Section 4

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Ion. It must therefore be an Active Force in the Astral Light, and this means that as a force it must exist anterior to the existence of the Astral Light; hence it must be a Manasic Force, and hence in a sense intelligent. In this way are we able to see this force which constitutes the solidity of the earth, as an expression of the Manifest God.
Again, what constitutes the fluidity of the sea? We know that the union of two atoms of Hydro- gen with one atom of Oxygen forms a molecule of water. Why do Hydrogen and Oxygen unite in those proportions. Obviously it is due to the principle of polarity working in the two elements. But why in that exact proportion? Undoubtedly because of a modification in the polarity of the elements. Why do salt and certain other ele- ments join the water? Because of another modi- fication in the principle of polarity operating in this combination. Why is it that the molecules of water do not cohere with the same degree of force that the molecules of the earth do? Because the degree of affinity is not so close among them as it is among the molecules of earth. This will give us what appears to be the cause of the flu- idity of the seas; but why is it that all this is true of the water? The origin of the vibratory forces constructing the water can be seen to be quite similar to that of the vibratory forces con- structing the earth, but why is there this differ- ence ? It is clearly due to the fact that in the As- tral Light there is both an earthy and watery principle, that is reflected in earth and water of the physical world. There is no cause for this differentiation to be found in the Astral Light, we simply see that there is an earthy and a wa- tery Astral Light, and therefore the cause of the differentiation is to be sought anterior to the existence of the Astral Light. There is not even the process of differentiation there, we simply
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have Astral Earth and Astral Water. Therefore the cause of this must be sought anterior to the existence of the Astral Plane of nature. There must then be a differentiating principle some- where, in which there abides and out of which there comes forth, a Moist Nature. This is of course the Manifest God, and so the study of the fluidity of the sea gives to us a clear demonstra- tion of the existence of the Manifest God.
Let us now look at the spaciousness of the air. What is it that gives to air its space filling power? Air is not solid, neither is it in the form of drops, the unit of construction in the airy space is the air globule. However, air may form drops and thus become a liquid by cooling it, and when the temperature is lowered still farther it will be- come a solid. As heat is a mode of motion, it follows that air becomes a liquid by the lowering of its vibration, and when the vibration is re- duced still farther it will become a solid. The spaciousness of air is therefore due to its rate of vibration. The constitution of air is due to presence of an overabundance of Nitrogen in its composition. But why is it that it has this par- ticular nature? We can trace its vibration back the same as we have the other elements, and we find that it is the result and the manifestation of an Airy Principle in the Astral Light. Air does not originate in the Astral Light; it simply con- tains Air in common with Earth and Water, and hence the origin of the air is to be sought in the Dry Nature anterior to the existence of the As- tral Light. This is not even to be sought in the Manas, for the simple reason that this Airy Prin- ciple is closely present in the Manas, in the very existence of the Manas, hence it must originate in Hyle. There is then but one place for the Dry Nature and hence the Air to originate, and that is in the Manifest God, hence the spacious- ness of the air, and in fact its every attribute goes
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to prove beyond a doubt the existence of the Manifest God as the cause of Air as well as of Water and Earth. Thus we see still another proof of the Manifest God.
Think again of the swiftness of the fire. How does it obtain its capacity for swiftness of move- ment? Obviously this can only be because of the intense vibration of the atoms going to compose it! Its heat is also the result of its intense vibra- tion; but whence came that intensity of vibra- tion! It is evident that it is because of the fact that its atoms are bound together in a yet looser degree of affinity, and that it has not even a glo- bule as its unit. In this way is it able to vibrate much more rapidly than any of the other ele- ments. And yet if we trace it back through all the Planes of Nature we find that on all of them Fire exists as Fire and as nothing else. We find that it permeats all the other elements. There is fire imprisoned in all solid matter, in every drop of water and in every globule of air, but fire is also free in nature. We can trace it back into Hyle as the Hot Nature that is one of the very first manifestations of the Creative Principle. It is a Primeval Element. This simply brings us to the point where we are forced to admit that it comes from the Manifesting God, as it has no origin external to Him. In fact it is evident that these four natures, the Hot, the Cold, the Wet and the Dry, exist in the very being of the Mani- fest God, and that they are merely externalized in such a way as to become Fire and Water, Earth and Air, which in turn becomes the con- stituents of the Universe. This shows that the Manifest God is in reality the Anama Mundi, or Soul of the World, that the kosmos is merely the Siderial Body of the Manifest God who is its soul. Thus it is indeed true that the whole kos- mos is nothing other than a Hylic Animal.
The coursing of the stars, and the swiftness
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of heaven's circuit round them will clearly prove the operation of the Manifest God, also if we could see things as they are, rather than as they seem, for then would we see that their motive force was not generated within the heavens, but existed in full force anterior to the existence of the heavens, and that it was this force that or- ganized the heavens, and that continues to direct their movements. This force is of a higher na- ture than that of the heavens, and therefore, it is the Manifest God Himself.
Most blessed sight were it, my son, to see all these beneath one sway — the motionless in motion, and the unmanifest made manifest; whereby is made this order of the cosmos and the cosmos which we see of order.
Were one able to see things as they are he would discover that the entire universe is but one system of perfect harmony. That it is all gov- erned by one principle, giving perfect unity ever present in motion. This is of course a rela- tive statement. In the last analysis there is noth- ing motionless, though there are expanses that do not move as such, though movement is ever transpiring within them. The Unmanifest is ever coming into manifestation. It is through the perpetual manifestation of the Unmanifest that this order of the kosmos is maintained. Not only is there an order of the kosmos, however, but the order which is preserved among all the diverse parts of this diverse system, presents in itself a perfect kosmos, that is, a reflection, or image of the Unmanifest God.
6. If thou wouldst see Him too through things which suffer death, both on the earth and in the deep, think of a man being fash-
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ioned in the womb, my son, and strictly scru- tinize the art of Him who fashions him, and learn who fashions this fair and godly image of the Man.
Who [then] is He who traceth out the cir- cles of the eyes; who He who boreth out the nostrils and the ears; who He who openeth [the portal of] the mouth ; who He who doth stretch out and tie the nerves; who He who channels out the veins; who He who hard- eneth the bones; who He who covereth the flesh with skin; who He who separates the fingers and the joints; who He who widens out a treading for the feet; who He who diggeth out the ducts ; who He who spreadeth out the spleen; who He who shapeth heart like to a pyramid; who He who setteth ribs together; who He who wideneth the liver out; who He who maketh lungs like to a sponge ; who He who maketh belly stretch so much; who He who doth make prominent the parts most honorable, so that they may be seen, while hiding out of sight those of least honor?
God is also to be seen in the things that- suffer death, that is all those things that are in oppo- sition to the immortal world-order. It makes no difference whether they be beings of an Earthy or a watery nature. The most perfect illustration of this can be found, owing to the extremely com- plicated nature of his construction, in the fash- ioning of the human foetus in the womb. In the fashioning of this fair and godly image of the Man, we have the most intricate of all the work- ings of the art of God. The Man here is the Archetypal Divine, or Heavenly Man- Woman,
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of which each human man or woman is an image. This being the case, it follows that the purpose of the human structure is to permit of the ex- pression of all the attributes of the Man- Woman. They must each and all function in and through the individual man, hence every separate part of him must be in the nature of an organ adapted to the functioning of some Function of that Man. This being the case, the Archetypal Man must be the pattern that is followed in all the man build- ing. Undoubtedly there will be differentiations due to the work of the human parents, and par- ticularly that of the mother, but even such work must conform to the common type. This means that the Man is active in the building of every human structure, so that it may conform in all essential features to the pattern of the Heavenly Man. The parents are therefore not the only or even the most important factors in the construc- tion of the organism, they can only build in ac- cordance with the diagram shown to them, their work must in every feature conform to that. Of course there are instances in which this guidance is interfered with, and then, we have a sub-nor- mal infant, and all cases in which the direction of the Man is interfered with result in these sub- normal children. A true human child can only be constructed by following to the letter the direc- tion of the Man.
The construction of the body is in reality a process of building. First of all, the foetus has no definite form. It is merely the plastic mate- rial from which the future human organism is to be constructed. The entire process is one of gradual transformation. Each separate step is a distinct work of construction. This being the case, it follows that each such work is performed by the activity of a distinct force, that works in that particular direction and in no other way. In other words, the eyes are developed by the work
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of a particular force, that builds them and nothing else. Their growth from the germ, or nucleus that is first started by this force, until they have become perfect eyes, is the result of that force in the Archetypal Man that corresponds to sight in the human species. As this function has con- structed the organ of the eye, it follows that it has constructed it as an organ through which it may continue to function throughout life. The same is true of the development of the nostrils and ears. They are developed through the func- tioning of the faculty of Odor and that of sound in the Archetypal Man, which develops them as the organs through which it is to function throughout life. The development of the mouth is also the work of that force in the Man which is ever to function through it as its organ. The nerves are not spontaneously developed, but on the contrary, it is a very slow process. A process purely vegetative in its nature. In other words it is the action upon the foetus of the vibration of the Man that is building them as the organs through which it may continue to function as the nerve force in the human organism. The forma- tion of the veins, arteries and capillaries is an- other gradual development which is accomplished by the action of the Watery Principle in the Man that it may use them as the organs through which it functions, having its seat of functioning in the blood of the man. The gradual transformation which develops the bones is the work of the Earthy Principle in the Heavenly Man that de- velops them so as to use them as organs for its activity. We do not realize the great importance of the bones. They are the organs of the Earthy Principle in the Heavenly Man, or rather of its human correspondence. The flesh is covered with skin, not so much for the protection of the flesh, as for the providing of an organ for the expres- sion of that attribute of the Heavenly Man which
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corresponds to it. The skin is really that through which the Centrifugal and the Centripetal Forces operate, and which regulates the degree of their activities. It was built by this force to be used by it in this way. The fingers and the joints were developed from the original matter, by the opera- tion of those forces corresponding to them. They were developed to be the organs for the function- ing of those forces, and are ever used as such. The feet were constructed by the creative force which uses them as its organ of functioning. The ducts were also opened by the activity of those aspects of the Watery Principle which must ever function in and through them as their special or- gans. The spleen was also builded by that great force that ever functions in it as its organ of functioning. Little do the people guess the tran- scendent importance of the Heavenly Force, the mundane correspondence of which functions in the spleen! The heart was constructed by the Heavenly Water, in order that its mundane cor- respondent might ever function there, using the heart as its most important organ. Few save a few wise Yogis realize the importance of the heart. What does the getting of new Heart sig- nify, save and except this, the functioning of the Heavenly Water directly through it and not mere- ly its mundane correspondence! What else is the sprinkling of the Heart with Clean Water? The Word is nigh thee, in thine Heart! What is the Gluten of Von Eckerthausen but the direct entrance of the Heavenly Water into the Heart and thence into the blood? What else is the Bap- tism of Water, and the being Born of Water? The ribs were each constructed by those specific forces that were to function in them as their organs of functioning. Their principal function is not mere- ly to support the vital organs, they serve a far more noble purpose. Perhaps now, thou canst understand the meaning of the story about God
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/ taking a rib from the side of Adam to make Eve ? The Liver was also constructed by that principle which functions in it. The function of the liver seems to be the secretion of Bile ; but what is Bile ? It is the great Alkaline Principle, and this is one of the most important elements in Alchemy. The Bile is the physical fluid that acts as the vehicle for the manifestation of the Bilious or Alkaline Principle of the Heavenly Water. Thus it is that the liver is the organ for the manifestation of that Alchemy of the Heavenly Water, which can alone renew the body and make it young again. It is one of the springs of the Fountain of Youth. The lungs were constructed by the Airy Princi- ple so that it might function there, and that its mundane correspondence, the soul of atmosphere, might act through them. They serve a far more noble purpose than the mere respiration of at- mospheric air. The belly was also constructed by those forces that function there. The Umbili- cus was developed, and the forces that were in- tended to function there constituted the Tree of Life. Man was separated from the Tree of Life simply by a lower force functioning there. When that Heavenly Force functions directly through this organ, then will he have found the Tree of Life once more. The belly is also the seat of Sekhet, the Formative Mind. It was that which developed it, that it might function there. Well does the Chinaman look upon the belly as the seat of the Intelligence, and well does the Yogi con- centrate on the navel ! Whoso readeth let him un- derstand! I reveal to thee the last mystery of Divine Alchemy if thou hast the insight to see what I write! The entire arrangement of the body in all of its parts is the work of the diverse forces of the Heavenly Man. They are all simply organs through which those forces may function. More properly speaking it is not the forces them- selves, but their mundane correspondents that