Planes or Worlds of Consciousness

The different states in the evolution of the cosmos are described as the working of the three Logoi in the various states or three dimensions of evolution: Conditions of Consciousness (CoC), Conditions of Life (CoL), and Conditions of Form (CoF).

These worlds (like the astral, lower and higher spirit world) are the result of what was developed in the three earlier planetary stages of evolution (Conditions of Consciousness), and underlying Conditions of Life and Form (hence the sevenfold substructure).

From this evolutionary dynamic arise different 'worlds'. Man participates in them today, can broaden his consciousness through initiatory practice, and in the future will participate in the different worlds having arrived at states of consciousness much higher than he has today.

Different states of clairvoyance allow the initiate or spiritual scientist to investigate the different worlds, starting with the astral world, and with the highest clairvoyant faculty of intuition adepts are able to do Clairvoyant research of akashic records.

These worlds are also called 'planes', but these should not be thought of as physical in time and space, different, or stacked: they interpenetrate as part of the same single cosmos and the human being functions in all worlds concurrently (see for example Schema FMC00.479A).

Aspects

the different worlds are related to see the evolution of the solar system and the Cosmic breath of Brahma; with each planetary stage of evolution creating a different environment whereby spiritual hierarchies evolve and develop along what can be called a 'CoC-ladder', a ladder of Conditions of Consciousness, see Schema FMC00.077A and more on Twelve conditions of consciousness.
- The principle of the etheric life force, as exemplified on Earth with the plant kingdom, maps to the lower spirit world originating with the Old Sun planetary stage of evolution. The astral world maps to the Old Moon planetary stage of evolution in its origin. However the current astral world has to be considered with the recapitulation stages as part of Earth evolution - see Schema FMC00.057C on Evolution of Earth. For more on this, see Iwer Thor Lorenzen's writings on evolution.
each major world of consciousness is made up of seven sublayers, this is (see previous point) due to the sevenfold pattern in the Cosmic Fractal (CoL and CoF) ( - and the three earlier planetary stages of evolution, each of which created a higher and lower band around the middle)

the different worlds

for more detailed descriptions, see the topic pages for astral world and spirit world, as well as Interpenetration of astral and spirit worlds
where is the etheric world - see Planes or Worlds of Consciousness#Note 1 - Why is the etheric not a 'world of consciousness'? (and also Formative forces#etheric world?)

Inspirational quotes

1917-11-16-GA178

We must be absolutely clear .. that the spiritual world is present everywhere.
.. the world in which the dead are with the dead, in this super-sensible world, the threads that join the dead to those still living, the threads that join the dead to the higher hierarchies, belong to the world in which we stand.
Just as the air is around us, so truly is this world always around us. We are not separated from this world at all; only by Conditions of Consciousness (CoC) are we separated from the world we cross into after death.

1919-12-14-GA194

We cannot say that other worlds than the sense world do not concern us; we are in their midst. We must realize that, while we are walking about here on this Earth, we walk through the spiritual worlds exactly as we walk through the physical air.

Illustrations

FMC00.079 gives an overview of the various terms for the different worlds or 'planes' corresponding to different Conditions of Consciousness.

Schema FMC00.128 sketches the threefold soul with its three components in the lower spirit world, long the Planes or worlds of consciousness. One can see that as the rippling in of the sacrificed substance of the SoF took hold of the astral, then etheric, and then physical body; that it was weaving into the l in the three lowest level of the spirit world, the atmospheric (air), oceanic (water), and lastly continental (earth) regions. When Man creates something new, he is really Free Man Creator in the fourth sublayer. When Man works on the transformation and spiritualization of his lower bodies, he writes into the higher regions and 'overwrites' the scaffolding structure received by the higher hierarchies.

Lecture coverage and references

1912-06-12-GA137

(SWCC)

You see, therefore, it is quite possible to perceive with ordinary intelligence that there are these three styles of consciousness. It would take us too far now to investigate the indications that undoubtedly exist in man of still higher consciousnesses. We have, however, shown that whenever man sets out to reflect on his life as Earth man, he discovers manifestations of higher consciousnesses. It is, therefore, possible to speak to Earth man of these higher states of consciousness. ...
In spiritual science we speak of different states of consciousness. In reality they are different worlds and it has become customary to call these different states of consciousness different planes.

That which can be surveyed with the physical consciousness is called the physical plane;

that which is perceptible to the first consciousness of a super-sensible nature, the astral plane;

to the second, the lower Devachan or mental plane;

and to the third, the higher mental, or higher Devachan plane.

Still farther on, we have the Budhi plane and the Nirvana plane.
All we are doing here is simply to give other names to the findings of spiritual science. In all cases .. it is always man who, in his varying conditions or states of consciousness, is active as member of the different planes or worlds. What we have done is to lead over the knowledge of man from the standpoint of esoteric science, where we speak of different Conditions of Consciousness and different Conditions of Life and Form in evolution, to the knowledge of man from the standpoint of theosophy. For where the spiritual researcher speaks of Conditions of Consciousness, the theosophist speaks of successive planes. Esoteric or spiritual science can in this manner be communicated openly as theosophy

Daskalos

in The Symbol of Life

The psychical [astral] world of a planet has in it the whole material planet while also extending many thousands of kilometers around the material [physical-mineral] planet. It is a world of seven planes, each plane having seven sub-planes. In total the psychical world has 49 sub-planes and each sub-plane has many localities. All sub-planes and localities are occupying the whole sapce that the psychical world is occupying, being a four dimensional world. The planes and the sub-planes of the psychical world are not in layers, but are different worlds occupying the same space. The difference between them is in the frequencies of their vibrations.
The psychical world of the planet Earth is a world of forty-nine different worlds of different rates of vibrations.
...
These planes and sub-plaes are perceptiable places and modes of the Mind, where objects and events are as real as they are in the material plane, and the same is true of the noetic [spiritual] planes.

Discussion

Note 1 - Why is the etheric not a 'world of consciousness'?

Introduction

Spiritual science and Rudolf Steiner speak of three main worlds: the physical, the soul (astral) world, and the spirit world (higher unformed, and lower formed).

This is why the FMC wiki site does not have a page for the 'etheric world'. However a page does exist however for the human etheric body and the double.

How to understand then, that Rudolf Steiner speaks of 'Christ in the etheric', and so on, that is treated also as a separate bodily principle?

Commentary

Angle Golden Chain

The etheric is - or: 'with the etheric is meant' - the combined aspects of the life forces or formative forces from the higher worlds, sustaining our 'lower' physical world. Study the Force substance representation topic to understand this distinction.

This essential point is depicted in Schema FMC00.479 and its variants, and Schema FMC00.142 and its variants on Overview golden chain.

So the etheric is a world and it is not a world. It is not a world like the physical, astral, and (higher and lower) spirit worlds. It is a world though of the four elements: the Elementary Kingdoms and the Elementals of Nature. This overall dynamic structure represents a world on its own.

Again: 'the etheric' consists of the formative forces that form and constitute what we see on the physical plane, and these forces come from collaboration between the spirits of the Elementary Kingdoms (re: Schema FMC00.175) and the Elementals of Nature (re: Schema FMC00.146) coordinated by the spirits of the Third Hierarchy - as shown on the (indeed rather complex) Schema FMC00.142 (and variants).

Because the different classes of spiritual beings involved and their various relationships, the reference quotes and coverage is across the key topic pages mentioned here.

As an entry point for study, one can start with: Rhythm of a year#1916-04-11-GA167, The elementary kingdoms#1923-11-04-GA230, and Golden vessels interchanging

Evolutionary angle

From another, evolutionary angle, one can consider Schema FMC00.222 together with Schema FMC00.194 in contemplation to develop an imaginative insight.

FMC00.222 shows the twofold structure of Man arising during the Old Sun planetary stage of evolution. It illustrates the bifurcation into a higher and lower, see Schema FMC00.194.

This was the start of what we now call the Human etheric body, which evolved to the The double, see Schema FMC00.644.

So today, the etheric body of any organism - be it Man, plant or animal, or the planet Earth (see Schema FMC00.003A for its etheric spheres) - is drawn as a structural bodily principle between the astral and the physical.

That makes sense: It forms and maintains the physical. And the etheric life principle originates with Old Sun, so in between Old Moon (astral world) and Old Saturn (physical world) .. of course taking into account recapitulation of these planetary stages of evolution on Earth. And on Earth, this etheric life principle is referenced by the plant kingdom (and maps to the lower spirit world) - more on Man and nature's kingdoms in evolution.

That is why the etheric does not appear as a 'world' in the same way, though it does originate - just as the other worlds, in a planetary stage of evolution.

See also (in short): Formative forces#etheric world?

Various other notes

In various epochs and cultural ages, humanity goes through a special relationship with the CoC at any of these planes as the bodily principles are being developed and refined, see for example in the Current Postatlantean epoch.