The Four Winds

The spiritual revelation recorded in the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel affords us what we need for our task. In that chapter, the karma of evil is boldly outlined. The delineation begins with the picture of “the four winds of heaven [that] strove upon the great sea” (Daniel 7:2).

This figure shows us the cosmic scene of the conflict between good and evil. Space – with its four cardinal points of north, south, east, west – is neither one of the three abstract categories of Kantian philosophy, nor is it merely the distance that must be covered to reach some particular point; it is an ocean of forces at rest, set in motion by four active forces. These four active forces are the spiritual influences within the elemental world – the “winds” that cover the elemental world.

The currents caused by the four “winds” in the elemental world give rise to the four elements, which are impregnated by the four realms of elemental beings (salamanders, sylphs, undines and gnomes). These four groups of elemental beings are simply the lowest expression of the “four winds”. Their origin is rooted in the eternal Trinity, from which issue the cosmic impulses called ‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’ and ‘west’. The Father being works through the cosmic impulses of north and south’ the Son and the Holy Spirit are active in the impulses of east and west.

When these impulses work together, cosmic good results; when the “four winds” work against one another, the result is cosmic evil. This is why the description of Daniel’s night vision begins with this image: “The four winds of the heaven strove.” These winds striving against one another are the four currents of cosmic evil. They are not controlled from Heaven, but from the depths of the ‘sea’; their origin must be sought in the “four….beasts” that appear out of the depth of the sea:”And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse from one another” (Daniel 7:3).

Christ and Sophia, Valentin Tomberg

Chaos in the elemental world

When Christ appeared twenty centuries ago, he came for the benefit of humanity. His descent took place vertically in the sphere of human existence. The consciousness of nature, however, is on a horizontal plane. Consequently, the effects of the Mystery of Golgotha are accessible to nature only through human beings.

The world of nature does not experience the being of Christ directly, and, because of this, a certain sense of hopelessness is becoming stronger for nature. We can say that humankind is the destiny of nature; we must bring salvation to the world of nature, because we have the moral connection with the spiritual world. But nature has a dynamic connection with the spiritual world; it must obey the world of spirit.

Nature can experience the warmth that comes from the sun, but not the moral warmth, which can come only from human beings. Unfortunately, this does not happen. Because of this, misfortune occurs again and again in the elemental world.

The Bible mentions the primordial chaos (tohu wa bohu). The Genesis of Modes portrays the earth’s becoming, particularly from the view of the elemental world. At that time, the beings of nature, the animals, were brought before human beings, who gave them names. Through this act, a certain influence proceeded from humankind toward the beings of nature, and this determined their karma; human beings determined nature’s karma.

Chaos is again arriving in the elemental world. It is the duty of humankind to return order into that chaos by using moral powers.

The etheric return of Christ will signal a restoration of hope for nature; it will be a sign of resurrection for nature….Much is taking place, and anyone who is truly paying attention can see this.

Valentin Tomberg, Christ’s return in the etheric

Mythic Beings, Greeks and Karma

I randomly opened a book about magic and found therein a definition of ‘Karma’ in a sort of glossary; together on a page with Jehovah Eloah ve Daath, Jehovah Elohim, Jehovah Tzaboath, Kadmiel, Kaivalya, Kama, Kama Loka, Kama Rupa, Kamael, Kamea, Kedmeel, Kelley (for measure, I guess) and Kerubim.

The definition beneath ‘Karma’ says: Sanskrit for ‘action’. A destiny consciously chosen in life by each person, created by the total life experience of all previous incarnations.

This struck me quite forcibly. First, because of the translation of ‘action’, which seems very telling when followed by ‘chosen’. Freely, one presumes. Then, of course, that seemingly controversial phrase ‘all previous incarnations’.

To my mind it instantly tied in a point about time/space that for long I had been contemplating, but which another of our number made much clearer; he spoke of the essential unity of beings and how the meaninglessness of ‘time’ and ‘space’ in the spiritual dimension brings us so very close to those souls – those incarnations – with whom we vibrate.

In other words, a certain number of interconnected souls are already aligned and singing from the same hymn sheet across both the esoteric and exoteric dimensions of time and space, of history and geography, so that when boundaries between those dimensions are removed, the souls ‘concertina’ together. (At this point it’s as well to remember that there are at least 11 known dimensions according to current scientific theory).

Our energies merge by this coming together beyond space and time, emphasising shared traits and throwing personal characteristics into relief: Strengths become powers, flaws can be fatal; tears are a tragedy. Thus, we are Greeks!

Then we consider that every manifestation of a human quality, when brought together, constitutes its body, its form. Lo, we are mythic beings!