book is well worth reading on that account.

When a fiery nebulae has been formed in
the sky and commences to revolve, a little
matter in the center where motion is slowest

162 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

commences to crystalize. When it has reached
a certain density it is caught in the swirl, and
whirled nearer and nearer to the outward
extremity of what has, by that time, become
the equator of a revolving globe. Then it is
hurled into space and discarded from the
economy of the revolving sun.

This process is not accomplished automat-
ically as scientists would have us believe, —
an assertion which has been proven in The
Rosicrucian Cosmo Conception and other
places in our literature. Herbert Spencer
also rejected the nebular theory because it
required a First Cause, which he denied,
though unable to form a better hypothesis of
the formation of solar systems, — but it is
accomplished through the activity of a Great
Spirit, which we may call God or by any
other name we choose. As above, so below,
says the Hermetic axiom. Man, who is a
lesser spirit, also gathers about himself
spirit-substance, which crystallizes into mat-
ter and becomes the visible body which the
spiritual sight reveals as placed inside an
aura of finer vehicles. The latter are in con-
stant motion. When the dense body is born
as a child it is extremely soft and flexible.

LIFE AND DEATH 163

Childhood, youth, maturity and old age are
but so many different stages of crystalliza-
tion, which goes on until at last a point is
reached where the spirit can no longer move
the hardened body and it is thrown out from
the spirit as the planet is expelled from the
sun. — That is death! — the commencement of
a disrobing process which continues in pur-
gatory. The IOTT evil passions and desires
we cultivated during life have crystallized
the desire stuff in such a manner that that
also must be expelled. Thus the spirit is
purged of evil under the same law that a
sun is purged of the matter which later forms
a planet. If the life lived has been a reason-
ably decent one, the process of purgation
will not be very strenuous nor will the evil
desires thus expurgated persist for a long
time after having been freed, but they quick-
ly disintegrate. If, on the other hand, an
extremely vile life has been led, the part of
the expurgated desire nature may persist
even to the time when the spirit returns to a
new birth for further experience. It will then
be attracted to him and haunt him as a de-
mon, inciting him to evil deeds which he
himself abhors. The story of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde is not a mere fanciful idea of

164 THE ROSICBUCIAN MYSTEBIES

Eobert Louis Stevenson, but is founded upon
facts well known to spiritual investigators.
Such cases are extremes of course, but they
are nevertheless possible and we have un-
fortunately laws which convert such possibil-
ities to probabilities in the case of a certain
class of so-called criminals. We refer to laws
which decree capital punishment as penalty
of murder.

When a man is dangerous he should of
course be restrained, but even apart from the
question of the moral right of a community
to take the life of anyone — which we deny —
society by its very act of retaliatory murder
•defeats the very end it would serve, for if the
vicious murderer is restrained under what-
ever discipline is necessary in a prison, for a
number of years until his natural death, he
will have forgotten his bitterness against his
victim and against society, and when he
stands as a free spirit in the Desire World,
he may even by prayer have obtained for-
giveness and have become a good Christian.
He will then go on his way rejoicing, and
will in the future life seek to help those whom
he hurt here.

When society retaliates and puts him to
.a violent death shortly after he has commit-

LIFE AND DEATH 165

ted the crime, he is most likely to feel him-
self as having been greatly injured, and not
without cause. Then such a character will
usually seek to 'get even' as he calls it, he
will go about for a long time inciting others
to commit murder and other crimes. Then
we have an epidemic of murders in a com-
munity, a condition not infrequent.

The regicide in Servia shocked the Western
World by wiping out an entire royal house in
a most shockingly bloody manner, and the
Minister of the Interior was one of the chief
conspirators. Later he wrote his memoirs,
and therein he writes that whenever the con-
spirators had tried to win anyone as a re-
cruit, they always succeeded when they burn-
ed incense. He did not know why, but sim-
ply mentioned it as a curious coincidence.
To the mystic investigator the matter is per-
fectly clear. We have shown the necessity of
having a vehicle made of the materials of any
world wherein we wish to function. We usu-
ally obtain a physical vehicle by going
through the womb, or perhaps in a few
special cases from a particularly good mate-
rializing medium, but where it is only neces-
sary to work upon the brain and influence
someone else to act, we need but a vehicle

166 THE ROSICBUCIAN MYSTERIES

made of such ether as may be obtained from
fumes of many different substances. Each
kind attracts different classes of spirits, and
there is no doubt that the incense burned at
meetings where the conspirators were suc-
cessful was of a low and sensual order and
attracted spirits who had a grudge against
humanity in general and the King of Servia
in particular. These malcontents were un-
able to injure the King himself, but used a
subtle influence which helped the conspirators
in their work. The released murderer who
has a grudge against society on account of
his execution, may enter low gambling sa-
loons where the fumes of liquor and tobacco
furnish ample opportunity for working upon
the class of people who congregate in such
places, and the man whose spiritual sight has
been developed is often sadly impressed when
he sees the subtle influences to which those
who frequent such places are exposed. It is a
fact of course, that a man must be of a low
caliber to be influenced by low thoughts, and
that it is as impossible to incite a person of
benevolent character to do murder — unless
we put him into a hypnotic sleep — as to
make a tuning fork which vibrates to C sing
by striking another attuned to the key of G,

LIFE AND DEATH 167

but the thoughts of both living and dead con-
stantly surround us, and no man ever thought
out a high spiritual philosophy under the in-
fluence of tobacco fumes or while imbibing
alcoholic stimulants. Were capital punish-
ment, newspaper notoriety of criminals, the
manufacture of liquor and tobacco eliminated
from society, the gun factories would soon
cease0 to advertise and go out of business
along with most of the locksmiths. The po-
lice force would decrease, so would jails and
taxes would be correspondingly minimized.
When a person enters purgatory he is ex-
actly the same person as before he died. He
has just the same appetites, likes and dis-
likes, sympathies and antipathies, as before.
There is one important difference, however,
namely, that he has no dense body wherewith
to gratify his appetites. The drunkard craves
drink, in fact, far more than he did in this
life, but has no stomach which can contain
liquor and cause chemical combustion neces-
sary to bring about the state of intoxication
in which he delights. He may and does en-
ter saloons, where he interpolates his body
into the body of a physical drunkard, so that
he may obtain his desires at second hand as
it were, he will incite his victim to drink more

168 THE EOSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

and more. Yet there is no true satisfaction.
He sees the full glass upon the counter but
his spirit hand is unable to lift it. He suf-
fers tortures of Tantalus until in time he
realizes the impossibility of gratifying his
base desire. Then he is free to go on so
far as that vice is concerned. He has been
purged from that evil without intervention of
an angry deity or a conventional devil with
hell's flames and pitchfork to administer
punishment, but under the immutable law,
that as we sow so shall we reap, he has suf-
fered exactly according to his vice. If his
craving for drink was of a mild nature, he
would scarcely miss the liquor which he can-
not there obtain. If his desires were strong
and he simply lived for drink, he would suf-
fer veritable tortures of hell without need
of actual flames. Thus the pain experienced
in eradication of his vice would be exactly
commensurate with the energy he had ex-
pended upon contracting the habit, as the
force wherewith a falling stone strikes the
earth is proportionate to the energy expend-
ed in hurling it upwards into the air.

Yet it is not the aim of God to 'get even;'
love is higher than law and in His wonderful
mercy and solicitude for our welfare He has

LIFE AND DEATH 169

opened the way of repentance and reform
whereby we may obtain forgiveness of sin, as
taught by the Lord of Love : the Christ. Not
indeed contrary to law, for His laws are im-
mutable, but by application of a higher law,
whereby we accomplish here, that which
would otherwise be delayed until death had
forced the day of reckoning. The method is
as follows :

In our explanation concerning the sub-con-
scious memory we noted that a record of
every act, thought and word is transmitted
by air and ether into our lungs, thence to the
blood, and finally inscribed upon the tablet of
the heart : — a certain little seedatom, which is
thus the book of Eecording Angels. It was
later explained how this panorama of life is
etched into the desire body and forms the ba-
sis of retribution after death. When we have
committed a wrong and our conscience ac-
cuses us in consequence, and this accusation
is productive of sincere repentance accom-
panied by reform, the picture of that wrong
act will gradually fade from the record of our
life, so that when we pass out at death it will
not stand accusingly against us. We noted
that the panorama of life unwinds backwards
just after death. Later, in the purgatorial

170 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

life it again passes before the spiritual vision
of the man, who then experiences the exar-t
feeling of those whom he has wronged, lie
seems to lose his own identity for the time be-
ing, and assnmes the condition of his one
time victim, he experiences all the mental and
physical suffering himself which ho inflicted
upon others. Thus he learns to be merciful
instead of cruel, and to do right instead of
wrong in a future life. But if he awakens to
a thorough realization of a wrong previous to
his death ; then, as said, the feeling of sorrow
for his victim and the restitution or redress
which he gives of his own free will, makes the
suffering after death unnecessary, hence—
'his sin is forgiven.*

The Rosicrucian Mystery teaching gives a
scientific method whereby an aspirant to high-
er lifemaypurge himself continually, and thus
be able to entirely avoid existence in purga-
tory. Each night after retiring the pupil re-
views his life 'during the past day in reverse
order. He starts to visualize as clearly as
possible the scene which took place just be-
fore retiring. He then endeavors to impartial-
ly view his actions in that scene examining
them to see whether he did right or wrong. If
the latter, he endeavors to feel and realize as

LIFE AND DEATH 171

vividly as possible that wrong. For instance,
if he spoke harshly to someone, and upon later
consideration finds it was not merited, he will
endeavor to feel exactly as that one felt whom
he wronged and at the very earliest opportu-
nity to apologize for the hasty expression.
Then he will call up the next scene in back
ward succession which may perhaps be the
supper table. In respect of that scene he will
examine himself as to whether he ate to live,
sparingly and of foods prepared without suf-
fering to other creatures of God, (such as
flesh foods that cannot be obtained without
taking life). If he finds that he allowed his
appetite to run away with him and that he
ate gluttonously, he will endeavor to over-
come these habits, for to live a clean life we
must have a clean body and no one can live to
his highest possibilities while making his
stomach a graveyard for the decayingcorpses
of murdered animals. In this respect there
occurs to the writer a little poem by Ella
Wheeler Wilcox:

"I am the voice of the voiceless;
Through me the dumb shall speak;

Till a deaf world's ear

Shall be made to hear
The wrongs of the wordless weak.

172 THE EOSICBUCIAN MYSTERIES

The same force formed the sparrow

That fashioned man the king;
The God of the whole
Gave a spark of soul
To furred and feathered thing.

And I am my brother's keeper

And I will fight his fight,
And speak the word
For beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right.

Thus the pupil will continue to review each
scene in reverse order from night till morn-
ing, and to feel really sorry for whatever he
has done amiss. He will not neglect to feel
glad either when he comes to a scene where
he has done well, and the more intensely he
can feel, the more thoroughly he will eradi-
cate the record upon the tablet of the heart
and sharpen his conscience, so that as time
goes on from year to year, he will find less
cause for blame and enhance his soul power
enormously. Thus he will grow in a measure
impossible by any less systematic method,
and there will be no necessity for his stay in
purgatory after death.

This evening exercise and another, for the
morning, if persistently performed day by

LIFE AND DEATH 173

day, will in time awaken the spiritual vision
as they improve life. This matter has, how-
ever, been so thoroughly treated in number
11 of the lecture series: "Spiritual Sight
and Insight; its safe culture and control/'
that it is unnecessary to dwell upon the mat-
ter further in this place.

The First Heaven.

In the first heaven, which is located in the
higher regions of the Desire World, the pan-
orama of life again unrolls and reveals every
scene where we aimed to help or benefit oth-
ers. They were not felt at the time the spirit
was in the lower regions, for higher desires
cannot express themselves in the coarse mat-
ter composing the lower regions of the De-
sire World, but when the spirit ascends to
the first heaven it reaps from each scene all
the good which it expressed in life. It will
feel the gratitude poured out by those whom
it helped, if it comes to a scene where itself
received a favor from others and was grate-
ful, it will experience the gratitude anew.
The sum of all these feelings is there amalga-
mated into the spirit to serve in a future life
as incentives to good.

174 THE BOSICBUCIAN MYSTERIES

Thus, the soul is purged from evil in pur-
gatory, and strengthened in good in the first
heaven. In one region the extract of suffer-
ings become conscience to deter us from doing
wrong, in the other region the quintessence
of good is transmuted to benevolence and al-
truism which are the basis of all true prog-
ress. Moreover, purgatory is far from being
a place of punishment, it is perhaps the most
beneficent realm in nature, for because of
purgation we are born innocent life after life.
The tendencies to commit the same evil for
which we suffered remain with us and temp-
tations to commit the same wrongs will be
placed in our path until we have consciously
overcome the evil here, temptation is not sin,
however, the sin is in yielding.

Among the inhabitants of the invisible
world there is one class which lives a partic-
ularly painful life, sometimes for a great
many years, namely, the suicide who tried to
play truant from the school of life. Yet it is
not an angry God or a malevolent devil who
administers punishment, but an immutable
law which proportions the sufferings differ
ently to each individual suicide.

We learned previously, when considering
the World of Thought, that each form in this

LIFE AND DEATH 175

visible world has its archetype there, — a vi-
brating hollow mold which emits a certain
harmonious sound, that sound attracts and
forms physical matter into the shape we be-
hold, much in the same manner, that when we
place a little sand upon a glass plate and rub
the edge with a violin bow, the sand is shaped
into different geometrical figures which
change as the sound changes.

The little atom in the heart is the sample
and the center around which the atoms in our
body gather. When that is removed at death,
the center is leaking, and although the arche-
type keeps on vibrating until the HmH of the
life has been reached — as also previously ex-
plained,— no matter can be drawn into the
hollow shape of the archetype and therefore
the suicide feels a dreadful gnawing pain as
if he were hollowed out, a torture which can
only be likened to the pangs of hunger. In
his case, the intense suffering will continue
for exactly as many years as he should have
lived in the body. At the expiration of that
time, the archetype collapses as it does wLen
death comes naturally. Then the pain of the
suicide ceases, and he commences his period
of purgation as do those who die a natural
death. But the memory of sufferings experi

176 THE BOSICBUCIAN MYSTERIES

enced in consequence of the act of suicide will
remain with him in future lives and deter him
from a similar mistake.

In the first heaven there is a class who have
not had any purgatorial existence and who
lead a particularly joyous life : the children.
Our homes may be saddened almost beyond
endurance, when the little flower is broken
and the sunshine it brought has gone. But
could we see the beautiful existence which
these little ones lead, and did we understand
the great benefits which accrue to a child from
its limited stay there, our sorrow would be at
least ameliorated in a great measure, and the
wound upon our heart would heal more
quickly. Besides, as nothing else in the
world happens without a cause, so there is
also a much deeper cause for infant mortal-
ity than we are usually aware of, and as we
awake to the facts of the case, we shall be
able to avoid in future the sorrow incident to
loss of our little ones.

To understand the case properly we must
revert to the experiences of the dying in the
death hour. We remember that the pano-
rama of the past life is etched upon the desire
body during a period varying from a few
hours to three and one-half days, just subse-

LIFE AND DEATH 177

quent to demise. We recall also, that upon
the depth of this etching depends the clear-
ness of the picture, and that the more vivid
this panorama of life, the more intensely will
the spirit suffer in purgatory and feel the
joys of heaven ; also, that the greater the suf-
fering in purgatory the stronger the consci-
ence in the next life.

It was explained how the horrors of death
upon the battlefield, in an accident or other
untoward circumstances would prevent the
spirit from giving all its attention to the pan-
orama of life with the result that there would
be a light etching in the desire body, followed
by a vague and insipid existence in purgatory
and the first heaven. It was also stated that
hysterical lamentations in the death chamber
would produce the same effect.

A spirit which had thus escaped suffering
proportionate to its misdeeds, and which had
not experienced the pleasure commensurate
with the good it had done, would not in a fu-
ture life have as well developed a conscience
as it ought to have, nor would it be as benev-
olent as it ought to be, and therefore the life,
terminated under conditions over which the
spirit had no control, would be partly wasted.
The Great Leaders of humanity therefore

178 THE ROSICEUCIAN MYSTERIES

take steps to counteract such a calamity and
prevent an injustice. The spirit is brought
to birth, caused to die in childhood, it re-en-
ters the Desire World and in the first heaven
it is taught the lessons of which it was de-
prived previously.

As the first heaven is located in the Desire
World, — which is the realm of light and col-
or,— where matter is shaped most readily by
thought, the little ones are given wonderful
toys impossible of construction here. They
are taught to play with colors which work
upon their moral character in exactly the
manner each child requires. Anyone who is
at all sensitive is affected by the color of his
clothing and surroundings. Some colors have
a depressing effect, while others inspire us
with energy, and others again soothe and
comfort us. In the Desire World the effect
of colors is much more intense, they are much
more potent factors of good and evil there
than here, and in this color play, the child
imbibes unconsciously the qualities which it
did not acquire on account of accident or la-
mentations of relatives. Often it also falls to
the lot of such relatives to care for a child in
the invisible world, or perhaps to give it birth
and see it die. Thus they receive just retri-

LIFE AND DEATH 179

bution for the wrong committed. As wars
cease, and man learns to be more careful of
life, and also how to care for the dying, in-
fant mortality, which now is so appalling, will
decrease.

The Second Heaven.

When both the good and evil of a life has
been extracted, the spirit discards its desire
body and ascends to the second heaven. The
desire body then commences to disintegrate
as the physical body and the vital body have
done, but it is a peculiarity of desire stuff,
that once it has been formed and inspired
with life, it persists for a considerable time.
Even after that life has fled it lives a semi-
conscious, independent life. Sometimes it is
drawn by magnetic attraction to relatives of
the spirit whose clothing it was, and at spirit-
ualistic seances these shells generally imper-
sonate the departed spirit and deceive its rel-
atives. As the panorama of the past life is
etched into the shells they have a memory of
incidents in connection with these relatives,
which facilitates the deception. But as the
intelligence has fled, they are of course un-
able to give any true counsel, and that ac-

180 THE ROSICRTJCIAN MYSTERIES

counts for the inane, goody-goody nonsense
of which these things deliver themselves.

When passing from the first to the second
heaven, the spirit experiences the condition
known and described previously as "The
Great Silence, " where it stands utterly alone
conscious only of its divinity. When that si-
lence is broken there floats in upon the spirit
celestial harmonies of the world of tone
where the second heaven is located. It seems
then to lave in an ocean of sound and to ex-
perience a joy beyond all description and
words, as it nears its heavenly home — for this
is the first of the truly spiritual realms from
which the spirit has been exiled during its
earth life and the subsequent post-mortem
existence. In the Desire World its work was
corrective, but in the World of Thought the
human spirit becomes one with the nature
forces and its creative activity begins.

Under the law of causation we reap exactly
what we sow, and it would be wrong to place
one spirit in an environment where there is a
scarcity of the necessities of life, where a
scorching sun burns the crop and millions die
from famine, or where the raging flood
sweeps away primitive habitations not built
to withstand its ravages, and to bring another

LIFE AND DEATH 181

spirit to birth in a land of plenty, with a fer-
tile soil which yields a maximum of increase
with a minimum of labor, where the earth is
rich in minerals that may be used in industry
to facilitate transportation of products of the
soil from one point to another. If we were
thus placed without action or acquiescence
upon our part, there would be no justice, but
as our post-mortem existence in purgatory
and the first heaven is based upon our moral
attitude in this life so our activities in the
second heaven are determined by our mental
aspirations and they produce our future
physical environment, for in the second heav-
en, the spirit becomes part of the nature
forces which work upon the earth and change
its climate, flora and fauna. A spirit of an
indolent nature, who indulges in day dreams
and metaphysical speculations here, is not
transformed by death respecting its mental
attitude any more than regarding its moral
propensities. It will dream away time in
heaven, glorying in its sights and sounds.
Thus it will neglect to work upon its future
country and return to a barren and arid land.
Spirits, on the other hand, whose material
aspirations lead them to desire so-called sol-
id comforts of hearth and home ; who aim to

182 THE ROSICEUCIAN MYSTERIES

promote great industries and whose mind is
concerned in trade and commerce, will build
in heaven a land that will suit their purpose :
fertile, immineralized, with navigable rivers
and sheltered harbors. They will return in
time to enjoy upon earth the fruits of their
labors in the second heaven, as they reap the
result of their life upon earth in purgatory
and the first heaven.

The Third Heaven.

In the third heaven most people have very
little consciousness for reasons explained in
connection with the Eegion of Abstract
Thought, for there the third heaven is lo-
cated. It is therefore more of a place of wait-
ing where the spirit rests between the time
when its labors in the second heaven have been
completed and the time when it again experi-
ences the desire for rebirth. But from this
realm inventors bring down their original
ideas; there the philanthropist obtains the
clearest vision of how to realize his utopian
dreams and the spiritual aspirations of the
saintly minded are given renewed impetus.

In time the desires of the spirit for further
experiences draws it back to rebirth, and the

LIFE AND DEATH 183

Great Celestial Beings who are known in the
Christian Eeligion as Eecording Angels, as-
sist the spirit to come to birth in the place
best suited to give it the experience necessary
to further unfold its powers and possibili-
ties.

We have all been here many times and in
different families, we have had relations of
varying nature with many different people
and usually there are several families among
whom we may seek re-embodiment to work
out our self -generated destiny and reap what
we have sown in former life. If there are no
special reasons why we should take birth in
any particular family among certain friends
or foes, the spirit is allowed to choose its own
place of birth. Thus it may be said that most
of us are in our present places by our own
prenatal choice.

In order to assist us in making that choice
the Eecording Angels call up before the spir-
it's vision a panorama in general outlines, of
each of the offered lives. This panorama will
show what part of our past debts we are to
pay, and what fruits we may be expected to
reap in the coming life.

The spirit is left free to choose between the
several lives offered. But once a choice has

184 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

been made no evasion is possible during life.
We have free will with regard to the future,
but the past 'mature* destiny we cannot es-
cape, as shown by the incident recorded in
The Rosicrucian Cosmo Conception, where
the writer Earned a well known Los Angeles
lecturer that if he left his home upon a cer-
tain day, he would be injured by a convey-
ance, in head, neck, breast and shoulders.
The gentleman believed and intended to heed
our warning. Nevertheless he went to Sierra
Madre to lecture upon the fateful day. He
was injured in the places stated by a collision
and later explained : "I thought the twenty-
eighth was the twenty-ninth."

When the spirit has made its choice, it de-
scends into the second heaven where it is in-
structed by the Angels and Archangels how
to build an archetype of the body which it
will later inhabit upon earth. Also here we
note the operation of the great law of justice
which decrees that we reap what we sow. If
our tastes are coarse and sensual, we shall
build an archetype which will express these
qualities if we are refined and of aesthetic
taste, we shall build an archetype corre-
spondingly refined, but no one can obtain a
better body than he can build. Then, as the

LIFE AND DEATH 185

architect who builds a house in which he af-
terwards lives, will suffer discomfort if he
neglects to properly ventilate it, so also the
spirit feels disease in a poorly constructed
body, and as the architect learns to avoid
mistakes and remedy the short-comings of
one house when building another, so also the
spirit which suffers from defects in its body,
learns in time to build better and better vehi-
cles.

In the Eegion of Concrete Thought, the
spirit also draws to itself materials for a new
mind. As a magnet draws iron filings but
leaves other substances alone, so also each
spirit draws only the kind of mind-stuff which
it used in its former life, plus that which it
has learned to use in its present post-mortem
state. Then it descends into the Desire
World where it gathers material for a new
desire body such as will express appropri-
ately its moral characteristics, and later it
attracts a certain amount of ether which is
built into the mold of the archetype con-
structed in the second heaven an3 acts as ce-
ment between the solids, liquids and gaseous
material from the bodies of parents which
forms the dense physical body of a child, and
in due time the latter is brought to birth.

186 THE BOSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
Birth and Child Life.

It must not be imagined, however, that
when the little body of a child has been born,
the process of birth is completed. The dense
physical body has had the longest evolution,
and as a shoemaker who has worked at his
trade for a number of years is more expert
than an apprentice and can make better shoes
and quicker, so also the spirit which has built
many physical bodies produces them quickly,
but the vital body is a later acquisition of the
human being. Therefore we are not so expert
in building that vehicle. Consequently it
takes longer to construct that from the mate-
rials not used up in making the lining of the
archetype, and the vital body is not born until
the seventh year. Then the period of rapid
growth commences. The desire body is a
still later addition of composite man, and is
not brought to birth until the fourteenth year
when the desire nature expresses itself most
strongly during so-called 'hot' youth, and the
mind, which makes man man, does not come
to birth until the twenty-first year. In law
that age is recognized as the earliest time he
is fitted to exercise a franchise.

LIFE AND DEATH 187

This knowledge is of the utmost importance
to parents, as a proper understanding of the
development which should take place in each
of the septenary epochs enables the educator
to work intelligently with nature and thus
fulfill more thoroughly the trust of a parent
than those who are ignorant of the Bosicru-
cian Mystery Teaching. We shall therefore
devote the remaining pages to an elucidation
of this matter and of the importance of the
knowledge of astrology upon the part of the
parent.

The Mystery of Light, Color and
Consciousness.

"God is Light," says the Bible, and we are
unable to conceive of a grander simile of His
Omnipresence, or the mode of His manifesta-
tion. Even the greatest telescopes have
failed to reach the boundaries of light, though
they reveal to us stars millions of miles from
the earth, and we may well ask ourselves, as
did the Psalmist of old: Whither shall I flee
from Thy Presence? If I ascend into heaven
Thou art there, If I make my bed in the grave
(the Hebrew word sJieol means grave and
not hell), Thou art there, If I take the wings

188 THE EOSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

of morning and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead
me."

When, in the dawn of Being, God the Fath-
er enunciated The Word, and The Holy Spir-
it moved upon the sea of homogeneous Virgin
Matter, primeval Darkness was turned to
Light. That is therefore the prime manifes-
tation of Deity, and a study of the principles
of Light will reveal to the mystic intuition a
wonderful source of spiritual inspiration. As
it would take us too far afield from our sub-
ject we shall not enter into an elucidation of
that theme here, except so far as to give an
elementary idea of how divine Life energizes
the human frame, and stimulates to action.

Truly, God is ONE and undivided, He en-
folds within His Being all that is, as the white
light embraces all colors. But He appears
three-fold in manifestation, as the white light
is refracted in three primary colors: Blue,
Yellow and Red. Wherever we see these col-
ors they are emblematical of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. These three primary rays
of divine Life are diffused or radiated
through the sun and produce Life, Conscious-
ness and Form, upon each of the seven light-
bearers, the planets, which are called "the

LIFE AND DEATH 189

Seven Spirits before the Throne." Their
names are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. BooVs law
proves that Neptune does not belong to our
solar system and the reader is referred to
"Simplified, Scientific Astrology" by the
present writer, for mathematical demonstra-
tion of this contention.

i Each of the seven planets receives the light
of the sun in a diffeernt measure, according
to its proximity to the central orb and the
constitution of its atmosphere, and the be-
ings upon each, according to their stage of
development, have affinity for some of the
solar rays. They absorb the color or colors
congruous to them, and reflect the remainder
upon the other planets. This reflected ray
bears with it an impulse of the nature of the
beings with which it has been in contact.

Thus the divine Light and Life comes to
each planet, either directly from the sun, or
reflected from its six sister planets, and as
the summer breeze which has been wafted
over blooming fields carries upon its silent
invisible wings the blended fragrance of a
multitude of flowers, so also the subtle influ-
ences from the garden of God bring to us the
commingled impulses of all the Spirits and

190 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

in that varicolored light we live and move and
have our being.

The rays which come directly from the sun
are productive of spiritual illumination, the
reflected rays from other planets make for
added consciousness and moral development
and the rays reflected by way of the moon
give physical growth.

But as each planet can only absorb a cer-
tain quantity of one or more colors according
to the general stage of evolution there, so
each being upon earth : mineral, plant, animal
and man can only absorb and thrive upon a
certain quantity of the various rays project-
ed upon the earth. The remainder do not af-
fect it or produce sensation, any more than
the blind are conscious of light and color
which exists everywhere around them.
Therefore each being is differently affected
by the stellar rays and the science of Astrol-
ogy a fundamental truth in nature, of enor-
mous benefit in the attainment of spiritual
growth.

From a horoscopic figure in mystic script
we may learn our own strength and weakness,
with the path best suited to our development,
or we may see the tendencies of those friends
who come to us as children, and what traits

LIFE AND DEATH 191

are dormant in them. Thus we shall know
clearly how to discharge our duty as parents,
by repressing evil before it comes to birth
and fostering good, so that it may bring forth
most abundantly the spiritual potencies of
the soul committed to our care.

As we have already said, man returns to
earth to reap that which he has sown in pre-
vious lives and to sow anew the seeds which
make for future experience. The stars are
the heavenly time keepers which measure the
year, the moon indicates the month when time
will be propitious to harvest or to sow.

The child is a mystery to us all, we can
only know its propensities as they slowly de-
velop into characteristics, but it is usually
too late to check, when evil habits have been
formed and the youth is upon the downward
grade. A horoscope cast for the time of birth
in a scientific manner shows the tendencies
to good or evfl in the child, and if a parent
will take time and trouble necessary to study
the science of the stars, he or she may do the
child intrusted to his or her care an inestima-
ble service, by fostering tendencies to good
and repressing the evil bent of a child ere it
has crystallized into habit. Do not imagine
that a superior mathematical knowledge is

192 THE KOSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

necessary to erect a horoscope. Many con-
struct a horoscope in such an involved man-
ner, so "fearfully and wonderfully made"
that it is unreadable to themselves or others,
while a simple figure, easy of reading may be
constructed by anyone who knows how to add
and subtract. This method has been thor-
oughly elucidated in Simplified Scientific
Astrology which is a complete text book,
though small and inexpensive, and any par-
ent who has the welfare of his or her children
thoroughly at heart should endeavor to learn
for themselves, for even though their ability
may not compare with that of a professional
astrologer, their intimate knowledge of the
child and their deep interest will more than
compensate for such lack and enable them to
see most deeply into the child's character by
means of its horoscope.

Education of Children.

Eespecting the birth of the various vehi-
cles and the influence which that has upon
life, we may say : that during the time from
birth to the seventh year the lines of growth
of the physical body are determined, and as
it has been noted that sound is builder both

LIFE AND DEATH 193

in the great and small, we may well imagine
that rhythm must have an enormous infiu-
ence upon the growing and sensitive little
child's organism. The apostle John in the
first chapter of his gospel expresses this idea
mystically in the beautiful words: "In the
beginning was the WORD . . . and
without it was not anything made that was
made . . . and the word became flesh"
the word is a rhythmic sound, which issued
from the Creator, reverberated through the
universe and marshaled countless millions of
atoms into the multiplex variety of shapes
and forms which we see about us. The
mountain, the mayflower, the mouse and the
man are all embodiments of that great Cos-
mic Word which is still sounding through the
universe and which is still building and ever
building though unheard by our insensitive
ears. But though we do not hear that won
derf ul celestial sound, we may also work upon
the little child's body by terrestrial music,
and though the nursery rhymes are without
sense, they are nevertheless bearers of a won-
derful rhythm, and the more a child is taught
to say, sing and repeat them, to dance and to
march to them; the more music is incorpo-
rated into a child's daily life, the stronger

194 THE EOSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

and healthier will be its body in future years.

There are two mottoes which apply during
this period, one to the child and the other to
the parent : Example and Imitation. No crea-
ture under heaven is more imitative than a
little child, and its conduct in after years will
depend largely upon the example set by its
parents during its early life. It is no use to
tell the child "not to mind," it has no mind
wherewith to discriminate, but follows its
natural tendency, as water flows down a hill,
when it imitates. Therefore it behooves
every parent to remember from morning till
night that watchful eyes are upon him all the
time waiting but for him to act in order to
follow his example.

It is of the utmost importance that the
child 's clothing should be very loose, particu-
larly the clothing of little boys, as chafing
garments often produce vices which follow a
man through life.

If anyone should attempt to forcibly ex-
tract a babe from the protecting womb of its
mother, the outrage would result in death,
because the babe had not yet arrived at a ma-
turity sufficient to endure impacts of the
Physical World. In the three septenary pe-
riods which follow birth, the invisible vehi-

LIFE AND DEATH 195

cles are still in the womb of mother nature.
If we teach a child of tender years to memo-
rize, or to think, or if we arous-e its feelings
and emotions, we are in fact opening the pro-
tecting womb of nature and the results are
equally as disastrous in other respects as a
forced premature birth. Child prodigies usu-
ally become men and women of less than ordi-
nary intelligence. We should not hinder the
child from learning or thinking of his own
volition, but we should not goad them on as
parents often do to nourish their own pride.

When the vital body is Born at the age of
seven a period of growth begins and a new
motto, or relation rather, is established be-
tween parent and child. This may be ex-
pressed in the two words Authority and Dis-
cipleship. In this period the child is taught
certain lessons which it takes upon faith in
the authority of its teachers, whether at home
or at school, and as memory is a faculty of
the vital body it can now memorize what is
learned. It is therefore eminently teachable ;
particularly because it is unbiased by pre-
conceived opinions which prevent most of us
from accepting new views. At the end of this
second period : from about twelve to fourteen,
the vital body has been so far developed

196 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES

that puberty is reached. At the age of four-
teen we have the birth of the desire body,
which marks the commencement of self-asser-
tion. In earlier years the child regards itself
more as belonging to a family, and subordi-
nate to the wishes of its parents than after
the fourteenth year. The reason is this : In
the throat of the foetus and the young child
there is a gland called the thymus gland,
which is largest before birth, then gradually
diminishes through the years of childhood
and finally disappears at ages which vary ac-
cording to the characteristics of the child.
Anatomists have been puzzled as to the func-
tion of this organ and have not yet come to
any settled conclusion, but it has been sug-
gested that before development of the red
marrow bones, the child is not able to manu-
facture its own blood, and that therefore the
thymus gland contains an essence, supplied
by the parents, upon which the child may
draw during infancy and childhood, till able
to manufacture its own blood. That theory
is approximately true, and as the family
blood flows in the child, it looks upon itself as
part of the family and not as an Ego. But
the moment it commences to manufacture its
own blood, the Ego asserts itself, it is no

LIFE AND DEATH 197

longer Papa's girl or Mamma's boy, it has an
'P-dentity of its own. Then comes the criti-
cal age when parents reap what they have
sown. The mind has not yet been born, noth-
ing holds the desire nature in check, and
much, very much, depends upon how the
child has been taught in earlier years and
what example the parents have set. At this
point in life self-assertion, the feeling 'I am
myself/ is stronger than at any other time
and therefore authority should give place to
Advice, the parent should practice the utmost
tolerance, for at no time in life is a human be-
ing as much in need of sympathy as during
the seven years from fourteen to twenty-one
when the desire nature is rampant and un-
checked.

It is a crime to inflict corporeal punish-
ment upon a child at any age. Might is never
right, and as the stronger, parents should al-
ways have compassion for the weaker. But
there is one feature of corporeal punishment
which makes it particularly dangerous to ap-
ply it to the youth : namely, that it wakens the
passional nature which is already perhaps be-
yond the control of a growing boy.

If we whip a dog, we shall soon break its
spirit and transform it into a cringing cur,

198 THE EOSICBUCIAN MYSTERIES

and it is deplorable that some parents seem
to regard it as their mission in life to break
the spirit of their children with the rule of
the rod. If there is one universal 'lack among
the human race which is more apparent tlinn
any other, it is lack of will, and as parents we
may remedy the evil in a large measure by
guiding the wills of our children along such
lines as dictated by our own more mature
reason, so that we help them to grow a back-
bone instead o'f a wishbone with which un-
fortunately most of us are afflicted. There-
fore, never whip a child, when punishment is
necessary, correct by withholding favors or
withdrawing privileges.

At the twenty-first year the birth of the
mind transforms the youth into a man or a
woman fully equipped to commence his own
life in the school of experfence.

Thus we have followed the human spirit
around a life cycle from death to birth and
maturity, we have seen how immutable law
governs his every step and how he is ever
encompassed by the loving care of the Great
and Glorious Beings who are the ministers of
God. The method of his future development
will be explained in a later work which will
deal with "The Christian Mystic Initiation."

from tfje Hose Cross

The Rosicrucian Fellowship has, among other activities,
a correspondence course of monthly letters and lessons for
Students. The lessons are contained in little pamphlets
entitled "Rays from the Rose Cross" and bound in durable
paper covers with our beautiful symbolical cover design.
In the letters Mr. Heindel takes up and emphasizes points
in the lesson, which is thus thoroughly impressed upon the
consciousness of the Student.

There is also an advanced correspondence course open to
Probationers to help them derive the greatest possible bene-
fit from their exercises and advance them upon the path to
Discipleship.

Upon request, the General Secretary Rosicrucian Fellow-
ship (Esoteric Section), P. 0. Box 866, Ocean Park, Cal.,
will send application blank for the elementary correspond-
ence course to anyone who wishes to study the Eosicrucian
teachings directly with Mr. Heindel. When that is filled
out and returned, the applicant's name will be placed upon
Mr. Heindel's correspondence list and he will receive the
letters and lessons in due time.

These letters and lessons are not sold, the Rosicrucian
teachings are free, but the expenses incidental to their pro-
duction and distribution are met by free will offerings from
grateful students according to ability. From one comes
"the widow's mite," from another a munificent donation,
but all receive the same teaching and attention irrespective
of whether they are able to contribute or not.

THE ROSICRUCIAN
COSMO-CONCEPTION

OR

MYSTIC CHRISTIANITY

AN ELEMENTABY TREATISE UPON

MAN'S PAST EVOLUTION, PRESENT CONSTITU-
TION AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

BY
MAX HEINDEL

ITS MESSAGE AND MISSION.

A SANE MIND.
A SOFT HEART.
A SOUND BODY.

THIRD EDITION
Bevised, Enlarged and Indexed.

PRICE ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS.
POST FREE.

ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP

P. 0. Box 866
OCEAN PARK, CALIFORNIA

THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION

Third Edition.

The handsome symboli cal cover design is stamped
in red, black and gold,edges also gilt. Price $1.50

This book now contains 602 pages 12-mo. and all
pages from p. 514 have been rewritten, the subject of
Initiation has been much more thoroughly treated
than in the earlier editions and a number of pages
have been devoted to an explanation of the Symbolism
of the Rose Cross.

Last, but not least, an index of about 60 pages has
been added, which is so thorough that it might almost
be called a Concordance.

The Index is arranged with particular view to facili-
tate topical study, but at the same time alphabetical
order has been adhered to as nearly as possible. We
add an alphabetical list of the words indexed.

Opposite each word in this list will be found a num-
ber, which refers to a page in the Index. On that page
the word is grouped with others pertaining to the
same topic.

The student is particularly requested to note the
consecutive arrangement of references. For instance,
under the heading, "Vital Body," the first reference
tells where that vehicle had its first inception, the last
directs to a page which treats of its final spiritualiza-
tion, and the intervening references point in orderly
succession to the places where its gradual unfoldment
is described. * These references, in themselves, form an
excellent syllabus of the vital body.

By diligent and intelligent use of this index the Ros-
icrucian Cosmo Conception will be found a most com-
plete and exhaustive reference library, and we recom-
mend students to study the index as much as the book.
The mere reading of references will often clear com-
prehension of a subject and reveal much that is hid-
den in a general reading of the book.

"AN OCCULT

INFORMATION

BUREAU

i\osicructan

anb

432 pp. 12 mo., style and finish like this book : handsome
symbolical cover stamped in red, black and gold. Edges
full gold, re-enforced and very durable binding. Price by
mail $1.15.

Many questions were asked the writer after his lectures
in various parts of the United States and Europe ; questions
which dealt with and probed deeply into every phase of the
soul-life here and Hereafter. These questions he saved
and later selected 189 of them,, which were of most uni-
versal interest for compilation into a book of occult in-
formation and ready reference.

It is a book which ought to be im the library of every
occult student, the handsome style of this publication will
make it much appreciated as a "gift-book5' and the merely
nominal price is an incentive to liberality.

SPIRITUAL SIGHT
AND INSIGHT

Its Culture, Control and Legitimate Use.
SECOND EDITION.

Revised and Enlarged.
Price lOc.

During the time which has elapsed between publi-
cation of the first edition of this pamphlet and the
present time, correspondence with those who endeavor
to follow the methods advocated, has revealed to the
writer difficulties which beset the path of aspirants
to realization of spiritual illumination.

Though each correspondent receives the best of at-
tention, and thousands of letters are sent out monthly
to help and advise those in need thereof, the writer
felt that a revision of lecture No. II would be a boon
to both old and new seekers after Light upon the Path
of Attainment, and accordingly, though already ex-
tremely busy, he undertook the task and has be-
stowed much care upon the work.

The difficulties most commonly met have been ex-
plained, a more complete understanding of the sub-
ject is conveyed, and though blackface letters are an
abomination to the writer, he has put prejudice aside
and brought out the principal points in type that is
sure to engage the instant attention of students.

Thus it is hoped that all will derive most abundant
benefit from the new edition which has already been
very considerably enlarged.

INTERPRETATION OF

JXogtcructan

PRETAT

Cfcrfettanttp

ANCIENT TRUTHS IN MODERN DRESS

The price of these lectures is 5 cents each plus 1 cent
postage for each copy.

No. 1. "THE KIDDLE OP LIFE AND DEATH." Present-
ing a solution which is both scientific and religious.

No. 2. "WHERE ARE THE DEAD?"

No. 3. "SPIRITUAL SIGHT AND THE SPIRITUAL
WORLDS." Showing that we have a latent "sixth
sense," and what it opens up to us when cultivated.

No. 4. "SLEEP, DREAMS, TRANCE HYPNOTISM, MEDI-
UMSHIP AND INSANITY."

No. 5. "DEATH AND LIFE IN PURGATORY." Describ-
ing the method of death and purgation, also how im-
mutable law and not an avenging Deity transmutes
the evil acts of life to everlasting good.

No. 6. "LIFE AND ACTIVITY IN HEAVEN." Showing
how the Human Spirit assimilates the Good of its
past life and creates its environment for a future re-
birth, also how it prepares a new body.

No. 7. "BIRTH A FOURFOLD EVENT." Describing the
antenatal preparations for birth, and the spiritual
changes which inaugurate the period of excessive
physical growth in the 7th year, the cause of puberty
at 14 and maturity at 21. This knowledge is abso-
lutely essential to the right care of a child.

No. 8. "THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION, HEALTH AND
PROTRACTED YOUTH." Showing the material cause of
early death and the obvious prophylactic.

No. 9. "THE ASTRONOMICAL ALLEGORIES OF THE
BIBLE/'

No. 10. "ASTROLOGY; ITS SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS/'
Showing the spiritual side of astrology, how it enables
those who study it to help themselves and others.

No. 11. "SPIRITUAL SIGHT AND INSIGHT." Its cul-
ture, control and legitimate use, giving a definite and
safe method of attainment.

No. 12. "PARSIFAL." Wagner's famous Mystic Music
Drama, a mine of inspiration to spiritual effort.

No. 13. "THE ANGELS AS FACTORS IN EVOLUTION."
Showing just what part the Angels, Archangels,
Cherubim, Seraphim, etc., play in the Drama of Life.

No. 14. "LUCIFER, TEMPTER OR BENEFACTOR?" Show-
ing the origin and the mission of pain and sorrow.

No. 15. "THE MYSTERY OF GOLGOTHA AND THE
CLEANSING BLOOD/' A rational explanation which
satisfies head and heart alike.

No. 16. "THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM; A MYSTIC
FACT/'

No. 17. "THE MYSTERY OF THE HOLY GRAIL." The
way to attainment.

No. 18. "THE LORD'S PRAYER." Showing the esoteric
side, and how it applies to the seven-fold constitution
of man.

No. 19. THE COMING FORCE; VRIL OR WHAT?

No. 20. "FELLOWSHIP AND THE COMING EACE."
Showing why the Bible contains both the Jewish and
the Christian Eeligions, and why both combined are
peculiarly adapted to the spiritual needs of the West-
ern World and why Jesus was born a Jew.

ftrnplittefe

Scientific

This is a complete book of instruction. It has a full
set of tables necessary to learn how to cast a horoscope in a
thoroughly scientific manner, and the rules have been so
simplified that ability to add and subtract is the only mathe-
matical knowledge required. Price 35c.

This booklet and the simplified method it contains of
casting a horoscope in a thoroughly scientific manner is
published in order to enable anyone who can add and sub-
tract to do the work himself, instead of relying on others.
Thus he will obtain a deeper knowledge of the causes which
are operative in his life than any professional astrologer
who is a stranger can give.

The astrologer who works in his own family or among
his neighbors and friends, an d works for love, can do more
to help them than the most accomplished professional
astrologer who is, of course, unable to see as deeply into
their conditions.

Seeing that such are the views of the writer, he wishes to
state most emphatically that he does not cast horoscopes and
will not consent to do so under any circumstances. He
teaches astrology free of charge, as part of the spiritual
philosophy which he has espoused, for the same reason that
he lectures on other phases of occult knowledge — to help
those who want to help themselves.

Astrological Calculation

In order to help the beginner in Astrology and further
amplify the teachings of our "Simplified Scientific Astrol-
ogy/' we have made a calculation blank, consisting of seven
typewritten pages with every tabulation made in casting a
horoscope.

This blank will be of invaluable aid to the student until
he has become thoroughly familiar with the mathematical
calculations. Price 15c each, 4 for 50c.

Sflfie
3fas;tantaneou$

A simple mechanical device which by a single turn of the
wrist shows the aspect of each planet to every other planet.
It was invented by a member of the Eosicrucian Fellowship
and is absolutely perfect. A labor saver, invaluable to
amateur and professional alike. Price 50c.

Order from Simplex Publishing Co., P. 0. Box 595, Seat-
tle, Wash.

THE PLANETARY

HOUR DIAL

SHOWS AT A GLANCE the Planets that rule each
hour of the day, and the influence they exert.

A WONDERFUL DEVICE arranged in harmony
with laws discovered thousands of years ago by An-
cient Chaldean and Egyptian Astrologers, yet
cleared of all mystery and put in shape that all may
read and understand.

INVALUABLE, for^it tells how to make use of Na-
ture's laws at Critical Moments of our lives; accu-
rately and quickly, pointing out the harmonies and
discords; the best time to bring the various affairs
of life to a successful issue.

EVERY MOVE IN LIFE may be made in harmony
with nature's laws. Learn the lines of least resist-
ance.

SIMPLE, INSTRUCTIVE, PROFITABLE. Any-
one able to read can use and apply it to his own
case. It Marks Your Fortunate Hours.

WILL LAST A LIFETIME

PRICE 50 CENTS

POSTPAID

The Simplex Publishing Co.

Box 595. Seattle, U. S. A.

14 DAY USE

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