Other occultists, notably those of the Viennese school, hold that the beast manifestations are not forms or shapes assumed by evil spirits that have been mortal, but are, as it were, living evil thought-forms, and are the incarnation of dead and evil cults on which a great deal of human thought-energy had been expended during some time in the world’s history. Proof is not possible, and it is not yet the time to marshal the facts which would seem to indicate that a dead cultus can yet live on, supported, as it were, by the emotional sin of the present-day world, although the sin is divorced from its old ritual significance. This theory of the continuation of the sacrificial value of sin is of course one of the most serious aspects of the art of sorcery. Propitiation and symbolism are often linked up in a way that perplexes the most agile-witted student of the occult, and it may well be that certain seemingly innocent ritual acts have contributed their quota to the maintenance of life in certain forgotten cults--whose entities come suddenly into being again in a most alarming manner. To the occultist who thinks this matter out, the identity of beast materializations with incarnate prototypes of sin will probably be manifest. As it is, the essential quality of the evil that these entities typify and attempt to induce does not become apparent from a chance unsought materialization, but the medium who sees “animals” is suspect. Repeated evocations of these entities lead to disaster. The beast becomes an obsession and is to all intents and purposes the old “familiar” of the days of witchcraft. For reasons which are hinted at above, but which cannot be more fully expounded in a book of this nature, the beast materialization is a phenomenon which should be avoided at all costs. If such occurs at a séance, break off the sitting at once. If these phenomena appear to be connected with any particular medium, there are the gravest reasons for seeking another sensitive. Above all things, avoid people who claim that the spirits of pet animals have come back to them. The cynic may contend that it is folly to be afraid of the spirits of poor dumb animals and yet invite communication with the mortal dead. The occultist and the mystic who know something of the mysteries will, however, see the reasons. To-day, when thousands are interested in psychical matters, knowledge has been forgotten or trampled underfoot. The well-meaning, loud-voiced blind lead myriads to a new heaven, acclaiming hell vanquished because in their rapturous exultation over new discoveries of old things they have forgotten the absolute rule of balance. Positive and Negative, Good and Bad, Strong and Weak, Plus or Minus. There is balance in all things, and this sudden acclamation of the Unseen World as all good, all easy, and quite safe, is perfectly ridiculous.