A Textbook of Theosophy (c. 1912) - C.W. Leadbeater

A Textbook of Theosophy — C. W. Leadbeater

First published 1912 · This historical edition: 1918

What if our thoughts created invisible forms, the dead remained close to the living, and the universe contained worlds that interpenetrated our own?

Written by Charles Webster Leadbeater, a leading figure in the early Theosophical movement, A Textbook of Theosophy is a vivid introduction to one of the most influential esoteric philosophies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Originally published in 1912, this scanned 1918 third-edition copy explores a universe of astral bodies, spiritual hierarchies, reincarnation, karma and hidden planes of existence.

Leadbeater presents Theosophy as an attempt to uncover the spiritual principles he believed lay behind the world's religions. He describes the human being not simply as a physical body possessing a soul, but as an enduring consciousness working through multiple subtle bodies—and moving between them in sleep, death and successive incarnations.

Inside the book

• Invisible worlds: the seven planes of nature, described as different grades of matter existing together in the same space.
• The astral body and human aura: the claim that emotions manifest as colours, while thoughts can create forms and influence their surroundings.
• Sleep and dreams: Leadbeater's account of consciousness leaving the physical body to travel in the astral world.
• Death and the afterlife: the successive shedding of physical, astral and mental bodies, and the author's explanation of séances, apparitions and alleged spirit communications.
• Reincarnation and karma: how the soul supposedly develops through repeated earthly lives and the consequences of action.
• Spiritual teachers and hidden hierarchies: the Masters of Wisdom, the Great Brotherhood of Adepts and the author's recollections of Helena P. Blavatsky.
• The formation of the solar system: a speculative occult cosmology of primordial matter, planetary chains and waves of evolving life.
• Human and planetary evolution: the extraordinary Theosophical account of the Moon's former role and the influence of advanced beings associated with Venus.

Part philosophical handbook, part record of Edwardian occult belief, this volume offers a fascinating window into the ideas that shaped modern Western esotericism, alternative spirituality and popular conceptions of the aura and astral projection.

About this historical digital edition

This is a 164-page scanned PDF facsimile of the 1918 edition, published by the Theosophical Publishing House, American Branch, Krotona, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The scan retains the original title and edition pages, chapter headings, period typography and historical library markings. The printed page numbering differs from the PDF page count.

Historical context: Leadbeater's descriptions of clairvoyance, subtle bodies, spiritual beings, reincarnation and the structure of the universe represent his Theosophical beliefs and claims, not scientifically verified observations. The work also reflects period-specific assumptions about human evolution and cultures that should be read critically.

Hearthwise Historical Library · Digital historical facsimile
Author: C. W. Leadbeater (Charles Webster Leadbeater)
First publication: 1912
Edition supplied: Third edition, 1918
Publisher: Theosophical Publishing House, American Branch
Format: Downloadable scanned PDF · 164 pages · English