We are not now considering the legitimate use of this force for healing, or for teaching and developing neophytes, so we will not, therefore, consider its modus operandi in detail.
Enough has been said to show in what way it works.
Let us now proceed to the consideration of the practical methods of breaking such a rapport if for any reason it is desired to discontinue its use.
To astral vision the telepathic link appears as a ray of light, a shining cord, or some similar thought-form, because it is in this form that it is usually formulated by the person who is making the magnetic link.
It sometimes happens, however, if the operator has a high grade of initiation, that instead of connecting the ray direct to the person with whom he desires to be in touch, he will formulate an astral animal at the end of it to which he transfers a modicum of his own consciousness.
This animal-form is called a Watcher; it does not act on its own initiative unless attacked, when it defends itself according to the nature of the species in whose likeness it is made.
The use of a Watcher is to obtain a record of what is transpiring without the necessity of focussing consciousness thereon.
When the psychic substance of the Watcher is reabsorbed by the adept, he becomes aware of the content of the Watcher’s consciousness.
The disadvantage of this method lies in the vulnerableness of the Watcher to psychic attack, and the fact that its projector is affected if it is injured or disintegrated.
In dealing with a thought-form, always bear in mind that it is the product of the imagination, and is in no sense self- existent.
What the imagination has made the imagination can unmake.
If the maker of a thought-form has thought it into existence by picturing it imaginatively, you can equally well think it out of existence by picturing it clearly and imagining it bursting into a thousand fragments, or going up in flames, or dissolving into water and being absorbed by the soil.
That which is thought into existence by the imagination can be thought out of existence by the imagination.
If what was taken for a thought-form resists destruction by this method, it is probably an artificial elemental.
Now there are two such elementals, one kind being ensouled by the invocation of elemental essence into a thought-form, and the other by the projection of something of the magician’s own nature into it.
If it is ensouled by elemental essence, the use of the Pentagram will serve to banish it; but if it is of the kind that is ensouled by the magician’s own force, another method must be used, known as absorption.
Now absorption is a very high-grade method, and its successful use depends upon the state of consciousness of the user.
Each individual has to decide for himself whether in any given case at a given moment he is in a fit state to attempt it.
Unless he can completely steady his own vibrations and arrive at a state of perfect serenity and freedom from all sense of effort, he should not make the attempt.
We will, however, describe the method for the benefit of those who care to try it.
Harmonising himself by mediation upon the Christ, the adept, as soon as he is satisfied that his own vibrations are steady, proceeds to call up before his astral vision the image of the form he intends to destroy.
He sees it clearly in all its details and seeks to divine its nature, whether it is a vehicle for malice or lust, or vampiric action: these are the three most common, and it can almost certainly be assigned to one or other of these classes.
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
The methods described involve visualizing forms clearly and imagining them bursting into fragments or dissolving, which is a form of active contemplation using imagery.
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 defines and discusses artificial elementals as thought-forms ensouled by elemental essence or the magician's own force, distinguishing them from ordinary thought-forms.
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 telepathic links and thought-forms as visible rays of light or cords within the astral vision, consistent with the concept of a medium transmitting will and thought.
The perceptual faculty by which a trained practitioner directly sees phenomena on the astral plane — thought-forms, rapport-cords, auras, subtle entities — as visible forms, invisible to ordinary physical sight. Distinct from etheric_projection (the double's own active departure from the body, not a faculty for perceiving other things) and astral_light (the medium being perceived, not the faculty that perceives it).
The passage repeatedly references 'astral vision' as the means by which telepathic links and thought-forms are perceived.
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 description of the Watcher transferring a modicum of consciousness and the projector being affected if it is injured suggests a connection to projection mechanics.
A ritual intended to drive out an unwanted possessing or afflicting spirit from a person or place, restoring it to its unafflicted state. Distinct from spirit_conjuration (the operator summons and binds a spirit that was not already present, rather than expelling one) and from possession (the affliction this ritual answers, not the ritual itself).
The use of the Pentagram to banish an elemental ensouled by elemental essence is a form of ritual expulsion similar to exorcism.
A high-grade defensive technique in which the operator, having steadied their own vibrations through meditation on the offending force's moral opposite, deliberately draws a hostile thought-form or psychic attack into themselves to neutralise it at its root, rather than merely dispelling or banishing it outward. Distinct from exorcism (expelling an affliction outward, not absorbing it inward) and magical_will (the general causal-power-of-volition doctrine this technique is one advanced application of).
The passage details a specific high-grade method called 'absorption' for destroying thought-forms ensouled by the magician's own force.
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 text describes the power of imagination to create and unmake thought-forms, implying the causal power of directed will and mental focus.
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 passage instructs the adept to harmonize themselves by meditation upon the Christ before attempting the absorption method.
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 methods of defence against psychic links and the vulnerability of thought-forms to psychic attack.
A temporary mental construct given visible form on the astral plane by directed imagination — ordinarily without independent life, and dispellable by the same imaginative act that made it, unless invocation of elemental essence or projection of the maker's own force gives it sufficient sustained power to resist unmaking, at which point it escalates into an artificial_elemental. Distinct from artificial_elemental (the escalated, quasi-independently-alive entity this concept precedes and can turn into) and astral_light (the ambient medium in which a thought-form is formulated, not the construct itself).
The text is centrally concerned with the nature, creation, and destruction of thought-forms as products of imagination.
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).
The text emphasizes the necessity of steadying one's own vibrations and arriving at a state of perfect serenity to successfully perform the absorption method.