MA GtC AND SORCER Y 135 



flame of a light away from the wick. By the art of 

 Nectromancy we may look into the interior of rocks, 

 closed letters may be read without being opened/ hidden 

 things be found, and all the secrets of men be brought 

 to light. Some people believe that such arts can best 

 be practised by virgins and innocent children, because 

 their minds are not clouded by false opinions nor 

 darkened by memories of evil deeds; but any one can 

 practise this art if he has the necessary qualifications" 

 {Philosophia Sagax). 



He who understands letters can read words, and he 

 who knows words can read books. If we know that 

 a certain cause may produce a certain effect, and if 

 such an effect takes place, we will easily recognise 

 the cause that produced it. " If the crowing of cocks 

 announces a change of weather, and if we hear the 

 cocks crow in an unusual manner, we may predict that 

 the weather will change. Certain animals have in- 

 herited instincts that cause them to act in a certain 

 manner, which will indicate other future events than 

 a change in the weather. The peculiar cry of a pea- 

 cock or the unusual howling of a dog indicates the 

 approach of a death in the house to which they are 

 attached ; for every being is a product of the universal 

 principle of life, and each contains the light of Nature. 

 Animals possess that light, and men bring it with them 

 into the world." ^ 



The power of clairvoyance and prevision is especially 

 active in dreams, when the activity of the physical body 

 is subdued, and the disturbing influences coming through 

 the avenues of the physical senses are excluded. "Artists 

 and students have often received instructions in their 



^ The astral duplicate of the writing is seen by the astral sense. 



' Man possesses that power from birth, but the majority lose it after- 

 wards by neglecting to use it, and in consequence of concentrating all 

 their attention upon the illusions of the material plane. Moreover, the 

 organs for the finer perceptions become paralysed and atrophied by the 

 use of alcoholic drinks. 



