The Seven Rays are the seven attributes of God the Absolute, and exist as the natural division of all earthly manifestation, from the finest to the densest.

We can define the Seven Rays as the seven natural and precise divisions of any singular reality, which together make the completeness of the Absolute.

So the Seven Rays exist as the various conditions of energy and matter, taking the last two terms as different aspects of the same reality: the highest or finest state of energy or matter is its First Ray manifestation and the lowest or most dense state is its Seventh Ray manifestation.

According to the Ancient Wisdom, the objective existence of the Absolute began with just three aspects, His Will or Intention, His Love or Consciousness and His Form. This was the origin of three evolutionary life forms, the Lords Of Flame, The Lords Of Mind and the Lords of Form, which correspond to the Absolute's three principles.

To continue the process of evolution, each of His three life forms were again divided by three to allow them to adopt these principles independently from each other, and then into a further four categories to create what we know as physical reality:

The Lords of Flame are Elemental gods who are responsible for the seven divisions of the Absolute's Will into the Seven Kingdoms;

The Lords of Form are Devas who are responsible for the seven divisions of the Absolute's Form into the Seven Planes;

The Lords of Mind are Humans who are responsible for the seven divisions of the Absolute's Consciousness into the Seven Rays.

These are the only three evolutions of life in the entire cosmos ~ and by mutual co-operation they are responsible for the creation of the Absolute's existence, and our total reality.

The basic conditions necessary for every type of existence in the cosmos are the life-force, the consciousness and the form, which are based on the original principles of the Absolute and function through the first three Primary Rays. In our physical reality, the highest representations of the Elemental evolution are galaxies; the highest representation of the Deva evolution are planets, and the highest representations of the Human evolution are stars.

This hierarchical division of life is the function of the Absolute's First Aspect, His Divine Will, whose task is to divide all categories of life into seven archetypal Kingdoms. The highest Kingdoms in our physical reality, the galaxies, stars and planets, can only be experienced through one of our senses, sight - which through its association with light is related to the Second Primary Ray of Consciousness. The lower four kingdoms we can relate to through all of our senses: because the fourth Kingdom is Human life as we understand it; the fifth Kingdom is the animal realm, the sixth Kingdom is the vegetable realm, and the seventh Kingdom is the mineral realm.

Life exists independently in each of the life evolutions, but all life requires something from all three to exist, the predominant third being responsible for deciding through which evolution each individual life will exist. Therefore an Elemental will be predominantly composed of energy with a lesser amount of form and consciousness than a Devic being, who will be predominantly form, and a Human being who will be predominantly conscious.

All life is subject to three basic properties: the will to live or the life-force; the condition of being alive or consciousness; and the vehicle for life or bodily form. Where these three constituents are active the process of life is being fulfilled. These conditions are the three Primary Rays of Manifestation, the First Ray of Will, the Second Ray of Consciousness, and the Third Ray of Form. This is the minimum requirement for life, although to explain the variety of life forms in existence on Earth, the Third Ray is divided into a further four, called the Rays of Attribute, because form could exist as a single cell, an ocean teaming with life or a planet: the last four Rays put form into perspective.

The Rays working through Elementals act as a sevenfold division of archetypes, through the Devas as a sevenfold division of form, and Humans as a sevenfold division of consciousness. We can appreciate the existence of the Elemental and Devic evolutions because together they are responsible for the Seven Planes.

The Seven Planes exist as the archetypal collection of graded impulses stemming from the Absolute’s Divine Will. As such, they are beyond any concept of duality so they alone are aware of their existence, which is their natural condition of beingness. They are the First Primary Cause, the Elemental Lords of Flame. For the Planes to be useful to the Absolute and to aspects of His creation, the Elementals have to be organized into life by the Devic Lords of Form, to create an appearance that can be used by the Human Lords of Mind in their quest to manifest their quality. This demonstrates that the Planes are a combination of Devic and Elemental life, which can only function as part of our reality when balanced with the qualities of the Human Seven Rays.

The Seven Planes are the seven divisions of energy and form, which we confuse with levels of consciousness just because our awareness is able to access them. For example, the Astral Plane exists whether we are conscious of it or not ~ it has its own independent reality which the Elemental and Devic life-streams are responsible for. Our consciousness can be aware of it through the medium of the Seven Rays, but the Astral Plane is there for purposes other than for us to dream on, it is a reality for other beings existing on other life-streams as much as the physical Plane exists through our own concept of reality.

Each of the Seven Planes is divided into seven sub-planes, and each Plane and sub-plane relate to the Rays as do their counterparts on the Physical Plane. Our reality exists on the seventh sub-plane of the seventh Plane.

Our normal physical environment is related to the Seventh Ray, because it is composed of solid tangible matter. This is how we are aware of it, through all our senses, from sight to touch. We also know the physical world is composed of intangible forms of matter called molecules, atoms and sub-atomic particles. We can equate these three states of matter, which can only be detected with scientific instruments rather than our own senses, with the first three Primary Rays.

Sub-atomic particles are present throughout the universe and have no barriers; they pass straight through everything, including the planet Earth, and we only recognize their existence through their interaction. These particles form the primordial essence of the entire universe, because they belong to the Elemental Kingdom. They exist in their pure unmanifest condition on the highest level of physical reality, but because they are responsible for all physical manifestation they are also the substance of the lower four levels which require co-operation from the Devic Kingdom to produce a physical reality which Human beings and other forms of earthly life can interact with through the agency of the Human quality of conscious awareness.

The difference between the Elemental existence on the highest sub-atomic level and the four lowest levels is that on the highest level the Elemental beings have a separate existence which we can only understand through the idea of archetypes. The First Primary is the level at which the archetypal ideas of physical forms exist, which is the energy that ensures every cat will look like all other cats, to use a simple example. This is the first sub-plane of the Physical Plane, the sub-plane of archetypes, the level of the Absolute’s Divine Will. The lower four levels of Fire, Air, Water and Earth then become the arena through which the Absolute’s Divine Will is made manifest. On these lower four levels the archetypal idea translates into a type of manifestation unique to each level, so that the Fourth level contains form which fits the archetypal category of energy, the Fifth level gases, the Sixth level liquids, and the Seventh level solids.

Atoms have a more permanent and tangible existence. They are the basic forms of all physical matter, and group together to form molecules that have entirely different qualities to the atoms of which they are composed. We know that nuclear energy holds them together in a stable condition and that when they are "smashed" they produce a chain reaction which causes other atoms to break down into sub-atomic particles. We also know they have certain qualities which we can use to determine their actions, such as the way they can be grouped into "families" according to the Periodic Table, how these elements can be described by color through spectrum analysis and by using this method we can determine the elements of distant stars. This ties them in with light and color, which is the esoteric reason light is used to describe the Second Primary realm of atoms.

Next are the molecules, the basis of our physical existence and of life itself, because DNA is a molecular substance. This makes it easy to see how molecules relate to the Third Primary. The difference between molecules and atoms is that molecules can easily be transformed through chemical reactions, whereas atoms can not. Translating this into esoteric terminology we can see how Second Primary atoms are permanent and dependent only on the First Primary of sub-atomic forces, whereas Third Primary molecules, as a manifestation of angles, are subject to continual change, whether they manifest as genes or something more tangible like flesh and blood.

Therefore the Devas of the Third Primary, which equate with the molecular world, organise the Elementals of the First Primary, which equate with the world of the sub-atomic particles, into appreciable forms through the lower four levels to create physical matter which Humans can interact with through the Second Primary of consciousness awareness. This is accomplished on an atomic level, so that the atoms responsible for our physical form hold the key to our understanding of our physical existence. Atoms are composed of sub-atomic particles, and form into molecules which are responsible for life as we understand it, because they are the physical manifestation of the Primary Rays.

However, before the Elemental, Devic and Human life-streams, acting as the three Primary Rays, can experience life, they have to unite and create a temporary reality as a vehicle of expression, which they do on the fourth or middle sub-plane. This fourth state is the energy field related to the etheric, the element of Fire, and the plasma condition of matter. On this level all three life-streams can unite to act out their role in providing experience for the Absolute.

If further experience is required, from this fourth state of existence three more states can be added, each relating more particularly to one of the life- streams, and which approximately mirror the higher three states which are unable to manifest physically without the co-operation of the other life-streams. These extra three states are the elemental worlds of Air, Water and Earth: Air relating to the Third Primary of form, Water to the Second Primary of consciousness and Earth to the First Primary of will. The fact that the highest condition of life which exists as the First Primary is also inherent in the most dense state of solid matter, the seventh sub-plane related to the Seventh Ray, is a good example of the Qabbalistic concept of Kether in Malkuth.

Human beings are part of the Second life-stream, and are governed by the Second Primary of Love or Consciousness. This shows that basically we are creatures of consciousness, a fact that every great religion and philosophy has preached, and a fundamental spiritual truth.

What we consider to be our normal everyday selves, our personal awareness, is our personality. This can be affected by many various subjective influences, hardly any of which originate from our Higher Self - which only works through the Seven Rays. Therefore the Rays are not applicable here, and the nearest we get to understanding the variety of personality types is through astrological influence, acting as a link between the Rays and the influences our personalities are able to interact with.

It is the Human soul which exists as part of one of the Seven Rays, giving each person the ability to act as a channel for one of the Rays, once a certain amount of soul contact has been established. The soul Ray is responsible for our spiritual evolution by training our personality in the use of the individual Ray energies available to us.

It is the Devas and Elementals who are responsible for our reality. They work together to form the physical existence which we take for granted, but which we Humans are also partly responsible for because it is our awareness of our surroundings which gives these surroundings their objective existence. As Human beings we are machines used by the Absolute for the evolution of all three life-streams, and although ultimately we are conscious Human beings, we are also composed of Devic and Elemental essences which are responsible for our physical bodies and life energies respectively.

The Seven Rays interact with a Human being through the medium of the seven major chakras which form links between each of man’s bodies that exist on higher sub-planes above the physical. Our chakras are numerically related to both the Seven Rays and the Seven Planes, so that the lowest, the Base Centre, relates to the Seventh Ray, and the highest, the Crown Centre, relates to the First Ray.

The highest three chakras, the Crown, Head and Throat, work mainly with Elemental, Human and Devic energy respectively, giving us our life-force or will, our consciousness, and our form or physical body. This ties in with our spirit, soul and personality. In real terms, the Third Ray is responsible for our mental faculties, the Second Ray is responsible for our awareness, and the First Ray is responsible for our physical motivation. The lower four chakras work with the four Rays of Attribute through the medium of the four elements which correspond to the lower four Planes. These Planes are formed out of the substance of Elementals ~ which is why they are alluded to as the "elements" ~ and are organised into realities perceivable by Human consciousness through the interaction of the Devas.

In a Human being, the Earth element governs the solid form, from skeleton to skin; the Water element governs the liquid form, from the water content of the body to the bloodstream; the Air element governs the gaseous form such as the breath; and the Fire element governs the energy form such as the nervous system.

Although each person belongs fundamentally to just one Ray, we also possesses minor qualities of other Rays which help to mould the individual character. This is similar to the situation in astrology, where every individual with a Leo sun sign will also have traits taken from other zodiac signs dependent on planetary placings and his Ascendant. There the similarity ends. It is not possible to ascertain a person's Ray type from a study of the horoscope, because the energies of the Seven Rays which manifest on Earth originate from the realms of the stars far beyond our own solar system, and their energies are scaled down even before they reach the stars which comprise our zodiac signs.

So the Seven Rays, besides being a way of classifying and relating all manner of things both spiritual and mundane, also show that there are seven different approaches to spirituality, as each individual’s soul or Higher Self functions on just one of these Rays. Above this is our spiritual essence or Monad, which does not function through the Seven Rays but only through the three Primary Rays.