Esoteric Understanding of the Planets
Iryna Byunter
First of all, we need to define the concept of esotericism. We often encounter this term nowadays: “esoteric literature,” “esoteric practices,” and so on. It may seem that this is merely a set of doctrines that are not scientifically proven and must be accepted on faith, as they are considered magical or mystical truths by various traditions.
On the other hand, esoteric knowledge is often regarded as secrets that cannot be revealed to the uninitiated.
However, this term actually has a different meaning. Esoteric knowledge is not a secret that cannot be passed on to the “uninitiated,” nor is it a doctrine unproven by science. On the contrary, it refers to things that are obvious and lie on the surface. Yet, not everyone can grasp their full depth. To unveil this depth, one must engage in spiritual practices within any system of any spiritual tradition. That is, esoteric knowledge arises from within when a person is ready to receive it. It cannot be transmitted directly. What happens when we practice spiritual disciplines? Our fundamental vibrational level increases. In other words, we shift our consciousness from physical awareness to an abstract level, while maintaining a harmonious balance between the bodies (physical, astral, and causal). It is precisely this harmonious elevation of vibration, associated with focusing attention on abstract ideas, that leads to the understanding of esoteric truths.
What exactly happens during this process? Our human consciousness—specifically, consciousness confined within specially structured layers—tunes its receptive antennas to certain high frequencies. The information received at this level dismantles the illusion constructed by consciousness during the formation of these layers. Processing information of this quality reconstructs the worldview and, accordingly, reorganizes all living systems of the organism from top to bottom.
All mystical traditions describe the goal of their teachings as achieving a state of union with divine consciousness. Different traditions use different words and terms to describe this state, but the essence is that upon entering it, a person experiences true happiness, universal love, and realizes that everything in the world is one—and that this oneness is themselves. There is no need to scientifically prove anything, because everything becomes self-evident. Yet afterward, one cannot properly articulate it, because humanity has not invented the words capable of describing everything one learns in this state of unity.
Oneness itself is our essence—oneness of consciousness. A human being, as embodied consciousness, can learn to master it, just as one controls oneself and one’s body. For some reason, only a few—magicians and mystics—understand this so far.
The First Hermetic Principle states: “The All is Mental.” This means that Consciousness is primary. It constitutes the eternal essence of Being; it is Being itself. “Cogito ergo sum.” These words mean that I am not the body. Being is a manifestation of consciousness, in any form. The first manifestation on the subtle level that can be perceived is thought. Hence the statement, “I think, therefore I am.”
However, consciousness is not thought. Thought is merely a kinetic fragment of consciousness. Consciousness itself is an ocean of potential—potential not only on the mental level but also on the level of material forms. Therefore, it is said that any object is an expression of consciousness. This does not mean that every object is conscious or self-aware. It is simply an embodiment of consciousness that has limited itself in a particular way for the purpose of such embodiment. Indeed, only certain kinds of limitation make the birth of form possible. For example, in the creative process, strict boundaries are always required. To compose a poem, one must establish a poetic meter; if this is not strictly followed, no poem results. Musical compositions also have a definite form, expressed both in rhythm and in the overall structure of the piece.
We can speak of objects as embodiments of consciousness because the Third Hermetic Principle states: “Everything is in vibration.” Science has already proven that matter is merely a form of energy and vice versa, and that all forms of energy-matter are various kinds of vibrations. Consciousness, precisely, manifests in the form of vibrations—of any kind.
God is Consciousness. A human being is consciousness clothed in physical form. Any object is also Consciousness in physical form. But the human form possesses the capacity for self-awareness and thus the ability to uncover the mysteries of Consciousness—that is, self-knowledge is the primary and only purpose of the entire process of embodiment.
Self-knowledge includes understanding what the planets of the Solar System are. Based on what has been said, we can immediately state that planets, like everything else, are certain kinds of vibrations—Consciousness that has limited itself in a specific way for a specific purpose.
The question arises: what is this purpose, and how does such limitation occur?
As we have already seen, the purpose is self-knowledge. Consciousness seeks to manifest itself. While inactive, it could be assumed not to exist. To exist, it acts—manifests itself and observes. Since its potential is infinite, the process of manifestation is also boundless. Consciousness deliberately sets limits for itself in order to achieve specific manifestations. It establishes both spatial and temporal boundaries, creating both merely as abstract concepts.
To answer more specifically what planets are, we can say they are states of consciousness fixed in the material world—stages along the path of physical embodiment.
Let us consider an example of manifestation. The Second Hermetic Principle states: “As above, so below.” This means that the laws operating on one level of manifestation operate on all other levels. Thus, what works in the physical world also works in the astral and causal worlds. Take, for instance, the physical law of “action and reaction.” It functions in the astral realm (recall your dreams) and on the karmic level (aggression breeds aggression, fear breeds violence, and vice versa).
Therefore, according to this law, the conclusions we draw from the example I will present will apply to all levels of consciousness, both microcosm (the human being and their psyche) and macrocosm (cosmic processes).
Imagine you are walking through a forest in search of human habitation. You roughly know the direction you should go and are aware the journey will be long—many days. You are very tired, tormented by thirst, and you come upon a spring of pure water. You drink, wash, regain energy, and sit down under a tree. You feel comfortable here.
In a half-dream state, you review your situation. It requires a non-trivial solution. What should you do now? You don’t want to leave at all, because you don’t know whether you’ll find water again along the way. If you leave, you might die of thirst before reaching a settlement. Yet staying here long-term is impossible. A human is a social being. There is nothing to eat here, and wild animals roam the forest…
What should you do?
Suddenly, you wake up with a sudden idea—take water with you!
You need to make a vessel!
Sleep vanishes like the wind. Images of vessels you’ve ever seen begin to surface in your mind—large and small, various shapes and colors, with handles and without, made from different materials. At first, you allow your consciousness to work freely, retrieving from memory incredibly ornate golden vessels used in ancient mysteries within palaces, and figures emerge from the subconscious—images of people who drank from these vessels… but then you remember that it’s not time to daydream, but to dream purposefully.
You limit the flow of consciousness and force yourself to think concretely: exactly what kind of vessel you need, from which materials you can make it, and what tools are required.
Then, once you understand the ideal size—large enough to hold sufficient water but not too heavy—you form a clear mental image of what your vessel should be.
And then you get up, look around in all directions, and begin searching for the necessary materials. You must work with your hands. And during the process of creation, many things change—the vessel turns out not as perfectly shaped as imagined, certain things don’t work out, something must be altered in the original plan, some compromises must be made, much energy and effort must be invested.
As a result, a new object is born—the vessel, with a specific purpose of existence. The process of manifestation is complete.
Now let’s break down this process step by step, because each stage represents a state of consciousness symbolized by a planet.
So,
1. You are asleep, and the situation is subconsciously unfolding—Neptune. This is the environment in which the idea is born. It is omnipotent.
2. A sudden idea—Uranus. It instantly acquires a name and form.
3. In the form of shape, it becomes Saturn. Saturn encloses the energy of Uranus’ idea into inert form, thereby limiting and ending the free flight of fantasy.
4. It should be noted that during this Uranian surge of idea and Saturnian initial shaping of the idea, besides Neptune, Pluto acts from the other side, from the unseen realm. Pluto stands apart in the process of consciousness manifestation. It does not belong to the luminous ten. It is dark. No wonder it is the planet of death. It is a repository of knowledge and all kinds of information that was and will be. The proverb “The more you know, the faster you age” is truly profound. Only the state of consciousness of a child, an innocent, fulfills the task of self-discovery. The state of consciousness of an all-knowing elder is rigid, like an old body. It cannot accept anything new. It can only share knowledge. Pluto knows everything. It does not directly participate in manifestation—it has no need for it. It only indirectly influences, supplying information from past Being. It is Pluto that informs Neptune of its omnipotence, within which all possibilities are already potentially contained.
5. Directly from Saturn, who has defined the name and form (nama and rupa in Sanskrit), the baton is passed to Jupiter. Jupiter unfolds and illuminates the entire variety of vessel options hidden by Pluto, charging the idea with its majestic energy of manifestation.
6. The energy gains momentum and transforms into the energy of Mars, which, having caught from Jupiter the desire to manifest, converts energy into physical force of embodiment. At the same time, Mars ruthlessly destroys all those Jupiterian constructions that have no real possibility of manifestation, that cannot pass through its filter—e.g., you won’t be able to gild your vessel in the forest. Mars automatically eliminates such thoughts.
7. This force then transforms into creative energy, embodied by the Sun. Then this creative energy becomes concretized, revealing a truly artistic approach to the task.
8. The baton is passed to Venus. Note that Venus governs beauty, love, and harmony. Precise harmonious proportions are a signal for the activation of other forms of consciousness that help the object fulfill its purpose.
9. When the artistic features of the vessel reach completion, consciousness focuses on a concrete work plan: where to find certain materials, how to create tools for work, etc. This mode of consciousness is known as the state of Mercury.
10. And when the concrete plan is complete, the finished image of the vessel emerges clearly in the treasury of images within our consciousness, known as the Moon.
11. After this, Earth comes into its own, and our hands begin performing actual physical work with physical materials, creating the vessel and thereby completing the process of embodiment.
This example should be regarded as a parable. The vessel may represent any object, any idea, any event, any living being, or even any planet. The names of the planets in this parable are not used as names of physical celestial bodies, but as names of states of consciousness.
The point is that these states of consciousness have also taken physical form with a specific purpose. And that purpose was the fixation of stages in the embodiment of consciousness. Being physically fixed, they form a limiting environment—a set of laws governing manifestation. And these laws operate at all levels of the Solar System’s functioning.
Specifically, the Sun, or Logos—as its causal body is called—repeats the system of laws of its parent, where it learned embodiment through creating stages of consciousness limitation.
The planets themselves consist of three bodies—the causal body, mentioned above, which carries their mission; the astral body—the instrument for carrying out the mission—a giant elemental performing a specific function determined by the task; and the physical body, which reflects their astral essence in the material world. Therefore, each planet is uniquely distinct in its physical characteristics and unlike the others.
What practical benefit can be derived from such an understanding of planetary essence?
The benefit is inestimable. But to be able to use this understanding, one must be ready for it. That is, to work with planets as layers of our consciousness, one must become accustomed to perceiving oneself as Unity of Consciousness. Then the planets appear as shells or clothing that give form. One can learn to undress and dress, to change clothes, to master the art of controlling consciousness.
Thus, one can move from the zeroth arcana, the Fool, from which we began, wandering in the forest in our parable, to the first arcana and become the Magician. And I am not referring to magical services advertised in mass media. I am speaking of high magic, where by changing consciousness, a person changes the entire world.
Because there is no objective world in reality. It is an illusion. There is no time, no space. There is no multitude of objects and phenomena. There is only Consciousness. And the world around us depends entirely on our ability to master it. The external world is truly a projection of states of consciousness.
