ODIC-MAGNETIC LETTERS,
by
Baron Reichenbach
Translated from the German
by
John S. Hittell.
New York
Published by Calvin Blanchard
1860
Contents
| page | |
|---|---|
| Translator's Introduction | |
| Do you believe in Ghosts? | 5 |
| Are you a Spiritist? | 6 |
| Were you ever Mesmerized? | 6 |
| These Things not all a Humbug | 8 |
| Necessity of an Explanatory Theory | 9 |
| Newton Studying Chemistry | 9 |
| The Student of Od compared to Newton | 11 |
| Biographical Sketch of Reichenbach | 12 |
| Reichenbach as Author and Scientific Investigator | 15 |
| The Assailants of Od | 15 |
| Reichenbach's Sensitives | 16 |
| Author's Preface | 17 |
| LETTER I. — Sensitive Persons. | |
| Yellow-Haters and Blue-Lovers | 19 |
| Dislike for Mirors | 20 |
| Other Singularities | 21 |
| Connection between those Singularities | 22 |
| LETTER II. — Experiments with Crystals. | |
| You have found a Sensitive? | 24 |
| The Sensitive feels a breath from a Quartz Crystal? | 24 |
| The Sensitive sees a Light from Quartz Crystal | 25 |
| These Phenomena not caused by Heat or Electricity | 27 |
| LETTER III. — The Od of Light. | |
| Sunlight is Cold to the Sensitive | 28 |
| Connection Between the Odic Sensations of Touch and Light | 29 |
| Od Discovered by the Taste | 30 |
| Od in Moonlight | 31 |
| LETTER IV. —Magnetism. | |
| Why these Letters are called Odic-Magnetic | 32 |
| Magnets are Luminous in the Dark | 33 |
| Distinctions between Od and Magnetism | 35 |
| LETTER V. —Animal. | |
| Animals and Plants visible in the Dark | 36 |
| The Odic Light of Men | 37 |
| The Right and Left Odic Sensations of Touch | 38 |
| LETTER VI. —Man as a Producer of Od. | |
| The Odic Sensations of Touch Continued | 39 |
| Why the Post of Honor is at the Right | 41 |
| LETTER VII. —Mesmerism. | |
| Mesmerism, the Therapeutic Application of Od | 42 |
| Experiment with Magnetic Passes | 43 |
| The Value of Od as a Therapeutic Agent | 44 |
| LETTER VIII. — Chemical Action. | |
| The name Animal Magnetism Discarded | 46 |
| The Od of Effervescing and Fermenting Fluids | 47 |
| The Od from Decomposing Corpses | 49 |
| LETTER IX. — Od Developed by Sound and Friction. | |
| Experiments with Glasses and Bells | 51 |
| Experiments with Friction | 52 |
| Sourcier, the famous Water-Finder | 54 |
| LETTER X. — The Od of Heat and Electricity. | |
| The Sensitive gets cold before a Fire | 54 |
| Experiments with Electricity | 55 |
| The Odic Lights and Colors of Metals | 57 |
| Od Pervades the whole Universe | 58 |
| LETTER XI. — Common Odic Influences. | |
| Disagreeable Effects of Mirrors and Pewter Spoons | 59 |
| The Theory of Treasure-Seekers | 60 |
| Importance of Od in Mining | 61 |
| Sensitiveness Susceptible of Cultivation | 62 |
| LETTER XII. — The Discharge and Transfer of Od. | |
| Dischargibility of Od | 62 |
| Od discharged with the Breath | 64 |
| Conductibility of Od | 66 |
| LETTER XIII. — Odic Dualism. | |
| Dual Opposition throughout Nature | 67 |
| The Od-Chemical Order | 67 |
| Odic Polarity of Various Substances | 69 |
| The Odic Polarity of Magnetism, Light Friction, &c, &c | 69 |
| The Odic Polarity of the Animal Frame | 70 |
| The Od-polar Opposition of the two Sexes | 71 |
| LETTER XIV. — Odic Light and its Spectrum. | |
| An Odic Rainbow | 72 |
| Experiments with the Light from a Magnet | 73 |
| Experiments with a Terrel | 75 |
| LETTER XV. — Terrestrial Od. | |
| Od and the Cardinal Points | 76 |
| Why People sleep on their Right Sides | 77 |
| The Odic Polarity of Man Lengthwise | 78 |
| The Cause of Swooning in Church | 79 |
| The Position of Furniture | 80 |
| LETTER XVI. — Conduction, Radiation, and Conclusion. | |
| The Speed of Odic Conduction | 81 |
| Etymology of Od | 84 |
| Had Nature but given us Sense for Od | 84 |
| Supplementary Remarks by the Translator | 85 |
The Author
Baron Karl von Reichenbach (1788-1869)
Return to Od Research index.