An essay on the fundamental principles of operative occultism prepared by Manly P. Hall to accompany three oil paintings by Mihran K. Serailian

A full-page color illustration titled "THE SEVEN SPINAL CHAKRAS". It depicts a stylized human figure in a meditative seated posture (lotus position) against a background of concentric circular ripples in shades of blue and purple. Along the spine of the figure are seven colorful symbols representing the chakras: a red four-petaled square at the base, an orange six-petaled flower, a yellow ten-petaled flower, a green twelve-petaled flower containing two interlaced triangles (Star of David), a blue sixteen-petaled flower, a purple two-petaled circle at the brow, and a golden thousand-petaled lotus at the crown. A beam of golden light rises from the crown of the head. The figure is translucent, showing a central channel (Sushumna) and two side channels (Ida and Pingala) crossing at the chakras. The artist's signature "M. K. Serailian" is visible in the lower right of the image.

This painting of the CHAKRAS is based upon a number of native drawings brought from India by Mr. Hall in 1924. In the Orient, diagrams of the Chakras are comparatively common, but several symbols not generally included have been added, which make the painting more complete. The most important additions consist (1) of the interlaced triangles behind the figure, the body of the Yogi himself forming the upright triangle; (2) the beam of golden light rising from the BRAHMANANDRA, or GATE OF BRAHMA, in the crown of the head, and (3) the SAHASRARA, or THOUSAND-PETALLED LOTUS, in the upper part of the brain, which is generally pictured as an inverted lotus-like cap but is here shown as a great flower-like sunburst, with a white center and concentric rings of petals.