible.

Genuine spiritualist mediums reach the trance state through prayer, chanting or some kind of meditation, or conversely by passivity of the spirit (vacancy of mind), through which they invoke a spontaneous displacement of consciousness. When a human being is in such a state it becomes possible for elementals, departed human beings and other lower entities to prevail upon the astral as well as the physical body and make proclamations and influence it to other actions. From the Hermetic point of view such experiments are considered a state of possession, even if at times you are dealing with good beings or entities. A genuine magician does not doubt that these experiments can be carried out in the case of real spiritualistic attempts; all he can do is pity such mediums or mediators. The magician has the ability to contact these entities in a different and conscious manner. The reader or student will find more details in a special chapter.

Step V:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

The practical instructions of the fourth step taught us how to draw the four elements from the universe into our body. First we learned to accumulate the elements in the entire body and then in each of its individual parts in order to call forth a tension of the elements. This tension which is produced by the accumulation of the elements is also called a dynamide. From one exercise to the other, the body has become more and more resilient in respect of the tension caused by the accumulation of the elements and more and more resistant towards the pressure that has been produced.

Now with this exercise we will take another step forward and be taught how to project and control the elements outwardly, because practical magical work is not possible without being able to do so. It is therefore of the utmost importance to master the practice completely.

Sit down in your usual asana posture. With the aid of your imagination, inhale the Fire element with its specific attribute of heat through the lungs and pores into your entire body, and then exhale normally. Once your body contains a considerable amount of heat and you have accumulated a sufficient amount of the Fire element, release the element by means of the imagination through the solar plexus and fill the room you presently occupy with the Fire element. When you are discharging the element from your body, you must have the feeling that the body is completely free of it, in other words that nothing remains and that the element you accumulated in your body has now spread throughout the room; this is similar to the exercise you practiced when you impregnated the room with vital energy. Repeat this exercise with the Fire element several times by accumulating it and then discharging it into the room. Each time you discharge it, you accumulate more of the Fire element in the room. As soon as you are free of the element, you must feel and perceive the accumulated element in the room on your own body and feel that the room has actually become warm. After you have reached a certain competence in the practice of this exercise, the heat in the room will not only be subjective (which means produced in the mind) but real. If a person enters such a room filled with the Fire element he will actually feel the heat, regardless of whether he is a magician or not.

A thermometer will indicate to us the extent of our imagination in accumulating the Fire element to the point that actual physical heat exists in the room and can be felt. The success of this exercise depends upon your will and how graphic the power of your imagination is. It is not a requirement of this step to produce physical heat that can be measured with a thermometer. Should the magician have a special interest in this kind of phenomena and wish to pursue this direction, he can specialize by following the above instructions and by solely practicing this particular element exercise. However, a true magician will not be content with such a minor phenomenon and will instead work on his further development, since he is completely convinced that he can achieve much more as time goes by.

The room projection exercise of the element of Fire outwardly is complete when the magician distinctly feels heat in the room. When the magician has accomplished this, he then releases the accumulated Fire element into infinity again by dissolving it into the universe in spherical or globular form in all directions.

Should the exercise room be charged with an element, the magician can leave the room at his own discretion without dissolving the element first. He can also confine the element to the room for any length of time at his discretion, similar to the impregnation of the room in a previous exercise. All success depends upon the will and imagination of the magician.

It should be pointed out that it is not advisable to leave a room accumulated with a particular element for a long period of time, because the spirits or beings of that particular element will frolic with mischief in such an atmosphere, usually at the expense of the magician.

There will be more details on that subject in a chapter dealing with working with spirits of the elements.

It should also be mentioned that should the magician practice these exercises outside in nature, in an area not surrounded by walls or in an unlimited space, then he must create a room with the aid of the imagination. The size of the room is left to the discretion of the magician. The imagination knows no limits, regardless of where you employ it.

The student will carry out the exercises with the other three elements in the same manner as with the Fire element. The exercises following the Fire element should be practiced with the Air element, then the Water element, and concluded with the Earth element. How the student chooses to proceed with these exercises is left to his discretion because this depends largely upon time and the opportunities available to him.

One day he can carry out the exercise with one element and the next day with another, or he can choose to accumulate:

the Fire element in the morning,

the Air element at noon,

the Water element in the evening, and

the Earth element the next morning.

Those students who have sufficient time at their disposal and who possess enough will-power can practice all four elements, one after the other. These students will make great strides in controlling the elements and can therefore progress rapidly. When the student can control all four elements in this manner he can continue with the next exercise.

The previous exercise taught the magician how to release the inhaled element through the solar plexus into a room. In the exercises that follow, the magician will learn how an element that he has accumulated through pore and lung breathing can be released into a room not only through the solar plexus but also by exhaling through all the pores of the body, thereby calling forth an accumulation of an element in that room. This has to be practiced with every element. The dissolution of the elements into infinity, into the universe, is accomplished in the same manner as described in the previous exercise. Once the student masters this exercise completely, he continues with the next exercise, which is the same in almost every respect, but with one exception: Do not carry out the exercise with your entire body, but only with certain parts of it. In magic, the hands and fingers are mostly employed; therefore the student must pay the greatest attention to them. The student accumulates the particular element in one hand or in both hands by breathing through the pores, which enables him to release the element with lightning speed all at once with a mere motion of his hand into a room or space he has selected; in this manner he instantly impregnates the room with the particular element. By practicing this exercise repeatedly you will master it. The student must practice this exercise with all four elements and he must master the entire exercise. Once he has accomplished this he can take another step on the ladder of his magical development.

Sit down in your usual asana posture. Inhale the Fire element through the lungs and the pores of your whole body, then accumulate the Fire element in your whole body until you perceive the sensation of heat. Imagine that the accumulated Fire element is forming a ball of fire in the solar plexus, which is being condensed to a diameter of approximately four to eight inches. This condensed ball of fire must be so fiery and bright that it resembles the brilliance of the sun. Once that has been accomplished, imagine that this fireball is floating freely out of your solar plexus. It must be imagined to be white-hot and emanating heat while it is floating in the room. Imagine this ball of fire for as long as you possibly can. When you stretch out your hands towards the ball of fire, you must perceive the heat it is emanating. Bring this exercise to its conclusion either by dissolving the ball of fire slowly into the universe or by suddenly having it explode into nothing. You must become proficient in both methods. Then continue on by following the same procedure with the elements of Air, Water and finally Earth. In order that you may better visualize the Air element, give the ball a sky-blue color while you are condensing it.

The visualization of Water should be easier than Air. However, should you experience difficulties with the Water element, imagine it to be a spherical lump of ice. It should certainly not be difficult to imagine the Earth element as a ball of clay. Once you have carried out this exercise with all four elements in spherical form and have mastered them in this form, you may continue by employing the same method and forming other shapes with the four elements. In the beginning choose simple shapes such as cubes, cones, pyramids, etc. You can consider this exercise to be complete when you have succeeded in condensing all four elements into any shape you wish and projecting them to the outside. Never begin with the next exercise unless you completely master the present one.

The next exercise describes the projection of the elements directly from the universe. The practice is as follows:

Sit down in your usual asana posture, and breathe calmly without effort. Imagine that you attract the Fire element out of infinite space, out of the universe, and that you are filling the room you presently occupy with the element of Fire. Imagine the universe to be an immensely large sphere from which you draw the Fire element from all sides down into the room, filling it with the Fire element. Imagine that the Fire element is at its most etheric and subtle when coming from the primary source, and the more you draw it down to you the more condensed, physically coarser and hotter it becomes. During this exercise you must experience the heat on your own body. The more the accumulated element becomes condensed in the room, the greater the heat. You must have the feeling of virtually being in a baking oven. Having done that, dissolve the element again into infinity through your will-power and imagination.

Repeat the same procedure with the Air element, which you also draw from all sides of the spherical universe down to you, filling the room with it and condensing it. While practicing this exercise you must have the feeling of floating in an infinite ocean of air, completely free of any attractive forces or gravity. If you have properly executed this exercise, you should feel as light as a balloon. Dissolve the condensed Air element into its prime substance just as you did with the Fire element, as explained in the previous exercise.

Follow the same procedure with the Water element. Imagine that you are drawing the Water element down to you from an infinite ocean. In the beginning, imagine it in the form of a cold vapor which you constantly condense more and more as it comes closer to your person and the room. Fill the entire exercise room with this cold vapor and imagine yourself to be in the center of this imaginary Water element. You must feel this icy coldness to the point that it causes goose bumps on your physical body. As soon as you experience this coldness, dissolve the Water element back into its original form and back into infinity. This enables the magician to make his exercise room cool and comfortable within a few moments even on the hottest summer day.

Follow the same procedure with the Earth element. Draw from the universe a gray substance which is similar to clay. It becomes more and more brown the closer you draw it towards you. Fill the room densely with this heavy substance. You must feel the gravity and its cohesive power as well as its pressure upon your own body. When you have attained control over this element through this sentience, then dissolve the Earth element again into its prime substance as you did with the other elements.

This procedure allows us to draw the elements down from the universe and materialize them wherever we concentrate them without having the element pass through the body; everything occurs outside the body. The magician must completely master both methods. At this point in his development, when he performs a task such as healing ailments or creating servant spirits and elementaries, he must materialize the particular element through his own body. However, in other instances he requires the direct universally condensed element. Once he masters these exercises, the magician is qualified to continue with the next one.

The next exercise deals with an element that is drawn out of the universe, but not in the manner described in the previous exercise, wherein you filled a room with an element. Instead, the element is condensed into a shape of your choosing. This is similar to those exercises where shapes were condensed in the body (solar plexus) from an element and were kept floating in the air outside the body. The difference here lies in the fact that the formation of these shapes does not take place in the body, but occurs by having the shape float immediately in the air. Therefore the magician must have the ability to create a Fire sphere, an Air sphere, a Water sphere and an Earth sphere. Once he has succeeded in producing these spheres perfectly, he should then form different shapes out of these elements which float in the room in front of him. After a certain length of time he should dissolve these spheres back into the universe. In each instance the magician must always distinctly feel the specific attribute of the element with which he is working. He must also reach such a level of proficiency that even the uninitiated or a person ignorant in matters of magic can perceive and see the particular element. These are already achievements on a high level, results which are achieved through laborious work in this particular field of endeavor. The student must be able in the course of these exercises to condense each element from the universe and have the knowledge to compress it into any shape he wishes. That is the purpose of the above-mentioned exercise. Any magician who has been trained in this manner has the ability to condense an element to such a degree that it becomes a physical power or energy. Therefore you can set a fire ablaze even from the farthest distance with the Fire element. In the beginning, practice compressing a fireball which has been drawn directly from the universe without having it pass through your body into a small bead with your imagination to the point that it becomes a glowing spark. Then direct this spark into a previously prepared cotton swab moistened with an easily ignitable substance such as ether, gasoline or alcohol. Then prepare a second spark in the same manner with the Air element, and when the second spark touches the first in the cotton swab, the cotton swab should ignite and burn. Once the magician has been successful with this little experiment, he should make the attempt with the wick of a normal candle and then with a kerosene lamp. This has to be accomplished not only within the proximity of the magician but also from afar. Furthermore you can banish a fire spark into a glass or a bottle and hurl a water spark like lightning into the glass or bottle. As soon as these two sparks make contact with each other, both elements will explode and the glass will burst into a thousand fragments. Since the magician knows and masters these laws, he can invent these and similar little games, although the true magician should not waste too much time with such pastimes. He also knows that he can produce through the elements such natural phenomena as lightning, thunder, rain and heavy thunderstorms; he also has the ability to disperse, stop and dissolve them. All these powers appear to the average person as miraculous, but for the magician they are a matter of course and it is left to his discretion whether he plans to specialize only in such phenomena or whether he plans to continue with his magical development.

Among other phenomena he also knows how the Oriental fakirs actually produce the mango tree phenomenon in which a mango tree grows from a seed and produces fruit within one hour; this feat is only possible by mastering or controlling the elements.

The student has yet another possibility: to physically control the material condensation of an element by hurling the condensed form into a glass of pure, or better yet, distilled water. This procedure should be repeated several times. The student will find the following results when examining the water:

with the Fire element, the water tastes sour,

with the Air element, the water tastes sweet,

with the Water element, the water tastes tart and astringent, and

with the Earth element, the water tastes stale or musty.

When the above procedure has been employed it can also be proven chemically by immersing a piece of litmus paper into the water that has been impregnated in this manner. If the water has been properly and thoroughly impregnated you will find an acidic reaction on the litmus paper when it comes to the active elements, which are the Fire and Air elements, whereas the reaction to the Water and Earth elements is alkaline.

Would this experiment not remind everyone of the wedding in Cana, when Christ turned water into wine?

Only a high initiate such as Christ accomplished this miracle of transformation from within, through the mastery of the Akasha principle of the water and not through the influence of the elements from the outside.

This concludes the mastery of the elements of the Magical Schooling of the Soul of Step V. No one should advance from here unless all exercises and assignments have been completed. All the exercises follow a natural progression and one is dependent upon the other. I hope that no one will be tempted to practice only certain exercises or methods and neglect the others. Firstly, you will not achieve the desired results, and furthermore you will endanger your health. These aspects should always be deserving of careful consideration by the aspiring magician. However, those who complete one exercise after the other in the proper sequence, conscientiously and successfully, can continue their magical development with a clear conscience.

Step V:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

In this step we will deal with exercises which, from the magical point of view, make conscious passive communications with the invisible possible. These methods bear a certain resemblance to those of the spiritualists, but the magician will notice that these exercises will not turn him into that mindless tool which the spiritualists call a medium. The magician should not become a puppet to uncontrollable forces; on the contrary, he directs his energies consciously and at the same time learns how to make use of them consciously. In this respect he considers the laws of the invisible world as well as those of the physical world. First of all, levitation exercises are a necessity in order to communicate passively with the invisible, for they serve to prepare a part of the body so that a being can make its presence known thereby.

Sit in a comfortable position at a table, and place both hands on the table. Begin to accumulate vital energy in your right hand. Then use all your powers of concentration to control your hands and fingers with your will only, and not with the aid of your muscles. When you have accomplished this, release the accumulated vital energy through the imagination back into the universe.

Now start with the actual levitation exercise. Accumulate the Air element in the index finger of your right hand. Then, with the power of concentration, imagine that your index finger is as light as air. Then imagine that you lift your index finger with your will while the hand and the other fingers remain motionless on the table. You must have the feeling that you are lifting your index finger with your will and not that your muscles are responsible for the lifting of your finger. As soon as you have accomplished raising your finger, then lower it through your will. Should you stop your concentration while the finger is raised, it will drop immediately. You can try to do this, but only to ascertain if your will is in control or whether you are controlling your finger with your muscles. When you are able to levitate the index finger of your right hand with your will at your discretion, then practice the same exercise with the other fingers. Continue on and practice the same exercise with the fingers of the left hand. The levitation exercises are complete when you can raise and lower all the fingers of both hands with your will. Once you have accomplished that, then attempt to raise your whole hand in the manner described, first the right hand and then the left. After you have practiced this exercise for a while and have been successful, extend this exercise by raising not only the entire hand and lower arm up to the elbow with your will but also the entire arm. These exercises can be extended further by raising both hands simultaneously with the aid of your will. If the magician were to extend these exercises to the point that they would eventually include the entire body, he would without question be able in due time to levitate his entire body into the air with his will. He could walk on water without sinking, fly in the air with his physical body, and accomplish many other feats at his discretion. However, to achieve these feats would take many years of practice. Initiates at high levels are able to do these things with ease without practicing for years, because these feats or phenomena depend upon one’s magical maturity and development. A magician who has reached a high level of maturity will not trigger such phenomena without a valid reason, especially not to satisfy the curiosity of other people. At this stage of our development we should be content simply to move our hands and fingers with our will. Having reached this point, we will engage in another small preparatory exercise which is necessary for passive communication with the invisible. The practice is as follows:

Sit at a table, place your hands upon the table and have them remain there motionless. Imagine graphically that your right spirit hand emerges from your physical hand. Place your right astral hand next to your right physical hand, or let it glide through the table to rest on your knee. You must consider the imagined spirit hand to be your real hand. As a result of this, a mentally vacant space develops within the physical hand which has the form of the external hand. While all this is occurring, think that the physical hand is harmless and is presently in the fourth dimension in the Akasha principle. Once you are able to do this for a few moments, place your mental or spirit hand back into the physical hand and consider the exercise as complete. This exercise has to be repeated until you succeed in exteriorizing your spirit hand in the manner described for a longer period of time, at least five minutes. This exercise can also be practiced in the same manner with the left hand, but that is up to your own discretion. Once you have achieved good results, you are prepared to communicate in a passive manner with the invisible.

When preparing yourself in this manner, you can readily see how this magical preparation differs greatly from that of the spiritualists, who remain passive while holding a pencil in their hand and writing or drawing pictures. It is left entirely to the judgment of the magician as to whether these messages (which the spiritualists call medial writings or medial drawings) really originate in the fourth dimension or (as they prefer to call it) in the beyond, or whether they merely originate from the subconscious of the particular medium.

A hand that is exteriorized by this method is actually transferred into the fourth dimension and can be seen by a being in that sphere, who can therefore make use of that hand to send messages into our physical world. Once the student has successfully completed these exercises he will have gained the ability to contact beings in the fourth dimension.

The magician will endeavor above all to contact his guardian angel, his spiritual guide, the one with whom he has the closest relationship. Every student of magic knows that Divine Providence has provided him with a being since birth. This guardian angel has the task of guarding, guiding and inspiring his protégé. This guide or guardian angel can be a departed human being or a being or intelligence that has not yet incarnated on this planet, all of which is dependent upon the person’s development and karma. This being cares for the spiritual well-being of the protégé mostly until puberty. The more intellectually mature a person is, the less attention the spiritual guide will pay to him, especially one who has absolutely no recollection of his guide, so that there is less and less contact. Much could be said in regards to the station, rank and division by degrees of such guides as well as their activities, but it would exceed the scope of this book.

The magician is given the opportunity to communicate with his spiritual guide and can ascertain directly from that entity all he wishes and needs to know. The magician can be assured that his spiritual guide will be the first one to make himself known to him as long as his intentions to ennoble his character are genuine and honest and he works on his magical development with diligence, interest and perseverance. Above all, the student should endeavor to establish conscious contact with his guardian spirit. The following exercise describes the practice:

For this exercise you require a sidereal pendulum, but it does not have to be a particular kind of pendulum. A ring, a nail or any small object tied to a silk thread can serve as a pendulum. Wrap the end of the silk thread several times around your index finger, allowing the pendulum to oscillate approximately eight to ten inches freely in the air. This exercise is done by placing your hands on a table. Place the elbow of the hand which is holding the pendulum on the table, and raise that hand at such an angle to the table that the clearance between the pendulum and the tabletop is approximately one inch, enough to let it swing freely. Then have the elbow and hand remain in this position. When the pendulum is in a stationary position, place an empty water glass, a vase or any other object that will make a sound when the pendulum touches it two to three inches from the pendulum.

Once all the preparations have been made in accordance with these instructions, exteriorize your mental hand from the physical hand that is holding the pendulum and place the mental hand directly beside the physical hand. Then put yourself into a state of trance for a few moments, as described in the chapter on spirit schooling, by transferring your consciousness into the center of your navel; at this point you are in the fourth dimension. While you are in this state, call your spirit guide and ask him in your spirit that he may be so kind as to make himself known to you through your magically prepared hand. During this communication, remain calm and observe the pendulum while at the same time asking your spirit guide, when answering your questions, to indicate a “no” by having the pendulum touch the glass one time, to indicate “uncertain” by having it touch twice, and to indicate “yes” by having it touch three times. You will be surprised to see that the pendulum will begin to move and will give the appropriate answers to your questions in the form mentioned above. Very sensitive persons will also notice that their hand is moved by a hand other than their own. You will probably have the feeling that your hand is merely a glove which contains another hand that is not your own and that this other hand is moving the pendulum. There are also people who do not have any of these experiences, and instead have the feeling that the wish is guiding the thoughts, indirectly causing the muscles of the hand to respond and thereby moving the pendulum. All these occurrences are completely individual and depend upon the individual’s inclinations.

Should you fail in your first attempt to contact your spirit guide, do not be discouraged. Perseverance will lead to success. After a few attempts, every student will succeed in contacting his spirit guide. Once you have established this connection, you can ask your guide questions, either mentally or aloud, which will be answered in the manner previously agreed upon, namely “yes,” “no,” or “uncertain.” The questions you ask should, above all, concern the spirit guide personally, as for example, whether he is willing to make himself known to you, or whether he has previously incarnated on planet earth. These are the kinds of questions you should ask. Once contact has been established with the pendulum, you can make use of a circular planchette instead of having the pendulum touch the glass. A planchette is a circular disc which is divided into as many parts as there are letters in the alphabet. Each space is assigned a letter of the alphabet. Leave a circular space in the center of the planchette. Hold the pendulum over this circular space and it will indicate the letters which spell out the answer to your questions. The answers and information you receive in this manner from your spiritual guide will be more precise and accurate than the pendulum.

Once you have achieved the desired success with the planchette, you can improve upon this and prepare a larger one which contains more information besides the alphabet. It could of course contain the alphabet, but also such information as numbers, spaces with “yes,” “no” and “uncertain,” the days of the week and the hours of the day. Again, leave a space in the center of the planchette as the starting point of your exercise. This planchette does not require a pendulum. The pendulum is replaced by a small water glass, which is turned upside down. With a marker, draw an arrow on the bottom of the glass to serve as an indicator. Hold the lower part of the glass between your index and middle fingers and allow the hand of your spiritual guide to move the glass towards the letter. The tip of the arrow will indicate the particular letter. In order to facilitate a better sliding of the water glass, you can place a window pane over the planchette. The student can devise these and many other aids. Various other inspirations can be obtained from other esoteric or spiritualistic literature; they are of course only aids which will become completely unnecessary later on.

Another method that can be employed is asking your spiritual guide to lift the index finger of your magically prepared hand. Ask him to lift the finger once for “no,” two times for “uncertain” and three times for “yes.” Should you be successful with the index finger, then you should do the same with the other fingers as well. You will notice that one finger will respond better than the others. Some students will find that their index finger will respond better, whereas others will find that it is their middle or ring finger. This of course depends upon the dexterity of the finger of the individual; however, the finger which responds best should be used for all future exercises of this kind.

This method will be a welcome addition to the magician’s repertoire, because it enables him to communicate passively with the invisible world, whether with his spiritual guide or with a departed human being, even under circumstances where a planchette or pencil cannot be employed, for instance in the company of other people, in nature etc. You can even keep your hands in your pockets and have questions answered with “yes” or “no” amidst large crowds, especially when you have already achieved a particular proficiency. When you master these exercises you can begin with medial writing. The method is as follows:

Place a sheet of paper on a table in front of you and take a pencil between your thumb and index finger as you normally would when you write. Then place a wide rubber band over your thumb, index and middle fingers, but not too tightly. The rubber band serves the purpose of relieving you from the necessity to concentrate on holding the pencil. Then enter into a state of trance, prepare your hand magically in the manner described, call your spiritual guide and ask him to write with the aid of your right hand (or your left hand, if you are left-handed). In the beginning you may write only some uneven lines, later on some illegible words, but after several attempts there will be comprehensive words and sentences. Always have a sufficient amount of paper on hand, as you might need more than one or two pages. All questions will be answered in a direct manner.

Through repeated exercises you will acquire such a proficiency that you will not experience any difficulties when practicing medial writing. This method enables you to communicate with departed acquaintances, relatives and family members. Through this exercise the magician will become aware that in reality there is no “life here” and “life in the beyond,” but only degrees of density in the fourth dimension where different kinds of beings exist, and that death does not mean the end for the magician but is only a transition into the fourth dimension.

I will describe briefly several kinds of medial writing which the magician can make use of in accordance with his inclinations:

(1) The Automatic Mechanical Method: When employing this method the hand writes completely automatically. The magician does not know what he will write or what the particular spirit intends to write. The messages could even be in a foreign language, languages the magician does not know or has never heard of. Even drawings or paintings may be the result of this method.

(2) The Inspirational Method: This is the most commonly used method. In this technique the messages present themselves in a way which is similar to thinking aloud, either inside or outside one’s own person, almost as if you had advance knowledge of what the being wanted to write. This method of passive communication will, through frequent repetition, turn into audible thinking and hearing. You perceive messages either from the depths of your soul or outside of yourself.

(3) The Intuitive Method: This method gives you the feeling that you did the writing yourself. Questions asked are answered immediately. It seems as if only you know the answer to the question. This is a form of clair-knowledge. The hand writes words and sentences with full consciousness and nothing is heard or inspired.

The methods can also appear in a mixed fashion. For example, it can happen that they appear half automatically and half inspirationally or intuitively, or collectively inspirationally and intuitively. Which of these methods is the dominant one will only emerge after extended practice. Every method is good and reliable provided it is applied properly and honestly. Practice makes perfect.

Now I should like to make some remarks in regards to the questions which should be directed to the beings and in regards to the messages which are received. Above all, the magician should never boast about his exercises and successes. The more he remains silent about his communications with the invisible world, the better it will be for him. Furthermore, when it comes to the choice of questions, always be mindful that you are dealing with beings that are subject to laws other than those which govern human beings on the physical plane. Also be aware that beings who once lived on earth soon become disoriented, since our physical plane is three-dimensional and therefore dependent on space and time, whereas this does not apply to the sphere of the fourth dimension. Only beings that are highly developed are in a position to give you proper information in regards to time, certain events, the future etc. As such, the magician should limit his questions, as far as these beings of the fourth dimension are concerned, to their homeland and information about the fourth dimension, so that he can gain more knowledge in that respect. Later on, when the student has developed his spiritual senses, it will no longer be necessary to communicate passively with the invisible world, because he himself will be able to accomplish whatever a being might inform him about. Passive communication should serve only one purpose: to prove the existence of another world and to convince the student of this fact, because this is the world which everyone will enter into and live in after we depart from this physical plane, the three-dimensional world.

Summary of the Exercises in Step V

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

Space Magic

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

Element projection outwardly:

(a) Through your own body, accumulated through the solar plexus.

(b) Accumulated through the hands, especially through the fingers dynamically.

(c) External projection, without passing it through the body.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

Preparation for passive communication with the invisible world:

(a) Release of one’s own hand.

(b) Preparation of the fingers with the help of the pendulum, pencil, planchette etc.

Passive communication:

(a) With one’s own guardian spirit or angel.

(b) With departed human beings and other beings.

End of Step V

Step VI:
Introduction

Before I describe the exercises of Step VI, I would particularly like to stress again that all the previous exercises must be completely mastered in order to maintain one’s equilibrium when advancing to a higher level of development. It would serve no purpose whatsoever to skip a step or to exclude or neglect one of the exercises. A gap would become noticeable and it would be difficult for any student at a later date to make up one or another shortcoming (a step or exercise) in his development. Conscientiousness is a prerequisite for success.

Step VI:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

In this step we deal with meditation on the spirit. We have already discussed the mental sphere and the mental body, in other words the spirit, in detail in the theoretical part of this book.

It is the task of this step to obtain a clear picture of one’s own spirit with all its functions in regards to the four elements, as well as learning how to differentiate the functions from each other, which can be achieved through a particular meditation. The attributes of the spirit in accordance with the four elements are as follows:

The Will is subject to the Fire principle.

The Intellect with all its parallel aspects, such as reason and memory, is subject to the Air principle.

Feeling with all its aspects is subject to the Water principle.

Consciousness with all its aspects, as the connection of all three elements, is subject to the Earth principle.

Become immersed deep within yourself in thought. Observe yourself and the function of the spirit and meditate about it. You must have the ability to clearly imagine every function in accordance with the particular element. When you are capable of clearly distinguishing the functions of the spirit, that is, when you have a completely clear picture, then you may continue. This preliminary exercise is of great importance, because it places the magician on the mental plane in a position to influence, to master, to strengthen and to disengage these functions with the particular element, not only within himself but also within others.

Another exercise that must be practiced is one whereby you ascertain that the mental body occupies the astral body and that these two bodies together occupy the physical body, like a hand occupying a fine silk glove; in addition, over this fine silk glove you are wearing another glove of a much coarser and heavier material. Your hand must feel both gloves. And that is exactly how your entire mental body must feel; you must feel your spirit in a subtle astral body and in turn your astral body in the coarser physical body. This feeling is the spirit. Take every possible opportunity to meditate on this. When you are certain that your spirit occupies the astral body and the physical body and senses them and moves them, and that all activities are actually accomplished by the spirit through these two shells, then this exercise is complete and you can commence with the next step.

Every human being acts consciously, semi-consciously and intuitively. These actions are instilled in him by an internal or external impulse, but he does not pay any attention to them. The next exercise will teach you, in the beginning, to accomplish first smaller and later on bigger tasks or actions consciously, and you must make the attempt to extend the duration of any of these conscious actions. In this context the term “conscious” does not mean that you have to have your thoughts and all your attention on the subject matter, but instead that you are on the subject matter with the imagination and feelings, so that the spirit accomplishes these actions with the help of the soul and the physical body. For example, when I am walking on the street, I do not think that I am walking; instead my spirit walks and moves the astral as well as the physical feet, and the same occurs to the arms and the other body parts. When you are able to execute an activity of this type for at least ten minutes, then you have mastered this exercise completely. The longer you can perform these exercises without any side effects, such as spells of dizziness, feelings of tiredness and disturbances of equilibrium, the better it is. It is therefore advisable to start with small activities for short periods of time and then extend them until you have become accustomed to these conditions; then these exercises may be extended at your own discretion.

This exercise is important because it enables the student to accomplish an activity spiritually as well as astrally in connection with the physical body, depending on whether he is working with the mental or astral sphere. Such an undertaking is called a magical action. The student should now understand why the uninitiated and those who are not trained in the magic sciences will not meet with success when it comes to magical rituals; these people do not posses the ability to carry out the ritual magically, that is to say they are not prepared to work mentally and astrally in connection with physical matter.

For example, when a magnetopath lays his hands on a patient or employs magnetic strokes, he must at the same time allow his spiritual and his astral hand to emanate, and while he is magnetizing he must imagine that the spiritual energy penetrates and influences the spirit, the astral energy penetrates and influences the astral body, and that the physical energy penetrates and influences the physical body; otherwise he will achieve only partial success, since the patient consists of all three components: body, soul and spirit.

It is a foregone conclusion for the magician that the mental body can only influence the mental sphere or the spirit, the astral body can only influence the astral sphere or soul, and the physical body can only influence the material world. This law has to be respected. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that the magician should learn to prepare himself spiritually and astrally, and that he should carry out these procedures either as a spirit or in connection with the soul. He continues with his development once he has properly understood, learned and mastered this exercise completely.

The magical schooling of the senses is the next task. But first, an important preliminary exercise. As in the previous exercise, you visualize that your physical eyes do not see everything, but that the spirit perceives everything with the help of the astral and physical eyes. Meditate on this as often as possible. You must be able to adopt the attitude, for at least five minutes, that the spirit sees through the physical eyes. The longer you can maintain this attitude the better it is. Frequent repetition of this exercise will lead to success. Once you are successful with the eyes, the sense of sight, then practice the same with the ears, the sense of hearing. Adopt the attitude that the physical ears do not perceive the sound waves, but that it is the ears of the spirit that perceive everything with the help of the astral and physical ears. Once you are as successful with the ears as you were with the eyes, then begin with the next exercise.

The next exercise deals with the sense of feeling, and you practice it in the same manner as the previous two exercises. Imagine that the spirit, by means of the astral body, and the astral body, with the aid of the physical body in turn, feels objects, coldness, warmth etc. Practice this exercise diligently until you master the sense of feeling for the same length of time as you did with sight and hearing. Should you wish to develop yourself to a high degree you can add the other two senses, smell and taste. The greatest emphasis, however, should be placed on the three senses that were mentioned first, namely sight, hearing and feeling. These are the senses that are mainly used in the practice of magic.

Once you have attained the desired success in spiritual sense awareness, endeavor to focus in on two senses simultaneously with your spirit, as you did in a previous exercise with the concentration of the senses. Start with the eyes (sight) and ears (hearing). Should you be able to do this exercise for at least five minutes without interruption, focus in with your spirit on three senses simultaneously, namely sight, hearing and feeling. Should you be successful with this exercise as well, then you have made great progress in your magical development. Because these preliminary exercises are important for the future practice of clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience, the student must attain a high level of competence in them.

The student will find the main exercise in Step VII of this course of instruction.

Step VI:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

In the fifth step we learned the outward projection of the elements. In this step we will take things a step further and proceed and learn to master the Akasha principle in regards to the elements.

In the theoretical part of this book it was mentioned that the elements originated in the Akasha principle and are therefore controlled and maintained in an equilibrium by this principle. A magician who has achieved success with the elements after lengthy, continuous exercising will also be able to control the finest principle, the astral Ether. The practice is as follows:

Sit down, close your eyes and assume your usual asana posture. Imagine that you are in an infinite space where you are the center. Here in the infinite space, no above, no below, no sideways exists. This infinite space is filled with the finest energy-substance, the universal Ether. In itself the Ether is colorless, but it appears to our senses as ultra-violet, an almost violet-black color. We therefore imagine the etheric substance in this color. Inhale the Ether-substance through lung breathing and direct it consciously into your blood. Once you have attained a certain level of competence, then practice the conscious lung and pore breathing in exactly the same manner as you did with the vital energy accumulation, but with one difference: instead of inhaling the vital energy, fill the entire body with Ether in the aforementioned color. While practicing this exercise, you have to maintain a feeling of affinity with the entire infinite space. During this exercise you also have to be completely removed from the world, and you must become accustomed to this unusual state. Under no circumstances should you lose consciousness or fall asleep. Should you be overcome by tiredness during this exercise, discontinue it immediately and continue at another time when you are mentally more refreshed. Once you meet with the desired success after having practiced the body pore breathing, then you may continue with the next exercise.

As we know by now, the Akasha is the causal world, therefore the sphere of all causes. If a conscious cause such as a wish, a thought, or an imagination is called forth in this sphere with the appropriate dynamic will-concentration, with firm belief and complete conviction, it must realize itself through the elements regardless of the plane or sphere upon which such realization is required. This is one of the greatest magical secrets and a universal key for the magician, the scope of which will become clear to him in the course of his further development. The student has to be constantly aware of his ethical development, which will allow him always to perform good and noble deeds. The next exercise will deal with how to gain absolute power over the elements in all three kingdoms through the Akasha principle. The practice is as follows:

In your usual asana posture, inhale a stream of Akasha through the lungs and the entire body, filling the entire body with it. I should also mention that the Akasha cannot be accumulated like vital energy. While inhaling, you must already imagine that you awaken your power over the four elements. While you are doing this, think that you already possess the ability to control the elements and that the elements will fulfill everything you order them to do and wish them to do regardless of the plane on which the realization of your wish should occur. While you are in this state, you must feel the power you have over the elements with every breath you take. The belief and conviction of your power over the elements must be unshakable. You cannot leave room for even the slightest doubt. Whosoever has so far worked conscientiously through all the exercises of every step will gain absolute power over the elements after prolonged practice. The magician who has attained the magical equilibrium in regards to the elements, who has equilibrated and ennobled his character, and who possesses the best virtues and highest ideals, will soon receive these powers. He will have within himself a feeling of firm belief, complete conviction and absolute certainty that will exclude all doubt.

The student, however, who has not worked conscientiously enough or who has skipped steps, omitted or neglected exercises, will experience certain doubts, and the influence of the element that controls him the most will not permit itself to be controlled.

The student should now appreciate why so much value is placed upon conscientiousness and perseverance above all when it comes to the exercises. While on the ascent, no gap should come into being; otherwise the student will remain behind, and it will be difficult to catch up and often under the most difficult conditions, because the obstacles are considerably greater at this point.

The student who is certain that he is in control of the elements will notice that he will easily succeed with the projections of the elements on all planes, whether it be outwardly or inwardly; to him it will appear like child’s play. Once the magician has reached this point he may proceed to transfer his powers over the elements into suitable rituals. The applicable rituals have been discussed in Step IV. In accordance with his own discretion, the magician forms a ritual by means of finger positions or hand motions into which he transfers the power. Due to his magical development, the magician will have enough intuition at his disposal to compose the appropriate ritual for the particular element. He provides the ritual with a word (formula) of his own choice and joins it with a particular sound which corresponds with the element. These rituals are entirely individual and purely personal; therefore it is almost impossible to make a mistake. Rituals that the magician has composed himself for these purposes should never be entrusted to anyone. Another person, when making use of these rituals, could attain the same success in the control of the elements as the magician who composed them; however, it would be at the expense of the magician’s energy. If a person who does not possess any magical maturity employs such rituals, such a person will do great harm to himself and also to those for whom the rituals were intended. Therefore, in this instance the magician should be especially careful and select rituals which he can make use of unnoticed even in large crowds, as for example, a ritual with a finger position that can be executed in one’s pocket. A true magician will consider this warning absolutely warranted.

Above all, the magician should endeavor to compose a ritual for the astral sphere with which he sets the effect of one element into motion and at the same time compose a second ritual with which he dissolves the power immediately, again in accordance with his wish. He should employ the same method for the three remaining elements, so that he creates through his own might eight rituals for the astral sphere and eight rituals for the material or physical production. Through continuous practice and extensive repetition these rituals become automatized; at this point it suffices only to execute the ritual, through which the element immediately becomes effective, depending on the purpose to be achieved. Whenever the magician wishes to dissolve the effect, it suffices to employ the second ritual, which he has composed for dissolution. This method can be perfected to such a degree through practice that it can be executed without any effort on the part of your will and without employing your imagination.

As I have already mentioned, the magician can achieve anything he wishes in the astral and material worlds through the effects of the elements. In order to reach this level of maturity he requires patience, perseverance and diligent practice to immerse himself therein. Even when the student develops more after the completion of the higher steps, he must continue to work on the control of the elements until he becomes a perfect master over them. Should he posses high ideals and strive only to do good and help humankind, then Divine Providence will bless him and will endow him with unthought-of abilities which will help him to attain great success.

Step VI:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body
Introduction

Having reached this step, a special schooling or training for the physical body is no longer necessary. But we will make practical use of the occult powers which the student has obtained during the course of the exercises, provided that all methods and exercises have been followed conscientiously and that these practices have become a habit. The student can achieve even greater results with the exercises which this book provides by immersing himself even more. It is not possible to describe all the practices of magic which the student can master, because it would easily fill the pages of another book. However, of the many practices I have selected a few of the most interesting ones.

The student has in the meantime achieved the maturity to succeed without any exceptions in the practice or exercises of the lower magic, especially when he follows noble and exalted ideals.

Conscious Creation of Elementals

Contrary to thoughts which inhabit the mental or spiritual sphere in their forms or shapes, elementals are entities with a certain degree of intelligence which are consciously created by a magician. These elementals are capable of performing particular tasks on the mental plane and can therefore be considered obedient servants of the magician. The magician can create a whole host of these servants depending upon his needs. In the creation of these elementals, which is also called elemental magic, the magician can achieve almost anything on the mental sphere, and it does not matter if it is his own sphere or a foreign one. Because of its great diversity, I will give only a few examples. Through an elemental, the magician can, at his discretion, influence the thoughts of another person, he can weaken or strengthen the mental or intellectual powers of a person, he can protect himself or other people from foreign or negative influences, and he can change friends into enemies and enemies into friends. In dealings or associations with other people, the magician can create a favorable atmosphere, and he can make any human spirit which is not developed and does not have a firm will subject to his own will. The businessman can increase his circle of customers, and there are also many other ways in which elementals can be of good service. The true magician will always keep the good, the noble and the altruistic motive in mind if he wants to ascend to higher and eventually to the highest levels of magical maturity. The creation of elementals is fairly simple. It is a matter of the magician’s imagination; however, the following rules have to be observed:

(1) The elemental has to be given a shape that corresponds to the wish which one wants to fulfill. The shape has to be created through intensive imagination.

(2) The shape, the so-called vessel, must be given a name, any name. Everything that exists, whether or not it has form, has a name; whatever does not have a name does not exist.

(3) The elemental’s task has to be impressed through the will and the power of the imagination and the order which it is given must contain the effect it should trigger. The instructions to the elemental are to be given in the form of an order and in the present tense, as described in the chapter dealing with the subconscious.

(4) Regardless of whether you are dealing with an elemental of a continuous or limited effect, the efficacy has to be impressed upon the elemental.

These four basic rules have to be implicitly observed if you want to work successfully with elementals. I will make the practice more understandable with the following practical example.

Let us assume that the magician intends to improve or strengthen someone’s memory or some other intellectual ability with the help of an elemental. This can be accomplished in the following manner: The magician imagines an immense universal ocean of light, and out of this light-substance he forms a large sphere of light. By means of the imagination he condenses this sphere of light more and more until it assumes a diameter of approximately twelve to twenty inches. By compressing this light, the sphere resembles the radiance of a sun. The magician then impregnates the light-sphere with the wish and the firm conviction that this sphere possesses the particular energy and ability to awaken, strengthen and improve the desired mental ability, such as memory, eloquence etc. in the person chosen by the magician. As soon as the magician has formed this sun, this sphere, he gives it an appropriate name, as for instance Lucis etc. Furthermore, he determines the time limit as to how long this sphere should remain and be effective in the mental sphere of the designated person, and that is accomplished in the following manner: “You are effective in the mental sphere of the designated person until this person is completely in possession of the desired ability and until this ability has become a habit.” Once the duration of time has been determined, the magician issues the order that the elemental is to return again and dissolve into the ocean of light immediately after it has fulfilled its task.

This is how the birth and death of an elemental is expressed magically; it is similar to how a human being’s or any other living being’s fate is determined.

Since an elemental knows neither time nor space, it is therefore directed to the mental or thought sphere of the designated person. The sending of an elemental occurs quite suddenly, as if you were severing a cord between yourself and the elemental. Immediately turn your attention towards other things and think no longer about the elemental you just created. The imaginary severing of the cord can also be accompanied by a farewell gesture; you may also use a certain gesture when you create the elemental. All this is of course at the discretion of the student, who at this level of development must have progressed so far that he has gained the ability, on account of the intuition he has developed, to initiate these and similar instructions all by himself. The less attached an elemental is to the magician, that is, the less the magician thinks about it, the more effective the elemental will be in the mental sphere of the person for whom it was created, because it can work independently in the particular mental sphere undisturbed by the thoughts of the magician. Once in a while it is advisable to charge the elemental anew, in order to give it a stronger power of expansion. This is accomplished in the following manner: The elemental is recalled from the mental sphere of the designated person by calling it by its name. It is made more dynamic through the renewed accumulation of light and then it is sent off again. Once the elemental has fulfilled its task, it dissolves of its own accord into the ocean of light. This example should give the magician enough information to serve as a guideline on how he should create elementals. The experiment which is described here is often used by initiates, in order to inspire and strengthen a student who has not reached this level.

Let us now discuss a different but somewhat related subject, which will familiarize us with the so-called larvae:

The difference between an elemental and a larva is that an elemental is consciously created by the magician, whereas larvae form themselves in the respective mental sphere involuntarily through severe emotional or psychic excitement, regardless of the particular kind of excitement. The stronger and more severe the excitement, the more mental substance a human being loses and the stronger, more condensed and more viable the larva becomes, especially when one and the same psychic excitement repeats itself often and regularly.

The involuntary formation of larvae in the mental sphere occurs to all human beings whether or not they are magically trained. It does not matter if they are young or old, if they are intelligent or not, or whether the person is knowledgeable about such matters or not. When the psychic excitement ceases and the person no longer pays any attention to the matter that caused the excitement, the larvae gradually fade away by themselves until they eventually dissolve and vanish completely. Therefore, you find in the mental sphere a continuous cycle of the birth and death of larvae caused by psychic excitement, and this is always at the expense of the human being’s mental substance. The cause of such psychic excitement can have many different reasons; usually fear, sorrow, shock, worry, hate, envy etc. are the originators. The shape that a larva assumes depends upon the cause of the psychic excitement and is always symbolic. Anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject of symbolism will have a clear idea of this. For example, a thought of love will always be symbolized in the shape of a heart, whereas lightning and arrows are symbols of thoughts of hate. In spite of the fact that larvae, these unwelcome mental inhabitants, cannot be seen by a normal human being, they do exist and a well-trained magician has the ability to perceive them on the mental plane. The mental substance of sensitive or easily excitable people separates much more easily, whether they are magically schooled or not; therefore the formation of larvae is easier and more intensive. People who are inclined that way harm themselves and the health of their nerve energy. Not only that, in a spiritual respect they even affect others who are easily influenced. All the various kinds of mass psychosis or hysteria have their origin in this principle. I do not have to describe in detail how effective such mass hysteria can be; certainly everybody has made his own observations and gathered his own experiences.

This leads to the conclusion that the larva becomes stronger the more a person returns to the source of the psychic excitement and the greater attention he pays to it. When a larva is highly condensed and the desire, the drive, for self-preservation becomes greater, it will try to expand its life span as much as it possibly can. It will therefore seize every opportunity to incite the spirit of that particular person in order to return the attention to the source of the excitement and to revive anew. Such a well-nourished larva can become a doom or catastrophe for one who is sensitive or easily excitable. And many mental disturbances, such as a persecution complex etc., are the result of larvae.

Many human beings live under the erroneous impression that they are being pursued or destroyed by a black magician, whereas in reality they have simply become pawns to their own fantasy, victims of their own larvae which they themselves have created. These people usually do not realize this until they have left their mortal shell. There are only a small percentage of people who are actually magically pursued. All we have to do is to think of the many innocent victims of our past that met with a terrible death through the Inquisition. There was of course a certain advantage for society in general that less and less importance and belief was placed on spiritual laws, due to changing times. But while people placed less belief in spiritual laws, they neglected to investigate the matter properly and did not examine the higher laws, in other words, they threw out the baby with the bath water.

These examples should again show the magician why so much emphasis was placed on the importance of introspection, thought control and mastery of thoughts right at the beginning of the practical part of this book. Should the magician, during his development, not gain the ability to have his thoughts under his will, he could unknowingly create larvae which might sooner or later cause his doom.

Furthermore, I will describe another group of entities of the mental sphere, called schemata. [8] The difference between a larva and a schema is that the larva, as the result of a single or repeated psychic excitement, unconsciously assumes a form in the mental sphere that coincides with the original motive, whereas a schema obtains a particular form which arises from the fantasy of a human being. The schema will be strengthened, enlivened and condensed through (so to speak) repeated evocation of the picture, regardless of the subject matter. It can become so strong, so effective, that it can make its influence known not only on the mental and astral planes but on the physical plane as well. With the help of two examples I will describe this subject in more detail:

An outstanding example is the so-called magical persecution complex which, in regards to schemata, I shall describe from two points of view. There are individuals who have by nature a piercing look or demonic facial features and, as a result, have the external appearance of a black magician, probably without possessing the slightest idea of spiritual science or magic. Now all that has to happen is that a person who is easily excitable, easily influenced or self-important should come into contact with a person of the type mentioned above, whether on a business or social basis; such a person will immediately feel an antipathy towards the person with the so-called demonic facial features. If, in addition, this so-called demonic looking person has, completely unbeknownst to himself, a peculiar demeanor, then the first thought which enters such a person’s mind is that he is dealing with a black magician. This gives that person enough reason not to think too kindly about the demonic looking person and this is already the first step towards self-influence. In due course this person will be subjected to little inconveniences of an everyday nature, and the causes of these events will not be properly examined, but instead simply attributed to the demonic looking person, whereas anyone else would consider them normal occurrences. Now the attentiveness becomes keener, and you begin to pay close attention to what occurs to you externally as well as internally and the picture of the demonic looking individual becomes constantly clearer to you. You feel that you are followed, that you are pursued. The eyes of the demonic looking person become more sparkling; he appears in your dreams; his image becomes more vivid in your mind and eventually even during the day you seem to see him and soon develop the feeling that you are being followed wherever you go. This picture can become so condensed through a strong imagination that it even becomes visible to other sensitive people. A person like that feels pursued and talks himself into almost anything, even the worst, whereby he constantly has the picture of the demonic looking person in front of his eyes and is searching for help, praying and doing everything possible to free himself of that influence. He may even suffer a nervous breakdown and eventually become mentally disturbed and finally end up committing suicide or being committed to a mental institution. The schema has achieved its goal or fulfilled its task. But how great is the shock when such a spirit realizes on the mental plane that he has committed a successful magical suicide. What a bitter disappointment! The demonic looking person, however, has no idea what happened; he was actually only the means to an end. The demonic looking person’s facial features, his demeanor, were only the form, the model upon which the person who felt he was pursued created this destructive entity, a schema as it is called, and then fell victim to his own creation. Such and similar sad examples happen more often than most people believe; with some they happen faster and more drastically, with others they occur more slowly, more insidiously and more cunningly. Should you dare to confront the one who feels persecuted with the truth, this person will not believe you under any circumstances, because a schema makes certain in a most ingenious way that his victim remains. Should Divine Providence lead a person who is pursued in this manner to a true magician, an initiate who is fully aware of the schema’s treacherous game, then despite the initiate’s ability he will have a difficult task in convincing the victim and leading him onto a different path and changing his thinking pattern. When the victim is completely under the control of the schema, the initiate has to be firm and at times even resort to drastic measures to restore that person’s equilibrium.

Now follows the second example, where the procedure is the same, but where the motive differs:

In this example we are dealing with erotic schemata: The birth (if the term “birth” in this instance should be used at all) of such an erotic schema can be caused by a face, the beautiful body of a living person or even a picture, a photo of a nude person, a pornographic drawing or photo, or something like this which titillates the sensuality, the sexual drive or desire of either a male or a female. When the one in love has no possibility of satisfying his personal yearning, the greater and more intense the desire becomes, and the stronger and more penetrating such a schema becomes, because its sole nourishment lies in these yearning thoughts. The more that particular person refuses to accept such an unsatisfactory love, the more penetrating such a schema becomes.

At first the schema will turn up in dreams and the victim will experience the most beautiful feelings of love. Later on it arouses sexual desires and the schema allows the victim to carry out sexual intercourse with it in a dream. The pollution that comes into being through this act helps the schema to become more condensed and to constantly exert more influence upon its victim, since the human sperm is concentrated vital energy which is absorbed by the schema as if it were a vampire. We are not discussing here the physical semen, but are solely concerned with the accumulated animalistic vital energy which is contained in the semen. The victim is swept off his feet and loses his will-power, and the schema gradually gains complete dominance over him. If destiny is not well disposed to enlighten such a person about these matters appropriately, and if a proper substitute or diversion is not found, then the schema will continuously take on more dangerous forms of activity. The person becomes confused; eventually he stops eating, his nerves become overwrought, and so on. The love-schema can condense itself through the unsatisfied passion of its victims to such a degree that it directly takes on physical form and seduces its victim to masturbation and other sexual wantonness.

Many thousands of such victims, on account of being unlucky in love and due to unsatisfied passions, have fallen victim to these schemata by committing suicide. This is vividly reminiscent of the true incidents with the incubi and succubi of The Middle Ages and the witch trials that were connected with them. Truly, a dangerous pleasure!

On account of these two examples the magician himself can observe the mode of action of these schemata. He can even form these schemata himself; however, he runs the risk that sooner or later he will be influenced and controlled by them. The magician knows about the procedure and what happens to the average human being. He also knows how to consciously produce schemata from the magical point of view, but he will not be led astray and will not practice this, but will always be mindful of the magical proverb: “Love is the law; but love is subject to the will.”

Now there is one more subject which requires an explanation, namely phantoms:

Phantoms are animated forms of one’s imagination of departed human beings. In order to avoid many errors, I will pay special attention to this subject so that everybody can separate the wheat from the chaff.

When a human being casts off his physical shell, he immediately finds himself in the fourth state of aggregation, usually called “the beyond.” It is not possible for a being to be active in our three-dimensional sphere without a mediating substance, just as a fish cannot live without water. The same applies to beings that have already departed into the beyond.

Through the imagination and remembering of the dead, whether that be praise, adoration, mourning etc., imaginary picture-forms of the dead are created and given life, which, when repeated often, have a fairly long life span. These picture-forms which are created by living human beings are called phantoms. These types of phantoms are the ones which make themselves known to the spiritualist, the necromancer and sorcerer etc. Goblins and ghosts are nothing but phantoms which nourish, condense and maintain themselves through the attentiveness of the survivors, as is the case with schemata. This can easily be determined when, at the same time but at different places, a being is summoned or conjured which then will appear at the same time in all those places through a so-called medium. This of course is nothing more than the actual phantom of a particular departed person, because phantoms can be created by the hundreds. However, it is regrettable that spiritualistic mediums consider these phantoms to be the person that really departed. It is rather sad that so much mischief, fraud and self-deceit is perpetrated through spiritualistic knowledge. That is the reason why you will find that a great leader or a general communicates through one medium, a great artist or a saint through another medium, while another medium contacts a pharaoh or even an angel. Because of its enormous self-deceit, it is therefore not surprising that this subject matter especially has so many enemies and scoffers. It is understandable that such a phantom has an enormous instinct for self-preservation, that it has a vampirical effect on the medium or on an entire circle of people, and in addition it can also become a calamity to the immediate surroundings.

That does not mean that a true magician who masters the fourth state of aggregation, the Akasha principle, does not have the ability to communicate with a departed human being or with a disincarnate intelligence. The practice of medial writing has already been discussed. Besides that, a magician has the ability to create a casing or form with the help of the imagination and transfer this form into the fourth state of aggregation and ask this true being he has wished for, or at his discretion even coerce it, to enter the form and to manifest externally. This practice is of course part of necromancy and evocational magic and has nothing to do with what is generally known as spiritualism. The true magician will only make use of this practice when it is absolutely necessary and he will not evoke a being from its sphere, because whatever a being from the fourth state of aggregation has to tell him or can accomplish in the physical or astral world, the magician himself can achieve through his own maturity.

Summary of Exercises of Step VI

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

(1) Meditation on your own spirit.

(2) Becoming conscious of the senses in the spirit.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Preparation to master the Akasha principle.

(2) Conscious calling forth of states of trance by means of the Akasha.

(3) Mastering the elements from the Akasha principle through an individual ritual.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(1) Conscious creation of entities:

(a) Elementals

(b) Larvae

(c) Schemata

(d) Phantoms

End of Step VI

Step VII:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

In the sixth step, the student learned how to be conscious of his own spirit, how to act consciously in the physical body as a spirit, and also how to make conscious use of the senses.

In this step the student will learn how to consciously pursue and make use of the qualities of the spirit or mental body. But as always, and this applies here as well, the analogy of the elements has to be taken into consideration. As mentioned before, the Fire element can be transformed into light and, vice versa, light into the element of Fire. Without light there could be no color reception of the eye, and therefore without light we could not make use of our eyes. This leads to the conclusion that the sense of sight is analogous to the Fire element.

In the spirit, the Fire element has as its specific attributes the will and the sense of sight.

In the spirit, the Air element has as its specific attributes the intellect with all its aspects and the sense of hearing.

In the spirit, the Water element expresses its specific attributes in feelings or in life.

In the spirit, the three elemental principles, Fire, Air and Water together, form the Earth principle, which expresses itself in the specific attribute of consciousness.

The Akasha principle exerts itself in its simplest form in the conscience.

The importance of this analogy will become immediately clear to the magician, provided that he has progressed to the level where he has achieved magical equilibrium in the astral body through the previous introspection exercises. The next task that the magician has to accomplish is to analyze his spirit to determine which element is predominant.

For those who possess a truly strong will (which should not be confused with stubbornness), it stands to reason that Fire is the predominant element.

When the intellect with all its aspects is predominant in the magician’s spirit, it can be concluded that the Air element prevails.

Should the magician be a sensitive or emotional human being, then the Water element is predominant.

If the magician has a weak memory, so that his consciousness is influenced from many different directions, you can be certain that the Earth element is predominant.

The classification of the elements serves to establish their effectiveness in the spirit and to organize their development in such a way that the weaker elements are brought into equilibrium by the appropriate concentration exercises and deep meditation.

The magician cannot allow the Fire principle, or the Air, Water or Earth principles to predominate, and he must understand how to arrange his exercises in such a manner that the intensity of his work equilibrates the elements. I will clarify this matter in more detail with a few examples:

Let us assume that the magician has a highly developed intellect, but a weak will which is not commensurate with the maturity of his intellect. In such a case the magician must endeavor to strengthen the will with the appropriate concentration exercises which will allow the Fire principle to come forth in the spirit. Above all, he should choose concentration exercises which develop the eyes, exercises with an emphasis on the optical imagination, since the eyes correspond to the Fire element, as has been mentioned repeatedly.

Should the magician, however, have a strong will and a weak intellect, then this example will lead to the conclusion that, during the imagination exercises, the greatest attention should be paid to the sense of hearing. The kind of concentration and meditation exercises that must be chosen are those which occupy the ear fully.

If the magician establishes that he possesses a strong will and a superior intellect but his emotions (sensitivity) are somewhat lacking, then he must make his spirit more sensitive. This can be accomplished with the kind of imagination and meditation exercises that have a strong effect upon the sense of feeling.

Should the magician become aware that both his astral and mental body have a preponderance towards the Earth element, that his thoughts, for example, appear only slowly in his spirit (mind) and that he feels melancholy, then this is an indication that the Earth element is predominant and that he must above all develop the consciousness through the appropriate exercises.

In respect to the elements, the magician must develop a completely harmonious spirit and choose exercises which correspond with both the elements and the senses, so that he will evenly heighten and develop the will, the Fire, the intellect, the Air, the feelings, the Water and the consciousness, the Earth.

The following chart, which is self-explanatory, describes this in detail:

Elements

Fire

Air

Water

Earth

Akasha

Senses

Eyes

Ears

Perception

Taste, Smell

All the aforementioned senses together

Fundamental attributes of the spirit

Will

Intellect

Feelings

Consciousness

Conscience

Exercises in concentration and meditation

Optical

Acoustic

Intuitive

Expanding the consciousness

Realizing the “now,” the moment, the present

The Akasha principle develops by itself as a result of the concentration exercises; therefore it is not necessary to go into detail about it, nor is it necessary to mention in detail the various concentration and meditation exercises. The student himself can arrange these exercises in accordance with the specific attributes of the elements that are predominant within him. Should he have a weak will, his concentration exercise shall be imagining objects, pictures etc. The student has already practiced these exercises in the second step of this course of Hermetics. The above harmonic chart shall be a guide, a compass in order to recognize which element is predominant and the kind of exercises which have to be pursued more intensively. The Akasha principle will reveal itself accordingly as the result or success of this Hermetic classification.

Step VII:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

In Step VII we shall deal with a special subject, one which pertains to the development of the astral senses as they concern the elements. At any rate, all the exercises that have been cited so far in the previous steps will develop, animate and train the astral senses of the magician. In spite of that, extraordinary training is required in instances where the student has a limited aptitude as far as some of his abilities are concerned, because every human being is differently inclined. Therefore it is appropriate to allude here to the exercises with whose help the magician may easily and expeditiously develop the senses of the astral body.

In the Magical Schooling of the Spirit section of Step VI, the student learned to become conscious of his spirit and to act as a spirit through the astral body as well as through the physical body. Following this, I will deal with one of the most interesting aspects, namely clairvoyance. Many books have been published on this subject, but among all those that have come into my hands, not one of them may be considered to be of more than limited practical benefit to the magician. It is therefore of the utmost importance to deal with the subject of clairvoyance in detail.

In common parlance, clairvoyance is called “second sight.” It is also understood as seeing beyond time and space, whether into the past, the present or the future, or seeing a departed person. Only few authors have described this ability psychologically or approached it from another point of view. Hence it shall be another task of ours to subject clairvoyance to a thorough study. Above all, the magician will become cognizant of the fact that there are several kinds of clairvoyance.

The first kind of clairvoyance is inborn ability. This comes to pass when it is bestowed upon a person in the invisible world or when he has brought it with him into his present existence from previous incarnations. This is the best kind of clairvoyance, although only a few can enjoy this. They are born clairvoyant, and they have developed this ability to such a degree that they can immediately make practical use of it without much effort on their part.

The second kind of clairvoyance expresses itself as the result of an involuntary displacement of the elements and appears in the spirit by itself. Therefore it has to be regarded as a pathological appearance or manifestation. Furthermore, an ailment, a shock or an emotional upset can also bring forth clairvoyance. This usually manifests itself in people who have lost their normal equilibrium through a stroke or apoplexy, a nervous breakdown, or through a physical, psychic or spiritual decline. This is accompanied by a kind of clairvoyance either distinct or not so distinct, clear or not so clear. However, for the practicing magician this kind of clairvoyance is unwanted, since it will sooner or later lead to a complete breakdown, and not only will this ability be completely lost, but it will also be detrimental to the person’s health and may even lead to an untimely death. These kinds of clairvoyants are in a deplorable state and should be pitied, even when their clairvoyant successes are considered phenomenal. People belonging to this same category are those who have received the ability of clairvoyance through a possible mediumistic aptitude but have called it forth through an entity. This kind of clairvoyance is also not recommended for the practicing magician, because these people usually end up mentally ill. Many who are now patients in mental institutions are there because they occupied themselves with the subject of spiritism without having any dependable guidance; they owe their hopeless condition to this endeavor, regardless of whether their motive to study this subject was serious or not, or mere curiosity, or if there were other reasons.

There is also another kind of clairvoyance that is conjured up which belongs to the above category, and that is the calling forth of this ability by force with the help of narcotics or hallucinatory drugs such as opium, hashish, mescaline (peyote), soma (Asclepias acida) and other kinds of narcotics. To the practicing magician these dangerous opiates will certainly not be of interest, because in most instances they lead to addiction and they paralyze fundamental moral and spiritual principles, the will, and eventually the nervous energies, which obviously has its detrimental effect on one’s health and development. There are millions of people in the Orient as well as in the Occident, as well as in the rest of the civilized world, who are afflicted with this kind of narcotic drug addiction.

An immature magician may of course explore these possibilities to assure himself in one way or another of the existence of clairvoyance or any other supernatural phenomena, but usually it does not end with simple conviction, and instead becomes a habit, and that is the crux of the matter; then such magicians find themselves in the same condition as all the others who are afflicted with this addiction. And that is why I do not describe any method in this book which could lead the magician to experiment with the aforementioned opiates. Instead, as in the past and in everything that follows, I will only describe completely harmless methods wherein clairvoyance will be the automatic result of one’s spiritual maturity and therefore an accompaniment of a higher development.

Another kind of clairvoyance is the one which is caused through the weakening or the temporary paralysis of a sensory organ; in the case of clairvoyance, it is the eyes. Most books that teach clairvoyance by gazing upon an object, a magic mirror, a crystal ball or precious stones are of some value. However, they are not suitable for everyone. These aids for the development of clairvoyance are only useful in the hands of a trained magician, but clairvoyance should not be called forth by influencing the optic nerve, but should merely serve as an aid to an eye that is already consciously trained. From a magical point of view there is not one single object, no matter how much it is praised and precisely built, which would be suited to bring about the gift of clairvoyance. The ability of clairvoyance itself depends upon (1) the inclination or aptitude of the magician, and (2) the psychic or astral development and maturity of the respective magician.

In another chapter where I describe the production of fluid condensers, therein are also contained instructions on producing magic mirrors and other aids.

When studying, the magician should be aware that all the objects mentioned here are merely aids and not the factor itself which brings about the desired result, namely true clairvoyance.

Finally I shall describe the last kind of clairvoyance, which is the result of proper magical development and which will occur as an accompaniment which is called forth through the systematic development of the senses, in this particular case the clairvoyant eye. I have made a decision as far as this work is concerned to disclose a secret magical method which so far has not been mentioned in any book, but which, from the Hermetic point of view as well as from the laws of analogy of the elements, is a practical and useful method.

Following, you will find the practice for the development of the astral senses.

Magical Clairvoyance

Before I describe the actual exercise, I should mention here that we are dealing with the aspect of light. Since we are already familiar with the fact that light is an aspect of Fire and therefore analogous to the eyes and the will, when practicing this exercise the imagination of light has to be so intense that you must imagine the light visibly in order to achieve the desired success.

Take up your usual asana posture. Imagine that you are absorbing the universal light, which is identical to our sunlight in radiance and form, from the universe into your physical body, either by inhaling through the lungs and pores or by merely absorbing it through the imagination. When you practice this exercise you must consider your body to be a hollow space that is filled with the universal radiant white light. Then, with the power of your concentration, impregnate this light in your body with the attribute of clairvoyance. In other words, imagine that the light penetrates everything, sees everything and sees through everything. Neither space nor time presents an obstacle to this light. You must be so completely convinced of the attribute of the light that it leaves no room for even the slightest doubt. Should you be a religious person, it will be an easy task to believe that this universal light is a part of God, Who is in possession of all the attributes described here. Once you have absorbed the light into your body in this manner with the aforementioned attributes and you feel its tension internally and its penetrating power, then accumulate the light with the help of your imagination from the feet and hands towards the head, condensing the light to such a degree that it encompasses both your eyeballs. However, if you prefer, you can first fill one eye and then the other with the accumulated light, following the above procedure.

There are magicians who enliven and develop only one eye clairvoyantly and have the other eye remain free and undeveloped. It is left up to the student as to whether he wishes to follow the aforementioned example. However, I am of the opinion that it is more advantageous to develop both eyes clairvoyantly.

Once you have completed accumulating the light in your eyeballs, then imagine that your eyes now possess all the attributes which were concentrated into the light. The student should remain with this exercise for at least ten minutes. Once you have attained the inner certainty that your eye or eyes, which have been imaginatively filled with the universal light, possess the attribute of this light, then with the aid of the imagination dissolve the light either directly from your eyes into the universal ocean of light or let it enter into your body in its original form and dissolve from there into the universal light. Both methods can be employed; one is as effective as the other, and the results are identical.

It is, however, important that the eyes become normally receptive again after the light has been discharged from them. The reason for this is that a magician’s astrally developed eyes must not become so sensitive that he is no longer able to distinguish what the normal eye perceives from what the clairvoyant eye perceives. If the magician neglects to dissolve the condensed light completely, it could happen that his eyes remain clairvoyant and he will hardly be able to distinguish what is material and what is spiritual. He must therefore have his clairvoyance under his control and only make use of it when he deems it to be worthwhile. The magician will gain an outstanding proficiency therein when this exercise is repeated frequently, and will be able to prepare his clairvoyant eyes, the light eyes, within a few moments and have them functioning. When the eyes are prepared in this manner, they are able to see everything the magician wants to see; whether his physical eyes are open or closed, whether he gazes into a crystal or glass ball, a highly polished piece of furniture or a magic mirror, his clairvoyant eyes will see everything. However, the quality of whatever he chooses to see depends upon the purity of his character.

Should you wish to achieve faster results in clairvoyance, there is an excellent herbal remedy which is also effective for your physical eyes. Therefore it will benefit those people with poor eyesight and other ailments of the eyes from both a magical point of view and also as regards health. For the preparation of a magical water for the eyes, which belongs to the Fire element, the following are the necessary ingredients:

(1) A large bottle of distilled water. (Available in health food stores, drugstores, grocery stores.)

(2) Chamomile flowers (dried or fresh).

(3) Eyebright (Herba Euphrasia) dried or fresh.

(4) 7 to 9 thin willow or hazel twigs; you should have no problem finding either one of these twigs in nature. The leaves have to be removed. Cut the twigs so that they are of uniform length, then tie them together with a string in several places. Then dry them in a warm place next to an oven, or better yet in the sun or in the dry air.

(5) You will also need some filter paper (or clean linen or cotton cloth) and a funnel.

Once you have obtained all these ingredients, you can begin with the preparation of the actual eye water. Pour ¼ liter distilled water (aqua destillata) into a clean container, [9] bring it to a boil, and add 2 teaspoons of chamomile flowers and 1 teaspoon of eyebright herb. Let it boil for a few more seconds, then remove it from the stove and cover the pot with a lid. Steep for approximately ten minutes. Then filter this infusion and pour it into another clean container and, once this infusion has cooled off, take the bundle of willow or hazel twigs and ignite them at one end until they are aflame. Then douse the burning end into the prepared infusion. This procedure transfers the physical element of Fire into the infusion, which at this point can be considered to be a fluid condenser. I will explain this in more detail in another chapter. This liquid condenser has to be filtered again and poured into a clean container; should you pour it into a bottle you may use a funnel and place the paper filter into the funnel. This filtration is necessary to remove any possible impurities such as splinters, charcoal particles and ashes caused by dousing the burning twigs into the infusion. The liquid is then poured into a bowl or in a saucer. Then place it right in front of you.

Inhale the Fire element through the lungs or pores, or through both simultaneously, into your body and fill your entire body with this element. This projection does not require that you direct particular attention to the intensity of warmth, which you will notice anyhow. Instead, direct your attention to the Fire element, which becomes the carrier of the wish which you transfer into the Fire element with the power of your imagination. Once you have completed this as you did when you executed the exercise with the accumulation of the light and have your wish, namely to strengthen your physical eyes and to develop your astral eyes, then project the Fire element either through the solar plexus or through one of your hands or by exhaling into the liquid. Should you have the feeling that one projection is not sufficient, repeat the entire exercise several times, but not more than seven or nine times. Through this procedure the condenser has actually become a strong and effective essence which not only favorably affects the physical eyesight but also strengthens, enlivens and develops the astral senses. Keep this fluid condenser in a cool place in a clean, well-sealed bottle. This eye water can be used to improve poor eyesight or to treat the eyes for magical purposes. This fluid condenser can be used without hesitation for existing poor eyesight by just administering a few drops into each eye, since the combination of the two herbs is eye-strengthening and anti-inflammatory. However for the practice of magic, that is for the development of the astral senses, it is sufficient to wrap a swab of cotton in gauze, like a tampon or use a clean piece of linen. The linen is moistened with the fluid condenser and applied to the eyes as a compress during the exercise in order to enliven the eyes with light.

Later, when the astral eyes are sufficiently developed, it will not be necessary to apply the compresses containing the fluid condenser to the eyes, as the light accumulation in the eyeballs will suffice. After frequent repetition, when the physical eyes are already developed through these light-exercises, all that has to be done is to direct one’s attention upon the astral eyes and express the wish to see with that eye or eyes. Besides applying the compresses for the duration of the exercise, you could also apply them at bedtime; in this manner they will be automatically effective during the night. But this procedure will also have a disadvantage; due to the penetration of the Fire element on account of the repeated use of the compress, the eyes and eyelids will become oversensitive. It would therefore be much more advantageous to apply the compresses only for the duration of the exercises. During the exercises the compresses should be kept in place by a bandana, to prevent them from moving or falling off. This magical operation is not to be undertaken in the presence of other people. Great care should be taken that the compress and the essence, which will be effective for quite some time, do not have to be renewed from one exercise to the next and do not fall into the hands of any other person, even members of your own family.

If the student has worked his way through all the previous steps faithfully and conscientiously, he will be able to develop his clairvoyant eye or eyes in a completely harmless manner within a few months with the aforementioned recommended method. Should he be blessed with a special aptitude he may even succeed within a few weeks. He will also have acquired the ability to complete all future tasks and operations that are still ahead of him in regards to magical knowledge, and he will also be able to pursue them practically. It would be an impossibility to list every single success achieved by the aforementioned clairvoyance exercise methods since they are too manifold and phenomenal. Therefore it is left to the magician’s discretion as to the degree of penetration he wants to develop with his astral eye or eyes. In any case the magician should be forewarned not to boast about his newly acquired abilities or, what is even more serious, to misuse these abilities to the detriment of his fellow man. These abilities must only be used for the benefit of humankind. Time and space are no longer an obstacle for the magician and as far as his clairvoyant eye is concerned there is nothing which remains hidden or concealed to him.

Magical Development of Astral Clairaudience

The development of astral clairaudience serves almost the same purpose as clairvoyance. Astral clairaudience has its foundation in the ability to perceive voices with your sense of hearing, even at the greatest distances, and at the same time to understand the language of every being. In the beginning this ability expresses itself in the form of thinking aloud, which comes from the inside, either from the area of the heart or the solar plexus.

After becoming accustomed to this practice and exercising it for an extended period of time, astral clairaudience develops to such perfection that you perceive everything clearly with your supernormal sense of hearing, similar to carrying on a conversation with a person. Every magician must learn to call even this ability his own, because in magic it would be difficult to progress without it.

It is therefore absolutely necessary to place as much value upon astral clairaudience as upon astral clairvoyance, and the required exercises should not be neglected under any circumstances. And what has been said about having the aptitude for astral clairvoyance, as well as about the conditions which are called forth through pathological occurrences, applies also to clairaudience and clairsentience. The subject of clairsentience will follow this chapter.

Let us now turn to the practice of clairaudience: For this exercise a fluid condenser and a wad of cotton are required. From the cotton, prepare wads big enough in size to fit into the cavity of the ear. Moisten the cotton wads slightly with the following fluid condenser and place them both in front of you. This is similar to the procedure described for the development of the astral eyes, only in this instance it is the Air element that is loaded into the body by inhaling it through the lungs and pores. The entire body is filled with air like a balloon. Imagine that this Air principle calls forth the ability of clairaudience in your astral and physical body. Once you have attained the inner certainty that the Air element is sufficiently impregnated with your wish and your imagination, proceed to project the thus prepared Air element through the solar plexus or through your hands or by exhaling it into the two cotton wads. This is accomplished by first filling your entire body with the Air element and then condensing it to such a degree that it is no bigger in size than the two cotton wads. You can magically impregnate both cotton wads at once or you can fill one after the other with the total amount of Air element. The success of this experiment depends mainly upon the firm conviction and firm belief that this ability will develop quickly.

The fluid condenser required for this exercise is a strong decoction of chamomile. The preparation is as follows:

Take 5 ounces of distilled water and add 2 heaping tablespoons of chamomile flowers; boil for a few minutes, then filter this decoction, bottle it, and keep it in a cool place to prevent it from becoming moldy. A moldy fluid condenser is still effective, but it is not sanitary.

Once you have charged the two cotton wads one or more times with the Air element, whether all at once or separately, then place one of these cotton wads in each ear in the same manner as an earplug, so that the auditory canal is completely plugged. Through the imagination, introduce the Akasha principle to the entire head and transfer yourself with your consciousness into the region of the ears and imagine that you have the ability of absolute clairaudience. Next imagine that the Akasha which you introduced into your ears is immediately calling forth the gift of absolute clairaudience. Once you have meditated and concentrated in this respect for a longer period of time, dissolve the Akasha principle again into the universal Akasha, remove the cotton wads from your ears, and keep them in a safe place so that no one else has access to them. However, should it happen that in spite of all precautions these cotton wads come into the hands of another person, you will have to prepare new ones. You must also dissolve the accumulated Air element from the cotton wads again through the imagination. Should you have ample time, it would be more advantageous to prepare new cotton wads for every exercise and newly charge them each time.

Should you wish to make use of astral hearing during one of your exercises, all you need to do is direct the Akasha principle to the largest hollow (concha) of your ears and into the auditory canals (acoustic meatus) of both ears. When you have practiced these exercises for a long period of time, you will be able to use clairaudience for your own purposes the moment you direct the Akasha principle charged with the wish of clairaudience into your auditory canals. However, the moment you no longer require this ability, endeavor to return the Akasha principle in its original form back to the universal Akasha. Mental and astral hearing is influenced and developed through the introduction of the Akasha principle into the auditory canals, whereas physical clairaudience is achieved through the concentrated Air element. Whoever meditates deeply on this subject will immediately find the relationship and can compare the procedure with the radio, where the ether, which is the Akasha principle of matter, and the air as the transmitter of sound waves play their part.

Development of Astral Clairsentience

Before we begin with the development of astral clairsentience, take your magical diary into your hands and transfer yourself to the time when you occupied yourself in detail with introspection and, of course, with your diverse positive and negative characteristics. At that time we ascertained, with the help of the magic mirror, which particular elemental attributes were predominant within us. How important the introspection was at that time is clearly shown by the dominance of the particular elements pointing to our astral center of sentience.

When the Fire element is dominant, then the center of sentience is the head, more precisely the forehead.

When the Air element is dominant, then the center of sentience is the heart.

When the Water element is dominant, then the center of sentience is the solar plexus.

When the Earth element is dominant, the centers of sentience are the hands or thighs.

Once we have established our astral center of sentience in this manner, we may begin with the practice:

We have to follow the same sequence as we did when we developed the other two senses. For this exercise we require either a piece of flannel, linen, or a cotton wad moistened slightly with a fluid condenser. The fluid condenser for this purpose can again be a strong chamomile decoction. This procedure requires you to load your body with the Water element through lung and pore breathing and at the same time with the wish that this element calls forth clairsentience within you. By clairsentience we understand the ability to feel and sense all the phenomena and energies that occur in the elements and in the Akasha. The ability of psychometry also belongs to this category, as does the perception of any object, as for example a letter, etc., regarding its past, present and future. Even the ability to materialize any thought or being, no matter if it is a self-created being or one that already exists in the Akasha, belongs to this category. There are also other abilities which are connected with sentience and with feelings and which are considered to be part of clairsentience; even intuition has its origin in clairsentience. These few examples should suffice to explain the ability of clairsentience. Now follows the actual practice:

As soon as you have accumulated the Water element in the whole body through pore and lung breathing, load the Water element with the ability of clairsentience through intense imagination. You must be completely convinced that the impregnation is actually powerful enough to awaken this ability in your astral body. Then, with the help of the imagination, project the Water element out of your body either through the solar plexus, the forehead, the hands or through exhalation, and accumulate it in the piece of flannel or linen or in the cotton wad which was moistened earlier with the fluid condenser. You can repeat loading the flannel, linen or cotton, but not more than seven or nine times. This exercise is not to be practiced in the usual asana posture; instead, make yourself comfortable on a sofa or a bed, circumstances permitting, otherwise use the floor. It is a prerequisite that you lie flat on your back, with the head slightly raised, in other words, the head should be higher than the body. For the development of astral clairsentience the Water element is not used directly, but only the attractive power of the water. Before you begin with your exercise, place the cloth or cotton moistened with the fluid condenser on the predetermined center of sentience. Begin this exercise by closing your eyes. Then imagine that your entire body is almost floating in the universal Water element, similar to being in the center of the surface of an infinite ocean. All you feel is water, water, water. Be attentive, because during this exercise the tendency to fall asleep is great. In spite of being aware of this, the possibility exists that you will fall asleep. Should this occur, then you have to make up your mind that the next time you will not fall victim to sleep, because should this become a habit you will have great difficulties staying awake during your exercises.

While practicing the aforementioned exercise, transfer your consciousness into the center of sentience and think that the magnetic ability of the water contained within you enlivens the finest particles of your center of sentience and calls forth astral clairsentience. You must be able to imagine the magnetic attractive forces of the water so intensively that it becomes an irrefutable reality. Once you are firmly convinced that, through extended meditations, you have sufficiently enlivened the center of sentience, then gradually eliminate the imagination of the universal water and dissolve the Water element contained within you into the universal element again. Remove the cloth or cotton and return the Water element contained therein back into the universal element, which concludes this exercise. Should you wish to make practical use of the center of sentience, all that is required is to transfer your consciousness into that center and this ability is immediately set in motion.

There is one more thing which you should consider: It is appropriate for the development of the astral senses of sight, hearing and sentience to practice daily until they are perfectly developed, even if you can only dedicate little time to these exercises. You can be certain that you will soon meet with success. At this time we shall refrain from the development of the other senses because they are not that important for the magician’s practical use. It is left to the student’s discretion to devise his own exercises for the development of the remaining senses using the aforementioned exercise methods as an example.

The abilities that you acquire through the astral development of the senses are so far-reaching that they require no further explanation. The joy which is derived from the success of these exercises can be compared to a person who has been robbed of his eyesight for many years and suddenly regains it again.

Step VII:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

Once the magician masters the outward projection of the elements and understands how to project or call forth any element from himself and directly from the universe, then he also has the ability to create elementaries for himself and for others at his own discretion and to make use of them. He will be able to create entities that will serve him faithfully, not only on the mental plane but also on the astral and physical planes, depending on how the magician forms these elementaries or, better, how he condenses them mentally, astrally or physically.

The conscious creation of thought forms or elementals was discussed and explained in detail in a previous chapter. The difference between an elemental and an elementary is that an elemental is formed on the basis of a conscious thought form through the imagination and the will-power of the magician, and it is mainly effective, for him and for others, on the mental or thought plane. By comparison, an elementary is far more penetrating and stable in its effect, since it is created from one or more elements. The actual act of procreation or creation of an elementary, as well as the actual procedure by which the magician must abide, will be explained in detail by practical examples in this chapter. The intuition the magician has acquired through the exercises will provide him with the necessary help to devise his own exercises depending on the purpose he pursues in each case. The magician, in accordance with his ethical development, will certainly not dare to create elementaries for evil purposes, because he would be the target of severe retaliation by the invisible world. Through the knowledge of creating elementaries, the magician is given a tremendously powerful key which enables him to achieve everything on the mental, astral and material planes.

The magician must be constantly aware that the responsibility for his deeds is not carried by the elementary he created, but by him alone. In the hands of the magician, the elementaries are obedient instruments who blindly follow his will and fulfill his every wish, regardless of whether the intentions are good or evil.

You cannot expect a baker to do a carpenter’s work, nor can you expect an elementary that was created for a particular purpose to fulfill a task for which it was not created. For this reason, you must never give an elementary being two or more assignments, because under those circumstances he will not perform either task in a proper or reliable manner. Furthermore, always take the analogy of the elements into consideration. It would be wrong and unlawful for the magician to create an elementary for himself that would not be in accordance with the analogy of the elements. In regards to the form of the elementary, there are no set limits to the magician’s imagination; the choice of form is left to his discretion and intuition. However, avoid selecting a form which resembles living or departed human beings whom you have known or with whom you are still in contact, through which one could easily come into the sphere of the mental or astral body of that particular person and cause great harm to him or her. Besides that, the magician would subject himself to danger, because, on account of its inherent intelligence, the elementary may turn against the magician in an unguarded moment and cause him great harm. An elementary has the uncanny ability to vampirize the magician or influence him indirectly in his sleep, and it can cause many other problems. Every magician should take this warning quite seriously.

Furthermore, the elementary has to be given a name the moment it is created. Do not choose a common name. The mere mention of the elementary’s name will bring it immediately into the magician’s vicinity. Should you have several elementaries, make a record of their names lest you forget them. Do not entrust these names to any other person, because any other skillful magician could take possession of these elementaries and easily manipulate them.

The energy and effectiveness of an elementary depends upon its charge. The stronger the magician’s will, the greater the outward projection of the elements. An elementary which is charged to such a degree is all the more penetrating and effective. At times an elementary can be condensed to such a degree that it becomes visible even to the untrained physical eye. A magician can, according to his needs, have such an elementary work visibly or invisibly. The life span of an elementary depends upon the purpose for which it was created, which must always be determined right at the beginning of the act of creation. Once the elementary has achieved its purpose, the magician must dissolve it through the imagination into its original element. Never fail to perform this dissolution process, because after it has completed its task an elementary becomes easily independent as the result of its instinct for self-preservation. If at that point the magician forgets to dissolve the elementary, it will withdraw itself from the magician’s control and becomes a vampire. The magician is responsible for all the karmic consequences that such a vampire causes. When working with elementaries, great caution and conscientiousness must always be exercised. Many magicians determine the manner of dissolution of the elementary immediately at the time of creation. For example, they destroy or burn the name of the elementary by using a certain ritual or sign, or by making a certain gesture or using a particular predetermined formula. Since all this is a completely individual matter, it remains solely the choice of the magician. Special attention must be given to the act of dissolution. If the magician has the act of dissolution at his disposal at all times, he is always in a position to coerce the elementary to absolute obedience by threatening it with immediate dissolution. The magician must impress upon himself that he has absolute power to compel the elementaries to unconditional obedience and to control them completely. This above all is absolutely necessary if he does not want to become a puppet to his own creations. The better, the more faithfully and the more reliably an elementary serves him, the more the magician will gain experience. The more trusting the elementary becomes, the less inclined to dissolve it the magician becomes. The magician must be in control at all times and must never be overcome by such feelings; otherwise he could become dependent upon his own beings. Therefore it would be appropriate to give an elementary only a short life span; new elementaries can be created for the same purpose whenever the need arises. This is not to say that a new elementary should be created every week for the same purpose, but it would be a great disadvantage to keep the same elementary for years for one and the same objective.

When a magician creates elementaries for his own use, they should be formed from the projection of the elements through his body, whereas the elementaries he creates for other people should be formed through the projection of the elements directly from the universe. The magician is well aware that an invisible connection exists between himself and every elementary, which could be exploited if he were to create elementaries for other people by projection through his own body. Any magician should be able to figure out why this is so.

Furthermore, the location and place of safekeeping for the elementary must be discussed. In the Orient, elementaries are called yidams, and they are banished into a so-called kylichor where they are kept there for safekeeping. A kylichor is a diagram built of stone that is in accordance with the yidam, and no stranger is allowed access to this place.

A trained magician does not require such separate places; instead he keeps the elementary in a certain place in the wall, since he is well aware of the fact that an elementary is not subject to time nor does it require a particular space. An elementary will feel just as well in a wall as if it were housed in an open room. It is much more advantageous to keep the elementary safe in a wall or a larger solid object because you should avoid banishing it in an area where human beings are constantly present. Should it happen that a person occupies the same area as an elementary, he will be overcome with a certain restlessness; he may be plagued by other calamities as well.

At the very inception of the act of creation, the magician determines how the elementary should be called upon, either by calling it by its name in a whispered voice or inside one’s thoughts, or through a movement of the hand, a gesture or ritual. This remains the individual preference of the magician.

Before I begin with the description of the practice, the actual act of creation, I should like to point out that the magician should not limit himself solely to this one practice, since it is only a small part of the practice of magic and a hint as to how he should employ his energies. The magician should not specialize only in these methods; on the contrary, once he masters these methods there are many other possibilities available to him. Only in the beginning should this part of magic be pursued practically. Therefore it is left to the discretion of the magician, in accordance with his own wishes, to help himself or to help others, which is actually the purpose of this subject.

The Act of Creation

The act of creating an elementary is based on four fundamental methods:

(1) The projection of one element into a finished form, no matter whether this form is mental, astral or physical.

(2) The projection of several elements into a finished form, which may also be either mental, astral or physical.

(3) The projection of one element without any direct form, but which will be formed by the particular element.

(4) The projection of several elements, which will form themselves accordingly in the order of sequence.

I will explain all four methods in the form of practical examples.

Method 1

Place the object, form or shape you want to give to the elementary in front of you. For example, you can choose a sphere made out of wood or glass, which can be either solid or hollow on the inside. Even a larger rubber ball will serve the purpose. Through the powers of your imagination, draw the desired element from out of the universe and imagine it into the form you have chosen so that the chosen object is completely filled with the element, whether it be a rubber ball, glass or wooden sphere or whatever. Deal with every element you wish to work with in the same manner, the Akasha being the exception. Always select the element that corresponds with your wish or idea. Repeat this projection several times. You must have the feeling in your imagination that more and more substance of the particular element is forming, accumulating and compressing. Once you are certain that the accumulation of the element has reached the point that you can realize your wish, then you impregnate the completed elementary with the concentrated wish, the purpose that the elementary should serve. Furthermore, give the elementary a name, because it cannot exist without a name. At the same time, determine the life span during which it must accomplish its task.

Assuming that you have chosen the Fire element, it becomes a Fire elementary, and therefore you have a fiery sphere. If the elementary is created from the Water element, then the sphere will appear like a glass sphere. If the elementary is created from the Air element, then the sphere will have a bluish gleam. And if the elementary is created from the Earth element, it will have the color of a lump of clay.

Provided that you have followed all the instructions, withdraw the elementary from the object and dispatch it on its intended mission. But before you dispatch it, order it to return immediately into the spherical object once it has completed its task. This will give you the ability to control and supervise the elementary as to whether it has completed its task by using a sidereal pendulum and holding it close to the particular sphere. If, after it has completed its task, the elementary has returned into its original form (for example the rubber ball or sphere), the pendulum will rotate or oscillate, since the elementary has strong magnetic and electrical emanations. This test with the pendulum is important, because it gives the magician the opportunity to ascertain whether the elementary has accomplished its given task. Once you have acquired the necessary maturity, you will be able to follow the elementary clairvoyantly and observe it at work. Should the pendulum not rotate or oscillate, it is proof that the elementary is still working, i.e. that it has not completed its assignment.

When you dispatch an elementary on its mission, you have to be aware that it is not limited by time or space; it is not subject to any barriers and, if necessary, it can dart around the world in a flash. You must be firmly convinced that the elementary will carry out your will and your orders in the time stipulated. Not the slightest doubt should enter your mind in regards to the success of its mission. As soon as it has been dispatched, you must immediately sever the connection between yourself and the elementary, in other words cease to think about it. This can be achieved by either placing yourself into a state of complete vacancy of mind or by focusing your attention on another subject. You must forget the elementary completely. The more proficient you are in this undertaking, the more undisturbed and penetrating will the elementary be in fulfilling its mission.

Once the stipulated time has elapsed, ascertain with the aid of the sidereal pendulum whether the elementary has returned to its form. If the elementary has returned, you can dissolve it in the predetermined manner, which is, as mentioned before, completely individual. The dissolution can be accomplished either by burning its name, or through a ritual, or by spelling its name backwards in a low voice. The dissolution can also be accomplished through the normal imagination, similar to the method recommended for the projection of the elements. If you so desire, you may employ the elementary elsewhere for the same task.

Should the elementary not have returned to the form of safekeeping in the stipulated time, you can assume with certainty that your order was not satisfactorily executed. At that point, call the elementary back and formulate a more extensive accumulation of the particular element through a more intensive imagination and projection of that element. Then dispatch the elementary to its appointed task once again, until the desired effect has been achieved. The above procedure can be repeated as often as necessary. Mostly this occurs when you have given the elementary tasks for which the energy and tension provided to it is not sufficient. Do not forget that the effectiveness of an elementary depends upon your mental maturity, hence on your ability to condense an element. Furthermore it also depends on your will, your conviction and your emanative belief, which is capable of moving mountains.

The aforementioned method of creating elementaries is the easiest and simplest. The magician employs this method only for simple effects, and for clearly defined or limited ideas and influences that do not require any particular intelligence, as for example, to issue an order to another person, to offer protection in uncomplicated situations etc. As mentioned before, you can achieve mental, astral, and physical effects through the elementaries.

This method also allows you to create an elementary without employing a material form, i.e. a glass sphere or rubber ball. In such a case, you project the desired element into a thought form and employ exactly the same procedure as you did when you prepared it in the material manner. It is of course much more difficult to create an elementary in this manner. However, it has the advantage that this form can be transferred to a place where a physical body would not have enough space, for example into a corner, in a wall, and also in places where an encounter with other human beings would be impossible.

This method offers the magician many possibilities as far as the applications are concerned, and these are left entirely to his intuition regarding the purpose for which he wishes to employ the elementaries he has created. For example, he can have his house or apartment protected by an elementary; it can also produce a more favorable atmosphere for the magician etc. Just as any science can be employed for good things, it can also be exploited for evil things, and unfortunately this method can also be misused for selfish and malicious purposes. For example, a businessman can create an elementary that provides him with a large clientele. All haunted houses, which are reputed as such by a malicious magician, find their explanation in elementaries that are consciously created for unsavory purposes. A well disposed magician will never use his abilities and knowledge for such practices.

Method 2

As far as this method is concerned, you may select any object for the shape or form of your elementary. It could be a small statue, a child’s doll etc. However, I shall disclose a secret, very ideal method. Yellow clay and pure beeswax are required for this practice, prepared in the following manner:

Take 2/3 clay and 1/3 pure beeswax; these quantities are not to be understood as weight, but should be measured by volume. For instance, should you have a container that accommodates 1 quart by volume, fill it with 2/3 clay and 1/3 beeswax. This will assure the right proportions for this mixture.

Prepare this mixture by adding fairly hot water to the clay, and knead it well. But do not add too much hot water; otherwise, when you add the beeswax to the mixture it will become too soft and thus useless. The clay should have the consistency of a thick batter. Once you have prepared the clay with the water, add the liquefied beeswax. Knead the mixture again until everything is properly mixed. (The best way to liquefy beeswax is to place it into a double-boiler and bring the water to a boil, then simmer until the beeswax liquefies.)

Should pure beeswax be unavailable, you can use such substitutes as tallow, stearin, paraffin or spermaceti, or any other substances used for making candles. These ingredients should only be used in an emergency, because pure beeswax is considerably more superior.

Once all the ingredients have been properly mixed and kneaded, you can shape or sculpt the intended shape of the elementary with the clay mixture. Should you want to give the elementary the shape of a human being, then you have to give the clay mixture that particular form.

While the clay figure is still soft and warm, take a long nail or a similar object and insert it in the head area downwards to the feet along the spine, thereby creating a canal, a hollow space, inside the clay figure. Make certain that the opening and the hollow space are large enough. Fill this hollow space up to the opening in the head area with a fluid condenser, then seal the opening with clay while the clay figure is still soft, so that the fluid condenser does not flow out. You can also fill the clay figure with the fluid condenser after it has cooled off and hardened; then the opening can be sealed with liquid beeswax or wax from a burning candle.

The preparation of magical condensers will be explained in the appropriate chapter.

Should it be the magician’s intention to create an elementary for his own purposes, he must seal the opening in the figure with a cotton wad containing a few drops of his own organic prima materia (prime matter). This prime matter is the alpha and the omega, by which I mean a few drops of his own blood or semen. In this particular instance one or the other will completely fulfill the purpose, but it would be considerably more effective if both of these primary mumiæ were combined. Should the magician be female, then one drop of her own blood will serve the same purpose. First, the impregnated cotton wad has to be inserted into the hollow space of the clay figure and then the fluid condenser is poured over it. When this work is complete, the opening is sealed. Such a clay figure is, in accordance with magical laws, the ideal shape for the creation of an elementary. The size of the clay figure is of no consequence; however, the bigger the clay doll, the easier it is to work with imaginatively. A skillful magician, however, does not require a clay doll any larger than four inches.

When a magician creates an elementary for another person and a clay figure is formed, the magician’s own prime matter must never be added to the fluid condenser under any circumstances, or else he may suffer great harm. The recipient of the clay figure would be able to influence the magician directly or indirectly on account of the mental, astral and physical connection, not only in a positive sense but also in a negative one. For example, if a clay figure that is prepared by a magician with his own mumia is immersed in cold water, it would cause him to experience a chill; on the other hand, if the clay figure were exposed to severe heat the magician would experience a fever. There are of course a number of other possibilities that are given through the magico-sympathetic bond, but I will refrain from mentioning them because I do not wish to place an emphasis on evil things and lead the student astray.

The clay figure which has been described here can of course be loaded with one element only and an elementary can thereby be created that has been described in the aforementioned method. However, I will better describe the practice of the second method.

Take the clay figure into your left hand and stroke it gently with your right hand, as if to bring it to life with your vital energy. Then breathe several times upon the clay figure as if to awaken it to life from its lifeless condition. Give the elementary the name you have selected by uttering it several times into the figure. Christian magicians may even baptize the figure just as a newborn child is baptized. During this ceremony the clay figure is given its name. This procedure is of course a matter of the particular magician’s preference and not a necessity. Above all, the magician must make certain that the elementary possesses a complete body in the clay figure. As soon as your clay figure has received its name, fill your entire body with the element of Earth through element-breathing, then project the Earth element to the outside, either through one of your hands or through the solar plexus, and fill the clay figure with the Earth element beginning with the feet up to the area of the genitals. When loading the clay figure, these parts must be dynamically condensed with the Earth element. All the specific attributes of Earth, such as heaviness, gravity etc., must be present in the clay figure’s lower extremities. This is accomplished by concentration and with the firm will and conviction that the Earth element with all its attributes remains permanently in the clay figure and is effective therein.

Proceed in the above described manner with the Water element, which you project into the abdominal region of the clay figure. Follow with the Air element in the region of the chest and finally the Fire element which is transferred into the region of the head.

Once you have projected all four elements into the clay figure with the aid of the imagination, you can be certain that you have created the astral body of your elementary with these four elements and that it has assumed the form or shape of the clay figure, which can in accordance with your wish choose to step out of the figure and assume the size you wish. The astral body of your elementary remains connected to its material shell through an invisible cord; in this particular instance the clay figure. The life as well as the existence of the elementary depends upon the physical clay figure; therefore as soon as the elementary has completed its task it must again assume the size of the clay figure, or in other words it must immediately enter into and unite itself with the clay figure. Up to this point, you can repeat this experiment several times in order to increase the effectiveness which, in regards to this particular procedure, is accomplished through deep meditation. Once the creation of the elementary’s astral body is complete in the manner described here, then you can begin to form the elementary’s mental body, proceeding in the following manner:

With the aid of the power of your imagination, form the mental body in the clay figure, thinking that it is made of the finest etheric substances, and then envision how it occupies the entire form of the clay figure. Through concentration, place all the abilities of the soul and spirit which you wish your elementary to possess into the head of the clay figure, and then intensify these abilities through meditation. Should you not harbor any extraordinary wishes, concentrate the specific attributes of the spirit:

(1) Will

(2) Intellect

(3) Feelings (Sentience)

(4) Consciousness

in this sequence, one after the other, into the head of the clay figure, and also intensify one specific ability after the other in sequence through meditation.

When you are certain that the clay figure has been sufficiently loaded or charged and is thus capable of carrying out your wishes or the desired effect, the next step is to bring your elementary to life.

Accumulate so much light from the universe in your right hand that it radiates a white glow, like a sun. Hold the clay figure in your left hand, and hold your radiating right hand a few inches above it. Breathe your warm breath into the area of the clay figure’s navel, and speak the elementary’s name aloud into that area. During this procedure, imagine that the light of your right hand becomes dimmer and dimmer with every breath because it is flowing into the clay figure. Immediately upon breathing your first breath upon the clay figure, imagine that the heart in the clay figure begins to beat and that the blood begins to circulate. Your imagination must be so dynamic that you can clearly and physically sense life in the clay figure. After the seventh breath, the light in your hand should become completely extinguished and all the light should now be in the clay figure. The astral form of your clay figure is now pulsating and alive. With your eighth breath, concentrate on the idea that the physical body of the clay figure absorbs your breath and begins to breathe normally. With your ninth breath, call the elementary by its name and then call out loudly and ecstatically: “Live! Live! Live!”

The last “live” must be spoken with great enthusiasm and with great conviction, accompanied by the unshakable belief that the desired elementary has been created. You can be assured that a complete being has actually been brought into the world in accordance with the analogous laws of nature.

Having reached this point, wrap the clay figure in a piece of pure silk for further use. It is well-known that silk is the best magical insulating material. The clay figure has to be kept in a place which is not accessible to anyone else but yourself, because no other person but yourself should come in contact with it.

Any further work then becomes a matter of the imagination. However, should you wish to continue to work with the clay figure at this point, you may do so. Place the clay figure in front of you, and imagine that the astral body and the mental body emerge from the figure. Imagine the elementary to be just like a miniature human being. It is left to the magician’s discretion to determine whether the elementary is to be a female or male being; this always depends on the task the elementary is to perform. The same logic applies when it comes to clothing the elementary; the choice is also at the discretion of the magician.

In accordance with its given task, you can link the elementary to a chosen ritual through the imagination, to have it grow as fast as lightning to the size you have chosen. From the beginning, impress upon your elementary that it must assume the size which you have determined. You may have the elementary assume the size of a dwarf or of a giant. It is also at the discretion of the magician’s will and wish, and dependent upon the elementary’s purpose, as to whether it should be given a beautiful or less beautiful form. Since any astral and mental body is independent of time and space, and since matter is no obstacle, the magician must imaginatively impregnate the elementary with this attribute right at the beginning.

When working with an elementary, it is advisable for the magician to bind important procedures to a ritual of his own choosing. The reason for this is that if the magician is working with the elementary for longer periods, the desired procedure takes place in such a mechanical manner that it is no longer necessary for him to use his will-power or his imagination; instead, the ritual which is connected to this particular procedure will itself release the energy and effect. After working with the elementary over extended periods of time, it will have the ability to condense itself to the point that it becomes visible to any physical, untrained eye. This can occur in accordance with the magician’s wishes or at times even automatically. It is, however, advisable to let the elementary work invisibly. This matter has to be arranged with the elementary imaginatively.

An elementary which has been created in the manner described above will at first perform mental tasks, then astral ones, and after it has been employed for a longer period of time it can even perform physical tasks. However, this depends upon the purpose for which it was created by the magician. The purpose or task must be incorporated immediately into the elementary at the time of creation. At a later date it will be more difficult to inculcate any new attributes upon the elementary. Therefore, before the magician begins with the actual creation of the elementary, a written plan should be worked out where everything is carefully taken into consideration. A magician should never allow an elementary to outgrow him, not even when it has become so strong that it has the abilities to perform great mental, astral or physical tasks. When the elementary has accomplished its assignment, banish it back into its body, in this instance the clay figure (or wax figure), by means of the ritual you have chosen, and never allow the elementary to have its own will, regardless of what it concerns. The magician must be at all times convinced of his authority and his magical powers and he must also be certain that he is always the master over the body of the elementary in the clay figure; in other words that he is master of the elementary’s life and death. If the clay figure were to be destroyed or if the fluid condenser were to flow out, the result would be the death or dissolution of the elementary.

Since the clay figure should always be wrapped in pure silk, you can be certain that the astral body of the elementary can neither leave nor enter its body (the clay figure), because the silk will prevent this. It is important to know and remember this. When dispatching the elementary to perform a certain task or other duties, the figure must be free, that is, unwrapped, in order to separate the elementary from the clay figure. Should you accidentally wrap the clay figure in silk while the astral body is outside, the elementary would be killed or dissolved instantly. You could also kill a magician instantly if you were touch his physical body when his astral body is outside of his physical body, because the connecting cord between the astral and the physical body would be severed by touching the physical body. As you can see, the elementary you create has to be treated in exactly the same manner as a human being.

Should you wish to dissolve an elementary, it should not be done suddenly, since the energy which will be released originates from the magician himself, and the sudden rebound could cause him great harm, especially when his elementary is able to call forth strong physical effects which even the magician himself is incapable of producing. In this particular case the dissolution should be performed gradually. Therefore these matters have to be considered before the creation of the elementary, so that it does not gain so much strength that it surpasses the physical, astral and mental powers of the magician.

There are two methods which I recommend to dissolve an elementary. Under no circumstances should the dissolution of an elementary occur suddenly. For example, the clay figure should not be burned at once without discharging it, etc. Always consider the fact that the elementary is really a part of your own self, of your own projected “I,” particularly through the methods described here. Any sudden dissolution would, as a consequence, result in a severe magical backlash. When the magician does not possess enough resistance, or if he is not otherwise magically protected from such possible backlashes, he can sometimes suffer severe damage to his health, for example heart conditions, nervous breakdown, different kinds of paralysis, mental disorders etc. Therefore, caution is always advised in the practice of magic. Always strictly follow the directions and rules given. Observe them, and you will never endanger your life nor will you suffer any ill health or anything else.

Only an irrational or unreasonable person who neither knows nor observes the laws can harm himself and others. A reasonable, noble-minded human being, however, will be a blessing for mankind and will only do good and reach high levels in magic, and never will he violate any laws of nature or any spiritual laws.

When it comes to an elementary, the process of dissolution is the same as the process of death in a human being. If, during the act of creation, the method of dissolution was not immediately determined, another procedure will have to be chosen. Take the clay figure into your hand and imagine the usual process of respiration of the astral body. Feel the heart beat as well as the pulsating of the blood. Then load your right hand with Akasha, which you imagine to be of a violet-black color. You suddenly project the Akasha all at once like lightning in the form of an arrow into the heart of the clay figure. Through this procedure you have dissolved your elementary. The heart stands still and the breathing ceases. Draw the mental body out of the clay figure, since, through the impact of the Akasha, the cord between the mental and the astral body has been severed. As soon as you imagine the mental body to be outside the clay figure, dissolve it through the imagination into the universal light, similar to the evaporation of steam vapors. Once you have completed this task, begin with the dissolution of the astral body in the clay figure by imaginatively evaporating one element after the other into the universal element. Begin with the Fire element from the head of the clay figure, then the Air element from the region of the chest, then the Water element from the abdominal region and finally the Earth element from the feet. Open up the hollow part, or if you wish you can break off the head of the clay figure. The fluid condenser contained in the hollow space of the clay figure has to be absorbed with a large enough piece of blotting paper, which you then burn.

The clay figure itself may be used again for a new elementary by melting and kneading it again. However, it would be much more advantageous to destroy it by burning or burying it in a remote place, where no one has access to it. That is the usual method of dissolution.

Now I will describe another method which is mostly employed when an elementary has been condensed to such a degree that it has the ability to accomplish physical tasks and effects, or when it has become so powerful that it opposes the magician’s authority and surpasses him. In order to safeguard yourself from any magical backlash or from the cunning of the elementary, the following instructions have to be carried out to the minutest detail.

Prepare a bath as hot as you can stand it, and make yourself comfortable in the bathtub. In your left hand hold the clay figure wrapped in silk. Your right hand is loaded with Akasha. With your left hand, in which you hold the clay figure, remove the silk wrapping. The moment you hold the naked clay figure directly over the water, project the annihilating Akasha bolt into the heart of the clay figure. At that same moment, immerse the clay figure under water and think that all its energy, all its abilities, its entire life passes over into you with the help of the water, into your body, into your soul and into your spirit. This procedure is a quick annihilation of the created being, of your elementary. Your body, soul and spirit assume its life to a tolerable degree. The excess energy remains in the water and safeguards you from any magical backlash. Having accomplished this, leave the water and towel yourself dry. Leave the clay figure in the water until the water has become completely cold. The silk in which the clay figure was wrapped should also be left in the water. Drain the cold water, or, if you do not have those facilities, pour the cold water out, but make certain that this water does not come in contact with any other person.

Should you be clairvoyant and you observe that the clay figure still emanates an aura, immerse it again in hot water and concentrate that the water absorbs all the life that remains. The clay figure will of course dissolve as a result of the hot water and the fluid condenser, the liquid, will mix with the hot water. You can follow this procedure as a precaution even if you do not observe an emanation. It will provide the assurance that all the life of the elementary has become extinct. What remains of the clay figure and the silk must be burnt or buried. Through this procedure the elementary no longer exists for you.

Before I conclude this method, I would like to give the magician who works with elementaries a few more hints, which are of great importance for the practice.

Just as the hour of birth and the hour of death of a human being have been determined by fate to the exact minute, you also have to determine the hour of the elementary’s death, which must be complied with to the minute; in other words, determine the life span of your elementary at the time of its creation, even if that life span extends over several years. Therefore it is advisable to keep written records to make certain that you do not forget. In the event that your elementaries are created in such a way, and if they are so condensed that you can talk to them as you would to a human being, then the elementaries will attempt to convince or even threaten the magician not to destroy them. Under no circumstances can the magician enter into any such agreements or succumb to any such threats. Because under those conditions you would sooner or later lose control over your elementaries and they could become your downfall. Even when the elementaries have served you ever so faithfully and you have grown fond of them, you must be indifferent, yes even cold-hearted; when the hour of death has arrived you must commence with the dissolution. Begin the process of dissolution without pity, just as if you were executing any other kind of magical operation.

The importance of predetermining the exact hour of an elementary’s death is evident from the fact that should the magician die as the result of an accident and the elementary’s time has not expired, the elementary would dissolve by itself at the predetermined time, even though you, as a departed magician, have the possibility to execute the process of dissolution in the Akasha sphere, provided that you are still interested at this point. I will not describe here how this is accomplished, because it would go far beyond the scope of this book. As a conscious magician in the astral sphere, this procedure would become automatically clear to you.

If, in such a case, the elementary has no predetermined life span, in other words if the elementary has not been given a precise hour of death, such an elementary would live for hundreds of years after the death of its creator and would be capable of sustaining itself. In the meantime it could develop into a ghost, a poltergeist or a vampire, and the magician, its creator, would be responsible in the Akasha for all the deeds that the elementary causes.

At this point the question might arise: How many of these or similar elementaries can a magician create? The answer of course is: as many as the magician wants to create for his purposes and as many as he requires for other people. Some magicians have a whole host of elementaries who are their servants and who faithfully fulfill all tasks for which they were created.

Therefore a magician may, for example, have some elementaries which inform him in advance of impending dangers, others that protect him, others that convey messages to him, and so forth. It would serve no purpose to list all the possibilities, because each of them is completely individual and depends upon the wish which the magician wishes to realize through the elementaries.

The speaking pictures, pillars and statues in the temples of the ancient civilizations find their explanation in the magic of elementaries.

The legend of the golem, which was brought to life and allegedly created by the wise Rabbi Löw of Prague, is based on the creation of elementaries, except that in the case of the golem the creation was called forth through a ritual with the help of the Kabbalah. Anyone who is knowledgeable in Kabbalistic mysticism is familiar with the method. However, the synthesis remains the same, just as described in this method.

Method 3

Before I describe the practice of the third method, I should like to mention that this method is not well-known and is employed only by a few Oriental initiates.

Should a magician decide to practice the third method, he naturally has to take into consideration everything which I have written regarding the creation of elementaries. Above all, he must have a plan of operation, such as the purpose of the elementary, that is, its task must be well thought out and he must have a clear picture of it. Furthermore, he must consider the shape he intends to select and determine whether he wants to create a male being, a female being or even a hermaphrodite. He must also immediately determine the appropriate name, the life span, the day and hour of its death to the minute, and record it. If the elementary is to serve the magician’s own purposes, the loading is carried out through the projection of the magician’s own body. If the elementary is for someone other than himself, the projection is carried out directly from the universe. Furthermore, he must determine the method he should employ to call the elementary, be it a ritual, a formula, a gesture etc. He must also determine whether the elementary should be bound to a clay figure or to something else, such as a talisman, a pentacle or any other object. He must also determine a place for the safekeeping of his elementary, so that it does not come in contact with strangers or other unsuspecting people. Once all these details have been well thought out and properly recorded in a book so that the magician has a complete overview of his plan of operation, he can begin with the practical work.

In this, the third method, I describe an elementary created with the Fire element and which will serve the magician’s own purposes.

The magician will draw a circle on a piece of paper. In the center of the circle he draws two squares in such a manner that they form a proper octagon. This octagon indicates that it is a symbol of the four elements in their positive and in their negative effects. The circle itself represents the all-encompassing Akasha principle, the source from whence the four elements originated. In the center of the octagon, draw a sign of your own choosing which denotes the symbol of the elementary. The paper used for this drawing must be large enough in size to accommodate the created elementary so that it can stand freely on its sign or symbol in the center of the octagon.

The same drawing is then engraved on a small round object, preferably a copper, silver or gold disk, or any other metal can be used. The disk should be 0.3937 inches in diameter. If nothing else is available, a piece of wood will serve the purpose. It is of course much more advantageous to engrave a metal disk, especially when dealing with an elementary that is to have a longer life span.

The lamas in Tibet employ this method. They call the large drawing the great kylichor and the small engraving the small kylichor, which they carry hidden on their person if necessary. There is, however, one difference: in Tibet the great kylichor is not drawn on a piece of paper, as described here, but is constructed with stones in a secret place to which none other has access. The great kylichor has a diameter of nine to twelve feet. For our purpose it is quite sufficient to draw the great kylichor on paper with red ink or any other liquid which is not easily erasable.

Once all the preliminary work has been completed, you can begin with the actual creation of the elementary.

Begin by sitting comfortably in your usual asana position. Spread out the prepared drawing of the great kylichor in front of you and place the small kylichor precisely in the center of the great one. As soon as this is done, call out the name which you have chosen for the elementary.

The small kylichor serves you now as a starting point and a point of reference for the projection of the elements. Through lung and pore breathing you can either immediately inhale into your body the element of Fire impregnated with your wish, or you can enliven it through the imagination afterwards when you project it from your body. Should it be your goal to achieve faster results, you can employ both methods without hesitation. Now project the Fire element from your body through one of the points of reference or departure of your astral body and accumulate it to such a degree that the entire content of your body is compressed to the size of a small spark of fire. Confine this compressed spark or this highly compressed Fire element through your will or through your imagination upon the surface of the small kylichor. Repeat this procedure at least seven times by concentrating and accumulating the element on the surface of the small kylichor and by mixing one concentrated spark of fire with the other, so that with every repetition the spark increases in size. After repeating this procedure seven times, the spark should already have attained the size of a small flame, approximately the size of a burning candle. Should this practice cause you to be fatigued, you can transfer this small flame with the aid of your method of dispatch and safekeeping to the particular place where you intend to keep the elementary. The place of safekeeping can be in a wall or any other inaccessible place. Then remove the small kylichor from the great kylichor and keep it in a safe place; should you find it more advantageous, you can carry it on your person. Fold or roll up the great kylichor and keep it in a safe place as well. This concludes the first assignment.

The next time, all you have to do is spread out the great kylichor in front of you, then place the small kylichor in its center and call the being by its given name, whereupon the flame will appear on the surface of your small kylichor. Repeat the projection with the Fire element and allow the flame to increase in size with each accumulation. Once you have accumulated the flame to such a degree that it has reached the size and height of the elementary you intended to create, you can imaginatively transform the flame into the shape you intended your elementary to have; this then completes the creation of your elementary. In order to achieve a greater intensity for the elementary, you can charge it for longer periods of time with the Fire element. The more often this procedure is repeated, the greater the effectiveness of your elementary will be. The working method remains the same, as described in the previous two methods, only the method of loading or charging always takes place in the great kylichor. It is sufficient when you call the elementary to either employ a ritual which you have chosen for this task or to take the small kylichor in hand and then give your elementary your order. In Tibet this method is common and these elementaries are called yidams.

The annihilation of a yidam takes place through the dissolution process with the aid of the imagination in accordance with the information given in Methods 1 and 2 in this chapter, provided that you have not developed your own individual method of dissolution. There are a wide range of possibilities in which you may employ such an elementary; it is therefore impossible to mention them all.

For example, there are yidams that are created for the sole purpose of treating the sick or afflicted, others that transport objects, relay messages to students and friends, protect the magician and make him aware of impending danger, influence other people etc., everything in accordance with its creator’s wishes.

However, it is advisable not to give too many assignments to a yidam. It would be most advantageous to develop only one ability and only one sphere of activity. The instructions given in the previous methods clearly indicate that the life span of every elementary has to be strictly observed. It is at the discretion of the magician to create as many yidams as he pleases. It should be noted that a yidam can be created with any of the other elements and even with all four elements in the same manner. The procedure with all four elements, however, is different in this respect because you do not begin with the Fire element but with the Earth element, followed by the Water and Air elements; the Fire element comes last. This concludes the procedures of the third method.

Method 4

This method allows you to employ the great and the small kylichor as described in Method 3, but with this difference: right from the beginning you imagine the complete form of the elementary. An elementary created in this manner is immediately complete. The effectiveness and power of such an elementary is increased through the frequent repetition of the projection of the elements. This method is of course much more difficult, but an experienced magician who possesses a good imagination will accomplish this without any difficulties. In the Orient, elementaries or yidams are created in this manner, and pictures of demons and deities serve as models for the imagination in regards to their shape. All instructions and conditions are the same as in the three preceding methods and have to met, such as:

(1) The life span of the elementary.

(2) Loading the elementary.

(3) Naming the elementary.

(4) The method of calling forth the elementary.

(5) Place of safekeeping for the elementary.

(6) Sphere of activity of the elementary.

(7) Purpose of the elementary.

(8) Dissolution process of the elementary, which is identical with that of the three previous methods.

Magical Animation of Pictures

The magical animation of pictures also belongs among the four methods of creating elementaries. Many tales are told about pictures, especially those of saints, holy statues at places of worship (cult sites) or pilgrimage, etc., that emanate an exceedingly strong magical energy, and those who pray to them and worship them experience wonderful miraculous effects on their body, soul and spirit. Everyone is familiar with the divine tranquility, serenity and religious sentience with which a visitor to churches and places of pilgrimage is overcome; it requires no further explanation.

All the healings that occur at these places of pilgrimage, which can even be proven scientifically up to a point but which remain on the whole unsolved, can be attributed to the animation of pictures and statues.

The peculiar atmosphere that surrounds these objects causes their emanation, which was created through the attention or worship of thousands of admirers and believers. However, this kind of animation of pictures and statues of saints is completely involuntary, in other words it is done unconsciously.

From the magical point of view, however, there is a conscious animation of pictures, etc., and on the following pages you will find the practical instruction.

As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, the conscious magical animation of pictures belongs to the methods that deal with the creation of elementaries. In this instance it is irrelevant whether you select a conventional picture or a portrait of a saint for the animation. The synthesis is and remains the same, whereas the emanation and purpose differ in each instance. Above all it is important to know that you should never animate a picture of a person who is still alive. The person in question could come to great harm as a result of the sympathetic connection to his body, soul and spirit by creating a likeness which is connected by an invisible secret cord of sympathy to the original person. Also, pictures which could give cause to immoral behavior should not be animated, as for instance erotic pictures or photos, etc. Under these circumstances the magician runs the risk of calling forth an elementary that could become a vampire, either an incubus (male) or a succubus (female). Never create elementaries in this manner to serve the satisfaction of passions. These precautionary measures must be adhered to implicitly by everyone who wishes to practice the animation of pictures.

The practice of the animation of pictures is as follows:

Should your choice be an oil painting that you wish to animate, you do not require a fluid condenser to be applied directly to the painting, even though it would contribute to the intensification and speed up the formation of the elementary. Instead, cut a piece of blotting paper or cardboard to the size of the picture and moisten it with a fluid condenser, then let it dry properly. Once you have prepared this little aid, open up the backside of the painting and place the prepared paper with the dried fluid condenser directly on the backside of the picture. It is of no consequence whether the picture is painted on linen, silk, paper or any other material. Once the prepared paper is in place, cover it with another piece of regular paper and secure it with adhesive tape or nails; in addition, place a piece of cardboard over it and tape it well, so that it is safe from dust. Now the picture is prepared for animation. Hang the picture on the wall or place it in front of you on the table.

Now begin to form the mental body with the aid of your imagination, which in shape, form or size is identical to the picture you have chosen. Should the picture you have chosen portray only a part of the total person, for example just the face or the upper body, then you must mentally complete the missing parts. Should you, however, be in possession of a picture which is smaller in size than what is normally required, for example a small snapshot, then this circumstance has to be considered accordingly when working with it. The remaining steps of this procedure are the same as in the second method for the creation of elementaries, where a clay-wax figure was used. Once you have placed the concept of the mental body imaginatively into the picture, then with the aid of your imagination transfer into the mental body the respective attributes of the spirit, which are:

(1) Will

(2) Intellect

(3) Feelings

(4) Consciousness

Hereupon, imagine the envelope of the mental body, which is also accomplished through the imagination. Concentrate into this envelope, this shell which contains the mental body, the abilities, the sphere of activity, etc., everything that you consider to be desirable. Should you be dealing with an elementary that was created for another person, then you cannot project the elements through your own body; instead, the required element must be taken directly from the universe. Should it be a picture which you animate for your own purposes, then it is advisable to project the elements through your own body. You can project either one element or all four elements and even transfer the Akasha principle into the picture which you have selected.

Should you decide to work with all four elements, then you have to proceed with the projection in exactly the same manner as if you were to create a complete human being. As soon as you have projected the elements into your astral body and incorporated a certain density into the picture, call it into being. This procedure of calling it into being is the same as with the clay-wax figure as described in Method 2 of this chapter. You also employ the same process of dissolution, unless you have prepared a more appropriate method which is more in keeping with your abilities. When, after frequent repetition, the elementary becomes extremely condensed, the magician would be well advised not to keep it in the picture; instead it should be kept in the wall behind the picture.

Once the magician has animated the picture, he can have the elementary step out of the picture and he can employ it for his own use in the manner previously described.

If, however, he chooses to leave the elementary in the picture, then the elementary can become so condensed that even an uninitiated person can perceive it. Beware. Do not boast of such accomplishments; keep such practices completely secret; otherwise you may acquire a reputation as a black magician or sorcerer.

Statues, busts, etc., can be animated in the same manner; however, the condenser must be somehow placed inside the bust. Should this fail, then the fluid condenser must be applied externally and allowed to dry.

This chapter is an important one in the practice of magic, which can readily be appreciated in light of the examples given. This information will give every magician the basis to devise other methods. I have deemed it appropriate to mention only four methods; their application should be obvious to anyone.

It should be presumed that any student who does not conscientiously work through all the exercises step by step will never be able to create a proper and perfect elementary being in all its aspects. This concludes the seventh step of instruction.

Summary of the Exercises in Step VII

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

Analysis of the spirit in regards to the practice.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

The development of the astral senses with the aid of the elements and the fluid condensers.

(a) Clairvoyance

(b) Clairaudience

(c) Clairsentience

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(1) The creation of elementaries with four different methods.

(2) Magical animation of pictures.

End of Step VII

Step VIII:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

In this chapter I will be dealing with a subject that is of the greatest importance for any future development in magic: leaving the physical body, or, in other words, the separation of the mental body and, later on, the separation of the astral body from the physical body. [10]

Every magician who has worked conscientiously in the art of magic must possess the ability to leave his physical body at any time and travel over vast distances, to visit other continents, and, in short, to travel wherever he pleases. For the experienced magician this seemingly complicated ability is simple. Just as a pigeon leaves her pigeon house, that is how easy it should be for a magician to leave his physical body, and to be at that same moment wherever he wishes to be, able to see, hear and feel everything. This ability does not serve the magician merely to satisfy his curiosity and have a close view of what is happening, but instead should be used for the benefit of other people. Since matter is no obstacle for the magician, because time and space do not exist for his spirit, his spirit can dart around the whole world in the blink of an eye.

The separation of the mental body from the physical body not only enables the magician to move freely about on our planet, but with his mental body he can also travel to other spheres in accordance with his maturity. In this manner he learns to know the entire universe, and should the need arise he can also be active in these particular spheres to a certain degree. The actual reason for mental or spiritual travel is to learn to know the entire universe or macrocosm. This endeavor should be close to every magician’s heart.

Theoretically, much could be said about this ability and everything connected with it. However, since this work deals with the practice, we will not spend our time on the description of experiences and occurrences, because the magician has to gather these for himself in order to reach his own convictions and for his future missions. Let us therefore immediately direct our attention towards the practice, the development of mental travel, which in reality is a transposition of consciousness, a transposition of the mind or spirit.

The student would be well advised to first complete some preparatory exercises, in other words a kind of pre-schooling. Being properly prepared safeguards the student from many future disappointments.

The following exercise is an important preliminary exercise for mental travel:

Sit in your usual asana posture in front of a mirror, one which is large enough for you to see yourself as a whole, in other words from head to toe. If you have a large mirror at your disposal, it is of course logical that the distance from the mirror to your physical body not be as far as if you had a smaller mirror; with a smaller mirror you would have to sit farther away from the mirror in order to see your reflection as a whole.

Observe your mirror image for a few minutes; close your eyes and in your mind’s eye imagine your mirror image in every detail. If you are able to commit to the power of your imagination every feature of your mirror image in every detail, then proceed. Should you not be able to accomplish this, then repeat this procedure until you have attained the ability to imagine in your mind every single feature of your mirror image. Particular attention must be paid to the head and facial expressions. When, after repeated exercises, you have succeeded in imagining your mirror image in every detail in accordance with the original, then transfer your consciousness into your mirror image to such a degree that you have the feeling that you are actually present within your mirror image. This transposition of consciousness has the purpose of teaching you to observe your physical body from within your own mirror image. When you have succeeded, attempt to observe, from the vantage point of your mirror image, those objects which are visible in the mirror.

Since this exercise will be fairly difficult for the aspiring student in the beginning, therefore conscientiously visualize those objects that are nearby with your imaginative powers. However, in due time you will be able to perceive everything immediately after the transposition into your mirror image, exactly as if you were to observe with your physical eyes. Once you have obtained these abilities, you have reached the maturity to travel mentally or for mental travel.

Again, the student must be forewarned not to make any attempts to practice this exercise unless he has conscientiously completed all the previous exercises step by step; because the exercises of separating the consciousness from the physical body, which are also called mental projection exercises, may at times result in disturbances of consciousness among weaker people. For this reason the warning is quite appropriate, and those students who have mastered and completed all the previous exercises step by step can not only practice this exercise, but without hesitation practice all future exercises without having to fear any disturbances to their health or spirit.

When you now practice the exercise for actual mental travel, you will no longer require a mirror and you will proceed as follows: Take up your usual asana posture and concentrate on your spirit. While you are in this posture, think that it is your spirit that can see everything, hear and perceive everything completely independently of time and space, and can move about as freely as if it were connected with the physical body. This procedure has to be executed each and every time before you travel mentally. The more profound your meditation, the more strongly you experience the sentience and certainty that your spirit is unrestrained and can leave your physical body freely in accordance with your will, the faster and better will be your success in mental travel. This meditation should require only a few minutes; when you have obtained the inner feeling of freedom and detachment, then imagine that you are stepping out of your physical body as if out of a shell, and that you are standing right next to it. You must understand how to transfer your consciousness into your spirit in such a way that you have the feeling of physically standing right next to your physical body, similar to slipping out of a dressing gown or slipping out of a shell. This is how this procedure has to take place, with the help of the imagination, especially since you have sufficiently practiced the concept of your own spirit in the form and size of your physical body with your mirror image.

Then make the attempt and view your physical body in such a way as if it were sitting there in its usual position, as if it did not belong to you. Aspire to frequently repeat this state of consciousness of being unrestrained as well as standing beside yourself. While you are in this state, your first task is the meticulous observation of your physical body. As far as your physical body is concerned, attempt to observe every little detail, as for example the expression on your face, with your spiritual eyes open and your physical eyes closed. Observe your calm regular breathing, your clothing, the chair upon which your physical body is sitting etc. In the beginning, as has been mentioned before, everything is based upon the power of your imagination; later on it will no longer be necessary to imagine this. When, after frequent repetition of this exercise, you are absolutely confident that you are standing completely consciously next to your physical body and that you are observing it, then take the next step and direct your attention towards perceiving your immediate surroundings. Even here, your imagination will be of tremendous help to you. Always return to your physical body after you have completed your exercise. Enter your physical body as if you were slipping into a garment; then awaken and examine immediately whether everything that you imagined is true in reality. You must attain in your imagination such adroitness that the imagination of your spirit perceives all the objects in a room just as clearly and as true to reality as if you viewed these objects with your physical eyes. When, after an extended period of practice, you meet with success, you may continue with the next exercise.

Transfer yourself next to your physical body, only this time attempt to walk to and fro in your room rather than just standing beside it. Do this as if you were dependent upon your physical body. This serves the purpose of making you feel earthbound, which in the beginning is of great importance, because your own lightness and the feeling of timelessness and spacelessness may often tempt you to move forwards with giant steps. Your physical body is not accustomed to this, and it is to be completely avoided in the beginning, in order that a clear separation of the mental body from the physical body can be achieved.

Much later in time, after periods of prolonged exercises, you can make use of the laws of the mental spheres. Once you have succeeded in walking step by step back and forth in your exercise room, then open the door as if you were in your physical body and attempt to leave the room, step by step. At first just walk into the anteroom or the next room and follow the same procedure as you did in the previous exercise, imagining all the objects in this room, and as soon as you have returned to your physical body examine whether these objects are identical to the ones you imagined. Once you know with certainty that you can move and perceive everything with your mental body just as you do with your physical body, then you have reached the maturity to proceed.

Practice makes perfect! The whole mystery of mental travel is contained in one thing only: practice, practice, practice.

How very important all these exercises are cannot be emphasized or pointed out often enough, because they are the preliminary steps of the astral separation from the body. This is also known as “ecstasy,” wherein not only the spirit but also the soul together with the spirit separate from the physical body, which I will deal with in detail in Step IX in the chapter on Magical Schooling of the Soul.

Once you can move about your house or apartment with the spirit or mental body as you do with your physical body, then you can begin to venture outside of your house or apartment for short distances.

In the beginning, it will suffice to visit the abode of a neighbor, friend or acquaintances who live in your immediate vicinity and whom you know well. Once you have gathered certain experiences through these exercises, you have to expand your field of endeavor and gather impressions other than objects.

In the course of these exercises your consciousness is trained to such a degree that it attains the ability to perceive sensory impressions such as hearing, seeing and feeling in the mental body just as in your physical body. Continuous exercises in the training of mental travel will lead to these results. Continue to visit acquaintances and friends in order to find out what they occupy themselves with at that moment in time. For example, you might view a person performing their daily chores. In the beginning you may employ your imagination, but should you want to find out if the imagined course of action concurs in fact with reality, in other words, if that which you imagined is identical to what really happened, all you need to do is imagine that the person you observed with your mental body is doing something different or exactly the opposite. Should you be able to imagine this just as easily, then you can assume with certainty that neither activity corresponds with the facts, and that at this point everything is still a figment of your imagination. This means that you cannot proceed to the next step and that you have to continue with the exercise until you have reached the level in your development where you can distinguish fact from imagination. At first you will only sense that what you imagined truly corresponds with reality, because at this point of your development the senses have been to a great degree withdrawn from your physical body and transferred into your mental body. Later on, there will no longer be any need for misgivings, because you will gain complete certainty in regards to these matters and, as result, you will be able to differentiate whether what you have seen, heard and felt in your mental body is fact or imagination.

After an extended period of time of practicing these exercises, this ability will be an ordinary one for every magician. It does not matter where the magician projects or transfers his mental body; he will only perceive whatever actually takes place there at that time in accordance with the circumstances that prevail.

Should you have made progress in so far that you do not feel fatigued when you are walking greater distances, as you would when walking in your physical body, then you have reached the required level of maturity, and not until then can you deal with the law of timelessness and spacelessness.

At this point, separate your mental body from your physical body in the manner just described and think that you are not bound by time and space. While you are in the mental body, meditate that you can immediately travel anywhere you wish with it. This firm conviction is acquired through frequent deep meditation in the mental body. Should you wish to be somewhere with your mental body, all you have to do is imagine that you are already there and immediately it will be so. When it comes to greater distances, you will not achieve a satisfactory fluency unless you continuously and patiently exercise and frequently visualize that you have transferred yourself there. Only when you are completely convinced that your senses perceive everything, regardless of where your mental body may have traveled, whether over a vast distance, or at any time of the day, then and only then has the time come to visit places that are completely unknown to you. While you are progressing, you should not neglect to sometimes visit those places that are known to you. Whatever your senses have perceived during your mental travels will not give rise to the slightest doubt that what you saw, heard and felt there was factual.

In order to become accustomed to all these unfamiliar impressions, you must practice for a long time and with great diligence. For this particular reason it would be advisable to visit tropical regions, sea shores, metropolitan areas, and the North Pole or South Pole with your mental body; in short, wherever you wish to be or whatever you desire to see. After you have practiced for extended periods of time, you will become proficient at transferring yourself wherever you wish, and you will be able to see, hear and feel everything which transpires.

The purpose of mental travel is not only to perceive everything that presently occurs wherever one travels on planet earth, but also to be active or effective wherever you are present with your mental body. For example, not only can your mental eyes see every ailment with which a human being is afflicted, but you also have the ability to treat these ailments right there and then or affect the afflicted person beneficially. All the successes and activities that you achieved before with the help of an elementary on the mental plane, you can now achieve yourself with your own mental body.

Eventually, when you are at home in the entire physical world through mental travel and planet earth has nothing new to offer to you, then visit other spheres with your mental body, in order to make contact with other beings and acquire knowledge which is beyond the comprehension of the average person. It is not difficult to proceed to another sphere; all you have to do is mentally focus in on the sphere you wish to visit with your mental body, whereupon you are seized as if by a twister and lifted up vertically through a funnel. The transition from our material world to another sphere transpires so swiftly that you can fly around the entire world in a blink of eye. In this instance the magician must gather his own experiences, and for this reason nothing more should be said.

While practicing mental travel, the magician will experience an almost insurmountable tiredness, which he must vigorously resist. The tiredness is the result of the loosening of the connecting cord, i.e. the life cord between the mental and astral body, which originally was caused by the separation of the mental body from the physical body and which consequently calls forth a transposition of consciousness and thereby causes this tiredness. Through continued practice, the magician will become accustomed to projecting his mental body and will no longer be subject to tiredness.

The mastery of mental travel, which has been explained here, is an imperative preliminary preparation for the projection of the astral body, the practice of which you will find in Step IX of Magical Schooling of the Soul.

Step VIII:
Magical Schooling of the Soul
The Great Now

Whosoever has reached this point in his development must carefully consider what he thinks in a conscientious and attentive manner, especially his plastic or three-dimensional thinking. The ability of concentration which has been awakened through long, continued exercises calls forth penetrating pictures in the Akasha which are animated through plastic thinking to a high degree and which therefore aspire to become reality. Therefore, always have only noble and pure thoughts and endeavor to change all your passions into good attributes (virtues). At this point of development the magician’s soul must be ennobled to such a degree that he is incapable of harboring evil thoughts or wishing someone ill. A magician must always be friendly and obliging, and must help others whenever he possibly can and assist with advice and deeds, be generous, considerate, accommodating and discreet. He must be free of ambition, haughtiness or arrogance and boastfulness. These passions will reflect in the Akasha and, since the Akasha principle is in possession of the analogy of harmony, the Akasha would place the greatest obstacles into the magician’s path to impede his further development. More seriously, the Akasha can make it completely impossible for him to develop any further.

The novel Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton brings this to mind, for the “guardian of the threshold” mentioned therein is nothing other than the Akasha. Therefore the guardian of the threshold makes certain that the high or holy mysteries will not be made available to the immature and ignoble. Even if such a person were to transcribe the mysteries, the Akasha would find the means to mentally confuse such a person and give rise to doubt or keep him occupied with acts of fate in order to protect the holy mysteries in every conceivable way. The holy mysteries always remain concealed to the immature, even when they are published in hundreds of books.

A true magician never harbors any kind of hate towards any religion or sect. He is aware that every religion has its particular system which should lead to God, and therefore he respects it. He knows that every religion makes mistakes, but he refrains from condemning them, because every dogma serves the spiritual maturity of its followers.

Through his development, a magician is given the maturity to look with his mental eyes through every thought, every deed, every action, whether they belong to the past, present, or future; therefore temptations will approach him to condemn his fellow man. In doing so, he would be in violation of the divine laws and would provoke disharmony. Such a magician is not yet mature enough, and the Akasha would cloud his clairvoyant ability, and Maya would deceive him. He must know that good and evil have a reason for their existence and each has to fulfill its task. A magician may reprimand or point out another person’s weaknesses and faults when he is directly requested to do so, but it has to be done with discretion so that it cannot be considered a rebuke.

A true magician accepts life the way it is presented to him; he enjoys the good and he learns from the evil and he is never despondent. A magician knows his own weaknesses and will make every effort to eliminate them. He will not entertain any thoughts of remorse, because they are negative thoughts and therefore they must be avoided. It suffices to acknowledge one’s faults and never to relapse.

Therefore it would be fundamentally wrong to indulge in the past and to regret every unpleasantness that fate has placed in your path. Only weaklings constantly complain and expect pity. A true magician is well aware of the fact that by recalling the past, these pictures of the past become animated, with the result that new causes come into being which place new obstacles into one’s path. That is why a magician should live exclusively in the present and will only look into the past when it is absolutely necessary. He will only make those plans for the future which are absolutely necessary, and will refrain from day-dreaming and grand illusions, and will not unnecessarily waste the energy he has acquired with great effort, and at the same time he will not give the unconscious the opportunity to place obstacles in his path. A magician works on his development with determination without neglecting his material duties, which he will fulfill with the required conscientiousness as well as the assignments he has accepted for his spiritual progress. Therefore he has to be strict with himself, always humble and, as far as his development is concerned, always reticent. Since the Akasha principle does not acknowledge time or space, it is therefore constantly active in the present, because the concept of time is dependent upon our senses. Therefore it is advisable for the magician to conform as much as possible to the Akasha. He must acknowledge the Akasha as The Great Now and think and act accordingly.

The ability of concentration in regards to the elements depends upon the magical equilibrium and it is at the same time the best yardstick for the control of those elements in the astral body which still have to be brought under control.

For example:

As long as the Fire element has the ability to affect the magician astrally in one way or another, he will experience difficulties with his plastic visual imagination exercises.

In the case of the Air element he will experience difficulties with acoustic concentration exercises.

In the case of the Water element he will experience difficulties with the concentration exercises in regards to feelings.

In the case of the Earth element he will experience difficulties controlling his consciousness.

In the instance where the magician has difficulties in controlling his consciousness, which is important for mental travel or to achieve a state of trance where a transposition of the consciousness is necessary, this kind of exercise will present some difficulties and the magician will have to pursue more intensively those concentration exercises which influence that particular element. Consequently the magician will have to continue with the concentration exercises and deepen them. A sign of magical equilibrium is when the magician is equally successful with all concentration exercises: the visual, acoustic, and feeling exercises as well as the concentration exercises with the consciousness. Once the magician has reached this level of development, he must be able to retain one concept in his mind for fifteen minutes without the slightest interruption, regardless of which of the elements it corresponds with. It is of great importance that he is not more successful with one concentration exercise than another; he should not be drawn to one exercise more than to another.

Should this be the case, that would be a definite sign that the equilibrium of the elements in the body, soul and spirit has not been completely established; in order to attain the magical equilibrium, the student will have to exercise diligently and intensively. Should he decide not to do this, then all these shortcomings will become obstacles in all his future spiritual work.

We begin now with the actual Magical Schooling of the Soul of this step, which is a description of the “OR” and “OB” of the Kabbalists, as well as the electric and magnetic fluids and how to control these two fluids.

The Electric and Magnetic Fluids

In accordance with the information given in the theoretical part of this book, there are two principle fluids in existence which have their source in the four elements, and they are the electric and magnetic fluids.

The electric fluid originates from the Fire element, whereas the magnetic fluid has its origin in the Water element. The Air element is the equilibrating element between Fire and Water. The Earth element is bipolar; therefore it contains both fluids and is electromagnetic; in the center it is electric and on the periphery it is magnetic. These two fluids are effective in all spheres with the described lawfulness, in the mental and in the astral sphere as well as in the material world. They are the cause of all existence.

Our next task is to obtain the knowledge and gain control over these two fluids; by so doing the magician can achieve everything in all spheres regardless of whether he is dealing with the mental or astral sphere or the material world. The effectiveness of a fluid in any of these spheres depends upon the maturity of the magician and on how intensively and effectively he is able to develop the cause in the respective sphere. There are two fundamental methods of working with these two fluids, namely the inductive and the deductive methods. In this step the magician will learn how to employ both methods. We will begin with the electric fluid.

Control of the Electric Fluid

The Inductive Method

This particular exercise can be practiced in a sitting or standing position, according to the student’s preference. Once you have assumed this position, close your eyes and imagine that your body is hollow, and furthermore that you are the center of a fiery sphere which occupies the entire universe. You must imagine the Fiery element to be white-hot and as brilliant as the sun. Since you already learned to feel the specific attributes of the elements when you projected them in Step V, and since we are dealing in this particular instance with the Fire element you will automatically feel warmth on the periphery of your body without having to pay any special attention to it. When you practice this exercise you should perceive the expansion of the Fire element on your own body. You must imagine that the universal Fire element presses light expansively into your hollow body. The more intensive and more fiery you imagine this universal fire-sphere to be, the more light will be pressed expansively from all sides through the pores of your skin into your body, which is being loaded or accumulated with light. You must feel the compressive force of the light in your body and perceive your body as a balloon pumped full of light. The compressive force of light must proceed from the outside towards the inside. You will be struck by a feeling of fullness with which you are not accustomed, like a feeling that you are ready to burst. Breathe calmly during this exercise, because in the dynamic accumulation of light the magician will be prompted to hold his breath, and that must be avoided under all circumstances. Once you have produced a strong accumulation of light, which is also called light-dynamides, and once you have the feeling you are almost ready to burst, you will perceive at the same time that your entire body and especially your finger tips are charged with a strong electric current. Impress this feeling firmly upon your memory, because this is the electric fluid described here. As soon as you are successful with this accumulation, let the universal fire fade away with the aid of your imagination until it is completely extinguished. At the same time, imagine that the accumulated light dims, that the power of expansion is slowly growing weaker until everything on the inside and outside of yourself fades or becomes completely extinguished. This completes the first exercise of the inductive method of controlling the electric fluid. When, after several exercises, you have reached a certain proficiency in producing the electric fluid within yourself easily and according to your wishes, then you have reached the point where you may begin to impregnate the electric fluid with your wish or with whatever else you desire. The only thing that remains to be done is to imagine that the accumulated light within you, or rather the electric fluid which is contained in the light, increases and strengthens the active energies in your spirit, soul and physical body. In this manner you awaken from the outside to the inside all active abilities, attributes etc., which are within you and which belong to the Fire and Air elements. For example, this offers you the ability to increase your will-power, your belief and your power over the elements to a supernatural level. It is impossible to describe with mere words the extent of the power and might which you acquire through these means, but your own experience will be best qualified to convince you.

In the preceding chapters I pointed out repeatedly how absolutely necessary it is to ennoble one’s soul, to be free of passions and to aspire to reach magical equilibrium. Should a student who is still plagued by his passions and who has not attained his complete magical equilibrium practice this exercise and all the exercises which follow, he will increase the intensity of his passions through this activation. Then he would hardly be in a position to control his passions and this could well seal his fate. Everybody will appreciate the importance of this warning, which is not merely empty words or a lecture on morals. A completely well-balanced human being has nothing to fear. On the contrary, he has the ability to ascend, and he is then in a position to realize his highest ideals.

Control of the Magnetic Fluid

The Inductive Method

The procedure with the magnetic fluid is exactly the same as the aforementioned method with the electric fluid. Take up your usual asana posture and imagine that you are as hollow as a rubber ball and that you possess the ability to accommodate the magnetic fluid within this hollow space. Then close your eyes and imagine that the entire universe is filled with water and that you are standing in the center of this universe. You will automatically feel the wetness and coolness on the periphery of your body, but do not give this your full attention, but rather imagine how your body absorbs the magnetic energy from the universal Water element like a dry sponge that is thrown into the water. This imagination exercise has to be steadily enhanced until you feel a “dynamide” within yourself, which resembles a fully inflated pneumatic tire and which gives you the knowledge that any further accumulation is impossible. The magnetic fluid itself is perceived as a contractive, attractive force. When, through this exercise, you have reached the limits of accumulating magnetic energy, you gradually let the imagination fade into nothingness and dissolve the accumulated magnetic energy into infinity. Once you are able, after some practice, to easily differentiate between the electric and magnetic fluids, you will have the ability, just as you did with the electric fluid, to strengthen those abilities within yourself which belong to the Water and Earth elements, for example medial or mediumistic abilities, clairsentience, psychometry, thought or mind reading, medial or automatic writing and many other abilities.

Control of the Electric Fluid

The Deductive Method

The two previous methods have to be mastered completely before you can begin practicing this method. The deductive method is identical to the inductive method, but in reverse. Through lung or pore breathing, or by employing both methods, or merely through the imagination you accumulate from the universe the Fire element into your body, employing the same procedure as when you learned how to inhale and accumulate the elements. You should direct less attention to the warmth when you accumulate the Fire element, because you will perceive it automatically. The accumulated Fire element causes an enormous expansion, the effect of which is a powerful emanation of the electric fluid in the body to the outside. This is perceived by the skin of the entire body, much as if one were to be treated with an electro-static instrument or a high-frequency apparatus. Through frequent repetition and by increasing the accumulation of the element, the emanation of the electric fluid continues to increase, becomes more penetrating and more stable, and can become condensed to such a degree that it can be seen and felt by an untrained eye. This energy can be increased to such a degree that it is possible to illuminate a neon lamp. Of course, these exercises are not intended for these or similar purposes, and such experiments should only serve to assure oneself; otherwise this energy is only to be used for higher and nobler purposes. Once you have reached the level of maximum accumulation of an element, i.e. the maximum emanation, you gradually allow this imagination to fade away into nothingness and dissolve the Fire element together with the electric fluid into the universe again. This frees the body of the element and at the same time completes the exercise.

Control of the Magnetic Fluid

The Deductive Method

The deductive method of controlling the magnetic fluid is similar to the preceding exercise, the deductive method of controlling the electric fluid, though with the one significant difference that, instead of the Fire element, here we employ the Water element.

Accumulate the Water element as dynamically as you possibly can into your imaginative hollow body. The accumulation of the Water element can be accomplished either through lung or pore breathing or by employing both methods simultaneously or merely through the imagination. Even though you feel the wetness and coolness when you accumulate the Water element, direct your main attention to the outer layer of your skin. You will perceive a contractive coolness and an attractive force as if it were a real magnet, especially at the periphery and on the skin of your body. In the beginning, and until you become accustomed to it, this fluid will have a paralyzing effect, especially when it is intensely dynamized.

Once you have reached the limits of accumulation, then through the imagination you gradually dissolve the Water element together with the magnetic fluid into the universe again and this concludes this exercise.

* * * *

All four of these methods must be completely mastered so that in a few moments you can successfully execute any of them by means of the imagination, and you are able to bring forth the magnetic or the electric fluid inductively, and this can be achieved by frequent and tireless exercising. Be attentive, because controlling these two fluids is important, since through these two universal powers everything is within reach, regardless of the sphere upon which the magician wants to exert his influence.

In the beginning these exercises are to be practiced with the eyes closed; later on, however, with the eyes open, regardless of where you are or the circumstances. It is important to know that with any one of these four methods the magician will be inclined to tense his muscles or hold his breath, and this has to be avoided under all circumstances. These exercises have to be practiced with a calm and composed attitude and should not be noticeable to anyone else.

The magician will notice that the inductive method serves to direct an energy from the universe to one’s inner body, soul and spirit, while the deductive method dispatches an energy, a fluid, from the inside to the outside. Once you have gained the necessary experience in all four methods, you can extend the exercise when it comes to the inductive method. When the electric fluid has reached its maximum limit within you, dissolve the external element of Fire into nothingness by means of your imagination while retaining the electric fluid with its elasticity and its respective Fire element within your body. When the magician has retained this fluid for a considerable length of time, as long as he possibly can, then he should gradually dissolve it into the universe. The magician follows the same procedure when it comes to the magnetic fluid. Again, both methods described here must be practiced until you have mastered them before you begin with the next exercise.

The aforementioned methods to control the electric and magnetic fluids are, so to speak, preliminary exercises, and once the magician has gained a high level of proficiency in all four methods, he can advance to the main method of controlling the electromagnetic fluid, a description of which will now follow.

Pay close attention to the following analogy: The head and the chest correspond to the electric fluid, whereas the abdomen, thighs and feet correspond to the magnetic fluid.

It now becomes the magician’s task to load the feet, thighs and abdomen up to the solar plexus with the magnetic fluid in the manner described, and the head, neck and chest with the electric fluid. The magician must be able to load these two fluids in sequence into the two regions of the body so dynamically that he has the feeling that he is about to burst. After a certain amount of practice he will succeed in retaining both fluids. Once he has advanced to this point in his development, he compresses the electric fluid into his right chest cavity by means of his imagination and in this manner forms a hollow space around the region of his heart. It is advisable not to load the left chest cavity at all when loading the upper body region with the electric fluid. Having reached this point, draw the accumulated magnetic fluid by means of the imagination from the lower body region through the left chest into the entire left hand to the fingertips, where you accumulate it. Now your left hand becomes magnetic and possesses a contractive cooling emanation. Follow the same procedure with your right hand by accumulating the electric fluid imaginatively into your right hand from the upper region, that is the head and the right side of the chest. Through this procedure the right hand becomes electric. The magician can feel the expansive, hot electric energy in his entire hand, but especially in his fingertips. Should you have at this time no personal use for both energies, dissolve them imaginatively from your hands back into the universe.

Once you have completely mastered these exercises, you have become master over the electromagnetic fluid, master over these two universal energies with which everything can be achieved. I will describe in another treatise some of the possibilities of how these two fluids can be employed. Blessed be the magician who has electric and magnetic hands, because hands like that can become a true blessing for mankind.

Step VIII:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

Should the magician master all the previous physical body schooling exercises, he no longer requires any further special instruction. Therefore in the following chapters on Magical Schooling of the Physical Body, I shall give some instructions and make some suggestions for some possible uses. In the following chapter I will describe a method of influence by employing the elements which the magician can make use of to influence either himself or others.

Magical Influence through the Elements

When it comes to this method, it does not matter whether you are dealing with influencing yourself or others. In accordance with the elements there are only four methods that are applicable:

(1) Fire: through combustion (burning)

(2) Air: through evaporation

(3) Water: through mixture

(4) Earth: through putrefaction

There are hundreds of variations and possibilities of influence through the elements which could be cited, and an entire book could be written on this subject alone. However, I will limit myself to one example per element. With the help of these examples the magician will be able to increase his practical knowledge and he will also be able to devise his own methods.

These four methods have their effect on the most subtle astral matrix of the material world and cause the elements of this plane to exert their influence wherever the magician employs them indirectly. Should the magician decide to influence a human being, then the material elements with their analogies act upon the connecting substance between the astral and material or physical bodies.

A magician who is in complete control of all the elements on every plane does not require any of these methods. He will reach his goal just as quickly with the same certainty through direct influence. But now and again, even the highest magician will make use of the lower powers, simply because the lowest as well as the highest of powers serve and obey him. However, magicians who have not reached a higher level of maturity like to make use of these lower practices in order to realize their wishes, because these powers blindly obey the will of the magician, the one who knows how to control them. Now the question may arise: What is the purpose of these lower powers and methods and what are they to be used or employed for? I will answer this question with two examples:

Let us presume that a student of magic who has not attained the necessary proficiency asks a more highly developed brother for help because in spite of all his efforts he is not able to eliminate a passion, an inherited character trait, on his own unless he loses a considerable amount of valuable time conquering his passion and offsetting it. In this instance the higher brother can influence the passion with the corresponding element by employing the respective method and he can either weaken the negative form of the influencing element so that the student can combat his passion more easily, or he can even completely terminate the influence of the element.

Second example: Let us presume that a magician has to treat a lengthy chronic ailment with the help of the elements and that a few direct treatments will not produce the desired effects and frequent repetition will be too time-consuming. In cases like this the magician may call on these powers to assist him. There are many situations where the magician can employ the aid of the elements in this category. A magician can make use of all the energies or powers of which he has knowledge. It is, however, important that at all times his disposition and motives be virtuous, because from his point of view everything that is pure remains pure.

When the magician works with all four methods, he has three spheres of activity:

(1) the immediate effect,

(2) the term effect, one limited by time, and

(3) the lasting effect, which in due time begins to decline and eventually completely ceases to exist if the procedure is not repeated.

Now follows the description of the practice:

Influence through the Fire Element: Combustion or Burning

Prepare a piece of flannel or blotting paper; the size should be 4 inches by 4 inches. You may use ordinary paper if flannel or blotting paper is not available. Moisten it with a fluid condenser of your choice and allow it to dry slowly. Then place the prepared paper in front of you and concentrate the wish which you desire to have fulfilled into the prepared paper or flannel with your imagination through the material elements.

At this point do not forget to limit the effects. Determine now if the effect should be: (1) immediate, (2) limited by time, or (3) lasting.

Once the paper is completely loaded with your wish, burn it over an open fire or over a candle.

While the paper is burning, concentrate once more that, through the burning of the paper or flannel, the energy is released which sets into motion the material or physical elements to cause the desired effect. The ashes that remain are magically of no value and you may deal with them as with any other ashes.

You can formulate the effect in such a manner that the effect is immediate as soon as the person for whom this entire procedure is intended eats or drinks something warm, or enters a warm room or comes into contact with something warm.

Through this procedure one may project the Fire element into the paper or flannel, load it with a wish and assign it to the universal Fire element or the Akasha principle for the purpose of releasing the effect.

There are of course many other different procedures, but this example should suffice to guide the magician onto the right path so that he may proceed from there.

Influence through the Air Element: Evaporation

Pour fresh, clean water into a small metal bowl so that the water covers the bottom by just a few millimeters. Add to this water a few drops of a fluid condenser which is compatible with the Air element. Should such a fluid condenser not be available, you may use a universal fluid condenser. Proceed in exactly the same manner as with the preceding element, namely projection of your wish into the liquid through concentration. As soon as you have completed this procedure, place the metal bowl on a hot stove plate or over a gas flame or alcohol burner. [11] Do not use any electrical appliance. Allow the liquid which is loaded with your wish to evaporate. While the water is evaporating, direct your attention to the rising steam and concentrate on the steam that the wish is absorbed by the Air element and that the most subtle Air principle is prevailed upon to realize the wish. Persist with the concentration until the last drop of the liquid has evaporated, and this concludes the experiment.

During the wish-impregnation, you can add the order that the person who is to be influenced will inhale with every breath the particular Air principle through which the wish begins to be realized.

This is only one example; there are many similar variations of influence through the Air principle which the magician can formulate for himself.

Influence through the Water Element: Mixture

Find a place with fresh clean running water; it could be a spring, a small creek or even a river. Take a new cup, a glass plate or a small vase with you. During the experiment, make certain that your presence goes unnoticed. Fill the container with water and add to it a few drops of the fluid condenser which is appropriate for the Water element. You may use a universal fluid condenser should a fluid condenser for the Water element not be available. Proceed in exactly the same manner as you did with the previous element, namely by impregnating the water with your wish. Once the prepared water is appropriately loaded with your wish, pour it almost ecstatically downstream into the running water while you issue the appropriate order, which the most subtle parts of the Water element will promptly carry out. Whenever the person to be influenced somehow comes into contact with the Water element as for instance washing, drinking or exposure to the rain etc., the Water element becomes immediately active and releases the desired effect. This example should suffice to give the magician the necessary information to devise his own methods which should be just as effective.

Influence through the Earth Element: Putrefaction

You have two options when working with this element:

(1) Follow the same procedure as in the previous experiment, using water from a river or rainwater, and add to this some fluid condenser which is appropriate for the Earth element. Do not use tap water for these experiments. You may use a universal fluid condenser if you do not have one available which is analogous to the Earth element.

You can also work directly with the fluid condenser without diluting it with water. This is done in the following manner: pour the impregnated fluid condenser into the earth and concentrate intensely that the earth absorbs this liquid and that the Earth element releases the desired effect. For this experiment, choose a place where you have complete privacy, such as your own garden or the vast open spaces of meadows or fields. Should you live in a city and not have these possibilities, a flower pot containing some soil will suffice.

(2) Cut a hole into an apple or a pear, better yet a potato, and pour into the hole a fluid condenser which is appropriate for the Earth element. If you do not have a fluid condenser which is analogous to the Earth element, then you may use a universal fluid condenser. Then proceed in the same manner as you did with the previous experiment: load the potato by impregnating it with your wish. Then bury the potato in the ground (earth), and with every manipulation concentrate that the Earth element will release the desired effects.

* * * *

Sympathetic magic and mummial magic also belong to this category, which is also called transplantation; here you do not work with fluid condensers but with mummia. Mummia are substances obtained from the physical body such as hair, nails, blood, sweat, urine etc. In this book we will not describe this lower type of magic, because any magician who wishes to pursue this can develop his own practices.

These two examples should suffice to make the influence with the Earth element understandable. Having been given these instructions, the magician should now be able to devise his own methods, whereby his intuition will lead him onto the right path. These examples illustrate that the relevant factor, the magician’s educated will, compels the universal elements by means of the imagination to achieve the desired effect. The procedure can be repeated at the magician’s discretion until the desired success has been achieved. The magician can make use of these experiments to influence himself as well.

There is also another method of self-influence wherein the entities of the elements, the salamanders, the fairies, the undines and the gnomes carry out the desired effect with the help of the elements.

In my second book The Practice of Magical Evocation, I shall disclose how such entities are summoned, how they become visible in order to serve the magician.

Fluid Condensers

Every object can be influenced with the help of the imagination and the will whether it is loaded with the electric or magnetic fluid or whether it is loaded with the elements or the Akasha. According to the laws of analogy and through experience it has been proven that not every object and not every liquid are suitable to accumulate or retain condensed energy or power for prolonged periods of time. Just as electricity, magnetism and heat have good and bad conductors, so do the higher energies or powers. The good conductors have an enormous capability of accumulation, since they have the ability to store and retain at their discretion the energies or powers which were placed into them through concentration.

In the Hermetic sciences such accumulators are called fluid condensers. There are three principle categories of fluid condensers:

(1) solid fluid condensers

(2) liquid fluid condensers

(3) gaseous fluid condensers

Resins and metals belong above all to the principle group of solid fluid condensers; among metals, gold ranks the highest. The tiniest traces of gold, even atomic particles, confer a fabulous ability of condensation to any liquid. That is the reason why gold in small amounts is added to every fluid condenser. There will be more details on this subject later in the book.

The second group consists of lacquers, oils, tinctures and extracts composed from resins which are composed and produced from particular plants. Just as gold ranks highest among the solid bodies, since it is analogous to the sun and as such corresponds to the power of the sun and the power of light, human blood and semen or sperm represent the gold among the liquid bodies. Tiny traces of blood or sperm added to a liquid confer upon it an excellent ability of accumulation, and at times can even replace the gold completely.

The third group is comprised of burning incense, fragrances, liquid fragrances, vaporizations. However, since they are of lesser importance to the practice of magic. I will refrain from describing them in further detail.

In this book I will only describe the most important fluid condensers which are necessary for the practice of magic. If I were to describe all the different kinds of fluid condensers, the process of preparation and method of applicability as well as the precious and semi-precious stones (these would have to be considered, since they are excellent condensers), this dissertation alone would fill quite a voluminous book.

There are two different ways to prepare fluid condensers. The first kind are the simple or universal fluid condensers, which are prepared from one substance or one plant and can be used for almost any purpose.

The second kind are compounded fluid condensers, which are prepared from several substances or plants and therefore possess extremely strong accumulative capabilities. The magician should make certain that he has some gold available, since every liquid fluid condenser should be supplemented with a small amount of gold.

In some of the specialty photography shops or professional photographic supply shops, you might be able to purchase water soluble gold chloride, the well-known Aurum chloratum, which is used for the tinting of photographic paper.

You can prepare a wonderful gold tincture by dissolving 1 gram of gold chloride in 20 grams of distilled water. Five to 10 drops of this gold tincture is sufficient for 100 grams of a liquid fluid condenser. Those students who have access to a laboratory and are familiar with chemistry or laboratory work, can produce this gold tincture through electrolysis.

Gold preparations can also be easily obtained in homeopathic apothecaries or wherever homeopathic or electro-homeopathic remedies are sold. The homeopathic gold remedies are mostly dilutions of gold chloride or tinctures produced through the electrolytical process. For example:

(1) Aurum chloratum D1 to D3

(2) Aurum muriaticum D1 to D3

(3) Aurum metallicum D1 to D3

Anyone who is familiar with homeopathy knows that the D denotes decimal potency of the remedy.

Should you not be able to obtain a gold tincture from the above-mentioned sources, then you may as well prepare one yourself in accordance with the instructions of the ancient alchemists, which procedure is simple. Take a piece of gold of the highest quality, the purer the better, although the usual 14-carat gold will serve the purpose. The form the gold comes in does not matter; it could be a ring, a brooch, a chain or the lid of a gold pocket watch. You also require distilled water; should this not be available, use rainwater. Then pour as much of the distilled water into a container as to equal ten times the weight of the gold you have available. For example, should you have 10 grams of gold, then you have to have 100 grams of distilled water. Next, heat the gold on an open flame until it becomes red-hot. When it has become red-hot, carefully place it into the container of distilled water. Whatever method you may use to hold the gold over the flame, whether it be a wire which you shape accordingly or a pair of pliers, you have to make sure that the wire or the pliers do not make contact with the water. The best method is a strong wire where you just let the red-hot gold slide off into the water. Remember, when the red-hot gold enters the water, expect it to splash and sizzle, so be careful that you do not get burned. Especially protect your eyes! Make certain that nothing but the gold makes contact with the water or is immersed in it. Allow the water and the gold to cool completely. You have to repeat this procedure 7 to 10 times. Once you have done so, you should have obtained the gold tincture which you require. Keep in mind that when you immerse the red-hot gold into the water that many times, you will also lose a considerable amount of water, especially when you are working with a small amount of water. When red-hot gold is cooled off by the water so rapidly, it oxidizes. In other words, tiny atomic particles are released from the gold through this process, and the water thus becomes satiated with gold. This liquid or gold tincture has to be filtered through a fine piece of linen, filter paper or cotton, preferably with a funnel, and then stored for its intended purpose. This gold tincture is so potent that you do not require more than 5 to 10 drops for 100 grams of fluid condenser liquid. The gold which was used to prepare the tincture should be properly cleaned with a gold cleanser and then can be used again.

The ancient alchemists named this “satiated water,” or any other essence of plant origin where red-hot gold was chilled, the “quintessence of gold via the hot process,” and it was used as a supplement for other alchemical healing remedies. However, it is our intention to use this gold tincture for our fluid condensers.

The Preparation of a Simple Fluid Condenser

Take one handful of fresh or dried chamomile flowers, place them into a pot, and pour enough cold water over them to completely cover them. Boil the chamomile flowers for approximately 20 minutes, covered with a lid. Let this concoction cool, but do not remove the lid. Once it has cooled, filter it and pour the filtered chamomile concoction into a clean pot and reduce it by boiling it slowly to approximately 50 grams; a few drops more or less are of no consequence. During the whole process, the pot has to be covered with a lid. Once the chamomile extract has cooled, mix it with the same amount of alcohol. Should you have 50 grams of chamomile extract, mix it with 50 grams of alcohol. The alcohol will preserve the chamomile extract. Should you have nothing else available, you can use denatured alcohol. Add approximately 10 drops of the gold tincture to this mixture of chamomile extract and alcohol.

Should you intend to use the condenser for your own purposes, you can increase its effectiveness considerably by adding your own blood or sperm by collecting them on a cotton swab, preferably both together, immersing the cotton swab into the condenser and shaking it well. Then filter the condenser through cotton, linen or a filter paper and store it preferably in a dark purple bottle, well sealed in a dark and cool place, ready for use. A fluid condenser which has been prepared in this manner will not lose its effectiveness for many years. Before using the condenser shake it well each time, then seal it well after use and continue to store it in a dark and cool place.

You can prepare several universal fluid condensers by using the same procedure. You can use Russian tea or genuine Chinese tea from the flower of the white lily, poplar leaves, mandrake root, arnica flowers or acacia blossoms.

A simple fluid condenser which is prepared from single species of herbs or plants will serve the purpose for normal use, such as influence through the elements or the development of the astral senses through fluid condensers.

The Compounded Universal Fluid Condenser

Whenever you have to achieve an especially powerful accumulation of energy or when you have to perform tasks which are to exert a physical influence in addition to a mental and astral influence, as for example the creation of elementaries (clay-wax figure), painting or picture animation, or any other materialization phenomenon, you can avail yourself of compounded fluid condensers which contain the following plant extracts:

Angelica root, Sage leaves, Linden flowers

Cucumber peel or Pumpkin seeds

Acacia blossoms or leaves

Chamomile flowers

Lily flowers, leaves or roots

Cinnamon flower or Cinnamon bark

Stinging Nettle leaves

Peppermint leaves

Poplar leaves

Violet flowers or leaves, or wild Pansy

Willow leaves or Willow bark

Tobacco, fresh green or dried

There are three different methods of preparation. The first method, which is also the simplest, is as follows:

Take equal amounts by volume, not by weight, of all the aforementioned herbs and place them into a large pot, add cold water until they are completely covered, then cover the pot with a lid; let this concoction boil for 30 minutes. Then let it cool off completely, filter it properly, pour the filtered liquid back into a clean pot and boil it slowly until it becomes as thick as possible without burning or becoming too dry. Then add as much alcohol by volume as you have extracted from the concoction, and for every 100 grams of this mixture of extract and alcohol add 10 drops of the gold tincture, and possibly your own blood or sperm or both. Shake all of this well, filter it properly and then pour this condenser into dark purple bottles, seal them well and store the bottles in a cool and dark place, ready for use.

The second method of preparing a compound fluid condenser is as follows: Place all of the aforementioned herbs in equal amounts by volume, not weight, into a glass jar large enough to accommodate them all and cover the herbs with alcohol. [12] Keep the jar well sealed and let it macerate for 28 days in a warm place. Then press the whole concoction through a linen cloth or another form of press, then filter it properly. Add the gold tincture, 1 drop of gold tincture for every 10 grams of the herb and alcohol mixture, and you can even add your own blood and sperm. Then pour everything into bottles and keep it for personal use only. No additional alcohol is required for preservation.

The third method requires a little more time and effort; it is, however, the best method. Prepare all of the aforementioned herbs individually. You can prepare each one by using the method of the simple fluid condenser, when we used chamomile flowers, or you can employ the second method where you prepare these plant extracts by pouring alcohol over the herbs. Once you have all the extracts prepared, mix them all in equal proportions, add the proper amount of gold tincture, and store it in a cool and dark place.

Prepare and proceed by employing either of the aforementioned methods with the four following special fluid condensers which are for the purpose of influencing the elements. The plants which are necessary for this purpose are:

For the Fire element:

Onion, garlic, whole pepper, mustard seeds. [13]

For the Air element:

Hazelnuts (you may also use the leaves or the bark), juniper berries, rose petals or rose leaves, coriander seeds.

For the Water element:

Oats (or you may also use finely cut oat straw), seeds from the different kinds of beets, such as white beets, sugar beets etc., peony petals or leaves, cherry tree leaves or bark.

For the Earth element:

Parsley roots, leaves or seeds, caraway seeds, plantain leaves, broad-leaved (Plantago major) or slender-leaved (Plantago lanceolata), carnation petals or melissa (lemon balm). [14]

In the eyes of the uninitiated, the aforementioned preparations must seem completely illogical and from a pharmacological point of view they may appear to be complete nonsense. But we are concerned not with the pharmacological effect but with the magical effect. The eye of the initiate, which recognizes the secret signature of plants, will see the proper connections. Based on the laws of analogy, we could compose hundreds of such preparations. However, these instructions should suffice and adequately serve the magician’s purpose. All the preparations mentioned here originated from the practice of magic and they have proven themselves. But before I conclude this chapter on the liquid fluid condensers, I would like to elucidate to some extent a subject which is part of alchemy, namely life elixirs.

The Life Elixirs

The genuine life elixirs of the alchemists are nothing but fabulously composed fluid condensers which are prepared in analogy to the elements and the three planes or spheres of human existence, and are magically charged or loaded accordingly.

Essences are used for the mental sphere and loaded accordingly.

Tinctures are used for the astral sphere and loaded accordingly.

Salts and, should the occasion arise, even extracts are used for the material sphere and loaded accordingly.

Elixirs prepared in this manner not only influence the physical body of a human being but also his astral and mental bodies. Such elixirs are not only good healing remedies but also dynamic regenerative remedies. Therefore the elixirs of true alchemists are nothing else but superb fluid condensers.

The Preparation of a Solid Fluid Condenser

In the next step I will describe the true mirror magic, the actual magic-mirror practice. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the magician understand how to build a magic mirror. For this he requires a solid fluid condenser which consists of seven metals, and they are:

(1) Lead: 1 part

(2) Tin: 1 part

(3) Iron: 1 part

(4) Gold: 1 part

(5) Copper: 1 part

(6) Brass: 1 part

(7) Silver: 1 part

Aloe resin (gum resina aloe): 1 part

Animal charcoal (carbo animalia): 3 parts

Mineral coal: 7 parts

The aforementioned ingredients for the solid fluid condenser are measured in parts. This is to be understood by volume and not by weight. If, for instance, you use 1 cubic inch of lead, then you would also have to use 1 cubic inch of all the other metals as well. You would also have to take 1 cubic inch of Aloe resin, 3 cubic inches of animal charcoal and 7 cubic inches of mineral coal. All ingredients must be pulverized. The softer metals such as lead and tin are pulverized into filings by using a coarser file, whereas for the harder metals you use a finer file. Grind the Aloe resin with a pestle in a mortar into a powder, unless you purchase it in powder form. Prepare the charcoal and the coal in the same manner. Once all the ingredients are pulverized, mix them well and this mixture is the actual solid fluid condenser.

The electro-magicum of the ancient magicians and alchemists is nothing but a fabulous fluid condenser, which is composed of the following ingredients:

30 grams Gold

30 grams Silver

15 grams Copper

6 grams Tin

5 grams Lead

3 grams Iron

15 grams Quicksilver or Mercury

As you might have noticed, all the planetary metals are represented in the aforementioned solid fluid condenser. From this metal compound or metal alloy magic mirrors, bells and other objects were made.

The solid fluid condensers that I have recommended are just as good and reliable and have proven themselves many times.

Preparation of Magic Mirrors

There are two kinds of magic mirrors, namely the regular flat mirror and the concave mirror. Ordinary flat or concave mirrors may be used, which are coated with a silver amalgam or a black lacquer, or which will be covered with a liquid or solid fluid condenser. The mirrors covered with a liquid or solid fluid condenser have a special value for our magical practice. Therefore, with the help of some examples I will describe how they are made.

(1) Best suited for the simplest of magic mirrors with a condenser is the surface of an ordinary mirror or bowl preferably made out of glass which is to be coated with a liquid or solid fluid condenser.

(2) Cut a circular disk from cardboard, approximately 8 to 20 inches (20 to 50 cm) in diameter, depending on how large you wish your magic mirror to be. From blotting or filter paper cut out another disk of the same size as the cardboard disk, moisten it or apply the fluid condenser several times evenly with a brush or cotton swab until it has completely penetrated the paper, then let it dry. Then paste the blotting or filter paper onto the cardboard disk, let it dry, and the magic mirror is ready for use. Anyone should be able to prepare such a simple mirror. Those who do not favor a circular shape can select either an oval or an angular shape. If you prefer, you can also frame your mirror. You can apply a simple fluid condenser, but you should give preference to a compound fluid condenser.

(3) The third method is identical to the second method; in other words, you follow the same steps but in addition you apply a thin layer of clear or colorless lacquer to the entire surface of the blotting or filter paper, which is already impregnated with the liquid fluid condenser. Then sprinkle the pulverized solid condenser onto the surface of the impregnated lacquered paper through a fine sieve. When this mirror is dry it is immediately ready for use; it is also the best flat magic mirror imaginable, because it contains both fluid condensers and is therefore especially suitable for the practice of magic.

(4) It is also not difficult or complicated to prepare a parabolic or concave mirror. You can obtain concave glass from a glass factory or a specialty clock store. The glass which is used for wall-clocks or for grandfather clocks is especially suited; for the same purpose you may also make use of dishes which are used in laboratories for evaporation. Coat the convex side of the glass several times with black spiritus or nitro-lacquer, a lacquer which is used to paint cars and contains acetone and which has the tendency to dry quickly. In order to apply the fluid condenser to this mirror, first apply a thin layer of clear lacquer to the concave side of the mirror and then sprinkle the solid fluid condenser through a fine sieve onto the lacquered concave side of the mirror and allow it to dry. Should you wish to use the magic mirror for optical clairvoyance, you should frame the mirror in a black wooden frame and it is ready for use.

(5) Should you not be able to acquire concave glass but still wish to make a concave magic mirror, instead of the glass you can use a piece of wood which you can shape accordingly, or a piece of cardboard which can easily be shaped when it is moist. You can also make a simple, inexpensive and easily obtainable concave mirror from yellow clay, gypsum (plaster of Paris) or similar products. Mix yellow clay or gypsum with a liquid fluid condenser in such way that this substance can be kneaded and molded. Mold this mirror with your hands, letting it dry slowly to avoid cracks. Should cracks appear in spite of this precaution, fill them with the same moist material and allow it to dry completely. Sand the completed form with glass paper or sandpaper until it is completely smooth and apply clear lacquer to the concave side and sprinkle a solid fluid condenser onto this lacquered concave side through a fine sieve and let this dry. Afterwards coat the convex side and the rim with black spiritus or nitro lacquer. Now the mirror is ready for use.

A mirror made from clay or gypsum which you prepare yourself is magically much more effective than a mirror prepared from glass, because the mirror prepared from clay and gypsum has two effective fluid condensers, a liquid and a solid one. The liquid fluid condenser is contained in the clay or gypsum and the solid fluid condenser is applied to the surface of the mirror. The only disadvantage which such a mirror has in comparison to the others is that it is relatively heavy and breaks more easily.

Should you have any of the solid fluid condenser left over after you are finished preparing the mirror, keep it in a safe place, because it can be used for other purposes, for example a magic wand.

A magic wand is made from a branch of an elderberry bush; it should be straight and have a length of approximately 12 to 20 inches. Drill a small hole in the center through its entire length and fill it with the solid fluid condenser. Cork and seal the wand, which is then magically loaded for different operations such as the transposition of the will to living or other beings, banishments and the like. You will find more details in my second book, The Practice of Magical Evocation.

Summary of the Exercises in Step VIII

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

(1) Preparation for mental travel.

(2) The practice of mental travel:

(a) in a room,

(b) for short distances, and

(c) visiting acquaintances, relatives etc.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) The Great Now.

(2) No living in the past.

(3) Disturbances in concentration; a sign of one’s magical equilibrium.

(4) The astral body and the light.

(5) Mastery over the electric and magnetic fluids.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(1) Magical influence through the elements.

(2) Fluid condensers:

(a) simple condensers,

(b) compound condensers,

(c) fluid condensers for magic mirrors, and

(d) preparation of a magic mirror with the help of a fluid condenser.

End of Step VIII

Step IX:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit
Introduction

In Step VII, under the heading Magical Schooling of the Soul, I dealt with the subject of clairvoyance. In this step, I will once more give this subject the appropriate attention. The different instructions for attaining this ability which have been published so far by other authors have not brought about the desired results; therefore no one has been able to achieve this ability with the instructions given in these publications. Even those gifted individuals who were mediumistically inclined only achieved partial success when it came to clairvoyance, and this usually became lost in due time. Usually these people became afflicted with various kinds of ailments, such as weakness of the eyes, poor eyesight, nervous disorders, etc. The main reason for such an ailment can be found in the fact that the clairvoyance which was achieved was not the consequence of a proper mental and astral development, but instead it was provoked by force and was therefore one-sided and subsequently became a disease rather than an ability. If you practice or follow any of these incomplete instructions they will lead without exception to an unnatural pathological immobilization of an element, which will result in an over-sensitivity of one of the sensory organs. Therefore it is not impossible that the senses perceive impressions through this over-sensitivity from the astral or mental world, but all of these perceptions are dependent upon the spiritual aptitude of the person who follows the instructions as well as his maturity and his karma. The immobilization of an element can be divided into four main groups and they are:

Group 1: Immobilization of the Fire Principle

In this group belong all experiments of clairvoyance which are undertaken by gazing at an object, such as crystal-gazing, gazing or focusing on a dot or point, gazing on a shiny surface such as black ink, black coffee, a mirror and so on.

Group 2: Immobilization of the Air Principle

In this group belong all experiments of clairvoyance which are undertaken by burning and thereby creating fumes or smoke, such as the burning of incense, inhalation of narcotic fumes or vapors, gases and so on.

Group 3: Immobilization of the Water Principle

The immobilization of the Water principle is brought about through experiments such as taking narcotic and alkaloid substances like opium, hashish, soma, peyote, and mescaline, which enter the bloodstream via the digestive process.

Group 4: Immobilization of the Earth Principle

In this group belong all practices that cause a split consciousness or a shift of consciousness, for example dancing, swaying of the upper body, rotating one’s head, spelling of letters in the feet and so on. This also includes all involuntary and pathological visions of the mentally ill. Furthermore, all pathological cases that are triggered by fright, terror, anger, and exhaustion also belong to this group.

Much more could be said about the diversity of these exercises and about the dangers and disadvantages. These brief descriptions should be sufficient for a true magician. It is of course a foregone conclusion that the immobilization of an elemental principle not only causes damage to one’s health, but also severely hinders one’s spiritual development, especially when such or similar experiments are practiced over long periods of time and when they have become a habit. The doubter may ascertain the existence of higher powers with the help of these four main groups, but if he is unable to control himself or the elements he will easily succumb to the temptations of the lower forces. After you have yielded to these lower forces even once, it will be difficult to rise again.

Only a well-trained magician with a will of iron, who is in control of the elements and who has developed his astral senses step by step through the individual exercises set out in this book, can with impunity afford a temporary immobilization or disconnection of one elemental principle without suffering any danger to his body, soul and spirit. A true magician has the ability to re-establish the elemental equilibrium of his body, soul and spirit through his exercises. Also, his successes in the practice of clairvoyance are gratifying, because he does not experiment, but instead works consciously with his acquired abilities, which are merely part of his spiritual and psychic development.

Practice of Clairvoyance with Magic Mirrors

There are, as we know, two types of magic mirrors, namely:

(1) Optic mirrors, which are either made from flat glass or concave glass and which are coated on one side with silver-amalgam or black lacquer. The outer side of the concave mirror, the convex side, is lacquered, whereas the inner side, the concave side, is clear and shiny. Crystal balls, as well as flat and concave metal mirrors where the surface is covered with a black or colored liquid, belong to the category of optic mirrors. Even the surface of still waters can serve as an optic mirror.

(2) The second type of magic mirrors are those which are prepared with fluid condensers, as I have described in a previous step of this book.

Above all, the magician must realize that it is not the mirror alone which assures or guarantees success in mirror magic; this is accomplished by the astral and mental abilities which were developed through the previous exercises. The magician considers a magic mirror only as an aid, regardless of the type; he views it, so to speak, as a tool. This is not to say that a magician cannot work without a mirror, but since a magic mirror offers so many applications, the magician will usually choose to make use of this device.

A magician who has followed the instructions in this book and has practiced them step by step will refrain from merely sitting in front of a magic mirror and tire his optical nerves by gazing at it. He does not practice in this manner; he practices in the proper magical manner. But before I describe the individual practices, I will list some examples where a magic mirror will be of good service.

(1) In all cases which require optical exercises and wherein you make use of your imagination.

(2) In all instances when you are loading or charging fluids, energies or powers etc.

(3) As a gateway to the planes or spheres you wish to visit.

(4) As the means of communication with living and departed human beings.

(5) As the means of making contact with forces, entities etc.

(6) As an instrument of emanation to impregnate rooms, to treat the ailing etc.

(7) As a means to influence yourself as well as others.

(8) As a magic transmitter and receiver.

(9) As an instrument of defense for warding off harmful and undesirable influences.

(10) As an instrument of projection for all forces and pictures you desire.

(11) As a television set.

(12) As a means to explore the present, the past and the future.

It would be impossible to list all possibilities since the magic mirror is universal in its applicability. It would therefore not be difficult for the intuitive magician to extend this list by virtue of the aforementioned twelve examples.

Sit in your asana posture in front of your magic mirror at a distance of approximately one to two yards. The lighting during the exercise is of no consequence. Begin practicing the imagination exercises by imagining one object after the other on the surface of the magic mirror. These objects must be seen clearly and distinctly with open eyes, as if they were actually present.

This preliminary exercise should present no difficulties to you, since you have become a master of the imagination in the meantime. Retain the concept of the object for a few minutes before you dissolve it again through the imagination. Should you still experience difficulties with the imagination of objects, you can begin your imagination exercises by imagining colors and then proceed with imagining objects.

We mentioned before that the optical imagination is analogous to the Fire principle. It is therefore only logical that those magicians who are in control of the Fire element will garner greater successes in mirror magic. When you are successful in imagining inanimate objects, proceed to imagination exercises with various kinds of animals; and once you have accomplished this, begin with human beings. Start with friends and acquaintances and imagine their facial expressions. Later on, imagine the facial expressions of strangers and people of different races. Then extend your field of imagination to the whole body of a human being. Once you are able to imagine a human being on the surface of the mirror, whether male or female, whether or not they are known to you, then proceed to imagine houses, entire villages etc.; practice until you have achieved an exceptional proficiency in this. Not until you have attained all these abilities are you magically prepared to practice mirror magic properly.

This preparatory exercise is of the utmost importance, because the mental, astral and physical eyes must first become accustomed, through the imagination exercises, to discern the size and clarity of these impressions; otherwise you will see only distorted pictures. Under no circumstances should you allow any other pictures to appear on the mirror itself during these preparatory exercises, which could easily happen to those who have mediumistic tendencies.

Therefore immediately firmly reject all pictures which appear by themselves on the surface of the mirror, regardless of how beautiful and fantastic they might be. Because the things you see which appear against your will are hallucinations and thought reflexes from your subconscious, which love to appear and deceive the magician for the purpose of disturbing him in his work.

During these preparatory exercises you will discover that the larger the mirror is, the easier it will be to work imaginatively.

Loading of the Magic Mirror

The next task is to become acquainted with the loading of the mirrors. The magician must be able to banish and accumulate the desired energy or power on the surface of the mirror by means of the imagination whether through himself or directly from the universe and dissolve it again through the imagination into the primary source. The following methods of loading have to be undertaken:

(1) with all four elements in the proper sequence,

(2) with the Akasha,

(3) with light,

(4) with the electric fluid, and

(5) with the magnetic fluid.

Once the magician has achieved, through these exercises, a certain proficiency in loading the mirrors, he has reached the maturity to continue with other mirror experiments. In this regard I will give a few examples and describe the methods.

The Magic Mirror as a Gateway to all Desired Planes

Make certain that you are not disturbed by your surroundings during this experiment. Sit in a comfortable position in front of your mirror and load the surface of the mirror with the Akasha element, which your body absorbs from the universe through lung and pore breathing. The loading of the mirror with your personal Akasha can either be carried out through your hands or directly through the solar plexus.

Then completely forget your physical body and think only as a spirit which can assume any shape or size. Now think that the size of your spirit reduces to such a degree that it can walk right through the mirror. When you have walked through the mirror with the aid of the imagination, you will find yourself on the astral plane. Remain there for awhile, fully conscious; look around without losing your consciousness or falling asleep. Having accomplished this, return through the mirror and reunite with your physical body. In the beginning you will be surrounded by darkness on the astral plane. However, after frequent repetition of this exercise you will perceive light. The feeling of freedom, independence, timelessness and spacelessness will overcome you, because you are on the astral plane, which is commonly known as “the beyond.” After frequent repetition of this exercise you will eventually come in contact with departed human beings and other entities of the astral plane. Should you wish to see any departed human being, you will immediately be in contact with that person. Through repeated visits to the astral sphere you will learn to know all the laws that prevail there, as well as the place that you yourself will occupy when you leave your physical body.

The fear of death will disappear once and for all. When you are on the astral plane and then concentrate on rising to a higher plane, you will soon experience finer vibrations and you will be surrounded by a feeling of particular lightness, an etherealness; and you will be able to come into contact with the beings of higher spheres. You will be privy to knowledge and experiences which no mortal will be able to bestow upon you. You will always return to your physical body with spiritual vibrations of a higher kind, which are indescribable. The spiritual spheres which you can visit depend upon your control over the elements and your spiritual and astral purity, the ennoblement of your character. There are no set limits in regards to acquiring higher knowledge. Once you have gathered enough experiences in these spheres, you can also contact higher light-beings in the same manner. In this instance, however, you do not load the mirror with the Akasha, but instead with concentrated light that resembles the brightness of a sun. There is no doubt that you can visit lower spheres with this method, for example the elements and its beings. All you have to do is to load the mirror with the particular element of the sphere that you have chosen to visit. When you pass through the mirror you must assume the shape or form of that particular plane. Should you wish to visit the kingdom of the gnomes, not only do you have to load the mirror with the Earth element, but you must also transfer your own spirit imaginatively into the shape of a gnome and fill yourself entirely with the Earth element.

The same applies to the spirits of the Air or sylphs, the spirits of the Water or undines, and the spirits of the Fire or salamanders. When you visit these planes, you will find that the experiences you will gain there are so wonderful and extensive that entire books could be written about each and every plane.

In my second book, The Practice of Magical Evocation, I have described in detail how the spirits of the respective elements can be summoned by the magician to our earth and how they can be employed to perform certain assignments.

The Magic Mirror as a Communications Link
Between Living and Departed Human Beings

Should you wish to influence a living friend, an acquaintance or any other person with the aid of the mirror and give the order to write or visit you, then proceed as follows:

Load the surface of the mirror with the Akasha and meditate that the Akasha is everywhere, between you, the mirror, and the friend, and that neither time nor space exists. Retain this feeling meditatively and wish to see your friend in the mirror immediately. You will see the person immediately, as in a panorama, and you will also see the immediate surroundings as well as what that person is presently occupied with. At the same time you will feel as if you were personally right next to that person. If the surroundings are well-known to you, you can confirm what you have seen in the mirror to be the truth by immediately visiting that place through mental travel. If the magician has properly practiced and trained his astral senses, then his experiences as well as his work with the magic mirror will concur through mental travel and will correspond with the facts. However, should this not be the case, then this experiment has to be repeated as often as necessary until you are absolutely certain that what you have seen concurs with reality; this can easily be traced and established through personal inquiries.

Should you see that the person you have contacted is asleep, then, with the aid of the imagination, attract the spirit, which is of course the mental body, into your mirror and condense it with your will to such a degree that it is as if that person were physically standing before you. As soon as this is accomplished, then issue your orders to that person. The subconscious of that person might object to your orders and try to reject them; in order to avoid this, employ the same method as given in the chapter on auto-suggestion, namely you must issue the order always in the present tense and always in the form of an order.

No true magician would sink so low as to issue an order which, from the magical point of view, would have a questionable motive, since he is always aware of the fact that the Akasha principle would punish him severely.

Furthermore, another possibility exists through mirror magic: the magician can make astral contact with another magician who is on the same level of development. The other magician will hear whatever the magician speaks into the mirror, distance being of no consequence. At times the words spoken from that distance are so audible that they can even be perceived by another person close by who has sensitive tendencies.

Departed human beings are called upon to appear in the mirror in the same manner, but you have to concentrate yourself into the Akasha and imagine the person or think intensively that the person should appear. Should you call upon a departed person who was not known to you, concentrate on a point of reference in time when that person was alive, then call that person’s name into the Akasha, awaiting in a meditative state of mind the appearance of the departed being. In a short time the departed being will appear in the mirror, whereupon the magician can express his wishes. In the beginning, communication with the departed person will be in the form of thinking out loud; later on, if the magician so wishes, he will be able to communicate verbally.

Furthermore, the magician has another possibility: he can have the apparition of the departed person step out of the mirror, and then he can condense the apparition through the Earth element to such a degree that it even becomes visible to anyone’s untrained eye. It is left to the individual magician’s discretion how far he wishes to pursue this specialized work. In my second book, The Practice of Magical Evocation, you will find more details as to how other beings can be called upon and condensed; but certain rules have to be followed in order to do this properly.

Employment of the Magic Mirror as an
Aid to Contacting Powers, Beings etc.

In my second book, The Practice of Magical Evocation, this method is described in detail. The following remarks are included merely as a matter of interest. When the magician loads his mirror with the Akasha and, with the aid of the imagination, draws the being’s character or sigil onto the surface of the mirror with the appropriate element, and pronounces the name of the being analogous to the universal laws, he will be able to come into closer contact with the being of his choice. The contact gives the magician the ability to obtain everything from the being, whatever its particular quality or knowledge and powers may be. Of course this applies to all other beings and powers as well.

The Magic Mirror as a Means of Influencing Oneself or Others

Every magic mirror can serve as an excellent tool to influence oneself, especially a magic mirror which is loaded with a fluid condenser. In this respect there are many applications, which are too numerous too mention. Here are a few practical examples:

Through the imagination or lung and pore breathing, draw light into your body from the universal ocean of light until you feel as if you are glowing white with heat like a sun. Impregnate the light with a wish-concentration, for example that the light or its emanation bestow upon you intuition, inspiration or any other desirable ability, or that it allows you to recognize a particular truth. With the aid of the imagination, let the light stream through your hands onto the surface of the mirror and accumulate there until the last spark of light has passed from your body onto the mirror.

Turn this accumulation of light into a white glowing sphere or sun which emits enormously intensive rays. Immediately repeat this loading procedure several times, one after the other, until you are quite certain that the mirror has been loaded to such a degree that the rays emitted from the mirror penetrate your body, soul and spirit to such an extent that they release the desired influence. Through your will-power and imagination, and with a firm conviction, banish this light onto the surface of the mirror for as long as you are in need of it, and then dissolve it. You must be so completely convinced of the effectiveness and influence of the light that no thoughts of doubt enter your mind. It is the firm conviction which confers upon the light rays this enormous dynamic energy, which almost produces physical effects. Many years ago I loaded a magic concave glass mirror to such an extent that it broke into hundreds of little pieces; after this occurrence I built for this purpose a mirror made from oak.

Sit in front of the mirror and meditate about truth along the lines which are of interest to you, something you want to find out or the solution to a problem. If, after the meditation, you engage the Akasha principle within you or place yourself into a state of trance, you will achieve your purpose rapidly. When you are working in this manner you will be pleasantly surprised with the results, and later on, whatever the reason for your meditation may be, you will hardly be able to dispense with this practice. Your magic mirror must be protected from the view of other people if you intend to keep it in a loaded condition. One of the best insulating materials is silk; therefore you should wrap your magic mirror in silk.

You can also direct the rays of your magic mirror onto your bed and let them be effective all night to influence your subconscious, while you are asleep, to achieve the purpose to which you aspire. Should you wish to achieve even faster results, then you can increase the effect with auto-suggestion.

It is self-evident that in this manner you will not only awaken your understanding and abilities and have them unfold to a larger extent, but you will also influence your soul and spirit in the direction you desire. Should you no longer require the influence of the mirror, or should you require another type of loading for different work, for example Akasha or element emanations, magnetic or electric fluids, then terminate the first loading through the imagination in reverse order and dissolve the light back into the universe again. You can also influence and expose other people to the rays of the magic mirror; however, whatever you wish to load it with cannot be directed through your own body; instead it must be guided directly from the universe onto the surface of the mirror through your imagination.

For the magician this method opens up a great variety of possibilities with which to experiment, for example hypnosis, mediumistic states and magnetic sleep, which for the intuitive magician are completely understandable and he will therefore arrange the practice accordingly.

The Magic Mirror as an Instrument of Emanation
For the Impregnation of Rooms and
The Treatment of the Ailing

A similar practice is the impregnation of a room with the aid of a magic mirror. Load your mirror with the fluid that corresponds to your wish, such as light, bio-magnetism, or Akasha, and accumulate it to such a degree directly from the universe through the imagination that the rays diffuse throughout the room you wish to impregnate. During this accumulation, determine the period of time of the effectiveness. You may, if necessary, irradiate the entire room in which you live with rays for days, even months, for the purpose of obtaining success, health, inspiration and peace.

Should you find it necessary you can increase the accumulation by condensing the “dynamides” through frequent repetition of the loading. It follows common logic that ailments can be removed when the magic mirror is loaded accordingly. You can also allow an ailing person to sit in front of the mirror, and within a few minutes he should begin to feel better, depending, however, on the amount of expanding force of the energy which has been loaded into the mirror.

The magic mirror can be employed for all these purposes and in the hands of a skillful magician can be an excellent tool for his development. Now follow the instructions for the practice of room impregnation:

If you are working in a room which you want to influence through the magic mirror for your own purposes, then the mirror has to be loaded through your own body.

Should the purpose be for the benefit of other people, then the energies for loading the mirror are drawn directly from the universe; do not let these energies pass through your own body.

Therefore, depending on the purpose, draw an enormous quantity of light either directly from the universe or through your body, and banish it with the aid of the imagination in a condensed form onto the surface of the magic mirror. The procedure of this light-accumulation must be repeated until the accumulated light assumes the form of a sphere or disk which diffuses a glowing white light, similar to a strong bright lamp, throughout the entire room. Through intense repetition of this exercise you must not only see this emanating light imaginatively, but you must also feel how it flows directly through your body like x-rays. On the basis of your conviction and your belief, transfer your wish through the imagination into the light and, while doing so, think that the light automatically increases in power hour by hour and day by day and that the emanating force becomes more and more penetrating and dynamic.

Determine the effectiveness in the same manner as described in bio-magnetism, either by determining the emanating power to be effective for a certain period of time or to have a lasting effect. Transfer into the banished light, into your imaginary sun, the task or assignment, the wish which the emanative power has to fulfill, for example success, inspiration, enhancement of intuition, peace, health etc. depending on what you require most. When you have accomplished this task, place your magic mirror in such a position that it can act like a light-emitting projector and that you are constantly subjected to this emanation. At this point the magic mirror needs no further attention, because it continues to work automatically as an instrument of emanation that influences you or other people with the desired virtue, and thus you will be constantly under the influence of the emanation. The magician will find that he will hardly be able to dispense of this method when working, exercising, investigating and meditating.

Should the mirror be loaded magically for oneself and for others, for instance in the treatment of the ailing, for a complete recovery, you will notice that you can accomplish considerably more while you are under the power of the emanation of the mirror; also, you will not become fatigued as you otherwise would. An ailing person who enters your room or who is directly subjected to the emanation of the magic mirror will experience an immediate relief as far as his ailment is concerned. The degree of effectiveness depends upon the degree of accumulation upon the surface of the mirror. Also more than one person can be effectively treated with the emanating powers from the magic mirror; as a matter of fact as many people as the room will hold can be treated effectively. This method is a fabulous tool for professional magnetopaths or those magicians who are active in the field of treating the sick or influencing people.

The impregnation of a room or the healing or influencing emanations are not limited to a room. The emanating power can be transmitted over the greatest distances to one or several people through the imagination. However, the imagination has to be changed accordingly in order to fit the prevailing circumstances. We do not have to emphasize how valuable the magic mirror is as an instrument of emanation in the hands of a magician and how many different possibilities it has to offer.

A magician will never exploit his magic mirror and bring dishonor by using it to spread bad influences upon other people.

The Magic Mirror as a Transmitter and Receiver

The magic mirror can be employed for animating pictures and transmitting sound, much like a radio which has a transmitter and receiver. I will touch briefly on two practices which any magician can accomplish without effort provided he has successfully completed all the previous steps.

The first practice describes the mutual animation of pictures or thoughts between two equally developed magicians. The distance between the two magicians is of no consequence, whether it be ten or a thousand miles or more. The possibilities for communication are multiple; it can occur through thought, pictures, correspondence, words and feelings. The practice always remains the same, and you always employ one and the same principle, the Akasha principle.

Now follows the second practice, the description of the mirror as a transmitter, whereby the person to be influenced remains unaware that the mirror is transmitting.

In the beginning it would be advisable for the magician to adopt a particular procedure with a partner who has attained the same level of development as he has, or at least controls the Akasha principle well. Agree with your partner upon the exact time as to when to transmit and when to receive. Both transmitting and receiving can take place at the same time.

Let us begin with the practice of the magician who does the transmitting. First of all, he has to load the mirror with the Akasha, and through the Akasha principle he transfers himself into a state of trance. Through the imagination he eliminates the concept of time and space between himself and the recipient to such a degree that he feels as if he is standing right next to his partner, his fellow magician. As we know from experience through previous experiments, this feeling arises completely automatically later on. In the beginning, transmit only simple symbols such as a circle or triangle, with the wish that the receiving partner may see it in his mirror.

The receiving magician also has to make certain preparations before the transmission begins. He has to load his mirror with the Akasha and transfer himself through the Akasha principle into a state of trance, and clearly recognize in his mirror what his fellow magician is transmitting.

If both magicians are on the same level of development, then the symbol or picture which the transmitting magician is projecting into the mirror will be visibly perceived by the receiving magician. Exchange roles once the time for transmitting and receiving agreed upon has elapsed; the transmitting magician becomes the recipient and the receiving magician becomes the transmitter. It is always advisable to become proficient in both aspects, transmitting as well as receiving. You should not become disillusioned by initial failures. Be determined and continue to practice diligently. After a few attempts you can be certain that you will meet with success.

Once you are proficient in successfully receiving simple pictures, more complicated images can be selected in order to increase the difficulty of the exercise, and in due time pictures of living people, of towns and country scenes. This is accomplished in a similar manner as with the first preparatory exercise regarding the imagination in the mirror. When the magician has gained the necessary experience he can proceed to the next exercise, which is to transmit thoughts without the imagination, in other words to transmit thoughts which have been perceived only by the intellect.

Once you have acquired the necessary experience as a transmitter and receiver, then take a further step and, with the aid of the imagination, attempt to write short words into the mirror which the recipient can read in his mirror. These words will be followed by sentences and eventually you will be able to transmit entire written messages from one mirror to another. When you have achieved the optical ability of transmitting, then proceed with the next step, transmitting acoustically, wherein you as the transmitting magician begin by speaking only one or two words into the mirror with the wish that the recipient may hear these words. Then the receiving magician prepares himself by placing himself into a state of trance through the Akasha principle, awaiting the auditory message at the appointed time.

In the beginning the message will come in the form of thinking out loud. But as you progress from one exercise to the next it will become more distinct, as clear as a telephone conversation. In due time, after having practiced this exercise many times, the auditory transmission will become as clear as if the words which are transmitted were spoken directly into the recipient’s ear. Once you are proficient in sending and receiving short words, you can begin transmitting and receiving brief sentences, until with continued practice you become proficient enough to transmit and receive complete messages and communications.

In the Orient many initiates employ this method to send messages to one another. This ability is referred to there as “messages through the air.” This has to be understood strictly symbolically, because in reality this is accomplished through the Akasha principle. I am of the opinion that it is completely logical and requires no further explanation, that feelings or emotions of any kind can also be communicated between the transmitter and the receiver.

When the magician has acquired the ability to transmit to and receive from magicians that are on the same level of development, he will also be able to intercept conversations or picture transmissions which take place between other magicians, in a similar manner as with radio transmissions; in magical terminology this is referred to as eavesdropping.

In this part of the chapter I shall describe the magic mirror as a transmitter of thoughts, words and pictures to people who are not magically trained and who do not have the faintest idea that things can be transmitted in this manner or that they too can be influenced in this manner. All the magician has to do is to banish his intentions into a mirror loaded with the Akasha, with the order that his intentions be transmitted to that particular person. When the magician interposes the Akasha principle between himself and the unprepared person, the message will be accepted by that person in accordance with his tendencies. However, as long as the magician has not reached the level of proficiency required for this practice, the person to be influenced will become restless the minute the message is transmitted and will think intensely about the person transmitting the message, in this instance the magician. In due time the person receiving the message will perceive it to be his own thoughts and will not have the ability to differentiate whether the message was transmitted or whether it originated in his own Innermost. Should it be of interest to the magician, and if he specializes in this field of transmission, he can give any particular person the feeling that the thoughts and communications come directly from himself. This practice will have its effect on the recipient either immediately or in the course of the transmission. The magician can also bring about a transmission through the mirror which has a successive or gradual effect, or which will be accepted by the recipient only when he is receptive. This moment in time usually occurs when the respective person is not disturbed, inhibited or distracted by external influences; he then accepts the transmission either before he falls asleep or upon awakening in the morning. In these instances the magician concentrates the thought, the wish, the communication, into the mirror with the order that what he intends to transmit to the particular person will be accepted by that person when the appropriate receptivity arises. As long as the communication is not accepted, its effect continues and remains on the surface of the mirror. At this point the magician can pursue his other obligations without having to be concerned about his transmission, because the mirror will be effective automatically until the thought or communication has actually been accepted. However, if the communication has been sent, then the mirror has fulfilled its task; when the thought or communication has been accepted by the person to be influenced, then the surface of the mirror will again be completely clear.

The Magic Mirror as an Instrument of Defense Against
Harmful and Undesirable Influences

A magic mirror can also be employed as an instrument of defense. However, the impregnation of the mirror’s emanating power has to be changed accordingly. The impregnation of a room or an area, a place, or a house which is to be protected has to be loaded with the emanating power of the light in such a manner that the light rays will prevent all undesirable and unfavorable influences from entering or else directly return them to their point of origin.

Should you be dealing with negative influences, then you employ light impregnation. However, if you wish to insulate the room or space from positive as well as negative influences, then the impregnation of the mirror or the room is respectively loaded with the Akasha; and the attribute of untouchability and impenetrability is imaginatively transferred into them. As mentioned frequently before, an accumulation is impossible when working with the Akasha principle, because the Akasha principle cannot be accumulated; however, the wish impregnation with the aid of the imagination can be repeated frequently for the purpose of dynamic effectiveness. It is left to the magician’s discretion to prepare as many mirrors as he requires for a variety of purposes.

The magician cannot insulate his room with the Akasha if he is working with tele-transmissions and tele-reception, because it would prevent both transmitting and receiving. Details in regards to warding off hostile influences, the insulation of particular places with the aid of the magic mirror for the purpose of working undisturbed when performing magical procedures etc. can be found in my second work, The Practice of Magical Evocation.

Besides the possibility of employing the magic mirror as an instrument of defense, there are other advantages, namely one can utilize and practically employ for mirror magic all the well-known fluids, the magnetic, the electric and the electromagnetic. The kinds of different powers or energies which are required for each individual instance depend upon the work and the kind of effect the magician’s wish is to have.

The Magic Mirror as a Mechanism of Projection
Of all Energies, Powers, Forces, Beings, and Pictures

The magic mirror can also be employed to condense all the energies of the mental and astral planes to such a degree that they can even be perceived by people who are not magically trained. We are not dealing here with mere illusions or suggestions, but with condensed thoughts, elementaries, elementals, entities of all planes, entities of the elements which are the result of the practices in this book. They can be condensed in the mirror to such a degree that a photograph can be taken. Now follows the practice:

The surface of the mirror is loaded with the condensed Earth element. However, in this instance you do not accumulate the Earth element in your body first and then project it into the mirror, because that could cause paralysis; instead you accumulate the Earth element directly from the universe through the imagination onto the surface of the mirror. The more intense the accumulation of the Earth element, the more condensed and visible will be the appearance of what we wish to project. It is therefore advisable to repeat the accumulation of the Earth element several times. Should you now have the wish to make a concept, an idea, a picture or an elemental visible to another person, perhaps one who is not magically trained, to such a degree that it can be clearly perceived, then proceed as follows:

Direct the Akasha principle with the aid of the imagination either only into the head of the person or, if you wish, the entire body, and, during this procedure, limit the Akasha principle’s effectiveness in the person only for the duration of the experiment. Should you be dealing with a concept, an idea which you wish to make visible, imaginatively place the picture or concept upon the surface of the mirror with such clarity and distinctness as if it were reality. Have this concept remain on the surface of the mirror. If the person who has been influenced with the Akasha principle observes the mirror, he will see your concept as if he were watching a movie. The same results can be achieved in a similar manner with elementals, elementaries and schemata that you yourself have created. However, when you call a being from the astral plane or any other plane you must first fill the room where the being is to appear, or at least the area around the mirror, with the Akasha principle. It is of course much more advantageous to fill the entire room with the Akasha principle. This preparation would not be necessary if you had a second mirror which would be entrusted with the impregnation of the Akasha principle for that particular room. When all these preparations are completed, place yourself into a trance by inducing the Akasha principle into yourself and, while in this state of trance, call the particular being which inhabits either the astral or some other plane. As long as you have not mastered the practices of evocational magic described in my second work, The Practice of Magical Evocation, be content with calling the departed from the astral plane, which is accomplished with the aid of the imagination.

By virtue of the accumulated Earth element that is present on the mirror, the pictures or beings materialize to such a degree that they can be seen with the physical eyes by a magically untrained person, and they can also be heard. That which is seen is not a hallucination, and, as mentioned before, the magician can even photograph the picture that is condensed through the Earth element. But one important fact has to be taken into consideration: pictures that are condensed in this manner have a far higher level of vibration than our normal light. Naturally, these higher oscillations cannot be captured photographically because they do not correspond to our light oscillations. When you take these types of photographs, the exposure time should be the shortest possible, in other words the shortest shutter time your camera provides; with photographs of this type it does not matter if it is day or night or if the mirror is illuminated or in darkness. Should you, however, want to capture the mirror and the background, then you will need the proper illumination, otherwise the only thing that you will capture on film is the materialized picture in the mirror. From experience it is preferable to use a camera with a photo-sensitive plate. [15] Since the vibrational frequency of these particular pictures is much greater than the frequency of oscillation of light in the physical world, special color filters have to be used when taking these types of pictures. When taking photographs of this type, the following color filters should be used:

Blue filters for the mental plane for such things as imaginative pictures, elementaries, elementals, schemata and all other entities of this sphere.

Violet filters for all other beings, departed human beings etc.

Ruby-red filters for beings that consist of only one element, i.e. beings of the elements.

Yellow filters for photographs of natural phenomena with other forces in nature, especially those of nature magic.

These color filters are analogous as far as their color is concerned to the respective plane. Besides that, with this method the magician has the ability to show a magically untrained person not only pictures and beings, but, with the aid of the magic mirror, that person’s or any other person’s past, present and future.

The Magic Mirror as a Television Set

In our magic mirror we can view events that occur to people that are known or unknown to us, even at the greatest distance. As usual, for this purpose the mirror is loaded with the Akasha principle. Once that has been completed, remain in a calm and comfortable position and induce through the Akasha a state of trance; from this Akasha state, concentrate upon the particular person whose activities and behavior you want to observe. While you are concentrating on that person, think that the magic mirror is a big telescope through which you can see everything even at the greatest distance. Immediately, just as in a movie, the magician will see the person as well as the surroundings. In the beginning these pictures will be a little distorted, but after frequent repetition of this exercise these pictures become so clear and the feeling that the particular person is in one’s immediate vicinity so convincing that you assume you are standing directly next to the person you wish to see in the picture. Even if the distance were thousands of miles, it would be of no consequence.

For the purpose of verifying the authenticity of what is being viewed in the mirror and whether it corresponds with reality, you can imagine the same person engaged in a different activity. Now employ your astral senses; should you succeed in seeing the particular person’s new activity as clearly as the activity in the mirror, then what you saw in the mirror was a deception. [16] Therefore this exercise has to be repeated until you can distinguish facts from illusions.

In the same manner, if he so wishes, the magician can allow an untrained person to “teleview” under his skilful guidance. Taking into consideration all the practices described here, magicians who are specially trained and experienced in this field of magic will be able even from the greatest distance to take photographs of the events and pictures seen by using a red filter.

If you are not concerned with material or physical matters and are more concerned in examining from a distance events that occur in the present, such as a person’s emotional life or soul-life, his character and his feelings, then all you have to do is not think about that person’s physical body at all and only imagine his astral body. Soon thereafter you will see the aura and the character traits of this particular person in various nuances of colors, from which you can draw logical conclusions as to the person’s character and abilities in accordance with the laws of analogy.

Should you not be interested in a person’s physical activities or in his astral attributes or character traits, and you merely want to view the spirit of that person in the magic mirror, then do not think of his physical body or his astral body at all. And in this instance as well, the pictures that correspond to the spirit will appear to you, and you can follow the train of thought or ideas of a person even from the farthest distance.

As you can see from the aforementioned examples, it is possible to read the thoughts of any person even from the farthest distance. To what degree you wish to pursue the mastery of these abilities depends, however, entirely upon your will.

The Magic Mirror as an Aid to Study the Past,
The Present and the Future

The exact study of the past, present and future of other people is one of the most difficult tasks when working with the magic mirror. The magician’s own past and present can also unfold in the mirror like a motion picture, though undoubtedly he should refrain from allowing it to do so. If a magician wants to satisfy his curiosity and find out what the future has in store for him with the help of the magic mirror, it would not be difficult for him to focus his attention on this matter and to find out every little detail as to his future. There is, however, a drawback: the moment the magician views his future in the magic mirror, he will deprive himself of his free will. He could be compared to an empty shell that has to be filled, without any possibility that anything could be done for or against it.

It is of course an entirely different matter when the Akasha principle in its highest form, which we shall call Divine Providence, gives the magician warnings of impending danger in whatever form they might be, without the magician making any effort of his own to see into the future or to ascertain any information pertaining to his future.

When the magician receives such a warning he should comply with it without question, because any failure to do so would cause him great harm. A magician who has reached this level of development will be able to determine whether the warning originated with a being, irrespective of its plane, or if it originated directly from the Akasha principle.

The magic mirror is an excellent aid to help the magician to examine the past, present and future of people who are not magically trained but in whom the magician has a special interest, because all thoughts, sentience, feelings and physical deeds are recorded in detail in the Akasha or causal principle. This enables the magician at any time to read in the Akasha, as in an open book, either through his magic mirror or directly while in a state of trance. All the magician is required to do is to properly prepare himself for this task with the aid of the imagination. As long as the magician has not mastered this procedure, the pictures that appear will not initially follow a logical sequence or will appear sporadically. However, in due time and through frequent repetition of this exercise, one picture after another will appear on the surface of the mirror like a panorama, in the proper sequence of events as far as the past is concerned; the pictures viewed are so clear and distinct that it is as if the magician himself was experiencing these events.

The magician can begin with the present and then unveil the past step by step, event by event, back to childhood and the time of birth. However, it is advisable not to pursue the past any further than to the time of birth, although it is within the realm of possibilities to pursue the spirit of that particular person beyond his time of birth to his previous incarnations.

The magician should be forewarned, because if he obtains any information about his future or the future of other people as well as his or other peoples’ former incarnations, the magician will actually interfere with the laws of Divine Providence and his curiosity would result in dire consequences.

First of all, in an instant he would be as old as all his former incarnations which he has viewed, and that would result in having an unpleasant feeling in his Innermost, and in many respects it will make itself unpleasantly known; above all it will make itself known through his loss of all interest in continuing to live.

Secondly, the magician will become responsible for the mistakes he made in his former incarnations, up to the point which he viewed in the Akasha. There will only be one advantage: he will be aware of the experiences of his former incarnations, but this will by no means compensate him for the disadvantages.

If the magician wants to learn something about the future of another person for a particular reason, all he has to do is to place himself into a state of trance. Should the magician have acquired a great proficiency in this practice, then there is nothing that will remain concealed to him. The highest level a magician can attain when working with the magic mirror is the clairvoyant ability to view events about himself and other people in the proper sequence on the mental, astral and physical planes. There is nothing I can add in regards to the employment of the magic mirror once the magician has reached this level of development. Based on the examples given here, he will be able to devise his own practices.

Step IX:
Magical Schooling of the Soul
Conscious Separation of the Astral Body from the Physical Body

In this step the magician will learn how to separate his astral body from his physical body through conscious practice. Not only will he be able to transfer himself wherever he wishes to be spiritually, but also astrally, and he can be wherever he wishes with his astral body and wherever his astral presence is required.

The separation of the astral body, as we will soon practically experience, is different from mental travel or the state of trance caused by the Akasha principle. The state during which the astral and mental bodies are separated from the physical body is called “ecstasy” in occult terminology. A true magician has the ability to go wherever he wishes with his astral body; however, in most instances all he requires is mental traveling or placing himself into a state of trance. The reason for the separation of the astral from the physical body while the astral body remains connected to the mental body is mostly for work which requires a magical physical procedure.

The greatest care has to be exercised when executing the projection of the astral body because, in contrast to mental travel, both connection links, the one between the mental and the astral body and the one between the astral and the physical body, which are called the mental matrix and astral matrix, are now exposed due to the separation from the physical body and only a fine silvery elastic life-cord connects the mental and astral bodies with the physical body. When the magician is in this state, where the mental and astral bodies are separated from the physical body and their only connection is the astral matrix (the silvery life-cord), and a stranger, whether magically trained or not trained at all, touches the magician’s physical body, this very fine life-cord will immediately break, and the connection with the physical body will be instantly severed. The result will be the physical death of the magician. It is therefore of the utmost importance that, immediately upon beginning these exercises and while you are in this state, you make absolutely certain that no one is given the opportunity to touch your physical body. The reason this life-cord breaks can be attributed to the fact that a person’s electromagnetic fluid has such a strong effect that the life-cord, even of a magician who is far advanced, cannot withstand this fluid. If our modern medical science were to examine a body which is killed in this manner, they would list the cause of death as embolism, heart failure or even paralysis of the heart. When the physical body is in this state of ecstasy, it is without feeling and without life; there is no breathing and no heartbeat. The following description of this practice should provide the necessary explanation. This state is a form of suspended animation. Suspended animation during ecstasy occurs as a result of a pathological effect, which can easily be explained by any magician.

It is also important to know that, through normal breathing, you supply the bloodstream with the four elements plus the Akasha, whereby the mental matrix, which is the connecting link between the mental and astral bodies, is kept in contact; and we know from experience that there is no life without breath. The astral matrix, which is the connecting link between the astral and physical bodies, is kept alive through the intake of food. The magician should now fully understand the connection between the ingestion of food and breathing, and he will now find the real reason for the conscious breathing and eating which were an integral part of the exercises of the previous steps. If the magician, at this stage of his development, were to neglect any part of any exercise, he would undoubtedly experience disharmonies, ailments and other disorders. Many disturbances of the spirit, soul and also the physical body can be attributed to the failure to perform your exercises with regularity and attentiveness.

Therefore it is not without good reason that, immediately from the beginning, the greatest emphasis has been placed upon the simultaneous development and maintenance of the physical body, the soul and the spirit. If the physical body is not in a state of harmony, not strong and tenacious enough, and if it does not possess, through substantial and vitamin-rich food, [17] an adequate supply of electromagnetic fluid and through this a sufficient elasticity of the astral matrix, then one may suffer great harm to one’s health through the ecstasy exercises. Therefore it is important for the magician to realize that all ascetic exercises which dictate or promote abstinence from eating as part of their practical system of development are extreme and, as such, reprehensible.

Many Oriental practices that dictate asceticism and ascetic exercises are one-sided and not for people who are not Oriental. They are extremely dangerous for those whose physical disposition is not in accordance with the prevailing climatic conditions. However, if the magician has equally developed all three levels of existence, namely his body, soul and spirit, he has no reason for concern that any disturbances will surface in his mental, astral or physical bodies. Only those who do not follow the instructions in this book systematically and those who, during their development, neglect to pay attention to the warnings, can expect to be affected by certain disharmonies. Therefore the magician should not begin with the exercise of projecting his astral body until he is absolutely certain that he has completely mastered all the previously recommended methods. The most stable part, the astral matrix which connects the body with the soul, remains in the physical body during mental travel, whereas when the astral body is projected everything is withdrawn from the physical body. That is why you have to be twice as careful when practicing the ecstasy exercises.

The actual practice of projecting the astral body is a simple one, especially when the magician masters mental travel. The separation of the astral body from the physical body is accomplished in the following manner:

Assume your usual asana posture, or these exercises can also be practiced while lying down; then step out of your physical body with the mental body. Now transfer your consciousness into your mental body and observe your physical body. The physical body will appear to you as if it were in a state of sleep. With the help of the imagination, imagine that your astral body, like your mental body, is drawn out of your physical body through your will. The form of the astral body must be the same as your mental and physical body. Join your astral body by entering into the astral form. During this exercise you will be overcome by a strange feeling, as if the astral body does not belong to you; therefore you must immediately establish a conscious connection between the mental and astral matrices.

Furthermore, you will not succeed in retaining your astral body in your imagination, because the physical body will constantly attract the astral body as through an invisible cord. If, at the same time, you observe your physical body while practicing these exercises, you will notice that you will experience respiratory disturbances during this experiment. However, at the moment that you connect in the spirit with the astral form and immediately begin to breathe consciously, you will feel immediately connected with the astral body. In the beginning, when you as a spirit connect with the astral body next to your physical body in this manner, focus all your attention on your breathing and on nothing else. This exercise has to be practiced until you become accustomed to breathing in your astral body, which you have drawn out of your physical body and placed next to it, and which you have spiritually joined with the mental body.

As you can see, only conscious breathing in the astral body makes the loosening of the astral matrix possible. Once the breathing in your mental and astral bodies has become a habit through frequent repetition, you may proceed with the next step. You stop breathing in your physical body when you begin to breathe in your astral body. Through this separation, the physical body lapses into a state of lethargy, the limbs become rigid and the face pale, resembling one who has died. However, as soon as you cease the exercise of breathing next to your physical body and want to terminate the exercise, you will notice immediately that the astral body is forthwith attracted by the physical body like a magnet and the normal process of breathing begins again in the physical body. Only when your mental body, in other words the magician with his consciousness, has spiritually rejoined his physical body so that the astral and mental bodies can assume physical form, will you gradually regain your senses. This concludes this exercise.

What we normally call “dying” follows the same sequence. However there is one significant difference: the matrix between the physical and astral bodies is being destroyed. When a normal death occurs and the astral matrix between the astral and physical body ruptures due to an ailment or because of another cause, then the astral body together with the mental body can no longer find a foothold in the physical body, and therefore they will automatically depart, whether willingly or unwillingly. This occurrence shifts the breathing into the astral body without the person being conscious of this change while in the astral body. That is why departed beings do not initially feel the difference between the physical and astral bodies. Only gradually do they become aware of the fact that the physical body is no longer of any use to them, and that the astral body is subject to other laws (the Akasha principle).

In previous chapters I have described the astral plane in detail. Therefore the conscious projection of the astral body is an imitation of the process of dying. Hence it follows that there are good reasons for all the precautions, because when you practice these exercises you are close to the border between actual life and death.

Once the magician completely masters the projection of the astral body, then:

(1) the fear of death has become completely superfluous, and

(2) the magician knows the process of his physical demise exactly, and he also knows where his future domicile will be once he leaves his physical body.

After practicing the exercise of separating the astral body from the physical body many times, you become so accustomed to breathing in the astral body that you are no longer aware of it, and you experience in the astral body the same feelings as if you were in the physical body. Should you want to return to your physical body, you must consciously hold your breath in the astral body so that the astral body can separate from the mental body in order to assume the shape of the physical body. The moment the astral body assumes the form of the physical body, the physical body automatically resumes breathing, and not until then is a return to the physical body possible. This has to be considered under all circumstances, since the mental body is subject to another lawfulness and that is why it does not breathe in the same rhythm as the physical body when it is connected with the astral body.

Only when you have become accustomed “to going out of and coming into” your physical body with your astral and mental bodies, and you have accomplished the feat of leaving and returning to your physical body as you please, and you have taken all the necessary precautionary measures in regards to breathing, and these precautionary measures have become a habit, only then will you be qualified to remove yourself successfully from the physical body. At the inception of these preparatory exercises, do not go any farther than standing right next to your physical body. Then you have the option either to stand next to your physical body or assume your physical body’s present position, in this case the asana posture.

The next exercise is not only to observe your physical body but also your immediate surroundings, just as you did during your mental travels. After all, it is the same procedure as mental traveling, and you must perceive (distinguish), feel and hear every object. However, there is one difference: in this instance the spirit is wearing a garment; in our case it is the astral body which makes it possible to work more physically. For example: Should you visit a certain location in your mental body and observe an occurrence which would bring forth either a good or a bad feeling within you psychically, you will neither feel nor perceive it in your mental body, nor can your mental body influence you in any way. Were you, however, to experience the same event with your astral body, you would feel it as intensely as if you were directly present with your physical body.

In the next exercise, gradually attempt to distance yourself from your physical body step by step. At first you will feel that you are attracted to your physical body by force as through an invisible attractive power similar to that which a magnet exerts upon iron. You will find the explanation in the fact that the cord between the astral and physical body is nourished, maintained and kept in an equilibrium with the most subtle fluid. The projection of the astral body through the exercises is a conscious procedure against nature’s lawfulness of nature’s elements in the physical body, and this has to be conquered. Therefore it requires considerably greater effort to move your astral body than it does to move your mental body. Initially, take only a few steps from your physical body and then return immediately. Since the magnetic attractive force captivates and influences continuously, it will trigger different kinds of feelings in your astral body, for instance fear of death and so on. These feelings have to be overcome as well. In this step you must become master over all occurrences of this kind.

Increase the distance from your physical body every time you practice this exercise. In time you will be able to cover increasingly greater distances. And the farther you can distance your astral from your physical body, the less effective will be the attractive force towards your physical body. Later on, when you travel far, it will be quite difficult for you to return to your physical body. The magician is faced with danger when he visits planes or areas that fascinate to such a degree that he becomes saddened by the thought of returning to his physical body. Therefore he must be the absolute master over his feelings. Should he not be able to become the master, and should he become accustomed to be at home with his astral body on the physical plane as well as on the astral plane, he usually becomes weary of life and would rather not return to his physical body. He is overcome by the longing to sever, by force, the cord that connects him to his physical body. Were the magician to do this, it would be the same as committing suicide in the physical body. In addition, it would be a serious offence against Divine Providence and would therefore have karmic consequences. It is understandable that the temptation to commit such a suicide is great, especially when the magician has to suffer greatly in the physical world and is experiencing bliss in the other planes.

If the magician has progressed in astral projection to such a degree that he can travel with his astral body over any distance, then he has the opportunity to employ this ability for various purposes. The magician can transfer himself with his astral body wherever he wishes to be; he can treat the ailing by accumulating and condensing the magnetic and electric fluids in his astral body and transferring these fluids to the ailing person. The treatment with the astral body is by far more penetrating than mere thought transference and healing can also be accomplished with mental travel, in as much as the fluids with which the magician is working are only effective on the mental plane of the particular ailing person.

Furthermore, it is within the magician’s capabilities to carry out other influences as well. On the astral plane the magician can condense the Earth element in his astral body and materialize to such a degree that he can appear right in front of an initiate or a non-initiate and be seen with the physical eyes, and also be heard and felt. How successful the magician will be in this respect depends upon the amount of time he has dedicated to the practice of these exercises and his ability to accumulate the Earth element in the astral body.

This leads to the logical conclusion that the magician is also able to perform physical tasks with his astral body. Here you will find the correct explanation for producing phenomena in the manner initiates understand it, such as causing knocking sounds and carrying out various tasks. No limits exist for the magician, and the area of magic he wishes to specialize in is entirely his choice. He also knows how to accomplish everything, for example he may wish to condense only a part of his body, such as one hand, while the other hand remains in the astral state. Should he be able to accelerate the vibrations of the electrons of an object with the aid of his imagination, he will also be able to make the object disappear right in front of other people and transfer it to the astral sphere, all of course in accordance with his powers and development. Under these circumstances the physical objects are no longer subject to physical laws; they become astral. It is a simple task for the magician to carry such objects with the help of his astral body even over great distances and then restore them to their original form.

This phenomenon appears to the eyes of the uninitiated as a chimera, but a magician who has progressed to this point in his development can produce these and even greater phenomena, which otherwise would be regarded as miracles. These explanations make it obvious that all these phenomena are not miracles; for the magician, miracles in the true sense of the word do not exist. All he knows is how to employ higher powers and laws and their applications. Many more examples could be given in regards to what the magician can accomplish with his astral body; however, for the sincere aspirant mere indications will suffice.

Impregnation of the Astral Body
With the Four Divine Fundamental Attributes

Once a magician has reached this level in his development he begins to clothe his concept of God into concrete ideas. A mystic, yogi etc., who has been unilaterally trained sees in his deity only one aspect which he reveres and to which he renders the highest worship and recognition. However, a true initiate who, during his entire development, always takes the step-by-step course of instructions in regards to the four elements into consideration, will clothe the concept of God into four aspects in accordance with the universal laws:

(1) Omnipotence corresponds to the Fire element.

(2) Wisdom and Omniscience correspond to the Air element.

(3) Immortality corresponds to the Water element.

(4) Omnipresence corresponds to the Earth element.

It is the task of this step that the magician meditate on these four divine ideas or aspects in the proper sequence. Deep, intense meditation places the magician almost into a position to directly reach the level of ecstasy with one of these divine virtues and to merge with it to such a degree that he perceives himself to be that particular virtue. The magician must experience this with each and every one of the four virtues of his God. The manner in which he arranges this exercise is left to his discretion; he can meditate on one of the virtues until he is certain that it has become personified within him. He must proceed with all the other virtues in this manner. He can carry out the meditation, time permitting, in such a manner that during one exercise he can meditatively call forth all the divine virtues in the proper sequence. The meditation has to be practiced so intensively, so profoundly, so persistently and convincingly within oneself that the astral body becomes almost identical with that virtue.

His concept of God is universal which includes all four attributes of God in accordance with the universal laws. The magician should therefore pay the greatest attention to these meditations, because they cannot be dispensed with and they are absolutely necessary in order for him to become one with his God. Once the magician has attained the ability to envisage an inner picture of all four divine virtues, which can only be achieved through deep meditation, he will attain the necessary maturity to establish this contact. The reader will find the description of this practice in the last step of this book. In due time these meditations have the effect of deifying the magician’s spirit and soul, and eventually they also have an analogous effect upon his physical body, and they enable the magician to make contact with his God, which is the purpose and goal of this developmental course of instructions.

Step IX:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

The student who has practically worked his way through all these methods no longer requires any special exercises for the physical body. All he is now required to do is to intensify the powers he has developed and apply them in as many different ways as possible. On the pages that follow you will find some instructions, which the student in accordance with his development can easily pursue after some practice.

Treatment of the Sick through the Electromagnetic Fluid

It is a wonderful and sacred responsibility to be of service to suffering humankind with one’s powers. The magician has it within his power to achieve miracles when it comes to the treatment of the ailing, as so many saints have done in the past and still do in the present. There will be no naturopath, magnetopath or healing medium who understands how to release the dynamic forces in accordance with the primary laws as does a magician. It is, however, a prerequisite that the magician possess sufficient knowledge of occult anatomy of the physical body in regards to the elements and their effectiveness in their positive and negative form; otherwise it will be an impossibility to influence the seat of a disease.

A magician can immediately recognize the cause of any ailment either through the Akasha principle or through his clairvoyance. Therefore he can begin to influence the root or cause of the ailment directly. Should the cause be in the mental sphere, then the magician must above all influence the spirit of the patient in order to re-establish the harmony. As mentioned before, the mental sphere can only effect the mental plane, the astral sphere can only effect the astral plane, and the physical sphere can only effect the physical plane. The magician must always pay attention to this fact. A transmutation from one plane to another can only be accomplished through the respective matrix or connecting substance through a more subtle energy. Therefore a thought cannot produce a physical energy; in other words it cannot remove a physical ailment. But a concentrated thought that contains belief and conviction can cause strong vibrations in the mental sphere of the patient that are directed through the mental matrix to the astral body. However, this influence reaches no farther than the soul of the patient. Such an influence incites the patient to mentally focus in on the healing process through which the vibrations necessary to effect the healing come into being, but nothing more. A mental-astral relief is thereby achieved and the patient initiates an accelerated healing process internally from the mental sphere. But this influence is not sufficient for physical ailments, especially when the patient already internally lacks many of the energies necessary to renew the substances and fluids required for the physical healing. The success would therefore be insignificant and the healing would only be subjective.

The following belong to this category of healing methods: suggestion, hypnosis, auto-suggestion, faith healing, i.e. healing through prayer and so on. The magician does not underestimate these methods, but he also does not rely on them, and he makes use of them merely as second-class aids. To a magician these methods do not have the value with which they are credited in numerous books.

A true magnetopath who, through occult training and an appropriate lifestyle, has a great surplus of vital magnetism at his disposal, works far more effectively. He does not require the faith or belief of his patient nor any kind of suggestion, hypnosis or the halo (aureola of a saint). This kind of magnetopath loads the surplus of his vital energy into the astral body of the patient and thus achieves a more speedy recovery, because his magnetism possesses a much greater resiliency and therefore strengthens the astral matrix of the ailing person. If necessary, the magnetopath can achieve this against the will of the patient. A magnetopath who possesses this ability can also successfully treat a child who cannot contribute anything for its well-being through its imagination or through its subconscious.

When comparing a magnetopath to a magician, the differences are considerable, because the magician has the ability, if time permits and provided he specializes in the healing arts, to treat hundreds of patients daily without experiencing any loss of his vitality. A magician employs the universal laws and, with his influence, directly affects the ailing physical organ without first having to pass through the astral body and its matrix. Consequently a magician can exert a much greater effect upon the ailing organ than any person skilled in the healing arts mentioned so far. Under certain circumstances the healing process can be so remarkably fast that orthodox medicine would consider it a miracle.

It is not my intention to impose upon the true magician general rules for the treatment of the ailing, for I am certain that the magician will have his own personal method of working with the help of the laws he has learned. It will suffice if I provide just a few guidelines for him. Should his patient suffer from a weakness or disturbance of the spirit in which harmony has to be restored, the magician will work with the will and the imagination. In this instance, the magician must be fully aware of the activity of his spirit, so that neither his astral nor physical body undertakes the influencing, but that only his spirit is effective. All attention has to be focused on the spirit; the physical body and the soul must be completely ignored so that the effectiveness from spirit to spirit is intensive. For example, should the patient be in agony or unconscious, a magician has the ability to help the patient regain his consciousness. Should the cause of the ailment be in the astral body, then the magician will have to work with accumulated vital energy which he impregnates with the wish of recovery. He will directly pass the accumulation from the universe into the astral body of the patient, without permitting the vital energy to pass through his body first. By employing this method the magician prevents a weakening of his own vitality and at the same time, prevents the diseased Od [18] of the patient from mixing with his own Od.

Should the cause of the ailment be of a physical nature and an organ in the physical body be afflicted, the magician then employs the elements and the electric and magnetic fluids. Should the patient have a strong constitution, then the magician employs only those elements which have a favorable effect on the ailment; for instance he employs the element of Water when the patient is afflicted with high fever. The element the magician introduces into the patient will form the necessary fluid by itself, whether electric or magnetic, and the patient must follow a mode of life, a regimen of diet, breathing exercises, healing herbs, balneotherapy and so on in accordance with the elements. Should the body of the ailing person have grown so weak that it has lost all its ability to resist and no longer has the ability to absorb the element it needs, and as a result of this the particular fluid cannot form by itself, then the magician has no other choice but to load the ailing organ with the appropriate fluid. In this particular instance the greatest attention has to be paid to the occult anatomy in accordance with the polarization. An organ that takes care of the function of the magnetic fluid should never be loaded with the electric fluid, if you wish no harm to come to the patient. In organs where both fluids are active, the magician would be well advised to load the fluids in the appropriate sequence. For example: Should the magician be treating the head with fluids, he would load the front part of the head, the forehead, the left side and the internal part of the head, the cerebrum, with the electric fluid, whereas he would load the right side and back of the head, the cerebellum, with the magnetic fluid. Should the magician employ the laying-on of hands, it would be a good alternative but not absolutely necessary. However, if he decides on this method, then he has to apply his hands in accordance with the particular fluid. In the instance of our human head, the magician influences the forehead and the left side of the head with the right hand, which is the electric hand, and the back of the head and the right side of the head with the left hand, which is the magnetic hand. A magician who is extraordinarily well-trained in the practice of healing does not have to employ healing strokes or the laying-on of hands; he accomplishes everything with his well-trained imagination. He must have the knowledge of how to guide the magnetic or electric fluids through the imagination even into the smallest organs. For example: In the instance of the eye, he has to be able to guide the magnetic fluid into the internal part of the eye and the electric fluid to the right and left side of the periphery of the eyeball. Not only will the magician be able to successfully treat many ailments of the eyes and improve the vision, but he will also be able to make the blind regain their vision, provided no organic defect exists. The magician must load the neutral body parts with the element belonging to that particular region of the body or with accumulated vital energy. It would not be a serious mistake if he were to disregard the neutral parts, because the emanation of the fluids would indirectly influence the neutral points of the organs. Should you be dealing with a patient whose whole body is affected and not just a single organ, as for instance with a nervous disorder or blood disease, then the entire right side of the patient has to be loaded with electric fluid and the entire left side with magnetic fluid. Following the loading of both fluids in the appropriate sequence, if the patient’s constitution is not receptive, then the magician can also load the elements corresponding with the regions of the body. The magician should refrain from extremely dynamic accumulations of the elements in an ailing body, because an ailing person cannot very well tolerate a tension of this magnitude.

The most effective magical method of treatment is when the magician influences the spirit, soul and physical body of the ailing person in sequence accordingly. The magician is in possession of this knowledge, based on the aforementioned examples and analogous universal laws as to how this has to be accomplished, and therefore he no longer requires any specific instructions. Is it possible for a true, highly developed magician to completely cure even a seemingly incurable disease? The answer to that question is: As long as the afflicted person has all his organs and not one is missing, a true magician actually has the possibility to cure any ailment, even the most severe. However, the magician will first read in the book of destiny, the Akasha, whether he is allowed to intervene and how far, because some ailments are subject to karma, in other words the patient has to redeem himself through the ailment for acts committed in his present or previous life. But a magician may be called upon to be the means to an end to either alleviate or completely cure the ailment. A true magician can also effect real miracles on the basis of what he sees in the Akasha by following the instructions given in this book, and by always taking the universal laws into consideration.

The highest initiates who have graced our planet with their presence accomplished the greatest miraculous healing and raising of the dead by considering the universal laws, their powers and fluids. It was, however, of no consequence, whether the ability to realize their belief played a part consciously or unconsciously, or whether it was the living word, the Kabbalah. How far reaching the extent of a magician’s miraculous healings through the ability of realization can be depends upon the degree of his development.

Magical Loading of Talismans,
Amulets and Precious Stones

The belief in talismans, amulets and precious stones dates back to the dawn of history. It has its origin in fetishism, which to this day is still widespread among primitive nations. The belief in talismans and similar objects has survived to a certain degree to this day; however, it has been updated to fit our present-day circumstances or fashion trends, the evidence of which can be found in objects that are used as good luck charms, such as pendants, rings, brooches and so on. Luck-bringing birthstones are especially high on the list. If the idea of talismans contained no truth and did not conceal something magical, then the belief in talismans would have disappeared from the world of ideas long ago. It is our task to lift the veil and learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The purpose of a talisman, amulet or any birthstone is to raise, strengthen and maintain the level of belief and confidence of the person who is wearing it. Owing to the fact that the wearer pays considerable attention to his talisman, the subconscious is auto-suggestively influenced towards the desired direction, and various effects can be achieved in accordance with the person’s inclinations. It is not surprising that a purely material person or a dry-as-dust scientist condemns such beliefs and scoffs at and criticizes them, or considers things of that nature as superstitions. The true magician, however, is properly informed about these matters and is not satisfied to wear a talisman merely to raise his belief and confidence, but above all he will endeavor to investigate the connections of the lawfulness with talismans. The magician knows that talismans which owe their existence strictly to belief are completely ineffective in the hands of a non-believer or a distrustful person. Therefore, in this respect a magician will go one step farther with his science and lawfulness. Before we analyze this synthesis (putting more than one thing together), we will learn the various differences. In the hands of a magician, a talisman is nothing more than a tool, a point of reference, something material or physical into which he can bind or banish his power, cause or fluid. The shape of the object, whether it be a ring, pendant or brooch, and its material value are of no importance to him. He also pays no attention to its fashion, beauty and nimbus. To the magician it represents an object with whose help, by binding his powers, he creates causes which release the desired effect, regardless of whether the person wearing such an object believes it or not.

A pentacle, in contrast to a talisman, is a specific object which is in harmony with the laws of analogy of a desired effect, power, ability and cause. When the magician is preparing and loading such a pentacle or talisman he must consider the appropriate laws of analogy. A magician prefers the pentacle to the talisman for the purpose of making contact with beings of a higher world and it does not matter whether these entities are good or evil, intelligences, genii or demons.

An amulet is a divine name or a holy verse from the Bible; a mantra is a sentence that expresses veneration for a deity, written on virgin parchment or on common parchment paper. In the category of amulets belongs the wearing of various kinds of magical plants, as for instance mandrake (Atropa mandragora), which either provide specific protection or which bring forth some other kinds of useful effects. Furthermore, to the category of amulets also belongs the wearing of fluid condensers either in solid or liquid form, or blotting paper which is impregnated with fluid condensers and also natural lodestone, as well as small horse-shoe magnets.

Finally, I would like to mention the precious and semi-precious stones which are especially suitable fluid condensers and which have been used from ancient times as good luck charms, to provide protection, to attain success and to effect cures. On the basis of the color and hardness theories, astrology has assigned to every gemstone a particular effect and recommended the wearing of the appropriate birthstone as a lucky charm to people born under particular signs of the zodiac. To the true magician, however, it is a well-known fact that these astrologically selected “lucky birthstones” have an insignificant effect, especially for those who do not believe in such matters; for them these birthstones are completely without value. Whereas gems that correspond with an astrological effect in regards to their hardness, chemical composition and color are receptive and suitable to accept the appropriate magical loading. The magician, as far as it is within the sphere of possibility, can consider the astrological provisions, but he is by no means dependent upon them. The magician can, if he so wishes, magically load any gemstone with such intensity that, even with an astrologically unfavorable gemstone, the desired results can be achieved regardless of whether the person believes in the effect or not; the effect will always be what the magician has ordered.

We have learned about the various kinds of talismans, pentacles and gemstones and their differences, and we will now discuss the various methods of loading. There are ten different methods:

(1) Loading with the mere will in connection with the imagination.

(2) Loading by means of a set time limit in regards to accumulated vital energy and wish-impregnation.

(3) Loading by binding elementals, elementaries and beings that release the desired effect.

(4) Loading by means of individual or traditional rituals.

(5) Loading through magic formulas, mantras, tantras and so on.

(6) Loading through the accumulation of the elements.

(7) Loading through the electric and magnetic fluids.

(8) Loading through the accumulation of light-energy.

(9) Loading with electromagnetic spheres (volts).

(10) Loading through magico-sexual operations.

Each of the aforementioned loading methods has many variations. If I were to give the magician a description of all of them, it would far exceed the scope of this book. A magician who has progressed to this level has the ability to create his own methods through his own intuition. The ten methods mentioned here serve only as guidelines, and therefore I will only give a brief description of each of them.

(1) Loading with the Mere Will in Connection with the Imagination

This method is the easiest and simplest and the effectiveness depends upon the power or energy of the will and the imaginative ability of the magician.

Every talisman, every gemstone, every pentacle, with the exception of paper amulets and parchment amulets, must be cleansed of the fluids that are attached to it, in other words these fluids must be removed or de-fluidized before the magician can begin to load it magically. The best and most effective method which can be employed for this purpose is through the magic of water. Take a glass of fresh cold water in which you immerse the talisman. Focus your concentration on the fact that the water is withdrawing all evil influences from the talisman. In order to achieve this, maintain your concentration for awhile. However, after a few minutes of the most intense concentration you must be completely convinced that all the bad influences have been absorbed by the water and that your talisman is now free of all these influences. Whereupon you dry the talisman. Now you have the assurance that the talisman is receptive to your influence. This type of de-fluidization must be undertaken with every non-liquid talisman, regardless of the kind of method you employ to load the talisman. Then take the talisman into your hand and imaginatively fixate the effectiveness of your wish into the talisman with your most intense will-power, and with an unshakable belief and the greatest of confidence. Set a time limit for the effectiveness of your wish, whether it is to last for a certain period of time or indefinitely. Furthermore, the determination has to be made if the talisman should be effective just for one particular person or for anyone who wears it. Load or imagine in the present tense that the desired effect is already effective. Through frequent repetition you can increase the power of tension of the wish you have concentrated into the talisman; through this the emanative power of the talisman becomes more intensive and penetrating. During your concentration, transfer the feeling that the effectiveness of the talisman remains and continues to increase automatically, even when you do not think about your talisman. Should the talisman be intended for someone else, the same effect remains for another person. Once you have loaded the talisman with the utmost power that is within your capability in accordance with your best knowledge and conscience, then the talisman is ready for use.

(2) Loading by Means of a Set Time Limit in Regards to

Accumulated Vital Energy and Wish-Impregnation

As described in the previous paragraph, the talisman to be loaded must first be de-fluidized. If the talisman is intended for your own personal use, then you must accumulate the vital energy in your own body (for instructions, refer to Step III in this book). Once you have loaded your body with vital energy expansively, introduce the vital energy through your right hand into the talisman and then compress the accumulated vital energy to such a degree that it occupies the entire shape of the talisman, amulet or gemstone. While loading the talisman, you must imagine that it absorbs the vital energy like an absorbing receptacle and retains it as long as you wish. You must work with the conviction that, with time, the effectiveness of the talisman will not diminish through wearing or use; instead, it will increase. The vital energy that has been absorbed by the talisman and compressed to a snow-white radiance resembles a brightly shining sun. Your imagination must be developed to this degree. While accumulating the vital energy into your body, immediately transfer the wish regarding the effectiveness of the talisman into the accumulated energy. The duration of the effectiveness can subsequently be determined through the imagination. Always choose the present tense to express the inner conviction that the talisman is fully effective immediately after loading. Also, do not select more than one wish for one talisman, especially when the wishes are directly opposed to each other. The most effective loading is a loading which is to achieve only one wish. Furthermore, it is advisable to select only wishes that are within the realm of possibility and avoid loading methods that are too fantastic and cannot be fulfilled. This law, rule or commandment applies to all types of talismans and all kinds of loading methods. The best method of proving the effect of the expansiveness of such a loading is by employing a sidereal pendulum.

When loading the talisman for another person, do not direct the accumulated vital energy through your own body, but instead condense it directly from the universe and introduce it imaginatively into the talisman. All the remaining rules of instruction are the same.

(3) Loading by Binding Elementals, Elementaries and
Beings which Release the Desired Effect

In previous steps I have described in detail the creation of elementals and elementaries. An elemental or elementary can be bound to a talisman, pentacle, amulet or gemstone. Binding is achieved through a word you select, a ritual you devise, or a gesture by means of the imagination. All that is required at this point is to utter or implement the predetermined gesture, ritual, word or formula and the bound elemental will release the particular effect. At this point, the magician must have the necessary maturity to know when to bind an elemental or an elementary to a talisman. Undoubtedly he will make use of elementals to influence the mental sphere, whereas he will make use of elementaries for the realization of astral or physical effects. In the same manner beings can also be bound to a talisman if the magician wants to achieve specific effects. Every magician has this ability, provided he has worked conscientiously on his development. Contact with beings can be established through the practice of passive communications, furthermore through the magic mirror or through a trance transposition into the Akasha. In this respect there are no further instructions necessary. At this point the magician must know what to do and how to do it.

(4) Loading by Means of Individual or Traditional Rituals

This method is mostly practiced by Oriental magicians who are particularly partial to this method and who are endowed with a tremendous patience, which is absolutely necessary for this kind of loading.

The Oriental magician makes a specific and completely individual sign that he has chosen, either with his hand, his fingers, or with only one finger, over the talisman, or else he makes the sign directly in the air with the talisman.

He directs his concentration upon the desired effect, the effect the talisman should have. He repeats this ritual several times daily. Through prolonged repetition he creates such a strong battery or volt in the Akasha as to produce the desired effect. If, through prolonged repetition of this ritual, the magic volt in the Akasha has become strong enough, it will be sufficient to carry out the ritual independently or over the particular talisman and the desired effect will be released. All this can be accomplished without the aid of the imagination and without any mental effort.

A magician who is proficient in Kabbalah knows that he must ritually load his own battery in the Akasha 462 times on 462 days in accordance with the Kabbalistic number so that his ritual can be effective automatically. This loading has to be carried out without any great effort, because it is time consuming. A European magician will rarely gather this great amount of patience, since he can achieve the same effect considerably faster with another method that is contained in this book.

The loading through a traditional ritual is considerably easier and requires only a few repetitions in order to establish the contact, whereby the effect is so enormous that it borders on the miraculous. However, these types of traditional loading rituals, which I cannot divulge, belong among the secrets of lodges, societies, sects and cloisters. A magician who is well-trained in clairvoyance could easily obtain these secrets, but he would soon run the risk of being discovered. The Oriental magicians, who guard their rituals under the oath of death, would magically without mercy proceed against anyone who took possession of their rituals without their permission. Therefore I warn any magician against such misappropriations. These rituals are usually gestures with which the secret signs of the various deities, Ishta Devatas, are performed over the talisman. They are similar to the individual rituals that I described. Undoubtedly, such a loading has an enormously strong effect, because this kind of ritual is probably executed by hundreds of competent magicians and, besides that, the ritual is traditionally passed on from one generation to the next. A student who has reached a certain level of maturity is rewarded with such a ritual. This tradition of rewarding a person who is worthy with a ritual, which at the same time establishes the contact with the appropriate battery, is called in the Orient an ankhur or abhisheka.

(5) Loading through Magic Formulas, Mantras, Tantras and So On

This particular method of loading is one of the greatest and mightiest, as it requires a high level of knowledge and a great amount of preparation, which I describe in detail in my other two books, The Practice of Magical Evocation and The Key to The True Kabbalah. For this reason the following brief remarks should suffice.

The first method of loading is accomplished through the repetition of a magic formula, whereby a being which is suited for this purpose releases the desired effect.

The loading through mantras is accomplished through a sacred sentence which serves as reverence for a deity, a Japa Yoga which is many times thought or spoken into a talisman suited for this purpose. In this manner the attribute of that particular deity is materialized; and it is a certainty that through this, great effects can be achieved on all planes.

A loading through tantras is appropriately applied word-magic wherein particular cosmic powers find their application through letters, words etc., which are suitable for this purpose in accordance with the cosmic rhythm, tone, color and attribute.

(6) Loading through the Accumulation of the Elements

This method of loading is offered to any magician who has practically completed all the exercises step by step up to this point. Should the magician wish to achieve an effect through the element principle, he will load the talisman or pentacle he has chosen with the element that provides the appropriate effect. The loading itself is accomplished in the manner as described under heading 2 of this chapter in regards to the accumulated vital energy, but with one difference: instead of vital energy the appropriate element is used. For personal use, the element accumulation is carried out in one’s own body, whereas if the talisman is intended for other people it is taken directly from the universe. If, for instance, the magician has a problem in respect to controlling a particular element, he makes use of the opposite element for the purpose of protection; the magician accomplishes this by employing a loaded talisman. Many other effects can be accomplished through the elements. The magician who is experienced in controlling the elements will be able to devise, through his intuition, the variations he desires.

(7) Loading through the Electric and Magnetic Fluids

Employing the electric and magnetic fluids represents one of the most powerful loadings. Should the intended purpose of the talisman be to protect, to shield, to radiate something or to bring about some activity, in these particular instances you employ mainly the electric fluid. Should the talisman have an attractive effect and be intended to bring about sympathy, good fortune and success, then you employ the magnetic fluid. The loading is undertaken in the same manner as the accumulation of vital energy and the element accumulation. Should the talisman be employed for personal use, accumulation is carried out in the appropriate side of the body, not in the whole body. The magnetic fluid is accumulated dynamically in the left side of the body and projected into the talisman through the left hand, whereas the electric fluid is accumulated in the right side of the body and projected into the talisman through the right hand.

(8) Loading through the Accumulation of Light-Energy

For finer spiritual effects such as increasing the level of occult powers, intuition and inspiration, load the talisman with accumulated light-energy. The loading occurs in the same manner as the accumulation of vital energy accompanied by wish-impregnation, time limit and so on. The compressed light in the talisman must resemble a sun, but it must shine more brightly than common sunlight. A talisman intended for personal use is loaded with accumulated light-energy through one’s own body, whereas if the talisman is intended for another person it is loaded with light-energy directly from the universe. All the other applicable instructions described in this book must be observed.

(9) Loading with Electromagnetic Spheres (Volts)

Should you wish to temper the karmic influences in order to protect yourself from the influences of other spheres, and should you intend to arrange your destiny in accordance with your wishes, load the talisman with a magic volt, whether for your own purposes or for other people. This method of loading is called “volting”; it is the strongest form of emulation of the Akasha principle. Only a magician who aspires to reach the highest of goals, a connection with God, should make use of this method of loading in order not to burden himself by intervening in the Akasha.

As mentioned repeatedly, everything that exists has been created through the two fluids by means of the four elements. In accordance with the universal law, the electric fluid is always in the center. On the periphery of the electric fluid, where the expansion ceases, the magnetic fluid begins to work and it is here where it is the weakest. The distance from the central point or focal point to the periphery of the electric fluid is exactly the same as the distance from the beginning of the magnetic fluid to the end of the periphery of the magnetic fluid, where the magnetic attractive force is the strongest. This law applies on a small scale as well as on a large scale, in the microcosm as well as in the macrocosm. This law has to be observed when you are loading with a volt or when forming a volt. Should you wish to load a talisman, pentacle or gemstone through a volt for your own purpose, you proceed as follows:

With all the power at your disposal, accumulate the electric fluid dynamically in the right side of your body. Project the accumulated electric fluid through the right hand and eventually through the index finger after condensing it into a strong electric spark which you banish imaginatively into the center of your talisman. This highly compressed electric spark must be seen as glowing red.

Follow the same procedure with the magnetic fluid as you did with the electric fluid, accumulating the magnetic fluid in the left side of your body and directing it through your left hand and then through the index finger, and project it in such a way that you cover the spherical electric spark with the magnetic fluid to such a degree that it becomes invisible to the imagination. Imagine the compressed magnetic fluid in the color blue. When you have accomplished this, what remains imaginatively should be a small blue sphere which encompasses the entire shape of the talisman. This concludes the preparation of the volt, and as soon as the electric fluid radiates on the inside and the magnetic fluid on the outside of the volt, impregnate the sphere (that is, the volt which is now completed) with your wish, and also determine the time limit of its effectiveness.

Should you decide at a later date to increase the charge, which will probably not be necessary, all that has to be done is to condense the magnetic fluid, whereby the electric fluid contained within will intensify automatically by itself. Such a volt has such formidable magical effects that it even changes the karma in accordance with your wish. A magician who succeeds in doing this is no longer subject to the usual karma; instead he is only subject to Divine Providence.

When a magician loads a talisman with a volt for another person, he follows the same procedure as aforementioned. However, he does not draw the electric and magnetic fluids from his own body; instead, he draws them directly from the universe. The magician should only undertake volt-loadings for another person if the circumstances command it. He must be absolutely certain that the particular person has high ideals, is sincere about his development, is pursued only by karma, and is considered to be unlucky in all his endeavors. The clairvoyant eyes of the magician will be able to determine this; also, his intuition will guide him to make the right decision as to whether he is allowed to do this or not. At this point in his development, the magician is completely responsible for all the consequences resulting from this act.

When such a magic volt is banished to a small horseshoe magnet in such a manner that the sphere encompasses the entire magnet, even a doubting Thomas would be amazed at the enormous effects such a little magnet could produce.

(10) Loading Through Magico-Sexual Operations

There is also another method of loading; however, I will give it only a brief comment. For ethical and moral reasons I will refrain from describing the practice of this method in detail. However, if the magician meditates on this method he will be able to access the actual details of this practice. He will, however, refrain from this practice, since in the meantime he has learned so many other methods of loading. Only an ethical, highly developed magician can venture to practice this method, because with the pure, everything remains pure. In the hands of an immoral person these practices could cause more harm than benefit. And a great deal of mischief could be committed with this knowledge, and high powers such as love should never be misused. That is why the description of this method will be brief and I will limit it to the principle upon which the loading method is based.

Above all, particular preparations are of necessity, for without them this operation will not succeed. A magico-sexual operation, for whatever purpose it is undertaken, is a holy or sacred act, a prayer, where the love-act of creation is emulated. Everything that has been created in the universe has come into being through the act of love. Sexual magic is based upon this universal law. In this instance the male magician works with a like-minded female, preferably a female magician. The male magician represents the active, procreative principle, whereas the female magician represents the passive, birth-giving principle. The female magician must possess the ability to control the electric and magnetic fluids and in this particular instance must change her polarity so that her head becomes magnetic and her genitals electrically fluidized. The reverse is the case with the male magician; his head remains magnetic and his genitals remain electric. His polarities remain unchanged. An exceedingly strong bipolar tension of power is produced through the union of the male and female magician which creates an enormous effect. This act of love does not create new life, but instead produces the desired cause together with its effect. Here the lower as well as the upper double pole is set into motion, here the tetrapolar magnet is in effect, the Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh, the highest mystery of love, the highest mystery of creation. How easily could this act of creation, the highest that exists in the world, be reduced to carnal desire and lead to perdition? The expulsion of the biblical Adam and Eve from paradise finds in this its highest symbolism. The magician who ventures to approach this highest of all practices must be in absolute control of the upper as well as the lower currents in order to transfer these currents into a gemstone, in other words a talisman for the purpose of a possible loading. If the magician were to dishonor this sacred act through carnal desires, he would meet with the same fate as Adam and Eve, who lost the privilege of enjoying the fruits of paradise. The intuitive magician will easily understand how great this symbolism is, and will consider it justified as to why I will not break silence when it comes to the highest of all mysteries.

The Realization of a Wish through the
Electromagnetic Spheres in the Akasha
(Known as Volting)

In the preceding paragraphs of this chapter I have described the creation of a volt by means of the electromagnetic fluid. The procedure for volting is the same, only that for a volt in the Akasha the electromagnetic sphere must be larger. The practice is as follows:

With all the power at your disposal, accumulate the electric fluid in the right side of your body. Project it through the palm of your right hand to the outside, whereby you shape the electric fluid through the imagination into a sphere which you allow to float in the air without restriction. This projection is not directed through your index finger, but instead is projected directly through the palm of your right hand. This fiery sphere must be glowing red due to the compressed electric fluid within itself, and this sphere will be dynamically intensified through frequent accumulation of the electric fluid and through repeated projections, and it increases through repeated loadings. The accumulation and dynamization is repeated until the sphere has reached a diameter of approximately one yard. The same procedure has to be followed with the magnetic fluid. You begin to project the magnetic fluid to the outside through the palm of your left hand, by enveloping the electric sphere layer by layer with the magnetic fluid. Through frequent repetition of the accumulation of the magnetic fluid and its projection, the envelope becomes more and more condensed and larger. This procedure has to be repeated until the entire sphere has reached a diameter of approximately two yards. When that has been achieved the electromagnetic volt is completed.

Should the magician prepare such a volt for another person, then the electric and the magnetic fluids have to be taken directly from the universe. When such an electromagnetic volt has been prepared with the greatest imagination, with a firm will and an unshakable faith, then the magician has impregnated this volt, this most powerful of all magic accumulators in existence, with the appropriate wish-concentration. He creates by means of his imagination the desired cause which his volt should bring forth. Once the magician has determined the life span of his magic volt, he catapults it in an almost ecstatic fashion with the aid of his imagination into the infinite universe, into the macrocosm, into the causal world, hence into the Akasha. He mentally severs the connection with his volt; as he catapults it he suddenly ceases thinking about it; he intentionally forgets the volt and directs his attention to other matters.

The volt-loading mentioned here is one of the most powerful operations that the magician at his present level of development is capable of executing. This enables him to be master over himself as well as others. The cause which he has transferred with his volt into the Akasha will exercise its effect, and it will not matter if this is to occur on the mental, astral or physical plane. The magician duly values this great and responsible opportunity, and he will use this for himself as well as for his fellow man, for which he ventured into this operation, only to reach high and noble purposes.

The magician who has traveled this difficult path thus far has, through strenuous exercises (which are considerably more than asceticism), equilibrated his karma to the degree that it will no longer do him any harm. The magician is no longer subject to the usual strokes of fate. He has become master over his fate. Only Divine Providence in Its highest aspect can influence his will.

Summary of the Exercises in Step IX

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

The practice of clairvoyance through magic mirrors:

(a) Viewing through time and space.

(b) Having an effect from afar through the magic mirror.

(c) Various projection activities through the magic mirror.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Conscious separation of the astral body from the physical body.

(2) The impregnation of the astral body with the four divine attributes.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

(1) Treatment of the sick through the electromagnetic fluid.

(2) The magic loading of talismans, amulets and precious stones.

(3) The realization of a wish through electromagnetic spheres in the Akasha, known as volting.

End of Step IX

Step X:
Magical Schooling of the Spirit

Before the magician begins to pursue the practice of Step X, which is also the last step of this first volume of instruction, he should thoroughly review all he has learned and make certain that he is one hundred per cent in control and is proficient in every aspect which this course of instruction has offered so far. Should this not be so, then it must be his concern to catch up on everything he lacks and do everything in his power to completely develop all of his abilities. Any haste or hurry in respect to one’s development is without purpose and at a later date presents a disadvantage in the practice of magic. In order to prevent any future disappointments, the magician must allow himself the necessary time and must work systematically and extensively.

The magician must be aware of the fact that this last step is actually the end of his magical development as far as the first Tarot card is concerned, and he must now be prepared for higher magical tasks, which I will describe in Volume II and Volume III of these Holy Mysteries. [19] Should there be any gaps in his work he will never succeed in controlling the higher forces. In this particular instance it is of no importance whether he completes this course of instruction a few months earlier or later. What is of primary importance is that the magician should never lose sight of his goal and should always strive forward until the loftiest heights of divine cognizance are attained. In reviewing his development to this point, the magician will realize that he has already covered quite a distance on his path to perfection, considerably more than he expected.

However, he must also be aware that this is only the first step on the ladder which he aspires to scale. As soon as the magician realizes how much more knowledge and experiences he has to gather and make his own, he will stand with his head bowed in the profoundest of reverence before the divine fountain of wisdom. In his heart he can no longer harbor haughtiness, ambition, or self-conceit, much less bad attributes. Because the deeper he penetrates into God’s workshop, the humbler and more receptive will his Innermost be.

The first assignment that the magician is given in the tenth step is to gain knowledge of the sphere of the elements. With his mental body he visits the individual spheres of the elements and accordingly transfers his spirit body into the kingdom of the gnomes or Earth spirits, followed by the kingdom of the undines or Water spirits. Furthermore, he learns to know the kingdom of the sylphs or fairies, the Air spirits; and finally the kingdom of the salamanders, also known as the Fire kingdom. To the uninitiated, these realms must seem a fairytale, and they will probably consider them utopian. Legends and fairytales do not exist for the true initiate; actually they have to be understood symbolically, because they conceal many profound truths. In a sense the same applies to gnomes, undines, fairies and salamanders. The magician can, on the basis of his own observations, prove to himself that these entities really exist. However, a person who is not trained in magic and whose senses are not completely developed in a spiritual respect is solely attuned to the physical world and therefore cannot imagine the existence of other beings, much less prove their existence to himself.

Most people are so infatuated by the materialism caused by their purely material lifestyle that they do not comprehend something in existence beyond the physical world which is higher or finer, and also far beyond their scope to perceive. It is of course an entirely different matter when it comes to a trained magician whose senses are consciously developed. He has the ability to see far more and perceive more and he can ascertain or prove to himself the existence of higher powers, planes and beings. This is the actual reason or purpose for this course of instruction: to develop human beings to such a degree that they not only perceive and control the physical world, but also the higher spheres. However, we do not want to jump ahead and indulge in similar subjects, but rather we shall deal with the practice of what we have to do to reach the world of the elements.

In the previous chapters we learned that the kingdom of the elements exists, not only where the particular elements themselves exist, but also where their respective beings manage their existence. The difference between a human being and a being of the elements lies in the fact that a human being consists of four, or rather five, elements and is controlled by them, whereas an elemental being is composed only of the purest substance of the element to which it belongs. According to our concept of time, such a being probably has a longer life span than a human being, but in return it does not possess an immortal spirit. As a rule, such a being dissolves again into its own element. At this point, let us refrain from describing any details, because the magician will learn these from his own practical experiences, which are made possible by transposing his spirit. The magician must understand how to transfer himself into the kingdom of the elements and bring about contact with its beings. Later on, he will be able to even control these elemental beings. How to cite or summon these beings into our physical world, in a passive and active manner, shall be described in detail in the appropriate chapter on evocational magic, in Volume II of this course of instructions, The Practice of Magical Evocation.

Above all, the magician has to be aware that the kingdom of the elements is not our physical world and therefore he cannot transfer himself into this world without the appropriate qualifications. A being of the elements can only make itself understood with a being that is homogeneous. This circumstance must be taken into consideration. A bird can only communicate with another bird, and that is why an elemental being cannot understand a human being and therefore can only make itself understood with a being of the same element. Should a being of the elements want to get in contact with a human being, it would have to assume human form as well as human attributes in order to approach. These examples should make it completely clear to the magician why, in the previous steps, he had to practice transformation exercises. A gnome can never understand a human being and vice versa; during this procedure, either the magician transforms himself into a gnome or the gnome becomes a human being. Therefore the magician, before he enters the kingdom of the Earth spirits, must assume the form or shape of a gnome. Should the magician have no idea what a gnome looks like, he can use clairvoyance, either in a state of trance or through a magic mirror, to see the shape of a gnome. He will observe that gnomes are little people similar to the elves in fairytales. Usually they have long beards and wear caps, with long hair and flashing eyes and their garments are frocks. This is how a gnome will appear to the magician in the magic mirror. The magician will also notice that every Earth spirit carries a small lantern and each lantern has a different luminosity. The lantern helps these Earth spirits find their way in the subterranean kingdom. Once the magician has viewed a gnome in the magic mirror through clairvoyance, he has only to assume its shape in the spirit, or in other words on the mental plane. Furthermore, he must identify himself with the Earth element, which means that he must load his entire form with the Earth element, but without any accumulation. At this point the magician has nothing more to do other than to imagine that he is descending into the subterranean kingdom, in other words into the earth. While in this environment, a feeling of darkness will surround him, and with the aid of the imagination he will envisage a lantern with an absolutely beautiful light that illuminates the darkness. He will not notice much of a change in his initial attempts.

However, after repeating this procedure several times, the magician will become accustomed to the darkness to such a degree that he will be able to discern beings who have the same form as he, and these are the beings he wishes to contact. After frequent attempts he will notice that these beings become more and more distinct, and he will be able to observe them in the kingdom of the Earth at work in their various activities. In the kingdom of the Earth spirits the magician cannot and must not speak to any Earth spirit until they first speak directly to him. The magician must at all times be aware of this law, never to be the first to ask a question. It could happen, by working together with these gnomes, that the magician is tempted to make a remark, but he must never allow himself to be enticed in this manner. Otherwise he runs the risk that the Earth spirits will gain control over him, whereas the purpose of this exercise is that the magician gains control over them. Should such misfortune befall a magician, it could happen that the gnomes, through their various magic practices, capture him through the Earth element and that he himself becomes an Earth spirit. At this point he would hardly have the opportunity to return to his physical body. After a certain period of time, the mental cord between the astral body and the physical body would sever and the result would be the magician’s physical death. The medical diagnosis would read: cause of death, heart attack.

A magician who, through magical schooling, is in complete control of himself and who always takes this law into consideration has nothing to fear. On the contrary, the minute the gnomes initiate the conversation, they will regard the magician as a being that is on a higher level than they are and they will become his best friends.

The law that the magician should not speak to the Earth spirits first applies only to the first visits; later, or as soon as the gnomes are convinced that the magician is superior to them in intelligence and will-power, they will not only derive happiness from this relationship but they will also become the most obedient servants. Earth spirits are the spirits which are closest to a human being, and they will serve him gladly, especially when they are cognizant of his superiority. The magician should visit the kingdom of the gnomes as often as possible, and he should do this until that kingdom has nothing new to offer him.

The magician can learn much from the gnomes, and there is not a single book in existence that can bestow upon him as many secrets about the kingdom of the Earth as he can learn or experience in that kingdom. For example, he can learn from the gnomes all about the power and effect of the various herbs and how to attain magical powers over specific stones; he will gain knowledge about hidden treasures and many other things. He will also be an eye-witness to all the things that exist in the earth, for instance water springs, coal, ore and so on. Besides that, he will learn from the gnomes by watching them perform various magical practices which can be utilized through the Earth element. In due course the magician will notice that amongst the Earth spirits in the kingdom of the gnomes there are different intelligence groups. He will meet gnomes that will teach him alchemy.

When the magician eventually feels at home in the kingdom of the gnomes and has gathered all the knowledge they are able to provide, then he can visit the next kingdom, the kingdom of the Water spirits.

The magician should prepare himself in the same manner as he did when visiting the Earth spirits, and he should first view the shape of a Water spirit in his magic mirror. The magician will notice that the Water spirits are very close to human beings in appearance; there is no difference in their shape or height. As a rule, Water spirits are called undines, which are female Water spirits and beautiful, but there are also male Water spirits. When the magician visits the Water kingdom, he does not necessarily have to assume the form of a female Water spirit; he may, however, choose to do so, if it appeals to him, by imaginatively transforming himself into an undine. Turning oneself into an undine has the advantage that the magician will not be subjected to the undines’ advances; the undines are not only ravishingly beautiful but also intrusive and strongly erotically inclined beings.

As soon as the magician is mentally prepared, having filled himself with the Water element, i.e. having impregnated his spirit with Water, he transfers himself somewhere to a large lake or ocean in accordance with his will and preference and spiritually descends into the deep of the waters. Here he will experience the same process as in the kingdom of the gnomes. In the beginning he will not immediately meet the Water spirits, but through frequent experimentation and inspired by the sincere wish to communicate with the Water spirits, he will eventually attract them. Initially he will encounter only female beings, which move around in the water freely just like human beings do. Very seldom will he encounter an unfriendly undine. Here also reigns a specific class of intelligence, for even though all undines are beautiful, the magician will meet the more intelligent and royal guides who are endowed with particular beauty and intelligence. The magician will notice that these beings will not only indulge in their usual dances but also perform various tasks. It would not serve any purpose to describe any details, because the magician will be able to experience that for himself. The law also applies here: the magician must never speak to any of the Water spirits first; he must wait until he is spoken to. The magician will learn so much about the Water element from these intelligent guides that he could write books about this subject. Not only will he learn all about the life of the fish, the various kinds of water plants, the stones under the water and so on, but he will also become familiar with the various magical practices of the Water element. The magician shall be forewarned as to the exceptional beauty of these beings, and he must never fall in love with such a being to the point that he loses sight of everything else. A love like this could cause the magician’s undoing. That does not mean that he cannot enjoy the company of these undines. Always remember the motto: Love is the law, but love is subject to the will. An undine can entrap a magician with her ravishing beauty, loveliness and intoxicating eroticism to such a degree that he would run the risk of becoming one of the Water spirits himself, the consequence of which would be his physical death. So far, many magicians have fallen victim to such an unfortunate love. Therefore a magician must be steadfast at all times, in as much as this kingdom has the most attractive force in the sphere of the elements, and if he does not understand how to control his passions, he will be completely at the mercy of the Water spirits.

Once the magician has attained the ability to visit the kingdom of the Water spirits as he pleases and learn from these beings everything there is to learn about what the Water element has to offer in regards to magical knowledge, he shall direct his attention to the next kingdom, the kingdom of the Air spirits.

In contrast to the kingdom of Water, whose inhabitants, the undines or water nymphs, gladly communicate with people, the Air spirits are shy when it comes to human beings. They are similar to the Water spirits; they have beautiful figures and are predominantly female, but you will also find male Air spirits.

In this particular instance, the magician does not have to assume a shape which appeals to the Air spirits. He can impregnate his own person, his own spirit, with the Air element and he can imaginatively proceed into the air region with the wish that the Air spirits make contact with him. Even if, after frequent repetition, the magician is not successful in contacting the Air spirits for an extended period of time, he should never lose his patience. His main focus should be on spotting the Air spirits at any cost, and eventually he will succeed. At first the magician will observe that the Air spirits will avoid him, but he should never be discouraged by this behavior. He will see the most beautiful beings with magnificent etheric bodies which are soft and graceful. The magician should emulate these Air spirits with his own spirit by floating and gliding back and forth, carried by the air. Once that has occurred it will not be long before the Air spirits will approach him and speak to him. And again, the magician must observe the law and not be the first to speak to an Air spirit, regardless of whether it is male or female. The same fate could befall the magician with the Air spirits as mentioned with the two previous elemental spirits.

When, after repeated attempts, contact with the Air spirits has been established, the magician will learn from these beings everything in connection with the Air element. He will discover many practices and secrets of which the average person has no concept.

Once the magician has a thorough knowledge of the Air element and its beings and masters all the magical laws and practices with which he has been entrusted, he can proceed to the spirits of the Fire element, which he also must contact and learn to know well. The beings of the Fire element resemble human beings in a certain way, but they have several peculiar features that an average person does not have. Consequently it is advisable that the magician commit the shape of a Fire spirit to his memory by using a magic mirror. When viewing these Fire spirits in the magic mirror, the magician will notice that they have smaller faces than human beings and abnormally thin, long necks. Therefore the magician will transfer his spirit imaginatively into the form of a Fire spirit. Then he will load this form with the pure element of Fire and proceed in the spirit sphere into a crater or active volcano, the most prominent habitat of Fire spirits.

In the previous element, the Air element, the magician observed that Air spirits were restless and in constant motion; this applies to a much greater degree to the Fire spirits, who continually flicker like flames. Again, the same law applies as with the spirits of the other three elements: the magician cannot speak to the Fire spirits first, even though he has transformed himself into one of them. In this sphere there is also a hierarchy of intelligence; the more intelligent such a Fire spirit is, the more harmonious and more beautiful his form. The highest Fire spirits resemble human beings the most, and the magician will understandably prefer to communicate with the more intelligent beings.

In regards to the practice of magic, the magician will gain much knowledge and learn what can be accomplished with the Fire element. Once he has become sufficiently acquainted with the Fire spirits, i.e. with the leader in the crater, and has established a relationship with them and learned everything that he can from them, he proceeds to visit those Fire spirits who inhabit the center of the earth. These spirits have a considerably greater and more profound knowledge than those which inhabit craters. Only when the magician has gained all the knowledge about the Fire element can he say with a clear conscience that he has become absolute master over all the elements.

During his visits to the beings of the four elements the magician will become completely convinced that every elemental being, no matter how intelligent it is and no matter how extensive its knowledge is, is only composed of one element, whereas a human being incorporates all four elements and, in addition, the fifth element, the principle of God or the Divine Principle, and he will now begin to properly understand why the Bible states that a human being is the most perfect among all beings and creatures, and that a human being has been created in the image of God. The longing for immortality of the elemental beings is great, and they envy human beings for this advantage, and the explanation for their yearning can be found in this fact. It is understandable that every elemental being aspires to achieve immortality, and that a magician can bestow immortality upon an elemental being. For the time being, it is not possible to describe this procedure in detail, but any magician who has reached this point in his development will have attained the level of intuition to obtain this information.

How much knowledge a magician can gain from the beings of the elements will appear to him through his own experiences. It is a logical conclusion that these experiences will transfer into the memory, i.e. the physical body. A magician will also be able to utilize these experiences, which he has transformed into practice, on the physical plane. A magician who has reached this level of development has the ability to accomplish, in natural magic, true miracles in the eyes of the uninitiated.

Due to the magician’s progress in having gained a thorough knowledge of the kingdoms of the four elements and practically controlling them, and having greatly increased his experiences, he is now ready to establish conscious guidance with his spiritual teacher, guru or guardian angel.

As mentioned in the chapter in regards to passive communication with the world beyond, every human being has been given a guardian angel by Divine Providence to accompany him on his path of life, to guide him and to oversee his spiritual or mental development. The first time that the magician made contact with his guardian angel was when he practiced passive communication. Whenever the magician has endeavored to contact his guardian angel, it has been accomplished through clairvoyance, and he has seen his guardian angel either while in a state of trance or in his magic mirror. Now the magician has reached the level of making visible contact with his guardian angel on the mental plane. The practical procedure of contacting your guardian angel is not difficult, especially if the guardian angel has made himself known at an earlier time to a magician who completely masters mental travel. The practice of making a visible connection with your guardian spirit requires only one thing, namely, that in your spirit you imagine, that you ascend to the heights as straight as an arrow, as if seized and carried off by a whirlwind. You can also apply a different procedure: you can imagine that you are not carried upwards, but instead that you are as light as a feather and are therefore repelled by the earth. However, the type of concentration procedure one employs is the choice of the individual. After a few attempts, the magician will discover which method suits him best. Once the magician, with his spirit, is ascending higher and higher, until the earth appears to him no bigger than a small star and he is completely removed from it, while floating in the universe he must concentrate on the wish that his guide should appear to him or that the magician may be attracted by the guide. Even if this should not occur immediately, the magician will meet and make visual contact with his guide or guardian angel after a few attempts. The first encounter with his spiritual guide is a memorable occasion for the magician, because from that moment on he has the opportunity to be in contact with his spiritual guide within hearing and speaking range. Furthermore, it will also be of great value to him to find out from his spiritual guide as to when, how and under what conditions he can make contact with his spiritual guide at any time. The student must completely obey the instructions of the spirit guide. At this point, the guru will take over the subsequent guidance of the magician.

Once contact with the guru has been established, the magician is entering the last stage of his mental development. At this point the material world has little to offer, and that is why he will seek out other spheres. The magician accomplishes this by ascending from the earth as straight as an arrow, and he concentrates on the sphere he wishes to visit, and he will be attracted by that particular sphere in accordance with his will; because for his spirit there is no concept of time and space, and he can visit any sphere in an instant either by himself or with his guide. According to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, he must follow the proper sequence. Therefore the magician will first visit the sphere of the Moon, followed by Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and finally the sphere of Saturn. On all spheres he will meet the inhabiting beings as well as learning all the existing laws and mysteries in a practical sense. Once the magician has gained the ability to visit and control the universe, that is the spherical planetary system of the beings, his mental or spiritual schooling is complete. He has become a perfect magician, a Brother of the Light, a true initiate, and he has accomplished much, but he has not yet achieved everything.

Step X:
Magical Schooling of the Soul

In the theoretical part of this book, I allude to the concept of God. The magician who has advanced to this level in his development can proceed with the realization of the concept of God. However, before he begins to work through the last phase of his development, he must examine himself as to whether he has completely mastered every step of the Magical Schooling of the Soul, if he has attained magical equilibrium, and if he has ennobled his soul to such a degree that the Divinity can dwell therein.

Many religions speak about a practical connection with God, but primarily from a personal point of view, namely that if you pray to God in the form of a request or supplication, in reverence or in gratitude, then through this procedure you have already established contact with God. Naturally, this statement will not satisfy a magician who has traveled the laborious path of development to this level, because for the magician God is the Highest, is ultimate Truth, and is ultimate Lawfulness in existence. Consequently, from the inception of the initiation of his ascent, the magician has immediately respected, observed and cared for the lawfulness of the universal laws. And the concept of God must be understood in this universal lawfulness. It does not matter to which religion the magician belongs, whether Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Brahmin, or any other religious denomination. If he is on the path of initiation he must respect without exception the universal lawfulness in his concept of God. The Christian will worship Christ as his highest ideal and credit Him also with the four fundamental attributes, qualities or aspects which manifest themselves in omnipresence. The four fundamental attributes are:

(1) Omnipotence

(2) Wisdom or Omniscience

(3) All-love or Mercifulness

(4) Immortality

The magician will not view his Christ as a manifestation endowed with only one quality, but instead will revere Him as the highest Divinity in consideration of the universal laws analogous to the four elements. This also applies to a devotee of Buddhism or any other religion. If the magician does his work properly and reaches his magical maturity, he will properly incorporate his God principle upon these four foundations with their fundamental attributes in accordance with the elements, and these four fundamental aspects of his deity will represent his highest concept of God. The concept of his God does not have to be connected to a living person or a person that has lived before; it can be expressed symbolically. It is of no consequence at all if the magician imagines as a symbol of his highest deity Christ, Buddha, a Devi, a sun, a light, a flame or some other symbol. Here the concept is of less importance; however, the quality which he places into his concept is important. In any event, the idea of the God concept must be for a magician the highest, the most loved, the most valuable and the most venerable, regardless of whatever concept of religion and ideology he subscribes to, and no other god should exist for him above this God. The communication or connection with this deity, with his God, can be accomplished in a fourfold manner:

(1) in a mystical-passive manner,

(2) in a magical-active manner,

(3) in a concrete manner, and

(4) in an abstract manner.

A true magician should master all four aforementioned forms. It remains of course a personal matter which of these forms the magician will choose later on for permanent contact.

The mystical-passive form of communion with God is characteristic of most saints and to all believers to whom the Divine principle reveals itself while in a state of ecstasy. When the magician employs this method he does not know in which form God will reveal Himself to him. However, the manner in which God reveals Himself will be expressed in accordance with the magician’s highest concept of God. Should the magician be a Christian it might occur in the form of a firm symbol, such as Christ in the form of a white dove, or the Holy Spirit in the form of a cross; but this is actually of secondary importance. The emphasis must be placed mainly upon the quality or attribute of the Divinity which manifests itself to the particular magician. How profoundly, how mightily, and how penetratingly God reveals Himself to the individual depends upon his spiritual and astral maturity. This manner of revelation will be experienced by all human beings who, through deep meditation or prayer, enter into a state of corporeal ecstasy. In the manner in which God reveals Himself, all mystics, theosophists, bhakti yogis etc., see the attainment of their aspired goals. History furnishes us with many such hints of these mystical Christ-communions, and therefore it is not necessary to describe them individually.

The second kind of revelation by God is the magical-active form, which is the form that is characteristic to most magicians. The schooled magician will attempt to approach or to contact his Divinity through invocation. Here too it can be said that this is a form of ecstasy, but in this instance it is not an accompaniment as it was in the previous method of revelation. Instead it occurs consciously and is accomplished step by step. When the magician employs this method of revelation, he enters his Innermost, that is, the spirit of the magician ascends and meets God halfway, and God descends halfway to the magician. The invocation of the deity in this magical-active manner is theurgic, a truly magical method. This method can only be employed by a magician when he has in fact reached the appropriate level of maturity. The kind of invocation employed is a matter for the individual, because in this instance a concrete or definite method does not exist.

The mystical-passive as well as the magical-active invocation of God can occur in concrete or abstract form. The concrete invocation is one wherein you imagine your deity in a specific form, whereas the abstract invocation is based upon the concept of the abstract idea of God regarding His divine qualities.

The practice of individual possibilities of revelation of the concept of God is extremely simple. The magician meditates in the deepest immersion, which is the Akasha principle, that is in a state of trance, about his God and his God’s qualities, and when, during this meditation, the expected symbol of God appears to him, this can be considered a mystical-passive revelation method. However, when the magician invokes the individual qualities of his deity with the aid of his graphic meditation, either outwardly or within himself, and regardless of whether he imagines them to be concrete or abstract, this is a magical-active invocation of God.

Whosoever has reached this level in his development will not merely attain the mystical-passive communion with God, but the magical-active as well. That is the reason why I give preference to the methods of the concrete and abstract form, which the magician can master. An excellent preliminary exercise for the concrete manifestation of the deity would be to place a picture, figurine or symbol of the revered deity in front of you. The magician sits in his usual asana posture and focuses his undivided attention intensely on the picture until the picture of God appears when his eyes are closed. After the magician focuses his attention on the picture by following the aforementioned procedure, he should also see the picture of his revered deity on a white surface, which preferably should be placed right next to the picture of the deity. The visualization of his deity is an excellent preliminary exercise, as it assists the magician to have the picture of God appear before him. This preliminary exercise should be repeated until the magician is capable of imagining his revered deity as being alive at any time, under any circumstances, at any place and without any effort. Following that, he can proceed to connect the imaginary picture with the corresponding divine attributes. At first, he will not be able to bring all four of the divine fundamental attributes on which he meditated in the previous step into contact with his imaginary picture all at once. Therefore, he will concentrate on one attribute after the other. This concretion of the Divine attribute into the imaginary picture is important, and this procedure must be repeated until the deity of the magician is actually endowed with these four fundamental attributes so that they can be perceived by him.

Once this has been accomplished, the magician will imagine the picture of his reverence not as a picture, but instead as living, active and radiant with such an intensity that it is as if his deity, his personal God, is in existence, alive and actually standing before him. This is the so-called concrete communion with his deity outside of himself. The more often the magician practices this method, the more powerfully and effectively will the visual and sentient deity appear before him. When the magician feels that he has incorporated everything that he knows about the concept and realization of God into the invocation picture, he should then concentrate that this living deity, which is appearing before him radiantly with all four divine fundamental attributes, is occupying his body, in other words entering his body and thereby taking the place of his soul. The magician should repeat this procedure until he feels the deity within himself to such a degree that he loses his personal consciousness and perceives himself to be the imaginary deity. The magician assumes the concretized attributes of his imaginary picture through frequent repetition of “becoming one” with his deity; at this point his deity acts through him and he is no longer his personal self. Thereby the magician experiences the concrete communion with his personal God; no longer does his consciousness, his soul, or his spirit speak through his mouth, but instead God’s manifested spirit. Here, the magician unites with his God, and as a result of this communion he assumes all the divine fundamental attributes of his deity.

The method of the concretized communion with God is of the utmost importance for all future magical practices, because the magician must have the ability to unite with any deity by following the same procedure, regardless of religious denomination. This practice is absolutely necessary in evocational magic as well as in theurgy, because this is the only method by which the magician can establish, at any time, a communion with a deity and direct subordinate beings to carry out his will. It is obvious that the magician has gained through this method the ability to unite with the God principle to such an extent that all powers of the concretized deity with whom he astrally unites will also become his and remain within him as an attribute, even when he is not directly connected with that concept. Initiates define these divine attributes mostly as magical abilities, powers or siddhis.

Once the magician masters the concrete God connection with his imagined deity, he then begins to realize the abstract form of the communion with his God. In the beginning, he can connect the concept of God to an auxiliary concept such as light, fire and so on. Later on, however, he will not require any aids and all he has to do is to project only the quality, first outside of himself and then into himself. In this instance, the quality of the divine attribute must be connected to the organ in accordance with the elements, so that, for example, omnipotence is perceived abstractly in the head, love in the heart etc. If you identify with the abstract concept of God to such an extent through frequent repetition of this practice, you will no longer find it necessary to imagine a part of the body or a region of the body, whereupon the four fundamental attributes can be combined into one single idea, which allows us to perceive introspectively our concept of God in the highest form possible. Through repeated repetition, the manifestation of God is deepened to such a degree that one perceives oneself as God. The communion with God must be so profound that God is neither within nor without the magician during the meditation; instead, subject and object must merge, one into the other, to the extent that nothing else exists except “I am God,” or as the Hindu Vedas state it: Tat tvam asi: “That art thou!” This is also a fundamental concept of Hinduism, that you, the atman, are one with Brahman.

Having reached this level, the magician has completed his magical development in astral form and all he has to do now, is to deepen his meditations and strengthen his Divinity through further exercises.

Communications with Deities

When the magician has progressed to the level in his realization of God that he can connect with every deity, with every intelligence, with every higher divine being, he is in a position to be effective as a god rather than a magician in the sphere of his choice.

For the magician, this concludes the last step of Magical Schooling of the Soul. In this respect, I have nothing more to say to the magician, because he has “become one with God,” and whatever he speaks or commands while in this communion with God is as much as if God Himself would have spoken, and he partakes in all four fundamental attributes of his deity, with which he is connected.

Step X:
Magical Schooling of the Physical Body
Brahma and Shakti

Those who are knowledgeable in other systems of initiation will be able to draw a certain parallel between my system and these other systems, because all paths that lead to the truth must be the same.

As an example I refer to the Hindu yogic system concerned with the serpent power, which concurs with the systems of the Egyptian Mysteries that I have mentioned.

In Kundalini Yoga the student is encouraged by the guru to meditate on the muladhara center, which is located in the coccyx, and to practice pranayama exercises there. If we examine the symbolism of the muladhara center more closely, we will realize that this center has the shape of a square which is yellow in color; contained therein is a red triangle, and in the midst thereof the phallus, the male penis, entwined three and half times by a snake. The muladhara center is the first, most primitive and most material center, which is symbolized by one elephant with the respective goddess located in one corner.

In India, the way of expressing symbolically is called Laya Yoga. It is clearly defined and represents the key to initiation for the first step in Yoga. There are of course different interpretations of this symbol, but this is the correct one: the square represents the earth, the three points of the triangle represent the three kingdoms, the material, astral and mental worlds, the phallus represents the power of procreation, the imagination, whereas the snake represents the path and the knowledge. It is well-known to the student that the Earth principle is composed of four elements and therefore requires no further explanation. Above all, students of Yoga must learn to know and control the three worlds, namely the material, the astral-psychical and mental-spiritual worlds.

The muladhara chakra is an initiation diagram and corresponds to the first Tarot card. In India such a clear definition is never given nor directly pointed out; this conclusion has to be drawn by the student himself when he controls the muladhara center, which means once he has reached the level of development on the spiritual path that corresponds with the muladhara diagram. There is a good reason why the muladhara center is called the Brahma center, because at this stage of development the Yoga student will recognize Brahma, the deity, in the most stable manifestation. Brahma is the eternal, the unexplorable, the universal, the indefinable, the perpetual and the calm, that is, the positive part. Brahma does not create out of himself; instead everything created is accomplished by his shakti, the female principle. In the muladhara center, Shakti is represented as the snake who entwines the phallus; she avails herself of the power of creation symbolized by the phallus or, in other words, by the imagination.

Much more could be said about this center, but to the mature magician this explanation should suffice for him to recognize that a common parallel exists between religious systems and systems of initiation. Therefore, imagination is the Shakti or Kundalini power, which the magician must develop systematically. The magician will realize, when viewing our entire ten-step system of development in retrospect, that this power of creation, this phallus power which in our system is called the imagination, as well as the practice of the imagination, plays the greatest part in the development.

In the ninth step, I already concluded the Physical Body Schooling. That is why in this chapter I will limit my remarks to the development of some of the occult powers. The magician does not necessarily have to master them all, but in his development nothing should amaze him; he must know the explanation for every occult phenomenon.

Suggestion

In the chapter that deals with the subconscious, I discuss this subject in as far as I describe auto-suggestion or self-influence. The same procedure applies when suggestion is employed upon other people. However, it is a prerequisite that the suggestion formula must be precise, in the present tense, and in the form of a command.

A magician will, as a result of his spiritual development, transfer the desired suggestion into the subconscious of anyone who is not in possession of the necessary maturity, whereby the suggestion can also occur through telepathy instead of verbalizing. It is easy for a magician to administer a suggestion at the greatest distance. He employs two different methods: one, he can visit the particular person with his spirit in order to influence that person suggestively, preferably during sleep, or he can eliminate the distance between himself and that particular person through the Akasha in order to influence that person suggestively. Furthermore, when it comes to tele-suggestion, the magician can also employ his magic mirror. The magician is also given another possibility; he can determine when the suggestion is to take effect, as he is not limited to the present. It can take place at some time in the future; the time when the suggestion is to take effect is transferred into the subconscious of the subject.

Telepathy

Telepathy is a subject related to suggestion. It is easy for a magician to transfer his thoughts to another person. All he has to do is to transmit his thoughts only to the spirit of that particular person, not to the body or the soul. The magician imagines only the spirit of a person; he completely disregards the physical and astral bodies and occupies himself only with the subject’s spirit, to which he transfers the thought. The magician also has the choice as to whether to suggest to the subject that the thought was the thought of the magician or the thought of another person, or he can leave the subject in the belief that it was the subject’s own thought. The magician must consider all these details when transmitting thoughts; not only thoughts, but also feelings can be transmitted to the immediate vicinity as well as to the farthest distances. A magician will always transmit only good thoughts with the help of his magical powers. I am convinced that no student or magician would allow himself to abuse these powers. Thoughts can be suggested or transmitted against the will of a person. Because the magician is in control of the elements, he therefore has the ability to stop the flow of the subject’s own thoughts telepathically and to impress thoughts upon the subject which the magician considers to be important or desirable.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a subject similar to telepathy and suggestion, through which a human being is forced into a sleep and deprived of his free will. Hypnosis is a despicable act from the magical point of view, and the magician should not pay much attention to this subject. That does not mean that a magician does not have the ability to induce sleep, regardless of who the person might be. The practice is simple. The magician suspends the function of the spirit, either through his will or by means of the electromagnetic fluid, and the subject falls asleep immediately. It is of less importance as to whether the magician employs here the thought-concept of telepathy or suggestion. He can, if he so wishes, employ these aids; however, he is not dependent upon them.

Almost all books written on the subject of hypnosis recommend the use of telepathy and suggestion. However, a magician who controls these magical powers does not require either of these methods, because the moment he thinks or imagines the subject to be without a physical body and a soul, if he completely disregards them and if he also completely suspends or paralyzes the subject’s will through his imagination, the subject will become immediately unconscious or fall asleep. Through this, the subconscious is exposed and receptive for all kinds of suggestions. It is this act of violence which makes the intervention into a human being’s individuality a practice that is not to be recommended from the magical point of view. Therefore a magician will only resort to hypnosis, regardless of the kind, if it serves a noble purpose, for example when he wishes to transmit good suggestions with a particularly strong effect. Even when the subject wishes to be hypnotized, the magician should, if at all possible, refrain from doing so. A true magician will always refrain from satisfying the curiosity and sensationalism of other people through hypnotic experiments. Only when faced with great danger should an experienced magician employ a form of shock-hypnosis by paralyzing the spirit of the adversary for a few moments with an electromagnetic fluid ray of lightning. This method should only be employed in an emergency. It is highly unlikely that circumstances of that nature will arise during the life of a magician. It has also been scientifically proven that animals can be hypnotized as well, and a magician who wishes to hypnotize an animal, if the occasion should arise, will aim at the instinctive side of the animal through which even the largest and strongest creature will immediately fall into unconsciousness.

Mass Hypnosis of the Fakirs

The mass hypnosis that is brought about by Hindu fakirs or illusionists (and which finds so many admirers) can easily be achieved by any magician. Fakirs who occupy themselves with such experiments have no personal knowledge of how these phenomena come about. Their secret is a tradition, and it is passed on from generation to generation. When a particular room, space etc., is loaded with the Akasha principle, then all those present are pervaded by the Akasha and this principle is then predominant in everyone present. Everything that has been placed into the Akasha principle must become reality, because the Akasha is the causal principle. On the basis of this law it can be easily explained how the fakirs, by means of mass hypnosis, can create these illusions in front their audiences. The magician can produce mass hypnosis in the manner described. The fakir calls the Akasha into the room through a traditional word or through a formula, and he transfers the pictures that the audience wishes to see into this principle. The frequent repetition of this experiment becomes so automatic that the fakir does not need to use the imagination, the Akasha, or the event which the audience wishes to see. At this point it suffices for the fakir to utter the Akasha formula in order to hold the audience spellbound. Following this, all he has to do is to utter in a low voice in short sentences, tantras, and in the proper sequence whatever the audience wishes to see, whereupon the audience will visually perceive these events in that exact sequence. It is not hard to believe that these magic formulas are authentic, since such secrets are traditionally passed on for hundreds of years from family to family. The present owner of such a traditional formula is not even aware what kinds of powers he is releasing. All he is aware of is that a particular thing will happen as soon he utters a particular formula, and that another thing will happen when he utters another formula, without ever investigating the cause.

Illusions that are brought about through the Akasha principle are marveled at by those who have no idea that higher magical laws exist. In India such a performance is strictly business. If you would take pictures of or film such a deceptive experiment, to your disappointment you would find nothing on the film other than the fakir sitting there quietly and smiling, surrounded by his assistants. This seemingly mysterious experiment can therefore be easily explained on the basis of magical laws. It is the prerogative of the individual magician whether he wishes to occupy himself with these subjects or even specialize in them. These types of experiments are of no significance as far as any further future development is concerned or for the magician’s magical ascent. I only mention these phenomena so that the magician has a concept of them and finds the explanation for them from the magical point of view.

Thought Reading or Mind Reading

The subject of mind reading has received much publicity, and many different opinions have been expressed about it. For the experienced magician it is a matter of course, and he considers it to be a side effect of his spiritual development. Depending on the personal attitude of the magician, mind reading can occur in the form of pictures, inspiration or intuition. We do not have to emphasize the fact that the thoughts of a subject can be read regardless of the distance (the person can be close by or far away), and is nothing else but the consequence of working in the Akasha. Every thought, every word and every deed is recorded in detail in the causal world, in the Akasha, as was explained in a chapter of this book dealing with the Akasha. If the magician focuses in on the mind of a specific person and loads himself with the Akasha, he can read that person’s present thoughts; if it is his innermost wish, he can also read the thoughts of the remotest past with little effort. Once the magician has occupied himself for an extended period of time with thought reading, and has reached a certain proficiency he will be able to read any thought, even the most obscure. Thoughts form either intellectually or imaginatively. Thoughts that are formed by the imagination are easier to read. A magician can only reach perfection in thought reading if he has become the absolute master over his spirit and therefore over the life of his thoughts, in other words over his world of ideas. This is a prerequisite; otherwise he will only be able to read thoughts partially, or only effective thoughts. Therefore the reading of thoughts does not represent a problem; all it requires is a contact from spirit to spirit. The magician has to feel as a spirit himself. The exercises of the previous steps have helped him to achieve this. All he is required to do is to establish a connection between himself and the subject. This is accomplished by recognizing only the subject’s spirit and by completely ignoring the subject’s physical body and soul. This will allow the magician to collect all the thoughts that he wishes to ascertain.

Psychometry

Psychometry is the ability to probe into the present or the near and distant past of any object, whether it be a letter, a piece of jewelry, or antique objects etc. If necessary, one can even investigate or explore the future and all incidents or occurrences that are connected with the particular object, whether in the past, present or future. A magician who has practiced every exercise in this book step by step and who has properly developed his astral senses of sight, hearing and feeling will have this ability as a side effect of his developed astral senses. Therefore, to carry out experiments in this field of endeavor presents no problem to a magician who has reached this level of development. He takes the object that he wishes to examine in his hand or else places the object on the part of the body which is relevant for closer examination of the object. Should the magician wish to see events in the form of pictures, in other words to examine them visually, he presses the object against his forehead. If he wishes to perceive these events through inspiration, that is acoustically, he places the object in the heart region. Should he wish to probe the object intuitively or through his feelings he places it on the solar plexus, or simply holds the object in his hand. After he concentrates on what he wishes to know about the object, he transfers himself into the Akasha or into a trance. He reads with his spiritual eyes, ears and feelings the individual events of the past, present and future. The magician can also make use of a magic mirror. For example, the magician can in this manner, by using an antique object, find out all the events which are connected to that object from beginning to end, like viewing a motion picture or a panorama.

In addition the magician has the ability, in every correspondence directed to him or to anyone else, whether it be someone close to him or a person completely unknown, to visualize the writer as well as to read the thoughts in that person’s spirit while he was writing the letter. In other words, the magician has the ability to read between the lines of any letter.

The ability to contact any person, whether physically, astrally or spiritually, who has been in touch with one or another object is part of psychometry. Because an object, no matter what kind of object it is, is the connecting substance between the physical body, the soul and the spirit of the magician and the subject. It is also understood that a magician can read the thoughts of a person with the help of an object even at the greatest distance; at the same time the magician becomes acquainted with the psychic side of the subject, in other words he can elicit with ease the character traits and astral development of that person in the world of the Akasha. This also applies to the physical side, because the magician can also ascertain the past, present and future, as soon as he has established the connecting link in respect to the Akasha between his soul and the subject.

A variation of psychometry is psychography, which is not of great significance to the magician and which will take care of itself on account of what has just been mentioned. Not only can the sender, for example of a letter, be investigated and identified in all phases and things of his existence through the connecting link, but the object itself can also serve to establish the connecting link with the subject, in order perhaps to influence this person spiritually, astrally or physically. From this example the magician can gather that psychometry is a secondary or subordinate ability to clairvoyance.

Influencing the Memory

The memory, as we already know, is an intellectual attribute, which every human being possesses as long as his five normal senses are intact. At the same time, the memory is also a receiver of thoughts and ideas from the mental world and hence also the world of the Akasha. We also know that all thoughts and ideas are transferred into the Akasha, and that the memory recalls them again from the Akasha and the mental sphere into the consciousness through its receptive attribute. Once the magician has become master in the Akasha, he has the ability to influence the memory in a direct and indirect manner.

In the direct manner, he strengthens the memory through his imagination by means of the particular element or the electromagnetic fluid or by merely influencing the subconscious. The magician also has the ability, when working on the memory, to easily blur, obliterate, suspend, or weaken specific ideas, thoughts and visual memories in accordance with his wishes by means of the imagination in the consciousness and hence also in the memory.

The indirect manner of influencing the memory is the one wherein the magician influences the memory indirectly through the Akasha principle. A magician who can view the sequence of ideas and pictures of any person in the Akasha can also make them fade through the imagination, and he can obliterate them or by means of the imagination he can destroy, separate or weaken the connection between the pictures in the Akasha and the particular person. In view of the fact that the magician has the ability to rob any person of his memory in this manner, be forewarned of any improper use of this ability. Nobody who treasures his ethical development would stoop to commit such an act.

The magician will only make use of this ability when the need arises, to weaken or obliterate bad experiences or negative life events which have left deep impressions on the person’s memory. Here the magician can do much good by obliterating many heartbreaks, bad memories and disappointments which a person is incapable of overcoming. A magician can also carry out the same procedure if he himself was subjected to great disappointments or any other emotional upsets before he began his magical development, which still plague his memory. If he obliterates these pictures in the Akasha they will never enter his memory again. Should he, however, succeed in controlling them through his will, through auto-suggestion or any other method, then there is no need for such drastic intervention in the Akasha in order to eliminate those particular pictures. The pathological symptom of loss of memory can be explained by the temporary paralysis of the connection with the mental world and therefore the Akasha as well. However, this condition is already a disharmony, an affliction, a disturbance of the spirit if it occurs by itself through various causes, such as shock etc.

Working in the Akasha

In the previous chapter we were informed that the memory can be influenced through the Akasha, and certain visual memories can be obliterated. However, not only can the highly developed magician obliterate specific ideas and visual memories in the Akasha under certain circumstances and for the proper reasons, but through his will-power and his power of imagination he can also remove causes that are recorded in the Akasha which affect the magician as well as other people in the form of influences of destiny. Should the magician eliminate a cause which a person created himself during his lifetime, he must create another cause which must exert a corresponding effect upon the destiny of this particular person. The intervention into the destiny of a human being, whether it be the magician himself or another person, must have a valid reason. Should the magician intervene, he must be able to justify his actions before Divine Providence. Regarding the obliteration of a cause and the creation of a new one, if more or less beneficial, the best method is through an electromagnetic volt, as described in Step IX of Magical Schooling of the Physical Body. There are, of course, other methods, but all of them are based on the will and the imagination, which is part of the will; the magician can make his own choices.

That a magician can change destiny or obliterate its causes and therefore also sins (whatever is understood by various religions as sins are the moral viewpoints of religions) has been pointed out by Christ with the following words: “Whoever I forgive his sin, they are forgiven forever.”

Room Impregnation from a Distance

We discussed in a previous chapter the impregnation of a room, an impregnated room in which the magician himself resides. I also recommended various aids for the impregnation of a room, for example the magic mirror with a fluid condenser. What I did not mention was that a magician can also impregnate a room from a distance.

The magician has two choices, the first of which is as follows: he travels with his spirit or his astral body to the room which he intends to impregnate. While he is there, he impregnates the room in accordance with his wishes by means of his imagination. Because of the magician’s abilities, it is of course of no consequence where this room is located. Here, the same rules apply that were mentioned in the chapter on room impregnation.

The magician’s second choice is as follows: he can connect his room with the room he wishes to impregnate by means of the Akasha, so that his room and the room to be impregnated become one in the Akasha. By connecting one room with the other, even the greatest distance can be spanned. The other room will be impregnated by that with which the magician has impregnated his own room, no matter how far distant the room might be.

Messages through the Air

In the Orient, transmitting messages through the air is quite a common practice, especially so in Tibet between magicians and adepts. Regardless of how great the distance might be between a person or a room, it is spanned by the Akasha principle, whereby the A + B, that is time and space, are being spanned. While this condition exists, and if you are in contact with someone, not only can you read and transmit thoughts but you can also transmit and receive messages physically if you introduce the electromagnetic fluid into these two poles of time and space, which are spanned while in this condition, or in other words connected in the Akasha. For example, while these conditions exist, words or sentences that are spoken in the magician’s room can be physically heard quite clearly in the room with which the magician’s room is connected through the Akasha. Should the person present in the distant room reply, then this can be heard quite clearly in the magician’s room, just as if the person sending the reply were present in the room.

The electromagnetic fluid must be produced in the same manner as described in the chapter dealing with volting, but with one difference: the volt must not be produced in the form of a sphere, but in the form of a room. Such an electromagnetic Akashic connection makes it possible to speak words and sentences and to transmit them over great distances. These spoken words or messages can also be heard and perceived by people who are not initiated or trained in magic. Through diligent practice this working method can be physically materialized to such an extent that it has physical effects. We are not dealing here with the transmission of thoughts, but with the transmission of the physically spoken word, which in our science or technology is known as a radio transmitter and a radio receiver. The ether upon which the oscillating waves of the words travel is the Akasha principle, and the electricity necessary for this task is, in our case, the electromagnetic fluid. The magician knows from experience that everything that science accomplishes in a physical manner, no matter the kind of energies it employs, whether electricity, magnetism, warmth or heat etc., can also be accomplished magically.

Not only can words and sound waves be transmitted in this manner, but also pictures. In such a magically prepared room, where pictures become visible by means of the imagination, these materialized pictures can also be seen and perceived anywhere by people who are acoustically connected with the room where the magician works. Compare this with modern technology, namely television. It should therefore be of no surprise that feelings, fragrances etc., can be transmitted through the Akasha and the electromagnetic fluid even over the greatest distances. Even elemental effects can be transmitted in this manner.

Physical or material ether has not yet been by any means completely utilized, and the future will teach us that not only can we transmit sound waves similar to those of the radio and pictures similar to those on television, but other energies as well. There is another vast field of endeavor for the sciences and I am certain that in the future there will come a time where thermal waves, that is heat, will be transmitted over vast distances.

The magician could make many more suggestions and many more proposals as to the various things which could be accomplished through the ether, and he could easily bring magical knowledge into harmony with technological-physical science and chemical science. On the basis of the universal laws, a magician has the ability to produce great inventions, but anything that is prematurely released in the course of evolution could have severe consequences for the magician.

Exteriorization

During the course of instruction contained in this book, the magician has learned to separate his mental and astral bodies from his physical body; at this point it is no longer a surprise to him. However, what might surprise him is the fact that performing some of these tasks does not require the separation of the entire mental or astral body; instead, all that is required is to separate particular parts of the body, which the magician only needs to exteriorize or transfer. Since the mental body and astral body are not bound to time and space, this gives the magician the opportunity to transfer individual parts of his body over great distances by means of the imagination if he separates them in the Akasha.

For example, this enables the magician to transfer one or both eyes anywhere he wishes, to gather impressions as if he were physically present there. This can be accomplished without wasting all the energy that would be necessary to transfer the entire mental or astral body. The same procedure can be applied to the mental or astral ear; this gives the magician the ability to hear over vast or infinite distances. In the beginning, the magician will only be able to accomplish this exteriorization with the mental body, but in time he will be able to accomplish it with both the astral and the mental bodies. He will be able to see and at the same time hear everywhere with his transferred eyes and ears, without entering a state of trance or into the causal world.

Once the magician has gained the proficiency he requires in the eye and ear exercises, he proceeds by following the same procedure with the exteriorization of the hands and probably also the feet. Beginning with his spiritual hands, then in connection with his astral hands and when he then condenses them through the Earth element, he can let the hands become physical. It is also understandable that a magician can make himself perceptible through knocking sounds or other sounds, even over vast or unlimited distances, through hands that have been materialized to such an extent. Eventually he will also be able to move objects through repeated practice. The magician could engage in many mischievous activities, but a magician who is at this level of his development would not entertain such notions or commit such childish pranks.

The ability of telewriting between two living people finds here its explanation. When an experienced magician exteriorizes his mental and his astral hand by means of the imagination, and imagines the exteriorized hand to be where paper and pencil are prepared, the magician’s mental and astral hand can take control of the hand of his partner even at the greatest distance, and similar to medial writing as described in Step V of this book, he can write normal messages. It is possible, even at great distances, to transmit the exact handwriting of the magician through such an activity. Amongst initiates, this type of work is called “telewriting between two living people.”

Once the magician has achieved a certain level of competence or mastery in exteriorizing his hands, and possibly his feet, depending on the magician’s wish, objects can be transported in the same manner over great distances. In the next chapter I shall describe how an object which is to be transferred is made invisible. When the magician exteriorizes his eyes or ears somewhere outside of his body, he will notice that he cannot see or hear with his physical eyes or ears during the experiment. He will not be able to see with his physical eyes, even if he keeps them open. During the exteriorization of a limb, the transposed limb, if it is, for instance, a hand, will remain lifeless, rigid or cataleptic until the spiritual and astral limb returns and joins the physical body again.

Magical Invisibility

Many fairytales and stories tell the tale of a sorcerer who can make himself invisible, or of a magic ring which makes one invisible; the only requirement is to wear the ring and rotate it on your finger and you become invisible. In many books you find descriptions of talismans and gemstones which have the ability to cause the wearer to be invisible; and instructions to accomplish this are also given. But none of this is reliable or useful for the actual practice. We will prove and closely describe, on the basis of the universal laws and what we have learned so far, that from the magical point of view it is possible to make oneself or an object invisible.

First of all, there are three different kinds of invisibility, namely spiritual or mental, astral or psychic (soul), and physical invisibility. It is of no particular value to cause the mental body to become invisible, but there could be situations in life where this practice might be useful. Should the magician wish to transfer himself mentally and astrally to a place where he does not want to be detected by the beings of the particular element or sphere, or by the developed senses of an experienced magician, he can make use of this mental invisibility, as for example if a master or guru wishes to visit his student mentally, for the purpose of checking on him. The master can be in the immediate vicinity of the student by making himself invisible without being noticed, even if the student’s senses are already highly developed. Furthermore, a magician can be present when black magicians perform their ill-disposed magical rituals in order to find out everything and, if necessary, to exert a certain influence without being noticed or detected by the black magicians or their beings. There are also many other situations that could occur in one’s life where it is warranted to make oneself mentally or astrally invisible.

It is a simple procedure to cause the spirit to become invisible. This is accomplished by filling the mental body from head to toe with the Akasha. Once this is done, the mental body disappears immediately to the eyes of any being, because the Akasha is colorless and without vibration. Should the spirit of a magician engage in any activity on one of the mental spheres, his activity would be recorded in the Akasha principle and, even though invisible, he could be detected through clairvoyance as a result of his activity. In order to prevent this from happening, the magician must form a black covering that surrounds his entire body as soon as he has filled his mental body with the Akasha. It is not important as to whether this black covering has the form of a sphere or an egg; the magician must make certain to completely isolate himself with Akasha and he must not forget the area over his head and under his feet. Once he has made himself invisible in this manner and before he begins to travel anywhere, he must concentrate on the fact that through the Akasha his activities are completely neutral, in other words that his activities will not be recorded in the Akasha and will leave no trace. This concentration is absolutely necessary; otherwise the magician must expect that new causes will be recorded in the Akasha nevertheless, even though illegibly. The magician is personally responsible for all the activities with which he is engaged while he is invisible in the spirit world. Destiny no longer affects him here, for he is the master of the Akasha; he has become the master of destiny. He is subject solely to Divine Providence and he is also accountable solely to Divine Providence. Should a magician misuse these practices, he would have to deal with Divine Providence and not destiny. Should his deeds be the cause of evil influences, it could happen that Divine Providence will forsake the magician, forcing him to live alone in the universe as an individual and dependent solely upon himself. The only possibility for support by Divine Providence has then been lost. The magician can be assured that this is considerably worse than a curse. He would have no one above him and sooner or later he would undoubtedly experience his desolation and his entire individuality would be completely at the mercy of his demise. Any experienced magician must have a good understanding of the significance of this situation from the magical point of view.

Once the magician masters invisibility during his mental travels, the same procedure can be employed for the exteriorization of the astral body. The same practice of loading the entire personality with the Akasha applies, i.e. loading the mental and astral bodies together. All the other instructions which have been described apply. It is also feasible, from the magical point of view, to make oneself invisible on the physical plane. In this instance, however, it is accomplished with light and not with the Akasha. The amount of light with which the physical body has to be filled must correspond to the luminous intensity which prevails at that time during the day. Should the accumulation of light be more intense than necessary, the magician would not be invisible, but externally translucent and radiant, and lustrous like the sun. It is not an easy task to make oneself physically invisible, and it will probably require years of practice and self-control. Only the higher adepts, if not adepts of the highest rank, are able to perform this task perfectly.

Once the magician has reached this degree of proficiency through practice, that he can make his mental, astral and perhaps even his physical body invisible, he will also be able to make any object in the physical world invisible in accordance with his wishes and without any great effort.

There is also another method of making any common object invisible. This is accomplished through the imagination in connection with the Akasha by transmuting an object from its solid form into an astral form, whereby the object disappears from the view of the uninitiated, that is, one whose senses are not magically developed. An object that has been transformed into an astral form can be transported by an astral body, whether it be the astral body of a being or of the magician. It can also be an individual part of the body, for example a hand, and again there is no limit as far as distance is concerned. After the object has been transported from one place to the other, only one task remains to be done by the magician or being who has accomplished this feat, and that is to transfer the object from the astral form back to its physical form. This type of tele-transportation of an object can also be performed by the beings of spiritualistic mediums, although this occurs rarely. It is, however, possible, should you in fact be dealing with indisputable materialization-phenomena. Whatever the highest planetary and extra-planetary intelligence can master, a magician who knows the universal laws and has reached this level of development can do the same.

There is still another method of causing invisibility. This is accomplished through the distraction of the senses, such as hypnosis and mass suggestion. Furthermore, there is a method of invisibility which is caused by beings who call forth a frequency of oscillation in the physical body which corresponds to the light, and, through this, initiate invisibility. In my second work, The Practice of Magical Evocation, there are more detailed instructions in regards to invisibility initiated by beings.

Practices with the Four Elements

A magician who endeavors to specialize in the application of the four elements is given many more possibilities. In order to accomplish this, the magician must, through repeated practice, condense, that is materialize, the element he is working with to such a degree that the elemental power becomes direct physical power or energy. For example, once he has perfected this, the magician can, by condensing the Earth element in his body, attain an invulnerability that equals the experiments of the Hindu fakirs. He can pierce pointed objects through his muscles without feeling the slightest pain or losing one drop of blood, and it will not even leave a scar.

The fakirs achieve the ability to lie on beds of nails to a certain degree through auto-suggestion, but the magician can achieve the same effect considerably faster through the Earth element.

The magician can heal large incised wounds directly under his hand, whether his own or another person’s, by means of the Earth element without leaving a scar. A gaping wound of several inches, which under normal circumstances would require stitches, can be healed by the magician in a few minutes.

The magician also has the ability, by condensing the Earth element outside of his person, to condense any thought, any concept, any being, whether departed or not personified, to such an extent that it becomes visible even to the eyes of the uninitiated, and can even be photographed.

The magician can paralyze anyone instantly by projecting the Earth element like lightning; it does not matter whether it is a human being, an animal, or even his greatest enemy. There are of course many other possibilities, many other applications which can be accomplished through the Earth element, but for the time being this guideline should suffice.

If the magician projects and intensely condenses the Water element into himself, he is able to withstand the greatest heat without suffering harm, such as being burned or affected by the heat. Should he project the Water element into his hands, he will be able without hesitation to hold red-hot coals or steel in his hands without being burned.

Under these conditions a magician could be standing in the middle of a burning stake and his physical body would not suffer the slightest harm. There are accounts of occurrences like this in the Bible, such as the young man who remained unharmed while in a burning oven. John, who was Christ’s favorite apostle, was thrown into a kettle of boiling oil and suffered no harm. It should now be clear to the magician that these occurrences of the past are not mere legends, but that they actually happened, and that these apparent miracles can be accomplished by being in control of the elements. If the Water element is projected to the outside and condensed, it will extinguish any fire or blaze regardless of size.

The Air element offers just as many possibilities, experiments that border on miracles, and they can be achieved in the same or similar manner as aforementioned.

The magician is in the position to withstand the greatest cold through the accumulation of the Fire element within himself. Tibetan lamas, by condensing the Fire element, are able to produce such tremendous heat within themselves that, even in the coldest temperatures, wet towels placed on their bodies will dry within a short span of time. In Tibet this practice is known as tumo. The magician has the ability, by projecting the Fire element to the outside, to ignite any burnable substance with ease.

Descriptions of events similar to this can be found in the Bible, where stakes that were saturated with water were ignited through the Fire element. It is irrefutable that a plant or even a tree will wither by projecting the Fire element towards it; as proof of His power, Christ allowed the leaves of a fig tree to wither. He accomplished this feat by taking the same law into consideration, though with one difference: he carried out the projection by employing a magic word, in other words he made use of the Kabbalah, which compelled the Fire element to indirectly execute his command.

Many more magical effects can be released or accomplished through the elements. On the basis of the universal laws in regards to the elements, every experienced magician has the capabilities of finding and properly executing these types of experiments.

Levitation Phenomena

The magician will come to the conclusion, after studying the universal laws, that gravity depends upon the magnetic attractive force of the earth. Therefore, levitation is the nullification of gravity. There are two methods that can be employed to nullify the gravity in your own body.

The first method is as follows: Through continuous exercises of loading and accumulating the Air element, Vayu Tattva, the fundamental attribute of this element is realized to such a degree that a human being becomes as light as a feather and rises from the earth like a balloon.

The second method is as follows: This method has its origin in the control of the electromagnetic fluid. When, through the accumulation of the magnetic fluid, the magician has reached an ample density in his body that corresponds to his body weight, in other words that equals the gravitational force of the earth, then the gravitational force of the earth ceases to exist; gravity is nullified. While the magician is charged with the magnetic fluid in this manner, he will scarcely be in contact with the ground, and he can even move on the surface of the water, regardless of the depth. Should he condense the magnetic fluid even more, he can ascend from the earth into the air and travel in any direction by means of the condensed Air element or by the air current which he is able to produce. The speed at which he will travel through the air depends only upon his will. Many yogis possess the ability to execute such levitation phenomena. The Bible also reports that Christ walked on the surface of the water. It is obvious from the instructions given so far that a magician has the ability to levitate objects as well as people, even those who are inexperienced in the art of magic.

The accumulation of the magnetic fluid which is necessary for this operation can be carried out through an imagination which is trained in the science of magic, or through other practices such as the Kabbalah, or through beings, spirits etc. The nullification of the electric fluid in the body and the preponderance of the magnetic fluid can occur consciously as well as unconsciously, as for example in the case of spiritualistic trance mediums and somnambulists, where the electric fluid is nullified through the state of trance and therefore the magnetic fluid becomes predominant. People who are moonstruck are overcome by the magnetic fluid due to a sudden loss of the electric fluid, which mostly occurs while they are asleep. It has been observed many times that people who are moonstruck are as light as a feather and can climb walls like a fly; even the most inaccessible areas represent no obstacle to them; they can also walk on wires with the greatest of ease. In the case of those who are moonstruck, the magnetic overload during sleep can be attributed to the influence of the moon. That is why people who are affected by the moon are known by the term “moonstruck.” As such it is a disharmony, a disturbance, of the electromagnetic fluid, and consequently a pathological condition, in other words an ailment. A person who is afflicted with such an ailment can be treated, but only by harmonizing the electric fluid, which can be accomplished by increasing the electric fluid in the body which became ill through the loss of it.

This brief explanation regarding levitation should be sufficient for the experienced magician. He can, at his own discretion, expand it further. It is logical that in his own case as well as in the case of another person or object, he can also produce the opposite effect, namely a greater force of attraction or gravity, weight. Here the magician works in the same manner, except that he works with the electric rather than the magnetic fluid. All this is based on the universal law, whereby two energies of the same polarity repel one another, and two energies of the opposite polarity attract each other.

Natural Phenomena

An experienced magician has the ability to be effective in nature, on a small or large scale, with the aid of the elements and the electromagnetic fluid. All the magician requires is a space of larger proportions into which he can project and condense the forces or energies which he desires.

For example, through the projection of the Air element the magician can influence the wind.

Through the projection of the Water element the magician can cause a downpour, heavy showers or even steady, continuous rain.

Through the electromagnetic fluid he can evoke thunderstorms by projecting into the air electric and magnetic volts, which collide and therefore produce lightning.

By condensing the magnetic fluid, the magician is also able, even from the greatest distance, to automatically attract the Water element and thereby cause rain.

The magician can naturally also accomplish the opposite, by stopping impending rainfall and dispersing clouds. He can produce hail, if he so wishes, or direct it elsewhere. The magician can accomplish all these effects through the elements or the electromagnetic fluid. The lamas of Tibet practice this kind of weather magic successfully. The experienced magician knows the reasons for all these methods and has the ability to achieve the same effects with his own powers, provided he specializes in this field of endeavor; and he can do it just as well as the Tibetan lamas who accomplish these feats with the help of their ceremonies, the magical evocation of beings, and tantras.

Power over Life and Death

A magician who is in complete control over the elements and the electromagnetic fluid is also master over the life and death of any human being. However, he will never dare to threaten the life of his fellow human beings, even though he possesses the knowledge of how to bring about a magical death. There are many possibilities; however, I shall refrain from any detailed instructions in order not to subject the magician to any temptation. In accordance with universal laws, it is also possible for a magician who has reached high levels, as far as the control of occult capabilities and powers are concerned, to raise the dead. Through his highly trained senses the magician has acquired the ability to observe the activities of the elements in the body, soul and spirit, as well as the effectiveness of the electromagnetic fluid. Furthermore, he can see the connecting cord between the physical, astral and mental bodies, and he knows how everything is to be influenced in accordance with the universal laws. It is a simple procedure for the experienced magician to restore the two connecting links by means of the elements and the electromagnetic fluid. In a case where no vital organ is destroyed, a magician can bring about a resurrection or a revival to life, provided Divine Providence permits it. A magician can also reverse or nullify death caused by lightning or similar incidences, whether it be the death of a person or an animal. In an instance like that, all the magician is required to do is to establish contact with that spirit in the Akasha, and consciously introduce the electromagnetic fluid between soul and spirit in order to fortify the connecting link between soul and spirit. He follows the same procedure with the spirit and the soul with respect to the physical body, and produces the appropriate harmony through the electromagnetic fluid and by means of the elements. Through a lightning-like loading of the body with the light principle, the departed is called back to life. This is the synthesis of resurrection in the magical manner. It is accomplished through the energies of the elements and the electromagnetic fluid, regardless of whether this occurs through the will or some other method. It is also a well-known fact that initiates have raised the dead.

Before I conclude Step X, I would like to point out that not all of the magical abilities mentioned herein have to be mastered by the magician. With the help of the universal laws, I have given only guidelines as to how a magician can create phenomena bordering on miracles. The extent to which the magician wishes to specialize in one or another method is of course at his sole discretion. On the basis of the universal laws a consummate initiate, an adept, can produce all the phenomena mentioned in this chapter as well as much greater magical phenomena.

This concludes the entire course of instruction for the first Tarot card for the magician. If a person has made the decision to pursue this course of instruction in practice, he is given the opportunity for a complete development. The practice cannot be described more clearly than in this course of instruction. Up to now, the manner in which I have described the practice here was taught and entrusted in the Temples of the Mysteries to only a select few. It must be mentioned that this step by step course of instructions cannot be completed in a short span of time; it could take many years. But a seriously minded student will not be discouraged by this prospect, because on account of this knowledge he will be able to completely penetrate the first level of initiation. This is the reason why the first Tarot card, the Magician, is also the entrance gate to true initiation. After having read this book, many people who have ridiculed magic will probably have to change their opinion, because magic is something entirely different than what they presumed it to be. Magic is the most difficult knowledge on earth, which must not only be mastered in theory but above all in practice. It is easier by far and much more possible to gain intellectual knowledge than to become a true magician.

Summary of the Exercises in Step X

I. Magical Schooling of the Spirit

The ascent of the spirit to higher planes.

II. Magical Schooling of the Soul

(1) Conscious communion with your personal God.

(2) Communication with deities etc.

III. Magical Schooling of the Physical Body

Various methods of acquiring magical capabilities.

End of Step X

Epilogue

In the introduction to this book I mentioned that this work of initiation is not the means to an end, such as the acquisition of wealth, power, honor or respect. Instead it pertains to the serious study of man, the microcosm, in regards to the universe, the macrocosm, inclusive of its laws. Consequently, the reader will gain an utterly different concept of the subject of magic, and he will never disgrace magic to the level of sorcery or exorcism. Every reader will of course judge this work of initiation from a personal point of view. A person who is completely materially inclined, who has no belief in anything and acknowledges only the physical world, having no knowledge of the supernatural at all, will regard this work as mere fantasy. However, it is not the purpose of this book to awaken belief in such a person, or to make him change his mind and defend another point of view. This book was intended for readers who are seekers of the pure truth and the highest cognizance. For such people, this work is indeed the greatest treasure trove.

Many times, we human beings are persuaded or even forced by our fellow man to pursue a specific philosophy, which usually results in our gaining the experience that these various schools of thought are at odds because of professional jealousy or contempt for the other’s ideology. A true magician will pity these human beings, sects or philosophies, but he will never hate, persuade or humiliate anyone. The magician will always extend the appropriate respect to such a person regardless of the path by which one has chosen to search for God or the direction in which one is traveling. It is sad but true that Theosophists, clergy, spiritualists etc., are at odds with each other, as if no other path but their own would lead to God. Anyone who seeks the path to God should take Christ’s words to heart, the words of the great Master of the Mystics: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” These words should be a sacred command for every seeker who is on the spiritual path.

Many beings who have had to depart from our physical world and had no opportunity on earth to gain true cognizance in the spirit have lamented in the higher spheres about the fact that true knowledge was not generally accessible upon this earth, and in the past reserved solely for the specifically select few. Consequently the Mysteries, which have been sealed for thousands of years, are now presented step by step by Divine Providence to those inhabitants of earth who truly strive for truth and cognizance. The fruits of cognizance do not fall into your lap by merely reading these works. They must be earned through hard labor, severe difficulties and a great many obstacles. Many readers, if not most, want first to be convinced of the truth of the laws before they believe them, and only then do they want to make the decision to enter upon the path of initiation. A true magician is fully aware that this viewpoint is incorrect. The magician is convinced that belief must first be learned and developed through the initiation. The reader can attain an intellectual knowledge by merely reading these works, but he will never gain wisdom. Knowledge can be gathered by transference, but wisdom can only be acquired through experience and cognizance; and this experience and cognizance again depends upon the spiritual maturity of the individual, and spiritual maturity depends upon the spiritual development which is acquired through practice on the path of initiation.

Anyone who has read something about the true Tarot knows that besides the first Tarot card, which in the Egyptian Mysteries is symbolized by the Magician, there are twenty-one more cards, called the Major Arcana. And each of these Tarot cards contains another system of initiation. Besides the twenty-two Major Arcana, there are fifty-six Minor Arcana in the Tarot which symbolize the lesser Mysteries, and each single one of these cards requires a further description. How much Divine Providence allows me to write about the individual Tarot cards and how much of that which is written will be published is entirely dependent upon the will of Divine Providence.

After a comprehensive study of the course of instruction, the reader will come to the conclusion that in fact there is no white or black magic. Furthermore, there is no difference between magic and mysticism, no matter what these sciences might be called and the direction they might take. In the introduction I indicated that any science could serve a good or an evil purpose. The notion that black magic exists is due to the fact that, up to now, most human beings have not had the right idea about magic. In the individual chapters and in the relevant teaching methods I repeatedly point out that this knowledge is intended for the noblest purposes only. Furthermore, I have mentioned again and again that the magician must, in the course of his development, ennoble his character to the maximum if he does not want to come to a halt in his ascent, or, what is even worse, slide backwards. The ennoblement of the soul goes hand in hand with the ascent and the development. Whoever is interested only in attaining occult abilities and powers in order to boast about them will work in vain, because Divine Providence remains always unfathomable in Its work, and sooner or later will remove from Its path someone who strives only for occult powers. Occult abilities are mere side effects; you could consider them a compass for spiritual development, designated for noble purposes only, and aids to your fellow man; that is why they are reserved only for the true magician.

When you have entered onto the path of initiation, you do not have to change your ideology regarding religion, because true religion is actually the practice of initiation as described here and any religion can be brought into harmony with this system of initiation.

However, before you decide to enter upon the path of true initiation, examine yourself as to whether you consider true initiation a religion you want to practice as your life’s work, which you can fulfill regardless of all the obstacles and difficulties that you will encounter, and whether you will never leave this path once you are on it. You have to consider it a foregone conclusion that an enormous, almost superhuman amount of perseverance and patience, a tenacious will and reticence about your progress, are prerequisites.

I wish success and divine blessings to all readers who have chosen this course of instruction as their guide in order to perfect themselves.

Franz Bardon

Endnotes

[1] Gravitational force. – ED.

[2] What is meant here is the sum total of complete health, tranquility and inner peace, and not “material” success. – ED.

[3] These four attributes are an important part of the foundation for all future exercises; they should be practiced preferably in the order given here, one attribute at a time, until the student has the feeling that he has achieved his goal during the exercises. – ED.

[4] It can take many months for Step I to be fully completed. This should not discourage the aspiring initiate, for spiritual development is all individually based. Such a length of time to complete this step is usually attributed to a lack of theoretical knowledge. Again, the theory must be read many, many times and must become the mental property of the student, as described in the second to the last paragraph of the theoretical part of this book. Also, the instructions must be followed precisely and the exercises must not be interrupted, otherwise the student will severely regress. – ED.

[5] The vital energy produces a certain amount of positive tension, which has to be exhaled. – ED.

[6] Pure divine love. – ED.

[7] Pneuma in Greek means “spirit” or “breath,” among other things. – ED.

[8] Schema means form or appearance. – ED.

[9] Corning ware or stainless steel. – ED.

[10] This is sometimes referred to as mental and astral travel or projection. – ED.

[11] A Bunsen burner. – ED.

[12] The higher the alcohol volume or proof, the better. – ED.

[13] Warning: Since this fluid condenser is a rubefacient, it could cause irritation to the skin; make certain that it does not come in contact with your skin, especially your eyes. – ED.

[14] It is understood that these items should not be hybrid. – ED.

[15] Of course this was the technology of the 1950s; present-day high-speed film with high-speed shutters will probably give an even better picture. – ED.

[16] The person being viewed cannot be doing two different things at the same time. – ED.

[17] Organic, live food, not processed foods, and no vitamins supplements. – ED.

[18] In this instance the vitality or vital energy of a human being. – ED.

[19] The Practice of Magical Evocation and The Key to The True Kabbalah. – ED.

Other Titles by or About
Franz Bardon

The series of books on Hermetics (Alchemy) by Franz Bardon reveals the Holy Mysteries. They are unique in that they contain theory and practice. It is also important that these works be read and practiced in the proper sequence. Should the reader not do so, he will have great difficulties in understanding the content, even from a philosophical view point; as for the practitioner, he will not progress at all. Therefore, it is advisable for everyone to follow this sequence:

Frabato the Magician

(Introductory Novel)

Though cast in the form of a novel, Frabato the Magician is in fact the spiritual autobiography of Franz Bardon, one of the greatest adepts in the universe.

Set in Dresden, Germany, in the early 1930s, the story chronicles Bardon’s magical battles with the members of a powerful black lodge, his escape from Germany during the final days of the Weimar Republic, and the beginning of the spiritual mission which was to culminate in Bardon’s classic books on Hermetic magic.

Also included are fragments of The Golden Book of Wisdom, the fourth Tarot card.

173 pages, photos, softbound, ISBN 1-885928-15-7.

The Practice of Magical Evocation

(Volume II of The Holy Mysteries)

Complete revelation of the second Tarot card. Instructions for evoking spirit beings from the spheres surrounding us. The author speaks from his own experience!

Part I: Magic

Magical aids: the magic circle, triangle, censer, mirror, lamp, wand, sword, crown, garment, and belt. The pentacle, lamen or seal. The book of magic spells. In the domain of the spirit beings. Advantages and disadvantages of evocational magic. The “spiritus familiaris” or serving spirit. Magical evocation. The practice of magical evocation (description of a complete conjuration).

Part II: Hierarchy

(1) The spirits of the four elements.

(2) Intelligences of the zone girdling the earth.

(3) The 360 heads of the zone girdling the earth.

(4) Intelligences of the Moon sphere.

(5) The 72 intelligences of the Mercury sphere.

(6) Intelligences of the Venus sphere.

(7) Genii of the Sun sphere.

(8) Intelligences of the Mars sphere.

(9) Genii of the Jupiter sphere.

(10) The Saturn sphere.

(11) The spheres of Uranus and Pluto.

(12) Communication with spirit beings, genii and intelligences of all spheres through mental travel.

(13) Talismanic magic.

Part III: Illustrations, Seals of Spirit Beings

One picture of the second Tarot card. 540 pages (including 148 pages with seals of spirit beings), hardbound, ISBN 9781885928139.

The Key to The True Kabbalah

(Volume III of The Holy Mysteries)

Complete revelation of the third Tarot card. The cosmic language in theory and practice. The Kabbalist as a sovereign in the micro- and macrocosm.

Part I: Theory: The Kabbalah
Man as a Kabbalist. The laws of analogy. Esotericism of letters. The cosmic language. The magical or Kabbalistic word. The Tetragrammaton. The mantras and tantras. Magical formulas. Theory of Kabbalistic mysticism. Kabbalistic magic.

Part II: Practice
Mysticism of letters. Kabbalistic incantation. Aqua vitae kabbalisticae. Kabbalisticae elementorum. The ten Kabbalistic keys. The Tetragrammaton: Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh. The Kabbalistic fourfold key. The Kabbalistic mysticism of the alphabet. The first key, the simple letters.

Part III: The Magic of Formulas
The Kabbalistic alphabet. The twofold key. The use of the threefold key. The use of the fourfold key. Formulas of the elements. Kabbalistic use of divine names and beings. The Kabbalist as absolute master of the micro- and macrocosm. Through the ages, he who was called “The Master of the Word” was always the highest initiate, the highest priest and the true representative of God.

One picture of the third Tarot card. One photo of the author. 286 pages, softbound, ISBN 1-885928-14-9.

Franz Bardon: Questions & Answers and
The Great Arcanum
By Dieter Rüggeberg

This volume is the first complete new work to appear since Bardon’s famous series of books on Hermetics. Compiled by Dieter Rüggeberg from the notes of Bardon’s students in Prague, it represents his oral teachings on the nature of the magical universe. Set in the form of questions and answers, this book is an invaluable addition to the Bardon material.

116 pages, softbound, ISBN 9781885928191.

Memories of Franz Bardon
By Dr. Lumir Bardon and Dr. M.K.

Learn about Franz Bardon, the man, the husband, the father, the friend, and the teacher from those who knew him best. Recited by Bardon’s son Lumir and his student Dr. M.K., Memories of Franz Bardon is a collection of warm-hearted reminiscences about one of the greatest adepts to date. Valuable hermetic information from Dr. M.K. also included.

104 pages, photos, softbound, 9781885928177.

The Universal Master Key
By Franz Bardon
(as compiled by Dieter Rüggeberg)

The Universal Master Key is the latest Franz Bardon book compiled from the notes of one of his students in Prague. This new text from the oral teachings of Franz Bardon not only contains the master keys to spiritual development, but also the universal keys to every element and to every positive attribute with which you can learn to control and overcome your negative attributes. In this text Franz Bardon lists each virtue a Hermetic adept should cultivate and the powers that each attribute opens within the practitioner. As the tentative student transforms his vices into virtues and cultivates harmony and balance throughout his entire being, he discovers that all aspects of his path are interdependent. As he masters his concentration and meditation exercises he gains greater control over himself; as he masters his short comings his ability to meditate and focus increases; as he masters the elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire within himself his powers over the external forces increase in dramatic proportion. In truth, the master of the magical arts is he who has truly mastered himself.

338 pages, softbound, 978-291-35513-0.