THE BOOKMAN

New York, New York, U.S.A.

August 1919

(pages 686-689)

WHAT IS THE BEST

“PSYCHICAL” LITERATURE.

By Hereward Carrington.

In the British Museum, there is an Egyptian papyrus which contains an account of a psychical séance given by a certain Tchatcha-em-ankh before King Khufu, and said to bear the date circa 3766 B.C. Here we read:

He knoweth how to bind on a head which hath been cut off; he knoweth how to make a lion follow him, as if led by a rope; and he knoweth the number of stars (constellations) of the house of Thoth.

The literature of the occult is thus of considerable antiquity! Egypt was, par excellence, the home of ancient magic—though Chaldea, Assyria, Persia, China, Rome, Greece, India—all contributed in their own special directions. Throughout the middle ages, alchemy, astrology, and natural magic held the stage, until we come to the time of witchcraft, when a prefect deluge of books upon that subject was issued. Then, mesmerism came to the fore, and during the early half of the last century, a flood of works upon this subject appeared. In 1847, however, modern spiritualism appeared upon the scene; and from that date, the aspect of the “supernatural” changed: its literature now dealt almost entirely with revelations concerning, and communications from, the spiritual world. When, however, in 1882, the Society for Physical Research was founded, a new and scientific aspect of these various problems appeared; and now the majority of books deal with the scientific side of the subject, more or less directly. Since the inauguration of modern spiritualism, thousands upon thousands of books have appeared—good, bad, and indifferent. Unless one has endless time to devote to this question, it is almost a holes task to sift the wheat from the chaff; . . .

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Theosophy now has an extensive literature of its own. Madam Blavatsky’s [Helena Petrovna Blavatsky] “Isis Unveiled” and “The Secret Doctrine” are standard. The writings of Annie Besant, Leadbeater, and Rudolph Steiner should be consulted. Occultism and magic likewise have several authoritative representatives. Eliphas Levi's “Transcendental Magic” is a standard work. A. E. Waite [Arthur Edward Waite] has published “The Mysteries of Magic”, “The Occult Sciences”, “The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts”, etc., which contain some very curious matter. Hartmann’s “Black and White Magic” and Papus’s “What is Occultism?” might be consulted by the student. The ten volumes of “The Equinox”, edited by Aleister Crowley, contain a veritable mine of occult lore, and real knowledge. These books are about to be reissued in this country. Those who may be interested in Rosicrucianism might consult Waite’s “Real History of the Rosicrucians”; Max Hendel, “The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception”; Jennings, “The Rosicrucians, their Rites and Mysteries”. Etc.

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