Space is an Entity

by Niklas Nihlen

*A Talk given at the 2005 Conference of the Seven Ray Institute and the University of the Seven Rays

Space is an Entity is the title and we are having a seventh ray conference. One of the names of the Seventh Ray Lord is the Orienting Force, and I think I will try today to orient us a little bit in relation to the greater whole and I will also try to mention a few things about the physical/etheric medium in which we all find ourselves united.

The Ancient Wisdom teaches that space is an entity--it is with the life of this entity and with the forces and energies, the impulses and rhythms, the cycles and the times and seasons, that esoteric astrology deals; this HPB stated in The Secret Doctrine.  So space is an entity and this entity is one and the same as the cosmic Christ, also called the body of Christ, which is referred to by St. Paul. This means that Christ, or consciousness, underlies all of space. The soul of space unites the whole universe and since there is only one soul, the whole of space is related and unified. Separation is but an illusion and does not exist, fundamentally speaking. 

As above, so below, it has been said. We climb the ladder of correspondence and analogy, faster and faster, our steps are long, yet nothing but close to when we behold the entire vault of heaven. The stars and planets seem distant and small, and yet when we search for them within ourselves we will find them closer than arms or legs. Their presence may be as the first kiss or the last goodbye, but ever they touch our deepest being with gentle notes and tones, whispers in our ear whilst embracing us near. 

The individual etheric body is not an isolated and separated human vehicle but is, in a peculiar sense, an intergral part of the etheric body of that entity which we have called the human family.  This kingdom in nature, through its etheric body, is an integral part of the planetary etheric body; the planetary etheric body is not separated off from the etheric bodies of other planets, but all of them, in their totatlity, along with the etheric body of the sun, constitute the etheric body of the solar system.  This, in turn, is related to the etheric bodies of the six solar systems, which with ours, form a basic unity.  Energies and forces pour into these bodies from certain great constellations. When the relationships between individual, planetary, systemic and cosmic entities are grasped we shall begin to live scientifically. It is this scientific living which is the immediate purpose of astrology to bring about. 

The disciple moves always in the world of energies, they make an impact upon him from many and varying directions. He has to learn which energies should be rejected and those to which he should be receptive.  All these energies are moving in space and are in reality the life aspect of the space entity.  D.K. tells us that the initiate has to be aware of the zodiacal influences which emanate from outside of the solar system altogether and that these can be recognized as a vibration—registered in one or other of the seven centers, a revelation of a particular type of light, conveying a specific color to the initiate, or a peculiar note or simply a directional sound.

D.K. also tells us that modern astrology has gone astray. It has reversed the true and right procedure and has laid the emphasis upon the specific and the particular, upon the personal horoscope and the individual destiny, and has not laid the emphasis upon the great energies and their source.  These sources are ultimately responsible for the manifestation of the specific.  This position and presentation of truth must, therefore, be altered.

The interest in the individual horoscope, he says, will gradually die out and increasingly the planetary, the systemic, and the universal picture will stand out in the awareness of the individual.  He will then regard himself only as an integral part of a far more important whole, and his world group will interest him far more than himself as an individual. This vaster field, as well as the smaller and more localized fields, provides the medium of transmission for all the energies which play upon and through our solar system, our planetary spheres, and all forms of life upon those spheres.  It forms one, unbroken field of activity, in constant, ceaseless motion--an internal medium for the exchange and transmission of energies. Here we see a case in point of how the individual dimension, you and I, are enclosed within the planetary dimension.  We are part of the planetary whole, the planet itself is part of the systemic whole, and the sun and the whole solar system is part of a greater cosmic Being, to which we sometimes refer to as the One About Whom Naught May Be Said.  And all of these are within the same medium.

In this picture [part of a power point presentation, Editors] we see many of the various constellations in the sky and we note two yellow triangles and these triangles are what we call the summer triangle of stars and the winter triangle of stars. They are named so because of their prominence during the respective season.  The triangle to the right is composed of three winged creatures or birds and they together provide what is called “the gateway of the angels.”  In one way they represent our lower self, they are the devas who compose our lunar vehicles.  These three birds also symbolize the Stymphalian birds which Hercules encountered in the Sagittarius labor.  In that sense, they represent the lunar lords which are governed by the Sagittarian Hierarchy.  We could well call this the tabernacle in the wildnerness.   It is composed of three stars, one of which is the tail star in the constellation Cygnus, the swan.  It is called Deneb.  And this constellation is also known as the Northern Cross. 

We also have the star Vega, which is one of the closest stars to us which is also true for the star Altair which is found in the constellation of the eagle. Vega is of course found, as many of you know, in the constellation of the Vulture, the falling Vulture also known as Lyra.  Several of these constellations have different names.  This is the triangle of the winged creatures.  Deneb is probably a veil in this case because it is a star, a giant star far, far away from us. Vega and Altair are very close to us, they probably belong to the system of seven suns together with our own sun.  Vega is about 25 light years away and Altair is about 16 light years away, which is pretty close, relatively speaking.

In the opposite side of the heavens we find the triangle representing the solar lords, just as these were the representation of the lunar lords.  This upper triangle of solar influences is governed by Gemini, which is the head of the cosmic Christ.  We recognize two of these stars most easily as Sirius and Prosian, two stars that also are very close to us. Sirius is somewhat more than eight light years away and Prosian is about 11 light years away.  And they also probably belong to the system of seven suns.  Beteljeuce, which is a giant star in the arm pit of the great hunter Orion is, in a sense, a veil here, just as Deneb was a veil in the other triangle.  They bring in different influences.  Deneb is bringing in the influences of the closest star of all to our own sun which is Alpha Centauri. It is through the cross, the Northern Cross, which is a gateway to the Southern Cross which is near to the star of Alpha Centauri, that the exchange and the flow of energies are made.

What the Star Beteljeuce can veil can be debated.  There is another star called Fomalo that has a very important relation to our system of seven suns, whether it is this star or another, let’s leave that open.  So here we have a picture which shows our little self, the personality anyway, with its three permanent atoms--the physical permanent atom, the astral permanent atom, and the mental unit.  But here we have the higher triad, the manasic permanent atom, the buddhic permanent atom and the atmic permanent atom related to it.  Maybe you see this blue coloring in between the two triangles.  It is actually the Milky Way which provides a pathway in between these two domains, the higher and the lower.  So these two triangles are both found within the galactic plane, demonstrating the duality of these two opposite triangles.  A duality that is not solved by Gemini, because Gemini is here implicated since it rules the upper triangle, as you will know.

It is through the means of Pisces that resolution comes, though in the beginning these two symbolical fishes are captive through the cord which is here symbolized by the galactic plane in the Milky Way. I’m speaking here of the silver cord, the sutratma, the life thread.  Later on the binding thread is severed and the two fishes are then freely united, without a binding cord. 

What you see here in the center of the picture is what we could call the Temple of Solomon, the temple in the heavens. It’s not a temple that we can see outside of ourselves, outside of our own system.  Why this is so is because we are within this temple ourselves. Our own solar system is in the nature of a vast blue lotus, a causal body through which the soul can manifest.  So this is the temple that unites the sun and moon, Sol o mon, or the solar and the lunar aspects.  And there comes a point when this temple, which is our own solar system, is no longer required and that is a time of liberation for this greater entity. But that time has not come and there is much work to be done before that.

The sutratma or life thread is the foundation for the antahkarana, which is the rainbow bridge.  The Life thread, the silver cord or the sutratma is, as far as man is concerned, dual in nature. The life thread proper is one of the two threads that constitute the antahkarana; the other thread embodies the principle of consciousness and is anchored in the head.   Our solar system is a heart center in the One About Whom Naught May Be Said, and our solar system is found within in the middle place between the higher and lower triangles and symbolically represents the causal body with its nine petals.  The nine planets are symbolically a representation of the nine petals.  By the time the fourth initiation has been reached the work of destruction has been accomplished.  The solar angel returns to his own place having performed his function and the solar lives seek their point of emanation.  The life within the form then mounts up in triumph to the bosom of his father in heaven.

It is interesting to note that this greater entity which we may call the One About Whom Naught May Be Said is aligned along the galactic plane, but also aligned along two zodiacal signs.  These zodiacal signs are Gemini and Sagittarius.  When we look at Gemini and Sagittarius and their lower counterparts, the houses three and nine, we come to a better understanding of how we may approach and build the antahkarana, how we may actually bridge the higher and the lower within our own nature. These two signs have something in common, they have a certain planet in common as their ruler.  That planetary ruler is none other than the planet which we inhabit, the planet Earth.  So somehow, this should tell us that our little, little planet is somehow immensely involved and tied up with whatever is going on in this greater entity, the One About Whom Naught May Be Said.  Earth is the hierarchical ruler in relation to Gemini and the esoteric ruler in relation to Sagittarius.

The Earth’s involvement in the building process can probably have something to do with vitalization and the relation to the antahkarana. The Earth is on the third ray and probably that would relate to those kinds of activities. Now, on a smaller level, what this greater entity is doing  is trying to bridge the higher and lower.  Our own little planet the Earth is also trying to bridge to its higher self, which in a way can be seen as the planet Venus. So the work on this planet Earth in the way that we strive towards Venus, our higher selves, is just a reflection of what is going on here. D.K. has offered us an analogy that as this star Sirius is to our sun, the planet Venus stands to our Earth. So the planet Sirius stands to our sun and solar system as Venus stands to our Earth.

There is much going on out there in the universe. For one thing, our sun with its attendant planets, together as a whole system, moves forward through space. We are not, as we saw in the earlier picture, statically placed in a position between the two triangles but we ourselves move as a whole system. This movement is sometimes called the solar apex movement and it is the sun’s movement measured with respect to the sun’s nearest neighboring stars.  And the solar apex movement is actually in the direction of the star Vega, which was part of the lower triangle, as you recall.  This apex movement makes it clear that the bridge is being built between the soul, Sol, our solar system, and the personality, in this case represented by Vega, possibly as the mental unit capacity.  So our whole solar system is actually moving towards Vega, or close to Vega, in the direction of the constellation of Hercules.  Most of you have heard of Hercules, and the labours of Hercules, and probably when we read about those labours, we read about the labours of our own solar system. 

The sun, therefore, identifies with Hercules and Hercules must kneel and lift the nine-headed hydra up into the air and light, only then is it possible for the nine petals of the lotus to open up.  So the nine petals of the lotus and the nine heads of the hydra, are intimately related.  To orient ourselves in relation to our own horoscopes, we can say that the solar apex movement in relation to the ecliptic plane is around two degrees Capricorn, for the year 2000.  Some people have tried to find some meaning about this point in space, and from what I’ve gathered, the solar apex, astrologically considered, has to do with balance, moderation, humor, talent, integrity and accountability—many positive things as opposed to desire and over indulgence, the kind of things that relate very much to the heads of the hydra, if you will.  However, the more stars that are included in what is called the local standard of rest (measurement of motion with respect to neighboring stars), the more clear will be the sun’s revolution about the galactic center.  The position for the galactic center in the ecliptic for the year 2000 is 26 degrees Sagittarius 51 minutes.  Now some of the astrological meanings of this point have been suggested as truth, prophecy, insight, vision, advancement, and the right path forward.  It is related to forerunners, the St. John the Baptists.  This shouldn’t surprise us because the galactic center is actually found in that spot in the heavens where the Sagittarian archer is aiming.  And many of these things that I’ve mentioned are very Sagittarian, are they not?

While we’re looking at this map of the Milky Way galaxy, I would suggest that what we know of the seven or nine paths of the higher evolution, are all reflections somehow of the encircling arms of the galaxy itself.  These arms may actually be the basis of the various paths of return to the one center, the center of the galaxy.  On our way back to that one center there may be many stops, probably one of those stops is in relation to the Pleiades, which may function as a local galactic center, if you will.  So we all will follow one of these arms, primarily, back to our own source.  Whether or not that hypothesis is true, well we’ll all have to see when we are all back in the center. 

Since the dawn of time humanity has recognized the heavenly host as their true origin. Civilizations and cultures have all had their different ways to express this recognized origin and relationship.  The Mayans, so strongly influenced by the third ray of active intelligence, had an amazing understanding of cycles.  The Mayans seem to have had a definite understanding of the importance of the galactic center and may have timed their cycles according to the alignment between the precessing winter solstice point and the fixed galactic center.  Thus the Mayans were very attentive to the cycles of the planet Venus, the Venus passages may determine the event of the end times more exactly in the year 2012.  Here we have a picture of the galactic center; here we have the Seven Sisters which may be one of those stops or centers prior to arriving at the absolute center of the galaxy.  I think I’ve come to a halt myself in this little disposition of the greater Whole. Thank you everyone.

Contat Niklas Nihlen at:
astronova@comhem.se

Website: http://www.astronova.nu/