Sources
Thought-Forms
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Thought-Forms, by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, published by the Theosophical Publishing Society in 1901, is the primary Theosophical text that coined the term thought-form and presented illustrated claims of forms supposedly generated by human emotion and thought, claims made through the authors' own clairvoyant investigation rather than any testable method. Its historical importance and its influence on later esoteric and New Age visual vocabulary are well documented. It is cited here for that coinage and for what the Theosophical tradition itself claimed, not as evidence that thought-forms as described actually exist, a claim with no independent scientific support.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier3
Thought-Forms, by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, published by the Theosophical Publishing Society in 1901, the lower tier reflecting that its illustrated claims of forms generated by human emotion and thought rest on the authors' own clairvoyant investigation rather than any testable method, with no independent scientific support, notwithstanding its well documented historical importance and influence on later esoteric and New Age visual vocabulary, cited for that coinage and claim rather than as evidence thought-forms exist. NotesTheosophical source of the term thought-form; cited for the coinage, not the claim.
Citation
AuthorAnnie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater
PublisherTheosophical Publishing Society
Publication Year1901
Source TypeBook (practitioner)
Claims Backed By This Source (12 claims)
This source backs 12 claims across the atlas. As facts: 8 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 3 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Historical Figures, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
- Disciplines, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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