Gross and subtle bodies
119-548: 1. Spiritual / Divine / Logoic / Mahaparanirvanic plane /Adi 2. Spiritual / Monadic / Paranirvanic plane /Anupapaduka 3. Spiritual / Pneuma / Nirvanic / Atmic plane 4. Spiritual / Soul / Causal / Intuitional / Noetic / Buddhic plane 5 Mental /Manasic/ Causal / Intellectual plane 6. Astral / Emotional plane 7. Material - Ethereal plane The 7 Worlds and the 7 Cosmic Planes The Seven-fold constitution of Man The Ten-fold constitution of Man Sephirot Ray of Creation The astral body
238-479: A neoplatonist , argued that since the fixed stars are much more distant than the planets, it is laughable to imagine the planets' effect on human affairs should depend on their position with respect to the zodiac. He also argues that the interpretation of the Moon's conjunction with a planet as good when the moon is full, but bad when the moon is waning, is clearly wrong, as from the Moon's point of view, half of its surface
357-512: A "convincing distinction between astrology and astronomy that remains valid in the twenty-first century." Cicero stated the twins objection (that with close birth times, personal outcomes can be very different), later developed by Augustine . He argued that since the other planets are much more distant from the Earth than the Moon, they could have only very tiny influence compared to the Moon's. He also argued that if astrology explains everything about
476-400: A "rationalistic and critical thinker", was much more sanguine about astrology and critical of Pico's attack. Renaissance scholars commonly practised astrology. Gerolamo Cardano cast the horoscope of king Edward VI of England , while John Dee was the personal astrologer to queen Elizabeth I of England . Catherine de Medici paid Michael Nostradamus in 1566 to verify the prediction of
595-570: A Greek origin for Hindu astrology. The Indian techniques may also have been augmented with some of the Babylonian techniques. Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the three harmonies: heaven, earth and man) and uses concepts such as yin and yang , the Five phases , the 10 Celestial stems , the 12 Earthly Branches , and shichen (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes). The early use of Chinese astrology
714-466: A center, interpenetrate themselves and the physical planet in which we live, the solar systems , and all the physical structures of the universe. This interpenetration of planes culminates in the universe itself as a physical structured, dynamic and evolutive expression emanated through a series of steadily denser stages, becoming progressively more material and embodied. The emanation is conceived, according to esoteric teachings, to have originated, at
833-449: A certain time, does the principal and final sacred Rascooarno occur to this two-natured arising, after which such a 'higher being-part' indeed becomes an independent individual with its own individual Reason." According to Gurdjieff it is an independent arising which is intermediate between the physical body and the Soul. Gurdjieff refers to the astral body as the "body Kesdjan" or "vessel of
952-400: A communal calendar. Farmers addressed agricultural needs with increasing knowledge of the constellations that appear in the different seasons—and used the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities. By the 3rd millennium BCE, civilisations had sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignment with heliacal risings of
1071-828: A cosmology related to the scheme of evolution in general and the evolution of the Solar System and the Earth in particular, according to the Rosicrucians. He establishes, through the conceptions presented, a bridge between modern science (currently starting research into the subtler etheric plane of existence behind the physical) and religion , in order that this last one may be able to address man's inner questions raised by scientific advancement. Many occult, psychic, metaphysical, mystical, and esoteric teachings assert that at least four separate planes of existence exist; however, these differing occult and metaphysical schools often label
1190-410: A different kingdom inside the plane, which itself comprises many separate realms. Bruce notes that the astral may also be entered by means of long tubes that bear visual similarity to these planes, and conjectures that the grids and tubes are in fact the same structures approached from a different perceptual angle. Charles Webster Leadbeater wrote: In the mental world one formulates a thought and it
1309-683: A fearful consideration for the sky and the stars, which they held to be ultimately responsible for every phenomena that occurs on Earth and for the destiny of humankind. Accordingly, they shaped their entire lives in accordance with their interpretations of astral configurations and phenomena. The Hellenistic schools of philosophical skepticism criticized the rationality of astrology. Criticism of astrology by academic skeptics such as Cicero , Carneades , and Favorinus ; and Pyrrhonists such as Sextus Empiricus has been preserved. Carneades argued that belief in fate denies free will and morality ; that people born at different times can all die in
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#17328441277591428-462: A modified Theosophical terminology. According to Samael Aun Weor , who popularised Theosophical thought in Latin America, the astral body is the part of human soul related to emotions, represented by the sephirah Hod in the kabbalistic Tree of Life. However the common person only has a kamarupa , body of desire or "lunar astral body," a body related to animal emotions, passions and desires, while
1547-446: A person's fate, then it wrongly ignores the visible effect of inherited ability and parenting, changes in health worked by medicine, or the effects of the weather on people. Favorinus argued that it was absurd to imagine that stars and planets would affect human bodies in the same way as they affect the tides, and equally absurd that small motions in the heavens cause large changes in people's fates. Sextus Empiricus argued that it
1666-549: A place of beauty and peace, where everything people hold close to their hearts is preserved in its fullest beauty for eternity. It is envisioned as containing wide (possibly eternal) fields of rolling green hills and lush grass. In Theosophy, the term "Summerland" is used without the definite article "the". Summerland, also called the Astral plane Heaven, is depicted as where souls who have been good in their previous lives go between incarnations. Those who have been bad go to Hell , which
1785-563: A popular following supported by cheap almanacs. One English almanac compiler, Richard Saunders, followed the spirit of the age by printing a derisive Discourse on the Invalidity of Astrology , while in France Pierre Bayle's Dictionnaire of 1697 stated that the subject was puerile. The Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift ridiculed the Whig political astrologer John Partridge . In
1904-463: A realization of unity. Annie Besant defined the buddhic plane as Persistent, conscious, spiritual awareness. This is the full consciousness of the buddhic or intuitional level. This is the perceptive consciousness which is the outstanding characteristic of the Hierarchy. The life focus of the man shifts to the buddhic plane. This is the fourth or middle state of consciousness. Sri Aurobindo calls
2023-595: A synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas. The planes in Theosophy were further systematized in the writings of Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater . From theosophy the term made its way to later esoteric systems such as that of Alice Bailey . Max Theon used the word "States" (French Etat ) rather than "Planes", in his cosmic philosophy , but the meaning is the same. In the early 20th century, Max Heindel presented in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception
2142-628: A whole. According to Heindel, the term "astral body" was employed by the mediaeval Alchemists because of the ability it conferred to traverse the " starry " regions. The "Astral body" is regarded as the " Philosopher's Stone " or "Living Stone" of the alchemist, the "Wedding Garment" of the Gospel of Matthew and the "Soul body" that Paul mentions in the First Epistle to the Corinthians Many other popular accounts of post-Theosophical ideas appeared in
2261-415: Is a subtle body posited by many philosophers, intermediate between the intelligent soul and the mental body, composed of a subtle material. In many recensions the concept ultimately derives from the philosophy of Plato though the same or similar ideas have existed all over the world well before Plato's time: it is related to an astral plane , which consists of the planetary heavens of astrology . The term
2380-580: Is always in sunlight; and from the planet's point of view, waning should be better, as then the planet sees some light from the Moon, but when the Moon is full to us, it is dark, and therefore bad, on the side facing the planet in question. In 525 BCE, Egypt was conquered by the Persians. The 1st century BCE Egyptian Dendera Zodiac shares two signs – the Balance and the Scorpion – with Mesopotamian astrology. With
2499-571: Is based are early medieval compilations, notably the Bṛhat Parāśara Horāśāstra , and Sārāvalī by Kalyāṇavarma . The Horāshastra is a composite work of 71 chapters, of which the first part (chapters 1–51) dates to the 7th to early 8th centuries and the second part (chapters 52–71) to the later 8th century. The Sārāvalī likewise dates to around 800 CE. English translations of these texts were published by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhari in 1963 and 1961, respectively. Astrology
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#17328441277592618-637: Is believed to be located below the surface of the Earth and is on the astral plane and is composed of the densest astral matter; the Spiritual Hierarchy functioning within Earth functions on the etheric plane below the surface of the Earth. Theosophists also believe there is another higher level of heaven called Devachan , also called the Mental plane Heaven, which some but not all souls reach between incarnations—only those souls that are more highly developed spiritually reach this level, those souls that are at
2737-425: Is credited the first to speak of subtle "planes", posited two subtle bodies or "carriers" ( okhema ) intermediate between the rational soul and the physical body . These were; 1) the astral vehicle which was the immortal vehicle of the Soul and 2) the spiritual ( pneuma ) vehicle, aligned with the vital breath, which he considered mortal. The word "astral" means "of the stars", thus the astral plane , consisting of
2856-413: Is instantly transmitted to the mind of another without any expression in the form of words. Therefore on that plane language does not matter in the least; but helpers working in the astral world, who have not yet the power to use the mental vehicle. Annie Besant wrote that "The mental plane, as its name implies, is that which belongs to consciousness working as thought; not of the mind as it works through
2975-805: Is said to represent twelve different types of personality . It is based on cycles of years, lunar months, and two-hour periods of the day (the shichen). The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat , and the cycle proceeds through 11 other animal signs: the Ox , Tiger , Rabbit , Dragon , Snake , Horse , Goat , Monkey , Rooster , Dog , and Pig . Complex systems of predicting fate and destiny based on one's birthday, birth season, and birth hours, such as ziping and Zi Wei Dou Shu ( simplified Chinese : 紫微斗数 ; traditional Chinese : 紫微斗數 ; pinyin : zǐwēidǒushù ) are still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of
3094-482: Is the abode of Lord Siva and his entourage of Mahadevas and other highly evolved souls who exist in their own self-effulgent form—radiant bodies of centillions of quantum light particles. Sri Aurobindo developed a very different concept of the mental plane, through his own synthesis of Vedanta (including the Taittiriya Upanishad), Tantra, Theosophy, and Max Théon ideas (which he received via The Mother , who
3213-638: Is the aspect of each planet to every other planet, where for example two planets 120° apart (in 'trine') are in a harmonious relationship, but two planets 90° apart ('square') are in a conflicted relationship. Together these relationships and their interpretations are said to form "...the language of the heavens speaking to learned men." Along with tarot divination , astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism , and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists , but also belief systems such as Wicca , which have borrowed from or been influenced by
3332-463: Is the pinnacle of spiritual achievement in the afterlife; that is, it is the highest level, or sphere , of the afterlife we can hope to enter. The common portrayal of the Summerland is as a place of rest for souls after or between their earthly incarnations. The Summerland is also envisioned as a place for recollection and reunion with deceased loved ones. As the name suggests, it is often imagined as
3451-407: Is the search for meaning in the sky. Early evidence for humans making conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles, appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago. This was a first step towards recording the Moon's influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organising
3570-636: The Tetrabiblos formed the basis of Western astrology, and, "...enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more." The conquest of Asia by Alexander the Great exposed the Greeks to ideas from Syria , Babylon, Persia and central Asia. Around 280 BCE, Berossus , a priest of Bel from Babylon, moved to the Greek island of Kos , teaching astrology and Babylonian culture. By
3689-454: The Emotional body . Astral body , desire body , and emotional body became synonymous, and this identification is found in later Theosophically inspired thought. The astral body in later Theosophy is "the vehicle of feelings and emotions" through which "it is possible...to experience all varieties of desire". We have a "life in the astral body, whilst the physical body is wrapped in slumber". So
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3808-549: The Latin translations of the 12th century . In the seventh century, Isidore of Seville argued in his Etymologiae that astronomy described the movements of the heavens, while astrology had two parts: one was scientific, describing the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars, while the other, making predictions, was theologically erroneous. The first astrological book published in Europe
3927-485: The celestial spheres , is held to be an astrological phenomenon: "The whole of the astral portion of our earth and of the physical planets, together with the purely astral planets of our System, make up collectively the astral body of the Solar Logos". There are "seven types of astral matter" by means of which "psychic changes occur periodically". Such ideas greatly influenced medieval religious thought and are visible in
4046-411: The etheric body is left behind and the soul forms into an astral body on the astral plane. The psychical researcher F. W. H. Myers proposed the existence of a "metetherial world", which he wrote to be a world of images lying beyond the physical world. He wrote that apparitions have a real existence in the metetherial world which he described as a dream-like world. The astral plane, also called
4165-607: The planets , and argued: And if you astrologers answer that it is precisely because of this distance and smallness that their influences are negligible, then why is it that you claim a great influence for the smallest heavenly body, Mercury? Why is it that you have given an influence to al-Ra's [the head] and al-Dhanab [the tail], which are two imaginary points [ascending and descending nodes] ? Martin Luther denounced astrology in his Table Talk . He asked why twins like Esau and Jacob had two different natures yet were born at
4284-442: The zodiac (twelve spatial divisions of the ecliptic ) and by their aspects (based on geometric angles) relative to one another. They are also considered by their placement in houses (twelve spatial divisions of the sky). Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is usually reduced to sun sign astrology , which considers only the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth, and represents only 1/12 of
4403-587: The zodiac , a norming point near 9 degrees in Aries, the trine aspect, planetary exaltations, and the dodekatemoria (the twelve divisions of 30 degrees each). The Babylonians viewed celestial events as possible signs rather than as causes of physical events. The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE) and flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE), during which all
4522-795: The 1st century BCE, there were two varieties of astrology, one using horoscopes to describe the past, present and future; the other, theurgic , emphasising the soul's ascent to the stars. Greek influence played a crucial role in the transmission of astrological theory to Rome . The first definite reference to astrology in Rome comes from the orator Cato , who in 160 BCE warned farm overseers against consulting with Chaldeans, who were described as Babylonian 'star-gazers'. Among both Greeks and Romans , Babylonia (also known as Chaldea ) became so identified with astrology that 'Chaldean wisdom' became synonymous with divination using planets and stars. The 2nd-century Roman poet and satirist Juvenal complains about
4641-540: The 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus , Chinese , and the Maya —developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology , one of
4760-525: The 3rd century BCE, though incorporating the Hindu lunar mansions. The names of the signs (e.g. Greek 'Krios' for Aries, Hindi 'Kriya'), the planets (e.g. Greek 'Helios' for Sun, astrological Hindi 'Heli'), and astrological terms (e.g. Greek 'apoklima' and 'sunaphe' for declination and planetary conjunction, Hindi 'apoklima' and 'sunapha' respectively) in Varaha Mihira's texts are considered conclusive evidence of
4879-463: The 7 Cosmic Planes The Seven-fold constitution of Man The Ten-fold constitution of Man Sephirot Ray of Creation In esoteric cosmology , a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being . The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings which propound the idea of a whole series of subtle planes or worlds or dimensions which, from
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4998-573: The Astral Body , it conforms to Madame Blavatsky 's usage of the term. Elsewhere, this latter is termed "etheric", while "astral" denotes an experience of dream-symbols, archetypes, memories, spiritual beings and visionary landscapes. Neoplatonists agreed with Plato as to the immortality of the rational soul but disagreed as to whether man's "irrational soul" was immortal and celestial ("starry", hence astral) or whether it remained on earth and dissolved after death. The late Neoplatonist Proclus , who
5117-481: The Astral Body. Here are a few: Linga Sarira, Sanskrit, meaning design body, and the best one of all; ethereal double; phantom; wraith; apparition; doppelgänger; personal man; perispirit; irrational soul; animal soul; Bhuta; elementary; spook; devil; demon. Some of these apply only to the astral body when devoid of the corpus after death." C.W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant ( Theosophical Society Adyar ), equated it with Blavatsky's Kama (desire) principle and called it
5236-511: The Catholic Church maintains that divination, including predictive astrology, is incompatible with modern Catholic beliefs such as free will: All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal
5355-518: The Egyptian concept of dividing the zodiac into thirty-six decans of ten degrees each, with an emphasis on the rising decan, and the Greek system of planetary Gods, sign rulership and four elements . 2nd century BCE texts predict positions of planets in zodiac signs at the time of the rising of certain decans, particularly Sothis. The astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy lived in Alexandria. Ptolemy's work
5474-454: The English mathematician and physician Thomas Hood made a set of paper instruments that used revolving overlays to help students work out relationships between fixed stars or constellations, the midheaven, and the twelve astrological houses . Hood's instruments also illustrated, for pedagogical purposes, the supposed relationships between the signs of the zodiac, the planets, and the parts of
5593-553: The Great's conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome . In Rome, astrology was associated with " Chaldean wisdom". After the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe and translated into Latin . Major astronomers including Tycho Brahe , Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court astrologers. Astrological references appear in literature in
5712-503: The Latin astronomia ). By the 17th century , astronomy became established as the scientific term, with astrology referring to divinations and schemes for predicting human affairs. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians , Chinese , and Maya developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. A form of astrology
5831-518: The Renaissance medicine of Paracelsus and Servetus . In the romantic era, alongside the discovery of electromagnetism and the nervous system, there came a new interest in the spirit world. Franz Anton Mesmer spoke of the stars, animal magnetism and magnetic fluids. In 1801, the English occultist Francis Barrett wrote of a herb's "excellent astral and magnetic powers" – for herbalists had categorised herbs according to their supposed correspondence with
5950-624: The Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has said that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance , organised by planet , as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians. The earliest Vedic text on astronomy is the Vedanga Jyotisha ; Vedic thought later came to include astrology as well. Hindu natal astrology originated with Hellenistic astrology by
6069-457: The Will of God can be known and predicted. For example, Avicenna's 'Refutation against astrology', Risāla fī ibṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm , argues against the practice of astrology while supporting the principle that planets may act as agents of divine causation. Avicenna considered that the movement of the planets influenced life on earth in a deterministic way, but argued against the possibility of determining
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#17328441277596188-508: The astral body "provides a simple explanation of the mechanism of many phenomena revealed by modern psycho-analysis". To this extent, then, the "astral body" is a reification of the dream-world self. According to Max Heindel 's Rosicrucian writings, the Desire body is made of desire stuff, from which human beings form feelings and emotions . It is said to appear to spiritual sight as an ovoid cloud extending from sixteen to twenty inches beyond
6307-523: The astral plane, and usually your astral body is in the zone of quietude. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi , Paramhansa Yogananda provides details about the astral planes learned from his resurrected guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri . Yogananda reveals that nearly all individuals enter the astral planes after death. There they work out the seeds of past karma through astral incarnations, or (if their karma requires) they return to earthly incarnations for further refinement. Once an individual has attained
6426-460: The astral was to have much influence in the English-speaking world through the teachings of The Golden Dawn , but it was also taken up by Helena Blavatsky and discussed in the key work of Theosophy, The Secret Doctrine . Levi seems to have been regarded by later Theosophists as the immediate source from which the term was adopted into their sevenfold schema of planes and bodies, though there
6545-460: The astral world exist temporarily all those physical entities, men and animals, for whom sleep involves a separation of the physical body for a time from the higher bodies. While we "sleep", we live in our astral bodies, either fully conscious and active, or partly conscious and semi-dormant, as the case may be, according to our evolutionary growth; when we "wake", the physical and the higher bodies are interlocked again, and we cease to be inhabitants of
6664-408: The astral world, is where consciousness goes after physical death. According to occult philosophy, all people possess an astral body . The astral plane (also known as the astral world) was postulated by classical (particularly neoplatonic ), medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions . It is the world of the planetary spheres , crossed by the soul in its astral body on
6783-410: The astral world. Some writers have asserted the astral plane can be reached by dreaming . Sylvan Muldoon and psychical researcher Hereward Carrington in their book The Projection of the Astral Body (1929) wrote: When you are dreaming you are not really in the same world as when you are conscious – in the physical – although the two worlds merge into one another. While dreaming, you really are in
6902-399: The brain, but as it works through its own world, unencumbered with physical spirit-matter." A detailed description of the mental plane, along with the mental body, is provided by Arthur E. Powell , who has compiled information in the works of Besant and Leadbeater in a series of books on each of the subtle bodies . According to Hindu occultism the mental plane consists of two divisions,
7021-512: The dawn of the universe's manifestation, in The Supreme Being who sent out—from the unmanifested Absolute beyond comprehension—the dynamic force of creative energy, as sound-vibration ("the Word"), into the abyss of space. Alternatively, it states that this dynamic force is being sent forth, through the ages, framing all things that constitute and inhabit the universe. The original source of
7140-564: The death of her husband, king Henry II of France made by her astrologer Lucus Gauricus. Major astronomers who practised as court astrologers included Tycho Brahe in the royal court of Denmark, Johannes Kepler to the Habsburgs , Galileo Galilei to the Medici , and Giordano Bruno who was burnt at the stake for heresy in Rome in 1600. The distinction between astrology and astronomy was not entirely clear. Advances in astronomy were often motivated by
7259-493: The desire to improve the accuracy of astrology. Kepler, for example, was driven by a belief in harmonies between Earthly and celestial affairs, yet he disparaged the activities of most astrologers as "evil-smelling dung". Ephemerides with complex astrological calculations, and almanacs interpreting celestial events for use in medicine and for choosing times to plant crops, were popular in Elizabethan England. In 1597,
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#17328441277597378-546: The development of psychological astrology . Advocates have defined astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, a science , and a method of divination. Though most cultural astrology systems share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many use methods that differ from those in the West. These include Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology, both of which have influenced
7497-585: The divine plane. Joshua David Stone describes the plane as complete unity with God . Rosicrucianism teaches that the divine plane is where Jesus dwelt in Christ consciousness . The Summerland is the name given by Theosophists , Spiritualists , Wiccans , and some earth-based contemporary pagan religions to their conceptualization of existence on a plane in an afterlife . Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) inspired Andrew Jackson Davis (1826–1910), in his major work The Great Harmonia to say that Summerland
7616-431: The exact influence of the stars. Essentially, Avicenna did not deny the core dogma of astrology, but denied our ability to understand it to the extent that precise and fatalistic predictions could be made from it. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292–1350), in his Miftah Dar al-SaCadah , also used physical arguments in astronomy to question the practice of judicial astrology. He recognised that the stars are much larger than
7735-454: The failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time. Some of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna . They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars , by suggesting that
7854-542: The familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture – the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the five elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality – were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology, and alchemy . The ancient Arabs that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam used to profess a widespread belief in fatalism ( ḳadar ) alongside
7973-534: The fifteenth century. In Paradiso , the final part of the Divine Comedy , the Italian poet Dante Alighieri referred "in countless details" to the astrological planets, though he adapted traditional astrology to suit his Christian viewpoint, for example using astrological thinking in his prophecies of the reform of Christendom . John Gower in the fourteenth century defined astrology as essentially limited to
8092-562: The first day of the fifth month in the Thai lunar calendar , or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use. Augustine (354–430) believed that the determinism of astrology conflicted with the Christian doctrines of man's free will and responsibility, and God not being the cause of evil, but he also grounded his opposition philosophically, citing
8211-503: The first, second, and third levels of initiation. Devachan is several miles (around 10 km) higher above the surface of Earth than Summerland.. Astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects . Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least
8330-408: The form of planar surfaces when approached from a distance, separated by immense coloured "buffer zones". These planes are endlessly repeating ruled Cartesian coordinate system grids, tiled with a single signature pattern that is different for each plane. Higher planes have bright, colourful patterns, whereas lower planes appear far duller. Every detail of these patterns acts as a consistent portal to
8449-536: The gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favourable for the planned construction of a temple. However, there is controversy about whether these were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Babylon (1950–1651 BCE). This astrology had some parallels with Hellenistic Greek (western) astrology, including
8568-525: The human body adherents believed were governed by the planets and signs. While Hood's presentation was innovative, his astrological information was largely standard and was taken from Gerard Mercator's astrological disc made in 1551, or a source used by Mercator. Despite its popularity, Renaissance astrology had what historian Gabor Almasi calls "elite debate", exemplified by the polemical letters of Swiss physician Thomas Erastus who fought against astrology, calling it "vanity" and "superstition." Then around
8687-431: The late 20th century. Barbara Brennan 's Hands of Light distinguishes between the emotional body and the astral body. She sees these as two distinct layers in the seven-layered "Human Energy Field". The emotional body pertains to the physical universe, the astral body to the astral world. The Mother sometimes referred to the astral body and experiences on the astral plane. The Indian master Osho occasionally made use of
8806-418: The later Theosophical concept it constitutes an objective reality of sheer mind or thought. The buddhic plane is described as a realm of pure consciousness . According to Theosophy the buddhic plane exists to develop buddhic consciousness which means to become unselfish and solve any problems with the ego. Charles Leadbeater wrote that in the buddhic plane man casts off the delusion of the self and enters
8925-450: The level above the mental plane the supermind . George Winslow Plummer wrote that the spiritual plane is split into many sub-planes (such as the "Atmic plane") and that on these planes live spiritual being who are more advanced in development and status than ordinary man. According to some occult teachings, all souls are born on the divine plane and then descend down through the lower planes; however souls will work their way back to
9044-412: The lower division is known as heaven ( Svargaloka ) and the upper division is known as the causal plane ( Maharloka ). Sivaya Subramuniyaswami wrote: The causal plane is the world of light and blessedness, the highest of heavenly regions, extolled in the scriptures of all faiths. It is the foundation of existence, the source of visions, the point of conception, the apex of creation. The causal plane
9163-503: The making of predictions. The influence of the stars was in turn divided into natural astrology, with for example effects on tides and the growth of plants, and judicial astrology, with supposedly predictable effects on people. The fourteenth-century sceptic Nicole Oresme however included astronomy as a part of astrology in his Livre de divinacions . Oresme argued that current approaches to prediction of events such as plagues, wars, and weather were inappropriate, but that such prediction
9282-424: The meditative state of nirvikalpa samadhi in an earthy or astral incarnation, the soul may progress upward to the "illumined astral planet" of Hiranyaloka. After this transitional stage, the soul may then move upward to the more subtle causal spheres where many incarnations allow them to further refine until final unification . Astral projection author Robert Bruce describes the astral as seven planes that take
9401-480: The myth of the astral body." Spiritual plane Gross and subtle bodies 1. Spiritual / Divine / Logoic / Mahaparanirvanic plane /Adi 2. Spiritual / Monadic / Paranirvanic plane /Anupapaduka 3. Spiritual / Pneuma / Nirvanic / Atmic plane 4. Spiritual / Soul / Causal / Intuitional / Noetic / Buddhic plane 5 Mental /Manasic/ Causal / Intellectual plane 6. Astral / Emotional plane 7. Material - Ethereal plane The 7 Worlds and
9520-426: The occupation by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Egypt became Hellenistic . The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander after the conquest, becoming the place where Babylonian astrology was mixed with Egyptian Decanic astrology to create Horoscopic astrology . This contained the Babylonian zodiac with its system of planetary exaltations , the triplicities of the signs and the importance of eclipses. It used
9639-457: The oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia , from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamic world , and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant events in their lives based on
9758-560: The pervasive influence of Chaldeans, saying, "Still more trusted are the Chaldaeans; every word uttered by the astrologer they will believe has come from Hammon's fountain." One of the first astrologers to bring Hermetic astrology to Rome was Thrasyllus , astrologer to the emperor Tiberius , the first emperor to have had a court astrologer, though his predecessor Augustus had used astrology to help legitimise his Imperial rights. The main texts upon which classical Indian astrology
9877-426: The physical body. It has a number of whirling vortices ( chakras ) and from the main vortex, in the region of the liver , there is a constant flow which radiates and returns. The desire body exhibits colors that vary in every person according to his or her temperament and mood. However, the astral body (or "Soul body") must be evolved by means of the work of transmutation and will eventually be evolved by humanity as
9996-661: The planes of existence with differing terminologies. These planes of existence often tend to overlap with each other heavily in both description and conception (especially between schools), and can roughly be delineated into "physical", "mental", "spiritual", or "transcendent" categories. Do note that the listing of planes below is based mostly on Theosophy . Other religions might structure their planes significantly differently. The physical plane, physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics taught in Neoplatonism , Hermeticism , Hinduism and Theosophy , refers to
10115-407: The planet itself the 'second-being-body,' i.e., the body-Kesdjan, together with the 'third-being-body' separate themselves from the 'fundamental-planetary-body' and, leaving this planetary body on the planet, rise both together to that sphere where those cosmic substances— from the localizations of which the body-Kesdjan of a being arises—have their place of concentration. “And only there, at the end of
10234-535: The positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. Throughout its history, astrology has had its detractors, competitors and skeptics who opposed it for moral, religious, political, and empirical reasons. Nonetheless, prior to the Enlightenment, astrology was generally considered a scholarly tradition and was common in learned circles, often in close relation with astronomy , meteorology , medicine , and alchemy . It
10353-531: The publication of sermons that depicted astrology as a legitimate biblical pursuit for Christians. They commissioned sermons that argued Astrology was divine, Hebraic, and scripturally supported by Bible passages about the Magi and the sons of Seth . According to historian Michelle Pfeffer, "The society's public relations campaign ultimately failed." Modern historians have mostly neglected the Society of Astrologers in favor of
10472-529: The same accident or battle; and that contrary to uniform influences from the stars, tribes and cultures are all different. Cicero , in De Divinatione , leveled a critique of astrology that some modern philosophers consider to be the first working definition of pseudoscience and the answer to the demarcation problem . Philosopher of Science Massimo Pigliucci , building on the work of Historian of Science, Damien Fernandez-Beanato, argues that Cicero outlined
10591-415: The same time. Luther also compared astrologers to those who say their dice will always land on a certain number. Although the dice may roll on the number a couple of times, the predictor is silent for all the times the dice fails to land on that number. What is done by God, ought not to be ascribed to the stars. The upright and true Christian religion opposes and confutes all such fables. The Catechism of
10710-520: The second half of the 17th century, the Society of Astrologers (1647–1684), a trade, educational, and social organization, sought to unite London's often fractious astrologers in the task of revitalizing astrology. Following the template of the popular "Feasts of Mathematicians" they endeavored to defend their art in the face of growing religious criticism. The Society hosted banquets, exchanged "instruments and manuscripts", proposed research projects, and funded
10829-469: The seven planetary influences. In the mid-nineteenth century the French occultist Eliphas Levi wrote much of "the astral light", a factor he considered of key importance to magic, alongside the power of will and the doctrine of correspondences. He considered the astral light the medium of all light, energy and movement, describing it in terms that recall both Mesmer and the luminiferous ether . Levi's idea of
10948-462: The soul": it is of the sun and all planets, just as the physical body is of the earth. While it is not developed one is a "human being only in quotation marks", who cannot be considered in any meaningful sense to have a soul and who will "die like a dog". Donovan Rawcliffe , who noted there is no scientific evidence for an astral body, has written that "delusions and hallucinations due to acenesthesia or hysteria have undoubtedly helped to perpetuate
11067-508: The soul. The thirteenth century mathematician Campanus of Novara is said to have devised a system of astrological houses that divides the prime vertical into 'houses' of equal 30° arcs, though the system was used earlier in the East. The thirteenth century astronomer Guido Bonatti wrote a textbook, the Liber Astronomicus , a copy of which King Henry VII of England owned at the end of
11186-521: The stars. Scattered evidence suggests that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made in the ancient world. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa is thought to have been compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE. A scroll documenting an early use of electional astrology is doubtfully ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash ( c. 2144 – 2124 BCE). This describes how
11305-733: The stars. The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to the Chinese, except for second animal being the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox , and the fourth animal the Cat instead of the Rabbit . The Japanese have since 1873 celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per the Gregorian calendar . The Thai zodiac begins, not at Chinese New Year , but either on
11424-443: The still extant Royal Society (1660), even though both organizations initially had some of the same members. Astrology saw a popular revival starting in the 19th century, as part of a general revival of spiritualism and—later, New Age philosophy, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes. Early in the 20th century the psychiatrist Carl Jung developed some concepts concerning astrology, which led to
11543-423: The time of the new star of 1572 and the comet of 1577 there began what Almasi calls an "extended epistemological reform" which began the process of excluding religion, astrology and anthropocentrism from scientific debate. By 1679, the yearly publication La Connoissance des temps eschewed astrology as a legitimate topic. During the Enlightenment , intellectual sympathy for astrology fell away, leaving only
11662-439: The total chart. The horoscope visually expresses the set of relationships for the time and place of the chosen event. These relationships are between the seven 'planets', signifying tendencies such as war and love; the twelve signs of the zodiac; and the twelve houses. Each planet is in a particular sign and a particular house at the chosen time, when observed from the chosen place, creating two kinds of relationship. A third kind
11781-479: The true human emotional vehicle is the solar astral body, which can be crystallised through Tantric sex. The solar astral body is the first mediator between the Cosmic Christ , Chokmah , and the individual human soul. "What is called the 'body-Kesdjan', or, as they themselves later began to name this being-part of theirs—of which, by the way, contemporary beings know only by hearsay—the 'Astral-body'." "At first on
11900-404: The use of the astral vehicle can separate their consciousness in the astral vehicle from the physical body at will. The Theosophist author Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa wrote: "When a person dies, they become fully conscious in the astral body. After a certain time, the astral body disintegrates, and the person then becomes conscious on the mental plane." Occultist George Arundale wrote: In
12019-547: The various "phenomena of the séance room". The phenomenon of apparitional experience is therefore related, as is made explicit in Cicero 's Dream of Scipio . The astral body is sometimes said to be visible as an aura of swirling colours. It is widely linked today with out-of-body experiences or astral projection . Where this refers to a supposed movement around the real world, as in Muldoon and Carrington's book The Projection of
12138-407: The visible reality of space and time , energy and matter : the physical universe in occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest or densest of a series of planes of existence. According to Theosophists, after the material plane is the etheric plane and both of these planes are connected to make up the first (physical) plane. Theosophy also teaches that when the physical body dies
12257-459: The way to being born and after death , and generally said to be populated by angels , spirits, or other non-physical beings. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo- Rosicrucianism . According to occult teachings the astral plane can be visited consciously through astral projection , meditation , and mantra , near-death experience , lucid dreaming , or other means. Individuals that are trained in
12376-522: The western world, and common belief in it largely declined, until a continuing resurgence starting in the 1960s. The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia , which derives from the Greek ἀστρολογία —from ἄστρον astron ("star") and -λογία -logia , ("study of"—"account of the stars"). The word entered the English language via Latin and medieval French , and its use overlapped considerably with that of astronomy (derived from
12495-528: The word plane in this context is the late Neoplatonist Proclus , who refers to to platos , "breadth", which was the equivalent of the 19th-century theosophical use. An example is the phrase en to psychiko platei . In the late 19th century, the metaphysical term "planes" was popularised by the theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky , who in The Secret Doctrine and other writings propounded a complex cosmology consisting of seven planes and subplanes, based on
12614-692: The works of poets such as Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer , and of playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare . Throughout most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition. It was accepted in political and academic contexts, and was connected with other studies, such as astronomy , alchemy , meteorology , and medicine. At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics (such as heliocentrism and Newtonian mechanics ) called astrology into question. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined. Astrology, in its broadest sense,
12733-426: The world's cultural history. Western astrology is a form of divination based on the construction of a horoscope for an exact moment, such as a person's birth. It uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the equinoctial points . Western astrology is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon and planets, which are analysed by their movement through signs of
12852-516: Was Theon's student in occultism for two years). In this cosmology, there are seven cosmic planes, three lower, corresponding to relative existence (the Physical , Vital , and Mental ), and four higher, representing infinite divine reality ( Life Divine bk. 1 ch. 27) The Aurobindonian Mind or Mental Plane constitutes a large zone of being from the mental vital to the overmental divine region ( Letters on Yoga , Jyoti and Prem Sobel 1984), but as with
12971-415: Was a valid field of inquiry. However, he attacked the use of astrology to choose the timing of actions (so-called interrogation and election) as wholly false, and rejected the determination of human action by the stars on grounds of free will. The friar Laurens Pignon (c. 1368–1449) similarly rejected all forms of divination and determinism, including by the stars, in his 1411 Contre les Devineurs . This
13090-530: Was absurd to link human attributes with myths about the signs of the zodiac, and wrote an entire book, Against the Astrologers (Πρὸς ἀστρολόγους, Pros astrologous ), compiling arguments against astrology. Against the Astrologers was the fifth section of a larger work arguing against philosophical and scientific inquiry in general, Against the Professors (Πρὸς μαθηματικούς, Pros mathematikous ). Plotinus ,
13209-595: Was adopted by nineteenth-century Theosophists and neo-Rosicrucians . The idea is rooted in common worldwide religious accounts of the afterlife in which the soul's journey or "ascent" is described in such terms as "an ecstatic.., mystical or out-of body experience, wherein the spiritual traveller leaves the physical body and travels in his/her subtle body (or dreambody or astral body) into 'higher' realms". Hence "the "many kinds of 'heavens', 'hells', and purgatorial existences believed in by followers of innumerable religions" may also be understood as astral phenomena, as may
13328-651: Was in opposition to the tradition carried by the Arab astronomer Albumasar (787–886) whose Introductorium in Astronomiam and De Magnis Coniunctionibus argued the view that both individual actions and larger scale history are determined by the stars. In the late 15th century, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola forcefully attacked astrology in Disputationes contra Astrologos , arguing that the heavens neither caused, nor heralded earthly events. His contemporary, Pietro Pomponazzi ,
13447-481: Was mainly confined to political astrology , the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions. The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sān yuán), and Twenty-Eight Mansions (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù) in twelve Ci ( 十二次 ). The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs
13566-660: Was practised in the Old Babylonian period of Mesopotamia , c. 1800 BCE . Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa is one of earliest known Hindu texts on astronomy and astrology ( Jyotisha ). The text is dated between 1400 BCE to final centuries BCE by various scholars according to astronomical and linguistic evidences. Chinese astrology was elaborated in the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE). Hellenistic astrology after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyptian Decanic astrology in Alexandria , creating horoscopic astrology . Alexander
13685-642: Was present in political circles and is mentioned in various works of literature, from Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer to William Shakespeare , Lope de Vega , and Pedro Calderón de la Barca . During the Enlightenment , however, astrology lost its status as an area of legitimate scholarly pursuit. Following the end of the 19th century and the wide-scale adoption of the scientific method , researchers have successfully challenged astrology on both theoretical and experimental grounds, and have shown it to have no scientific validity or explanatory power . Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing in
13804-533: Was slight confusion as to the term's proper use. Blavatsky frequently used the term "astral body" in connection with the Indian linga sharira which is one of the seven principles of human life. However, she said that "there are various astral bodies". For example, she talked of one as being constituted by "the lower manas and volition, kama" According to the Theosophical founder William Q. Judge "There are many names for
13923-526: Was taken up by Islamic scholars following the collapse of Alexandria to the Arabs in the 7th century, and the founding of the Abbasid empire in the 8th. The second Abbasid caliph , Al Mansur (754–775) founded the city of Baghdad to act as a centre of learning, and included in its design a library-translation centre known as Bayt al-Hikma 'House of Wisdom', which continued to receive development from his heirs and
14042-661: Was the Liber Planetis et Mundi Climatibus ("Book of the Planets and Regions of the World"), which appeared between 1010 and 1027 AD, and may have been authored by Gerbert of Aurillac . Ptolemy's second century AD Tetrabiblos was translated into Latin by Plato of Tivoli in 1138. The Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas followed Aristotle in proposing that the stars ruled the imperfect 'sublunary' body, while attempting to reconcile astrology with Christianity by stating that God ruled
14161-472: Was to provide a major impetus for Arabic-Persian translations of Hellenistic astrological texts. The early translators included Mashallah , who helped to elect the time for the foundation of Baghdad, and Sahl ibn Bishr , ( a.k.a. Zael ), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century. Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during
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