114 PARACELSUS 



be possessed; only those who are habitually guided by 

 their own lower impulses will become subjected to their 

 influence. Exorcisms and ceremonies are useless in 

 such cases. Praying^ and abstinence from all thoughts 

 that stimulate the imagination or excite the brain are 

 the only true remedies " {Be Ente Spirituali). " The cure 

 of obsession is a purely psychical and moral act. The 

 obsessed person should use true prayer and abstinence, 

 and after that a strong-willed person should will such 

 spirits to depart " {Philosophia Occulta).^ 



The reason why we cannot see such astral entities 

 is because they are transparent as air. We cannot 

 see the air unless we produce a smoke in it, and even 

 in that case we do not see the air itself, but the smoke 

 that is carried by the air. But we can feel the air 

 when it moves, and we may also occasionally feel the 

 presence of such entities, if they are dense enough to 

 be felt. Moreover, the purpose of our senses is to 

 perceive the objects that exist on the plane for which 

 those senses are adapted, and therefore the physical 

 senses exist for the purpose of seeing physical things, 

 and the senses of the inner man are made to see the 

 things of the soul. When the outer senses are in- 

 active, the inner senses awaken to life, and we may see 

 the objects on the astral plane as we see things in a 

 dream. There are also some poisons by which the 

 organic activity of the body can be suppressed for a 



1 By " praying " is meant the exercise of the spiritual will. 



" Oh, you stupid and foolish priest, who know absolutely nothing ; be- 

 cause you imagine to be able to drive away evil spirits with sweet-smell- 

 ing incense, such as is enjoyed by good and evil spirits alike. If instead 

 of your incense you were to take asafoetida, then might you succeed in 

 driving away the evil spirits and the good ones besides " {Philos. Occulta), 



2 It often happens that bodily diseases are the cause of morbid desires. 

 A disease of the skin (pruritus vaginae or scroti) causes erotic desires ; a 

 displacement of the womb, an erosion, ulcer, or inflammation of the os 

 uteri, cause mental depression and hysteria ; piles cause melancholy, &c., 

 &c. ; but all such causes are, in their turn, the effects of previous causes 

 having a psychical origin, and they establish the conditions by which 

 elementary influences act, 



