W.Q. Judge on Astral Intoxication

William Quan Judge · Black versus White Magic Series · 9 pages

There is such a thing, Judge begins, as being intoxicated in the course of an unwise pursuit of what we erroneously imagine to be spirituality — and the essay is about that condition rather than about any practice. It was published in The Path in October 1887 and is one of his most frequently cited short pieces.

The remedy he proposes is borrowed rather than invented: the direction in the Christian Bible to prove all things and hold fast only to that which is good, which he thinks applies with particular force to the student of occultism who believes he has begun to make progress. The condition described is recognisable enough — an elation produced by early experiences on the astral plane, mistaken by the person having them for spiritual advance, and leading in practice to a self-regard that halts any further movement. Judge's tone throughout is that of someone who has watched it happen. Nine pages, and among the most practically useful things in the section.

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