“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Resume at 10:00. Jane’s voice, as Seth, was a little different from usual. More controlled, perhaps, not quite as jovial or as much at ease.)

(10:11.) While I was not literate, I was shrewd and lively of mind. Special bells, I discovered, were used by various sects of Jews, both within Rome and without. While I was a Roman and a citizen, my citizenship meant little except for providing me with minimal safety as I went about my daily way, and in my business I encountered as many Jews as Romans. I was not too far above them socially. (This was Seth’s first bit of humor in the chapter.)

The Romans had no clear idea of the number of Jews in Rome at that time. They went by guesswork. The bells on donkeys belonging to the Zealots had upon them the symbol of an eye (Jane, as Seth, pointed to one of her eyes). They came secretly into town, hiding as much from other Jews as from Romans. They were good bargainers and often did me out of more than I deserved to lose.

(“Can you spell that?” Seth did so, and it turned out that our versions agreed.

(It can be seen from the above paragraphs that Seth shifts his physical location from Rome to Judaea without saying just how or when he did so. I wanted to know more about the mechanics of the transfer but decided not to interrupt further just now.)

(Seth first referred to his incarnation as a minor Pope in Jane’s ESP class session for May 15, 1971. Some eighteen people were present. The session was recorded, so the quotes that follow are verbatim. Seth was in a high, if somewhat ribald, mood:

(At this writing we do not know which pope Seth referred to. When I came to type up this session I wondered if Seth-Jane’s mention of the third century might be an error. [If so, I hadn’t been quick enough to catch it; I could have asked about it at once.] Since Seth gave A.D. 300 in the class session for last May, I personally think it more likely that his papal incarnation followed this date, taking place in the fourth century. The fourth century encompasses the years A.D. 301 to 400, since our modern computation of time is based upon the assumed date of the birth of Christ. The Encyclopaedia Britannica lists eleven popes and two antipopes between A.D. 296 and 401. Some of the reigns were very brief, some of the dates of tenure uncertain or estimated.

(Of course we would like to learn more about the incarnation in question. As Seth has already indicated, there is a wealth of information here waiting to be acquired. This brings up a dilemma Jane has confronted often: what to investigate out of the many possibilities available at any given time; then, the choice made, how to find the time to carry out the study.)

The times and names and dates are not nearly as important as the experiences, and they are too numerous to list here. However, I will see to it at some time that these are made fully available. Some have been given in Ruburt’s class sessions, and some, though few, have appeared in The Seth Material itself.

(Now she smelled something very rancid. “Seth has some kind of soap with his wares — some awful mixture with lye and rosewater,” she said, unbelieving, her nose wrinkling. “This was in some kind of woven sack; a double one like you’d throw over a horse…. I can almost see it in front of me. I could draw the shape of it, though it’s not any big deal.

(“I don’t know what to do now, about continuing,” she said after we’d talked briefly. “I know what Seth’s got planned, but I don’t know how he’s going to go about it.

(“He’s going to let Seth Two come through.”

(Seth Two is dealt with at length in Chapter Seventeen of Jane’s book The Seth Material. This personality speaks occasionally in ESP class, but relatively seldom in our private sessions. In the outline Seth gave for this book before dictation began, we were told that Seth Two would be explained. Some of our questions for Chapter Twenty had concerned Seth Two also. I’d forgotten both points for the moment — hence my surprise.

(But now, at 11:40, Jane didn’t know whether to end the session, as I’d suggested earlier, or continue. She finally decided to “just sit quietly for a minute.” Then: “I don’t know whether to shut it down or not — it could go on for another hour….” I told her I was game if she was. Seth resumed at 11:45.)

(Pause at 11:51. I now watched a transformation begin to take place in Jane, as our familiar Seth retreated and Seth Two began to come to the fore. At the same time I knew that subjectively Jane was experiencing the feeling of a “cone” or “pyramid” coming down over the top of her head. Jane has often told me that whereas she feels Seth come to her in a very warm and alive and friendly manner, she feels her consciousness going out of herself to meet Seth Two — “up the invisible pyramid like a draft up a flue.” She doesn’t know where she goes or how she gets back. Her body seems to be left behind.

(Jane’s eyes were closed, but occasionally they opened slightly. She smiled faintly as she spoke for Seth Two. The voice that began to issue from her was very high, very distant and formal, with little volume or emphasis. Each word was carefully and deliberately, almost delicately, spoken. It was as though Seth Two wasn’t familiar with vocal chords or words, and so took pains to use those mechanisms in just the right way. The contrast between the two Seths couldn’t have been more complete.)

Seth is a point in my reference, in our reference. He is an ancient portion of us. (Pause.) We are separate but united. (Long pause.) Always the spirit forms the flesh.

(12:06 A.M. This was the end of the session. As usual when Seth Two speaks, the end was unannounced, and came without any of the warmth and emotional exchange that often involves Seth, Jane, and me.