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Understanding Global Symbolism


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BIBLE VERSES

GENESIS 1:12

"And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

Inner Meaning

 Genesis 1:12 describes the first emergence of organized qualities within the soul as the lower nature becomes responsive to the Divine impulse.

The “earth” is the lower quaternary; the “grass,” “herb,” and “tree” represent successive stages in the development of consciousness as it rises from instinct to ordered virtue.

This verse portrays the beginning of the soul’s inner fertility—how the Divine Life, descending into matter, awakens the latent powers that will eventually become the higher emotions and spiritual faculties.

 Symbolic Breakdown

 Earth
The lower nature—the psycho‑physical foundation of the soul. It is the ground in which the first stirrings of consciousness appear.

Grass
The earliest, simplest movements of life within the lower nature. These are rudimentary tendencies, impressions, and instinctive responses.

Herb yielding seed after his kind
The formation of definite qualities that now reproduce themselves. “Seed after his kind” expresses the law that every thought, desire, and tendency perpetuates its own nature. This is the karmic law operating within the soul.

Tree yielding fruit, whose seed is in itself
The fully organized structure of the soul’s higher qualities. The “tree” symbolizes stable character; the “fruit” symbolizes virtues and spiritualized emotions. “Whose seed is in itself” means the soul becomes self‑propagating—its inner life generates future states from its own substance.

After his kind
The immutable law of correspondence: lower qualities reproduce lower results; higher qualities reproduce higher results. Nothing in the soul’s evolution is random.

Esoteric Interpretation

 Genesis 1:12 depicts the graded emergence of consciousness:
- first the faint stirrings of life (“grass”),
- then the formation of definite tendencies (“herb with seed”),
- then the organized spiritual organism (“tree with fruit”).

This is the soul’s early evolution: the Divine Life, entering the lower nature, awakens the latent powers that will one day become the fruits of the Spirit. The verse reveals the inner law that governs all growth—every state of consciousness arises from its own seed, and every seed reproduces its own kind.

The Esoteric Message

 The soul becomes fruitful when the Divine Life awakens the lower nature, causing its earliest impulses to mature into stable virtues. Every quality grows from its own seed, and the seeds we nurture determine the destiny of our inner world.  

 

See Also

BIBLE VERSES

GENESIS 1:1
GENESIS 1:2
GENESIS 1:3
GENESIS 1:4
GENESIS 1:5
GENESIS 1:6
GENESIS 1:7
GENESIS 1:8
GENESIS 1:9
GENESIS 1:10
GENESIS 1:11
GENESIS 1:12

GENESIS 1:15
GENESIS 1:16

GENESIS 6:19