cosmology
Involution
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
310 passages · 12 traditions
theosophy215
The Secret Doctrine | Page 2 (part 11)
“Nor could the vast catalogue of the Archaic Sciences be attempted in the present volumes, before we have disposed of such tremendous problems as Cosmic and Planetary Evolution, and the gradual development of the mysterious Humanities and ra…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 1)
“The Secret Doctrine by H.
P.
Blavatsky -- Vol.
1 [[Vol.
1, Page 1]] PROEM ------- PAGES FROM A PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD.
A N Archaic Manuscript -- a collection of palm leaves made impermeable to water, fire, and air, by some specific unknow…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 2)
“The latter is either "awake" or "asleep." The Svabhavikas, or philosophers of the oldest school of Buddhism (which still exists in Nepaul), speculate only upon the active condition of this "Essence," which they call Svabhavat, and deem it f…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 3)
“The esoteric symbol of Kali Yuga is the five-pointed star reversed, thus -- the sign of human sorcery, with its two points (horns) turned heavenward, a position every [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * See t…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 4)
“The orthodox Brahmins, those who rise the most against the Pantheists and Adwaitees, calling them Atheists, are forced, if Manu has any authority in this matter, to accept the death of Brahma, the creator, at the expiration of every "Age" o…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 5)
“But this view does not prevent him from believing in its existence so long as it lasts, to wit, for one Mahamanvantara; nor from applying Akasa, the radiation of Mulaprakriti,* to practical purposes, connected as the World-Soul is with all…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 6)
“." For clearer understanding on the part of the general reader, it must be stated that Occult Science recognises Seven Cosmical Elements -- four entirely physical, and the fifth (Ether) semi-material, as it will become visible in the air to…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 3 (part 7)
“Herbert Spencer has of late so far modified his Agnosticism, as to assert that the nature of the "First Cause,"* which the Occultist more logically derives from the "Causeless Cause," the "Eternal," and the "Unknowable," may be essentially…”
Show all 215 →neoplatonism46
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII-a
“But neither must we admit that cause of the distinction of these genera which you subjoin, viz.
“ that it is an arrangement with reference to different bodies; as, for instance, 39 of Gods to etherial bodies, but of dæmons to aerial bodies…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter XIX-a
“In the next place, therefore, we shall answer your question, “ What it is which conjoins the Gods that have a body in the heavens with the incorporeal Gods.
” What this is, therefore, is evident from what has been before said.
For 72 if t…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter V
“Moreover, that which purifies souls is perfect in the Gods; but in archangels it is anagogic. Angels alone dissolve the bond of generation. Dæmons draw souls down into nature; but heroes lead them to a providential attention to sensible wor…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VI
“Moreover, the gifts arising from the manifestations are not all of them equal, nor have the same fruits. But the presence of the Gods, indeed, imparts to us health of body, virtue of soul, purity of intellect, and in one word elevates every…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter II
“Hear, therefore, the intellectual interpretation of symbols, according to the conceptions of the Egyptians; at the same time removing from your imagination and your ears the image of things symbolical, but elevating yourself to intellectual…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter II
“Prior to truly existing beings and total principles [or principles that rank as wholes], there is one God, prior to [that deity who is generally believed to be] the first God and king, immoveable, and abiding in the solitude of his own unit…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII
“What then, is it not possible for a man to liberate himself [from fate] through the Gods that revolve in the heavens, and to consider the same as the leaders of fate, and yet as 311 those that bind our lives with indissoluble bonds? Perhaps…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter V
“But why am I prolix about these particulars? For I have abundantly shown, in what has been before said, the transcendency of divine above human divination. It is better, therefore, in compliance with your request, “ to point out to you the…”
Show all 46 →christian_mysticism29
Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1b
“Plotinus says the Godhead is indivisibly divided.
doth not leave Its own Unity, but, even in the act of going forth to all things, remains entirely within Itself through the excess of that all-transcendent Unity: concerning these things ‘t…”
Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 11, Section 1e
“Hence the Good God is called the Fount, first, of the Very Primaries: then, of those creatures which share completely therein; then, of those which share partially therein.
484 484 Migne’s text here is corrupt, I have emended it.
(1) The…”
Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I.
Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is.
But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 5, Section 1f
“And the highest measure of existence He bestows upon the more exalted Beings, which the Scripture calls eternal; 380 380 2 Cor.
iv.
18 but also the mere existence of the world as a whole is perpetual; and its very existence comes from the…”
Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names | Chapter 8, Section 1b
“From this Source come the Godlike Powers of the Angelic Orders; from this Source they immutably possess their being and all the ceaseless and immortal motions of their spiritual life; and their very stability and unfailing desire for the Go…”
Revelations of Divine Love | Chapter LV-a
“"Christ is our Way"—"Mankind shall be restored from double death" And thus Christ is our Way, us surely leading in His laws, and Christ in His body mightily beareth us up into heaven.
For I saw that Christ, us all having in Him that shall…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 4)
“She is passive, but the Spirit of God is active, like the soul in the body." ( Clavis , v.
18.) This eternal Trinity is inconceivable in its aspect as a spiritual potentiality, in the same sense as a fire is inconceivable if it does not bu…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 5)
“The will beholding itself in the mirror of wisdom causes its own image to appear within the groundlessness, and thus it creates a foundation in its own imagination." ( Menschwerdung , ii.
1.) "Wisdom, the eternal virgin, the playmate of Go…”
Show all 29 →hinduism6
The Bhagavad Gita | Chapter IX, Section 1a
“CHAPTER IX.
Now I will speak to you, who are not given to carping, of that most mysterious knowledge, accompanied by experience, by knowing which you will be released from evil.
It is the chief among the sciences, the chief among the myst…”
The Bhagavad Gita | Chapter X, Section 1a
“CHAPTER X.
Yet again, O you of mighty arms!
listen to my excellent words, which, out of a wish for your welfare, I speak to you who are delighted (with them).
Not the multitudes of gods, nor the great sages know my source; for I am in ev…”
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I | Sutra 37
“Or the purging of self-indulgence from the psychic nature. We must recognize that the fall of man is a reality, exemplified in our own persons. We have quite other sins than the animals, and far more deleterious; and they have all come thro…”
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book II | Sutra 54
“The right Withdrawal is the disengaging of the powers from entanglement in outer things, as the psychic nature has been withdrawn and stilled. To understand this, let us reverse the process, and think of the one consciousness, centred in th…”
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III | Sutra 29
“Perfectly concentrated Meditation on the centre of force in the lower trunk brings an understanding of the order of the bodily powers. We are coming to a vitally important part of the teaching of Yoga: namely, the spiritual man's attainment…”
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book IV | Sutra 2
“The transfer of powers from one venture to another comes through the flow of the natural creative forces. Here, if we can perceive it, is the whole secret of spiritual birth, growth and life Spiritual being, like all being, is but an expres…”
jewish_mysticism3
The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha) | 1d
“5; "And thou shalt place upon me thine hand:" KPKH, Khephakha .
(Where this word KPKH, if it be written according to the usual p.
100 custom KPK, Khephakh , yieldeth the number 120.
But now by adding the paragogic H of the female, there…”
The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha) | 1f
“[The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are divided into three classes, the three mothers as they are called, AMSh; the seven duplex letters, BGDKPRTh, so called because they are sometimes tenues and sometimes aspirates, according to whether th…”
Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation) | Section 1f
“The Third Path is the Sanctifying Intelligence, and is the basis of foundation of Primordial Wisdom, which is called the Former of faith, and its roots, Amen; and it is the parent of Faith, from which virtues doth Faith emanate.
The Fourth…”
western_esoteric3
Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune) | 7. The Pathology Of Non-Human Contacts-b
“In all cases the physical, etheric and astral bodies are involved; the vortex therefore always reaches as far as the astral plane; a soul upon the astral plane may be drawn into this vortex if it is ripe for incarnation, and thus enter the…”
Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune) | 11. The Psychic Element In Mental Disturbance-d
“The older faiths knew this, but popular Christianity, which has no roots in tradition, has forgotten it.
Protestant Christianity threw away its occult aspect at the Reformation.
All the pagan pantheons have gross aspects of divinities as…”
The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) | Page 34
“THE MOON. THE MOON. 18. צ 18th Hebrew letter (Tzaddi). ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EIGHTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT. The hieroglyphic idea connected with the Tzaddi is the same as that of the Teth (9th card); but it chiefly signifies a term…”
hermeticism2
Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres | Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
Corpus Hermeticum 8: The Eight Sphere | Section 1a
“That No One of Existing Things doth Perish, but Men in Error Speak of Their Changes as Destructions and as Deaths <The idea of cyclic change central to CH III, "The Sacred Sermon", also takes center stage here.
A current of ancient specula…”
renaissance_hermeticism2
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter VIII — How the Elements Are in the Heavens, in Stars, in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God Himself | Chapter VIII, Section 1a
“CHAPTER VIII.
How the Elements Are in the Heavens, in Stars, in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God Himself .
It is the unanimous consent of all Platonists, that as in the original and exemplary World, all things are in all; so also in t…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XXXVII — How, By Some Certain Natural and Artificial Preparations, We May Attract Certain Celestial and Vital Gifts | Chapter XXXVII, Section 1a
“CHAPTER XXXVII.
How, By Some Certain Natural and Artificial Preparations, We May Attract Certain Celestial and Vital Gifts .
Platonists , together with Hermes, say, and Jarchus Brachmanus and the Mecubals of the Hebrews confess, that all…”
egyptian1
The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 43 (part 76)
“These eight elements were called Nu and Nut, Heh and Hehet, Kek and Keket, and Enen and Enenet, or Khemennu, the "Eight," and they were considered as primeval fathers and mothers. They are often represented in the forms of four male and fou…”
mesopotamian1
The Descent of the Goddess Ishtar into the Lower World | Section 1b
“"Why, O gatekeeper, dost thou remove the girdle of my body, studded with birth-stones?" "Enter, O lady, for such are the decrees of Ereshkigal." The sixth gate, he bade her enter, opened it wide, and removed the spangles off her hands and f…”
native_american1
The Soul of the Indian | Chapter V-a
“THE UNWRITTEN SCRIPTURES A Living Book.
The Sioux Story of Creation.
The First Battle.
Another Version of the Flood.
Our Animal Ancestry.
A missionary once undertook to instruct a group of Indians in the truths of his holy religion.
H…”
taoism1
Tao Te Ching | Chapter 51
“All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its outflowing operation. They receive their forms according to the nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of their condition. Therefore all things without excep…”