13. The Motives Of Psychic Attack. I-c
Active Contemplationpraxis
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
The instruction to meditate upon a specific person (Mr. Z) involves using imagery and symbolic thought rather than empty stillness.
All passages →Artificial Elementalpraxis
The magical manufacture of a semi-autonomous entity from the operator's own creative mind-stuff, formulated with sufficient force and sustained attention that it acquires a distinct, independent life of its own beyond an ordinary passing thought-form — directable as tool, weapon, or guardian, but capable of escaping the operator's control if mishandled. Distinct from spirit_conjuration (binding a spirit that already exists, rather than manufacturing one) and from word_power_incantation (the causal force of the spoken word itself, rather than the sustained mental construction of an entity).
The text explicitly describes how lustful imaginings produce artificial elementals that have an objective etheric existence and act independently of the mind that conceived them.
All passages →Astral Lightcosmology
The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.
The passage describes the etheric medium where thought-forms exist and interact, functioning as a universal fluid transmitting will and suggestion, which is cognate with the Astral Light.
All passages →Etheric Projectionanthropology
The doctrine and practice by which the etheric or astral double separates from the physical body, at will or involuntarily, to act, travel, or encounter other entities on a plane subtler than the physical — remaining tethered to the body by a silver cord, and capable of returning physical injury (bruises, exhaustion) sustained while thus projected. Distinct from linga_sharira (the static doctrine that a subtle form persists as a template) in describing its active operative use, and from shamanic_journey (a trance-journey framed within a shamanic ritual complex, undertaken to return with knowledge, songs, or a recovered soul) in being a Western-esoteric technical practice with its own physiology of cord-attachment and reciprocal wounding.
The text questions whether anyone who can project the etheric body can play a part in unions, directly referencing the doctrine of etheric projection.
All passages →Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The text refers to 'esoteric aspect of sex' and knowledge possessed by those who know it, implying teachings reserved for the initiated.
All passages →Incarnationtheology
The doctrine that the divine or a spiritual principle takes on a specific, bounded material or bodily form — descending from an unconditioned state into individual, corporeal existence — as a discrete act rather than a diffuse pervading presence. The Christian Word made flesh, the Hindu avatara, the Egyptian pharaoh as living Horus, the Vajrayana tulku. Distinct from divine_immanence (the general claim that the divine pervades all of creation diffusely, not a specific embodiment-event) and separation_from_source (the felt exile FROM origin, the opposite motion) in describing a specific, individuated descent INTO a particular body or form.
The text asks what manner of soul might come through into incarnation under conditions of demonic union.
All passages →Magical Willpraxis
The doctrine that human volition, cultivated by discipline and emancipated from passion and servitude, is the primary instrument of magical operation — will confirmed by persistent acts acquires causal power over self, others, and nature; distinct from faith and from mere desire.
The passage describes how will and imagination can produce objective etheric entities and influence others through telepathic suggestion, central to the doctrine of magical will.
All passages →Meditationpraxis
Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.
The case study at the end explicitly instructs the subject to meditate upon Mr. Z every night as she lay in bed.
All passages →Possessioncosmology
The state of a person being controlled or inhabited by an external spirit or entity — the entity as subject acting through the person's body, rather than merely troubling them from without. Distinct from haunting (a discarnate soul or place-bound presence that interferes without necessarily entering and controlling a living body) and from spirit_conjuration (an operator deliberately commanding a spirit's appearance, the reverse relation — here the spirit is uninvited and in control, not summoned and subordinated).
The passage explicitly discusses obsession as a pathological form of mediumship and the possibility of partners being under control during union, which aligns with the definition of possession.
All passages →Psychic Attackpraxis
The doctrine and practice of one person deliberately inflicting harm on another through trained will, mind-power, or occult technique alone, without physical contact — producing exhaustion, illness, breakdown, or death in the victim; recognised cross-culturally as witchcraft, hexing, or the evil eye, and treated in Western esotericism as a genuine occult hazard requiring diagnosis and defence rather than dismissed as superstition. Distinct from magical_will (the general doctrine that trained volition has causal power, of which this is one malevolent application) and from spirit_conjuration (which subordinates an already-existing summoned spirit, rather than directing the operator's own power at a person).
The passage discusses the Left-hand Path and a case where a psychic instructs a girl to pour magnetism onto another man, implying a form of directed psychic influence or attack within a magical context.
All passages →Secret Societiessoteriology
Organized, persisting groups — fraternities, orders, lodges — that maintain esoteric knowledge or practices as an institution distinct from public religion or mainstream society, holding 'the keys' collectively rather than through any one master-disciple pair. Distinct from esoteric_lineage (a genealogical chain of individual transmission, not an institution) and hidden_sayings (the concealment of a teaching's meaning, independent of whether any organized body holds it).
The mention of 'covens' and a circle in which Mr. X and Mr. Z moved suggests organized groups maintaining esoteric knowledge.
All passages →Soul Migrationcosmology
The transmigration of the soul across lives.
The text mentions Mr. X reading records of Miss Y's past lives and a karmic tie, implying the doctrine of reincarnation or soul migration.
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