An essay on the fundamental principles of operative occultism prepared by Manly P. Hall to accompany three oil paintings by Mihran K. Serailian

A surrealist oil painting by Mihran K. Serailian titled "The Opening of the Third Eye." It depicts a profile of a head (Minerva) in purple tones. Inside the translucent skull, the brain is visible with a glowing golden light rising from the base. A prominent six-pointed star (hexagram) is centered over the brow area, containing a smaller human figure in a meditative pose. A vibrant red and yellow "fire" or energy point is located at the pineal gland, with a blue aura radiating from the pituitary gland. The background consists of ethereal, swirling clouds in shades of purple and blue.

This painting of the head of Minerva shows, in part, the activities of the pineal gland and the pituitary body at the time of the phenomenon commonly termed "the opening of the Third Eye." The Kundalini fire is seen rising upward through the spinal canal into the pons of the medulla oblongata. The golden light radiating from the base of the brain, at the back, gradually increases in size and intensity until it forms the nimbus, or halo, of the saint. The pituitary body is here shown surrounded by an elliptic rose aura. The pineal gland—the Third Eye of the Mysteries—is here depicted as blue in color and surrounded by a radiating blue aura. In reality, however, this aura includes within itself all the colors of the spectrum, but blue decidedly predominates. The tiny vibrating finger on the pineal gland points directly toward the pituitary body. This finger, vibrating at a very high rate of speed, is the actual cause of true spiritual illumination.