Pramantha (Sanskrit) [from pra-math to stir about violently]

The upper stick used by the ancient Brahmins to kindle fire. By rubbing it against the arani or under stick, the friction produced the heat and subsequent flame. It would be wide of the inner significance of the pramantha and arani to concentrate attention upon their supposed phallic or sexual significance as these are described both pragmatically and mystically in ancient Hindu works, although unquestionably the language used is at times suggestive.

Mystically, the pramantha stands for the will in man, whirling and unceasingly active in and upon the passive portion of the human constitution, arousing the latter into corresponding activity, bringing about there the fire and flame of animate life. When the will is stilled the being is dormant; when the will acts all portions of the constitution touched by the whirling activity of the will react and spring themselves into corresponding motion.

(See also: Pramantha , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Suicide As an inseparable part of the universe, whether considered as an organism or as a huge animated machine, we cannot violently remove ourselves from the pattern without interfering with the harmonious working of the other parts; and just here enters the immense moral or ethical import of the evil of suicide. But even had we a right to destroy our life, it would be futile.

We may destroy the body, but we cannot destroy the mind. The suicide, after the temporary but complete unconsciousness which succeeds death, awakes in kama-loka the same person, in the same state of consciousness, minus only the physical triad (body, astral body, and gross physical vitality). His state of consciousness is one of torture, the repetition over and over of his suicidal act and the emotions that induced and accompanied it; this happens automatically because the mind, like an automaton repeats incessantly perforce the controlling or dominating impulses that governed it when the person took his physical life. And as the higher ego has its own life term, he has to remain in that condition until what would have been the natural term of life on earth is ended, body or no body.

When that period ends he passes again into unconsciousness, undergoes the second death, and all that is spiritual in him passes on to devachan, leaving the lower parts to pursue their own transmigrations. Aside from extremes of mental suffering which he would not otherwise have had to endure, the suicide is deprived of the full fruitage of bliss in devachan, for the latter is in direct ratio to the extent of earthly experiences and their spiritual quality. As he is still alive, his punishment is largely due to the very intensity of that life and to his longing to enjoy earthly contacts. If his life on earth was evil and sensual, this longing tempts them to find some living being or creature through whom he can make contacts that to him were pleasures -- to live again by proxy, as it were. Many crimes, obsessions, and manias, such as dipsomania, find their explanation here. Mediums and sensitives are open doors to such contacts; and these suicided astral beings, who are often called earth-walkers and who in many cases actually astral reliquiae, having by their own act severed their connection for the time with their highest principles -- the spiritual soul (buddhi) and inner god (atman) -- deprived thus of the urge and counsel of these highest principles, too often rush into these "open doors," and "by so doing, at the expiration of the natural term, they generally lose the monad for ever" (ML 109).

Because self-destruction, so called, is always wrong, and an unwarrantable and violent interference with the orderly processes of nature, the act is bound to bring disharmony and trouble for all concerned. But in laying down general laws we must always allow for specific instances, for there is no dogmatic hard-and-fast rule in these matters. Suicides among themselves differ enormously as between the cowardly and selfish act of an evil person, the uncontrolled act of the insane, and the utterly mistaken but perhaps even compassionate act of one who thinks that by suicide he can aid others. These extremes are simply enormous, and nature which in its actions is perfect justice, albeit automatic, watches over and protects, as far as natural laws permit, these last cases of sincere but erroneous belief or thought, born of ignorance. We dare not judge in default of full knowledge of the karmic heritage, or the deeper causes which culminated in the act.

In a world that is almost rent asunder in certain aspects, by selfishness, fear, and hatred, with a mounting suicide toll in all countries capable of statistical review, the truth about suicide and the fate of the suicide is not a subject for sentiment but for persistent reiteration.

(See also: Suicide , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Spiritual Powers Generally used in contradistinction to psychic powers; for while psychic powers pertain to the intermediate, psychomental part of human nature, the spiritual powers pertain to the higher part. Hence the psychic powers, precisely because intermediaries, may become the instrument either of our higher or of our lower nature, being vehicular products in themselves and subject to influx from above or below.

The spiritual powers cannot be used for selfish and personal ends because their svabhava is universality and impersonality, attributes which link man with the surrounding universe. They emanate from the spiritual monad, atma-buddhi. We are able to use spiritual powers when our manas acts in conjunction with the spiritual monad. Such powers cannot be evoked by personal ambition or any form of acquisitiveness, because they do not rise above the intermediate or psychic nature and make no appeal to the spirit above; in fact, spiritual powers are the fruit of renunciation, of the replacing of the personal with the universal, the resigning of the limited for the virtually limitless, the giving up of the small for the great. Spiritual powers consist in a clear intuition of the truth, leading to right conduct, an ability to help and teach others -- the powers which we attribute to a Buddha or Christ.

The eye of Siva or Dangma, with its all-penetrating vision, must be included among spiritual powers; the siddhis and saktis given in various enumerations comprise some that are spiritual -- in fact the ones of permanent value are all spiritual. Since psychic powers are in themselves intermediaries, veils of what is within and behind them, they should become adjuncts to spiritual powers. Sharp lines of demarcation cannot be drawn in a universe whose very structure involves virtually infinite variety, and interblending, of interacting life and lives.

(See also: Spiritual Powers , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

T'ien-huang (Chinese) The aggregate of the heavenly hierarchies of the dhyanis, described in legends as twelve hierarchies of celestial beings, with human faces and dragon bodies. They evolve men by incarnating themselves in seven figures of earth, "the dragon standing for divine Wisdom or Spirit" (SD 2:26).

(See also: T'ien-huang , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Midheaven: The Midheaven is the first point in the chart to be calculated. The Midheaven is the part of the zodiac that is the highest (most elevated) visible point in the sky at the time you are born. If you ask the question, “How long has it been since zero degrees of Aries was at the Midheaven?” the answer tells you what degree of the zodiac is there in terms of time. If the Sun is at zero degrees of Aries, the Sun will be at the Midheaven at noon. Noon in this case is based on Local Time. Standard and daylight time can affect the zero Aries Sun’s position, placing it to one side or the other of the Midheaven point.

The Midheaven reflects what you know – or can know – about yourself. It represents ego-consciousness. Infants have little or no boundary between Self and Other. As children grow and learn, they come to understand themselves as separate beings, and they learn to depend on their own intelligence, emotions and skills. In short they learn about themselves as they learn about the world. The Midheaven reflects this self awareness.

Psychologically healthy adults have a clear sense of Self, distinguished from Other. They know what their core motivations are, and they know what skills they have to achieve their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual goals. The sign the Midheaven occupies indicates the nature of self-understanding, and provides the springboard from which you can dive into the process of gaining ego consciousness – understanding of what moves you on a deep personal level.

The Midheaven offers a way to understand yourself better, and is key to developing a flexible ego. We all know people who seem brittle and inflexible. We sense that they might “break” if they are pushed too hard in certain areas. Flexibility means developing an ego structure that can withstand the onslaught of life experiences and adapt or adjust to them. Astrology points out one path toward the development of broad-based ego skills, and it describes both the limitations of your ego and the positive potential of self awareness.

(See also: Midheaven , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Will The ensouling creative essence of abstract, eternal motion throughout the kosmos. As an eternal principle it is neither spirit nor substance but everlasting ideation. In its abstract sense, it is a hierarchy of intelligent forces emanating from the aggregate of the hosts of beings, visible and invisible, which are nature itself.

The so-called laws of nature are the action and interaction of the combined consciousnesses and wills which pervade the kosmos. The will pours forth in floods of light and life from the primal Logos. These floods, following the pathways of universal circulation, come to us from the central heart of the solar system -- insofar as our solar universe is concerned. They thus descend, plane by plane and cycle by cycle, into the depths of matter, from which finally they arise again towards their primal source.

 In this progressive descent and ascent, will is made to manifest in keeping with each plane or state of consciousness which it enters. There is, therefore, the one fundamental kosmic will-ideation, breaking into innumerable streams of willing entities during periods of manifestation, and thus it operates in myriad ways, in every round of the endless ladder of life.

Divine or universal thought and will come into manifestation through the collective hosts of spiritual beings, the dhyani-chohans, who are the vehicles through which the unmanifested appears. "They are the Intelligent Forces that give to and enact in Nature her 'laws,' while themselves acting according to laws imposed upon them in a similar manner by still higher Powers; but they are not 'the personifications' of the powers of Nature, as erroneously thought" (SD 1:38). The natural law which preserves the balanced motion of planetary rotation was explained by Herschel's saying "that there is a will needed to impart a circular motion and another will to restrain it" (SD 1:503).

In the composite human being -- the microcosm -- there are the divine, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, animal, astral, and even physical wills. The old maxim "behind will stands desire" accounts for the paradoxical influence of this colorless force which is used to energize both good and evil motives. Thus, as it operates through the intermediate human nature, the individual consciously and unconsciously gives it a right or wrong direction, according to his use of free will in choosing his course of conduct. The divine will is expressed in the sublime, impersonal desires of lofty celestial deities; while at the opposite pole, selfish, sensual, animal desires too often direct the action of the human will. The origin of good and evil lies respectively in the harmony and the conflict of wills in the kosmos.

The special physical organ of the human will is the pituitary gland. The brain and body show the different action of the conscious, positive, volitional will and of the negative, automatic, vegetative will. The latter energizes the mysteries of organic functions carried on by various conscious or semiconscious elemental entities who themselves act instinctively under the intelligent, harmonious laws of nature for the body's welfare.

Will power is a mighty, colorless force or energy which can be set in motion by one who has the power and knowledge to do so. In India, in combination with abstract desire, it is mentioned as one of six primary powers (ichchhasakti) by which the adept accomplishes many of his wonders. "The ancients held that any idea will manifest itself externally, if one's attention (and Will) is deeply concentrated upon it; similarly, an intense volition will be followed by the desired result . . . For creation is but the result of will acting on phenomenal matter, the calling forth out of the primordial divine Light and eternal Life "(SD 2:173). The occult power of will explains many scientific problems of animate and inanimate matter. In human beings, it may consciously and unconsciously act upon other human wills and upon that of beasts; likewise, it may act upon physical and astral substance to produce various phenomena such as levitation, fire-walking, birthmarks, etc. "Paracelsus teaches that 'determined will is the beginning of all magical operations. It is because men do not perfectly imagine and believe the result, that the (occult) arts are so uncertain, while they might be perfectly certain' " (TG 370).

(See also: Will , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

SATANISM: The worship of the Christian concept of the Anti-Christ. It is not a Pagan religion although some Satanists refer to themselves as witches or Witches.

(See also: SATANISM , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

ASTROSOPHY

Astrology has frequently been criticized for offering proofs of its validity on single examples, as though it were some sort of faulty science. Astrology, however, does not rest upon cause and effect, but is based on the hermetic principle of Correspondence, exemplified by synchronicities and other simultaneous parallelisms. Mind is the link between the body and the Cosmos. Astrology is the recognition of this connection. When the psyche descends to the sensory world, its celestial planets are drawn inward, i.e. earthed, and they become cramped, distorted, negative reflections - faint echoes of what they were. So the planets become their own inversions. Saturn, for instance, is originally divine intelligence, but in man it now settles for putting ordinary "reason" on the throne of Transcendence. Since Saturn is the heaviest of the planets, its gravity pulls down all the others which in turn become inversions of themselves also. Hence confusion grows on what it feeds and since astrology fights a failing battle in its effort to keep the psyche's Cosmic connection, it is subject to endless criticism.

With the dawn of the "Age of Reason", we imagined that we had found the solution to our problems by rejecting the celestial link altogether and by exalting "Rationalism". This was the opposite direction from the one we should have taken. Now, feeling the lack of the "Spiritual" we seek it where we can - and, to our regret, now find outside ourselves only "irrationalism". With that we can no proceed to exclude the natural world as well as the transcendental, pathetically turning to the computer, robot and artificial intelligence as our highest goals.

(See also: ASTROSOPHY , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

inner life: The life we live inside ourselves, at the emotional, mental and spiritual levels, as distinguished from outer life.

(See also: Inner life , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Kuklos Anagkes (Ancient Greek). Lit., "The Unavoidable Cycle" or the "Circle of Necessity"-. Of the numerous catacombs in Egypt and Chaldea the most renowned were the subterranean crypts of Thebes and Memphis.

The former began on the Western side of the Nile extending toward the Libyan desert, and were known as the serpents’ (Initiated Adepts) catacombs. It was there that the Sacred Mysteries of the Kuklos Anagkes were performed, and the candidates were acquainted with the inexorable laws traced for every disembodied soul from the beginning of time.

These laws were that every reincarnating Entity, casting away its body should pass from this life on earth unto another life on a more subjective plane, a state of bliss, unless the sins of the personality brought on a complete separation of the higher from the lower "principles" ; that the "circle of necessity" or the unavoidable cycle should last a given period (from one thousand to even three thousand years in a few cases), and that when closed the Entity should return to its mummy, i.e., to a new incarnation.

The Egyptian and Chaldean teachings were those of the "Secret Doctrine" of the Theosophists. The Mexicans had the same. Their demi-god, Votan, is made to describe in Popol Vu (see de Bourbourg’s work) the ahugero de colubra which is identical with the "Serpent’s Catacombs", or passage, adding that it ran underground and "terminated at the root of heaven", into which serpent’s hole, Votan was, admitted because he was himself "a son of the Serpents", or a Dragon of Wisdom, i.e., an Initiate. The world over, the priest-adepts called themselves "Sons of the Dragon" and "Sons of the Serpent-god".

(See also: Kuklos Anagkes , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Prana: means energy; the vital energy which we draw into ourselves from the surrounding universe; ‘breath’: vital force sustaining life and creation, permitting the whole of creation and existing in both the macrocosms and the microcosms.

(See also: Prana , Hinduism, Yoga, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)