and proportions of the colors in a state of relative rest provide information about the general inclinations and character of their owner. For the astral body the emotional vehicle of a human is the expression of everything that the human can express on the astral plane the world of emotions and desires, so that one can certainly infer what belongs to the higher planes from what is seen upon it.

In this assessment of character, our clairvoyant will be supported by those thoughts of the person in question which manifest on the astral plane and consequently also enter his field of vision. The true home of thought is on the mental plane the world of pure intellect, and every thought shows itself there as a vibration of the mental body. However, if the thought is in any way selfish, or somehow connected with a sensation or a desire, then it immediately descends to the astral plane and takes on a visible form of astral matter.

For the majority of people, almost all thoughts will fall under one or the other of these categories, so that in fact their whole personality will lie clearly before the astral sight of our friend, since their astral bodies and the thought-forms manifestations of mental energy in matter constantly radiating from them are like an open book to him, in which their character traits are written so clearly that he who can read them certainly does so. Anyone who wants information on how thought-forms appear to the clairvoyant may read about it in the valuable article on this subject by Mrs. Besant, which appeared in Lucifer the monthly magazine of the Theosophical Society in September 1896, and look at the accompanying illustrations.*)

We have now seen what change occurs in the appearance of both inanimate and animate objects when someone who has full astral sight observes them; it shall now be described what entirely new things can be seen. He will become aware of a far greater

*) original: "Gedankenformen" "Thought-Forms" by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, with a foreword to the German edition by Dr. Franz Hartmann. With 58 illustrations. Leipzig, Theosophical Publishing House.
**) original: "Die Astralebene" "The Astral Plane" by C. W. Leadbeater. Authorized translation by A. S. Pieter.

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abundance in nature in many directions, yet his attention will be mainly attracted by the living beings of this new world. Within this available space, it is hardly possible to give a detailed description of them; the reader is referred to Number V of the "Theosophical Manuals." Only a few classes of the manifold inhabitants of the astral world shall be listed here.

He will get an impression of the protean forms of the endless flood of elemental essence a semi-intelligent life-force that clothes thoughts, which surrounds him eternally swirling, often as if threatening, but always retreats before a decisive effort of will; he will be amazed at the large host of entities that are called into life for a time by the good or evil thoughts and desires of humans, as they step out of this ocean of astral matter and lead a separate existence. He will be able to observe the manifold types of nature spirits beings like fairies or gnomes at their work or their play; at times he will be able to study with ever greater delight the wonderful evolution of some of the lower species from the glorious kingdom of the Devas shining celestial beings, who in a certain respect correspond to the hosts of angels in Christian terminology.

But perhaps the human inhabitants of the astral world will interest him more than all these beings listed here, and he will find that they belong to two great classes: namely those whom we call the living, and those other, mostly much more vivid beings, who are so foolishly called "dead." Among the former, he will sometimes find someone who is completely awake and conscious, who was perhaps sent to bring him a message or who observes him closely to see what progress he is making; while most of his neighbors, when they have left their physical bodies in sleep, drift idly about and are so wrapped in their own thoughts that they are not at all aware of what is going on around them.

Among the large host of the recently deceased, he will find all degrees of consciousness and understanding, and