Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

Written under the pseudonym Swami Panchadasi (one of William Walker Atkinson's many pen names), this 1916 manual presents a systematic course in psychic development — clairvoyance in space and time, telepathy, psychometry, astral projection and crystal gazing — framed within a Hindu-flavoured metaphysics about the "Astral Senses" that lie dormant in every person. Each of the twenty lessons pairs theoretical exposition with practical exercises pitched at the autodidact reader of the New Thought boom.

Atkinson's method is characteristic of early-twentieth-century American occult publishing: accessible, earnest, and confident in its taxonomy of the paranormal. The book draws on Theosophy and the psychology of suggestion while keeping its language free of Sanskrit jargon. Within the Atkinson scholarship pioneered by Philip Deslippe, the Panchadasi books are recognised as part of the same prolific output that produced the Yogi Ramacharaka and Three Initiates titles. Academic historians of Western occultism treat the work as a primary source for the period's syncretism of Theosophy, hypnotism, and mental science.

Each one of the physical senses of man has its astral counterpart.

Lesson I, "The Astral Senses"

First lines

In preparing this series of lessons for students of Western lands, I have been compelled to proceed along lines exactly opposite to those which I would have chosen had these lessons been for students in India. This because of the diametrically opposite mental attitudes of the students of these two several lands.

Contents

Reception

A staple of early-twentieth-century American occult publishing and one of Atkinson's most-circulated pseudonymous works; reissued continuously by Yogi Publication Society and, in the post-copyright era, by dozens of print-on-demand publishers. Within the Atkinson scholarship pioneered by Philip Deslippe, the Panchadasi books are recognised as part of the same prolific output that produced the Yogi Ramacharaka and Three Initiates titles. Academic study of Western occultism (Wouter Hanegraaff) treats the work as a primary source for the period's syncretism of Theosophy, hypnotism, and mental science. Modern parapsychologists view its experimental claims as anecdotal rather than evidential, but its influence on later magical-training curricula is direct.

Frequently asked

What is Clairvoyance and Occult Powers about?

Written under the pseudonym Swami Panchadasi, it is a twenty-lesson manual in psychic development covering clairvoyance in space and time, telepathy, psychometry, astral projection, and crystal gazing. Each lesson pairs theoretical exposition with practical exercises framed within a Hindu-influenced metaphysics about the "Astral Senses" latent in every person.

Who is Swami Panchadasi?

Swami Panchadasi was a pen name of William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932), an American attorney, publisher, and New Thought pioneer. Atkinson published over 100 books under several pseudonyms including Yogi Ramacharaka and Theron Q. Dumont; his authorship of the Panchadasi titles was established by scholar Philip Deslippe.

How does the book fit into the history of Western occultism?

It is a primary source for the early-twentieth-century American occult publishing boom, blending Theosophy, hypnotism, and mental science for a mass readership. Academic historians of Western occultism, notably Wouter Hanegraaff, treat it as a key example of that era's syncretism. It remains in print and continues to influence magical training curricula.