probably be at least equally transparent, it is obvious that serious
confusion would be quite likely to result.

The additional dimension which would come into play if astral
radiations were sensed instead of etheric would obviate some of the
difficulties, but would on the other hand introduce some fresh
complications of its own; so that for practical purposes, in
endeavouring to understand clairvoyance, we may dismiss this
hypothesis of radiations from our minds, and turn to the methods of
seeing at a distance which are actually at the disposal of the
student. It will be found that there are five, four of them being
really varieties of clairvoyance, while the fifth does not properly
come under that head at all, but belongs to the domain of magic. Let
us take this last one first, and get it out of our way.

1. _By the assistance of a nature-spirit._--This method does not
necessarily involve the possession of any psychic faculty at all on
the part of the experimenter; he need only know how to induce some
denizen of the astral world to undertake the investigation for him.
This may be done either by invocation or by evocation; that is to say,
the operator may either persuade his astral coadjutor by prayers and
offerings to give him the help he desires, or he may compel his aid by
the determined exercise of a highly-developed will.

This method has been largely practised in the East (where the entity
employed is usually a nature-spirit) and in old Atlantis, where "the
lords of the dark face" used a highly-specialized and peculiarly
venomous variety of artificial elemental for this purpose. Information
is sometimes obtained in the same sort of way at the spiritualistic
_seance_ of modern days, but in that case the messenger employed is
more likely to be a recently-deceased human being functioning more or
less freely on the astral plane--though even here also it is sometimes
an obliging nature-spirit, who is amusing himself by posing as
somebody's departed relative. In any case, as I have said, this method
is not clairvoyant at all, but magical; and it is mentioned here only
in order that the reader may not become confused in the endeavour to
classify cases of its use under some of the following headings.

2. _By means of an astral current._--This is a phrase frequently and
rather loosely employed in some of our Theosophical literature to
cover a considerable variety of phenomena, and among others that which
I wish to ex