A New Appreciation of the
Ageless Wisdom and Esoteric Astrology
THE
SEVEN RAYS are
the original divine qualities of the Absolute. Each individual human soul
is an essential part of one of the Seven Rays, and through a succession
of lifetimes the qualities of that Ray are developed and refined, to further
the evolution of Humanity.
THE
SEVEN RAYS are
an ancient tradition which is increasingly relevant today as the Aquarian
Age begins to unfold, because the Rays work together to make for completeness,
and Humanity - by becoming aware of the Ray energy working through the
soul - should strive for the same ideal.
The
philosophy of the 7 rays demonstrates how people of different spiritual
inclinations can tread the same spiritual path, united in purpose
to help the world without changing their own beliefs.
"My
religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." ~ Dalai Lama
ISBN
9780955430107
These
relevant books by Mo Hone are available from PlutoNetwork.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk & UK bookshops
(click
book covers for details)
ISBN
9780955430114
To navigate
THE SEVEN RAYS TODAY you can use
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LATEST
UPDATES - JULY '10 UPDATED LINKS (JUNE '09 - added 2 new articles here and here)
The rest of this
page explains the basic concepts used on this site (go here
for printable version)
This is
a copy of the article I wrote for Prediction magazine in 1978.
It serves as a good introduction to the Seven Rays because
it marked an early point of my ongoing research.
(Opens in new window)
THE SEVEN RAYS ~ AN OVERVIEW
The Seven Rays are the seven attributes
of God the Absolute, and exist as the natural division of
all earthly manifestation, from the finest to the densest.
We can define the Seven Rays as the seven
natural and precise divisions of any singular reality, which
together make the completeness of the Absolute.
So the Seven Rays exist as the various conditions of energy
and matter, taking the last two terms as different aspects
of the same reality: the highest or finest state of energy
or matter is its First Ray manifestation and the lowest or
most dense state is its Seventh Ray manifestation.
According to the Ancient Wisdom, the objective existence of
the Absolute began with just three aspects, His Will or Intention,
His Love or Consciousness and His Form. This was the origin
of three evolutionary life forms, the Lords Of Flame, The
Lords Of Mind and the Lords of Form, which correspond to the
Absolute's three principles.
To continue
the process of evolution, each of His three life forms were
again divided by three to allow them to adopt these principles
independently from each other, and then into a further four
categories to create what we know as physical reality:
The Lords of Flame are Elemental gods
who are responsible for the seven divisions of the Absolute's
Will into the Seven Kingdoms;
The Lords of Form are Devas who are responsible for the
seven divisions of the Absolute's Form into the Seven Planes;
The Lords of Mind are Humans who are responsible for the
seven divisions of the Absolute's Consciousness into the
Seven Rays.
These are
the only three evolutions of life in the entire cosmos ~ and
by mutual co-operation they are responsible for the creation
of the Absolute's existence, and our total reality.
The basic conditions necessary for
every type of existence in the cosmos are the life-force,
the consciousness and the form, which are based on the original
principles of the Absolute and function through the first
three Primary Rays. In our physical reality, the highest representations
of the Elemental evolution are galaxies; the highest representation
of the Deva evolution are planets, and the highest representations
of the Human evolution are stars.
This hierarchical division of life is the function of the
Absolute's First Aspect, His Divine Will, whose task is to
divide all categories of life into seven archetypal Kingdoms.
The highest Kingdoms in our physical reality, the galaxies,
stars and planets, can only be experienced through one of
our senses, sight - which through its association with light
is related to the Second Primary Ray of Consciousness. The
lower four kingdoms we can relate to through all of our senses:
because the fourth Kingdom is Human life as we understand
it; the fifth Kingdom is the animal realm, the sixth Kingdom
is the vegetable realm, and the seventh Kingdom is the mineral
realm.
Life exists independently
in each of the life evolutions, but all life requires something
from all three to exist, the predominant third being responsible
for deciding through which evolution each individual life
will exist. Therefore an Elemental will be predominantly composed
of energy with a lesser amount of form and consciousness than
a Devic being, who will be predominantly form, and a Human
being who will be predominantly conscious.
All life is subject to three basic properties:
the will to live or the life-force; the condition of being
alive or consciousness; and the vehicle for life or bodily
form. Where these three constituents are active the process
of life is being fulfilled. These conditions are the three
Primary Rays of Manifestation, the First Ray of Will, the
Second Ray of Consciousness, and the Third Ray of Form. This
is the minimum requirement for life, although to explain the
variety of life forms in existence on Earth, the Third Ray
is divided into a further four, called the Rays of Attribute,
because form could exist as a single cell, an ocean teaming
with life or a planet: the last four Rays put form into perspective.
The Rays working through
Elementals act as a sevenfold division of archetypes, through
the Devas as a sevenfold division of form, and Humans as a
sevenfold division of consciousness. We can appreciate the
existence of the Elemental and Devic evolutions because together
they are responsible for the Seven Planes.
The Seven Planes exist as the archetypal
collection of graded impulses stemming from the Absolute’s
Divine Will. As such, they are beyond any concept of duality
so they alone are aware of their existence, which is their
natural condition of beingness. They are the First Primary
Cause, the Elemental Lords of Flame. For the Planes to be
useful to the Absolute and to aspects of His creation, the
Elementals have to be organised into life by the Devic Lords
of Form, to create an appearance that can be used by the Human
Lords of Mind in their quest to manifest their quality. This
demonstrates that the Planes are a combination of Devic and
Elemental life, which can only function as part of our reality
when balanced with the qualities of the Human Seven Rays.
The Seven Planes are the seven divisions of energy and form,
which we confuse with levels of consciousness just because
our awareness is able to access them. For example, the Astral
Plane exists whether we are conscious of it or not ~ it has
its own independent reality which the Elemental and Devic
lifestreams are responsible for. Our consciousness can be
aware of it through the medium of the Seven Rays, but the
Astral Plane is there for purposes other than for us to dream
on, it is a reality for other beings existing on other lifestreams
as much as the physical Plane exists through our own concept
of reality.
Each of the Seven Planes is divided into seven sub-planes,
and each Plane and sub-plane relate to the Rays as do their
counterparts on the Physical Plane. Our reality exists on
the seventh sub-plane of the seventh Plane.
Our normal physical environment is related to the Seventh
Ray, because it is composed of solid tangible matter. This
is how we are aware of it, through all our senses, from sight
to touch. We also know the physical world is composed of intangible
forms of matter called molecules, atoms and sub-atomic particles.
We can equate these three states of matter, which can only
be detected with scientific instruments rather than our own
senses, with the first three Primary Rays.
Sub-atomic particles are present throughout the universe and
have no barriers; they pass straight through everything, including
the planet Earth, and we only recognise their existence through
their interaction. These particles form the primordial essence
of the entire universe, because they belong to the Elemental
Kingdom. They exist in their pure unmanifest condition on
the highest level of physical reality, but because they are
responsible for all physical manifestation they are also the
substance of the lower four levels which require co-operation
from the Devic Kingdom to produce a physical reality which
Human beings and other forms of earthly life can interact
with through the agency of the Human quality of conscious
awareness.
The difference between the Elemental existence on the highest
sub-atomic level and the four lowest levels is that on the
highest level the Elemental beings have a separate existence
which we can only understand through the idea of archetypes.
The First Primary is the level at which the archetypal ideas
of physical forms exist, which is the energy that ensures
every cat will look like all other cats, to use a simple example.
This is the first sub-plane of the Physical Plane, the sub-plane
of archetypes, the level of the Absolute’s Divine Will. The
lower four levels of Fire, Air, Water and Earth then become
the arena through which the Absolute’s Divine Will is made
manifest. On these lower four levels the archetypal idea translates
into a type of manifestation unique to each level, so that
the Fourth level contains form which fits the archetypal category
of energy, the Fifth level gases, the Sixth level liquids,
and the Seventh level solids.
Atoms have a more permanent and tangible existence. They are
the basic forms of all physical matter, and group together
to form molecules that have entirely different qualities to
the atoms of which they are composed. We know that nuclear
energy holds them together in a stable condition and that
when they are "smashed" they produce a chain reaction which
causes other atoms to break down into sub-atomic particles.
We also know they have certain qualities which we can use
to determine their actions, such as the way they can be grouped
into "families" according to the Periodic Table, how these
elements can be described by colour through spectrum analysis
and by using this method we can determine the elements of
distant stars. This ties them in with light and colour, which
is the esoteric reason light is used to describe the Second
Primary realm of atoms.
Next are the molecules, the basis of our physical existence
and of life itself, because DNA is a molecular substance.
This makes it easy to see how molecules relate to the Third
Primary. The difference between molecules and atoms is that
molecules can easily be transformed through chemical reactions,
whereas atoms can not. Translating this into esoteric terminology
we can see how Second Primary atoms are permanent and dependent
only on the First Primary of sub-atomic forces, whereas Third
Primary molecules, as a manifestation of angles, are subject
to continual change, whether they manifest as genes or something
more tangible like flesh and blood.
Therefore the Devas of the Third Primary, which equate with
the molecular world, organise the Elementals of the First
Primary, which equate with the world of the sub-atomic particles,
into appreciable forms through the lower four levels to create
physical matter which Humans can interact with through the
Second Primary of consciousness awareness. This is accomplished
on an atomic level, so that the atoms responsible for our
physical form hold the key to our understanding of our physical
existence. Atoms are composed of sub-atomic particles, and
form into molecules which are responsible for life as we understand
it, because they are the physical manifestation of the Primary
Rays.
However, before the Elemental, Devic and Human life-streams,
acting as the three Primary Rays, can experience life, they
have to unite and create a temporary reality as a vehicle
of expression, which they do on the fourth or middle sub-plane.
This fourth state is the energy field related to the etheric,
the element of Fire, and the plasma condition of matter. On
this level all three life-streams can unite to act out their
role in providing experience for the Absolute.
If further experience is required, from this fourth state
of existence three more states can be added, each relating
more particularly to one of the life- streams, and which approximately
mirror the higher three states which are unable to manifest
physically without the co-operation of the other life-streams.
These extra three states are the elemental worlds of Air,
Water and Earth: Air relating to the Third Primary of form,
Water to the Second Primary of consciousness and Earth to
the First Primary of will. The fact that the highest condition
of life which exists as the First Primary is also inherent
in the most dense state of solid matter, the seventh sub-plane
related to the Seventh Ray, is a good example of the Quabbalistic
concept of Kether in Malkuth.
Human beings are part
of the Second lifestream, and are governed by the Second Primary
of Love or Consciousness. This shows that basically we are
creatures of consciousness, a fact that every great religion
and philosophy has preached, and a fundamental spiritual truth.
What we consider to be our normal everyday selves, our personal
awareness, is our personality. This can be affected by many
various subjective influences, hardly any of which originate
from our Higher Self - which only works through the Seven
Rays. Therefore the Rays are not applicable here, and the
nearest we get to understanding the variety of personality
types is through astrological influence, acting as a link
between the Rays and the influences our personalities are
able to interact with.
It is the Human soul which exists as part of one of the Seven
Rays, giving each person the ability to act as a channel for
one of the Rays, once a certain amount of soul contact has
been established. The soul Ray is responsible for our spiritual
evolution by training our personality in the use of the individual
Ray energies available to us.
It is the Devas and Elementals who are responsible for our
reality. They work together to form the physical existence
which we take for granted, but which we Humans are also partly
responsible for because it is our awareness of our surroundings
which gives these surroundings their objective existence.
As Human beings we are machines used by the Absolute for the
evolution of all three life-streams, and although ultimately
we are conscious Human beings, we are also composed of Devic
and Elemental essences which are responsible for our physical
bodies and life energies respectively.
The Seven Rays interact with a Human being through the medium
of the seven major chakras which form links between each of
man’s bodies that exist on higher sub-planes above the physical.
Our chakras are numerically related to both the Seven Rays
and the Seven Planes, so that the lowest, the Base Centre,
relates to the Seventh Ray, and the highest, the Crown Centre,
relates to the First Ray.
The highest three chakras, the Crown, Head and Throat, work
mainly with Elemental, Human and Devic energy respectively,
giving us our life-force or will, our consciousness, and our
form or physical body. This ties in with our spirit, soul
and personality. In real terms, the Third Ray is responsible
for our mental faculties, the Second Ray is responsible for
our awareness, and the First Ray is responsible for our physical
motivation. The lower four chakras work with the four Rays
of Attribute through the medium of the four elements which
correspond to the lower four Planes. These Planes are formed
out of the substance of Elementals ~ which is why they are
alluded to as the "elements" ~ and are organised into realities
perceivable by Human consciousness through the interaction
of the Devas.
In a Human being, the Earth element governs the solid form,
from skeleton to skin; the Water element governs the liquid
form, from the water content of the body to the bloodstream;
the Air element governs the gaseous form such as the breath;
and the Fire element governs the energy form such as the nervous
system.
Although each person belongs fundamentally to just one Ray,
we also possesses minor qualities of other Rays which help
to mould the individual character. This is similar to the
situation in astrology, where every individual with a Leo
sun sign will also have traits taken from other zodiac signs
dependent on planetary placings and his Ascendant. There the
similarity ends. It is not possible to ascertain a person's
Ray type from a study of the horoscope, because the energies
of the Seven Rays which manifest on Earth originate from the
realms of the stars far beyond our own solar system, and their
energies are scaled down even before they reach the stars
which comprise our zodiac signs.
So the Seven Rays, besides being a way of classifying and
relating all manner of things both spiritual and mundane,
also show that there are seven different approaches to spirituality,
as each individual’s soul or Higher Self functions on just
one of these Rays. Above this is our spiritual essence or Monad, which
does not function through the Seven Rays but only through
the three Primary Rays.
The relationship between
each of the Seven Rays and how these energies work into physical
manifestation introduces the concept of angles.
Angles are non-physical energy connections that underlie all
physical reality. They are the common denominator of everything
that exists in the physical world and beyond, because they
form the actual blueprint of all physical existence, both
living and inert.
Just as the Seven Rays are the seven natural divisions of
any reality, angles are the subjective relationship between
two or more objective realities. Angles do not have an objective
existence of their own, and operate as subjective connections
between apparently unrelated forms. They are the result of
the co-operation between the Devic and Elemental life evolutions,
and function beyond our earthly Human objective awareness.
Although the idea of a relationship implies a connection we
can understand with our logical minds, the truth is that everything
in the universe is connected directly or indirectly to everything
else. A lot of connections are obvious, such as your hand
is connected to your arm, or a strong wind is responsible
for leaves falling from trees, and in these instances the
connection is objective, because we appreciate the connection.
However, there are many indirect connections between things
that are not obvious, because for anything to exist in the
physical world it has to be connected in some way to the reality
of physical existence. We cannot understand such connections
because they are subjective and involve angles.
Every variety of manifestation on our planet owes its origins
to angles through their intimate connection with form. They
are symbolically assigned two of their own attributions, "intention"
and "substance". "Intention" is produced by the Elemental
Lords of Flame, and "substance" is produced by the Devic Lords
of Form, who are also responsible for the construction of
angles, using the medium of the archetypal Elementals as co-operative
ingredients. This why the Devas are known as the "builders
of the universe".
Angles are not form and only become so when the third ingredient
is added, which is conscious energy or love. This is the attractive
and creative force in the universe that stimulates angles
into producing form on the lower four planes of manifestation.
This joins with the two attributes of angles making a temporary,
non-evolving life form which exists until consciousness ceases
to be applied, and the life form returns to being a mere angle.
When angles are activated and become temporary life forms
they have a threefold existence of life-force, consciousness
and form. Angles are not living beings: they do not evolve
or belong to a particular Kingdom of evolution, but are a
natural product of the Devic evolution, who create angles
like we think.
Devas produce angles to give structure to the archetypal energy
fields of the Planes - the basic state of the Elemental archetypes,
by converting them into a condition that can be utilised by
the Second Primary of consciousness. Once they have been activated,
they fulfil their particular role through the angular structure
of the etheric sub-planes of the lower Planes of Fire, Air,
Water and Earth. Each Plane and sub-plane is of one element
only, and therefore consists of only one type of Elemental
being.
Angles are not part of any occult or spiritual system, but
exist in a variety of specific forms that appear to be totally
unrelated until you understand the concept of angles. Ancient
tradition recognised angles but chose either to personify
them, or call them specific names depending on which of their
numerous functions was being described. A few examples are
the aka threads of the Huna religion of Hawaii; the cords
of the spider's web in European mythology; acupuncture meridians
that distribute chi energy through the body, the similar nadis
of yoga; plus the ‘elementals’ of medieval magic.
In real terms, you cannot give specific examples of angles,
you can only have what angles represent in each situation.
This is because once you limit angles to any kind of definition,
this becomes the concept that has been arrived at via angles,
and so angles remain constantly subjective and beyond description.
Angles do not have any kind of form of their own, even in
the most abstract sense, but should be thought of more as
potentialities of form after a definite archetypal pattern.
As the necessary ingredient of form, they exist in conjunction
with manifestation on all Planes and sub-planes from the cosmic
Third Plane downwards, which is the highest level on which
form of any kind can exist.
In addition, angles always consist of the energies or substance
peculiar to the Plane or sub-plane on which they function,
although they also form connections between Planes. This is
because "intention" works through a particular sub-plane that
corresponds to the most suitable form or "substance" for a
particular idea; so that when the circumstances surrounding
the manifestation become ideal, creating the opportunity for
Human involvement, the Deva is bound to create the angle out
of the Elemental life of this sub-plane.
Individual Humans also owe their existence to angles. The
Lords of Karma, evolved Devas associated with the planets,
are responsible for creating Human angles before birth. The
individuality of each person is based on the interpretation
of the karmic necessity earned in previous existences, which
determines the structure of the angles to be used as the vehicle
for Human consciousness.
Angles also produce the natural environment without which
there would be no life on Earth, and which people need to
gain experience of life. Devas co-operate with the Elementals
of each Plane or sub-plane to produce our normal surroundings,
together with the variety of environmental effects which have
the ability to affect our lives. Weather patterns are a good
example of angles in operation, from earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions on the earth sub-plane, to storms and tidal currents
on the liquid sub-plane, to hurricanes and storms on the air
sub-plane, and lightning on the energy sub-plane. The ancients
were more aware than modern people of the hidden forces that
caused these changes in the environment, and learnt how to
work with these natural forces of the planet, who they knew
as gods.
Angles link a Human being to his natural life environment
via his etheric sheath or vital body. The etheric sheath acts
like a scaffolding for the physical form, much like a spider's
web. Each thread of the web acts as a channel that connects
the pranic life-force of the higher sub-planes to the seven
major chakras.
These lines of the spider’s web are one representation of
angles. They form connections between every part of a Human
being, because they form the blueprint of his identity, of
his essence and of his potentialities. Every aspect of Human
existence depends on one of these lines or angles making a
connection to the rest of his form.
Angles, as the fabric of consciousness, are the framework
through which we have conscious experience. Through the application
of our conscious energy - often outside of our normal awareness
- we inject them with the third balancing force, and once
their three ingredients are in balance, their "intention",
"substance" and "consciousness", the angle is activated.
This process demonstrates how they are responsible for a person's
attributes, likes, manners, dreams, experiences, abilities,
senses, intelligence, thoughts, emotions, pride, passion,
love, compassion, health and energy. Absolutely everything
concerning a human individual, even before birth and after
death, is dependent on angles.
If we consider a person as an angle, the First Primary is
the will, which works as the archetypal energy which make
us Human, the Second Primary is our consciousness, representing
our condition of awareness and the Third Primary is our angular
form, representing our body and physical shape. The sum total
of a person's angles, that have been imbued with consciousness
and therefore brought to life, could be seen as a single Devic
being: our personal guardian and provider, our Holy Guardian
Angel. This is the Devic life who exists through the accumulation
of awareness that is linked to our angles, and whose role
is to sustain the balance between form and consciousness.
However, the Human etheric angular structure is only one representation
of angles in man's natural environment: EVERY manifestation
on our planet owes its origins to angles through their intimate
connection with form, because angles are the subjective relationship
between ANY two objective realities.
Angles are responsible for the interpretation of every reality
we are normally able to experience, because they originate
with universal energies that have their origins in the delicate
balance and interaction of the planets in our solar system.
The highest representations of angles in our reality are the
astrological aspects between planets. These planetary angles
are in continual motion but always retain a permanent existence,
as the relationship between individual planets varies their
intensity and influence over time. On Earth, we interact with
angles like these because they have a subtle effect on various
levels of electromagnetic frequencies, which are tuned to
our Human sensory apparatus working through our chakras.
As the original angular set exists in the relationship between
the planets in our solar system, these angles can be determined
approximately from a horoscope. More than this, each individual
is part of a huge angular structure that ties us in with all
forms of life in the universe, from planets and stars, to
Devas and Elementals. Humanity as a whole is an angle as much
as each individual is a smaller angle within the group collective,
and the constituent parts are all based on the same original
design: as above, so below. This is the origin of the idea
of archetypes, or in a mythical sense that "man is made in
God’s image", because all Human beings are archetypal man
with the same basic angular set.
ISBN 9780955430114
(see DIAGRAM 1 - THE THREE PRIMARIES)
