Few, comparatively, would believe that the words MAGIC, MASON, and IMAGINATION, are the present unrelated descendants of the same original conception--THE ROOT IDEA; but such is the case.

First, then, we will examine their modern meanings. Magic is the unholy art of working secret spells, of using invisible powers, and holding intercourse with the unseen world of ghosts and demons, by means of enchantments. It also means the expert deception of the senses by the tricks of a conjurer, SO-CALLED hocus-pocus and fraud, and a magician is either an evil-minded, superst.i.tious mortal, fool enough to believe in charms, or an expert pretender and imposter of the first water, who cheats and deceives the people. A mason is the honorable designation of a builder, who works in stone; metaphysically, a member of a semi- secret society, whose sole advantage is social intercourse and standing; who proclaim fraternity and universal brotherhood theoretically and practice the reverse in reality; a man who apes the Egyptian Mason, knows nothing in reality of Hiram, his master; who knows nothing of the starry Solomon or his mystic temple in the heavens, which Hiram built; and who misconceives the import of the three villains, or a.s.sa.s.sins; and who, further, knows nothing of that wonderful sprig of myrtle:--in short, a Free Mason, speaking generally, is a man who delights in ideals, social equality, secret fraternity, and plays at mysticism; who parades on the Masonic stage and enacts a role he does not understand. The first meaning, that of a builder, is the most correct. Lastly, the imagination is the exercise of mental imagery--the picturings of silent thought.

And now we will proceed BACKWARDS. Imagination is from the word "image," a form, a picture, and has descended to us from the Latin "imago," which, in its turn, was derived from the old Semitic root, "mag." Mason comes to us from the Latin "ma.s.s,"

which means to mould and form, i.e., to build; and the word "ma.s.s," through various transformations, was also derived from the root-word "mag." Consequently, originally, there was but little difference in the ancient idea of building pictures in the mind and erecting the mental idea externally in stone. It is from this fact, that, we have to-day Mental Masons, a la the secret orders, and stone masons, who labor for wages. The Mental Masons have merely lost the knowledge of their art. They should, by rights, be as active and correspondingly useful to-day as their more physical brothers, the masons of stone.

This art would never have fallen into disgrace and disuse, if their daily bread, or material acc.u.mulations, had depended upon their efforts in building up the mental, moral, and spiritual attainments, of each other, and bringing their knowledge into more external use, by making the material edifice, the physical body, a purer and more fitting temple, for the Divine soul.

Magic comes from the Latin "magi" and the Greek word "magos,"

which means wise, learned in the mysteries, and was the synonym of wisdom. The initiated philosopher, the priest, and the wise men, are all of them included in the "magi." Again, tracing this word to its remote ancestor, we find it terminating in the same Semitic root, "mag," but of this strange root no one was able to say much, except that it seemed to belong to the a.s.syrian branch of the great Semitic race. But quite recently, thanks to our scientific explorers and archaeologists, versed in the mysterious meaning of cuniform inscription; a.s.syrian scholars now inform us that they have found the h.o.a.ry, primitive original of it, of magic, magi and imago, etc. It is from an old Akkadian word, "imga," meaning wise, holy, and learned, and was used as the distinguishing t.i.tle of their wisest sages, priests, and philosophers, who, as may be supposed, gradually formed a peculiar caste, which merged into the ruling priestly order. The Semites, who succeeded the old Akkadian race in the valley of the Euphrates, as a mere matter of verbal convenience, transformed many of the old Akkadian words to suit their own articulation, and "imga" became "mag," and thus "magi." THE BLEND between the Semetic and the older Akkadian race, produced, by fusion of racial blood, the famed Chaldeans. So that we see how old are the words which many of us daily use, but with different meaning.

Verily, it makes one feel, when be thinks of magic and its origin, as though he were quite nearly related to the people who honored King Sargon, the Wise, the earthly original of the mystic Solomon of Biblical tradition. The term Wand is an old Saxon word, which primarily signifies to set in motion, to move. From this we derive our word wander, i.e., to roam, and wandering, i.e., moving and continually restless.

We have now the original, therefore real, meaning of the words Magic Wand; thus an object that sets in motion the powers of the magician, and the magician, an Initiate of the sacred rites--A MASTER OF WISDOM, possessing all the resources that enable him TO BUILD mould, and form; to create in fact, by virtue of his knowledge of the secret powers of mental imagery and the potential use of his own imagination. He is both Mental Mason and learned philosopher.

The student may doubtless ask, why all this care and labor regarding mere definitions? We reply that, it is because, the real meaning of the words we have purposely selected for the t.i.tle of our studies are, in themselves, a far better revelation than we could possibly have written. Originally, ideas and words were related as absolute expressions or correspondences, of each other. This is not so now. As the different races became interblended, the purity of both language and morals retrograded, and the people grew more to the external. The intuitions and spirit were compelled to retreat, giving place to only the intellectual and mental. The blending of the languages gave birth to many words wherein different meanings were transmitted; hence, the trouble arising to-day over the numerous interpretations of a single word.

Hybrid races have no such thing as a pure language. Their ideas and language, like their blood, is badly mixed up, confusing, and unsatisfactory, so far as the real meaning of the words are concerned. For this very reason we find so many different meanings for the same word; and also for this reason, we cannot formulate a legal enactment in the Anglo-Saxon tongue that, a learned lawyer, versed in this senseless jugglery of words, cannot demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the courts, means something the very opposite of the real intentions-- the spirit--which the framers thereof, intended it to convey.

Anciently, it required no artful cunning of the lawyer to interpret the laws. The words had only one simple and obvious meaning. If a language could be so constructed to-day, and the antiquated precedents of the courts annihilated; the legal profession would be exterminated inside of twelve months, and an affliction removed from the people.

The philosophy of the Magic Wand is this. It is a magnetic, electric conductor for the magician's will. It directs the flow of his thought and concentrates it upon a given point in s.p.a.ce or an object. It is, magically, what the sights of a rifle are to a sportsman. It enables him to focus his powers with exact precision upon the mark against which, or upon which, his will is directed. Apart from this there is no power, per se, in the Wand itself, any more than there is in a lightning conductor without the electric storm. Ergo, the Wand is the conductor, in the magician's hand, for the lightnings of the soul; and just as the lightning rod is most useful and most powerful to protect, when the storm is the strongest; so is the Wand most powerful in the hands of the most potential magician. We can only transmit through this Wand the degree of force we may happen to possess in the soul.

In a properly prepared Wand lies the most powerful weapon, to protect or destroy, that can be placed within a magician's hands.

With his own spiritual force and knowledge, combined with the magic power attached to the instrument, nothing can withstand its power, when directed with a determined and powerful will.

Many substances have been employed in the manufacture of these Magic Wands. Metals or stones will not serve this purpose, unless covered with some organic matter. In any case stones are worthless. The very finest Wands are made from the live ivory of a female elephant. A short Wand, twenty-one inches long, tipped with gold at the largest end and silver or copper at the other, is very powerful. Next to these costly articles are Wands with a gold or copper core, a wire, in fact, cased with ebony, boxwood, rosewood, cedar or sandalwood. English yew also serves the purpose; so does almond wood. Simpler, less expensive, and almost as effective, are Wands made of witch-hazel. In fact, apart from the Wands of live ivory, I consider that witch-hazel is as powerful as the golden Wand. Next in force to this witch-hazel are the shoots of the almond tree, and, lastly, the peach and swamp willow.

The proper time to manufacture a Magic Wand is whenever you can find the person who is able to do the work. But after it is constructed it must be thoroughly magnetized, with proper ceremony and aspiration, the first or the second full Moon after the Sun enters Capricorn, at midnight, when the Moon will be culminating in her own sign upon the mid-heaven.

The best time TO CUT a shoot of witch-hazel or other material for a Wand is the first full Moon after the Sun's entry into Capricorn, at midnight, and then magnetize it upon the next full Moon at the same hour.

In conclusion, let us repeat that, the Magic Wand is but the highly sensitive magical medium for transmitting and concentrating the force of the learned magician; that it is equally powerful under great excitement of mind, WHETHER USED CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT. The stream of mental fire will go in the direction the Wand happens to be pointed, and, therefore, should never be in the hands of the wicked or foolish, any more than firearms. It is potential or otherwise, in exact proportion to the artist's wisdom and dynamic mentality, and is useless in the hands of the idiotic or weak-minded. A Magic Wand requires brains and vigorous mental force to make it effective, just as the steam engine requires an apparatus for generating the steam, that moves it. With a determined will, and a mental conception of one's inward power, any man or woman can, by means of this sensitive Wand, defy all the legionaries of h.e.l.l, and quickly disperse every form of spiritual iniquity.

The firearms which have become so intricate in their mechanism and so destructive in their operations, are only a degeneration of the Magic Wand. The first weapons of warfare and slaughter were very crude and clumsy, then larger and more destructive, until at last they have become as fine in texture and mechanical genius, compared with their early brothers, as the Magic Wand is to-day, above and beyond, the present weapons of warfare. At last, the original mode of defense will be rediscovered and become a utility in the hands of the majority of mankind. At the same time, the mental and moral nature will be evolving into better conditions, too, so that their use will not be given to the ignorant and evildoers, but placed in charge of the educated, those who are morally capable of leading and ruling.

Yes, we are now stepping upon the plane of reason and intuition, where right, not might, will prevail and rule the world. The present mode of government and rule will be changed, and one of humanitarian justice take its place.

G.o.d hasten the Millenium.

THE BOOK WHICH IS CALLED THE TABLETS OF AETH

THE SACRED SCROLL WHICH IS CALLED THE TABLETS OF AETH

NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ASTRAL RECORDS AND DONE INTO A BOOK,

By ZANONI

TO WHICH IS ADDED A SERIES OF INTERPRETATIVE REFLECTIONS FOR THE SPIRITUAL MEDITATION OF THE FAITHFUL.

FOREWORD

Thy temple is the arch Of yon unmeasured sky; Thy Sabbath the stupendous march Of grand eternity.

To my Brothers and Sisters of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor:

GREETING--For some years it has been my desire to leave a spiritual legacy to the many devoted friends and followers who have braved so much amid present truth and error for my sake.

In choosing the present work for such a purpose, I have had in view the deeper spiritual needs of the soul--the prophetic element of the interior spirit, which can best exalt itself through the contemplation of Nature's arcane symbolism of the starry heavens--not the material expression of the glittering splendors of the midnight sky, but the spiritual soul-pictures of those blazing systems that reveal to the seeing eye the shining thrones of THE RULERS--the Powers that Be.

Ever since the dawn of intellectual human life upon our Mother Earth, long before the days of the cave man, or even the first frost that heralded the coming of the Ice Age, souls have hoped and hungered and souls have quailed and fallen in their struggles with the mysteries of G.o.d. But ever and anon some bright flower of the race has gained the spiritual victory. A Messianic soul has responded to aspirations of a great-hearted, great-souled woman, pregnant with spiritual yearnings beyond her race, and she has unconsciously blessed her kind for the generations yet to come with that incarnated mystery--THE SON OF G.o.d. Blessed, O Woman, is thy patient mission on the earth, and transcendent are the holy mysteries of thy maternity. Every human birth is a Divine miracle in humanity, performed by the Motherhood of G.o.d.

Hence it is that, from the earliest ages of life, triumphant souls have stormed the gates of the sanctuary and penetrated Nature's most occult mysteries and there recorded their spiritual victories. Amid these sacred records lies one great scroll, that none but the brightest and bravest may read.

This sacred scroll, sealed with the seven mystic seals of the heavens, contains The Tablets of Aeth, a record of the soul's experiences upon the planes of both conscious and sub-conscious life-spirit and matter, that are expressed in a series of universal symbols, which manifest to the seer the processes of creative life, of spiritual cause with material effect. And, finally, the mystery of the seven vials and the seven stars of Saint John are written therein; for the Tablets are the hieroglyphic keys which unlock the realities of truth involved within the unrealities of external life, and open up, to the aspiring soul, inconceivable vistas of knowledge yet possible of realization, within the Divine womb of the uncreated Aether.

Myriads of exalted spirits, who have toiled for the treasure which doth not corrupt, have added, and are adding, their portion of personal conception to this universal conception of life, so that the sacred symbols themselves, inscribed upon these imperishable Tablets, ARE EVOLUTIONARY--are slowly unfolding through the eons of time, and revealing wider and yet deeper processes of the light, life, and love, of the Motherhood of G.o.d.

Therefore, all Divine revelation of infinite truth is limited and finite as to its conception, when revealed through a finite capacity. All Divine truths are universal; all personal conceptions of such truths are limited; hence springs the unquenchable fountain of the ONE eternal truth, eternally repeating itself, in cosmic as in human life, by the progressive unfoldment of Nature's unlimited potentialities.

"The outward doth from the inward roll, And the inward dwells in the inmost soul."

The true poet is always a seer, and he might have added that the INMOST SOUL is the uncreate, and, the yet uncreated itself, lies buried in the ever eternal beyond; hence the immortality of the human spirit.

This sacred astral scroll, rightly and reverently studied by the disciple of the higher law, becomes a boundless source of knowledge and inspiration. There is no mood of the mind or yearning of the soul that cannot be satisfied and refreshed from this inexhaustible fountain of spiritual truth, no pa.s.sion of the human heart that cannot be eased of its burden and soothed of its pain. Its spiritual refreshment falls like the dew from heaven upon those who are weary and heavy laden with the trials and sufferings of external life.

Accept it, then, even as it is given unto you. My friends and brethren, accept it as Zanoni's last work on earth--his legacy to you, and may the spirit of the All-Father-Mother, the ineffable spirit of Life, Light, and Love,--the Unknowable, whom men call G.o.d, rest upon you and be with you now and forever.

INTRODUCTION

TO THE BOOK WHICH IS CALLED "THE TABLETS OF AETH," WHEREIN ARE DESCRIBED THE FORMULAS OF MEDITATION.

THE FORMULAS OF MEDITATION,

TO THE DRAGON, FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.

"When first, a musing boy, I stood beside Thy starlit shimmer, and asked my restless heart What secrets Nature to the herd denied, But might to earnest hierophant impart; When lo! beside me, around and o'er, Thought whispered, 'Arise, O seeker, and explore.' "

The Tablets of Aeth are the culminating expression of symbolical ideas, and the studious meditation thereof is to be approached and continued in this wise:

First, commit to memory, as near as may be, all the ideas involved in the astrological laws and principles laid down in "The Science of the Stars," formulated in the second part of "The Light of Egypt," Vol. I, especially as regards the symbolism there given and manifestation thereof on the intellectual plane.

Mentally digest these aspects of truth most thoroughly.

Second, carry forward the same course of mental training with regard to the preceding chapters in this volume, from No. 1 to No. 12. There are thirteen chapters, but No. 13, the last one, being "The Penetralia," should not be included in this course, but, rightly used, should be reserved as the last and final revelation for spiritual contemplation.

The twelve chapters just mentioned continue the great astral laws given in "The Light of Egypt," Vol. I, from this plane to that of the soul life of the human monad (both prior to and after human incarnation). At this point we leave the finite and step into the realms of the infinite. From the sphere of limitations which surround the microcosm we enter the starlit path of the macrocosm, and here, with the illimitable ocean of eternal life sweeping onward before us, we hear the first strains of the Grand March of the Universe burst forth from the organs of G.o.d! The suns of creative life swell the infinite chorus of sound; archangels swing their fiery batons to the march of the heavenly host; and all earthly sound has ceased. We are absorbed in the music of the spheres.

We are now in the realm of universals, the domain of living realities. The Tarot of Mother Nature revolves before us, revealing her mystic meanings to the soul. All ideas are symbols, and symbols are reservoirs for the conservation of thought. And this is a very truth: Even so on earth as it is in heaven.