32 PARACELSUS 



Astra. — States of mind, either in the mind of man or in the uni 

 versal mind. Each mental state in the mind of man corresponds 

 to a similar condition in the mental atmosphere of the world, and 

 as the mind of man acts upon the universal mind, so that mental 

 atmosphere reacts upon him. 



Astral Body. — The invisible ethereal body of man or of any other 

 thing ; the physical form being merely the material expression 

 of the astral body, which builds up the external form. 



Astral Light. — The same as the Archaeus. A universal and 

 living ethereal element, still more ethereal and highly organised 

 than the A'kasa. The former is universal, the latter only cosmic 

 — viz., pertaining to our solar system. It is at the same time 

 an element and a power, containing the character of all things. 

 It is the storehouse of memory for the great world (the Macro- 

 cosm), whose contents may become re-embodied and reincarnated 

 in objective forms ; it is the storehouse of memory of the little 

 world, the Microcosm of man, from which he may recollect 

 past events. It exists uniformly throughout the interplanetary 

 spaces, yet it is more dense and more active around certain 

 objects on account of their molecular activity, especially around 

 the brain and spinal cord of human beings, which are surrounded 

 by it as by an aura of light. It is this aura around the nerve- 

 cells and nerve-tubes by which a man is enabled to catch impres- 

 sions made upon the astral aura of the cosmos, and thereby to 

 " read in the Astral Light." It forms the medium for the trans- 

 mission of thought, and without such a medium no thought 

 could be transferred to a distance. It may be seen by the 

 clairvoyant, and as each person has an astral aura of his own, 

 a person's character may be read in his Astral Light by those 

 who are able to see it. In the case of a child who has not yet 

 generated any special characteristics, that emanating aura is 

 milk-white ; but in the adult there is always upon this funda- 

 mental colour another one, such as blue, green, yellow, red, 

 dark-red, and even black. Every living nerve has its astral 

 aura, every mineral, every plant or animal, and everything of 

 life, and the glorified body of the spirit is made to shine by its 

 light. 

 Astrology. — The science of the "stars ;" i.e., of the mental states 

 in the mind. It is not to be confounded with modern physical 

 astronomy. 

 Asj'RUM. — This term is frequently used by Paracelsus, and means 

 the same as Astral Light, or the special sphere of mind belong- 

 ing to each individual, giving to each thing its own specific 

 qualities, constituting, so to say, its world. 

 Avitchi. — An Eastern term. A state of ideal spiritual wickedness ; 

 a subjective condition ; the antitype of Devachan or Anyodei, 



