Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-08
0CCULTISM IN CHICAGO.
THREE SOCIETIES DEVOTED 70 THE
STUDY OF TIE GREAT PROBLEM.

THREE SOCIETIES DEVOTED TO THE
STUDY OF TIE GREAT PROBLEM.
They Date Their Origin from Mythical
Times-A Sacred Bond of Brotherhood
/ The Nine Degrees-Ths TheosophicaI
society-The Molecules OF "Akasa-"
The wheels Of life move on unendingly,
but the forces that move them must be
sought for in the realm of the viewles> The
unseen rules the unseen but while this fact is
palpable the i'm. alpahle causes elude search
1t is the problem Of the ages What and
why is life. Where is truth How can it
lie applied t. solve the complex problems of
human iNtenCe, Nature mother Isis
Can sh give the solution, Has she the
key Many systems Of philosophy have
spoken in reply, but none have answered
30 say the occults-Save occulism-
There are three 80 Ieties in Chicago de-
voted to the study of the ocyu.t But for
all purposes of idle in iuiry two Of these
brotherhoodS are very sphinx of silence,
posing IN mystery as profounl, an isola-
tlon as impenetrable a. their ancient proto-
type dwelling in the d .s,rt of old Egypt,
W.T. the san Is of centuries drifting deeply
around her Not even their names are
known 10 the uninitiat d Each of thcss
two so 'ietirs has a probationary term Of
Sven years for the nee, ,,hyte The first de-
gree Can not be tax until this time has
elapsed, unless the right O. admission has
been conquered through an unusual dev elop-
ment Of occult powers
THE NINE DEGREES OF oCCULrIsM
They date their origin from mythical
dmns. There are ten degrees in each; how
ever, only nine Of these can b. taken IN this
country. The asprant for the tenth must
seek it IN the la d OF the Nile The men,
bership is composed o. about an equal num-
Der of men and women. and there are lodges,
as the 50 ieties are called, in all the princi-
pal lite, OF this coun ~ an across seas,
lnclu ling the remote east The number of
msmbers is linitsI in each country, but it is
not likely that the quota will he tilled for
there are very few who have either the
ply seal, moral or spiritual coura se to un-
derso the o deal thrOu h which admission is
o tanned They are ascetic in habit, and
their special aim is 10 cultivat unSalfshness
Of action. Their bond of brotherhood is so
sacred and binding that life itself is freely
given by brother for brother. They use
both the jew / and Oriental KabalaS, a ID
b,Lie, e the sou possesses the powe' to disen-
gage itself from the body, making astral
visits whens ever it wills These vii iical
phantons" or, as the German phrase it, the
"dopple ganger, are plainly recognizable as
ia smile representations of the individual,
and the occultiSt claims that many appari-
tons can bs a counted for in this way.
The rJoms occupied by thesa societies are
arranged according to the ha 'moni: laws
which are supposed to govern the develop
mant Of occult powers, and are never en-
tered save by initiates At their weekly
me t.ngs each member occupies the same
seat The keys OF the lodge-room are held
in sacred keeping by the chief magus
There are only two person, in this country
one in Chicago and one in New York
who have taken the first nine degrees of
thsse societies
THE LATCH STRING OF THEosOPHY.
The third body of the occult group-the
TheosophIl al society has Its latch string
always out, inviting the w8yfarer athirst
for such ience TO enter and drink at the I
mountain Of truth, whose disciples they be
lleve themselves to ia Co Iden sed within a
single phrase, theOSopLy is the broadest
altrulsm-a veritable brotherhood OF hui /
manIty, whose only path to "Nirvana" lies .
through utter ahnegation Of self Ii seeks
to deNe elop to demonstrate the god in man
" "Nirvana,' theosophlcally understood. is the /
attain ment OF the ghes5 individuality /
through a complete dive,tment of every
thing which clogs the pure spirit entity or
the -Brahman-" Consequently it is abso- !
Lutte harmony with the laws CT universal
being This is called deli, erance," and TO 4
attain it, If one would join the ,ompany Of
the gois, purity Of thought, purity of word, .
4
The theosophical stand point is exactly the |
reveiss of that occupied by modern Spirit
ua ism Spiritualisn believes in passivity /
and submitting TO control" Thsosophy |
believes In activity-the highest spiritual
actiVity-and in not permitting out ide CON
troll from any source whatever. It teaches
the cultivation Of the divine powers resi-
dent within the ego until it shall become as
a god" The occultist believes in the broad
est sense that knowledge is power. In other
worIs, TO believe without knowle ige is
to believe because one knows is
power His motto is: There is no iInpOssi-
bility t. him who wills To this end, there
fore, he studies the hidden mysteries of nat
ure and the psy chic powers latent in man;
and in order to attain mastery over the
forces of so called inanimate nature he must
tirst lring his own carnal nature under the
sub lection of the will
In the same manney that the telegraph
operator makes the electric currents the
servant of his intelligence, so the occulist
claims that will-pOwsr can be be used on tine
molecules of ~akasa-"' AksSa is that sub.
unation Of matter which ccutains all the
elements Of the universe in a resolved state
The adept will can set in motion these mole
cules, condenSe tht m, or reform them by
he operation Of his inherent powers
soinette V. H Wakeman in Chicago Times