A MESSAGE FROM THE SPHINX By " Enei " "
The object of this book (Rider, 12s. 6d.) is to expound so-called ` Occult Science ' " — what an undertaking ! Fortunately the author contents him- self with a few aspects of the subject. He begins by% an account of Egyptian hieroglyphics, showing how each little picture represents a noun or verb or state, and also a god or religious conception. Then he expounds the Hebraic script of the Cabala, drawing parallels between its formation and that of hieroglyphics and explaining how the elaborate religious symbolism of its 22 letters correspond, to. ideas in Egyptian and other philosophies. After some account of Cabalistic methdds of divination through the letters of God's name made into squares and pyramids, he winds up with a triumphant sketch of the wonders of astrology, numerology, hypnotism and other forms of Magic. Like all modern and probably ancient occultists, he has a tolerant contenipt- for men of science, and for instance considers that jaundice -can be more effectively cured by its magical transference to a fish than by the present orthodox methods. Much of what he says is of interest in showing the curious fascination that numbers, picture symbols, and the stars have on the primitive human mind, and their connexion with religious beliefs. We may not agree with " Enel that all magic, language, religion and knowledge came from one source, such as Atlantis ; but The Golden Bough is convincing enough that with- out being a diffusionist, one can find many strange parallels in art and thought all over the world. Then, too, as science advances, more aspects of Magic become incorporated into it ; so that today, for example, the dynamic, not conceptual, power of words, and the cure of mental illness not by drugs but by suggestion and psycho-therapy, have become part of modern scientific thought.
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