Dictionary of all Scriptures & Myths

Understanding Biblical Symbolism


Home
Preface
5 Planes of Existence
Introduction
Five Planes of Manifestation

A to Z

Related Information

GENESIS 1

Genesis 1

The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

HEAVEN and EARTH = Spirit and Matter

Heaven - The state of consciousness on the buddhic plane which is above the mental plane.

Primordial Earth - is formless matter (wave function) that has not yet been acted upon by spirit (being).

Darkness - Not always a bad thing. The intellect cannot see or truly comprehend spirit. To the intellect spirit is a void of darkness. Spirit is the life that gives matter form. In Genesis 1:2 We see the void is likened to water as water is matter but without any actual form. At this point in creation there is no physical matter.

The First Day: Light
3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

     Light - Represents Truth, Wisdom and Knowledge. Light is the consciousness which perceives reality. Jesus said we are the “light” of the world. The Supreme wills “light", the union of Spirit and Matter, and so consciousness and self-illumination (light), thereupon occurs. Let there be light literally means let there be consciousness.

     “and God divided the light from the darkness” - God separated consciousness (knowing) from spirit (life). Night also represents the potential being, the spirit before it manifests.

     And the evening and the morning were the first day. “Evening" and “Morning” are symbolic of the indrawing and outgoing forces of manifestation. This "first day signifies the period of the first Life-wave passing through the buddhic plane. At this point, the first day, there is only separation of light (consciousness) and spirit. Spirit is the life energy that will eventually animate matter.

The Second Day: Firmament
6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Firmament - The higher mental plane is the firm foundation of creation. It is the central plane of consciousness dividing the upper planes of “Reality” from the lower planes of “illusion”. Basically the higher mental plane is in the middle (midst), or in the center of all matter and spirit.

Dividing the waters from the waters – This is the descending of Spirit into matter, and the ascent of Spirit therefrom.

WATER (HIGHER ASPECT) - The great symbol of Truth or the eternal Reality and source of all manifestation.

WATER (LOWER ASPECT) - A symbol of the astral plane in which are errors and illusions. The inverted or distorted reflections of truths. The lower waters eventually become physical matter.

And the Supreme now establishes the higher mental plane which shall be a plane of consciousness dividing the Reality from the Māyāvic (illusionary). That is, the mental plane shall divide the buddhic plane (waters above) of the higher emotions, from the astral plane (waters below) of the desires.

“And God called the firmament Heaven” - God calls our higher mental plane (firmament) heaven. By the bibles own definition heaven is a state of mind not a place.

HEAVEN - A symbol of the state of consciousness on the buddhic plane which is above the mental plane. "The first man (first born) is of the earth (carnal), the second man (second born) is of heaven. There is not a single bible story where the first born has favor with God. On the second day there is separation of higher and lower consciousness. The day begins with darkness, that is the spirit (darkness) influences or acts upon the day (consciousness).


The Third Day: Dry Ground
9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And 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. 13And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven (astral or distorted truths) be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land (earth / ego) appear: and it was so.

“And God called the dry land Earth”. Physical matter (flesh / carnal mind) is called Earth in the bible. The land of Egypt is Earth, Cain was a tiller of the Earth, Iron, for the chariots, is mined from the earth. Having the proper mysticism understanding of Genesis really sets the stage for understanding the rest of the bible.

“And the 'dry land" is named "Earth," Earth is also a term that stands for the lower nature of the Soul, which is the natural man; and the “gathering together of the waters " signifies the formation of the astral sea of the desires. And all is pronounced good," that is, perfect in involution for purposes of the forthcoming evolution.

“Let the earth bring forth grass, herb” – Grass and herbs are the faint aspirations or desires and instincts on the lower planes. We feed (consume) on the grass and herbs of the lower mind (earth) and produce milk and butter our higher emotions, the sustenance of our evolving soul. The fruit of the tree is also that which is cultivated from the earth (lower) into the fruit (higher) consciousness.

It has been 3 days since things have began to happen within the primordial waters of spirit. The separation of spirit and consciousness, and the greater and lesser states of consciousness were completed. On the 3rd day man is given all his faculties. The number 3 in the bible always indicates change. Jonah was in the fish (meditation) for 3 days. Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days. The number three means change is about to happen.

The Fourth Day: Sun, Moon, Stars
14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Lights - A symbol of Truth, Wisdom and Knowledge, the consciousness which comprehends reality.

Firmament – Our higher mental plane.

Heaven - The state of consciousness which is above the mental plane.

Daylight and Darkness - Symbolic of the spiritual and the material aspects of existence. Perception and non-perception of the higher activities of being.

Seasons - A symbol of cycles of manifestation in which the soul evolves.

Year - The Cycle of manifestation which comprises the twelve stages through which growth is accomplished.

“And God made two great lights“ - And the Divine Will created two great luminaries in the Soul, the Individuality and the Personality. The one serving to rule the higher nature (day), the other serving to rule the lower nature (night). And the mental qualities (stars), as lights in the "night”.

Earth – Lower nature of the soul (ego)

So by the fourth involution (day) or movement from night to day - movement from spiritual to intellect the mind of man has Individuality and Personality. He is a being unto himself. He comprehends truth and wisdom. And he resides just beneath the mental plane of heaven.

The Fifth Day: Fish and Birds
20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.


WATER (HIGHER ASPECT) - The great symbol of Truth or the eternal Reality and source of all manifestation.

CREATURES - The living creatures of the earth represent the emotions connected with the will (desire).

FOWEL (BIRD, Higher) - Asperations

EARTH – Lower nature of the soul (ego)

HEAVEN - The state of consciousness which is above the mental plane.

WHALES - The more primitive and gross passions of the lower nature of the soul.

On the fifth day we see the creation of our emotions and desires. Our higher aspirations (fowl) and our primitive passions (whales).

Also of interest is that on the 5th day we have the 5 planes of existence.
These representing the four lower planes of manifestation.
Buddhic (fire)
Mental (air)
Astral (water)
Physical (earth)
The fifth or atmic plane is the plane of the Higher Self, the "Charioteer." (you, the driver)

Be fruitful and multiply has nothing to do with sex and offspring. It is about increasing our mental faculties.


The Sixth Day: Creatures on Land
24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.


EARTH – Lower nature of the soul (ego).

CATTLE (Lower) - Those emotions of the lower nature, which are under control of the higher nature.

CREEPING THING – Our lower instincts, desires, and emotions, such as cunning craft, greed, subtlety, mischief, cruelty, destructiveness. On the higher plane it is Joy.

FISH OF THE SEA - The lower experience, namely, concepts, percepts, ideas, feelings, emotions.
To have dominion over the fish of the sea is to have dominion over your thoughts and emotions. Those who are immersed in the waves of worldly affairs.

FOWL OF THE AIR - The higher order of human intelligences.

MALE-FEMALE (Divine) - The dual aspects of the higher mind, which appear as Truth-Wisdom, Reason-Intuition, Intellect- Love, or Buddhi-manas.
“replenish the earth, and subdue” meaning fill your lower nature with divine thoughts and subdue the carnal mind. Replenish also implies reincarnation in that this is not the first lower mind you have populated.

HERB (Food) - A symbol of Truth (the Real), which gradually takes the place of Illusion (the unreal). All creatures (fish and fowl, higher and lower thoughts) are sustained by food. Herbs grow from the lower elevations like grass and Fruits grow from the higher elevations. We will know them by their fruits not there herbs.

The number six has to do with bringing the lower mind under control of the higher mind. Taming the cattle and controlling our feelings through our higher intelligences. Hence the sixth day has passed.

 

 

See Also

Related Information

GENESIS 1
GENESIS 2
GENESIS 3
GENESIS 4
GENESIS 5
GENESIS 6