[PAGE 77]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY




                                 THE

                            OCCULT EFFECTS

                                 OF

                             OUR EMOTIONS                             


  



[PAGE 79]                                             THE FUNCTION OF DESIRE

                                   PART I

                           THE FUNCTION OF DESIRE

   Those  who have given the matter study are familiar with the havoc  which
an acute attack of fear or worry plays with the physical body.   We know how
these emotions derange digestion,  interfere with the metabolic changes  and
with elimination of waste,  and, in short, upset the whole system,  with the
result  that  in some cases the person is forced to take to his  bed  for  a
longer or shorter time depending upon the severity of the attack and the re-
sistive power of the constitution.   But there is an occult effect which  is
equally serious or more so that is usually not understood, and it may there-
fore be of considerable benefit to study the occult effect of poise and pas-
sion, anger and love, pessimism and optimism.

   From  the study of the Cosmo we learn that our desire body was  generated
in  the  Moon Period.   If you wish to obtain a mental picture  of  the  way
things looked then,  take an illustration of the foetus as shown in any book
of anatomy.  There are three principal parts:  the PLACENTA, which is filled
with  the  maternal  blood,  the  UMBILICAL  CORD,  which carries this vital


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stream,  and THE FOETUS, which is nourished from embryo to maturity thereby.
Fancy now,  in that far off time, the firmament as one immense placenta from
which there depended billions of umbilical cords,  each with its foetal  ap-
pendage.  Through the whole human family, then in the making, circulated the
one universal essence of desire and emotion,  generating in all the impulses
to action which are now manifest in every phase of the world's work.   These
umbilical  cords  and foetal appendages were molded from  the  moist  desire
stuff by the emotions of THE LUNAR ANGELS,  while the fiery desire  currents
which were endeavoring to stir the latent life in mankind,  then in the mak-
ing, were generated by the fiery martial Lucifer Spirits.  The color of that
first slow vibration which they set in motion in that emotional desire stuff
was red.

   And  while  that  tincture  of trouble (for  that  is  really  what  this
ever-flowing,  eternal restlessness is which even now drives us  on  without
pause or peace) was circulating within us, the planet on which we dwelt also
circled  about a sun,  not our present light-giver but a past embodiment  of
the  substance  which composes our present solar universe,  and we  in  turn
circled  the globe on which we dwelt, from light to darkness,  from heat  to
cold.   We were thus worked upon from within and without in an  endeavor  to
stir the sleeping consciousness.  And there was a response,  for though none


[PAGE 81]                                             THE FUNCTION OF DESIRE

of  the  partially separated spirits dwelling in an  individual  foetal  sac
would have been able to feel these impacts,  although they were very strong,
the  cumulative feelings of billions of such spirits were sensed as a  sound
in  the  universe,  A  COSMIC CRY--THE FIRST NOTE  IN  THE  HARMONY  OF  THE
SPHERES--played upon a single string.  It was,  nevertheless,  expressive in
an adequate measure of the latent longings and aspirations of the  incipient
human race of those far bygone days.

   This desire nature has since evolved;  the fiery,  martial sub-stratum of
passion and the aqueous lunar basis of emotion have become capable of numer-
ous  combinations.   As thought furrows the brain into convolutions and  the
face into lines,  so have the passions, desires,  and emotions marshaled the
mobile desire stuff into curved lines and whorls, eddies, rapids, and whirl-
pools,  resembling a mountain torrent at the time when it is at its greatest
disturbance--it is seldom ever at even comparative rest.   This desire stuff
has,  in successive periods of its evolution, become responsive to one after
another  of  the seven planetary vibrations emanating from the  Sun,  Venus,
Mercury,  Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars.  Each individual desire body has,
during that time,  been woven into a unique pattern,  and as the shuttle  of
fate flies back and forth unceasingly upon the loom of destiny, this pattern


[PAGE 82]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

is being enlarged upon,  embellished, and beautified, though we may not per-
ceive  it.   As the weaver always does his work on the reverse side  of  his
tapestry,  so are we also weaving without fully understanding  the  ultimate
design  or seeing the sublime beauty thereof, because it is yet on the  side
away from us, the hidden side of nature.

   But in order that we may better understand,  let us take up some of these
tangled  threads of passion and emotion to see what effect have have on  the
pattern which God, the Master-Weaver, wishes us to make.

   The  ancient myths always shed a luminous light upon the problems of  the
soul,  and we may profitably consider in this connection a certain  part  of
the  Masonic  legend.   The masons are a society of builders,  "TEKTONS"  in
Greek--the same society in fact to which Joseph and Jesus belonged,  for the
latter are called in the Greek bible,  "tektons"--builders--not  carpenters,
as in the orthodox version.   The masons under Solomon were the builders  of
that mystic temple designed by God, the Grand Archetekton or Master Builder,
and built without sound of hammer, which Manson speaks about in that wonder-
ful play, "The Servant in the House."  He tells us there that "it is no dead
pile of stone and timber, but IT IS A LIVING THING.  When you  enter  it you


[PAGE 83]                                             THE FUNCTION OF DESIRE

hear a sound,  a sound as of a mighty anthem chanted,  that is,  IF YOU HAVE
EARS; and if you have eyes, you will presently see the temple itself, a mys-
tery of looming shapes and shadows, leaping sheer from floor to dome.  It is
yet building and built upon;  sometimes the work goes on in utter  darkness,
sometimes  in  blinding light."   Every true mystic mason  knows  what  this
temple  is and endeavors to build it.   The ancient masonic legend tells  us
that  when Hiram Abiff,  the master mason in charge of the  construction  of
Solomon's temple,  a building of God made without sound of hammer,  was pre-
paring to make his masterpiece, the "molten sea," he gathered materials from
all over the earth and placed them in A FIERY FURNACE,  for he was a descen-
dant of Cain, A SON OF FIRE, who in turn was a son of Lucifer, the spirit of
fire.   Hiram proposed to make an alloy of crystal clarity,  capable of  re-
flecting all the wisdom of the world.  But,  so runs the story,  there  were
among  the  workmen  certain traitors--spies from  the  Sons  of  Seth--who,
through Adam and Eve, were descendants of the lunar god JEHOVAH,  WHO HAD AN
AFFINITY FOR WATER and who hated fire.  These traitors poured water into the
mold in which the molten sea, THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, was to be cast.  Upon
the  meeting of the fire with the water there was a great explosion.   Hiram
Abiff,  the  master  mason,  being unable to blend the warring elements, saw


[PAGE 84]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

with  unspeakable sorrow the destructive eruption of his  attempted  master-
piece.   While he was watching the battle of the spirits in the fire and wa-
ter,  Tubal-Cain, his ancestor, appeared and bade him jump into the seething
mass.   He  was then conducted to the center of the earth where he  met  his
first ancestor,  Cain,  who gave him A NEW WORD AND A NEW HAMMER which would
enable him,  when he had become skilled in the use thereof, to blend the an-
tagonistic elements and make from them the Philosopher's Stone,  the highest
possible human achievement.

   There is in this symbolical story more wisdom than could be given in vol-
umes  concerning human soul growth.   If the student will read  between  the
lines and meditate upon these various symbolical expressions,  he will  gain
much more than can ever be said, for true wisdom is always generated interi-
orly and the mission of books is only to give a clue.

   Since this ancient time the lunar Angels have taken charge principally of
the moist,  aqueous vital body composed of the four ethers and concerned  in
the  propagation and nourishment of the species,  while the Lucifer  Spirits
are singularly active in the dry and fiery desire vehicles.  The function of
the  vital  body  is  to build and sustain the dense body, while that of the


[PAGE 85]                                             THE FUNCTION OF DESIRE

desire body involves destruction of the tissues.  Thus,  there is a constant
war  going  on between the desire and vital bodies,  and it is this  war  in
heaven that causes our physical consciousness on earth.   Through many lives
we have worked in every age and clime,  and from each life we have extracted
a  certain amount of experience,  garnered and stored as vibratory power  in
the  seed-atoms of our various vehicles.   Thus,  each of us is  a  builder,
building the temple of the immortal spirit without sound of hammer; each one
is a Hiram Abiff,  gathering material for soul-growth and throwing it in the
furnace of his life-experience,  there to be worked upon by the fire of pas-
sion and desire.   It is being slowly but surely melted,  the dross is being
purged in every purgatorial experience,  and the quintessence of soul growth
is  being extracted through many lives.   Every one of us is thus  preparing
for initiation,--preparing whether we know it or not--learning to blend  the
fiery passions with the softer,  gentler emotions.   The new hammer or gavel
wherewith  the master workman rules his subordinates is now a cross of  sor-
row, and the new word is self-control.


[PAGE 86]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

                                   PART II

               THE COLOR EFFECTS OF EMOTION IN ASSEMBLAGES OF

                    PEOPLE--THE ISOLATING EFFECT OF WORRY


   Let  us now see how the desire body changes under the  varying  feelings,
desires,  passions,  and emotions,  so that we may learn to build wisely and
well the mystic temple wherein we dwell.

   When we study one of the so-called physical sciences,  such as anatomy or
architecture,  which deals with TANGIBLE THINGS,  our task is facilitated by
the fact that we have words which describe the things whereof we treat,  but
even  then  the mental picture conceived by a word differs with  each  indi-
vidual.   When we speak of a "bridge,"  one may make a mental picture  of  a
million-dollar  iron  structure,  another  may think of  a  plank  across  a
streamlet.  The difficulty which we experience in conveying accurate impres-
sions  of our meaning increases apace when we attempt to convey  ideas  con-
cerning  nature's intangible forces,  such as electricity.   We measure  the
strength of the current in volts, the volume in amperes,  and the resistance
of  the  conductors in ohms, but, as a matter of actual fact, such terms are


[PAGE 87]                                       THE COLOR EFFECTS OF EMOTION

only inventions to cover up our ignorance of the matter.  We all know what a
pound of coffee is,  but the world's greatest scientist has no more accurate
conception of what the volts, amperes, and ohms are of which he so learnedly
discourses than the schoolboy who hears these terms for the first time.

   What wonder then that super-physical subjects are described in vague  and
often misleading terms,  for we have no words in any physical language which
will accurately describe these subjects,  and one is almost helpless and ut-
terly at a loss for descriptive terms wherewith to express oneself regarding
them.   If it were possible to throw colored moving pictures of  the  desire
body  upon the screen and there show how this restless vehicle changes  con-
tour and color according to the emotions, even then it would not give an ad-
equate  understanding to any one who was not capable of seeing these  things
himself,  for the vehicles of every single human being differ from  the  ve-
hicles  of  all others in the way they respond to  certain  emotions.   That
which causes one to feel intense love, hate, anger, fear,  or any other emo-
tion may leave another entirely untouched.

   The  writer has a number of times watched crowds for the purpose of  com-
parison in this respect,  and has always found something startlingly new and
different from what had hitherto been observed.  On one occasion a demagogue


[PAGE 88]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

was endeavoring to incite a labor union to strike;  he was very much excited
himself,  and though the basic color of deep orange was perceivable,  it was
for  the time being almost obliterated by a scarlet color of  the  brightest
hue;  the contour of his desire body was like the body of a  porcupine  with
its  quills sticking out.   There was a strong element of opposition in  the
place,  and as he talked one could clearly distinguish the two  factions  by
the colors of their respective auras.   One set of men showed the scarlet of
anger,  but in the other set this color was inter-mingled with a  grey,  the
color of fear.   It was also remarkable that,  although the grey men were in
the majority,  the others carried the day,  for each timid one believed him-
self alone or at least with very few supporters, and was therefore afraid to
vote for or express his opinion.   If one who was able to see this condition
had  been  present and had gone to each one who manifested in his  aura  the
signs  of dissension,  and had given him the assurance that he was one of  a
majority, the tide would have turned in the opposite direction.  It is often
so in human affairs,  for at the present time the majority are unable to see
beneath the surface of the physical body and thus to perceive the true state
of the thoughts and feelings of others.

   On  another  occasion  a revival meeting was visited where many thousands


[PAGE 89]                                       THE COLOR EFFECTS OF EMOTION

were present to hear a speaker of national repute.   At the beginning of the
meeting  it was evident from the state of the auras of the people  that  the
great majority had come there with no other purpose than to have a good time
and see some fun.   The thoughts, feelings,  and emotions connected with the
ordinary life of each were plainly visible, but in a number a certain  dark-
ish blue color showed an attitude of worry; it seemed that they had had some
disappointment in life and were very uneasy.   When the speaker appeared,  a
curious  phenomenon  took place:   desire bodies are usually in a  state  of
restless motion,  but at that moment it seemed as if the whole vast audience
must  have  held  its breath in an attitude of expectancy,  for  the  varied
color-play  in the individual desire bodies ceased and the basic orange  hue
was  plainly perceptible for an instant;  presently each commenced his  emo-
tional activities as before, while the prelude was being played.   Then com-
menced the singing of hymns,  and this showed the value and effect of music,
for  as  all united in singing identical words to the same  tune,  the  same
rhythmic  vibrations which surged through all these desire bodies seemed  to
blend them and make them,  for the time being,  almost one.   Quite a number
were sitting in the scoffers' seat, so to speak,  refusing to sing and unite
with  the  others.  To  the  spiritual  sight they appeared as men of steel,


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clothed  in an armor of that color,  and from each one,  without  exception,
went  out a vibration which said so much plainer than mere words could  ever
have done,  "Leave me alone, you shall not touch me."  Something from within
had  drawn  them there,  but they were mortally afraid of  giving  way,  and
therefore  their whole aura expressed this steel color of fear which  is  an
armor of the soul against outside interference.

   When  the first song was ended,  the unity of color and vibration  lapsed
almost immediately,  each one taking anew his customary thought  atmosphere;
and had nothing more been done, each would have lapsed into his habitual in-
ner life.   But the evangelist, though not able to see this,  knew from past
experience  that his audience was not yet ripe,  and a succession  of  songs
were  therefore sung to the accompaniment of clapping hands  beating  drums,
and gesticulations from the leader aided by a trained chorus.   This brought
the  scattered  souls again into a bond of harmony;  gradually  people  were
overwhelmed with religious fervor,  and the unity necessary for the next ef-
fort was established.   From the music, the leader's hand-clapping,  and the
stirring appeal of the songs, that vast audience had become as one,  for the
men of steel, the gray-tinted scoffers who thought themselves too wise to be
fooled (when their emotion really was fear),  were a negligible part in that


[PAGE 91]                                       THE COLOR EFFECTS OF EMOTION

vast congregation.  All were then attuned as the many strings upon one great
instrument,  and the evangelist who appeared before them was a master artist
at playing upon their emotions.  He moved them from laughter to tears,  from
sorrow to shame;  great waves of the corresponding colors seemed to go  over
the  whole audience,  as bewildering as they were magnificent.   Then  there
were  the  customary calls to "stand up for Jesus";  the invitation  to  the
"mourners' bench," etc., and each brought forth from all over the audience a
certain  emotional  response which was plainly shown in colors,  golden  and
blue.   Then there were more songs,  more clapping and gesticulations which,
for the time,  furthered the unity and gave this audience an experience  re-
sembling the feeling of universal brotherhood and the reality of the Father-
hood of God.   The only ones upon whom the music had no effect were the  men
clad in the steel blue armor of fear.   This color seems to be almost imper-
vious to any other emotion;  and even though the feelings experienced by the
great majority were relatively impermanent,  the people benefited in a  mea-
sure by the revival, with the exception of these men of steel.

   So far as the writer has been able to learn,  the inner fear of  yielding
to  emotion--fear being saturnine in effect and twin sister to  worry--seems
to  require  a  shock  that  will  take  the  person  so affected out of his


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environment and set him down in a NEW PLACE among NEW CONDITIONS before  the
old conditions can be overcome.

   Worry  is  a  condition where the desire currents do not  sweep  in  long
curved lines in any part of the desire body,  but where the vehicle is  full
of eddies--nothing but eddies in extreme cases.  The person so affected does
not endeavor to take action in any line;  he sees calamities where there are
none,  and instead of generating currents which lead to action that may pre-
vent the thing he fears,  each thought of worry causes an eddy in the desire
body,  and he does nothing in consequence.   This condition of worry in  the
desire body may be likened to water which is about to congeal under a lower-
ing temperature;  FEAR which expresses itself as skepticism,  cynicism,  and
pessimism may be likened to that same water when it has frozen,  for the de-
sire bodies of such people are almost motionless, and nothing one can say or
do seems to have the power to alter the condition.  They have, to use a com-
mon expression which fits the condition excellently,  "DRAWN INTO A  SHELL,"
and that saturnine shell must be broken before it is possible to get at  the
man and help him out of his pitiable state.

   These  saturnine  emotions of fear and worry are usually  caused  by  the
suffers'  apprehension  of  economic  or social difficulties.  "Perhaps this


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investment  which I have made may depreciate or become a total loss;  I  may
lose my position and find myself starving upon the street;  everything I un-
dertake seems to go wrong;  my neighbors are slandering me and trying to un-
dermine  my social position;  my husband (or wife) does not care for me  any
more; my children are neglecting me;" and a thousand and one kindred sugges-
tions  present themselves to the mind.  He should remember that  every  time
one of these thought is indulged in, it helps to congeal the currents in the
desire body and build a steel blue shell in which the person who  habitually
fosters  fear and worry will some time find himself shut off from the  love,
sympathy,  and  help of all the world.  Therefore we ought to strive  to  be
cheerful,  even under adverse circumstances,  or we may find ourselves in  a
serious condition here and hereafter.

   "It is easy enough to be pleasant
         When life flows along like a song,
   But the man worth while
   Is the one who will smile
         When everything goes dead wrong."


[PAGE 94]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

                                  PART III

               EFFECTS OF WAR UPON THE DESIRE BODY--THE VITAL

               BODY AS AFFECTED BY THE DETONATIONS OF BIG GUNS


   In  the beginning of the Great War the emotions of Europe ran riot  in  a
most horrible manner, first among the so-called "living," and then among the
killed--when  they awoke.   This awakening took a long time because  of  the
large guns used--but more of that later.   The whole atmosphere of the coun-
tries involved was seething with currents of anger and hate, like a cloud of
dark crimson it hung around every human being and over the land.  Then there
were dark-tinted streaks like a funeral pall, which seem always to be gener-
ated in crises of sudden disaster when reason is at a standstill and despair
grips the heart.  This was doubtless caused by the fact that the peoples in-
volved realized that a catastrophe of a magnitude which they were unable  to
comprehend was happening.  The desire bodies of the majority whirled at high
speed  in  long  waves  of  rhythmic  pulsation which said more plainly than


[PAGE 95]                            EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON THE DESIRE BODY

words,  "Just kill,  kill, kill."  When two or three or a crowd met and com-
menced  to discuss the war,  the rhythmic pulsations indicating the  settled
purpose to do and dare ceased,  and the thoughts and feelings of  excitement
generated  by  the discussion or speech took shape  as  conical  projections
which rapidly grew to a height of about six or eight inches, then they burst
and emitted a tongue of flame.  Some people generated a number of these vol-
canic  structures at one time,  in others there were only one or two at  the
same time.   When one of these bubbles had burst in one place,  another  ap-
peared somewhere else on the desire body while the discussion lasted, and it
was the flames from them that colored the cloud over the land scarlet.  When
a  crowd disbanded or friends parted after such a discussion,  the  bubbling
and  eruptions grew smaller and less frequent,  finally ceasing  and  giving
place again to the long rhythmic pulsations first mentioned.

   These conditions are now seldom if ever seen;  the explosive anger at the
enemy thus indicated is a thing of the past so far as the great majority are
concerned.   The basic orange color of the western peoples'  aura  is  again
visible,  and both officers and men seem to have settled down to war as to a
game;  each is anxious to outdo and outwit the other.  The war is now mainly
a  channel  for  their  ingenuity;  but  a number of the lay-brothers of the


[PAGE 96]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

Rosicrucian  Order  believe  that the condition of anger will  return  in  a
modified form when active hostilities cease and peace negotiations commence.
This form of emotion we may call abstract anger,  and it differs widely from
what is observed in the case of two persons who become angry with each other
in private life,  whether they start to fight physically or not.   Seen from
the  hidden side of nature,  there are hostilities before blows are  struck.
Jagged,  dagger-like desire-forms project themselves from one to  the  other
like spears until the fury which generated them has expended itself.  In the
patriotic anger there is no personal enemy,  therefore the desire-forms  are
more blunt and explode without leaving the person who generated them.

   The "steel man"  so common in private life where worry over the  thousand
one things that never happen crystallizes an armor around the person who al-
lows old Saturn to thus grip him, were are are conspicuous by their absence.
The writer accounts for it on the hypothesis that the tension in their envi-
ronment forced them to enlist and the shock broke the shell;  then familiar-
ity with danger bred contempt for it.  It is certain that these people  have
benefited  greatly  by  the war,  for there is no state  more  hampering  to
soul-growth than constant fear and worry.  It is also a remarkable fact that


[PAGE 97]                            EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON THE DESIRE BODY

though the men engaged in war suffer awful privations,  the mass of them are
cultivating a tinge of soft sky-blue which stands for hope, optimism,  and a
dawning religious feeling, giving an altruistic touch to the character.   It
is an indication that that universal fellow-feeling which knows no  distinc-
tions of creed, color, or country is growing in the human heart.

   In  the beginning of the war the desire bodies of the combatants  whirled
at an awful rate, and it was noted that while people passing over from sick-
ness,  old age,  or ordinary accidents regain consciousness in a short time,
varying  from  a few minutes to a few days,  those killed in war were  in  a
great  many cases unconscious for several weeks,  and strange to say,  those
who were almost torn to pieces seemed to wake up much quicker than thousands
that  had only insignificant wounds.   This puzzle was not solved  for  many
months.   Before  we study the causes underlying this  phenomenon,  we  must
first record that when the people who had thus died in intense anger  during
the first part of the war awoke in the invisible world, they usually started
to fight their enemies anew, and until the great educational work started by
the Elder Brothers and their Invisible Helpers bore fruit, these people went
about  with  maimed bodies and in great anguish because of their  dear  ones
left  behind.  Now such occurrences are extremely rare and soon settled, for


[PAGE 98]                                                 THE WEB OF DESTINY

all have been taught that thought will create a new arm, limb, or face;  the
patriotic hatred is gone,  and "enemies" able to speak each other's language
often  fraternize with benefit to both.   The red cloud of hate if  lifting,
the  black veil of despair is gone, there are no volcanic outbursts of  pas-
sion  in either the living or the dead,  but so far as th writer is able  to
read the signs of the times in the aura of the nations,  there is a  settled
purpose  to play the game to the end.   Even in homes bereaved of many  mem-
bers,  this seems to hold good.  There is an intense longing for the friends
beyond  but no hatred for the earthly foe.   This longing is shared  by  the
friends in the unseen and many are piercing the veil,  for the intensity  of
their longing is awakening in the "dead" the power to manifest by attracting
a  quantity of ether and gas which often is taken from the vital body  of  a
"sensitive"  friend,  as materializing spirits use the vital body of an  en-
tranced medium.  Thus the eyes blinded by tears are often opened by a yearn-
ing  heart so that loved ones now in th spirit world are met again  face  to
face,  heart  to heart.   This is nature's method of cultivating  the  sixth
sense  which will eventually enable all to know that man is an immortal spi-
rit and continuity of life a fact in nature.

   To  understand  the  slowness  wherewith  those  slain  in the war regain


[PAGE 99]                            EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON THE DESIRE BODY

consciousness in the unseen world,  we must first undertake a more  intimate
study  of the four ethers than has hitherto been given in  "The  Rosicrucian
Cosmo-Conception."

   The  atoms  of the chemical and life ethers gathered around  the  nuclear
seed-atom located in the solar plexus are shaped like prisms.   They are all
located in such a manner that when the solar energy enters our body  through
the spleen, the refracted ray is red.  This is the color of the creative as-
pect of the Trinity,  namely Jehovah, the Holy Spirit,  who rules Luna,  the
planet of fecundation.   Therefore the vital fluid from the sun which enters
the  human body by way of the spleen becomes tinged with a pale rose  color,
often noted by seers when it courses along the nerves as electricity does in
the wires of an electric system.  Thus charged, the chemical and life ethers
are the avenues of assimilation which preserve the individual, and of fecun-
dation which perpetuates the race.

   During life each prismatic vital atom penetrates a physical atom and  vi-
brates  it.   to form a picture of this combination,  imagine a  pear-shaped
wire basket having walls of spirally curved wire running obliquely from pole
to pole.  this is the physical atom; it is shaped nearly like our earth, and
the prismatic vital atom is inserted from the top,  which is widest and cor-
responds  to  the  north  pole  of  the  earth.  Thus the point of the prism


[PAGE 100]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

penetrates  the physical atom at the narrowest point,  which corresponds  to
the south pole of our earth,  and the whole resembles a top swinging,  sway-
ing,  and vibrating.   In this manner our body is made alive and capable  of
motion.  (It is noteworthy that our earth is similarly permeated by a cosmic
body  of ether,  and that those manifestations which we note as  the  Aurora
Borealis  and Aurora Australis are etheric currents circling the earth  from
pole to equator as currents in the physical atoms do.)

   The light and reflecting ethers are avenues of consciousness and  memory.
They  are  somewhat attenuated in the average individual and  have  not  yet
taken definite form;  they interpenetrate the atom as air interpenetrates  a
sponge, and they form a slight auric atmosphere outside each atom.

   At  death a separation takes place;  the seed atom is withdrawn from  the
apex of the heart along the saturnine pneumogastric nerve,  through the ven-
tricles and out of the skull (Golgotha); all the atoms of the vital body are
liberated from the cross of the dense body by the same spiral motion,  which
unscrews each prismatic atom of ether from its physical envelope.

   This  process  is attended with more or less violence  according  to  the
cause of death.  An aged person whose  vitality  has  been slowly ebbing may


[PAGE 101]                           EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON THE DESIRE BODY

fall asleep and wake up on the other side of the veil without the  slightest
consciousness  of how the change took place;  a devout and religious  person
who  has been prepared by prayer and meditation on the beyond would also  be
able to make an easy egress;  people who freeze to death meet with what  the
writer believes to be the easiest of accidental deaths, drowning being next.

   But when a person is young and healthy,  especially if of an  irreligious
or atheistic turn of mind,  the prismatic ether atom is so tightly  entwined
by the physical atom that a considerable wrench is required to separate  the
vital  body.   When the separation of the physical body from the higher  ve-
hicles has been accomplished and the person is dead,  as we say,  the  light
and  reflecting ethers are separated from the prismatic atom.   It  is  this
stuff,  as described in the Cosmo,  which is molded into the pictures of the
past life and etched into the desire body,  which then begins to feel  what-
ever there was of pain or pleasure in the life.   The part of the vital body
composed of the prismatic atoms of the chemical and life ethers then returns
to the physical body,  hovering above the grave and disintegrating  synchro-
nously with it.

   Now  comes the crux of our explanation.   Ether is physical  matter,  and
while  people  shot  with  small arms in a minor engagement may sometimes be


[PAGE 102]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

seen  walking  away  somewhat dazed but nevertheless  conscious,  the  awful
detonations of the big guns used so extensively have the effect of  throwing
the  prismatic ether atoms topsy-turvy, and shattering (not scattering)  the
auric  envelope  of  light  and reflecting ethers  which  is  the  basis  of
sense-perception and memory.   Until this resolves itself into its  original
relativity,  the man remains in a stunned,  comatose condition  which  often
lasts  for weeks.   Under such conditions this fine etheric stuff  does  not
lend  itself to the formation of pictures of the past life--it is  congealed
to a certain extent.


[PAGE 103]                                         THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS

                                   PART IV

              THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS--THE NECESSITY OF POISE

   When  the  Ego is on its way to rebirth through the  Region  of  Concrete
Thought,  the Desire World,  and the Etheric Region,  it gathers  a  certain
amount of material from each.  The quality of this material is determined by
the seed atom,  on the principle that like attracts like.   The quantity de-
pends upon the amount of matter required by the archetype built by ourselves
in the second heaven.   From the quantity of prismatic ether atoms that  are
appropriated  by  a certain spirit,  the Recording Angels and  their  agents
build  an  etheric  form  which is then placed  in  the  mother's  womb  and
gradually clothed with physical matter which then forms the visible body  of
the new born child.

   Only  a small portion of the ether appropriated by a certain Ego is  thus
used,  and the remainder of the child's vital body,  or rather the  material
from which that vehicle will  eventually  be made, is thus outside the dense


[PAGE 104]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

body.   For that reason the vital body of a child protrudes much farther be-
yond  the periphery of the dense body than does that of the  adult.   During
the period of growth this store of ether atoms is drawn upon to vitalize the
accretions within the body until, at the time when the adult age is reached,
the  vital body protrudes only from one to one and a half inches beyond  the
periphery of the dense body.

   It  has been determined by physical science that the atoms in  our  dense
body  are  constantly changing so that all the material which  composes  our
present vehicle at this moment will have disappeared in a few years,  but it
is  common  knowledge that scars and other blemishes  perpetuate  themselves
from childhood to old age.   The reason for this is that the prismatic ether
atoms  which compose our vital body remain unchanged from the cradle to  the
grave.   They are always in the same relative position--that is to say,  the
prismatic ether atoms which vibrate the physical atoms in the toes or in the
fingers  do not get to the hands,  legs, or any other part of the body,  but
remain in exactly the same place where they were placed in the beginning.  A
lesion of the physical atoms involves a similar impression on the  prismatic
ether atoms.   The new physical matter molded over them continues to take on
shape and texture similar to those which originally obtained.


[PAGE 105]                                         THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS

   The foregoing remarks apply only to the prismatic ether atoms which  cor-
respond to solids and liquids in the physical world,  because they assume  a
certain definite shape which they preserve.  But in addition each human  be-
ing  at  this stage of evolution has a certain amount of the light  and  re-
flecting ethers, which are the vehicles of sense perception and memory,  in-
termingled in his vital body.   We may say that the light ether  corresponds
to the gases in our physical world; perhaps the best description that can be
given of the reflecting ether is to call it hyper-etheric.   It is a vacuous
substance of a bluish color resembling in appearance the blue core of a  gas
flame.  It appears transparent and seems to reveal everything that is within
it, but nevertheless it hides all the secrets of nature and humanity.  In it
is  found  one record of the Memory of Nature.   The  light  and  reflecting
ethers are of an exactly opposite nature to that of the stationary prismatic
ether atoms.  They are volatile and migratory.  However much or little a man
possesses of this material, it is an accretion, a fruitage, derived from his
experiences in life.   Inside the body it mingles with the blood stream  and
when  it has grown by service and sacrifice in life's school so that it  can
no longer be contained within the body,  it is seen on the outside as a soul
body of gold and blue.  Blue shows the highest type of spirituality,  there-


[PAGE 106]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

fore  it is smallest in volume and may be compared to the blue core  of  the
gas flame, while the golden hue forms the larger part and corresponds to the
yellow light which surrounds the core in the gas ring.   The blue color does
not appear outside the dense body save in the very greatest of  saints--only
yellow is usually observable there.  At death this part of the vital body is
etched  into the desire body with the life panorama which it contains.   The
quintessence  of all our life experience is then eventually  impressed  upon
the seed atom as conscience or virtue which urges us to avoid evil and to do
good  in a coming life.   Thus the quality of the seed atom is altered  from
life to life.  The quintessence of good extracted from the migratory part of
the vital body in one life determines the quality of the prismatic  station-
ary ether atoms in the next life.   The highest in one life becomes the low-
est in the next and thus we gradually climb the ladder of evolution  towards
divinity.

   From the foregoing it will be evident that the vital body is a vehicle of
habit;  all parents know that during the first seven years of childhood when
this  vehicle is in course of gestation that children form one  habit  after
another.  Repetition is the keynote of the vital body and habits depend upon
repetition.   It is different with the desire body,  the vehicle of feelings
and emotions which are always changing from moment to moment; thought it has


[PAGE 107]                                         THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS

been said that the ether which forms our soul body is in constant motion and
mingles  with the blood stream,  that motion is relatively slow compared  to
the  rapidity of the current of the desire body;  we may say that the  ether
moves like a snail compared with light.

   The points brought out by the foregoing may be summed up as follows:

   Desire  stuff  moves  with inconceivable rapidity  comparable  only  with
light.

   The two higher ethers also travel with great speed though far slower than
desire stuff.

   The  prismatic ether atoms composing the lower ethers are stationary  but
have a high rate of vibratory motion.

   The dense atoms are as motionless as the crystal in the rock.

   No matter what people say to us or about us,  their words have no intrin-
sic  power to hurt--it is our own mental attitude towards  their  utterances
which  determines the effect of their words upon us for good or ill.   Paul,
when  facing persecution and slander,  testified that "NONE OF THESE  THINGS
MOVE ME."  All who hope to advance spiritually must cultivate EQUIPOISE, for
without it the desire body will either run riot or congeal, according to the
nature  of  the emotions generated by intercourse with others whether worry,


[PAGE 108]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

anger, or fear.  We know that the dense body is our vehicle of action,  that
the vital body gives it the power to act, that the desire body furnishes the
incentive to action, and that the mind was given as a brake on impulse.   We
learn from the Cosmo,  pp.  89, 90,  91,  that thought-forms from within and
without the body are being continually projected upon the desire body in  an
endeavor to arouse feeling which will lead to action,  and that reason ought
to  rule the lower nature and leave the higher self scope for expression  of
its  divine proclivities.   We also know that HABITUAL thought has power  to
mold even physical matter,  for the nature of the sensualist is plainly dis-
cernible  in his features which are as coarse and gross as the  features  of
the spiritually minded are delicate and fine.  The power of thought is still
greater in its potency to mold the finer vestures.  We have already seen how
thoughts  of fear and worry congeal the desire body of any one who  indulges
in that habit,  and it is equally certain that by cultivating an  optimistic
frame of mind under all circumstances we can attune our desire bodies to any
key we wish.   AFTER A TIME, THAT WILL BECOME A HABIT.  It must be confessed
that it is difficult to HOLD the desire body down to any definite lines, but
it can be done,  and the attempt must be made by all who aspire to spiritual
advancement.


[PAGE 109]                                         THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS

   Regarding the effect from the occult standpoint of this polarization,  we
may learn much from certain customs in so-called secret societies.   As  you
know,  such organizations always place at the door a guard who is instructed
to  deny  admittance to anyone not supplied with the  proper  pass-word  and
signs, and that works very well so far as the people are concerned who func-
tion only in their physical body.   But the so-called secrets of these orga-
nizations are not in any sense secrets to those who are able to enter  their
places  of  assembly  in their vital bodies.   It is  otherwise  in  a  true
esoteric order such as, for instance, the Rosicrucians.  No guard is on duty
at the door of that Temple when the Mystic Midnight Mass is said each  night
of  the week.   The door is wide open to all who have learned to  speak  the
open sesame.  But that is not a spoken password; the initiate who desires to
attend  must know how to attune his soul body to the particular rate of  vi-
bration  maintained on that night.  Furthermore,  this vibration differs  on
the  various  nights of the week so that those who have  learned  to  attune
themselves to the vibration maintained on Saturday night when the first  de-
gree meets are as effectually barred from entering the Temple with those who
carry on the work Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc., as any ordinary person.


[PAGE 110]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

   The  cosmic law under which this is done applies also to the control  and
effect of our thoughts,  feelings, and emotions.  Paul well said that WE ARE
THE  TEMPLE  of the living God (our Higher Self).   We have also  created  a
subtle aura about us under th guardianship of the Divine Hierarchies  reign-
ing over the seven planets, Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury,  Jupiter,  and
Venus.    The  Universe,   or  great  world,   is  mystically   called   the
seven-stringed  lyre of Apollo.   our individual organism or microcosm is  a
replica or image of God,  and it behooves us to awaken in ourselves an  echo
of this music of the spheres.   Most of us have learned to respond too  much
to the saturnine vibrations of sorrow, gloom, fear, and worry, which congeal
our desire bodies,  and it would be to the lasting benefit of all to try  to
cultivate the spiritual vibrations of the Sun,  filling our lives with opti-
mism and sunshine which will dispel the saturnine gloom and despondency  and
prevent such thoughts entering our aura in the future.

   The prime necessity of advancement is equipoise.  All who aspire ought to
adopt Paul's motto, "None of these things move me."


[PAGE 111]                                            THE EFFECTS OF REMORSE

                                   PART V

          THE EFFECTS OF REMORSE--THE DANGERS OF EXCESSIVE BATHING

   As  there are many among the Rosicrucian students who perform  the  exer-
cises given by the Elder Brothers for the purpose of furthering soul-growth,
though  they have not felt inclined to enter the Path,  it is thought to  be
well to consider the occult effect of the emotions engendered by these exer-
cises.

   When in the exercise of retrospection the aspirant to the higher life re-
views  the happenings of the day IN REVERSE ORDER and meets an  incident  in
which he hurt some one or failed to help another or in any other way did not
live up to that which he holds as his ideal of conduct, he is taught to cul-
tivate  intense  remorse for whatever he has done wrong for the  purpose  of
eradicating the record from the seed-atom in the heart where it has been im-
printed by the act,  and where it will remain until it is wiped out by  suf-
ferings in purgatory unless previously expunged by artificial means such  as
this exercise.


[PAGE 112]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

   In  purgatory  the cleansing process is accomplished by  the  centrifugal
force of repulsion which tugs and tears the desire stuff,  in which the pic-
ture is formed over its matrix of ether,  out of the desire body.   At  that
particular time the soul suffers as it made others suffer, because of a sin-
gular condition in the lower regions of the Desire World where purgatory  is
located.   Some seers who are unable to contact the higher regions speak  of
the Desire World as illusory, and they are right so far as the lower regions
are  concerned,  FOR THERE ALL THINGS APPEAR REVERSED AS WE SEE  THEM  IN  A
GLASS.   This peculiarity is not purposeless--nothing in God's  kingdom  is;
all  things serve a wise end.   This reversal places the erring soul in  the
position  of its victim,  so that when a scene unrolls on the screen of  its
past  life where it did a wrong to some one,  the soul does not stand  as  a
mere spectator and see the scene re-enacted,  but it becomes,  for the  time
being,  the victim of the wrong and it feels the pain felt by  that  wronged
one, for the centrifugal force of repulsion exerted to tear the picture from
th  desire body of the wrongdoer must at least equal the hate and  anger  of
the victim which impressed the picture upon the seed-atom at the time of oc-
currence.

   During retrospection the aspirant endeavors to imitate these  conditions;
he tries to visualize the scenes where he did something wrong,  and the  re-
morse  he  endeavors  to  feel  must  at  least equal the resentment felt by


[PAGE 113]                                            THE EFFECTS OF REMORSE

whomever he wronged.  It then has the same effect of expunging the record of
the  injury as does the centrifugal force of repulsion,  which  accomplishes
the eradication of evil in purgatory FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXTRACTING THEREFROM
THE QUALITY OF THE SOUL WHICH WE KNOW AS CONSCIENCE, and which acts as a de-
terrent in hours of temptation.  Thus used,  the emotion of remorse cleanses
and purifies the desire body of weeds and tares,  leaving the soil free  and
fostering  the  growth of manifold virtues that blossom into  spiritual  ad-
vancement and bring greater opportunities for service in the Master's  vine-
yard.

   But as the force latent in gunpowder and kindred explosive substances may
be  used  to further greatest objects of civilization or to outdo  the  most
savage acts of barbarism, so also, this emotion of remorse may be misused in
such  a manner that it becomes a detriment and a hindrance to the  soul  in-
stead of a help.  When we indulge in remorse daily and hourly,  we are actu-
ally  wasting a great power which might be used for the most noble  ends  of
life,  for  the constant indulgence of regret affects the desire body  in  a
manner similar to that which follows excessive bathing of the physical body,
as  described in the "VICE OF EXCESSIVE CLEANLINESS,"  an article which  ap-
peared  in  our  magazine,  "RAYS FROM THE ROSE CROSS."  It was there stated


[PAGE 114]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

that water has a great affinity for ether and absorbs it most greedily, sev-
eral illustrations being given to demonstrate the fact;  it was also  stated
that when we take a bath under normal conditions, it removes a great deal of
poisonous miasmatic ether from our vital bodies, provided we stay in the wa-
ter a reasonable length of time.   After a bath the vital body becomes some-
what attenuated and consequently gives us a feeling of weakness,  but if  we
are  in our usual good health and have not stayed in the bath too long,  the
deficiency  is  soon made good by the stream of force which flows  into  the
body through the spleen.   When this influx of fresh ether has replaced  the
poisoned substance carried off in the water,  we feel renewed vigor which we
rightly  attribute to the bath,  though usually without realizing  the  full
facts as here stated.

   But  when a person who is not in perfect health makes a habit of  bathing
every day,  perhaps even twice or three times,  an excess of ether is  taken
from  the  vital body.   The supply entering by way of the  spleen  is  also
diminished  on account of the loss of tone of the seed-atom located  in  the
solar plexus and the attenuated condition of the vital body.  Thus it is im-
possible for such people to recuperate between such oft repeated depletions,
and  as  a  consequence  the health of the dense  body  suffers;  they  lose
strength continually and are apt to become confirmed invalids.


[PAGE 115]                                            THE EFFECTS OF REMORSE

   "AS ABOVE SO BELOW, AND AS BELOW, SO ABOVE,"  says the Hermetic aphorism,
enunciating thereby the great law of analogy which is the master-key to  all
mysteries.   When we use the centrifugal force of remorse to  eradicate  the
acts  of evil from our hearts during the evening exercise of  retrospection,
the effect is similar to the action of the water which removes the miasmatic
poisoned ether from our vital bodies during the bath,  and thus leaves  room
for an influx of pure health-promoting ether.   After we have burned out the
wrong-doings  in the sacrificial fire of remorse,  the  poisonous  substance
thus eradicated leaves room for the influx of desire stuff which is  MORALLY
healthier  and  better soil for noble deeds.   The more  thoroughly  we  are
purged by this remorse,  the greater the vacuum produced and the better  the
grade of new material we attract to our subtler vehicles.

   But, on the other hand, if we indulge in regrets and remorse during every
waking hour as some do, we are outdoing purgatory, for though the time there
is  spent in eradication of evil, the consciousness turns from each  picture
when it has been torn out by the force of repulsion.   Here,  because of the
interlocking of the desire and vital bodies,  we are enabled to revivify the
picture  in  memory  as  oft as we please,  and while  the  desire  body  is
gradually dissolved in purgatory by the expurgation of the panorama of life,


[PAGE 116]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

certain small amount is added while we are living in the physical world,  to
take the place of that which is ejected by remorse.   Thus,  remorse and re-
gret when continually indulged in have the same effect on the desire body as
excessive  bathing  has on the vital body.   Both vehicles are  depleted  of
strength by excessive cleansing,  and for that reason it is as dangerous  to
the  moral and spiritual health to indulge indiscriminately in  feelings  of
regret  and remorse as it is fatal to physical wellbeing to bathe too  much.
Discrimination should govern in both cases.

   When we perform the exercise of retrospection,  we should give  ourselves
over  to the feelings of regret and remorse with our whole soul;  we  should
endeavor to shed tears of fire that may burn into our very innermost  being;
we  should make the cleansing process as thorough as possible,  to  the  end
that  we may grow in grace thereby to the utmost.   BUT HAVING FINISHED  THE
EXERCISE  WE SHOULD DO THE SAME AS IS DONE IN PURGATORY--CONSIDER THE  INCI-
DENTS  OF THE DAY CLOSED AND FORGET ALL ABOUT THEM,  save in so far as  they
demand restitution of something,  the making of an apology,  or such  subse-
quent acts to satisfy the demands of conscience.   And having thus paid  the
debt, our attitude ought to be one of unfailing optimism.  "THOUGH YOUR SINS
BE AS SCARLET, THEY SHALL BE AS WHITE AS SNOW."   "If God be for us, who can


[PAGE 117]                                            THE EFFECTS OF REMORSE

be against us?" B y that attitude we die daily to the old  life  and  we are
born each day to walk in the newness of the spiritual life, for  our  desire
bodies are thus renewed and ready to serve a higher aim in life than the day 
before.

   And while we are discussing regret and remorse as applied to the  problem
of soul-growth,  with their effect on our subtle bodies, we may also profit-
ably mention the effect of regret directed into other channels.   There  are
people  who live with regret as with a boon companion,  who take it  to  bed
with  them at night and get up with it in the morning;  they take it to  the
office,  shop,  or church,  they sit with it at meals,  they nurse it as the
most  precious  thing in their possession, and they would sooner  part  with
life itself than give up their regret for this, that, or the other thing.

   As a vampire sucks the ether from the vital body of its victim and  feeds
upon  it,  so perpetual thoughts of regret and  remorse  concerning  certain
things become a desire-elemental which acts as a vampire and draws the  very
life from the poor soul who has shaped it, and by the attraction of like for
like, it fosters continuance of this morbid habit of regret.

   We are not helping the loved ones who have departed this life by our  re-
grets which we love to fancy are evidences  of  our faithfulness, but we are


[PAGE 118]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

hindering them.  They have left the present sphere of experience and are go-
ing onwards to other realms where there are other lessons to be learned, and
we are holding them back by our thoughts,  for they feel us most acutely for
some  time  after they have passed over,  and we owe them a  duty  to  think
thoughts of cheer and love instead of selfish regret which hurts both us and
them.   Regret  is  subversive  of  all  spiritual  growth,  for  while  the
thought-elemental  thus created hangs about us as a vampire we cannot  climb
the rugged path.

   Loathsome as the vulture which feeds upon the noxious,  decomposing  car-
casses  of the dead are the vain regrets which live upon the morbid  contem-
plation of the past and its mistakes.   It is our duty to drive them out  of
our  mental habitation as we would eject a vulture from our  physical  abode
were it to seek entrance.

   Instead,  let us cultivate an attitude of optimism in all things, for all
things  work together for good--God is at the helm,  nothing can  go  really
wrong, and all will turn out right in God's good time.



[PAGE 119]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

 

                         PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION





[PAGE 121]                                        PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION


                         PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION

                                 PART I

                  THE NATURE OF AND PREPARATION FOR PRAYER


   The  subject of prayer is well worth the attention and study of  all  who
aspire spirituality,  and we trust the following hints may help our students
in their efforts in this direction.

   There is only one force in the universe, namely, the Power of God,  which
He  sent forth through space in the form of a Word;  not a single word,  but
the  creative  fiat which by its sound-vibration marshaled the  millions  of
chaotic atoms into the multitudinous shapes and forms from starfish to  star
and microbe to man, which constitute and inhabit the universe.   As the syl-
lables and sounds of this creative Word are being spoken,  one after another
through the ages, species are being created and the older ones evolved,  all
according  to the thought and plan conceived in the Divine Mind ere the  dy-
namic force of creative energy was sent out into the abyss of space.


[PAGE 122]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

   This, then, is the only source of power, and in it we really, truly,  and
literally  live and move and have our being,  just as surely as  the  fishes
live  in the water.   We can no more escape or withdraw ourselves  from  God
than the fish can live and swim on dry land.   It was no mere poetic  senti-
ment  when  the  Psalmist said:   "Whither shall I go from  thy  spirit,  or
whither  shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into  heaven,  Thou
art there.   If I make my bed in the grave behold Thou art there.  If I take
the  wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  even
there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me."

   God is Light,  and not even the greatest of modern telescopes which reach
many  millions of miles into space have found the boundaries of light.   But
we know that unless we have eyes wherewith to perceive the light,  and  ears
which register the vibrations of sound,  we walk the earth in eternal  dark-
ness and silence;  similarly,  to perceive the Divine Light which alone  can
illuminate  our  spiritual darkness,  and to hear the voice of  the  silence
which  alone can guide us,  we must cultivate our spiritual eyes  and  ears;
prayer,  true scientific prayer,  is one of the most powerful and effcacious
methods  of finding favor before the face of our Father,  and receiving  the
immersion in spiritual light which alchemically transforms the sinner to the


[PAGE 123]                                        PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION

saint and places around him the golden wedding garment of Light,  the  lumi-
nous soul body.

                   PREPARATION FOR PRAYER.  ORA ET LABORA.

   But  be not deceived,  prayer alone will not do this.   Unless our  whole
life,  waking and sleeping, is a prayer for illumination and sanctification,
our prayers will never penetrate to the Divine Presence and bring down  upon
us a baptism of His power.  "ORA ET LABORA"--pray and work--is an occult in-
junction which all aspirants must obey or they will meet with but scant suc-
cess.   In this connection an ancient legend of St.  Francis of Assisi  will
bear  repetition because of the light it sheds upon the life on  one  wholly
dedicated to the service of God.

   One day St.  Francis stepped up to a young brother in the monastery  with
the invitation:  "Come, brother, let us go down to the village and preach to
the people."  The young brother addressed responded with alacrity, overjoyed
at the prospect of a walk with the holy father, for he knew what a source of
spiritual upliftment it would be.  And so they walked to the village, up and
down its various streets and lanes,  all the while conversing upon topics of
absorbing  spiritual interest,  and finally turned their steps homeward  to-
wards  the monastery.   Then suddenly it dawned upon the young brother  that
they  had been so absorbed in their own conversation that they had forgotten


[PAGE 124]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

the  object  of  their walk to the village.   Diffidently  he  reminded  St.
Francis  of the omission,  and the latter responded:   "Son,  while we  were
walking  the  village streets the people were watching  us,  they  overheard
snatches  of conversation and noted that we were talking of the love of  God
and His dear Son, our Saviour; they noted our kindly greetings and our words
of cheer and comfort to the afflicted ones we met,  and even our garb  spoke
to them the language and call of religion; so we have preached to them every
moment  of our sojourn among them to must better purpose than if we had  ha-
rangued  them  for hours in the market place."   St.  Francis had  no  other
thought but God and to do good in His name therefore he was well attuned  to
the divine vibration,  and it is no wonder than when he went to his  regular
prayers he was a powerful magnet for the divine Life and Light which  perme-
ated his whole being.

   We who are engaged in the so-called secular work of the world and  forced
to do things that seem sordid,  often feel that we are hampered and hindered
on that account, but if we "do all things as unto the Lord"  and are "faith-
ful over a few things,"  we shall find that in time opportunities will  come
of which we do not dream.  As the magnetic needle temporarily deflected from
the North  by  outside pressure instantly and EAGERLY returns to its natural


[PAGE 125]                                        PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION

position  when the pressure is removed, so we must cultivate  that  yearning
for  our Father which will instantly turn our thoughts to Him when our  work
in the world is done for the day and we are free to follow our own bent.  We
must cultivate a feeling similar to that which ensouls young lovers when af-
ter  an  absence they fly into each others arms in an  ecstasy  of  delight.
This is an absolutely essential preparation for prayer, and if we fly to our
Father  in that manner,  the Light of His presence and the sweetness of  His
voice will teach and cheer us beyond our fondest hopes.


                             THE PLACE OF PRAYER


   The next point requiring consideration is the place of prayer; this is of
very  vital importance for a reason not generally known even among  students
of occultism;  it is this.  Every prayer, spoken or unspoken,  every song of
praise,  and every reading of parts of the scriptures which teach or exhort,
if  done  by a PROPERLY PREPARED READER WHO LOVES AND LIVES WHAT  HE  READS,
BRINGS  DOWN UPON BOTH THE WORSHIPER AND THE PLACE OF WORSHIP AN  OUTPOURING
OF  SPIRIT.   This in time an invisible church is built around the  physical
structure  which in the case of a devout congregation becomes  so  beautiful
that  it transcends all imagination and defies description.   Manson in  the
"Servant in the House" gives us only the faintest glimpse of what it is like


[PAGE 126]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

when he tells the old Bishop:

   "I  am afraid you may not consider it an altogether substantial  concern.
It  has to be seen in a certain way under certain conditions.   Some  people
never see it at all.   You must understand,  this is no dead pile of  stones
and  unmeaning timber,  it is a LIVING THING.   When you enter it  you  hear
sound,  a sound as of some mighty poem chanted.   Listen long enough and you
will learn that it is made up of the beating of human hearts,  of the  name-
less music of men's souls; that is, if you have ears.  If you have eyes, you
will presently see the church itself,  a looming mystery of many shapes  and
shadow  leaping sheer from floor to dome,  the work of no ordinary  builder.
Its pillars go up like the brawny trunks of heroes; the sweet human flesh of
men and women is moulded about its bulwarks, strong impregnable.   The faces
of little children laugh out from every corner stone; the terrible spans and
arches  of it are the joined hands of comrades,  and UP IN THE  HEIGHTS  AND
SPACES  ARE  INSCRIBED  THE NUMBERLESS MUSINGS OF ALL THE  DREAMERS  IN  THE
WORLD.   It is yet building,  building, and built upon.   Sometimes the work
goes forward in deep darkness--sometimes in blinding light--now beneath  the
burden of unutterable anguish,  now to the tune of great laughter and heroic
shoutings like the cry of thunder.  Sometimes in the night time one may hear


[PAGE 127]                                        PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION

the tiny hammerings of comrades at work in the dome,  the comrades that have
climbed ahead."

   But this invisible edifice is not merely lovelier than a fair palace in a
poet's  dream;  it is as Manson says,  A LIVING THING,  vibrant with  divine
power  of  immense aid to the worshiper, for it helps him in  adjusting  the
tangled  vibrations  of the world which permeate his aura when he  enters  a
true "House of God" and to get into the proper attitude of prayer.   Then it
helps  him to lift himself in aspiration tot he throne of divine grace,  and
to  offer there his praise and adoration which call forth from the Father  a
new outpouring of the spirit in the loving response, "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON
IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED."

   Such  a place of worship is essential to spiritual growth  by  scientific
prayer,  and those who are fortunate enough to have access to such a  temple
should always OCCUPY THE SAME PLACE IN IT,  for that becomes permeated  with
THEIR  individual vibrations and they fit into that environment more  easily
than anywhere else; consequently they get better results there.

   But  such places are scarce,  for a REAL sanctuary is required in  scien-
tific prayer.   No gossip or profane conversation may take place in or  near
it  for that spoils the vibrations;  voices must be hushed and the  attitude
reverent; each must bear in mind that he stands upon holy ground and act ac-
cordingly,  Therefore no place open to the general public will answer.


[PAGE 128]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

   Furthermore,  the  power of prayer increases enormously with  each  addi-
tional  worshiper.--The increase may be compared to geometrical  progression
if the worshipers are properly attuned and trained in COLLECTIVE prayer; the
very opposite may result if they are not.

   Perhaps an illustration may make the principle clear.   Suppose a  number
of musicians who have never played with others and who perhaps are not  very
proficient in the use of their instruments, were brought together and set to
play  in concert;  it needs no very keen imaginations to realize that  their
first attempts would be marked by much discord,  and were an amateur allowed
to play with them, or even with a finished orchestra,  no matter how earnest
and how intense his desire, he would inevitably spoil their music.   Similar
scientific  conditions  govern  collective prayer;  to  be  effcacious  par-
ticipants must be equally well prepared as elucidated under a previous head-
ing;  THEY MUST BE ATTUNED UNDER HARMONIOUS HOROSCOPIC INFLUENCES.   When  a
malefic  in one nativity is on the ascendant of another,  those  two  cannot
profit by praying together;  they may rule their stars and live in peace  if
they  are developed souls,  but they lack the basic harmony which  is  abso-
lutely essential in collective prayer.  Initiation removes this barrier  but
nothing else can.


[PAGE 129]                                           THE WINGS AND THE POWER

                                   PART II

             THE WINGS AND THE POWER; THE INVOCATION; THE CLIMAX

   It  was made clear in Part I that there are certain occult reasons  which
make COLLECTIVE prayer inadvisable except under special conditions.

   It was knowledge of these difficulties which prompted the Christ to  warn
his  disciples not to say their prayers before men and to advise  them  that
when they wanted to pray to enter into their CLOSET.   We cannot each have a
large beautiful edifice for our devotions,  not do we require it;  too often
prompt and display are apt to turn our hearts from God.   But most of us can
set a small portion of our room aside for devotion, curtain it off or with a
screen separate it from the rest of the apartment,  or we can take a  closet
(literally)  and  make it into a sanctuary.   The nature of  the  encircling
walls  matters not it is THE APARTNESS AND THE INVISIBLE HOUSE OF GOD  which
we  build our prayers,  and the divine downpouring which we receive  in  re-
sponse  from  our Father that are important.  A picture of Christ and a Rose


[PAGE 130]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Cross  may  be hung upon the wall if desired,  but are not  essential.   The
All-Seeing  Eye is preferred by some very successful occultists of  our  ac-
quaintance as a symbol of the Father.  But we remember the words of  Christ,
"The  Father  and  I are one;"  so though we have no  authentic  picture  of
Christ, we prefer to use such as we have, for we know that thoughts will not
go  astray on account of lack of authenticity.   Christ is the Lord of  this
era;  later,  of course, the Father takes charge, but now Christ is mediator
for the masses.

   We need scarcely say that no matter how large of small, the whole room or
apartment of the successful aspirant is permeated by an atmosphere if  holi-
ness,  for  all the thoughts which he can legitimately have apart  from  the
faithful  performance of his worldly duties are of the heavenly Father,  but
the  corner of closet set apart as a sanctuary soon becomes filled with  SU-
PERLATIVELY  SPIRITUAL VIBRATIONS;  therefore any aspirant who  contemplates
following the scientific method of prayer should first seek to secure A PER-
MANENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE, for if he moves about from place to place he will
suffer a distinct loss every time and have to begin to build anew.   The in-
visible temple which he built and left disintegrates by degrees when worship
ceases.


[PAGE 131]                                           THE WINGS AND THE POWER

                           THE WINGS AND THE POWER

   It is a mystic maxim that "all spiritual development begins with the  vi-
tal body."   This is next in density to our dense body, its key-note is REP-
ETITION, and it is the vehicle of habits, hence somewhat difficult to change
or  influence,  but once a change has been effected and a habit acquired  by
repetition,  its  performance becomes automatic to a certain  extent.   This
characteristic is both good and bad in respect to prayer, for the impression
registered in the ethers of this vehicle will impel the aspirant to faithful
performance of his devotions AT STATED TIMES,  even though he may have  lost
interest in the exercise and his prayers are mere forms.  If it were not for
this habit forming tendency of the vital body, aspirants would wake up their
danger as soon as the real love began to wane,  and it would then be  easier
to  retrieve the loss and keep on the Path.   Therefore the aspirant  should
carefully examine himself from time to time to see if he still has WINGS and
POWER wherewith swiftly and surely to life himself to his Father in  Heaven.
The wings are two in number;  LOVE AND ASPIRATION are their names,  and  the
irresistible power which propels them is INTENSE EARNESTNESS.  Without these
and an intelligent understanding to direct the INVOCATION,  prayer is only a
babble;  properly  performed it is the most powerful method of  soul  growth
known.


[PAGE 132]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

                          THE POSITION OF THE BODY

   The position of the body matters little in SOLITARY PRAYER;  that is best
which is most conducive to concentration of purpose; but in COLLECTIVE pray-
ing it is the practice of accomplished occultists to stand with bowed  heads
and hands folded in a peculiar manner.   This makes a magnetic circuit which
unites  them  spiritually from the very commencement of the  exercises.   In
communities  not  so advanced,  the singing of a hymn so standing  has  been
found of great benefit, PROVIDED ALL TAKE PART.

                               THE INVOCATION

   Prayer  is  a word which has been so abused that it really does  not  de-
scribe the spiritual exercise to which we have reference.   As already  said
when  we go to our sanctuary we must go as the lover who hastens to his  be-
loved,  our spirit must fly ahead of our slow-moving body in eager anticipa-
tion  of  the delights in store for us, and we must forget all else  in  the
thoughts  of adoration which fill us on the way.   This ids literally  true;
the  feeling required for success resembles nothing in the world so much  as
that  which draws the lover to his beloved;  it is even more ardent and  in-
tense.  "As the hind panteth for the water brook, so thirsteth my soul after
Thee,"  is  an  actual  experience of the true lover of God.  If we have not


[PAGE 133]                                           THE WINGS AND THE POWER

this spirit, it can be cultivated by prayer, and one of the most constant of
the legitimate prayers for self should be, "O God, increase my love for Thee
so  that  I may serve Thee better from day to day."   "Let the words  of  my
mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord,  My
strength and my Redeemer."

   Invocations for temporal things are black magic; we have the promise "See
ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall
be  added unto you."   The Christ indicated the limit in The  Lord's  Prayer
when  He taught His disciples to say:  "Give us this day our  daily  bread."
Whether for ourselves or others we must beware of going father in scientific
invocation.   But even in praying for spiritual blessings we  should  beware
lest a selfishness develop and destroy out soul growth.  All the saints tes-
tify  to the days of darkness when the divine Lover hides His face  and  the
consequent depression.   Then it depends upon the nature and the strength of
our  affection:   Do we love God for Himself, or do we love Him for the  de-
lights  we experience in the sweet communion with Him?   If the latter,  our
affection  is essentially as selfish as the feelings of the multitude  which
followed  Him  because  He had fed them, and now as then it is necessary for


[PAGE 134]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Him to hide from us in such cases, a mark of His tender love and  solicitude
which should bring us to our knees in shame and remorse.  Happy are we if we
right  the  defect  in our characters and learn the  lesson  of  unfaltering
faithfulness  from  the magnetic needle,  which points to the  pole  without
wavering despite rain or storm clouds that hide its beloved star.

   It has been said that we must not pray for temporal things,  and that  we
ought to be careful even in our prayers for spiritual gifts; it is therefore
a  legitimate question:   What then shall be the burden of  our  invocation?
And the answer is,  generally, PRAISE AND ADORATION.   We must get away from
the  idea that every time we approach our Father in Heaven we must  ask  for
something.   Would  it not annoy us if our children were always  asking  for
something from us?   We cannot of course imagine our Father in Heaven  being
annoyed  at our importunities,  but neither can we expect Him to grant  what
would often do us harm.   On the other hand,  when we offer thanksgiving and
praise we put ourselves in a favorable position to the law of attraction,  a
receptive state where we may receive a new downpouring of the Spirit of Love
and Light, and which thus brings us nearer to our adored ideal.

                              THE FINAL CLIMAX

   Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  audible of inaudible invocation should


[PAGE 135]                                           THE WINGS AND THE POWER

continue  during the whole time of prayer.  When upon the wings of Love  and
Aspiration, propelled by the intensity of our earnestness, we have soared to
the Throne of our Father,  there may come a time of sweet but silent commun-
ion  more delightful than any other state or stage;  it is analogous to  the
contentment of lovers who may sit for hours in unbroken silence, too full of
love for utterance, a state which far transcends the stage where they depend
upon speech for entertainment.   So it is also in the final climax when  the
soul RESTS in God,  all desires satisfied by that feeling of at-one-ment ex-
pressed in the words of Christ, "My Father and I are One."  When that climax
has been reached the soul has tasted the quintessence of joy,  and no matter
how  sordid  the world may seem or what dark fate it may have to  face,  the
love of God which passeth all understanding is a panacea for all.

   It should be said however,  that that final climax is only attainable  IN
ALL ITS FULLNESS at rare intervals.  It pre-supposes not only the  intensity
of purpose to soar to the divine, but a reserve fund to remain posed in that
position, which most of us have not always at hand.  It is a well known fact
that nothing worth while comes without effort.   What man had done,  man can
do,  and if we start to cultivate the power of invocation along  the  scien-
tific lines here laid down, we shall in time reap results of which we little


[PAGE 136]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

dream.

   And may our Father in Heaven bless our every effort.


[PAGE 137]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY



                              PRACTICAL METHODS

                                     OF

                              ACHIEVING SUCCESS
 

  


[PAGE 139]                            PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS


                   PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS

                    BASED UPON CONSERVATION OF SEX FORCE


   It  is just impossible to attain true and lasting success with living  in
harmony with the laws of life,  as it is for a criminal to live at peace  in
the community whose laws he breaks.   Just as he is eventually punished  be-
cause of his predatory habits, and incarcerated and restrained,  so also na-
ture punishes, incarcerates, and restrains us when we break her laws.   This
restraint is called disease and is an enemy of happiness, for one, no matter
what wealth he may have or what position he may occupy in the world,  can be
very  happy when he is in ill health bodily.   Thus it will be seen that one
of the vital requirements for the man and woman who desires a full  realiza-
tion  of happiness and success in life is health,  including  strength,  for
only  in the measure that we are supplied with bubbling-over health  can  we
feel  sufficiently optimistic,  cheerful and vigorous to attain the  success
which we are seeking.


[PAGE 140]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

   The Bible tells us that death and disease cam into the world through eat-
ing  of the "tree of knowledge,"  and though from the materialist  point  of
view this may sound silly,  let us not dismiss the story without looking  at
it a little closer.  We shall find that it is perfectly in harmony with sci-
entific  facts as shown in the world today.   Consider first the meaning  of
the tree of knowledge as illustrated by the later remarks:   "Adam KNEW  his
wife and she bore Abel;"  "Adam KNEW his wife and she bore Seth;" and Mary's
words  to the angel,  "How shall I conceive seeing I KNOW not a man?"   From
these and many similar remarks it is evident that the tree of knowledge  was
a  symbolical  expression of the generative act.   Mankind is thus,  as  the
Bible says,  conceived in sin and therefore subject to death,  and from this
there would seem no escape.

   We would,  however,  do well to remember that evolution is a fact in  na-
ture;  that man as he is today is the result of a long past,  and that  this
present  state is not the final attainment of a standard of perfection,  but
that  there are greater heights ahead of us.  We are in a state of EVER  BE-
COMING; there is no halting nor resting upon the path, which is as limitless
as the age of the spirit.   Moreover,  as what we are today is the result of
what  we  were  yesterday,  so also it depends upon how we use our faculties


[PAGE 141]                            PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS

today whether we shall be one thing or another tomorrow.   Let us then exam-
ine the past,  so that by learning what we have been, we may gain an inkling
of what we are to be.

   According to the Bible,  mankind was male-female before it was  separated
into two distinct sexes as man and woman.   We still have with us hermaphro-
dites  who have this,  as we thing today,  abnormal formation to  prove  the
truth of this Biblical assertion;  and physiologically the opposite organ of
either  sex is latent in all.   During the period when man was thus  consti-
tuted  fertilization  must have occurred within himself;  nor  is  this  any
stranger than that many plants are so fertilized today.

   Let  us now see from the Bible what was the effect of  self-fertilization
in the early days.   There are two prime facts that stand out:   One is that
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH IN THOSE DAYS;  the other that THE PATRIARCHS
LIVED FOR CENTURIES; and these two characteristics, great growth and longev-
ity, are possessed by many plants of today.  The great size of trees and the
length of their life are wonderful,  the live centuries where man lives only
a  few  score years.   Then the question comes,  what is the reason  of  the
evanescence of human life, and what is the remedy?  Let us first take up the


[PAGE 142]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

question of the reason, and the remedy will later be apparent.

   It  is  well  know to horticulturists that plants are  stunted  in  their
growth when they bloom too prolifically.  A rose may bloom to such an extent
that it dies; therefore the wise gardener prunes the buds from the plants so
that  the  strength may go partly into growth instead of blossom.   Thus  BY
KEEPING  THE SEED WITHIN ITSELF it attains the strength required for  growth
and longevity.   This was the secret of the great size and long life of  the
earliest races,  as it is the secret of the size and longevity of the plants
today.

   That the creative essence in the seed is a spiritual substance is evident
when  we compare the dauntlessness and impatience at restraint of the  stal-
lion or the bull, with the docility of the steer and the gelding.  Moreover,
we  know that the confirmed libertine and the degenerate become sterile  and
emaciated.  When these facts have sunk into our consciousness it will not be
difficult to conceive of the truth of the Bible assertion that the fruit  of
the  flesh,  which brings us under the law of sin and death,  is  first  and
foremost  fornication,  whereas  the  fruit  of  the  spirit  which make for


[PAGE 143]                            PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS

immortality,  as  shown  in  the  same book,  are  said  to  be  principally
continence and chastity.

   Consider  also the child and how the creative force USED WITHIN  AND  FOR
THE  CHILD ITSELF causes an enormous growth during the early years,  but  at
the age of puberty the birth of passion commences to check growth; the vital
force  then produces seed in order to find growth and expression  elsewhere,
and thenceforth growth is stunted.   If we continued to grow during life  as
we grow during childhood,  we should be giants as were the divine hermaphro-
dites of long ago.

   The  spiritual force generated from the time of puberty and  all  through
life may be used for three purposes,  GENERATION,  DEGENERATION,  OR  REGEN-
ERATION.   It depends upon ourselves which of the three methods  we  choose;
but  the choice that we make will have an important bearing upon  our  whole
life, for the use of this force is not confined in its effect to the time or
occasion upon which it is thus used.   IT OVERSHADOWS EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF
OUR EXISTENCE,  and determines among our fellow men; how we meet the various
trial  of life;  whether we are able to grasp our opportunities or let  them
slip  by;  whether  we  are  healthy  or  sick; and whether we live our life


[PAGE 144]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

according to a satisfactory purpose; all of this depends upon the way we use
the vital force.   That is the very spring of all our existence,  the elixir
of life.

   The part of the creative force which is legitimately sacrificed upon  the
altar  of fatherhood and motherhood is so small that it may be entirely  ne-
glected for the purpose of the present considerations.   There is no  reason
whatever from a physical or spiritual standpoint why celibacy should be  in-
sisted upon in any religious order,  neither is this at all in harmony  with
the Bible.  The mere suppression of sexual attraction is not a virtue in it-
self;  in fact it may be a very serious vice,  for there is no question that
many millions,  fall into the most unspeakable vices on that account.   Even
if  they  abstain from the sexual act, their thoughts are of such  a  nature
that  they make themselves whited sepulchres,  horrible within  though  out-
wardly seeming pure and white.   Paul himself,  thought not in the condition
mentioned,  said:  "It is better to parry than to burn;" and the natural ex-
pression is far to be preferred to such an  inward state as above described.


[PAGE 145]                            PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS

   While  there are very few who will defend abuse of the  generative  func-
tion,  many people who follow spiritual percepts in other things still  have
the feeling than frequent indulgence of the desire for sexual pleasure works
no harm;  some even have the idea that it is as necessary as the exercise of
any  other organic function.   This is wrong for two reasons:   First,  each
creative  act requires a certain amount of force which burns up tissue  that
must be replenished by an extra amount of food.   This strengthens and  aug-
ments the Chemical Ether.   Secondly as the propagative force works  through
the Life Ether,  this constituent of the vital body by sending the  creative
force downwards for gratification of our desire for pleasure;  and their in-
terlocking grip upon the two higher ethers which form the soul-body  becomes
tighter  and  more  powerful  as time goes on.   As  the  evolution  of  our
soul-powers and the faculty of traveling in our finer vehicles depends  upon
the cleavage between the lower ethers and the soul-body,  it is evident that
we frustrate the object we have in view and retard development by indulgence
of the lower nature.

   If  we turn again to the garden we may obtain a striking illustration  of
the result of following the apostle's advice  to  "keep the seed within," by


[PAGE 146]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

considering  the  qualities of the seedless varieties  of  fruit.   Seedless
fruits  are larger and better flavored than those which have seeds,  because
in them all the sap is used for the single purpose of making the fruit deli-
cious and succulent.  Similarly, if instead of wasting our substance we live
chastely  and  send the creative force upward for regeneration,  we  thereby
etherealize  and  refine  our  physical bodies at  the  same  time  that  we
strengthen our soul bodies.   In this manner WE MAY MATERIALLY LENGTHEN LIFE
and  so increase our opportunities for soul growth and advancement upon  the
Path in a very marked degree.

   When  we  realize that success does not consist in  the  accumulation  of
wealth but in soul growth,  it will be evident that continence is an  impor-
tant factor in the attainment of success in life.



[PAGE 147]                                                             INDEX

                                    INDEX

Abiff, Hiram, betrayed by sons of Seth 83.
   descendant of Cain, a son of fire 83.
   each individual is counterpart of 85.
   master mason in construction of Solomon's Temple
         prepares the Molten Sea 82, 83.
   proposed to make clear alloy, capable of reflecting wisdom, 83.
Abnormalities, physical, traceable to mental abuse in previous lives 64.
Abstract anger, desire forms of, are blunt 96.
   desire forms of, explode without leaving person who
         generated them 96.
Accidents, caused by interference in lives of others 74.
   result of carelessness 74.
Affinity, chemical, of water for ether 114.
Altruism, product of inner urge of indwelling Christ 67, 73.
Ancestors, worship of, inspired by elementals 47.
Angels, lunar, concerned with propagation and nourishments of species 84.
   have charge of moist, aqueous vital body 84.
   molded cords and appendages of moon beings by power of emotion 80.
   work in vital body 84.
Angels, recording, build etheric mold of dense body 103.
Anger, abstract, desire forms of, are blunt 96.
Animal group spirit, currents of, encircle the earth 72.
Animal obsession, by evil men 52.
   by suicides 51.
   when misunderstood forms basis of belief in transmigration 53.
Apprehension, congeals currents of desire body 93.


[PAGE 148]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Archetype, built by ourselves in second heaven 103.
   determines quantity of matter of different worlds drawn to seed atom 103.
Archetype, creative, affected by nature of past life 65.
   produces disease when built in accordance with a
         perverted viewpoint 65, 66.
   undestroyed by death of suicide, causes fear of death in next life 51.
Assimilation, carried on through lower ethers 99.
Assissi, St. Francis of, a powerful magnet for divine life and love 124
Atmosphere, dark streaks in, generated by world catastrophes 94.
Atoms, dense, are motionless 107.
   constantly being replaced 104.
   have pear shaped contour 99.
   vibrated by vital atoms 99.
Atoms, prismatic ether, affinity of water for 114.
   constitute structure of chemical and life ethers 99.
   gathered around nuclear seed atom 99.
   have definite shape 105.
   reflect red of the solar ray 99.
   retain relative positions in vital body 104.
   wrenches loose at death 101.
   vibrate atoms of dense body 99, 104.
   interpenetrate the physical 99.
Aura, can exclude all saturnine influences 110.
   of saints, gold and blue, 105, 106.
   of true esoteric orders, 109.
Auric envelope, shattered by shell shock 102.
Aurora borealis, absorbed by man in inhabited parts of earth 73.
   etheric currents encircling earth 100.
   influence of, being more potent 71, 72.
   rays of generated by Christ Spirit 72.
   rays of, will effect change in human sense organs 72.

Bathing, constantly may deplete vital body 114, 115.
   may purify etheric atoms 113, 114.
Bible 27, 140, 141.
Blood, absorbs picture of outer world 21.



[PAGE 149]                                                             INDEX

Blue, in aura, indicative of spirituality 105.
Body, archetype of, SEE Archetype, creative.
Body, dense, SEE Dense Body.
Body, desire, SEE Desire Body.
Body of man, the cross 100.
   the Mystic Temple 86.
Body vital, SEE Vital Body.
Brain, originally constructed of desire substance 59.

Cain, first ancestor of Hiram Abiff, gives latter new word and hammer 84.
Capital Punishment, releases evil spirits of murderers upon community 34.
Cause and effect 54-76.
Centrifugal 112, 113.
Cerebellum, from and through, man may be manipulated 49.
   working through cerebellum entity may reach medulla oblongata 49.
Character, impressed upon higher ethers of vital body 15.
Chastity, fruit of spirit 143.
Cheerfulness, necessity for 93.
Chemical and life ethers, SEE Ethers, chemical and life.
Children, vital bodies of, protrude farther beyond periphery of dense 
    bodies than in adults 103.
Christ, born within the individual 73.
   brought altruism to this planet 67.
   formed in vital body 17.
   nourished by development of higher ethers 17.
Christ rays, in past were static, now becoming dynamic will transform 
   earth's atmosphere to sea of light 72, 73.
Christ vibrations from cosmic source, arouse Christ within 73.
   induce altruistic attitude in individual 73.
Clean life, effect of, on future archetype 65.
Closet, a special personal prayer closet advisable for the neophyte 129.
Collective destiny in community disasters 74.
Color, of aura, visible in crowds 87-91.
Coma, state of after death, caused by shell-shock 101, 102.
Common signs are weakest 62.


[PAGE 150]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Common sign (con't) bestow resiliency upon all born under their influence
   62.
   indicate inability of individual to withstand shock or strain 62.
   indicate individual's lack of restraint in previous life 63.
   show lack of mental stability 60.
Concrete thought, region of, SEE Region of Concrete Thought.
Congenital Insanity, caused by abuse of creative function in 
         previous lives 64.
   produced by inadequate connection between etheric and physical 
         sense centers 62.
Conscience, developed through retrospective exercise, 112, 113.
   evolved through purgatorial suffering 112.
   is a quality of the soul 113.
Consciousness, basis of, after death 32.
   result of conflict between vital and desire bodies 85.
   in old people and those of devotional nature at death 101, 102.
   regained slowly in case of war victims 97, 101.
Consequence and rebirth, laws of, necessary because of causes generated
         in physical world 8.
Continence, power gained through 142, 146.
Continuity of life, the fundamental fact of existence 7.
Controls, SEE Spirit Controls.
Conversion, "Christ within "forms real basis for 17.
   dependent upon growth of higher ethers 17.
   permanent only when rooted in vital body 17.
Cosmic cry of billions of inhabitants of moon globes, first note in
         harmony of the spheres 81.
Creative act, tissue consumed in 145.
Creative energy, symbolizing Jehovah, is red 99.
Creative essence exists as spiritual substance 142.
Creative fiat 121.
Creative force, conservation of, produces longevity and growth, 142, 143.
   legitimate sacrifice of 144.
   manner of man's use determines state of health 143.


[PAGE 151]                                                             INDEX

Creative force (CON'T) use of, influences every act of life 143.
   retained within child's body, produces growth 143.
   three uses of 143.
Creative function, abuse of, cause of mental weakness 58.
Cross, of body 100.
Crowds, controlled by wills of minority 88.
Cruelty, in previous lives causes deformity in structure of eye 70.
Currents of animal group spirits encircle earth 72.
   similar to dynamic electricity 72.
Cynicism, an expression of fear 92.

Dead, affected by grief of relatives 117, 118.
Dead, longing for, attracts ether through which materialization may
         be effected 98.
Death, atoms of vital body liberated by spiral motion 100.
   extreme fear of, due to suicide in previous life 51.
   higher vehicles withdrawn at 101.
   of soldiers, from shell-shock, causes impairment
         of life panorama 101, 102.
   produces change in vital body similar to that effected by initiation 28.
   results from withdrawal of seed atom from dense body 100.
   result of abuse of creative function 140.
   separation of ethers occur after 101.
   tranquility of mind renders death almost imperceptible 101.
   wrench occurs at, which frees vital body 101.
Debts, necessity for paying moral 116.
Degeneration, caused by abuse of creative force 143.
Demagogue, effect of on crowd 88.
Demoniacal possession SEE Obsession.
Dense body, atoms of constantly being replaced 104.
   built by vital body 84.
   destroyed by dense body 85.
   given power of action by vital body 108.
   vehicle of action 108.
   vibrated by action of prismatic ether atoms 104.
Desire body, attuned by optimism to any desired key 108.
   changes color and contour under feelings and emotions 87.


[PAGE 152]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Desire body (cont'd) conflict of, with vital body results in physical 
         consciousness 29.
   coarser elements of, dissolved in purgatory by expurgation of life 
         panorama 116.
   congealed by Saturn, planet of gloom 110.
   difficult to hold down to definite lines 108.
   depleted by constant regrets 113.
   destroys tissues of dense body 85.
   dynamic power of, available in invisible worlds 12.
   furnishes incentive to action 108.
   generated in Moon Period 79.
   in constant flux 10.
   may be cleansed by remorse 113.
   passions of, due to work of Lucifer Spirits 80, 84.
   pictures impressed upon desire body in life panorama, etched upon,
         through medium of vital body 27.
   safe development of, only obtainable through rule of the spirit 12.
   temper of, must be controlled not killed 12.
   thirst for revenge 11.
   unconsciously woven by individual 82.
   vehicle of feelings and emotions 106, 107.
   without poise, will either run riot or congeal 107.
Desire current, changed to eddies by worry, 92.
   generated in Moon Period by Lucifer spirits were red 80.
   restlessness of, in individuals, produces troubles 80.
Desire forms and colors, generated by war 95, 97.
   of hate generated in heated discussions 95.
   seen at revivals 89.
Desire matter formed first substance of brain, larynx and nerves 59.
Desire stuff constituted firmament in Moon Period 80.
   moves with rapidity of light 107.
Desire World, all things in appear reversed 112.
Desire, emotions, and passions cause convolutions in desire body 112.
Desire, cumulative effect, of stamped on seed atom; retained from life 
         to life 60.
Destiny, collective, SEE Collective Destiny.
Devils, evil departed spirits who obsess negative mediums


[PAGE 153]                                                             INDEX

Devils (con't) discarded sin bodies, attracted to original 
         owners at rebirth 40.
Devils, SEE ALSO Elementals, Obsessions, Sin-bodies.
Digestion, affected by worry 79.
Discrimination, necessity for, in retrospective exercise 116.
Disease, caused by erratic habits of past life 63, 64.
   result of destructive thoughts of past life which pair creative
         archetype 65.
   result of infraction of law 139.
Dweller, on the threshold 26, 30, 47.
   confused with sin-bodies and elementals 26, 47.


Earth-bound spirits, earth-bound by interlocking of vital and 
         desire bodies 39.
   lay up purgatorial sufferings 39.
   provoke family feuds 37.
Earth-bound spirits, SEE ALSO Elementals, Sin-bodies.
Eddies in desire body, induced by worry 92.
Ego, seeking re-embodiment, draws material from each world in descent 103.
   etheric form of, placed in mother's womb by Recording Angels 103.
   quality of materials used by, determined by seed atoms 103.
   quantity of materials employed by, determined by archetype 103.
Elder Brothers and Invisible Helpers work with war victims 97.
Electricity, dynamic, as result of Christ influence, evolving from
         static state 72.
   gave earth its power of motion in past 72.
   similar to currents of animal group spirits 72.
Electricity, static, in past Christ-rays were 72.
   related to currents of plant group-spirit 72.
Elementals, attach themselves to individuals, families, and religious
         societies 46.
   belong to other life-waves 44.
   inspire ancestor worship 47.
   live upon etheric fumes of food offerings and incense 46.


[PAGE 154]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Elementals, (con't) obsessing controls of mediums 45.
   obtain vehicles through mediumship 46.
   sub-human spirits who express themselves on invisible planes 44.
   take possession of discarded sin-bodies 44.
Elementals, created by regret, of pernicious kind 118.
Elementals, SEE ALSO Earth-bound Spirits, Sin-Bodies.
Elixir of life, the creative force 144.
Embalming, suffering caused by 33.
Emotion, affects metabolistic changes 79.
Emotion and desire in Moon Period constituted universal essence 80.
Emotion and passions, successful blending of, hastens initiation 85.
   morbid fear of yielding to, may be overcome by new environment 92.
   produce convolutions in desire body 81.
Energy, solar, enters body through spleen 99.
   tinged with rose 99.
Environment, significance of 55, 56.
Epilepsy, causes of 63.
Equipose, SEE Poise.
Esoteric orders, surround temples with impenetrable aura 109.
Ether, atoms of, SEE Atoms, Prismatic Ether.
Ether, reflecting, forms one record of memory of nature 105.
   vacuous blue substance 105.
Etheric region, extends beyond earth's atmosphere 24.
   hypnotic victims levitate toward 24.
Ethers, ability to separate, one requisite for Invisible Helpers 14.
   in vital body 14.
Ethers, chemical and life, decrease as aspirant "lives the life" 29.
   form matrix for dense body 14.
   involved in all physical processes 14.
Ethers, chemical and life, avenues of assimilation and fecundation 99.
   course along nerves as pink fluid 99.
   higher, composes soul body 145.
   lower, augmented by sexual indulgence 145.


[PAGE 155]                                                             INDEX

Ethers (con't) nuclear seed-atom of, located in solar plexus 99.
   quantity of, in aura, depends upon amount of good extracted
         from higher ethers 106.
   reflect red of solar ray 99.
   separate from higher ethers at death 101.
Ethers, light and reflecting, amount of existing in aura
         indicates state of spiritual development 105.
   at death record of, is etched into desire body 106.
   atoms of, interpenetrate the dense atoms 100.
   attenuated in the average individual 100.
   avenues for consciousness, and sense perception 100.
   form aura of gold and blue when life is pure 105.
   mingle with blood stream 105.
   volatile and migratory in nature 105.
Ethers, light and reflecting, growth of Christ within depends upon
         growth of 17.
   form luminous cloud around aspirant who "lives the life" 17.
   involved in all soul growth 15.
   may be increased by right living 15.
   reflecting, form part of Memory of Nature 23.
Ethers, highest in one life become lowest stationary in next 106.
Ethers, SEE ALSO Vital Body.
Evolution promoted by highest etheric atoms in one life becoming lowest 
         in next 106.
Experience, furnace of life, promotes growth 85.
   stored in seed-atom as vibratory power 85.
   quintessence of, etched upon seed-atom 85.
Eye trouble, caused by cruelty in previous lives, which deforms the eye 
         structure 70.
   outcome of response to higher octave of vision 70.

Faculties, present use of, determines efficiency in future 141.
False teaching, best protection against, is self-reliance 36.
Families, vital bodies of, held for generations by elementals 47.
Fear and worry, create eddies in desire body 92.
   create steel-blue shell 90, 93, 95.
   constitute armor impervious to emotion 91, 96.
   inhibit action 92.


[PAGE 156]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY


Fear and worry (con't) injures physical body 79.
   leaves desire body motionless 92.
   manifests as cynicism, pessimism, skepticism, 92.
   restricts soul growth 92.
Fecundation carried on through lower ethers 99.
Feuds, provoked by earth-bound spirits 37.
Fire, of passion and desire, works on materials gathered for soul growth 85.
Flame of life burns in medulla oblongata 49.
Foetus and umbilical cords 80.
Force, one in universe, the power of God 121.
Form, created by sound vibration 121.

Generation, legitimate use of creative force 143.
Generative act, "tree of knowledge" of Bible 140.
Gravitation and Initiation draw in same direction 24.
Grief, effect of, upon the dead 118.
Growth checked by desire 143.
   produced by conserving creative force 142, 143.

Habit, vital body, vehicle of 106.
Habits, dangers of 131.
   erratic, cause disease in following life 63.
Hammer, new, SEE New Hammer and New Word.
Hate, of patriotic anger, desire forms of are conical in shape 95.
   when generated in heated discussions 95.
   when generated in personal anger 96.
Health dependent upon manner of man's use of creative force 143.
   effect of upon mind 139.
Hermaphroditism, state of man in past 141, 143.
Higher ethers, SEE Ethers, Light and Reflecting.
Hiram, Abiff, SEE Abiff, Hiram.
Hysteria 63.

Idiocy, result of ego's attempt to escape embodiment 62.
Idiocy, SEE ALSO Insanity.
Illness, result of attentuated condition of vital body 22.
Immaculate conception, an individual experience 73.
Incontinence, loss of power through 142.
Infant mortality, due to disturbance at preceding death 42.


[PAGE 157]                                                             INDEX

Infant mortality (con't) of epidemics, collective destiny 42, 74.
   of future, will be one result of Great War 42.
Initiation, all preparing for, consciously or unconsciously 85.
   path of, runs from circumference to center of earth 24.
   removes barrier of basic horoscopic inharmonies between people 128.
Insanity, result of lack of congruency between sense centers of vital and 
         dense bodies 62.
Insanity, congenital, caused by abuse of creative function 
         in other lives 60, 61.
   produced by inadequacy of connection between etheric and physical
         sense centers 62.
Insanity (CON'T) produced by shock 62.
   produced by effort of spirit to escape embodiment 61, 62.
Interlocking of vital and desire bodies continues after death of
         evil character 33.
   prevalent in the past 36.
   produced by cherishing vindictiveness 41, 42.
   produced by selfishness fostered by Jehovah 36.
Interlocking of lower and higher ethers result of sexual abuse 145.
Interplanetary ether, attracted to earth by Christ, makes 
         atmosphere luminous 72, 73.
Invisible Helpers, one in whom etheric division has been accomplished 18.
Invisible Helpers, aid our Elder Brothers in work with the suffering 97.
Invocation, for temporal things, black magic 133.
   eagerness for, a necessary preparation 
   proper, brings down an outpouring of the spirit 125.

Jehovah controls fecundation 99.
   creative energy has its source in 99.
   ruler of the moon 99.
   symbol of, is red 99.
Jesus Christ, SEE Christ.
Jesus, Master Mason, builder of mystic temple 82.
Joseph. builder of the temple 82.


[PAGE 158]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Larynx, originally desire substance 59.
Levitation, force of, protects sacred precincts 24.
Lie, is both murder and suicide in desire world 64.
life ether, SEE Ethers, Chemical and Life.
Life Spirit, world of, contains only permanent record of cosmic events 24.
Light and Reflecting ethers, SEE Ethers, Light and Reflecting.
Longevity, produced by conservation of sex-force 141, 142.
Longing for dead attracts ethers 98.
Lower ethers, See Ethers, Chemical and Life.
Lucifer spirits generated red desire currents in Moon Period 80.
   work in desire body 84.
Lyre of Apollo, the outer universe 110.

Masons, the builders of the mystic temple 82.
   Jesus and Joseph were 82.
Masonic legend, application of, all build mystic temple designed by God 82.
   each ego a Hiram Abiff 85.
   each ego thrown into furnace of life's experience 85.
Materialism, effect of, upon body as manifested in disease 64.
Materialization by denizens of lower regions of desire world 42, 43.
   difficulty of, for more progressed 43.
   of recently disembodies spirits 43.
Materialization, SEE ALSO Obsession.
Medicine men, added intelligence of, due to elemental ensouling sin-body 44.
Mediums controlled by elementals 45.
   evolution of, retarded for ages 45.
Medulla Oblongata, center of, Flame of Life in 49.
Memory of nature, in reflecting ether 23, 105.
   in region of Concrete Thought 23.
   in world of Life Spirit 24.
   accurate reading in, dependent upon ability to leave body at will 24, 25.
   records every fact relating to universe or individual 23.


[PAGE 159]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Mental deficiencies result of lasciviousness in former life 63.
Mental deficiencies, see also Insanity.
Mental reactions towards words of others 107.
Metabolism, affected by fear and worry 79.
Mind, inchoate cloud 10.
   purifying of 10.
   vehicle most recently acquired 10.
Molten Sea, prepared by Hiram Abiff 83.
   the Philosopher's Stone 83.
Moon, planet of fecundation, ruled by Jehovah 99.
Moon Period 80.
Murderers, execution of, releases evil spirits upon community 38.
Music, effect of, upon crowds 89, 90.
Music of the spheres 81.
Mystic development must begin with the vital body 15.
Mystic mass of the Rosicrucians 109.
Mystic temple, the body 86.

Nervous disorders, result of lasciviousness in previous life 63.
Nervous system, originally desire currents 59.
New Hammer, the cross of sorrow 85.
New World of self-control 85.
New World and New Hammer given to Hiram Abiff 84.
   will reconcile fire and water 84.

Obsession, by shells of sin-bodies as demons 40.
   by spirits dwelling in sin-bodies 40.
   by sub-human entities, which produce insanity 50.
   elemental unable to manipulate mind of larynx 50.
   intermittent when control manipulates from without 49.
   made possible by suicide in previous life 50.
   permanent where control actually enters body of victim 49.
   prevalent in modern countries 41.
   when spirit is ousted by, it hovers around its dense vehicle 50.
Obsession, see also Elementals, Spirit Controls.


[PAGE 160]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Optimism, desirability of 118.
   induced by spiritual solar vibrations 110.
   relation of, to success 139.
   will attune desire body to any desired key 108.
Orange, basic color of wester people's auras 95.
Orders, esoteric, auras of 109.
Organs, defective, causes by indifference in previous lives 70.

Panorama of life etched upon desire body through medium of vital body 27
Panorama of life, partial loss of caused by shell-shock 102.
   moulded from light and reflecting ether 102.
Passion, desire and emotion from convolutions in desire body 81.
Passion and desire work on material gathered for soul growth 85.
Peoples, ancient, evil of 36, 37.
Pessimism, an expression fear 92.
Philosopher's Stone made from union of fire and water 83, 84.
Physical abnormalities traceable to abuse of mental power in previous 
   lives 64.
Plant group spirits, likened to static electricity 72.

Pneumogastric nerve, avenue for withdrawal of seed-atom at death 100.
Poltergeist, obsessing entity with vital and desire bodies interlocked 34.
Prayer, and worship build a spiritual structure about the place of 125.
   place of, must be a real sanctuary 127.
   place of, must not be open to the general public 128.
   properly performed is the most powerful method of soul growth known 122.
   for self, may legitimately include 133.
Prismatic ether atoms see Atoms, prismatic ether.
Privations of war, cause change in aura, due to acquirement of religious
   feeling 97.
Pseudo-teachers, dangers of 35.
Purgatorial experiences, lengthened by interlocking of vital and desire 
   bodies 39.


[PAGE 161]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Purgatorial suffering based on pictures impressed on desire body 27.
   develops conscience 113.
   avoided by retrospective exercises 113, 115
   induced by force of repulsion 112.
Purgatory, cleansing process of, tears desire studd containing accusing 
   picture from desire body 112.
Purity, of motive, no protection against obsession 46.

Quintessence of life experience etched upon seed-atom 106.

Rays of force from plant group spirit radiate from center of earth 71.
Rebirth due to generation of causes upon physical plane 8.
Rebirth, law of, see Consequence of Rebirth.
Recording angels, form connection between vital body and brain in foetus 61.
Recording angels, see also Angels, recording.
Red symbolizes creative energy of Jehovah 99.
Reflecting ether forms part of Memory of Nature 23, 105.
Reflecting ether, see Ether, reflecting.
Regeneration, legitimate use of creative force for 143.
   may be accomplished by purifying thoughts 10.
Region of Concrete Thought, archetype is built in accordance with ego's mode 
   of thought 65,66.
Regret, harmful effect of 113, 118.
Remorse, by removing evil, prepares for coming of good 115, 116.
   centrifugal force of 112, 116.
   cleanses desire body 112, 115
   creates desire elementals, when indulged in to excess 117.
   harm from indiscriminate use 114.
   may foster virtue when rightly used 113.
   sacrificial fire of 115.
Repetition, keynote of vital body 106.
Repulsion, centrifugal force of 112.
Research in higher worlds, qualifications for 9-11.
Retrospection, evening exercise of, develops conscience 112.
   effects soul-growth 112.
   erases record from seed-atom 111.


[PAGE 162]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Retrospection (cont.) remorse necessary in proper performance of 116.
   thoroughness an essential requisite of 116.
   view of day's happenings in reverse order 111.
Rewards of prayer 125.
Right thought, constructive power of 65, 66.
Revivals, inadequacy of 16.
Rosicrucians, passwords of 109.
   mystic mass of 109.
   service of, differs each night in week 109.
   teach methods of separating ethers 18.

Saints, aura of is blue 106.
Saturn congeals desire body 110.

   counteracted by solar force 110.
   shell of reserve must be broken 92.
Scars result of lesion of ether atoms 104.
Secret societies, occult customs of 109.
Seed-atom impressed with every act 21, 111.
   in apex of left ventricle of heart during life 21.
   retains all life's experiences 27.
   of dense body, withdraws from heart, producing death 100.
   of desire body, accumulates effects of desires and emotions, retained 
         from life to life 60.
Self-control, new word of Hiram Abiff 85.
Self-fertilization, effect produced by 141, 146.
Selfishness predominates in the majority of mankind 31.
Self-reliance, necessary protection against false teaching 36.
Sense centers of desire body, not unfolded in most people 13, 14.
"Servant in the House, The," description of place of prayer 125.
Service of Rosicrucians, different each night in week 109.
Seth, sons of, descendants of Jehovah 83.
   they destroyed the great work of Hiram Abiff 83.
Sex force, abuse of, reacts in future lives 63.
Sexual attraction, mere suppression of, no virtue 144.
Shell-shock shatters vital body 102.
Shock may cause spirit to attempt to escape, resulting in insanity 62.


[PAGE 163]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Shock (cont.) produces damaged connection between vital, desire, and dense 
   body 62.
Sin-body, attracted to former owner on re-embodiment 40.
   composed of the worst elements of desire and vital bodies 40.
   constitutes the devil of the Bible 41.
   has individual consciousness 40.
   inhabits lowest etheric regions 42.
   persons creating sin body may repent 47, 48.
   taken possession of by elementals 44.
Sixth sense being developed through longing for the dead 98.
Skepticism, an expression of fear 92.
Skull of man, the Golgotha of the Bible 100.
Solar energy enters body through the spleen 99.
   reflected as red in passing through prismatic atoms
         in solar plexus 99.
Solar plexus, seed atom of vital body is located in 114.
Soldiers, death of, from shell-shock causes partial loss of life panorama 
   102.
Solomon, temple of, see Temple of Solomon.
Soul, absorbed by spirit in second heaven 32.
   closely linked with desire body and mind 14.
   coalesces with higher vehicles after death 28.
   culture of, necessity for 31.
   forms basis of post-mortem consciousness until second heaven is 
     reached  32.
   vehicle of, is vital body 27.
Soul body, consists of two higher ethers of vital body 18, 145.
   is luminous 15.
   vehicle of intellect 14.
Soul body, see also Soul.
Soul culture, necessity of 31
Soul flights, impossible when ethers interlock 145.
Soul growth, achievement of 146.
   wisdom of, contained in Masonic legend 84.
   hindered by fear 96.
   quintessence of, is extracted through many lives 85.
Soul-power, evolution of, dependent upon cleavage in vital body 145.
Spiral motion of vital body unscrews etheric atoms 100.


[PAGE 164]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Spirit, instruments of, the four bodies of man 10-13.

   itself can never become insane 60.
   loses value of experience through idiocy 62.
Spirit controls, can retard progress of ego for ages 45.
   can manipulate victim from within 49.
   can manipulate victim from behind cerebellum and medulla oblongata 49.
   oust mediums from their vehicles after death 45.
   prey easily upon suicides 50.
   sin-bodies attaching themselves to their egos as demons in future lives 
         40.
   spirits where interlocking of vital and desire bodies has taken place 33, 
         35
   sub-human, unable to operate larynx or mind 50.
Spiritual sight, in Desire World 18.
   in Etheric Region 18
   in World of Thought 18.
   not sufficient to read in Memory of Nature 19.
"Steel Men" benefit by war 96.
   incased in shell of fear 96
   victims of Saturn 92.
Sub-human entities, see Elementals
Success not accumulation of material wealth 146.
   as affected by conservation of the sex force 142-146.
   health a vital requirement for 139.
   through soul-growth 146.
Suicide, causes of 50.
   must learn inviolability of body 51.
   obsesses negative persons and animals 51.
   on rebirth, mentality may be weakened 62.
   post-mortem sufferings of, produce fear of death in following life 51.
Suffering in purgatory produced by force of repulsion 112
Sun, spiritual vibrations of 110.
   substance of, in Moon Period 80.
Sympathy, when withheld, may delay evolution of suffering soul 56.

Tekton, see Mason
Temple of Solomon, built by every true Mason 82.
   living structure 82.
   not made with hands 82.


[PAGE 165]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Thanksgiving, brings down a blessing of Love and Light 134.
Thinking, habitual, influences archetype 65.
Thought creates any desired form in Desire World 98.
   affects finer vehicles 108.
   thought-forms 108, desire forms 96.
   habitual, has power to mold matter 108.
   unchaste, horrible effect of 144.
Thoughts of apprehension congeal desire body 93.
Training, spiritual, concerned with work on vital body 15.
Tranquility, mental, renders death nearly imperceptible 101.
Transmigration, theory of, due to misunderstanding of animal obsession 53.
Trouble produced by restlessness of desire currents 80.
Truth, creative power of, in building archetype 65.
   eternal may be apprehended in Region of Concrete Thought 67.
Tubal Cain, ancestor of Hiram Abiff 84.
Tuberculosis 63.

Universe, the Lyre of Apollo 110.
Untruth, the destructive force of 67.

Vehicles of every ego differ from those of every other 37
Vibrations of color visible in crowds 87.
   of dense atoms due to vital body 104.
   planetary, affect desire body 81.
Vibratory power result of experience stored in seed-atoms 85.
Vital atoms penetrate dense atoms 99.
Vital body, aim of, to build physical 29.
   atoms of, liberated at death 100.
   causes suffering, following an accident 23.
   chemical and life ether of, form matrix for dense body 14.
   "Christ within" formed by two higher ethers of 17.
   cleansed by bathing 114.
   cleavage in vital body after death similar to that produced by Initiation 
         28.
   condition of, determines state of health 14.
   consciousness of spirit during lie panorama is centered in 27.


[PAGE 159]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

Vital body (con't.) dense body manipulated by 14.
   embodies quintessence of good extracted from previous life 106.
   four ethers in 27.
   function of, is to sustain dense body 84.
   gives dense body power to act 108.
   hardened by immoral practices 33.
   higher ethers of, constitude soul body of Bible phraseology 27.
   higher ethers of, increase with soul-growth 29.
   highest state of, when only higher ethers are present 17.
   in adults, protrudes beyond dense body 104.
   interlocking with desire body 36.
   keynote is repetition 106.
   low proportion of lower ethers in, causes rapid post-mortem 
         disintegration 30
   light and reflecting ethers of, form soul body 18.
   matrix of dense body 14.
   of child, nourishes dense body 103.
   of child, unorganized 103, 104.
   of earth, is becoming luminous 72, 73.
   of families, held for generations by elementals 47.
   prismatic atoms of, do not change during life of 104.
   reflects and etches the desire body 27.
   separation of ethers of, essential to Invisible Helper 18.
   spirituality rooted in 17.
   stationary atoms of, are basis of evolution 106.
   vehicle of habits 106.
   vehicle of indwelling Christ 17.
   vehicle of generation 17.
   vehicle of reason 17.
   vehicle of soul flights 14.
   when interlocked with desire body 33.
   worked upon by Lunar angels 84.
   work of spirit upon, forms character 15.
Vital body, see also Ethers, chemical and life, light and reflecting.
Vital force, see Creative Force.
Voodoo magic, due to obsession 41.


[PAGE 167]                                                THE WEB OF DESTINY

War develops religious consciousness in soldiers 97.
   fosters fellow feeling 97.
   in heaven, conflict of vital and desire bodies 85.
   not responsible for diseases fostered by obsession 42
   victims of, unconscious following death 97, 102
   will cause future infant mortality 42, 74.
War work in Desire World directed by Elder Brothers and Invisible Helpers 
   97.
   teaches futility of grief 97, 98.
Water, affinity of ether for 114.
Water stratum, correlated to region of archetypal forces 25.
Web of destiny, made and unmade 26.
Word, form of force, creative fita, sound vibration 121.
Work, preparation for the 124.
World catastrophes affect atmosphere 94.
Worldly life, increases proportion of lower ethers 31.
Worry and fear affect dense body 79.
Worry produces steel-blue shell 90, 93.
   shuts off from love and sympathy 93.
Worry, see also Fear.
Worry, produces eddies in and congeals the desire body 92.

Yellow predominates in average saintly aura 106.


                         END OF "THE WEB OF DESTINY"


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