How to Read the Crystal by Walter Gorn Old (pdf to ebook reader .txt) 📖

in whom the faculty is striving for expression, the following pages are written. To others we would say, Be content. All birds are not eagles. The nightingale has a song, the humming-bird a plumage which the eagle will never possess. The nightingale may sing to the stars, humming-bird to the flowers, but the eagle, whose tireless eyes gaze into the heart of day, is uncompanioned in its lofty loneliness in the barren mountain-tops.

CHAPTER II.

QUALIFICATIONS

There are in existence certain magical works, such as those of Trithemius and Barrett, wherein the use of the Crystal is accompanied by certain rites and invocations. This ceremonial magic we are disposed to repudiate as highly dangerous. It brings into play a number of forces which may well prove disastrous in inexperienced hands. All action and reaction are equal and opposite. A child might easily fire a cannon, but could not possibly withstand its recoil. So in the education of the spiritual faculties, it is better to encourage their natural development by legitimate exercise than to invoke the action of stimulants which we may not afterwards be able to control. The continual fretting of the water will wear away a rock, though none doubts the water is softer than the rock. If the barrier between this and the soul-world be like granite, yet the patient and persistent action of a determined mind will sooner or later wear it away, the last layer will break down, and the light will stream through, dazzling the unaccustomed eyes with its effulgence.

It is our desire to indicate by what means and by what persons the natural development of the clairvoyant faculty may be achieved.

First, in regard to the subject, medium or seer. There are two distinct temperament in which the faculty is likely to be dominant, and capable of high and rapid culture. There is the nervous temperament associated, with a high muscular development, classified as the "mental-motive" temperament. It is characterized by extreme activity of body and mind, a certain nervous excitability, prominent features, full osseous development, prominent brows, intent gaze, and generally a swarthy complexion. This type represents the positive seers, in whom the mind goes out towards the images of the soul. The other, in whom the passive temperament is present, and to whom the soul-images come by passive reflection, as things mirrored in a moveless lake, are known by the following characteristics: Full and lymphatic habit, pale or delicate complexion, generally blue eyes, straight fine hair; small, plump, and cold hands; a high, piping or feeble voice, and languid disposition.

These two types—of which there are many varieties—achieve their psychic development by quite opposite means. The positive seer works with effort, throwing out the soul-images by the power of his will, perceiving them with more or less accuracy, and thereafter turning them over in the mind, reasoning and questioning concerning their import and meaning. The passive seer, on the contrary, works not at all and makes no effort, the visions coming slowly, almost imperceptibly, and in most cases having a literal interpretation. The visions in this case are not allegorical, emblematic, or symbolic, as in the case of the positive seer, but are actual visions of facts just as they have happened, or will transpire in the future. Of the two orders, the passive is the more serviceable because the more perspicuous, but it has the disadvantage of being largely under the control of external influences, and hence is frequently incapable of "seeing" anything whatever.

The positive type of seer exercises an introspective vision, searching inwardly towards the soul-world whence the revelations proceed. Of what nature these revelations are will appear in the following pages. The passive type of seer, on the contrary, remains in statu quo, open to impressions coming inwards towards the perceptive faculty, but making no effort towards either outward or inward searching. The success of each depends upon the observance of that method which is agreeable to their respective temperaments.

In regard to the qualifications which should supplement and sustain the natural aptitude of the seer or seeress, the following remarks may be of general service.

Self-possession and confidence in one's own soul-faculties must be the firm rock upon which all revelations should rest. The purer the intention and motive of the seer, the more lucid will be the visions accorded. No reliable vision can be obtained by one whose nature is not inherently truthful. Any selfish desire dominanting the mind in regard to any thing or person will distort the visions and render them misleading, while a persistent self-seeking spirit will effectually shut the doors upon all visions whatsoever. Therefore, above all things it is essential for the investigator to have an unflinching love of truth, to be resigned to the will of Heaven, to accept the revelations accorded in a spirit of grateful confidence, and finally to dispel all doubt and controversy by appeal to the eyes of one's own immortal soul. These are qualifications with which the seer or seeress should be invested, and if with these the quest is unsuccessful after a period of earnest trial, it must be taken as sufficient warrant that the faculty is not in the category of one's individual powers. Haply, the same qualifications brought to bear upon some other psychic faculty will result in a rich recompense.

CHAPTER III.

PRELIMINARIES

Having obtained a good Crystal, as free as possible from blemish, care must be taken to keep it is much as possible in a dark place when not in use. The best covering therefore is a black one of soft material, such as velvet, which will not scratch the polished surface of the quartz.[*] Exposure to the sun's rays not only scores the faces of the crystal, but also puts the odylic substance into activity, distributing and dissipating the magnetic force stored up therein. It must not be understood that the visions are in the crystal itself. They are in the soul of the seer. But the odylic substance is acted upon by the nervo-vital emanations of the body of the seer, and reacts upon the brain centres by means of the optic nerves. That is why it is necessary to keep the crystal as free as possible from disturbing elements. For the same reason, when in use, the crystal should be overshadowed by the seer, and so placed that no direct rays of light from sun, or lamp, or gasalier may fall upon it. The odyle, as has been already stated, rapidly responds to surrounding magnetic conditions, and to the vibrations of surrounding Bodies, and to none more powerfully than the etheric perturbation caused by combustion—indeed, to light of any kind.

[*] It is bad policy to buy a cheap article. A good crystal is more than worth the outlay. Our publishers supply crystals, varying from 15s. 6d. upward, and from what we have seen of them we can safely recommend them as reliable articles.

For similar reasons the room in which the sitting is conducted should be only moderately warm and shady as possible, provided it be not actually dark. A light by which one can just see to read average print is sufficient for the purpose in view. The crystal with which we have had the most satisfactory and surprising results is a cube of fine azure beryl, the deep blue of its serene depths being peculiarly restful and inspiring. But, as we have said, nothing is more effective than the white quartz crystal when found suitable.

It is important that all persons sitting in the same room as the seer should be at arm's length away from him—farther if possible. Silence should be uniformly observed by those present. A recorder should be at hand to set down everything the seer may give voice to. If any questions are addressed to the seer while the sitting is in progress, they should be spoken in an undertone and as nearly a monotone as may be so that the seer is not suddenly surprised into consciousness of his surroundings, and the psychic thread thereby broken.

At first the sittings should not be of longer duration than fifteen minutes, but it is important they should take place regularly, every day if possible, and always at the same hour and in the same place. By this method of procedure it will be found that a cumulative effect is produced and success more speedily ensured. The reason is obvious. All actions tend to repeat themselves, to become automatic, to pass from the purposive into the habitual, and hence the psychic faculties will, if actuated at any set time and place, tend to bestir themselves towards the same end as that to which they were first moved by the conscious will and intention of the seer.

Until definite and satisfactory results are obtained, not more than two persons should be present at the sittings, and these should be in sympathy with the seer and each other. When the sitting is over, it will be found agreeable and useful to discuss the results obtained; or if none are elicited, the seer can give an account of his or her impressions and feelings during the sitting. It will be interesting to note these experiences and to compare them from time to time.

The seer or seeress must not be disheartened if at the first few sittings nothing of any moment takes place, but must persevere, with patience and self-control. Indeed, when one comes to consider the fact that for hundreds of generations the psychic faculties inherent in mankind have lain in absolute neglect, that perhaps the faculty of "clear vision" has never yet been brought into activity by any save the most remote of our ancestors, it will not be thought remarkable that it should be at first difficult get any definite results. Rather should it be a matter of surprise that the power is still with us, that it is not wholly irresponsive to the voice of the soul. While, in the course of physical evolution, many important functions have undergone remarkable changes, and organs, once active and useful, have become stunted, impotent, and in some cases extinct; yet it is said that seeds have lain dormant in arid soil for hundreds of years, to spring into leaf and flower as soon as the rains have fallen and the climate changed. The faculty of pure vision is like the latent seed-life. It waits only the conditions which favour its growth and development; and though for hundreds of years it may have lain dormant, yet in a few days, weeks, or months it may attain the proportions of a beautiful flower, a thing of wonder and delight, gracing the garden of the soul.

CHAPTER IV.

THE VISION

Visions seen in the crystal are of two kinds, both of which may be conveyed to the perception of the seer in two ways. The two kinds of visions are: 1, Direct visions; 2, Symbolic visions. The first of these is a representation of scene or incident exactly as it will transpire, or has already happened, either in relation to the seer, those sitting with him, or yet in relation to public affairs. The second order of vision is a representation, by means of symbol, ideograph, or other indirect means, of events similar to those conveyed by direct vision.

In most cases it will be found that answers, to questions take the form of symbols. But this is not always so, as will appear from the following remarks concerning the manner in which these impressions or visions are conveyed to the perception of the seer.

The vision is conveyed in one of two ways—first, as a vivid picture affecting the focus and retina of the eye, perfect in its outline and colouring, and giving the impression of being either distant or near or at moderate range, Secondly, it may be conveyed as a vivid impression accompanied by a hazy and undefined formation in the crystal field. In this form it becomes an apperception rather than a perception, the consciousness receiving the impression of the vision