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our tradition to expound. Together all models illustrate the multi-faceted nature of reality, the
earth being only one plane within a larger picture. There can be many views of such a structure,
ranging from alternative universes, dimensions or planes to other realities, each has its place in
our understanding.
The Seven Planes
Max Heindel Model Theosophical Model
Divine Plane. Divine Plane.
Plane of Virgin Spirits Monadic Plane.
Plane of Divine Spirit Spiritual Plane
Plane of Life Spirit Intuitional Plane
Plane of Thought Mental Plane
Desire Plane Astral Plane
Physical Plane Physical Plane
The Divine Plane
This is the point of origin, the matrix from which all universal systems evolve. It is the plane of
the triune Principle and on a more tangible level, the dimension from which the upper world op-
erates.
The Monadic Plane
From this plane the True Self or the Pneumatic Light Self operates in the present cycles, though
in most of humanity it is in embryonic form only. In the cycles of creation this is the plane from
which polarization and differentiation originated. It is on this level that the Seven Holy Spirits
operate and direct creation.
The Gnostic Handbook Page 39
The Spiritual Plane.
This is the plane of archetypal forms and is the location from which energies from the upper
planes are condensed and radiated into the lower. This is the plane on which the Immortals ex-
ist.
The Intuitional Plane
This plane is also known as the Intuitional Plane. It is the dimension where the forces and ar-
chetypes take creative solidity and manifest. On a human level, it is the dimension of high level
intuition and cosmic awareness.
The Mental Plane
This is also known as the Mental Plane. Here the flood of energy takes the form of reason and
thought, blueprints are formulated and laid.
The Astral Plane
The Desire plane is also known as the Emotional or Astral Plane. In some traditions it is also
seen as the reflective sphere or Astral light. The division between the Mental and Desire Plane
is not as clear as it seems and intermingling occurs between them both.
The Physical Plane
The world on which we live.
The Earth and the Underworld
On a critical examine of our models one will notice an anomaly, in the organic models
(Yggdrasil etc), the underworld is beneath the earth, indeed in Medieval Mysticism hell (the
Christian underworld) is even within the earth, being at its centre. While in the Emanation
model the underworld is called the Astral Plane (even the Spirit world) and is above the earth,
rule by the Moon.
The first thing to note is that the underworld is not hell. There is no heaven and hell in the
Gnostic system, the underworld is the realm of the dead and where we experience the afterlife.
Some people create their own Heavens and Hells there but that is another story. The models
we are outlining cannot be reduce to scientific charts, while there are seven planes they inter-
mingle and meld. The planes exist behind, through and within the physical and they interpene-
trate each other just as much. The astral plane can be imaged under, inside or above the earth,
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all have the same imagery. It is somewhat a matter of how we conceptualise the universe. The
model of the astral plane above the earth, ruled by the moon has a more hierarchy feel, while
the underworld communicates more on an emotional level.
The model of the underworld also brings to mind the ancient polarity of Earth and Sky. The
Earth and Sky polarity was probably the most ancient model of the universe, while the Logos
and Sophia model is central to Gnosticism, this older structure is found in many nature relig-
ions. The Divine Will is seen as either the Cosmic Father or Mother and the earth is the wife,
husband or lover. In this mythology the underworld is intricately connected to the earth, even
seen as part of it. In the Norse tradition the God is Odin or Tyr (much earlier) and he is the lord
of the upper world (Asgard) and Hel is the Goddess of the underworld and earth. Hel and Freya
are much the same Goddess, she simply split into two and was demoted due to strong patriar-
chal and later Christian influences. She was the goddess of death and rebirth, fertility and suf-
fering, she guards the dead and sends them back to life, she compliments and completes the
Lord or Tyr/Odin. In Celtic mythology she guards the great cauldron and in the Norse this caul-
dron is the seething cauldron from which the drizzle formed from fire and ice coalesces and
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