The Shape of Galaxies and the Logoic Mind
Interpreting the archetypal mind of a Logos based on its shape
Like all sci-fi fans, I love imagining from time to time what life on other worlds might be like. How would the culture of another intelligent civilization look like? Could we understand them at all and could they understand us?
As I began to study the Law of One material as well as Magick, and Astrology, I began to think about how our own archetypal experience on Earth is seemingly regulated by the motion of the planets.
In Hermeticism, and notably in the "Divine Pymander," one of its most renowned texts, planets are considered the "regulators of archetypes" for the Logos, or the Sun. These celestial bodies were referred to as "governors," a concept Hermes expounds upon in the text. He describes how, for adepts aiming to transcend the influence of these planetary governors, there exists a profound ritual of return. Upon death, they must relinquish specific aspects of themselves back to the respective planets. This act is believed to liberate them from the cycle of rebirth, thereby avoiding the continual influence of these cosmic forces.
From the Divine Pymander,
“It ascends the seven Rings upon which sit the Seven Governors and returns to each their lower powers in this manner: Upon the first ring sits the Moon, and to it is returned the ability to increase and diminish.
Upon the second ring sits Mercury, and to it are returned machinations, deceit, and craftiness. Upon the third ring sits Venus, and to it are returned the lusts and passions.
Upon the fourth ring sits the Sun, and to this Lord are returned ambitions. Upon the fifth ring sits Mars, and to it are returned rashness and profane boldness. Upon the sixth ring sits Jupiter, and to it are returned the sense of accumulation and riches.
And upon the seventh ring sits Saturn, at the Gate of Chaos, and to it are returned falsehood and evil plotting”
Of course, this was written before the discovery of the planets Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, and the outer planets, so no mention of those is given. The point being made by this passage is that in order to transcend the boundaries of our own sphere, we must strip ourselves of all illusion.
In Western Hermetic traditions, the planets are linked directly to archetypes, directed by archangels—powerful angelic beings that control the fundamental forces of reality. These forces are associated with archetypal characteristics of planets and are invoked in angelic and planetary magick when attempting to petition for something associated with that energy. For instance, Raphael is associated with Mercury and is invoked when requiring assistance with tasks associated with communication and learning. In astrology, we understand Mercury to be associated with communication.
Specific planetary alignments correlate with different energies becoming more likely to manifest within the collective unconscious of humanity.
An interesting example of this concept can be found in the historical impact of planetary discoveries such as Neptune and Uranus. The discovery of Neptune and Uranus coincided with significant societal shifts, the effects of which continue to resonate. It seemed as though the unveiling of these planets unlocked new archetypal energies within the collective mind, facilitating their broader integration into human consciousness.
Every day, the planets align in predictable positions, and their angles relative to each other, the Sun, and the Earth significantly influence how archetypes are expressed within both our individual consciousness and the collective consciousness of humanity. The mechanism by which they do this is a mystery.
According to Ra, each Logos (or major galaxy) and Sub-Logos (star system) crafts its own unique parameters to express the archetypal mind.
The major galaxy establishes the fundamental archetype for a system, while individual star systems explore various expressions of these archetypes by intelligent life forms.
In these systems, the suns lay the groundwork, and the planets, acting as "regulators" of these archetypes, influence their expression through their orbits, angles, and distances within the system.
The influence of specific planetary energies on cultural events is observable through a subset of astrology and psychology known as Archetypal Astrology. Researchers in this field have demonstrated how planetary positions correlate with cultural trends. For instance, during the period when Pluto was in Scorpio (from 1983 to 1995), there was a noticeable surge in darker, more introspective music.
Pluto governs themes of transformation, rebirth, destruction, and uncovering deep truths, often touching on the more hidden, subconscious, or taboo aspects of life. Scorpio, a sign that Pluto rules, resonates strongly with these themes, being associated with intensity, depth, and extremes of emotion. Together, when Pluto is in Scorpio, these energies are magnified, creating a potent period for profound change and deeper exploration into the human psyche.
Musicians and songwriters began exploring darker, more introspective themes, reflecting the transformative and intense nature of Pluto-Scorpio energy. This was evident in genres like grunge and alternative rock, which rose to prominence during this period. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, for example, explored themes of angst, existential dread, and a rebellion against societal norms, mirroring the transformative energy of Pluto.
For more information about this fascinating topic, I suggest readers check out the articles found on the Journal of Archtypal Cosmology website.
Now, considering that there are an estimated 10 - 100 billion stars in the milk way and officially we have discovered only 3,916 star systems (that we can observe) within our own galaxy, you can imagine that the archetypal configurations within our own galaxy are essentially infinite and impossible to categorize in any meaningful way. In fact, we are still discovering even more planets within our own solar system and this is having an impact on the astrological world as attempts are being made to understand the archetypal significance of these newly found planets.
To summarize the underlying archetypal pattern of our galaxy, we can note that a fundamental aspect of our experience within this system is the concept of polarity. This principle shapes much of the dynamics and interactions within our own solar system.
In our star system, the expression of polarity manifests in diverse forms. This includes dualities such as male and female, day and night, cold and hot, good and evil, and positive and negative. Essentially, there appears to be an opposite for everything, illustrating the pervasive influence of polarity across various aspects of existence.
Even the way our lives play out from birth to death is an expression of polarity played out in many smaller “death/rebirth” cycles which we go through as we attempt to explore desire.
We all begin in a state of ignorance until we receive a calling—a profound internal urging to move, express, and grow. This calling could manifest simply as a mundane sense of boredom with one's job, signaling a need for growth to achieve satisfaction. Alternatively, it might emerge as a deeper spiritual desire to seek knowledge and understanding.
Embarking on this journey is not without its challenges, as the path forward is fraught with uncertainty and potential dangers. For example, many people choose to stay in familiar jobs because they feel safe, even if they are unhappy. Growth requires stepping into the unknown, which inevitably leads to confronting oneself. This self-confrontation and the challenges encountered are not merely obstacles; they act as catalysts for self-purification.
By facing these battles, we strip away the false illusions that have held us back, learning more about ourselves and evolving in the process.
These illusions must perish before new growth can occur, leading to a metaphorical death from which we are reborn into a new existence. This process reflects the "death/rebirth cycles" that are evident in virtually every aspect of life, even in the simple daily necessity of sleep. Each night, sleep acts as a minor cessation, a small "death" that rejuvenates and prepares us for the "rebirth" of awakening to a new day, refreshed and renewed.
How many times have you gone to sleep in one state of mind only to have woken up the next day with a mind renewed?
Astrologically, the planets orchestrate this narrative for us both individually and collectively. Depending on their positions and movements, we may feel different planetary influences more acutely. For instance, Neptune can draw us into deeper introspection, while Mars might stir conflicts. These planetary dynamics provide opportunities for healing and for bringing to light the hidden aspects of our unconscious.
Each planet moves like the hands of a clock, precisely timed to provide ample opportunities for experience.
While detailing the influence of each planet would be too extensive for this article, it's important to recognize the general rhythm expressed in our world through the planetary cycles. These rhythms resonate with us deeply.
We are all familiar with, understand, and resonate with the archetypal energies associated with the planets, at least on a subconscious level.
The purpose of these planetary cycles is to bring the subconscious into consciousness, elevating the inner aspects of our being to a level where we can consciously understand them. As taught by the Divine Pymander, this process allows us to "return to the planets their 'lower powers.'"
Now, consider if you were transported to another star system within the Milky Way, bringing along your favorite movie or book to show to an intelligent civilization. Would they comprehend the story being told?
According to Ra, the answer is ‘Yes’ since only minor variations exist throughout each system of a major galaxy.
Note: Ra’s term of “galaxy” generally referred to what we call a “star system”. This was understood and corrected in later channeling sessions where a common definition of the term ‘galaxy’ was established.
“16.37 Questioner: Can you tell me if the progression of life in the other galaxies is similar to progression in this one?
Ra: I am Ra. The progression is somewhat close to the same, asymptotically approaching congruency throughout infinity. The free choosing of what you call galactic systems causes variations of an extremely minor nature from one of your galaxies to another.”
In essence, the fundamental archetypal framework remains consistent across our galaxy, with only minor variations existing between different star systems. This consistency suggests that we could potentially understand and communicate with an intelligent society in those star systems within our own galaxy.
In theory, aside from extreme cultural differences, if we were to show them our movies or if they were to read our stories, they might understand them to some extent. This possibility is rooted in the influence of the Logos of our major galaxy, which established the concept of polarity as a central theme. Consequently, the notion of cycles and polarity would be a familiar concept to all beings within this galaxy.
This changes drastically when we consider the archetypal experience that intelligent life experiences in other major galaxies, however.
Ra explains,
“...each Logos sets up an experiment enough at variance from all others that the subtleties of the archetypical mind of another Logos are most murky to the resonating mind, body, and spirit complexes of this Logos.”
Now, one of the keys to understanding the archetypal mind of our Logos and the concept of polarity is the concept of the veil.
The “veil” is the separation of the conscious and unconscious portions of the mind. Ra speaks about a clear delineation between experiments by the Logos without the veil which gives us a greater understanding of its purpose.
(the potentiator of the mind)
According to Ra, early Logoi, or major galaxies, of the Universe created experiments that were generally harmonious and the intelligent life in these galaxies lacked free will. In other words, they were peaceful, harmonious, utopian in nature.
“77.19 Questioner: Do the Logoi that choose this type of evolution choose both the service-to-self and the service-to-others path for different Logoi, or do they choose just one of the paths?
Ra: I am Ra. Those, what you would call, early Logoi which chose lack-of-free-will foundations, to all extents with no exceptions, founded Logoi of the service-to-others path. The, shall we say, saga of polarity, its consequences and limits, were unimagined until experienced.
77.20 Questioner: In other words you are saying that originally the Logoi that did not choose this free will path did not choose it simply because they had not conceived of it and later Logoi, extending the first distortion farther down through their evolution, experienced it as an outcropping or growth from that extension of the first distortion. Am I correct in saying that?
Ra: I am Ra. Yes.
77.21 Questioner: Then did this particular Logos that we experience plan for this polarity and know all about it prior to its plan? That I suspect is what happened.
Ra: I am Ra. This is quite correct.”
Ra’s term of the “saga of polarity” is interesting, suggesting that our experience is the result of a greater understanding of the most efficient way to polarize after learnings obtained from other Logoi.
Ra says “the saga of polarity, its consequences, and limits, were unimagined until experienced”.
This suggests that different Logoi learn from each other's experiments, each striving to refine their own systems of understanding and interaction. The ongoing evolution indicates that our current Logos is incorporating insights gleaned from the collective experiences across systems, continuously adapting and enhancing the framework through which we experience reality. This dynamic process of learning and adaptation helps shape the progression and development of our conscious and unconscious understanding.
It is suggested that future Logoi will build on these accumulated lessons, refining and evolving the systems even further.
So, what were the lessons learned from past experiments?
Ra explains,
“...there were Logoi which chose to set the plan for the activation of mind/body/spirit complexes through each true-color body without recourse to the prior application of free will. It is, to our knowledge, only in an absence of free will that the conditions of which you speak obtain. In such a procession of densities you find an extraordinarily long, as you measure time, third density; likewise, fourth density. Then, as the entities begin to see the Creator, there is a very rapid, as you measure time, procession towards the eighth density. This is due to the fact that one who knows not, cares not.
Let us illustrate by observing the relative harmony and unchanging quality of existence in one of your, as you call it, primitive tribes. The entities have the concepts of lawful and taboo, but the law is inexorable and all events occur as predestined. There is no concept of right and wrong, good or bad. It is a culture in monochrome. In this context you may see the one you call Lucifer as the true light-bringer in that the knowledge of good and evil both precipitated the mind/body/spirits of this Logos from the Edenic conditions of constant contentment but also provided the impetus to move, to work and to learn.
Those Logoi whose creations have been set up without free will have not, in the feeling of those Logoi, given the Creator the quality and variety of experience of Itself as have those Logoi which have incorporated free will as paramount. Thusly you find those Logoi moving through the timeless states at what you would see as a later space/time to choose the free will character when elucidating the foundations of each Logos.”
The idea being that there was a realization that a perfect utopia created by a lack of free will creates a condition whereby a cycle lacks a variety of experience.
In other words, while beings were able to find their way back to the Creator eventually, there was not the depth of understanding that was learned from the experience.
What was needed was what Ra says, “...a more vivid, varied, and intense experience of Creator by Creator.”
Ra calls this the “extension of the first distortion”. The first distortion is that the creator will know itself. They go on to say “in order to extend free will, the significator must become a complex.”
To be complex, according to Ra, “is to consist of more than one characteristic element or concept.”
What does all that mean?
Ra speaks about one of the most significant functions of the veiling was that it created a greater potential via the faculty of will or pure desire. In other words, by veiling the conscious mind from the resources of the unconscious, a greater desire was instilled. Ra says,
“Perhaps the most important and significant function that occurred due to the veiling of the mind from itself is not in itself a function of mind but rather is a product of the potential created by this veiling. This is the faculty of will or pure desire.”
The desire to know, and the will to experience, to push the envelop in order to grow, culminating in the Choice, or the ability to move with faith toward a chosen polarity.
In other words, the early Logoi lacked the ability for intelligent life to develop the key ingredient necessary for creating a variety of experiences: polarity. It was less about merely generating diverse experiences and more about increasing the potential to perform meaningful work.
Ra explains,
“Work is done far more efficiently and with greater purity, intensity, and variety by the voluntary searching of mind/body/spirit complexes for the lessons of third and fourth densities.”
It’s the mystery that beckons us forward that enables true growth, both for ourselves and infinity as a whole.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a barred-shaped spiral and interestingly mirrors the shape of the Ying-Yang symbol. The Ying-Yang symbol is used to represent the dual nature of all things in the universe. Its shape is inherently dynamic, where the flow and balance between them are crucial for the progression and transformation of the individual or the cosmos.
Interestingly, astronomers recognize that the barred-shaped galaxy is the newest type of galaxy to emerge. They are discovering that the earliest types of galaxies took elongated shapes, similar to elliptical galaxies.
(Elliptical galaxy NGC 4150)
Consider the difference inherent in those shapes.
A barred-shaped spiral indicates the presence of polarity. An elliptical shape may indicate a lack of polarity, thus a lack of variety. Perhaps this type of galaxy is what Ra was referring to when they mentioned that early experiments resulted in a “lack of variety of experience.”
The spiral configuration of our Galaxy mirrors the collective wisdom of preceding Logoi. This pattern parallels the Hero’s Journey, where the fool ventures through darkness, experiences catalysts, and is reborn anew, only to embark on the cycle once more, deepening their experiences.
This archetypal structure serves to intensify and optimize our experiences, with the ultimate goal of being able to extract new understandings. Just as diamonds are crafted from coal through intense pressure, our life experiences apply the crucial forces needed to render us capable of transcending all cycles, taking with us the distilled lessons of our lives back to the One.