The Arcane Teaching · 14 of 21

Lesson XIV. Astral “Black‑Keys.”

Before passing on to the sub‑planes higher in degree and scale, let us call your attention to some of the minor sub‑planes—the “black‑keys” of the Astral scale. On these sub‑planes dwell the non‑human, or semi‑human creatures which are grouped together in the occult classification under the general name of “elementaries” or “elementals.” It is impossible for us to enter into a detailed consideration of this class of entities in a work of this general nature intended for popular reading. The reasons therefor would involve explanations which would crowd out of the space intended for them certain other details of the Astral Planes, and would even then be most incomplete and unsatisfying. Enough to say that occultists know that this planet, the earth, is the field and theatre for three distinct processes of evolution—that of the world that we know, human, animal, and vegetable; and two others of a different order. These two other fields of evolution have their own planes which are totally unrelated to ours. But these other evolutionary processes, although distinct from ours, nevertheless blend slightly with certain sub‑planes of our Astral Planes—that is, the “edges overlap,” if such a clumsy term may be used. Consequently, on certain of the “black‑key” planes of our Astral, there may be found elementaries of a scale of life different from our own. This is but a general statement, the faults of which will be obvious to every advanced occultist who reads it—and yet such advanced student will see the necessity for the purposely imperfect statement in this place. Those who have read Bulwer’s occult stories—notably “Zanoni,” will recognize the nature of the entities of which we speak.

While the Arcane Teaching includes within its store of knowledge and information full details regarding these particular sub‑planes which we have designated as the “black‑keys” on the scale of the Astral Plane, and its Initiates who have attained certain degrees are fully informed regarding the same, still we are unable to make public at this time, place, and through this particular channel, the inner Arcane Teaching regarding the same. Personally, we think the time is ripe for such information to be plainly stated, accompanied by the necessary warnings; but those higher in authority among the Custodians have said to us: “Nay! Wait in patience! When the propitious hour is indicated by the planetary symbols—then may you open the sealed volume to those who would free its riddles! For the present, the vow of silence maintains!” So there is naught left for us but to bow to the superior authority in the matter.

However, while we are not permitted to state the inner Arcane Teaching in this particular detail, the prohibition does not extend to our using quotations from other authorities who have already reported concerning these sub‑planes of the Astral. And, believing that the said reports would be interesting to those of our students who take a scientific interest in this phase of occultism, we have decided to give you, in this lesson, very liberal quotations from a leading authority of another school of occultism, who has paid much attention to the phenomena of certain phases and planes of the Astral Plane, both in the direction of studying older and more advanced authorities, and also in the direction of personal investigation and exploration of these sub‑planes, of the Astral. The latter is a task surrounded with dangers and risks which but few even advanced occultists care to undertake, and although we doubt the wisdom of the task, nevertheless we must admire the scientific ardor of the investigator.

The remainder of this lesson, indicated by quotation marks, consists of quotations from the said authority, investigator and explorer of these dark regions of the “black‑keys” of the Astral.

The elementaries may be grouped into several general classes, although the classification is more or less unsatisfactory and imperfect, at the best. One of these classes comprise the entities which some writers have called “Nature Spirits,” which term, however, is less accurate than poetical. These entities have been known in the legends by various names, prominent among which are the following: Earth‑spirits, or gnomes; water‑spirits, or undines; air‑spirits, or sylphs; fire‑spirits, or salamanders; fairies; pixies; elves; brownies; peris; djinns; trolls; fauns; kobolds; imps; goblins; little people; good people, etc., etc., of which the aforesaid authority says: “Their forms are many and various, but most frequently human in shape, and somewhat diminutive in size. Like almost all inhabitants of the astral plane, they are able to assume any appearance at will, but they undoubtedly have definite forms of their own, or perhaps we should rather say favorite forms, which they wear when they have no special object in taking any other. Under ordinary conditions they are not visible to physical sight at all, but they have the power of making themselves so by materialization when they wish to be seen. There are an immense number of subdivisions or races among them, and individuals of these subdivisions differ in intelligence and disposition precisely as human beings do. The great majority of them apparently prefer to avoid man altogether; his habits and emanations are distasteful to them, and the constant rush of astral currents set up by his restless, ill‑regulated desires, disturbs and annoys them. On the other hand, instances are not wanting in which nature‑spirits have as it were made friends with human beings, and offered them such assistance as lay in their power, as in the well‑known stories of the Scotch brownies or of the fire‑lighting fairies. This helpful attitude, however, is comparatively rare, and in most cases when they come in contact with man they either show indifference or dislike, or else take an impish delight in deceiving him and playing childish tricks upon him. Many a story illustrative of this curious characteristic may be found among the village gossip of the peasantry in almost any lonely mountainous district; and anyone who has been in the habit of attending seances for physical phenomena will recollect instances of practical joking and silly though usually good natured horse play, which almost always indicates the presence of some of these lower orders of astral spirits. “The life periods of the different subdivisions vary greatly, some being quite short, others much longer than our human lifetime. We stand so completely outside such a life as theirs that it is impossible for us to understand much about its conditions; but it appears on the whole to be a simple, joyous, irresponsible kind of existence, much such as a party of happy children might lead among exceptionally physical surroundings. Though tricky and mischievous, they are rarely malicious unless provoked by some unwarrantable intrusion or annoyance; but as a body they also partake to some extent of the universal feeling of distrust for man, and they generally seem inclined to resent somewhat the first appearance of a neophyte on the astral plane, so that he usually makes their acquaintance under some unpleasant or terrifying form. If, however, he declines to be frightened by any of their freaks, they soon accept him as a necessary evil and take no further notice of him, while some among them may even after a time become friendly and manifest pleasure on meeting him. “The Adept knows how to make use of the services of the nature spirits when he requires them, but the ordinary magician can obtain their assistance only by processes either of invocation or evocation; that is, either by attracting their attention as a suppliant and making some kind of bargain with them, or by endeavoring to set into motion influences which would compel their obedience. Both methods are extremely undesirable, and the latter is also excessively dangerous, as the operator would arouse a determined hostility which might prove fatal to him. Needless to say, no one studying occultism under a qualified Master would ever be permitted to attempt anything of the kind at all.”

On other low planes of the Astral there is another class of elementaries, which have been called “artificial or man‑created entities,” of which the aforesaid authority says: “This, the largest class of Astral entities, is also much the most important to man. Being entirely his own creation, it is inter‑related with him by the closest bonds, and its action upon him is direct and incessant. It is an enormous inchoate mass of semi‑intelligent entities, differing among themselves as human thoughts differ, and practically incapable of anything like classification and arrangement. The only division which can be usefully made is that which distinguishes between the artificial elementals made by the majority of mankind unconsciously, and those made by magicians with definite intent; while we may relegate to a third class the very small number of artificially arranged entities which are not elementals at all.

“The elemental essence which surrounds us on every side is in all its numberless varieties singularly susceptible to the influence of human thought. The action of the mere casual wandering thought upon it, causing it to burst into a cloud of rapidly‑moving evanescent forms, has already been described; we have now to note how it is affected when the human mind formulates a definite, purposeful thought or wish. The effect produced is of the most striking nature. The thought seizes upon the plastic essence, and moulds it instantly into a living being of an appropriate form—a being which when once thus created is in no way under the control of its creator, but lives out a life of its own, the length of which is proportionate to the intensity of the thoughts or wish which called it into existence. It lasts in fact just as long as the thought‑force holds it together. Most persons’ thoughts are so fleeting that the elementals created by them last only a few minutes or a few hours, but an often‑repeated thought or an earnest wish will form an elemental whose existence may extend to many days. Since the ordinary man’s thoughts refer very largely to himself, the elementals which they form remain hovering about, and constantly tend to provoke a repetition of the idea which they represent, since such repetitions, instead of forming new elementals, would strengthen the old one, and give it a fresh lease of life. A man, therefore, who frequently dwells upon one wish often forms for himself an astral attendant which, constantly fed by fresh thought, may haunt him for years, ever gaining more and more strength and influence over Him; and it will easily be seen that if the desire be an evil one the effect upon his moral nature may be of the most disastrous character.

“Still more pregnant for good or evil are a man’s thoughts about other people, for in that case they hover not about the thinker, but about the object of the thought. A kindly thought about any person, or an earnest wish for his good, will form and project towards him a friendly artificial elemental. If the wish be a definite one, as, for example, that he may recover from some sickness, then the elemental will be a force ever hovering over him to promote his recovery, or to ward off any influence that might tend to hinder it. In doing this it will display what appears like a very considerable amount of intelligence and adaptability, though really it is simply a force acting along the line of least resistance—pressing steadily in one direction all the time, and taking advantage of any channel that it can find, just as the water in a cistern would in a moment find the one open pipe among a dozen closed ones, and proceed to empty itself through that. If the wish be merely an indefinite one for his general good, the elemental essence in its wonderful plasticity will respond exactly to that less distinct idea also, and the creature formed will expend its force In the direction of whatever action for the man’s advantage comes most readily to hand. In all cases, the amount of such force which it has to expend, and the length of time that it will live to expend it, depend entirely upon the strength of the original wish or thought which gave it birth; though it must be remembered that it can be, as it were, fed and strengthened, and its life‑period protracted by other good wishes or friendly thoughts projected in the same direction. Furthermore, it appears to be actuated, like most other beings, by an instinctive desire to prolong its life, and thus reacts on its creator as a force constantly tending to provoke the renewal of the feelings which called it into existence. It also influences in a similar manner others with whom it comes into contact, though its rapport with them is naturally not so perfect.

“All that has been said as to the effect of good wishes and friendly thoughts is also true in the opposite direction of evil wishes and angry thoughts; and considering the amount of envy, hatred, malice and uncharitableness that exists in the world, it will be readily understood that among the artificial elementals many terrible creatures are to be seen. A man whose thoughts or desires are spiteful, brutal, sensual, avaricious, moves through the world carrying with him everywhere a pestiferous atmosphere of his own, peopled with the loathsome beings which he has created to be his companions. Thus he is not only in sadly evil case himself, but is a dangerous nuisance to his fellow‑men, subjecting all who have the misfortune to come in contact with him to the risk of moral contagion from the influence of the abominations with which he chooses to surround himself.

“It occasionally happens, however, that an artificial elemental of this description is for various reasons unable to expend its force either upon its object or its creator, and in such cases it becomes a kind of wandering demon, readily attracted by any person who indulges feelings similar to that which gave it birth, and equally prepared either to stimulate such feelings in him for the sake of the strength it may gain from them, or to pour out its store of evil influences upon him through any opening which he may offer it. If it is sufficiently powerful to seize upon some passing shell (discarded astral body) it frequently does so, as the possession of such a temporary home enables it to husband its dreadful resources more carefully. In this form it may manifest through a medium, and by masquerading as some well‑known friend may sometimes obtain an influence over people upon whom it would otherwise have little hold. …Many a well‑meaning man, who is scrupulously careful to do his duty toward his neighbor in word and deed, is apt to consider that his thoughts at least are nobody’s business but his own, and so lets them run riot in various directions, utterly unconscious of the swarms of baleful creatures which he is launching upon the world. To such a man an accurate comprehension of the effect of thought and desire in producing artificial elementals would come as a horrifying revelation. “Since such results as have been described above have been achieved by the thought‑force of men who were entirely in the dark as to what they were doing, it will readily be imagined that a magician who understands the subject, and can see exactly what effect he is producing, may wield immense power along these lines. As a matter of fact, occultists of both the white and dark schools frequently use artificial elementals in their work, and few tasks are beyond the powers of such creatures when scientifically prepared and directed with knowledge and skill; for one who knows how to do so can maintain a connection with his elemental and guide it, no matter at what distance it may be working, so that it will practically act as though endowed with the full intelligence of its master. “By some of the more advanced processes of Black Magic, also, artificial elementals of great power may be called into existence, and much evil has been worked in various ways by such entities. But it is true of them, as of the previous class, that if they are aimed at a person whom by reason of his purity of character they are unable to influence, they react with terrible force upon their creator; so that the mediæval story of the magician being torn to pieces by the fiends he himself had raised, is no mere fable, but may well have had an awful foundation in fact. Such creatures occasionally, for various reasons, escape from the control of those who are trying to make use of them, and become wandering and aimless demons, as do some of those mentioned under the previous heading under similar circumstances; but those that we are considering, having much more intelligence and power, and a much longer existence, are proportionately more dangerous. They invariably seek for means of prolonging their life, either by feeding like vampires upon the vitality of human beings, or by influencing them to make offerings to them; and among simple half savage tribes they have frequently succeeded in getting themselves recognized as village or family gods. By the vitality they draw from their devotees, they may continue to prolong their existence for many years, or even centuries, retaining sufficient strength to perform occasional phenomena of a mild type in order to stimulate the faith and zeal of their followers.”

While the above quoted authority has placed what we consider to be undue emphasis upon the power of the elementals—for the human Will is sufficient to overcome their power, and they are prevented from coming to the mental atmosphere of all who do not attract them by virtue of the character of their own mental vibrations—nevertheless, we have thought it advisable to give you the benefit of this investigator’s reports, for the purpose of warning you against dabbling in Evocations, and certain so‑called “magical” methods and practices. Black Magic in all of its forms result only in pain and evil to those indulging in them. He who invades planes of life foreign to his own, takes upon himself the risks inherent on such planes.