The Causal Body and the Ego - Canadian Theosophical Association

The Causal Body and the Ego by Arthur E. Powell
Looking at the work of the Second Life Waves, or Second Outpouring,-as a whole, we may fairly regard
its downward sweep as concerned with the making of primary tissues, out of which in due time, subtle
and dense bodies will be formed. In certain ancient scriptures this process has been aptly called
"weaving".
The materials which are prepared by the Third Logos, are woven by the Second Logos into threads and
fabrics out of which future garments - i.e., bodies—will be made.
The Third Logos may be thought of as a Chemist, working as in a laboratory; the Second Logos we may
regard as the Weaver, working as in manufactory, Materialistic as are these similes, they are useful as
crutches for the understanding.
The Second Logos thus "weaves" various kinds of cloth, i.e., of material, out of which will later be made
the causal and mental bodies of men; out of the cloth of astral matter, of desire stuff, will later be made
the astral bodies of men.
Thus are fashioned the materials of the mechanism of consciousness, the characteristics of each class of
material being determined by the nature of the aggregations of particles - texture , colour, density, and so
forth.
All this downward sweep of the life-wave through the planes, giving qualities to the many grades of
matter, is a preparation for evolution and is often and more properly, called involution .
After the lowest stage of immersion in matter is reached both the first and the second outpouring turn
upwards and begin their long ascent through the planes: this is evolution properly so called.
DIAGRAM VI is an attempt to illustrate graphically the First Outpouring from the Third Logos, forming the
matter of the five lower planes, and The Second Outpouring which, taking the matter vivified by the Third
Logos, moulds and ensouls it so as to produce the three Elemental Kingdoms, and the Mineral Kingdom,
and in due succession, the vegetable, and animal kingdoms.
There is indicated also on the diagram the Third Outpouring, from the First Logos, the Outpouring from
which results the formation of individual entities, or human beings. With this however, we shall deal more
fully at a later stage of our study.
The student should take careful note of the exact position of the figures in Diagram VI, representing each
kingdom. Thus the mineral is shown of full width in the denser part of the physical plane, showing that the
life there, such as it is, has full control over the dense physical matter. But the band grows steadily
narrower as it mounts up through the etheric sub-planes, indicating that control over etheric matter is not
yet perfectly developed.
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