________________
53
MAGIC the essence or natural quality inherent in a being or an object. This system links numerology to magic. It was employed in the art of evocation, and provides a key to many of the obscurities of magical rituals. This is a subject which affords scope for profound study. Possessed of this arcane knowledge, Adam, as we read in the Book of Genesis, was able to name every beast of the field, “and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof”. From this aspect, the naming of a child at baptism is a matter of great significance, and baptism may be viewed as a magical ceremony. Every name, like a note or chord of music, has its own particular vibration, and its own individual potency. I will offer some further observation on the question of vibrations in a later chapter of this book.
I have indicated something of what can be done to-day by Hypnotism, which formed part of the ancient magic, and I will now give some further explanation of the powers which belong to mankind.
To do this it is necessary to review briefly the process of the development of life on this planet as confirmed by geology and biology. We find that four kingdoms were manifested in succession, mineral, vegetable, animal, and
