And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light
upon the earth.
And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the
light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
"That which is above is like unto that which is below." These words from the Emerald Tablet of Hermes state a truth that is a key to numberless mysteries. They prove so to occult investigators when deciphering akashic records covering the Seven Creative Days. At this point attention is called to a correspondence between Cosmos, the Grand Man, and man, the little god. The same forces play in and through both. The lights in the firmament were active in man before they became manifest in the skies.
During the First and Second Days of creative activity, forces that later became embodied in the Sun and Moon were operative in man as the creative powers of Will and Imagination. By virtue of these powers he was a potential creator, though not yet conscious of his creative abilities. Of these he comes into progressive awareness as his powers are developed. When he shall have completed the work assigned to him for the Seventh Creative Day he will be a self-conscious creator of divine dimensions. Through the dual spirit-powers of Will and Imagination, man was originally guided by an inner light. The external light of Sun, Moon and stars was, therefore, not yet required. Nor did man possess the physical sense of sight to perceive external light. This was not developed until the inner light faded out and a need arose for compensating luminaries.
Transfer from inner to outer illumination occurred when the forces of Will and Imagination became separated, the former expressing dominantly in man and the latter in woman. After this event, which occurred in the Fourth Day, the Sun and Moon were unveiled, the greater to rule by day; the lesser by night. With their appearance, man began to evolve a physical sense with which their light might be perceived.
Man's complex structure is the product of innumerable Intelligences working over vast stretches of time. The progression is orderly, methodical and sequential; not haste, but perfection is the ultimate objective. As science and religion draw closer together, both will make the illuminating discovery that the work of the Seven Creative Days, recorded with mathematical brevity in a few verses, was not a week's activity of the Elohim in the remote past, but that it covers processes which have carried the manifested universe steadily forward through the ages-processes which will continue until the destined perfection is attained. In lesser cycles of action, the successive steps of the Seven Days are recapitulated in an endless series that reach into the infinitely small spiral motions of our individual lives. "Ye are heirs of God, and Joint-heirs with Christ;" and "it doth not yet appear what we shall be," affirm two who possessed the ability to be "caught up into the third Heaven," there to study cosmic pictures of Creation.
The Sun is a physical manifestation of the power of will; the Moon, an objectification of the power of Imagination. As previously noted, these were subjectively active in humanity of the First and Second Creative Days. From this it may be seen that mankind was moving toward a condition of greater division, a tendency which is continued through the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Days of the Genesis account. During this process of division some Egos became more and more closely attuned to the Sun or masculine forces; others to the Moon or feminine qualities. In the Seventh Day humanity will immortalize a celestial body by, reuniting the dual principles of spirit. Will and Imagination will then come into a higher spiritual expression under the self-conscious direction of the Ego.
In the light of this inner knowledge Paracelsus declared that the Philosopher's Stone (another name for this dual-powered celestial body) is formed of the union of the Sun and the Moon.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
The Fifth Day of Genesis corresponds to the third or Lemurian Epoch of the present Earth Period. It was in this Epoch that animals passed through successive forms of fish, reptiles and birds; or, as Genesis has it, great whales and all creeping and flying creatures. The order of ascent of form as here given is in accord with both spiritual and material science.
It was in this Epoch that man began to assume human likeness. Tenuous forms which encased the spirit of man in preceding Epochs now became more substantially etheric. It was also in this Epoch that Eve was taken from the rib (side) of Adam — that is, humanity was divided into two sides or sexes, the power of Will being retained predominantly by the male and Imagination by the Female.
These dual forces were largely latent at this stage of human development. Later, their evolvement gave to early humanity almost superhuman powers, including the ability to perform what would now be called miracles. The separation into sexes weakened the forces of the Egos; yet they functioned under conditions that enabled them to manifest creative powers over form greater than those exercised by present humanity.
Before the Fall, Adam and Eve (humanity) used their dual faculties to mold etheric forms of the animal kingdom. After the Fall they took on "coats of skin;" that is, they descended into physical conditions and lost in large part the powers they had hitherto possessed. This loss was the result of surrendering high soul forces to the desires of their lower nature — a misuse which ultimately brought on the destruction of the Lemurian continent, where humanity was then evolving, through planetary upheavals in the form of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The extreme age ascribed to many biblical partriarchs is really not the life span of a single individual, but the time during which an individual had access at will to the life experiences, not only of himself but of his forefathers. Ancestral "pictures" still coursed through the family blood stream, a partial survival of the feminine or image-building power that gave rise to an ancestor worship still existing among races standing closest to that early condition.
The physical body gradually evolved organs in accordance with the requirements of the developing Ego, whose living temple it was later to become. The physical organism in all its wondrous complexity was first fashioned in subtle ethers. Into that etheric mold the Ego, by the power of Will, deposited chemical substance until in due course it became manifest in physical form. In its inception every organ of the body was given the impress of the "image and likeness of God." Not until the body exhibits the perfection of its initial divine signature will man have fulfilled his destiny on the physical plane of expression.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
The Sixth Day of Creation corresponds to the fourth or Atlantean Epoch, as taught in the Ancient Wisdom. The body of man, which had begun to assume human semblance in the preceding Epoch, now acquired its present form and commenced to function virtually as it does today. But the powers of Will and Imagination were still much stronger than they are now. The Atlantean thought in terms of pictures, and these pictures he was able to materialize by the power of Will. He was able to see, control and utilize to his own advantage the Life Spirit Force which flows through plants and other living forms. He could accelerate or retard their growth at will. It was the Atlantean's control of this Force that gave him tremendous powers to perform engineering feats of such magnitude as the Great Pyramid, the like of which is not even contemplated by modern man.
In the Atlantean Epoch the Earth had not yet reached its present stage of density. The elements were in a more, gaseous state than they are now; as such they were plastic channels for transmission of the spiritual powers of the four Lords of Destiny who had brought them into manifestation to serve their purposes in external nature.
Atlantean man, living closer to nature than we do today, recognized these powers playing through the elements and drew upon them at will. They are still available, though unrecognized and unused by the majority. Control of them can be regained through Initiation. The accounts of Noah's "works" with water and Enoch's with air are fragmentary references to their ancient use.
As man focused his attention more and more upon the physical plane, psychic faculties yielded to physical senses until he virtually lost inner perception and the ability to use Earth's finer forces. Egos became subject to the illusion of separateness, and the tragedy of Babel was the result. There was a confusion of tongues and a division of peoples.
With the changes that now took place in outer conditions and in consciousness, it was necessary to make important modifications in methods of guiding and instructing mankind. The several races that had developed were not of equal attainments and required, therefore, educational measures adapted to their respective standing. To meet their needs Mystery Schools were inaugurated on the physical plane wherein those who retained a vestige of their spiritual insight were taught how to cultivate and augment their inner powers and thus qualify themselves to become teachers and leaders of the race.
Genesis 2:1-2
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host
of them.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had
made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he
had made.
The Seventh Day corresponds to the present fifth or post-Atlantean Epoch, when God ended His work and rested from His labors. Having attained mind, together with the freedom and capacity to make intelligent choice, man is left to work out his own salvation under the twin laws of rebirth and causation. Since this is a burdensome task — and a crushing one to many in view of the heavy consequences which man, through mistaken choices, has generated for himself in the past — the Christ is lending us direct assistance in the accomplishment of that Great Work. This work will continue through the remaining two Epochs (also spoken of as races), until man has overcome his present bondage and, through the development of his divine potentialities, become the radiant creature with golden wings described by the inspired Plato.
Repeated references have been made to the principles of Fire, Air, Water and Earth, the four primary forces by means of which the manifested universe came into existence. These forces are the emanations of the Four Recording Angels, and in their spiritual state can best be compared to electro-magnetic radiations. As the creative process extends outward and downward, they take on the physical expression of the elements we know by the same names. Astrologically, the four principles or elements correlate to the four fixed signs: Leo (Fire), Aquarius (Air), Scorpio (Water) and Taurus (Earth). The Secret Doctrine refers to the precipitations of creative principles into manifested elements, the involution of spirit into matter, as owing its initial impulse to the Lords of the Zodiac who, by sacrificing their spiritual essences, imparted animation to the physical body of both the Earth and man.
The Fire of the First Day was pure essence of spirit. The Air of the Second Day was a further radiation or descent of the spiritual fiery element; hence, Air is termed the complement of Fire. The Water of the Third Day was the negative or feminine force of spirit from which the soul of man was fashioned. The Earth of the Fourth Day came into existence through a lowering of the Water principle into a denser manifestation; hence, Earth is termed the complement of Water. The "waters under the firmament" refer to the visible universe; the "waters above the firmament," to invisible spiritual realms.
The ultimate nature and constitution of the elements continue to puzzle scientific investigators. "What are the elements, whence do they come, what is their significance?" asks an earnest academic seeker.
Spiritual science provides the answer. It teaches that the earthly elements of fire, air, water and earth are but physical sheaths of the corresponding four cosmic forces that underlie all creation. When physical science recognizes the spiritual counterparts of those factors with which it deals, and accepts the fact that beneath them lies the one universal spirit whence springs all manifestation, then, and not until then, will it realize its dream of reducing all elements to a single unit.
The work of the first four Creative Days deals with the underlying formative processes of the four primary forces, Fire, Air, Water and Earth. Also, the first four Initiations deal with the development of these same forces within man. By power thus acquired, these forces in nature come under man's control, enabling him to perform the "miracles" of an Initiate. After passing the fourth Initiation a candidate is hailed as "the new born." He has truly come into a new life for powers of the Christ have been born within him.
The Fifth Day and the fifth Initiation deal with the amalgamation of these primary essences in both nature and man. This new amalgam, the quintessence of the four, produces a fifth element called, anciently, Azoth.
The sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth of the Nine Lesser Mysteries deal with the work of the two final Days of Creation. The same four forces of Fire, Air, Water and Earth continue to operate, but in still higher degrees. That these are being touched by man today appears in the discoveries made in the electro-magnetic field of physics. The work pertaining to the last two Days belongs to more advanced stages of Initiation and it prepares the recipient for greater service in higher realms. The work of the Seven Creative Days outlines the evolution of our planet and its humanity, not only up to the present time but to the end of the Earth Period and, in a larger sense, to the end of the present scheme of manifestation.
Life evolving in the four earthly kingdoms is worked upon by the fourfold principles above discussed. Evolution of the mineral kingdom is accelerated principally through the Earth force; of the plant kingdom through Water; of the animal kingdom through Fire; and of the human kingdom through Air.
Genesis opens the Bible with an outline of the past, present and future development of man and the Earth over a period of Seven Days. Revelation closes the Bible with seven visions depicting the fulfillment of the work initiated in the Seven Creative Days. Genesis foreshadows Revelation; Revelation recapitulates Genesis. These two Books are the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end" of a cycle of evolution.
"Behold I make all things new," says the Voice in Revelation. Regeneration and progression are the keywords of the Bible.
The new condition spoken of in Revelation will come when the four elements, Fire, Air, Water and Earth, have been sublimated into their pure spiritual essences.
— Corinne Heline
