Body of Thought

The embodied human being threefold has a foothold in all three principles of psychocosmic reality and on three levels of macrocosmic reality.

Although the basis of its actual existence is the “physical” reality, which has an alchemical ‘salt’ nature and androgynous character, the three principles of its existence interact in a complex way, providing opportunities and resources for the development of consciousness.

Indeed, on the “physical” level the being appears first and foremost as an active agent — a projection of the Monad striving toward Being, i.e. asserting the principle of will, the principle of individuality. Not without reason, in common perception concepts are often confused, and the being is seen merely as the sum of its actions. Nevertheless, the “physical” manifestation of the being carries both the imprint of its individuality and a vortical component — the principle of emotions — as well as a formative component — the principle of reason.

All this is expressed in the concept of human ‘bodies’ — the “physical,” the “etheric,” the “body of feelings,” and the “body of thought.” As mentioned, this representation is more epistemological than ontological, since in reality the human being is one and separating its constituent parts is simply a convenient way of describing different manifestations of a single essence.

At the same time, examining each component allows one to draw specific, pragmatic conclusions.

Examining the vortical component — the “body of feelings,” the “astral body” — helps to understand the peculiarities of the being’s manifestation in terms of telesmi, and therefore to more effectively form impulses — vortices — for realizing desires.

Similarly, examining the formative component — the “body of thought,” the “mental body” — allows one to understand the logos-based foundation of form, and thus to more effectively shape the groundwork for realizing an idea.

It is precisely this body that is the bearer of the “idea,” the “Me” of the being; it largely determines its vird. Thoughts, as an expression of the differentiating power of reason, find support in this body and also determine the course of its development. Just as any emotional/sensory impulse creates a vortex in the body of desires, so the creative activity of thought — the creation of new ideas, the manifestation of logoi — is realized using the resources of the body of thought. A person uses the physical body’s resources to transform the “dense” plane, the resources of the body of desires for creativity in the passive telesmi environment, and the resources of the body of thought to influence systems of logoi.

As mentioned, the manifestation of the human being on various “planes” of reality occurs gradually: first the bearers of the “principle of Being” appear — the physical conduits, the “mineral,” and then the “vegetal” conduits. Later the body of feelings is “born” — the “animal” component — and the formation of the being is completed by the birth of the “body of thought” — the actual manifestation of the “human” principle. Throughout life these channels are transformed by the mind, forming the soul.

The body of thought, which determines the stability of the form of manifestation of the human being, is formed only in the third seven-year period of life. Not without reason, in many countries a person is considered an adult only at 21 years of age — it is precisely by that age that their embodiment is complete.

However, a formed body of thought, on the one hand, provides stable support for the form of existence (without it, realizations are not very stable), but on the other hand it also fixes the mind’s mode of manifestation.

This means that while the body of thought is not formed, realizations require more energy to be stable; however, learning them is substantially easier due to the greater plasticity of the mind’s form.

This is why the best time to begin Magic is when the body of feelings is already formed, and the body of thought is not yet formed — that is, after 14–16 but before 20–22 years of age. Earlier, the being is simply not yet capable of effective independent manifestations (although children often unconsciously use external resources for this), and cannot fully control available potentials.

Later development is hindered by the need to overcome the inertia of the established human form, which, although it by no means excludes the possibility of development, requires additional, sometimes considerable, effort.

Moreover, after this “complete” birth a person begins to most effectively transform energy and becomes fully integrated into the global economy of consumption, which likewise complicates the possibility of his “dezhertvitization,” since it meets resistance from predators and parasites.

However, even at the “ideal” age for instruction a child who still lacks a body of thought is significantly limited in the autonomy of manifestation, and therefore the entire responsibility for their development falls on the Master (in the broadest sense of the word), which must be remembered clearly. An unsuccessful pupil reflects the Master’s failure and constitutes the failure of the Master. If the Master is not confident in the potential pupil’s success, they must either refuse to teach them or be prepared for substantial losses and responsibility.