Occult Chemistry

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Occult Chemistry
Occult Chemistry.jpg
Author Annie Besant
C.W. Leadbeater
PublisherTheosophical Publishing House Adyar
Publication date
1908
Media typeHardback
Pages92+22
ISBN 1-56459-678-8
OCLC 77847789
The Periodic Law: the number affixed to an element is the number of "Anu" (the ultimate physical particles of which matter is constituted). Periodic-Law-of-Occult-Chemistry.png
The Periodic Law: the number affixed to an element is the number of "Anu" (the ultimate physical particles of which matter is constituted).

Occult Chemistry:Investigations by Clairvoyant Magnification into the Structure of the Atoms of the Periodic Table and Some Compounds (originally subtitled A Series of Clairvoyant Observations on the Chemical Elements) is a book written by Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater, who were both members of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, India. Besant was at the time the President of the Society having succeeded Henry Olcott after his death in 1907.

Contents

Overview

The first edition reprinting articles from The Theosophist was published in 1908, followed by a second edition edited by Alfred Percy Sinnett in 1919, and a third edition edited by Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa in 1951. [1] [2]

Since the first edition was published in 1908, the book is in the public domain, and available in whole or in excerpts, on many sites on the internet. [3]

Occult Chemistry states that the structure of chemical elements can be assessed through clairvoyant observation with the microscopic vision of the third eye. [4] Observations were carried out between 1895 and 1933. "The book consists both of coordinated and illustrated descriptions of presumed etheric counterparts of the atoms of the then known chemical elements, and of other expositions of occult physics." [5]

Critical reception

Academic criticism is available in Chapter 2 of Modern Alchemy: Occultism and the Emergence of Atomic Theory, [6] and in an online article from the Chemistry department at Yale University. [7]

Critics regard the book to be an example of pseudoscience. [8] According to Philip Ball, most scientists did not take the book seriously. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Besant</span> English writer and activist (1847–1933)

Annie Besant was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist, and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an ardent supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule. She became the first female president of the Indian National Congress in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Webster Leadbeater</span> British theosophist and writer (1854–1934)

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third eye</span> Spiritual concept

The third eye is an invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna chakra. In both Hinduism and Buddhism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows, representing the enlightenment one achieves through meditation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akashic records</span> Term in theosophy and anthroposophy

In the religion of Theosophy and the spiritual movement called Anthroposophy, the Akashic records are a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of all entities and life forms, not just human. They are believed by theosophists to be encoded in a non-physical plane of existence known as the mental plane. Because it is believed that the records are encoded vibrationally into the inherent fabric of space, some have likened the mechanism as similar to how holograms are created. There is currently no scientific evidence for the existence of the Akashic records, and rigorous scientific research in this field has seen little traction.

In esoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being.

The mental body is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. It is understood as a sort of body made up of thoughts, just as the emotional body consists of emotions and the physical body is made up of matter. In occult understanding, thoughts are not just subjective qualia, but have an existence apart from the associated physical organ, the brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etheric body</span> Concept in neo-Theosophy

In neo-Theosophy, the etheric body, ether-body, or æther body is the subtle body propounded in esoteric philosophies as the first or lowest layer in the human energy field or aura. The etheric body is said to be in immediate contact with the physical body and to sustain it and connect it with "higher" bodies. It is also said to consist of a finer substance, more pure and composed of smaller particles, than the ordinary matter of the physical plane.

The etheric plane is a term introduced into Theosophy by Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant to represent the subtle part of the lower plane of existence. It represents the fourth [higher] subplane of the physical plane, the lower three being the states of solid, liquid, and gaseous matter. The idea was later used by authors such as Alice Bailey, Rudolf Steiner, Walter John Kilner and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morya (Theosophy)</span> Indian religious leader

Morya, also spelt Maurya, is one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" within modern Theosophical beliefs. He is believed by followers of Theosophism to be one of the Mahatmas who inspired the founding of the Theosophical Society and was engaged in a correspondence with two English Theosophists living in India, A. P. Sinnett and A. O. Hume. The correspondence was published in 1923 by A. Trevor Barker, in the book The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aura (paranormal)</span> Parapsychological and spiritual concept

According to spiritual beliefs, an aura or energy field is a colored emanation said to enclose a human body or any animal or object. In some esoteric positions, the aura is described as a subtle body. Psychics and holistic medicine practitioners often claim to have the ability to see the size, color and type of vibration of an aura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose (color)</span> Color between red and magenta plus its shades

Rose is the color halfway between red and magenta on the HSV color wheel, also known as the RGB color wheel, on which it is at hue angle of 330 degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa</span> Sri Lankan theosophist

Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa was a Ceylonese author, occultist, freemason and theosophist. The fourth president of the Theosophical Society, Jinarajadasa was one of the world's foremost Theosophical authors, having published more than 50 books and more than 1600 articles in periodicals during his life. His interests and writings included religion, philosophy, literature, art, science and occult chemistry. He was also a rare linguist, who had the ability to work in many European languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Theosophy</span> System of Theosophical ideas

Neo-Theosophy is a term, originally derogatory, used by the followers of Helena Blavatsky to denominate the system of Theosophical ideas expounded by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891. This material differed in major respects from Blavatsky's original presentation, but it is accepted as genuinely Theosophical by many Theosophists around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Wood</span>

Ernest Egerton Wood was a noted English yogi, theosophist, Sanskrit scholar, and author of numerous books, including Concentration – An Approach to Meditation, Yoga and The Pinnacle of Indian Thought (1967).

Master Jesus is the theosophical concept of Jesus in theosophy and the Ascended Master Teachings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maitreya (Theosophy)</span> Esoteric spiritual entity

In Theosophy, Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a reputed hidden spiritual hierarchy, the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. According to Theosophical doctrine, one of the hierarchy's functions is to oversee the evolution of humankind; in concert with this function Maitreya is said to hold the "Office of the World Teacher". Theosophical texts posit that the purpose of this Office is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge about the true constitution and workings of Existence to humankind. Humanity is thereby assisted on its presumed cyclical, but ever progressive, evolutionary path. Reputedly, one way the knowledge transfer is accomplished is by Maitreya occasionally manifesting or incarnating in the physical realm; the manifested entity then assumes the role of World Teacher of Humankind.

Dora Kunz née Theodora Sophia van Gelder was a Dutch-American writer, psychic, alternative healer, occultist and leader in the Theosophical Society in America. Kunz's works have been widely published in Dutch, English, French, German, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish.

<i>Man: Whence, How and Whither, a Record of Clairvoyant Investigation</i> Theosophical book published in 1913

Man: Whence, How and Whither, A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation, published in 1913, is a theosophical book compiled by the second president of the Theosophical Society (TS) - Adyar, Annie Besant, and by a TS member, Charles W. Leadbeater. The book is a study on early times on planetary chains, beginnings of early root races, early civilizations and empires, and past lives of men.

<i>Thought-Forms</i> 1905 book about Theosophy

Thought-Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation is a theosophical book compiled by the members of the Theosophical Society A. Besant and C. W. Leadbeater. It was originally published in 1905 in London. From the standpoint of Theosophy, it tells opinions regarding the visualization of thoughts, experiences, emotions and music. Drawings of the "thought-forms" were performed by John Varley Jr., Prince, and McFarlane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theosophy and visual arts</span>

Modern Theosophy has had considerable influence on the work of visual artists, particularly painters. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Luigi Russolo chose Theosophy as the main ideological and philosophical basis of their work.

References

  1. Brock, William H. (14 December 2016). William Crookes (1832–1919) and the Commercialization of Science. Taylor & Francis. pp. 464–465. ISBN   978-1-351-87286-7.
  2. List of Sources - Occult Chemistry for Postgraduate Students of Physics, Philosophy & Psychology
  3. Occult Chemistry by Annie Wood Besant and C. W. Leadbeater at Project Gutenberg
  4. It was claimed by C.W. Leadbeater that, by extending an "etheric tube" from the third eye, it is possible for one to develop microscopic vision and telescopic vision. See Leadbeater, C.W. The Chakras Wheaton, Illinois, USA:1927 Theosophical Publishing House Page 79
  5. An Appreciation of C.W. Leadbeater, by Geoffrey Hodson
  6. Morrisson, Mark (19 April 2007). "2: Occult Chemistry, Instrumentation, and the Theosophical Science of Direct Perception". Modern Alchemy: Occultism and the Emergence of Atomic Theory. Oxford University Press. pp. 65–96. ISBN   978-0-19-804192-4.
  7. McBride, J. Michael (12 May 1999). "Serious Scientific Lessons from Direct Observation of Atoms through Clairvoyance". Chemistry 125. New Haven, CT: Yale University. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. Gardner, Martin. (2001). Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 62. ISBN   978-0393322385
  9. Ball, Philip. (2015). Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen. University of Chicago Press. pp. 121-124. ISBN   978-0226238890

Further reading