1915_12_Dec Rays from the Rose Cross.pdf

8/14/2019 1915_12_Dec Rays from the Rose Cross.pdf

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For many months one subject has beenuppermost in the minds of millions ofpeople in the Western world, namely theWar. It has been lamented by all, all thecombatants have sought to excuse them-

selves for participating, and to place theresponsibility upon the shoulders oftheir adversaries. Thus, for the first timein the worlds history, admitting that Waris wrong. Tons of ink and paper have

The Mystic Light* * * * * *

The Occult Side of the War!

AN OPERATION FOR SPIRITUAL CATARACT

PART II

Vol. 4 Oceanside, California December 1915 No 2

Subscription: $1.00 per year; single copies 10c in the U.S.; Canada $1.25 per year andEngland $1.50 per year post free.

Formerly Echoes from Mt. Ecclesia, and entered under that name as second class matterNov. 3rd, 1913 at the Post Office of Oceanside, California, under the

Act of August 24th, 1912.


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been used by the contending powers toinculpate their enemies that they mayexculpate themselves, and soothe anaching conscience. But neither excuses

nor attempts of incrimination of otherscan ease the aching hearts of millions ofpeople who clamor for a solution of theproblem, and sometimes feel almost likeasking themselves whether God stillcares for His world or whether he is pas-sively permitting this dreadful slaughter.

In order to arrive at a right under-standing of the matter, it is necessary to

realize that each human being is sur-rounded by a subtle aura, invisible to themajority, but readily perceived by onewho has cultivated his Spiritual percep-tion. This aura is colored according tothe vibrations which each man sets upwithin, by his likes and dislikes. It is anaccurate color index of his character: Ashis habits change, this color cloud takes

on different tints.Through this aura he views the world,as through a glass, and it colors all withwhom he comes in contact, so that heimagines that they have the same virtuesand vices which he himself possesses,and on the principle that when a tuningfork is struck it calls forth sounds fromanother of identical pitch, he actually

calls out in those whom he meets, thetraits which are in himself, a fact withinthe experience of all.

Who has not been roused to angerwhen in the presence of one who hadlost his temper, or felt irritability whendiscussing any subject with an irritable

man? Similarly, the nations see eachother through the Invisible cloud of theNational group spirit and imagine eachother to be vastly different from what

they really are. It is significant thatEnglishmen and women who lived inGermany before the war began werefirmly convinced that that country wasright, before they were compelled toleave for home, and Germans whoresided in England were equally fanati-cal in their support of that country anddenounced Germany as the aggressor.

But their return to their native hearth,and breathing in the national race spirit,soon changed their attitude, and they allbegan to see the other side, and giveallegiance to their own group spirit.

Thus the war is not the outcome ofindividual hatred, for have not we heardhow soldiers in the trenches fraternizedwhenever opportunity offered? But it is

the work of the race spirits who guidethe nations on their path of progress, orrather, we should say, it is permitted bythem, for it is the Brothers of theShadow, the black forces, that have fos-tered the evil side of national lifepride, arrogance and the pursuit of plea-sure to wean humanity away from themore serious side of life. And therefore

the race spirits of the nations, which arealways working for good, have permit-ted this war; not exactly as a punish-ment, but as a means of bringing themback to the real purpose of existence.

That much has long been known to thewriter, but he knew and felt in his inner-

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most heart that there must be another,greater, purpose and that the good to beattained must be commensurate with thesuffering involved in its attainment;

hence, it must be a great and wonderfulgood, a blessing to humanity of ines-timable importance. But what? Weremember the words of Christ, I camenot to bring peace, but a sword. Wehave always regarded peace as the ideal,however, and have been at a loss to rec-oncile this saying with the Sermon onthe Mount. Can it be that there is a hid-

den virtue in the war which we have nothitherto perceived, a virtue that may jus-tify it as a means to an end? That was theperplexing problem.

Long months the writer has suffered insilence on account of the awful slaughterwhich has been going on in Europe. It isno easy matter to labor nightly amongthe distressing scenes of the battle field,

bringing succor to the wounded, andworking with the slain of many nationsin the invisible worlds, in an endeavor tosoothe their anguish and still theirresentment, and at the same time keeppoised sufficiently to carry on the workat headquarters in the day time. Duringthat time students in various countrieshave urged that we take a stand for the

side which they favored, and write ourideas concerning the war.Naturally, we would not take a stand

against any of our brethren. Fellowshipincludes the whole world, universal lovewas never needed more than at present;we have endeavored to give it the fullest

expression possible to us. And regardingwritingwhile we felt and knew theultimate outcome of this great calamitymust be good, we had no light and it has

never been our custom to deal in plati-tudes, or to fill our pages with words,only words, so we worked and prayedfor light, month after month, until at lastthe suspense became unbearable.

Lately the agony of that vast mass ofhumanity, among whom we havelabored for so many months, seemed toconcentrate itself in our presence as a

great WHY? written in letters of bloodand flame, during our waking hours, andthough alone, and all was outwardlystill, the sound of that great Why?seemed to fill Heaven and Earth in itsintensely passionate appeal for ananswer.

At last I could stand it no longer, andwhen the Elder Brother who is my men-

tor appeared in response to my cry ofdistress, I put the question. The rule ofthe Great Order is that Lay-Brothersmust use all endeavors to solve theirown problems and only ask for assis-tance as a last resort, but though hithertodiffident on that account, the agony of amillion men seemed to surge through mythroat when I saw him so calm and col-

lected:I know that your heart is not cal-loused, Brother, that it beats with com-passion for the millions, so great thateven this agony of sympathy which isnow rending my breast is as nothing incomparison. How, then, can you be so

RAYS FROM THE ROSE CROSS 3


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calm while millions of men suffer unbe-lievably, and what is the purpose of thiscruel conflict?

Never has music sounded so sweetly

in my ear, never have I experienced sucha sense of relief, such a complete revul-sion of feeling. I seemed to leap from theslough of despair to the pinnacle ofpraise and thanksgiving, when theanswer came in that voice, alwaysvibrant with kindness and compassion,but on this occasion those qualities wereso intensified that words fail to describe

it.Cease your sorrow my Brother and beof good cheer. If you had a friend whohad lost his sight because of a cataract,and he were forced to undergo an opera-tion, you would probably feel sorry forthe present pain, but you would rejoiceat the impending restoration of hisvision and, mayhap, in the joy of

anticipation, you would almost forgetthe present pain.Similarly in the case of this war, the

world has become spiritually blind. Theintellect will admit nothing it is unableto prove, as one proves a mathematicalproblem. Doubt and skepticism havegrown as giant weeds among the leadersof thought, and the mad pursuit of plea-

sure, the indulgence of the senses, andthe indifference of anything that makesfor soul growth are common characteris-tics among the masses. Neither preach-ing nor praying can awaken the world.Therefore the Invisible Leaders ofEvolution permitted the Brothers of the

Shadow, to tempt the rulers of thenations, and thus the dogs of war wereunleashed with what seemed unmitigat-ed calamitous results.

But rejoice, this is in reality an oper-ation for spiritual cataract on a largescale. It is the death knell of the age ofagnosticism and skepticism regardingthe spiritual verities, for it will open thespiritual vision of so many that their tes-timony will carry weight with those whoremain blind, and the Western world willturn to God with a new zeal that could

not have been roused by a thousandyears of preaching.As we taught you in the beginning,

and as recorded in the RosicrucianCosmo-Conception, mankind is still inthe most dangerous part of the path ofprogress, which we call the 16 paths todestruction, and never in all of the previ-ous races has it come so dangerously

close to the brink. But rejoice! and againI say rejoice! for the danger is past, thewar has saved the world from an in-finitely worse fate, and soon it willresound with praise to God for the bless-ing wrought by the curse of war.

As those of our readers who are notfamiliar with the Rosicrucian Teachingsmay not understand the reference to the

16 paths, and their bearing on this prob-lem, and also, as it may not be patent toall what is meant by the operation forSpiritual Cataract, and how the war canopen the Spiritual vision, we will contin-ue this article next month for the pur-pose of elucidating these points. In the



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meantime, the following articles fromthe Literary Digest will show that theprediction made is already beginning tobe verified.

(To Be Continued)

REVOLUTION IN RELIGIOUS

THOUGHT

It is only in the United States, which isas yet comparatively little affected bythe great world war, that the remnants ofthe age of doubt still linger. So declares

a writer in The Watchman-Examiner(New York), who finds himself awak-ened to the fact by a chance reading of acopy of The Hibbert Journal for June,1913. Comparing the status of religiousthought of today with that evidenced bythis copy of one of the leading religiousreviews, he finds an entire revolution ofreligious thought caused by one year of

the European War. He recalls that at thetime this number of the magazine wasissued the articles appeared to manyextremely timely and up-to-date. Nowthey read like far-off echoes of analmost forgotten past.

One year of bitter conflict has driventhe current religious thought so far fromthe course of 1913 that few have real-

ized the vast change. In this number theopinions of German scholars are quotedwith respect; in fact, as decisive andconvincing. As now read, it is realizedwith something of a shock that the viewsof German theologians and philosophersare no longer quoted as authority.

The reading of this issue revealedafresh the fact that the type of theologyand philosophy somewhat dominant inpast years has become utterly discredit-

ed by the war. The ascendancy whichGerman thinkers had gained and main-tained in the last forty years has beendestroyed by the fact that their theologyand philosophy have permitted them todefend a war in which millions of hu-man lives are being destroyed, and alarge part of the earth laid waste.

The German people, it is noted, have

turned from that type of religion andphilosophy:The names that have stood high in

scholastic and theological circles are nolonger reverenced. The apostles of theage of doubt are being repudiated, andthe people are reading the Bible andthronging the churches in simple faith inGod and His Word and calling on Him to

help in this time of terrible woe. In thenumber of The Journal referred to it isasserted that the Gospels are largelyunhistorical, that but little is known ofthe real life of Jesus, and that Jesus wasmerely the latest and best of the Hebrewprophets, belonging really to the olddispensation, and that the Gospelsshould be considered as a part of the Old

Testament.Who cares for that sort of speculationnow? Not the people of Germany! Theyare seeking the Savior as never before.Not the people of France! GodlessFrance has become thoughtful. The infi-del writers are neglected or have them-



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selves become religious, and the peopleare thronging the forsaken churches.Certainly not the people of Russia! Theyare more earnestly adoring Jesus Christ,

whom they now believe to be Very Godof Very God.And not even in England is the de-

structive criticism of the Bible havingthe currency it had before the war. Therealism of life in the face of the greatconflict has banished all relish for spec-ulative reasoning, and trust in God, andin His Son and in His Word are the dom-

inating facts in religious thought andlife.The United States have not yet felt this

world-disaster at its full force:But as the Deluge swept the corrupt

race of men from the earth, so this war ispurging the earth of the doubt of theWord of God which has been eating likea cancer into tie vitals of modern

Christianity. In times of ease and safety,men come to rely on their own powers,but in times of trouble they turn to God,because they realize that he alone cansave. This lesson the world is learningtoday. Reliance on human wisdom isdestroyed. Trust in God is our onlyrefuge.

Literary Digest

As the December Magazine is issuedNovember 16th, we feel that it is tooearly to publish the Christmas article.This will therefore appear in the Januarynumber which will reach you aboutChristmas.

CATHOLICISM REBORN IN

FRANCE

During the long months that wars

blight has lain on the pleasant land ofFrance, we learn from a writer in TheCatholic World(New York, September),a great Catholic reawakening has beenin progress. The war has rooted out ofFrench souls the two weeds of anticler-icalism and materialism. Millions ofFrenchmen on the firing line, overwhom death hovers at every instant,

have had their sight open to the lifebeyond, and have learned to value lessthe pleasures of this world.

The new dawn is so obvious in thearmy, the writer goes on to say, that itcauses great anxiety to the organs ofanticlericalism, as, for instance, La

Lanterne andLHumanite. From the lat-ter journal he quotes in point the letter of

a militant Socialist of the 18th Divis-ion, who says:I was unable to make a number of

psychological studies. Conventions,prejudices, had fallen off, leaving lifestript. Men showed themselves for whatthey really werebrave or cowardly,noble or base, unselfish or egotistical.And I could appreciate the religious

awakening so much noticed today, andso much talked about.Whether we halted, whether we rest-

ed, the night after a battle or after amarch, the mind was never at rest. Thevision of the wounded was ever beforeour eyes, the groans of the dying sound-



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ed in our ears, the thought of self, ofwife, of children, haunted us. Will myturn come next? Ah, then is the momentof self-examination; then a man, sepa-

rated from the world of things by thisrupture of equilibrium called war, trav-els back to his childhood. The influenceof early education asserts itself. And soit is that normally, logically, I may say, isbrought about the return to religiousideas.

Men without ideals, who have aban-doned all Christian practices, in the

midst of such a catastrophe feel their lit-tleness. No longer enslaved and drivenby economic forces, craving an ideal tosupport them in these terrible times,have they returned to religion.

As an enemys confession the writerholds this statement valid evidence ofthe reality and durability of theCatholic renaissance.

But the lamp of faith is trimmed andburns more brightly away from the bat-tle lines as well, and we are assured thatwhen the first cannon was fired, andindeed before that.... there was animmense impetus toward prayerthroughout the country. With a glanceforward then, the writer observes:

As far as it is possible to reckon the

future by the present, judging by whatwe see and hear at the present time, wehave reason to assert that the changedpoint of view in France will produce acomplete change in the religious situa-tion when the war is over.

It is already spoken of everywhere,

and especially among the working peo-ple. It is the universal cry. Henceforth,France will not give place to an anti-reli-gious policy.

Literary Digest

SIDE-LIGHTS AND VIEW POINTS

By Vita

II

Life is full of paradoxes because wesee only three dimensions of truth. Thefull, the reconciling harmony will burst

upon our vision at some point along theway. The concepts of philosophy sodeep, a religion so high, a wisdom somighty as truth unfolds through count-less aeons of progress cannot be crowd-ed within the limits of a physical brain.As we progress our consciousness willexpand and we shall be able to take inmore and more of the glorious life that

pours down from sublimer planes.As we all know, life has a dual aspect.There are two selves within us. One ofthese is the ray of divine life which isimprisoned in each human entity. Theother self is the one with which we areall most familiar, for it is the one that isclosely linked to the world about us. Ithas its chief interest in the world of

sensethe objective worldand iswhat we call the personal self. This isthe self that makes all our tragedies,our sorrows, and perplexities. Through itwe receive lifes violent impacts. It isquite natural that the majority shouldconfound it with the real self.



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As we begin to discriminate, we real-ize that this personal self must be trainedand taught and brought into full harmo-ny with the higher self. To do this

requires study, thought, renunciation,and effort. This discipline is what thehigher Teachers speak of as the Path.It is the Path of self-denial, of effort, ofconstant striving toward the lofty idealbefore the soul.

There are some who have consciouslyentered this Path; who have voluntarilytaken upon themselves the obligation to

serve humanity in its higher de-velopment. These have chosen to laythemselves upon the altar of sacrifice.They have willed to die to the personalself and to live wholly for others. Theycannot take all that comes their way.Their pleasures must be along the pathof duty. In short, they, as followers of theChrist must take up their cross and fol-

low Him.This is what the Probationers vowimplies. Less than this is a travesty onthe name. Perhaps some of us did notfully realize all that the vow meant, butonce upon that Path, we soon learn itsdeep significance when we reach out forthe olden joys and find them eluding usat every turn. We call in vain for the

human love which once seemed so nec-essary to life itself.By many lessons we are reminded that

we are to turn from the personal selfwith all its old vivid life, with all itssense-enchantments, with all its thou-sandfold allurements. We must turn with

deaf ears from all its pleadings, from allits clamorings. We must go alone intothe silence. Then what?

With its first gropings in the silent void

the soul realizes its isolation from allother souls. No loving voice can pene-trate that still adytum. No human pres-ence may ever cross that border-linewhere the apocalypse of lifes profoundmeanings comes to us. We strive withagonized dread, we cry out to our be-loved across the profound reachesbutin vain! We must know and feel our-

selves to be utterly alone.This lonely silence, this dumb waitingin the prison-like darkness, this agony ofspirit is a necessary part of our experi-ence on the Path. After we cease to striveor to question, after the soul renouncesfear and desire, lifes mystery unfolds.The silence throbs with new tones; thedarkness lifts and we see the soul radiant

with light. The prison-house has expand-ed until its walls are no longer felt. Welook where the radiant image pointsstill withindeeper, farther, into lumi-nous depths.

We see the Ray from the Light whichgave the soul its radiance. The sense ofself is lost and we find in one gladmoment that we are not alone. Then

the mystery of mysterieswe know thatthe personal self which entered thesilence and felt in that crucial moment aprofound isolation from all other life,was not the self at all.

In the hour of abnegation and despairits cry pierced the gloom its thought had



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woven and it found itself. It suddenlyrealized the unity of all. It knew itselfone with the self of alland with theInfinite Life. It saw that there is no line

of separationno wall between souland soul; that Isolation is one of the sadillusions of the sense-life upon the phys-ical plane. It is created by our falsethought, our inverted glimpse of life andtruth.

The Divine Master knew as none otherall that unity means. He knew what stepswere necessary to take to realize this

unity. He knew what It involves; whatvanquishing and etherealizing of thepersonality, what dethronement of theself, what inner and spiritual unfold-ment. We know how He strove inces-santly to have humanity get at the heartof truth. That they may all be one wasthe divinely pathetic cry of His mightySpirit.

Let us strive as never before, dearFriends upon the Path, to realize thisunity, to live our life and to enter theTemple gates that we may serve.

SYMBOLS

(Selected)

This subject is one which interestedme by virtue of a very small incidentnamely, that I read in a book a statementto the effect that Mystics are individualswho read about magic a great deal, butwho never for one moment consider itdesirable to practice it. Personally I have

always had a very strong desire to be amagician, for I believe that we needmore individuals who have first-handknowledge and information on magic,

instead of being able to give only the tes-timony of others.There is no school so valuable as the

school of experience, and here you findworking all those men and women whoare really helping the world. It is fromthis school that the Teachers choose theirdisciples, from among those who areinterested in the history of the life of the

planet and not merely in the history ofone small society or brotherhood.When you enter the school of the

Teachers you begin to look at the life ofmankind in terms of the whole and not inthe terms suggested to you by the partic-ular idiosyncrasies of one little sect orsociety. You are concerned rather withthe great events behind the smaller

movements of mankind. And, more thanthis, you begin to direct your movementsand interests impersonally in relation tothe planetary life.

Whether you look at life from thepoint of view of the artist, or of the sci-entist, or of the mystic, if you are toenter the field of practical magic you areof necessity bound to exercise one great

function, and that is the function of theWill. The man or woman who wants toachieve something along the path ofinner development must regard as sinanything which misdirects energy ordraws the mind away from the object inview. Whatever you have made up your



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mind to do in relation to your spiritualgrowth and development, it is necessaryfor you and for collective humanity.Therefore you must necessarily regard

anything as sin or weakness which turnsyou from that self-appointed goal.Remembering that symbols are the

outer expression of Inner principles, wewill turn to the particular ones I havechosen for consideration. I will referfirst to the Circle. To deal with its sym-bolism exhaustively is impossible here,but the particular meaning to which I

wish to draw your attention is this: Ishall assume that all are interested inachieving something, not interestedmerely in reading about spiritualgrowth; that all realize the presence ofan eternal principle overshadowing ourvarious bodies. This being so, you mustrealize that it is possible for you toachieve what any occultist or mystic has

achieved, if you will undertake to treadthe thorny path of wisdom step by stepfor yourselves. It is necessary to beginand walk along that path yourself.

Now the Circle in this connection in-dicates the definition of your task. Youare not to stray outside of the circle youhave made for yourself, and all intrudinginfluences must be rigidly excluded.

Nothing must interfere with the circlewhich is indicative of the limits of thework you have in view. You stand at thecenter, and as the center is at equal dis-tance from any part of the cir-cumference, this position is symbolicalof the fact that you have become, for the

time being, perfectly poised and bal-anced, a difficult but necessary task. Inthe moments of meditation which pre-cede action you are one-pointed and

intend to maintain the perfect balance.Picture yourself entering an inner room.Create an imaginary circle. You have puta definition before you. You are in thecentre of the magic circle, across thethreshold of which you will allow noth-ing which will overcome you.

If you are to be successful in your task,you have to surround the circle with

those necessary elements which in allceremonial magic have been foundessential for accomplishment. Aroundthe magic circle are placed lighted can-dles, sometimes nine, and sometimesseven; nine (with yourself in the middleis the tenth) being the most complete. Ifyou will think for a moment, you willsee how very striking is the symbolism

here. The material of which the candle iscomposed is a certain substance whichinvolves the slaying of an animal.

The light which you will use will bederived from the substance of the ani-mals in the shape of thoughts of self-ishness and pride, and of all the undesir-able elements in your personality whichyou have slain. From the slaying of these

things you extract their energies andthey become the very light which pro-tects you, for this light stands as witnessto the world of the fact that you areengaged upon some task of a spiritualnature. The light is at the same time yourservice for humanity and that which you



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erect for the helping of mankind is like-wise your protection. The particular ar-rangement of the light is symbolical ofthe fact that certain conquests have been

made over elements within yourself. Thelight is the result of those things of a per-sonal nature which you have destroyed.

At the center of the circle is to befound the Altar, which each of us musterect for ourselves; for the externalaltars are only symbolical of certainstates of consciousness. I am assumingfor the sake of this discussion that we are

all desirous of being members of thatmystical Church which forms the Christ-body in humanity, and every Church,whether mystical or physical, centersaround the Altar.

This altar you erect in your meditationhas to conform to certain rules and regu-lations. Its height will vary in accor-dance with your heightthe height you

have attained in spiritual evolution, thepoint of consciousness you have reachedon this path. On it, and within it is kepteverything that you are to use in yourmagical operations. There, permanentlybefore you, will be your obligation to theHighest you can conceive, so that whenyou look upon the Altar you will bereminded of that obligation which you

have voluntarily undertaken, perhaps inages gone, to commit your life and ener-gies to the service of humanity in someway or another. It is probably fairly trueto say that at the present stage of devel-opment there is no one who takes aninterest in such a subject as this who has

not, ages long since, in some form oranother, pledged himself to the serviceof the human race.

On the Altar, within reach, are three

important elements symbolized by cer-tain instruments which will have to beused in your progressthe Scourge, theDagger and the Chain. The Scourge isused for a specific purpose and is sym-bolical of the fact that you have at some-time or other deserted your aspiration,that you have wandered away after somepersonal interest and you are conscious-

ly aware of it. You use the scourge tobring yourself back to the centre andalso to eliminate from your magic circleundesirable elements which you knowperfectly well are not for one moment tobe allowed to remain there.

The Dagger symbolizes the fact thatyou will use it, if necessary, to sacrificeyour personal life in the cause which

you consider paramount, and is indica-tive of your willingness to remove allpersonal considerations which hinderthe carrying out of your obligation. Thisdoes not, of course, mean your physicallife, but those personal considerationswhich limit your attention to your ownimmediate interests and which preventyou from looking at life in terms of

humanity.In the Christ drama the nails take theplace of the Chain, but the symbolism isidentical. You will chain yourself to yourobligation as the Christ was nailed to theCross.

On the Altar is also the Oil, compound-



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ed as a rule in magic, of four differentkinds of oilmyrrh, olive, cinnamonand galangal. These oils have this pecu-liar and significant characteristic, that

they will not combine into the right oilunless they are all perfectly pure. The oilis a symbol of aspiration which has to besprinkled over everything you do. Everywork must be anointed with this oil andif it is not so anointed then you mayknow that it has to do with your person-al aspirations only and not with the larg-er plan of mankind.

Another very important instrument isthe Wand, symbolizing Will, and it is ofno use if it wavers. There must be estab-lished in the centre of your being a cer-tain polarity which is undeviating inevery circumstance of life. Remember,too, in this connection, that the mostdangerous obstacles which the practicalmagician has to face are never the most

obvious ones. Humanity imposes ordi-nary conventions; moralities change andvary in different countries. These are notthe things about which you have to takegreat care, but certain subtle dangerswhich become more powerful accordingto the height which you have reached. Avery usual form is that of pride. You per-haps succeed in certain directions where

others fail, and you feel self-satisfiedand pleased with yourself.In order that the Will may be effective

it must be rigid, and if it has to touchthe stars it must be firm and stable atthe base. Everything must be subordi-nate to the spiritual will. There is only

one Will in the universe and we in ourignorance put our personal will againstthe Universal Will. That Will is onlyconcerned with universal principles. We

all know it; if we withdraw from person-al considerations, great peace falls overus like a garment of beauty. When youtake every personal interest you can con-ceive of, and lay it on the altar and say inthat moment Thy will not mine bedone, then it is that the whole universeis yours. Egoity is obliterated and Deathitself is obliterated. We feel the pain of

death because we have the fear of theloss of my and mine. Cultivate thehabit of overcoming obstacles all thetime; have a strong and fixed deter-mination to accomplish that which youhave set out to do, and fan the littleember of will within you until itbecomes a great energy able to carry youthrough every difficulty. Many people

have strong impulses today and cancelthem out tomorrow. Strength and weak-ness alternate in us and that is why weare so ineffective.

Do not adopt any formula which sug-gests that you aim to accomplish the taskof becoming a magician at once, but sayto yourself, I will establish a currentwhich will last through the ages so long

as consciousness requires a form to sus-tain it. At the moment when nothing inlife matters a little bit to you there willawaken that slumbering will which youhave established when the chasmseemed almost impassable. Even anelementary acquaintance with the occult



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path will show this.The Cup is a symbol which suggests

various interpretations. The artisticimagination is drawn always by this

very beautiful symbol. It evokes somany ideas of beauty: the cup in whichthe symbol of the blood of the Christ ispresented to the communicant; that cupof intoxication which when drunk by themystic opens the gateway to the eternalglory and beauty.

At the hour of supreme initiation,when the life-blood of the initiate is

spilled in order that the essence of thatlife-blood may penetrate through the lifeof the planet and make the work inwhich the inhabitants of the planet areengaged a little lighter. Then there is theCup of the Holy Grail, full of the bloodof many lives spent in the service ofman. The cups are to be found at everycentre of the body; for instance the cup

at the heart which receives those greatenergies which can be transformed intospiritual vitality in the body.

There is a legend to the effect that theold Venetian glass workers made cups ofglass so skillfully that they changedcolour if poison were put into them. Thatis wonderfully suggestive of the natureof this mystic cup of which I speak, for

you have to see that no poison entersbecause its nature is sacramental; andwhen the disciple is able to drink the cupwhich contains the full understanding oflife, his personal life is no more. Thismystic Cup is constantly being replen-ished by the Dew of Immortality, but

man more often uses these waters to feedhis animal nature instead of the soul.

Next comes the Sword, but this is aNovices instrument and by-and-by you

will lay it aside, for it is not required inthe marriage-chamber. It is an instru-ment of magic which you are allowed touse only in the name of the King; to useit effectively you must wear the Crown,that isbe initiated. It has its uses, how-ever; it is the symbol of logic and reasonand analysis, and if you are to under-stand complexity you must use analysis.

But those who live by the sword shallperish by the sword.The Pentacle is the body, the result of

past causes and it represents the field ofaction.

The Lamp is always hung in the cen-tre of the circle from the roof, above allthe instruments, lighting the whole fieldof operations, and if you look at it every-

thing else is obliterated. Your conscious-ness is focused on the Light whichlighteth every man coming into theworld, and which shines equally inevery particle of substance throughwhich consciousness has been ope-rating.

The Oil in the lamp is the oil whichwas in the widows cruse and which

replenished itself miraculously. Supposethat in the conflict of life you are over-come in some form or another and forgetyour aspiration and obligation. Perhapsyou have gone on forgetting for yearsand years and you are inclined to thinkthat you are so depraved that it is no use



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making any more attempts. Just at themoment when you are inclined to giveup altogether the oil of aspiration willbubble up in the lamp and the light will

become bright again.The Crown is the symbol of com-pletion and is worn by the King, the manwho has attained. When you have trod-den the weary path to the very end, youfinally realize that those joys whichcome to you through the avenue of thesenses are evanescent and that the initi-ate is the only man who knows what real

joy is, for real joy can only be un-derstood and realized by the man whohas conquered himself. The crown restson a piece of red silk. This colour is asymbol of the glory of life. The crownrests upon the life; it is impossible topretend you have the crown if you haveit not. You cannot pretend to be a King,that is, to have entered the circle of

Initiates who understand Life and itsprinciples fully. The crown of thorns is acrown of radiance; the rays of lightappear as thorns to the uninitiated.

The Robe which the initiate wears issymbolical of the aura, and also of thesilence and mystery in which his realwork is enveloped, of the isolation ofevery mystical life. The true communion

always takes place in the inner chamberand there that seamless robe of glory isworn which is the garment of the trueinitiate.

Then there is the Lamen, the breastplate of righteousness. It is worn overthe heart as protection and it has in it

many jewels which are called perfec-tions. The lamen indicates your workand also the stage you have reached inyour inner life.

The Book of Life represents your des-tiny for this life. Everything you do,every struggle, every aspiration, has acumulative effect, and the writing in thatbook goes on unfailingly up to the verylast page.

The Bell rings at important points inthe struggle and is a symbol of hope. Indeep meditation, when you have attained

to any point of real concentration, thereis undoubtedly a bell-like sound thatgives forth a wonderfully harmoniousvibration of peace. The bell may betaken as indicative of a certain state ofconsciousness attained by you whenthe song in the heart sounds forth. Itsignifies peace and power over all thedisturbing elements.

The Magic Fire is symbolized by theincense which is burnt in a censer onthree legs, which are emblematic of thetriple flame, the three higher principlesin man. Everything you have acquired,all the powers for which you havefought, have to be burnt up at the end,and only then will the imperfect ele-ments which were put into the censer at

the beginning be transformed into theperfect. Remember that if you seek toretain one single power for personal endsthe struggle has to begin all over again.

We have briefly glanced at these sym-bols and we come back to this point:

(Continued on Page 48)



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THE THEOSOPHICAL TEMPLE

OF THE ROSY CROSS

QuestionIt is claimed by someTheosophists that their Temple of theRosy Cross is the only genuine orderand that the Rosicrucian Fellowship is abranch thereof. Please tell us what is thetrue status of that order, and what con-nection has it with the RosicrucianFellowship.

AnswerIt is an unfortunate factlamented by all leaders of societies thatmisinformed members make ex-travagant statements which have nofoundation whatever in facts. It hasalways been the policy of the Rosi-crucian Fellowship to live in peace withall other religious societies, to speakwell of them and their leaders on alloccasions, and we would never think ofviolating our ideal FELLOWSHIP byan attack on anyone.

The leaders of the TheosophicalSociety follow similar principles; wehave never seen them as aggressorsagainst any other organization and weknow positively that they are friendly tothe Rosicrucian Fellowship, and wouldnot for a moment countenance such anarrogant assertion as that their Temple ofthe Rosy Cross is the only genuine order.They know better. As to the statementthat the Rosicrucian Fellowship is only a

branch of their order, it is sufficient tosay that the Rosicrucian Fellowship wasstarted years in advance of the T. S.Order of the Rosy Cross. Such misstate-ments as mentioned come from narrow,irresponsible people and they are not be-lieved by the great body of Theosophistswho are broad-minded and wellinformed on this very subject by thestudy of our own text book, the

Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, for wehave sold many thousands of copies ofthis work to members of the T. S. Largelodges like London and Chicago lodgeshave bought five hundred copies at atime; others like Boston and Washingtonbought several hundred copies at a timeand repeated their order several times.At one time the Theosophical BookConcern negotiated for the whole edi-tion then on the press, but as we neededmost of it right away to fill large ordersfrom jobbers in New York and Londonthe deal fell through. Thousands havebeen sold direct from our headquartersto individual Theosophists and lettersredolent with praise have been sent in bymany hundreds of T. S. members. Lodgeleaders have written enthusiastically toMr. Heindel of the great value of thebook as a text book in their classes, andreviewers in many of their organs havepraised it in the highest terms. The lastreview we have seen is by Mr.

Question Department* * * * * *


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Wedgewood in the official organ of theTheosophical Society The Theosophist,February, 1915. Mr. Wedgewood therereviews another book, and for the sake

of comparison mentions a number ofwriters, among others,

Max Heindel, author of a fascinating andreally able book, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.

He comes to the conclusion that

Heindels is probably the most able ofthese books. It sets forth a fairly rational andcoherent scheme, and while certain of hispoints seems to invite doubt, others call fortha flash of ready recognition from the intu-ition which is unmistakable. Clearly thebook represents a definite Occult tradition; ittouches upon many interesting points whichso far have not been considered by Mrs.Bessant, Mr. Leadbeater, or Mr. Sinnett.

The Theosophistis, as said, the officialorgan of the T. S. edited by Mrs.Bessant. Thus two of the highest offi-

cials of the T. S. and founders of theTheosophical Temple of the Rosy Crosshave officially endorsed theRosicrucianCosmo-Conception as a book whichclearly represents a definite occult

tradition. They are great souls who donot feel the need to bolster up a foolishpride and vanity by a supercilious sneerat another organization, as some who are

not worthy to be called their followers,do. They have, moreover, a mind whichcan discover merit in others and gen-erosity to acknowledge the fact. This isalso the case with the great body of themembership of the T. S. or they wouldneither have bought theRosicrucian Cosmo-

Conception nor acknowledged its mer-its, and the small minority who make theclaim that the Theosophical Temple ofthe Rosy Cross is the only genuine and

that the Rosicrucian Fellowship is abranch: Well! They will learn.Regarding of the origin of the

Theosophical Temple of the Rosy Cross,we are informed by the Secretary of theAmerican Section of the T. S., Mr. A. P.Warrington, in the May issue, 1913, ofThe American Theosophist:

The founders and supreme heads are

Heracles, Helios and Lomia, [names proba-bly taken for mystic purposes by Mrs.

Bessant, Mrs. Bussak and Mr. Wedgewood.

Editor.] The following has been issued bythe heads.

In the Theosophical Society there aremany who find the fittest expression for theirhighest emotions in stately and rhythmicalceremonials....very many such Egos aregroping about unsatisfied in numerous fields

of research....for these Egos the line of cere-monial is the way of least resistance.... Up tothe present time, however, there has been lit-tle opportunity in the T. S. for the study ofceremonials and the mysteries. It is there-fore the desire of the founders of the neworder to synthesize the scattered teachings inthe T. S. literature as well as in other avail-able literature.To nourish into new life thesmoldering fire on the altar of spiritual aspi-

ration.While recognizing that there is but one

true Occultism, they will seek to find it in itsWestern Manifestation in order to enrich, notto supplant, its Eastern aspects.

In choosing the name Temple of the RosyCross, the founders had in mind variousancient organizations; one was the famous



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Order of the Knights Templars, which wasformed to protect pilgrims traveling in theHoly Land....In like manner the presentTemplars of the Rosy Cross desire that theymay prove worthy to gather around the

Bodhisattva when he comes again, anddefend the mysteries with a sword of the spirit.

This is a straight-forward and ob-viously honest statement, that feelingneed of ceremonial as an incentive tospiritual aspiration, they organized the T.S. Order of the Rosy Cross in the hopethat it may make them more fit servantsin their Masters vineyard, and who

would not bid them God speed? They donot claim to have received occultinstructions to start such a temple fromthe Brothers of the Rosy Cross; in fact,they confess they do not know if there issuch a temple, at least Mr. Wedgewooddoes, and Mrs. Bessant prints it in thesame review where he speaks of the

Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. He

wonders what is the source of suchbooks and asks the question:

Are there schools of Western Occultismstill existing on the physical plane? Therepository, perhaps, of the Alchemy of theRosy Cross, and wherein the lesser mysteriesstill are celebrated? Or do these teachingsemanate from super-physical lodges ofteachers out of incarnation who still cherish

the doctrine of mediaeval MonasticOccultism, blended, as it often was, with astrong tincture of orthodox Christianity? Itwould be interesting and well to know.

Max Heindel states there is such atemple and his contention is supportedby the fact that he has written the

Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, whichhas found ready endorsement frommany thousands of thinkers in the T. S.and out. Most of them gifted with intu-

ition, like Mr. Wedgewood, and somewith spiritual vision. To doubt his mod-est claim to be the messenger of theRosicrucian Order in the face of the factthat he has this book, involves thegreater difficulty of believing him itsoriginator, for a monumental scheme ofunfoldment of the world and man, suchas this book reveals, was never hatched

in a human brain; hence there is but onetenable conclusion: that Max Heindeltells the truth when he says he visited theTemple of the Rosy Cross, that he wasthere initiated into the mysteries andgiven the teachings contained in the

Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, which hewas enjoined to publish and promulgate.

It may also be said in support of this

claim, and as evidence of his sincerityand unselfishness, that he did not usethis great knowledge for personal gainby putting as high a price on this book aspossible. He had been cautioned by theBrothers of the Rosy Cross not to sell thePearl of Knowledge entrusted to him,and he went to the other extreme andmade the price of the book so low

($1.00), that he lost money on the firsttwo editions. A valuable seventy-twopage index was added in the third edi-tion, also much new matter and the priceof this handsome six-hundred page bookwas raised to one-dollar fifty cents, net-ting a small surplus, which is all turned



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into the work. Mr. Heindel does not geta penny from any of his books. Surely hemust be sincere in his assertion that he isthe messenger of the Order of

Rosicrucians, and that the RosicrucianFellowship was founded to be The Her-ald of the Aquarian Age, now drawingnear.

Thus, to sum up:The Theosophical Temple of the Rosy

Cross is an order founded by Mrs.Bessant and her coworkers to aid aspi-rants to the higher life by ceremonial,

invented by themselves.The Rosicrucian Fellowship is theHerald of the Aquarian Age, pro-mulgating the Western Wisdom Religionformulated by the Brothers of the RoseCross, and published by their messenger,Max Heindel, in theRosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.

We are sorry to say there can be no

connection between the RosicrucianFellowship and the TheosophicalTemple of the Rosy Cross, or any otherT. S. Order. We have a high opinion oftheir membership, and a sincere regardfor many with whom we are personallyacquainted, but we have espoused theWestern Wisdom Religion, we thor-oughly believe in Western Methods for

Western People, and are therefore forcedby the laws of logic to take the positionthat our theosophical friends, howeversincere, are mistaken in their efforts topromulgate a religion divinely given tothe people of the East among the peopleof the West.

We did indeed rejoice when we firstheard a Temple of the Rosy Cross hadbeen founded by the leaders of theTheosophical Society, for we took this to

be an indication that they had seen thetrue Christ Light, in the West, and werepreparing to emulate the Wise Men ofthe East who traveled westward, fol-lowing the Christ Star to Bethlehem, butwe were sadly disappointed to note theirstatement of motive in studying theWestern Occultism, Rosicrucianism, etc.,as contemplated, in this new temple,

in order to enrich, not to supplantplant, its eastern aspects.Thus the aim of the Theosophical

Society and their subsidiary Orders arediametrically opposed as East and West,to the Rosicrucian Fellowship, and how-ever sincere our personal regard for indi-vidual members, we cannot work withthem as a society.

It does not follow that we are obligatedto attack them, however, or that weshould retaliate when a misguided mem-ber of the T. S. makes statements whichwe consider derogatory to the dignity ofour Association. Let us be careful,rather, not to bring up subjects whichmay provoke such remarks. Let us quiet-ly but persistently continue to promul-

gate the Western Wisdom Religion andemphasize the fact that it is the WesternMethod for the Western People, soshall we further the work of the ElderBrothers better than by idle argumentswhich waste our time and convince noone, for conviction comes from within.



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ASTROLOGICAL ANECDOTES

From Scoffing Skeptic, to Ardent

Advocate

It is surprising how many people sneerat that which they do not understand.

The writer himself was no exception tothat rule in respect of Astrology, whenthat subject was first presented to him anumber of years ago, while he was stillin the orthodox belief and had no knowl-edge whatever of Occultism.

A friend who lived in the same houseas the writer read an advertisement of anAstrologer, (?) so called, who offered to

tell the fortune of anyone for the mag-nificent sum of ten cents. No one waslouder in his denunciation of this fraud,superstition, and foolishness calledAstrology than the writer. Why, it waspreposterous to think that the stars hadanything to do with us. However, ourfriend sent one dollar with ten names ofpersons who were then present, and in

due time the so-called horoscopes cameback.We still remember the curious feeling

wherewith we opened the package andstarted to read the mystic scroll (?). Halfdefiant, half frightened, but sure, verysure, that it was all humbug, the whole

lot of it, and that reading this horoscopewould vindicate our cocksure assertions.But then, statement after statement inthis outline read true, and gradually allthe blood in our body seemed to surgetoward the head. Could there really besomething to this foolishness? We were

puzzled, mystified, and also somewhatfrightened at the thought.Later the rest of the friends came in

and each took up his horoscope, someadmitted it was true to a certain degree,others said it was not, but no one seemeddeeply impressed.

Then someone asked the writer. Wellhow did yours come out? And that was

the hardest part of it, to have to admitthat after all our scoffing, everything tal-lied. They were all curious and wantedto see the thing, so we showed itreluctantly.

Then someone said, why this is notyours at all, it belongs to so and so, (whohad not yet come.) What? Our sense ofrelief was almost indescribable, the

other horoscope, so called, intended forus, was produced and did not fit at all.And, naturally, we railed louder thanbefore over the fallacy, superstition, andfoolishness, of this so called scienceAstrology.

Having gone through this experience

The Astral Ray* * * * * *


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ourself, we do not wonder that others areskeptical when confronted with the ideaof stellar influence; moreover, there areso many charlatans who desecrate the

sacred science for even a paltry pennythat it is no wonder that Astrology is inill repute.

The Use and Abuse of Astrology

Genethlical Astrology, the science ofjudging events in the life of a personfrom a figure of the heavens erected for

the hour of birth, is often degraded bybeing made the basis of fortune telling.Horary Astrology, which judges theoutcome of a certain matter from a fig-ure erected for the time when the eventtranspired, or when a definite questionwas asked regarding the outcome, isnearly always a degradation of thesacred science, and one who studies and

guides his life according to planetaryhours, as some do, is certainly draggingthe stars into the gutters. It is nothingshort of a crime against selfhood to con-sult the horoscope every other day, or tocast a horary figure for every move wemake, or to look up the planetary hourfor a favorable influence on every slight-est occasion.

There are times, however, when it isright to use the logic of the stars toascertain the outcome of an event. Eachmust use his judgment in the matter, forabuse of the sacred science will bringretribution as certain as contravention ofany other law of nature. In the following

instances where the writer used it hehad, and has, misgivings, and thereforewishes to warn others not to do itbecause Mr. H. did it.

Squelching a Scoffer

Once we were invited to a picnicwhere there was considerable discussionof Occult subjects and Astrology alsocame in for its share. A certain Mr. X,who was president of an Occult Society,was particularly vehement in his denun-

ciation of Astrology, though he admittedthat he knew nothing whatever of it,never having studied the subject. Wewere very much surprised at this attitudeof mind on the part of a man who, byvirtue of his position, ought to be open-minded, and we sought in the presenceof a number of others to show him thathis position was altogether untenable,

but without effect; he continued to scoff.A few weeks later the writer happened toenter his place of business and was atonce greeted with a sarcastic request forinformation concerning some miningstock in which Mr. X had just invested.Would he win or lose? A number of peo-ple were present, and we were much net-tled at this manner of interrogation, so

we answered: Well, Mr. X., it is drag-ging the stars into the gutters to consultthem on such subjects, but there areoccasions when the end justifies themeans. Your position is so unwarrantedand it may do much to influenceadversely a considerable number of peo-



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ple; therefore, perhaps it may be well tolet you know what the stars can do; andpulling out our watch, we took the time,stating that we would give him the result

of our investigation in a few days. Hav-ing cast the horoscope we found that themoney was going through the hands ofthe directors at an exceedingly rapid rateand it was manifest, also, that therewould be no returns. We therefore sostated on a small slip of paper which wehanded to Mr. X about a week later.When he had read our message he

laughed and sneered Ha! Ha! Ha! Mr.Heindel, you dont know anything aboutit, or the stars either. I have another ora-cle, and it tells me that this stock isexceedingly good, that it is going to be afine investment, and I can sell it now fora great deal more than what I paid. Tothis we remarked that it would be to hisinterest to do so at once for it would not

be very long until developments wouldprove the truth of the stars.There were others present on that

occasion who had also invested in thesame concern; one lady had invested allshe had. She became frightened and soldher stock, making a good profit thereon,but Mr. X kept his; he was not going tobe fooled by such nonsense as the stars.

About a week or two later, the writerhad occasion to visit Mr. Xs placeagain, and that gentleman met him witha somewhat more serious face, statingthat there are indications that you maybe right, Mr. Heindel. We told him weknew the stars were true, and that even-

tually our judgment would be vindicat-ed. A few weeks later the soap bubbleburst, and Mr. X admitted that it seemsas if the stars are right, but that was

probably a coincidence. This is alwaysthe impregnable stronghold of the scoffer,or the skeptic. When anything happensthat they cannot explain, it is handy tohave the word coincidence to juggle with.

Convinced

Sometime later we had again occasion

to visit Mr. X at his place of business. Hethen said: Mr. Heindel, I am very anx-ious about a certain matter. I am execu-tor of a large estate and have beenadministrator for eight years. Duringthat time I have sold a number of valua-ble parcels of land to private people,banks and institutions. Now comes aclaimant and I want to know what is

back of him, they have entered suit.How will it come out?Though loath to again degrade the

sacred science of the stars, we felt that ifthis gentleman could be converted itmight do a great deal of good forAstrology on account of his position,and we therefore pulled out our watch,looked at the time, and told him that we

would let him know. After about a weekwe went down to his store again with aletter stating that there was nothing backof the claimant at the present time, thatthe case would be immediately thrownout of court, but that it would be to hisinterest to arbitrate, for as a matter of



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fact, there were grounds for the claim.Later it would come up and cause trou-ble and the judgment would be reversedin another court.

On our arrival at Mr. Xs place of busi-ness, we found it closed, but as we knewthat he rarely stayed long away, we wait-ed, and he came after a while. We thenhanded him the letter, which he read,and then he said Mr. Heindel, you havestruck it just right, as far as I know. I wascalled away from my store just now byorder of the court, because this claim

clouds about fifty valuable titles, and thejudge wanted it settled at once. When Iarrived in court we found that the attor-neys for the claimant had not even prop-er authority, and the court at once nolprossed the case.

The Other Extreme

A few months later we happened toenter Mr. Xs store one Saturday nightand were greeted with the words, I havebeen telephoning for you all afternoon,the claimant has come back again, and Iwant to know what the outcome is goingto be? At once we pulled out our watchand told him that later on we would lethim know, for we saw that now the iron

was becoming hot and here was achance to get the skeptic thoroughlyconverted.

Upon casting the horoscope it de-veloped that if the writer had entered thestore at an earlier hour than he did, a cer-tain prediction which he made from the

position of the Moon could not havebeen made. It is one of the most remark-able facts about Horary Astrology, thismethod of divination by taking the time

by the watch when a question is asked,that the question always reaches its des-tination, the Astrologer, at the time whenthe stars are ready to answer. We havehad letters come to us delayed for weeksand marked by the stains of water, hav-ing been submerged, or in railway acci-dents, etc. Sometimes they have beenmissent and then forwarded after the

writer had left his previous address, yetthe writer has never failed by taking thetime when reading the question, to givethe correct answer, showing that what-ever delay there had been certainly wasthe outcome of design. So also in thiscase, the time to tell the tale was whenwe entered the door of Mr. X, and thefact revealed by the position of the

Moon at the moment was, that the oppo-site party had made overtures for a set-tlement to Mr. X and his advisors, whichthey had refused. This he admitted, andwe then told him that the stars of theclaimant were in the ascendant, that hisstars were in the descendent, that thiscase would go from the judge, who nowhad it in hand, and was favorable, to

another judge who would reverse thejudgment and take the estate away fromhim, giving it to the claimant.

Several years elapsed and we had for-gotten all about the case, having traveledto Germany, written the Cosmo-Conception, etc., but upon our return to



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the city where Mr. X lived we were toldby mutual friends that Mr. X now sworeby Astrology, he knew that it was anabsolute truth, if properly interpreted.

He knew also that Mr. H. could tell thetruth, and asserted that if Mr. H. wouldtell him that his house would be de-stroyed by an earthquake the next day,he would endeavor to sell it if he couldonly get ten dollars for it, for he knewthat the event would happen.

Later on, when speaking to the gentle-man about the case he said that he was

only sorry that affidavits had not beenmade at the time when the predictionswere given, for they were so absolutelytrue to the smallest details. Why, hesaid, Mr. H., the first judge was veryfriendly, as you said, the second judgewas the very opposite; he was antago-nistic in the extreme, and we hadabsolutely no show. I tried to get my

lawyers to arbitrate the case, because Ibelieved in your prediction, but theyabsolutely refused and pooh-poohed theidea that we could lose.

Thus the sneering cynic became a sin-cere advocate and is now as anxious toget people converted to the truth ofAstrology as he previously was to teardown that which he knew not how to

appreciate.An Astrological Gambler

Some times astrology appeals to thestrangest people, and is used for themost extraordinary purposes. Once wewere introduced to a gentleman who

looked very tough, to use the mildestexpression possible, we were told that hewas a competent Astrologer, and wereinterested to find out how the outward

appearance of the man could harmonizewith study of the divine science. Itdeveloped, moreover, that this gentle-man was a mathematical prodigy, whoscorned to set up a figure in the ordinarymanner. He used trigonometry for everyAscendant, the Placidian system ofdirecting, and logarithms to the steenth places. He conversed about

sines, cosines, tangents and co-tangents,with the same easy familiarity that weuse when ordering grape-nuts for break-fast. We were soon informed that hislibrary contained everything fromPtolemy or Placidus to the latest ModernAstrology magazines, and were quitecurious to find out what use he made ofall this profound knowledge. We there-

fore eagerly accepted an invitation toaccompany him to his room and therebehold his treasures.

He lived in a very cheap lodging housein the lower part of the town and hisroom contained only a bed, a chair and atable besides the book shelf, but on thatbook shelf he had, as he boasted, one ofthe finest Astrological libraries it has

ever been our pleasure to see. It wasvery evident that he was not a profes-sional Astrologer who cast horoscopesfor other people, and though his clothingwas rough, his hands were soft, showinghe did not do physical work. It wasquite evident that he was a drinking



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man, and between every few sentenceshe would expectorate an enormous vol-ume of tobacco juice. What could be theuse of the sacred science to a man of this

stamp? for he seemed to speak of it in amanner which indicated that it was of somedefinite value to him, not merely a hobby.

We waited patiently for the expla-nation, and presently it came. A series ofarticles had been running in ModernAstrology, on the subject of horse-rac-ing and how it was possible to pick thewinner, he brought out this magazine

and asked whether we had studied thematter.When we replied in the negative, but at

the same time admitting that we hadstudied another system purporting topick the winners in a horse-race, he wasmost insistent in his inquiries about thissystem; nothing would satisfy him butthat he must accompany us to our apart-

ment where he devoured the pamphletdealing with this matter. When we jok-ingly inquired whether he intendedputting the system to a practical test, heunblushingly admitted that such was hisintention, and when we tried to showhim how contrary this was to the higherside of Astrology, he looked at us inblank amazement as if we were speaking

a foreign language of which he could notunderstand a single word.Although our ideals were thus as far

apart as the poles from the standards ofthis man, we cultivated his acquaintancefor a while in order to obtain his point ofview. He was a gambler, as he frankly

admitted, and it was his practice to go tothe various gambling houses andendeavor to ascertain the date when theyhad been started, the hour if possible. He

would then cast the horoscope for thesegambling places and watch for the timewhen each one of them came under evildirections. Then he knew that they weredoomed to lose, and he thought that itwould therefore be his chance to win,not realizing that although the housemight lose, he would not necessarily bethe winner, but the winnings might go to

someone else.It seemed also that no amount of expe-rience could convince him in this matter.There was always some little thing,some hitch or another why he had notwon, but he was sure that his system wasthe right one. He also had anothersupplementary system which he used towin in the gambling houses. This we

found out when one day he appeared atour apartment requesting, yes, begging,pleading, that we accompany him to acertain gambling house. When werefused he offered to pay the stakes andgive us one-half of the winnings, andwhen told there were more chances ofloss than of winning he scornfully said,No, you could not lose today, especial-

ly in that place.We were naturally surprised at thisanswer and pressed him for an explana-tion. He was very slow, always, howev-er, to give explanations, but finally headmitted that in looking over our horo-scope book he had seen our own birth



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data and made a mental note thereof. Hethen forthwith erected our horoscopehe had horoscopes of all his friends (noneed to say that we were flattered to be

numbered among them).That was part of his system: he notonly watched the gambling houses forbad directions, but he also watched hisfriends horoscopes for good directions.Then he would get friends who had gooddirections to go with him to a gamblinghouse under bad directions, and, watch-ing their play he would follow their lead

and thus endeavor to win.He was so disappointed at our polite,but steadfast refusal to accompany him,that he never came near us afterward,nor were we sorry that the acquaintancewas terminated, for we found that it wasabsolutely impossible to influence himtoward anything higher than just thelevel upon which he already walked.

TWO GOOD (?) HOROSCOPES

A sharp knife is a very useful instru-ment in the hands of a competent per-son, but if given to a child or to some-one who is insane, it may become aninstrument of injury and destruction.The automobile is an eminently useful

engine, yet there are thousands of per-sons who because of their temperamentare utterly unfit to drive it with safety tothemselves and others. Similarly withAstrology, while it is a boon and a bless-ing to thousands of people, there arenumbers also who because of their tem-

perament, make it a curse to themselvesand others.

It is not an infrequent occurrence tohear such persons say, O! I have the

most afflicted horoscope in the world,and there is no use of my trying. Thisview is entirely gratuitous, for in the firstplace the horoscope shows only the ten-dencies in life, and we ourselves havethe will whereby we may overcome atleast to a certain extent.

In the second place, it is a truth thathas often been emphasized by the pre-

sent writer that the squares and opposi-tions indicate obstacles which make forsoul growth, because of our endeavors toovercome, while good aspects are thepleasant paths of life that foster indo-lence and make for stagnation.

It is far better for the soul to have ahoroscope full of squares and opposi-tions, where every planet makes many

aspects, than to have a horoscope wherethe sextiles and trines predominate andperhaps some of the planets are makingno aspects at all.

We present this month, two horo-scopes of this nature, and a study ofthem will reveal the fact that our con-tentions are well founded. We call oursubjects, John and George.

At the first blush one would say thatthese are certainly good horoscopes,John has all the planets but two abovethe earth, with the Sun, Mercury, Marsand Venus highly elevated in the Ninthand Tenth houses, and in Georges horo-scope Jupiter, the great Benefic, is close



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to the Mid-Heaven, in trine to Mars, andthere is only one bad aspect, so-called,in the whole horoscope, namely, theSquare of Neptune and Uranus. But theaspects are few: Neptune sextile to theMoon, and Saturn sextile to Venus; boththe Sun and the Moon are practicallyunaspected, for the Sun sextile to Saturnis very weak, it is more than six degreesorb, and the sextile of the Moon toNeptune is not one that a man of thatstamp would respond to. Mercury, theprincipal significator of mind, has noaspects either, except a conjunction tothe Sun; it is practically combust, andthe Moon, in the flighty sign Gemini, onthe Asc., also shows that the Mind isvery weak; in fact, the man cannot thinkat all.

John is different, at the time of hisbirth, Mercury rises before the Sun; it isthe most elevated planet in the horo-scope and it is sextile to Uranus, theplanet of Intuition, and though it isafflicted by the opposition of Neptune,

its higher Octave, we doubt whether thatopposition will have any effect at allbecause it is more than six degrees. Soaccording to all of the canons of As-trology, this man ought to be able tothink, and in fact get the result withoutreasoning, by intuition.

The square of Jupiter to Saturn and thesquare of the Moon to Venus are really

the only bad aspects in the figure. Andthere are a number of good ones.Neptune sextile the Moon and Saturn,the Moon trine Saturn would help tohold the mind steady and concentrate itand give more purpose to the thought.Venus sextile Jupiter and we have men-tioned the sextile of Mercury to Uranus.

Butnow comes the trouble. Marsand the Sun are unaspected, the Sun isthe life-giver, and Mars furnishes thedynamic energy, the bubbling physicalvitality which makes people want towork. You will notice that George hasMars trine Jupiter, therefore he is aworker, there is not a lazy bone in his



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body. But John, having the Sun andMars unaspected, is always tired, listlessand without ambition.

George has more of his planets under

the earth, there is something dragginghim down that he does not seem able toovercome, the mental ability is lacking,in spite of the fact that there is only onebad aspect in the horoscope.

In Johns case things are reversed. Hehas a latent mental ability of no meancapacity, but he lacks absolutely thephysical energy which is Georges, and

George can at least make a living withhis hands, although he is unable to usehis head; but John, who seemingly hasthe best horoscope of the two, is muchmore unfortunate, for he lacks the ener-gy to use either head or hands, and if hedoes not rouse himself he may be a pub-lic charge all his life.

Let the student ponder this lesson

deeply, and if ever you feel discouragedbecause of the troubles brought by yoursquares, remember John and George andfollow the example of the Pharisee.Thank God you are not cursed with aGOOD horoscope like these.

YOUR CHILDS HOROSCOPE

Jean F. Born Feb. 8th, 1914, 4:45p.m., Portland, Ore.

We will first study the Mind, for that isthe most important factor in determiningthe nature and character of the life. We

find that Mercury, the significator ofMind, rises before the Sun, and is in theintellectual sign Aquarius, that is verygood for reasoning power. We also find

that Uranus is in Aquarius. This bright-ens the mind considerably and makes it

more intuitive, it will give her a fond-ness for reading, so that she will be intel-

lectual and well informed along manylines, and she is not going to be put in acorner where no one will see her light,either, for Saturn trine Mars will makeher fight for what she thinks is right, andusually she will gain the day.

The Moon is the other significator ofmind, and we find her located in Piscestrine to Neptune, the latter in the psychic

sign Cancer; these two positions and theaspects are bound to make Jean veryimaginative and sensitive, but the Moonis in the 12th house sign, and Neptune isin the 12th house. This shows that thereis a certain danger connected with thisaspect, which may lead her into sorrow



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and trouble. It is probable, that if shewent into Spiritualistic circles she wouldbe instantly controlled and sufferconsiderably from this involuntary

mediumship. Therefore it is best tobeware that she is not allowed to comeinto any atmosphere that it is not thor-oughly positive.

Saturn in Taurus and Mars oppositionto Neptune will give her the unfortunatetendencies to be self-sufficient, stub-born, irritable, and hard to handle. Shehas a mind of her own, and will not

allow interference with her will ordesire. Therefore it will be necessary toteach her toleration in the years of child-hood, for we cannot go through life withpeace and comfort if we are constantlydetermined to do things all our own way.We must all learn to give and take, andthe sooner she is taught this valuable les-son, the more happy her life is bound to

be.Venus is in Aries sextile to Uranus, thelatter on the cusp of the Seventh house.This gives her a very magnetic personal-ity and makes her very attractive to theopposite sex, also the liability to enterinto a hasty marriage. Mars is the partic-ular significator of the male sex and hisopposition to Neptune in the Twelfth

house indicates that there may be con-siderable gossip and underhandedefforts to undermine her reputation.Therefore, she should be very careful inher relations with young men.

As for marriage, Venus square Jupiteris anything but good for happiness in

married life. It makes the person whohas this configuration very fond of dress,and likely to spend a great deal of moneyon adornment of the person. She does

not need to adorn herself, no matter whatshe wears, she is bound to be attractive,and Venus sextile to Uranus in Aquariuswill give her many friends of the verybest kind, intellectual and charming.They will always love her regardlesswhether she is dressed in simple style orin the costliest finery.

There are some people who must al-

ways be dressed to the very pink of per-fection, because that is their only meansof gaining respect and notice amongother people, but there is another classthat has inherent qualities and charmsthat dress can never give, and these peo-ple do not need to get themselves up inall the frills and furbelows decreed byfashion. Jean belongs to this class and

she should be taught to use her moneyfor substantial things and not waste it onfoolish trifles that are of no accountwhatever.

Jupiter and Mars in Capricorn and theSixth house, and Mars trine Saturn, inthe Tenth house will make her industri-ous, ambitious, and capable of takingresponsibility. She will rise to a

responsible position, probably inGovernment work., This will probablyalso lay her liable to criticism signifiedby Mars opposition Neptune, and thatlast named position also will bring herenemies in her work. She can overcomea great deal of this, for as said, she has a



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charming personality, and when she setsherself to please, she can do so, and inthat way avert a great deal of trouble thatmay arise from such things.

But when all is said and done, anyonewho dares to take responsibility, who issomething more than a cog in the wheelis always bound to be criticized, so per-haps she need not care very much forthat.

With regard to Health, Saturn inTaurus will lay her liable to colds in thethroat, but it will come like most colds,

from the stomach, because Mars is inopposition to Neptune in Cancer, thesign which rules the stomach. Be sure tobring her up right, to eat the simplestfood, to eat to live and not live to eat.Venus square Jupiter gives a poorcirculation. Sun in Aquarius in its fallalso testifies to this. Give her plenty ofexercise, and Mars sextile the Moon will

help her through.

James M. Born Jan. 27, 1907, 11:30p. m., Ottowa, Kansas

This is a very unusual horoscope.Mercury is in conjunction with the Sun,but unaspected by other planets, it is also

under the earth and these testimonieswould show a poor reasoning power. Butthe Moon, the other significator of mind,is elevated in the Ninth house, whichgoverns Mind; it is in the psychic signCancer and trine to Mars, this brightensthe imagination. Neptune, the Octave of

Mercury, is also in the Ninth house trineto Saturn. Saturn, the calm, deliberate,and conservative planet, is also in sex-tiles to Uranus, the planet of lightning-

like intuition. Thus, the mind will not beallowed to wander and become erratic,for Saturn holds his restraining handover it.

But it is noteworthy that the mind hereworks upon a higher plane than in thegeneral run of people where Mercurygoverns; here both Neptune and Uranus

are involved, and Saturn steadies theflighty Moon and spasmodic Uranus.James will therefore have an orderly,well-balanced, systematic mind, and apowerful memory. He will not have to

study or reason, yet he will know andsee through things instantly, with analmost uncanny faculty for ferreting outmysteries, a Craig Kennedy or SherlockHolmes sort of a mind.

The Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter in theNinth house with the Sun and Mercury



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in the intellectual sign Aquarius, butmaking no aspect, give a tendency tospend his time dreaming and neglectwork. His ideas will always be too far in

advance of the world; he will want tostudy the Occult and mysterious side ofnature. His mind will run along groovesthat have not been traversed before byanyone else, but he does not want towork with his hands. This will cause hima great deal of trouble, signified by theopposition of Neptune and Uranus.

In order to offset these serious tenden-

cies, he should be given a thoroughlypractical education. He should be taughtfrom childhood on to do everything forhimself and something for others. Heshould never be waited on nor allowedto waste his time; keep him busy asmuch as you can and above everythinggive him a practical, a thoroughly prac-tical education, let him work with his

hands.A machine shop will furnish the bestoutlet for his energy, for Mars is inScorpio and people with that positionare most successful as workers in Iron.Mars is, moreover, trine to the Moon, thelatter in the Midheaven. This will givehim the inventive ability by playingupon the imagination, and accentuating

the trine of Saturn to Neptune and itssextile to Uranus, which are excellentaspects for invention.

You may look for something unusualfrom James, provided he can be inducedto bring his ideas down from the land ofdreams to the realm of reality, and we

may hope to accomplish this by puttinghim into a machine shop where he willlearn to work with metal. Then he willprobably branch out quite naturally into

the electrical sciences and allied branch-es signified by Uranus and Neptune. TheFifth house deals with inventions, inso-far as getting them before the public isconcerned, and Saturn being there, trineto Neptune and sextile to Uranus, showsthat it will take a lot of perseverance andpersistence to gain the point, but withprobably satisfactory outcome.

These inventions will not, however,benefit him very greatly from a financialstandpoint for the presence of Mars inthe Second house shows that though heis bound to make a great deal of moneyout of them, when he does finally suc-ceed, he will also be very foolish inspending it because of his inherentimpractical and dreamy nature.

He needs somebody to prod him alongand to look after the business end. It isquite likely that he will get such a part-ner through marriage, for the Moonmakes its first aspect to Mars, the rulerof the Seventh house, which is the houseof marriage and a mate described byMars in Scorpio, is quite capable ofinfusing energy into anyone. She will

probably be able to make a snail jump, ifshe tried. At the same time it must notbe inferred that she will not be a goodpartner for James, for she will supply

just the qualities that he lacks, and the

(Continued on Page 48)



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THE MIND

First we turn to our list of words onpage 541. There, under the letter M, wefind Mind and opposite No. 574. This isthe page in the Index where all the refer-ences to the mind are made and, accord-ingly, we turn to that page and com-mence to look up the reference theregiven.

To function in any world and expressthe qualities peculiar to it we must firstpossess a vehicle made of its materials.In order to function in the dense physicalworld it is necessary to have a densebody adapted to our environment, other-wise we should be ghosts, as they arecommonly called, and invisible to mostphysical beings.

So we must have a vital body beforewe can express life or externalize theother qualities peculiar to the ethericregion. To show feeling and emotion it isnecessary to have a vehicle composed ofthe materials of the desire world, and amind formed of the substance of the

region of Concrete Thought is necessary

to render thinking possible. (Page 57.)On page 75 we learn that the organs ofneither the desire body nor the mind areyet evolved, the latter is not yet even abody; at present it is simply a link, asheath for the use of the Ego as a focus-ing point. It is the last of the vehiclesthat have been built.

Because of the lack of organs, it is

clear that the mind alone would be use-less to the Ego as a vehicle of con-sciousness. The Ego, however, entersinto the dense body and connects theorganless vehicles, the desire body andthe mind, with the physical sense cen-ters. Thus it attains the waking state ofconsciousness in the physical world.

On page 298 we learn that the mind

was given to man in the Atlantean Epochto give purpose to action, but as the Egowas exceedingly weak and the desirenature strong, the nascent mind coa-lesced with the desire body; thus the fac-ulty of Cunning resulted and was thecause of all the wickedness of the mid-

Studiesin

The RosicrucianCosmo Conception

* * * * * * *


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dle third of the Atlantean Epoch.In our present Aryan Epoch, thought

and reason were to be evolved by thework of the Ego in the mind to conduct

Desire into channels leading to theattainment of spiritual perfection, whichis the goal of Evolution. As the vitalbody is rooted in the spleen and the de-sire body in the liver, so is the mind root-ed in a certain point between the eye-brows about half an inch below the sur-face of the skin. That point is the seat ofthe indwelling Spirit in man and the

clairvoyant sees it as a black spot, orrather vacant space like the invisiblecore of a gas flame.

This Is the Holy of Holies, in the tem-ple of the human body, barred to all butthat indwelling human Ego whose homeit is. The trained clairvoyant can see itwith more or less distinctness, accordingto his capacity and training, but what is

behind is hidden from him. This is theIsis spoken of by the ancient Egyptians,whose veil none may lift and live. Noteven the highest evolved being on earthis authorized to unveil the Ego of thehumblest and least developed creature;that and that alone upon earth is sosacred that it is absolutely safe fromintrusion. (Page 293.)

The mineral has only the physicalbody, the plant has a physical and a vitalbody, the animal has a physical, vital,and desire body, but man alone has themind in addition to these other vehicles.And it is the possession of that thatmakes man, man. It was originally given

to us in the early Atlantean Epoch by theLords of Mind. These Lords of Mindwere human in the Saturn period whenwe commenced our evolution and were

in the mineral stage.At that time the densest globe wasmade of the material of the region ofConcrete Thought, and these Lords ofthe Mind, therefore, became expert atbuilding their bodies of mind stuff, aswe are today learning to build our bodiesout of the dense material of our presentworld.

During the Sun Period and the MoonPeriod they have gone through stages ofhigh spiritual development, correspond-ing in a certain manner to the develop-ment of the present Archangels andangels. But in the Earth Period theyreached the creator stage, and weretherefore able to radiate from them-selves into our being the nucleus of

material from which we are now seekingto build an organized mind.They are called Powers of Darkness

by Paul because they come from thedark Saturn Period and are consideredevil on account of the separative tenden-cies appertaining to the plane of reason,contrasted with the unifying forces ofthe World of Life Spirit, the realm of

Love. The Lords of Mind work withHumanity, but not with the three lowerkingdoms.

During the three stages of unconsciousinvolution comprising the Saturn, Sun,and Moon Periods, the spirit wasbrought down into matter by crystalliz-



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ing it into body, then Epigenisis the orig-inal creative activity of spirit, com-menced. It is the lever, and mind is thefulcrum upon which involution turns to

evolution. This change occurred in theAtlantean Epoch; from then on, con-scious evolution during the Jupiter,Venus, and Vulcan Periods will lift thespirit out

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