The Book of Spirits II in comparison with Kardec

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A methodological and doctrinal analysis in the light of Allan Kardec

Suzi Mariah's work presents itself as a continuation of The Spirits' Book. The problem, however, lies not only in the use of this title. By claiming to complement Allan Kardec's fundamental work, the book consequently claims a connection to the body of knowledge that Kardec called spiritist science.

This point is crucial. Spiritism, in Kardec's view, is not simply a set of beliefs about the survival of the soul, reincarnation, or mediumship. It is constituted from the study of phenomena produced by Spirits, comparative observation, critical examination of communications, and the attempt to separate the established fact from hypothesis, personal opinion, and mystification.

Therefore, a proposition does not become Spiritist simply because it has been attributed to a Spirit or received through a medium. Nor does it become part of Spiritist science because it seems plausible, comforting, or clothed in spiritual language. It is necessary to distinguish between mediumistic communication, an explanatory hypothesis, and knowledge that has withstood scrutiny.

It is precisely in this distinction that The Spirits' Book II encounters its greatest difficulty. The volume not only introduces ideas absent from Kardec: in several points it modifies central principles already integrated into the doctrinal structure and, at the same time, does not present the investigative path capable of justifying these changes.

Editorial note. In the references to The Genesis and Heaven and Hell, only the first French editions, published during Allan Kardec's lifetime, were considered. No posthumous editions of these two titles support this analysis.

The promise of continuity

The title The Spirits' Book II is not neutral. It places the work under the direct shadow of the book that inaugurated the codification and invites the reader to understand it as a sequel. The preface itself reinforces this expectation by stating that the new volume never contradicts Allan Kardec and that its purpose is one of "aggregation and complement.".

“"The work in this book was done through a single medium […] and by more than 300 professionals and practitioners from various fields […] Never contradicting the experiences, but as a way of aggregation and complementation."”

The Spirits' Book II, preface, p. 9

The question, therefore, is not whether the book contains spiritual ideas, uplifting messages, or interesting accounts. The correct question is: can its propositions be presented as a continuation of knowledge obtained through investigative methods?

There are moral convergences in the volume, such as the defense of charity, responsibility, and the survival of the soul. These should be acknowledged. But general moral affinity does not eliminate divergences about the nature of the Spirit, the mechanism of progress, life after death, the classification of phenomena, and the practice of mediumship.

Before doctrine, there is a problem of method.

There is a recurring tendency in the Spiritist movement to reduce any controversy to the question "Did Kardec say this or not?". This criterion is insufficient. Spiritist science cannot be reduced to a catalog of Allan Kardec's phrases.

Kardec did not intend to establish his personal authority as a criterion of truth. He sought to establish a method of investigating a certain order of phenomena. Therefore, a later discovery may expand, correct, or even modify a previous conclusion. If new, well-documented facts require revision, rejecting them simply because Kardec was unaware of them would be contrary to the very spirit of investigation.

But the inverse consequence is equally important: it is not enough for something to be new to constitute scientific progress. A mediumistic communication does not acquire authority simply because of its allegedly spiritual origin. Mediumship provides the phenomenon and the material for investigation; it does not automatically provide the truth.

Kardec observed that Spirits exhibit different degrees of knowledge and morality, can be mistaken, reproduce personal opinions, contradict themselves, and even attempt to deceive. The existence of the mediumistic phenomenon, therefore, does not resolve the question of the reliability of its content. On the contrary, it creates the need for controls.

Hence the importance of comparison, repetition, independence of sources, rational examination, coherence, and confrontation with known facts. Spiritist science is born precisely from the transition from the raw phenomenon to the critical analysis of the phenomenon.

In this context, the mention of "more than 300 professionals and practitioners from various fields" could be the beginning of an investigation, but it is not a demonstration. For this number to have methodological value, it would be necessary to know how the work was carried out: whether the same questions were independently submitted to different mediums; how divergent responses were recorded; what procedures limited reciprocal influence; what criteria allowed communications to be accepted or rejected; and what documents would allow third parties to examine the process.

Furthermore, what kind of professionals are these? Apometrists? Quantum therapists? Past life regression practitioners? Ufologists? I suspect so.

The book does not provide this information sufficiently. The problem, therefore, is not quantitative, but methodological. Three hundred people do not equate to three hundred independent confirmations; and three hundred opinions do not, in themselves, constitute scientific experience.

Reincarnation is no longer a law.

“"Is reincarnation a rule? Not a mandatory rule. It's one possibility among the tools available for evolution."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 449, p. 184

This is not simply a change of vocabulary. In The Spirits' Book, incarnation is presented as a necessary condition for the development of Spirits. Question 132 states that God imposes incarnation upon them in order to bring them to perfection. Questions 166 to 170 integrate successive existences into the regular mechanism of progress. Question 330 relates reincarnation to the necessity of spiritual life, and question 333 excludes the indefinite permanence of the Spirit in a stationary state.

The scientific question, however, goes beyond the opposition between two phrases. If reincarnation is merely an optional tool, it would be necessary to present facts that demonstrate another regular mechanism by which Spirits achieve perfection without going through the bodily existences necessary for their development.

What observations show this? Under what conditions does it occur? How does this model explain intellectual and moral inequalities? How does it relate to reparation, learning, and responsibility? The new book does not offer a series of observations capable of answering these questions. It replaces the previous explanation, but does not present the set of facts necessary to justify this replacement.

Metempsychosis is admitted.

“"Given that it's the possibility of reincarnation into another species, yes, it is possible."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 456, p. 186

“"Does that mean she exists? Yes, exactly."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 458, p. 186

Kardec's response to the same thesis is direct. In question 612 of The Spirits' Book, it is asked whether the Spirit that animated a man could incarnate in an animal. The answer is negative: that would be regression, and the Spirit does not regress. Question 611 had already distinguished metempsychosis from the doctrine of successive existences.

However, a science is not obliged to eternally maintain a conclusion. If unequivocal facts were observed demonstrating that human Spirits effectively return to animal organisms, the question should be reopened. The point is precisely this: The Spirits' Book II does not present such facts. It simply answers that metempsychosis exists.

This turns what should be the subject of investigation into a premature conclusion. Question 530 expands the problem by stating that animals can reincarnate as humans. In Kardec's view, the passage from the intelligent principle to humanity is treated as elaboration and transformation, not as a common reincarnation of an individualized animal into a human person.

Spiritual individuality can disappear.

“The spirit can choose for its field to dissolve as an identity, ceasing to exist as “one” […] It is like a drop returning to the sea.”

The Spirits' Book II, question 462, p. 187

“The spirit ceases to be a conscious unit and returns to the Whole […] it remains integrated into Universal Consciousness, but without individuality.”

The Spirits' Book II, question 464, p. 188

This is one of the most profound contrasts. In question 83 of The Spirits' Book, Kardec asks if Spirits have an end. The answer affirms that their existence does not end. Question 149 adds that the soul retains its individuality after death.

The idea that human beings are "particles" or "pieces" detached from God and that, at the end of the evolutionary process or after death, they would "return to God" dissolving into Divinity is an ancient philosophical concept (associated with Pantheism and to the Absorptionism) what it was profoundly and explicitly refuted by Allan Kardec in the Spiritist Codification.:

What does it matter to us to have a soul, if, when our life ends, it disappears into immensity, like drops of water in the ocean? Is the loss of our individuality not equivalent, for us, to nothingness?

Kardec, Allan. The Spirits' Book, question 148.

In Heaven and Hell, he firmly contrasts this with:

There is another doctrine that denies being materialistic because it admits the existence of an intelligent principle, outside of matter, which is the doctrine of absorption into the Universal Whole. According to this doctrine, each individual absorbs within themselves, at birth, a portion of this principle, which is their soul and which gives them life, intelligence, and feeling. When they die, this soul returns to its point of origin, being lost in infinity, like a drop of water in the ocean.

This doctrine is undoubtedly a step forward from pure materialism, since it admits something beyond matter, while the other admits nothing, but the consequences of both are the same. For man, being immersed in nothingness or in a common reservoir is the same thing. If, in the first case, he is annihilated, in the second he loses his individuality and it is as if he did not exist, and his social relations will be equally extinguished forever.

For man, the essential thing is the preservation of his self, without which it doesn't matter whether he exists or not! The future, for him, is equally null, and the present is the only thing that matters and concerns him. From the point of view of moral consequences, this doctrine is equally harmful, equally despairing, inciting selfishness as much as materialism itself.

Kardec, Allan. Heaven and Hell – Mundo Maior Publishing House (corresponding to the 1st edition)

And she adds:

Each individual, being a part of the whole, is himself God. No superior and independent being commands the whole; the Universe is an immense republic without a leader, or rather, where each one is a leader with absolute power.

To this system we can raise numerous objections, the main ones being these: Divinity, since it cannot be conceived without the infinity of perfections, leads us to ask how a perfect whole can be formed of such imperfect parts and have the need to progress? Each part being subject to the law of progress, it follows that God himself must progress; if He progresses incessantly, He must have been, at the origin of time, very imperfect.

How could an imperfect being, formed of such divergent wills and ideas, conceive of such harmonious, admirable laws of unity, wisdom, and foresight that govern the Universe? If all souls are portions of Divinity, all contributed to the laws of nature; how then can it be that they ceaselessly murmur against these laws, which are their own creations?

A theory cannot be accepted as true unless it satisfies reason and accounts for all the facts it encompasses. If a single fact disproves it, it is because it does not contain absolute truth.

Idem.

It's easy to see that if someone called upon Suzi to carry out a work that destroyed fundamental points of morality produced by spiritist science, that someone was not the Spirit of Allan Kardec.

Physical resurrection returns as a possibility.

“"And in the material world? It's as possible as reincarnation."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 471, p. 189

“"The spirit can reconstruct or materialize a body based on an original cell […] using immense energetic force and supermatter."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 472, p. 190

Kardec dedicates question 1010 of The Spirits' Book to the resurrection of the flesh. His conclusion is explicit: the reconstitution of the same body is materially impossible because its elements disperse and go on to compose other organisms. Resurrection is interpreted as a figure of reincarnation, not as the definitive return of the recomposed corpse.

Indeed, science demonstrates the impossibility of resurrection, according to popular belief. If the remains of the human body were preserved homogeneous, even if scattered and reduced to dust, it would still be conceivable that they could reunite at some point. However, things do not happen that way.

[…]

Rationally, therefore, one cannot admit the resurrection of the flesh except as a symbolic figure of the phenomenon of reincarnation. And, therefore, there is nothing else that deviates from reason, that contradicts the data of science.

Kardec, Allan. The Book of Spirits.

The new book takes the opposite approach: it recovers the literal resurrection through an “original cell,” energy, and “supermatter.” These terms, however, are not accompanied by operational definitions, reproducible observations, or verifiable facts that would allow for their examination. Technical language does not replace demonstration.

Angels created in a superior condition and reversible purity.

“"There are beings who were created at higher levels of consciousness, constituted by their own energy matrix, which does not follow the same evolutionary path as others."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 643, p. 244

In questions 115, 128, and 129 of The Spirits' Book, the answer is different. All Spirits are created simple and ignorant; angels are pure Spirits who have reached the highest degree after traversing the other degrees. They do not form a privileged creation.

The problem worsens when the new book admits that Spirits of Jesus's scale could once again be affected by the pleasures and illusions of dense worlds, bringing back "fragments of ego." Kardec defines pure Spirits by their complete moral superiority and states, in question 118, that they do not regress.

If a work intends to revise this conclusion, it needs to present verifiable cases of regression of pure Spirits and demonstrate how their identification was established. Without this, the assertion remains a particular hypothesis.

The second death of the perispirit

“"In the second death, disembodied beings also lose their perispirit."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 441, p. 180

Kardec describes the perispirit as the semi-material envelope that accompanies the Spirit and is made up of the fluid proper to each world. It purifies itself and can become extremely ethereal, but this does not equate to the formulation of a second universal death.

Question 93 of The Spirits' Book and chapters XI and XIV of the first French edition of The Genesis treat the perispirit as a functional element in the relationship between Spirit and matter. Profound transformations of this envelope can be investigated; what cannot be done, without demonstration, is to transform its abandonment into an obligatory stage and then present it as a natural extension of the Kardecian model.

Mediumship becomes a service that can be charged for.

“All work involves some kind of exchange […] The act of charging, in itself, is not the central point.”

The Spirits' Book II, question 942, p. 342

“"Applicable to any form of mediumship, including spirit possession [...] The central point is not the fee itself, but the ethics, the intention, and the destination of the money received."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 943, p. 342

The contrast with The Gospel According to Spiritism is direct. In chapter XXVI, items 7 to 10, Kardec distinguishes between the remuneration of human work and the sale of a faculty that does not belong to the medium and depends on the will of the Spirits. His conclusion is unequivocal: serious mediumship cannot become a profession.

The difference is not merely moralistic. There is a methodological problem. The greater the material interest linked to the event, the greater the need to control fraud, staging, self-suggestion, convenient selection of results, and economic dependence on public belief. In this sense, free access also serves as protection for the investigation against conflicts of interest.

Kardecian terms take on new meanings.

“"Pneumatographs – Writing without conscious control; a deeper form of the same phenomenon."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 949, p. 347

In The Book of Mediums, item 146, pneumatography means direct writing produced by the Spirit without an intermediary. Writing done by the medium's hand is psychography, whether mechanical, semi-mechanical, or intuitive.

Terminological precision is not merely an attachment to words. In science, terms serve to separate phenomena according to their mode of production. If the same name comes to designate different mechanisms, distinct observations are grouped as if they were equivalent, and historical comparison becomes imprecise.

The list of 33 types of mediums presented in the new volume also includes constellation therapists and apometrists. This may describe contemporary practices, but it does not automatically authorize presenting them as a continuation of Kardec's experimental classification.

Feeling at peace is not enough to verify communication.

“"How to feel safe? When communication doesn't cause bad, dense, or negative feelings."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 650, p. 246

“"Observe what the message evokes within you."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 653, p. 247

Here a divergence appears that is not only doctrinal, but epistemological. The criterion for verification shifts from analyzing the message itself to the sensation it produces in the receiver.

False communication can be comforting. A mistaken message can perfectly match the expectations of the recipient. A deceptive spirit can use elevated language. And true information can be unpleasant or contradict previous beliefs.

Therefore, in The Book of Mediums, Kardec insists on language, logic, demonstrated knowledge, coherence, purpose, the characteristics of the communicator, and the comparison between manifestations. The subjective criterion favors precisely what a method of investigation needs to reduce: the confirmation of one's own expectations.

A hypothesis doesn't become fact because it's mediumistic.

“Some seek raw materials and natural resources; others conduct genetic research and testing […] There are also those who seek to exploit the planet.”

The Spirits' Book II, question 606, p. 229

“"Universal decoder devices exist."”

The Spirits' Book II, question 661, p. 250

The plurality of inhabited worlds belongs to the Spiritist doctrine. It does not automatically imply abductions, extraterrestrial genetic experiments, infiltrators, exploitation of terrestrial resources, spiritual spaceships, or decoding devices.

Each statement carries its own probative weight. Admitting the existence of other inhabited worlds does not demonstrate that a particular extraterrestrial species visits Earth. Recognizing the action of Spirits on matter does not automatically demonstrate any technology attributed to the invisible world.

These ideas can be formulated as hypotheses. The problem begins when they are presented as known facts without any explanation of the observations that would allow them to be established.

In Spiritist science, the mediumistic origin of information is not equivalent to its confirmation. The very existence of ignorant, mistaken, or mystifying Spirits makes this distinction indispensable.

What would be necessary to modify a conclusion of spiritist science?

This is perhaps the central point of the entire debate. Science advances when new facts force us to modify previous explanations. No conclusion established by Kardec should be treated as untouchable simply because it was published in the 19th century. However, a revision requires method and evidence proportional to what is being revised.

Generality and agreement in teaching — this is the essential character of the Spiritist doctrine, the very condition of its existence, from which it follows that any principle that has not received the consecration of the control of generality cannot be considered as an integral part of this same doctrine, but as a mere isolated opinion, for which Spiritism cannot assume responsibility.

This unanimous collective opinion of the Spirits, moreover subjected to the criterion of logic, constitutes the strength of the Spiritist doctrine and ensures its perpetuity. For it to be altered, it would be necessary for the universality of the Spirits to change their opinion and for them to one day say the opposite of what they previously said.

Kardec, Allan. The Genesis – Mundo Maior Publishing House.

This care is especially important in mediumistic research because the instrument of observation – the medium – is a human being endowed with memory, beliefs, expectations, vocabulary, and cultural references. Kardec was aware of this problem, as he also knew, from his first observations, that the opinions of the Spirits should not be blindly accepted, just as those of men should not be – therefore, he did not transform each message received into a doctrinal principle.

In public appearances on YouTube channels, Suzi has claimed that she received this mission from the Spirits of Kardec, who allegedly called her to his tomb to speak with him. This is a complete mockery of everything Kardec has always demonstrated to us in his writings about the conclusions of Spiritist science.

The term "continuation" doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

The Book of Spirits II brings together elements of Spiritism, esotericism, therapeutic language, ufology, and contemporary spiritualism. This syncretism may have value for readers seeking such a combination, but the problem lies in presenting it as a faithful complement to Kardec's work and, above all, as a continuation of Spiritist science.

It seems to be the old recipe of those who seek to ride on the fame of Spiritism: mixing fundamentally antagonistic ideas and presenting them as if they were Spiritism. The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) itself also did this for over a century, and continues to do so.. Here, I must mention the enormous responsibility that the Brazilian Spiritist Federation has over all of this, since this scenario is merely the result of the great effort it has made to create a "homegrown Spiritism.".

Optional reincarnation, metempsychosis, dissolution of individuality, physical resurrection, angels created in a superior condition, reversible spiritual purity, and the burden of mediumship are not peripheral details. They alter the origin, destiny, and responsibility of the Spirit.

Similarly, redefining mediumistic categories, emotionally validating messages, and presenting technological descriptions of the spiritual world without explaining the method weakens the very mechanism by which knowledge should be separated from mediumistic opinion.

In conclusion: the problem is not disagreeing with Kardec; it is abandoning the method that would allow us to surpass him.

The comparison made in this article does not transform Allan Kardec into an infallible authority, nor does it freeze Spiritism in 1869. That would be contrary to the very nature of Spiritist science.

If new facts demonstrate that a particular conclusion was incomplete or mistaken, the position consistent with the Kardecian method will be to acknowledge the facts and revise the theory. This is precisely why The Spirits' Book II encounters its greatest problem.

The book does not merely present new phenomena previously unknown in the 19th century. It modifies fundamental principles and introduces numerous descriptions of spiritual reality, but it does not offer the reader the experimental path capable of transforming these assertions into knowledge.

This does not mean that their theses are false simply because they contradict Kardec. It means that whoever intends to replace an established conclusion needs to demonstrate why it should be replaced.

The same applies to colonies, vehicles, spiritual equipment, translation systems, extraterrestrials, dimensional structures, or any other hypothesis. The fact that these ideas are attributed to Spirits does not, in itself, grant them scientific status.

A mediumistic communication is a piece of data. Several concordant communications may constitute evidence. A hypothesis organizes this data. But a proposition can only aspire to the status of knowledge within spiritist science after being subjected to the examination of facts, rational criticism, comparison, and controls designed to reduce error, personal influence, and mystification.

This is where the expression "The Spirits' Book II" becomes problematic. The book can be studied as a contemporary spiritualist production. It may present hypotheses worthy of investigation. It may contain moral teachings compatible with Spiritist principles. What it does not demonstrate is what its title and preface suggest: that its propositions constitute a scientific continuation of "The Spirits' Book".

Spiritist science does not progress simply by adding new revelations. It progresses when new facts withstand scrutiny and compel previous knowledge to advance.

References used

• MARIAH, Suzi. The Spirits' Book II. Digital file examined, 416 pages.

KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Spirits. Definitive edition published during the author's lifetime.

KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Mediums or Guide for Mediums and Evocators. Paris, 1861.

KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism. Paris, 1864.

KARDEC, Allan. Le Ciel et l'Enfer ou la justice divine selon le spiritualisme. Paris, 1865. First French edition.

KARDEC, Allan. La Genèse, les miracles et les predictions selon le spiritualisme. Paris, 1868. First French edition.

Citation criteria. The page numbers assigned to The Spirits' Book II correspond to the pagination printed in the examined PDF. Citations have been abbreviated using only ellipses in square brackets when necessary, without altering the meaning.

The Book of Spirits II in comparison with Spiritist science

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