Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

SEVEN PLANES

In Ritual and Ceremonial Magick, the Seven Planes, or spheres of existence are used to describe the different levels of being. These different planes overlap so that we can simultaneously exist in all plane in a single point in time.

Most students of the occult agree that the Seven Planes refer to the areas of different densities of matter.

According to most practitioners, the physical world is the densest plane with the lowest frequency and therefore is believed to be the lowest plane of existence. Subsequent planes in order of ascent are: the Emotional Plane, the Mental Plane, the Astral Plane (where our physical realities are first formed - by us), the Soular Plane (where we experience spiritual evolution toward becoming ourselves deities), the Monadic Plane, (where we access that part of ourselves which is already godlike though still unique and separate from the universe as a whole) and finally the Divine Plane (where we are unified with all godhead and the universe).

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc