I cannot do better than quote here from my book The Science of Seership: "The word 'psychic' is derived from the Greek word 'psyche', which means 'the soul.' Psychic faculties, therefore, are those pertaining to the soul; and 'soul' may be taken, broadly, to mean everything that is not body -the feeling, the thinking, the willing man, as distinct from the acting, or physical man. Since these faculties are the powers and capacities of the soul, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between the subtle and physical bodies, which are instruments, and the soul which uses them.

The vital forces and the consciousness of minerals and plants may be discovered and studied, so that remedies may be applied which are exactly appropriate to the nature of the disease.

A vast field of useful research is open, therefore, to the clairvoyant student of health and disease. In astronomy, the relation of the planets to each other and to the sun, the play of the electro-magnetic energies between and through them, the relation of the solar system to the universe of which it is a part, the plan by which their ordered development proceeds -all these may be studied by the clairvoyant student of astronomy.

The life side of nature, the hidden energies behind the mineral, the plant, the animal and man, the divine impetus which urges for ward the evolution of the whole may be studied and understood.

The great principles by means of which all will, ultimately, reach that standard of perfection, which the Great Architect and Master Scientist has planned that they should reach, may be studied. The governing laws may be observed and taught to all the intelligent denizens of the world which He has made.

The other great kingdoms of nature to which conscious beings belong, now come within the seer's range. The mighty orders of the angelic hosts, our invisible neighbors in the solar system, may be seen, contacted and their co-operation won. They are the great engineers of nature, who manipulate the flowing forces of which all manifested worlds consist. By their office, the relatively blind energies of nature are intelligently directed to the fulfillment of the divine will. From such contact, powerful and wise allies may be gained, both in the laboratory and study, as also in the consulting room, the hospital and operating theatre.

It may perhaps be of interest to touch upon the method of approach to the subject of the life after death, which distinguishes the trained clairvoyant from the spiritualistic medium. As stated in my book, The Science of Seership, the student of occultism approaches the question of life after death in a strictly scientific attitude of mind. He knows that no demonstrable proof of communication between the living and the so-called dead, which will survive scientifically applied tests, can be given. Yet he believes both in the life after death and in the possibility of communication between incarnate and discarnate beings.

His methods of investigation are directly opposed to those of the spiritualist. His knowledge is the result of personal experience, and not second, third, or even fourth-hand, as when a medium, guide and intermediate intelligences are employed for the purposes of investigation. The occult student believes that such methods, even at their very best, cannot possibly produce evidence which will stand the test of scientific enquiry. The sorrowing and forlorn may gain satisfaction, comfort and consolation by these methods, but they are in no way suited to serious investigation.

Before I proceed to outline the alternative methods of occultism, may I devote a little space to my reasons for these somewhat sweeping statements concerning those of spiritualism?

Let us examine the claims of the spiritualist, made in support of his belief in the continuance of life and consciousness after death, and in the possibility of communication between the living and the dead.

He says, at best, that through the guide of a certain medium -a person of the highest morality and of scrupulous honesty, who had never met or heard of him before- he received a communication concerning matters with which only one other person in the world was conversant, and of which the medium could not possibly have been aware. Further, he claims that the other person was deceased and that the guide, speaking through the medium, gave his name or initials, as the real communicator from the unseen. Later, perchance, this individual himself entered the medium, displayed certain peculiar tricks of manner and traits of character which were personal to him, and communicated further material which was known only to the two people concerned –the deceased, and his living friend. He asserts that such demonstrations have been multiplied indefinitely, and, in fact, are the common experience of practically every spiritualist.

Such an event, as the one here described, is undoubtedly startling, calculated to shake the confidence of the most hardened skeptic, and to introduce a predisposition in favor of acceptance into the most unprejudiced mind. Yet, it is the contention of the occultist that it does not contain one shred of evidence upon which an opinion could justly be based.

There are many facts which can be adduced in support of this somewhat drastic statement. Two or three will be sufficient to indicate reasons for the unreliability of spiritualistic methods as a guide to the truth in this matter.

First, a mildly developed clairvoyance or telepathy and a fair gift of mimicry would quite easily enable the medium to elicit the information from the memory of the sitter, and to give a reasonably good imitation of the manner of his friend. Second, assuming that the medium does not possess either of these gifts, it is well within the power of any discarnate entity who may be in the neighborhood or of such a one as may have attached himself to the medium as "guide," to obtain the information and to mimic the deceased through the medium's entranced body. Such a manifestation may satisfy an unscientific observer and even console a sorrowing relative but neither has any proof that the supposed communicator is actually present.   

It follows, therefore, that however conclusive such a manifestation may appear to be, it is never reliable, never trustworthy, unless the sitter himself can see the communicator. If he can do this, then all need for an intermediary vanishes, for the communication can be made direct and in full waking consciousness. If, then, the seer's power of vision is of a sufficiently skilled order to prevent his being deceived by a set of circumstances similar to those which I have described -and this is quite possible- then he has obtained for himself proof of the life after death.

This brings me back to the method of the occultist, for whom nothing less than such direct personal proof is conclusive. There is a great gulf fixed between second-hand information and first-hand knowledge. The latter, alone, is capable of withstanding all tests and remaining unshaken.

 What then is the method of the occultist? Just as the fact of three-dimensional existence can never be demonstrated to a two-dimensional being, so discarnate life can never be demonstrated to a being in the flesh. If, however, we postulate that the two-dimensional being possesses a three-dimensional extension of himself, of the existence of which he is entirely unaware; that he is really a three-dimensional being, but, at the present stage of his evolution, is only using two-dimensional consciousness, while his three-dimensional power lies dormant or latent; then it will follow that, in his normal state, he cannot possibly comprehend three-dimensional existence; he can only observe its two-dimensional manifestations, and these are so imperfect and partial that no conclusive evidence can possibly arise from a study of them. There will always be the great unknown and unknowable behind, as it were. He may attempt to study this unknown, through the known, may learn much of interest, even of value, but nothing conclusive can ever emerge; the real facts can never enter his two-dimensional mind.

 Let us further assume that it is possible for the latent three-dimensional portion of this being to be prematurely awakened; that it may be forced, by the application of known laws, as a horticulturist forces a plant.

The two-dimensional being will then become capable of observing three-dimensional phenomena. Gradually he could perfect his ability to function in the three-dimensional world, and could then meet and study its denizens on equal terms. Under these conditions it becomes possible for him to obtain conclusive knowledge for himself.

Occultism teaches that every man has a vehicle of consciousness and appropriate organs of cognition by means of which he can study the invisible worlds and such intelligences as dwell therein. The only satisfactory and final test of their existence is that applied by the trained occultist. Applying age-long knowledge and experience, he unfolds and learns to use the necessary faculties. He awakens the latent seership, to which every man is heir, and by its means is enabled to explore the regions beyond the portal of death.

This is not the place to attempt a statement of the results of such investigations; but, in conclusion, I may say that the knowledge so gained places death in its rightful place as an incident which marks the translation of human consciousness from one plane of manifestation and growth to another, and which differs from sleep only in that the translation is permanent. During sleep we temporarily enter the after-death world, and there meet our departed friends and relations whenever we choose. At death we join them permanently, until the time comes for us to pass still further onwards to the next stage in the cycle of life and development.

Eventually man withdraws from active manifested existence and passes through a period in which all the experience and faculties, resulting from the cycle which has just closed, are converted into capacity and character. When this process is complete a new cycle opens. Again he descends into manifested worlds and is born of woman, to complete once more a pilgrimage through matter, further developing the faculties he already possesses and at the same time acquiring new powers and new knowledge. Thus is he laying up for himself those "treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt." (St. Matt. 6:20.)

In the end all lessons are learned, all powers unfolded, and all knowledge gained. Here the outgoing ceases, for there is no longer need for experience in the flesh. New fields of evolution open up before the perfected man; higher peaks are then to be climbed, wider powers to be attained. For these no earthly form is needed, for "him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out."    (Rev. 3:12.)

Such, briefly stated, is the field open to each and all who will take the necessary trouble to train and perfect themselves in the development of their interior powers. One day, all men will possess them; all life will be lived according to the dictates of the higher knowledge which they will place within the hand of man-then, the interior and essential unity of all life, will be observed facts-first-hand knowledge to all men. Faith will then be founded upon first-hand experience and be no longer blind; the facts of religion will become recognized as fundamental realities of life. Then, and then alone, will mankind enter the Golden Age, which has been promised him by those seers of the past and present whose prophetic vision revealed the coming of the millennium to man.

THE MISTRESS OF VISION

        XIX

Where is the Land of Luthany,
Where is the tract of Elenore?
I am bound therefor.

            XX

"Pierce thy heart to find the key;
With thee take
Only what none else would keep;
Learn to dream when thou dost wake,
Learn to wake when thou dost sleep;
Learn' to water joy with tears,
Learn from fears to vanquish fears,
To hope, for thou dar'st not despair,
Exult, for that thou dar'st not grieve;
Plough thou the rock until it bear;
Know, for thou else couldst not believe
Lose, that the lost thou may'st receive;
Die, for none other way canst live.

When earth and heaven lay down their veil,
And that apocalypse turns thee pale;
When thy seeing blindeth thee
To what thy fellow-mortals see;
Their living, death; their light, most lightless;
Search no more -
Pass the gates of Luthany, tread the region Elenore."

            XXI

Where is the land of Luthahy,
And where the region Elenore?
I do faint therefor.

            XXII

"When to the new eyes of thee
All things by immortal power, Near or far,
Hiddenly
To each other linked are,
That thou canst not stir a flower
Without troubling of a star;
When thy song is shield and mirror
To the fair snake-curled Pain,
Where thou dar'st affront her terror
That on her thou may'st attain
Persean conquest; seek no more,
O seek no more!
Pass the gates of Luthany, tread the region Elenore."

Francis Thompson.

IT MAY be asked whether my lecture is designed for children or for adults, for the title certainly suggests that the subject matter will be more suitable for the former.  In spite of that fact, however, I propose to put before you, in all seriousness, an account of the denizens of fairyland which will very closely resemble the narration of an explorer concerning the inhabitants of a newly-discovered land.

You may ask, on hearing this, whether I seriously believe that there is a basis of fact behind the folk lore of all nations of the world concerning the existence of invisible intelligences associated with nature. My reply is most definitely in the affirmative; and I might well base it upon the fact of the persistence and universality of these legends and myths of all peoples of the earth, both ancient and modern, saying that wherever there is a persistent legend there is always a basis of truth, and arguing that legends, myths and folk lore form the most reliable history, when once the key to their interpretation has been discovered and applied.

Or I might draw attention to the fact that large numbers of people have had first-hand experience of these invisible intelligences of various orders and degrees, their evidence forming a great body of individual testimony. I do not, however, base my answer upon these alone, but upon actual explorations of fairyland which I myself have attempted.

By what method may such explorations be made, and how may we test the truth or otherwise of the testimony to which I have just referred? Only by scientific methods of investigation, and until we have, each one of us, fitted ourselves for, and carried out, such investigations, we surely had best withhold our opinion upon the subject, and silence well becomes us.

Let us consider first how we may investigate the kingdom of faerie, study the little folks of nature, enter their world and discover their appearance, habits and methods of evolution. Why are they normally invisible? Modern science immediately provides us with two possible answers to that question; one, "Because their vibratory rate may differ so largely from our own that we are unable to contact them"; two, "Because they may be occupying another dimension of space; they may be living in a fourth, fifth, sixth or even seventh dimension."

With regard to the first of these answers, we know that there are many rates of vibration beyond the range of our normal physical senses, and we are witnessing the gradual extension of that range by means of scientific instruments. The invisible X-rays, N-rays, ultra-violet, infra-red and cosmic rays have all been detected by means of mechanical detectors, though, as yet, there have been no instruments devised which have picked up the fairy wave-length.

How, then, can we become conscious of the invisible fairy rays? Though, eventually, science may succeed in developing machines of such delicacy and refinement as to enable the operator to contact worlds and intelligences at present invisible to us, it is more reasonable, and more immediately practical, to assume that man possesses within himself the means of cognition necessary to the attainment of that result.

Man himself is far from being fully developed. We have no reason for concluding that the present five senses mark the limit of his development of means of cognition; there may be a sixth, seventh and still higher senses latent within man, waiting to be developed.

Even now, we all differ in our power of response to various rates of vibration. Many men can hear sounds which are pitched too high to be audible to others with less sensitive ears. If we place a number of people before the band of the spectrum, and ask them to mark the point at which their vision of the band ceases, we shall find that some see much further than others, both at the ultra-violet and infra-red ends.

This variation seems to suggest the possibility of extension still further beyond the normal. In fact, the name of clairvoyance has been given to all such extension into the realm of super-normal cognition.

I am aware that it is not easy for the practical, and still less so for the scientific mind to acknowledge the findings of clairvoyants as worthy of recognition. The subject is, unfortunately, surrounded by an atmosphere which is repellant to the scientific mind. But I would draw attention to the fact that there is a type of clairvoyance which does not demand darkness, sitting in circles, mediumship or trance for its manifestation; that man does possess a faculty which, if developed and used, is of the utmost value in scientific investigation. It is with this faculty-and this faculty alone-that reliable research into the invisible worlds can be made.

To the second answer, concerning the dimensions of space and the statement that there exist an infinite number of dimensions, it may well be objected that there is no evidence for more than three; and that while accepting the mathematical theory, we are, by no means, obliged to admit as fact that which cannot be tested by means of our normal senses. In reply to this quite legitimate objection, one might say that we do, in fact, accept a great many theoretical statements of scientists which cannot be tested by the senses as actual facts. Examples of this are the existence of such everyday conceptions as that of the atom, the electron and the vitamin. No one has ever seen these bodies, and there are, at present, no instruments delicate enough to photograph or magnify them sufficiently to render them visible. Yet we accept the statements of science that the apparently solid objects, with which we are surrounded, are not solid at all; that they consist of a countless number of ultramicroscopic bodies called atoms, and, despite their apparent solidity and density, no two of their constituent atoms are actually touching; each, in fact, is vibrating in its own magnetic field.

In the circumstances, we shall do no violence to our reason if we admit the possibility of the existence of higher dimensions of space than those with which we are normally familiar. The answer of the mathematician, concerning the existence of a higher dimension, may best be understood by the non-mathematical mind if we consider, for a moment, the limitations of a two-dimensional being when endeavoring to understand three-dimensional phenomena. Living on a surface, having length and breadth but no thickness, he can only contact such portions of objects as pass through his flat plane of existence. A pencil, for example, passed vertically through that plane, would be visible to him as a flat disc, for he would see only that part of it which was on his plane and would know nothing of its existence above and below.

Mathematically, there are an infinite number of dimensions, and it is not impossible that the evolution of man will be found to consist of the gradual increase in the number of dimensions in which he is able to function.

If we postulate that man himself is far more than the physical body, which we know, and that he has extensions into an infinite number of dimensions, then we can see that it would be possible for him gradually to develop the power to manifest in an increasing number of dimensions of space. At this point, the two answers would seem to meet; and we have a definition of supernormal cognition which is that it enables its observer to see and hear upon wave lengths beyond the normal rate, and to function in dimensions of space in which man is not yet accustomed to live.

The information which I am about to put before you, concerning fairies, nature-spirits and angels, has been gained by attempts to employ that supernormal cognition for purposes of research.

What does the explorer find when he steps out of the third dimension into the fourth? What does the receiving set within his brain convey to him when he tunes in to the wave lengths of fairyland?

An important fact which he immediately discovers in his first attempt to cross the frontier is that there is no necessity for any motion through space or for travel to far-distant lands for the purposes of his exploration. Fairyland is here-in our gardens, fields, woodlands and landscapes. The change which is needed is not of place, not of geographical area, but of consciousness. He withdraws his attention from the physical worlds and directs it towards the superphysical.

Most probably the first phenomenon which will become apparent to him is that the numbers of the inhabitants of fairyland are infinitely greater than those of our own physical earth. The air is seen to be filled with countless millions of beauteous beings of varying stature, power and intelligence. The earth, now transparent to the explorer's gaze, is a densely populated world. Lake, pool, river, stream, ocean and cloud have their appropriate inhabitants; while a slight change in the focus of consciousness shows that all about him is a sensation of the presence of fire, of the roaring of flames and the near approach of the spirits of the fire. Let us with the mind of the explorer examine these four great races of superphysical beings in some detail. Each race is at once seen to consist of a graded order of intelligences, with very lowly-evolved creatures at the level of the infusoria, insect, bird, at one end of the scale of their existence, and the most glorious and splendid spiritual intelligences, far outshining man in power, and knowledge, at the other.

 Playing on the earth round his feet, passing in and out of the tree trunks, roots and branches, will be seen tribes of little men, known in folk lore as brownies, kobolds, elves and pixies, closely resembling the traditional figures which those names denote. An air of business surrounds the brownie men. For the most part, their work is an imitation of the activities of such primitive men as they have been able to contact and observe. They dig and delve and frequently carry in their belts tiny tools such as shovels, picks, axes and pincers which they materialize by thought-power, and which last as long as their attention is focused upon them. Their intelligence is just about at the level of the chicken; they are actuated by a group consciousness and communicate in gruff tones, somewhat resembling the language of the country in which they live and practically impossible to translate. The real communication, as with all their brethren of fairyland, is by a system of thought-transference.

Deep down in the depths of the earth, huge etheric earth creatures are to be found. These differ, in a striking way, from all their brethren, in that they are not beautiful according to human standards. The gnome is the most unattractive of all the nature-spirits; his body appears to be made of some dark brown spongy substance, resembling peat; his limbs are loose and disproportionately long; his feet end in a point and his arms have the appearance of a closed fist. He is thin, his face is cadaverous, his eyes are deep sunk and slanting and upon his face is a weird and somewhat learing grin. He is generally unclothed and may be seen in open moorland, mountainsides and sometimes on newly-ploughed fields, floating or drifting with loosely-hanging limbs, just above the surface of the ground. He varies in height, from six to eight inches up to twelve or fifteen feet according to his evolutionary standing. There would seem to be a principle that the stature of the nature spirit increases in proportion to his evolutionary progress, the most highly evolved angels being of colossal stature. A height of thirty feet is not uncommon in the higher ranks of the angelic hosts.

If we follow the race of the spirits of the earth until we reach those standing on the higher rungs of their ladder of life, we observe the angels of woods, fields, mounds, hills, mountains and mountain-ranges and of vast landscapes. These have grown out of the relative uncouthness of the nature-spirit of earth and in their angelhood or individualized state are beautiful in the extreme; they ensoul the district which they have adopted or of which they have been put in charge, and they labor to quicken the evolution of the form and the unfolding of the consciousness of all things within the area of their influence.   

The greatest of these Great Ones is that mysterious and inscrutable Being who is known as the Spirit of the Earth, who is said to ensoul the whole planet with His life and to be responsible to the Solar Logos for certain aspects of the evolution of the planet.

All the physical planets of a solar system are said similarly to be ensouled, while there is also one mighty Being Who is in charge of all the physical globes of a solar system and whose Subordinates are the Spirits of the Planets and Their lesser Brethren. This Hierarchy reaches right up to the Spirit of the Sun itself-a mighty Being of inconceivable splendor and power.

Of the element of earth it is said that it provides the quality of stability to the solar system; it is the mighty fulcrum by means of which the solar forces, sent forth outwards in their vitalizing and quickening mission throughout the whole wide confines of the universe, obtain the resistance and the leverage essential to the fulfillment of their tasks. All these varied phenomena the explorer may examine at his leisure and, as will be seen, vast fields of research lie open for his investigation.

While the spirits of earth are definitely masculine in their character, although a-sexual, the spirits of the water present for the most part a definitely feminine appearance. If the explorer wanders beside the flowing river or gazes at the waterfall with opened eyes, he will see most beautifully modelled roseate female human forms reveling in the vital forces of the cataract, hanging poised in the spray, rejoicing in the bright sunlight and ever and anon plunging downwards into the pool below. The water spirits are of many degrees, from the tiny nymphs, undines and nereids of the lesser pools and streams, up to the stately water queens of the larger rivers, who may be seen, madonna-like, serene and lovely, floating over the green meadowland or hovering high in the air above a river's source.

The nature-spirits of the sea differ some what from their fresh-water sisters, they are more active, more vital and less definitely feminine in appearance and character. On the whole, they are somewhat less easy to contact and communicate with. Far out at sea huge etheric monsters are to be seen, and, on rare occasions, glimpses may be had of the old sea gods riding on their strange shell-like chariots, and closely resembling the classical figures of Neptune and his court.

The large rivers, such as the Thames, the Severn and the great continental rivers, also have their gods, who may be seen rising and descending above and below the surface of their river homes.

The clouds, too, are peopled by a race closely resembling the water queens and the undines, though partaking also sometimes of the appearance of the spirits of the air.

Water is said to be the great conducting element of Nature, the conveying medium on every plane for certain aspects of the energy of the Solar Logos.

Let the explorer in thought leap outwards from the clouds, high into the air, and he will instantly find himself surrounded by countless hosts of sylphs or spirits of air. Marvellously dynamic creatures these, charged to the full with the vitality of their elements. They may be seen flying, floating, shooting, diving, combining in large companies to perform the aerial gambols in which they engage as they swiftly sweep down "the long savannahs of the blue," as Francis Thompson so beautifully called the aerial fields of space.

These, too, are of many ranks, and if he descends once more to earth and enters some fair garden full of flowers, he will find that every plant has its fairy attendant -the fairy of the fairy tale- the winged maiden, the lovely fairy queen.

If he watches, he will see the fairy hover near her charge and ever and anon descend into the very heart of the plant or clump of flowers, lose her fairy shape and become spread out as it were, as an essence pervading every cell of stem, leaf, tendril and of flower. In this state she is pouring her own life forces into those of the flower, quickening its growth beautifying and, in some measure, guiding its form and giving an added thrill of conscious existence to the life force which is evolving within. As thus she labors, she herself evolves, and gradually is liberated from her joyful service to the flowers and shares the freedom of the upper air with her elder brethren, the sylphs.

 A curious phenomenon is presented here, in that her appearance is distinctly female, but when angelhood is entered, the masculine tends to predominate.

In the higher ranks of the spirits of the air we find the mighty aerial lords, the gods of power, the angels of sound, the gandharvase of the Hindu. These mighty ones are the external embodiment of the power of the word of God. In their world all life is expressed in terms of sound; every being, every form, has its appropriate sound; every idea, every thought, gives forth its song. This world may be thought of as the kingdom of music, a universe of harmony, the veritable apotheosis of the power of sound.

Vast throngs of these glorious beings inhabit that wondrous world, singing, playing and chanting throughout eternity. Vast oratories, glorious symphonies, ever praising, worshipping and adoring the Creator of Whose outflowing life and beauty They are the conscious embodiments. Echoes of the music of that world of sound find their way down to the dull ears of man, and at times favored human beings become the direct and inspired channels of the music of the Lords of Sound.

 By their music, the angels of sound manipulate, and direct and control the mighty forces of the creative Word, ever shaping the forms of the solar system nearer and nearer to the archetype in the Creator's mind; ever attuning His many worlds nearer and nearer to the perfect sound -the note which He sings eternally, and which eventually must be echoed from all the forms which He has made. He works by the law of resonance, governs by the rule of rhythm, creates and unfolds by the power of sound. The aerial lords, with their subordinates, are His intelligent lieutenants in this aspect of His vast activities.

From the aerial heights, let the explorer descend deep into the centre of the earth, where he will find raging a mighty fire, a portion of the primal flame which forms the planet's solar heart. Amid the flames, vast fire spirits work -for this is the laboratory of the planet, and here labors the chemist and the physicist aspect of God. Here dwells and works unceasingly the power of the Holy Ghost.

Every fire on earth is a reflection of the solar fire which burns within the centre of the planet, and is but a manifestation of the fire aspect of the solar system life.

Fire spirits exist in many grades, from the salamander of the fire on the hearth, through the larger fire spirits of the great conflagrations, the burning prairies and forest lands and up to the mighty fiery sun itself where dwell the solar fire lords. Between the lowest and the highest, countless millions of fire spirits stand, ever laboring in the service of fire. The function of their element is to regenerate, transform and renew, ever to produce change; to resist and destroy stagnation and to ensure a steady and continuous growth.

Such, briefly, are four of the great races of the denizens of fairyland whom the explorer will meet. Variations in type and appearance occur in different parts of the world. Each country and even departments in a country has its typical nature-spirit and angelic life.

Outside these four races, many other orders may be found. In the Bible we are taught of the nine orders of angels, and even these do not include them all -for they are as numerous as the sands of the seashore.

At various epochs in the history of human life, the veil which hides them from our sight grows thin and angels walk with men. There have been periods in each of the great civilizations of the past when communication and co-operation between angels and men have been employed for the fulfilment of the divine plan and for the perfecting of the civilization concerned.

Many seers and mystics believe that we are once more approaching such an epoch; that even now the angels are standing on the threshold of human life, waiting to enter in. Their beauty, their power, their splendor and their knowledge are at the disposal of those who will prepare themselves to work with them. There is no field of humanitarian endeavor in which their co-operation may not usefully be attained. The healers of men, the medical scientist, the priest, the physician and the nurse, may learn to invoke their fiery and vital energy for the healing of the sick; may call upon the great race of healing angels, under the Archangel Raphael, who is their head, to descend into the sickrooms, nursing homes, hospitals and asylums of men and to flood the sufferers with their vital energy and fill them with their healing power and love.

The horticulturist and agriculturist may gain the aid of the nature-spirit and angel builders of form upon our planet, and by conscious co-operation, evolve new examples of floral beauty, may develop cereals, vegetables and fruits more nutritious and life-giving, by the angels' aid.

The climate of the globe may be forecast and, in a measure, controlled by the aid of the elementals of air.

The angels of motherhood, childbirth and infancy already help in every chamber of birth. If human hearts were open to their gentle presence and human minds would learn to listen consciously to their guidance and advice, the pain with which mankind is born might be banished and motherhood become a time of joy undimmed by pain.