, twice as fast; and thirdly, a motion at right angles to these two (suppose downwards), which, in its simplest form, would be with unvarying velocity.
If we project this figure in space we find on examination that the points of the curves, where chlorine, bromine, and iodine are formed, come close under each other; so also will sulphur, selenium, and tellurium; again, phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony; and in like manner other series of analogous bodies.
It may be asked whether this scheme explains how and why the elements appear in this order?
Let us imagine a cyclical translation in space, each evolution witnessing the genesis of the group of elements which I previously represented as produced during one complete vibration of the pendulum.
Let us suppose that one cycle has thus been completed, the centre of the unknown creative force in its mighty journey through space having scattered along its track the primitive atoms -- the seeds, if I may use the expression -- which presently are to coalesce and develop into the groupings now known as lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, and chlorine.
What is most probably the form of track now pursued?
Were it strictly confined to the same plane of temperature and time, the next elementary groupings to appear would again have been those of lithium, and the original cycle would have been eternally repeated, producing again and again the same 14 elements.
The conditions, however, are not quite the same.
Space and electricity are as at first, but temperature has altered, and thus, instead of the atoms of lithium being supplemented with atoms in all respects analogous with themselves, the atomic groupings which come into being when the second cycle commences form, not lithium, but its lineal descendant, potassium.
Suppose, therefore, the vis generatrix travelling to and fro in cycles along a lemniscate path, as above suggested, while simultaneously temperature is declining and time is flowing on -- variations which I have endeavoured to represent by the downward sink -- each coil of the lemniscate track crosses the same vertical line at lower and lower points.
Projected in space, the curve shows a central line neutral as far as electricity is concerned, and neutral in chemical properties -- positive electricity on the north, negative on the south.
Dominant atomicities are governed by the distance east and west from the neutral centre line, monatomic elements being one remove from it, diatomic two removes, and so on.
In every successive coil the same law holds good." And, as if to prove the postulate of Occult Science and Hindu philos- [[Vol.
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ophy, that, at the hour of the Pralaya, the two aspects of the unknowable deity, "the Swan in darkness" -- Prakriti and Purusha, nature or matter in all its forms and Spirit -- "no longer subsist but are ( absolutely ) dissolved," we learn the conclusive scientific opinion of the great English chemist, who caps his proofs by saying: -- "We have now traced the formation of the chemical elements from knots and voids in a primitive, formless fluid.
We have shown the possibility, nay, the probability that the atoms are not eternal in existence, but share with all other created beings the attributes of decay and death." Occultism says amen to this, as the Scientific "possibility" and "probability" are for it facts demonstrated beyond the necessity of further proof or any extraneous physical evidence.
Nevertheless, it repeats with as much assurance as ever: "MATTER IS ETERNAL, becoming atomic (its aspect) only periodically." This is as sure as that the other proposition, which is almost unanimously accepted by astronomers and physicists -- namely, that the wear and tear of the body of the Universe is steadily going on, and that it will finally lead to the extinction of the Solar fires and the destruction of the Universe -- is quite erroneous on the lines traced by Men of Science.
There will be, as there ever were in time and eternity, periodical dissolutions of the manifested Universe, but ( a ) a partial pralaya after every "Day of Brahma;" and ( b ) an Universal pralaya -- the M AHA-PRALAYA -- only after the lapse of every Brahma's age.
But the scientific causes for such dissolution, as brought forward by exact Science, have nothing to do with the true causes.
However that may be, Occultism is once more justified by Science, for Mr.
Crookes said: -- "We have shown, from arguments drawn from the chemical laboratory, that in matter which has responded to every test of an element, there are minute shades of difference which may admit of selection.
We have seen that the time-honoured distinction between elements and compounds no longer keeps pace with the developments of chemical science, but must be modified to include a vast array of intermediate bodies -- "meta-elements." We have shown how the objections of Clerk-Maxwell, weighty as they are, may be met; and finally, we have adduced reasons for believing that primitive matter was formed by the act of a generative force, throwing off at intervals of time atoms endowed with varying quantities of primitive forms of energy.
If we may hazard any conjectures as to the source of energy embodied in a chemical atom, we may, I think, premise that the heat radiations propagated outwards through the ether from the ponderable matter of the universe, by some process of nature not yet known to us, are transformed at the confines of the universe into the primary -- the essential -- motions of chemical atoms, which, the instant they are formed, gravitate inwards, and thus restore to the universe the energy which otherwise would be lost to it through radiant heat.
If this conjecture be well founded, Sir William Thomson's startling prediction of the final decrepitude of the universe through the dissipation of its energy falls to the ground.
In this [[Vol.
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fashion, gentlemen, it seems to me that the question of the elements may be provisionally treated.
Our slender knowledge of these first mysteries is extending steadily, surely, though slowly." By a strong and curious coincidence even our "septenary" doctrine seems to force the hand of Science.
If we understand rightly, Chemistry speaks of fourteen groupings of primitive atoms -- lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulphur and chlorine; and Mr.
The doctrine of the periodic restoration or recurrence of all things to their original state after vast cycles.
The passage describes 'periodical dissolutions of the manifested Universe' — a partial pralaya after every 'Day of Brahma' and a Universal Maha-Pralaya after every Brahma's age — establishing a doctrine of cyclical cosmic dissolution and renewal.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The geometric arrangement of the lemniscate path directly maps onto chemical properties — distance from the neutral line determines atomicity, north/south position determines electrical charge — making the spatial structure a legible map of elemental characteristics.
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The passage explicitly narrates how chemical elements came to be: 'the genesis of the group of elements,' 'the formation of the chemical elements from knots and voids in a primitive, formless fluid,' and the 'vis generatrix' scattering 'primitive atoms' along its track.
The Hermetic doctrine that apparent opposites are identical in nature but differ in degree — two extremes of the same scale (hot/cold, love/hate) — such that one pole can be shifted toward its opposite by a change of degree ('mental transmutation'). Distinct from opposites_transcended (a completion-state marking the path's end, not this doctrine's active technique) and magical_equilibrium (balance held BETWEEN two forces, not identity-by-degree of what looks like two forces).
The passage explicitly maps 'positive electricity on the north, negative on the south' with a 'central line neutral as far as electricity is concerned,' presenting polarity as the structural law governing atomic properties.
The Hermetic doctrine of a measured swing or pendulum motion between poles — action and reaction, flow and outflow, rise and fall — operating in mental, physical, and cosmic-historical registers alike. Distinct from apocatastasis (cosmic-scale eschatological restoration after vast cycles) in naming a constant, ever-present oscillation rather than a singular restorative event.
The entire passage is structured around cyclical, pendulum-like motion — 'one complete vibration of the pendulum,' 'cyclical translation in space,' 'each coil of the lemniscate track' — making rhythmic oscillation the organizing principle of cosmic element formation.
The Hermetic doctrine that nothing rests — matter, energy, mind, and spirit are a single continuum differing only in rate of vibration, from the grossest matter to the least material spirit. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (affinity resonating BETWEEN separate things) in being a claim about what constitutes any one thing in the first place, and from magical_equilibrium (Lévi's operational balancing technique, which presupposes some vibration doctrine rather than stating this general principle).
Elements are produced during 'one complete vibration of the pendulum' and the generative force travels 'to and fro in cycles,' making vibration the mechanism by which the creative force produces differentiated matter.