The Phoenix. An illustrated review of occultism and philosophy

Greek testimony to survival in the superphysical world
And to elemental entities

through the higher reaches of space. Aridæus then wanders through an Inferno not unlike that painted by the genius of Dante, an Inferno that exists only through the fear complexes in the minds of human beings. At last, having come to the end of his vision, he felt himself as though "sucked through a tube by a terribly strong and violent inbreath." He lit in his body, awakening just in time to prevent himself being buried alive.

Relying upon earlier sources for his evidence, Proclus supports the general Platonic viewpoint as to the power of the soul to depart from and enter into body either by will or by accident. He gives five examples of persons who, having apparently died, were called back from the shadow to bear witness to the superphysical mysteries of life.

The first was Cleonymus, of Athens, a man who was given to attending philosophic discourses. He was thrown into a despair through grieving over the death of a friend and seemingly died. After he was laid out and prepared for burial, a gentle breathing was perceived and his interment was halted. Cleonymus, after a short time, was restored to physical vigor and described in detail what he had seen and heard while his soul was absent from his body. He related how his soul, or rational part the higher, intellectual aspect of the human spirit, was as though liberated from bondage so that it soared up from body and, having ascended above the earth, came into places of "various figures and colors," with rivers unknown to man. Still ascending, he came to a region sacred to Vesta the Roman goddess of the hearth and sacred fire, representing the central force of the cosmos and was brought into the presence of gods of indescribable forms. His narrative reminds one of the world described by Socrates in his last discourse, an aerial sphere wherein beings dwelt along the shores of the atmosphere even as men dwell along the shores of the sea. The story of Cleonymus is vouched for by Clearchus, who was a disciple of Aristotle.

The second example Proclus draws from the historian, Naumachius, and is concerned with one, Polycritus, a prominent citizen among the Ætolians. Polycritus returned to life after being dead (or in a state of suspended animation) for nine months. Coming forth out of his tomb, he joined in a general assembly of the prominent citizens, consulting with them as to measures to be adopted for the improvement of the community. This circumstance was so extraordinary, Hiero, the Ephesian, and other historians testified as to the truth of it, sending a statement of the facts to the king, Antigonus. After returning from his wandering in fourth dimensional vistas, Polycritus seemed to have increased in wisdom to a marked degree, from which it was evident that he had found favor with the gods.

The third example is that of Eurynous, of Nicopolis, who was buried for fifteen days, after which he revived and described many wonderful things he had seen and heard while under the vault, the details of which, however, he was forbidden to relate. He had descended through a strange subterranean labyrinth and while his body lay peacefully in the vault, his rational energies had explored the mysteries of Tartarus the deep abyss in Greek mythology used as a place of judgment or suffering. It is recorded of this man also that his conduct was more just after his "initiation" than before.

The fourth example is that of the Thessalonian priest, Rufus, who rose from the couch of death after

three days and performed certain sacred ceremonials attendant upon his office. Having thus fulfilled a vow to perform these ceremonies, he laid down and died for the second time, and from this death there was no return. The philosophers declared that the soul of Rufus, being bound to the terrestrial sphere by the weight of an oath, could not depart but was held by the sense of an unmet obligation. The soul then returned to the body, reanimating it for a second time to perform the rites according to its vow, whereupon, released from further entanglement in matter, it retired into a spiritual state.

The last example given by Proclus is Philonæa, a lady who lived under the reign of Philip. She died and six months later came to life again, died a second time, and was reborn once more even to the third time. Her strange actions during the periods of her reanimation she declared to be according to the will of terrestrial dæmons spirits or divine beings that act as intermediaries between gods and men, or spirits. It seems that her body was occupied by elemental entities, which caused it to appear as though animated. Philonæa also described strange beings existing in the invisible worlds, who conversed rationally with her on profound and varied subjects. Like the others, she interpreted the substance of the transcendental spheres in terms of light and color, also glorious symphonies and harmonies which thrilled through the subtle essences like some vast orchestration.

American Indian mythology is embellished with numerous accounts of priests and heroes who have penetrated into the ghost-land, or spirit-world, and returned alive. Usually the ghost-land is subterranean and reached only after an arduous journey through dark passageways infested with monsters and filled with natural dangers. Returning from the spirit-world, the courageous warriors described the adventures which befell them. This intercourse between the worlds and this power to pass from one to the other was cultivated by nearly all ancient or primitive peoples. In The Myths of the North American Indians, Lewis Spence writes: "In many Indian myths we read how the shamans spiritual practitioners or medicine men who act as intermediaries with the spirit world, singly or in companies, seek the spirit-land, either to search for the souls of those who are ill, but not yet dead, or to seek advice from supernatural beings. These thaumaturgical miracle-working or magical practices were usually undertaken by three medicine-men acting in concert. Falling into a trance, in which their souls were supposed to become temporarily disunited from their bodies, they would follow the track of the sick man's spirit into the spirit-world. The order in which they travelled was determined by the relative strength of their guardian spirits, those with the strongest being first and last, and he who had the weakest being placed in the middle. If the sick man's track turned to the left they said he would die, but if to the right, he would recover. From the trail they could also divine whether any supernatural danger was near, and the foremost priest would utter a magic chant to avert such evils if they came from the front, while if the danger came from the rear the incantation was sung by the priest who came last. Generally their sojourn occupied one or two nights, and, having rescued the soul of the patient, they returned to place it in his body.

"Not only was the shaman endowed with the power of projecting his own 'astral body' into the Land

of Spirits. By placing cedar-wood charms in the hands of persons who had not yet received a guardian spirit he could impart to them his clairvoyant gifts, enabling them to visit the spirit-land and make any observations required by him. The souls of chiefs, instead of following the usual route, went directly to the seashore, where only the most gifted shamans could follow their trail. The sea was regarded as the highway to the supernatural regions. A sick man was in the greatest peril at high water, but when the tide was low the danger was less. The means adopted by the medicine-men to lure ghosts away from their pursuit of a soul was to create an 'astral' deer A spiritual decoy intended to distract lingering spirits.. The ghosts would turn from hunting the man's soul to follow that of the beast."

Among some of the Southwestern tribes, we find the magic carpet ceremony. The body of the deceased is placed upon a small black and white blanket. This blanket carries the soul of the dead through all the mysteries of the underworld. The Indians believed that man originally issued out of the earth and that he would return to his original home after finishing his wanderings in the mortal sphere. The Red Men expect to go back again under the earth when they die. This is a significant link with the initiation ceremonies of the Egyptians and Greeks, for the Lesser Mysteries were invariably conducted in subterranean crypts to signify, as the classical writers have testified, the relapsed state of the human soul. The Indians recognized not only the underworld wherein exists the ghost-land but also the superior world far above the clouds, where dwelt the manidos supernatural spirits or divine powers, or gods. In American Indian mysticism are found many parallelisms with the old Chaldean metaphysics. Thus, life and death become merely the objective and subjective expressions of one state. Departing from the outer body of the world, men retire into the "inner" body of the world; but in life and death are bound to the terrestrial sphere. Hence, birth and death have no significance except when accompanied by a release of spiritual consciousness. Perfected souls do not wander in the ghost-land.

In the Egyptian system, Amenti the underworld or dwelling place of the dead was the nocturnal sphere of the dead, while the true heaven was far above the North Pole. The ghost-land is really nothing but the invisible body of the earth, wherein the souls of men, vested only in the more subtle garments of ethereal and astral substance, continue their existence after original: "shuffling off their mortal coil" dying or leaving the physical body. From the ghost-land they are reborn again to live and die repeatedly until the soul, energized by the reason, dedicates itself to the escape from matter and, through high purpose and great accomplishment, soars upward into the world of the gods to return no more to the illusions of matter.

As the initiation ceremonies of the Mysteries constituted what was called the "philosophic death" and the "philosophic birth," the rites contained numerous allusions to death and in the higher degrees the more advanced pupils actually passed through the experience of death, an experience created for them by the wisdom and ingenuity of the priestcraft. Many of the initiated hierophants chief priests who interpret sacred mysteries and adepts were profoundly versed in mesmerism and hypnotism. They could cause artificial catalepsy and by their own knowledge of natural law temporarily force the soul out of the body that it might gain the actual experience of passing into the invisible world. Narcotic drugs were used to produce temporary clairvoyance and were noted by Salverte, who adds that the Christians drugged the communion cups to create visions and ecstasy. Charms, talismans, and fetishes were employed, spells and mantras sacred chants or formulas recited and elemental forces invoked; and in the lonely passageways of the ancient temples all these agencies conspired together to acquaint the neophyte with all the profundities of mortal and immortal existence. Hence it was well said that a man was born again when he had passed through the initiations. He was held as one who had returned from the dead, who had approached the threshold of Proserpine Persephone, queen of the underworld in Greek myth and had seen the gates of hell swing open to receive him.

Does this mean the soul leaves the body consciously?

Every initiate of the ancient world had been out of his body at least once, usually aided by the priests. This experience entirely changed the perspective towards life, for it enlarged the horizon and established a new concept of values. Today we firmly believe that when we are dead, we are very very dead, indeed; but, in reality, when we are dead, we are very much alive. Terms are often given undue emphasis; we take words too seriously. Death seems a dismal and ultimate expression, when it actually signifies simple transition and is in no way concerned with a belief in a beginning or a fear of end. If the ancient Mysteries could be re-established upon the earth and every man could die at least once during this life and come back again, he would, like the classical personages described by Proclus, return to a better ordered and more justly enacted life. Having passed through such an experience, we could not again be the same as we were before. This single circumstance is largely responsible for that indescribable interval which separated the philosophers of antiquity from mankind in general. The philosophers were of a race apart. A strange dignity, a commanding simplicity had been conferred upon them by the Mysteries. As the oracle of Amphilochus said to Aridæus, we, in turn, might say of every man that they would do better after they had died at least once.