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Etheric body
The etheric body, ether-body, æther body, a name given by
neo-Theosophy to a supposed vital body propounded in esoteric
philosophies as the first or lowest layer in the "human energy field" or
aura.[1] It is said to be in immediate contact with the physical body, to
sustain it and connect it with "higher" bodies.
The English term "etheric" in this context seems to derive from the
Theosophical writings of Madame Blavatsky, but its use was
formalised by C.W. Leadbeater[2] and Annie Besant[3] due to the
elimination of Hindu terminology from the system of seven planes and
bodies. (Adyar School of Theosophy).
The term gained some general popularity after the 1914-18 war,
Dr.Walter John Kilner having adopted it for a layer of the "human
atmosphere" which, as he claimed in a popular book, could be rendered
visible to the naked eye by means of certain exercises.[4]
The classical element Aether of Platonic and Aristotlean physics
continued in Victorian scientific proposals of a Luminiferous ether as The Holy Grail, illustration by Arthur Rackham,
well as the cognate chemical substance ether. According to 1917. Pre-Raphaelite art at this time often
Theosophists and Alice Bailey the etheric body inhabits an etheric represented contemporary interest in the "spirit
body", "aura" or "body of light".
plane which corresponds to the four higher subplanes of the physical
plane. The intended reference is therefore to some extremely rarefied
matter, analogous in usage to the word "spirit" (originally "breath"). In selecting it as the term for a clearly-defined
concept in an Indian-derived metaphysical system, the Theosophists aligned it with ideas such as the
prana-maya-kosha (sheath made of prana, subtle breath or life-force) of Vedantic thought.
In popular use it is often confounded with the related concept of the astral body as for example in the term astral
projection - the early Theosophists had called it the "astral double". Others prefer to speak of the "lower and higher
astral".
Theosophy
Neo-Theosophy
Rosicrucian
Thelema
Cosmology
Etheric body 2
Jainism
Jain cosmology
Sufism
Sufi cosmology
Hinduism
Buddhism
Buddhist cosmology
Kabbalah
Fourth Way
Ray of Creation
The Laws
Three Centers and Five Centers
Castaneda
Some clairvoyants and occultists have produced drawings and paintings that record their perceptions of the etheric
body; see Leadbeater's Man Visible and Invisible for one example. The images produced by Kirlian photography
bear obvious resemblances to these graphics, showing a spiky-looking energy field extending a few inches around
the human body (as well as other biological specimens, like leaves, and objects like coins). The fact that Kirlian
photography can capture the acupuncture points of the body links the technology with concepts of prana, qi,
bioplasma, and related ideas and theories. For some believers in the etheric body, Kirlian photography provides
important supporting evidence—though skeptics are generally not swayed.
Relation to physics
Modern theosophists sometimes claim that the ideas discussed in this article are related to a contemporary area of
fringe science, modern Aether theories. However, there are alternative explanations that some Theosophists may
regard as plausible - which includes the conception of the dynamic [mass-free energy] aether,[11] [12] [13] possessing a
fluid-crystal structure, sub-divided in different levels of density, with density proportional to the density of any
physical substance occupying the area of space concerned, increasing around large bodies such as stars and planets,
acting as a refracting medium, affecting the speed of propagation of light and conveying electromagnetic forces,
etc.—for all the experimental data and astronomical observations currently cited in support of the special and general
theories of relativity, including the phenomena known as vacuum energy and other unsolved problems in physics
that baffles the current standard theories. It should also be noted that the internal inconsistencies and unwarranted
assumptions of standard relativity theory have been pointed out by dozens of scientists[14] [15] [16] [17] It must be
re-iterated, though, that these ideas should in no way be construed as being indicative of generally accepted scientific
opinion on the subject.
See also
• Subtle body, Linga sarira
• Etheric projection
• Esoteric cosmology
• Esoteric healing
• Odic fluid, Prana, Qi
References
[1] Brennan, Barbara, Hands of Light : A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field ( Etheric body (http:/ / www. kheper. net/ topics/
subtlebody/ BAB-etheric. htm)), Bantam Books, 1987
[2] Leadbeater, C. W., Man, Visible and Invisible, 1902
[3] Besant, Annie, Man and His Bodies, 1911
[4] Kilner, Walter J., The Human Atmosphere, or the Aura Made Visible by the aid of Chemical Screens, 1911, reprinted as "The Human Aura"
by Citadel Press, NY, 1965, ISBN 0-8065-0545-1. The Aura, by Walter J. Kilner. Introd. by Sibyl Ferguson. New York, S. Weiser, 1973.
[5] Steiner, Rudolf, Occult science - An Outline. Trans. George and Mary Adams. London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1909, 1969
[6] Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Mysteries (Chapter IV, The Constitution of Man: Vital Body - Desire Body - Mind (http:/ / www. rosicrucian.
com/ rms/ rmseng02. htm#Chapter_IV)), 1911, ISBN 0-911274-86-3
[7] Samael Aun Weor, The Pistis Sophia Unveiled, Thelema Press, (1983) 2005
[8] Samael Aun Weor, " Death (http:/ / www. gnosticteachings. org/ content/ view/ 230/ 99/ )", The Book of the Dead, 1966
[9] Samael Aun Weor, The Three Mountains, Thelema Press, (1972) 2003
[10] Samael Aun Weor, The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah, Thelema Press, (1978) 2007
[11] Aspden, Harold, The Physics of Creation: Chapter 7: Aether Structure (http:/ / www. aspden. org/ books/ 2edpoc/ 2edpoccontents. htm),
2003
[12] Wilcock, David, Light on Quantum Physics (http:/ / www. divinecosmos. com/ index. php?option=com_content& task=view& id=96&
Itemid=36)
[13] Mishin, Alexander M., The Ether Model as Result of the New Empirical Conception, International Academy of MegaSciences, St.
Petersburg, Russia ( html available (http:/ / www. galactic-server. com/ radio/ mi-paper. htm))
[14] Wilcock, David, The breakthroughs of Russian astrophysicist Dr. Nikolai A. Kozyrev (1908-1983) (http:/ / www. divinecosmos. com/ index.
php?option=com_content& task=view& id=95& Itemid=36)
[15] Louis Essen (1908 - 1997), Relativity and Time Signals, in Wireless World magazine, October 1978
[16] Aspden, Harold (Ph.D. electrical engineering at Trinity/University of Cambridge [1953/4], physicist, MInstP), Physics without Einstein
(http:/ / www. aspden. org/ books/ pwecent/ pwecent2005. pdf)PDF 1969, 2005
[17] Deutsch, Sid (Ph.D. electrical engineering, fellow of IEEE and the Society for Information Display), Einstein's Greatest Mistake:
Abandonment of the Aether, ISBN 0595374816, 2006
[18] Hodson, Geoffrey, Kingdom of the Gods ISBN 0-7661-8134-0 — Has color pictures of what Devas supposedly look like when observed by
the third eye — their appearance is reputedly like colored flames about the size of a human being. Paintings of some of the devas claimed to
have been seen by Hodson from his book "Kingdom of the Gods": (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20040820064159/ http:/ / www. geocities.
com/ athens/ Olympus/ 3987/ devas2. html)
[19] Eskild Tjalve’s paintings of devas, nature spirits, elementals and fairies: (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20021121131124/ http:/ / geocities.
com/ athens/ Olympus/ 3987/ devas4. html)
[20] Powell, A.E. The Solar System London:1930 The Theosophical Publishing House (A Complete Outline of the Theosophical Scheme of
Evolution) See "Lifewave" chart (refer to index)
[21] Powell, A.E. The Solar System London:1930 The Theosophical Publishing House (A Complete Outline of the Theosophical Scheme of
Evolution) See "Lifewave" chart (refer to index)
Further reading
• Kambhampati, Parvathi Kumar. The Etheric Body (http://www.worldteachertrust.org/bk/ethericbody/index.
html) (First Edition ed.). Visakhapatnam: Dhanishta..
• Powell, Arthur E. The Etheric Double
Article Sources and Contributors 5
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