or mule. The mule is given to both, Virgo and Libra, because this animal embodies two principles, one the stubbornness, or will, which is Virgo, the other the faithful service, which is Libra. Virgo holds the power of Libra by its will, as expressed in the symbol of Astræa; and Libra upholds Virgo by its endurance.

Their evil Genius is the the dark side of the Scorpio-nature, which is symbolized by the serpent and scorpion; for they are more subject to the psychological influence of others than any other sign; thereby they are in constant danger of being misled, unless they are fully decided in their alliance to some well-defined body, or principle of service. Their Genius will in the ultimate re-collect all the experiences of the inhabitants of this planet, so that all that has been known will be again well known in the new age and order of life for which THE ESOTERIC is an organ.

H. E. B.

SWEDENBORG ON THE RESURRECTION OF MAN FROM THE DEAD, AND HIS ENTRANCE INTO ETERNAL

LIFE.

BEING permitted to describe in a series the mode in which man passes from the life of the body into the life of eternity, that I might understand the way in which he is resuscitated, I was, as has been stated, instructed not audibly, but by sensible experience.

I was reduced into a state of insensibility as to the bodily senses, thus almost into the state of dying persons, retaining, however, my interior life unimpaired, attended with the power of thinking, that I might perceive and remember what occurs to those who die and are resuscitated, with so much of respiration as was necessary for life, and afterwards with tacit respiration.

Celestial angels came and occupied the region of the heart, so that as to the heart I might seem united with them, and thus at length scarcely anything was left to me except thought, and thence perception; and this for some hours.

I was thus removed from communication with spirits in the world of spirits, who supposed that I had departed from the life of the body.

Besides the celestial angels, who occupied the region of the heart, there were also two angels sitting at my head, and it was given me to perceive that it is so with every one.

The angels who sat at my head were perfectly silent, only communicating their thoughts with the face, so that I could perceive that another face was, as it were, induced upon me; indeed two, because there were two angels. When the angels perceive that their faces are received, they know that the man is dead.

After recognizing their faces, they induced certain changes about the region of the mouth, and thus communicated their thoughts: for it is customary with the celestial angels to speak by the province of the mouth; and it was permitted me to perceive their cogitative speech.

An aromatic odor like that of an embalmed corpse was perceived; for when the celestial angels are present, then the cadaverous odor is perceived as if it were an aromotic, which when recognized by the evil spirits prevents their approach. In the mean time I perceived that the region of the heart was kept very closely united with the celestial angels, as was also evident from the pulse.

It was insinuated to me that man is kept engaged by the angels in the pious and holy thoughts which he entertained at the point of death; and it was also insinuated that those who die usually think about eternal life, and seldom of salvation and happiness, therefore the angels keep them in the thought of eternal life.

They are kept engaged in this thought, for a sufficient length of time, by the celestial angels, before their departure, and are then intrusted to the spiritual angels, with whom they are afterwards associated: in the mean time they have an obscure notion that they are living in the body.

When the internal parts of the body grow cold, the vital substances, wherever they may be, even if enclosed in the multiplied intricacies of the most elaborate tissue, are separated from the man; for such is the force of the Lord's mercy, which previously to this separation was perceived by me as a vivid and spiritual attraction, that nothing vital could remain behind.

The celestial angels, who sat at the head, remained with me for some time, after I was, as it were, resuscitated, but they conversed only tacitly; it was perceived from their cogitative speech, that they made light of all fallacies and falsities, not indee laughing at them as contemptible, but regarding them as mere nothings. Their speech is cogitative, not sonorous, and this is the language they employ when first conversing with souls.

Man, when thus resuscitated by the celestial angels, possesses only an obscure life; but, when the period arrives for him to be delivered to the spiritual angels, then, after a little delay, as the spiritual angels approach, the celestial recede; and it has been shown to me how these operate that he may receive the benefit of light, as described in the continuation of this subject.

As the celestial angels are with the resuscitated person, they do not leave him, for they love every one; but when the soul can no longer consociate with the celestial angels, it desires to depart from them; and when this takes place, the spiritual angels arrive, and communicate the use of light : for, previously, the spirit saw nothing, but thought only.

The mode in which the angels effect this was shown to me. They were seen to unroll, as it were, a membrane from the left eye towards the nose, so that the eye might be opened, and the advantages of light afforded; and a man has no idea but that this is really the case; it is, however, only an appearance.

After this delicate membrance has been thus in appearance stripped off, some light is visible, although only obscurely, as a man sees through his eyelids when he first awakes out of sleep the spirit remaining in a tranquil state, guarded by the celestial angels. At this time there appears a sort of cloud of a blue color, and a little star; but it was perceived that this was done with considerabl variety.

Afterwards it seems as if something was gently removed from the face, and perception is communicated to him; the angels being especially cautious, whilst effecting this, to prevent any idea gaining admission but such as is of a soft and tender nature, as of love; and it is now given him to know that he is a spirit.

He then enters upon a life which is at first happy and joyful, for he appears to himself to have been admitted into ever-lasting life, which is represented by a splendid white light beautifully merging into yellow, which signifies that this, his first life, is celestial-spiritual.

That he should afterwards be received into the society of good spirits, is represented by a youth sitting upon a horse which cannot, however, move a single step, and directing him towards hell: he is represented as a youth, because when he first enters upon eternal life he is in the society of angels, and therefore appears to himself to be in the flower of youth.

The subsequent life is represented by his dismounting from the horse and walking on foot, because he cannot make the horse move from his place; and it is insinuated to him that he must be instructed in the knowledges of the true and the good.

Afterwards there appear pathways leading gently upwards in an oblique direction, which signifiy, that by the knowledges of the true and the good, and by an acknowledgment of what he is of himself, he should be led by degrees towards heaven; for no one can be conducted thither without such self-acknowledgment, and the knowledges of the true and the good.

When the resuscitated being, or soul, enjoys the benefit of light, so as to be enabled to look around him, the spiritual angels, of whom we before spoke, show him every attention which he can desire in that state, and instruct him respecting the things of the other life, so far as he is in a capacity to bear it. Should he be principled in faith, and desire it, they also point out to him the wonderful and magnificent scenes of heaven.

If, however, the resuscitated person, or soul, is not of such a disposition as to desire instruction, he then wishes to separate himself from the society of angels. Of this the angels have an exquisite perception, since, in the other life, there is a communication of all the ideas of thought; and when he desires to separate from them, they do not even then leave him, but he disunites himself from them. The angels love every one, and desire nothing more than to do him services, to instruct him, and to convey him to heaven, for herein consists their chief delight.

When the soul thus separates himself, he is received by good spirits, who likewise do him all kind offices whilst he is in consort with them. If, however, his life in the world was such that he cannot remain associated with the good, he seeks to be disunited from them also, and this separation is repeated again and again, until he associates himself with those whose state entirely agrees with that of his former life in the world, among whom he finds, as it were, his own life. They then, wonderful to relate, live together a life of a similar quality to that which had constituted their ruling delight when in the body. On returning into this life, which appears to them as a new commencement of existence, some after a longer and others after a shorter space of time are carried thence towards hell; whilst such as have been principled in faith towards the Lord, are led by degrees from this new beginning of life to heaven.

Some are, however, conveyed more slowly, and others more speedily, to heaven; indeed I have seen those who were elevated to heaven immediately after death.

UNITY OF DESIRE (PRAYER).

It is clear to any reasonable mind that "The Lord's prayer" is an expression of a desire for an entire submission to the will of God, for God is Spirit and Light, in which are all the high and ennobling qualities that man can conceive of. Now if we can all unite in one soul-desire that the Will of God be done in us, that it possess us entirely and cause us to do whatever is wise and good in the wisdom of heaven, that will certainly bring us all into the ONENESS of the Spirit, for the Spirit is one. We need not try to unite with men, but with the one Spirit, and thus we become one body, each a member, and God the Soul, and none will lose any portion of their identity, but all will gain an identification with the Infinite One. If all are governed by the one Spirit there cannot exist in any of the members of such a body any cause of inharmony. In that wonderful prayer of Jesus, recorded John XVII, in the 11th verse, he prays that his disciples may all be one; and again in the 21st verse he says, "that they all may be one; as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one." This, the last prayer of the great Master before being crucified, expresses the one great central thought and desire of the sages and seers of all ages, that the body of humanity, to be in harmony with their own real self, must come into that oneness through an individual unity with the Spirit. Jesus said "I in them and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one;" thus he recognized that the conscious entity was in the thought

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and words, for he said in another place "Unless ye eat my flesh and drink my blood have no life in you," and the materialistic disciples you mured and said how can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Then Jesus answered and said: "The WORDS that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." By this you see the harmony between what we have been teaching and the teaching of Jesus, viz., the soul is made up of the thoughts and experiences of a life. The thought and experiences of Jesus were all of Divine law, and Divine law is the law of God's nature, thus all "who are Christ's at his coming" are so by virtue of the knowledge of the truth or methods of law; the individuality being made up of the knowledge gained, and all truth being one. Then, when each of you independently goes to the one source and obtains the truth, you will all be in unity and harmony one with another, and each soul will express its own particular branch of the soul-life, which soul is the Christ (anointed) of all ages and nationalities. So, well did he say "I in them and thou in me," for God dwells in the light, and the light reveals the truth, or makes it manifest; therefore to be illuminated by the Spirit is to have revelations of truth, and as we all came from the one source, we can all look to one Spirit and exclaim "Our Father!" To refuse in ourself perfect obedience to Divine will is to desire to sin against the laws of our own nature, and if so, we suffer diseases by that sin; but to be willingly under control of Divine will and to earnestly desire it, shows an earnest effort to come into harmony with God, and our own real nature. Therefore the feeling that arises in the interior, of fear least the spirit should require something that we would not want to do, is the adversary of our real and true self. Then, let us all continue in earnest soul-desire that the eternal Spirit take entire control of us and lead us in wisdom's ways; and also in the sittings try to illumine every part; and all who do so will find by frequently reading the Practical Instructions in this number; and neither accepting nor rejecting it, but with a desire to know the truth, and earnestly searching for evidences in nature for or against it, the orderly truth will take form in your mind so that if I, in after-time, should contradict it, you would nevertheless say: I know it is true. All individual members of this grand body now in formation, will thus be strong and independent actors, each serving in his own peculiar sphere of usefulness, under the one guiding mind and will; thus the body will be strong and healthy in every part. There is altogether too much inclination on the part of the majority of people to read books, or hear lectures or sermons, and accept all that is given as true. That will never do for those who would come into a knowledge of the truth. Words without the light of the Spirit are deceptive, and those who accept my words and believe them because they sound true, without criticising and examining them from the light within themselves are not my friends although they think they are; for all such if we should meet in the body and become acquainted each with the other's habit of life, would judge me by their own nature, and as my nature is not like theirs they would say, "Well, this or that is wrong for me and it must be for him, therefore I must have been deceived," and at once they would become my worst enemies. O how wise the words of Jesus "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant to his own master; it is God that judges, who art thou that condemnest?" "But," say they, "he said also 'Judge a tree by its fruits,' therefore if you do not do that which is right to me you must be wrong." Therein is an evidence of the weakness of accepting in a literal

sense the external meanings of words. Let us give an illustration of tee above quotation. We are hungry for fruit, some one brings us & fine large apple, we taste it, find it excellent and it satisfies our hunger and we are refreshed; then we say, "I want to see that beautiful tree whereon such perfect fruit finds birth." We go to it and, behold, it is crooked and unsightly. What shall we say of the tree? Is it good or not? Shall we condemn it now because it does not live in a beautiful place and because to our eyes it is not symmetrical in form? Or shall we say, The tree is good, for it serves a USE; I have received from it that which I needed, therefore no matter about the external habit. An object is good in the of him to whom it is necessary, eyes but to him who has no use for it the good becomes evil. Then let us continue our earnest desire, that the Spirit of God would possess us wholly and illuminate our inner consciousness that we may know the right and do it. Remember we have nothing to do with any one else, we can only hold up the light and allow all to act under its influence as their own will may direct. By this no one member of the body will condemn an other because he is not serving in the same sphere of use as themselves. Neither God nor the Divine masters ever seek to force the will of any. It is by Divine right that all act as they please, and it is also Divine law that each must reap the full harvest of his own acts. Therefore knowlege of the will and wisdom of the Supreme, is what we want that we may "take of the things of God" and show them unto man ; but if we desire to FORCE them to take and use the things of God, by any method whatever, we sin against God's law, and are guilty of "black magic." "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

Peace be unto you.

H. E. B.

THOSE of our friends who are uniting with us in the Wednesday evening exercises should bear in mind that the table given in the June number of THE ESOTERIC is based on Sun, or Local Time.

In most places a false or "Standard" time is in vogue as a convenience for rail roads and travellers. The true or Sun time can, however, be readily found at these places by ascertaining how many minutes (fast or slow) the Local time varies from Standard time. In no case will the variation be more than thirty minutes. Doubtless many have used Standard time in fixing the hour of their sitting which may account for unsatisfactory results, for it is highly important that all combine their thoughts at the same hour.

HOW TO STUDY SOLAR BIOLOGY.

(CONTINUED.)

WE would impress upon the mind of the student that the reading of individual character is not the first thing to be considered. In studying this science it is absolutely necessary to form an orderly conception of the laws and methods by which the Solar System is governed, before one is able to deal successfully with the more minute details of human existence, and to comprehend the fact that we are but forces in nature reflecting an intelligence according to our state of developement.

A clear mental conception of the Sun, as the parent of the planets (in its system), being the centre around which they revolve and are held in their course within the radius of its Zodiac by its electric power, will place the mind in order to study methodically the quality of each of the Sun's children, treating them as centers of specific creative forces and mental elements. These creative qualities should be carefully