Theosophy and the Hollow Earth

IntroductionThe Hollow Globe. By M.L. Sherman. (Blavatsky)NotesThe Hollow Globe: Introduction (Lyon)Earthquakes and Volcanoes (Hartmann)Editorial Comment (Blavatsky)Two Spiritualistic Prophecies (Judge)NotesQuestion and Answer (Purucker)CommentThe Cave of the Winds (Purucker)Solar and Terrestrial Magnetism (Purucker)Other Quotations (Purucker/Blavatsky)

Introduction

An article entitled The Hollow Globe. By M.L. Sherman. was published in TheTheosophist, vol. 5, no. 10, July 1884, pp. 251-4. It is a review of The Hollow Globe; orthe Worlds Agitator and Reconciler. A treatise on the physical conformation of the earth,a book which, according to the title page, was presented through the organism of M.L.Sherman, M.D., and written by Prof. Wm.F. Lyon (Chicago: Religio-PhilosophicalPublishing House, 1871 [Health Research reprint, 1971]; 2nd ed., 1876). The manner inwhich The Hollow Globe came to be written is explained in the Introduction to the book;the information channelled through Sherman was elaborated upon by Lyon. The review article in The Theosophist is essentially a summary of the book,consisting largely of sentences and phrases lifted straight from the book itself. The mainexception is the final paragraph, along with a few very brief comments here and there.The article is unsigned, implying that it was written by the editor of The Theosophist,H.P. Blavatsky (presumably in consultation with her adept teachers). The same issue ofThe Theosophist contains two other unsigned articles that are attributed to Blavatsky.Both of them are included in volume 6 of H.P. Blavatsky Collected Writings (pp. 239-48),compiled by Boris de Zirkoff, whereas The Hollow Globe is not. In fact, with theexception of the hollow globe article, every major unsigned article in volume 5 of TheTheosophist (Oct. 1883 - Sept. 1884) is attributed to Blavatsky and included in theCollected Writings. Moreover, with one minor exception, there are no articles in volume5 of The Theosophist that are actually signed H.P. Blavatsky or H.P.B., though thereare many notes signed Ed. or Editor. The hollow globe article has previously beenpublished as an appendix to The Hollow Earth by Dr Raymond Bernard (Health

Research, 1977, pp. 134-42). H.P. Blavatsky was not in India at the time the hollow globe article appeared. Sheand H.S. Olcott sailed from India for Europe on 20 February 1884. Olcott returned to theTheosophical Society Headquarters at Adyar on 15 November 1884, and Blavatsky on21 December 1884. A notice in the March 1884 issue of The Theosophist (p. 154)stated that during Blavatskys absence the journal would be conducted by T. SubbaRow, who, like Blavatsky, was a chela of Master M, and that Blavatsky would continueto send her articles. However, management remained largely in the hands of DamodarK. Mavalankar, a chela of Mahatma KH; a notice in the September 1884 issue of thejournal stated that Damodar continues in charge of the Theosophist (p. 303). ThatDamodar sometimes received advice from KH on The Theosophist is shown by thefollowing brief note, found annexed to an article which was later published in themagazine (Supplement, February, 1884, p. 30): I want you to have this followed bySubrams statement. You may take out something else from the Supplement (See SvenEek, Dmodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement, pp. 527-8). KH made several (anonymous) contributions to The Theosophist himself, such as anarticle on matter and force in the September 1882 issue. In a letter to A.P. Sinnett(February 1883) he refers to a book on Buddhism that is full of fallacies and says: I willhave it slightly reviewed by Subba Row or H.P.B., furnishing them with notes myself(Mahatma Letters, p. 201). The August 1884 issue of The Theosophist (p. 270) included a brief report lookingback at the fifth year of the magazines existence. It stated: The teachings of occultismwhich the MAHATMAS have recently given out, and some of which were written bythemselves, during the last year, have attracted the attention of many of the leadingthinkers of the West, from whom we have received appreciative and encouragingletters. This is most likely a reference to the Replies to an English F.T.S., written bythree adepts; the last of the Replies appeared in the October and November 1883issues of the journal (see Collected Writings, 5:129-275). The final paragraph of the hollow globe article begins:

The authors views [i.e. the author of the Hollow Globe book] about the sunspots, of the invisible planets existing beyond the orbit of Uranus and of theworlds builders have recently been to some extent corroborated in some ofthe Fragments of Occult Truth and other teachings given in theTheosophist, and they bear internal evidence of having been derived fromthe same source. Whether this view is correct or not, they show certainly ahigh grade of intelligence, and their conclusions are perfectly logical . . .

The reference here is probably to: (a) parts 4 and 5 of Fragments of Occult Truth,which were published in The Theosophist in October and November 1882 and werewritten by A.P. Sinnett on the basis of communications with masters M and KH (the firstinstalment appeared in Oct. 1881, and the eighth and final instalment in May 1883); (b)the first two answers forming part of the Replies to an English F.T.S., published inSeptember 1883. The hollow globe article could therefore have been written beforeBlavatskys departure for Europe. The article certainly appears to support the basic thesis of the Hollow Globe book.However, as already stated, it is essentially a summary of the book, and the fact that itrefrains from detailed comment should not be taken as an automatic endorsement ofeverything the book says. Leaving aside the proposed theory of the earths interior, thebook contains certain statements that are clearly at variance with theosophicalteachings. It is worth noting that the Fragments of Occult Truth, though based on the

masters teachings, also contained errors and that they were left uncorrected at thetime. The hollow globe article did not give rise to any discussion in the pages of TheTheosophist. It was however referred to in an article entitled Earthquakes andvolcanoes, which appeared in the July 1885 issue of the magazine (pp. 245-6). It waswritten by H. (probably Franz Hartmann). It is followed by a brief editorial comment,presumably written by Blavatsky, which appears on the surface to contradict the hollowglobe article. It is not included in volume 6 of the Collected Writings. In fact, a greatmany editorial notes in volume 6 of The Theosophist are not included in the CollectedWritings. At the time the article by H appeared, Blavatsky was no longer living in India.She sailed from India on 31 March 1885, accompanied by Hartmann, Mary Flynn, andBawaji. They reached Naples, Italy, on 23 April, and then went to Torre del Greco, aplace referred to in the article by H. There are no direct references to the hollow earth in The Secret Doctrine, but what issaid about the first continent at the north pole may certainly be of relevance. SeeTheosophy and the Seven Continents. W.Q. Judge stayed in Europe for a while in early 1884, on his way to India. In May hespent three weeks with Blavatsky near Paris and helped her with the writing of TheSecret Doctrine. Ernest Pelletier suggests that Judge might have written the hollowglobe article himself, with Blavatskys endorsement, and then sent it to India (The JudgeCase, Edmonton Theos. Soc., 2004, pt. 1, p. 321). Judge landed in Bombay on 15 July1884, in the same month as the hollow globe article was published, and reached Adyaron 10 August, a month before the vindictive Mme Coulomb launched her public attackon Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society. He returned to New York in October 1884. Judge certainly took an interest in the subject of the hollow earth. In The Ocean ofTheosophy (1893) he writes that the adepts, our elder brothers,

investigate all things and beings; . . . they have made minute observations,through trained psychics among their own order, into the unseen realms ofnature and of mind, recorded the observations and preserved the record;they have mastered the mysteries of sound and color through which alonethe elemental beings behind the veil of matter can be communicated with,and thus can tell why the rain falls and what it falls for, whether the earth ishollow or not, what makes the wind to blow and light to shine, and . . . themeaning and the times of the cycles. (pp. 4-5)

An article entitled Two spiritualistic prophecies, which is attributed to Judge, waspublished in the December 1893 issue of The Path (vol. 8, pp. 279-80). The firstprophecy mentions the hollow earth theory. Judge also wrote an article entitled Theskin of the earth (The Path, vol. 4, 1889, pp. 208-11), which speaks of caverns fathomsdeep below the planets surface, and describes the invisible elemental beings, on andwithin the earth, which sustain the earths motions and are influenced by humanthoughts. Another overt reference to the hollow earth was made by G. de Purucker in aquestion and answer session in 1930 (Dialogues of G. de Purucker, 2:325-6). Heexplicitly states that the earth is not hollow (but in what sense?; see Comment).Puruckers remarks on the earths poles and the cave of the winds (Studies in OccultPhilosophy, pp. 321-2) and on solar and terrestrial magnetism (Fountain-Source ofOccultism, pp. 305-8) do not necessarily require a hollow earth but they are certainly ofrelevance to the subject. A few other quotations (mostly from Purucker), open tointerpretation, are also given.

Clearly, theosophical references to the earths inner constitution and the hollow earththeory appear to be inconsistent a mixture of hints and blinds which students are leftto interpret as best they can. For a study of the hollow earth theory, see Mysteries of the Inner Earth.

THE HOLLOW GLOBE. By M.L. Sherman.[The Theosophist, July 1884, pp. 251-4]

Leaving aside the question of the supposed origin of this book as a spiritcommunication (the Spirit may have been an Adept), its central idea is that this globeof ours is constructed in the form of a hollow sphere, with a shell some thirty to fortymiles in thickness, and that the interior surface, which is a beautiful world, in a morehighly developed condition than the exterior, is accessible by a circuitous and spirallyformed aperture, that may be found in the unexplored open Polar Sea, and this openingaffords easy navigation by a broad and deep channel leading from one surface to theother, and that the largest ships or steamers may sail or steam either way, with as muchfacility, as they can pass through any other winding or somewhat crooked channel. As the author has not seen himself the interior of this inner world, but depends ingiving his details about the same on clairvoyant examinations, and as no Polarexpedition has yet reached the pole, although some expeditions came very near to it,and there being apparently nothing to prevent them from reaching it, unless indeed itmay have been the exercise of some occult power the author of course cannotpositively prove that the globe is hollow and inhabited, but he does this negatively byproving that it cannot be otherwise. He first shows that every noted event in history has occurred in exact order, and in itsproper time and place, in regular succession; so that it could not have possibly occurredsooner, nor longer delayed. Each event took place in exact accordance with manscondition at the period of its occurrence. Gunpowder, steamships, printing presses,electric telegraphs were inventions born of the time when necessity called them intoexistence. When Catholic supremacy and intolerance overran all Western Europe, anobscure young sailor was deeply impressed with an idea that finally resulted in thediscovery of what was termed a new world, new western countries became settled inproportion as old eastern countries became overpopulated, the ever surging tide ofemigration has steadily rolled on in its onward course from Central Asia through thecontinent of Europe, then across the Atlantic to the Eastern shores of America, throughthe wilderness and across the desert plains and precipitous mountain ranges, until itfinds itself opposed by the broad waters of the Pacific Ocean, with a densely populatedcountry on the other side. Emigration like revolutions never moves backward if it can no more reach forward tothe West; it must spread to the North and South. The coming emigration to the Northhas already been foreshadowed by the purchase of the Russian Possessions in NorthAmerica by the United States. Alaska seems to be the future halfway station betweenAmerica and the North Pole, where the extensive steamship lines, which at no remoteperiod will be established, will take in their supplies of coal. At the present rate ofincrease, in less than a hundred years from now, America will have a population of over

400 millions and a new territory must be found to accommodate them. Such a territorywill be found by following the warm Kuro Siva current of the Pacific ocean throughBehrings Strait into the open Polar sea. Having once penetrated the frigid belt, we find there an ocean of some 1,200 miles indiameter with a temperate climate. Man seems to be irresistibly attracted to it, for inspite of all the failures, caused mostly by serious blunders of scientific men, Polarexpeditions will be continued, until we finally shall succeed in entering the charmedcircle, which is bordered by a frozen zone of some ten degrees latitude, generallyranging from 70 to 80 degrees. Within this circle the climate cannot be dependent for itstemperature to any considerable extent upon those causes that regulate the changes ofthe seasons south of the glacial belt, by which it is surrounded. For if dependent uponsuch, it would for ever remain locked in the frozen embrace of the vast fields of ice, thatwould accumulate from year to year and from age to age. Those great formations wouldhave naturally encroached upon the temperate latitudes, thus extending their area anddepth, until all the waters upon the face of the earth would have been attracted thither toswell the increasing glaciers of the Arctic regions, and all the solar and other influencesoperating in the temperate zones could not have prevented the catastrophe, had not thegreat presiding mind ordered it differently, by arranging this globe so that a temperateclime might also exist at this polar extreme. This makes the open Polar Sea a necessity,and it seems rather strange that navigators have never entered the same. Some ofthem declare that there was nothing in view to hinder, for, as far as their eyes or glasseswould reach towards the North, all was open; no impediments in the way; but they didnot go on. Some inexplicable reason prevented those parties from pursuing where theroad lay open before them, and has prevented their successors from finding any openpathway, and the great geographical enigma of our globe still remains unsolved, waitingfor a Columbus to solve it. Captain Parry in 1810 saw no visible signs of ice in the very highest latitude hereached; Wrangle in 1820, far to the north and east of Behrings Straits, saw noappearance of ice, but for some strange reasons these navigators did not prosecutetheir explorations. Whalers and others insist on having seen the open Polar Sea, andthe Kuro Siva and Gulf stream are positive proofs of its existence. Its temperate climatemay be attributed to the longitudinal electro-magnetic currents, converging into acommon focus at or near the pole and their entering the shell. These convergingactivities, passing through water or the more solid earth to the interior surface, mustnecessarily produce considerable heat, doubtless sufficient to prevent the freezing ofthe waters of the entire polar circle. The defenders of the igneous theory of the interior of the earth describe the same asan immense bombshell, filled brimful with intensely molten lava, surrounded by a crustfrom twenty-five to sixty miles in thickness. In support of their views, they tell us of theincreasing temperature as we go downwards into the earth, the igneous formation ofgranite, the supposed action of hot water upon the lower sedimentary rocks, the largeextent of territory affected by earthquakes, the vast amount of lava thrown fromvolcanoes and the continuous activity of the same. The prominent argument for the existence of this scientific hell has been the increaseof temperature as we penetrate the earth, generally about one degree in fifty or sixtyfeet; but it has been found that in deep soundings of the ocean the water was colder asthey approached the sea bottom. The ocean has given us access to a point 37,000 feetnearer this terrible imaginary furnace, but that tremendous depth failed to present anyindications of increasing temperature. Lately an artesian well was sunk in the city of St.Louis, Missouri, to the depth of 3,843 1/2 feet, and by so doing the question of

increasing temperature has been settled for ever. It not only did not support the theoryof internal heat, but proved exactly the opposite and established the theory of internalcold. Instead of placing below our feet the most active and dangerous materials, thatwould be constantly making disturbance, the controlling intelligence has placed therethe most inactive, that would lie still. It was found that at the boring of that well the heatincreased until they had measured 3,209 feet, where the temperature was 107 degreesF. It then began to sink, and at 3,817 feet it showed a temperature of 106 degrees andat 3,827 the thermometer fell to 105 degrees. At this rate we would arrive at a depth ofabout nine miles a temperature somewhat below zero, and doubtless still farther belowwe should find the foundations of this globe in that frozen negative condition that willinduce them to lie still until all the great destined changes can take place upon and nearthe surface, that have been provided for in the vast programme of the worlds past andfuture history. If we construct a sphere of eighty inches in diameter instead of 8,000 miles with ashell of four-tenths of an inch in thickness, we would have the relative proportions of theearths interior and its crust as given by our fire-philosophers. We may now place withinthe interior liquid fire at 7,000 degrees which, says Prof. Hitchcock, is sufficient to meltall the materials of the rocks; and no intelligent person could be found, who would notarrive at the conclusion that the shell itself would soon become a liquid mass as itsentire contents are only one thirty-fifth part of the fire within. It is difficult to conceive of an idea more repugnant to our natures, or one morehorrible to contemplate, than that the vast interior of our globe, which might easily havebeen fitted up so grandly and beautifully, and subserve the glorious purpose ofproducing and sustaining human intelligence, should have been so miserably ruined bybeing filled brimming full of incandescent lava. We pass for the present to a consideration of the supposed igneous formation of thegranite rocks, and come to that period where it is said that in consequence of greatinternal heat the earths surface produces a wonderful prolific growth of vegetation ofgigantic proportions, such as enormous tree ferns, calamites, sigillaria and numerousvarieties that have left their fossil remains on top of the Devonian and immediatelybelow the coal formation. It appears that this immense flora was found upon the top of avery extensive formation, which is still above another of fossiliferous rocks that hadbeen the residence of organic living beings for untold ages before this growth existed.Now the difficulty seems to be, not to produce the extensive growth of vegetation, but toobtain the amount of heat from the internal source that would transform these forestsinto bituminous and anthracite coal and still permit the existence of vegetable andanimal life to continue. A heat, sufficient to produce even charcoal, would not beconsidered conducive to healthy growth of such life, and it is evident that many agesprevious to the coal period these forms of life existed and flourished as all the paleozoicrocks testify. After the crust has so cooled down as to produce vegetable and animallife, it would be impossible many ages afterwards to get up a heat that would make theworld a universal coalpit. The causes of the great coal fields that now supply ourmanufactories, steam engines and dwellings with fuel, must be looked for in some otherdirection, which the author explains, but which space does not permit us to examine. Volcanoes are supposed to be vent holes or chimneys that reach from the surface tothe great fire within, contrived for the purpose of safety valves that may permit anysurplus gases or dangerous elements to escape. No one will deny that a globe ofmolten lava, that has an area of nearly 200,000,000 square miles, and a heat of over7,000F. and only enclosed by a frail crust of about forty miles in depth, would require atleast all the open chimneys that are known to exist in the shape of active volcanoes

upon the globe. But these active volcanoes are neither numerous nor regularlydistributed, and the disturbed and explosive elements might some day be foundunwilling to go very far out of the way to accommodate any portion of the outside world.A certain able but eccentric geologist tells us that a large portion of the active volcanoeshave been extinguished by the sea running into the crater and extinguishing the fire,and, to show that he is serious, he intimates that there are men in New England who,for a suitable compensation, would undertake to construct a subterranean tunnel fromthe Mediterranean to Mount Vesuvius, to let in a stream of water of sufficient magnitudeto quench that infernal monster. He thus resembles the incompetent engineer, sitting onthe safety valve of his engine, to increase the pressure of steam, and if the igneoustheory is correct, we may expect to see our globe torn to pieces at any time by someblundering scientist. But fortunately we are not in such a precarious situation. There are other and betterreasons to explain the causes of the existence of volcanoes and earthquakes. We aretold that volcanoes belch forth volumes of dense smoke with lurid flames and ashes inenormous quantities, cinders, scoria and mud, steam, sand, lapilly, rocks of variousdimensions, and lava; and it is somewhat remarkable that the lava is not verythoroughly melted. These materials must have come from reservoirs where theyseverally had an existence; they could not have been brought from any place wherethey did not exist, and we often see that when such reservoirs have become exhausted,the mountain is swallowed up in the vacancy thus produced. Moreover many of thesubstances thrown out are combustibles. Why have they not been consumed at a heatthat may be 10,000? Smoke and cinders are the result of the combustion of organicsubstances, and certainly no organic substance can have existed at a temperature thatwill melt granite rock. These substances must have been the results of evolution aftergranite was formed. Neither could there have be any water or mud. The force whichthrows out rocks at the distance of 6,000 feet above the summit of Cotapaxi, which isnearly 18,000 feet high, must necessarily be backed by something more permanentthan a liquid globe of molten granite, as the explosive force in a volcano must act in thesame manner as it does in a gun; it must have a solid resisting basis to receive therecoil. It is therefore clear that the origin of volcanoes must be looked for amongst thegreat fires that are kindled in cavities in the interior of earths crust, and such cavitieshave been discovered. But these cavities have a solid bottom, and far below them is theregion of undisturbed repose. The causes of volcanoes can be found in the oil-bearingrocks, which, according to Prof. Denton, are of great thickness and vast extent, andsome of the petroleum shales are so rich, that sixty gallons of oil may be distilled from asingle ton. As the igneous theory does not explain the existence of volcanoes, so does it notaccount for the phenomena of earthquakes. If earthquakes are caused by the quakingof an interior globe of molten lava, why do they not extend simultaneously all over theearths surface? How can they be limited in extent? Space forbids us to go into adetailed account of the supposed causes of earthquakes, given by various authors, andwhich, on account of their absurdity, are more amusing than instructive. Some say thatvast cavities exist between the rolling fiery mass and the superincumbent crust, and,from some impending cause, large rocks weighing millions of tons, become detachedand fall into the boiling flood below, where they sink to the centre because the specificgravity of solid granite rock is greater than that of a homogeneous molten mass of thesame material. But if so, how could the solid granite crust ever have been formed, andwould not in such a case the interior of the globe be solid, and the outside liquid fire?But without entering into the details of such absurdities, we find in the exterior shell

sufficient inherent powers to explain all the superficial tremblings and vibrations thatever occurred, and when the electro-magnetic currents of our earth are better studiedthe causes of earthquakes will also be understood, just as the causes of thunder andlightning in the atmosphere are no longer unknown. The author then proceeds to speak about the positive and negative, male and female,material and spiritual elements and forces. He shows that they pervade the mineral,vegetable and animal kingdoms of our world. He says that there exists another force,more powerful than electricity, which he calls Aura, and which we suppose to beidentical with the Akasa of the Occultists. If it were not for a continuation of these forces,the revolutions of our world would cease and motion be changed into inactivity. We mustkeep in view that these counter elements diffuse themselves throughout all things, andhave done so from all eternity. The forces which pre-existed and gave form to theaccretions of materialized particles, being invisible to us, may be properly termed thespiritual essences (elementals) that exist in all forms of matter, through which theyexpress themselves to our vision, and if such forces may exist separate andindependent of the visible material forms, then it follows that such forms or aggregatedatoms do not add to the original power of the pre-existing spiritualized forces. Thus allforms or aggregations of matter must have had a spiritual (elemental) essence, whichacted as a preordinate cause for the production of form, and if so there must have beena spiritual essence or form to the globe we inhabit, containing all the forces that nowexist in the structure; and the particles which compose our world have taken theirrespective places in accordance with these pre-existing forces, and these forces havebeen governed and directed by an intelligent power in a spiritual condition, exercisingWill. Magnetism and Electricity are the two great positive and negative powers in nature.They are contained in all substances and are evolved from the mineral kingdom. Theoriginal granite contains all that there is in the universe. Hence it will be difficult to findthe dividing line between matter and force; for both are one and the same indivisibleelement (the positive and negative poles of one eternal principle). Aura is evidently anelement that bears a very close relationship to the above named forces, and being farmore sublimated in its character, it acts in various capacities, where the magnetic andelectric fluids would be powerless. The latter act on a lower plane, but there are higherduties which call for more refined and etherealized powers, and it has long beenunderstood that the human organization was pervaded by an element variously callednerve aura or odylic force, which occupies the brain and extends to the remotestcorners of the physical body. This etherealized essence is the offspring of the Electro-magnetic fluid, and frequently displays its glories in the polar regions of this hemisphereand is known as the Aurora Borealis. The author discusses these various forces and their correlations at length, andgradually introduces us into the realm of life. He shows that wherever effects have beenproduced, there must have been causes adequate to produce them. He shows that thelaw of eternal progress pervades all nature, and that in the course of ages our materialglobe will become more refined and be the fit abode for a superior race. He examinesthe nature of gravitation, and shows that it is only the feeble arm of those universalElectro-magnetic forces that pervade all nature. Gravity is no traveller, rushing fromplanet to planet, to draw heavenly bodies from their predestined courses. It is only aninferior force inherent in matter and a condition of the same, changed, counteracted andsuperseded by superior forces, as we see every day in the growth of plants andanimals, the rising of vapour, etc. Each material aggregation and molecular organizationhas a pre-existing elemental form, and each elemental form has within itself the inherent

forces to attract the grosser materials, by which it manifests itself to the eyes of men.Matter attracts matter, and a sympathetic cord exists between the orbs of space; but thepowers which have been ascribed wrongly to gravitation belong to Electro-magneticinfluences, and gravitation cannot exist until there is a mutual relationship establishedbetween two material bodies, one apparently exerting power over the other inconsequence of superior size and density. The larger body attracts the smaller one, andthere can be no particular geometrical centre of attraction with gravitation any more thanwith cohesion, but that force lies in the general direction of the largest accumulation ofparticles, as is proven by pendulum experiments in the vicinity of mountains. Allponderable substances will be held upon the surface of our globe, whether it may be asolid globe and have but one exterior surface, or a spherical shell with both convex andconcave surfaces. If you are on the inner surface of the spherical shell of our globe, youare so far as gravity is concerned, as much upon the upper side as you would be uponthe exterior of a solid globe. There can be found nothing attached to the geometricalcentre of our globe, that should make it a central moving point, from which gravityshould proceed, any more than there is to any other point in space. Neither can thesupposed gravity of the Moon be the cause of the tides, as the author explains. The author next enquires into the nature of the sun, and demonstrates that the suncannot be a fiery mass of molten matter. He enquires into the sources of light andproves that the emanation theory is wrong, and that the theory of undulations can onlyhold good within the limits of our atmosphere. All these theories present innumerabledifficulties, but when we fall back upon the development theory, we find a harmoniousexplanation. All globes must have commenced their career in a feeble, infantilecondition, as regards light and heat, very gradually developing out of that condition to amore advanced state, and hence it is that all globes or planets in all their severalsituations, are receiving just the amount they need, and no more than will correspondwith their several circumstances. The development of their inherent powers are such as to modify the solar influences,and these solar influences are simply caused by the Electro-magnetic relations existingbetween these globes and the sun. In the sun we behold an unfolding of those inherentpowers that we possess, and always have possessed in a latent condition, that willultimately render us less dependent upon the great orb of day, because we aredeveloping the same powers that exist in the sun in all their magnificence and glory.And if it is conceded that we have unfolded in any sense of the word, that we havetravelled a portion of the journey from the electric condition of the new formed moon, tothe resplendent magnetic glory of the full grown sun, what shall hinder us fromaccomplishing the entire distance and becoming like the sun entirely dependent uponour own resources for light and heat? There can be no doubt, but the wisdom andpower, that contrived the machinery of the solar system, can ultimately furnish themeans for lighting and warming each planet independently, because we have the verysame elements that are contained in the sun. Electricity is expressive of coldness and inactivity. Magnetism is a synonym of life,heat, and activity. When the negative element becomes permeated to any extent withthe positive, it becomes subject to change and becomes progressive; for the positiveand negative, being male and female, reproduce themselves or their likeness, andwhenever the two elements come into contact, from that moment change and progresscommence. So if worlds in an infantile condition are almost purely electric and negative,then there can be very little magnetic or positive element within them with which thegreat fountain and head of these powers can affinitize, in order to produce thoseactivities and frictionizing processes, that result in heat and light. Hence we perceive

that Mercury being younger and less developed, is, of course more electrical and hasmore of cold, darkness and inactivity, and less positive active elements to assimilatewith those contained in the sun; but she has some advantage in point of distance, andthat fact assists in modifying her light and heat to suit her condition, and the quantityand quality of light, as well as heat depends almost exclusively upon the conditions ofthe several planets. The only reason why darkness arises upon that side of our earth which is oppositethe sun, is simply because the positive active elements of magnetism and aura, &c., arenot sufficiently elaborated to produce the necessary activities independently of theenergizing influences of the powers contained in the sun; but in a billion or more years,when our orbit is extended beyond the one in which Jupiter now travels, and the annualrevolution of the earth shall equal twelve of our years instead of one, the feeble lightproducing elements upon this globe shall be developed to that condition, in which theywill possess the power to furnish the necessary illumination upon every side and in alllatitudes. This is already the case with other higher developed planets. Uranus andNeptune, according to the conditions existing on earth, could experience a change ofseason only once in respectively 84 and 164 years, and these changes must thereforeoccur on those planets independent of solar influences. If all the elements of light and heat exist upon our earth, and if it is shown byreasoning from analogies of nature, that the interior of the shell of our earth is in a moredeveloped condition than the exterior, the question of lighting and warming the interiorsurface of this shell will find its natural solution. Furthermore, light and darkness asappreciable conditions upon our earth are rendered so to us by the peculiar character ofthe construction of our eyes and are only relative, and a future race in a higher state ofdevelopment will be dependent on higher conditions which we cannot comprehend,because we have not experienced the same; while they may exist all the same in thatbeautiful world yet unexplored by mortal man. Our entire physical organization is inherited from this earth; the earth is our parent,both male and female, father and mother, and there can exist nothing in our physicalorganisation that does not exist upon earth. We may therefore properly consider theearth in some sense of the word an animal organization of vast dimensions. She hasfunctions analogous to the animal race, the same inherent powers of locomotion aroundher axis and another around the sun. We have a net-work of electric wires in oursystem, constituting our nervous system; the earth has Electro-magnetic currentstravelling in all directions. We have a circulation of blood, and so has the earth acirculation of waters by rivers and tides, and the winds are active agents to assist in thecontinual change. There are currents in the ocean as well as in the interior of the earth.In the animal organization there are constant currents passing to and from the interior,through apertures prepared for that purpose, and the great parent must have ananalogous organization, and be suppled with it in the interior, and the same elementsand forces which exist here, must exist there. We generate the power by which weperform our movements within ourselves, and so does the earth; and she did notrequire the arm of an omnipotent being to start the machine by applying some peculiarkind of a force, that is not recognised within the realms of the natural universe, for thegenius and wisdom, that could contrive and keep in operation a perpetual motion for somany long ages by natural causes, must have been abundantly competent to havebrought to bear forces that would have started the machine within the range of naturalcauses also. The interior surface of the earth, being in a more highly developed condition than theexterior, has become capable of generating its own light upon the same principle as the

more developed planets, and the displays of aural light that are so frequently beheldemanating from the arctic circle, have thus far baffled all attempts of scientific minds tounfold their mysteries; while an aperture at the pole through which this light radiates toour exterior surface fully explains the phenomenon. The authors views about the sun spots, of the invisible planets existing beyond theorbit of Uranus and of the worlds builders have recently been to some extentcorroborated in some of the Fragments of Occult Truth and other teachings given in theTheosophist, and they bear internal evidence of having been derived from the samesource. Whether this view is correct or not, they show certainly a high grade ofintelligence, and their conclusions are perfectly logical; but, like other works of a similarcharacter this book has appeared, before the world was wise enough to understand it,and it is therefore known and appreciated by only comparatively few. The author is nowan old man but he still confidently expects (so we are told) to be one of the first ones toenter the interior of the earth through what is known as Cpt. Symes hole, and we hopehe will do so, if not in his present incarnation, then in the next, as a member of the sixthrace, forerunners of which have already made their appearance upon this, the exteriorsurface of our hollow globe.

___________

Notes

Symes hole (last para.):Captain John Cleves Symmes (1779-1829) believed that the earths interior was hollowand habitable, containing three solid concentric spheres, one within the other. He alsobelieved that there were enormous holes at the poles: 4000 miles across at the north,and 6000 miles across at the south. Clearly holes of this magnitude are out of thequestion! There is no reference to Symmes in the Hollow Globe book.

The above article repeats, without comment, the following questionable ideas from Lyon& Shermans book:

the earths solid outer shell is only 30-40 miles thick (a shell this thin is highlyimprobable!);

there is an open (ice-free) polar sea (this has been disproven by polar exploration);there is a spiral aperture in the north polar region providing a navigable entrance to

the earths interior (a navigable entrance would have to be rather large, but no suchopening has been found; is it being concealed by the exercise of occult power?);

the earths interior will be colonized very soon;the moon is young (theosophically, it is the parent of the earth. In a later chapter of the

book, it is said that a second moon is currently forming and will become visible within ahundred years. According to theosophy, another moon will indeed appear, but not untilthe seventh round);

Mercury is younger than the earth (theosophically, it is physically older, but spirituallyyounger);

in a billion years the earths orbit will extend beyond the current orbit of Jupiter (thiswill certainly not happen in the earths present embodiment).

The Hollow Earth book also echoes many fundamental theosophical ideas: the universe

is infinite in space and time; all things are relative; spirit and matter are one; nothingcomes from nothing or can be reduced to nothing; there is no such thing as chance; allmaterial forms (including atoms) have indwelling spiritual entities; the notion of aninfinite personal god is absurd; there are infinite hosts of finite spiritual intelligences,which pass through all forms, including a human stage; the planets were planned andconstructed by high intelligences and world-builders; there are cycles of constructionand dissolution.

The Hollow Globe by M.L. Sherman & Wm.F. Lyon (1871, pp. 9-18)

INTRODUCTION.

The central idea contained in the following work and the one that most of thesechapters are designed to substantiate is, that this globe is constructed in the form of ahollow sphere, with a shell some thirty to forty miles in thickness, and that the interiorsurface which is a beautiful world in a more highly developed condition that the exterior,is accessible by a circuitous and spirally formed aperture that may be found in theunexplored open Polar Sea, and this opening affords easy navigation, by a broad anddeep channel leading from one surface to the other, and that the largest ships orsteamers may sail or steam either way, with as much facility as they can pass throughany other winding, or somewhat crooked channel. And we have endeavored to show asclearly as possible, that the physical formation of the globe is such as to be perfectlycompatible with an outer and inner world, or two worlds instead of one, and it might beproper to present a brief sketch of the leading circumstances that have induced theproduction of this book and its presentation to the public. About the middle of September, 1868, the writer of this work was standing at his deskin his own place of business, attending to some matter, when a strange gentlemanmade his appearance in the office, and introduced himself as Dr. M.L. Sherman. I toldhim to be seated, and in a few moments I would give him my attention. He seemed toscan me very closely, and finally among other things told me, You are the man that Ihave been searching after; the very man I was to find, and we have a large amount ofbusiness that we must transact together, but I am not fully prepared to state the natureof that business, for I do not seem to understand it myself. I replied very well, if it is tobe so, I trust it will be satisfactory, or something to that effect, but his announcement didnot make a vivid impression upon my mind, as in my experience I had heard things of asimilar nature previously. However, the Doctor and myself formed an intimacy which hasnot been interrupted since, only by my absence of about seven months in the EasternStates, that occurred soon after our first introduction; and I have found him to be a veryremarkable and peculiar personage, whose day and hour to be widely known to theworld, has probably not yet fully come. The numerous remarkable experiences of his life, since his connection withspiritualistic teachings and phenomena, would of themselves fill a volume, and are by

no means admissible in this exceedingly brief sketch of an eventful career, but we noteas prominent among them, that he was for a long time a public speaker, and spoke in atrance or unconscious condition, to the great dismay and astonishment of those whoopposed, and the satisfaction and encouragement of those who coincided to someextent with his teachings. But in process of time he seemed to become so extremelyradical, and announced in public, ideas so much in advance of his time, and he waswithal constitutionally so firm, and somewhat harsh and severe in his language, that, ashe says, his speech was confounded, or he was unable to give utterance to his thoughtsin public, and of course he ceased lecturing. But there seemed to be another fieldopened before him, and like Paul and Swedenborg and many other seers, he wascalled upon to make his personal survey of some portion of the spirit realms, and atseveral different times, has been thrown into a semi-trance condition becoming partiallyunconscious of his earthly surroundings, and permitted to pass through the most vividexperiences that he was capable of appreciating in the spiritual spheres. These differentseasons of trance, in which he partook of no earthly food or drink except a little vinegar,were from three to twelve days each, making over forty days in all, and for four days ofthis time he was to all appearance dead, so much so that a prominent physician of thetown pronounced him dead to all intents, with the remark that they might use his headfor a foot-ball if he ever breathed again upon the earth, and it required the utmostexertion of the friend at whose house he lay, who was a man of some influence, to keepthe authorities from consigning him to a premature grave, thus adding another to thenumerous human sacrifices that have been made in this manner by people ignorant ofsome of natures laws. Yet, notwithstanding all the learned Doctors opinions and assertions, he did breatheagain, and after lying twelve days in this comatose, apparently lifeless condition, withoutfood of any kind, his spirit came back from its wanderings once more, took possessionof the earthly tabernacle, and he lived to write a brief account of what he saw during hisseveral trance conditions, and published to the world a small work of thirty-eight pages,entitled My Experiences in Spiritual Phenomena, and to all appearance he seems likelyto live for many years to come. This work, in consequence of its strange and radical ideas, was not well received,even by those minds who supposed they had laid off the trammels of old orthodoxy, butmost likely the day is not distant when this little book will be re-published, and properlyappreciated by those who are attaining to a clearer perception of spiritual truths andphilosophy, than was enjoyed twenty years since by the most enlightened persons. Up to the 1st of January, 1870, I think we had obtained no clue whatever, to themeaning of the language made use of when he first entered my office, and introducedhimself. About that time, however, we discovered the fact that he seemed to go underan influence when I came into his presence, and he and Mrs. Sherman who isremarkably mediumistic, began to see clairvoyantly many curious visions of symbolsthat were to us quite dark and mysterious, among which was one of a book, seen byhim, sealed with five seals, three in front and one at each end. It appeared to be a large,finely bound volume, and it was presented me with instructions that I was to take thebook, and unloose the seals thereof, all of which was Greek to us at the time. At othertimes large quantities of papers and pens with beautiful inkstands, and writing materialsgenerally were brought and presented to me; and among many other things it wasfinally told us, that through the Doctors mediumship we were to obtain the generalideas, and that I, in my room, by the aid of my own impressional powers was to moldand fashion and weave them into a book, to be entitled the Worlds Agitator andReconciler, and in due time they began through the Doctors organism to teach

concerning the nature of the book and its contents. However, the teachings were ofsuch a character that we were very slow to receive them, and, in fact, it was a verytedious process upon their part to make us understand and comprehend their ideas.They came to us in such broken fragments, and apparently dark and mystified manner,but they urged me to commence writing, for it was no matter where and how Icommenced, they would find a place in the book for my productions, and so I beganabout the middle of March, and was urged as nearly as may be, to finish the book bythe first of November. The whole affair has been extremely novel to us all, and I doubt not these pages mayappear somewhat novel to the reader, if he will go through them with some littleattention, he may arise from their perusal quite well convinced, at least, that old thingsare passing away, and that many things are becoming new. I have written these pagesin an entirely normal condition, and perfectly unconscious of any influence, only therewere times when I could not write a sentence, and felt very much averse to doinganything in connection with the book, and would get up and leave the room, almostinvoluntarily. At other times I would write with ease, quite generally commencing asentence without knowing how it was to terminate. I have copied and to a certain extent,modified about half of the manuscript that was first written; the remainder is just aboutas it was presented. The different chapters or subjects, are by no means arranged asthey were written, as some were partly finished, and laid aside, as there were timeswhen I could write upon one subject and not upon another. They informed us at the commencement that the teachings would come through theDoctors organism in an indirect manner, or in chips as they termed them, but theywould be enabled by that mode of procedure to transfer the ideas to my organism, andthus enable me in my own study, to weave them into the web which they wished toproduce to the world, at this period in its history. They remarked, the time had arrived tomake these revealments, and they, (as they termed themselves the delegation) hadsearched the nations for the Key or Keys that would unlock to the world, the profoundsecrets contained in this book, and they had found the Keys hidden away in ourorganisms, and had watched our outgoings, and incomings, and made use of themeans that would bring us together at the fixed time for the accomplishment of thispurpose. I do not claim any large amount of credit for the authorship of this work, thoughmuch of the time it has been quite a severe tax upon all the mental energies that Ipossessed, and although the prominent ideas were given to us, yet they seemed tohave passed through my organism in such a manner that it is quite difficult for me todetermine from whence they came, and how I have been able to present them in thisform. We learned in process of time that the five seals of the book presented in the earlystage of these proceedings, had allusion to prominent ideas, or facts conceding thephysical globe upon which we dwell, and its various appertainings. The first seal is supposed to allude to the great fact that this globe is a hollow orspherical shell with an interior as well as an exterior surface, and that it contains aninner concave as well as outer convex world, and that the inner is accessible by anextensive spirally formed aperture, provided with a deep and commodious channelsuited to the purposes of navigation for the largest vessels that float, and that thisaperture may be found in the unexplored open Polar Sea. The opening of the second seal, is supposed to reveal the fact that this globe is amechanical structure, in which is introduced the highest principles of the art, and that itis consequently, built by mechanics who are well versed in all the acquirementsnecessary to produce such a structure, and that to be built in accordance with correct

principles, it must be formed from the least amount of material compatible with theneeded strength, and hence it must be in the form of a shell, with an outer and an innersurface. The third seal seems to open to our view, the fact that the mechanics who arecompetent to build a world, must have acquired their knowledge like all other intelligentbeings, by experience and observation, and hence they must have necessarily passedthrough all possible conditions below them, in order to have attained the neededacquirements, or the wisdom and power that would be absolutely essential in theconstruction of a world; and further, that worlds are not created from nothing by a selfconstituted infinite being who has never passed through all this entire routine ofexperience, but sprang into existence without law or cause, with wisdom and powersufficient to produce all things from nothing by his own fiat, as the human mind isentirely incapable of conceiving the existence of any such being, within the boundariesof universal nature. The fourth seal would seem to disclose to our view, a number of facts concerning theinherent powers contained in our globe, by which it performs its axial and orbitalmovements, and manufactures its interior light and warmth, and is destined to unfold tothat higher and more independent and matured condition, that will ultimately enable it totake its proper place as a sun in the vast firmament. And the fifth seal has allusion to human vision, and will be fully explained by aperusal of the chapter upon that subject. When I rather reluctantly consented to commence the ostensible authorship of thisbook, I had determined that nothing should be introduced into its pages that wouldconflict in any manner with well settled scientific opinions, and I supposed I shouldspend a large portion of the summer, in the study of scientific works; but we wereconstantly admonished, that with regard to most of the subjects upon which I was towrite, science was entirely at fault, and her votaries were wandering in a maze ofdarkness, and that all I needed was a general idea of their opinions upon matters thatwould be brought to light, so we could demolish them more effectually. That if scientificmen had already arrived at truth concerning all these matters, it would be quiteunnecessary to say more, as no one could be benefited by a vain repetition of what wasalready written, and well understood; and instead of being particularly enlightened byscientific theories already established, I have been compelled to adopt many directly inconflict with those entertained by the most eminent men of the present day. I have beenalso impelled to introduce an array of argument in support of the new ideas andtheories, entirely novel to myself, but yet, arguments that in most cases seem to beastonishingly conclusive, and that will no doubt, stand the test of the most criticalexamination; and we have every reason to believe viewing the matter from ourstandpoint, that these pages will prove of no little interest to the public generally. It will not be very surprising, if in treating upon subjects of such vast magnitude asthose introduced into this work, that an author so unprepared as myself, by an intimateacquaintance with the scientific works designed to throw light upon these matters,should frequently meet with almost insurmountable obstacles and impediments, thatwould seem to tower mountain high before him, and thus not only obscure his vision,but obstruct his pathway; but strange to say in every instance of this character, whichhave not been infrequent during the progress of this work, all the obstructions anddifficulties have not only been removed, but they have invariably strengthened ourarguments, and been but stepping stones upon which we could stand, and if possibletake a broader and more extensive survey of the realms of nature, beholding moreclearly and vividly, those harmonies and beauties that present themselves everywhere

in the universe. The book itself presents upon its face but few characteristics that came within thereach of my interior vision, when I consented to commence its authorship. In fact, I hadbut little idea concerning the matter, and it has been unfolded to my view during itsprogress, partly by the teachings given through the Doctor, and partly by the vividimpressions that seemed to be made upon my own organism, and I cannot exactlydetermine how far the work had progressed, when I became fully convinced that theviews promulgated were substantial facts, and fully in accordance with the establishedprinciples existing in the universal realms, but I at length succumbed to what appearedto be my own reasoning, as the arguments introduced were beyond my reach, anddemolished my preconceived theories, and I trust many individuals who carefully perusethis volume, will pass through a similar experience. I seem to be deeply impressed with the idea that many of the thoughts that are brieflypresented in this work, will be seized upon in the future by other minds and elaborated,so as to become of great utility to the human race, and I must be permitted to entertainthe thought that the elucidation contained therein, concerning the great positive andnegative forces existing in nature, will ultimate in their final introduction, and generalapplication to mechanical purposes.

WM.F. LYON.

Sacramento, Nov. 1, 1870.

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.[The Theosophist, July 1885, pp. 245-6]

After a rest of some ten years, Vesuvius has again begun its activity. Several monthsago the characteristic signs of an impending eruption began to manifest themselves,consisting in a bright flame emanating from the crater, which, especially at night, wasvisible at long distances, illuminating the clouds above the mountain with a roseate hue,until on the evening of the 1st of May, the molten lava rose to the edge of the crater andoverflowing began to run down the mountain towards the side of Pompeii in two fierystreams. The phenomenon was accompanied by occasional slight shocks of earthquakeand an almost continual subterranean noise, resembling the rumblings of the wheels ofa heavy waggon on a paved street. This renewed eruption again draws our attention to an investigation of the cause ofsuch phenomena, and it may, perhaps, interest some of the readers of the Theosophistto examine into their causes and to see whether they could not be prevented from doingany serious damage in the same manner as the action of other elementary forces hasbeen brought within human control. In a review of a work entitled The Hollow Globe, which appeared in the Theosophistsome time ago, it has been sufficiently demonstrated that the old theory, which seeksthe cause of earthquakes and volcanoes in an imaginary liquid mass of molten granite,

with which the interior of the globe was said to be filled, has no real foundation. It istherefore useless to discuss this theory any further; but there is still another theory thatis more plausible and which seeks the cause of such phenomena in the existence ofsubterranean caves of immense extent, where some combustible material, such ascoal, gas or petroleum, has become inflamed either by spontaneous combustion or hasbeen ignited in some mysterious manner. This explanation leaves much to be desiredfrom a scientific point of view; especially as any amount of carboniferous deposits, nomatter how large in size, would undoubtedly be exhausted within a certain period oftime; while we know that Vesuvius has been active for many centuries, and the greateruption that destroyed the city of Pompeii, occurred as far back as the 24th of August,A.D. 79. We are therefore forced to abandon this theory as being applicable to an explanationof the general causes of earthquakes and volcanoes; moreover the earthquakes thatoften precede or accompany the eruption of a volcano, are spread over such a vastregion as to preclude the idea of the existence of subterranean caves of correspondingdimensions. The earthquake of 1883 which accompanied the destruction of a part of theIsland of Java, was felt not only at Singapore and Hong-kong, but the wave extendedeven beyond San Francisco. Such extensive caves would indeed be a perpetual terrorto humanity, not much less than the exploded theory which made of the earth a hollowshell, filled with liquid metal in a state of incandescence. But why should we hesitate toascribe all such phenomena to the action of electricity, which is abundantly adequate toexplain them? It is not long since an advanced thinker proposed a very rational theory of the causeof thunder, lightning and rain. He called the attention to the fact that as hydrogen gas isof the least specific gravity of all known gases, it must naturally rise to the surface of ouratmosphere, and as there is a constant supply of hydrogen formed by thedecomposition of organic substances, it is very probable that the outermost layer of ouratmosphere consists of a layer of hydrogen, which at the place of contact with the moreconcentric layers of oxygen, forms, as every chemist knows, an explosive compound. Ifthe electric tension between the two layers reaches a certain degree (in consequence ofthe friction caused by the revolution of the earth or otherwise) an explosion follows, thehydrogen combines with the oxygen and descends in the form of rain, hail or snow. In a similar manner earthquakes may be explained. It is a known fact that electriccurrents exist in the interior of the earth, as well as in the atmosphere, and it is also aknown fact, that certain materials in the earth are good conductors for electricity, whileother materials are non-conductors. This need not be demonstrated, as every telegraphoperator knows that he cannot telegraph from one city to another unless the ends of hiswire are connected with the earth. It is furthermore known, that if a strong current ofelectricity meets with a certain amount of resistance caused by a bad conductor, heatand even incandescence, sufficient to melt minerals, follows. Let us now suppose, thata strong current of electricity passing through the earth along a vein of mineral, or someother conducting material, meets with the resistance offered by a body whose capacityfor conducting is less, it naturally follows that great heat is developed, the surroundingmaterial becomes incandescent or melts, the earth crust expands and cracks, the waterfrom the surface penetrates to the depths, is decomposed into oxygen and hydrogen bythe action of the electricity and in other places ruined by explosion, the gases find ventthrough the crater of the volcano and the lava follows, propelled by the hydraulicpressure resting upon it. But if this theory is true, and the known fact, that the water-wells at Torre del Grecoand Rezzia become dry on such occasions, supports our theory; then it does not seem

to be impossible that the consequences of earthquakes could be renderedcomparatively harmless in the same manner as the effect of lightning can be modifiedby artificial means. If instead of sending lightning rods up to a sufficient height, we would send themdown to a sufficient depth to act as conductors for any superabundant accumulation ofelectric energy, the problem would perhaps be solved and at least certain localitiesmight be protected.

H.

___________

Editorial Comment

According to an abstract of a paper by Professor Prestwich, given in a recent numberof Nature, the latest scientific hypothesis about the composition of the earth is that itconsists of a thin crust on a slowly moving viscid body or layer, also of no greatthickness and wrapping round a solid nucleus. According to this theory the variousdepressions and elevations of the earths surface, as well as volcanoes, are due to theaction of this viscid magma compressed between the two solids, expansion in one partbeing usually followed by a corresponding depression elsewhere. The professorconsiders that the primary cause of volcanoes is accounted for on the old hypothesis ofa secular refrigeration and contraction of a heated globe. This view of the compositionof the earth is substantially in agreement with the teachings of the esoteric philosophy,according to which, the solid centre, plastic surrounding and solid crust correspond withthe three lowest principles of [the] human body. These views do not however contradictthe theory propounded by our contributor. Ed.

TWO SPIRITUALISTIC PROPHECIES.ONE NULLIFIED, THE OTHER FOR THE FUTURE.

[The Path, December 1893, pp. 279-80; Echoes of the Orient, 2:383-4]

In 1877 the Religio-Philosophical Journal had questions and answers published in itspages, giving spirit lore from the independent voice, headed as follows:

By the spirit of James Nolan through his own materialized organs ofspeech in the presence of his medium, Mrs. Hollis-Billing, at her residence,24 Ogden avenue, Chicago.

The series went on until the year 1878, and covered a multitude of subjects. They areimportant from the fact that they are definite, and, being from an accepted spirit, shouldhave as much weight as anything invented by living spiritualists. Occasion will be takento use then now and then to show how the spirits agree with Theosophy, albeit theirfollowers do not. The following may serve to discover what certainty there is in aprophecy by a spirit.

DISCOVERY PROPHESIED. Question. What is your opinion, as a spirit, of the hollow globe theory that is, that the interior of the earth is adapted to the habitation of man? Answer. I am not prepared to answer that question. I will say this much,that there is land at the North Pole, and an open sea where you will findpeople in less than fifteen years.

That was in December, 1877, and now it is 1893, sixteen years, and the prophecy notfulfilled. We waited the full time, as was told to Col. Bundy we would when he was kindenough to give the files of the paper containing the complete series. These failures arealways passed over.

FUTURE GREAT INVENTOR NAMED. In March, 1878, Nolan was asked if it were possible to make a telescope throughwhich we might see beings on other planets, and he replied:

Yes. In the year 1901 there will be a lens constructed, by the aid of whichthe trees and inhabitants in the planet nearest the earth can be seen. Thefeat will be accomplished in England by a person by the name ofHolligsworth. He is yet a boy.

This is also definite, and one of its parts can now be inquired into by Theosophists.Does any one in England know of such a boy who by this time is a man and must nowbe at work in some line leading to the end given? If so, he should be discovered to usand watched to see if the new telescope will be made. 1901 is not so far off, either, thatwe may not all be able to verify the prediction or add it to the lot in the false list. Thesetwo instances are interesting from their definiteness, as it is not easy to fix such matters.It might be a good thing for the spiritualists themselves to scrutinize the record for thepurpose of seeing how much the spirits really know that men do not.

___________

Notes

It would seem that the second prophecy has not come true either! Regarding the firstprophecy, it is worth nothing that the first major scientific expedition to the Arctic Oceanwas the Fram expedition from June 1893 to August 1896, led by the Norwegian explorerFridtjof Nansen. Nansen allowed his specially designed ship to be frozen into the packice on the Siberian side of the Arctic. In the next three years, it drifted with the ice packall the way across the Arctic and was finally freed from the ice in the Greenland Sea.The expedition found neither land nor an open polar sea. They frequently encounteredlarge stretches of open water, and the weather conditions together with the animal life

and its movements sometimes made them suspect there might be land in the region ofthe north pole, but their final conclusion was that the existence of a considerableexpanse of land beyond 86N was highly unlikely. The next issue of The Path included an article entitled Spiritualism, in which Judgeendorses Jim Nolans statements on seance room materializations (December 1894,pp. 300-4; Echoes of the Orient, 1:384-8. See also: Echoes 1:183-6, 3:136-7; TheOcean of Theosophy, p. 168). Nolan stated that materialized forms are not real spirits,that the images are drawn from the astral light, and that the necessary elements aresucked out of the medium and sitters. Judge concluded that Jim Nolan was no spirit ofa dead man and no elemental that spoke and acted, but the spirit, soul, and intelligenceof a living man who choose to take the name of Nolan as being as good as any other, inorder that the evidence might be recorded for the benefit of the spiritualists in their owncamp . . . as an offset to the mass of stuff gathered by the elementals from the brainsand confused thoughts of mediums and sitters alike (Echoes 1:186). It thereforeappears that the identity of Jim Nolan varied (see also the references to Billings spiritguide Ski in The Letters of H.P. Blavatsky to A.P. Sinnett, pp. 84-5, and The MahatmaLetters to A.P. Sinnett, p. 417). It is also said that Stainton Moses guide Imperator (+)was originally one of the adept brothers (The Letters of H.P. Blavatsky to A.P. Sinnett,p. 22; The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett, pp. 205, 285, 305, 308, 415).

Question and Answer[Dialogues of G. de Purucker, 2:325-6]

Student I have been thinking of A.P. Sinnetts book referring to the interior of theEarth. Has he any real foundation for his ideas, and can you tell us something about theinner composition of the Earth?

G. de P. I have not read the book, or passage, that you speak of. What is the nameof the book?

Student I do not remember the title of the book [The Growth of the Soul, 2nd ed.,1905, pp. 290-310], but it states that there are seven spherical bodies inside each other;that the Earth is hollow; and that inside the first is another similar one, and so on toseven somewhat like those Russian eggs, one egg containing another egg; and thatthese spherical bodies are rotating more or less independently of each other.

G. de P. I do not know where Mr. Sinnett got this idea. It is not the teaching that Ihave received. The interior of the Earth is not hollow. There are indeed great hollows orcaves, but so there are on the outer surface of the Earth. The core of the Earth is underthe entire control of the lowest or third Kingdom of the Elementals. I dont know that Ican describe this state of things to you. In any case the Earth is not a hollow sphere.The interior of the Earth is material, but it is material in a state of which we on thesurface of the Earth have little or perhaps no idea. This interior is not liquid, and it is notgaseous, and yet it partakes of the nature of both. I dont know anything in ordinary

human experience that would give me the words with which to describe it. At any rate, if you remember that there are three Kingdoms of Elementals of whichthe third is the lowest and the nearest to the mineral world, you may get someadumbration of the state of the Earths interior. Perhaps it might be correct to say thatthe heart or core of the Earth is concreted electricity. I dont know if you understand me,although I am trying to give you the best picture I can. I dont know how to describe itdefinitely in terms that are familiar to you. At any rate, it is this concrete electrical corewhich contains, or is the locus of, the great bands or bonds of attraction which hold usto the other planets and to the Sun. It has just struck me to say that if you will think of what the modern physical chemistscall the protonic nucleus of an atom you may get some idea of what I mean.

[Dialogues of G. de Purucker, 2:143-4]

Student May I ask something with regard to the construction of the Earth? Is it like abubble, taking the analogy of what you told us of the Sun, matter as we know it onehundred or a few hundred miles thick, and the rest of the Earth compressed ether, orakasa and forces?

G. de P. Do you mean what is the nature of the Earths interior?

Student Yes.

G. de P. I will try to answer that question, but I doubt very much if I can make myselfunderstood. It is not merely compressed gas or ether. There is compressed gas there,but its nature belongs to the Third or the lowest of the three Elemental Kingdoms. I amnow talking more particularly of the center of the Earth, and the region surrounding thecenter of the Earth. It is elemental physical substance. Around this core of elementalphysical substance there is an intermediate material phase, which, as one ascendstowards the Earths surface, becomes rock and the various metallic bodies. . . . Now, I simply could not undertake to explain to you what elemental materialsubstance is because I have no words in which to express it. It is not exactly electrical.It is much more condensed than any electron of an atom is. It is physically speakingneither molten, nor solid, nor is it gaseous. It is not hot, nor is it cold. It is another kind ofmatter entirely, and the only way by which I can give you any idea of it at all is bysaying, as I did before, that it is elemental physical substance physical substancebefore it has reached the peculiar type of concretion which we call physical matter.

Further quotes on the elemental kingdoms:

[B]elow these seven [planes] comes the Elemental World, in three planes. One of theseelemental planes or worlds we may mention in passing, as it is the interior realm whichhas its locus or habitation at the center of any globe. (GdeP, Fundamentals of theEsoteric Philosophy, p. 407, diagram p. 404)

Question by A.P. Sinnett: We understand that below man you reckon not threekingdoms as we do (mineral, vegetable and animal) but seven. Please enumerate andexplain these.

KH: Below man there are three in the objective and three in the subjective region,with man a septenary. Two of the three former none but an initiate could conceive of;the third is the Inner kingdom below the crust of the earth which we could name butwould feel embarrassed to describe. (The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett, p. 79)

___________

Comment

Purucker is basically saying that the earths interior is not hollow but full of matter notordinary physical matter but matter in an elemental, more ethereal, state. Clearly no onewould argue that the earth is hollow in the sense of being absolutely empty, a purevacuum; the idea that any part of space is an absolute void, i.e. pure nothingness, isphilosophical nonsense. Similarly, outer space may appear to be largely empty to us,but according to the teachings of the ageless wisdom, it is filled with, or rather consistsof, consciousness-substance in infinitely varying degrees of density, with only matterwhich falls within the same range of density as our physical bodies being visible ortangible to our physical senses. The earths lower atmosphere consists of physicalmatter in a gaseous state and usually appears to us to be clear and transparent, but it isactually permeated with extremely dense matter that surrounds us as a ball of pitchmight surround a fly (Blavatsky Collected Writings, 5:152) a reference to one of thegrades of subtler, etheric matter in which the earth is embedded. Clearly terms like empty and hollow are relative, and this renders Puruckerscomment that the earth is not hollow rather ambiguous. If part of the earths interiorconsists of matter in an ethereal state, and if this grade of matter is invisible to us, thenit is, as far as we are concerned, relatively speaking hollow. Also ambiguous is thestatement that the core of the earth is under the control of the lowest of the threeelemental kingdoms, since we do not know how much of the earths interior he isdenoting by the word core, to say nothing about our ignorance of elemental matter. Thereference could be to some sort of central sun at the very centre of the earth. It is noteworthy that A.P. Sinnett believed in a hollow earth. Given his correspondencewith the masters and his certain knowledge that H.P. Blavatsky was their messenger(though, in his eyes, a very imperfect one), he would have realized the significance ofthe hollow globe article in the July 1884 Theosophist. Between 1880 and 1885 hereceived about 150 letters from masters M and KH, but then the correspondenceceased, partly due to his suspicions regarding Blavatsky. In 1888 he began to useclairvoyants to put him into direct communication or so he believed with KH. Hislater ideas about a hollow earth were presumably gained through this channel. Histheory of concentric spheres was a throwback to the earlier ideas of Sir Edmund Halleyand Captain John Cleves Symmes (see Mysteries of the Inner Earth, part 2, section 1).

The Cave of the Winds[G. de Purucker, Studies in Occult Philosophy, pp. 321-2]

[T]he sun follows the same cosmic law that every planet does. It is the heart of itskingdom and likewise the brain of its kingdom. If you look upon it as the heart for aninstant, it receives the influxes of the rivers of lives, the circulations of the solar system,in its north pole. They pass through the heart of the sun, are cleansed and washed andleave at the south pole of the sun. Precisely as our earth and every other planet haveeach its receptor at the north pole, and its ejector or vent at the south pole. Why, even the ancient Greeks taught this. Do you remember Eolus and the cave ofthe winds? The cave of the winds was the earth and the winds were the winds of thespirit, the circulations of the universe figurated as winds: a cave of which the north gatewas made of horn through which the gods descend and through which they ascendalso, but mainly descend. And the south gate of the earth, or of the cave of the winds,was made of ivory, signifying the elephants of the south, as the horn does the tusks ofthe animals of the north. And out of the south gate go the hordes of men. So said theancients. Why, the occult teaching is simply expressed here without a veil. In other words, the earth feeds itself physically, magnetically, psychically, spiritually,through the north pole. The currents sweep through the earth every word here isworth a volume and leave by the south pole. So it is with the sun. That is the way thesun feeds its family: just as the heart feeds the body. It sends out its blood through thesouth pole, as it were, and after the circulation around the body has taken place, itreceives it in again at the north pole. Fascinating subject!

Solar and Terrestrial Magnetism[G. de Purucker, Fountain-Source of Occultism, pp. 305-8]

The two poles are said to be the store-houses, the receptacles andliberators, at the same time, of Cosmic and terrestrial Vitality (Electricity);from the surplus of which the Earth, had it not been for these two naturalsafety-valves, would have been rent to pieces long ago. The SecretDoctrine, I, 205

There is a very close connection between the sunspot cycle and terrestrial magnetism,particularly at the two poles of the earth, although there exists a very importantdifference of quality in the respective polar magnetisms. To use the ancient metaphor, there is a Door of Horn and a Door of Ivory throughwhich enter and leave the earth, not only celestial influences, but also the souls of menand other beings. Mystical Greek and Roman writers said that through the Door of Horncame and went one class of entities and influences, while through the Door of Ivory anopposite class came and went. The Door of Horn is the portal of ingress, the north pole;and the Door of Ivory or south pole is the earths vent or door of egress. All things thatare good, elevating, and spiritual belong to the north pole; and all things that are evil,degrading, and unclean pertain to the vent of the earth, the south pole.

The eleven-year sunspot cycle affects each of the planets of the solar family throughtheir north and south poles. The magnetism which reaches us from the sun physical,astral, as well as mental enters the earth through the north pole; it then follows certaincirculations within and around the earth, and leaves it at the other pole. All thesemagnetic circulations pass around the equator a certain number of times, whether theybe brief or of longer duration. . . . Terrestrial magnetism is of course connected with the nature and characteristics ofthe aurora borealis at the north pole as well as the aurora australis at the south pole both the geographic and the magnetic poles at either end of the earth being involved.The aurorae are manifestations of the psychomagnetic vitality of the earth, and are mostintimately linked with the sun, and particularly with the sunspots and, in a somewhatless close relationship, with the seven sacred planetary chains. They arepsychomagnetic phenomena, and therefore we must never regard them as merelyelectric and magnetic displays or outbursts. As a matter of fact, both aurorae are very much involved with the peregrinations ofthe simply numberless hosts of monads constantly entering and leaving our globe, yetdoing so at certain stated periods in far greater numbers of masses as inrushes andas outrushes; and the auroral displays, i.e. the psychomagnetic and vital outbursts,usually come about during these periods of inrush and outrush. The auroral phenomena, being so closely associated with the mysterious operationsof the terrestrial vitality, are connected with some of the most occult facts concerning thedestiny of the earth as well as of all its families of monads. I might add that were it notfor the relief given by these psycho-electromagnetic effluxes and influxes, our mother-globe would suffer catastrophes of the most appalling kind. Like earthquakes, howeverdisastrous these at times may be, the auroral discharges in one of their functionsdissipate what would otherwise become an overaccumulation of magnetic and electricenergy within the earth; and thus they save it from catastrophes so terrible physical,psychical and astral that research in all recorded history could find no parallel to whatwould occur if such dispersion of energy did not take place. . . . The earth as a magnet is infilled with the solar energies streaming continuously fromour daystar through the entire solar system. This solar magnetism is septenary andenters the earth in the region of the north pole. Certain elements of this magnetism passdirectly from pole to pole through the center of the earth, while other parts sweeparound or over its surface, but always from north to south. Furthermore, there arecrosscurrents which this solar magnetism follows in its circulations in and around theearth, and these crosscurrents, although flowing from the north pole, take a slanting oroblique direction, always from the northeast to southwest, pursuing their course aroundthe earth and swinging back again to the north pole. If we could see these lines of magnetic force, they would appear to us as streamingin from outer space, impacting the earth at its north pole, rebounding thence andsweeping around all the surface of the globe, towards the south pole where a portionis sucked in and returns to the north pole, again to be sent forth. Thus the circulationcontinues. But not all the magnetism is sucked in at the south pole; a portion of itstreams outwards, cone-like, into space, and ultimately returns to the sun from which itcame.

Other Quotations

The astral light and the centre of the earth

[T]he higher one ascends above the surface of the Earth, the quieter and more peacefuland more steady the Astral Light is. Its currents and waves become steadily moreagitated and confused the nearer one approaches the center of the Earth; its vibrationsbecome ever more rapid and the currents more swirling and whirling, so that were a trueSeer to reach the center of the Earth he would find the currents and waves of the AstralLight to be in a mad danse macabre. This is one reason why, from time immemorial, it has been known that recluses andsolitary students desiring places of undisturbed meditation seek refuge in the mountainsor on the mountain-tops. Thus they are farther away from the most disturbing influencesof the condensed waves of the Astral Light, and likewise breathe even a purer physicalatmosphere. (The Esoteric Tradition, p. 1025)

[T]he kma-loka [is] the grossest dregs or most material part of the astral light. [It] maybe said to extend somewhat beyond the sphere of our moon in one direction, and totouch the earths center in the other direction. (Fountain-Source of Occultism, p. 566)

There are places universally over the earth and around it where the Astral Lightbecomes indistinguishable from the more ethereal parts of the physical earth. You askwhy it was that the Mysteries were sometimes held in caves and crypts, when the astralcurrents are so much more vile and confused near the center of the earth? Let meremind you that caves can hardly be called near the center of the earth. A cave, in fact,on a mountain-top would be above sea-level. (Dialogues of G. de Purucker, 3:425)

NoteIf taken at face value, the above remarks could be interpreted as supporting the presentscientific theory that matter becomes increasingly dense as we approach the centre ofthe earth. The following quotations, however, state that the opposite is true in the caseof sun: the suns interior is more ethereal, not more material, than its outermost layers.There is good reason to think that the density of the matter composing the earth mightalso decrease with depth (see Mysteries of the Inner Earth, part 1).

The sun

The suns body . . . is matter in the 6th and 7th degrees of Prithiv [physical matter]counting upwards, in the buddhi and tman of Prithiv. But what the astronomers see,and what our eyes really see, is possibly the 3rd, more closely the 4th and 5th countingupwards, what we may call the kma and the manas; in other words, the cloak or veilsurrounding that golden sun which to our physical eyes is utterly invisible, as invisible asempty space, yet an inexpressibly glorious mass or ball or auric egg call it what youwish of simply incomprehensibly immense spiritual and intellectual as well as vitalforce. All that we see of the sun is its lower garments, the play of vitality working in the4th, 5th, 6th and 7th counting upwards of Prithiv. And I mention the 4th and the 5th, the

two lower spoken of because what the astronomers see through the telescope isactually the condensed or concrete, and therefore slightly visible parts of the Prithiv ofthe suns body. (Dialogues of G. de Purucker, 1:33)

[T]he interiors of the various suns are not at all existing in conditions ofincomprehensibly intense heat, although it is probably true enough that the outermostethereal layers of the suns possess a certain amount of heat of their own, as a result ofchemical processes. The heart of any sun is a marvelous alchemical laboratory in whichoccur molecular, atomic, and electronic changes which it would be utterly impossible toreproduce in any of our chemical workshops. The interiors of the suns are notsuperheated imaginary furnaces, chemical or alchemical or otherwise . . . The sunspots are the outer mouths of channels through which the rivers of lives goforth from and re-enter the sun. They are the openings . . . through which the sun expelsto the remotest corners of its system its accumulated store of solar vitality . . . It isthrough the sunspots again that the solar blood, the solar energy, electricity orpsychomagnetism, returns to be purified in the heart which sent it forth some twelveyears previously. The sunspot periodicity is usually reckoned at 11.2 of our years . . . Strictly speaking,the cycle of sunspots is ten years, but the current of vitality which governs it requiresanother year to pass through the sun, and still another one for its return through thesun, which makes twelve years all told. Each cycle is a vibration, a new beat of thepulse of the sun. . . . [T]he sun is both the heart and the brain of the solar system . . . The sunspots may be described as windows through which we get may a vagueglimpse into the temple-body of a living god, thus seeing a little way into the darkinvisible heart of the sun. We may think of them as channels, openings or vents, whichserve for the entrance into the sun, and for the ejection from it, of rivers of lives of manygrades. . . . [O]ur physical sun is that globe of the solar chain of twelve globes which correspondsto our globe D of the earth chain. The substance of this physical or fourth-plane sun isthe prakriti of this cosmic plane in its three highest subplanes or elements; that is to say,the heart of our visible sun is a portion of the mother-substance of this lowest cosmicplane, which heart is surrounded by its veil of substances, and this again is surroundedby its veil of substances the third on the downward scale. And it is this last veil whichis the dazzling auric stuff surrounding the sun. We can draw an analogy between t