Astral Dimension of Reality
The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions. It is the world of the celestial spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, and is generally believed to be populated by angels, spirits or other immaterial beings. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo-Rosicrucianism.
Another view holds that the astral plane or world, rather than being some kind of boundary area crossed by the soul, is the entirety of spirit existence or spirit worlds to which those who die on Earth go, and where they live out their non-physical lives. It is understood that all consciousness resides in the astral plane. Some writers conflate this realm with heaven or paradise or union with God itself, and others do not. Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in Autobiography of a Yogi, “The astral universe, is hundreds of times larger than the material universe, with many astral planets, teeming with astral beings.”
The “World of Al-Ghaib”, and the “World of Barzakh”, are related concepts in Islam, (also the concept of ‘âlam al-mithâl, or “imaginal world” in Sufism). In Judaism, it is known as the “World of Yetzirah”, according to Lurianic Kabbalah.
The energetic or astral level is a dimension of reality that is subtler than the physical level. It is often associated with the realm of energy, emotions, thoughts, and subtle vibrations.
Plato and Aristotle taught that the stars were composed of a type of matter different from the four earthly (classical) elements — a fifth, ethereal element or quintessence. In the “astral mysticism” of the classical world the human psyche was composed of the same material, thus accounting for the influence of the stars upon human affairs. In his commentaries on Plato’s Timaeus, Proclus wrote the following:
Man is a little world, (mikros cosmos). For, just like the Whole, he possesses both mind and reason, both a divine and a mortal body. He is also divided up according to the universe. It is for this reason, you know, that some are accustomed to say that his consciousness corresponds with the nature of the fixed stars, his reason in its contemplative aspect with Saturn and in its social aspect with Jupiter, (and) as to his irrational part, the passionate nature with Mars, the eloquent with Mercury, the appetitive with Venus, the sensitive with the Sun and the vegetative with the Moon.
Such doctrines were commonplace in mystery-schools and Hermetic and gnostic sects throughout the Roman Empire.
Among Muslims the “astral” world-view was soon rendered orthodox by Quranic references to the Prophet’s ascent through the seven heavens. Scholars took up the Greek Neoplatonist accounts as well as similar material in Hindu and Zoroastrian texts. The expositions of Ibn Sina, the Brotherhood of Purity and others, when translated into Latin in the Norman era, were to have a profound effect upon European medieval alchemy and astrology. By the 14th century Dante was describing his own imaginary journey through the astral spheres of Paradise.
Throughout the Renaissance, philosophers, Paracelsians, Rosicrucians, and alchemists continued to discuss the nature of the astral world intermediate between earth and the divine. Once the telescope established that no spiritual heaven was visible around the solar system, the idea was superseded in mainstream science.
These subtle energies that underlie and permeate the physical world. These energies are believed to be vital forces that animate and shape all aspects of existence. They can be seen as the underlying currents of life and consciousness.
The astral level is closely associated with emotions, feelings, and the energetic expressions of human experiences. It is believed that emotions generate energetic vibrations that can be sensed and perceived on the energetic or astral level. The astral realm is considered the domain where emotions and desires find their expression and influence our experiences.
According to various occult teachings, the astral plane can be visited consciously through astral projection, meditation and mantra, near death experience, lucid dreaming, or other means. Individuals that are trained in the use of the astral vehicle can separate their consciousness in the astral vehicle from the physical body at will. The first stage in development, according to William Walker Atkinson (also known as Yogi Ramacharaka), is “mastery of the physical body and its care and attention”, which pertains not only to the physical body but also to its double in the astral. In addition, one must spend time tuning the “instinctive mind”. The first three subdivisions of the instinctive mind are passions, desires, and lusts. The second stage is the intellect, otherwise known as the sharpening of the mind. Someone operating largely out of the instinctive mind would “have only a glimmering of intellect”, therefore those who are centered in the intellect would only have an inkling of the spiritual. Once both stages are completed the spiritual mind can be awakened.