From "The Secret Doctrine" Vol.5, Paper 1.
"There is a strange law in Occultism which has been ascertained and proven by thousands of years of experience; nor has it failed to demonstrate itself, almost in every case, during the years that the Theosophical Society has been in existence. As soon as anyone pledges himself as a "Probationer", certain Occult effects ensue. Of these the first is the throwing outward of everything latent in the nature of the man; his faults, habits, qualities or subdued desires, whether good, bad or indifferent.
For instance, if a man be vain or a sensualist, or ambitious, whether by atavism or by karmic heirloom, those vices are sure to break out, even if he has hitherto successfully concealed and repressed them. They will come to the front irrepressibly, and he will have to fight a hundred times harder than before, until he kills all such tendencies in himself.
On the other hand, if he be good, generous, chaste, and abstemious, or has any virtue hitherto latent and concealed in him, it will work its way out as irrespressibly as the rest. Thus a civilized man who hates to be considered a saint, and therefore assumes a mask, will not be able to conceal his true nature, whether base or noble.
This is an immutable law in the domain of the Occult.
Its action is the more marked, the more earnest and sincere the desire of the candidate, and the more deeply he has felt the reality and importance of his pledge."
Comment:some psychologists would call this confronting the shadow, i.e., those parts of a person which have been repressed and come to the surface when the subconscious mind is activated.Israel Regardie advocated that the beginning occultist also undertake psychoanalysis in order to control the psychic forces unleashed.Whatever methods are used, confronting the subconscious mind is a matter to be handled with care.