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AN ABRIDGMENT

KATHARINE HILLARD

The Secret Doctrine

A Synthesis of Science, Religion
and Philosophy

By
HELENA PETROVNA BLAVATSKY

IN TWO PARTS

Part I. Cosmogenesis
Part II. Anthropogenesis

THE QUARTERLY BOOK DEPARTMENT

NEW YORK

**There being but One Truth, man requires but one
church, the Temple of God within us; walied in by
matter, but penetrable by any who can find the way ;
the pure in heart see God" — (/«i» Unveiled, II. 635.)

"Matter is the vehicle for the manifestation of Soul
on this plane of existence, and Soul is the vehicle on
a higher plane for the manifestation of Spirit, and
these three are a trinity synthesised by Life, which
pervades them all."— (fifecre* Doctrine, I. 49.)

H. p. B.

TEACHER AND FRIEND

The Editor of this Abridgment has long felt the
need of a shorter, a simpler and a less expensive
version of the Secret Doctrine. The wealth of ma-
terial that embarrassed the author of the book —
or perhaps we should say the transcriber — gave
rise to endless digressions wherein the thread of
the subject is often lost for whole chapters, while
many quotations, comprehensible only to special
students, increase the bulk of the volumes, and add
to the difficulty of understanding their contents.
Many foreign idioms {notably the use of the word
actual in the sense of present) and frequent mis-
prints make the meaning of the text still more ob-
scure, and the many and complicated parentheses
add to the labor of the reader. The enormous length
of the book makes it so expensive that compara-
tively few students can afford to buy it, and the
most valuable legacy of theosophic information yet
given to the world is thus unavailable to many of
those who most need it.

Fifteen years' study of the Secret Doctrine, to-
gether with the help of many other students, has
enabled the Editor to trace the thread of the argu-
ment far more clearly than at first, and the remorse-
less cutting out of what is now obsolete science, and
of all controversial matter (while carefully retain-
ing all ethical and spiritual teachings), togetlier
with occasional transpositions of sentences and
paragraphs, have made the whole text very much
simpler. All Sanskrit terms have been put into
English, and the triune constitution of man (as

4 PREFACE

body, soul and spirit) adopted wherever possible in-
stead of the more complicated seven-fold division.
There has been nothing added to the text, except a
few notes and one or two diagrams, all marked
^' Ed.,y and it is hoped that what is transposed and
what is altogether omitted will render the book — ^by
reducing its diflSculty as well as its cost — more
available to the general reader, and to the seeker
after truth prove a guide and stimulus to the study
of the original work.

Kathabin£ HHiLABD; Editor.

1 PAST I— COSMO&ENESIS

^^F CONTENTS

iDtroductlon . - . * ■ . • • -

Smnmarj of the First Seven Stanaaa ....

ftZf-nnTilR A in T . .

20 1

I CommeDtaiy on Stanza I

^m_ " ■■ ■■ 11

43 ■

^^k • » «

50 ■

^■"-

^P- " "

m ■

1 " ■' ■• VI

103 1

" " " VII

120

On the Planetary Chains

141S

Summing up of these Chapters

159

THE EVOLUTION OF SYMBOLISM.

Section I. Symbolism and Ideographs

175

" II- The Mystery Language and Its Keys

181

" III. Primordial Substance and Divine Thought

1S8

194

" V- The Hidden Eielty. Ita Symhols and Glyphs

197

Iffl)

^^^ VII. The Days and Nights of Brahma .

205

^^e VIIL The Lotus as a UDlveraal Symbol .

209

^^^P IX. The Moon in Symhoilsm ....

213

221

^^^P XL Demon est DeuB luversus

221

^^V^ XII. Theogony of the Creative Gods

230

6 CONTENTS

pag:

Section XIII. The Seven Creations 236

" XIV. The Four Elements 242

" XV. Kwan-shl-yin and Kwan-Tln .... 247

Addenda 251

Fragments of Occult Science 254

Life, Force or QtaTity 257

Solar Theory and the Elements 261

The Coming Force 264

Elements and Atoms 267

The Nebular Theory 274

Forces — ^Modes of Motion or Intelligences? .... 275

Gods, Monads and Atoms 277

Cyclic Evolution and Karma 285

The Zodiac and its Anticjuity 290

DIAGRAMS.

I. The Three Logos ........ 14

II. Physical Identity of the Kingdoms of Katur# • . 139

III. The Seven Rounds and Planes 149

IV. Lunar and Earth Chahis •...•. 152

Id the twelfth chapter of the second volume of
Isis Unveiled (p. 587) the fundamental principles
of Eastern Philosophy are laid down in a very sim-
ple but comprehensive manner, so that, rightly
understood, these principlea form a key to many of
the more complex and difficult statements of the
Secret Doctrine, especially as they avoid the compli-
cated details of the septenary division of man's na-
ture, and base the analysis of both man and the
manifested universe upon the trinity in each. " The
trinity of nature is the lock of magic; the trinity of
man the key that fits it " {Isis, n. 635). These
words are in italics in the original, as being pecu-
liarly important, and should be read in connection
with the second clause of " the fundamental prin-
ciples of Eastern Philosophy.*' The first reads:

I. " There is no miracle. Everything is the re-
sult of law.

II. " Nature is triune; there is a visible, objec-
tive nature ; an invisible, in-dwelling and energizing
nature, the exact model of the other, and its vital
principle, and above these two, Spirit, source of all
forces, alone, eternal, and indestructible. The lower
two constantly change; the higher third does not.

III. " Man is also triune; he has his objective,
physical body; his vitalizing astral body (or soul),
the real man; and these two are brooded over and
illumined by the third, the sovereign, the immortal
Spirit. "When the real man succeeds in merging
himself with the latter, he becomes an immortal
entity.

INTEODUCTION

IV. " Magic as a science, is the knowledge of
these principles ; as an art, its application in prac-
tice.

V. ' ' Arcane knowledge misapplied is sorcery j
beneficently used, true magic, or wisdom.

VI. " Mediumsliip is the opposite of adeptship,
one is controlled, the other controls.

VII. " All things that were, that are, or that will
be, are recorded in the astral light, and are visible
to the initiated adept.

VIII. " Races of men differ in spiritual gifts.

IX. " One phase of magic is the voluntary and
conscious withdrawal of the astral body from the
physical. Inert physical matter may be disinte-
grated, passed through walls and recombined — in
certain cases and under certain conditions — but not
living, animal organisms.

X. " The corner-stone of Magic is an intimate,
practical knowledge of magnetism and electricity,
their qualities, correlations and potencies, and a
familiarity with their effects on animals and men,
as welt as a knowledge of the qualities of plants and
minerals."

These ten " fundamental principles " are slightly
condensed from the original, and simple as they,
appear upon the surface, comprise, if rightly under-
stood, all the moat important teachings of occultism,
or Magic, the Great (maha) Science, while the tenth
demands a knowledge of what we call " the natural
sciences," as is possessed in its completeness by no
one living man.

The Secret Doctrine, aa published in 1888, was an
epitome of the religious and philosophical teachings
underlying the various ancient systems of religion
(though necessarily fragmentary and incomplete),
and had for its aim (1) to show that Nature is not
" a fortuitous concourse of atoms "; {2) to assign

INTRODUCTION 9

man Ms rightful place iu the universe; (3) to rescue
from degradation the archaic truths which are the
foundation-stones of all religious systems; and
finally (4) to show that modern science knows noth-
ing of the occult side of nature.

The Secret Doctrine is in two volumes, entitled
Cosmogenesis and Anthropo genesis, and is based
upon the Stanzas of an archaic MS. known as the
Book of Dsyan (phonetically Djan). This "very
old Book," mentioned as such in the first chapter of
Isis Unveiled, the only original copy now in exist-
ence, is written in Senzar, the secret sacerdotal
tongTie known to all priests and Initiates, and is the
original work from which the oldest religious hooka
of all nations were compiled. The most ancient
Hebrew document on occult learning, the Book of
Concealed Mysteries, was compiled from its pages,
as well as China's primitive Bible, the sacred vol-
umes of the Egyptian Thoth-Henues, the Puranas
of India, the Chaldean Book of Numbers and the
Pentateuch itself. Having described the evolution
of the earth and of man, and the history of the
Kaces from the first down to our own (the Fifth),
in the Fourth Eound, the old book goes no further.
It stops at the beginning of the Black Age, and the
'death of Krishna, just (in 1907) 5,008 years ago.

The history of cosmic evolution, as traced in the
'Stanzas, is, so to speak, the abstract algebraical for-
mula of that evolution, not an account of all its
stages and transformations; a formula which can be
applied to all evolution, from that of the earth to
that of the solar system, and so on, in an ascending
scale. The first seven Stomas represent the seven
terms of this abstract formula.

I The illustrations in symbolism of this formula

begin with an immaculate O white disk within a dull

I black ground. But the disk must be thought of as

INTRODUCTION

a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose cir-
cumference is nowhere. This represents Kosmos'
in Eternity (before the re-awakening of still slum-
bering energy), the divine Unity, from which all
proceeds, wliither all returns.

O The second illustration shows the circle with
a point in it; the first differentiation of the ever-
eternal sexless Nature, potential Space within ab-
stract Space.

e In the third illustration, the point is trans-
formed into a horizontal line, and now symbolizes
a divine, immaculate Mother-Nature within the all-
embracLug absolute Infinitude. Nature is feminine
and passive, and the Spirit-Principle which fructi-
fies it is concealed.

© By adding to the horizontal line within the cir-
cle a vertical line, the Tau is formed, the oldest form
of that letter. This was the symbol of the third
Eoot-race up to the time of its so-called *' Fall " —
that is, when the separation of the sexes by natural
evolution took place.

ffl Then the figure became a circle crossed by an
upright line ; the symbol of sexless life modified or
separated,

® When the horizontal line is crossed by a ver-
tical one, it becomes the mundane cross. Humanity
has reached the perfected Third Boot-race, and hu-
man life, as we know it, begins,

+ When the circumference disappears, and only
the cross is left, it is a sign that the fall of man into
matter is completed, and marks the beginning of the
fourth Eoot-race.

* With the fifth Eoot-race the cross is changed

into the Egyptian emblem of life — the crtix ansata,

and, still later, into the 2 sign of Venus, wherein

p. the circle above 9 the cross signifies the domination

■KoBmos represents the TTnlTerse, Cobiddb our eotar system.

INTRODUCTION 11

of spirit over matter (as in the sign of the Earth,
5, mattex' dominates spirit).

ffiThen comes the Swastica, entirely separated
from its circle, and thus in one sense becoming pure-
ly phallic. The added lines symbolize Motion, or the
Wheel of Life, and the four points represent in suc-
cession birth, life, death and immortality.

* The esoteric symbol of Kali-Yuga, or the
present Black Age, is the five-pointed star reversed,
with its two points, or horns, turned heavenward,
the sign of human sorcery, a position which every
Occultist will recognize as one of " the left hand,"
and used in ceremonial magic.

Before proceeding to the consideration of the
Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan which form the
basis of the present work, it is absolutely necessary
that the reader should be made acquainted with the
few fundamental conceptions which underlie and
pervade this entire system of thought. Upon the
clear comprehension of these few basic ideas de-
pends the understanding of all that follows. And
it must be borne in mind that the first seven Stanzas
given treat only of the cosmogony of our own plane-
tary system, and what is visible around it after a
period of dissolution and re-absorption into the
Divine Life of the Universe.

The Secret Doctrine, then, establishes three fun-
damental propositions :

(a) An Omnipotent, Eternal, Boundless, and Im-
mutable Principle, which is beyond the range and
reach of human thought — " unthinkable and un-
speakable." This Infinite and Eternal Cause, dimly
formulated in the " Unconscious " and " Unknow.
able " of current European philosophy, is the
" Rootless Root " of all that was, is, or ever shall
be. It is, of course, devoid of all attributes, and is
essentially without any relation to manifested, finite

INTRODUCTION

Being. It is " Be-ness " rather than Being (in
Sanskrit Sat), and is beyond all thought or specu-
lation.

This "Be-ness" is symbolized in the Secret
Doctrine under two aspects. On the one hand, abso-
lute abstract Space, the one thing which no human
mind can either exclude from any conception, or
conceive of by itself. On the other hand, absolute,
abstract Motion, representing unconditioned Con-
sciousness. Even our Western thinkers have shown
that Consciousness is inconceivable to us apart from
change, and Motion best symbolizes change, its es-
sential characteristic. It is the One Life, eternal,
invisible, yet omnipresent, without beginning or end,
yet periodical in its regular manifestations; in eso-
teric parlance, "the Great Breath." Thus, then,
the first fundamental axiom of the Secret Doctrine
is this metaphysical Oke Absolute, or Be-ness,
symbolized by finite intelligence as the theological
Trinity. From this " Causeless Cause " the Oc-
cultist derives the " First Cause " or the Logos, in
Plato's sense; for the " first," presupposing some-
thing in time, space and rank cannot be the Abso-
lute, for it is conditioned and finite, a manifestation
of the Absolute, which is the field of Absolute Con-
sciousness— that is, that Essence which is out of all
relation to conditioned existence. But as soon as we
pass in thought from this— to us — Absolute Nega-
tion, duality begins in the contrast of Spirit (or
Consciousness) and Matter, Subject and Object.

Spirit, or Consciousness, and Matter, are, how-
ever, to be regarded not as independent realities,
but rather as the two aspects of the Absolute which
constitute the basis of conditioned Being, and which
are essential to the existence of the manifested uni-
verse. Apart from Cosmic Substance (the substra-
tum of matter in all its grades of differentiation),
Cosmic Ideation (the root of all individual con-.

INTEODUCTION 13

scionsness) could not manifest as individual con-
sciousness, since it is only through a vehicle of mat-
ter that consciousness wells up as *' I am I,*' a
physical basis being necessary to focus a ray of the
Universal Miud at a certain stage of development.
And apart from Cosmic Ideation, Cosmic Substance
would remain an empty abstraction.

Duality, therefore, is the very essence, as it were,
of the EX-istence of the '* Manifested Universe/'
But just as the opposite poles of Subject and Object,
Spirit and Matter, are but aspects of the One Unity
in which they are synthesized, so in the manifested
universe there is that which impresses the ' ' Ideas ' '
existing in the Divine Thought, upon cosmic sub-
stance as ** the laws of nature/* It is the intelli-
gent medium, the guiding power of all manifesta-
tion, the ' * Thought Divine ' * transmitted and made
manifest through the intelligent forces which are
the architects of the visible world. Thus from
Spirit, or Cosmic Ideation, comes our consciousness ;
from Cosmic Substance the several vehicles in which
that consciousness is individualized and attains to
56Z/-consciousness ; while the Divine Energy in its
various manifestations is the mysteriouK. link be-
tween Mind and Matter, the animating principle
electrifying every atom into life.

The following diagram (p. 14) may make this
clearer:*

Furthermore, the Secret Doctrine aflfirms :

(6) The eternity of the Universe in toto (the Kos-
mos, that is), as a boundless plane; periodically the
playground of numberless Universes, incessantly
manifesting and disappearing, called '' the manifest-
ing stars," and '* the sparks of eternity." ** The
eternity of the Pilgrim is like a wink of the Eye of
Self -Existence " {Book of Dzyan). The Pilgrim is
the title given to the Monad or unit of consciousness,

♦Added by Editor.

INTRODUCTION

The " CauselessCause,''
the "OnG Reality" (which
is, as Hegel says, "both;
Being and Non-Being").

The First Cauae; Tbief.
First (or Unmanifested

The Second Logos
the transition from the
First to the Third (Spirit-
Matter, Life). The Third
Logos, "the Word,
manifestation.

The
verse.

tation. .J

Manifested Uni- I

Cosmic Ideation includes "Law," and the Forces
of Nature are comprised in Cosmic Energy; while
"Life" and "Motion" are convertible terms. — Ed.)

INTRODTJCTION 15

during its cycle of incarnations. It is the only im-
mortal and eternal principle in us, being an indivis-
ible part of the Universal Spirit.

" The appearance and disappearance of Worlds
is like a regular tidal ebb of flnx and re-flux."

This second assertion of the Secret Doctrine is
the confirmation of the absolute universality of that
law of periodicity, of flux and reflux, ebb and flow,
which physical science has observed and recorded in
all departments of nature. An alternation like that
of Day and Night, Life and Death, sleeping and
waking, is a fact so common and so universal that
it is easy to see in it one of the fundamental laws
of the universe.

(c) Moreover, the Secret Doctrine teaches: The
fundamental identity of all Souls with the Universal
Over-soul, the latter being itself an aspect of the
Unknown Eoot; and the obligatory pilgrimage of
every Soul through "the Cycle of Necessity," or
Incarnation, in accordance with Cyclic and Karmie
law. In other words, no purely divine Soul can have
an independent conscious existence before the spark
which issued from the pure Essence of the Over-Soul
has passed (first) through every elemental form of
the phenomenal world of that Cycle of existence (or
Manvantara), and (second) has acquired its indi-
viduality, first by natural impulse, and then by self-
induced and self-devised efforts, modified by its
Karma, thus ascending through all degrees of in-
telligence from that of mineral and plant up to that
of the holiest archangel. The pivotal doctrine of
the Esoteric philosophy admits no privileges or
special gifts in man, save those won by his own Ego
through personal effort and merit throughout a long
series of re- incarnations.

In its absoluteness, the One Principle under its
two aspects of pre-Cosmic Ideation and pre-Cosmio
Substance, is sexless^ unconditioned and eternal.

■r

INTRODUCTION

Its periodical emanation — or primal radiation-
also One, androgynous and phenomenally finite.
When this radiation radiates in its turn, all its radi-
ations are also androgynous, to become male and
female principles in their lower aspects. After a
period of dissolution, the first that re-awakens to
active life is plastic Space, Father-Mother, the Spirit
and Soul of -^tlier, or the plane of the circle. Space
is called "the Mother" before its cosmic activity,
and "Father— Mother" at the first stage of re-
awakening. In the Kabala it is also "the Father —
Mother — Son." But whereas the Mystics and the
Philosophers synthesize their pre-genetie triad in
the pure divine abstraction, the ortliodox anthropo-
morpbize it. The orthodox Christian separates his
personal creative Deity into the three persons of the
Trinity, and allows no higher Divinity.

Such are the basic conceptions upon which the
Secret Doctrine rests. It would not be in place here
to enter upon any defence or proof of their inherent
reasonableness ; nor can I pause to show how they
are in fact contained — though too often under a mis-
leading guise — in every system of thought or philoa-
ophy worthy of the name.

Once that the reader has gained a clear compre-
hension of these ideas, and has realized the light
they throw upon every problem of life, they will
need no further justification in his eyes, because
their truth will be to him as evident as the sun in
heaven. I pass on, therefore, to the subject-matter
of the Stanzas as given in this volume, prefacing
them with a skeleton outline of their contents, in the
hope of thereby rendering the task of the student
more easy, by placing before him in a few words the
general conception of each Stanza. As a whole,
they refer to and describe the seven great stages
of the evolutionary process, which are spoken of in

INTEODUCTION 17

"tie Purdnas as "the Seven Creations," and in the
^teible as "the Seven Days of Creation."

The First Stanza describes the state of the One
Alx. during a period of Pralaya or dissolution, be-
fore the first flutter of re-awakening manifestation.

A moment's thought shows that such a state can
only be symbolized; to describe it is impossible.
Nor can it be symbolized except in negatives, for
since it is the state of Absolnteness per se it can pos-
sess none of those specific attributes which serve
us to describe objects in positive terms. Hence that
state can only be suggested by the negatives of all
those most abstract attributes which men feel rather
than conceive, as the limits of their powers of imag-
ination.

The stage of evolution described in Stanza II. ia,
to a Western mind, so nearly identical with that
spoken of in the first Stanza, that to explain the idea
of its difference would require a separate treatise.
Hence it must be left to the reader's intuition and
higher faculties, to grasp as far as possible the
meaning of the allegorical phrases used. Indeed,
it must be remembered that all these Stanzas appeal
to the inner faculties rather than to the ordinary
comprehension of the physical brain.

Stanza HI. describes the re-awakening of the Uni-
verse after a period of Cosmic Night. It depicts the
emergence of the Monads from their state of absorp-
tion within the One ; the earliest and highest stage
in the formation of Worlds, the term "Monad"
being one which may apply equally to the vastest
Solar System, or the tiniest atom.

Itanza IV. shows the differentiation of the
of the Universe into the septenary hier-

INTRODUCTION

I archy of conscious Divine Powers, who are the a(£^
tivB manifestation of the One Supreme Energy*^
They are the framcrs, shapers, and ultimately th^^
creators of all the manifested Universe, in the only"*^
sense in which the term "Creator" is intelligible; '
they form and guide it, they are the intelligent Be- i
ings who adjust and control evolution, as they em-d
body in themselves those manifestations of the Oir
Law, which we know as the "Laws of Nature.'
This stage of evolution is spoken of in Hindi

\ mythology as the "Creation of the Gods.'"

In Stanza V. the process of world-formation is
described: First, diffused Cosmic Matter, then the
fiery "whirlwind," the first stage in the formation
of a nebula. That nebnla condenses, and after pass-
ing through various transformations, forms a solar
system, a planetary chain, or a single planet, as the
case may be.

The subsequent stages in the formation of
"World are indicated in Stanza VI., which brings the
evolution of such a world down to its fourth great
period, corresponding to the period in which we are
now living.

Stanza VII. continues the history, tracing the de-
scent of life down to the appearance of Man ; and
thus closes the first Book of the Secret Doctrine.

The development of "Man," from his first ap-
pearance upon this earth in this Round to his pres-
ent state, forms the subject of Book II.

The Stanzas which form the thesis of every sec-
tion are given throughout in their modem translated
version, as it would he worse than useless to use the
archaic phraseology of the original. Only portions

INTBODUCTION

of the seven Stanzas are here given; were they pub-
lished complete they would remain incomprehensible
to all save the few higher occultists. Additional mat-
ter will be found in the chapters on Symbolism form-
mg Part II., and also in Part III., these chapters
being often more full of information than the text.
(To this the Editor would add that as there are
three versions of the Stanzas, first, as given in the
beginning of the two volumes ; second, as given in
the Commentary; and, third, as given in The Voice
of the Silence (Ed. 1893), all differing slightly from
each other, that version {or versions) has been
chosen here which seemed most in harmony with the
general teachings.)

The Secret Book of Dzyait

STANZA I

1. The Eternal Parent, wrapped in her ever-invis-
ible robes, had slumbered once again for seven
Eternities.

2. Time was not, for it lay asleep in the infinite
bosom of duration.

3. Universal Mind* was not, for there were no
Intelligent Beings .to contain it.

4. The seven ways to Bliss were not. The great
causes of Misery were not, for there was no one to
produce and to get ensnared by them.

5. Darkness alone filled the Boundless All; for
Father, Mother, Son were once more One, and the
Son had not yet awakened for the new Wheel and
his pilgrimage thereon.

6. The seven sublime Lords {the Creative Spirits)
and the seven Truths had ceased to be, and the Uni-
verse, the Son of Necessity, was immersed in the
Absolute, to be out-breathed by that which is, and
yet is not. Naught was.

*mnd IB n namp elveD to the sum of the states of consclousnesa
grouped under Tbougbt, Will, and Feetiag. 8. D. I, 38,

22 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

7. The causes of existence were no more ; the vis-
ible that was, and the invisible that is, rested in
eternal Non-Being — the One Being.

8. Alone, the One form of Existence stretched
boundless, infinite, causeless, in dreamless sleep;
and Life pulsated unconscious in universal Space,
throughout that All-presence which is sensed hy the
"Opened Eye" of the Seer.

9. But where was the Seer when the Over-Soul of
the Universe was absorbed in the Absolute, and the
great Wheel was parentlessT {In its formless, eter-
nal, absolute condition.)

STANZA n

1. "Where were the Builders, the luminous Sons of
the cyclic Dawn? In the unknown Darkness, ab-
sorbed into the Absolute, the producers of Form
from No-form — the root of the world, the Mother
of the Gods and abstract Space rested in the bliss of
Non-being.

2. Where was silence? Where the ears to sensei
itT

No, there was neither silence nor sound; naught
save ceaseless, eternal Breath (Motion), which
knows itself not.

3. The hour bad not yet struck ; the Ray had not
yet flashed into the Germ; the Mother-Lotus had
not yet expanded.

4. Her heart had not yet opened for the one Ray
to eater, thence to fall, as three into four, into the
lap of Illusion.

5. The seven Sons were not yet born from the
Web of Light. Darkness alone was Father-Mother,
Primordial Matter; and that was in darkness.

6. These two are the Germ, and the Germ is — one.
The universe was still concealed in the Divine
Thought and the Divine Bosom.

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

STANZA III

1. The last vibration of the seventh Eternity
thrills through Infinitude. The Mother swells, ex-
panding from within without, like the bud of the
lotns.

2. The vibration sweeps along, touching (simul-
taneoitsly) with its swift wing the whole universe,
and the Germ that dwelleth in Darkness ; the Dark-
ness that breathes {moves) over the slumbering
"Waters of Life.

3. "Darkness" radiates Light, and Light drops
one solitary Eay into the Mother-deep. The Bay
shoots through the virgin Egg, the Eay causes the
eternal Egg to thrill, and drop the non-eternal
{periodical) Germ, which condenses into the World-
egg-

4. Then the three {the triangle) fall into the four
{the quaternary). The radiant Essence becomes
seven inside, seven outside. The luminous Egg,
which in itself is three, curdles and spreads in milk-
white curds throughout the depths of Mother, the
Boot that grows in the ocean of Life.

5. The Boot remains, the Light remains, the
Curds remain, and still Father-Mother is one.

6. The root of Life was in every drop of the ocean
of immortality, and the ocean was radiant Light,
which was Fire, and Heat, and Motion. Darkness
vanished and was no more; it disappeared in its
own essence, the body of Fire and Water, or Father
and Mother, (The unmanifested Logos.)

7. Behold, oh, Pupil, the radiant child of the two,
the unparalleled effulgent glory, Bright Space, son
of Dark Space, which emerges from the depths of
the great dark waters. It is the New Life, (the

manifested Logos, the Word), the . He shines

forth as the Son; he is the blazing Divine Dragon

24 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

of Wisdom ; the One is Four, and Four takes to it-
self Three, and the union produces the Seven, il
whom are the Seven which become the Hosts and th(
Multitudes. Behold him lifting the Veil and unfurl-
ing it from East to West. He shuts out the above,
and leaves the below to be seen as the Great Elusion.
He marks the places for the Shining Ones (stars),.
and turns the upper (space) into a shoreless Sea of^i
Fire, and the One manifested {element) into the
Great Waters.

8. Where was the Germ and where was now Dark-
ness? Where is the Spirit of the flame that burna
in thy lamp, oh, Pupilf The Germ is that, and that
is Light, the white brilliant Son of the dark hidden
Father.

9. Light is cold flame, and flame is fire, and fire
produces heat, which yields water— the water of life
in the Great Mother (space).

10. Father-Mother spin a Web [the Universe),
whose upper end is fastened to Spirit — the light of
the one darkness — and the lower one to its {the
Spirit's) shadowy end, Matter; and this Web is the
Universe spun out of the two substances made in
one, which is Spirit-Matter. {Father-Mother.)

11. It {the Web) expands when the breath of Fire
{the Father) is upon it; it contracts when the breath
of the Mother {the Ether) touches it. Then the Sons
{the Elements and their Intelligences) dissociate
and scatter, to return into their mother's bosom at
the end of the ' ' Great Day, ' ' and re-become one with
her. When it (the Web) is cooling, it becomes radi-
ant, and the Sons expand and contract through their
own selves and hearts ; they embrace Infinitude.

12. Then Father-Mother (Spirit-Matter) send In-
telligent Force to harden the atoms, Each (atom)
is a part of the Web (the Universe). Beflecting
"the Self-Existent Lord" (Primeval Light) like a
mirror, each becomes in turn a world.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 25

STANZA IV

1. Listen, ye Sons of the Earth, to your instruc-
tors, the Sons of the Fire. Learn there is neither
first nor last, for all is One number issued from No-
number.

2. Learn what we who descend from the Primor-
dial Seven, we who are born from the Primordial
Flame, have learnt from our fathers.

3. Prom the effulgency of Light — the ray of the
ever-darkness — sprang into Space the re-awakened
Energies {the highest creative Intelligetices) ; the
one from the egg, the six and the five. Then the
three, the one, the four, the one, the five — twice
seven the sum total. And these are the Essences,
the Flames, the Elements, the Builders, the Num-
bers, the formless, the forms, and the force of Di-
vine Man — the sum total. And from the Divine
Man emanated the forms, the sparks, the sacred ani-
mals, and the messengers of the sacred fathers
within the holy Pour,

4. This was the army of the Voice, the divine
Mother of the Seven {creative Nature). The sparks
of the Seven are subject to, and the servants of, the
first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the
sixth and the seventh of the Seven. These "sparks"
are called spheres, triangles, cubes, lines and model-
lers ; for thus stands the eternal Cause — the Word,
which is :

5. " Darkness," the boundless, or the no-number.
Chaos, or Space {the o , = to a;).

I. The " Ancient of Days," the number, for he is
One. (The Spirit of Life.)

II. The voice of the Word, Father-Mother, the
Numbers, for he is one and nine. {Ten, " the per-
fect number " applied to the Creator.)

; THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ni. The " formless* square."

And these enclosed within the o sire Sacred Four;
and the ten are the formless Universe. Then coma
the " Sons " (the planets), the seven fighters, the
one, the eighth (our sun) left out, and his breati^
which is the light-maker.

6. . . . Then the second Seven, who are " th6|
Recorders," produced by the three. (Word, Voice
cmd Spirit.) The rejected Son is One; the " Son"
suns " are countless.

STANZA V

1. The Primordial Seven, the first seven breath^
of the Dragon of Wisdom, produce in their turq
from their holy circumgyrating breaths, the fiery;
whirlwind. (Incandescent Cosmic dust.)

2. They make of the whirlwind the messenger o]
their will. Divine Thought becomes Motion; th(
swift Son of the Divine Sons, whose sons are " the
Recorders," runs circular errands. Fohat-f is thei
steed, and Thought is the rider. He passes lik*^
lightning through the fiery clouds ; takes three, five
and seven strides through the seven regions above,
and the seven below. (The fourteen planes of con-
scious7iess.) He lifts his voice, and calls the innu-
merable sparks, and joins them. {Chemical com-
binations. )

3. He is their gniding spirit and leader. When he'
commences work, he separates the sparks of the
Lower Kingdom (mineral atoms) that float and'

*"FormIeaa square," the eipreBslon in the original, aliouid be "In-
visible square," in the same senee that Procius says : "Before the.
figures apparent, there are the vital figures, and before producing:
the material worlds which move In a circle the Creative Pow»
produced the invUiUe Circles." — Editor.

tin the original "FoJiat." a name of many meaninES, from the
Ix«oa, or the Word, to motion, life, and electricity. He is "'""
called the "Pervader." — Editor.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 27

thrill with joy in their radiant dwellings {gaseous
clouds), and forms therewith the germs of wheels
(centres of force). He places them in the six direc-
tions of space, and one in the middle — the central
wheel.

4. Fohat traces spiral lines to unite the soul in
man with the Spirit — the Crown. An army of the
Sods of Light stands at each angle, and " the Re-
corders," in the middle wheel. They (the Record-
ers) say: This is good; the first Divine world is
ready, the first is now the second (world). Then
the formless Universe of Thought reflects itself in
the shadowy World of primal Form (the intellectual
platie), the first garment of the Parentless.

5. Fohat takes five strides (the higher states of
consciousness) and builds a winged wheel at each
corner of the square, for the four Holy Ones and
their armies. (The Mystic Watchers; the Angels of
the Cardinal Points, and their hosts.)

6. " The Recorders," circumscribe the triangle,
the first one (the I), the cube, the second one and
the pentacle within the egg. ® It is the Ring called
" Pass Not " (Infinity), for those who descend and
ascend. As also for those who during the cycle of
evolution are progressing towards the Great Day,
" Be with Us " (Union with the Divine). Thus
were formed the Formless World and the World of
Forms ; from one Light, seven Lights ; from each of
the seven, seven times seven Lights. The
" Wheels " watch the Ring.

STANZA VI

1. By the power of the Mother of Mercy and
Knowledge (the magic potency of Sound in the Uni-
verse)— the " triple " (or mother, wife and daugh-
ter) of the Logos, residing in the heaven of the Di-
wne Voice — Fohat, the breath of their progeny, the

28 THE SECRET DOCTKINE '

son of the Sons (the " Spirit " of Electricity, which
is Life), having called forth from the lower abyss
{chaos) the illusive form of our Universe and the
seven elements:

2. The swift and the radiant One {Fohat) pro-
duces the seven neutral points {or centres), against
which none will prevail to the great Day ' ' Be-withni
us," and seats the Universe on these eternal foun^
dations, surrounding it with the elementary germa^
{Atoms of Science and Monads of Leibnitz.)

3. Of the seven {elements) — first, one manifested^
six concealed ; two manifested, five concealed ; thre«
manifested, four concealed; four produced; three'
hidden ; four and one fraction revealed, two and one-^
half concealed ; six to be manifested, one laid aside^
Lastly, seven small wheels revolving, one giving
birth to the other. {Our planetary chain.)

4. He builds them in the liieness of older wheels
{worlds of a previous Cycle), placing them on the
imperishable centres {Neutral— or Zero — points of
force ) .

How does Fohat build them? {The constructive-
force of Cosmic Electricity.) He collects the fiery-
dust. He makes balls of fire, runs through them and
round them, infusing life thereinto, then sets them
in motion, some one way, some the other way. They
are cold, he makes them hot. They are dry, he makes
them moist. They shine, he fans and cools them.
Thus acts Fohat from one Twilight to another, dur-
ing seven eternities.

{Universal Cosmogony ends here. The verses that
follow relate only to our own Solar System.)

5. At the fourth {Round, or evolution of life and'
being on " the seven smaller wheels,") the Sons
are told to create their images. One-third refuses.
Two {thirds) obey.

The curse is pronounced. {Rather, " the cause is
generated.") They will be bom in the Fourth

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 29

{Race), suffer and cause suffering; this is the first
war.

6. The older wheels {worlds in the earlier
Rounds) rotated downwards and upwards.- ■ ■
The Mother's spawn filled the whole Cosmos. There
were battles fought between the Creators and the
Destroyers, and battles fought for space; the seed
{supersensuous matter) appearing and re-appear-
ing continuously.

7. Make thy calculations, oh, Pupil, if thou
wonldst learn the correct age of thy small wheel
{chain). Its fourth spoke is our mother {Earth).
Reach the fourth " Fruit " of the fourth path of
knowledge that leads to Perfectness, and thou shalt
comprehend, for thou shalt see. . . .

STANZA VII

1. Behold the beginning of sentient formless life :
First the Divine {vehicle), the one from the

Mother-Spirit ; then the spiritual (soul) ; {again) the
three from the one, the four from the one, and the
five from which the three, the five and the sevenu
These are the threefold, the fourfold downward;
the " Mind-born " sons of the first Lord {the
Logos); the shining Seven (the Builders).

It is they who art thou, me, him, O Pupil! They
who watch over thee and thy mother Earth.

2. The one ray multiplies the smaller rays. Life
precedes form, and life survives the last atom of
form {the external body). Through the countless
rays proceeds the life-ray, the One, like a thread
through many jewels.

3. When the one becomes two, the ' ' three- fold ' '
appears. The three are (linked into) one; and it is
our thread, O Pupil, the heart of the man-plant called
Saptaparna (the seven-leaved).

4. It {the One Ray) is the root that never dies;

^80

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

tLe three-ton^ed flame of the four wieks. The wicks
are the sparks that draw from the three-tongued
flame, shot out from the Seven — their flame — the
beams and sparks of one moon reflected in the run-
ning waves of all the rivers of the Earth.

5. The spark (the Monad) hangs from the flame
by the finest thread of Life. It journeys through the
seven worlds of Illusion. (The globes and rounds.)
It stops in the first (Kingdom) , and is a metal aa^
a stone; it passes into the second (Kingdom), an-^
behold, a plant; the plant whirls through seveA
changes, and becomes a sacred animal. (The firS'^
shadoiv of physical man. ) From the combined attrt^
butes of these, Man the Thinker is formed, Wht^
forms himt The seven lives, and the one Life. Wh(r
completes himT The five-fold Spirit. And who per-
fects the last body! Fish, Sin and Soma (the Moon).

" Fish, Sin and Soma " make conjointly the three
symbols of the immortal Being).

6. From the first-born (primitive Man), the
thread between the Silent Watcher and his Shadow
becomes more strong and radiant with every
change (Reincarnation). The morning sunlight has
changed into noon-day glory. . . .

7. " This is thy present wheel," said the Flame
to the Spark. " Thou art myself, my image and
my shadow. I have clothed myself in thee, and tlioa
art my vehicle to the day ' Be-with-us,' when thou
shalt re-become myself and others, thyself and me."
Then the Builders, having donned their first cloth-
ing, descend on radiant Earth, and reign over men

-who are themselves.

On the Seven Stanzas, According to Theib Enu-
meration IN Stanzas and Vekses.

Verse I. — The Eternal Parent (Space) wrapped
in her ever invisible robes, had slumbered once
again for seven Eternities.

The " Parent Space " is the eternal, ever-present
cause of all — the incomprehensible Deity, whose
" invisible robes " are the mystic root of all matter,
and of the Universe Space is the one eternal thing
that we can most easily imagine, immovable in its
abstraction, and uninflneneed by either the presence
or absence in it of an objective Universe. It is with-
out dimension in every sense, and self-existent.
Spirit is the first differentiation from the Cause-
less Cause of both Spirit and Matter.

Thus the " robes " stand for the noumenon of un-
differentiated Cosmic Matter. It is not matter as
we know it, but the spiritual essence of matter, and
is co-eternal and even one with Space in its abstract
sense. It is also the source of the subtile invisible
properties in visible matter. It is the Soul, so to
speak, of the One infinite Spirit, the primordial Sub-
stance, which is the basis of the vehicle of all phe-
nomena, whether physical, psychic or mental. It is
the source from which " the Ether of Space " ra-
diates.

32 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

By *' the seven eternities,** aeons or periods
meaiit. The word ** Eternity,*' as understood
Christian theology, has no meaning to the Asij
ear. The term as used here means the seven peri
(or one period of equal duration) forming a '* Gi
age,** or *' a hundred years of Brahma,** a t(
of 311,040,000,000,000 of our years. These '' Etei
ties * * belong to the most secret calculations, and
key to these calculations cannot be given.

STANZA I.— Continued

2. Time was not, for it lay asleep in the infii
bosom of Duration.

Time is only an illusion produced by the suc<
sion of our states of consciousness, and cannot e:
where no consciousness exists, 'but ** lies aslee
The present is only a mathematical line, which
vides that part of eternal duration which we call
future, from the part which we call the past. N<
ing on earth has real duration, for nothing remi
without change for the billionth part of a seco
and the sensation we have of the actuality of 1
division of ** time ** known as the present, coi
from the blurring of that momentary glimpse,
succession of glimpses of things, given us by
senses, as those things pass from the region of idi
that we call the future, to the region of memo
that we name the past. In the same way we exp
ence a sensation of duration in the case of the
stantaneous electric spark, by reason of the blui
and continuous impression on the retina. The :
person or thing does not consist solely of wha
seen at any particular moment, but is composec
the sum of all its various and changing conditi
from its first appearance in the material form tc
disappearance from the earth.

THE SECBET DOCTBINE 33

STANZA 1.— Continued

3. . . . Universal Mind was not, for there were
no celestial beings to contain (hence to manifest) it.

** Mind *' is a name given to the sum of the states
of consciousness, grouped under Thought, Will and
Feeling. During deep sleep thought ceases on the
physical plane, and memory is in abeyance ; thus, for
the time being, * * Mind is not, ' ' because the organ
through which the Ego manifests thought and mem-
ory on the material plane has temporarily ceased to
function. A noumenon can become a phenomenon
on any plane of existence only by manifesting on
that plane through an appropriate vehicle ; and dur-
ing the long night of rest called Pralaya when all
that exists is dissolved, the *' Universal Mind " re-
mains as a permanent possibility of mental action,
or as that abstract, absolute Thought, of which Mind
is the concrete, relative manifestation. The * * Celes-
tial beings *' are the collective hosts of spiritual
Beings — the Angelic Hosts of Christianity, the Elo-
him and '* Messengers " of the Hebrews — who are
the vehicle for the manifestation of the Divine or
iwiiversal. Thought and Will. They are the Intelli-
gent Forces that give to, and act out, in Nature her
**laws," while acting themselves according to laws
imposed upon them by still higher Powers ; but they
are not the mere ** personifications " of the powers
of Nature as erroneously thought. This hierarchy
of spiritual Beings, through which the Universal
Mind comes into action, is like an army — a * ' Host ' '
truly — ^by means of which the power of a nation
manifests itself, and which is divided into many
grades, each with its separate individuality, and its
limited responsibilities; each contained in a larger
individuality to which its own interests are subser-
vient, and each containing lesser individualities in

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

STANZA l.—Continued

{a) The 1

4. The seven ways to Bliss were not. (a)
jreat causes (6) of Misery (c) were not, for there
was no one to produce and get ensnared by them.

(o) There are seven " Paths " or " Ways " to
he bliss of Non-Existence, which is Absolute Being,
Existence and Consciousness. They were not, be-
cause the Universe existed so far only in the Divine
Thought. For it is—

(fe) The twelve causes of being. Each is the ef-
fect of an antecedent cause, and a cause in turn to
its successor. They belong to that theory of law as
a chain, which finally brings Karma into full sway,
a theory based upon the great truth that re-incarna-
tion is to be dreaded, as existence in this world only
entails upon man suffering, misery and pain. At the
same time it is taught that man may escape the suf-
ferings of re-births, and even the false bliss of
" Heaven," by obtaining Wisdom and Knowledge,
which alone can dispel the effects of Ilhision and
ignorance.

(c) Illusion, the other great cause of misery, is an
clement which enters into all finite things, for every-
tliing that exists has only a relative, not an absolute,
reality. Nothing is permanent except the one hidden
Absolute Existence which contains in itself the nou-
mena of all appearances. Whatever reality things
possess, must be looked for in them before or after
they have passed like a flash through the material
world; but we cannot cognize any such existence di- i
rectly, so long as we have sense — instruments which
bring only material existence into the field of our
consciousness. Whatever plane our consciousness
may be acting in, the things belonging to that plane
are, for the time being, our only realities. As we
rise in the scale of development we perceive that

THE SECBET DOCTRINE 35

during the stages through which we have passed we
mistook shadows for realities, and the upward pro-
gress of the Ego is a series of progressive awaken-
ings, each advance bringing with it the idea that
now, at last, we have reached * * reality * ' ; but only
Mrhen we shall have reached the Absolute Conscious-
ness, and blended our own with it, shall we be free
from the delusions produced by Illusion.

STANZA I.— Continued

5. Darkness alone filled the boundless All (a) for
"Father, Mother and Son (6) were once more one,
and the Son had not yet awakened for the new
\nieel and his pilgrimage thereon.

(a) Darkness is Father-Mother; Light their son/'
says an old Eastern proverb. Light is inconceivable
except as coming from some source, and as in the
instance of primordial light that source is unknown,
we therefore call it *' Darkness,** the eternal matrix
in which the sources of light appear and disappear.
Nothing is added to darkness to make it light, or to
light to make it darkness, on this our plane. They
are interchangeable, and scientifically, light is but
a mode of darkness, and vice-versa. Yet both are
phenomena of the same noumenon — which is abso-
Inte darkness to the scientific mind, and but a gray
twilight to the perception of the average mystic,
though to the spiritual eye of the Initiate it is abso-
lute light. How far we discern the light that shines
in darkness depends upon our powers of vision.
What is light to us is darkness to certain insects,
and the eye of the clairvoyant sees illumination
where the normal eye perceives only blackness.
When the whole universe was plunged in sleep — had
returned to its one primordial element — ^there was
neither centre of luminosity, nor eye to perceive

36 THE SECRET DOCTRINE i

liglit, and darkness necessarily filled the boundleaa
All.

(6) The Father-Mother are the male and femal«
principles in root-nature, the opposite poles that
manifest in all things on every plane of Kosmos; of
Spirit and Substance, in a less allegorical aspect, th»
resultant of which is the Universe, or the Son. They
are " once more One," when during the Night otf,
Dissolution all in the objective universe has returned
to its one primal and eternal cause, and is held in.
solution in space, so to speak, to differentiate again
and crystallize anew at the commencement of the;
new " Day," or period of active life. In esoteric
parlance, the Universe is Pather-Mother-Son, ot
Spirit, Soul and Body at once ; each personage being'
symbolical of an attribute, and each attribute or
quality being a gi-aduated efflux of Divine Breath in
its cyclic differentiation, involutionary and evolu-
tionary. In the eosmo-physieal sense, it is the Uni-
verse, the planetary chain and the earth ; in the
purely spiritual, the Unknown Deity, Planetary
Spirit and Man — the Son of the two, the creature
of Spirit and Matter, and a manifestation of them
in his periodical appearances on Earth, during the
various great cycles of existence.

I STANZA 1.— Continued

6. The seven sublime Lords (the Creative Spirits)
and the Seven Truths had ceased to be (a), and the
Universe, the son of Necessity was immersed in the
(&) Absolute, to be out-breathed by that which ia,
and yet is not. (c) Naught was.

The " seven sublime Lords " are the Seven Crea-
tive Spirits, who correspond to the Hebrew Elohim,
and watch, successively, over one of the Rounds and
the Root-races of our planetary chain. Out of the
Seven Truths and Revelations (or rather revealed

THE SECEET DOCTEINE 37

secrets )y four only have been given ns, as we are
still in the Fourth Bounds and the world also has
had only four Buddhas^ so far. This is a very com-
plicated subject, and is exhaustively treated in Vol.
m. of the Secret Doctrine.

So far, ** there are only Four Truths and Four
Vedas/' say the Hindus and Buddhists. For a simi-
lar reason Iren^BUs insisted on the necessity of four
Gk>spels. But as every new Boot-race at the head
of a Bound must have its revelation and its reveal-
ers, the next Bound will bring the Fifth, the f oUow-
iag the Sixth, and so on.

(6) This refers to the Absolute Perfection to
which all existences attain at the close of a great
cycle of activity, and in which they rest during the
succeeding period of repose. It is absolute, however,
only in a relative sense, for it must give room to still
further absolute perfection, according to a higher
standard of excellence in the following period of
activity — just as a perfect flower must cease to be a
perfect flower and die, in order to grow into a per-
fect fruit.

The Secret Doctrine teaches the progressive de-
velopment of everything, worlds as well as atoms,
and this stupendous development has neither con-
ceivable beginning nor imaginable end. Our uni-
verse is only one of an infinite number of universes,
all of them * * Sons of Necessity, ' * because links in
the great Kosmic chain of universes, each one stand-
ing in the relation of an effect as regards its prede-
cessor, and of a cause as regards its successor.

The appearance and disappearance of the universe
are pictured as an out-breathing and in-breathing
of the * ' Great Breath, ' ' which is eternal, and which,
being Motion, is one of the three aspects of the Abso-
lute— Abstract Space and Duration being the other
two. When the ** Great Breath " is projected it is
called the Divine Breath, and is regarded as the

38 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

breathing of the Unknowable Deity — the One Exist-
ence— which breathes out a thought, as it were, that
becomes the Kosmoa. So when the Divine Breath is
inspired again, the universe disappears into the
bosom of the " Great Mother," who then sleeps,
" wrapped in her invisible robes."

(c) By " that which is and yet is not," is meant
the Great Breath itself, which we can only speak of
as absolute Existence, but cannot picture to our im-
agination as any form of existence that we can dis-
tinguish from absolute Non-Existence. The three
periods — Present, Past and Future— are, in the eso-
teric philosophy a compound time ; for the three are
I a composite number only in relation to the phenom-
' enal plane, but in the realm of noumena have no
abstract validity. Our ideas, in short, of duration
and time are all derived from our sensations, ac-
cording to the laws of association. What is time, for
instance, but the panoramic succession of our states
of consciousness f That one has to acquire true Self-
Consciousness in order to understand the origin of
delusion — is a philosophical axiom.

7. The causes of existence were no more (a) ; the
visible that was, and the invisible that is, rested in
eternal Non-Being, (6) the One Being.

The " Causes of Existence " mean not only the
physical causes known to science, but the metaphysi-
cal causes, the chief of which is the desire to exist,
an outcome of law and illusion. This desire for a
sentient life shows itself in everything from an atom
to a sun, and is a reflection of the Divine Thought
propelled into objective existence, into a law that
the universe should exist. According to esoteric
teaching, the real cause of that supposed desire, and
of all existence, remains forever hidden, and its first
emanations are the most complete abstractions mind
can conceive. These abstractions must of necessity
be postulated as the cause of the material universe,

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 39

and they nnderlie tlie secondary and subordinate
powers of Nature, which have been worshipped as
gods by the common herd of every age. It is impos-
sible to conceive of anything without a cause; the
attempt to do so makes the. mind a blank. This is
virtually the condition to which the mind must come
at last when we try to trace back the chain of causes
and effects, but botli science and religion jump to this
condition of blankness much more quickly than is
necessary; for they ignore the metaphysical abstrac-
tions which are the only conceivable cause of phys-
ical concretions. These abstractions become more
and more concrete as they approach our plane of
existence, until finally they take form as the material
universe, by a process of conversion of metaphysics
into physics analogous to that by which steam can
be condensed into water, and water frozen into ice.
(6) The idea of eternal Non-Being, which is the
One Being, will seem a paradox to any one who does
not remember that we limit our ideas of being to
our present consciousness of existence, making it a
specific, instead of a generic term. An unborn in-
fant, could it think in our acceptation of the term,
would necessarily limit its conception of being to the
intrauterine life which alone it knows; and were it
to endeavor to express to its consciousness the idea
of life after birth (death, to its idea) would prob-
ably, in the absence of all knowledge on the sub-
ject, express that life as " Non-Being which is real
Being." In our case the One Being is the nou-
menon of all the noumena that we know must under-
lie phenomena, and give them whatever shadow of
reality they possess, but which we have not the
senses or the intellect to cognize at present. A
miner will know what gold will look like when sepa-
rated from the quartz, whereas the common mortal
can form no conception of the reality of things sepa-
rated from the Illusion that veils them, and in

40 THE SECKBT DOCTRINE

I pr(

^^ ex]

which they are hidden. The Initiate alone, rich with
the lore acquired by numberless generations of bis
predecessors, directs " the Eye of the Seer " to-
wards the essence of things in which no illusion can
have any influence. It is here that the teachings
of esoteric philosophy in relation to the law of
causes and the four Truths become of the greatest
importance, but tbey are secret.

STANZA l.~Continued

8. Alone, the One form of Existence (o) stretch*
boundless, infinite, causeless, in dreamless sleep; {i
and Life pulsated unconscious in universal Spai
throughout that All-presence which is sensed by tl
" Opened Eye " of the Seer (c).

(a) The tendency of modern thought is now to
recur to the archaic idea of a boniogeneous basis for
widely different things — heterogeneity developed
from homogeneity. Biologists are now searching
for their homogeneous protoplasm, and chemists
for their protyle, while physicists are looking for the
force of which electricity, magnetism, heat and bo
forth, are the correlations. The Secret Doctrin*
carries this idea into metaphysics, and postulates
" One Form of Existence," as the basis and source
of all things. It is in its secondary stage, the Fa-
ther-Mother of the Buddhist philosopher, the eternal
cause and effect, omnipresent yet abstract, the self-
existent plastic Essence and root of all things,

(6) " Dreamless sleep " is one of the seven stat<
of consciousness enumerated in Oriental esoterieism.
In each of these states a different portion of the
mind com^ into action ; or, as a Vedantin would ex-
press it, the individual is conscious on a different
plane of bis bein^. The term " dreamless sleep
in this case applied allegorieally to the Universe, to
express a condition somewhat analogous to that.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 41

late of consciousness in man, which not being re-
membered when he wakes, seems a blank, just as the
sleep of the mesmerized subject seems to him a blank
when he returns to his normal condition, although he
has been talking and acting like a conscious person,
(c) " The Seer " here means a purified soul, one
who has become a Mahatma, so-called. His " opened
eye " is the inner spiritual eye of the seer, and the
faculty which manifests through it is not ordinary
clairvoyance {the power of seeing at a distance),
but rather the faculty of spiritual intuition, through
which direct and certain knowledge is attainable.
This faculty is intimately connected with the " third
eye." Fuller explanations will be found in Book II.

STANZA L—Continued

9. But where was the Seer when the Over-soul of
the Universe was absorbed in the Absolute (a), and
the great "Wheel was parentleasi (i).

(a) To put it in other words, where was the Seer
when the Soul as the basis of all, the Anima Mundi
or Over-soul, was absorbed in self-analyzing reflec-
tion, or Absolute Consciousness. "Absolute Con-
Bcionsness," which is only termed unconsciousness
in the absence of any element of personality, tran-
scends human conception. Man ia powerless, from
the very constitution of his being, to raise the veil
that shrouds the majesty of the Absolute. Only the
liberated Spirit is able faintly to realize the nature
of the source whence it sprang and whither it must
eventually return.

The matter-moving Nous, the animating Soul, im-
manent in every atom, manifested in man, latent in
the stone, has different degrees of power; and this
pantheistic idea of a general Spirit-Soul pervading
all Nature is the oldest of all the philosophical no-
tions. Nor was the Archteus a discovery of Para-

42 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

celsus nor of his pupil Van Helmont ; for it is again
' the same Archccns or " Father-Ether " — the mani-
fested basis and source of the innumerable phenom-
ena of life — which is localized as the Over-soul.

Esoteric philosophy teaches that everything lives
and is conscious, but not that all life and conscious-
ness are the same, even in human beings and ani-
mals. Life we look upon as " the one form of ex-
istence," manifesting in what is called matter; or,
as in man, what (incorrectly separating them) w»^
name Spirit, Soul, and Matter. Matter is thd I
vehicle for the manifestation of Soul (or Mind) on 1
this plane of existence, and Soul is the vehicle on a
higher plane for the manifestation of Spirit," and
these three are a trinity synthesized by Life, which
pervades them all. The idea of universal life is one
of those ancient conceptions which are returning to
the human mind in this century, as a consequence
of its liberation from anthropomorphic theology.
Science, it is true, contents itself with tracing or
postulating the signs of universal life, and has not
yet been bold enough even to whisper " Anima
Mundi! " The idea of crystalline life now familiar
to science would have been scouted a century ago.
Botanists are now searching for the nerves
plants ; not that they suppose that plants can feel c
think as animals do, but because they believe tin
some structure, hearing the same relation fuDctioo)^
ally to plant life that nerves bear to animal life ia
necessary to explain vegetable growth and nutri-
tion. It hardly seems possible that science can dis-
guise from itself much longer by the mere use of J
such terms as " force " and " energy," the factti
that things tliat have life are living things, whether-!
they be atoms or planets.

{h) The term " parentless," or without progeni-
tors, is a mystical designation having several mean-
ings in the Eastern philosophy. By this name celes- -

s o£^
el o«l
thS
tioQrH
a

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 43

tial Beings are generally referred to. The mystery
in the hierarchy of " the Parentless " is great; its
apex being the universa! Spirit-Soul, and its lower
nmgs the human Buddhas; and even every Soul-
endowed man has in him the latent possibility of be-
longing to it. Hence, when speaking of the universe
in its formless, eternal or absolute condition {of
latent potencies), before it was fashioned by the
"Builders" — the expression is used, "the Uni-
verse was parentless."

STANZA II

Commentary

Where were the Builders, the lumi-
nous Sons of the cyclic Dawn? («)... In the
unknown Darkness, absorbed into the Absolute, the
producers of form from no-form, the root of the
world — the Mother of the Gods and Abstract Space,
rested in the bliss of Non-Being (b).

(a) The " Builders," the " Sons of Cyclic
Dawn," are the real creators of the universe ; and in
this philosophy, which deals only with our planetary
system, they, as its architects, are also called the
" Watchers " of the Seven Spheres, which exoteri-
cally are the seven planets, and esoterically are the
seven spheres or planes of existence of our earth
{also called " the globes of our chain ").

(b) The Absolute is the summum bonum, and is
that state which leads one to appreciate correctly the
full meaning of Non-Being, which, as explained, is
absolute Being. But there is a great difference be-
tween conscious and unconscious " being." The
condition of absorption into the Absolute without
the Self-analyzing consciousness would be not bliss,
but simply extinction {for Seven Eternities). It is
only " with a mind clear and undarkened by per-

1.44 THE SECBET DOCTRINE

^^uonality and an aasimilatiou of the merit of manifold

^^pexistences devoted to the whole living and sentient

^~ universe that one gets rid of personal existence,

merging into, becoming one with, the Absolute, and

continuing in full possession of Self -Consciousness, ""

» STANZA 11.— Continued

2. . . . Where was Silence? Where were the
ears to sense it 1 No, there was neither silence nor
soimd (a). Naught save ceaseless, eternal Breath.
(Motion) (6), which knows itself not (c).

(a) The idea that things can cease to exist and
still Bk, is a fundamental one in Eastern psychology.
A familiar instance of a similar paradox is afforded
by chemical combinations. The question whether
hydrogen and oxygen cease to exist when they com-
bine to form water, is still a moot one, some arguing
that since they are found again when the water is
decomposed, they must have been there all the while;
others contending that as they actually turn into
something totally different, they must have ceased
to exist as themselves for the time being, but neither
side seems to be able to form any conception of the
real condition of a thing, which has become some-
thing else, and yet has not ceased to be itself. Exist-
ence as water may be said to be for oxygen and
hydrogen, a state of non-being which is more " real
being " than their existence as gases; and it may
faintly symbolize the condition of the universe when
it goes to sleep, or ceases to be, during the cyclic
night — to re-awaken, or appear again when the dawn
of the new cycle of active life recalls it to what wa
call existence.

(6) The " Breath " of the One Existence is a
term applied by archaic esotericism only to the spir-
itual aspect of cosmogony ; elsewhere it is replaced
^^by its equivalent on the material plane — Motion.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 45

The One Eternal Element, or element-containing
vehicle, is Space, dimensionless In every sense; co-
existent with which are — endless Duration primor-
dial (hence indestructible) Matter, and Motion,—
absolute " perpetual motion," which Is the Breath
of the One Element. This Breath as seen, can
never cease, not even during the periods of dissolu-
tion.

But ' ' the Breath of the One Existence ' ' does not,
all the same, apply to the One Causeless Cause, or
" AIl-Be-ness," in contradistinction to AH- Being.
" From It," say the Puranas, "will proceed the
potencies that will create, as they become the real
cause " on the material plane. Save that One
(causeless) ideal Cause there is no other to which
the universe can be referred.

(c) To know itself (or one's self), necessitates
consciousness, and perception (both limited facul-
ties). Hence " the Eternal Breath wliieh knows it-
self not." Consciousness implies limitations and
qualifications; something to be conscious of, and
some one to be conscious of it. But Absolute Con-
sciousness contains the eognizer, the thing cognized
and the cognition, all three in itself, and all three
one. We call Absolute Consciousness ' ' unconscious-
ness," because it seems to us that it must necessarily
be so, just as we call the Absolute, " Darkness,"
because to our finite understanding it appears quite
impenetrable, yet we recognize fully the inadequacy
of such terms to express what we so dimly feel.

STANZA Ti.— Continued

3. The hour had not yet struck ; the Ray had not
yet flashed into the Germ (o) ; the Mother-Lotus
(6) had not yet expanded,

(o) The Ray of the " Ever Darkness " becomes,
B it. is emitted, a ray of effulgent light or Life, and

46 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

flashes into the ^ ' Germ ' ' — ^the point in the Mundane
Egg represented by matter in its abstract sense.
But the term point must not be understood as ap-
plied to any particular point in Space, for a germ
exists in the centre of every atom, and these collect-
ively form ** the Gterm," or rather (as no atom can
be made visible to our physical eye) the noum^on
of eternal and indestructible matter.

( b ) One of the symbols of the dual creative power
in Nature (matter and force on the material plane)
is the Lotus, or water-lily of India. The Lotus is
the product of fire (heat), and water (ether) ; Fire
standing in every philosophical and religious sys-
tem, even in Christianity, as a representation of tb^
Spirit of Deity, the active, male, generative princi-
ple; and Ether, or the Soul of matter, the light o^
the fire, representing the passive female principle
from which everything in this universe emanate^
Hence Ether or Water is the Mother, and Fire i*
the Father. Sir Wm. Jones (and before hiPi
archaic botany) showed that the seeds of the Lotn^
contain — even before they germinate — ^perfectl^
formed leaves, the miniature shape of the fully-d0
veloped plant; nature thus giving us a specimen o"
the pre-formation of its productions, ** the seeds o-
all phanerogamous plants * bearing proper flower^
containing an embryo plantlet already formed.^
(Gross, The Heathen Religion, p. 195.) See Par
11. , '' The Lotus-flower as a Universal Symbol.^
This explains the sentence marked (fe).

The Lotus is, moreover, a very ancient and fa^
vorite simile for the Kosmos itself and also fo:3
Man. The popular reasons given are, first, the f ae
just mentioned, that the Lotus-seed contains withrc
itself a perfect miniature of the future plant, whicl
typifies the fact that the spiritual prototypes of al
things exist in the immaterial world before they be-

♦Plants having visible reproductive organs. — Editor,

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 47

come materialized on earth, and, secondly, the fact
tiiat the Lotus plant grows in the water, having its
root in the mud, and bearing its flower in the air
above. The Lotus thus typifies the life of Man and
also that of the Kosmos ; for the Secret Doctrine
teaches that the elements of both are the same, and
that both develop in the same direction. The root
of the Lotus suuk in the mud represents material
life; the stalk passing up through the water typifies
existence in the astral world, and the flower floating
on the water and opening to the sky is emblematic of
Bpiritnat being.

^^ STANZA U.— Continued

^^^. Her heart had not yet opened for the One Ray
to enter, thenee to faU, as three into four, into the
lap of Illusion (a).

(a) The Primordial Substance had not yet passed
out of its precosmic latent condition, or even be-
come the (so far, to man) invisible protyle of science.
But, as the hour strikes, and it becomes receptive
of the Life — impulse of the Divine Thought (the
Logos, or the male aspect of the Over-soul), its heart
opens. It differentiates, and the Three (Father,
Mother, Son) are transformed into four. Herein lies
the origin of the double mystery of the Trinity and
the Immaculate Conception. The first and funda-
mental doctrine of Occultism is Universal Unity {or
Homogeneity) under three aspects. " If thou
wouldst believe in the Power which acts within the
root of a plant, or imagine the root concealed under
the soil, thou hast to think of its stalk or trunk, and
of its leaves and flowers. Thou canst not imagine
that Power independently of those objects. Life can
be known only by the Tree of Life." {Precepts for
Toga.) The idea of Absolute Unity would be im-
pOBBible for us to conceive, had we not something

;ii —
thaa

48 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

concrete before our eyes to contHin that Unity. And
the Deity being absolute must be onmipresent, hence
not ap atom but contains It within itself. The rootB,
the trunk and the branches are three distinct objectBi
yet they are one tree. The Kabalists say: " The
Deity is one because It is infinite; It is triple, be-
cause It is ever manifesting." This manifestation
is triple in its aspects because it requires, as Aris-
totle has it, three principles for any natural body to
become objective; privation,* form and matter. Pri-
vation meant in the mind of the great philosopher
that which the Occultists mean by the prototypes im-
pressed upon the Astral Light — the lowest plane and
world of the Anima Mundi, or Over-soul. The union
of these three principles depends upon a fourtb-
the Life which radiates from the summits of tl
"Unreachable to become a universally diffused
fienee on the manifested planes of existence.

And this Quaternary (the trinity of Father,
Mother, Son, as a Unity, and the manifested Life as
the complete Quaternary) has been the means of
leading to the very archaic idea of Immaculate Con-
ception, now finally crystallized into a dogma of the
Christian Church, which has carnalized this meta-
physical idea beyond all limits of common sense.
For one has hut to read the Kabala and study its
numerical methods of interpretation to find the ori-
gin of that dogma. It is purely astronomical, mathe-
matical and pre-eminently metaphysical: the male
element in Nature (personified by the male deities
and Logoi ) is bom through, not from, an immaculate
Bource, personified by the " Mother "; because that
Male having a mother, cannot have a " father," the
^ abstract Deity being sexless, and not even a Being,

^^ but Be-ness, or Life itself. _

^^B The mystery enacted, according to the Seers, oqfl

^^^1 *LiteraIIy, the beiuf; deprived of. or witbout. all qualities; tt^|
^^^^ tiling In Itself ; the Idea in the abstract. — Editor. jH

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 49

the divine plane, is repeated on Earth. The * * Son ' '
of the immaculate Celestial Virgin (or the undiflfer-
entiated cosmic protyle) is bom again on Earth as
the Son of the terrestrial Eve — our mother Earth,
and becomes Humanity as a whole — ^past, present
and future. Above, the son is the whole Kosmos ;
below, he is Mankind. The triad or triangle be-
comes the Tetraktis, the perfect Square. It is now
in the lap of * * the Great Illusion, ' ' and between it-
self and the Reality has the Astral Light, the great
deceiver of man's limited senses, unless Knowledge
of the Absolute Truth come to the rescue.

STANZA n.— Continued

5. The Seven Sons (a) were not yet bom from
the Web of Light. Darkness alone was Father-
Mother, Primordial Matter (6), and that was in
darkness.

(a) The Secret Doctrine in the Stanzas here given
occupies itself chiefly, if not entirely, with our solar
system, and especially with our planetary chain.
The *' Seven Sons," therefore, are the creators of
the latter. This teaching will be explained more
fully hereafter. (See Part II., ** Theogony of the
Creative Gods.'')

(b) In the original, Svdbhdvat, the ** Plastic Es-
sence *' that fills the universe, the root of all things.
It is the body of the Soul, and that which Ether
Would be to '* Akasa '' its informing principle.
Chinese mystics have made of it the synonym of
** being.''

STANZA U.— Continued

6. These two are the Germ, and the Germ is — one.
The Universe was still concealed in the Divine
Thought and the Divine Bosom.

50 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Tile " Divine Thought " does not imply the idea
of a Divine Thinker. The Universe, not only past,
present and future — which is a finite idea expressed
by finite thought — but in its totality, the Absolute
Being, is that Thought itself reflected in a secondary
or manifest cause. Brahma (neuter) as the Myste-
rium Magnum of Paracelsus is an absolute mystei
to the human mind. Brahma, the male-female, i
aspect and anthropomorphic reflection, is coneei^J
able by blind faith, though rejected by human intrf-
lect when it attains its majority. (See Part II.
Primordial Substance and Divine Thought.)

Hence the statement that during the prologue, bo
to speak, of the drama of creation, or the beginning
of Cosmic evolution, the Universe (or the " Son ")
still lies concealed in the " Divine Thought," which
had not yet penetrated into the " Divine Bosom."
This idea, note well, is at the root of all the alle-
gories about the " Sons of God " born of immacu.-
late virgins.

STANZA ni

COMMENTABY

1. The last vibration of the seventh eternity (a)
thrills through infinitude (a). The Mother swells,
expanding from within without (6), like the bud of
the Lotus.

(a) The seemingly paradoxical use of the phrase
" seventh eternity," thus dividing the indivisible,
is sanctioned in esoteric philosophy, which divides
boundless Duration into unconditionally eternal and
universal Time, and conditioned time. One is the
abstraction or noumenon of finite time, the other its
phenomenon, appearing periodically as the effect of M
Universal Intelligence limited by Cyclic Law. I

I (6) Therefore, " the last vibration of the seventh B

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 51

eternity " was foreordained " by no God in particu-
lar, but occurred in virtue of the eternal and change-
less Law which causes the great periods of activity
and rest, called so grapliically, and so poetically,
" the Days and Nights of Brahma." The expansion
" from within without "of the Mother, who is called
elsewhere " the Waters of Space," the "Universal
Matrix," etc., does not allude to an expansion from
a small centre or focus, but without reference to size
or limitation or area, means the development of lim-
itless subjectivity into as limitless objectivity. ' ' The
ever, to us, invisible and immaterial Substance
present in eternity, threw its periodical shadow from
its own plane into the lap of Illusion." This implies
that this expansion was not an increase in size — for
infinite extension admits of no enlargement — ^but a
change of condition. It expanded ' ' like the bud of
the Lotus "; for the Lotus plant exists not only as
a miniatnre embryo in its seed, but its prototype is
present in an ideal form in the Astral Light, from
"Dawn" to "Night" of the Great Cycle; like
everything else as a matter of fact, in this objective
universe, from man down to mite, from giant trees
down to the tiniest blades of grass.

All this, teaches the hidden science, is but the tem-
porary reflection, the shadow of the eternal proto-
type in the Divine Thought, the word " eternal " —
note well again — standing here only in the sense of
* * ^on, ' ' the seemingly interminable but still limited
cycle of activity, called by us a Manvantara. For
what is the real esoteric meaning of Manvantara, or
rather Manu-antara? It means esoterically, "be-
tween two Manus," of whom there are fourteen in
every " Day of Brahma," a Day consisting of one
thousand aggregates of four Ages," or one thousand
" Great Ages," (Mahayuga,s). Orientalists tells us
that the term " Manu " is from the root Man, " to

•4,320,000,000 or our yeara.

52 THE SECRET DOCTRINE V

think "j hence " the thinking man." But esoteri-
cally, every Mann, as an antliropomorphised patron '
of his special cycle (or Round), is but the personit J
fied Idea of the " Thought Divine"; each of th<^|
Manns, therefore, being the special god, creator ana^
fashioner of all that appears during his own respec- i
tive cycle of being, or Manvantara. The Life-Spirit
runs their errands (see Stanza V., 2), and causes
the ideal prototypes to expand from within without
— that is, to cross gradually, on a descending scale,
all the planes from the noumenon to the lowest
phenomenon, to bloora finally on the last into full _
ohjectivity, the acme of Illusion, or the grossest^
Matter. 'M

^^ STANZA III.— Continued U

^^^ (2) The vibration sweeps along, touching with ilaB
^^^ swift wing (simultaneoitsly) the whole Universe,

^ • ■ - " ■ ■ -- -k-

nff

re-*

9
1

and the Germ that dwelleth in Darkness ; the Dark-
ness that breathes {moves) over the slumbering
Waters of Life (a).

(a) The idea of the " breath " of Darkness mov-
ing over the slumbering Waters of Life (which is
primordial Matter with the latent Spirit in it), re-
calls the first chapter of Genesis, Its original is
the Brahminical Narayama (the Mover on the
Waters), who is the personification of the eternal
Breath of the unconscious All of the Eastern Oc-
cultists. The waters of life, or Chaos (the femalfi
principle in symbolism), are the vacuum, to oup
mental perception, in which lie latent Spirit and
Matter. This it was that made Democritus assert,
after his instructor Leucippus, that the primordial
principles of all were atoms and a vacuum, in tb©
sense of space, but not of empty space, for " Na-
ture abhors a vacuum," according to the Peripa-
tetics and other ancient philosophers.

r In all

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 53

In all cosmogonies, Water plays the same im-
portant part. It is the hase and source of material
existence. Scientists, mistaking the word for the
thing, understand by water the definite chemical
combination of oxygen and hydrogen, thus giving
a specific meaning to a term used by Occultists in a
generic sense, and which is used in cosmogony with
a metaphysical and mystical meaning. Ice is not
■water, neither is steam, although all three have pre-
L jaselj the same chemical composition.

STANZA UI.— Continued

3. " Darkness " radiates Light, and Light drops
one solitary Eay (a) into tlie Waters, into the
Mother-deep. The Eay shoots through the Virgin-
egg; the Eay causes the eternal Egg to thrill, and
drop the non-eternal (periodical) Germ, which con-
denses into the World-egg (b).

(a) " The solitary ray dropping into the mother-
deep ' ' may be taken as Divine Thought or Intelli-
gence, impregnating Chaos. This, however, occurs
on the plane of metaphysical abstraction, or rather
on the plane whereon that wliich we call a meta-
physical abstraction is a reality. The Virgin-egg
being in one sense abstract Eggness (or the power
of becoming developed through fecundation) is eter-
nal and forever the same. And just as the fecunda-
tion of an egg takes place before it is dropped {so
that it contains all its possibilities of development
before it comes into the external world), so the non-
eternal, periodical Germ, which becomes later in
symbolism the Mundane Egg, contains in itself "the
promise and potency ' ' of all the Universe. The
simile of an egg also expresses the fact taught in
Occultism, that the primordial form of everything
manifested, from atom to globe, from man to angel,
is spheroidal, the sphere or circle having been with

54 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

L thot

all nations the emblem of eternity and infinity-
serpent swallowing its tail. To realize its full mean-
ing, however, the sphere must be thought of as seen
from its centre. The field of vision or of thought
is like a sphere whose radii proeeed from one's self
in every direction, and extend out into space, open-
ing up boundless vistas all round. It is the s;
bolical circle of Pascal and the Kabalists, " whoi
centre is everywhere and whose circumference
nowhere," a conception which enters into the coi
pound idea of this emblem.

(h) " The Mundane Egg " is, perhaps, one o!
the moat universally adopted symbols, highly sug-
gestive as it is, alike in the spiritual, physiological
and cosmological sense. Therefore, it is fonnd in
every world-theogony, where it is largely associated,
with the serpent symbol, the emblem of eternity,
generation and rejuvenation, as well as of wisdoi
(See Part II., Tree, Serpent and Orocodile Wor-
ship.) The mystery of apparent self-generation and
evolution through its own creative power, the egg
repeating in miniature the process of Cosmic evolu-
tion, both being due to heat and moisture under the
efflux of the unseen creative Spirit — justified fully
the selection of this graphic symbol. The '* Virgin
Egg " is the microeosmic symbol of the maerocosmic
prototype — the Virgin Mother — Chaos or the Pri-
meval Deep. The male Creator (under whatever
name) springs forth from the Virgin female, the
immaculate root, fructified by the Ray. Cosmos, as
receptive Nature, is an Egg fertilized, yet left im-
maculate; once regarded as boundless it could have
no other representation than a spheroid. The
Golden Egg (or " luminous egg " as it is sometimed']
called) was surrounded by seven natural elements,
" four ready, three secret " — ether, fire, air, water".
(These prccosmic elements are but the germa of'
those we know. (See note to Stanea VI., 7.)

«d—

orlM

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 55

STANZA III.— Continued

4. Then the three {the triad) fall into the four
{the quaternary). The radiant Essence becomes
seven inside, seven outside, (o) The luminous Egg,
which in itself is three (the three aspects of the
Creative Spirit) curdles, and spreads in milk-white
curds throughout the depths of Mother, the Root
that grows in the ocean of Life (b).

(a) The use of geometrical figures and the fre-
quent allusion to figures in all ancient scriptures
(see the Purdnas, the Egyptian papyri, the Book
of the Dead and even the Bible) must be explained.
In the Book of Dzya/n, as in the Kabala, there are
two kinds of numerals to be studied; the figures,
often simply blinds, and the Sacred Numbers, the
values of which are all known to the Occultists
through Initiation. The former are but a conven-
tional glyph, the latter the basic symbols of all.
That is to say, the one is purely physical, the other
purely metaphysical, the two standing to each other
as a Matter to Spirit — the extreme poles of the One
Substance.

As Balzac, the unconscious Occultist of French
literature, says in Louis Lambert, Number is to
Mind the same as it is to matter, " an incomprehen-
sible agent." (Perhaps so to the profane, but never
to the Initiated mind.) Number is, as the great
writer thought, an Entity, and at the same time a
Breath emanating from what he called God and we
call the All; the breath which alone could organize
the physical Kosmos, "where naught obtains its
form but through the Deity, which is an effect of
Number." God is a Number endowed with motion,
which is felt, but not demonstrated. As Unity it he-
gins the Numbers, with which it has nothing in com-
mon. . . . The existence of Number depends on
Unity, which, without a single Number, begets them

I 56 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

all. . . . What would you think, were I to add
that Motion and Number are begotten by the
Word " ? {Number truly, but never Motion. It i
Motion which begets the Logos, the Word, in Ot
cnltism.)

(b) The " radiant essence curdled and spreai
throughout the depths " of Space. Prom an astro
Domical point of view, this is easy of explanation
it is the Milky Way, the world-stuff, or primordial'
matter, in its first form. It is more difficult, how-
ever, to explain it in a few words or even lines, from
the standpoint of Occult science and symbolism, aft
it is the most complicated of glyphs. Herein ara
enshrined more than a dozen symbols. To be^
with, there is the whole pantheon of mysterious ob-
jects (" the fourteen precious things "), every oM
of them having some definite Occult meaning, e^
tracted from the allegorical " churning of tiK
ocean " by the Hindu gods. Besides Amrita, th(
water of Life or immortality. Surahhi " the cow ol
plenty," called " the fountain of milk and curds,''
was extracted from this " Sea of Milk." Hence th<
nniversal adoration of the cow and the bull, one th(
productive, the other the generative, power in na*
ture, symbols connected with both the Solar and tha
Cosmic deities. The specific properties, for occul
purposes, of " the fourteen precious things," beir
explained only at the fourth initiation cannot I
given here, but the following may be said. In tin
Satapatka-Brahmana it is stated that the churn
ing of the Ocean of Milk took place in the Qolda
Age, the first age after the " Deluge." As, however
neither the Rig- Veda nor Manu mention this delugi
(although both preceded Vaivasvata's deluge whid
destroyed the bulk of the Fourth Race), it is <
dent that it is not the " Great " deluge, nor tha
which carried away Atlantis, nor even the flood t
Noah, that is meant here. This " churning " relate*.

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 57

to a period before the earth's formation, and is in
direct connection with that other universal legend,
of which the various and contradictory versions cul-
minated in the Christian dogma of " the War in
Heaven," and " the Fall of the Angels." (See
Book II., XI,, and also Revelations, ch. XII.)

STANZA III.— Continued

5. The Root remains, the Light remains, the Curds
remain, and still Father-Mother (a) is one (6). (In
the original, Oeaohoo.)

(a) Oeaohoo is rendered " Father-Mother of the
Gods " in the Commentaries, or the Six in One, or
the septenary root from which all proceeds. All de-
pends upon the accent i^ven to the seven vowels of
this mystic name, which may be pronounced as one,
three, or even seven syllables, by adding an e after
the letter " o." The name is given out, because
without a thorough mastery of the triple pronuncia-
tion it remains forever ineffectual.

(6) This refers to the Non-Separateness of all that
lives and has its being, whether in the active or the
passive state. In one sense Father-Mother is the
" Rootless Root of All "; in another sense it is a
name for the manifested One Life, the Eternal liv-
ing Unity. The " Root" means, as already ex-
plained, pure knowledge, eternal, unconditioned
Reality, whether we call it Pre-cosmic Ideation or
Pre-eosmic Substance, for these are the two aspects
of the One. The " Light " is the same omnipresent.
Spiritual Ray, which has entered and now fertilized
the Divine Egg, and caused cosmic matter to begin
its long series of differentiations. The " cards "
are the first differentiation, and probably refer also
to that cosmic matter which is supposed to be the
" I of " the Milky Way " — the matter we know.

68 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

This " matter," according to the revelation received
from the first Divine teachers, during the periodic^
sleep of the Universe, of the ultimate tenuity con-
ceivable to the sight of the perfect Seer, and radical
and cool at the first reawakening of cosmic motion,
is scattered through Space, appearing when seen i
from the Earth, in clusters and lumps, like enrdaj
in thin milk. These are the seeds of the futurflfj
worlds, " the Star-stuff."

STANZA lll.—Continued

6. The root of Life was in every drop of the oces
of Immortality, and the ocean was radiant Lighi
which was fire, and heat, and motion. Darkness vaj
ished, and was no more (a). It disappeared in i .,
own essence, the body of fire and water, of Fathej
and Mother (6).

(o) The essence of darkness being absolute light."^
Darkness is taken as the appropriate symbol of the
condition of the Universe during the term of abso-
lute rest, or non-being, as it appears to our finite
minds. The " fire, heat and motion " here spoken
of are not, of course, the fire, heat and motion of
physical science, but the underlying abstractions,
the noumena, or soul, of the essence of these ma-
terial manifestations — " the things in themselves,"
which as modern science confesses, entirely elude
the instruments of the laboratory, and which even
the mind cannot grasp, though it can as little avoid
the conclusion that these underlying essences of
things must exist.

According to the Eosicrucian tenets, as explained
by the profane for onee correctly, if only partially,
" Light and Darkness are identical in themselves,
being only divisible in the human mind " and ac-
cording to Robert Fludd, " Darkness adopted il-
lumination in order to make itself visible." Afc-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 59

cording to the tenets of Eastern Occultism, Dark-
ness ig the one true actuality, the basis and the
root of light, without which the latter could never
manifest itself, nor even exist. Light is matter,
and Dabkness pure Spirit. Darkness in its radical,
metaphysical basis, is subjective and absolute light;
while light, in all its seeming effulgeney and glory,
is merely a mass of shadows, and an illusion.

Even in the mind-baffling and science-harassing
Genesis, light is created out of darkness, and not
vice versa. "In him (in darkness) was life, and
the life was the light of men " (John i. 4). A day
may come when the eyes of men will be opened;
and then they may comprehend better than they
do now, that verse in the Gospel of John that says :
' ' And the light shineth in darkness ; and the
darkness comprehendeth it not." They will see
then that the word " darkness " does not apply to
man's spiritual eyesight, but indeed to Darkness,
the Absolute, that comprehendeth not (cannot cog-
nize) transient light, however transcendent to hu-
man eyes. There is a whole philosophy of dogmatic
craft in the reason why the first Archangel, who
sprang from the depths of Chaos, was called Lucifer,
" the Luminous Son of the Morning," or cyclic
Dawn. (See Book II. 11. Demon est Deus inver-
sus.)

(b) Fire and "Water, or Father and Mother, may
be taken here to mean the divine Kay and Chaos.
{See Book II. 15. Kivan-8hai-¥i7i.)

STANZA Tll.—Continued

7. Behold, 0 Pupil, the radiant Child of the two,
the unparalleled refulgent Glory, Bright Space, Son
of Dark Space, who emerges from the depths of
the great Dark Waters. It is the New Life (the
manifested Logos). He shines forth as the Sun.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

lie is the blazing Divine Dragon of Wisdom (b).

' The One is Pour, and Four takes to itself Three,
■and tlie union produces the Se%'en, which become
the thrice-ten, the Hosts and the Multitudes. Be-

I hold him lifting the Veil, and unfurling it from Eaat
to West. He shuts out the Above, and leaves the
Below to be seen as the great lUnsion. He marks
the places for the shining ones {the stars) anJl!
turns the upper space into a shoreless Sea of Fire'
(c), and the One manifested element into the Great
Waters (d).

(a) " Bright Space, son of dark Space," corre-
sponds to the Ray dropped at the first thrill of the
new Dawn into the great Cosmic depths, from whiA
it emerges differentiated as the new Life {Oeaoho^^

Pthe Younger, in the original) to become, to the en*
of the life-cycle, the germ of all things. He is calles*^
*' the Blazing Dragon of Wisdom," because firstly
he is that which tlie Greek philosophers called tb- *
Logos, the Word of the Thought Divine; and setS^
ondly, because in esoteric philosophy this first raani -
Testation, being the synthesis or aggregate of Uni-^
versa! Wisdom, " the Son of the Son " (Oeaohoo)^
contains in himself the Seven Creative Hosts," and?
is thus the essence of manifested Wisdom. " He
who bathes in the light of the Logos will never be 4
deceived by the veil of Illusion." ''

(fc) The " Dragon of Wisdom " is " the One.**
The One, and the Dragon are expressions used by
the ancients in connection with their respeetivfl
Logoi. Jehovah, esoterically (as the Elohim) is alstf

tthe Serpent or Dragon that tempted Eve, and the
Dragon is an old glyph for the Astral Light (tht^
Primordial Principle of Matter) " which is the wis-
dom of Chaos." Archaic philosophy, reeognizinaj
neither Good nor Evil as independent powers, bu'
starting from the Absolute or Universal Perfection^
■The Bcphirvth of tbe Ka bal a.— Bdjf or.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 61

traced both principles through the course of natural
evolntiony to pure Light condensing gradually into
form, and thus becoming Matter or Evil. It was left
with the early and ignorant Christian fathers to de-
grade the philosophical idea of the Dragon into the
absurd superstition called the Devil. But the Pa-
gans have always shown a philosophical discrimi-
nation in their symbols. The primitive serpent
symbolized divine Wisdom and Perfection, and al-
ways stood for psychical regeneration and immor-
tality. Hence Hermes called the serpent the most
spiritual of all beings ; Moses, initiated in the wis-
4)m of Hermes, following suit in Genesis ; the Gnos-
tic serpent with the seven vowels over its head, was
the emblem of the seven hierarchies of the Plane-
tary Creators. Hence, also, the Hindu serpent
Sesha, or Ananta, the Infinite, a name of Vishnu,
whose first vehicle on the primordial waters was
this serpent. Like the Logoi and the Hierarchies
of Powers, however, ** the Serpents '' have to be
distinguished one from another. Sesha or Ananta
is an allegorical abstraction, symbolizing infinite
Time in Space, whereas the Gnostic Ophis contained
the same triple symbolism in its seven vowels as
the one, three and seven-syllabled OeaoJioo of the
archaic doctrine — i.e., The One unmanif ested Logos,
the Second manifested, the Triad concreting into
the Quaternary, and the Eays of the latter on the
material plane.

So was a difference always made between the good
and the bad Serpent, between the embodiment of
Divine Wisdom in the regions of the Spirit, and the
Astral Light of the Kabalists, the embodiment of
Evil, on the plane of matter. The Astral Light,, or
Ether of the ancients, is Spirit-Matter. Beginning
with the pure spiritual plane, it becomes grosser as
it descends, till it becomes Illusion, the tempting and
deceitful serpent on our plane.

62 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Jesus accepted the serpent as a synonym of Wis-
dom: " Be ye wise as serpents," he said. The Spirit
of God moving on Chaos was symbolized in every
nation by a fiery serpent breathing fire and light
upon the primordial waters, until it had incubated
cosmic matter and made it assume the annular shape
of a serpent with its tail in its mouth, which symbol-
izes not only Eternity and Infinitude, but also the
globular shape of all the bodies formed within the
Universe from that fiery mist. The Universe, and
also Earth and Man, cast ofif periodically their old
sltins, serpent-like, to assume new ones after a period
of rest. The serpent is surely no less poetical an j
image than the caterpillar, from whose chrysalis I
springs the butterfly, the emblem of the soul. The j
Dragon was the symbol of the Logos with the Egyp-
tians, as with the Gnostics. In the Book of Hermes,
Pymander (the oldest and most spiritual of the
Western Logoi) appears to Hermes in the shape rf j
a Fiery Dragon, of " Light, Fire and Flame." Py^
mander, the personified Thought Divine, says: " TWH
Light is me; I am the Notts (or mind), I am tb^
God, and I am far older than the human principl*
which escapes from the shadow. (Darkness, or th^
concealed Deity.) I am the germ of thought, th^
resplendent Word, the Son of God. All that thn^
sees and hears in thee is the Word of the Master, i^
is the Thought which is God, the Father. (The sev-^
enth principle in Kosmos and Man.) The celestial
Ocean, the Ether ... is the Breath of the Fa-
ther, the life-giving principle, the Mother, the Holy
Spirit . . . for these are not separated, and
their union is Life." Here we find the unmistak-
able echo of the archaic Secret Doctrine, as now
expounded. Only that does not place as the head
of the evolution of Life, " the Father," who comes
third, and is " the Son of the Mother," but " the
Eternal and Ceaseless Breath of the All."

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 63

(c) The " Sea of Fire " is then the Super-Aatral
(i.e., noumenal) Light, the first radiation from the
undifEerentiated Cosmic Substance, wliich becomes
Astral matter. It is also called the Fiery Serpent,
afi above. If the student bear in mind that there is
but One Universal Element, which is infinite, imborn
and undying, and that all the rest are but so many
differentiated aspects and correlations of that One,
from cosmioal down to microcosmical effects, the
totality in short of objective existence — then the first
and chief difficulty wUl disappear, and Occult Cos-
mology may be mastered. All the Kabalists, East-
em and Western, recognize (first) the identity of
" Father-Mother " with primordial ^ther (or the
Astral Light), and (secondly) its homogeneity be-
fore the evolution of the " Son," in the cosmic sense
Fohat, or Cosmic Electricity. * ' Fohat hardens and
scatters the Seven Brothers" (see l'2th verse);
which means that the primordial Electric Entity —
for the Eastern Occultists insist that Electricity is
an entity — electrifies into life, and separates primor-
dial stuff or pregenetJe matter into atoms, themselves
the source of all {our?) life and consciousness,
" There exists a universaJ, sole agent, of all forms
and of life that is called Od, Ob, and Aour, active
and passive, positive and negative, like day and
night; it is the first light in Creation." (Eliphaa
Levi's Kahala.) Od is the pure, life-giving Light,
or magnetic fluid; Oh the messenger of death used
by sorcerers, the nefarious evil fluid; Aour is the
synthesis of the two, the Astral Light proper; the
&ret Light of the primordial Elohim, or, scientific-
ally, Electkicity and Life.

The ancients represented it by a serpent, for
"Fohat hisses as he glides hither and thither"
{i.e., in zigzags). The Kabala represents it by the
letter D, Teth, whose symbol is the serpent that
^yed such a prominent part in the Mysteries. Its

64 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

universal value is nine, for it is the ninth letter of
the Hebrew alphabet, q and the ninth door of the
fifty portals or gateways that lead to the concealed
mysteries of being. It is the magical agent par ex-
cellence, and designates in the Hermetic philosophy.
"Life infused into primordial matter," the essence
that composes all things, and the spirit that deter-
mines their form.

(rf) It was not Zeno alone, the founder of the
Stoics, who taught that the Universe evolves when
its primary substance is transformed from the state
of fire into that of air, then water, etc. Heraclitus
of Bphesus maintained that the one principle that
underlies all phenomena in nature is fire. The In-
teUigenee that moves the universe is fire, and fire is
intelligence. And while Anaximenes said the same
of air, and Thales of Miletus (600 b. c.) of water, the
Esoteric doctrine reconciles all these systems by
showing that though all were right, none was com-
plete.

STANZA III.— Continued

8. Where was the Germ, and where was now Dark-
ness (a) t Where is the Spirit of the flame that
bums in thy lamp, O pupil? The Germ is that, and
that is Light, the white brilliant Son of the dark
hidden Father.

(a) The answer to the first question, suggested
by the second {which is the reply of the teacher to
the pupil), contains in a single phrase one of the
most essential truths of occult philosophy. It indi-
cates the existence of things imperceptible to our
physical senses, which are of far greater importance,
more real and more permanent, than those that ap-
peal to these senses themselves. Before the pupil
can hope to understand the transcendently meta- 1
physical problem contained in the first question, he

THE SECKET DOCTRINE 65

nmst be able to answer the second, while the very
answer he gives to the second will furnish him with
the clue to the correct reply to the first.

In the Sanskrit Commentary on this Stanza, the
terms used for the concealed and unrevealed Prin-
ciple are many. In the earliest Indian MSS. this
Unrevealed, Abstract Deity has no name. It is
called generally " That," and means all that is, was
and will be, or that can be so received by the human
mind.

Among such appellations, given of course, only in
esoteric philosophy, it is also called " the Kali Ham-
Ba *' (the Black Swan). The same word may be
read " Kalaham-sa," answering to the Biblical " I
am that I am." It is useless to attempt to explain
the mystery of this name in full. In order to obtain
a clear understanding of It, one has first of all to
admit the postulate of a universally diffused, omni-
present, eternal Deity in nature; secondly to have
fathomed the mystery of electricity in its true es-
sence; and thirdly, to credit man with being the sep-
tenai-j' symbol on the terrestrial plane of the Oue
Great Unit (the Logos), which is Itself the seven-
vowelled sign, the Breath crystallized into the
WoHD. He who believes in all tliis, has also to be-
lieve in the multiple combination of the seven plan-
eta of Occultism and of the Kabala, with the twelve
zodiacal signs; and to attribute, as we do, to each
planet and to each constellation an influence which
is proper to it, beneficent or maleficent. Since few
believe in all this, all that can now be given is, that
the symbol Hamsa or Hansa {whether " I," "He,"
" Goose," or " Swan "), is an important symbol,
representing for instance, Di\'ine Wisdom, Wisdom
in darkness beyond the reach of man. For all exo-
teric purposes, Hansa, as every Hindu knows, is an
allegorical bird, which, when given milk mixed with
: for its food, separated the two, drinking the

66 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

milk and leaving the water; thus showing inherent
wisdom— milk being the symbol of spirit, and water
of matter.

The Swan, or Goose, or Pelican, it does not mat-
ter which, is then some aquatic bird floating or mov-
ing (like the Spirit) on the waters, and then issuing
from those waters to give birth to other beings ; the
true mystic significance of the symbol being the idea
of a universal matrix figured by the primordial wa-
ters of the deep, opening for the reception, and sub-
sequently for the issue, of that one Ray {the Logos)
which contains in itself the other seven Creative
Rays or powers, the Logo! or Builders. Appearing
with eveiy new cycle of Life, as the Self-Existent,
and penetrating into the Mundane Egg, the Ray
emerges from it at the end of the divine incubati<a~
as the progenitor of the future Universe into whie|
it expands.

STANZA lll.—Contimied

9, Light is cold flame (a), and flame is fire,
fire produces heat, which yields water, the water
Life in the Great Mother.

It must be remembered that the words light, fin
and fiame used in the Stanzas, have been adopted
by the translators from the vocabulary of the old
"Eire-philosophers" (not the medisvai Alchem-
ists, but the Magi and Fire-worshippers, from who] "
the successors of the theurgists borrowed all thi '
ideas of Fire as a mystic and divine element). TI
was done in order to i-ender better the meaning
the archaic terms and symbols employed in the orig-
inal.

All these— Light, Flame, Heat, Cold, Fire, Wa-
ter, and the Water of Life, are all on our plane the
progeny, or as a modem physicist would say, the
cor-relations of Electbicity. Mighty word, and &,

sm-

■ 01

THE SECRET DOCTBINE 67

still mightier sjiubol! Saered generator of a no
less sacred progeny; of fire — the creator, the pre-
server and the destroyer ; of light — the essence of
our Divine ancestors; of flamfr — the Soul of things.
Electricity, the One Life, at the upper rung of Be-
ing; the Astral Fluid (the Athanor of the Alchem-
ists), at its lowest; God and Devil, Good and Evil.
(a) Now why is Light called in the Stanzas " cold
flame "f Because in the order of Cosmic evolution
(as tanght by the Occultists), the energy that actu-
ates matter after its first formation into atoms, is
generated on our plane by cosmic heat, and because
Kosmos, in the sense of dissociated (or unformed)
matter, was not, before that period. The first pri-
mordial matter, et«mal and coeval with space, " is
neither hot nor cold, but is of its own special na-
ture," says the Commentary. Heat and cold are
relative qualities, and pertain to the realms of the
manifested worlds, which all proceed from the mani-
fested Hi/le (or matter). Tills, in its absolutely
latent aspect, is referred to as " the cold Virgin,"
and when awakened to life, as the " Mother." Pri-
mordial matter, then, before it awakens to the thrill
of action under the impulse of Cosmic Electricity, is
bnt '* a cool Radiance, colorless, formless, tasteless
and devoid of every quality and aspect." Even such
are her first-born, the " four sons," who '* are One
and become Seven. ' ' These are the entities by whose
qualities and names the ancient Eastern Occultists
called four of the seven primal ' ' centres of forces ' '
(or atoms) that developed later into the great cos-
mic Elements, now di^-ided into the seventy, or more,
snb-elements, known to science. The four primal
natures of the first Creative Forces are the so-called
(for want of better terms) Akasic, Ethereal, Watery
and Fiery, answering, in the terminology of prac-
tical Occultism to scientific definitions of gases,
which, to convey a clear idea to both Occultists and

68 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

laymen, must be defined as Parahydrogenic (par^u
meaning beyond), Paraoxygenic, Osyhydrogenic an^M
Ozonic, or perhaps Nitro-zonic; the latter forces, or "
f gases (in Occultism supersensuous yet atomic sub-
Btances) being the most effective and active when
energizing on the plane of more grossly differen-
tiated matter. These are both electro-positive and ■
electro-negative. i

Each of these, and many more, are probably tii6
missing links of Chemistry. They are known by
other names in Alchemy and to the Occultists who
practise in phenomena. It is by combining and re-
combining in a certain way {or dissociating)
" Elements " by means of astral Fire, that
greatest phenomena are produced.

STANZA III.-

pper
lark-
it's)
iota

10. Father-Mother spin a web (a) whose upper
end is fastened to Spirit, the Light of the one Dark-
ness, and the lower one to Matter, its {the Spirit's"
shadowy end; and this web is the Universe, spun <
of the two substances made in one, wliich is Spii
Matter.

(«) In the Mandukya Upanishad it is written:'
•' As a spider throws out and retracts his web, as
berbs spring up in the ground ... so is the
Universe derived from the undecaying One." Brah-
ma, the Creative Deity, as " the germ of unknown
Darkness," is the material from which all evolves
and develops " as the web from the spider, as foam
from the water," etc. This is only graphic and true
if Brahma " the Creator " is, as a term, derived
from the root hrih to increase or expand. Bralun&
(here equivalent to Father- Mother) " expands,*"
«nd liecomes the Universe woven out of his own sul
stance,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 69

The same idea has been beautifully expressed by
' Goethe, who says :

I " Thus at the roaring loom of Time I ply and
' weave for God the garment thou seest Him by."

STANZA llI.-€ontinued

11. It (the Web) expands when the breath of
Fire (the Father) is upon it; it contracts when the
breath of the mother {the root of Matter) touches
it. Then the Sons {the Elements with their respect-
ive Powers or Intelligences) dissociate and scatter,
to return into their Mother's bosom at the end of
" the Great Day,'* and re-become one with her.
When it (the Web) is cooling, it becomes radiant,
its Sons expand and contract through their own
selves and hearts; they embrace Infinitude.

(a) The expanding of the Universe under the
breath of Fuib is very suggestive in the light of
** the Fire-Mist period " of which modern science
says so much, and in reality knows so little.

'* Great heat breaks up the compound elements
and resolves the heavenly bodies into their primeval
one element," explains the Commentary. " Once
disintegrated into its primal constituent, by getting
within the attraction of a focus of heat (centre of
energy), of which many are carried about in space,
a body whether alive or dead, will be vaporized and
held * in the bosom of the Mother ' until Fohat
(Cosmic Electricity) gathering a few of the clusters
of eoemic matter (nebulje) together, wilt give it an
impulse, and set it in motion anew, develop the
required heat, and then leave it to follow its own
laws of growth."

(h) The expanding and contracting of the Web —
the world-stuff or atoms — expresses here the
<■ movement, for it is the regular contraction

I pnleatory mo

70 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

and expansion of the infinite and shoreless Ocean
of what we may call the noumenon of matter, which
canses the universal vibration of atoms. But it is
also snggeetive of something else. It shows that
the ancients were acquainted with the puzzles of
many modern astronomers, the cause of the first
ignition of matter, or the world-stuff; the paradox
of the beat produced by refrigerative contraction,
and other such Cosmic enigmas. " There is heat '
ternal and heat external in every atom " (say tl
MS. Commentaries to which the writer has had ai
cess); '* the breath of the Father (or Spirit)
the breath (or heat) of the Mother (matter) ; " and
they give explanations which show that the modem
theory of the extinction of the solar firos by loss of
heat through radiation is erroneous. For, as Pri ~
fessor Neweomb points out (Popular Astrono:
pp. 506-508), " by losing heat a gaseous body eoi
tracts, and the heat generated by the contraction'
exceeds that which it had to lose in order to produce
the contraction." This paradox led to long disputes.
Contraction develops heat, it was argued, but con-
traction (from cooling) is incapable of developing
the whole amount of heat at any time existing in the
mass, or even of maintaining a body at a constanf
temperature, etc. Professor Winehel! tries to r<
oncile the paradox by suggesting " something
sides heat." " May it not be," he asks, " simply
repulsion among the molecules, which varies accord-
ing to some law of the distance? " But even this
will be found irreconcilable, unless this " something
besides heat" is ticketed "Causeless Heat," the'
*' Breath of Fire," the all-creative Force, ph
SOLUTE Intelligence, which physical science is ni
likely to accept.

However this may be, the explanation of this!
Stanza shows it to be even more scientific than mt
§m science.

;an I

ich 1

t ii^_

andB
and
lem
s of
Pr(«

"^ion
uce
tes.
:on-
ing
the
ant

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 71

STANZA m.—€ontimied

^^^. Then Father-Mother send Fohat (Intelligent
' Force) to harden the atoms, (o) Each {of these)
j is a part of the Web (Universe). Reflecting " the
I Self-Existent Lord " (Primeval Light) like a mir-
ror, each becomes in turn a world (ft). . . .

(a) " Fohat hardens the atoms," by infusing en-
I ergy into them: he scatters the atoms of primordial
I matter. " He scatters himself by scattering matter
I into atoms." (MS. Commentaries.)

I It is through this agency that the ideas of the
Universal Mind are impressed upon matter. Some
faint idea of the nature of Fohat may be gathered
from the appellation " Cosmic Electricity " some-
times applied to it; but to the commonly known prop-
erties of electricity must in this case be added others,
including Intelligence. It is of interest to note that
modem science has come to the conclusion that all
cerebration and brain-activity are attended by elec-
trical phenomena. (See III., 5, c. and also V., et
seq.)

(b) This IB said in the sense that the flame of a
lamp or fire is inexhaustible, and that the lights of
the whole Universe could be lit at one simple rush-
light without diminishing its flame.

I STANZA IV.

B Commentary.

Listen, ye Sons of the Earth, to your instruc-
tujo — the Sons of the Fire (a). Learn there is
neither first nor last ; for all is One Number, issued
1 from No-Number (6).

I (a) These terms " the Sons of the Fire," the

! *' Sods of the Fire-mist," and the like, require ex-
planatioD. They are connected with a great primor-

\ planatioD.

72 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

dial mystery, and it is not easy to make it elearii
There is a passage iu the Bhagavatgita (chap^
VIII.), wherein Krishna, speaking symbolically and
esoterically, speaks of the conditions under whicJj
devotees departing from this life, will, or will not^
return to it (re-incarnate). The terms used her%
" Fire," " Light," " Day," " Smoke," " Night,"
" Moon," etc., are all names of various deitiei
which preside over the Cosmo-psychic Powers, yfiti
these verses the mystic sense of the solar and hinat
symbols are connected: the Pitris {the fathers) are
lunar deities, and our ancestors, because they cre-
ated physical man. The Agnishwattas, the Kumaraa
(the seven mystic sages) are solar deities, though
the former are also our ancestors; and these are
" the fashioners of the Inner Man." They are;

" The Sons of Fire " — because they are the first
Beings (in the Secret Doctrine they are called
" Minds ") evolved from Primordial Fire. " Thi
Lord is a consuming Fire " {Deut. iv. 24). Firei
^ther in its purest form, and hence is not regardei
as matter.

But there are two " Fires," and a distinction i
made between them in the Occult teachings. Thi
first, or the purely formless and invisible Fire con
cealed in the Central Spiritual Sun, is spoken of—
metaphysically— as ' ' triple ' ' ; while the Fire of the
manifested Kosmos is septenary, both throughout
the Universe and our solar system. " The fire o£
knowledge burns up all action on the plane of illib
sion," says the Commentary. " Therefore thosft
who have acquired it and are emancipated are called
' Fires.' "

(b) The expression " All is One Number, issued
from No Number," relates again to that universal
and philosophical tenet just explained (v. III. 4).'
That which is Absolute is, of course, No Number;
but in its later significance it has an application ia

THE SECRET BOOTKINE 73

Space as In Time. It means tbat not only every in-
crement of time is part of a larger increment, up
to the most indefinitely prolonged duration conceiv-
able by the hiiman intellect, but also that no mani-
fested thing can be thought of except as part of a
larger whole: the total aggregate being the One
manifested Universe that issues from the unmani-
fested, or Absolute — called Non-Being, or " No
Number, ' ' to distinguish it from Being or ' ' the One
Number."

STANZA TV.— Continued

2. Learn what we who descended from the Pri-
mordial Seven, we who are bom from the Primor-
dial Flame (a), have learned from our Fathers.

(a) This is explained in Book II. {Theogony of
ike Creative Gods), and this name " Primordial
Flame,'* corroborates what is said in the Commen-
tary about " the Sons of the Fire."

The distinction between the " Primordial " and
the subsequent seven Builders is tliis: the Primor-
dial Seven are the Kay and direct emanation of the
first " Sacred Four," the Tetraktis* the eternally
Self-Existent One, eternal in essence, not in mani-
festation. Latent during the periods of dissolution,
and active during the cycles of existence, the Primor-
dial Seven proceed from Father-Mother (Spirit-
Matter), whereas the other manifested Quaternary
and the Seven Builders proceed from the Mother
alone. It is the latter who is the immaculate Virgin-
Mother, who is overshadowed, not impregnated, by
the Universal Mystert — when she emerges from
her undifferentiated condition. In realitj', these
Creative Forces are, of course, all one, but their as-
pects on the various planes of being are different.

The first " Primordial Seven " are the highest

* \ide V. 3. id) .

74 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Beings in the scale of Existence. They are the Arch-
angels of Christianity, and are those who refused to
i create, or rather to multiply.
f STANZA TV. —Continued

' 3. From the effulgency of Light, the Ray of tho
ever-Darkness, sprang in Space the re-awakened
Energies; the one from the Egg, the six, and the
five (o); then the three, the one, the four, the one,
the five — the twice seven, the sum total (6). And
these are: the Essences, the Flames, the Elements,
the Builders, the Numbers, the formless, the formed
{having bodies) and the Force of Divine Man — ^the
sum total. And from the Divine Man emanated the
Forms, the Sparks, the sacred Animals (c), and the
messengers of the sacred Fathers within the Holy
Pour id).

(a) This relates to the sacred Science of the
numerals; so sacred, indeed, and so important in the
study of Occultism, that the suhjeet can hardly he
touched upon here. It is on the nature and correct
numbers of the Hierarchies, Beings invisible to uS
except upon very rare occasions, that the mystery^
of the whole Universe is built. To make the whol^*
somewhat clearer we have to take our illustrations
from some of the Brahminical tenets, as more famil-
iar to many of our readers.

In the Rig Veda it is said: " That, the one Lord
of all beings . . . the one animating principle
of gods and men," arose, in the beginning, in the |
Golden Womb {Hiranygarhha) — which is the Mun-
dane Egg, or sphere of our Universe. That Being
is surely androgynous, and the allegory of BrahmS
separating into two and creating the female {Vack)
from one of the halves, is proof of it.

" The One from the Egg, the Six and the Five "
give the number 1.0.6.5, the value of the first-born,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 75

(later on the male and female progenitors) answer-
ing to the numbers 7, 14 and 21 respectively. In the
Mahabharata the Progenitors are 21 in number, or
10, 6, 5, thrice seven.

(6) *' The Three, the One, the Pour, the One, the
Five " (in their totality twice seven) represent
31415 — the numerical hierarchy of the Creative In-
telligences of various orders, and of the inner, or
circumscribed world, that within the range of our
present objective consciousness.

Thus while in the metaphysical world the circle
with the one central point in it has no number, and
is called '* the parentless " and numberless (because
it can fall under no calculation), in the manifested
world the Mundane Egg or Circle is circumscribed
within the groups called the Line, the Triangle, the
Pentacle, the second Line and the Cube (or 13514) ;
and when the Point having generated a line 0 , and
thus becomes a diameter which stands for theandrog-
ynous Logos, then the figures become 31415, or a
triangle, a line, a cube, tlie second line, and a pen-
tacle A. " When the Son separates from the Mother
he becomes the Father," the diameter standing for
Nature, or the feminine principle. Therefore it is
said: " In the world of Being, the one Point fructi-
fies the Line — the Virgin-Matrix of Kosmos (the
(?gg-shaped zero) — and the immaculate Mother gives
birth to the form that combines all forms." The
Creative Spirit is called the first procreating male,
and ' ' his Mother 's husbanB. ' ' The same expression
IB used in Egypt; one of the principal titles of the
god Ammon was " the husband of his mother."
This gives the key to all the later divine sous from
immaculate mothers. It is corroborated by the sig-
nificant fact that Anna (the name of the mother of
the Virgin Mary), now represented by the Roman
Oatholic Church as having given birth to her daugh-
ter in an immaculate way (" Mary conceived with-

76 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

' out sin "), is derived from the Chaldean Ana,
heaven, or Astral Light, Anima Mundi; and the wife
of Siva is also called Annapurna, Urna-Kanya, her
esoteric name, meaning " the Virgin of Light," the
Astral Light in one of its multitudinous aspects.

(c) The Essences, Flames, Elements, etc., all have
their synonyms in the Secret Doctrine, but it is use-
less to give their ancient names, as it would only
create confusion. All the Thrones and Dominions,
Virtues and Principalities, Cherubs, Seraphs, etc.,
of the Christian hierarchy of celestial powers, are
the modern copies of archaic prototypes. The very
aymboliam of their names when transliterated into
Greek and Latin are sufficient to show this, as will
be proved in several eases later on.

The " Sacred Animals " are found in the Bible
as well as in the Kabala, and they have a very pro-
found meaning on the page that records the origins
of Life. In the Sepker Jezirak it is stated that
" God engraved in the Holy Four the throne of hi^
glory, the Orphanim {or Word-spheres), the Sera'
phim, the Sacred Animals, and the ministering A3>'
gels, and from Air, Water and Fire (or ^theiTj.
He formed His habitation." Thus was the worl^
made "through three Seraphim" — or " throug*
Number, Numbers and Numbered." With the a^
tronomical key these " sacred animals " become th^^
signs of the Zodiac. And see Stanza VIL, 5. wher^^
the sacred animals are called " the first shadow otf^
physical man."

STANZA IV.— Continued.

4. This was the Army of the Voice (a) — the
■ vine Septenary. The sparks of the Seven are sub-
ject to, aud the servants of, the first, second, thirdi
fourth, fifth, sixth and the seventh, of the Seven.
These (sparks) are called spheres, triangles, cubes,

THE SECEET DOCTEINE 77

lines, and modellers (6), for thus stands the Eternal
Cause — the Force of ceaseless and Eternal Cosmic
Motion,

(o) This verse gives again a brief analysis of the
Hierarchies of the conscious, intelligent Powers in
nature. To these correspond the actual types into
which humanity may be divided; for humanity, as
a whole, is in reality a materialized and as yet an
imperfect expression thereof. The " Army of the
Voice "is a term closely connected with the mystery
of Sound and Speech, as an effect and corollary of
the cause — Divine Thought. As beautifully ex-
pressed by P. Christian, the learned author of The
Sistory of Magic, the words spoken by, as well as
the name of, every individual largely determine his
future fate. Why? Because —

" When our Soul (mind) creates or evokes a
thought, the representative sign of that thought is
self-engraved upon the astral fluid, which is the mir-
ror of all the manifestations of being.

" The sign expresses the thing; the thing is the
loidden (or occult) virtue of the sign.

' ' To pronounce a word is to evoke a thought and
make it present ; the magic potency of the human
speech is the commencement of every manifestation
m the occult world.

" Yes, names (and words) are either beneficent
Op maleficent; they are, in a certain sense, either
Venomous or health-giving, according to the hidden
influences attached by Supreme Wisdom to their ele-
ments— that is to say, to the letters which compose
them, and the numbers correlative to those letters."
This is strictly true, and is an esoteric teaching
accepted by all the Eastern Schools of Occultism.
In the Sanskrit, as in the Hebrew and all other
alphabets, every letter has its occult meaning; it is
a cause, and an effect of a preceding cause, and a
cwnMnation of these very often produces the most

■m

78 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

magical effect. The vowels especially contain the
most occult and formidable potencies.

" The Army of the Voice " is the prototype of
the " Host of the Logos," or Word, and is, in one
sense, the synthesis of creative Nature. From this
number 10, creative nature or the Mother (the oc-
cult cipher or ' ' nought ' ' ever procreating and mul-
tiplying in union with them ; the One, or the Spirit
of Life), the whole Universe proceeds.

In the Anugiid (ch, vi. 15) a conversation is given
between a Brahmana and his wife, who asks how
Speech came into existence, and which came first.
Speech or Mind. He replies in an allegory, whieli
shows that mind is immovable, but speech movable,
and this is at the root of the Occult law, which pre-
scribes silence upon the knowledge of certain secret
and invisible things perceptible only to the spiritual
mind {the sixth sense) and which cannot be es- i'^
pressed by uttered speech. The Occultists claim tb&* V^
man has seven senses, as well as seven states oi V
consciousDess, but " spiritual mind " takes no coS' V
nizance of the senses in physical man. ■, '

(6) Next we see Cosmic Matter scattering at*-
forming itself into elements; grouped into the my^^„
tic four within the fifth element — Ether*— the linitt-3,
of Akasa, the Anima Mundi or " Mother " of Ko^^j
mos. " Dots, Lines, Triangles, Cubes, Circles, an*^^
finally Spheres "—why or how! Because, says th^^j
Commentary, such is the first law of Nature, am^^J
because Nature geometrizes universally in all her^^
manifestations. There is an inherent law— not only^l^
in the primordial, but also in the manifested matter"''^
of our physical plane — by which Nature correlatea
her geometrical forms, and also, later, her com-
pound elements, and in which there is no place for
accident or change. It is a fundamental law in Oc-

^V THE SECRET DOCTRINE 79

eultism that there is no rest or cessation of motion
in Nature. That which seems rest is only the change
of one form into another; the change of substance
going hand in hand with that of form, as we are
taught in Occult physics. It is the knowledge of
this law that permits and helps the Adept to per-
form his various phenomena, such as the disinte-
gration of matter, and the transport of objects from
one place to another.

Says the ancient Commentary to Stanza IV. :
" The Mother is the fiery Fish of Life. She scat-
ters her spawn, and the Breath (Motion) heats and
quickens it. The grains (of spawn) are soon at-
tracted to each other, and form the curds in the
Ocean (of Space). The larger lumps coalesce and
receive new spawn — in fiery dots, triangles and
cubes, which ripen, and at the appointed time some
of the lumps detach themselves and assume spher-
oidal form, a process which they effect only when
not interfered with by the others. After which law
No. — comes into operation. Motion (the Breath)
becomes the whirlwind and sets them rotating."

In, a polemical scientific work, The Modern Gen-
esis by the Rev. "VV. B. Slaughter, the author asks
why the astronomers have not said more about the
beginning of rotation. " How does the process of
cooling and contracting the (nebulous) mass impart
to it a rotatory motion? " This question material-
istic science can never solve. An Occult teaching
Bays: " Motion is eternal in the unmanifested, and
periodical in the manifest. Heat caused by the de-
Bcent of Flame into primordial matter causes its
particles to move, which motion becomes Whirl-
wind (i.e,, rotation). A drop of liquid assumes
a spheroidal form owing to its atoms moving around
themselves in their ultimate, unresolvable and nou-
menal essence; unresolvable for physical science at
any rate."

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

STANZA TV.— Continued

4. (For thus stands the Eternal Cause) which is:

5. " Darkness," the Boundless, or the No-Num-
ber, or Space: the O (for x, unknown quantity):

I. The First (a), the Number for he is One.

II. The Voice of the Word, the Soul of the "World,
the Numbers, for he is One and Nine (b).

III. " The Formless Square."

And these three enclosed within the O {boundless
circle) (c), are the Sacred Four, and the ten are the
formless {subjective) Universe. Then come the
" Sons, " the seven Fighters, the One (d), the eighth
left out, and his Breath, which is the Light-
Maker (e).

(a) Adi-Sanat (the term used in the original),
translated literally, is the " First " or primeval
Ancient, which name identifies the Kabalistic ' ' An-
cient of Days " with Brahma the Creator. The Sou!
of the World is the mystic Essence, the plastic root
of physical nature — " Numbers," when manifested;
the Number in its Unity of Substance, on the highest
plane, a synonym for the Kabalistic ' ' Archetypal
World," whence proceed the Creative, the Forma-
tive and the Material Worlds ; the SeintillEB or,
" Sparks," the various other worlds, being eotf-.
tained in the last three.

(&) " One and Nine," which make ten, or the per-
fect number applied to " the Creator," the nama^
given to the totality of the Creators blended by the
Monotheists into one.

(c) This means that the "Boundless Circle**
(Zero) becomes a figure or number only when one,
of the nine figures precedes it, and thus manifests its ^
value and potency; the Word or Logos in union
with Voice and Spirit (the expression and source
of Consciousness) standing for the nine figures, and

THE SECEET DOCTEINE . 81

thus forming -with the cipher the Decade which con-
tains in itself the whole Universe. The triad forms
within the circle the Tetraktis or Sacred Four, the
Square within the Circle being the most potent of
all the magical figures,

(d) The " One rejected " is the Sun of our sys-
tem. " Tlie Boundless " or infinite Space is very
properly called " The Mother of the Gods," as it is
from her Cosmic matrix that all the heavenly bodies
of our system, Sun and Planets, were born. The
Seven Sons are (astronomically) the seven planets,
and the Sun being excluded from their number shows
plainly that the Hindus knew of a seventh planet,
without calling it Uranus. The Secret Doctrine
teaches that the Sun is a central Star and not a
planet, yet the ancients knew of and worshipped
seven great gods, exclusive of the Sun and Earth.
The ancient Commentary gives an allegory and ex-
plains it :

*' Eight houses were built by Mother. Eight
houses for her eight Divine sons; four large and
four small ones. Eight brilliant suns, according to
their age and merits. Bal-Uu (our Sun) was not
satisfied, though his house was the largest. He be-
gan (to work) as the huge elephants do. He
breathed (drew in) into Ids stomach the vital airs
of his brothers. He sought to devour them. The
larger four were far away j far, on the margin of
Uieir kingdom. (The planetary system.) They
were not robbed (affected) and laughed. Do your
worst, Sir, you cannot reach us, they said. But the
smaller wept. They complained to the Mother. She
exiled Bal~ilu to the centre of her Kingdom, whence
he could not move. (Since then) he (only) watches
and threatens. He pursues them, turning slowly
around himself, they turning swiftly from him, and
he following from afar the direction in which hia
I brothers move on the path that encircles their

ifc- ' '

82 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

houses.* From that day he feeds on the sweat of
the Mother's body. He fills himself with her breath
and refuse. {Constituents of cosmic ether.) There-
fore she rejected him."

The " rejected Son " being our Sun, the " Sun-
Sons ' ' refer not only to our planets, but to the heav-
enly bodies in general. Himself only a reflection of
the Central Spiritual Sun, he is the prototype of
all those bodies that evolved after him. He is de-
picted as drawn by seven horses, and bj' one horse
with seven heads ; the former referring to his sevrai
planets, the latter to their one common origin from
the One Cosmic Element. This " One Element "
is called, figuratively, " Fire."

The meaning of the allegory is plain, although
astronomy and occult science differ on more than
one particular. The Occult doctrine rejects the hy-
pothesis born out of the nebular theory, that the
seven gi-eat planets have evolved from the Sun's
central mass, not from this our visible Sun, at any
rate. The first condensation of cosmic matter of
course took place about a central nucleus, its parent
Sun ; but our sun, it is taught, merely detached itself
earher than all the others as the rotating mass con-
tracted, and is the elder brother of the planets,
therefore, not their father. They are all formed
from the eternal Substance (Cometary matter — the
Mother) or the World-stuff, which is the basis or
vehicle of the Universal Soul, just as in man tl
mind, or human soul, is the vehicle of the Di'
Soul.

This Essence of Cometary matter. Occultism
teaches, has none of the chemical or physical char-
acteristics with which modern science is acquainted.
It is homogeneous in its primitive form beyond the

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 83

solar system, but differentiates as soon as it crosses
the boundaries of our Earth's region, vitiated by
the atmospheres of the planets, and the already com-
pound matter of the interplanetary stuff, which is
heterogeneous only in our manifested world.

(e) There is a whole poem on the pregenetic bat-
tles fought by the growing planets before the final
formation of Cosmos, thus accounting for the seem-
ingly disturbed position of the systems of several
planets, the plane of the satellites of Neptune and
Uranus, for instance, being tilted, thus giving them
an appearance of retrograde motion. The planets
are called the Warriors and the Ai'chiteets, and are
accepted by the Roman Church as the leaders of the
heavenly hosts, thns showing that the same tradi-
tions are preserved in Christianity. Having evolved
from Cosmic Space, before the final formation of
the primaries, and the annulation of the planetary
nebulfe, the Sun, we are taught, drew into the depths
of its mass all the cosmic vitality it could, threaten-
ing to engulf its weaker brothers before the law of
attraction and repulsion was finally adjusted; after
which it began feeding on those portions of Ether
of the existence and constitution of which science is
as yet absolutely ignorant. Mr. W. Mattieu Wil-
liams suggests that the diffused matter, or Ether,
which is the recipient of the beat-radiations of the
universe, is thereby drawn into the depths of the
solar mass. Expelling thence the previously con-
densed and thermally exhausted Ether, it becomes
compressed and gives up its heat, to be itself in
turn driven out in a rarified and cooled condition
to absorb a fresh supply of heat which is again re-
distributed by the suns of the TJniverse.

This is about as close an approximation to the
Occult teachings as science ever made, for Occultism
explains this to be " the dead breath " ^ven back

84 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

by Bal-ilu, the Sun, and the " sweat and refuse " of
" Mother Space " on which he fed. What could
affect Neptune, Saturn, and Jupiter but little, would
have killed such comparatively small " Houses "
as Mercury, Venus and Mars. When we speak of
Neptune, it is not as an Occultist, but as an Euro-
pean. The true Eastern Occultist would. maintain
that while there are yet many undiscovered planets
in our system, Neptune does not belong to it, his ap-
parent connection with our sun notwithstanding.
This connection, they say, is illusory.

(/) The " Breath " of all " the seven sons " is
said to be " ligrht-making," because the planets were
all comets and suns in their origin. They evolve
into cyclic life from primeval Chaos, by the aggre-
gation of the first differentiations of the Eternal
Matter, according to the beautiful expression in the
Commentary; " Thus the Sons of Light clothed
themselves in the fabric of Darkness." They an
called allegorically " the Heavenly Snails," on
count of their (to us) formless Intelligences
habiting unseen their starry homes, and, so to spei
carrying them along as the snails do. Heat (the
Breath), Attraction and Repulsion — the three great
factors of Motion- — are the conditions imder which
all the members of this primitive family are borBi
develop and die, to be re-born after the cyel'
" Night," during which Eternal Matter relapsi
periodically into its primary undifferentiated statfe
The most attenuated gases can give no idea of its
nature to the modem physicist. At first simply cen-
tres of Force, the invisible sparks of primordial
atoms differentiate into molecules, and become Suns
— gaseous, radiant, cosmic — passing gradually into
objectivity — the one " Whirlwind," or vortical Mo-
tion, finally giving its impulse to the form, and tl
initial motion regulated and sustained by the ni
resting Breaths, the Intelligent Forces.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 85

STANZA IV,— Continued

. Then the second Seven, who are the
Zfipika (a) (the Recorders), produced by the three
(Word, Voice and Spirit). The rejected Son is One,
the "Son-Suns " are countless.

The Lijiiha, from the word lipi (writing), means
literally the " Scribes." Mystically these Divine
Beings are connected with Karma or the law of
Eetribution, for they are the Recorders or annalists
who impress upon the (to us) invisible tablets of
the Astral Light—" the great picture-gallery of
eternity ' '—a faithful record of every act and even
thought of man, of all that was, is, or ever will be,
in the phenomenal TJaiverse. As is said in " Isis,"
this divine and unseen canvas is the Book of Life.
As it is the Recorders who project into objectivity
from the passive Universal Mind the ideal plan of
the Universe (upon which the Builders reconstruct
the Kosmos after every cyclic Night," it is they wbo
stand parallel to the Seven Angels of the Presence,
whom the Christian Church recognizes as the seven
Planetary Spirits; for thus it is they who are the
direct amanuenses of the Eternal Ideation, which
Plato calls " the Divine Thought,"

The Eternal Record is no fantastic dream, for
we meet with similar records in the world of gross
matter. " A shadow never falls upon a wall without
leaving thereon a permanent trace, which might be
made visible by resorting to proper processes, ' ' says
Dr. Draper {Conflict between Science and Religion,
p. 132 et seq.). ..." Upon the walls of our
most private apartments, where we think the eye of
intrusion is altogether shut out and our retirement
can never be profaned, there exist the vestiges of
all our acts, silhouettes of whatever we have done."
Drs. Jevons and Babbage (v. Principles of Science,
vol. ii., p. 455) believe that every thought, displac-

86 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ing the particles of the brain and setting them in ■»"
motion, scatters them throughout the universe, and Mgj
they think that " each particle of existing matter '

must be a register of all that has happened."

The forty " Assessors " who stand in the region --
of Amenti as the accusers of the Soul before Osiris, V***-
belong to the same class of deities as the Recorders,
and might stand paralleled were not the' esoteric
meaning of the Egyptian gods so little understood. ^ i
The Hindu Chitra-gupta (' ' preserved in the
Ether ") who reads the aceoimt of every Soul's life-
from his register; the Assessors who read theirs—

from the heart of the defunct — are all so many vari

ants of the Recorders and their Astral Records

Nevertheless, the Recorders are not deities con —
nected with Death, but with Life Eternal.

Connected as the Recorders are with the destio'y
of every man (whose life is already traced in tl^
Astral Light — because the future, like the past, ^\
ever alive in the Presest) — they may also be sa::;^
to exert an influence on the science of Horoscop;;;^ "^ 'g
For, as observed by one of its modern adepts (L^^'^ ,g-
Mysteres de I'Horoscope, p. xi.) ; "Now that photo^^" q^
raphy has revealed to ua the chemical influences o ^^ y
the sidereal system by fixing on a sensitized plat» -^ Ij
milliards of stars and planets that had hitherto baf-"^^
fled the efforts of the most powerful telescope tc:^ ^_j
discover, it becomes easier to understand how our*^^
solar system can, at the birth of a child, influence^^ ,
the tahiila rasa of his brain in a definite manner, and.^^^^
according to the presence on the zenith of one or
another zodiacal constellation.

STANZA V

Commentary

1. The Primordial Seven, the first Seven Breaths
of the Dragon of Wisdom, produce in their turn

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 87

from their holy circmngyratiiig Breaths the Fiery
Whirlwiud {incandescent Cosmic dtist).

This is, perhaps, the most difficult of all the Stan-
zas to explain. Its language is comprehensible only
to him who is thoroughly versed in Eastern allegory,
and its purposely obscure phraseology. The ques-
tion will surely be asked, * * Do the Occultists believe
in all these * Builders, ' * Recorders, ' and * Sons of
Light ' as entities, or are they merely images ? ' ' To
this we answer as plainly : After due allowance for
the imagery of personified Powers, we must admit
the existence of such entities, if we would not reject
the existence of spiritual humanity, within physical
mankind- For these hosts of the *' Sons of Light '*
and ** Man-bom Sons *' of the first manifested Ray
of the Unknown All, are the very root of spiritual
man. Unless we want to believe the unphilosophical
dogma of a specially created soul for every human
birth, we have to admit the occult teachings.

This doctrine teaches that in order to become a
divine, fully conscious god — even the highest — the
Spiritual primeval Intelligences must pass through
the human stage. And when we say human, this
does not apply merely to our terrestrial humanity,
but to the mortals that inhabit any world ; to all In-
telligences that have reached their appropriate equi-
librium between matter and spirit, as we have ever
since the middle point of the Fourth Root Race of
the Fourth Round was passed. Each Entity must
win for itself the right of becoming divine, through
its own experience. Hegel, the great German
thinker, must have perceived this truth intuitionally
when he said that the^Unconscious evolved the uni-
verse only * * in the hope of attaining clear self-con-
sciousness ^ ^ ; in other words, of becoming Man ; for
this is also the secret meaning of the usual Puranic
phrase about Brahma being constantly *^ moved by
the desire to create, ' ' This explains also the bidder

88 THE SECEET DOOTKINE

meauing of the Kabalistie saying: *' The Breath be-
comes a stone; the stone a plant; the plant an ani-
mal; the animal a man; the man a spirit, and the
spirit a god." The Mind-born Sons, the Builders,
etc., were all men — of whatever forms and shapes—
in other worlds and preceding cycles of existence.

This subject being so very mystical, is therefore
the most difficult to explain in all its details and
bearings; since the whole mystery of evolutionary
creation is contained in it. The ' ' fiery whirlwind "
is the incandescent Cosmic dust," which only follow^
magnetically (as the iron filings follow the magnetj,
the directing thought of the ' ' Creative Forces ■
Yet tliis Cosmic dust is something more ; for eve^'R,
atom in the Universe has the potentiality of s^, -
consciousness in it, and is, like the Monads of Le^
nitz, a universe in itself and for itself. If is an atc^
and an angel.

In this connection it should be noted that one w
the leaders of the modern school of Evolutionist^
Mr. A. R. Wallace, practically concedes the point L'
question, that of intelligent forces, and maintain
that the evolution of man was directed and furtherec
by superior Intelligences, whose agency is a neces-
sary factor in the scheme of Nature. But if this be
admitted of their operation in one place, it is only
logical to admit it in all.

STANZA Y. -^Continued

2. They make of him (the Whirlwind) the mes-
lenger of their will (a), Wisdom becomes Fohat
(b) {the Spirit of Life) ; the swift Son of the Divine
Sons, whose sons are the Recorders, runs circular
errands. He is the steed and the Thought is the
rider ( that is, he is under the influence of their guid-

THE SRCERT DOCTRINE 89

ing thavghtl). He passes like lightning through the
fiery clouds (the cosmic mists) ; takes three and five
and seven strides (c) through the seven regions
above and the seven taelow {the world to be). He
lifts his voice, and calls the innumerable sparks
(atoms) and joins them together.

(a) This shows the " Primordial Seven " using
for their vehicle the Fiery Whirlwind {or Fohat*),
the manifested subject which becomes the symbol of
the Powers directing it, called in consequence " the
messenger of their will."

Wisdom becomes Life — the one real (magical)
Knowledge, or Occult Wisdom, dealing with eternal
truths and primal causes, becomes almost omnipo-
tence when applied in the right direction. Its an-
tithesis is that un-wisdom which deals with illusions
and false appearances only. Here *' Wisdom " is
the collective wisdom of the Dhyani-Buddhas (the
great Teachers of mankind).

There are seven Dhyani-Buddhas, of whom five
only have hitherto manifested (one for each Root-
Eace of mankind), and two are yet to come in the
sixth and seventh Root-Races. They are, so to speak,
the eternal and divine prototypes of the Buddhas
who appear on this earth; as Mr. Ehys Davids cor-
rectly states, " they are the glorious counterparts in
the mystic world, free from the debasing conditions
of this material life " of every earthly mortal
Buddha — the appointed governors of the Earth in
this Round. They are also called " the Buddhas of
Contemplation," and are all self-born of divine es-
sence. Their synthesis is the Logos. The exoteric
teaching which says that every Dhyani-Buddha has
the faculty of creating from himself an equally ce-

*Fohat, the Spirit of Life, is tbe Divine Life niiiS Uive. the Logos,
the potential creative Power, the active creative Power, cosmli!
Uotlun, eoBwic Electricity, etc.. according to the plane upon which
It acts, and the sense in which we uae the term.— Edifor.

1^^

90 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ^

lestial Son (a Bodbisattva), who after the death of
the haman Buddha has to carry out his work, rests
on the fact that with the highest initiation per-
formed by one overshadowed by " the Spirit of
Baddha," a candidate becomes vLrtnally a Bodhi-
8att\'a, created such by the High Initiator.

(6) FoHAT being one of the most, if not the i
important character in esoteric cosmogony, sbonit
be minutely described. As in the oldest Greciai
cosmogony (wbich differs widely from the lat€
mythology), Eros is the third person in the primevS
trinity, Chaos, Gaea, Eros ; so Fohat is one thing '
the immanifested Universe and another in t
phenomenal and cosmic world. In the manifesto
Universe he is that occult, electric, vital powe
which under the will of the Creative Logos, unite
and brings together all forms, giving them the fira
impulse which in time becomes law. But in the i
manifested Universe Fohat is an abstract philtf
Bophical idea, since Kosmos is not yet born, and th
gods still sleep in the bosom of " Father -Mother.'
He is simply that potential creative power in virti
of whose action the Noumenon of all future ph(
nomena divides, so to speak, but to reunite and emj
the creative Ray. When " the Divine Son " break
forth, then Fohat becomes the propelling force,
active Power which causes the One to become 1
and Tbree — on the cosmic plane of manifestatioi
The triple One differentiates into the many, an.
then Fohat is transformed into that Force whic"
brings together the elemental atoms and makes thei
aggregate and combine. We find an echo of thi
primeval teaching in early Greek mythology. Ere
bus and Nox are bom out of Chaos, and under th
action of Eros give birth in their turn to .^ther am
Hemera, the light of the superior and the light i
the inferior terrestrial regions. Darkness generate!
light. See in the Purmas Brahma's " desire '"

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 91

create, and in the Phcenician cosmogony the doctrine
that Desire (pothos) is the principle of creation.

Pohat is closely related to the " One Life."
From the tlnknown One, the Infinite Totality, the
manifested One or the periodical cyclic Deity, eman-
ates; and this is the Universal Mind, which, sepa-
rated from its Fountain-Source, is the Demiurgos
or creative Logos of the Western Kabalists, and the
four-faced Bralmia of the Hindu religion. In its
totality, viewed from the standpoint of Manifested
Divine Thought in the esoteric doctrine, it repre-
sents the Hosts of the higher Creative Powers. Sim-
ultaneously with the evolution of the Universal
Mind, the concealed Wisdom manifests itself as the
Logos. By the action of this manifested wisdom,
represented as these innumerable centres of spir-
itual energy in the Kosmos, the reflection of the
Universal Mind (which is Cosmic Ideation and the
intellectual Force accompanying such Ideation) be-
comes, objectively, the Fohat of the esoteric philos-
opter. Fohat, running along the seven principles of
Akasa (or Mih^r), acts upon manifested Substance,
or the One Element, and by differentiating it into
Nations centres of Energy, sets in motion the law of
Coamic Evolution, which, in obedience to the idea-
tion of the Universal Mind, brings into existence all
ttiG various states of being in the solar system.

Fohat, then, is the personified, electric, vital
Power, the transcendent binding Unity of all cosmic
'Clergies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes,
*^he action of which resembles (on an immense scale)
^Qat of a living Force created by Wn^L. Fohat is
^ot only the living symbol and container of that
*^orce, but is looked upon by Occultists as an Entity
~~the forces he acts through being cosmic, human,
^nd terrestrial, exercising their influence on all those
"planes respectively. On the earthly plane his in-
fluence is felt in the active magnetic force geneiated

92 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

by the will of the magnetlzer. On the cosmic, it i.
present in the constructive power that carries old
in the formation of things — from the planetary syS
tern down to the glowworm or the daisy — the plafl'
in the Divine Thought for the growth and develop-
ment of that special thing. Pohat is, metaphysically,
the objectivised Thought of the Gods ; the ' ' Word^
made flesh " on a lower scale, and the messenger fl
cosmic and human ideas ; the active force in TJnivei
sal Life. In his secondary aspect Fohat is the sola
energy, the electric vital fluid, and the preservin
fourth principle, the animal soul of Nature, so 1
speak, or Electricity.* In India Fohat is connecto
with Vishnu. The name Vishnu is from the rot
visk to pervade, and Fohat is called " the Pa
vader," and " the Artificer " because he shapes fb
atoms from crude material. In the Rig Veda, Vishn
also is " a manifestation of the Solar energy," an
he is described as taking three strides through th
seven regions of the Universe, the Vedic god bavin
little in common with the Vishnu of later times,
(c) The "three and seven" strides refer not on^
to the seven regions of the Earth, but also to tl)
seven Spheres of the esoteric teaching, inhabited b
man, and these seven spheres or worlds of our plant
tary chain are distinctly referred to in the exoteri
Hindu scriptures. The three strides of Vishnu j
the Rig Veda have been variously explained a
meaning fire, lightning and the sun, cosmically; an
as having been taken in the Earth, the atmoapherl
and the sky; also, as being, in the astronomici
sense, the tliree positions of the sun, rising, nocn
and setting. The Zohar laid it down very compr^
hensively. It is said there that in the beginntn

^^_ not

'Electricity is "imranterinl" in tlie sense thnt Its molecules i
not subject to perL'eption and experiment, but It Is atomic, s
therefore matter, as much as Ether is matter.— iid/f or.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 93

tKe Elohim were called "EchoJ," one, or "the Deity
one in many." Then came the change, "Jehovah
is Elohim," thus unifying the multiplicity. Next,
to the query, "How is Jehovah Elohim!" the an-
swer is, "By three steps from below." The mean-
ing is plain. They are all symbols, and emblematic
of Spirit, Soul and Body (Man) ; of the circle trans-
formed into Spirit, the Soul of the World, and its
Body (Earth). And from Man, or Jah-Heva,
" male- female, " the inner divine entity becomes
onee more on the metaphysical plane, the Elohim,
The three strides relate metaphysically to the de-
scent of Spirit into Matter, of the Logos falling as
a Ray into the Spirit, then into the Soul, and finally
i*»to the human physical form of man, in which it
imes Life.

STANZA v.— Continued

3. He is their (the Sparks' or Atoms') guiding
Sjjirit and Leader. When he begins work, he sepa-
^^tes the sparks of the lower kingdom (the mineral
*<o»is) that float and thrill with joy in their radiant
4'Wellings {gaseous clouds) and forms therewith the
Serms of Wheels (a). He places them in the six
directions of Space (6) and one in the middle — the
Central Wheel.

(a) " Wheels," as already explained, are centres
of force, around which primordial cosmic matter
expands, and passing through all the six stages of
consolidation, becomes spheroidal, and ends by being
transformed into globes or spheres. It is one of
the fundamental dogmas of Esoteric Cosmogony,
that during the iEons of life. Motion (which even
during the periods of rest pulsates through every
plnmbering atom) has an ever-increasing tendency
from the first awakening of Kosmos to a new

94 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

" Day," to a circular movement. " The Deity
comes a Whielwind."* It may be asked, aa
writer has not fiiiled to ask: " Who is there to
certain the difference in that motion, since all '.
ture is reduced to its primal essence, and there
be no one to see it t " The answer Is : " Everytht
in Nature has to be judged by analogy. Though i
highest deities are unable to penetrate mysteries
far beyond our planetary system and the visible Co
moa, yet there were great seers in olden times whc
were enabled to perceive the mystery of Breath anc
Motion retrospectively, when the systems of worlds
were at rest, and plunged in their jieriodie sleep,''

This law of vortical movement in primordial mat-
ter is one of the oldest conceptions in Greek philos-
ophy, whose first historical Sagas were nearly all
Initiates of the Mysteries. The Greeks had it from
the Egyptians, and the latter from the Chaldeans,
who had been the pupils of Brahmins of the Esoteric
School. Leucippus, and Demoeritus of Abdera — the
pupil of the Magi^ — taught that this gyratory move-
ment of the atoms and spheres existed from eternity.
The heliocentric theory was taught by Pythagoras
500 B. c, while the theory of the elemental vortices
was maintained by Anasagoras nearly 2,000 yea:
before it was taken up by Galileo and Descartes, a]
finally, with some slight modifications, by Sir Wl
Thomson. (See his Vortical Atoms.)

(h) By " the six directions of Space " is here
meant the " Double Triangle," -pi the junction and
blending together of pure Spirit and Matter, the
Formless and the Forms, of which the interlaced
Triangles are a symbol. The Double Triangle is a
sign of Vishnu, as it is Solomon's seal, and the Tri-
Antara {inner glory) of the Brahmins.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

STANZA v.— Continued

4. Fohat traces spiral lines (a) to unite the sixth
to the seventh — the Crown ; an army of the Sons of
J-dght stands at each angle {b), and the Eecordera
in the middle wheel. They {the Recorders) say,
" This is good." The first Divine World (d) is
ready, the first {is now) the second (c) (world).
rten the formless Universe of Thought reflects it-
self in the shadowy world of primal form, or the
intellectual, the first garment of the Parentless,
(See Com. on Stanza I. b.)

(a) This " tracing of spiral lines " refers to the
evolution of man's as well as nature's principles;
an evolution which takes place gradually, like every-
thing else in nature. The Divine Soul in man, though
a mere breath in our conception of it, is still some-
thing material when compared with Divine
" Spirit," of which it is the vehicle. Fohat, as
PiviNE Love (Eros) the electric power of affinity,
IS shown allegorically as trying to bring the pure
_Spirit, the Eay inseparable from the One absolute,
into union with the Soul, the two constituting in Man
the Monad, and in Nature the first link between the
eper-unconditioned and the manifested. " The first
19 How the second world " (of the Recorders*) has
r&ference to the same thing.

(6) " The Army at each angle " is the Host of
attgelic Beings appointed to guide and watch over
each region from the beginning to the end of the
cycle. They are the " Mystic Watchers " of the
Christian Kabalists and Alchemists, and relate, sym-
liolieally as well as cosmogonically, to the numerical
system of the Universe. The numbers with which
these celestial Beings are connected are extremely

*Iii one eeaee "the Recorders" stand for conscience and memoty,
tbe KBult of the union of Spirit and Sou), or Mind. — Editor.

96 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

diflScult to explain, as each number refers to several
groups of distinct ideas.

* * First ' ^ cannot really be numbered, as that is the
realm of noumena in its primary manifestation : the
threshold to the World of Truth, through which the
direct energy radiating from the One REALm
reaches us. ** This World of Truth " can be de-
scribed only in the words of the Commentary, as
** A bright star dropped from the heart of Eternity;
the beacon of hope on whose seven Rays hang the
seven worlds of Being." First, this septenary
Light; then:

(d) ** The Divine World," the countless lights lit
at the primeval Light — the formless Divine Souls
of the last formless world ; the * * Sum Total " in the
mysterious language of the old Stanza. Txl the eso-
teric Catechism the Master is made to ask the pupil:

^ ^ Lift thy head, 0 Pupil ; dost thou see one or
countless lights above thee, burning in the dark mid-
night sky? "

** I sense one flame, 0 Gurudeva, I see countless
undetached sparks shining in it."

** Thou sayest well. And now look around and
into thyself. That light which burns inside thee,
dost thou feel it different in anywise from the light
that shines in thy brother-men? "

** It is in no way different, though the prisonet
{the soul) is held in bondage by Karma, and thougt
its outer garments delude the ignorant into saying

* Thy soul and my soul.' "

The radical unity of the ultimate essence of every
thing in Nature — from star to mineral atom, fro0
the highest Archangel to the smallest infusoria
whether applied to the spiritual, intellectual or phyS
ical worlds — ^is the one fundamental law in Occul
science.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

STANZA v.— Continued

Fohat takes five strides (having already taken
the first three) (a), and builds a itinged Wheel at
each comer of the Square for the four Holy Ones
■ . . and their armies (b).

(a) The " strides," as already explained, refer
to both the cosmic and human principles. From a
cosmic point of view, " Fohat taking five strides "
refers here to the five upper planes of Consciousness
and Being, the sixth and seventh counting down-
wards being the astral and terrestrial, the two lower
planes. {The " three strides already taken," refers
to the metaphysical descent of Spirit into matter,
forming the spirit, soul and body of man. See Stanza
v., 2.) In the esoteric division into seven princi-
ples, we have three rays of the Essence and their
four aspects, the body, its life or vitality, and its
astral double (the triad which disappears with
(ieath), and the animal soul which disintegrates more
Or less slowly after death.

(b) " The winged wheel at each corner for the
four Holy Ones and their hosts." The four Holy
Ones are the Regents or Angels, who rule over the
Cosmic Forces of the four cardinal points, north,
South, east and west, these Forces having each a dis-
tinct occult property. These Beings arc also con-
nected with Karma, which needs physical and ma-
terial agents to carry out its decrees, such as the
lOur winds, admitted by science to have their good
'*'' evil influences upon the health of mankind and
of every living thing. There is occult philosophy in
that Roman Catholic doctrine which traces public
9&lamities, such as wars and epidemics, etc., to the
Invisible " Messengers " from North and West.
■^nd St. Ambrose, commenting upon Amos, ch. iv.,

X7h

■en*
«■ p

^ain

r*=**^

98 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

declares that it is precisely for that reason that ' ' we
curse the North-wind, and during the ceremony of
baptism we begin by turning towards the "West
(Sidereal) the better to renounce Iiim who inhabits
it; after which we turn to the East." For tlie
Church there are two kinds of Sidereal bein^,
Angels and Devils ; for the Kabalist and Occultist,
but one. It is not the Angel who punishes and r^
wards, with or without God's order, but man him-
self, whose deeds attract individually and colleetivety
(as in the case of whole nations) every kind of evil
and calamity. We produce Causes, and these
awaken the corresponding powers in the sidereal
world, which are irresistibly attracted to react upon
those who produced those causes, whether such per-
sons are actually evil-doers or simply thinkers who
brood mischief. For every thought, in addition to its
physical accompaniment of molecular changes in the
gray matter of the brain, exhibits an ohjecti'^e
(though to us supersensnously objective) aspect <>°
the astral plane.

In both the Egyptian and the Hebrew temples, t^
curtain which separated the congregation from *'^^,
tabernacle was drawn over five pillars (the P^^j.
tacle), symbolizing esoterically the five senses a.--' ,
the five Root-Races, while the four colors of the c^^^
tain represented the four cardinal points and t -^
four terrestrial elements. The whole was an alt^^js \
gory, meaning that through the four high Rule:::- "^af *
over the four points and elements, our senses mi^^^e,
become cognizant of the hidden truths of Nature ^ts
and not as Clemens would have it, that the elenient^,,--e.
per se furnished the Pagans with divine knowledge ^u

The idea may be traced also in the Zoroastrias^ //
caves, and in the rock-cut temples of India, as in al ^;^
the sacred square buildings that have survived tcT^j^
this day. Layard finds the four cardinal points an(^^^
the four primitive elements in the religious symbol-'

^m THE SECRET DOCTRINE 99

ism of every country, under the sliape of square
obelisks, four-sided pyramids, etc,

The four Celestial Beings or Cosmic Angels are
identical with " the four living creatures — in the
likeness of a man," of Ezekiel's vision. They are
the protectors of mankind and the agents of Karma
on earth, whereas the Recorders are concerned with
man's hereafter.

There are three chief groups of the Builders, and
as many of the Planetary Spirits, each gioup being
again divided into seven sub-groups. The " Build-
ers " are the representatives of the first " Mind-
born ' ' entities, therefore of the primeval creative
Powers. They build, or rather rebuild, every Cos-
mos after the ' ' Night. ' ' The second group is the
Architect of our planetary chain exclusively, and
the third is the progenitor of our Humanity — the
macrocosmic prototyjie of the microcosm.

The Planetary Spirits are the informing Spirits
of the stars in general, and of the planets in par-
ticular. They rule the destinies of men, who are all
born under some one of the constellations.

The Recorders (who have already been described
in the Commentary on Stanza IV. 6) are the Spirits
of the Universe, whereas the Builders are only our
own planetary deities. The former belong to the
most occult portion of Cosmogenesis, which cannot
be given here. Of the highest grade of the Order
only one thing is taught, that they are the direct
Eecorders of Karma. The symbol for sacred and
secret knowledge was universally in antiquity a
Tree, by which a scripture or a record was also
meant. Hence the word Lipika, the " writers " or
' ' recorders "; the Trees of Knowledge, guarded by
dragons or serpents, symbols of wisdom; the Tree
with golden apples of the Hesperides ; and the Trees
of Mount Meru, guarded by a serpent. Juno giving
to Jupiter on her marriage with him a Tree with

;n^

100 THE SECRET DOCTEI]

golden fruit is another form of Eve offering M
the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. (See J
//. X.) I

STANZA v.— Continued j

6. The Eecorders circumscribe the triangleJ
first one {the vertical Hue, or I.), the cube or sd
one, and the pentaele within the Egg (circle). I
the ring called " Pass Not," (a) for those whs
scend and ascend {as also for those) who, dq
the Cycle of Life, are progressing toward the Gl
Day " Be with Us." (&)... Thns 1
formed the Formless World and the Wory
Forms ; from one Light seven Lights ; from esui
the seven, seven times seven Lights (c). i
*' "Wheels " watch the Eing. |

The Stanza proceeds with a minute classifiei
of the Orders of Angelic Hierarchies, dividing
subdividing until the mind is lost in this bm
enumeration of celestial Beings, each having ita
tinct task in the ruling of the visible Kosmos di^
its existence. <\

(a) The esoteric meaning of this sentence is,j
those who have been called the Recorders of
Karmic ledger make an impassable barrier bet?
the personal Ego and the impersonal Self, the j
menon and parent Source of the Ego. Hene<i
allegory. They circumscribe the manifested Ttj
of matter within the Eing " Pass-Not." This W
is the objective symbol of the One divided int<i
many on the planes of illusion, and this One ifl
totaUty of the principal Creators or Architect
this visible universe. For in Occult metapbj
there are, properly speaking, two " Ones "4
One on the unreachable plane of Absoluteuessi
Infinity, upon which no speculation is possible,!
the second " One," on the plane of emanations. I
former oan neither emanate nor be divided,

itions. I
ed, aai

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 101

eternal, absolute and immutable. The second, being,
ao to speak, the reflection of the first One, for it is
ttie Logos in the universe of illusion, can do both.
It emanates from itself the seven Rays, or Creative
Powers; or, in other words, the homogeneous be-
comes the heterogeneous, the " protyle " differen-
tiates into the elements. But these, unless they re-
tam into their primal element, can never cross he-
fond the neutral centre, or zero-point, of force.

The chemist goes to the zero-point of the plane
of matter with which he deals, and then stops short.
The physicist or the astronomer counts by billions
of miles beyond the nebulae, and then he also stops
short; the semi-initiated occultist will represent this
point to himself as existing on some plane which, if
Qot physical, is still conceivable to the human intel-
lect. But the full Initiate knoivs that " tJie ring
Pass-Not " is neither a locality nor can it be meas-
ured by distance, but that it exists in the absolute-
ness of Infinity, wherein there is neither height,
breadth, nor thickness, but all is fathomless pro-
fundity.

Eence the allegory. The Recorders separate the
W'orld (or plane) of pure Spirit from that of mat-
ter. Those who " descend and ascend," the incar-
nating Monads, and men still striving towards puri-
fication, may cross the circle of the " Pass-Not "
oul y on the day ' ' Be-With-Us ' ' ; the day when man,
fleecing lumself from the trammels of ignorance,
reoognizes fully the non-separateness of the Ego
^roneously regarded as his own from the Universal
^g-o, and merges thereby into the One Essence, to
''^Gome, not only one " with us " (the manifested
^■^iversal lives which are One Life), but that very
Life itself.

The refusal to admit in the whole solar system of
vxti existence of any other reasonable and intellect-
11^ beings oii the human plane, except ourselves, is

102 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

•

the greatest conceit of our age. All that science has
a right to aflSrm is that there are no invisible Intel-
ligences living under the same conditions as men.
It cannot deny the possibility of there being worlds
within worlds, under totally different conditions
from our own ; nor can it deny that there may be a
certain limited conamunication between some of
those worlds and ours. To the highest, we are
taught, belong the seven orders of the purely divine
Spirits; to the six lower ones belong hierarchies
that can occasionally be seen and heard by men, and
who do communicate with their progeny of the
Earth, a progeny indissolubly linked with them, each
principle in man having its direct source in the na-
ture of those great Beings. The philosopher Kant
says (in his Trdume eines Geistersehers), ** It will
hereafter be proved, I know not when or where, that
the human soul stands even in this life in indissolu-
ble connection with all immaterial natures in the
spirit- world, that it reciprocally acts upon these and
receives impressions from them.*'

(b) The '' Great Day of Be-With-TJs '' is equiva-
lent to the Egyptian ^^ Day of Come-To-Us," and
the sorely materialized Day of Judgment of tho
Christians. Just as the Square is the symbol of th©
Four Sacred Powers, so the Circle shows the boun-
dary within the Infinity that none can cross tiU th©
day of their approach to the period of rest. If they
reach it, they will rest in the bosom of the ^^ Un-
known Darkness ^^ (which shall then become for
them Light), during the whole of *^ the Great
Night," a period of 311,040,000,000,000 years. The
Monad, born of the very nature and essence of the
Seven (its highest principle becoming immediately
enshrined in the seventh Cosmic Element), has to
perform its septenary gyration through the cycle of
being and forms, from the highest to the lowest ; and
then again from man to God. At the threshold of

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 103

p'Semal Rest it reassnmes its primeval Essence,
and becomes tlie Absolute once more.

(c) " Fire," says the Esoteric teaching;, " is the
most perfect and unadulterated reflection, in Heaven
as on Earth, of the One Flame. It is Life and
Death, the origin and end of every material thing.
It is divine ' Substance.' The Rosierucians, among
all the mystics and Kabalists, were those who de-
fined fire in the most correct way. Procure a six-
penny lamp, and only keep it supplied with oil, and
yon will be able to light at its flame the lamps, can-
dles and fires of the whole globe, without diminish-
ing that flame."

If the Deity is an infinite substance {" the Lord
thy God is a consuming fire ") and never consnmed,
then the Occult teaeliing should not be held unphilo-
sophical when it says : ' ' From One Light, seven
lights; from each of the seven, seventy times
seven," etc.

STANZA VI

COMMENTAEY

1. By the power of the Mother of Mercy and
Knowledge (a) (Ktvan-Yin), the "triple" (or
mother, icife and daughter) of the Logos {Kwan-
Shai-Yin) residing in the Heaven of the Divine
Voice (b) {Kwan-Yin-Tien) — Fohat, the breath of
their progeny, the Son of the Sons, having called
forth from the lower Abyss {chaos) the illusive form
of our Universe (Sien-Tchan) and the seven ele-
ments :

2. The swift and the radiant One produces the
seven Laya (neutral) centres (c), against which none
will prevail till the Great Day " Be-With-Us " —
and seats the Universe on these eternal foundations,
surrounding it (Sien-Tchan), with the Elementary
Germs (d).

104 ,THE SECRET DOCTBINE

This Stanza is translated from the Chinese text,
and therefore the names, as the equivalents of the
original terms, are preserved. The real esoteric
nomenclature cannot be given. It is only in Chiiia
and Egypt that the female were placed on a par with
the male gods. Esotericism ignores both sexes. Its
highest Deity is sexless as it is formless, neither
Father nor Mother ; and its first manifested beings,
celestial and terrestrial alike, become only gradually
androgynous and finally separate into distinct sexes.

(a) The Mother of Mercy and Knowledge is called
* ^ the triple, ' ' because in her correlations, metaphys-
ical and cosmical, she is the Mother, Wife and
Daughter of the Logos, just as in the later theologi-
cal versions she became * * the Father, Son and (fe-
male) Holy Ghost, *' the Essence, or Energy, of flie
three. So from the purely occult or cosmical stand-
point, the Light of the Logos is Fohat, the ** Son of
the Son, ' ' the androgynous energy which manifests
in the plane of the objective Universe as the hid-
den as much as the revealed Electricity — ^which is
Life.

(&) Kwan-Yin-Tien means " the melodious heaven
of Sound, ^' the abode of Kwan-Yin, or the Divvn^
Voice, literally. This ^* Voice " is a synonym of
the ^ ' Word ^ ' ; Speech as an expression of Thought
The Hindu * * Vach, ' ' the female side of Brahma, the
Creative Deity, is (as well as all the other god-
desses) the female Logos, so to speak, the goddess'
of the active forces in Nature, the Word, Voice or
Sound, and Speech. Vach is also called ** the melo-
dious cow who yields us nourishment and suste-
nance, ' ' as Mother Nature. And she is a form of the
highest principle of ^Ether, the synthesis of all the
forces in Nature. Thus Vach and Kwan-Yin both
stand for the occult potency of Sound in Nature and
Ether, which ' * Voice ' ' calls forth the illusive form

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 105

of tbe tTniverse out of Chaos and the seven Ele-
ments.

(c) The seven Laya {or neutral) centres are the
seven zero-points, using the term sero in the same
sense that chemists do, to indicate a point at which
in esoterieism the reckoning of differentiation be-
gins. Laya (from the Sanskrit) is that point of
matter where all differentiation ceases. Prom these
centres begins the differentiation of those elements
which enter into the constitution of our solar system.
Wliether we count the principles in Kosmos and man
as seven or only as three, the forces of and in physi-
cal nature are seven, and it is said that " the capac-
ity of perception exists in seven different aspects,
Gorresponding to the seven conditions of matter.
For jnat as a human being is composed of seven
principles, differentiated matter in the solar sys-
tem exists in seven different conditions," {Subba
^ow, on the Bhagavadgita.)

So does Fohat. He is One and Seven, and on the
Cosmic plane is behind all such manifestations as
liglit, heat, sound, cohesion, etc., and is the " spirit "
of Electhicitt, which is the Life of the Universe,
As an abstraction, we call it the One Life ; as an ob-
jective and evident Reality, we speak of a septenary
scale of manifestation, which begins at the top with
the One Unknowable Causality, and ends as omni-
present Mind and Life immanent in every atom of
matter. Thus while science speaks of evolution
throQgh inert matter, blind force and senseless mo-
tion, the Occultists point to intelligent Law and sen-
ixent Life, and add that Fohat is the guiding Spirit
of all this. Yet he is no personal God at all, but the
emanation of those other Powers behind him, whom
the Christians call " the Messengers " of their God
(who is in reality only one of the seven creators
called the Elohim), and whom we call " the Messen-

106 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ger of the Primordial Sons of Life and Light/*
Each world has its Fohat, who is omnipresent in
his own sphere of action, therefore there must be
many Fohats, whom we consider as conscious and
intelligent Forces, as we consider all the forces of
Nature as veritable, though supersensuous, states of
Matter; and as possible objects of perception to
Beings endowed with the requisite senses.

(d) The '' Elementary Germs " with which Fohat
fills the Universe are the * ' Atoms ^ ^ of Science and
the ^' Monads " of Leibnitz.

STANZA Vl.— Continued

3. Of the seven (elements) first one manifested,
six concealed ; two manifested, five concealed ; three
manifested, four concealed; four produced, three
hidden; four and one fraction revealed; two and
one-half concealed; six to be manifested — one laid
aside (a). Lastly, seven small wheels revolving;
one giving birth to the other (b).

Although these Stanzas refer to the whole Uni-
verse after a period of universal destruction, yet
this sentence refers also by analogy to the evolution
and final formation of the primitive (though com-
pound) Seven Elements on our Earth. Of these,
four elements are now fully manifested, while the
fifth — Ether — is only partially so, as we are barely
within the second half of the Fourth Eound, and the
fifth Element can only manifest fully in the Fifth
Eound. The Worlds, including our own, were pri-
marily evolved as germs from the One Element '^
its second stage (Father-Mother, the diiferentiated
Soul of the World), whether we call it with modern
Science, Cosmic dust and fire-mist, or with Occult-
ism, Akasa, divine Astral Light, or the Soul of the
World (wliich is 7iot Emerson's ** Over-soul "). But
this first stage of evolution was in due time followed

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 107

by the second. No world, as no heavenly body, could
be constructed on the objective plane, had not the
Elements been sufficiently differentiated already
from their primeval condition. It has been made the
reproach of the ancients that " they supposed their
Elements to be simple and undeeomposable. " But
had they been ignorant of the heterogeneity of their
elements, they would not have personified them,
their Cosmic gods and goddesses would never have
been blessed with so many sons and daughters, ele-
ments born from aud wUhiti each respective Ele-
ment, But differentiated as these elements were in
the beginning, still they were not the compound
l>odies known to the science of to-day. Neither
Water, Air nor Earth (a synonym for solids gener-
ally) existed in their present form, for all these are
already reeombined by the atmospheres of globes
completely formed — even to fire — so that in the first
periods of the earth's formation they were quite
fwi generis. Now that the conditions and laws rul-
ing our solar system are fully developed, and that
the atmosphere of our earth as of every other globe
hss become itself a crucible, so to speak, occult
Science teaches that there is a perpetual exchange
of molecules, or rather atoms, taking place in space,
3»d thus forming new correlations and combinations
**li every planet. The essence of cometary matter,
Jor instance, is totally devoid of any of the charac-
*-^ristics with which science is acquainted, and even
ti*at matter, during its rapid passage through our
^^osphere, imdergoes a certain change in its na-
*^re. Thus not alone the elements of our planet, but
^Ven those of all its sisters in the solar system, dif-
^^T as widely from each other in their combinations
?s from the Cosmic elements beyond our Solar lim-
its. Once caught in the atmosphere of this or any
other planet, the atom is lost, its pristine purity is
Bone forever, unless it is led into ' ' a current of Er-

108 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

FLUX '' (an occult term, meaning quite a different
process from that which the word generally im-
plies) ; when it may be carried once more not into
Space above, but into Space uuithin, to be brought
into a state of differential equilibrium and happily
reabsorbed. * * The Breath of the Father-Mother is-
sues cold and radiant and gets hot and corrupt, to
cool once more, and be purified in the eternal bosom
of inner Space, '* says the Commentary. Man ab-
sorbs cold pure air on the mountain-top, and throws
it out impure, hot and transformed. Thus the
higher atmosphere being the mouth and the lower
one the lungs of every globe, the man of our planet
breathes only the refuse of " Mother,'' therefore
** h9 is doomed to die on if But he who would
allotropize sluggish oxygen into Ozone to a measure
of alchemical activity, r^ucing it to its pure essence
(for which there are means), would discover thereby
a substitute for an ** Elixir of Life " and pr^)are
it for practical use.

(&) The process referred to as ** the small wheels
giving birth one to the other,'' takes place on our
terrestrial plane, the most material of all in the
manifested Kosmos. These seven Wheels are our
planetary chain, for although by ** Wheels " the
various spheres and centres of forces are generally
meant, here they refer to our own septenary ring
(or world).

STANZA VI.— Continued

4. He builds them in the likeness of older Wheels
{worlds) (a), placing them on the imperishable
centres (&).

How does Fohat build themt (c). He collects the
fiery dust. He makes balls of fire, runs through
them and round them, infusing Life thereinto ; then
sets them in motion, some one, some the other way.

THE SECBET DOCTEINE 109

Chey are cold — ^he makes them hot. They are dry —
16 makes them moist. They shine — ^he fans and cools
them.

Thus acts Fohat from one Twilight to the other
during seven Eternities.

(a) The worlds are built ** in the likeness of older
Wheels,'^ that is, those that existed in preceding
cydes, and passed into ** Night, '* because the Law
for the birth, growth and decay of everything in
Eosmos, from the Sun to the glowworm in the grass,
ie One. It is an everlasting growth towards perfec-
tion with every new cycle, though the Substance —
Matter and Forces — are all one and the same. But
ihis Law acts on every planet through minor and
varying laws.

(h) The ^* imperishable Laya centres '* have a
great importance, and their meaning must be fully
understood if we would have a clear conception of
the Archaic Cosmogony whose theories have now
passed into Occultism. At present one thing may
be stated. The worlds are built neither upon, nor
over, nor in the Laya centres, the zero-point being
a condition, not a mathematical point.

The Occultists (who do not say — if they would
express themselves correctly — that matter, but only
the substance or essence of matter, is indestructible
and eternal) assert that all the so-called Forces of
Nature, far from being modes of motion of material
particles, are, in their constitution, the differentiated
aspects of that Universal Motion which was dis-
cussed and explained in the first pages of this vol-
^e {see Proem). When Fohat is said to produce
** seven neutral centres," it means that for creative
or formative purposes the Great Law stops (or
father modifies) its perpetual motion on seven invis-
ible points within the area of the manifested Uni-
verse. ** The Great Breath digs through Space
Seven holes into Laya to cause them to circumgy-

110 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

rate during the cycle of existence." (Occult Ca((
chism. ) We have said that Laya is what science nui
call the zero-point or line ; the realm of absolute W
gation, the Noumenon of the Seventh State of vM
we ignorantly call ' ' Force " ; or again the Nouas
non of Undifferentiated Cosmic Substance, whiehi
itself an xmreachable and unkuowable object to finU
perception.

A " neutral centre " is, in one aspect, the limitil
point of any given set of senses. Lnagine two cffl
secutive planes of matter already formed; eaehi
these corresponding to an appropriate set of pe
eeptive organs. We are forced to admit that betwe<
these two planes of matter an incessant circulati)
takes place ; and if we follow the atoms and mol
eules of the lower in their passage upward, the
will come to a point where they pass altogether \t^^
yond the range of the perceptive faculties of ti
lower plane. In fact, at that point the matter of ti
lower plan vanishes from our perception into noi
ingness, or rather it passes on to the higher plan
The state of matter corresponding to such a pMl
of transition must certainly possess special and l
readily discoverable properties. Such are '
" seven neutral centres " then, produced by Fol
who quickens matter into activity and evolution,

(c) " How does Fohat build them! " Bear
mind that Fohat, the Constructive Force of Cosi
Electricity, is said metaphorically to have spnu
•' from the brain of the Father and the bosom
the Mother," and then to have metamorphosed his
self into a male and a female — i. e., into positive ai
negative electricity; polarity. He has seven son
who are his brothers; and Fohat is forced to be bof
whenever any two of his son-brothers indulge in t
close contact — whether an embrace or a fight. '
avoid tliis, he binds together and unites those of i
like nature, and separates those of similar tempei

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 111

naents. This, of course, relates to electricity gener-
ated by friction, or contact, and to the law of polar-
ity, involving attraction between two opposite poles,
and repulsion by two of similar polarity. The seven
"Sons-brothers," moreover, represent and person-
ify the seven forms of Cosmic magnetism, whose co-
operative and active progeny are, among other en-
ergies, Electricity, Magnetism, Sound, Light, Heat,
Cohesion, Motion, etc. Occult science defines all
these as supersensuous effects in their hidden be-
havior, and as objective phenomena in the world of
senses; the former requiring abnormal faculties to
perceive them, the latter only our ordinary physical
senses. They all pertain to, and are the emanation
of, still more spiritual qualities, not personated by,
bat belonging to, real and conscious Causes. To at-
tempt a description of such Entities would be worse
than useless. The reader must bear in mind that ac-
cordiag to our teaching (which regards this phenom-
wal Universe as a great Illiision), the nearer a body
IS to the Unknown Substance, the more it ap-
proaches reality, as being so much the farther from
that Illusion, Men of science may speak of these
Forces as generated by matter, or as modes of its
motion; Ooeultism sees in the effects " Elemental "
(forces), and in the direct causes producing them,
intelligent Divine Workmen. The intimate connec-
tion of those Elementals (guided by the unerring
hand of the Eulers) — their correlation, we might
call it, with the elements of pure Matter, results in
our terrestrial phenomena of light, heat, magnetism,
etc., etc. The " Elementals," the Nature-Forces,
are the acting, though imperceptible secondary
Causes, and in themselves the effects of primary
Causes behind the veil of all terrestrial phenomena.
The sensation of light, for instance, may be com-
pared to the sound of carriage-wheels — a purely
inomenal effect, having no existence outside ttva

phenome

112 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ear that perceives it — the proximate exciting cause
of the sensation may be compared to the driver—
and is a supersensnons state of matter, a Natore-
Force or Elemental. But just as the occupant of
the carriage directs the driver from within, so be-
hind these Nature-Forces stand the higher and
noumenal Causes, the Intelligences, from whose es-
sence radiate these states of * * Mother, ' ^ generating
the countless milliards of Elementals or psychic
Nature-Spirits, just as every drop of water gener-
ates its infinitesimal inhabitants. (See '* Gods, M(h
nads, and Atoms,'' Part III.) It is Fohat who guides
the transfer of the principles from one planet to
another, from one star to another child-star. When
a plant dies, its informing principles are transferred
to a neutral or sleeping centre, with latent but po-
tential energy in it, which is thus awakened into
life, and begins to form itself into a new. sidereal
body.

If no physical intellect is capable of counting the
grains of sand covering a few miles of sea-shore, or
to fathom the ultimate nature and essence of those
grains, how can any materialist limit the laws chang-
ing the conditions of the atoms in primordial chaos,
or know anything certain about the capabilities and
potencies of atoms and molecules before and aftei
their formation into worlds? These changeless and
eternal molecules may differ in constitution upon
their planes of existence, as the soul-substance dif-
fers from its vehicle the body. Each atom has seven
planes of being or existence, we are taught, and ead
plane is governed by its specific laws of evolution
and absorption.

Here ends that portion of the Stanzas which re-
lates to the Universal Cosmogony after the last
period of universal destruction. From this verse on
the Stanzas are concerned only with our Solar Sys

THE SECElCT DOCTRINE 113

ten in general, with the planetary chains therein in-
ferentidly, and with the history of our globe (the
Fourth and its chain) especially. All the Stanzas
and verses which follow refer only to evolution on
our Earth, and the cosmic periods which separate
these verses are of immense duration.*

STANZA Yl.— Continued

5. At the Fourth (a) {Round, or revolution of life
flurf being around the '' seven smaller wheels '') the
Sons are told to create their images. One-third re-
fuses. IVo-thirds obey (6).

The full meaning of this verse can be fully com-
prehended only after reading the detailed explana-
tions in the section on Anthropogenesis. Between
this verse and the last extend long ages, and now
there gleams the dawn of another aeon. This verse
belongs to the general Cosmogony given in the
archaic volumes, whereas Book II. vdll give a de-
tailed account of the *' Creation,*' or rather the
fonnation, of the first human beings, followed b3^ the
second humanity, and then by the third ; or, as they
are called, *' the first, second and third Eoot-Eaces."
As the now solid Earth began by being a ball of
liquid fire, of fiery dust and its protoplasmic phan-
tom, so did man.

•A chapter was interpolated here In the original edition of the
Secret Doctrine^ entitled, "A Few Early Theosophical Misconcep-
tions Concerning Planets, Rounds, and Man," which it has been
bought best to print at the end of this section, other than to in-
terrupt the course of the Commentary on the Stanzas. Much of
Jt properly belongs to the section on Anthropogenesis, and much
of it Is more or less controversial. The latter portion will be
, omitted, the former will be relegated to its proper place, in the
^pe of making the subjects treated of more clear to the general
^er by their greater consecutiveness ; the advanced student can
Jiiways refer to the original edition, with its embarrassing wealth
of material. Meanwhile it is easy to turn to the end of this section
tor the explanation of "planetary chains," etc. — Editor.

114 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

(a) That which is qualified as the ** Fourth ** can
equally mean *' Fourth Eternity,*' or even ** Foiirlii
Globe. ' ' For, as will be shown repeatedly, our Earth
is the fourth sphere, on the fourth or lowest plane of
material life. And we are also in the fourth Bound,
at the middle-point of which the perfect equilibriiua
between Spirit and Matter had to take place.

(&) Says the Commentary explaining this verse:
*^ The holy youths (the gods) refused to multiply
and create species after their likeness, after thrir
kind. * They are not fit forms for us ' (they said),
* they have to grow.' They refuse to enter ito
shadow of their inferiors.^ Thus had selfish 'feeling
prevailed from the beginning, even among the gods,
and they fell under the eye of the Karmic Becord-
ers. ' ' They had to suffer for it in later births.

STANZA VI.— Continued

5. The curse is pronounced (a). They will be born
in the fourth {Race)y suffer, and cause suffering.
This is the first War (6).

It is a universal tradition that before the physio- -
logical ^^ Fall,'* propagation of one's land, whether i
human or anim^, took place through the Will of
the Creators. It was the Fall of Spirit into genera-
tion, not the Fall of mortal man. It has already be^
stated, that to become Self-Conscious the Spirit
must pass through every cycle of being, culminating
in Man, its highest point on Earth.

As the Commentary, broadly rendered, says:
** Every form on earth and every atom in Space
strives, in its efforts towards self -formation, to fol- .
low the model placed for it in the * Heavenly Man.^
. . . The atom's involution and evolution, its ex-
ternal and internal growth and development, all have

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 115

land the same ob'ject — man; Man as the highest
jraical, therefore ultimate, form on this earth ; the
lad, in its absolute totality and awakened condi-
I, as the cnlmination of the divine incarnations on
Hh." Spirit, per se, is an unconscious negative
Iraetion ; its purity is inherent, not acquired by
pt; hence, as already shown, to become " a
'' it is necessary for each Ego to attain to full
B-consciousness as a human being— i. e., Man.
Ta) " The curse ia pronounced " does not mean
^lua instance that any personal God or superior
ing pronounced it, but simply that a cause which
it create bad results had been generated, and that
, -B effects of such a Karmic cause could lead only to
Dad incarnations, and hence to the suffering, of those
'* Beings " that counteracted the laws of Nature,
Mid thus impeded her legitimate progress.

(fe) " This is the first war " refers to several
struggles of adjustment, spiritual, cosmical and as-
tronomical, but chiefly to the mystery of the evolu-
tion of man as he is now. Powers — pure Essences —
that ' ' were told to create, " is a sentence relating to
a mystery explained, as already said, elsewhere.
It is not only one of the most hidden secrets of
Nature — that of generation — but likewise a divine
ittnetion that involves that other religious or rather
theological mystery, the " Fall of the Angels," as it
^ called. Satan and his rebellious host will prove,
J^hen the meaning of the allegory is explained, to
have refused to create physical man, only to become
ttie direct Saviours and Creators of " Divine Man."
^e symbolical teaching is more than mystical and
feligious, it is purely scientific, as will be seen later
On. In the Esoteric doctrine one "war" takes
place before the building of the solar system; an-
other on earth at the '* creation " of man; and a
tMrd is said to have taken place at the close of the

116 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Fourth Race, between the Initiates of the ** Sacred
Island " and the Sorcerers of Atlantis.
(And see comment on the next verse.)

STANZA YI.— Continued

6. The older Wheels rotated downward and up-
ward (a). . . . The Mother's spawn filled fte
whole Cosmos (solar system). There were battla
fought between the Creators and the DestrcyerB,
and battles fought for space; the seed api)earmg
and reappearing continuously (6). {This is purdf
astronomical.)

(a) Here we return once more to Cosmogony.
The phrase * * older wheels ' * refers to the globes of
our chain (or the conditions of the Earth) as they
were during the previous Rounds. The previous
** globes '* disintegrate and reappear transformed
and ready for a new phase of life.

(6) ** The Seed appears and disappears continu-
ously.*' Here seed stands for ** the World-germs/'
viewed by science as material particles in a highly
attenuated condition, but in occult physics as * * Spir-
itual particles *' — i. e., supersensuous matter in a
state of primeval diif erentiation. In theogony every
Seed is an ethereal organism, from which evolves
later on a celestial being, a god.

As the Occult teaching expresses it : ' * The Cen-
tral Sun causes Fohat to collect primordial dust i^
the form of balls, to impel them to move in con-
verging lines, and finally to approach each other
and aggregate.** {Book of Dzyan.) . . . ** Be-
ing scattered in space, without order or system, the
world-germs come into frequent collision until their
final aggregation, after which they become wander-
ers. {Comets). Then the battles and struggles be-
gin. The older {bodies) attract the younger, while
others repel them. Many perish, devoured by their

^TOUge

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 117

iger companions. Those that escape become
worlds."

All the old legends of " the Wars in Heaven " of
the Puranas, the wars of the Titans, the similar
stories in Egyptian and Scandinavian mythologies,
etc., relate severally to astronomical, theogonical
and human struggles ; to the adjustment of worlds
and the supremacy between nations and tribes.

Bom in the unfathomable depths of Space, out
of the homogeneous Element called the World-Soul,
every nucleus of Cosmic matter suddenly laimched
into being, begins life under the most hostile circum-
stances. Through a series of countless ages it has
to conquer for itself a place in the infinitudes. Many
perish, their mass being perhaps drawn into the in-
aatiable stomach of various suns. (v. Stanza IV. 5.)

With all the worlds, the teaching holds that a nu-
cleus of primordial substances in the undifferen-
tiated ilaya) state is informed by the freed princi-
ples of a just deceased sidereal body, and becomes
first a Comet and then a Sun, to cool down gradually
to an inhabitable world.

The strange statement made in one of the (omit-
ted) Stanzas: " The songs of Fohat and bis Sons
Were radiant as the noontide sun and the moon com-
bined," and that the four Sons on the middle four-
fold Circle " sa-w their father's songs, and heard
^ soiar-selenic radiance," is explained in the
Commentary to mean: " The agitations of the elec-
tric {Fohatic) forces at the two cold ends of the
Earth (north and south poles), which result in a
iDTilti-colored radiance at night, have in them sev-
eral of the properties of Ether (Akasa), color and
Boond as well." ..." Sound is the character-
istic of Ether (Akasa) ; it generates air, the prop-
erty of which is Touch; which (by friction) be-
comes productive of Color and Light." {Vishnu
Pttrdtta.)

118 THE SECBET DOCTRINE

Perhaps this will be better understood if the
reader remember the Aurora Borealis and Abb-
tralis, both of which take place at the very centres
of terrestrial electric and magnetic forces. The
two poles are said to be the store-houses, the w-
ceptaeles and liberators at the same time, of cob-
mic and terrestrial Vitality (Electricity) ; from the
surplus of which the Earth would have been rent to
pieces long ago, had it not been for these two ne-
ural safety-valves. And we know that ** the crack-
ling,'* etc., of the Northern Lights has often been
heard.

STANZA TL.—Conti'med

7. Make thy calculations, 0 Pupil, if thou wonldst
learn the correct age of thy small Wheel (chm)'
Its fourth spoke (globe) is our Mother (Earth) (a).
Reach the fourth '' fruit '' of the fourth path of
Knowledge (6) that leads to Nirvana, and thou shalt
comprehend, for thou shalt see.

(a) The *' small wheel '' is our planetary chaiiif
and the * * fourth spoke ' ' is our Earth, the fourth
* * globe ' ' in the chain. It is one of those on whidi
the ** hot (positive) breath of the Sun '' has a di-
rect effect. The seven fundamental transformations
of the heavenly spheres, or rather of their constitn-
ent particles of matter, is described as follows:

(1) The homogeneous; (2) the aeriform and ra-
diant (the gaseous); (3) the curd-like (nebulous);
(4) the atomic, ethereal (beginning of motion, hewse
of differentiation) ; (5) the germinal, the fiery (dif-
ferentiated but composed of the germs only of the
Elements in their earliest states, they also having
seven states when completely developed on onr
Earth ; (6) the fourfold, vapory (the future Earth) ;
and (7) cold, and dependent (on the Sun for life
and light).

To calculate the age of the Earth, however, as the

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 119

pppil is asked to do, is impossible, since we are not
given the time of its birth.

(b) There are four grades of initiation mentioned
in exoteric works, the ** four paths to Nirvana " in
fliis our fourth Round. Three further higher grades
have to be conquered by the adept who would reach
the apex of the ladder. There are those who have
reached it even in this fifth Race of ours, but the
factdties necessary for the attainment of these
higher grades will be fully developed in the average
ascetic only at the end of this Root-Race, and in the
Sixth and Seventh Races. Thus there will also be
the Initiates and the profane, till the end of this
present life-cycle. The Adepts of the *^ fire-mist '*
of the seventh rung are but one remove from the
Boot-Base of their Hierarchy, the highest on earth,
and our terrestrial chain. This ^ * Root-Base ' ' has
a name which can only be translated by several com-
pounded words into English — *^ the ever-living-
human-Banyan. * * This wondrous Being is the Tree
from which in subsequent ages all the great histori-
cally known Sages and Hierophants, such as
Hermes, Enoch, Orpheus, etc., have branched off.
In the infancy of the Third Race, while yet in its
state of purity, the * * Sons of Wisdom ' ' who had in-
carnated therein, produced by will-power sl progeny
called '' the Sons of the Fire-Mist," the '' Sons of
Will and Yoga " (union), etc., a conscious produc-
tion, as a portion of the Race was already animated
with the divine spark of spiritual intelligence. It
Was not a Race, this progeny. It was at first the
Wondrous Being just referred to, called into exist-
ence, a child of pure Spirit, mentally unalloyed with
any tincture of earthly element. He was the living
Tree of Divine wisdom. He was the first of the
^iB&T, and he was the seed of all the others. There
Were other * * Sons of Will and Yoga ' ' produced by
a second spiritual effort, but the first one has re-

120 THE SECBET DOCTBINE

mained to this day the Seed of Divine Knowledge,
the One and the Supreme among the terrestrial
** Sons of Wisdom.'* It is he who holds spiritual
sway over the initiated Adepts throughout the whole
world {v. Commentary on Stanza VII . 6).

It is under the direct, silent guidance of this
Great Teacher that all the other less divine teach-
ers of mankind became, from the first awakening
of human consciousness, the guides of early hu-
manity, and it is they who laid the first foundation-
stones of those ancient civilizations that puzzle so
sorely our modem archaeologists.

STANZA VII

Commentary.

1. Behold the beginning of sentient, formless life.

First, the divine (vehicle) j the one from the
Mother-Spirit (Atman) ; then the Spiritual (AtfM-
Buddhi, the 8pirit-Soul; this relates to the Cosmic
principles). (Again) the three from the one, the
four from the one, and the five, from which the
three, the five and the seven — these are the three-
fold and the fourfold downward; the '* Mind-born
Sons *' of the first Lord {the Logos) the Shining
Seven {the Builders *). It is they who are Thon, I>
he, 0 Pupil; they who watch over thee and thy
mother the Earth.

(a) The hierarchy of Creative Powers is divided
into seven (or 4 and 3) within the twelve great
Orders, recorded in the twelve signs of the Zodiac;
the seven of the manifesting scale being connected,
moreover, with the seven planets. They are agaii^
subdivided into numberless groups of divine, spir-
itual, semi-spiritual and ethereal Beings.

♦The seven creative Powers, now connected with the consteltt^
tion of the Great Bear.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 121

The highest group is composed of the " divine

" so-called, also spoken of as '* the Fiery

and " the Lions of Life," whose esotericism

securely hidden in the Zodiacal sign of Leo (Life).

This group is the nucleole of the superior Divine

World. The Commentary sajs: " The nueleoles are

eternal and everlasting; the nuclei periodical and

finite. The nueleoles form part of the Absolute.

They are the embrasures of that black, impenetrable

fortress, which is forever concealed from human or

®ven angelic sight. The nuclei are the light of

eternity escaping therefrom."

It is that Light which condenses into the forms
of the Lords of Being, the first and highest of which
^*e, collectively, the Logos. From these downwards
reformed from the ever-consolidating waves of that
■■ight, which becomes, on the objective plane, gross
*Hatter, proceed the numerous hierarchies of the
Oreative Forces, some formless, others having their
•^"Wn distinctive form; others, again, the lowest {Ele-
J*ientals), having no form of their own, but assum-
*^*lg every form according to the surrounding con-
"iitions.

{&) According to all the ancient cosmogonies, at
tliis divine Flame, " the One," are lit the three
*i«scending groups. Having their potential being in
^ix.e higher group, they now become distinct and sepa-
J'^te Entities. These are called " the Virgins of
I-»3fe," etc., and collectively the " Six-pointed Star."
T'Xe latter is the symbol, in almost every religion, of
tile Logos (life) as the first emanation. The sis-
^«:)inted Star refers to the six Forces or Powers of
^^fflture, the six planes, principles, etc., all synthe-
^Xaed in the seventh, or the central point in the Star.
^^t» its TJnity primordial Light is the seventh or high-
^^t principle, the light of the unmanifested Logos,
•^Xjt in its differentiation it becomes Fohat, or the
Seven Sons."

122 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

*' The first after * the One ' is divine Fire," sajB
the Commentary; *' the second, Fire and .^Hihet;'
the third, Fire, ^ther and Water ; the fourth, Fiw^j
jEther, Water and Air.'' {These Elements are not'
our compound elements, v. Stanza VI. 3.) " * Tto
One ' is not concerned with Man-bearing globes, bat
with the inner, invisible spheres. The * First-bora'
are the Life, the heart and pulse of the Universe;
the Second are its Mind or Consciousness.'' (TKb
** consciousness " has no relation to our eonscioiu-
ness.)

(c) The second Order of celestial Beings, thofie
of Fire and ^ther (corresponding to Spirit and
Soul), whose names are legion, are still formleBS,
but more definitely '* substantial." They are the
prototypes of the incarnating Monads, and are com-
posed of the fiery Spirit of Life. It is through these
that passes like a pure solar beam, the Ray which
is furnished by them with its future vehicle, the
divine Soul (Buddhi). These are directly connected
with the Hosts of the higher world of our system, j
From these twofold Units emanate the threefold. \

(d) The third Order corresponds to Spirit, Sod
and Intellect {Atma-Buddhi'Manas)j and is called
'' the Triads."

(e) The Fourth are substantial Entities. This is
the highest group among the Atomic Forms. It ifl
worthy of notice that while rejecting as superstition
the theory of substantial but invisible beings, called
Angels, Elementals, etc., modern chemistry should
have unconsciously been forced, through observa-
tion and discovery, to adopt the same ratio of pro-
gression and order in the evolution of chemical
atoms as Occultism does both for its angels and its
atoms — analogy being its first law. As seen above,
an element is added to each angelic group as they
descend, the third Order is ternary, the fourth qua-
ternary, etc. So the atoms, progressing downwards,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 123

re, to adopt the language of chemistry, monatomic,
iatomic, tetratomic, etc. Let it be remembered (as
ktated in paragraph **&*') that the Elements of
i'ire, Water, Air, etc., here mentioned, are not the
compound Elements they are on Earth, but nou-
menal, homogeneous Elements — the Spirits thereof.
Then follow the septenary groups. In Esoteric
philosophy, every physical particle corresponds to
and depends on its higher noumenon — ^the Being to
whose essence it belongs; and above as below, the
spiritual evolves from the Divine, the psycho-mental
from the spiritual— tainted from its lower plane by
the astral — the whole of animate and (seemingly)
inanimate Nature evolving on parallel lines, and
drawing its attributes from above as well as from
below.

The fourth Order is the nursery of the human,
conscious, spiritual Souls. They are called * ' the Im-
perishable Jivas '* (or units of life), and constitute
through the order below their own, the first group
of the first septenary host — the great mystery of
human, conscious, and intellectual being. For the
latter are the field wherein lies (concealed in its
privation) the germ that will fall into generation.
That germ will become the spiritual potency in the
physical cell that guides the development of the
embryo, and which is the cause of the hereditary
transmission of faculties and all the inherent quali-
ties in man. Evolution, in Occultism, proceeds on
quite other lines than the Darwinian ; the physical,
according to esoteric teaching, evolving gradually
from the spiritual, mental and psychic. This inner
soul of the physical cell — this ^* spiritual plasm "
that dominates the germinal plasm — is the key that
niust open some day the gates of the terra incognita
of the biologist, now called the dark mystery of em-
f^ryology (v. next section).

(/) The fifth Group is a very mysterious one, as

124 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

it is connected with the five-pointed star represent
ing man. This order of celestial Beings is supposet
to contain in itself the dual attributes of both the
spiritual and physical aspects of the Universe; the
two poles, so to speak, of the Universal Intelligence,
and of the dual nature of man, the spiritual and the
physical. (This subject will be treated of more
fufly later on.)

(g) The sixth and seventh Groups partake of the
lower qualities of the Quaternary. They are con-
scions, ethereal Entities, as invisible as ether, which
spring like the boughs of a tree from the first cen-
tral group of the four, and shoot out in their turn
numberless side groups, the lower of which are the
Nature-Spirits or Elementals of countless kinds and
varieties; from the formless and unsubstantial—
the ideal thoughts of their creators — down to the
Atomic (though to us) invisible organisms. The
latter are considered as the '* Spirits of Atoms,"
for they are the first remove (backwards) from the
physical Atom — sentient, if not intelligent creatures*
They are all subject to Karma, and have to work
it out through every cycle. For there are no such
privileged beings in the universe as the angels of
the western religion. Gods, created as such, would
evince no personal merit in being gods. Such a
class of beings, perfect only by virtue of the special
immaculate nature inherent in them, in the face of
suffering and struggling humanity and even of the
lower creation, would be the symbol of an eternal
injustice, an ever-present crime. It would be an
anomaly and an impossibility in Nature. Therefore
** the Four '' and '* the Three ** have to incarnate
like all other beings. This sixth Group, moreover,
remains almost inseparable from man, who draws
from it his mental and psychic principles, all, in
fact, but his spirit and his body. Theae are the
Guardian Angels of the Christians, the *•* Ances-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 125

tors ' ' of the Oeeultist, they are the sixfold Intelli-
gent Powers — in fact, men, minus the physical body.
It is the Divine Ray alone that proceeds directly
from " the One." When asked how is it that these
" gods " or angels can be at the same time their
own emanations and their personal selves, it is in
the same sense as in the material world, where the
son ia (in one way) his father, being his blood, the
bone of his bone, and the flesh of his flesh — the
teachers answer, "Verily, it is so." But one has
to go deep into the mystery of Being before one can
fully comprehend this truth.

STANZA Yll.~Continued

2. The one Ray multiplies the smaller Rays. Life
jjrecedes Form, and Life survives the last atom (of
-t'"'orm, external body). Through the countless rays,
t;lne Life-ray, the One proceeds, like a thread through

tnany beads.

This verse expresses the conception of a life-
tlxread running through successive generations,
^^ow can this be explained? Complete the physical
plasm (mentioned in (e) of tJie last verse), the ger-
^Hinal eel! of man with all its material potentialities,
■^ith the " spiritual plasm," so to speak, or the fluid
that contains the five lower principles of the sis-
fold " Angel," and you have the secret, if yon are
spiritual enough to understand it.

" Wlien the seed of the animal man is cast into
the soil of the animal woman, that seed cannot ger-
I3ainate unless it has been fructified by the five vir-
tues (or the emanation from tbe principles) of the
sixfold Heavenly Man, Wlierefore the Microcosm
is represented as a Pentagon within the Hexagon
star, the Macrocosm." {Anthropos, Book I. An
Occult work on Embryology.) Then: " The funs-

126 THE SECBET DOCTRINE ^

tions of the Universal Life on this Earth are of ^
fivefold character. In the mineral atom it is coU'
neeted with the lowest principle of the Spirits of tb*
Earth {the sixfold Spirits); in the vegetable paJ-
ticle with their second — prana (or individual lifeji
— in the animal with both these, plus the third ari«]
fourth (the astral body and the emotional nature) J
in man, the germ must receive the fruition of aU fbe
five." (_The fifth being Mind, or the Intellectual
Soul.) " Otherwise he will be born no higher than
an animal," namely, a congenital idiot. Thus iu
man alone is the Unit of Life complete. As to hie
seventh principle, Atma (or the Divine Ray), it is
bnt one ray of the Universal Sun. Each rational
creature receives but the temporary loan of that
which has to return to its source, while the physical
body is shaped by the lowest terrestrial lives,
through physical, chemical and physiological evolu-
tion. " The Blessed Ones have nought to do with
the purgations of matter." (Chaldea/n Book of
Numbers.)

It comes to this : Mankind in its first prototypal,
shadowy form is the offspring of the Elohun of
Life; in its physical aspect it is the direct progeny
of "the Ancestors," the lowest Spirits of the
Earth; for its moral, psychic and spiritual nature
it is indebted to a group of divine Beings, whose
name and characteristics will be given hereafter.
During its childhood, mankind was composed wholly
of that Angelic Host who were the indwelling Spirits
animating the monstrous tabernacles of clay of the
fourth Race — built by and composed of countless
myriads of lives, as indeed our bodies are now. The
" tabernacles " have improved in texture and sym-
metry of form, growing and developing with the
globe that bore them ; but the physical improvement
took place at the expense of the spiritual inner man
and nature. The three middle principles in earth

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 127

and man became with every race more material, the
Soul stepping back to make room for the physical
intellect; the essence of elements becoming the ma-
terial and composite elements now known. Man is,
beyond any doubt, formed physically out of the dust
of the earth, but his creators and fashioners were
many.

STANZA Vll.— Continued

3. When the One becomes two— the threefold ap-
pears (a). The three are (linked into) one; and it
is onr thread, O pupil, the heart of the man-plant
called Saptaparna {the seven-leafed) {b).

[a) " When the One becomes two, the threefold
appears; " that is, when the One Eternal drops its
reflection into the region of manifestation, that re-
flection, "the Ray," differentiates the Waters of
Space. Chaos becomes male-female, and Water, and
incubated through Light, the " threefold Being is-
anes as its First-born,"
1 This is the metaphysical explanation, and refers
L^fethe very beginning of Theogony. The meaning
^Hne Stanza when explained in its reference to the
^^Httery of man and his origin is still more dii^cult
^•iomprebend. In order to form a clear conception
of what is meant by " the One becoming two," etc.,
the student must make himself thoroughly familiar
^th the subject of ' ' Kounde. ' ' When evolution has
'fn downward into matter through the whole cycle
^ seven " globes " (or conditions of being) on our
Earth, that is one Round (see Diagram). In the
fiddle of the fourth revolution, which is onr present
Round, " Evolution has reached its acme of physi-
<^! development, crowned its work with the perfect
physical man, and from this point begins its work
Mrit-ward." {Esoteric Buddhism.)
IJow every Round, on the descending scale (.aad

THE SECBET DOCTBIKE

^«7" gloi>e,"doini tooarfonrth ^bere. thepMS- |
cnt Earth), is a grosser and more material copy of
tbe precedtng Bonad or spb^v. On the ascMu^S
MTCt evoIntioD spiritualizes and etherealizes, so to
cpeak, tbe (genera] natnre of each, bringing it to a
level with the twin-globe on the opposite side of
the Hame plane; so that when the seventh stage ts
fftarrhed (in whatever Ronnd) the natnre of every-
thiDK io process of evolution retcms to its first
(Hpiritual) condition, plus each time a higher degree
* eonHcioDBDess. Therefore, the " origin of man,"
ifllled, in this Ronnd or life-cycle, must occapy

le name place in the same order (save details based
on lo(tal conditions and time) as in the preeedii^
Hounil. And as the work of eacli Round is said to
bn apportioned to a different group of so-called
" (!rftntorB " and " Architects," so is that of every
" globe"; i. e., it is under the supervision and
guidance of Hpeeial " Builders " and " Watchers."

Tlio group of the hierarchy which is commissioned
to ovolvo man is a special group then ; yet it evolved
shndowy man in this cycle just as a higher and 80
more Hpiritual group evolved him in the third
liound. Hut as it is the sixth on the downward scale
of Hpirituiility, this group evolves no more than the
future man's shadowy form, a filmy, hardly visible,
triMiMpiircnt vopy of themselves. The seventh and
IhmI ^noiip )ii<^ the terrestrial Spirits (Elementals),
wliicli yrmluiilly form, build and condense his physi-
eal liudy. !t liccomes the task of the fifth Hierarchy
— the uiy.stcridus beings that preside over the con-
Hli'lliilinn Oiipricornus, Mnkara or " Crocodile '* in
luiliii iiM in l']gy))t — to inform the empty and ethe-
l"pnl nuimal form, and make of it the Rational Man.
This ia one of those subjects upon which very little
may be said to the general public.

It is a Mystery truly, but only to him who is pre-
imI to reject the existence of intellectual and eon-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 129

' Scions spiritual Beings in the Universe, attributing
full Consciousness to man alone, and in him con-
sidering it only as " a function of the brain," Many-
are there among the Spiritual Entities who have in-
carnated bodily in man, since the beginning of his
appearance in this cycle, and who, for all that, still
exist as independently as they did before in the
infinitudes of Space.

To put it more clearly: the invisible Entity may
be boo^ly present on earth without abandoning, how-
ever, its status and functions in the supersensuous
regnlons. Just as certain persons, whether by virtue
of a peculiar organization or through the power of
acquired mystic knowledge, can be seen in their
" double '* in one place while their body is miles
away in another; eo the same thing {on a higher
plane) may occur in the case of superior Beings.
The soul, whose bodily vehicle is the astral, ethero-
Bubstantial envelope, could die, and the man still live
on earth. Therefore, that which living men (Initi-
ates) can do, the spiritual Beings, who have no
physical body to hamper them, can do still better.

(6) The concluding sentence of this verse shows
how ancient is the doctrine that man's constitution
is sevenfold. The " man-plant called Sapiaparna "
of course refers to the seven principles of his nature.
For further details see the sections on Saptaparna,
the Septenary in the Vedas, etc.

STANZA Vll.—Contmued

4. It is the root that never dies, the three-tongued
flame of the four wicks (a). . . . The wicks are
the sparks, that draw from the three-tongued flame
(iheir upper triad) shot out by the Seven, their
flame ; the beams and sparks of one moon reflected
in the rtmning waves of all the rivers of the Earth.

(a) The " three-tongued flame that never dies "

130 THE SECEET DOCTBINB

is the immortal spiritual triad (in the septenary di-
vision of man), Spirit, Spiritual Soul and Mind, th€
fruition of the last assimilated by the first two after
every terrestrial life. (That is, the self-conscioTis
experiences of the Ego become part of his immortal
soul.) The ** four wicks " that go out and are ex-
tinguished are the four lower principles, the animal
soul (or passional nature), the life-principle, the
astral and the physical body.

(b) Just as milliards of bright sparks dance on
the waters of the ocean above which the one moon
is shining, so our evanescent personalities— the illii-
sive envelopes of the immortal Monad-Ego-— dano6
on the waves of illusion. They appear and remain
like the sparks produced by the moonbeams, only
while the Queen of Night radiates her lustre on tii
running waters of life — ^the period of a life-cyde;
and then they disappear; the moonbeams them-
selves, the symbols of our eternal Spiritual Egos,
alone surviving, reimmerged in, and, as they were
before, one with the Mother-Source.

STANZA YLL— Continued

5. The spark {the Monad) hangs from the flame
by the finest thread of Fohat (Life). It journeys
through the seven worlds of Illusion (a). It stops
in the first (Kingdom) ^ and is a metal and a stone;
it passes into the second, and, behold, a plant; the
plant whirls through seven forms and becomes a
sacred animal (the first shadow of the physical
Man) (b).

From the combined attributes of these, Man the
thinker is formed.

Who forms him? The seven lives, and the One
Life. Who completes him? The fivefold Spirits.
And who perfects the last body? Fish, Sin anc
Soma (the Moon).

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 131

(a) The phrase " through the seven worlds of
niusion " refers here to the seven " globes " of the
planetary chain, and the seven Rounds, or the 49
stages of active existence that are before the
" spark " or Monad, at the be^nning of every great
life-cycle. The " thread of Pohat " is the life-thread,
the " spiritual plasm " referred to in Stanza VIL,
2, upon which the lives are strung like beads.

This relates to the greatest problem of philos-
opty, the physical and substantial nature of life,
■wliieh is denied by modem science. The believers in
Karma and reincarnation alone dimly perceive that
the whole secret of Life is in the unbroken series of
its manifestations, whether in or apart from the
physical body.

What is that " spark " which " hangs from the
flame? " It is the Monad in conjunction with Mind,
or rather its aroma— that which remains from each
personality when worthy to persist, and hangs from
the spiritual Soul, the Flame, by the thread of life.
^ whatever way interpreted, and into whatever
Clumber of principles the human being is divided, it
ttxay be easily shown that this doctrine is supported
^ all the ancient religions, from the Vedic to the
Egyptian, from the Zoroastrian to the Jewish.

(h) The well-known Kabalistic maxim runs: " A
^tcne becomes a plant; a plant a beast; the beast
^ man; a man a spirit, and the spirit a god." The
spark" animates all the kingdoms in turn (as
^tle monadic Essence, not the individual Monad) be-
*-Ore it enters into and informs divine man, between
^liom and his predecessor, animal man, there is all
^tie difference in the world. Genesis begins its an-
thropology at the wrong end, and lands nowhere.
The introductory chapters of Genesis were never
tteant to represent even a remote allegory of the
creation of our eartb. They embrace a metaphysical
I ooneeption of some indefinite period in eternity,

132 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

when successive attempts were being made by the
law of evolution at the formation of worlds. On our
nascent globe things proceed differently. The Mo-
nad, or unit of Life, is first of all shot down by the
law of evolution into the lowest form of matter, the
mineral. After a sevenfold gyration in the stone
(or rather in that which will become metal and stone
in the Fourth Round), it creeps out of it — say as a
lichen. Passing thence through all the other grades
of vegetable matter, into what is termed aniinal
matter, it has now reached the point at which it has
become the germ, so to speak, of the animal that will
become physical man. All this, up to the third
Round, is formless as matter and senseless as mind.
For the Monad, or imit of life per se cannot even be
called spirit ; it is a ray, a breath, of the ABSOLxrra.*
or the Absoluteness rather, and the Absolute Ho-
mogeneity, having no relations with conditioned and
relative finiteness, is unconscious on our plana
Therefore, besides the material which will be needed
for its future human form, the Monad requires (a)
a spiritual model or prototype, for that material to
shape itself upon, and (6) an intelligent conscious-
ness to guide its evolution and progress, neither of
which is possessed by senseless, though living ma^
ter, nor by the homogeneous Monad. It is only when
from a potential androgyne man has become sepa-
rated into male and female that he will be endowed
with a conscious, rational, individual Soul, the Mind-
soul, to receive which he has to eat of the fruit of
Knowledge from the Tree of Good and Evil. HoW
is he to obtain this? The Occult doctrine teaches
that while the Monad is circling downward into mat-
ter, the lower Creative Spirits are evolving with it
on a higher and more spiritual plane, and descend-
ing also relatively into matter on their own plane
of consciousness, till having reached a certain point
they will meet the incarnating senseless Monad, and

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 133

Wending the two potencies, Spirit and Matter, the
union will produce the Perfect Man, the terrestrial
symbol of the " Heavenly Man " in Space. Though
one and the same thing in their origin, Spirit and
Matter, once on the plane of differentiation begin
their evolutionary progress in contrary directions
^^pirit falling gradually into Matter, and the lat-
aseending to its original condition, that of a
spiritual substance. Both are inseparable, yet
"ever separated. In polarity, on the physical plane,
two like poles will always repel each other, while the
negative and positive are mutually attracted. So do
Spirit and Matter stand to each other — the two
Pdes of the same substance, the root-principle of
the Universe.

The rudimentary man of the first two and a half
ftaees was only the first, gradually developing into
^He most perfect, of mammals, therefore, when the
iicur strikes, the " Celestial Ancestors " (Entities
^I'om preceding worlds) step in on our plane, as the
* Lunar Ancestors " had stepped in before them
^or the formation of physical or animal man, and
*^1carnate in the bodies prepared for them. Thus the
t"^o processe'', for the animal and the divine man,
differ greatly (v. VIL, 3).

" Who forms Man, and who forms his bodyt The
tjlFE and the Lives." Here man stands for the spir-
^ttial, heavenly man, the real and non-dying Ego in
'is, which is the direct emanation of the " One
tjife," or the Absolute Deity. As to our outward
PTiysical bodies, the esoteric doctrine teaches a
strange lesson. It has been stated before now that
Occultism does not believe anything in the Kosmos
to be " inorganic " (that is, without life, even if
^thout organs). The expression "inorganic sub-
stance " means simply that the latent life slumber-
ing in the molecules of so-called inert matter is in-
cognizable. All is Life, and every atom of even

134 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

mineral dust is a Life, though beyond our compre-
hension and perception, because it is outside the
laws known to those who reject Occultism. The
Commentary says : * * The worlds to the profane are
built up of the known Elements. To the conception
of an Adept, these Elements are themselves collec-
tively a divine Life ; distributively, on the plane of
manifestation, the numberless and countless croree
of lives. Fire alone is One, on the plane of the One
Reality ; on that of manifested, hence illusive being;
its particles are fiery lives, which live and have their
being at the expense of every other life that they
consume. Therefore they are named the Dbvotjr-
EES. . . . Every visible thing in this Universe
was built by such Lives, from conscious and divine
primordial man down to the unconscious agents that
construct matter. . . . From the One Lot
formless and uncreate proceeds the universe of
Lives. First was manifested from the Deep (Chaos)
cold, luminous fire (gaseous light?) which formed
the curds in Space. (Irresolvable nebulae.) These
fought, and a great heat was developed by the en-
countering and collision, which produced rotation.
Then came the first manifested material Fire, the
hot flames, the wanderers in heaven (comets) ; heat
generates moist vapor ; that forms solid water ( t) ;
then dry mist, then liquid mist, watery, that puts out
the luminous brightness of the pilgrims ( comets t)
and forms solid watery wheels (matter-globes).
The Earth appears with six sisters. (Our planetary
chain.) These produce by their continuous motion
the inferior fire, heat and an aqueous mist, which
yields the third World-Element, Water: and from
the breath of all (atmospheric) Air is born. These
four are the four Lives of the first four periods
(Rounds) of the life-cycle. The last three will fol-
low."
This means that each new Round develops one

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 135

of the Compound Elements, known to science. Thus
tKe first Round, we are taught, developed but one
Eilement, and a nature and humanity in what may-
be called " One dimensional Space," The second
Round brought forth and developed two Elements,
Fire and Air, and its humanity — if we can give that
name to beings living under conditions unknown to
us— was " a two-dimensioned species," to use again
a familiar phrase in a strictly fignrative sense. The
expression may be regarded, in one plane of thought,
as equivalent to the second characteristic of matter
oorresponding to the second perceptive faculty or
senae of man. The centres of consciousness (des-
tined to develop into humanity as we know it) of
the third Round arrived at a perception of the third
Element, Water. Those of the fourth Round have
added Earth as a state of matter to their stock, as
Well as the three other elements in their present con-
dition. None of the so-called Elements were in the
three preceding Rounds as they are now. The ele-
ments, simple or compound, could not have remained
the same, for Nature is never stationary during the
STeat Cycle, it is ever becoming, not simply being,
and mineral, vegetable and animal life, including
Dian, are always adapting their organisms to the
then reigning elements. It will only be in the nest
or fifth Round that the fifth Element, Ether, will be
3 familiar fact of Nature to all men, as Air is now,
And only during that Round will those higher
^nses, the growth and development of which Ether
subserves, be susceptible of a complete expansion.
■^ partial familiarity with the next characteristic of
"latter, permeability (which should develop concur-
rently with the sixth sense — let us call it normal
^^oirvoyance) , may be expected to develop at the
proper period in this Round. But with the new
element added to our resources in the next Round,
permeability will become so manifest a character-

136 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

istic of matter that its densest forms will seem to
man^s perceptions no more obstructive than a thidc
fog.*

To return to the life-cycle. The Earth, we are
told, is built up for the first Round by the ' ' Devour-
ers, ' * which disintegrate and differentiate the germs
of other lives in the elements. Thus Occultism dis-
poses of the so-called Azoic Age of Science, for it
shows that there never was a time when the Earth
was without life upon it. Wherever there is an
atom of matter, a particle or a molecule even in the
most gaseous condition, there is life in it, however
latent and unconscious. ** Whatsoever quits the
neutral state becomes active life; it is drawn into
the vortex of Motion (the alchemical solvent of
Life) ; Spirit and Matter are the two states of the
One, which is neither Spirit nor Matter, both being
the absolute life latent.*' {Book of Dzyan, Comm.
III., par. 18.) . . . Spirit is the first differen-
tiation of (and in) Space; and Matter the first dif-
ferentiation of Spirit. That which is neither Spirit
nor Matter — that is It — the Causeless Cause of
Spirit and Matter which are the Cause of Kosmos.
And That we call the One Life, or the Intra-Cos-
mic Breath."

Once more we will say — like must produce lihe.
Absolute Life cannot produce a lifeless atom,
whether simple or complex, and there is life even in
the neutral state {lay a) just as a man in a cataleptic
state, to all appearance dead, is still a living being.

When the *' Devourers '* (whom the scientists
may call atoms of the Fire-mist, if they will) have
differentiated ' * the fire-atoms " by a peculiar proc-
ess of segmentation, the latter become life-germs,
which aggregate according to the laws of cohesion
and affinity. Then the life-germs produce germs of

♦Since this was written, In 1888, the Roentgen ray photograpU^
have shown us that such effects are possible even now. — Editor.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 137

mother kind, which work on the structure of our
* globes/'

. Thus in the First Round, the globe having been
bnilt by the primitive Fire-lives, had no solidity nor
other qualities, save a cold brightness ; neither form
nor color ; it was only towards the end of the First
Eonnd that it developed one element, which, from
its simple essence, became in our Round the Fire
we know throughout the system. The Earth was
in her first form, the essence of which is an etheric
principle now very erroneously termed Astral Light.
Our physiccU light is the manifestation on our plane
and the r^ected radiance of the Divine Light ema-
nating from the collective body of those who are
caDed the Lights and the Flames. ** It is through
and from the radiations of the seven bodies of the
seven orders of Creative Powers that the seven
Elements are bom, whose motion and harmonious
nnion produce the manifested Universe of Matter. ' *
(Commentary.)

The Second Bound brings into manifestation the
second element — ^Aib, that element whose purity
would ensure continuous life to him who would use
it, and if separated alchemically , would yield the
Spirit of Life and its Elixir, (v. VI., 3, and '' The
Coming Force/* 6th par.). There have been two
occultists only in Europe who have discovered this,
and even partially applied it in practice, though its
composition has always been known among the high-
est Eastern Initiates. The ozone of the modern
chemists is poison compared with the real universal
solvent, which could never be thought of unless it
existed in Nature.

** From the Second Round " (says the Commen-
hry)j Earth, hitherto a foetus in the matrix of
Space, began its real existence ; it had developed in-
dividual sentient life, its second principle " (in the
septenary division). '' The second corresponds to

138 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

the sixth principle (the Spiritual Soul) ; the latter
is life continuous ; the former, life temporary.'*

The Third Round developed the third element,
Water; while the Fourth Round transformed the
gaseous fluids and plastic form of our ** globe " into
the hard, crusted, grossly material Eaeth. She will
reach her true ultimate form only towards the end
of the cycle after the Seventh Round. Eugenius
Philalethes was right when he assured his readers
that no one had yet seen the Earth — i. e., Mattbb in
its essential form. Our globe is so far in its fourth
state, the astral body of desires, of dark egotism,
the progeny of the lower Mind.

It is not molecularly constituted matter — ^least of
all the human body — ^that is the grossest of our prin-
ciples, but verily the middle (or fourth) principle,
the real animal centre (the animal Soul) ; for onr
body is but its shell, the irresponsible factor and
medium through which the beast in us acts all its
life. Every intellectual theosophist will understand
my real meaning.

(c) With every day, the physical identity of the
bodies of animal and man, of plant and man, and
even of the reptile and its nest the rocks, and man
— is more and more clearly shown. The physical and
chemical constituents of all, being found to be iden-
tical, chemical science may well say that there is no
difference between the matter which composes the
body of the ox and that which forms the body of
man. But the Occult doctrine is far more explicit.
It says : Not only the chemical compounds are the
same, but the same infinitesimal invisible lives cofli'
pose the atoms of the bodies of the mountain and the
daisy, of man and the ant, of the elephant, and oi
the tree that shelters him from the sun. Each par-
ticle— ^whether you call it organic or inorganic — is ^
life. Every atom in the Universe is both life-giving
and death-giving to the form of which it is a part

m —

^B THE SECEET DOCTRINE

139

""^S ^\

3 *3\

^ -IS

0 Gq

3 -Si

'.Si

9 •.

"=^

O o

T3 Q

60 «

"«

■^11/

\\\\

-H ^ O

I \ \\\

- -w a

I \ \\ \

i -33

1 ■& 1 K

iWv

K 1

.- Sfi '. S 0

5 i^i^ 8^,

^K ^

V g ^y

> ^^

K '^

N^ ^

^^K

140 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

inasmuch as it builds by aggregation both universes
and the ephemeral vehicles ready to receive the
transmigrating soul, and as eternally destroys and
changes the forms it has built, and expels those
souls from their temporary abodes. It creates and
kills; it is self -generating and self -destroying; it
brings into being and annihilates every second that
mystery of mysteries — the living body, of man, ani-
mal or plant; and it generates equally life and
death, beauty and ugliness, good and bad ; and even
agreeable and disagreeable, beneficent and malefi-
cent sensations. It is this mysterious Life, repre-
sented collectively by countless myriads of lives,
that follows in it's own sporadic way, the hitherto in-
comprehensible law of Atavism; that copies family
resemblances as well as those it finds impressed
upon the aura of the generators of every future hn-
man being, a mystery that will receive fuller atten-
tion elsewhere. For the present one instance will be
cited in illustration. Modern science has found out
that ptomaine (the alkaloid poison generated by de-
caying matter) a life also — ^with the help of volatile
ether yields a perfume equal to that of the freshest
orange blossoms ; but freed from oxygen, such alka-
loids yield either a most sickening, disgusting smell,
or a very agreeable odor, which recalls that of the
most delicately scented flowers, and it is suspected
that such blossoms owe their perfume to the poison-
ous ptomaine. The venomous essence of certain
fungi is found to be nearly identical with the venon
of the cobra of India, the most deadly of serpents
The French savans Amaud, Gautier and Villierf
have found in the saliva of living men the sanj<
venomous alkaloid as in that of the cobra, and it i'
proved that poison of the deadliest kind is genet
ated by living men, animals and plants. It is th(
muscular tissues, as being the most active organ \\
the animal economy, that are suspected of beinj

THE SECEET DOCTEINE 141

the generators or factors of venoms having the same
importance as carbonic acid and urea in the func-
tions of life, which venoms are the ultimate prod-
ucts of inner combustion, although it is not yet fully
determined whether poisons can be generated by the
physical system of living beings without the partic-
qmtion of microbes.

We are taught that every physiological change
and pathologic phenomenon, all diseases, nay, life
itself, or rather the objective phenomenon of life, are
due to those imseen Cbeatobs and Destbotebs that
are called in such a loose and general way microbes.
It niight be supposed that the microbes of science
are identical with these ** fiery lives,'' but this is
not true. ** The fiery lives " are the seventh and
highest division of the plane of matter, and cor-
respond in the individual with the One Life of the
Universe, but only on that plane (the lowest in the
cosmos). The microbes of science are the first and
lowest subdivision on the second plane — that of ma-
terial life. The preservation and destruction of the
physical body of man are due to the alternate func-
tions of the * * fiery lives " as ' ^ builders ' ' and ' * de-
stroyers." They are builders by sacrificing them-
selves in the form of vitality to restrain the destruc-
tive influences of the microbes, and by supplying the
microbes with what is necessary they compel them,
imder that restraint, to build up the material body
and its cells. They are destroyers when that re-
straint is removed, and the microbes, unsupplied
with vital constructive energy, are left to run riot as
destructive agents. During the first half of a man 's
life (the first five periods of seven years each) the
** fiery lives " are indirectly engaged in the process
of building up man 's material body ; life is on the
ascending scale, and its force is used in construction
and increase. After this period the age of retro-
gression begins, and the work of the ^^ fiery lives "

142 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

having exhausted their strength, the work of ier
crease and destruction commences. The restraining
influence upon the microbes just mentioned is con-
firmed by the fact noted by Pasteur, that the cells of
the organs, when they do not find sufficient oxygen
for themselves, adapt themselves to that condition
and form ferments, which, by absorbing oxygen
from substances coming in contact with them, min
the latter. Thus the process is begun by one cell
robbing its neighbor of the source of its vitality
when the supply is insufficient for both, and the min
so commenced steadily progresses. The knowledge
of these primary causes, and of the ultimate essence
of every element, of its lives, their functions, proper-
ties and conditions of change, constitute the'basis of
Magic. Paracelsus was perhaps the only Occultist in
Europe during the later centuries of the Christian
era who was versed in this mystery. Had not a
criminal hand put an end to his life years before the
time allotted to him by Nature, physiological Magic
would have fewer secrets for the civilized world
than it has now.

{d) But what has the Moon to do with all thist
we may be asked. What have ** Fish, Sin and
Soma *' (the Moon) to do in company with the Life-
microbes f With the latter, nothing, except to avail
themselves of the tabernacle of clay they have pre-
pared; with divine, perfect man everything, since
** Fish, Sin and the Moon '* make conjointly the
three symbols of the immortal Being.

This is all that can be given. Nor does the writer
pretend to know more of this strange symbol than
may be inferred about it from exoteric religions;
from the mystery, perhaps, which underlies the
Matsya (fish) Avatar of Vishnu ; the Chaldean Can-
nes, the Man-fish, recorded in the imperishable sigp
of the Zodiac, Pisces, and to be traced through th^
Old and New Testaments in the persons of Joshua,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 143

the Son of Nun (the fish), and Jesus ; the allegorical
I' Sin," or fall of Spirit into Matter, and the Moon
in so far as it relates to the * * Lunar Ancestors. ' *

(There are undoubtedly ** blinds '* in this pas-
sage. ** Sin *' is given as the Chaldean name of the
Moon (male), and here as ** Sin '' in the English
sense; and ^^ Soma," also a masculine name of the
moon, is in one sense the mystic symbol of the Secret
Wisdom. This is also symbolized by *' Soma," the
mystie drink, which makes a new man of the Initi-
ate; it bestows the divine power of inspiration, and
forcibly connects the inner, highest *' spirit " of
man, with his astral body, so that, united by its
power, they partake together of Heaven during life.
(Condensed from Theos. Glossary.)

Pisces, the Fish of the Zodiac, is also called * * the
sign of all the Saviours, * * and is the symbol of ever-
lasting spiritual life. The fish-gods connected with
this sign are all spoken of as ** amphibious," that
is, able to function on two planes, the spiritual and
the physical. Can we not take, then, ** Fish " as
the symbol of the immortal Inner Man, ' * Sin, ' ' the
Chaldean name of the Moon, for the knowledge of
the Secret Wisdom, and '* Soma " for the mystic
drink above described? The reader is left to work
put the details and supply other theories, for this
is but a guess. — Ed.)

STANZA Yll.— Continued

6. From the first-born (primitive) Man, the
thread between the Silent Watcher and his shadow
becomes more strong and radiant with every change
(reincarnation) (a). The morning sunlight has
changed into noonday glory. . . .

(a) This sentence, *' the thread between the
Silent Watcher and his shadow (man), becomes
stronger with every reincarnation, ' ' is another psy-

144 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

atior

chologieal mystery to be explained elsewhere.
the present we may say that " Watcher " andi
" shadows " (as many as there are reincamatiof
for the Monad) are one. The Watcher, or the D
vine prototype, is at the top of the ladder of beinj
the shadow at the lower. He is the " Initiator,
called " the Great Sachipicb." For sitting at th
threshold of Light he looks into it from the eircl
of Darkness which he will not cross; nor will h
quit his post till the last day of this life-cycle. Wh
does the solitary Watcher remain by his self-chose
post ? Because the lonely pilgrims on their way bac
to their home are never sure, up to the last momeni
of not losing their way in this limitless desert o
illusion called earth-life. Because, in short, he ha
sacrificed himself for the aabe of mankind, thoug]
but a few elect ones may profit by the " Great Sacri
fice " {v. Com. on Stanza VI., 7).

Moreover, the Monad of every living being, unleai
given over to sin, is an individual Spirit, distinc-
from others, a kind of spiritual individuality of ifj
own during one life-cycle. This spirit is of eonrs*
one with the Universal Spirit, but its vehicle, th*
Spiritual Soul, is part and parcel of that angeli*
Essence; and it is in this that lies the mystery oi
that ubiquity discussed a short time back. " M;
Father that is in Hejiven and I are one," says th<
Christian Scripture, in this, at any rate, the faithfo
echo of the esoteric tenet. "J

STANZA YIl.~Concluded fl

7. " This is thy present Wheel," said the FlarC
to the Spark. " Thou art myself, ray image af
my shadow. I have clothed myself in thee, and the
art ray vehicle to the day ' Be With Us,' when tho
shalt re-beeome rayself and others, thyself and me.
(o). Then the Bmlders, having donned their firfi

THE SECRET DOCTRINE U5

elothing, descend on radiant Earth and reign over
men — who are themselves (b).

(a) The day when " the spark will re-become the
Flame " (man will merge into his Guardian Spirit),
"myself and others, thyself and me," means: " In
tie period of reabsorption into the Infinite, when not
only material and psychical bodies, but even the
Bpiritual Egos, will have been reduced to their orig-
inal principle, the past, present and future humani-
ties will be one and the same. Everything will have
re-entered the Great Breath."

la this annihilation, as some think, or Atheism?
Neither. To see annihilation in Nirvana, or Abso-
lute Perfeetness, amounts to saying that a man
plnnged in a sound, dreamless sleep is annihilated,
because that sleep leaves no impression on the phys-
ical memory a^d brain, and because the sleeper's
Higher Self is in its original state of absolute con-
seiousness during those hours of slumber. The
Bimile, however, answers only one side of the ques-
tion— the most material one, since reabsorption is by
no means such " a dreamless sleep," but, on the con-
trary, absolute existence, an unconditioned unity, a
state that human language is absolutely and hope-
lesaly inadequate to describe. Nor is the individu-
ality— nor even the essence of the personality if any
be left behind — lost, because reabsorbed. For how-
ever limitless, from a human standpoint, the Nir-
'anic state may be, it has yet a limit in Eternity.
This limit once reached, the monad will re-emerge
therefrom as a still higher being on a far higher
plane, to recommence its cycle of activity. The hu-
inan mind, in its present stage of development, can
Scarcely reach this plane of thought.

(6) The " "Watchers " reign over man during the
Whole period of the " Golder. \ ;re " and the smaller
Wbsequent ages, down to the ).n^<pi"ii°S of t^^e third

146 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Root-Race ; after which the Patriarchs, Heroes and
Manes rule, the incarnated guardian angels of a
lower order, up to King Menes, and the human
Kings of other nations {v. Comm. on Stanza Xll).
By symbologists this Mythopceic Age is of course re-
garded only as a fairy tale. But the Secret Doctrine
says that the Guardian Spirits of the two higher
groups, namely, the '* Watchers ^' or the ** Archi-
tects, ' ' furnished the many and various nations with
divine Kings and Leaders. The latter group tangtt
humanity their arts and sciences, and the great spir-
itual truths of the transcendental worlds to the in-
carnated Monads that had just shaken off their ve-
hicles of the lower kingdoms, in which they had lost
every recollection of their divine origin.

Thus, as expressed in the Stanza, the Watchers
descended on Earth and reigned over men — **who
are themselves. ' ^ They had finished their own cycle
on Earth and other worlds in the preceding Rounds.
In future life-cycles they will have risen to higher
systems than ours, and it is the elect of our human-
ity, the pioneers on the hard and difficult path of
progress, who will take their places. The next Great
Cycle of being will see the men of our own life-cycle
becoming the instructors and guides of a mankind
whose Monads may be still imprisoned — semi-con-
scious— ^in the most intelligent of the animal king-
dom, while their lower principles will perhaps be
animating the highest specimens of the vegetable
world.

Thus proceed the cycles of septenary evolution in
septennial Nature : (1) the spiritual or divine ; (2)
the psychic or semi-divine ; (3) the intellectual ; (4)
the passional; (5) the instinctual, or cognitional;
(6) the semi-corporeal ; (7) the purely material or
physical natures. All these evolve and progress
cyclically, passing from one into another, in a doubU

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 147

centrifugal and centripetal waj', one in their ulti-
mate essence, seven (or three) in their aspects. The
lowest, of course, is the one depending upon and sub-
servient to our five physical senses, which are, in
trnth, seven. Thus far, for individual human, sen-
tient, animal and vegetable life, each la the micro-
cosm of its higher macrocosm. The same for the
Universe, which manifests periodically, in order that
tlirough the Ever-Becoming, every cosmic atom
passing from the formless and the intangible,
through the mixed natures of the semi-terrestrial,
down to matter in full generation and then back
again, reaseending at each new period nearer to the
final goal — that each atom, we say, may reach
through individual merits and efforts that plane
where it rebeeomcs the one, unconditioned All.

Starting upon the long journey immaculate, de-
aeending deeper and deeper into sinful matter, and
having connected himself with every atom of it in
Manifested Space, the Pilgrim having struggled
through and suffered in every form of life and being,
18 only at the bottom of the valley of matter and
hflif through his cycle, when he has identified him-
self with collective Humanity. This he has made in
^s own image. In order to progress upwards and
homewards, the " God " baa now to ascend the
W'eary, uphill path of the Golgotha of Life. It is
tile martyrdom of self-conscious existence. Like
yiavakarman, he has to sacrifice himself to himself
^Q order to redeem all creatures, to resurrect from
tile many into the One Life. Then he ascends into
' Heaven indeed, whence he will redescend again at
' '^he next " coming," which one portion of humanity

Aspects in its dead-letter sense as the Second Advent J

^^Qd another as the last (or Kalki) Avatar. J

1148 THE SECRET DOCTRINE I

On the Planetary Chains, etc. I

The doctrine of the Planetary Chains, already re

■

The doctrine of the Planetary Chains, already r
ferred to in the Stanzas, was at first taken in al
together too material a sense, and was understooc
to mean a string of globes, of which our earth wai
the lowest and most material, instead of seven states
of matter and consciousness through which our earth
must pass, so that the " fourth Globe " corresponde
to the " Fourth Round," or Race, as a condition of
being. The teaching described our Earth as on the
fourth and lowest, because most material, plane o£
matter, and as the organs of perception are always
adjusted to the thing to be perceived, it naturally
follows that we can perceive only material things-
unless we are gifted with those higher senses which
are only to be the common possession of a futurE
Humanity. Therefore it is impossible for us to see
the higher " globes " of any " chain," and i
planets or stars that are visible to us must be fl
the same plane of matter. " Our globe, as teMffi
from the first," wrote the Teachers in answer to il
inquiry, "is at the bottom of the arc of descent
where the matter of our perceptions exhibits itael-
in its grossest form. Hence it only stands to reasoi
that the globes which overshadow our Earth muS
be on different and superior planes. In short, ^
globes, they are in coadunition, but not in consizi
stantiality with our Earth,, and thus pertain to quLj
another state of consciousness." (We may hav»!
bottle filled with sugar, into that we may pour watti'
and then force in a gas ; those three states of matte
solid, liquid and gaseous, would be in coadunitiiA
that is, they would be together in a common localit'
but they would not be the same in substance. ~
could not see the water or the gas in the bottle, 1
none the less they would have interpenetrated eved
particle of the sugar. — Ed.)

lU SBfci

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bed
,e.-am
toM

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 149

Oar Earthj es the visible representative of its in-
visible enpenor " globes " (or states of matter) has

The three
ItetaiTloweiPUaMoI Cosmlo (not humaii) Iiigber Planes
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150 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

to live, as have the others, through seven Rounds or
life-cycles. During the first three, it forms and con-
solidates; during the fourth, it settles and hardens;
during the last three, it gradually returns to its first
ethereal form ; it is spiritualized, so to speak. First,
the descent into matter, then the reascending to
spirit, the Earth and its inhabitants going through
corresponding processes of evolution. The
* * globes, ' ' then, we may take to be its conditions of
existence, the Rounds are its life-periods. The fore-
going diagram may make this plainer.

The three upper are the three higher planes of
consciousness, revealed and explained only to Initi-
ates; the lower ones represent the four lower
planes, the lowest being our plane or the visible Uni-
verse. These seven planes correspond to the seven
states of consciousness in man. It remains with him
to attune the three higher states in himself to the
three higher planes in Kosmos. The seven dots on
** Globe D,'' our Earth, may represent the seven
Races of the Fourth Round. The diagram will also
represent the triune division of Nature and Man;
Planes 1, 2, 3, standing for Spirit ; Planes 4, 5, 6
for Soul (which includes Mind), and Plane 7 for the
physical Body, whether of man or nature.

When *' a planetary chain ^' (that is, a planet
composed of these sevenfold conditions of matter
and consciousness) is in its last Round (or cycle of
life), before finally dying out it sends all its energy
and its ** seven principles '' into a neutral centre of
latent force, and thereby calls into activity a neW
nucleus of undifferentiated matter. Imagine the
Moon having thus poured forth the energy of her
higher principles into the Earth, finally transferring
to the Earth's material and lowest ** globe '' all hef
life-forces and powers, thus becoming virtually a
dead planet, in which rotation has almost ceased
since the birth of our Earth. The Moon is dead

^f THE SECRET DOCTRINE 151

however, oaly as far as regards her inner " princi-
ples " — i. e., psychically aad spiritually, however
absurd the statement may seem. Physically, she is
like a semi-parolyzed body. She is aptly referred
to in Occnltism as the " insane mother," the great
sidereal lunatic.

For she is a dead, yet a living body. The particles
of her decaying corpse are full of active and destruc-
tive life, although the body which they had formed
is soulless and lifeless. The Moon is now the cold
residual quantity, the shadow dragged after the new
body into which her life has been transfused.

Before the subject of the traniifereDce of the Mon-
ads from the dying planet to the new-born home of
tiTimanity can be understood, we must realize that
there are many different cycles of cosmic life and
of Rest, or Night. There is the individual Night of
Bach " globe " (or condition of being), as humanity
and life pass on to the nest, seven minor " rests "
in each Round; the planetary rest, when the seven
Etounds are completed; the Solar rest, when the
vlole system is at an end ; and, finally, the Universal
!^ight, at the close of ' ' the Age of Brahma. ' ' These
ire the chief periods of destruction, and there are
nany minor ones. And we must remember also that
he Monads circling round any planetary chain (or
iny planet in its different conditions of evolution)
H"e divided into seven classes, according to their
espective stages of development, consciousness and
Qerit. The time-spaces between their appearances
'H any one " Globe " are so adjusted that when the
ast class, 7, appears on Globe A, Class I. has just
•assed on to Globe B, and so on.

Thus, when Globe A of the Earth was ready, the
**st class of Monads from the Moon incarnated upon
t in the lowest kingdom, and when B was ready
hey passed into that " globe " or condition of mat-
ftT, and Class 2d came from the " b " globe of

152

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Moon into the lowest kingdom of Globe A on the
Earth. The result of this process is, that it is only
the first class of Monads which attains the hninaiL
state of development during the First Round, since
the following classes have not time to reach that
stage. Thus the Monads of Class II. reach the in-

DlAGBAM rV

Future Earth Chain.

Dying Lunar Chain.

The Earth.

The Moon.

cipient human stage only in the Second Round, and
so on to the Fourth. But at this point, when ** the
human stage " is no longer incipient, but fully de-
veloped, the ** Door " into the human kingdom
closes. For the Monads which have not reached the

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 153

Imman stage by this time will, owing to the further
progress of humanity, find themselves so far behind
tliat they will reach the human stage only at the
elose of the seventh and last Round. The only ex-
ception to this rule are the " dumb races," whose
Monads are already within the human stage, as they
w-ere half-descended from the men of the Third
Saee.

Thns the perfect analogy between man and na-
ture becomes apparent. Both come into being, pass
through their eyeles of development and die, their
higher principles to return to the Spirit, whence
they came, the lower to disintegrate and be used by
Nature again, to form the bodies of new men and
ne"w worlds.

Before going further, it would be well to explain
once more that the Monad, strictly speaking, cannot
be said to either progress or develop, or even be af-
fected by the conditions through which it passes. It
^not of this world or plane, but is that Ray of the
Uivine Spirit around which the personality of man
elings, and thus obtains its immortality. So also is
the term "Man" a very misleading one, as the
fii'st human types did not resemble the men of to-
^ay either in form or nature, but in the First Roimd,
r^*" instance, were only dimensionless images from
•■be astral regions. But the word man is used as an
^*3uivalent for " thinking entities."
. '' The Monadic Host " may be roughly divided
'^'ito three classes:

X. The most developed Monads, " the Lunar An-
^^stors," whose function it is to pass in the First
"**otind through the whole triple cycle of the mineral,
^^getable and animal kingdoms, in their most
ethereal, filmy and rudimentary forms, in order to
^lothe themselves in, and assimilate, the nature of
^^e newly formed world. It is they who lead and
^^resent the human element during the Second and

154 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Third Rounds, and finaUy evolve their shadows
the beginning of the Fourth Round for those w]
follow them.

2. Those Monads that are the first to reach ti
human stage during the three and a half Roun^
and to become " men."

3. The laggards; the Monads that are retardi
and that, by reason of Karmie impediments, will i
reach the human stage at all during this Houn
with the exception of the " dumb races," befi
mentioned.

Now the evolution of the external form or be
round the astral is produced by the terrestri
forces, just as in the case of the lower kingdoi
but the evolution of the internal, or real Man,
purely spiritual. It is now no more a passage of the
impersonal Monad through many and various forms
of matter, as in the case of external evolutions, but
a journey of the pilgrim soul through various states
— not only of matter, but of self -consciousness and
self-perception, {v. Book II., sv., Gods, Monads,
and Atoms.)

The MoNAn emerges from its state of spiritual and
intellectual unconsciousness, and skipping the first
three planes — too near the Absolute to permit of
correlation with anything on a lower plane — it ^
ters directly the plane of Mentality {the Intellect]
or Formative Plane. See Diagram III.), and th<
is no plane in the universe with a wider field of ac'
tion than this. But all the time it is one and the
same Monad, throughout its ever succeeding cycles
of partial or total obscuration of spirit, and
or total obscuration of matter — as it descends ii
the depths of materiality, or reascends into
realms of spirituality.

In an article called " The Mineral Atom " (Pi
Tears of Theosophy, p. 273, et seq.), we read:

" There are seven kingdoms (of nature).

it of
t a^

'turn

thd|

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 155

first group comprises three degrees of elementals
or nascent centres of forces — from the first stage of
differentiation of primordial homogeneous matter
to its third degree — i. e., from full unconsciousness
to semi-perception; the second or higher group em-
braces the kingdoms from vegetable to man ; the
mineral kingdom thus forming the central or turn-
ing-point in the degrees of the ' Monadic Essence '
considered as an evoluting energy. Three stages
(sub-physical) on the elemental side; then the min-
eral kingdom ; three stages on the objective physical
side — these are the (first or preliminary) seven links
of the evolutionary chain." " Physical " here means
differentiated for cosmical purposes and work, but
quite subjective to us on our plane.

The same article says elsewhere: " Physically
or constitutionally the mineral monad differs, of
course, from the human monad, which is neither
physical nor can its constitution be rendered by
chemical symbols." . . . Instead of saying " a
ttiineral monad, ' ' the more correct phraseology
^ould be to call it " the Monad manifesting in that
forto of matter called the mineral kingdom." The
stom is not a particle of something, animated by a
Psychic something, destined after jeons to blossom
^8 a man. But it is a concrete manifestation of the
Universal Energy, which itself has not yet become
individualized. . . . The tendency towards sep-
^''ation into individual Monads is gradual, and in
tlio higher animals comes almost to the point. The
Monadic Essence " begins to differentiate imper-
*^^Ptibly towards individual consciousness in the veg-
^*^ab]e kingdom. As the Monads are uneompounded
paings, as correctly defined by Leibnitz, it is the spir-
'tugi essence which vivifies them that properly con-
stitutes the Monad, not the atomic aggregation,
^liich is only the vehicle through which thrill the
^2?^^^ degrees of intelligence.

156 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Thus it may be wrong, on strictly metaphysical
lines, to call the Spirit-Soul a Monad, since in the
materialistic view it is dual, and therefore com-
pound. But as Matter is Spirit, and vice versa,
and since the Universe and the Deity which infonns
it are unthinkable apart, so in the case of the Spirit-
Soul, the latter being the vehicle of the former.

To go back to the Moon and our Lunar Ancestors,
who have given us our physical body. It is the
Earth who is really the satellite of the Moon, in
every other respect but that physical attraction
which causes the Moon to revolve around the Earth,
as a mother might walk round the cradle of her chili
The Moon^s influence upon the Earth is evidenced
by the tides, by the cyclic changes in many forms of
disease which coincide with the lunar phases ; it can
be traced in the growth of plants, and is very marked
in the phenomena of human conception and gesta-
tion. The Lunar Monads, the ancestors of man, are
those who enter on the cycle of the Earth ^s evolu-
tion on ' * Globe A ' ' in the First Round, and evolve
the human form, as before said. At the beginning
of the human stage of the Fourth Round they " ooze
out '^ their astral doubles from the ** ape-like"
forms they had evolved in Round III. And it is this
subtle, finer form, the astral body, which serves as
the model round which Nature builds physical man.
For these Lunar Spirits have to become men in or-
der that their Monads may reach a higher plane of
activity and self -consciousness, that of the Solar An-
cestors, who endow the senseless shells (created and
informed by the Lunar Spirits) with Mind, in the
latter part of the 3d Root-Race.

In the same way the Monads or Egos of the men
of the Seventh Round of our Earth (after it has
parted with its life-energies to animate another
planet destined to live on a higher plane than ours)

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 157

will, as the " Terrene Ancestors," create those who
will become their superiors.

It is plain, then, that there exists in Nature a
triple evolutionary scheme, or rather three separate
Bchemes of evolution, which in our sj'stem are inex-
tricably interwoven and interblended at every point.
These are the Monadic, or spiritual, the Intellectual,
and the Physical evolutions. The.se three are the
finite aspects, or the reflections, on the field of cos-
mic illusion of the Ohe Reality.

1. The Monadic is, as the name implies, concerned
with the growth and development of the Monad into
still higher phases of activity. This of course refers
to the individual Monads or Egos, in conjunction
with:

2. The Intellectual, represented by the Solar Spir-
its (or ancestors), the " givers of intelligence and
Consciousness to man," and:

3. The Physical, represented by the astral shad-
ows of the Lunar Spirits, round which Nature has
built the present physical body. This body serves
®s the vehicle for the development and transforma-
tion, through the mind and its experiences, of the
finite into the Infinite, of the transient into the
-Eternal and Absolute.

. Each of these three systems has its own laws, and
*8 ruled and guided by different sets of the higher
Intelligences or " Logoi." Each is represented in
the constitution of Man, the microcosm of the great
■''^acroeosm ; and it is the union of these three
streams in him that makes him the complex being
*i® now is.

* * Nature, ' ' the physical evolutionary Power,
^'^^uld never evolve intelligence unaided, she can only
5^eate " senseless forms," as will be shown later on,
^h.e " Lunar Monads " cannot progress, for they
*^© not yet sufficiently in touch with the forms

158 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

created by *^ Nature '' to allow of their accmnulat-
ing experiences through her means. It is the hi^er
Intelligences just mentioned who fill up the gap,
and they represent the evolutionary power of Mind,
the link between Spirit and Matter in this Eouni
To recapitulate :

The most developed (lunar) Monads reach the
human-germ stage in the First Round ; become ter-
restrial, though very ethereal, human beings to-
wards the end of the Third Round, remaining on the
corresponding ** globe *' during the ** obscuration"
period as the seed for future humanity in the Fourth
Round. Others reach the human stage only during
later Rounds, and, finally, the most retarded, that
is, those still occupying animal forms after the mid-
dle point of the Fourth Round, will not become men
at all during this cycle of existence. They will reach
to the verge of humanity only at the close of the
Seventh Round, to be, in their turn, ushered into a
new world after the period of Night, by older pio-
neers, the men who will be at the head of all at the
end of our seven Rounds.

From the preceding diagrams it will be seen that
the fourth member of a series occupies a unique
position. Unlike the others, the fourth has no cor-
responding ** globe '' on the same plane as itself,
and thus forms the balance or turning-point. It is
the sphere of final evolutionary adjustments, the
world of Karmic scales, where the balance is struck
which determines the future course of the Monad
during the remainder of its incarnations in the cycle.
This is the reason that after this great turning-
point, the middle of the fourth Race of the fourth
Round on our Globe, has been passed, no more Mon-
ads can enter the human kingdom. The door is
closed for this cycle, and the balance struck.

Meanwhile man — or rather his Monad — has ex-
isted on the earth from the very beginning of this

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 159

Eomid. But up to our own Fifth Race, the external
shapes which eovertsd those divine astral doubles
changed and consolidated with every sub-race; the
form and physical structure of the fauna and flora
of the earth changing at the same time, us they had
to be adapted to the ever-changing conditions of life
on this globe during the geological periods of its
formative cycle. And thus they will go on changing
with every Root-Race, and every chief sub-race down
to the last one of the Seventh in this Round.

Every Round repeats on a higher scale the evolu-
tionary work of the preceding Round. With the ex-
ception of some of the higher anthropoids before
mentioned, the Monadic inflow or inner evolution
is at an end till the next cycle of existence. It can- .
not be too often repeated that the full-blown human
Monads have to be first disposed of before the new
crop of candidates appears on this Globe at the be-
ginning of the next cycle. Thus there is a lull; and
tliisis the reason that during the Fourth Roimd man
appears on Earth before the mammals. With the
Weeption above mentioned, no units of either of the
Kingdoms are animated any longer by Monads des-
tined to become human in their next stage, but only
oy the lower Elementnls of their respective realms.
These " Elementals " will become human Monads
m their turn, only at the next great planetary cycle.

Summing Up

. " The History of Creation and of this world from
Its beginning up to the present time is composed
^^ seven chapters. The seventh chapter is not yet
^I'itten." (T. Subba Row, Theosophist, 1881.)

The first of these seven chapters has been at-
••^Dipted, and is now finished. However incomplete
^ an exposition, it is, at any rate, an approximation

^SMlex]

160 .THE SECEET DOCTEINE

to that which is the oldest basis of all the subse-
quent cosmogonies. As a whole, neither the foregO'
ing nor what follows can be found in full elsewhere.
The books of the Vedanta (the last word of human
knowledge) give out but the metaphysical aspect of
this cosmogony, and their priceless treasury, the
UpanishadSy require now the additional possession
of a master-key to enable the student to get at their
full meaning. The reason for this I venture to state
here as I learned it from a Master.

Upa-nishad is a compound word, meaning " the
conquest of ignorance by the revelation of secrdj
spiritual Knowledge. ^^ It is usually translated
* ' esoteric doctrine. ' ' These treatises form part of
the Sruti or ' * revealed knowledge, ^ ^ and are gener-
ally attached to the Brahmana portion of the Vedas
as their third division. ' ' The Vedas have a distinct
dual meaning, ^^ says Subba Row — ** one expressed
by the literal sense of the words, the other indicated
by the metre and the swara — ^intonation — ^which are
the life of the Vedas. ' ^ The Upanishads are to the
Vedas what the Kabala is to the Bible. They treat
of and expound the secret and mystic meaning of
the Vedic texts. In a few words : They contain the
beginning and the end of all human knowledge, hat
they have ceased to reveal it since the day of Bvd-
dha. After Gautama the prince of Kapilavastu had
learned the whole of the Brahmanical wisdom in the
Upanishads, and had found that the teachings dif-
fered little, if at all, from those of the *' Teachers
of Life ^ ' * inhabiting the snowy ranges of the Him-
alaya, this Disciple of the Brahmins, feeling indig-

♦Also called "the Sons of Wisdom," and of the "Fire-Mist"
Thibet is mentioned in the MSS. of the sacred library of the prov-
ince of Fo-Kein as the great seat of Occult learning from tim^
immemorial, ages before Buddha. The Emperor Yu, "the great"
2,207 B.C., a pious mystic and great adept, is said to have gained
his knowledge from these "great teachers of the Snowy Range" ^
Thibet— (H. P. B.)

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 161

nant that they withheld the sacred wisdom from all
but themselves, determined to save the whole world
by popularizing it. Then the Brahmins, seeing that
their occult knowledge was falling into the hands
of outcasts, simply abridged the Upanishads without
altering one word of the text, by detaching from the
MSS. the most important portions containing the
last word of the mystery of Being. The key to the
Brahmanical Secret Code remained henceforth with
the Initiates alone, and the Brahmins were thus able
to deny publicly the correctness of Buddha 's teach-
'■*& by appealing to their Upanishads, silenced for-
ever on the chief questions. Such is the esoteric
tradition beyond the Himalayas.

Therefore the writer of the present statement must
be prepared beforehand to meet with great opposi-
tion, and even the denial of such statements as are
brought forward in this work. Not that any claim
to infallibility or perfect correctness of detail has
ever been put forward. Let us recapitulate, and
show by the vastness of the subjects expounded how
di-fflcult, if not impossible, it is to do them justice.

1. The Secret Doctrine is the accumulated wiadom
of the ages, and its cosmogony alone is the most
stupendous and elaborate system, even in the exo-
tei-icisni of the Purdnas. But snch is the mysterious
po'wer of Occult symbolism that the facts which have
ocoiipied coimtless generations of initiated Seers to
TJi^JTshal and explain are all recorded in a few pages
o" geometrical signs and glyphs. It is useless to
s^'y that the system in question is no fancy of one or
^' several isolated individuals. It is the uninter-
™t>ted record covering thousands of generations of
"^ers, whose respective experiences were made to
wBt and verify the traditions (passed orally from
■^^e early race to another) of the teachings of es-
^ted Beings who watched over the childhood of Hvl-

162 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

manity. For long ages the ' ' Wise Men ' ^ of the fif Ih
Kace, of the stock saved from the last cataclysm
and shifting of continents, passed their lives in
learning, not teaching ; checking, testing and verify-
ing in every department of Nature the old traditions
by the independent visions of great adepts ; that is,
men who have developed and perfected their physi-
cal, mental, psychic and spiritual organizations to
the utmost possible degree. No vision of any one
adept was accepted till it was checked and confinned
by the independent visions of other adepts, and by
centuries of experience.

2. The fundamental Law is that system upon
which is hung the philosophy of all the rest, is the
One homogeneous, divine Substance-Principle, the
one radical Cause. It is called '* Substance-Princi-
ple '^ because it becomes '^ substance ^^ on the plane
of the manifested Universe, an illusion, while it re-
mains a ' ' principle ' ^ in the beginningless and end-
less abstract, visible and invisible Space. It is the
omnipresent Reality; impersonal, because it con-
tains all and everything. Its impersonality is a
fundamental conception of the system. It is latent
in every atom in the Universe, and is the Universe
itself {v. Book II., § ///., Primordial Substance and
Divine Thought).

3. The Universe is the periodical manifestation of
this unknown Absolute Essence. It is best described
as neither Spirit nor Matter, but both.

4. The Universe is called (with everything in it)
Illusion, because all is temporary therein, from the
ephemeral life of a firefly to that of a sun. Yet the
Universe is real enough to the conscious beings in it,
which are as unreal as it is itself.

5. Everything in the Universe, throughout all ife
kingdoms, is conscious; that is, endowed with J
consciousness of its own kind, and on its own plan*
of perception. Because we cannot recognize an;

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 163

BigDs of consciousness in stones, let us say, we have
no right to assert that no con^ciotisness exists there.
There is no such thing as " dead " or " blind "
matter, any more than " blind " or " unconscious "
Law. These find no place among the conceptions of
Occult philosophy.

6. The Universe is worked and guided from within
outwards. As above, so it is below, as in heaven so
on earth; and man^the microcosm and miniature
eopy of the macrocosm — is the living witness to this
Universal Law, and to the mode of its action. We
see that every external motion, act, gesture, whether
voluntary or mechanical, organic or mental, is pro-
duced and preceded by internal feeling or emotion,
will or volition, and thought or mind. As no out-
ward motion or change, when normal, in man 's ex-
ternal body, can take place unless provoked by an
mward impulse, given through one of the three func-
tions named, emotion, volition or thought, so with
the external or manifested Universe. The whole
Kosmos is guided, controlled and animated by an
^Imost endless series of Hierarchies of sentient Be-
'Dgs, each having a mission to perform, and who —
"Whether we call them Spirits or Angels — are " mes-
sengers ' ' in the sense only that they are the agents
of Karmic and Cosmic Laws. They vary infinitely
"n their respective degrees of consciousness and in-
telligence, for each of these Beings either was or is
to be a man, if not in the present then in a past or a
lUture life-cycle. They are either incipient or per-
fected men, and differ morally only in being devoid
of the feeling of personality, and of the human emo-
tional nature, from terrestrial human beings. The
' perfected men " have become free from those
feelings, because they have no longer physical
bodies, and the pure, spiritual element being there-
fore more free, they are less influenced by illusion
^an man can ever be, unless he is an adept who

'™

164 THE SECRET DOCTRI

keeps his two personalities — the spiritual an
physical — entirely separate. They are finite
respects, with the exception of their higher j
pies — the immortal sparks reflecting the iini'
divine flame. Having no elements of personal
their essence, tbey can have no personal qnj
such as are attributed by men to their anthropi
phie God. " Man can neither propitiate nor
mand tbe Deities," it is said. But by para]
his lower personality, and arriving thereby t
full knowledge of the non-separateness of his H
Self from the One Absolute Self, man can;
during his terrestrial life, become as " One of

7. The chief difficulty which prevents men c
ence from believing in divine as well as nature
its is their materialism. The main impedimf
the way of the spiritualist's belief in anythia
the " spirits of the departed " is the general'
ranee of the true nature and essence of m
It is on tbe acceptance of the theory of the Un
all in Nature in its ultimate Essence that n
rests the belief in the existence of other com
beings around us besides the spirits of the
It is on the right comprehension of tbe prii
Evolution of Spirit-Matter and its real essenci
the student has to depend for the only sure
which can guide his subsequent studies.

8. There is but one indivisible and absolute
niscience and Intelligence in the Universe, an(
thrills throughout every atom of the whole
Kosmos which people call Space, considered
pendently of anything contained in it. But th(
differentiation of its reflection in the manii
World is purely spiritual, and tbe beings gene
in it are not endowed with a consciousness tha
any relation to the one we conceive of. The;
have no human consciousness till they have act
it, personally and individually.

ley have acq

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 165

9. The whole order of Nature evinces a progres-
Bive march towards a higher life. The whole process
of evolution, with its endless adaptations, is a proof
of the design in the action of the seemingly blindest
forces. The very fact that adaptations do occur,
that the fittest do survive in the struggle for exist-
mae, shows that what is called " unconscious Na-
ture " " is in reality an aggregate of forces manipu-
lated by semi-intelligent Beings, guided by high
Planetary Spirits, whose collective aggregate forms
the manifested Word of the unmanifested Logos, and
constitutes, at one and the same time, the Mind of
the TTniverse, and its immutable Law.

"Whatever may be the destiny of these present
Writings in a remote future, we hope, so far, to have
proved the following facts :

1. The Secret Doctrine teaches no atheism, except
in the nindu sense of the word nastika, " the rejec-
tion of idols," including every anthropomorphic
god. In this sense, every Occultist is a tiastUta.

2. It admits a Logos, or a collective " Creator "
of the Universe; in the sense of an architect who
furnishes the plan of an edifice, not the masons who
do the manual labor; in our case the plan was fur-
*iiahed by the Ideation of the Universe, and the con-
structive labor was left to the Hosts of Intelligent
-f*o-wers and Forces.

As to the latter :

3. They are dual in their character, being com-
posed of the irrational hrute energy inherent in mat-
'■^f, and the intelligent Soul or cosmic Consciousness
^hich guides that energy, and which is the A ngelic
*'hought reflecting the Ideation of the Universal
"^ind. This results in a perpetual series of physical

"Jflature. Id Its abstrnct sense, cannot be "unconscious," as It la
^D aspect (on the mnnlfested plane) of the Absolute consclonsuess.
^1^ we can nay Is, that the consciouRneBB of minerals, etc., la
«yoiid onr comprebenslon, — (H. P. B,)

166 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

manifestations and moral effects on Eartb, during
the cycles of life, the whole being subservient t(*
Karma. As the process is not always perfect, an^
Bometimes shows flaws and even failures, therefow
neither the collective Host nor the individual Poweffl
are proper subjects for worship. The ever-unknow
able Cause alone should have its shrine and altaj
on the holy and ever-untrodden ground of our hear
— invisible, intangible, unmentioned, save through
" the still, small voice " of our spiritual conseiona
ness. Those who worship before it ought to do 8i
in the silence and sanctified solitude of their sonle'
making their spirit the sole mediator between th«l
and the Universal Spirit, their good actions the onl;
priests, and their sinful intentions the only visibl
and objective sacrificial victims to the Presence (se
Booh 11., Part I., § V., The Hidden Deity, and Midi
vi., 5-6).

4. Matter is eternal. It is the physical basis upOl
which the ideations of the One Infinite Universi
Mind are built. Therefore, the Esotericists mail
tain that there is no inorganic or dead matter S
nature. " Everything is organic and living, atf
therefore the whole world appears to be a liviBj
organism." (Paracelsus.) i

5. Everything that is, was and will be, eternaU
IS, even the countless forms, which are finite ao
perishable only in their objective, not in their idet
form. They existed as Ideas in the Eternity, am
when they pass away will exist as reflections. 0<
cultism teaches that no form can be given to any
thing, either by nature or by man, whose ideal typg^
does not already exist on the subjective plane. More
than this, no form or shape can possibly enter man's
consciousness, or evolve in his imagination, whose-
prototype does not exist, at least, as an approxima-
tion. Therefore our human forms have existed in.
the Eternity as astral or ethereal prototypes

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 167

according to these models the Spiritual Beings
whose duty it was to bring them into objective be-
ing and terrestrial life, evolved the protoplasmic
forms of the future Egos from their own essence.
When this human vehicle or basic mould was ready,
the natural terrestrial Forces began to work on
those supersensuous moulds, tohick contained, be-
sides their own, the elements of all the past vege-
table and future animal forms of this globe. There-
fore man's outward shell passed through every veg-
etable and animal form before it assumed the human
shape. This will be fully described in Book II.

Extracts fbom a private -Commentary, hitherto
secret. {These teachings do not refer to Spirit-Mat-
ter beyond the boundaries of our small Universe,
and are all given from our plane of consciousness.)
_ (SVII.) " The Initial Existence in the first twi-
light of the Great Life-Cycle is a conscious spiritual
QUALITY. In the solar systems it is, in its objective
stJBjECTivTTY, like the film from a Divine Breath to
tbe gaze of the entranced seer. It spreads, as it is-
soee from the quiescent state, throughout infinity as
8- Colorless spiritual fluid. It is on the seventh
PLANE, and in its seventh state in our planetary
■"'orld.

(XVIII.) " It is Substance to our spiritual sight.
It cannot be called so by men in their wakino state;
therefore they have named it in their ignorance
' God-Spirit.'

(XIX.) " It exists everywhere, and forms the
fi*^t foundation on which our solar system is built.
Otitside that, it is to be found in its pristine purity
9ttly between (the solar systems or) the Stars of the
CTniverse, the worlds already formed or forming;
^hose in the neutral state resting meanwhile in its
"Osom. As its substance is of a different kind from
that known on earth, the inhabitants of the latter,
86^Dg through it, believe in their illusion and igno-

^86^1

168 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

ranee that it is empty space. There is not one fin-
ger ^s breadth of void space in the whole boundless
Universe. . . .

(XX.) ** Matter or Substance is septenary within
our World, as it is beyond it. Moreover, each of
its (seven) states or principles is graduated into
seven degrees of density. The Sun, in its visible
rejflection (its visible form, which is a reflection),
exhibits the first or lowest states of the seventh (the
highest state) of the Universal Pbesbnce, the pnre
of the pure, the first manifested Breath of the ever
Unmanifested (Be-ness). All the Central physical
or objective Suns are in their substance the lowest
state of the first principle of the Bbeath. Nor are
any of these any more than the eeflbctions of their
Pbimabies, which are concealed from the gaze of all
but the Creative Powers, whose corporeal substance
belongs to the fifth division of the seventh principle
of the Mother-substance, and is, therefore, four de-
grees higher than the substance of the solar reflec-
tion. As there are seven principal substances in the
human body, so there are seven Forces in Man and
in all Nature.

(XXI.) *' The real substance of the concealed (in-
visible) Sun is a nucleus of Mother-substance/'
(The really homogeneous primeval matter, which
no mortal can make objective in this Eace or
Bound.) ** It is the heart and the matrix of all the
living and existing Forces in our solar system. B
is the kernel from which proceed, on their cyclic
journeys, all the Powers that set in action the atoins
in their functional duties, and the focus in which
they meet again in their seventh essence every
eleventh year. He who tells thee he hath seen the
Sun, laugh at him as if he had said that the S^
really moves onward on his diurnal path. . . .

(XXIII.*) ** It is on account of his septenary na-

^Several paragraphs are omitted in the original, — Editor,

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 169

L# tHK that the Sun is spoken of by the ancients as one
wio is driven by seven horses equal to the metres of
tie Vedas; or, again, that though he is identified
■with the SEVEN classes of being, in his orh lie is dis-
tinct from them, as he is, indeed ; as also that he has
SEVEN HAYS, as indeed he has. . , .

(XXV.) " The Seven Beings in the Sun are the
send the seven principal Forces called Rays, which
Seven Holy Ones, self-born from tHe inherent power
in the matrix of Mother-substance. It is they who
at the beginning of Universal Night will centre into
seven new Suns for the next Life-cycle. The energy
from which they spring into conscious existence in
every Sun is what some people call Vishnu, which is
the Breath of the Absolttteness." (" Vishnu in the
form of the solar active energy neither rises nor
seta, and is at once the sevenfold Sun and distinct
from it." Vishnu Purana, II., 2.)

" We call it the One manifested Life — itself a re-
jection of the Absolute. . . .

(XXVI.) " The latter must never be mentioned in
i^'ords or speech, lest it shoulh take away some op
^v-R spirituaij enehqies that aspire towards its
STiTE, gravitating ever onward unto it spiritually,
^s the whole physical universe gravitates towards
'^s manifested centre— cosmically.

(XXVTI.) " The former— the initial existence^
^liich may be called while in this state of being the
P**E LiPE, is, as explained, a Film for creative or
^**i"ffiative purposes. It manifests in seven states,
^liich, with their septenary subdivisions, are the
* *iBTY-NiNE FiEEs meutioued in sacred books. . . .
<XXIX.) "The first is the . . . 'Mother'
't»aima materia). Separating itself into its primary
?^"Ven states, it proceeds down cyclically; when hav-
^'^^ consolidated itself in its last principle as asoss
^vv^TTEB, it revolves around itself, and informs, with
~i*S.Beventh emanation of the last, the first and low-

^J^^Be'

170 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

est element (the Serpent biting its own tail). In a
hierarchy, or order of being, the seventh emanation
of her last principle is :

{a) In the mineral, the spark that lies latent in
it, and is called to its evanescent being by the Posi-
tive awakening the Negative (and so forth). . . .

(6) In the plant it is that vital and intelligent
Force which informs the seed and develops it into
the blade of grass, or the root and sapling. It is the
germ which becomes the vehicle of the seven prin-
ciples of the thing it resides in, shooting them ont
as the latter grows and develops.

(c) In every animal it does the same. It is its
life-principle and vital power ; its instinct and qual-
ities; its characteristics and special idiosyncra-

S16S. ...

(d) To man it gives all that it bestows on all the
rest of the manifested units in nature ; but develops
furthermore in him the reflection of all its Fobty-
NiNE Fires. Each of his seven principles is an heir
in full to, and a partaker of, the seven principles of
* the great Mother.' The breath of her first prin-
ciple is his Spirit (Atma). Her second principle is
Soul {Buddhi). We call it erroneously the sixth.
The third furnishes him with ( a ) the brain stuff on
the physical plane, and (b) with the Mind that moves
it {which is the human soul. H. P. B.) — according
to his organic capacities.

(e) It is the guiding Force in the cosmic and ter-
restrial elements. It resides in the Fire provoked
out of its latent into active being ; for the whole of ]
the seven subdivisions of the . . . principle re- '
side in the terrestrial Fire. It whirls in the breeze,
blows with the hurricane and sets the air in motion,
which element participates in one of its principles.
Proceeding cyclically, it regulates the motion of the
water, attracts and repels the waves, according to
£xed laws of which its seventh principle is the in-

^ THE SECRET DOCTRINE 171

onmng soul. {It is the informing Spirit of the
vhole cosmic solar body that is meant here, not the
'kysical waves and tides . H. P. B.)

(/) Its four higher principles contain the germ
bat develops into the Cosmic Gods ; its three lower
nes breed the lives of the Elementals.

(g) In our Solar world, the One Existence is
Ceaven and Earth, the Root and the Flower, the
.ction and the Thought. It is in the Sun, and is as
resent in the glowworm. Not an atom can escape
. Therefore the ancient Sages have wisely called

the manifested God in Nature." . . .

It may he interesting to summarize here what T.
nbba Row has written of the six Forces in Nature,
iTithesized by the seventh, mystically defined. {See
ive Years of Theosophy.) He says, " these Forces
3r sakti) are as follows:

1. Paeasakti. Literally, the Supreme Force or
Dwer. It means and includes the powers of light
id heat.

2. Jnanasakti. The power of Intellect or "Wis-
am. It has two aspects. The following are some
r its manifestations when placed under the iiiflu-
tce or control of material condiiions: (n) The
3wer of the mind in interpreting our sensations.
t) Memory and expectation, (c) Its power of
irmiug persisting connections between various
roups of sensations, and thus generating the idea
r external objects. Some of its manifestations
hen liberated from the bonds of matter are clair-
iyance and psychometry,

3. Itchasakti, The power of the "Will. Its most
*dinary manifestation is our control over our mus-
es, etc.

4. KBrYASAKTi. The mysterious power of Thought,
hieh enables it to produce external, perceptible,
benomenal results by its own inherent energy. Tlie

1172 THE SECBET DOCTRINE

ancients held that any idea mU manifest itself eoB-
terualiif if one's attention is deeply coHcetUratBti I
upon it. Ill like maimer an intense volition (%tch€*' 1
sakti) will be followed by the desired result. ^ '
Yogi generally performs his wonders by means oi
Itchasakti and Kriyasakti.

5. KusDALiNi-SAKTi. The power or force whici»
moves in a curved line (spiral or tvinding). It L*
the universal Life-principle manifesting everywhei^'^
in nature. This force includes the two great fore&- *
of Attraction and Repulsion. Electricity and Ma^^-
netism are but manifestations of it.

6. Mantrika-sakti. The force or power (o j
sound) in letters, speech or music. The influence o- f
melody is one of its ordinary manifestations, Th^-^
power of the Ineffable Name is the crown of thi -s
force.

Modem science has but partly investigated tlL_-"B
Ist, 2d and 5th of the forces above named, but is aW^-
together in the dark as regards the others. TU-«
BIX forces are represented in their nnity by tl» *
Seventh, the light of the Loaos. [Fohat, Stanza V^ -.

*■'

The above is quoted {and somewhat abridged) t*J
show the real Hindu ideas on the subject. It is al*
esoteric, though not covering the tenth part of wjft***
might be said. For instance, the six names of i^^
six forces mentioned are those of the six Hierarchi^^
of Creative Powers, synthesized by their Primary
the seventh, who personify the fifth principle of C<?^',
mio Nature (Universal Mind), or of " the Mother
in its mystical sense. Each of these Forces has ^
living conscious Entity at its head, of which Enti*'^
it is an emanation. Let us compare with the Cor^'
mentary just cited the words of Hermes, " tf
thrice-great ": " The creation of Life by the St^'*
is as continuous as his light; nothing arresta f^^^"*
I limits it. Around him, like an army of satellite*^^

THE SECEET DOCTEINE 173

m innumerable choirs of genii. These dwell in the
neighborhood of the Immortals, and thence watch
over human things. They fulfill the will of the gods
(Karma) by means of storms, tempests, transitions
of fire and earthquakes. ... At the moment
when each of us receives life and heing, he is taken
in charge hy the genii (Elementdls) who preside
over births, and who are classed beneath the astral
powers.'' {Superhuman astral Spirits.)

This means that as man is composed of all the
great Elements, Fire, Air, Water, Earth and Ether,
the ELEMENTALS which belong to each of these feel
attracted to man by reason of their co-essence. That
element which predominates in any constitution will
be the ruling element through life. For instance, a
preponderance of the earthly element will lead a
man to assimilating metals, money and so on.

Whether one calls the * * genii ' ' of Hermes, angels,
spirits or powers, they are all one and the same
Mug — ^Illusion. Let not this, however, be misun-
derstood. Everything outside of the Absolute mitst
be an illusion, but only so from the purely meta-
physical view. Everything is relative in this Uni-
verse, everything is an illusion. But the experience
of any plane is an actuality for the percipient be-
ing whose consciousness is on that plane ; though
the said experience, regarded from the purely meta-
physical standpoint, may be conceived to have no ob-
jective reality.

It is barely possible that the minds of the present
generation are not quite ripe for the reception of
occult truths. ' ' If either a religion or a philosophy
is too much in advance of a nation it can do no pres-
ent service, but must bide its time until the minds of
men are ripe for its reception. ^^ (This is cyclic law,
but this law .itself is often defied by human stub-
bornness.) ** Every science, every creed, has had its
Baartyrs. According to the ordinary course oi «ii-

174 THE SECRET DOCTRINE t

fairs a few generations pass away, and then ther^^
comes a period when these very truths are lookec^^
npon as commonplace facts, and a little later ther^^
comes another period in wMeh they are declared tt— a
be necessary, and even the dullest intellect wonder^a
how they could ever have been denied." (H. T^^~~
Buckie, History of Civilization, Vol, I., p. 256.)

Such will be the retrospect furnished to the ad.,^
vaneed thinkers of the Sixth Root-race of the his-^^
tory of the acceptance of Esoteric philosophy — full~- — ^

and unconditionally. The Addenda, Book II., Pai 1

II., gives, however, in an anticipatory manner, ai^^.
swers to several of the forthcoming scientific ohjecr^.
tions. The so-called Forces, with Light and Eleczz?-
trieity heading them, and the constitution of tl:»_e
Solar orb must be carefully examined ; as also Gra'^i'-
itation and the Nebular hypothesis. The natures «:>f
Ether and other elements must be discussed, tliy«a
contrasting scientific with occult teacliings, wbil^
revealing some of the hitherto secret tenets of tlie
latter. (Vide Addenda, S.D., Original Edition, Vol.
L, p. 477, et seq.—Ed.)

BOOK n. PART I

T^OR Evolution of Symbolism in Its Approximate

Order

Explanatory Sections

<< ^ symbol is ever, to him who has eyes for it,
BOine diimner or clearer revelation of the Godlike."
— Carlyle.

Symbousm and Ideographs

The study of the hidden meacing in every relig-
ious and profane legend, of whatsoever nation (and
pre-eminently the traditions of the East) lias oc-
cnpied the greater portion of the present writer's
life. She is one of these who feel convinced that no
mythological story, no traditional event in the folk-
lore of a people, has ever been at any time pure fic-
tion, but that every one of such narratives hits an
actual, historical lining to it. In this the writer dis-
agrees with those syrobologists who believe that all
mythologies sprang from, and are built upon, solar
myths. Such superficial thinkers were admirably
disposed of by Mr. Gerald Massey, in a lecture on
" Luniolatry, Ancient and Modern." He says there
that " Mythology was a primitive mode of thinkinfj
the early thought. It was founded on natural farts.
and is still verifiable in phenomena. . . . For
example, when the Egyptians portrayed the monn as
a cat, tbey were not ignorant enough to suppose the
moon was a cat, nor was a cat-myth any mere ex-
pansion of verbal metaphor. They had observed tlie
Q^mnlo fact that the cat saw in the dark, and that her
me fuII-orbed and most luminous by night.

! of the cat in Egyptian is mau, which de-

.seer, from mau, to see. The moon was
Y night in heaven, and the cat was its
lU earth. The moon as cat was the eye

178 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

of the sun, because it reflected the solar light, and
because the eye gives back the image in its mirror.
In the form of the goddess Pasht {or Bubastes) the
cat keeps watch for the sun, with her paw holding
down and bruising the head of the serpent of dark-
ness, called his eternal enemy.''

This is a very correct exposition of the lunar
mythos from its astronomical aspect. Selenography,
however, is the least esoteric of the divisions of
lunar symbology. To master it thoroughly one must
become proficient in more than its astronomical
meaning. The untiring researches of Western, and
especially German, symbologists during the last two
centuries have brought every Occultist and most
unprejudiced persons to see that without the help
of symbology (with its seven departments of whidi
the moderns know nothing) no ancient scripture can
ever be understood correctly. Symbology must be
studied from every one of its aspects, for each na-
tion had its own peculiar methods of expression. In
short, no Egyptian papyrus, no Indian carving, no
Assyrian tile or Hebrew scroll should be read and
accepted literally.

This every scholar now knows. But the point to
which even the most truth-loving and truth-search-
ing Orientalists seem to remain blind is the fact that
every symbol in papyrus or olla * is a many-faced
diamond, each of whose facets not merely bears
several interpretations, but relates likewise to sev-
eral sciences. This is instanced in the just quoted
interpretation of the moon and cat symbol, a purely
astronomical one.

As a learned Mason and Theosophist, the late Mr.
Kenneth MacKenzie has shown in his Royal Masonic
Cyclopcedia there is a great difference between an
emblem and a symbol. The former ^^ comprises ft
larger series of thoughts than a symbol, which maf

♦A cinerary urn, or OTleuta.! water-jar,— ^dttor.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 179

be said to illustrate some single, special idea."
Hence the symbols (say lunar or solar) of several
eountries, each illustrating such a special idea or
series of ideas, form collectively an esoteric emblem,
'* recognizable by those who have received certain
instructions." (Initiates.)

Even a parable is a spoken symb'ol, a fiction or a
fable, some think ; an allegorical representation, we
say, of life-realities, events and facts. And as a
moral was ever drawn from a parable, that moral
being an actual truth of human life, so an historical
event was deduced by those versed in the hieratic
sciences, from certain emblems and symbols re-
corded in the ancient archives of the temples. The
religious and esoteric history of every nation was
embodied in symbols ; it was never expressed in go
many words. Why? Because the spoken word has
a potency unknown to, and unsuspected by, the mod-
em " sages." Because sound and rhythm are closely
related to the four Elements of the ancients ; and be-
cause certain vibrations in the air are sure to
swaken corresponding powers, with good or bad re-
sults, as the case may be. No student was ever al-
lo-wed to recite religious, historical or any real
events in so many unmistakable words, lest the pow-
6i"s connected with the event should be once more
attracted. Such events were narrated only during
the Initiation, and every student had to record them
^_ corresponding symbols, drawn out of his own
^ind, and examined later by his master, before they
^ere finally accepted. Thus was created in time the
*"hiiiese alphabet, as before that the hieratic symbols
"^ere fixed upon in old Egypt. In the Chinese lan-
STiage, the alphabet of which may be read in any
tongue {like the Arabic numerals), and which is
°Qly a little less ancient than the alphabet of Thoth,
svery word has its corresponding symbol, conveying
^6 word needed in a pictorial form. The language

^^*6 wore

180 THE SECKHO? DOCTRINE

possesses many thousands of such symbol letters,
each meaning a whole word ; for letters proper did
not exist in the Chinese language any more than in
the Egyptian till a far later period.

The explanation of the chief symbols and emblems
is now attempted, as Volume II., which treats of
Anthropogenesis, would be most difficult to under-
stand without a preparatory acquaintance with the
metaphysical symbols at least.

Nor would it be just to enter upon an esoteric
reading of symbolism without giving due honor to
one who has rendered it the greatest service in this
century by discovering the chief key to ancient He-
brew symbology, interwoven strongly with metrol-
ogy, one of the keys to the once universal mystery
language. Mr. Ralston Skinner of Cincinnati, a
mystic and a Kabalist by nature, has labored for
many years in this direction, and his labors have
certainly been crowned with great success. In his
book called '^ The Hebrew-Egyptian Mystery and
the Source of Measures/' he says, speaking of the
old language referred to, that concealed an inner
meaning beneath the written words :

*' Such a use of ordinary language is now obso-
lete, but it has become a question with the writer
whether at one time far back in the past such was
not the language of the world and of universal use,
possessed, however, as it became more and more
arcane in form, by a select class or caste. . . •
Indeed it would seem that in the history of the hu-
man race there happened from causes which, at pres-
ent at any rate we cannot trace, a lapse or loss from
an original perfect language and a perfect system
of science — shall we say perfect, because they were
of divine origin and importation? "

* * Divine origin ' ' does not mean here a revelation
from an anthropomorphic god, but, as we under-
stand it, a language and a system of science im-

THE SECBET DOCTBINE 181

parted to the early mankind by a more advanced
mankind, bo much higher as to be divine in the sight
of that infant humanity. Who is bold enough to
say that the divine Egos of our mankind wUl not
become in their turn the ^* divine '' instructors of
a new mankind generated by them on a new globe,
eaDed to life and activity by the disembodied * ' prin-
ciples ** of our Earth? {v. Stanza VI.). All this
may have been the experience of the Past ; and its
strange records lie embedded in the ** Mystery lan-
guage " of the prehistoric ages, the language now
called Symbolism.

Section II

The Mystbby Language and Its Keys '

Becent discoveries made by great mathematicians
and Kabalists have proved beyond a shadow of
doubt that every theology, from the earliest down to
the latest, has sprung not only from a common
source of abstract beliefs, but from one universal,
esoteric or ** Mystery *^ language. These scholars
hold the key to this language of old, and have turned
it successfully, though only once, in the hermetically
closed door leading to the Hall of Mysteries. The
great archaic system known from prehistoric ages
as the Sacred "Wisdom Science had, and still has,
its universal language, that of the Hierophants,
which has seven * * dialects, * * so to speak, each refer-
ring and being specially appropriated to one of the
seven mysteries of Nature. Each had its own sym-
bolism, and thus Nature could be studied as a whole
or in one of its special aspects.

The proof of this lies to this day in the extreme
difficulty experienced by the Oriental and Egyptian
scholars especially in interpreting the allegorical
writings of the Aryans and the hieratic records of

182 THE SECRET DOCTEINE ■

ancient Kgypt. This ia because they do not know
or will not remember that ail the ancient records
were written in a language known to all nations in
days of old, but now intelligible only to the few. Like
the sign A, which signifies and to all civilized na-
tions, thoTigh called by many different names, the
words of that mystery language signified the saiD«
thing to all the ancient peoples. Its seven keys, hoW
ever, having always been in the keeping of the higt>
est among the initiated Hierophants of antiquity, £
was only the partial use of a few out of the seve*
which passed (through the treason of some earlj
Chnrch Fathers, ex-Initiates of the Temples) intc
the hands of the new sect of the Nazarenes. Some
of the early Popes were Initiates, but the last frag-
montfl of their knowledge have now fallen into the
power of the Jesuits, who have turned them into a
eyslem of Borcery. They are the origin of some of
the f'hristian dogmas, such as the Trinity, the Ee-
Burrection. the seven Sacraments, seven capital Sins,
seven VTrtiios, etc.

Tt is nmiutnined that India (including her ancient
lioumhiries ) is the only country in the world which
Ptill counts ndepts among her sons, who have the
ttliowKytjw of all the sev«i subsjisteiNS, and the key
to the eiitin* system. Aflex the fall of ilemphis,
l'igy(*t lM>)tnn h> lose those keys one by one. and
rimKl<M had preservtxl only thr«e in the days of
lVl\w«F, As foT the Hel»r*w« in all tbrir writings
tlwy 5l\»>w no wiorv than a tttorao^ kmwiedge of
(hp a?{riM>»Mv.t«»l. icswmotrical and noBoicar sys-
Um« \^F fsxiHkwIiaiMg all ft« boBBB, »m' ' ~

11>^ >\MMi-»» v.n««|s M9«f wNK&i, i
1i>v ;»»» AfrillnHf ^

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

183

had time to reveal all to their eueeessora, and even
more to the absence of worthy heirs to the knowl-
e. Yet thej' have preserved In their rituals and
dogmas the principal teachings of the secret doc-
trine. That which the Jews had from Egypt, through
JWoses and other Initiates, was confused and dis-
torted enough in later days, and that which the
Church got from both is still more misinterpreted.
Yet their key to the mysteries of astronomy as
connected with those of generation and conception
is now proved identical in this special department
of aymbology with those ideas of ancient religions
"Whose theology has developed the phallic element.
rrhe Jewish system of sacred measures applied to
religious symbols is the same, so far as geometrical
and numerical combinations go, as those of Chaldea,
Greece and Egypt, having been adopted by the Jews
^luring the centuries of their captivity and slavery
■^nth those nations. This system and these measures
S-ie considered by some scholars to be identical with
tlose used in the construction of the great Pyramid
■;; — ^but this is only partially true. Staniland Wake,
in his work On the Origin and Significance of the
Grreat Pyramid, justly observes that these coinci-
<i«nces " must he more than mere coincidences if the
builders of the Pyramid had the astronomical Icnowl-
^dge displayed in its perfect orientation and in its
other admitted astronomical features."

They had it, and it is on this " Knowledge " that
the programme of the Mysteeies and of the series
of Initiations was based; hence the construction of
ttie Pyramids, the everlasting record and the inde-
structible symbol of these Mysteries and Initiations
^ earth, as the courses of the stars are in heaven,
ihe cycle of Initiation was a reproduction in minia-
ture of that great series of cosmic changes to which
aatronomers have given the name of the sidereal
year. Just as at the close of the sidereal year (25,-

184 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

868 solar years) the heavenly bodies return to the
same relative positions which they occupied at its
beginning, so at the close of the Cycle of Initiation
the inner man has regained the pristine state of
Divine purity and knowledge from which he set out
on his cycle of terrestrial incarnations.

Moses, an Initiate into the Egyptian Mystagogy,
based the religious mysteries of the new nation
which he created upon the same abstract formula
derived from this sidereal cycle, which he symbolized
under the form and measurements of the tabernacle
that he was supposed to have constructed in the
wilderness. On these data the later Jewish High
Priests constructed the allegory of Solomon's Tem-
ple— a building which had no more real existence
than Solomon himself, who is simply as much a
solar myth as the still later Hiram Abif of the Ma-
sons, as Ragon has well demonstrated.

Whether the archaic esoteric system originated
the British inch or not is of little consequence to the
true metaphysician. But it is extremely important
to ascertain whether the measures used in the evo-
lution and building of the Aryan symbolic religion,
in the construction of their temples, the figures
given in the Puranas, and especially in their chron-
ology, their astronomical symbols, the duration of
the cycles and other computations, were the same as
those used in the Biblical measures and glyphs. For
this would prove that the Jews, unless they took
their sacred cubit and other measurements from the
Egyptians (Moses being an Initiate of their
Priests), must have got those notions from India.
That it was the Jewish system of measures which led
to the invention of the God-names Elohim and Je-
hovah, and their adaptation to phallicism, and that
Jehovah is a not very flattered copy of Osiris, has
been demonstrated by the author of ^ ' The Source of
Measures/'

THE S3ECRET DOCTRINE 185

In Isis Unveiled, Vol. I., p. 519, we said that Hero-
dotus wlieii treating of the Pyramid ' ' might have
added that externally it symbolized the creative
principle of Nature, and illusfrated also the princi-
ples of geometry, mathematics, astrology and as-
tronomy. Internally it was a majestic fane, in whose
sombre recesses were performed the mysteries, and
■whose walls had often witnessed the initiations of
members of the royal family. The porphyry
sarcophagus was the baptismal font, upon emerging
from which the neophyte was ' born again,' and be-
came an adept."

Our statement was laughed at in those days. And

How, six or seven years later, Mr. Staniland Wake

( in his book before quoted) writes : ' ' The so-called

^Sing's Chamber, of which an enthusiastic pyramid-

ist says, ' The polished walls, etc., tell of glories yet

*d come, was probably the place to which the ini-

^■iatant was admitted after he had passed through

^Jte narrow upward passage and the grand gallery

^•^^ith its lowly termination, which gradually prepared

^im for the final stage of the Sacked Mysteries,' " *

-^3^ad Mr. Staniland Wake been a Tbeosophist he

^tiight have added that the narrow upward passage

■tj.ad " a narrow gate " indeed; the same " strait

^"ate " which " leadeth unto life," or the new apir-

*-tnal rebirth alluded to by Jesus. {Matt. vii. 13, et

But while supposing that the whole cycle of the
"^^Vidversal mystery language will not be mastered for
*5«nturies to come, Judaism has at least availed it-
^^If of two keys out of the seven, and these two keys
Slaving now been rediscovered, a few years longer
^^nd this system will kill the dead letter of the Bible
^s it will that of all the other exoteric faiths.

And then this undeniable meaning, however in-

186 THE SEOEET DOCTRINE

complete, will unveil the mystery of Being, besides
changing entirely the modern scientific systems of
anthropology, ethnology and especially chronology.
The element of phallicism found in every Gt)d-nam6
and narrative in the Old (and in some degree in the
New) Testament, may also in time considerably
modify modern materialistic views of biology and
physiology. The so-called phallic symbols have be-
come offensive only because of the element of mate-
riality and animality in them. As they originated '
with the archaic races, who issued to their personal
knowledge from an androgyne ancestry, and w^
the first phenomenal manifestations of the separa-
tion of sexes and the ensuing mystery of creating in
their turn, such symbols were but natural. If later .
races have degraded these symbols, especially *' the "
chosen people,'* this does not aflfect their original
status. The little Semitic tribe — one of the smallest
branchlets from the mingling of the 4th and 5th snb-
races (the Mongolo-Turanian and the Indo-Euro-
pean)— of the Fifth Eace could only accept its sym-
bology in the spirit which was given to it by the na-
tions from which it was derived. Perchance in the
Mosaic beginnings that symbology was not as crude
as it became later under the handling of Ezra, who
remodelled the whole Pentateuch.

All this, notwithstanding the exoteric element
found in the two Testaments, is quite suflBcient to
class the Bible among esoteric works, and to connect
its secret system with Indian, Chaldean and Egyp-
tian symbolism. The whole cycle of Biblical glyphs
and numbers, as suggested by astronomical observa-
tions— astronomy and theology being closely con-
nected— is found in Indian exoteric as well as eso-
teric systems. The earliest forms of elementary
geometry must certainly have been suggested by the
observation of the heavenly bodies and their group-
ings. Hence the most arclaaie symbols in Eastern

THE SECBET DOCTEINE 187

Saotericism are a circle, a point, a triangle, a plane,
ir cube, a pentacle and a hexagon, and plane figures
inth various sides and angles.

Starting from this, it becomes easy to understand
low Nature herself could have taught primeval man-
kind the first principles of a numerical and geomet-
rical symbol-language, even without the help of di-
vine instructors. Hence we find numbers and fig-
Ores used as an expression and a record of thought
in every archaic symbolical scripture. They are
ever iJie same, with only certain variations growing
oat of the first figures. Every cosmogony began with
a cirde, a point, a triangle and a cube, up to 9, when
it was synthesized by the first line and a circle, 10
(or (D ) — the Pythagorean •mystic Decade, the sum
of all, involving and expressing the mysteries of the
entire Kosmos; recorded a hundred times more
folly in the Hindu system for him who can under-
stand its mystic language. The numbers 3 and 4, in
their blending as 7, as well as 5, 6, 9 and 10, are the
very comer-stone of occult cosmogonies. This dec-
ade and its thousand combinations are found in
every portion of the globe. One reco^izes them in
the caves and rock-cut temples of Hindustan and
Central Asia, as well as in the pyramids and lithoi
of Egypt and America ; in the catacombs of Ozi-
tttadyas, in the mounds of the Caucasian snow-
capped fastnesses, in the ruins of Palenque, in
Easter Island, everywhere whither the foot of an-
cient man has ever trod. The 3 and 4, the triangle
and the cube, or the male and female universal
glyph, the cross, showing the first aspect of the
evolving deity, is stamped forever in the Southern
Cross in the heavens, as in the Egyptian crux
onsata. As well expressed by Mr. Skinner : * * The
cube unfolded is in display -JIL. a cross of the tau
cr Egyptian form, T, or of *-|j-^the Christian cross
form +. A circle attached to the first, % ^ give^ \Jcvfe

188 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

ansated cross. . . . The cross form hmg
shown, by the connected use of the form 113 :355, the
symbol is completed by the attachment of a man to
the Cross. This kind of measure was made to co-
ordinate with the idea of the origin of human life^
and hence the phallic form.'^ (Remember the Hindu
Wittoba crucified in Space ; Plato *s decussated man
in Space, etc.)

Identical glyphs, numbers and esoteric symbols
are found in Egypt, Peru, Mexico, Easter Island,
India, Chaldea and Central Asia. Crucified men,
and symbols of the evolution of races from gods,
and yet behold science repudiating the idea of »
humau race other than one made in our image;
theology clinging to its 6,000 years of creation, an-
thropology teaching our descent from the ape, and
the clergy tracing it from Adam 4004 b. c.

The SEVEN KEYS open the mysteries, past and fu-
ture, of the seven great Root-Races, as of the seven
ages, and we feel certain, Scripture notwithstanding;
that once the mystery language is approximately '
mastered, it is the archaic teaching that will be
accepted.

Section III

Primordial Substance and Divine Thought

** Assuming what is not strictly accurate as yefc
that the undulatory hypothesis accounts for all the
facts, we are called upon to decide whether the exist-
ence of an undulating Ether is thereby proved. We
cannot positively affirm that no other supposition
will explain the facts. . . . Some hypotheses,
consist of assumptions as to the minute structtire
and operations of bodies. From the nature of the
case these assumptions can never be proved by di-
rect means. Their only merit is their suitability to
express the phenomena. They are representative

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 189

fictions " (u, " Logic," by Alexander Bain, Part II.,
p. 133).

Ether, one of " the representative fictions " of
modern science, is one of the lower principles of
what we call Phimordlax. Substance (in Sanskrit,
Akasa), one of the boldest, as it is the greatest, of
the surviving speculations of ancient philosophers.
^OT the occultists, however, both Ether and the Pri-
mordial Substances are realities. To put it plainly,
Ether is the Astral Light, and Primordial Substance
Or Akasa is the vehicle of Divine Thought. In
modem language the latter would be better named
OosMic Ideation — Spirit; the former, Cosmic Sub-
stance— Matter.

Divine Thought cannot be defined, or its meaning
explained, except by the numberless manifestations
of Cosmic Substance in which it is perceived spir-
itually by those who can do so. Its place is found
in the old primitive symbolic charts, where it is rep-
resented as boundless darkness upon which appears
the first central point in white— thus symbolizing

Keval and eoeternal Spibit-Matteh making its ap-
arance in the phenomenal world, before its first
lerentiation. When " the one becomes two," it
»y then be referred to as Spirit and Matter. To
Spirit " is referable every manifestation of con-
sciousness, reflective or direct, and of unconscious-
ness purposiveness (to adopt a modern expression)
as evidenced in the vital principle, and Nature's sub-
ttiisBion to immutable law. " Matter " must be re-
garded as the self-existing basis whose septenary
oydic manifestations constitute the objective reality
^derlying the phenomena of each phase of con-
scious existence. During the period of Universal
Night, Cosmic Ideation is non-existent, and the vari-
ous differentiations of Cosmic Substance are re-
solved again into their primary condition. (Of ab-
stract potential objectivity.)

t
I

190 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

The cyclic impulse begins with the reawakens
of Cosmic Ideation (or the Universal Mind) conct
rently with the emergence of Cosmic Substance (i
vehicle during the life-cycle) from its dormant M
dition. Then Absolute Wisdom mirrors itself ini
Ideation, which, by a transcendent process, inco
prebensible by human consciousness, results in Cos-
mic Energy. (Pohat.) Thrilling through the bosom
of inert Substance, Fohat impels it to activity, an^
guides its primary differentiations on all the seven
planes of Cosmic Consciousness. There are thi)^
seven protyles, as they are now called (Aryan anti
quity called them the seven Natures, or prakriti')
serving severally as the relatively homogeneoiJ
basis, which, in the course of evolution, becomes tb
marvellous complexity presented by phenomena a
the planes of perception. The term " relatively
is used designedly, because the very existence^
such a process as the above compels us to regard t3
protyle of each plane as only a mediate phase ae
sumed by Substance as it passes into objectivity
The term protyle is due to Mr. Crookes, who ha:
given that name to primordial matter. But the in
cipient separation of primordial matter into atoms
and molecules be^ns after the evolution of th(
seven Protyles. It is the last of these that S9
Crookes is seeking. ■

Cosmic Ideation is said to be non-existent dm
ing the periods of Night, for the simple reason t^
there is no one and nothing to perceive its effects
There can be no manifestation of consciousness ii
any form except through the veliicle of matter ; thai
is, on our plane, where in human consciousness in iti
nortnal state cannot soar beyond what is Imown as
transcendental metaphysics ; it is only through some
molecular medium that Spirit wells up_ in a strean
of individual or sub-conscious suhjeetivity. In strict
aeeuracy, the term " Matter " ought to be appliec

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 191

to phenomena^ and ^^ Substance '' to noumena; for
inasmnch as the phenomena of our plane are the
creation of the perceiving Ego, they can have but
a relative existence for its inhabitants. But this
does not necessarily imply that it is the same on all
other planes ; from the standpoint of the highest met-
J^hysics, the whole Universe is an illusion ; but the
illTision of him who is himself an illusion differs on
every plane of consciousness ; and we have no more
right to dogmatize about the possible nature of the
perceptive faculties of an Ego on the sixth plane,
for instance, than we have to make our perceptions
a standard for those of an ant, in its mode of con-
; Bciousness. The pure object apart from conscious-
ness is unknown to us while living on the plane of
oar three-dimensional world ; for we know only the
! mental states it excites in the perceiving Ego. Cos-
■ mic Ideation {the Universal Mind)j focused in a
principle or vehicle, results as the consciousness of
the individual Ego. Its manifestation varies with
the nature of the vehicle ; through that known as
the Intellectual Soul it wells up as Mind-Conscious-
ness; through the more finely differentiated fabric
of the sixth state of matter, the Spiritual Soul (rest-
ing on the experience of Mind as its basis), it be-
comes a stream of spiritual Intuition. And so long
as we enjoy our five senses and no more, and do
' not know how to free our all-perceiving Ego (the
1 Higher SeK) from their thraldom, so long will it be
I impossible for the personal Ego to break through
the barrier which separates it from a knowledge of
things in themselves, or Substance. That Ego must
exhaust the experience of every plane. But not un-
til the Unit is merged in the All, whether on this or
any other plane, is scaled that peak of Omniscience,
the knowledge of things-in-themselves, and the solu-
tion of the yet more awful riddle approached, \\^\'
fore which even the highest archangel muat \)o^ \tv

192 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

silence and ignorance — the unspeakable mystery c
the Absolute.

Therefore, such being the case, all those wh
sought to give a name to the incognizable Principl
have simply degraded it. Even to speak of Cosmic
Ideation — save in its phenomenal aspect, is like try
ing to bottle up primordial chaos, or put a printeo
label on Eternity.

^ What then is that ** primordial Substance,'^ men-
tioned under various names in every cosmogony, re-
ferred to in every philosophy, and shown to be, to
this day, the ever-elusive Proteus in Nature! We
touch, and do not feel it ; we look at it without see-
ing it; we breathe it, and do not perceive it, we hear
and smell it without any recognition that it is there;
for it is in every molecule of that which in our illu-
sion and ignorance we regard as matter in any of
its states, or conceive of as a feeling, a thought, an
emotion. In short, it is the vehicle of every possible
phenomenon, wheher physical, mental, or psychic
In the opening chapters of Genesis as in the Chal-
dean cosmogony ; in the Puranas of India, and in the
Egyptian Book of the Dead, it opens everywhere
the cycle of Manifestation. It is termed Chaos, the
Deep, Space, the Abyss, etc. It is evident, then,
that Ether, the fifth element, is not the deific Entity
worshipped by the Greeks and Latins under the
name of Pater omnipotens ^ther. The difference
made between the seven states of Ether, one of the
seven cosmic principles, while the -^ther of the An-
cients is universal Fire, may be seen in the injunc-
tions by Zoroaster and Psellus. The former said:
* * Consult it only when it is without form or figure,"
which means without flames or burning coalB<
*' When it has a form — heed it not,'' teaches Psel-
lus ; ' * but when it is formless obey it, for then i^
is sacred fire, and all it will reveal to thee shall b
true." This proves that Ether, itself an aspect o

THE SECBET DOCTRINE 193

ilcdso) has, in its turn, several aspects or princi-
ples.

** "Wliat is the primordial Chaos but -^ther? " is
asked in Isis Unveiled. Not the modern Ettier, but
Jlther, with all its mysterious and occult properties,
containing in itself the germs of universal creation.
The higher jEther or Akasa is the celestial Virgin,
and the mother of every existing form and being,
from whose bosom, as soon as * * brooded over ' ' by
the Divine Spirit, are called into existence Matter
and Life, Force and Attraction. Electricity, mag-
netism, heat, light and chemical action are so little
understood even now that fresh facts are constantly
widening the range of our knowledge. Who knows
where ends the power of this protean giant, -^ther ?
Who, we mean, that denies the spirit that works in
it and evolves out of it all visible forms ?

" The one Universal Light, which to Man is Dark-
ms, is ever existent,'* says the Chaldean Booh of
If umbers. From it proceeds periodically the En-
BEGY that is reflected in the * * Deep ' ' or Chaos, the
storehouse of future worlds, which, once awakened,
stirs up and fructifies the latent Forces, the ever-
present eternal potentialities in it, and a new Uni-
verse springs into being.

This ** primordial Substance '^ (called by some
Chaos), after it had been impregnated by the Spirit
which broods over the primeval waters, was named
by Plato and the Pythagoreans the Soul of the
World. It is the invisible, imponderable Spirit of
things, and the invisible but too tangible fluid that
radiates from the fingers of the healthy magnetizer,
for it is Vital Electricity — ^Life itself. It is termed
by Occultists to this day * * the living Fire ' ' ; and
there is not a Hindu who practises at dawn a cer-
tam kind of meditation but knows its effects, {v.
Isis Unveiled, ch. 7, Vol. I.)

Spirit then, or Cosmic Ideation, and Cosmic Sub-

194 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

stance — one of whose principles is Ether — are o«
and include the Elements, in the sense St. Paul s
taches to them. They are the veiled synthesis stan*
ing for Creative Powers, Archangels, etc. The Etb^
of science — the protyle of chemistry — constitutes, s£
to speak, the (relatively) crude material out oC
which the above-named " Builders " (following th-J
plan traced out for them eternally in the Divini^
Thought) fashion the systems in the Cosmos. On»
of the greatest Western evolutionists, Mr. A. E'
Wallace, admits the guiding action of ' ' higher intel- -
ligences " as a '* necessary part of the great lawe
which govern the material Universe." (Contribu—
tions to Theory of Natural Selection.)

These ' ' higher Intelligences ' ' are the ' ' Build-
ers " of the Occultist. . . . In the " Forces " oO
science we see but the material effect of the spiriiua&
effect of one or the other of the four primordial Ele-
ments, transmitted to us by the Fourth Race, as w^
shall transmit Ether * (or rather the gross subdi-_
vision of it) to the Sixth Root-Race.

Chaos, Theos, Kosmos

Chaos is called " senseless " by the ancients, '
cause it represented and contained in itself (Cha^
and Space being synonymous) all the Elements
their rudimentary, undifferentiated state. Th^
made of Ether, the fifth element, the synthesis
the other four, for their ^ther was the Akasa •
the Hindus, while the Ether accepted in ph_
but one of its subdivisions on our plane — the Astr^
Light of the Kabalists, with all its evil as well i
' effects.

•v. lets VnveUed,

►'THE SECRET DOCTRINE 193

According to Hindu teaching, Deity in the sliiipe
of ^ther (Akasa) pervades all things; and it was
called, therefore, by the theurgists ' ' the living
Fire," the " Spirit of Light," and sometimes Mag-
nes. It was the highest Deity itself which, according
to Plato, built the Universe in the geometrical form
of the Dodecahedron; and its " first begotten "was
bom of Chaos and Primordial Light (the Central
Sun). (See Extracts from Commentary, XX.) This
*' First-born," however, was only the aggregate of
the host of the " Builders," the first Constructive
Forces.

Chaos — Theos — ^Kosmoa are but the three aspects
of their synthesis, Space. One can never hope to
solve the mystery of this Tetrahtis by holding to the
dead letter of even the old philosophies, as now ex-
tant. But even in these, Chaos — Theos — Kosmos —
Space ai'e identified in all Eternity as the One Un-
known Space, the last word about which will per-
haps never be known before our seventh Round.
N"cvertheless, the allegories and metaphysical sym-
bols of the primeval and perfect Cube are remark-
able, even in the exoteric Puranas.

There also Brahma is the Theos evolving out of
Ghaos or the great Deep, the waters over which the
Spirit is silently hovering in the first hour of re-
^"Vp-akening. In Isis Unveiled, Vol. I., p. 133, it is
Said that in the Egyptian mythology " Kneph, the
eternal Unrevealed Gfod, is represented by a snake,
tbe emblem of Eternity, encircling a water urn, with
Its head hovering over the waters which it incubates
"^ith its breath " (vide loc. cit.). The Zohar teaches
that it is the primordial Elements, the four cardinal
Points, and all the Forces of Nature, which form
^'oUeetively the Voice of the Will, or the " "Word,"
the Logos of the Absolute Silent All. In the cos-
'Oiogonies of all nations it is the " Architects " syn-
tiiesized by the Demiurgos (in the Bible the Elohim),

196 THE SECEET DOCTSINE

who fashion Kosmos out of Chaos^ and who are lie
collective Theos, * * male-female, ^ ' Spirit and Matter.
In the Bible it is first Alhim (or Elohim)^ thim
Jahva-Elohim, and finally Jehovah — after the sepa-
ration of the sexes {Genesis iv.).

Chaos-Theos-Kosmos, the triple deity, is all in aU.
Therefore, it is said to be male and female, good
and evil, positive and negative ; the whole series of
contrasted qualities. When latent (during the per-
iod of Night) it is unrecognizable, and becomes the
unknowable Deity. It can be known only when ac-
tive, as matter-Force, and living Spirit, the correla-
tions and expression, on the visible plane, of the ulti-
mate and ever-unknown Unity.

In its turn this triple unit is the producer of the
four primary Elements, which are known in our
visible, terrestrial nature as the seven (so far the
five elements), each divisible into seven times sevea
sub-elements, with about seventy of which chemistry
is acquainted (1888). Every cosmical element, such
as Fire, Air, etc., partaking of the qualities and (te-
fects of its primary, is in its nature good and evil,
Force (or Spirit) and Matter, etc., and each, there-
fore, is at the same time Life and Death, Health and
Disease, Action and Reaction (v. § XIV., The Fo^
Elements).

The Hindus have an endless series of allegoriefi
to express this idea. In the primordial Chaos, be-
fore it became developed into the Seven Oceans, em-
blematic of the seven conditioned qualities, lie latent
both Amrita (immortality) and Visha (poison,
death, evil). This allegory is found in the ** Churn-
ing of the Ocean '^ by the gods. Amrita is beyond
any quality, for it is unconditioned per se, yet when
fallen into the phenomenal creation it became mixed
up with Evil, Chaos with latent Theos in it, before
Kosmos was evolved. Hence we find Vishnu—

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 197

Btanding here for eternal Law, periodically calling
forth Kosmos into activity — churning out of the
primitive Ocean {boundless Chaos) the Amrita of
Eternity, reserved only for the gods ; and he has to
eznploy in the task both good and bad spirits. The
"whole allegory is highly philosophical, and we find it
repeated in every philosophical system. Plato, hav-
ing fully embraced the ideas of Pythagoras (who
had brought them from India), compiled and pub-
lished them in a form more intelligible than the
mysterious numerals of the Greek Sage.

On" the Hidden Deity, its Symbols and Glyphs

The Logos or Creative Deity, the " Word made
Plesh ' ' of every religion, has to be traced to its
ultimate source and essence. True Esoteric philos-
ophy, however, speaks neither of " creation " nor of
'* evolution," in the sense that the exoteric religions
Use. The many peraonified Powers are not evolu-
tions from one another, but so many aspects of the
one and sole manifestation of the Absolute All.
Nor are most of the Gnostic systems, which come
down to us mutilated by the Church Fathers, any-
Uiing better than the distorted shells of the original
speculations. Nor were they open to the public at
auy time, for had their hidden meaning been re-
pealed, it would have been no longer an esoteric
teaching. While the Logoi of all countries and re-
hgions are correlative (in their sexual aapeets) with
tfae female Soul of the World, or " the Great Deep,"
the Deity from which these two in one have their
feeing is ever concealed, and called the " Hidden
One," connected only indirectly with (so-called)

198 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

creation, as it can act only through the Dual Force
emanating from the Eternal Essence. Even iBscu-
lapius, called ' * the Saviour of all, ' ' is identical, ac-
cording to ancient classics, with Phta, the Egyptian
Creative Intellect (or Divine Wisdom), and Phtais,
in one of his aspects, the *' Anima Mundi," the
'' Universal Soul " of Plato, the '' Holy Ghost ''of
the early Christians and Gnostics, the Ahasa of the
Hindus, and, even in its lowest aspect, the AstrA
Light.

Whence, then, all this identity of ideas if there
was no primeval relation ? If we turn to that most
hazy of all cosmogonies, the Chinese, even there the
same ideas are found. If we turn to Chaldea, 'n
find in it Anu, the concealed deity; Bel, the Creator,
the Spirit of God moving on the face of tiie watem,
and Hea, the Universal Soul, the wisdom of the tbree
combined. And all of these, as symbols of water,
had aquatic animals and plants sacred to them, the
ibis, the swan, the goose, the crocodile, the frog, the
lotus, etc.

These symbols, chosen for the majestic idea of
the Universal Principle, will seem little calculated
to express its sacred character. A goose, or even a
swan, may appear unfit to represent the grandeur of
the Spirit. Nevertheless, it must have had some
deep occult meaning, as it figures in every cos-
mogony, and was even chosen by the Crusaders (if
we may credit Professor Draper) to precede them
at the head of the army, a white gander being to
them the vehicle of the Holy Ghost. The Egyptian
God of Time, Seb, carries a goose on his head, and
Jupiter and Brahma assumed the form of a swaii)
because the root of all this symbolism is that mys-
tery of mysteries — the Mundane Egg.

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

The Mundane Egg

I The Egg was incorporated as a sacred symbol in
the cosmogony of every people on the Earth, and
"Was revered both on account of ita form and its in-
ner mystery. From the earhest mental conceptions
of man it was known as representing most success-
fully the origin and mystery of being. The gradual
development of the invisible germ within the closed
shell; the inward working, without any apparent
outward interference, of some force that from a la-
tent nothing produced an active something, needing
Bought save heat, which, having gradually evolved
into a living creature, broke its shell, appearing to
the outward senses a self -generated and self-created
being- — this must have been a perpetual miracle from
the first.

The secret teaching explains the reason for the
reverence of the Egg in the symbolism of the pre-
historic races. The " First Cause " had no name
in the beginning. Later it was pictured in the fancy
of the thinkers as an ever invisible, mysterious Bird
that dropped an Egg into Chaos, which Egg became
the Universe. Hence Brahm was called Kalahansa,
" the swan in {Space and) Time." He became " the
Swan of Eternity," who lays at the beginning of
each great cycle a Golden Egg.

The second reason why the egg was chosen as the
^yiobolioal representation of the universe, and of
otxr earth, was its form. It was a circle and a sphere,
J'-'nd the ovoid shape of our globe must have been
l^iiown from the beginning of symbology, since the
^ymbol was so universally adopted. The fir.st mani-
festation of the Kosmos in the form of an egg was
''fac most widely diffused belief of antiquil^. As

200 THE SECRET DOCTBINE

Bryant shows, it was a symbol adopted among the
Greeks, Syrians, Persians and Egyptians. In chap.
65 of the Egyptian Ritual, Seb, the god of Time and
of the Earth (sometimes represented, as we have
seen, with a goose on his head), is spoken of as hav-
ing laid an egg, or the Universe, * * an Egg conceived
at the hour of the great one of the Dual Force."

With the Greeks, the Orphic Egg is described by
Aristophanes, and was part of the Dionysiac and
other Mysteries, during which the Mundane Egg v^as
consecrated, and its significance explained. Both in
Greece and in India the first visible male being, who
united in himself the nature of both sexes, abode in
the egg and issued from it. This * * first-bom of the
world *' was Dionysius with some Greeks, the god
who sprang from the mundane egg, and from whom
the mortals and immortals were derived. The god
Ra is shown in The Book of the Dead beaming in
his egg (the Sun), and he starts oflf as soon as tiie
god Shoo (the Solar energy) awakens and gives him
the impulse.

In view of the circular symbol, the ** 1 *> issuing
from the ** 0 " or the egg, or the male from the
female in the androgyne, it is strange to find a
scholar saying (on the ground that the most ancient
Indian MSS. show no trace of it) that the ancient
Aryans were ignorant of the decimal notation. We
might reasonably answer that although we possess
no certain proof (exoterically) that the decimal no-
tation was known to Pythagoras, who lived at the
very close of the archaic ages, 608 b. c, yet we have
sufficient evidence to show that the full numbers, as
given by Boethius, were known to the Pythagoreans
even before Alexandria was built, 332 b. c. But we
know more than that ; we knoiv that the decimal sys-
tem must have been familiar to the mankind of the
earliest archaic ages, since the whole astronomical
and geometrical portion of the secret sacerdotal Ian-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 201

Kge was built upon the number 10, or tbe combina-
of the male and female principles, and the
^j.amid of " Cheopa " ia built upon the measures
o»f this decimal notation, or rather upon the digits
^md their combinations with the nought. Of this,
ibowever, sufficient was said in Isis Unveiled.

The symbolism of the Lunar and Solar deities is
^0 inextricably mixed up that it is next to impossible
"tiO separate such glyphs as the egg, tbe lotus and the
* ' sacred animals ' ' from each other. The ibis, for
instance, was held in the greatest veneration in
lEgypt, where it was sacred to Isis. There were two
imds, one black, the other black and white, the lat-
ter sacred to the moon, because of her bright and
dark sides. Hermes is said to have watched over the
Egyptians in the form of the ibis religiosa, and
taaght them the occult arts and sciences. This-
iBeans simply that this ibis had, and has, " mag-
ical " proi)erties in common with many other birds,
the albatross pre-eminently.

Were it otherwise, why should all tbe ancient peo-
'lea have had such a dread of killing certain birds T
^e veneration of some nations for birds was such
tliat Zoroaster, in bis precepts, forbids their slaugh-
ter as a heinous crime. Why should so many peo-
ples have believed in divination by birds, and even in
zoomancy, said by Suidas to have been imparted by
C>lT)heu8, who taught how to perceive in the cou-
'^nts of the egg under certain conditions that which
Jlie bird born from it would have seen around it dur-
'1 g its short life ! This occult art of three thousand
yesars ago, which demanded the greatest learning
^*ld the most abstruse mathematical calculations, has
^<iw fallen into the depths of degradation; it is old
*^c»okB and fortune-tellers who read the future to
B^Tvant-girls in search of husbands, by means of the
'te of an egg in a glass.
1,8 truly stated by Eagon, " the ancient Hiero-

plea

rhe

202 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

phants have combined so cleverly the dogmas and
symbols of their religious philosophies that these
symbols can be fully explained only by the comU-
nation and knowledge of all the keys, ' ' They can
only be approximately interpreted even if one finds
out three out of the seven systems; the anthropo-
logical, the psychic and the astronomical. The two
chief interpretations, the highest and the lowest, the
spiritual and the physiological, they preserved in
the greatest secrecy until the latter fell under the
dominion of the profane. Thus far, with regard
only to the prehistoric Hierophants, with whom that
which has now become purely (or impurely) phallic
was a science as profound and as mysterious as biol-
ogy and physiology are now. The other two keys
were those which dealt with the creative gods (the-
ogony ) and with creative man — i.e., the ideal and the
practical mysteries. These interpretations were so
cleverly veiled and combined that many who had
discovered one meaning were baffled in understand-
ing the rest. The highest, the first and the fourth
(theogony in relation to anthropogony) were al-
most impossible to fathom.

To return to the egg. It is owing to the serpent
being oviparous that it became a symbol of wisdom
and an emblem of the Logoi, or the self-born. In
the temple of Philae, in Upper Egypt, an egg was
artificially prepared of clay made of various in-
censes, and it was made to hatch by a peculiar pro-
cess, when a cerastes (the horned viper) was born.
The same was done in antiquity for the cobra, in the
Indian temples. The creative god emerges from the
egg that issues from the mouth of Kiieph, in the
shape of a winged serpent, because the serpent is
the symbol of the All-wisdom. With the Hebrews he
is represented by the *' fljdng or fiery serpents '' of
Moses, and with the Alexandrian mystics he becomes
the Ophio-Christos, the Logos of the Gnostics. The

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 203

Protestants tried to show that the brazen serpent
(because it was lifted on a pole!) had a direct refer-
ence to the mystery of the Crucifixion, but it had a
far nearer relation to the mystery of generation,
Bince if dissociated from the egg with the central
germ, or the circle with its ceiitral point, it became
a purely phallic symbol. When associated with the
ogg, the serpent related to cosmic creation.

In Egyi^t the Egg was the symbol of life in im-
■mortality and eternity; as also the glyph of the gen-
erative matrix; and the tau, associated with it, only
of life and birth in generation. The Mundane Egg
■Was placed in Khnoom, the " Waters of Space," or
the feminine abstract principle (Khnoom becoming
■with the fall of mankind into generation, Ammon
the creative god) ; and when P/tia/t the " fiery god "
carries the Mundane Egg in his hand, then the sym-
bolism becomes quite terrestrial and concrete in its
significance. In conjunction with the hawk, the sym-
bol of Osiris-Sun, it is dual, and relates to both lives,
CEdipus Egyptiaciis (vol. 3, p. 124) one can see on
tlie papynis engraved there an egg floating above
the mummy. This is the symbol of the hope and
promise of a second birth for the Osirified dead; his
soul, after due purification in the Amenti, will ges-
tate in this egg of immortality, to be reborn from it
into a new life on earth. For this Egg, in the
esoteric doctrine, is the Devachan or Heaven, the
?-bode of bliss, of which the winged scarabseus also
i,s a symbol. The " winged globe " is but another
lortQ of the egg, and has the same significance as the
^carabESUs, the Khopiroo (from the root Khoproo,

to become," "to be reborn "), which relates to
*-*le rebirth of man, as well as to his spiritual re-
S^^neration.

In the theogony of Moschus we find ^ther first,
^^<i then Air, from which the visible universe of
^^atter is born out of the Mundane Egg.

204 THE SECRET DOCTBINB

In the Orphic Hymns, the Eros-Phanes evolves
from the divine Egg, which the ethereal Fwii
impregnate.

In the Hindu Kathopanishad, the divihe Spirit
stands before primordial Matter, and from tiidr
union springs the great Soul of the World, Spirit of
Life, etc., all such appellations being identical wi&
Anima Mundi, the Astral Light of the Kabalist and
Occultist, or the * ' Egg of Darkness. ^ ^ Besides this,
there are many charming allegories scattered
through the sacred books of the Brahmins. In one
place it is the female Creator, who is first a germ,
then a drop of heavenly dew, a pearl and then an
egg. In such cases, of which there are many, the
Egg gives birth to the four elements within the fifth,
(ether,) and is covered with seven coverings, whieh
become later on the seven upper and the seven lower
worlds. Breaking in two, the shell becomes the
heavens and the yolk the earth, the white forming
the terrestrial waters. Then, again, it is Vishnu who
emerges from the egg, a lotus in his hand.

The egg was sacred to Isis ; the priests of Egypt
never ate eggs on that account. Diodorus Sicidus
states that Osiris was born from an egg like Brahma.
From Leda 's egg Apollo and Latona were bom, as
also Castor and Pollux, the bright Gemini.. The
Chinese believe that their first man was bom from
an egg, which Tien, a god, dropped down from
heaven into the waters.

In the Scandinavian cosmogony the Mundane Ejjf
is again discovered in the phantom-germ of the Uni-
verse, which is represented as lying in the cup of
illusion, the boundless and void abyss. Into this
world-matrix, Nebelheim (the mist-place, in the
astral light, the nebular, as it is called now) dropped
a ray of cold light, which overflowed the cup and
froze in it. Then the Invisible blew a scorching
wind, which dissolved the frozen waters^ and clearw

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 205

the mist. These waters (chaos) distilling in vivify-
ing drops, fell down and created the earth and the
giant Ymir, who only had " the semblance of man "
(the Heavenly Man), and the cow Andhumla {the
" mother," or astral light) from whose udder flowed
four streams of milk (the four cardinal points, the
four rivers of Eden, etc.), which " four " are sym-
bolized by the cube in all its various and mystic
meanings.

The Christian, especially the Greek and Latin
Churches, have fully adopted the symbol of the egg,
and see in it a representation of life eternal, of sal-
Tation and of resurrection, which they commemorate
in the exchanging of " Easter eggs." Prom the
anguinum, the " Egg " of the pagan Druid, whose
Uame alone made Rome tremble with fear, to the red
Easter egg of the Slavonian peasant, a cycle has
passed, and yet, in civilized Europe as among the
abject savages of Centra! America, we find the same
archaic, primitive thought.

The Days and Nights of Bhahma

This is the name given to the periods of active
o.nd of passive existence in the Universe; or Man-
"^atitara (between the Manus) and Pralaya (disso-
^■Qtion), whether it be at the end of a " Day " or
of an " Age " of Brahma. Half of the existence of
Brahm& (in the present Great Cycle) has already
expired; the last Age was that of the Golden Lotus,
the present one being the Boar avatar, or incarna-
tion.

The esoteric biography of Gantama Buddha shows
this great Sage dying of an indigestion of pork and
This is explained as an allegorical reference

1^'

206 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

to his having been born in the ** Boar Age,'' whea
Brahma assumed the form of that animal to raiae
the earth out of the '' Waters of Space." (This
was no simple boar, however, and seems to have
meant at first some antediluvian lacustrine aninal
^* delighting to sport in water." Vayu Purdna.)
Brahminism (of the Boar Age) has slaughtered the
religion of Buddha in India; therefore Buddha,
identified with his philosophy, is said to have died
from eating the flesh of a wild hog. The idea of one
who established the most rigorous vegetarianism,
and even refused to eat eggs, as vehicles of a latetA
future life, dying of a meat indigestion is absurdly
contradictory. But the allegory explains it all.

By the scholar who studies the Hindu religion
from the Puranas, one thing is to be especially noted.
He must not take literally and in one sense only the
statements found therein, since the greater and
smaller cycles are spoken of in the same terms, and
the allegories relate both to the past and the present
age, and also to many minor cycles. Not even Eso-
teric philosophy can claim to know, except by ana-
logical inference, what took place before the reap-
pearance of our solar system, and previous to the
last great period of Night. But it teaches distinctly
that after the first geological disturbance .of the
Earth's axis (which ended in the sweeping down to
the bottom of the sea the whole second Continent,
with its primeval races) there came another disturb-
ance, which restored the axis as rapidly to its pre-
vious degree of inclination, when the earth was in-
deed raised once more out of the waters. As above,
so it is below, and vice versa.

There are many kinds of Pralaya or Night or Dis-
solution; but three chief ones are specially men-
tioned. The first comes at the end of a Day of
Brahma; it is the destruction of creatures, of all
that lives and has a form, but not of the Substance

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 207

which remains in statu quo till the new Dawn after
that** Night/' The second occurs at the end of an
Age of Brahma, when everything that exists is re-
solved into the primal element, to be remodelled at
the end of that longer Night. But the third does
not concern the worlds or the Universe, but only the
individualities of some people ; it is thus individual
Night, or Nirvana; after which there is no more
fnture existence possible, no rebirth till after ** the
Great Nighf This being a period of 311,040,000,-
000,000 years, is long enough to be regarded as
fkrnal if not endless. The Bhagavata (XII., iv. 35)
q)eak8 of a fourth kind of pralaya, constant dissolu-
tion, liie change which takes place imperceptibly in
everything in this Universe, without cessation, from
the globe down to the atom. It is growth and decay,
life and death.

After the final Night, the death of Kosmos, its
Spirit rests in Nirvana, or in That for which there
ia neither Day nor Night, and everything, the
"Gods " themselves included, is reabsorbed into its
original One Element. All the other '^ nights '' are
periodical, and follow the life-cycles in regular suc-
cession, as night follows the day of every human
creation, animal and plant. The cycle of creation
of the lives of Kosmos runs down, the energy of the
Bjanifested ** Word " having its growth, culmina-
tion and decrease, as have all things temporary,
however long their duration. The Creative Force is
eternal as Noumenon; as a phenomenal manifesta-
tion in its aspects, it has a beginning, and must,
therefore, have an end. Between the two it has its
periods of activity and its periods of rest. And
these are ** the Days and Nights of Brahma." But
Brahma, the Noumenon, never rests, as It never
changes, and ever is.

In the Jewish Zohar we read as follows : ' ' As
Moses was keeping a vigil on Mt. Sinai in company

208 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

with the Deity, who was hidden from his sight by
a cloud, he felt a great fear overcome him, and sud-
denly asked : ^ Lord, where art thou f Sleepest thou,
0 Lord? ^ And the Spirit answered him: * I never
sleep ; were I to fall asleep for a moment bepobb my
TIME all creation would crumble into dissolution in
one instant.' ''

'^ Before my time " is very suggestive. It shows
the God of Moses to be only a temporary substitute,
and an aspect of that which is immutable, and which
therefore can take no part in the ** days " and
*' nights.''

Vamadeva Modelyar describes the oncoming of
Night most poetically. Though given in Isis Un-
veiled, it is worthy of repetition.

** Strange noises are heard, proceeding from
every point. . . . These are the precursors of
the Night of Brahma, diosk rises at the horizon, and
the Sun passes away behind the thirteenth degree of
Makara (Capricorn), and will reach no more tho
sign of the Minas (Pisces). The gurus of the pago-
das appointed to watch the Zodiac may now break
their circle and instruments, for they are henceforth
useless. Gradually light pales, heat diminishes, un-
inhabited spots multiply on the earth, the air be-
comes more and more rarefied ; the springs of th^
waters dry up, the great rivers see their waves ex-
hausted, the ocean shows its sandy bottom anJ
plants die. Men and animals decrease in size daily-
Life and motion lose their force, planets can hardly
gravitate in space ; they are extinguished, one by
one, like a lamp which the hand of the servant for-
gets to replenish. The sun flickers and goes out,
matter falls into dissolution, and Brahma (the Cre-
ative God) merges back into the unrevealed God,
and his task being accomplished, falls asleep. An-
other day is past, another night sets in, and con-
tiniies until the future dawn.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 209

" And now again He (Brahma) re-enters into the
goJden egg of His Thought, the genu of all that ex-
ists. During His peaceful rest the animated beings
endowed with the principles of action cease their
functions, and all intelligence becomes dormant.
When they are all absorbed in the Supreme Soul,
this Soul of all beings sleeps in complete repose till
the day when it resumes its form and awakes again
from its primitive darkness." (Jacolliot, L'Inde
des Brahmes, p. 230.)

As the Golden Age is always the first in the
series of four Ages, so the Black Age ever comes
last. The Black Age now reigns supreme in India,
and seems to coincide with that of the West. " In
the Black Age," says the Vishnu Purana, " decay
wUl constantly proceed, until the human race ap-
proaches its dissolution. . . . When the close
of the Black Age shall be nigh, a portion of that
Divine Being which exists of its own spiritual na-
ture . . . shall descend on earth . . . en-
dowed with the eight superhuman faculties. {Kalki,
or White Horse Avatar, v. Rev. xis. 11.) He will
re-establish righteousness on earth, and the minds
of those who live at the close of the Dark Age shall
be awakened and become as pellucid as crystal. The
men who are thus changed . . . shall he the
Seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race
who shall follow the laws of the Golden Age, the age
of parity."

Section VIU
The Lotus as a Univehsal Symbol

^^^bH ancient aSTnbols have a deep and philosophical
Tneaning, their importance and significance increas-
ing with their antiquity, and this is especially the
ise with the Lotus. It is the flower sacred to Na-

L.jase wi

210 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ture and her gods, and represents the abstract and
the concrete universes, standing as the emblem of
the productive powers of both physical and spiritual
nature. It was held sacred from the remotest an-
tiquity by the Aryan Hindus, the Egyptians and the
Buddhists after them ; revered in China and Japan,
and adopted as a Christian emblem by the Greek and
Latin Churches, who replace it with the white lily.
In every picture of the Annunciation the angel Ga-
briel appears to the Virgin Mary with a spray of
white lilies in his hand. This spray, typifying fire
and water, or the idea of creation and regeneration,
has precisely the same significance as the lotus in
the hand of the Bodhisat, who announces to Gau-
tama 's mother the birth of the Buddha. With the
Hindus the lotus is the emblem of the productive
power of nature through the agency of fire and water
(spirit and matter). Sir Wm. Jones shows that
the seeds of the lotus contain, even before they ger-
minate, the miniature shapes of the perfected leaves.
(Its seed-vessel is ripened on the surface of the
water, and contains seven seed-receptacles. The
flower is first female and then male.) The lotus
is, therefore, the twofold type of the divine and hu-
man hermaphrodite, as combining the two sexes.

The spirit of Fire, or heat, which animates, fructi-
fies and develops into concrete form — from its ideal
prototype — everything which is born of Water, or
primordial Earth, evolved Brahma, the Creative God
of the Hindus. The lotus, represented as growing
out of Vishnu's navel, the god resting on the Ser-
pent of Infinity upon the waters of Space, is the
most graphic of allegories; the Universe evolving
from the central Sun, the Point, the ever-concealed
germ. Lakshmi, the Hindu Venus, the female aspect
of Vishnu, is shown as floating at ^^ Creation " on
a lotus-flower, springing from the foam of the sea.
The underlying idea in. ttii^ symbol is very beauti-

f fnj, and the same in all religious systems. It signi-
I fies the same philosophical idea as lotus or lily, the
emanation of the ohjective from the suhjeetive, di-
vine Ideation passing from the abstract into the
concrete or visible form. At this stage of action the
Demiurge is not yet the Architect. Born in the twi-
I light of action, he has yet to perceive the plan, to
realize the ideal forms which lie buried in the bosom
of Eternal Ideation, as the future lotus leaves are
concealed within the seed.

In Esoteric philosophy the Demiurge or Logos,
regarded as the Ceeatob, is simply an abstract term,
like " army." As the latter term comprises a body
of active working imits, soldiers, so " Demiurge "
is the name of a multitude of Creators or Builders.
In all the primitive religions the " Son of the
I Father " is the creative God — i.e., His thought made
visible, and before the Christian era the triune god-
head of each nation was fully defined and substan-
tiated in its allegories.

Such is the cosmic and ideal significance of this
great symbol with the Eastern peoples. But applied
to practical and exoteric worship — although that
aleo had its esoteric symbology — the lotus became
in time the carrier and container of a more terres-
trial idea. No dogmatic religion has been altogether
free from the sexual element; and to this day that
element soils the moral beauty of the root idea.

"Whether the early Fathers of the Church knew
the esoteric meaning of the Hebrew Old Testament,
or whether only a few of them were aware of it, is
for posterity to decide. One thing is certain, at any
rate. The esotericism of the New Testament agrees
perfectly with that of the Mosaic books, and the New
Testament writers have adopted several symbols
thftt typify purely Egyptian conceptions and beliefs
— -in their outward and inward meaning— which are
^ot to be found in the Jewish Canon. One of such

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 211

212 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

symbols is the lily in the hands of the angel of the
Annunciation, and these symbols are preserved to
this day in the iconography of the Greek and Eoman
Churches. Thus water, fire, the cross, as well as the
dove, the Lamb, and other sacred animals, yield eso-
terically an identical meaning, and must have been
accepted as an improvement upon Judaism pure and
simple.

For the Lotus and Water are among the oldest
symbols, and in their origin are purely Aryan,
though they became common property at the branch-
ing off of the Fifth Race. Let us give an exampla
Letters, as well as numbers, were all mystic, whether
taken in combination or separately. The most sacred
of all is the letter M. It is both feminine and mascu-
line, or androgyne, and symbolizes Water, the Great
Deep, in its origin. It is mystic in all the langnages,
both Eastern and Western, and stands as a glyph
for the waves, thus : ^. So the tenth sign of flie
Zodiac (Capricorn) in the East is Makara, a croco-
dile, or rather an aquatic monster, always associated
with water. The letter MA in Sanskrit is equivalent
to and corresponds with number 5 — composed of a
binary, the symbol of the two sexes separated, and
of the ternary, symbol of the third life, their prog-
eny. Maitreya is the secret name of the fifft
Buddha, the last Messiah, who will come at the cul-
mination of the Great Cycle. M is also the initial
letter of the Greek Metis, or Divine Wisdom; of
Mary, the mother of Christ, and Maya, the mother of
Buddha. Even Moses, found in the waters of the
Nile, has the symbolical initial in his name. A re-
minder of the three Marys at the Crucifixion, and
their connection with Mar^ the sea, may close this
example. This is why in Judaism and Christianity
the Messiah is always connected with tvater, baptisna,
the Fish (the tenth sign of the Zodiac called Mee-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 213

nam in Sanskrit), and even with the Matsya Avatar,
and the lily or lotus.

In the relics of ancient Egypt, the greater the an-
tiquity of the votive symbols and emblems exhumed,
the of tener are the lotus and the water found in con-
nection with the Solar gods. The god Khnoom, the
moist power — sits on a throne enshriued in a lotus.
(Saitic epoch, Sarapeum.) The god Bes stands on
a lotus ; Thoth, the god of mystery, sits on a full-
blown lotus, and finally the goddess Hiquet, in the
shape of a frog, rests on the lotus. The frog or toad
goddess was one of the chief Cosmic deities con-
neoted with creation, both on account of her amphibi-
ous nature and because of her apparent resurrection
after being shut up for ages in stones, etc. She not
only took part with Khnoom in the organization of
the world, but was also connected with the Egyptian
dogma of resurrection, after 3,000 years of purifica-
tion in ** the fields of bliss." The early Egyptian
Christian adopted the emblem, and a frog enshrined
in a lotus flower, or sometimes without it, was the
fonn chosen for the Church lamps, on which were
engraved the words, '* I am the resurrection."
These frog goddesses are also found on all the mum-
mies.

Section IX

The Moon in Symbolism

This archaic symbol is the most poetical of all
symbols, as also the most philosophical. The Sun is
the giver of life to the whole planetary system ; the
Moon is the giver of life to our globe, and the early
races understood this from their very beginning.
She is the Queen, and she is the King, for she was
King Soma before ehe became Phoebe and the chaste

214 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Diana. She is pre-eminently the deity of the Chris-
tians through the Mosaic and Kabalistic Jews, in
fact ever since the last initiated Father of the
Church died, carrying with him to the grave the se-
crets of the pagan temples. For such of the Fathers
as Origen or Clement, the Moon was Jehovah ^s liv-
ing symbol ; the giver of Life and Death, the dis-
poser of being — ^in our world. As Luna or Lucina,
she presided over childbirth and life ; as Hecate she
was the goddess of death, and ruled in the under-
world over magic and enchantments ; in heaven she
was the chaste Diana, the Queen of Night. As the
personified moon, whose phenomena are triadic,
Diana-Hecate-Luna, is the three in one, the Dim
triformis. Hence she is the prototype of the Chrifl-
tian Trinity, which has not always been entirely
male. The number seven derives its sacredness from
the fourfold number 7 contained in the 28 days of
the lunar month, each septenary portion being typi-
fied by one quarter of the moon.

Whether the Egyptian or the Aryan Hindu relig-
ious philosophy is the more ancient — the Secret Doc-
trine says the latter — does not much matter in this
instance, as the lunar and solar ^' worship '' are the
most ancient in the world. Both have survived, and
prevail to this day throughout the world, with some
openly, with others, as in Christian symbolism, se-
cretly. We have already spoken of the cat (v. § I.)
as a symbol of the Moon, and therefore sacred to
Isis, who was herself the Moon in one sense, as
Osiris was the Sun.

Though the regular Sun-worshippers, the ParsiSi
are few, yet not only is the bulk of the Hindu mythol-
ogy and history based upon and interblended with
these two cults, but also the Christian religion it-
self. It is useless and vain for Protestants to e^'
claim against Roman Catholics for their '* Maria^'
atry/' based on the ancient worship of lunar god'

'■THE SECEET DOCTRINE 215

desses, when they themselves worship Jehovah, pre-
eminently a hinar god, and when both Churches have
accepted in their theologies the " Sun "-Christ, and
the lunar trinity.

What is known of Chaldean Moon-worship, of the
Babylonian god Sin, called by the Greeks Deus
Lunus, is very little, and that little is apt to mislead
the profane student who fails to grasp the esoteric
significance of the symbols.

In the unpublished MS. already mentioned on the
symbolical langTiage, a logical raison d'etre is given
for this lunar-solar worship.

" One of the first occupations among men," the
"writer says, " would be the perception of time-
jjeriods marked on the vaulted arch of the heavens.
These would come to be marked as those of day and
Bight, of the phases of the moon, the recurrence of
the seasons, etc., and such knowledge must be taken
to have been inherent in the human race prior to
what we call the historic period."

On this basis, the author seeks for some natural
physical function possessed in common by the hu-
man race coincident with these time-periods, so that
the connection between the two kinds of plienomena
became fixed in popular usuage. He finds it (a) " in
the feminine physiological phenomena recurring
every lunar month of 28 days, or 4 weeks of 7 days
each. (6) The quickening of the foetus is marked
by a period of 126 days, or 18 weeks of 7 days each,
(c) That period called ' the period of viability ' is
one of 210 days, or 30 weeks of 7 days each, (d) The
period of parturition is accomplished in 280 days, or
40 weeks of 7 days, or 10 lunar months of 28 days, or
9 calendar months of 31 days each. . . . Thus
the observed periods of time marking the workings
of the birth function would naturally become a basis
of astronomical calculation, . . . We may al-
most afi&rm that this was the mode of reckoning

r er

^H or
^H til

216 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

among all nations, either independently or intert
mediately and indirectly by tuition. It was the mod^
with the Hebrews, for even to-day they calculate tbt)
calendar by means of the 354 and 355 days of thi
lunar year, and we possess special evidence that jji
was the mode with the Egyptians, as to which thig
is the proof. . . . Notoriously Osiris was tbo
Sun and the river Nile, the tropical year of 365 daya*
which number is the value of the word Neilos, anc
the bull, as he was also the principle of fire and life=
giving force, while Isis was the Moon, the bed of tha
river Nile, or the mother Earth, to whose parturient
energies water was a necessity-, the lunar year of
354-364 days, the time-marker of the periods of gea^
tation ; and the cow, whose horns represented thi
crescent new moon. . . . But the use of the co^
of the Egyptians for the women of the Hebrews wa
merely the substitution of a symbol of common ini
port, which was this: the period of parturition witi
the cow and the woman was held to be the same, 281
days or ten lunar months of four weeks each. And
in this period consisted the essential value of thia^
animal symbol, whose mark was that of the crescent
moon. (Hence the worship of the moon by the He-
brews. H. P. B.) . • . These periods are found
to have been the subjects of sjTnbolism all over the 1
world. They were thus used by the Hindus, and are -«
found to be most plainly set forth by the ancient ~
Americans, in the Richardson and Gest tablets, in
the Palenque cross ; and manifestly lay at the basfti
of the formation of the calendar forms of the Mayas,
of Yucatan, the Hindus, the Assyrians and the anr;
eient Babylonians, as well as the Egyptians and old!
Hebrews. The natural symbols . . . would be]
either the lingam, or the lingam and yoni .
or male and /emoZe. Indeed the words translated by 1
the generalizing terms ' male ' and ' female * ""

' THE SECRET DOCTRINE 217

the 27th verse of the 1st chapter of Genesis are
sacr and n'cabrah, or, literally lingam and yoni,
while the representation of the phallic emblems
would barely indicate the genital members of the
human body when their functions and the develop-
ment of the seed-vesicles emanating from them was
considered; then would come into indication a mode
of measures of lunar time, and later of solar time."

This is the physiological or anthropological key to
the Moon symbol. The key that opens the mystery
of theogony or the evolution of the Cyclic g;ods is
more complicated, and has nothing phallic in it. All
is mystical and divine there. But the Jews, beyond
connecting Jehovah directly with the Moon as a gen-
erative god, preferred to ignore the higher hier-
archies, and have made of some of them (the zodia-
cal and planetary gods) their Patriarchs, thus eu-
phemerizing the purely theosophical idea, and drag-
ging it down to the level of sinful humanity. (See
§ XVII., Vol. II., " The Holy of Holies.") This MS.
shows in clear language what the writer has- always
maintained, namely, that Jehovah was no better
than the lunar symbol of the reproductive or genera-
tive faculty in Nature.

" With the ancient wise there was no name and
no idea and no symhol of a First Cause. . . .
But the symbol of its first comprehensible manifes-
tation was the conception of a circle with its diam-
eter line, to carry at once a geometric, astronomic
and phallic idea. . . . This idea of connecting
the circle and its diameter line, that is, 10, with the
signification of the reproductive organs, and the
Most Holy Place, was carried out constrnctively in
the King's Chamber, or Holy of Holies of the great
Pyramid, in the Tabernacle of Moses, and in the
Holy of Holies of Solomon's Temple. . . . It is
the picture of a double womb, for in Hebrew the let-

218 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ter he n is at the same time the number 5 and tt^
symbol of the womb, and twice 5 is 10, or the phallic
number. ' '

This * ' double womb ' ' also shows the duality ai
the idea carried from the highest spiritual down to
the lowest or terrestrial plane and by the Jews, lim-
ited to the latter. With them, therefore, the number
seven has acquired the most prominent place in their
exoteric religion, as their Sabbath, for instance, the
seventh day, sacred to their deity the moon, the sym-
bol of the generative Jehovah. While with other
nations the number seven was typical of theogenic
evolution, of cycles, cosmic planes and the seven
Forces and occult Powers in Kosmos as a boundless
whole, whose first upper triangle was unreachable
by the finite intellect of man, the Jews centred this
number solely in the moon, and based all their sacred
calculations thereupon. '* Jehovah " is ^' Binah,
the upper meditating Mother, the Great Sea, or
Holy Spirit," therefore rather a synonym of Mary,
the Mother of Jesus, than of his Father; that
** Mother," being the Latin Mare, the Sea, is here
also Venus, the Star of the Sea.

No symbol — the sun included — ^was more complex
in its manifold meanings than the lunar symbol.
The sex was, of course, dual. With some nations
it was male, e.g., the Hindu ** King Soma " and the
Chaldean Sin; with other nations it was female, the
goddesses Diana, Luna, Lucina. In Tauris, human
victims were sacrificed to Artemis, and the Cretans
called her Dictynna. Artemis-Lochia, the goddess
that presided at conception and childbirth, is, in her
functions and as the triple Hecate, the Orphic deitVi
the predecessor of the god of the Rabbis and his ItJ-
nar type. The goddess Trimorphos was the personi-
fied symbol of the moon's phases, while the Or-
pheans explained the epithet as referring to tb<
three Kingdoms of nature over which she reigned

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 219

The correlative forces in the " Queen of Night,"
"•hat lie latent for modern science, bnt are fully active
"to the knowledge of Eastern adepts, explain the
i;housand and one imagea by which the moon was
zrepresented of old. The whole pantheon of the lunar
^ods and goddesses shows on the face of their names
£ad titles (the " Sons " and " Husbiinds " of their
Jif others) their identity with the Chriiritian Trinity.
^In every religious system the gods were made to
:jnerge their functions as father, son and husband
dnto one, and the goddesses were identified as wife,
another and sister of the male god ; the gods synthe-
sising the human attributes as the Sun, " the giver
of Life "; the goddesses merging all other titles in
"the grand synthesis known as Mai'a, Maya, Maria,
«tc., a generic name (and, in the maternal sense,
equivalent to the Moon). Mai'a, in its forced deriv-
ation, has come to mean " mother " from the root
tna (nurse) and even gave its name to the month of
jtfay, which was sacred to all these lunar goddesses
"before it became consecrated to Mary. Its primitive
meaning, however, was Maya Durga, as the source
and cause of spells, the personification of iLLusmN.

Bnt whether male or female, the Moon is the oc-
cult mystery of mysteries, and more a symbol of
«vil than of good. Her seven phases, in their orig-
inal esoteric division, are divided into three astro-
nomical phenomena and four purely psychic i^hases.

The most ancient worship of all was that of tlie
3'hird Race of our (4th) Round, the Hermaphrodites,
io whom the male raoon became sacred, when after
the so-called " Fall " the sexes had become sepa-
rated. " Deus Lunus " then became an androgyne,
niale and female in turn; to serve, finally, as a dual
power to the Fourth Root-race, the AtJanteans, for
purposes of sorcery. With the Fifth Race (our
o.wn) the lunar-solar worship divided the nation;;
distinct, antagonistic camps, and led ,^^

220 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

events described ieons later as the Mahabharata
"War, whieb to Europeans is the fabulous, to HindB
and Occultists the historical, strife between the woi
shippers of the sun, the Suryavansas, and those o
the moon, the Indouansas. Among the Semitic race
the sun was for a very long time feminine and t"
moon masculine — the latter notion being adopte
from Atlantean traditions. The Baal of the Israe
ites, the Skemesh of the Moabites, and the Moloch 6
the Ammonites, was the same Sun — Jehovah, and 1
was " the King of the Host of Heaven," the Sui
as much as Astoreth was " the Queen of Heaven '
or the Moon.

Besides being purely occult, the rites of luna
worship were based, as just shown, upon a kno-ffj
edge of physiology {quite a modern science wit
us), psychology, sacred mathematics, geometry an
metrology, in their right application to symbols t
figures (which are but glyphs, recording observe
natural and scientific facts) ; in short, upon a moa
minute and profound knowledge of nature. Lnnaii
magnetism generates life, preserves and kills i^
psychically as well as physically.

The ancients taught the au/o-gcneration so to
speak, of the gods, the one divine essence unman^
fested, perpetually begetting a second self, ma.
fested, which second self, androgynous in its nature
gives birth in an immaculate way to everythin]
macro- and micro-cosmical in this universe. Thii
must be remembered and taken into eonsideratiol
if we are to understand the symbolical language a
the ancients. All the lunar goddesses had a dusi
aspect, one divine, one infernah All were the virgifli
mothers of an immaculately born Son — the Sun.

In the Egyptian Booh of the Dead Thot-Herme8
is said to bide in the Moon, because he is the repre-
sentative of the Secret Wisdom. He is the mani-
fested Logos of its light side, the concealed Deity

THE SECEET DOCTBINE 221

I bit

Dark Wisdom," when he retires to the oppo-
lite hemisphere. As the wieked ' ' evil ' ' spirits
warred against the Moon in days of yore, so they
are now supposed to contend in vain against the
present Queen of Heaven, Mary — the moon. Hence,
also, the Virgin, or Madonna, standing on the myth-
ical Satan in the form of the Dragon, crushed and
made powerless under her feet. This because the
head and tail of the Dragon, which represent in
Eastern astronomy to this day the ascending and
descending nodes * of the moon, were also symbol-
ized in ancient Greece by the two serpents which
Hercules kills on the day of his birth, and so does
the babe in his Virgin Mother's arms. As Gerald
Massey has aptly observed ; * ' All such symbols fig-
ured their own facts from the first. There was
neither forgery nor interpolation of types; nothing
hut a continuity of imagery with a perversion of its
"ieaning."

Section X
Tree, Seepent, and Chocodile Wobship

Object of horror or of adoration, men have for
the serpent an implacable hatred, or prostrate them-
selves before its genius. In hell it arms the whip
of the Furies, in heaven Eternity makes it its sym-
bol."— De Chateaubriand.

The Ophites maintained that the serpent should
be constantly thanked for the signal service it had
rendered humanity, in teaching Adam that if he ate
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil he would raise himself immensely by the learn-
ing and wisdom he would thus acquire. Such was
the exoteric reason given.

*The two points at wblch Ler orbit Intersects tbe plane of the
ecllpac— Editor.

222 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

It is easy to see whence came the primal idea o
this dual, Janus-like character of the serpent: th
good and the bad. This symbol is one of the mos
ancient, because the reptile preceded the bird an<
the bird the mammal. The legends about the ser
pent are numberless, but as most of them are alle
gorical, they have now passed into the class oi
fables based on ignorance and superstition. For
instance, the ^ ^ Serpent ' ^ and the ^ ^ Dragon ' * were
the names given to * * the Wise Ones, ' ' the initiated
adepts of olden times. Their wisdom and learning
were devoured or assimilated by their followers,
whence the story that the Scandinavian Sigurd
roasted ,and ate the heart of Fafnir the Dragon,
whom he had slain, and became, in consequence, the
wisest of men. Sigurd had become learned in the
runes and magical charms ; he understood the lan-
guage of beast and bird; he had received the
** word '' from an initiate of that name (Fafnirt)
or from a sorcerer, after which the latter died, as
many do, after ** passing the word.'' The ^^ Ser-
pents '' of the Hindu and Thibetan adepts were hu-
man ^* serpents,'' or wise men, not reptiles.

As a symbol, the Serpent had as many aspects
and occult meanings as the Tree itself; the '* Tree
of Life ' ' with which it was emblematically and al-
most indissolubly associated. Payne Kiiight and
Inman, who interpreted the ' ' Tree of Life ' ' as the
cross and phallus, failed to see that their interpre-
tation fitted the symbol only on the lowest and last
stage of the evolutionary development of the idea
of the Giver of Life. It was the last and grossest
transformation of nature in animal, bird, insect, or
even plant ; for bi-une creative magnetism, in the
form of the attraction of the contraries, or sexual
polarization, acts in the constitution of reptile and
bird as it does in that of man. Moreover, the mod-
em symbologists and OtientaVi^t^, being ignorant of

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 223

Ihe real mysteries revealed by occultism, can neces-
sarily see but this last stage. If told that this mode
of procreation, common to all beings on this earth,
ds but a passing phase, a temporary expedient, which
■will alter with tliis and disappear with the next
IRoot-Raee, they would laugh at such a superstitious
■And unscientific idea. But the most learned Oecult-
^Bts assert this because they know it. This universe
■of Eving beings is a witness to the various modes
•of propagation in the evolution of animal and bu-
zman races, and the naturalist ought to sense this
"truth intuitionally.

In the beginning of their joint existence as a glyph
of Immortal Being, the Tree and Serpent were truly
Olivine imagery. The tree was reversed, and its
joots were generated in heaven, and grew out of the
lEootless Root of all being. Its trunk grew and de-
"-veloped, crossing the planes of Space (Pleroma), it
shot out crossways its luxuriant branches, first on
"the plane of hardly differentiated matter, and then
^iownward till they touched the terrestrial plane.
"Thus the Asvattha, Tree of Life and Being, whose
destruction alone leads to Immortality, is said in the
IBhagavadgita to grow with its roots above and its
"branches below. The roots represent the Supreme
ZBeing or First Cause, the Logos ; but one has to go
"beyond those roots to unite one's self with Krishna.
!He only who goes beyond the roots shall never re-
turn— i.e., shall reincarnate no more during this
** Age of Brahma."

It was only when its pure boughs had touched the
terrestrial mud of the Garden of Eden of our
Adamie Race that this Tree got soiled by the contact
and lost its pristine purity; and that the Serpent of
Eernity — the heaven-born Logos — was finally de-
graded. In days of old, of the divine Dynasties on
earth, the serpent was regarded as the first beam of
" it that radiated from the abyss of divine Mystei

224 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ■

Various were the forms it was made to assume, att^
numerous the natural symbols that were adapted €^
it, as it crossed into the Space and Time evolved o\^
of human speculation. These forms were eosmi -^
and astronomical, theistic and pantheistic, abstrac '^
and concrete. They hecame in turn the Polai^^
Dragon and the Southern Cross, the Alpha Draconic
of the Pyramid, and the Chinese Dragon of Wisdom —
They are all seven-headed, the dragons and ser-
pents of antiquity, " one head for each Race, and.
each head with seven hairs on it," as the allegory
has it. This typifies the seven principles throughout
nature and man. The author of The Natural Genesis
(Gerald Massey) thinks that the septenary of stars
seen in the Great Bear and seven-headed DragOD.
furnished a visible origin for the symbolic seven of
time above. He shows that the goddess of the Great
Bear and mother of Time was in Egypt from the-
earliest times the " Living Word," and that
" Sevekh-Kronus, whose type was the Crocodile-.,
Dragon, the preplanetary form of Saturn,
called her son and consort; he was her Word-Lo;
gos " (v. op, cit. II., p. 313, a}id /., p. 321). _

shown in the work just quoted, the seven-headed
or septenary Dragon-Logos had been in course of
time split up, so to speak, into 28 portions. Each
lunar week has a distinct occult character in the
lunar month ; each day of the 28 has its special char-
acteristics, as each of the twelve constellations,
whether separately or in combination with other
signs, has an oeeult influence either for good or evil.
This represents the sum of knowledge that men can
acquire on this earth, yet few are those who acquire
it, and still fewer are the wise men who get to the
root of knowledge symbolized by the great Root-
Dragon, the spiritual Logos of these visible signs.
But those who do, receive the name of " Dragons ''
{or Serpents), and they are " the Arhats of tin

aile-
waa]

A«|

f ■»5'.„„ n

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

^^our Truths of the 28 Faculties," or attributes, and
ilave always been so called.

The croeodiie is the Egyptian dragon. It was the
■^^ual symbol of Heaven and Earth, of Sun and Moon,
-^and was made sacred in consequence of its amphib-
^;*-OUS nature, to both Osiris and Isis. (See Com-
-r^^ent on Stanza VII. f. and in Vol. II., g XXIV., The
■^Cross and the Pythagorean Decade, where the con-
^^^taection of the crocodile with the fifth sign of the
.^Zodiac, with the fifth hierarchy, etc., is fully ex-
::^)lained, as well as its connection with the number 7.
^IMt is also the symbol of the spiritual part of man,
"•ihe reincarnating principle, {v. loc. cit., Stanza VII.

The Serpent became the type and symbol of evil
■^and of the Devil only during the middle ages. The
•^sarly Christians — as well as the Ophite Gnostics —
^fcad their dual Logos, the Good and the Bad Serpent,
"the Agathodjemon and the Kakodsemon, It ia on
•^ach of the seven zones of post mortem ascent, in
"the Hermetic writings, that the " mortal " leaves
«Dne of his " souls " (or principles); until arrived
^jn the plane above all zones, he remains as the great
formless Serpent of absolute wisdom — or the Deity
itself. The seven-headed serpent has more than one
signification in the arcane teachings. It is the seven-
teaded Draco, each of whose heads is a star of the
Xiittle Bear; but it is also, and pre-eminently, the
Serpent of Darkness (i.e., inconceivable and incom-
prehensible), whose seven beads were the seven
Logoi, the reflections of the one and first manifested
"Lfeht — the Universal Logos.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Demon est Deos Ihtessus

I
I

This sjmboiieal sentence is certainly most dan-
gerous and iconoclastic in the face of all the dualiatic
later religions, or rather theologies, and especially
so in the light of Christianity. Yet it is neither jnst.
nor correct to say that it is Christianity which has
conceived and bronght forth Satan. As an " adveP
sary," the opposing power required by the eqnilU
brium and harmony of things in Nature, like night M
bring into greater relief the day — Satan has evei
existed. One cannot claim God as the synthesis oi
the whole Univerfie, as Omnipresent, and Omniscieni
and Infinite, and then divorce Him from evil, Ai
there is far more evil than good in the world, it fol
lows logically that God must either include evil oi
stand as the direct cause of it; or else surrender Hii
claims to absoluteness. The ancients understoW
this 60 well that their philosophers defined evil a
the lining of good, or God ; Demon est Dens inversii
being a very old adage. Indeed evil is reaction, of
position and contrast, evil for some, good for othen
There is no malum in se; only the shadow of liglt
without which light could have no existence, even i
our perceptions. If evil disappeared from the eart
good would disappear along with it. In the Syro
Chaldean magic Ophis and Ophiomorphos are joinet
In the Zodiac, at the sign of Virgo-Scorpio. Every,
where the speculations of the Kabalists treat of eTii
as a FOKOE, which is antagonistic, but at the samflf
time essential to good. There would be no life pos-
sible (in our world of illusion) without death, no!
regeneration and reconstruction without destruction.
Plants would perish in eternal snnlight, and srf
would man, who would become an automaton witte

THE SECRKT DOCTRINE 227

out the exercise of his free will aud his aspirations
after that sunlight which would lose its being and its
Talue for him had he nothing but light.

In human nature evil denotes only the polarity of
anatter and spirit, a struggle for life between the
iwo manifested principles in Space and Time, prin-
■ciples which are one per se, inasmuch as they are
jooted in the Absolute. In Kosmos the equilibrium
must be preserved. The operations of the two con-
traries produce harmony, like the centripetal and
centrifugal forces, which are necessary to each
other — mutually interdependent — " in order that
both should live." If one be arrested, the action of
the other will immediately become self-destructive.

The personification called Satan has been amply
analyzed in Chapter X., Vol. 2, of Isis Unveiled, and
in several subsequent chapters of this book. The
present subject is touched upon here for very good
reasons. Before we can approach the evolution of
physical and divine man we have first to master
the idea of cyclic evolutfon, and to acquaint our-
selves with the philosophies and beliefs of the four
Races which preceded our own, to learn the ideas of
those Titans and giants — giants, verily, mentally aa
well as physically. The whole of antiquity was im-
bued with that philosophy which teaches the invo-
lution of spirit into matter, the progressive, down-
ward cyclic descent. The Alexandrian Gnostics
have sufficiently divulged the secret of initiations,
and their records are full of " the sliding down of
^ons " in their double quality of Angelic Beings
and periods of Time, the one the natural evolution
of the other. On the other hand, Oriental tradition
is as full of allegories about the downfall of the
gods. One and all allegorized and explained the
Pall as the desire to learn and a-cquire Knowledge —
to Know, This is the natural sequence of mental
evoltition, the spiritual becoming transmuted into the

228 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

material or physical. The same law of descent into
materiality and reascent into spirituality asserted
itself during the Christian era, the reaction having
only just stopped, in our own special sub-race.
(Fifth sub-race of the Fifth Eoot-Eace.)

The allegory of the seven Planetary Spirits break-
ing through the seven circles of fire, an astronomical,
anthropological and even chemical fact, allegorized
in Pymander perhaps ten millenniums ago, was
dwarfed into one material and anthropomorphic in-
terpretation— the rebellion and Fall of the Angels.
The love of nature for Divine form and the * * Heav-
enly Man *^ enraptured with his own beauty mir-
rored in nature — i.e., Spirit attracted into matter—
has now become in theology; ^* the seven Archan-
gels disobeying Jehovah, self-admiration generating
Satanic pride, followed by their Fall, Jehovah per-
mitting no worship save of himself.^' In short, the
beautiful Planet-Angels, the glorious cyclic Mods
of the ancients, became henceforth synthesized in
their most orthodox shape in Samael, the chief of
the Demons in the Talmud, *^ that great serpent
with twelve wings that draws down after him in his
Fall the solar system, or the Titans.'^ But Schemalf
the Sabean type of Samael, meant in his philosophi-
cal and esoteric aspect, the year in its astrological
evil aspect, its twelve months or wings of unavoid-
able evils in nature. The Kabalists show the two,
Schemal and Samael, to be a symbolical form of Sa-
turn, Kronos, the 12 wings standing for the 12
months, and the symbol as a whole representing fl
racial cycle: Jehovah and Saturn are also glyphic-
ally identical.

Kronos stands for endless (hence immovable) Du-
ration, without beginning or end, beyond divided
Time, and beyond Space. Those *^ Angels " who
were born to act in space and time — i.e., to break
through the seven circles of the super-spiritual

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 229

plmes into the phenomenal or circumscribed super-
terrestrial regions, are said allegorically to have re-
helled against Kronos, and fought the (then) one liv-
ing and highest God. In his turn, when Kronos is
represented as mutilating his father Uranus, the
meaning of this mutilation is very simple : Absolute
Time is made to become the finite and the condi-
tioned; a portion is robbed from the whole, thus
showing that the Father of the gods has been trans-
formed from Eternal Duration into a limited period.

The Titans of Hesiod's Theogony were copied in
Greece from the Suras and A suras (gods and de-
mons) of India. These Hesiodic Titans, the Ura-
nides, numbered formerly as six, have been recently
discovered to be seven — the seventh being called
Phoreg — ^in an old fragment relating to the Greek
myth. The origin of the *^ War in Heaven ^' and
the FAiiL has, to our mind, to be traced unavoidably
to India, and perhaps much further back than the
Pnranic accounts of it. There are three accounts,
each of a distinct war, to be traced in almost every
cosmogony. In the esoteric doctrine one war takes
place before the building of the solar system ; an-
other on earth, at the creation of man ; and a third
**war ^^ is mentioned as taking place at the close
of the Fourth Race, between its adepts and those
of the Fifth Race : that is, between the Sorcerers of
Atlantis and the Initiates of the ^^ Sacred Island.''

Whether the Brahmin Initiates will ever give out
the full meaning of the Puranic allegories is a ques-
tion with which the writer is not concerned. The
present object is to show that while honoring the
creative Powers in their multiple forms, no philos-
opher has ever accepted the allegory as represent-
ing the true Spirit, except, perhaps, some modern
theologians. Whether or not the occultists regard
those creative Forces as living and conscious Enti-
ties, they will never confuse the Cause with the

230 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

effect, and accept the Spirit of the Earth for the Ab-
solute. At all events they know well the true nature
of what was called Father- jEther by the Greeks.
They know that the Soul of the Astral Light is di-
vine, and its body (the light- waves on the lower
planes) infernal. This Light is symbolized by the
* ^ Magic Head ' ^ in the Zhar, the double Face on the
Double Pyramid ; the black pyramid rising against
a pure white ground, with a white head and fm
within its black triangle; the white pyramid in-
verted, the reflection of the first in the dark waters,
showing the black reflection of the white face. . . .
This is the ** Astral Light, '^ or Demon est Dbus

INVERSUS.

Section XII

The Theogony of the CREATrsTB Gods

Thoroughly to comprehend the idea underlying
every ancient cosmology, necessitates the study, in
a comparative analysis, of all the great religions of
antiquity, as it is only by this method that the root
idea will be made plain. The original transcendental
and philosophical conception was one. But as sys-
tems began to reflect more and more with every age
the idiosyncracies of nations, and as the latter set-
tled into distinct groups, each evolving along its own
groove, the main idea became veiled with the over-
growth of human fancy. While in some countries
the Forces, or rather the intelligent Powers, of na-
ture received divine honors they were hardly en-
titled to, in others the very thought of any snch
Force being endowed with intelligence seems ab-
surd, and is proclaimed unscientific. Therefore, one
finds relief in the statements of the Introduction to
Asgard and the Gods, by W. S. W. Anson. The
author remarks that although in all countries ^' the

THE SECKET DOCTRINE

231

F en

bl(

[ th^

L fo:

religious conceptions of the people have taken differ-
ent forms, yet their comfnon origin is still percepti-
ble. . . . lAfe and nature formed the basis of
the existence and action of these divinities. . .
These fairy tales are not senseless stories written
for the amusement of the idle ; they embody the pro-
iound religion of our f orefathex's. "

Precisely so, and not only their religion, but their 1
istory. As time rolled on the archaic teaching grew 1
-dimmer ; and these nations lost sight, more or less,
of the highest and One principle of all things, and
~began to transfer the abstract attributes of the
■"' Causeless Cause " to the caused effects, the crea-
~t;ive Powers of the Universe. As Thomas Taylor
^hows, no nation has ever conceived the One prin-
"^ciple as the immediate creator of the visible Uni-
■^rerse, for no sane man would credit an architect witk J
having built with his own hands the edifice he had I
planned. " The Jews appear to have ascended no '
^liigher " (he says elsewhere) " than the immediate
artificer of the Universe." Never have the Jews in
~their Bible, however (a purely esoteric, symbolical
^work), degraded so profoundly their metaphorical
Jeity as have the Christians by accepting Jehovah
«s their one living yet personal God.

This first, or rather One principle, was called the
*' circle of Heaven," symbolized by the hierogram
of a point within a circle or equilateral triangle, the
point being the Logos. Subba Eow, in hia Notes on
the Bhagavat gifa, compares the Logos to the sun ,
through which light and heat radiate, but whose en-
ergy, light, and heat, exist in some unknown condi-
tion in Space, and are diffused in Space only as
visible light and heat, the sun being only the agent I
thereof. This is the first triadic hypostasis. The
quaternary is made up by the eitergizing light shed
by the Logos.
It is through this light that everything is created. .

232 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

In its third aspect it becomes Vdch, the daughter
and mother of the Logos as Isis is the daughter and
mother of Osiris, who is also Horns. In the Rig-
Veda Vdch is ** mystic speech,'* by whom occiut
knowledge and wisdom are communicated to man,
and she is also called * * the melodious cow, who milks
sustenance and water. ' ' *

But there are two distinct aspects in universal
Esotericism, of all those personations of the femak
power, or Nature the noumenal and phenomenal.
One is its purely metaphysical aspect, the other ter-
restrial and physical, and at the same time divm
from the standpoint of practical human conception
and occultism. They are all symbols and personifi'
cations of Chaos, the * * Great Deep, ' * or the Primor-
dial Waters of Space, the impenetrable YmL be-
tween the Incognizable and the Logos of Creation
These feminine Logoi are all correlations in theii
noumenal aspect of ^ Light and Sound and Ether,
showing how well informed were the ancients ii
physical science.

At present, however, we are only concerned witli
the pre-cosmic, divine gods, or the ** Seven Build-
ers.'^ The more one studies the Hierarchies of all
nations, and thus discovers their identity, the more
proofs one acquires that there is not one of the past
and present persona], gods, known to us from the
earliest days of history, that does not belong to the
third stage of Cosmic manifestation. In every re-
ligion we find the Concealed Deity forming th€
groundwork ; then the Eay therefrom that falls into
primordial Cosmic Matter (first manifestation)
then the androgyne result, the dual male and f emali
Abstract Force, personified {second stage) ; thi
separates itself finally in the third stage into seve:

•In one sense, the Earth or mystic Nature, with all her mag
powers. Isis is the same, and her cow's horns ideatify her wi
Vach,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 233

Forces, called the Creative Powers by all the ancient
religions, and the " Virtues of God " by the Chris-
tians, {Virtues, of course, in the sense of powers.)

We shall have to enter more fully upon this sub-
ject hereafter, but for the present it is sufBcient to
show by a few instances the truth of what was as-
serted at the beginning of this monograph, that no
coemogony, with the exception of the Christian, has
ever attributed to the One Highest Cause, the Uni-
versal Deifie Principle, the immediate creation of the
Earth and man, or anything connected with them.
This statement holds as good for the Hebrew or
Chaldean Kabala as it does for Genesis, had the
latter ever been thoroughly understood, and — what
is still more important— correctly translated.
Everywhere there is either a Logos — a Light shining
in Darkness, truly — or the Architect of the worlds is
esoterically a plural number. The Latin Church,
while applying the epithet of Creator to Jehovah
alone, adopts a whole catalogue of names for the
working Forces of the latter, these names betraying
the secret. For if the said Forces had nought to do
with " Creation," so-called, why call them Elohim
(Alhim) in the plural ; " divine workmen and Ener-
gies," " Rulers of the World," " Sons of God,"
" Vigilant Counsellors," etc., etc.!

In the earliest Hindu exoteric cosmogonies it is
not even the Demiurge who creates. The Creators
are the " Rishis " {the singers, poets, or maimers),
who are credited also with the authorship of the
mantras of the Rig-Veda. They are sometimes
seven, sometimes ten, when they become the Lords of
Being ; then they rebecome the 7 and the 14 Manus,
as the representatives of the 7 and 14 cycles of ex-
istence {" Days of Brahma "), thus answering to
the seven JEions, when at the end of the first stage
of Evolution they are transformed into the seven
stellar Bishis (the stars of the Great Bear) ; while

234 TEE SECRET DOCTRINE

andfl

L ••■

their human doubles appear as heroes, kings
sages on this earth.

The Esoteric doctrine of the East having struck
the keynote — which is as scientific as it is philo-
sophical and poetical — every nation has followed its
lead. Furthermore, every symbol — in every national
religion — may be read esoterically, and the proof
furnished for its being correctly read, by transliter-
ating it into its corresponding numerals and geo-
metrical forms — by the extraordinary agreement of
all — howe^'er much the symbols and glyphs may
vary. For in their origin all these symbols were
identical. Take, for instance, the opening sentence
of various cosmogonies ; in every case the symbol is
either a circle, an egg, or a head. Darkness always
surrounds this first symbol, as shown in the Hindu,
tlie Egyptian, the C'haldeo-IIebrew, and even tl
Scandinavian systems^hence black ravens, bla(
doves, black waters, and even black flames, the
seventh tongue of Agni, the fire-god, being a black
flame. Two black doves from Egypt settled on the
oaks of Dodona, and gave their names to the Grecian
gods. Noah lets out a black raven after the deluge,
a symbol of the Cosmic Night, after which began
the real creation or evolution of our earth and hu-
manity. Odin's black ravens " whispered of tl
past and of the future." What is the real meai
ing of all these black birds! Tliey are all conneett
with the primeval Wisdom, which flows out of tl
pre-Cosmic Source of all, symbolized by the He;
the Circle, the Egg; and they all have the sa
meaning, and relate to the primordial Archetj'pat'
man (Adam Kadmon) the creative ori^n of all
things, composed of the Host of Cosmic Powers —
the Creative Spirits — beyond which all is darknesa,j
It is easy to comprehend the esoteric meaning of tl
raven, when the like meaning of the Flood,
Noah's Deluge, is ascertained. Whatever its

lys
1,^ ■

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 235

other meanings may be, its chief meaning is that of
a new cycle and a new Round. {Our Fourth Round.)
The Raven returned not to the Ark {the womb of
terrestrial nature), and is the symbol of the purely
spiritual, sexless and androgyne man of the first
three Races, who vanished from earth forever. The
new race of men born of woman after the separation
of the sexea, is the secondary meaning of the alle-
gory, its primary meaning being the beginning of
"the Fourth Round, or the tiew Creation.

And here lies the abyss between the Aryan and
^Semitic systems, though built on the same founda-
tions. As shown by an expounder of the Kabala, it
^■s argued that the Primal Cause being absolutely in-
■^cognizable, the symbol of its first comprehensible
"^manifestation was a circle with its diameter line, so
■^BB to carry at once the idea of geometry, astronomy
'^nd phallieism, and finally the signification simply
■^of the human generative organs. Hence the whole
^:^yple of events from Adam and the Patriarchs down
^o Noah is made to apply to pballic and astronomical
~wses, the one regulating the other, as the lunar pe-
Triods for instance. Hence, too, their genesis begins
after their coming out of the ark, and the close of
the Flood— at the Fourth Race. With the Aryan
T^eople it is different.

Eastern Esotericism has never degraded the One
Infinite Deity to such uses ; and this is shown by the
absence of Brahma (the creative god) from the Rig
Veda, and the modest positions occupied therein by
Rndra and Vishnu, who became the powerful and
great gods, the " Infinites " of the exoteric creeds,
ages later. But even they, " Creators " as the three
may be, are not the direct creators and " forefathers
of men." The latter are shown occupying n still
lower place, and are called " the Progenitors," " the
Innar ancestors," etc., etc. — never the One Infinite
God. Esoteric philosophy shows only 'physical man

1 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

I as created in the image of the Deity, but that deitj
is but " the minor goda." It is the Highbe-Self^
the real Ego who alone is divine and God.

The Seven Cbbations

" The so-called ' Seven Creations ' allegorize tl
seven evolutionary changes, or the sub-races as w(
may call them, of the First Root-race of mankind.'
(Sec. Doc, vol. IL, p. 254:.)

The Seven Creations are found in almost evei,
Purana. They are all preceded by absolute Spirit^^
independent of any relation with objects of sense.
They are, as given by Wilson: (1) The Universal
Soul, Infinite Intellect or Divine Mind; (2) Ele-
mental Creation, the first differentiation of Univer-
sal, indiscrete Substance; (3) Organic evolutioaj]
these three were the material creations, the develop*^
ments of indiscrete nature preceded by indiscrete
principle; (4) the fundamental creation of percepJ
tible things, the creation of inanimate bodies; (5]
that of animals ; (6) that of divinities ; (7) that
man. (The esoteric meaning of " animals " h(
is the germs of all animal life, including man.)

This is the order given in the exoteric texts. Ai
cording to esoteric teaching, there are seven prima:
and seven " secondary " creations; the former 1
ing the Forces self-evolving from the One Caiiselt
Fobce; the latter showing the manifested Universe
emanating from the already differentiated divine
elements. Esoterically as well as exoterically, all
the above enumerated Creations stand for the (7^
periods of evolution, whether of a " Day " or
" Age " of Brahma. This is the teaching par
cellence of Occult philosophy, which, however, nev^

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 237

uses the term " creation," nor even that of evolu-
tion with regard to primary creation, but calls the
kction of all such forces—' ' the aspects of the Cause-
SSb Force." In the Bible the seven periods are
Warfed into the sis days of creation and the seventh
day of rest, and the Westerns adhere to the letter.
In the Hindu philosophy, when the active Creator
has produced the world of gods, the germs of all
the undifferentiated elements, and the rudiments of
future senses (the world of noumena, in short), the
Universe, remains unaltered for a " Day of Brah-
ma," a period of 4,320,000,000 years. This is the
seventh passive period or " Sabbath day " of East-
ern philosophy that follows six periods of active
evolution. When Spirit has permeated every mi-
Siutest atom of the seven principles of Kosmos, then
~the secondary creation, after the above-mentioned
^jieriod of rest, begins. " The Dodecahedron lies con-
■«ealed in the perfect Cube," says the Kabalists. The
^mystic meaning of this is that the twelve great
^transformations of Spirit into matter (the 12,000 di-
^vine years) take place during the four great ages,
or the first Great Cycle. Beginning with the meta-
physical and the supra-human, it ends in the physi-
cal and purely human natures of Kosmos and man.
^Primary Creation is called the Creation of Light
(Spirit); and the Secowrfar?/ that of DarfcMess (Mat-
-ter). This must not be confounded with precosmic
*' Darkness," the Divine All. Both Creations are
:f ound in Genesis, chapter i. v. 2, and at the beginning
of chapter ii. The first is the emanation of self-horn
gods (the Elohim) ; the second of physical nature.
In India the Seven Creations were described as
follows :

I. The primordial self -evolution of " divine Mind,
conscious and intelligent," esoterically, " the spirit
of the Universal Soul," the operating Law. Eso-
cic doctrine teaches that the creative Powers are

238 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

the collective aggregate of divine Intelligence, or
primordial Mind, and that these are identical with
the first seven ^ ' mind-born ' ' Spiritual Intelligences,
the future humanity called the Manus, from the
root man, to think. It is, in Cosmogony, the pre-
nebular period.

II. The second *^ Creation *' was that termed the
Elemental. It is the period of the first breath of
differentiation in the pre-Cosmic Elements or mat-
ter. It is the ' * origin of all conscious as of all m-
conscious being, '* though the Esoteric school rejects
the idea of anything being ** unconscious ** — save
on our plane of illusion and ignorance. At this stage
of the Second creation, the second hierarchy of fte
Manus appear, the Powers who are the origin of
Form, those Rishis who have become the informing
souls of the seven stars of the Great Bear. In as-
tronomical and cosmogonical language this creation
relates to the first stage of cosmic life, the Fire-mist
period after its chaotic stage, when atoms issue from
the neutral condition.

III. The third is termed the organic Creation, or
that of the senses. It is also stated that the third
creation ^^ abounding with the quality of goodness,
is termed Urdhvasrotas {urdhva meaning above or
superior), and it is elsewhere referred to as the sixth
creation, that of the divinities. ' ' This shows plainly
that earlier as well as later cycles of evolution have
been purposely mixed up, to prevent the ** profane "
from perceiving the truth. This is the last of the
primary series of creations, the ** Creation of
Light,'' or Spirit. Then comes the ** Creation of
Darkness, ' ' or Matter.

IV. The fourth Creation is sometimes called the
Primary, as it begins the second series of four. The
whole subject is exceedingly confused and difficult
In this period the three elemental or rudimenta
kingdoms are evolved on earth, corresponding in

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 239

versely in order to the three Primary creations. In
that series " the first creation was that of Intellect,
the second of rudimental principles, the third that
of the senses "; in the second series the order of
the Elemental Forces stands thus: 1st, the nascent
centres of Force (intellectual and physical) ; 2d, the
rudimental principles — nerve-force, so to spealc ; and
3rd, nascent apperception, which is the Intellect of
the lower kingdoms, especially developed in the third
order of Elementals ; these are succeeded by the ob-
jective Kingdom of minerals, in which that apper-
ception is entirely latent, to redevelop only in the
plants. The Fourth Creation, then, is " the funda-
mental creation of inanimate things " — i.e., without
the power of motion, mineral and vegetable germs —
and is the middle point between the three lower
and the three higher Kiugdoma, which represent
the seven esoteric Kingdoms of Kosmos, as of
Earth.

V. The Fifth Creation is that of the " sacred ani-
mals," corresponding only on earth to the animal
creation. That which is meant by ' ' animals ' ' here
is the germ of awakening consciousness or of apper-
ception faintly traceable in some sensitive plants on
earth, and more distinctly in the protistic monera,
neither plant nor animal, but an existence between
the two. On our globe, during the First Eound, ani-
mal *' creation " precedes that of man, while the
animals (or rather the mammals) evolve from man
hi our Fourth Eound — on the physical plane. * In
the First Eound the animal atoms are drawn into
a cohesive human physical form, while in the Fourth
Eound the reverse occurs, according to magnetic
conditions developed during life. This fifth stage of
evolution, called exoterically " Creation," may be
viewed in both the Primary and Secondary periods,

■ 240 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

one as the Spiritual and Cosmic, the other as ths^
material and terrestrial. It is Archihiosis, or lift
origination — origination so far, of course, as tl
manifestation of life on all the seven planes is coi
cemed. It is at this period of evolution that th(
absolutely eternal Universal Motion or vibratioi
that which is called in Esoteric language ' ' the Gw
Breath," differentiates in the primordial, first mi
ifested Atom. More and more as chemistry and
physics progress does this occult axiom find its cor-
roboration in the world of science: the hypothesis
that even the simplest elements of matter are identi-
cal in nature, differing only in the distribution o^
atoms in each molecule, or by the modes of its atomi
vibration, gains every day more ground.

Thus, as the differentiation of the primordii
germ of life has to precede the evolution of the crei
tive Powers of the third group or Hierarchy of &
ings in Primary Creation, before those " gods " caH
be embodied in their first ethereal form, so animal
creation has to precede, for that same reason, divine
Man on earth. And this is why we find in the Pura-
nas that " the fifth Creation was that of animal»j
and

VT. The sixth Creation was that of divinities.
But these " divinities " are simply the prototypes
of the First Race, the fathers of their ' ' mind-bom "
progeny with the soft bones. It was these who be-
came the evolvers of the " Sweat-born " — an ex-
pression explained in Vol. II. The Vishnu Purana
says: " Collecting his mind into itself (Yoga will-
power) Brahma creates the four orders of beings,
termed gods, demons, progenitors and Men " —
" progenitors " meaning the prototypes and evolv-
ers of the first Root-Race of men. They are the " an-
cestors " (Pitris), and are of seven classes. They
are said, in exoteric mythology, to be bom of Brah-
ma's side, like Eve from the rib of Adam. Finallj

•the SECEET DOOTRINE 241

the sixth Creation is followed, and creation in gen-
eral closed by

YLl. The seventh Creation, that of rudimentary-
human being's, for the first two Root-Races and a
great portion of the third Eoot-Race were but sense-
less human shells, until the fifth Hierarchy, the
Knmaras, or " mind-born sona of Brahma " incar-
nated therein, and thus created, so to speak, a neio
race, that of thinking, self-conscious and divine men.
In the esoteric teaching, they are the progenitors of
the true spiritnal self in the physical man — the
higher Ancestors, while the Pitris (the fathers), or
the lower Ancestors, are no more than the fathers
of the model, or type, of his physical form, ' ' made
in their image."

The Kumaras, " the mind-born Sons " of Brah-
m&-Eudra (or Siva), are mystically called the prog-
eny of Siva, the destroyer of human passions and
physical senses, which are ever in the way of the
development of the higher spiritual perceptions and
the growth of the inner eternal man. Siva-Eudra is
the Destroyer, as Vishnu is the preserver ; and both
are the regenerators of spiritual as well as of physi-
■cal nature. To live as a plant, the seed must die. To
live as a conscious entity in the Eternity, the pas-
sions and senses of man must first die before bis
"body does. " To live is to die and to die is to live,"
las been too little undei'stood in the West. Siva, the
destroyer, is the creator and the Saviour of spiritual
man, as he is the good gardener of nature. He
■weeds out the plants, human and cosmic, and kills
the passions of the physical, to call to life the per-
ceptions of the spiritual man. The Kumaras, being
the Virgin-Ascetics, refused to create the material
man. They were degraded, by those who were igno-
rant of their very name, into demons and fallen
angels, the rebellious and opposing spirits, (v.
8J>., Vol. IL, p. 584.)

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

The Foue Elements

hilt DTrti"

Metaphysically and esoterically there is but Oirtt'
Element, and at the root of it is the Deity ; and the
BO-called seven elements, of which five have already
manifested, are the garment, the veil, of that Deity_
direct from whose essence comes MaNj whethi "'
physically, psychically, mentally or spiritually e(
sidered. Four elements only are generally spobi
of in later antiquity, five only are admitted in phili
ophy. For the body of Ether is not fully manifest
yet, and its noumenon is still " the omnipotei
Father-^ther," the synthesis of the rest. But wli
are these Elements whose compound bodies ha'"
now been discovered by chemistry and physics
contain many sub-elements, wliose number is bei
increased all the timet Let us follow their evoli
tion at least from the historical beginning.

The four Elements were fully characterized
Plato when he said that they were ' ' that which coi
poses and decomposes the compound bodies." T
Elements of Plato and Aristotle were thus the U
corporeal principles attached to the four great dii
sions of our Cosmos ; Fire, Air, Water, Earth we3
but the visible garb, the symbols, of the informini ,
invisible Souls or Spirits — the Cosmic gods to whom
worship was offered by the ignorant, and simple,
respectful recognition by the wiser. In their turn
the phenomenal subdivisions of the noumenal Ele-
ments were informed by the Elementals, so-called,
the " Nature Spirits " of lower grades. The hier-
archies of these potencies or Forces have been classi-
fied on a graduated scale of seven from the ponder-
able to the imponderable. They are septenary, not
as an artificial aid to facilitate their comprehenaio]

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 243

but in their real Cosmic gradation, from their chem-
ical (or physical) to their purely spiritual composi-
tion. Good Christians should show more reverence
for the Four Elements, for the Bible manifests the
mystic significance in wliieh they were held by the
Hebrew Law-giver, on every page of the Pentateuch.
The tent which contained the "Holy of Holies "
was a cosmic symbol, sacred in one of its meanings
to the Elements, the four cardinal points, and Ethbb.
Joseplms shows it built in white, the color of Ether,
And in the Hebrew as in the Egyptian temples, a
gigantic curtain supported by five pillars {symbol-
izing the five senses) separated the sajtctum sanc-
torum from the rest of the building. By its four
colors the curtain symbolized the four principal
Elements, and signified the knowledge of the Divine
that the five senses of men (represented by the pil-
lars) can enable them to acquire with the help of the
elements.

The symbols of the Elements, when traced to their
source, are ever the same. For primitive religion
was something better than simple preoccupation
about physical phenomena, aa remarked by Schil-
ling ; and principles more elevated than we modern
Sadducees know of " were hidden under the trans-
parent veil of such merely natural divinities as
thunder, the winds and rain." The ancients knew
and could distinguish the corporeal from the spirit-
ual elements in the forces of Nature.

The fourfold Jupiter, as the four-faeed Brahma —
the aerial, the fulgurant, the terrestrial and the ma-
rine god — the lord and master of the four elements
may stand as a representative of the great Cosmic
gods of every nation. "While passing power over
the fire to Vulean, over the sea to Neptune and over
the earth to Pluto, the aerial Jove was all these ; for
^THEK from the first had pre-eminence over, and
was the synthesis of, all the other elements. In

244 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

Cory's Ancient Fragments, one of the ** Chaldean
Oracles ' ' says that : * ' From ^ther have come all
things, and to it all will return ; that the images of
all things are indelibly impressed upon it, and that
it is the storehouse of the germs and of the remains
of all visible forms, and even ideas.**

The Spirit of Fire, Flame, Akasa, Ether, Water,
Air, Earth are the cosmic, sidereal^ psychic, spir-
itual and mystic principles, pre-eminently occvlt, in
every plane of being. * When included under the
arts and sciences of the Fourth Eace, the Atlanteans,
the phenomenal manifestations of the four elements
(justly attributed by the believers in Cosmic gods
to the intelligent interference of the latter) assumed
a scientific character. The magic of the priests in
those ancient days consisted in addressing their gods
in their own langimge. '* The speech of the men
of the earth cannot reach the Lords. Each must be
addressed in the language of his respective ele-
ment, " is a sentence which will be shown to be preg-
nant with meaning. ^' This Element language is
composed of sounds, not words ; of sounds, numbers
and figures. He who knows how to blend the three
will call forth the response of the superintending
Power.** (The regent-god of the specific element
needed.)

This ** language *' is that of incantations, or Mak-
TRAs,** as they are called in India, sound being tfc^
most potent and effectual magic agent, and the first
of the keys which opens the door of communication
between Mortals and the Immortals.

Sir Wm. Grove, in speaking of the correlation of
forces, says : * * The ancients when they witnessed a
natural phenomenon, removed from ordinary analo-

*The order is elsewhere different. It should be Akftsa, Divine
Flame, Ether, Fire, Air, Water, Earth. — Editor.

**The Mantras are all taken from special books kept secret by
the priests, and each is said to work a magical effect as the reciter
or reader chants them. — Editor,

■ f!es a:

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 245

JSies and unexplained by any mechanical action
known to them, referred it to a soul, a spiritual or
preternatural power. . . . Air and gases were
also at first deemed spiritual, but subsequently they
became invested with a more material character ; and
the same words, pneuma, spirit, etc., were used to
signify the soul or a gas; the very word gas, from
geist, a ghost or spirit, affords us an instance of the
gradual transmutation of a spiritual into a physical
conception." He considers that exact science has no
business to meddle with Causes. " Cause and ef-
fect," he explains, " are, in their abstract relation to
these forces, words solely of convenience. We are
totally unacquaiuted with the vlt'imate generating
power of each and all of them, we can only ascertain
the norma of their actions; we must humbly refer
their causation to one omnipresent influence, and
content ourselves with studying their effects, and
developing by experiment their mutual relations." •
The spirituality of the " ultimate generating
power " once admitted, it would be more than illogi-
cal to refuse to recognize this quality (which is in-
herent in the naterial elements, or rather in their
compounds) as present in fire, air, water or earth.
The ancients knew these powers so well that while
concealing their true nature under various alle-
gories, they ever tried to preserve their symbols as a
record for future generations, sufficiently transpar-
ent to permit the wise to discern the truth behind the
veil of allegory.

Sorcery and incantations are regarded as fables
now, and yet special prayers for rain, for dry
weather, for trade-winds and the calming of storms
at sea exist to this hour in the prayer-books of the
three Christian Churches, and the several hundred
sects of Protestantism offer them up on every threat

^Correlation of Forces, p. 89, and p. sIt of Introduction to fifth
edition.

^H 246 THE SECRET DOCTRINE I

^^B of calamity. The laws of England and America I
^^B BgaiDst witchcraft are obsolete but unrepealed to I
^^^ this day, and prayers from the armies of two op- H
r posing Christian nations are still sent up to a com- H

mon Almighty God for mutual destruction. H

I Let us close by reminding the reader that without ^

Let us close by reminding the reader that without
the smallest shadow of superstition one may believe
in the dual nature of every object on earth — ^in the
spiritual and the material, the visible and the in-
visible Nature. For if, as Sir Wm. Grove has it, the
electricity we handle is but the result of ordinary
matter affected by something invisible, the " ulti-
mate generating power " of every Force, the " one
omnipresent influence," then it is only natural that
one should believe as the ancients did, that every
Element is dual in its nature. " Ethereal fire ia
the emanation of the Kabib proper ; the aerial is but
the union (correlation) of the former with terres-
trial fire; and its guidance and application on our
earthly plane belongs to a Kabir of a lesser dig-
nity " — an Elemental, perhaps, an Occultist would
call it — and the same may be said of every Cosmic
Element.

No one will deny that the human being is pos-
sessed of various forces ; magnetic, sympathetic, an-
tipathetic, nervous, dyuamical, occult, mechanical,
mental — every kind of force ; and that the physical
forces are all biological in their essence, seeing that
they intermingle with, and often merge into, those
forces that we have named intellectual and morale \
the first being the vehicles, so to speak, of the sec-,
ond. No one who does not deny a soul to men would 1
hesitate to say that their presence and commingling: 1
are the very essence of our being; that they con- 1
stitute the Ego in man, in fact. These potenciesl
have their physiological, physical, mechanical,
well as their nervous, ecstatic, clairaudient and clair-(
yoyaut phenomenaj which are now recognized, evei

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 247

by science, as perfectly natural. Why should man
be the only exception in nature, and why cannot even
the Elements have their vehicles in what we call the
Physical Forces?

^^ Section XV

^^B On Kwan-shi-yin and Kwan-ytn

(The Chinese Logos and the Goddess of Mercy,
exoterically , v. Stanza III. 7.)

The Logoi of all nations, from the Vedic Visva-
karma of the Mysteries down to the Saviour of the
civilized nations of. to-day, are " the Word, who was
in the beginning ' ' with the One Absolute, or the re-
awakening of the energizing powers of Nature.

Bom of Fire and Water before they became dis-
tinct elements, It was the " Maker " (fashioner or
modeller) of all thiags ; " without hiTn was not any-
thing made that was niade "; "in whom was life,
and life was the light of men, " the Alpha and Omega
of manifested nature. " The great Dragon of Wis-
dom is bom of Fire and Water, and into Fire and
Water will all be reabsorbed with him." {Fa-Wha-
King.) As this Bodhisatva is said " to assume any
form he pleases," from the beginning of a life-cycle
to its end, though his special memorial day and that
of Maitreya Buddha are different, yet the two are
one. He will appear as Maitreya Buddha, the last
of the Avatars and Buddhas, in the Seventh Race.

Both the Avalokiteshwara of India and the Kwan-
Shi-Yin of Cliina are forms of the seventh Universal
Principle; while in its highest metaphysical charac-
ter this Deity is the synthetic aggTep:ation of all the
Planetary Spirits, He is " the Self-manifested: "
in short, " the Son of the Father," Crowned with
seven dragons, above his statue there appears the

248 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

inscription, ** the universal Saviour of all living
beings/* In a temple of Pu'to, the sacred island of
the Buddhists in China, Kwan-Shi-Yin is repre-
sented floating on a black aquatic bird {KalchHansa,
V. Stanza III. 8), and pouring on the heads of mor-
tals the elixir of life, which as it flows is trans-
formed into one of the chief Planetary Spirits— the
Eegent of a star called *' the Star of Salvation."
In his third transformation Kwan-Yin (the female
aspect of Kwan-Shi-Yin) is the informing spirit or
genius of Water.

Of course the name given in the archaic Stanzas
is quite different, but that given here is a perfect
equivalent. Literally interpreted, it means "the
Lord that is seen," and in one sense ** the divine
Self perceived by Self " (the human) — the Atma,
or seventh principle merged in the Universal, per-
ceived by, or the object of perception to, Buddhi, the
sixth principle, or the divine Soul in man. In a still
higher sense Kwan-Shi-Yin, referred to as the sev-
enth Universal Principle, is the Logos perceived by
the Universal Buddhi — or Soul — as the synthetic
aggregate of the Creative Powers, and is the Omni-
present Universal Spirit manifested in the temple
of Kosmos or Nature.

Kwan-Shi-Yin, then, is * * the Son who is one with ■
his Father *' mystically, or the Logos, the Word. He
is called * * the Dragon of Wisdom * ' in Stanza IHj
as all the Logoi of all the ancient religious systems
are connected with and symbolized by serpents. The
serpent was the emblem of the resurrection of Na-
ture, also of Christ with the Ophites, and of Jehovah
as the brazen serpent healing those who looked a*
him ; and the serpent was an emblem of Christ witb
the Templars also. The symbol of Knouph (and o^
Khoum) or the Soul of the World, says ChampoUio^
(Pantheon, text 3), ^* is represented, among oth^^
forms, as a huge serpent on human legs ; this reptil^*

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 249

being the emblem of the good genius, the veritable
Agathodaemon, is sometimes bearded." The sacred
animal is thus identical with the serpent of the
Ophites, and is figured on many Gnostic gems. It
appears with various heads, human and animal, but
the gems are always inscribed with the name Chnou-
his, who seems to have been identical with Hermes,
or Mercury, to which god Hermes Trismegistus at-
tributes the invention of magic and the first initia-
tion of men thereinto, and Mercury is Wisdom, En-
lightenment or ** Reawakening '' to the divine
Science.

To close, Kwan-Shi-Yin and Kwan-Yin are the
two aspects (male and female) of the same principle
in Kosmos, Nature and Man, of Divine Wisdom and
intelligence. They are the *^ Christos-Sophia '' of
the mystic Gnostics — the Logos and its Sakti (fe-
inale complement). In their longing for the expres-
sion of some mysteries never to be wholly compre-
hended by the profane, the ancients knowing that
nothing could be preserved in human memory with-
out some outward symbol, have chosen, to us, often
ridiculous images, to remind man of his origin and
inner nature. Therefore, since the symbolic formula
attempts to characterize that which is above scien-
tific reasoning, and as often, far beyond our intel-
lectual grasp, it must needs embody itself in some
shape or other, or it will fade out of human remem-

}\rnr\rtt%

BOOK II. PART II
Addenda

Reasons foe These Addenda

Many of the doctrines contained in the foregoing
seven Stanzas and Commentaries, having been stud-
ied and critically examined by some Western theoso-
phists, have been found wanting from the ordinary
standpoint of modern scientific knowledge. But sci-
ence cannot, owing to the very nature of things, un-
veil the mystery of the universe around us. Science
can, it is true, collect, classify and generalize upon
phenomena, but the occultist, arguing from admitted
metaphysical data, declares that the daring explorer
who would probe the inmost secrets of Nature must
transcend the narrow limitations of sense, and
transfer his consciousness into the region of nou-
mena and the sphere of primal Causes. To do this,
he must develop faculties which are absolutely dor-
mant—save in a few rare and exceptional cases — in
the constitution of our present Fifth Race offshoots
in Europe and America. He can in no other con-
ceivable manner collect the facts on which to base
his speculations.

On the other hand, whatever the writer may do,
she will never be able to satisfy both Truth and
Science. To offer the reader a systematic and un-
interrupted version of the archaic Stanzas is impos-
sible. A gap of 43 verses has to be left between the

252 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ^

7th, already given, and the 51st, which begins the
snbject of Vol. II., though the latter verses are made
to run from I, et seq. for easier reading and refer-
ence. The appearance of man on Earth occupies
alone many Stanzas, which describe minutely his
primal evolution from the human Creative Powers;
the state of the globe at that time, etc., etc. A great
number of names referring to chemical substances
and other compounds (which no longer combine, and
are therefore unknown to our Race) occupy consid-
erable space. As they are simply untranslatable they
are omitted, together with those which cannot be
made public.

Before proceeding to other Stanzas, therefore, it
is proposed to defend those already given. They
are not in perfect accord with modern science, this
we all know. For they teach belief in conscious Pow-
ers, and Spiritual Entities; in semi-intelligent ter-
restrial and highly intellectual Forces on other
planes {their intellection, of course, being quite dif-
ferent from any we can conceive), and in Beings
that dwell around us in spheres imperceptible by
microscope or telescope. We shall touch upon the
constitution of the Sun and the planets, and the oc-
cult characteristics of what were called gods and
genii, and are now termed by science Forces, and
" modes of motion," and see whether esoteric be-
lief is defensible or not. We must bravely face sci-
ence, and declare in the teeth of materialistic learn-
ing, positivism and all-denying modern psychology
that the true Occultist believes in " Lords of
Light "; that he believes in a Sun, which, far from
being simply " a lamp of day " moving in accord-
ance with physical law, is the dwelling or vehicle of
a god, and a host of gods.

Another good reason for these Addenda i
Since only a certain portion of the Secret Teachini
can be given out in the present age, if they were j.

sosM

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 253

iished without explanations or commentary, they
could not be understood, even by theosophists.
Therefore, they must be contrasted with the specu-
lations of modem science. Archaic axioms must be
placed side by side with modern hypotheses, and the
comparison left to the sagacious reader. Sir Hum-
phrey Davy was a great scientist, and as deeply
versed in physica as any theorist of our day, yet
he loathed materialism. " I heard with disgust in
the dissecting-rooms," he said, " the plan of the
physiologist, of the gradual secretion of matter, and
its becoming endued with irritability, ripening into
sensibility, acquiring such organs as were necessary
by its own inherent forces, and at last rising into
intellectual existence." Astronomers and physicists
are even more illogical in their materialistic views
than physiologists, and this has to be proved. For
the occultists, Light is both Spirit and Matter. Be-
hind the " mode of motion," now regarded a8 a
" property of matter " and nothing more, they per-
ceive the radiant noumenon. It is the " Spirit of
Light," the first-born of the Eternal pure Element,
whose energy (or emanation) is stored in the Sun,
the great Life-giver of the physical world, as the
concealed Spiritual Sun is the Light and Life-giver
of the Spiritual and psychic realms. That which is
meant by the allegorical sentence "Let there be
Light," is, when esoterically rendered, " Let there
be the Sons of Light," or the noumena of all pheno-
mena.

These beings are " the Sons of Light," because
they emanate from, and are self-generated in, that
infinite Ocean of Light whose one pole is pure Spirit
lost in the absoluteness of Non-Being, and the other
the matter in which it condenses, crystallizing into
a more and more gross type as it descends into mani-
festation. Therefore, matter, though it is in one

me but the illusive dregs of that Light whose limbs

254 THE SECEET DOCTEINE ^

are the Creative Forces, yet has in it the full pre^^
ence of the Soul thereof, which none^not even ' ' th»- -"
Sons of Light " evolved from its ABSOLniB Dabk:^
!s — will ever know.

' ' Since God is Light,

And never but in unapproaehed Light
Dwelt from Eternity, dwelt then in thee,
Bright effluence, of bright essence increate.'

ADDENDA

Fragments op Occult Science

From 8. D., Vol. I.

485. The origin of modern .^ther is found in a
disfigured form of Akasa.

487. Official Science knows nothing to this day a
the constitution of Ether. Neither as akasa nor a
^ther is it to be found in any of the states of ma)
ter known to modern physics. It is matter on qnil
another plane of perception and being.

493. The occultist sees in the manifestation of
every force in Nature the action of the quality or
the special characteristic of its noumenon, which
noumenon is a distinct and intelligent Individualita_^~
on the other side of the manifested mechanical Uflwi

507. Occultism says that in all cases where ma)
ter appears inert it is the most active, as a woodei
or stone block is motionless to all intents and pur*'
poses. Nevertheless, its particles are in ceaseless
eternal vibration, and the spacial distance betwe«i
those vibrating particles — considered from another

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 255

^^Hsne of being and perception — is as great as that
■which separates snowflabes or drops of rain.

511. Inertia, so-called, is force, aecordiag to New-
ton, and for the student of Esoteric Sciences the
greatest of the occult forces.

514. Matter, to the occultist, is that totality of
existences in the Kosmos which falls within any of
the planes of possible perception. . . . The oc-
cultists do not deny the correctness of the vibratory
theory, only they limit its functions to our Earth —
declaring its inadequacy on other planes than ours,
since " Masters " in the occult sciences perceive the
CAUSES that produce ethereal vibrations. . . .
^We must seek for the ultimate causes of light, heat,
etc., etc., in Matter existing in supersensuous states
— states, however, as fully objective to the spiritual
eye of man as a horse or a tree is to an ordinary
mortal. Light and heat are the ghosts or shadows
of matter in motion. Such states can>be perceived
by the Seek or the Adept during the hours of trance,
under the Siishamna ray — the first of the seven
Mystic rays of the Sun. The names of these seven
rays are all mystical, and each has its distinct ap-
plication in a distinct state of consciousness for oc-
cult purposes. The Sushumna, which is said only
to light up the moon, is the ray, nevertheless, cher-
ished by the initiated Yogis. The totality of the
seven rays spread through the solar system consti-
tute, so to speak, the physical basis of the ether of
science; in which basis the forces of orthodox
science, light, beat, electricity, etc., correlate to pro-
duce their terrestrial effects. As psychic and spirit-
ual effects, they emanate from, and have their origin
in, the supra-solar basis, the Ether, or Akasa, of the
occultist.

523. (note). The Gandharva of the Veda is the
deity who knows and reveals the secrets of heaven
and divine truths to mortals. Cosmically, the Gand-

266 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

harvaa are the aggregate powers of the solar firi
and constitute its forces; psychically, the intellS^
gence residing in the Sushumna solar ray, the high-
est of the seven rays ; mystically, the occult force iu
the Soma (the moon or lunar plant) and the drink
made of it; physically, the phenomeual, and spiritt^
ally, the noumenal causes of Sound and " the voices J
of Nature." I

516. Why is the Sushumna ray believed to be that
ray which furnishes the moon with its borrowed
light? Why is it " the ray cherished by the initiated
Yogi " f Why is the moon held as the deity of the
mind by those Yogis! We say because light, or
rather all its occult properties, every combination
and correlation of it with other forces, mental, psy-
chic and spiritual, were perfectly known to the old
adepts. ^

520. It is on the doctrines of the illusive nature of'
matter and the infinite divisibility of the atom that
the whole science of occultism is built.

525. Gross ponderable matter is the body, the
shell, of matter or Substance, the female passive
principle; and Fohatic force is the second principle,
life, the male and active. On our globe this Sub-
stance is the second principle of the septenary ele^
ment — Earth; in the atmosphere, it is that of Ai%d
which is the cosmic gross body; in the Sun it bfrJ
comes the solar body and that of the seven rays; i^
sidereal space it corresponds with another principid
and so on. The whole is a homogeneous unity, tn
parts are all differentiations. ^

526. Life pervades the whole living body of man;
but alone, without an atom to act upon, it would be
quiescent — dead; i.e., it would be in the neutral
state, or, as Mr. Crookes has it, " locked in protyle."
It is the action of Fohat {cosmic electricity) upon a
compound or even a simple body that produces life.
When a body dies it passes into the same polari^-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 257

as its male energy, and repels, thei'efore, the active
agent, which, losing its hold upon the whole, fastens
upon the parts or molecules, this action being called
chenaical. Vishnu the Preserver transforms liimself
into Siva the Destroyer — a correlation seemingly un-
known to science.

Life, Force or Gravity?

529. If ever the theory of the Sun-Foree being the
primal cause of all life on earth and motion in
heaven is accepted, and if Herschel 's far bolder one
about certain organisms in the sim is accepted even
as a provisional hypothesis, then will esoteric alle-
gory be shown to have anticipated modern science
by millions of years, for these are the archaic teach-
ings. {See Commentary on verse 5, Stanza IV.,
S.D., vol. I.) It is the Sun-fluids or emanations that
impart all motion and awaken all life in the solar
system. It is attraction and repulsion, but not as
understood by modern physics, and according to the
law of gravity, but in harmony with the laws of mo-
tion during the Life-cycle from the Dawn of its re-
building and higher reformation. These laws are
immutable, but the motion of all the bodies, which is
diverse and alters with every miitor cycle, is regu-
lated by the Movers, the Intelligences within the
Cosmic Soul.

531. One of our fundamental dogmas is (a) that
the Sun is the store-house of vital force, which is the
noitmenon of electricity; and (6) that it is from its
mysterious depths that issue those life-currents that
thrill through space, as through the organisms of
every living thing on earth.

Paracelsus wrote in the 16th century : ' ' This vital
force . . . radiates around man like a luminous
sphere." And again: " The whole of the Miero-
0O8m is potentially contained in the Liquor Vita, a

258 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

nerve-finid ... in which is contained the na-
ture, quality, character and essence of beings
The Archaeua or Liquor Vita is an essence that is
equally distributed in all parts of the human body.
. . . The Spiritus Vitee takes its origin from the
Spiritus Mwndi. Being an emanation of the latter,
it contains the elements of all cosmic influences, and
is therefore the cause by which the action of the
stars {cosmic forces) upon the invisible body of man
(his vital ling a-sarir a) maybe explained."

534. The Vedic Aryans knew of a double set
senses; spiritual and material. . . . Mental a*.
well as physical correlations of the seven senses on
the physical and the mental planes are clearly de-
fined and explained in the Vedas, and especially in
the Anugitd Upanishad. (v. pp. 278 and 279
Sacred Books of the East, Vol. VIII.)

535. (note). The division of the physical
into five comes to ns from great antiquity. But no
modem philosopher has asked himself how these
senses could be used in a self-conscious way without
a sixth sense, mental perception, to register and re-
cord them, and a Seventh to preserve the spiritual
fruition and remembrance thereof, as in a Book of
Life which belongs to Karma. {This for the meta-
physicians and occultists.) The ancients divided the
senses into five simply because their teachers {the
Initiates) stopped at hearing as being that sense
which developed on the physical plane (rather be-
came limited to this plane) nt the beginning of the
Fifth Race. (The Fourth Race had already begun
to lose the spiritual condition so pre-eminently d©^
Teloped in the Third Race.)

536. The whole range of physical phenomena pn
ceeds from the Primary of Ether — Akasa, as dual-
natured Akasa proceeds from undifferentiated
Chaos, so-called, or the primary aspect of Primor-
dial Matter. Modem science may divide its hypo-

ia*iB

nan _

t oM

: on
de-
7 in

de-^a

lal-"

ted

lor-

. uj'PO- —

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 259

thetically conceived Ether as it chooses, the real
^ther of Space will remain as it is. It has its seven
principles like the rest of Nature, and without Ether
there would be no sound, as it is the vibrating sound-
ing-board in nature in all its seven differentiations.
This is the first mystery the Initiates of old learned.
Our present normal senses were abnormal in the
days of the slow downward evolution and fall into
matter. And there was a time when all that is now
called wonderful and abnormal — ^sueh as thought-
transference, clairvoyance,, clairaudience, etc, — be-
longed to the senses and faculties common to all hu-
manity. "We are now gradually losing in the physi-
cal all that we are regaining once more in the spir-
itual re-evolntion. This process must go on until the
Sixth Root-Race is brought on a parallel line with
the spirituality of the Second long extinct mankind.
537. The " Nervous Ether " is the lowest prin-
ciple of the Primordial Essence, which is Life. It is
animal vitality diffused in all nature and acting ac-
cording to the conditions it finds. The animal tissues
absorb it according to their more or less healthy
state — as do physical materials and structures, in
their primogenital state, nota bene — and hencefor-
ward, from the moment of the birth of the Entity,
are regulated, strengthened and fed by it. It de-
scends in a larger supply to vegetation in the Su-
shumna sun-ray, which lights and feeds the moon,
and it is through her beams that it penetrates man
and animal more during their sleep and rest than
when they are in full activity. Dr. Richardson is
right in saying that this nervous ether is " the con-
ductor of all vibrations of heat, of light, of sound, of
electrical action, of mechanical friction " — conduc-
tor, in the sense of material or physical basis, but as
the second principle of the universal Soul and VHnl
Force in Nature, it is intelligently guided by the
fifth principle thereof (Manas). " When the de-

260 THE SECRRT DOCTRINE

mand for it is greater than the supply, its deficiency
ia indicated by nervous collapse or exhaustion."
(And too great an exuberance of it in the nervous
system leads as often to disease and death.) " The
body fully renewed by it presents capacity for mo-
tion, fulness of form, life. The body bereft of it
presents inertia, the configuration of shrunken
death, the evidence of having lost something physi-
cal that was in it when it lived,"

But this " physical something " that we call life-
fluid — the Liquor Vita of Paracelsus — has not de-
serted the body. It has only changed its state from
activity "to passivity, and become latent, owing to tbe
morbid state of the tissues over which it has il9
longer any hold. Once the rigor mortis absolute, thtf'
" Liquor Vita " will reawaken into action, and be-
gin its work on the atoms chemically. Brahma-
Vishnu — the Creator and Preserver of life- — will
have transformed himself into Siva the Destroyer.

And the " Nervous Ether " of one person ean be
poisoned by that of another person, or his o«rtc
emanations. Paracelsus said of " Nervous Ether ";

'* The Arehffius is of a magnetic nature, and at-
tracts or repels other sympathetic or antipathetic
forces belonging to the same plane. The less power
of resistance to astral influences a person possesses
the more will he be subject to such influences. Th;
vital force is not enclosed in man, but radiates (witS-'
in) and around him like a luminous sphere (aura),
and it may be made to act at a distance. ... It
may poison the essence of life (the blood) and caitse
diseases, or it may purify it and restore the health."
{v. Life of Paracelsus, hy Dr. P. Hartmann.)

But the life-principle on our plane is but the eff(
and result of the intelligent action of the " Host
or collective Principle— the manifesting Life and
Light. It is itself subordinate to and emanates from
the ever invisible, eternal and Absolute One Life in

witli^T

ira).
It

oitse
th.^

ffefl
ist^
and
Tom
^"^ in

,THE SECRET DOCTRINE 261

a descending and reascending scale of hierarchic de-
grees— a true septenary ladder, with Sound (or the
Logos) at the upper end, and the inferior " ances-
tors " at the lower. One class of these " ancestors "
endowed man in the Third Eace with self-conacio-
ness, by incarnating in the human shells.

The Solar Theory and the Elements

540. The origin of the Life Essence Occultism lo-
cates in the same centre of our solar system as the
nucleus of prima materia, for they are one.

*' The Sun is the heart of the solar system, and its
brain is hidden behind the visible Sun, Thence sen-
sation is radiated into every nerve-centre of the
great body, and tbe waves of the life-essence flow
into each artery and vein. . . . The planets are
its limbs and pulses." Commentary.

There is a regular circulation of the vital fluid
throughout our solar system, like that of the blood
in the body, during the solar life-cycle, the Sun con-
tracting as rhythmically at every return of it, as tbe
human heart does. Only, instead of performing its
round in a second or two, it takes tbe solar blood
eleven years. This Science will not deny, since As-
ti'onomy knows of the fixed cycle of eleven years
when the number of solar spots increases. This is
due to the contraction of the Solar heart, which is
similar to the regular pulsation of the human heart
as tbe life-fluid passes through its hollow muscles.

542. Occultism has always taught that the recog-
nized chemical elements will one day be found to be
but modifications of a sinale material element, and
also that there is neither Spirit nor Matter in real-
ity, but only numberless aspects of the One ever-
hidden Is. The homogeneous primordial element is
simple and single only on the terrestrial plane of
consciousness and sensation, since matter, after all,

^L de;

262 THE SECRET DOCTKINE

is nothing else than the sequence of our own states of
consciousness, and Spirit an idea of psychic intui-
tion. Even on the nest higher plane, that single ele-
ment defined by our science as the ultimate undfr
composable constituent of some kind of matter
would be pronounced by that higher spiritual per-
ception as something very complex indeed. As in
the realm of matter so in that of spirit, the shadoff
of that which is cognized on the plane of objectivity '
exists on that of pure subjectivity.

Surely, then, the elements now known to us eaii-
Dot be the primordial elements. Those had theit
genesis in the depths of the primordial fire-mist — tho
masses of incandescent vapor of the irresolvabts'
nebulse. The elements now known have arrived at;
their state of permanency in our Eound and Raoftf
They have a short period of rest before they ar^
propelled once more on their upward spiritual evot
Intion, when the ' ' living fire of Orcus ' * will dis
sociate the most irresolvable, and scatter them inti
the primordial One again.

543. Spirit and Matter are two facets of the i
knowable Unity, their apparently contrasted aspect)
depending (o) on the various degrees of differeB
tiation of matter, and (b) on the grades of coa
seiousness attained by man himself.

549. Chemical science is now compelled (see Ad
dresses hy Mr. Crookes, loc. cit.) to accept our i"
lustration of the evolution of gods and atoms so suj
gestively figured in the caduceus of Mercury, thi
God of Wisdom, and described in the allegorical laffi
guage of the ancient sages. Says a Commentary o
the esoteric Doctrine :

" The trunk of the Asvattha (the tree of Life and

Being, the Rod of the Caduceus) grows from and

descends at every Beginning (every new life-cycle)5

from the two dark wings of the Swan (Hansa *) of

"v. Com. of Stoma in., v, 8, of Vol, t.

THE SECEET DOCTRINE

263

iiife. The two Serpents, the ever-living and its il-
lusion (Spirit and matter), whose two heads grow
from the one head between the wings, descend along
the trunk, interlaced
in close embrace. The
two tails join on
earth (the manifested
Universe) into one,
and tliis is the great
illusion, 0 Lanoo! '"
Every one knows
what the caduceus i
already modified by
the Greeks. The orig-
inal symbol, with the
triple head of the ser-
pent, became altered
into a rod with a
knob, and the two
lower heads were sep-
arated, thns disfigur-
ing somewhat the
original meaning.

(The chapter ends with long extracts from Prof.
Crooke 's lecture on ' ' Elements and Meta-ele-
ments," to which the student is referred. — Ed,)

583. Occultism asserts, Firstly, that neither the
stars nor the son can be said to be constituted of
those terrestrial elements with which the chemist is
familiar, though they are all present in the sun's
outward robes^ — -with a host more of elements as yet
unknown to science.

Secondly, that our globe has its own special labo-
ratory on the far-away outskirts of its atmosphere,
crossing which every atom and molecule differen-
tiate from their primordial nature. And

Thirdly, that though no element present in our
earth could ever possibly be fouad wanting in the

)be.
tl3

264 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

sun, there are many others, which have either not
reached, or not yet been discovered on, our
Occult Science adds, that not one of the elemeyUs
chemistry really deserves tiie name. (v. Vol. I.,
D., 584.)

586 (note). Every Occultist knows that
seventh and fourth members always play a distinct
part in the septenary system, whether it be a chaia
of worlds, a hierarchy of angels or the constitution
of man, animal, plant or mineral atom, the fourth
being the turning point. (Professor Crookes has
pointed out the same law in the behavior of chemical
elements. S. D. 1. 585.) fl

The Coming Force '^J

(A long chajiter on the Keely discoveries comes in
here, from which it has been thought best to glean
snch fragments of occult science as will be of use to
the general student. — Ed.)

Occultism sees in all forces and manifestations of^
force a ladder, the lower rungs of which belong t
exoteric physics, and the higher are traced to a lifl
ing, intelligent, invisible Power, which is, £
the unconcerned, and as an exception the conscio^
cause of the sense-horn series of phenomena desij
nated as this or that " natural law."

We say that Sound, for one thing, is a tremendoB)
occult power, and may be produced of such a naturO
as to raise the pyramid of Cheops in the air, or t .
revive and restore a dying man, even at his lad
breath.

For Sound generates, or rather draws togethffl
elements that produce an ozone, the fabrication i
which is beyond chemistry, but within the limits of
alchemy. It may even resurrect a man or animal
whose astral ' ' vital body ' ' has not been irreparably

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 265

separated from the physical body by tlie severance
of the magnetic oi' odic chord. As one saved thrice
from death by that power, the wiiter ought to be
credited with knowing personally something about it.

In the humble opinion of the Occultists, John
Worrell Keely of Philadelphia was at the threshold
of some of the greatest secrets of the universe; of
that chiefly on which is built the whole mystery of
physical forces, and the esoteric significance of the
" Mundane Egg " symbolism, (v. Evolution of
Symbolism, § XII.) Occult philosophy, viewing the
manifested and iinmauifested Kosmos as a UNixr,
symbolizes the former by the " Golden Egg " with
its two poles. The positive pole acts in the mani-
fested world of matter, while the negative pole is
lost in the unknowable absoluteness of " Be-ness."
Occult philosophy divulges few of its most import-
ant vital mysteries. It drops them like precious
pearls, one by one, far and wide apart, and only
when forced to do so by the evolutionary tidal wave
that carries humanity slowly, silently, but steadily
on, towards the dawn of the Sixth Race mankind.
For once out of the custody of their legitimate keep-
ers, these mysteries cease to be occult, and run the
risk of becoming, in the hands of the selfish, more
often curses than blessings. Nevertheless, when-
ever such men as Keely, the discoverer of Etheric
Force, men of peculiar psychic and mental capaci-
ties are born, they are more frequently helped than
allowed to go unassisted. Only they are helped on
the condition that they should not become, whether
consciously or unconsciously, an additional peril
to their age, or a danger to the poor.

This necessitates a short explanation. It has
been stated that Keely was what is called in the
jargon of the Kabalists a " natural-born magician."
That he would remain unconscious of the full ex-
tent of his powers, and would work out merely those

1266

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

I which he had discovered in his own nature — firstly,
mhecQMse attributing them to a wrong source, he could ]
f never give them full sway; and, secondly, because J
' he had no power to pass on to others that which was 1
I a capacity of his special nature. Hence the whole |
. secret could never be made over to any one for prac-
' tical purposes. Such individuals are not very rare. I
[ That they are not heard of oftener is due to the fact ]
, that they are almost always in utter ignorance of I
I their possession of abnormal powers. Mr. Keely J
I possessed powers which were called " abnormal '"
just because they are as little known in our day aa '
the circulation of the blood was before Harvey's
time. Blood existed and behaved as it does now, in
the first man born from woman, and so does that
principle in man which can control and guide ether
or vibratory force. At any rate it exists in all those
mortals whose inner selves are primordially con-
nected, hy reason of their direct descent, with that
I group of Creative Powers who are called " the first^J
born of Ether." Mankind, psychically considered^
ia divided into various groups, each of which is eon J
j nected with one of the Creative groups that firair

formed psychic man. {v. Comm. to Stanza VII.) ,
' But the two forms of force with which Keely ex31
perimented ' ' were the very antithesis of each'
other." One was generated and acted upon by and
through himself. No one else could produce the
same results with his machines. The results oh- j
tained from the fifth and sixth planes of the etheriffi
(or astral) force, will never be permitted to serv^

I for purposes of commerce and traffic. I

If the question is asked why Idr. Keely was nol^
allowed to pass a certain limit, the answer is, be-fl
cause that which he had unconsciously discovered
was the terrible sidereal force known to the Atlan-1
teans and named by them Mash-Mak, and by th«
Aryan Rishis called by a name we do not like to g^ve^

]

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 267

It is the ** vril " of Bulwer's " Coming Race," and
of the coming races of our mankind. The name may-
be a fiction, the Force itself is mentioned in all the
secret works. It is allegorized in the Vishnu Purdna,
the Ramayama and other works, in the fable about
the Sage Kapila, " whose glance made a motmtain
of ashes of King Sagara's 60,000 sons." The dis-
covery in its completeness is many thousand years
too premature. It will be at its appointed place and
time only when the great flood of poverty and under-
paid labor ebbs back again, as it will when the ,iust
demands of the many are granted. This may he
hastened by the spread of learning, and by new
openings for work and emigration on some new con-
tinent that may appear.

Elements and Atoms

Scwntific and Occult

When the Occaltist speaks of ' ' Man ' ' and ' ' Ele-
ments," in remote geological ages, whose duration is
as difficult to determine as to define the nature of
matter, he neither means "man" in his present
physiological and anthropological form, nor the ele-
mental atoms, nor again the compound Elements of
antiquity. In Occultism the word Element means
*' rudiment " in every case. Wlien we say " Ele-
mentary Man " we mean either the incipient sketch
of man in its undeveloped condition, in that form
which now lies latent in physical man during his life-
time, and takes shape only under certain conditions
— or that form which for a time survives the ma-
terial body, and which is better known as an "Ele-
mentary." With regard to "Element," when the
term is used metaphysically it means in distinction
to the mortal, the incipient divine man ; and used in
JJBjbysical sense it means inchoate matter in its

268 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

first undifferentiated condition, or in the neutral
state, which is the eternal and normal condition of
Substance. For Substance differentiates only peri-
odically, and is during that differentiation in an ab-
normal state — in other words, it is a transitory
illusion of the senses.

As to the " Elemental Atoms," the Occultists be-
lieve each of them to be a Soul; not necessarily a
disembodied soul, but a unit of life, a centre of
PoTENTiAt Vitality, with latent intelligence in it,
and, in the case of compound souls, an intelligent
active Existence, from the highest to the lowest
order, a more or less differentiated form. All these
atom-Souls are differentiations from the One, and
in the same relation to it as the divine Sotd to its
informing and inseparable Spirit.

Modem physics, while borrowing from the an-
eients their atomic theory, forgot its most important
point, that those atoms were Animated. No ancient
philosopher, not even the Jewish Kabalists, ever dis-
Boeiated Spirit from Matter. Everything originated
in the One, and proceeding from the One, must
finally return to the One. Atoms and Sonla have
ever been synonymous in the language of the Initi-
ates, who meant by the term " Atom " a Soul, a_
Genius or an Angel, the first-boni of the ever-o
cealed Cause of all causes.

(In Isis, Vol. /., p. 297, we read: " Each of 1 _
seven chambers of the Pyramids was known by tfi^
name of a planet. The apes, lost in the clear blue
sky, typified the primordial point, lost in the unseen
universe, whence started the first race of the spir-
itual types of man, . , . The ' soul ' had to pass
through the seven planetary chambers before it
I made its exit through the symbolical apex. Each

I chamber typified at the same time one of the sev^^

I spheres and one of the seven higher types of phyan

^^^ corspiritual humanity.") ^H

ioui, a
;r<oc4fl

of A
1 iti^

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 269

The Occult teacliing says, ' ' Nothing is created,
hut is only transformed. Nothing can manifeBt in
this universe that was not in this universe already;
everything on the subjective plane is an eternal Is,
as everything on the objective plane is an ever be-
coming—hecause transitory."

The monad, according to the old Initiates, is the
Universal Spirit, or Life {Atnia), in conjunction
with the Spiritual Soul (Buddhi), and the higher
Mind (Manas). This trinity is one and eternal, the
latter being absorbed in the former at the termina-
tion of all conditioned and illusive life. The monad
then and its changes of transitory vehicles, through
the course of its pilgrimage, can only be traced from
the incipient stage of the manifested Universe. In
the intermediate period between two life-cycles it
loses its name, as it loses it in spiritual ecstasy or
final Nirvana; " when the disciple " (in the words
of Sankara), " having attained that primeval con-
sciousness, absolute bliss, of which the nature is
truth, which is without form and action, abandons
this illusive body that has been assumed by the
Atma, just as an actor abandons the dress put on."
For the spiritual Soul {Buddhi) is but a mirror that
reelects absolute bliss, a reflection not yet free from
ignorance; the Supreme Spirit {Atma) alone is the
one real and eternal substratum of all — the essence
and absolnte knowledge. It is called in esoteric
philosophy " the One Witness." and is that to which
St. John referred (1 John v. 7) when he said: " It
is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit
is the truth."

Our spirit being identical with the universal
Spirit, and man being one with it in his essence,
what then is the Monad? It is the homogeneous
spark which radiates in millions of rays from the
primeval Seven. It is tlie emanating spark from the
liTED Rat — a mystery. In the esoteric, and

^K^EATl

270 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

even exoteric Buddhism of the North, the One nn- I
tnown, without beginning or end, emits a bright ray ■
from its darkness.

This is the (first) Logos. As the Lord of all Mys-
teries he cannot manifest, but sends into the world
of manifestation his heart, the second Logos of crea-
tion, from whom emanate the seven Dhyani Buddhas.
called " the parentless." These are the prime-
val monads from the world of incorporeal being,
"the formless world," wherein the Intelligences
(on that plane only) have neither shape nor name
in the exoteric system, though they have their dis-
tinct seven names in esoteric philosophy. Thei
Dhyani Buddhas emanate from themselves, celestia
selves — the superhuman Bodhisattvas. These mcai
nating at the beginning of every human cycle <
earth as mortal men become occasionally, owing t
their personal merit, Bodhisattvas among the SoiM
of Humanity.

In the popular exoteric religion it is taught that
every Buddha while preaching the good law on earth
manifests himself simultaneously in three worlds^
in the formless world as a Dhyani Buddha ; in tiu
world of forms as a Bodhisattva, and in the wor^
of desire (our own world) as a man. Esoterici''
the teaching differs : The divine monad manifeets i
the spiritual, omniscient and omnipotent root of C
vine intelligence, the highest anima mv/ndi or <'
Logos, This descends " like a flame spreading from
the eternal Fire," ever the same to the end of the
cycle of existence, and becomes universal life on the
mundane plane. Prom this plane of conscious Life
shoot out, like seven fairy tongues, the Sons of Light
(the logoi of Life) ; then the Dhyani Buddhas of
contemplation : the concrete forms of their formless
Fathers. From these Dhyani Buddhas emanate
their shadows, the Bodhisattvas of the celestial
realms ; the prototypes of the sMper-terrestrial Bod-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 271

ihisattvas, and of the terrestrial Buddhas, and,
finally, of men. The " Seven Sons of Light " are
also called '* Stars."

The star under which a human Entity is bom,
says the Occult teaching, will remain forever its star
throughout the series of its incarnations in one life-
cycle. But this is not his astrological star. That
is concerned and connected with the personaliti/, the
former with the Individuality. The " Angel " of
that Star, or the Dhyani-Buddha, will be the " pre-
siding " Angel, so to speak, in every rebirth of the
monad {which is part of his own essence), though
' its vehicle, man, may remain forever ignorant of
this fact. The Adepts have each their Dhyani-
! Boddha, their elder " twin Soul," and they know
I it, calling it " Father-Soul " and " Father-Fire."
j It is only at the last and supreme initiation, how-
'! ever, that they learn it, when placed face to face with
[ the bright " Image."

j The Logos, or both the unmanifested and the man-
[ ifested Wobd, is called by the Hindus " the Lord."
! As Occultism explains, it is a compound unity of
I manifested living Spirits, the parent-source of all
the mundane monads {pliis their divine reflection),
which emanate from and return into the Logos, each
j in its own time. There are seven chief groups of
I such Creative Powers, which groups may be reeog-
' nized in every religion, for they are the primeval
I Seven Rays. Humanity, Occultism teaches us, is di-
1 vided into seven distinct groups and their sub-divis-
ions, physical, mental and spiritual. Hence the
I seven chief planets, the spheres of the indwelling
■ seven spirits, under each of which is born one of
the hmnan gi'oups which is guided and influenced
thereby. There arp only seven planets (specially
I connected with Earth) and twelve houses *; but the
possible combinations of their aspects are countless;

272 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

itai]

tre

efWB

as infinite, in fact, as the spiritual, psychic, menl
and physical capacities in men.

The monad, then, viewed as One, is above the
highest principle in Kosmos and man, and as a triad
it is the direct radiant progeny of the Logos. The
" triads " bom under the radiations of one and the
same Planetary Spirit (or Dhyani-Buddha) are, in
all their after-lives and rebirths, " (m«-souls " on
this Earth. It is the same idea, only still more meta-
physical, as that of the Christian Trinity — the Three
in One — i.e., the XJniversaT Spirit manifesting on the
two higher planes, Spirit and Mind; and these are
the three hypostases, metaphysical, but never per^i
sonal.

This was known to every high Initiate in evei
age and in every country. " I and my Father ai
one," said Jesus (John s. 30). When he aays else4
where (xx. 17), " I ascend to my Father and yowt
Father," it means what has just been stated, that
the group of his followers belonged to the same
" Star " or " Father," of the same planetary realm
that he did. Speaking of the great brotherhood of
adepts, Subba Row wrote: " The only possible way
of entering into such brotherhood ... is by
bringing one's self within the influence of the Spir-
itual light which radiates from one's own Logos,
. . . Such communion is only possible between
persons whose souls derive their life and susfenana
from the same divine bay; and as seven disti
rays radiate from ' the Central, Spiritual Sun/
adepts and Creative Powers are divisible into sei
classes, each of which is guided, controlled and over-
shadowed by one of the seven forms or manifesta-
tions of the Divine Wisdom." (Theosophist, Au-
gust, 1886.)

It is then the " Seven Sons of Light," called after
their planets and often confused with them, who ar^,
according to the Occult teachings, our heavenly pi

■ ojcvn

lanc^—
jtinJM

lev^H

:terd
■arJ

THE SECRET DOCTKINE 273

ents, or ** Father," synthetically. Saturn, Jupiter,
Mercury, Venus, the four exoteric planets, and the
three others which must remain unnamed, were the
heavenly bodies in direct astral and psychic com-
munication with the Earth, its Guides and Watchers
morally and physically; the visible orbs furnishing
our humanity with its outward and inward charac-
teristics, and their " Regents " or Rectors with our
Monads and spiritual faculties. In order to avoid
new misconceptions, let it be stated that neither
Uranus nor Neptune were among the three secret
orbs (or star-angels), because they and all other
planets, however numerous, are the gods and guar-
dians of other septenary globes within our system.

The Sun, being a central star and no planet, stands
in more occult relations with its seven planets of our
globe than is generally known. The Sun was, there-
fore, considered the great Father of all the Seven
* ' Fathers, ' ' which accounts for the variations found
between the seven and eight great gods of Chaldea
and other countries. Neither the earth nor the moon
— its satellite — nor yet stars, for another reason,
were anything else than substitutes for exoteric pur-
poses. There are details which, on account of their
great metaphysical abstractions, cannot be entered
upon. Hence we merely state that only seven of our
planets are as intimately related to our globe as the
Sun is to all the bodies subject to him in his system.
There are a great number of planets, small and
large, that have not yet been discovered, but of
whose existence the ancient astronomers— all initi-
ated adepts^ — must certainly have been aware. But
as their relation to the gods was sacred, it had to
remain a secret, as well as the names of other
planets and stars.

As usual, that which is and was from its beginning
divine, pure and spiritual, became human and im-
DUre as seen through the distorted prism of man's

274 THE SECEET DOCTRINE 1

conceptions. The nations born under Saturn — tlie
Jewish, for instEince— with whom he had become
Jehovah, were eternally fighting with those bom
under Jupiter, Mercury or any other planet; but

Jesus the initiate (or Jehoshua) — the type from
whom the " historical " Jesus was copied — was not
of pure Jewish blood, and thus recognized no Jeho-
vah, nor did he worship any planetary god beside
his own " Father," whom he knew, and with whom
he communed as every high Initiate does, " Spirit
to Spirit, and Soul to Soul."

The Nebular Theoky

In Five Years of Theosophy, p. 245, is an article
headed " Do the Adepts deny the Nebular Theory^ "
The answer there given is, "No; they do not deny
its general propositions, nor the approximate (rM(k
of the scientific hypotheses. They only deny the
completeness of the present, as well as the entire
error of the many so-called ' exploded ' theories."
This was proclaimed at the time " an evasive an-
swer," but before the whole esoteric system could
be given out to and appreciated by the astronomers
they would have to return to some of the " anti-j
quated ideas," not only of Herschel, but of som
of the oldest Hindu astronomers. First of all, th^
would have to give up the theory of the Sun's solM
ity and incandescence; the Sun " glows." imdea
ably, but does not " burn." Then it is stated, I
regard to what is now called the ' ' Nasmyth willoil
leaf theory," that those " objects," as HerschT
called the *' willow leaves," are the immedim^
sources of the solar light and heat. The eRoteif
teaching asserts that the whole Universe is full <
such " organisms," conscious and active, accordi^
to the nearness to, or distance from, our plane i
consciousness and theirs ; and that finally the ^

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 275

astronomer was right in saying that " we do know
that vita! action is competent to develop at once
heat, light and electricity." For the Occultists main-
tain that all the " Forces " of the scientists have
their origin in the Vital Principle, the One Life col-
lectively of our solar system — that " Life " being a
portion, or rather one of the aspects of the One
Universal Life. {v. Five Years of Theosophy, pp.
250-258.)

Occultism does not deny the certainty of the me-
chanical origin of the Universe; it only claims the
absolute necessity of mechanicians of some sort be-
hind (or within) its Elements. To become com-
plete and comprehensible, a cosmogonical theory has
to start with a primordial Substance of an intellec-
tual and divine nature diffused throughout bound-
less Space, That Substance must be the Soul and
Spirit, the synthesis and seventh principle of the
manifested Kosmos, and to serve as a spiritual basis
for this, there must be its vehicle, the sixth principle
— primordial physical matter, so to speak, though its
nature must forever escape our limited normal
senses,

FoBCBS — Modes op Motion ob Intelligences?

The Esoteric Doctrine teaches that it is this orig-
inal, primordial, prima materia, divine and intelii^
gent, the direct emanation of the Universal Mind —
the divine light emanating from the Logos — which
formed the nuclei of all the " Self -moving " orbs in
Kosmos. It is the informing, ever-present moving
power and life-principle, the vital soul of the suns,
moons, planets and even of our Earth. The former
latent, the last one active — the invisible Ruler and
Guide of the gross body attached to and connected
with its Soul, which is the spiritual emanation after
of these respective planetary Spirits.

^^of

276 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Nor are the Occultists so foolish in rejecting
" gravity " of modem science, and accepting
stead attraction and repulsion. They see, moreo"
in these two opposite Forces only the two aspects
the universal unit called " Manifesting Mind ";
which aspects Occultism, through its great Seers,
perceives an innumerable Host of operative Beings,
Cosmic Creative Powers, Entities whose essence, in
its dual nature, is the Cause of all terrestrial phft"
nomena. Por that essence is eonsubstantial with i" ~
• universal electric ocean, which is Life ; and bei
dual — positive and negative — it is the effects of thi
duality that act now on earth under the name of
" modes of motion."

From Gods to men, from worlds to atoms, from&
star to a rush-light, from the sun to the vital
of the meanest organism, the world of Form
Existence is an immense chain whose links are
connected. The law of analogy is the first key to
the world problem, and these links have to be studied
co-ordinately in their occult relations to each other.

When, therefore, the Secret Doctrine teaches that
every one of the higher, as of the lower, worlds is
interblended with our own objective world, the Oc-
cultist does not locate these spheres either outside
or inside the Earth. They are, as it were, blended
with our world, interpenetrating it aud interpene-
trated by it. But their inhabitants, to whom their
world is as objective as ours to us — may be, for all
we know or feel, passing through and around us as
if through empty space, their very habitations being
interblended with ours, though we have not yet the
faculties necessary for discerning them. Yet by
their spiritual sight the Adepts, and even some seera
and sensitives, are always able to discern, in greater
or less degree, the presence and close proximity to
us of Beings pertaining to other spheres of life.
Those of the (spiritually) higher worlds communi-

3m a (

I Gate on

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 277

oate only with those terrestrial mortals who ascend,
through individual efforts, to the higher plane they
occupy.

" The Sons of Earth regard the Sona of angelic
spheres aa their gods ; and the Sons of lower king-
doms look up to the men of Earth, as to their gods;
men remaining unaware of it in their blindness.
. , . They (men) tremble before them while us-
ing them {foT magical purposes). . . . {Com.
on Book of Dzyan, Book II.)

When we speak, therefore, as in Vol. 11., of men
who inhabited this globe 18,000,000 years ago, we
have in mind neither the men of our present races,
nor the present atmospheric laws, thermal condi-
tions, etc. The Earth, the Sun and Moon, and plan-
ets, are born, mature and die, why should not Man-
kind be subject to this universal law? Says Uriel
to Enoch {chap. 79, Book of Enoch): " Thou seest
the Sun, Moon and those which conduct the stars of
heaven, which cause all their operations, seasons and
arrivals to return. . . . In the days of sinners
the years shall be shortened . . . everything on
Earth shall be subverted. . . . The moon shall
change its laws "... etc.

The " days of sinners " referred to the days when
matter would be in its full sway on Earth, and man
would have reached the apex of physical develop-
ment in stature and animality. That came to pass
about the middle point of the Atlantean {4th) Race.
Since then man has decreased in physical stature,
strength and years, as will be shown later on.

Gods, Monads and Atoms

From the very beginning of Time and Space in

our Round and Globe the mysteries of Nature were

recorded by the pupils of the now invisible " heav-

. enly; men " in geometrical figures and symbols. The

278 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

keys thereof passed from one generation of " wise
men " to the next. Some of these symbols were
brought from the East by Pythagoras, who was not
the inventor of his famous " Triangle." The latter
figure, along with the plane, cube and circle, are
more eloquent and scientific representations of the
order of the evolution of the Universe, spiritual and
psychic, as well as physical, than volumes of de-
scriptive Cosmogonies and revealed " Genesis."
,The ten points inscribed within that " Pythagorean
triangle " are worth all the theogonies that ever
emanated from the theological
brain. For he who interprets
them — on their very face ani
in the order given — will find in
these seventeen points (the
seven mathematical points hit"
den) the uninterrupted serif
of the genealogies from the'
first Heavenly to terrestrial
man. And as they give the order of Beings, so
they reveal the order in which were evolved the
Eosmos, our Earth, and the primordial Elements
from which the latter was generated. Begotten in
the invisible Depths, and in the womb of the same
*' Mother " as its fellow-globes, he who will master-
the mysteries of our Earth will have mastered thogfl
of all the others. I

Philosophy never could have formed its coneep-^
tion of a logical, universal and absolute Deity if it
had had no Mathematical Point O within the Circle
to base its speculations upon. And it is because it
has so unwisely rejected the Pythagorean Monad
and geometrical figures that Christian theology has
evolved its self-created, human and personal God.

Nor did the " hierogram within a Circle, or equi-
lateral Triangle " ever mean " the exemplification
of the unity of the divine Essence," for this was

THE SECRET DOCTKiNE

279

exemplified by the plane © of the boundless Circle,
What the Triangle really meant was the triune co-
equal nature of the first differentiated Substance, or
the con-substantiality of the (manifested) Spirit,
Matter and the Universe — their " Son," who pro-
ceeds from the Point (the real, esoteric Logos) or
the Pythagorean Monad. For the Greek Monas sig-
nifies " Unity " in its primary sense.

The Monad — only the emanation and reflection of
the Point (Logos) in the phenomenal world — be-
comes, as the apex of the equilateral triangle, the
" Father." The left side or line is the Duad, the
Mother, the right side represents the Son ; the basic

The Father

Universal Plane of productive Nature
line is the Universal Plane of productive Nature,
unifying on the phenomenal plane Pather-Mother-
Son, as they were unified in the apex in the super-
sensuous world.

God the Father

280 THE SECKKT DOCTEINE

By mystic transmutation they became the Quater-
nary— the Triangle became the Tetraktis. By omit-
ting the Point and the Circle, and taking no account
of the apex, Aristotle reduced the metaphysical,
value of the idea, and limited it to a simple triad-
the line, the surface and the body.

The Pythagorean Triangle consists of ten points;
inscribed pyramid-iike within its three lines, and it'
symbolizes the Universe in the famous Pythagorean
Decad. The upper single dot is a Monad, and rep-
resents a Unit-Point, which is the Unity whence all
proceeds, and all is of the same essence with it.
While the ten dots within the triangle represent the
phenomenal world, the three sides of the equilateral
triangle which inclose the pyramid of dots are the
barriers of noumenal Matter, or Substance, that
separate it from the world of Thought. " The four'
points at the base of the triangle correspond with,
a solid or cube." {Pyth. Triangle, p. 19.) When
repeated in stone, it assumed the shape of the Pyra-
mid— the symbol of the phenomenal merging into
the noumenal Universe of thought at the apex of
the four triangles — and as an " imaginary figure
constructed of three mathematical lines," it sym-
bolized the subjective spheres^those lines " inclos-
ing a mathematical space, which is equal to nothing
inclosing nothing." Because to the senses, and the
untrained consciousness of the profane and the
scientist, everything beyond the line of differen-
tiated matter has to remain forever equal to noth-
vng, the Nothing. In the realm of the esoteric
sciences the unit divided ad infinitum, instead of
losing its unity, approaches with every division the
planes of the only eternal Reality. The eye of the
Sebe can follow and behold it in all its pregenetio
glory.

' ' Every atom becomes a visible complex unit (a
molecule), and once attracted into the sphere of ter-

THE SRCRET DOCTRINE 281

restrial activity, the Monadic Essence passing
through the mineral, vegetable and animal King-
doms, becomes man." Again: " God, Monad and
Atom are the correspondences of Spirit, Mind and
Body in Man." ..." The Monads are the
Souls of the Atoms ; both are the fabric in which
the gods clothe themselves when a form is needed."
{Esot. Cathechism.)

The Monads of the present dissertation are
treated from the standpoint of their individuality aa
atomic Souls before these atoms descend into pure
terrestrial form. For this descent into concrete
matter marks the medial point of their own individ-
ual pilgrimage. Then, losing in the mineral Mng-
dom their individuality, they begin to ascend
through the seven states of terrestrial evolution to
that point where a correspondence is firmly estab-
lished between the human and the divine conscious-
ness.

No psycho-physicist ever came nearer than Leib-
nitz has to the general esoteric line of evolution.
This evolution, viewed as that of the universal and
the individualised Monad, and the chief aspects of
the evolving Energy after differentiation — the purely
Spiritual, the Intellectual, the Psychic and the Phys-
ical— may be thus formulated as an invariable law:
a descent of Spirit into Matter, equivalent to an
ascent into physical evolution ; a reascent from the
depths of materiality towards its former condition,
with a corresponding dissipation of concrete form
and substance up to the neutral (or zero) state — and
beyond.

Let the reader remember the " Monads " of Leib-
nitz, every one of which is a living mirror of the
Universe, every monad rotleeting every other, and
compare. this definition with certain Sanskrit verses
translated by Sir William Jones, in which it is said
t the creative source of the Divine Mind — ' ' Hid-

that the c

den in a veil of thick darkness, formed mirrors of thff
atoms of the world, and cast reflections from its own
face on every atom."

" If I throw five shillings into the melting-pot, or
dissolve them chemically," says Professor Crookes
{Genesis of the Elements), " the mint stamp dis-
appears, and they all turn out to be silver."

This will be the case with all the atoms and mole-
cules when they have separated from their com-
pound forms and bodies — when the period of disso-
lution sets in. Reverse the ease, and imagine the
dawn of a new life-cycle. The pure " silver " of the
absorbed material will once more separate into Sob-
stance, which will generate " Divine Essences,"
whose " principles " (corresponding on the cosnue
scale with the Spirit, Soul-mind, Life and their three
vehicles, the astral, mental and physical bodies of
mankind) are the primary elements, the subelements,
the physical energies and subjective and objective
matter; or, as these are epitomized — Gods, Monads
and Atoms.

Occult science teaches that " the Mother " (prima
materia) lies stretched in infinity (during the period
of dissolution) as the great Deep, the " dry Waters
of Space " (Esot. Catm.), and becomes wet only
after the separation and the moving over its face
of Narayana, the " Spirit which is invisible Flame,
which never bums, but sets on fire all that it touches,
and gives it life and generation." Science tells us
that " the element most nearly allied to protyle
would be hydrogen, which for some time would be
the only existing form of matter in the Universe."
Just so; but we would call hydrogen and oxygen
(which instils the fire of life into the " Mother " by
incubation) the Spirit, the noumenon (in the pre-
genetic and even pre-geological ages) of that which
becomes in its grossest form oxygen, hydrogen and
nitrogen on Earth — nitrogen being of no divine or-

'- m

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 283

i^n, but merely an earth-bom cement to unite other
gases and fluids, and serve as a sponge to carry in
itself the breath of Life — pure air, which, if sepa-
rated Alchemically, would jdeld the Spirit of Life
and its Elixir, {v. Stamn-yi. 3, note.) Before these
gases and fluids become what tbey are in our atmos-
phere, they are interstellar Ether; still earlier, and
on a deeper plane— something else, and so on ad
infinitum.

The " Spirit-Matter " and " Matter-Spirit " ex-
tend infinitely i« depth, and like the *' essence of
things " of Leibnitz, our essence of things real is at
the seventh depth; while the unreal and gross mat-
ter of science and the external world is at the lowest
end of our perceptive senses.

Draw a deep line in your thought between the
ever-incognizable Divine Essence, which is no " Be-
ing," but the root of all being, and the as invisible
but coraprehensible Presence, from beyond and
through which vibrates the Sound of the "Word, and
from which evolve the numberless hierarchies of in-
telligent Egos, of conscious as of semi-conscious,
perceptive and apperceptive Beings, whose essence
is Spiritual Force, whose substance is the Ele-
ments, and whose bodies (when needed) are the
atoms — and our doctrine is there.

The Occultists say that the Monads may be
roughly viewed in three divisions, corresponding to
spirit, soul or mind, and body in the human consti-
tution. They may be separated (leaving out for the
present all subdivisions) into three distinct Hosts,
which counted from the highest planes are, firstly,
" gods " or conscious spiritual Egos, the intelligent
architects, who work after the plan in the Divine
Mind. Then come the Elementals or Monads, who
form collectively and unconsciously the grand Uni-
versal Mirrors of everything connected with their
pective realms. Lastly, the atoms, or material

^M 284 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ■

^^1 molecules, which are informed in their turn by their^

^^f apperceptive monads, just as every cell in a humaii I

1^^ body is so informed. There are shoals of such in-H

I formed atoms, which in their turn inform the mole-B

I cules; an infinitude of monads, or Elementala ^

proper, and countless spiritual Forces — Monadless,
for they are pure incorporealities, except under cer-
tain laws when they assume a form — not necessarily
human. Whence the substance that clothes them — ■
the apparent organism they evolve around their cen-
tres! The Formless Radiations, existing in the har-
mony of Universal Will, and being what we term the
collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the
plane of the subjective Universe, unite together ait
infinitude of monads— each the mirror of its own:
Universe — and thus individualize for the time bein*
an independent Mind, omniscient and tmiversal; and'
by the same process of magnetic aggregation they
create for themselves objective, visible bodies out of
the interstellar atoms. For atoms and monads, sim-
ple or complex, associated or dissociated, are from,
the moment of the first differentiation but the princi-
ples, corporeal, psychic and spiritual, of the " Gods '*'
— themselves the radiations of primordial Naturfc'
Thus to the eye of the Seer the higher Planetary
Powers appear under two aspects: the subjective
as influences, and the objective as mystic Form&,
which under Karmic law become a Presence, Spirit
and Matter being One, as repeatedly stated. Spirit
is matter on the sevetith plane; matter is spirit oaJ
the lowest point of its cyclic activity ; and both axe
Illusion,

Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their-
continuous vibration are that Motion which keeps
the wheels of Life perpetually going. It is that inner
work that produces the natural phenomena called
the correlation of Forces. Only, at the origin of

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 285

every such "force" there stands tlie conscious,
guiding Doumenon thereof.

As described by Seers, those who can see the mo-
tion of the interstellar hosts and follow them in their
evolution clalrvoyantly, they are dazzling, like
specks of virgin snow in radiant sunlight. Their
velocity is swifter than thought, quicker than any
physical eye could follow, and, as well as can be
indged, the motion is circular. Standing on a raoim-
tain summit, and gazing into the spacial infinitudes
around, the whole atmosphere seems ablaze with
them. At times the intensity of their motion pro-
duces flashes like the Northern Lights. The sight
is so marvellous that the Seer, gazing into this inner
world, is filled with awe at the thought of other and
still greater mysteries that- lie beyond and within
this radiant ocean. . . .

(The student is strongly advised to study this
chapter in the original edition, as only a condensa-
tion could be given here. — Ed.)

Cyclic Evolution and Kabma

It is the spiritual evolution of the inner immortal
man that forms the fundamental tenet in the occult
sciences. To realize even partially such a process,
the student has to believe (a) in the One Universal
Life, independent of matter (or what science re-
gards as matter) ; and (&) in the individual Intelli-
gences that animate its various manifestations.

The One Life is closely related to the one law
which governs the World of Being — the law of
Kabma. Exoterically the word means simply " ac-
tion," or rather " an effect-producing cause." Eso-
terically, it is quite a different thing in its far-reach-

THE SECRET DOCTBINE

ing moral effects, for it is the unerring Law of Ebt-

BmUTION.

Throughout the first two parts of this book it was ]
shown that at the first flutter of renascent life Pri- ]
mordial Substance, " the mutable radiance of the j
Immutable Darkness unconeeious in Eternity,"
passes at every new rebirth of Kosmos from an in- 1
active state into one of intense activity; that it dif-
ferentiates, and then begins its work through that I
differentiation. This work is Karma.

The Cycles also are subservient to the effects pro-
duced by this activity. ' ' The one Cosmic atom be-
comes seven atoms on the plane of matter, and each
is transformed into a centre of energy; that same
atom becomes seven rays on the plane of spirit, and
the seven creative forces of nature, radiating from
the root-essence . . . follow one the right, the
other the left path, separate till the end of the cycle,
and yet are in close embrace.* What unites them!
Kabma." The atoms emanating from the Central
Point emanate in their turn new centres of energy,
which, under the potential breath of Fohat (cosmic
electricitif) , begin their work from within without,
and multiply other minor centres. These form in

^^— their turn the roots or developing causes of new ef- _
^K fects. M

^^H To make the workings of Karma in the periodical H
^^r renovations of the Universe more intelligible to the:^|
' student when he arrives at the origin and evolutional

of man, we must now examine the esoteric bearings ^|
of the Kosmie cycles upon universal ethics. ^|

According to the teachings, Illusion, or the illusive
appearance of the succession of events and actions
on this earth, varies with nations and places. But
the chief features of one's life are always in ac-
cordance with the " Constellation " one is born un-

^r THE SECRET DOCTEINE 287

der, or rather with the characteristics of its animat-
ing prineiple, whether we call it a Creative Poiver as
in Asia, or an Archangel, with the Greek and Latin
churches. In ancient symbolism it was always the
StJN (though the Spiritual, not the visible, Sun was
meant) that was supposed to send forth the chief
Saviours and divine Incarnations. The closer one's
approach to one's prototype " in Heaven," the bet-
ter for the mortal whose personality was chosen by
liis own personal deity (his spiritual self) as its ter-
restrial abode.* For with every effort of will to-
wards purification, and unity with that " Self -God,"
one of the lower rays breaks, and the spiritual entity
of man is drawn higher and ever higher to the ray
that supersedes the first, until from ray to ray the
inner man is drawn into the one and highest beam of
the Parent— Sun. Thus " the events of humanity
do run co-ordinately with the number forms," since
the single units of that humanity ail proceed from
the same source — the Central, and its shadow, the
visible Sun. For the equinoxes and solstices, the
periods and various phases of the solar course, as-
tronomically and numerically expressed, are only
the concrete Bymbols of the eternally living verity,
though they seem abstract ideas to uninitiated mor-
tals.

Yes, " our destiny is written in the stars ! " Only
the closer the uniou between the mortal reflection
Man and his celestial Prototype, the less dangerous
his externa] conditions and subsequent reincarna-
tions. For there are external and internal conditions
which affect the determination of our will upon our
actions, and though man cannot escape his ruling
Destiny, he has the choice of two paths, and it is in
his power to follow either. Those who believe in
Karma have to believe in destiny, which from birth
to death a man is weaving round himself as a spider
•See cbapter on The Blementt and Atoms.

288 THE SECRET DOCTKINE

weaves his web ; and this destiny is guided either hji
the heavenly voice of the invisible prototype, or br_
our intimate astral or inner man, who ia but too '
often our evil genius. Both of these lead on the
outward man, and from the beginning the implacable
law of compensation steps in and takes its course.
When the last strand is woven, man finds himself
completely under the empire of this self-made des-
tiny, and this is Kakma.

In Isis Unveiled, v. II., p. 268, it is stated that
** the revolution of the physical world, according to
the ancient doctrine, is attended by a like revolution
in the world of intellect — the spiritual evolution of
the world proceeding in cycles, like the physical one.

Thus we see in history a regular alternation of
ebb and flow in the tide of human progress, in the
rise and fall of the great kingdoms and empires of J
the world." '

But these cycles do not affect all mankind at one
and the same time. Hence the difficulty of compre-
hending and discriminating between them, in regard
to their physical and spiritual effects, without hav-
ing thoroughly mastered their relations with the
respective positions of races and nations in their
destiny and evolution. This system cannot be under-
stood if the spiritual action of these periods — pre-
ordained, so to speak, by Karmic law — is separated
from their physical course. The calculations of the
best astrologers would fail, or remain at any rate
imperfect, unless this dual action is thoroughly
taken into consideration and dealt with upon these
lines. And this mastery can only be achievedj
through Initiation,

The Grand Cycle includes the progress of mai
kind from the appearance of primordial men of*
ethereal form. It runs through the inner cycles of
man's progressive evolution from the ethereal down
to the semi-ethereal and the purely physical ; dow

eveoH

BaD^
Q of"

!3 of

lown
il; down_

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 289

to the redemption of man from his coat of skin and
matter, and then upward again, to meet at the cul-
mination of a Eound, when the serpent of the life-
eyele swallows its tail, and seven minor cycles are
passed. These are the great Racial Cycles which
affect equally all the nations and tribes included in
that special Race, but there are minor tribal and
national cycles within those, which run independ-
ently of each other. They are called, In the Eastern
esotericiam, the Karmic cycles. Kabma-Nemesib is
the creator of nations and mortals, but once created
it is they who make of her either a fury or a reward-
ing angel. There is no return from the paths she
cycles over ; yet those paths are of our own making,
for it is we, collectively or individually, who prepare
them. The only decree of Karma^an eternal and
immutable decree — is absolute harmony in the world
of matter as in the world of Spirit. It is not, there-
fore, Karma that rewards or punishes, but it is we
who reward or punish ourselves according to
whether we work with, through and along with na-
ture, abiding by the laws on which that harmony
depends, or break them.

Nor would the ways of Karma be inscrutable were
men to work in union and harmony instead of dis-
union and strife. Were no man to hurt his brother,
Karma-Nemesis would have neither cause to work
for nor weapons to act with. For Karma-Nemesis
is no more than the (spiritual) dynamical effect of
Causes produced and forces wakened into acti\'ity
by our own actions. It is a law of occult dynamics
that " a given amount of energy expended on the
spiritual or astral plane is productive of far greater
results than the same amount expended on the phys-
ical ob;jective plane of existence."

This (physical) state will last till man's spiritual
intuitions are fully opened, which will not happen
tiUwe fairly east off our thick coats of matter; until

THE SECRET DOCTBINE

rer follow*!
produced t

we begin acting from within, instead of ever
ing impulses from witJiout, namely, those pi
by our physical senses and gross, selfish body. Un-
til then the only pallative to the evils of life is union
and harmony — a brotherhood in acttj, and altruism
not simply in name.

It is true that the exoteric cycles of every nation
have been correctly made to be derived from, and
depend on, sidereal motions. The latter are insepa-
rably blended with the destinies of nations and men.
But with the pagans the cycles meant something
more than a mere aucceseion of events, or a more
or less prolonged space of time. Ancient Wisdom
added to the cold shell of astronomy the vivifying
elements of its soul and spirit — Astkoloqy. In the
prognostication of historical events, at any rate,
thare is no psychic phenomenon involved. It is
neither prevision nor prophecy any more than the
signalling of a comet or star several years before
its appearance. It is simply knowledge and mathe-
matically correct computations which enable the
wise men of the East to foretell, for instance, that
France is nearing such a point of her cycle, and
Europe in general on the eve of a cataclysm, which
her own cycle of racial Karma has led her to. East-
ern Initiates maintain that they have preserved ree^
ords of racial development and of events of ni*
versal importance ever since the beginning of tl
Fourth Kace — those which preceded being tradi-
tional. A proof of this is given in what to every Oc-
cultist is scientific evidence — the records preserved
through the Zodiac for incalculable ages.

ls^
till

The Zodiac and its Antiquity

The sidereal " prophecies " of the Zodiac,
are called by Christian mystics, never point to

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 291

one particular event, however solemn and sacred it
may be for some one portion of humanity, but to
ever-recurrent, periodical laws in Nature, under-
stood but by the Initiates of the sidereal gods them-
selves. Why see in Pisces a direct reference to
Christ — a Saviour but for his direct followers, a
great and glorious Initiate for all the rest^when
that constellation shines as a symbol of all the past,
present and future Spiritual Saviours who dispense
light and dispel mental darkness t

There are those learned iconoclasts among Egyp-
tologists who say that " when the Pharisees sought
* a sign from heaven,' Jesus said, ' there shall be no
sign given but the sign of Jonas.' " (Matt. xvi. 4,)
, . . The sign of Jonas is that of Cannes, or the
fish-man of Nineveh. . . . Assuredly there was
no other sign than that of the Sun reborn in Pisces.

The Jews counted 4,320 lunar years from the crea-
tion of the world (in the Bible solar years are used),
and these figures are not fanciful, even if their appli-
cation is erroneous, for they are only the distorted
echo of the primitive esoteric, and later Brahminical
doctrine concerning the Yugas. A " Day " of
Brahma equals 4,320,{)00,000 years, and so does a
" Night " of Brahma, or the cycle of Dissolution,
after which a ne^v Sun rises triumphantly over a
new life-cycle for the septenary chain it illuminates.
"What wonder, then, that the Messiah was made to
be bom in " the lunar year of the world 4,3201 "
The Son of Righteousness and Salvation had once
more arisen, and bad dispelled the cyclic darkness
of chaos and non-being on the plane of our objective
globe and chain.

The compilers of the mystical epithets given to
the Christian Saviour were all more or less ac-
quainted with the significance of the Zodiacal signs ;
and it is easier to suppose that they should have

jrgnged their claims to answer these signs than

292

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

that the signs should have shone as a prophecy fori
one small portion of humanity for millions of yeara.1
However distorted and misunderstood the iSindu 1
symbology, no Occultist can fail to do it justice once
he knows something of the Secret Sciences ; nor '
will he turn away from their metaphysical and mys-
tical interpretation of the Zodiac, even though the
whole Pleiades of Koyal Astronomical Societies rose
in arms against their mathematical rendering of it.
The descent and reaseent of the Monad or Soul can-
not be disconnected from the Zodiacal signs, and it
seems more in accord with the fitness of things to
believe in a mysterious sympathy between the meta-
physical soul and the bright constellations, and in
the influence of the stars upon that soul, than in the
absurd notion that the creators of Heaven and Eartl
have placed in Heaven the types of twelve Jewiski
tribes.

(Here again the student is referred to this ehaptffl
in the original for much valuable historical and as-
tronomical information, but which being neitha
" ethical " nor " spiritual," does not properly coiE
into the scope of the present synopsis. — Ed.)

PART II

ANTHBOPOGENESIS

" The whole essence of truth cannot be described
ty any pen, not even that of the recording angel, un-
less man finds its response in the sanctuary of his
own heart, in the innermost depths of his divine
(Otnition. ' ' — 8. D. II., p. 516.

THE SECEET DOCTRINE

Pabt II

ANTHEOPOGENESIS

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preliminary Notes on ttie Four Prehistoric Continents . . 299

ANTHROPOGENESIS
The Stanzas, 1 to 12 305

COMMENTARY ON THESE STANZAS

^ Stanza I. Beginnings of Sentient Life .... 305

[ *' II. Nature, Unaided, Falls 306

i ** III. Attempts to Create Man .... 307

[ " IV. Creation of the First Races .... 308

' " V. Evolution of the Second Race ... 309

" VI. Evolution of the Egg-born .... 309

" VII. From the Semi-Divine to the First Human

Races 309

" VIII. Evolution of Mammalia. The First Fall . 310

" IX. Final Evolution of Man . . . .311

** X. History of the Fourth Race . . . .312

** XI. Civilization and Destruction of Third and

Fourth Races 312

** XII. The Fifth Race, and its Divine Instructors 313

ADDITIONAL EXPLANATIONS

gectlon I. The Divine Hermaphrodite . . . .433
•* II. Deluges and Floods 434

296

CONTENTS

3ecti<

on III.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

««

XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

Addenda to

Parallelisms

PAGB

Edens, Serpents, and Dragons . • • 441

The Sons of God and the Secret Island . 446

Sidereal and Cosmic Glyphs . . . 453

The "Curse" from a Philosophical Point of

Additional Fragments from a Commentary . 462

Adam — ^Adami 465

The Holy of Holies . ... . .469

The Myth of the "Fallen Angel" . . 474

Enolchion — Henoch 485

lao and Jehovah, Cross and Circle • . 489

The Seven Vowels 503

The Cross and the Pythagorean Decade . 507

The Septenary in Nature .... 516

The Septenary and the Tetraktis . . 523

The Septenary in the Ancient Scriptures . 527

Seven in Astronomy, Science, and Magic . 532

On the Antiquity of these Doctrines . . 538

Part II 543

of Life 558

DIAGRAMS

V. Adepts, Men, and Anthropoids .... 373

VI. Evolution of Races in Fourth Round . . . 416

VII. Principles of Man and Nature .... 518

VIII. Jehovah-Binah and the Sephiroth .... 521

IX. Human and Cosmic Aspects : Jah-Noah and Ararat 522

X. The Root According to Occultism .... 551

XI. Primeval Astral Man 553

A SYNOPSIS OF THE EASTERN TEACHING
^L OF CBEATION

The " Seven Cbbations " op the Puhanas

I. The Fiest Eoumd

1. Universal Mind.

2. Pre-Cosmic Elements.

3. Eudimental Senses.

4. {a} Nascent centres of Force. (&) Nerve-
Force, (c) Nascent Apperception.

5. (a) Objective Mineral Kingdom, (b) Objec-
tive Vegetable Kingdom, (c) Dawn of Appercep-
tion.

6. Objective Animal Kingdom.
~, Human-Germ stage.

Fourth Round

(Flora and Fauna, as well as Man, vary with
every Eomid and Race.)

The " Continents " or Conditions of the Earth's
surface.

1st Race. — Habitat: The Imperishable Sacred
Land at the North Pole.

2d Race. — Habitat : The Hyperborean Continent.

3d Race. — Habitat: The Lemurian Continent.

4th Race.^ — Habitat: The Atlantean Continent.

5th Raee.^Habitat : The European Continent
(includes America).

298 EASTERN TEACHING OF CREATION

Racial Characteristics

1st Race. — Spiritual within and ethereal withoat.|
Mindless.

2d Kace. — Semi-astral (or ethereal). First sparkl
of intelligence.

3d Race. — 1st division, Egg-born. 2d, Androgyne, J
3d, Human. Separation of sexes in 5th Subrace.

4th Race. — Hitman. Perfection of physical bodw
Lasted four or five millions years. Perished durin
mid-Miocene age.

5th Race.— Already more than 18 million years ■'
old. The Aryan Hindu nearly one million.

Of the 7 primitive types of the 5th Race, there now
remain on earth but three, the Caucasian, Mongolian
and Ethiopian, The Semitic was one of the smallest
branchlets from the union of the 4th and 5th Sub-
races (the Mongolo-Turanian and the Indo-Euro-
pean) after the sinking of Atlantis. I

The first two and a half Races go back to " Pii- 1
mary Creation," The 3d goes very far back into
the Secondary Age. The Americans are the germs
of the 6th Subrace to follow our own, the 5th Sub-
race of the 5th Root-race of the 4th Round, " At
the close of the 7th Race of the 7th Round, the
Monad will find itself as free from matter and all
its qualities as it was in the beginning, plus the _
fruition of all its personal lives."

On the Four Prehistoric Continents

The Stanzas and Commentaries in this Book are
drawn from the same archaic records as those in
Book I. As far as possible, a verbatim translation
is given, but where they are too obscure to be under-
stood without explanation, an attempt is made to
make them clearer by words in brackets added to
the text.

As regards the evolution of mankind, the Secret
Doctrine postulates three new propositions, which
stand in direct antagonism to modem science as well
as to current religious dogmas; it teaches (1) the
simultaneous evolution of seven human groups on
seven different portions of our globe ; (2) the form-
ation of the astra! before the physical body, the for-
mer being a model for the latter; and (3) that man,
in this Bound, preceded all the mammalia — including?
the anthropoids. In Genesis, chap, ii., we find that
man was created before the animals, for the so-
called " animals " of chap. i. are the signs of the
Zodiac, while " man, male and female," is not man,
but the Host of Forces or Angels " made in God's
image and after His likeness." Adam, the man, is
not made in that image, nor is it so asserted in the
Bible. Moreover, the second Adam is esoterically a
septenary, which represents seven human groups.
The first Adam, Adam-Kadraon, is the synthesis of
the ten Sephiroth (or Creative Powers). Of these,
the upper triad remains in the Archetypal World
as the future " Trinity," while the seven lower

300 PRELIMINARY NOTES

Powers create the manifested material world, anA'
this septenate is the second Adam. Genesis, am"
the Mysteries upon which it was fabricated, caau
from Egypt. The ' ' God ' ' of the first chapter oi
Genesis is the Logos, and the " Lord God " of tb
second chapter, the creative Elohim, the lowi
Powers.

The Secret Doctrine is not alone in speaking
primeval Men born simultaneously on the seven di'
sions of our globe. In the " Divine Pymander "
Hermes we find the same seven primeval Men evoli
ing from Nature and ' ' Heavenly Man ' ' in the c(
lective sense of the word, that is, from the Creati"
Spirits; and in the fragments of Chaldean tablel
collected by George Smith, on which is inscribed th(
Babylonian Legend of Creation, seven human beings
with " the faces of ravens " {black, swarthy com-
plexions), whom " the seven great gods created,'
are mentioned.

These are the seven Kin^ of Edom to whom ref-j
erence is made in the Kabala; or the First Eac*s,
which was imperfcct—i.e., was born before " the bal-
ance " (sexes) existed, and which was therefore de-
stroyed. They were destroyed as a race by being
merged in their own progeny, that is to say, the sex-
less race reincarnated in the (potentially) bisexual;
the latter in the androgynes ; these again in the sex-
ual, the later Third Race. (For further explanation
vide infra.)

It has become undeniable of late that the Jew(
who obtained their primitive ideas about creatio!
from Moses, who had them from the Egyptians,
compiled their Genesis and first eosmogenic tradi-
tions from the Chaldeo-Akkadian account. And we
find, scattered through the Babylonian and Assyrian
inscriptions, not only the original meaning of the
word Adam (v. Book II., Part IV., § XVI.), but also
the creation of seven Adams or roots of men, bom

guis

PRELIMINARY NOTES 301

of mother Earth, physically, and of the divine fire
of the progenitors, spiritually or astrally. In his
Chaldean Account of Genesis, George Smith says:
' ' The word Adam used in these legends for the first
human being is evidently not a proper name, hut is
only used as a term for mankind."

Moreover, neither the Chaldean nor the Biblical
Deluge is based on the universal or even on the
Atlantean deluge. They are the exoteric allegories
based on the esoteric mysteries of Samotbraee.
Samothrace is known to have been overflowed very
suddenly by the waters of the Euxine Sea, regarded
up to that time as a lake. (v. Pliny, Strabo, et al.)
But the Israelites had, moreover, another legend
upon which to base their allegory, the " deluge "
that transformed the present Gobi desert into a sea
for the last time, some 10,000 or 12,000 years ago,
and drove many Noahs and their families to the
surrounding mountains. The Babylonian fragments
corroborate almost every one of our teachings; cer-
tainly these three:

1. That the race that was the first to fall into
generation was a dark Race, which was called the
Adami (dark race), and that the light Race remained
pure for a long while afterwards.

2. That the Babylonians recognized two principal
Races at the time of the Fall, the Race of the Gods
(the ethereal doubles of the Progenitors) having
preceded these two. These are our Second and
Third Root-Races.

3. That the seven Gods, each of whom created a
man or group of men, were " the gods imprisoned
or incarnated."

There are two " Creations," so-called, in the
Babylonian fragments, and Genesis having adhered
to this idea, one finds its first two chapters distin-

uished as the Elohite and Jehovite creations.

'heir proper order, however, is not preserved in

302 PRELIMINARY NOTES

, refer r^J

L no'

these or any other exoteric accounts. These
tions," according to the occult teachiuga, r
Bpectively to the formation of the primordial seven
men by the progenitors (the Eiobim or Creative
Spirits) ; and to that of the human groups after the
fall. All this will be examined in the light of the
ancient scriptures and of modern science as we pro-
ceed. Meanwhile, before we begin upon the An-
thropogenesis of the prehistoric Races, it may be
well to decide upon the names to be given to the
" Continents " (or conditions of the earth's aur-
face), on which the four great Races preceding onr
Adamic Race were born, lived and died. Their
archaic and esoteric names were many, and varied
of course with the language of each nation that re-
ferred to them.

Therefore, to avoid confusion, it is thought best
to adopt, for each of the four " Continents," a
name more familiar to the cultured reader. It ifl
proposed then to call the first " coutinent,
rather the first terra firma on which the first Bacct.
was evolved by the divine Progenitors-

I. " The Imperishable Sacred Land.

This " Sacred Land " is said to be the only o:
whose destiny it is to last from the beginning to th(
end of the life-cycle throughout each Round. It was
the cradle of the first man, and is to he the dwelling
of the last divine mortal chosen as a teacher for the.
future humanity. One of the Commentaries sa;
" The pole-star has its watchful eye upon it fn
the dawn to the close of the twilight of ' a day "
the Great Breath."

n. The " Hyperborean *' is the name chosen ft
the Second Continent, the land which stretch*
south and west from the North Pole to receive
Second Race, and comprised the whole of what
now known as Northern Asia.

PEELIMINAEY NOTES 303

m. The tbird Continent we propose to call Lerau-
ria, a name proposed by Mr. P. L. Sclater, who as-
serted (between 1850 and 1860), on zoological
grounds, the actual existence in prehistoric times of
a continent extending from Madagascar to Ceylon
and Sumatra. Except some portions which are now
part of Africa, this gigantic Continent has wholly
disappeared beneath the waters of the Pacific, leav-
ing only some mountain-tops, now islands.

IV. The fourth Continent is Atlantis. Plato's fa-
mous island of that name was a small fragment of
this great continent, (vide Esoteric Buddhism.) _

V. The fifth Continent was America, but it is
Europe and Asia Minor, almost coeval with it, which
are generally referred by the Aryan Occultists as
the Fifth. If the teachings followed the appearance
of the Continents in their geological order, this clas-
sification would have to be altered. But as the se-
quence of the Continents is made to follow the order
of evolution of the Baces from the First to the
Fifth (our own Aryan Eace), Europe must be called
the Fifth great Continent. Since the destruction of
the great Atlantis, before the end of the Miocene
period, the face of the earth has changed more than
once. The last important change occurred some
12,000 years ago, and was followed by the submer-
sion of the Atlantic island called by Plato Atlantis,
after its parent Continent. Geography was part of
the Mysteries in the days of old. The Zohar says:
** The secrets of sea and land were divulged to the
men of the secret science, but not to the geogra-
phers."

The claim that physical man was originally a co-
lossal pre-Tertiary giant, and that he existed 18,000,-
000 years ago, must appear preposterous to modern
biologists, who will turn away from the conception
of this Third Eace Titan of the Secondary age. The

304

PRELIMINARY NOTES

" Ages " and " periods " in geology are in sobfl
truth very indefinite terms, as no two geologii
agree in their calculations.

But the main point for us lies in the perfect i
cord of the naturalists on one point, and this a ve _
important one. They all agree that during the Mio;
cene Age — whether one or ten million years ago—
Greenland and even Spitzhergen (the remnants i
our Second Continent) had almost a tropical climatt
Now the pre-Homeric Greeks had preserved a vivi
tradition of this "Land of the Eternal Sun/'
whither their Apollo journeyed yearly. If they knen
of this hiessed Hyperborean land, beyond the reaoK
of Boreas, god of the northern wind, who told them
of it! For in their day, and for ages previously)
Greenland must have been already covered with peW
petual ice and snow. To know of this land of eternal
summer, their traditions must have descended to thft
Greeks from some people more ancient than them-
selves. The archaic teachings, and likewise the
Puranas — for one who understands their allegoriea:
— contain the same statements. Suffice then to i
the strong probability that a people now nnknowE
to history lived during the Miocene period of science.
when Greenland was an almost tropical land.

Note. — The reader is requested to bear in mini
that the following sections are not strictly eonsecD
tive in order of time. In the first section the Stata
which form the skeleton of the exposition are givei
and certain important points commented upon am
explained. In the subsequent sections various addi-"
tional details are gathered, and a fuller explanation
of the subject is attempted.

BOOK II. PART I

Ahthbopogenebis

" Stan^sas from the secret Book of Dzyan

Translated with Commentaries

(Only forty-nine Verses out of several hundred
are here given. Not every Verse is translated ver-
batim, A periphrasis is sometimes used for the sake
of clearness.)

ANTHEOPOGENESIS

STANZA I

Beginnings of Sentient Life

1. The Spirit which turns the fourth {globe, our
earth) is suhservieut to the seven Planetary Spirits,
they who revolve driving their chariots around their
Lord, the One Eye {the Sun). His breath gave life
to the Seven, it gave life to the first.

2. Said the Earth: " Lord of the Shining Face "
{the Sun), " my house is empty . . . send thy
HODS to people this globe. Thou hast sent thy seven
sons to the Lord of Wisdom {Mercury). Seven
times doth he see thee nearer to himself, seven times
more doth he feel thee. Thou hast forbidden thy
Bervants, the small rings, to cateh thy light and heat,

I servants, t

306 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

thy great bounty to intercept on its passage. Send .
now to thy servant the same."

3. Said the Lord of the " Shining Face ": "
shall send thee a Pire when thy work is commencW
Raise thy voice to other planes ; apply to thy f athei
the Lord of the Lotus (the Moon) for his soni
. . . Thy people shall be under the rule of th
Fathers (the god of Death). Thy men shall be moi
tals. The men of the Lord of Wisdom (Mercurgt)
not the Lunar Sons, are immortal. Cease thy coi^*
plaints. Thy seven skins are yet on thee .
thou art not ready. Thy men are not ready."

4. After great throes she {the Earth) cast off hf
old three and put on her new seven skins (geologici
changes), and stood in her first one.

STANZA n
Nature, Unaided, Fails

5. The wheel whirled for thirty crores mor
(three hundred million years). It constructed forms!
soft stones that hardened (minerals); hard plants
that softened. Visible from invisible, insects ant
small lives. She shook them off her back whenevffl
they overran the mother (by inclinations of Earth*!
axis). . . . After thirty crores she turm
round. She lay on her back, on her side. . .
She would call no Sons of Heaven, she would as^
no Sons of Wisdom. She created from her own bo*
som. She evolved water-men, terrible and bad.

6. The water-men, terrible and bad, she herad
created from the remains of others (mineral, vegi
table and animal remains), from the dross and slin*
of her first, second and third (Rounds) she formed
them. The Spirit came and looked. " Our flesh is
not there," they said. " No fit forms for oar brothr

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 307

era of the Fifth (Race?). No dwellings for the
Lives. Pure waters, not turbid, they must drink.
Let us dry them " (the waters).

8. The Flames came. The Fires with the Sparks :
the night fires, and the day fires. They dried out
the turbid dark waters. "With their heat they
quenched them. The Spirits of the high, and those
of the below, came (the more terrestrial). They
slew the forms which were two- and four-faeed.
They fought the goat-men, and the dog-headed men,
and the men with fishes' bodies.

9. Mother-water, the great sea, wept. She arose,
she disappeared in the Moon which had lifted her
{tidal action), which had given her birth.

10. When they {the monsters) were destroyed,
Mother-earth remained bare. She asked to be dried
{beginning of incrustation).

STANZA III

Attempts to Create Man

11. The Lord of the Lords came. From her body
he separated the waters, and that was Heaven above,
the first Heaven. {The atmosphere.)

12. The great Spirits called the Lords of the
Moon, of the airy bodies. " Bring forth men," they
were told, * ' men of your nature. Give them their
forms within. Earth will build coverings without
{external bodies). (For) males-females will they
be. Lords of the Flame also." . . .

13. The Moon-gods went each on bis allotted land:
seven of them, each on his lot. The Lords of the
Flame remain behind. They would not go, they
would not create.

THE SECBET DOCTRINE

■

Creation of the First Races

14. The Seven Hosts, the " Will- {or Mind)-'boTa
Lords, ' ' propelled by the Spirit of Life-giving
(Fohat), separate men from themselves, each on his
own zone.

15. Seven times seven Shadows of future meil
were thus born, each of his own color and kind
Each also inferior to his Creator. The Fathers, th(
boneless, could give no life to beings with bones
Their progeny were phantoms, with neither foni
nor mind. Therefore they are called the Shadow!

16. How are the real Men horn! the men witi
minds, how are they made? The Fathers called t
their help their own fire {the electric), which is th
fire that burns in Earth. The Spirit of the Eai "
called to his help the Solar fire. {The fire of peu
sion.) These three produced with their joint efforf^^
a good form. It could stand, walk, run. recline o
fly. Tet it was still but a Shadow, a shadow with a
sense. ...

17. The Breath {the Monad) needed a form; th
Fathers gave it. The Breath needed a gross body
the Earth moulded it. The Breath needed the Spin
of Life ; the Solar Lords breathed it into its fona
The Breath needed a mirror of its body {an astro
duplicate) ; " We gave it our own," said the Crea^
tive Spirits. The Breath needed a Vehicle of Dw
sires; " It has it," said the Drainer of Waters {tk
Solar fire, the fire of passion). But the Breat
needs a mind to embrace the Universe; " We ca^
not give that," said the Fathers. " I never had it,'
said the Spirit of the Earth. " The Form wonl
be consumed were I to give it mine," said the Grea
{Solar) Fire. . . . Man remained an empt;

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

^Tfflteeless phantom. . . . Thus have the boneless
g^ven life to those who became later men with bonea
in the Third (Race).

STANZA V
The Evoldtion op the Second Race

18. The First (Race) were the sons of Yoga
(Will). Their sons, the children of the Yellow
Father (the Sun) and the White Mother (the Moon) .

19. The Second Race was the product by budding
and expansion, the a-sexual form from the sexless
shadow. Thus was, O pupil, the Second Race pro-
duced.

20. Their fathers were the Seif-born. The Self-
bom, the Shadow from the brilliant bodies of the
Lords, the Fathers, the Sous of Twilight.

21. When the Race became old, the old waters
mixed with the fresher waters. When its drops be-
came turbid they vanished and disappeared in the
new stream, in the hot stream of life. The outer
(body) of the First became the inner of the Second.
The old Wing became the new Shadow, and the
Shadow of the Wing.

Stanza VI accidentally omitted. See Commen-
tary, page 362.

STANZA VII

Feom the Semi-Divine down to the Piest Human
Races

24. The Sons of Wisdom, the Sons of Night, "

ready for rebirth came down. They saw the (intel-

•laaned from the body of Brahml when It became NJKbL

310 THE SECEKT DOCTRINE

lectually) vile forms of the first (men) of the still
senseless Third Race. " We can choose," said the
Lords, " we have wisdom." Some entered the
Shadows, some projected a spark. Some deferred
till the Fourth (Race). Those who were entered be-
came Adepts. Those who received but a spark re-
mained destitute of (higher) knowledge. The spark
burnt low. The Third {Race) remained mindless.
Their Monads were not ready. These were set apart
among the seven (primitive human species). They
(became the) narrow-headed. The Third were
ready. " In these shall we dwell," said the Lords
of the Flame and of the Dark Wisdom.

25. How did the Mind-horn, the Sons of Wisdom,
act? They rejected the Self -born (the boneless),
" They are not ready." They spurned the (First)
Sweat-born. " They are not quite ready." They
would not enter the first Egg-born.

26. When the Sweat-born produced the Egg-bom,
the twofold (the androgyne Third Race), the inightf,
the powerful with bones, the Lords of Wisdom said:
" Now shall we create."

27. (Then) the Third Race became the vehicle of
the Lords of Wisdom. It created " Sons of Will
and Yoga," by Kriyasakti (the power of thought)t
it created them, the Holy Fathers, Ancestors of the
Adepts.

STANZA Vni

Evolution of Mammalia. The Fibst Fall

28. From the drops of sweat, from the residue
of the substance-matter from dead bodies and ani-
mals of the Wheel before (previous, Third Round),
and from cast-off dust, the first animals (of this
Round) were produced.

29. Animals with bones, dragons of the deep and '

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 311

flying serpents were added to the creeping things.
They that creep on the ground got wings. They of
the long necks in the water became the progenitors
of the fowls of the air.

30. During the Third Race the boneless animals
grew and changed ; they became animals with bones,
their astral bodies became solid also.

31. The animals separated the first (into male
and female). They began to breed. Then the two-
fold (androgyne) man separated also. He said:
" Let us do as they; let us unite and make crea-
tnres." They did.

32. And those which had no spark (the narrow-
brained, V. 6, 24) took huge she-animals unto them.
They begat upon them dumb races. Dumb they were
themselves. But their tongues untied. The tongues
of their progeny remained still. Monsters they bred.
A race of crooked red-hair-covered monsters, go-
ing on all fours. A dumb race to keep the shame
untold.

STANZA IX
The Final Evolution op Man

p^'33. Seeing which {the sins committed) the Spirits
who bad not built men {who had refused to create)
wept, saying:

34. The " Mind-less " have defiled our future
abodes. This is Karma. Let us dwell in the others.
Let us teach them better lest worse should happen.
They did. . . .

35. Then all men became endowed with mind.
They saw the sin of the mindless.

36. The Fourth Race developed speech.

37. The One (androgyne) became Two; also all
the living and creeping things that were still one,
giant fish-birds, and serpents with shell-heads.

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

STANZA X
History of the Foubth Race

38. Thus two by two on the seven zones the Thin
Eace gave birth to the Fourth Race— men ; the go^
became no-gods {the sura became a-sura).

39. The first (race) on every zone was moon?
colored {yellow-white) ; the second, yellow likegoidj
the third, red; the fourth, brown, which became
black with sin. The first seven human shoots wen
all of one complexion {in the beginning.) The nei
seven {the subraces) began mixing their colors.

40. Then the Fourth became tall with pride,
are the kings, it was said ; we are the gods.

41. They took wives fair to look upon. Wiva
from the mindless, the narrow-headed. They bre<
monsters, wicked demons, also Lilith, with littl'
minds.

42. They built temples for the human body. Mai
and female they worshipped. Then the TMrd Eyi
acted no longer.

STANZA XI

The Civilization and Destruction of the ThiM

AND Fourth Races

43. They {the Lemur o-Atlanteans) built huge
cities, out of rare earths and metals they built. Out
of the {lava) fires vomited. Out of the white stone
of the mountains {marble) and the black stone {of
the subterranean fires) they cut their own imagei '
in their size and likeness, and worshipped them,

44. They {the Atlanteans) built great images
feet high, the size of their bodies. Inner fires
destroyed the land of their fathers {the Lemuriansfi
AVater threatened the Fourth Race.

stone
le {of^

a- ■
:es 2H
s hs^l

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 313

45. The first great waters came. They swallowed
the seven great islands.

46. All Holy saved, the Unholy destroyed. With
them most of the huge animals, produced from the
sweat of the earth.

STANZA XII
The Fifth Race and its Divine Inbtbtjctobs

47. Few {men) remained. Some yellow, some
brown and black, and some red, remained. The
moon-colored {of the primitive Divine Stock) were
gone forever, . . .

48. The Fifth Race produced from the Holy Stock
(remained). It was ruled by the first Divine Kings
(the " Serpents ").

49. . . . Who re-descended, who made peace
with the Fifth (Race), who taught and instructed
it. . . .

CoMMENTAHY ON StANZAS I TO XII

STANZA I

(All the words in brackets in the Stanzas and
Commentaries are the writer's. In some places they
may be incomplete, and even inadequate, from the
Hindu standpoint; but in the meaning attached to
them in Trans-Himalayan esotericism, they are cor-
rect. In every case, the writer takes any blame
upon herself. The teaching is offered as it is under-
stood; and as there are seven keys of interpretation
to every symbol and allegory, that which may not
fit the psychological or astronomical aspect will be
found quite correct from the physical or metaphysi-

' H. P B.)

^^H..P T

314 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

1. The Spirit (a) which turns the fourth {Gloh
our Earth) is subservient to the seven Planetai
Spirits ; (b) they who revolve driving their ehariote
around their Lord, the One Eye [the Sun). His
breath gave life to the Seven (c) (it gives light to
the planets). It gave life to the first. " They are
all Dragons of Wisdom " (d), adds the Commentary.

(o) Lha, the ancient word in Trans-Himalayan
regions for " Spirit," means any celestial or super-
human being, and covers the whole series of heaTJ
enly Hierarchies from archangel down to an anj
of darkness or a terrestrial Spirit.

(6) This expression shows in plain language that
the Spirit-Guardian of our " globe," the fourth in
the " chain," is subordinate to the chief Spirit of
the seven Planetary Spirits. As already explained,
the ancients had seven chief Mystery-gods, whose
chief was exotencally the visible Sun, the eighth
God, and esoterically the third Logos, * the Demi-
urge. The sun was also the chief, esoterically, of
the twelve great gods, or zodiacal constellations;
and esoterically the Messiah, the Christos (the sub-
ject anointed by the Gkeat Breath, or the One),
surrounded by his twelve subordinate powers, also
subordinate, in turn, to each of the seven " Mystery-
gods " of the planets.

' ' The seven Higher make the Seven Spirits create
the world," states a Commentary, which means that
our Earth, at least, was created or fashioned by ter-
restrial spirits, the " Regents " being simply the
supervisors. This is the first germ of that wHdi
grew later into the tree of Astrology and Aatrolatry.
The Higher ones were the Kosmocratores, the fabri-
cators of our solar system. This is borne out by all
the ancient cosmogonies : that of Hermes, of the
Chaldees, of the Aryans, of the Egyptians, and even

!ar^

inA Logos, which must be a mlsprlnl

tiie ■

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 315

of the Jews. Heaven's belt, the si^s of the Zodiac,
are as mucli the Sons of the Elohim as the Spirits
of the Earth; but they are prior to them. Soma and
Sin, Isis and Diana, are all lunar gods and goddesses,
^called the fathers and mothers of our Earth which
'is subordinate to them. But these, in their turn, are
subordinate to their " Fathers " and " Mothers "
— -the latter interchangeable and varying with each
nation.

{c) " His breath gave life to the seven," refers
as much to the sun, who gives life to the planets,
as to the " High One," the Spiritual Sun, who gives
life to the whole Kosmos.

In the apocalyptic Verses of the archaic records
the language is as symbolical, if less mythical, than
the Puranas. Without the help of the later Com-
mentaries, compiled by generations of adepts, it
would be impossible to understand their meaning.
In the ancient Cosmogonies, the visible and the in-
visible worlds are the double links of one chain. As
the invisible Logos with its seven hierarchies, each
represented by its chief rector, form one powbb, the
inner and the invisible ; so in the world of Forms,
the Sun and the seven chief planets constitute the
visible and active potency; the latter Hierarchy
being, so to speak, the visible and objective Logos
of the invisible, and (except in the lowest grades)
evor-subjective, angels.

Thus — to anticipate a little by way of illustration
— every Race in its evolution is said to be born
under the direct influence of one of the planets, the
First Race receiving its breath of life from the Sun;
while the Third humanity — those who from andro-
gynes became male and female — are said to have
been under the direct influence of Venus, " the little
Sim in which the solar orb stores his light."

" Every Universe (world or planet) has its own
Ijogos," says the doctrine. The sun wag always

316

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

called by the Egyptians " the eye of Osiris,
was himself the Logos, the light made manifest
the world. It is only by the sevenfold ray of tl
light that we can become cognizant of the Loj
through the Demiurge, regarding the latter as
creator of our planet and everything pertaining ti
it, and the former as the guiding Force of that
" Creator." This " Creator " is neither good nor
bad per se, but its differentiated aspects in nature
make it assume one or the other character. The
idea is expressed very clearly in the Books of
Eermes, and in every ancient folk-lore. It is sym-
bolized generally by the Dragon of Good, and the
Serpent of Evil, represented on Earth by the right
and the left hand magic.

It has been repeatedly stated that the Serpent is
the symbol of Wisdom and of occult knowledge
According to Sir Henry Eawlinson, the most im-
portant titles of the Chaldean Eea refer to " his
functions as the source of all knowledge and sci-
ence." Not only is be " the intelligent fish," but
his name may be read as signifying both life and a
serpent (an initiated adept), and he may be consid-
ered " as figured by the great serpent which occu-
pies so conspicuous a place among the symbols of
the gods on the black stones recording Babylonii
benefactions."

{d) In China we find twelve hierarchies of angel ,
with human faces and dragon bodies, the dragon
standing for divine Wisdom, or Spirit, and they
create men by incarnating themselves in seven fig-
ures of clay — earth and water — made in their own
shape, a third allegory. The twelve ^sirs of the
Scandinavian Eddas do the same. In the Secret
Catechism of the Druses of Syria men were created
by the " Sons of God " descending on Earth, where,
after culling seven Mandragoras, they animated
these roots which became men. The mandragora is

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 317

the mandrake of the Bible, its roots, in the Island
of Candia and in Karamania especially, having a
wonderfully human form. (It is quite a different
thing from the American mandrake, or Podophyllum
pellaium. — Ed.)

All these allegories point to the same origin — to
the dual and the triple nature of man ; dual, as male
and female; triple as being of spiritual and psychic

lence within, and of a material fabric without.

STANZA 1.— Continued

2, Said the Earth, " Lord of the Shining Face
{the Sun) my house is empty. . . . Send thy
sons to people this wheel (the Earth) {a). Thou
hast sent thy seven sons to the Lord of Wisdom
{Mercury) (b). Seven times dotli He see thee
nearer to Himself; seven times more doth He feel
thee. Thou hast forbidden thy servants the small
rings to catch thy light and beat, thy great bounty
to intercept on its passage (c). Send now to thy
servant the same ! " (d).

(a) The modern Commentary explains these
words as a reference to a well-known astronomical
fact, that Mercury receives seven times more light
and heat from the Sun than Earth, or even Venus,
which receives but twice that amount more than
" our insignificant globe." That this was known to
the ancients may be inferred by this prayer of the
" Earth-Spirit."

(&) The Sun, however, refuses to people the
Earth, as it is not yet ready to receive life.

(c) Mercury, as an astrological planet, is still
more occult and mysterious than Venus. He was
the leader and evoker of Souls, the " great Magi-
cian " and Hierophant. He is the '* golden-haired
Hermes," whom the Hierophants forbade any to
name. Says Vossius : ' ' All the theologians agree

318 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

that Mercury and the Sun are one. He was the
most eloquent and wise of all the gods, which is not
wonderful since Mercury is in such close proxiniitj/§
to the Wisdom and the Word of God that he wan
confused with both," {Idolatry, 11., p. 373.) M

In the clearer words of the Commentary : * ' The '
globe, propelled onward by the Spirit of ^e Earth
and Ills six assistants, gets all its vital forces, life
and powers from the Spirit of the Sun, through the
medium of the seven Planetary Spirits. They are
his messengers of Light and Life,"

' ' Like each of the seven regions of the Earth,
each of the seven First-bom (the pHmordial humsn
groups) receives its light and life from its own es-
pecial Genius — spiritually, and from the palace
(planet) of that Genius physically ; so with the seven
great Races to be born on it. The First is born
under the Sun ; the Second under Jupiter ; the Third
under Venus; the Fourth under the Moon (th& ^
fourth ' Globe ' aiso) and Saturn; the Fifth undelTj
Mercury." m

" So also with man, and every principle in man-^
Each gets its specific quality from its primary, th^^
Planetary Spirit, therefore every man is a septen— -"
ate (or a combination of principles), each having its
origin in a quality of that especial Spirit. Everj "
active power or force of the earth comes to hei
from one of the seven Lords. Light comes tbrouj^ ^
Venus, who receives a triple supply, and gives one-*
third of it to the Earth. {This has an occult, as
well as an astronomical, mea^iing.) Therefore the
two are called ' Twin-sisters,' but the Spirit of the
Earth is subservient to the ' Lord ' of Venus. Our
wise men represent the two globes, one over ? the
^^_ other 5 under the double Sign " {the primal SvaS'.^
^^K tica bereft of Us four arms, or the cross +). ^^

^^H This " double sign " is, as every student of Off^f
^^^^ cultism knows, the symbol of the male and the ^P^M

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 319

male principles in Nature, of the positive and the
negative, but the Svastiea Si is all that, and much
more, Venus is the most occult, powerful and mys-
terious of all the planets, the one whose influence
upon, and relation to, the Earth is most prominent,"
"It is through Venus that the Hermaphrodites of
the Third Root-Race descended from the first
' Sweat-born,' " says the Commentary. " There-
fore, it is represented under the symbol of 0 (the
circle and diameter) during the Third Race, and of
© during the Fourth.

This needs explanation. The diameter when found
isolated in a circle stands for female Nature, for the
first ideal World, self-generated and self -impreg-
nated by the universally diffused Spirit of Life —
referring thus to the primitive Root-Race also. It
becomes androgynous as the Races and all on earth
develop into their physical forms, and the symbol
is transformed into a circle with a diameter from
which runs a vertical line, expressive of male-female
not yet separated — the first Egyptian Tau T — after
which it becomes male and female separated +, and
fallen into generation. Venus the planet is sym-
bolized by the sign of a globe over the cross, S ,
showing it as presiding over the natural generation
of man. The Egyptians symbolized Ank " life,"
by the ansated cross #, which is only another form
of Venus (or Isis) S, and meant, esoterically, that
mankind and all animal life had stepped out of the
divine spiritual circle, and fallen into physical gene-
ration. This sign, from the end of the Third Race,
has the same phallic significance as the " Tree of
Life " in Eden.

According to the occult doctrine, Venus is our
Earth's primary, and its spiritual prototype.
'* Every sin committed on Earth is felt by Venus,"
says the Commentary. " The teacher of the Daityas
is the Guardian Spirit of the Earth and men. Every

320

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

chaoge on Venus is felt on and reflected by the!
Earth."

Venus is thus represented as the teacher of tha-J
Daityas, the giants of the Fourth Race, who, in thef
Hindu allegory, obtained at one time the sovereignty^
of all the Earth, and defeated the minor gods. TheJ
Titans of the Grecian allegory are as closely con-l
nected with Venus-Lueifer, identified by later Chria-l
tians with Satan. Therefore, as Venus and all th(
lunar goddesses were represented with the cow's
horns on their heads, the symbol of mystic NatureJ
the configuration of this planet is now placed bf 1
theologians between the horns of the mystic Lucifer.
St. Augustine repeats the archaic tradition, which
states that Venus undergoes geological changes sim-
ultaneously with the Earth, and applies their several i
changes of form, color and even of orbital paths toj
the theological eoneeption of Venus-Lucifer. (Seal
City of God, LXXL, cb. viii.)

As Venns has no satellites, it is stated allegoric-
ally that she adopted the Earth, the progeny of thrf
Moon, who " over-grew its parent, and gave mncfid
trouble," a reference to the occult connection 1
tween the two. The allegory, which states that fo)
killing the mother of Sukra, the guiding Spirit ( '
the planet, Vishnu was cursed by liim to be rebon
seven times on the Earth, is full of occult philoaophi- 1
cal meaning, and refers to the Races on eartllkJ
Venus, or Lucifer, the planet, is the Hght-bearer c^\
our Earth, in both the physical and mystic sens&M
One of the earliest Popes of Rome was known by 1"
Pontifical name as Lucifer.

" Every world has its parent star and sistei
planet," continues the Commentary. " The Eartt
is the adojited child and younger brother of VenuaJ
but its inhabitants are of their own kind. .
All sentient complete beings {fuil septenary mefli
or higher beings) are furnished, in their beginningl

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 321

with forms and organisms in full harmony with the
nature and states of the sphere they inhabit."

'* The Spheres of Being, or centres of life, which
are isolated nuclei breeding their men and their
animals, are numberless ; not one has any resem-
blance to its sister -companion or to any other in its
own special progeny."*

" All have a double physical and spiritual na-
ture."

" The nucleoles are eternal and everlasting; the
nuclei periodical and finite. The nucleoles form part
of the Absolute. They are the embrasures of that
black impenetrable fortress, which is forever con-
cealed from human or even spiritual sight. The
nuclei are the light of eternity escaping therefrom."

" It is that Light which condenses into the forms
of the ' Lords of Being ' — the first and highest of
which are collectively, the Logos. Prom these down-
wards— formed from the ever-consolidating waves
of that Light, which becomes on the objective plane
gross matter — proceed the numerous hierarchies of
the Creative Forces, some formless, others having
their own distinct form; others again, the lowest
Blementals, having no form of their own, but assum-
ing every form according to the surrounding condi-
tions."

" Thus there is but one Absolute Basis, in the
spiritual sense, from, on and in which are built the
countless basic centres on which proceed the uni-
versal, cyclic and individual evolutions during the
active period."

" The informing Intelligences which animate
these various centres of Being, are referred to indis-
criminately by men beyond the Great Range {India)
as the Mamis, the Sages, the Progenitors, etc. ; and
as divLae Buddhas. Intelligences, fire-gods, human
Bnddhas on this side. (Thibet?) The truly ignorant

♦This is a, modero gloss.

ij the ret

322 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

call them gods; the learned profane, the one God;
and the wise, the Initiates, honor in them only the
cyclic manifestations of That, which neither our
Creators nor their creatures can ever discuss or
know anything about. The Absolute is not to bo
defined, and no mortal nor immortal has ever seen
or comprehended it during the periods of existences
The mutable cannot know the Immutable, nor can
that which lives perceive Absolute Life."

The explanation of the mystic numbers becomes'
evident when one examines the ancient symbolsj.
these are all based upon and start from the figures^'
given in the archaic MS. in the Proem to Book I. o,
the symbol of evolution and the fall into generation"
and matter, is reflected in the old Mexican sculptured
and paintings, as it is in the Kabalistic Sephiroth'-
and the Egyptian Tau. Examine the Mexican MS/
{Add MSS. Brit Mus. 9789) ; you will find in it «
tree whose trunk is covered with ten fruits ready
to be plucked by a male and female, one on each
side of it, while from the top of the trmik two'
branches shoot horizontally to the right and left,
thus forming a perfect T (tau). The ends of thft.
two branches moreover, each bear a triple bunch,,
with a bird sitting between the two ; the bird of im-
mortality— Atma or the Divine Spirit— thus makiny
the seven. This represents the Sephirothal Tree)
ten in all, yet when separated from its upper triad,i
leaving seven. These are the celestial fruits, the'
ten © , 10, bom out of the two invisible male and
female seeds, making up the 12, or the Dodecahedron
of the Universe. The mystic system contains the* ,
the central point; the three or a, the 5, it, and the'
seven or [a], or again ^ ; the triangle in the square;
and the synthesizing point in the interlaced double
triangles. This for the world of the arehetypea.
The phenomenal world receives its culmination anij'
the reflex of all in Man. Therefore he is the mystifl

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 323

square — in his metaphyBieal aspect — the Tetraktis;
and becomes the Cube on the creative plane. His
symbol is the cube unfolded, and 6 becoming 7, or

fj three crossways (the female), and four verti-
cally (the male) ; and this is man, the culmina-
tion of the Deity on Earth, whose body is the cross
of flesh, oti, through and in which he is ever crucify-
ing and putting to death the Divine Logos or his
Higher Self.

Spirit and Nature form our illusory universe.
These two inseparables remain in the Universe of
Ideas so long as it lasts, and then merge back into
the One ever changeless. " The Spirit, whose es-
sence is eternal, one and self -existent, " emanates
a pure, ethereal Light — a dual light not perceptible
to the elementary senses. In the Kabala, which ex-
plains the secret meaning of Genesis, this light is the
Dual-Man or the androgyne (rather the sexless)
angela, whose generic name is Adam Kadmon. It is
they who complete man, whose ethereal form is
emanated by other divine but far lower beings, who
solidify the body with clay, or " the dust of the
ground," an allegory indeed, but as scientific as any
Darwinian evolution, and more tr^ie.

There is frequent confusion in the attributes and
genealogies of the gods in the theogonies given to
the world by their half -initiated writers, Brahman-
ical and Biblical, the Alpha and the Omega of sym-
bolical science. Yet there could be no such confu-
sion made by the earliest nations, the descendants
and pupils of divine instructors ; for both the at-
tributes and genealogies were inseparably linked
with cosmogonical symbols, the " gods " being the
life and animating " soul-principle " of the various
regions of the Universe, Nowhere, and by no peo-
ple, was speculation allowed to range beyond those
manifested gods. The boundless and infinite Unity
'ned with every nation a virgin forbidden bw\.

324 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

untrodden by man's thought, untouched by fruitless
speculation. The only reference made to it was tlM
brief conception of its diastolic and systolic propi
erty, of its periodical expansion or dilation and co^
traction. In the Universe, with all its incalculabkl
myriads of systems and worlds disappearing i
reappearing in eternity, the anthropomorphizet
powers or gods, their souls, had to disappear fronfl
view with their bodies, " the Breath returning t^l
the Eternal Bosom which exhales and inhales them,"
says our Catechism.

The goddesses are all " Mothers of all living"
and of " the gods." On the other hand — cosmieally
and astronomically — all the male gods became at
first " Sun-gods," then, theologically, the " Suns of _
Eighteonsness " and the Logoi, all symbolized byJ
the Sun. Adam-Jehovah, Brahma and Mars are iaT
one sense identical ; they are all symbols for primiil
tive or initial generative powers, for the purposeS-1
of human procreation. Adam is red, and so ard-fl
Brahma and Mars, god and planet. Mars is idenJ'T
tieal with the god of war in one sense, and he ial
also called " Lohita " the red, like Adam, and thai
other " first men." '^

In the Zohar it is said : " Man was created by the
Elohim, and they engendered by common power
the earthly Adam. Therefore, in Genesis the Elohim
say: " Behold man is become as owe o/jts." But in ,
Hindn cosmogony man is created spiritually, which ■
precludes every idea of phallicism, at any rate mm
the earlier human nations.

STANZA 1.— Continued

3. Said*' the Lord of the Shining Face, " " I shall|
send thee a fire when thy work is Rommeneed. Baisr
thy voice to other planes, apply to thy Father, thai

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 325

Lord of the Lotus (the Moon) (a) for his Sons.
. . . Thy people shall be under the rule of the
Fathers. Thy men shall be mortals. The men of
the Lord of Wisdom (Mercury), aot the sons of
Soma (the Moon) are immortal (fc). Cease thy com-
plaints. Thy seven skins are yet on thee. . . .
Thou art not ready. Thy men are not ready (c)."

(a) The Moon is the Earth's parent. Though the
Earth's " fathers " are the sons of the Gods else-
where, they are generally known as the " Lunar
ancestors."

{&) The lord or king of the " Fathers " is Yama,
the god of Death, and the Judge of mortals. The
men of Mercury are metaphorically immortal
through their wisdom. Such is the common belief
of those who think that every star and planet is
inhabited. The Moon being an inferior body to the
Earth even, to say nothing of other planets, the
terrestrial men produced by her sons — the Lunar
men or " ancestors " — from her shell or body, can-
not be immortah They cannot hope to become real,
self-conscious and intelligent men, unless they are
finished, so to say, by other creators. Thus in the
Puranic legend the son of the Moon {Soma) is Mer-
cury, " the intelligent " and " the wise," because
he is the offspring of Soma, the " regent " of the
visible Moon, not of the physical moon. Thus Mer-
cury is the elder brother of the Earth metaphorically
— her step-brother, so to speak, the offspring of
8pirit~w\n\e she, the Earth, is the progeny of the
body. These allegories have a deeper and more
scientific meaning (astronomically and geologically)
than our modem physicists are willing to admit.
The whole cycle of " the tirst War in Heaven " (the
Taraka-maya) is as full of philosophical as of eos-
raogonical and astronomical truths. One can trace
therein the biographies of all the planets by the
^Jttjtory of their gods and rulers. Venus (Usaaaa^,

;526 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

'the bosom-friend of the Moon (Soma) and the fo<
of Jupiter, the instructor of the gods, whose wife
Tara (or Taraka) had been carried away by Soma— ^
(" of whom he begat Mercury ") — took also an ao-^
tive part in this war against " the gods," and forth-
with was degraded into a demon deity, and so h*
remains to this day.

Usanas or Venus is our " Lucifer," the morning,
star. The ingenuity of this allegory is very great.
Thus Jupiter is a deity who is the symbol and proto-
type of the exoteric or ritualistic worship. He is
the priest of the Hindu Olympus, and the apiritual'
teacher of the Gods. Soma is the mystery god, and
presides over the mystic and occult nature in man'
and the Universe. Tara, the priest's wife, who sym-
bolizes the worshipper, prefers esoteric truth to itfl'
mere shell (exotericism), hence she is shown as car-'
ried off by Soma. Now Soma is the sacred drink,-
giving mystic visions and trance revelations, th&
■result of which union is Buddha (Wisdom), Mercury'
or Hermes, that science, in short, which to-day ia^
pronounced by the theologians to be devilish and
Satanic.

(c) Here the word " men " refers to the celestial'
men, or " the progenitors," who created the flrsf
human Adams out of their sides as astral shadows."
Man's organism was adapted to its surroundings ii*
every Race. The first Root-Race was as ethereal aff
ours is material. The progeny of the seven Creator^
who evolved the seven primordial Adams surely re-
quired no purified gases to breathe and live upoB^
Therefore the Occultist maintains that such was thff
condition of the race ^ons of years before even the
evolution of the Lemurian, the first physical manf
some 18,000,000 years ago. '

Archaic scripture teaches that at the beginning
of every local Round the Earth is reborn; *' as tM
human Monad, when passing into a new womb getrf

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 327

;a new body, so does the Monad of the Earth; it gets
■a more perfect and solid covering with each Round
after emerging from the matrix of space into oh-
jectivity. ' ' (Commentarif.) This process ' is at-
tended of course by the throes of the new birth or
geological convulsions.

The only reference to it is contained in one verse
of the Book of Dzyan before us, where it says :

STANZA I.— Continued

4. And after great throes, she (the Earth) cast
off her old three and put on her new seven skins,
and stood in her first one {a).

{a) The Earth is said to cast off her old three
skins, because this refers to the three preceding
Rounds she had already passed through ; the present
being the fourth Round of the seven. At the begin-
ning of every new Round, after a period of " obscu-
ration," the Earth (like the other six earths, or
" globes ") casta off, or is supposed to cast off, her
old skins as the serpent does; therefore she is called
in the Aitareya Brahma/na, '■' the Queen of the Ser-
pents," and " the mother of all that moves." The
" seven skins," in the first of which she now stands,
refer to the seven geological changes which accom-
pany and correspond to the evolution of the Seven
Root-Raees of humanity. Stmtza II., which speaks
of this (the fourth) Round, begins with a few words
of information concerning the age of this Earth.
The chronology will be given in its place.

The chronology and computations of the Brah-
min Initiates are based upon the Zodiacal records of
India and the works of Asuramaya, the great At-
lantean astronomer and magician. The Atlantean
zodiacal records cannot err, as they were compiled
under the guidance of those who first taught astron-
omy (among other things) to mankind.

THE SECRET DOCTBINE

Nature, Unaided, Fails

5. The Wheel whirled for thirty crores (300,000,
000 years, or three Occult Ages). It constructed
forms; soft stones that hardened {minerals); hard
plants that softened {vegetation). Visible from m-
visible, insects and small lives. She {the Earth)
shook them ofif her back whenever they overran tlio
Mother. After thirty erores of years, she turned
round {a). She lay on her back, on her side. . . .
She would call no Sons of Ileaven, she would ask
no Sons of Wisdom. She created from her own
bosom. She evolved water-men, terrible and bad (1>).

(a) This relates to an Inclination of the Earth's
axis — of which there were several — and to a conse-
quent deluge and chaotic condition (having, how-
ever, no relation to primeval chaos), in which moD-
sters, half-human, half-animal, were generated. We
find this deluge mentioned in the Book of the Dead,
and also in the Chaldean account of creation on the
Cutka tablets. The Chaldean fragments of cosmog-
ony in the cuneiform inscriptions and elsewhere
show two distinct creations of animals and men, the
first destroyed, being a failure. The Kabala states
the same.

(6) Cannes (or Dagon, the Chaldean man-fish)
divides his Cosmogony and Genesis into two por-
tions. First, the abyss of waters and darkness,
wherein resided most hideous beings — men wil"
wings, four- and two-faced men, human beings wil
two heads, with the legs and horns of a goat (oi
" goat-men "), hippo-centaurs, bulls with the heai
of men, and do^s with the heads of fishes. In shoi
combinations of animals and men, assuming eai
other's shapes and countenances. The Chinese hai

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 329

the same traditions. In the work called Sh.an-B.ai-
King, written by Chung Ka from engravings on nine
urns made by the Emperor Yii (2255 b, c), an in-
terview is raentioned with men having two distinct
faces on their heads, before and behind, monsters
with bodies of goats and human faces, etc. Accord-
ing to its commentator Kwoh P'oh, the Shan-Hai-
King was compiled three thousand years before his
time (276-324 a. d.).

STANZA U.— Continued

6. The water-men, terrible and bad, she herself
created. From the remains of others (from the min-
eral, vegetable and animal remains) of the first, sec-
ond and third (Rounds) she formed them (n).
The Gods and Planetary Spirits came and looked.
. . . The Spirits from the bright Father- Mother,
from the white (Solar-lunar) regions they came,
from the abodes of the Immortal-Mortals."

(a) In the Cutha tablet the " Lord of Angels "
destroys the men in the abyss, after which the Great
Gods create men with the bodies of birds of the
desert, human beings, " seven kings, brothers of
the same family, etc.," a reference to the locomo-
tive qualities of the primary ethereal bodies of men,
which could fly as well as they could walk, but who
" were destroyed " because they were not " per-
fect " — i.e., they were sexless, like the Kings of
Edom. Remember the " winged races " of Plato,
and the Popol-Vuh accounts of the first human race
which could walk, fly and see objects however dis-
tant. And arguing from the standpoint of science,
does not even our own race occasionally produce
monsterst If nature can indulge in such " freaks "
now that the order of her evolutionary work lia.a

p
I

330 THE SECKET DOCTRINE

been settled for ages, monsters like those described
by Berosus might have been quite possible in the
beginning, and such a possibility may even have es-
isted as a law before she had fairly sorted out her
species, as the law of Keversion proves.

Thus physical nature, when left to herself in the
creation of animals and men, is shown to have failed
She can produce the mineral and vegetable and the
lower animal kingdoms, but when it comes to the
turn of man, independent, spiritual and intelligent
powers are required for his creation, besides " the
coats of skin " and the " Breath of animal life."
The human Monads of preceding Rounds need some-
thing higher than purely physical materials to huilJ
their personalities with, under the penalty of re-
maining even lower than any " Frankenstein " ani-

STANZA II.~Continued

7. Displeased they were. ' ' Our flesh is not there "
{they said). " This is no fit form for our brothers
of the Fifth (Race) (a). No dwellings for the
Lives." (The Monads of the presentments of men
of the Third Round, the huge ape-like forms.)
" Pure waters, not turbid, they must drink. Let us
dry them (the waters)."

(a) Says the Catechism {Commentary): " It is
from the material worlds that they descend who
fashion physical man at the new life-cycles. They
are inferior spirits, possessed of a dual body. {An
astral within an ethereal form.) They are tie
fashioners and creators of our body of illn-
sion. . . .

' ' Into the forms projected by the Ancestors, the
two letters {representing the highest two principles
in man, and even more sacred than the letters of the
Tetragrammaton), or the Monad {called also ' the

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 331

Double Dragon '), descends from the spheres of ex-
pectation. (The intermediate spheres, wherein the
Monads which have not rea^ched Nirvana are said to
slumber in unconscious inactivity between the life-
cycles-) But they are like a roof with no walla nor
pillara to rest upon. . . .

" Man needs four flames and three fires to become
one on Earth, and he requires the essence of the
forty-nine fires * to be perfect. (The ' fames ' are
evanescent and periodical, the ' fires ' eternal in
their triple unity. They correspond to the four
lower and the three higher human principles.) It
is those who have deserted the Superior Spheres,
the Gods of Will, t who complete the Man of illu-
sion. For the ' Double Dragon ' has no hold upon
the mere form. It is like the breeze where there is
no tree or branch to receive and harbor it. It can-
not affect the form where there is no agent of trans-
mission (mind), and the form knows it not."

" In the highest worlds the three are one {Spirit,
Soul and Mijid) ; on Earth (at first) the one becomes
two. They are like the two (side) lines of a triangle
that has lost its base line — which is the third fire."
{Catechism, Book 3, see. 9.)

This requires some explanation before proceeding
further. In the allegories of the Purdnas, Brahma
is said to be, at the beginning of the cycles, " pos-
sessed by the desire and the power to create, and
impelled by the potencies of what is to be created."
In the Vishnu Purana, which is certainly the earliest
of the Puranas, we find (as in all the others) BrahmS
as the male god, assuming for purposes of creation,
** four bodies, invested by three qualities." It is
BBid : "In this manner, dawn, night, day and twi-
light are the four bodies of Brahma." And it is
explained that when Brahma wishes to create

"XUB lorij-uii

332 THK SECRET DOCTRINE

throitgh his ivill the four orders of beings, gods,
demons (or, rather, more material gods), progeni-
tors and men, " he collects. Yoga-like, his mind."
Demons is a very loose word, as it applies to a
nmaber of inferior Spirits, so termed because they
oppose the higher ones, but they are not devils.
Brahma begins by creating them, before the gods
or the angels, after which his body is transformed
into Night. This will be understood by him who
bears in mind that Universal Mind is at the root of
Self-Conscioushbss. The so-called '* Demons " are
the positive poles of creation, so to speak, hence the
first produced. Esoterically they are the self-as-
serting and (intellectually) active principle.

Continuing to create, Brahma in his second form,
the Day, creates from his breath the gods, who are
endowed with the quality of goodness (passivity),
and from his side issued the progenitors of men, be-
cause, as the text explains : ' ' Brahma thought of
himself (during the process) as the father of the
world." This thinking of one's self as this, that or
the other is the chief factor in the production of
every kind of psychic or even physical phenomena.
That mountains might be cast into the sea by faith
are no vain words, only the word faith should be
translated will. Faith without Will is like a wind-
mill without wind — barren of results. The power
used by Brahma is Kriya-sakti— the mysterious
Yoga power explained elsewhere. This second body
when cast off became the evening twilight, and then
Brahma assumed his last form, pervaded by the
quality of foulness, and ' ' from this men, in whom
foulness and passion predominate, were produced."
This body when cast off became the dawn. Here
Brahma becomes collectively " the Father," and
stands esoterically for " the fathers " or " progeni-
tors." He sjTuboiizes personally the collective crea-
tors of the world and men. He is, collectively, the

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 333

' Lords of Being, and his four bodies typify the four
classes of Creative Powers described in the com-
mentary on Stanza VII., Book I. The whole philoa-
ophy of the so-calJed " creation " of good and evil

■ in this world and of the whole cyclic results there-
from, hangs on the correct comprehension of these
four bodies of Brahma.

The Babylonian accounts of *' Creation," as found
on the Assyrian fragments of tilea, tell us, among
other statements, that " in the first days the evil
Gods, the angels who were in rebellion in the lower
part of heaven, had been created." That is, that
they belong to a material plane of evolution, though
not the plane perceptible to us through our senses,
and therefore generally invisible to us, and regarded
as subjective. The same tablet says, farther on:
" There were seven of them " (the lower gods);
then follows a description of them, the fourth being
a ** serpent," the phallic symbol of the Fourth
Race. " The seven of them, messengers of the God
Ann, their king."

Now Ann belongs to the Chaldean trinity, and is
identical with Sin, the Moon, in one aspect. And
the Moon in the Hebrew Kabala is the ark contain-
ing the seed of all material life, and is still more
closely connected Kabalistically with Jehovah, who
is double-sexed, as Anu is. They are both repre-
sented in esotericism as spirit and matter, or male
and female, the two antagonistic principles.

There is more than one interpretation, for there
are seven Keys to the mystery of the Fall. More-
over, there are two " Falls " in theolog;', the re-
bellion of the Archangels and their " Fall," and the
*' Fall " of Adam and Eve. Thus the lower as well
as the higher Hierarchies are charged with a siip-
posed crime; supposed, because in both cases it is
founded on a misconception. Both "Falls" are

f considered in Occultism as Karmie effects, and both

334 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

belong to the law of evolution, intellectual and spii
itual on the one hand, and psychic and physical c
the other. The " Fall " is a universal allegory. ':
gets forth at one end of the ladder of Evolution tl
" rebellion," that is, the action of differentiatin,
intellection or consciousness on its varying plane)
seeking union with matter ; and at the other, tli
lower end, the rebellion of matter against Spirit, o
of action against spiritual inertia. But herein Ue
the germ of an error which has had disastrous, ef
fects. In the original allegory it is matter — or th
more material angels— which was regarded as tb
conqueror of Spirit, or the Archangels who " fell ^
on this plane, succumbing to the power of matter,
But in theology it is Michael, the representative d
Jehovah, the leader of the celestial hosts, who get?
the best of Satan, Thus it was that the real meao-
ing of the allegory became distorted.

STANZA n.— Continued

8. The Flames came {a). The Fires with th*
Sparks; the night fires and the day fires. They
dried out the turhid dark waters. With their heS
they quenched them. The Spirits of the high, and
those of below (b) came. Tbey slew the forms
which were two- and four-faced. They fought the
goat-men, and the dog-headed men, and the men with
fishes' bodies."

(a) The Flames are a Hierarchy of Spirits paral-
lel to, if not identical with, the fiery Seraphim men-
tioned by Isaiah (vi. 2-6), those who attend, ac-
cording to Hebrew theogony, " the Throne of the
Almighty."

(ft) The word " Below " must not be taken to
mean infernal regions, but simply the abode of spir- i
itual, or rather ethereal, Beings of a lower grade, I
because nearer to the earth, or one step higher than J

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 335

our terrestrial sphere ; while the other (Lhas) Spir-
its mentioned belong to the highest spheres. "Whence
the name of the capital of Thibet, Lha-ssa.

Besides a statement of a purely physical nature,
belonging to the evolution of life on earth, there may
be more than one allegorical meaning attached to
this verse. The "Flames," or Fires, represent
Spirit, or the male element, and " water," matter
or the opposite element. And here again we find,
in the slaying of the purely material form by the
Spirit, a reference to the eternal struggle between
Spirit and Matter on the physical and psychic
planes, besides a scientific cosmic fact.

STANZA Jl.— Continued

9. Mother-water, the great Sea, wept. She arose,
she disappeared in the Moon, which had lifted her,
which had given her birth (o).

(a) Is not this an evident reference to tidal action
in the early stage of the history of our planet in
this, its fourth Bound? Mr. Darwin's theory was
that not less than fifty-two million years ago — and
probably much more — the Moon originated from the
Earth's plastic mass. The occult teaching is the
reverse of this. The Moon is far older than the
Earth, and as explained in Vol. I., it is the Earth
which owes its being to the Moon. Hence the at-
traction to the Moon as shown by the tides, the
liquid portion of the globe ever striving to raise
itself towards its present. This is the meaning of
the last sentence of verse 9.

STANZA U.—Contmued

10. When the forms (a) were destroyed, Mother-
Earth remained bare; she asked to be dried (fc).

' ^

V 33G THE SECEET DOCTEINE ■

^^b (a) The goddess who gave birth to these prmio^|

^^B dial monsters in the aeeount of Berosus was the SeaS
^^ (6) The time for Earth's incrustation had ar-^

rived. The waters had separated and the proceaa
had started. It was the beginning of a new life.

■'• This is what one key shows. Another key teaches J

the origin of Water, its admixture with Fire iligm^M
fire, it says) and enters upon an alchemical deseri|^B
tion of the progeny of the two— that is, solids, su^fl
as minerals and earths. From the " Waters ofl
Space " we have the oceanic expanse on Eartl^H
Varuna is dragged down from infinite Space, t^^

P reign as Neptune over the finite seas. As always, i
the popular legend is found to be based on a strictly
scientific foundation.
Hence Cupid or Love in its primitive sense is
Eros, the Divine Will, or Desire of manifesting it-
self through visible creation. Therefore, Fohat, tbe
prototype of Bros, becomes on Earth the great.,
power " Life-electricity," or the Spirit of Life-^sh
ing. The Moon, masculine in its theogonie charaq
ter, is, in its cosmic aspect only, the female generi
tive principle, as the Sun is the male emblffl
Water is the progeny of the Moon, an androg;
deity with every nation.

Attempts to Create Man

11. The Lord of the Lords (the Demiurge) cam
From her body he separated the waters, and thl
was heaven above, the first heaven {the atmosphert
the air or the firmament) {a).

(a) Here tradition falls again into the UniversjJ
As in the preceding cycle the Lord (the god who hai
the form of Brahma) had assumed the shape of J

' THE SECRET DOCTRINE 337

tortoise, say the Ptirdnas, in this cycle he took the
shape of a boar. In the Elohistie *' creation " God
creates " a firmament in the midst of the waters
, . . and says, " let dry land appear," And now
comes the traditional peg whereunto is hung the
teric portion of the Kabalistie interpretation.

STANZA III.— Continued

12. The great Lords called the Lords of the Moon
(a), of the airy bodies. " Bring forth men " {they
were told), " men of your natnre. Give them {the
Monads) their forms within. She {Mother-Earth
or Nature) will build coverings without {external
bodies). {For) males-females will they be. Lords
of the Flame, also,"

{a) Who are the Lords of the Moont In India
they are called the Fathers, or " the Lunar ances-
tors," but in the Hebrew scrolls it is Jehovah him-
self who is " the Lord of the Moon," collectively,
as the Host, and also as one of the Elohim. The
astronomy of the Hebrews and their observance of
times was regulated by the moon. A Kabalist says:
" The vitalizing power of heaven lay chiefly with
the moon. It was the Hebrew Jehovah, and St. Paul
(Col. ii. 17) enjoins: ' Let no man judge you for
your observance of the seventh day, and the day of
the new moon, which are a shadow of things to come,
but the body (or substance) is of Christ.' " Sarai or
Sri, the wife of the Hebrew Abram, is identical with
Sri, the wife of the Moon, and with Lnkehmi, the
Hindu Venus, sprung from the sea, and with all that
is feminine in Nature. So Sarai the wife of Abram
could have no child till her name was changed to
Sarah, giving her the property of this lunar influ-
ence.* After studying the legends of Abram, Sarai
*Magonic Beufew, Cincinnati, June, 1886. lAiridged.)

338 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

or Sarah, and Brahma and Sri, with tbeir relationa
to the Moon and Water, who can douht that thfl
Btory of Abram is based upon that of Brahma, op
that Genesis was written upon the old lines used t,
every ancient nation? All in the ancient Scripture*
is allegorical — all based upon and inseparably cotti
neeted with astronomy and cosmolatry.

STANZA lll.—Continued

13, They (the Moon-gods) went, each on his at
lotted land: seven of them, each on his lot. Thi
Lords of the Flame remained behind. They woa
not go, they would not create, {a).

[a) The secret teachings show the divine Progeni
tors creating men on seven portions of the globe
" each on his lot," that is, each a different race a
men externally and internally, and on differen
zones. But who are the "Lords of the Flame*
who would not create?

Esoteric philosophy explains the Progenitors ai
being of two classes: the Solar ancestors, who an
devoid of fire (that is, of creative passion), becausi
too divine and pure, and the Lunar ancestors, mori
closely connected with Earth, who became the crea
tive Elohim of form, or the Adam of dust. Th«
aUegory says that the first progeny of Brahn
" were without desire or passion, estranged fron
the Universe and undesirous of progeny." {Vishnu
Purana, L vii.) This is explained as follows : " Thi,
primordial Emanations from the Creative Powffl
are too near the Absolute Cause, They are transi
tional and latent forces, which will develop only i
the next and subsequent removes."

It thus becomes clear why the " Solar Ancestors,*
devoid of the grosser creative fire, hence unabis t
create physical man, and having no double or astra

THE SECEET DOCTKINE 339

body to project, since tliey were without form, are
shown in exoteric allegories, as Yogis, Kumaras
(" chaste youths "), or demons, who became rebels
and opposing gods. Because, as the allegory shows,
the gods denounced them, having no personal merit
of their own, and dreading the sanctity of those self-
incarnated Beings who had become ascetics and
Yogis, and threatened to upset the domination of
the gods by their self-acquired powers. All this had
a deep philosophical meaning, and refers to the evo-
lution and acquirement of divine powers by self-
exertio7i. Secondary gods or temporary powers in
nature (the Forces) are doomed to disappear; it is
only the spiritual potentiality in man which can
lead him to become one with the Infinite and the
Absolute.

Yet it is the Solar Ancestors alone who could com-
plete man, that is, make of him a self-conscious, al-
most a divine being — a god on Earth. The Lunar
Ancestors, though possessed of creative fire, were
devoid of the higher intellectual element. Being on
a level with the lower principles— those which pre-
cede gross objective matter—they could only give
birth to the astral man, the model of the physical.
Thus the "Mystery of Creation" is repeated on
Earth only in an inverted sense, as in a mirror.
It is those who are unable to create the spiritual
immortal man who project the senseless model (the
astral) of the physical being; and it is those who
would not multiply who sacrificed themselves to the
good and the salvation of Spiritual Humanit-^. For
to complete the septenary man, to add to his three
lower principles and cement them with the spiritual
Monad, two connecting principles are needed, Mind
and Desire, or the Emotional Soul. It were impos-
sible for the Monad to dwell in a form witliout these,
except in an absolutely latent state.

But this living Spiritual Fire is in the possession

^H 340 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ^^H

^^H of the independent and free Intelligences shown Ofl
^^V every theogony as fighting for that independeno^l
^^^ and freedom, and hence, in the ordinary sense, " re-
bellious to the divine passive law." These then are
the " Flames " (the Solar Ancestors) who remain
behind instead of going with the others to create
men on Earth. But the true esoteric meaning is that
most of them were destined to incarnate as the Egos
of the future mankind. The human Ego is neither
Spirit nor Soul, hut the higher Mind ; the intellectual
fruition and the efBoreseence of the intellectual self-
conscious Egotism — in the higher, spiritual sense.
The ancient works refer to it as the Casual Body
on the phme of the Thread-Soul, the Sutratma, the
golden thread on which, like beads, the various per-
sonalities of this higher Ego are strung. If the
reader were told, as in the semi-esoteric allegories,
that these Beings were returning Nirvanees from
preceding Great Cycles (ages of inealculahle dura-
tion), he would hardly understand the text, while
some Vedantins might say that the Nirvanee can
never return — ^which is true during the life-cycle
he belongs to, and erroneous where Eternity is con-
cerned. For it is said in the Sacred Verses:

" The thread of radiance which is imperishable,
and dissolves only in Nirvana, re-emerges from it
in its integrity on the day when the Great Law calls
all things back into action." {v, Comm. to Stanza
VII., Vol. I.) J

Hence, as the higher Ancestors had no hand in hifl I
physical creation, we find primeval man, issued from 1
the bodies of his spiritually flreless progenitors, de-
scribed as aeriform, devoid of compactness, and
Mindless. He had no middle principle to serve him
as a medium between the spiritual man and the phys-
ical brain, for he lacked Intelligence. The Monads
which incarnated in those empty shells remained as
unconscious as when separated from their previous ^

I wh

^^_ unc

THE SECKET DOCTEINE 341

incomplete forms and vehicles. There is no power
of creation or of self-consciousness in a pure Spirit
on this our plane, unless its too homogeneous divine
nature becomes mixed with and strengthened by an
essence already differentiated.

We find, in short, that the higher Angels had
broken through the " Seven Circles " countless
sons before, and thus robbed them of the Sacred
Fire, which means, in plain words, that they had
assimilated, during their past incarnations in lower
as well as in higher worlds, all the wisdom there-
from— the reflection of Universal Mind in its va-
rious degrees of intensity. No entity, whether an-
gelic or human, can reach the state of Nirvana, or
Absolute perfectness, except through ^ons of suf-
fering and the knowledge of evil as well as of good,
for otherwise good would remain incomprehensible.

Between man and the animal, whose Monads are
fundamentally identical, there is the impassable
abyss of mentality and self -consciousness. Wliat is
mind, in its higher aspect, if not a portion of the
essence (and, in some rare cases of incarnation, the
very essence) of a higher Being; one from a higher
and diviner plane ? What is it that creates such dif-
ference between man and the animal, whose bodies
are built of the same materials, informed by the
same undeveloped Monad, unless man is an animal,
plus a living god within his physical shell?

To some extent it is admitted that even the eso-
teric teaching is allegorical. To make it compre-
hensible to the average intelligence requires the use
of symbols cast in an intelligible form. Hence the
allegorical and semi-mythical narratives in the exo-
teric, and the only semi-metaphysical and objective
representations in the esoteric teachings. For the
purely and transcendently spiritual conceptions are
adapted only to the perceptions of those who " see

' iiQut eyes, hear without ears and sense without

[ 342 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

organs," according to the graphic description of thi
Commentary,

The mystery attached to the highly spiritual an*
cestors of the divine man within the earthly man id
very great. His dual creation is hinted at in tho-l
Purdnas, though its esoteric meaning can only be
approached by collating the varying accounts, and
reading them as symbols and allegories. In Genesis,
the " Lord God " of the second chapter is in the
original the Elohim (the Lords), and while one of
them makes the earthly Adam of dust, another'
breathes into him the breath of life, and the thiwl
makes of him a living soiil. In Corinthians xv. 47j
St. Paul says: " The first Adam was made a livir
Boul ; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
In the Kabala there is much that is veiled, but still
quite comprehensible, about the " Fires," the
" Sparks " and the " Flames," as well as the al-
legory of the Pre-Adamite Kings (the Kings of
Edom), who " could not remain in their places, be-'
cause the form of the Kings had not been formed
as it ought to be, and the Holy City had not been
prepared." {Zohar III., 135a.)

Now the simple interpretation of this is that
worlds and men were in turn formed and destroyed
under the law of evolution and from pre-existing",
material, until both the planets and their men, iB
our ease our Earth and its animal and human raceaji
became what they are now in the present cycle : op^
posite polar forces, an equilibrized compound (»
Spirit and Matter, of the positive and negative, malv
and female. Before man could become male and fe-
male physically, his prototype, the creating Elohim,
had to arrange his form on this sexual plane astrally.
That is to say, the atoms and organic forces had to
be marshalled in the order intended by Nature, si
as to carry out that law called by the Kabala /Ai
Balance, under which everything becomes male anl

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 343

female in its final perfection, during this present
stage of materiality. Therefore, the First Root-
race of men, sexless and mindless, bad to be " hid-
den until, after a time," that is, the First Race, in-
stead of dying, disappeared in the Second Race, as
certain lower lives and plants do in their progeny.
The First became the Second Boot-race, without
either begetting it, procreating it or dying. " They
passed by together," it is written. Why? Because
" the Holy City had not been prepared," the Secret
Place or the Shrine on Earth; in other words, the
human womb, the microeosmic copy and reflection
of the Heavenly Matrix, or primeval Space or Chaos,
in which the male Spirit fecundates the germ of the
Son, or the visible Universe.

STANZA IV

Ceeation of the Fibst Races

14. The Seven Hosts, the Will (or Mind) bom
Iiords, propelled by the Spirit of Life-giving (Fo-
hat), separate men from themselves, each on his
own zone (a).

(fl) They threw off their " shadows " or astral
bodies — if such an ethereal being as a " lunar
Spirit " may be supposed to have an astral, besides
this hardly tangible body. In another Commentary
it is said that the " Ancestors " breathed out the
first man. In a third it is said that the newly created
men " were the shadows of the Shadows." It is
nseless to enter here into details concerning the
process, but who that has witnessed the ph^omenon
of a materializing form oozing out of the pores of
a medium, or at other times out of his left side,
can fail to credit the possibility, at least, of such a
birth? Between the two fallacies of the miraculous
treation of man, and of his descent from an ape,

^OTgatjon 0

^1 344 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ■

occult philosophy steps in, and teaches that the fira^|

human stock was projected by higher and semi^fl

I di\'ine Beings, out of their own essences. H

Nor was man " created," says this philosoph^JH

[ the complete being he now is, however imperfect hftfl

still remains. There was a spiritual, a psychic, an "

' intellectual and an animal evolution from the high-

I est to the lowest, as well as a physical development

from the simple and homogeneous up to the more ,

I complex and heterogeneous ; though not quite on th(

lines traced for us by the modern evolutionists. Thil

double evolution in two contrary directions requiret

various ages, of divers natures and degrees of spil

I ituality and intellectuality, to fabricate the beinj

I now known as man. Furthermore, the one absolute

I ever-acting and never-erring law, which proceedl

' on the same lines from one life-cycle to anothei^

I plunging Spirit deeper and deeper into Matter and

I then redeeming it through fiesh, uses for these pur*

poses Beings from other and higher planes, men, on

I Minds, in accordance with their Karmlc exigeneiei,

The Progenitors of Man, then, the ' ' Lunar Aof

cestors," are the creators of our bodies and lowe^

I principles. They are ourselves, as the first personi

alities, and we are they.

The endowers of man with his conscious immor- i
I tal Eqo are the " Solar Ancestors " — whether so

regarded metaphorically or literally. The mysteries
I of the conscious Eao or human Soul are great. _M

' How precise and true is Plato's expression, boi^|

profound and philosophical his definition of tl^V
human soul or Ego, when he defined it as " a com-
I pound of the same and the other." It is " the same

and the other," as the great Initiate-Philosopher
said; for the Ego (the " Higher Self " when merged.^
with and in the Divine Monad) is Man, and yet th^|
same, as the Other the Angel in him incarnated, il^|
the same with the Universal Mind, JM

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

STANZA IV.—Continued

15. Seven times seven (a) Shadows, or future
Men {mindless ones) were thus born, each of bis
own color (complexion) and kind (6). Each (also)
inferior to his Father (creator). The Fathers, the
Boneless, could give no Life to beings with bones.
Their progeny were phantoms, with neither form
nor mind. Therefore they were called the Shadow
(c) Race.

(a) The Progenitors being divided into seven
classes, we have here the mystic number again.
Nearly all the Purdnas agree that three of these are
formless, while four are corporeal; the former being
inteUectnal and spiritual, the latter material and
devoid of intellect. It is the Hosts of the four ma-
terial classes who create men simultaneously on the
seven zones. That class of the " Fire Spirits "
■wWeh we identify on undeniable grounds with the
" Solar Ancestors," is called in our school the
" Heart " of the Body of Creative Powers, and is
said to have incarnated in the Third Race of men,
and made them perfect. The esoteric mystagogy
speaks of the mysterious relation existing between
the seven-fold essence or substance of this angelic
Heart and that of man, whose every physical organ,
and psychic and spiritual function, is a reflection,
BO to speak, on the terrestrial plane of the model or
prototype above. Why should there be such a
strange repetition of the number seven in the physi-
cal structure of man? "Wliy should the heart have
four lower cavities, and three higher divisions, •
answering so strangely to the septenary division of
the human principles, with their two groups, and
why should the same division be found in the various

I
I

346

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

classes of Progenitors 1 Why do the seven nervoo*
plexuses of the body radiate seven rays, and whf
are there these seven plexuses, and why seven dis- '
tinct layers in the hjiman skin 1

" Having projected their shadows and made mec
of one element (ether) the Progenitors reaseend to ]
Maha-loka, whence they descend periodically, ■
the world is renewed, to give birth to new men.

" The subtle bodies remain without understands
until the arrival of the gods, now called not-goS
(Demons)." (Commentary.)

" Not-gods " for the Brahmins, perhaps, but tlti
highest Breaths for the Occultist, since those Pro^
genitors, the formless and intellectual, refuse t&
build man, but endow ham with mind ; the four eol^
poreal classes creating only his body. Why thea
" gods " refuse to create mau is not, as stated i
exoteric accounts, because they were too proud, hti
because they were too pure. '

Esoteric philosophy teaches that one-third of tb(
creative Spirits— that is, the three classes of tfii
formless Ancestors, endowed with intelligence, waflf"
simply doomed by the law of Karma and evolution
to be reborn {or incarnated) on Earth. (See the
Apocalypse (ch. sii.) about the great red Dragon
with seven heads, whose " tail drew the third pari
of the stars of heaven, and did east them to th(
earth." The verse " did cast them to the Earth,^
plainly shows its origin in the oldest and grandej
allegory of the Aryan mystics, who after the d
struetion of the Atlantean giants and sorcerers, co]_
cealed the truth — astronomical, physical and diving
—under various allegories.) '

Some of these Progenitors were Nirmanakaua8%
from other life-cycles. Hence we see them, in all tin
Puranas, reappearing on this globe in the third lifd

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 347

cycle (read Third Root-Race) as Kings, Sages and
Heroea. The supposed " rebels " then were simply
those who had to incarnate anew. The refusal of
some had reference to their having been Adepts and
Yogis of long-preceding cycles; another mystery.
But later on, as Nirnianakayas, they sacrificed them-
selves for the good and salvation of the Monads who
were waiting for their turn, and otherwise would
have had to linger for ages in irresponsible, animal-
like, though in appearance human, forms. This may
be a parable and an allegory within an allegory.
Its solution is left to the intuition of the student if
he can only read that which follows with his spiritual
eye. The Lunar Ancestors creating the semblance
of men out of their own divine Essence means, eso-
terically, that it is they who became the First Race,
and thus shared its destiny and further evolution.
They tcould not, simply because they could not,
give to man that sacred spark which burns and ex-
pands info the fire of human reason and self-con-
sciousness, for they had it not to give. This was
left to that class of gods who became symbolized in
Greece under the name of Prometheus, those who
had nought to do with the physical body, yet every-
thing with the purely spiritual man.

Each clasa of Creators endows man with what it
has to give; the one builds his external form, the
other gives him its essence, which later on becomes
the Human Higher Self owing to the personal exer-
tion of the individual; hut they could not make men
as they were themselves, perfect, because sinless.
"Where there is no struggle there is no merit. Sub-
servient to eternal law, the pure gods could only
project out of themselves shadowy men, a little less
ethereal and spiritual than themselves. The first
humanity, therefore, was a pale copy of its progeni-
tors, too material to be gods, too spiritual and pure
^^)e men, endowed as it was with every negative

348 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

perfection. Perfection, to be fully such, must be
born out of imperfection, tbe incorruptible must
grow out of the corruptible, having the latter as its
basis, vehicle and contrast.

(&) These " shadows " were bora " each of his
own color and kind," each also "inferior to his
creator," because the latter was a complete being
of his kind. The Commentaries refer tbe first sen-
tence to the color or complexion of each human race
thus evolved.

In all mythologies we find tbe same ideas. The
Creative Powers produce man, but fail in their final
object. AH these Logoi strive to endow man with
conscious immortal spirit, reflected in tbe Mind
alone; they fail, and they are all represented as be-
ing punished for the failure, if not for tbe attempt.
What is the punishment? Imprisonment in the lower
region, which is our earth for eternity (or tbe life-
cycle) in the darkness of matter, or within animal ■
man. The Church Fathers disfigured the graphi^fl
symbol, and turned onr globe into Hell itself. Tbss
fruit of tbe Tree of Knowledge was denounced aBv
forbidden, and tbe Serpent of Wisdom, the voice (f£.9
reason and consciousness, remained identified wi&q
the Devil,

(c) The Shadow, as already explained, is tbe as-
tral image. It bears this meaning in Sanskrit works,
^^^ Thus Sanjna (Spiritual Consciousness) the wife of
I Surya, the Sun, is shown retiring into the jungle ffl

lead an ascetic life, and leaving behind to her hldH
I band her shadow, or astral image. ^H

^H STANZA lY.—Continued fl

16, How are the real men born? (a). Tbe men
with minds, how are they made? Tbe Fathers {the
Lunar Ancestors?) call to their help their own

fic^

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 349

(the electric fire) which ia the fire that burns in
Earth. The Spirit of the Earth called to his help
the solar fire {the Spirit in the Sun). These three
{the ancestors and the two Fires) produced with
their joint efforts a good form. It could stand, walk,
run, recline and fly. Yet it was still but a shadow,
a shadow with no sense.

(a) The *' men " here are equivalent to the Chal-
dean Adam, or collective mankind. It was the four
superior orders of the seven Creative Powers " who
were the progenitors of the concealed {the subtle,
inner) man," says the Commentary. The Lunar
Ancestors, as already stated, were only the ancestors
of his form, that is, of the model according to which
Nature began her external work upon him. This
creation of the phantom, primitive man, was a
failure, as explained in the Commentary on verse 20.

(fe) This attempt also was a failure. It allegorizes
the vanity of physical nature's unaided attempts to
construct even a perfect animal — let alone man. For
the " Fathers," the lower Angels, are all Nature
Spirits, and the higher Elementals also possess an
intelligence of their own; hut this is not enough to
construct a thinking man. " Living Fire " was
needed, that fire which gives to the human mind its
self -perception and self -consciousness ; and the
progeny of the earthly (or animal electric) and the
solar fires could furnish but a physical living consti-
tution to that first astral model of man. They could
create nothing higher than animals. This Stanza is
very suggestive, as it explains and fills the gap be-
tween the informing principle in man — the Highee
Self or human Monad — and the animal Monad, one
and the same, although the former is endowed with
divine intelligence, the other with instinctual faculty
alone. How is the presence of that Higher Self in
man to l>e accounted for?

' ' The Sons of Universal Mind are the quickeners

350 THE SECKKT DOCTRINE

of the human plant. They are the waters falling
npon the arid soil of latent life, and the spark that
vivifies the human animal. They are the Lords of
Spiritual Life eternal. . . . In the beginning (in
the Second Race) some of the Lords only breathed
of their essence into men; and some took up in man
their abode." {Commenlary.)

This shows that not all men became incarnations
of the " divine Rebels," but only a few among them.
The remainder simply had their intelligence quick-
ened by the spark thrown into it, which accounts for
the great variations between the intellectual capaci-
ties of different men and races. Had not the " Sons
of Mind " skipped the intermediate worlds, speaking
allegorically, in their impulse towards intellectual
freedom, the animal man would never have been
able to reach upward from this earth and attain
through self-exertion his ultimate goal. The cyclic
pilgrimage would have to be performed through all
the planes of existence half unconsciously, if not
entirely so, as in the case of the animals. It is owing
to .this rebellion of intellectual life against the in-
activity of pure spirit that we are what we are — self-
conscious, thinking men, with the capabilities and
attributes of Gods for good as much as for enl.
Hence the Rebels are our saviours. Let the philos-
opher ponder well over this, and more than one
mystery will become clear to him. It is only by the
attractive force of contrast that the two opposites—
Spirit and Matter — can be cemented on Earth, and.
smelted in the fire of self-conscious experience and
suffering, find themselves welded in Eternity. This
will reveal the meaning of many hitherto incompre-
hensible allegories, foolishly called fables. It ex-
plains the Hermetic narrative, as well as the Greek
allegory of Prometheus. Most important of all, it
explains the many allegories of the " "Wars in
Heaven," including that of the Fallen Angels. It

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 351

explains the *' rebellion " of the oldest and highest
Angels, and the meaning of their being east down
from Heaven into the depths of Hell — i.e., Matter.

STANZA W.—Continued

17. The Breath {human Monad) needed a form;
the Fathers gave it. The Breath needed a gross
body; the Earth moulded it. The Breath needed the
Spirit of Life; the Solar Spirits breathed it into
its form. The Breath needed a mirror of its body
{astral shadow) ; " We gave it our own," said the
Creative Powers. The Breath needed a vehicle of
desires (the emotional soul) (or Kama-rupa).

" It has it," said the Drainer of Waters {the fire
of passion and animal instinct). The Breath needs
a mind to embrace the Universe. ' ' We cannot give
that," said the Fathers. " I never had it," said the
Spirit of the Earth. " The form would be consumed
were I to give it mine," said the Great (Solar) Fire.
. . . {Nascent) man remained an empty, sense-
less phantom. . . . Thus have the boneless
given life to those who became (later) men with
bones in the Third (Race)."*

phones

^*18. The First (Race) were the Sons of Yoga.
Their sons, the children of the Yellow F'ather {the
Sun) and the White Mother (the Moon).

In the later Commentary the sentence is trans-
lated :

STANZA V

The Evolution of the Second Race

352 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

" The Sons of the Sun and of the Moon, the nure-
lings of ether {or the wind) {a). . . . They
were the shadows of the shadows of the Lords. They
{the shadows) expanded. The Spirits of the Earth
clothed them ; the Solar Spirits warmed them {i.e.,
preserved the vital fire in the nascent physical
forms). The Breaths had life, but had no under-
standing. They had no fire nor water of their own.
(b).

(a) The " Father " of primitive pbysieal man, or
of his body, is the vital electric principle residing in
the Sun. The Moon is bis mother, because of fliat
mysterious power in the Moon which has as decided
an influence upon human gestation and generation,
which it regulates, as it has on the growth of plants
and animals. The " Wind " or Ether, standing in
this case for the agent of transmission by which
those influences are carried down from the two lu-
minaries and diffused upon Earth, is referred to
as the " nurse "; but " Spiritual Fire " alone makes
of man a divine and perfect entity.

Eemember here the Tabula Smaragdina of Her-
mes, the esoteric meaning of which has seven keys.
The astro-chemical is well known to students, the
anthropological may be given now. The " One
Thing " mentioned in it is Man. It says: " The
Father of that One only thing is the Sun; its
Mother the Moon; the Wind carries it in his bosom;
and its nurse is the Spirit of the Earth." In tht
occult rendering of the same it is added: *' Anw
Spiritual Fire is its instructor."

This fire is the Higher Self, the Spiritual Ego,
that which eternally reincarnates under the infill*!
ences of its lower personal selves, changing wiUf
every rebirth, and full of the desire to live. It is a
strange law of Nature that on this plane the higher
(Spiritual) nature should be in bondage, so to speak,
to the lower. Unless the Ego merges itself entir( "

om;
thflj

ifin*!
mmm

is a ^

fher

eak.

THE SECBET DOCTRINE 353

the essence of the All-Spirit, the personal Ego
may dominate it to the last. This cannot be fully
understood unless the student makes himself famil-
iar with the triple nature of evolution — spiritual,
psychic and mental.

That which forces the growth and evolution of
Man towards perfection is {1st) the Monad, or that
which acts in it unconsciously, through a force in-
herent in itself, and (2d) the lower or personal Self.
Owing to ita identity with the All-Fohce, the Monad
is all-powerful on the formless planes. On our plane,
its essence being too pure, it remains potential, but
individually inactive : like the rays of the sun, which
aid the growth of vegetation but do not select any
special plant to shine upon, nor will they follow any
plant that may be transplanted. So with the Spirit
(or Atman); unless the Higher Self or Ego gravi-
tate towards its sun, the Monad, the lower Ego or
personal Self will have the upperhand in every case.
For it is this Ego, with its fierce selfishness and
animal desire, which is " the maker of the taber-
nacle," as Buddha calls it (in the DJiammapada,
153 and 154). Hence the expression " the Spirits
of the Earth clothed the shadows and expanded
them." But the " Solar Spirits " warmed the shad-
ows. This is physically and literally true; meta-
physically, or on the psychic and spiritual plane, it
is equally true that Spirit alone warms the inner
man, that is, enlightens it with the ray of divine life,
and alone is able to impart to it (the reincarnating
Ego) its immortality. Thus, as we shall find, for
the first three and a half Eoot-Eaces, up to the mid-
dle or turning-point, it is the astral shadows of the
" Lunar Ancestors " which are the formative pow-
ers, and which build up and gradually force the
physical form towards perfection— at the cost of a
proportionate loss of spirituality. Then, beyond
this turning-point, it is the Higher Ego, or reincar-

at toe

f-over "
-gical
inns

aseffi

354 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Dating principle, the Mind, which reigns over Qd
animal Ego. In short, Spirituality is on the asceniPl
ing arc, and the animal or physical element impedes
its progress only when selfishness of the personality
has so strongly infected the real inner man that the
upward attraction has lost its power.

Finally, it is shown in every ancient scripture a
cosmogony that man evolved primarily as a Iw
nous incorporeal form, over which, like the clay o
the frame-work of the sculptor's statue, the physical
body was built by, through and from the lower f onns
and t3T3es of animal terrestrial life.

(6) Why had they " no fire or water of th«l
own? " Because:

That which Hydrogen is to the elements and gaseffi
on the objective plane, its noumenon is, in the world
of mental or subjective phenomena ; in esoteric ac-
tuality it is the emanation or the Ray which proceeds
from the " Spirit of the first Element." Hydrogen
is gas only on our terrestrial plane. It is the father
and generator, so to speak, or rather the basis, of
both AiB and water, and is " fire, air and water *' in
fact, one under three aspects ; hence the chemical and
alchemical trinity. Well might Godfrey Higgins
have compared Hydrogen to, and even identified it
with, the" To Ok," the" One " of the Greeks. For,
Rs he says. Hydrogen is not Water, though it gener-
ates it; it is not Fire, though it manifests or createa_
it; nor is it Air, though air may be regarded as l
product of the union of water and fire, since Hydra
gen is found in the aqueous element of the atmow
phere. It is three in one. 1

The secret of these " Fires " was taught in thfl
Mysteries of every ancient people, pre-eminently fifl
Samothrace. There is not the smallest doubt thai
the Kabiri, the most arcane of all the ancient deities,
are identical with the Kumaras, and that all were
the personified sacred Fires of the most occult povhm

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 355

ers of Nature. If the student would learn something
of the secret of the FntBS, let him turn to certain
"works of the Alchemists, who very correctly connect
Fire with every element, like the Occultists. In eso-
teric religions, as well as in esoteric philosophy, the
elements, especially fire, water and air, are made
the progenitors of our five physical senses, and hence
are directly connected {in an occult way) with them.
These physical senses pertain to an even lower crea-
tion than the one called in the Puranas " the Second-
ary."

Thus we have to study well the " Primary crea-
tion " before we can understand " the Secondary."
The First Race had three rudimentary elements in
it, and no fire as yet; because, with the ancients, the
evolution of man, and the growth and development
of his spiritual and physical senses, were subordi-
nate to the evolution of the elements on the cosmic
plane of this Earth.

The following order on parallel lines may be
found in the evolution of the Elements and the
Senses; or in Cosmic, terrestrial " Man," and mor-
tal, physical man :

1. Ether. Hearing. Sound.

2. Air. Touch. Sound and Touch,

3. Fire, or Light. Sight. Sound, Touch and Color.

4. Water. Taste. Sound, Touch, Color and

Taste.

5. Earth. Smell. Sound, Touch, Color,

Taste and Smell.

As seen, each Element adds to its own character-
istics those of its predecessor; as each Root-Race
adds the characteristic sense of the preceding Race.
The same is true of man, who evolves gradually in
seven stages, and on the same principles, as will be
hown later on.

356 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

Evolntionarylaweompelled the Lunar " Fathers '
to pass in their monadic condition through all tW
forms of life and being on this globe, but at the ^oj
of the Third Round they were already human f
their divine nature, and were thus called upon i
create the forms to serve as tabernacles for the less*
progressed Monads, whose turn it was to incarnate.
These " Forms " are called " the Sons of Passive
Yoga," because Yoga (exoterically, " union with
Brahma ") is the supreme condition of the passive
infinite Deity, who is said to create everything
through Yoga power. (They will be more fully ex-
plained later on.)

STANZA V.—Contitiued

19. The Second Race (ivas) the product by bu(
ding and expansion; the a-sexual (form) from til
sexless {shadow). Thus was, 0 Pupil, the Seeoni
Race produced (a).

(o) What will be most contested by our scienti
readers will be this a-sexual Race, the Second, ths
fathers of the so-called " Sweat-bom," or perhaps
still more the Third Race, " the Egg-born " andro-
gynes. It is not denied, however, that in the begin-
ning of physical evolution there must have bet
processes now extinct, spontaneous generation, f(
instance. Laing, in his Modem Science and Model
Thought, tells us that microscopic research shows no
permanence of any particular mode of reproducing
life. " It shows that the same organism may run
through various metamorphoses in the course of its
life-cycle, during some of which it may be sexual and
in others asexual — i.e., it may reproduce itself al-
ternately by the co-operation of two beings of oppo-
site sex, and also by fission or budding from one
being only, which is of no sex." " Budding " is
the very word used in the Stanza. How could th^

in-

leg^

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 357

shadows reproduce themselves otherwise, since they
were ethereal, a-sexual and even devoid as yet of
the vehicle of desire, which evolved only in the Third
Eacel They evolved the Second Race unconsciously,
as do plants, and some of the lower orders of animal
life, like the Amceba. If the microscopic cells are
looked upon by physical science as independent liv-
ing beings — just as Occultism regards " the fiery
lives " ' — there is no difficulty in the conception of
the primitive process of procreation. Consider the
first stages of the development of a germ cell. Its
nucleus grows, changes and forms a double cone or
spindle, thus E, ivithin the cell. One-half of this
spindle is extended, and forms what are called the
polar cells. These die, and the embryo develops
from the growth of the remaining part of the nucleus
which is nourished by the substance of the cell.

This may serve as an analogy to give some idea
of the process by which the Second Race was formed
from the First.

The astral form clothing the Monad was sur-
rounded, as it stUl is, by its egg-shaped sphere of
aura, which here corresponds to the substance of
the germ-cell or ovum. The astral form is the nu-
cleus, now as then, instinct with the principle of life.

When the season of reproduction arrived, the snb-
astral " extruded " a miniature of itself from the
egg of surrounding aura. This germ grew and fed
on the aura till fully developed, when it gradually
separated from its parent, carrying with it its own
aura, t

" The early Second (Root) Race were the Fathers
of the ' Sweat-born '; the later Second (Root) Race
were the ' Sweat-born ' themselves."

•See Commentary on Siavea VII., Vol. I.

fCompare Comni<!ntary on Stoma VII. of Ihis part. This process
of budding is the second : the first, flsnion. is the separation of one
Individual into two or more, forming each a perfect apeclmen. —

358 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ^

This passage from the Commentary refers to the
■work of evolution during the whole Race. The
" Sons of Yoga," or the primitive astral Race, had
its seven stages of evolution racially or collectively,
as every individual had, and has now. Thus the
first sub-races of the Second were boru by the proc-
ess described as analogous to budding, while the last
began, as the human body evolved, to be formed
otherwise. In each Race the process of reproduc-
tion had its seven stages, each covering aeons ofJ
time. I

There is certainly no impossibility, but a great "
probability that hermaphroditism existed in the evo-
lution of the early Races, while on the ground of
analogy, and of universal law in the construction of
plant, animal and man, it must have been bo. All A
the facts forcibly suggest the hypothesis of a pri-J
meval androgynous stem from which all the maiOfV
malia sprang. It is a fact that " various accessory '
organs are found in a rudimentary condition in the
opposite sex," and these relics of a prior androgyne
stock must be placed in the same category as the
pineal gland, and other organs as mysterious, which
testify to the reality of functions long since atro-
phied, but which on(!e played a signal part in the
general economy of primeval life. ""

STANZA y.— Continued

20. Their Fathers were the Self-born. The Sell
born, the shadows from the brilliant bodies of thi
Lords, the Fathers, the Sons of Twilight, (o).

(o) The " shadows " are called the sous of thft ]
" self-born," as the latter term is applied to all the
gods and beings born through the "Will, whether of
Deity or Adept. The name " Sons of Twilight '"
identifies them with the Fathers, said by the Puraru

wra«a^^

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 359

to have isBued from Brahma's " body of twilight."
(See Comm. on Stanza I. v. 3.)

^■- STANZA Y.— Continued

21. When the Race became old, the old waters
mixed with the fresher waters [a) ; when the drops
became turbid, they vanished and disappeared in the
new stream, the hot stream of life. The outer of
the First became the inner of the Second {h). The
old wing became the shadow, and the shadow of the
wing (c).

(o) The old (primitive) Eace merged in the
Second Bace, and became one with it.

(fc) This is the mysterious process of the trans-
formation and evolution of mankind. The material
of the first forms — shadowy, ethereal and negative
— was absorbed into and became the complement of
the forms of the Second Race. The First Race being
simply composed of the astral shadows of the crea-
tive progenitors, with neither astral nor physical
bodies of their own, never died, but were gradually
absorbed in the bodies of their own progeny, more
solid than their own. The old form disappeared in
the new form, more human and physical, the first
or parent material being used to form the body, and
even the inner or lower principles of the progeny.

(c) When the astral body becomes covered with
more solid flesh man develops a physical body. The
" wing," or the ethereal form that produced its
shadow and image, became the shadow of the astral
body and its own progeny. The expression is queer
but original.

As there may be no occasion to refer to this mys-
tery later, it is as well to point out at once the dual
nieaning contained in the Greek myth bearing upon
this particular phase of evolution. It is found in

^B 360 THE SECRET DOCTBINE ^^H

^^H the several versions of the allegory of Leda and hK^|

^^B two sons, Castor and Pollux, each version having aiM

^^* special meaning. In Book XI. of the Odyssey, Leda ^

spoken of as the spouse of Tyndarus, who bore
him " two sons of valiant heart " — Castor and Pol-
lux. Jupiter endows them with a marvellous privi-
lege. They are semi-immortal; they live and die
each in turn, and every alternate day. As the ' ' sons
of Tyndarus," the twins are an astronomical sym-
bol, and stand for Day and Night; their wives, the
daughters of Apollo or the Sun, personifying the
Dawn and the Twilight. In the allegory where Jupi-
ter is shown as the father of the two heroes — bom
from the egg to which Leda gives birth, after unit-
ing herself to the divine Swan — the myth is entirely
theogonical. It relates to those of eosmie allegories
in which the world is described as born from an egg.
Leda becomes one of the mythical birds common to
the traditions of various Aryan peoples, which all
lay golden eggs. But the version of the Leda alle-
gory which has a direct reference to mystic man is
found only in Pindar, with a slighter reference to
it in the Homeric hymns. Castor and Pollux are
there the highly significant symbol of the dual man,
the Mortal and the Immortal. Not only this, but as
will now be seen, they are also the symbol of thft'
Third Eace, and its transformation from the animi "'
man into a divine man with only an animal body.

Pindar shows Leda uniting herself in the same
night to her husband, and also to the father of the
gods, Zeus. Thus Castor is the son of the Mortal,
Pollux of the Immortal. In the allegory made up
for the occasion, it is said that in a riot of vengeance
against the Apkerides Pollux kills Lj-neeus — " of
all mortals the keenest-sighted " (whence our lynx-
eyed)— hut Castor is wounded by Idas, " he who
sees and knows." Zeus puts an end to the fight by
burling his thunderbolt at Castor and Idas. PoUox

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 361

finds his brother dying. In his despair he calls upon
Zeus to slay him also. " Thou canst not altogether
die," answers the master of the Gods; " thou art of
a divine race." But he gives him the choice of living
as an immortal in Olympus, or, if be would share
his brother's fate, of passing half his existence
underground, and the other half in heaven. This
semi-immortality, to be shared with Castor, is ac-
cepted by Pollux. And thus the twin brothers live
alternately, one during the day and the other dur-
ing the night.

Is this an allegory, or a poetic fiction only? In-
deed it is much more. Here we have an allusion to
the " Egg-born " Third Race, the first half of which
is mortal, that is, unconscious of personality, and
having nothing within itself to survive. For the
Monad is impersonal and a god per se, but divorced
from Mind (the base-line of the first manifested tri-
angle or trinity), it can have no consciousness or
perception of things on this earthly plane. The lat-
ter half of the Third Race becomes immortal, by
reason of its Mind being called to life by the inform-
ing gods, thus connecting the Monad with this earth.
'* The highest sees through the eyes of the lowest"
in the manifested world ; Spirit remains blind with-
ont the help of Matter in the material spheres, and
so does the Spiritual Soul without the Mind. The
immortal man, gifted with mind, is Pollux; while
Castor represents the personal, mortal man, an ani-
mal not even of a superior kind, when unlinked from
the divine individuality. " Twins " truly, yet for-
ever divorced by death, unless Pollux bestow on bis
mortal brother a share of his own divine nature.

Such is the occult meaning of the metaphysical as-
pect of the allegory. The widespread modern inter-
pretation of it as a solar myth is weak and inade-
quate. Decbarme, in his Mythologie de la Grece
.Antique, says : ' ' Castor and Pollux are nothing but

362 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

the Sun and Moon conceived as twins — Pollux, th»
Sun, who sacrifices himself for Castor, who, inferioP
to his brother, owes to him his immortality, for tts
Moon, says Theophrastus, is only another but feebler
Sun."

If from Greek mythology we pass to the Mosaid;
allegories, we shall find the androgynes unmistalc
ably alluded to in Genesis {though unable to trao(
the " Egg-born " there) and the first three Races
of the Secret Doctrine are hidden under most iU:
genious symbology in its first four chapters.

(The chapter on the Divme Hermaphrodite wiH'
be found at the end of the Commentary on th*
Stanzas.)

The Evoltjtion of the " BaQ-BOBN "

22. Then the Second {Race, the " Siveat-born "j'
evolved the *' Egg-born," the Third (Bace). The
sweat grew, its drops grew, and the drops becain*
hard and round. The Sun warmed it; the Moott
cooled and shaped it; the Wind fed it until its ripe^
ness. The white swan from the starry vault (th*
Moon) overshadowed the big drop, the egg of tbi
future race, the Man-Swan of the later Third. Firrf
male-female, then Man and "Woman.*

Of the succession of the early Races the Comi
mentary says :

"First come the Self-Existent on this-Eartli
They are the ' Spiritual Lives ' projected by tb
absolute Will and Law, at the dawn of every r"

•In orcler to render this Stansa more compreheneiblft It
thought better to insert here an extract from the Conimentan/ tl
In the original Is some thlrly pages farther on.— Editor.

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 363

birth of the worlds. These Lives are the divme
Ancestors, "

From these proceed:

1. The First Race, "the Self -born," which are
the (astral) shadows of their Progenitors. The body-
was devoid of all understanding (mind, intelligence
and mil). The inner being ((^e Higher Self or
Monad), though within the earthly frame, was un-
connected with it. The link, the Mind, was not there
as yet.

2. From the First (Race) emanated the Second,
called the " Sweat-born," and " the Boneless."
This is the Second Root-Race, endowed by the
"Preservers" and the incarnating gods (the
Kumdras) with the first primitive and weak spark
(the germ of intelligence). . . . And from these
in tnrn proceeded :

3. The Third Root-race, the two-fold. (An-
drogynes.) The first Races hereof are shells, till
the last is ' ' inhabited ' ' (i.e., informed) by the Crea-
tive Spirits.

The Second Race, as stated above (v. 22), being
also sexless, at its beginning, evolved out of itself
the Third Androgyne Race, by an analogous but al-
ready more complicated process. As described in
the Commentary, the very earliest of the Third Race
were:

" The ' Sons of Passive Yoga.' They issued from
the second human race, and became oviparous. The
emanations from their bodies during the seasons of
procreation were ovulary: the small spheroidal nu-
clei, developing into a large, soft, egg-like vehicle,
gradually hardened, till after a period of gestation
it broke, and the young human animal issued from
it unaided, as the fowls do in our race."

(a) The text of Stoma VI clearly implies that the
human embrj'o was nourished ah extra by Cosmic

ome

le"
[ an

°1

364 THE SECBET DOCTKINE

forces, and that the " Father-Mother " furniBhi
apparently the germ that ripened: in all probabilii. ,
a " sweat-born " egg, to be hatched out in some'
mysterious way unconnected with its "double"
parent. It is comparatively easy to conceive of an
oviparous humanity, since even now man is in oi
sense " egg-born."

This is a very curious statement as explained
the Commentaries. To make it clear: tbe Firal
Race having created the Second by " budding," as
before explained, tbe Second Race gives birth to
the Third— which itself is separated into three dis-
tinct divisions according to its methods of reproduc-
tion. The first two forms were oviparous, in a way
presumably unknown to modern biology. "While the
early sub-races of the Third humanity carried on the
species by an exudation of vital fluid, the drops of
which coalesced into an egg, serving as an extra-
neous vehicle for tbe generation therein of a chiir
the mode of procreation by tbe later sub-rac<
changed entirely. The little ones of the earlier raw
were entirely sexless — shapeless, even, for all cm
knows, but those of the later races were born andro-
gynous. It was in (b) the Third Race that the sep-
aration of sexes occurred. From being previously
a-sesual, humanity became distinctly bi-sesual or
hermaphrodite; and, finally, the man-bearing e^a
began to give birth, gradually and almost imper-
ceptibly in their evolutionary development, first
beings in which one sex predominated over the othi
and finally to distinct males and females.

What say the old sages, the philosopher-teachers'
of antiquity? In the Banquet of Plato we read:
' ' Onr nature of old was not the same that it is now.
It was androgynous, the form and name partaking
of and being common to both tbe male and female.
. . . Their bodies were round and the manner
of their running circular." (Compare Ezekiel'*.

er-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 365

vision — ch. i. 1-5 — of tie four beings who had the
likeness of a man, and yet the appearance of a
wheel ; ' ' when they went, they went upon their four
sides ... for the spirit of the living creature
was in the wheel,") " They were terrible in force
and strength and had prodigious ambition. Hence
Zetis divided each of them into two, making them
weaker, Apollo, under his direction, closed up the
skin,"

The old Persians had a double-natured divinity,
and we find the same idea in the Hermetic books, in
the Orphic hymns and in the statues of both Egypt
and Cfreece.

As stated in Part I., the races of humanity devel-
oped coordinately and on parallel lines with the four
Elements, every new Race being physiologically
adapted to meet the additional element. Our Fifth
Race is rapidly approaching the fifth element — call
it interstellar ether if you will — which has more to
do, however, with psychology than physics. "We have
learned to live in every climate, whether frigid or
tropical, hut the first two Races had naught to do
with climate, nor were they affected by any changes
of temperature. And thus, we are taught, men lived
down to the close of the Third Root-Race, while
eternal spring reigned over the whole globe.

It is thus a universal tradition that mankind has
evolved gradually into its present shape. It has
been repeatedly urged that however high the degree
of metaphysical thought In India, that the old Egyp-
tians had nothing, hut crass idolatry and zoolatry
as a reli^on, the Hermetic books, it is alleged, being
the work of Greek mystics living in Egypt, To this
we may answer that the Secret Doctrine was taught
to the Egyptians at initiation. The following is a
transcription by Stobreus (fifth century, a.d.) of an
old Hermetic fragment, showing the Egyptian
p-.tjieory of the Soul. Translated literally, it says :

L isi

366 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

' ' From one Soul, that of Ahl, spring all the Souls,
which spread themselves as if by perfect distribo-
tion, through the world. These Souls undergo manj
transf ormationa ; those which are already creeping
creatures turn into aquatic animals; from these
aquatic animals are derived land animals ; and from
the latter the birds. From the beings who live aloft
in the air (heaven) men are born. On reaching the
stations of men the Souls receive the principle of
(conscious) immortality, become Spirits, then pass
into the choir of gods."

STANZA Yl.— Continued

23. The Self-born were the Shadows, from the
bodies of the Sons of Twilight. Neither fire nor
water could destroy them. Their sons were {so
destroyed) (a).

(a) This Verse cannot be understood without the
help of the Commentaries. It means that the First
Boot-Race could not be injured or destroyed by
death. Being so ethereal and so little human, they
could not be affected by flood or fire. But their
" sons," the Second Root- Race, could be, and were,
so destroyed. As the "Progenitors" merged
wholly in their own astral bodies, which were their
progeny, so that progeny was absorbed in its de-
scendants, the " Sweat-bom." These were the sec-
ond humanity — composed of the most gigantic, semi-
hnman monsters — the first attempts of material na-
ture at building human bodies. The ever-blooming:
lands of the Second Continent (Greenland among
others), were transformed by degrees into a hyper-
borean Hades. This was due to the displacement
of the great waters of the globe by a change in the
earth's axis, and the bulk of the Second Race per-
ished in the first great throes of the evolution and

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 367

consolidation of the globe during the human period.
{The eeparation of the Eternal Sacred Land, now
the North Pole, from the later continents was be-
tween the First and Second Races, and therefore can
hardly be classed as within the human period.) Of
such cataclysms there have already been four, and
we may expect a fifth in due course of time, the bulb
of each Root-Race perishing at the end of its cycle
fire or by flood.*

b^fire

STANZA VII

Feom the Semi-Divinb down to the FrasT Human
Races

24. The Sons of Wisdom, the Sons of Night {is-
sued from the body of Brahma when it had become
Night, V. Comm., Stanza II., v. 7), ready for rebirth,
came down. They saw the (intellectually) vile
forms of the first Third {still senseless) {a) Race.
" We can choose," said the Lords, " we have wis-
dom." Some entered the Shadows. Some projected
a spark. Some deferred till the Fourth (Race).
From their own essence they filled {intensified) the
vehicle of desire. Those who were entered became
Adepts. Those who received but a spark remained
destitute of {higher) knowledge. The spark burnt
low. (Onet) third remained mindless. Their Mo-
nads were not ready (6). These were set apart
among the Seven {primitive human species). They
{became the) narrow-brained. One Third were
ready. " In these shall he dwell," said the Lords
of the Flame, and of the Dark Wisdom (c).

This Stanza contains in itself the whole key to

*Two chapters on Floods nnd the earliest forms of Life are in-
serted at the end of the Stanzas. — Editor.

B iB Bubstltuted here for the, as making more sense, — Sdilor.

368 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

the mystery of evil and many other prohlems that
have puzzled the brains of the philosophers, and
it gives a logical explanation of the otherwise in-
comprehensible Karmic course during the teona
which followed. The best explanation which can be
given of this very difficult subject shall now be
attempted.

(a) Up to the Fourth Round, and even to the later
part of its Third Race, Man was only an animal 11-
tellectually, even if one can give the misleading name
of Man to the everchanging forms that clothed tie
Monads during the first three Rounds, and the first
two and a half Races of the present one. It is only
in the present midway Round that he has entirely
developed the fourth principle (the emotional Soul)
as a fit vehicle for the fifth (or intellectual Soul).
But Mind will be relatively fully developed only in
the following Round (the Fifth), and will have the
opportunity of becoming wholly divine until the ei
of the Seventh Round.

(fc) Here the inferior races are meant, of wlii< ._
there are still some analogues left, such as the Aua-i
tralians (now fast dying out) and some African and
Oceanic tribes. " They were not ready," signifies
that the Karmic development of these Monads had
not yet fitted them to occupy the forms of men d€
tined for incarnation in higher intellectual Raw
This is explained later on.

{c.) The Zohar speaks of " Black Fire," which
Absolute Light — Wisdom. Esoteric philosophy a<
mits neither good nor evil per se, as existing indi.
pendently in nature. The cause for both is found, at
regards the Kosmos, in the necessity of contrasts,
and with respect to man in his human nature, his
ignorance and his passions. All the " Adversaries "
of the Gods in the allegories are identified with
Egos who, by incarnating in the still mindless i
of the Third Race, made him consciously immorti

the
!ni^

icfl

itl^

THE SECKET DOCTRINE 369

They are then, during the cycle of incarnations, the
true dual Logos — the conflicting and two-faced di-
vine principle in man.

The gradual evolution of man, according to the
Secret Doctrine, shows that all the later Races have
their physical origin in the early Fourth Race. But
it is the sub-race that preceded the one in which the
[ separation of the sexes occurred, that is to be re-
garded as the spiritual origin of our present hu-
manity, and especially of the eastern Aryan races.
I And the progressive order of the methods of repro-
duction as unveiled by science is a brilliant confir-
j mation of esoteric ethnologj'. (Prof. Le Conte dis-
I tinguishes seven stages : 1. Fission. 2. Budding—
' already explained. 3. Differentiation of the repro-
ductive cells into a special organ. 4. Withdrawal of
this organ from the exterior to the interior of the
structure. 5. The union of the sperm-cell and the
germ-cell in the ovule, two elements in one organ.
6. Two organs coexisting in one individual (the
hermaphrodite) ; and finally, 7. The two organs be-
long to separate individuais, the element of choice
enters, and the great law of " sexual selection "
comes into play.)

Fission — Cf., the First Boot-Race.
Budding — Cf., the Second Eoot-Race.
Intermediate hermaphroditism — Cf., Second and
early Third.

True sexual union. Cf., later Third Eoot-Race.
We now come to an important point in the double
evolution of the human race. The " Sons of Wis-
dom " had already reached through previous cycles
of incarnation that degree of intellect which enabled
them to become independent and self-conscious enti-
ties on this plane of matter. They were reborn only
by reason of Karmie effects. They ' ' entered ' ' those
who were ' ' ready, ' ' and became the Adepts or Sages
^jllu^ed to in verse 24. This needs explanation.

•

370 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

It does not mean that the Monads entered forms^
already inhabited by other Monads. They
" Essences," *' Intelhgences " and Conscious SfVT'
its; entities seeking to become still more conseiODS
by uniting with more developed matter. Their e
sence was too pure to be distinct from the univeraa
essence, but their " Egos " (or Mind, since they a
called " the Sons of the Universal Mind ") had t
pass through earthly human experiences to becom
all-wise, and be able to start on the returning t
cending cycle. The Monads are not discrete prill
ciples, limited and conditioned, but rays from thi
one universal absolute Principle. It is not in thi
course of natural law that man should become a per
feet septenary being, before the seventh race of thi
Seventli Round. Yet he has all the seven principla
latent in him from his birth. Nor can the fifth pn' _'
ciple, Mind, receive its complete development befoij
the Fifth Round. Even in the Seventh Race, at th
close of this Fourth Round, while our four low(
principles will be fully developed, that of Mind i
be only proportionately so. This limitation, hoyi
ever, refers solely to the spiritual development. Th
intellectual, on the physical plane, was reached dufl
ing the Fourth Root-Race. Therefore those wb
were " half-ready," who received " but a spark,?
constitute the average humanity which has to .
quire its intellectuality during the present cycle (
evolution, after which they will be ready in the ne:
cycle for the full reception of the " Sons of Wis,
dom." "While those who were not at all ready, til
latest Monads, hardly evolved from their last trai,
sitional lower animal forms at the close of the TYdvf
Round, remained the ' ' narrow-brained " * of th
Stanza. This explains the otherwise unaceountahl
differences in intellect, even now, between the v&

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 371

rious races of men, the savage Bushman and the
European, for instance. Those tribes of aavagea
whose reasoning powers are very little above those
of the animals, are not unjustly treated. They are
simply the latest arrivals among the human Mo^-'is
that were " not ready," and which have to evolve
during the present Round, as on the three remaining
" globes " — hence on four different planes of being
— so as to arrive at tlie level of the average man
when they reach the Fifth Round. One remark may
prove useful as food for thought in this connection.
The Monads of the lowest types of humanity (the
" narrow -brained " South Sea Islander, the African,
the Australian) had no Karma to work out when
first born as men as their more favored brethren in
intelligence had. In this respect the poor savage is
more fortunate than the greatest genius of civilized
countries.

Recapitulating what has been said, we find that
the Secret Doctrine claims for man (1) a polygenetic
origin. (2) A variety of modes of reproduction be-
sides that of the present time. (3) That the evo-
lution of animals, the mammalians at any rate, fol-
lows that of man instead of preceding it. If man
be really the microcosm of the macrocosm, this teacb-
iBg is but logical. For man becomes the macrocosm
for the three lower liingdoms under him. Arguing
from a physical standpoint, all the lower kingdoms
save the mineral (which is light itself, crystallized
and immetallized) from plants to the creatures
which preceded the first mammalians, have been con-
solidated physically by means of the " cast-off
dust " of the minerals, and the refuse of the human
matter, ivhether from living or dead bodies, on which
they fed, and which gave them their outer bodies.
Id his turn man grew more physical by reabsorbing
into his system that which he had given out, and
^j^ch became transformed in the living animal cruc-

^m 372 THE SECItE7 DOCTRINE ^^H

ibles through which it had passed. There were ani-^fl
mals in those days of which our modern naturalists^

have never dreamed, and the stronger gigantic phys-
ical man became, the more powerfnl were his emana-
tions. Once that androgyne man had separated into
sexes, he ceased to reproduce his species through
drops of vital energy oozing from his body. Bat ,
while man was still ignorant of his procreative pow-
ers on the human plane (before his Fall, as a be-
liever in Adam would say) all this vital energy, ,
scattered far and wide, was used by Nature for the
production of the first mammal-animal forms. Evo-
lution is an eternal cycle of becoming, we are taught,
and Nature never leaves an atom unused. Moreover,
from the beginning of this Eound, everything in
Nature tends to become man. All the impulses of
the dual centripetal and centrifugal forces are di-
rected towards one point — Man. This Round began
with astral man, the reflection of the Creative Pow-
ers, called " the Builders." Man is the alpha and |
the omega of objective creation.

STANZA VlI.~Continued

25. How did the Sons of Wisdom act? They re-
jected the Self-born (the boneless). They are notrl
ready. They spurned the (first) Sweat-born. Theya
are not quite ready. They would not enter the (first) |
Egg-born. I

As the organisms were not all sufficiently ready,'
the incarnating Powers chose the ripest and spurned '
the rest. Let us give a few moments of attention
to the various modes of reproduction according to
the laws of evolution, beginning with that of the later
sub-races of the Third human Race. They found
themselves endowed with the sacred fire from the
Bpark of higher and then independent Beings, who _

374 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

were the psychic and spiritual parents of man, as
the lunar ancestors were the progenitors of Ms phys-
ical body. {See Diagram V.) That holy part of
the Third Race consisted of men who at their zenith
were described as " towering giants of godly
strength and beautj', and the depositaries of all the
mysteries of heaven and earth." The only thiDj
now to be noted of these is that the chief gods am
heroes of the Fourth and Fifth Races are the deified
images of these men of the Third. The days of their
physiological purity and those of their so-called FaU
have equally left their traces upon the hearts and
memories of their descendants. Hence the dual na-
ture of these gods, both their virtues and their sins
being exalted to the highest degree by their poster-
ity. They were the pre-Adamite and the divine
races, with which even theology now begins to busy
itself.

But the action of their " spiritual progenitors
has first to be disposed of. A. very difficult and ab*
struse point has to be explained with regard tO
verses 26 and 27.

I STANZA Vn.— Continued

26. When the Sweat-born produced the Egg-born,
the two-fold {androgyne Third Race), the mighty,,
the powerful, with bones, the Lords of Wisdom said
" Now shall we create " (a).

27. Then the Third (Race) became the vehicle of-
the Lords of Wisdom. It created " Sons of Will
and Yoga," * by Kriyasahti {h) {Will and Imagines
tion), it created them, the Holy Fathers, ancestora.
of the Adepts." . . .

(a) How did they create, since the " Lords of-

'Mnturcd In the man-boarlng eges, and born In tbe early Tblr^
before tbe complete sepfiratlon of the sexes. — Editor,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 375

"Wisdom " are identical with the Kumar as of the
Puranas, who " created by Brahma without desire
or passion, remained chaate, full of wisdom and un-
desirous of progeny "?

The power by which they first created was Kri-
yasakti, that mysterious and divine power latent in
the will of every man, which, if not called to life,
qnickened and developed by Yogi-training, remains
dormant in 999,999 men out of a million, and becomes
atrophied. This power has already been defined as;

{&) " The mysterious power of thought which en-
ables it to produce external, perceptible, phenom-
enal results by its own inherent energy."

The Third Race had thus created the so-called
" Sons of Wn-L and Yoga," or the " ancestors "
(the spiritual forefathers) of all the subsequent
Adepts, or Mahatmas. They were indeed created,
not begotten, as were their brethren of the Fourth
Race, who were generated after the separation of
sexes, the Fall of Man. For creation is but the re-
sult of will acting on phenomenal matter, the calling
forth out of it the primordial divine Light, and
eternal Life. These " Sons of Will and Yoga " were
tbe " holy seed-grain " of the future Saviours of
Humanity. The order of the evolution of the hu-
man Races stands in the Fifth Booh of the Commen-
taries thus, as already given:

' ' The First men were shadows ; the second, the
Sweat-bom; the Third, the Egg-born, and the holy
Fathers born by the power of Kriyasakti; the
Fourth were the children of the ' Lotus-Bearer ' "
[the progenitor of all the human races after the
Third).

Of course such descriptions of tbe primitive modes
of reproduction are doomed to be regarded as fairy-
tales. But they can be shown to have nothing mi-
raculous about them, and to be the subject of many
(Jlfigplies in the Puranas and other very anicent

376 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

books. Nor are they in any way more mysterious
and wonderful than the conception and birth of the
children of to-day, and are, in fact, more compre-
hensible to the mind of the metaphysical thinker.

1. If the materialized forms which are sometimes
seen oozing out of the bodies of certain mediums
could, instead of vanishing, be fixed and made solid,
the creation of the First Race would become quite
comprehensible. The allegory of Sanjna has already
been quoted in connection with the First Race.

2. The Second Race, the " Sweat-bom," is also
allegorized in the Purdnic tale of the sage Kandi
to whom a beautiful nymph is sent by the god i
Desire to disturb his penance. Finally he bids h<
begone, and as she flies away she wipes the perspiro^^
tion from her body on the tree-tops that she skinu
over. The trees received the living dews, and the
winds collected them into one mass. The Moon ma-
tured it by her rays, till the exhalation that had
rested on the tree-tops became the lovely girl named
Marisha. The sage stands here for the First Race,
the nymph is the Hindu Lilith of the Aryan Adanv,
and her daughter is a symbol of the '* Sweat-born "
Second Race.

3. The early Third followed the method of theii
Second, but soon changed its mode of reproduction,
according to the Commentaries. It is said to have
emanated a vis formativa which gradually changed
the drops of perspiration into larger ovoid bodh
which grew and expanded into huge eggs. In thi
the hnman embryo gestated for several years,

the Puranas Marisha becomes the mother of Daks]
the progenitor of real, physical men. Then the rai
becomes^ —

4. The androgyne or hermaphrodite. The poh.
Stauridium passes alternately from gemmation (or
budding) into the sex method of reproduction. The
Medrisa is utterly (^ssimilar to its parent organiB]

91^

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 377

the Stauridium. It also reproduces itself differently,
by sexual method, and from the resulting eggs Stau-
ridia once more put in an appearance. This strik-
ing fact may assist many to understand that a form
may be evolved quite unlike its immediate progeni-
tors, as the sexual Lemurians from Hermaphrodite
parentage.

The meaning of the last sentence quoted from the
Commentary, that the Fourth Race were the children
of " the Lotus-bearer, in complicated. Padmapani,
or the Lotus-bearer, is equivalent to the Logos in
the divine regions. But on the manifested planes
he is (like Daksha) the progenitor (in a spiritual
sense) of men. He is evidently (like Daksha again)
the synthesis of all the preceding Races and the
progenitor of all the human Races after the Third,
the first complete one, although the physical body
only developed in perfection during the Fourth Race.

I""

STANZA VIII

Evolution op the Animal Mammalians

The First Fall

28. From the drops of sweat (a) ; from the resi-
due of the substance-matter from dead bodies and
animals of the wheel before {previott^, Third
Round) ; and from cast-off dust, the first animals
(of this Round) were produced.

(a) The occult doctrine maintains that in this
Round the mammalians were a later evolution than
man. Since the Monad has passed through all de-
grees of matter in the mineral, vegetable and ani-
mal worlds, up to the last degree of the solid state
reached only at the " mid-way point of evolution "
in this Round, it is but natural that at the beginning

378 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

of the Fourth Round on this earth man should pre-
cede the animals, and also that in the early raea
his frame should be of the most tenuous descriptioB
compatible with objectivity. As before explained
on the descending arc, it is the spiritual which '
gradually transformed into the material. On t
middle line of the base, Spirit and Matter are equi-
librized in Man. On the ascending arc, Spirit is
slowly reasserting itself, so that at the close of the
seventh Race of the Seventh Round the Monad will
find itself as free from matter and all its qualitiee
as it was in the beginning; having gained in addi-
tion the experience and wisdom of all its personal
lives.

This order of evolution is found also in Genesis
{chaps, i. and n.) if one reads it in its true esoteric
sense, for chapter i. contains the history of the first
three Rounds, as well as that of the first three Races
of the Fourth, up to the moment when man is called
to conscious life by the Elohim of Wisdom. To the
first chapter, animals, whales and fowls of the air
are created before the androgjTie Adam, an alle-
gorical reference to the " Saered Animals " of the
heavens. In the second chapter, Adam (the sexless)
comes first, and the animals only appear after him.
Even the state of mental torpor and unconscious-
ness of the first two Races, and the first half of the
Third Race, is symbolized in this chapter by the
deep sleep of Adam. It was the dreamless sleep of
mental inaction, the slumber of the Soul and Mind,
which was meant by that " sleep."

The Puranas, the Chaldean and Egyptian fraj
ments, the Chinese traditions, and even those of
Pueblo Indians, all show an agreement with the
cret Doctrine as to process and order of evolutit
There are many allegories in the Puranas relative
Daksha, '* the creator of physical man," He
the early Third Race, holy and pure, still devf

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 379

of an individual Ego, and having merely the passive
qualities, Brahma, therefore, commands him to
create, and ..." from that time forward,
living creatures were engendered by sexual inter-
course. Before the time of Daksha they were vari-
ously propagated— hj the will, by sight, by touch
and by Yoga-power." (Vishnu Purdna.) And now
comes the purely zoological teaching.

STANZA Vni.— Continued

29. Animals with bones, dragons of the deep and
flying serpents were added to the creeping things.
They that crept on the ground got wings. They of
the long necks in the water became the progenitors of
the fowls of the air.

(a) This is a point on which the esoteric teachings
and modern biology are in perfect accord. The miss-
ing links representing the transition process from
reptile to bird are apparent to any student of zool-
ogy, especially in the ornithoscelidce, hesperonis
and the arch(Eopteryx of Vogt.*

30. During the Third (Race) the boneless ani-
mals grew and changed; they became animals with
bones (a) ; their astra! bodies became solid also.

The animals separated first (into male and fe-
male) (b). . . . Tbey began to breed. The two-
fold Man (then) separated also. He said, " Let us
((/o) as tbey; let us unite and make creatures. They
did. . . .

(a) Vertebrates, and after that mammalians. Be-
fore that the animals also were ethereal proto-organ-
isms, just as man was.

(&) The existence of former hermaphrodite mam-

•The orn{tho8ceUd(r are rBlated to the ostrifh nnd the alligator;
the hcsperomU was something like the great auk, and lived thou-
aands of years after the ari:h<Eoptcryi, the flrst known bird. — Pdv-

380 TEE SECRET DOCTRINE

mals, and the subsequent separation of sexes, is no*
indisputable. In his Doctrine of Descent and Dof'
tvinism, Prof. Oscar Schmidt shows that "in thee
Vertebrata especially, each sex possesses such di^
tinct traces of the reproductive apparatus character-
istic of the other that even antiquity assumed herma-
phroditism as a natural primeval form of mankind.
. . , The tenacity with which the rudiments of
sexual organs are inherited is remarkable. In the
class of mammals, actual (presentf) hermaphrodit-
ism is unheard of, although through the whole period
of their development they drag along with them
these residues borne by their unknown ancestry'
no one can say how long ago."

STANZA Vni.— Continued

32. And those which had no spark (' the narrovh
brained ') took huge she-animals unto them \ '
They begat upon them dumb races. Dumb they wera
themselves. But their tongues untied {&). Thd'
tongues of their progeny remained still. Monster*
they bred. A race of crooked, red-hair-covered mon-
sters, going on all-fours (c). A dumb race, to keq
the shame {of their animal origin) untold."

(o) The animals " separated first, " says verse 3
Bear in mind that at that period men were differen]
even physiologically, from what they are now — thi
they have passed the middle point of the Fifth Raci
We are not told what the ' ' huge she-animals ' ' wert
but they certainly were as different from any we noi
know as the men were.

This was the " first fall " of some of the thej
existing lower races. Bear in mind verse 24. Thi
" Sons of Wisdom " had spurned the early Thin

•Which the Secret Doctrine would define bb the primeTal «

prototypes. See Diagram HI. — Editor.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 381

Race (that is, the non-developed), and are shown
mcarnating in, and thereby endowing with intellect,
the later Third. Thus the sin of the mindless, and
therefore irresponsible Races, fell upon those who
failed to do by them their Karmic duty.

(fc) See Commentary on Stanza IX, concerning
the beginning of human speech.

(c) These monsters were not the anthropoid or
any other apes, but what the Anthropologists might
truly call " the missing link," the primitive lower
man. Our teachings show that while it is quite cor-
rect to say that Nature built at one time around the
human astral form an ape-like exernal shape, yet
this shape was no more that of the " missing link "
than were the coverings of that astral during the
course of its evolution through the lower kingdoms
of nature. Nor was it on this Fourth Round planet
that such evolution took place, but only during the
three earlier Rounds that man was in turn " a atone,
a plant and an animal," while, nevertheless, the
" human " Monad (unlike the Monera of Haeckel)
is ever a Human Monad, and ceases to be human
only when it becomes absolutely divine. By " Man "
the divine Monad is meant, and not the thinking
Entity, much less his physical body. The " stones,
plants and animals " just referred to were the pro-
totypes, the filmy presentments of those of this
Round, and even those at its beginning were but the
astral shadows of the present shapes— finally the
forms and genera of neither man, animal nor plant
were what they became later. Hence, while the non-
descript " animals " that preceded astral man at
the beginning of this life-cycle on our earth were
stiU, so to speak, the progeny of Third Round man,
the mammalians of this Round owe their existence,
in great measure, to man again. Moreover, the ' ' an-
cestor " of the present anthropoids was the direct
production of the yet " mindless " Man, who dese-

382 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

crated his human dignity by putting himself phys-
ically on the level of an animal. (See Diagram V.)

The point insisted upon by Haeckel and other evo-
lutionists is that the history of the embryo i
epitome of that of the race. " Is not man in tb*
uterus," says Lefevre (Philosophy, p. 484), "a
simple cell, a vegetable with three or four leaflets,
a tadpole with branchia;, a mammal with a tail, lastly
a primate (f) and a biped? "

This summary is, however, only that of the ston
of types hoarded up in man, the microcosm. This
simple explanation meets all sucli objections as ths
presence of the rudimentary tail and teratologied
phenomena. It may also be pointed out that thft'
likeness to a "vegetable with leaflets "in an early
stage of the embryo is not explained on ordinai7
evolutionist principles. In the ' ' tadpole ' ' stage thi
embryo lives in water and develops from it. Its
Monad has not yet become human or immortal, for
the Kabalists tell us that this only occurs at " tba
fourth hour." One by one the embryo assumes the
characteristics of the human being; the first flutter
of the immortal Breath passes through it ; it moveB,
and the divine essence settles in the infant frame,
which it will inhabit until the moment of physical
death, when man becomes a spirit.

This mysterious nine months' process of forma-
tion the Kabalists call the completion of " the inc&-
vidual cycle of evolution." As the fcetus develops
in the liquor amnii in the womb, so the worlds ger-
minate in the universal ether or astral fluid in thft
womb of the Universe. These cosmic children, litB
their pigmy inhabitants, are first nuclei, then ovules,
then gradually mature, and, becoming mothers ifl
their turn, develop mineral, vegetable, animal and
human forms. From centre to circumference, fro*
the imperceptible vesicle to the uttermost conceiT-
able bounds of the Koemos, the Occultists trace eyid«

THE SECEBT DOCTRINE 383

merging into cycle, containing and contained in an
endless series.

" AH are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul."

The Occultist may be told that occultism, as well
as Science, gives a common ancestor to ape and
man. But that ancestor was not the man we know.
He was mindless and soulless at the time he begot,
with a female animal monster, the forefather of a
series of apes. {See Diagram F.) This theory is
at least logical, and fills the chasm between man and
animal. Materialistic science, starting from a first
protoplasmic Monerofi (" originated in the course
of immeasurable ages from a few or from one sim-
ple spontaneously arising original form, obeying one
law of evolution "), makes man evolve gradually to
what he is now, having passed through " unknown
and unknowable types " up to the ape, and thence
to the human being. These " missing links " will
never be found, because they are searched for in the
material world of forms, whereas they are safely
1 hidden within the animal tabernacle of man himself.

(Isis Unveiled I. 388-9.)
. " Seeing which {the sin committed with the
lals) the Spirits (the " Sons of Wisdom ") who
had not built men (had refused to create) wept, say-
ing;

34. ' ' The Mindless have defiled our future abodes
(a). This is Karma. Let us dwell in the others.
Let us teach them better, lest worse should happen. ' '

STANZA IX

The Final Evolution of Man

384 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

35. Then all became endowed with Mind. The?
saw the sin of the mindless."

Bnt they had already sinned before the ray of
divine reason had awakened their slumbering mjnds.
Yet even this seventh, henceforth degenerate, race
will find itslf on the last day on one of the '* seven
paths." For " the wise guard the home of natnre'8
order, they assume excellent forms in secret." Tlus
verse from the Rig Veda (X, 5-6) is one of the mofit
pregnant in occult meaning. The " paths " are, in
short, the seven Bays which fall free from the macro-
cosmic centre, the seven principles in the metaphys-
ical, the seven Races in the physical sense. All de-
pends on the key used.

(a) The " Fall " occurred, according to the old
records, as soon as the reincarnated Creator of men
and things in the early Third Race (Dakska) dis-
appeared, to make room for that portion of mankind
which had " separated." This is how the Com-
mentary explains the details preceding the " Fall "
— it is impossible to give a verbal translation :

" In the initial period of man's Fourth cycle of
evolution the human kingdom branched off in vari-
ous directions. The outward shape of its first sped-
mens was not uniform, for the vehicles {the egg-
like shells in which future man gestated) were often
tampered with, before they hardened, by huge ani-
mals, of species now unknown, produced by the trai-
tative efforts of Nature. The result was that inter-
mediate races of monsters, half animals, half men,
were produced. But as they were failures, they were
not allowed to live and breathe long, though the in-
trinsically paramount power of psychic over phys-
ical nature being yet very weak, and hardly estab-
lished, the ' Egg-born ' Sons had taken several of
these females unto themselves as mates, and bre<l
other human monsters. Later, animal species and
human races becommg gTadually equilibrized.

id, iiie

Hei

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 385

two types separated, and mated no longer. Man
created no more, he begot. But he begot animals as
well aa men in days of old. Therefore, the Sages
spoke truthfully and wisely who spoke of males that
had no more will-begotten offspring, but begat va-
rious animals along with giants on females of other
species— animals being {in a matmer) sons putative
to them; and they (the human males) refusing in
time to be regarded as {putative) fathers of dumb
creatures. Upon seeing this {state of things), the
Kings and Lords of the last Races {the Third and
Fourth) placed the seal of prohibition upon the sin-
ful intercourse. It interfered with Karma; it de-
veloped new Karma. They {the divine Kings)
struck the culprits with sterility. They destroyed
the Red and Blue Races."

In another Commentary we find :

" There were blue and red- faced animal-men even
in later times; not from actual intercourse {between
men and animals), but by descent." And again:

" Red-haired, swarthy men, going on all-fours,
who bend and unbend [stand erect, and drop on their
hands again), who speak as their forefathers, and
run on their hands as their giant f oremothers. " But
even the lowest Australian savages are not de-
scended from the anthropoid apes, but from human
fathers and semi-human mothers. The real anthro-
poids, Haeckel's Catarrhini and Platyrrhini, came
far later in the closing times of Atlantis. The orang-
ontang, the gorilla, the chimpanzee, are the latest
and purely physical evolutions from lower anthro-
poid mammalians. They have a spark of the purely
human essence in them; man. on the other hand,
has not one drop of pithecoid blood in his veins.
{See Diagram V.) Thus saith old Wisdom and uni-
versal tradition. That which is preserved in unani-
mous traditions only the wilfully blind cowVA. TeS,?**-.
Hence we believe in races of beinKB d\S.exeu\. ixwa.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

raccfl

ourselves in far remote geological periods, in racfl[
of ethereal following incorporeal men, with forn_
but no solid substance, giants who preceded us pyg-
mies, and in djmastiea of divine beings, the Kings
and Instructors of the Third Race in arts and sci-
ences.

A naturalist suggests that this scheme of thoi
origin of man and the anthropoids is defective, be- %
cause the human is the only species of which the
races, however unequal, can breed together. How
then could hybrids of the Fourth Race humanity and
only semi-human females, not only breed freely, but
produce the ancestors of the modern anthropoids*
Esoteric science replies that this was in the very
beginnings of physical man. Since then Nature has
changed her ways, and sterility would be the only J
result of such unions. But the Secret Doctrine I
teaches that the specific unity of maijkind is not "
without exceptions even now. For there still existed
a few years ago descendants of these half-animal
tribes or races, both of remote Lemurian and Le-
mnro-Athmtean origin. The world knows them as
Tasmanians (now extinct), a portion of the Aus-
tralians and a mountain tribe in China, entirely
covered with hair. They were the last descendants
in a direct line of the semi-annual latter-day Lemn-
rians referred to. There are, however, many mixed
Lemuro-Atlantean peoples produced by various
crossings with such semi-human stocks, as the wild
men of Borneo, most of the remaining Australians,"
Bushmen, Veddhas of Ceylon, etc. Darwin noted
that in a certain Tasmanian tribe the women were
suddenly struck with sterility en masse some time
after the arrival of the European colonists. The
great naturalist tried to explain this fact by change

•Anstralla la one of tlie oldest lands now above the waters, and
can produce no new forms nnlesa helped by new and fresh racea.—
iBdftor.

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 387

of diet, environment, etc., but finally gave up the
solution of the mystery. For the Occultist it is evi-
dent. The sterility was caused by the " crossing "
of Eurcpeans with Tasmanian women — that is, the
representatives of a race whose progenitors were a
*' soulless " and mindless monster and a real human,
but still as mindless, man. This not alone as a con-
sequence of a physiological law, but also as a decree
of Karmic evolution in the question of further sur-
vival of the abnormal race. In calling the animal
" soulless," it is the self-conscious, immortal Ego
that is meant by " soul," the principle that survives
the man, and incarnates in a like man. The animal
has an astral body that survives the physical form
for a short period, but its (animal) Monad does not
reincarnate in the same, but in a higher species, and
of course has no spiritual life after death (De-
vachan). It has the seeds of all the human prin-
ciples in itself, but they are latent.

To return once more to the history of the Third
Kace, the " Sweat-born," the " Egg-born " and the
"Androgyne." The Third Race mankind is the
most mysterious of all the hitherto developed five
Races. The mystery of the development of the dis-
tinct sexes must of course be very obscure here, as
it is the business of an embryologist and a specialist.
But it is evident that the units of the Third Race
bumanity began to separate in their pre-natal shells
or eggs, and to issue from them as distinct male and
female babes long ages after the appearance of its
early progenitors. And as time rolled on, the newly-
born sub-races began to lose their former capacities.
Toward the end of the fourth siib-race the babe lost
its facnlty of walking as soon as liberated from the
shell, and by the end of the fifth aub-raue mankind
was born as now. This required, of course, millions
of years.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

STANZA JX.—Contviued

36. The Fourth Race developed speech.

The Commentaries explain that the First Race,
the ethereal or astral, also called " Self -bom," waa
in our sense speechless, as upon our plane it waS
devoid of mind. The Seeond Race had a " Soiiiid->
language " of chant-like sounds composed of vowel*^
alone. The Third Race developed in the beginning
a kind of language which was only a slight improve-
ment on the various sounds in nature. When tb
" Sweat-born " gave birth to the " Egg-born " (tb
middle Third Race) and these began to evolve int^
separate males and females, then only was speed
developed, for the same law of evolution forced mM
to reproduce their kind sexually, an act which coiB
pelled the creative goda, by the effect of ICarmic laT»i
to incarnate in mindless men. But even then laD
guage was but a tentative effort, and the whole ht
man race was at that time " of one language an
of one lip." This did not prevent the last two snl
races of the Third Race from building cities an
sowing far and wide the first seeds of civilizatio
under the guidance of their divine instructors.
must be remembered also that as each Race is (
vided into the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron Ag
so is every division of such Races. Speech then d
veloped, according to occult teaching, as follows :

I. Monosyllabic speech: that of the first almas
fully developed human beings at the close of ti
Third Root-Race, the " golden-colored " men, afte
their separation into sexes, and the awakening o
their minds. Before that, they communieatei
through what would now be called " thought-traUS
ference," though with the exception of the rao
called " the Sons of Will and Yoga " (the first h
whom the Solar Ancestors or the " Sons of Wi(

,THE SECEET DOCTKINE 389

dom " had incarnated), thought was but very little
developed in the incomplete physical man. Their
physical bodies belonged to the earth, their Monads
remained upon a higher plane. Language could
not be perfectly developed before the full acquisi-
tion of the reasoning faculties. This monosyllabic
speech was the vowel parent, so to speak, of the
monosyllabic languages mixed with hard consonants
still in use among the yellow races known to the
anthropologist, races, however, which are the de-
scendants of the early branches of the Fourth Eace.
The only existing direct descendants of the Seventh
Bub-race of the Third being a portion of the degen-
erate Australians already mentioned.

n. The agglutinative languages. These were
spoken by some Atlantean races, while other parent
stocks of the Fourth Race preserved the mother-
language. And as languages have their cyclic evo-
hition, their growth, maturity and decay, so the
primitive speech of the most civilized Atlantean
Eaces decayed, and almost died out. The " cream '•
of the Fourth Race expanded both in body and mind,
leaving as an heirloom to the nascent Fifth (the
Aryan) Race the inflectional and highly developed
languages, while the agglutinative remained as a
fragmentary fossil idiom, nearly confined to the
aboriginal tribes of America. Language is certainly
coeval with reason, and could never have been de-
veloped before mind. " Logos " is both reason and
speech. But language, proceeding in cycles, is not
always adequate to express spiritual thoughts.

m. The inflectional speech, the root of the San-
skrit, was the first language (now the mystery
tongue of the Initiates) of the Fifth Eace. At any
rate, the " Semitic " languages are the bastard de-
scendants of the first phonetic corruptions of the eld-
est children of the early Sanskrit. The Semites, (^'a-
^uaaU7 the Arabs, are later Aryans — d6g,ett.e'CB\,e''«i.

390 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Bpirituality and perfected in materiaKty. To thi
belong all the Jews and the Arabs. The Jews i
a tribe descended from the outcasts of India, wh(
sought refuge in Chaldea, Scinde and Iran, som
8,000 years b.c. The Arabs are the descendants of
Aryans who would not go into India at the time of
the dispersion of nations, some of whom remained
in Afghanistan and Kabul, while others penetrated
into Arabia, but this was after Africa had been
raised as a continent.

STANZA TK.— Continued

37. The One {androgyne) became Two; also all
' the living and creeping things that were still onej
giant fish, birds and serpents with shell-heads.

This relates evidently to the so-called age of th*
ampliibious reptiles, an age in which science maim
tains that man did not exist! Nevertheless, in Boot
VI. of the Commentaries we find this passage;
' ' When the Third separated and fell into sin 1^
breeding men-animals, these {animals) became fero«
eious, and men and they mutually destructive. TiM
then there was no sin, no life taken. After {thi
separation) the Golden Age was at an end. The
eternal Spring became constant change, and seasons
succeeded. Cold forced men to build shelters anii
devise clothing. Then man appealed to the supe-
rior Fathers {the higher gods). The Nirmanakayas
of the wise Serpents and Dragons of Light came,
and the precursors of the Enlightened (the Bud-
dhas). Divine Kings descended, and taught men
sciences and arts, for man could live no longer in
the first land {the Eden of the first ra,ces), which
had turned into a white frozen corpse."

(Here comes in a long digression on " Edens,
I Serpents and Dragons," m\ni\i. oi v\. a. ■s;e\)ft*At\Qu of'

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 391

passages in I sis, followed by another on " the Sons
of God " and " the Sacred Island." The substance
of the former will be found in Book II., Part I., § X,
of the latter, at the end of these Stanzas.)

^^ The History of the Fourth Race

38. Thus two by two, on the seven zones, the
Third (Race) gave birth to the Fourth. The gods
became no-gods (o).

39. The first (race) on every zone was moon-
colored {yellow-white) ; the second, yellow, like
gold; the third, red; the fourth, brown, which be-
came black with sin. The first seven (human) shoots
were all of one complexion in the beginning. The
next seven (the sub-races ) began mixing their
colors (b).

(a) To understand this verse, it must be read in
connection with the last three verses of Stanza IX.
Up to this point of evolution man belongs more to
metaphysical than physical nature. Strictly speak-
ing, it is only from the time of the Atlantean brown
and yellow giant races that one ought to speak of
Man, since it was the Fourth Race only which was
the first completely human species, although much
larger than we are now. It is chiefly the race that
became " black with sin " that brought the divine
names of the Asuras, etc., into disrepute (v. " Man,"
p. 97). It was only after the so-called Fall that
the races began to develop rapidly into a purely
human shape.

The Commentaries explain, as the reader must
remember, that out of the Host of Creative Spirits
whose turn it was to incarnate as the Egos of the
Lprta] (but OK this plane sewseless M.oua4&^ scnaft

392 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

" obeyed " (the law of evolation) as soon as thft
men of the Third Eace were ready, that is, had sepa-
rated into sexes. These were those early eonsciouft
Beings who, adding conscious knowledge and will
to their inherent Divine purity, created by Kriya-
sakti * the semi-divine men who became on earth
the seed of future adepts. (The Sons of Will and
Yoga. V. Diagram V.). Those, on the other hand
who, jealous of their intellectual freedom, unfetterea,
by matter, chose to incarnate far later, had their
first Karmic punishment prepared for them. The
bodies they entered were inferior to their own astral'
models, because their " shadows " had belonged to
progenitors of an inferior degree. As to those who
*' deferred " their incarnation till the Fourth Eace,
already tainted (physically) with sin and impurity,
they produced a terrible cause, the Karmic result
of which weighs on them to this day, because thft
bodies they had to inform became defiled through;
their own procrastination.

This was the " Fall of the Angels," because of
their rebellion against Karmic law. The " fall of
man ' ' was no fall, for he was irresponsible. Up tff
the time when Wisdom, in the shape of the incarnat-
ing Spirits of Universal Mind, descended from on
high to animate the Third Eace and awaken it to
real, conscious life, humanity — if it can be so called
in its senseless, animal state — was of course doomed
to moral as well as to physical death. The ^\jigel»
" fallen into generation " are referred to metaphor*
ically as Serpents and Dragons of Wisdom. Oil
the other hand, the Christian Saviour, whether afl
man or Logos, may be said to have saved those who
believed in the secret teachings from " eternal
death "; to have conquered the Kingdom of Dark-
ness, or Hell, as every Initiate does. This in the
buman, terrestrial form of the Initiates, and also
'Tbe force of Imagliiatioii and WllL

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 393

because the Logos is Christos, that principle of our
inner nature which develops in us into the Spiritual
Ego— the Higher Self — ^being formed by the indis-
soluble union of Bvddhi (the Spiritual Soul) and
the spiritual efflorescence of Mind (or Manas, the
sixth and fifth principles). It is not correct to refer
to Christ as Buddhi — the sixth principle in man.
The latter per se is a passive and latent principle,
the vehicle of pure Spirit (Atman) inseparable from
the manifested Universal Soul. It is only in union
and in conjunction with 8 elf -Consciousness (Manas)
that Buddhi becomes the Higher Self and the divine,
discriminating Soul.

There is an eternal cyclic law of rebirths, and the
series is headed at the dawn of every new life-cycle
by those who have enjoyed a rest from their rein-
carnations in previous cycles during incalculable
cons. It was the turn of these ** Gods '' to incar-
nate in the present life-cycle ; hence their presence
on earth and the ensuing allegories ; hence also the
perversion of their original meaning. No concep-
tion of such creatures as Satan * and the devils of
the Christian, Jewish and Mahomedan religions ever
formed a part of the thousand and one allegories of
the Aryans.

A letter from a Master says :

*' There are, and there must be, failures in the
ethereal races of the many classes of Creative Spir-
its, or gods {progressed entities of a previous plane-
tary period) as well as among men. But still, as the
failures are too far progressed and spiritualized to
be thrown back forcibly into the vortex of a new
primordial revolution through the lower Kingdoms,
this happens. Where a new solar system has to be
evolved, these Creative Spirits are borne in by influx
* ahead ^ of the Elementals (Entities ... to be

♦For the true esoteric view of Satan, v. Dr. Anna Kingsford's
"Perfect Way.**

394 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

developed into humanity at a future time) and re-
main as a latent or inactive spiritual force in the
aura of a nascent world . . . until the stage of
human evolution is reached, . . , Then they be-
come an active force and commingle with the Ele-
mentals, to develop little by little the full type of
humanity." That is, to develop in and give to man
his Self-conscious mind, or Manas.

' ' The Gods became no-gods, ' ' says verse 38. That
is, the gods became demons — or Satan, when read
literally. But Satan will be shown, in the teaching
of the Secret Doctrine, allegorized as Good, and Sac-
rifice, and a God of Wisdom, under different names.
To recognize the refusal and the failure (of the
Spirits to create) one must study and understand
Eastern philosophy, especially with regard to the
utter fallacy of attributing functional activity to the
Infinite and Absolute Deity. Esotericism maintains
that during the " twilight " periods the " Central
Sun " emits Creative light — passively, so to speak.
Causality is latent. It is only during the active
periods of being that it gives rise to a stream of
ceaseless energy, whose vibrating currents acquire
more activity and potency with every round of the
seven-fold ladder of Being which they descend.
Hence it becomes comprehensible how the process
of creating, or rather of fashioning, the organic Uni-
verse, with all its units of the seven Kingdoms,
necessitated intelligent beings — who became collec-
tively a Being or creative God. And the Eastern
Initiates maintain that as the Essence of the Un-
known Absolute is the same everywhere, the " Cen-
tral Sun " is simply the centre of Universal Life-
Electricity; it is the one attracting, as also the ever-
^^_ remitting life-centre. ^J

^^^ Explain, or complete, the Kabalistic teaching a^|
^^M the seven Suns, with the seven systems of planm^

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 395

bodies, and you have the seven angelic planes, whose
Hosts are gods thereof collectively. {See Comm. to
Stanza VII., Part I.) Thus, though the seventh prin-
ciple (Atma) reaches man through all the phases of
being, pure as an indiscrete element and an imper-
sonal unity, it passes through Group first (the Cen-
tral Spiritual Sun) and Group second (the polar
Sun), which two radiate on man his Atma. Group
third (the equatorial Sun) cements the Buddhi to
Atman, and the higher attributes of Mind {Manas),
while Group fourth (the spirit of our visible Sun)
endows him with Mind and its vehicle {Kama), or
the body of passions and desires, the two elements
of Egoism which evolve individualized conscious-
ness, the personal ego. Finally, it is the spirit of
the Earth in its triple unity that builds the physical
body, attracting to it the Spirits of Life and forming
his astral body.

Says the Boole of Dzyan with regard to primeval
man when lirst projected by the " Boneless," the
incorporeal Creator: " First, the Breath, then Bud-
dhi {the Spiritual Soul) and the Shadow-Son {the
body) were ' cheated.' But where was the pivotT
(Mind, the middle principle.) Man is doomed.
When alone, the undifFerentiated Element and the
Vehicle (Buddhi) — the cause of the causeless — break
asunder from manifested life." " tJnless cemented
and held together by the middle principle, the vehicle
of the personal consciousness of Jiva (Universal
Life)," explains the Commentary. In other words,
the two higher principles ( Atman-Buddhi) can have
no individuality on Earth, cannot be man, unless
there is (T) the Mind, the Ego, to cognize itself, and
(2) the terrestrial fahe personality, or the body
of personal desires and will, to cement the whole
as if round a pivot (which it is) to the physical form
of man. It is the Mind and the body of desYie,?, wa^
passiofls that contain the dual personaWly, Vo.^ Te.aV

396 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

immortal Ego (when united to the two higher, Att
Buddki or the Spiritual Soul), and the false a
transitory personality, the astral body or the anima
soul — the two personalities having to be closely
blended to make up a full terrestrial existence. Ttat
most perfect soul incarnated in the most perfee
physical body would be only a beautiful and
conscious being without Mind.

As said in Commentary XIV. :

" Like produces like and no more at the geneeirf
of being, and evolution with its limited conditioned
laws comes later. The Self-Esistent * are called
Ckeations, for they appear in the Spirit Ray, mant.
fested through the potency inherent in its tjnbob?
Nature, which is beyond Time and (limited or c<m
ditioned) Space. Terrene products, animate ani
inanimate, including mankind, are falsely called crfi"
ation and creatures: they are the developmenl
{evolution) of the discrete elements." Again:

" The heavenly Form {Creative Spirit) creat
(man) in his own likeness; it is a spiritual ideatii
consequent on the first differentiation and awaken-
ing of the universal (manifested) Substance: that
form is the ideal shadow of Itself: and this is the
Man op the First Race."

To limit the explanation to this Earth, it was the
duty of the first " differentiated Egos " to imbue
primordial matter with the evolutionary impulse,
and to guide its formative powers in the fashioning
of its productions. After the Earth had been mnde
ready by the lower and more material powers, the
higher Creative Spirits were compelled by evolution-
ary Law to descend upon Earth and eonstrnct the
crown of its evolution — ^Man. The " Self-Created "
and the " Self-Existent " projected their pale

■AnKpHf, Rplrltiinl BRsenceB. Immortal In their being because un-
contllttoDeil In Eternity ; periodical and conditioned In tbeir cfcth:
manlfeBtatione.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 397

shadows, but Group Third, the Fire-Angels, rebelled
and refused to create. Agreeably to esoteric inter-
pretation, this was a sacrifice for the benefit of
mankind. The divine " Rebels " preferred the
curse of incarnation and the long cycles of
terrestrial rebirths, to seeing the misery, even
if unconscious, of beings evolved aa the
shadows of their too-spiritual creators. If
" man's uses of life should be such as neither to
animalize, nor to spiritualize, but to humanize Self,"
before he can do so, he must be born human, not an-
gelic. Hence tradition shows the Archangels offer-
ing themselves as the redeemers of man, by endow-
ing him with human affections and aspirations. To
do this they had to tate up their abode on our globe
for the whole of the Great Life-cycle, thus exchang-
ing their impersonal individualities for individual
personalities — the bliss of sidereal existence for the
curse of terrestrial life. This voluntary sacrifice of
the Fiery Angels, whose nature was Knowledge and
Love, was construed by exoteric theologies into the
statement that ' ' the rebel angels were hurled down
from heaven into the darkness of hell,"

" Our earth and man," says the Commentary,
" being the products of the three Fires "—{whose
names answer in Sanskrit to the electric fire, the
solar fire and the fire produced by friction) — these
three fires, explained on the cosmic and human
planes, are Spirit, Soul and Body, the three great
Boot groups with their four additional divisions.
In the metaphysical sense, the fire of friction means
the union between Buddhi and Manas (Spirit and
Mind), the latter. Mind, merging partially into and
becoming part of the Monad ; in the physical sense,
it relates to the creative spark or germ, which gen-
erates the human being. The three Fires were said
to be condemned " to be born over and over again."
"" * is clear enough.

398 THE SECRET DOCTRINE q

Therefore, the Flames, whose functions are con-
fused in the exoteric books, and who are called in-
differently Prajapati, Pitris, Mauus, Asuras, Eislus,
Kumaras, etc., are said to incarnate personally in
the Third Root-Kaee, and thus find tliemselves " re-
born over and over again."

Before other Stanzas could be explained, it was,
therefore, absolutely necessary to show that the
" Sons of Dark Wisdom," though identical with tha
Archangels that theology has chosen to call " the
Fallen," are as divine and pure as all the Michaels
and Gabriels of the churches. The " old Book"
goes into various details of astral life, which wonld
be quite incomprehensible to the reader at present,
and with the First and Second Races must be left
for future explanation. Not so the Third Race, that
which separated into sexes, and was the first to be
endowed with reason. The globe having " iuerus-
tated " more than a hundred million years before,
the first human suh-raee had already begun to sol-
idify, so to speak, man evohdng step by step with
the Earth. But up to this point, *' the inner mwtt
(the conscious Entity) was not." This Conscious
Entity, says Occultism, is, in many cases, the very
essence of the high Intelligences condemned by Kar-
mic evolution to reincarnate in this life-cycle.

(fc) Verse 39 relates exclusively to the racial divi-
sions. Strictly speaking, esoteric philosophy teaches
a modified po'lygenesis. For while it assigns to hiK«
manity a common origin in so far that its forefathS"^
or " Creators " were all divine beings, though {
different degrees, yet it describes men as bom (
seven different centres of the continent of thi
period. Their potentialities and mental capabiliti^
and outward or physical forms were very dififerei '
in suit the Karma of the various reincarnatin
Monads, which could not be all of the same degrel
in their last births in other worlds. Tliis aeeoiu '"

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

for the difference in races, the inferiority of the
savage and other human varieties.

Esotericism now classes these seven variations,
as only three distinct primeval races — as it does not
take into consideration the First Bace, which had
neither type nor color, and hardly an objective form.
The evolution of these races went on step by step
with the evolution of three geological strata, from
which the human complexion was as much deter-
mined as by the climate of those zones. It names the
three great divisions the Red- Yellow, the Black and
the Bbown-'White. The Aryan races, for instance,
now varying so much in color, are yet all of one
and the same stock — the Fifth Root-Race. The
light yellow is the color of the first solto human race,
which appeared after the middle of the Third Root-
Race, bringing on the final changes. For it was
only at that period that the last transformation took
place, which brought forth man as he is now, only
on a large scale. This Race gave birth to the Fourth
Race, that portion of humanity which became ' ' black
with sin " being gradually transformed into red-
yellow, and finally into brown-white races — which,
together with the yellow races, now form the great
bulk of mankind.

When reading of that ' ' last transformation, ' ' said
to have taken place 18,000,000 years ago, let the
reader consider how many millions more must have
passed before that stage was reached! And if man,
in his gradual consolidation, developed step by step
with the Earth, how many millions of years must
have elapsed during the First, the Second and the
first half of the Third Race! For the archaic teach-
ings tell us that the Earth was in a comparatively
ethereal condition before it reached its last consoli-
dated state, and that during the middle period of
the Lemuro-Atlantean Race, three and a half Races
^fter the genesis of man, that tte Earfti, !&■&■&, ko.^

400 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

everything upon the globe was of a still grosser a
more material nature, while such things as eon
and some shells were still in a semi-gelatinous, astri
state. The cycles that have intervened since th«
have already carried us some steps upward on i"
ascending arc of our progi'ess towards spiritual!^
It should be remembered that the word ' ' astral '■
means, in occult phraseology, " shining " or " p^
lucid," in various and numerous degrees, from
quite filmy to a viscid state. Hindu occultism teachfl
that the present humanity is eighteen million ai
odd years old. We say yes, hut only so far u
physical, or approximately physical man is coa
cerned, who dates from the close of the Third Root
Race. Beyond that period, Man, or his filmy ImagQ
may have existed for 300 million years for all wdj
know, since such figures are and will remain secret
with the Masters of Occult Science.

The great difference between the order of animal
creation as described by geologists and by the Purii
nic Commentaries, and the Book of Dzyan espeeiallj
arises from the fact that the latter impute to met
a spiritual and divine nature independent of his'
physical body, and describe it as follows. Having
been in all the so-called " Seven Creations " alle-
gorizing the seven evolutionary changes of the First
Root-Race of Mankind — Man was on earth in (W»
Round from the beginning. Having passed throng
all the kingdoms of Nature in the previous (Are*
Rounds, his physical frame (one adapted to the ther-:
mal conditions of those early periods) was ready to;
receive the " divine Pilgrim " {the Monad) at th^
first dawn of human life, that is, eighteen millioB
and odd years ago. (Compare the evolution of titf
principles with that of the Races, the First and Set
ond of which are the passive spiritual progeny of
Atma-Buddhi (or Spirit and Soul), while the Thinl'
Bace shows three distinct divisions or aspects, phyafc

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 401

ologically and psychically ; the earliest, sinless ; the
middle portions awaking to intelligence; and the
third and last decidedly animal, that is, Mind yield-
ing to the temptations of Desire. (Kama.) It is
only at the mid-point of the Third Koot-Race that
man was endowed with mind. Once united, the two
(Atma-Buddbi, or the Spirit-soul), and then the
three (Atma-Buddhi-Manas, or Spirit, Soul, Mind)
made one; for though the lower animals, from the
amceha up, received their monads, in which all the
higher qualities are potential, these have to remain
dormant till each reaches its human form, before
which stage mind cannot develop in them, " Men
are made complete," says Commentary IX., " only
during the latter part of their fourth cycle (Race).
They are made ' gods ' for good and evil, and re-
sponsible only when the two arcs meet (after the
three and a half cycles). They are made so by the
incarnating Spirits, doomed in their natural turn to
reincarnation in the higher ascending arc of the ter-
restrial cycle," In the animals every principle is
dormant and in a fcetus-like state, save the vital
force and the astral, with the rudiments of the
fourth, which is Kama (desire, or instinct), whose
intensity and development varies with the species.

We may be told that the law of evolution shows
man developed from a speck of protoplasm, " until
the cell finally attains the highly specialized develop-
ment of the quadrumanous, and, last of all, of the
human type " (Laing, 335), and that this, and much
more, is opposed to the idea of man preceding mam-
mals. But all this relates to the shell of man — his
body, which is, of course, subject like all other phys-
ical forms to such metamorphoses. It is not those
who teach the transformation of the mineral atom
through crystallization into plant, insect and animal,
and at last into man, who will reject this theory, aa
it will finally lead to the recogniiioii oi a.^imNerc^.'BS.

402 THK SECKET DOCTEINE

Deity in nature, ever present, and as ever invisiU
and unknowable, and of inira'Cosmic gods, who
were men. For crystallization is the same function
and bears the same relation to its (so-called) mot*-
ganic basis, as the formation of cells to their organis;
nuclei. The whole trouble is that neither physiolo-
gists nor pathologists will recognize that the celL
germinating substance {the cytoblastema) and the
mother-lye from which crystals originate, are on*
and the same essence, save in differentiation for
purposes.

The Monads, then, have passed through all the
lower forms of being up to man during the threC
preceding Bounds, every Round having to be the
arena of the same evolution, only repeated each time
on a more solid material basis. Therefore, we can
easily answer the question : ' ' "Wliat relation is there
between the Third Round astral prototypes and oi^
dinary physical development in pre-mammalian or-
ganic species T " One is the shadowy prototj'pe of
the other, the preliminary and indefinite sketch of
objects destined to receive their final form under the
brush of the painter. The fish evolved into an am-
phibian—a frog — in the shadotvy ponds, and man
passed through all his metamorphosea on this globe
in the Third Round as he has in this his fourth cycle.
The Third Round types contributed to the forma'
tion of types in the Fourth Round, On strict aH-
alogy, the work of the Seven Rounds in the graduaJ
formation of man through every kingdom of nature
is repeated on a microscopic scale in the first sevm
months' gestation of a future human being. Let the
student think over and work out this analogy. As
the seven months' old unborn baby, though fn%'
formed, yet needs two months more in whicli to ae-
quire strength and consolidate, so man, having per-
fected his evolution during seven Rounds, remains
two periods more in the womb of Mother Nature

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 403

before he is born (or rather reborn) as a Creative
Spirit, still more perfect than he was before he
launched forth as a Monad on the newly built chain
of worlds. Let the student ponder over this mystery
and he will easily convince himself that as there are
physical links between many classes, so there are
precise domains where the astral merges into physi-
cal evolution.

But no Occultist can accept the unreasonable prop-
osition that all the now existing forms, " from the
structureless Amceba to man," are the direct lineal
descendants of organisms which lived millions and
millions of years before the birth of man, in the pre-
Silurian epochs, in the sea or land mud.

The occult doctrine teaches a cyclic, never-varying
law in Nature, who has herself no personal " special
design," but acts upon a uniform plan that prevails
throughout the whole Hfe-eycle, and deals with the
earthworm as it deals with man. Neither the one
nor the other has sought to come into being, hence
both are under the same evolutionary law, and both
have to progress according to Karmic law. Both
have started from the same neutral centre of Life,
and both have to remerge into it at the consumma-
tion of the cycle.

Furthermore, we are taught that the transforma-
tions through which man passed on the descending
arc — which is centrifugal for spirit and centripetal
for matter — and those he is preparing to go through
on his ascending path, when the action of these
forces will be reversed — are next in store for the
anthropoid ape also, for those, at any rate, who have
reached the remove nest to Man in this Roimd.
These will all be men in the Fifth Round, as present
men inhabited ape-like forms in the preceding Third
Bound.

Behold in the modern anthropoids, tW'o., 'Ov\ft ^e^-
graded and dtvarfed examples oi t\ie ma.'iOTA^^ '^'^

404 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

mankind in the latest Third and earliest sub-races o
the Fourth Root-Race. The ape we know is not th0
product of natural evolution, but an accident, a cros^
between an animal form and man. (See Diagram V4
p. 373.) The modern apes are millions of years lat^
than the speaking human being, and are the latest
contemporaries of our Fifth Race. Thus it is most
important to remember that the Egos of the apes ara
entities compelled by their Karma to incarnate in
those animal forms which resulted from the bestial*
ity of the latest Third and earliest Fourth Race
men. They are entities who had already reached
"the human stage" before this Round. Conse-
quently, they form an exception to the general rnlfc
They are truly " speechless men," and will become
speaking animals (or men of a lower order) in thft
Fifth Round, while the adepts of a certain sehoQ
hope that some of the Egos of the more intelligent'
apes will reappear at the close of the Sixth Boot'
Race. What their form will be is of secondary con-
sideration. The form means nothing. Species and
genera of flora, fauna and man change, not only
with every Round, but every Root-Race, as well aS
after every geological cataclysm that destroys 01
modifies a Root-Race. In the Sixth Race the fossib
of the Orang, the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee will he
those of extinct quadrumanous mammals; and neW
forms — though fewer and ever wider apart as ages
pass on, and the close of the life-cycle approaches — '
will develop from the " cast-off " types of the hu-
man races, as they revert once again to astral, out of'
the mire of physical, life. There were none before
man, and they will be extinct before the Seventt
Race develops. Karma will lead on the Monads oft
the unprogressed men of our Race, and lodge then
in the newly evolved human frames of the physiO
logically regenerated baboon. This will take place
of course, millions of years hence, and this is hon

THE SECRET DOCTEINB

Occult Science explains the absence of any link be-
tween ape and man, and shows the former evolving
from the latter.

It is, of course, impossible to attempt a consecu-
tive and detailed account of the evolution and prog-
ress of the first three Eaces, Race the first and
Eaee the second had no history of their own. We
shall have, therefore, to pay careful attention only
to the Lemurians and Atianteans before the his-
tory of our own Fifth Race can be attempted. Tliere
is a period of a few millions of years to cover be-
tween the first " mindless " race, and the highly in-
telligent and intellectual later Lemurians ; there is
another between the earliest civilization of the At-
ianteans and the historic period. As witnesses to
the Lemurians, but a few silent records in the shape
of half-a-dozen colossi and old cyclopean ruins are
left. Lemuria was not submerged, as Atlantis was,
but was sunk under the waves (as Great Britain
and Europe will be one day), owing to earthquakes
and subterranean fires. Civilization dates still fur-
ther back than the Miocene Atianteans. " Second-
ary-period ' ' man will he discovered, and with him
his long-forgotten civilization.

The Third Race was, at first, pre-eminently the
bright shadow of the gods, whom tradition exiles
to Earth after the allegorical war in Heaven; which
became still more allegorical on Earth, for it was
the war between spirit and matter. This war will
last till the inner and divine man adjusts his outer
terrestrial self to his own spiritual nature. But the
cmimal will be tamed some day. because its nature
will be changed, and harmony will reign once more
between the two as before the " Pall," when even
mortal man was creMed by the Elements and was
not bom.

THE SECEET KOCTRINE

STANZA X.—ConHnued

40. Then the Third and Fourth (Races) becan
tali with pride. " We are the Kings," it was e
" we are the gods " (a).

41. They took wives fair to look at (6). Wiv«
from the " mindless," the narrow-headed. The
bred monsters, wicked demons, male and femali
Also Liliths (Dakini) with little minds.

42. They built temples for the human body. Mai
and female they worshipped (c). Then the thir
Eye acted no longer (d).

{») Such were the first truly physical men, whoa
first characteristic was pride 1 It is the Third Bad
(Lemurian), and the gigantic Atlanteans (Fourtll
Eace) of whom the Eoman Church has preserved bO
many vivid, and at the same time distorted, legend^
such as the stories of Nimrod, of the builders of tb
Tower of Babel, and many others. And this leads u
to inquire into the religions ideas of these early
races, mythical as these may seem to be.

What was the religion of the early Third ani'
Fourth Races? In the common acceptation of thti
term, neither the Lemurians nor their progeny, thft
Lemuro-Atlanteans, had a religion, as they kneV
no dogma, nor were they required to believe anything
on faith. No sooner had man been given mind thai
the Third Eace felt itself one with the ever-preseni
ever-unknowable and invisible All, the One Uni
versal Deity. Endowed with divine powers, and eoni
I scious of his inner G-od, each felt himself a Maa-
I God in his real nature, though an animal in his phys*
ical self. The struggle between the two began froU
the very day they tasted of the fruit of the Tree o
Wisdom; a struggle for life between the spiritna
aad the psychic, tte ps^ctit aTtiVW i^\i^?.vial. Thos

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 407

who conquered the lower principles by obtaining
mastery over the body joined the " Sons of Light."
Those who fell victims to their lower natures became
the slaves of Matter. From " Sons of Light and
"Wisdom " they ended by becoming the " Sons of
Darkness." They had fallen in the battle of mortal
life with Life Immortal, and all those so fallen be-
came the seed of the future Atlantean sorcerers.
The Atlantean races were many, and their evolution
covered millions of years, but all were not bad. They
became so towards their end, as we of the Fifth Race
are fast becoming now.

At the dawn of his consciousness the man of the
Third Root-Race had then no beliefs that could be
called a religion — that is. no system of faith or
outward worship. But if the term is to be defined as

I the binding together of the masses of mankind in

, one form of reverence towards those they recognize
as higher than themselves, then even the earliest
Lemurians had a religion — and a most beautiful one

, — from the very beginning of their intellectual life.
Had they not their bright gods of the elements
around them, and even within themselves? We are
assured it was so, and we believe it. For the evolu-
tion of Spirit into matter could never have been
achieved, nor would it even have received its first
impulse, had not the bright Spirits sacrificed their
own super-ethereal essences to animate the man of
clay, by endowing each of his inner principles with
a portion, or rather a reflection, of that essence. The
Powers of the Seven Heavens {the seven planes of
Being) are the noumenoi of the present and the fu-
ture Elements, just as the Angels of the Seven Pow-
ers of Nature — the grosser effects of which are per-
ceived by us in what Science is pleased to call
" modes of motion," etc. — are the still higher nou-
menoi of still higher hierarchies.

^^_It was the Atlauteans, the first piogec^ oi scmv

408 THE SECRET DOCTBINE

dtvine man after the separation into sexes — hence
the first humanly-born mortals — who became the
first " Sacrificers " to the god of matter. They
stand in the dim past as the prototype on whicli llie
great symbol of Cain was built, and their worship
of form and matter soon degenerated into self-wor-
ship, and thence into phallicism. Cain is the sym-
bol of the first male, Abel of the first female human-
ity, Adam and Eve being the types of the Third
Race. The " murdering " of Abel is blood-shedding,
but not the taking of life.

Thus the first Atlanteans born on the Lemurian
Continent separated into those who worshipped the
one unseen Spirit of Nature, and those who offered
worship to the dark Powers of the Earth. This was
the secret and mysterious origin of all the subse-
quent and modern religions. The legend of the
" Fallen Angels " in its esoteric signification con-
tains the key to the manifold contradictions of ho-
man character ; it points to the secret of man's
eonscionsness; it is the hinge upon which turns h
entire life-cycle; the history of his evolution i
growth.

On a firm grasp of this doctrine depends the c
rect understanding of esoteric anthropogenesis. 3
gives a clue to the Origin of Evil, and shows ho^
man himself is the separator of the One into varioi
aspects. Nor must it be forgotten that a portion Q
mankind in the early Third Race— the human Mca
ads who had reached the highest point i)ossibIe i
the preceding Life-cycle — propelled by the sexW
creative instinct, had evolved an intermediate rau
in which the higher divine Beings had incamatej
(v. Diagram V.) This is the " undying race." ft
it is called in Esotericism. " When we have ascer-'
tained the extent of the Uni%'erse, and learned to
know all that there is in it, we will multiply our
race," say the Soils of Will cud'^oga. "VVva m^eaiU|

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 409

that the great Adepts aud Initiated Ascetics will
once more produce Mind-honi immaculate Sons in
the Seventh Eoot-Race.

Happily for humanity, the " undying race " had
become the vehicle of incarnation of the highest
Creative Powers (intellectual and spiritual) before
mankind had become quite material. When the last
sub-races — save some of the lowest — of the Third
Eaee had perished with the great Lemurian Conti-
nent," " the seeds of the Trinity of Wisdom " had
already acquired the secret of immortality on Earth,
that gift which allows the Initiate to step ad libitum
from one worn-out body into another.

The secret teachings affirm that these Elect were
the germ of a Hierarchy which has never died since
that period; and the Catechism of the Inner Schools
says : ' ' The inner man of the first . . . only
changes his body from time to time; he is ever the
game, knowing neither rest nor Nirvana, spurning
heaven, and remaining constantly on Earth for the
salvation of mankind. . . . Out of the seven
virgin-men (Kumdras) four sacrificed themselves
for the sins of the world and the instruction of the
ignorant, to remain till the end of the present life-
cycle. Though unseen, they are ever present. When
people say of one of them, ' he is dead,' behold, he
is alive and in another form. These are the Head,
the Heart, the Soul, and the Seed of undying knowl-
edge. Thou shalt never speak, O pupil, of these
great Ones before a multitude, mentioning them by
their names. The wise alone will understand,"

Higher than the Four is only One on Earth as in
the Heavens — that still more mysterious and soli-
tary Being described in Part I.

(b) The first war that earth knew, the first human
gore shed, were the result of man's eyes and senses
being opened, which made him see that t\ie VvNe?.
and daughters of his brethren were iaweT ftisin.'\i\a

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

own. This took place during the Fourth Race, that
of the giants. For there were giants in days of oldj
as the traditions of many nations bear witneM;
Even Genesis begins its real history (ehap. vi.) hy
the mention of the giants of those days and " t)^
sons of God " marrying the daughters of men. I
I is around tliese " Sons of God," the " Mind-bom'*
' astral children of Brahma, that our physical frame*
have grown, and developed to what they are now.

(c) But with the Fourth Race we reach the purdSP
human period. Those who were hitherto semi-diviMi
Beings, self-imprisoned in bodies human only ill'
appearance, became physiologically changed, antf
took unto themselves wives who were entirely hu-j
man and fair to look at, but in whom loiver, tnort
material, though sidereal beings had incarnate^,
with no mind — only animal instinct. These being*'
in female forms are called in the esoteric accounts
" Khado " (Dakini in Sanskrit). These are the be-
ings whose legendary existence has served as ft
groundwork upon which to build the rabbinical
Lilith, and what the believers in the Bible wouW
term the antediluvian women, and the Kabalists the
pre-Adamite races. They are no fiction, howeveP
fantastic the later traditions.

(d) This was the beginning of a worship whiett
ages later was doomed to degenerate into phalUcisiBi
and sexual worship. It began by the worship of thft.
human body, that ' ' miracle of miracles, " as it ha»
been called, and ended by that of the seses.

Speaking of the Giants, Creuzer describes theal'
well in saying that:

" Those children of Heaven and Earth were en-;
dowed at their birth by the Sovereign Powers, tb*
authors of their being, with extraordinary faculties,'
both moral and physical. They commanded the ei«|
ments, knew the secrets of heaven and earth, of iA*»
sea and the whole, world, auA reaS. HVuxU'y w iht

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 411

stars. . . . All these beings are marked with
a character of magic mtd sorcery."

Here we must remember what was said in Stanza
VII., V. 24, that when the " Sons of Wisdom " came
to incarnate for the first time, some of them incar-
nated fully, others projected into the forms only a
spark, while some of the shadows were left to be
filled and perfected in the Fourth Race. Those who
were left " mindless " remained so, even after the
separation of the sexes. It was they who bred the
first monsters, so to speak, and thus produced a truly
pithecoid species now extinct. The Commentary
describes them as " having human shape, but hav-
ing the lower extremities, from the waist down, cov-
ered with hair." Hence, perhaps, the race of satyrs.

If men existed two million years ago, they must
have been — as the animals were— quite different
physically from what they are now, and nearer to
the type of pure mammalian animals. Anyhow, we
learn that the animal world breeds strictly inter se —
i.e., in accordance with germs and species — only
since the appearance on this earth of the Atlantean
(Fourth) Race.

(e) " Then the third eye acted no longer." Afew
more occult teachings must be given here on several
points, and the history of the Third and Fourth
Races somewhat amplified in order to throw more
light on the development of our present humanity,
and to show how man's lost spiritual faculties can
be regained by occult training. But the Third Eye
itself must be first explained.

The statement that at one stage of his develop-
' ment man was a kind of Cyclops would certainly be
contested by scientists, yet they will never ,be able
to prove that he was not so. Nor can they adroit
that the first two races of men were too ethereal, in
constitution, organism and shape even to be called
I physical men, although this is one oi, Wife xaa.'a.OTa

ki.

412 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

why those men have left no relics of themselves in
the fossil world. Nevertheless, all this is maintained
by occultism. Man was the store-house, so to speak,
of all the seeds of life for tliis Round, animal and
vegetable alike. It may be objected that as the First
Race * appeared 300,000,000 years after vegetation
had evolved, the seed of vegetable life could not be
in that Race. We say it could; for up to man's ap-
pearance in this Round vegetation was of quite an-
other kind than it is now, and quite ethereal, for
none could have been physical before there were
animal organisms to breathe out the carbonic acid
upon which vegetation depends. Vegetable and ani-
mal life are interdependent in their physical and
( achieved forms. Hhe Zohar says: " The primordial .

^^m worlds could not continue, because man ivas not omJ
^^fe yet." The human form contains everything; Bi^M
^^P as it did not as yet exist, the worlds were destroyS^B
^^ Thus man " created " for ages the insects, rep^

tiles, birds and animals unconsciously to himself '
from his " cast-off clothes " of the earlier Kounda,
It was the belief of entire antiquity that the earliest
mankind was a race of giants, and we can easily
believe that the Titans and Cyclopes of old really

i belonged to the Fourth (Atlantean) Race, and were

^^1 three-eyed mortals, of tremendous physical power,

^^1 for, as it has been often remarked, " the origin of

^^P nearly every popular myth and legend can be traced

^^ to a fact in nature." The so-called Cyclopean i

mains will be pointed out later on as furnishi

proofs of the existence of a gigantic humanity, a3

an indication is also foimd by science that befo

the final adjustment of the human organism (wliii

became perfect and symmetrical only in the Fi"

Race) the early Fourth Race may have been thr

eyed, without having necessarily the third eye io

THP: secret doctrine 413

the middle of the forehead, like the legendary Cy-
clopes,

To the Occultists, who believe that our spiritual
and psychic involution proceeds on parallel lines
with physical evolution, and that the inner senses —
Innate in the first human races — became atrophied
with the development of the outer senses, this state-
ment is simply a phase of the law of growth. They
understand the meaning of this passage in the Com-
mentaries :

" There were four-armed human creatures in
those early days of the hermaphrodites, with one
head yet three eyes. They could see before them
and behind them."

(That is, the third eye was at the back of the head.
The statement that the latest hermaphrodite human-
ity was " four-armed " unriddles the mystery of
the four-armed exoteric gods of India.)

" After the separation of the sexes (4,320,000,000
years later), men having fallen into matter, their
spiritual vision became dim, and, co-ordinately, the
third eye began to lose its power, . . . When
the Fourth Race arrived at its middle age the inner
vision had to be awakened, and acquired by artificial
stimuli, the process of which was known to the old
sages, . . . The third eye likewise, getting
gradually petrified, soon disappeared."

(The expression petrified instead of ossified is
curious. The " back eye," which is, of course, the
pineal glavd, the small pea-hke mass of gray ner-
vous matter attached to the back of the third ven-
tricle of the brain, is said to contain, almost in-
variably, mineral concretions and sand, and nothing
more.)

" The dotible-faced became the one-faced, and the
eye was drawn deep into the head, and is now buried
under the hair. Duriug the activity of the inner
roan (wt trances and spiritual visions) the e^s gw^&a

414 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

and expands. The Adept sees and feels it, and regu-
lates Ms action accordingly. . . . The undefiled
disciple need fear no danger ; he who keeps himself
not in purity (who is not chaste) will receive no help
from the divine eye."

For the majority of mankind the " divine eye "
acts no longer, but it has left a witness to its exist-
ence in the pineal gland. When we learn that the
" third eye " was once a physiological organ, and
that later on, owing to the spiritual nature being
extinguished by the physical, it became an atrophied
organ, as little understood now by the physiologists
as the spleen is, the question will be answered as to
the necessity of chastity in the disciple of Occultism.
During human life the greatest impediment in the
way of spiritual development, and especially to the
acquirement of Yoga powers, is the activity of OTir
physiological senses. Sexual action being closely
connected by inter-action with the spinal cord and
the gray matter of the brain, it is useless to give
any longer explanation. Of course the normal and
abnormal states of the brain and the degrees of
activity in the medulla oblongata react powerfully
on the pineal gland, owing to the number of *' cen-
tres " in that region. All this is quite plain to the
Occultist, but very vague to the general reader.
Nevertheless, the existence of an atrophied third eye
in many animals, especially in the lower vertebrata,
has been admitted by many of our scientists. In
Sir John Lubbock's book, On the Senses, Instinct
and Intelligence of Animals, he says: '* The rudi-
mentary pineal eye of Reptilia is probably the de-
generate descendant of an organ which in former |
ages performed the functions of a true organ of
vision. ... In mammals the organ is even more
degenerate than in birds, though a trace is still pres-
ent in man himself. ... It now, however, ap-
pears that the vertebrate type did originally posseas

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 415

a central eye, of wbieli the so-called pineal gland is
the last trace." *

If the third eye in man is now atrophied, it was
nevertheless, an active organ in that stage of evolu-
tion when the spiritual element in man reigned su-
preme over the hardly nascent intellectual and psy-
chic elements. And with the interminable and com-
plex vicissitudes and tribulations of physiological
development, that " median eye " ended by becom-
ing atrophied along with man's early spiritual and
purely psychic characteristics. Let us remember
that the First Race is shown in Occultism as spirit-
ual within and ethereal without; the Second as psy-
cho-spiritual within and ethero-physical bodily ; the
Third, still without intellect in its beginning, _ as
astro-physical in its body, and living an inner life,
in which the psycho-spiritual element is in no way
interfered with as yet, by the hardly nascent physi-
cal senses. But the " third eye " embraces Eter-
nity.

In the beginning, every class and family of living
species was hermaphrodite and objectively one-eyed.
In the animal, whose form was as ethereal (astrally)
as that of man, before the bodies of both began to
evolve their thick coating of physical matter, the
third eye was, as in man, the only seeing organ. The
two physical eyes developed later on in both brute
and man, whose organ of physical sight was, at the
commencement of the Third Race, hidden beneath
an opaque skin, like some of the blind vertebrata
(moles, etc.) at present. Only the stages of the
primeval eye in man and brute are now inverted, as
man had already passed the animal non-rational
stage in the Third Eoimd, and is ahead of the bmte
creation by a whole plane of consciousness. There-

♦(See Path. Aug., 1S90. and Jan., IWI. Lucifer. Dec. end June,
1889. Evolution and Dlaeane, 3. Blnnd Sutton, ScriMer. IS90. The
Advancement of Sdenrv, R.-vv Lankester, 1890. Qualn'a Analomj/.
Vol. 2, pp. 880-851, tiftjtft ed.—Bdttor.)

416 THE SKCRET DOCTRINE

fore, while the " Cyclopean " eye was, and stiil is,
in man the organ of spiriUtal sight, in the animal
it was that of objective vision. And this eye, hav-

Evolution of Root-Races in Fourth Bound

Meridian of Races

ring performed its function, was replaced by two
eyes, and thus stored and laid aside by Nature for
further use in sEons to come.
This explains why the pineal gland reached ita

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 417

highest development proportionately with the lowest
physical development. In the vertebrata it is most
prominent and objective, and in man the most hid-
den and inaccessible, except to the anatomist.

" We, the Fifth Root-Race, in our first half of
duration (on the now ascending arc of the cycle) are
between the First and the Second Races— falling
downward. (That is, those Races were on the de-
scending arc.) Calculate for thyself, disciple, and
see."

Calculating as advised, then, we find that during
that transitional period — the second half of the First
spiritual ethero-astral Race, nascent mankind was
devoid of intellect. As we are parallel, on our as-
cending line to its descending line, we are, therefore,
devoid of the spiritual element, which is now re-
placed by the intellectual, (v. Diagram VI.)

One important point, however, has to be borne in
mind. We are only in the Fourth Round, and it is
not till the Fifth that the full development of Mind
as a direct ray from the Universal Mind, a ray un-
impeded by matter, will be reached. Our Race has,
as a Root-Race, crossed the equatorial line, and is
cycling upward, but some of our sub-races are still
on the descending arc of their respective national
cycles; while others again, the oldest of all, are the
apex of spiritual development as sub-races.

Now that which the students of Occultism ought
to know is that the " third eye " is indissolubly con-
nected with Karma.

The " eye of Siva " did not become entirely atro-
pbied before the close of the Fourth Race. When
the divine powers and attributes of the godlike man
of the Third had been made the servants of the
newly awakened physiological and psychic passions
of the physical man, instead of the reverse, then the
Third eye lost its power of viaion. T\ie am^BATioH.

418 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

in using the newly developed creative powers, bolt
in misusing them. There can be no phj-sical iniquitji
as the body is simply the irresponsible organ of the*
spiritual man, and in the case of the Atlanteaus it
was precisely the spiritual being which sinned, that
being still the " master " principle at that time.
Thus it was that the heaviest Karma of the Fifth
Race was generated in those days by our Monads.

1^^^ For the law of Karma is inextricably interwoven I
^^K with that of Reincarnation. J^

^^^ It is only the knowledge of the constant rebirthsH
^^f of the same individuality throughout the life-cycle^
II" that can explain to us the mysterious problems of ll

good and evil, and reconcile us to the terrible and
apparent injustice of life. For when one unac-
I quainted with this doctrine looks about him and ob-

I serves the inequalities of birth and fortune, of in-

I tellect and capacities; the honors paid to fools and

profligates, and their nearest neighbor — far more
deserving in every way — perishing of want and mis-
I ery; when one sees all this, and has to turn away,

I helpless to relieve snch suffering, the knowledge of

I Karma, the Absolute and Eternal Justice, alou

I prevents his cursing God and men.

The possession of a physical third eye, we t
told, was enjoyed by the men of the Third Root-Raol
down to nearly the middle period of the third suT
race of the Fourth Root-Race, when the consolidi
tion and perfection of the human frame made i
I disappear from the outward anatomy of man. PsyS

' chicaJly and spiritually, however, its pereeptioi^

lasted till nearly the end of the F ourth Race, wha
I owing to the depraved condition of mankind, i(

, functions died out altogether before the submersioS

of the bulk of the Atlantean continent. How maia
I of such cataclysms have changed the whole surfa<^

of the earth may be inferred by this Stanza froiq
Commentary XXII. •.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 419

"During the first 70,000,000 years the Earth and
its two kingdoms (mineral and vegetable) — one hav-
ing already achieved its seventh cycle, the other
hardly nascent — are luminous and semi-ethereal,
cold, lifeless and translucent. In the eleventh*
erore (a ' crore ' being 10,000,000 years) the
mother (Earth) grows opaque and in the fouk-
TEENTH t the throes of adolescence take place. These
convulsions of nature {geological changes) last till
her twentieth crore of years, uninterruptedly, after
which they become periodical, and recur at long in-
tervals.

" The last change took place nearly 120,000,900
years ago. But the Earth, with everything on her
face, had become cool, hard and settled ages
earlier."

Thus, if we may believe esoteric teaching, there
have been no more universal geological disturbances
and changes for the last 120 millions of years, and
Earth was ready, even before that time, to receive
her human stock. The appearance of fully developed
physical humanity, however, took place only about
eighteen million years ago, after the first great fail-
ure of Nature to create men without the help of the
divine ' ' Builders ' ' had been followed by the evolu-
tion of the first three Races. The actual duration
of the first two and a half Races is withheld from
all but the higher Initiates. The history of the
Races begins with the separation of the sexes, when
the preceding egg-bearing, androgynous race per-
ished rapidly, and the subsequent sub-races of the
Third Root-Race appeared as an entirely new Race
physiologically.

•In the period of Sepondary Crention so-called. OC the Primary,
wben Earth was in the posaession of the three Elemental kingdoms,
we cannot epeak.

j-Aa tlie life of man is divided into periods of sevens, so Ih that
of the Enrth. "All things depend from ttie se\ea&;' %^'s% ''^^

L SaiaiR

STANZA XI

1420 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

The Civilization and Desteuction of the Thibd
AND FODKTH BaCBS
43. They {the Lemuro-Atlanteans) built hage
cities. Of rare earths and metals they built; out
of the (lava) fires vomited. Out of the white stone
' of the mountaiuB (marble) and the black stone {of,

the subterranean fires) they cut their own images,
^^^ in their size and likeness, and worshipped them.

^^B As the history of the first two humo/n races pro-
^^r ceeds, it becomes necessary to speak of them cot
lectively, and treat the last of the Lemurians and
the first of the Atlanteans as one race. Oecultism
teaches that even on the early submerged eontinentsj
and during the early geological periods, there wera
civilized nations, who, under the guidance of thei^
divine Rulers, built large cities, cultivated the arts
and sciences, and were well versed in astronomy,
architecture and mathematics. Their primeval civi-
lization did not, as one might think, immediately fol-
low their physiological transformation. Between
the final evolution and the first city built, many hun-
dred thousands of years had passed. Yet we find
the sixth sub-race of the Lemarians building their
first rock cities out of stone and lava. One of these
was built entirely of lava, some thirty miles west of
Easter Island, and was entirely destroyed by .
series of volcanic eruptions. The oldest remain.s ol
Cyclopean buildings are all the handiwork of the laal
sub-races of the Lemurians, and an occultist is nol
surprised to hear that the stone relies found or
Easter Island are very much like the walls of tenh
pies in Peru, and that they also are in the Cyclopeai
etyle, (v. The Countries ot tine "World — Robt. Brow%

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 421

Vol 4, p. 43.) The first large cities, however, ap-
peared on what is now the island of Madagascar.

Gradually mankind decreased in stature, for even
before the real advent of the Fourth or Atlantean
Race, the majority of mankind had fallen into in-
iquity and sin, save the hierarchy of the " Elect,"
the followers and disciples of the " Sons of Will
and Toga " — called later the " Sons of the Fire
Mist." Then came the Atlanteans, the giants whose
physical beauty and strength reached their climax,
• in accordance with evolutionary law, toward the
middle period of their fourth sub-race. But, as said
in the Commentary :

" The last survivors of the fair child of the White
Island had perished ages before. Their (Lemuria's)
Elect had taken shelter on the sacred Island {in the
Gobi desert), while some of their accursed races,
separating from the main stock, now lived in the
jungles and underground (cave-men), when the
Fourth Race became in its turn " black with ain."
From pole to pole the Earth had changed her face
for the third time. . . . The demi-gods of the
Third had made room for the semi-demons of the
Fourth Race."

The earliest pioneers of the Fourth Race were not
Atlanteans, nor yet the human demons which they
became later. In those days large portions of the
future continent of Atlantis were yet part of the
Ocean floor. " Lemuria," as we have called the
continent of the Third Race, was then a gigantic
land, covering a large part of Southern India, Cey-
lon and Sumatra, Madagascar, Australia and Tas-
mania to within a few degrees of the Antarctic Cir-
cle, and extending into the Pacific Ocean beyond
Easter Island. Of course, as shown in the Intro-
duction, neither Lemuria nor even Atlantis were the
real archaic names of the lost continents, h\3.t a.T%.
"1 for the sake of clearness. M\au\;\* -^as Vaa

^jaaai for tl

422 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

name given to those portions of the snbmergeA
Fourth-Race continent which were " beyond tha
pillars of Hercules," and which happened to keep
above water after the general cataclysm. The last
remnant of these, Plato's Atlantis, or " Poseidon,"
perished some 11,000 years ago. Lemuria was not
submerged by a flood, but was destroyed by volcanic
action, and afterwards sank. {S. D., II., 141.)

The occult teaching shows the (now) polar re-
gions as the earliest of the seven cradles of hu-
manity, and as the tomb of the bulk of the mankind
of that region daring the Third Race, when the
gigantic continent of Lemuria began separating into
smaller continents. This is due, according to thfl
explanation in the Commentary, to a decrease of vfr
locity in the earth's rotation.

" When the Wheel runs at its usual rate, its ex-
tremities {the poles) agree with its middle circle
{the equator) ; when it runs slower and tilts in every
direction, there is a great disturbance on the face
of the Earth. The waters flow towards the tw©
ends, and new lands arise in the middle belt, while
those at the ends are submerged." . . .

And again:

" Thus the wheel {the Earth) ia subject to, and
regulated by, the Spirit of the Moon, for the breatb
of its waters (tides). Toward the close of a greall
{Root) race, the regents of the Moon (the Progeni
tors) begin drawing harder, and thus flatten tU
wheel about its belt, when it goes down in som<
places and swells in others, and the swelling ruit'
ning towards the extremities {poles), new lands will
arise and old ones be sucked in."

We have but to read astronomical and geologies]
works to see the meaning of the above very clearly.
In the epoch we are treating of the continent «
" Lemuria " had already broken up in many places,
and formed new separate continents. Neither At

^r THE SECRET 0OCTEINB 423

ca nor the Americas, however, and still less Eu-
'pe, existed in those days, nor was there much of
■eaent Asia above water. Lemuria now consisted
luge islands, which were gradually disappear-
g" one after the other, until the final convulsion
gnilfed its last remains. Easter Island, for in-
ance, belongs to the earliest civilization of the
lird Race. Submerged with the rest, a volcanic
•lifting of the ocean floor raised the small relle

the archaic ages (with its volcano and its statues
■touched) during the Champlain epoch of northern
Isr submersion, as a standing witness to the exist-
ce of Lemuria.

In the same way that the evolution of the First
ice {from the bodies of the " Progenitors ") took
ace on seven distinctly separated regions of the
ben only) Earth at the Arctic pole, so did the ulti-
ate transformation of the Third occur: it began

those northern regions including Greenland, Si-
iria and Behring's Straits, and what there was of
ry land in Central Asia, when the climate was semi-
■opical even in the Arctic regions, and most adapted
0 the needs of nascent physical man. This region,
lOWever, has been more than once frigid and trop-
eal in turn since the appearance of man. The Com-
mentary tells us that the Third Race was only about
fie middle point of its development when—

*' The axle of the Wheel tilted. The Sun and
jfoon shone no longer over the heads of that por-
'on of the Sweat-born. People knew snow, ice and
J'ost, and men, plants and animals were dwarfed in
aeir growth. Those that did not perish remained
« half-grown babes in size and intellect. (" Half-
■^"own babes " in comparison with their giant breth-
«E of other zones.) This was the third pralaya*
't the races."

Which means, again, that our globe is subject to
• Period ot diBsolution or repose, — Editor.

424 THE SECRET DOCTRINE H

Beven periodical entire changes, which go pari passu
with the Races. For the Secret Doctrine teaches
that during this Round there must be seven terres-
trial pralayas or periods of repose, three occasioned
by changes in the inclination of the earth's axis.
This is an inexorable law, known in Occultism as
" the great Adjuster." The face of the globe is en-
tirely changed each time, and it requires several
thousand years to set the new house in order.

After the submergence of the Third Race conti-
nent, Lemuria, " Men decreased considerably in stat-
ure, and the duration of their lives was diminished
Having fallen from godliness, they mixed with ani-
mal races, and intermarried with ^ants and pig-
mies {the divarfed races of the Poles). . . . MaD)"
acquired Divine, more unlawful, knowledge, and fol-
lowed willingly the Left Path," (Commentarn

!xxxni.)
Thus were the Atlanteans approaching destruc-
tion in their turn. How many geological periods it
took to accomplish this, who can tell?
tw
In
(ti
Hi
dii
su
ou
ag
fo
fe<
de

STANZA Xl.~-€ontinued.

44. They {the Atlanteans) built great
twenty-seven feet high — the size of their bodies
Inner fires had destroyed the land of their fathers
(the Lemurians). Water threatened the Fourth
Race (6).

(a) It is worth noticing that most of the statues
discovered on Easter Island, part of an undeniably
submerged continent, as well as those found on the
outskirts of the desert of Gobi (a lake for untold
ages), are between 20 and 30 feet high. The statu*^-*
found by Cook on Easter Island were almost all -"
feet high, and measured eight feet across the shoul-
ders. We are to\4 fti>.t>.\. at^sT Itve destmction

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 425

Lemiiria by subterranean fires men went on steadily
decreasing in stature, till some millions of years af-
ter their physical Pall they measured only five to sis
feet, and are now dwindling (as in the older Asiatic
races) to a height nearer five feet than six.

Another record of early and still more ^gantie
races is found in the colossal Bamiau statues. Ba-
mian is a small half-ruined town in Central Asia ; in
days of old it formed a portion of the ancient city
of Djooljool, destroyed to the last stone by Tehengis
Khan in the thirteenth century. The whole valley is
hemmed in by enormous rocks, full of partly natural,
partly artificial, caves and grottoes, once the dwell-
ings of Buddhist monks. It is at the entrance to
some of these that five colossal statues, supposedly
of Buddha, were discovered or rather rediscovered
in our century, as the famous Chinese traveller Hi-
onen Tsang speaks of them as existing when he
visited Bamian in the seventh centurv. The largest
is 173 feet high, 70 feet higher than Bartholdi's
statue of Liberty. The second is only 120 feet high,
and the other two still smaller, the last being only
a little taller than the average tall man of our own
day. The Buddhist monks covered the original
statues with plaster, and remodelled them into like-
nesses of Buddha, probably in the first century of
onr era. But they were the handiwork originally
of Initiates of the Fourth Race, who sought refuge,
after the submersion of Atlantis, among the moun-
tains of Central Asia. They are an imperishable
record of the esoteric teaching about the gradual
evolution of the races.

The largest statue represents the First Race of
mankind, its ethereal body being commemorated in
hard stone for the instruction of future generations,
as otherwise its remembrance never would have sur-
vived the Atlantean deluge. The seeonA le-pTeac&V?.
the "Sweat-born," and the third, 60 Sec\\\\^, "Oofii

426 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

race that fell, and thereby gave birth to the first
physical race, the last descendants of which are rep-
resented by the Easter Island statues ; but they were
only 20 to 25 feet in stature at the time Lemuria
was submerged after being nearly destroyed by vol-
canic fires. The Fourth Race was still smaller,
though gigantic in comparison with the Fifth, with
wliich the series ended.

Occult sciences may be less exact than the modem
sciences, but they are at least more logical and con-
sistent in their teachings. Physical forces and natu-
ral affinities of atoms may be sufficient factors to
transform a plant into an animal; but it requires
more than an interplay of certain material aggre-
gates and their environment to call to life a fvSy
conscious man.

(6) How could the records of such early races
be preserved? we may be asked. While the Egyp-
tians have on their Zodiac irrefutable proofs of rec-
ords more '■han three and a half sidereal years, or
about 87,000 years old, the Hindu calculations cover
nearly thirty-three such years, or 850,000 years.
And they possess recorded observations from the
date of the first Great Flood within the Aryan hxs-
torical memory — that which submerged the last por-
tions of Atlantis 850,000 years ago. The preceding
floods were, of course, more traditional than his-
torical. The Atlantic portion of Lemuria was the
geological basis of what is generally known as At-
lantis rather than a new mass of land upheaved to
meet the special requirements of the Fourth Root
Race. Continuity in natural processes is never
broken. Thus the Fourth Race Atlanteans went
developed from a nucleus of northern Lemnrian
Third Race men, centred, roughly speaking, on a
point of land in what is now the mid-Atlantic Ocean.
Their continent (Atlantis) was formed by the eoa-
iescenee of many isVanis aTi?i ■pem».wa\^'s. -wWch were

THE SECRET DOOTRTNE

the ordinary course of time, and became

home of the great race known as the

mteans.

STANZA XI.— Continued

45. The first great waters came. They swallowed
tiie seven great islands (a).

46. All holy saved, the unholy destroyed. With
them most of the huge animals produced from the
sweat of the earth (b).

(a) This subject, the fourth great deluge on our
globe in this Round, is fully treated later on. The
" seven great islands " belonged to the continent
of Atlantis. The secret teachings show that the del-
uge overtook the giant Fourth Race not because
of its depravity, but simply because such is the fate
of every continent, which, like all else under the sun,
is bom, grows old and dies. This destruction of
Atlantis took place while the Fifth Race was in its
infancy.

(6) Thus the magicians and sorcerers perished,
but only the unholy were destroyed. Speaking of
the following Fifth Race, the Commentary says :

" Alone the handful of those Elect whose divine
Instructors had gone to inhabit that Sacred Island
— * whence the last Saviour will come ' — now kept
mankind from becoming one-half the exterminator
of the other, {As mankind does now, H. P. B.)
Mankind became divided. Two-thirds of it were
ruled by dynasties of lower, material spirits of the
earth, who took possession of the easily accessible
bodies ; one-third remained faithful, and joined with
the nascent Fifth Race — the divine Incarnates.
When the poles moved (for the fourth time) this
did not affect those who were protected and who
had separated from the Fourth "Race. \&e \}oa

428

THE SECEET DOCTEINE

Lemurians, alone the ungodly Atlanteans perished,
and * were seen no more/ ^' . . .

STANZA XII
The Fift]^ Bace and its Divine Instbuotobs

47. Few (men) remained. Some yellow, some
brown and black and some red remained. The moon-
colored (of the primitive Divine Stock) were gone
forever (a). . . .

48. The Fifth Race produced from the Holy Stock
(remained). It was ruled by the first Divine Kings
(6).

49. The * Serpents,' who redescended (c); who
made peace with the Fifth Race, who taught and in-
structed it. . . .

(a) This verse (47) relates to the Fifth Eace.
History does not begin with it, but living and ever-
recurring tradition does. It is the sub-divisions of
the first sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race which are
referred to in the sentence ^* Some yellow,'' etc.
The *^ moon-colored " (the First and Second Races)
were gone forever, and that as far back as the third
Deluge of the Third or Lemurian Race, the ** Great
Dragon ' ' whose tail sweeps whole nations out of
existence in the twinkling of an eye. And this is
the true meaning of the verse in the Commento/r^
which says:

' ' The Gkeat Dragon has respect but for the * Sffl-
PENTS ' of Wisdom, the Serpents whose holes are
now under the triangular stones '' (i.e., the Pyra-
mids, at the four corners of the world). ^

(&) This tells us clearly that which is mentioned,
more than once elsewhere in the Commentar\tSt\
namely, that t\\e kde^l% or *' Wise '^ men of ttaj

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 429

three Races (Third, Fourth and Fifth) dwelt in sub-
terranean places, generally under some kind of
pyramidal structure, if not an actual pyramid. For
such " pyramids " existed in all the four corners
of the world, although, until they were found scat-
tered all over the two Americas, they were supposed
to be the exclusive property of Egypt. But the
" Serpents of Wisdom " have preserved their rec-
ords well, and the history of human evolution is
traced in heaven as well as on undergi'ound walls.
Humanity and the stars are indissolubly bound to-
gether because of the Intelligences that rule the lat-
ter. " It is unquestionable that the Deluge has ever
been associated by some Eastern peoples, not only
irith the Pyramids, but also with the constellations,"
writes Staniland Wake (op. dt.). " The ' Old
Dragon ' is identical with the ' great Flood,' " says
Ur. Proctor [Knoxvledge, I., p. 243) . ' ' We know that
in the past the constellation of the Dragon was at
the pole, or boss, of the celestial sphere. . . , It
is singular how closely ... the constellations
correspond in sequence and in range of right ascen-
sion with the events recorded respecting the Biblical
Flood."

The reasons for this singularity have been made
slear in this work. But it shows that there were
\everal Deluges mixed up in the memories and tra-
litions of the sub-races of the Fifth Race. The first
[Teat " Flood " was astronomical and cosmical,
fhile several others were terrestrial.

(c) We shall presently return to this point.
iCeanwhile we shall have to consider the meaning
\{ that other statement which mentions (verses 48
;Dd 49) the first divine Kings, who are said to have
' redescended, " guided and instructed our Fifth
lace after the last deluge. We shall consider this
laim historically in the sections that follow, but tbe
■ ,- comroentaj'ies on tlie archaic Stansas ea^

lin|^. coi

430 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

here. The forty-nine Verses and the few fragments
from the Commentaries we have given are all thai
can be published in these volumes. These, with some
still older records— to which none but Initiates have
access — and a whole library of comments, glossaries
and explanations form the synopsis of Man's

It is from the Commentaries that we have hitherto
quoted, and tried to explain the hidden meaning of
some of the allegories. We shall endeavor in the
following pages to establish a still closer metaphys-
ical connection between the earliest races and their
Creators, the divine men from other worlds.

The duration of the periods that separate the
Fourth from the Fifth Race — in the historical, or
even the legendary beginnings of the latter — is too
tremendous for us to offer any more detailed ac-
count of them. During the course of the post-diln-
vian ages— marked at certain periodical epochs by
the most terrible cataclysms — too many races amJ
nations were born and disappeared again, almost
without leaving a trace, for any description of them
to be of the slightest value.

Nevertheless, the history of this world since its
formation and to its end is recorded in the Zodiac
and the Universal SjTnbolism, whose Keys are in
the keeping of the Initiates.

The human Races are bom one from the other,
grow, develop, become old and die. Their sub-races
and nations follow the same rule. Since the begin-
ning of the Atlantean Race many million years have
passed, yet we find the last of the Atlanteans still
mixed up with the Aryan element, 11,000 years ago.
This shows the enormous overlapping of one race
over the race which succeeds it, though in character
and external type the elder assumes the new features
of the younger race. This is proved in all forma-
tiozis of mixed Wman taees. k^id Occultism teacheL

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 431

that even now the new Race is preparing, here in
America, under our very eyes.

Pure Anglo-Saxons hardly three hundred years
ago, the Americans of the United States have al-
ready become almost a separate race mentally and
physically, owing to the mixture of many nationali-
ties. They are, in short, the germs of the sixth Sub-
race, and in some few hundred years more will dis-
tinctly become the pioneers of that race which must
succeed the present European or fifth Sub-race.
After about 25,000 years, the preparations for the
seventh Sub-race will begin; and then the Sixth
Root-Race will appear upon the stage of our Round,
after cataclysms, the first series of which must one
day destroy Europe, and still later the whole Aryan
race, as also most of the lands directly connected
with our continent and islands. When shall this be?
Who knows, save the great Masters of Wisdom per-
chance, and they are as silent upon the subject as
the snow-clad peaks that tower above them. All we
know is that the race will silently come into exist-
ence, so silently that for long millenniums its pio-
neers will be regarded as abnormal entities, physi-
cally and mentally, until one day they will awake to
find themselves in a majority. It is the present men
who will then begin to be regarded as exoeptional,
until these die out in their turn, perhaps millions of
years hence, as the Aztecs have, and as the Nyam-
Nyam and the dwarfish Moola Koorumba of the
Nilghiri Hills are dying. All these are the rem-
nants of once mighty nations, now lost to memory,
just as we shall vanish from the remembrance of the
Sixth Race humanity.

This process of preparation for the Sixth Race
must last throughout the whole of the sixth and
seventh Sub-races. But the last remnants of the
Fifth Continent will not disappear until some time
after the birth of the new Race ; when aDoWex Ka>\

432 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

new dwelling, the Sixth Continent, will have ap
peared above the new waters on the face of the globe
To it will emigrate all those who shall be fortunat*
enough to escape the general disaster. When this
shall be, it is not for the writer to know. Only as
all things in nature move by slow degi'ees, the fina
cataclysm will be preceded by many smaller cata^
trophes, caused by tidal waves and volcanic firea
Mankind will not grow again into giant bodies, '
cause the present Race is on its ascending arc, &ni,
the Sixth will be rapidly growing out of its bonds
of flesh, and even of matter.

Thus it i.s the mankind of the New World (one b;
far the senior of our Old world) whose missio:
Karma it is to sow the seeds of a more gloriofll
Race than any we know at present. The cycles 0
Matter will be succeeded by the Cycles of Spiritual
ity and fully developed Mind, and the majority 0
future mankind will be composed of glorious A("

Such is the course of Nature under the sway a
Karmic Law: of the ever-present and the ever-ba
coming Nature. For, in the words of a Sage, knofl;
only to a few Occultists :

" The Present is the child of the Past; the Pi
ture, the begotten of the Present. And yet, O I pre(
ent moment, knowest thou not that thou hast no paj
ent, nor canst thou have a child, that thou art evi
begetting but thyself? Before thou hast even begt
to say ' I am the progeny of the departed momeE
the child of the Past,' thou hast become that pai
itself. Before tho^l utterest the last syllable, b
hold I thou art no more the Present, but verily thJ.
Future. Thus are the Past, the Present and tl
Future, the ever-living Trinity in one — the Grel
Illusion of the Absolute Is."

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Some Additional Explanations of the Preceding
Teachinos

(These additional particulars have been placed at
the end of the Comment<iry on the Stanzas, in order
that the history of the evolution of the Races might
be less interrupted and therefore clearer. — Ed.)

§1, The Divine Hermaphrodite,

After the submersion of the last remnant of the
Atlantean race, some 12,000 years ago, an impen-
etrable veil of secrecy was thrown over the occult
and religious mysteries, lest they should be shared
by the unworthy, and so desecrated.

It is this secrecy which led the Fifth Race to the
re-establishment of those religious mysteries, in
which ancient truths might be taught to the coming
generations in the guise of allegory and symbolism.
Behold the imperishable witness to the evolution of
the human races from the divine, and especially from
the androgynous race! In the Book of Enoch we
have Adam the first divine androgyne, separating
into man and woman, and becoming Jah-Heva in one
form, or Race, and Caiii and A hel (male and female)
in its other form or Race — the double-sexed Jeho-
vah * — an echo of its Aryan prototype, Brahma-
Vaeh. After which come the Third and Fourth Root-
Races of mankind — that is, races of men and women,
individuals of opposite sexes, no longer sexless semi-
spirits and androgynes, as were the two Races which
preceded them. This fact is hinted at in every an-
thropogony. It is found in fable and allegory, in
myth and revealed Scriptures, in legend and tradi-
tion. Because of all the great Mysteries, inherited
by Initiates from hoary antiquity, this is one of the
greatest. It accounts for the bisexual element found
• V. Isis VnveUed, XI„ 398,

434 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

in every creative deity. The compound name (
Jehovah, or Jah-Sovah, meaning male life and /
male life — first [mdrogynous, then separated i«
hexes — is used in this sense in Genesis from chap. I
onwards. The first and original meaning of Ena
the son of Seth was the later Third Race, bom n
the present way from man and woman, for Seth |
no man, but a race. While Seth is the first reaia
{physiologically) after the Fall, he is also the /
man, hence his son Euos is referred to as the " Son
of man." Seth represents the later Third Race.

How close is the identity between Brahma and^
Jehovah, the Bible and the Purdnas compared, aloi*
can show. In Manu {Book I., 32), Brahma, wh
also divides his body into male and female, stanc
in his esoteric meaning, as does Jehovah or Adai
in the Bible, for the symbolical personification c
creative and generative power, both divine and ht
man. Every nation, in fact, held its first god an
gods to be androgynous, nor could it be otherwial
since they regarded their primeval, dual-sexed as
cestors as divine Beings. And they were divine i
one sense, as also were their first human progeny
the " mind-born " primitive humanity, which wa
most assuredly bisexual, as all the more anciea
traditions show.

{For further details, v. Secret Doctrine 11., pp
124-130.)

gll. Deluges and Floods

In the symbolism of every nation the ' ' Deluge *
stands for chaotic, unsettled matter — Chaos itseli
and " Water " for the feminine principle — thi
" Great Deep." As the Greek Lexicon of Parkhnrsl
gives it — " Arche (the Ark) answers to the Hebre*
rasit, or Wisdom , . . and to the emblem i '
the female generatWe po^ei, Vaa Arg or Area, i

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 435

which the germ of nature (and of man) floats and
hrooda on the great Abyss of the waters, during the
interval after every mundane {or racial) cycle."
Ark is also the mystic name of the divine Spirit of
life which broods over Chaos. Now Vishnu is the
divine Spirit, as an abstract principle, and also as
the Preserver and Generator, or Giver of life — the
third person of the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity, com-
posed of Brahma the Creator, Siva the Destroyer
and Vishnu the Preserver or Saviour. Visimu is
shown in the allegory as guiding, under the form of
a fish, the Ark of Vaivasvata Manu across the
waters of the Flood. The theological meaning of the
word fish is phallic, but its metaphysical, divine.
Jesus, as well as Vishnu and Bacchus, was called
" the Fish "; I. H. S., the monogram of the Saviour
of mankind, was also that of the god Bacchus,
called IcHthuS, the fish.

The story of Vaivasvata Manu as told in the Ma-
habhdrata needs to be explained. While Vaivasvata
was engaged in devotion on the river-bank, the leg-
end runs, a fish craved his protection from a big-
g:er fish. He saved it, and it gave him the news of
the coming deluge. Vishnu ordered Vaivasvata
Manu to build a ship, in which to be saved along
with the seven Kishis (or Sages). Here Vaivasvata
Manu stands for the Fifth Race of hnmanity, and
the seven Rishis for the seven principles, which be-
came complete in man only after the separation of
the sexes, when he had become a human and no
longer a divine creature. They also stand for the
seven Races and several other things, for there is
again a double mystery involved in this manifold
allegory.

It has been said elsewhere that the great Flood
had several meanings, and that it referred, like the
Fall, to both spiritual and physical, cosmic and ter-
restrial events; as it is above, bo 'be\o'«. T:\ia ^lii^.

^
^

loo4
a of

436 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

or ark — navis — in short, being the symbol of i
female generative principle, is typified in the heav-
ens by the Moon, and on earth by the womb; both
being the vessels and bearers of the seeds of life
and being, which the sun, or Vishnu, the male prio*
ciple, vivifies and fructifies. The first Cosmic Floo^
refers to primordial creation, or the formation (
heaven and earth; in which case Chaos and th(
great Deep stand for the Flood, and the Moon for
the Ark or the " Mother " from whom proceed all'
the life-germs. But the terrestrial deluge and ItaJ
Btory has also its dual application. In one case i(
has reference to the mystery of man's salvatiMi
from utter destruction through mortal woman's be-
ing made the receptacle of the human seed at the end
of the Third Race (when Lemuria was destroyed by
volcanic action and afterwards submerged), and ^
the other ease to the real and historical Atlanteas
deluge. In both cases the Manu that saved the seej
of life is called Vaivasvata Manu. Krishna is ma^
to say in the Bhagavad Gita (chap. x. v. 6) :

" The seven great Sages, the four preceding
Manus, partaking of my essence, were born fronb
my mind; from them sprang (were bom) the hm
man races and the world."

Here the " four preceding Manus " (seven in all)L
are the four Races which have already lived, sinoa
Krishna belongs to the Fifth Race, his death having
inaugurated the Dark Age (its final stage). Thai
Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Surya (the Sun) and
the Saviour of our Race, is connected with the Seed
of Life both physically and spiritually. He is showa;
under three distinct attributes in our esoteric cos-.
mogony; as the " Root-Manu " on Globe A. in the
First Round; as the " seed of life " (or Seed-'
Manu) on Globe D. in the Fourth Round; and as the
" Seed of Man " at the beginning of every Root^
Saee, especially our 'Fiifti'B.B.fte. (,lt must be rementi

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 437

bered that the Humanity of the first life-cycle is that
of all the seven. To the last it is a constant reincar-
nation of the same Monads.)

There seems, then, to be no serious objection to
the supposition that the first " great flood " had an
allegorical as well as a cosmical meaning, and that
it happened at the end of the " Golden Age," when
the Second Root-Race, the " Mann (mankind) with
bones," made its primeval appearance as the
" Sweat-born." {The " manldnd with bones " was
the humanity of the Third Race, produced by the
Second, (v. Stanza, VII. 26.)

The second Flood — the so-called " universal " — -
which affected the Fourth Root-Race, is the first
flood perceived by geologj'. The cataclysm which
destroyed Lemuria, as said before, was due to a
series of subterranean convulsions and the breaking
up of the ocean floor. That which put an end to its
successor — Atlantis — was brought on by successive
disturbances in the axial rotation of the earth, as
well as the shifting of its axis. These disturbances
began during the earliest Tertiary period, and, con-
tinuing for long ages, carried away successively the
last vestige of Atlantis, with the exception, perhaps,
of Ceylon, and a small portion of what is now Africa.

We have few details about the submersion of the
continent inhabited by the Second Root-Race. But
Lemuria is said to have perished about 700,000 years
before the commencement of what is now called the
Tertiary age (the Eocene), while the last remnants
of Atlantis occurred about 850,000 years ago, in the
later Pliocene tiroes. This must not be confounded
with the destriTction of the main continent during
the Miocene period, several million years earlier, or
■with the submersion of Plato's island of Atlantis or
Poseidonis, some 11,000 years before our day.

But could men have existed 18,000,000 years ago I
To this occultism answers in the affiimaVvie. "^"a^e;-

438 THE SECRET DOCTKINE

over, this estimate only covers the last type of htfc
manity, the perfected male and female organisia
The two and a half Races that preceded that event
may have lived 300,000,000 years ago, for all tha
science can tell. For the geological and physical dif
Acuities in the way of the theory could not exist fo
the primeval, ethereal man of the occult teaching!
The whole discrepancy between the profane and th
esoteric sciences consists in the belief of the latte
in the existence of an astral body within the phyi
cal, and independent of it.

The Secret Doctrine maintains that physical hi
manity has existed upon this globe for the last 1ft
000,000 years, notwithstanding its general cab
clysms and disturbances, which, owing to the Fourt
Round being its period of greatest material develoj
ment, were far more terrible and intense than doi
ing any of the three preceding Rounds, the eyclt
of its earlier psychic and spiritual life and of H
semi-ethereal conditions. This period of 18,000,00
years was preceded by 300,000,000 years of miners
and vegetable development. The Occultists answe
many of the objections of both theologians and seiej
tists by maintaining that during those periods wh8
there must have been insufferable heat, even at ti
two poles, successive floods, upheavals of the valleyi
and constant shifting of the great waters and seal
none of these eircumstanees could interfere wit
such human organisms and life as they say existfl
in those early periods. Neither deleterious gas(
nor the perils of a scarcely consolidated crust coal
prevent the First and Second Races from makia
their appearance during the Carboniferous or eva
the Silurian Age. The conditions necessary for ti
earliest race of mankind required no elements, eithi
simple or compound. The spiritual ethereal EntitJ
which lived in spaces unknown to Earth before th
Srst sidereal " jelly-apecV " eNCiVqeAm the oceau Q

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 439

crude cosmic matter, needed no " elements." And
wiiile even the Monera, however homogeneous their
organism, still required physical conditions of life
that would further their evolution, the being which
became primitive Man, and the " Father of Man,"
after evolving on planes of existence undreamed of
by science, could well remain impervious to any state
of atmospheric conditions. The primitive ancestor
of the Mexican legends who could live with equal
ease under ground or water or upon the surface,
answers only to the Second and early Third Races
of our test. And if the three kingdoms of nature
were so different in pre-diluvian ages, why should
not man have been composed of materials and com-
binations of atoms now entirely unknown to physical
science? The Comi«en(arj/ saya; " Universal Gene-

■ BIS starts from the one, breaks into three, then five,
and finally culminates in the seven, to return into
four, three and one."

Such terrestrial conditions as were operative In
the time of primeval men had no touch with the
plane on which the evolution of the ethereal astral
races proceeded. Only in relatively recent geological
periods has the course of cyclic law swept mankind
into the lowest grade of physical evolution— the
plane of gross material causation. In those early
ages astral evolution was alone in progress, and the
two planes, the astral and the physical, though de-
veloping on parallel lines, had no direct point of
contact with one another. And although these planes
ran parallel with one another even in the earliest
geological ages, yet they were not in the same phases
of manifestation as at present. The earth did not
reach its greatest degree of density till 18,000,000
years ago. Since then both the physical and astral
planes have become gi-osser.

Analogy is the guiding law in Nature, the ohIy

yma Ariadne 's thread that can lead ua ftiTOM^VftT

440 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

labyrinthine mysteries. If we can conceive of a ball
of fire-mist becoming gradually a self-Iuminons
globe, to settle into a man-bearing world or earth,
thus having passed from a soft plastic body into a
rock-bound globe, and if we see everything on it
evolving from the monerou into the form of an ani-
mal, to grow into a gigantic reptile of the Mesozoie
times only to dwindle again into the comparatively
dwarfish crocodile, and the small iguana lizard, can
man alone escape the general law?

Again, to take up the question of spontaneons
generation — Pasteur and Tyndall have disposed of
it, we are told. But even if it were shown to be im-
possible in our present world-period and actual con-
ditions^— which the Occultists deny — still that would
be no proof that it could not have taken place under
difFerent cosmic conditions. If now it almost es-
capes detection, it was in full swing in the genesis
of terrestrial life. For life, as science shows, has
not always reigned on this terrestrial plane. There
was a time when even the Haeckelian Moneron, that
simple globule of protoplasm, had not yet appeared
at the bottom of the seas. Whence came the impulse
which caused the molecules of carbon, oxygen, nitro-
gen, etc., to group themselves into the Urschleim of
Oken, that organic " slime " now christened proto-
plasm? If, according to Lord Kelvin's wild theory,
the life-germs of Earth fell in meteorites from other
planets, who or what had carried them into those
planets 1 Here again, unless the Occult teaching be
accepted, we are compelled to adopt the theory of
a personal, anthropomorphic Creator, instead of the
idea of the absolute Divine Thought pervading the
numberless active, creating Forces or " Creators."
which entities are moved by and have their being in,
from and through that Divine Thought. These crea-
tors are like the rays of the sun, which remains \m-
conscious of, and unconcerned in, their work ; while

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 441

its meditating agents, the rays, become the instru-
mental media every spring— the dawn of the Earth's
life-cycle — in awakening and fructifying the dor-
mant vitality inherent in Nature. Plato and other
philosophers taught the same: Deity cannot set
its own hand to creation.

§111, Edens, Serpents and Dragoms

Christians will maintain that the Garden of Eden
is the holy Paradise desecrated by the sin of Adam
and Eve, but the Occultist will deny this dead-letter
interpretation. Many details as to the Garden of
Eden are given in Isis Unveiled, Vol. I., p. 575 et
seq. It will be, perhaps, sufficient to say here that
Eden, or the Hebrew Gan-Eden, meaning the park
or garden of Eden, is an archaic name of the country
watered by the Euphrates and its many branehes,
from Asia and Armenia to the Erythriean sea.
" Though containing the same substratum of eso-
teric truth, as does every early cosmogony, the He-
brew Scripture wears on its face the marks of a
double origin. Its Genesis is purely a reminiscence
of the Babylonian captivity. The names of places,
men and even objects can be traced from the orig-
inal texts to the Chaldeans and Akkadians, the pro-
genitors and Aryan instructors of the former.
. . . . They (the Akkadians) were simply emi-
grants on their way to Asia Minor from India, the
cradle of humanity, and their sacerdotal adepts tar-
ried to civilize and initiate a barbarous people."
(v. loc. cit.) In fact, the Jewish Biblical history
was a compilation of historical facts, arranged from
other people's history in Jewish garb— Genesis ex-
cepted, which is esotericism pure and simple. The
Garden of Eden was never the property of the Jews,
for China, which can hardly be suspected of having
known anything of the Jews 2,000 years before

442 THE SECBET DOCTRINE

Christ, has sueh a primitive garden in Centra! Asia,
inhabited by the " Dragons of Wisdom," the Ini-
tiates. A Japanese eneyclopEedia places its " Gar-
den of Wisdom " on the plateau of Pamir between
the highest peaks of the Ilimalayan ranges, and de-
scribing it as the culminating point of Central Asia,
shows the four rivers Oxus, Indus, Ganges and Silo,
flowing from a common source, the ' ' Lake of tlie
Dragons." But this is neither the Eden of Genesis
nor of the Kabala, for the former means in one
sense Wisdom, a state like that of Nirvana, and in
another sense refers to intellectual man himself, the
container of the Eden in which grows the Tree of
Knowledge, man being the Knower thereof.

" Behold," say the Elokim of Genesis, " man is
become as one of us." The Elohim may be accepted
as gods or powers, or as the Aleim, the hierophants,
initiated into the good and evil of the world, for
there was a college of priests called the Aleim, while
their head was known as Java-Aleim. Instead of
becoming a neophyte, and gradually obtainLng his
esoteric knowledge through a regular initiation, an
Adam, or Man, n^es his intuitional faculties, and
prompted by the Serpent {Woman and Matter),
tastes of the Tree of Knowledge — the esoteric wis-
dom— unlawfully. The priests of Hercules or MeJ-
Karth, the " Lord of the Eden," all wore " coats of
skin." The text says : " And Java-Aleim made for
Adam and his wife coats of skin." (This text is usu-
ally applied to the physical body, the outer covering
of the astral.)

The " primitive humanity " of the scientists was
really in its Fifth Race when the " four-mouthed
Dragon," the lake (of the four rivers), of whicli
few traces are now left, was the abode of the " Sons
of Wisdom," the first Mind-born sons of the Third
Eaee. That Eden was neither the only nor the first
cradle of humanity, though it was in truth a copy

ETHE SECEET DOCTRINE 443

B cradle of the first thinking divine man. It was
tiie Paradesa of the first Sanskrit-speaking people ;
the Hedone, the country of delights, of the Greeks,
but it was not " the bower of voluptuousness " of
the Chaldeans, for the latter was only a reminiscence
of it, nor was it there that the Fall of Man occurred
after the " separation." The Eden of the Jews
was a copy of the Chaldean copy.

That the Fall of man into generation occurred
1 during what science calls the Mesozoic,* or Age of
• reptiles, is evidenced by the Bible phraseology con-
I ceming the Serpent, as explained by the Zohar.
The question is not whether the story be an allegory,
for no one can doubt that, but to show the antiquity
of the symbolism on the face of it, and the univer-
t sality of the idea. The Zohar describes the Serpent
I'of Eden as a sort of flying camel, and in the Avesta
I it is represented as a huge serpent with a camel's
, neck, which after the Fall lost ' ' its nature and its
name." There are no " flying camels " or winged
serpents now, but that is no reason why they should
I not have existed during the Mesozoic age, when the
j Plesiosaurus, the Pterodactyl and the Mosasaurus
I lived, and furnished types more or less like a flying
] camel or a long-neeked dragon. Prof. Cope has
shown that the Mosasauras was a winged serpent,
! and that there were characteristics in its vertebrae
I which indicated union with the serpents rather than
the lizards. Antiquity has never claimed palseon-
tography or palgeontology as among its arts and
sciences, yet on Babylonian tiles, and especially in
old Chinese and Japanese drawings in ancient pago-
das, and in the Imperial Library at Pekin, many a
traveller has seen and recognized perfect represen-
tations of Plesiosaurii and Pterodactyls, while the
Biblical prophets speak of flying serpents, (v. Is.
XXX. 6.) Herewehave extinct species of animals which
•Or Seeondary Age, — Editor.

444 THE SECRET DOCTKINE

disappeared from the face of the earth millions of
years ago, described by nations whose civihzation,
it is said, cannot be more than a few thousand years
old. How is thisf Evidently either the Secondary
must be made to overlap the Quaternary period or
man must be made the contemporary of the Plesio-
sanrus and the Pterodactyl. But as these creatnrea
ceased to exist with the bulk of the Third Race, m
should regard the mediasval legends of flying drag-
ons as dreams. The sea-serpent is one thing, the
dragon quite another.

The Occultists know that the serpent, the Naga,
and the dragon have each a septenary meaning.
Mystics intuitionaliy see in the serpent of Genesis
an animal emblem and a high spiritual essence; S
super-intelligent cosmic force, ' ' a great fallen
light," a spirit sidereal, aerial and tellurian at the
same time. From the beginning it was a symbol.
In every ancient language the word dragon signified
what it does now in Chinese, ' ' the being who excels
in intelligence," and in Greek, " he who sees and
watches." Could such epithets be applied to a snake,
and is it not evident that they were intended for the
human originals who were symbolized by serpents
and dragons? These " originals " — called to this
day in China " the Dragons of Wisdom "—were the
first disciples of the " Lords of Wisdom " who were
their instructors ; in short, they were the primiti^'e
adepts of the Third Race, and later of the Fourth
and Fifth Races. The name became universal, and
no sane man before the Christian era would ever
have confounded the man and the symbol. Neither
Enoch, Nebo nor Thot-Hermes is a proper name,
but a generic title of many adepts. Their connec-
tion in symbolic allegories with the serpent is due to
their enlightenment by the solar and planetary gods
during the earliest intellectual Race, the Third.
They are all the representative patrons of the Secret

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 445

"Wisdom. Asclepios is the son of the Suu-god Apollo,
and he is Mercury; Nebo is the son of Bel-Mero-
dach. They were all " serpents of wisdom," con-
nected with the Sun astronomically and with Wis-
dom spiritually.

In Isis Unveiled (II., 293-4) we read:

" From the region of unfathomable depth (By-
thos, Aditi, Shekinah, the Veil of the Unknown) is-
sues a circle formed of spirals. This is Tiphereth
(the Spiritual Sun *), which in the language of sym-
bolism means a grand cycle composed of smaller
ones. Coiled within, so as to follow the spirals,
lies the Serpent — emblem of Wisdom and Eternity —
the dual Androgyne ; the cycle representing Ennoia,
or the Divine Mind (a power which does not create
but must assimilate), and the Serpent the Agatho-
demon, the Ophis, the Shadow of the Light (non-
eternal, yet the greatest divine light r.n our plane).
Both were the Logoi of the Ophites, or the Unity as
Logos manifesting itself as a double principle of
Good and Evil."

Were it light alone, inactive and absolute, the
human mind could not appreciate or even realize it.
Shadow is that which enables light to manifest itself,
and gives it objective reality. Therefore, shadow is
not evil, but the necessary corollary which completes
Light, or Good; it is its Creator on Earth.

According to the Gnostics, these principles are
immutable; Light and Shadow, Good and Evil being
virtually one, and having existed through all eter-
nity, as they will ever continue to exist so long as
there are manifested worlds.

Now it may be understood why the earliest Ini-
tiates and Adepts, or the " Wise Men " (for whom
it is claimed that they were initiated into the mys-
teries of nature by the highest angels, representing
the Universal Mind), were named " Serpents of
*ride IsiB, II., 213.— EMor.

446 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Wisdom " and " Dragons." as also how the first
physiologically complete human beings after being
initiated into the mystery of hnman creation by
Ophis, the manifested Logos, gradually began to be
accused by the material spirit of posterity of hav-
ing committed sin, of having disobeyed the ' ' Lord
God, ' ' and of having been tempted by the Serpent.

So little did the first Christians understand tie
esoteric meaning of the first four chapters of Genesis
that they never perceived that not only was no sin in-
tended in this disobedience, but that the " Serpent "
was actually the " Lord God " himself, who, as the
Ophis, the Logos or the bearer of divine creative
wisdom, taught mankind to become creators in th«r
turn. They never realized that the Cross was an
evolution from " the Tree " and " the Serpent,"
thus becoming the salvation of mankind.

The allegory of Adam being driven away from
the " Tree of Life " means esoterically that to
newly separated race abused the mystery of life-
giving, and dragged it down into the regions of ani-
malism and sensuality. Nevertheless, the separa-
tion of the sexes was in the programme of natare
and of divine evolution, and tlie creative faculty in
male and female was a gift of Divine Wisdom. As
is said elsewhere, it was the abuse, not the use, of
this power that made the sin.

§rV. The Sons of God and the Sacked Island

The legend given in Isis (Vol. I., p. 589), in rela-
tion to a portion of the globe known as one of the
seven cradles of primeval humanity, ran as follows
(somewhat condensed) :

" Tradition says, as well as the records of the
Book of Dzyan, that long before the days of Adam,
where now are found but salt and barren deserts,
there stretched a vas\, ydXw&A sta, which extended

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 447

over Middle Asia, nortli of the Himalayas. Upon
' an island in this sea, unrivalled in its beauty, dwelt
! the last remnant of the race preceding ours."

This " last remnant " meant the " Sons of Will
, and Yoga, ' ' * who with a few tribes survived the
I great cataclysm. For it is the Third Race, inhabiting
the great Lemurian Continent, that preceded the ver-
itable and complete human races, the Fourth and
I the Fifth. " This race," continues the passage
I quoted, " could live with equal ease in water, air or
( fire, for it had an unlimited control over the ele-
I ments. It was this race who imparted Nature's
' most weird secrets to men, and revealed to them
; the ineffable and now lost ' word.' . . . The
hierophants of all the Sacerdotal Colleges were
aware of the existence of this island, now an oasis in
' the middle of the great Gobi Desert, but the ' word '
I -was known only to the chief Lord of every college,
and was passed to his successor only at the moment
of death. There was no communication with the
island by sea, but subterranean passages, known
only to the chiefs, led to it from all directions." It
is a fact, kuown to the initiated Brahmins and Yogis
of India, that there is not a cave-temple in the coun-
try but has its subterranean passages running in
every direction, which lead, in their turn, to other
caves and corridors. . . . The hierophants were
divided into two distinct classes; those who had
been instructed by the " Sons of God " o-f the island,
and who were initiatfcd in the divine doctrine'of pure
revelation, and the Lemuro-Atlanteans, the first
who had a dynasty of Spirit-'Kiags, not manes or
ghosts, as some believe, bat actual living demi-gods
or angels, who had assumed bodies to rule over them,
and who, in their turn, instructed them in arts and
sciences. Only as th^se Spirits were material they
were not always good. And it was under ■ttxe eV-Ct
• y. Diagram Y.

448 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

influenee of one of these rulers that the Atlanfcan
race became a race of wicked magicians.

Whatever the cosmic or astronomical event that
first gave rise to the allegory of the " War id
Heaven," its earthly origin has to be sought in the
temples of Initiation and archaic crypts. This is
proved by the facts that follow:

(a) We find the priests assuming the name of the
gods they served; (b) the " Dragons " lield
throughout all antiquity as the symbols of Immor-
tality and Wisdom, of secret Knowledge and of
Eternity; and (c) the hierophants of Egypt, of
Babylonia and of India styling themselves generally
the " Sons of the Dragon " and " Serpents," while
the legend of the war between the Sun-god and the
Dragon is found in every early religion.

There were numerous catacombs in Egypt and
Chaldea, some of them of vast .extent. The most
renowned were the subterranean crypts of Thebes
and Memphis. The former extended towards the
Libyan desert and were known as the " Serpent's "
catacombs. It was there that were performed the
sacred mysteries of the " Cycle of Necessity," and,
furthermore, the " War in Heaven "is shown in one
of its significations to have symbolized those ter-
rible struggles of the candidate for adeptship with
his (magically) personified human passions, when
the inner enlightened man either had to slay then
or fail. In the former ease he became the " Dragon-
Slayer," as having overcome all temptations, and
a " Serpent " as having cast off his old skin and
being born in a new hody, becoming a Son of Wis-
dom and Immortality in Eternity.

Terrestrially all these allegories were connected
with the trials of adeptship and initiation. Astro-
nomically they referred to the solar and lunar
eclipses, the mythical explanations of which we find
to this day in India aud C^e^XoTi. _

^■^ THE SECKET DOCTKINE 449

By simply comparing the Sun-gods of every coun-
try, we find their allegories corresponding perfectly
with each other, and the more occult the symbols
the more perfectly they agree. If from three sys-
tems widely differing from each other in appearance
— the old Aryan, the ancient Greek and the modern
Christian — we select several sun-gods and dragon
myths, they will seem to be, copied from each other.

Take ludra, the firmament, and Kartikeya (Mars)
from the Hindus; Apollo from the Greeks, and
Michael, the " Angel of the Sun," from the Chris-
tian scheme. While Indra the bright god of the
firmament kills the Serpeut-Demon, Vritra, he also
leads the host of angels against other gods who have
rebelled against Brahma, for which he is called
" leader of the celestial Host." Kartikeya does
much the same, and bears the same titles. Karti-
keya was commissioned to fight the Dragon, and
BO was Michael. Both are (like Indra) " leaders of
the celestial Host," both are virgins, both " spear-
holders, * ' etc. Kartikeya is the original of St.
Michael and St. George, as surely as Indra is the
prototype of Kartikeya.

Now take Apollo, the Grecian sun-god, and see if
he does not answer to all the above. He is the sun-
god par excellence, and at the moment of his birth
ssks for his bow to kill Python, the Demo-dragon,
who attacked his mother before his birth. He is called

the pure," and Python, moreover, connects Apollo
with Michael, who, " with his angels," fought the
Apocalyptic Dragon. " And the dragon stood be-
fore the woman who was ready to be delivered, for
to devour her child as soon as it was born " (Rev.
xii., 4-5), as the Python attacks the mother of
Apollo. The late George Smith (in his The Chaldean
Account of Genesis, p. 304) gave the same tradi-
tion from one of the Chaldean tablets, wherein. M-ftxia-

ich leads the heavenly Host against tVft "Gta-^fna..

450 THE SECRET DOCTEINE '

The war of course ends in the triuinpli of the prin-
ciples of Good.

This war of the gods with the powers of the Deep
refers also, in its last and terrestrial application,
to the struggle between the Aryan adepts of the
nascent Fifth Eace and the sorcerers of Atlantis,
the demons of the Deep, who disappeared in tbe
Deluge, (v. last pages of Vol. I. of Isis UnveUed,
on Atlantis.)

The symbol of the dragons, and of the " "War
Heaven," have more than one meaning, as alrea(
stated, religious, astronomical, geological and M
mological events being included in one common i
legory, so that the conflict between India and '
dragon may signify the slaying of the Demon
Drought by the beneficent thunder-storm and rai
We have said elsewhere that the " woman wit
child " of Rev. 12 answered to Binah the thil
Sephiroth, " whose name is Jehovah," and tl
" dragon " who seeks to devour her coming chil
(the IlHiverse) is the Dragon of Absolute Wisdffi
— that Wisdom which, recognizing the non-separat
ness of the Universe and everything in it from '"
Absolute All, sees in it only the Great Illusion,
cause of misery and suffering.

Samael or Satan, the Serpent of Genesis, is idffl
tical with the Simoom, the hot wind of the desi
as Typhon (or Typhoon) is the all-destroying de3(
wind, and also the darkness of night. Cosmologi
ally, then, all the dragons and serpents conquered "
their " Slayers " are, originally, the turbulent e(
fused principles in Chaos, brought to order by I
Sun-gods or creative powers. The fact is, tha't 1
serpent has always been a dual symbol, as well
the dragon, according to the way it is employed. The
appellation Sa'tan, in Hebrew satan, " an adver-
sary," belongs by right to Jehovah, the first and

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 451

xsmelest ** adversary of all the other gods,** not to
'■- the Serpent, which spoke only words of sympathy
- and wisdom. The name Jehovah was a blind, created

* purposely by the Rabbins, a secret preserved by

* them with ten-fold care after the Christians had de-
jg spoiled them of this God-name. But the personage
%, who is named in the first four chapters of Genesis
p as ** God," the '' Lord God " and '' Lord " simply
I is not one and the same person, and certainly not
V Jehovah. There are three distinct classes or groups
% of the Elohim (called Sephiroth in the Kabala),
I" Jehovah appearing only in chapter iv., in the first

verse of which he is named Cain, and in the last
transformed into manJcind — ^male and female, Jah-
l' veh. In V. 26 of this chapter, correctly translated,
:: we should read, * * Then began men to call themselves
I by the name of the Lord,'' i.e., Jah-veh, or '* male
\i and female,'' to show that from that time the race
f^ of distinctly separated men and women began. The
** Serpent," moreover, is not Satan, but the bright
Angel, one of the Elohim, clothed in radiance and
glory, who, promising the woman that if she and
the man ate of the forbidden fruit '* ye shall not
swely die/^ kept his promise and made man im-
mortal in his incorruptible nature. He was the lao
of the mysteries, the chief of the androgyne creators
of men. Chapter iii. (of Genesis) contains — eso-
terically — the withdrawal of the veil of ignorance
that closed the perceptions of the Angelic Man made
in the image of the ' * Boneless ' ' gods, and the open-
ing of his consciousness to his real nature; thus
showing the bright angel (Lucifer) in the light of
a giver of Immortality and as the Enlightener, while
the real Fall into generation and matter is to be
found in chapter iv. There is no Devil, and no Evil
Outside mankind to produce a devil. Evil is a neces-
sity in, and one of the supporters of, the manifested

452 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

universe. It is as necessary for progress and evolu-
tion as night for the production of day, and dentb
for that of lite— that man may live forever.

A knowledge of the character and chronology of
the Races of mankind formed part and parcel of
the Mysteries, in which such knowledge was tang' '
to the disciples, and transmitted from one hie]
phant to another. Many of these calculations as
duration, etc., were based upon the conjunction of tl
planets, and the signs of the Zodiac. One of tli)
most esoteric Egyptian cycles is based upon certa''
conjunctions and relative positions of Virgo and tl
Pleiades. As the Egyptians brought their Zo^"
from Southern India and Ceylon, the Hindu
Egyptian symbolisms are identical. The thi
" Virgins," or Virgo in three different positioi
meant, with both nations, the record of the first thri
" divine or astronomical Dynasties," who taught
Third Koot-Race, and after having abandoned
AtlanteauB to their doom, returned (or redescen(
rather) during the third Sub-race of the Fifth Roc
Race in order to reveal to saved humanity the myfc]
teries of their birthplace, the sidereal heavens. Tbe
same symbolical record of the human races and the
three dynasties (Gods, Manes, semi-divine astrals
of the Third and Fourth, and the " Heroes " of the
Fifth Race) which preceded the purely human kings
was found in the Egyptian Labyrinth. As the three
inversions of the poles alluded "to of course changed
the face of the Zodiac, a new one had to be con-
structed each time.

The civilization of the Atlanteans, who must not
be regarded as one race, or even one nation, was
greater even than that of the Egyptians. It was
their degenerate descendants, the nation of Plato's
Atlantis, who built the first Pyramids, men " who,
skilful in the ancient mysteries, by means of which
tbey divined the commg, ol B.ftocid, eonstructed also

^P THE SECRET DOCTRINE 453

Bubterranean passages and winding retreats, lest
the memory of their sacred ceremonies should be
lost." (Ammianus Mareellinus.)

The human dynasty of the older Egyptians, be-
ginning with Menes, had all the knowledge of the
Atlanteans, though there was no more Atlantean
blood in their veins. Nevertheless, they had pre-
served all their archaic records, and it is just be-
cause the Egyptian Zodiac is between 75,000 and
80,000 years old that the Zodiac of the Greeks is far
later. Up to the present date (1903) 17,097 years
only have elapsed since the Greek (or rather Hel-
lenic) origin of the Zodiac.

§V. SroEREAL AND CoSMIC GlYPHS.

Every astronomer — as well as Occultists and As-
trologers—knows that figuratively the Astral Light,
the Milky Way and also the path of the Sun to the
tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, as well as the
cycles of the Sidereal or Tropical year, were always
called " Serpents," in the allegorical phraseology
of the Adepts.

But one ought to discriminate between the char-
acters of this symbol. For instance, Zoroastrian
esotericism is identical with that of the Secret Doc-
trine, and when we read in the Vendidad of the
"Serpent" whose bite transforms the eternal
spring of Airyana into a winter laden with disease
and death, all Occultists know that the Serpent al-
luded to is the North Pole, as also the Pole of the
heavens. The latter changed the seasons according
to the angle at which it penetrated the centre of the
earth. When the two axes were no longer parallel,
the beautiful eternal spring of Airyana had die-
appeared.

Mem, the abode of the gods, was placed at the
North Pole, while Patala {the antipodes'^, ftietift^lMfc

454 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

region, was supposed to lie at the South Pole,
every symbol in esoteric philosophy has seven ke;
geographically Meru and Pdtala represent locali-
ties, while astronomically they stand for the two
poles, which led to their being often represented
exoterically as the "Mountain" and the "Pit,"
or Heaven and Hell. As Meru was the high abode
of the Gods, they were said to ascend and descend
periodically ; by which (astronomically) the Zodiacal
gods were meant, the passing of the original North
Pole of the Earth to the South Pole of the Heavens.
When the gods are said to forsake the earth it does
not only mean the divine Instructors and Protectors,
but also the minor gods — the regents of the Zodiacal
signs. The former, as actual and existing Entities
which gave birth to, nourished and instructed man-
kind in its early youth, appear in every Scripture.
In that of the Zoroastrians the " Lord of Wisdom "
is the synthesis of the "Immortal Benefactors,"
or the Logos and its sis highest aspects. They are
described as " the shining, having efficacious eyes,
great, helpful . . . imperishable and pure . . .
which are all seven of like mind, like speech, like
action . . . which are the creators and destroy
ers of the creatures of the Lord of Wisdom, their
creators and overseers, their protectors and rulers."

These few lines alone indicate the dual, and even
triple, character of these " Serpents of Wisdom."
They are also the " Angels of the Stars *' of the
Christians, or of the seven planets, in every religion.
The expression — "the shining, having efBcaeions
eyes " proves it. This on the physical and sidereal
planes. On the spiritual, they are the divine powers
of the Logos ; on the astral or psychic again, they
are the " Builders," the Watchers, the Fathers and
the first Teachers of mankind.

When men shall have become sufficiently spiritnaJ-
ized, they will know ftia\. VJawe tie^w ■^et was a gnet

■M

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 455

World-reformer whose name has come down to us,
who was not (1) a direct emanation of the Logos —
nnder whatever name known to us — i.e., an essential
incarnation of " the divine Spirit who is seven-
fold," and (2) who had not appeared before during
earlier cycles. Men will recognize then the cause of
much of the confusion as to the multiplication of
Zoroasters, why the Rishis and Manus are so mixed
up, why Krishna and Gautama Buddha speak of
themselves as reincarnations, why Osiris is at once a
great God, and a " prince on earth," who reappears
in Thoth-Hermes, and why Jesus is recognized
(among other personalities) in Joshua the Son of
Nun. The esoteric doctrine explains it by saying
that each of these (and many others) had first ap-
peared on earth as one of the seven powers of the
Logos, individualized as a God or an angel (mes-
senger) ; then clothed in matter they had reappeared
in turn as great sages, who taught the different
Races, ruled during the Divine Dynasties, and finally
sacrificed themselves to be reborn under various
circumstances for the good of mankind and its sal-
vation at certain critical periods; nntil in their last
incarnations they had become truly only the " parts
of a part " on earth, though de facto the One Su-
preme in Nature.

This is the metaphysics in Theogony. And as
every " Power " among the seven (once individual-
ized) has in his charge one of the elements of crea-
tion and rules over it, hence the many and often
confusing meanings in every symbol. (The elements
referred to are: the cosmic, the terrene, the min-
eral, the vegetable, the animal, the aqueous (as-
tral), and finally the human — in their physical, psy-
chic and spiritual aspects.) As Lares (from the
Etruscan word " lars," to conduct or lead) these
Powers were the protectors of men, while astronomi-
eally they were the seven planets, ^qt ■^xn'^ci^.ft'i *A

456 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

exoteric or phallic worship, as also cosmieally, they
were the Kahiri, or Titans. They all belonged, how-
ever, to the septenary groups of Creative Powers.
"While in Samothrace and the oldest Egyptian tem-
ples they were the great Cosmic Gods, the 7 and 49:
Saored Fires (of Consciousness), in the Greciant
fanes their rites became mostly phallic, therefore ti
the profane, obscene. In the latter case they were 3
and 4, or 7 — the male and female principles (the crm
ansata); this division showing why some classicai
writers held that they were only three, others four.
But the fact that astronomically the Kabiri or.
Titans were also the generators of the seasons, and
cosmieally the great volcanic energies, does not pre-
vent their being in their original divine character,
the beneficent Entities, symbolized in PrometheaSt
who brought light to the world and endowed humani
ity with reason. They are called the *' Sons of thfli
Fire " in India, and the name Kahiri is said to comff
from the Greek word Kaio, " to burn." Their cult
was always connected with fire, and their temples
were built in the most volcanic localities. To them
is ascribed the invention of letters, of laws and legia-^^
lature, of architecture, magic and the medical usft
of plants, as well as the introduction upon earth oi^
fire by friction and of wheat. For wheat has neuffl
been found in the wild state, it is not a product o]
this earth.

§VI. The " CuKSB " fbom a Philosophical Point
OP View

Before offering to the student the history of th(
psychic and spiritual evolution of the direct fori
fathers of our Fifth (Aryan) Race humanity, w
have to explain a few more facts, and more espi
oiaUy to dispose of that moat pernicious of all thw

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 457

logical dogmas — the Curse under which mankind ia
alleged to have suffered ever since the supposed dis-
obedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Creative powers in man were the gift of Divine
wisdom, not the result of sin. The curse was not
brought on mankind by the Fonrth Race, for the
comparatively sinless Third Race, the still more
^gantie Antediluvians, had perished also ; hence the
Deluge was no punishment, but simply the result of
a periodical and geological law. Nor was the curse
of Karma called down upon them for seeking natu-
ral miion as all the mindless animal world does in
its proper seasons, but for abusing the creative
power, and desecrating the divine gift for no pur-
pose except bestial personal gratification. When
understood, the third chapter of Genesis will be
found to refer to the Adam and Eve of the latest
Third and earliest Fourth Races. In the beginning
the bearing of children was as easy for the woman
as for all animal creation. Nature had never in-
tended that she should bring forth her young ones
" in sorrow." Since that period, however, during
the evolution of the Fourth Race, there came en-
mity between its seed and the " Serpent's " seed,
the product of Karma and Divine wisdom. For the
seed of woman or lust bruised the head of the seed
of the fruit of wisdom and knowledge by turning
the holy mystery of procreation into animal gratifi-
cation ; hence the law of Karma bruised the heel of
the Atlantean Race by gradually changing the whole
nature of the Fourth Race of mankind, until from
the healthy King of the animal creation in the Third
Race, man has become in the Fifth, our own Race,
a helpless, scrofulous being, a prey to constitutional
and hereditary diseases, the most consciously and
intelligently bestial of all animals!

This is the real Curse from the physiological
standpoint, alm«st the only one touched upon in the

458 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

Kabalistie esoterieism. The intellectual evolntion,
in its progress liand-in-hand with the physical, has
certainly been a blessing instead of a curse *
quickened by the "Lords of Wisdom," who have
poured on the human mind the fresh dew of their
own spirit and essence. Prometheus having endowed
man, according to Plato's Protagoras, with that
" wisdom which ministers to physical well-being,"
hut the lower aspect of his animal nature having
remained unchanged, instead of "an untaintea
mind, heaven's first gift " (jEschylus), there waa
created the eternal vulture of ever unsatisfied dfr.
sire, unto the day when Prometheus is released bjf
his heaven-appointed deliverer, Herakles.

Christian writers, especially Roman Catholiea*
have tried to connect this drama with a prophecy o
the coming of Christ. No greater mistake could 1)
made. The myth belongs neither to Hesiod nor t
^schylus, but in truth to the dawn of human coB

IBciousncss. The crucified Titan is the personifie
symbol of the collective Logos, " the Host," and q
the " Lords of Wisdom " or the Heavenly Mas
who incarnated in Humanity. Moreover,
name shows (from pro metis, " forethought "), ]
the arts he devised and taught to mankind, psych*
logical insight and foresight were not the least. Fa
as he complains to the daughters of Oceanos :
:
on
tie*

' Of prophecies the various modes I fixed.
And among dreams did first discriminate
The truthful vision . , . and mortals guid<
To a mysterious art. . . .
All arts to mortals from Prometheus came.

The Promethean myth is a prophecy indeed, In
it does not relate to any of the cyclic Saviours w|

•Huxley Bays: "SufferlnB came into the world act In co .,_.
' a fall, hut of a rise. In the scale of being." v. Science and 01
tian Tradition.— BiWOT.

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 459

have appeared periodically in various countries and
among various natures, in their transitional condi-
tions of evolution. It points to the last of the mys-
teries of cyclic transformations, during which man-
kind, having passed from the ethereal to the solid
physical state, from spiritual to physiological pro-
creation, is now carried upward on the opposite are
of the cycle, towards that second phase of its primi-
tive state, when the woman knetv not man, and hu-
man progeny was created, not begotten. That state
will return when the world at large shall discover
and really appreciate the truths which underlie this
vast problem of sex.

Between Zeus, the abstract deity of Grecian
thought, and the Olympic Zeus, there was an abyss.
The latter represented during the mysteries no
higher principle than the lower aspect of human
physical intelligence, Mind wedded to Desire; Pro-
metheus symbolized the divine aspect of the Mind
merging into and aspiring to the Dirine Soul. Zeus
was the human soul and nothing more whenever
shown as the jealous God, revengeful and cruel in
its egotism. Hence Zeus is represented as a ser-
pent— the intellectual tempter of man — which, never-
theless, begets in the course of cyclic evolution the
" Man-Saviour," the solar Bacchus or " Dionysus,"
more than a man. Dionysus is one with OsLris,
with Krishna, with Buddha, and with the coming
(tenth) Avatar, the glorified Spiritual Christos, who
will deliver the suffering Christos (mankind), the
old teachings say, at the end of the Dark Age. It
is only after the appearance of this tenth, or ' ' White
Horse " Avatar, that man will be born from woman
without sin. Then will Brahma, Zeus, Jehovah and
all the gods of human fancy vanish and disappear
in thin air. And with them will vanish their shad-
ows, the darh aspects of all these deities, thtiv ouiu
reflections on earth — in esoteric pbiVoso^^i"^.

460 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

There is one eternal Law in nature, one that a)
ways tends to adjust contraries, and to produce fing
harmony. It is owing to this law of spiritual de^
velopment, which supersedes the physical and thd
purely intellectual, that mankind will be freed fron
its false gods, and find itself, finally, self-redeemed,

In its final revelation, the old myth of Promethew
stands in every ancient theogony at the very ori^
of physical evil because at the threshold of humaij
physical life. The demi-god robs the gods (the
Elohim) of their secret — the mystery of the creative
fire. For this sacrilegious attempt, he is stmdl
down by Kronos (Time) and delivered over to ZeiiB,
the father and creator of a mankind he would wish
to remain intellectually blind and animal-like; i
personal deity this Zeus, who will not allow man to
become " like one of us." Hence Prometheus, " the
fire and light giver." is chained on Mt. CaucasM,;
and condemned to suffer torture. But the Fate^,
whose decrees even Zeus cannot escape, ordain thrf
these sufferings shall last only till that day wh^
a son of Zeus is born, who will deliver PrometheuJ
(the suffering Humanity) from his own fatal giUi
Kronos is " Time," whose first law is that the ordei(
of the successive and harmonious phases in the proc-
ess of evolution during cyclic development shoiild b«'
strictly preserved, under the severe penalty of ab-
normal growth, with all its consequences. It was,
not in the programme of natural development thai
man should become at once — intellectually, psychiOi
ally and spiritually — the demi-god he is on eartl(
while his physical frame remains weaker and moH
helpless than that of most of the larger mammalia
The contrast is too violent ; the tabernacle too oi^
worthy of its indwelling god. The gift of Pronw
theus thus became a curse — though foreknown an|
foreseen by the Host personified in him. It ib il
this that rests at the same time its sin and its rfl

^F THE SECRET DOCTRINE 461

'demption. For the Host that Incarnated in a por-
tion of humanity, though led to it by Karma (or
Nemesis) preferred free-will to slavery, and even
torture to imbecile beatitude. Knowing that such
an incarnation was premature, the heavenly host
(Prometheus), nevertheless, made the sacrifice to
benefit at least one portion of mankind, which is
obviously divided into God-informed men and lower
human creatures. The intellectual difference be-
tween the Aryan and other civilized nations and
such savages as the South Sea Islanders is inex-
plicable on any other grounds. Verily mankind is
" of one blood," but not of the same essence.

Spiritual evolution being incapable of keeping
pace with the physical, once its homogeneity was
broken by the admixture, the gift thus became the
chief cause, if not the sole origin of Evil. The
philosophical view of Indian metaphysics places the
Root of Evil in the differentiation of the Homo-
geneous into the Heterogeneous, of the unit into
plurality. In the case of Prometheus, Zeus repre-
sents the Host of the primeval Progenitors, who
created man without mind; while the divine Titan
stands for the Spiritual Creators, the gods who
" fell " into generation. The former are spiritually
lower but physically stronger than the " Prome-
theans," therefore the latter are shown conquered.
The lower Host was on this earth in its own sphere
and plane of action, whereas the superior Host was
an exile from Heaven entangled in the meshes of
matter. The inferior Host were masters of all the
cosmic and lower Titanic forces ; the higher pos-
sessed only the intellectual and spiritual fire. This
drama we see enacted daily; the lower passions
chain the higher aspirations to the rock of matter,
to generate in many a case the vulture of sorrow,
pain and repentance.

I will rebecome the free Titan of old. but not

^^tan 1

462 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

before cycKc evolution has re-established the brok^
harmony between the two natures, the terrestria
and the divine ; after which he becomes impermeabft
to the lower titanic forces, invulnerable in his per
sonality, and immortal in his individuality, whid
cannot happen until every animal element is elimi-
nated from his nature. When man understands
that God did not make Death, but that man created
it himself, he will rebecome Prometheus before I
Fall.

{For many details of this myth, vide S. D., fird.
ed., Vol. II., pp. 411-22 and 519-28.)

Additional Fragments from a Commentary on thsi
Verses op Stanza XII

The special MS. from which these fragments are
translated is said to have been copied from stonf
tablets belonging to a Buddha of the very earlierf
Fifth Eace, who had witnessed the Deluge and th*
submersion of the chief continents of the Atlanteans
The day is not far distant when much, if not all, o
that which is here given from the archaic records,
will be found correct. Events which were never
written outside the human memory may have been
preserved by constant transmission from brain te
brain through countless kous, with more accurate
than in any written records, Onr lives are comii-
less, but the soul or spirit that animates ns thronghn
ont these myriads of existences is the same; an<
though "the book and volume" of the physica
brain may forget events within the scope of one ter
restrial life, the bulk of collective recollections cal
never desert the divine Soul within us. Its whisper
may be too soft, the sound of its words too far oi
the plane perceived by our physical senses ; yet tb
shadow of events that were, just as much as 1'

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 463

shadows of events thai are to come, is within its
perceptive powers, and is ever present before its
mind's eye.

It is from the Fourth or Atlantean Race that the
early Aryans got their knowledge of aeronautics,
and, therefore, their great arts of meteorography
and meteorology. It is from them again that the
Aryans inherited their most valuable science of the
hidden virtues of precious and other stones, of chem-
istry, or rather alchemy, of mineralogy, geology,
physics and astronomy. Says a teacher (in Esoteric
Buddhism, p. 64) : ** In the Eocene Age, even in its
very first part, the great cycle of the Fourth Race men,
like the Lemuro-Atlanteans, had already reached
its highest point (of civilization) and the great con-
tinent . . . showed the first symptoms of sink-
ing.*' And on p. 70 it is shown that Atlantis, as a
whole, perished during the Miocene period, while the
Fourth Sub-Race (of the Fifth Root-Race) wit-
nessed the destruction of the last remnant of its
last island some 11,000 years ago. (For further de-
tails, vide Secret Doctrine; Esoteric Buddhism, loc.
cit.; and S. D. 11., 434 et seq. — Ed.)

I Ahchaic Symbolism of the Wobld-Religionb

*' The narratives of the Doctrine are its cloak.
The simple look only at the garment — that is, upon
the narrative of the Doctrine ; more they know not.
The instructed, however, see not merely the cloak,
but what the cloak covers." {The Zohar, III., 152,
Franck, 119.)

§VII. Adam-Adami

One feels a serious doubt whether our age, with
all its intellectual acuteness, is destined to discover
in each Western nation even one uninitiated scholar
or philosopher capable of fully comprehending the
spirit of archaic philosophy. Nor can one be ex-
pected to do so before the real meaning of the terms
Sat and Asat, so freely used in the Eig Veda and
elsewhere, is thoroughly assimilated. Asat is not
merely the negation of Sat, nor is it " the not-yet ex-
isting "; for Sat is in itself neither " the existent,"
nor " being," Sat is the immutable, the ever pres-
ent, changeless and eternal Root, from and through
which all proceeds. But it is far more than the
potential force in the seed which propels onward
the process of development, or what is now called
evolution. It is the ever becoming, though the never
manifesting. Sat is born from Asat, and Asat is
begotten by Sat; perpetual motion in a circle truly;
yet a circle that can be squared only at the supreme
Initiation, at the threshold of Absolute Coaaelo\i&-
ness. {Paromrvana.)

N
^

466 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

The whole of the present work ia an endeavor to
prove that the ancient Scriptures, Indian and others,
were compiled by Initiates. The mysteries of Life
and Death were fathomed by the great master-minds
of antiquity, and if they have preserved them in
silence and secrecy it is because these problems
formed part of the sacred Mysteries, and also be-
cause they must have been as incomprehensible to
the vast majority of mankind then as they are now,

A curious work was translated about 1860 by the
Orientalist Cbwolsohn, under the innocent title of
Nabathean Agriculture. In the opinion of the trans-
lator that archaic volume is " a complete initiation
into the mysteries of the pre-Adamite nations, on
the authority of undeniably authentic documents."
It is " an invaluable compendium, the foil epitome
of the doctrines, and of the arts and sciences, not
only of the Chaldeans, but also of the Assyrians and
Canaanites of the prehistoric ages." The Nabfr
theans, some critics thought, were identical with tl"
Sabeans, or Chaldean star-worshippers. The wol
is a retranslation from the Arabic, into which ft
was first translated from the Chaldean.* Chwo!-
Bohn maintains that this Chaldean original was writ-
ten out from the oral teachings of a wealthy Baby-
lonian land-owner, named Qu-tamy, who had used
in these teachings still more ancient materials. The
first Arabic translation is assigned by Cbwolsota
to the 13th century b. c. On the first page the author
or amanuensis Qu-t&my declares that the doctrines
propounded therein were originally told by Satnrn
to the Moon, who communicated them to her idol,
which idol revealed them to her devotee, the writer
— the adept Scribe of the work — Qu-tamy.

The details given therein for the benefit and in-
struction of mortals show periods of incalculable

^F THE SECRKT DOCTRINE 467

duration and a series of numberless kingdoms and
Dynasties that preceded the appearance on earth of
Adami (the " red-earth "). The mode of divina-
tion by " the idol of the moon " is the same that was
practised by David, Saul and the High Priests of
the Jewish Tabernaele, by means of the Teraphim.
(v. 8. D., in., p. 234.) This curious " Bible " of
the Chaldean adept is noticed because it has an im-
portant bearing upon a great portion of the present
work. The Nabathean Agriculture is a compila-
tion, but it is no apocrypha. It is a repetition
of the tenets of the Secret Doctrine under the exo-
teric Chaldean form of national symbols, for the
purpose of "cloaking" those tenets, just as the
books of Hermes and the Purdnas are Egyptian and
Hindu attempts at the same. The work was as well
known in antiquity as in the Middle Ages. Maimon-
ides speaks of it more than once, calling the Naba-
theans by their eo-religionary name " star-wor-
shippers," or Sabeans, but failing to see in the dis-
figured word " Nabatheans," the mystic name of the
caste devoted to Neho (God of secret wisdom), which
shows on its face that the Nabatheans were an oc-
cult Brotherhood. Nebo is the deity of the planet
Mercury, and Mercury is Hermes, or the god of
Wisdom, and Budha, whom the Greeks called Nabo,
hence Nabatheans. The Nabatheans of Mt. Ijebanon
believed in the Seven Archangels as their forefath-
ers had believed in the Seven Great Stars, the abodes
and bodies of these Archangels. As Mercury the
planet, Nebo was the " overseer " among the seven
gods of the planets; and as the personification of
the Secret Wisdom, he was Nabin, a seer and a
prophet. The fact that Moses is made to die and
disappear on the mount sacred to Nebo, shows him
to have been an Initiate and a priest of that god
under another name ; for this God of Wisdom was
freat creative deity, and was worshipped as

468 TIIE SECRET DOCTRINE

such by the Moabites, the Canaanites, the Aesyriana,
and throughout the whole of Palestine; then why
not by the Israelites'

Nebo is a creator, like Budha, of the Fourth and
Fifth Races, For the former starts a new race of
Adepts, and the latter, the Solar-Lunar Dynasty, or
the men of these Races and this Round. Both are
the Adams of their respective creatures. Adam-
Adami is a personation of the dual Adam; of tlie
paradigmic Adam-Kadmon, the creator, and of tbe
lower Adam, the terrestrial, who, as the Syrian
Kabalista have it, had only " the breath of life,"
but no living soul till after his Fall. For the Kabal- I
ists teach the existence of four distinct Adams, ogj
the transformation of four eonseeutive Adams, '
emanations from the "divine phantom" of 1
Heavenly Man, an ethereal combination of the hi^
est Soul and Spirit; this Adam having, of conrB*
neither a gross human body nor a body of desin
This is the prototype of the second Adam. TIffl
they represent our Five Races is certain, as eveii
one can see from their description in the Kahalsfl
the first being " the perfect. Holy Adam . . f
a shadow that disappeared," (the Kings of Edofflfl
produced from the divine Image. (This Adam, '"
shadow that disappeared," does not count in I
Isaac Myer's Qabbalah. v. p. 418 ef seq.) 1
second is called the protoplasmic androgyne Adal
of the future terrestrial and separated Adam. TW
third Adam is the man made of " dust " (the first,
innocent Adam) ; and the fourth Adam was clothed
with skin, flesh, nerves, etc. This answers to the
breath of life and the physical body. He had the
animal power of reproduction and continuance of
species, and this is the human or Fourth Root-Race,
the forefather of our own, the Fifth.

Here the modern Kabalists, led into error by the
long generations of Christian mystics, diverge from

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 469

the Occultists, and take the later thought for the
earlier idea. The original Kabala was entirely meta-
physical, and had no concern with the sexes ; the
later Kabala has suffocated the divine ideal under
the phallic element. From the highest Heavenly
Man, who is male-female or androgyne, down to the
Adam of dust, these personified symbols are all con-
nected with sex and procreation. With the Eastern
Occultists it is entirely the reverse. Their dual sym-
bols were to them but the poetical imagery of the
sublime correlation of creative cosmic forces.

" Adam-Adami " is a generic compound name
as old as langnage itself. The Secret Doctrine
teaches that Ad-i was the name given by the Aryans
to the first speaking race of mankind in this Fourth
Round. Hence the Adonim and Adonai (the ancient
plural form of the word Adon) which the Jews ap-
plied to their Jehovah and his angels {who were
simply the first spiritual and ethereal sons of the
earth), and also the god Adonis, who in his many
variations stood for " the first Lord." Adam is the
Sanskrit Ada-Ndth, also meaning first Lord, like
jld-Iswara, Ad always meaning " the first." Such
truths were a common inheritance, a revelation re-
ceived by the first mankind before the time which,
in Biblical phraseology, is called " the period of
one lip and word" (or speech). Knowledge ex-
panded by man's own intuition later on, and still
later, was hidden from profanation under an ade-
quate symbology.

§ Vni. ' ' The Holy op Holies '
Its Degradation

The Sanctum Sanctorum of the Ancients, that
on the western side of the Temple which was

470 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

inclosed on three sides by blank walls, and had il
only aperture or door hung over with a curtam-
also called the Adytum — was common to all anciarf
nations.

Nevertheless, although its symbology was origiiF
ally identical with all races, a great difference ifi
found in the secret meanings of this place, betweei
the esotericism of the Pagans and that of the late
Jews. The Gentiles, by placing in the Adytum i
sarcophagus, or a tomb, and the solar god to whoB
the temple was consecrated, showed for it, as Pan
theists, the greatest veneration. They regarded i|^
in its esoteric meaning, as the symbol of resurree
tion, cosmic, solar and human. It embraced ti
wide range of the periodical reawakenings of Koa
mos, Earth and Man. to new cycles of existence, tb
sun being their symbol in the heavens and man il
his reincarnations upon Earth. The Jews, in til
course of their estrangement from the gods of tha
pagan neighbors, consummated a national and levit
ical polity by the device of setting forth their Hol^
of Holies as the most solemn sign of their mooff
theism — exoterically, while seeing in it but a r"
versal phallic symbol— esotericaUy. ^^

The dance performed by David around the Ari
was the " circle-dance," like that of the daughtel
of Shiloh, and the leaping of the prophets of Bai
It was simply a characteristic of the Sabean vist
ship, and denoted the motion of the planets aronffl
the sun. That the dance was a Bacchic frenzy U
very apparent.

The Ark is the ship-formed Argha. Parkhursl
in his Greek dictionary, says that " Arche is theefl
blem of the female generative power, the Ark a
Area in which the germ of all nature was suppose]
to brood during the interval tahing place after evei;
mundane cycle." The Jewish " Ark of the Gov*
nant " had precisely the same significance;

^P THE SECBET DOCTRINE 471

instead of a sarcophagus, the symbbl of the matrix
and resurrection of Nature, they had two cherubs
set upon the ark, facing each other with their wings
spread in such a manner as to form a perfect yoni
(ae now seen in India), (v. Isis Unveiled, II. 49.)

" The Ark, in which are preserved the germs of
all living things necessary to repeople the earth,
represents the survival of life, and the supremacy
of spirit over matter. The Ark is the sacred Argha
of the Hindus, and thus its relation to Noah's Ark
may be easily inferred when we learn that the Argha
"waB an oblong vessel used by the high-priests as a
sacrificial chalice in the worship of Isis, Astarte and
Venus-Aphrodite, all of whom were goddesses rep-
resenting the generative powers of nature." {Isis,
II., 444.)

The " King's Chamber " in the pyramid of
Cheops is then an Egyptian " Holy of Holies." In
the Mysteries of Initiation the candidate, represent-
ing the solar god, had to descend into the sarcopha-
gus as the energizing ray, entering into the fertile
womb of Nature. Emerging therefrom the next
morning, he typified the resurrection to Life after
the change called Death. In the great Mysteries
his figurative death lasted two days, when he arose
with the sun on the third morning after a last night
of the most cruel trials. The sarcophagus was the
symbol of the female principle in Egypt; ita form
changed with every country, provided that it re-
tained the general shape of a boat-like vessel, con-
taining symbolically the germ or germs of life. In
India it is the " golden cow " through which the
candidate for Brahminism must pass, if he desire
to be Divija, or " twiee-born." The crescent-shaped
Argha of the Greeks was the symbol of the Queen of
Heaven, Diana or the Moon, the great Mother of all
existences as the Sun was the Father. The Jews
worshipjied Astoreth, who was in one sense an im-

472 THE SECRET DOCTRINB

personal symbol of Nature, the ship of Life, carrying
throughout the boundless sidereal ocean the geno*
of all being, and now in the Koman church she if;
Mary the Virgin, represented as standing on th»
crescent moon. The navis or ship-like form of the
crescent, which blends in itself all the common sym-
bols of the ship of life, is the female symbol of the
universal " Mother of the gods," and is found it
every church as the nave (from navis, the ship)'.'
The word arcane, "bidden " or " secret," is derived

from area. All the Sun-gods were called Archagetoa

" born from the Area," the divine Virgin-MotliM
of the Heavens.

Adam, as the supposed great " Progenitor of th(
human race," is, as Adam Kadmon, made in thi
image of God. The Hebrew words used in Geneai
V. 27, ' ' male and female created he them, ' ' are, wha
literally translated, the names of the male and fft
male organs of sex, sacr and n'caboah. The sarf
has passed down through the ages in the sacr-fa^
turn of the Roman priest, and the socr-fice and sacfi^
ament of the English-speaking races. Hence maK
riage is a sacrament in the Greek and RomaS
churches.

The " Holy of Holies " is thus shown as a xnA
versal symbol. The whole diiference lies in tbi
spirit of interpretation. With the Hindus as witi
the ancient Egyptians, that spirit was and is entir^
metaphysical and psychological; with the Hebrefll
it was realistic and physiological. There is no douW
however, that with the fully educated Judean Tfti
naim the inner sense of the symbolism was as holj
in its abstraction as with the ancient Aryan Dwijaai
The worship of " the god in the ark " dates onft
from David; and for a thousand years Israel kneni
of no phallic Jehovah. And now the old Kabalaf
edited and re-edited, has become tainted with it.

With the ancient Aryans the hidden meaning wa

THE SBCBET D0CTEINI5 473

IT,

P"^iraiidiose, sublime and poetical, however much the
eternal appearance of their symbol may now mili-
tate against the elaiii). The ceremony of passing
through the Holy of Holies (now symbolized by the
cow, formerly by the radiant Egg), in itself a symbol
of Universal Abstract Nature, meant spiritual con-
ception and birth, or rather the rebirth of the indi-
vidual, and his regeneration; the stooping man at
the low and narrow entrance of the Sanctum Sanc-
torum ready to pass through the matrix of mother
Nature; or the physical creature ready to re-become
the original spiritual Being, pre-Natal Man. With
the Semite that stooping man meant the fall of
Spirit into matter. For the Aryan the symbol repre-
sented the divorce of Spirit from matter, its merging
into and return to its primal Source; for the Semite,
the wedlock of spiritual man with material, female
nature, the physiological being taking pre-eminence
over the psychological, and the purely immaterial.
The Aryan views were those of the whole Pagan
world, the Semite were pre-eminently those of a
small tribe. The reason for the difference is easily
accounted for. The Aryan Hindu belongs to the
oldest race now on earth ; the Semite Hebrew to the
latest. The one is nearly a million years old; the
other is a small sub-race some 8,000 years old and
no more. Strictly speaking, the Jews are an arti-
ficial Aryan race, born in India and belonging to
the Caucasian division. No one who is familiar
with the Armenians and Parsia can fail to recognize
in all three the same Aryan Caucasian type. Of the
seven primitive types of the Fifth Baee there now
remain on earth but three, the Caucasian, the Mon-
golian, the Ethiopian. {For further details, v. S. D.,
II., 459 et seq.)

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

On the Myth op the " Fallen Angel."

It is quite natural that the materialist and tie
physicist should imagine that everything is due to
blind force and chance, and to the survival of the
strongest more often than the fittest. But Occul-
tists, who regard physical nature as a hundle of the
most varied illusions on the plane of deceptive per-
ceptions, who recognize in all pain and suffering
but a necessary series of stages towards perfection,
visible in the silent influence of never-erring Kanua,
or abstract Nature — the Occultists, we say, view the
great Mother otherwise.

As the whole philosophy of the problem of evil
hangs upon the correct comprehension of the con-
stitution of the inner being of nature and man, of
the divine within the animal, we cannot take too
careful precautions against theological errors, and
more especially the idea embodied in the Christiaa
Devil.

The primitive origin of this personification will
be found in the Akkadian conception of the cosmio
powers — the Heavens and the Earth — as in eternal
feud and struggle with Chaos. Their ' ' God amongst
all the gods " was the Son of Hea (or Ea), the great
God of Wisdom, called by the Babylonians Neba
{or Nebo). With both peoples — as well as the Hin-
dus—their deities were both beneficent and malefi-
cent. As evil and punishment are the agents of
Karma, in an absolutely just retributive sense, sQ
evil was the servant of the good. (Hibbert Led.
1887, pp. 101-115.) The Chaldeo-Assyrian tiles hav^
demonstrated this beyond the shadow of a doubK
We find the same idea in the Zohar. Satan waSi
a Son, and an Angel of God. With all the SemitH

^r THE SECEET DOCTRINE 475

nations the Spirit of the Earth was as much the
creator in his own realm as the Spirit of the Heav-
ens. They were twin brothers, and interchangeable
in their fimctioaa, when not two in one.

Whence comes the Christian idea that God cursed
the Devilf The God of the Jews, whomsoever he
was, forbade the cursing of Satan. Philo Judrens
and Josephus both state that the Law (the Penta-
teuch and the Talmud) invariably forbid one to
curse the Adversary, as also the Gods of the Gen-
tiles. " Thou shalt not revile the gods," said the
God of Moses (Exodus xsii. 28), for it is God who
" hath divided them into all nations " {Deut.iv. 19),
and those who speak evil of Dignities (gods) are
called " filthy dreamers " by Jude (v. 8). Even
Michael the Archangel durst not rail against the
devil, but said " the Lord rebuke thee " (Ibid. 9).
All that we read in the Zohar and other Kabalistic
works shows plainly that " Satan " is simply the
personification of the abstract evil, which is the
weapon of Karmie law and Karma. It is part of our
human nature, as it is said that " Satan is always
near and inextricably interwoven with man." It
is only a question of that Power being latent or ac-
tive in us.

It is a well-known fact, to those learned in sym-
bology at all events, that in every great religion of
antiquity it is the Logos-Demiurge, or the first ema-
nation from the Universal Mind, who strikes the key-
note, so to speak, of what may be called the correla-
tion of individuality and personality in the subse-
quent scheme of evolution. It is the Logos who is
shown in the mystic symbolism of cosmogony, theog-
ony and anthropogony as playing two parts in the
drama of Creation and Being, that of the purely hu-
man personality and the divine impersonality of the j
GO-called Avatars or divine incarnations, and that ||
^^^ Universal Spirit, called C\iTVstos\)^ fe«i ^■oa's,- j

476 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

ticB, and the Ferouer or Favarsht of Ahura Mazda in
the Mazdean philosophy.

Now what is a Ferouer or Favarshif In some
Mazdean works it is plainly implied that the Favor-
shi is the inner, immortal man (or the reincanut-
ting Ego) ; that it existed before its physical body,
and survives all bodies that it may be clothed in.
' ' Not only was man endowed with the Pavarshi, but
gods, too, and the sky, fire, waters and plants."
{Introd. to the Vendidad by James Darmstetter.)
This plainly shows that the ferouer (or favarshi)
is the ' ' spiritual counterpart ' ' of god, animal, plairt
or even element, that is, the refined and the purer
part of the grosser creation, the soul of the body,
whatever the body may happen to be. Therefore
does Ahura Mazda (in the Vendidad) recommcB
Zarathustra to invoke his Favarshi and not himsd
(Ahura Mazda) ; that is to say, the impersonal s
true Essence of Deity, one with Zarathustra's ow
Atman (or Christos), not the false and persow
appearance.

The first lesson taught in Esoteric philosophy j
that the incognizable Cause does not put forth m
lution whether consciously or unconsciously,
only exhibits periodically different aspects of itai
to the perception of finite Minds. Now, the i
lective Mind — the Universal— composed of varioil
and numberless Hosts of Creative Powers, howevi
infinite they may seem in manifested Time, i
finite when contrasted with the unborn and and)
eaying Space in its supreme essential aspect. Thai
which is finite cannot be perfect. Therefore, theifl
are inferior Beings among those Hosts, but the».
never were any devils or " disobedient AngeW
for the simple reason that they are all governed \
Law.

The seven-headed Dragon of Revelations is f
ply the symbol of the life-cycle, and of the " Soi

^r THE SECEET DOCTRINE 477

of Cyclic Eternity " who had descended on Earth
during a certain epoch of its formative period. The
" clouds of smoke " (Rev. ix. 2) are a geological
phenomenon. The " third part of the stars of
heaven " cast down to earth (Ibid. xii. 4) refers to
the divine Monads (the Spirits of the Stars in As-
trology) that circumambulate our globe; that is, the
human Egos destined to go through the whole cycle
of incarnations.

The " Asuras," or so-called demons who incar-
nated, followed, in so doing, a law as implacable as
any other. The name of Asura (not-god) was first
given by the Brahmaus indiscriminately to those
who opposed their mummeries and sacrifices, and
it is to those ages, probably, that the origin of the
idea of the demon as opposer and adversary has
to be traced. The Hebrew Elohim, called " God "
in the translations of the Bible, and who create
" light," are identical with the Aryan Asuras. They
are also referred to as the " Sons of Darkness," a
philosophical and logical contrast to light itamutJable
and eternal. The earliest Zoroastrians did not be-
lieve in Evil or Darkness, as coeternal with Good
or Light, and they give the same interpretation.
Ahriman (the evil Spirit) is the manifested shadow
of Ahura (Asura) Mazda, himself issued from the
Unknown Cause. Its primal emanation is eternal
Light, previously/ concealed in Darkness, but when
called to manifest itself producing Ormasd the
"King of Life." He is the " flrst-born " in
Boundless Time, but like his own antetype (the pre-
existing Spiritual Idea) has lived unthin Darkness
from all eternity. The sis Amshaspends (with him-
eelf as chief of all, seven), the primitive Spiritual
Angels and Men, are collectively his Logos. The
Zoroastrian Amshaspends create the world in six
days or periods, and rest on the seventh; whereas
t seventh is the first period, or " day," in eso-

Jja^ sevent

478 THE SECRET DOCTRINE ^

teric philosophy (Primary creation in the Aryan
cosmogony). It is that intermediate ^on whiel
is the Prologue to creation, and which stands on
the borderland between the uncreated eternal Cans-
ation and the produced finite effects; a state of
nascent activity and energy as the first aspect of
the eternal, immutable Quiescence. In Gemsu
' ' Creation ' ' begins with the third stage of mani-
festation, " God " or the Elohim, being equivalent
to all the other Creators, including the " SevG
Regents " of Pymander.

But even in Genesis that intermediate period l _
hinted at in the " darkness " that was upon the
face of the deep. The Elohim are shown as build-
ing or producing the double heaven (not Heaven
and Earth) which means that they separated the
manifested angelic or upper heaven, or plane of
consciousness, from the lower or terrestrial plane.
Such is the meaning of the sentence in Pymander
which says that " Thought the divine, which is
Light and Life, produced through its Wobd, or first
aspect, the other, operating Thought; whlcb, being
the god of Spirit and Fire, constructed sefcn Re-
gents, enclosing within their circle the world of
senses, named ' fatal destiny.' " The latter refers
to Karma; the " seven circles " are the seven plan-
ets and planes, as also the seven invisible Spirits
in the angelic spheres, whose visible symbols are
the seven planets, the seven Spirits of the Great
Bear, and other glyphs. The " First-bom " Sons
of Light were so near to the confines of pure quies-
cent Spirit as to be merely the " privations " (in
the Aristotelian sense) the ferouers of ideal types
of those that followed. They cotild not create ma-
terial, corporeal things; and, therefore, in process
of time, were said to have refused to create, as com-
manded by God — in other words, to have rebelled.
No mention is made in Genesis of these " Sons of

f Ood " having been punished for it. The only refer-
' ^Ece to it in the Bible is in Jude (v. 6) : " And the
angels which kept not their first estate, but left their
Jaabitation, He bath reserved in everlasting chains
tinder darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
This means simply that the " Angels " doomed to
incarnation are in the chains of flesh and matter
■tinder the darkness of ignorance, till the " Great
Day," which will come, as always after the Seventh
Round, on the seventh Sabbath, or the period of
rest after the completion of the Cycle of Life.

Metaphysically, the Father and the Son are the
"Universal Mind," and the "periodical Uni-
verse "; the" angel," and the " Man "; according
to Pymander, the active Idea and the passive
Thought that generates the Universe; the radical
keynote in Nature which gives birth to the seven
notes — the septenary scale of the creative Forces,
and the seven prismatic aspects of color, all horn
from the one white ray, or Light — itself generated
in Daekitess.

The " War in Heaven " refers to several events
on various and different planes of being. The Se-
cret Doctrine teaches that every event of universal
importance (such as geological cataclysms at the
end of one race and the beginning of another, in-
volving a great change each time in mankind, spir-
itual, moral and physical) is pre-cogitated and pre-
concerted, so to speak, in the sidereal regions of
our planetary system. Astrology is bnilt wholly
upon this mystic and intimate connection between
the heavenly bodies and mankind, and it is one of
the great secrets of Initiation and occult Mysteries.
The war of the Titans is but a legendary and deified
copy of the real war that took place in the Hima-
layan Kailasa (heaven) instead of in the depths of
cosmic interplanetary Space. It is the record of
the terrible strife between the " Sons of God " and

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 479

480 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

the " Sons of the Shadow " of the Fourth and Fifth I

In the same maimer and on the plan of the ZodiaaJ
in the heavens, a certain inland sea on Earth v
consecrated and called the " Abyss of Learning"
twelve small islands in it representing the zodiaos
signs (two of which remained for ages the " mys
tery signs "), and were the abode of twelve Hiert
phants and Masters of Wisdom. This " sea atl
knowledge," now the Gobi desert, existed until the
last glacial period, when a local cataclysm which
swept the waters south and west left only a certain
oasis, with a lake and one island in the midst of it,
as a relic of the Zodiacal Ring on earth. The strug-
gle of Bel and then of Merodach the Sun-god, with
Tiamat the Sea, and its Dragon, a " war " which
ended in the defeat of the latter, has a purely cosmic
and geological meaning, as well as an historical one,
It relates (a) to the gradual drying up of immense
territories lay the sun at a certain prehistoric period;
and (i) to the equally systematic persecution of the
Prophets of the Right Path by those of the Left,
who inaugurated the formation and evolution of the
sacerdotal castes and the various esoteric religions.
The rapid progress of anthropomorphism and idol-
atry led the early Fifth, as it had already led the
Fourth Race, into sorcery once more, though on fl
smaller scale. Finally, even the four Adams (sym-
bolizing the first four races) were forgotten, or were
overloaded with additional myths. Yet they exist
to this day in the oldest Jewish traditions, as the
" Shadow-Adam " (the " Shadowy First Race " of
our doctrine) ; the " model " Adam, the copy of
the first, and the " male and female " of the exoteric
Genesis (chap, i.) ; the third, the " earthly Adam "
before the Fall, an androgyne; and the fourth, the
Adam after the Fall — i.e., the separation of the
sexes, or the pure Atlantean. The Adam of the

^F THE SECKET DOCTRINE 481

Garden of Eden, or the forefather of our race (the
Fifth) is an ingenious compound of the above four.

Like the " War in Heaven " itself, the Dragon is
a mystery. To understand its meaning, says the
Rabbi Simeon Ben-Jochai, " is not given to the
Companions (students), but only to the little ones,"
i,e., the perfect Initiates. So most of what relates
to the " little ones " in the Gospels refers to the
Initiates, of whom Jesus was one. The mystery of
the Serpent (or Dragon) was this: our Earth, or
rather terrestrial life, is often referred to in the
Secret Teachings as " the great Sea." It refers to
the trials of the Initiates in this physical life, the
" sea of sorrow," if read with one key; it hints at
the successive destruction of the seven spheres of a
chain of worlds in the great sea of space, when read
with another key; for every world, star or group
of stars is called in symbolism " the Dragon's head."
But however we may read, the Dragon was
never regarded as Evil (nor the Serpent either) in
antiquity. Whatever key was used, whether astro-
nomical, cosmical, theogonical or simply physical,
that is, phallic, the Serpent was always a divine
symbol.

The ' ' Old Dragon ' ' and Satan now become singly
and collectively the symbol of, and the theological
term for, the " Fallen Angel," was originally a type
of self-sacrifice for the intellectual independence of
humanity. Every bright Sun-god of antiquity— a
glorious deity by day, and its own opponent and
adversary by night, has now been turned into the
antithetical shadow of God, and has become Satan
on the sole and unsupported authority of human
dogma. History shows in every race and even tribe,
especially in the Semitic nations, the natural impulse
to exalt its own tribal deity above all others to the
leadership of the gods, and proves that the God of
;tto Israelites was such a tribal God, and nothing

482 THE SECKET DOCTEINE

more. Every god of the G-entiles is connected with,
and closely related to, Jehovah — the Elohim— for
they are all one Host whose units diifer only in
name in the esoteric teachings. Between the " Obedi-
ent " and the *' Fallen " Angels there is only the
difference of their respective functions, or rather ii
the greater or less activity of some of the Spirili'
or Elohim who were commissioned to create; thl
is, to fabricate the manifested world out of the etei
nal material.

The Kabalists say that God is light, and Sat^
its necessary darkness or shadow, without whiti _
pure light would be invisible and incomprehensible."
Mr. Laing, in his Modern Science and Modern
Thought (p. 222, 3d Ed.), says— speaking of the
existence of evil—' ' From this dilemma there is bo
escape unless we give up altogether the idea of an
anthropomorphic deity, and adopt frankly the scien-
tific idea of a First Cause, inscrutable and past find-
ing out ; and of a universe whose laws we can trace,
but of whose real essence we know nothing, and can
only suspect, or faintly discern, a fundamental law
which may make the polarity of good and evil a
necessary condition of existence." Were science
to know " the real essence," the " faint suspicion "
would turn into the certitude of the existence of
such a law, and of its connection with Karma.

" For the Initiates," say Eliphas Levi, " the devil
is not a person but a Creative Force for Good as for
Evil," The Initiates represented this Force, which
presides at physical generation, under the mysteri-
ous form of the God Pan — or Nature; whence tltf
horns and hoofs of that symbolic figure, as a'
goat of the " Witches' Sabbath." With regard %
this, too, Christians do not remember that the go*
was also the victim selected for the atonement fl
all the sins of Israel ; that the scape-goat was inde«.
the sacrificial martyr, the symbol of the greataj

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 483

mystery on earth, the Fall into generation. But
fhe Jews have long forgotten the real meaning of
the symbol, and the Christians never knew it.

The tme and uncompromising Kabalists admit
that for all' purposes of science and philosophy it is
enough that the profane should know that what the
Church calls Lucifer is the great magic agent called
by the Martinists the astral light, by the mediaeval
Kabalists and Alchemists the Sidereal Virgin and
the Mysterium Magnum, and by the Eastern Occult-
tists MtheTj the reflection of Akdsa.

Akdsa — ^the astral light {not the Ether of science)
—can be defined in a few words ; it is the Universal
Soul, the matrix of the universe, the " Mysterium
Magnum '' from which all that exists is born, by
separation or differentiation. It is the cause of ex-
istence, it fills all the infinite Space ; is Space itself,
in one sense, or both its sixth and seventh principles.
But as the finite in the Infinite, as regards manifes-
tation, this light must have its shadowy side, as al-
ready said. And as the Infinite can never be man-
ifested, hence the finite world has to be satisfied with
the shadow alone, which its actions draw upon hu-
manity, and which men attract and force to activity.
Hence, while it is the universal Cause in its unmani-
fested unity and infinity, the Astral light becomes,
with regard to mankind, simply the effects of the
causes produced by men in their more or less sinful
lives. It is not its bright denizens — ^whether they be
called Spirits of Light or of Darkness — that produce
good or evil, but mankind itself that determines the
unavoidable action and reaction in the great magic
agent. Men can overpower and master its effects;
but only by the holiness of their lives, and by pro-
ducing good causes. It has power only over the man-
ifested lower principles — the shadow of the Un-
known and Incognizable Deity in Space.

Thus may the Astral Light be God and Ti^^'^ ^\»

484 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

once — Demon est Deus inversus — that is to sa]
through every point of Infinite Space thrill the n
netic and electric currents of animate Nature, t^l
life-giving and the death-giving waves, for death on ]
earth becomes life on another plane. Lucifer i\
vine and terrestrial light, the " Holy Ghost '*
" Satan " at one and the same time, visible i.
being truly filled with the differentiated Breath a
visibly ; and the Astral Light, the manifested effecta,
of the two who are one, guided and attracted I
ourselves, is the Karma of humanity, both a j
sonal and impersonal entity; personal, as the myi
name given to the Host of Di\ine Creators, goiiij
and rulers of this planet; impersonal, aa the caid
and effect of universal Life and Death.

The " Fall " was the result of man's knowledg^n
for " his ej'es were opened." Indeed, he was taiiglit
"Wisdom and the hidden knowledge by the " Fallen
Angel," for the latter had become from that day hia
Mind and Self-Consciousness. In each of us that
golden thread of continuous life is, from the begin-
ning of our appearance on this earth, periodically
broken into active and passive cycles of sensuous
existence on earth, and super-sensuous in heaven
{Devachan). It is the Sutratma, the luminous thread
of immortal impersonal Monadship, on which our
earthly lives or evanescent Egos are strung as so
many beads.

And now it stands proven that Satan, or the Red
Fiery Dragon, and Lucifer or the Light-bearer, is
within us ; he is our Mind — our tempter and our Re-
deemer, our intelligent liberator and Saviour from
pure animalism. Without this principle — the emana-
tion of the very essence of the Universal Divine
Mind — we should be no better than animals. The
first man, Adam, was made only a living soul, says
St. Paiil (/ Cor. 43-5), the last Adam was made a
quickening Spirit. The original text, rendered Kab-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 485

alistically and esoterically, would read : " It is sown
I a soul-body " {not " natural body "), it is raised a
'ispirit body." St. Paul was an Initiate, and his
: word^ have quite a different meaning when read
. GBoterically, The body " is sown in weakness (paa-
' aivity) ; it is raised in power " — spirituality and in-
tellect. Without this quickening spirit or mind, man
would be as irresponsible as the animals— and as in-
nocent of sin.

The identity of thought and meaning is the first
' thing that strikes the student in all the great re-
ligions, and in them all there is not one which does
I not mention the tradition of the fallen Spirits. What
, is, then, the absolute and complete truth, as well as
I the esoteric meaning, of this universal mythi The
whole essence of truth cannot be described by any
I pen, not even that of the recording Angel, unless
I man find its response in the sanctuary of his own
, heart, in the innermost depths of his divine intui-
■ tion. Therefore, we can give it only from its philo-
' sophical and intellectual planes, unlocked with three
' keys, for the last four keys of the seven that throw
wide open the portals to the mysteries of nature
. are in the hands of the highest Initiates, and cannot
be divulged to the masses at large — ^not in this our
century, at any rate.

Enoichion — Henoch

e history of the evolution of the Satanic myth
would not be complete if we omitted to notice the
mysterious and ubiquitous Enoch, also called Enos,
Hanoch, and finally Enoichion by the Greeks. It
is from the Booh of Enoch that the first notions of
the Fallen Angels were taken by the early Chris-
"an writers.

^tian writ

486 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

The Book of Enoch is declared apocryphal. Bvjji
the term, coming from the verb Krypto, " to hide, "
merely shows that it is a secret book, belonging to
the temple libraries under the guardianship of tbe
Hierophants, and not meant for the profane. Some
of the writers on the subject — especially Masons —
have tried to identify Enoch with the Egyptiaa
Thotb, the Greek Hermes, and even the Latin Mer-
cury. As individuals these are distinct, but gener-
ically they belong one and all to the same category
of sacred writers, Initiators and Recorders of oe-
cult and ancient Wisdom. Among the Egyptian!
'* the Initiated " bore the name of Tkoth, the in-
ventor of the arts and sciences, of writing or letters,
of music and astronomy. Among the Jews be be-
came Enoch, who, according to Bar-Hebrsus, " waa
the first inventor of writing," of books, of arts and
sciences, and the first who reduced to a system th*
progress of the planets. In Greece he was callei
Orpheus, thus changing bis name with every nati<a
Khanocb, or Hanocb, or Enoch means the " Initia
tor " and " Teacher " as well as the " Son of Man,'
Enos (vide Genesis iv. 26) esoterically. The noffl
her 7 being connected with each of these primitin
Initiators, as well as the number of the days in tb
year, 365, it identifies their mission, character aflj
sacred office, but certainly not their personalitisi
Enoch is the seventh Patriarch ; Orpheus is the p«
sessor of the phorminx, the seuen-stringed lyt
which is the seven-fold mystery of initiation. Thof
with the seven-rayed solar discus on his head, travd
in the solar boat the 365 degrees, jumping out ever
fourth (leap) year for one day. Finally, Thoth-
Lunns is the septenary god of the week. Eaoteri-
cally and spiritually Enoickion means " the Seer oj
the Open Eye." *

The story about Enoch told by Josepbus,
had concealed under the pillars of Seth his p

us, that ^1
is prcci(^H

^F THE SECRET DOCTEINE 487

rolls or boobs, is the same as that told of Hermes.

Yet Josephus writes history. He shows those pil-
lars as still existing in his own time. He tells us
that they were built by Seth, and so they may have
been, but not by the fabled son of Adam or the
Egyptian god Thoth or Set, but by the " Sons of
the Dragon," the name by which the Hierophants
of Egypt and Babylon were known before the Del-
uge, as were their forefathers, the Atlanteans.

According to Josephus, the two famous pillars
were entirely covered with hieroglyphics, which,
copied and reproduced in the secret temples of
Egypt, became the source of the exceptional wis-
dom and learning of that country. These pillars,
moreover, are the prototypes of the " tables of
stone " hewn by Moses at the command of the Lord.
But when Josephus asserts that all the great adepts
and mystics of antiquity got the elements of their
theology from these hieroglyphics, he is right in one
sense and wrong in another. The Secret Doctrine
teaches us that the arts and sciences, the theology,
and especially the philosophy, of every nation which
preceded the last universally known but not miiver-
sal Deluge, had been recorded ideographically from
the primitive oral teachings of the Fourth Race,
and that th^e were its inheritance from the early
Third Race before the allegorical Fall, Hence also
the Egyptian pillars, the Mosaic tablets, and even
the " white stone " of the Masons — (which Enoch,
fearing that the precious secrets would be lost, con-
cealed before the Deluge in the bowels of the Earth)
— were simply the more or less symbolical and al-
legorical copies from the primitive Records. The
Book of Enoch is one of such copies, and is a Chal-
dean and now very incomplete compendium. The
legend of Enoch, whose name meant, as already said,
in Greek " the inner eye " or the " Seer," and in
" ' the Initiator," is the same as that of eev-

488 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

eral other propliets, with changes of details only,
Enoch as well as Elijah is taken up to heaven alive.-'
This kind of easy death, or euthanasia, has an eso-
teric meaning. It symbolizes the death of any adept
who has reached the power and degree, as also the
purification, which enable him to die only in the
physical body, and still live consciously in his astral
body. The Pauline expression (Seb. si. 5) " that he
(Enoch) should not see death " has thus an eso-
teric meaning, but nothing supernatural in it. Tha^
Biblical hints to the effect that Enoch will share witl
Christ and the prophet Elijah the honors and blisi ,
of the last Advent, signify, esoterically, that some!
of the great adepts will return in the Seventh Race,-
when all error will be made away with. When Jo-
sephus, speaking of Elijah and Enoch, remarks that
" it is written in the sacred books that they disap-
peared, but so that nobody knew they had died,"
it means simply that tkey had died in their per-
sonalities, as Yogis die to this day in India, or even
some Christian monks to the world. They disappear
from the sight of men and die — on the terrestrial
planfr — even for themselves. A seemingly figura-
tive way of speaking, yet literally true.

Noah is heir to the "Wisdom of Enoch; in othej
words, the Fifth is heir to the Fourth Race.
this case both represent Root-Races, the presenl
and the preceding. In another sense, the disappear-;
ance of Enoch referred to the disappearance of tl
Sacred and Secret knowledge from among men. I
terpreted with the help of merely the symbolical key^
Enoch is the type of the dual nature of man, spiriw
ual and physical.

The Book of Enoch, in short, is a resume, a eoi
pound of the main features of the history of th(
Third, Fourth and Fifth Races ; a very few prophi
cies of the present age of the world; a long retri
speetive, introspective and prophetic summary

?:1

^ THE SECEET DOCTRINE 489

Universal and quite historical events — geological,
ethnological, astronomical and psychic — with a
touch of theogony from the antediluvian records.

The angel Uriel tells Enoch {chap. 79), " Behold
I have showed thee all things, 0 Enoch; and all
things have I revealed to thee. Thou seest the Sun,
the Moon and those which conduct the stars in
Heaven, which cause all their operations, seasona
and arrivals to return. In the days of sinners the
years shall be shortened . . . the Moon shall
change its laws," etc. ..." And he (Noah)
said: . . . The earth labors, and is violently
inclined; surely I shall perish with it " (chap. 64).

A decree had come, the decree of Nature and the
Law of Evolution, that the Fourth Race should be
destroyed to make room for a better one. The life-
cycle had reached its turning point of three and a
half Rounds, and gigantic physical Humanity had
reached the acme of gross materiality. Hence the
apoealyi^tic verse that speaks of the commandment
gone forth that it should he destroyed.

And now a natural question. "Who could have
informed the author of this powerful vision (to
whatever age he may be assigned before the day of
Galileo) that the Earth could occasionally incline
her axis? Whence did he derive such astronomical
and geological knoweldge, if the Secret Wisdom is
■ a fancy, an invention of the later ages J

)|g|,

§XI

The Mtsteby-Names Tag and Jehovah, with their
Relation to the Cross and Chicle

The idea of representing the hidden Deity by the
circumference of a circle, and the Creative Power

£ androgynous Word) by the diameter across it,
le of the oldest in symbolism. It is upon this

I ti

490 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

conception that every great cosmogony was bi
"With the old Aryans, the Egyptians and the Chal?]
deans, the symbol was complete, as it embraced the
idea of the eternal and immovable Divine Thought
in its absoluteness, separated entirely from the in-
cipient stage of so-called creation, and comprised
psychological and even spiritnal evolution, and its
mechanical work, or eosmogonical construction.
With the Hebrews, however (although the same idea
ia distinctly visible in the Zohar and in what is left
of the Sepher Jczirah), that portion which was after-
wards embodied in the Pentateuch proper, and es-
pecially in Genesis, is simply this secondary stage
of construction, while theogony is barely outlined.

It is only in the first six chapters of Genesis, in
the rejected Book of Enoch, and in the misunder-
stood and mistranslated poem of Job, that true
echoes of the archaic doctrine may now be found.
The statement that Jehovah was the tribal god ot
the Jews and nothing more ia proved by verses "
and 9 of Deuteronomy chap, xxsii. These versi
say quite plainly that " when the Most High " (not
the " Lord " or " Jehovah ") " divided to the na-
tions their inheritance, when he separated the Sons
of Adam,* he set the bounds . , . according to
the number of the children of Israel. . . . The
Lord's (Jehovah's) portion is his people; Jacob is
the lot of his inheritance." What then have other
nations who call themselves Aryans to do with this
Semitic deity, the tribal god of Israel? Astronomi-
cally, the ' ' Most High ' ' is the sun, and ' ' the Lord ' '
is one of his seven planets, whether he he lao, the
genius of the moon, or Ilda-Baoth-Jehovah, that of
Saturn, according to Origen, who ^ves Adonai as
the Sun ; lao, the Moon ; Eloi, Jupiter ; Sabao, Mars ;
Orai, Venus; Astaphoi, Mercury; and Ildabaoth,
Saturn.

Revised Tersion — " The ohlliiren of men.'" — Editor.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 491

It has been repeatedly stated in this work that
every religious and philosophical symbol has seven
meanings, each pertaining to its special plane of
thought, whether metaphysical, astronomical, psy-
chic, physiological, etc. These seven meanings and
their applications are hard enough to learn by them-
selves, hut become ten-fold more puzzling when, in-
stead of being correlated one with another, any one
of these meanings is accepted as the one and sole
explanation of the whole symbolical idea. Symholo-
gists have discovered with dismay that their adopted
deity was only a mask for many other gods, the
genius of the Moon and Saturn with the Jews, of
the Sun and Jupiter with the early Christians ; that
the Trinity was in truth only an astronomical triad
(unless they accepted the more abstract interpreta-
tion of the Gentiles) composed of the Sun (the
Father), Mercury (the Son), and Venus (the Holy
Ghost) ; Sophia, the Spirit of Wisdom, Love and
Truth, and Lucifer, as Christ, the bright and morn-
ing star. (v. Rev. xxii. 16.) Because, the Father
being the Sun, the nearest planet to it is Mercury
(the name of whose mother was Maia), the planet
which receives seven times more light than any
other; which fact led the Gnostics to call their
Chi'istos " the seven-fold light."

In Isis Unveiled (II., 298) we are told that the
name lao neither originated with, nor was it the
sole property of the Jews, but was a mystory-name
from the beginning. Fiirst says that in an old reli-
^on of the Chaldeans, whose remains are to he
fonnd among the Neo-Platonists, the highest Divin-
ity .. . representing the Spiritual Light-Prin-
ciple . . . was called lao. The Phcenicians had
a Supreme God whose name also was triliteral and
secret, and he was lao.

The Cross is one of the most ancient — nay, per-
haps, the most ancient of symbols. This was demon-

492 THE SECEET DOCTEINE

strated at the very beginning of this book. The
Eastern Initiates showed the cross as coeval with
the Circle of Divine Infinitude, and the first differ-
entiation of the Essence, the union of Spirit and
Matter. This was rejected, and the astronomical
allegory alone was accepted, and made to fit certam
cunningly arranged terrestrial events. For in-
stance, in astronomy Mercury is the son of Coelus
and Lux — of the sky and light (or the Sun); in
mythology his parents are Jupiter and Maia. He is
the *' messenger " of his Father, and in Greek his
name, Hermes, means, among other things, the '* In-
terpreter, ^ ' the * ' Word ^ ' of mouth ; the Verbum, or
Logos. The symbols of Hermes-Mercury (the Dii
Termini) were placed along and at the corners of
roads, and they were cruciform. Every seventh
day the priests anointed these termini with oil, and
once a year hung them with garlands, hence they
were the anointed. Mercury was often represented
as three-headed, and called '* Tricephalos '' and
** Triplex," as being one with the Sun and Venus.
Finally, Mercury was sometimes figured under a
cubic form without arms, because *' the power of
speech and eloquence can prevail without the help of
arms or feet. " It is this cubic form which connects
the termini directly with the cross, and the power of
speech, or eloquence, of Mercury, which made the
crafty Eusebius say, ** Hermes is the emblem of
the Word which creates and interprets all, ' ' for it
is the creative word, and Porphyry taught that the
speech of Hermes, a creative speech, is the seminal
principle scattered throughout the Universe. In
alchemy '* Mercury " is the radical Moyst, primitive
or elementary water, containing the seed of the Uni-
verse, fecundated by the solar fires. To express tbis
fertilizing principle a phallus was often added hy
the Egyptians to the cross (the male and female,
or vertical and laoivLoiital united). The cruciform

^seWnij;

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 493

mini also represented this dual idea, which was
found in Egypt in the cuhic Hermes.

As Mr. Ralston in The Source of Measures has
shown, the cube unfolded becomes in display a cross
of the tau, or Egyptian form; or, again, the circle
attached to the tau, gives the ansated cross of the
old Pharaohs.

1. The cube unfolded, r-P-. . 2. The ansated cross,

' • T „

3. The man attached to the cross, rm-

They had known this from their priests and
" King Initiates " for ages, and also what was
meant by the " attachment of a man to the cross,"
which idea " was made to co-ordinate with that of
the origin of human life, and hence the phallic
form." Only this symbol came into being seons and
aeons after the idea of the carpenter and artificer of
the gods, Visvakarma, crucifying the " Sun- Initi-
ate " on the cruciform lathe. By the Hindus, as Mr.
Ralston writes, " the attachment of a man to the
cross . . . was made use of in this very form
of display by the Hindus ' ' ; but made to co-ordinate
with the idea of the new birth of man by spiritual,
not physical regeneration. The candidate for initia-
tion was attached to the tau or astronomical cross
with a far grander and nobler idea than that of the
origin of mere terrestrial life.

On the other hand, the Jewish Deity seems to be
at best only the manifested duad, never the One
Absolute All. This may have satisfied the practical
Semite mind, but the Eastern Occultist would de-
cline the offer of such a God. He is, at best, one
of the subordinate creative powers, the totality of
which is called the Sephiroth, Adam Kadmon, the
" Heavenly Man," and the second Logos of the Pla-
tonists. The fact is, that the Western mystics begin
their speculations only at the stage when the uni-

494 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

verse " falls into matter," as the Occultists say.
Throughout the whole series of Kabalistic books we
have not met with one sentence that would hint in
the remotest way at the psychological and spiritaal,
as well as the mechanical and physiological secreta
of " creation."

It is not then in the Bible that we have to search
for the origin of the Cross and Circle, but beyond
the Flood. Sometliing of the divine and mysterious
has ever been ascribed by the ancient philosophers
to the shape of the circle. The old world, imiting
the visible and the invisible Infinitudes into one,
represented Deity and its outward Veil alike by ft
circle. Plato (see Cratylus) derives the word theoi
from theein,"- to move," as suggested by the motion '
of the heavenly bodies which he connects with Deityi'
According to the Esoteric philosophy, this Deity %
(during its cycles of rest and activity) the etemi
perpetual motion, the Evek-Becoming, as well l^
the ever universally present, and the ever-Existing
The latter is the root-abstraction; the former th
only conception possible to the human mind, pre
viding it disconnect this deity from any shape o
form. It is a perpetual, never-ceasing evolutioi
circling back in its incessant progress through seon
of duration to its original status — Absolute TJuin

That very learned work, Tlie Natural Qenesii
by Mr. Gerald Massey, contains more informatio
on the cross and the circle than any other work n
know. He who would have proof of the antiquil
of the cross is referred to these two volumes. Tl
author also shows that the circle and the cross aj
inseparable. ..." The crux misata unites tl
circle and the cross of the four corners. From th!
origin they came to be interchangeable at timet
For example, the Chakra, or Disk of Vishnu, is ■
circle," denoting the wheel of time. " This the g<
a weapon to hurl at the enemy. In lil

^r THE SECRET DOCTEINE 495

manner, Thor throws his weapon, the Fylfot, a form
of \Kt the Swastica, and a type of the four quarters.
Thus the cross is equivalent to the circle of the year.
. . . The wheel emblem unites the cross and cir-
cle in one."

But the most curious of the Egyptian symhols of
cross and circle spoken of by Mr. Massey is one
which receives its full explanation and final color
from Aryan symbols of the same nature. " The
most sacred cross of Egypt," he says, " was that
carried in the hands of the gods, the Pharoahs and
the mummied dead, the Anlch ? the sign of life, the
living, an oath, the covenant. ... The top of
this is the hieroglyphic Ru t set upright on the
Tau-Cross. The Rn is the gate, door, mouth, the
place of outlet. This denotes the birthplace in the
northern quarter of the heavens, from which the
Stm is reborn. Hence the Eu of the Ankh sign is
the feminine type of the birthplace in the north.
The first sign of the primordial cycle made in heaven
is the earliest shape of the Ankh cross r , a mere
loop, containing the circle and cross in one image.
This represents the circle made in the northern
heaven by the Great Bear, which constituted the
earliest year of time. The Ankh was the sign of
all beginning {Arche) on this account, and the Ankh
tie is the cross of the North."

Now this again is entirely astronomical and phal-
lic. The Puranic version in India gives the whole
another color. The Ankh tie does not belong to
Egypt alone. It exists as the pdsa, a cord which
Siva holds in the hand of his right
back ann. It is held in such a way
that it is the first finger and Iiand
near the thumb which make the
cross. In the hand of Siva it be-
comes Unghaic and yonic. Siva, as
said before, is unknown by that name

496 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

in the Vedas, and it ia in the white Yajur Veda that
he appears for the first time as the great god -whose
sj-mbol is the lingham. In the Rig Veda he is called
Eudra, " the Howler," the Healer and the De-
stroyer, He is the divine Ego aspiring to return to
it8 pure, deific state, and at the same time that divine
Ego imprisoned in earthly form, whose fierce pas-
sions make of him " the Howler," " the Terrible."
Hence the cruciform noose (the pdsa) m his hand,
when he is represented as the great ascetic, has i
phallic significance. As an emblem of " the plae
of outlet," it signifies the " strait gate " that Uai
to the kingdom of heaven, far more than the " birth-
place " in a physiological sense.

It is a cross in a circle and a Crux Ansata tmly;
but it is a Cross on which all the human passions
have to be crucified before the Yogi passes througii
the " strait gate," the narrow circle that widens
into an infinite one, as soon as the inner man has
passed the threshold.

The great Circle of Time, on the face of which
Indian fancy has represented the Tortoise, has the
cross placed on it by nature. As the Bhagavata
Purdna says {V. xxs.), " at the extremity of the
tail of that animal, whose head is directed towards
the South, and whose body is in the shape of a ring
(circle) Druhva (the ex-pole star) is placed; and

I along that tail are the Ancestors, etc.; and across
its loins the Seven Rishis " (the stars of the Great
Bear). This is indeed the first Cross and Circle, the
Eternal Circle of Boundless Time, on whose plane
lie crossways all the gods, creatures and creations
born in Space and Time — and who all die at the
period of Universal Night.
The Secret Doctrine teaches ns that everything
in the universe, as well as the universe itself, is
formed (created) during its periodical manifesta-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 497

tions — by accelerated Motion set into activity by
the Bkeath of the ever-unknown Power within the
phenomenal world. The Spirit of Life and Immor-
tality was everywhere symbolized by a circle ; hence
the serpent biting its tail represents the circle of
Wisdom in infinity, as does the astronomical cross,
and the winged globe, which became the sacred
8caraba:us of the Egyptians, its very name sug-
gesting the secret idea attached to it. For the seara-
beeus is called in the Egyptian papyri Khopiron and
Khopri from the verb Kkopron, " to become," and
it has thus been made a symbol of human life, and
of the successive becomings of man throughout the
various incarnations of the soul. This being, how-
ever, an esoteric doctrine, revealed only during the
mysteries by the priest-hierophants, and the Kings-
Initiates to the candidates, it was kept secret. The
mcorporeal Intelligences (the Planetary Spirits or
Creative Powers) were always represented under
the form of circles. In the primitive philosophy of
the Hierophants these invisible circles were the pro-
totypie causes and builders of all the heavenly orbs,
which were their visible bodies or coverings, and
of which they were the souls. (See Ezekiel, ch. i.
1-20.)

" Before the mathematical numbers," says Pro-
olus {in Quinto Libra Euclid), " there are the Self-
movmg numbers ; before the figures apparent, the
vital figures ; and before producing the material
worlds which move in a circle, the Creative Power
produced the invisible Circles." Pythagoras pre-
aeribed a circular prostration and posture during
the hours of contemplation. One reason why the
eat was sacred in Egypt was because it curled its
body up in a circle while asleep. The posture was
prescribed for occult and magnetic purposes, in
order to regulate in a certain way the circulation

498 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

of the vital fluid with which the cat is pre-eminent^
endowed. Hence the saying that the cat has nia
lives is based on occult and physiological facts.

The Brahmanical '* Golden Egg " from whid
emerges Brahma, the creative deity, is " the cireli
with the Central Point " of Pythagoras, and its fit
ting symbol. In the Secret Doctrine the Concealw
Unity is always found to be symbolized by a circJi
or " nought " {absolute No-thing and Nothing, bfl
cause it is infinite and the All) ; while the god mad
fested — by its works — is referred to as the diameta
of that circle. The symbolism of the underlying idffl
is thus made evident : the right line passing throu^
the centre of a circle has, in the f^eometrical sensOf
length, but neither breadth nor thickness; it is 811!
imaginary and feminine symbol, crossing etemifg
and made to rest on the plane of existence of tin
phenomenal world. It is dimensional, whereas itj;
circle is dimensionless, or, to use an algebraic^'
term, it is the dimension of an equation. AnothW
way of symbolizing the idea is found in the Pytha-,
gorean sacred Decad, which s>Tithesises in the du^
numeral Ten (the 1 and a circle or cipher) the abw
lute All manifesting itself in the Wobd or gafc
erative Power of Creation.

Those who would feel inclined to argue upon tHS
Pythagorean symbol on the ground that it is not yet
ascertained at what period of antiquity the novgU.
or cipher occurs for the first time — ^especially '"
India — are referred to Vol. II. of Isis Unveiled,
299 et seq.

Plato having been initiated, could not believe ia
a personal God — a gigantic shadow of man, ""Bfr
yond all finite existences," he says, " and secondo^'
causes, all laws, ideas and principles, there is aB;
Ihtelligbnce or Mind (nous) . . . the ultimatt'
Bubstance from which all things derive their 6ci)tf
and essence. . . . This Theos, the god over all:

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 499

is not the truth or the intelligence, but the Father
of it, and its primal cause." Speusippus and Zeno-
erates followed in the footsteps of Plato. The One,
the original, had no existence, in the sense applied
to it by mortal men. Between atheism and anthro-
pomorphism there must be a philosophical mean.
The presence of the Unseen Principle throughout all
nature, and its highest manifestation on Earth-MAN,
can alone help to solve the problem, which is that of
the mathematician whose x must ever elude the
grasp of our terrestrial algebra. Alone amongst the
Apostles of the Western religion, Paul seems to
have fathomed — if not actually revealed — the archaic
mystery of the Cross.

The four arms of the X, the decussated cross, and
of the Hermetic, pointing to the four cardinal points,
were well understood by the mystical minds of the
Hindus, Brahmins and Buddhists, thousands of
years before the symbol was heard of in Europe.
They bent the ends of that cross, and made of it the
Swastica, t?Ii!, an emblem that is found all over the
world. It implies that the " Central Point " is not
limited to one individual, however perfect. That
the Principle (God) is in Humanity, and Humanity,
like everything else, is in it, as drops of water are in
the ocean ; the four ends of the cross being turned
toward the four cardinal points, hence losing them-
selves in Infinity. ' ' "Within its mystical precinct
lies the master-key which opens the door of every
science, physical as well as spiritual. It symbolizes
our human existence, for the circle of life circum-
scribes the four points of the cross, which repre-
sent in succession birth, life, death and immortal-
ity." {Isis Unveiled, I., 508.) The claim that the
cross is purely a Christian symbol introduced after
our era is strange indeed when we find Ezekiel I

stamping the foreheads of the men of Judah who I

^^ued the Lord, " with a mark," in the Vulgate i

500 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

translated " the signum Thau." (Ez. ix. 4.) Verily
the Cross may be traced back into the depths of tlw
archaic ages I Its mystery deepens rather thaa
clears, as we find it on the statues of Easter Islancl,
in old Egypt, in Central Asia, in pre-Christian Scan-
dinavia, in fact, everywhere.

In Joshua viii. 20, and Numbers xsv. 4, the wordJ
translated " to hang," and " to nail to," are givfflt
in the Hebrew Tar gums as " to crucify," " Cruciff
them before the Lord (Jehovah) against the Sub.
The Vulgate gives it correctly — ■" to crucify."

To crucify before (not against) the sun is a phraal
naed of initiation, which comes primarily from India?
The initiated adept, who had successfully paBBe$
through all the trials, was attached, not nailed, bit
simply tied on a couch in the form of a tau T, ani
plunged in a deep sleep — the " Sleep of Siloam " "
is called to this day among the Initiates in Asil
Minor, in Syria, and even higher Egypt. He was a]
lowed to remain in this state for tliree days ad
three nights, during which time his Spiritual Eg
was said to converse with " the gods," to descem
into Hadea, Amenti, or Pafala (according to th
country), and do works of charity to the invisihl
beings, whether souls of men or Elemental Spiritis
his body remaining all the time in a temple cry|
or subterranean cave. In Egypt it was placed in tl
Sarcophagus of the King's Chamljer of the Pyrami
of Cheops, and carried during the night of the ap
proacbing third day to the entrance of a gallerjj
where at a certain hour the beams of the rising So;
struck full on the face of the entranced candidate
who awoke to be initiated by Osiris and Thoth, t
God of Wisdom. Then appeared the Hierophantt
Initiators, and the sacramental words pronounce
ostensibly to the Sun-Osiris were really addresse
to the Spirit-Sun within, enlightening the newlj
bom man. On a fragment from the Hall of the i

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 501

cestors of Totmes III., preserved in the National
Library of Paris, the disk of the Sun is represented
beaming upon an ansated cross placed upon a cross
like those of Calvary. The ancient MSS. mention
these as " the hard couches of those who were in
(spiritual) travail, the act of giving birth to them-
selves." A number of such cruciform "couches,"
on which the candidate thrown into a dead trance
was placed, were found in the underground halls of
the Egyptian temples after their destruction.

Again, let the reader study the Hindu allegories,
and remember that of Visvakarroa, the Creative
Power, the great architect of the world, called in
the Veda, " the all-seeing god," who " sacrifices
hinaself to himself, ' ' the Spiritual Egos of men being
his own essence, and therefore one with Mm. Re-
member that he is called " the builder of the gods,"
and that it is he who ties his son-in-law, Surya (the
Sun), on his lathe, in the esoteric allegory; on the
Swastika, in esoteric tradition, as on earth he is the
Hierophant-Initiator, and cuts away a portion of his
(the Sun's) brightness. (In the Tkeosophical Glos-
sary, p. 313, Surya, the Sun, is described as " the
husband of Sanjiia, or Spiritual Self-Conseiousness.
Visvakarma crucifies him on his lathe, and cutting
off the eighth part of his rays, deprives his head of
its effulgency, creating around it a dark aureole. A
mystery of the last initiation, and an allegorical rep-
resentation of \i."~-Ed.)

The figure of the Hindu Wittoba, a form of
Vishnu, even to the nail-marks on the feet, is that of
Jesus crucified in all its details save the Cross ; and
that MAN was meant is proved still further by the
fact of the Initiate being reborn after his crucifixion
on the TREE OF life, now become esoterically, through
its use by the Romans as an instrument of torture,
the tree of death.

rhus ope of the Seven esoteric meaninas of thi§

Thus

502 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

mystery of the Crncifixion is discovered in the get
metrical symbols containing the history of the evoll
tion of man. The Hebrews, whose prophet Mob«
was so learned in the esoteric Wisdom of Egypt,
adopted most ingeniously the cosmic and anthropo-
logical symbols of the " heathen " nations to their
peculiar secret records. ,

Now, the primordial system, the double glyph tha
underlies the idea of the Cross, is not of ' ' humtt
invention," for Cosmic Ideation and the spiritus
representation of the divine Ego are at its basit
Later, it expanded into the beautiful idea repra
sented in the Mysteries of regenerated man, tb
mortal who by crucifying the man of flesh and iHJ
passions became the Immortal. Leaving the bodj
the animal-man, behind him, tied on the Cross iA
Initiation like an empty chrysalis, the Ego-sou! be-
came as free as a butterfly. Still later, owing to
the gradual loss of spirituality, the cross became itt
cosmogony and anthropology no higher than e
lie symbol.

With theEsotericists from remotest times, the Unt
versal Soul or miima mundi, the material reflection
of the Immaterial Ideal, was the Source of Life of aT
beings, and of the life-principle of the three king-
doms, and it was septenary with the Hermetic philoSt
ophers, as with all ancients. For it is representee
as a seven-fold cross, whose branches are resp(

tively light, heat, electricity, terrestrial magnetism^
astral radiation, motion and Intelligence, or whs
some call self-consciousness.

Long before the cross or its sign was adopted 8
symbols of Christianity, the sign of the cross ¥a_
used among adepts and neopbjies as a sign of re
cognition, the neophytes themselves being callti
Chresto, from Chrestos, man of sorrows. Eliplia
Levi says : ' ' The sign of the cross is Kabalistie, am
represents the opposition and four-fold equilibria])

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 503

of the elements. We see by the Occult version of
the Paternoster that there were originally two ways
of making the sign, or at least two very different
formnlaa to express its meaning — one reserved for
priests-initiates, the other given to neophytes and
the profane. Thus, for example, the Initiate, carry-
ing his hand to his forehead, said: To Thee; then
he added, belong; and continued, carrying his hand
to his breast — the kingdom; then to the left shoulder,
justice; to the right shoulder, and mercy. Then he
joined the two hands, adding: throughout the gen-
erating cycles; ' Tibi sunt Malkuth et Geborah, et
Chesed per Monas ' — a sign of the Cross magnifi-
cently and absolutely Kabalistie, which the militant
and oEBcial Church completely lost through the
machinations of Gnosticism." {Dogme et Rituel,
etc., II., 88.)

She never lost the inner and higher meaning, be-
cause she never had it. The sign of the cross adopted
by the Latin Church was phallic from the beginning,
while that of the Greeks was the cross of the neo-
ites, the Chbest.

tj^des,

§XII

The Seven Vowels of the Gnostics ANn the Hinhus

We are reminded in King's Gnostics that the
Greek language has but one word for votvel and for
voice, and that this has led to many erroneous inter-
pretations. On the other hand, the fact may throw
a flood of light upon many mystic symbols. The
words Sound and Speech, for instance, so often used
in the Upa/tiishads and Purdnas, may be collated with
the Gnostic Vowels, and the Voices of the Thunders
and Angels of the Apocalypse. The same will be
found in the Pistis Sophia and other ancient MSS.

Through Hippolytus, an early Church Father, we

^
^

504 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

learn what Marcus — a Pythagorean rather than
Christian Gnostic, and a Kabalist most certainly-
had received in mystic revelation. It is said thU
" Marcus had it revealed unto him that ' the seve
heavens ' " {the Heavens are identical with the l
gels) " sounded each one vowel, which combined t
gether formed a complete doxology " ; or in clean
words, " the Sound whereof being carried dow
(from these seven heavens) to earth, became tli
creator and parent of all things that be on earth.'
Translated from the occult phraseology into ; "
plainer language, this would read : " Theaeven-foH
Logos having differentiated into seven Logoi o
creative potencies (vowels), these (the second Logo
or ' Sound ') created all on Earth."

Any one acquainted with Gnostic literature oa
hardly help seeing in the Apocalypse a work of th
same school of thought. For we find St. John saj
ing (Rev. chap. x. 3, 4) : " Seven thunders uttere
their voices . . . and I was about to . writ
. . . (but) I heard a voice from heaven sayin
unto me, ' Seal up those tilings which the seve
thunders uttered, and write them not.' " The said
injunction is given to Marcus, and to all other se«
and full Initiates. Yet the sameness of the expres
sions used, and of the imderlying ideas, always bfl
trays a portion of the mysteries. We must alwaj
seek for more than one meaning in every myater
treated allegorically, especially in those in whid
the number seven and seven times seven or forty
nine may appear. Now, in the Pisf4s Sophia, wha
the Rabbi Jesus is requested by his disciples to re
veal to them " the mysteries of the Light of thj
Father " (that is, of the higher Self enlightened bj
Initiation and Divine knowledge), Jesus answers;
" No mystery is more excellent than they which
shall bring your souls unto the Light of Lights, antO'
the place of Truth and Goodness, unto the pUaj

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 505

where there is neither male nor female, neither form
in that place, hut only Light everlasting, not to he
ottered. Nothing, therefore, is more excellent than
the mysteries which ye seek after, saving only the
mystery of the seven vowels and their forty and
NINE powEHs and the numbers thereof ; and no name
is more excellent than all these vowels." " The
Seven Fathers and the Forty-nine Sons blaze in
Darkness, but they are the Life and Light, and
the continuation thereof through the Great Age "
— says the Commentary, speaking of the " Fires."

Now it becomes evident that in every esoteric in-
terpretation of exoteric beliefs expressed in allegori-
cal forms, there was the same underlying idea — the
basic number seven, the compound of three and four,
preceded by the divine thbee, a, making the per-
fect number, ten. °

And these numbers applied equally to divisions
of time, to cosmography, metaphysical and physical,
as well as to man and everything else in visible
nature. Also these seven vowels with their forty-
time powers are identical with the three and the
Seven and the Forty-nine Fires of the Hindus; with
the numerical mysteries of the Persian Simorgh,*
and with those of the Jewish Kabalists.

The mysteries of the seven Gnostic Vowels, ut-
tered by the Thunders of St. John, can be unriddled
only by the primeval Occultism brought into India
by the primeval Brahmins, who had been initiated
in Central Asia. And this is the Occultism we study
and try to explain as far as possible in these pages.
Our doctrine of seven Races and seven Rounds of
life and evolution may be found even in the Apoca-
lypse. When the seven " thunders," or " sounds,"
or " vowels " (one meaning out of the seven for
each vowel relating directly to the seven Races of
•The Persian phtenli. Esoterically, the great cycle ot life.—

506 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

our Earth), " had uttered their voices," what c
the Angel " standing upon the sea and the earth'-
dot He lifted his band to heaven, " and sware bf
him that liveth for ever and ever . . . that theift
should be time no longer." " But in the days of
the voice of the seventh angel when be shall begin
to sound, the mystery of God " (of the cycle
" should be finished " (Rev. x. 7), which means, i:
theosophic phraseology, that when the Seventji
Round is completed then Time will cease. " Then
shall be time no longer," very naturally, since th
period of dissolution shall set in, and there shall re
main no one upon the earth to count its divisions.
Again, in the Pistis Sophia, the disciple says tl
Jesus : " Rabbi, reveal unto us the Mysteries of tbl^
Light " (that is, the Fire of Knowledge or EnUghl
enment) ..." forasmuch as we have hean
thee saying that there is another baptism of sin6k6
and another baptism of the Spirit of Holy Light,"
that is, the Spirit of FntE. " I baptize yon witl(
■water, but ... he shall baptize you with thi
Holy Ghost and with fire," says John of JesnR
{Matt. iii. 2), meaning this esoterically. The res'
significance of this statement is very profound. 1
means that John, a non-initiated ascetic, can impart
to his disciples no greater wisdom than the mys-
teries connected with the plane of matter, of which
water is a symbol. His gnosis was that of exoterifl
and ritualistic dogma. In the Cycle of Initiatiol
which was very long, water represented the first m
lower steps toward purification, while trials ccffl
nected with fire came last. Water could regenerat
the body of matter; FmE alone that of the inne
Spiritual man. The wisdom which Jesus, an Initial
of the higher mysteries, could reveal to his disciples
was the " Fihb " Wisdom of the true gnosis, or tb
real spiritual enlightenment. One was Fihe, tb
other Smoke. For Moses the fire on Mt. Sinai a

^V THE SECRET DOCTRINE 507

the spiritual wisdom imparted ; for the multitude be-
low, Mt. Sinai in (through) smoke, mere exoteric
ritualism.

Let the student read Pistis Sophia in the light of
the Bhagavadgita, the Anugita, and other Upani-
shads, and then the saying of Jesus in the Gnostic
gospel will become clear. Read this, and compare
with the Hindu scriptures. ..." And no name
is more excellent than all these (seven) vowels. A
name wherein be contained all names, all Lights,
and all (the forty-nine) powers ;_ knowing it, if a
man quit this body of matter (either in death or
trance) no smoke (no theological delusion), no dark-
ness, no Ruler of the Sphere (no personal genius or
planetary spirit called God) nor of Fate (Karma)
Bhall be able to hold back the soul that knoweth
that Name." (All the words in parentheses here
are the writer's. H. P. B.)

It is easy to see what this ' ' Light ' ' and ' ' Name ' '
are: the light of Initiation, and the name of the
'* Fire-Self," which is no name, no action, but a Spir-
itual, ever-living Power, higher even than the " In-
visible God," as this Power is Itself.

§XIII
The Cross and the Pythaoobeak Decade *

For the early Gnostics the whole of the Universe,
metaphysical and material, was contained within,
and could be expressed and described by, the digits
of the Pythagorean Decade.

This Decade, representing the Universe and its
evolution out of Silence and the unknown Depths
of the Spiritual Soul, presented two sides or aspects
to the students. It could be, and was, at first, ap-
plied to the Macrocosm, after which it descended
•More prqperty Decod.

508 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

to tbe Microcosm, or Man. There was then tbe
purely intellectual and metaphysical, or " inner Sci-
ence," and the as purely materialistic or " surface
science," both of which were contained in and could
be expounded by the Decade. It could be studied
from the TJniversals of Plato or by the inductive
method of Aristotle. The former started from a
Divine comprehension, when plurality proceeded
from unity and the digits of tbe decade appeared
but to be finally reabsorbed, lost in the infinite Circle.
The latter depended on sensuous perception alone,
when the decade could be regarded either as (he
unity that multiplies or as matter that differentiates,
its study being limited to the plain surface ; to the
Cross, or the seven which proceeds from the ten, or
the perfect number, on earth as in heaven.

This dual system, together with the Decade itself,
was brought by Pythagoras from India. In mim,
as in the universe, according to the cia-Himalayan
esoteric philosophy, it is the septenary division that
is intended by Nature herself.

"We have now to speak of the Mystery language
of tbe prehistoric races. It is not a phonetic, but a
purely pictorial and symbolical tongue. At present
it is known fully to very few, having been for more
than 5,000 years a dead language to the masses. Yet
most of the learned Gnostics, Jews and Greets,
knew and used it, although very differently. A few
instances may be given.

On the higher plane, the Number is no number,
but a nought, a cmcLE. On the lower plane it be-
comes one, which is an odd number. Each letter
of the ancient alphabets having its philosophical
meaning, the number I signified with the Alexan-
drian Initiates a body erect, a living man, standing
upright, as he alone of all the animals can. And by
adding to tbe I a head, it became P, a symbol of
paternity, of the creative potency, while in Uke man-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 509

ner R signified " a moving roan," one on his way.
Henee Pater Zeus had nothing sexual or phallic,
either in the sound or the form of its letters, nor had
Pater Deus. If we turn now to the Hebrew alpha-
bet, we shall find that while the first letter, or Aleph,
has a bull or an ox for its symbol, ten, the perfect
number, is a yodh {y, i or j) ; and means, as the first
letter of Jehovah, the procreative organ.

The odd numbers are divine, the even numbers
terrestrial, devilish and unlucky. With the early
Pythagoreans, the duad (as the beginning of differ-
entiation) was that imperfect state from which the
two roads — the Good and the Evil — diverged. All
that was double or false they called " binary." One
alone was Good and Harmony, because no discord
can proceed from one alone.

The ternary is, properly speaking, the first of the
odd numbers, as the triangle is the first of the geo-
metrical figures.* This number is truly the number
of mystery par excellence. To study it on the exo-
teric lines one has to read Ragon's Cours Intcr-
pretatif des Initiations; on the esoteric, the Hindu
symbolism of numerals and its combinations are end-
less.

The first solid figure isjthe Quaternary, symbol of
immortality. It is'the pyramid, for the pyramid is
a triangle standing on ajsquare base and terminating
at the top in a point, thus yielding the triad and the
quaternary, or the 3 and the 4. It was the Pythago-
reans who taught the relations between the gods and
the numbers, in a science called Arithmomancy. The
Soul is a number, they said, which moves of itself
and contains the number 4; and spiritual and physi-
cal man is number 3 ; for the ternary represented
for them not only the surface, but also the principle
of the formation of the physical body. Thus animals

1 represeot

510 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

were ternaries only, man alone being a septenarjs
when virtuous, but a quinary when vicious, for —

Number 5 was composed of a binary and a teF
nary, which binary threw everything in the perfed
form into disorder and confusion. The perfect man,
said the Pythagoreans, was the combination of i
quaternary and a ternary; or four material aai
three immaterial elements ; which three spirits <A
elements we likewise find in 5, when it represent
the microcosm. The latter (man) is composed o
a binary directly relating to gross matter, and S
three " Spirits "; " since 5 is the ingenious unioi
of two Greek accents g " placed over vowels whifl
have or have not to be ospira^erf." The first sign 'i
called Strong Spirit, or superior Spirit, the Spir
of God aspired or breathed by man. The aecoffl
lower sign i is the Spirit of Love, representing Hi
secondary Spirit; the third Spirit embraces ti
whole man. It is the universal Quintessence, til
vital fluid, or Life." (Bagon). [We have th(
Power and Love united to form Life, as the micf
eosm, or man.] The more mystic meaning of 5 :
given in an excellent article by Subba Row on " IS
Twelve Signs of the Zodiac " {Five Years of Them
ophy, 110 et seq.), to which the student is referre
(and also to the Secret Doctrine, first ed., II., 55
et seq.). Let us note one more thing in relation 1
the mysterious number five. It symbolizes at oi
and the same time the Spirit of Life eternal an
the Spirit of Life and Love terrestrial in the hnma
compound ; and it includes divine and infernal magib
and the universal and the individual quintessem
of being. Makara (Capricornus), the constellatia
is a seemingly meaningless and absurd name.
even besides its anagrammatieal significance in coj
junction with " Kumara," the numerical value t

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 511

its first syllable and its esoteric resolution into five
has a very great and occult meaning in the mys-
teries of nature.

SuflBce it to say that as the sign of Makara is con-
nected with the birth of the spiritual " microcosm,"
and the death or dissolution of the physical uni-
verse (its passage into the realm of the Spiritual),.
BO the Creative Powers, called in India Kumaras,
are connected with both. Moreover, in the exoteric
religions, they have become the synonyms of the
Angels of Darkness. ' ' When the Sun passes away
behind the 30th degree of Makara (Capricornus),
and will reach no more the sign of the Meenam
(Pisces), then the night of Brahma has come."
Mara is the God of Darkness and of Death, the death
of the physical, but Mara is also the unconscious
quickener of the birth of the spiritual. And it is
one of the names of Kama, the first god in the Vedas,
the Logos, from whom have sprung the Kumaras.

Nor was the number 5 less sacred with the Greeks.
The " five words " of Brahma became with the Gnos-
tics the five words written upon the akasic (shining)
garment of Jesus at his glorification. These words
were in their turn the anagrammatic blind of the
five mystic powers represented on the robe of the
'* resurrected " Initiate after his last trial of the
three days' trance; the five becoming seven only
after his death, when the Adept became the full
Chbistos, the full Krishna -Vishnu ; that is, was
merged in Perfectness. (Nirvana.)

The number 6 has been regarded in the ancient
mysteries as an emblem of physical nature. For 6
is the representation of the six dimensions of all
bodies; the six lines which compose their form,
Tiamely, the four extending to the four cardinal
points, and the two lines of height and thickness
that answer to the zenith and the nadir. Moreover,
the figure 6 was the symbol of the Earth during the

512 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

aatunm and winter " sleeping months "—(7 during
spring and summer) — as the Spirit of Life animated
her at that time, the seventh, or central, LnformiDg
Force.

Ragon givea in his Magonnerie Occulte a very good
illustration of " the hieroglyphical senary," as he
calls our double equilateral triangle, SjS. He shorn
it as the symbol of the commingling of " the philo-
sophical three fires and the three waters, whence re-
sults the procreation of the elements of all things."
It is these two interlaced triangles (which also form
the emblem of our Society) that produce the septen-
ary and the triad at one and the same time, and are
the Decade, no matter how we examine the sign, as
all the ten numbers are contained therein. For with
a point in the centre, it is a seven-fold sign; its
triangles denote the number 3; the hvo triangles
show the presence of the binary; the triangles ■with
the central point common to both yield the quater-
nary ; the six angles are the senary, and the centra!
point the nnit; the quinary being a compound of
the two triangles, the even number, and the thret
sides of each triangle, the first odd number. This
is why Pythagoras and the ancients made the nHin-
ber 6 sacred to Venus, since " the union of the two
sexes is necessary to reproduction." (Ragon.)

If we now give our attention to the Egyptian
cross, or the Tow, we may discover this letter, soei-
alted by Egyptians, Greeks and Jews, to be mys-
teriously connected with the Decade. The tau is the
Alpha and the Omega of secret divine Wisdom,
which is symbolized by the initial and the final le '
of Thot (Hermes). Thot was the inventor of
Egyptian alphabet, and the letter tau closed the
phabets of the Jews and Samaritans, who called t
character the " end " or " perfection," " culmina-
tion " and '* security." Far earlier than the intro-
duction of the phallic element into religion by the

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 513

Jews, the more spiritually minded nations had made
of the cross (as 3+4—7) their most sacred divine
symbol. The school of Pythagoras regarded the
number 7 as a compound of three and four, which
they explained in a dual manner. On the plane of
the nonmenal world, the triangle, as the first concep-
tion of the manifested Deity, was its image,
"Father-Mother-Son;" and the Quaternary, the
perfect number, was the noumenal ideal root of all
nnmhers and things on the physical plane. Some
students, in view of the Tetraktis and Tetragram-
maton, mistake the mystic meaning of the Quater-
nary. The latter was with the ancients only a sec-
oiidary " perfection," so to speak, because it related
only to the manifested planes. Whereas the Tri-
angle, the Greek delta, a, was " the vehicle of the
untnown Deity." This, in relation to the metaphysi-
cal conception, with regard to the meaning of the
Septenary in the phenomenal world, but for purposes
of profane or esoteric interpretation, the sym-
bolism changed. Three became the ideograph of
the three material elements — air, water and
earth ; and four became the principle of all that is
neither corporeal nor perceptible. But this has
never been accepted by the real Pythagoreans.
Viewed as a Compound of 6 and 1, the senary and
the unity, 7 was the invisible centre, the spirit of
everything, as there exists no body whose form is
made up of six lines, without a seventh as its cen-
tral point. See crystals and snowflakes in so-called
in.animate nature. Moreover, 7, said the Pythago-
reans, has all the perfection of the Unit — the number
of nnmbers. For as absolute Unity is uncreated
and indivisible (hence numberless) and no number
can produce it, so is the seven ; no digit within the
decade can beget or produce it.

The three figures 365, or the number of days in
.the solar year, have but to be read by the PythagO-

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

]

adS

I
^
P

rean key to yield a highly philosophical and moi
meaning. One instance will suffice. It can be read!

The Earth — animated by — the Spirit of Life.
3. 6. 5.

Simply because 3 is equivalent to the Greek gamma
or r, which letter is the symbol of Gaia (the earth) ;
while 6 is the symbol of the animating or informing
principle, and 5 is the universal quintessence which
forms all matter.

The few examples given reveal only one small por-
tion of the methods used to read the symbolical
ideographs and numerals of antiquity. The system
being of an extreme and complex difficulty, very few,
even of the Initiates, could master all the seven keys,

There was a time when the Eastern symbol of the
Cross and Circle, the Swastica, was universall)
adopted. With the esoteric, and, indeed, the t
teric, Buddhist, Chinese and Mongolian, it merf
" the 10,000 truths." These truths, they say, V
long to the mysteries of the unseen Universe,
primordial Theogony and Cosmogony. This i
the Swastica is always placed — as the ansated cro^
was in Egypt — on the breasts of the defunct myrf^
tics. " The value of the Cross as a Christian syl
bol," says Mr. Massey {The Natural Genesis, 1. 4^%
" is supposed to date from the Crucifixion.
And yet during some six centuries after the Chris-
tian era . . . the crucified Redeemer is entirely
absent from Christian art ! The earliest known form
of the human figure on the cross is the crucifix pre-
sented by Pope Gregory the Great to Queen Theo-
linde of Lombardy, now at Monza, whilst no image
of the Crucified is found in the Catacombs of Rome
earlier than that of San GiuUo, belonging to the
seventh or eighth century."

But with the pre-Christian symbologists the Cross

^r THE SECRET DOCTEINE

was, as has been said before, the bed or couch |
torture during the Mystery of Initiation, the ' ' Cruci-
fix " being placed horizontally on the ground.

Few world-symbols are more pregnant with real
occult meaning than the Swastica. It is symbolized
by the figure 6, for, like that figure, it points in its
concrete imagery to all the directions of space ; one
finds the unit everywhere, and that unit reflected in
all and every unit. It is the emblem of the activity
of Fohat, of the continual revolution of the
" Wheels," and of the Four Elements, the " Sacred
Four," in their mystical, and not alone in their cos-
mical, meaning; further, its four arms, bent at right
angles, are intimately related to the Pythagorean
and Hermetic scales. One initiated into the mystic
meanings of the Swastica, say the Commentaries,
" can trace on it, with mathematical precision, the
evolution of Kosmos, and the whole period of the
twilight before dissolution." Also the relation of
the Seen to the Unseen, and the first procreation of
man and species.

To the follower of the true Eastern archaic Wis-
dom, the Cross and Circle, the Tree or the Tan, are,
after every symbol has been read, still a profound
mystery in their past, and it is to that past alone
that he directs his eager gaze.

The Ogdoad or 8 symbolizes the eternal and spiral
motion of cycles, 8, and is symbolized m its turn
by the Caduceus. It shows the regular breathing
of the Kosmos, presided over by the eight great
gods — the seven from the primeval Mother, the One
and the Triad.

Then comes the number nine or the triple ternary.
It is the number which reproduces itself incessantly,
under all shapes and figures in every multiplica-
tion. It is the sign of every circumference, since its
value in degrees is equal to 9, i.e., to 3+6+0. It
Lbad number under certain conditions, and very

^^ bad nu

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

. <n^|

nnlncky. If 6 was the symbol of our globe ready
be animated by a divine spirit, 9 symbolized
earth informed by a bad or evil spirit.

Ten, or the Decade, brings all these digits hack
to unity, and ends the Pythagorean table. Hence
this figure — (D unity within zero — was the symbol
of Deity, of the Universe, and of man. Such is the
Becret meaning of " the strong grip of the Lion's
paw of the tribe of Judah," between two hands (the
" master mason's grip "), the joint number
whose fingers is ten.

§XIV
The Septenast in Nature

We have now to approach a mystery, the St^
tenary in nature. The sacred numbers {3, 4, 7) art*
the sacred numbers of Light, Life and Union, es-
pecially in this present life-cycle, of which 7 is the
factor and special representative.

*' When the first ' Seven ' appeared on earth,"
says the Commentary, " they threw the seed of
everything that grows on the land into the soil.
First came three, and four were added to these as
soon as stone was transformed into plant. Theo
came the second ' Seven,' who, guiding the life-
principles of the plants, produced the middle {inj
terraediate) natures between plant and moving, li^^
ing animal. The third ' Seven ' evolved thfflB
Shadoms. . . . The fifth ' Seven ' imprisoned*
their Essence. . . . Thus man became a seven-
leaved plant."

(The fourth and sixth " Seven " are omitted.)

The " Seven-leaved plant," the name given in Oi!-
cult phraseology to man, has a great significance

^ THE SECRET DOCTRINE 517

)t only in the Buddhist legends, but, under dis-
use, in the Greek " myths." The T or ^ (tau),
irmed from the figure 7 and the Greek letter F
famma), was, as before said, the symbol of earthly
'e and of life eternal ; of earthly life, because
imma is the symbol of the earth, Gaia, and hence
e Initiates in Greece called the Tau, gaieios, " son

Qaia," or" sprung from the earth "; and of life
emal, because the figure 7 is the symbol of physi-
I life linked with divine life, the double glyph
.pressed in geometrical figures being: ^ a triangle
id a square, the symbol of septenary man.
Belief in " Creators," or the personified Powers

Nature, is in truth no polytheism, but a philosoph-
ii necessity. Like all the other planets of our
'stem, the Earth has seven Logoi, the emanating
ys of the one "Father-Bay" — the Protooonos,
' the manifested Logos — he who sacrifices his Esse
ir body, the Universe) that the world may live and
ery creature therein have conscious being.
Numbers 3 and 4 are respectively male and fe-
ile, Spirit and Matter, and their union is the em- ■
sm of life eternal in Spirit on its ascending arc,
,d in matter as the ever-resurrecting element — by
ocreation and reproduction. The spiritual male
le is vertical, | ; the differentiated -matter (fe-
ile) line is horizontal, — ; the two forming the
ass +. The former (the 3) is invisible; the latter
be 4) is on the plane of objective perception. This
why all the matter of the universe when reduced

its last analysis can be resolved into four ele-
mts only — carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen
and why the three primaries, the noumenoi of the
iir, or graduated Spirit and Force, have remained
terra imcognita to exact science. Thus while the
m of Western learning have the four, or matter,

toy with, the Eastern Occultists and their dis-
jles, the great Alchemists all over the world, have

518

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

the whole seven to study from. As those Alelem-
ists Lave put it: " When the Three and the Fonr
kiss each other, the Quaternary joins its middle
nature with that of the Triad, and becomes a cube;
then only does it (the cube unfolded)., ^^, become
the vehicle and the number of Life, ^"^ the Fa-
ther-Mother Seven."

The following diagram will perhaps assist the
student to grasp these parallelisms:

Diagram VII

Human Prisciples.

1. Spirit

2. Spiritual Soul.

3. Mind.

4. Desire; tlie pdoclple'

0( animal desire,
which buruB Hercely
during life In mat-
ter, resulting In sa-
tiety : It fa Insepar-
able from animal ex-
istence.

6. Astral Bod; ; the Inert |
vehicle or form i
which the physicftl I
body Is moulded ; tbe L
Tehlcle of Life. It Is [
dissipated very short-
ly after the body dls-

6. Life, the active power'
producing all vital
phenomena.

T. The gross matter of the~|
body, the substance
formed and moulded I
over the astral by tbe [
action of Life.

Principles of Phyaiod
Nature.

I The lightest
eases; It bums la
giving oCF the most
tense beat of any i
stance la combustion,
forming water, the iW
stable of oompomids. Hf
drogen eaters largely inl*
,all organic coraponndi
I Aji Inert gas; the w
hide with which Oxjgoi
is mised to adapt the lat
J ter for animal reBplis-
I tlon ; it also enteta
largely into all orgsufc'

r The supporter of w
J bustlon ; the llfe-gi''
I gas; tbe active chemli
Ugent in all organic lifft
C Tbe fuel par excellcncei
the basis of all organlt
J substances; the (cheml-
I cal) element which form!
tbe largest variety «
Lcompounds,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 519

Now we are taught that all the earliest forms of
organic life also appear in septenary groups. From
** soft stones that hardened," or minerals, followed
by the " hard plants that softened," which are the
product of the mineral {for "it Is from the bosom
of the stone that vegetation is born "), and then to
man, all the primitive models in every kingdom of
nature begin by being ethereal transparent films.
This, of course, is only in the first beginning of life,
■with the next period they consolidate, and at the
seventh begin to branch off into species, all except
man, the first of the mammalia of the Ponrth Round.
When we speak of " animals," mammalia alone are
meant. Crustacea, fishes and reptiles are contem-
porary with, and must have even preceded, physical
man in this Round. All were bisexual, however,
before the age of mammalia in the closing portion
of the Secondary or Mezoic age, yet nearer to the
Paltesoic than to the Ctenosoic (quaternary) age.
Smaller marsupial mammalia are contemporary
with the huge reptilian monsters of the Secondary.
" First came three, or the triangle." This ex-
pression has a profound meaning in Occultism, and
the fact is corroborated in mineralogy, botany and
even geology. Salt in solution is one proof of it.
For when its molecules clustering together begin
to deposit themselves as a solid, the first shape they
assume is that of triangles, small pyramids and
cones. The pyramid is the figure of fire (whence
the word) ; while the second geometrical figure in
manifested Nature is a square or a cube, 4 and 6,
" for the particles of earth being cubical, those of
fire are pyramidal." {Enfield.) The pyramid is
the shape of the pines — the most primitive tree after
the fern period. Thus the two opposites in cosmic
nature, fire and water, heat and cold, begin their
metrographicai manifestations, one by a trimetric,
the other by a hexagonal system. For snow crys-

520 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

tals, viewed under a microscope, are all and eacl*
of them a double or a treble sLx-pointed star, m^
a central nucleus, like a miniature star withm ib^
larger one.

This brings us back to the number 7 again, a nut*^"
her closely connected with the moon, whose occi*^^
influence is ever manifesting itself in septena*^^
periods. It is the moon which is the guide of tl^^
occult side of terrestrial nature, while the sun is tt^®
regulator and factor of manifested life, and th:;*^
truth was ever evident to the seers and the adept.^^'
Jacob Boehme, by insisting on the doctrine of tl^*^
seven properties of everlasting Mother Naturt=J^'
proved himself thereby a great occultist.

But to return to the consideration of the septeu^*^"
ary in ancient religious symbolism. To the metro^^'
logical key to the symbolism of the Hebrews, whid^tl
reveals numerically the geometrical relations of th^^" ^
Circle (All-Deity) to the Square, Cube, Triangle anc::^
all the integral emanations of the divine area, maj:^^
be added the theogonie key. This key explains tha**^
Noah, the deluge patriarch, is in one aspect a per— ^-"
mutation of the Deity (Universal Creative Law) foc::^^
the purpose of the formation of our earth, its popu — -"

lation and the general propagation of life upon it

Now, bearing in mind the septenary division in di-
vine Hierarchies, the student will readily understand
that Jah-Noah is at the head of and is the synthesis
of the lower Cosmic quaternary. The upper Seph-
irothal triad A, of which Jehovah-Binah (Intelli-
gence) is the left, female, angle — emanates the Qua-
ternary, □ . See diagram on page 521.

(The arrangement and the spelling of the names
of the 10 Sephiroth are taken from Meyer's Qab-
balak. — Ed.)

The Quaternary, symbolizing by itself the
" Heavenly Man," the sexless Adam-Kadmon,
viewed as Nature in the abstract, becomes a septen-

THE SECRET DOCTEINE

DiAOBAM VIII

Aln Soph

The Wlffiout End.

The A Crown

Tiphereth
Beauty

Qlory. Hod

Ilokhmah. Wisdom

Ne-tza'h. Trlnmpb

ate again by emanating from itself the additional
three principles, the lower terrestrial, or manifested
physical Nature, Matter and our Earth (the seventh
heing Malkuth, " the Bride of the Heavenly Man "),
thus forming with the higher Triad, or Kether, the
Crown, the full number of the Sephirothal Tree —
the 10, the total in Unity, or the Universe. Apart
from the higher Triad, the lower creative Sephiroth
are seven. This is, though not directly to the point,
to faeilitate the understanding; of what follows. The
question at issue is to show that Jah-Noah, or the
Jehovah of the Hebrew Bible, the alleged creator of
man and of our Earth with all upon it is:

(a) The lowest Septenary, the Creative Elohim—
in his Cosmic aspect.

(&) The Tetragrammaton or the Adam-Kadmon,

522

THE SECEET BOCTBINE

** the Heavenly Man " — ^in his theogonic or Kaba-
listic aspects. ^

(c) Noah — ^identical with the Hindu Seed-Mann,
or human seed, left over from a previous creation
for the peopling of the Earth (as expressed in the
Purdnas, or the pre-diluvian period as rendered al-
legorically in the Bible) — in his cosmic character.

But whether a Quaternary (Tetragrammaton) or
a Triad, the Biblical Creative God is not the Uni-
versal 10 unless blended with Ain-Soph (as Brah-
ma with Parabrahm), but only a septenary, one of
the many septenaries of the universal Septenate. In,

DiAQBAM IX

Human Aspects or
Principles.

Cosmic Aspects or
Principles.

1. Spirit

2. Spiritual Soul.

3. Mind. Human

Soul.

4. Animal Soul.

. Triple Aspect of the .
^ Deity. ^

^1. The unmanifested

Logos.

5. Astral Body.

6. Life-Essence.

7. Physical Body. J

2. Universal Ideation

(latent).

3. Universal Intelli-

gence (active).

4. Cosmic (chaotic)

Energy.

Spirit of the Earth

Jehovah.

Noah

Space containing

Life, the Waters of

the Deluge.

5. Astral Ideation, re-
flecting terrestrial
things.

6. Life-Essence or

Energy.

T, The Earth.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 523

explaining Jehovah's position as Noah, it may be
best shown by placing the 3 a and 4 a , on parallel
lines with the ** Cosmic '' and ** Human '' princi-
ples.

In several Hebrew works {vide 8. D., first Ed.,
Vol. II., pp. 597 & 8) Ararat is defined as meaning
the first place of descent, or the earth; ararat for
arath, the earth.

Noah thus symbolizing both the Root-Manu or the
Power which developed the planetary chain and our
earth, and the Seed-Manu, or the Fifth Race hu-
manity which was saved while the last sub-races
of the Fourth perished — the number 7 will be seen
to recur at every step. It is Noah (as Jehovah's
permutation) who represents the septenary Host of
the Elohim, and is thus the Creator, or Preserver,
of all animal life. Esoterically, Jared is the Third
Race, and Enoch the Fourth — ^but as Enoch is taken
away alive, he symbolizes also the Elect saved in
the Fourth, while Noah is the Fifth from the begin-
ning— ^the family saved from the waters, eternally
and physically.

Noah and his three sons are the collective symbol
of the Cosmic Quaternary in the diagram, in many
and various applications. Ham being the Chaotic
(fourth) principle.

§XV

The Septekaey and the Tetkaktis *

Thus the number 7, as a compound of 3 and 4, is
the factor element in every ancient religion, because

•Differentiated matter existing In the Solar System In seven dif-
ferent conditions, and the capacity of perception existing likewise
in seven different aspects corresponding to the seven different
conditions of matter, there must necessarily be seven states of
consciousness In man (capable of a seven-fold division) ; and ac-
cording to the greater or smaller development of these states, the
systems of religions and philosophies were schemed out S. D.
IL 597.

524 THE SECEET DOCTRINE T

it is the factor element in nature. But the studei*:^'
should understand that in all such numerical divwr ~i
sions the One universal Principle — although referre*- ^^'
to as (the) one, because the Only One — never enter; "^x
into the calculations. It stands, in its character o.^ciD
the Absolute, the Infinite and the Universal Abstrac^^:»c
tion, entirely by Itselp, and independent of ever^;: — ;
other Power, whether noumenal or phenomenal. I^ HI'
" is neither matter nor spirit; It is neither Ego noi^ ■*!:
Non-Ego; and It is neither subject nor object'"^ '
{vide Art. Personal and Impersonal God, by Sublet- '<■
Row). Being itself entirely beyond human reckon-*^-
ing or calculation, yet this " huge aggregation oi^ ^^
various states of consciousness," as Subba Eo^^*^"
puts it, is a Septenate, in its totality entirely com -*!-
posed of septenary groups; simply because " th^^ s
capacity of perception exists in seven different as- '^'
pects corresponding to the seven conditions of mat- '^-
ter, or the seven properties, or states, or condition^^=s
of matter," And therefore we begin in the esoteric^*
calculations with the first manifested principle ^■
which is number one if we commence from above "^^
and number seven reckoned from below. ^f

The Tetrad, or Tetraktis, is esteemed in the Ka— ^B
bala as it was by Pythagoras, the moat perfect, ocaiH
rather sacred number, because it emanated from th^^^
one, the first manifested Unit, or rather the thre^^^
in one. Yet the latter has been ever impersonal^r ■

sexless, incomprehensible, though within the possi^ -'

bility of the higher mental perceptions. "With th^^
Hermesians the number 4 becomes the symbol o^^
truth only tvhen amplified into a cube, which un-
folded makes 7, as symbolizing the male and female
elements and the element of Life,

Some students have been puzzled to account for
the vertical line, which is male, becoming in th^
cross a four-partitioned line, 4 being a female num-
ber, while the horizontal female line (the line pf

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 525

matter) becomes three-divisioned. But this is easily
explained. Since the middle division of the cross
(or cube unfolded) is common to both lines, it be-
comes neutral ground, so to say, and belongs to
neither. The line of spirit, the vertical or male
line, remains triadic, and the line of matter, the
horizontal or female line, two-fold — ^two being an
even numbei*, and therefore female. Esoteric
philosophy explains that 4 is the symbol of the Uni-
verse in its potential state, or chaotic matter {see
Diagram /X), and that it requires Spirit to per-
meate it actively, in order that the Universe should
manifest intelligibly. This is achieved by the Cube
unfolded. Hence the ansated cross ? as the sym-
bol of man, generation and life. In Egypt anhh
signified soul, life and blood. It is the ensouled, liv-
ing man, the Septenary.

The 4 was called by the Pythagoreans the Key-
Keeper of Nature; but in union with the 3, which
made it 7, it became the most perfect and harmonious
number — Nature herself.

Plutarch explains that the Achasan Greeks re-
garded the Tetrad as the root and principle of all
things, since it was the number of the elements
which gave birth to all visible and invisible created
things, while esoterically and in plain truth, instead
of referring to the highest abstract Deity, the Tetra-
granunaton means only periodically chaotic, turbu-
lent and eternal Matter with all its potentialities.
For it is one with Nature or Isis, and is the exoteric
series of all androgyne gods, such as Osiris-Isis,
Jove-Juno, etc., etc.

The Monad l3eing one, and an odd number, the
ancients^ called the odd numbers the only perfect
ones, being masculine and applicable to the celestial
gods ; while even numbers 2, 4, 6, and especially 8,
were regarded as female, and therefore imperfect,
and were given only to the terrestrial aud m^ev^oX

526 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

caUefl
iverse

deities. The number 7 the Pythagoreans eonsiderej
to be a religious and perfect number. It was callei
" Telesphoros," because by it all in the Vniversi
and man is led to its end, that is, its eubmination.
Being under the rule of seven sacred planets, the
doctrine of the Spheres shows the 7 powers of tor-™
restrial and sublunary nature, as well as the 7 greaf
Forces of the Universe, proceeding and evolving jt
seven tones, which are the seven notes of the music^
scale. The septenary was regarded as " the mm
her of a virgin because it is unborn" like the Logoj
of the Vedantins) "without father or mother, biri
proceeding directly from, the Monad, which is tfaf
origin and crown of all things." And if the sed
tenary is made to proceed directly from the Mona
then it is (as taught lq the Secret Doctrine of tl
oldest schools) the perfect and sacred number i
this our Great Life-Cycle.

All the ancient cosmologies — the oldest cosmogra-^
phies of the two most ancient peoples of the Fifth
Eoot-Race, the Hindu Aryans and the Egyptians,
as well as the early Chinese races (the remnants of.,
the Atlantean or Fourth-Eace) — based the whole i
their mysteries on the number 10: the higher triaJ^
standing for the invisible and metaphysical worldS
the lower 3 and 4, or the septenate, for the physical
realm. It was not the Jewish Bible that first brought
the number 7 into prominence. Hesiod used the
words " the seventh is the sacred day " before thej
Sabbath of Moses was ever heard of.

Enough has been brought forward to show wh^
the human principles were and are divided in the'
esoteric schools into seven. Make it four, and it
will either leave man minus his lower terrestrial ele-
ments, or (if viewed from a physical standpoint)
of his immortal soul ; — to become comprehensible,
man must be regarded as a septenary, the seven-
fold ray from the One. We have to part from aU

i of.—

rljS

ical

ght

the

tl»«

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 527

our principles before we reach the Christ-state, and
centre ourselves entirely in the highest, the Seventh,
or the One.

§XVI

The SEPTENAEy Element in the Ancient

ScRIPTtJBES

The Rig-Veda, the oldest of all the kiiown ancient
records, may be shown to corroborate the occult
lefiehings in every respect. Its hymns — records
Ktten by the earliest Initiates of our Fifth Race
lerning the primordial teachings — speak of the
_^fren Races (two still to come), allegorizing them
by the " seven rivers of the earth," and of the iive
Races that have already inhabited this world, on
the five regions, and also of the three continents
that were. Three submerged or otherwise destroyed
continents (the first " continent " of the First Race
existing from first to last) are described in the oc-
cult teachings; the Hyperborean, the Lemurian and
the Atlantean. Most of Asia issued from under the
waters after the destruction of Atlantis; Africa
emerged still later, while Europe is the fifth and
latest, portions of the two Americas being far older.
The Initiates who recorded the Vedas, or the Teach-
ers of our Fifth Race, wrote at a time when Atlantis
had already gone down.

It is only those scholars who master the secret
meaning of the hymns of the Rig-Veda who may
hope to understand how completely their teachings
corroborate the esoteric doctrines.

In the Vendidad we have Yima, the so-called

" first man," belonging to two epochs of universal

history. He is the " Progenitor " of the Second

Race, hence the personification of the " Shadows "

^^,the Ancestors, and the father of post-diluviaa—

528 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

humanity. He is the syniboHeal man, who stands
in esotericism as the representative of the first three
races, and the collective Progenitor thereof. Of
these races the first two never died, but were ab-
sorbed in their progeny, and the third knew death
only toward its close, because death came only after
man had become a physical creature, after the sepa-
ration of the sexes, and their " fall " into genera-
tion.

It was of the new continent of Atlantis that Zara-
thustra {Zoroaster) became the law-giver and rnler.
This was in the beginning of the Fourth Race, after
the men of the Third had begun to die out. Till then,
as just said, there had been no death, but only a
transformation, for men had no personality as yet.
They had monads — ^breaths of the One Breath, and
as impersonal as the source wlience they proceeded.
They had bodies, or rather the shadows of bodies,
which were sinless, hence Karma-less, therefore for
the " souls " of men who had no personal Egos,
there could be no intermediate period between in-
carnations. Like the Phcenix, primeval man resur-
rected out of his old into a new body. Each tiinp,
and with each new generation, he became more
solid, more physically perfect, in accordance with
evolutionary law, which is the Law of Nalvre.
Death came with the completed physical organism,
and with it — moral decay.

Occultism limits the number of primordial races
to seven, because of the " seven progenitors," or
evolvers of beings. These are neither gods nor
supernatural beings, but advanced Spirits from an-
other and lower planet, reborn on this one, and giv-
ing birth in their turn in the present Round to pres- ,
ent humanity.

We may now examine the other ancient Scriptures,
and see to what extent they carry the septenary
classification. Through thousands of Sanskrit texts,

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 529

some still unopened, others yet unknown, as well aa
in all the Purdnas, the numbers 7 and 49 (7X7) play
a most important part. They are found from the
seven Creations down to the seven rays of the sun
at the final dissolution, which expand into seven
eons, and absorb the material of the whole universe.
In HjTnn SIX., 53, of the Atharva Veda (Dr.
Muir's translation), we read :

1. " Time carries (us) forward, a steed with
seven rays, a thousand eyes, undecaying, full of
fecundity. On him intelligent sages mount; his
wheels are all the worlds.

2. " Thus Time moves on seven wheels; he has
seven naves; immortality is his axle. He is at pres-
ent all these worlds. Time hastens onward the first
God."

Compare with this the following verse from the
Esoteric volumes:

' ' Space and Time are one. Space and Time are
nameless, for they are the incognizable That, which
can be sensed only through its seven rays — which
are the seven Creations, the seven Worlds, the seven
hoAVS," etc., etc.

The Puranas insist on the identity of Vislmu with
Time and Space ; ' ' that which people call the high-
est God is not a substance, hut the cause of it; not
one that is here, there, or elsewhere, not what we
see, but that in which all is — Space." And as even
the Rabbinical symbol for God is Maqom, " Space,"
it becomes clear why, for purposes of a manifesting
Deity — Spirit, Space and Matter — the one central
point became the Triangle and Quaternary (the per-
fect Cube), hence seven. Even the Pravaha wind
(the mystic and occult Force that gives the impulse
to, and regulates the course of, the stars and planets)
18 septenary. The Kurma and Linga Puranas enu-
merate seven principal winds of that name, which
winds are the principles of cosmic Space. They are

530 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

intimately connected with Alpha (" the Pole-Star
of 31,105 years ago." Theos. Glossary), which is
connected in its turn with the production of variona
phenomena through cosmic forces.

Thus from the Aryan Scriptures this number 7
has passed through Indian, Bgyjatian, Chaldaic,
Greek, Jewish, Roman and finally Christian mystic
thought, until it became impressed on every exoteric
theology.

The mysterious number is once more prominent
in the no less mysterious " Maruts," who, as the
Vayu Purdna shows, " are horn in every life-cycle
(Round) seven times seven times (49) ; that in each
Round they obtain emancipation four tim.es Beven
times (28), but their places are /illed up by persons
reborn in that character." The allegory makes of
them the children of Siva, the Great Ascetic," in
whom is centred the highest perfection of austere
penance and abstract meditation, hy which the most
unlimited powers are obtained, marvels and mir-
acles are worked, the highest spiritual hnowledgei
is acquired, and union with the great Spirit of the
Universe is finally gained."

The Maruts represent (a) the passions that storm
and rage within every candidate's breast when pre-
paring for an ascetic life — -this mystically; (&) the
occult potencies concealed in the manifold aspects
of the lower principles of ^ther — her body repre-
senting the terrestrial, lower atmosphere of every
inhabited globe — this mystically and sidereally ; and
(c) actual conscious Existences, Beings of a cosinic
and psychic nature.

At the same time, " Maruts " is, in occult par-
lance, one of the names given to those Egos of great
Adepts who have passed away, and who are known
also as Nirmanakayas ; of those Egos for whom—
since they are beyond illusion—theTe is no heaven
of rest, and who, having not yet reached Absolute

THE SECEET DOCTRINE 531

Perfectneas (Nirvana) or having volantariij' re-
nounced it for the good of mankind, remain in\-isible
on earth. The " foar times seven " emancipations
refer to the four Rounds (each with its seven
Races) that have preceded ours, in each of which
Maruts (units of life, or Monads) have been born
and reborn, and might have obtained final liberation
had they chosen to avail themselves of it. Instead
of which, they preferred the good of mankind, which
would struggle stUl more hopelessly in the meshes
of ignorance and misery — without their help, aud
therefore they are reborn over and over again " in
that character, ' ' and thus ' ' fill up their own places. ' '
Who they are, " on earth," every student of occult
science knows.

The PurdnO'S, as well as the other sacred texts,
teem with allusions to the septenary division of
Kosmos as well as man. In the Vedas — the greatest
of all authorities, though needing the key for cor-
rect reading — three terrestrial and three celestial
earths are mentioned as having been called into ex-
istence simultaneously with our Earth. As there
are, in fact, only six principles in man, since his
body is no principle, but the covering, or the sheath
of lus principles, so with the planetary chain, speak-
ing of which, esoterieally, the Earth may be left out
of consideration, being (to us) the only distinct body
of the seven. But supposing that six earths only,
instead of seven, are meant in the Vedas, what are
they, since we still know of but oneT The " Earth
that floats," on the Universal Ocean (of Space)
mentioned in the Vedas, is Prithivi, which is not
our Earth, but the World, the Solar System, and
means the broad, the wide, and Brahma divides it
(say the Purdnas) into seven principles, a cosmic
division looking metaphysical enough, but in reality
physical in its occult effects. Many millions of years
later our Earth is mentioned, and in its turn is di-

532 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

vided into seven zones. After which we read of its
seven continents, seven oceans, seven climates, etc.,
etc.

§XVII

Seven in Astbonomt, Science and Magic

In astronomy the number 7 is closely connected
with the occult significance of the Pleiades, the 7
daughters of Atlas, ** the six present, the seventh
hidden/* In India they are connected with their
nursling, the god of war, Kartikeya. It is the
Pleiades — ^in Sanscrit Krittika — ^who gave the god
their name, for Kartikeya is the planet Mars, as-
tronomically. As a god, he is a Kumar a, * * a virgin
youth, ' * born without the help of woman, of the seed
of Siva. The late Dr. Kenealy believed that in India
Kartikeya is the secret symbol of the cycle of Naros,
composed of 600,666,777 years, accordng to whether
those years are solar or lunar, divine or mortal;
and the six visible or seven actual sisters, the Pleia-
des, are needed to complete this most secret and mys-
terious of all the astronomical and religious symbols.
Therefore, when made to commemorate one partic-
ular event, Kartikeya appeared of old as a Kumdra,
an ascetic, with six heads — one for each century of
the Naros. When the symbolism indicated another
event, then in conjunction with the 7 Pleiades, he is
seen accompanied by Kaumdra (or Sena) his female
aspect. He then rides a peacock, the bird of wis-
dom and occult knowledge, the Hindu Phoenix, whose
Greek relation with the 600 years of Naros is well-
known. A Six-pointed star (double triangle), a
Swastica, a six and occasionally seven-pointed crown
is on his brow; the peacock's tail represents the
sidereal heavens, and the twelve signs of the Zodiac
are hidden on Ills body; VJc^et^i^te^ he is also called

THE SECEET DOCTEINE 533

* * the twelve-handed ' ' and * * the twelve-eyed. * ' He
is the original of St. Michael and St. George.

The years of the Naros being counted in India
either as divine years or as mortal years, makes it
exceedingly diflScult for the non-initiated to under-
stand this cycle, which plays such an important part
in the Revelation of St. John.

It is the knowledge of the natural laws that make
of 7 the root nature-number, so to speak, in the
manifested world — at any rate in our present life-
cycle, and the wonderful comprehension of its work-
ings, that unveiled to the ancients so many of the
mysteries of nature. It is these laws again, and
their processes on the sidereal, terrestrial and moral
planes, which enabled the old astronomers to calcu-
late correctly the duration of the cycles and their
effects upon the march of events ; to record before-
hand (prophecy, it is called) the influence they would
have on the course and development of the human
races. The sun, moon and planets being the un-
pring time-measurers, whose potency and period-
icity were well known, became thus the great Buler
and rulers of our little system, in all its seven do-
mains, or ' ' spheres of action. ' ' The spheres of ac-
tion of the combined Forces of Evolution and Karma
are: (1) the Super-spiritual ornoi^me^ai; (2) the
Spiritual; (3) the Psychic; (4) the Astro-ethereal ;
(5) the Sub-astral; (6) the Vital, and (7) the
purely physical spheres.

This law of periodicity has been so evident and
remarkable that physicians and theologians, mathe-
maticians and psychologists, have repeatedly drawn
attention to it. The ^' numbers " are explained in
the Commentary in these words :

* * The Circle is not the ' One, ' but the All.

** In the higher heaven, the impenetrable Lord, it
(the Circle) becomes One, because it is the indivis-
ible, and there can be no Tau in it.

534 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

" In the second (0/ the ' three Worlds ') the One
becomes two {male and female); add three {adi
the Son or Logos) ; and the Sacred Four (' Tetrad
tis,' or ' Tetragrammaton ').

" In the third (the lower world, or our earth) the
number becomes four, and three, and two. Take
the first two (4 and 3) and thou wilt obtain Sev^i
the sacred number of Life; blend the 7 with the
middle Lord (2), and thou wilt have Nine, the sacred
number of Being and Becoming."

When the Western Orientalists have mastered
the real meaning of the Kig-Vedic divisions of the
world — the two-fold, three-fold, six and seven-foli^'
and especially the nine-fold division — the mystery,
of the cyclic divisions applied to heaven and ear^
gods and men, will become clearer to them than il
is now. For —

" There is a habmont of nitmbebs its all katubb}
in the force of gravity, in the planetary movement
in the laws of heat, light, electricity and chemicm
affinity; in the forms of animals and plants, in ft*
perception of the mind. The direction, Indeed, ol
modern natural and physical science is toward 1
generalization which shall express the fundamenta
laws of all, by one simple numerical ratio. We would|
refer to Prof. Whewell's Philosophy of the Indv&*
five Sciences, and to Mr. Hay's researches into til
laws of harmonious coloring and form. From theM
it appears that the number seven is distinguisU
in the laws regvXating the harmonious perception
of forms, colors and sounds " (Medical Bevieil

I July, 1844).
More than one physician has been astonished fl
the periodical return of septenary cycles in thi
progress of various diseases, and naturalists haff
been at a loss to explain this law, but both physician
and naturalists have observed and recorded its worl
ings. Mr. Urattan Guinness, F.B.G.S., in Ms A[

^F THE SECRET DOCTKINE 535

proaching End of the Age, says that " The birth,
growth, maturity, vital funotioiis . . . changes,
diseases, decay and death of all animals, from in-
sects to man, are more or less controlled by a law
of completion in iveeks," or periods of seven days.
Dr. Laycock, writing in the Lancet (1842-3) on the
Periodicity of Vital Phenomena, says: " I think it
impossible to come to any less general conclusion
than this, that in animals changes occur every 31/2. 7,
14, 21 or 28 days, or at some definite number of
weets," all septenary cycles. And he also speaks
of the septenary periods in fevers. Mr. Guinness
and Dr. Laycock agree in dividing the life of man
into septenary periods, and Darwin, in his Descent
of Man {p. 164), connects various vital phenomena
with the tides, and shows that animals living either
about the mean high-water mark or about the mean
low-water mark, pass through a complete series of
tidal changes in a fortnight. Now it is a mysterious
fact that in the higher and now terrestrial Verte-
brata many normal and abnormal processes have
one or more weeks (aeptenates) as their periods
. . . such as the gestation of mammals, the dura-
tion of fevers, etc. ..." The eggs of the
pigeon are hatched in two weeks, those of the fowl in
three, the duck in four, the goose in five, the ostrich
in seven." {Bartlett's Land, and Water.)

If the mysterious Septenary Cycle is a law in
nature, as seems to be proved, if we find it control-
ling all the kingdoms of nature, including man, why
should it not be present and active in Kosmos gener-
ally, in its natural (though occult) divisions of time,
races and mental development? There is most as-
suredly an occult chronological system in Hebrew
Scripture, the Kabala being its warrant — which is
based on the archaic Indian system. Let the im-
partial critic compare the accounts of creation in
ihe Vishnu Purana and the Bible, and he will find

536 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

that the " seven creations " of Brahma are at the
foundation of the " seven days " of Creation in
Genesis. The two allegories are different, but the
eystems are built on the same foundation. The Bible
can be understood only by the light of the Kabala.
Let any one turn to the English, Hebrew or Latin.
texts of the Kabala, now so ably translated, and he
will find that the Tetragrammaton, which is thft
Hebrew IHVH (Jahveh), is also both the " Seplu-
rotbal Tree " — that is, it contains all the Sephiroth
except Kether, the Crown — -and the united body of
" the Heavenly Man " (Adam Kadmon), from
whose limbs emanate the Universe and everything
in it. Furthermore, he will find that the idea in the
Kabalistie books is entirely phallic and far more
crudely expressed than is that of the four-fold'
Brahma in any of the Purdnas.

To demonstrate more clearly the 7 in Nature, i
may be added that not only does the number 7 goT-'
em the periodicity of the phenomena of life, birf
that it is also found dominating the series of chenw
ical elements, as well as the world of sound aol
that of color as revealed to us by the spectroscopy'
This number is the indispensable factor in the prot-
duetion of occult astral phenomena.

It is needless to refer in detail to the number oi
vibrations constituting the notes of the musiM
scale; tbey are strictly analogous to the scale a
chemical elements, and also to the scale of color a
unfolded by the spectroscope, although in the lattflli
ease we deal with only one octave, while both i_
music and chemistry we find a series of seven oetaTal
represented theoretically, of which six are fairl]
complete and in ordinary use in both sciences.

Verily then, as Eabbi Abbas says in the Kab^
{The Greater Holy Assemhly), " We are six light
which sbine forth from a seventh (light); tbffl
{Lord) art the seventh light (the origin) of us all,!

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 537

And again: " For assuredly there is no stability in
those six, save what they derive from the seventh.
Foe all things depend from the seventh " (v. Ka-
bala I. 160-1).

The Zuiii Indians, ancient and modern, seem to
have entertained similar views. Their traditions
and records, as well as their present-day customs,
all show that their institutions — political, social and
religious — were and are shaped according to the sep-
tenary principle. Thus all their towns and villages
were built in clusters of six (bnts?) around a
seventh. Again, their sacerdotal hierarchy is com-
posed of six" Priests of the House," seemingly syn-
thesized in the seventh, who is a woman, the
" Priestess Mother."

These receive to this day an annual tribute of com
of seven colors. Undistinguished from other Indians
during the whole year, on a certain day they come
out arrayed in their priestly robes, each of the color
sacred to the particular god whom the priest serves
and personifies; each of them representing one of
the seven regions, and each receiving com of the
color corresponding to that region. Thus the white
represents the East, whence comes the first sun-
light; the yellow, the North, from the color of the
Aurora; the red, the South, whence comes the heat;
the blue, the West, the color of the Pacific Ocean ;
the black, the nether regions ; com with all colors
on one ear represents the upper regions, the firma-
ment with its stars and many-tinted clouds. The
" speckled com," each grain containing all the
colors, is that of the " Priestess-Mother "; woman
containing in herself the seeds of all races, past,
present and future; Eve being the mother of all
living.

Compare these Zuni priests with the ' ' seven great
officiating priests " spoken of in the Aimgita. the
name given to the ' ' seven senses ' ' exoterieally, and

538 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

to the " seven human principles, esotericdly.
"Whence this identity of symbolism, unless we accept
the tradition of Arjuna going over to Patala (the
antipodes, or America), and there marrying TJlupi,
the daughter of the Naga (or rather Nargal) Kingt
Seven is also the great magic number, as before
said. In the oocult records, the weapon mentioned
in the Puranas and the MahabMrata, the Agneyastru,
or " fiery weapon," is said to be built of seven ele-
ments. This weapon is one of the many thorns in
the side of modern Sanskritists. Wilson, in his
Specimens of the Hindu TJieatre, {p. 297), f aUs to
explain it, though he says it " sometimes appears
to be a mystical power exercised by the individual."
It is the fiery javelin of Brahma. How old these
seven-fold ideas are will be shown in the following
section.

§XVIII
On the Antiquity op these Docthines

The theosophists have never claimed " original
inspiration," not even as mediums, but have always
pointed, and still point, to the " primary significa-
tion " of the symbols which they trace to other
countries older even than Egypt; signification^
moreover, which emanate from a hierarchy of livini
wise men, mortals notwithstanding their wisdom
who reject every approach to supematuralism.

But the able author of The Booh of the BegW'
nings and of The Natural Genesis demonstrates
most triumphantly the truth of our esoteric teach-
ings, by showing them to be identical with those of
Egypt. The fact that this learned Egyptologist
does not recognize in the doctrine of the '* Seven
Souls," as he terms our principles or metaphysical
concepts, anything but " the primitive biology or
physiology of the Soul," does not invalidate 01

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 539

^^l^ment, because Mr. Massey touches only upon
two keys, tbose that unlock the astronomical and
physiological mysteries of esotericism, and leaves
out the other five. Otherwise he would have under-
stood that what he calls the physiological divisions
of the living Soul of man are regarded by theo'so-
phists as also psychological and spiritual. But let
the reader judge.

Says our author : ' ' The first form of the mystical
Seven was seen to he figured in heaven by the seven
large stars of the Great Bear, the constellation as-
signed by the Egyptians to the Mother of Time and
the Seven Elemental Powers."

Just so, for the Hindus place in the Great Bear
their seven primitive Sages, and call this constella-
tion their abode, but whether this is only an astro-
nomical myth, or a primordial mystery, having a
deeper meaning than that it bears on its surface,
is what their adepts claim to know. We are also
told by Mr. Massey that " the Egyptians divided
the face of the sky at night into seven parts. The
primary Heaven was seven-fold." So with the
Aryans. " The earliest forces recognized in nature
were recognized as seven. These became seven ele-
mentals, devils ( !) or, later, divinities. Seven prop-
erties were assigned to nature, as matter, cohesion,
fiuxion, coagulation, accumulation, station and divi-
sion— and seven elements or souls to man. "

All this was taught in the esoteric doctrine, but it
was interpreted, as already said, by seven, not two,
or at most three keys ; hence causes and their effects
worked in invisible or mystic as well as psychic na-
ture, and were made referable to metaphysics and
psychology as much as to physiology. " The prin-
ciple of sevening " — as our author says — " was in-
troduced, and the number 7 supplied a sacred type
that could he u^d for manifold purposes; " and
it was BO used. For " the 7 souls of the Pharaoh

540 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

are often mentioned in the Egyptian texts. . . .
Seven Souls or principles in man were identified
hy our British Druids. ' '

And then the author tabulates the two teachings,
the Esoteric and the Egyptian, and shows that the
latter had the same series, and in the same order.
Elsewhere, Mr. Gt. Massey adds that '^ the moon-
god, or, later, sun-god, expressed the seven nature-
powers that were prior to himself, and were summed
up in him as his seven souls/' (We say, principles.)
The seven stars in the hand of Christ in the Apoca-
lypse have the same significance. ' '

And a still greater one, as these stars represent
also the seven keys of the Seven Churches, or the
SoDALiAN Mysteeies, cabalistically.

But here we must be allowed to remark that no
true theosophist, from the most ignorant up to the
most learned, will claim infallibility for anythmg
he may say or write upon occult matters. We must
be ready to admit that in many a way, in the classi-
fication of either cosmic or human principles, or of
the order of evolution, and in metaphysical ques-
tions, those of us who endeavor to teach others more
ignorant than ourselves are all liable to err. Thus
mistakes have been made in I sis Unveiled, in ^50-
teric Buddhism, in Man, etc., etc., and more than one
mistake is likely to be found in the present work.
This cannot be helped. For any work on such ab-
struse subjects to be entirely exempt from error,
it would have to be written from its first to its last
page by a great adept, if not by an Avatar. But so
long as the artist is imperfect, how can his work
be perfect? '^ Endless is the search for truth!''
Let us love it and aspire to it for its own sake, and
not for the glory or benefit a minute portion of its
revelation may confer on us. For who of us can
presume to have the whole truth afrhis fingers' ends,
even upon on.e mmoT \,^^.ciJmDL^ ot Occultism t

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 541

Our chief point at present, however, is to show
that the septenary division of the constitution of
man was a very ancient one, and was not invented
by us. What the ancient writers have said upon the
subject was generally well said ; what the later ones
repeated was generally distorted.

Compare their jumbled accounts with the classifi-
cation of Jacob Boehme, the prince of all the medi-
aeval seers. He says : ' ' We find seven especial prop-
erties in Nature, whereby this only Mother works
all things " (these he calls fire, light, sound, the up-
per three, and desire, bitterness, angmsh and sub-
stantiaMy, the lower four). " Whatever the six
forms are spiritually, that the seventh, the body (or
substantiality), is essentially. . . . And all the
stars are God's powers, and the whole body of the
■world consisteth in the seven qualifying or Foun-
tain Spirits." This is our theosophical doctrine, ren-
dered in mystical language. Verily " Wisdom hath
bnilded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pil-
lars! " (Prov. ix. 1.)

{Note by the Editor.) In Vaughan's " Hours
■with the Mystics ' ' these principles are given a lit-
tle differently, and explained as follows: 1st, The
Astringent Quality, Desire or Cohesion. 2d. The
Sweet Quality, the antagonist of the first, expan-
sion or movement. 3d. The Bitter Quality, gener-
ated from the conflict of the first two, the Strife of
being. 4th. The Quality of Fire, the root of the
soiil of man. 5th. The Quality of Love, the source
of Wisdom and glory. 6th. The Quality of Sound,
the harmony of the spheres, the source of under-
standing and speech in man. 7th. The Quality of
Essential Substance, the formative principle; on
earth the plastic power ruling matter; the quality
by which all the rest comes into manifestation.

Abchaic or Modern Anthropology

lenever the question of the origin of man is of-
seriously to an unbiased, honest and earnest
)f science, the answer comes invariably: " We
t know."

i real question is : What Cause — combined with
secondary causes— produces the "variations"
J organisms themselves? The purely second-
^auaes of differentiation grouped under the
of sexual selection, natural selection, climate,
ion, etc., mislead the Western evolutionist, and
Qo real explanation whatever of the ' ' whence ' '
I " ancestral types," which served as the start-
oint for physical development. The truth is,
;he differentiating " causes " known to mod-
ience only come into operation after the phys-
ition of the primeval animal root-types otit of
■iral. Darwinism only meets Evolution at its
ly point — that is to say, when astral evolution
ven place to the play of the ordinary physical
with which our present senses acquaint us.
nderlying physiological variation in species —
' which ail other laws are subordinate and sec-
y—is a sub-conscious Intelligence pervading
r, ultimately traceable to a Reflection of the
3 Wisdom and that of the Creative Powers,
ween the evolution of the spiritual nature of
Tom " the simple cell-soul " of Haeckel, and
leged development of his physical frame from

544 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

the protoplasmic dweller in the ocean slime, there a
an abyss which will be recognized as impassable by
any man in the full possession of his intelleetud
faculties.

Haeekel says in his Pedigree of Man, etc, (pp.34-
37), " A mechanical origin of the earliest living
form was held as the necessary sequence to Darwin's
teaching. ' ' To which Occultism replies : In the
course of evolution when the physical triumphed
over and nearly crushed under its weight both the
spiritual and mental evolutions, the great gift of
Kriyasakti * remained the heirloom of only a fe»
elect men in every age. . . . Spirit strove vain^
to manifest itself in its fulness in purely organic
forms (as explained in Part I.), and this faculty
which bad been a natural attribute in the early h»
manity of the Third Bace, became one of the claSB
regarded as simply phenomenal by the Occultistsj
and as scientifically impossible by the materialists.

In our day the assertion that there exists a power
which can create human forms — ready-made sheatha
for the " conscious Monads," or developed Spirits
of past life-cycles to incarnate in — is of course con-
sidered ridiculous. As to the origin of man, not
from nothing, cemented with a little red clay, but''
from a living divine Entity consolidating the aatrfU'.'
body with surrounding materials— this conception
is too absurd to mention for the materialists.

But a deep Russian thinker, N. N. Straehof, saj
in his Fundamental Conceptions of Psychology a
Physiology, " If organisms are entities . .
then it is only just to conclude and assert that t
organic life strives to beget psychic life, but it won
be still more correct to say that the true cause i
organic life is the tendency of spirit to manifest •
substantial forms, to clothe itself in aubstantil

THE SECRET DOCTEINE 545

reality. It is the highest form which contains the
complete explanation of the lowest, never the re-
verse." This is admitting the identity of this mys-
terious, integrally acting and organizing Principle
with the Self-conscious and Inner Subject, which we
call the Ego, and the world at large the Soul.

The insuperable difficulty at the very foundation
of the Darwinian theory is that no Darwinian is able
to give even an approximate definition of the period
and the form in which the first man appeared. And
in Knowledge, Jan., 1882, we are informed that
"Science cannot and does not pretend to any knowl-
edge of the beginnings of law, matter or life."

The Ancestors of Man

Bearing in mind Darwin's theories of natural se-
lection, etc., we would ask Science which of the two
theories of evolution herewith described is the more
scientific, the one which starts from the beginning
with sexual propagation, or that which shows the
gradual development of organs and their solidifica-
tion; and the procreation of each species, at first by
simple separation of the one into two or more in-
dividuals. Then the first step towards a species
with separate sexes — the hermaphrodite condition;
then a kind of Parthenogenesis, or " virginal repro-
duction," when the egg-cells are formed within the
body, issuing from it as atomic emanations, and ma-
turing outside of it ; until, finally, after a definite
separation into sexes, human beings begin to propa-
gate through sexual connection.

Of these two theories, the former is enunciated by
"1 the exoteric Bibles (except the Puranas) and pre-

^^^le e

546 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

eminently by the Jewish cosmogony. The latter is
the one taught by the Occult philosophy.*

This shows us that every living creature and tluBf
on earth, including man, evolved from one commt ~
primal form. Physical man must have pasai
through the same stages of the evolutionary proc-
esses of propagation as other animals; he mast
have divided himself (Fission and Budding); then
as an hermaphrodite he must have given birth par-
thenogenetically to his yomig ; the next stage would
be the oviparous— at first without any frnctifyiug
element, then with the help of the fertilizing apore;
and only after the final and definite evolution of
both sexes would man become a distinct male and
female, when reproduction through sexual union
would grow into universal law.

Archaic science allows the human physical frame
to have passed through every form from the lowest
to the very highest, its present one; or from the
simple to the complex, to use the accepted terms.
But it claims that in this, the fourth cycle, the frame
having already existed among the natural types and
models of preceding Rounds, was quite ready f<
man from the beginning of the present one.

Theosophists will remember that according to 00^
cult teaching, cyclic periods of prcdaya (or disso-
lution), so-called, are but obscurations, during which
periods Nature (i.e., everything visible and invxa-
ible on a resting planet) remains in statu quo. No*'
ture rests and slumbers, no work of destruction
ing on, even if no active work is done. All fo;

•Prof. Le Cniite disttngulahes seven stages of reproduction : 1
Fiagion. 2d. Budding. 3d. The difCerentlatlon of the reprortnctljj
cells into a Bpeelal organ. 4th. The withdrawal of that organ W
the Interior of the structure. Bth. The union of sperm-cell afl^
eerm-cell In the ovule, two elements In one organ. 6th. Two a
gans in one Individual— herptapftrorffifgtra. 7th. The two organs fl
separate ladivlduale, and the heginnlng of choice and the law f
Seoual Belectlon. — Editor.

06- -^

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 547

as well as their astral types, remain as they were
at the last period of activity. The " night " of a
planet has hardly any twilight preceding it. It is
caught like a huge mammoth by an avalanche, and
remains frozen and slumbering till the dawn of its
next new days. "With the beginning of this cycle the
Monad had but to step into the astral body of " the
progenitors," in order that the work of physical
consolidation should begin around the shadowy pro-
totype. For there can be no objective form on earth
(nor in the imiverse) without its astral prototype
being first formed in Space. From Phidias down to
the humblest workman, a sculptor has to first create
a model in his mind before he oan reproduce it in an
objective figure.

We have one thing in common with the Darwinian
school; it is the law of gradual and extremely slow
evolution, embracing many million years. The chief
quarrel is with regard to the nature of the primitive
"Ancestor." We shall be told that the Creative
Spirit, or the *' progenitor " of Manu is an hypo-
thetical being unknown on the physical plane. We
reply that it was believed in by the whole of antiq-
uity, and by nine-tenths of the present humanity;
whereas, not only is the pithecoid man, or " ape-
man," a purely hypothetical creation of Haeckel's,
nnlmown and untraceable on this oarth, but further
its genealogy — as invented by him — clashes with
Bcientific facts.

It comes to this. Grant to man an immortal Soul
and Spirit, endow the whole animate and inanimate
creation with the Monadic principle gradually evolv-
ing from the latent and passive into active and posi-
tive polarity, and Haeckel will not have a leg to
stand upon. In his Present Position of Evolution
he says : " Little as we are in a position at the pres-
ent time to explain fully the nature of consciousnesa,
'Bt the comparative and genetic observation of it

vet the c

F548 THE SECRET DOCTRINE I

. clearly shows that it is only a higher and more coiD^I

plex function of the nerve-cells." But where doeeV

^
^
^

this land him? Once more right into the Occult and
mystic teachings of the Kabala about the descent
of souls as conscious and unconscious atoms ; ahoat
the Pythagorean Monad and the monads of Leibnitz,
and the " gods, monads and atoms " of esotericism.

Occultism teaches that (1) the life-atoms of onr
life-principle (Prana) are never entirely lost when
a man dies. That the atoms best impregnated with
the life- principle (an independent, eternal, conscious
factor) are partially transmitted from father to son
by heredity, and partially drawn together once more,
to become the animating principle of the new body
in every new incarnation of the Monad. Because
(2) as the individual Soul is ever the same, so are
the atoms of the lower principles (the body, its
astral or life-double, etc.), drawn as they are by
affinity and Karmic law always to the same individ--
nality in a series of various bodies, etc., etc. (Si
Transmigration of the Life-Atoms, from Five Teat_
of Theosophy, pp. 533-539.) The collective aggn*--
gation of these atoms forms thus the Anima Mundi
of our solar system, the soul of our little universe,
each atom of which is of course a souX, a monad, a
little universe endowed with consciousness, hi
with memory.

We know and speak of "life-atoms" and
" sleeping-atoms," because we regard these two'
forms of energy, the kinetic and the potential, as
produced by one and the same force, the One Life,
which we regard as the source and mover of alLi
The Life-principle, or life-energy, which is oi
present, eternal, indestructible, is a force and
Principle as noumenon; it is atoms, as phenomenon^-
In the transmigration of the Life-atoms, we say, in
explanation of what is often misunderstood: "It
{life) is omnipresent . . . though often in a

id>H

idi '
verse,
lad, a I
henoftja

ad on

3 two
al, as
Life, ,

}f aa^

omsM
and IS
renofm
lav. in ''

^F THE SECEET DOCTEINE 549

dormant state (on this plane of manifestation), as in
stone. The definition which states that when this
indestmetible force is disconnected with one set of
atoms, or rather molecules, it is immediately at-
tracted by others, does not imply that it entirely
abandons the first set (which would then disappear),
but only that it transfers its vis viva or life-power —
the energy of motion — to another set. But because
it manifests in this second set as what is called ki-
netic energy, it do^ not follow that it is not still in
the first as potential energy {static energy) or life
latent.

Ill*

Owing to the very type of his development man
cannot descend from either an ape or an ancestor
common to both, but shows bis origin from a type
far superior to himself. And this type is the " Heav-
enly Man," the Creative Spirits, or " Progenitors "
so-called, as shown in the first part of this volume.
On the other hand, the pithecoids, the orang-outang,
the gorilla and the chimpanzee can, and, as the Oc-
cult Sciences teach, do descend from the aniraalized
Fourth human Eoot-Bace, being the product of man
and an extinct species of mammal that lived in the
Miocene age, and whose remote ancestors were them-
selves the product of Lemurian bestiality. The an-
cestry of this semi-hnman monster is explained in
the Stanzas as originating in the sin of the ' ' Mind-
less " races of the middle Third Eace period. (See
Diagram V.)

When it is "borne in mind that all forms which
now people the earth are so many variations on
(seven) basic types originally thrown off by the Man

•Tbe next sectlonB od the relntlon of man and the anthropoid
apes ciTe tlie scientific views on the subject, which have been euf-
flciently explnfnefl in the chapters on the history of the Foiarth
~ L and they are therelore omitted here, — Editor.

ait

550 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

of the Third and Fourth Rounds, such an evolnt
tionist argument as that which insists on " the unit
of strufltural plan characterizing all vertebrates,'
loses its edge. (v. Diagram X.) The basic type
referred to were very few in comparison with ih
multitude of organisms to which they ultimately
gave rise; but a general unity of plan has, never-
theless, been preserved throughout the ages. The
economy of Nature does not sanction the coexist-
ence of several utterly opposed " ground plans '"
organic evolution on one planet.

A similar question is that of the ' ' rudimentaiTf
organs " discovered by anatomists in the human
body. Here again Occultism comes to our assistanea
The fact is, that as previously stated, the human
type is the repertory of all potential organic forms,
and the central point from which they radiate-
So far as our present Fourth Round terrestrid
period is concerned, the mammalian fauna alone ai*
to he regarded as traceable to prototypes shed by;
man. The amphibia, birds, reptiles, fishes, etc., an
the resultants of the Third Round, astral fossil
forms stored up in the auric envelope of the earfli
and projected into physical objectivity subsequenl
to the deposition of the first Laurentian rockft
" Evolution " has to do with the progressive mod^
fieations effected in the lower animal and vegetaU*
kingdoms in the course of geological time. It doal
not, and from the nature of things cannot, touch oB
the subject of the pre-ph-ysicol types which served
as the basis of future differentiation.

The mammalia whose first traces are diseoveroa
in the marsupials of the Triassic rocks of the Sec-'
ondary period were evolved from purely astral pro-
genitors contemporary with the Second Race. They
are thus post-human, and consequently it is easy to:
account for the general resemblance between theit
embryonic stages and those of man, who necessaril;

^«fSh(

THE SECRET DOCTRINE
DIAGRAM X

■'(Showing, as an example, the descent of the Un-
gulate Mammals.)

I. The Root, according to Occultism.
Which is one of the seven primeval physi-
eo-astral and bisexual root-typea of the
mammalian kingdom (animal). These
were contemporaries of the early Lemu-

Irian races, and are the " unknown roots "
i:.
■ 1 ' Mioceae

The Root
According to Occultism

Paleot eridiB

Eocene

^^^ teac

^K T]
^H the
^^H caus

552 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

embraces in himself and epitomizes in Mb own de
velopment the features of the groups he originated
But how to account for the various types of lowei
animal life which the form of the future child shad
ows forth in the cycle of its growth? " How comei
it that stages in the life of fishes whose aneeston
swam in the seas of the Silurian period (kous be
fore the epoch of the First Root-Race of the Fourtl
Round) as well as stages in that of the later amphib*
ian, reptilian fauna are mirrored in the ' ' epito
mized history ' ' of human fcetal development ?

This question is met by the reply that the Thin
Rotmd terrestrial animal forms bad the same rela
tion to types thrown off by Third Round man i
that new importation into our planet's area — tl
mammalian stock — has to the Fourth Round human
ity of the Second Root-Race, (See Comm. on Stanzi
VIII., V. 32.) The process of human fcetal growtl
epitomizes not only the general characteristics of
the Fourth, but of the Third Round terrestrial lifci
The diapason of type is run through in brief. Oo-
cultists are thus at no loss to account for the birtli
of children with an actual caudal appendage, or for
the fact that the tail in the human fcetus is, at ona
period, double the length of the nascent legs. Th0
potentiality of every organ useful to animal life
is locked up in man — the microcosm of the Macro-i
oosm — and abnormal conditions may not unfre^
quently result in the strange phenomena which Dar^
winians regard as " reversion to ancestral fea-
tures. ' ' Reversion indeed, but hardly in their
sense ! Holding, as we do, that the mammalian type
was a post-human Fourth-Round product, the fol-r
lowing diagram — as the writer understands the
teaching^may make the process clearer.

The unnatural -union of the primeval ape with
the ' ' mindless ' ' men was invariably fertile, be-
cause the mammalian types were not then remoU

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

553

DIAGRAM XI

Pbimeval AsTBAii Man

Second

Astral Mammals
(prototypes).

Lower
physical) Mammals.

Lower Apes.

Astral Race.

Third

(semi-astral)

Race.

Third Race Man.

Separation
into Sexes.

Fourth Race Man
(physical).

Fifth Race Man.

554 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

enough from their Root-type— Primeval Astral Man
— to develop the necessary barrier. Let us remem-
ber, in this connection, the esoteric teaching that
Man had in the Third Round a gigantic ape-like form
on the astral plane. And similarly at the close of
the Third Race in this Round. Thus it accounts for
the human features of the apes, especially of the
later anthropoids — apart from the fact of their in-
herited resemblance from their Atlanto-Lemurian
sires.

The anatomical resemblance between man and
the higher apes so frequently cited by Darwinians
as pointing to some common ancestor presents an
interesting problem, whose proper solution is to be
sought in the esoteric explanation of the genesis of
the pithecoid stocks. We have stated that the bes-
tiality of the primeval mindless races resulted in
the production of huge man-like monsters — ^the off-
spring of human and animal parents. As time
rolled on, and the still 5emi-astral forms consoK-
dated into the physical, the descendants of these
creatures were modified by external conditions, un-
til the breed, dwindling in size, culminated in the
lower apes of the Miocene period. With these the
later Atlanteans renewed the sin of the ** Mindless,"
but this time with full responsibility. The results of
their crime were the species of apes now known as
** anthropoids.^^ {v. Diagram V.)

(For many more interesting scientific details, see
Vol. II. Secret Doctrine, pp. 656-689. Two sections
on Chronology are omitted here. — Ed.)

On the Plubality of Worlds

As we are assured by archaic scientists that all
geological catac\y ^m^— ^xotsi l\i^ upheaval of oceans

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 555

down to volcanic eruptions and tidal waves, and
even extraordinary weather, are due to the influ-
ences of the moon and the planets, and even of neg-
lected and insignificant constellations — let us give
a moment's attention to our sidereal rulers.

What grounds have the Occultists in affirming
that every globe is a septenary chain of worlds of
which only one member is visible, and that all are,
were or will be " man-bearing," just as every vis-
ible star or planet ist And what is meant by the
"moral and physical influence" of the sidereal
worlds on our globes ? *

To the first of the two queries the answer is : "We
believe it because the first law in nature is uniform-
ity in diversity, and the second — -analogy. " As
above, so below." To the Occultists who believe in
the knowledge acquired by countless generations of
Seers and Initiates the data offered in the Secret
Books are all-sufficient. The general public needs
other proofs, however. Unconsciously, perhaps, in
thinking of a plurality of inhabited " worlds," we
imagine them to be like the globe we inhabit, and
peopled by beings more or less like ourselves. But
how do we know (1) what kind of beings inhabit the
globes in general; and (2) whether those who rule
planets superior to our own may not exercise the
same influence on our earth consciously, that we
may exercise on the inferior planets or asteroids
unconsciously by the changes we make in the con-
dition of the earth's surface? We are taught that
the highest Planetary Spirits (beyond their knowl-
edge of the law of analogy) are in ignorance of what
lies beyond the visible planetary systems, since their
essence cannot assimilate itself to that of worlds
beyond our solar system. When they reach a higher
stage of evolution other universes will be open to

• "Globes" or "worltla" of the Heptenary chain may be iuterpretefl
^stBtea or conditions of matter. — Editor.

556 THE SECRET DOCTEINE

them, meanwhile they have complete knowledge of
all the worlds within and beneath the limits of our
solar system.

The ordinary man has no experience of any state
of consciousness other than that to which the phys-
ical senses link him. Men dream ; they sleep the pro-
found sleep too deep for dreams, and in these states
also there must be consciousness. How then, while
these mysteries are still unsolved, can we hope to
speculate with profit upon the nature of globes be-
longing to other states of consciousness than oursf

For even great adepts (the initiated, of course),
trained seers though they are, can claim thorough
acquaintance only with planets and their inhabitants
belonging to our solar system. They know that al-
most all the planetary worlds are inhabited, but they
can have access — even in spirit — only to those of
our system ; and they also know how diflScult it is,
even for them, to put themselves in full rapport
even with the three planes of the chain of spheres
beyond our earth; planes of consciousness within
our system, but differing from those possible on
this globe. Such knowledge and intercourse are pos-
sible to them because they have learned how to pen-
etrate to planes of consciousness closed to the per-
ceptions of ordinary men; but were they to com-
municate that knowledge the world would be no
wiser, because it lacks the forms of perception which
alone would enable men to grasp it.

When therefore we find in the Bibles of humanity
'* other worlds '' mentioned, we may safely con-
clude that they not only refer to other states of our
planetary chain and Earth, but also to other inhab-
ited globes. But no really initiated seer of any civil-
ized nation has ever taught that life on other stars
could be judged by the standard of terrestrial life.
That which is generally meant by ** earths 'Vand
'^ worlds '' xelal^^ (^^^ \.^ t\ve '' rebirths '' of our

^r THE SECRET DOCTRINE 557

globe after each life*eyele and long period of " ob-
scuration"; and (2) to the extensive periodical
changes of the Earth's surface, when continents dis-
appear to make room for oceans, and oceans and
seas give place to new continents.

M. Flammarion formulates as rigorous and exact
deductions from the known facts and laws of science,
the following three conclusions :

let. The various forces which were active in the
beginning of evolution gave birth to a great variety
of beings on the several worlds, both in the organic
and inorganic kingdoms.

2d. Animated beings were constituted from the
first with forms and organisms in correlation with
the physiological state of each inhabited globe.

3d. The humanities of other worlds differ from
us as much in their inner organization as in their
external physical type.

According to the best modern calculations, there
are no less than 500,000,000 stars of various mag-
nitudes within the ranjre of the beat telescopes. Is
then our microscopical Earth — " a grain of sand
on an infinite sea-shore " — the only centre of in-
telligent life? Our own Sun. 1,300 times larger than
our planet, sinks into insignificance beside that giant
snn. Sirius, and the latter in its turn is dwarfed by
other luminaries in Infinite Space.

And now let us briefly glance at the divergences
between science and occultism on the question of
the age of the globe and of man. With the two syn-
chronistic tables before him, the reader will be able
to see at a glance the importance of these diverg-
ences, and to perceive also that it is more than prob-
able that later discoveries in geology will prove
esoteric science to be nearer to the truth. The sci-
entific names are retained in both tables, to make
the parallels clearer.

THE SECEET DOCTRINE

Paeallelism of Life

Scientific HypoihcBcs.

Selence divides the perloiJ of
the globe's hlatory since the be-
ginning at life on enrtb (or
since the Azoic" age) Into five
main tllvlsioaa or perioda, ac-
cording to Haeckel.

(History of CreaHon, p. 20.)
1. Primordial Epoch.
Laurent Inn, )
Cambrian, l Systems.
Silurian. )

The Prlmordiul Epoch, ac-
cording to Bclence. Is by no
means devoid of vegetable and
animal life. In the Laurentlan
deposits are found speelmens of
the Eosoon Caiiadense, a cham-
bered shell. In the Silurian
are discovered sea-weeda {Al-
ga) , molusks. Crustacea and
lower marine organisms, also
the first trace of ilshes. Science
teaches, therefore, that marine
life was present from the very
beginnings of time, leaving us.
however, to speculate for our-
selves as to bow life appeared
on earth.

2. Primary Epocb.

{Devonian,
noal.
Permian.

"Fem-foreatB, aiglllarla, Co-
nifern, fishes, first trace of rep-
tiles." Thus salth modem scl-
(•Jiote. Without life.)

Esoteric Theory.

Leaving the classlfioatlon of
the geological periods to West-
em Science, the esoteric phllos-
opliy divides only the life-peri-
ods on the globe. In the present
life-cycle, the nctaal period ia
separated Into seven Rounds
and seven great human Races.
Its first Round, answering to
the "Primordial Epoch." is tbe
age of the

Primeval or Divine Men, tbe
Creators and Progenitors, ot
which there are seven claBBe&
from the most perfect to the
less exalted.

The Esoteric PhllosopU
agrees with the scientific state-
ment, save In one parttcnlar;
300,000,000 years of vegetable
lite preceded the "Divine Men"
or Progenitors. Also, no teach-
iuf; denies that there were
traces of life irithin the earth
(besides the Eoroon Canadmt)
in the Primordial Epoch. On!j
whereas the said vegetation bfr
longed to this Round, the Boo-
loglcfll relics now found In tbe
Laurentlan, Cambrian and Si-
lurian systems, so-called, are
relics of the ThirA RoHMd. At
first antral, like the rest, they ,
consolidated and materialln "
pari pasm with the New
etation.

Primary Epoch.
Divine Progenitors.
Secondabt Gaotrps. and th
first two and a half Races.
may be said that we are Incon-'
sistent in not Introducing here
a Primury-Ane Man. The par-
allelism of Races and genloKl-
cal periods here adopted la
purely tentative as far as the

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

-«sateric floetrlne repeats
these are all retlce of tbe
iding Bound.

rondary or Mesozoic Epoch.

alk or CretaceoUB.
la Is the age at Reptiles, of
llgantlc Megaloaourii. leh-
anrll, Pleslosaurll, etc., etc.
ila period also appear the
(marsuplat) mammale —
Ivorous, carnivoroua, phy-
gous; and as Prof. Owen
a, an herbivoroua, hoofed

iIoglBta say that 'the only
oals yet discovered In the
flary epoch (In Burope)
he fossil remains of a
marsupial, or ponch-

MBledse. March SI, 1882.)
nee does not admit the
ranee of man hefore the
}t tbe Tertiary period, be-

man bas to be shown
;r than the higher mam-

But Esoteric Pbiloaophy
B the reverse.

origin of the First and Second
Races Is police rued, no direct
information belne available.

During the interim between
Rounds, the globe and every-
thing on It remain in statu quo.
Remember that vegetation be-
gan In Its ethereal form before
what Is called the Primordial,
running through and condens-
ing In the Primary, and reacb-
InK Its full physical life In the
Secondary.

Once, however, that the pro-
totypes are projected out of the
HStral envelope of the earth, an
indefinite amount of modifica-
tion ensues.

Secondary Epoch.
According to every calcu-
lation the Third Race bad al-
ready made Its appearance,
as during the Trlasslc there
were already a few mam-
mals, and It must have sep-
arated Into sexes.
This, then, la tbe age of tbe
Third Race. In which the orl-
ins of tie early Fourth may
Ibo. perhaps, be discoverable.
But CO definite data are yet
_ ven out by the Initiates.

The analogy Is bat n poor
one. still It may be argued that
as the early Mammalia and pre-
mammalla are shown, In the
process of evolution, merglns
from one kind Into a higher
one. anatomically, so may It be
with the procreatlve processes
of the human races. A paral-
lel might certainly be found be-
tween the Jlonotremata. the
Didelphia, and the plflceatal
mammals, divided In their turn
into three orders, like the First,
Second and Tb Ird Root-R aces
of men. (This Inclusion of the
First Race In the Secondary
period Is only a provisional
working hypothesis — the actual

THE SECKET DOCTRINE

4. Tertiary Epoch.

! Eocene.
Miocene,
Pliocene.

No mnn Is pet allowed to
hftre lived during this period.
tiaya Mr. Bdwtird Clodd (iu
Knowledge) : "Although the
placenta] mammalB, and the or-
der of Primates to which man
ia related, appear In Tertiary
tlmea, . . . the proots of
his exiating J>i Europe before
the close of the Tertiary epoch
. . . are not generally ac-
cepted here."

The above parallels stand
good only if Professor CroU's
earlier calculations are accepted,
namely, of 15.000.000 years
since the beginning of tbe
Eocene period. This, however,
would niake the whole duration
of the in crusted age of the
world only 131,600.000 years, ac-
cording to Professor Winchell,
whereas, In the Esoteric doc-
trine, sedimentation began la
this Rowid about 320.000.000
years ago. And It must be
noted that even a greater time
elapsed during the preparation
of this globe for the Fourth
Bound previotia to ttrattftcation.

D. Quaternary Epoch.

Geology has now divided the
periods and pliiced man In the
Quaternary.

{Palieolithic Man,
Neolithic Man,
Historical Period.

chronoloRy of the First, 8(
and early Third Races tiet
closely veiled by the Initial
The First Root- Race may
have been pre- Secondary,
Indeed, taught.)

4. Tertiary Epoch.
The Third Race baa now al-
most entirely disappeared, eur-
ried away by the fearful geolog-
ical cataclysms of the S«!ond-
ary age, leaving behind It but ti
(ew hybrid races.

The Fourth, bora mlUloiu of
years before these cataclysms,
perished during the Miocene pf-
riod, when the Fifth, onr Arjitn
Race, had already bad oae mil-
lion years of independent eilst-
ence. Oow much earlier IM
origin, who knows? As ihe
"nistorlcal" Period began, for
the Indian Aryans, with their
Vedaa ("tens of thousands of
years before Hesiod's Theoi-
ony," see Secret Doctrine,
450, and far earlier In the
teric Records, it Is QseleH
establish here any parallels.

Though we apply the tei
"truly human" only to the
Fourth {Atlantean) Root-Eace,
yet the later Third Is almost
human, since it was during Its
fifth Sub-race that the sepflti-
tion of sexes occurred, and tlist
the first man was bom accord-
ing to the now normal proce«
This "Srat mnn" answeri '
OefleSH to Buoa or Henoch,
of Seth. (Qen. IV. v. 26,
Contm. on atama VI. v. U

5. Quaternary Epoch.
If the Quaternary

allowed 1,500.000 years, .
only does our Fifth Race
long to It

tlH I

^r THE SECEET DOCTRINE 561

We claim that it is the " Soul," or the hiner man,
that descends on earth first, the psychic astral, the
mould on which physical man is gradually built —
his spirtual, intellectual and moral faculties awak-
ening later on as that physical stature grows and
develops.

" Thus incorporeal Spirits to smaller forms re-
duced their shapes immense "... and became
the men of the Third and Fourth Eaces. Still later,
ages after, appeared the men of our Fifth Eace,
reduced from the still gigantic (in our modem sense)
stature of their primeval ancestors to about lialf
that size at present-
Man is certainly no special creation, and he is
the product of Nature's gradual perfective work,
like any other living unit on this earth. But this
is only in regard to the human tabernacle. That
which lives and thinks in man and survives his
frame, that masterpiece of evolution — is the Eternal
Pilgrim, the protean differentiation in space and
time of the One Absolute " Unknowable."

Our globe being convulsed each time that it re-
awakens for a new period of activity, like a field
which has to be ploughed before a new crop can be
sown, it seems quite hopeless that fossils belonging
to its previous Eounds should be found in the beds
of either its earliest or its latest geological strata.
Every new life-cycle brings a renovation of forms,
types and species; every type of the preceding or-
ganic forms — vegetable, animal and human —
changes and is perfected in the next cycle, even to
the mineral, which has received in this Round its
final opacity and hardness, its softer portions having
formed the present vegetation, while the astral relics
of previous flora and fauna have been utilized in the
formation of the lower animals, and in determining |

the structure of the primeval Eoot-types of the high- j

est mammalia. And, finally, the form of the g^gan- I

i. - i

562 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

tic Ape-Man of the former Bound has been repro-
duced in oura by human bestiality, and transformed
into the parent form in the modern anthropoid.

Obqanic Evolution anh Creative Cbntees

While agreeing with modem science that Evolu-
tion works by uniform laws, and from the simpler to
the more complicated, Esoteric Science adds that the
law of development from the simple to the complex
applies only to what is known to it as the Primary
Creation — the evolution of worlds from primordial
atoms, and the pre-primordial Atom, at the first
differentiation of the former ; and that during the
period of cyclic evolution in space and time, this law
is limited, and works only in the lower kingdoms.
It did so work during the first geological periods,
from simple to complex, on the rough material sur-
viving from the relics of the Third Round, which
relies are projected into objectivity when terrestri! "
activity recommences.

No more than Science does esoteric philosopl
admit a special creation. It rejects everything '
raculous," and accepts nothing outside the uniform"
and immutable laws of Nature. But it teaches the
existence of a cyclic law, a double stream of force
(or spirit) and matter, which starting from the
neutral centre of Being, develops through its cyclic
progress and incessant transformations. The primi-
tive germ from which all vertebrate life has dovel;
oped throughout the ages, being distinct from
primitive germ from which the vegetable
(lower) animal life have evolved, there are seconi
ary laws whose work is determined by the condition*
of the materials in which they are to work, and of
which science seems to be little aware.

W THE SECRET DOCTRINE 563

It 19 the *' many " that proceed from the One —
the living spiritual germs or centres of forces — each
in a septenary form, which first generate, and then
give the Primaey Impulse to the law of evolution
and gradual slow development.

Limiting the teaching strictly to our earth, it may
be shown that as the ethereal forms of the first men
are first projected on seven zones by seven creative
centres of Force, so there are centres of creative
power for every Root or parent species of the host
of forms of animal and vegetable life. This ayain
is no " special creation," nor is there any "design "
except in the general ground-plan worked out by
the universal law. But there are certainly "de-
signers," though neither omniscient nor omnipotent
in the absolute sense of the term. They are simply
Builders, working under the impulse given them by
the One Life and Law. Belonging to this sphere
they have no possibility of working in any other,
during the present life-cycle, at any rate. That
they work in cycles, and on a strictly geometrical
and mathematical scale of progression, is amply
demonstrated by the extinct animal species; that
they act by design in the details of minor lives (of
animal side-issues) natural history can suEBciently
prove. In the creation of new species, departing
sometimes very widely from the parent stock, as in
the great variety of the genus Felis, it is the " de-
signers " who direct the new evolution by the ad-
dition or deprivation of certain appendages, either
needed or becoming useless in a new environment.
It is these terrestrial Nature-spirits who form the
aggregate of Nature which cannot but fail occa-
sionally in its designs, since, belonging to a differen-
tiated sum of qualities and attributes, it is, in vir-
tue of that alone, conditioned and imperfect.

THE SECRET DOCTRINE

DIAGRAM Xn

^B 564

^V Fac

^^H (Basic Astral Prototypes pass into the Physical)
^^H {vide Diagram X)

Pactoes Concbbned in the Okigin of Speotbs,
Animal and Vegetable

The Spiritual Creative
Impulse, equivalent to
Lamarck'H "inherent and
neeesaary" law of de-

. Variation transmitted b7 beredll

I. Natural Selectloo.

;. Sexual Selection.

;. Physiological Selection.

i. Isolation.

i. Correlation of Growth.

'. Adaptation to Environment

telligent, as opposed

leal canaation.)

Species.

In Diagram X, in which the ungulate mammai
are traced back to one of the seven primeval physic
astral root-types alluded to above, No. II repre
sents the realm explored by Western Evolutionists
the area in which climatic influences, natural t
tion, and all the other physical causes of organi
differentiation are present. But even in this da
main the eub-conseions workings of the spiritui
creative wisdom are at the root of all "the ceaa*
less striving towards perfection," though its infla
enee is vastly modified by those purely materii
causes which Spencer calls the " environment.'"

The " midway point of evolution " (according t
esoteric philosophy) is that stage where the astn
prototypes begin definitely to pass into the physica
and thus become subject to the differentiatii
agencies now operating around us. Physica! causj

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 565

tion supervenes immediately on the assumption of
" coats of skin " — that is, the physical body. The
forms of man and the other mammalia previous to
the separation of the sexes were woven out of astral
matter, and possessed a structure utterly nnlite
that of the physical organisms which eat, drink, di-
gest, etc. The known physical organisms were al-
most entirely evolved after the incipient physieali-
zation of the seven Root-types out of the Astral—
during the " midway halt " between the two planes
of existence. Hardly had the "ground-plan" of
evolution been laid down in these ancestral t>-pes
than the influence of the accessory terrestrial laws
supervened, resulting in the whole crop of mamma-
lian species, the product of ^ons of slow differen-
tiation, however. We should remember that though
the animals — mammalians included — have all been
evolved after man, and partially from bis cast-off
tissues, still, as a far lower being, the mammalian
animal became placental and separated much earlier
than man.

No. 1, in Diagram X, represents the domain of
the purely astral prototypes previous to their de-
scent into (gross) matter. Astral matter, it must
be noted, is fourth-state matter, having, like our
gross matter, its own " protyle." There are several
" protyles " in nature, corresponding to the various
planes of matter. The two sub-physical elemental
kingdoms, the plane of mind (fifth-state matter),
as also that of soul (sixth-state matter), are all
evolved from one of the six " protyles " which con-
stitute the basis of the Ob ject-Uni verse. The three
" states," so-called, of our terrestrial matter, known
as the solid, liquid and gaseous, are only, in strict
accuracy, sub-states.

(Here follow, in the original, two long chapters
on gigantic Races and submerged Continents, which

666 THE SECEET DOCTRINE

pecial ethical or spiritual value, and to which stn- 1
dents cau always have access. These chapters cover I
from p. 738 to 793 of the second volume of tli6|
Secret Doctrine. — Ed.)

And now to conclude.

We have concerned ourself with the ancient rec-
ords of the nations, with the doctrine of chrono-
logical and psychic cycles, of which these records
are the tangible proof, and with many other buIv;
jeets which may at first sight seem out of place i
this volume.

But they were necessary. Per in dealing wit!
the secret annals and traditions of so many, natiom
whose very origins have been matters of infereno*
and supposition, in giving out the beliefs and philos
ophies of earlier than prehistoric races, it is no
as easy to deal with the material as it would be i
only one race and its evolution were concerned. Th*
Secret Doctrine is the common property of thi
countless millions of men born in various climates
in times with which history refuses to deal, and ti
which esoteric teachings assign dates ineompatibli
with the theories of geology and anthropology,
birth and evolution of the Sacred Science of the paa
are lost in the very niffht of Time, and even tha
which is historic — i.e., that which is found scattera
throughout ancient classical literature — is, in abnoa
every ease, attributed by modern criticism to lac]
of observation in the ancient writers, or to snpeB
stition born of the ignorance of antiquity. It f
therefore only by bringing before the reader
abundance of facts all tending to show that in ever;
age and every condition of civilization and know]
edge the educated classes of every nation made them
selves the more or less faithful echoes of one systeii
and its fundamental traditions — that he ean be mad
to see that so many streams of the same water mus

THE SECRET DOCTRINE 567

have had a common source. If coming events are
said to cast their shadows before, past events cannot
fail to leave their impress behind them. It is, then,
by those shadows of the distant Past, cast upon
the external screen of every religion and philosophy,
that we can, by studying and comparing them, trace
out finally the body that produced them. There must
be truth and reality in that which every people of
antiquity accepted and made the foundation of its
religion and its philosophy.

When it becomes undeniably proven that the claim
of the modem Asiatic nations to a Secret Science
and an esoteric history of the world is based on
fact; that though hitherto unknown to the masses
and a veiled mystery even to the learned (because
they never had the key to the abundant hints thrown
out by the ancient classics), it is still no fairy tale,
but an actuality — then the present work will become
but the pioneer of many more such books. An in-
Btance of such hints may be given from Ragon's
Franc-Magonnerie Occnlte, p. 44. He says: " Thj
Franc Magon knew well when adopting the title that
it was no question of building a wall, but that of
being initiated into the ancient Mysteries veiled
under the name of Francmagonnerie; that his work
was only to be the continuation or the renovation
of the ancient mysteries, and that he was to become
a mason after the manner of ApoUo or Amphion.
And do not we know that the ancient initiated poets
when speaking of the foundation of a city meant
thereby the establishment of a doctrine? Thus Nep-
tune, the god of reasoning, and Apollo, the god of
the hidden things, presented themselves as masons
before Laomedon, Priam's father, to help him build
the city of Troy — that is, to establish the Trojan
religion."

Such veiled sentences with double meaning abound
in ancient classical writers. Therefore, had an at-

568 THE SECRET DOCTRINE

tempt been made to show, for instance, that Laome-
don was the founder of a branch of archaic mys-
teries,* in which the earth-bound material soul (the
fourth principle) was personified in Helen, the faith-
less wife of Menelaus, if Ragon had not corroborated
what we asserted, we might be told that no classical
author speaks of it, and that Homer shows Laome-
don building a city, not an esoteric worship or mys-
teries!

In treating of cosmogony, and then of anthropo-
genesis, it was necessary to show that no religion
since the very earliest has been entirely based on
fiction, as none was the object of special revelation;
and that it is dogma alone which is ever killing pri-
meval truth. Finally, that no human-bom doctrine,
no creed, however sanctified by custom and antiquity,
can compare in sacredness with the religion of Na-
ture. The Key of Wisdom that unlocks the massive
gates leading to the innermost sanctuaries can be
found in her bosom only; and that bosom is in the
countries pointed to by the great Seer of the eigh-
teenth century, Emanuel Swedenborg. There Ues
the heart of Nature, that shrine whence issued the
early races of primeval humanity, and which is the
cradle of physical man.

Thus far have been traced the rough outlines of
the beliefs and tenets of the archaic earliest Races,
contained in their hitherto secret Scriptural records.
But our explanations are by no means complete, nor
do they pretend to give the full text, or to have been
read by the help of more than three or four keys out
of the seven-fold bunch of esoteric interpretation.
These two volumes (of the original text) only con-
stitute the work of a pioneer who has forced his
way into the well-nigh impenetrable jungle of the
virgin forests of the Land of the Occult.

ThEBB is "K^O "RlKUGlO^ HiGHEB THAN TbXJTH.

Abr»m, aST,

AbrsB, 1B2. 436.

t, i*i, 446, tea, 469.'

Adsm-JehoTBb, 324.
Adam-Kadmou, 234. 29B, 463. 4
EZO, GZl, BBS.

Ad-lBWl

Aditi. 44G.
Adjui ■

4S4.

Adonal,
AdoHlm. 469.
A don la, 469.
AdVBDt, Hecoad. 14T.

Advci-BHiies. see,

Adytuin. 470.

MHipus BgyplJciia, 203.

^ronai;

, 233.

i, 463.

^tber, 72, 76, 90, 91, 104,
ieZ-194, 203, 243, 2S4. 258,

Afflnltr. 95, B3«.

loienioii, 22S, 24S. 44E.
izolc. 136^ Black. 9, 209;

MytWceLc, 145 ; SlITPr, 388 ; Ter

tlBrr. 303.
Ages, Great, 61, 282, 328.
Agnl, 234.
AgnlsliiTattas, 72.
AbrlmAD, 4TT.

Abara Muda. 4TG, 4T8.
A in -Soph. S22.

Air, 78, 107, 134, 13T, 172, :

192-134, 1B8, 243, 254, 258, '
Akkadians, 441, 474,
AlcbeiitlBU, 492, GIT, CIS.
Alchemy, 463.
Aleim, 442.
Alepb, 609.
Alblm. 165, 233.
All, 36, 62, 87. 14T. 191, 460. E
All-BelQg, 46.

477.

All-V

AloB,

Alpha,

AlphabetB, 63, 77, ITS, 51

Alpha DracaalB, 223.

Amentl. 86, 203, GOO.

America. 303. 423, G2T.

AmmoQ, 75, 203.

ADKsha, 357.

AmpbibiB. GGO.

Ampbion. 667.

Amrlta. 66, 196.

AmahaEpenda. 477.

Androgynes. 103, 132. 186,

Angels. 85, 97, 228. 271. 323.

361;

-_. __11 of. 57. 116, 227.
i, 474. 476. 479, 181. 432.

; Guardian, 124.

^0570

^^^H AnUi, '

^^^H Anna.

J^^M Annlbil
f ADDuni

1. 7B.

AnDlliilatloD, 145.

ADDunclsUoa. 209.

Aneated Ctobs. 614, 626.

Anson, W. S. W.. 230.

AntbropogeDeBlB, 6BB.

AntbropoiaB, 381, 3Bfi. 403, 441, 654,

Antbrapology, 131. ISB, 188, 613,

AntbropomorpblBm. 4S9.

Anu. 198, 333.

Anuglta, 258, 507. B3T.

Aour, 63.

Ape, 18B, 373, 383. 386, 404 ; like.

, 12T, 145, 196, 210,

Arcbltoctnre, 420, 4B6.
Argha, 470, 471.
Argyll. 468.

430, 431, 401, '463, 469. 473, 526,

, 471.

Aatorelli, 219, 471.

ABtral, body, 125. 12 B. 129, 143,
153, 15S. 282, 338, 343, 359. 395,
452. 48'8, 547 : Phildren, 410 ;
floubie, S7. IBS. 15S ; Ore, 68;
toTCB, 260: TobsIIb, S50 : Image,
348: lire, 404; Ugbt, 8. 48-51,
eO-62, 76, 85. Se. 106,

198, 203, 204, 229, 245,

453. 4S3. 484; man, 2S7. 372,
552, 563 ; matter. 63. fl7, 38?
665; plane. 98: roDl-lypeB, 664
Bbadov. 351. 303: splrltB, 172.

228, 290. 314. 317^
200. 2_20-2Jlt,

261, 238, 317, 327. 337,
456, 463. 490. 492. 632, 533.
VEUramaya. 327.

AtlBCto-LemurlBne. 6 54.

il-MaoBs, 122.

^tmOB, 87. 52. 63, 67. 09, 70. i
88. BO-96. 106. 107. 110. 13
114, 122-125. 136, 133, 146, II
238-240. 262, 267-274, 277. 28
283, 2S6. 426. 548. 649, 603.

U traction. 84, 171. 193, 276.

AvalDkltOHhwarB. 247.

Avatar. 475 ; Boar, 205 : Kalkl. 1
209 ; Maltreya-Buddbe, 247 : S
aya. 212; VlabDu, 142: Wl
HorBB, 4B9,

Alls, earth's, 328, 489.

Baccbun. 436.

Bal-ilu, 81. S3.

496,

Bear. LI i tie, 224.

Beglnaiags. Book ot, 538.

Being. Absolute, 12, 33. 34, 39,
42, 43. 49. SO. 73. 85, 98. L
123. 127. 163. 186, 223. Sffi
- ~— 321, 395; tha " "

r, 109.

, Dlilne, 118. 120, S34, 8*

Benetactors. Immortal, •

BlDBb. 21?. 4B0.

Blaarir, 212. G09, BID, S12.

BlDlogT. 18S.

Boreas. 304.

Bralima-Rudra, 241.
Brahma-VIsbQU, 260.

. 127. 141. 144. 184, 211.

BytboB, 44E.
CaduceuB. SeZ

Capri Porn, lES.
Carbon, BIT.
CarboDlo add. :

CBrbonlleraQB Age. 438.
Caator. 20*. 360, 361.
Cat. 177, 178. 497.

iBeleaa, 12, 4fi. 136 : FlraU
i. 111. 162, 244, 482, 543.

CbaldCB. 182, 183, 30O. 441, 4ea.
Chamber. King's, 18E. 471. 5D0.
Champolllon. 248.
ChaoB, BZ, B3, 69, 61. 90. 103. 127,

Cbaas-Tbeos-Kosn

. 200, 471. BOO.

CSriat, ZSO. 337. ■

Chronolofy. 186.

I, 404-401). 508. B14. BIB, 620.

331. 39B, 4B6. 466. 623. B47

!, Cosmlo. lee ; self, 87.

Co
Co

I Co

t. 20e. ZST. 304, 396, 4

Cosmo graptl]'. ESQ.
Cosmo Latr]', 33S.
CoBinolDgT, 83, 330,

sa, BabyloQlan, 333: Cbal-
1, 328 i Cosmic, 202; Piiranlc,

Crookcs. M[

BIG, BIT. B24. 1

CrreUIa, 42. 402.
Cube. 70, 78. BB, 187, IBB, 204. 237.
278. 402, 493, B 18-520. S24, 629.

Curds at Space. fiB, G7, TB, 134.

Cycles, 36, iss. 288, 2B0. 382, 400.
44G, 470, B3S-B3B, S46. G62, G66.
Cyclops. 411. 412.
CyloblaBtama, 402.

SagoD. 328.
Daltyas, 31S, 320.

Dsfkneia, 36. 4G. 52, 53, ES. 69, 62.
74. 81, 90, 102, 143. ISB. 193.
233. ZS7, 254: ADgels of. 511:
SODB ot. 478.

Darwin, 336^ .

DarW. 4B7.

DaTj, Sir Humplii

G43. E44, E47. I

Dead, Book of th^ 200, Zi

Deatb, 228.

DflCHdo. 80, 187, 487, EOT. C

Declmale. ZOO.
Deep, Great. 62, 1S2, 1
Delttes, B6. 72. 200, 474.
Deity, 37. :'- '- ~ "

438, 46'7.' 482'.' isY.
~ - " IBB. 210. 211.

□ euB, 214. 22B.

DevechBQ, 203. 484.

DevelopmenC, 34.

Devlle, 61. 97. S2S, 348. 4B1.

JevoiirerB, 134-1.
Dbyani-Buddbss.

Dlan

[. 553: XII, 684.

213-2

Dktynni

Dll TermlDt. 492.

DLUUOQ. 324.

Diodorua, 204.

DlonyaluB. 200, 4E9.

Diseases, sevens In, GS4, B3G.

Dissolution, E06. G2S, B48.

Dlveraity, 6EE.

Divinity, 238.

DJoDlJool, 42S.

Doctrine, Esolsrlo. IIB. 132. 661.

Dodecabedron, 195, 237, """

Dodona. 234.

Dogs, 328'.

DomlDlona. 78.

DragOE. 6fl, 61, 62, 220. 281, i
24T, 331. 346, SBD, 428. 443-'
448-450. 476, 4S1. 482, 484, <

Irutda. 205, 539.

Dust, coimic, 86. S8, '
DwIJa. 471. 472.
Dynastir, 223. 452. 461

Earth, 107, 118. 12G-127. 13T, 14B,
1T2, ZIO. Z4Z, 243. 314, 32S, ?ST.

sse, sae. sas, 4ao. 4is, ezi, 63i.

r. 204, 223, 390, 441,

, Current of, 107.

. 09, 233, 380, 472:

i. Easier. 20 E.

1B7, 190, 191. 235. 248, 283. !

Bnrptlnns. IS8, 4GZ, 453. GZ6, G3e.

274, Z7S, EBZ. 354, 3GG, 365. 406.

KHpbaa Levi. 482.

i. 80, 92, 93, XOB, 1

Em BOB lions. PrlmordlBl, 338.
Bmblema, 178. IT 9, 326.
Embrirology, 123. 3S2, E60.
BnergT, 13, T4, 91, 92, 155,

Emtlties. 123. 12S, 172. E

241, 245, ZB4, 299, 408, 458, 494,

I, 525. 538-543, 654, 662,

Ether, 31, 41. 48, 49, 61-63, 78, 83,

BIhloplans, 473.
ElbDoloer. 1S6.
Europe, 203, 423, S2T.

Eve, 60. 99, 240, 408.
Beeomlng. 494.

, 186. 2ZS. 363. .

ZSl, 235. 333, 334, 342. 344,3,..
3T2. 378, 334. 391-393. 393. 401.

I, 423, 439, 440, 45S. 459.
461. 462, 489, 533. 537, 546, 655,

, 34-38, 40, 43, 146. 149.

Father. 48. 69, 272, 279; -Ether

241 ; Mother, 16, 35, SO. 57, 73.

FauDS, 'lB8.'
Favarsm, 475, 476.
Fa-Wha-Klnc. 247.
Fellfl. 563.

, 141.

Fighters. 80,
Figures, 187, 244.

, 478.

r, 398, 466. 460. 509.

619: Angela, 397: elves, 136:
Mist, 69. 71. 106. 119, 136, 262,
421, 440; Self. 507; worahlppeiB.

First-born, 121, ;

402. 436, S60;

^■isslon, 356, 357. 3BB. 546.
J-lBme. 74, 76, 102, 120. 129. 131.
143, 144, 243. 282. 331. 334, 398;

1B4, 185. 1B7. IBS, 238, ZE5, 257.
ZflO, 2GG. 266, G29 ; Centres at,
-~~ --■ "antrltugHl, Hfl, 228.

a Buddha, 160. 20 S.

OBnesIa, 131, SOO, 438: NaWrnl,

Oeograpbera, 303.

Geology, 208, 303, 320. 327,

41S, 437. 43S. 483. 561, 562.
Oeometrr. 78. 1B5, 18B, 195,

Oerma. 4E, 49,

loly. 104. IflB. 484,

', 201. 203, 220.

. IBT. 199, 202. 22B,

at. ei. 82.

OoddeBBes, 324. j,

GodB. 86, 124. 170, 207, 218, 21

228, 236. -■- — —■ ' "

323. 339,
Golsotha, 1
Gory la, 10'

Hades, 388. 500.

, 3SI. 382. G43-E47.

Head, 233, 234,

HflErt, human. 345: Holar,

Heat, 70, 84. 534.

QBphrodlCes, 210, 21S, 819, _
9. 378-379, 418, 433. G4E, G
oeB, 81. 82. 119, 172. 201. U

erodotus, ISG.

t. 172. 224. 232. 240, 314,

409, B20.

Hlerogram, 231, 278.
HferophBDts, 119. 181

203. 317, 447, 452, 4

H Ion en TaanB. 4
HIppo-centaurB, 3
HIppolf tUB. EOS.

, 60. 123. 128.

i. 4S0; Sacred. IIB. 229. 121,

48S, E6B.
Huilar. 136.

IBO. 489. 490, 491.

IblE, 19B, ZOl.

loe, 63.

IcHtbuS. 435.

Idea, 4T9.

IdiaB, IBG. ITl. 323, 3fl0.

Ideation, 12. 13, IG, GT, S5. SI, IBS,

lg9-191. 210. GDZ.
IHVH. Gse.
ndftbaoUi. 4 BO.
IldR-Bsatb 'Jehovah. 490,
Illusion. 34. 39, 47, 49. 51, BD. Bl,

111. 130, 144, IBZ, 173. 191, 219,

284, 28S, S31, 433, 4G0.

Imagination. 892.

Immaculate CoacepllaB, 4T, 48, GO.

Immortals, S44.

IncaraatlaD, 15, 115, 244, 24G. 2BT.

. G20. GZl.
ibim, 19S.
461. ESS.

Jehovah. 9Z, 184. 198, 213, 214.

21 T, 219, 227. 228, 274, 333,

337, 433. 434, 451, 459. 4S9,
504. 521-523.

JeEUe. ei, 142, 185. 274, 291, 43G,

jDauasakU. ITl.
Job, 490.

I, 291.

JoBOphuB, 242, 476, 48fl-48B.

Joshua. 142. 4 SB.

Jove, 243.

Jove- Juno, 625.

Judaism. IBS.

Jude. 478.

Judgment, Day oC, 102.

Jupiter, B3, 99, IBS, 243, 2T2, 2T4,

318, 32e.
Justice. EterSBl, 418.

Kabata, 63, 323. 342. 48 B, 469. 4TS.

S24. 635, 536.
KaballBtR, 228, 482. 483. 493.

481, 482. 493, 497, 500-504, 527,
B66.
Initiation, 6G, 58, 118. 179. 1B3-1

111, 128-127, 16T, 194. 237, 2TB.

388, 389. 371, 386, 38T, 388. 892.
398, 399. 403, 404, 417, 41S, 482.
46T, 401, 482, 4T4. 475. 478.482.
484. 50T, 628. 633, 648: Name-

Jh. the Absolute, 2 SI, 432.
iBls. 201. 204. 2 IB. 224. !

Kb ado. 410.
Kbnoom, 203, 21

Khopiron, 4ST.

Knlgbl. Payne, 22.

Knouph. 248.

Knowledge. S, 72, S'R. PR. 13Z. 159.

194-196, 24a, SIE, 3SS. GIS.
KHshas, e. 136. 456, 45B : Vlsbciu.

dalinl-mlHl, ITl.

Kurma PurAna, GZ9.
Kwan.Bhl.rln, 103. 248-248
Kwan-yln, 103. 104, Z4«-2'
KvBD-Teo-Tlei], 103, 104.

LatODS, 204.

S, 60, Bl. 108. 109, 161, :

Leiniiria, 302, SOS, 40S. 40 B, 421-

426, 43T.
l/emurlans, 32B. 37T, 33 R. 405, 406.

420, 421. 424. 428. E4S.
Leniiiro-AtlanteaiiB, 400, 420. 447.
L«o. 120.
totterp, 77. 171, 212, 330. 458.

Lire, 10-12. 85, 38, 42, 48.

71, 79. 84, B2, B3. 101. lOB. 1!0-
IZe. 130. 131, laa. 140. 141. 203.
266. 269. 260, 275. 394, BIO. B24 :
Sllxir at. 108, 38S ; Lima Bf, ISO.

Lite «m. pKrallallsm ■at, I, BMtaHe

'. 47. 223. 2B2.

Llfe-Btoma.

Lire-auld, 260.
Lite-principle, 128, 169. 171,
Ltulit. BS. 76, 96, 121, 143 If"
232, 321. 47a, B07. 634:

137: Sons at. 87,
272. 40B.
iKbt-Mr

517.

Logoa. 76. 100, 103. 120, 121, Wfc
197, 211, 220. 2Z3-Z2B, SSZ, tU.
270, 271. Z7e, 300. 314-316, 301,

446, 44S, 464. 466, 493. BCM. Bll,

BIT ; creallvp, 12. 47, E9. 60, <t,

6B, 80, 89-91,

Lohlla, 324.

Lordi

Lgtus. 40, 50, 51, 1S8, 201, 204,3

209-211, 32B.
Lotus-Bearer. 376, 37 T.
LoTB, B6, BIO.
Lubbock, Sir Jobn, 414.
Lucifer. 69. 326. 4B1, 48S. 414. .
Luclna, 213, '

338, 339.

', 8. 11, 142, 220. 244. ]

MahatmaB. 41, S7G.

UtlmoiildeG. 4 ST.

Mmllcutb, BZl.

382. Sei. 400, 41Z, 4

. 25B. 2.60. SeS-B

Marts, ZIS.

Marlolatry, S14.

Marislil, 376.

Mars. S3. 324. 44S, 632.

Marsupials. EEO.

Mariitn, fi30. E31.

Marr. 212, ZIS.

MBBb-Mak, 267.

Masonry, 184. 567.

MasEsy. Oerald. ITT. 221, 464. 538.

MaBtem. 1S5, 255.

MaterlB-prtroa, ISB.

Material Ism. 184.

HatbeiDBtlcK, 1S5, 220. 420, Gfj3.

Matrix, 51. SI. 203, 343.

Mtttnya AraUr, 142, 212.

Matter, lOB-lIl, lia-118, 132, 136.

137. 141. 147. 143, I6S, 1B2, 186-

189. ISe, ISO. 203, 22S, 232, 263.

Z5G. Zfll, 202, 2TG, 2B0. 284. S4S.

361, 432. 434, 4S2, 606. EIT, GZl.

B23, GZB. GZS, G8Z. ESB.
Hatter. Primordial. 31. 4G, 48, 52,

--, 57, 63. 87, 69, T8, TB, 82. 84,

S4.
May. 219.
Maya, 212. 219.
Maya Durgl, 219.

Memphis, 182.

Men. 163. 183, 300, 328, 329. 832,

.. 423-426, 431, 4B3.

398. 401, ■
iBDelBUB. 668.

83. 243, 273, 274. 317.

MeBEBngers. T4. 97. lOB, 163.
Metamorphoses, 401.
Metapbyslcs. I BO.
Meteorites. 440.
Meteorography. 483.
Metsoroiogy, 463. 520.
Molls. 212.

. 334, 449.
■ '0-142.

Microcosm, 99. 1Z5, 148. 167, 182,
257, 371, 607. 610, 562.

Milk. 68. 65, 204.

Milky Way, G8, 57. 453.

Ulnas, 208.

Mind, 105. 121. 125, 138, 1GB. 1B7.
165. 172, 189, lei. 237, 37B,
276, 340. S41, 368, 3 TO, SS4. 8S2,
395, 396. 417. 432, 4GB. 4S4. G8E.

Mind, Universal. 33. 71, T8. SB, 80,

, 476.

I. 240. 408, 410.

Mlnd-SouI, 132.
MlneralOBy. 23S. 463. 619,
Miocene Age, 893, 304. 406, E4S,

Holocb. 219.

Monads. 13, 88. 95. 101, 102, lOG.
114, 122. 130-132. 143-146. 161-
l.-ia. 15B. 268. 2T0-2T2, 277-284.
<. 331. 33T-341. 349. 851, 363.

iDDSters, 328-330. 334, 381.
411, 649, 564.

335-338. 362, 422. 436. 48S, 467,

I Mortaia. 244.
1 MosasaarUB,

I wr

, 13B. 23S. 278,

Motion, 12. 3T, 44. 7S, TS. S4.

284. 464. 496.
Moulila. 166, S60.
MaaDdi. 1S7.
Movemsm, vortics:

Krstfrim. 9. ISl. 183, ISC, Z(
4E2, 466. 471. 47S. E02, El
UjiterJuiD MagniliD, 433.
Mj-Bterr-Gods. 314.
MyBlery-languago, 180-182,
Mrsterr-tTnlverBHl, 73,
MrstlcB, Aryan, 348.
Mystlc-WatctlBrB. 9B.
MjrthologT, 177.
MfUia, 412.

Nabatbean Agriculture, 466,
Nabattaeans, 46B, 4G7.
N 'cab rah, 216. 472.
Nas>, 444, C3S.
Namee, 77. 172.
Narayama, EZ.
Narayana. S82.
Naros. B32, 533.
Naimyth willow leavea. 2T4.

gea. 282, 617.
Noab, S6. 234] 471. 4

Non-Eilatenca. 34. 38.
Kon-Separatei]«SB. G7, 163.
"—Ihern LlgbU. 28H.

, BE, 71. 72, 7*, 1

I, 487, 468, 478.

NscesBltr. Cycle ot, IB. 448; Sons

74. 179, GOB-BIZ, SlU

, S2S.

Oanaea, 142, 291

Ob, 63,

Obelisks, SS.

Objectivity, Bl.

Occultism, 8. 133. 138, 166, SM,

ZBl. 2B4, 261-264, 209. 271, 2TB,

282. 383. 400-403, 414. 420. 430.

432. 440. 444. BOB. B17. 628. S4D,

E44, G48-B52, BBS. DE7.

77, B6, lOG. HE. 121. IZZ, 146,

1E4, 1B7. 164, 172, Z81, 1-...

269, 279, 3ie, 323, 323, 337. 372,
386, 408. 483. 621. 641. F

Omnlecience, 164, 1

number, BOO. I

Helloa, 21G.
NemeBls. 461.

Opfaanlm. 76,
Opbio-CbristOB, 202.
OptaiomorpboG. 228.
OpbiB, 61, 226. 446, 449.
Opbltes, Z21, Z4B.

IE outang. 404. G49.

Orders, 120-11

I, Rudimentary. CEO.

Orlgen, 213, 4S0.

Ore Me Hymua, 203.

OslrlB. 1S4, 301, 215, SIS,
45B. EOO; laLs, 026; Su
Orer-BOut. IB. 41, 47, IS.
OTUle. 646.
Ox, G09.
Oiua. 142,

OirE«D, 111, 282, SIT.
Oxynydrogen, 6T.
OilmttDdyflH, 187.
Oioue. ST, 108, 137. 2S1.

Padmapanl. 377.

pHlBEque. 187. 215.
Fan. 482.
Papyrus. 178, 203.

Faradesa. 113.
Parabydrogen, 67.

Farasaktl, 171.'
Parent len. 42.
panlti. 214.
Parchenogene '

Peacock. B32.

PantaeoD, 12E.
Pentateach. S "

Ferceptloa. 1
Perlodicll)'. 1

I, 180, 476, 190.

Perap I ration. 37fi.

r, 206. 211. 338, 346, 3BB. i

Pilgrim, 13, 144, 147. 400.

FIllarB, 186, 187.

Pineal Bland, 413. 414, 416. 117.

Pines. 619.

Pisces. 142. 143, 208. 290, 291, Gil.

PiBtlB Sophia. C03. GOl, 606, 607.

FItbecalda. 386, 411, GIT. 549. 6G4.

PltilB. 72, 240, BB8.

PlanBB, 68. 150, 167, 278, 334. 33S.

Planet- AngeU, 228.

Planetary apfrltB,272. 314, 318. B36.

Planets. 43, 65. 81, S3. 261. 271,

273, 316. 451, 4G5.
Plants. 12,

PlBEm, 123, 126, 130.
Plato, 193. 197, 198. 242, 303, 344.

364. 441. 158. 191, 497. SOS.
Pleiades, 452, 632.
PieroniB. 223.

Plutarcb. 52G.

Polygenesla, 398.
PolytSelBm, BIT.
Popes, 1B2.
Popol Vuh, 329.
Pork. 205.
Porpbyry, 49B.
Poseidon, 122, 437.
216, 331.

5-207. 423, 421. 616.

■rim a materia. 275.
■rtmaries, ISS.
Tlnclp all ties.

, 15. 62, 99, 247.

S!S;Jli:i!jlS:JI.°:S

MO'

ss:r?.r'- =•'■

379. 4B9, 512, G15. B45.
Procter, Rlcbard, 129.

■121,

320. 3S2, 33S. 340. 422, 423, 481,
B2T. E2B, B47, 648.

Prometbeus. 31T, SGO. 4GB, 4SS-4
Frapagatlon. 114. 2Z2.
ProtBgorBB, 45S,

itoplBS'

DB. GIS.

-, laa.

. 440.

ProlTlo. 47, 48. 100. 180, ;

es. Sub-, I, 3S8
I. 418: IV, 188

428: n, 3SBP

387. 404. *eXi
387; VI. 4SX:

11. 389, 431.

sBjiufll, 35fl. 3B7

-J ot, 288; Dark. SOU

I, 1B2. 1B3. 380 : prehlatr---
Bhadow. 34B; wlngea, .

Pymander, Divine. 62. 227, 300, 4TS,
479,

, I8B. 187, 217.
_. _2S, 452. 519,

„ --, 193, 197. 200. 224,

22B, 278, 297, 298, G08-B13.
FrtboD. 449.

Quintessence. BIO.
QQ-IAmy, 466,

Bb, 200.

HacB I. 113, 2SB, 240, 300, 302, 315,
326, 347. 3B9. 363-866. 399. 376.
388, 3B1. 3B0-401. 405, 412, 414.
417, 423, 42B. 428, 430, 43B. 4gD,
B2T, B52;

Race II, 113. 2B9, 301. 302, 3B1.
3 Be, 3E7, 3B0. 382- 38^ 3 69. 376,
38S-3S1, 401, 40B. 41\ 417, 428,
438-43B, 62T, BBO, BB2,

Race III, 10, 119. 145, 1B2, 219,
240, ZG8, 261. 300-303, SIB. 319,
347, 351, 356, 8E7. 3S0-369, 374-
377, 381-388. 391, 338. 400, 40B-
409, 41B-429, 433-43B, 442, 447,
4G2, 4B7, 487, B23, B28, G44, B49,
SS4, 561;

Race rv, 10, 66, 87, 114, 126, 147,
1S4, 219, 229, 243, 258. 277. 319,
333. 387, 369. 370-377. 38B-389,
391, 3»2, 3B9, 401, 404, 406. 412,
413, 417, 420, 421, 424-430. 433,
437, 452-458:. 478. 430. 487-48S,
520, 028. 549, 561 ;

Race V, 10, 119, IBB, 181, 186, 212,
219, 222. 227, 229, 251, 2B8. 262,
330. 36G, 874. 3B0. 3B9, 393, 404,
405. 417, 4ZS-430, 447, 450, 452.
4G6, 4B7, 402, 463, 468, 473. 47S,
480. 488. G23, 620. 527, 581*

Race VI, 89. 118, 173. '"-

RAmftyanH, 267.
Haven B. 234. 300.
KairtlDBou, Sir Henr;, 316.
Rasa, 47, 53, 57, 66, 90, 100,

127. 270. 287. 384, 440, G!
ReabBorptloa, 145.
Eteacttnn, IB 6, 226.
Reality, tbe one, 67, 9G, 138,

'52, 280,
elB. 360, 397.

RBcordera.

L, 431. 432.

. 222.

J-87,

. SS, 9B,

_...lBrB, 273, 316,

Redemptlaa. 400.

"--evolution, 269,

-..BenerBtlon, 203. 241, 498.

Regents. B7. 244, 273. 314.

Reglona. 8S, 423,

KelncarnaUon. 34, 143. 823. SSt,

362. 393. 397, 388, 401, 418, 4BS.
Religion, Aryan. 184; pilmltl*!,

243.
Raproduction, 364, 36B. 372, 8TBi

HepClles. 390. 414. 443, C50.
Repulalon, 84. 171. 276,
"— irrectlon, 1B2, 213. 470,

— .jlBousn»B8, Son of, 291. t

Rig Veda, 231, 23,.

"'-'llB, 233, 238, 26T, 398, 43S, 4

_._.jt^en Raya, 1!
Root Base, 119.
Roots, 12B, 46S.
loot -types, 566.
toBi crucians. 102.
lotatton, 79, 84.
iounda, 127. 128, 134, 1

403, BOB.
RouDda I, 136. 1B3, 156, 1G7, ;
-■•.a. 378. 381. 400, 402, 412, 4Sfl
(S. 1

Rounds II, 137. IGl, 163, 328, SI*

^^^^p

^^^^* INDEX 581

400, 40S, 115. 449, GEO, 5S2. E54.

SeerB, 41. 161, 177. 256,

661. 582.

Selection. Natural, 369. B45, 548.

Rounds IV. 36, 87, 106, 113, 118,

SeJBooerapb)'. 178.

130, 131 135 131 14T-1B1 IBS

1BB-1B9. 219. 234. 239, 262, 277.

235. 323, 347, 362, 353. 383. 368!

290, 336, 368-372, 377, 3T8, 3S1.

Self, One Absolute, 183.

402-404, 412, 41T. 424, 427. 431,

4SS, 468, 489, B19, 549-BB2.

86lf-C™clDui.u'oBB. 13, 38, 44,' 114.

154, 33Z, 302.

Selt-Creatcd, 397.

RoundB VII, 1S7, 152, IBfl, 308.

Self-BxlBtant, 398.

370, 378. 479, B06. E30.

Self-Ood, 287.

Ru, 496.

Sell- perception, IB 4.

Kudtmenta, 267.

SemtteB, 188, 389, 493,

Bena. 632.

RularB', Divine, B8. 420.

Senary, 512,

SenBeB, 78. 136, 146, 243, 2GB, ZSS,

Sabao, 490.

355, 413.

Sabbalb. 236. 479, 482.

Beph« Jeilrah, 490.

SBcr, 216, 472.

Bephlrolb. 299, 322, 460. 451. 493,

SacramBnt, 18^, 472.

520. B21, 63B,

SBcr-rsctum, 472.

SeplenarlBB. 76, S12, 516-528, B31,

Bacr-Bce. 4TZ.

635-533, 541.

SaeriOce, 148, 408.

Serapblm, 78. 334,

Sages. 72, 435, 438.

SerpsntB, 64. 61. 62, 99, 140. 169.

Saktl, 171, 248,

203, 210, 221-226, 228. 248, 283.

Samael. 228, 450,

288. 318, 327, 3B0, 392. 443-448,

Sam Dtb race, 301, 354.

Sanctum Sanctorom, 473.
BBDlna, 370.

Sesha,' 61. ' '
3el, 487.

Setb, 434, 488, 487.

sSic?!!. 830.

Bevekh-KronuB, 224.

Seven, 73. 76, 84. 88, 130. 214. 21 T,

Bareh, 337. 388.

269, 346, 478, 488! 490, 518! B34!

Saral, 337.

541, 546. B4B.

flBKOpbagui, ISB, 470. 471. BOO,

Seiea. Separation of, 10, 103. IBS,

Sat, 465.

196, 218, 234, 384, 374. 379. 380.

413. 419. 434, 443, 480, B28. 566.

'450, 474, 475, 482-484. '

flatuni. S3. 224, 272, 318. 488.

Sbldo"s,'"43, 343. 344, 348. 852.

Satjra. 411.

353, 387, 375, 446, 616, B2T.

Sanl. 467.

Bban-Hal-KlaE, 329.

SaurlaUB, 443. 444.

SbeklQBh. 44G.

Savloure, 115. 143, 289-291. 392.

Sboo, '200. "

427. 436, 4B8.

Blen-Khan. 103.

ScarabieuB, 203, 497.

Sigbt, spiritual. 416.

Schemal, 228.

Sigurd. 221, 222.

Schilling, 243.

BchnolB. Inner. 409.

Slloam, Sleep of. BOO.

Science, 9, 42, 98. 172, 188, 2B2,

Sllurlaa Age, 438.

2B3, 508. B32. S46. 5E7, 562; Sa-

Simoom, 460.

cred, B6a, 687.

Slmorgb. 505.

SclLtlUffi, 80.

Sin, 130, 142-144. 182. 214, 218,

Sclater, P. L., 302.

Bcrlhea, 85.

Scriptures, 33S. 486, E29, 630, BBS.

SIfh, 241, 257, 280. 41T, 436, 49B.

Slva-Rudra. 241.

Beb, 188, 199.

SMSB,'El«!.?''3^^^.^' *"' ^^^'

S«?et ^DoMrlne. 11, 37. 62, 161.

Skinner. Ralelon. 180, 187.

424! 438'. 407! 469! 479! 487! 496^

Bmitli. o'eorge, 300.

Smoke. 508.

lie, 119.' ■ ■ ' ■

SnakB.' 18'6."°'''

INDEX

lian Mjsterfes
r deitloa, BB,"

Blversal, 'l37,

I, 142, £13, sia, £Ea. sie.

. ST, 113. IZD,

2T9: ol FDbal, IIT.

SopblB. 4SI.

BoroeiT. S, 11, 182. 21fl, 24B, 411.

Baul. IG, 41, es-St. 121, 123. 125,

129. 131, 13T. 138, 144, IBl. 236.

ZeB, S39. 351, 306, 3G8, 393. 39T.

483, eoe, B39, S4S. 560, 668';

Supreme. 20 B.
Bculs, Twin, 271.

1. 77. 104. 117, 171. 179. 232.

Subjecllvlly. 51.

—■- " '1. in,

'*' 'u^fi, Lva, xin

189-193, 2SJ

266, 275. 279, 393. 529, S4L

SufforlDB, 457. 468.

Sukra, 320.

Sun, Central, 118, 128. IflT.

244. :

. 10. 12. 31, 37.

, 127, 282', 33'a.
0. SB, S3, 96. IZe,

203; Guardian. _ .

85, 98. 99, 184. 227. 247.

314, 313; terrBBtrlal. 128.
BpintUB Mundl. 258.
BplrllUB ■■— "'"

Spltibergen. 304.
Square. 49, 80, H
Bl. George, 449. 5:

aiars, 13. 271, 287, BB7.
BUIuEB. 426, EOO.
BtBUrldlum. 376.
Stracbaf, N. N.. 544.

817, S18. 324, 471. GOO.
8un-ForcB, 287.

Bun-EodB. 324. 449, 490, 472. <
Sun-epou, 281.
Snn-worelilperB, 214.

I. 228. 331. 436. BOl.

Bpeclea. Origin of. 664.
BpMcj.°'"77!^'7a, 104, 171. 231, 469,

lis,

199.
Bplrala. 171. 44B.
Bplrll, 10, 12, 31, 37. [_

114. 121, 132, 136. 144, 189, 196.

196. 226. 261. 283, 279, 284. 314.

SZS, 341, 381. 878, 397, 401. 432.

473, 492, 506. 617. 525-52B. '""
Spirit- K!ngs, 447.
Bplrlt-Maller, 61, 88. 73, 187.
Bpim-Soul. 43, 120, 137. 155.
SpMta. 130. 334, 335. 644. '

Swan, 66, 19S. 262, S60.

614, dlB. 632.
Sweat-born, 240. 31 S, 368, 3e2-3a

372-376. S78, 423, 425, 437.
Swodenborg, Emanuel. 568.
SFmboUsm. 10, ITS. 188. 203. KM

„,„ „.„ „„„ .„„ ... .., ^

211. 2tS. 233. 2TT, 278, 322. 1

rsbernarles. 98, 126. 184. 217.
rablet. Cutba. 328. 320.
rabutB, BmargdlDe. 3G2.

Tau, 10, 187, 208, 319. 322, 491,

495. 612. 517. 533.
Taurls, 218.
Taylor, Tbomas, 230.
- bengls Khan. 425.
__Bcber. tbo Qreat. 119.
Teadbing, oral, ISl : aecret. S52.
Teieepbaroa. 525.
Templara, 248.
Temples, Egyptian. 487; Pu'to, 247;

ropR rut. B8, 187, 242.
Terapblm, 487.
■"--nary. 212. 609, BIB.
rene AnceHtora, 168.
Tertiary Age, 303. 43T.
Tslrad, 624. 62S,
Tetragrammalon, 330, 613, S21, 022,

G2B, 534, 636,

ThBOD'. Nebular, 274.
ThflOB, 1B4-I9fi. 4B4.
TheoBopMsU, 538, 63B, B41, 546,
Tblbet. 160. 3S5.
Tbomgnn, Sir Wm.. S4.

TSoUBlil, ni, 268. 280. 3TB, 479;

Divine, 38. 4T. 49, 61, 77, 91, SS,

189. 440.
Th rend -Soul, 340.
Thrones, 76.

Totality, IntlDKe, 90.

Triad, BS, 122, 120, 231. 280, 331.

BIS, Bia. B21, 632. 626.
Triangles, 7B-79, 84, 89. 186, 231.

278-280. 331. 332, El 2, B19, 620,

sxlc Period, E5.

43B.
Troy. -

Truth, 36, 37, 40. 85.
Twilight, 368. 380.
Tyndall, 440.
Tyndarui. 360.
Tjphoo, 450.

tlnconsclouaneed. 87, 237.
Undulation, 188.
Unit, 6B, 131, 191. 611-BI3
Unlverao, 86-43. BO. Bl. 80.
IDB, 128, 162, 343, B26.
ITDknoirable. Bel.
Upanlshada, IB 9, 160, G07.

UranuB. SI, 83, 22S, 273.
UrdhTasrotae, 238.
Urea, 140.

rrme-Kanra. 76.
UrBhlelm. 440.
Cnnaa, faSB, Sit.

Vedants. 159.
VedanttoB. 340.
VcdaB. 3T. ISO, 168. 258. 485. 498,

BOl, B27. 631.
Veddbai, 386,

Vegetation, 232, B19, 662, BB8,
Vehicles, 191, 246, 268,
Veil. 267.
Vend Wad, 4B3. 476. 627.

VenuB, 'b3. 210. 273, 315-820, S3H,

326, 337. 490, 491. 612.
Yenas-Aphrodlte, 471.
Venua-Luclter, 320.
Verbuni, 492.
Vertebrates, 662,
Viability. 215.
VibrallonB. 93, 179, 239, 2B9, 284,

late, 6

I, 472.

Virgln-Af
Vlr^n-egK, oo.
Virgin -Men. 409.
Virgin-Mother, 73, 220.
Vlrgina. 67. 121, S28.
Virgo, 452.
Vlrgo-Scorplo. 228.

VlBb

, 198.

. 92, 142. 108, 186, 204,

Vulcan. 243.

Wflllaco. A. R.. 194.

Wer In HaaTcn. 57. 114, 115. 228,

228, 326. 3B0. 405. 44R, 460, 479,
'War. MDhabhsralao, 219.
WarriofB, 83.

Watchara. 43, 95, 127. 143-14S, 454.
Water, 53, 59, 64, 65. 76, 107, 134,

137, 172, 210. 211, 242, 243, 247,

434, E06.
Waters, Drainer of. 351.
Waves, 812.
Weapon B, E3S,
Web, 68, 71.
Whales, 378,

. 41,

3. 106. 108, 113-llS,

Vi'he^ell, est.

584

INDEX

Whirlwind. Fiery, 84, 86, 99, 93.

White Island, 421.

Will, 91, 168, 171, 196, 284, 832,
892.

Will, Sons of. 348, 344, 875, 888.

Will-power. 119, 240.

Willow-leaf theory, 274.

Winds, 203, 352, 529.

Wing, 859.

Wisdom, 61, 65. 77, 89. 91, 171, 316,
668; Absolute, 19; Dark. 220;
Divine, 272. 446, 512; Dragon of,
60, 86, 247. 442 ; Garden of. 442 ;
Lrf>rd8 of, 374, 431, 454, 467 ; Se-
cret. 142; Serpents of. 848. 445;
Sons of. 119, 411, 448; Tree of.
407.

Wisdom-Science, 181.

Wise Men, 445.

Wise-Ones, 221.

Witchcraft. 245.

Wittoha, 188. 501.

Womb, 74. 217. 486.

Word. 56, 65. 77, 80, 166, 195, 283.

Workmen, Divine, 111.

Worlds. 18, 37, 76, 80. 90. 93-96,
100, 106, 197, 248, 299. ISi, 654-
667.

World-stuff, 56, 69, 89.

Worship, 214.
WriUng, 486.

Tama, 325.

Tears, 228f, 533; lunar, 291; side-
real, 184, 426, 453; solar, 291,
614.

Tmlr. 204.

Todh. 509.

Toga, Sons of. 119. 351. 356. 358.
363, 375. 388. 447.

Toga-power. 240, 332. 379, 414.

Togis, 171, 255, 256, 339. 347. 447,
488. 496.

Toni, 216, 471, 495.

Tu, ISmperor, 160.

Tugas, 291.

Zarathustra, 628.

Zero-point, 101, 104, 109.

Zeus. 469, 460, 509.

Zodiac, 65. 76, 120. 142, 143, 208,

224, 226, 290-292, 316-327. 426.

430, 452, 453. 466, 480, 510. 532.
Zohar. 207. 324, 476, 490.
Zoomancy, 201.

Zorosfiter. 192, 201, 456, 528.
Zoroastrlans, 453, 454. 477.
Zufii Indians, 587.

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