Rosicrucian Society ™

Because of the relative proximity or distance of these worlds, a statue, a form, withstands the ravages of time for millenniums, but the colors upon a painting fade in far shorter time, for they come from the Desire World, and music which is native to the World furthest removed from us, the World of Thought, is like a will-o-the-wisp which none may catch or hold, it is gone again as soon as it has made its appearance. But there is in color and music a compensation for this increasing evanescence.

The statue is cold and dead as the mineral of which it is composed and has attractions for but few though its form is a tangible reality.

The forms upon a painting are illusory yet they express life, on account of the colorwhich has come from a region where nothing is inert and lifeless. Therefore the painting is enjoyed by many.

Music is intangible and ephemeral, but it comes from the home world of the spirit and though so fleeting it is recognized by the spirit as a soul-speech fresh from the celestial[pg 069]realms, an echo from the home whence we are now exiled, and therefore it touches a cord in our being, regardless of whether we realize the true cause or not.

Thus we see that there are various grades of spiritual sight, each suited to the superphysical realm which it opens to our perception: Etheric vision, color vision and tonal vision.

The occult investigator finds that ether is of four kinds, or grades of density:

The Chemical Ether,
The Life Ether,
The Light Ether,
The Reflecting Ether.

The Chemical Ether is the avenue of expression for forces promoting assimilation, growth and the maintenance of form.

The Life Ether is the vantage ground of forces active in propagation, or the building of new forms.

The Light Ether transmits the motive power of the sun along the various nerves ofliving bodies and makes motion possible.