The astral plane - its scenery, inhabitants, and phenomena - PDF by C. W. Leadbeater

The astral plane: its scenery, inhabitants, and phenomena

Charles Webster Leadbeater

Though for the most part entirely unconscious of it, man passes the whole of his life in the midst of a vast and populous unseen world. 

During sleep or in trance, when the insistent physical senses are for the time in abeyance, this other world is to some extent open to him, and he will sometimes bring back from those conditions more or less vague memories of what he has seen and heard there. 

When, at the change which men call death, he lays aside his physical body altogether, it is into this unseen world that he passes, and in it, he lives through the long centuries that intervene between his incarnations into this existence that we know. By far the greater part of these long periods is spent in the heaven-world, to which the sixth of these manuals is devoted; but what we have now to consider is the lower part of this unseen world, the state into which man enters immediately after death the Hades or underworld of the (keeks, the purgatory or the intermediate state of Christianity, which was called by mediaeval alchemists the astral plane. 

The object of this manual is to collect and arrange the information with regard to this interesting 9 10 region which is scattered through Theosophical literature, and also to supplement it slightly in cases where new facts have conic to our knowledge.

 It must be understood that any such additions arc only the result of the investigations of a new explorer, and must not, therefore, he was taken as in any way authoritative, given simply for what they are worth. On the other hand, every precaution in our power has been taken to ensure accuracy, no fact, old or new, being admitted to this manual unless it has been confirmed by the testimony of at least two independent trained investigators among ourselves, and has also been passed as correct by older students whose- knowledge on these points is necessarily much greater than ours. 

It is hoped, then-lore, that this account of the astral plane, though it cannot In- considered as quite complete, may yet be found reliable as far as it goes. 1 the first point which it is necessary to make clear in describing this astral plane is its absolute reality. Of cour.se in using that word I am not speaking from that metaphysical standpoint from which all but the One t manifested is unreal because impermanent:

 I am using the word in its plain, everyday sense, and I mean by it that the objects and inhabitants of the astral plane are real in exactly the same way as our own bodies, our furniture, our houses or monuments are real as Charing Cross, to quote an expressive remark from one of the earliest Theosophical works. They will no more endure forever than will object on the physical plane, but they an- nevertheless realities from our point of view while they last realities which we cannot afford to ignore merely because the majority of mankind is as yet unconscious, or but vaguely conscious, of their existence.

Contents:

Introduction.

Scenery. The Seven Subdivisions Degrees of Materiality

Characteristics of Astral Vision The Aura The Etheric

Double TONS er of Magnifying Minute Objects The " Summerland " Records of the Astral Light.

Inhabitants. I. Human, (i) Living:- -The Adept or his Pupil The Psychically Developed Person The Ordinary Person The Black Magician

(2) Dead: -The Nirmanakaya The Pupil awaiting Reincarnation The Ordinary Person after Death---The Shade The Shell The Vitalized Shell The Suicide The Victim of Sudden
Death The Vampire The Werewolf The Black Magician after Death ....

II. Non-human: -The Elemental Essence The Astral Bodies of Animals Various Classes of Nature-Spirits, commonly called
Fairies Kamadevas Rupadevas Arupadevas- -The I )evarajas .

III. Artificial: Elementals formed Unconsciously Guardian Angels Elementals formed Consciously Human Artificials
The True Origin of Spiritualism.

Phenomena. Churchyard Ghosts Apparitions of the Dying Haunted Localities Family Ghosts Bell-ringing, Stone-throwing, etc. Fairies Communicating Entities Astral Re
sources Clairvoyance Prevision Second-Sight- Astral Forces
Etheric Currents Etheric Pressure -Latent Energy Sympa
thetic Vibration Mantras Disintegration Materialization-
Why Darkness is required at a Seance Spirit Photographs-
Reduplication Precipitation of Letters and Pictures Slate-
writing Levitation Spirit Lights  landing Fire Transmutation Repercussion

Conclusion I25 

the book details :

Author: Charles Webster Leadbeater was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church.

Publication date: 1900

Company: London: Theosophical Pub. Soc

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