The Astral Plane | Page 7

trained sight it is no mere inert mass of stone. First of all, the whole of
the physical matter of the rock is seen instead of a very small part of it;
secondly, the vibrations of its physical particles are perceptible; thirdly,
it is seen to possess an astral counterpart composed of various grades of
astral matter, whose particles are also in constant motion; fourthly, the
Jîva or universal life is seen to be circulating through it and radiating
from it; fifthly, an aura will be seen surrounding it, though this is, of
course, much less extended and varied than in the case of the higher
kingdoms; sixthly, its appropriate elemental essence is seen permeating
it, ever active but ever fluctuating. In the case of the vegetable, animal
and human kingdoms, the complications are naturally much more
numerous.

It may be objected by some readers that no such complexities as these
are described by most of the psychics who occasionally get glimpses of
the astral world, nor are they reported at séances by the entities that
manifest there; but this is readily accounted for. Few untrained persons
on that plane, whether living or dead, see things as they really are until
after very long experience; even those who do see fully are often too
dazed and confused to understand or remember: and among the very
small minority who both see and remember there are hardly any who
can translate the recollection into language on our lower plane. Many
untrained psychics never examine their visions scientifically at all: they
simply obtain an impression which may be quite correct, but may also
be half false, or even wholly misleading.
All the more probable does the latter hypothesis become when we take
into consideration the frequent tricks played by sportive denizens of the
other world, against which the untrained person is usually absolutely
defenceless. It must also be remembered that the regular inhabitant of
the astral plane, whether he be human or elemental, is under ordinary
circumstances conscious only of the objects of that plane, physical
matter being to him as entirely invisible as is astral matter to the
majority of mankind. Since, as before remarked, every physical object
has its astral counterpart, which would be visible to him, it may be
thought that the distinction is a trivial one, yet it is an essential part of
the symmetrical conception of the subject. If, however, an astral entity
constantly works through a medium, these finer astral senses may
gradually be so coarsened as to become insensible to the higher grades
of matter on their own plane, and to include in their purview the
physical world as we see it instead; but only the trained visitor from
this life, who is fully conscious on both planes, can depend upon seeing
both clearly and simultaneously. Be it understood, then, that the
complexity exists, and that only when it is fully perceived and
scientifically unravelled is there perfect security against deception or
mistake.
For the seventh or lowest subdivision of the astral plane also this
physical world of ours may be said to be the background, though what
is seen is only a distorted and partial view of it, since all that is light

and good and beautiful seems invisible. It was thus described four
thousand years ago in the Egyptian papyrus of the Scribe Ani: "What
manner of place is this unto which I have come? It hath no water, it
hath no air; it is deep, unfathomable; it is black as the blackest night,
and men wander helplessly about therein; in it a man may not live in
quietness of heart." For the unfortunate entity on that level it is indeed
true that "all the earth is full of darkness and cruel habitations," but it is
darkness which radiates from within himself and causes his existence to
be passed in a perpetual night of evil and horror--a very real hell,
though, like all other hells, entirely of man's own creation.
Most students find the investigation of this section an extremely
unpleasant task, for there appears to be a sense of density and gross
materiality about it which is indescribably loathsome to the liberated
astral body, causing it the sense of pushing its way through some black,
viscous fluid, while the inhabitants and influences encountered there
are also usually exceedingly undesirable.
The first, second, and third subdivisions seem much further removed
from this physical world, and correspondingly less material. Entities
inhabiting these levels lose sight of the earth and its belongings; they
are usually deeply self-absorbed, and to a large extent create their own
surroundings, though these are not purely subjective, as in Devachan,
but on the contrary sufficiently objective to be perceptible to other
entities and also to clairvoyant vision. This region is beyond doubt the