Vril, or Vital Magnetism

Lesson II. Vril in Organic Life

...body, and the same attitude may be shown by students in their consideration of the third phase of Vril original: "Vril"; a term popular in 19th-century occultism for a universal life-energy or "etheric" force. This is an error, and all the top experts positively condemn it as such. For instance, Thomas Henry Huxley original: "Huxley"; (1825–1895), a famous English biologist known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of evolution, in speaking of the principle of "vitality," says:

"When considered separately from the experiences of consciousness, the phenomena of life are all dependent upon the operation of the same physical and chemical forces as those which are active in the rest of the world. It may be convenient to use the terms 'vitality' and 'vital force' to name certain large groups of natural operations, just as we use the names 'electricity' and 'electrical force' to name others. However, it is no longer proper to do so if such a name implies the ridiculous assumption that either 'electricity' or 'vitality' are entities acting as the direct causes of electrical or biological phenomena." original: "efficient causes electrical or vital phenomena"

In the same way, it is a mistake to consider Vril as an independent entity or soul that directly and immediately causes the activities and movements of the body. Vril is not the soul, spirit, or mind of the person any more than it is his physical body. Instead, it is a powerful natural force working on the body under the control of the conscious or subconscious mental faculties. Its activities are expressed in and through the physical bodily forms and structures, it is true, but they are motivated and directed by the mind, whether conscious or subconscious. The physical body may and does carry its "charge" of Vril, but it does not produce it. Vril powers and moves the physical structure, but is not the origin of it. In a similar manner, while Vril is active in every process of thought, it is not produced by thought; and while it powers thought processes, it does not produce thought in the sense of causing it.

Mind (in the ordinary sense); Vril, either as a principle or in its expression; and Matter, either as a principle or in its expression; are the three equal, expressed principles of the Infinite. They depend upon each other for their activities. This is the teaching not only of modern science, but also of the ancient Arcane sages original: "Arcane sages"; refers to the legendary masters of secret or "hermetic" ancient knowledge.

In the previous volumes of this series devoted to the Arcane Teaching original: "Arcane Teaching"; a system of Western occult philosophy popularized in the early 20th century, we have seen that Matter exists in forms far more thin, delicate, and refined than any known to the human senses, and also in forms far more dense than...