If I were certain that death was no more than a sleep, from which I should assuredly awaken to another phase of existence - I know well enough what I would do! I would live a different life now!..so that when the future dawned on me, I might not be haunted or tortured by the remembrance of a misspent past!
Marie Corelli (1855-1924) Ardath

Even as the Earthly man passes on to the Soul World when his appointed hour arrives, so does the Spiritual Being in the Soulual plane become conscious of the fact that future trials must be endured if it is to progress individually and that, in most cases, these trials must be met and overcome on the planet Earth. Phenomena that may indeed be called the agonizing terrors of the reincarnating Soul take place as it makes the great sacrifice of consciously forsaking the Spiritual World to return to participate in the trials and sufferings of life on Earth.

As the Spiritual Being matures in the Soul World, it also becomes conscious that its development is essential for the evolution of all the other Spiritual Beings of the Universe. It is then that a great sacrifice is asked of it. It knows that to fulfill its God-given purpose, it must return again to Earth, but it remembers the pain and suffering that accompanies such a material existence.

The Soul, at this time of contemplation, is fully conscious of its previous incarnations. It knows what it has accomplished, both good and evil, in its former lives. It also knows with what events it will have to contend during the life it is about to commence.

A real agony takes place, with all its terrors--an awful struggle between the Soul and its perceived future sufferings, analogous to the Earthly agony and struggle of the material mind and body which, during life on Earth, is unwilling to leave the Soul it embodies.

The Spiritual Being is faced with anticipated trials: perhaps an unhappy marriage, death of children, separation from loved ones, worldly ruin, imprisonment and dishonor, compensated by only meager joys. The spirit is filled with anguish. Its light is obscured and it cries out, echoing those words that have resounded in every sphere, visible and invisible: "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?--Father, Father, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Let us not for a moment think that the forthcoming trials are given capriciously by God. They are the just deserts this Soul has created for itself in previous Earthly incarnations. It knows full well that the only way these debts can be paid so it can make progress towards its ultimate goal of Soul Consciousness is to experience another dreaded Earthly life.

At this moment, protecting spirits(1) come to the rescue. All the lights of the ancestors, all the Divine rays of the Heavenly envoy concentrate on the anguish-dimmed light of the victim of evolution. Heavenly music surrounds and comforts it.
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(1) Possibly no word in the English language means so many different things to so many different people as the word "spirit." In the Bible, the meaning varies from God Himself (when it is capitalized) to every form of nonmaterial being or essence. Most latter day instructors of the Arcane Science use it to refer to the motivating power of life, that is, the substance that is to all living beings what electricity is to inanimate electrical machines. The word "spirit" is used here in this sense, although the contributors from earlier times may slip in an occasional reference to beings who are at the time devoid of a physical body. The meaning in these instances should be obvious.
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In a moment of sublime enthusiasm, as it sees passing in review the whole cycle of beings on every plane which will be evolving with it, the Soul exclaims, "Father, I am ready. Only let me be a soldier for Thee on Earth. Forsake me not, and may Thy presence protect me in that terrestrial hell into which I am willingly plunging myself." Then the waters of the River of Oblivion--which is an ÆEtheric,(2) not a physical, river - surround the spirit which is about to descend. Loss of memory is indispensable to the Soul newly reincarnated on the physical plane so that suicide may be avoided. If memory of the past were allowed, the reincarnating being might for two reasons desire to leave this Earth at once.
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(2) Ætheric. The Æth is the true substance of UNITY in the worlds beyond that which we know as matter. Because this substance has been known by many names, much confusion and debate has occurred.
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The person, first, could see all he has to overcome and pass through due to the accumulated debts of his past lives. This might lead him to take his own life in a futile attempt to avoid his self-created destiny - futile because the Law of God is not so easily thwarted. A suicide victim is not allowed to return to the peace of the Soul World until his normal span of life would have been fulfilled. In the interim he is bound to Earth in a state of limbo in which he is able to feel the weight of his past deeds but is incapable of correcting or alleviating them. Debts can only be overcome by our conscious actions during a life on Earth.

The second reason memory of the past is denied man is because he may compare what he has left to accomplish with what he has done to this point and in a moment of despondency or homesickness decide to return by ending this life at his own hand. As mentioned, he would not achieve his desired objective.

The Birth Of God's Messengers

Sometimes events of such beauty take place on the spiritual plane that terrestrial beings cannot adequately conceive them with their mental faculties. Thus, when the time arrives for the descent of one of God's special teachers, the Divine Souls who have prepared themselves to fulfill the sacred mission congregate around this new Envoy of the Father. In full awareness of the greatness of their task, and with some fear concerning the trials to be endured, their praises mingle with their personal lamentations.

One spirit, more fiery than the others, may exclaim, "Oh, Master! None can love thee more than I, none is more certain of being ever true to thee!" Rash words! Destiny requires a traitor and an ungrateful being, so that the appointed roles may be filled. He who presumes too much upon his strength may become a Judas. He who believes himself incapable of desertion may become a Peter, who will hear, to his great sorrow and shame, the cock crow thrice.

It is not for man or descending Soul to make such rash promises. He is not capable of knowing beforehand the magnitude of the trials he will be asked to face or the strength of his will at that time. Neither man nor God can ask more than this, that each man sincerely TRY his best to follow the Laws laid down by the Creator of us all. As we can do this in all honesty, the power to go further is given us. God never deserts those who truly TRY.

But let us draw the veil, as Nature does, on this scene. Let the shadows of darkness gather round the Ætheric light, and the Souls about to involve themselves in the Æth spheres which, in turn, are to lead them to the Gates of the Zodiac, and thence to Earth. Let us recall what Virgil says in the Aeneid, Book VI:

"Meanwhile, Ennius perceived a lonely grove in a corner of the valley; the waters of Lethe bathed this quiet spot. On the banks of this river hovered a host of shadows of all the nations of the Universe: thus, during the fine summer days, the bees spread themselves over the meadows, rest on many flowers and fly around the lilies; and the land is filled with the hum of the swarm. Ennius was surprised, and asked his father what was this river, and why all these shadows on its banks looked so anxious.

" ‘These souls,' answered Anchises, ‘are to animate new bodies; that is why they come in crowds on the banks of this river, whose waters they drink in deep draughts, to make them forget the memory of the past. For a long time I have wanted to make known to you, my son, which among these souls will constitute your glorious posterity; this knowledge will increase the joy you will experience on your happy arrival in Italy.'

" ‘Oh, Father!' interrupted Ennius, ‘is it believable that these souls return to Earth to animate mortal bodies a second time? Is it possible that they desire so much to see the light again, and have such a thirst for this miserable life?'"

The Mysteries Of Birth

Others have written about the rebirth of the Soul on Earth. Saint-Yves d'Alveydre wonderfully described the stages of the Soul in its descent to Earth in "The Descent of the Soul" from The Keys of the East (Les Clefs des l'Orient). His marvelous narration is one of great spiritual fact. He wrote:

"Something there is which is as solemn as Death: It is Birth.

"Life is the smile of Nature; Birth, the kiss which she bestows upon the human Soul.

"Respect to Woman! The real presence of Nature abides within her. "Ionah, Nature's plastic virtue, abides within her and is pleased.

"Rouah, the Spirit, Love, descends from heaven to seek rest and solace in her heart; the great secret of creation smiles upon her in her child, when the Soul that has descended within her looks at her through its eyes.

"Immortal before birth, the Soul is immortal also after death.

"Through Woman, in the social order, the ancestors enter the generations.

"Summoned into social life in accordance with the Mysteries of the Holy Spirit and of the Father, or in common manner, the immortal ancestor, he who will become the child, subject to physical death, arrives at his appointed time, where he is to come.

"During this call, which commences with a frenzy of immortality, according to its degree in the psychical hierarchies, the Soul forsakes its cosmic habitation and descends.

"Invisible, but felt by a Mother's loving heart, it gently overshadows the woman whom it is destined to haunt, and during nine lunar revolutions, links its sidereal emanations, through the soul and blood of the Mother, with the terrestrial body, whose first breath will engulf it.

"The world Soul corresponds excellently with the Divine Word.

"It is the very root of Love.

"What is the Soul?

"Open ye, with the right Key, the Hebrew text of Sepher Bareshith, the Book of the Cosmosgonic Principles, and if God wills it, the Divine Wisdom of the Egyptian sanctuaries will answer you through Moses, and tell you what is Aisha, the volitional faculty of Aish.

"A venerated ancestor has lifted the first veil of its hidden meaning; but, no more than he, will I lift the second, unless I speak in a second chapter, of the Mystery of the Sexes and the name of Jehovah.

"For the present, this is all I can say.

"Immortal Principle of Life, the Cause that shines through visible and invisible forms, the Soul is.

"Theurgy has found it; psychurgy, the Science of Love and Will, proves it experimentally.

"Physiologically, it is the force which causes Life and Movement, Attraction and Repulsion, Election or Elimination.

"Therefore is birth a solemn thing; love and the sexes are religious things; nothing is commonplace in Nature, nor in God.(3)
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(3) The French mystic, Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, speaks in veiled words which were essential in his day. This is no longer true far as spiritual sexuality is concerned, and the subject is discussed in depth in the first text in this series, A Guide for the New Renaissance. This work can be obtained at your bookstore or ordered directly from the Philosophical Publishing Company, P. O. Box 220, Quakertown, PA 18951-0220.
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"Nature is the materialization of Souls.

"You existed before you were born; you will live after you are dead.

"Therefore, in the names of Moses, of Jesus, and of Mahomet, arise and give ear!

"To know is to remember: Let us therefore remember together, immortal Souls, who on Earth sigh for Man's Heavenly Kingdom, and desire the Divinity of Life.

"In the Mysteries of the Holy Spirit are to be found all knowledge, absolute art, and perfect love of Life.

"They reveal themselves in the dawn of day, the smile of the betrothed and of the wedded couple, and in the smiles and tears of Motherhood.

"Bend over this cradle, which is the dawn of social life, the cosmic tomb of the Soul.

"Within this child palpitates one of the Mysteries of the Holy Spirit and of the Father's Spouse.

"This child is an Ancestor, an Earthly facsimile of a Divine Soul, an immortal being who comes to do penance, to be purified by suffering, to become perfect through trial, and to achieve where and when necessary, either the expiation, the improvement, the mission, or the creation which it commenced many centuries ago.

"To the wise man, therefore, only inequality of conditions is to be expected in a perfect system of society. It is the scale of equity which graduates the psychic conditions and indispensable requirements of Souls in order to test their good will in a social sphere corresponding to that of their Heaven.

"That is why the gradual Initiation of the sexes and of classes is ordained by Providence, so that Man may cease to murmur against the fate which is nearly always the law he himself has set in motion.

"Nevertheless, I am aware that Science alone cannot enlighten the Soul, and I will ask Art to reveal a secret, by means of which the Poets of the Future will eventually be able to attract and lead them gently into the Light of the Holy Spirit.

"The Soul, then, is born into the world of images and trials, and it cries aloud.

"Its native element was the Divine Fluid, the Inner Light of the Universe, the Spiritual Ether, the inner aspect of Cosmic Substance.(4)
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(4) This substance we now call the ÆEth.
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"Now, it is on the outer and the reverse side of this Substance, in total darkness.

"It is able no longer to see its celestial body. It gradually fades away.

"It has lost the knowledge, the consciousness, and Real Life of this body. Its intelligence ceases to act. Its power of direct perception no longer functions, and it ceases to hear with ears. Its psychic sensitiveness is entirely overwhelmed.

"Between this Soul and the Universe a terrible obstacle is interposed - something dark and limiting, something obtuse, bitter, and warm; a strange mixture of noise and ferment; a skillfully and artistically woven veil, within whose folds it becomes entangled; something whose living textures - symbols of the Universe - become entwined and themselves entwine the Soul among the intricacies of its physical organs. Such is the body!

"It may be the body that cries out in pain, but it is the Soul that is suffering.

"It would return whence it came, but falls back under a radiance which recalls to it the Living Light, Ionah, the Heavenly Substance: It is a Mother's kiss.

"At times the Soul feels as if were dead. It remembers as in a dream the vastness of that Hidden Light in whose glory it once bathed; the ethereal hills and valleys of a beloved star, free from elemental atmosphere or physical attraction; a world filled with Life's essences, aromas, and perfumes, whence it heard the inner harmonies and melodies of Time and Space, of Beings and Things, ascending and descending; whence It hastened tremulously in answer to the inner voice of the beloved ones, to contemplate Shamaim, the Ether, the Azure Ocean of the Heavens, the islands and groups of stars, with the motions of their animating Genii and Powers.

"Like the reflection of a star in the glistening water, a memory of the Great Reality still lurks trembling within the Soul.

"It still breathes forth the Celestial aroma of the Eternal Mysteries of the Holy Spirit; the fragrance of the World Beyond evaporates but slowly from the essence which the Mother inhales, absorbs, and welcomes with a joy that seems strange to the uninitiated.

"Gentle reflection of the Magi's Star! Fly not away, Immortal One. Remember!

"The Soul imagines it still beholds those white ones, those Celestial Beings, men and women, gods and goddesses; those transparent and luminous forms, embodiments of Beauty, chalices of Truth, moving, soaring, and twining themselves in the magic waves of Heavenly Love, in dazzling communion with Wisdom.

"Are these not also the Sacred Theories, the Living Poems of the Hidden Word, the Hymns of Creative Thought, the Symphonies of Creative Emotions and of the Hierarchic teachings of the Mystic Circles; the holy awe of the Great Mysteries, the Deities, the Rays of God whose Light is Shadow, the Perfect Intelligences, the Immortal Spirits, the Glorified and Triumphant Souls!

"Oh, Marvel! Surely this is the fourfold Circle of Souls sporting in the blissful, dazzling, spiritual Ocean, over whose surface the zephyr of Love sweeps lightly, and from whose depths Birth and Death cry out.

"Surely this is? But what was I about to say? What has happened? Sing! O daughter of the Gods! Hearken!

"A great disturbance, a sense of vertigo, a sudden intoxication, a gentle yet fearful attraction, an incantation of the Stars, a word of command, a cry from sphere to sphere, heart-rending farewells to the Higher Life and the loved ones, a prayer, a solemn funereal ceremony, a last embrace, a kiss, and a promise to remember and return: then a wing-footed Genius takes the Immortal Soul and draws it towards the abyss.

"The Immensity above closes, the Immensity below opens, the tumultuous Ocean of Generations, the Abyss of Souls struggling in the atmosphere of another star, the poignant battle of earthly passions and impulses. . . and then. . . what?

"This is the orb of Earth, the ebb and flow of the silver Ocean.

"The incarnating egos pass through the maelstroms of ascending and descending Souls. Some are transparent and pure, spiritualized and ethereal. They wrestle with those who do not wish to climb the ladder of Heavenly Rays into the Light, or cross the region of clouds and fluidic currents, or gain the Flaming Citadel of the Fire that is above and the circles of the Æther. Other souls there are, dark, and flecked with spots like the skins of animals and reptiles, materialized by instinct, weighed down by selfishness, powerless to break through the forceful currents of the atmosphere. Carried away by storm and tempest, rolling far from the barque of Isis into the deeps of the abyss, into the dizzy cone of darkness which the Earth trails in the Heavens, these cry out in the Silence, clinging to the other Souls whom they try to draw with them so as to diminish the awful burden of their Destiny!

"What is it? Remember!

"They are the clouds in the atmosphere, the Great Polar streams, the breezes from the East, the tempests from the West, the aerial rivers that disturb the billowing of the clouds, and agitate their electric coils; it is the lower ocean of air, with its four regions, of the eagles, great migratory birds, larks, and doves.

"In the latter region commences the Kingdom of the Plastic Substance on Earth, with its four divisions: Mineral, Vegetable, Animal, and Human, and its seven vortices of Generative Powers and specific Generations.

"After the endless rings and amphitheatres of white mountains, the dazzling enchantment of the glaciers and precipices, comes the infinity of verdant, gently undulating hills, foaming torrents, the silvery scales of winding rivers, the swaying of sighing forests, the circular vastness of grassy prairies, fanned by the gentle breeze.

"This is the Earth, one of the thousand citadels of the Kingdom of Mankind, of the mortal and immortal Son of the God of Gods.

"It is Demeter, Adamah, the world of images and physical Realities.

"It is Hell, Purgatory, or Heaven, according to the Soul which is incarnating, according to the Spirit which rules within the flesh of those incarnate Souls, and according to the faith and law of the social system.

"Behold the stone circles of the metropolis, of cities, towns, and villages, with the clamour of brazen voices, which, from the heights and steeples and towers, watch over and proclaim birth and death, above the din of human voices.

"The Immortal Soul suddenly pauses. Clinging with all its strength to the Light of the Stars, it measures the space traversed and the distance that separates it from Heaven:

" ‘Mercy!' it begs of its Guide.

" ‘Courage! Thou hast sworn to it! The crown of Faith is on high. Yonder is the Test.'

" ‘Forgive! Yea, I am afraid! Perchance I may not be able to remember!'

" ‘Thou wilt have the power, with the help of Knowledge.'
" ‘Tell me, at least, in what social status, what race, what nation, what home?'

" ‘Here,' replies the Angel Guide of Souls, ‘the Divine Genethliac will show the web of Destiny.'

" ‘For long?'

" ‘Until it be fulfilled.'

" ‘Oh, my Winged Genius, what are those choirs of Souls that follows us?'

" ‘They are thy Ancestors who are accompanying thee, for I am now about to reascend.'

" ‘So soon? I feel that my courage once more is ebbing.'

" ‘Courage, Immortal Soul, I will come again if thou canst will it.'

" ‘Where am I? Heaven, Earth, all has vanished; but an
irresistible attraction holds me helpless in its grasp.'

" ‘Mortal Soul, behold thy Mother.

" ‘In the name of God, and of Nature; in the name of Iod and of Heaven, behold thy living homeland here on Earth.

" ‘Be thou united to it with all the magic power of Life. Farewell.'

"The Soul remembers its intercourse with the Maternal Soul, their inseparable and mutual penetration, their mysterious communions, full of superterrestrial memories and hopes, pains and joys, thrills, ecstasies, silent music; the slow winding of the nine Selenic Circles, the incantation of the epigenesis, and then comes an awful, excruciating pain. A sulphurous vapor, a coarse effluvium suddenly arises, eddying from the glowing abyss of the Earth, and wrenching the ego from the Maternal Soul, binds it to some pneumatic vacuum, some warm, pulsating, breathing void....A cry in this void, and then....Memory sinks into its depths together with the Heavenly Intuitions.

"It will return only through Knowledge.

"Oh ye, who make it your shameful pride to have descended from the ape! Ye deserve never to ascend higher. Withdraw from this Celestial Mystery! Let women now pray, for they at least will say: ‘Our Father which art in Heaven....'

"Ye Virgins, Wives, Mothers, Ancestresses, Druidesses of the Tree of Life! Remain ye close to this Living Mistletoe. Pray to the Ancestor of all Ancestors.

"And learn that, although in the Circle of Generations the Father provides the germ, the first movement of the species, and the Mother supplies its substance and specific form, the human Soul (unlike the souls of animals, which come from the Terrestrial Fire) descends from Heaven.

"Therefore, summon the priest, that in the name of the social state, the human species may welcome the Law of the Ruler and the Order of the Kingdom.

" ‘Which priest?'you may ask.

"The priest of your faith and of your social customs, whether he be priest, pastor, pope, rabbi, or marabout.

" ‘Give a solemn welcome to this newborn child.

"Amen, I say unto you: Birth is as solemn as Death: it is one of the Mysteries which it was necessary to reveal unto you."

And so, in the eternally youthful, vibrant language of poetry ends one of the most complete descriptions of the Soul's descent to Earth in all sacred literature. The Soul, as it descends, traverses many vistas, sees many sights. Unfortunately, it may not be in a mood to enjoy them. To the Soul, the journey to Earth may be likened to that of the murderer en route to the gallows. He may see many interesting sights along the way, but he may not appreciate them.

The Computer Of Life: An Analogy

The poetic language of Saint-Yves is something to preserve forever. However, individuals accustomed to the language of the business world may find it flowery and indistinct. For persons of a more contemporary, scientific bent, an allegory based on computer technology may be more understandable.

Consider the human entity as a combination of body, mind, spirit, and Soul. Then, for the sake of analogy, substitute these components for the various parts of a computer. The mind corresponds to the RAM (random access memory) of the machine. The body is the physical structure of the computer. Our thoughts and actions during any lifetime become the working copy held in the RAM while the machine is activated (supplied with electricity). The spirit, as described earlier, is to the body the biological equivalent of electricity to the computer.

The Soul is a near perfect counterpart for the computer hard disk. It is able to receive and store information from the RAM as the data are sent to it. This information remains securely imbedded on the hard disk until it is called forth by CONSCIOUS effort.

When the computer is in operation, everything that is written into it goes into a memory (RAM). This memory exists, however, only until the machine is turned off. Once the switch is thrown, everything that had been inputted into that computer is gone, and there is no way it can be retrieved.

Obviously, such a machine would have little practical use unless the working copy could be saved. Therefore, a way to accomplish this was devised: The working copy is saved in the RAM--in other words, it is transferred to a permanent magnetic medium, as desired. The most common form for this purpose is called a hard disk. This becomes a permanent part of the computer and can store many hundreds of pages of written matter.

Life, Death, The Soul World, And Our Return

To carry the analogy a step further, consider birth into the life on Earth as turning on the computer at the beginning of a day's work. The RAM is fresh and virgin. The working copy is but a blank sheet of paper which will be filled during this workday (lifetime). None of the work of previous days (previous lifetimes) is lost; it is all stored on the hard disk (the human Soul) within the computer (the entity of which the body is now the physical manifestation).

This past information cannot appear on the computer screen (one's conscious senses) unless one CONSCIOUSLY knows how to bring it from its safe hiding place on the hard disk. Although this is relatively easy for the computer operator, it is not readily accomplished in human existence. It can be done, however, if the individual ardently desires to do so. The process necessary to bring this about is difficult and lengthy, but not beyond the ability of any rational human being.

As the individual proceeds through life, his deeds, both good and not so good, are stored each day on the hard disk (Soul) where they become a part of the tapestry he has woven for many, many centuries. As the person comes to the end of his life on Earth and his vitality is almost exhausted (the end of the workday for the computer operator), his supervisor (the Creator) turns off the electric power (spirit) and he goes "home" again. His working copy is lost (his memory dies with the death of the brain), and he cannot know what he knew a moment before death unless at a later time he learns to access the hard disk (Soul).

Once the spirit has left the body, all that remains of memory is on the hard disk. This disk the person takes with him into the Soul World. In fact, as described earlier, one of the first stops he makes is to the admissions office where the hard disk is accessed and he is made aware of its contents, both good and bad.

At that time, he is asked to judge himself so that he may be placed in the portion of the Soul World in which he belongs.

On Earth most persons would welcome the chance to judge themselves, but in the Soul World all are stripped of pretension and rationalization. At that judgment, which follows shortly after death, each one MUST judge true, and such judgment is the only Lawful judgment allowed man.

When it is time for the individual to return to Earth, a computer (body) must first be built. This vital job is not undertaken capriciously, as it is built to the individual's specifications. He looks on and oversees. When all is ready, he begins his descent to Earth, as Saint-Yves so eloquently described.

In the Soul World we were all hard disk. But as we prepare to once again enter the body of another computer, we should expect certain changes in our present status. As we proceed on our journey, we pass through what is called the River of Oblivion or the River of Lethe and we begin to lose our memory.

By the time we enter the new body our Mother has prepared for us (at the first breath), we have no memory at all. Everything is gone and once again we are like a computer just being started (booted). We find, once again, an empty RAM, nothing in our working copy, and an inexplicable hard disk that we do not know how to access.

No analogy is perfect, but this example approximates the complicated procedure. Some experts may question placing a hard disk from one computer into another. It is not usually done, but there is no theoretical reason why it could not be successfully accomplished.

The Childhood Of The Descended Soul

Papus discussed the subject of childhood. In so doing, he wrote:

"Behold, the Soul is now bound to its physical form, but we must not forget that Nature does not jump from one extreme to another (natura non fecit saltum). Therefore, this particular condition, which we call terrestrial childhood, is really a mixed state, in which the Soul still lives on two planes. Until the age of seven years, this dual existence persists; the child sees its ancestors, and the genus of its family often appears to it and plays with it. If the parents of the child are intelligent enough not to spoil this intercourse, this dual life may have a great influence on its Earthly destiny."

How many parents have recognized their children's invisible playmates? These may, at times, have been only figments of the child's imagination, but who can say they were not visitors from the child's most recent past? After all, the child is far more familiar with them than with its new family.

Consider the child as someone who recently arrived from another state. That child attempts to make new friends, but most of the people he knows still live in the state he just left. It is expected he will desire their company until he is able to build close friendships in his new environment.

Papus continued his explanation, "Here it is necessary to say a few words with regard to a great mystery; the advanced Soul may try several bodies before taking final possession of the strongest. When an infant dies, the Soul does not always return to the Spiritual plane (Soul World). It may have the option to try different bodies first to see if it can find one that will serve its destiny. We may say that, generally speaking, the trial never exceeds seven months. Further, during childhood, an Ethero-spiritual link exists between the different planes traversed by the Soul." (5)
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(5) Although this teaching is unique to the writings of Papus, there is no reason to think it is not correct. It does offer a just and fair outcome to the Soul which after waiting many years for rebirth suddenly finds that its new vehicle is unceremoniously removed from the Earth.
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The Steps Of Normal Reincarnation

To summarize the steps of normal reincarnation, the process just described at length is:

1. The approach of death with its commonly attendant physical agony.

2. Physical death and birth into the Soul World. At this time we are asked to judge our past thoughts and actions and by this judgment are automatically assigned a position in our new home.

3. Once we are thus settled we enter a deep sleep while our new spiritual organs are being constituted.

4. The Spiritual Life. Indirect participation in the physical life on Earth if we so desire. The constitution of our future physical organs by the creation of their nonphysical archetypes.

5. The vision of the trials of our future incarnation. The voluntary and free acceptance of all these trials. The request to reincarnate.

6. The spiritual agony occasioned by the leaving of our friends and idyllic environment for the Hell below. Drinking of the Waters of Lethe (Oblivion). The descent to Earth.

7. Physical birth, the entrance of the descending Soul with the first breath and the progressive formation of the organs of the physical body.

Abnormal Reincarnations

Papus wrote, "According to the ancient Egyptians, a portion of the spiritual forces at the moment of birth sought refuge in the region of the Pole Star, whence they returned to animate the double after death and mummification." This brings us to the cycle of abnormal reincarnations.(6)
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(6) This teaching is not accepted by all authorities on the subject, but who is to say Papus is not correct? As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy...."
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"According to the Scriptures one can be punished until the seventh generation. This statement is unintelligible unless one is acquainted with the mystery of reincarnation.

"A disease is capable of modifying physically the bodies of three generations, if not more. Astrally (7) and spiritually, this modification may extend to seven generations, as stated in the Scriptures.
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(7) Here the word "astral" is retained, as no other can replace it. Papus refers to that part of the total being of man that is governed and exists in the Æther and with the stars. This being true, "star-like" or astral is the proper term.
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"Let us suppose the case of a man who is entrusted with a great social responsibility, and plays the part in society of a judge, which is usually a step either towards a terrible destiny or a splendid reward. Let us imagine, further, that this man believes in nothing but the pleasure of the moment, and measures other men by his own standard.

"Through his atheism and his assurance of effectual
irresponsibility for his actions, which are safeguarded by his worldly position, this man, who has accumulated the greatest difficulties for his descendants, passes over, at the moment of death, with the saying on his lips: ‘After me, the end of the world.'

"Such a man has, unwittingly, determined his own fate. He has decided that there is no other world; consequently there will be no other world for him. He dies at an advanced age, surrounded by the world's empty honors; he has never done a good deed during his life, except to himself; he has been a social canker; therefore, the Soul World is closed to him.

"As he does not possess a spiritual home on the other side, he immediately reincarnates in one of his own newborn grandchildren, or into the body of a child of poor parents, if he has no family of his own. In most cases, however, he comes back into his own family to reap the negative interest on the capital of evils he created.

"He therefore experiences, in the third generation, all those things which he wished to avoid in the first. Terrible traits characterize the grandson of this magistrate. He is at war with everything: family, society, and religion. He is a firebrand.

"He blames his ancestor for all his misfortunes, not knowing, unhappy man, that he is pronouncing judgment against himself. And must in a still later life pay anew for this condemnation.

"The prison, to which he condemned others so freely, opens wide its gates to receive him, and there, in the midst of his severest trials, through the ever instructive agency of pain and suffering, a heavenly ray comes to him. His Soul regains some knowledge of the life beyond, and he is gradually drawn to that spiritual plane which he formerly scorned and disowned.(8)
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(8) The words of Sir William S. Gilbert ring loud and clear, "Let the punishment fit the crime." This is indeed the manner in which the Law of God works. Neither it nor God Himself punish us; we are punished by the REACTION OF THE LAWS WHICH WE OURSELVES SET INTO MOTION. -----------------------------------------------------------

Suicide. Papus examined this Law of Reincarnation pertaining to suicide. He wrote:

"Another fairly frequent cause of abnormal reincarnation is suicide. Suicide is as uncommon as it is due to the oblivion of our former lives. If man were conscious of all he has to atone for, he would not even wish to begin his physical life, and would immediately commit suicide."

Man has also been given a very powerful incentive to preserve his own life. It is not the wish of the Universe that any man end his life by his own hands. Such action is a waste of time and energy and tends to upset the balances of "the quick and the dead."

Papus continued, "At last, in a moment of cowardice, madness, or despair, he willfully severs the link which binds him to his physical body. Here, again, a general rule cannot be fixed. There are suicides due to fate, which cause no suffering, as they are the normal and anticipated end of a physical life;(9) there are suicides due to madness, when the spirit is alienated from its body (alienus);(10) there are suicides caused by astral obsession...and a host of other causes.(11)
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(9) Some are destined to suicide; it is their normal end. Judas Iscariot may have been in this category. His actions and end were necessary for the fulfillment of the Law. Therefore, his suicide would not prevent or delay him from his future justice, whatever that may be.
(10) Once the mind is no longer in control of the body, there is no more input to the hard disk (Soul) until the senses return. One who would commit suicide at this time would not be held to the usual punishment.
(11) Sometimes one can attempt to be too complete. Astral obsession is not a subject to concern most humans. However, its possibility does give us another reason for not judging our fellowman. We can never know for sure what caused another to commit an act we may feel is wrong.
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"Without establishing a general rule, it may be said that Nature does not consider as dead the man who has deliberately committed suicide. His is the fearful agony of Tantalus. The man is thirsty and hungry, but has no physical organs with which to gratify his desires; he has an overwhelming need for sleep, but is without physical organs with which to rest his spirit. At times he returns, in fits of terrible anger, to his cold body, and, frequently, when in his grave, he reenters his corpse and turns it over. He haunts spiritualistic seances, and seeks for help from compassionate hearts in centers of prayer. Only on the day appointed by destiny for his real death is he set free."

There is perhaps in all Arcane literature no more chilling paragraph than that above. We all intuitively know that the Laws of God will not be cheated. Man cannot escape his karmic debt by such a simplistic action. The Law is exact.

But the Law never places upon us stresses we cannot overcome. To do this we may have to rethink many of our conceptions of life. To do so is to our advantage. The Law has no other way to teach us some of our most important lessons.

Because, according to the Divine Law, the suicide victim must wait, bound to Earth, until he would have died normally, not only does he suffer as much as before, but he suffers even more, as he has no way to alleviate the distress. Moreover, due to the circumstances of his death, according to the Law, he will reincarnate rapidly so that he may quickly reencounter the problems he sought to avoid by suicide. Thus, he remains in the Ætheric world to make his rebirth easily possible.

Another aspect of reincarnation to keep in mind is that immediate or almost immediate reincarnation is in the lowest social scale; it is often in a deformed or infirm body, which requires submission to suffering.

Papus went on to explain, "In such an instance, the future physical body of the suicide victim may lack the organ or body section which he deliberately destroyed in his former life, or at least, the functions of that organ may be seriously impaired.

"Thus, people who blow out their brains may be born with serious cerebral disorders, epilepsy, idiocy, or mental deficiency, for which medical science is unable to account.

"People who poison themselves are born with gastric disorders which no remedy can relieve, and they carry with them during their entire physical life the constant discomfort of defective digestive apparatus. Those who hang themselves may be born hunch-backed or deformed....

"It is impossible, however, to establish a specific chain of physical modifications the suicide may encounter in later reincarnations. The Law has many complex matters to take into consideration in the formation of the next physical body of such individuals. It is merely intended here to indicate the master keys of a great mystery.

"The true recipe for present and future happiness, beauty, and vitality is to cultivate faith, charity, and goodness on every plane. Reincarnation into ever more perfect bodies will then be assured. Help prevent suicide from being committed around you by being an example of willing and understanding submission to earthly trials, and you will then avoid those terrible abnormal
reincarnations."

Homosexuality

One of the most difficult matters for modern science to explain is the reason a person is apparently born with homosexual tendencies. When we begin to understand the nature of reincarnation, both normal and abnormal, a pattern begins to emerge.

If we accept the homosexual state for what it is, the result of our desire from a past life or the Law's attempt to place us in an environment where we will be able to learn a valuable lesson, we recognize that here, as in all facets of human life, cause and effect are in operation.

A man in this life may envy the sexual life of a woman - not her life as a wife and a Mother, but the darker side of her sexuality. Had he a desire for all that constitutes the real woman, he would be able to reincarnate as a woman. However, as long as he wants only a part of what he sees as woman, that is the part he gets. "As ye sow, so shall ye surely reap."

On the other hand, some persons may be aggressively opposed to such inverted people (distinct from those who oppose the act but are tolerant of the actor as one of God's children). Such individuals may be reincarnated as homosexuals to give them an opportunity to learn tolerance.

Further Abnormal Reincarnations

During the years until the end of this century we are likely to be beset with a great variety of persons who are the consequence of abnormal reincarnations. Under the Divine Law, requirements of the approaching New Renaissance will enable many dubious Souls to return to Earth.

There are two main reasons for this: First, to help accelerate evil so that all must make a CONSCIOUS choice between good or evil. Many such reincarnated beings will not have Souls, but will be allowed to reincarnate as a mind and a body only, in order to be an avenging agent of the Law in the separation of the "wheat" and the "chaff." (12) Second, to give disembodied Souls of the past another chance to return to Earth to make amends for their sins.
Particularly is this true of the race now called the Atlanteans.
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(12) This is dealt with at length in the book, A Guide for the New Renaissance, from this publisher.
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The Laws of Reincarnation are just and exact. For this reason, we should never bemoan our fate. It is as we have created it in past lives. However, envy not those who are high born. Look around you. How many high born succeed in life? Those most admired by all usually come from far more humble beginnings. The game of life is not determined by where a player begins but by where he ends the game.

In general, a beautiful Soul desires a beautiful body for its next incarnation. This is possible because it is its due. But frequently there are overriding spiritual reasons why it is not expedient. For example, consider the incarnation of Abraham Lincoln. As a far advanced Soul that could have had almost any body it desired, it chose one that was ungainly and
misproportioned. Lincoln was recognized as one of the homeliest of men - in fact, in a famous etching the body of another man was substituted to make the portrait acceptable. The only way this uncharismatic man moved the people was by the power of his concepts, his words, and his sincerity. Could a handsome Lincoln have saved the Union?

What about surrogate mothers in today's world? What of the child? Which inheritance will be the child's? God and Nature care little about the machinations of man. The child will take upon itself the inheritance of the surrogate mother and the donor of the sperm. Is this good or bad? No one has a right to judge, but, according to Laws of Reincarnation, it would be doubtful if an advanced Soul would desire to incarnate under such circumstances.

The Egyptians And Mummification

Before leaving the subject of abnormal reincarnations some mention should be made of the ancient Egyptian procedure of mummification. People today with their best twentieth-century smugness look upon this process as a barbaric rite of ignorant pagans. On the contrary, it was, indeed, a complex use of
spiritual technology that few, considering all the scientific research since, have been able to understand, even in part.

Regarding such matters, we are like a nation of uncivilized aborigines who find a shipment of computer hardware. Imagine what would go through their minds and to what use they would put the equipment. They would fit it into their culture at their level and no higher. This is the nature of all human development. Thus, it is understandable that no man can evaluate the work of another who is higher than his own development. He is prevented from doing so by two factors: First, his mind is unable to comprehend something that is a quantum leap away from his own mental level. Man can be taught, but only in gentle steps from where his understanding is at the moment. When confronted with anything beyond this, he quickly becomes confused, irritated, and perhaps aggressively violent against this new knowledge.(13)
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(13) For this reason the Nazarene warned, "Cast not your pearls before the swine, lest they turn again and rend you." The scene may change, but not the character of human nature.
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Second, the human ego must be reckoned with. Few scientists are willing to admit that any former civilization had a power and knowledge superior to their own. As long as this attitude exists in the scientific community, mankind will remain in the dark about the true legacy from such peoples as the Egyptians,
Atlanteans, and the Mayas.

Papus described in detail the Egyptian form of mummification and reincarnation. As discussed in an earlier chapter, the Egyptians prepared an Ætheric double. Of this practice, Papus wrote:

"We are now to speak of a form of abnormal reincarnation which existed on Earth for many centuries. It is what we will call the ‘Reincarnation of the Double among the Egyptians.'

"This mystery has been little studied by our modern scientists; nevertheless, it is necessary to say a few words about it.

"The Egyptians, of whose greatness little is known at present, wished to fight face to face against Nature's most terrible forces. They compelled the terrestrial magnetic pole to remain in Egypt for more than fifty-five centuries, whereas the normal period of evolution of this pole is one century and a half. They also desired to fight against the Law of Reincarnation which they understood so well.

"To achieve this end, the Egyptians immobilized the cells of the physical body by mummification; they cast a spell on the Ætheric body, which they called the Double, by ceremonies which preceded the introduction of the mummy into its tomb, and by this spell prevented part of the Ætheric evolution, hence, also, part of the spiritual evolution.

"The Spirit was able to accomplish some of the work which normally it was to accomplish on the Spiritual Plane; it was able to share in the Nature of God. But its reincarnation was delayed for a considerable period.

"The cities of tombs were, therefore, really inhabited by Ætheric beings, and this Ætheric existence was of far greater importance to the Egyptian than his physical life.

"The magic spells had rendered positive the food and servants pictured in the tomb (positive in that the, now, Ætheric being was actually able to partake of the one and be served by the other in his new habitat): thus was solved the problem of the deliberate struggle of man against the Divine Laws. This is what might be called ‘Forced Reincarnation,' which is a special type of abnormal reincarnation.

"To succeed in this operation, however, a combination of circumstances was required which was seldom realized. It may therefore be said that in spite of all their knowledge and all their magic powers, the Egyptians succeeded in bewitching the Double only about once in a thousand attempts, but even this is a fair average for such a daring project."

At present, those who were once prevented by this method from reincarnating are returning in increasing numbers to help create the New Renaissance.(14) As this age develops, all the knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians that is of real benefit will be made known.
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(14) See the book, A Guide for the New Renaissance, by this publisher.
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