In examining the Emotional World, we have dealt with its human occupants, living and dead. Let us now start to look at its non-human population, starting with-
1. Elemental Essence.—The word “elemental” has been used by various writers to mean many different kinds of entities. In the context we use it, an elemental essence is comprised of an unbelievably large number of monads that have reached the stage of secondary matter. This means these monads are passively conscious, as opposed to being potentially conscious like a primary monad, or actively conscious, like a tertiary monad. You must realise that the evolution of this elemental essence, comprised of a host of monads, is taking place on the downward curve of the arc, as it is often called: i.e., it is progressing towards the complete entanglement in matter, which we see in the mineral kingdom, instead of away from it; consequently, its progress means descent into matter instead of ascent towards higher planes.
Before the “Third Outpouring” arrives at the stage of individualisation at which it ensouls the 4th kingdom, where Humanity dwells, it has already passed through and ensouled six earlier phases of evolution, viz., the first elemental kingdom (on the higher mental or causal plane), the second elemental kingdom (on the lower mental plane), the third elemental kingdom (on the emotional plane), the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms. It should also be noted that a state of primary matter precedes all these kingdoms.
In the case of the emotional plane, we are here dealing only with the emotional elemental essence. This essence consists of the divine outpouring, which has already veiled itself in matter down to the atomic level of the mental plane. It then plunges directly into the emotional plane, aggregating a body of atomic emotional matter around itself. Such a combination is what constitutes the elemental essence of the emotional plane, belonging to the third elemental kingdom. Powell tells us that this third kingdom immediately precedes the mineral. This needs to be corrected. Between the third Elemental Kingdom and the Mineral Kingdom lies tertiary matter. This is a stage that these early writings had completely left out.
In its 2,401 differentiations on the emotional plane, elemental essence draws to itself many combinations of the matter of the multiple sub-planes. Nevertheless, these are only temporary, and they remain essentially one kingdom. Why precisely 2,401 differentiations? If you divide by seven, you get 343. Remember that number. That is the number of sub-races within a root race. That number seven gets everywhere.
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an elemental in connection with the group we are considering. The elemental is a construct, not a unit of life. We find a vast store of elemental essence, wonderfully sensitive to the most fleeting human thought, responding with inconceivable delicacy, in a tiny fraction of a second, to a vibration set up in it by an entirely unconscious exercise of human will or desire. But remember, this essence is a monad in its own right. What differentiates it from us is its level of consciousness. When a higher consciousness of thought or will is influenced, it is moulded into a living force. This force is known as an elemental and belongs to the “artificial” class, to which we shall come in a future presentation. Even then, its separate existence usually quickly dissolves. As soon as its impulse has worked itself out, it sinks back into the undifferentiated mass of elemental essence from which it came.
A visitor to the Emotional World will inevitably be impressed by the ever-changing forms of the ceaseless tide of elemental essence, ever swirling around oneself, menacing often, yet always retiring before a determined effort of the will. The visitor will marvel at the enormous army of entities temporarily called out of this ocean into separate existence by the thoughts and feelings of the visitor, whether good or evil. Powell and Leadbeater’s writings get it wrong because they allude that the elemental essence may be classified according to the matter it inhabits, i.e., solid, liquid, gaseous, etc. They say these are the “elementals” of the mediaeval alchemists. According to them, alchemists correctly held that an “elemental”, i.e., a portion of the appropriate living elemental essence, existed permanently in each “element”, or constituent part, of every physical substance. While the concept is correct, these researchers have forgotten that the three elemental kingdoms they describe live on planes 48 and 47, which are split between the 1st and 2nd triads. So how do these elemental essences suddenly find themselves in Plane 49? They don’t. They must descend further into matter, forming another ring of 49 atoms. You now have an unbelievably large number of monads, 1.34 x 1081 to be precise, which make up the atomic substrate of the 49th plane. Matter on this plane is now actively conscious and is called Tertiary Matter. Each of these seven main classes, one per subplane of this Tertiary matter, may also be subdivided into seven sub-divisions, making 49 sub-divisions in total. In addition to, and entirely separate from, these horizontal divisions, there are also seven perfectly distinct types of Tertiary matter, the difference between them having nothing to do with the degree of materiality but rather with character and affinities. You should now be familiar with this classification as the “perpendicular” division concerning the seven “rays”. There are also seven sub-divisions in each ray type, making 49 perpendicular sub-divisions. The total number of kinds of Tertiary elemental essence is thus 49×49 or 2,401. As above, so below.
Getting back to the Emotional World, the perpendicular division is far more permanent and fundamental than the horizontal division, for the elemental essence in the slow course of evolution passes through the various horizontal classes in succession but remains in its own perpendicular sub-division all the way through. When any portion of the elemental essence remains for a few moments entirely unaffected by any outside influence — a condition that hardly ever occurs — it has no definite form of its own, but on the slightest disturbance, it flashes into a bewildering confusion of restless, ever-changing shapes, which form, rush about and disappear with the rapidity of the bubbles on the surface of boiling water. These evanescent shapes, though generally those of living creatures of some sort, human or otherwise, no more express the existence of separate entities in essence than the continually changing and multiform waves raised in a few moments on a previously smooth lake by a sudden storm. They seem to be mere reflections from the vast storehouse of the emotional light. Yet, they usually have a particular appropriateness to the character of the thought stream, which calls them into existence. However, they nearly always have some grotesque distortion, terrifying or unpleasant aspect about themselves.
When the elemental essence is thrown into shapes appropriate to the stream of half-conscious, involuntary thoughts, which the majority of Humanity allow to flow idly through their brains, the intelligence which selects the appropriate shape is not derived from the mind of the thinker: neither can it derive from the elemental essence itself, because it belongs to a kingdom further from individualisation even than the mineral, entirely devoid of awakened mental power. This we call potential consciousness. Nevertheless, the elemental essence possesses a marvellous adaptability, which often seems to come very near to intelligence: no doubt this property caused elementals to be spoken of in early books as “the semi-intelligent creatures of the emotional light”.
The elemental kingdoms proper do not admit such conceptions as good or evil. Nevertheless, a bias or tendency permeates nearly all their sub-divisions, rendering them hostile rather than friendly towards Humanity. Hence, the usual experience of the neophyte on the emotional plane, where vast hosts of ever-changing spectres, ghosts by another name, advance threateningly upon the neophyte but consistently retire or dissipate harmlessly when boldly faced. As stated by mediaeval writers, this bias or tendency is due entirely to the neophyte’s faults. It is caused by their indifference to and indifference to sympathise with other living beings. In the “golden age” of the past, it was not so, any more than it will be so in the future when, owing to the changed attitude of Humanity, both the elemental essence and also the Animal Kingdom will once again become docile and helpful to Humanity, instead of the reverse. Thus, the elemental kingdom as a whole is very much what the collective thought of Humanity makes it. Considering that, God help us.
There are many uses to which the forces inherent in the manifold varieties of the elemental essence can be put by someone trained in their management. The vast majority of magical ceremonies depend almost entirely upon its manipulation, either directly by the magician’s will or by some more definite emotional entity evoked by the magician. By this means, nearly all the physical phenomena of the séance room are produced. It is also the agent in most cases of stone-throwing or bell-ringing in haunted houses, these latter cases being the results of blundering efforts to attract attention made by some earth-bound human entity or by the mere mischievous pranks of some of the minor nature-spirits belonging to our third class. However, the “elemental” must never be considered a prime mover: it is simply a latent force that needs an external power to set it in motion.
I have had repeated discussions with people who blame all their ills on the unruly nature of these elementals, as though they have a life of their own. They don’t and never will; let’s be clear about that. In the following presentation, we will look at another class of non-human residents in the Emotional World, the emotional bodies of animals.