“Atlantis is under the feet, marked number ten, with our beloved trident, and the cross and circle of love,” exclaimed the younger man with enthusiasm. As Akaza replaced the horoscope, he said: “We have been studying three triads, represented by our fellows. The upper one is thyself, Kerœcia and myself; the second, is Orondo, Ildiko and Setos; while the third is Rahula, Alcamayn and Atlantis. Dost thou understand the meaning of Azoth?” “I fear to affirm knowledge of this, lest it have a hidden significance which is unknown to me.” “Azoth is the space between the luminaries and the earth. Heat and light vibrate from the sun, but it must function through the photosphere of the earth before it is visible to us. Dost thou know that between the earth’s photosphere and the sun it is dark?” “It appears to our eyesight as dark,” was the cautious answer. Akaza smiled. “Well then, know that this nonluminous medium (astral light) preserves the imprint of things visible, and the aspect of the daily heavens is reflected there. It is in this substance that the mother’s fancy or cravings are transmitted and impressed upon the unborn child. “The various atmospheric influences are conveyed through the same medium. By the fact of birth a child enters into universal harmony of the sidereal system. A net-work of light extends from sphere to sphere and there is no point on any planet or star to which one of these indestructible threads is not attached.[7] “Men bear the seal of their planets on their foreheads, and especially on their hands; animals, in their entire shape and characteristics; plants, in their leaves and in their seeds; minerals, in their veins and peculiarities of fractures. “Infancy is dedicated to the sun; childhood, to the moon; the age of puberty, to Mercury; youth, to Mars and Venus; mature years, to Jupiter; and old age, to Saturn.” The head of man is shaped on the model of the starry spheres. It attracts and repels. It is this which is first formed, and appears in the gestation of the infant. The head is affected in an absolute manner by astral influences, and its diverse protuberances bear witness to the variety of these attractions. “‘All the misery of the world is written in the northern sky,’” quoted Yermah, from a familiar saying. “But how fascinating is Nature’s book, with its golden letters! It was a poetic mind truly which gave us the science of astrology by tracing the lines from one star to another with his mind’s eye.” “Shooting-stars are like the soul of desire and the Divine-self separated from our bodies. They always seek the center to recover equilibrium and motion. The soul, corresponding to the folds of Azoth (astral light) which surrounds and imprisons these meteors, must be disentangled, in order that the spirit may escape from the impurities still clinging to it. This is the _magnum opus_, or completed labor.”