I hope you have recovered from my last presentation and are ready for the next instalment. We looked at the activities of the 1st and 2nd logos. Continuing with the formation of the five planes of matter involving the the creative process, the Third Logos, the Universal Mind, works on the Matter of space – Mulaprakriti, the Celestial Virgin Mary, throwing its three qualities of Tamas (Inertia), Rajas (Mobility), and Sattva (Rhythm) out of stable into unstable equilibrium, and therefore into continual motion in relation to each other.
The Third Logos creates the primary atoms, or highest subplane, of the five lower planes — Atma (45:1), Buddhi (46:1), Manas (47:1), Kama (48:1), and Sthula (49:1): “Fohat electrifies into life and separates primordial matter, or pre-genetic matter into atoms.” That primordial matter is the first atomic subplane in each of these worlds.
There are three stages in the formation of these subatomic or molecular atoms.
1. The “divine measure” or “Tanmatra” defines the limit within which the life of the Logos vibrates, representing the measure of the divine Spirit known as “That”.
2. The axes of growth of the atom which determine its shape, which correspond to the axes of the crystals.
3. By measuring the vibration and the angular relation of the axes, we can determine the surface or wall of the atom.
The directive activity of the Third Logos awakens the atoms of each plane to new powers and possibilities of attraction and repulsion. This causes them to aggregate into molecules and simpler molecules into complex ones, forming, in total, seven sub-planes on each plane, with six lower molecular sub-planes on each of the five planes (45 to 49).
The matter of the sub-planes formed is not the same as the matter we currently experience. It is the aspect of Wisdom or Love, the more strongly attractive or cohesive energies of the Second Logos, which brings about further integrations into familiar forms of matter.
In addition, the whirling currents in the atoms, known as spirillae, are not created by the Third Logos but by the Monads. The spirillae become fully active over the course of evolution, typically one in each Round. Many Yoga practices are aimed at accelerating the development of the spirillae.
In every atom, there are countless potential responses to the three aspects of consciousness. These potentials are realised as the atom evolves. This process is often referred to as the First Life Wave or First Outpouring, which is the work of the Third Logos.
The diagram illustrates the work of the Third Logos or First Outpouring. We will delve deeper into this topic and discuss the ascent of the First Outpouring after we have addressed the Second Outpouring.
Let us now look at the kingdoms of life. The divine life descends into matter vivified by the Third Logos. This divine life comes from the Second Logos or Second Person of the Trinity. This is known as the Second Outpouring. The Second Person of the Trinity takes the form of matter that is already injected with the life of the Third Person so that both the life and the matter surround Him as a vesture. It is thus an accurate statement that He is “incarnate of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary”.
This flood of life pours down through the various planes and kingdoms, spending a period equal in duration to one entire incarnation of a planetary chain at each stage. This process covers many billions of years. A planetary chain consists of seven globes of matter around which the stream of evolving lives passes seven complete times, a total of about 4.3 billion years.
At various stages of its descent, the life of the Second Outpouring is known by various names. As a whole, it is often referred to as a monadic essence, though this term is better used for that portion of it which is clothed only in the atomic matter of the various planes. When it ensouls matter of the lower sub-planes of each plane, it is known as Elemental Essence, borrowed from the writings of medieval occultists, who used it to describe the matter of which the bodies of nature spirits were composed. They spoke of these as “Elementals”, dividing them into classes belonging to the elements of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.
When the Outpouring, or wave of the Divine Life – which in some previous aeon (4.3 billion years), has finished its downward evolution through the Buddhic or Unity (46) plane—pours down into the highest level of the mental plane (47:1), it ensouls great masses of atomic mental matter. In this simplest condition, it does not combine the atoms into molecules in order to form a body for itself but simply applies by its attraction an immense compressing force to them.
We may imagine the force, on first reaching this plane on its downward swoop, to be entirely unaccustomed to its vibrations and unable at first to respond to them. During the aeon which it will spend on this level, its evolution will consist of accustoming itself to vibrate at all rates which are possible there so that at any moment, it can ensoul and use any combination of the matter of that plane. During this long period of evolution, it will have taken upon itself all possible combinations of the matter of the three arupa [formless] or causal levels, but at the end of the time, it returns to the atomic level – not, of course as it was before, but bearing latent within it all the powers which it has gained.
The Wave of Life draws together the matter of the Causal Plane and combines it into substances. It then builds forms from these substances, inhabiting them at that level. This process is known as the First Elemental Kingdom. We have already talked about this kingdom.
Since we’re discussing the Monadic essence on its downward arc, progress means descent into matter rather than ascent towards higher planes, as is the case with us. Therefore, this essence, even on the causal plane, is less evolved than we are, not more so. It would be more accurate to say that it is less involved, as its evolution, in the strict sense of that term, has not yet commenced.
The First Elemental Kingdom has seven subdivisions: the highest corresponds with the first sub-plane, the second, third, and fourth correspond with the second sub-plane, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh correspond with the third sub-plane.
After spending a long period evolving through different forms at a certain level, the life force, which continuously moves downward, integrates so completely with these forms that instead of occupying and leaving them periodically, it is able to permanently hold them and make them a part of itself. When this stage is reached, it can then temporarily occupy forms at an even lower level. It takes form on the lower mental plane. This is the world of form rather than the formless causal plane. This monad then becomes part of the Second Elemental Kingdom. It’s important to note that the life force resides on the higher mental or causal level, while the vehicles through which it manifests are on the lower mental plane. This is similar to how we, as quaternary matter, reside in the 43:1 permanent atom and manifest in envelopes of tertiary matter in the Cosmic Physical Kingdom (43:4 to 49:7).
The Second Elemental Kingdom is divided into seven subdivisions: the highest subdivision corresponds to the fourth sub-plane; the second and third divisions correspond to the fifth sub-plane; the fourth and fifth subdivisions correspond to the sixth sub-plane; and the sixth and seventh divisions correspond to the seventh sub-plane.
After staying in this stage for a complete cycle, the consistent downward pressure has caused the process to start over. Life has once again identified itself with its forms and has settled on the lower mental levels. It then takes on forms of emotional matter and becomes the Third Elemental Kingdom.
As we saw in the series on The Emotional Envelope and The Mental Envelope, both mental and emotional elemental essences are very intimately connected with humans, entering largely into the composition of our vehicles. After spending a whole chain period in the Third Elemental Kingdom, life again identifies itself with those forms, and so is able to ensoul the etheric part of the mineral kingdom, becoming the life which vivifies that kingdom. Remember, these monads are now composed of tertiary matter.
In the process of mineral evolution, downward pressure once again causes life to manifest in etheric forms and then ensoul the denser matter of perceptible minerals. What we commonly refer to as the mineral kingdom encompasses not only substances typically classified as minerals but also liquids, gases, and numerous etheric materials, which are still unrecognised by conventional science.
In the mineral kingdom, life is sometimes referred to as the “mineral monad.” Later, it is termed the “vegetable monad” and the “animal monad.” However, these titles are somewhat misleading because they might suggest that one great monad animates the entire kingdom, which is not the case. Even when the monadic essence first appears as the First Elemental Kingdom, it is not just one monad, but actually many monads. It’s not one great life stream but many parallel streams, each with its own unique characteristics.
When the outpouring reaches the central point of the mineral kingdom, the downward pressure ceases and is replaced by an upward tendency. The “out-breathing” has ceased, and the “in-breathing” or in-drawing has begun.
It is important to note that if there were only one outpouring of life passing from one kingdom to the next, there would only ever be one kingdom in existence at any given time. However, this is not the case. The reason for this is that the Logos continuously sends out waves of life, resulting in multiple kingdoms being in operation at any given time. For example, we represent one such wave of life. The wave that immediately followed ours now inhabits the animal kingdom, while the wave prior to that is in the vegetable kingdom. Another wave is in the mineral stage, and waves five, six, and seven are represented by the Three Elemental Kingdoms. All of these waves are successive ripples of the same great outpouring from the Second Aspect of the Logos. We illustrated this in our series on Chains, Rounds and Globes.
The entire process tends increasingly towards differentiation, with the streams dividing and subdividing as they progress from one level to the next. It’s possible that before all this evolution occurs, there is a point at which we can consider the Great Outpouring to be homogeneous, but we have no knowledge of that.
The process of subdivision continues until, at the end of the initial stage of evolution, it is finally divided into individual souls, i.e., into humans, each of whom is a separate and distinct soul, initially undeveloped.
Let’s leave it there for today and take up the story next time.