In many spiritual belief systems there is often talk about the “planes of existence”, but each belief system views the planes differently.
For example, Buddhism and Hinduism have various takes on the planes - some subset systems believe there are 3, others state there to be 6 - whilst other beliefs hold there to be planes going into double figures.
These vast differences and intricacies make learning about the planes difficult as they change from culture to culture.
Each plane (depending on which belief system you follow) may have a different name, or there may even be more of them.
But in this post I’ll be discussing the commonly held belief within witchcraft of there being 7 planes of existence and focussing on two of them - the physical and the etheric or astral planes.
The physical plane
This is the physical reality we experience on earth.
All that is.
This is the plane where our physical body exists, it’s the external reality of our world and of ourselves. It's all that can be touched and seen. The physicality that we all experience and know of.
The astral or etheric plane
This is the place where it is believed we go upon death, and also where we reside while we await birth and rebirth into a new physical body.
It is this place that women hold a specific connection to, as the female body is considered to be a sacred portal to this place.
Often referred to as the spirit realm, this is the plane we wander when we astral project, and when we experience lucid dreams.
Sometimes when we sleep - or have a near death experience - there is the sensation of standing or floating above our body, and it’s in the astral plane this experience takes place.
Some people believe this place to be outside of this physical existence, as in layered over the top of the physical plane of existence. Some state it as being a “higher” plane of existence.
But when we really look at it, it’s actually not above or higher, but inward. The etheric plane is within us.
The deeper we go inward, the deeper or “higher” we move into the various planes of existence.
You see all of the planes are causative to the one beneath it. So the astral or etheric plane is causative to the physical plane. The astral plane is a reflection of (or a parallel to) the physical plane.
Therefore the way we exist in the etheric plane has a direct influence on our physical existence too.
In this way, we can influence our thought patterns and spirit selves, to make big changes to our physical life.
When we talk about “higher vibrations” or “elevating our consciousness” what all that actually means is going deeper inward within ourselves in order to understand ourselves better.
The more we are able to do that, the more we learn about ourselves and the more we understand our physical and psychological existence.
When we talk about people experiencing “ghosts” or other supernatural phenomena, what’s actually happening is that those people are tapping into or matching the frequency of the astral plane, and so they get a brief glimpse of existence within that.
As each of us go further inward, we experience those parts of ourselves. As others too do the same, they experience their version of that also, and as we are all beings of energy then we are able to interact with others within this inner realm.
Imagine an old analogue radio.
We turn the dial and most of the time we just get static, white noise.
But when we come across a frequency that a radio station is broadcasting at, we experience music and sound.
When we tune into the astral plane, this is very much like that.
We attune our own internal dial to meet those frequencies and so we experience the astral plane.
As it’s a mirror of our physical world it looks very similar, but the rules of space, time and physicality don’t apply. The astral plane is malleable, and so we are able to shape it to our will, which then reflects in the physical.
In this way, when we become adept at understanding and utilising the etheric plane, we are better able to gain mastery of our physical reality too, which means we become better manifestors.
When we learn how to create using new habits of the mind - creating in the astral - we create in the physical.
While we “hang out” in the etheric plane, we are tethered to our consciousness by an astral cord. These cords are created through repetition of astral substance.
The way we create astral substance is through our powers of imagination and visualisation. The stronger the cords, the stronger the change on the etheric plane and, in turn, the stronger the manifestation in the physical plane.
This is why when it comes to manifesting, often repetition is key.
When we repeat words and actions, we create stronger astral cords and a stronger link between the astral and the physical.
But this isn’t simply making a wish.
The imagination aspect should be done as if it’s already happened. As if you already are in possession of the desired goal.
The use and value of the etheric plane is vast and far too great to go into fully here, but I will be sharing blog posts further to this in the future.
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