[Spiritismus und Nekromantie]
Translation from the German by Robert Hütwohl.[1]
“Let the dead rest.”
“Spiritism,” is to be distinguished from “spiritualism,” which means a philosophy on a spiritual basis, in contrast to “materialism,” denotes communication with the spirit world in general and specifically communication with the remains of deceased people who are still present in the astral world. The latter is based in part on a resurrection of the “shadows” or “larvae” of the dead in a dream-like state, and belongs to the realm of the “black art” or “necromancy.”
In an article on “Mediumship” in The Word (New York), S. G. P. Coryn discusses the various causes underlying Spiritistic phenomena; he says: “Do not think that these phenomena can be explained by means of a template. In no book will you find an explanation that fits all such phenomena. What most astonishes those who have actually become clairvoyant is the endless variety of life phenomena that we encounter in the “afterlife.” Just as we see all sorts of creatures here on the physical plane, from the microscopic organisms which live in blood or in a drop of water to the elephant or boa, so there is a myriad of forms that live in created nature, with the most varied degrees of consciousness and intelligence; from the intelligence of an oyster to that of a philosopher, and the most varied degrees of culture and morality, from the gentleness of a lamb to the ferocity of a tiger, or the fiendish malice ascribed to the elementals of the air.
“There are also human forms, human life, and human intelligence. There is for example, a human larva, that is, a human form from which the higher, spiritual powers have fled and taken with them into their own sphere everything which was capable of ascending and living in the spirit of the deceased person (his noble thoughts, feelings and memories). This larva still contains a part of earthly life. Within her are still the thinking powers which belonged to her materialistic and selfish way of life. She is in a state similar to that of apparent death and may be tormented by bad dreams stemming from earthly memories. Such a larva, if left alone, will sooner or later dissolve into its elements, according to the power of cohesion it has acquired during life; the larva of a saint will decompose quickly, that of a “bon vivant” slowly.[2]
If this astral corpse is brought to life by the influence of the life force coming from a medium, then it is awakened to an apparent life, as it were, in the same way that muscle movements can be induced in a fresh corpse by applying an electric current. The forces dormant in the larva (desires, thoughts and memories) will be reawakened and this larva will automatically speak and act as humans were used to during life; it will perform a disgusting parody of its previous earth life. Such a (mindless) “ghost,” or more correctly, “spectre,” will perhaps give convincing proofs of identity; possibly be able to indicate the hiding place of the will left behind, etc., and if the deceased was a very materially-minded person during its life, whose higher soul powers never developed, such a “shadow” can also show the whole person with his former characteristics represented and present themselves as such. Then we have a remarkable spiritistic phenomenon which some spiritualists will regard as “proof of immortality” and will be quite sufficient.
But possibly the “medium,” or rather a magnetic ray[3] emanating from the medium, comes into contact with the larva of a criminal who, while passions raged within him, was sent to the other world. In this case we are not dealing with a slumbering consciousness, but rather with a hurricane of passion, hatred, vengefulness, in short, with an angry or insane who strives with all his will to take possession of some sensitive or mediumistic person, for these forces strive to be active externally, and there is no lack of such cases of possession.
That is why one can also say with regard to the death penalty that murderers are not killed by it, but rather bred. In such an execution only the material body of the murderer is killed, but not the murderer who is inside. Death releases the passionate vibrations within it which affect sensitive persons and, when they find a footing in them, provoke them to commit crimes. But it also often happens that the psychic vibrations contained in the astral remains of a deceased, in which only instincts and passions but no reason resides, once they have entered the body of a person, they do not leave it again. In this case, a permanent possession ensues, with the rightful owner of the house being evicted entirely, but the body still remaining alive. This is often the cause of incurable insanity.
In such cases the above-mentioned beings (elementals) belonging to the astral world are often involved. A thought coming from a human being combines with one of these elementals into a living thought-form, filled only with that thought, and now attracted to certain sensitive persons. So, for example, when a vengeful person entertains thoughts of murder, an elemental being is formed that is attracted to sensitive persons who have a slumbering inclination to commit murder, and provokes them to commit it. This is how weak-willed, hysterical, or mediumistic people often commit crimes. The long-distance effect of thought is also based on this principle.
Very often these astral beings take possession of the mindless larva of a deceased person and play with it, or they take possession of the medium’s etheric body, when it can pass out of the physical body, give it the form of some person whose image is in the memory of someone present, and then there comes about a materialization of a deceased, but which with has nothing to do with the deceased unless his larva is involved. Such materialization may therefore be the “double,”ghost or astral larva of a deceased person revived by magnetic influences, or an apparition created by elementals taking possession of the medium’s astral body. In the former case, the apparition is an act of necromancy, which is rightly regarded as a crime and condemned by all religious systems.
Notes:
[1] Spiritism and Necromancy. [Spiritismus und Nekromantie. Franz Hartmann, M.D. Neue Lotusblüten 4, no. 7-8 (July-August 1911), 244-50] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}
[2] The more sensual and passionate a man is, especially in sexual relations, the more his astral body hardens, and the longer it will take for his larva to decompose.
[3] A “medium” is a person who has, as they say, “a screw loose”; i.e., while in a healthy person the aura or magnetic sphere surrounding him is undamaged, a medium’s aura shows damage or fissures comparable to sunspots.