and ceremonies which affect the imagination, faith, belief and confidence of the patient, and thus make the healing process much easier.  In fact, with the proper degree of faith and confidence on the part of the patient, there is but little need of a healer, for the patient may treat and cure himself.  However, in most cases, the presence of the healer aids materially in arousing the fate and confidence of the patient, and hastens the cure.

Again, so far as the theories underlying the cures are concerned, occultists are able to reduce them all to a single working theory or principle, which includes all the rest.  Brushing aside all technical details, and all attempts to trace back the healing process to the ultimate facts of the universe, I may say that the gist of the principle of all psychic healing is that of influencing the astral foundation of the various organs and parts, cells and centres, so as to make it proceed to manifest a more perfect physical counterpart.  All psychic healing is really accomplished on the astral body first—­then the physical body responds to the renewed activities of its astral counterpart.  To get the real significance of this statement it is necessary for you to realize just what the astral body really is.  This once grasped, the difficulties vanish, and you are able to form a clear conception of the entire matter and process.

The astral body is a precise counterpart of the physical body, its organs, its parts, its centres, and its cells.  In fact, the astral body is the pattern upon which the physical body is materialized.  The astral body is composed of an etheric substance of a very high rate of vibration.  In one sense it may be considered as a very subtle form of matter—­in another as a semi-materialized form of force or energy.  It is finer and more subtle that the rarest vapors or gases known to science.  And, yet, it has a strong degree of tenacity and cohesiveness that enables it to resist attacks from the material side of nature.  As I have said, each organ, part, centre or cell, of the physical body has its astral pattern or basis.  In fact, the physical body has been built up, in whole and in all of its parts, on the pattern and base of the astral body.  Moreover, in case of impaired functioning of the physical organs or parts, and impaired activity of the physical body, its limbs, etc., if we can manage to arouse the activities of the astral body we may cause it to re-materialize or re-energize the physical body, and thus restore health and activity to it.  If the liver, for instance, is not functioning properly, we proceed to start up the activities of the astral counterpart of that organ, to the end that the physical organ may be re-energized, and recreated in a measure.  All true psychic healing work is performed on the astral plane, before it manifests on the physical.