(8) To what do the former beings pertain? They are like forgetfulness and heavy sleep; being like those who dream troubled dreams, to whom sleep comes while they - those who dream - are oppressed. The others are like some creatures of light for him, looking for the rising of the sun, since it happened that they saw in him dreams which are truly sweet. It immediately put a stop to the emanations of the thought. They did not any longer have their substance and also they did not have honor any longer.

(76) When now the wrathful fire-flash awakened, and roused up the spirits of nature, which stand in death in the earth, and made them moveable by its fierce terror or crack, then the spirits began, according to their peculiar divine right, to generate themselves, as they had done from eternity, and form, figure or frame a body together, according to the innate, instant qualities of that place.

(6) But the variety of disposition arises from inordinate affection to material things. And for this reason, as they appear to me, to have called night Euphrone; since then the soul, released from the perceptions of sense, turns in on itself, and has a truer hold of intelligence (Fronhsis). Wherefore the mysteries are for the most part celebrated by night, indicating the withdrawal of the soul from the body, which takes place by night. "Let us not then sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as an helmet the hope of salvation." And as to what, again, they say of sleep, the very same things are to be understood of death. For each exhibits the departure of the soul, the one more, the other less; as we may also get this in Heraclitus: "Man touches night in himself, when dead and his light quenched; and alive, when he sleeps he touches the dead; and awake, when he shuts his eyes, he touches the sleeper." "For blessed are those that have seen the Lord," according to the apostle; "for it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light." By day and light he designates figuratively the Son, and by the armour of light metaphorically the promises.

(45) With veils drawn over their faces, and asleep; But when the morn shall burst forth and the sun arise Every creature will raise its head from its couch; To the unconscious God will restore consciousness; They will stand in rings as slaves with rings in ears; Dancing and clapping hands with songs of praise, Singing with joy, "Our Lord hath restored us to life!" Shedding their old skins and bones, All pressing on from Not-being to Being, On the last day, as well the thankful as the unthankful.

(17) In the soul sleep a strange process occurs, namely, the preparation for the sloughing off of the lower sheaths of the soul, leaving it free to enter the life on the Astral Plane clad only in the garments of its highest stage of spiritual attainment reached by it. Each soul awakens on the Astral Plane prepared to dwell on the plane of its highest and best, leaving the rest behind it. It awakens on the plane in which the highest and best in itself is given a chance to develop and expand, and to make progress, for the soul may, and does, make great progress in these between-births sojourns on the Astral Plane.

(139) But that the bitter spirit is not awakened, while the spirit goeth through its place, signifieth that the dark night in the outermost birth or geniture of this world has never comprehended the light; also never will comprehend it in all eternity.

(8) Now in this clear and light flash the seven qualifying or fountain spirits were instantly kindled, as a man kindleth a fire, for they were affrighted at the terrible clarity or brightness of their spirit, and so instantly at the first flash suddenly became highly triumphing, proudly lifted up and joyful to excess, and so moved themselves towards a higher birth.

(7) But, besides this, there is the animus in which the spirit shelters. The animus lives in the daytime in the eyes; at night it houses in the liver. When living in the eyes, it sees; when housing itself in the liver, it dreams. Dreams are the wanderings of the spirit through all nine Heavens and all the nine Earths. But whoever is dull and moody on waking, and chained to his bodily form, is fettered by the anima. Therefore the concentration of the animus is effected by the circulation of the Light, and in this way the spirit is protected, the anima subjected, and consciousness annulled. The method used by the ancients for escaping from the world consisted in burning out completely the slag of darkness in order to return to the purely creative. This is nothing more than a reduction of the anima and a bringing to perfection of the animus. And the circulation of the Light is the magical means of limiting the dark powers and gaining mastery of the anima. Even if the work is not directed toward bringing back the creative, but confines itself to the magical means of the circulation of the Light, it is just the Light that is creative. By means of its circulation, one returns to the creative. If this method is followed, plenty of seed-water will be present of itself; the spirit-fire will be ignited, and the thought-earth will solidify and crystallize. And thus can the holy fruit mature. The scarabseus rolls his ball and in the ball there develops life as the effect of the undivided effort of his spiritual concentration. If now an embryo can grow in manure, and shed its skin, why should not the dwelling place of our Heavenly Heart also be able to create a body if we concentrate the spirit upon it?

(75) As Adam went out of the clear Light of God into the dark Kingdom of this World, and the Soul of Adam stood between two dark Principles (as between Death and Hell) and grew up in the Body, so also would Christ (in his growing Body) rise up from the Dead at Midnight, and make the Night in his holy Body to be a clear eternal Day, whereinto no Night ever came, but the Light of God the Father and of the Lamb shone therein.

(15) Reaching the vibrations of the Astral Plane, the Newly disembodied soul falls into a deep sleep, or state of coma, resembling the condition of the unborn child for several months before its birth. This condition is necessary in order to prepare the soul for its life on the new plane. The soul which has left the earth scene with calmness and peaceful mental attitude soon drops into a dreamless slumber; but those whose minds have been filled with strong desires connected with earth life often experience what are called "astral dreams" in which they revisit the scenes of earth life, and if possible may indulge in more or less distorted and dreamy communications through "mediums" and others. The strong desires and grief on the part of those left behind on the earth scenes, also, sometimes act to set up a "rapport" condition, and thus disturb the sleeping soul and interfere with its needed preparatory rest. In this slumber state the disembodied soul is fully protected from the influence or presence of other beings, and is as secure as is the child in its mother's womb.

(113) But when the astral spirits are enlightened from the animated or soulish spirit, which in the light uniteth with God, then they grow fervent, and very longing and desirous of the light. On the other hand, the animated or soulish spirit of the devil, which ruleth in the outermost birth or geniture of man, is very terrible and angry, and of a very contrary or opposite will.

(18) Although such Revelations have been hidden [or concealed] from the Beginning of the World, yet because it must now go into its Ether, and into the Breaking-through, therefore all stands naked, whatsoever has been hidden in Nature; and there shall very great Things (which have been hidden) be revealed [or manifested;] and this Mystery is the Break of Day. Therefore it is Time to awake, for the Awakening of the Dead is near at Hand.

(5) "Nature, which had been disturbed, immediately arose from the idle waters. For her ascent was shameful. And nature took to herself the power of fire. She became strong because of the light of the spirit that was in nature. Her likeness appeared in the water in the form of a frightful beast with many faces, which is crooked below. A light went down to chaos filled with mist and dust, in order to harm nature. And the light of astonishment in the middle region came to it after he cast off the burden of the darkness. He rejoiced when the spirit arose. For he looked from the clouds down at the dark waters upon the light that was in the depths of nature.

(23) Finally, after the longer or short period of sojourn of the soul upon the Astral Plane—the duration of which depends upon the degree of spiritual development of the soul—there comes to it the first dawn of a new state or condition, known to occultists as "the second soul-sleep," or slumber, in which the soul is prepared for its new birth on earth which is coming to it. A writer has well described this state as follows: "The second soul-sleep is preceded by a transition state of gradually declining activity and consciousness, and a corresponding desire for rest on the part of the soul. The natural processes of the Astral Plane nearing their close, the soul begins to experience a feeling of lassitude and weariness, and instinctively longs for rest and repose. It finds that it has lived out the greater part of its desires, ambitions, and ideals, and in many cases has also outlived them. There comes to it a wistful feeling of having fulfilled the purpose of its destiny, and a premonition of the coming of some newer phase of existence. The soul does not feel pain at the approach of the second soul-sleep, but, on the contrary, experiences satisfaction and happiness at the coming of something which promises rest and recuperation. Like the weary traveller who has climbed the mountain paths, and has delighted in the experiences of the journey, the soul feels that it has well earned a restful repose, and, like that traveller, it looks forward to the same with longing and desire." The same writer says: "The soul may have passed by a few years, or perhaps a hundred or a thousand years, of earth-time, on the Astral Plane, according to its degree of development and unfoldment. But, be its stay short or long, the feeling of weariness reaches it at last, and, like many aged persons in earth-life, it feels that 'my work is over—let me pass on.' So sooner or later the soul feels a desire to gain new experience, and to manifest in a new life some of the advancement which has come to it by reason of its unfoldment on the Astral Plane. And, from these reasons, and also from the attraction of the desires which have been smouldering there, not lived out or cast off; or, possibly influenced by the fact that some loved soul, on a lower plane, is ready to reincarnate, and wishing to be with that soul (which is also a form of desire) the soul falls into a current sweeping toward rebirth and the selection of proper parents and advantageous environment. In consequence whereof it again falls into a state of soul-slumber, gradually, and so when its time comes it 'dies' on the Astral Plane, as it did before on the material plane, and passes forward toward rebirth on earth." There is another fact concerned with the awakening of the soul at rebirth, however, which is seldom mentioned by writers upon the subject, and which is consequently not known to many persons familiar with the other facts concerning rebirth. This fact is as follows: Strictly speaking, the soul continues in a condition of partial slumber even after it has been re-born in earth life. It does not fully awaken at once in the body of the new-born child in which it has been reincarnated, but on the contrary it awakens only gradually during the early childhood and youth of the child.

(128) The motion of the three births lasted the length of six days and nights, wherein all the seven spirits of God stood in a full moving birth or geniture, as also the heart of the spirits; and the Salitter of the earth turned about in that while six times in the great wheel; which wheel is the seven qualifying or fountain spirits of God. At each turning about or diurnal revolution there was generated a several special work or production, according to the innate, instant qualifying or fountain spirits.

(60) But the bestial body cannot follow so suddenly and nimbly, but must be charmed to it by characters and conjurations, and by some instruments for that purpose, whereby the animated or soulish spirit makes the bestial body invisible, and changeth it into such a form as the will of the qualifying or fountain spirits was in, at the beginning of its purpose to a metamorphosis or transmutation.

(5) Now when this was done the deep became clear, and with the hidden or concealed heaven the light was separated from the darkness, and the globe of the earth in the great wheel of nature was rolled or turned once about; and accordingly the there passed the time of one revolution, or of one day, which containeth twentyfour hours.

(13) The moment of "death" arriving for the person, the soul sloughs off the ordinary physical body, and clad in the garments of the Elemental Soul it leaves the scene of the physical body. At first, however, the separation is not complete, for the Elemental Soul is still attached to the physical body by a thin slender thread or cord, which finally breaks and allows the soul to proceed on its way. The garments of the Elemental Soul are of course, in a sense, "physical" just as truly as were the garments of the visible body which were just cast off by the soul. In these new garments, however, the person is invisible to the ordinary sight of men, and except in the case of clairvoyants its presence cannot be detected.

(24) A writer, speaking of the above important fact concerning rebirth, says: "A soul does not fully awaken from its second soul-slumber immediately upon rebirth, but exists in a dream-like state during the days of infancy, its gradual awakening being evidenced by the growing intelligence of the babe, the brain of the child keeping pace with the demands made upon it. In some cases, however, the awakening is premature, and we see cases of prodigies, child-geniuses, etc., but such cases are more or less abnormal and unhealthy. Occasionally, the dreaming soul in the child half awakes, and startles its elders by some profound observation or mature remark or conduct. The rare instances of precocious children and infant genius are illustrations of cases in which the awakening has been more than ordinarily rapid. On the other hand, cases are known where the soul does not awaken as rapidly as the average, and the result is that the person does not show signs of full intellectual activity until nearly middle-aged. Cases are known where men seem to 'wake up' when they are forty years of age, or even older, and then take on freshened activity and energy, surprising those who had known them before." Here we ask the student to carefully consider another point concerning the need of and consequences of the second soul-slumber. Just as in the first soul-slumber the soul underwent a period of spiritual digestion and assimilation of the experiences of its earth-life, so in the second soul-slumber it undergoes a period of digestion and assimilation of its experiences on the Astral Plane. In both of these periods of spiritual digestion and assimilation the soul converts the substance of the experience into the solid flesh, bone, and blood of its "character." It has outlived many things during its sojourn on the Astral Plane, and has left many undesirable qualities behind it.

(2) It is of this Soul especially that we read "All Soul has care for the Soulless"- though the several Souls thus care in their own degree and way. The passage continues- "Soul passes through the entire heavens in forms varying with the variety of place"- the sensitive form, the reasoning form, even the vegetative form- and this means that in each "place" the phase of the soul there dominant carries out its own ends while the rest, not present there, is idle.

Now, in humanity the lower is not supreme; it is an accompaniment; but neither does the better rule unfailingly; the lower element also has a footing, and Man, therefore, lives in part under sensation, for he has the organs of sensation, and in large part even by the merely vegetative principle, for the body grows and propagates: all the graded phases are in a collaboration, but the entire form, man, takes rank by the dominant, and when the life-principle leaves the body it is what it is, what it most intensely lived.

This is why we must break away towards the High: we dare not keep ourselves set towards the sensuous principle, following the images of sense, or towards the merely vegetative, intent upon the gratifications of eating and procreation; our life must be pointed towards the Intellective, towards the Intellectual-Principle, towards God.

Those that have maintained the human level are men once more. Those that have lived wholly to sense become animals- corresponding in species to the particular temper of the life- ferocious animals where the sensuality has been accompanied by a certain measure of spirit, gluttonous and lascivious animals where all has been appetite and satiation of appetite. Those who in their pleasures have not even lived by sensation, but have gone their way in a torpid grossness become mere growing things, for this lethargy is the entire act of the vegetative, and such men have been busy be-treeing themselves. Those, we read, that, otherwise untainted, have loved song become vocal animals; kings ruling unreasonably but with no other vice are eagles; futile and flighty visionaries ever soaring skyward, become highflying birds; observance of civic and secular virtue makes man again, or where the merit is less marked, one of the animals of communal tendency, a bee or the like.