March
Bulletin of the Society of Spiritist Studies
Friday, January 27th, 1860
(General Session)
Minutes of the January 20th session read and approved. A request for admission was received. Its reading, analysis and approval were postponed to the next private session.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Letter from Mr. Hinderson Mackenzie, from London, member of the Royal Antiques Society, with very interesting details about the use of metallic or crystal balls, as a means of obtaining spiritist communications. This is what he uses with the support of a special clairvoyant medium, according to the advices of one of his friends, who has used this method for thirty-five years, with the most complete and conclusive experiences. The medium sees the answers to the questions on a kind of mirror surface, producing welldeveloped communications, occasionally obtained so quickly that it is hard to follow him.
2nd – Reading of an article from the Siècle of January 22nd, from which the following passage is extracted: “The tables spoke, turned and danced well before the American cult which pretends to have originated them. That ball dance of chairs was already famous in Rome, in the first centuries of our era, and here is how Tertulian expressed it in Chapter XXIII of the Apologetic, when talking about the mediums of his time: “If the magicians are supposed to make ghosts appear, evoke the soul of the dead, and force children’s mouth to act like oracles; if these charlatans imitate a large number of miracles which, as it seems, are due to the circles and connections established among individuals; if they provoke sleep, if they make conjurations, if they command liar spirits and demons, the tables and chairs that prophesize are a common fact, etc.”
Regarding that, it is necessary to notice that modern Spiritists have never pretended to have invented or discovered the manifestations. On the contrary, they constantly reinforce the antiquity and universality of the spiritist phenomena and that very antiquity is an argument in favor of the Doctrine, demonstrating that its principle is in nature and that it is not a product of a systematic combination. Those who intend to impose such idea onto the Doctrine demonstrate that they speak without the knowledge of its fundamentals, otherwise they would know that modern Spiritism is based on the undisputable fact that it is present in all times and among all peoples.
STUDIES:
1st – Questions raised about the phenomena of the metallic or crystal balls as a means of obtaining communications. The answer is: “The theory of such phenomenon cannot be explained yet; we need some previous knowledge to understand that, which will come on their own time and will be the result of future observations. That shall happen in due time.”
2nd – New evocation of Urbain Grandier, who confirms and complements certain historical facts and that in addition provides explanations which come to support what have already been said about planet Saturn.
3rd – Two spontaneous essays obtained simultaneously: the first from Abelard, by Mr. Roze; the second from John, the Baptist, by Mr. Colin.
Next, and since it was requested that an unfortunate spirit who had asked for help through prayers would come to communicate spontaneously, one of the mediums wrote the following: “Bless your heart for having accepted to pray in favor of this evoked useless and unclean spirit, who is still and so shamefully attached to his miserable wealth. You receive the sincere thanks of Father Crépin.”
Friday, February 3rd, 1860
(Private Session)
The minutes of the January 27th session were approved. Reading of the names of the observers who attended the last general assembly. No inconvenience was noted due to their presence.
Dr. Gotti, director of the Homeopathic Institute of Genoa (Piedmont), is accepted as a corresponding member. Reading of two new requests for admission, postponed to the next session.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Mr. Allan Kardec announces that a lady from the countryside who is a subscriber of the Review, sent him the amount of ten thousand francs to be utilized in favor of Spiritism. She received an unexpected inheritance which she never counted on thus she wishes that it be shared by the Spiritist Doctrine to whom she owes supreme consolations and her learning about the true conditions of happiness in this life and in the next. She says in her letter: “You made me understand Spiritism, showing me its true objective. Only Spiritism could triumph over the doubts and uncertainties which were a source of indescribable anxiety to me. I used to take life lightheartedly, cursing the stones in my path. I now see clearly around me and before me. The horizon has widened and I march firmly, confident in the future, not bothering with the thorns on the way. I wish that this meager offering can help you to share with others the blessed light which made me so happy. Use it as you will. I don’t want a receipt or any expense report. The only thing I require is the strictest anonymity.”
Mr. Allan Kardec adds: “I shall respect the veil of modesty covering this person and will endeavor to correspond to her generous intentions. I cannot see a better way of using such a donation but in providing the Society with the necessary means of installation to give it more favorable conditions to its works.”
A member voices his opinion that he is sorry for this person’s anonymity since the Society cannot pay her back with tributes of gratitude.
Mr. Allan Kardec replies that since the donation has no other specific application other then Spiritism in general, he will take care of it, in the name of all serious followers of Spiritism. He insists in the qualification of “serious followers”, considering when one cannot put their name to that, who cannot understand its elevated moral consequences, only seeing in Spiritism the subject of phenomena and experimentation, and even less to take advantage of that or leading others to do as well.
2nd – Mr. President entrusted the office of the Society with a sealed letter sent by Dr. Vignal, a regular member, which can only be opened at the end of March next.
3rd – Mr. Netz sends an issue of the periodical Illustration, reporting an apparition. The fact will be the object of a special study.
STUDIES:
1st – An observation about visions on certain bodies, like glasses, crystal or metallic balls, and etc., discussed in the last session, was presented. Mr. Allan Kardec thinks that the expression “magic mirror” commonly given to such objects must be carefully avoided. He proposes that they should be called “psychic mirrors”. In the opinion of several members of the assembly, the name “psychographic mirrors” would correspond better to the nature of the phenomenon.
2nd – Dr. Vignal, who offered to be the subject of study about the spirits of living persons, is evoked. He answers the questions with perfect lucidity. Two other spirits, the one of Castelnaudary and that of Dr. Cauviere, communicate simultaneously through another medium, resulting in a very instructive exchange of observations. At the end the doctors provide an essay each, showing their renowned and elevated capacity (publication follows).
3rd – Two other spontaneous essays: the first one from Mr. Francisco de Sales, by Mrs. Mallet; the second by Mr. Colin, signed by Moses, Plato and later Julian.
Friday, February 10th, 1860
(General Session)
The minutes of the February 3rd session were approved.
A letter with a request for admission was received; the issue is to be handled in the next private session.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
The following note is transmitted by Mr. Soive, requesting that an evocation be carried out if considered useful: “A certain Mr. T…, 35 years old, residing at the Boulevard of the Hospital, was pursued by the persistent thought of having involuntarily killed a friend during a quarrel. Despite everything that was done to persuade him, showing his living friend to him, he thought that it was a ghost. Then, while tormented by the remorse of an imaginary crime, he killed himself by asphyxiation”
The evocation of Mr. T… will be done, time allowing.
STUDIES:
1st – Five spontaneous and simultaneous essays: the first through Mr. Roze, signed by Lammenais; the second by Ms. Eugenie, signed by Staël; the third by Mr. Colin, signed by Fourier; the fourth by Ms. Huet, from a spirit who says that will give his name later, announcing a series of communications; the fifth trough Mr. Didier Junior, signed by Charlet.
2nd – After reading Fourier’s essay, the president makes an observation to those persons strange to the Society, and who may not know its procedures, about the fact that this communication, in principle, seems to require comments; that among the manifesting spirits there are those of all levels; that their communications reflect their personal ideas, which are not always entirely just. Following the advice given to the Society, those communications are received as an expression of individual opinions, keeping the Society of its own prerogative of judging them, submitting them to the control of logic and reason. The understanding is that the Society does not take as the final word that everything coming from the spirits is of the essence. The spirit is revealed by the communication, if good or bad, of Science or ignorance. The communications are objects of study to the Society which accepts what is good and rejects what is bad.
3rd – Evocation of Ms. Indermuhle, from Berne, deaf-mute from birth, who is alive and thirty two years old. The evocation is of great interest from a scientific as well as moral point of view, given the sagacity and accuracy of the answers, indicating an advanced spirit.
4th – Evocation of Mr. T… who was mentioned earlier. He gives signs of great agitation, breaking several pencils before sketching a few lines, showing difficulty. The confusion of his mind is evident; he initially insisted on the fact that he had killed his friend; he ends up agreeing that it was a persistent thought, adding however that if he did not kill he had felt like doing it, and if he did not do it, it was for lack of courage only. St. Louis gives some explanations about the situation of that spirit and the consequences of his suicide. This evocation shall be repeated later, when the spirit is more separated from the body.
Friday, February 17th, 1860
(Private Session)
The minutes of the February 10th session were read and approved.
The following persons were admitted as regular members, after a written request and favorable opinion: Mrs. de Regnez, from Paris; Mr. Indermuhle de Wytenbach, from Berne; Mrs. Lubrat, from Paris.
Two new requests for membership were read, decision postponed to the next private session.
Mr. Allan Kardec transmits the following to the Society, regarding the donation:
“If the lady benefactor does not request an expense report regarding the use of the donated funds, I must not allow on my end that the use of those funds not be submitted to a control. That amount will account for the first contribution to a special fund which shall have nothing in common with my personal businesses, being the object of a separate bookkeeping, named Spiritism Fund. This fund will be augmented in the future by funds from other sources, and it will be exclusively destined to the needs of the Doctrine and the development of the spiritist studies. One of my first actions will be the creation of a special library, thus providing for what the Society currently lacks for its normal operation, as I have already said.
Hence, I have asked several colleagues to take over the control of the funds, attesting on the due dates which will be determined, the application of those funds. The committee will be formed by Mr. Solichon, Mr. Thiry, Mr. Levent, Mr. Mialhe, Mr. Krafzoff and Mrs. Parisse.”
The communications received in the previous session were read. The Society then dealt with several other administrative matters.
The Pre-Adamites
“It must be forcibly admitted that the teaching of the spirits is absolutely founded on Christ’s moral and even much more developed than that found in the Gospels, since you show the application of what is sometimes just found as general principles. Regarding the existence of the spirits and their relationship with the human beings, to me it is not cause of any doubt. I would be convinced just by the testimony of the fathers of the Church, if I did not have the proof of my own experience. Hence, I do not raise any objection with that respect. The same cannot be said to certain points of your Doctrine, evidently contrary to the text of the Scriptures. At this point in time I shall limit myself to a single question relative to the first human being. You say that Adam was neither the only one nor the first to have inhabited Earth. In that case one would have to admit that the Bible is mistaken, since the starting point would be controversial. Notice the consequence of all that! I confess that such thought has made me confused. However, since I support the truth before anything else and faith has nothing to gain if based on a mistake, I ask you to kindly provide some clarification that, if your free time allows. And if you can bring peace to my conscience I will duly appreciate it.”
A Healing Medium
We refer our readers to the previous month’s article about the special mediums. The explanations that will be given below about Ms. Désirée Godu will be better understood – her faculty has a seal of remarkable specialty.
Spontaneous Physical Manifestations - The Baker of Dieppe
The phenomenon through which the spirits may manifest their presence has a twofold nature, namely the physical and the intelligent manifestations. Through the former, the spirits attest their action upon matter. Through the latter, they reveal a more or less superior mind, according to their degree of depuration. One and the other may be spontaneous or provoked. Those who are provoked when impelled by want and obtained with the support of persons bestowed with special gifts, such as the mediums. They are spontaneous when they occur naturally, without any participation of free-will and frequently in the absence of any knowledge or spiritist belief. Belonging to this classification are certain phenomena that cannot be explained by ordinary physical causes; however we must not rush, as said before, in attributing to the spirits everything that is uncommon and not well understood. It is never too much to insist on this point so that we are on guard against the effects of the imagination, and often fear.
When an extraordinary phenomenon is produced – we repeat – the first thought must be that it has a natural cause since it is the most frequent and most likely. That applies to mainly noises and certain movements of objects. In such cases it is necessary to seek the cause and it is more than likely we find that it was something very simple and common.
Furthermore, we say that the true and only real sign of intervention of the spirits is the intentional and intelligent characteristic of the produced effects, when the impossibility of a human intervention is thoroughly demonstrated. In such cases, following the axiom that every effect has a cause, and that every intelligent effect must have an intelligent cause, it becomes clear that if the cause is not in the ordinary agents of the material effects, it shall then be beyond those agents; that if the acting intelligence is not human, it must be outside the domains of humanity.
• Then there are extra human intelligences?
• It seems likely. If certain things are not and cannot be the work of human beings, then they must be the work of someone else. Well, if that someone else is not a human being, it seems that it must necessarily be outside humanity; if we cannot see it then it must be invisible. It is decisive reasoning which is easier to understand than that of Mr. de la Palisse.
• Then, what are those intelligences? Angels or demons? And as invisible entities, can they act upon visible matter?
• That is what is perfectly known to those who study the Spiritist Science, which like the other sciences one cannot understand in a blink of an eye and cannot be summarized in a few lines.
We will counter such a question with this one only: How can your thoughts, which are immaterial, move your body, which that is material, at will? We believe that they will not be puzzled by this problem and if they reject the explanation given by Spiritism to such a common question it means that they have something more logical to offer. However, so far we don’t know that explanation.
Let us move on to the facts that have motivated those observations.
Several newspapers, like the Opinion Nationale from February 14th last, and the Journal de Rouen, from the 12th of the same month, report the following fact, according to the Vigie de Dieppe.
The Journal de Rouen reports the following:
“The La Vigie de Dieppe reproduces the following letter from its correspondent in Grandes-Ventes. We have already mentioned part of the facts described today in our Friday issue, but the emotion caused by those extraordinary events in our column lead us to reveal new details contained in the correspondence.”
“Today we laugh at the more or less fantastic stories of the good old times and in our days the pretense witches don’t enjoy much respect. They are not more accepted in Grandes-Ventes than elsewhere. However, our old popular prejudices still have some adepts among those villagers. The truly extraordinary event which we have just witnessed comes just in time to strengthen their superstitious belief.”
“Yesterday, in the morning, Mr. Gouber, one baker from our village, his father who works for him and a young trainee who is about sixteen to seventeen years old, were starting their daily routine when they noticed that several objects had spontaneously left their original places to be thrown into the dough blending machine. Thus, they had to remove pieces of coal, a couple of weights, a pipe and a candle from the dough. Despite their astonishment they carried on with their duties, to the point of having kneaded the dough when suddenly a large piece of about two kilograms escaped from the young helper’s hand and was thrown a few meters away. This was the prelude and a kind of signal to a strange disturbance. It was about nine o’clock and up until noon it was positively impossible to stay near the oven area and the wine cellar next to it. Everything was turned, knocked down, broken. The bread, which was thrown away with the trays, was completely lost. More than thirty wine bottles were broken, and while the crank of the water-well turned on its own at high speed, the ember, the shovels, the trestle and the weights jumped in the air, executing the most diabolic evolutions.”
“At noon the noise stopped gradually and a few hours later, when everything was back to normal and the objects were placed back into their places, the owner was then able to reestablish his work routine.”
“Such an event has caused Mr. Goubert a loss of at least one hundred francs.”
The Opinion Nationale adds the following to those facts:
“On reproducing such a singular story we would be causing harm to our readers had we invited them to be on guard against the supernatural facts which were reported. There you have, we know well, a story which is not from our times and which may shock some of the wise readers of the Vigie, but however verisimilar it may look, it is not less truthful, and hundreds of people may attest its accuracy if needed.”
We confess to not understand well the thoughts of the reporter who seems to contradict himself. On another hand he tells the readers to be on guard against the supernatural facts reported in the letter, ending by saying “however verisimilar it may look, it is not less truthful, and hundreds of people may attest its accuracy if needed.” It has to be either true or false. If it is false then there is nothing else to say but if it is true, as attested by the “Opinion Nationale”, the fact reveals something very serious to be taken lightheartedly. Let us keep aside the issue of spirits and let us see a physical phenomenon only. Isn’t that extraordinary enough to deserve the attention of serious observers? Then, may the scientists get to work and rummage through the archives of science to provide us with a reasonable and undeniable explanation, showing the causes of the events. If they cannot, we must agree that they don’t know all the secrets of nature. Furthermore, if only Spiritism provides the solution then it is necessary to choose between the theory that explains and the other one which explains nothing.
When events of such a nature are reported our first approach, even before questioning about its reality, is to examine if they are possible or not, according to what we know from the theory of the physical manifestations. We mention some, demonstrating their absolute impossibility, notably the story told in the February 1859 issue of the Review, extracted from the Journal des Debats, under the title “My friend Hermann”, to which certain points of Spiritism might have given an appearance of likelihood. From that point of view, the phenomena that took place with the baker of Dieppe have nothing of more extraordinary than many others which were perfectly verified and whose complete solution is provided by the Spiritist Science. Hence, if the facts were not true, to our eyes they would still be possible.
We asked one of our reliable correspondents from Dieppe to investigate the reality of the facts. Here is his answer:
“Today I can give you all the information you want since I received it from a trustworthy source. The report from the “Vigie” is the exact truth. It is useless to report all the facts. It seems that some individuals of science came from far away to learn about the events that they couldn’t explain unless using the principles of the Spiritist Science. As for our peasants, they are confused. Some say that it is the work of witchcraft. Others say that the cause is the fact that the cemetery has changed places and constructions were built on top of it. The experts, known by their own as those who know everything, particularly if in the military, ended up by saying: For God’s sake! I don’t know how it can be. It is useless to tell you that they attribute a large portion of the events to the devil. In order to explain all those events to the people it would be necessary to try to initiate them into the true Spiritist Science. It would be the only means of eradicating from them the belief in witches and in all superstitions that will still be the greatest obstacle to their moralization for a long time to come.”
We will finish with one final observation.
We have heard from some people that they did not want to have anything to do with Spiritism for fear of attracting the spirits, thus provoking manifestations of the kind that we have just reported.
We don’t know Mr. Goubert, the baker, but we believe that we are able to ensure that neither he nor his son and helper have ever gotten involved with the spirits. It is actually remarkable to notice that the spontaneous manifestations preferably take place among people that have no idea about Spiritism, an evident proof that the spirits come without an invitation. We will also say: the profound knowledge of this Science is the best way of preventing us from the inopportune spirits, since it shows the only rational means of keeping them away.
Our correspondent is perfectly right by saying that Spiritism is a remedy against superstition. In fact, isn’t that superstitious to believe that those strange phenomena are due to the change of a cemetery location? Superstition does not consist on the belief in a fact, when verified, but on the irrational cause attributed to the fact. Superstition is present above all in the belief in the pretense means of foretelling, in the effect of certain rituals, in the virtue of the talismans, in the cabalistic days and times, etc… things whose ridicule are demonstrated by Spiritism.
Studies about the Spirits of Living Persons
Dr. Vignal, a regular member of the Society, offered to be the subject of study regarding the evocation of the spirit of a living person, as it was carried out with Count R… He was evoked in the session of February 3rd, 1860.
1. (To St. Louis) – Can we evoke Dr. Vignal? – A. No problem, since he is prepared.
2. Evocation. – A. I am here. I attest it in the name of God, what I would not do if responding by someone else.
3. Although alive, do you think it is necessary that the evocation be done in the name of God? – A. Doesn’t God exist to the living ones as much as to the dead?
4. Can you see us as clearly as when you attend our sessions? – A. A little bit more clearly.
5. Where are you located in here? – A. Where my action is naturally required: to the right, a little bit behind the medium.
6. Were you aware of the distance covered in order to come from Sully to our place? Did you see the path when you travelled? – A. Not more than the vehicle that brought me.
7. Can we offer you a chair? – A. You are very kind. I am not as tired as you are.
8. How do you verify your individuality here? – A. Like the others. OBSERVATION: He refers to what has been already said in similar cases, that is, the spirit verifies its individuality through the perispirit which represents the body.
9. However, we would appreciate if you gave the explanation yourself. – A. What you ask is a repetition.
10. Since you do not wish to repeat what has already been said is that because you think in the same way? – A. That is clear enough.
11. Your perispirit is then a kind of limited and bounded body to you? – A. That is evident. It is not necessary to say.
12. Can you see your body sleeping? – A. Not from here. I saw it when I left. I felt like laughing.
13. How is the relationship established between your body in Sully and your spirit here? – A. As I told you, through the fluidic cord.
14. Would you describe, in the best possible way so that we understand, how you see yourself, apart from your body? – A. That is very easy. I see myself as in the waking state or even better, since the comparison is fairer, I see myself like we see ourselves in our dreams. I have my body but I am aware that it is organized in a different and lighter way when compared to the other. I don’t feel the weight or the force of gravity which bonds me to Earth when I am awake. In other words, and as I told you, I am not tired.
15. Do the shades of light appear to you in the same way as in the normal state? – A. No. Light gets the addition of a tone that is not perceptible by your dense senses. However, you must not conclude that the colors perceived by the optical nerve are different to me. Red is red and so far. Having said that some objects that I did not see in darkness during my waking state I can see now, as they are luminous in their own right. That is how total darkness absolutely does not exist to the spirit although it is possible to establish a difference between what is clear and what is not clear to you.
16. Is your vision unrestricted or limited to the focused object? – A. Neither one thing nor the other. I absolutely don’t know the kind of changes that may take place to a spirit who is entirely free. As for myself, I know that the material objects are seen in their interior; that my vision goes through them. However, I cannot see all over the place and from a distance.
17. Would you like to be submitted to an experiment, as a trial, not based on curiosity but to our own instruction? – A. Absolutely not. That is strictly forbidden to me.
18. The idea was to have you reading the question that comes to my hand and responding, without my verbal interrogation. – A. I could but I repeat it is forbidden to me.
19. How can you be aware of what is prohibited to you? – A. Through the transmission of thoughts from the spirit who forbids me.
20. Here is the question then: Can you see yourself in a mirror? – A. No. What do you see in the mirror? The reflection of a material object. I am not material. I can only produce the reflection through the operation that makes the perispirit visible.
21. As a consequence, the spirit which assumes the condition of an agénère, for example, could it be seen in a mirror? – A. Certainly.
22. At this point in time could you assess the healthy or unhealthy condition of a person as well as you would in your normal state? – A. With more confidence.
23. Could you give a consultation, if someone requested? – A. I could but I don’t want to compete with the somnambulists and the benevolent spirits that guide them. When I am dead perhaps I shall not refuse that.
24. Is your current state identical to your state after your death? – A. No. I will have certain perceptions which are much more accurate. Don’t forget that I am still attached to matter.
25. Could your body die while you are here, without you knowing? – A. No. We die this way every day.
26. That is understandable with respect to a natural death, always preceded by some symptoms but what if someone hits you and instantly kills you, how would you know? – A. I would be ready to receive the blow, before the arm would come down.
27. What is the need that your spirit would have to return to the body if there is nothing else that can be done? – A. It is a very wise law, which without it, when we are out of the body, we are often reluctant to return to it and that would be made as an excuse for suicide… hypocritically.
28. Suppose your spirit was not here but at home, wandering around while the body slept. Would you be able to see everything that was going on? – A. Yes.
29. In that case, suppose that someone was doing something bad, like a relative or a stranger. Could you be a witness of the fact? – A. No doubt; but not always free to oppose that action. However, it does happen more frequently than you think.
30. Which type of impression would this bad action have on you? Would that affect you as much as if you were a living witness? – A. Sometimes more, sometimes less, according to the circumstances.
31. Would you feel the desire for revenge? – A. Not to revenge but to impede the action.
OBSERVATION: It results from what has just been said, and as a matter of fact, it is a consequence of what we already know, that the spirit of a living person that is asleep knows perfectly well what goes on around them. Anybody who intended to take advantage of the sleep to practice a bad action against that person is mistaken when believing that the action is unseen. Even the sleeping person’s obliviousness after waking up should not be counted on once the person may have kept a very strong intuition of the event, sometimes inspiring suspicion. The dreams of presentiment are nothing else but more or less accurate memories of what was seen during the sleep. Again, we have one more of the moral consequences of Spiritism; given the conviction of this phenomenon may perhaps be a barrier for many people. Here is a fact that supports that truth. One day a person receives a rude and anonymous letter. All efforts were employed to find out who the sender was. One must admit that the enigma was solved during the sleep since the very next day, after waking up and not having even dreamed, all thoughts were directed to someone who was not even under suspicion and after verification the fact was confirmed.
32. Let us go back to your sensations and perceptions. How do you see things, through what? – A. Through my whole being.
33. Do you hear sounds, and where? – A. It is the same thing since perception is transmitted to the spirit through its imperfect organs and it must be clear to you that when the spirit is free, it has numerous perceptions that you cannot understand.
34. (Someone rings a bell) – Did you hear the sound perfectly well? – A. Better than you do.
35. If you were made to hear music that was out of tune, would that cause the same impression on you as in your waking state? – A. I did not say that sensations are analogous. There is a difference but the perception is much more thorough.
36. Do you perceive odors? – A. No doubt, in the same manner as with the other senses.
OBSERVATION: It could then be said that the matter which surrounds the spirit operates like a buffer which dampens the sharpness of perception. Once separated from matter the spirit has the perception without intermediaries, being able to detect nuances which escape someone who received them through means which are denser than the perispirit. It then follows that the unfortunate spirits may experience pains that, although not physical from our stand point, are more pungent than the corporeal pains and that the happy spirits may feel pleasures which are incomprehensible to our sensations.
37. If you had savory dishes before your eyes, would you feel tempted to eat them? – A. The desire would be a distraction.
38. Suppose that your body is hungry while you are here. What would be the effect of seeing those foods, have on you? – A. This would make me leave to satisfy an irresistible need.
39. Could you tell us how you feel when you leave your body to come here or when you leave us and return to your body? How do you perceive that? – A. That would be very difficult. I come in as I leave, without noticing, or better saying, not aware of how the phenomenon occurs. However, don’t believe that when the spirit enters the body it is imprisoned like in a room. The spirit constantly irradiates to the outside in such a way that one can say that the spirit is more frequently outside than inside. It is only the union which is more intimate and the links are tighter.
40. Do you see other spirits? – A. Those who want to be seen by me.
41. How do you see them? – A. Like I see myself.
42. Do you see them here, around us? – A. In a crowd.
43. Evocation of Charles Dupont (the spirit of Castelnaudary) – A. I am here and attend to your request.
44. Are you more relaxed today as compared to the last time you were called? – A. Yes. I am advancing on a good path.
45. Do you now understand that your penalties shall not last forever? – A. Yes.
46. Do you foresee the end of your suffering? – A. No. For my punishment, God does not allow me to see the end of that.
47. (To Dr. Vignal) Do you see the spirit that has just responded to us? – A. Yes. It is not a nice vision.
48. Can you describe him? – A. I see him as he showed up before with the difference that he no longer holds the dagger or has blood on him; his looks show more sadness than the ferocious brutalization of his first apparition.
49. When awake are you aware of the image that was portrayed of that spirit? – A. Yes, and I am also more informed.
50. When you see a spirit how do you know that his body is dead or alive? – A. By the fluidic cord.
51. How do you assess the morale condition of that spirit? – A. His morale has been sad; but he is improving.
52. (To Charles Dupont) – You hear what is said about you. That must encourage you to persevere in the path of progress that you have already entered. – A. Thank you. That is what I try to do.
53. Do you see the spirit of the doctor who we were talking to? – A. Yes.
54. How do you see him? – A. I see him with an envelope less transparent than the other spirits.
55. How can you say that he is still alive? – A. The common spirits have no apparent form. This one has a human form; he is surrounded by a misty like matter that reproduces his earthly human form. The spirits of the dead no longer have that envelope, once they are free.
56. (To Dr. Vignal) – If we evoke a mad person, how would you recognize it? – A. I would not recognize if his madness were recent since it would not have had an influence upon the spirit; however, if the spirit had been alienated for a long time, matter could have a certain influence on him, thus I would see some signs which would allow me to recognize as I do when awake.
57. Can you describe to us the causes of madness? – A. These are simply an alteration, a perversion of the organs, which no longer perceive things in a regular way, transmitting false sensations, thus leading the spirit to act against his own will.
OBSERVATION: It does frequently happen that certain persons, whose spirits are perfectly healthy, show in their limbs and in other parts of the body certain involuntary movements, independent of their will, like the so called nervous twitches. It is easy to understand that if those alterations took place in the brain instead of arms or face, the transmission of the thought would suffer its influence. The impossibility of driving or controlling such emissions constitutes madness.
58. After the last answer by Dr. Vignal, the medium who served as interpreter to Charles Dupont wrote spontaneously: - Those spirits of mad persons are recognized among us because they move around, in all directions, without a firm idea, not even of God or prayers. They need time to settle in. Signed: Cauvière Since nobody thought of calling this spirit, Mr. Belliol asked if he would be the spirit of Dr. Cauvière from Marseille, who had been his professor. – A. Yes, it is me, deceased one and a half years ago.
OBSERVATION: Mr. Belliol recognized Dr. Cauvière’s signature. Later it was possible to compare it with an original signature, attesting the perfect identity between the two.
59. (To Mr. Cauvière) – Why have you honored us with your unexpected visit? – A. It is not the first time that I have come here. Today I found a favorable occasion to communicate with you and so I did.
60. Do you see your colleague Dr. Vignal who is here as a spirit? – A. Yes, I see him.
61. How would you know that he is still alive? – A. Due to his wrapping body which is less transparent than ours.
62. This answer agrees with the one that has just been given by Charles Dupont and that seemed to have gone beyond his intelligence. Was it you who answered? – A. I could influence him since I was here.
63. What is your state as a spirit? – A. I have not reincarnated yet but I am advanced as a spirit although I was far from the belief in what you call Spiritualism on Earth. It was necessary to get educated where I am here. However, my intelligence, which has been improved by the study promptly, enlightened me.
64. In case you agree we will ask you a question prepared to Dr. Vignal, requesting the answer from each one of you, with the help of your individual interpreters. How do you see now the difference between the spirit of the animals and humans? Dr. Vignal’s answer: It is not much easier for me to perceive that than in my waking state. My current thought is that the spirit sleeps in the animal, like it is morally numb, and that it painfully wakes up in a human being. Mr. Cauvière’s answer: The spirit of a human being is called to a greater task of perfection than that of the animals. The difference is substantial since there is only instinctive existence in the latter ones. Later that instinct may perfect.
65. Can such betterment get to the point of a human spirit? – A. It can but after having passed through many existences as animal on Earth as well as in other planets.
66. Can you kindly, both of you, write a spontaneous essay to us, about a subject of your choice?
Dear good friends, I am so happy for being able to speak a little bit with you that I wish to give you an advice, not particularly you who are believers but those whose faith is still faltering or those who have no faith and reject it. It is true that I cannot see all my living comrades here, and who would not believe me. Nevertheless I would tell them that when alive I stubbornly rejected the truth, although I felt it in my inner most being. The majority of them do as I did: through a false self-love they don’t want to agree with what they sometimes experience. They are mistaken because indecision makes us suffer on Earth, particularly when the time comes to leave it behind. Thus, get instructed! Have good faith! You shall be happier in your world as in the world where I am now. If you truly wish, I shall come other times to talk to you.
Cauvière
What is the benefit of Astronomy and why does it matter the time taken by a bullet to travel from Earth to the Sun? That is how very dignified persons think, people who do not see in Science any other application but that of industry or their self-serving wealth. However, without Astronomy, how could you adopt the remarkable system which we are developing now, instead of any other introduced by ignorant and jealous spirits? If Earth was, like it was formerly thought, the central point of the Universe; if the numerous suns which populate space were not but simply shiny dots hanging on a crystal dome, which arguments would you have to make you admit the past and future of the spirit? Astronomy, on the contrary, comes to demonstrate that the planetary life around our Sun is reflected back into everything that composes the nebula that encompasses our world; that all these planets are organized differently from each other and consequently life condition is not the same on each of them. You are then led to ask if God creates instantaneously and the spirit which must animate each body; what would be the reason then for its creation here and not elsewhere, on Earth and not in another world, in this particular condition and not in another! Thus, a stern logic leads you to admit the plurality of the worlds, the pre-existence of the soul and the reincarnation as expressions of the greatest truth. Astronomy is then useful since it gives you the necessary conditions to receive the sublime truths that shall unfold to you by the inexorable progress of Spiritism and Science. Helped by industry, Astronomy is meant to lead you to the discovery of other wonders beyond those that you only had a glimpse so far. From now on Astronomy and Theology are sisters and shall march hand in hand.
Vignal, by Arago
Born deaf-mute, currently 32 years old, living in Berne (Session of February 10th, 1860)
1. (To St. Louis) – Can we establish communication with the spirit of Ms. Indermuhle? – A. Yes, you can.
2. Evocation. – A. I am here and I say so in the name of God.
3. (To St. Louis) – Can you tell us if the spirit who responds is actually that of Ms. Indermuhle? – A. I can positively assure you. Are you so advanced and believe that if it were another spirit responding it would be more embarrassing? The affirmation demonstrates that she is here. It is up to you to ensure a good communication by the nature and objective of your questions.
3a. (To Ms. Indermuhle) * – Do you really know where you are now? – A. I know perfectly well. Do you think I was not informed about it?
4. How can you respond to us here if your body is in Switzerland? – A. Because it is not the body that responds. As a matter of fact, and as you know, my body is absolutely incapable of doing that.
5. What is your body doing right now? – A. It is asleep.
6. Is your body healthy? – A. Yes, very healthy. OBSERVATION: Ms. Indermuhle’s brother who was attending the session confirmed that she was really healthy.
7. How long did it take you to get here from Switzerland? – A. A time that you cannot perceive.
8. Where you aware of the directions taken to come here? – A. No.
9. Are you surprised for being here in this meeting? – A. My first answer demonstrates the opposite.
10. What would happen if your body woke up while you are here? – A. I would be there.
11. Is there any link between your spirit that is here and your body there? – A. Yes, without it how could I be informed that I should return?
12. Do you see us clearly? – A. Yes, perfectly well.
13. Do you understand that you can see us but we cannot see you? – A. Yes, no doubt.
14. Can you hear the sound that I produce now by knocking? – A. I am not deaf here.
15. How could you know since you cannot compare with a memory from when you are awake? – A. I was not born yesterday.
OBSERVATION: The memory of the sensation of noise comes from existences in which she was not deaf. The answer is perfectly logical.
16. Would the sound of music give you pleasure? – A. The more pleasure the longer it lasts. Sing something for me.
17. We are sorry for not being able to do it now and for not having here an instrument to give you such a pleasure. It seems to us however that since your spirit separates from the body every day during your sleep, it must be transported to places where you can hear music. – A. That rarely happens to me.
18. How can you respond in French since you are German and you ignore our language? – A. Thought has no language. I transmit it to the medium’s guide who then translates it to the language that he is familiar with.
19. Who is the guide that you are talking about? – A. The familiar spirit of the medium. That is how you can receive communications from foreign spirits and that is how the spirits speak all languages.
OBSERVATION: Thus, the answers would often reach us only from third parties. The interrogated spirit transmits their thought to the familiar spirit, this one to the medium and the medium translates it, speaking or writing. Now, since the medium may be assisted by spirits more or less good, this explains why in several occasions the thought of the interrogated spirit may be altered. Hence, St. Louis said that the presence of the evoked spirit is not always enough to ensure the integrity of the answers. It is up to us to analyze and judge if they are logical and in agreement with the level of the spirit. As a matter of fact, according to Ms. Indermuhle, this triple channel would only happen with foreign spirits.
20. What is the origin of the illness that has affected you? – A. A voluntary cause.
21. Why on Earth would all six siblings be equally affected? – A. For the same reason as I am.
22. Then, it was voluntarily that you all chose the same trial? We believe that such a gathering in the same family must happen as a trial to the parents. Is that a good reason? – A. It is close to the truth.
23. Do you see your brother here? – A. What a question!
24. Are you happy for seeing him? – A. Same answer.
OBSERVATION: It is a known fact that the spirits don’t like to repeat themselves. Our language is so slow to them that they avoid anything that seems useless. This is a peculiarity that characterizes the serious spirits. The lighthearted, mocking, obsessing and pseudo-wise spirits are generally talkative and verbose. Like those people with no foundation, they speak and say nothing; the words replace the thoughts that they believe by imposing phrases with redundant words and an obscure style.
25. Would you like to tell him anything? – A. May he receive my most sincere appreciation for his good thoughts in bringing me here where I am now, fortunately in touch with good spirits, although some are not so worthy. I have learned a lot and shall not forget what I owe him.
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* The number 3 appears repeated in the original - NT
Bibliography Siamora, the Druid Lady or Spiritism in the XV Century *
By Clément de la Chave
The spiritist ideas fill the works of a large number of former and current writers, and many contemporaries would be surprised if we demonstrated to them, from their own writings, that they are spiritists without knowing it. Spiritism can then find arguments in its own adversaries that seem to have been involuntarily led to provide Spiritism with armaments. Thus, holy as well as profane writers present an open field in which there is plenty to be sowed and harvested. That is what we intend to do one day.
We shall then see if the critics will still consider it to be appropriate to send the daring celebrity names in literature, arts, sciences, philosophy and theology to the asylums. The author of the little book that we are speaking about is not one of those who can be named spiritist without knowing it. On the contrary, he is a serious and educated follower, who took the burden of summarizing the fundamental truths of the Doctrine in a less arid than scholarly way, with the added attractiveness of a semi-historical romance.
In fact, we find the dauphin in the book that later became Louis XI and some characters of his time, with a taste of the costumes of those days. Siamora, last child of the former Druid Lady, preserved the traditions of her ancestors’ cult, but illuminated by the truths of Christianity. In an article in the April 1858 issue of The Spiritist Review we saw the level reached by the Gallic priests with respect to the spiritist philosophy. Hence, there is no contradiction when such ideas come from the mouth of their descendent. On the contrary, it is the evidence of a little known truth and the current author deserves recognition from the modern spiritists. We can evaluate that through the citations below. In a moment of ecstasy the young novice Edda speaks with Siamora in the following terms: “My familiar angel shows up to me in the form of my good angel. He offers himself to guide me through the painful paths of this world. Human beings, he says, are bad only because they ignore their spiritual nature; because they reject this subtle agent, this divine stream that God had spread around for their happiness in creation, making them equal and brothers. Human beings are then able to heal, appealing to this subtle agent of creation, extracting from that a powerful help.”
“It is at the time of death that each person comes before to me! How sad! What a sorrow! What a bitter despair! Those perverse creatures love no more. Siamora! Each person carries his or her virtues and vices to the grave. Heavy or lightly loaded with their faults, the soul elevates more or less since they have kept much or just a little of that subtle agent, love, the substance of God that attracts similar substances and repels those which derive from a contrary principle, depending on the empathies.”
“The soul of a bad man remains errant down here, blowing its pestilent essence onto everyone. It contains the joy of evil and the pride of vices. We call that devil; he is called astray brother in heaven. Nevertheless, from every compassionate heart, Siamora, a gentle mist rises and despite his own will, the devil’s soul is saturated by that; it thus renovates, getting rid of its corruption… That soul then starts to perceive the idea of God which was not possible before. Since the soul carries the exact image of the body, although spiritual, it then joins the other ones, impregnated by the vices and imperfections, and the soul becomes denser and cannot see.”
“In that invisible world above ours, Siamora, where I struggle to stand, a shiny cloud hazes my eyes. Thousands of souls, celestial spirits, come and go. They move up and down, like snowflakes, spread around and run all over the place, dragged by the impulsive force of the winds. From their spiritual essence the angels come down to us, saying peaceful words to some, insinuating the divine belief in others; inspiring the search for science in this one; stimulating in someone else the instinct of goodness and beauty, and the one who has been taken over by the taste for great and noble things has already been touched by God’s finger. Every person has his mentor, his council, and his magnet. The rope of salvation has been thrown to everyone. It is up to us to grab it.”
“That bad man, or even better, that devil-soul, whose eyes begin to open to the contact of pure air, goes on crying for his crime and begging to have it expiated by his suffering. Alone and helpless, what will he do? A charitable angel approaches and says: awry brother, come to life with me. Here is hell, the place of suffering where each one of us regenerates. Come. I shall support you. Let us do some good so that the balance of good and bad is over for you, now let us lean towards the good side.”
“That is how, Siamora, the moment of death comes to all people. I see them elevating more or less in heaven, reentering life, suffering again, depurating, dying and elevating again in heaven, incessantly. They don’t reach the dwelling of the only God yet but only through long lasting pilgrimages in other worlds, much more wonderful and perfect than this one, they shall forcibly depurate and get there.”
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* One vol. In-18, price 2 francs, Vannier bookseller and publisher, Rue Notre Dame-desVictoires, 52 – 1860.
Spontaneous Essays - The Genie of the Flowers
The Genie of the Flowers(Session on December 23rd, 1859 – medium Mrs. de Boyer)
We are also in charge of spreading their perfumes. We take to the exile a memory of his homeland by bringing to his prison the aroma of the flowers that ornamented his patrimonial garden. To someone truly in love, we take the perfume of the flowers offered by his bride; To the ones that cry, a remembrance of those who are no longer blossoming on their graves, the roses and violets that recall their virtues. Who among you does not owe us such kind emotions?
Who has not shivered yet before the contact with a beloved aroma? I suppose you are surprised by hearing that there are spirits dedicated to all this. However, it is absolutely true. We have never and perhaps shall never incarnate among you. Yet, some have been human but not many among the spirits of the elements. Our mission is nothing on your planet Earth. We progress like you do but it is particularly in the superior planets that we are happy. In Jupiter our flowers issue harmonious sounds and we build the airy dwellings that hummingbird nests are the only ones which may give you a slight comparison. I will give you a description of some of those flowers for the first time, flowers which are not only magnificent but sublime and worthy of housing superior spirits. Good bye. May a perfume of charity animate you! The virtues themselves have their perfume.
Questions about the Genie of the Flowers
(Society, December 30rd, 1859 session – medium Mr. Roze)
2. That spirit is called Hettani. How come a name was given if the spirit had never incarnated? – A. It is a fiction. The spirit does not preside in particular over the formation of flowers. The elemental spirit, before moving on to the animal series, focuses their fluidic action onto vegetal creation. Such spirit has not incarnated yet; they only act under the direction of more elevated intelligences that have already lived enough to acquire the necessary knowledge for their mission. It was one of those that communicated.
He gave you a poetic mix of actions from two classes of spirits who act upon the vegetal creation.
3. Since that spirit had not lived yet, even in the animal life, how can it be so poetic? – A. Read again. OBSERVATION: See the observation made after question 24, in the article about Ms. Indermuhle.
4. Thus, the spirit that communicated is not the one who animates the flower? – A. No, no. I clearly told you that: He guides.
5. Has the spirit that talked to us been incarnated? – A. Yes he did.
6. The spirit which gives life to plants and flowers, does that spirit think and does it have its own self awareness? – A. They neither think nor have instinct.
Happiness (Stael)
(Society, February 10th 1860 session – medium Ms. Eugenie)
Desperate mothers, crying over a tomb, come here! The angel, for whom you cry, shall speak with you, will protect and inspire resignation in you, soothing the penalties that you must withstand on Earth. All of you, who have insatiable need for knowledge, come to us since we are the only ones capable of feeding your spirit. Come and we will find the proper relief to every pain. However abandoned you may seem to be, there are spirits who love you and are ready to demonstrate so. I speak for all of them. I wish for you to come, to be advised by us, for I am certain that you shall leave with hope in your heart.
Stael
Note: One moment later the spirit wrote again, and spontaneously:
More than once there is a smile on the lips of certain listeners, which may escape the medium but does not escape the spirits. However, have no fear. Those who laugh the most are the ones who will believe more later on. We forgive you because you may regret your irony one day. I am sure, ladies, if there was a loved one who you lost near you, to vivify their memory your smile of incredulity would change to a sigh and you would become happy or anxious. Take your time. Your day will come and your heart that is your most sensitive cord shall touch you. I know that.
Stael
The Spirits’ Book, Second Edition
To the Readers of The Review Unsigned Letters
Allan Kardec