Thought-Form
A thought-form is anonphysical entity or object created by thought that exists in the mental plane or the Astral Plane. Thought-forms are used in Magic and the casting of Spells. Thought-form structures, objects, and places can be created magically to exist in the astral plane for the purposes of visualization and workings. Thought-form entities can be created and summoned through EVOCATION to perform certain tasks, such as SENDING to carry out spells or even perform Psychic Attack. Thought-forms are invisible to most people but can be perceived clairvoyantly.
Esoteric philosophy holds that thoughts produce two effects: a radiating vibration and a floating, colored form. The lifespan and endurance of a thought-form depends on the nature and intensity of the thought. Most thoughtforms dissipate. Those imbued with sufficient energy, either through sustained intensity or through Ritual, can become anchored on the astral plane and the physical plane. Thought-forms radiate out and attract sympathetic essences, thus forming the basis of the occult Law of Attraction, which holds that a person manifests on the physical plane what he or she thinks on the mental plane.
Characters in myth and legend and even deities can be thought-forms. They exist as long as they are energerized by collective thought. When they fade from interest, they return to formlessness on the astral plane.
Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, Theosophists and clairvoyants, said that thought-forms are four-dimensional in nature and, therefore, are difficult to describe in threedimensional terms. They classified thought-forms into three groups: (1) the image of the thinker; (2) an image of a material object associated with the thought; and (3) an independent image expressing the inherent qualities of a thought. Thoughts that are low in nature, such as anger, hate, lust, and greed, create thought-forms that are dense in color and form. Thoughts of a more spiritual nature generate forms that have greater purity, clarity, and refinement. Besant and Leadbeater said that well-sustained devotion could appear as a flower with upward-curving petals like azure flames. Devotional aspiration might appear as a blue cone, its apex pointing upward to the higher planes. On the opposite end, explosive anger appears as a splash of red or orange, and sustained anger as a sharp, red stiletto. Jealousy might appear as a brown snake.
Thought-forms build up in a personās energy field or aura, creating and influencing behavior and characteristics. Negative thoughts weaken a person, even facilitating the onset of illness, while positive and loving thoughts act as a protective, energizing shield. According to Besant and Leadbeater, selfish thought moves in a curve, eventually coming back on itself (and the person) and expending itself on its own level. On the other hand, unselfish thought moves outward in an open curve, expanding as it goes. It is capable of piercing higher spiritual dimensions and thus becomes a channel through which higher planes pour themselves into lower planes. This is how prayer functions.
Besant and Leadbeater stressed that regular meditation is important in cultivating positive thought-forms. The meditation sends out a stream of magnetism that continues to work long after the meditation is ended.
Some thought-forms occur spontaneously. āGroup mindsā are formed whenever a group of persons concentrates on the same thoughts, ideas, or goals, such as a team of employees or a crowd of Demonstrators. To some extent, the group-mind possesses the group, as witnessed in the psychic bonding and power that coalesces in crowds and in the synergy of a close-knit working group. When the group disperses, the group-mind usually loses power.
Thought-forms may arise spontaneously out of the collective unconscious as archetypes that take on phantom or seemingly real form. This may explain reports of the devil, supernatural monsters, entities, nonphysical beings, and otherworldly beings.
Thought-forms in Magic
In the Western tradition, thought-forms are created on the astral plane with the TRIANGLE OF CAUSATION, a primary foundation of occult astral work. Thought-forms require intense concentration; otherwise they do not last. Thought-forms of things on the physical plane can be recreated in exact detail on the astral plane. Thought-forms of gods, angels, places, goals, and activities also can be created out of astral matter.
āArtificial elementalsā are created by Ritual to perform low-level tasks and errands and to be directed at individuals to protect, heal, or harm. To have an affect, thoughtforms must be able to latch on to similar vibrations in the aura of the recipient. If they are unable to do so, they boomerang back to the sender. Thus, one who directs evil thoughts toward another runs the risk of having them return.
The duration of a thought-form, its strength, and the distance it can travel depend on the strength and clarity of the original thought. Thought-forms are said to have the capability to assume their own energy and appear to be intelligent and independent. Equally intense thought can disperse them, or they can simply disintegrate when their purpose is finished. Some may last years. In magical practice it is customary to charge a thought-form with a finite life span and at the end of it reabsorb the thought-form back into astral matter.
Thought-forms that are not dispersed, as well as some particularly powerful thought-forms, can go out of control. They wander about looking for energy sources and attaching themselves to people like vampiric entities, or they can turn on their creators, as in the case of Alexandra David – Neel.
SOURCE:
The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright Ā© 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.