Esoteric cosmology

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Esoteric cosmology is cosmology that is an intrinsic part of an esoteric or occult system of thought.
Esoteric cosmology maps out the universe with planes of existence and consciousness according to a
specific worldview usually from a doctrine.

Contents
[hide]

1Overview

2Gnosticism

3Kabbalah

4Neoplatonism

5Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception

6Theosophy and Anthroposophy

7Max Theon and the "Cosmic Philosophy"

8References

Overview[edit]
Esoteric cosmology almost always deals with at least some of the following
themes: emanation, involution, spiritual evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence or higher worlds (and
their emanation and the connections between them), hierarchies of spiritual beings, cosmic cycles
(e.g., cosmic year, Yuga), yogic or spiritual disciplines and techniques of self-transformation, and
references to mystical and altered states of consciousness.[citation needed]
Such cosmologies cover many of the same concerns also addressed by religious
cosmology and philosophical cosmology, such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of the universe and of
consciousness and the nature of existence. For this reason it is sometimes difficult to distinguish where
religion or philosophy end and esotericism or occultism begins. However, esoteric cosmology is
distinguished from religion in its more sophisticated construction and reliance on intellectual
understanding rather than faith, and from philosophy in its emphasis on techniques of psycho-spiritual
transformation.
Examples of esoteric cosmologies can be found in Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Nagualism (Carlos
Castaneda), Hinduism (especially Bhagavata Purana and in Tantra and Kashmir
Shaivism), Kabbalah, Sufism, the teachings of Jacob Boehme, The Urantia Book, the Sant Mat/Surat
Shabda Yoga tradition, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, The Cosmic Tradition of Max Theon and his

wife, Max Heindel (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception), elements of the teachings of Sri
Aurobindo, Meher Baba, the Fourth Way propounded by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, and many
current New Age teachings, to give only a few examples.[1][page needed]

Gnosticism[edit]
Gnostic teachings were contemporary with those of Neoplatonism. Gnosticism is an imprecise label,
covering monistic as well as dualistic conceptions. Usually the higher worlds of Light, called
the Pleroma or "fullness", are radically distinct from the lower world of Matter. The emanation of the
Pleroma and its godheads (called Aeons) is described in detail in the various Gnostic tracts, as is the
pre-creation crisis (a cosmic equivalent to the "fall" in Christian thought) from which the material world
comes about, and the way that the divine spark can attain salvation.[2]

Kabbalah[edit]
Kabbalah combines orthodox Judaic, Neoplatonic, Gnostic, and philosophical (e.g. Aristotlean) themes,
to develop an elaborate and highly symbolic cosmology in which God, who is ineffable and unknowable,
manifests as ten archetypal sephirot, each with its own Divine attributes, and arranged in a configuration
of interrelated paths called the Tree of Life. The original Tree gives rise to further trees, until there are
four or (in Lurianic Kabbalah) five worlds or universes (Trees) in all, with the lowest sephira of the lowest
world constituting the material cosmos.
This cosmology proved highly popular with occultists, and formed the basis of Western hermetic thought
(e.g. the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and subsequent organisations), where it is associated with
a form of astral travel called "pathworking".

Neoplatonism[edit]
Although under Plotinus, Neoplatonism began as a school of philosophy, the teachings of later
Neoplatonists such as Iamblichus and Proclus incorporate additional details of the emanation process in
terms of the dialectical action of the hypostases and further subdivisions from Plotinus' original three
hypostases. Each higher hypostasis constitutes a more sublime deific state of existence. There is also a
tendency in later neoplatonic thought towards increasing transcendentalism and dualism. Although
Plotinus saw spiritual ascent as leading ultimately to the One (The Absolute), in later Neoplatonism the
best one can hope for is irridation of the Soul by the Nous above.
Neoplatonic ideas were later taken up by Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Christianity (Pseudo-Dionysius), and, in
the 19th century, Theosophy.

Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception[edit]
Max Heindel presents in his The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (1909) an evolutionary process
of man and the universe, correlating science with religion. This work of esoteric knowledge contains the
fundamentals of the Rosicrucian Philosophy and also deals, among other
topics, metaphysics and cosmology. The second part of the book contains the scheme of Evolution in
general and the Evolution of the Solar System and the Earth in particular, according to Heindel. In the
field of cosmology (Cosmogenisis and Anthropogenesis) it teaches about the Worlds, Globes and
Periods, Revolutions and Cosmic Nights related to life waves and human development and also the
constitution of the Solar System and of the Universe: The Supreme Being, the Cosmic Planes and God.

Theosophy and Anthroposophy[edit]

H.P. Blavatsky in her Theosophical writings presented a complex cosmology, in terms of a sevenfold
series of cosmic planes and subplanes, and a detailed sevenfold system of cycles and sub-cycles of
existence.[3][page needed] These ideas were adapted by later esotericists like Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophy),

Max Heindel, Alice Bailey, and Ann Ree Colton, and some of these ideas were included in New
Age thought.

Max Theon and the "Cosmic Philosophy"[edit]

The occultist Max Theon developed a sophisticated cosmology, incorporating Lurianic Kabbalistic and
other themes. This describes a number of divine and material worlds, and four or eight "states"
(equivalent to the Theosophical Planes), each divided into degrees, each of which are in turn subdivided
into sub-degrees. The details of these various occult worlds, their beings, recognisable colours, and so
on, were all laid out, but very little of this material has yet been published.

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ Voigt, Tim (2010). The Grand Fantasy of Einstein: The Search for the
Theory of the Universe. iUniverse Inc. ISBN 978-1450217880.

2.

Jump up^ Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2001). The Encyclopedia of Saints. New
York, NY: Facts on File. p. 396. ISBN 1438130260.

3.

Jump up^ Blavatsky, H. P. (2011). The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of

Science, Religion, and Philosophy. New York: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 1108073220.