''Occult Chemistry:'' ''Investigations by Clairvoyant Magnification into the Structure of the Atoms of the Periodic Table and Some Compounds'' (originally subtitled ''A Series of Clairvoyant Observations on the Chemical Elements'') is a book written by

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...

and

C.W. Leadbeater Charles Webster Leadbeater (; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. Originally a pri ...

, who were both members of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

based in Adyar, India. Besant was at the time the President of the Society having succeeded

Henry Olcott Colonel (United States), Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first we ...

after his death in 1907.

Overview

The first edition reprinting articles from ''

The Theosophist ''The Theosophist'' is the monthly journal of the international Theosophical Society based in Adyar, India. It was founded in India in 1879 by Helena Blavatsky, who was also its editor. The journal is still being published till date. For the ye ...

'' was published in 1908, followed by a second edition edited by

Alfred Percy Sinnett Alfred Percy Sinnett (18 January 1840 – 26 June 1921) was an English author and theosophist. Biography Sinnett was born in London. His father died while he was young, as in 1851 Sinnett was listed as a "Scholar – London University", liv ...

in 1919, and a third edition edited by

Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (16 December 1875, Sri Lanka – 18 June 1953, United States) was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese author, occultist, freemason and theosophist. The fourth president of the Theosophical Society, Jinarajadasa was one of the wo ...

in 1951. Since the first edition was published in 1908, the book is in the public domain, and available in whole or in excerpts, on many sites on the internet. ''Occult Chemistry'' states that the structure of

chemical element A chemical element is a species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species. Unlike chemical compounds, chemical elements cannot be broken down into simpler sub ...

s can be assessed through

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

observation with the microscopic vision of the

third eye The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is a mystical invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In ...

. Observations were carried out between 1895 and 1933. "The book consists both of coordinated and illustrated descriptions of presumed etheric counterparts of the atoms of the then known chemical elements, and of other expositions of occult physics."

Critical reception

Academic criticism is available in Chapter 2 of ''Modern Alchemy: Occultism and the Emergence of Atomic Theory'', and in an online article from the Chemistry department at Yale University. Critics regard the book to be an example of

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...

. According to

Philip Ball Philip Ball (born 1962) is a British science writer. For over twenty years he has been an editor of the journal ''Nature'' for which he continues to write regularly. He now writes a regular column in '' Chemistry World''. He has contributed to ...

, most scientists did not take the book seriously. Ball, Philip. (2015). ''Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen.'' University of Chicago Press. pp. 121-124.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Occult Chemistry (Book) 1908 non-fiction books Books about the paranormal Theosophical texts Alchemical documents Collaborative non-fiction books

Overview

Critical reception

See also

References

Further reading

External links