A Brief Summary of a Treatise on White Magic by Alice A. Bailey

  “The White Magician works with

 Eyes Open,

 Voice Proclaiming,

 and Hands Conferring.”

Thus we have balanced the Head center, Throat center, and Heart center with

Right Thought – Based on Intelligent Love.

Right Speech – Because Governed by Self Control.

Right Action – Because Founded on Understanding of the Law.

A Brief Summary of A Treatise on White Magic By Alice A. Bailey
Link to PDF download
Link to Facebook Study Guide

1. Preface

2. Introduction and Rules

3. Mental Activity

Rule I

Rule II

Rule III

Rule IIII

Rule V

Rule VI

4. Sentient Activity

Rule VII

Rule VIII

Rule VIIII

Rule X

Rule XI

5. Physical Activity

Rule XII

Rule XIII

Rule XIIII

Rule XV

6. Conclusion

7. Appendices

A. Rule I comment on a White Magician

B. Thought Form Building

C. Types of Energy within Man

D. Development of Man

E. Dying Preparation

F. Three Things to Do

Preface

This treatise is of profound use to all magickal students and aspirants of spiritual development. But being lengthy and fairly technical, I have attempted to condense the material in order to highlight the predominant points. This summary is composed chiefly of selected reproductions of the original text and only paraphrased so as to link ideas and produce fluidity of comments. This summary should also not be considered or used as a substitute for the complete treatise, but instead, used as an outline and an introduction to a detailed study of the work of A.A.B.

Three points of interest are important to observe here.

Firstly, I have focused my selection on the process of Thought-Form building and some of the technical aspects of this development. Owing to the fact that magickal development parallels evolutionary or spiritual development, much of the original treatise also refers to the living spiritual hierarchy of souls and teachers on many levels, exoteric and esoteric, within our planetary system. Although this is important information for development into the group of white magicians known as The Great White Lodge, I have chosen here to focus the subject of this summary on magickal technique.

Secondly,it is important to observe that A.A.B. uses the term “Ego” to refer to the primal, eternal star of the Soul, our identity as the “I Am”, the Higher Self or the True Self. The transitory or lower self, referred to often elsewhere as ego, is referred to here as the “personality”.

Finally, we observe that in this aspect of Magick, although not apposed to it, we do not deal with the practice of ritual. This aspect is added to or embedded within whatever ritual practice the aspirant prefers, if any. Here we analyze what can be referred to as the “Magic of the Soul”. The key thought, underlying all that may appear in this treatise is to be found in the words of the Bhaghavad Gita, which runs as follows :

“ Though I am unborn,

The Soul that passes not away,

Though I am the Lord of Beings,

yet as Lord over my nature I become manifest,

through the Magic Power of the Soul.”

Gita IV.6.

Introduction and Rules

Rules For Magic

RULE ONE

The Solar Angel collects himself,

scatters not his force,

but, in meditation deep,

communicates with his reflection.

RULE TWO

When the shadow hath responded,

In meditation deep the work proceeds.

The lower light is thrown upward;

the greater light illuminates the three,

and the work of the four proceeds.

RULE THREE

The Energy circulates.

The point of light, the product of the labors of the four, waxes and grows.

The myriads gather round its glowing warmth until its light recedes.

Its fire grows dim.

Then shall the second sound go forth.

RULE FOUR

Sound, light, vibration, and the form blend and merge,

and thus the work is one.

It proceeds under the law,

and naught can hinder now the work from going forward.

The man breathes deeply.

He concentrates his forces, and drives the thought-form from him.

RULE FIVE

Three things engage the Solar Angel

before the sheath created passes downward ;

the condition of the waters,

the safety of the one who thus creates,

and steady contemplation.

Thus are the heart, the throat, and eye, allied for triple service.

RULE SIX

The devas of the lower four feel the force when the eye opens;

they are driven forth and lose their master.

RULE SEVEN

The dual forces

of the plane whereon the vital power must be sought are seen;

the two paths face the Solar Angel;

the poles vibrate.

A choice confronts the one who meditates.

RULE EIGHT

The Agnisuryans respond to the sound.

The waters ebb and flow.

Let the magician guard himself from drowning

at the point where land and water meet.

The midway spot, which is neither dry nor wet,

must provide the standing place whereon his feet are set.

When water, land and air meet,

there is the place for magic to be wrought.

RULE NINE

Condensation next ensues.

The fire and waters meet,

the form swells and grows.

Let the magician set his form upon the proper path.

RULE TEN

As the waters bathe the form created,

they are absorbed and used.

The form increases in its strength;

let the magician thus continue until the work suffices.

Let the outer builders cease their labors then,

and let the inner workers enter on their cycle.

RULE ELEVEN

Three things the worker with the law must now accomplish.

First, ascertain the formula

which will confine the lives within the ensphering wall;

next, pronounce the words which will tell them what to do

and where to carry that which has been made;

and finally, utter forth the mystic phrase

which will save him from their work.

RULE TWELVE

The web pulsates.

It contracts and expands.

Let the magician seize the midway point

and thus release those "prisoners of the planet"

whose note is right and justly tuned to that which must be made.

RULE THIRTEEN

The magician must recognize the four;

note in his work the shade of violet they evidence,

and thus construct the shadow.

When this is so, the shadow clothes itself,

and the four become the seven.

RULE FOURTEEN

The sound swells out.

The hour of danger to the soul courageous draws near.

The waters have not hurt the white creator

and naught could drown nor drench him.

Danger from fire and flame menaces now,

and dimly yet the rising smoke is seen.

Let him again, after the cycle of peace,

call on the Solar Angel.

RULE FIFTEEN

The fires approach the shadow, yet burn it not.

The fire sheath is completed.

Let the magician chant the words that blend the fire and water.

From "A TREATISE ON COSMIC FIRE"

A Treatise on White Magic by Alice A. Bailey is the extended commentary on The Fifteen Rules of Magic which first appeared in her book, “A Treatise on Cosmic Fire”, which discusses the evolution of our planet and solar system, and other subjects of a cosmic scope. A Treatise on White Magic instead discusses Human evolution, which is why it is subtitled, “The Way of the Disciple”. As all life is magickal and each man and woman is a magician creating our world in a factual process, the study of human development must include the study of magick and the thought-form building and energizing which results in physical manifestation.

Also we must observe that unless students of magic enter upon this pursuit fortified by pure motive, clean bodies, and high aspirations, they are foredoomed to disappointment and even disaster. All those who seek to work consciously with the forces of manifestation, and who endeavor to control the energies of all that is seen need the strong protection of purity.

The Rules for Magic, themselves, because they refer to profound and esoteric processes, are phrased, many times, in symbolic language. Although immediate understanding of the subjects that they reference is possible, years of meditation can yield increased understanding as the student progresses in development, as is true with all advanced reference material on any subject.

These Rules for Magic, as understood by the esotericist, are as true of a created universe, solar system, or planet as they are true of the tiny thought creations of the aspirant.

The statements can be divided into three groups. The first six rules discuss mainly activities on the mental plane of human consciousness and the genesis of thought-form production. The next five rules discuss activities on astral plane or the emotional-desire level of human consciousness, emphasizing the process of energizing the created thought-form with desire and other potent energies. The final four rules detail the completion of form manifestation upon the physical plane and other related subjects.

It must be remembered that every human thought, whether the potent mass thoughts or the individual dynamic ideas, must eventually emerge objectively on the physical plane.

It will be apparent to the reader that this material is somewhat advanced and requires a prerequisite study of the esoteric anatomy of the human organism including the multiple layers of subtle bodies taught of in eastern Hindu yoga sciences and western occult sciences of the Tree of Life. Also experience in the basic traditional practices of meditation are mandatory for application of the techniques discussed.

A.A.B. begins the treatise by elucidating on basic assumptions and postulates, as she puts it, that must at least be considered when approaching this material.

A basic concept that is born in mind in the presentation is that although we begin our study and analysis of life from a viewpoint of duality or a world of multiple forms, one of the main necessities before an aspirant at this time is to endeavor to think in terms of One Reality, for the universe is in fact, of course, a single organism.

That being said, for the purpose of referencing aspects of this One Organism, it has been found useful to subdivide its its form based on differing qualities within it. A general and popular subdividing strategy can be seen as Spirit, Soul, and Body; or the Divine Trinity of Father, Son, and Mother (or Holy Ghost). This can also be described as Life, Consciousness, and Form, or Energy, Force, and Matter.

Actually when the Unity manifests as form we have a duality. Then, the interaction of Life with its Form produces Consciousness, and so we have the trinity.

As you can see, the words Soul, Spirit, and the others used here, are not random phrases but, instead, technical terms with specific definitions.

Understanding of the Spirit principle (Energy, Life) is always relative, being mostly related to potentialities and outside of Time and Space.. Each person will understand it in relation to their own state of consciousness development.

The Soul principle, on the other hand, is being manifest, first as a Omnipresent Unity and then as rays streaming from this Universal Soul, so analysis comes more possible. The Soul is the Higher Ego of the universe; The Christ Consciousness or Buddha Principle.

The Body aspect or Form principle, everyone can see and feel. It is all forms of matter including mental matter, emotional matter, and physical matter. The esoteric student will know that we as humans have bodies on each of these levels of consciousness, like envelopes around our Soul-Spark. With increasing density, these envelopes are manifested by and surround our Soul like unto the composition of a seed. The Soul is surrounded by the Mental body, then bathed in the Emotional-Desire body, and finally encased in the crust of the Physical body. All this is referred to as the form or the lower personality of the person.

Four postulates are also emphasized by A.A.B. before beginning the commentary on the rules. These are :

I. There exists, in our manifest universe, the expression of an Energy or Life which is the responsible cause of the diverse forms and the vast hierarchy of sentient beings who compose the sum total of all that is.

II. The One Life, manifesting through Matter, produces a third factor, which is Consciousness.

III. The object for which Life takes form and the purpose for manifested being is the unfolding of Consciousness, or the revelation of the Soul.

IIII. All lives manifest cyclically. This is the theory of re-birth or reincarnation, the demonstration of the Law of Periodicity.

These are practical notes for better development of Soul contact and Soul Manifestation.

The study and contemplation of this material and instruction is meant to lead to a realization of a dimension and state of being within us and that realization will produce change in form and environment. Changing form and environment is the essence of Magick.

Dominion over all forms, and the power to act as transmitters of the spiritual energy we call Love is the triumphant reward of the Solar Angels.

In understanding that we are all part of one organism, it becomes apparent that a developing personality becomes increasingly more sensitive to the group needs of all humanity and life. A gradual and steady growth in group consciousness and responsibility, a submergence of the wishes of the personal self, and the manifestation of a loving spirit characterize those who are oriented towards the Life side of the Divine Whole.

Also, the effort should be along the lines of an endeavor to make contact with the Higher Self and keep it steady and be in such direct alignment that force and power of the Soul may be poured upon and through the lower three-fold nature.

Then the Pure Light of Day drives all shadows and darkness away and little by little the life is brightened and lightened until the sun in the head is shining in all its glory.

The path is, therefore, a path in which steady expansion of consciousness is undergone with increasing sensitivity to higher vibrations (more subtle frequencies of vibration).

When a person has found their Soul and recognizes its relationship to the mechanism of expression, the three-fold lower personality, They automatically pass into the consciousness of the subjective life, begin to work with cause, and are no longer lost in the world.

A great need now is for more personalities to add there testimonies to the statements of the great mystics and occultists of the ages.

These Ideas summarize the main points of interest in the introduction to the treatise. Now we can look more closely at this efficient process of thought-form building, energizing, and manifestation into the physical world, and in doing so we will see how this training parallels and inspires the spiritual development of the human being.

Mental Activity

These six activities on the Mental Plane are also described as :

1. Recollection, resulting in concentration.

2. Response, resulting in interaction between the higher and lower.

3. Radiation, resulting in a sounding forth.

4. Respiration, resulting in creative work.

5. Reunion, resulting in at-one-ment.

6. Re-orientation, resulting in clear vision of the plan.

Rule I

RULE ONE

The Solar Angel collects himself,

scatters not his force,

but, in meditation deep,

communicates with his reflection.

Responding to the Solar impulse, the personality first, through meditation and concentration, realizes the existence of the Soul, or the Eternal Self, and then makes contact with such and learns to understand thier relationship to this Soul.

Only those who can clearly differentiate between these two aspects of their nature, the Real Self and the illusory self, can work intelligently. There has to be the attainment of knowledge, strength, and coordination between the personal self and the Soul which will result in the ability to build organized forms and groups on the physical plane and hold them coherently together.

Duality is an illusion created by the inability to perceive the True Self as One Unity. The perception of the personality is itself an illusion caused by duality. We teach the student to link the lower illusory personality with the overshadowing Soul Unity so that the brain registers it as fact. This is accomplished through communication with the Divine Self and cyclic meditation which leads to achieving Unified Consciousness.

The White Magician is one who is in contact with their Soul and has achieved the “Lighting of the Lamp”. This phrase is symbolic of the alignment of the Higher and the lower resulting in the down-flow of actual spiritual and physical illumination to the brain.

Light streams from the Spirit through the Soul into the Body, but most personalities cannot focus or see clearly in any direction. Eventually, they realize that it is the form that is failing in response, and if we have awareness of and live as the Soul, in that high altitude, we will not be so effected by the fluctuations of the lower personality form.

This leads out of the ever changing world of the senses into the Clear Light of the Day and into the world of Reality. We also then see ourselves as the initiating cause of the world and not victims imprisoned in illusion.

The idea is to achieve such a condition of conscious control that at will we may be focused in our Soul Consciousness or focused on our Form aspect.

In learning to contact our Soul it is found to be helpful to keep inner peace and serenity and mental pliability so as to be of some use to the whole. It is also important to develop :

1. Purity of Motive.

2. Balance and Poise so as to achieve Mental Equilibrium.

3. The ability to hold Inner Calm of Emotions.

4. The ability to Control Thought.

Also, Learn to be intuitive. Intuition is perceiving impulses from the Soul world. Remember intuition always concerns itself with group activity.

Rule II

RULE TWO

When the shadow hath responded,

In meditation deep the work proceeds.

The lower light is thrown upward;

the greater light illuminates the three,

and the work of the four proceeds.

Now a conscious relationship has been established between the Soul and its shadow (the three-fold personality). Both have been meditating. The Soul is in constant meditation throughout life and one of the objectives of the daily meditations of the aspirant is to enable the mind and brain to vibrate in unison with the Soul.

Four steps of development at this point can be seen to be :

1. Communication between the Higher Self and the lower self.

2. The response to that communication.

3. Reorientation of the lower personality.

4. Realization of the union off these two aspects.

In our current occidental society we have many hindrances to development. Four major hindrances are :

1. The comparative newness of the occidental society and its traditions.

2. The concrete mind that is so dominant in our society.

3. Our emphasis on the material world.

4. Our physical bodies and diet.

To overcome these hindrances we must adhere to the highest known form of truth that we can become aware of. We must also train ourselves to undergo extreme inconvenience.

As we seek to gain control of our mind, emotion, and body, The Soul becomes more aggressive in its contact.

Bring the mind and brain into functioning condition so that you can slip out of your own meditation and become the Soul and the physical world will be transformed.

Rule III

RULE THREE

The Energy circulates.

The point of light, the product of the labors of the four, waxes and grows.

The myriads gather round its glowing warmth until its light recedes.

Its fire grows dim.

Then shall the second sound go forth.

At this point of development, after the Energy has been circulating between the Higher Self and the lower self, forms can begin to be built. With influence from the world of the Soul a form can manifest on the mental plane with favorable chances of being strong and permanent.

When the Soul, Mind, and The Light in the Head form (or are seen as) One Unit, The creative power of the Solar Angel can express itself in the three worlds.

The Soul and the personality achieve a rapport and the germ of a thought-form comes into being. This thought-form will embody a portion of the Great Plan of the Unity of Mankind for it is a product of such and mankind is a product of the Soul of the solar system.

The process at this point can be seen to be:

1.The aspirant struggles to achieve inner quiet so as to hear the voice of their Soul.

2. The aspirant hears and interprets (to the best if their abilities).

3. The aspirant sets into motion the mental matter required to build the thought-form.

Also, it can be noted that if Harmlessness is the key-note of your life, you will produce harmonious conditions for development. The first set of principles that a human learns come from their experiences of grasping and desire. The second set of principles are learned through renunciation of desires and through service.

Rule IIII

RULE FOUR

Sound, light, vibration, and the form blend and merge,

and thus the work is one.

It proceeds under the law,

and naught can hinder now the work from going forward.

The man breathes deeply.

He concentrates his forces, and drives the thought-form from him.

At this stage, more details are ascertained as to the process of developing and giving birth to our thought-form. Also, as is pointed out in the rule, when the aspirant has unified their consciousness with the Divine Soul and thus progressed this far, naught can hinder the work from going forward. The evolution, fast or slow as it may be, has been set into motion.

Love is the Great Unifier, the prime attractive impulse, cosmic and microcosmic, but the mind is the main creative factor and utilizer of energies of the cosmos.

And now we will point out that the Astral Body (the Emotional-Desire Body) that is clear and uncolored and a Physical Body with steady nerves and a stable rhythm are necessary tools for the Mind that seeks optimum expression. And through the cultivated receptivity of the developed Mental Body, the aspirant becomes aware of the ideas of the Soul.

Then Sound, Light, and Vibration make a Thought-Form active. Sound sets in vibration matter from which Forms are made. Our spoken words create thought-forms which will embody the ideas that we have in our Mind. As the Soul is Light, Spirit is Sound. Some power words do have esoteric capabilities. The ancient Sanskrit word of “Aum”, for example, loosens course matter from our bodies for cleansing and replaces it with finer subtle matter on all levels, mental, emotional, and physical. The similar but not identical sound of “Om” sends a signal to the solar world that an aspirant is ready for service. These are only two examples. The student will take them into consideration and realize more.

The physical activity of breathing combined with visualizations is also is also used in the process of thought-form manifestation. A brief description of this technique can be:

1. Inhilation – The aspirant visualizes the Thought-form.

2. Retention of Breath – The Soul is influenced by the Spirit.

3. Exhilation - “With an act of Will he breaths forth

his purpose into the World.”

4. Between Breaths – Form is influenced by the Soul.

As you can see, we here are learning to be conscious creators in mental matter and produce results in the phenomenal world. This is the goal of Magick. You will also see that the form for manifestation into the three worlds is created through intense meditation.

The finished complete work of Magick is visioned by a process that does not involve the Time element or Spacial concepts at all. For example, we build a thought-form of ourselves as our ideal person, the true server, the perfect master. We create a pattern in our Mind which hews as true as we can make it to the prototype, and which serves to model the lower personality and force conformity to the idea.

Rule V

RULE FIVE

Three things engage the Solar Angel

before the sheath created passes downward ;

the condition of the waters,

the safety of the one who thus creates,

and steady contemplation.

Thus are the heart, the throat, and eye, allied for triple service.

We now see that objective forms are the result of:

1. Meditation.

2. Response of the Material.

3. Building of Form.

4. Utilizing of Sound equaling “The Word Made Flesh”.

In building and vitalizing thought-forms we must take into consideration:

A.“The Condition of the Waters”- By the waters we mean the state of the emotional substance (the Astral Body) into which the mental form must go. The thought-form is sent forth into the emotional world (naturally descending into denser matter) to gather itself a Body of Desire. This emotional desire is the impelling force which produces all objectivity and solid manifestation. Therefore, the emotional body of the aspirant must be clean of unwanted activity and vibrant with healthy vitality.

B.“The Safety of the One Who Creates”- Unhealthy thought-forms and unhealthy usage of any thought-forms can poison the Magician. Some major dangers are listed here.
1. An overly potent thought-form on the Mental Plane can take on a life of its own and cause the creator to become its victim under its control.
2. Too many multiplying thought-forms can smother the creator in a nebulous cloud of his own thought-forms, cutting him off from contact with others.

A Remedy for precaution against these dangers is known to be Right Thinking, Loving Desire, and Clean Living.

C. “Steady Contemplation”- This is simple. Inspire your thought-form with the life force it needs to survive.

All this is accomplished if you bring you mind under control, stabilize your emotional body, and strengthen your Soul connection and communication between the personality and the Soul-Self.

In response to the comments here on the Energy Centers or Chakras, we point out that:

• The three centers below the diaphragm must be reorganized.
• The four centers above the diaphragm must be awakened.

This is done through character building and meditation.

Referring specifically to the text of this rule we can say that:

• The Eye, or the Head center, is awakened through Will and Power.
• The Throat center is awakened through Active Intelligence.
• The Heart center is awakened through Love Wisdom.

Commonly the first center of all that the aspirant seeks to consciously energize and in which he concentrates during the early stages is the Heart center. This is understandable for this is the center of the system and equilibrium is possible through work on this center and it is the center expressing the Unity of All Forms.

For healthy development of the aspirant, the necessary requirements have been found to be:

1. Character Building.

2. Right Motive.

3. Service.

4. Meditation.

5. A Technical Study of the Science of the Centers.

6. Breathing Exercises.

7. Learning the Technique of the Will.

8. The Development of the Power to Employ Time.

9. The Arousing of the Kundalini Fire.

Rule VI

RULE SIX

The devas of the lower four feel the force when the eye opens;

they are driven forth and lose their master.

It is through intense focusing of the intention that the Eye directs the creative energies.

The Soul gazes in three directions:

• Towards the Light Supernal.
• Over the World of Souls.
• Towards its Reflection in the Three Worlds.

The physical eye came into being as a response to the Light of the Sun. So the spiritual eye equally comes into being in response to the Light of the Spiritual Sun.

The Third-Eye or Ajna Chakra has chiefly three functions.

1. The Eye of Vision. It sees the divine nature within all forms.

2. It is the controlling factor of Magickal work. It directs the Intelligent Will and the Creative Force.

3. It has a destructive aspect like unto the Eye of Shiva. Its forceful radiation can purify forms.

Sentient Activity

These next five rules refer to activities on the Astral Plane or the Emotional and Desire world. Our Soul-inspired thought-form will now be energized as it descends into this realm and obtains an emotional envelope. We will also use this space to discuss the Astral environment. A.A.B prefers the term Sentient World because it is the field in which we Feel sensations.

This Sentient World is often referred to as “The Battleground of the Astral Plane”, because it is the meeting place of all the chaotic forces of the Physical Plane, Emotional Plane, and Mental Plane. In some one life, there comes an emotional crisis where the aspirant must prove his control over his emotional nature.

As a review, these are the three major regions of the lower personality or the lower world (issuing from and below the Soul, thus subordinate to its influence), and the roles that they play in human life.

1. The Mental Plane - where:

a. The Soul, through meditation, imposes impressions on the mind.

b. The mind also initiates its own activities.

c. The mind receives impressions from the surrounding world.

2. The Astral (or Sentient) Plane - where:

a. We feel consciousness of forms.

b. We feel awareness of moods, emotions, feelings, desires, aspirations.

c. We feel also sensitiveness to the spiritual world.

3. The Physical Plane - where:

We experience matter. This also includes the etheric matter existing between the astral plane and the field of physical atoms. The as yet fairly invisible etheric field or vital body is responsible for forming the physical aspect of the universe.

But, it is clear that the “Battle”, par excellence, is fought out in the Astral Body, and only reaches its most intense point and potent fierceness

where there is a good physical instrument and a well developed mentality. The Soul must govern the lower worlds and its instrument of warfare is the Consecrated Mind.

Rule VII

RULE SEVEN

The dual forces

of the plane whereon the vital power must be sought are seen;

the two paths face the Solar Angel;

the poles vibrate.

A choice confronts the one who meditates.

One of the dangers present, if the Soul is not controlling the lower personality, is what is referred to in the comment of the Two Paths. This is the subject of the choice between White Magick and Black Magic. The difference between the two is both motive and method.

The White Magician has for motive that which will be of benefit to the group for which he is expending his energy and time. The Magician of the Left-Hand Path ever works alone, or if he at any time works with others, it is with a hidden selfish purpose. Also (whether one is working consciously as one or unconsciously as one), the Black Magician only develops the powers of the personality in the lower three worlds focused on self interest and worldly ambition. This confines him to the lower worlds and polarizes him to matter creating a magnetic pull towards Form that is perpetually increasing imprisoning him in the Great Illusion. In the other path of the White Magician, the personality is subordinated and Magick of the Great White Lodge is practiced with the focus on the whole group of Life and Light. Which opens the doorway to expansion of consciousness and development of our Soul relationship.

You ask, whether workers in Black Magic possess not an equal power? I answer, no. They can work in the three worlds, but they work from and in the plane of mind, and do not function, therefore, outside their field of endeavor, as does the Soul. They can achieve, from their proximity and identification with their working materials, results more potent temporarily and more rapid in accomplishment than the worker in the White Lodge, but the results are ephemeral; they carry destruction and disaster in their wake, and the Black Magician is eventually submerged in the resulting cataclysm.

Let us therefore remember the necessity of a correct use of the mind, and (at the same time) let us ever hold a position beyond and detached from the creative work of our minds, desires, and physical accomplishment.

Rule VIII

RULE EIGHT

The Agnisuryans respond to the sound.

The waters ebb and flow.

Let the magician guard himself from drowning

at the point where land and water meet.

The midway spot, which is neither dry nor wet,

must provide the standing place whereon his feet are set.

When water, land and air meet,

there is the place for magic to be wrought.

Due to the sublime nature of this rule, more symbolic language is used than in some. Water (the emotions), Land (the form), and Air (the mind) meet in the Astral Plane, but also meet in the brain of the aspirant. Both meanings must be considered as a place where a stand must be made for Magick to be wrought.

Now, we know that the intelligent and constructive desire of the White Magician, acting under the instruction of the Soul, and therefore occupied with group work, is the motivating power behind all Magickal phenomena.

This description below will elucidate the situation at this point.

1. The Soul has communicated with his instrument in the three worlds.

2. The aspirant on the Physical Plane recognizes the contact, and the Light in the Head shines forth, sometimes recognized and sometimes unrecognized by the aspirant.

3. The Soul sounds forth its note. A thought-form is created in consonance with the united meditation of the Soul and the aspirant, his instrument.

4. This thought-form, embodying the will of the ego or Soul, cooperating with the personality, takes to itself a triple form, constituted of the matter of all three planes, and vitalized through the activity and by the emanations from the Heart, Throat, and Ajna centers of the White Magician - the Soul in conjunction with its instrument.

5. The personality sheaths, each with its own individual life, feel they are losing their power and the battle between the forces of matter and the force of the Soul is violently renewed.

6. This battle must be fought out on the Astral Plane and will decide three things:

a. Whether the Soul will, in any one life (for some life holds the critical stage), be the dominant factor and the personality from henceforth be the servant of the Soul.

b. Whether the Astral Plane is no longer the plane of illusion, but can become the field of service.

c. Whether the aspirant can become an active co-operator with the Hierarchy, able to create and to wield mental matter, and so work out the purposes of the Universal Mind, which are prompted by Boundless and Infinite Love, and are the expression of the One Life.

We should make the Astral Body a reflector of the Light of the Soul by calming our personal desires.

Three main types of astral forces that we encounter are:

1. Selfish Desire – which we must subordinate to the influence of the Soul.

2. Sexual Attraction – a manifestation of the attraction of opposites and desire for the realization of our Unity.

3. Fear – a product of ignorance but, in its initial stage, not the product of wrong thinking. It is instinctual, but amplified in humans due to the powers of the mind. But, Fear is the main obstacle frequently to a very vital step forward. I would suggest sound common sense and the cultivation of an attitude of mind which refuses to permit time for illusory fears to grow.

A useful affirmation is:

“Let reality govern my every thought,

and truth be the master of my life.”

Some points to consider on the subject of Ebb and Flow of phenomena within the universe of duality are:

- The world that we live in swings out into the clear light of Sun and returns into the healing dark of the night. This is also symbolic of all the changes in our lives.

- In understanding of the Law of Cycles we gain Knowledge of the underlying Laws of Evolution.

- Equilibrium is only possible where alternation has been experienced.

Rule VIIII

RULE NINE

Condensation next ensues.

The fire and waters meet,

the form swells and grows.

Let the magician set his form upon the proper path.

In the commentary of this rule A.A.B. Focuses on some types of form and the necessity of purity.

She points out that all Life is Vibration and the result of Vibration is Form. Comments on some fundamental forms are as follows:

1. We have the form of our Causal Body. This is the form of your Soul, the shining Sun of the “I AM”.

2. We have the form of our Environment. A major point regarding this is that inner and outer environments change as the personality changes. This phenomena is an integral aspect of magical work.

3. We have the form of our Personality. We observe that the person that is entering onto the occult path begins with the vehicle provided, but during incarnation, builds for them self ever a newer and better vehicle, and the more progressed they are, the more consciously they work.

Purifying the form of your personality is essential to healthy progress. To accomplish this you must redirect and reconstruct your desires.

Steady preservation of inner contact through meditation and the overlooking and non-emphasis of the personality reactions will lead to purification. By loving All, work at the plasticity of the astral body. In Love of All that breathes comes capacity to vibrate universally.

Let desire and mind be so pure and so equally apportioned and the created form so balanced that it cannot be attracted to the Left-Hand path.

Rule X

RULE TEN

As the waters bathe the form created,

they are absorbed and used.

The form increases in its strength;

let the magician thus continue until the work suffices.

Let the outer builders cease their labors then,

and let the inner workers enter on their cycle.

The commentary on this section , after the initial thoughts on thought-form building and energizing at the sentient level, turn to an extensive response to the line instructing the magician to “continue until the work suffices.”

This opens the way for many subjects from a more detailed analysis of the Astral conditions to present day and future group activity, among other subjects, and is the most lengthy section of the treatise. This is understandable at this stage, as the Astral or Sentient world does compose the main focus of our human lives at this point in time.

Although it is said that we live in a materialistic world and even science does not recognize of any other level of our being as real other than that of matter, we are not really in touch with the physical world that we claim to be in love with. This is actually obvious when we look at the condition that we have driven our ecological environment to and our detachment from our physical bodies to the extent of blindness to disease and even pregnancy many times. People do not feel their bodies and often go to great efforts to numb them.

With most people, of course, also the mental body is either not functioning or in the early stages of development.

Most of our lives and day to day dramas and experiences and most of what we focus on is in our feeling and desire bodies. The Astral World, what we want, how we feel, what emotions are we experiencing, what are our dreams, and our fears is what occupies our attention. This is the menu of our days experiences at this stage in history.

Aeons ago we developed our physical bodies, and at that point our lives focused on issues concerning this. Then we began to grow into and develop our emotional-desire bodies for many thousands of years. Now we are giving birth to and developing our mental bodies. This stage is only beginning and this is causing a predominance of lower mind concrete thinking. When our full mental bodies are mature and functioning with intuition and illumination, we will be equipped to transmit the True reflected Light of the Soul Body through the three lower bodies and the disciplined mental body will control the turmoil of the emotional-desire body resulting in a healthier physical world.

But now we are still obviously focused in the nebulous chaotic emotional-desire world that we have spent aeons creating. It is full of vitality but not controlled or organized as it should be. This is what must be done to manifest the ideas of the Soul from clear thought-forms through healthy vitality into accurate physical manifestations. But for now the Astral Body is the body in which we are predominantly polarized and which we are more potently conscious of than any other body.

A more detailed analysis of ordinary manifestations of astral energy includes these kinds:

1. Fear.

2. Depression, and its compliment Hilarity.

3. Desire for Satisfaction of Animal Appetites.

4. Desire for Happiness.

5. Desire for Liberation (Aspiration).

The most usual manifestation of astral energy, as we have previously observed is Fear.

1. Fear of Death.

2. Fear of the Future.

3. Fear of Physical Pain.

4. Fear of Failure (Related to Fear of Public Opinion).

These Fears coupled with Depression are major obstacles to growth and healthy functionality of all humans including aspirants.

When we touch on the subject of depression, we are dealing with something so widespread that few escape its attacks. Like a miasma, a fog environs the person and makes it impossible for them to see clearly, walk surely, and cognize reality. It is part of the Great Astral Illusion.

Depression is caused by:

1. The World Glamour (the Hypnotic Illusion of Society and Media).

2. Astral Polarization.

3. A Devitalized Physical Body.

But the Astral Body can be controlled by:

1. Direct Inhibition. This is the suppressing of unwanted emotional reactions which can be used to advantage by beginners but is not the best method as it does not really deal with the cause and often results in astral and physical disorders (headaches, liver problems, etc.).

2. Direct Realization of the Issues. Remember that all that comes to pass results in the increase of knowledge and development, and all environmental phenomena has its place within the whole.

3. Direct Methods of Relaxation. Concentration, Stillness, Rhythmic Breathing, and the flushing of the Etheric Body with Pure White Light.

It is well nigh impossible for you, our struggling brethren to have good health, The karma of the world prohibits it. The astral corruption and the foul cesspools of the lower levels of the mental plane infect all.

Other responses to Wrong Vibration include:

1. Building a Shell. This is a technique of generating a mental or astral shell around the aura of your Etheric Body to protect yourself against unwanted energies. This, although temporarily effective, uses energy for building and maintenance and actually results ultimately in imprisonment of the creator.

2. Insulation. This is the practice of generating. Emotionally defensive energies to counteract the unwanted energies encountered. This also waists valuable energies and results in karmic build-up coupled with unknown outcomes.

3. Harmlessness. This is the best and easiest method of defense. The best defense is a good offense. Good karma breeds good karma.

So, practice Positive Harmlessness, which works out through:

Right Thought – Based on Intelligent Love.

Right Speech – Because Governed by Self Control.

Right Action – Because Founded on Understanding of the Law.

Thus we have balanced the Head center, Throat center, and Heart center.

“The Magician works

with Eyes Open,

Voice Proclaiming,

and Hands Conferring.”

So The prime problem of the aspirant is to dominate the emotional nature. In learning to do so, we discovers that we can differentiate between the emotional nature and the mental activity. We discover also that the Mind can be made to assume a position as controller, and that the sentient forces respond with obedience to mental energies. “The Light of Reason” brings this about.

To end we add a few points on mental development. Three parts of the Mental Body include:

1.The Concrete Mind is the form building faculty.

2.The Abstract Mind is the pattern building faculty.

3. The Intuitive Mind is the faculty which enables us to enter into contact with the Universal Mind.

For Mind Development:

1. We have to learn to Think.

2. We have to learn to understand our Thought Process.

3. We then enter into the realm of Intuition.

4. Then comes the work of conscious thought-form building.

All this involves Concentration, Meditation, Contemplation, and Knowledge.

Right Thinking involves:

1. Ability to sense the vision (transmitted by the Soul).

2. Bringing down to the Mental Plane as much of the vision or plan as you possibly can.

3. Building your Thought-Form.

4. Working it into existence on the Physical Plane.

Do not get discouraged, development is guaranteed. Five things which those who choose the path of occultism need to cultivate are:

1. Consecration of motive.

2. Utter fearlessness.

3. Cultivation of imagination, balanced wisely by the Reasoning Faculty.

4. Capacity to weigh evidence wisely.

5. Willingness to experiment.

These five tendencies coupled with a purity of life and regulation of thought will lead to balanced development.

We can also remember the four Powers of the Sphinx:

1. To Will (the Prerogative of the Spirit)

2. To Know (the Function of the Soul)

3. To Dare (the Duty of the Personality)

4. To Be Silent (the ultimate Dharma or Destiny of the Matter aspect)

Learn to practice Harmlessness, Then desire nothing for the separate self, and thirdly look for the divinity in All. Three simple rules, but very hard to accomplish.

Rule XI

RULE ELEVEN

Three things the worker with the law must now accomplish.

First, ascertain the formula

which will confine the lives within the ensphering wall;

next, pronounce the words which will tell them what to do

and where to carry that which has been made;

and finally, utter forth the mystic phrase

which will save him from their work.

These are the final points of consideration as the creation passes downward to through the Astral Plane and is prepared for manifestation into the physical world.

We are told in the rule under consideration that the aspirant has three things to do:

1. Ascertain the formula which will crystallize the form they has built, much in the same way as we find architects and bridge builders reducing the desired form into mathematical formula.

2. Pronounce certain words which will give the form vitality and so carry it forth onto the physical plane.

3. Utter the phrase which will detach the thought-form from his aura and so save the drain upon his energies.

It will be noted that the Formula has relation to the Thought-form, itself, the Words of Power have relation to the Objective for which the form has been created, and the Mystic Phrase concerns the severing of the magnetic link which binds together the creator and the creation.

At this point the form is an externalization of something the creator has:

A. Visualized.

B. Built intelligently and 'colored' or 'qualified', so as to meet the purpose for which it was intended.

C. Vitalized be the potency of his desire, and the strength of his living thought.

D. Held in shape as long as is needed to perform its specific work.

E. Connected to himself by a magnetic thread, the thread of his living purpose and the strength of his dominant will.

Every externalization of an idea is therefor:

1. Possessed of Form.

2. Animated by Desire

3. Created by the Power of the Mind.

This control is only possible where there is alignment of Brain, Mind, and Soul.

Some of the dangers of the thought-form builders are:

1. The potent thought-form can act as a boomerang and return to effect or damage the creator.

2. A thought-form can poison the creator in many ways if not created following healthy procedure.

3. The creator must guard there self against becoming obsessed by their own embodied ideas.

Here are recommendations for remedy of these dangers:

1. Harmlessness !!!

2. Certain old thought habits will off-set the institution of constructive creative thinking. Certain lines of thought should not be permitted.

3. The aspirant must learn to detach there self from their own thought creations, and leave them free to accomplish the purpose for which they intelligently sent them forth.

4. Refuse to live in ones own thought world.

Physical Activity

The remaining four rules pertain to activities on in the physical worlds. The Idea of the Soul has been received and built into a thought-form replica and vitalized. Now we will analyze some points related to its crystallization into a solid physical formation.

Rule XII

RULE TWELVE

The web pulsates.

It contracts and expands.

Let the magician seize the midway point

and thus release those "prisoners of the planet"

whose note is right and justly tuned to that which must be made.

In the first of these comments we are reminded of the pulsations of life and the cycles of change. In the commentary we are also reminded of the uses of physical breathing in understanding theory and executing the practice of life manifestation. The scientific utilization of the interludes developed between physical breaths, we are reminded, between inhalation and exhalation, are of paramount importance.

In the higher interlude (between the Inhalation and the Exhalation), the divine thought (Spirit) impresses the Soul and is transmitted to the waiting Mind. In the other (between the Exhalation and the Inhalation) The Mind, through concrete thought and an attempt to embody the divine thought-form (insert the Spirit into a bodily Form) impresses the Brain and produces action through the medium of the Physical Body.

And so we see how we can use the interludes between the two aspects of physical breathing for intense activity and use the Power of the Will to produce Magickal effects. Consciousness, focused in the Brain, having participated in the work of Contemplation, can now proceed to the work of materializing the Plan upon the physical Plane by the focused energy of Will, used in silence by the conscious Magician. (and make divine purpose to be.)

Humanity, being a meeting place for all three types of energy (Spirit, Soul, and Matter), constitutes, therefor a “Midway Point” in the consciousness of the Creator.

In achieving the focused attention and the mental quiet wherein Reality can be contacted, the true and beautiful can be registered, and it becomes possible to transmit the phenomenal form onto the Physical Plane with the needed energy whereby the subjective realization can be materialized.

One type of activity that occupies humanity is the transmission of subtle spiritual forces to the denser levels of existence. Some of which can be known as “Prisoners of the Planet”. In order to release the prisoners of the planet that fall under the title of sub-human, we have to work under the influence of the Intuition (Soul impulse). When working to free our fellow Humans we have to know the meaning of Illumination (Spirit Impulse).

A word about Pain might be placed in here. The “Devas” (Angels or non-human spirits of form building) do not suffer pain as humanity does. They learn through application to the work of building and through incorporation into the form of that which is built. They grow through appreciation of and joy in the forms built and the work accomplished. The Devas Build and Humanity Breaks. And through the shattering of the Forms, Humanity learns through Discontent.

Pain is that upward struggle through Matter that lands Man

at the feet of the Logos.

Pain is the following of the line of greatest resistance and thereby reaching the summit of the Mountain.

Pain is the smashing of the Form

and the reaching of the Inner Fire.

Pain is the cold isolation which leads to

the warmth of the Central Sun.

Pain is the burning of the furnace in order to finally know

the coolness of the Water of Life.

Pain is journeying into the far country,

resulting in the welcoming to the Fathers Home.

Pain is the illusion of the Fathers disowning,

which drives the prodigal son straight to the Fathers Heart.

Pain is the Cross of utter loss,

that renders back the richness of eternal bounty.

Pain is the whip that drives the struggling builder,

to carry to utter perfection the building of the Temple.

Rule XIII

RULE THIRTEEN

The magician must recognize the four;

note in his work the shade of violet they evidence,

and thus construct the shadow.

When this is so, the shadow clothes itself,

and the four become the seven.

This instruction first referrers to all sets of Four, that stem from this number. The four elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth), the for worlds (Soul, Mental, Emotional, Physical), the four Powers of the Sphinx (To Will, To Know, To Dare, To Be Silent), and many more but it chiefly refers to the four levels of Etheric Energy or the Vital Body that exists between the Astral Plain and the Physical Plane. This is the area of consciousness that generates the dense physical world of light and atomic structures. The importance of understanding this field of vital energy should be obvious.

One of the concepts lying behind the Astrological Sciences is that the Etheric Body of any form constitutes part of the Etheric Body of the Solar System and is therefore a medium of transmission of solar energies, of planetary forces, and of extra-solar or cosmic impulses. The efficiency of this transmission of energies is dependent partially on the conditions of the centers or chakras.

The energy centers known as the chakras, or the chakra system, exist within the web-like network of energy currents composing our Etheric or Vital Body. The vital forces of these centers :

1. Vitalize the physical body.

2. Bring about the development of self-consciousness within us.

3. Transmit spiritual energy.

So we can see that it is important to purify, stimulate, and coordinate the Etheric Body.

We have presumably built up a fine character. We have educated our self for service. Our aspiration is steady and true. We are living purely and unselfishly. We have mastered somewhat the meaning of meditation. We have now to begin to train our self in what is called “occult recognition”.

We are told to “recognize the four”. The 'Treatise on Cosmic Fire' tells us:

“ This means literally that the magician must be in a position to discriminate between the different ethers and note the different hues on different levels, thereby insuring a balanced building of the 'shadow'. … As the different types of forces meet and coalesce, a dim shadowy form clothes itself upon the vibrating astral and mental sheath, and the idea of the Solar Angel is attaining concretion.”

Just as soon as we become a thinker and can formulate our thought, desire its manifestation, and energize “by recognition” the four ethers, a dense physical manifestation is inevitable.

Rule XIIII

RULE FOURTEEN

The sound swells out.

The hour of danger to the soul courageous draws near.

The waters have not hurt the white creator

and naught could drown nor drench him.

Danger from fire and flame menaces now,

and dimly yet the rising smoke is seen.

Let him again, after the cycle of peace,

call on the Solar Angel.

The crucial moment of creative work is ever to be found at this moment. It is the stage in which the vibrant subjective form has to attract to itself the material which will give it organization on the Physical Plane.

A right adjustment of force has to be here arranged, so that neither too much energy is used in the work, nor too little. When too much energy is released through the medium of the Vital Body a fire blazes forth when the gaseous energy of the dense physical matter is brought in contact with the vital etheric energy and the embryo is destroyed. When there is not sufficient energy , or adequate persistent attention, and the Magician wavers, the idea comes to naught.

Being direct extensions of the Heart and Soul, The Hands are discussed here. In all forms of esoteric teaching the hands play a great part and this is for four reasons.

1. The Hands are a symbol of acquisitiveness.

2. The Hands are centers of force.

3. The Hands are wielders of the sword.

4. The Hands are, when employed unselfishly,

a. Instruments of healing.

b. Agencies by which certain keys are turned.

By the practice of a disciplined life, the seven centers are automatically brought into a right condition of rhythm, vitality, and vibratory action. No work such as effort to awaken the centers should ever be undertaken whilst the aspirant is aware of definite impurities in their life, or when the physical body is in poor condition or diseased. Better far that the aspirant serves and loves and works and disciplines their self leaving the centers to develop and unfold more slowly and therefor more safely.

We are endeavoring to become Magical Creators and accomplish two things:

1. Re-create our instrument or mechanism of contact, so that the Solar Angel has a vehicle adequate for the expression of Reality. This involves, we noted, the right type, quality, strength, and speed.

2. Build the subsidiary forms of expression in the outer world through which embodied energy, flowing through the re-created sheath, can serve the world.

Where there is correct direction, true orientation, exact understanding of purpose, and recognition of types of force required, then there is an instantaneous effect. When the Soul has registered the desired quality and possesses the strength of the Timeless One and the persistence of the One Who is from the Beginning, the process of Force Expression and relation between Cause and Effect is spontaneous and simultaneous, and not sequential.

Rule XV

RULE FIFTEEN

The fires approach the shadow, yet burn it not.

The fire sheath is completed.

Let the magician chant the words that blend the fire and water.

At this point, all work has been completed and our Form is inevitably manifesting in all worlds with unstoppable force. All is completed.

A.A.B. Takes this opportunity to sum up some final points.

The whole force of the World is against the beginning White Magician. But, duality is only a stage on the evolutionary arc, leading eventually to the realization of Unity. The students need to realize more deeply that the whole process is a divine one, and that evil, so-called, is but an illusion and an inherent part of duality. It is only in Time and Space and through cyclic misuse of the Magickal and psychic powers that the Astral Plane of the Great Illusion has come into being and is now so real a thing that it , in a certain sense, seems more real than the Kingdom of Light. Any true aspirant knows that our spiritual progress can be gauged in terms of our freedom from illusion and our release into the Clear Air and Pure Light of our Spiritual Consciousness.

Conclusion

As we can see by this analysis, we are creating forms continuously, pervading them with energy, and sending them forth to fulfill their function.

These simple rules will lay right foundations for the carrying forward of the Magickal work, and will render the Mental Body so clear and so powerful that right motive will control and true work in building will be possible.

When the idea is clearly grasped, the attention closely focused, and the life aspect steadily applied, the result will be irresistibly appearance and potent action on the Physical Plane.

The distinctive nature of this type of work might be summed up as follows:

• On the Mental Plane - The Positive Force of the Solar Angel drives the substance needed into correct form.
• On the Astral Plane - The Equalizing Force of the Solar Angel gathers the needed material and energy from all directions and builds it into the astral sheath.

- On the Physical Plane - The Negative Force of the Solar Angel is all that is needed to gather the desired etheric substance. By this I mean the form has now achieved a vitality and distinction of its own, so that no aggressive action emanating from them egoic center is required to continue the work. The note and vibration of the form itself suffices.

What will the world manifest when all Mankind is tending towards a concrete manifestation of super-human powers?

In the past we have had World Saviors, Sons of God, who have evidenced a world message and brought an increase of Light to the peoples. Now, in the fullness of time, and through the work of evolution, there is emerging a Group who will bring salvation to the Earth in this age. The corresponds to the group characteristic of the Aquarian age. It is a group without terminology or a bible of any kind. It has no creed nor any dogmatic formulations of Truth. This group or groups demonstrate no sense of separateness. They are unaware of personal or group ambition. They recognize their Unity with All that exists, and stand before the World as examples of pure living , constructive building, creative activity, subordinated to the general purpose, beauty and inclusiveness.

All men and women who are beginning to live as Souls can undertake the magickal work of the New Age.

But do not tale yourself so seriously and you will release yourself for freer and more potent work.

Remember True Service is the spontaneous out-flowing of a loving heart and an intelligent mind. It is the result of being in the right place and staying there.

The aspirant waists no time in self pity or self justification, for they know that the Law has placed them where they are and where they can best serve, and has learned that difficulties are ever of ones own making and the result of ones own mental attitude. For “ As a Man Thinks, So is He.”

It is the ability to arrive at an understanding of the next realizations which lie ahead of the human mind which marks the aspirant who stands on the threshold of accepted discipleship. The disciple steps into the pa th of the White Magicians of our planet and can wield forces, cooperate with the Plan, control elementals, and bring order out of chaos.

It must be remembered that from the point of view of Reality, what we call the dense Physical Body, tangible and objective, is but an illusion or a figment of the human mind.

So be internally awake and externally active.

And remember also that

The White Magician works with

Eyes open,

Voice proclaiming,

and Hands conferring.

Desire holds me not.

With freedom I stand.

I desire All and nothing.

I live and die, am offered up and rise again.

I come and go at will.

Earth lies beneath my feet and Water laves my form.

The Fire destroys that which impedes my way,

and master of the Air I Am.

Through the world of form my feet have passed.

All now exists for me, and I, the servant of the Whole, persist.

Appendices

A. Rule I comment on a White Magician

I would like in this first consideration of our subject to enumerate briefly the facts given in the commentary so as to demonstrate to the aspirant how much is given him for his consideration and helping if he knows how to read and ponder upon that which he reads. The brief exegesis of Rule I gives the following statements:

1. The white magician is one who is in touch with his soul.

2. He is receptive to and aware of the purpose and the plan of his soul.

3. He is capable of receiving impressions from the realm of spirit and of registering them in his physical brain.

4. It is stated also that white magic— a. Works from above downwards. b. Is the result of solar vibration, and therefore of egoic energy. c. Is not an effect of the vibration of the form side of life, being divorced from emotion and mental impulse.

5. The down-flow of energy from the soul is the result of

a. Constant internal re-collectedness.

b. Concentrated one-pointed communication by the soul with the mind and the brain.

c. Steady meditation upon the plan of evolution.

6. The soul is, therefore, in deep meditation during the whole cycle of physical incarnation, which is all that concerns the student here.

7. This meditation is rhythmic and cyclic in nature as is all else in the cosmos. The soul breathes and its form lives thereby.

8. When the communication between the soul and its instrument is conscious and steady, the man becomes a white magician.

9. Therefore workers in white magic are invariably, and through the very nature of things, advanced human beings, for it takes many cycles of lives to train a magician.

10. The soul dominates its form through the medium of the sutratma or life thread, and (through it) vitalizes its triple instrument (mental, emotional and physical) and thus sets up a communication with the brain. Through the brain, consciously controlled, the man is galvanized into intelligent activity on the physical plane.

B. Thought Form Building

In all form-building the technique of construction remains basically the same, and the rules and realizations may be summed up in the following aphoristic phrases.

Let the creator know himself to be the builder, and not the building.

Let him desist from dealing with the raw material on the physical plane, and let him study the pattern and the blue prints, acting as the agent of the Divine Mind.

Let him use two energies and work with three laws. These are the dynamic energy of purpose, conforming to the Plan, and the magnetic energy of desire, drawing the builders to the center of endeavor.

Let these three laws hold sway, the law of synthetic limitation, of vibratory interplay, and of active precipitation. The one concerns the life, the second concerns the building, and the third produces manifested existence. Let him deal first with the outer builders, sending his call to the periphery of his circle of influence.

Let him set the waters of living substance in motion by his idea and impulse, bending the builders to his purpose and plan.

Let him build with judgment and with skill, preserving always the "stool of the director" and coming not down into close contact with his thought-form.

Let him project, in time and space, his form through visualization, meditation and skill in action, and so produce that which his will commands, his love desires, and his need creates.

Let him withdraw the builders of the outer form, and let the inner builders of dynamic force push it forth into manifestation. Through the eye of the creator are these inner builders brought to functioning, directed action. Through the word of the creator were the outer builders guided. Through the ear of the creator the volume of the greater Word vibrates through the waters of space.

Let him remember the order of creative work. The waters of space respond to the word. The builders build. The cycle of creation ends and the form is adequate in manifestation. The cycle of performance succeeds and depends for its duration on the potency of the inner builders, who constitute the subjective form and transmit the vitalizing life.

Let him remember that the cessation of the form ensues when purpose is achieved, or when impotency of will produces failure of functioning in the cycle of performance.

C. Types of Energy within Man

The other types of energy (other than 1. Physical and 2. Etheric) which concern the first two main groups with which the aspirant has to deal are related entirely to the form side. The third and succeeding groups are:

3. Astral energy.

4. The energy of the lower concrete mind, of the chitta, the mind-stuff.

5. The energy of the Personality.

6. Planetary energy.

7. Solar energy, or the Life Breath.

These can be subdivided as follows:

3. Astral Energy. Emanating from:

a. A man's own astral or sentient body.

b. The human family as a whole.

c. The astral plane in the large sense.

d. The 'heart of the Sun'

4. Mental Energy. Emanating from:

a. The individual chitta or mind-stuff.

b. The mentality of:

1.The human family as a whole.

2. The particular race to which a man belongs.

c. The mental plane as a whole.

d. The Universal Mind.

5. Personality Energy. Emanating from:

a. The coordinated form of man.

b. Advanced human beings who are dominant personalities.

c. Groups, i.e.

1. The Hierarchy of the Planet. Subjective.

2. The integrating group of Mystics. Objective.

6. Planetary Energy. Emanating from:

a. The seven planets. This is the basis of astrological practice.

b. The Earth.

c. The Moon.

7. Solar Energy. Emanating from:

a. The physical Sun.

b. The Sun, acting as a transmitter of cosmic Rays.

D. Development of Man

The outstanding characteristics of those personalities who are not as yet soul-centered or controlled, are dominance, ambition, pride and a lack of love to the whole, though they frequently possess love for those who are necessary to them or to their comfort.

You have therefore in the sequential development of humanity the following stages:

1. That of the animal consciousness.

2. The emotionally polarized individual, selfish and governed by desire.

3. The two above stages, plus a growing intellectual grasp of environing conditions.

4. The stage of responsibility to family or friends.

5. The stage of ambition and of longing for influence and power in some field of human expression. This leads to fresh endeavor.

6. The coordinating of the personality equipment under the above stimulus.

7. The stage of influence, selfishly used and frequently destructive, because the higher issues are not registered as yet.

8. The stage of a steadily growing group awareness. This is viewed:

a. As a field of opportunity

b. As a sphere of service.

c. As a place wherein sacrifice for the good of all becomes gloriously possible.

This latter stage puts a man upon the path of discipleship, which includes, needless to say, that of the earlier phase, probation or testing.

E. Dying Preparation

It might well be asked if it is possible to give a simple set of rules that would be followed now by all who seek to establish such a rhythm that life itself is not only organized and constructive, but when the moment for vacating the outer sheath arrives, there will be no problem nor difficulty. I will, therefore, give you four simple rules that link up with much that all students are now doing:

1. Learn to keep focused in the head through visualization and meditation and through the steady practice of concentration; develop the capacity to live increasingly as the king seated on the throne between the eyebrows. This is a rule that can be applied to the every day affairs of life.

2. Learn to render heart service and not an emotional insistence on activity directed towards handling the affairs of others. This involves, prior to all such activity, the answering of two questions:—Am I rendering this service to an individual as an individual, or am I rendering it as a member of a group to a group? Is my motive an egoic impulse, or am I prompted by emotion, ambition to shine and love of being loved or admired? These two activities will result in the focusing of the life energies above the diaphragm and so negate the attractive power of the solar plexus. Hence, that centre will become increasingly inactive and there will not be so much danger of puncturing the web in that locality.

3. Learn, as you go to sleep, to withdraw the consciousness to the head. This should be practiced as a definite exercise as one falls to sleep. One should not permit oneself to drift off to sleep, but should endeavor to preserve the consciousness intact until there is a conscious passing out onto the astral plane. Relaxation, close attention, and a steady drawing upwards to the center in the head should be attempted, for until the aspirant has learned to be steadily aware of all processes in going to sleep and to preserve at the same time his positivity, there is danger in this work. The first steps must be taken with intelligence and followed for many years until facility in the work of abstraction is achieved.

4. Record and watch all phenomena connected with the withdrawing process, whether followed in the meditation work or in going to sleep. It will be found, for instance, that many people wake with an almost painful start just as they have dropped asleep. This is due to the slipping out of the consciousness through a web which is not adequately clear and through an orifice which is partially closed. Others may hear an intensely loud snap in the region of the head. This is caused by the vital airs in the head of which we are not usually aware and is produced by an inner aural sensitivity which causes awareness of sounds always present but not usually registered. Others will see light as they fall asleep, or clouds of color, or banners and streamers of violet, all of which are etheric phenomena. These phenomena which are of no real moment, are all related to the vital body, to pranic emanations, and to the web of light.

The carrying on of this practice and the following of these four rules over a period of years will do much to facilitate the technique of the death bed, for the man who has learned to handle his body as he falls asleep, has an advantage over the man who never pays any attention to the process.

F. Three Things to Do

It becomes apparent, therefore, as we study the above that the aspirant has three things to do:

First, he has to learn the nature of the energies or pranas which have brought his magical creation, the physical body, into manifestation and which keep it in such a condition that he can or cannot rapidly achieve the spiritual objective of his soul. This lesson involves:

a. Arriving at a knowledge of those forces which are peculiarly potent in his life and which seem to direct his activities. This will bring to him the knowledge as to which centers of his etheric body are awakened and which are dormant. This all aspirants have to grasp before they really can apply themselves to the real training for discipleship.

b. Grasping the relation between these forces of nature which he has appropriated for his own use and which constitute the sum total of his personal, mental, sentient and vital energies, and those same forces as they are found in the natural world and govern the manifestation of the Macrocosm.

c. Learning to work with these energies in an intelligent manner in order to bring about three happenings: An harmonious cooperation with his own solar Angel, so that solar force may impose its rhythm upon the lunar forces. An intelligent response to and affiliation with the group of World Servers who at any given time have undertaken the work of directing, by the power of their thought, the forces of nature and so leading the whole creative body forward along the line of divine intent. The production on the physical plane of a personality adequate for its creative task and capable of those forms of activity, emanating from the mind, which will enable him to further the work of the directing agencies.

Second, learn to live as a soul and, therefore, free from identification with the body nature. This brings out three things:

a. An ability to withdraw into the head consciousness and from that high place to direct the life of the personal self.

b. The power to pass through the various centers in the body those universal forces and energies which are needed for world work. This has to be done consciously and in full awareness of the source from which they come, of the mode of their activity and of the purpose for which they must be used. This involves also the understanding of which force is related to a center. This consequently involves the necessity to develop the centers, to bring them into a state of potency and to harmonize them into a unified rhythm.

c. The capacity, therefore, to work at will through the medium of any particular center. This is only possible when the soul can dwell as the Ruler on the "throne between the eyebrows" and when the Kundalini fire has been what is occultly called raised. This fire has to pass up through the spinal column and burn its way through the web which separates center from center on the "Golden Rod of Power."

Third, learn to study the reactions upon others of whatever energy he, through his personality, may be expressing, or which, if he be an initiate and, therefore, a conscious worker with the Plan, it may be his privilege to utilize or transmit. Through a close study of his personal "effect" upon his fellowmen, as he lives among them, and as he thinks, speaks and acts, he learns the nature of that type of force which may flow through him.