Ennead

Another polarization and division follows. The polarity that gave rise to the actual world withdraws into potentiality, generating the Lower Dyad, the deep opposition, which, on the one hand, is the counterpart of the higher dyad, and on the other hand ensures that the actual world will not stagnate or calcify, but will remain an eternal bridge from pre-being to post-being, from the abyss of the unincarnate into the abyss of the de-embodied.

Thus the Ennead is born, the ninefold principle of the cosmos.

On the one hand, it corresponds to nine worlds; on the other, to nine Supreme Deities.

Overall, the picture can be represented in two ways:

Epistemologically:

Or ontologically:

Everywhere in mythological systems we encounter the principle of the Nine, reaching back to the ancient Egyptian Enneads and the Muses of classical mythology.

The nine worlds of Yggdrasil mirror the same idea in distilled form.

Asgard, Lessalfheim and Vanaheim form the upper triad, in which Asgard is the active component, Vanaheim the passive, and Lessalfheim the neutral.

Midgard, Muspellheim and Niflheim form the middle triad, where Midgard is neutral, Muspellheim active, and Niflheim passive.

Hel, Jotunheim and Svartalfheim form the lower triad, where Hel is neutral, the world of the Jotuns active, and the world of the Dwarves passive.

At the same time, from an epistemological viewpoint the lower pair consists of Jotunheim and Hel, since they specifically reflect pre-being and post-being, while Svartalfheim, as the world of actual being, can be apprehended within the quaternary manifested world.

We observe roughly the same pattern among the gods of the ancient Slavs: the Upper (Heavenly) triad is formed by Svarog (activity), Lada (passivity) and Dazhbog (neutrality); the Middle (Heavenly) triad is formed by Khors (activity), Stribog (passivity) and Perun (neutrality); the Lower triad is formed by Semargl (activity), Veles (passivity) and Mokosh (neutrality).

It is obvious that, from the standpoint of awareness, Semargl — who mediates between the higher and lower — belongs to the Middle quaternary.

I would also note that the middle quaternary, which we presented in the form of a square, is in fact more precisely symbolized by a tetrahedron, which demonstrates nonlinear connections within actual being.

From a practical standpoint it is important to understand that the Ennead can be apprehended in two ways, and that each approach yields different outcomes.