This is one of the stories from the 1858 Revista Espírita, where Kardec studies the case of a 12-year-old boy who murders 5 other children. Briefly: a 12-year-old boy put five children in a trunk, locked the trunk, and left them there until they died. Having been seen by another girl, the 12-year-old boy was reported and then confessed everything, in the most cold-blooded manner and without expressing regret.

Here, too, a reflection on a crime such as these is in order. Could it be that, as many say, these five children were killed to fulfill the “redemption of past debts”? If so, what would be the degree of responsibility of the other? We deal with this matter in this other article, click here

Another question: is the spirit of the murderer boy necessarily evil? In The Spirits' Book, Kardec clarifies:

“In fact, consider that in your homes children are possibly born whose spirits come from worlds where they have contracted habits different from yours, and tell me how these beings could be in your midst, bringing passions different from those you nurture, inclinations, tastes, entirely opposites. to yours; how could they rank among you, but as God ordained, that is, passing through the tamis of childhood?”

OLE, question 385

Continuing in the article, Kardec interrogates the spirit of a medium's sister, “who passed away twelve years ago and always showed superiority as a spirit”. Let's present the main points of these questions and their answers:

2. ─ What motives would have impelled a boy of that age to commit such an atrocious action and with such cold-bloodedness? ─ Evil has no age. It is natural in a child and reasoned in an adult man.

Observation: “The child is not good or bad until he has the discernment of one or the other. It is what is called the state of innocence, which is somehow the sleep of consciousness.” Paul Janet, Little Elements of Morals. Already in the adult, or man who makes the distinctions of his moral conscience, who uses reason, he choose to do or not do an action, which results in a good or bad deed. Even so, if he acts in “evil”, it is only because he is not aware of the good, he has not progressed enough to understand.

3. ─ Doesn't its existence in a child, without reasoning, denote the incarnation of a much inferior Spirit? - It comes directly from the perversity of the heart: it is his own Spirit that dominates him and drives him to perversity.

5. ─ In his previous existence, would he have belonged to Earth or to an even lower world? ─ I'm not sure, but it must belong to a world much more backward than Earth. He dared (?) come to Earth. You will be doubly punished.

Comment: When the evoked Spirit explains about double punishment, we understand that he means that this Spirit has acquired some consciousness and he chose come to Earth. Here, being born, he preferred to experience his passions and imperfections, instead of trying to overcome them. Most likely, you still don't understand divine laws, such as the law of progress.

6. - At that age, would the boy enough aware of the crime he committed? Will you be responsible as a Spirit? ─ He was the age of conscience. This is enough.

7. ─ Once this Spirit dared come to Earth, for him very high, can he be constrained to return to a world in relation to his nature? ─ Your punishment is precisely retrograde; it is hell itself. This is the punishment of Lucifer, of the spiritual man who has lowered himself to the level of matter; it is the veil that henceforth hides from him the gifts of God and his divine protection. Make an effort, then, to win back those lost goods and you will have reconquered the paradise that Christ came to open for you. It is the presumption, the pride of the man who wanted to conquer what only God could have (?).

At this point, with answer 7, we have arrived at several understandings:

• To dare means to choose. The principle of autonomy is always present in Kardec.
• The Spirit does not retrograde. Here, it is a material retrogradation, according to the state of development of the Spirit. It is like the student who is forced to repeat the year, because, in fact, he has not learned;
• We understand that while the Spirit experiences negative habits, vices, he is far from understanding the good;
• It may look like the picture of falling into sin, but we can understand it from the point of view of sinking into habits that lead to imperfections.

It is the picture of original sin explained by Spiritism: the Spirit is not created full, pure and wise, but ignorant and simple and, when it lives in matter, it acquires experiences. When he errs, he does not commit a sin, but only errs. The error can be totally unconscious, from which learning is born, or it can be, in a certain way, conscious, that is, by choice, which is when the Spirit developed a habit that gave rise to an imperfection. Hence we have the following: if the Spirit no understands that imperfection causes delay and suffering, he just continues to follow in incarnations, until he acquires knowledge to understand the wrong he has done, and he repents. then pass to atone the fruit of your imperfections, by the free choice of your trials, through the incarnations, in order to deal with this habit, with a view to getting rid of it.

We all go through it, and all of us will reach relative perfection.

The questions follow the evoked Spirit:

8. In what way is the Earth superior to the world to which the Spirit of whom we have just spoken belonged? ─ There is a weak idea of justice there. It's a start of progress.

9. ─ Does it follow that in worlds inferior to Earth there is no idea of justice? ─ No. Men live there only for themselves and their motive is nothing but the satisfaction of their passions and instincts.

10. ─ What will be the position of this Spirit in a new existence? ─ If repentance erases, if not totally, at least in part, the enormity of your faults, then you will remain on Earth; if, on the contrary, he persists in what you call final impenitence, he will go to a place where man is on the level of animals.

Note: Kardec developed this understanding much later, in the work Heaven and Hell: “Repentance is useless when it is only a consequence of suffering. Beneficial repentance is that which is based on the regret of having offended God, and the ardent desire for reparation. I haven't gotten to that point yet, unfortunately. Recommend me to the prayers of all those who dedicate themselves to the suffering, because I need them”. Heaven and Hell, Allan Kardec

"O repentance sincere is an act of the Spirit's free will, predisposing him to free himself from the condition of unhappiness by his effort. Thus, the soul's repentance is not the fear of continuing to suffer, which constrains it, submitting it to an external will (heteronomy). In fact, he represents the awareness of divine laws, which makes him understand his own ability to achieve happiness through improvement (autonomy). This condition makes him recognize the strength of his will and awakens his self-esteem, leading him back to the path of good.”
In other words: if he repents, he can reincarnate here, which is a planet of proofs and atonements. If not, you will have to reincarnate on a planet that gives you the conditions to learn through the reincarnation exercise itself.

note by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo on Heaven and Hell

11. ─ So can he find on Earth the means to atone for his fault, without being forced to return to a lower world? ─ In the eyes of God, repentance is sacred, because it is man who judges himself, which is rare on your planet.

In this article from November 1858, the second article talks about the Plurality of Existences or Reincarnation. Kardec will make a very informative approach about reincarnation. It is an article of great interest, as it demonstrates the scientist, demystifying the encoder:

“The dogma of reincarnation is not new, say some; they resurrected him from the doctrine of Pythagoras. We never said that the Spiritist Doctrine was a modern invention. constituting a law of nature, Spiritism must have existed since the beginning of time and we have always endeavored to demonstrate that signs of it can be discovered in the most remote antiquity.”

RE, November 1858

Note: It says it was not new as it was in the Bible and was removed by the Second Council of Constantinople.

Spiritism is in everything and touches all areas of science. He, in himself, in his depth, is the science of everything. This effort by Kardec was very important, and it must be the same on our part, as it demystifies Spiritism.

The ancients, including Pythagoras (6th century BC), believed in metempsychosis, while Spiritism demonstrates the impossibility of this theory.

Metempsychosis: It is a fundamentally Eastern belief, mainly Hindu, linked to the dogma of the fall for sin, which has no basis in the reason developed by Spiritism.

It is interesting to note, however, that a Spirit, at the beginning of its evolution, can and will incarnate in animals: (AG, chap. XI, “HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE HUMAN BODY” )

HYPOTHESIS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE HUMAN BODY

15. From the similarity of external forms that exists between the body of man and that of an ape, some physiologists have concluded that the former is only a transformation of the latter. In this there is nothing impossible and, if that is so, there is no reason for man to feel his dignity affected. The bodies of apes may well have served as a garment for primitive human spirits, necessarily not very advanced, who came to incarnate on Earth, because they were the most appropriate to their needs and the most adequate to the exercise of their faculties than the bodies of any other person. another animal. Instead of a special garment that was made for the Spirit, he would have found a ready-made one. He then dressed himself in the skin of a monkey, without ceasing to be a human spirit, as man sometimes dresses himself in the skin of certain animals without ceasing to be a man. Let it be understood that here it is only a question of a hypothesis which is in no way stated as a principle, but which is only presented to show that the origin of the body does not harm the Spirit, which is the main being, and that the likeness of the body of the man with that of the ape does not imply parity between your Spirit and his.

16. Admitting this hypothesis, it can be said that, under the influence and by the effect of the intellectual activity of its new inhabitant, the envelope has been modified, embellishing itself in the details, conserving in the whole the general form of the set. The improved bodies, when procreating, reproduced under the same conditions, as happens with grafted trees, and gave birth to a new species that, little by little, distanced itself from the primitive type, as the Spirit progressed. The simian spirit, which was not annihilated, continued to procreate for its use the bodies of apes, just as the fruit of the wild tree reproduces trees of this species, and the human spirit procreated bodies of men that were variants of the first mold in which it was established. The trunk forked; produced a branch, and it became a trunk. As there are no sudden transitions in nature, it is likely that the first men who appeared on Earth differed little from the ape, in outward form and, no doubt, little also in intelligence. There are still, in our days, savages who, by the length of their arms and feet, and the conformation of the head, bear so much resemblance to apes that they only lack hair for the resemblance to be complete.

Allan Kardec. GENESIS – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism

This is quite different, however, from supposing that a human spirit, due to a punishment, can be condemned to incarnate in a monkey, which, for him, would be a retrogradation.

Some contradictors say: “you already shared this idea, so the spirits only communicated concepts that they already accepted”. A mistake, as we will see below:

“When the doctrine of reincarnation was taught to us by the Spirits, it was so far from our thinking that, on the background of the soul, we had built a completely different system, shared, in fact, by many people. In this aspect, therefore, the Doctrine of the Spirits deeply surprised us; we will say more: it antagonized us, because it overthrew our own ideas. As can be seen, it was far from reflecting them. But that's not all: we don't give in to the first shock; we fight, we defend our opinion, we raise objections and we only surrender to the evidence when we realize the insufficiency of our system to resolve all the difficulties raised by this question..”

"In the eyes of some people, the word evidence will doubtless seem singular in such a matter; it will not, however, be inappropriate for those who are used to scrutinizing spiritist phenomena. For the attentive observer, there are facts which, although not of an absolutely material nature, nevertheless constitute true evidence, at least from a moral point of view..”

Today, we have not only the moral evidence, but the factual evidence of reincarnation, which, however, has not yet been (and will never be) proven in the laboratory.

“We have yet another refutation to oppose: it is that not only was it taught to us; it was also taught in many other places, in France and abroad: in Germany, Holland, Russia, etc., and this even before the publication of The Spirits' Book.

We also add that, since we dedicated ourselves to the study of Spiritism, we have obtained communications through more than fifty writing, speaking, psychic mediums, etc., more or less enlightened, with more or less limited normal intelligence, some even completely illiterate. and, consequently, absolutely strangers to philosophical matters; nohowever, in no case did the spirits contradict themselves on this issue..”

Observation: Most communications, as far as we know, were from mechanical psychic mediums, often put into somnambulistic sleep (called crisis, in season). But Kardec never stopped looking for value in other forms of communication and in manifestations in general, always seeking to highlight those that could arouse interest and demonstrate the reality of spiritual intervention. For his eyes as a researcher, even a mediumistic painting, as we will see later, could represent a phenomenon of interest.

Not only is this doctrine supported by evidence, but chiefly by reason. Without her does not exist autonomy, because the Spirit would not be given the opportunity to advance, through learning from successes and mistakes. This is what happens with the Doctrine taught by the Catholic Church and other religions, to the point that we are amazed today that there are still people who think like this.

The Doctrine of Reincarnation, as explained by Spiritism, is the only doctrine that fits all the pieces of the puzzle, explaining the differences between beings and divine goodness.

“We have reasoned, abstracting ourselves, as we said, from any spiritist teaching that, for certain creatures, lacks authority. It is not just because it came from the Spirits that we and so many others became fans of the plurality of existences.. It is because this part of the doctrine seemed to us to be the most logical and because it alone resolves issues that were hitherto insoluble..”

Let's see:

“If there is no reincarnation, there is, of course, only a corporeal existence. If our present corporeal existence is the only one, the soul of every man was created at his birth, unless the soul's antecedence is admitted, in which case it would be fitting to ask what it was before birth and whether the state in which it was born. that it was thought did not constitute an existence in any form. There is no middle ground: either the soul existed or it did not exist before the body. If so, what is your status? Was she or was she not aware of herself? If it didn't, it's almost as if it didn't exist. If it had individuality, was it progressive or stationary? In either case, to what degree had he taken the body? Assuming, according to popular belief, that the soul is born with the body, or, what comes to the same thing, that, before incarnating, it has only negative faculties, we ask: "

Kardec, RE November 1858

1. Why does the soul show such diverse aptitudes and independent of the ideas that education made it acquire? 

2. Whence comes the extranormal aptitude that many children show at an early age, for this or that art, for this or that science, while others remain inferior or mediocre throughout their lives? 

3. Whence, in some, the innate or intuitive ideas, which in others do not exist?

4. Whence, in certain children, the precocious instinct that they reveal towards vices or virtues, the innate feelings of dignity or baseness, contrasting with the environment in which they were born? 

5. Why, apart from education, are some men more advanced than others? 

6. Why are there savages and civilized men? If you take a newborn Hottentot boy and bring him up in our best high schools, will you ever make him a Laplace or a Newton?

Comment: This issue of the African savage is in line with the various, quite severe, criticisms of “racism” in Kardec. As, further down, Kardec repeats that “Regarding the sixth question, it will be said, without a doubt, that the Hottentot is from an inferior race”, we believe that we should take a moment to allude to Kardec's scientific context, which it was, by definition, racist, that is, classified the human being by races. See our article Click here

“Which philosophy or theosophy is capable of solving these problems? It is beyond doubt that either souls are equal at birth, or they are unequal. If equal, why, among them, such a great diversity of aptitude? It will be said that it depends on the organism. But then we find ourselves in the presence of the most monstrous and immoral of doctrines. Man would be a mere machine, a plaything of matter; he would no longer be responsible for his actions, as he could attribute everything to his physical imperfections. If souls are unequal, it is because God created them that way. In that case, however, why the innate superiority bestowed on some? Does this partiality correspond to the justice of God and to the love which he equally consecrates to all his creatures?”

Kardec, RE 1858

So far we have analyzed the soul by its past and its present. And what would be your future according to Kardec?

1. - If it is only our present existence that must decide our future, what will be the respective position of the savage and the civilized man in the future life? Will they be on the same level or apart in the sum of eternal bliss?

2. Will the man who has worked to improve himself all his life be on the same level as the man who remained inferior, not because of his fault, but because he had neither the time nor the possibilities to improve himself?

3. ─ Is the man who does evil because he has not been able to clarify himself subject to circumstances that did not depend on him?

Note item 2: We perceive here the contextual and philosophical knowledge of the Rational Spiritualists was present in these questions.

4. ─ We work to enlighten men, moralize them, civilize them; but for every one who becomes enlightened, there are millions who die daily, before the light reaches them. What is their fate? Are they treated as reprobates? If not, what did they do to be kept in the same class as others?

5. ─ What is the fate of children who die at an early age, before they can do good or evil? If they are among the elect, why this favor, when they have done nothing to deserve it? By what privilege were they released from the tribulations of life?

Kardec concludes the article:

“Is there a doctrine that can resolve these issues? Assume successive existences and everything will be explained according to the justice of God. What cannot be done in one life, will be done in another.. In this way, no one will escape the law of progress and everyone will be rewarded according to real merit and no one will be excluded from the supreme happiness to which he can aspire, whatever the obstacles encountered in his way.”

“These questions would easily multiply to infinity, because there are countless psychological and moral problems that only find a solution in the plurality of existences. We limit ourselves to formulating those of a more general order.”

Idem

Comments: Is there any urgency to make any progress? Many speakers have used an alarmist tone, saying that we have to change ourselves “for yesterday”, do the intimate reform, because “the planet” will enter a new phase, that of regeneration. If we suffer from an imperfection, the urgency is in our own time; if we are only in the process of learning, this will only take place in the time of each one, according to their will.

Our suggestions for a documentary and book about Reincarnation – Plurality of Existences:

Perhaps this is one of the most interesting reported communications of the year 1858, because it is the Spirit of a soldier killed in war, a Spirit with an appearance of tranquility and even kindness.

It happened like this: “Having gathered in our house some people with the purpose of verifying certain manifestations, in several sessions the following facts were produced: a Spirit manifested by blows, not beaten by the table foot, but in the very texture of the table. table." Then Kardec goes on to say that in addition to the answers to several yes and no questions, the blows played marches, imitated rifle fire, something completely unusual.

As they listened, they observed that the Spirit had a certain predilection for the drum roll.

In addition to a special medium of physical influence, a psychograph was present. Because of that, they got the conversation very explicit, like name, place of birth, date of death, etc. Spontaneous communication started like this:

1 – Write anything, whatever you want. – Ran plan plan, ran, plan, plan.

2 – Why did you write this? – I was a drummer.

He said he died in a battle, and he still takes on that drum beater characteristic, that's why he did those marching effects.

16- Are you reincarnated? - No, because I come to talk to you.

17- Why do you manifest yourself by blows, without you being called? – It is necessary to make noise for those whose hearts believe nothing. If you don't have enough, I will give you even more.

Observation: He demonstrates a certain moral superiority.

18 – Is it your own will that you came to knock, or did another spirit force you to do so? — I come of my own accord; there is another, whom you call Truth, who can force me to do this too. But I've wanted to come for a long time.

19 – For what purpose did you want to come? – To converse with you; it was what I wanted; But there was something that stopped me. I was forced by a familiar spirit in the house, who urged me to make myself useful to people who asked me questions.

19.1 – Does this Spirit, then, have a lot of power, since it commands other Spirits? — More than you can imagine, and he uses it only for good.

Note: Spirits are always assisted.

22- Which existence do you prefer: the current one or the terrestrial one? – I prefer the existence of the Spirit to that of the body. Because we are much better off than on Earth. Earth is a purgatory; all the time I lived there, I always wanted death.

25 – Would you be satisfied if you had a new bodily existence? – Yes, because I know that I must elevate myself.

26 – Who told you that? – I know it well.

27 – Will you reincarnate soon? - I don't know.

From question 28 onwards, for the first time in RE, those present ask the manifesting Spirit about other Spirits in Erraticity:

28. ─ Do you see other spirits around you? ─ Yes, many.

29. ─ How do you know they are spirits? ─ Among us, we see ourselves as we are.

30. ─ How do you see them? ─ As spirits can be seen, but not through the eyes.

31. ─ And you, in what form are you here? ─ Under what I had when I was alive, that is, as a drum.

32. ─ And do you see the other spirits with the forms they had in life? ─ No. We don't take on an appearance until we are evoked. Other than that, we are formless.

RE July 1858

See how interesting: He sees the other Spirits around him without any form! He is not an advanced Spirit, but outside of the moment they are evoked, in erraticity, Spirits DO NOT have a form.

Spirits have no eyes, no ears, no touch... because they have no need in the spiritual plane for this type of manifestation. “Our form is only apparent,” says the drum.

The communication follows with questions about the manifestation of the knocking on the table, in which he says that he is beside her, that he does not get inside her.

37-How do you produce the noises you make heard? – I believe it is through a kind of concentration of our strength.

38 – Could you explain to us the way in which the different noises that you imitate are produced, the scratches, for example? - I wouldn't know much about the nature of the
noises; it's hard to explain. I know I scratch, but I can't explain how I make that noise you call scratching.

Then he was asked what he depended on to lift a table, to which he replied: – It depends on me, because I use the medium as an instrument. And besides, it has to be with specific mediums, which I am attracted to.

48 – What do you occupy yourself with in your existence as a Spirit, considering that you shouldn't spend all your time just knocking? – I often have missions to fulfill; we must
obey superior orders and, above all, do good to human beings.
humans who are under our influence.

49 – Certainly your earthly life was not free of faults; do you recognize them now? - Yes; and for that reason I expiate them, remaining stationary among the inferior spirits; I will only be able to purify myself enough when I take another body.

OBSERVATION: Here recognition of their faults and repentance is evident.

55 – Are you always on Earth, in your spiritual existence? – Most often in space.

56 – Do you sometimes go to other worlds, that is, to other globes? – Not to the more perfect ones, but to the inferior worlds.

57 – Do you sometimes enjoy seeing and hearing what men do? - No; however, I sometimes pity them.

65 – Were you immediately aware of your new existence? – No, but I no longer felt cold.

RE July 1858

NOTE: He was no longer aware of his body.

KARDEC'S COMMENT ON THE COMMUNICATION: – Little advanced in the spiritist hierarchy, as can be seen, the Spirit of the Drum himself recognized his inferiority. Your knowledge is limited; but he has good sense, praiseworthy feelings, and benevolence. As a Spirit, his mission lacked meaning, as he played the role of a Spirit beater to call unbelievers to faith; yet, even in the theater, cannot the humble attire of a partner involve an honest heart? His answers have the simplicity of ignorance; however, due to the fact that they do not have the elevation of the philosophical language of the superior spirits, they are nevertheless less instructive, especially for the study of spiritist customs, if we can express it that way. It is only by studying all the classes of this world that awaits us that we can get to know it and mark out in it, in some way, in advance, the place that each one of us will be given to occupy. Seeing the situation that, by their vices and virtues, created men, our equals here on Earth, we feel encouraged to elevate ourselves as quickly as possible from this life: it is the example next to the theory. In order to know something well, and to form an idea of it free from illusions, it is necessary to dissect it in all its aspects, just as the botanist cannot know the plant kingdom except by observing it from the humblest cryptogam, which the moss hides. , even the towering oak, which soars in the air.

In this article, Kardec presents the following case: having the medium Mr. D. presented a very interesting phenomenon - that of writing with a much better handwriting when inspired by the Spirits - one of the members of the Society, Dr. V., had the idea of evoking the Spirit of a calligrapher, Bertrand, for observation purposes.

According to The Mediums' Book,

270. When you want to communicate with determined Spirit, it is absolutely necessary to evoke it. (Item 203.) If he can come, the answer is usually: Yea, or I'm here, or yet: What do you want from me? Sometimes he enters directly into the matter, answering in advance the questions that were asked of him.

271. It is often surprising how quickly an evoked Spirit presents itself, even the first time. One would say he was forewarned. This is, in fact, what happens when the one who evokes it is preoccupied with its evocation. This preoccupation is a kind of anticipated evocation and, as we always have our familiar spirits with us, who identify with our thought, they prepare the way in such a way that, if no obstacle arises, the Spirit we wish to call is already present. when evoked.

But is there danger in Summoning Spirits?

278. An important question arises here, that of knowing whether or not there is any inconvenience in evoking bad spirits..

Kardec, OLM

“That depends on the end you have in mind and the influence you can exert on them. The inconvenience is null when they are called for a serious purpose, which is to instruct and improve them; it is, on the contrary, very great, when called out of mere curiosity or for fun, or even when the caller puts himself at their dependence, asking them for some service.. The good spirits, in this case, can very well give them the power to do what is asked of them, which does not exclude the daredevil who dared to ask for help and suppose them more powerful than God from being severely punished later on. . It will be in vain if he promises himself, whoever does so, to make good use of the help requested from then on, and to dismiss the servant once the service has been rendered. This same service that was requested, however minimal, constitutes a true pact signed with the bad Spirit and he does not easily let go of his prey..” (See item 212.).

279. No one exercises ascendancy over inferior spirits, except for moral superiority. Perverse spirits feel that good men dominate them. Against those who are only opposed by will energy, a kind of brute force, they fight and are often the strongest. To someone who was trying to tame a rebellious Spirit, only by the action of his will, he replied to that one: Leave me in peace, with your air of slaughterhouses, which are not worth more than I am; one would say a thief preaching morals to another thief.

282. 11th. Is there any inconvenience in evoking inferior spirits? And is it to be feared that, by calling them, the summoner will come under their dominion? “They only dominate those who allow themselves to be dominated. He who is assisted by good spirits has nothing to fear. It is imposed on the inferior spirits and not the latter on him. Isolated, mediums, especially beginning ones, must refrain from such evocations.. (item 278.)

Continuing with the article, where the medium brings communication:

3. ─ Do you know the main objective that led us to ask for your coming? ─ No, but I want to know.

NOTE: The Spirit of Mr. Bertrand is still under the influence of matter, as might be supposed, given his earthly life. It is known that such spirits are less apt to read minds than those already more dematerialized.

From then on, the Spirit continues to give some more details about his life. In general terms, he showed regret for having misused, or at least not as well as he could, his time incarnate: 

9. ─ What was your lifestyle? ─ I sought to satisfy the needs of the body.

10. ─ Did you take care of things from Beyond the Grave? ─ Almost nothing.

11. ─ Do you regret not belonging to this world anymore? ─ I regret not having put my existence to good use.

12. ─ Are you happier than on Earth? ─ No. I suffer for the good I failed to do.

13. ─ What do you think of the future that is in store for you? ─ I think that all the mercy of God is necessary for me.

14. ─ What are your relationships in the world in which you find yourself? ─ Regretful and unhappy relationships.

15. ─ When you come to Earth, are there places you go, rather than others? ─ I am looking for souls who grieve for my sufferings or who pray for me.

17. ─ It is said that in life he was very tolerant. It is true? ─ I was very violent.

18. ─ What do you think about the purpose of our meetings? ─ I would very much like to have known them in life. They would have made me better.

19. ─ Do you see other spirits there? ─ Yes, but I feel very confused in your presence.

20 – We beg God to have him in his holy mercy. The feelings you have just expressed should allow you to find favor with him. We do not doubt that they will help you in your progress.

NOTE: The teachings provided by the Spirit of Mr. Bertrand are absolutely exact and agree with the way of life and the character they knew him. Only by confessing its inferiority and its mistakes, language is more serious and higher than could be expected. Once again we have proof of the painful situation of those on Earth who are very attached to matter. This is how the inferior spirits themselves sometimes give us, by example, valuable moral lessons..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uF6VAEmXPI

In this article, Kardec leads us to think about the evil that exists in fear and how it can affect us. 

The case: a man had left a very expensive bottle of liquor in a carriage and, fearing that he would be drunk, went to the parking lot manager, to whom he said the bottle contained poison. When he had just returned to his apartment, he was hurriedly sought out: three coachmen were suffering from terrible stomach pains. With effort, he convinced them of his rudeness.

Can the case be explained simply by the power of suggestion? Kardec says, initially, that it could not be an action of magnetism, as it was not the case, and then questions São Luís:

─ Your reasoning is very fair in relation to imagination. But the malevolent spirits who induced those men to commit an impolite act, cause a shiver of fear to pass through their blood, through matter, that you could well call magnetic shiver, which stretches the nerves and produces a cold in certain regions of the body. You well know that any cold in the abdominal region can produce colic. It is, therefore, a means of punishment that amuses the spirits who provoked carrying out the theft and at the same time making them laugh at the expense of those to whom they sin [language neologism, to make himself understood, since S. Luís himself speaks of autonomy, between the lines].

Sao Luis, RE 1858

Comment: when talking about induction it cannot, in any way, replace the responsibility that the incarnate has to accept these suggestions.

Comment: Magnetic Shiver: since magnetism is an action of the will on the perispirit, which reflects on matter, we understand this term well.

Observation: THE punishment it is in the following sense: God “places” us to live among Spirits as imperfect as we are, or more. This contact is an ordeal of our imperfections, learning from it as they learn from us.

“They do so whenever an opportunity is offered to them, which they even seek, for their satisfaction. We can avoid this, I assure you, by raising ourselves to God by thoughts less material than those that occupied the minds of those men. Evil spirits like to have fun. Watch out for them! He who thinks he is saying a pleasant phrase to the people around him and who amuses a society with jokes and acts, is sometimes wrong, and even often, when he thinks that all this comes from himself.. The frivolous spirits that surround him identify with him in such a way that little by little they deceive him about his thoughts, also deceiving those who listen to him. In that case, you think you are dealing with a man of spirit, who, however, is only an ignorant. Think carefully, and you will understand what I say to you. Superior spirits are not, however, enemies of joy. Sometimes they like to laugh to make themselves nice to you. But everything has its opportune moment.”

Idem

KARDEC NOTE: “Saying that in the reported case there was no emission of magnetic fluid, perhaps we were not being very accurate. Here we venture a guess. As we said, it is known that transformations of the properties of matter can be operated under the action of the fmagnetic liquid driven by thought. Now, it is not possible to admit that, by the thought of the doctor who wanted to make believe in the existence of a toxic and give thieves the anguish of poisoning, there had been a kind of magnetization of the liquid at a distance, which would have acquired new properties, whose action would have been corroborated by the moral state of individuals whom fear had made impressionable? This theory would not destroy St. Louis's on the intervention of frivolous spirits in similar circumstances. We know that spirits act physically by physical means; they can therefore, in order to carry out certain designs, make use of those which they themselves provoke and which we inadvertently provide them with..”

Comment: Kardec is speaking in the following sense: through suggestion, Spirits can obtain physical results, through those who perform them. It is clear that, in order to act directly on matter, the existence of a medium with such capacities is necessary.

Doubts: Here, we raise a question: if we can saturate an object with our perispiritual fluid, by the action of our will, why can't a Spirit do it? Because the Spirit cannot act on matter directly, nor with his perispirit. He needs matter or an intermediary medium of physical effects.

Doubts: Could we explain the phenomenon, also, only by autosuggestion, not as an effect of the imagination, but as a patent effect of the individual himself on his perispirit? Yes we can, like the placebo effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uF6VAEmXPI

In this article, Kardec highlights that the Magnetism it was taught as a fact even within the Catholic Church.

“We have in our hands a booklet entitled Abrégé, en form de catéchisme, of the elementary course of Christian instruction, for use in catechism and in Christian schools.

In one of the chapters on the first commandment, where sins against religion are treated, and after having spoken of superstition, magic and sorcery, he says the following:

Q. ─ What is magnetism?

R. ─ It is a reciprocal influence that sometimes operates on individuals, according to a harmony of relationships., either by the will or by the imagination, or by the physical sensibility, and whose main phenomena are somnolence, sleep, somnambulism and the convulsive state.

"P. ─ What are the effects of magnetism?

“R. ─ Ordinarily, it is said, magnetism produces two main effects: 1st) A state of somnambulism, in which the magnetized person, completely deprived of the use of the senses, sees, hears, speaks and answers all the questions that are asked to him. directed; 2nd) An intelligence and wisdom that only exist in crisis: he knows his condition, the suitable remedies for his ailments, as well as what certain people, even distant, do.

Comment: We could add to this the magnetic interaction between individuals at will. A question of autonomy enters here, because, in this context, nothing happens with the individual without his will.

"P. ─ In good conscience, is it lawful to magnetize or allow oneself to be magnetized?

“R. ─ 1st) If, for the magnetic operation, means are used, or if effects are obtained by it that presuppose diabolic intervention, it will be a superstitious work and must never be allowed; 2) The same is true when magnetic communications are contrary to modesty; 3rd) Assuming care is taken to keep away from the practice of magnetism any abuse, any danger to faith or customs, any pact with the devil, it is doubtful whether he is allowed to have recourse to it as a natural and useful remedy.”

Despite the contradiction, it is a book intended for the religious education of the masses. Completes Kardec: “The author's qualification is of great importance here. It is not an obscure man who speaks or a simple priest who expresses his opinion: he is a vicar general who teaches.

Another setback and another warning to those who judge too hastily.”

Kardec opens the month of September 1858 with a long and deep digression – a real lesson on the DANGERS OF SPIRITISM. As at that time, today it is still said that mediumship can pose dangers to mediums and assistants. In a word, that contact with spirits can be dangerous. Will it be?

“[…] If we wanted to banish from Society everything that could pose danger and give rise to abuse, we would not know very much what would be left, even of those essential things, starting with fire, the cause of so many misfortunes; then the railways, &c. etc”. 

Kardec's Thought, RE 1858

This denotes that, yes, there are some dangers, but, taking the necessary precautions, if the advantages outweigh the inconveniences, then one should not outlaw such investigation.

Kardec continues, highlighting: 

“Actually, Spiritism presents a real danger, but it is not the one that is supposed. It is necessary to be initiated in the principles of Science to understand it well. We do not address those who are alien to it, but the adepts themselves, those who practice it, since it is for them that there is danger.”

Idem

Observation: Mediums and scholars. For example: Roustaing was fascinated by what he received through a medium.

See also the group study we did on the topic.

What does this danger consist of, anyway? It consists of the haste or the exaggerated enthusiasm of those who put themselves in contact with the Spirits, who often allow themselves to be influenced. Now, when they obtain any mediumistic phenomenon, how many are not amazed by it – and why do they sink?

Here, the big question is precisely with regard to the medium's knowledge: he could avoid many evils, including his morals. We already know that spirits are not special beings, but only human beings outside the flesh and that, therefore, as shown, they guard their vices and their virtues.

We also know that we are incessantly surrounded by a “cloud” of Spirits, of the most diverse classes and inclinations, the quasi connect to us as they become attached to our spiritual reality, in acting and in thinking, that is, to our deepest inclinations towards the passions or for the virtues.

Passion is a term that designates a very strong feeling of attraction to a person, object or topic. Passion is intense, enveloping, an enthusiasm or a strong desire for something. The term is also often applied to designate a lively interest or admiration for an ideal, cause, or activity. In the 19th century, psychology called passions what we now call emotions.

Due to the condition of our planet, we know that the inferior spirits are more abundant here than the superior ones. This should put us on alert, us, initiates in the Spiritist science, in relation to the Spirits that we attract to us.

We also know that imperfect spirits, when they find a breach in the human heart, can attach themselves to it and, if their moral ancestry – however inferior it may be – is accepted, it can reach the point of subdue, fascinate and obsess the incarnate.

Returning to the mediums, Kardec observes: 

"The cold man, on the contrary [from excited], is impassive. He is not deceived; it combines, weighs, examines maturely and does not allow itself to be seduced by subterfuges. This is what gives you strength. The malevolent spirits, who know this as well or better than we do, also know how to take advantage of the situation to subjugate those they wish to have under their dependence.”

idem

Let us remember the imposter spirit of Father Ambrósio, questioned by Kardec (July/1858):

“16. ─ Why don't you sustain the imposture in our presence? ─ Because my language is a touchstone, with which you cannot be deceived.”

Let's see, friends, that Kardec, here, is giving solid foundations for the formation and maintenance of spiritist research.

"Whether for enthusiasm, or for the fascination of the Spirits, or for self love, in general the psychographic medium is led to believe that the spirits that communicate with him are superior, and all the more, the more the spirits, seeing their propensity, do not cease to adorn themselves with pompous titles, according to the need”

“From blind and thoughtless belief in the superiority of spirits who communicate, to trust in their words, there is only one step, as it happens among men.” – And Kardec will give a very practical example of that.

Allan Kardec tells that a young man, educated, carefully educated, of a mild and benevolent character, but a little weak and indecisive, he became a psychographic medium with very quickly and became obsessed by a Spirit. This Spirit began to dictate to him true absurdities, which, as a result, almost led the boy to illness and madness:

"Subjugation had reached a point where he had been told to throw himself into the water or go to the antipodes. [other side of Earth], he would have done. When they wanted to force him to do something he disliked, was dragged by an invisible force.”

“When the creature managed to replace the devil with Jesus, it still does not possess the truth. to have it, it is necessary to believe. God does not give the truth to those who doubt: it would be to do something useless and God does nothing in vain. As most new mediums doubt what they say and write, good spirits, begrudgingly, by God's formal order, they are obliged to lie and have no choice but to lie until the medium is convinced; but as soon as he believes one of these lies, the high spirits rush to reveal to him the secrets of heaven: the whole truth dissipates in an instant that cloud of errors with which they had been forced to envelop their protege.

"At this point, the medium has nothing to fear anymore.. The good spirits will never leave you. However, he must not believe that he always has the truth and only the truth. Whether to try it out, or to punish it for past faults, or even to punish it for selfish or curious questions, the good spirits him inflict physical and moral corrections, come to torment him by the command of God.”

RE October, 1858 (quotes from the psychographs of the fascinated Spirit

The report that Kardec gives, obtained from the psychographies of these obsessing Spirits, through the boy, is even difficult to read, let alone to understand, such is the level of disparity of the ideas presented there. For its extension, we will abstract from the citation. It is worth highlighting Kardec's observation, only: 

"Note that in all this there is nothing coarse or banal. It is a series of sophistical reasonings linked together with the appearance of logic. There is indeed an infernal art in the means employed to deceive him, and if it had been possible for us to relate all these manifestations, one would have seen to what extent the cunning was carried and with what skill they used honeyed words.”

In the midst of all this struggle, however, Kardec highlights that it was easy to recognize another spirit, kind, who struggled to make himself ear. It was his father, who, at one point, wrote: "Yes, my son, courage! You undergo a harsh ordeal, which will be for your good in the future. Unfortunately, at the moment, I can't do anything to free you, and it costs me a lot. Go see Allan Kardec; listen to him and he will save you”

The boy, listening to the good advice, goes to look for Kardec, who starts what today we would call disobsession:

"I used all my willpower to call the good spirits through you; all my rhetoric to prove to him that he was a victim of detestable spirits; that what he wrote was senseless and profoundly immoral. For this charity work I joined a colleague, Mr. T… and little by little we got him to write sensible things. He took a dislike to that bad temper, repelling him willingly each time he tried to manifest himself, and slowly the good spirits triumphed.”

To change his ideas, he followed the advice of the Spirits, to give himself to a rough job, that did not leave him time to listen to bad suggestions.

• But disobsession it does not only aim at the incarnate, who can drive away bad Spirits at will, but it can positively affect the Spirit as well (and often does):

Dillois himself ended up confessing himself defeated and expressed a desire to progress in a new existence. He confessed the evil he had tried to do and gave evidence of repentance. The fight was long and painful and offered the observer really curious features. Today Mr. F. feels free and happy. It's as if you've dropped a burden. He regained his joy and thanks us for the service we have given him.

Kardec begins the conclusion of the article with a reflection: far from proving the danger of mediumship, cases like these show its utility. Now, the spirits are around us, with or without mediumship, and with or without it they can obsess us, if we allow. 

Mediumship only puts us in direct contact with them, which provides an important tool for the spirits themselves to reveal themselves and accuse themselves, allowing the medium or someone else to try to open their eyes – exactly as it happened with the boy.

Finally, mediumship is not what makes the communication of ideas from inferior spirits exclusive. Says Kardec: 

"Who says that among all these ridiculous or dangerous speculations there will not be some whose authors are driven by malevolent spirits? Three-quarters of our evil actions and our evil thoughts are the fruit of this hidden suggestion.”

"In short, the danger is not exactly in Spiritism, because it can, on the contrary, serve as a control[…]. The danger lies in the propensity of certain mediums to, very lightly, believe themselves to be instruments exclusive to superior spirits and in a kind of fascination that does not allow them to understand the nonsense of which they are interpreters. Even those who are not mediums can be dragged along.”

In closing, Kardec makes some remarks. Some we have already dealt with recently, regarding the language of the Spirits and the contradictions:

1st – Every medium must guard against the irresistible excitement that leads him to write incessantly and even at inopportune moments; he must be master of himself and not write unless he wants to;

2nd – We do not dominate superior spirits, not even those who, not being superior, are good and benevolent, but we can dominate and tame inferior spirits. He who is not master of himself cannot be master of the spirits;

3rd – There is no other criterion than common sense to discern the value of spirits. Any formula given for this purpose by the spirits themselves is absurd and cannot emanate from superior spirits;

4th – Spirits, like men, are judged by their language. Every expression, every thought, every concept, every moral or scientific theory that clashes with common sense or does not correspond to the idea that we have of a pure and elevated Spirit, emanates from a more or less inferior Spirit;

5th – Superior spirits always speak the same language with the same person and never contradict each other;

6th – Superior spirits are always good and benevolent. In their language we never find acrimony, arrogance, harshness, pride, boasting, or foolish presumption. They speak plainly, advise, and withdraw when they are not heard;

7th – We should not judge spirits by their material form or by the correctness of their language, but probe their depths, scrutinize their words, weigh them coldly, maturely and without prejudice. Any escape from common sense, reason and wisdom cannot leave any doubt as to its origin, whatever the name under which the Spirit is masked;

8th – Inferior spirits are afraid of those who analyze their words, they unmask their turpitude and do not allow themselves to be caught by their sophistry. Sometimes they try to resist, but they always end up running away, when they realize that they are the weakest;

9th – He who in everything acts with a view to the good, rises above human vanities, expels selfishness, pride, envy, jealousy and hatred from his heart, and forgives his enemies, putting this into practice. Christ's maxim: “Do to others what you want done to you”; he sympathizes with the good spirits, while the bad ones fear him and move away from him.

Let's study?

Check out the study groups that exist, dealing with the Spiritist Doctrine, in which we have learned A LOT. Click here.

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In this article, Kardec brings a letter from one of his subscribers, saying that, despite the medium Victorien Sardou say that, in Mozart's house drawing, only saw the treble clef repeated, and never the bass clef, this subscriber saw the existence of the bass clef, as well as the C clef, in minor details of the drawing, which went unnoticed by the eyes of Mr. Sardou.

According to Kardec, this is yet another point that demonstrates the good faith of this medium, who did not act deliberately and, in fact, demonstrated that he was oblivious to the drawings obtained through mediumship.

“All the parts are thus begun and simultaneously continued, without any one of them being completed before another begins. This results, at first sight, in an incoherent whole, whose end is only understandable when everything is finished.”

Kardec, RE 1858

And here we have an important aspect of the arts, including the Spiritists: morality, united to the beautiful, creating important mental connections.

We also highlight the pictorial mediumship. We leave here a video of mediums who for years made paintings in this way:

In this September 1858 edition of RE, Kardec presents the case of Louis G., a shoemaker officer, who seven or eight months earlier had committed suicide at the door of his girlfriend, Victorine R., who was a seamstress of boots.

Once, Victorine R. and Louis G, who were already engaged, got into a deep argument for a trivial reason, to the point that Louis got up and promised never to return.

The next day, from cold head, the boy went to apologize, but was unsuccessful: Victorine R. refused to reconcile, despite her despair. 

After a few more days, thinking that his beloved would be reasonable, Louis went to try again to apologize, to which he was again rejected. At his beloved's door, he said to her: "Then farewell, you wicked one!" finally exclaimed the poor boy, “Farewell forever! Find a husband who wants you as much as I do!” – and plunged his shoemaker's knife into his chest, exhaling right there.

This article on the history of Louis G and Victorine R. appeared in Siècle on April 7, 1858.

Seeking to obtain moral teachings about the fact, on August 10, 1858 Kardec evokes São Luís:

1. ─ Does the girl, the unintentional cause of her boyfriend's death, have responsibility? ─ Yes, because I didn't love him.

Comment: This answer causes initial strangeness. Is anyone to blame for not loving someone else? Let's understand.

2. To avoid this misfortune, should she marry him, even though she did not love him? ─ She was looking for an occasion to part with him; did at the beginning of his call what he would have done later.

Comment: Here, St. Louis is saying that, sooner or later, she would separate from him, because, we understand, she didn't really love him.

3. ─ So the guilt consists in having nourished in him feelings that he did not share and that were the cause of the boy's death? ─ Yes. That's it.

4. In this case, your responsibility must be proportionate to the fault, which must not be as great as if it had intentionally caused death. ─ This is obvious.

Comment: Her “guilt” wasn’t so great because she didn’t actually want the other person’s misfortune. He just fed something that caused him suffering.

Observation: Remembering that "guilt" here is not something before an external judge, but before your own conscience. After all, it can be assumed that, since that moment, she must have carried some feeling of guilt because of the misfortune that happened to the boy.

5. Did Louis G.'s suicide find justification in the frenzy into which Victorine's obstinacy plunged him? - Yes, because his suicide, provoked by love, is less criminal in the eyes of God than that of a man who wants to get rid of life out of cowardice.

Comment: Here, when we talk about “crime in the eyes of God”, we need to understand that it was a neologism of the time. The “crime” is to impose a waste of time, perhaps with a great accumulation of suffering, due to the unconquered test. It is also important to remember two aspects: the first is that St. Luís is a Spirit who was, in his life, Catholic. The second is that, even if he doesn't bring concepts from Catholicism, he spoke as they could understand him.

Observation: By saying that this suicide is less criminal in God's eyes, evidently means that there is criminality, although less. The fault consists in the weakness that he did not know how to overcome. It is undoubtedly proof that he succumbed. Now, the spirits teach us that the merit lies in fighting victoriously against trials of all kinds, which are the essence of earthly life.

Here we have two problems to discuss. The first is to reinforce the knowledge brought by Spiritism, which presents its conclusions, without the intention of creating fantasies that try to subjugate through fear. Suicide, seen by many as something that will throw the soul into hell - whatever name is given to it - and even cause it to be born with deformations in the next life, in reality has different effects, depending on each being and each individual. situation.

Secondly, in no way is Saint Louis saying that suicide for love is a good thing: it is only more excusable, before one's own conscience, because it is practically a state of madness, whereas one who kills himself to escape life he almost always does it on his own, and it will cause him greater suffering when he discovers the truth.

Days later, Kardec evokes the Spirit of Louis G., the suicide, asking him the following questions:

1. ─ What do you think of the action that you performed? ─ Victorine is ungrateful. I was wrong to kill myself for her, because she didn't deserve it.

2. ─ So she didn't love you? ─ No. At first she thought so, but she was deluded. The scene I made opened his eyes. Then he was happy with this excuse to get rid of me.

3. - And did you love her sincerely? ─ I had passion for her. I believe it was just that. If I had loved her with pure love, I wouldn't have wanted to hurt her.

4. ─ If she had known that you really wanted to kill yourself, would she have persisted in refusing? ─ I don't know. I don't think so, because she wasn't evil. However, it would have been unfortunate. It was better for her.

We see that this Spirit reached an important conclusion, seeing that it killed itself for a passion. He understands that if he really loved her, he wouldn't have wanted to hurt her, that is, he wouldn't have committed an act so terrible as to shock her feelings so much.

Passion is a term that designates a very strong feeling of attraction to a person, object or topic. Passion is intense, enveloping, an enthusiasm or a strong desire for something. The term is also often applied to designate a lively interest or admiration for an ideal, cause, or activity. In the 19th century, psychology called passions what we now call emotions.

Who knows, in a new incarnation, a spirit like the one who committed suicide, for having found this lucidity, instead of planning a life of suffering as a form of punishment, could not choose tests and opportunities precisely to give himself the chance to learn to get rid of the passions, which often cast us into disgrace? How many murders, by the way, take place not out of hatred or evil thoughts, but simply by passions (today calls emotions)?

Continuing with the account of the evocation of the suicidal Louis G.:

5. ─ When you arrived at your door, did you have any intention of killing you, if you were refused? ─ No. Didn't even think about it. I didn't think she was so obstinate. It was only when I saw your stubbornness that I was taken by a vertigo.

6. ─ It seems that you only regret suicide because Victorine didn't deserve it. Is it your only feeling? ─ Right now, yes. I still feel disturbed. It seems to me to be at your door. But I feel something I cannot define.

7. ─ Will you understand later? ─ Yes, when I'm free... What I did was bad. I should have left her alone… I was weak and I suffer the consequences… As you can see, passion drives man to blindness and to make absurd mistakes.. He only understands when it's too lates.

8. ─ You said that you suffer the consequences. What penalty do you suffer? ─ I made a mistake by shortening my life. I shouldn't have done it. It should resist instead of ending everything prematurely. […]

Comment: he doesn't say that he was being gnawed by worms, nor that he was in a hellish region, nor that he was attached to the body, anything like that. In the disturbed state in which he found himself, his mind became attached to the fateful scene, the origin of his present moral sufferings, and it was in this that his thought became trapped. Well, we ourselves do this incarnate, every day.

 Here we have confirmed the state of “madness”, driven by passions, into which this man entered, who killed himself in a thoughtless act. How many suicides of this kind are there? They would be numbered in the thousands, if something was publicized. Unfortunately it is not. These suffer, as the Spirit of Louis G. suffered, because they understood that the thoughtless act cost them time and imposed suffering on others. Hence to say that this will lead them to spend years dragging themselves in the "valley of suicides" or that they will bring physical changes to the new incarnation because of this guilt, there is a great distance.

If you think about it, he doesn't even want to kill himself. it was an act of rage at the time. And we think that we should pay a lot of attention to the teachings of this article, because it is a global problem in our current society. The number of suicides has increased a lot. We see here the how urgent is it tame our passions.

Note: This account by Louis G. appears in the Book Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec.((1)) Book Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec, Editora FEAL, 2021, second part, chapter. V, pg. 337, the subtitle: Louis and the Shoe Seamstress.

In this article, we are going to deal with a medal that one of the readers of Revista Espírita bought with interesting and enigmatic details. First of all, it is important to present what the cabalism and esotericism

THE Kabbalah or Kabbalah (in Hebrew: קַבָּלָה; romanize.: Kabbalah or Qabbalâ;^{[nt 1]} literalmente: “receber/tradição”) é um método esoteric, discipline and school of thought at the jewish mysticism.^[1] The traditional Kabbalists of Judaism are called Mekubalim (Hebrew: מְקוּבָלים) or Maskilim (   משכילים; “initiates“). 

already the esotericism is the generic name that highlights a set of traditions and philosophical interpretations of doctrines and religions – or even of Initiatic Fraternities – that seek to convey a list of certain subjects that concern aspects of the nature of life in an esoteric, that is, occult way. . Only a certain part of people can have the teachings.

we see that cabalism, esotericism, mysticism and occultism, todas “Ciencias Esotéricas”, se confundem, hoje, num grande caldeirão. Não significa dizer que não tenham anything for real: it happens that the sages they knew, in their own way, the truth about spirits and mediumship, but kept the knowledge within a restricted circle, leaving a mystical and fantastic face to the people. There were few initiates...

In this article, Kardec presents the history of that medal, the talisman, that his reader, Mr. M., bought in an antique shop, which was sold as a Luck charm…

Luck charm: object to which its bearer attributes the magical power to fulfill his wishes; object when used that can provide magical power and/or enchantment.

Interrogating Ms. J., a sleepwalking medium, it was said that this medal had belonged to cazotte and who owned the special power to attract Spirits and facilitate evocations.

Mr. Caudemberg, author of a series of communications that he says he received, as a medium, from the Virgin Mary, told him that it was an evil object, suitable for attracting demons. Miss de Guldenstube, medium, sister of Baron of Guldenstube, author of a work on pneumatography, or direct writing, told him that the medal had a magnetic virtue and could provoke somnambulism.

Not being satisfied, Mr. M. presented this medal, asking for a personal opinion about it, at the same time asking that a superior Spirit could speak about the reality of the influence of this object. Here are excerpts from Kardec's answer:

“Spirits are attracted or repelled by thought and not by material objects, which have no power over them. At all times, superior spirits have condemned the use of signs and cabalistic forms, and every spirit that attributes any virtue to them or that intends to give them talismans that denote magic, thus reveals their own inferiority, whether when they act in good faith. and through ignorance, carried away by ancient earthly prejudices, with which he is still imbued, either when he consciously enjoys credulity, as a mocking Spirit. […] Whoever has studied the nature of spirits will not be able to rationally admit the influence of conventional forms on them, nor of substances mixed in certain proportions. It would be to renew the practices of the witches' cauldron, of black cats, of black chickens and other secret machinations.”

Who uses the medal, the talisman, effectively, will have an uncontrollable, magical, fantastic force, external to our senses? Are they effective? Is it just mysticism? Or is it just a mental trigger to remind us that spirituality is all around us? There are several statements regarding these tools, which many, many religions and sects use.

So objects can't have any power? Kardec continues:

“The same is not the case with a magnetized object, since, as is known, they have the power to provoke somnambulism or certain nervous phenomena on the body. organic economy”.

Now, is there support in the power of talismans, crystals, etc?

“But then, the virtue of such an object resides solely in the fluid with which it is momentarily impregnated and which is thus transmitted, indirectly, and not in the form, in the color, nor, above all, in the signs with which it may be overloaded. ”

Here, we are specifically talking about the influence about the Spirit – inclusive o encarnado. Se falarmos sobre a matter, then we cannot rule out the interference that material objects specifics may have about it. 

The central point of this discussion is: the object itself, like a color, a sign or a plant, has no magnetic power (speaking of magnetism, which is what acts on the perispirit). However, when used, even in an esoteric way (as always happened) by someone with magnetic power, they gain, momentarily, a “charge” of magnetism. 

Now, since today we have access to knowledge about magnetism (Magnetism and Spiritism, by Carlos Bernardo Loureiro; Mesmer: The Denied Science of Magnetism, by PHF) wouldn't it be more interesting to study this science, in order to increase its usefulness, no longer being attached to mysticism, which often hinders the understanding of truths and their practical use?

In other words: hypnosis works because of a magnetic power (to explain) of the hypnotist, who is a magnetizer (even if he doesn't know it). This theme has often been confused with occultism and magic.

What hypnotizes, after all, is not the clock that swings, but the magnetism from which it he can be impregnated, or from the magnetism direct from the magnetizer.

And Kardec follows:

“A spirit may say: “Draw such a sign and by it I will know that you call me, and I will come.” But in this case the traced sign is the expression of thought; it is an evocation translated in a material way. Now, whatever the nature of spirits, they do not need such means of communication. Superior spirits never use them. Inferior spirits can do it in order to seduce gullible people who want under their dependence.

General rule: For superior spirits form is nothing. thought is everything. Every spirit that attaches more importance to the form than to the background is inferior, and does not deserve any trust, even when, from time to time, say some good things, because good things are sometimes a means of seduction.

Such was, in general, our thinking about talismans, as a means of entering into a relationship with the Spirits. Needless to say, it also applies to other superstitiously employed means, such as preservatives from illness and accidents.”

Once again, the focus is to put aside mysticism to understand, for the reason, the mechanics of magnetism and thought. And that is faith: Jesus practiced it all the time. He said, "if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would move mountains" and, let's see: who you see the spiritist science and the science of magnetism, has a faith unshakable, to the point that, by the time these sciences were established, even the tables were moving.

Kardec, then, to complement the studies, evokes the Spirit of Saint Louis, asking for observations about the talisman in question. He answers:

"You do well not to admit that material objects can have any power over manifestations, either to provoke them or to prevent them..

Very often we have said that the demonstrations are spontaneous and that, moreover, we never refuse to respond to your call. Why do you think that we are obliged to obey a thing made by creatures??”

Q. ─ For what purpose was this medal made? ─ It was made with the aim of drawing the attention of people who might believe it; but only by magnetizers could it have been made with the intention of magnetizing and putting a sensitive to sleep. The signs are mere fantasy.

Q. ─ They say it belonged to Cazotte. Could we invoke him to give us some information about it? ─ It's unnecessary. Occupy yourselves before more serious things.”