CHAPTER 2
We have defined this
as a mere opening of etheric or astral sight, which enables the possessor to
see whatever may be present around him on corresponding levels, but is not usually
accompanied by the power of seeing anything at a great distance or of reading
either the past or the future. It is hardly possible altogether to exclude these
latter faculties, for astral sight necessarily has considerably greater extension
than physical, and fragmentary pictures of both past and future are often casually
visible even to clairvoyants who do not know how to seek specially for them;
but there is nevertheless a very real distinction between such incidental glimpses
and the definite power of projection of the sight either in space or time.
We find among sensitive
people all degrees of this kind of clairvoyance, from that of the man who gets
a vague impression which hardly deserves the name of sight at all, up to the
full possession of etheric and astral vision respectively. Perhaps the simplest
method will be for us to begin by describing what would be visible in the case
of this fuller development of the power, as the cases of its partial possession
will then be seen to fall naturally into their places.
Let us take the etheric
vision first. This consists simply, as has already been said, in susceptibility
to a far larger series of physical vibrations than ordinary, but nevertheless
its possession brings into view a good deal to which the majority of the human
race still remains blind. Let us consider what changes its acquisition produces
in the aspect of familiar objects,animate and inanimate, and then see to what
entirely new factors it introduces us. But it must be remembered that what I
am about to describe is the result of the full and perfectly-controlled possession
of the faculty only, and that most of the instances met with in real life will
be likely to fall far short of it in one direction or another.
The most striking
change produced in the appearance of inanimate objects by the acquisition of
this faculty is that most of them become almost transparent, owing to the difference
in wavelength of some of the vibrations to which the man has now become susceptible.
He finds himself capable of performing with the utmost ease the proverbial feat
of "seeing through a brick wall," for to his newly-acquired vision
the brick wall seems to have a consistency no greater than that of a light mist.
He therefore sees what is going on in an adjoining room almost as though no
intervening wall existed; he can describe with accuracy the contents of a locked
box, or read a sealed letter; with a little practice he can find a given passage
in a closed book. This last feat, though perfectly easy to astral vision, presents
considerable difficulty to one using etheric sight, because of the fact that
each page has to be looked at through all those which happen to be superimposed
upon it.
It is then asked
whether under these circumstances a man sees always with this abnormal sight,
or only when he wishes o do so. The answer is that if the faculty is perfectly
developed it will be entirely under his control, and he can use that or his
more ordinary vision at will. He changes from one to the other as readily and
naturally as we now change the focus of our eyes when we look up from our book
to follow the motions of some object a mile away. It is, as it were,a focussing
of consciousness on the one or the other aspect of what is seen: and though
the man would have quite clearly in his view the aspect upon which his attention
was for the moment fixed,he would always be vaguely conscious of the other aspect
too, just as when we focus our sight upon any object held in our hands we yet
vaguely see the opposite wall of the room as a background.
Another curious change,
which comes from the possession of this sight, is that the solid ground upon
which the man walks becomes to a certain extent transparent to him,so that he
is able to see down into it to a considerable depth, much as we can now see
into fairly clear water. This enables him to watch a creature burrowing underground,
to distinguish a vein of coal or of metal if not too far below the surface,
and so on.
The limit of etheric
sight when looking through solid matter appears to be analogous to that imposed
upon us when looking through water or mist. We cannot see beyond a certain distance,
because the medium through which we are looking is not perfectly transparent.
The appearance of
animate objects is also considerably altered for the man who has increased his
visual powers to this extent. The bodies of men and animals are for him in the
main transparent, so that he can watch the action of the various internal organs,
and to some extent diagnose some of their diseases.
The extend sight
also enables him to perceive, more or less clearly, various classes of creatures,
elemental and otherwise, whose bodies are not capable of reflecting any of the
rays within the limit of the spectrum as ordinarily seen. Among the entities
so seen will be some of the lower orders of nature-spirits- those whose bodies
are composed of the denser etheric matter. To this class belong nearly all the
fairies, gnomes, and brownies, about whom there are still so many stories remaining
among Scotch and Irish mountains and in remote country places all over the world.
The vast kingdom
of nature-spirits is in the main an astral kingdom, but still there is a large
section of it which appertains to the etheric part of the physical plane, and
this section, of course, is much more likely to come within the ken of ordinary
people than the others. Indeed, in reading the common fairy stories one frequently
comes across distinct indications that it is with this class that we are dealing.
Any student of fairy love will remember how often mention is made of some mysterious
ointment or drug, which when applied to a man's eyes enables him to see the
members of the fairy commonwealth whenever he happens to meet them.
The story of such
an application and its results occurs so constantly and comes from so many different
parts of the world that there must certainly be some truth behind it, as there
always is behind really universal popular tradition. Now no such anointing of
the eyes alone could by any possibility open a man's astral vision, though certain
ointment rubbed over the whole body will very greatly assist the astral body
to leave the physical in full consciousness- a fact the knowledge of which seems
to have survived even to mediaeval times, as will be seen from the evidence
given at some of the trials for witchcraft. But the application to the physical
eye might very easily so stimulate its sensitiveness as to make it susceptible
to some of the etheric vibrations.
The story frequently
goes on to relate how when the human being who has used this mystical ointment
betrays his extended vision in some way to a fairy, the latter strikes or stabs
him in the eye, thus depriving him not only of the etheric sight, but of that
of the denser physical plane as well. (See The Science of Fairy Tales by E.S.Hartlane,
in the "Contemporary Science" series- or indeed almost any extensive
collection of fairy stories.) If the sight acquired had been astral, such a
proceeding would have been entirely unavailaing, for no injury to the physical
apparatus would affect an astral faculty; but if the vision produced by the
ointment were etheric, the destruction of the physical eye would in most cases
at once distinguish it, since that is the mechanism by means of which it works.
Anyone possessing
this sight of which we are speaking would also be able to perceive the etheric
double of man; but since this is so nearly identical in size with the physical,
it would hardly be likely to attract his attention unless it were partially
protected in trance or under the influence of anaesthetics. After death, when
it withdraws entirely from the dense body, it would be clearly visible to him,
and he would frequently see it hovering over newly-made graves as he passed
through a church yard or cemetery. If he were to attend a spiritualistic seance
he would see the etheric matter oozing out from the side of the medium, and
could observe the various ways in which the communicating entities make use
of it.
Another fact which
could hardly fail soon to thrust itself upon his notice would be the extension
of his perception of colour. He would find himself able to see several entirely
new colours, not in the least resembling any of those included in the spectrum
as we at present know it, and therefore of course quite indescribable in any
terms at our command. And not only would he see new objects that were wholly
of these new colours, but he would also discover that modifications had been
introduced into the colour of many objects with which he was quite familiar,
according to whether they had or had not some tinge of these new hues intermingled
with the old. So that two surfaces of colour which to ordinary eyes appeared
to match perfectly would often present distinctly different shades to his keener
sight.
We have now touched
upon some of the principal changes which would be introduced into a man's world
when he gained etheric sight; and it must always be remembered that in most
cases a corresponding change would at the same time be brought about in his
other senses also, so that he would be capable of hearing, and perhaps even
of feeling, more than most of those around him. Now supposing that in addition
to this he obtained the sight of the astral plane, what further changes would
be observable? Well, the changes would be many and great; in fact,a whole new
world would open before his eyes. Let us consider its wonders briefly in the
same order as before, and see first what difference there would be in the appearance
of inanimate objects. On this point I may begin by quoting a recent quaint answer
given in The Vahan .
"There is a
distinct difference between etheric sight and astral sight, and it is the latter
which seems to correspond to the fourth dimension..
"The easiest
way to understand he difference is to take an example. If you looked at a man
with both the sights in turn, you would see the buttons at the back of his coat
in both cases; only if you used etheric sight you would see them through him,
and would see the shank-side as nearest to you, but if you looked astrally,
you would see it not only like that, but just as if you were standing behind
the man as well.
"Or if you were
looking etherically at a wooden cube with writing on all its sides, it would
be as though the cube were glass, so that you could see through it, and you
would see the writing on the opposite side all backwards, while that on the
right and left sides would not be clear to you at all unless you moved, because
you see it edgewise. But if you looked at it astrally you would see all the
sides at once, and all the right way up, as though the whole cube had been flattened
out before you, and you would see every particle of the inside as well- not
through the others, but all all flattened out. You would be looking at it from
another direction,at right angles to all the directions that we know.
"If you look
at the back of a watch etherically you see all the wheels through it, and the
face through them, but backwards; if you look at it astrally, you see the face
right way up and all the wheels lying separately, but nothing on the top of
anything else."
Here we have at once
the keynote, the principal factor of the change; the man is looking at everything
from an absolutely new point of view, entirely outside of anything that he has
ever imagined before. He has no longer the slightest difficulty in reading any
page in a closed book, because he is not now looking at it through all the other
pages before it or behind it, but is looking straight down upon it as though
it were the only page to be seen. The depth at which a vein of metal or of coal
may lie is no longer a barrier to his sight of it, because he is not now looking
through the intervening depth of earth at all. The thickness of a wall, or the
number of walls intervening between the observer and the object,would make a
great deal of difference to the clearness of the etheric sight; they would make
no difference whatever to the astral sight, because on the astral plane they
would not intervene between the observer and the object. Of course that sounds
paradoxical and impossible, and it is quite inexplicable to a mind not specially
trained to grasp the idea; yet it is none the less absolutely true.
This carries us straight
into the middle of the much-vexed question of the fourth dimension- a question
of the deepest interest, though one that we cannot pretend to discuss in the
space at our disposal. Those who wish to study it as it deserves are recommended
to begin with Mr.C.H.Hinton's Scientific Romances or Dr.A.T.Schofield's Another
World, and then follow on with the former author's larger work, A New Era of
Thought. . Mr. Hinton not only claims to be able himself to grasp mentally some
of the simpler fourth dimensional figures,but also states that anyone who will
take the trouble to follow out his directions may with perseverance acquire
that mental grasp likewise. I am not certain that the power to do this is within
the reach of everyone, as he thinks, for it appears to me to require considerable
mathematical ability; but I can at any rate bear witness that he tesseract or
fourth-dimensional cube which he describes is a reality,for it is quite a familiar
figure upon the astral plane. He has now perfected a new method of representing
the several dimensions by colours instead of by arbitrary written symbols. He
states that his will very much simplify the study, as the reader will be able
to distinguish instantly by sight any part or feature of the tesseract. A full
description of this new method, with plates, is said to be ready for the press,
and is expected to appear within a year, so that intending students of this
fascinating subject might do well to await its publication.
I know that Madame
Blavatsky, in alluding to the theory of the fourth dimension, has expressed
an opinion that it is only a clumsy way of stating the idea of the entire permeability
of matter, and that Mr. W.T.Stead has followed along the same lines, presenting
the conception to his readers under the name of throughth. Careful, oft-repeated
and detailed investigation does,however, seem to show quite conclusively that
this explanation does not cover all the facts. It is a perfect description of
etheric vision, but the further and quite different idea of the fourth dimension
as expounded by Mr.Hinton is the only one which gives any kind of explanation
down here of the constantly-observed facts of astral vision. I would therefore
venture deferentially to suggest that, when Madame Blavatsky wrote as she did,
she had in mind etheric vision and not astral, and that the extreme applicability
of the phrase to this other and higher faculty, of which she was not at the
moment thinking, did not occur to her.
The possession of
this extraordinary and scarcely expressible power,then, must always be borne
in mind through all that follows. It lays every point in the interior of every
solid body absolutely open to the gaze of the seer, just as every point in the
interior of a circle lies open to the gaze of a man looking down upon it.
But even this is
by no means all that it gives to its possessor. He see not only the inside as
well as the outside of every object,but also its astral counterpart. Every atom
and molecule of physical matter has its corresponding astral atoms and molecules,
and the mass which is built up out of these is clearly visible to our clairvoyant.
Usually the astral part of any object projects somewhat beyond the physical
part of it, and thus metals, stones and other things are seen surrounded by
an astral aura.
It will be seen at
once that even in the study of inorganic matter a man gains immensely by the
acquisition of this vision. Not only does he see the astral part of the object
at which he looks,which before was wholly hidden from him; not only does he
see much more of its physical constitution than he did before, but even what
was visible to him before is now seen much more clearly and truly. A moment's
consideration will show that his new vision approximates much more closely to
true perception than does physical sight. For example,if he looks astrally at
a glass cube,its sides will all appear equal, as we know they really are, whereas
on the physical plane he sees the further side in perspective- that is, it appears
smaller than the nearer side,which is, of course, a mere illusion due to his
physical limitations.
When we come to consider
the additional facilities which it offers in the observation of animate objects
we see still more clearly the advantages of the astral vision. It exhibits to
the clairvoyant the aura of plants and animals, and thus in the case of the
latter their desires and emotions, and whatever thoughts they may have, are
all plainly shown before his eyes.
But is in dealing
with human beings that he will most appreciate the value of this faculty, for
he will often be able to help them far more effectually when he guides himself
by the information which it gives him.
He will be able to
see the aura as far up as the astral body, and though that leaves all the higher
part of a man still hidden from his gaze, he will nevertheless find it possible
by careful observation to learn a good deal about the higher part form what
is within his reach. His capacity of examining the etheric double will give
him considerable advantage in locating and classifying any defects or diseases
of the nervous system,while from the appearance of the astral body he will be
at once aware of all the emotions, passions, desires and tendencies of the man
before him, and even of very many of his thoughts also.
As he looks at a
person he will see him surrounded by the luminous mists of the astral aura,
flashing with all sorts of brilliant colours,and constantly changing in hue
and brilliancy with every variation of the person's thoughts and feelings. He
will see this aura flooded with the beautiful rose-colour of pure affection,
the rich blue of devotional feeling,the hard, dull brown of selfishness,the
deep scarlet of angers, the horrible lurid red of sensuality, the livid grey
of fear, the black clouds of hatred and malice, or any of the other hundredfold
indications so easily to be red in it by a practised eye; and thus it will be
impossible for any persons to conceal from him the real state of their feelings
on any subject.
These varied indications
of the aura are of themselves a study of very deep interest, but I have no space
to deal with them in detail here. A much fuller account of them, together with
a number of coloured illustrations, will be found in my work on the subject
Man Visible and Invisible.
Not only does the
astral aura show him the temporary result of the emotion passing through it
at the moment, but it also gives him, by the arrangement and proportion of its
colours when in a condition of comparative rest, a clue to the general disposition
and character of its owner. For the astral body is the expression of as much
of the man as can be manifested on that plane, so that from what is seen in
it much more which belongs to higher planes may be inferred with considerable
certainty.
In this judgement
of character our clairvoyant will be much helped by so much of the person's
thought as expresses itself on the astral plane, and consequently comes within
his purview. The true home of thought is on the mental plane, and all thought
first manifests itself there as a vibration of the mind-body. But if it be in
any way a selfish thought, or if it be connected in any way with an emotion
or a desire, it immediately descends into the astral plane, and takes to itself
a visible form of astral matter.
In the case of the
majority of men almost all thought would fall under one or other of these heads,
so that practically the whole of their personality would like clearly before
friend's astral vision, since their astral bodies and the thought-forms constantly
radiating from them would be to him as an open book in which their characteristics
were writ so largely that he who ran might read. Anyone wishing to gain some
idea as to how the thought-forms present themselves to clairvoyant vision may
satisfy themselves to some extent by examining the illustrations accompanying
Mrs. Besant's valuable article on the subject in Lucifer for September 1896.
We have seen something
of the alteration in the appearance of both animate and inanimate objects when
viewed by one possessed of full clairvoyant sight as far as the astral plane
is concerned; let us now consider what entirely new objects he will see. He
will be conscious of a far greater fulness in nature in many directions, but
chiefly his attention will be attracted by the living denizens of this new world.
No detailed account of them can be attempted within the space at our disposal;
for that the reader is referred to No. V of the Theosophical Manuals. Here we
can do no more than barely enumerate a few classes only of the vast hosts of
astral inhabitants.
He will be impressed
by the protean forms of the ceaseless tide of elemental essence, ever swirling
around him, menacing often,yet always retiring before a determined effort of
the will; he will marvel at the enormous army of entities temporarily called
out of this ocean into separate existence by the thoughts and wishes of man,
whether good or evil. He will watch the manifold tribes of the nature-spirits
at their work or at their play; he will sometimes be able to study with ever-increasing
delight the magnificent evolution of some of the lower orders of the glorious
kingdom of the Devas, which corresponds approximately to the angelic host of
Christian terminology.
But perhaps of even
keener interests to him than any of these will be the human denizens of the
astral world, and he will find them divisible into two great classes- those
whom we call the living, and those others, most of them infinitely more alive,
whom we so foolishly misname the dead. Among the former he will find here and
there one wide awake and fully conscious,perhaps sent to bring him some message,
or examining him keenly to see what progress he is making; while the majority
of his neighbours,when away from their physical bodies during sleep, will drift
idly by, so wrapped up in their own cogitations as to be practically unconscious
of what is going on around them.
Among the great host
of the recently dead he will find all degrees of consciousness and intelligence,
and all shades of character- for death, which seems to our limited vision so
absolute a change, in reality alters nothing of the man himself. On the day
after his death he is precisely the same man as he was the day before it, with
the same disposition, the same qualities,the same virtues and vices, save only
that he has cast aside his physical body; but the loss of that no more makes
him in any way a different man than would the removal of an overcoat. So among
the dead our student will find men intelligent and stupid,kind-hearted and morose,
serious and frivolous, spiritually-minded and sensually-minded, just as among
the living.
Since he can not
only see the dead, but speak with them, he can often be of very great use to
them, and give them information and guidance which is of the utmost value to
them. Many of them are in a condition of great surprise and perplexity, and
sometimes even of acute distress, because they the facts of the next world so
unlike the childish legends which are all that popular religion in the West
has to offer with reference to this transcendently important subject; and therefore
a man who understands this new world and can explain matters is distinctly a
friend in need.
In many other ways
a man who fully possesses this faculty may be of use to the living as well as
to the dead; but this side of the subject I have already written in my little
book on Invisible Helpers. In addition to astral entities he will see astral
corpses- shades and shells in all stages of decay; but these need only be just
mentioned here, as the reader desiring a further account of them will find it
in our third (Death- and After?) and fifth (The Astral Plane) manuals.
Another wonderful
result which the full enjoyment of astral clairvoyance brings to a man is that
he has no longer any break in consciousness. When he lies down at night he leaves
his physical body to the rest which it requires, while he goes about his business
in the far more comfortable astral vehicle. In the morning he returns to and
re-enters his physical body, but without any loss of consciousness or memory
between the two states, and thus he is able to live, as it were, a double life
which yet is one, and to be usefully employed during the whole of it, instead
of losing one-third of his existence in blank unconsciousness.
Another strange power
of which he may find himself in possession (though its full control belongs
rather to the still higher devachanic faculty) is that of magnifying at will
the minutest physical or astral particle to any desired size, as though by a
microscope- thou no microscope ever made or ever likely to be made possesses
eve a thousandth part f this psychic magnifying power. By its means the hypothetical
molecule and atom postulated by science becomes visible and living realities
to the occult student, and on this closer examination he finds them to be much
more complex in their structure than the scientific man has yet realized them
to be. It also enables him to follow with the closest attention and the most
lively interest all kinds of electrical, magnetic, and other etheric action;
and when some of the specialists in these branches of science are able to develop
the power to see those things whereof they write so facilely, some very wonderful
and beautiful revelations may be expected.
This is one of the
siddhis or powers described in Oriental books as accruing to the man who devotes
himself to spiritual development, though the name under which it is there mentioned
might not be immediately recognizable. It is referred to as "the power
of making oneself large or small at will," and the reason of a description
which appears so oddly to reverse the fact is that in reality the method by
which this feat is performed is precisely that indicate in these ancient books.
It is by the use of temporary visual machinery of inconceivable minuteness that
the world of the infinitely little is so clearly seen; and in the same way (
or rather in the opposite way) it is by temporarily enormously increasing the
size of the machinery used that it becomes possible to increase the breadth
of one's view- in the physical sense as well as, let us hope, in the moral-
far beyond anything that science has ever dreamt of as possible for man. So
that the alteration in size is really in the vehicle of the student's consciousness,
and not in anything outside of himself; and the old Oriental book has, after
al, put the case more accurately than we.
Psychometry and second-sight
in excelsis would also be among the faculties which our friend would find at
his command; but those will be more fitly dealt with under a later heading,
since in almost all their manifestations they involve clairvoyance either in
space or in time.
I have now indicated,
though only in the roughest outlines, what a trained student, possessed of full
astral vision, would see in the immensely wider world to which that vision introduced
him; but I have said nothing of the stupendous change in his mental attitude
which comes from the experiential certainty as to the existence of the soul,
its survival after death, the action of the law of karma, and other points of
equally paramount importance. The difference between even the profoundest intellectual
conviction and the precise knowledge gained by direct personal experience must
be felt in order to be appreciated.