THEOSOPHY – THE WORD

AETHER

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These seven elements with their numberless Sub-Elements (far more numerous than those known to Science) are simply conditional modifications and aspects of the ONE and only Element. This latter is not Ether, not even Akasa but the Source of these. The Fifth Element, now advocated quite freely by Science, is not the Ether hypothesised by Sir Isaac Newton – although he calls it by that name, having associated it in his mind probably with the Aether, “Father-Mother” of Antiquity.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p12-13]

Fire is Æther in its purest form, and hence is not regarded as matter, but it is the unity of Aether – the second manifested deityin its universality. But there are two “Fires” and a distinction is made between them in the Occult teachings. The first, or the purely Formless and invisible Fire concealed in the Central Spiritual Sun, is spoken of as “triple” (metaphysically); while the Fire of the manifested Kosmos is Septenary, throughout both the Universe and our Solar System.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p67]

Erebos and Nox are born out of Chaos, and, under the action of Eros, give birth in their turn to Aether and Hemera, the light of the superior and the light of the inferior or terrestrial regions. Darkness generates light.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p110]

“From THIS, from this same SELF, was the Ether produced,” says the Veda. It becomes thus evident that it is not this Ether – sprung at the fourth remove from an Emanation of Intelligence “associated with Ignorance” – which is the high principle, the deific Entity worshipped by the Greeks and Latins under the name of “Pater omnipotens Aether”, and “Magnus Aether” in its collective aggregates.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p330-331]

... while the Aether of the Ancients is universal Fire,...

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p331]

... for AETHER , from the first, had pre-eminence over, and was the synthesis of, all the elements.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p464]

He [Spiller] asserts the independent substantiality of force, and shows it as an “incorporeal stuff” (unkoerperlicher Stoff) or substance. Now substance is not matter in metaphysics, and for argument’s sake it may be granted that it is a wrong expression to use. But this is due to the poverty of European languages, and especially to that of scientific terms. Then this “stuff” is identified and connected by Spiller with the aether. Expressed in occult language it might be said with more correctness that this “force-substance” is the ever-active phenomenal positive aether – prakriti; while the omnipresent all pervading ether is the noumenon of the former, the substratum of all, or Akasa. Nevertheless, Stallo falls foul of Spiller, as he does of the materialists. He is accused of “utter disregard of the fundamental correlation of force and matter” (of neither of which Science knows anything certain). For this “hypostasized half-concept” is, in the view of all other physicists, not only imponderable, but destitute of cohesive, chemical, thermal, electric, and magnetic forces – of all of which forces – according to occultism – æther is the source and cause.

Therefore Spiller, with all his mistakes, exhibits more intuition than any other modern Scientist, with the exception of Dr. Richardson, perhaps, the theorist on the “nerve force,” or Nervous Ether, also on “Sun Force and Earth Force.” For AETHER, in Esotericism, is the very quintessence of all possible energy, and it is certainly to this universal agent (composed of many agents) that all the manifestations of energy in the material, psychic and spiritual worlds are due.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p508]

Space, inter-stellary, inter-planetary, inter-material, inter-organic, is not a vacuum, but is filled with a subtle fluid or gas, which for want of a better term we may still call, as the ancients did, Aith-ur – Solar fire, AETHER. This fluid, unchangeable in composition, in¬destructible, invisible, pervades everything and all [ponderable – H.P.B.] matter, the pebble in the running brook, the tree overhanging, the man looking on, is charged with the ether in various degree; the pebble less than the tree, the tree less than man. All in the planet is in like manner so charged! A world is built up in ethereal fluid, and moving through a sea of it.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p527]

Modern Science may divide its hypothetically conceived ether in as many ways as it likes; the real Aether of Space will remain as it is throughout. It has its seven principles, as all the rest of nature has, and were there no Ether there would be no sound, as it is the vibrating soundboard in nature in all of its seven differentiations.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.I, p536]

Aether, the first emanation of the Supreme Deity, Amen, the primeval source of Light; the goddess Earth and Water again; Mithras, the rock-born god, the symbol of the male mundane fire, or the personified primordial light, and Mithra, the fire goddess, at once his mother and his wife; the pure element of fire (the active, or male principle) regarded as light and heat, in conjunction with earth and water, or matter (the female or passive element of cosmical generation).

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.II, p130]

Bear in mind that the Vedic and Avestian name of Fohat is Apam-Napat. In the Avesta he stand between the fire-yazatas and the water-yazatas. The literal meaning is “Son of the Waters”, but these “waters” are not the liquid we know, but Aether – the fiery waters of space.

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.II, p400fn]

... Aether, the reflection of Akasa ...

[The Secret Doctrine Vol.II, p511]

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Let me repeat to you again. Pythagoras, Plato, Timaeus of Locri , and the old Alexandrian School, derived the Soul of man (or his higher "principles" and attributes) from the Universal World Soul, the latter being, according to their teachings, Aether (Pater-Zeus). Therefore, neither of these "principles" can be unalloyed essence of the Pythagorean Monas, or our Atma-Buddhi, because the Anima Mundi is but the effect, the subjective emanation or rather radiation of the former.

[The Key to Theosophy p105-106]

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