The Seven Rays

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The article traces the dissemination of teachings on the seven rays by the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul over 60 years, from preliminary information given to the Theosophical Society in the 1880s to detailed teachings dictated to Alice Bailey between 1919-1949.

The main purpose of the article is to trace the dissemination of the teachings on the seven rays from the 1880s onward.

The names of the seven rays according to the teachings are: 1. Will or Power 2. Love–Wisdom 3. Active Intelligence 4. Harmony through Conflict 5. Knowledge or Science 6. Devotion or Idealism 7. Ceremonial Order.

Winter 2007

The Seven Rays: A Case Study in the


Dissemination of Esoteric Knowledge
John Nash

Abstract

his article traces the dissemination of


teachings on the seven rays by the Tibetan
Master Djwhal Khul over a period of more
than 60 years. Preliminary information was
given to members of the Theosophical Society
in the 1880s; and more detailed information
seems to have been supplied through the early
years of the 20th century. But the bulk of the
information was dictated to Alice Bailey, between 1919 and 1949, and reported in the 24
books which appeared under her name.
Discussions of the seven rays, as the teachings
were received by the several individuals involved, shows steadily increasing understanding of the concepts. There is also remarkable
consistency and coherence. Whatever the Tibetans strategy wasand whatever changes
of direction may have been necessarythe
rapid dissemination of the teachings and the
broad awareness of the rays among esoteric
students today attest to its success.
The rift between the Theosophical Society and
Bailey hindered the dissemination of the teachings and probably discouraged further study of
the rays within the Society. However evidence
of significant plagiarism in either direction is
inconclusive.1

Introduction

he seven rays, to quote the 19th-century


Indian scholar T. Subba Row, represent
the outflowing energy from the seven centres
of force in the Logos.2 The rays emanating
from the Logos represent a second outpouring of divine essence, below the Trinity. The
seven rays permeate and inform the cosmos
on every plane of reality, including the solar
system, the planet, and ourselves. They permeate creation in much the same way as electromagnetic radiation permeates the physical
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

universe. In a real sense the rays color the


matter they illuminate and penetrate. By
analogybut analogy onlythey can be
compared to the colors of the visible spectrum.
Each of us exhibits a blend of rays that
shapes our personality, soul qualities, and
spiritual path. Similarly, every organization,
city, nation, kingdom of nature, planet, star
system, constellation and Logos also expresses a blend of rays. Rays cycle into and
out of manifestation, giving the world its
golden and dark ages; its periods of learning
and ignorance, peace and war, tranquility and
unsettling change.
The seven rays have become so familiar to
modern esoteric students that it is hard to realize that little was known about the rays until
the 1880s. What we know now comes from
the teachings of one individual: the Tibetan
Master Djwhal Khul, who reportedly attained
the fifth initiation sometime between 1850 and
1875.3 Delivering these teachings evidently
formed a major element of the service mission
he agreed to undertake. The Tibetan communicated preliminary information to the Theosophical Society, then more detailed information
to Alice Ann Bailey (18801949). Bailey
served as his amanuensis in the publication of
24 books containing the bulk of his teachings.
The main purpose of this article is to trace the
dissemination of the teachings from the 1880s

About the Author


John F. Nash, Ph.D., is a long-time esoteric student,
author and teacher. Two of his books, Quest for the
Soul and The Soul and Its Destiny, were reviewed
in the Winter 2005 issue of the Esoteric Quarterly.
His website is: www.uriel.com.

33

The Esoteric Quarterly


onward. Sadly, the rift that developed between
the Society and Bailey became an important
factor in the way the knowledge was disseminated. It also led to charges and countercharges of plagiarism and charges that large
portions of the teachings were not authentic
communications from the Tibetan Master.

Summary of the Teachings


The names of the rays, as given in the books of
Alice Bailey, are listed in Table 1. These
names should be regarded simply as a convenient shorthand. The rays are powerful cosmic
energies that evade simplistic description; their
names, by contrast, are anthropocentric, emphasizing their influence on people. For nations, kingdoms of nature, planetary systems
and logoi, the names of the rays must be used
with special caution.

Table 1. The Seven Rays:


Modern Form
Three Rays of Aspect:
1
2
3

Will or Power
LoveWisdom
Active Intelligence

Four Rays of Attribute:


4
5
6
7

Harmony through Conflict


Knowledge or Science
Devotion or Idealism
Ceremonial Order, Ceremonial
Magic, or Organization

The doctrine of the seven rays, as it has


evolved in the Alice Bailey tradition, is as follows. The first three raysthe so-called rays
of aspectmirror the aspects of the overarching Trinity, and bear the same names: Will or
Power, Love-Wisdom, and Active Intelligence.
The first ray of Will or Power, like the First
Aspect of Deity, is the initial outpouring of
energy, the power to create, to transform, and
when necessary to destroy.4 It can be recognized in the will to live, to survive, and to
grow; it is also the will to fight and conquer.
The second ray of Love-Wisdom is the cohesive, form-building force that brings things and
beings together in meaningful relationship. It
34

is also the ray of consciousness, compassion


and healing. The third ray of Active Intelligencesometimes reversed as Intelligent
Activityis the ray of creativity, action, and
practicality.
The fourth through seventh raysthe rays of
attributeare usually referred to, respectively,
as Harmony through Conflict, Knowledge or
Science, Devotion or Idealism, and Ceremonial
Order. The fifth ray is also known as Concrete Science, and the seventh ray is referred
to variously as Ceremonial Magic, Order,
or Organization. The four rays of attribute
are considered to be subsidiary expressions of
the Third Aspect of Deity, which expresses
divine intent through form.
The fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict is
the ray of mediation, balance, harmony, and
beauty.5 This fourth ray, the median of the
sevenlike the Second Aspect of deity, the
median of the Trinityexploits the creative
tension between pairs of opposites, seeking to
bring them together in new synthesis. Humanity is ruled by the fourth ray, and it is easy to
see the pervasive conflict, if not always the
emerging harmony. The fifth ray of Knowledge or Science is associated with mind and
intellect, the force underlying academic
achievement and the search for truth. The
sixth ray of Devotion or Idealism is the force
behind religion, ideology, and adherence to
principle. The seventh ray of Ceremonial Order expresses the descent of the divine force to
the physical level, and can be seen in fields as
diverse as ceremonial magic and technology.

Early Hints
Although detailed knowledge of the seven rays
has only recently become available, hints of
their existence can be found in ancient tradition, writings and scripture.
The number seven has always had profound
occult significance. Seven, the largest prime
less than 10, was known to antiquity as the
heptad. This virgin number was sacred to
the Goddess Athena and was associated with
creation and eternity. The ancients knew of
seven planets. And there are seven spectral
colors, and seven notes of the diatonic musical
scale; the lyre of Orpheus had seven strings.
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007

Winter 2007
The Greek alphabet contains seven vowels.
There are seven spatial directions, including
the sacred center. There are seven days of the
week. Classical scholarship consisted of the
seven liberal arts. There were seven wonders
in the ancient world. Esoteric Judaism counted
seven Elohim. And in Christian doctrine there
came to be seven churches of Asia, seven sacraments, seven cardinal virtues, and seven
deadly sins. The notion that the divine essence
emanates first as three and then as seven has a
numerological metaphor insofar as there are
seven possible combinations of three elements;
for example: A, B, C, AB, BC, CA, ABC.6
The emanation of the seven rays from a level
below the Trinity is foreshadowed in the book
of Revelation. There we read of seven Spirits
which are before [Gods] throne, seven
lamps of fire burning before the throne, and
the seven stars.7 Sitting on the throne, God
held a book with seven seals.8 The Gnostic
text Pistis Sophia relates that the risen Christ
cast forth many rays of light and the light
was of many kinds.9
Additional hints can be found in The Celestial
Hierarchies, the standard text on Christian angelology. The text was long believed to have
been written by Dionysius the Areopagite,
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.10 But
most scholars now agree that the real author,
the Pseudo-Dionysius, lived no earlier than
the fourth century CE.11 The Celestial Hierarchies described nine choirs of angels, arranged in three ranks of three. The highest
rank, consisting of the seraphim, cherubim and
thrones, is identified as the threefold system
of the Divine Ray.12 The author adds that it
occupies a more exalted place than all the
others, being immediately present with God;
and because of its nearness, to it are brought
the first revelations and perfections of God. It
would not be difficult to argue that the PseudoDionysius was referring to the rays of aspect.
Significantly, he refers to the seraphim as the
Glowing Ones and the cherubim as the
Streams of Wisdomand we remember that
the second ray of aspect is Love-Wisdom. The
third choir, the thrones, symbolizes openness
to the reception of God.13

Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

The Qabalah, the system of esoteric knowledge


of ancient Judaic origin, speaks of the emanation of divine force through a series of 10 vessels, or sephiroth (singular sephirah, number).14 The first three: Kether (crown),
Chokmah (wisdom), and Binah (understanding) form a trinity.15 The seven lower
sephiroth can be compared with the seven rays.
The lowest sephirah, Malkuth (the kingdom),
corresponds to the physical plane. Malkuth,
which is still considered divine, is often associated with the Shekinah, (indwelling glory),
a feminine aspect of deity. Following Qabalistic principles, Lutheran mystic Jakob Bhme
(15751624) argued that the Godhead manifests both as the conventional trinity and also
as a septenary, although he did not integrate
the two systems well.16 Bhmes first emanation is Nothing at all, recalling the Qabalistic
Ain Soph (the Limitless), and the second is
God the Father. The Logos is the sixth emanation, and Sophia the seventh emanation. Evidently Bhme agreed that the lowest emanation should be feminine, although he chose to
represent her by the Neoplatonic Sophia instead of the Judaic Shekinah.

Work of the
Theosophical Society
Helena Blavatsky

he term seven rays was first used by


Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (18311891),
co-founder and spiritual leader of the Theosophical Society. Several references to the rays
can be found in The Secret Doctrine. Some of
the basic concepts were shown to have roots in
Indian religious literature extending back to
the Vedas. However, Blavatsky explained that
parts of the Secret Doctrine were either dictated or inspired by the mahatmas, or masters.17 Elsewhere we learn that The Master
Djwhal Khul dictated a large part of that
momentous book The Secret Doctrine and
gave her much of the data that is to be found in
that book.18
The first reference to the seven rays appears in
a passage that attempts to interpret the Sanskrit
word sat,19 which Blavatsky expressed as the
World of Truth. Quoting an ancient commentary she explained:
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The Esoteric Quarterly


This World of Truth can be described [as]
A bright star dropped from the heart of
Eternity; the beacon of hope on whose Seven
Rays hang the Seven Worlds of Being.
Truly so; since those are the Seven Lights
whose reflections are the human immortal
Monadsthe Atma, or the irradiating Spirit
of every creature of the human family.20

In Blavatskys work, not surprisingly in view


of its Hindu influence, the rays are still viewed
primarily as cosmic or solar entities. However,
we can also see the beginning of the more
modern perspective in which they are viewed
as forces associated with, but not identical to,
the entities that may channel them.

Elsewhere she reflected on the septenary nature of reality:


[T]here are seven Forces in Man and in all
Nature. The real substance of the concealed
(Sun) is a nucleus of Mother substance. It is
the heart and the matrix of all the living and
existing Forces in our solar universe It is
on account of his septenary nature that the
Sun is spoken of by the ancients as one who
is driven by seven horses equal to the metres
of the Vedas; or, again, that, though he is
identified with the seven Gaina (classes of
being) in his orb, he is distinct from them, as
he is, indeed; as also that he has Seven Rays,
as indeed he has The Seven Beings in the
Sun are the Seven Holy Ones, Self-born
from the inherent power in the matrix of
Mother substance. It is they who send the
Seven Principal Forces, called rays, which at
the beginning of Pralaya will centre into
seven new Suns for the next Manvantara.21

So far as is known the Tibetan Master Djwhal


KhulDjual Khool or Djwal Kul, as his
name was variously spelled at that timefirst
visited the headquarters of the Theosophical
Society in Adyar, India, in the fall of 1883.
Described as the Master Kuthumis chief
chela, he came to Adyar with his superior.25
Later he paid a number of visits by himself.
The Tibetan came into contact with Helena
Blavatsky at Adyar and elsewhere; however
their relationship seems to have been
strained.26 Failing in health, but determined to
complete her Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky left
India for the last time in March 1885.27

Contacts at Adyar

In yet another passage she gave the names of


the rays, all mystical, as: Sushumna,
Harikesa, Viswakarman, Viswatryarchas, Sannaddha, Sarvavasu and Swaraj.22

Former Anglican clergyman Charles Webster


Leadbeater (18541934) had arrived in Adyar
three months earlier. In September 1885 he
began an intensive program of esoteric training, the first 42 days under the supervision of
the Master Kuthumi, and a further year
mainly under the direction of the Master
Djual Khool, Who with great patience directed and tested Mr. Leadbeaters efforts
For the rest of his life Mr. Leadbeater was a
great clairvoyant.28

The third volume of The Secret Doctrine,


compiled from Blavatskys papers after her
death, refers to the seven rays as a group of
celestial Beings who are universally called the
seven Primeval Gods or Angelsour Dhyn
Chohansthe Seven Primeval Rays or Powers, adopted later on by the Christian Religion
as the Seven Angels of the Presence.23 The
rays are identified with the seven primary colors of the spectrum, although the author cautions that:
the colours which we see with our physical
eyes are not the true colours of Occult Nature, but are merely the effects produced on
the mechanism of our physical organs by
certain rates of vibration.24

During the same period the Tibetan Master is


reported to have met with Leadbeater, A. J.
Cooper-Oakley, and a Hindu brother.29 In
addition to other teachings, the Tibetan gave
them fragmentary information on the seven
rays, which was summarized in a table eventually reproduced in two books published in
1925.30 The information is presented here in
Table 2. The Tibetan is reported to have said:
I cannot tell you any more than that, for I am
bound by certain pledges; but if your intuition
can make out more I will tell you whether you
are right. Leadbeater conceded that much
of it was incomprehensible [but] even that little
fragmentary information was of very great
value to us.31

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Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007

Winter 2007

Table 2. The Seven Rays:


Fragmentary Information,
18841886
Ray

Ray
Characteristic

Characteristic
Magic

Fohat-Shechinah

Wisdom

Akasha

Birth of Horus

Fire

Incarnation of
Deity

Raja Yoga (Human


Mind)
Astrology (Natural
Magnetic Forces
Hatha Yoga (Physical
Development)
Alchemy (Material
Substances)
Bhakti (Devotion)
Ceremonial Magic

The information is evocative. It established


the association of the second ray with wisdom,
the sixth with devotion, and the seventh with
ceremonial magic. The other associations are
more arcane. It is interesting to note that the
first ray is associated with Fohat-Shechinah
an odd juxtaposition of oriental and Judaic
terms. Also, assigning the Shekinah (or
Shechinah) to the highest emanation contrasts with Qabalistic teachings where it is considered to be the lowest divine emanation.32

T. Subba Row
In 1886 Tallapragada Subba Row (18561890)
gave a series of lectures to Theosophists in
Adyar.33 The lecturer was not only an acclaimed Vedantic scholar but was considered
by Helena Blavatsky as having greater occult
knowledge than herself. The two collaborated
for a while, until a rift occurred when Blavatsky asked him to review the manuscripts of
The Secret Doctrine.34 By the time of the lectures Blavatsky had left Adyar. Subba Row
also served as one of Leadbeaters teachers.35
The lectures focused on many aspects of traditional Hindu and Buddhist thought, but Subba
Row wove in references to the seven rays. The
tenor of the lectures demanded a high degree
of occult knowledge, and we do not know how
much his audience understood. He spoke as
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

though the rays and their qualities required no


particular explanation. Perhaps the information provided by the Tibetan had already been
discussed by the group. Both Leadbeater and
Cooper-Oakley were in the audience, and
Subba Row may have been the Hindu
brother present during the Tibetans visit.
Subba Row discussed the characteristics expressed by logoi and adepts as a result of their
rays; and he stressed that Every Initiate must
find his own Ray.36 He singled out the first
two rays as being of special importance:
[I]t is only the first two Rays that have ever
given rise to universal religions. In the case
of the other five Rays, a man is merely concerned with his own particular Ray, but in
the case of these first two every Adept will
have to come under the influence of every
other Ray.37
The first ray, according to Subba Row, sees
God as a king, demanding worship; and he
linked it with Brahminism and the Vedas. The
second ray sees God as a teacher, to be linked
with Buddhism.38 He added:
There is a Ray specially adapted to women;
it is sometimes called the body of love.
Its Logos is rather a female than a male I
do not think there will even be a female
Adept of the First Ray, because it belongs
entirely to the positive pole.39
Subba Row did not cite specific references to
support his comments on the rays. And his
characteristic response to questions about
sources was usually to retreat behind confidentiality imposed by his guru. But he did indicate that some knowledge of the rays came
from antiquity: Ideas connected with the first
Ray seem to have crept into Chinese Buddhism
before the time of Gautama.40

Charles Leadbeater
We do not know to what immediate use, if any,
Charles Leadbeater put the information on the
seven rays gleaned from the Tibetan Masters
visit or from Subba Rows lectures. Nor are
we told whether the Tibetan provided further
information to Leadbeater during the remainder of his esoteric training or thereafter. By
the end of 1885 the Theosophical Society had
decided no longer to bear open witness to the
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The Esoteric Quarterly


world that the Masters guided and directed
it.41 And no further contacts by the Tibetan
with members of the Society (except for Alice
Bailey) have been documented. Perhaps
Leadbeaters newly awakened clairvoyant
abilities enabled him to access knowledge on
higher planes. Or perhaps the rays became a
topic discussed in closed meetings of the Societys Esoteric Section formed in 1888.

aspirations offer interesting perspectives on


their use in liturgical practice.

Leadbeater gave the rays gender associations:


[T]he 4th and 5th Rays are predominantly
masculine, the 3rd and 6th Rays predominantly
feminine, and the 2nd Ray dual but about
equally balanced, the 1st Ray dual but with the
masculine intensified, and the 7th Ray dual but
with the feminine intensified. These associations depart from the conventional numeroNotwithstanding, Charles Leadbeaters knowllogical symbolism that the odd-numbered rays
edge and understanding of the seven rays
are masculine and the
steadily increased. The
even-numbered ones
transcript of a talk he gave
The seven rays have become feminine. Moreover,
to the Adyar community,
his comment that the
titled the Seven Types,
so familiar to modern esofirst ray is dual
is included in Volume II
teric students that it is hard
seems to contradict
of The Inner Life, pub42
Subba Rows insislished in 1911. Leadto realize that little was
tence on its strongly
beater explained: There
known
about
the
rays
until
masculine nature.
are seven great types of
the 1880s. What we know
men, coming out from the
Leadbeater also related
seven great Planetary
now comes from the teachthe rays to the nine
Logoi. Each of us beranks, or choirs, of
ings of one individual: the
longs to one of these, but
angels classified by the
Tibetan Master Djwhal
each has also a sub-ray
Pseudo-Dionysius.
from one of the other
Khul.
[He]
communicated
Seven of the ranks, he
types.43 No details were
explained, correspond
preliminary information to
provided of the ray types,
to the great Rays of
the Theosophical Society,
but he singled out one
which the solar system
situation for illustration:
then more detailed informa- is composed, and two
If a man belongs to the
tion to Alice
blue or devotional type,
and has the wisdom ray
as his sub-type, he will
be wise in his devotion; but if his sub-ray be
also devotional, he may be blindly devoted
having no discrimination, and therefore unable to see any blemish in the object of his
worship.44
By the late 1910s Leadbeater had also become
involved in the Liberal Catholic Church and
was interested in the esoteric aspects of religious ritual. In The Science of the Sacraments,
published in 1920, Leadbeater identified the
rays and their characteristics and attached to
them the aspirations that we should offer in
worship.45 These are listed in Table 3. The
ray characteristics come close to capturing the
modern understanding of the rays, and the

38

may be called cosmic,


as they are common to
some other systems.46
Leadbeater did not
state specifically that the highest rank of angels
corresponds to the first ray, and the lowest
rank to the seventh; but he did imply that firstray angels are the most powerful.

Ann Bailey

The Science of the Sacraments identified locations within a church with the rays. For example the high altar is associated with the second
ray. Leadbeater expressed a preference for
devotions performed at these locations rather
than the Stations of the Cross found in Roman
Catholic churches. He also identified the rays
with the candles on the altar and with seven
jewels embedded within it.47
Charles Leadbeaters most extensive teachings
on the seven rays appear in The Masters and
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007

Winter 2007

Table 3. Leadbeaters Ray Aspirations


Ray

Characteristic

1
2

Strength
Wisdom

Adaptability or Tact

Beauty and Harmony

Science (detailed knowledge)


Devotion

6
7

Ordered service (ceremonial which involves angelic help)

Aspiration
I will be strong, brave, persevering in His service.
I will attain that intuitional wisdom which can be developed only
through perfect love.
I will try to gain the power of saying and doing just the right thing at
the right momentof meeting each man on his own ground, in order to help him more efficiently.
So far as I can, I will bring beauty and harmony into my life and
surroundings, that they may be more worthy of Him; I will learn to
see beauty in all Nature that I may serve Him better.
I will gain knowledge and accuracy, that I may devote them to His
work.
I will unfold within myself the mighty power of devotion, that
through it I may bring others to Him.
I will so order and arrange my service of God along the lines which
He has prescribed, that I may be able fully to take advantage of the
loving help which His holy Angels are always waiting to render.

the Path, which was completed in Australia in


1925. This influential book, which included
the fragmentary information the Tibetan had
provided many years earlier, was said to have
been based on teachings given by the Master
[Kuthumi] to a group of pupils about 1897.48
Parts of the book may well have been drafted
around the turn of the 20th century, but other
parts reflect interests he did not acquire until
the 1910s and 20s.49 Evidently the book had
been pushed onto a backburner by Leadbeaters many other endeavors.50 It was completed when fellow Theosophist Ernest Wood
arrived in Sydney to provide editing assistance.51 By then, a growing body of literature
was coming from Alice Baileys pen, starting
with Initiation: Human and Solar, published in
1922.52
Leadbeater related his account of the rays to
the Theosophical model of planetary schemes,
chains and globes which had been developed
as early as the 1880s:
All life which exists in our chain of worlds
passes through and belongs to one or other
of Seven Rays, each having seven subdivisions. In the universe there are forty-nine
such Rays, making, in sets of seven, the
Seven Great Cosmic Rays, flowing from or
through the Seven Great Logoi.53
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

Much interest was also being devoted to the


Planetary Hierarchy, and Leadbeater associated each of the major ashrams and its chohan
with one of the rays.54 Thus the Master Morya
was identified as chohan of the first-ray ashram, the Master Kuthumi as chohan of the second, and the Venetian Master as chohan of the
third. With reference to the rays of attribute,
Leadbeater associated the Master Serapis with
the fourth-ray ashram, the Master Hilarion
with the fifth, the Master Jesus with the sixth,
and the Master Racoczythe Master the
Comte de St. Germainwith the seventh.55
Leadbeater also provided physical descriptions
of the masters, and, for several, described their
residences in the Himalayas.
Leadbeater discussed the cyclical manifestation of the rays, commenting that the sixth ray
is passing out of manifestation and the seventh
ray is now becoming dominant in the
world.56 Like Subba Row, he associated
Brahminism with the first ray and Buddhism
with the second. He associated Christianity
with the sixth ray. Leadbeater had commented
in his 1920 book: the Rays run through all
nature, so that, just as there are men belonging
to each of them, so are there animals, vegetables, minerals belonging to each and possessing their special characteristics.57 In The Mas39

The Esoteric Quarterly


ters and the Path, he amplified his comments
about animals, explaining: Since in them
there is no individualization, it is obvious that
the whole of one species of animals must be
on the same Ray.58 He placed the elephant,
dog, cat, horse and monkey at the heads of
their respective rays because, through human
contact, they will be first to achieve individualization.

three principles corresponding to the rays of


aspect are named after the three constituents of
consciousness in Hindu philosophy: ichchha
(will), jnana (knowledge or wisdom),
and kriya (action).63 These three constituents express at a lower level the energies of
Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma.

Table 4. Woods Ray Principles

Ernest Wood
Ernest Egerton Wood (18831954) assisted
Charles Leadbeater in completing The Masters
and the Path. The same year that it appeared,
Wood published his own book: The Seven
Rays.59 Wood was born in Britain but went to
Adyar in 1908 and stayed for 13 years. He
served as secretary to Annie Besant and
Charles Leadbeater and was also engaged in
the Theosophical Societys educational activities. This latter work earned Wood the title of
the professor.
Ernest Woods book was written with Leadbeaters encouragement,60 and it contained the
same fragmentary information that Leadbeater received from the Tibetan Master in the
1880s. However Wood had already received
detailed teachings on the rays while in India:
Sometimes there had been a voice, but generally ideas had, as it were, insinuated into
my mind, quite distinctly with the feeling of
the presence of an intelligence other than my
own. In this way I had accumulated a quantity of notes on the subject. I had been
speaking on it occasionally at theosophical
gatherings in America.61
Wood makes frequent reference to Hindu and
Buddhist teachings; and Subba Rows influence may also be detectable, although the two
never met. Leadbeater acknowledged that
Woods book is presented from quite a new
angle.62
Wood initially used the term principles
rather than rays. He identified seven principles, each identified with a Hindu or yogic
concept such as Jnana (knowledge) or May
(matter). And for each principle he identified
divine qualities or human ideals and their expression in everyday affairs (Table 4). The

40

Principle
1
2

3
4
5
6
7

Ichchh
(will)
Jnana
(knowledge
or wisdom)
Kriy
(action)
May
(matter)
Sattwa
(law)
Rajas
(energy)
Tamas
(inertia)

Qualities of
God and
Ideals of Men

Expressions
in Human
Affairs

Freedom

Government

Unity

Philanthropy

Comprehension

Philosophy

Harmony
Truth

Interpretation
(imagination)
Science

Goodness

Religion

Beauty

Art

Woods description of the way in which the


principles are expressed in human affairs come
surprisingly close to the understanding of the
rays developed in the Alice Bailey books.
Government, Philanthropy, Science, and
Religion can all be reconciled easily with
Baileys interpretations. Only his fourth-ray
Interpretation (imagination) and seventh-ray
art may seem misplaced.
Ernest Wood left the Theosophical Society in
the 1930s with mixed feelings about his long
association with the organization and its members.64

Geoffrey Hodson
After 1925 little further attention was paid to
the seven rays in the Theosophical literature.
However, in 1952, Geoffrey Hodson (1886
1983) published a short work entitled The

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Winter 2007

Table 5. Hodsons Seven Rays


Ray

Human Characteristics

Positive Exemplars

Power, will, courage, leadership, self-reliance

Universal love, wisdom, insight, intuition, philanthropy,


sense of oneness, spiritual sympathy, cooperativeness
Creative ideation, comprehension, understanding, penetrative and interpretive mental power, adaptability, tact,
dignity, impartiality
Stability, harmony, balance, beauty, rhythm

Analytical and logical mentality, accuracy, patience

One-pointedness, ardour, fiery enthusiasm, devotion,


sacrificial love, loyalty
Grace, precision, ordered beauty and activity, chivalry,
skill, dignity, noble bearing, careful attention to detail,
order & method, military method, splendour

Seven Human Temperaments.65 Hodson began


by recalling the numerical significance of the
progression 1: 3: 7 and noting that the septenary basis of reality extends through all the
kingdoms of nature. But, as the books title
suggests, its main thrust was the impact of the
rays on the human entity.
Table 5 is a summarized form of a more extensive table in Hodsons book.66
Hodson acknowledged that the ray characteristics have both positive and negative aspects.
For example, the fourth ray produces the great
artists and mediators, but it can also lead to
instability, vacillation, self-indulgence and improvidence. The seventh ray produced the attention to ritual seen in Anglo-Catholicism
which Hodson greatly admiredbut can also
produce ostentation, pretentiousness, formalism, black magic and sorcery.67 For the first
time in Theosophical literature, Hodson distinguished the monadic, egoic and personality
rays.68 He asserted that the first two are stable,
but the personality experiences all the rays during its many incarnations. Elsewhere, Hodson
states that stability of the monadic ray is also
found in the lower kingdoms.69
Geoffrey Hodson clearly built upon the earlier
work of Leadbeater and Wood; like the latter
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

Alexander the Great, King Arthur, General Patton


Christ, the Buddha, Maria Montessori,
Jan Smuts, Robert Scott, Franklin Roosevelt
Orpheus, William Shakespeare,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Abraham Lincoln, Sherlock
Holmes
Francis of Assisi, Teresa of
Avilla, William Booth
Freemasonry, the United Nations
and its agencies

he identified tact as a third-ray characteristic.


The interesting identification of chivalry as a
seventh-ray characteristic seems to have come
from an insight in 1944.70 But what is more
significant is the degree to which Hodsons
understanding of the rays had converged with
that of Alice Bailey. Hodson received occasional, very brief comments on the rays from
his master teachers, but none comprehensive
enough to explain his depth of knowledge.71
Nowhere in his book does he cite references to
Baileys work.

Work of Alice Bailey

he Tibetan contacted Alice Bailey in November 1919. In her autobiography Bailey records that she heard a voice which said in
stilted English: There are some books which
it is desired should be written for the public.
You can write them. Will you do so?72 Being skeptical of psychic phenomena she refused. But after two more encounters she
agreed to serve for a couple of weeks or a
month as the Tibetans amanuensis. As it
turned out, the relationship lasted the remaining 30 years of her life, and the result was 24
books, amounting to more than 10,000 printed
pages of esoteric teachings. Bailey died in
1949.
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The Esoteric Quarterly


Alice Bailey had been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1915, and was admitted to the Esoteric Section three years later.
By 1919 she and her future husband Foster
Bailey were officials at the Pacific Grove
Lodge in Hollywood, California.73 We do not
know whether Bailey ever heard of the seven
rays at one of Ernest Woods lectures or
through other discussions in the Society.
However, this was a time of great internal
strife within the Society, and in the summer of
1920 the Baileys resigned their positions at the
lodge.74 Two years later, they founded the
Lucis Trust to publish the Tibetans teachings.75 And in 1923 Alice Bailey founded the
Arcane School to provide discipleship training
based on the teachings.
Teachings on the Seven Rays
By the time he began his dictations to Alice
Bailey the Tibetan evidently was no longer
bound by the certain pledges that prohibited
him from disclosing more to Leadbeater in the
1880s. Also the teachings on the seven rays he
provided to Bailey go far beyond anything reported in the Theosophical literature. Because
the teachings are so extensive, only a few highlights can be included here, and we focus on
the rays influence on the human entity. Baileys books are all still in print and readily
available for readers intent on detailed study.76

tive intelligence, or adaptability; the minor


rays were designated: harmony or beauty,
concrete science or knowledge, devotion or
abstract idealism, and ceremonial law or
magic.78 Later in the book, the terms rays of
aspect and rays of attribute were introduced.79
Initiation: Human and Solar was the first publication to provide an organization chart for the
Planetary Hierarchy.80 It also provided descriptions of the ashrams, their chohans, and
their rays. This material overlapped with descriptions in Leadbeaters The Masters and the
Path, published three years later.
Alice Baileys later works built upon the foundation of Initiation: Human and Solar to explore in increasing detail the significance of
the rays and their pervasive influence at all
levels of reality. References to the rays can be
found throughout her works, but the most significant teachings are contained in the five
books collectively referred to as A Treatise on
the Seven Rays. This treatise included the
two volumes of Esoteric Psychology, published respectively in 1936 and 1942; Esoteric
Astrology, published in 1951; Esoteric Healing, published in 1953; and The Rays and the
Initiations, published in 1960.

A good survey of the teachings was presented


in Baileys very first book, Initiation: Human
and Solar, published in 1922. Bailey provides
the following fundamental statement of triple
and septenary emanation of the divine essence:
[T]he Central Light which we call Deity, the
One Ray of Divinity, manifests first as a
Triplicity, and then as a Septenary. The One
God shines forth as God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and these
three are again reflected through the Seven
Spirits before the Throne, or the seven
Planetary Logoi. The students of occultism
of non-Christian origin may call these Beings the One Ray, demonstrating through the
three major Rays and the four minor, making a divine Septenary.77

The Solar Logos, we are told in volume I of


Esoteric Psychology, expresses the second ray
of Love-Wisdom, so this ray is the dominating
influence throughout the solar system.81 The
Master Djwhal Khul heads up a second-ray
ashram, part of the larger one overseen by the
Master Kuthumi and in turn part of the Division of Education and Religion, which expresses the second aspect of deity within the
planetary organization. However our Planetary Logos expresses the third ray of Active
Intelligence. Thus our planet is influenced by
a combination of the second and third rays.
Humanity, the fourth kingdom, expresses the
fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict and
also the fifth ray of Knowledge or Science.82
Significantly, we are now in the fifth root race,
charged with manifesting the fifth principle of
manas, or mind.

The major rays were listed, respectively, as


Will or power, Love or wisdom, and Ac-

Periods in history are influenced by the cyclical manifestation and pralaya of the rays.

42

Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007

Winter 2007

Table 6. Baileys Ray Characteristics


Expressed by Disciples
Ray
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Key Concepts
Force
Consciousness
Adaptation
Vibration
Mentation
Devotion
Incantation

Energy
Expansion
Development
Response
Knowledge
Abstraction
Magic

Charles Leadbeater had noted that the sixth ray


is passing out of manifestation, after many
centuries, and the seventh is currently coming
into manifestation. Alice Bailey confirmed
this observation, and also reported that Rays 2,
3 and 5 are currently in manifestation.83

Ray Characteristics
The characteristics of the seven rays, discussed
throughout Alice Baileys books, are in substantial agreement with what Charles Leadbeater and Ernest Wood had reported. Table 6
shows the ray characteristics, as they relate to
disciples. This table appeared in Initiation:
Human and Solar and was repeated in two
later books.84 It is interesting to note that the
first-ray disciple, according to this tabulation is
the occultist, and the third-ray disciple is the
magician. Magic is more commonly identified
with the seventh ray, and the first ray more
commonly associated with leadership.
The first volume of Esoteric Psychology lists
the virtues and vices associated with each ray
and includes virtues to be acquired.85 The
data are summarized in Table 7. It will be
noted that, in this presentation, Bailey used
alternative names for some of the rays. For
instance, the third ray is described as Higher
Mind instead of the more familiar Active
Intelligence, and the fifth ray is described as
Lower Mind rather than Knowledge or Science.
The first volume of Esoteric Psychology also
provides a table of Ray Methods of Teaching
Truth (Table 8). Here white magic is
shown as a seventh-ray expression, while the
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

Exemplar
Action
Initiation
Evolution
Expression
Science
Idealism
Ritual .

Occultist
True Psychic
Magician
Artist
Scientist
Devotee
Ritualist

higher first-ray expression is the science of


statesmanship and government. Religion is
shown as the lower expression of the second
ray, while churches and religious organizations
are the lower expression of the sixth ray.
Geoffrey Hodson, who clearly had a more favorable view of religion, listed Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avilla, and William Booth as
positive exemplars of the sixth ray.86 Alice
Bailey cites modern educational systems as a
lower expression of the fifth ray!

Monadic, Soul, and Personality Rays


Each of us is a unique individual molded not
only by our astrological profile but by the rays
associated with the monad, soul, personality,
mental body, sentient body, and physical body.
For people who have attained some degree of
personality integration, the personality ray is
dominant. Then, as the individual evolves
spiritually, the soul ray begins to play a larger
role; finally, the monadic ray comes into play.
Disciples, we read:
are governed or actuated by two rays, i.e.,
the personality ray and the egoic ray. After
the third initiation, the disciple has three
rays active in him, for the ray of the Monad
begins then to make its presence felt.87
Alice Bailey states that all human monads lie
on one of the rays of aspect: the first, second,
or third ray. She provided a breakdown of
human monads: five billion on the first ray, 35
billion on the second, and 20 billion on the
third.88 The personality and soul can be on any
of the seven rays, usually not the same one.89

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The Esoteric Quarterly

Table 7. Baileys Ray Virtues and Vices


Ray

Special Virtues

Vices

Virtues to be
Acquired

1. Will, Power

Strength, courage, steadfastness, truthfulness arising from


absolute fearlessness, power of
ruling, capacity to grasp great
questions in a large-minded
way, and of handling men and
measures.
Calm, strength, patience and
endurance, love of truth, faithfulness, intuition, clear intelligence, and serene temper.

Pride, ambition, wilfulness, hardness, arrogance, desire to control


others, obstinacy, anger.

Tenderness, humility,
sympathy, tolerance,
patience.

Over-absorption in
study, coldness, indifference to others, contempt of mental limitations in others.
Intellectual pride, coldness, isolation, inaccuracy in details, absentmindedness, obstinacy,
selfishness, overmuch
criticism of others.

Love, compassion,
unselfishness, energy.

Self-centredness, worrying, inaccuracy, lack


of moral courage,
strong passions, indolence, extravagance.
Harsh criticism, narrowness, arrogance,
unforgiving temper,
lack of sympathy and
reverence, prejudice.
Selfish and jealous
love, over-leaning on
others, partiality, selfdeception, sectarianism,
superstition, prejudice,
over-rapid conclusions,
fiery anger.
Formalism, bigotry,
pride, narrowness, superficial judgments,
self-opinion overindulged.

Serenity, confidence,
self-control, purity,
unselfishness, accuracy, mental and
moral balance.
Reverence, devotion,
sympathy, love, widemindedness.

2. Love
Wisdom

3. Higher
Mind

4. Harmony
through
Conflict

5. Lower
Mind

6. Devotion

7. Ceremonial
Order or
Magic

Wide views on all abstract


questions, sincerity of purpose,
clear intellect, capacity for
concentration on philosophic
studies, patience, caution, absence of the tendency to worry
himself or others over trifles.
Strong affections, sympathy,
physical courage, generosity,
devotion, quickness of intellect
and perception.
Strictly accurate statements,
justice (without mercy), perseverance, common-sense, uprightness, independence, keen
intellect.
Devotion, single-mindedness,
love, tenderness, intuition,
loyalty, reverence.

Strength, perseverance, courage, courtesy, extreme care in


details, self-reliance.

The wide range of possibilities offered by the


personality and soul raysand their permutattionsdoes not extend down to the lower vehicles. The physical body is normally governed by the third or seventh ray, the sentient
body by the second or sixth ray, and the mental
44

Sympathy, tolerance,
devotion, accuracy,
energy and commonsense.

Strength, selfsacrifice, purity, truth,


tolerance, serenity,
balance and common
sense.

Realisation of unity,
wide-mindedness,
tolerance, humility,
gentleness and love.

body by the first, fourth or fifth ray.90 These


restrictions arise in part because the bodies are
built from matter of the various planes, and the
planes themselves have ray associations. Significantly, the constraints ensure that no two
bodies are on the same ray. The restrictions do
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Winter 2007
not apply to disciples and initiates who, we
read, are liable to build vehicles of any type
of force to meet the emergency, the need or the
service of a particular life.91 Bailey revealed
the rays of the Buddha and the Christ themselves:
The Buddha had a second ray soul, a first
ray personality and a sixth ray minda very
rare phenomenon. The Christ had a second
ray soul, a sixth ray personality (which accounted for His close relationship with the
Master Jesus), plus a first ray mind.92
The Christs rays seem to have been within the
normal range, but we note the Buddhas independence from the stated restrictions. We
recall that Subba Row identified the second ray
as the Buddhist ray.
The notion of personality and egoic rays applies also to groups, institutions and nations.
For example, the United States is stated to
have a sixth-ray personality and second-ray
soul; France has a third-ray personality and a
fifth-ray soul; and Russia has a sixth-ray personality and a seventh-ray soul.93

Concluding Remarks

ecisions to reveal new knowledge are


made by the Planetary Hierarchy after
careful consideration of humanitys readiness
to receive the knowledge and its ability and
willingness to put it to good use. The speed
with which knowledge of the seven rays permeated throughout the literature and into the
worldwide esoteric mindset, confirms that its
release was timely. Whether humanity has
responded in the hoped-for way is not for us to
judge. But certainly the new knowledge has
helped us understand our own individual and
collective strengths and weaknessesand the
directions we should take on the triple path of
aspiration, discipleship and initiation. We
have also gained valuable insights into a range
of other topics such as the role of the great
Lives that manifest through the planets, solar
system and galaxy.
The Master Djwhal Khul took on the on major
responsibility for disseminating information on
the seven rays. His work began in the 1880s,
soon after he attained the fifth initiation.94
Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

However, it would seem that, at that time, he


only had permission to reveal preliminary information on the rays. By the time they wrote
their books in 1920 and 1925 Charles Leadbeater and Ernest Wood had acquired significant knowledge of the rays, and we can only
suppose that it came directly or indirectly from
the Tibetan.
We do know that the Tibetan terminatedor at
least greatly curtailedhis use of the Theosophical Society as the vehicle for disseminating
his teachings. He selected Alice Bailey when
she was in the process of withdrawing from the
Society; and we can draw whatever conclusions we wish from his decision and timing. In
any event, the Tibetan was able, or chose, to
reveal a great deal more about the seven rays
through his new amanuensis. From 1925 onward, interest in the seven rays dwindled in the
Theosophical Society. Geoffrey Hodsons
book contained some worthwhile facts and
insights, but no other work on the rays
emerged from the Society. Unsympathetic
attitudes toward Baileys work may have discouraged interest in the subject.
The rift between Alice Bailey and the Theosophical Society was of no small significance in
the story of how knowledge of the seven rays
was disseminated. In an atmosphere of mutual
suspicion, allegations of plagiarism were
traded back and forth. It is not out of the question that Alice Bailey came into contact with
teachings on the seven rays during her few
years in the Theosophical Society. However
only the most basic information was available
in the late 1910s and early 1920s, and the great
volume of detailed material on the rays, presented during the 30 years of Baileys work,
was new.
But what of the possibility that Charles Leadbeater and Ernest Wood plagiarized material
from Baileys books? Here we must take note
of a statement that appeared in one of the last
books Bailey wrote in her capacity as the Tibetans amanuensis:
There are certain phases of teaching and
knowledge which I have given to the world
which are relatively newnew to the modern esotericist and occult student though not
new to disciples and initiates If these new
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The Esoteric Quarterly

Table 8. Baileys Ray Methods of Teaching Truth


Ray
. Will, Power
2. Love
Wisdom
3. Active
Intelligence
4. Harmony
through
Conflict
5. Knowledge,
Science
6. Idealism,
Devotion
7. Ceremonial
Order

Higher Expression
The science of statesmanship and government.
The process of initiation as taught by the
Hierarchy of Masters.
Means of communication or interaction.
Radio, telegraph, telephone and means of
transportation.
Masonic work, based on the formation of
the Hierarchy and related to Ray II.
The science of the Soul. Esoteric psychology.
Christianity and diversified religions.
Note relation to Ray II.
All forms of white magic.

phases of the teaching have been later given


to the public by other occult groups, it will
have been because the information was
gained by those who have read the books put
out by A.A.B. for me or who are directly
and consciously in touch with my Ashram.95
The statement proceeds to compare the publication dates of Leadbeaters The Masters and
the Path and Baileyss Initiation, Human and
Solar, implying that the material in the former
was borrowed from the latter.
However the statement raises as many questions as it purports to answer. The implication
of plagiarism could apply to Leadbeaters and
Woods 1925 books. But, unless we postulate
some kind of precognition, it could not apply
to Leadbeaters other works which were published either before, or within a few months, of
the Tibetans first contact with Alice Bailey
and two or more years before she published
her first book. We cannot ignore Leadbeaters
steadily growing understanding of the rays
over a period of more than 30 yearsroughly
one-half of the total time the Tibetan devoted
to this phase of his teaching mission. Perhaps
Leadbeater was consciously in touch with
Djwhal Khuls ashram.96 As far as the two
1925 books are concerned, debate over where
46

Lower Expression
Modern diplomacy and politics.
Religion.
The use and spread of money and gold.

Architectural construction. Modern city


planning.
Modern educational systems.
Churches and religious organizations.
Spiritualism in its lower aspects.

the teachings came from is likely to continue;


but at this time the evidence does not appear to
support a credible charge of plagiarism.97
The situation relating to Geoffrey Hodsons
book is different. This book appeared after
Alice Baileys deathand after both volumes
of Esoteric Psychology had been published.
Much of his discussion was based on the earlier work of Leadbeater and Wood. But the
book also contained material, including comments on the monadic, egoic and personality
rays, that was similar to Baileys. From a legal
standpoint it would be hard to defend him
against a plagiarism charge. However his demeanor as a man of seemingly impeccable
character and deep spirituality may argue in his
defense. Hodson wrote more than 25 books
and numerous articles, made very substantial
contributions to esoteric knowledge, and inspired a great number of people. Why would
he put his reputation at substantial risk to write
one more slim volume? It is not out of the
question that he simply never read Baileys
work, which was not widely promoted in Theosophical circles. On the other hand he could
scarcely have been ignorant of the extensive
body of teachings that was becoming available,
and he must have benefited from the growing
awareness of the seven rays that had passed
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Winter 2007
into the consciousness of esoteric students
throughout the world.
Aside from issues of the teachings origins, the
charge has sometimes been leveled that the
source of Alice Baileys work was not the
same Master Djual Khool who visited Adyar
in the late 19th century. Such a charge is
based on pure speculation, and it could just as
easily be claimed that the real Master Djwhal
Khul never visited Adyar. Interestingly, one
individual who made the charge distanced
himself not only from Bailey but also from
Charles Leadbeater, whose work he dismissed
as pseudo-theosophy.98
Antagonism among the various partieswhich
has been slow to healis a matter of great
sadness to the worldwide community of esoteric students. It is time to lay mutual suspicion and accusations to rest and focus on what
has been achieved. Esoteric teachings are not
proprietary to one group or another but belong
to the whole of humanity.
The most important conclusion from this case
study is that knowledge of the seven rays increased steadily during the 60-plus years of the
Tibetan Masters teaching mission. The players in this story entered and left at different
times; and some made larger contributions
than others. Members of the Theosophical
Society laid important groundwork on which
Alice Bailey could build to provide the extensive body of teachings we have today. Despite
the transfer of responsibilities, the end-product
was surprisingly consistent and coherent. Perhaps the Tibetan had to make difficult choices
to find suitable intermediaries to whom he
could communicate the teachings. It is not our
place to question his strategy or tactics. What
we can do is applaud the effectiveness and efficiency with which the work was performed.
We are enormously indebted to the people involved, includingif we may venture to make
such a commentthe Tibetan Master himself.

5
6

7
8
9

10
11

12

13

14

15

16

The author is indebted to Dr. Zachary Lansdowne for constructive criticism of an early
draft of this article. However the views expressed in this article are the authors alone.

Copyright The Esoteric Quarterly, 2007.

T. Subba Row. Esoteric Writings. Adyar


Books, 1895, p. 108.
See the discussion in: M. Temple Richmond.
Discipleship and Initiation: the Three Stages
and Seven Steps to Hierarchy and Beyond. Part
II. The Esoteric Quarterly, Fall 2006, pp. 2744. However it should be noted that others
claim that the Tibetan had not yet attained the
fifth initiation when he appeared in India in the
1880s [For example: Charles W. Leadbeater.
How Theosophy Came to Me. Theosophical
Publishing House, 1930, p. 79].
Alice A. Bailey. Initiation: Human and Solar.
Lucis, 1922, p. 224. Also: Esoteric Psychology,
I. Lucis, 1936, p. 44.
Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, I, p. 49.
Esotericists would argue that the One manifests
in turn as Three, Seven and Twelve, this last being the number of constellations of the zodiac.
It may be noted that seven is formed from the
sum of three and four, while twelve is formed
from their product. In the Qabalah the progression can be related to the three mother letters,
the seven double letters, and the 12 single letters
of the Hebrew alphabet.
Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6.
Ibid. 5:1,5.
Pistis Sophia, book 1, 2. (Transl: V. MacDermott.) The Fall of Sophia. Lindisfarne
Books, 1978, p. 104.
Acts 17:23.
Some authorities suspect that the author was the
Georgian theologian Peter of Iberia (c.411
491).
Pseudo-Dionysius. The Celestial and
Ecclesiastical Hierarchies, Part II, chs. 7, 14.
Esoterica, pp. 165, 201.
Ibid., ch. 13, p. 185. We note that seraphim
and cherubim are plural Hebrew nouns.
The earliest extant Qabalistic texts, both of
which refer to the sephiroth, are the Bahir and
the Sepher Yetzirah. Both are alleged to have
been written in the first or second century CE,
but were first published in the 11th or 12th century.
See for example: Arthur Waite. The Holy Kabbalah. Citadel, (undated, but c.1910), p. 206.
Also: John Nash. The Trinity and Its Symbolism. The Esoteric Quarterly, Spring 2005, pp.
33-46.
Jakob Bhme. Four Tables of Divine Revelation. London, 1654. Robin Waterfield (ed.).
Jacob Boehme. North Atlantic Books, 2001,
pp. 214-217.

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The Esoteric Quarterly

17

18
19

20

21
22
23

24
25

26

27

28

29

30

31
32

33

34

48

See for example: Helena P. Blavatsky. The


Key to Theosophy. Theosophical University
Press, 1889/1972, pp. 288-290.
Bailey, Initiation: Human and Solar, pp. 57-58.
Sat is usually translated as be-ness, beingness or existence. Etymologically, it is the
origin of the English word is.
Helena P. Blavatsky. The Secret Doctrine, I.
Theosophical University Press, 1888/1977, pp.
119-120. Emphasis added.
Ibid., p. 290.
Ibid., p. 515.
Annie Besant (ed.). The Secret Doctrine, III.
Theosophical Publishing House, 1897, p. 369.
Ibid, p. 481, 483.
William T. Brown. September-December
1883, India. Daniel H. Caldwell (ed.). The
Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky. Theosophical Publishing House, 2001, ch. 12. This article does not take a position on the credibility
of reported contacts with the Tibetan and other
adepts. Reports are taken at face value. The reliability of specific accounts can be discussed
elsewhere.
Helena Blavatsky. Letter to Henry Olcott, November 11, 1883. Published in The Theosophist, July 1908, p. 947. The Tibetan is also reported to have appeared to Blavatsky in Cairo
[Leadbeater. How Theosophy Came to Me, p.
79]. Letter 105 of The Mahatma Letters to A. P.
Sinnett states that Blavatsky had quarreled
with the Tibetan.
Josephine Ransom. A Short History of the Theosophical Society: 18751937. Theosophical
Publishing House, 1938, p. 222,
Ibid., p. 226. See also: Leadbeater. How Theosophy Came to Me, pp. 154-155.
Leadbeater stated that the meeting took place
in the very earliest days at Adyar [The Masters and the Path. Theosophical Publishing
House, 1925, p. 263]. Leadbeater arrived there
in 1884 and departed for Ceylon in 1886. Reportedly, he did not return to Adyar until 1909.
Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path, p. 264;
Ernest Wood. The Seven Rays. Theosophical
Publishing House, 1925, p. 142.
Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path, p. 263.
Some Qabalists discuss a higher Shekinah as
well as the more conventional lower one associated with Malkuth. But this higher Shekinah is assigned to Binah, not to Kether.
A record of the lectures is contained in at least
two existing sets of notes.
Perhaps the draft manuscript was so rough that
Subba Row did not feel able to evaluate it. On

35

36
37
38
39
40

41

42

43

44
45

46

47

48

49

50

51

the other hand, it seems that he questioned the


wisdom of revealing such occult knowledge to
the masses.
Ransom, A Short History of the Theosophical
Society: 18751937, p. 226.
Subba Row, Esoteric Writings, p. 537.
Ibid., p. 527
Ibid., p. 536.
Ibid., p. 568.
Ibid., p. 526. This is a puzzling statement, considering that Gautama is customarily viewed as
the founder of Buddhism, a religion that spread
from India to China.
Ransom, A Short History of the Theosophical
Society: 18751937, p. 229.
This and related talks, collectively titled The
Worlds and the Races of Men, were omitted
from the abridged edition of The Inner Life published by the Theosophical Publishing House in
1978. But the complete version is available at
www.anandgholap.net/Inner_Life_Vol_IICWL.htm. Why this particular set of talks was
omitted from the abridged version is not disclosed.
Charles W. Leadbeater. The Inner Life, II,
689. Theosophical Publishing House, 1911.
Emphasis removed.
Ibid, 690.
Charles W. Leadbeater. The Science of the Sacraments. Theosophical Publishing House,
1920, pp. 92-93.
Ibid., pp. 149, 151. Presumably the two cosmic
ranks are the cherubim and seraphim.
Leadbeater, The Science of the Sacraments, pp.
91-92, 388-391, 406-407.
Ransom, A Short History of the Theosophical
Society: 18751937, p. 472.
Much of the material in The Masters and the
Path is presented in a less-mature style than we
find in The Science of the Sacraments. However the later chapters reveal his growing interest in esoteric Christianity. Interestingly, references to the rays in Sacraments would have
been incomprehensible to readers who did not
already have some knowledge of the rays. Perhaps Masters was published five years later to
remedy that deficiency.
Among his various activities Leadbeater published 43 other books and articles between 1897
and 1925.
Ernest E. Wood. Is this Theosophy? Rider &
Co., 1936, pp. 289-291. Wood claims that The
Masters and the Path contained some of his
own ideas.

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By 1925 Alice Bailey had published four books,


including the monumental A Treatise on Cosmic
Fire, which appeared that year.
Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path. Theosophical Publishing House, 1925, p. 265.
Ibid., pp. 37-43; 271-275.
Some of the same information on the masters
had already been supplied in Charles Leadbeaters The Inner Life. Theosophical Publishing House, 1912/1978, pp. 1-16.
Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path, pp. 278284. See also: The Science of the Sacraments.
Theosophical Publishing House, 1920, p. 91.
Leadbeater, The Science of the Sacraments, p.
406.
Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path, pp. 268269.
Ernest Wood. The Seven Rays. Theosophical
Publishing House, 1925.
Wood, Is this Theosophy?, p. 291.
Ibid., pp. 290-291. Wood went on to say that
his Master had later confirmed the correctness
of his understanding of the rays.
Leadbeater, The Masters and the Path, p. 265fn
Wood, The Seven Rays, p. 9. Wood does not
actually use the term rays of aspect, which
seems to have been used for the first time by Alice Bailey in her 1922 book Initiation: Human
and Solar.
Wood comments: I learned to detest theosophical politics but I was left with a high regard for the theosophists scattered over the
world. Is this Theosophy?, pp. 317-318.
Geoffrey Hodson. The Seven Human Temperaments. Theosophical Publishing House,
1952. Hodson is recorded as having studied the
rays as early as 1942 [Sandra Hodson (ed.).
Light of the Sanctuary: the Occult Diary of
Geoffrey Hodson. Theosophical Publishers,
1988, p. 85].
Hodson, The Seven Human Temperaments, particularly the foldout table following p. 72.
Ibid., pp. 46-49.
Ibid., pp. 62-73.
Geoffrey Hodson. The Kingdom of the Gods.
Theosophical Publishing House, 1952, p. 81.
S. Hodson (ed.), Light of the Sanctuary: the
Occult Diary of Geoffrey Hodson, p. 105.
Ibid., pp. 259, 414, 456, 465, 502
Alice A. Bailey. The Unfinished Autobiography. Lucis, 1951, pp. 162-163.
Alice and Foster Bailey were married in New
York City in 1920 [Bailey, The Unfinished
Autobiography, p. 180].

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There is no record that the Baileys every resigned their membership of the Theosophical
Society itself.
The Lucis Trust was originally known as the
Lucifer Trust.
This article devotes more space to the dissemination of teachings by Theosophical writers because Alice Baileys work on the seven rays is
better known today.
Bailey, Initiation: Human and Solar, p. 3.
Ibid, p. 47.
Ibid, p. 107.
Ibid, p. 49. Organization charts were relatively
new at that time. The theory of bureaucracy,
which (among other things) studies the organizational charts of business enterprises, dates
from around the turn of the 20th century.
Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, I, p. 334.
Ibid., pp. 343, 412.
Ibid., pp. 357ff, 411.
Alice A. Bailey. Initiation: Human and Solar,
p. 80; Esoteric Psychology, I, p. 412; The Destiny of the Nations. Lucis, 1949, p. 145.
Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, I, p. 200-212.
William Booth and his wife founded the Salvation Army.
Ibid., p. 237.
Alice A. Bailey. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.
Lucis, 1925, p. 579.
It is stated that All egos found upon the fourth,
the fifth, the sixth and the seventh rays must
eventually, after the third initiation, blend with
the three major rays, or monadic rays. Bailey.
Esoteric Psychology, I, p. 402.
Alice A. Bailey. Esoteric Psychology, II.
Lucis, 1942, p. 288. See also Glamour a World
Problem. Lucis, 1950, p. 92.
Alice A. Bailey. Discipleship in the New Age, I.
Lucis, 1944, p. 336.
Alice A. Bailey. The Destiny of the Nations.
Lucis, 1949, p. 38.
Bailey. Esoteric Psychology, I, pp. 382-383.
But see the comment in note 3.
Alice A. Bailey. The Rays and the Initiations.
Lucis, 1960, p. 250.
Helena Blavatskys and Subba Rows rudimentary understanding of the rays raises further
questions.
Charles Leadbeater and Ernest Wood explained
where they had obtained the information. These
explanations demand some consideration.
Nicholas Weeks. Theosophy's Shadow: A
Critical Look at the Claims and Teachings of
Alice A. Bailey. Fohat, Summer 1997. See

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also an expanded version of the article on:


www.blavatskyarchives.com/baileyal.htm.

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