Maat Kheru : According to Maspus, the Egyptian name of the true intonation with which the dead must recite those magic incantations which would give them power in Amenti, the Egyptian Hades,

Macionica : Slavonic name for a witch. (See Slavs.)

Mackay, Gallatin : A disciple of Albert Pike (q.v.) and one of the leaders of Masonry in Charleston, U.S.A. who was charged by Miss Diana Vaughan, Dr. Bataille and others with the practice of Satanism and sorcery-charges entirely without foundation. (See Waite, Devil-Worship in France.)

Mackenzie, Kenneth : (See Rosicrucians.)

Macrocosm, The : The whole universe (Greek Macros, long, Kosmos the world (f. "Microcosm"). A six-pointed star, formed of two triangles, and the sacred symbol of Solomon's seal. It represents the infinite and the absolute - that is, the most simple and complete abridgment of the science of all things. Paracelsus states that every magical figure and kabalistic sign of the pantacles which compel spirits may be reduced to two-the Macrocosm and the Microcosm (q.v.) It is the emblem of the world.

Macroprosopus, The : One of the four magical elements in the Kabala; and probably representing one of the four simple elements,-air, water, earth, or fire. Macroprosopus means creator of the great world."

Madre Natura : An old and powerful secret society, of Italy, who worshipped and idealised nature, and which seems to have been founded by members of the ancient Italian priesthood. It had a tradition that one of the Popes as Cardinal de Medici became a member of the fraternity, and for this there is good documentary evidence. It accepted the allegorical interpretation which the Neo-Platonists had placed upon the Pagan creeds during the first ages of Christianity.

Magi : Priests of ancient Persia, and the cultivators of the wisdom of Zoroaster. They were instituted by Cyrus when he founded the new Persian empire, and are supposed to have been of the Median race. Schlegel says (Philosophy of History), "they were not so much a hereditary sacerdotal caste as an order or association, divided into various and successive ranks and grades, such as existed in the mysteries - the grade of apprenticeship-that of mastership--that of perfect mastership." In short, they were a theosophical college ; and either its professors were indifferently" magi," or magicians, and " wise men" or they were distinguished into two classes by those names. Their name pronounced "Mogh" by the modern Persians, and "Magh" by the ancients signified " Wise," and such is the interpretation of it given by the Greek and Roman writers. Stobaeus expressly calls the science of the magi, the service of the gods, so Plato. According to Ennemoser, " Magiusiah, Madschusie, signified the office and knowledge of the priest, who was called " Mag, Magius, Magiusi," and afterwards magi and " Magician." Brucker maintains that the primitive meaning of the word is ' fire worshipper," worship of the light," an erroneous opinion. In the modern Persian the word is " Meg," and " Mogbed" signifies high priest. The high priest of the Parsees at Surat, even at the present day, is called, " Mobed." Others derive the word from ' Megh," " Meb-ab" signifying something which is great and noble, and Zoroaster's disciples were called " Meghestom." Salverte states that these Mobeds are still named in the Pehivi dialect " They were divided into three classes :-Those who abstained from all animal food ; those who never ate of the flesh of any tame animals; and those who made no scruple to eat any kind of meat. A belief in the transmigration of the soul was the foundation of this abstinence. They professed the science of divination, and for that purpose met together and consulted in their temples. They professed to make truth the great object of their study; for that alone, they said, can make man like God "whose body resembles light, as his soul or spirit resembles truth." They condemned all images, and those who said that the gods are male and female; they had neither temples nor altars, but worshipped the sky, as a representative of the Deity, on the tops of mountains; they also sacrificed to the sun, moon, earth, fire, water, and winds, says Herodotus, meaning, no doubt that they adored the heavenly bodies and the elements. This was probably before the time of Zoroaster, when the religion of Persia seems to have resembled that of ancient India. Their hymns in praise of the Most High exceeded, according to Dio Chrysostom, the sublimity of anything in Homer or Hesiod. They exposed their dead bodies to wild beasts. It is a question "whether the old Persian doctrine and wisdom or tradition of light did not undergo material alterations in the hands of its Median restorer, Zoroaster or whether this doctrine was preserved in all its purity by the order of the magi." He then remarks that on them devolved the important trust of the monarch's education, which must necessarily have given them great weight and influence in the state. They were in high credit at the Persian gates "-for that was the Oriental name given to the capital of the empire, and the abode of the prince-and they took the most active part in all the factions that encompassed the throne, or that were formed in the vicinity of the court. In Greece, and even in Egypt, the sacerdotal fraternities and associations of initiated, formed by the mysteries, had in general but an indirect, though not unimportant influence on affairs of state; but in the Persian monarchy they acquired a complete political ascendency. Religion, philosophy, and the sciences were all in their bands, they were the universal physicians who healed the sick in body and in spirit, and, in strict consistency with that character, ministered to the state, which is only the man again in a larger sense. The three grades of the magi alluded to are called by Herber the " disciples,'.' the" professed," and the" masters." They were originally from Bactria, where they governed a little state by laws of their own choice, and by their incorporation in the Persian empire, they greatly promoted the consolidation of the conquests of Cyrus, Their fall dates from the reign of Darius Hystaspes, about 500 B.C., by whom they were fiercely persecuted; this produced an emigration which extended to Cappadocia on the one hand, and to India on the other, but they were still of so much consideration at a later period, as to provoke the jealousy of Alexander the Great. (See Persia.)

Magia Posthuma : A short treatise on Vampirism published at Olmutz in 1706, and written by Ferdinand de Schertz. Reviewing it Calmet (q.v.) says in his Dissertation on Vampires: "The author relates a story of a woman that died in a certain village, after having received all the sacraments, and was buried with the usual ceremonies, in the Churchyard. About four days after her death, the inhabitants of the village were affrighted with an uncommon noise and outcry, and saw' a spectre, sometimes in the shape of a dog, and sometimes in that of a man, which appeared to great multitudes of people, and put them to excessive pain by squeezing their throats, and pressing their breasts, almost to suffocation. There were several whose bodies he bruised all over, and reduced them to the utmost weakness, so that they grew pale, lean, and disfigured. His fury was sometimes so great as not to spare the very beasts, for cows were frequently found beat to the earth, half dead ; at other times with their tails tied to one another, and their hideous lowings sufficiently expressed the pain they felt. Horses were often found almost wearied to death, foaming with sweat, and out of breath, as if they had been running a long and tiresome race; and these calamities continued for several months."

The author of the treatise examines into the subject in the capacity of a lawyer, and discusses both the matter of fact and the points of law arising from it. He is clearly of opinion that if the suspected person was really the author of these noises, disturbances, and acts of cruelty, the law will justify the burning of the body, as is practised in the case of other spectres which come again and molest the living. He relates also several stories of apparitions of this sort, and particularises the mischiefs done by them. One, among others, is of a herdsman of the village of Blow near the town of Kadam in Bohemia, who appeared for a considerable time together, and called upon Several persons, who all died within eight days. At last, the inhabitants of Blow dug up the herdsman's body, and fixed it in the ground, with a stake driven through it. The man, even in this condition, laughed at the people that were employed about him, and told them they were very obliging to furnish him with a stick to defend himself from the dogs. me same night he extricated himself from the stake, frightened several persons by appearing to them, and occasioned the death of many more than he had hitherto done. He was then delivered into the hands of the hang-man, who put him into a cart, in order to burn him without the town. As they went along, the carcass shrieked in the most hideous manner, and threw about its arms and legs, as if it had been alive, and upon being again run through with a stake, it gave a loud cry, and a great quantity of fresh, florid blood issued from the wound. At last the body was burnt to ashes, and this execution put a final stop to the spectres appearing and infesting the village.

The same method has been practised in other places, where these apparitions have been seen and upon taking them out of the ground, their bodies have seemed fresh and florid, their limbs pliant and flexible, without any worms or putrefaction, but not without a great stench. The author quotes several other writers, who attest what he relates concerning these spectres, which, he says, still appear in the mountains of Silesia and Moravia. They are seen, it seems, both by day and night, and the things which formerly belonged to them are observed to stir and change their place, without any person's being seen to touch them. And the only remedy in these cases, is to cut off the head, and burn the body of the persons that are supposed to appear.

Magic : Short for " magic art," from Greek magein the science and religion of the priests of Zoroaster ; or, according to Skeat, from Greek megas, great, thus signifying the "great " science.

History.-The earliest traces of magical practice are found in the European caves of the middle Paleolithic Age. These belong to the last interglacial period of the Pleistocene period, which has been named the Aurignacian, after the cave-dwellers of Aurignac, whose skeletons, artifacts and drawings link them with the Bushmen of South Africa. In the cave of Gargas, near Bagneres de Luchon, occur, in addition to spirited and realistic drawings of animals, numerous imprints of human hands in various stages of mutilation. Some hands had been first smeared with a sticky substance and then pressed on the rock; others had been held in position to be dusted round with red ochre, or black pigment. Most of the imprinted hands have mutilated fingers; in some cases the first and second joints of one or more fingers are wanting; in others the stumps only of all fingers remain. A close study of the hand imprints makes it evident that they are not to be regarded as those of lepers. There can be little doubt that the joints were removed for a specific purpose, and on this point there is general agreement among anthropologists. A clue to the mystery is obtained by the magical custom among the Bushmen of similarly removing finger joints. Mr. G. W. Stow in his The Native Races of South Africa makes reference to this strange form of sacrifice. He once came into contact with a number of Bushmen who "had all lost the first joint of the little finger" which had been removed with a " stone knife" with purpose to ensure a safe journey to the spirit world. Another writer tells of an old Bushman woman whose little fingers of both hands had been mutilated, three joints in all having been removed. She explained that each joint had been sacrificed as a daughter died to express her sorrow. No doubt, however, there was a deeper meaning in the custom than she cared to confess. F. Boas in his Report on the N. W. Tribes of Canada gives evidence of the custom among these peoples. When frequent deaths resulted from disease, the Canadian Indians were wont to sacrifice the joints of their little fingers so as, they explained, "to cut off the deaths." Among the Indian Madigas (Telugu Pariahs) the evil eye is averted by sacrificers who dip their hands in the blood of goats or sheep and impress them on either side of a house door. This custom is not unknown even to Brahmans. Impressions of hands are also occasionally seen on the walls of Indian Mohammedan mosques. As among the N.W. Canadian tribes, the hand ceremony is most frequently practised in India when epidemics make a heavy toll of lives. The Bushmen also remove finger joints when stricken with sickness. In Australia, where during initiation ceremonies the young men have teeth knocked out and bodies scarred, the women of some tribes mutilate the little fingers of daughters with purpose to influence their future careers. Apparently the finger chopping customs of Paleolithic times had a magical significance. On some of the paintings in the Aurignacian caves appear symbols which suggest the slaying with spears and cutting up of animals. Enigmatical signs are another feature. Of special interest are the figures of animal-headed demons, some with hands upraised in the Egyptian attitude of adoration, and others apparently dancing like the animal-headed dancing gods of the Bushmen. In the Marsonlas Paleolithic cave there are semi-human faces of angry demons with staring eyes and monstrous noses. In the Spanish Cave at Cogul several figures of women wearing half-length skirts and shoulder shawls, are represented dancing round a nude male. So closely do these females resemble such as usually appear in Bushmen paintings that they might well, but for their location, be credited to this interesting people. Religious dances among the Bushman tribes are associated with marriage, birth and burial ceremonies ; they are also performed to exorcise demons in cases of sickness. " Dances are to us what prayers are to you," an elderly Bushman once informed a European. whether the cave drawings and wood, bone and ivory carvings of the Magdalenian, or late Paleolithic period at the close of the last ice epoch, are of magical significance is a problem on which there is no general agreement. It is significant to find, however, that several carved ornaments bearing animal figures or enigmatical signs are perforated as if worn as charms. On a piece of horn found at Lorthet, Hautes Pyrenees, are beautiful incised drawings of reindeer and salmon, above which appear mystical symbols. An ape-like demon carved on bone was found at Mas d'Azil: on a reindeer horn from Laugerie Basse a prostrate man with a tail is creeping up on all fours towards a grazing bison. These are some of the instances which lend colour to the view that late Paleolithic art had its origin in magical beliefs and practices-that hunters carved on the handles of weapons and implements, or scratched on cave walls, the images of the animals they desired to capture-sometimes with the secured co-operation of demons, and sometimes with the aid of magical spells.

Coming to historic times we know that the ancient Egyptians (See Egypt) possessed a highly-developed magical system, as did the Babylonians (See Semites), and other pristine civilisations. Indeed from these the medieval European system of magic was finally evolved. Greece and Rome (both of which see) also possessed distinct national systems, which in some measure were branches of their religions; and thus like the Egyptian and Babylonian were preserves of the priesthood.

Magic in early Europe was, of course, merely an appendage of the various religious systems which obtained throughout that continent ; and it was these systems which later generated into witchcraft (q.v.) But upon the foundation of Christianity, the church soon began to regard the practice of magic as foreign to the spirit of its religion. Thus the Thirty-sixth Canon of the (Ecumenical Council held at Laodicea in 364 A.D. forbids clerks and priests to become magicians, enchanters, mathematicians or astrologers. It orders. moreover, that the Church shall expel from its bosom those who employ ligatures or phylacteries. because it says phylacteries are the prisons of the soul. The Fourth Canon of the Council of Oxia, A.D. 525, prohibited the consultation of sorcerers, augurs, diviners, and divinations made with wood or bread; and the Sixtieth Canon of the Council of Constantinople A.D. 692, excommunicated for a period of six years diviners, and those who had recourse to them. The prohibition was repeated by the Council of Rome in 721. The Forty-second Canon of the Council of Tours in 613 is to the effect that the priests shall teach to the people the inefficacy of magical practices to restore the health of men or animals, and later Councils practically endorsed the church's earlier views.

It does not appear, however, that what may be called " medieval magic" took final and definite shape until about the twelfth century. Modelled upon the systems in vogue among the Byzantines and Moors of Spain, which were evolved from the Alexandrian system (See Neoplatonism), what might be called the " oriental" type of magic gained footing in Europe, and quite superseded the earlier and semi-barbarian systems in use among the various countries of that continent, most of which, as has been said, were the relics of older pagan practice and ritual. To these relics clung the witch and the wizard and the professors of lesser magic ; whereas among the disciples of the imported system we find the magician-black and white,-the necromancer and the sorcerer. The manner in which the theosophy and the magic of the East was imported was probably two-fold ; first, there is good evidence that it was imported into Europe by persons returning from the Crusades; and secondly, we know that in matters of wisdom, Byzantium fell heir to Alexandria, and that from Constantinople magic was disseminated throughout Europe. along with other sciences. It is not necessary to deal in the course of this article with the history of witchcraft and lesser sorcery, as that has already been done in the article witchcraft " (q.v.) ; and we will confine ourselves strictly to the history of the higher branches of magic. But it is competent to remark that Europe had largely obtained its pneumotology from the orient through Christianity, from Jewish and early Semitic sources; and it is an open question how far eastern demonology coloured that of the Catholic Church.

Medieval magic of the higher type has practically no landmarks save a series of great names. Its tenets experienced but Little alteration during six centuries. From the eighth to the thirteenth century. there does not appear to have been much persecution of the professors of magic. but after that period the opinions of the church underwent a radical change, and the life of the magus was fraught with considerable danger. However, it is pretty clear that he was not victimised in the same manner as his lesser brethren, the sorcerers and wizards; but we find Paracelsus consistently baited by the medical profession of his day, Agrippa constantly persecuted, and even mystics like Boehme imprisoned and ill-used. It is difficult at this distance to estimate the enormous vogue that magic experienced, whether for good or evil during the middle ages. Although severely punished, if discovered or if its professors became sufficiently notorious to court persecution, the power it seems to have conferred upon them was eagerly sought by scores of people-the majority of whom were quite unfitted for its practice, and clumsily betrayed themselves into the hands of the authorities. In the article entitled " Black Magic," we have outlined the history of that lesser magic known as sorcery or" black magic," and there have shown what persecutions overtook those who practised it.

As has already been mentioned, the history of higher magic in Europe is a matter of great names, and these are somewhat few. They do not include alchemists, who are strictly speaking not magicians, as their application of arcane laws was particular and not universal; but this is not to say that some alchemists were not also magicians. The two great names which stand out in the history of European magic are those of Paracelsus and Agrippa, who formulated the science of medieval magic in its entirety. They were also the greatest practical magicians of the middle ages, as apart from pure mystics, alchemists and others, and their thaumaturgic and necromantic experiences were probably never surpassed. With these medieval magic comes to a close and the further history of the science in Europe will be found outlined in the division of this article entitled " Modern Magic."

Scientific Theories regarding the Nature of Magic.-General agreement as to the proper definition of magic is wanting, as it depends upon the view taken of religious belief. According to Frazer, magic and religion are one and the same thing, or are so closely allied as to be almost identical. This may be true of peoples in a savage or barbarian condition of society, but can scarcely apply to magic and religion as fully fledged, as for example in medieval times, however fundamental may be their original unity. The objective theory of magic would regard it as entirely distinct from religion, possessed of certain well-marked attributes, and traceable to mental processes differing from those from which the religious idea springs. Here and there the two have become fused by the superimposition of religious upon magical practice. The objective idea of magic, in short, rests on the belief that it is based on magical laws which are supposed to operate with the regularity of those of natural science. The subjective view, on the other hand, is that many practices seemingly magical are in reality religious. and that no rite can be called magical which is not so designated by its celebrant or agent. It has been said that religion consists of an appeal to the gods, whereas magic is the attempt to force their compliance. Messrs. Hubert and Mauss believe that magic is essentially traditional. Holding as they do that the primitive mind is markedly unoriginal, they have satisfied themselves that magic is therefore an art which does not exhibit any frequent changes amongst primitive folk, and is fixed by its laws. Religion, they say, is official and organised, magic prohibited and secret. Magical power appears to them to be determined by the contiguity. similarity and contrast of the object of the act, and the object to be effected. Mr. Frazer believes all magic to be based on the law of sympathy - that is the assumption that things act on one another at a distance because of their being secretly linked together by invisible bonds. He divides sympathetic magic into homeopathic magic and contagious magic. The first is imitative or mimetic, and may be practised by itself ; but the latter usually necessitates the application of the imitative principle. Well-known instances of mimetic magic are the forming of wax figures in the likeness of an enemy, which are destroyed in the hope that he will perish. Contagious magic may be instanced by the savage anointing the weapon which caused a wound instead of the wound itself, in the belief that the blood on the weapon continues to feel with the blood on the body. Mr. L. Marillier divides magic into three classes the magic of the word or act; the magic of the human being independent of rite or formula ; and the magic which demands a human being of special powers and the use of ritual. Mr. A. Lehmann believes magic to be a practice of superstition, and founds it in illusion. The fault of all these theories is that they strive after too great an exactness, and that they do not allow sufficiently for the feeling of wonder and awe which is native to the human mind. Indeed they designate this strained attention." We may grant that the attention of savages to a magical rite is " strained," so strained is it in some cases that it terrifies them into insanity; and it would seem therefore as if the limits of " attention" were overpassed. and as if it shaded into something very much deeper. Moreover it is just possible that in future it may be granted that so-called sympathetic magic does not partake of the nature of magic at all, but has greater affinities (owing to its strictly natural and non-supernatural character) with pseudo-science.

Magic is recognised by many savage peoples as a force rather than an art,-a thing which impinges upon the thought of man from outside. It would appear that many barbarian tribes believe in what would seem to be a great reservoir of magical power, the exact nature of which they are not prepared to specify. Thus amongst certain American-Indian tribes we find a force called Orenda or spirit-force. Amongst the ancient Peruvians, everything sacred was huaca and possessed of magical power. In Melanesia, we find a force Spoken of called mana, transmissible and contagious, which may be seen in the form of flames or even heard. The Malays use the word kramat to signify the same thing; and the Malagasy the term hasma. Some of the tribes round Lake Tanganyika believe in such a force, which they call ngai, and Australian tribes have many similar terms, such as churinga and boolya. To hark back to America, we find in Mexico the strange creed named nagualism, which partakes of the same conception-every-thing nagual is magical or possesses an inherent spiritual force of its own.

Theories of the Origin of Magic-Many theories have been advanced regarding the origin of magic-some authorities believing that it commenced with the idea of personal superiority ; others through animistic beliefs (See Animism); and still others through such ideas as that physical pains, for which the savage could not account, were supposed to be inflicted by invisible weapons. This last theory is. of course, in itself, merely animistic. It does not seem, however, that writers on the subject have given sufficient attention to the great influence exerted on the mind of man by odd or peculiar occurrences. We do not for a moment desire to advance the hypothesis that magic entirely originated from such a source, but we believe that it was a powerful factor in the growth of magical belief. To which, too, animism and taboo contributed their quota. Toe cult of the dead too and their worship would soon become fused with magical practice, and a complete demonology would thus speedily arise.

The Dynamics of Magic..-Magical practice is governed by well-marked laws limited in number. It possesses many classes of practitioner ; as, for example, the diviner or augur, whose duties are entirely different from those of the witch-doctor. Chief among these laws, as has been already hinted, is that of sympathy. which, as has been said, must inevitably be sub-divided into the laws of similarity, contiguity and antipathy. The law of similarity and homeopathy is again divisible into two sections: (1)-the assumption that like produces like-an illustration of which is the destruction of a model in the form of an enemy ; and (2) the idea that like cures like-for instance, that the stone called the bloodstone can staunch the flow of bleeding. The law dealing with antipathy rests on the assumption that the application of a certain object or drug expels its contrary. There remains contiguity, which is based on the concept that whatever has once formed part of an object continues to form part of it. Thus if a magician can obtain a portion of a person's hair, he can work woe upon him through the invisible bonds which are supposed to extend between him and the hair in the sorcerer's possession. It is well-known that if the animal familiar of a witch be wounded, that the wound will react in a sympathetic manner on the witch herself. This is called repercussion."

Another widespread belief is that if the magician procures the name of a person that he can gain magical dominion over him. This, of course, arose from the idea that the name of an individual was identical with himself. The doctrine of the Incommunicable Name, the hidden name of the god or magician, is well instanced by many legends in Egyptian history,-the deity usually taking extraordinary care to keep his name secret, in order that no one might gain power over him. The spell or incantation is connected with this concept, and with these, in a lesser degree, may be associated magical gesture, which is usually introduced for the purpose of accentuating the spoken word. Gesture is often symbolic or sympathetic ; it is sometimes the reversal of a religious rite, such as marching against the sun, which is known as walking "widdershins." The method of pronouncing rites is, too, one of great importance. Archaic or foreign expressions are usually found in spells ancient and modern ; and the tone in which the incantation is spoken, no less than its exactness, is also important. To secure exactness rhythm was often employed. which had the effect of aiding memory.

The Magician.-In early society, the magician, which term includes the shaman, medicine-man, piage, witch-doctor, et cetera, may hold his position by hereditary right; by an accident of birth, as being the seventh son of a seventh son; to revelation from the gods; or through mere mastery of ritual. In savage life we find the shaman a good deal of a medium, for instead of summoning the powers of the air at his bidding as did the magicians of medieval days, he seems to find it necessary to throw himself into a state of trance and seek them in their own sphere. The magician is also often regarded as possessed by an animal or supernatural being. The duties of the priest and magician are often combined in primitive society, but it cannot be too strongly asserted that where a religion has been superseded, the priests of the old cult are, for those who have taken their places, nothing but magicians. We do not hear much of beneficent magic among savage peoples, and it is only in Europe that White Magic may be said to have gained any hold.

Medieval Definition of Magic.-The definitions of magic vouchsafed by the great magicians of medieval and modern times naturally differ greatly from those of anthropologists.

For example Eliphas Levi says in his History of Magic: "Magic combines in a single science that which is most certain in philosophy with that which is eternal and infallible in religion. It reconciles perfectly and incontestably those two terms so opposed on the first view-faith and reason, science and belief, authority and liberty. It furnishes the human mind with an instrument of philosophical and religious certainty, as exact as mathematics, and even accounting for the infallibility of mathematics themselves.…There is an incontestable truth, and there is an infallible method of knowing that truth; while those who attain this knowledge and adopt it as a rule of life, can endow their life with a sovereign power, which can make them masters of all inferior things, of wandering spirits, or in other words, arbiters and kings of the world." Paracelsus says regarding magic: "The magical is a great hidden wisdom, and reason is a great open folly. No armour shields against magic for it strikes at the inward spirit of life. Of this we may rest assured, that through full and powerful imagination only can we bring the spirit of any man into an image. No conjuration, no rites are needful; circle-making and the scattering of incense are mere humbug and jugglery. The human spirit is so great a thing that no man can express it; eternal and unchangeable as God Himself is the mind of man; and could we rightly comprehend the mind of man, nothing would be impossible to us upon the earth. Through faith the imagination is invigorated and completed, for it really happens that every doubt mars its perfection. Faith must strengthen imagination, for faith establishes the will. Because man did not perfectly believe and imagine, the result is that arts are uncertain when they might be wholly certain." Agrippa also regarded magic as the true road to communion with God-thus linking it with mysticism.

Modern Magic: With the death of Agrippa in 1535 the old school of magicians may be said to have ended. But that is not to say that the traditions of magic were not handed on to others who were equally capable of preserving them. We must carefully discriminate at this juncture between those practitioners of magic whose minds were illuminated by a high mystical ideal, and persons of doubtful occult position, like the Comte de Saint-Germain and others. At the beginning of the seventeenth century we find many great alchemists in practice, who were also devoted to the researches of transcendental magic, which they carefully and successfully concealed under the veil of hermetic experiment. These were Michael Meyer, Campe, Robert Flood, Cosmopolite, D'Espagnet, Samuel Norton, Baron de Beausoleil, and Van Helmont; another illustrious name is also that of Philalethes. The eighteenth century was rich in occult personalities, as for example the alchemist Lascaris (q.v.) Martines de Pasqually, and Louis de Saint-Martin (q.v.) who founded the Martinist school, which still exists under the grand-mastership of Papus. After this magic merges for the moment into mesmerism, and many of the secret magical societies which abounded in Europe about this period practised animal magnetism as well as astrology, Kabalism and ceremonial magic. Indeed mesmerism powerfully influenced mystic life in the time of its chief protagonist, and the mesmerists of the first era are in direct line with the Martinist and the mystical magicians of the late eighteenth century. Indeed mysticism and magnetism are one and the same thing, in the persons of some of these occultists (See Secret Tradition) the most celebrated of which were Cazotte, Ganneau, Comte. Wronski, Du Potet, Hennequin, Comte d'Ourches, and Baron de Guidenstubbe, and last of the initiates known to us, Eliphas Levi (all of which see)

That Black Magic and sorcery are still practised is a well-known fact, which requires no amplification in this place (See Devil Worship) : but what of that higher magic which has, at least in modern times, attracted so many gifted minds ? We cannot say that the true line of magical adapts ended with Levi, as at no time in the world's history are these known to the vulgar; but we may be certain that the great art is practised in secret as sedulously as ever in the past, and that men of temperament as exalted as in the case of the magicians of older days still privately pursue that art, which, like its sister religion, is none the less celestial because it has been evolved from lowly origins in the mind of man, whose spirit with the march of time reflects ever more strongly the light of heaven, as the sea at first dimly reddened by the dawn, at length mirrors the whole splendour of day.

(See also Abraham the Jew, Black Magic, Ceremonial Magic, Egypt, Magic Darts, Magical Diagrams, Magical Instruments, Magical lumbers, Magical Union of Cologne, Magical Vestments, Medieval Magic.)

Magic Darts : The Laplanders, who passed at one time for great magicians, were said to launch lead darts, about a finger-length, against their absent enemies, believing that with the magic darts they were sending grevious pains and maladies. (See Magic.)

Magic Squares : (See Abraham the Jew.)

Magical Diagrams : These were geometrical designs, representing the mysteries of deity and creation, therefore supposed to be of special virtue in rites of evocation and conjuration.

The chief of these were the Triangle, the Double Triangle, forming a six-pointed star and known as the Sign or Seal of Solomon; the Tetragram a four-pointed star formed by the interlacement of two pillars; and the Pentagram, a five-pointed star.

These signs were traced on paper or parchment. or engraved on metals and glass and consecrated to their various uses by special rites.

The Triangle was based on the idea of trinity as found in all things, in deity, time and creation. The triangle was generally traced on the ground with the magic sword or rod, as in circles of evocation where the triangle was drawn within it and according to the position of the magician at its point or base so the spirits were conjured from heaven or hell.

The Double Triangle, the Sign of Solomon, symbolic of the Macrocosm, was formed by the interlacement of two triangles, thus its points constituted the perfect number six. The magicians wore it, bound on their brows and breasts during the ceremonies and it was engraved on the silver reservoir of the magic lamp.

The Tetragram was symbolic of the four elements and used in the conjuration of the elementary spirits-sylphs of the air, undines of the water, the fire salamanders and gnomes of the earth. In alchemy it represented the magical elements, salt, sulphur, mercury and azoth; in mystic philosophy the ideas Spirit, Matter, Motion and Rest; in hieroglyphs the man, eagle, lion and bull.

The Pentagram, the sign of the Microcosm, was held to be the most powerful means of conjuration in any rite. It may represent evil as well as good, for while with one point in the ascendant it was the sign of Christ, with two points in the ascendant it was the sign of Satan. By the use of the pentagram in these positions the powers of light or darkness were evoked. The pentagram was said to be the star which led the Magi to the manger where the infant Christ was laid.

The preparation and consecration of this sign for use in magical rites is prescribed with great detail. It might be composed of seven metals, the ideal form for its expression or traced in pure gold upon white marble, never before used for any purpose. it might also be drawn with

vermilion upon lambskin without a blemish prepared under the auspices of the Sun. The sign was next consecrated with the four elements ; breathed on five times ; dried by the smoke of five perfumes, incense, myrrh, aloes, sulphur and camphor. The names of five genii were breathed above it, and then the sign was placed successively at the north, south, east and west and centre of the astronomical cross pronouncing the letters of the sacred tetragram and various Kabalistic names.

It was believed to be of great efficacy in terrifying phantoms if engraved upon glass, and the magicians traced it on their doorsteps to prevent evil spirits from entering and the good from departing.

This symbol has been used by all secret and occult societies, by the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, down to the Freemasons of to-day. Modern Occultists translate the meaning of the pentagram as symbolic of the human soul and its relation to God.

The symbol is placed with one point in the ascendant. That point represents the Great Spirit, God. A line drawn from there to the left-hand angle at base is the descent of spirit into matter in its lowest form, whence it ascends to right-hand angle typifying matter in its highest form, the brain of man. From here a line is drawn across the figure to left angle representing man's development in intellect, and progress in material civilization, the point of danger, from which all nations have fallen into moral corruption, signified by the descent of the line to right angle at base. But the soul of man being derived from God cannot remain at this point, but must struggle upward, as is symbolised by the line reaching again to the apex, God, whence it issued.

Magical Instruments and Accessories : In magical rites these were considered of the utmost importance. Indispensable to the efficacy of the ceremonies were the altar, the chalice, the tripod, the censer; the lamp, rod, sword, and magic fork or trident; the sacred fire and consecrated oils; the incense and the candles.

The altar might be of wood or stone, but if of the latter, then of stone that has never been worked or hewn or even touched by the hammer.

The chalice might be of different metals, symbolic of the object of the rites. Where the purpose was evil, a black chalice was used as in the profane masses of sorcerers and witches. In some talismans the chalice is engraved as a symbol of the moon.

The tripod and its triangular stand was also made in symbolic metals.

The censer might be of bronze, but preferably of silver.

In the construction of the lamp, gold, silver, brass and iron must be used, iron for the pedestal, brass for the mirror, silver for the reservoir and at the apex a golden triangle. Various symbols were traced upon it, including an androgynous figure about the pedestal, a serpent devouring its own tail, and the Sign of Solomon.

The rod must be specially fashioned of certain woods and then consecrated to its magical uses. A perfectly straight branch of almond or hazel was to be chosen. This was cut before the tree blossomed, and cut with n golden sickle in the early dawn. Throughout its length must be run a long needle of magnetized iron; at one end there should be affixed a triangular prism, to the other, one of black resin, and rings of copper and zinc bound about it. At the new moon it must be consecrated by a magician who already possesses a consecrated rod.

The secret of the construction and consecration of magical rods was jealously guarded by all magicians and the rod itself was displayed as little as possible, being usually concealed in the flowing sleeve of the magician's robe.

The sword must be wrought of unalloyed steel, with copper handle in the form of a crucifix. Mystical signs were engraved on guard and blade and its consecration took place on a Sunday in full rays of the sun, when the sword was thrust into a sacred fire of cypress and laurel, then moistened with the blood of a snake, polished, and next, together with branches of vervain, swathed in silk. The sword was generally used in the service of Black Magic.

The magic fork or trident used in necromancy was also fashioned of hazel or almond, cut from the tree at one blow with an unused knife, from whose blade must be fashioned the three prongs. Witches and sorceresses are usually depicted using the trident in their infernal rites.

The fire was lit with charcoal on which were cast branches of trees, symbolic of the end desired. In Black Magic these generally consisted of cypress, alderwood, broken crucifixes and desecrated hosts.

The oil for anointing was compounded of myrrh, cinnamon, galingale and purest oil of Olive. Unguents were used by sorcerers and witches, who smeared their brows, breasts and wrists with a mixture composed of human fat and blood of corpses, combined with aconite, belladonna and poisonous fungi, thinking thereby to make themselves invisible.

Incense might be of any odoriferous woods and herbs, such as cedar, rose, citron, aloes, cinnamon, sandal, reduced to a fine powder, together with incense and storax. In Black Magic, alum, sulphur and assafoetida were used as incense.

The candles, belonging solely to practices of Black Magic were moulded from human fat and set in candlesticks of ebony carved in the form of a crescent.

Bowls also were used in these ceremonies, fashioned of different metals, their shape symbolic of the heavens. In necromantic rites skulls of criminals were used, generally to hold the blood of some victim or sacrifice.

Magical Numbers : Certain numbers and their combinations were held to be of magical power, by virtue of their representation of divine and creative mysteries.

The doctrines of Pythagoras furnished the basis for much of this belief. According to his theory numbers contained the elements of all things, of the natural and spiritual worlds and of the sciences. The real numerals of the universe are the primaries one to ten and in their combination the reason of all else may be found. To the Pythagoreans One represented unity, therefore God; Two was duality, the Devil; Four was sacred and holy, the number on which they swore their most solemn oaths; Five was their symbol of marriage. They also attributed certain numbers to the gods, planets and elements; one represented the Sun, two the Moon; while five was fire, six the earth, eight the air, and twelve water.

Cornelius Agrippa in his work Occult Philosophy published in 1533. discourses upon numbers as those characters by whose proportion all things were formed. He enumerates the virtues of numerals as displayed in nature, instancing the herb cinquefoil, which by the power of the number five exorcises devils, allays fever and forms an antidote to poisons. Also the virtue of seven as in the power of the seventh son to cure king's evil.

One was the origin and common measure of all things. It is indivisible ; not to be multiplied. In the universe there is one God ; one supreme intelligence in the intellectual world, man; in the sidereal world, one Sun; one potent instrument and agency in the elementary world, the philosopher's Stone; one chief member in the human world, the heart; and one sovereign prince in the nether world, Lucifer.

Two was the number of marriage. charity and social communion. It was also regarded sometimes as an unclean number; beasts of the field went into the Ark by twos. Three had a mysterious value as shown in Time's trinity - Past, Present and Future; in that of Space-length, breadth and thickness; in the three heavenly virtue - faith, hope and charity; in the three worlds of man-brain, the intellectual ; heart, the celestial ; and body, elemental.

Four signifies solidity and foundation. There are four seasons, four elements, four cardinal points, four evangelists.

Five, as it divides ten, the sum of all numbers, is also the number of justice. There are five senses ; the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ were five ; the name of the Deity the Pentagram is composed of five letters ; it also is a protection against beasts of prey.

Six is the sign of creation, because the world was completed in six days. It is the perfect number, because it alone by addition of its half, its third and its sixth reforms itself. It also represents servitude by reason of the Divine injunction Six days shalt thou labour."

Seven is a miraculous number, consisting of one, unity, and six, sign of perfection. It represents life because it contains body, consisting of four elements, spirit, flesh, bone and humour; and soul, made up of three elements, passion, desire and reason. The seventh day was that on which God rested from his work of creation.

Eight represents justice and fullness. Divided, its halves are equal; twice divided, it is still even. In the Beatitude eight is the number of those mentioned-peace-makers, they who strive after righteousness, the meek, the persecuted, the pure, the merciful, the poor in spirit, and they that mourn.

Nine is the number of the muses and of the moving spheres.

Ten is completeness because one cannot count beyond it except by combinations formed with other numbers. In the ancient mysteries ten days of initiation were prescribed. In ten is found evident signs of a Divine principle.

Eleven is the number of the commandments, while Twelve is the number of signs in the Zodiac, of the apostles, of the tribes of Israel, of the gates of Jerusalem.

This theory of numbers Agrippa applied to the casting of horoscopes. Divination by numbers was one of the favourite methods employed in the Middle Ages.

In magical rites, numbers played a great part. The instruments, vestments and ornaments must be duplicated. The power of the number three is found in the magic triangle: in the three prongs of the trident and fork; and in the threefold repetition of names in conjurations. Seven was also of great influence, the seven days of the week each representing the period most suitable for certain evocations and these corresponded to the seven magical works ; 1.-works of light and riches; 2.-works of divination and mystery; 3.-works of skill, science and eloquence; 4.-works of wrath and chastisement; 5.-works of love; 6.-works of ambition and intrigue; 7.-works of malediction and death.

Magical Papyri : (See Egypt.)

Magical Union of Cologne : A society stated in a MS. of the Rosicrucians at Cologne to have been founded in that city in the year 1115. In the Rosenkreutzer in seiner blosse of Weise it is stated that the initiates wore a triangle as symbolising power, wisdom and love. The more exalted orders among them were called Magos, and these held the greater mysteries of the fraternity.

Magical Vestments and Appurtenances : These were prescribed needful adjuncts to magical rites, whose colour, name, form and substance, symbolic of certain powers and elements, added, it was supposed, greater efficacy to the evocations.

Abraham the Jew. a magician of the Middle Ages, prescribed a tunic of white linen, with upper robe ofscarlet and girdle of white silk. A crown or fillet of silk and gold was to be worn on the head and the perfumes cast on the fire might be incense, aloes, storax, cedar, citron or rose.

According to other authorities on the subject it was advisable to vary colour of robe and employ certain jewels and other accessories according to the symbolism of the end desired. A magician of the nineteenth century, Eliphas Levi, gives a detailed description of ritual, from which the following is taken.

If the rites were those of White Magic and performed on a Sunday, then the vestment should be of purple, the tiara, bracelets and ring of gold, the latter set with a chrysolith or ruby. Laurel, heliotrope and sunflowers are the symbolic flowers, while other details include a carpet of lion-skins and fans of sparrow-hawk feathers. The appropriate perfumes are incense, saffron, cinnamon and red sandal.

If, however, the ceremonial took place on a Monday, the Day of the Moon, then the robe must be of white embroidered with silver and the tiara of yellow silk emblazoned with silver characters ; while the wreaths were to be woven of moonwort and yellow ranunculi. The jewels appropriate to the occasion were pearls, crystals and selenite the perfumes, camphor, amber, aloes, white sandal and seed of cucumber.

In evocations concerning transcendent knowledge, green was the colour chosen for the vestment, or it might be green shot with various colours. The chief ornament was a necklace of pearls and hollow glass beads enclosing mercury. Agate was the symbolic jewel; narcissus, lily, herb mercury, fumitory, and marjoram the flowers; whilst the perfumes must be benzoin, mace and storax.

For operations connected with religious and political matters, the magician must don a robe of scarlet and bind on his brow a brass tablet inscribed with various characters. His ring must be studded with an emerald or sapphire, and he must burn for incense, balm, ambergris, grain of paradise and saffron. For garlands and wreaths, oak, poplar, fig and pomegranate leaves should be entwined.

If the ceremonial dealt with amatory affairs, the vestment must be of sky-blue, the ornaments of copper, and the crown of violets. The magic ring must be set with a turquoise, while the tiara and clasps were wrought of lapis-lazuli and beryl. Roses, myrtle and olive were the symbolic flowers, and fans must be made of swan-feathers.

If vengeance was desired on anyone, then robes must be worn whose colour was that of blood, flame or rust, belted with steel, with bracelets and ring of the same metal. The tiara must be bound with gold and the wreaths woven of absinthe and rue.

To bring misfortune and death on a person, the vestment must be black and the neck encircled with lead. The ring must be set with an onyx and the garlands twined of cypress, ash and hellebore; whilst the perfumes to be used were sulphur, scammony, alum and assafoetida.

For purposes of Black Magic, a seamless and sleeveless robe of black was donned, while on the head was worn a leaden cap inscribed with the signs of the Moon, Venus and Saturn. The wreaths were of vervain and cypress; and the perfumes burned were aloes, camphor and storax.

Maginot, Adele : One of the mediums whose trance utterances have been recorded by the French spiritualist Alphonse Cahagnet, who published his Arcanes de la vie future devoiles in 1848. Her seances, of which Cahagnet strove to obtain a written account from as many as possible of those present, are among the most valuable evidence which spiritualism can produce. Her descriptions of absent or deceased friends of the sitters were singularly accurate, though her supposed conversations with their spirits would appear to be fictitious. At the least her seances are excellent examples of telepathic communication.

Magnet : (See Hypnotism.)

Magnetism : (See Spiritualism, Hypnotism.)

Magnetismus Negativus : (See Fludd.)

Magnus Microcoism : (See Crystallomancy.)

Magpie : The chattering of a Magpie was formerly considered a sure omen of evil.

Mahan, Rev. Asa : (See Spiritualism.)

Mahatma : (See Adept.)

Maier, Michael : A German alchemist born at Rindsburg in Holstein about the year 1858. He was one of the principal figures in the Rosicrucian Controversy in Germany and the greatest adept of his time. He diligently pursued the study of medicine in his youth and settling at Rostock practised with such success that the Emperor Rudolph appointed him as his physician, ennobling him later for his services. Some adepts eventually succeeded in luring him from the practical work he followed so long into the mazy and tortuous paths of alchemy. In order to confer with those whom he suspected were possessed of the transcendent mysteries he travelled all over Germany. The Biographie Universelle states that in pursuit of these ruinous absurdities " he sacrificed his health, fortune and time. On a visit to England he became acquainted with Robert Fludd the Kentish Mystic.

In the controversy which convulsed Germany on the appearance of his Rosicrucian Manifestoes, he took a vigorous and enthusiastic share and wrote several works in defence of the mysterious society. He is alleged to have travelled in order to seek for members of the " College of Teutonic Philosophers R.C.," and failing to find them formed a brotherhood of his own, based on the form of the Fama Fraternibus. There is no adequate authority for this statement, but it is believed that he eventually, towards the end of his life, was initiated into the genuine order. A posthumous pamphlet of Maier's called Ulysses was published by one of his personal friends in 1624. There was added to the same volume the substance of two pamphlets already published in German but which in view of their importance were now translated into Latin for the benefit of the European literati. The first pamphlet was entitled Colloquium Rhodostauroticum trium personarium per Famem et Confessionem quodamodo revelatam de Fraternitate Rosae Crucis. The second was an Echo Colloquii by Hilarion on behalf of the Rosicrucian Fraternity. From these pamphlets it appears that Maier was admitted as a member of the mystical order. He became the most profuse writer on alchemy of his time. He died in the year 1622. Most of his works, many of which are adorned with curious plates, are obscure with the exception of his Rosicrucian Apologies. (See Rosicrucians.)

Maimonides, Moses (1135-1204) : A great Spanish-Hebrew philosopher and theologian, the author of the Guide of the Perplexed. His theories are Aristotelian and rational, but there remained in his view-point a touch of mysticism.

Malachite : Used to preserve the cradle of an infant from spells.

Malays : Magic among the Malays is for the most part of that type known as "sympathetic" (See Magic), that is, it possesses more of the nature of pseudo-science than that of wonder. Says Clifford:-

"The accredited intermediary between men and spirits is the Pawang; the Pawang is a functionary of great and traditional importance in a Malay village, though in places near towns the office is falling into abeyance. In the inland districts, however, the Pawang is still a power, and is regarded as part of the constituted order of Society, without whom no village community would be complete. It must be clearly understood that he had nothing whatever to do with the official Muhammadan religion of the mosque; the village has its regular staff of elder- the Imam, Khatio, and Bilal-for the mosque service. But the Pawang is quite outside this system and belongs to a different and much older order of ideas; he may be regarded as the legitimate representative of the primitive medicine-man,' or village-sorcerer,' and his very existence in these days is an anomaly, though it does not strike Malays as such

"The Pawang is a person of very real significance. In all agricultural operations, such as sowing, reaping, irrigation works, and the clearing of jungle for planting, in fishing at sea, in prospecting for minerals, and in- cases of sickness, his assistance is invoked. He is entitled by custom to certain small fees; thus, after a good harvest he is allowed in some villages five gantangs of padi, one gantang of rice (beras), and two chupaks of emping (a preparation of rice and cocoa-nut made into a sort of sweetmeat) from each householder."

The Pawang regulates taboos, and employs a familiar spirit known as hantu pusaka-a hereditary demon. He also acts as a medium and divines through trance. To become a magician " You must meet the ghost of a murdered nian. Take the midrib of a leaf of the ' ivory cocoa-nut palm (pelepah niyor gading), which is to be laid on the grave, and two midribs, which are intended to represent canoe-paddles, and carry them with the help of a companion to the grave of the murdered man at the time of the full moon (the 55th day of the lunar month) when it falls upon a Tuesday. Then take a cent's worth of incense, with glowing embers in a censer, and carry them to the head-post of the grave of the deceased. Fumigate the grave, going three times round it, and call upon the murdered man by name :-

'Hearken, So-and-so, And assist me

I am taking (this boat) to the saints of God,

And I desire to ask for a little magic.'

Here take the first midrib, fumigate it, and lay it upon the head of the grave, repeating:-

' Kur Allah' (' Cluck, Cluck, God !') seven times. You and your companion must now take up a sitting posture, one at the head and the other at the foot of the grave, facing the grave post, and use the canoe-paddles which you have brought. In a little while the surrounding scenery will change and take upon itself the appearance of the sea, and finally an aged man will appear, to whom you must address the same request as before."

Malay magic may be sub-divided into preparatory rites, sacrificial, lustration, divination and possession. Sacrifice takes the form of a simple gift, or act of homage to the spirit or deity. Lustration is

magico-religious and purificatory, principally taking place after child-birth. It may be performed by fire or water. Divination consists for the most part of the reading of dreams, and is, as elsewhere, drawn from the acts of men or nature. Omens are strongly believed in, "When a star is seen in apparent proximity to the moon, old people say there will be a wedding shortly.

"The entrance into a house of an animal which does not generally seek to share the abode of man is regarded by the Malays as ominous of misfortune. If a wild bird flies into a house it must-be carefully caught and smeared with oil, and must then be released in the open air, a formula being recited in which it is bidden to fly away with all the ill-luck and misfortunes (sial jambalang) of the occupier. An iguana, a tortoise, and a snake, are perhaps the most dreaded of these unnatural visitors. They are sprinkled with ashes, if possible to counteract their evil influence.

" A swarm of bees settling near a house is an unlucky omen, and prognosticates misfortune."

So, too, omens are taken either from the flight or cries of certain birds, such as the night-owl, the crow, some kinds of wild doves, and the bird called the " Rice's Husband" (laki padi.)

Astrology. Divination by astrology is, however, the most common method of forecasting the future. The native practitioners possess long tables of lucky and unlucky periods and reasons. These are mostly translations from Indian and Arabic sources. The oldest known of these systems of propitious and unpropitious seasons is known as Katika Lime, or the Five Times. Under it the day is divided into five parts, and five days form a cycle. To each division is given a name as follows: Maswara, Kala, S'ri, Brahma, Bisnu (Vishnu) names of Hindu deities, the last name in the series for the first day being the first in that of the second day, and so on until the five days are exhausted. Each of these has a colour, and according to the colour first seen or noticed on such and such a day will it be fortunate to ask a boon of a certain god. Another version of this system, known as the " Five Moments" is similar in origin, but possesses a Mohammedan nomenclature. Another scheme Katiha Tujoh is based on the seven heavenly bodies, divides each day into seven parts, each of which is distinguished by the Arabic name for the sun, moon, and principal planets. The astrology proper of the Malays is purely Arabic in origin, but a system of Hindu invocation is in vogue by which the lunar month is divided into parts called Rejang, which resembles the Nacshatras or lunar houses of the Hindus. Each division has its symbol, usually an animal. Each day is propitious for something, and the whole system has been committed to verse for mnemonic purposes.

Demonology.- The demoniac form common to Malaysia is that of the Jinn, with some leaven of the older Hindu spirit. They are one hundred and ninety in number. They are sometimes sub-divided into " faithful" and "infidel," and further into the Jinns of the royal musical instruments, of the state, and of the royal weapons. The Afrit is also known. Angels also abound, and are purely of Arabic origin. Besides these the principal supernatural beings are as follows -the Po/ong, or familiar; the Hantu Pemburu, or spectre Huntsman; the Jadi-jadian, or wer-tiger; the Huntu, or ghost of the murdered ; the Jemalang, or earth-spirit.

Minor Sorcery.-The rites of minor sorcery and witchcraft, as well as those of the shaman, are widely practised among the Malays, and are practically identical in character with those in use among other peoples in a similar state of culture.

See :-W. W. Skeat, Malay Magic; Swettenham, Malay Sketches ; Clifford, In Court and Kampong ; Studies in Brown Humanity.

Malchidael : (See Astrology.)

Mallebranche : A marker of the game of tennis, living in the Rue Sainte-Genevieve, Paris, who in 1618 was visited by an apparition of his wife, who had died five years before She came to advise him to repent and live a better life, and to pray for her also. Both Ma//ebranche and his wife (for he had married a second time) heard the voice, but the apparition did not become visible. In 1618 a brochure was published at Paris, entitled : Histoire nouve/le et remarquab/e de l'esprit d'une femme qici c'est apparue au Faubourg Saint-Marcel apres qu'elle a demeue cinq ans entiers ensevelie elle a par/e a son mari, lui a commande de faire prier pour elle, ayant comnence de parler le mardi II Decembre, 1618.

Malleus Maleficarum : A large volume published in Germany at the end of the fifteenth century, written by two inquisitors under the papal bull against witchcraft of 1484,-Jacob Sprenger and Henricus Institor. Says Wright concerning it : " In this celebrated work, the doctrine of witchcraft was first reduced to a regular system, and it was the model and groundwork of all that was written on the subject long after the date which saw its first appearance. Its writers enter largely into the much-disputed question of the nature of demons ; set forth the causes which lead them to seduce men in this manner; and show why women are most prone to listen to their proposals, by reasons which prove that the inquisitors had but a mean estimate of the softer sex. The inquisitors show the most extraordinary skill in explaining all the difficulties which seemed to beset the subject ; they even prove to their entire satisfaction that persons who have become witches may easily change themselves into beasts, particularly into wolves and cats; and after the exhibition of such a mass of learning, few would venture any longer to entertain a doubt. They investigate not only the methods employed to effect various kinds of mischief, but also the counter-charms and exorcisms that may be used against them. They likewise tell, from their own experience, the dangers to which the inquisitors were exposed, and exult in the fact that they were a class of men against whom sorcery had no power. These writers actually tell us, that the demon had tried to frighten them by day and by night in the forms of apes, dogs, goats, etc. ; and that they frequently found large pins stuck in their night-caps, which they doubted not came there by witchcraft. When we hear these inquisitors asserting that the crime of which the witches were accused, deserved a more extreme punishment than all the vilest actions of which humanity is capable, we can understand in some degree the complacency with which they relate how, by their means, forty persons had been burnt in one place, and fifty in another, and a still greater number in a third. From the time of the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum, the continental press during two or three generations teemed with publications on the all-absorbing subject of sorcery.

"One of the points on which opinion had differed most was, whether the sorcerers were carried bodily through the air to the place of meeting, or whether it was an imaginary journey, suggested to their minds by the agency of the evil one. The authors of the Malleus decide at once in favour of the bodily transmission. One of them was personally acquainted with a priest of the diocese of Frisingen, who declared that he had in his younger days been carried through the air by a demon to a place at a very great distance from the spot whence he had been taken. Another priest, Iris friend, declared that he had seen him carried away, and that he appeared to him to be borne up on a kind of cloud. At Baldshut, on the Rhine, in the diocese of Constance, a witch confessed, that offended at not having been invited to the wedding of an acquaintance, she had caused herself to be carried through the air in open daylight to the top of a neighbouring mountain, and there, having made a hole with her hands and filled it with water, she had, by stirring the water with certain incantations caused a heavy storm to burst forth on the heads of the wedding-party; and there were witnesses at the trial who swore they had seen her carried through the air. The inquisitors, however, confess that the witches were some-times carried away, as they term it, in the spirit ; and they give the instance of one woman who was watched by her husband; she appeared as if asleep, and was insensible, but he perceived a kind of cloudy vapour arise out of her mouth, and vanish from the room in which she lay-this after a time returned, and she then awoke, and gave an account of her adventures, as though she had been carried bodily to the assembly.

" The witches of the Malleus Maleficarum appear to have been more injurious to horses and cattle than to mankind. A witch at Ravenspurg confessed that she had killed twenty-three horses by sorcery. We are led to wonder most at the ease with which people are brought to bear witness to things utterly beyond the limits of belief. A man of the name of Stauff in the territory of Berne, declared that when pursued by the agents of justice, he escaped by taking the form of a mouse; and persons were found to testify that they had seen him perform this transmutation.

"The latter part of the work of the two inquisitors gives minute directions for the mode in which the prisoners are to be treated, the means to be used to force them to a confession, the degree of evidence required for conviction of those who would not confess, and the whole process of the trials. These show sufficiently that the unfortunate wretch who was once brought before the inquisitors of the holy see on the suspicion of sorcery, however slight might be the grounds of the charge, had very small chance of escaping out of their claws.

"The Malleus contains no distinct allusion to the proceedings at the Sabbath. The witches of this period differ little from those who had fallen into the hands of the earlier inquisitors at the Council of Constance. We see plainly how, in most countries, the mysteriously indefinite crime of sorcery had first been seized on to ruin the cause of great political offenders, until the fictitious importance thus given to it brought forward into a prominent position, which they would, perhaps, never otherwise have held, the miserable class who were supposed to be more especially engaged in it. It was the judicial prosecutions mid the sanguinary executions which followed, that stamped the character of reality on charges of which it required two or three centuries to convince mankind of the emptiness and vanity. One of the chief instruments in fixing the belief in sorcery, and in giving it that terrible hold on society which it exhibited in the following century, was the compilation of Jacob Sprenger and his fellow inquisitor. In this book sorcery was reduced to a system but it was not yet perfect; and we must look forward, some half a century before we find it clothed with all the horrors which cast so much terror into every class of society."

Malphas : Grand president of the infernal regions, where he appears under the shape of a crow. When he appears in human form he has a very raucous voice. He builds impregnable citadels and towers, overthrows the ramparts of his enemies, finds good workmen, gives familiar spirits, receives sacrifices, and deceives the sacrificers. Forty legions are under his command.

Mamaloi : An obeah priestess. (See West Indian Islands.)

Mana : (See Magic.)

Mananan : Son of the Irish sea-god Lir, magician and owner of strange possessions. His magical boat" Ocean-sweeper" steered by the wishes of its occupant; his horse Aonban, able to travel on sea or land; and his sword Fragarach, a match for any mail; were brought by Lugh from "The Land of the Living" (Fairyland). As lord 'of the sea he was the Irish Charon, and his colour-changing cloak would flap gaily as he marched with heavy tread round the camp of the hostile force invading Erin. He is comparable with the Cymric Manawiddan and resembles the Hellenic Proteus.

Mandragoras : Familiar demons who appear in the figures of little men without beards. Delrio states that one day a mandragora, entering at the request of a sorcerer, who was being tried before a court for wizardry, was caught by the arms by the judge, who did not believe in the existence of the spirit, to convince himself of its existence, and thrown into the fire, where of course it would escape unharmed. Mandragoras are thought to be little dolls or figures given to sorcerers by the Devil for the purpose of being consulted by them in time of need; and it would seem as if this conception had sprung directly from that of the fetish, which is nothing else than a dwelling-place made by a shaman or medicine-man for the reception of any wandering spirit who chooses to take up his abode therein. The author of the work entitled Petit Albert says that on one occasion, whilst travelling in Flanders and passing through the town of Lille, he was invited by one of his friends to accompany him to the house of an old woman who posed as being a great prophetess. This aged person conducted the two friends into a dark cabinet lit only by a single lamp, where they could see upon a table covered with a cloth a kind of little Statue or mandragora, seated upon a tripod and having the left hand extended and holding a hank of silk very delicately fashioned, from which was suspended a small piece of iron highly polished. Placing under this a crystal glass so that the piece of iron was suspended inside the goblet, the old woman commanded the figure to strike the iron against the glass in such a manner as she wished, saying at the same time to the figure: " I command you, Mandragora, in the name of those to whom you are bound to give obedience, to know if the gentleman present will be happy in the journey which he is about to make. If so, strike three times with the iron upon the goblet." The iron struck three times as demanded without the old woman having touched any of the apparatus, much to the surprise of the two spectators. The sorceress put several other questions to the Mandragora, who struck the glass once or thrice as seemed good to him. But, as the author shows, the whole was an artifice of the old woman, for the piece of iron suspended in the goblet was extremely light and when the old woman wished it to strike against the glass, she held in one of her hands a ring set with a large piece of magnetic stone, the virtue of which drew the iron towards the glass.

The ancients attributed great virtues to the plant called mandragoras or mandrake, which was supposed to be somewhat in the shape of a man, and when plucked from the earth to emit a species of human cry. It was also worn to ward off various diseases. (See Exorcism.)

Manen : The priest of the Katean Secret Society of the Moluccas.

Manicheism : (See Gnosticism.)

Manieri, B. E. : (See Italy.)

Manu : is a grade in the theosophical hierarchy below the Planetary Logoi or Rulers of the Seven Chains. The charge given to Menus is that of forming the different races of humanity and guiding its evolution. Each race has its own Man" who represents the racial type.

Manuscript Troano : (See Atlantis.)

Maranos : A Jewish secret fraternity which arose in Spain in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries during the persecution of the Hebrew race in that country. Its members met in the greatest secrecy at inns, disguised, and used grips, signs and passwords. (See Freemasons' Magazine, 1860, III., p. 416.)

Marcellus Empiricus : A Gallic-Roman writer born at Bordeaux in the fourth century. He was magister officiorum under Theodosius (379-395.) He wrote a work called De medicamentis conspiricis physicis ac rationalibus, a collection of medical recipes, for the most part absurd and worthless, and having more in common with popular superstition than with medical science.

Marcians : (See Gnostics.)

Margaritomancy : Divination by pearls. A pearl was covered with a vase, and placed near the fire, and the names of suspected persons pronounced. When the name of the guilty one was uttered the pearl was supposed to bound upwards and pierce the bottom of the vase.

Margiotta, Domenico : Author of Adriano Lemmi, and Palladism, in which books he violently impeaches the Grand Master Lemmi of the crimes of Satanism and sorcery. These statements have been amply proved to be without foundation.

Marie Antoinette : (See Cagliostro.)

Marigny, Enguerrand de : A minister of Louis X., king of France. His wife and her sister were accused of having recourse to enchantments to harm the king, his brother Charles, and other batons, with the intention of freeing Enguessand, who was imprisoned. The ladies were arrested. Jacques Dulot, a magician, who was believed to have helped in these sorceries, was also committed to prison, where he took his own life, after his wife had been burnt. Dulot's suicide was considered a conclusive proof of Marigny's guilt, and the ex-minister was tried, condemned, and hanged on a gibbet which he himself had had erected during his term of office. The tide of popular opinion turned at the sight of his misfortune, and the judges dared not condemn his wife and sister-in-law. The king himself repented of having abandoned Marigny to his enemies, and in his will left a sum of money to his family.

Marriage of Heaven and Hell : (See Blake.)

Marrow of Alchemy : (See Philalethes.)

Marshall, Mrs. : An English medium who gave open seances from 1858 onwards. Unlike many of the early mediums she practised professionally, and was for some time the only professional medium of note in this country. The phenomena witnessed included communication by means of rapping, playing on musical instruments, touchings by invisible hands, and all the more familiar forms. A writer in All the Year Round, July 28th, 1860, characterised Mrs. Marshall's performance as a "dull and barefaced imposition," but Robert Bell, the celebrated dramatist, writing in the Cornhill Magazine was satisfied that the phenomena were genuine spirit manifestations. (See Spiritualism.)

Marsi, The : According to Pliny, these people were from the earliest times skilled in magical practices and sorceries. They were able to charm poisonous serpents by means of songs.

Marthese, J. N. T. : (See Holland.)

Martian Language : A language purporting to be that of the inhabitants of the planet Mars, written and spoken by the medium known as Helene Smith. Heelene, the medium studied by a celebrated investigator, M. Flournoy, professor of psychology at Geneva, had in 1892 joined a spiritualistic circle, where she developed marvellous mediumistic powers. In 1896, after Professor Flournoy had begun his investigations, she was spirited during a trance to the planet Mars, and thereafter described to the circle the manners and customs and appearance of the Martians. She learned their language, which she wrote and spoke with ease and consistency. Unlike most of the " unknown tongues" automatically produced the Martian language was intelligible, its words were used consistently, and on the whole it had every appearance of a genuine language. That it was in any way connected with Mars is out of the question. The descriptions of that planet and its inhabitants are quite impossible. And the language itself bears a remarkable resemblance to French, the native tongue of the medium. The grammar and construction of both languages are the same, and even the vowel-sounds are identical, so that the source of the Martian language is not fat to seek.

Martin, Saint (exorcist) : (circa 316-400). Most of the pristine luminaries of the Christian Church are credited with working miracles, and indeed the great majority of them maintained that, would the rude populace be won for Christ, the one sure way was to show them extraordinary marvels. Even Columba, most engaging of saints, was not averse to practising deception with a view to making converts'; and it has often been suggested, not without considerable reason, that some of these early thaumaturgists brought science to their aid. Perhaps St. Martin was among those who essayed this practice, and certainly the muster-roll of his miracles is formidable, for he is traditionally credited with considerably over two hundred.

Martin was born about the year 316 at Sabaria, in Pannonia. His parents were heathen, yet he very soon came into contact with Christians, and their teaching impressed him greatly. As a young man he entered the army, and it was soon after this step that, while stationed with his regiment at Amiens, he performed his famous act of charity, dividing his cloak with a beggar who was shivering with cold. The night after this generous act he was vouchsafed a vision, Christ appearing to him and giving him his blessing; and thereupon Martin espoused the Christian faith formally, he was baptised and renounced soldiering once and for all. Going to Poitiers, he then made the acquaintance of Hilary, who wished to make him a deacon, but at his own request ordained him to the humbler office of an exorcist; and a little later, during a visit to his home, Martin experienced the joy of winning his mother from heathendom to the new faith. However, his open zeal in opposing the Arians raised persecution against him, and for a considerable space he found it advisable to live at the island of Gallinaria, near Genoa, in which quiet retreat he had ample leisure for scientific researches and theological studies; but by the year 365 he was back with Hilary at Poitiers, when he founded the Monasterium Locociagense. Then, in 371, the people of Tours chose him as their bishop, and for some time subsequently he showed great activity in trying to extirpate idolatry in his diocese, and in extending the monastic system. Nevertheless, he was anything but a fierce proseletyser, and at Treves, in 385, he entreated that the lives of the Priscillianist heretics should be spared, while he ever afterwards refused to have anything to do with those bishops who had sanctioned their execution. Meanwhile, being anxious for another period of quiet study, Martin had established the monastery of Marmontier les Tours, on the banks of the Loire; and here much of his remaining life was spent, yet it was at Candes that his death occurred about the year 400.

Martin left no writings behind him, the Confessio with which he is sometimes credited being undoubtedly spurious. His life was written by his ardent disciple, Sulpicius Severus, and a curious document it is, filled with accounts of the miracles and marvels worked by the quondam bishop. Thanks to his triumphs herein, Martin was duly sanctified by the church, and he is commemorated on the 11th of November; but the feast of Martinmas, which occurs on that date, and which of course derives its name from him, is, nevertheless, a survival of an old pagan festival; and it inherited certain usages thereof, this accounting for the fact that Martin is regarded as the patron saint of deep potations. Certain of his miracles, and other incidents in his life, were figured by numerous painters of note, perhaps the finest picture of him being one by the Flemish master, Hugo van der Goes, which is now in the Municipal Museum at Glasgow; while it behoves to add that the term Martinet, signifying a severe and punctilious person, is not derived from the saint's name, but from one Jean Martinet, a French soldier who, during the reign of Louis XIV., won fame by his ardour in promoting discipline in his regiment.

Martini : (See Alchemy.)

Martinists : (See St. Martin.)

Mascots (See Amulets.)

Mashmashu : (See Babylonia.)

Masleh : The angel whom the Jews believed ruled the Zodiac. According to one of their rabbinical legends, Masleh was the medium through which the power and influence of the Messiah was transmitted to the Sphere of the Zodiac.

Massey, C. C. : (See Psychological Society.)

Master : (See Adept.)

Mastiphal : The name given to the prince of demons in an apocryphal book entitled Little Genesis, which is quoted by Cedrenus.

Materialisatlon : A term denoting the formation by a spirit of a temporary physical organisation, visible and palpable, by means of which it can come into touch with material objects. Materialisation is the most important of the physical phenomena of spiritualism, and in its earlier stages was confined to the materialising of heads and hands, or vague luminous figures. In common with much of the physical phenomena, it had its origin in America, where it was known at a comparatively early period in the history of the movement. So early as 1860 stances were held with the Fox sisters by Robert Dale Owen and others, at which veiled and luminous figures were witnessed One sitter, Mr. Livermore, saw and recognised the spirit of his dead wife many times during a series of stances with Kate Fox, extending over some six years. In this case, however, there were no other sitters, and the stances were held in the dark, the whole atmosphere being peculiarly favourable to fraud. In 1871 another American medium, Mrs. Andrews, held sittings at which materialised forms were seen, and in the following year Mrs. Guppy and another medium attempted the production of a similar phenomenon in England, but without marked success. The mediums, Herne and Williams, succeeded a few months later in materialising shadowy forms and faces in a dark stance-room. It was, however, Miss Florence Cook, to whose phenomena Sir William Crookes has so abundantly testified, who was to give the most remarkable demonstration of this form of spirit manifestation. Miss Cook was, at the commencement of her spiritualistic career, a young girl of sixteen or seventeen years, described by a contemporary writer as a pretty, Jewish-like little girl." She was at that time a private medium, though at the outset she held some materialisation stances with Herne. From her childhood, it was said, she had been attended by a spirit-girl, who stated that her name on earth had been Annie Morgan, but that her name in the spirit-world was Katie King. Under the latter name Miss Cook's control was destined to become very famous in spiritualistic circles. Usually the medium was put in a sort of cupboard, or cabinet, tied to her chair, and the cords sealed. A short interval would ensue, during which the sitters sang spiritualistic hymns, and at length there would emerge from the cabinet a form clad in flowing white draperies, and not to be distinguished from an ordinary human being. On one occasion a stance was held at Mr. Cook's house, at which several distinguished spiritualists were present. Among the invited guests was Mr. W. Volckman, who thought to test for himself the good faith of the medium and the genuineness of Katie." After some forty minutes close observance of the materialised spirit Mr. Volckman concluded that Miss Cook and Katie were one and the same, and just as the white-robed figure was about to return to the cabinet he rushed forward and seized her. His indignant fellow-sitters released the "spirit," the light was extinguished, and in the confusion that followed the spirit disappeared. Miss Cook was found a few minutes later bound as when she was placed in the cabinet, the cords unbroken, the seal intact, She wore a black dress, and there was no trace of white draperies in the cabinet. Sir William Crookes, whose investigations into the phenomena of this medium extended over a period of some years, had better opportunity of examining Katie's pretensions than Mr. Volckman had, and he had le it on record that the spirit form was taller than the medium, had a larger face and longer fingers; and whereas Florence Cook had black hair and a dark complexion, Katie's complexion was fair, and her hair a light auburn. Moreover Sir William, enjoying as he did the complete confidence of Katie, had on more than one occasion the privilege of seeing her and Miss Cook at the same time. But Miss Cook was not the only medium who was controlled by Katie King, who, with her father, John King, became in time a most popular spirit with materialisation mediums. From that time onwards materialisation was extensively practised both by private and professional mediums, among the number being Mrs. Showers and her daughter, Rita, Miss Lottie Fowler, William Eglinton and D. D. Home; while in recent years materialisations are stated to have occurred in the presence of Eusapia Palladino. Many sitters claimed to see in these draped figures and veiled faces the form and features of deceased relatives and friends, though frequently there was but the smallest ground for such a claim--parents recognised their daughter by her hair, a man recognised his mother by the Sort of cap she wore, and so on. There is no doubt that fraud entered, and still enters, very largely into materialisation stances. Lay figures, muslin draperies, false hair, and similar properties have been found in the possession of mediums; accomplices have been smuggled into the stance-room; lights are frequently turned low or extinguished altogether.. Add to this the fact that other spirits besides Katie have on being grasped resolved themselves into the person of the medium, and it will be seen that scepticism is not altogether. unjustified. Then, as already mentioned, the rash and premature recognition of deceased friends in draped forms whose resemblance to the medium is patent to the less-interested observer, has also done much to ruin the case for genuine spirit moterialisation, Yet that there is a case we must believe on the assertion of some of the most distinguished of modern investigators, men fully alive to the possibilities of fraud, trained to habits of correct observation. M. Flammarion felt constrained to attribute the materialisations he had witnessed in the presence of Eusapia Palladino to fluidic emanations from the medium's person,. while judging the recognition accorded to them the result of illusion.' Others state that the physical organisation formed by the spirit is composed of fine particles of matter drawn from the material world. By way of explaining the numerous exposures that have been made from time to time various theories of a more or less ingenious character have been advanced by spiritualists. In a case of obvious fraud they declare that the spirits have controlled the medium to secrete wigs and draperies in the cabinet. If a spirit on being held by a sitter proves to be the medium herself an explanation is also forthcoming. The medium, it is said, imparts to the spirit a certain portion of her vital energy, so that the spirit may " manifest." When the latter is ruthlessly grasped these two portions of the medium's vital spirits tend to re-unite, so that either the medium will draw the spirit into the cabinet, or the spirit will draw the medium out, the reason that the union generally takes place without the cabinet is that the medium has imparted to the control more of her energy than she had retained.

Mather, Cotton, and Increase : Father and son, two eminent divines of Boston, notorious for their crusade against persons suspected of witchcraft. (See America; U.S. of.)

Matikon : A mystical work printed at Frankfort in 1784, whose theories resemble the doctrines of the Brahmins. The following is an example of its teachings, Before the Fall, Adam was a pure spirit, a celestial being, surrounded by a mystic covering which rendered him incapable of being affected by any poison of nature, or by the power of the elements. The physical body, therefore, is but a coarse husk in which, having lost his primitive invulnerability, man shelters from the elements. In his condition of perfect glory and perfect happiness Adam was a natural king, ruling all things visible and invisible, and showing forth the power of the Almighty. He also bore "a fiery, two-edged, all-piercing lance,"-a living word, which united all powers within itself, and by means of which he could perform all things.

Maurier, George Du : (See Fiction, Occult English.)

Maxwell, Dr. Scotch Physician (See Hypnotism.)

Mayas : (See Mexico and Central America.)

Mayavi-rupa : is the invisible part of the physical body. Its appearance is exactly similar to that of the physical body. (See Seven Principles, Rupa, Theosophy.)

Mbwiri : (See Africa.)

Medea : An enchantress, daughter of the king of Colchis, who fell in love with Jason when he came to that country, and enabled him to slay the sleepless dragon that guarded the golden fleece. She fled from Colchis with Jason who made her his wife, and from whom she exacted a pledge never to love another woman. Her young brother, having been found on board the ship they sailed in, she tore him in pieces and flung him into the sea. She accompanied Jason to Greece, where she was looked on as a barbarian, but having conciliated King Peleus who was now a very old man, she induced him to try to regain youth by bathing in a magic cauldron of which she was to prepare the contents. So great was his faith in her powers, that the old man unhesitatingly plunged into her cauldron and was boiled alive. Her reason for this frightful act of cruelty was to hasten the succession to the throne of Jason, who in due course would have succeeded Peleus; but now the Greeks would have none of either him or Medea, and he was forced to leave Iolcos. Growing tired of the formidable enchantress to whom he had bound himself, Jason sought to contract an alliance with Glauce, a young princess. Dissembling her real intentions, Medea feigned friendship with the bride-elect and sent her as a wedding present a garment. which as soon as Glauce put it on, caused her to die in the greatest agony. She - Medea - parted from Jason; having murdered her two children by him, she fled from Corinth in her car drawn by dragons, to Athens, where she married Argeus, by whom she had a son, Medus. But the discovery of an attempt on the life of Theseus, forced her to leave Athens. Accompanied by her son, she returned to Colchis, and restored her father to the throne, of which he had been deprived by his own brother Perses. A great amount of literature has been written around Medea: Euripides, Ennius, Aeschylus, and later, Thomas Corneille having made her the theme of tragedies. (See Greece.)

Medici, Catherine de : (See France.)

Medicine, Occult : " The whole power of the occult physician," says Eliphas Levi, " is in the conscience of his will, while his whole art consists in exciting the faith of his patient. ' If you have faith,' says the Master, 'all things are possible to him who believes.' The confidence must be dominated by expression, tone, gesture; confidence must be inspired by a fatherly manner, and cheerfulness stimulated by seasonable and sprightly conversations. Rabelais, who was a greater magician than he seemed, made pantagruelism his special panacea. He compelled his patients to laugh, and all the remedies be subsequently gave them succeeded better in consequence; he established a magnetic sympathy between himself and them, by means of which he communicated to them his own confidence and good humour; he flattered them in his prefaces, termed them his precious, most illustrious patients, and dedicated his books to them. So are we convinced that Gargantua and Pantagruel cured more black humours, more tendencies to madness, more atrabilious whims, at that epoch of religious animosities and civil wars, than the whole Faculty of medicine could boast. Occult medicine is essentially sympathetic. Reciprocal affection, or at least real good will, must exist between doctor and patient. Syrups and juleps have very little inherent virtue; they are what they become through the mutual opinion of operator and subject hence homeopathic medicines dispenses with them and no serious inconvenience follows. Oil and wine, combined with salt or camphor, are sufficient for the healing of all afflictions, and for all external frictions or soothing applications, oil and wine, are the chief medicaments of the Gospel tradition. They formed the balm of the Good Samaritan, and in the Apocalypse. when describing the last plagues, the prophet prays the avenging powers to spare these substances, that is, to leave a hope and a remedy for so many wounds. What we term extreme unction was the pure and simple practice of the Master's traditional medicine, both for the early Christians and in the mind of the apostle Saint James, who has included the precept in his epistle to the faithful of the whole world. Is any man sick among you,' he writes, ' let him call in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.' This divine therapeutic science was lost gradually, and Extreme Unction came to be regarded as a religious formality necessary as a preparation for death. At the same time, the thaumaturgic virtue of consecrated oil could not be altogether effaced from remembrance by the traditional doctrine, and it is perpetuated in the passage of the catechism which refers to Extreme Unction. Faith and charity were the most signal healing powers among the early Christians. The source of most diseases is in moral disorders; we must begin by healing the soul, and then the cure of the body will follow quickly."

Medieval Magic : In the belief of the medieval professors of the science of magic, it conferred upon the adept power over angels, demons, elementary spirits and the souls of the dead, the possession of esoteric wisdom, and actual knowledge of the discovery and use of the latent forces and undeveloped energies resident in man. This was supposed to be accomplished by a combination of will and aspiration. which by sheer force germinate a new intellectual faculty of psychological perception, enabling the adept to view the wonders of a new world and communicate with its inhabitants. To accomplish this the ordinary faculties were almost invariably heightened by artificial means. The grandeur of the magical ritual overwhelmed the neophyte, and wondrously quickened his senses. Ceremonial magic was a marvellous spur to the latent faculties of man's psychic nature, just as were the rich concomitants of religious mysticism. In the medieval mind, as in other periods of man's history, it was thought that magic could be employed both for good and evil purposes,-its branches being designated "white," and " black," as it is used for benevolent or wicked ends. The term " red " magic is also occasionally employed. as indicating a more exalted type of the art, but the designation is fanciful. White magic, to a great extent, concerned itself with the evocation of angelic forces and of the spirits of the elements. The angelology of the Catholic Church was undoubtedly derived from the ancient faith of Israel, which in turn was indebted to Egypt and Babylon; and the Alexandrian system of successive emanations from the one and eternal substance, evolved a complex hierarchy of angels, all of whom appear to have been at the bidding of him who was in possession of the Incommunicable Name,-a concept borrowed purely from that of the Name of Power so greatly made use of in Egyptian magic (See Egypt.) The letters which composed this name were thought to possess a great measure of occult significance, and a power which in turn appears to have been reflected upon the entire Hebrew alphabet (See Kabala), which was thus endowed with mystical meaning, each of the letters representing a vital and creative number. Just as a language is formed from the letters of its alphabet, so from the secret powers which resided in the Hebrew alphabet, were evolved magical variations. From the letter ' aleph " to that of " jod " the angelical world was symbolised. From " caf" to " tsed ' were represented the several orders of angels who inhabited the various spheres, each of which 'gas under the direction of a particular intelligence. From " tsed " to " than " is in secret correspondence with the elemental world ; so that there were intelligences in correspondence with each of the Hebrew letters,- "aleph" with the Haioth-ha-kodesch of the seraphim, the first and supreme angelical rank; beth " the second letter with the ophanim or angels of the second order; " gimel " with the aralim or angels of the third order, and so on to the tenth letter" jod," which com pletes the enumeration of the angelical spheres. The rest of the Hebrew alphabet, however, corresponds to individual principalities and powers-all of whom hold an important place in the mystical universe. Thus caf the eleventh letter is in correspondence with Mettatron who belongs to the first heaven of the astronomic world. Final " caf," the next letter, corresponds to the intelligences of the secret order whose supreme chief is Raziel ; "and lamed " the twelfth letter corresponds to those of the third sphere, that of Saturn, whose lord is Schebtaiel: and so on : these intelligences under their queen, with the sixteenth letter am and " pe" the seventeenth of the Hebrew alphabet, refer to the first of the mystical elements-that of Fire, which is ruled over by the seraphim. Final "pe " corresponds to the air where dwell the sylphs, who are presided over by Ariel.

"Tsade" refers to water where dwell the nymphs under their queen Tharsis; and koph" corresponds to earth, the sphere of the gnomes, ruled over by the cherubim. The twentieth letter "resh" applies to the animal kingdom, including man. "Shin" corresponds to the vegetable world. 'Tau" the last symbol of the Hebrew alphabet refers to the world of minerals. There are besides these many other species of angels and powers, as will be seen from reference to the articles on ' Angels" and ' Kabala." More exalted intelligences were conjured by rites to be found in the ancient book known as the Key of Solomon, and perhaps the most satisfactory collection of formulae for the invocation of the higher angels is that included in the anonymous Theosophia Pneumatica, published at Frankfort in 1686, which bears a strong family resemblance to the Treatise on Magic by Arbatel. The names in this work do not tally with those which have been already given, but as it is admitted by occult students that the names of all unseen beings are really unknown to humanity, this does not seem of such importance as it might at first sight. It would seem that such spiritual knowledge as the medieval magus was capable of attaining was insufficient to raise him above the intellectual limitations of his time, so that the work in question possesses all the faults of its age and type. But that is not to say that it is possessed of no practical value: and it may be taken as well-illustrating the white magic of medieval times. It classifies the names of the angels under the title of Olympic or Celestial Spirits, who abide in the firmament and constellations they administer inferior destinies and accomplish and teach whatever is portended by the several stars in which they are insphered. They are powerless to act without a special command from the Almighty. The stewards of Heaven are seven in number-Arathron, Bethor, Phaleg, Och, Hagith, Ophiel, and Phul. Each of them has a numerous host at his command, and the regions in which they dwell are 196 in all. Arathron appears on Saturday at the first hour, and answers for his territory and its inhabitants; as do the others, each at his own day and hour and each presides for a period of 490 years. The functions of Bethor began in the fiftieth year before the birth of Christ 430. Phagle reigned till A.D. 920; Och till the year 1410; Hagith governed until A.D. 1900. The others follow in succession. These intelligences are the stewards of all the elements, energising the firmament and, with their armies, depending from each other in a regular hierarchy. The names of the minor Olympian spirits are interpreted in divers ways, but those alone are powerful which they themselves give, which are adapted to the end for which they have been summoned. Generically, they are called Astra, and their power is seldom prolonged beyond one hundred and forty years. The heavens and their inhabitants come voluntarily to man and often serve against even the will of man, but how much more if we implore their ministry. That evil and troublesome spirits also approach men is accomplished by the cunning of the devil, at times by conjuration or attraction, and frequently as a penalty for sins therefore, shall he who would abide in familiarity with celestial intelligences take pains to avoid every serious sin; be shall diligently pray for the protection of God to vanquish the impediments and schemes of Diabolus, and God will ordain that the devil himself shall work to the direct profit of the Theosophist. Su^bject to Divine Providence, some spirits have power over pestilence and famine, some are destroyers of cities, like those of Sodom and Gomorrah, some are rulers over kingdoms, some guardians of provinces, some of a single person. The spirits are the ministers of the word of God, of the Church and its members, or they serve creatures in material things, sometimes to the salvation of soul and body, or, again, to the ruin of both. But nothing, good or bad, is done without knowledge, order, and administration.

It is unnecessary to follow the angelical host farther here, as we have outlined it elsewhere. Many preparations, however, are described by the author of the Theosophia Pneumatica for the successful evocation of these exalted beings. The magus must ponder during his period of initiation on the method of attaining the true knowledge of God, both by night and day. He must know the laws of the cosmos, and the practical secrets which may be gleaned from the study of the visible and invisible creatures of God. He must further know himself, and be able to distinguish between his mortal and immortal parts, and the several spheres to which they belong. Both in his mortal and immortal natures, he shall strive to love God, to adore and to fear him in spirit and in truth. He must sedulously attempt to find out whether he is fitted for the practice of magic, and if so to what branch he should turn his talents, experimenting in all to discover in which be is most naturally gifted. He must hold inviolate such secrets as are communicated to him by spirits, and he must accustom himself to their evocation. He must keep himself, however, from the least suspicion of diabolical magic, which has to do with Satan, and which is the perversion of the theurgic power concealed in the word of God. When he has fulfilled these conditions, and before he proceeds to the practice of his art, he should devote a prefatory period to deep contemplation on the high business which he has voluntarily taken in hand, and must present himself before God with a pure heart, undefiled mouth and innocent hands. He must bathe frequently and wear clean garments, confess his sins and abstain from wine for the space of three days. On the eve of operation, he must dine sparely at noon, and sup on bread and water, and on the day he has chosen for the invocation he must seek a retired and uncontaminated spot, entirely free from observation. After offering up prayer, he compels the spirit which he has chosen to appear: that is, he has passed into a condition, when it is impossible that the spirit should remain invisible to him. On the arrival of the angel, the desire of the magus is briefly communicated to him, and his answer is written down. More than three questions should not be asked, and the angel is then dismissed into his special sphere. Besides having converse with angels, the magus had also power over the spirits of the elements. The reader is referred to the special article upon these, and we shall confine ourselves in this place to describing the manner of their evocation. To obtain power over the salamanders for example, the Comte de Gabalis gives the following receipt: If you would recover empire over the salamanders, purify and exalt the natural fire that is within you. Nothing is required for this purpose but the concentration of the Fire of the World by means of concave mirrors in a globe of glass. In that globe is formed the ‘solary’ powder, which being of itself purified from the mixture of other elements, and being prepared according to Art be-comes in a very short time a sovereign process for the exaltation of the fire that is within you, and transmutes you into an igneous nature." There is very little matter extant to show in what manner the evocation of Elementary spirits was undertaken, and no ritual has survived which will acquaint us with the method of communicating with them. In older writers it is difficult to distinguish between angels and elementary spirits, and it is probable that the lesser angels of the older magicians were the sylphs of Paracelsus, and the more modern professors of the art. The lower hierarchies of the elementary spirits were also frequently invoked by the black magician. Eliphas Levi provides a method for the interrogation and government of elementary spirits ; but he does not acquaint us with its source, and it is merely fragmentary. It is necessary," he says, in order to dominate these intelligences, to undergo the four trials of ancient initiation, and as these are unknown, their room must be supplied by similar tests. To approach the salamanders, therefore, one must expose himself in a burning house. To draw near the sylphs he must cross a precipice on a plank, or ascend a lofty mountain in a storm; and he who would win to the abode of the undines must plunge into a cascade or whirlpool. Thus power being acquired through courage and indomitable energy this fire, earth and water must be consecrated and exorcised."

The air is exorcised by the sufflation of the four cardinal points, the recitation of the prayer of the sylphs, and by the following formula -The Spirit of God moved upon the water, and breathed into the nostrils of man the breath of life. Be Michael my leader, and be Sabtabiel my servant, in the name and by the virtue of light. Be the power of the word in my breath, and I will govern the spirits of this creature of Air, and by the will of my soul, I will restrain the steeds of the sun,, and by the thought of my mind, and by the apple of my right eye. I exorcise thee O creature of Air, by the Petagrammaton, and in the name Tetragrammaton, wherein are steadfast will and well-directed faith. Amen. Sela. So be it.

Water is exorcised by the laying on of hands, by breathing and by speech, and by mixing sacred salt with a little of the ash which is left in an incense pan. The aspergillus is made of branches of vervain, periwinkle, sage, mint, ash, and basil, tied by a thread taken from a virgin's distaff, with a handle of hazelwood which has never borne fruit. and on which the characters of the seven spirits must be graven with the magic awl. The salt and ashes of the incense must be separately consecrated. The prayer of the undines should follow.

Fire is exorcised by casting salt, incense, white resin, camphor and sulphur therein, and by thrice pronouncing the three names of the genii of fire-Michael, Samael, and Anael, and then by reciting the prayer of the salamanders.

The Earth is exorcised by the sprinkling of water, by breathing, and by fire, and the prayer of the gnomes. Their signs are the hieroglyphs of the Bull for the Gnomes who are commanded with the magic sword ; of the Lion for the Salamanders, who are commanded with the forked rod, or magic trident; of the Eagle for the Slyphs, who are ruled by the holy pentacles; and, finally, of Aquarius for the Undines, who are evoked by the cup of libations. Their respective sovereigns are Gob for the Gnomes, Djin for the Salamanders, Paralda for the Sylphs, and Necksa for the Undines. These names, it will be noticed, are borrowed from folklore.

The " laying " of an elementary spirit is accomplished by its adjuration by air, water, fire, and earth, by breathing, sprinkling, the burning of perfumes, by tracing on the ground the' Star of Solomon and the sacred Pentagram, which should be drawn either with ash of consecrated fire or with a reed soaked in various colours, mixed with pure loadstone. The Conjuration of the Four should then be repeated, the magus holding the pentacle of Solomon in his hand and taking up by turns the sword, red and cup,-this operation being preceded and terminated by the Kabalistic sign of the cross. In order to subjugate an elementary spirit, the magus must be himself free of their besetting sins; thus a changeful person cannot rule the sylphs, nor a fickle one the undines, an angry man the salamanders, or a covetous one the gnomes. We have given elsewhere (See Necromancy) the formula for the evocation of spirits, so there is no necessity to repeat it in this place. The white magician did not concern himself as a rule with such matters as the raising of demons, animal transformations and the like, his whole desire being the exaltation of his spiritual nature; and the questions put by him to the spirits he evoked were all directed to that end. (See Magic.)

Medina, Michael : (See Healing by Touch.)

Medium : A person supposed to be qualified in some special manner to form a link between the dead and the living Through him the spirits of the departed may communicate with their friends still on earth, either by making use of the material organism of the medium himself (" automatic phenomena") or by producing in the physical world certain manifestations which cannot be explained by known physical laws. The essential qualification of a medium is an abnormal sensitiveness, which enables him to be readily controlled " by disembodied spirits. For this reason mediums are also known as sensitives. There is some doubt as to whether mediumship is an inherent faculty, or whether it may be acquired; and among some spiritualists at least, the belief is held that all men are mediums, though in varying degrees, and consequently that all are in communication with the spirits, from whom proceeds what we call inspiration." Those who are ordinarily designated mediums" are but gifted with the common faculty in a higher degree than their fellows.

Mediumship, like all the central doctrines of spiritualism, dates back to very early times. Demoniac possession affords an excellent instance ; so also does witchcraft, while the somnambule of the mesmerists was identical with the modern medium. In its usual application, however, the term medium is used only of those sensitives who belong to the modern spiritualistic movement, which had its origin in America in 1848 (See Spiritualism.) In this sense, then, Mrs. Fox and her daughters, the heroines of the Rochester Rappings, were the earliest mediums. The phenomena of their stances consisted mainly of knockings, by means of which messages were conveyed from the spirits to the sitters. Other mediums rapidly sprang up, first in America, and later in Britain and the Continent. Their mediumship was of two kinds, physical" and automatic. These phases were to be found either separately or combined in one person, as in the case of the Rev. Stainton Moses (q.v.) Indeed, it was practically impossible to find a trance speaker who did not at one time or another practise the physical manifestations, until the time of Mrs. Piper, whose phenomena were purely subjective. The early rappings speedily developed into more elaborate manifestations. For a few years an epidemic of table-turning (q.v.) caused wide-spread excitement, and the motions of the table became a favourite means of communicating with the spirits. The playing of musical instruments without visible agency was a form of manifestation which received the attention of mediums from an early date, as was also the bringing into the stance-room of "apports" of fruit, flowers, perfume, and all manner of portable property. Darkness was found to facilitate the spirit-manifestations, and as there are certain physical processes, such as those in photography, to which darkness is essential, no logical objection could be offered to the dimness of the stance-room. The members of the circle were generally seated round a table, holding each other's hands, and they were often enjoined to sing or talk pending the materialisation of a spirit. All this, though offering grounds of suspicion to the incredulous, was plausibly explained by the spiritualists. As time went on, and the demand for physical manifestations increased, these became more daring and more varied. The moving of objects without contact, the levitation of heavy furniture, and of the persons of medium or sitters, the elongation of the human body, the fire-ordeal, were all practised by the medium Home. At the stances of the Davenport Brothers musical instruments were played and moved about the room, and objects moved without being touched, while the mediums were bound hand and foot in a small cabinet. The slate-writing of " Dr." Slade and William Eglinton had a considerable vogue. The tying of knots in endless cords, the passage of solids, through solids, were commonplaces of the mediumistic circle. The crowning achievement, however, was the materialisation of the spirit-form. Quite early in the history of spiritualism hands were materialised, then faces, and finally the complete form of the ' control." Thereafter the materialised spirits allowed themselves to be touched, and even condescended, on occasion, to hold conversations with the sitters. Further proof of the actuality of the spirit " control " was offered by spirit photography (q.v.).

To those for whom spiritualism was a religion, however, much the most important part of the mediumistic performances is the trance-utterances and the like which come under the heading of automatic," or psychological phenomena. These dealt largely with the conditions of life on the other side of the grave, and in style they tended to be verbose and incoherent. The spirit-drawings, also, were lacking in depths and distinction. Clairvoyance and crystal vision are included in tile psychological phenomena, and so also are the pseudo-prophetic utterances of mediums, and the speaking in unknown tongues. According to the spiritualistic hypothesis already referred to, that all men are mediums," it would be necessary to class inspiration, not only the inspiration of genius, but all good or evil impulses-as spiritual phenomena, and that in turn suggests that the every-day life of the normal individual is to some extent directed by spirit " controls." And therein lies the responsibility of mediumship, for if he would be con trolled by pure spirits from the higher spheres, it behoves the medium to live a well-conducted and principled life. Misuse of the divine gift of mediumship carries with it its own punishment, for the medium becomes the sport of base human spirits and elementals (q.v.), his will is sapped, and his whole being degraded. Likewise he must be wary of a up his personality to the first spirit who comes his way, for the low and earth-bound spirits have least difficulty in communicating with the living, having still more affinity with the things of the earth than with those of the spirit.

Of the physical mediums perhaps the most successful was Daniel Dunglas Home (1833-1886), who claimed to be of Scottish birth. He went to America, however, at an early age. and it was there that his mediumistic powers were first developed, though not until he came to Britain in 1855 did he rise to fame. It is worthy of note that Home was never detected in fraud-as the bulk of physical mediums have been at one time or another-though his performances were similar in kind to those of other mediums. This may be due in part to the fact that he did not act as a professional medium, and his sitters, being either his guests or his hosts, were doubtless restrained by courtesy from a too close enquiry into his methods. Again, all who came into contact with him were impressed by his simple manners, and frank and affectionate disposition, so that he possessed the most valuable asset of a medium-the ability to inspire confidence in his sitters. Mediums of a different stamp, though widely popular in their day, were the brothers Davenport. Their performance consisted of allowing themselves to be securely bound in a cabinet by the sitters, and while thus handicapped producing the usual mediumistic phenomena. The Davenports were shown to be mere conjurers. however, and when Maskelyne and Cook successfully imitated their feats the exposure was complete. Slate-writing, which proved one of the most widely-accepted forms of psychic phenomena, had as its principal exponents Henry Slade and William Eglinton. The best argument which can be advanced against their feats is to be found in the pseudo-stances of Mr. S. J. Davey, given in the interests of the Society for Psychical Research. Mr. Davey's slate-writing exhibitions were so like to those of the professional mediums that the spiritualists refused to believe that he was conjuring, and hailed him as a renegade medium! Automatic drawing was principally represented by David Duguid, a Glasgow medium who attained considerable success in that line. Prominent trance speakers and writers were Duguid, J. J. Morse, Mrs. Hardinge Britten, and Mrs. Cora L. V. Tappan-Richmond. One of the best-known and most respected of private mediums was the Rev. Stainton Muses (1839-92), a clergyman and schoolmaster, whose normal life, at least, was beyond reproach. He produced both automatic and physical manifestations, the former including the writing of a work Spirit Teachings, dictated from time to time by his spirit controls," while the latter comprised levitations, lights. "apports," and so on. His position, character, and education gave to his support of spiritualism a stability of considerable value.

It is to later mediums, however, that we must look for proof worthy of scientific consideration, and of these the most important are Eusapia Palladino and Mrs. Piper. Eusapia Palladino, an Italian medium, was born in 1854, and for a good many years had acted as medium for scientific investigators. In 1892 stances were held at Milan, at which were present Professors Schiaparelli, Brofferio, Lobmroso, Richet, and others. In 1894 Professor Richet conducted some experiments with Eusapia at his house in the Ile Roubaud, to which he invited Professor Lodge, Mr.Myers, and Dr. Ochorowiez. The phenomena occurring in Eusapia's presence were the ordinary manifestations of the mediumistic seance, but their interest lay in the fact that all the distinguished investigators professed themselves satisfied that the medium, with her hands, head, and feet controlled by the sitters, could not of herself produce the phenomena. Credible witnesses asserted that Eusapia possessed the ability to project false or psychic limbs from her person. Professor Lodge and Mr. Myers were disposed to look for a new force (ectenic force) emanating from the medium. In 1895, however, some seances with Eusapia were held at Mr. Myers' house at Cambridge, where it became apparent that she habitually freed a hand or a foot-in short, habitually resorted to fraud. Yet even these exposures were not conclusive for in 1898, after a further series of experiments, Mr. Myers and Professors Lodge and Richet once more declared their belief in the genuineness of this medium's phenomena.

Mrs. Piper, the Boston medium whose trance utterances and writings contain the best evidence forthcoming in recent years for the truth of spiritualism, first fell into a spontaneous trance in 1884, and in the following year was observed by Professor James of Harvard. Thereafter her case was carefully studied by the Society for Psychical Research. Her first important " control" was a French physician, Dr. Phinuit, who was probably a fiction, but in 1892 she was controlled by George Pelham, a young author who had died in February of that year. So complete was her impersonation of Pelham that more than thirty of his friends claimed to recognise him, and so well did he establish his identity by the mention of many private matters, known only to himself and a few of his friends that the hypothesis of spirit-control was almost inevitable. In 1896 George Pelham gave place to" Imperator," " Rector," and other spirits, who had formerly controlled Stainton Moses. From that time, and especially after 1900, the interest of the sittings declined, and they offered less material for the investigator. Another automatic medium, Hele'ne Smith, came under the observation of Professor Flournoy. Helene's trance utterances were spoken in the Martian language," a variant of the " unknown tongue" of the early ecstatics, and she claimed to be a re-incarnation of Marie Antoinette and a Hindu princess.

Of the various theories advanced to explain the mediumistic manifestations the most important is the spiritualistic explanation, which claims that the phenomena are produced by the spirits of the dead acting on the sensitive organism of the medium. The evidence for such a theory, though some investigators of the highest distinction have found it satisfactory, is nevertheless generally acknowledged to be inconclusive. Conscious fraud, though it is no longer considered to cover the whole ground, yet plays a definite part in the phenomena of both "physical" and trance mediums, for it has been shown that the latter frequently collect, through private enquiry agents, information anent possible sitters which is later retailed by the " controls." The spiritualist's explanation of these lapses into fraud is that they are instigated by the spirits themselves. And it does not seem impossible that a genuine medium might have resort to fraud during a temporary failure of his psychic powers. Automatism. covers a still wider field. That automatic utterances, writing, drawing, etc., may be quite involuntary, and without the sphere of the medium's normal consciousness, is no longer to be doubted The psychological phenomena may be met with in small children, and in private mediums whose good faith is beyond question, and the state is recognised as being allied to hypnotism and hysteria. Besides automatism and fraud there are some other factors to be considered ere the possibility of transcendental faculties be touched upon.

On the part of the sitter as well as of the medium some deception may be practised. It has been said that the ability to inspire confidence in his sitters is essential to a successful medium, and if at the same time the sitters be predisposed to believe in the supernatural nature of the manifestations, it is easy to imagine a lessening of the attention and observation so necessary to the investigator. The impossibility of continued observation for even a short period is a fact that can only be proved by experiment. Memory defects and proneness to exaggeration are also accountable for many of the marvels of the seance-room, and possible hallucination must be considered. When the medium is in a trance, with its accompanying hyperaesthesia, unconscious suggestion on the part of the sitters might offer a rational explanation of so-called "clairvoyance." But when all these factors are removed the root problems of mediumship still remain. In the case of Mrs. Piper for instance, the least that can be said for her trance utterances is that they were telepathic that she gathered information from the minds of her sitters, or through them from other living minds. To not a few, however, they presented definite proof of spirit communication. To meet such instances Mr. Myers formulated his doctrine of transcendental faculties, crediting the medium with clairvoyance and pre-vision. But no really conclusive test has ever been complied with. Psychical researchers have left sealed letters, whose contents are known only to themselves, instructing that after their deaths the letters be submitted to a medium, but in no case have the contents been correctly revealed. Again, in the case of Eusapia Palladino, Mr. Myers, Sir Oliver Lodge, and others have inclined to the belief in a force emanating from the medium herself by which the physical manifestations are produced. Here, also, the evidence cannot be considered conclusive. Skilled and scientific investigators have from time to time been deceived by what has actually proved to be sleight of hand, and, in fact, the only trustworthy evidence possible would be that of automatic records.

At the same time the testimony of such distinguished gentlemen as Professor Richet, Sir O. Lodge, and others makes it evident that judgment must not be hastily pronounced on the medium, but rather that an earnest endeavour be made to solve the problems in that connection.

Healing Mediums.-The diagnosis and cure of disease have been extensively practised by spiritualistic mediums, following in the path of the older somnambules and magnetic subjects. These latter were wont not only to trace the progress of their own diseases, but also to diagnose and to prescribe a mode of treatment. At the outset it was not prescribed for the diseases of those with whom they were in rapport and likewise the medium, having established rapport between his control and the patient, was influenced to prescribe a mode of treatment At the outset it was not considered proper for the healing medium to accept any remuneration for his services, but later healers usually demanded a fee. It is true that healing mediums, like Christian Scientists, mesmerists, magnetists, and others, have effected a considerable proportion of bone fide cures, but whether by spirit influence or suggestion is a point on which there is too much diversity of opinion for it to be discussed here. It is claimed for many mediums that they have cured diseases of long standing, which were pronounced incurable-heart disease, consumption, cancers, paralysis, and many more. Some also have been credited with the power to heal instantaneously, as did the Cure d'Ars and other miraculous healers. The marvellous potency of the waters at Lourdes is considered by spiritualists to be the gift of discarnate beings, having been in the first instance revealed to a child by her spirit guide, in the form of a white angel.

Medium and Daybreak : Spiritualistic Journal. (See Spiritualism.)

Medium Evangelique, La (Journal) : (See France.)

Melusina : The most famous of the fays of France. Being condemned to turn into a serpent from the waist downwards every Saturday, she made her husband, Count Raymond of Lusignan, promise never to come near her on a Saturday. This prohibition finally exciting his curiosity and suspicion, he hid himself and witnessed his wife's transformation. Melusina was now compelled to quit her mortal husband and destined to wander about as a spectre till the day of doom. It is said also that the count immured her in the dungeon of his castle.

Mental World : Formerly known as the Manas Plane-is in the theosophic scheme of things, the third lowest of the seven worlds. It is the world of thought into which man passes on the death of the astral body, and it is composed of the seven divisions of matter in common with the other worlds. It is observed that the mental world is the world of thought, but it is necessary to realise that it is the world of good thoughts only, for the base have all been purged away during the soul's stay in the astral world. According as these thoughts are, is the power to perceive the mental world. Perfected man would be free of the whole of it, but the ordinary man has in his past imperfect experience, gathered only a comparatively small amount of thought and he is, therefore. unable to perceive more than a comparatively small part of his surroundings. It follows from this that though his bliss is inconceivably great, his sphere of action is very limited,-this limitation, however, becoming less and less with his abode there after each fresh incarnation. In the Heaven world-division into which he awakes after dying in the astral world, he finds vast, unthought-of means of pursuing what has seemed to him good, art, science, philosophy and so forth. Here, all those come to a glorious fruition of which we can have no conception, and at last the time arrives when he casts aside his mental body and awakens in his casual body to the still greater bliss of the higher division of the mental world. At this stage he has done with the bodies which form his mortal personality, and which form his home in successive incarnations, and he is now truly himself, a spirit, immortal and unchangeable except for increasing development and evolution. Into his casual body is worked all that he has experienced in his physical, astral and mental bodies, and when he still finds that experience insufficient for his needs, he descends again into grosser matter in order that he may learn yet more and more.

Mephis or Memphitis : A stone which, when bruised to powder and drunk in water; causes insensibility to torture.

Mercury : Or quicksilver. A metal which has been known of for many centuries, and which has played an important part in the history of alchemy. In its refined state it forms a coherent, very mobile liquid. The early alchemists believed that nature formed all metals of mercury, and that it is a living and feminine principle. It went through many processes, and the metal evolved was pure or impure according to the locality of its production.

Mercury of Life : (See Elixir of Life.)

Merlin : An enchanter of Britain who dwelt at the court of King Arthur. His origin is obscure, but early legends concerning him agree that he was the offspring of Satan. He was probably an early Celtic god, who in process of time came to be regarded as a great sorcerer. There appears to have been more than one Merlin, and we must discriminate between the Merlin of Arthurian romance and Merlin Caledonius; but it is probable that originally the two conceptions sprang from the one idea.

Mesmer, Franz Antoine : An Austrian doctor, born at Weil about the year 1733. In 1766 he took a degree in medicine at Vienna, the subject of his inaugural thesis being De planetarum Influxu (De l'influence des Planettes sur le corps humain) The influence of the planets he identified with magnetism. On seeing the remarkable cures of Gassner he supposed that the magnetic force must also reside in the human body, and thereupon dispensed with magnets. In 1778 he went to Paris where he was very favourably received-by the public, that is, for the medical authorities there, as elsewhere, refused to countenance him. His method was to seat his patients round a large circular vat on baquet, in which various substances were mixed. Each patient held one end of an iron rod, the other end of which was in the baquet. In due time the crisis ensued. Violent convulsions, cries, laughter, and various physical symptoms followed, these being in turn superseded by lethargy. Many claimed to have been healed by this method. In 1784 the government appointed a commission of members of the Faculte de Medecine, the Societe Royale de Medecine, and the Academy of Sciences, the commissioners from the latter body including Franklin, Bailly, and Lavoisier. The report of the Committee stated, in effect, that there was no such thing as animal magnetism, and referred the facts of the crisis to the imagination of the patient. It had the effect of quenching to a considerable extent the public interest in mesmerism, as animal magnetism was called, for the time at least, though it was afterwards to be revived. Mesmer died in 1815.

Mesmerism : (See Hypnotism.)

Mesna : (See Alchemy.)

Metals in Animal Magnetism : It is recorded by the magnetists that the various metals exercised a characteristic influence on their patients. Physical sensations of heat and cold numbness, drowsiness, and so on were experienced by the somnambules on contact with metals, or even when metals were secretly introduced into the room. Dr. Elliotson, especially, gave much prominence to the alleged power of metal to transmit the magnetic fluid. Gold, silver, platinum, and nickel were good conductors, though the magnetism conveyed by the latter was of a highly dangerous character. Copper, tin, pewter, and zinc were bad conductors. Elliotson found that a magnetised sovereign would throw into the trance his sensitives the sisters Okey, and that though iron would neutralise the magnetic properties of the sovereign, no other metal would do so. When Baron von Reichenbach propounded his theory of odylic force his sensitives saw a luminous emanation proceed from metals-silver and gold shone white ; lead, blue nickle, red, and so on. All these phenomena may be referred to suggestion.

Metempsychosis, or Transmigration : The passing of the soul at death into another body than the one it has vacated. The belief in metempsychosis was very wide-spread in ancient times, and still survives in Braminism and Buddhism, as well as in European folk-tales and superstitions. The Brahmins and Buddhists believe that the soul may enter another human body) or that of one of the lower anima[s, or even a plant or tree, according to its deserts in the previous incarnation. Thus it is doomed to successive- incarnations, till by the suppression of all desires and emotions it loses itself in the Supreme Being. Very similar was the idea of Pythagoras and the Greeks, who believed that all material existence was a punishment for sins committed in a former incarnation. Indeed it is probable that Pythagoras derived his theory from the Brahminical doctrine. The ancient Egyptians would also seem to have believed in metempsychosis. Among certain savage tribes of Africa and America transmigration is generally subscribed to at the present day. These savages imagine the discarnate spirit very much out of its element till it has found another body to dwell in, which it does as speedily as possible. Totemism may perhaps facilitate a belief in the passing of the soul into the body of an animal. In Europe also in early times the belief in metempsychosis flourished, and several popular folk-tiles, such as that known in Scotland as The Milk-white Doo, of which variants are found in many lands, contain references to the souls of the dead entering into beasts, birds, or fishes. In some places it is thought that witches are at death transformed into hares, and for this reason the people of those localities refuse to eat a hare. The Jewish Kabalists also believed in the doctrine of metempsychosis, and traces of it are to be found in the writings of Swedenborg.

Metratton : According to Jewish rabbinical legend, Metratton, the angel, is one of the agents by whom God the Father works. He receives the pure and simple essence of the divinity and bestows the gift of life upon all. He dwells in one of the angelic hierarchies.

Mexico and Central America : Occult science among the ancient Mexicans may be said to have been in that stage between the savage simplicities of medicine-men and the more sophisticated magical practices of the medieval sorcerer. The sources which inform us regarding it are unfortunately of a most scanty description and are chiefly gleaned from the works of the early missionaries to the country, and from the legends and myths of the people themselves. Writing upon the sorcerers of Mexico, Sahagun, an early Spanish priest, states that the naualli or magician among the Mexicans is one who enchants men and sucks the blood of infants during the night. This would seem as if the writer had confounded the sorcerer with the vampire,-a mistake occasionally made by continental writers on magic. He proceeds to say that among the Mexicans this class is ignorant of nothing which appertains to sorcery, and possesses great craft and natural address ; that they hire themselves out to people to work evil upon their enemies, and to cause madness and maladies.

"The necromancer," he says, is a person who has made pact with a demon, and who is capable of transforming himself into various animal shapes. Such people appear to be tired of life and await death with complaisance. The astrologer practises among the people as a diviner, and has a thorough knowledge of the various signs of the calendar, from which he is able to prognosticate the fortunes of those who employ him. This he accomplishes by weighing the power of one planet against that of another, and thus discovering the resultant applies it to the case in point. These men were called into consultation at births and deaths, as well as upon public occasions, and would dispute with much nicety on their art." The astrological system of the Mexicans was like that of their calendar of the most involved description possible, and no mere summary of it could convey anything but a hazy notion of the system, for which the reader is referred to the author's Civilisation of Ancient Mexico, Sahagun's Historia, and Bulletin 28 of the United States Bureau of Ethnology. In connection with the astrological science of the Aztecs, however, it is worthy of note that the seventh calendric sign, was that under which necromancers, sorcerers and evil-doers were usually born. Says Sahagun: " These work their enchantments in obscurity for four nights running, when they choose a certain evil sign. They then betake themselves in the night to the houses where they desire to work their evil deeds and sorceries For the rest these sorcerers never know contentment, for all their days they live evilly and know no peace."

The myths of the Mexicans give us a good working idea of the status of the enchanter or sorcerer in Aztec society. For example we find that the Toltec god, Quetzalcoatl, who in early times was regarded as a description of culture-hero, was bewitched by the god of the incoming and rival race, Tezcatlipoca, who disguised himself as a physician and prescribed for an illness of his enemy's an enchanted draught, which made him long for the country of his origin-that is, the home of the rains. From this we may judge that potions or philtres were in vogue amongst Mexican sorcerers. In their efforts to rid themselves of the entire Toltec race, the traditional aborigines of Mexico, Tezcatlipoca is pictured as performing upon a magical drum in such a manner as to cause frenzy amongst the Toltecs, who leaped by thousands into a deep ravine hard by their city; and similar instances of the kind are occasionally to be met with. Wonderful stories are told of the feats of the Huaxteca, a people of Maya race, dwelling on the Gulf of Mexico. Sahagun relates that they could produce from space a spring with fishes, burn and restore a hut, and dismember and resurrect themselves. The Ocuiltec of the Toluca Valley also possessed a wide-spread reputation as enchanters and magicians.

Divination and Augury.-As has been said, divination was practised among the Aztecs by means of astrology; but there were other and less-intricate methods in use. There was in existence a College of Augurs corresponding in purpose. to the Auspices of Ancient Rome, the members of which occupied themselves with observing the flight and listening to the songs of birds, from which they drew their conclusions, and pretended to interpret the speech of all winged creatures. The Calmecac, or training college of the priests, had a department where divination was taught in all its branches. A typical example of augury from birds may be found in the account of the manner in which the Mexicans fixed upon the spot for the foundation of their city. Halting after years of wandering in the vicinity of the Lake of Tezcuco, they observed a great eagle with wings outspread perched on the stump of a cactus, and holding in its talons a live serpent. Their augurs interpreted this as a good omen as it had been previously announced by an oracle, and upon the spot where the bird had alighted, they drove the first piles upon which they afterwards built the city of Mexico,-the legend of the foundation of which is still commemorated in the arms of modern Mexico. Dreams and visions played a great part in Mexican divination, and a special caste of augurs called Teopixqui, or Teotecuhtli (masters or guardians of divine things) were set apart for the purpose of interpreting dreams and of divining through dreams and visions, which was regarded as the chief route between man and the supernatural. The senses were even quickened and sharpened by the use of drugs and the ecstatic condition was induced by want of sleep, and pertinacious fixing of the mind upon one subject, the swallowing or inhalation of cerebral intoxicants such as tobacco, the maguey, coca, the snake-plant or ololiuhqui, and similar substances. As among some tribes of the American-Indians, it was probably believed that visions came to the prophet or seer pictorially, or that acts were performed before him as in a play. They also held that the soul travelled through space and was able to visit those places of which it desired to have knowledge. It is also possible that they hypnotised themselves by gazing at certain small highly-polished pieces of sandstone, or that they employed these for the same purpose as crystal-gazers employ the globe. The goddess Tozi was the patron of those who used grains of maize or red beans in divination.

Charms and Amulets.-The amulet was regarded in Mexico as a personal fetish. The Tepitoton, or diminutive household deities of the Mexicans were also fetishistic. It is probable that most of the Mexican amulets were modelled on the various ornaments of the gods. Thus the traveller's staff carved in the shape of a serpent like that of Quetzalcoatl was undoubtedly of this nature, and was even occasionally sacrificed to. The frog was a favourite model for an amulet. As elsewhere, the thunder-bolts thrown by the gods were supposed to be flint stones, and were cherished as amulets of much virtue, and as symbols of the fecundating rains.

Vampirism.-As has been seen, Sahagun confounds the Mexican necromancer with the vampire, and it is interesting to note that this folk-belief must have originated in America independently of any European connection. But we find another instance of what would seem something like vampirism in Mexico. This is found in connection with the ciupipiltin or ghosts of women who have died in childbirth. These haunt the cross-roads, crying and wailing for the little ones they have left behind them. But as in many other countries, notably in Burma, they are malevolent-their evil tendencies probably being caused by jealousy of the happiness of the living. Lest they should enter their houses and injure their children, the Mexicans at certain times of the year stopped up every possible hole and crevice. The appearance of these ghosts (Sahagun describes them as " goddesses ") at cross-roads is highly significant, for we know that the burial of criminals at such junctions was merely a survival of a similar disposal of the corpse of the vampire, whose head was cut off and laid at his side, and who was entombed at crossroads for the purpose of confusing him as to his whereabouts.

Nagualism.-Both in Mexico and Central America a religio-magical system called Nagualism obtained, the purpose of which was to bring occult influence against the whites for their destruction. The rites of this strange cult usually took place in caverns and other deserted localities, and were naturally derived to a large extent from those of the suppressed native religion. Each native worshipper possessed a magical or animal spirit-guide, with which he was endowed early in life. This system certainly flourished as lately as half a century ago, and there is good reason to believe that it is not yet extinct.

Central America.-Notices upon magic and sorcery amongst the Maya, Kiche, and other Central American peoples are even rarer than those which relate to Mexico, and we have to fall back almost solely upon the native legends to glean anything concerning the subject at all. The great storehouse of Central American legend is the Popol Vuh, for an account of which the reader is referred to the author's Popol Vuh, London, 1909. We find in this interesting native mythi-history, that some of the elder gods are regarded as magicians, and the hero-twins, Xblanque and Hun-ahpu, whom they sent to earth to rid it of the Titan Vukub-cakix, are undoubtedly possessed of magical powers. As boys we find them equipped with magic tools, which enable them to get through an enormous amount of work in a single day, and when they descend into Xibalba, the Kiche Hades, for the purpose of avenging their father and uncle, they take full advantage of their magical propensities in combating the natives of that drear abode. Xibalba itself possesses sorcerers, for we find two within its borders, Xulu and Pacaw, who assist the hero-gods in many of their necromantic practices.

As regards divination, we find that the Maya possessed a caste of augurs, called Cocomes or the Listeners and prophecy appears to have been periodically practised by their priests. In the so-called books of Chilan Balam which are native compilations of events occurring in Central America previous to the Spanish Conquest, we find certain prophecies regarding, amongst other things, the coining of the Spaniards. These appear to have been given forth by a priest who bore the title, not the name, of" Chilan Balam," whose offices were those of divination and astrology but these pronouncements seem to have been coloured at a later date by Christian thought, and hardly to be of a genuine aboriginal character. There are certain astrological recipes in the books, all of which are simply borrowed from European almanacs of the century between 1550 and 1650. Amulets were in great vogue amongst the Maya, and they had the same fear of the last live days of the year as had the Mexicans, who regarded them as nemontemi or unlucky, and did no work of any description upon them. These days the Maya called uyayayab, and they considered that a demon entered their towns and villages at the beginning of this period. To avert this, they carried an image of him through the village in the hopes that he might afterwards avoid it.

Mezazoth, The : A schedule which, when fastened on the doorpost, possessed talismanic qualities. It is said in the Talmud that whoever has the mesas oth fixed on his door, and is provided with certain personal charms, is protected from sin.

Michael: An archangel : in the Hebrew, " He who is equal to God." In Revelation it is said : "there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon" : and from this it is deduced that Michael was the leader of the celestial hierarchy,-as against Lucifer, the head of the disobedient angels. Michael is mentioned by name four other times in the Scriptures; in Daniel as the champion of the Jewish Church against Persia; in Jude as the archangel who fought with Satan for Moses' body; by Gabriel he is called the prince of the Jewish Church; and in the prophecy of Enoch, "Michael who commands the nations." His design according to Randle Holme is a banner hanging on a cross; and he is represented as victory with a dart in one hand and a cross on his forehead. Bishop Horsley and others considered Michael as only another name for the Son of God. In one of the Jewish rabbinical legends he is the ruler of Mercury, to which sphere he "imparts benignity, motion and intelligence, with elegance and consonance of speech."

Michael Medina : (See Healing by Touch.)

Microcosm, The : Or the Pentagram, a little world (Greek Micros, small ; Kosmos, a world)-a five-pointed star, which represents Man and the summation of the occult forces. It was believed by Paracelsus that this sign had a marvellous magical power over spirits; and that all magic figures and kabalistic signs could be reduced to two-The Microcosm, and the Macrocosm (q.v.).

Microprosopus, The : One of the four magical elements in the Kabala; and probably representing one of the four simple elements-air, water, earth, or fire. The word means " creator of the little world."

Mietlan, the Mexican Hades : (See Hell.)

Mid-day Demons : The ancients frequently made mention of certain demons who became visible especially towards mid-day to those with whom they had a pact. They appeared in the form of men or of beasts, and let themselves be enclosed in a character, a figure, a vial, or in the interior of a hollow ring.

Midiwiwin, The : A secret society or exclusive association of the Ojibway Indians of North America. The myth of the foundation of this society is as follows Michabo, the Creator, looking down to earth saw that the forefathers of the Ojibway were very helpless. . . . Espying a black object floating on the surface of a lake he drew near to it and saw that it was an otter-now one of the sacred animals of the Midiwiwin. He instructed it in the mysteries of that caste, and provided it with a sacred rattle, a sacred drum, and tobacco. He built a Midiwigan, or Sacred House of Midi, to which he took the otter and confided to it the mysteries of the Midiwiwin. In short, the society is one of these " medicine " or magical associations so common among the North-American Indians (q.v.). When a candidate is admitted to a grade and is prepared to pass on to the next, he gives three feasts, and sings three prayers to the Bear Spirit in order to be permitted to enter that grade. His progress through the various grades is assisted by several snake-spirits ; and at a later stage by the power of certain prayers or invocations,-a larger snake appears and raises its body, thus forming an arch under which the candidate takes his way to the higher grade. When the Indian belongs to the second grade he is supposed to receive supernatural power, to be able to see into the future, to hear what comes afar off, to touch friends and foes however far away they may be, and so on. In higher grades he can assume the form of any animal. The third grade confers enhanced power, and it is thought that its members can perform extraordinary exploits, and have power over the entire invisible world. The fourth is still more exalted.

When an Indian is ready to undergo initiation, he erects a wigwam in which he takes steam-baths for four days, one on each day. On the evening of the day before initiation he visits his teachers in order to obtain from them instructions for the following day. Next morning the priests approach with the candidate at their head, enter the Midiwigan, and the proceedings commence. The publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology contain several good accounts of the ritual of this society.

Militia Crucifera Evangelica : (See Rosicrucians.)

Mimetic Magic : (See Magic.)

Mines, Haunted : The belief that mines are haunted is an ancient and universal one, probably arising from the many weird sounds and echoes which are heard in them, and the perpetual gloom. Sometimes the haunting spectres are gigantic creatures with frightful fiery eyes. Such was the German "Bergmonch, a terrible figure in the garb of a monk, who could, however, appear in ordinary human shape to those towards whom he was well-disposed.', Frequently weird knockings are heard in the mines. In Germany these are attributed to the Kobolds, small black beings of a malicious disposition. White hares or rabbits are also seen at times. The continual danger attending the life underground is productive of many supernatural warnings," which generally take the form of mysterious voices. In the Midland Counties of England the "Seven Whistlers" are well known and their warnings solemnly attended to. A light blue flame settling on a full coal-tub was called " Bluecap," and his work was to move the coal-tub towards the trolley-way. Bluecap did not give his services for nothing. Every fortnight his wages were left in a corner of the mine, and duly appropriated. A more mischievous elf was "Cutty Soames," who would cut the traces, or soams, yoking an assistant putter to the tub. Basilisks, whose terrible eyes would strike the miner dead, were another source of dread to the worker underground. These, as well as the other mysterious foes who dealt fatal blows, may be traced to the dreaded, but by no means ghostly, fire-damp. Mines of the precious metals arc still more jealously guarded by the supernatural beings. Gnomes the creatures of the earth-element, are the special guardians of subterranean treasure, and they are not over-anxious that their province be disturbed. Mines containing precious stones are equally well looked after. The Indians of Peru declare that evil spirits haunt the emerald mines, while a mine in the neighbourhood of Los Esmeraldos was said to be guarded by a frightful dragon. It has also been stated that the poisonous fumes and gases which oft-times destroy the lives of miners are baleful influences radiated by evil spirits.

Mirabilis Liber : The greater part of this book is attributed to Saint Cesaire. It is a collection of predictions concerning the saints and the sibyls. It is surprising to find in the edition of 1522 a prophecy of the French Revolution. The expulsion and abolition of the nobility, the violent death of the king and queen, the persecution of the clergy, the suppression of convents. are all mentioned therein, followed by a further prophecy that the eagle coming from distant lands would re-establish order in France.

Miraculum Mundi : (See Clauber.)

Mirendola, Giacomo Picus da : Italian Astrologer and Kabalist (1463-1494). This astrologer's family played a prominent part in a number of the civil wars which convulsed medieval Italy, while they owned extensive lands in the neighbourhood of Modena, the most valuable of their possessions being a castle bearing their own name of Mirendola; and it was here, in the year 1463, that Giacomo was born. He appears to have been something of an Admirable Crichton, never showing any fondness for playing children's games, but devoting himself to study from the very outset; and, according to tradition, before he was out of his teens he had mastered jurisprudence and mathematics, he had waded far into the seas of philosophy and theology, and had even, dabbled in those occult sciences wherewith his name was destined to be associated afterwards. A boy of this kind naturally felt small inclination to remain at home, and so it is not surprising to find that Giacomo soon left his brothers to look after the family estates, and proceeded to various universities in Italy and France. While in the latter country his interest in astrology and the like deepened apace, thanks partly to his making a close study of the works of Raymond Lully; and in 1486 Giacomo went to Rome, where he delivered a series of lectures on various branches of science. While thus engaged his erudition won high praise from some of his hearers, but certain members of the clergy suspected him of heresy, reported his doings to the Inquisition, and even sought to have him excommunicated. The pope, however was of course rather averse to quarrelling with a member of so powerful a family as the Mirandolas, and accordingly he waived violent measures, instead appointing a body of Churchmen to argue with the scientist. A lengthy altercation ensued, and throughout it the jury displayed the most consummate ignorance, it being recorded, indeed that some of them imagined that " Kabal" was a man, who had written against Christianity, and that the Kabalists were the disciples of this hypothetic person. Giacomo must have been deeply chagrined by this stupidity on the part of his opponents, he must have felt that to argue with such people was utterly vain; yet he published a defence of the ideas and theories promulgated in his lectures, and in 1493 the pope, Alexander VI., brought the affair to a conclusion by granting the offender absolution. Thereupon Mi'andole went to live at Florence, and here he stayed until his demise in 1494, occasionally essaying alchemy, but chiefly busy with further kabalistic studies.

Apart from the Apologia Pici Mirandoli cited above, Giacomo was author of several books of a theological nature, the most important of these being his Conausiones Philosophicae, cabalisucae rt theologicae, published in 1486, and his Disputationes adversus Astrologiam Divinaticum, issued in 1495. His works appear to have been keenly admired by such of his contemporaries as were not averse to speculative thought, and it is interesting to find that a collected edition of his writings was printed at Boulogne in 1496, and another at Venice two years later.

Mishna, The : A compilation of Hebrew oral traditions, written about the end of the second century by a certain Rabbi of Galilee. Its doctrines are said by the Jews to be of great antiquity and they believe it to be the oral law delivered by God to Moses, at the same time as he received the written law. It forms the framework of the Talmud. (See Kabala.)

Misraim, Rite of : (See Cagliostro.)

Mithraic Mysteries : (See Mysteries.)

Mitla, Subterranean Chambers of : (See Subterranean Crypts.)

Modern Times, The Socialist Community of : A community founded on Long Island, in 1851, which numbered among its members a good many spiritualists.

Moghrebi. Arab sorcerer : (See Semites.)

Mohanes : Shamans or medicine-men of the Indians of the Peruvian Andes. Joseph Skinner writing of them in his State of Peru, London 1805, says: "These admit an evil being, the inhabitant of the centre of the earth, whom they consider as the author of their misfortunes, and at the mention of whose name they tremble. The most shrewd among them take advantage of this belief, to obtain respect ; and represent themselves as his delegates. Under the denomination of Mohanes, or Agoreros, they are consulted even on the most trivial occasions. They preside over the intrigues of love, the health of the community, and the taking of the field. Whatever repeatedly occurs to defeat their prognostics, falls on themselves; and they are wont to pay their deceptions very dearly. They chew a species of vegetable called puripiri, and throw it into the air, accompanying this act by certain recitals and incantations, to injure some, to benefit others, to procure rain, and the inundation of the rivers, or, on the other hand, to occasion settled weather, and a plentiful store of agricultural productions. Any such result having been casually verified on a single occasion, suffices to confirm the Indians in their faith, although they may have been cheated a thousand times. Fully persuaded that they cannot resist the influence of the puripiri, as soon as they know that they have been solicited by its means, they fix their eyes on the impassioned object, and discover a thousand amiable traits, either real or fanciful, which indifference had before concealed from their view.

"But the principal power, efficacy, and. it may be said misfortune, of the Mohanes, consist in the cure of the sick. Every malady is ascribed to their enchantments, and means are instantly taken to ascertain by whom the mischief may have been wrought. For this purpose the nearest relative takes a quantity of the juice of floripondium, and suddenly falls, intoxicated by the violence of the plant. He is placed in a fit posture to prevent suffocation, and on his coming to himself, at the end of three days, the Mohan who has the greatest resemblance to the sorcerer he saw in his visions, is to undertake the cure, or if, in the interim, the sick man has perished, it is customary to subject him to the same fate. When not any sorcerer occurs in the visions, the first Mohan they encounter has the misfortune to represent his image."

Methods of Medicine Men.-It cannot be denied, that the Mohanes have, by practice and tradition, acquired a profound knowledge of many plants and poisons, with which they effect surprising cures on the one hand, and do much mischief on the other; but the mania of ascribing the whole to a preternatural virtue, occasions them to blend with their practice a thousand charms and superstitions. The most customary method of cure is to place two hammocks close to each other, either in the dwelling, or in the open air: in one of them the patient lies extended, and in the other the Mohan, or Agorero. The latter, in contact with the sick man, begins by rocking himself, and. then proceeds by a strain in falsetto, to call on the birds, quadrupeds. and fishes, to give health to the patient. From time to time he rises on his seat, and makes a thousand extravagant gestures over the sick man, to whom he applies his powders and herbs, or sucks the wounded or diseased parts. If the malady augments. the Agorero, having been joined by many of the people, chants a short hymn, addressed to the soul of the patient, with this burden: "Thou must not go, thou must not go." In repeating this he is joined by the people, until at length a terrible clamour is raised, and augmented in proportion as the sick man becomes still fainter and fainter, to the end that it may reach his ears.

Molucca Beans as Amulets : (See Fascination.)

Monaciello, The : The Monaciello or Little Monk seems to have lived exclusively in that portion of Southern Italy called Naples. The precise place where he dwelt does not appear to be accurately known, but it is supposed to have been in the remains of Abbeys and Monasteries. When the Monaciello appeared to mortals, it was always at the dead of night; and then only to those who were in sorest need, who themselves had done all that mortal could do to prevent or alleviate the distress that had befallen them, and after all humain aid had failed. Then it was that the Monk appeared, and mutely beckoning them to follow, he led foam to where treasure was concealed-stipulating no conditions for its expenditure. demanding no promise of repayment, exacting no duty or service in return. Men have vainly asked, was it actual treasure he gave, or did it merely appear so to the external senses, to be changed into leaves or stones when the day and the occasion of its requirement had' passed ? And if actual treasure, how did it come in the place of its concealment, and by whom was it there deposited ?

In Germany, the wood-spirit Rubezahl performed similar acts of beneficence and kindness to poor and deserving, persons and the money he gave proved to be, or passed for the current coin of the realm; while in Ireland, the O'Donoghue, who dwelt beneath the waters of an inland lake, and rode over its surface on a steed white as the foam of its waves, distributed treasures that proved genuine to the good, but spurious to the undeserving.

Monad : is a theosophical term which literally means a unit (Greek Monas). The Monad is frequently described as a Divine Spark," and this impression is particularly apt, for it is a part of the Logos, the Divine Fire. The Logos has three aspects, Will, Wisdom and Activity, and, since the Monad is part of the Logos, it also has these three aspects It abides continually in its appropriate world, the monadic, but, that the divine evolutionary purposes may be carried out, its ray is borne downwards through the various spheres of matter when the outpouring of the third life wave takes place. It first passes into the Spiritual Sphere by clothing itself with an atom of spiritual matter and thus manifests itself in an atomic body, as a spirit possessing three aspects. When it passes into the next sphere, the Intuitional, it leaves its aspect of Will behind and in the Intuitional Sphere, appears in an Intuitional body as a spirit possessing the aspects of Wisdom and Activity. On passing in turn, from this sphere to the next the higher mental, it leaves the aspect of Wisdom behind, and appears in a casual body as a spirit possessing the aspect of activity. To put this somewhat abstruse doctrine in another form, the Monad has, at this stage, manifested itself in three spheres. In the spiritual it has transfused spirit with Will, in the Intuitional it has transfused spirit with Wisdom, and in the higher Mental it has transfused spirit with Activity or Intellect. and it is now a human ego, corresponding approximately to the common term "soul," an ego which, despite all changes, remains the same until eventually the evolutionary purpose is fulfilled and it is received back again into the Logos. From the higher mental sphere the Monad descends to the lower mental sphere and appears in a mental body as possessing mind, then betakes itself to the astral sphere and appears in the astral body as possessing emotions, and finally to the physical sphere and appears in a physical body as possessing vitality. These three lower bodies, the mental, the astral, and the physical, constitute the human personality which dies at death and is renewed when the Monad, in fulfillment of the process of reincarnation, again manifests itself in these bodies. (See Theosophy, Evolution, Sphere, Life Waves, Monadic Sphere, Logos.)

Monen: A Kabalistic term covering that branch of magic which deals with the reading of the future by the computation of time and observance of the heavenly bodies. It thus includes astrology.

Money : Money which comes from the devil is of poor quality, and such wealth, like the fairy-money, generally turns to earth, or to lead, toads, or anything else worthless or repulsive. " A youth," says Gregory of Tours, received a piece of folded paper from a stranger, who told him that he could get from it as much money as he wished, so long as he did not unfold it. The youth drew many gold pieces from the papers, but at length curiosity overcame him, he unfolded it and discovered within the claws of a cat and a bear, the feet of a toad and other repulsive fragments, while at the same moment his wealth disappeared." In popular superstition it is supposed that if a person hear the cuckoo for the first time with money in his pocket, he shall have some all the year, while if he greet the new moon for the first time in the same fortunate condition, he shall not lack money throughout the month.

Mongols : (See Siberia.)

Monk : A medium. (See Spiritualism.)

Moo : Queen of Yucatan. (See Atlantis.)

Moors : (See Arabs.)

Mopses, The : A secret association imported into Germany, which celebrated the rites of the gnostic Sabbath. It replaced the Kabalistic "goat" by the Hermetic " dog as an object of worship. The candidate for the order was brought into the circle of adepts with the eyes bandaged in the midst of a great uproar, and after saluting the idol was initiated. The sign of recognition was a grimace. The whole doctrine of the society was that of black magic. The Mopses recruited only among Catholics, and for the oath at reception they substituted a solemn engagement on honour to reveal no secrets of the order,-the practices of which much resembled the Sabbath of medieval sorcerers.

Morelle, Paolo : (See Italy.)

Morgan, Professor De : (See Spiritualism.)

Morgan le Fay : Sister of Arthur and wife of King Urien of Gore. Arthur gave, into her keeping the scabbard of his sword Excalibur, but she gave it to Sir Accolon whom she loved and had a forged scabbard made. Arthur, however, recovered the real sheath, but was again deceived by her. She figures as a Queen of the Land of Faerie and as such appears in French and Italian romance. It was she who, on one occasion, threw Excalibur into a lake. She usually presents her favourites with a ring and retains them by her side as does Venus in Tannhauser. Her myth is a parallel of that of Eos and Tithonus and is probably derived from a sun and dawn myth.

Morien : It is commonly supposed that Morien, or Morienus as he is sometimes styled, was born at Rome in the twelfth century, and it is also reported that, like Raymond Lully and several other early chymists, he combined evangelical ardour with his scientific tastes. While still a mere boy. and resident in his native city, Morien became acquainted with the writings of Adfar, the Arabian philosopher, and gradually the youth's acquaintance with these developed into tense admiration, the result being that he became filled with the desire to make the personal acquaintance of the author in question. Accordingly he bade adieu to Rome and set out for Alexandria, this being the home of Adfar; and, on reaching his destination, he had not to wait long ere gaining his desired end. The learned Arabian accorded him a hearty welcome, and a little while afterwards the two were living together on very friendly terms, the elder man daily imparting knowledge to the younger, who showed himself a remarkably apt pupil. For some years this state of affairs continued, but at length Adfar died, and thereupon Morien left Alexandria and went to Palestine, found a retreat in the vicinity of Jerusalem, and began to lead a hermit's life there.

Meanwhile the erudition of the deceased Arabian acquired a wide celebrity, and some of his manuscripts chanced to fall into the hands of Kalid, Soldan of Egypt. He was a person of active and enquiring mind, and observing that, on the cover of the manuscripts, it was stated that the secret of the philosopher's stone was written within, he naturally grew doubly inquisitive. He found, however, that he himself could not elucidate the precious documents and therefore he summoned illuminati from far and near to his court at Cairo, and offered a large reward to the man who should discover the mystery at issue. An endless number of people presented themselves in consequence, but the majority of them were mere charlatans, and thus the Soldan was duped mercilessly.

Betimes news of these doings reached the ears of Morien. It incensed him to think that his old preceptor's wisdom and writings were being made a laughing-stock, so he decided that he must go to Cairo himself, and not only see justice done to Adfar's memory, but also seize what might prove a favourable opportunity of converting Kalid to Christianity. The Soldan was inclined to be cynical when the hermit arrived, nor would he listen to the latter's attacks on the Mahommedan faith; yet he saw fit to grant Morien a house wherein to conduct researches, and here the alchemist worked for a long time, ultimately perfecting the elixir. He did not, withal, make any attempt to gain the preferred reward; and instead he took his leave without the Soldan's cognizance, simply leaving the precious fluid in a vase on which he inscribed the suggestive words:." He who possess all has no need of others."

But Kalid was at a loss to know how to proceed further, and for a long time he made great efforts to find Morien and bring him again to his court. Years went by, and all search for the vanished alchemist proved vain; but once, when the Soldan was hunting in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, one of his servants chanced to hear of a hermit who was wont to create gold. Convinced that this must be none other than Morien, Kalid straightway sought him out; so once more the two met, and again the alchemist made strenuous efforts to win the other from Mahommedanism. Many discussions took place between the pair, both speaking on behalf of their respective religions, yet Kalid showed no inclination to desert the faith of his fathers. And therefore Morien relinquished the quest in despair, but it is said that, on parting with the Soldan, he duly instructed him in the mysteries of the transcendent science.

Nothing is known about Morien's subsequent history, and the likelihood is that the rest of his days were spent quietly at his hermitage. He is credited with sundry alchemistic writings, said to have been translated from Arabic, but it need hardly be said that the ascription rests on the slenderest evidence. One of these works is entitled Liber de Distinctione Mercurii Aquarum, and it is interesting to recall that a manuscript copy thereof belonged to Robert Boyle, one of the founders of the Royal Society while another is entitled Liber de Compositione Alchemiae, and this is printed in the first volume of Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa. Yet better known than either of these, and more likely to be really from Morien's pen, is a third treatise styled De Re Metallica, Metallorum Transumtatione, et occulta summague Antiquorum Medicine Libellus, which was repeatedly published, the first edition appearing at Paris in 1559.

Morrell, Theobald : (See Spiritualism.)

Morse, J. J. : A well-known English trance or inspirational medium who began to practice about 1870. Early in his career the phenomenon of " elongation" was witnessed in connection with him, but these physical manifestations soon ceased, and he developed trance-speaking faculties of a high order, and delivered numerous eloquent discourses to spiritualists throughout the country.

Morzine, Devils of : (See Switzerland.)

Moses, Rev. William Stainton : One of the best known mediums connected with modern spiritualism, and probably, after Home, one of the most successful. He was born in 1839, at Donington, in Lincolnshire, the son of a schoolmaster, and was educated at Bedford Grammar School and Exeter College, Oxford. He made good progress at the University, but before his final examination his health broke down, and he was forced to go abroad. On his return he graduated Master of Arts, and in 1863 was ordained. From that time until 1870 he was a curate, first in the Isle of Man and afterwards in Dorsetshire. Again his health gave way, and he was obliged to abandon parish work, and seek a change of occupation. In 1870 he became tutor to the son of Dr. and Mrs. Stanhope Speer, with whom he resided. and who were henceforth among his staunchest supporters. A year or two later he was appointed English master in University College School, but increasing ill-health compelled him to retire in 1899. Towards the close of his ijfe Mr. Moses suffered greatly from depression and kindred nervous disorders. His life as a clergyman and as a schoolmaster was beyond reproach, and his duties were discharged in a way that won respect alike for his intelligence and efficiency.

His attention was first directed to spiritualism by the reading of R. Dale Owen's book on The Debatable Land, in 1872. He attended numerous seances, held by such medium" as Home, and soon afterwards he himself developed powerful mediumistic tendencies, and gave seances to the Speers and a few select friends. The best accounts of his sittings are those written by Dr. and Mrs. Speers who kept separate records of the performances, and there are occasional accounts by others who were admitted to the circle. The phenomena were at first confined to raps and levitations of furniture, but gradually the manifestations became more varied and more pronounced. Toilet articles in Mr. Moses' room moved about of themselves and formed a cross on his bed, "apports" of perfume, pincushions, pearls, and other articles were brought by the spirits, and the medium himself would float about the room. Towards the end of the year "spirit lights" began to make their appearance, and seem to have created a profound impression on the sitters, though to judge from the descriptions they give, it would seem that Mr. Podmore's explanation of "bottles of phosphorus" is not far from the truth. Musical instruments also were heard playing in the air, besides raps, thuds, and other noises.

Perhaps his most important manifestations, however, were the automatic writings published under the title of Spirit Teachings. These purported to come from several spirits, " Imperator," " Rector," and others, and were mostly of a theological caste. Though of a high ethical tendency, they evinced a departure from Christianity, and suggested the religion of spiritualism as the only rational human creed. Unlike many automatic writings Mr. Moses' productions were not written in extravagantly high-flown language, nor were they altogether meaningless. But it must be remembered that he was a man of education and not likely to fall into such errors.

Other work done by him in connection with Spiritualism was his assistance in the founding of the British National Association of Spiritualism, and to serve on the Councils of the Psychological Society, and the Society for Psychical Research. He severed his connection with the latter body, however, because of the position they took up with regard to certain professional mediums. He was also president of the London Spiritual Alliance from 1884 onwards. Among his most popular works, besides Spirit Teachings, were Psychography, Spirit Identity, and The Higher Aspects of Spiritualism.

Why did Stainton Moses become a medium? There are few questions more puzzling than this to the student of spiritual psychology. That professional mediums, and those private mediums who have anything to gain by their performances, should carry on deception from year to year, is comprehensible. But that a clergyman, who had hitherto led an uneventful and exemplary life, should deliberately and systematically practise a series of puerile tricks for the purpose of mystifying his friends, is certainly not so. We are forced to admit, then, either that his observers were victims to hallucination and self-deception, or that the phenomena he produced were genuine manifestations from the spirit-world.

Moss-Woman The : The Moss or Wood Folk, dwelt in the forests of Southern Germany. Their stature was small and their form strange and uncouth, bearing a strong resemblance to certain trees with which they flourished and decayed. They were a simple, timid, and inoffensive race, and had little intercourse with mankind; approaching only at rare intervals the lonely cabin of the wood-man or forester, to borrow some article of domestic use, or to beg a little of the food which the good wife was preparing for the family meal. They would also for similar purposes appear to labourers in the fields which lay on the outskirts of the forests. A loan or gift to the Moss-people was always repaid manifold. But the most highly-prized and eagerly-coveted of all mortal gifts was a draught from the maternal breast to their own little ones; for this they held to be a sovereign remedy for all the ills to which their natures were subject. Yet was it only in the extremity of danger that they could so overcome their natural diffidence and timidity as to ask this boon-for they knew that mortal mothers turned from such nurslings with disgust and fear. It would appear that the Moss or Wood folk also lived in some parts of Scandinavia. Thus we are told that in the churchyard of Store Hedding, in Zealand, there are the remains of an oak wood which were trees by day and warriors by night.

Mountain Cove Community, The : A spiritualistic community founded in Mountain Cove, Fayette Co., Virginia, in the autumn of 1851, under the leadership of the Rev. James Scott and the Rev. T. L. Harris. Both mediums had settled in Auburn in the previous year, and had obtained a considerable following. While Harris was absent in New York the command to form a community at Mountain Cove was given through the mediumship of Scott, and about a hundred persons accompanied him to Virginia. The members were obliged to deliver up all their possessions, again at the command of the spirits. Dissensions arose and pecuniary difficulties were experienced, and only the advent of T. L. Harris in the summer of 1852 saved the community from dissolution. However, the dissensions and difficulties remained, and early in 1853 the community finally broke up.

Muscle-reading : The concentration of thought on any particular object produces a tendency to muscular activity. Thus if a name be thought of the muscles of the larynx may range themselves as if for the pronunciation of that name. This is known as subconscious whispering." Or there may be an unconscious movement towards the object in the mind. It is the interpretation of these involuntary movements by a second person, or percipient, that frequently passes for genuine telepathy. The thought reading exhibited on the public platform, when it is not the result of fraud, may be in reality muscle-reading. The act of reading these slight muscular indications of the thoughts may be unconscious or instinctive-indeed, must be so, since they are much too fine to be perceived by the grosser consciousness.

Myers, Frederic William Henry (1843-1901) : Poet, essayist, and student of psychic science, was born at Keswick, Cumberland, and educated at Cheltenham and Cambridge. In 1865 he became classical lecturer there, but in 1872 abandoned this post for that of school inspector. He published several volumes of poems and essays, some of the former of considerable beauty, though it is chiefly as an essayist that he is known. He has done excellent work in the region of psychic science, being one of the original group who founded the Society for Psychical Research in 1882, and remaining to the end of his life one of its most useful members. Though he did not belong to the sceptical school of which Mr. F. Podmore is the chief representative, Mr. Myers' view-point was decidedly not that of the average spiritualist. The evidence for the survival of the soul after death he found not in the somewhat puerile spirit " manifestations, but in the subliminal Consciousness, that wide region that lies beneath the threshold of man's ordinary consciousness, wherein Air. Myers believed to discern traces of unused faculties, clairvoyance, retrocognition, precognition, telekinesia, and so on. All the phenomena of trance, hypnotism, automatism, and spiritualism he grouped together as phenomena of the subliminal consciousness. The results of his researches were embodied in a posthumous work entitled Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death (1903). He also wrote the introduction to Gurney's Phantasms of the Living. He died at Rome in 1901 and was buried at Keswick.

Myomancy : was a method of divination by rats or mice and is supposed to be alluded to in Isaiah lxvi., 17. Their peculiar cries, or some marked devastation committed by them, was taken for a prognostic of evil. AElian relates that Fabius Maximus resigned the dictatorship in consequence of a warning from these creatures; and Cassius Flaminius, according to Varro, retired from the command of the cavalry for no greater reason. From Herodotus we learn that the army of Sennacherib, when he invaded Egypt was infested by mice in the night, and their quivers and bows gnawed in pieces ; in the morning, therefore, being without arms, they fled in confusion, and many of them were slain. Such a foreboding of evil could not very well be questioned, or its consequences averted, by the commander, but very different was the case when one of Cato's soldiers told him in affright that the rats had gnawed one of his shoes. Cato replied that the prodigy would have been much greater if the shoe had gnawed a rat l Horapollo in his curious work on the Hieroglyphics of Egypt, describes the rat as a symbol of destruction, and, what is more to our purpose, the Hebrew name of this animal is from a root which signifies to separate, divide, or judge; and it has been remarked by one of the commentators on Horapollo that the mouse has a finely discriminating taste. An Egyptian MS. in the " Bibliotheque Royale" at Paris, contains the representation of a soul going to judgment, in which one of the figures is depicted with the head of a rat and the well-known wig. It is understood that the Lybian rats and the mouse of Scripture are the same as the Arabian jerboa, which is characterised by a long tail, bushy at the end, and short fore-legs. The mice and emerods of gold, I. Sam. v., 6, 7 were essentially charms having a precise symbolic meaning.

Mysteries : From the Greek work muein, to shut the mouth, and mustes an initiate : a term for what is secret or concealed. Although certain mysteries were undoubtedly part of the initiatory ceremony of the priests of ancient Egypt, we are ignorant of their exact trend, and the terra is usually used in connection with certain semi-religious ceremonies held by various cults in ancient Greece. The mysteries were indeed secret cults, to which only certain initiated people were admitted after a period of preliminary preparation. After this initial period of purification came the mystic communication or exhortation, then the revelation to the neophyte of certain holy things, the crowning with the garlands, and lastly the communion with the deity. But the mysteries appear to have circled round the semi-dramatic representation or mystery-play of the life of a deity.

It has often been advanced as a likely theory to account for the prevalence of these mystic cults in Greece, that they are of pre-Hellenic origin, and that the Pelasgic aboriginal people of the country strove to conceal their religions from the eyes of their conquerors. But against this has to be weighed the evidence that for the most part the higher offices of these cults were in the hands of aristocrats, who, it may he reasonably inferred, had but little to do with the inferior strata of the population which represented the Pelasgic peoples. Again, the divinities worshipped in the mysteries possess for the most part Greek names, and many of them are certainly gods evolved upon Hellenic soil at a comparatively late period. We find a number of them associated with the realm of the dead. The earth-god or goddess is in most countries often allied with the powers of darkness. It is from the underworld that grain arises, and therefore we are not surprised to find that Demeter, Go, and Aglauros, are identified with the underworld. But there were also the mysteries of Artemis, of Hecate, and the Cherites,-some of which may be regarded as forms of the great earth-mother.

The worships of Dionysus, Trophonious, and Zagreus were also of a mysterious nature. The Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries are undoubtedly those of most importance to the occult student; and from the results of archaeology, such as vase-painting and so forth, we have been able to glean some general idea of the trend of these. That is not to say that the heart of the mystery is revealed to us by any such illustrations, but these supplemented by what the Christian fathers were able to glean regarding these mystic cults, enable us to push our investigations in the proper quarters. Important as such matter is, however, it is extremely slight in character.

Eleusis.-The mysteries of Eleusis had for their primal adoration Demeter, Kore or Persephone,-the mother and the daughter-whose myth is too well-known to require repetition here. Pluto, the third figure in the drama is so unimportant as to be relegated to the background. Other "nameless" divinities appear to have been associated with these, under the name of " the gods and "the goddesses" ; hut the theory that those are supposed to descend from an aboriginal period, when gods were nameless, is too absurd for discussion. The nameless god is of no value to anyone. not even a savage, and a mere nodding acquaintance with mythological science is surely sufficient to show that such nameless gods are merely those whose higher names are hidden and unspoken. In Egypt, for example, the concept of the Concealed Name was extremely common. The "name of power" of a god, if discovered, bestowed on the discoverer sway over that deity, and we must therefore dismiss tile idea of the nameless divinities of Eleusis as not in accordance with mythological fact. A more probable view is that which would make these gods later titles of the married pair Pluto and Kore; but this, in view of the facts just stated, is also unlikely. Dionysus is also a figure of some importance in the Eleusinian mystery, and it has been thought that Orphic influence brought about his presence in the cult; but traces of Orphic doctrine have not been discovered in what is known of the mysteries. A more baffling personality in the great ritual drama is that of Iacchus, who appears to be none other than Dionysus under another name. But Dionysus or lacehus does not appear to be a primary figure of the mystery

We find in early Greek legends allusions to the sacred character of the Eleusinian mysteries. From the fifth century their organisation was in the hands of the Athenian city,-the royal ruler of which undertook the general management, along with a committee of supervision. The rites took place at the city of Eleusis, and were celebrated by a hereditary priesthood, the Eumolpedie.. They alone, or rather their high priest, could penetrate into the innermost holy of holies ; but there were also priestesses and female attendants or' the goddesses.

The celebration of the mysteries, so far as can be gleaned, was somewhat as follows: In the month of September, the Eleusinian Holy Things were taken from the sacred city to Athens, and placed in the Eleusinian. These probably consisted to some extent of small statues of the goddesses. Three days afterwards the catechumens assembled to hearken to the exhortation of one of the priests, in which those who were for any reason unworthy of initiation were solemnly warned to depart. All must be Greeks or Romans above a certain age, and women and even slaves were admitted; but foreigners and criminals might not partake. The candidates were questioned as to their purification, and especially as regards the food which they had eaten during that period. After this assembly, they betook themselves to the sea-shore and bathed in the sea, being sprinkled afterwards with the blood of pigs. A sacrifice was offered up, and several days afterwards the great Eleusinian pro-cession commenced its journey along the sacred 'way, its central figure being a statue of Iacchus. Many shrines were visited on the way to Eleusis, where, upon their arrival, they celebrated a midnight orgy.

It is difficult to come at what occurred in the inner circle; but there appear to have been two grades in the celebration, and we know that a year elapsed before a person who had achieved one grade became fit for election to the higher. Regarding the actual ritual in the hall of mystery, a great deal of controversy has taken place, but it is certain that a dramatic representation was the central point of interest, the chief characters in which were probably Demeter and Kore, and that the myth of the lost daughter and the sorrowing mother was enacted before a highly-impressed audience. It has been stated that the birth of Iacchus was announced during the ceremony; but this has not been handed down to us on good authority. Of scenic display, there was probably little or none, as excavation has proved that there was not room for it, and we find nothing regarding scenery in the accounts presented in many inscriptions; but the apparel of the actors was probably most magnificent, and was heightened by the Rembrandtesque effect of gloom and torchlight.

But certain sacred symbols were also displayed before the eyes of the elect. These appear to have been small idols of the goddesses. of great antiquity and sanctity. We know that the original symbols of deity are jealously guarded by many savage priesthoods. For example, the Uapes of Brazil keep careful watch over the symbols of Jurupari, their god, and these are shown only to the initiated - any woman who casts eyes on them being instantly poisoned. It is also stated by Hippolytus that the ancients were shown a cut corn stalk, the symbol of Demeter and Kore. This, however, can hardly be trusted any more than the theory that the Eleusinians worshipped the actual Corn as a clan totem. Corn as a totem is not unknown elsewhere, as for example in Peru, where the cconopa or godlings of the maize fields were probably originally totemic; and we know that amongst savage people totemism often carries in its train the concept of the full-fledged mystery. But if the Eleusinian corn was a totem, it was certainly the only corn totem known to Greece, and corn totems are rare. The totem has usually initiated with the hunting condition of man: when he arrives at the agricultural stage we generally find that a fresh pantheon has slowly evolved, in which full-fledged gods took the place of the old totemic deities. The corn appears to him as a living thing. It is growth, and within it resides a spirit. Therefore the deity which is evolved from this concept is more likely to be of animistic than of totemistic origin.

The neophyte was then made one with the deity, by partaking of holy food or drink. It will be recalled that when Persephone reached the dark shores of Hades she partook of the food of the dead-thus rendering it impossible for her to return. Once the human soul eats or drinks in Hades, it may not return to earth. This belief is universal, and it is highly probable that it was symbolised in the Eleusinian mysteries. There was nothing, however, particularly secret about this sacrament, as it is painted on many vases which have been brought to light. A great deal of the ritual undoubtedly partook of the character of agricultural magic, -description of sympathetic sorcery. Among barbarians the medicine-man sprinkles water over the soil to incite the rain-spirit to do likewise. It is not long ago since, in the Isle of Mull, a long carved stone in a certain churchyard was filled with water, until the depressions upon it overflowed, to symbolise a well-watered country. All sorts of imitative rites took place on similar occasion - most of which will be familiar to students of folklore, It has been thought that the token of the growing corn may have served as an emblem of man's resurrection, and the fact that most persons approach the Elenusinian mysteries for the purpose of ensuring themselves a happy immortality. would go far to prove this. M. Foucart has ingeniously put forward the theory that the object of the Eleusinian mysteries was much the same as that of the Egyptian Book of the Dead,-to provide the initiates with elaborate rules for avoiding the dangers of the underworld, and to instruct them in the necessary magical formulae. But it does not appear than any such purpose was attained in the mysteries; and we know of no magic formulae recited in connection with them. Friendship with the Holy Mother and Daughter was to the Eleusinian votary the chief assurance of immortality.

A great many offshoots of the Eleusinian cult were established in several parts of Greece.

Dionysiac.-The most important cult next to the Eleusinian was the Orphic, which probably arose in Phrygia, and which came to be associated with the name of Dionysus, originally a god of vegetation, who was of course also a divinity of the nether world. In this case, it was also desired to enter into communion with him, that immortality might be assured. His celebrations were marked by orgies of a bacchic description, in which it was thought that the neophyte partook for the nonce of the character and the power of the deity himself. The rites of the cult of Dionysus were on a much lower grade than those of Eleusis, and partook more of the barbarian element, and the devouring of an animal victim was supposed to symbolise the incarnation, death and resurrection of the divinity. Later the Dionysiac mysteries became purified, but always retained something of their earlier hysteric character. The cult possessed a fairly wide propaganda, and does not appear to have been regarded by the sages of its time with great friendliness. The golden tablets relating to the Orphic mystery found in tombs in Greece, Crete and Italy, contain fragments of a sacred hymn. As early as the third century B.C. it was buried with the dead as an amulet to protect him from the dangers of the underworld, and the fragments bear upon them incantations of a magical character.

Attis and Sybele.-These mysteries arrived at a later period on Hellenic soil. Passionate and violent in the extreme, they yet gained considerable sway in a more degenerate age, and communimi with the deity was usually attained by bathing in blood in the taurobolium or by the letting of blood.

These Phrygian mysteries were full of the conception of the re-birth of the god Attis, who was also of an agrarian character; and in brief it may be said of these mystic cults as a whole that they were primarily barbarian agricultural rites to some extent intellectualised.

Mittraic Mysteries.-The Mithraic cult was of Persian origin, Mithra, a personification of Light being worshipped in that country some five hundred years before the Christian era. Carried into Asia Minor by small colonies of magi, it was largely influenced by the religions with which it was brought into contact. Chaldean Astrology contributed much of the occult traditions surrounding the creed of the Sun-god, while to a certain extent it became hellenized when the Magi strove to bring the more barbaric portion of their dogma and its usages into harmony with the Hellenic ideal. To the art of Greece also it owed that ideal representation of Mithra Tauroctonous which formed the central object in the temples of the cult. The wide geographical area it traversed and the immense influence thus exercised was, however, due to the Romans. The rites originally reached Rome, Plutarch tells us, through the agency of Cilician priates conquered and taken there by Pompey. Another source, doubtless, was through the large number of Asiatic slaves employed in Roman households. Again the Roman soldiery must have carried the Mithraic cult to Rome as they certainly were the means of its diffusion, as far north as the mountains of Scotland, and southwards to the borders of the Sahara Desert.

Mithraism may be said to have been the only living religion which Christianity found to combat. It was strong enough to exert a formative influence on certain Christian doctrines, such as those relative to the end of the world and the powers of hell. Mithra was essentially the divinity of beneficence. He was the genius of celestial light, endowing the earth with all its benefits. As in his character of the Sun he puts darkness to flight so by a natural transition he came to represent ethically truth and integrity, the sun of goodness which conquers the night of evil. To him was ascribed the character of Mediator betwixt God and man; his creed promised a resurrection to a future life of happiness and felicity. Briefly the story of Mithra is this His life he owed to no mortal mother. In the gloom of a cavern Mithra sprang to being from the heart of a rock, seen by none but humble shepherds. He grew in strength and courage, excelling all, and used his powers to rid the world of evil. Of all his deeds of prowess, however, that one became the central motive of his cult wherein, by slaying a bull, itself possessed of divine potentialities, he dowered the earth with fruitfulness and miraculous crops. From the spinal cord of the bull sprang the wheat of man's daily bread, from its blood the vine, source of the sacred drink of the Mysteries, and from its seed all the different species of useful animals. After this beneficent deed Mithra ruled in the heavens, yet still keeping watch and ward over mankind, granting the petitions asked in his name. Those who followed him, who were initiated into his mysteries passed under his divine protection, especially after death when he would rescue their souls from the powers of darkness which fain would seize upon the dead. And yet again Mithra would come, when the earth was failing in her life-sustaining powers, and again he would slay a divine bull and give to all abundant life and happiness.

The mysteries and rites inspired the votaries with awe while giving to their hearts hope of a future life, transcending that which they had known. The temples, mithraeums as they were called, were either built underground or were caves and grottoes in the depths of dark forests, symbolising the birthplace of their god. Among his worshippers were slaves and soldiery, high officials and dignitaries, all mingling fraternally in a religion which called them Brethren. The rites were of magical significance. In order to bring their lives into closer communion with the divinity of Mithra, the neophytes must pass through seven degrees of initiation successively assuming the names of Raven, Occult, Soldier, Lion, Persian, Runner of the Sun and Father. Each of these grades carried with them symbolic garments and masks, donned by the celebrants. The masks represented birds and animals and would seem to indicate the existence of belief in the doctrine of metempsychosis; or perhaps they were a remnant of totemic belief. An almost ascetic habit of life was demanded, including prolonged fasting and purification. The oath of silence regarding the rites was taken, and before entering the higher grades a ceremony called the Sacrament was held where consecrated bread and wine were partaken of. Dramatic trials of strength, faith and endurance were gone through by all, a stoical attitude and unflinching moral courage being demanded as sign of fitness in the participant. The drinking of the sacred wine, and the baptism of blood, were supposed to bring to the initiate not only material benefit but wisdom; they gave power to combat evil, the power to attain to an immortality such as that of their god. An order of priests were connected with this cult, who faithfully carried on the occult tradition and usages, such as that of initiation, the rites of which were arduous; the tending of a perpetual fire on the altars; prayers to the Sun at dawn, noon and evening. There were sacrifices and libations, musical rites including long psalmodies and mystic chants. The days of the week were each sacred to a Planet, the day of the Sun being held especially holy. There were seasonal festivals, the birth of the Sun being solemnized on the 25th of December, and the equinoxes were days of rejoicing, while the initiations were held preferably in the spring, in March or April. It is believed that in the earliest days of the cult some of the rites were of a savage and barbaric character, especially the sacrificial element, but these, as indicated, were changed and ennobled as the beneficence of Mithra took precedence of his warlike prowess. The Mithraic brotherhoods took temporal interests as well as spiritual ones under their care were in fact highly organised communities, including trustees, councils, senates, attorneys and patrons, people of high status and wealth. The fact of belonging to such a body gave to the initiate, be he of noble birth or but a slave, a sense of brotherhood and comradeship which was doubtless a powerful reason of the ascendancy which the Mithraic cult gained over the Roman army, whose members, dispersed to the ends of the earth in lonely solitudes amid wild and barbaric races, would find in this feeling of fraternity, this sharing in the worship and ritual of the Sun-god, an infinite comfort and solace.

Mysteries of the Pentateuch : (See Kabala.)

Mystic City of God : (See Agreda, Marie of.)

Mysticism : The attempt of man to attain to the ultimate reality of things and enjoy communion with the Highest. Mysticism maintains the possibility of intercourse with God, not by means of revelation, or the ordinary religious channels, but by dint of introspection, culminating in the feeling that the individual partakes of the divine nature. Mysticism has been identified with pantheism by some authorities but it differs from pantheism in that its motive is religious. But mysticism is greatly more speculative than ordinary religion and instead of commencing its flights of thought from the human side, starts from the divine nature rather than from man. The name mysticism cannot be applied to any particular system. Whereas religion teaches submission of the will and the ethical harmonies of life, mysticism strains after the realisation of a union with God Himself. The mystic desires to be as close to God as possible, if not indeed part of the Divine Essence Itself; whereas the ordinary devotee of most religious systems merely desires to walk in God's way and obey His will.

Mysticism may be said to have originated in the East, where it probably evolved from kindred philosophic concepts. The unreality of things is taught by most Asiatic religions, especially by Brahminism and Buddhism, and the sense of the worth of human personality in these is small (See India). The Sufis of Persia may be said to be a link between the more austere Indian mystics and those of Europe. We find Sufism first arising in the ninth century among the Persian Mahommedans, probably as a protest against the severe monotheism of their religion; but in all likelihood more ancient springs contribute to its revival. In the Persia of Hafiz and Saadi, pantheism abounded, and their magnificent poetry is read by Mahommedans as having a deep mystical significance, 'although for the most part it deals with love and intoxication. In all probability more is read into these poems than exists beneath the surface, but at the same time it is certain that many of them exhibit the fervour of souls searching for communion with the highest. The rise of Alexandrian Neoplatonism (q.v.) was the signal for the introduction of mysticism to a waiting Europe, and as this stage of mysticism has been fully reviewed in a special article on the subject, there is no necessity to follow it here. It may be mentioned, however, that Neoplatonism made a definite mark upon early Christianity, and we find it mirrored in many of the patristic writings of the sixteenth century. It was Erigena who in the ninth century transmitted to Europe the so-called writings of Dionysius the Areopagite thus giving rise to both the scholasticism and mysticism of the middle ages. Erigena based his own system upon that of Dionysius. This was the so-called " negative theology" which places God above all categories and designates Him as Nothing, or The Incomprehensible Essence from which the world of primordial causes is eternally created. This creation is the Word or Son of God, in Whom all substantial things exist; but God is the beginning and end of everything. On this system Christian mysticism may be said to have been founded with little variation. With Erigena reason and authority were identical, and in this he agrees with all speculative mystics; whereas scholasticism is characterised by the acceptance by reason of a given matter which is pre-supposed even when it cannot be understood. It seemed to Erigena that in the scholastic system religious truth was external to the mind, while the opposite view was fundamental to mysticism. That is not to say that mysticism according to Erigena is a mere subordination of reason to faith. Mysticism indeed places every confidence in human reason, and it is essential that it should have the unity of the human mind with the divine as its main tenet ; but it accepts nothing from without, and it posits the higher faculty of reason over the realisation of absolute truth.

Medieval mysticism may be said to have originated from a reaction of practical religion against dialectics in which the true spirit of Christianity was then enshrined. Thus St. Bernard opposed the dry scholasticism of Abelard. His mysticism was profoundly practical, and deals chiefly with the means by which man may attain the knowledge of God. This is to be accomplished through contemplation and withdrawal from the world. Thus asceticism is the soul of medieval mysticism ; but he mistakenly averred regarding self-love that it is proper to love ourselves for God's sake, or because God loved us; thus merging self-love in love for God. We must, so to speak, love ourselves in God, in Whom we ultimately lose ourselves. Thus St. Bernard is almost Buddhistic, and indeed his mysticism is of the universal type. Perhaps Hugh of St. Victor, a contemporary of St. Bernard's, did more to develop the tenets of mysticism ; and his monastery of Augustinians near Paris became, under his influence, a great centre of mysticism. One of his apologists, Richard of St. Victor, declares that the objects of mystic contemplation are partly above reason, and partly, as regards intuition, contrary to reason. The protagonists of this theory, all of whom issued from the same monastery, were known as the Victorines, who put up a stout fight against the dialecticians and schoolmen. Bonaventura, who died in 1274, was a disciple of this school, and believer in the faculty of mystic intuition. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the worldliness of the church aroused much opposition amongst laymen, and its cold formalism created a reaction towards a more spiritual regime. Many sects arose such as the Waldenses, the Kathari, and the Beguines, all of which strove to infuse into their teachings a warmer enthusiasm than that which burned in the heart of the church of their time. In Germany, mysticism made great strides, and Machthild of Magdeburg, and Elizabeth of Thuringia, were, if not the originators of mysticism in Germany, perhaps the earliest supporters of it. Joachim of Flores and Amalric of Bena wrote strongly in favour of the reformed church, and their writings are drenched with mystical terms, derived for the most part from Erigena. Joachim mapped out the duration of the world into three ages, that of the Father, that of the Son, and that of the Spirit,-the first of which was to commence with the year 1260, and to be inaugurated by the general adoption of the life monastic and contemplative. A sect called The New Spirit, or The Free Spirit, became widespread through northern France, Switzerland and Germany; and these did much to infuse the spirit of mysticism throughout the German land.

It is with Eckhart, who died in 1327, that we get the juncture of mysticism with scholastic theology. Of his doctrine it has been said: The ground of your being lies in God. Reduce yourself to that simplicity, that root, and you are in God. There is no longer any distinction between your spirit and the divine,-you have escaped personality and finite limitation. Your particular, creature self, as a something separate and dependent on God, is gone. So also, obviously, your creaturely will. Henceforth, therefore, what seems an inclination of yours is in fact the divine good pleasure. You are free from law. You are above means. The very will to do the will of God is resolved into that will itself. This is the Apathy, the Negation, the Poverty, he commends. With Eckhart personally this self-reduction and deification is connected with a rigorous asceticism and exemplary moral excellence Yet it is easy to see that it may be a merely intellectual process, consisting in a man's thinking that he is thinking himself away from his personality. He declares the appearance of the Son necessary to enable us to realize our sonship; and yet his language implies that this realization is the perpetual incarnation of that Son - does, as it were, constitute him. Christians are accordingly not less the sons of God by grace than is Christ by nature. Believe yourself divine, and the Son is brought forth in you. The Saviour and the saved are dissolved together in the blank absolute substance.

With the advent of the black death, a great spirit of remorse swept over Europe in the fourteenth century, and a vast revival of piety took place. This resulted in the foundation in Germany of a society of Friends of God, whose chief object was to strengthen each other in intercourse with the Creator. Perhaps the most distinguished of these were Tauler, and Nicolas of Basle, and the society numbered many inmates of the cloister, as well as wealthy men of commerce and others. Ruysbroeck (q.v.) the great Dutch mystic, was connected with them; but his mysticism is perhaps more intensely practical than that of any other visionary. It is the machinery by which the union with God is to be effected which most attracts him. In Ruysbroeck's life-time a mystical society arose in Holland called the Brethren of the Common Lot, who founded an establishment at which Groot dispensed the principles of mysticism to Radewyn and Thomas a Kempis.

The attitude of mysticism at the period of the Reformation is peculiar. We find a mystical propaganda pretending to be sent forth by a body of Rosicrucians denouncing Roman Catholicism in the fiercest terms, and we also observe the spirit of mysticism strongly within those bodies which resisted the coldness and formalism of the Roman Church. On the other hand, however, we find the principles of Luther strongly opposed by some of the most notable mystics of his time. But the Reformation past, mysticism went on its way, divided, it is true, so far as the outward theological principles of its votaries were concerned, but strongly united in its general principles.

It is with Nicholas of Kusa, who died in 1464, that mysticism triumphs over scholasticism. Nicolas is the protagonist of super-knowledge, or that higher ignorance which is the knowledge of the intellect in contra-distinction to the mere knowledge of the understanding. His doctrines coloured those of Giordano Bruno and his theosophy certainly preceded that of Paracelsus. The next great name we meet with in mysticism is that of Boehme (q.v.), who once and for all systematised German philosophy. The Roman Church produced many mystics of note in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, notably Francis of Sales, Mme. Guyon and Molinos,-the last two of which were the protagonists of Quietism, which set forth the theory that there should be no pleasure in the practice of mysticism, and that God did not exist for the enjoyment of man. Perhaps the greatest students of Boehme were William Law (q.v.), 1686 to 1765, and Saint Martin (q.v.), 1743 to 1803.

But all mysticism is not necessarily identified with sect, although undoubtedly its strongholds in this country to-day are to be found in certain circles of the Church of England. There are still with us mystics who, professing no definite theological tenets, are yet mystics in virtue of their desire for unity with, or proximity to the Deity, by what they call "magical" methods. These are obscure, and are probably the result of personal experiences, which it is not given to everyone to comprehend ; but which,. nevertheless, may be very real indeed. For a good summary of such mysticism the reader is referred to Mr. A. E. Waite's Azoth or the Star in the East ; See also Evelyn Underhill's Mysticism and The Mystic Way.