Clairvoyant Psychometry


The word "clairvoyance" means "clear seeing." In its present usage it

covers a wide field of psychic phenomena; and is used by different writers

to designate phases of psychic phenomena differing widely from each other.

The student is apt to become confused when he meets these apparently

conflicting definitions and usages. In the glossary of the Society for

Psychical Research, the term is defined as: "The faculty or act of
/> perceiving, as though visually, with some coincidental truth, some distant

scene; it is used sometimes, but hardly properly, for transcendental

vision, or the perception of beings regarded as on another plane of

existence."



Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, a distinguished writer on the subject of psychic

phenomena, in one of her reports to the Society for Psychical Research,

says: "The word clairvoyant is often used very loosely and with widely

different meanings. I denote by it a faculty of acquiring supernormally,

but not by reading the minds of persons present, a knowledge of facts such

as we normally acquire by the use of our senses. I do not limit it to

knowledge that would normally be acquired by the sense of sight, nor do I

limit it to a knowledge of present facts. A similar knowledge of the past,

and if necessary, of future facts may be included. On the other hand, I

exclude the mere faculty of seeing apparitions or visions, which is

sometimes called clairvoyance."



The above definitive explanation of the term clairvoyance agrees with the

idea of the best authorities, and distinguishes between the phenomena of

clairvoyance and that of telepathy, on the one hand; and between the

former and that of seeing apparitions, on the other hand. I, personally,

accept this distinction as both scientific in form, and as agreeing with

the facts of the case. You will, of course, see that the acceptance of the

existence of the astral senses throws light on many obscure points about

which the psychic researchers are in doubt, and reconciles many apparently

opposing facts.



All scientific authorities, as well as the best occultists, divide the

phenomena of clairvoyance into several well-distinguished classes. The

following classification is simple, and indicates clearly the principal

forms of clairvoyant phenomena:



(1) Simple Clairvoyance, in which the clairvoyant person merely senses the

auric emanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors,

etc.; currents of thought-vibrations, etc.; but does not see events or

scenes removed in space or time from the observer.



(2) Clairvoyance in Space, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenes

and events removed in space from the observer; and, often also is able to

sense such things even when they are concealed or obscured by intervening

material objects.



(3) Clairvoyance in Time, in which the clairvoyant person senses scenes

and events which have had their original place in past time; or scenes

and events which will have their original place in the future.



I shall describe each of these three classes, with their many variations,

as we reach them in their proper places in these lessons. Before doing so

however, I wish to explain to you the several methods by which clairvoyant

vision is usually induced. These methods may be designated as follows:



(1) Psychometry, or the method of getting en rapport with the astral plane

by means of some physical object connected with the person, thing, or

scene about which you desire to be informed.



(2) Crystal Gazing, etc., or the method of getting en rapport with the

astral plane by means of gazing into a crystal, magic mirror, etc.



(3) Clairvoyant Reverie, or the method of getting en rapport with the

astral plane by means of psychic states in which the sights, sounds and

thoughts of the material and physical plane are shut out of consciousness.



I shall now proceed to give the details regarding each one of these three

great classes of methods inducing clairvoyant vision, or en rapport

conditions with the astral plane.



Psychometry. Psychometry is that form of clairvoyant phenomena in which

the clairvoyant gets into en rapport relation with the astral plane by

means of the connecting link of material objects, such as bit of stone,

piece of hair, article of wearing apparel etc., which has had previous

associations with the thing, person or scene regarding which clairvoyant

vision is required.



Without going into technical occult explanations, I would say that the

virtue of these articles consists entirely of their associative value.

That is to say, they carry in them certain vibrations of past experience

which serve as a connecting link, or associated filament, with the thing

which is sought to be brought into the field of clairvoyant vision.



To reach clairvoyantly a thing, scene, or person in this way is akin to

the unwinding of a ball of yarn, when you hold the loose end in your hand.

Or, it is like giving a keen-scented dog a sniff at a handkerchief once

carried by the person whom you wish him to nose out for you.



A well-known authority on the subject of psychic phenomena has said on

this point: "The untrained clairvoyant usually cannot find any particular

astral picture when it is wanted, without some special link to put him en

rapport with the subject required. Psychometry is an instance in point. It

seems as though there were a sort of magnetic attachment or affinity

between any particle of matter and the record which contains its

history--an affinity which enables it to act as a kind of conductor

between that record and the faculties of anyone who can read it. For

instance, I once brought from Stonehenge a tiny fragment of stone, not

larger than a pin's head, and on putting this into an envelope and handing

it to a psychometer who had no idea what it was, she at once began to

describe that wonderful ruin and the desolate country surrounding it, and

then went on to picture vividly what were evidently scenes from its early

history, showing that the infinitessimal fragment had been sufficient to

put her into communication with the records connected with the spot from

which it came. The scenes through which we pass in the course of our life

seem to act in the same way upon the cells of our brain as did the history

of Stonehenge upon that particle of stone. They establish a connection

with those cells by means of which our mind is put en rapport with that

particular portion of the records, and so we 'remember' what we have

seen."



One of the simplest and most common form of psychometry is that in which

the psychometrist is able to tell the physical condition of a person by

means of holding to the forehead, or even in the hand, some trinket or

small article such as a handkerchief recently worn on the person of the

individual regarding whom the information is sought. In the case of some

very sensitive psychometrists, the psychic person "takes on" the condition

of the other person whose former article of clothing, trinket, etc., she

is holding. She will often actually experience the physical pain and

distress of the person, and will be able to indicate from what ailment the

person is suffering. Some persons attain great proficiency in this

direction, and are a great assistance to wise physicians who avail

themselves of their services. Some successful physicians themselves

possess this faculty well developed, and use it to great advantage,

though, as a rule they keep very quiet about it, from fear of creating

unfavorable comment from their fellow-physicians and from the general

public who "do not believe in such tom-foolery."



A step further is the power of some psychometrists to correctly describe

the personal characteristics, and even the past history of persons with

whom they come in contact, or whose "associated article" they have in

their hands. Some very remarkable instances of this phase of psychometry

are related in the books containing the history of clairvoyance. An

interesting case is that related by Zschokke, the eminent German writer,

who relates in his autobiography his wonderful experience in this

direction. Listen to the story in his own words: "It has happened to me

occasionally at the first meeting with a total stranger, when I have been

listening in silence to his conversation, that his past life up to the

present moment, with many minute circumstances belonging to one or other

particular scene in it, has come across me like a dream, but distinctly,

entirely involuntarily and unsought, occupying in duration a few minutes.

For a long time I was disposed to consider these fleeting visions as a

trick of the fancy--the more so as my dream-vision displayed to me the

dress and movements of the actors, the appearance of the room, the

furniture, and other accidents of the scene; till on one occasion, in a

gamesome mood, I narrated to my family the secret history of a seamstress

who had just quitted the room. I had never seen the person before.

Nevertheless, the hearers were astonished, and laughed and would not be

persuaded but that I had a previous acquaintance with the former life of

the person, inasmuch as what I had stated was perfectly true.



"I was not less astonished to find that my dream vision agreed with

reality. I then gave more attention to the subject, and as often as

propriety allowed of it, I related to those whose lives had so passed

before me the substance of my dream-vision, to obtain from them its

contradiction or confirmation. On every occasion its confirmation

followed, not without amazement on the part of those who gave it. On a

certain fair-day I went into the town of Waldshut accompanied by two young

foresters, who are still alive. It was evening, and, tired with our walk,

we went into an inn called the 'Vine.' We took our supper with a numerous

company at the public table, when it happened that they made themselves

merry over the peculiarities of the Swiss in connection with the belief in

mesmerism, Lavater's physiognomical system, and the like. One of my

companions, whose national pride was touched by their raillery, begged me

to make some reply, particularly in answer to a young man of superior

appearance who sat opposite, and had indulged in unrestrained ridicule.



"It happened that the events of this person's life had just previously

passed before my mind. I turned to him with the question whether he would

reply to me with truth and candor, if I narrated to him the most secret

passages of his history, he being as little known to me as I to him. That

would, I suggested, go something beyond Lavater's physiognomical skill. He

promised that if I told the truth he would admit it openly. Then I

narrated the events with which my dream vision had furnished me, and the

table learned the history of the young tradesman's life, of his school

years, his peccadilloes, and finally, of a little act of roguery committed

by him on the strongbox of his employer. I described the uninhabited room

with its white walls, where to the right of the brown door there had stood

upon the table the small money-chest, etc. The man, much struck, admitted

the correctness of each circumstance--even, which I could not expect, of

the last."



The above incident is typical of this class of psychometry, and many

persons have had at least flashes of this phase of the power. The only

remarkable thing about this particular case is its faithfulness regarding

details--this shows a very fine development of the astral sense. The

feature that makes it psychometric, instead of pure clairvoyance, is that

the presence of the other person was necessary to produce the

phenomenon--a bit of clothing would probably have answered as well.

Zschokke does not seem to have been able to manifest time-clairvoyance

independent of the presence of the person concerned--he needs the

associated link, or loose end of the psychic ball of yarn.



Next in order in the list of the phenomena of psychometry is that in which

the psychometrist is able to describe a distant scene by means of a bit

of mineral, plant, or similar object, once located at that place. In such

cases, the psychometrist gets en rapport with the distant scene by means

of the connecting link mentioned. Having obtained this, he is able to

relate the events that are happening on that scene at that particular

moment. Some very interesting cases are mentioned in which the

psychometrist has been able to "spy" in on a certain place, by means of

some small article which has recently been located in that place. For

instance I once gave a young psychometrist a penholder from the office of

a lawyer, a friend of mine, located about eight hundred miles from the

psychometrist. She gave a perfect picture of the interior of the office,

the scene across the street visible from the office window, and certain

events that were happening in the office at that moment, which were

verified by careful inquiry as to persons and time. Every occultist, or

investigator of psychic phenomena has experienced many cases of this kind.



Another phase of psychometry is that in which the psychometer is able to

sense the conditions existing underground, by means of a piece of mineral

or metal which originally was located there. Some wonderful instances of

phychometric discernment of mines, etc., have been recorded. In this phase

of psychometry, all that is needed is a piece of the coal, mineral or

metal which has come from the mine. Following up this psychic "lead" the

psychometrist is able to describe the veins or strata of the surrounding

land, although they have not yet been uncovered or discovered.



Still another form of psychometric discernment is that in which the

psychometrist gets en rapport with the past history of an object, or of

its surroundings, by means of the object itself. In this way, the

psychometrist holding in his hand, or pressing to his head, a bullet from

a battle field, is able to picture the battle itself. Or, given a piece of

ancient pottery or stone implement, the psychometrist is able to picture

the time and peoples connected with the object in the past--sometimes

after many centuries are past. I once handed a good psychometrist a bit of

ornament taken from an Egyptian mummy over three thousand years old.

Though the psychometrist did not know what the object was, or from whence

it had come, she was able to picture not only the scenes in which the

Egyptian had lived, but also the scenes connected with the manufacture of

the ornament, some three hundred years before that time--for it turned out

that the ornament itself was an antique when the Egyptian had acquired it.

In another case, I had the psychometrist describe in detail the animal

life, and the physical phenomena, of the age in which a fossil had existed

when alive--many thousands of years ago. In the proper place in this book,

I will explain just how it is possible to penetrate the secrets of the

past by psychometric vision--that is to say, the psychic laws making the

same possible.



Some of the most remarkable of recorded instances of this form of

psychometry known to the Western world are those related in the works of a

geologist named Denton, who some fifty years ago conducted a series of

investigations into the phenomena of psychometry. His recorded experiments

fill several volumes. Being a geologist, he was able to select the best

subjects for the experiments, and also to verify and decide upon the

accuracy of the reports given by the psychometrists. His wife, herself,

was a gifted psychometrist, and it has been said of her, by good

authority, that "she is able, by putting a piece of matter (whatever be

its nature) to her head, to see, either with her eyes closed or open, all

that the piece of matter, figuratively speaking, ever saw, heard, or

experienced." The following examples will give a good idea of the Denton

experiments, which are typical of this class of psychometry.



Dr. Denton gave the psychometrist a small fragment broken from a large

meteorite. She held it to her head, and reported: "This is curious. There

is nothing at all to be seen. I feel as if I were in the air. No, not in

the air either, but in nothing, no place. I am utterly unable to describe

it; it seems high, however I feel as though I were rising, and my eyes are

carried upwards; but I look around in vain; there is nothing to be seen. I

see clouds, now, but nothing else. They are so close to me that I seem to

be in them. My head, and neck and eyes are affected. My eyes are carried

up, and I cannot roll them down. Now the clouds appear lighter and

lighter, and look as though the sunlight would burst through them. As the

clouds separate, I can see a star or two, and then the moon instead of the

sun. The moon seems near, and looks coarse and rough, and paler and larger

in size than I ever saw it before. What a strange feeling comes over me!

It appears as if I were going right to the moon, and it looks as if the

moon were coming to me. It affects me terribly."



Dr. Denton adds: "She was too much affected to continue the experiment

longer. Had this aerolite at some period of its history, come within the

sphere of the moon's attraction, and had its velocity so increased that

its augmented centrifugal force had carried it off into space again,

whence, drawn by the superior attractive force of the earth, it had fallen

and ended its career forever?"



At another time, Dr. Denton tested the psychometrist with a whalebone

walking cane. She supposed it to be wood, but when she began to report her

psychic impressions, they came as follows: "I feel as though I were a

monster. There is nothing of a tree about it, and it is useless for me to

go further. I feel like vomiting. Now I want to plunge into the water. I

believe that I am going to have a fit. My jaws are large enough to take

down a house at a gulp. I now know what this is--it is whalebone. I see

the inside of the whale's mouth. It has no teeth. It has a slimy look, but

I only get a glimpse of it. Now, I see the whole animal. What an awful

looking creature."



Another time, Dr. Denton gave the psychometrist a minute piece of the

enamel of the tooth of a mastodon, which had been found thirty feet below

the surface of the earth. The psychometrist had not the slightest

knowledge of the character of the tiny flake of enamel handed her, but

nevertheless reported: "My impression is that it is a part of some

monstrous animal, probably part of a tooth. I feel like a perfect monster,

with heavy legs, unwieldy head, and very large body. I go down to a

shallow stream to drink. I can hardly speak, my jaws are so heavy. I feel

like getting down on all fours. What a noise comes through the woods. I

have an impulse to answer it. My ears are very large and leathery, and I

can almost fancy they flap in my face as I move my head. There are some

older ones than I. It seems so out of keeping to be talking with these

heavy jaws. They are dark brown, as if they had been completely tanned.

There is one old fellow, with large tusks, that looks very tough. I see

several younger ones. In fact, there is a whole herd. My upper lip moves

curiously; I can flap it up. It seems strange to me how it is done. There

is a plant growing here, higher than my head. It is nearly as thick as my

wrist, very juicy, sweet, and tender--something like green corn in taste,

but sweeter. It is not the taste it would have to a human being--oh no! it

is sickenish, and very unpleasant to the human taste." These instances

might be multiplied indefinitely, but the principle is the same in each.

In my own experience, I gave a small piece from the Great Pyramid of Egypt

to a psychometrist who was uneducated and who knew nothing of ancient

Egypt or its history. Notwithstanding this, she gave me such a detailed

and complete account of the life of ancient Egypt, which was in such

complete accordance with the opinions of the best authorities, that I

would hesitate about publishing the report, for it certainly would be

regarded as rank imposture by the average scientific authority. Some day,

however, I may publish this.



There are no special directions to be given the student in psychometry.

All that can be done is to suggest that each person should try the

experiments for himself, in order to find out whether he has, or has not,

the psychometric faculty. It may be developed by the methods that will be

given to develop all psychic powers, in another part of this book. But

much will depend upon actual practice and exercise. Take strange objects,

and, sitting in a quiet room with the object held to your forehead, shut

out all thoughts of the outside world, and forget all personal affairs. In

a short time, if the conditions are all right, you will begin to have

flashes of scenes connected with the history of the object. At first

rather disconnected and more or less confused, there will soon come to you

a clearing away of the scene, and the pictures will become quite plain.

Practice will develop the power. Practice only when alone, or when in the

presence of some sympathetic friend or friends. Always avoid discordant

and inharmonious company when practicing psychic powers. The best

psychometrists usually keep the physical eyes closed when practicing their

power.



You have doubtless heard the sensing of sealed letters spoken of as

clairvoyance. But this is merely one form of psychometry. The letter is a

very good connecting medium in psychometric experiments. I advise you to

begin your experiments with old letters. You will be surprised to discover

how readily you will begin to receive psychic impressions from the

letters, either from the person who wrote them, or from the place in which

they were written, or from some one connected with the subsequent history.

One of the most interesting experiments I ever witnessed in psychometry,

was a case in which a letter that had been forwarded from place to place,

until it had gone completely around the globe, was psychometrized by a

young Hindu maiden. Although ignorant of the outside world, she was able

to picture the people and scenery of every part of the globe in which the

letter had traveled. Her report was really an interesting "travelogue" of

a trip around the world, given in tabloid form. You may obtain some

interesting results in psychometrizing old letters--but always be

conscientious about it, and refrain from divulging the secrets that will

become yours in the course of these experiments. Be honorable on the

astral plane, as well as on the physical--more so, rather than less.



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