Hence the _first_ and chief necessity of Chelaship is a spirit of
absolute unselfishness and devotion to Truth; then follow self-knowledge
and self-mastery. These are all-important; while outward observance of
fixed rules of life is a matter of secondary moment.--_Lucifer_: IV,
348, note.




OCCULTISM VERSUS THE OCCULT ARTS

"I oft have heard, but ne'er believed till now,
There are, who can by potent magic spells
Bend to their crooked purpose Nature's laws."
_Milton_


In this month's Correspondence several letters testify to the strong
impression produced on some minds by our last month's article "Practical
Occultism." Such letters go far to prove and strengthen two logical
conclusions:--

(_a_) There are more well-educated and thoughtful men who believe in the
existence of Occultism and Magic (the two differing vastly) than the
modern materialist dreams of; and:--

(_b_) That most of the believers (comprising many theosophists) have no
definite idea of the nature of Occultism and confuse it with the Occult
sciences in general, the "Black art" included.