The Astral Plane is not a place, despite the many descriptions of it that are to be found in occult literature It is a term used by occultists to denote the realm of visual imagination, and as such it extends from the Self and touches all parts of the mind. Thoughts become pictures Abstractions become symbols Emotions become the I driving forces behind them Eliphas Levi declared that the Astral Plane holds promise of remarkable power over the physical world
[This absorbing book provides concentration and visualization exercises which must be perfected before the reader attempts an astral journey These are followed by the four mam 'Doorways' through which one arrives , on the Astral Plane, namely the five Tattva Symbols. The Tarot, The Qabalah. the Oriental Hexagrams of I Ching
Hypnosis is a major key to the Astral Plane, although not a Doorway in the strict sense of the term The author devotes a chapter to the use ol hypnosis, either alone, or in con lunction with one of the other Doorways'
Ways of heightening the astral experience are also discussed, notably fasting and the chanting of a circular mantia
Astral |ourneys can be dangerous Those who carry the seeds ol serious psychosis will find them flowering during astral experiments On the other hand, a novice who had completed his first Path Working commented. I feel marvellous ... That was a most therapeutic experience J H Brennan's own conclusion is succinct It you run into something nasty on the Asfral it is because something nasty already exists in your mind'