Kingdom of the Gods by Geoffrey Hodson

Kingdom of the Gods by Geoffrey Hodson

Whilst seeking earnest contemplation in the green sanctuary of Nature, the heavens suddenly fill with light and Reverend Geoffrey Hodson is caught up into a realm radiant with that light. His consciousness realises the presence of a great Angelic Being. And so an irresistible process is initiated.

One day, as, on a hillside at the edge of a beech forest in a secluded valley in the West of England, I was seeking ardently to enter the Sanctuary of Nature’s hidden life, for me, the heavens suddenly became filled with light. My consciousness was caught up into a realm radiant with that light which never was on land or sea. Gradually, I realised the presence of a great Angelic Being, who was doubtless responsible for my elevated state. From his mind to mine there began to flow a stream of ideas concerning the life, the force and the consciousness of the universe and their self-expression as angels and as men. This description is not strictly accurate, however, because, during such communication, the sense of duality was reduced to a minimum. Rather did the two centres of consciousness, those of the angel and myself, become almost co-existent, temporarily forming one being within which the stream of ideas arose. This, I believe, is essentially true of all interchanges which occur above the level of the formal mind and especially at those of spiritual Wisdom and spiritual Will. In the latter, duality virtually disappears and oneness, uttermost interior unity, alone remains.

Daily entering that realm of light, I found that the great ocean of the life, the force and the soul of the universe had its myriad denizens. These are the Spiritual Selves of men and Supermen and the vast company of the Angelic Hosts, of which the Being who addressed me was a member. He was supernally beautiful, majestic, godlike and impassive and impersonal to the last degree. As teacher to pupil, he began to tell of—and to enable me, with gradually increasing clarity, to perceive—the Angelic Hosts, their Orders and degrees. He told of their communion with men, as in ancient Greece, Egypt and Eastern lands, their place in Nature as Ministers of the Most High and of that great dawn of creation when, metaphorically, as the Morning Stars they sang together and as the Sons of God they shouted for joy. He spoke of the creative process as the composition and performance of a celestial symphony, of the Logos as Divine Musician and of His universe as a manifestation of celestial harmony. He told of the great Gods who assimilate the mighty creative chords in their primordial potency and relay them through all their ranks from the highest spiritual worlds to the realm of everlasting Archetypes, the great sound-forms upon and by which the physical universe is modelled. Therefrom, he said, the music of the Creative Word passes on to the lower worlds, where lesser Hosts formatively echo and re-echo it, thereby building all Nature’s varied forms. Since the Great Artist of the Universe perpetually creates, the Creative Symphony is ever being composed and ever performed. Angels and men live amidst celestial harmonies, the everlasting music of the spheres.

Such, in part, is the vision which once I had and which still lives with me. With it, there has come the knowledge that, in their real existence, the Gods who once were so near to men were none other than the Angelic Hosts, that throughout the great racial darkness they have still been near, though unperceived, and that the time approaches when again the Major Creative Powers and Beings, the laws by which Cosmos emerges from chaos and the place of humanity in the vast process of divine manifestation will become apparent to mankind. For that day, it was intimated, man may well prepare. Ugliness must be banished, war must be outlawed, brotherhood must reign, beauty must be enshrined in human hearts and revealed through human lives. Then to a humanity united in one fraternity, the High Gods will reveal their immortal loveliness and lend their aid in building a new world in which all men may perceive and serve the Supreme as Beauty and as Truth.

GEOFFREY HODSON

Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand, 1952

The late Ethelwynne M. Quail provided the illustrations based upon the Reverend's research, carried out between 1921 and 1929. Although widely projected as slides throughout the world, the pictures themselves were not published until the Kingdom of the Gods first appeared in 1952.

PART V

ILLUSTRATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The fifth part of this book consists of Miss Quail’s striking pictures and my remarks upon them. As she has painted them to my descriptions, she is responsible only for their execution, not for their composition, colouring or form.

The appropriate portrayal of the appearance of the Gods is, in fact, impossible through the medium of paint applied to a plane surface. Coloured light or fire moving in three dimensions would be needed to produce the effect of intense brilliance, translucence, delicacy and constant motion characteristic of the radiant forms and shining aura of the Gods. Despite especial care and repeated observation, the exactitude of the description of these beings is almost impossible to one of my limited clairvoyant faculty. The continual changes in the colours and their arrangement, in the direction of the flow of auric forces and in the varying patterns produced, make accuracy exceedingly difficult.

At least two differing conditions of the auras of the Gods are discernible, one of expansion and the other of contraction. In expansion, the attention is outward-turned upon the divine Life and Mind in Nature. The aura is then greatly extended outwards from the central form and frequently, also, from behind in three-dimensional, wing-shaped radiations. In this phase, the component forces are flowing at their full power, which produces a great brilliance throughout the whole aura and a dazzling brightness at the various force centres or wheels. In contraction, the attention of the God is directed towards the source of all Life and Power. The aura then becomes relatively quiescent and, with the exception of the radiations above the head which may increase in both dimension and brilliance, is much reduced in size. Examples of both of these phases are included in the accompanying pictures, although most of them represent that of expansion. The texture or grain of the aura is exceedingly fine and despite Miss Quail’s splendid achievement has so far proved impossible of perfect portrayal. There are various layers of force within this aura, each with its own hues and direction of flow. The general effect is of brilliantly coloured, three-dimensional, shot moire silk, composed of flowing forces rather than substance and in constant, wave-like motion. Through this, in many cases, from within outwards, streams of radiant energy, often white and of dazzling brightness, are continually flashing.

The direction of the flow of these auric currents is generally upwards and outwards from force centres in the middle of the head and at the brow, the throat and the region of the solar plexus. Outlining the central form, there is also a fine radiation, usually white or golden in colour. The head is nearly always crowned by upward flowing, flame-like forces, which bestow upon the more highly-evolved Gods an appearance of regal splendour. For the most part, the universal energies for which the Gods are agents and directors descend from above the head and flow through the aura, greatly increasing its electric quality and brilliance. Other energies appear to arise directly within the body and chakras, as if from higher dimensions. As stated earlier, one function of the Gods appears to be to transform, in the electrical sense, these forces by means of the resistance offered by their bodies and by passage through their force centres. Two of the results produced by this procedure are the transmission of spiritualising force into the substance of the lower planes of Nature down to the physical and the passing on of great currents of stepped down energy for the use of the angels and nature spirits in their various tasks upon these planes. Matter itself thus gradually becomes increasingly charged with spirit and so more malleable and responsive to consciousness and the forms of Nature gradually resemble more nearly the archetypal ideal.

According to occult philosophy, the superphysical worlds, which are the abodes of the Gods, consist of matter of increasing tenuity of substance ranging from the density of the finest ether up to the rarest and most spiritualised condition. These are six in number and each has its own inhabitants, human and angelic. In terms of human awareness in them, these planes may be called the emotional, the mental, the intuitional and that of the spiritual will. Above these four—at present beyond the range of normal human awareness—are two others which will be entered by later races of men more highly evolved than ourselves.

The planes of Nature, seven in number if the physical be included and each consisting of seven sub-planes, interpenetrate each other, each more subtle plane also extending much further beyond the surface of the earth than those below it in terms of density. They are of two orders, called the form and the formless worlds. The form worlds, in one classification, consist of the physical, emotional and four lower sub-planes of the mental plane. They are so-called because in them form predominates over force and rhythm. The bodies in these worlds tend to be concrete and objective, with relatively clear-cut edges, particularly at the physical and mental levels. The formless worlds, which consist of the three higher sub-planes of the mental plane and those of intuition and spiritual will are so-called because in them life and rhythm predominate and form is reduced to its essence or Archetype.

The illustrations represent Gods inhabiting both these groups of worlds. In the formless, where auras predominate over bodies, they appear as glowing centres of power surrounded by outflowing energies of many hues, almost veiling the form within. In the form worlds, the suggestion of bodily shape is greater though here also, the shining aura frequently conceals the lordly and the beautiful form. For this reason, the outer auras have been omitted from many of the pictures. In all cases, it should be remembered the Greater Gods are surrounded by far-flung auras of many brilliant hues.

PLATE 1—A SEA NATURE SPIRIT

As far as my experience goes, variations of this type of primitive sea fairy are commonly to be seen skimming the surface of the oceans and the lakes of the world. Relatively undeveloped, the sea nature spirit has as yet little or no form. There is a rudimentary head which is the seat of consciousness, whilst a current of streaming white force suggests a body and a wing. More complex examples, with two or even more wing forms, are also to be seen.

These creatures fly about the surface of the oceans in innumerable hosts. Sometimes they rise high into the air; at others they plunge into the water to reappear in a few moments in a flash of white light, catching the eye with its brilliance. A moment’s concentration is required to focus the appropriate power of vision, and the swiftly moving, bird-like form appears to the observer somewhat as painted by Miss Quail. The distance from head to the tip of the wing would vary from three to twelve feet, according to the phase of manifestation and stage of evolution.

PLATE 2—A SEA SYLPH

The sea nature spirit evolves into the type of sea sylph here portrayed. This example has reached individualisation and, with countless similar and different beings, may be seen in the upper air, chiefly above the seas. The average height of the central form at this level of evolution would be from ten to fifteen feet.

PLATE 3—A SALAMANDER

This picture represents a fire nature spirit as described on page 130.

PLATE 4—A MOUNTAIN SYLPH

This is one of the many types of non-individualised sylphs commonly to be seen in the air over the land. It is in swift motion, with a shining inner aura streaming in beautiful, wing-like shapes behind and above it.

Interpenetrating and extending beyond the form and aura here portrayed are the finer radiations, not shown on the Plate, characteristic of every member of the Angelic Hosts. They are generally ovoid, composed of many brilliant hues and extend for several yards on every side of the beautiful form within.

The orange sylph is possibly associated with the solar life force or prana with which the air is charged and which constitutes the vitality of all organic forms. The height of the central figure of the sylph is about five feet.

PLATE 5—A LORD OF THE TREE FERNS

Whilst the building Orders of the Gods play all important parts in solar and planetary creative processes, another Order is concerned with the evolution of consciousness within the form. This ministration to the evolving life in the mineral kingdom is considered in Part II, Chapter I*. Trees and forests also receive similar assistance, the classical concept of the dryad of the trees being founded upon fact. Nearly all well-grown trees have attached to them, in addition to innumerable nature spirit builders, an advanced nature spirit or a God which throughout its life remains within or linked to the Astro-etheric double and the aura of the tree. The presence of such a being, through the constant play of its thoughts and auric energies, greatly quickens the evolution of tree life and consciousness. Such nature spirits and Gods are subordinate to more advanced beings in charge of groups of trees of the same genus, as are found in large woods, forests and jungles.

*The Kingdom of the Gods, Geoffrey Hodson, illustrated by Ethelwynne M. Quail, Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai, India, 1952

As an aid to comprehension of the effect of the presence of nature spirits and Gods upon the consciousness in mineral and plant kingdoms, one may think of a bowl of still water as representing the sleeping group consciousness of hill or mountain, plant or tree. Goldfish placed in this bowl would by their movements keep the water in continual motion and this is in part the effect produced upon mineral and plant consciousness by the presence and play of the thought and auric forces of nature spirits and Gods.

Quaint, animal-headed nature spirits were found embedded within the trunks of well-grown tree ferns in the jungles on some of the mountains of Malaysia and Sri Lanka. They were quite primitive beings with little or no external awareness. Indeed, they gave the impression of being fast asleep. The plant growth and reproductive processes would be felt by them as faint stimuli, for they are growing with the trees, being intimately associated with their cell life and consciousness.

The tree fern God here portrayed was observed over the jungle in the mountain district of Sri Lanka, near Nuwara Eliya. Such a being assists the evolution of form and the unfoldment of consciousness of a very large number of tree ferns. It is of interest to observe that the patterns formed by the flow of the lines of force in the aura of this God reproduce within it certain of the tree fern forms. An explanation of this is suggested in the description accompanying Plates 13 and 14.

The central form of this being is some fifty feet tall. The aura, however, is capable of extension for at least one hundred yards in all directions and was thus expanded when first seen high in the air about a mile away. In the picture, the outer aura is omitted and the inner aura is shown in the phase of contraction, as when the God graciously hovered for a few minutes of mental communion. Through both form and aura currents of force, presumably from the tree fern Archetype, play down into successive areas of the jungle as the God moves above its domain and ministers to its charges.

PLATE 6—A LORD OF THE PINES

This being was observed in association with groups of stone pines in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. As the picture shows, the colouring and the lines of force in the inner aura—the outer is omitted—suggest somewhat the needle-­like foliage of the pine. Many well-grown pines were found to have their own tree God resembling the one here portrayed but smaller in size and lower in evolution. The stature of this God is about thirty feet.

PLATE 7—A TREE NATURE SPIRIT

This sixteen-year-old Waringan tree grows in a garden in Madiun, East Java, Indonesia. It was planted by the lady of the house who became much attached to it and felt it to be a living, conscious being from whom, she assured me, she received a sense of friendliness and rest.

When taking tea beneath its welcome shade, I became aware of the presence of this delightful tree nature spirit or dryad. I found it to be approaching individualisation (or evolution) out of the group into individualised consciousness and to be well aware of the affection of the owner of the tree and responsive to it, which would beneficially affect its development. This nature spirit is approximately five feet tall.

PLATE 8—A MOUNTAIN GOD

Here is portrayed a mountain God intimately associated with the element of fire. It was observed at Loskop Mountain, near Harrismith in the Free State Province, South Africa. The remarkable arrangement of the auric forces and the brilliant colouring are unique in my experience. Both are well portrayed in this fine example of Miss Quail’s art. The central figure at the time of observation was partly within the mountain and some fifty feet tall. A greatly extended outer aura, here omitted, shone with similar but more delicate hues.

Loskop, near Platberg, as seen from the N3 freeway north of Harrismith, Free State, South Africa—JMK—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

PLATE 9—A MOUNTAIN GOD

This being was observed in the Drakensberg Range in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Two of the most striking features were the remarkable mitre-like effect produced by the uprush of forces from the head and shoulders and the brilliant, four-funnelled force centres in the region of the solar plexus through which power was flowing into the mountain below. The axes of the rapidly spinning funnels formed an equal-armed cross, the arms of which met within the form of the God and pointed forwards, backwards, to the right and to the left. In this picture, the effect of translucency, characteristic of the appearance of all the Gods, is well portrayed. In the process, however, the impression of the tremendous power of the God and of the passage through it at high voltage of mighty forces from above, also of brilliance and radiance, is, perhaps, not conveyed quite so adequately as in other pictures.

Watching this God throughout successive days, I was reminded constantly of the vision of Ezekiel. Certain currents in its aura were arranged in the shape of upward-pointing wings, far more three-dimensional than any picture could suggest. The chakras received and compressed the descending forces, which were then directed into the mountain below. The central form, in this case, is at least sixty feet tall and it is one of the most majestic and splendid members of this Order of the Angelic Hosts that I have ever been privileged to behold.

PLATE 10—A MOUNTAIN GOD

This God was also observed in the Drakensberg Range in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province, presiding over the region known as the Amphi­theatre at Mont-aux-Sources. I have more than once received evidence of similarity of type and appearance in the various Gods of one mountain range. Comparison with Plate 9 reveals a similarity between the two Gods of the Drakensberg Range. In both, the wing-like radiations and the intensely brilliant, vertical force centres or wheels were noticeably common characteristics. The God is shown in the phase of expansion, the auric wings extending at least half a mile from tip to tip, whilst the outflowing and descending energies have a very much greater range. In this picture, part of the outer aura is included. The central form is at least sixty feet tall.

Drakensberg Range, Lesotho, observed from Space Shuttle Discovery, April 1993—NASA

On the ridge of the Drakensberg Amphitheatre, Royal Natal National Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa—PhilippN—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

PLATE 11—A MOUNTAIN GOD

This picture portrays the presiding God of a mountain range, which was observed high above one of the peaks of the Hottentots-Hollands in South Africa's Western Cape Province. As I observed and gave my description to the artist, the downflow of power was so great and so brilliant as almost to conceal the God's form and aura. The chief colours shown were lavender, gold and white, the God's central form and aura immediately surrounding it shining in those hues with a dazzling radiance quite impossible to reproduce. The uprush of golden-coloured, fiery power above the head was particularly brilliant, bestowing upon the God the appearance of a majestic Deva King wearing a crown of flames. In all cases of devic direction of natural energies, however prodigious the outpouring of power may be, the God always gives the impression of complete mastery of the forces flowing through and all about it. The central figure is at least eighty feet tall.

Sir Lowry's Pass, Hottentots-Holland, South Africa—Andres de Wet—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

PLATE 12—A MOUNTAIN GOD

This God was observed at one of the mountain peaks of the Table Mountain Range in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Evidently, it has a close affinity with the element of fire. The picture shows the inner aura and form alone and in the phase of contraction, during which it is drawing into itself universal firepower. This it directs in a concentrated stream, as an awakening force, into the mineral life and consciousness indwelling in the mountain below. 

The upward-flowing streams above the head were enlarged into a cup or bowl of flame, reaching high into the heavens. Fiery energy was playing down into this auric chalice, from which it passed through the form in great sheets, streams and flashes into the surrounding atmosphere and the mountain below.

In the phase of expansion, the God presented the most magnificent appearance. The auric forces then resembled tongues of flame shooting out for hundreds of yards on every side, as if he stood in the midst of a mighty conflagration. The central figure is about sixty feet tall. 

Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand. Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa and is featured in the Flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. The view from the top of Table Mountain has been described as one of the most epic views in Africa—StevenMorrow—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Cape Town, South Africa, Perspective View, Landsat Image over SRTM Elevation. Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, appear in the foreground of this perspective view generated from a Landsat satellite image and elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The city centre is located at Table Bay (at the lower left), adjacent to Table Mountain, a 1,086m (3,563ft) tall sandstone and granite natural landmark. The large bay facing right (South) is False Bay. The perspective is computer-generated, combining a photograph with elevation data collected using radar. This Landsat and SRTM perspective view uses a 2-times vertical exaggeration to enhance topographic expression. The back edges of the data sets form a false horizon and a false sky was added. The colours of the scene were enhanced by image processing but are the natural colour band combination from the Landsat satellite—NASA

PLATES 13 AND 14—A MOUNTAIN GOD

This God was observed in the Cape Peninsula, near the eminence known as Castle Rock, high above the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Apparently, the establishment of the Gardens in this area has offered it an opportunity of extend­ing its operations beyond the mineral and bush consciousness and forms of the mountain into those of the many wild and cultivated flowering plants, for when, studying it for the purpose of these pictures, I noticed that its beautiful lavender and green aura was frequently extended in a great sweep of force to include the whole of the Gardens.

The creative energy then flowing through the aura of the God produced within it the geometrical mental forms upon which the shapes of the plants and flowers are founded. This specialisation and intensification, explained in Part I, Chapter III, augments the form-producing capacity of the universal, creative power and thought. Plant devas and nature spirits similarly receive these forces, further specialis­ing them and increasing their power accurately to reproduce in etheric and physical matter the plant forms conceived of by the Major Mind.

The High Gods and their individualised subordinates perform this work deliberately and self-consciously as servants of the One Will. Nature spirits serve instinctively in response to impulses natural to them, strengthened on occasion by their deva superiors. The ultramicroscopic builders and the larger nature spirits perform their share in this creative process quite unconsciously. They play with and among the creative forces and the forms which they produce primarily in etheric matter. Their play is, however, quite purposeful, though they are unaware of the fact, for their movements cut lines of force in the ether which mark out the areas and centres of molecular and, later, cell formation. All these processes and activities occur within the consciousness of the presiding God.

The second profile picture shows in part the arrangement of the inner auric forces of the mountain God, the stature of which is about sixty feet. The outer aura is omitted.

PLATE 15—THE GOD OF A SNOWCLAD RANGE

In this picture, an attempt is made to portray the second of the two Gods of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California, referred to in Part II, Chapter I.

In order to show the concentric arrangement, the colour­ing and the dazzling whiteness of the outer sphere, a cross-section has been taken through the centre of the aura. The devic form is approximately fifty feet tall.

PLATE 16—A LANDSCAPE GOD

This very great being is the presiding deva of an area of the Western Cape Province, South Africa, covering many thousands of square miles. It is stationed high above the region im­mediately to the north of the Karoo Desert, its sphere of influence extending to the coast where, at certain of the Capes, landscape deMas are established. Natural forces from the South Pole and Antarctic continent flow northwards into South Africa and doubtless other continents in the Southern Hemisphere. These Gods assist both the development of form and the awakening of consciousness in the mineral kingdom of the desert, plains and mountains of their region and at the same time conserve and direct the forces from the Pole.

Ambassadorial Gods were also perceived moving between the Antarctic and South Africa, whilst others maintained relations between the God here pictured and those of the mountains, jungles, deserts and plains to the North. On many occasions, I have become aware of the operation of a system of devic intercommunication maintained by travelling Gods, who visit those stationed at important continental regions of the globe.

As indicated in Part II, Chapter II, I have received evi­dence of the existence of a great planetary, landscape God, so mighty as to be able to hold the whole Earth within its consciousness, a Deva King of the physical world. I have also observed the radiation from the centre and surface of the Earth out into interplanetary space of very powerful, natural energies. In addition, from the sun and the planets, and possibly from outer space, great forces reach the globe, as if the Earth were being subjected to a perpetual inflow of power. Moving amidst these interchanged forces, planetary and extra-planetary, Gods of power, like devic engineers, are to be seen. As in the case of the landscape God here portrayed, they appear to be responsible for the reception, specialisation and re-direction of these energies. This God is at least one hundred feet tall, whilst its auric forces are capable of extension to a distance of a great many miles.

A thick bank of fog blankets the Central Valley of California. the fog is bracketed by the Cascades to the North, the Coastal Ranges to the West and the Sierra Nevada (mountains) to the East. This particular type of winter fog or Tule fog occurs at night when the surface cools quickly; it happens during the rainy season and can persist for weeks. Essentially, all types of fog are clouds that are in contact with the ground and can reduce visibility to as little as 3m (10ft) or even to zero in extreme cases. The northwestern Coastal Ranges are a vibrant green in this image, as they are home to the largest tree species on the planet. Coastal redwoods (Sequoia semperviren) are the world’s tallest trees, reaching over 112m (367ft). They are mostly found in valley bottoms, where fog in the summer occurs on a regular basis and contributes to soil moisture—NASA MODIS

PLATE 17—A GOD OF THE GOLD REEF

An exposition of creative processes in which gold is used as an example and the Gods of Gold are described is to be found in Part I, Chapter III. This picture, whilst an accurate reproduction of my description, somewhat too much suggests human femininity. The descending gold creative energies, the brilliant gold points or centres of force in the aura and the smooth, rhythmic flow characteristic of the force aspect of gold are, nevertheless, well portrayed. The lateral extension of the auras of these Gods was less than usual. The vertical extension, on the other hand, was im­mense, reaching from some two hundred feet in the air to at least the same distance below the surface of the veldt, whilst the actual gold-producing force played on down to the reef, in some cases six thousand or more feet below.

The central figure was unusually small for such an auric extension being in this case little more than eight or ten feet tall. The presiding God of the Gold Reef is, however, colossal in stature.

PLATE 18—A GOD OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC

This magnificent ocean God was observed from the south coast of Java, Indonesia. Apparently, it is the ruling deva of the great area of the Pacific Ocean which extends from Java to Australia. At the higher mental level, it is relatively form­less, as here portrayed, though the unusual, pointed, oval shape produced by the flowing streams of its auric forces was clearly discernible. As the picture shows, great currents of power descend upon this sea God, which are compressed within its aura and then released into the ocean beneath.

These forces are both creative and energising. All atomic and molecular patterns and the forms of marine vegetation and fish and their shells are in part a product of these descending, creative energies. The sea God also directs powerful currents of quickening energy into the con­sciousness incarnate in every atom of the seawater and in the forms of the mineral, the marine plant and the fish kingdoms.

This being is subordinate to a still greater God, responsi­ble for the whole Pacific Ocean, in its turn a Vice-regent of the planetary sea God, which performs similar functions (and doubtless many others as yet unknown to me) for the life and consciousness of the oceans of the world. The God here presented is similarly assisted by great hosts of subordi­nates in a descending scale of evolutionary stature, the more advanced of whom resemble it in appearance.

At the lower mental and emotional levels, these Gods assume the concrete shape and operate in oppositely polarised pairs. Thus, although there is no sex in the Kingdom of the Gods, the appearance of male or female or deva and devi is sometimes suggested according to preponderant polarity. Beneath these in evolution are the non-individualised sea nature spirits and below them again the primitive beings portrayed in Plate 1.

Under the seas, different types of Gods and nature spirits are to be observed. On occasion, I have seen huge, whale-like, etheric monsters drifting about somewhat aimlessly in the great depths. The Kingdom of the Sea is indeed a densely-populated empire. It is presided over—chiefly, it would seem, from above the surface—by a very great being, the planetary God of the Sea.

Statue of Poseidon, God of the Sea—CGP Grey—http://www.cgpgrey.com

PLATE 19—A GOD OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC

Occasionally, the deva portrayed in Plate 18 descends to the form worlds, assuming there a definite shape some­what as shown. Thus seen, it resembles some splendid Sea God from classical mythology, riding the waves upon a shell-like car.

The flowing curves of the aura resemble those of a shell and doubtless are partly produced by the passage through the God of creative energies expressive of the divine thought or Archetype of the shell form. In the higher worlds, the God is of immense stature. In the lower, the central form is some thirty feet tall.

PLATE 20—AN ANGEL OF MUSIC

True music is a temporary, physical expression of the sound of the ever-uttered Word. Throughout creative Day, the Great Breath is breathed upon the Great Deep, which responds as an aeolian harp of myriad, vibrant strings. As creative Night draws near, the Great Breath is breathed in. Thereafter, silence reigns within the Great Deep.

The Monads of living beings are as breaths in the Great Breath. When, at the dawn of creative Day, the Voice first speaks, the innumerable lesser breaths contribute the com­ponent notes of the creative chord, which is the Word. When, at creative Eve, the Voice is stilled, the lesser voices die away. Thereafter, silence broods upon the face of the Deep.

Thus, behind and within material universes, creative sound subsists, that celestial symphony of which Nature’s forms are a physical expression. The Word itself exists in two phases, the pre-Cosmic and the Cosmic, the silent and the uttered. When spoken, the Word creates and releases the most divine harmonies and upon these, as dynamic Archetypes, the universe is built.

When the one creative Voice begins to speak, the ten divine Intelligences, the Archangels of the Sephiroth, the first manifested Lords of Light, hear and perfectly express the Word. This, as creative sound, they transmit throughout the newborn universe. Thereafter, the myriad Hosts of the Logos receive and re-express the music of the Word in worlds of growing density.

Tree of life with the 10 Sephiroth and the 22 Hebrew characters as they are presented in the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation). The different colours of the lines represent the three groups of characters—red, the 3 mother letters—blue, the 7 double letters—green, the 12 simple letters—Friedhelm Wessel—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Thus, the Kingdom of Music is established, the citizens of which are the Spiritual Selves of angels and men. In this Kingdom, vast hosts of Archangels and angels re-echo the harmonies of the creative Word, thereby aiding in the construction of the first, archetypal, sound-built forms. Each of these beings is perpetually resonant with the com­ponent chords and notes of the basic theme of the universe, its idea-motif.

The loftiest Archangels first embody and re-sound the glorious harmonies of the Word, which are then relayed by their immediate successors in the hierarchical Order. Thence, this wondrous music descends through successive ranks of shining beings, until the lower worlds of form are reached. There, too, the Angel Lords of mental and emo­tional realms re-echo the creative Word. Lesser angels and their younger brethren, the nature spirits, answer to the song and by them, the densest, material world is built accord­ing to the Word.

An Angel of Music or Gandharva as it is known in Hinduism is here depicted not as a portrait but as a type of celestial musician, the inner form only being shown.

PLATES 21 AND 22—A ROSE ANGEL

The six pictures which follow portray angels who are associated with aspects of divine consciousness, rather than with currents of creative Life Force and the mineral and plant kingdoms of Nature. Rose angels, such as the one here portrayed, may be thought of as incarnations of divine wisdom and love, qualities which bring them into intimate contact with the Immortal Selves or Egos of men. Association with such beings is indeed a privilege and their co-operation in the service of humanity can be of the greatest value.

The second picture is an attempt at portraiture. This closer view shows the various force centres. Those in the head are seen to radiate from a common centre, upward through the crown and forward through the eyes. As stated in the opening paragraphs of this fifth part of the book, no static medium, however skilfully used, can possibly convey the delicacy, the glowing radiance, the translucence, which contribute to the general effect of the intense brilliance and the supernal beauty characteristic of the Angelic Hosts. This is especially true of the ethereal, radiant, angelic incarnation of divine love portrayed in these two Plates. The large and glowing aura, chiefly rose, crimson and gold in colour, has been deliberately omitted from both pictures in order that the graceful central form, normally somewhat veiled within it, may clearly be seen.

When, in the performance of certain Rituals of Free­masonry and those described in Part IV, Chapter III, the power and influence of divine love are invoked and poured forth with angelic aid upon the world, angels of this Order would be likely to respond to the invocation and co-operate in the distribution of the power and its application to general and individual needs. This particular rose angel is some twelve feet tall.

PLATES 23, 24 AND 25—THREE HEALING ANGELS

These pictures portray three different types of angels engaged in their healing ministry. The general method is first to direct streams of purifying energy into and through the aura of the sufferer in order to disperse congestions in the etheric and emotional bodies especially and to drive out harmful substances. They then re-attune the chord or Word of the individual, usually dissonant in the psyche during ill-health and try to restore the harmonious and rhyth­mic flow of the inner Life Forces throughout the mental, emotional and physical nature. Finally, they invoke divine healing power which flows through their auras, as well as directly from its Source, into the patients, affecting them locally or generally, or both, according to the needs of the case.

Such ministrations are far more effective when man consciously invokes and co-operates with the healing angels. A successful method of spiritual healing with angelic co-­operation consists of dwelling in concentrated thought upon the Lord Christ, the great Healer of the World, reverently entering His presence in thought and seeking to touch the hem of His garment, which means the fringe of His consciousness. The sufferer is then drawn mentally into His Presence, being visualised as radiantly healthy and flooded throughout his whole nature with the golden, glowing, healing Life of God, as portrayed in these pictures. The following or similar prayer may then be uttered with powerful intent and a pause between each sentence—

May the healing power of the Lord Christ descend upon (Christian and surnames of the selected suppliants). May the healing angels encom­pass them.

After a pause of some minutes, during which the thought is powerful yet reverently centred upon the Lord Christ, His outpoured healing power and the healing angels, the meditation may be closed with the words—

May the light of His love enfold them forever. Amen

Healing angels have been found to be continuing their ministering function for at least twenty-four hours after such an invocation. Regular practice by this or similar methods will quickly demonstrate the efficacy of angelic co-operation in spiritual healing. Those who participate are warned against the exercise of personal will in order to attain desired results. Once the healing power has been invoked, always with the fullest faith, the results should be left to the karma and evolutionary needs of the individuals. When there is a strong desire that some loved one should be healed, surrender to the divine Will and the great Law should be expressed in such words as according to the Will of God or as may be most expedient for them.

The occultist learns to work without thought of results. As said in Part IV, Chapter III, in no circumstances should he use his will power and occult knowledge to obtain by force, personal, material benefits for himself or for others. Such would be grey, if not black magic, the error into which Judas fell in selling his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. As Judas died by his own hand, so all who fall into this same error are in danger of a form of spiritual suicide.

PLATE 26—AN ANGEL OF JAVA

A remarkable Buddhist Shrine, known as the Borobudor, was built on the island of Java, some eight hundred years ago. This is an immense stone structure, with scenes from the life of the Lord Buddha beautifully carved on the sides of the four great galleries. This Shrine has become a place of pilgrimage and is regarded by many as a centre of spiritual power. Investigation revealed the presence of a very great presiding Angel, conserver and distributor of the power of the Shrine and source of potent spiritual forces which flow over the island of Java and the surrounding seas.

The height of the central figure is probably from twelve to fifteen feet but in the case of an Ego which attained Adeptship as man and then transferred to the Angelic Kingdom, the height of the body is not an indication of spiritual stature.

The Borobudur temple in Indonesia—Jan-Pieter Nap—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

PLATE 27—A KUNDALINl DEVI

According to one view, kundalini—also called the Serpent Fire—is the power of giving or transmitting Life. Prana—known physically as vitality—is the power of organising Life. Fohat—known physically as electricity—is the power of using and manipulating Life. These three cosmic forces of the Third, Second and First Aspects of the Logos, respectively, are present as ensouling energies of all substances on every plane of Nature. Fohat is the universal constructive Force of Cosmic Electricity and the ultimate hidden power in this universe, the power which charges a universe with Life, with Spirit; it is described as the Will and the Mind, the very Self of God. This supreme force is in all creatures. When specialised and enclosed within the spinal cord of man, it is called kundalini or the power that moves in a serpentine path; hence its other name the Serpent Fire. In man, it is sheathed with care but man must learn to set it free, for it is the God in him, without which he would cease to be.

Kundalini Symbol—Pierjasi at nl.Wikipedia—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Diagram of chakras and Kundalini in a human being

Kundalini is, in essence, creative and, though as yet but slightly aroused, with all other forces and powers of Nature, is represented in the physical body of man. There, at this period of human evolution, it manifests itself as the source of both the sex impulse and the nerve fluid. It resides, coiled serpent-like, in the sacral chakra or wheel at the base of the spine, which in its turn is a relay station for the similarly coiled up energy in the centre of the Earth, itself a storehouse of solar kundalini.

When fully aroused, either by yoga or as a natural result of evolutionary progress, kundalini flows up an etheric canal in the spinal cord called the Sushumna Nadi, passing through each of the other chakras on its journey. As it passes through the spinal centres in which the chakras arise, some of its force flows down the axis of the funnel of each, vivifying it occultly and, thereby, awakening the individual to self-conscious aware­ness in the superphysical worlds.

When kundalini touches the spleen centre, it gives the power of travelling at will on the astral plane whilst away from the physical body. When it touches and opens the heart centre, the forces of the Buddhic or Christ conscious­ness in man resident in the vehicle of intuition, if sufficiently unfolded, begin to flow through the neophyte at the physical level and the mystic rose—the heart chakra— blooms upon his breast. The powers of the Christ consciousness—knowledge of the oneness of life, direct, intuitive spiritual perception, wisdom and a profound compassion—then begin to manifest themselves through thought and word and deed. The throat centre, when vivified, bestows the power of clairaudience or of responding to superphysical sound vibrations as well as to those physical sounds which are beyond the normal auditory range. The brow centre, when occultly vitalised, bestows the faculty of clairvoyance and when the coronal chakra is opened, the neophyte acquires the faculties of using superphysical awareness whilst still awake in the physical body and of leaving and returning to the body at will without any break in consciousness.

As kundalini rises up the Sushumna Nadi, it is accompanied by two complementary forces, one positive and the other negative. Each of these flows along its own canal in the spinal cord, sometimes called Pingala and Ida, respectively, though these names are also given to the forces themselves. These two oppositely polarised, akashic forces meet and cross at each of the chakras as they rise and finally pass, one of which in consequence becomes hypersensitive. They then function somewhat as do the valves or the amplifiers of a radio receiving set, thereby enabling consciousness within the brain to pick up superphysical forces and become aware of superphysical phenomena. Indeed, the cerebrospinal system of man, when occultly vivified, resembles in many respects a television receiving set. One difference, however, is that superphysical broadcasts are projected upon the screen of the mind-brain and are clairvoyantly perceived. The full manifestation of these occult faculties during waking con­sciousness demands a long and arduous training and depends upon the complete vivification of the pituitary and pineal glands by means of kundalini and its complementary forces.

Ankh model of the chakras system is presented in the form of sacral or spiritual symbols of ancient India and Egypt. Such known elements as Ida, Pingala, Sushumna and 7 main chakras are presented in this model—Shatilov Konstantin—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

In the paths followed by these three currents, one recog­nises the caduceus, the staff of the God Hermes, consisting of a rod around which two serpents are coiled, a winged sphere crowning the symbol. Kundalini ascending the Sushumna Nadi is represented by the rod and the forces flowing along Ida and Pingala by the two serpents, whilst the winged sphere symbolises in part the freed soul of the man who has awakened and learned to use these hidden powers. Such a man does indeed become as a Hermes, a messenger from heaven to earth, for he ranges free in the higher worlds and brings to men the knowledge and wisdom of those realms. Ultimately, he also rescues or liberates Persephone, symbolic of the human soul, from the Underworld or normal limitations imposed upon it during waking hours by the occultly unvivified physical body.

Like all basic forces in Nature, kundalini is the manifes­tation of an Intelligence, an Archangel, in fact, though of a nature beyond human comprehension. The picture in part portrays a glimpse unexpectedly obtained whilst passing through the preparatory stages which precede meditation. First, a living caduceus was seen of intense, fiery power con­necting earth and sun. Contemplating this, I seemed to become aware of a Solar Intelligence or Kundalini Devi, some­what as here portrayed.

Caduceus

Sculpted corbel showing a caduceus. Detail of the façade of a building at 9th Calle de Antonio Maura (street) in Madrid (Spain)—Luis García—Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic

PLATE 28 AND 29—THE MIRACLE OF BIRTH AND THE WORLD MOTHER

During investigations of pre-natal life, I constantly became aware of the presence and ministration of certain types of angels which were assisting in the dual process of the construction of the new bodies, mental, emotional, etheric and physical and the induction into them of the reincarnating Ego. Though I did not realise it at the time, I have now come to believe that, during the involutionary arc or descent into an incarnation of each life cycle, these angels perform for every individual a function closely resembling that carried out on behalf of the race by the Pitris, the so-called ancestors of man, sometimes occultly referred to as the Satanic Hierarchies.

A study of these angels revealed them as agents of a great Intelligence which presides over and directs all maternal processes throughout Nature. The teachings of occult philo­sophy relate this Being to the Feminine or Mother Aspect of the Deity, of which She is a manifestation and a representative.

Matter itself, universal substance or Prakriti, is the arche or womb wherein all worlds gestate, from which all are born and to which all return. The true World Mother is this primary substance of a universe when first differentiated from the root of matter or Mula Prakriti, for therein reside the seeds of all living things and the powers of conservation and reproduction.

When differentiation occurs at the dawn of Cosmos, following the night of Chaos, the three Aspects of the pri­mordial Trinity, the Creator, the Preserver and the Transformer, become self-manifest and creatively active. They are then represented by lofty divine Intelligences, Powers or Emanations, themselves the highest fruits of preceding Manvantaras, whose bodies are of the essence of the higher divine light. Intelligences of such a nature, when emanated from root substance, direct the course of evolution under immutable Law. They are no Beings such as the human mind can conceive. They constitute both the highest Sephirothal Triad and the Seven which proceed from them or rather the Spirit behind each. They may perhaps be described as the Very Soul of the universe.

The cosmic maternal Principle is universally manifest and its conserving and reproducing attributes are active throughout all Nature. Physically, it is expressed both as chemical, negative polarity and as femininity throughout the whole organic world. It is active within every single cell as also in every multicellular organism. Without it, nothing could be conceived and born, nothing preserved, nothing reproduced. Superphysically, the maternal Principle is of equal importance. For man, it is the Auric Envelope, the arche of the Spiritual Soul, the Augoeides or Causal Body, the womb wherein gestate Initiate, Adept, Logos-to-be.

All nations have recognised, honoured and worshipped this maternal Principle in Nature. All their exoteric religions have personified it as a Goddess, an Archangel Mother of universes, races, nations and men. These personifications of the World Mother are amongst the very noblest concepts of the human mind, which in creating, reverencing and serving them reaches its highest degree of idealism, devotion and religious self-expression. Such reverence, such devotion and such worship as are offered to World Mothers are, therefore, worthy of the deepest respect and, gross superstition apart— ever to be resisted—may usefully be encouraged. For through human devotion, human beings may be reached from on high. Through human aspiration, highest love and suppli­cation, man is susceptible to both his own Spiritual Self and the influence of the Adept Ministrants of mankind. The Madonna ideal, for example, has been and still is of incalcu­lable value in consoling, purifying and ennobling humanity. Through it, a realisation of the Mother-Love of God has been brought within reach of millions of suffering and aspiring people. The concepts of Kwan Yin, Isis, Ishtar, Parvati and other Goddesses are similarly founded upon the existence, nature and function of the same great being. Perhaps because I am a Christian and the cases I was examining were also Christian, the Madonna-like forms here pictured presented themselves to my mind.

The planetary World Mother is conceived in certain schools of occult philosophy as a highly-evolved Archangel Representative and Embodiment on earth of the Feminine Aspect of the Deity. She is also thought of as an Adept Official in the Inner Government of the World, in whom all the highest qualities of womanhood and motherhood shine forth in their fullest perfection.

Since she is beyond all limitation of form, no picture can truly represent Her. In Plate 28 She, in a Madonna-like form and her ministering angels appear in close association with a mother and her unborn child as the time of birth draws near. Plate 29 symbolically portrays her in Her solar aspect, brooding in divine love over all worlds.

In reverent salutation to Her as Queen of the Angels, I bring to a close this illustrated study of the Angelic Hosts.

My previous visits to this great Buddhist Shrine in Java have been described as having revealed to me the presence of a very great presiding Angel, conserver and distributor of the power of the Shrine and source of potent spiritual forces which flow over the Island, of Java and the surrounding seas. The height of the central figure is probably from twelve to fifteen feet but in the case of an Ego which attained Adeptship as man and then transferred to the Angelic Kingdom, the height of the body is not an indication of spiritual stature.

The kindness and generosity of friends in Sourabaya made possible a further visit in January 1971. Although not thinking especially of this great Being at the time, whilst some seven or more miles still separated our party from the Shrine itself, I again became aware of the presiding presence and power of the Devaraja. In consequence, 1 realised that its influence is by no means limited to the immediate region of the Shrine but in varying degrees reached over the whole of Java and the seas and Islands far beyond. In addition, great rays of spiritual power shone forth in many directions throughout the superphysical worlds, as was partly indicated by the picture in my book.

Having arrived with our small party at the summit of the Shrine, I sought by meditation again and more deeply, if it might be, to receive such instruction as the Great Devaraja might deign to give. From his mind to mine, there gradually began to flow a stream of ideas concerning the life, the force and the consciousness of the universe and their self-expression as angels and as men. This description of the process is not strictly accurate, however, because, during such communication, the sense of duality is reduced to a minimum. Rather did the two centres of consciousness, those of the great angel and myself, co-existent, temporarily forming one being within which the stream of ideas arose. This, I believe, is essentially true of all interchanges which occur above the level of the formal mind and especially at those of spiritual Wisdom and spiritual Will. In the latter, it is assumed, duality virtually disappears and oneness, uttermost interior unity, alone remains.

The Devarajas and Devas whose consciousnesses and being are established in the Arupa worlds are of themselves entirely free of any restrictions of location, even the idea of which can have little or no place in the higher Manasic, Buddhic and Atomic planes. When, therefore, one refers to an Arupa Deva by the name of a physical plane locality or centre, the title can be either incorrect or misleading, especially if it suggests spatial limitations which restrict the consciousness established at levels where the idea or space-location cannot exist.

How, then, it may be asked, may one permissibly associate an Arupa Deva with a place or even consecrated Shrine on the physical plane? A brief dissertation on the subject of Cosmogenesis may perhaps aid one’s understanding or at least partially answer the question. All Creative Logoi, meaning Emanators of universes, may be thought of as voluntarily making a sacrifice which, in its fullness, is beyond the comprehension of man.

Timelessness, meaning absolute freedom from time restrictions and spacelessness, meaning absolute freedom from space restrictions or even the remotest concepts of either of these—may be thought of as partially surrendered by both Creative Logoi and the Heads of those Hierarchies of Creative Intelligences who participate with the Logoi in the procedures of the objective space-time manifestation of THAT which is eternal and infinite.

One example of this surrender is an Arupa Deva who, in accordance with the procedures of involution and evolution and the Directors thereof, agrees to use specially selected places on Earth as centres through which the powers for which he is agent may reach the world of forms and so also the Life which is evolving within the restrictions of form. The very great Devaraja of Borobudor may, I suggest, be regarded as one who long ago became associated with the great Shrine for such purposes. The Devaraja is in no sense limited to that particular part or place upon the surface of the planet Earth but voluntarily agrees to whatever limitation there may be in order to fulfil the functions which are assign­ed to it or which it has accepted.

These are in part to subjugate matter itself, particularly physical matter, to the rhythmic impact and interpenetra­tion of forces which the Devaraja has stepped down from higher levels. Throughout the ages, this passage of energy through dense substance gradually reduces its iner­tia and so reduces the resistance of matter to Spirit, to evolving life and to spiritualising consciousness.

A second function, I gathered, is to reduce the degree of impenetrability or resistance to Spirit of the layers or highest subplanes of matter of each of the planes of nature. As the ages pass, these barriers gradually become more readily penetrated by consciousness, this being one of the effects of the energy or driving force which the Deva directs into the substance of the rupa planes.

A third function consists of the subjection of the indwel­ling and evolving Life to the receipt and passage through it of energies which awaken it to gradually increased interior and external sensitivity and responses, thereby quickening the evolutionary processes. This third function is more especially helpful to the Life evolving through the organic kingdoms than the inorganic, although all Nature is stimulated and its evolution hastened by the Angelic Hosts. Thus, the Devaraja of Borobudor may be thought of as of planetary or terrene evolutionary stature and in no sense limited in consciousness to the Great Shrine.

Such in part are thoughts which arose in my mind as I meditated on the summit of Borobudor.

L’ENVOI

The Gods await the conscious reunion of the mind of man with the Universal Mind. Humanity awakens slowly. Matter-blinded through centuries, few men as yet perceive the mind within the substance, the life within the form.

In search of power and wealth, men have traversed the whole earth, have penetrated the wilds, scaled the peaks and conquered the polar wastes. Let them now seek within the form, scale the heights of their own consciousness, penetrate its depth, in search of that inner Power and Life by which alone they may become strong in will and spiritually enriched.

He who thus throws open his life and mind to the Uni­versal Life and Mind indwelling in all things will enter into union therewith and to him, the Gods will appear.

A Mountain God