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Metaphysical Dictionary

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Caacrinolaas: According to Wierius, Grand President of Hell, also known as Caasimolar and Glasya. He is figured in the hape of a god with the wings of a griffon. He is supposed to inspire knowledge of the liberal arts, and to incite homicides. It is this fiend who can render man invisible. He commands thirty-six legions.

Cabinet: From Spiritualism, a cabinet is a curtain enclosed space in which mediums claim to condense the psychic energy which is necessary for séance-room manifestations. Dr. Hereward Carrington points out an analogy: less expenditure of energy is required to charge a small electric conductor to a given voltage than a large one. So it may be with the cabinet "which acts as a sort of storage battery, retaining the energy and liberating it in bundles of quanta during the séance." In which connection a quotation from Allen Putnam's Bible Marvel Workers may be apt: "The ark of the covenant was constructed expressly for use as a spirit battery, or an instrument through which to give forth the commands of the Lord. The special care taken to have the ark and all its appurtenances charged with the auras or magnetisms of a selected class of workmen, becomes very interesting in these days when much wonder is expressed at the customary stickling of spirits and mediums for right conditions. Biblical history furnishes precedent for great particularity, when constructing a cabinet for manifestations."

The cabinet is usually of very simple construction. It need not be more than a curtain thrown across a corner of the room.

[See Spiritualism]

Cagliostro: one of the greatest occult figures (or charlatans) of all time. It was the fashion during the latter half of the XlXth century to regard Cagliostro as a charlatan and impostor, and this point of view was greatly aided by the savage attack perpetrated on his memory by Carlyle, who alluded to him as the " Prince of Quacks." Recent researches, however, go to show that if Cagliostro was not a man of unimpeachable honor, he was by no means the scoundrel that so many have made him out to be. In the first place it will be well to give a brief outline of his life as known to us before Mr. Trowbridge's examination of the whole question placed Cagliostro's circumstances in a different fight, and then to check the details of his career in view of what may be termed Mr. Trowbridge's discoveries.

[Read the full article]

Calundronius: A magic stone that resists demons and nullifies enchantments.

Cambions: Offspring of the incubi and succubi, according to Bodin and Delamare. Some are more kindly disposed to the human race than others. Luther says of them in his Colloquies that they show no sign of life before seven years of age. He says that he saw one which cried when he touched it.

Cambodia: The Cambodia of to-day is bounded by French Cochin-China, Annam, Siam and the Gulf of Siam. Of its population of 1,500,000 inhabitants, the main part is composed of the Khmèr people, and Chinese, Annamese Malays and aboriginal elements are also represented.

Magic. - Magic is mixed up to a surprising degree with the daily life of this people. They consult sorcerers upon the most trivial matters, and are constantly at great pains to discover whether any small venture is likely to prove lucky or unlucky. There are two kinds of sorcerers (or sorceresses), the soothsayers (àp thmop) and the medicine-sorcerers (kru). Of these the latter enjoy the highest reputation as healers and exorcists, while the former are less respected, dealing, as they do in charms and philtres for the sake of gain, or in evil incantations and spells to indulge their spite and hatred. The outcast kru, however, can be ministers of destruction as well as of healing. One of the means used to take the life on an enemy is the old device favored by witches. They make a wax figure of the victim, prick it at the spot where they wish to harm him, and thus bring disease and death upon him. Another plan is to take two skulls from which the tops have been removed, place them against each other, and convey them secretly under the bed of a healthy man where they have very evil results. Sometimes by means of spells they transform wood-shaving or grains of rice into a large beetle, or into worms, which enter the body of their victim and cause his illness, and, perhaps his death. If the man thus attacked happens to possess the friendship of a more powerful sorcerer, however, the latter may afford him his protection, and thus undo the mischief. The more harmless occupations of the wizards consist in making philtres and amulets to insure the admiration of women, the favour of the king, and success at play.

Evil Spirits. - The evil spirits, to whom they ascribe the most malicious intent, are called pray. Of these the most fearsome variety is the "wicked dead" (khmoc pray), which includes the spirits of women who have died in childbed. From their hiding-place in the trees these spirits torment inoffensive passers-by with their hideous laughter, and shower down stones upon them. These practices are, of course, calculated either to kill or to drive the unfortunate recipients of their attentions insane. Among the trees there are also concealed mischievous demons who inflict terrible and incurable diseases upon mankind.

Those who have suffered a violent death are also greatly to be feared. From the nethermost regions they return, wan and terrible, to demand food from human beings, who dare not deny it to them. Their name beisac signifies "goblin," and they have the power to inflict all manner of evil on those who refuse their request. So the good Cambodian, to avert such happenings, puts his offering of rice or other food in the brushwood to appease the goblins. The pray, it may be said, require to have their offerings laid on the winnowing fan that enters so largely into Cambodian superstition.

Werewolves, both male and female, strike terror into the hearts of the natives. By the use of certain magical rites and formulae, men can become endowed with supernatural powers, such as the ability to swallow dishes, and are thereupon changed to were-wolves. Women who have been rubbed with oil which a wizard has consecrated are said to lose their reason, and to flee away to the woods. They retain their human shape for seven days. If during that time a man shall undergo the same process of being rubbed with consecrated oil, and shall follow the toman to the woods, and strike her on the head with a heavy bar - then, the Cambodians say, she shall recover her reason and may return home. If, on the other hand, no such drastic remedy is to be found, at the end of seven days the woman shall turn into a tigress. In order to cure men who have the powers of a were-wolf, one must strike them on the shoulder with a hook.

The Cambodians believe that ghosts issue from dead bodies during the process of decomposition. When this ceases the ghosts are no longer seen, and the remains are changed into owls and other nocturnal birds.

Most hideous of all the evil spirits in Cambodia, are the srei ap or ghouls, who, represented only by head and alimentary canal, prowl nightly in search of their gruesome orgies. They are known by their terrible and blood-shot eyes, and are much feared, since even their wish to harm can inflict injury. When anyone is denounced as a ghoul she is treated with great severity, either by the authorities, who may sentence her to banishment or death, or by the villagers, who sometimes take the law into their own hands and punish the supposed offender.

Astrology, etc. - The science of astrology is not without its votaries in Cambodia.Astrologers, or, as they are called, horas, are attached to the court, and their direct employment by the king gives them some standing in the country. At the beginning of each year they make a calendar, which contains, besides the usual astronomical information, weather and other predictions. They are consulted by the people on all sorts of subjects, and are believed to be able to avert the calamities they predict.

It is not surprising that in such a country, where good and evil powers are ascribed so lavishly, much attention should be paid to omens, and much time spent in rites to avert misfortune. The wind, the fog, the trees, are objects of fear and awe, and must be approached with circumspection lest they send disease and misfortune, or withhold some good. For instance, trees who roots grow under a house bring ill-luck to it. The bamboo and cotton-plant are also dangerous when planted near a house, for should they grow higher than the house, they would wish, out of a perverted sense of gratitude, to provide a funeral cushion and matting for the occupants.

Animals receive their share of superstitious veneration. Tigers are regarded as malevolent creatures, whose whiskers are very poisonous. Elephants are looked upon as sacred, and particularly so white elephants. Monkeys they will on no account destroy. Should a butterfly enter the house, it is considered extremely unlucky, while a grasshopper, on the contrary, indicates coming good-fortune. There are other superstitions relating to household objects, customs, etc., which do not differ greatly from those of other countries.

Camelot: the legendary capital of King Arthur's kingdom.

Cancer: The fourth sign of the zodiac. v. Signs.

Candles Burning Blue: There is a superstition that candles and other lights burn blue at the apparition of spirits, probably because of the sulphurous atmosphere accompanying the spectres.

Capnomancy: Divination by means of wreaths, which consisted in two principal methods. The more important was the smoke o he sacrifices, which augured well if it rose lightly from the altar, and ascended straight to the clouds; but the contrary if it hung about. Another method was to throw a few jasmine or poppy seeds upon burning coals. There was a third practice by breathing the smoke of the sacrificial fire.

Capricorn: The tenth sign of the zodiac. v. Signs.

Carbon Dioxide: A greenhouse gas frequently discussed in environmental science. The burning of fossil fuel and deforestation is the main cause of human-generated carbon dioxide.

Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn -- whose cusps coincide with the cardinal points of the compass: Aries, East; Cancer, North; Libra, West; and Capricorn, South. Cardinal signs denote activity - motion, expression, changeableness; they give alertness, restlessness, flexibility, and suppleness. The cardinal quality corresponds to the soul in its various conditions, animal, human, or spiritual, as a modifying influence operating in the world of form. v. Signs.

Carey, Ken: a contemporary new age author and channel, wrote the influential books: The Starseed Transmissions, The Third Millennium, and others.

Cartomancy: Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century. Practitioners of cartomancy are generally known as cartomancers, card readers, or simply readers.

Caste: Originally the system of the four hereditary classes into which Indian population was divided: Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra-(a) descendant of Brahmâ; (b) warrior; (c) mercantile, and (d) the lowest or agricultural Sudra class. From these four, hundreds of divisions and minor castes have sprung.

Casting the Horoscope: The term used by astrologers to imply the calculations necessary to be made, prior to the delineation of the nativity. v. Figure.

Castaneda, Carlos: was the author of a series of books that purport to describe his training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism, which he referred to as a form of sorcery. The books and Castaneda, who rarely spoke in public about his work, have been controversial for many years. Supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy and practices enabling increased awareness; critics claim the books are shams, works of fiction, and not verifiable empirical anthropology as claimed.

In his books, Castaneda narrates in first person the events leading to and ensuing after his meeting a Yaqui shaman named Don Juan Matus in 1960. Castaneda's experiences with Don Juan allegedly inspired the works for which he is known.

Catabolignes: Demons who bore men away, killed them, and broke and crushed them having this power over them. We are told that a certain Campester wrote a book wherein it is related how these demons treated their agents, the magicians and sorcerers.

Catopromancy, or Enoptromancy: is a species of divination by the mirror, which Pausanius describes:"Before the Temple of Ceres at Patras, there was a fountain, separated from the temple y a wall, and there was an oracle, very truthful, not for events, but for the sick only. The sick person let down a mirror, suspended by a thread, till its base touched the surface of the water, having first prayed to the goddess and offered incense. Then looking in the mirror, he saw the pressage of death or recovery, or of a ghastly aspect."

Another method of using the mirror was to place it at the back of a boy's or girl's head, whose eyes were bandaged. In Thessaly, the response appeared in characters of blood on the face of the mon, probably represented in the mirror. The Thessalian sorceresses derived their art from the Persians, who always endeavored to plant their religion and mystic rites in the countries they invaded.

Cats: The cat, "the first pet of civilization," has always been associated with magical powers. Of all animals, the cat alone looks one in the eye. The glance of the cat can terrify, and such a fear is known as ailurophobia. Hitler had a fear of cats, and when Napoleon saw a cat stalking through his palace, he called for help. Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples, while on a visit to Saratoga Springs in 1825, collapsed in a guest's house. He had sensed a cat's presence, although no animal was visible. A search produced a kitten hiding in a sideboard. Henry III used to faint at the sight of a cat. Buffon, the French naturalist, dreaded the animal: as did Oliver Goldsmith, and James Hoswell. Albert Einstein, on the other hand, was fond of cats. So was Claude Debussy, the famous French composer.

The cat was sacred in ancient India. In Sanskrit literature, frequent reference is made to the animal and to its influence on man. In ancient Britain the cat, probably Introduced by the Romans, had great prestige, with attendant sacred rites in its honor. Hywel Dda, a prince of South Wales, enacted a law, in the tenth century, for the 'protection of cats.

But it was the Egyptians who raised the cat to supreme divinity. The Egyptian word for tomcat is kut, while a tabby is kutta. The cat, as a deity, was the "Sayer of Great Words." Hence killing a cat was punishable by death. In Lower Egypt an entire city, Bubastis, was dedicated to cat worship. The feeding of these sacred animals was itself a high privilege. The cats fed on catfish. Every year, some 700,000 pilgrims journeyed to Bubastis to the cat festival in May. There was music, and wine ran copiously. The temples were packed with penitents making vows to the cat deities. Cat amulets were on sale in public booths: figurines of cats in amethyst, calcite, and red cornelian.

Among cat goddesses, the most prominent was Ubasti, represented in bronze as a cat-headed woman. Prayers and sacrifices were part of the ritual of cat worship. After death, cats were embalmed and shipped to Bubastis for burial.
When the Egyptian cat cult died out, cat influence, still potent, spread to Europe, where Cat Clans sprang up in Celtic and Teutonic regions. In the first century B.C. the cat motif was dominant. Roman legionary soldiers bore a cat sign on their shields. The crest of the Germanic tribe of Catti was a brindled cat. The Cattani of Scotland likewise had a cat on their crest.

The last remaining Cat Clan is still in force, in the Scottish Highlands, where the Clan Chattan, a federation of clans originally formed to settle disputes among member clans, holds sway. Several of these clans bear on their crest the motto: Touch not the cat bot (that is, without a glove). Popularly, the members of the Clan Chattan are known as the People of the Cat.

In Scandinavian countries Freya is the cat-goddess. She is depicted as drawn in a chariot by two cats. Girls contrived to wed on Freya's Day—Friday. If the day was sunny, it was said that the bride had fed the cat well.

In Europe in the Middle Ages, cats, preferably black, were associated with nocturnal magic. Along with witches, cats were tortured as purveyors of evil. Cats were even believed capable of speaking the language of their mistresses. There was an eighteenth century English witch, Moll White, whose cat was reputed to have talked in English. The cat was also a symbol of efficiency, and was consequently selected by European business men as a trademark.

Cat influence is so rooted in folkways that all kinds of expressions are derived from cat associations. In mediaeval times a movable penthouse used in siege works was called a cat—from the slow, catlike approach of the engine of war. A cat-o-nine-tails tells its own story. Cat's eyes are considered, in humans, magnetic and exotic. An old Massachusetts law warns owners against keeping a cat out of doors at night under penalty of a stiff fine.

Cattle Mutilations: Starting in the late 60s, reports about the mutilation of livestock caught the attention of the public. Authorities maintained that the alleged mutilations -- the stripping of the hide and flesh around the jaw; the removal of the eyes; the unusual precision of cuts around the body that appeared to be the work of a surgical instrument -- were from natural processes. Many were not satisfied with this explanation, however, insisting the mutilations were the work of aliens and UFO, or secret military experiments.

Cauldron of Regeneration: A witch ceremony, held on or near December 12: also called Drawing Down the Moon. Into a cauldron set in the middle of a magic circle are thrown leaves, over which spirit is poured and ignited. The members present, led by the witch-priestess, chant an invocation to the Moon, dancing in ecstasy and exclaiming:

lo! Evohoel Blessed be lo Evohoe!

This is an invocation to Bacchus, the wine god, the god of fertility. The rite, practiced in twentieth-century England, is described in Witchcraft Today.

Causal plane: The third plane of creation. Its medium is concrete intellectual energy. In the Michael teachings it is Michael's plane of existence.

Causimomancy: Divination by fire. It was a good omen when combustible objects cast into the fire don't burn.

Cayce, Edgar: Edgar Cayce was an American self-professed clairvoyant who answered questions on subjects as varied as healing, reincarnation, wars, Atlantis, and future events while allegedly asleep. A biographer gave him the nickname, The Sleeping Prophet.

Celestine Prophecies: Popular book by James Redfield, which claims that humans have to perceive and understand nine insights before they will evolve to a higher plane of existence.

Celts: Magic among the Celtic peoples in ancient times was so closely identified with Druidism that its origin may be said to have been Druidic. That Druidism was of Celtic origin, however, is a question upon which much discussion has been lavished, some authorities, among them Rhys, believing it to have been of non-Celtic and even non-Aryan origin. This is to say that the earliest non-Aryan or so-called "Iberian" or Megalithic people of Britain introduced the immigrant Celts to the Druidic religion. An argument in favor of this theory is that the continental Celts sent their neophyte Druid priests to Britain to undergo a special training at the hands of the Druids there, and there is little doubt that this island was regarded as the headquarters of the cult. The people of Cisalpine Gaul, for instance, had no Druidic priesthood.

Caesar has told us that in Gaul Druidic seminaries were very numerous, and that in them severe study and discipline were entailed upon the neophytes, the principal business of whom was to commit to memory countless verses enshrining Druidic knowledge and tradition. That this instruction was astrological and magical we have the fullest proof, and it is with these aspects of the Celtic religion alone that we have to deal in this place.

The Druids were magi as they were hierophants in the same sense that the American-Indian medicine-man is both magus and priest. That is, they were medicine-men on a higher-scale, and possessed a larger share of transcendental knowledge than the shamans of more barbarous races. Thus they may be said to be a link between the shaman and the magus of mediaeval times. Many of their practices were purely shamanistic, whilst others were more closely connected with mediaeval magical rite. But they were not the only magicians among the Celts, for W3 find that magic power is frequently the possession of women and the poetic craft. The art magic of Druidism had many points of comparison with most magical systems, and may be said to have approximated more to that black magic which desires power for the sake of power alone, than to any more transcendental type. Thus it included the power to render oneself invisible, to change the bodily shape, to produce an enchanted sleep, to induce lunacy, and the utterance of spells and charms which caused death. Power over the elements was also claimed, as in the case of Broichan, a Caledonian Druid who opposed Saint Columbia, as we read in Adamnan's Life of that saint as follows:
" Broichan, speaking one day to the holy man, sa37s: ' Tell me, Columba, at what time dost thou propose to sail forth? "On the third day/ says the Saint, 'God willing and life remaining, we propose to begin our voyage.' ' Thou wilt not be able to do so,' says Broichan in reply, ' for I can make the wind contrary for thee, and bring dark clouds upon thee.' The Saint says : ' The omnipotence of God rules over all things, in Whose Name all out movements, He Himself governing them, are directed.' What more need be said ? On the same day as he had purposed in his heart the Saint carae to the long lake of the river Ness, a great crowd following. But the Druids then began to rejoice when they saw a gre.it darkness coming over, and a contrary wind with a tempest. Nor should it be wondered at that these tilings can be done by the art of demons, God permitting it, so that even winds and waters are roused to fury.

"For it was thus that legions of devils once met the holy bishop Germanus in mid-ocean, what time he was sailing from the Gallican Gulf (the British Channel) to Britain in the cause of man's salvation, and stirred up dangerous storms and spread darkness over the sky and obscured daylight. All which storms, however, were stilled at the prayer of St. Germanus, and, quicker than said, ceased, and the darkness was swept away.

"Our Columba, therefore, seeing the furious elements stirred up against him, calls upon Christ the Lord, and entering the boat while the sailors are hesitating, he with all the more confidence, orders the sail to be rigged against the wind. Which being done, the whole crowd looking on meanwhile, the boat is borne along against the contrary winds with amazing velocity. And after no great interval, the adverse winds veer round to the advantage of the voyage amid the astonishment of all. And thus, throughout that whole day, the blessed man's boat was driven along by gentle favouring breezes, and reached the desired haven. Let the reader, therefore, consider how great and saintly was that venerable man through whom Al-mighty God manifested His glorious Name by such miraculous powers as have just been described in the presence of a heathen people."

The art of rain-making, bringing down fire from the sky, and causing mists, snow-storms and floods was also claimed by the Druids. Many of the spells probably in use among the Druids survived until a comparatively late period, and are still in use in some remote Celtic localities—the names of Saints being substituted for those of Celtic deities, —as in Well-worship (q.v.) a possibly Drnidic cultus, and certain ritual practices which are still carried out in the vicinity of megalithic structures. In pronouncing incantations, the usual method employed was to stand upon one leg, to point to the person or object on which the spell was to be laid with the fore-finger, at the same time closing an eye, as if to concentrate the force of the entire personality upon that which was to be placed under ban. A manuscript preserved in the Monastery of Si. Gall and dating from the eighth or ninth century, has preserved magical formulae for the preservation of butter and the healing of certain diseases in the name of the Irish god Diancecht. These and others bear a close resemblance to Babylonian and Etruscan spells, and this goes to strengthen the hypothesis often put forward with more or less ability that Druidism had an eastern origin. All magical rites were accompanied by spells. Druids often accompanied an army to assist by their magical art in confounding the enemy.

There is little doubt that the conception of a Druidic priesthood has descended down to our own time in a more or less debased condition in British Celtic areas. Thus the existence of guardians and keepers of wells said to possess magical properties, and the fact that certain familiar magical spells and formula? are handed down from one gen ration to another, is a proof of the survival of Druidic tradition, however feeble. Females are generally the conservators of these mysteries, but that there were Druid priestesses is fairly certain.
There are also indications that to some extent Scottish witchcraft was a survival of Celtic religio-magical practice. (See Witchcraft, Scottish in article Scotland.)

Amulets were extensively worn by the Celts, the principal forms in use being phallic (against the evil eye), coral, the " serpent's egg"—some description of fossil. The person who passed a number of serpents together forming such an egg " from their collected spume had to catch it in his cloak ere it fell to earth, and then make all speed over a running-stream where he was safe from the reptiles' vengeance. Totemic amulets were also common. [See Scotland and Ireland]

Centers: From the Michael teachings, one of the overleaves. Each person has seven centers: emotional, higher emotional, intellectual, higher intellectual, physical, moving, and instinctive. A person's primary center is the aspect of self from which he dominantly experiences life and responds to stimuli-either the emotional, intellectual, physical, or moving center (or rarely, the instinctive center). The part of center is where his secondary responses originate. The higher intellectual and higher emotional centers are rarely if ever dominant in most people's experience.

Cephalomancy: Divination by means of a donkey's head.

Ceramancy: Divination by interpretation of melted wax dropped on the floor.

Ceraunoscopy: Divination practised by the ancients by the examination of the phenomena of the air, thunder, and lightening.

Ceremonial Magic: Ceremonial magic is chiefly occupied with the art of dealing with spirits. Its rites are supposedly religious, and the rituals which contain it partake largely of the nature of religious observances. It is not, as generally supposed, a reversed Christianity or Judaism, nor does it partake of the profanation of religious ritual. It is in eftect an attempt to derive power from God for the successful control of evil spirits. In the Grimoires and Keys of Black Magic, the operator is constantly reminded that he must meditate continually on the undertaking in hand, and centre every hope in the infinite goodness of the Great Adonai. The god invoked in Black Magic is not Satan as is so often supposed, but the Jehovah of the Jews, and the Trinity of the Christians. The foundation of practical magic is almost certainly the belief in the power of divine words to compel the obedience of all spirits to those who could pronounce them. Such words and names were supposed to invoke or dismiss the denizens of the spirit world, and these with suitable prayers were used in all magical ceremonies. Again it was thought that it was easier to control evil spirits than to enlist the sympathies of angels.

He who would gain such power over demons is exhorted in the magical texts which exist to observe continence and abstinence, to disrobe as seldom and sleep as little as possible during the period of preparation, to meditate continually on his undertaking and centre all his hopes on the Great Adonai. The fast should be most austere, and human society must be avoided as much as possible. The concluding days of the fast should be additionally strict—sustenance being reduced to bread and water. Daily ablutions are necessary, and these must be made in water which has been previously exorcised according to the ritual: especially must this be observed immediately before the ceremony. Certain periods of the day and night are ruled by certain planets and these are to be found in the book known as the Key of Solomon the King (q.v). (See also Astrology.) The Book of Black Magic taught that the hours of Saturn, Mars and Venus are good for communion with spirits,—the hour of the first named planet for invoking souls in Hell; and that of the second those who have been slain in battle. In fact these hours and seasons are ruled by th.t laws of astrology. In the preparation of the instruments employed, the ceremonies of purifying and consecrating, must be carefully observed. An aspergillum composed of mint, marjoram, and rosemary should be used for the first and should be contained in a pot of glazed earth. For fumigation a chafing dish should be used filled with freshly kindled coal and perfumed with aloe-wood or mace, benzoin or storax.

The experiment of holding converse with spirits should be made in the day and hour of Mercury : that is the ist or 8th, or the i5th or 22nd (See Neeroinaney). The Grand Grimoire says that when the night of action has arrived, the operator shall take a rod, a goat-skin, a blood-stone, two crowns of vervain, and two candlesticks with candles; also a new steel and two new flints, enough wood to make a fire, half a bottle of brandy, incense and camphor, and four nails from the coffin of a dead child. Either one or three persons must take part in the ceremony—on of whom only must address the spirit. The Kabbalistic circle is formed with strips of kid's skin fastened to the ground by the four nails. With the blood-stone a triangle is traced within the circle, beginning at the eastern point. The letters a e a j must be drawn in like manner, as also the Name of the Saviour between two crossss. The candles and vervain crowns are then set in the left and right sides of the triangle within the circle, and they with the brazier are set alight—the fire being fed with brandy and camphor. A prayer is then repeated. The operator must be careful to have no alloyed metal about him except a gold or silver coin wrapped in paper, which must be cast to the spirit when he appears outside the circle. The spirit is then conjured three times. Should the spirit fail to appear, the two ends of the magic rod must be plunged into the flames of the brazier. This ritual is known as the Rite of Lucifuge, and is believed to invoke the demon Lucifuge Rofocale.

[See Magic]

Ceroscopy: Divination by wax. The process was as follows. Fine wax was melted in a brass vessel until it became a liquid of uniform consistence. It was then poured slowly into another vessel filled with cold water, in such a way that the wax congealed in tiny discs upon the surface of the water. The magician then interpreted the figures thus presented as he saw fit. [Visit Divination index]

Chagrin or Cagrino: An evil spirit believed in by the Continental Gypsies. It has the form of a hedgehog, is yellow in colour, and is a foot and a half in length and a span in breadth. " I am certain," says Wlislocki, " that this creature is none other than the equally demoniac being called Harginn, still believed in by the inhabitants of Northwestern India. Horses are the special prey of the Chagrin, who rides them into a state of exhaustion, as does the Guecubu (q.v.) of Chili. The next day they appear sick and weary, with tangled manes and bathed in sweat. When this is observed they are tethered to a stake which has been rubbed with garlic juice, then a red thread is laid on the ground in the form of a cross, or else some of the hair of the animal is mixed with salt, meal and the blood of a bat and cooked to bread, with which the hoof of the horse is smeared. The empty vessel which contained the mixture is put in the trunk of a high tree while these words are uttered: " Tarry, pipkin, in this tree, Till such time as full ye be."

Chaldea: A country that was particularly rich and domi-nantly active in magic cults and rituals. As early as the Book of Daniel the term Chaldeans, Kasdim, was equated with magicians. The Romans, too, called astrologers and adepts in the black arts by the generic name of Chaldeans. In the first century A.D. the Greek Strabo refers to the astrological skill of the Chaldeans.

Chain, Forming a: In spiritualism, a term denoting the joining of the hands of the sitters round a table, whereby the magnetic current is strengthened and reinforced. The Baron de Guldenstubbe gives the following directions for forming a chain. " In order to form a chain, the twelve persons each place their right hand on the table, and their left hand on that of their neighbour, thus making a circle round the table. Observe that the medium or mediums if there be more than one, are entirely isolated from those who form the chain."
Dr. Lapponi, in his Hypnotism and Spiritism (trans. London, 1906), gives an account of the usual procedure for the formation of a chain. "He (the medium) makes those present choose a table, which they may examine as much as they like, and may place in whatever part of the room they choose. He then invites some of the assistants to place their hands on the table in the following manner: Ihe two thumbs of each person are to be touching each other, and each little finger is to be in communication with the little finger of the persons on either side. He himself completes the chain with his two hands. The hands of all altogether rest on the edge of the table.

[See Spiritualism]

Chakra: An energy center in the body. There are seven main chakras. These are the sense organs of the etheral body (q.v.) and receive their name from their appearance which resembles vortices. Altogether there are ten chakras—visible only to clairvoyants— but of these it is advisable to use only seven. They are situated, not on the denser physical body, but opposite certain parts of it as follows : (i) the top of the head, (2) between the eyebrows, (3) the throat, (4) the heart, (5) .....................

Changelings: The substitution of a little old mannikin of the elf race, for a young child. There are many tales representative of this belief in Scotland. The changelinggrows up peevish and misshapen, always crying, and gives many proofs of its origin to those versed in such matters. There are many ways of getting rid of him, such as sticking a knife into him, making him sit on a gridiron with a fire below, dropping him into a river, etc., - which one would imagine would prove fairly successful. The changeling sometimes gives himself away by unthinking reference to his age.

Change of name: In the Middle Ages a sick person often changed his name, with the intention of diverting and confusing the spirit responsible for the malady.

Channeling: The act of allowing an intelligence not in human form to express through oneself.

Chanting: Chanting is a rhythmical repetition (either silently or aloud) of a song, prayer, word or sound. It is one of the most ancient spiritual practices and a part of most religions and spiritual paths.

Chaos Magick: is a type of Ritual Magick, loosely based on the work of Austin Osman Spare, in which the use of Sigils for magical purposes is central. The term was coined by Peter Carroll in the work "Liber Null."

Charm: A magical formula, sung or recited to bring a supposedly beneficial result, or to confer magical efficacy on an amulet. In popular usuage the same word is employed to designate the incantation and the object which is charmed. For the material object (see Amulet, for the recital see Spells).

Chela: (Sans.) A disciple. The pupil of a Guru or Sage, the follower of some Adept, or a school of philosophy.

Chelation Therapy: is an investigational therapy using a man-made amino acid, called EDTA. It is added to the blood through a vein. An international research study is now testing whether chelation therapy is safe and effective for treating heart disease.

Cherubim: Certain mystic appearances of the angelic type, often represented as figures wholly or partly human, and with wings proceeding from the shoulders. We find the first mention of these beings in connection with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden; and they are frequently spoken of in later biblical history. Sometimes the cherubim have tow or more faces, or are of composite animal form.

Chesed: Under this name the Jewish Kaballists signified the attribute of mercy.

Chevaliers de l' Enfer: These are demons more powerful than those of no rank, but less powerful than titled demons -- counts, marquises, and dukes. They may be evoked from dawn to sunrise, and from sunset to dark.

Ch'i: [See Universal life force]

Chief Feature: From the Michael teachings, one of the overleaves. The chief feature is a person's primary stumbling block, the focus of his fears and illusions. A person can also have a secondary chief feature. The seven chief features are self-deprecation, arrogance, self-destruction, greed, martyrdom, impatience, and stubbornness.

China (Occult in): Although it can hardly be said that any system of magic worthy of the name ever originated in China, and though magical practice was uncommon, yet instances are not wanting of the employment of magical means in the Celestial Empire, and the belief in a supernatural world peopled by gods, demons and other beings is very strong in the Popular Chinese mind.

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Chinese Medicine: is the current name for an ancient system of health care from China. TCM is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced "chee"), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person's spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.

Chiropractic: The word "chiropractic" combines the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (action) and means "done by hand." Chiropractic is an alternative medical system and takes a different approach from conventional medicine in diagnosing, classifying, and treating medical problems. Chiropractic is most often used to treat musculoskeletal conditions--problems with the muscles, joints, bones, and connective tissue such as cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.

Chréstos: (Gr.) The early gnostic term for Christ. This technical term was used in the fifth century bc by Aeschylus, Herodotus and others. The Manteumata pythocresta, or the "Oracles delivered by a Pythian God" through a pythoness, are mentioned by the former (Cho. 901), and Pythocréstos is derived from chrao.Chrésterion is not only "the test of an oracle," but an offering to, or for, the oracle. Chréstes is one who explains oracles, a "prophet and soothsayer," and Chrésterios,one who serves an oracle or a God. The earliest Christian writer, Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, calls his coreligionists Chréstians. "It is only through ignorance that men call themselves Christians, instead of Chréstians," says Lactantius The terms Christ and Christians, spelt originally Chrést and Chréstians, were borrowed from the Temple vocabulary of the Pagans. Chréstos meant, in that vocabulary, "a disciple on probation," a candidate for hierophantship; who, when he had attained it, through Initiation, long trials and suffering, and had been anointed (i.e., "rubbed with oil," as Initiates and even Idols of the Gods were, as the last touch of ritualistic observance), was changed into Christos-the "purified" in esoteric or mystery language. In mystic symbology, indeed, Christes or Christos meant that the "way," the Path, was already trodden and the goal reached; when the fruits of the arduous labor, uniting the personality of evanescent clay with the indestructible Individuality, transformed it thereby into the immortal Ego. "At the end of the way stands the Christes," the Purifier; and the union once accomplished, the Chréstos, the "man of sorrow" became Christos himself. Paul, the Initiate, knew this, and meant this precisely, when he is made to say in bad translation, "I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you," the true rendering of which is, "… until you form the Christos within yourselves." But the profane, who knew only that Chréstoswas in some way connected with priest and prophet, and knew nothing about the hidden meaning of Christos, insisted, as did Lactantius and Justin Martyr, on being called Chréstians instead of Christians. Every good individual, therefore, may find Christ in his "inner man," as Paul expresses it, whether he be Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or Christian.

Christ, Jesus: also called Jesus Christ, Jesus of Galilee, or Jesus of Nazareth, (born c. 6–4 bc, Bethlehem—died c. ad 30, Jerusalem), religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the world’s major religions. He is regarded by most Christians as the Incarnation of God. In the Michael Teachings, Jesus was identified as a walk-in for the Infinite Soul. For more about the infinite soul, see Soul Age.

Christianity: is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with more than 2 billion followers. The Christian faith centers on beliefs regarding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christian Science: [See Church of Christ, Scientist]

Chupacabra: The chupacabra or chupacabras is a legendary creature in the folklore of parts of the Americas, with its first purported sightings reported in Puerto Rico. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, including goats. Scientists believe legendary chupacabras monsters are actually coyotes.

Church of Scientology: [See Scientology]

Clairaudience ("Clear Hearing") The ability to hear sounds inaudible to the normal ear, such as "spirit" voices; a faculty analogous to clairvoyance, (q.v.) but considerably less frequently met with. If clairaudience be ascribed to auditory, as clairvoyance to visual, hallucination, its comparative rareness is accounted for, since visual hallucination is the more common of the two. At the same time there are a goodly number of instances of the clairaudient faculty on record, some of them of a very picturesque nature. (See Spirit Music). Perhaps the best known case is that of Joan of Arc, but she was not the only martyr who heard the voices of saints and angels urging them to the performance of some special task. In spiritualistic circles of faculty is frequently claimed by mediums, but distinction must be made between the "inner voice," in which the latter are supposed to receive communications from the denizens of the other world, and as externalized voice comparable to an actual physical sound. Frequently some such physical sounds from the basis of an auditory hallucination, just as the points of light in a crystal are said to form points de repère round which the hallucination of the visualizer may shape itself.

Clairvoyance (i.e. "Clear Vision") A term denoting the supposed supernormal faculty of seeing persons and events which are distant in time or place, and of which no knowledge can reach the seer through the normal sense-channels. Clairvoyance may be roughly divided into three classes - retrocognition and premonition, or the perception of past and future events respectively, and the perception of contemporary events happening at a distance, or outside the range of the normal vision. Clairvoyance may include psychometry, second sight, and crystal-gazing, all of which see. For the early history of clairvoyance, see Divination. In prophecy, we have a form of clairvoyance extending back into antiquity, and second-sight also is an ancient form. It is notable that spiritualism in Great Britain was directly heralded, about the third decade of the nineteenth century, by an outbreak of clairvoyance. Among the clairvoyants of that period may be mentioned Alexis Didier, whose phenomena suggested that telepathy at least entered into his feats, which included the reading of letters enclosed in sealed packets, the playing of écarté with bandaged eyes, and others of a like nature. Clairvoyance remains to the present day a prominent feature of the spiritualistic séance. Though there exists a quantity of evidence, collected by the members of the Society for Psychical Research and other scientific investigators, which would seem to support the theory of a supernormal vision, yet at the same time it must be acknowledged that many cases of clairvoyance lend themselves to a more mundane explanation. For instance, it has been shown that it is almost, if not quite, impossible so to bandage the eyes of the medium that he cannot make some use of his normal vision. The possibility of hyperæsthesia during trance must also be taken into account, nor must we overlook the hypothetical factor of telepathy, which may conceivably play a part in clairvoyant performances. A private enquiry agency might also be suggested as a possible source of some of the knowledge displayed by the professional clairvoyant. The crystal is, as has been indicated, a favorite mode of exercising the clairvoyant faculty, presumably because the hypnotic state is favorable to the development of the supernormal vision, though it might also be suggested that the condition thus induced favored the rising into the upper consciousness of knowledge sub-consciously gleaned. The term clairvoyance is also used to cover the power to see discarnate spirits, and is thus applied to mediumship generally.

Cledonism, or in full, Cledonismantia: is the good or evil pressage of certain words uttered without premeditation when persons come together in any way. It also regulated the words to be used on particular occasions. Cicero says the Pythagoreans were very attentive to these pressages; and according to Pausanius, it was a favorite method of divination at Smyrna, where the oracles of Apollo were this interpreted.

Cleromancy: was practiced by throwing black and white beans, little bones or dice, and perhaps stones: anything, in short, suitable for lots. A method of practicing cleromancy in the streets of Egypt is mentioned under the head of Sortilege, and the same thing was common in Rome. The Thriaen lots, named before, meant indifferently the same thing as cleromancy: it was nothing than dicing, only that the objects used bore particular marks or characters, and were consecrated to Mercury, who was regarded as the patron of this method of divination. For this reason an olive leaf, called "the lot of Mercury," was generally put in the urn in order to propitiate his favor.

Clidomancy: should be exercised when the sun or moon is in Virgo, the name should be written upon a key, the key should be tied to a Bible, and both should be hung upon the nail of the ring-finger of a virgin, who must thrice softly repeat certain words. According as the key and book turns or is stationary, the name is to be considered right or wrong. Some ancients added the seven Psalms with litanies and sacred prayers, and then more fearful effects were produced upon him, or he lost an eye. Another method of practicing with the Bible and key, is to place the street door key on the fiftieth-psalm, close the volume and fasten it tightly with the garter of a female; it is then suspended to a nail and will turn when the name of the their is mentioned. By a third method, two persons suspend the Bible between them; holding the rig of the key by their two forefingers.

Cloven Foot: There is an old belief, buttressed by countless tales of apparitions, that the Devil always appears with a cloven foot, as a sort of distinguishing mark. It has been suggested that the Evil One, having fallen lower than any man, is not permitted to take the perfect human form, but must have some sort of deformity, i.e., the cloven foot.

Cock: The cock has always been connected with magical practice in the various parts of the world throughout the ages, and is to be considered in more than one light in this connection. He is the herald of the dawn, and many examples might be cited of assemblies of demons and sorcerers where his shrill cry, announcing dayspring, has put the infernal Sabbath to rout. It is said that for the purpose of averting such a contingency, sorcerers were wont to smear the head and breast of the cock with olive oil, or else to place around his neck a collar of vine-branches. In many cases the future was divined through the instrumentality of this bird. (See Alectryomancy). It was also believed that in the stomach of the cock was founda stone, called Lappilus Alectorius, from the Greek name of the bird, the virtue which was to give strength and courage, and which is said to have inspired the gigantic might of Milo of Crotona.

Originally a native of India, the cock arrived in Europe in early times, via Persia, where we find him alluded to in the Zoroastrian books as the beadle of Sraosa, the sun, and affrighter of demons. Among the Arabs, it is said that he crows when he becomes aware of the presence of jinns. The Jews received their conception of the cock as a scarer of evil spirits from the Persians, as did the Armenians, who say that he greets with his clarion call the guardian angels, who descend to earth with the day, and that he gives the key-note to the angelic choirs of heaven to commence their daily round of song. In India, too, and among the Pagan Slavs, he was supposed to scare away demons from dwelling places, and was often the first living creature introduced into a newly-built house. The Jews, however, believe that it is possible for the cock to become the victim of demons, and they say that if he upsets a dish he should be killed. The cock is often used directly in magical practice. Thus, in Scotland, he is buried under the patients' bed in cases of epilepsy. The Germans believed that if a sorcerer throws a black cock into the air, thunder and lightning will follow, and among the Chams of Cambodia, a woman who wishes to become a sorceress sacrifices a live cock on a termite's nest, cutting the bird in two from the head to the tail, and placing it on an altar, in front of which she dances and signs, until the two halves of the bird come together again, and it comes to life and crows. His name was often pronounced by the Greeks as a cure for the diseases of animals, and it was said by the Romans that locked doors could be opened with his tail feathers. The bird was often pictures on amulets in early times, and figured as the symbol of Abraxas, the principal deity of a Gnostic sect.

The cock is often regarded as the guide of souls to the underworld, and in this respect was associated by the Greeks with Persephone and Hermes, and the Slavs of pagan times often sacrificed cocks to the dead, and to the household serpents in which they believed their ancestors to be reincarnated. Conversely, the cock was sometimes pictured as having an infernal connection, especially if his colour be black. Indeed he is often employed in black magic, perhaps the earliest instance of this being in the Atharia Veda. A black cock is offered up to propitiate the Devil in Hungary, and a black hen was used for the same purpose in Germany. The Greek syrens, the Shedim of the Talmud, and the Izpuzteque, whom the dead Aztec encounters on the road to Mictlan, the Place of the Dead, all have cock's feet. There is a widespread folk-belief that once in seven years the cock lays a little egg. In Germany it is necessary to throw this over the roof, or tempests will wreck the homestead, but should the egg be hatched, it will produce a cockatrice or basilisk. In Lithuania they put the cock's egg in a pot, and place it in the oven. From this egg is hatched a Kauks, a bird with a tail like that of a golden pheasant, which, if properly tended, will bring its owner great good luck. Gross mentions in a chronicle of Bâle, in Switzerland, that in the month of August, 1474, a cock of that town was accused and convicted of laying an egg, and was condemned to death. He was publicly burned along with his egg, at a place called Kablenberg, in sight of a great multitude of people.

The cock was also regarded as having a connection with light and with the sun, probably because of the redness of his comb, and the fiery sheen of this plumage, or perhaps because he heralds of the day. It is the cock who daily wakens the heroes in the Scandinavians Asgard. (See Alectromancy.)

Cock Lane Ghost: The supposed cause of a mysterious outbreak of rappings, apparitions, and similar manifestations which broke out at a house in Cock Lane, Smithfield, London, in 1762. The disturbance was of the usual character of poltergeist hauntings, but for some reason or other it attracted wide-spread attention in London. Crowds flocked to the haunted spot, and claimed to have witnessed the manifestations. The ghost purported to be the spirit of a former resident in the Cock Lane house, a Mrs. Kent, and stated that she had been murdered by her husband, The tenant of the house at the time of the disturbance was a man named Parsons, and it was more than surmised that he had invented the ghost for the purpose of blackmailing the deceased's woman's husband. The disturbance was finally traced to Parson's daughter, a girl of eleven, and Parsons himself was prosecuted and pilloried. (See Andrew Lang's Cock Lane and Common Sense, (1894).

Coffin Nails: In Devonshire it is said that a ring made from three nails or screws that have been used to fasten a coffin, and dug up in a churchyard, will act as a charm against convulsions and fits of every kind.

Colburn, Nettie: (d. 1892): A psychic medium in the 19th century that once conducted seances for Abraham Lincoln's wife.

Cold Spots: In the paranormal, an area of low temperature that allegedly indicates the presence of a ghost.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor: English author and mystic (1772-1834). Samuel Tayior Coleridge, one of the greatest of English poets and critics, was born in the year 1772 at Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, his father being John Coleridge, a clergyman and schoolmaster, who enjoyed considerable reputation as a theological scholar, and was author of a Latin grammar. Samuel's childhood was mostly spent at the native village, and from the first his parents observed that his was no ordinary temperament, for he showed a marked aversion to games, he even eschewed the company of other children, and instead gave his time chiefly to promiscuous reading. "At six years of age," he writes in one of his letters to his friend, Thomas Poole, " I remember to have read Belisariits, Robinson Crusoe, and Philip Quarll, and then I found the Arabian Nights Entertainments," while in this same letter he tells how the boys around him despised him for his eccentricity, the result being that he soon became a confirmed dreamer, finding in the kingdom of his mind a welcome haven of refuge from the scorn thus levelled at him.
By the time he was nine years old, Coleridge had shown a marked predilection for mysticism, in consequence whereof his father decided to make him a clergyman; and in 1782 the boy left home to go to Christ's Hospital, London...

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Colloidal Silver: Colloidal silver products consist of tiny silver particles suspended in liquid. They are usually marketed as dietary supplements. Claims made about the effectiveness of colloidal silver products for numerous diseases are unsupported scientifically.

Over-the-counter colloidal silver products are not considered safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has taken action against a number of colloidal silver companies (such as Web sites) for making drug-like claims about their products. Colloidal silver can cause serious side effects: one is argyria, a bluish-gray discoloration of the face and body. Argyria is not treatable or reversible.

Other side effects from using colloidal silver products may include neurologic problems (such as seizures), kidney damage, stomach distress, headaches, fatigue, and skin irritation. Colloidal silver may interfere with the body's absorption of the following drugs: penacillamine, quinolones, tetracyclines, and thyroxine.

Community of Sensation: The term applied by the early mesmerists to a phenomenon of the hypnotic trance, wherein the somnambule seemed to share the sensations of the operator. Thus an hypnotic subject, insensible to pain and utterly indifferent to any stimulus applied to his own organism, would immediately respond to such stimuli applied to the hypnotist. If the latter had his nose tweaked or his hair pulled, the entranced subject, though in a separate apartment, would rub the corresponding part of his own person, with every sign of pain and indignation. The most common sensations shared in this wise were those of tasting and smelling, but apparent community of sight and even hearing were not unknown. In the days of Reichenbach such experiences were largely attributed to fraud, but they have since been proved to be genuine trance phenomena, probably arising from unconscious suggestion and hyperaesthesia, or, in the few cases where that hypothesis will not cover the ground, telepathic communication between operator and subject. Community of sensation is not, however, confined to the trance condition. Many instances of community of sensation arising spontaneously in the cases of persons in rapport with one another are to be found in the Journal and Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research.

Configuration: (a) Three or more planets in a birth map, that are joined together by aspects, whereby. any stimulation will result in the combined action of all the planets which enter into the configuration. (b) A similar combination of mutual aspects between transitory planets.

Conjunction: Conjoined to: Phraseology to indicate the mutual relation of two planets occupying longitudinal positions separated by less than 7°. The exact limits, and the relative strength at different degrees of separation, constitutes a controversial point. Strictly speaking, the conjunction takes place when both occupy exactly the same degree position; although it begins to be operative when they arrive within orbs. v. Aspect.

Conscious Creation: the phrase “conscious creation” has been used for decades, possibly longer. Applying the term to the Seth Material can be traced to Lynda Dahl, who published three books in the 1990s that used “conscious creation” to mean “you create your own reality.” The latter phrase was coined by Jane Roberts in The Nature of Personal Reality (1974). It went on to become a New Age mantra most recently uttered by Amit Goswami in the New Age hit What the F%#? Do We Know? (2004). So it’s popular in the Seth community to use the phrase “conscious creation,” and sometimes YCYOR (you create your own reality) to represent the core ideas in the Seth material.

However, this concept has been around for millennia. It’s traceable back to the New Thought movement founded by Phineas Quimby in mid-19th century America. Moreover, it extends all the way back in some form to the Idealist philosophers, from Plato to Plotinus and Nagarjuna, onwards to Fichte, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Berdyaev, and others. Seen in this light, Jane Roberts’s The Physical Universe as Idea Construction (1963) is actually a variation of Western idealism. Thus, the Seth material is a form of idealism found in twenty-three Seth-dictated books (1970-2004). As such, the phrase “conscious creation” doesn’t accurately define what makes the Seth material unique from or related to other bodies of work.

Control: the operator on the other side in charge of seance proceedings. This operator may also be called a "guide," and generally the term implies enduring attendance by a distinct and continuous personality to use the entranced medium's body, to deliver direct or relayed messages to sitters. See CONTROL.

Conversations With God: a sequence of books written by Neale Donald Walsch. It was written as a dialogue in which Walsch asks questions and God answers.

Cook, Florence: An English medium, the first to present the phenomenon of materialization in its complete form. In the production of the crowning physical manifestation, she was associated at the outset of her mediumistic career— at the beginning of the decade 1870-80—with the medium Herne, but ere long dispensed with his assistance. So that she might not be under the necessity of taking fees for her services, a wealthy Manchester spiritualist, Mr. Charles Blackburn, paid her a sum of money annually. She was thus practically a private medium, and for the most part, her séances were held in her own home. Her principal control was the now famous spirit Katie King. Mr.— now Sir William — Crookes, who investigated the phenomena produced in Miss Cook's presence, declared his conviction that Katie and the medium were two separate entities, and was satisfied of the supernormal nature of the former. Not all the sitters, however, were equally convinced. Many persons traced a resemblance in form and feature between medium and control, and it has been suggested that the apparent differences were achieved by a change in the mode of hair-dressing, by tip-toeing, and other mechanical means.

Cooke, Grace: a British Spiritualist medium who founded the Church of the White Eagle Lodge in 1936 under the inspiration of her Indian spirit guide, White Eagle.

Cordovero: A famous Kabbalist of the sixteenth century.

Corpse Candles: Mysterious lights supposed to presage death. They are also called fetch-lights and dead man's candles.

Coscinomancy: is practiced with a sieve, and a pair of tongs or shears, which are supported upon the thumb nails of two persons, who look one upon the other, or the nails of the middle finger may be used. Potter, in his Greek Antiquities, says: "It was generally used to discover thieves, or others suspected of any crime, in this manner: they tied a thread to the sieve by which it was upheld, or else placed a pair of shears, which they held up by two fingers, then prayed to the gods to direct and assist them; after that they repeated the names of the persons under suspicion, and he, at whose name the sieve whirled round or moved, was thought guilty." In the Athenian Oracle it is called: "the trick of the sieve and scissors, the coskiomancy of the ancients, as old as Theocritus." It was used to discover love secrets as well as unknown persons.

Counter charms: Charms employed to counteract the effect of other charms. When magicians wish to disenchant animals they sprinkle salt in a porringer with some blood from one of the bewitched creatures, and repeat certain formulæ for nine days.

Counterparts – simultaneous “reincarnational selves” that share or overlap within the same periods of history. For instance, we can have four or more lifetimes that share this PRESENT/present, and simultaneously four more that may have been born decades before our birth but died in our PAST/present or are still alive, and four more who will be born during our PRESENT/present but continue after we die in a FUTURE/present. This thesis, as Robert Butts called it, further expands how Seth defines reincarnation more as simultaneous multiple incarnations. Seth also hints that there can be temporary counterpart relationships between people that do not share the same entity.

Counts of Hell: Demons of a superior order in the infernal hierarchy, who command numerous legions. They may be evoked at all hours of the day, provided the evocation takes place in a wild, unfrequented spot.

Cramp-Rings, Hallowing: A ceremony which took place in England on Good Friday. It consisted of the repetition of certain psalms and prayers, during which the king rubbed the rings between his hands. It was said that rings thus consecrated on Good Friday by the kings of England, had the power of curing cramp ; and the rings, which were given away were much in request even by foreign ambassadors.

Creative Visualization: is the art of using mental imagery and affirmation to produce positive changes in your life.

Critomancy: Divination by means of observing viands and cakes. The paste of cakes which are offered in sacrifice, is closely examined, and from the flour which is spread upon them, omens are drawn.

Crookes, William: Highly distinguished physicist and chemist. Discovered the element thallium. Invented the radiometer, developed the Crookes tube, invented the cathode-ray tube, pioneered research into radiation effects, contributed to photography, wireless telegraphy, electricity and spectroscopy.

First began his investigations into 'psychic' phenomena in 1869 as a hostile doubter. In his article, 'Spiritualism Viewed by the Light of Modern Science' he declared:

"The increased employment of scientific methods will produce a race of observers who will drive the worthless residuum of spiritualism hence into the unknown limbo of magic and necromancy."

The Press received the announcement with jubilation. It was taken for granted that a scientific man of Crookes' caliber would expose the whole thing as fraud and simple humbug. Foregone conclusions have never been met with more bitter disappointment. Crookes' experiments with Daniel D. Home demonstrated the existence of a 'psychic force' wholly ignored by science.

Crop Circles: Found in fields of wheat, barley, canola, rye, corn, linseed and soy, Crop circles are geometrical formations of flattened crops found in England and elsewhere. Many people believe they are the work of extraterrestrials, but science is still debating that conjecture.

[See Crop Circles]

Crosland, Mrs. Newton : An early spiritualistic medium. Under the name of Camilla Toulmin, she published, in 1857, Light in the Valley, a record of her experiences. There is a trend of Swedenborgian mysticism in her writings. (See Spiritualism.)

Cross, and Crucifixion: (Lat. crux, crucis1): The meaning ordinarily attached to the word cross is that of a figure composed of two or more lines which intersect, or touch each other transversely. Thus, two pieces of wood, or other material, so placed in juxtaposition to one another, are understood to form a cross. It should be noted, however, that Lipsius and other writers speak of the single upright stake to which criminals were bound as a cross, and to such a stake the name of crux simplex has been applied. The usual conception, however, of a cross is that of a compound figure.

Punishment by crucifixion was widely employed in ancient times. It is known to have been used by nations such as those of Assyria, Egypt, Persia, by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Macedonians, and from very early times by the Romans. It has been thought, too, that crucifixion was also used by the Jews themselves, and that there is an allusion to it (Deut. xxi. 22, 23) as a punishment to be inflicted.

Two methods were followed in the infliction of the punishment of crucifixion. In both of these the criminal was first of all usually stripped naked, and bound to an upright stake, where he was so cruelly scourged with an implement, formed of strips of leather having pieces of iron, or some other hard material, at their ends, that not merely was the flesh often stripped from the bones, but even the entrails partly protruded, and the anatomy of the body was disclosed. In this pitiable state he was reclothed, and, if able to do so, was made to drag the stake to the place of execution, where he was either fastened to it, or impaled upon it, and left to die.

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Cross Correspondence: Correspondences found in the script of two or more automatic writers acting without collusion, and under such conditions that the possibility of communication by normal means is removed. Since the beginning of the present century efforts have been made by members of the Society for Psychical Research to prove, by the production of script containing cross-correspondence, the existence of discarnate intelligences, and their ability to operate through the physical organism of a medium. The first instances were of a spontaneous character, and occurred in the trance utterances of Mrs. Thompson and those of another medium, Miss Rawson. Thereafter the idea was conceived of deliberately cultivating them, and several ladies—Mrs. Verrall, Mrs. Holland, and others— who had been successful in producing automatic script, sent it to the Society for Psychical Research, where the writings were found to show more numerous correspondences than mere coincidence would warrant. It was arranged that experiments should be made under stricter test conditions. Frequently the script of Mrs. Verrall was of an allusive and enigmatical character, so that she herself was unable to interpret it until the key had been supplied by the writings of a second automatist. Sometimes three automatists succeeded in producing writings having a decided connection wth each other. Two obscure writings have been rendered intelligible by means of a third, perhaps in itself equally obscure. In at least one case correspondences occurred in the script of no less than sis automatists, under somewhat curious circumstances. Mr. Piddington, a well known member of the Society for Psychica) Research, had written a "test" letter, which he proposed should be opened after his death. The contents, which dealt emphatically with the number seven, he told to no one. On hearing, however, of the remarkable cross-correspondences—all dealing with the number seven— he opened his letter, four years after it was written, and
supplied the clue. In 1906, Mrs. Piper was brought to this country so that the correspondences might be studied to better advantage. The experiments were successful to a surprising degree, and seemed to place beyond a doubt the operation in all the writings of an intelligence other than the automatist's. Mr. Podmore, however, would refer the phenomena of cross-correspondences, at least in part, to the operation of a complex form of telepathy—a possible, but in view of the facts, not very probable, explanation.

Crow: It was once believed that the cawing of a crow was an omen of evil.

Crowley, Aleister: was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century.

Cryptozoology: the search for animals that are rumored to exist, but for which conclusive proof is missing.

Crystal Gazing (Crystallomancy): A mode of divination practised from very early times with the aid of a crystal globe, a pool of water, a mirror, or indeed any transparent object. Divinations by means of water, ink, and such substances are also known by the name of hydromancy (q.v.). Crystal gazing may be a very simple or a very elaborate performance, according to the period in which it was practised, but in every case the object is to induce in the clairvoyant a form of hypnosis, so that he may see visions in the crystal. The "crystal" most in favour among modern crystal gazers is a spherical or oval globe, about four inches in diameter, and preferably a genuine crystal; but as a crystal of this size and shape is necessarily expensive, a sphere of glass is frequently substituted, and with very good results. It must, however, be a perfect sphere of oval, free from speck or flaw, highly polished, and contained in a stand of polished ebony, ivory or boxwood. Among the Hindus, a cup of treacle or a pool of ink is made to serve the same purpose. Precious stones were much used by crystallomancers in the past, the favourite stone being the beryl in pale sea green or reddish tints. By the ancients crystallomancy was practised with a view to the invocation of spirits, and very elaborate preparations and ceremonials were considered necessary. He who would practise invocations in this wise must, in the first instance, be a man of pure life and religious disposition. For the few days immediately preceding the inspection of the crystal, as well as the stand on which it rests, must be inscribed with sacred characters, as must also the floor of the room in which the invocation is to take place. A quiet, retired spot is suggested for the purpose, where the magician may be free from all disturbance. Besides these matters of solitude and cleanliness, there is the question of the mental attitude to be considered, and this is no less important than the material preparations. A perfect faith is an essential condition of success. If the magician would be accompanied by one or two of his friends, they also must conform to the same rules and be guided by the same principles. The time of the invocation is chosen according to the position in the heavens of the various planets, all preparations having been made during the increase of the moon. All the instruments and accessories used in the performance - the sword, rod and compasses, the fire and the perfume to be burned thereon, as well as the crystal itself - are consecrated or "charged" prior to the actual ceremony.

During the process of invocation, the magician faces the east and summons from the crystal the spirit he desires. Magic circles have previously been inscribed on the floor, and it is desirable that the crystallomancer remain within these for some little time after the spirit has been dismissed. It was essential that no part of the ceremonial be omitted, otherwise the invocation would be a failure. Paracelsus, however, and other declared that all such elaborate ceremonies were unnecessary, and that the magnes microcosmi, the magnetic principle in man, was in itself sufficient to achieve the desired object. At a later period, though the ceremonial was not abolished, it became decidedly less imposing. If the person on whose behalf the divination was to be performed was not himself gifted with the clairvoyant faculty, he sought for a suitable medium, the best for the purpose being a young boy or girl, born in wedlock, and perfectly pure and innocent. Prayers and magical words were pronounced prior to the ceremony, and incense and perfumes were pronounced prior to the ceremony, and incense and perfumes were burned. Sometimes the child's forehead was anointed, and he himself provided with garments suitable to the impressive nature of the ceremony. Some writers mention a formula of prayers, known as the Call, which preceded the inspection of the crystal. Finally, the latter having been charged, it was handed over to the medium. The first indication of the clairvoyant vision was the appearance of a mist or cloud in the crystal. This gradually cleared away, and the vision made its appearance.

Modern Crystal Gazing is carried on in much the same manner, though the preparations are simper. The crystal is spherical and of the of an orange; when in use it may be held between the agent's finger and thumb, or, if the end be slightly flattened, placed on a table; alternatively it may be held in the palm of the hand against a background of black cloth. The operation may be more readily carried out in a subdued light. A medium or clairvoyant person acts as the seer and if the divination be made for anyone else it is advisable that he be allowed to hold the crystal in his hand for a few minutes before it is passed into the hands of the clairvoyant. The object of crystal gazing is, as has been said, the induction of an hypnotic state giving rise to visionary hallucinations, the reflection of light in the crystal forming points de repère for such hallucinations. The value of elaborate ceremonials and impressive rituals thus lies in their potency to affect the mind and imagination of the seer. So far, the mystery of crystal vision is no mystery at all. But the remarkable frequency with which, according to reliable witnesses, visions seen in the crystal have tallied with events happening elsewhere at the same moment, or even with future events, is a fact for which science has not yet found an adequate explanation. It has been suggested that if telepathy operates with greater freedom during the hypnotic state, so it may also be with self-induced hypnosis of crystal gazing. And this, though it cannot be said to cover the entire ground, is perhaps, on the whole, the best explanation yet offered. There are many well-attested cases wherein the crystal has been successfully used for the purpose of tracing criminals, or recovering lots or stolen property. The telepathic theory, however, will hardly apply to these instances wherein events have been witnessed in the crystal before their actual occurrence. Such mysteries as these must be left to the art of the psychical researcher to unravel.

[See Divination]

Crystals: a favorite among new age practicioners and healers, crystals are prized for their life giving elements and healing properties.

Curse: a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.

Cursed Bread: Used for purposes of divination, or ordeal by flour or bread. A piece of bread, about an ounce in weight, over which a spell had been cast, was administered to the suspected person. Should it cause sickness or choking the man was said to be guilty, but if he remained well he was regarded as innocent. Barley bread was often used for this form of divination, being more likely to cause choking. This method of trial was practiced amongst the Anglo-Saxons.