Materialists, Occultists, and Mystics
Jul. 18th, 2021 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mollariJust as different languages divide the colour spectrum in different places, so to do different spiritual groups divide the subtle realities which exist in different places. Just as the rainbow does not neatly divide into different colours in reality, but rather only appears to do so because the people looking at it think of “blue” and “green”, so too do the subtle realities blend into each other, but can be perceived as having particular “shades”; and although the shades blend together, by separating them out, it becomes possible to discuss them in more meaningful ways.
One rather important consequence of this is that there are multiple different divisions, all of which are equally valid, and all of which can reveal something. I've lately been exploring some of the implications of a seven fold division of the realities which human beings can experience, based upon Dion Fortune's divisions, but not quite equivalent. One rather interesting consequence of the system is that it becomes possible to discuss the differences between materialists, occultists, and mystics in a new and interesting way.
The system consists of seven planes: the first being the physical or material plane, of matter and energy. The second is the etheric plane, the realm of life energies. It is what people usually sense when they talk about the “vibe” of a person or place. Fortune considered this to be a part of the material plane, but I personally find the etheric plane distinct enough that it's worth considering a separate plane.
The third plane is what Fortune calls the lower astral, and I'll call the passional plane: it is the realm of emotions, and of passions. Hopes, dreams, fears, love, hatred, and all emotions exist on this plane of being. Above it lies what Fortune terms the upper astral, and I'll call the imaginal plane: the realm of concrete consciousness, of imagination.
Above this lies Fortune's lower mental, which I'll term the mythic plane. It is the realm of all the stories, habitual ways of thinking, and narratives which we use to make sense of the world. Above it lies what Fortune calls the upper mental, and I'll call the formal plane: the plane of abstract consciousness, of meaning. Finally, where Fortune refers to a lower spiritual and an upper spiritual, I'll refer solely to the spiritual plane, a realm which transcends meanings and is thus very difficult to describe.
The following three categories, the materialist, the occultist, and the mystic are not perfect categories, but rather blend into one another. This does not mean that they are not meaningful, just that it's important to remember that few people are exactly in one category or the other.
These planes can be divided into three triads: a lower triad of the physical, etheric, and passional; a middle triad of the passional, the imaginal, and the mythic; and an upper triad of the mythic, the formal, and the spiritual. Each of these triads correspond to a particular path human beings can take through life. The materialist roots her consciousness in the lower triad: focusing on the material plane through to the passional. The materialist does not seek anything higher, and pursues a life dedicated to seeking to satisfy pleasures and avoid pain; even her morality derives from this: what is right is right because it feels right. This is the default for human beings, and far and away the easiest path for human beings to pursue.
Even those who remain rooted in the lower triad will occasionally rise upwards: daydreaming and telling stories are a part of everyone's lives; and many may find something provides a sense of meaning, but this too is usually rooted in the material world. However, to the materialist all of these are less important than the physical reality she lives in, and to the fulfillment of her desires and avoidance of her fears, whatever those may be.
The occultist meanwhile seeks to root her consciousness in them middle triad: the path of the occultist does not seek to transcend the passional plane, and so emotions and passions can play a role in the training of the occultist; they can in fact play a central role in some forms of occultism, appearing in such forms as sex magic. However, imagination and myth play a major role in the path of the occultist: scrying and the visualizations used in rituals display the importance of the imaginal plane; and study of myths and legends, and systematic effort to train the mind to notice these patterns plays a central role in the training of the occultist.
The occultist, like the mystic, cannot transcend the lower planes: the occultist must eat, must earn a living, and so the path of the occultist can not ignore the physical and etheric planes, but they are not her focus as they are for the materialist. It's also worth noting that many occultists do also reach upwards for the formal and spiritual plane, some in the form of prayer and meditation, but these are not the core of the path.
Finally, the last category is the mystic, who seeks to root her consciousness in the upper triad, of the mythic, formal, and spiritual. This is far and away the hardest of the three paths: many who try to rise this far cannot do so, as the lower planes will always exert their pull on human consciousness. The ascetic practices which seek to transcend the desires of the passional plane is one crucial element to this path, and the deep meditations and intense prayers which characterize the mystical path are meant to bring the state of consciousness up far higher than it would otherwise naturally go.
None of these paths are better than the other: each has its place, and all are necessary for the soul to experience. However, each path is a world unto itself, and the life experiences of the materialist, the occultist, and the mystic are so different that they might as well inhabit different worlds altogether.
One rather important consequence of this is that there are multiple different divisions, all of which are equally valid, and all of which can reveal something. I've lately been exploring some of the implications of a seven fold division of the realities which human beings can experience, based upon Dion Fortune's divisions, but not quite equivalent. One rather interesting consequence of the system is that it becomes possible to discuss the differences between materialists, occultists, and mystics in a new and interesting way.
The system consists of seven planes: the first being the physical or material plane, of matter and energy. The second is the etheric plane, the realm of life energies. It is what people usually sense when they talk about the “vibe” of a person or place. Fortune considered this to be a part of the material plane, but I personally find the etheric plane distinct enough that it's worth considering a separate plane.
The third plane is what Fortune calls the lower astral, and I'll call the passional plane: it is the realm of emotions, and of passions. Hopes, dreams, fears, love, hatred, and all emotions exist on this plane of being. Above it lies what Fortune terms the upper astral, and I'll call the imaginal plane: the realm of concrete consciousness, of imagination.
Above this lies Fortune's lower mental, which I'll term the mythic plane. It is the realm of all the stories, habitual ways of thinking, and narratives which we use to make sense of the world. Above it lies what Fortune calls the upper mental, and I'll call the formal plane: the plane of abstract consciousness, of meaning. Finally, where Fortune refers to a lower spiritual and an upper spiritual, I'll refer solely to the spiritual plane, a realm which transcends meanings and is thus very difficult to describe.
The following three categories, the materialist, the occultist, and the mystic are not perfect categories, but rather blend into one another. This does not mean that they are not meaningful, just that it's important to remember that few people are exactly in one category or the other.
These planes can be divided into three triads: a lower triad of the physical, etheric, and passional; a middle triad of the passional, the imaginal, and the mythic; and an upper triad of the mythic, the formal, and the spiritual. Each of these triads correspond to a particular path human beings can take through life. The materialist roots her consciousness in the lower triad: focusing on the material plane through to the passional. The materialist does not seek anything higher, and pursues a life dedicated to seeking to satisfy pleasures and avoid pain; even her morality derives from this: what is right is right because it feels right. This is the default for human beings, and far and away the easiest path for human beings to pursue.
Even those who remain rooted in the lower triad will occasionally rise upwards: daydreaming and telling stories are a part of everyone's lives; and many may find something provides a sense of meaning, but this too is usually rooted in the material world. However, to the materialist all of these are less important than the physical reality she lives in, and to the fulfillment of her desires and avoidance of her fears, whatever those may be.
The occultist meanwhile seeks to root her consciousness in them middle triad: the path of the occultist does not seek to transcend the passional plane, and so emotions and passions can play a role in the training of the occultist; they can in fact play a central role in some forms of occultism, appearing in such forms as sex magic. However, imagination and myth play a major role in the path of the occultist: scrying and the visualizations used in rituals display the importance of the imaginal plane; and study of myths and legends, and systematic effort to train the mind to notice these patterns plays a central role in the training of the occultist.
The occultist, like the mystic, cannot transcend the lower planes: the occultist must eat, must earn a living, and so the path of the occultist can not ignore the physical and etheric planes, but they are not her focus as they are for the materialist. It's also worth noting that many occultists do also reach upwards for the formal and spiritual plane, some in the form of prayer and meditation, but these are not the core of the path.
Finally, the last category is the mystic, who seeks to root her consciousness in the upper triad, of the mythic, formal, and spiritual. This is far and away the hardest of the three paths: many who try to rise this far cannot do so, as the lower planes will always exert their pull on human consciousness. The ascetic practices which seek to transcend the desires of the passional plane is one crucial element to this path, and the deep meditations and intense prayers which characterize the mystical path are meant to bring the state of consciousness up far higher than it would otherwise naturally go.
None of these paths are better than the other: each has its place, and all are necessary for the soul to experience. However, each path is a world unto itself, and the life experiences of the materialist, the occultist, and the mystic are so different that they might as well inhabit different worlds altogether.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-19 02:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-19 03:01 am (UTC)I personally also suspect that a lifetime spent as occultists or especially as a mystic supercharge the soul's development to such an extent that if done properly it only takes a couple of lives of them to finish the soul's growth and allow it to move on to the higher levels of existence, rather than the much larger number it would take as a materialist.