In the intervening years to the modern era, reams of occult literature and multiple systems of thinking have emerged regarding the possibility of achieving communion with the “higher planes.” Of course, this is one of the main promises of supernatural power that Rosicrucian Order AMORC offers to its intrepid recruits.

“From a Rosicrucian viewpoint, psychic projection designates the faculty that allows projection out of the physical body in such a way as to place oneself in consciousness on a plane transcending that of matter. When we read esoteric accounts devoted to the life and work of initiates of the past, we note that most of them mastered this faculty perfectly and they used it for definite ends”

However, much of our current understanding of astral projection is based on the somewhat dubious work of a renowned 19^th century psychic by the name of Madame Blavatsky; a woman once described as “one of most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting impostors in history.”

As co-founder of New York’s much patronized Theosophical Society, Blavatsky was seen as a foremost authority on matters of the occult. While many of Blavatsky’s claims don’t hold up to closer scrutiny, a few details in her elaborate back-story certainly seem to hold true.

1. Blavatsky was certainly well-travelled and well read; she displayed a good knowledge of various cultures and religious traditions from Tibet, India and Egypt.
2. While Blavatsky’s elevated spiritual abilities were certainly up for question, it seems definite that she possessed a rare charisma and force of personality which inspired the sort of intense devotion that many cults are built upon.

According to Blavatsky, all religions shared a common foundation, grounded in ancient esoteric doctrines which she herself had learned of through her extensive journeys. It’s a claim that may not sound completely unfamiliar to followers of Rosicrucian Order AMORC.

That familiarity only becomes more pronounced when we examine Blavatsky’s teachings in further detail. According to the Madame, popular occult sciences of the time which included mesmerism and hypnotism would become extremely dangerous if they weren’t conducted with a full knowledge of divine symbols and teachings, provided by Blavatsky herself.

Read the following quote from Blavatsky:

Hypnotism, now become so common and a subject of serious scientific inquiry, is a good instance in point. Hypnotic power has been discovered almost by accident, the way to it having been prepared by mesmerism; and now an able hypnotizer can do almost anything with it, from forcing a man, unconsciously to himself, to play the fool, to making him commit a crime — often by proxy for the hypnotizer, and for the benefit of the latter. Is not this a terrible power if left in the hands of unscrupulous persons?

 Now compare it to the grave note of caution sounded in this monograph.

“Such techniques can be dangerous, for they induce experiences that verge on a self-hypnosis which is impossible to control. This means that if the subject really achieves psychic projection during these experiences, he or she feels completely bewildered, becomes frightened, and sustains an emotional shock which may have negative consequences for his or her mental balance.

As practiced by the Rosicrucians, psychic projection involves no danger whatsoever and may be approached without the slightest hesitation.”

It’s a wonder that none of the Rosicrucian monographs make mention of Blavatsky as part of the society’s long, storied lineage of mystic enquiry.