are able to give a mould in accordance with which a
body exactly suiting it can be formed.

One other point deserves mention in connection with the appearance of
physical matter when looked at from the astral plane, and that is that
the astral vision possesses the power of magnifying at will the
minutest physical particle to any desired size, as though by a
microscope, though its magnifying power is enormously greater than
that of any microscope ever made or ever likely to be made. The
hypothetical molecule and atom postulated by science are therefore
visible realities to the occult student, though the latter recognizes
them as much more complex in their nature than the scientific man has
yet discovered them to be. Here again is a vast field of study of
absorbing interest to which a whole volume might readily be devoted;
and a scientific investigator who should acquire this astral sight in
perfection, would not only find his experiments with ordinary and
known phenomena immensely facilitated, but would also see stretching
before him entirely new vistas of knowledge needing more than a
lifetime for their thorough examination. For example, one curious and
very beautiful novelty brought to his notice by the development of
this vision would be the existence of other and entirely different
colours beyond the limits of the ordinarily visible spectrum, the
ultra-red and ultra-violet rays which science has discovered by other
means being plainly perceptible to astral sight. We must not, however,
allow ourselves to follow these fascinating bye-paths, but must resume
our endeavour to give a general idea of the appearance of the astral
plane.

It will by this time be obvious that though, as above stated, the
ordinary objects of the physical world form the background to life on
certain levels of the astral plane, yet so much more is seen of their
real appearance and characteristics that the general effect differs
widely from that with which we are familiar. For the sake of
illustration take a rock as an example of the simpler class of
objects. When regarded with trained sight it is no mere inert mass of
stone. First of all, the whole of the physical matter of the rock is
seen instead of a very small part of it; secondly, the vibrations of
its physical particles are perceptible; thirdly, it is seen to possess
an astral counterpart composed of various grades of astral matter,
whose particles are also in constant motion; fourthly,