On the “geography”
of the astral plane, William Atkinson in his book "Life beyond death" wrote the
following:
« Before
proceeding to a consideration of the experiences of the newly awakened
disembodied soul, we ask you to take a brief glimpse at what may be called
“geography” of the Astral Plane, that great scene or plane of the activities of
the disembodied souls of the race; this is the logical path of approach to the
subject. For, before we are asked to consider the inhabitants of a new country,
we are generally made acquainted with the country itself, its hills and
valleys, its rivers and plains, its highlands and lowlands. And, using the same
figure of speech, let us now take a little lesson in the geography of the
Astral Plane, the place of abode of the disembodied souls.
(It is false that the place of residence of
disembodied souls is the astral plane, because the masters specified that the
place of residence of disembodied souls is Devachan, which is located on the
mental plane, while the astral is the intermediate zone that souls have to go through to get to Devachan.)
But, first
let us again remind you that the Astral Plane is not a country —is not a place
at all— in the usual sense. Its dimensions are not those of space, but of
vibration. In a way it may be said that the dimensions of the Astral Plane are
the dimensions of Time, for vibrations can be measured only by their rate of
motion, and that rate is determined only in terms of Time.
The same
is true of all vibrations whether of Astral energy or the lower forms of
energy. The vibrations of light are measured in terms of Time, that is to say
so many vibrations to the second, and so on. The higher the rate of vibration,
the greater the rate of speed manifested in the vibration.
The
ancient occultists were fond of stating the truth regarding the highest forms
of vibration, by saying that there a rate of vibration so infinitely rapid that
it seems to be absolutely still and motionless. From this extreme, we descend
by degrees until the very grossest forms of matter are reached, and there we
find a rate of vibration so slow that it likewise seems motionless.
(Here, William Atkinson is repeating what
he detailed in chapter nine of his book "The Kybalion," but his reasoning is not entirely correct, see link, later I will put it)
The
substance of the Astral Plane is, of course, very much finer than that of the
material plane — its vibrations very much higher than the finest form of
material substance. But there is the widest range between the vibrations of the
lowest planes and those of the higher ones. In fact, the difference between the
lowest plane of the Astral, and the highest of the material plane, is less than
the difference between the lowest and highest of the Astral itself. So that
between these two extremes of Astral vibrations, we have the same great territory
that we would have on the material plane, with this difference, however, that
the material territory is measured by space dimensions, while that of the
Astral is to be measured only in terms of vibration, or time, and not of space.
For
instance, when one travels on the material plane, he must traverse space —
feet, yards, or miles. But, on the Astral Plane, when one travels he traverses
rates of vibrations — that is to say, he passes from a high rate of vibration
to a lower, or vice versa. And these various planes or sub-planes
of vibratory energy constitute the geographical features of the Astral Plane.
(Also in the astral plane there is a
displacement based on space and for you to have a better understanding of this,
imagine the astral plane as a building. Inside the building you change floors
by means of the elevator. Well, in the same way on the astral plane you change sub-plane through your
vibration, but within each sub-plane you move through the space that makes up
that sub-plane.)
There are
countless planes and sub-planes, or
“regions” of the Astral Plane, which may be traveled, but all Astral travel is
performed simply by passing from one degree of vibration to another. Using a
crude example, we may say that it is somewhat akin to passing from the state of
ice to that of water, and then of steam. Or, again, it may be thought of as
passing from ordinary atmospheric air, to liquid air, and then to solid air
(the latter is theoretically possible, although science has not yet been able
to solidify air. These illustrations are of course very crude, but they may
help you to understand the geography of the Astral Plane a little better.
Henceforth,
we shall speak of travel on the Astral Plane — that is travel between the
different planes and sub-planes of
the Astral— as if it were on the material plane. That is to say, instead of
saying that the soul passes from one state of vibration to another, we shall
speak of it as proceeding from one sub-plane or plane to another, in the same
terms that we would employ in describing a journey on the material plane. This
will simplify matters for us, and will obviate a needless repetition of the
statement regarding vibrational conditions or states. With this understanding,
we shall now proceed.
There are
many states or conditions of existence on the Astral Plane, which are spoken of
as planes and sub-planes.
These planes and sub-planes are
inhabited by souls fitted to dwell upon the particular series of planes or sub-planes
upon which they awaken from the soul-slumber.
Subtle principles of soul attraction draw each soul to the particular place for
which it is fitted. The great law of attraction operates unerringly here. There
is no chance or haphazard about the mechanism of the law of attraction. The law
operates with absolute precision and uniformity — it makes no mistakes.
Each soul
is restricted in its range by its own inherent limitations and degrees of
development. There is no need of Astral policemen to keep the disembodied souls
in their rightful places. It is impossible for the disembodied soul to travel
into planes above its own immediate series. The law of vibration prevents this.
But, on the contrary, each and every soul may, if it so chooses, freely visit
the planes and sub-planes
beneath its own series, and freely witness the scenery and phenomena of those
lower planes and mingle with the inhabitants thereof. (This entirely apart from
the high form of telepathic communication which prevails between disembodied
souls on the Astral Plane.)
(This that William Atkinson affirms is
false, since a human can ascend to the higher sub-planes of the astral simply
by raising the vibration of his aura.)
This is a
very wise provision of the Law, for were it otherwise the higher planes would
be open to the influence of those dwelling on the lower, and the soul-life
and development would be interrupted, just as a class‑room in a school of philosophy might be
interrupted by a gang of hoodlums from the slums of a large city. (For,
remember, the Astral Plane has its slums and hoodlums, as well as the material
plane.)
(The
difference is that while on the physical plane, the different entities with
their different vibratory levels can come together in the same place; on the
astral plane, the low vibration in which the dark entities find themselves
prevents them to be able ascending to the higher sub-planes of the astral.)
In a
previous work we gave a somewhat crude, but nevertheless a very striking
illustration of this matter of the intercommunication between the various
planes and sub-planes of the Astral Plane, which we herewith reproduce, as
follows:
« It
is absolutely impossible for a soul to go beyond the plane to which it belongs,
although those on the upper planes may freely revisit the lower planes, this
being the rule of the Astral Plane — not an arbitrary law, but a law of nature.
If the
student will pardon the commonplace comparison, he may get an understanding of
it by imagining a large screen, or series of screens, such as are used for
sorting coal into sizes. The large coal is caught by the first screen, the next
size by the second, and so on until the tiny coal is reached. Now, the large
coal cannot get into the receptacle of the smaller sizes, but the small sizes
may easily pass through the screen and join the large sizes, if force be
imparted to them.
Just so on
the Astral Plane, the soul with the greatest amount of materiality, and
coarsest nature, is stopped by the screen of a certain grade or plane, and
cannot pass on to the higher ones; while one which has passed on to the higher
planes, having cast off more confining sheaths, can easily pass backward and
forward among the lower planes, if it so desires.
In fact,
souls often do so, for the purpose of visiting friends on the lower planes, and
giving them enjoyment and comfort, and, in case of a highly developed soul,
much spiritual help may be given in this way, by means of advice and
instruction, when the soul on the lower plane is ready to receive it. »
(I reiterate that this is incorrect, and
the proof is that if this were true, then the souls that are sunk in darkness
could no longer redeem themselves and ascend to the higher planes of the
astral. They would be condemned to remain in the lower astral, which is contrary to what the masters taught.)
In the
passage alluded to above, there is the following additional words, which also
should be repeated here, for it concerns the geography of the Astral Plane. We
allude to the following:
« The
one exception to the rule of free passage to the planes below that of the
particular soul, is the one which prevents the lower-plane
souls from entering the “plane of the sleepers,” which plane may not be entered
by souls which have awakened on a low plane, but which may be freely entered by
those pure and exalted souls who have attained a high place. The plane of soul-slumber
is sacred to those occupying it, and those higher souls just mentioned, and it
is in fact rather of the nature of a distinct and separate state than one of
the great series of planes and sub-planes. »
(This is not completely correct, since
Master Pastor specified that although the souls that are sleeping in the astral
are protected by the Lords of Karma, the darker souls that are sleeping in the
darkest areas of the astral can be visited and manipulated by black magicians, see link.)
There are
as many different kind of regions on the Astral Plane as there are on the material
plane, and each plane is inhabited by exactly the class of souls which it might
be expected to attract.
There are
to be found the abodes of degraded souls, so steeped in materiality and
animality, that they would be veritable hell to a soul of higher attainment. It
may well be imagined that the soul of higher impulses has no desire to travel
into these depths of the Astral, unless, indeed it be some very highly
developed soul which is willing to “descend into hell” in order to minister to
the needs of some lower soul which is striving to emerge from the slough of
despond into which its earth life has thrown it.
Such ministering spirits do exist, and perform this work
for their lower brothers and sisters. But, as a rule, the disembodied souls
prefers to work out its own evolution on its own plane, that it may ascend to
the higher grades of spiritual opportunity in its next incarnation, and that it
may acquire spiritual knowledge during its sojourn on its particular plane of
the Astral. »
(Chapter 8)
OBSERVATION
William Atkinson said some true things about the
"geography" of the astral plane, but he also said several falsehoods
and lacked much detail about this theme.
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