[PAGE 1] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION OR MYSTIC CHRISTIANITY AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE UPON MAN'S PAST EVOLUTION, PRESENT CONSTITUTION AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT BY MAX HEINDEL Its Message and Mission: A SANE MIND A SOFT HEART A SOUND BODY __________________ TWENTY-EIGHTH EDITION ____________________ THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP International Headquarters Mt. Ecclesia Oceanside, California, U.S.A. _____________________ ENGLAND: L.N. FOWLER & CO., LTD., 29 LUDGATE HILLION LONDON, E.C. 4 [PAGE 4] ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION CREED OR CHRIST No man loves God who hates his kind, Who tramples on his brother's heart and soul; Who seeks to shackle, cloud, or fog the mind By fears of hell has not perceived our goal. God-sent are all religions blest; And Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life, To give the heavy laden rest And peace from sorrow, sin, and strife. Behold the Universal Spirit came To ALL the churches, not to one alone; On Pentecostal morn a tongue of flame Round EACH apostle as a halo shone. Since then, as vultures ravenous with greed, We oft have battled for an empty name, And sought by dogma, edict, cult, or creed, To send each other to the quenchless flame. Is Christ then twain? Was Cephas, Paul, To save the world, nailed to the tree? Then why divisions here at all? Christ's love enfolds both you and me. His pure sweet love is not confined By creed which segregate and raise a wall. His love enfolds, embraces human kind, No matter what ourselves or Him we call. Then why not take Him at His word? Why hold to creeds which tear apart? But one thing matters, be it heard That brother love fill every heart. There's but one thing the world has need to know. There's but one balm for all our human woe: There's but one way that leads to heaven above-- That way is human sympathy and love. -Max Heindel. [PAGE 5] A WORD TO THE WISE A WORD TO THE WISE. The founder of the Christian Religion stated an occult maxim when He said: "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein" (Mark X:15). All occultists recognize the far-reaching importance of this teaching of Christ, and endeavor to "live" it day by day. When a new philosophy is presented to the world it is met in different ways by different people. One person will grasp with avidity any new philosophical effort in an endeavor to ascertain how far IT SUPPORTS HIS OWN IDEAS. To such an one the philosophy itself is of minor importance. Its prime value will be its vin- dication of HIS ideas. If the work comes up to expectation in that respect, he will enthusiastically adopt it and cling to it with a most unreasoning partisanship; if not, he will probably lay the book down in disgust and dis- appointment, feeling as if the author had done him an injury. Another adopts an attitude of skepticism as soon as he discovers that it contains something which HE has not previously read, heard, or originated in his own thought. He would probably resent as extremely unjustified the ac- cusation that his mental attitude is the acme of self-satisfaction and in- tolerance; such is nevertheless the case; and thus he shuts his mind to any truth which may possibly be hidden in that which he off-hand rejects. Both these classes stand in their own light. "Set" ideas render them impervious to rays of truth. "A little child" is the very opposite of its [PAGE 6] A WORD TO THE WISE elders in that respect. It is not imbued with an overwhelming sense of su- perior knowledge, nor does it feel compelled to look wise or to hide its nescience of any subject by a smile or a sneer. It is frankly ignorant, unfettered by preconceived opinions and therefore EMINENTLY TEACHABLE. It takes everything with that beautiful attitude of trust which we have desig- nated "child-like faith," wherein there is not the shadow of a doubt. There the child holds the teaching it receives until proven or disproven. In all occult schools the pupil is first taught to forget all else when a new teaching is being given, to allow neither preference nor prejudice to govern, but to keep the mind in a state of calm, dignified waiting. As skepticism will blind us to truth in the most effective manner, so this calm, trustful attitude of the mind will allow the intuition, or "teaching from within," to become aware of the truth contained in the proposition. That is the only way to cultivate an absolutely certain perception of truth. The pupil is not required to believe off-hand that a given object which he has observed to be white, is really black, when such a statement is made to him; but he must cultivate an attitude of mind which "believeth all things" AS POSSIBLE. That will allow him to put by for the time being even what are generally considered "established facts," and investigate if per- chance there be another viewpoint hitherto unobserved by him whence the ob- ject referred to would appear black. Indeed, he would not allow himself to look upon anything as "AN ESTABLISHED FACT," for he realizes thoroughly the importance of keeping his mind in the fluidal state of ADAPTABILITY which characterizes the little child. He realizes in every fibre of his being that "now we see through a glass, darkly," and Ajax-like he is ever on the alert, yearning for "Light, more Light." [PAGE 7] A WORD TO THE WISE The enormous advantage of such an attitude of mind when investigating any given subject, object or idea must be apparent. Statements which appear positively and unequivocally contradictory, which have caused an immense amount of feeling among the advocates of opposite sides, may nevertheless be capable of perfect reconciliation, as shown in one such instance mentioned in the present work. THE BOND OF CONCORD IS ONLY DISCOVERED BY THE OPEN MIND, however, and though the present work may be found to differ from oth- ers, the writer would bespeak an impartial hearing as the basis of SUBSE- QUENT judgment. If the book is "weighed and found wanting," the writer will have no complaint. He only fears a hasty judgment based upon lack of knowl- edge of the system he advocates--a hearing wherein the judgment is "wanting" in consequence of having been denied an impartial "weighing." He would fur- ther submit, that the only opinion worthy of the one who expresses it MUST BE BASED UPON KNOWLEDGE. As a further reason for care in judgment we suggest that to many it is exceedingly difficult to retract a hastily expressed opinion. Therefore it is urged that the reader withhold all expressions of either praise or blame until study of the work has reasonably satisfied him of its merit or de- merit. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-conception is not dogmatic, neither does it appeal to any other authority than the reason of the student. It is not controver- sial, but is sent forth in the hope that is may help to clear some of the difficulties which have beset the minds of students of the deeper phi- losophies in the past. In order to avoid serious misunderstanding, it should be firmly impressed upon the mind of the student, however, that there [PAGE 8] A WORD TO THE WISE is no infallible revelation of this complicated subject, which includes ev- erything under the sun and above it also. An infallible exposition would predicate omniscience upon the part of the writer, and even the Elder Brothers tell us that they are sometimes at fault in their judgment, so a book which shall say the last word on the World-Mystery is out of the question, and the writer of the present work does not pretend to give aught but the most elementary teachings of the Rosicrucians. The Rosicrucian Brotherhood has the most far-reaching, the most logical conception of the World-Mystery of which the writer has gained any knowledge during the many years he has devoted exclusively to the study of this sub- ject. So far as he has been able to investigate, their teachings have been found in accordance with facts as he knows them. Yet he is convinced that the Rosicrucian Cosmo-conception is far from being the last word on the subject; that as we advance greater vistas of truth will open to us and make clear many things which we now "see through a glass, darkly." At the same time he firmly believes that all other philosophies of the future will follow the same main lines, for they appear to be absolutely true. In view of the foregoing it will be plain that this book is not consid- ered by the writer as the Alpha and Omega, the ultimate of occult knowledge, and even though is entitled "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-conception," the writer desires to strongly emphasize that is not to be understood as a "faith once for all delivered" to the Rosicrucians by a founder of the Order or by any other individual. It is emphatically stated that THIS WORD EMBODIES ONLY THE WRITER'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROSICRUCIAN TEACHINGS concerning the World-Mystery, strengthened by his personal investigations of the inner [PAGE 9] A WORD TO THE WISE Worlds, the ante-natal and post-mortem states of man, etc. The responsibil- ity upon one who wittingly or unwittingly leads others astray is clearly re- alized by the writer, and he wishes to guard as far as possible against that contingency, and also to guard others against going wrong inadvertently. What is said in this work is to be accepted or rejected by the reader according to his own discretion. All care has been used in trying to make plain the teaching; great pains have been taken to put it into words that shall be easily understood. For that reason only one term has been used throughout to convey each idea. The same word will have the same meaning wherever used. When any word descriptive of an idea is first used, the clearest definition possible to the writer is given. None but English terms and the simplest language have been used. The writer has tried to give as exact and definite descriptions of the subject under consideration as pos- sible; to eliminate all ambiguity and to make everything clear. How far he has succeeded must be left to the student to judge; but having used every possible means to convey the teaching, he feels obliged to guard also against the possibility of this work being taken as a verbatim statement of the Rosicrucian teachings. Neglect of this precaution might give undue weight to this work in the minds of some students. That would not be fair to the Brotherhood nor to the reader. It would tend to throw the responsibility upon the Brotherhood for the mistakes which must occur in this as in all other human works. Hence the above warming. [PAGE 10] A WORD TO THE WISE During the four years which have elapsed since the foregoing paragraphs were written, the writer has continued his investigations of the invisible worlds, and experienced the expansion of consciousness relative to these realms of nature which comes by practice of the precepts taught in the West- ern Mystery School. Others also who have followed the method of soul-unfoldment herein described as particularly suited to the Western peoples, have likewise been enabled to verify for themselves many things here taught. Thus the writer's understanding of what was given by the Elder Brothers has received some corroboration and seems to have been substan- tially correct, therefore he feels it a duty to state this for the encour- agement of those who are still unable to see for themselves. If we said that the vital body is built of PRISMS instead of points, it would have been better, for it is by refraction through these minute prisms that the colorless solar fluid changes to a rosy hue as observed by other writers beside the author. Other new and important discoveries have also been made; for instance, we know now that the Silver Cord is grown anew in each life, that one part sprouts from the seed atom of the desire body in the great vortex of the liver, that the other part grows out of the seed atom of the dense body in the heart, that both parts meet in the seed atom of the vital body in the solar plexus, and that this union of the higher and lower vehicles causes the quickening. Further development of the cord between the heart and solar plexus during the first seven years has an important bearing on the mystery of childlife, likewise its fuller growth from the liver to the solar plexus, which takes place during the second septenary period, is a contributory cause of adolescence. Completion of the Silver Cord marks the end of childlife, and from that time the solar energy which enters through the spleen and is tinted by refraction through the prismatic seed atom of the vital body located in the solar plexus, commences to give a distinctive and individual coloring to the aura which we observe in adults. [PAGE 11] LIST OF CONTENTS LIST OF CONTENTS. PART I. MAN'S PRESENT CONSTITUTION AND METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT. A Word to the Wise ................................................... 5 The Four Kingdoms, diagram ........................................... 16 Introduction ......................................................... 17 CHAPTER I. The Visible and Invisible Worlds ......................... 24 Chemical Region of the Physical World ............................ 29 Etheric Region of the Physical World ............................. 34 The Desire World ................................................. 38 The World of Thought ............................................. 48 Diagram 1. The Material World a Reverse Reflection of the Spiritual Worlds .................................... 52 Diagram 2. The Seven Worlds ..................................... 54 CHAPTER II. The Four Kingdoms ....................................... 56 Diagram 3. The Vehicles of the Four Kingdoms .................... 73 Diagram 4. The Consciousness of the Four Kingdoms ............... 74 CHAPTER III. Man and the Method of Evolution. Activities of Life; Memory and Soul-growth ....................... 87 The Constitution of the Seven-fold Man ........................... 88 Diagram 5. The Three-fold Spirit, the Three-fold Body and the Three-fold Soul ........................................ 95 Death and Purgatory .............................................. 96 Diagram 5 1/2. The Silver Cord .................................. 98 The Borderland ................................................... 112 The First Heaven ................................................. 113 The Second Heaven ................................................ 121 The Third Heaven ................................................. 129 Preparations for Rebirth ......................................... 133 Birth of the Dense Body .......................................... 139 Birth of the Vital Body and Growth ............................... 141 Birth of the Desire Body and Puberty ............................. 142 Birth of the Mind and Majority ................................... 142 The Blood; the Vehicle of the Ego ................................ 143 A Life Cycle (diagram) ........................................... 146 CHAPTER IV. Rebirth and the Law of Consequence ...................... 147 Wine as a Factor in Evolution .................................... 165 A Remarkable Story ............................................... 172 [PAGE 12] LIST OF CONTENTS PART II. COSMOGENESIS AND ANTHROPOGENESIS. CHAPTER V. The Relation of Man to God ............................... 177 Diagram 6. The Supreme Being, the Cosmic Planes and God ......... 178 CHAPTER VI. The Scheme of Evolution. The Beginning .................................................... 183 The Seven Worlds ................................................. 186 The Seven Periods ................................................ 188 Diagram 7. The Saturn Period..................................... 193 CHAPTER VII. The Path of Evolution .................................. 194 Revolutions and Cosmic Nights .................................... 195 Diagram 8. The Seven Worlds, Seven Globes and Seven Periods ...... 197 CHAPTER VIII. The Work of Evolution. Ariadne's Thread ................................................. 201 The Saturn Period ................................................ 204 Recapitulation ................................................... 208 The Sun Period ................................................... 209 The Moon Period .................................................. 213 Diagram 9. The Twelve Creative Hierarchies ...................... 221 CHAPTER IX. Stragglers and Newcomers ................................ 223 Classes of Beings at the Beginning of the Moon Period ............ 226 Diagram 10. Classes at the Beginning of Earth Period ............ 230 CHAPTER X. The Earth Period .......................................... 233 Saturn Revolution of the Earth Period ............................ 236 Sun Revolution of the Earth Period ............................... 240 Moon Revolution of the Earth Period ............................. 242 Rest Periods Between Revolutions ................................. 243 The Fourth Revolution of the Earth Period ........................ 245 CHAPTER XI. Genesis and Evolution of Our Solar System. Chaos ............................................................ 246 The Birth of the Planets ......................................... 252 Diagram 11. Aspects of God and Man .............................. 253 Diagram 12. A Man's Past, Present and Future Form ............... 257 CHAPTER XII. Evolution on the Earth. The Polarian Epoch ............................................... 261 The Hyperborean Epoch ............................................ 262 The Moon; the Eighth Sphere ...................................... 264 The Lemurian Epoch ............................................... 265 [PAGE 13] LIST OF CONTENTS Birth of the Individual .......................................... 266 Separation of the Sexes .......................................... 267 Influence of Mars ................................................ 268 The Races and Their Leaders ...................................... 270 Influence of Mercury ............................................. 273 The Lemurian Race ................................................ 275 The Fall of Man .................................................. 282 The Lucifer Spirits .............................................. 286 The Atlantean Epoch .............................................. 291 The Aryan Epoch .................................................. 304 The Sixteen Paths to Destruction ................................. 306 CHAPTER XIII. Back to the Bible ..................................... 308 CHAPTER XIV. Occult Analysis of Genesis. Limitations of the Bible ......................................... 317 In the Beginning ................................................. 321 The Nebular Theory ............................................... 322 The Creative Hierarchies ......................................... 325 The Saturn Period ................................................ 327 The Sun Period, the Moon Period .................................. 328 The Earth Period ................................................. 329 Jehovah and His Mission .......................................... 333 Involution, Evolution and Epigenesis ............................. 336 A Living Soul? ................................................... 344 Adam's Rib ....................................................... 346 Guardian Angels .................................................. 347 Mixing Blood in Marriage ......................................... 352 The Fall of Man .................................................. 360 Diagram 13. The Beginning and End of Sex ........................ 364 PART III. MAN'S FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND INITIATION. Diagram. The Seven Days of Creation ............................. 366 CHAPTER XV. Christ and His Mission. The Evolution of Religion ........................................ 367 Jesus and Christ-Jesus ........................................... 374 Diagram 14. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ............. 377 Not Peace but a Sword ............................................ 383 The Star of Bethlehem ............................................ 388 The Heart an Anomaly ............................................. 393 The Mystery of Golgotha .......................................... 400 The Cleansing Blood .............................................. 406 Diagram, "As Above, so Below" .................................... 410 CHAPTER XVI. Future Development and Initiation. The Seven Days of Creation ....................................... 411 Diagram 15. The Symbolism of the Caduceus ....................... 413 Radiates, Mollusks, Articulates and Vertebrates .................. 416 Spirals within Spirals ........................................... 420 [PAGE 14] LIST OF CONTENTS Alchemy and Soulgrowth ........................................... 421 The Creative Word ................................................ 425 CHAPTER XVII. The Method of Acquiring First-Hand Knowledge. The First Steps .................................................. 430 Western Methods for Western People ............................... 437 The Science of Nutrition ......................................... 441 Table of Food Values ............................................. 450 The Law of Assimilation .......................................... 457 Live and Let Live ................................................ 460 The Lord's Prayer ................................................ 462 Diagram 16. The Lord's Prayer ................................... 464 The Vow of Celibacy .............................................. 467 The Pituitary Body and the Pineal Gland .......................... 473 Diagram 17. Path of the Unused Sex Currents ..................... 475 Esoteric Training ................................................ 477 How the Inner Vehicle is Built ................................... 480 Concentration .................................................... 486 Meditation ....................................................... 489 Observation ...................................................... 492 Discrimination ................................................... 493 Contemplation .................................................... 494 Adoration ........................................................ 495 CHAPTER XVIII. The Constitution of the Earth and Volcanic Eruptions . 498 The Number of the Beast .......................................... 499 Diagram 18. The Constitution of the Earth ....................... 509 CHAPTER XIX. Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order of Rosicrucians ..... 515 Ancient Truths in Modern Dress ................................... 515 Initiation ....................................................... 524 The Rosicrucian Fellowship ....................................... 530 Correspondence Courses ........................................... 533 Symbolism of Rose Cross .......................................... 534 Topical Index ........................................................ 539 Index ............................................................ 543 Index of Diagrams and Tables ..................................... 599 Morning and Evening Exercises Evening Exercise ................................................. 601 Morning Exercise ................................................. 602 [PAGE 15] PART I _________________ MAN'S PRESENT CONSTITUTION AND METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT [PAGE 16] DIAGRAM: THE FOUR KINGDOMS [PAGE 17] INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION The Western world is undoubtedly the vanguard of the human race, and, for reasons given in the following pages, it is held by the Rosicrucian that neither Judaism nor "popular Christianity," but true Esoteric Christianity is to be its world-religion. Buddha, great, grand and sublime, may be the "light of Asia," but Christ will yet be acknowledged the "Light of the World." As the sun outshines the brightest star in the heavens, dispels every vestige of darkness and gives life and light to all beings, so, in a not too distant future, will the true religion of Christ supersede and obliterate all other religions, to the eternal benefit of mankind. In our civilization the chasm that stretches between mind and heart yawns deep and wide and, as the mind flies on from discovery to discovery in the realms of science, the gulf becomes ever deeper and wider and the heart is left further and further behind. The mind loudly demands and will be satis- fied with nothing less than a materially demonstrable explanation of man and his fellow-creatures that make up the phenomenal world. The heart feels in- stinctively that there is something greater, and it years for that which it feels is a higher truth than can be grasped by the mind alone. The human soul would fain soar upon ethereal pinions of intuition; would fain love in the eternal found of spiritual light and love; but modern scientific views have shorn its wings and it sits fettered and mute, unsatisfied longings gnawing at its tendrils as the vulture of Prometheus' liver. [PAGE 18] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION Is this necessary? Is there no common ground upon which head and heart may meet, each assisting the other, each by the help of the other becoming more effective in the search for universal truth, and each receiving equal satisfaction? As surely as the pre-existing light created the eye whereby the light is seen; as surely as the primordial desire for growth created the digestive and assimilative system for the attainment of that end; as surely as thought existed before the brain and built and still is building the brain for its expression; as surely as the mind is now forging ahead and wringing her se- crets from nature by the very force of its audacity, just so surely will the heart find a way to burst its bonds and gratify its longings. At present it is shackled by the dominant brain. Some day it will gather strength to burst its prison bars and become a power greater than the mind. It is equally certain that there can be no contradiction in nature, therefore the heart and the mind must be capable of uniting. To indicate this common ground is precisely the purpose of this book. To show where and how the mind, helped by the intuition of the heart, can probe more deeply into the mysteries of being than either could do alone; where the heart, by union with the mind, can be kept from going astray; where each can have full scope for action, neither doing violence to the other and where both mind and heart can be satisfied. Only when that co-operation is attained and perfected will man attain the higher, truer understanding of himself and of the world of which he is a part; only that can give him a broad mind and a great heart. [PAGE 19] INTRODUCTION At every birth what appears to be a new life comes among us. We see the little form as it lives and grows, becoming a factor in our lives for days, months or years. At last there comes a day when the form dies and goes to decay. The life that came, whence we know not, has passed to the invisible beyond, and in sorrow we ask ourselves, Whence came it? What was it here? and Whither has it gone? Across every threshold the skeleton form of Death throws his fearsome shadow. Old or young, well or ill, rich or poor, all, all alike must pass out into that shadow and throughout the ages has sounded the piteous cry for a solution of the riddle of life--the riddle of death. So far as the vast majority of people are concerned the three great questions, Whence have we come? Why are we here? Whither are we going? remain unanswered to this day. It has unfortunately come to be the popularly accepted opinion that nothing can be definitely known about these matters of deepest interest to humanity. Nothing could be more erroneous than such an idea. Each and every one, without exception, may become ca- pable of obtaining first-hand, definite information upon this subject; may personally investigate the state of the human spirit, both before birth and after death. There is no favoritism, nor are special gifts required. Each of us has inherently the faculty for knowing all of these matters; but!-- Yes, there is a "but," and a "BUT" that must be written large. These facul- ties are present in all, though latent in most people. It requires persis- tent effort to awaken them and that seems to be a powerful deterrent. If these faculties, "awake and aware," could be had for a monetary consider- ation, even if the price were high, many people would pay it to gain such immense advantage over their fellow-men, but few indeed are those [PAGE 20] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION willing to live the life that is required to awaken them. That awakening comes only by patient, persistent effort. It cannot be bought; there is no royal road to it. It is conceded that practice is necessary to learn to play the piano, and that it is useless to think of being a watchmaker without being willing to serve an apprenticeship. Yet when the matter of the soul, of death and the beyond, of the great causes of being, are the questions at issue, many think they know as much as anyone and have an equal right to express an opinion, though they may never have given the subject an hour's study. As a matter of fact, no one unless qualified by study of the subject should expect serious consideration for an opinion. In legal cases, where experts are called to testify, they are first examined as to their compe- tency. The weight of their testimony will be nil, unless they are found to be thoroughly proficient in the branch of knowledge regarding which their testimony is sought. If, however, they are found to be qualified--by study and practice-- to express an expert opinion, it is received with the utmost respect and deference; and if the testimony of one expert is corroborated by others equally proficient, the testimony of each additional man adds immensely to the weight of the previous evidence. The irrefutable testimony of one such man easily counterbalances that of one or a dozen or a million men who know nothing of that whereof they speak, for nothing, even though multiplied by a million, will still remain nothing. This is as true of any other subject as of mathematics. As previously said, we recognize these facts readily enough in material affairs, but when things beyond the world of sense, when the super-physical world is under discussion; when the relations of God to man, the inner-most [PAGE 21] INTRODUCTION mysteries of the immortal spark of divinity, loosely termed the soul, are to be probed, then each clamors for as serious consideration of his opinions and ideas regarding spiritual matters as is given to the sage, who by a life of patient and toilsome research has acquired wisdom in these higher things. Nay, more; many will not even content themselves with claiming EQUAL consideration for their opinions, but will even jeer and scoff at the words of the sage, seek to impugn his testimony as fraud, and, with the supreme confidence of deepest ignorance, asseverate that as THEY know nothing of such matters, it is absolutely impossible that anyone else can. The man who realizes his ignorance has taken the first step toward knowledge. The path to first-hand knowledge is not easy. Nothing worth having ever comes without persistent effort. It cannot be too often repeated that there are no such things as special gifts of "luck." All that anyone is or has, is the result of effort. What one lacks in comparison with another is la- tent in himself and capable of development by proper methods. If the reader, having grasped this idea thoroughly, should ask, what he must do to obtain this first-hand knowledge, the following story may serve to impress the idea, which is the central one in occultism: A young man came to a sage one day and asked, "Sire, what must I do to become wise?" The sage vouchsafed no answer. The youth after repeating his question a number of times, with a like result, at last left him, to return the next day with the same question. Again no answer was given and the youth returned on the third day, still repeating his question, "Sire what [PAGE 22] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION must I do to become wise?" Finally the sage turned and went down to a near-by river. He entered the water, bidding the youth follow him. Upon arriving at a sufficient depth the sage took the young man by the shoulders and held him under the water, despite his struggles to free himself. At last, however, he released him and when the youth had regained his breath the sage questioned him: "Son, when you were under the water what did you most desire?" The youth answered without hesitation, "Air, air! I wanted air!" "Would you not rather have had riches, pleasure, power or love, my son? Did you not think of any of these?" queried the sage. "No, sire! I wanted air and though only of air," came the instant re- sponse. "Then," said the sage, "To become wise you must desire wisdom with as great intensity as you just now desired air. You must struggle for it, to the exclusion of every other aim in life. It must be your one and only as- piration, by day and by night. If you seek wisdom with that fervor, my son, you will surely become wise." That is the first and central requisite the aspirant to occult knowledge must possess--an unswerving desire, a burning thirst for knowledge; a zeal that allows no obstacle to conquer it; but the supreme motive for seeking this occult knowledge must be an ardent desire to benefit humanity, entirely disregarding self in order to work for others. Unless prompted by the motive, occult knowledge is dangerous. Without possessing these qualifications--especially the latter--in some measure, any attempt to tread the arduous path of occultism would be a [PAGE 23] INTRODUCTION hazardous undertaking. Another prerequisite to this first-hand knowledge, however, is the study of occultism at second-hand. Certain occult powers are necessary for the first-hand investigation of matters connected with the pre-natal and post-mortem states of man, but no one need despair of acquir- ing information about this conditions because of undeveloped occult powers. As a man may know about Africa either by going there personally or by read- ing descriptions written by travelers who have been there, so may he visit the superphysical realms if he will but qualify himself therefor, or he may learn what others who have so qualified themselves report as a result of their investigations. Christ said, "The Truth shall make you free," but Truth is not found once and forever. Truth is eternal, and the quest for Truth must also be eternal. Occultism knows of no "faith once for all delivered." There are certain basic truths which remain, but which may be looked at from many sides, each giving a different view, which complements the previous ones; therefore, so far as we can see at present, there is no such achievement possible as arriving at the ultimate truth. Wherein this work differs from some philosophical works the variations are caused by difference of viewpoint, and all respect is paid to the con- clusions reached and the ideas set forth by other investigators. It is the earnest hope of the writer that the study of the following pages may help to make the student's ideas fuller and more rounded than they were before. [PAGE 24] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION CHAPTER I THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS The first step in Occultism is the study of the invisible Worlds. These Worlds are invisible to the majority of people because of the dormancy of the finer and higher senses whereby they may be perceived, in the same way that the Physical World about us is perceived through the physical senses. The majority of people are on a similar footing in regard to the super-physical Worlds as the man who is born blind is to our world of sense; although light and color are all about him, he is unable to see them. To him they are non-existent and incomprehensible, simply because he lacks the sense of sight wherewith to perceive them. Objects he can feel; they seem real; but light and color are beyond his ken. So with the greater part of humanity. They feel, and see objects and hear sounds in the Physical World, but the other realms, which the clairvoy- ant calls the higher Worlds, are as incomprehensible to them as light and color are to the blind man. Because the blind man cannot see color and light, however, is no argument against their existence and reality. Neither is it an argument, that because most people cannot see the super-physical Worlds no one can do so. If the blind an obtains his sight, he will see light and color. If the higher senses of those blind to the super-physical Worlds are awakened by proper methods, they also will be able to behold the Worlds which are now hidden from them. [PAGE 25] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS While many people make the mistake of being incredulous concerning the existence or reality of the super-sensuous Worlds, there are also many who go to the other extreme, and, having become convinced of the verity of in- visible Worlds, think that when a person is clairvoyant all truth is at once open to him; that when one can "see," he at once "knows all about" these higher Worlds. This is a great mistake. We readily recognize the fallacy of such a contention in matters of everyday life. We do not think that a man who was born blind, but has obtained his sight, at once "knows all about" the Physi- cal World. Nay, more; we know that even those of us who have been able to see the things about us all our lives are far from having a universal knowledge of them. We know that it requires arduous study and years of application to know about even that infinitesimal part of things that we handle in our daily lives, and reversing the Hermetic aphorism, "as above, so below," we gather at once that it must be the same in the other Worlds. At the same time it is also true that there are much greater facilities for acquiring knowledge in the super-physical Worlds than in our present dense physical condition, but not so great as to eliminate the necessity for close study and the possibility of making a mistake in observation. In fact, all the testimony of reliable and qualified observers prove that much more care in observation is needed there than here. Clairvoyants must first be trained before their observations are of any real value, and the more proficient they become the more modest they are about telling of what they see; the more they defer to the versions of oth- ers, knowing how much there is to learn and realizing how little the single [PAGE 26] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION investigator can grasp of all the detail incident to his investigations. This also accounts for the varied versions, which superficial people think are an argument against the existence of the higher Worlds. They con- tend that if these Worlds exist, investigators must necessarily bring back identical descriptions. If we take an illustration from everyday life, the fallacy of this becomes apparent. Suppose a newspaper sends twenty reporters to a city with orders to "write it up." Reporters are, or ought to be, trained observers. It is their business to see everything and they should be able to give as good de- scriptions as can be expected from any source. Yet it is certain that of the twenty reports, no two would be exactly alike. It is much more likely that they would be totally different. Although some of them might contain leading features in common, others might be unique in quality and quantity of description. Is it an argument against the existence of the city that these reports differ? Certainly not! It is easily accounted for by the fact that each saw the city from his own particular point of view and instead of these varying reports being confusing and detrimental, it is safe to say that a perusal of them all would give a fuller, better understanding and descrip- tion of the city than if only one were read and the others were thrown in the wastebasket. Each report would round out and complement the others. The same is true regarding accounts made by investigators of the higher Worlds. Each has his own peculiar way of looking at things and can describe only what he sees from his particular point of view. The account he gives may differ from those of others, yet all be equally truthful from each indi- vidual observer's viewpoint. [PAGE 27] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS It is sometimes asked, Why investigate these Worlds? Why is it not best to take one World at a time; to be content for the present time with the lessons to be learned in the Physical World, and, if there are invisible Worlds why not wait until we reach them before investigating? "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof!" Why borrow more? If we knew without doubt that at some time, sooner or later, each one of us must be transported to a far country where, under new and strange con- ditions, we must live for many years, is it not reasonable to believe that if we had an opportunity to learn of that country in advance of our removal to it we would gladly do so? Knowledge would render it much easier for us to accommodate ourselves to new conditions. There is only one certainty in life and that is--Death! As we pass into the beyond and are confronted by new conditions, knowledge of them is sure to be of the greatest help. But that is not all. To understand the Physical World, which is the world of effects, it is necessary to understand the super-physical World, which is the world of causes. We see street cars in motion and we hear the clicking of telegraph instruments, but the mysterious force which causes phenomena remains invisible to us. We say it is electricity, but the name gives us no explanation. We learn nothing of the force itself; we see and hear only its effects. If a dish of cold water be placed in an atmosphere of a sufficiently low temperature ice crystals immediately begin to form and we can see the process of their formation. The lines along which the water crystallizes were in it all the time as lines of force but they were invisible until the water congealed. The beautiful "frost flowers" on a windowpane are visible [PAGE 28] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION manifestations of currents of the higher Worlds which operate upon us all the time, unrecognized by most of us, but none the less potent. The higher Worlds are thus the worlds of causes, of forces; and we can- not really understand this lower World unless we know the others and realize the forces and causes of which all material things are but the effects. As to the reality of these higher Worlds compared with that of the Physical World, strange as it may seem, these higher Worlds, which to the majority appear as mirages, or even less substantial, are, in truth, much more real and the objects in them more lasting and indestructible than the objects in the Physical World. If we take an example we shall readily see this. An architect does not start to build a house by procuring the mate- rial and setting the workmen to laying stone upon stone in a haphazard way, without thought or plan. He "thinks the house out." Gradually it takes form in his mind and finally there stands a clear idea of the house that is to be--a thought-form of a house. This house is yet invisible to all but the architect. He makes it ob- jective on paper. He draws the plans and from this objective image of the thought-form the workmen construct the house of wood, iron, or stone, ac- curately corresponding to the thought-form originated by the architect. Thus the thought-form becomes a material reality. The materialist would assert that it is much more real, lasting and substantial that the im- age in the architect's mind. But let us see. The house could not have been constructed without the thought-form. The material object can be destroyed by dynamite, earthquake, fire, or decay, but the thought-form will remain. It will exist as long as the architect lives and from it any number of [PAGE 29] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS houses similar to the one destroyed may be constructed. Not even the archi- tect himself can destroy it. Even after his death this thought-form can be recovered by those who are qualified to read the memory of nature, which will be dealt with later. Having thus seen the reasonableness of such Worlds existing around and about us, and having satisfied ourselves of their reality, their permanency, and of the utility of a knowledge concerning them, we shall now examine them severally and singly, commencing with the Physical World. CHEMICAL REGION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD In the Rosicrucian teaching the universe is divided into seven differ- ent Worlds, or states of matter, as follows: 1-World of God. 2-World of Virgin Spirits. 3-World of Divine Spirit. 4-World of Life Spirit. 5-World of Thought. 6-Desire World. 7-Physical World. The division is not arbitrary but necessary, because the substance of each of these Worlds is amenable to laws which are practically inoperative in others. For instance, in the Physical World, matter is subject to grav- ity, contraction and expansion. In the Desire World there is neither heat nor cold, and forms levitate as easily as they gravitate. Distance and time are also governing factors of existence in the Physical World, but are al- most non-existent in the Desire World. The matter of these worlds also varies in density, the Physical World being the densest of the seven. Each World is subdivided into seven Regions or sub-divisions of matter. [PAGE 30] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION In the Physical World, the solids, liquids and gases form the three denser subdivisions, the remaining four being ethers of varying densities. In the other Worlds similar subdivisions are necessary, because the matter of which they are composed is not of uniform density. There are still two further distinctions to be made. The three dense subdivisions of the Physical World--the solids, liquids and gases--consti- tute what is termed the Chemical Region. The substance in this Region is the basis of all dense Form. The Ether is also physical matter. It is not homogeneous, as material science alleges, but exists in four different states. It is the medium of ingress for the quickening spirit which imparts VITALITY to the Forms in the Chemical Region. The four finer or etheric subdivisions of the Physical World constitute what is known as the Etheric Region. In the World of Thought the three higher subdivisions are the basis of abstract thought, hence they, collectively, are called the Region of Ab- stract Thought. The four denser subdivisions supply the mind-stuff in which we embody and concrete our ideas and are therefore termed the Region of Con- crete Thought. The careful consideration given by the occultist to the characteristics of the Physical World might seem superfluous were it not that he regards all things from a view point differing widely from that of the materialist. The latter recognizes three states of matter--solids, liquids, and gases. These are all chemical, because derived from the chemical constituents of Earth. From this chemical matter all the FORMS of mineral, plant, animal, and man have been built, hence they are as truly chemical as the substances which [PAGE 31] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS are commonly so termed. Thus whether we consider the mountain or the cloud that envelops its top, the juice of the plant or the blood of the animal, the spider's thread, the wing of the butterfly or the bones of the elephant, the air we breathe or the water we drink--all are composed of the same chemical substance. What is it then which determines the conformation of this basic sub- stance into the multiplex variety of Forms which we see about us? It is the One Universal Spirit, expressing Itself in the visible world as four great streams of Life, at varying stages of development. This fourfold spiritual impulse molds the chemical matter of the Earth into variegated forms of the four Kingdoms--mineral, plant, animal, and man. When a form has served its purpose as a vehicle of expression for the three higher streams of life, the chemical forces disintegrate that form so that the matter may be returned to its primordial state, and thus made available for the building of new forms. The spirit or life which molds the form into an expression of itself is, therefore, as extraneous to the matter it uses as a carpenter is apart from and personally independent of the house he builds for his own occupancy. As all the forms of mineral, plant, animal, and man are chemical, they must logically be as dead and devoid of feeling as chemical matter in it primitive state, and the Rosicrucian asserts that they are. Some scientists contend that there is feeling in all tissue, living or dead, to whatever kingdom it belongs. They include even the substances or- dinarily classed as mineral in their category of objects having feeling, and to prove their contentions they submit diagrams with curves of energy ob- tained from tests. Another class of investigators teach that there is no [PAGE 32] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION feeling even in the human body, except in the brain, which is the SEAT of feeling. They say it is the brain and not the finger which feels the pain when the latter is injured. Thus is the house of Science divided against itself on this as on most other points. The position taken by each is partly right. It depends upon what we mean by "feeling." If we mean simply response to impacts, such as the rebound of a rubber ball that is dropped to the ground, of course it is correct to attribute feeling to mineral, plant, and animal tissue; but if we mean pleasure and pain, love and hate, joy and sorrow, it would be absurd to attribute them to the lower forms of life, to detached tissue, to minerals in their native state, or even to the brain, because such feelings are expressions of the self-conscious immortal spirit, and the brain is only the keyboard of the wonderful instrument upon which the human spirit plays its symphony of life, just as the musician expresses himself upon his violin. As there are people who are quite unable to understand that there must be and are higher Worlds, so there are some who, having become slightly ac- quainted with the higher realms, acquire the habit of undervaluing this Physical World. Such an attitude is as incorrect as that of the material- ist. The great and wise Beings who carry out the will and design of God placed us in this physical environment to learn great and important lessons which could not be learned under other conditions, and it is our duty to use our knowledge of the higher Worlds in learning to the best of our ability the lessons which this material world has to teach us. In one sense the Physical World is a sort of model school or experiment station to teach us to work correctly in the others. It does this whether or not we know of the existence of those other worlds, thereby proving the [PAGE 33] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS great wisdom of the originators of the plan. If we had knowledge of none but the higher Worlds, we would make many mistakes which would become appar- ent only when physical conditions are brought to bear as criterion. To il- lustrate: Let us imagine the case of an inventor working out his idea of a machine. First he builds the machine in thought, and in his mind he sees it complete and in operation, performing most beautifully the work it is de- signed to do. He next makes a drawing of the design, and in doing so per- haps finds that modifications in his first conception are necessary. When, from the drawings, he has become satisfied that the plan is feasible, he proceeds to build the actual machine from suitable material. Now it is almost certain that still further modifications will be found necessary before the machine will work as intended. It may be found that it must be entirely remodeled, or even that it is altogether useless in its present form, must be discarded and a new plan evolved. But mark this, for here is the point: the new idea or plan will be formulated for the purpose of eliminating the defects in the useless machine. Had there been no mate- rial machine constructed, thereby making evident the faults of the first idea, a second and correct idea would not have been formed. This applies equally to all conditions of life--social, mercantile, and philanthropic. Many plans appear excellent to those conceiving them, and may even look well on paper, but when brought down in the actual test of utility they often fail. That however, should not discourage us. It is true that "we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes," and the proper light in which to regard this Physical World is as a school of valu- able experience, in which we learn lessons of the utmost importance. [PAGE 34] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION THE ETHERIC REGION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD. As soon as we enter this realm of nature we are in the invisible, in- tangible World, where our ordinary senses fail us, hence this part of the Physical World is practically unexplored by material science. Air is invisible, yet modern science knows that it exists. By means of instruments its velocity as wind can be measured; by compression it can be made visible as liquid air. With either, however, that is not so easy. Ma- terial science finds that it is necessary to account in some way for the transmission of electricity, with or without wires. It is forced to postu- late some substance of a finer kind that it knows, and it calls that sub- stance "ether." It does not really know that ether exists, as the ingenuity of the scientist has not, as yet, been able to devise a vessel in which it is possible to confine this substance, which is altogether too elusive for the comfort of the "wizard of the laboratory." He cannot measure, weigh, nor analyze it by any apparatus now at his disposal. Truly, the achievements of modern science are marvelous. The best way to learn the secrets of nature, however, is not by inventing instruments, but by improving the investigator himself. Man has within himself faculties which eliminate distance and compensate for lack of size to a degree as much greater than the power of telescope and microscope as theirs exceeds that of the naked eye. These senses or faculties are the means of investigation used by occultists. They are their "open sesame" in searching for truth. To the trained clairvoyant ether is as tangible as are the solids, li- quids, and gases of the Chemical Region to ordinary beings. He sees that the [PAGE 35] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS vital forces which give life to the mineral forms of plant, animal and man flow into these forms, by means of the four states of ether. The names and specific functions of these four ethers are as follows. (1) Chemical Ether--This ether is both positive and negative in manifesta- tion. The forces which cause assimilation and excretion work through it. Assimilation is the process whereby the different nutritive elements of food are incorporated into the body of plant, animal and man. This is carried on by forces with which we shall become acquainted later. They work along the positive pole of the chemical ether and attract the needed elements, build- ing them into the forms concerned. These forces do not act blindly nor me- chanically, but in a selective way (well-known to scientists by its effects) thereby accomplishing their purpose, which is the growth and maintenance of the body. Excretion is carried on by forces of the same kind, but working along the negative pole of the chemical ether. By means of this pole they expel from the body the materials in the food which are unfit for use, or those which have outlived their usefulness in the body and should be expurgated from the system. This, like all other processes independent of man's voli- tion, is also wide, selective, and not merely mechanical in its operation, as seen, for instance, in the case of the action of the kidneys, where only the urine is filtered through when the organs are in health; but it is known that when the organs are not in health, the valuable albumen is allowed to escape with the urine, the proper selection not being made because of an ab- normal condition. [PAGE 36] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION (2) Life Ether--As the chemical ether is the avenue for the operation of the forces the object of which is the maintenance of the individual form, so the life ether is the avenue for the operation of the forces which have for their object the maintenance of the species--the forces of propagation. Like the chemical ether, the life ether also has its positive and negative pole. The forces which work along the positive pole are those which work in the female during gestation. They enable her to do the positive, active work of bringing forth a new being. On the other hand the forces which work along the negative pole of the life ether enable the male to produce semen. In the work on the impregnated ovum of the animal and man, or upon the seed of the plant, the forces working along the positive pole of the life ether produce male plants, animals and men; while the forces which express themselves through the negative pole generate females. (3) Light Ether--This ether is both positive and negative, and the forces which play along its positive pole are the forces which generate that blood heat in the higher species of animal and in man, which makes them in- dividual sources of heat. The forces which work along the negative pole of the light ether are those which operate through the senses, manifesting as the passive functions of sight, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling. They also build and nourish the eye. In the cold-blooded animals the positive pole of the light ether is the avenue of the forces which circulate the blood, and the negative forces have the same functions in regard to the eye as in the case of the higher animals and man. Where eyes are lacking, the forces working in the negative pole of the light ether are perhaps building or nourishing other sense organs, as they do in all that have sense organs. [PAGE 37] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS In plants the forces which work along the positive pole of the light ether cause the circulation of the juices of the plant. Thus in winter, when the light ether is not charged with sunlight as in summer, the sap ceases to flow until the summer sun again invests the light ether with its force. The forces which work along the negative pole of the light ether de- posit the chlorophyll, the green substance of the plant and also color the flowers. In fact, all color, in all kingdoms is deposited by means of the negative pole of the light ether. Therefore animals have the deepest color on the back and flowers are deepest colored on the side turned towards the light. In the polar regions of the earth, where the rays of the sun are weak, all color is lighter and in some cases is so sparingly deposited that in winter it is withdrawn altogether and the animals become white. (4) Reflecting Ether--It has heretofore been stated that the idea of the house which has existed in the mind can be recovered from the memory of nature, even after the death of the architect. Everything that has ever happened has left behind it an ineffaceable picture in this reflecting ether. As the giant ferns of the childhood of the Earth have left their pictures in the coal beds, and as the progress of the glacier of a bygone day may be traced by means of the trail it has left upon the rocks along its path, even so are the thoughts and acts of men ineffaceably recorded by na- ture in this reflecting ether, where the trained seer may read their story with an accuracy commensurate with his ability. The reflecting ether deserves its name for more than one reason, for the pictures in it are but REFLECTIONS of the memory of nature. The real [PAGE 38] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION memory of nature is found in a much higher realm. In this reflecting ether no thoroughly trained clairvoyant cares to read, as the pictures are blurred and vague compared to those found in the higher realm. Those who read in the reflecting ether are generally those who have no choice, who, in fact, do not know what they are reading. As a rule ordinary psychometrists and mediums obtain their knowledge through the reflecting ether. To some slight extent the pupil of the occult school in the first stages of his training also reads in the reflecting ether, but he is warned by his teacher of his insufficiencies of this ether as a means of acquiring accurate information, so that he does not easily draw wrong conclusions. This ether is also the medium through which thought makes an impression upon the human brain. It is most intimately connected with the fourth sub- division of the World of Thought. This is the highest of the four subdivi- sions contained in the Region of Concrete Thought and the homeworld of the human mind. There a much clearer version of the memory of nature is found than in the reflecting ether. THE DESIRE WORLD Like the Physical World, and every other realm of nature, the Desire World has the seven subdivisions called "Regions," but unlike the Physical World, it does not have the great divisions corresponding to the Chemical and Etheric Regions. Desire stuff in the Desire World persists through its seven subdivisions or regions as material for the embodiment of desire. As the Chemical Region is the realm of form and as the Etheric Region is the home of the forces carrying on life activities in those forms, enabling them [PAGE 39] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS to live, move and propagate, so the forces in the Desire World, working in the quickened dense body, impel it to move in this or that direction. If there were only the activities of the Chemical and Etheric Regions of the Physical World, there would be forms having life, able to move, but WITH NO INCENTIVE FOR SO DOING. This incentive is supplied by the cosmic forces active in the Desire World and without this activity playing through every fibre of the vitalized body, urging action in this direction or that, there would be no experience and no moral growth. The functions of the dif- ferent ethers would take care of the growth of the form, but moral growth would entirely lacking. Evolution would be an impossibility, both as to form and life, for it is only in response to the requirements of spiritual growth that forms evolve to higher states. Thus we at once see the great importance of this realm of nature. Desires, wishes, passions, and feelings express themselves in the mat- ter of the different regions of the Desire World as form and feature express themselves in the Chemical Region of the Physical World. They take forms which last for a longer or shorter time, according to the intensity of the desire, wish, or feeling embodied in them. In the Desire World the distinc- tion between the forces and the matter is not so definite and apparent as in the Physical World. One might almost say that here the ideas of force and matter are identical or interchangeable. It is not quite so, but we may say that to a certain extent the Desire World consists of force-matter. When speaking of the matter of the Desire World, it is true that it is one degree less dense that the matter of the Physical World, but we enter- tain an entirely wrong idea if we imaging it is finer physical matter. That [PAGE 40] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION idea, though held by many who have studied occult philosophies, is entirely erroneous. The wrong impression is caused principally by the difficulty of giving the full and accurate description necessary for a thorough under- standing of the higher worlds. Unfortunately, our language is descriptive of material things and therefore entirely inadequate to describe the condi- tions of the super-physical realms, hence all that is said about these realms must be taken tentatively, as similes, rather than as accurate de- scriptions. Though the mountain and the daisy, the man, the horse, and a piece of iron, are composed of one ultimate atomic substance, we do not say that the daisy is a finer form of iron. Similarly it is impossible to explain in words the change or difference in physical matter when it is broken up into desire-stuff. If there were no difference it would be amenable to the laws of the Physical World, which it is not. The law of matter of the Chemical Region is inertia-the tendency to re- main IN STATU QUO. It takes a certain amount of force to overcome this in- ertia and cause a body which is at rest to move, or to stop a body in mo- tion. Not so with the matter of the Desire World. That matter itself is almost living. It is in unceasing motion, fluid, taking all imaginable and unimaginable forms with inconceivable facility and rapidity, at the same time coruscating and scintillating in a thousand ever-changing shades of color, incomparable to anything we know in this physical state of conscious- ness. Something very faintly resembling the action and appearance of this matter will be seen in the play of colors on an abalone shell when held in the sunlight and moved to and fro. That is what the Desire World is--ever-changing light and color--in which the forces of animal and man intermingle with the forces of innumerable [PAGE 41] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS Hierarchies of spiritual beings which do not appear in our Physical World, but are as active in the Desire World as we are here. Some of them will be dealt with later and their connection with man's evolution described. The forces sent out by this vast and varied hose of Beings mold the ever-changing matter of the Desire World into innumerable and differing forms of more or less durability, according to the kinetic energy of the im- pulse which gave them birth. From this slight description it may be understood how difficult it is for a neophyte who has just had his inner eyes opened to find his balance in the World of Desire. The trained clairvoyant soon ceases to wonder at the impossible descriptions sometimes brought through by mediums. They may be perfectly honest, but the possibilities of parallax, and of getting out of focus are legion, and of the subtlest nature, and the real wonder is that they ever communicate anything correctly. All of us had to learn to see, in the days of our infancy, as we may readily find by watching a young babe. It will be found that the little one will reach for objects on the other side of the room or the street, or for the Moon. He is entirely unable to gauge distances. The blind man who has been made to see will, at first, of- ten close his eyes to walk from one place to another, declaring, until he has learned to use his eyes, that it is easier to walk by feeling than by sight. So the one whose inner organs of perception have been vivified must also be trained in the use of his newly acquired faculty. At first the neo- phyte will try to apply to the Desire World the knowledge derived from his experience in the Physical World, because he has not yet learned the laws of the world into which he is entering. This is the source of a vast amount of [PAGE 42] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION trouble and perplexity. Before he can understand, he must become as a little child, which imbibed knowledge without reference to any previous ex- perience. To arrive at a correct understanding of the Desire World it is neces- sary to realize that it is the world of feeling, desires, and emotions. These are all under the domination of two great forces--Attraction and Re- pulsion, which act in a different way in the three denser Regions of the De- sire World from that in which they act in the three finer or upper Regions, while the central Region may be called neutral ground. This central Region is the Region of feeling. Here interest in or in- difference to an object or an idea sways the balance in favor of one of the two previously mentioned forces, thereby relegating the object or idea to the three higher or the three lower Regions of the Desire World, or else they will expel it. We shall see presently how this is accomplished. In the finest and rarest substance of the three higher Regions of the Desire World the force of Attraction alone holds sway, but it is also present in some degree in the denser matter of the three lower Regions, where it works against the force of Repulsion, which is dominant there. The disintegrating force of Repulsion would soon destroy every form coming into these three lower Regions were it not that it is thus counteracted. In the densest or lowest Region, where it is strongest, it tears and shatters the forms built there in a way dreadful to see, yet it is not a fatalistic force. Nothing in nature is vandalistic. All that appears so is but work- ing towards good. So with this force in its work in the lowest Region of [PAGE 43] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS the Desire World. The forms here are demoniac creations, built by the coarsest passions and desires of man and beast. The tendency of every form in the Desire World is to attract itself all it can of a like nature and grow thereby. If this tendency to attraction were predominate in the lowest Regions, evil would grow like a weed. There would be anarchy instead of order in the Cosmos. This prevented by the pre- ponderating power of the force of Repulsion in this Region. When a coarse desire form is being attracted to another of the same nature, there is a disharmony in their vibrations, whereby one has a disintegrating effect upon the other. Thus, instead of uniting and amalgamating evil with evil, they act with mutual destructiveness and in that way the evil in the world is kept within reasonable bounds. When we understand the working of the twin forces in this respect we are in a position to understand the occult maxim, "A lie is both murder and suicide in the Desire World." Anything happening in the Physical World is reflected in all the other realms of nature and, as we have seen, builds its appropriate form in the Desire World. When a true account of the occurrence is given, another form is built, exactly like the first. They are then drawn together and coalesce, strengthening each other. If, however, an untrue is given, a form different from and antagonistic to the first, or true one, is created. As they deal with the same occurrence, they are drawn together, but as their vibrations are different they act upon each other with mutual destructive- ness. Therefore, evil and malicious lies can kill anything that is good, if they are strong enough and repeated often enough. But, conversely, seeking for the good in evil will, in time, transmute the evil into good. If the form that is built to minimize the evil is weak, it will have no effect and [PAGE 44] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION will be destroyed by the evil form, but if it is strong and frequently re- peated it will have the effect of disintegrating the evil and substituting the good. That effect, be it distinctly understood, it not brought about by lying, nor denying the evil, but by looking for the good. The occult scien- tist practices very rigidly this principle of looking for good in all things, because he knows what a power it possesses in keeping down evil. There is a story of Christ which illustrates this point. Once when walking with His disciples they passed the decaying and ill-smelling carcass of a dog. The disciples turned in disgust, commenting upon the nauseating nature of this sight; but Christ looked at the dead body and said "Pearls are not whiter than its teeth." He was determined to find the good, because He knew the beneficial effect which would result in the Desire World from giving it expression. The lowest Region of the Desire World is called "the Region of Passion and Sensual Desire." The second subdivision is best described by the name of "Region of Impressionability." Here the effect of the twin forces of At- traction and Repulsion is evenly balanced. This is a neutral Region, hence all our impressions which are built of the matter of this Region are neu- tral. Only when the twin feelings, which we shall meet in the fourth Re- gion, are brought to bear, do the twin forces come into play. The mere im- pression of anything, however, in and of itself, is entirely separate from the feeling it engenders. The impression is neutral and is an activity of the second Region of the Desire World, where pictures are formed by the forces of sense-perception in the vital body of man. In the third Region of the Desire World, the force of Attraction, the integrating, upbuilding force, has already gained the upper hand over the [PAGE 45] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS force of Repulsion, with its destructive tendency. When we understand that the mainspring in this force of Repulsion is self-assertion, a pushing away of all others that it may have room, we shall understand that it gives way most easily to a desire for other things, so that the substance of the third Region of the Desire World is principally dominated by the force of Attrac- tion towards other things, but in a selfish way, and therefore this is the Region of Wishes. The Region of Coarse Desires may be likened to the solids in the Physical World; the Region of Impressionability to the fluids; and the fluc- tuating, evanescent nature of the Region of Wishes will make that compare with the gaseous portion of the Physical World. These three Regions give the substance for the forms which make for experience, soul-growth and evolution, purging the altogether destructive and retaining the materials which may be used for progress. The fourth Region of the Desire World is the "Region of Feeling." From it comes the feeling concerning the already described forms and upon the feeling engendered by them depends the life which they have for us and also their effect upon us. Whether the objects and ideas presented are good or bad in themselves is not important this stage. It is our feeling, whether of Interest or Indifference that is the determining factor as to the fate of the object or idea. If the feeling with which we meet an impression of an object or an idea is Interest, it has the same effect upon that impression as sunlight and air have upon a plant. That idea will grow and flourish in our lives. If, on the other hand, we meet an impression or idea with Indifference, it withers as does a plant when put in a dark cellar. [PAGE 46] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION Thus from this central Region of the Desire World come the incentive to action, or the decision to refrain therefrom (though the latter is also ac- tion in the eyes of the occult scientist), for at the present stage of our development the twin feelings, Interest and Indifference furnish the incen- tive to action and are the springs that move the world. At a later stage these feelings will cease to have any weight. Then the determining factor will be DUTY. Interest starts the forces of Attraction or Repulsion. Indifference simply withers the object or idea against which it is di- rected, so far as our connection with it is concerned. If our interest in an object or an idea generates Repulsion, that naturally causes us to expurgate from our lives any connection with the ob- ject or idea which roused it; but there is a great difference between the action of the force of Repulsion and the mere feeling of Indifference. Per- haps an illustration will make more clear the operation of the twin Feelings and the twin Forces. Three men are walking along a road. They see a sick dog; it is covered with sores and is evidently suffering intensely from pain and thirst. This much is evident to all three men-their senses tell them that. Now Feeling comes. Two of them take an "interest" in the animal, but in the third there is a feeling of "indifference." He passes on, leaving the dog to its fate. The others remain; they are both interested, but each manifests it in a quite different way. The interest of one man is sympathetic and helpful, impelling him to care for the poor beast, to assuage pains and nurse it back to health. In him the feeling of interest has aroused the force of Attrac- tion. The other man's interest is of a different kind. He sees only a [PAGE 47] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS loathsome sight which is revolting to him and wishes to rid himself and the world of it as quickly as possible. He advises killing the animal outright and burying it. In him the feeling of interest generates the destructive force of Repulsion. When the feeling of Interest arouses the force of Attraction and it is directed toward low objects and desires, these work themselves out in the lower Regions of the Desire World, where the counteracting force of Repul- sion operates, as previously described. From the battle of the twin forces--Attraction and Repulsion--results all the pain and suffering inci- dent to wrongdoing or misdirected effort, whether intentional or otherwise. Thus we may see how very important Feeling we have concerning anything, for upon that depends the nature of the atmosphere we create for ourselves. If we love the good, we shall keep and nourish as guardian angels all that is good about us; if the reverse, we shall people our path with demons and our own breeding. The names of the three upper Regions of the Desire World are "Region of Soul-Life," "Region of Soul-Light," and "Region of Soul-Power." In these abide Art, Altruism, Philanthropy, and all the activities of the higher soul-life. When we think of these Regions as radiating the qualities indicated by their names, into the forms of the three lower Regions, we shall understand correctly the higher and lower activities. Soul-power, however, may for a time be used for evil purposes as well as for good, but eventually the force of Repulsion destroys vice and the force of Attraction builds virtue upon its shattered ruins. All things, in the ultimate, work together for GOOD. The Physical and the Desire Worlds are not separated from each other by [PAGE 48] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION space. They are "closer than hands and feet." It is not necessary to move to get from one to the other, nor from one Region to the next. Just as sol- ids, liquids, and gases are all together in our bodies, inter-penetrating one another, so are the different Regions of the Desire World within us also. We may again compare the lines of force along which ice-crystals form in water to the invisible causes originating in the Desire World, which ap- pear in the Physical World and give us the incentive to action, in whatever direction it may be. The Desire World, with it innumerable inhabitants, permeates the Physical World, as the lines of force do the water--invisible, but every- where present and potent as the cause of everything in the Physical World. THE WORLD OF THOUGHT The World of Thought also consists of seven Regions of varying qualities and densities, and, like the Physical World, the World of Thought is divided into two main divisions--the Region of Concrete Thought, compris- ing the four densest Regions; and the Region of Abstract Thought, comprising the three Regions of finest substance. This World of Thought is the central one of the five Worlds from which man obtains his vehicles. Here spirit and body meet. It is also the highest of the three Worlds in which man's evolu- tion is being carried forward at the present time, the two higher Worlds be- ing practically in abeyance as yet, so far as man is concerned. We know that the materials of the Chemical Region are used in building all physical forms. These are forms are given life and the power of motion by the forces at work in the Etheric Region, and some of these living forms are stirred into activity by means of the twin Feelings of the Desire World. [PAGE 49] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS The Region of Concrete Thought furnishes the mind-stuff in which ideas gen- erated in the Region of Abstract Thought clothe themselves as THOUGHT-FORMS, to act as regulators and balance wheels upon the impulses engendered in the Desire World by impacts from the phenomenal World. Thus we see how the three Worlds, in which man is at present evolving, complement one another, making a whole that shows forth the Supreme Wisdom of the Great Architect of the system to which we belong, and Whom we rever- ence by the holy name of God. Taking a more detailed view of the several divisions of the Region of Concrete Thought we find that the archetypes of PHYSICAL form no matter to what kingdom they may belong, are found in its lowest subdivision, or the "Continental Region." In this Continental Region are also the archetypes of the continents and the isles of the world, and corresponding to these arche- types are they fashioned. Modifications in the crust of the Earth must first be wrought in the Continental Region. Not until the archetypal model has been changed can the Intelligences which we (to hide our ignorance con- cerning them) call the "Laws of Nature," bring about the physical conditions which alter the physical features of the Earth according to the modifica- tions designed by the Hierarchies in charge of evolution. They plan changes as an architect plants the alteration of a building before the workmen five it concrete expression. In like manner are changes in the FLORA and FAUNA due to metamorphoses in their respective archetypes. When we speak of the archetypes of all the different forms in the dense world it must not be thought that these archetypes are merely models in the same sense in which we speak of an object constructed in miniature, or in [PAGE 50] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION some material other than that appropriate for its proper and final use. They are not merely likenesses nor models of the forms we see about us, but are CREATIVE archetypes; that is, they fashion the forms of the Physical World in their own likeness or likenesses, for often many work together to form one certain species, each archetype giving part of itself to build the required form The second subdivision of the Region of Concrete Thought is called the "Oceanic Region." It is best described as flowing, pulsating vitality. All the forces that work through the four ethers which constitute the Etheric Region are there seen as archetypes. It is a stream of flowing life, pul- sating through all forms, as blood pulsates through the body, the same life in all forms. Here the trained clairvoyant sees how true it is that "all life is one." The "Aerial Region" is the third division of the Region of Concrete Thought. Here we find the archetype of desires, passions, wishes, feelings, and emotions such as we experience in the Desire World. Here all the ac- tivities of the Desire World appear as atmospheric conditions. Like the kiss of summer breeze come the feelings of pleasure and joy to the clairvoy- ant sense; as the sighing of the wind in the tree-tops seem the longings of the soul and like flashes of lighting the passions of warring nations. In this atmosphere of the Region of Concrete Thought are also pictures of the emotions of man and beast. The "Region of Archetypal Forces" is the fourth division of the Region of Concrete Thought. It is the central and most important region in the five Worlds wherein man's entire evolution is carried on. On the one side of this Region are the three higher Regions of the World of Thought, the World of Life Spirit and the World of Divine Spirit. On the other side of [PAGE 51] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS this Region of Archetypal Forces are the three lower Regions of the World of Thought, the Desire and the Physical Worlds. Thus this Region becomes a sort of "crux," bounded on one side by the Realms of Spirit, on the other by the Worlds of Form. It is a focusing point, where Spirit reflects itself in matter. As the name implies, this Region is the home of the Archetypal Forces which direct the activity of the archetypes in the Region of Concrete Thought. From this Region Spirit works on matter in a formative manner. Diagram 1 shows the idea in a schematic way, the forms in the lower World being reflections of the Spirit in the higher Worlds. The fifth Region, which is the one nearest to the focusing point on the Spirit side, reflects itself in the third Region, which is nearest the focusing point on the Form side. The sixth Region reflects itself in the second and the seventh re- flects itself in the first. The whole of the Region of Abstract thought is reflected in the World of Desire; the World of Life Spirit in the Etheric Region of the Physical World; and the World of Divine Spirit in the Chemical Region of the Physical World. Diagram 2 will give a comprehensive idea of the seven Worlds which are the sphere of our development, but we must carefully keep in mind that these Worlds are not placed one above another, as shown in the diagram. They inter-penetrate--that is to say, that as in the case where the relation of the Physical World and the Desire World was compared, where we likened the Desire World to the lines for force in freezing water and the water itself to the Physical World, in the same way we may think of the lines of force as [PAGE 52] THE INVISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS DIAGRAM 1: THE RELATIVE PERMANENCY OF THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS [PAGE 53] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS being any of the seven Worlds, and the water, as in our illustration, would correspond to the next denser World in the scale. Another illustration may perhaps make the subject clearer. Let us use a spherical sponge to represent the dense earth--the Chemical Region. Imagine that sand permeates every part of the sponge and also forms a layer outside the sponge. Let the sand represent the Etheric Region, which in a similar manner permeates the dense earth and extends be- yond its atmosphere. Let us further imagine this sponge and sand immersed in a spherical glass vessel filled with clear water, and a little larger than the sponge and sand. We place the sponge and sand in the center of the vessel as the yolk is place in the center of an egg. We have now a space of clear water between the sand and the vessel. The water as a whole will represent the Desire World, for just as the water percolates between the grains of sand, through very pore of the sponge, and forms that clear layer, so the Desire World permeates both the dense Earth and the ether and extends beyond both of these substances. We know there is air in water, and if we think of the air in the water (in our illustration), as representing the World of Thought, we shall have a fir mental picture of the way in which the World of Thought, being finer and more subtle, inter-penetrates the two denser Worlds. Finally, imagine that the vessel containing the sponge, sand and water is placed in the center of a large spherical vessel; then the air in the space between the two vessels would represent that part of the World of Thought which extends beyond the Desire World. Each of the planets in our solar system has three such inter-penetrating Worlds, and if we think of each of the planets consisting [PAGE 54] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION DIAGRAM 2: THE SEVEN WORLDS [PAGE 55] THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS of three Worlds as being individual sponges, and of the fourth World, the World of Life Spirit, as being the water in a large vessel where these three fold separate sponges swim, we shall understand that as the water in the vessel fills the space between the sponges and percolates through them, so the World of Life Spirit pervades inter-planetary space and inter-pene- trates the individual planets. It forms a common bond between them, so that as it is necessary to have a boat and be able to control it, if we wish to sail from America to Africa, so it is necessary to have a vehicle correlat- ed to the World of Life Spirit under our conscious control in order to be able to travel from one planet to another. In a manner similar to that in which the World of Life Spirit corre- lates us to the other planets in our own solar system does the World Divine Spirit correlate us to the other solar systems. We may regard the solar systems as separate sponges, swimming in a World of Divine Spirit, and thus it will be apparent that in order to travel from one solar system to another it would be necessary to be able to function consciously in the highest ve- hicle of man, the Divine Spirit. --- END OF FILE --- [PAGE 56] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION CHAPTER II. THE FOUR KINGDOMS. The three Worlds of our planet are at present the field of evolution for a number of different kingdoms of life, at various stages of develop- ment. Only four of these need concern us at present, viz.: the mineral, plant, animal, and human kingdoms. These four kingdoms are related to the three Worlds in different ways, according to the progress these groups of evolving life have made in the school of experience. So far as form is concerned the dense bodies of all the kingdoms are composed of the same chemical substances-the solids, liq- uids, and gases of the Chemical Region. The dense body of a man is as truly a chemical compound as is the stone, although the latter is ensouled by min- eral life only. But even when speaking from the purely physical standpoint, and laying aside all other considerations for the time being, there are sev- eral important differences when we compare the dense body of the human being with the mineral of the Earth. Man moves, grows, and propagates his species--the mineral, in its native state, does none of these things. Comparing man with the forms of the plant kingdom, we find that both plant and man have a dense body, capable of growth and propagation. But Man has faculties not possessed by the plant. He feels, has the power of mo- tion, and the faculty of perceiving things exterior to himself. [PAGE 57] THE FOUR KINGDOMS When we compare man with the animal with the animal we see that both have the faculties of feeling, motion, growth, propagation, and sense-perception. In addition, man has the faculty of speech, a superior structure of the brain, and also hands--which are a very great physical ad- vantage. We may note especially the development of the thumb, which makes the hand much more valuable than even that of the anthropoid. Man has also evolved a definite language in which to express his feelings and thoughts, all of which places the dense body of the human being in a class by itself, beyond the three lower kingdoms. To account for these differences in the four kingdoms we must go to the invisible Worlds, and seek the causes which give one kingdom that which is denied to another. To function in any world, and express the qualities peculiar to it, we must first possess a vehicle made of its material. In order to function in the dense Physical World it is necessary to have a dense body, adapted to our environment. Otherwise we should be ghosts, as they are commonly called, and be invisible to most physical beings. So we must have a vital body before we can express life, grow, or externalize the other qualities peculiar to the Etheric Region. To show feeling and emotion it is necessary to have a vehicle composed of the materials of the Desire World, and a mind formed of the substance of the Region of Concrete Thought is necessary to render thinking possible. When we examine the four kingdoms in relation to the Etheric Region, we find that the mineral does not possess a separate vital body, and at once we see the reason why it cannot grow, propagate, or show sentient life. As an hypothesis necessary to account for other known facts, material science holds that in the densest solid, as in the rarest and most [PAGE 58] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION attenuated gas, no two atoms touch each other; that there is an envelope of ether around each atom; that the atoms in the universe float in an ocean of ether. The occult scientist knows this to be true of the Chemical Region and that the mineral does not possess a separate vital body of ether. And as it is the planetary ether alone which envelops the atoms of the mineral, that makes the difference described. It is necessary, as we have shown, to have a separate, vital BODY, desire BODY, etc., to express the qualities of a particular realm, because the atoms of the World of Desire, of the World of Thought and even of the Higher Worlds, inter-penetrate the Mineral as well as the dense human body, and if the inter-penetration of the planetary ether, which is the ether that envelops the atoms of the mineral, were enough to make it feel and propagate its inter-penetration by the planetary World of Thought would also be sufficient to make it think. This it cannot do, because it lacks a SEPARATE vehicle. It is penetrated by the planetary ether only, and is therefore incapable of individual growth. Only the low- est of the four states of ether--the chemical--is active in the mineral. The chemical forces in minerals are due to that fact. When we consider plant, animal, and man in relation to the Etheric Re- gion we note that each has a separate, vital body, in addition to being pen- etrated by the planetary ether which forms the Etheric Region. There is a difference, however, between the vital bodies of the plants and the vital bodies of animal and man. In the vital body of the plant only the chemical and the life ethers are fully active. Hence the plant can grow by the ac- tion of the chemical ether and propagate its species through the activity of the life ether of the separate, vital body which it possesses. The light [PAGE 59] THE FOUR KINGDOMS ether is present, but is partially latent or dormant and reflecting ether is lacking. Therefore it is evident that the faculties of sense-perception and memory, which are the qualities of these ethers, cannot be expressed by the plant kingdom. Turning our attention to the vital body of the animal we find that in it the chemical, life and light ethers are dynamically active. Hence the animal has the faculties of assimilation and growth, caused by the ac- tivities of the chemical ether; and the faculty of propagation by means of the life ether--these being the same as in plants. But in addition, it has the faculties of generating internal heat and of sense-perception. The fourth ether, however, is inactive in the animal, hence it has no thought nor memory. That which appears as such will be shown later to be of a dif- ferent nature. When we analyze the human being, we find that in him all four ethers are dynamically active in the highly organized vital body. By means of the activities of the chemical he is able to assimilate food and to grow; the forces at work in the life ether enable him to propagate his species; the forces in the light ether supply the dense body with heat, work on the ner- vous system and muscles, thus opening the doors of communication with the outside world by way of the senses; and the reflecting ether enables the spirit to control its vehicle by means of thought. This ether also stores past experience as memory. The vital body of plant, animal, and man, extends beyond the periphery of the dense body as the Etheric Region, which is the vital body of a planet, extends beyond its dense part, showing again the truth of the Her- metic axiom "As above, so below." The distance of this extension of the [PAGE 60] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION vital body of man is about an inch and a half. The part which is outside the dense body is very luminous and about the color of a new-blown peach-blossom. It is often seen by persons having very slight involuntary clairvoyance. The writer has found, when speaking with such persons, that they frequently are not aware they see anything unusual and do not know what they see. The dense body is built into the matrix of this vital body during ante-natal life, and with one exception, it is an exact copy, molecule for molecule, of the vital body. As the lines of force in freezing water are the avenues of formation for ice crystals, so the lines of force in the vi- tal body determine the shape of the dense body. All through life the vital body is the builder and restorer of the dense form. Were it not for the etheric heart the dense heart would break quickly under the constant strain we put upon it. All the abuses to which we subject the dense body are coun- teracted, so far as lies in it power, by the vital body, which is con- tinually fighting against the death of the sense body. The exception mentioned above is that the vital body of a man is female or negative, while that of a woman is male or positive. In that fact we have the key to numerous puzzling problems of life. That woman gives way to her emotions is due to the polarity noted, for her positive, vital body gen- erates an excess of blood and causes her to labor under an enormous internal pressure that would break the physical casement were not a safety-valve pro- vided in the periodical flow, and another in the tears which relieve the pressure on special occasions--for tears are "white bleeding." Man may have and has as strong emotions as woman, but he is usually able to suppress them without tears, because his negative vital body does not generate more blood than he can comfortably control. [PAGE 61] THE FOUR KINGDOMS Unlike the higher vehicles of humanity, the vital body (except under certain circumstances, to be explained when the subject of "Initiation" is dealt with) does not ordinarily leave the dense body until the death of the latter. Then the chemical forces of the dense body are no longer held in check by the evolving life. They proceed to restore the matter to its primordial condition by disintegration so that it may be available for the formation of other forms in the economy of nature. Disintegration is thus due to the activity of the planetary forces in the chemical ether. In texture the vital body may be crudely compared to one of those pic- ture frames made of hundreds of little pieces of wood which interlock and present innumerable points to the observer. These points enter into the hollow centers of the dense atoms, imbuing them with vital force that sets them vibrating at a higher rate than that of the mineral of the earth which is not thus accelerated and ensouled. When a person is drowning, or falling from a height, or freezing, the vital body leaves the dense body, the atoms of which become temporarily in- ert in consequence, but at resuscitation it re-enters the dense body and the "points" are again inserted in the dense atoms. The inertia of the atoms causes them to resist the resumption of vibration and that is the cause of the intense prickly pain and the tingling sensation noted at such times, but not ordinarily, for the same reason that we become conscious of the starting or stopping of a clock, but are oblivious to its tick when it is running. There are certain cases where the vital body partly leaves the dense [PAGE 62] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION body, such as when a hand "goes to sleep." Then the etheric hand of the vi- tal body ay be seen hanging below the dense arm like a glove and the points cause the peculiar pricking sensation felt when the etheric hand re-enters the dense hand. Sometimes in hypnosis the head of the vital body divides and hangs outside the dense head, one half over each shoulder, or lies around the neck like the collar of a sweater. The absence of prickly sensa- tion at awakening in cases like this is because during the hypnosis part of the hypnotist's vital body had been substituted for that of the victim. When anesthetics are used the vital body is partially driven out, along with the higher vehicles, and if the application is too strong and the life ether is driven out, death ensues. This same phenomenon may also be ob- served in the case of materializing mediums. In fact the difference between a materializing medium and an ordinary man or woman is just this: In the ordinary man or woman the vital body and the dense body are, at the present stage of evolution, quite firmly interlocked, while in the medium they are loosely connected. It has not always been so, and the time will come again when the vital body may normally leave the dense vehicle, but that is not normally accomplished at present. When a medium allows his or her vital body to be used by entities from the Desire World who wish to materialize, the vital body generally oozes from the left side--through the spleen, which is its particular "gate." Then the vital forces cannot flow into the body as they do normally, the medium becomes greatly exhausted, and some of them resort to stimulants to counteract the effects, in time becoming incurable drunkards. The vital force from the sun, which surrounds us as a colorless fluid, is absorbed by the vital body through the etheric counterpart of the spleen, [PAGE 63] THE FOUR KINGDOMS wherein in undergoes a curious transformation of color. It becomes pale rosehued and spreads along the nerves all over the dense body. It is to the nervous system what the force of electricity is to a telegraph system. Thought there be wires, instruments, and telegraph operators all in order, if the electricity is lacking, no message can be sent. The Ego, the brain, and the nervous system may be in seemingly perfect order, but if the vital force be lacking to carry the message of the Ego through the nerves to the muscles, the dense body will remain inert. This is exactly what happens when part of the dense body becomes paralyzed. The vital body has become diseased and the vital force can no longer flow. In such cases, as in most sickness, the trouble is with the finer invisible vehicles. In conscious or unconscious recognition of this fact, the most successful physicians use suggestion--which works upon the higher vehicles--as aid to medicine. The more a physician can imbue his patient with faith and hope, the speedier disease will vanish and give place to perfect health. During the health the vital body specializes a superabundance of vital force,which, after passing through a dense body, radiates in straight lines in every direction from the periphery thereof, as the radii of a circle do from the center; but during ill-health, when the vital body becomes at- tenuated, it is not able to draw to itself the same amount of force and in addition the dense body is feeding upon it. Then the lines of the vital fluid which pass out from the body are crumpled and bent, showing the lack of force behind them. In health the great force of these radiations carries with it germs and microbes which are inimical to the health of the dense body, but in sickness, when the vital force is weak, these emanations do not [PAGE 64] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION so readily eliminate disease germs. Therefore the danger of contracting disease is much greater when the vital forces are low than when one is in robust health. In cases where parts of the dense body are amputated, only the plan- etary ether accompanies the separated part. The separate vital body and the dense body disintegrate synchronously after death. So with the etheric counterpart of the amputated limb. It will gradually disintegrate as the dense member decays, but in the meantime the fact that the man still pos- sesses the etheric limb accounts for his assertion that he can feel his fin- gers or suffers pain in them. There is also a connection with a buried mem- ber, irrespective of distance. A case is on record where a man felt severe paid, as if a nail had been driven into the flesh of an amputated limb, and he persisted until the limb was exhumed, when it was found that a nail had been driven into it at the time it was boxed for burial. The nail was re- moved and the pain instantly stopped. It is also in accordance with these facts that people complain of pain in a limb for perhaps two or three years after the amputation. The pain will then cease. This is because the dis- ease remains in the still undetached etheric limb, but as the amputated part disintegrates, the etheric limb follows suit and thus the pain ceases. Having noted the relations of the four kingdoms to the Etheric Region of the Physical World, we will next turn our attention to their relation to the Desire World. Here we find that both minerals and plants lack the separate desire body. They are permeated only by the planetary desire body, the Desire World. Lacking the separate vehicle, they are incapable of feeling, desire, and emotion, which are faculties pertaining to the Desire World. [PAGE 65] THE FOUR KINGDOMS When a stone is broken, it does not feel; but it would be wrong to infer that there is no feeling connected with such an action. That is the materi- alistic view, or the view taken by the uncomprehending multitude. The oc- cult scientist knows that there is no act, great or small, which is not felt throughout the universe, and even though the stone, because it has no separate desire body, cannot feel, the Spirit of the Earth feels because it is Earth's desire body that permeates the stone. When a man cuts his fin- ger, the finger, having no separate desire body, does not feel the paid, but the man does, because it is his desire body which permeates the finger. If a plant is torn up by the roots, it is felt by the Spirit of the Earth as a man would feel if a hair were torn from his head. This Earth is a living, feeling body, and all the forms which are without separate desire bodies through which their informing spirits may experience feeling, are included in the desire body of the Earth and THAT desire body has feeling. The breaking of a stone and the breaking off of flowers are productive of plea- sure to the Earth, while the pulling our of plants by the root causes paid. The reason is given in the latter part of this work, for at this stage of our study the explanation would be incomprehensible to the general reader. The planetary Desire World pulsates through the dense and vital bodies of animal and man in the same way that it penetrates the mineral and plant, but in addition to this, animal and man have separate desire bodies, which enable them to feel desire, emotion and passion. There is a difference, however. The desire body of the animal is built entirely of the material of the denser regions of the Desire World, while in the case of even the lowest of human races a little matter of the higher Regions enters into the [PAGE 66] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION composition of the desire body. The feelings of animals and the lowest hu- man races are almost entirely concerned with the gratification of the lowest desires and passions which find their expression in the matter of the lower Regions of the Desire World. Hence, in order that they may have such emo- tions to educate them for something higher, it is necessary that they should have the corresponding materials in their desire bodies. As man progresses in the school of life, his experiences teach him, and his desires become purer and better. Thus by degrees the material of his desire body undergoes a corresponding change. The purer and brighter material of the higher Re- gions of the Desire World replaces the murky colors of the lower part. The desire body also grows in size, so that in a saint it is truly a glorious object to behold, the purity of its colors and its luminous transparency be- ing beyond adequate simile. It must be seen to be appreciated. At present the materials of both the lower and the higher Regions enter into the composition of the desire bodies of the great majority of mankind. None are so bad that they have not some good trait. This is expressed in the materials of the higher Regions which we find in their desire bodies. But, on the other hand, very, very few are so good that they do not use some of the materials of the lower Regions. In the same way that the planetary vital and desire bodies inter-penetrate the dense material of the Earth, as we saw in the illustra- tion of the sponge, the sand and the water, so the vital and desire bodies inter-penetrate the dense body of plant, animal, and man. But during the life of man his desire body is not shaped like his dense and vital bodies. After death it assumes that shape. During life it has the appearance of a [In the original printing, the following three un-numbered pages contain charts: Ordinary Man: Currents in the Desire Body; Voluntary Clairvoyant: Currents in the Desire Body; Involuntary Clairvoyant: Currents in the De- sire Body.] [PAGE 67] THE FOUR KINGDOMS luminous ovoid which, in waking hours, completely surrounds the dense body, as the albumen does the yolk of an egg. It extends from twelve to sixteen inches beyond the dense body. In this desire body there are a number of sense centers, but, in the great majority of people, they are latent. It is the awakening of these centers of perception that corresponds to the opening of the blind man's eyes in our former illustration. The matter in the human desire body is in incessant motion of inconceivable rapidity. There is in it no settled place for any particle, as in the dense body. The matter that is at the head one moment may be at the feet in the next and back again. There are no organs in the desire body, as in the dense and vital bodies, but there are centers of perception, which, when active, ap- pear as vortices, always remaining in the same relative position to the dense body, most of them about the head. In the majority of people they are mere eddies and are of no use as centers of perception. They may be awak- ened in all, however, but different methods produce different results. In the involuntary clairvoyant developed along improper, negative lines, these vortices turn from right to left, or in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock--counterclockwise. In the desire body of the properly trained voluntary clairvoyant, they turn in the same direction as the hands of a clock--clockwise, glowing with exceeding splendor, far surpassing the brilliant luminosity of the ordinary desire body. These centers furnish him with means for the perception of things in the Desire World and he sees, and investigates as he wills, while the person whose centers turn counter-clockwise is like a mirror, which re- flects what passes before it. Such a person is incapable of reaching out for information. The reason for this belongs to a later chapter, but the [PAGE 68] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION above is one of the fundamental differences between a medium and a properly trained clairvoyant. It is impossible for most people to distinguish between the two; yet there is one infallible rule that can be followed by anyone: NO GENUINELY DEVELOPED SEER WILL EVER EXERCISE THIS FACULTY FOR MONEY OR ITS EQUIVALENT; NOT WILL HE USE IT TO GRATIFY CURIOSITY; BUT ONLY TO HELP HUMANITY. No one capable of teaching the proper method for the development of this faculty will every charge so much a lesson. Those demanding money for the exercise of, or for giving lessons in these things never have anything worth paying for. The above rule is a safe and sure guide, which all may follow with absolute confidence. In a far distant future man's desire body will become as definitely or- ganized as are the vital and dense bodies. When that stage is reached we shall all have the power to function in the desire body as we do know in the dense body, which is the oldest and best organized of these bodies of man--the desire body being the youngest. The desire body is rooted in the liver, as the vital body is in the spleen. In all warm-blooded creatures, which are the highest evolved, and have feelings, passions and emotions, which reach outward into the world with de- sire, which may be said to really live in the fuller meaning of the term and not merely vegetate--in all such creatures the currents of the desire body flow outward from the liver. The desire stuff is continually welling out in streams or currents which travel in curved lines to every point of the pe- riphery of the ovoid and then return to the liver through a number of vorti- ces, much as boiling water is continually welling outward from the source of heat and returning to it after completing its cycle. [PAGE 69] THE FOUR KINGDOMS The plants are devoid of this impelling, energizing principle, hence they cannot show life and motion as can the more highly developed organisms. Where there is vitality and motion, but no RED blood, there is no separate desire body. The creature is simply in the transition stage from plant to animal and therefore it moves entirely in the strength of the group-spirit. In the COLD-blooded animals which have a liver and RED blood, there is a separate desire body and the group-spirit directs the currents INWARD, be- cause in their case the separate spirit (of the individual fish or reptile for instance) is entirely outside the dense vehicle. When the organism has evolved so far that the separate spirit can com- mence to draw into its vehicles then it (the individual spirit) commences to direct the currents OUTWARD, and we see the beginning of passionate exist- ence and warm blood. It is the warm, red blood in the liver of the organism sufficiently evolved to have an Indwelling spirit which energizes the outgo- ing currents of desire stuff that cause the animal or the man to display de- sire and passion. In the case of the animal the spirit is not yet entirely INdwelling. It does not become so until the points in the vital body and the dense body come into correspondence, as explained in Chapter XII. For this reason the animal is not a "liver," that is, he does not live as com- pletely as does man, not being capable of as fine desires and emotions, be- cause not as fully conscious. The mammalia of today are on a higher plane than was man at the animal stage of his evolution, because they have warm, red blood, which man did not have at that stage. This difference in status is accounted for by the spiral path of evolution, which also accounts for the fact that man is a higher type of humanity than the present Angels were [PAGE 70] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION in their human stage. The present mammalia, which have in their animal stage attained to the possession of warm, red blood, and are therefore capable of experiencing desire and emotion to some extent will, in the Jupi- ter Period, be a purer and better type of humanity than we are now, while from among our present humanity there will be some, even in the Jupiter Pe- riod, who will be openly and avowedly wicked. Moreover, they will not then be able to conceal their passions as is now possible, but will be unabashed about their evil doing. In the light of this exposition of the connection between the liver and the life of the organism, it is noteworthy that in several European lan- guages (English, German, and the Scandinavian tongues) the same word signi- fies the organ of the body (the liver) and also "one who lives." When we turn our attention to the four kingdoms in their relation to the World of Thought we find that minerals, plants and animals lack a ve- hicle correlating them to that World. Yet we know some animals think, but they are the highest domesticated animals which have come into close touch with man for generations and have thus developed a faculty not possessed by other animals, which have not had that advantage. This is on the same prin- ciple that a highly wire will "induce" a weaker current of electricity in a wire brought close to it; or that a man of strong morals will arouse a like tendency in a weaker nature, while one morally weak will be overthrown if brought within the influence of evil characters. All we do, say, or are, reflects itself in our surroundings. This is why the highest domestic animals think. They are the highest of their kind, almost on the point of individualization, and man's thought vibrations have "induced" in them a similar activity of a lower order. With the exceptions noted, the animal [PAGE 71] THE FOUR KINGDOMS kingdom has not acquired the faculty of thought. The are not INDIVIDUAL- IZED. This is the great and cardinal difference between the human and other kingdoms. Man is an individual. The animals, plants and minerals are di- vided into species. They are not individualized in the same sense than man is. It is true that we divide mankind into races, tribes and nations; we note the difference between the Caucasian, , the Negro, the Indian, etc.; but that is not to the point. If we wish to study the characteristics of the lion or the elephant or any other species of the lower animals, all that is necessary is to take any member of that species for that purpose. When we learn the characteristics of one animal, we know the characteristics of the species to which it belongs. All members of the same animal tribe are alike. That is the point. A lion, or its father, or it son, all look alike; there is no difference in the way they will act under like condi- tions. All have the same likes and dislikes; one is the same as another. Not so with human beings. If we want to know about the characteristics of Negroes, it is not enough that we examine one single individual. It would be necessary to examine each individually, and even then we will ar- rive at no knowledge concerning Negroes as a whole, simply because that which was a characteristic of the single individual does not apply to the race collectively. If we desire to know the character of Abraham Lincoln it will avail us nothing to study his father, his grandfather, or his son, for they would differ entirely. Each would have his own peculiarities quite distinct from the idiosyncrasies of Abraham Lincoln. On the other hand, minerals, plants, and animals are described if we devote our attention to the description of one of each species; while there [PAGE 72] THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION are as many species among human beings as there are individuals. Each indi- vidual person is a "species," a law unto himself, altogether separate and apart from any other individual, as different from his fellow men as one species in the lower kingdom is from another. We may write the biography of a man, but a