THE GREAT SECRET By Carl Llewellyn Weschcke How many times has someone promised to reveal "the Great Secret" that will bring you Wealth, Health, Power and Love? Like many people, I am sure this has happened to you more than once. Well, did you get this Great Secret? Or, should I ask, did it bring you the Wealth, Health, Power and Love you wanted? I bet not, regardless of how much money you paid for that Great Secret. But, that doesn''t mean there isn''t a Great Secret that will enable you to obtain all the material things you want. A half-century ago, a little recognized American occultist named Ophiel told me that the greatest contribution from the eastern world to western esotericism was to be found in the Hindu Tantric practices involving the Tattwas. Later I learned that work with the Tattwas had been incorporated into the magical practices of the famous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn back in the late 1800''s. And then, in 1971, a brilliant Australian teacher, Dr. Jonn Mumford, taught me how to activate the Tattwas in my own mind. And why! That''s where the Great Secret starts - in your MIND. What are these Tattwas? The Tattwas are the fiveelements (not four, not 92, and not 110) that make up the foundations of our Material World in combination with the two fundamental ''forces'' of Consciousness and Energy. The Tattwas are the forms of Energy behind the manifestation of all Matter. Remember Einstein''s famous equation E=mc² where "E" stands for Energy and "m" stands for Matter? It demonstrates that every substance in the world is made up of these five elemental energies. Universal Mind, including our individual minds, is itself Energy and it is this energetic connection that enables youwith yourmind to access and work with these fundamental energies and forces behind all material manifestation. The Tattwas are represented in printed images that are then called Yantras. A Yantra is defined by Mumford as "a tool for focusing the mind, encouraging conception, and invoking or evoking elemental forces." (All quotations in this article are taken from his book, "Magical Tattwas" 1997 which is included with 25 Tattwa cards and one ritual card in a boxed set)  It is also important to more clearly describe the function of the Tattwa cards as "''information storage and retrieval devices'' of amazing potency. They are the primary building blocks from which all magical symbols, sigils, talismans, ciphers and designs are composed." "The Tattwa ''triggers'' the psychic layers of our mind through the compressed power of it''s geometrical shape, the primal colors vibrating forth, and the implied numerical concepts in each shape."          The Miracle of the One Thing Through Mind, everything is connected and it is by means of powerful symbols that your mind enters intothe five elements. Look at the following table: Element Tattwa Energy Type Manifest State Symbol Shape Color (Eastern) Chakras Location Earth Prithivi Mechanical Energy Congeal-ment Cube Square Yellow Muladhara Pelvic Floor Water Apas Chemical Energy Fluid Pre-cipitation Crescent Moon Crescent Silver Swadhis-thana Below Navel Fire Tejas Thermal Energy Incand-enscene Tetra-hedron Equilateral Triangle Red Manipura above Navel Air Vayu Electrical Energy Gaseous Vapors Sphere Circle Sky Blue Anahata Heart Ether (Spirit) Akasha Nuclear Energy Stellar Space Egg (Cosmic) Oval Indigo, Black, Violet Vishudda Throat It is by means of our mental image that we are able to relate to the elemental energy of the particular tattwa. Each image stirs up a host of associations intrinsic to their nature and human history. Earth: stability, security, beginnings and foundations. The Deep Unconscious, the Id. Also instigating or starting anything new, or anew. Water: childhood, oceans, mystery, recurring cycles, wishes, romance, and wonder. The Preconscious dream (astral) world, emotion and relationships. Also fertilizing, germination, irrigation, networking, organizing for cooperative work. Fire: fires, sex, blood, passion, danger, warmth, ambition, burning desire. Action driven by motivation. Also creativity, optimism, transformation and transmutation. Air: completeness, rings, wholeness, reincarnation, recurrence (but not recurring cycles). Unbridled Imagination. Also testing by nature''s elements, emotional reevaluations. Ether: birth/creation, fertility, eternity/infinity/immensity, Deity, space. Fresh insights leading to new growth and change. Also rapid growth. Earlier I mentioned 25 Tattwa Cards. The Tattwas are not manifest in the physical world in their full purity, but always in combinations. We refer to these combinations as one containing the "seed" of itself or another - thus 25 combinations. Eyes are the Doorway to the Soul Do you remember that poetic phrase so often used between lovers? It does contain truth, and 2,500 years ago the Samkhya masters employed the unique practice of Tratak to "burn" the image of the chosen Tattwa into your mind. Look at this image of the Tattwa for "Fire - seed of Air" which combines the elemental energies of Fire and Air. As you look, the colors almost turn three-dimensional. Now, to perform tratak you need to stareat the center of this image without blinking for as long as you can stand it. As you do so, the colors will start to "flash" around the edges and the image will almost float off the card. Now close your eyes and you will see an after image in complementary colors floating before your Third Eye. (Some people will have better results by staring at a white space instead of closing their eyes.) The more you do this work with each of the twenty-five compound images - reaching the point when you can see the after images at will - the more easily you will enter intothe elemental energies through your mind. To our knowledge, The Magical Tattwa Cards are the first time this natural physiologic process of ''flashing colors'' has been made available in printed cards. And it is also the first time that the Tattwa elements have been presented for use in divination/scrying, along with chakra stimulation, systematic daily meditations, Mind Magic to actually shape the future, the making of flashing talismans, and psychic stimulation for clairvoyance.More on this later. And, Now, THE REAL SECRET The real secret is that it takes work to train the mind to such new levels of awareness and ability to actually interact with the world of matter at the Quantum Level where change is possible. Here it is where you can actually shape "reality" - the physical world where we live and breath and where PRACTICAL MAGIC can be carried out. And that''s one of the points of this article - to make magic really work, effectively and efficiently, you start from within the mind at the appropriate energy levels. The same principle applies to the development of the ''psychic'' skills of divination and clairvoyance, astral travel, and balanced spiritual growth. The twenty-five Tattwa Cards provide the tools for a complete system for Self-Development in the most efficient and convenient method I''ve discovered in 65 years of study.The accompanying book not only details the applications in magical and spiritual work but outlines a simple program of daily meditation to quickly and naturally develop your magical and psychic skills. Outward manifestation and INNER POWER I have emphasized the practical applications of magic and divination for two reasons: 1.In this material world, we need all the help we can get to live a good life. These skills will enable you to multiplyall your own aptitudes, training and education for outer (material) world success. 2.Successful outer world manifestations are a measure of the success of your mental training, and it is here that your attainment of real Inner Power becomes part of your life-long journey to wholeness. Some "teachers" advocate giving up material things to focus only on selfless ''spiritual'' goals. Often these same teachers recommend that you donate your material wealth to them to carry on their work. Sometimes you will see them living in fine mansions and being driven about in expensive cars. Why is their work different than your own?I believe that turning your back upon the material world is to ignore the gift of Life and the essence of the "Plan" for the continual growth and evolution of each person and of humanity as a whole. We are caretakers of this planet and need both knowledge and skills to work within natural principles to fulfil