Unurthed

Speaking of thought-forms, here are three illustrations of such from Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater‘s 1901 Thought-Forms (Quest book edition).

“Students of the occult are acquainted with the idea of the elemental essence, that strange half-intelligent life which surrounds us in all directions, vivifying the matter of the mental and astral planes. This matter thus animated responds very readily to the influence of human thought, and every impulse sent out, either from the mental body or the astral body of man, immediately clothes itself in a temporary vehicle of this vitalized matter. Such a thought or impulse becomes for the time a kind of living creature, the thought-force being the soul, and the vivified matter being the body… sometimes they speak of the thought-form as ‘an elemental'” (p15).

18. Vague intellectual pleasure.

“Yellow in any of man’s vehicles always indicates intellectual capacity, but its shades vary and it may be complicated by the admixture of other hues. Generally speaking, it has a deeper and duller tint if the intellect is directed chiefly into lower channels, more especially if the objects are selfish. In the astral or mental body of the average man it would show itself as yellow ochre, while pure intellect devoted to the study of philosophy or mathematics appears frequently to be golden, and this rises gradually to a beautiful clear or luminous lemon or primrose yellow when a powerful intellect is being employed absolutely unselfishly for the benefit of humanity. Most yellow thought-forms are clearly outlined, and a vague cloud of this color is comparatively rare. It indicates intellectual pleasure—appreciation of the result of ingenuity, or the delight felt in clever workmanship” (p40).

40. An intellectual conception of cosmic order.

“The thinker endeavors to think of the action of spirit upon matter. Here we have an upward-pointing triangle signifying the three-fold aspect of the spirit, interlaced with the downward-pointing triangle, which indicates matter with its three inherent qualities. It is noteworthy that in this case the thinker is so entirely occupied with the intellectual endeavor, that no color but yellow is exhibited within the form. There is no room as yet for emotions of devotion, of wonder, or of admiration; the idea which he wishes to realize fills his mind entirely, to the exclusion of all else. Still the definiteness of the outline as its stands out against its background of rays shows that he has achieved a high measure of success” (p60)… an “example of a beautiful thought-form created in definite meditation by one who, through long practice, has learnt how to think” (p28).

43. Intellectual aspiration.

“Here we have a great clear-cut spear or pencil of the pure pale violet which indicates devotion to the highest ideal, and it is outlined and strengthened by an exceedingly fine manifestation of the noblest development of intellect. It will be noted that in both the colors there is a strong admixture of the white light which always indicates unusual spiritual power” (p64).