Soul Ray

From the esoteric view of life, every human being is destined to become a spiritual magician. The soul evolves over vast periods of time with the goal of creatively expressing itself through a cooperative personality. By so doing the soul influences the outer world through its power to magically uplift. This is the core purpose behind human evolution, and is the clue to the hidden yearnings of the soul.

The individualized human soul incrementally develops its capacity to manifest itself during each incarnation through its lower reflection, the ego (or personality) with the goal of fully radiating its nature through the personality without distortion.

It is important to know that the human personality is triple in nature, being composed of mental, emotional and physical attributes. Esoterically, these aspects of the lower self are considered vehicles of outward expression to be used by the soul.

Within the human energy system, the soul is the creator; but from the larger perspective, the soul is acting as a creative agent on behalf of Divinity. The personality of the soul is intended to be an embodiment of love, applied with intelligence and want to express that loving intelligence through the personality. Since the soul itself resides upon the plane of abstract mind, it needs a ‘vehicle’ in order to have influence within the realms of normal human experience. As mentioned above, because an aspect of the personality is composed of mental substance, the soul can utilize this aspect when seeking to influence the outer world of thought. Similarly, when the soul needs to make emotional contact with the environment, it does so via the emotional body contained within the personality. Finally, the soul utilizes the physical body as a conduit for expressing itself in terms of outer physical activity.

Though all souls are inherently conditioned by love, beyond this important commonality, significant variations exist. In the Esoteric Tradition, it is understood that there are seven types of souls, each of which represents an essential quality of the Divine seeking manifestation through the human kingdom. Each soul, by its nature, accents an aspect (quality) of the Divine, and as such, is destined to reveal that quality in the outer world.

Just as white light divides itself into seven colours, so too does the Divine Light express itself in seven unique qualities, referred to as the Seven Rays in the ancient Esoteric Philosophy. Most importantly, every human soul is an expression of one of these Seven Rays in which each ray acts like a lens that look out at life, each ray is a patterning process of consciousness, and every soul is uniquely one of those seven patterns of how to perceive the world, how to see the oneness of humanity, and how to respond to or serve from that perception. However, these rays or soul types are not in the world in equal proportion. The amount of each soul type at any time is assumed to be decided by the situation of that time as well as the next need of the humanity.

One thing to be noted here is that we are talking from a soul’s perspective. Besides the soul ray, each person also has a personality ray, and that ray is going to be one of the Seven Rays too. In other words, your soul ray is with you every incarnation, but that soul will manifest an outer garment called ‘personality’ in each incarnation; that personality ray will also be one of Seven Rays, but not necessary the same as the soul ray. Although normally the personality tends to think it is an independent agent, but actually it is only an appendage; and it is not the goal of the universe to ‘kill’ the personality, but to slowly condition it to understand its true role. Furthermore, each one also has a ray that animates one’s mental body, a ray that animates one’s emotional body, and a ray that animates one’s physical body. But it is not in the scope of this text to go further into these.

Below I will give some short understandings about the Seven Rays:

Ray 1: The Ray of Will and Purpose

The intention of this type of soul is to reveal the Purpose of Divinity within the human kingdom, it is its objective to supply the power and direction to the evolutionary movement of life. The First Ray is deeply associated with death and rebirth, since its role is to shatter those forms that no longer adequately express the Divine Love; it frees life from its encasement within outworn forms, thereby allowing it to seek new and higher forms through which to express itself more radiantly.

There are currently many souls found upon this ray. These souls are uniquely sensitive to the larger spiritual principles seeking to evolve through human society and environmental circumstance. Leadership comes naturally to this type of soul, for they see what must come to be and will naturally assert power on its behalf. Societally, the First Ray animates and vitalizes the institutions of politics, government, and international statesmanship.

Archetypally this ray is similar to the sign of Aries, and actually Aries is also a first ray sign – the first sign of the Zodiac, the sign that initiates. Although it is naturally for all rays to be inclined to push new ideas forward by gathering enough will to overcome the inertia largely governing humanity, it is in the First Ray that has the strongest push energy since it is will and it is power.

Ray 2: The Ray of Love and Wisdom

The Second Ray is the ray that conditions life with Divine Love with the role of revealing the unity that underlies all apparent diversity within creation. Love, expressed through compassion and understanding, is how this ray manifests for those whose souls are conditioned by it. People with Second Ray soul tend to commit their lives to promote love and wisdom in all that they see and do with the acknowledgement that wisdom is a form of love, demonstrating itself through understanding and tolerance.

From the larger perspective, this ray governs the educational and counselling efforts found within all human societies, as well as the healing arts – whether traditional or alternative in nature.

This soul type has a large incarnational presence at this time because humanity is in transition from the Piscean to the Aquarian Age, and people with Second Ray souls are able to skilfully disseminate the new and emerging ideas that will shape human society during the Aquarian era to come. In a way, the Second Ray is a building ray, building ray in the sense that while the First Ray destroys the old, the Second Ray may show the ideas to build something new, as well as heal, educate, or support people in the developing process.

Ray 3: The Ray of Active Intelligence and Adaptability

The Third Ray is the energy most related to Divine Intelligence since it provides the underlying knowingness in all of nature. It is the force that animates human thought, revealing the Divine Mind within the consciousness of humanity and giving spiritual understanding to all human activity.

People with Third Ray souls are committed to finding ways to adapt new knowledge into designs that have functional value. Their minds are often inclined towards systems thinking, thereby giving them the ability to see the interconnectedness of things and to figure out a way to adapt. The knowledge, once being applied correctly, will bring forth wisdom, and wisdom must be eventually synthesized into omniscience.

The Third Ray is a very higher mind kind of ray. It is a consciousness that tends to want to always connect things because it knows the truth that everything is connected to everything else, everything affects everything else, everything is within a system, and the changing of one thing will inevitably lead to the change of many other things.

The Third Ray governs philosophy and, maybe to your surprise, business as well. Because whether the business person or the philosopher, the underlying will to ‘manipulate’ is really important, ‘manipulate’ not in a negative sense, but ‘manipulate’ as in the examples of the philosopher manipulating ideas in order to arrive at a new truth, or the business person manipulating resources in order to achieve a desired and profitable end.

Ray 4: The Ray of Harmonization (Harmony through Conflict)

The Fourth Ray is the force that creates a sense of equilibrium and beauty within creation. People upon the Fourth Ray tend to immediately see both sides of opposing perspectives and will persistently search for the means to harmonize them. Some examples of these opposing perspectives can be peace and war, happiness and sadness, light and darkness, etc. These are just some of the endless array of dualities manifested everywhere in our lives that, for each pair, one will become a meaningless concept without the other.

Fourth Ray souls deeply recognize that humanity is struggling to evolve toward a higher and more peaceful state of being. The major task of this type of soul is to bridge new ideas with the old, and by so doing mitigate the tendency for conflict to emerge between them. This is the most intuitive of the Ray types, and it is through this faculty that spiritual harmony can be realized. Intuition is always rooted in higher harmony and is the key to finding one’s destiny and although all the rays are very much related to intuition, none are related more than the fourth ray.

People that have a strong Fourth Ray tendency personality or Fourth Ray soul would be inclined to have a remarkable sensitivity. It is also the ray most associated with art and beauty; most artists will have strong Fourth Ray, either in their personality nature or their mental bodies, some in their emotional bodies too. It is mentioned in the Esoteric Philosophy that this particular soul type does not exist today but will begin to incarnate in 2025, hence the first wave of those hitting adulthood will be about in the middle of the century.

The institutions that the Fourth Ray rules include all kinds of arts and culture, and it rules the United Nations as well. The United Nations is the manifestation of a fourth ray vibration with the mandate to reconcile international differences through peaceful means and to honour cultural diversity in the process. Even though the United Nations is now still in its infancy and therefore making a lot of mistakes along the way, its destiny will be more profound as we move further into this century.

Ray 5: The Ray of Science and Concrete Knowledge

The Fifth Ray is the energy that reveals the Clarity of Divinity through the pursuit of correct knowledge. While the Third Ray gives to humanity the ability to use the mind with creative adaptability and to deepen our understanding of reality through the connecting of ideas, the Fifth Ray disciplines the adaptable mind, so that the distinction between truth and fiction or falsity can be more clearly discerned.

Those upon the Fifth Ray tend to be dedicated to finding solutions (truth) to the many problems facing humanity with the spiritual purpose of demonstrating that the function of knowledge is to reveal the spiritual essence behind all forms within creation.

From a societal perspective, science is the manifestation of the Fifth Ray. Science is completely dedicated to the precise examination of reality and advances in medicine, physics and chemistry all give testament to the transformative power of this ray.

Fifth Ray is the ray that is the single most important vibration behind the whole sign of Aquarius. And because we are entering into the Age of Aquarius, the Fifth Ray is also going to be increasing its presence. Before we used to see science applied to engineering, building locomotives, industrialization, etc.; nowadays, however, science is moving into subtle patterns, quantum fields, string theory, and so on. That is exactly what would be anticipated as this ashram continues to mature in its relationship to humanity’s welfare.

Ray 6: The Ray of Idealism and Devotion

The purpose of this ray is to bestow the Vision of Divinity within consciousness. As the sacred energy of devotion, it instils within us a willingness to dedicate our lives to something transcendent to ourselves. Sixth Ray people are destined to reveal to humanity that a heart devoted to an ideal has the power to transform life, individually and collectively considered.

People whose souls reside upon the Sixth Ray are moved to devote their lives in support of the ideals they inwardly sense. This energy eventually leads one to realize that the path to enlightenment is found through the renunciation of desire because human desires are recognized as anchors that prevent us from inward and upward ascent.

Sixth Ray is a very strong love ray, like the Second Ray. But there is a difference: while Second Ray souls’ inner call is the loving unity of humanity and they feel the love very wide and diffuse, the Sixth Ray souls also feel that energy, but then they take that quality of love that is being felt and focus it to the extent that it becomes the love of the ideal, the love of devotion.

This ray is the energy that animates theology and religions around the world, and it also governs all social welfare movements. In addition, the Sixth Ray characterizes the worthy causes for which people passionately fight, such as environment protection, hunger amelioration, or human rights trumpeting.

The Sixth Ray souls, this ashram is believed to be currently pulling back and will continue to withdraw for some time to come. We can see that many religions around the world are being in big crisis with either more and more people moving away from their religions or more and more distortions of religions are being manifested.

Ray 7: The Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic

The Seventh Ray is best known for bringing order out of chaos since its purpose is to provide the energy needed to translate spiritual ideas into tangible effects. Through the influence of this ray, the Manifestation of Divinity is made possible. Seventh Ray individuals believe that the purpose of life is to bring spiritual love and wisdom into practical expression.

Seventh Ray people are inclined to view things in practical terms. Their organizational abilities are normally quite good, which is one of the reasons that they are able to manifest what they intend. They are frequently attracted to business, politics or educational environment; some may work in the arts, particularly when the elements of ceremony or ritual are involved.

This ray is also called The Ray of Organization, since it seeks to give good form to societal structures and institutions. It is the Seventh Ray that teaches us to build thoughts that are efficient in their design, while remaining true to the archetypes they represent. Seventh Ray people tend to be dedicated to building structures, mental and/or physical, that can efficiently serve the cause of human betterment.

One may notice that the characteristics of any given ray find closer correspondence with one of the other rays than with the rest. This is a fact. The only one which stands alone and has no close relationship with any of the others is the Fourth Ray. This brings to mind the unique position which the number four occupies in the evolutionary process. Esoterically, four is the number of stability, the symbol of law, system and order. It is firmness, stability and conservatism. With 4 ions, the inevitable concentration of energies occurs and the ions can no longer scatter their energies but must begin to place them in a productive, orderly system.

As with other rays: Between the Third and the Fifth Rays there is a close relationship. In the search after knowledge, for example, the most laborious and minute study of detail is the path that will be followed,
whether in philosophy, the higher mathematics or in the pursuit of practical science. The correspondence between the Second and the Sixth Rays shows itself in the intuitive grasp of synthesized knowledge, and in the common bond of faithfulness and loyalty. Last but not least, masterfulness, steadfastness, and perseverance are the corresponding characteristics of the First and the Seventh Rays.

To end this article, I would like to cite “The Seven Keys to The Seven Ray Methods” from the great work of Alice A. Bailey:

FIRST RAY
“Let the Forces come together. Let them mount to the High Place, and from that lofty eminence let the Soul look upon a world destroyed. Then let the word go forth: ‘I will persist’.”

SECOND RAY
“Let all the life be drawn to the Centre, and enter thus into the Heart of Love Divine. Then from that point of sentient Life, let the Soul realise the consciousness of God. Let the word go forth, reverberating through the silence: ‘Naught is but Me!’,

THIRD RAY
“Let the Army of the Lord, responsive to the word, cease their activities. Let knowledge end in wisdom. Let the point vibrating become the point quiescent, and all lines gather into One. Let the Soul realise the One in many, and let the word go forth in perfect understanding: ‘I am the Worker and the Work, The One that Is: ‘ “

FOURTH RAY
“Let the outer glory pass away and the beauty of the inner Light reveal the One. Let dissonance give place to harmony, and from the centre of the hidden Light let the soul speak, let the word roll forth: ‘Beauty and glory veil Me not. I stand revealed. I Am.

FIFTH RAY
“Let the three forms of energy electric pass upward to the Place of Power. Let the forces of the head and heart and all the nether aspects blend. Then let the Soul look out upon the inner world of light divine. Let the word triumphant go forth: ‘I mastered energy for I am energy itself. The Master and the mastered are but One.’

SIXTH RAY
“Let all desire cease. Let aspiration end. The search is over. Let the Soul realise that it has reached the goal, and from that gateway to eternal Life and cosmic Peace let the word sound: ‘I am the seeker and the sought. I rest.'”

SEVENTH RAY
“Let the builders cease their work. The Temple is completed. Let the Soul enter into its heritage and from the Holy Place command all work to end. Then in the silence subsequent let him chant forth the word: `The creative work is over. I, the Creator, Am. Naught else remains but Me.'”

Sources:

Alice A. Bailey, ‘A Treatise on The Seven Rays’, Lucis Trust, 1990.
Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker, ‘Numerology and The Divine Triangle’, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1979.
William A. Meader, ‘Shine Forth – The Soul’s Magical Destiny’, Source Publication, 2004.
https://meader.org/

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Soul as the Quality of Divinity (Seven Rays of Soul)