Ray of Creation
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The Ray of Creation is an esoteric cosmology which was taught by G.I. Gurdjieff.
The ray of creation is a diagram which better represents the place which Earth occupies in the Universe. The diagram has eight levels, each corresponding to Gurdjieff's laws of octaves.
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[edit] Levels
The first level is "The Absolute", followed by "All Worlds", "All Suns", "Sun", "All Planets", "Earth", "Moon", and "The Absolute".
This set was created thus:
- The heaviest/last level - "The Absolute",
- Earth's satellite - "The Moon",
- our planet - "Earth",
- all of the planets in the solar system to which Earth belongs to - "All Planets",
- the planets belong to the "Sun" or the solar system,
- the Sun belongs to the Milky Way galaxy or the "All Suns" combined,
- all galaxies put together belong to "All Worlds",
- and all Worlds form a final whole called "The Absolute"
This lineage indicates and compares the construction of all of the levels, matters, and laws of the Universe, placing them in scale with one another.
[edit] Laws
It was taught that in "The Absolute" the three holy forces form a whole, and thereby there is only one law (force) in the Absolute (which is the Will of the Absolute). The three forces of this law converge to form "All Worlds", whose level, now, being a part of the whole now has three laws. This level also having three forces, acts in creating "All Suns" in a similar process, and thereby "All Suns" has six laws (three new ones and three of the All Worlds level). Similarly, "Sun" has 12 laws, "All PLanets" 24 laws, "Earth" 48 laws, "Moon" 96 laws, and "The Absolute" 192 laws.
Each level after the Absolute has a bigger number of laws which govern it. Therefore, the further the level is away from the Absolute, the more mechanical the living things in it are. By this comparison it is claimed that there are 48 laws governing the life of living beings on Earth, thereby also claiming that the life on Earth is quite mechanical.
[edit] Matter
Similarly to the difference of laws on each level, the level (in this case 'density') of matter differs in the same way. "The Absolute" has a matter density of one, "All Worlds" has a density of 3 (one atom of "All Worlds" has a three times the density as one atom of "The Absolute") , "All Suns" 6, "Sun" 12, "All Planets" 24, "Earth" 48, "Moon" 96, "The Absolute" (which in this case represents dead matter) 192.
This way everything in the universe according to this cosmology is classified as matter. (Note that even the matter of density 12 is too rarefied for contemporary science to classify it as matter.)
[edit] Higher Bodies
Gurdjieff's classification of Higher Bodies can be better represented on this scale. Physical body has the properties of the "Earth" level (that is, it has a density of 48 and it is subject to 48 laws). In comparison, a higher plane body would have a lighter density and it would be subject to a lesser number of laws (the amount varies on the level that the body falls under).
[edit] Other Properties
There are many other properties which can be displayed on the Ray of Creation such as: the evolution of the substances in the Universe, analogy between the cosmoses and the human body, etc. In a word, all of the properties of the laws of octaves could be displayed using the Ray of Creation.
[edit] Ray of Creation in History
According to Gurdjieff, some of the ancient geocentric models don't represent an Earth-centered universe at all, but in reality display the Ray of Creation. This confusion was due to a lack of knowledge on the part of those examining the diagrams. Thus, the Ray of Creation is a part of ancient knowledge.
