Theosophy, Besant and Leadbeater
Music-forms
The final section of Thought-Forms describes music as producing forms and colours perceptible to developed senses. Besant and Leadbeater connect the appearance with the composition, instrument and quality of performance. Three plates use the same church organ setting to compare the shapes attributed to contrasting music.
Also known as Forms Built by Music · Sound-forms
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In the sources
An impression left by sound
ReportedThe authors assert that sound produces form as well as colour and that each piece leaves an impression lasting some time. They attribute perception of it to senses beyond the physical ones.
Instrument and performance shape the result
ReportedThe authors say the instrument and player's execution affect the size and texture of the form. Their three examples are presented as music played on the same fine church organ, with a church shown for comparison.
Context & interpretation
These are the book's reported clairvoyant interpretations, not independent measurements of sound or photographs of structures over a church. The entry does not equate them with ordinary acoustic patterns or with every experience of seeing colours while hearing music. The artworks reproduce the book's proposed correspondences.
Original passages
Source 1
Thought-Forms
sound produces form as well as colourOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Forms Built by Music, printed p. 75
Read directly from the active prepared scan; line breaks and spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0021-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0021-E001-P0059
- Original scan leaf
- 58
- Recorded leaf number
- 59
- Current Reader position
- 59
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
- Location review
- Original scan location confirmed against the reviewed Reader mapping; the earlier recorded number is retained above.
Source 2
Thought-Forms
the kind of instrument upon which the music is performedOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Forms Built by Music, printed pp. 76–77
Read directly from the active prepared scan; line breaks and spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0021-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0021-E001-P0060
- Original scan leaf
- 59
- Recorded leaf number
- 60
- Current Reader position
- 60
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
- Location review
- Original scan location confirmed against the reviewed Reader mapping; the earlier recorded number is retained above.
