Today we are going to talk about what scholars and occultists have called magnetism or vital fluids. In modern parlance, we would think of this energy as an etheric or bio-magnetic field. A person may use this etheric field not only for mesmerising or healing other people, but they may also use it to charge physical objects in a similar manner. Any object which has been in close contact with an individual will absorb that individual’s “magnetism”, and consequently will tend to reproduce in the person who wears it, something of the same state of feeling or thought with which it is charged. This, of course, is part of the rationale of talismans, charms and relics, as well as of the feelings of devotion and reverential awe, which sometimes quite literally exude from the walls of cathedrals and churches. Each stone of such buildings acts as a talisman, charged with the reverence and devotion of the builders of these structures. Later when these structures are consecrated by bishops, this energy is reinforced by the devotional thought forms of successive generations for thousands of years. We talk about an atmosphere being charged. Understanding the role of etheric emanations, helps us understand how this is occurring. Suddenly, the etheric force is not just an envelope that surrounds us and all living objects. It is energy that can be stored in any person or object, like electric current stored in a battery.
The process of charging and discharging is continually at work, though few are conscious of it. Thus, for example, food tends to become charged with the etheric energy of those who handle or come near it. This is the fact that is at the back of the strict rules that Hindus observe regarding eating food in the presence of, or which has been subjected to the “magnetism” of, one of the lower casts. To the occultist, magnetic purity is as important as physical cleanliness. Such foods as bread and pastry are especially liable to be charged with the magnetism of the person who prepares them, owing to the fact that etheric energy flows out most strongly through the hands. Fortunately, the action of fire in baking or cooking removes most kinds of physical magnetism. Some occult students, in order to prevent any avoidable mixture of magnetism, insist upon using only their own private eating utensils and even would not permit their hair to be cut except by someone whose magnetism they approved, the head, of course, being the part of the body where alien magnetism would be most keenly felt. You know my feeling on the matter when it comes to anyone’s hands near my head. However, I personally feel, that getting worked up about who does or does not prepare your food, is well beyond the pale of sensible behaviour and in many respects shows the contempt, people adhering to such principles, feel about their fellow humanity. So what if someone has a different etheric emanation from you, are you so weak as to wither on the vine from such an onslaught? A school friend of my father’s thought himself so high-born that he would not eat in front of other Brahmins, let alone a lower caste. I was exempt from this stricture, as I was not a Hindu, so I got fed. Here in lies the ridiculous nature of such behaviour. If eating with “lower” caste beings is objectionable, surely it should apply to me as well.
Books, especially those in a public library, tend to become loaded with all kinds of mixed etheric energy. Don’t accept this as an excuse from your children not to read. Precious stones, being the highest development of the mineral kingdom, have a great capacity to receive and retain impressions. Many jewels are saturated with feelings of envy and greed and, in the case of some of the great historical jewels, are impregnated with physical and other emanations associated with crimes that have been committed in order to possess them. Such jewels retain these impressions unimpaired for thousands of years, so that people who can psychometrise objects, may see around them pictures of indescribable horror. For this reason, most occultists in the past, discouraged the wearing of jewels as a general rule. My personal feeling is that if you clean the crystals in salt water, sunlight or on lay the crystal on an amethyst crystal bed, you should be good to go. The point is how you set about “magnetising” the crystals yourself. If a rock can be programmed, it can be deprogrammed and then reprogrammed.
Having pointed out the negatives of gem ownership, such crystals may also be powerful reservoirs of good and desirable influences. Thus, for example, the Gnostic gems employed at Initiation ceremonies two thousand years ago, retain even to this day, powerful magnetic influences. Some Egyptian scarabs are still effective, though they are much older even than the Gnostic gems.
Money, in the form of coins and notes, is frequently charged with highly unpleasant magnetism. Not only does it become charged with a great mixture of different kinds of magnetism, but it is, in addition, surrounded by the thoughts and feelings of those who have handled it. The disturbing and irritating effect of such emanations on emotional and mental bodies has been compared, by some, to that produced by the bombardment of radium emanations on the physical body. That I feel is gilding the lily, but there must be an effect. I wonder if bank tellers, who in days of old, had to count large numbers of bank notes, went home feeling drained? I feel, that if you are the average person, who goes about your daily life, half alive and half asleep to your environment and the influences it has on you, then you are going to be much less susceptible to such negative influences. The worst offenders, in the case of money, are copper and bronze coins and old and dirty bank notes. Nickel is less receptive to evil influences than copper, while silver and gold are better still in this respect. This gives credence to the term “dirty money”.
Bedding affords another example of physical objects absorbing and emanating magnetic influence. Many people have observed that unpleasant dreams may often be caused by sleeping on a pillow, which has been used by a person of unpleasant character. If wool is used in bedding or clothing, it is better not to let it touch the skin, owing to it being saturated with “animal” influences. Having said that, the influences of a sheep are likely to be much more benign than those of most humans. We also wash and process wollen garments so I doubt today if you would be able to “sense” any animal vibrations. Living my life, as I do, as a nomad, travelling from country to country on missions, I have slept in numerous beds of varying quality and comfort. In one case, the bedding was so stained, I thought the previous occupant had been murdered in the bed the night before and they forgot to change the sheets. However, as soon as my head hits the pillow I am away with the fairies, literally, as well as metaphorically.
Talismans are a fascinating topic and one that has exercised human ingenuity since the dawn of time. The method of deliberately manufacturing a talisman is, first to thoroughly cleanse the object of its present etheric matter. You do this by passing it through a film of etheric matter, which has been created for the purpose by an effort of will. The old etheric matter or magnetism having been so removed, the ordinary ether of the surrounding atmosphere replaces it. The reason for this is that etheric pressure corresponds to but is immensely greater than, atmospheric pressure. As previously mentioned, option two is to stick it on an amethyst bed.
A person can focus their mental energy to clear away any negative emotional and mental matter, the object thus becoming a clean sheet, on which one can write as one wills. The operator then, placing their right hand on the object, fills themselves with the particular qualities, which they wish to convey to the talisman and wills that those qualities flow into it. An experienced occultist can perform the whole process almost instantaneously with a strong effort of will, but others will need to spend more time on it. We discussed this in an earlier presentation when we mentioned how Buddhist monks can charge water by collectively holding a piece of string that is dipped in a bowl of water.
What has been described so far, would constitute one of the class of General talismans. An Adapted talisman is one specially charged to meet the requirements of a particular individual – almost like an individual prescription, rather than a general tonic. An Ensouled talisman is one designed to continue as a source of radiation for centuries. There are two varieties. In one there is placed in the talisman, a fragment of a higher mineral, which throws out a ceaseless stream of particles; not radioactive though. These particles become charged with the force stored in the talisman. The actual work of distribution is done by the mineral, thereby greatly economising the energy being emitted. Using crystals for healing works on the same principle. The healer lenses their energy through the crystal, which acts as a magnifier of that energy, taking less energy from the healer as a result. I use crystals all the time, this one being particularly powerful!
In the next presentation, we will look at the other class of talisman, which uses a more “elemental” method of charging the object.