COLLATION OF THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARIES

Ak - Al


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List of Title Abbreviations (in alphabetical order)


SD INDEX Ak, Ak-ad (Assyr), father-creator II 42 &n, 43


SD INDEX Akad. Vorles (Hist of Indian Lit). See Weber


TG Akar (Eg.). The proper name of that division of the Ker-neter infernal regions, which may be called Hell. [W. W. W].


SD INDEX Akarot (Skt) created II 253


TG Akasa (Sk.). The subtle, supersensuous spiritual essence which pervades all space; the primordial substance erroneously identified with Ether. But it is to Ether what Spirit is to Matter, or Atma to Kama-rupa. It is, in fact, the Universal Space in which lies inherent the eternal Ideation of the Universe in its ever-changing aspects on the planes of matter and objectivity, and from which radiates the First Logos, or expressed thought. This is why it is stated in the Puranas that Akasa has but one attribute, namely sound, for sound is but the translated symbol of Logos -- "Speech" in its mystic sense. In the same sacrifice (the Jyotishtoma Agnishtoma) it is called the "God Akasa". In these sacrificial mysteries Akasa is the all-directing and omnipotent Deva who plays the part of Sadasya, the superintendent over the magical effects of the religious performance, and it had its own appointed Hotri (priest) in days of old, who took its name. The Akasa is the indispensable agent of every Kritya (magical performance) religious or profane. The expression "to stir up the Brahma", means to stir up the power which lies latent at the bottom of every magical operation, Vedic sacrifices being in fact nothing if not ceremonial magic. This power is the Akasa -- in another aspect, Kundalini -- occult electricity, the alkahest of the alchemists in one sense, or the universal solvent, the same anima mundi on the higher plane as the astral light is on the lower. "At the moment of the sacrifice the priest becomes imbued with the spirit of Brahma, is, for the time being, Brahman himself". (Isis Unveiled).

IU Akasa. -- Literally the word means in Sanscrit sky, but in its mystic sense it signifies the invisible sky; or, as the Brahmans term it in the Soma-sacrifice (the Gyotishtoma, Agnishtoma), the god Akasa, or god Sky. The language of the Vedas shows that the Hindus of fifty centuries ago ascribed to it the same properties as do the Thibetan lamas of the present day; that they regarded it as the source of life, the reservoir of all energy, and the propeller of every change of matter. In its latent state it tallies exactly with our idea of the universal ether; in its active state it became the Akasa, the all-directing and omnipotent god. In the Brahmanical sacrificial mysteries it plays the part of Sadasya, or superintendent over the magical effects of the religious performance, and it had its own appointed Hotar (or priest), who took its name. In India, as in other countries in ancient times, the priests are the representatives on earth of different gods; each taking the name of the deity in whose name he acts.
The Akasa is the indispensable agent of every Kritya (magical performance) either religious or profane. The Brahmanical expression "to stir up the Brahma" -- Brahma jinvati -- means to stir up the power which lies latent at the bottom of every such magical operation, for the Vedic sacrifices are but ceremonial magic. This power is the Akasa or the occult electricity; the alkahest of the alchemists in one sense, or the universal solvent, the same anima mundi as the astral light. At the moment of the sacrifice, the latter becomes imbued with the spirit of Brahma, and so for the time being is Brahma himself. This is the evident origin of the Christian dogma of transubstantiation. As to the most general effects of the Akasa, the author of one of the most modern works on the occult philosophy, Art-Magic, gives for the first time to the world a most intelligible and interesting explanation of the Akasa in connection with the phenomena attributed to its influence by the fakirs and lamas.

FY Akasa, the subtle supersensuous matter which pervades all space.

WG Akasa, the subtle fluid that pervades all space, and exists everywhere and in everything, as the vehicle of life and sound; "out-look," open space, sky, aether. It is said that by a knowledge and use of the akasa all magical feats can be performed.

OG Akasa -- (Sanskrit) The word means "brilliant," "shining," "luminous." The fifth kosmic element, the fifth essence or "quintessence," called Aether by the ancient Stoics; but it is not the ether of science. The ether of science is merely one of its lower elements. In the Brahmanical scriptures akasa is used for what the northern Buddhists call svabhavat, more mystically Adi-buddhi -- "primeval buddhi"; it is also mulaprakriti, the kosmical spirit-substance, the reservoir of Being and of beings. The Hebrew Old Testament refers to it as the kosmic "waters." It is universal substantial space; also mystically Alaya. (See also Mulaprakriti, Alaya)

GH Akasa The Fifth Kosmic Element: the spiritual Essence which pervades all space; in fact it may be called imbodied universal Space -- in this aspect known as Aditi. It is the substratum for the seven Prakritis (roots) of all in the universe; thus in one sense is Mulaprakriti (the Kosmical Root-Substance). The word itself, without its philosophical meaning, signifies the sky, the open space, hence it is often rendered 'ether' in translations from the Sanskrit works, but as H. P. Blavatsky pointed out, Akasa "is not that Ether of Science, not even the Ether of the Occultist, who defines the latter as one of the principles of Akasa only" (Secret Doctrine, I, p. 296). In the Brahmanical scriptures the term is used in the same manner that Northern Buddhists employ Svabhavat -- more mystically Adi-Buddhi. Some have associated the Astral Light with Akasa, but the former is but a reflection of the latter: "To put it plainly, ETHER is the Astral Light, and the Primordial Substance is AKASA, the Upadhi of DIVINE THOUGHT." (Secret Doctrine, I, p. 326) ((The following word is derived from the verbal root:) kas, to shine, to appear. Bhagavad-Gita, W. Q. Judge, p. 53)

SKo Akasa, Akasic Akasa is the fifth Kosmic Element; the Element above or rather within the other elements of earth, water, air, and fire; derived from the verb-root kas -- to shine; hence 'the shining substance.' Akasa is primordial spacial substance of a subtil supersensuous and spiritual nature and it pervades all things. It is the vehicle of Divine Thought and hence it is said to have but one attribute, that of sound. The Akasa is the medium of the higher thoughts of men, the medium by which they can communicate with the Gods. Akasa, sometimes called 'occult electricity,' is used in the carrying out of any magical or spiritual performance. Akasa has been called by the Mahatmans the 'tablet of memory' of the Hierarchy of Dhyan-Chohans as well as of every spiritual Ego, while the Astral Light is the 'tablet of memory' of the earth and of animal man. When a man loves all things, as did the Buddha, he surrounds himself with Akasic substance which becomes a protective shield which no malevolent influences can penetrate.

IN Akasha, Akasa (Skt, fr kas, "to shine") "space, vacuity," aether, the fifth cosmic element; subtle spiritual essence or substance which pervades all space.

SP Akasa -- the fifth cosmic element, aether; also space.

SD INDEX Akasa (Skt) I 13 &n, 535-7; II 511-13. See also Aether, Astral Light

Aditi or I 527n; II 42n, 613
aether, astral light I 197n, 256, 331; II 511
anima mundi I 197n
aspect of Archaeus I 338n
celestial virgin & mother I 332
chaos or vacuity I 452
cosmic ideation I 326
differentiation of elements in I 452
Diti buddhi of II 613-14
dual aeons & II 569n
ether lower form of I 13n, 61, 76n, 97, 296-7n, 326
ether of the occultist I 515n
ether principle of I 526n
Father-Mother I 18
fifth universal principle I 13n
first matter may have been I 253
first to wake fr pralaya I 18 &n
Fohat & seven principles of I 110
Holy Ghost, Sophia or I 197
Kant's primeval matter I 601-2
Keely & fifth & sixth principles of I 561
knowledge of, essential I 587
maruts & lower principles of II 615
matter on another plane I 487
Mother-Father of Logos II 400n
names for I 140
Narayana concealed in I 231
nirvana &, (objectively) eternal I 635
not ether of science I 296n; II 511n
noumenon of ether I 137, 254-5, 534, 536
One Element, the I 140
pradhana in another form I 256
primordial substance I 326
proceeds fr chaos I 536
Ptah is I 353
radiation of mulaprakriti I 10, 35
septenary I 527n
sound & I 205, 255-6, 296n
Sound, Word, & I 256, 372
Space as I 534, 537; II 511-12
suns are kama-rupa of I 527n
supra-solar upadhi I 515n
waters of space I 457-8n
wrongly translated as aether I 332, 343, 485

SEE ALSO; ASTRAL LIGHT, AURA


SD INDEX Akasic

nature of first dhyan-chohans I 82
pralaya &, "photographs" I 18n


TG Akbar. The great Mogul Emperor of India, the famous patron of religions, arts, and sciences, the most liberal of all the Mussulman sovereigns. There has never been a more tolerant or enlightened ruler than the Emperor Akbar, either in India or in any other Mahometan country.

SD INDEX Akbar, Emperor

A'in-i-Akbari
& I xxiv &n
sacred manuscripts hidden in reign of I xxiii &n, xxxiv


SD INDEX Aker (Egy), slays Apap II 213, 588n


SD INDEX Akhu (Egy) II 632 &n


WG Akhyayikas, short tales or anecdotes.


TG Akiba (Heb.). The only one of the four Tanaim (initiated prophets) who entering the Garden of Delight (of the occult sciences) succeeded in getting himself initiated while all the others failed. (See the Kabbalistic Rabbis).


SD INDEX Akibeel, taught portents II 376


SD INDEX Akkad, capital of Nimrod & Sargon I 319n; II 691


SD INDEX Akkadia(ns), Akkads

fr Ak-ad (Assyr) II 42n
Aryan instructors of Chaldeans II 202
calendar of II 693
creation story of II 53
creative gods of II 54, 365
earlier than Chaldeans I 650
emigrants fr India I 392; II 202-3
Genesis of I 357
Great Deep of II 53, 477
months derived fr zodiac I 649-50
Moon called "Lord of Ghosts" II 139n
Sargon of II 691
seven-headed serpent of I 407
taught emanation not creation II 54


SD INDEX Akki (Assyr), reared Sargon I 319-20n


WG Aksha, eye; any round thing.

SD INDEX Aksha (Skt), latitude II 402n


TG Akshara (Sk.). Supreme Deity; lit., "indestructible", ever perfect.

VS Akshara, the indestructible Fount of Omniscience (I 19) [[p. 6]] The region of the full Spiritual Consciousness beyond which there is no longer danger for him who has reached it.

WG Akshara, unbroken, imperishable; Brahma, Vishnu, or Siva: the syllable Om; the soul. (aksha, a round thing, a circle, unbroken [like a circle].)

SKv Akshara The 'Imperishable'; a compound of a -- not, and kshara, derived from the verbal root kshar -- to flow, to perish. Akshara is another descriptive name given to Brahman, the Universal Self. It is sometimes also applied to other high gods of the Hindu pantheon in order to suggest their enduring nature for long cycles of time.


SD INDEX Akshonnati (Skt) elevation of pole II 401-2n


TG Akta (Sk.). Anointed: a title of Twashtri or Visvakarman, the highest "Creator" and Logos in the Rig-Veda. He is called the "Father of the Gods" and "Father of the sacred Fire" (See note page 101, Vol. II., Sec. Doct.).

WG Akta, anointed, initiated.

SD INDEX Akta (Skt), Agni as, suggests Christ II 101n


TG Akupara (Sk.). The Tortoise, the symbolical turtle on which the earth is said to rest.


SD INDEX Alahim II 488. See also Alhim, Elohim


SD INDEX Alais (France), meteorite w carbon at II 706


TG Al-ait (Phoen.). The God of fire, an ancient and very mystic name in Koptic Occultism.

SD INDEX Al-ait, god of fire II 142n


TG Alaparus (Chald.). The second divine king of Babylonia who reigned "three Sari". The first king of the divine Dynasty was Alorus according to Berosus. He was "the appointed Shepherd of the people" and reigned ten Sari (or 36,000 years, a Saros being 3,600 years).


SD INDEX Alaskan Peninsula II 327


TG Alaya (Sk.). The Universal Soul (See Secret Doctrine Vol. I. pp. 47 et seq.). The name belongs to the Tibetan system of the contemplative Mahayana School. Identical with Akasa in its mystic sense, and with Mulaprakriti, in its essence, as it is the basis or root of all things.

WG Alaya, the over-soul. (a, not; laya, dissolution: non-dissolution, permanence.)

WGa Alaya, in addition to meaning already given it, may be rendered Universal Soul.

OG Alaya -- (Sanskrit) A compound word: a, "not"; laya, from the verb-root li, "to dissolve"; hence "the indissoluble." The universal soul; the basis or root or fountain of all beings and things -- the universe, gods, monads, atoms, etc. Mystically identical with akasa in the latter's highest elements, and with mulaprakriti in the latter's essence as "root-producer" or "root-nature." (See also Akasa, Buddhi, Mulaprakriti)

[NOTE: The Secret Doctrine (1:49) mentions Alaya in the Yogachara system, most probably referring to alaya-vijnana, but adds that with the "Esoteric 'Buddhists' . . . 'Alaya' has a double and even a triple meaning." -- PUBLISHER]

SKv Alaya The 'Indissoluble' or the 'Everlasting'; a compound of a -- not, and laya derived from the verb-root li -- to dissolve. According to the Buddhists, Alaya is the fountain of all beings and things, hence corresponds to the higher forms of Akasa, the fifth Cosmic Element, and with Mulaprakriti, or substantial Space, when it is considered as the Originator of manifested things. Alaya is also used to describe the Spiritual Self in man, which endures throughout the great period of the Planet's Life.

IN Alaya (Skt) The "indissoluble"; in Buddhism the universal soul or mahabuddhi.

SD INDEX Alaya (Skt). See also Anima Mundi

alters during life period I 48
Logos male aspect of I 58
Universal Soul I 49

SEE ALSO; LAYA


TG Alba Petra (Lat.). The white stone of Initiation. The "white cornelian" mentioned in St. John's Revelation.


SD INDEX Albatross, magical properties I 362


SD INDEX Albertus Magnus I 581-2n

SEE ALSO; SCHOLASTICS


SD INDEX Alcamenes, three-headed statue by I 387 &n


TG Al-Chazari (Arab.). A Prince-Philosopher and Occultist. (See Book Al-Chazari.)


SD INDEX Al-Chazari,Book of.See Ha-Levi


TG Alchemists. From Al and Chemi, fire, or the god and patriarch, Kham, also, the name of Egypt. The Rosicrucians of the middle ages, such as Robertus de Fluctibus (Robert Fludd), Paracelsus, Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), Van Helmont, and others, were all alchemists, who sought for the hidden spirit in every inorganic matter. Some people -- nay, the great majority -- have accused alchemists of charlatanry and false pretending. Surely such men as Roger Bacon, Agrippa, Henry Khunrath, and the Arabian Geber (the first to introduce into Europe some of the secrets of chemistry), can hardly he treated as impostors -- least of all as fools. Scientists who are reforming the science of physics upon the basis of the atomic theory of Democritus, as restated by John Dalton, conveniently forget that Democritus, of Abdera, was an alchemist, and that the mind that was capable of penetrating so far into the secret operations of nature in one direction must have had good reasons to study and become a Hermetic philosopher. Olaus Borrichius says that the cradle of alchemy is to be sought in the most distant times. (Isis Unveiled).

IU Alchemists. -- From Al and Chemi, fire, or the god and patriarch, Kham, also, the name of Egypt. The Rosicrucians of the middle ages, such as Robertus de Fluctibus (Robert Fludd), Paracelsus, Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), Van Helmont, and others, were all alchemists, who sought for the hidden spirit in every inorganic matter. Some people -- nay, the great majority -- have accused alchemists of charlatanry and false pretending. Surely such men as Roger Bacon, Agrippa, Henry Kunrath, and the Arabian Geber (the first to introduce into Europe some of the secrets of chemistry), can hardly be treated as impostors -- least of all as fools. Scientists who are reforming the science of physics upon the basis of the atomic theory of Demokritus, as restated by John Dalton, conveniently forget that Demokritus of Abdera, was an alchemist, and that the mind that was capable of penetrating so far into the secret operations of nature in one direction must have had good reasons to study and become a Hermetic philosopher. Olaus Borrichius says, that the cradle of alchemy is to be sought in the most distant times."


TG Alchemy, in Arabic Ul-Khemi, is, as the name suggests, the chemistry of nature. Ul-Khemi or Al-Kimia, however, is only an Arabianized word, taken from the Greek chemeia from chumos -- "juice", sap extracted from a plant. Says Dr. Wynn Westcott: "The earliest use of the actual term 'alchemy' is found in the works of Julius Firmicus Maternus, who lived in the days of Constantine the Great. The Imperial Library in Paris contains the oldest extant alchemic treatise known in Europe; it was written by Zosimus the Panopolite about 400 A.D. in the Greek language, the next oldest is by Aeneas Gazeus, 480 A.D." It deals with the finer forces of nature and the various conditions in which they are found to operate. Seeking under the veil of language, more or less artificial, to convey to the uninitiated so much of the mysterium magnum as is safe in the hands of a selfish world, the alchemist postulates as his first principle the existence of a certain Universal Solvent by which all composite bodies are resolved into the homogeneous substance from which they are evolved, which substance he calls pure gold, or summa materia. This solvent, also called menstrum universale, possesses the power of removing all the seeds of disease from the human body, of renewing youth and prolonging life. Such is the lapis philosophorum (philosopher's stone). Alchemy first penetrated into Europe through Geber, the great Arabian sage and philosopher, in the eighth century of our era; but it was known and practised long ages ago in China and in Egypt, numerous papyri on alchemy and other proofs of its being the favourite study of kings and priests having been exhumed and preserved under the generic name of Hermetic treatises. (See "Tabula Smaragdina"). Alchemy is studied under three distinct aspects, which admit of many different interpretations, viz.: the Cosmic, Human, and Terrestrial. These three methods were typified under the three alchemical properties -- sulphur, mercury, and salt. Different writers have stated that there are three, seven, ten, and twelve processes respectively; but they are all agreed that there is but one object in alchemy, which is to transmute gross metals into pure gold. What that gold, however, really is, very few people understand correctly. No doubt that there is such a thing in nature as transmutation of the baser metals into the nobler, or gold. But this is only one aspect of alchemy, the terrestrial or purely material, for we sense logically the same process taking place in the bowels of the earth. Yet, besides and beyond this interpretation, there is in alchemy a symbolical meaning, purely psychic and spiritual. While the Kabbalist-Alchemist seeks for the realization of the former, the Occultist-Alchemist, spurning the gold of the mines, gives all his attention and directs his efforts only towards the transmutation of the baser quaternary into the divine upper trinity of man, which when finally blended are one. The spiritual, mental, psychic, and physical planes of human existence are in alchemy compared to the four elements, fire, air, water and earth, and are each capable of a threefold constitution, i.e., fixed, mutable and volatile. Little or nothing is known by the word concerning the origin of this archaic branch of philosophy; but it is certain that it antedates the construction of any known Zodiac, and, as dealing with the personified forces of nature, probably also any of the mythologies of the world; nor is there any doubt that the true secret of transmutation (on the physical plane) was known in days of old, and lost before the dawn of the so-called historical period. Modern chemistry owes its best fundamental discoveries to alchemy, but regardless of the undeniable truism of the latter that there is but one element in the universe, chemistry has placed metals in the class of elements and is only now beginning to find out its gross mistake. Even some Encyclopaedists are now forced to confess that if most of the accounts of transmutations are fraud or delusion, "yet some of them are accompanied by testimony which renders them probable . . . By means of the galvanic battery even the alkalis have been discovered to have a metallic base. The possibility of obtaining metal from other substances which contain the ingredients composing it, and of changing one metal into another . . . must therefore be left undecided. Nor are all alchemists to be considered impostors. Many have laboured under the conviction of obtaining their object, with indefatigable patience and purity of heart, which is earnestly recommended by sound alchemists as the principal requisite for the success of their labours." (Pop. Encyclop.)

KT Alchemy, in Arabic Ul-Khemi, is as the name suggests, the chemistry of nature. Ul-Khemi or Al-Kimia, however, is really an Arabianized word, taken from the Greek chemeia from chumos "juice," extracted from a plant. Alchemy deals with the finer forces of nature and the various conditions of matter in which they are found to operate. Seeking under the veil of language, more or less artificial, to convey to the uninitiated so much of the Mysterium Magnum as is safe in the hands of a selfish world, the Alchemist postulates as his first principle, the existence of a certain Universal Solvent in the homogeneous substance from which the elements were evolved; which substance he calls pure gold, or summum materiae. This solvent, also called menstruum universale, possesses the power of removing all the seeds of disease out of the human body, of renewing youth, and prolonging life. Such is the lapis philosophorum (philosopher's stone). Alchemy first penetrated into Europe through Geber, the great Arabian sage and philosopher, in the eighth century of our era; but it was known and practised long ages ago in China and Egypt. Numerous papyri on Alchemy, and other proofs that it was the favourite study of Kings and Priests, have been exhumed and preserved under the generic name of Hermetic treatises (see Tabula Smaragdina). Alchemy is studied under three distinct aspects, which admit of many different interpretations, viz.: the Cosmic, the Human, and the Terrestrial.
These three methods were typified under the three alchemical properties -- sulphur, mercury, and salt. Different writers have stated that these are three, seven, ten and twelve processes respectively; but they are all agreed there is but one object in Alchemy, which is to transmute gross metals into pure gold. But what that gold really is, very few people understand correctly. No doubt there is such a thing in Nature as transmutation of the baser metal into the nobler; but this is only one aspect of Alchemy, the terrestrial, or purely material, for we see logically the same process taking place in the bowels of the earth. Yet, besides and beyond this interpretation, there is in Alchemy a symbolical meaning, purely psychic and spiritual. While the Kabalist-Alchemist seeks for the realization of the former, the Occultist-Alchemist, spurning the gold of the earth, gives all his attention to and directs his efforts only towards the transmutation of the baser quaternary into the divine upper trinity of man, which when finally blended, is one. The spiritual, mental, psychic, and physical planes of human existence are in Alchemy compared to the four elements -- fire, air, water, and earth, and are each capable of a three-fold constitution, i. e., fixed, unstable, and volatile. Little or nothing is known by the world concerning the origin of this archaic branch of philosophy; but it is certain that it antedates the construction of any known Zodiac, and as dealing with the personified forces of nature, probably also any of the mythologies of the world. Nor is there any doubt that the true secrets of transmutation (on the physical plane) were known in the days of old, and lost before the dawn of the so-called historical period. Modern chemistry owes its best fundamental discoveries to Alchemy, but regardless of the undeniable truism of the latter, that there is but one element in the universe, chemistry placed metals in the class of elements, and is only now beginning to find out its gross mistake. Even some encyclopedists are forced to confess that if most of the accounts of transmutation are fraud or delusion, "yet some of them are accompanied by testimony which renders them probable. By means of the galvanic battery even the alkalis have been discovered to have a metallic basis. The possibility of obtaining metal from other substances which contain the ingredients composing it, of changing one metal into another . . . must therefore be left undecided. Nor are all Alchemists to be considered impostors. Many have laboured under the conviction of obtaining their object, with indefatigable patience and purity of heart, which is soundly recommended by Alchemists as the principal requisite for the success of their labours." (Pop. Encyclop.)

SD INDEX Alchemy (ists, ical) I 82n, 438

alkahest of, & making man I 345
angelic "Watchers" & numbers I 119
artificial evolution by II 349
Aryans learned, fr Atlanteans II 426, 763n
athanor of I 81
atoms were souls to I 567
Bacon, Roger, protyle & I 581-2 &n
celestial virgin of I 458n
correlate sound & color I 514n
creates ozone by sound I 144n, 555
cube unfolded II 592-3
Diocletian burned, books II 763n
elements of I 141, 520; II 113-14, 592
fire of I 81n; II 105-7, 113-15
Frankenstein monster & II 349
Inquisition & II 238
"Mercury" radical moyst of II 542
metaphors hide meaning I 520
Mysterium Magnum & astral light II 511
nature of hydrogen II 105-6, 113
new, or metachemistry of Crookes I 622
primordial substance of I 330
renaissance of, in Egypt II 763n
science & I 144n, 496
sevenfold ether I 524n; II 594n
spiritual secretion of I 509
sun in ship on crocodile I 409-10
swastika, sign II 99
transmutations in nature II 170
unity of matter I 543n


TG Alcyone (Gr.), or Halcyon, daughter of AEolus, and wife of Ceyx, who was drowned as he was journeying to consult the oracle, upon which she threw herself into the sea. Accordingly both were changed, through the mercy of the gods, into king-fishers. The female is said to lay her eggs on the sea and keep it calm during the seven days before and seven days after the winter solstice. It has a very occult significance in ornithomancy.

SD INDEX Alcyone, a Pleiad

Alpha Draconis & II 432
central point of universe II 551
daughter of Atlas II 768
Sun orbits, (Maedler) I 501


SD INDEX Aldebaran, in conjunction w Sun II 785


SD INDEX Aldobranda [Aldrovandus], Ulysses, embalmed a dragon II 207n


TG Alectromancy (Gr.). Divination by means of a cock, or other bird; a circle was drawn and divided into spaces, each one allotted to a letter; corn was spread over these places and note was taken of the successive lettered divisions from which the bird took grains of corn. [W.W.W.]


SD INDEX Aleim (Heb)

college of priests II 202, 215
Tzyphon one of, (Lacour) II 216n


SD INDEX Aleph (Heb letter A)

bull, ox, Taurus, etc II 551, 574
symbol of unity I 78
of Taurus & Christ I 656


TG Alethae (Phoen.). "Fire worshippers" from Al-ait, the God of Fire. The same as the Kabiri or divine Titans. As the seven emanations of Agruerus (Saturn) they are connected with all the fire, solar and "storm" gods (Maruts).

SD INDEX Aletae (Phoen)

fire worshipers II 142n, 361
Kabiri &, (Faber) II 360
Titans in Sanchoniathon II 141-2 &n


TG Aletheia (Gr.). Truth; also Alethia, one of Apollo's nurses.

SD INDEX Aletheia (Gk)

angle of Gnostic square II 573
breath of god I 2n


SD INDEX Aleutian Islands, America & Asia once connected by II 322n, 327


SD INDEX Alexander,Professor Stephen, confirms nebular theory I 588


SD INDEX Alexander Jannaeus, slew initiates II 504n


SD INDEX Alexander Polyhistor, Berosus fragments in I xxvi; II 53, 54, 65n


SD INDEX Alexander the Great

Berosus compiled history for I xxvi
confused Nile & Indus II 417-18
destroyed Magian works II 6n
Greeks w, taught astronomy I 650
went to Attock, not India II 418n


TG Alexadrian School [[Alexandrian?]] (of Philosophers). This famous school arose in Alexandria (Egypt) which was for several centuries the great seat of learning and philosophy. Famous for its library, which bears the name of "Alexandrian", founded by Ptolemy Soter, who died in 283 B.C., at the very beginning of his reign; that library which once boasted of 700,000 rolls or volumes (Aulus Gellius); for its museum, the first real academy of sciences and arts; for its world-famous scholars, such as Euclid (the father of scientific geometry), Apollonius of Perga (the author of the still extant work on conic sections), Nicomachus (the arithmetician); astronomers, natural philosophers, anatomists such as Herophilus and Erasistratus, physicians, musicians, artists, etc., etc.; it became still more famous for its Eclectic, or the New Platonic school, founded in 193 A.D., by Ammonius Saccas, whose disciples were Origen, Plotinus, and many others now famous in History. The most celebrated schools of Gnostics had their origin in Alexandria. Philo Judaeus, Josephus, Iamblichus, Porphyry, Clement of Alexandria, Eratosthenes the astronomer, Hypatia the virgin philosopher, and numberless other stars of second magnitude, all belonged at various times to these great schools, and helped to make Alexandria one of the most justly renowned seats of learning that the world has ever produced.

KT Alexandrian Philosophers (or School). This famous school arose in Alexandria, Egypt, which city was for long ages the seat of learning and philosophy. It was famous for its library, founded by Ptolemy Soter at the very beginning of his reign (Ptolemy died in 283 B.C.) -- a library which once boasted 700,000 rolls, or volumes (Aulus Gellius), for its museum, the first real Academy of Sciences and Arts, for world-renowned scholars, such as Euclid, the father of scientific geometry; Apollonius of Perga, the author of the still extant work on conic sections; Nicomachus, the arithmetician: for astronomers, natural philosophers, anatomists such as Herophilus and Erasistratus; physicians, musicians, artists, etc. But it became still more famous for its eclectic, or new Platonic school, founded by Ammonius Saccas in 173 A.D., whose disciples were Origen, Plotinus, and many other men now famous in history. The most celebrated schools of the Gnostics had their origin in Alexandria. Philo-Judaeus, Josephus, Iamblichus, Porphyry, Clement of Alexandria, Eratosthenes the astronomer, Hypatia, the virgin philosopher, and numberless other stars of second magnitude, all belonged at various times to these great schools, and helped to make of Alexandria one of the most justly renowned seats of learning that the world has ever produced.

SD INDEX Alexandria. See also Neoplatonism, Ptolemy

built 332 BC I 361 &n
Gnostics of, & initiations I 416
Greek astronomers at I 658
Indian figures known to I 361
initiates of, on number one II 574
Platonist of, compiled Pymander II 267n

SD INDEX Alexandrian Library

Caesar's burning of II 763n
destroyed three times II 692
manuscripts of, copied, destroyed I xxiii, xxxiv

SD INDEX Alexandrian School, certain Church Fathers in I xliv


SD INDEX Alexeterioi (Gk), tutelary gods (Seldenus) I 394


MO Alf [[Norse]] (alv) [channel] Elf, soul


SD INDEX Alfuras, skulls of II 522


SD INDEX Algae I 177; II 712


SD INDEX Algebra II 555


SD INDEX Algeria, dolmens found in II 752


TG Alhim (Heb.). See "Elohim".

SD INDEX Alhim (Heb). See also Elohim

becomes Jahva-Alhim I 346
light & II 37-8, 41
& numerical value of I 91, 114; II 38


SD INDEX Alhim-ness II 40


SD INDEX Ali (Alee) Beg, M. M. See Mitford, G.


TG Alkahest (Arab.). The universal solvent in Alchemy (see "Alchemy"); but in mysticism, the Higher Self, the union with which makes of matter (lead), gold, and restores all compound things such as the human body and its attributes to their primaeval essence.

SD INDEX Alkahest I 345


SD INDEX Alkaloids, in plants, animals, men I 261-2 &n


WGa Alkoran, same as Koran, which see.


SD INDEX All, the. See also Absolute, Parabrahman

Absolute, No-Thing I 73, 346, 629; II 553
absolute thought opposes II 490
Abstract I 15n Boundless I 109
Brahma emanates out of I 7
ceaseless breath of I 75
circle is II 621
eternal, infinite I 8
Hermetic invocation to I 285-6
Oeaohoo or Rootless Root of I 68
one-voweled term I 20
Pan once was II 581
point in mundane egg I 1
precosmic "darkness" I 450n
ray of the Unknown I 106
That or II 158-9
Unit merged in I 330
universe not separate fr II 384n
unknown, unknowable II 272, 490
various names for II 553


SD INDEX Alla, Allah (Arab) II 601-2


SD INDEX Allahabad (India)

built on earlier cities II 220-1
lunar kings resided at I 392


SD INDEX All Be-ness, All-Being I 55


SD INDEX Allegories d'Orient. See Court de Gebelin


SD INDEX Allegory (ies). See also Fable, Legend, Myth

allegory within an II 94
ark & seven rishis an II 139
astronomical II 380
based on reminiscence II 293
Bible, now unveiled I 315
bisexuality universal in II 125
esoteric teaching uses II 81
Fohat key to many I 673
foolishly called fables II 103
Garuda origin of other II 564-5
of initiation & adeptship II 380
interpretation of I 310; II 94n, 384, 765
of Noahs, Vaivasvatas, etc II 314
Puranas are history & I 520; II 253, 323
record of real events II 235
reject, based on creeds II 194
seven, 10, 21
rishis, munis, etc II 259n
of Soma & Tara II 498-9
symbolism &, in Mysteries II 124
wisdom preserved in I 307, 466; II 235, 410
years of patriarchs are II 426
zodiacal, historical II 353


SD INDEX Allen, C. Grant II 686n

exaggerations of, exposed II 687n
man begins in Eocene II 288, 679, 690n
Neanderthal skull II 687
origin of cave man unknown II 740n
Paleolithic man ape-like II 740


SD INDEX All-Father (Norse) II 100

willed universe into being I 427


SD INDEX All-Force, inherent in the Monad II 110


SD INDEX Alligator II 753n. See also Crocodile


SD INDEX Alligator Mounds, not tombs II 752-3 &n


SD INDEX All in All, seven-voweled term I 20


MO Allvis [[Norse]] (al-veece) [all all + vis wise] A dwarf: worldly wise wooer of Thor's daughter


SD INDEX Alm, Mohammedan symbol for virgin II 463


TG Almadel, the Book. A treatise on Theurgia or White Magic by an unknown mediaeval European author; it is not infrequently found in volumes of MSS. called Keys of Solomon. [W. W. W]


TG Almeh (Arab.). Dancing girls; the same as the Indian nautches, the temple and public dancers.

SD INDEX Almeh, Egyptian dancing girls II 463


PV Alom [[Quiche]] One of six hypostases of Cabahuil or god-Seven. Especially associated with the three other hypostases: Tzakol, Bitol, and Cajolom; these four are regent gods of the 4 cosmic angles. Their mediation produces light.


SD INDEX Al-Orit II 361. See also Al-ait


SD INDEX Alorus-Adam of Berosus II 454


TG Alpha and Omega, A. and ., the First and the Last, the beginning and ending of all active existence; the Logos, hence (with the Christians) Christ. See Rev. xxi, 6., where John adopts "Alpha and Omega" as the symbol of a Divine Comforter who "will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely". The word Azot or Azoth is a mediaeval glyph of this idea, for the word consists of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, A and , of the Latin alphabet, A and Z, and of the Hebrew alphabet, A and T, or aleph and tau. (See also "Azoth".) [W.W.W.]


SD INDEX Alphabet(s) II 547n

of Cadmus I xxiii
Chinese I 307
Egyptian I 267n, 307; II 581
Hebrew I 114n; II 581
Kabiri invented II 364
Mayan I 267n
occult meaning of I 94, 307; II 574


SD INDEX Alpha Draconis II 356. See also Pole Star

Great Pyramid & I 407, 435; II 432


TG Alpha Polaris (Lat.). The same as Dhruva, the pole-star of 31,105 years ago.


SD INDEX Alphonso [X], lunar tables of I 667n


SD INDEX Alps

elevated greatly since Eocene II 727, 778
formerly a sea bottom II 787n
man saw rising of II 751 &n


TG Alswider (Scand.). "All-swift", the name of the horse of the moon, in the Eddas.


SD INDEX Al-Taifashi. See Taifashi


SD INDEX Altar(s)

horns placed near Jewish II 418n
in our hearts I 280
proportions of I 208-9n
seven fires before Mithraic II 603


SD INDEX Alter und der Ursprung . . . See Pfaff, F.


TG Altruism (Lat.). From alter = other. A quality opposed to egoism. Actions tending to do good to others, regardless of self.

KT Altruism, from Alter, other. A quality opposed to Egoism. Actions tending to do good to others, regardless of self.

SD INDEX Altruism, Altruistic

intellect &, serve mankind II 163
law of harmony depends on II 302n
only palliative for life's evils I 644


SD INDEX Altyne-taga, Altyn-toga [Altyn-tagh Mts]

ancient civilization in I xxxii
hidden library in I xxiv


TG Alze, Liber, de Lapide Philosophico. An alchemic treatise by an unknown German author; dated 1677· It is to be found reprinted in the Hermetic Museum; in it is the well known design of a man with legs extended and his body hidden by a seven pointed star. Eliphaz [[Eliphas?]] Levi has copied it. [W.W.W.]