ion. I would therefore venture
deferentially to suggest that when Madame Blavatsky wrote as she did,
she had in mind etheric vision and not astral, and that the extreme
applicability of the phrase to this other and higher faculty, of which
she was not at the moment thinking, did not occur to her.

The possession of this extraordinary and scarcely expressible power,
then, must always be borne in mind through all that follows. It lays
every point in the interior of every solid body absolutely open to the
gaze of the seer, just as every point in the interior of a circle lies
open to the gaze of a man looking down upon it.

But even this is by no means all that it gives to its possessor. He
sees not only the inside as well as the outside of every object, but
also its astral counterpart. Every atom and molecule of physical
matter has its corresponding astral atoms and molecules, and the mass
which is built up out of these is clearly visible to our clairvoyant.
Usually the astral of any object projects somewhat beyond the physical
part of it, and thus metals, stones and other things are seen
surrounded by an astral aura.

It will be seen at once that even in the study of inorganic matter a
man gains immensely by the acquisition of this vision. Not only does
he see the astral part of the object at which he looks, which before
was wholly hidden from him; not only does he see much more of its
physical constitution than he did before, but even what was visible
to him before is now seen much more clearly and truly. A moment's
consideration will show that his new vision approximates much more
closely to true perception than does physical sight. For example, if
he looks astrally at a glass cube, its sides will all appear equal, as
we know they really are, whereas on the physical plane he sees the
further side in perspective--that is, it appears smaller than the
nearer side, which is, of course, a mere allusion due to his physical
limitations.

When we come to consider the additional facilities which it offers in
the observation of animate objects we see still more clearly the
advantages of the astral vision. It exhibits to the clairvoyant the
aura of plants and animals, and thus in the case of the latter their
desires and emotions, and whatever thoughts they may have, are all
plainly shown before his eyes.

But it is in dealing with human beings that he will most appreciate
the value of this faculty, for he will often be able