During 1858, Ermance Dufaux received some autobiographies mediumistic. Among them, the authors were the French kings Louis XI and Charles VIII. Allan Kardec praised the work of Ms. Dufaux and transcribed excerpts from the “Confessions of Louis XI” in the Spiritist Magazine. That same year, Kardec released three messages psychographed by the young sensitive.

This communication specifically doesn't seem to have much relevance to us at this point. They are historical facts, used to evidence the authenticity of the communicating Spirit. We emphasize that Louis XI no it is São Luís, the Spirit who always communicated as one of the “mentors” of Kardec's studies.

In addition to them, she received a mediumistic autobiography from Joan of Arc, already mentioned in the edition of January 1858 RE

For those who want to know more about Ms. Ermance Dufaux, Click here

In this article, Kardec demonstrates the usefulness of evoking Spirits of all kinds, from Spirits with a serious and constructive intention to those who committed heinous crimes, because “to know the customs of a people, it is necessary to study it in all its forms”. scale degrees”.

Therefore, there is always an impasse, because superior spirits have a lot to teach, but our distance from them is quite large. The more “bourgeois” spirits, that is, spirits like us, more common, still stuck to everyday concerns, present many important teachings, for making us able to see ourselves in their own actions and their effects. All of them show us the practical application of the great and sublime truths, whose theory the superior spirits teach us.

Another advantage of some evocations is to verify the identity of the Spirits in a more precise way. When a Spirit presents itself under a great name from the past, it is only possible to believe in words and judge its content on what is known. If the content meets the necessary criteria, we judge it a superior spirit, and that's enough. The name doesn't really matter.

However, when a spirit of lesser evolution presents itself and gives details that prove its identity, we will have, there, great examples that are very “palatable”: “it is the romance of the customs of the spiritist life without fiction”.

We also discussed our personal experiences regarding evocations of family and friends.

Particularly, we always have to be very careful about the content of the communicating Spirit, because he may not be who he says who he is. Some communications bring some comfort to us.

Next, 3 evocations of 3 different Spirits: the first is the Lemaire assassin (about a month after dismeat); The Queen of Oude (about a month after dismeat) and Dr. Xavier (Evocation after many months after disincarnation).

The Doctor. Xavier was a doctor of great talent and who had been very busy with magnetism, on which he had left a manuscript that he supposed would revolutionize Science. Before I died I read The Book of Spirits and wanted a contact with Allan Kardec, which he was unable to do. Months after his death, his evocation took place, at the request of the family, which was carried out in the presence of Kardec. He took care to exclude, in this publication, the questions and answers of a private nature.

After summoning, Dr. Xavier answered questions about the Spirit Doctrine, about the beginning of life, about the union of the Spirit to the new body, as well as the disunity of the Spirit at the end of the corporeal life.

Dr. Xavier said that the Spiritist Doctrine is a great work, and its worst enemy is religions, the beliefs of men. (Author's N.: So current... We can see that not much has changed since then... )

When Dr. Xaier was asked about the body retaining organic life for a few moments after separation from the soul, he said that the body feels what caused it to die only for a few moments.

At the time of separation, he said:

Question. 21 – How does the separation between the soul and the body occur at the time of the body’s death?

Reply. Doctor – Like a fluid that escapes from any vessel. 

Question. 22 – Is there a really clear line of demarcation between life and death?

ans. Dr. — These two states touch and confuse each other; in this way, the Spirit gradually detaches itself from its bonds; he unravels them, he does not break them.

Question. 23 – Does this detachment of the soul operate more readily in some than in others?

ans. Dr. – Yes: in those who in life have already risen above matter, because, then, their soul belongs more to the world of Spirits than to the terrestrial world.

Question. 23 – At what point does the union between the soul and the body occur in children?

Reply. Doctor – When the child breathes; as if it received the soul with the outside air.

RE March 1858, Dr. Xavier

Observation (Allan Kardec) – This opinion is a consequence of Catholic dogma. In fact, the Church teaches that the soul cannot be saved except by baptism; Now, as natural intrauterine death is very frequent, what would that soul become, deprived, according to her, of this only means of salvation, if it had existed in the body before birth? To be consistent, baptism would have to be performed, if not actually, then at least intentionally, from the moment of conception.

Our observation – The theory given by this Spirit about the moment of union between the soul and the body is not absolutely exact. The union begins from conception, that is, from the moment when the Spirit, without being incarnated, connects to the body by a fluidic bond, which is increasingly tightened until the moment the child sees the light. . The incarnation is only completed when the child breathes.

Follow the conversation with the Spirit of Dr. Xavier about intrauterine life, about spontaneous and induced abortion, about how the Spirit happens in these situations, in short, about the union of soul and body. This complete and very well explained understanding is in the Book of Spirits, by Allan Kardec, cap VII – From the return of the Spirit to Corporal Life, Union of the soul and the Body, from questions 344 to 360.

In addition to the passages cited from the Spirits' Book, we suggest consulting O Céu e o Inferno, Allan Kardec, Part Two: Examples, Chapter I. The Passage, Publisher Feal where there is an extensive explanation of what we discussed in the LIVE

The Queen of Oude has been summoned. She was an Indian Queen (her name was Malika Kishwar) who had visited England. On his return trip to India, he fell ill and died in Paris, in 1858. More details here queen of oude From now on, we'll call it Queen.

The queen appeared very disturbed, finding it difficult to understand what was happening to her. From their conversation, we could see their arrogance and pride. Several questions were asked about her opinion of her earthly life, the condition of women, the life of Indians, about Muhammad, God, Jesus, but she said that she was too powerful to be occupied with God.

She said that she missed life, that she hoped her subjects would come to serve her. She said more than once that she was always queen, even in other lifetimes. She was extremely arrogant.

The queen, in addition to being disturbed, seemed quite annoyed with the questions, which was questioned. She said she was forced to come:

question 22 ─ Why did you respond so quickly to our appeal?

ans. Queen: - I didn't want to do it, but they forced me. Do you think that I would deign to answer you? Who are you by my side?

Question. 23 – And who forced you to come?

Reply. Queen: – I don't know myself... since there shouldn't be anyone greater than me.

The Queen of Oude, RE March/1858

The conversation ended as soon as the Espírito de Sao Luis intervened:

question 32 ─ We only ask you to be kind enough to answer two or three more questions.

Reply. Saint Louis – ─ Leave her, poor misguided! Have mercy on your blindness. May she serve as an example to you! You do not know how much their pride suffers.

We thought we would find in this Spirit, if not philosophy, at least a truer feeling for reality and healthier ideas about earthly vanities and grandeur. Far from it, earthly ideas retained all their strength in her: it is pride, which loses nothing of its illusions.

This evocation description is also found in the book Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec, Second part, chap. VII – hardened spirits.

In this article, Kardec reports the case of a murderer named Lemaire. He was invoked after his execution on December 31, 1857 in Paris.

Lemaire was a young man of 23 – 24 years old. He was arrested several times for theft followed by murders more than once. Escaped from prison, was held back again. He was feared by society. here you go article in french about your life.

When invoked by Kardec, through Ms. Raquel, immediately spoke up for questions. In his words, there was a clear regret for his actions. Besides, he was embarrassed.

Lemaire said he found his victims he murdered and felt remorse. His moral pain was unbearable,

– Do they have hatred and a desire for revenge?

– Do not. Your prayers draw to me the atonement. You cannot appreciate what a horrible torture it is all due to the one who is hated.

In RE, Assassin Lemaire, question 20.

He added, through responses from his summoners, the following:

 ─ How do you plan to rescue crimes?

─ By further evidence, but it seems to me that Eternity is between me and them.

question 32

He was very upset, which must have made them want to be able to give some kind of comfort to the Spirit of Lemaire.

This evocation is also described in the book Heaven and hell by Allan Kardec, Second Part, chap. VI – Repentant criminals.

In this article, very connected to the previous one, Kardec, referring to the Spiritist Scale, makes some other conjectures about what a planet could be inhabited by Spirits of the ninth (tenth) class, the immense difficulties, the general state of crime, horror, of physical and moral suffering.

Then, he conjectures a planet inhabited by Spirits all of the third order – impure, frivolous, pseudo-wise and neutral spirits. There, evil would still dominate, although less and less present as those Spirits moved away from the ninth (tenth) class. Pride, selfishness, passions, enslavement and various other moral imperfections would still dominate there.

IN SUCH A SOCIETY, IF IT DOMINATES, THE IMPURE ELEMENT WILL CRUSH THE OTHER; OTHERWISE, THE LESS EVIL WILL SEEK TO DESTROY THEIR ADVERSARY; IN ANY CASE THERE WILL BE A FIGHT, A BLOODY FIGHT, OF EXTERMINATION, BECAUSE THEY ARE TWO ELEMENTS THAT HAVE OPPOSITE INTERESTS. TO PROTECT GOODS AND PEOPLE, LAWS WILL BE NECESSARY, BUT THESE WILL BE DICITED BY PERSONAL INTEREST AND NOT JUSTICE; WILL BE MADE BY THE STRONG, TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE WEAK

Next, Kardec invites us to imagine, in the midst of these Spirits, some of the second order: we would see, then, amidst the perversities, some virtues.

IF THE GOOD ARE A MINORITY, THEY WILL BE VICTIMS OF THE BAD; HOWEVER, AS ITS PREDOMINIUM RISES, LEGISLATION BECOME MORE HUMAN, MORE EQUITABLE AND CHRISTIAN CHARITY IS NO LONGER A DEAD LETTER FOR EVERYONE. FROM THAT SAME GOOD ANOTHER ADDICTION WILL BE BORN. DESPITE THE WAR WHICH THE BAD INCESSANTLY DECLARE TO THE GOOD, THEY CANNOT AVOID esteeming them in their intimate forum. SEEING THE ASCENDANT OF VIRTUE OVER ADDICTION AND NOT HAVING THE STRENGTH OR WILLING TO PRACTICE IT, THEY SEEK TO PARODIATE IT AND TAKE THE MASK OF IT. WHEN THE HYPOCRITES, SO NUMEROUS IN ALL SOCIETY WHERE CIVILIZATION IS STILL IMPERFECT.

After all, Kardec arrives, through imagination, to a whole world inhabited by spirits of the second order, to where, by simple reading, we would like to transport ourselves at this exact moment. Absolute equality does not reign there, since the second order still encompasses Spirits of various degrees of development. However, this inequality does not generate envy of the less advanced nor pride of the most advanced: everyone would be united in the purpose of learning and elevation.

THE CONSEQUENCES WE DRAW FROM THIS FRAMEWORK, ALTHOUGH HYPOTHETICALLY PRESENTED, ARE NO LESS RATIONAL, AND EVERYONE CAN DEDUCT THE SOCIAL STATE OF ANY WORLD, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROPORTION OF THE MORAL ELEMENTS OF WHICH WE SUPPOSE IT TO COMPOSE.

WE HAVE SEEN THAT, WITHOUT THE REVELATION OF THE SPIRITS, ALL PROBABILITIES ARE FOR THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. NOW, IT IS NO LESS RATIONAL TO THINK THAT NOT EVERYONE IS IN THE SAME DEGREE OF PERFECTION AND THAT, FOR THIS VERY REASON, OUR ASSUMPTIONS CAN PERFECTLY BE THE EXPRESSION OF REALITY.

We see, through this exercise, in which spiritual moment the Earth is and in which it has already found itself. Based on this thought and on the Spiritist Scale, we see which evils we still need to root out of our individualities in order to advance to better positions.

About some neighboring planets, Kardec informs that, according to the Spirits, Mars would be an even more backward planet than Earth, where would incarnate Spirits almost exclusively of the ninth (tenth) class. But, since we didn't find anything on Mars other than dust, should we imagine that the Spirits deceived Kardec? Why, no! just that this incarnation it must take place in a fluidic state, outside of our senses.

Follows Allan Kardec commenting on some teachings about other planets, the most interesting being those that talk about Jupiter, which would be a planet of much higher spiritual elevation than ours. There, according to the reports of the Spirits, only Spirits of the second order would incarnate. These spirits portray wonderful cities.

Will we one day land a probe there and see a civilization that is perceptible to our senses and devices? Maybe yes maybe no. Maybe one day we'll land there and find an icy, desert planet, how can we find some way of life. We don't know and, if the first case occurs, we can also assume that such cities and civilization are also constituted in ethereal matter, as we already know that even in the surroundings of our planet this fact occurs.

Anyway, they are conjectures of a past time that, although valid in many ways, maybe one day – when the methodological studies of the Spirits' communications can be resumed – revisited and complemented or corrected.

The science of Kardec's time is something quite different from what it is today. Many scientific advances were made and, while Kardec could only imagine what the neighboring planets and even the moon would be like, today we have visited the last celestial body several times, we have already landed at least 3 autonomous vehicles on Mars and, a little while ago, we made it reach the orbit of Mercury the first human probe. Huge revolution, compared to a time when you could only think through a telescope.

We started like this in order to place ourselves in Kardec's time, which is essential to understand his conjectures about nearby astral bodies. It is also very important to note that there are two distinct parts in the Spiritist Doctrine in this regard: human knowledge and conjectures and the knowledge taught by Spirits, in the way that man could understand at that time.

On the human side, Kardec, in this article, makes several conjectures about what other worlds would be like, based on what human science at that time had already been able to observe. It creates hypotheses, quite plausible for the knowledge of the time, about the atmospheric formations of these distant orbs, conjecturing, then, about the possible forms of life that could exist there, including those not detectable by our five senses, that is, those that could be in much more subtle states of matter.

But the intention of this article by Kardec is not only to make philosophical conjectures about life, seen in a scientific way, outside the Earth: it is also to make the reader reflect on the divine greatness, which does nothing by chance and that, also in this sense , would not have made planets just for our enjoyment. In fact, Kardec makes this approach based on the teachings of the Spirits, as we can see in The Spirits' Book:

55. ARE ALL THE GLOBS THAT MOVE IN SPACE inhabited?

“YES AND EARTHLY MAN IS FAR FROM BEING, AS YOU SUPPOSE, FIRST IN INTELLIGENCE, IN KINDNESS AND IN PERFECTION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE MEN WHO HAVE VERY STRONG SPIRITS AND WHO IMAGINE THE PRIVILEGE OF CONTAINING RATIONAL BEINGS TO BELONG TO THIS LITTLE GLOBE. PRIDE AND VANITY! THEY JUDGE THAT GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE ONLY FOR THEM.”

[…]

57. IF THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLDS IS NOT ONE FOR ALL, WILL THE BEINGS THAT inhabit them have different ORGANIZATIONS?

“NO DOUBT, IN THE SAME WAY THAT FISH ARE MADE TO LIVE IN WATER AND BIRDS IN THE AIR.”

Scientifically, at that time, it was already possible to verify that the Moon had no atmosphere, that Mercury would be very hot and that Saturn would be very cold. How, then, could there be life in these orbs? About this, we have two hypotheses, adopted by Allan Kardec:

1. The beings that live there, if they have a physical constitution of the same density as ours, could be adapted to these places, as on Earth there are living beings that survive extreme cold and heat or even chemical compounds that would kill us in a short time, as well as there are animals adapted to live their entire lives in water and others only on land.
2. The beings that live there are made up of ethereal matter, more subtle than our matter and, therefore, they live in conditions that are totally adverse to ours. About this, also in The Spirits' Book, there is an indication:

58. WILL THE WORLD FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN BE DEPRIVED OF LIGHT AND HEAT, BECAUSE THAT ASTRO IS SHOWN TO THEM WITH ONLY THE APPEARANCE OF A STAR?

“THEN DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE NO SOURCES OF LIGHT AND HEAT OTHER THAN THE SUN, AND IN NO WAY DO YOU THINK OF ELECTRICITY, WHICH, IN CERTAIN WORLDS, PLAYS A ROLE THAT YOU KNOW AND MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT HAS TO PLAY ON EARTH? FURTHERMORE, WE DO NOT SAY THAT ALL BEINGS ARE MADE OF THE SAME MATTER AS YOU OTHERS AND WITH ORGANS OF IDENTICAL CONFORMATION TO YOURS.”

What Kardec does in this article is, in possession of information obtained by human science and spirit science, reason, together with the reader, about the very natural possibility of there being life, in some way, in all existing orbs in space, and even in space, that is, in “empty” space. There is nothing wrong with this thinking.

However, we can think: “We have already arrived at the Moon and Mars and we have not found anything of what he imagined. Kardec, therefore, was wrong”. Now, by the second hypothesis, no, he was not wrong. There may exist beings in an ethereal state, as among us the Spirits live, walk and interact, through their perispirits, without us even noticing them (except when we have mediumistic faculties for such). Furthermore, we must remember that Kardec never claimed to be the owner of the ultimate truth: he only reasoned based on what science provided him.

It may be that one day we land on a nearby planet and there we find new forms of life, sensitive to our senses, or it may be that all the nearby planets are empty of biological life, perhaps even by divine wisdom that, who knows, understands that man it would only find reasons for wars if it found other living beings on nearby planets. Now, you see, it's just me guessing.

Mr. Paul Auguez was a great French poet and intellectual of his time, as well as one of the first defenders of Spiritism, having met Kardec through the release of his first work as such – The Book of Spirits.

Mr. Paul Auguez responds in a dignified, serious, profound and rational way to the attacks suffered, which is why Allan Kardec defends him in the Spiritist Magazine of February 1858.

By numerous citations that attest to serious study and profound erudition, he proves that if today's adherents, despite their ever-increasing numbers, and the enlightened people of all countries connected with them, are, as the illustrious scholar claims, , unbalanced brains, such a disease is common to them with that of most geniuses who honor humanity.

Allan Kardec, [RE], 1858

It is important to emphasize that Spiritism is not a theory taken from a person's head, but it is a science whose theory is supported by the logical observation of facts. It is from this observation, rational, logical and serious, that the theory arises, and not the other way around.

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo says:

Spiritism serves, mainly, those who, for having a rational thought incompatible with mysticism, want to understand the laws of spirituality through the use of reason. Also to those who, educated by the catechism in the churches in their first formation, are disillusioned by the dogmas, accepted by blind faith, which demand submission. The Spiritist Doctrine is a theory organized by fundamental concepts that form an irreproachable logical structure, explaining the phenomena of moral life through natural laws. Those who study it deeply, and understand its original message, find strength in difficult moments, courage to face their own misfortunes, have hope for the future and gain the certainty of a better world, where they will find their place.

Figueiredo, Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, 2019

And he adds: “A theory based on facts is the very definition of science, because it represents what differentiates it from other ways of thinking, such as conjecture or religious faith.”

Mr. Home was a well-known personality at the time of Kardec. A powerful physical medium, Kardec attests to his moral integrity, his seriousness and his introspection in dealing with the subject. As for his fortune, there is no criticism, as it is something that only concerns him.

It is easy to see, by reading the article, that the departure of Mr. Home did not happen by chance, but by superior planning. Having ended up there for health reasons, he presented the "fatal blow" against the doubt that existed regarding spiritist manifestations - something very similar to what, years before, took place in the United States, as Ernesto Bozzano reports in " Spiritism and the Supernormal Manifestations”. Quoting Kardec,

France, still in doubt about the spiritist manifestations, needed a great blow to be dealt; it was Mr. Home who had this mission and the louder the blow, the greater its repercussion. The position, the credit, the enlightenment of those who welcomed him and who were convinced by the evidence of the facts, shook the convictions of many people, even among those who were eyewitnesses.

After commenting on some facts in the life of Mr. Home, evidencing the various indications that denote his seriousness and honesty, Kardec talks about the mediumship genre of this gentleman, very similar to those obtained by Jonathan Koons, as reported by Bozzano in the aforementioned work:

Mr. Home is a medium of the kind that produces ostensible manifestations, without excluding intelligent communications, but his natural predispositions give him a very special aptitude for the former. Under its influence the strangest noises are heard; the air stirs; solid bodies move, rise, transport themselves from one side to the other, through space; musical instruments produce melodious sounds; beings from the extracorporeal world appear who speak, write and sometimes hug us until they produce pain. He himself often found himself, in the presence of eyewitnesses, elevated, without support, several meters high.

Home's faculty does not exclude contact with Good Spirits. However, through the action of inferior spirits, he becomes a tool for the dissemination of Spiritism, a very valuable task, but not without dangers and tribulations, which he carried out with great resignation and perseverance.

The faculty of Mr. Home is innate and has manifested itself since his first months of life, when his crib rocked on its own and changed places. “In his early years he was so weak that he could barely sustain himself; sitting on the rug, when he couldn't reach the toys, they came within reach”. Kardec reiterates Home's nature:

If Mr. Home were, as those who judge without seeing claim, only a skillful juggler, he would, without the slightest doubt, always have magic ready in his bag. However, he is not the master of producing them at will. It would be impossible for him to give regular sessions, for often, at the exact moment when he needed his faculty, it might fail. Sometimes, phenomena manifest spontaneously, at the moment when least expected, while at other times it is not possible to provoke them, which is an unfavorable circumstance for those who want to make exhibitions by appointment.

Finally, Allan Kardec ends by mentioning an event that took place behind closed doors, spontaneously and without the various possible witnesses, other than his servant and a friend, a fact that demonstrates, in Kardec's eyes, that Mr. Home was not looking for a fuss and had no reason to deceive just two people.

These are the states of the Spirit, which can be incarnated, that is, connected to a physical body, or in a wandering or erratic state, that is, in the interval between one incarnation and another.

To err, in this context, means “to be without the right direction”. It is clear that the Spirit has a course, traced by God, but, as he does not know this course from his imperfection, he only experiences the learning of improvement, he is said to err or that he is in a state of erraticity while he is free from matter, but waiting for a new incarnation.

Pure Spirits, of course, do not fit into this classification, as they no longer need to reincarnate, since they have, theoretically, covered the entire evolutionary scale.