Man is thought and the thought is Man. This gives the postulate that ‘Man is what he knows and he becomes what he thinks’. Therefore the true identity of man is his thought rather than his body.
The thought is the air element that helps the mind to get in communion with the Divine. In ancient times, the flash of intuition was considered a ‘gift of the Gods’. It was rather useless, since the thought was subjected to material substance; the latter kept it prisoner in its ties and many cycles of life were necessary to loosen them.
The thought is imprisoned by physical sensations, it lives, grows and dissolves closed in mental worlds whose abyss hosts the specters of what man has been, has thought, done or said. The past is a phantom made of images (astral eggregore) from which we can be free by descending in ourselves and confronting the figures held in the depth of unconsciousness (see the descent in hell). Even when they are abandoned to themselves and apparently forgotten, mental images (ideas, memories) remain vital entities that try and survive. They do that by developing refined tactics, such as suggestions (dreams, mirages) and seductions (desires and passion). Very few people can resist them because they consider them their own.

Elementary and Elemental
Astral phantoms live in the unconsciousness and devotionals picture them as tempting devils. This is a correct metaphor, since they suggest to the mind the renewal of passion, necessary for their survival. It would be more appropriate, though, to call them energetic vampires.
They must not be confused with elemental spirits, also called small lives, which are the zealous vital entities that help the physical life. The elementary spirits are astral phantoms survived to the death of the physical body. They live in the astral dimension until their consumption. In order to prolong their existence, the shells of astral energy look for similar emissions, attracted by places that emanate strong passion. For this purpose nothing is more substantial than crowds, with their emotions, exaltations and hysterias.

Every violent feeling against something or someone is the most vigorous nourishment for parasites. Elementary spirits are basic intelligences, as the name itself suggests, but still able to create strongly seductive suggestions for ambitious minds. They inspire ideologies; they press, impassion, exalt, exasperate and inflame hearts, urging feelings of supremacy and domain. They are spirits of despotic authorities; they dim minds with the ‘fogs’ of wars of state or religion, or they gravitate around fumes of death in slaughterhouses, hospitals and cemeteries.
Elementary spirits live in the dark side of life, attracted by the negative exhalations that generated them, such as degenerated sensuality, hallucinations fuelled by drugs and alcohol, violence in prisons and some sporting events, just to mention a few.

Another element of attraction is the negative energy produced by astral religiosity, but we would need a whole book to list the deceits hidden in popular cults and village imagery. Together with popular cults we also find séances, although in a smaller scale; this is another seduction were parasites absorb energy from the participants, making them believe they can feel or see someone or something. But let’s be honest. If energetic parasitism survives thanks to the mirages of its conjurers, their tricks wouldn’t have any success if there wasn’t anyone ready to be fooled by them.

Self commiseration is not an option. Instead of posing as victims of the evil one we should practice a fair amount of self-criticism, even several times a day. We could reach the point of seeing ourselves in the right proportion, which will certainly be smaller than we would like. ‘Clever modesty’ doesn’t have anything to do with morale. Freeing ourselves from psychic parasitism is a matter of mental as well as physical hygiene. This is the sense of many psycho-somatic diseases.

by Athos A. Altomonte