Sabaoth
The Hebrew term for the army or Host of the Lord.
Sacral Centre
See Svadhisthana Chakra.
Sacred Planets
The term refers to those Planetary Rulers that have gained their liberation from the bounds of cosmic Dense Physical form. Consequently the type of suffering and pain as associated with our Earth, which is a non-sacred planet, is not possible for the Hierarchies evolving thereon. Essentially the Sacred Planetary Rulers embody the major chakras in the Body of the Solar Logos, whilst those of the non-sacred Planets embody the minor centres. The Lords of the sacred Planets thus control the expression of the major Rays as they affect the realms of enlightened Being, the Kingdom of Souls, whilst the Lords of the non-sacred Planets govern the expression of these Rays and Hierarchies as they effect the realms of form, the three worlds of human livingness. See Esoteric Astrology by A.A. Bailey for further detail.
Sadhaka
A devotee, one following spiritual precepts.
Sadhana
One’s devotional practice, involving ritual, prayers, and observation of various precepts and rules of training.
Sahasrara Padma
The 1,000 petalled lotus at the top of the Head; the crown chakra. It unfolds fully in an adept and expresses the spiritual will of the enlightened being. It gives control of the element Aether (Atma) and thus every type of force or form in the material universe. It makes a person a Master of Wisdom when fully developed.
Sakya
A patrynomic of the former Buddha, the clan from which he heralded, hence Sakyamuni Buddha.
Salamanders
The little fire elementals that are omnipresent and that gather in large numbers wherever a flame is kindled. They embody the substance of all flames, latent or active, internal or external, Planetary or Solar. They generally take the shape of dancing fire, with streams of rushing fire composing the face and “hair”. They are ruled by the larger Lords of Fire, who are self-conscious and come under the auspices of Agni.
Sama
One of the eight “flowers of sanctity” (bhava pushpas). They are: charity, self-restraint, compassion, patience, calmness of mind (Sama), devotion, meditation, and veracity.
Samadhi
A state of complete absorbed contemplation upon the objective of the meditation practice. Absorption into the stream of enlightenment-perception, generally said to be accompanied by bliss. The highest of the yoga states.
Samael
See Samuel.
Samajna
An enlightened or awakened luminous sage.
Samana
The second of the five breaths (Vayus) associated with the pranic circulation in the etheric vehicle. It is “the nadi from the heart to the solar plexus” in yogic philosophy, and is related to the astral plane, the element water, and the solar plexus centre. It controls the right nourishing of the body through the medium of food and drink, physically, astrally, and mentally. It therefore implies the integral inner assimilation or digestion of all the elements of life; those that emanate from the Soul and also from the personality. Its colour is green.
Samantabhadra
Literally “universal sage”, the all-compassionate One of perfect activity, one of the five Dhyani-Bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy.
Samapatti
Absolute concentration in yoga philosophy. The last stage of development before samadhi is entered.
Samata
The experience of the equality of things.
Samaya
Bound or fixed, as bound to an oath or agreement.
Sambhogakaya
The second of the three vestures of a Buddha or fully liberated Being. It relates to the Causal form of a person. See Dharmakaya, trikaya.
Sambhogakaya Flower
In the Uttaratantra the Sanskrit term used for this concept is tathagatagarbha (the Buddha-germ, or “womb”). The nature of the Sambhogakaya Flower was explained in detail in The Buddha-Womb and the Way of Liberation. It is an alternate name for the reincarnating principle, in the form of a chakra (a flower) existing upon the domain of the abstract Mind.
Sambodhi
Consciousness in its enlightened state.
Samskara
Also Sangskara. From the Sanskrit roots, Sam and Kri, meaning the action (kri) that will improve, refine or make an impression in consciousness. Samskaras are thus the impressions carried forth from actions done in former incarnations and which are carried through to this one and which becomes the basis for one’s present karma. It also refers to the effects of one’s present actions that will bear fruit in later lives. Samskaras are thus those actions that tend to bind one to the wheel of rebirth, to repetitious pain and suffering.
Samyak-sambodhi
The attainment of perfect (samyak) enlightenment (bodhi).
Samuel
(Hebrew for “his name is God”.) He is the seventh or lowest of the Archangels or Raja Lords, and governs the substance of the physical plane, specifically that of the four ethers. He works closely with Gabriel for he rules the process of touching or contacting the dense physical realm, and this brings in the element of sensation, the condensation of the elements of desire and thus the means to the precipitation of the Watery element, ruled by Gabriel. From one point of view Samuel can be considered to embody the physical strength of the Logos, in that he wields power over that which is most physical and material. The colour of this Deva Lord is violet.
Samvriti
A false conception, worldly knowledge, thus the basis to illusion.
Sanat Kumara
The fourth of the Kumaras, the Bearers of the Mind substance of our Logos. He is literally the Avatara or appearance of our Planetary Logos, as explained in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire by A.A. Bailey. He is equated with Melchisedec in the Bible (Hebrews, chapter seven.) See also Kumara, Planetary Logos.
Sandhya
Literally, the “twilight”, a period between a full manvantara or Logoic Day of activity and a period of dissolution (pralaya). It is that which joins day to night.
Sangha
In Buddhism a community of monks. One of the three precious jewels (triratna) that must be held by one wishing to tread the path to liberation. The other two being the Buddha or spiritual teacher, and the Dharma or teaching.
Sangsara
Also Samsara. The ocean of causality, the perpetual turning of the wheel of births and deaths. Anything associated with the material worlds, to that which is ephemeral and everchangeing, and hence phenomenal, having no true substantiality of its own. It refers thus to the realms of illusion (corporeality) into which the personality incarnates and begins to identify with by means of his concrete mind.
Sangskara
See Samskara.
Sankhya
The oldest Indian philosophy, founded by Kapila.
Sanskrit
The ancient Aryan language of India, with which the sacred texts are written. It is also called Devanagri, language of the Gods, the Devas.
Santa
“Placidity”, the primal quality of the latent, undifferentiated, unmodified state of being.
Santana
The Sanskrit term for “stream”. Literally the stream of consciousness and karmic actions, that has moulded or made our present and future lives. It is the stream of action-reaction, cause-effect volitions that have made us what we are. Note the phrase “to go through the Santana of your heart” thus means to tirelessly follow the path of desirelessness as to the way of karmic impulsions, so that the stream of ever-expanding consciousness (citta) that is the effect of an awakening heart can manifest without hindrances. It thus concerns the way of the development of the enlightenment-consciousness as it progresses from life to life.
Sanyasi
(Or Sannyasi.) A Hindu ascetic who has renounced attachment to things material. A wandering mendicant or holy man.
Sapta
The number seven.
Saptaparna
The sevenfold man-plant. This refers to the Monadic aspect, as viewed from cosmic space, and the seven sheaths into which it incarnates. The flowers of this “plant” are the Causal Form, and the chakras.
Saraph
A Hebrew term meaning a flying serpent, thus an aspect of evoked Wisdom. Singular for Seraphim.
Sarasvati
The wife and daughter of Brahma (the same as Vach). She is the goddess of speech and thus of the sacred esoteric knowledge or Wisdom.
Sarira
An envelope or body, a sheath that clothes one.
Sat
The eternally existing Principle. Be-ness. Sat, Ananda (Bliss), and Chit (consciousness) form a trinity.
Satan
From the Hebrew hassatan = adversary or accuser at law. Only in the New Testament and by later theological assertions, does Satan begin to appear as a “Prince of darkness” and a leader of a host of evil entities or “Demons”. Esoterically Satan rules the effects of the workings of the law of karma, which many see as evil when karma produces effects not desired by their personalities.
Satori
A term used in Japanese Buddhism to denote the awakened or enlightenment state. See Moksha.
Sattva
The vehicle for the understanding of the immutable, the essence of being. Also the highest of the three gunas (referring to rhythm or purity), with rajas and tamas.
Saturn
(From the Latin root satum, meaning “to sow”.) The Roman version of the Greek God Kronos (Chronos), who delineates the cycles of time. In Esoteric Astrology, he is the Planetary Ruler governing the third Ray of Active Intelligence.
Satya
Supreme truth.
Satya Yuga
The first or golden age (yuga), being the era of truth, purity, and of primordial innocence.
Schemes, Planetary
The sum of the Body of manifestation of a Planetary Logos, seen as seven spoked wheels of Chains of Planetary Globes, through which the various Logoi incarnate. An aspect in the computation of evolutionary time. There are said to be ten (7 + 3) major Planetary Schemes to our Solar System. They are really the embodiments of the chakras to Solar Being. See also Chains, Rounds.
Seance
The sitting with one who is a “medium” to try to call up the spirits of the dead and other associated phenomena.
Secret Doctrine
Another term for the esoteric Wisdom of the ages, the white Dharma.
Seer
One full of wisdom and who has the higher spiritual faculties awakened.
Senzar
The ancient precursor of Sanskrit (the language of the Gods). It consists largely of a hieroglyphic cypher, and is known and used by initiated adepts who have access to the most ancient records.
Sepher Yetzirah
(Hebrew) The Book of Formation, an ancient Kabbalistic work ascribed to Abraham and which describes the sacred mysteries of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Sephiroth
A Kabbalistic term for the ten emanations of Deity, and from which stem the Kabbalistic tree of life. They come forth in successive emanations from the Divine Light, seen as a trinity, Ain, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Aur. The ten sephiroth are: 1. Kether, the Crown. 2. Hokhmah (chokhmah), Wisdom. 3. Binah, Understanding. 4. Hesed, Grace or Mercy. 5. Gevurah, Power, Strength. 6. Tifereth (Tiphereth), Beauty. 7. Netsah, Victory. 8. Hod, Glory, Majesty. 9. Yesod, Foundation. 10. Malkuth, Kingdom.
Seraphim
A class of Deva Lords possessing six wings, as described in Isaiah 6:2 – 6. They are the second grouping of the highest aspect of Devas and are thus an aspect of the Head centres of the Planetary Logoi. They are the builders of the substance of the petals of the Logoic Head Centres, and are therefore the evokers of the Wisdom aspect in Nature. Thus the Hebrew term Seraph, meaning serpent, from which the word seraphim is derived.
Sesha
In Hinduism, the great serpent (cobra) of Eternity, embodying the space-time continuum. The seven headed version is the carrier or support of Vishnu, the second aspect of Deity. The thousand headed version becomes king of the nether world.
Set. Or Seth
The Egyptian Deity embodying the qualities of the serpent. He is the adversary of Osiris.
Shaman
The magicians and religious men of the more “primitive” cultures of the earth. Sometimes translated as “witchdoctors”. They have control over the elemental forces of the earth, are often healers, and are either black or white magicians.
Shamballa
Or Samballa, or Shambhala. The residence of the great King, the Ancient of Days, the Great Sacrifice (Sanat Kumara) and His Council. It is the “Holy City” that is the externalisation of the Head Centre of our Planetary Logos and is said to exist in the “sacred white Isle” in the Gobi desert. Esoterically this City exists in the substance of the second ether and is thus undetectable to all but those with the eyes to see. It is “the centre where the Will of God is Known”.
Shastra
A sacred verse or book, or the component parts of a sacred text (Shastras).
Shekinah
The indwelling manifestation of God as Light, the crown of Glory, in Kabbalistic philosophy. That which veils Divinity. It can be taken as the Feminine aspect of God, and can also stand for the Soul of man. In terms of the Sephiroth, the Shekinah represents the middle pillar of the tree of Life. There is also an upper and lower Shekinah, the Superior Supernal Mother, and the inferior Mother.
Shila
Morality, one of the six great paramitas (great virtues).
Siddhartha
A name given to Gautama Buddha.
Siddhi asana
The sitting position in hatha yoga said to favour the evocation of psychic powers.
Siddhis, Siddhas
Psychic powers developed through yogic practices. They can be both of the left or right hand variety, and are of many types. We distinguish between the lower siddhis, derived from the chakras below the diaphragm, and the higher siddhis, the powers associated with the evocation of the qualities of the heart centre.
Sidereal
Anything to do with the stars, thus with the map of the heavens and the energies therefrom.
Sirius
The Dog Star. (In Egyptian Mythology, Sothis.) This is the brightest star in the night sky and is of immense importance to all on the Earth, for Humanity as a whole (the human Monads) has derived originally from this Star. Hence it is a goal for all who travel upon the Cosmic Paths. What we know as Love within Systemic Space (the One fundamental Blue Ray) derives from Sirius, as does the Law of Karma, and the conditionings and Ceremonies associated with the Hierarchy of Light on this planet. Sirius is a source of the waters of the cosmic Astral Ocean.
Shakti
The active feminine force or power that is an effect of the raising of kundalini. A shakti is technically a consort of one or other of the Gods, and thus embodies the manifest expression of their activities.
Shanti
Tranquility.
Shiva
Also Siva and Civa. The first person of the Hindu Trinity Shiva-Vishnu-Brahma, or the third person, when we look at Brahma as the Mother-Creator, Vishnu as the Son-Preserver, and Shiva as the Father-Destroyer. Shiva embodies the Will aspect, (Brahma – Activity, and Vishnu – Consciousness) the Fires of Agni, and is considered the God of the Yogis. He is sometimes called Maha-yogi – the great Yogi ascetic, by which the most unlimited powers, and the highest spiritual knowledge is attained.
Another of his many names is, Mahadeva, the great Deva (shining One), and also Trilochana, the three-Eyed One. Another name given to him is Nilakantha or “blue throated” because he took the poison of the world into himself for its transmutation. He is also known as Rudra in the Vedas. He is said to be the wielder of thunderbolts, terrible as wild animals, destructive and fierce, when mounted on his chariot. In the Upanishads he declares that he alone was before all things, that no other God transcends him, that he is eternal, and yet not eternal, discernible and yet undiscernible, Brahma, and not Brahma. He is also noted for his terrible dance (Tandava) with his wife Devi, and the power of his Third Eye, with which he reduced to ashes Kama, the god of love, as well as all the gods, everything, in one of the periodical destructions (pralayas) of the Universe.
Skandha
(Also Skanda) Literally this word means the bundles or groups of attributes which together constitute the personality aspect of a being when incarnate and are responsible for the evolution of consciousness. They are those attributes (samskaras) that are carried through from life to life collectivised in their various groupings. Exoterically, there are five such groupings (attributes of consciousness): 1. form, or body, the sense organs, sense objects and interrelationships (rupa), 2. perception or sensation, feelings and emotions (vedana), 3. consciousness, the faculty of discrimination (samjna), 4. action, or the motives to thus act (samskara), 5. Divine Knowledge (vijnana).
Literally they become one’s karmic accumulations which must be worked with in any one life, and are eventually transmuted into the seeds of the enlightenment-consciousness. These Skandhas relate to the five different types of pranas conveyed throughout the nadi system.
Soham
A mystic syllable connoting the in and outbreathing motion, intoning “That am I”, like the action of the ocean’s waves upon a seashore.
Solar Devas
The Deva lives that are responsible for the vitalisation of an entire Solar or Logoic form, or the human body. They work in association with the Heart centre, and thus are centred above the diaphragm, and the splenic centre. They can be considered liberated Lords of Life and Love, in contradistinction to the Lunar pitris, or the builders of the form, the Lords of the shadow. The Solar Devas are the Ah-Hi or Builders of the Soul or Consciousness aspect of all life.
Solar Logos
The Logos that embodies the sum of the Solar System, with its Planetary Schemes and Rounds of Evolution. Solar Logoi can be considered the members of an ineffable cosmic Humanity. See Logos.
Solar Lords
Lords of Liberation, the embodiers of Consciousness, the Soul aspect underlying all manifest life. They convey the Pranic vitality sustaining the entire Solar Form, and from another perspective can be considered Logoi and Buddhas of past ages.
Solar Plexus Centre
See Manipura Chakra.
Soma
The moon, but more specifically the drink or ambrosial energies from the moon, which awaken the inner vision, the lunar forces in the nadi system, thus the awakening of the solar plexus centre. The plant by this name was used in temples for trance purposes.
Sophia
The Gnostic term for Wisdom, the Universal Mind, which is feminine in its characteristics.
Sorcerers
Adepts or Masters in the black arts. They are higher than black magicians, in that the black magician is still involved in coven activity, overseeing the rites associated with sex magic. The sorcerer works purely from mental or atmic levels and has many black magicians under his domination. See black magic, the left hand path, Dugpas.
Sparsa
The sense of touch.
Spiritual
This term refers to anything to do with non-material matters, with the subjective, the inner universe, generally depicted in religious or theistic terms, but this is not necessary. Anything that helps to serve humanity and uplift us from gross materialism, the lure of the “lower four”, to make us more creative, humanitarian and to aspire to work for the greatest good, can be termed “spiritual”.
Splenic Centre
This is a dual chakra in that it basically consists of two minor centres superimposed upon each other and which together constitute the Powers of a major (the eighth) Centre. The Spleen is responsible for the vitalisation of the entire body, and stands between the Heart and Sacral Centres. It stores and redirects the prana that has circulated throughout the body, rejecting that which is no longer viable to the system. Thus it veils the potency of “the eighth sphere”. Technically, the reticulation of the entire nadi system radiates out from this centre.
Sraddha
Faith, reverence or respect.
Sravaka
In Buddhism it denotes one who is a disciple, a chela.
Srotapatti
Literally “he who has entered the stream of enlightenment consciousness.” In Buddhism, the first stage of Bodhisattvaship.
Straight-Knowledge
The intuition developed by the illumined Seer. It is the special Knowledge that goes straight to the heart of any subject, and which speaks as the undistorted hidden Wisdom or Truth thereof. It is the accumulation or gain of many lives of enlightened undertaking.
Stupa
A religious shrine in Buddhism and Hinduism, usually containing a sacred relic.
Substance
In esotericism, substance is the principle underlying dense matter. It can be considered congealed energy forming the constituency of any plane of perception.
Subtle world
The various subplanes of the astral, wherein are the various heaven and hell realms. Here reside the various Elementaries that are so troublesome to mediums and psychics, as well as the disincarnate humanity, who are preparing to reincarnate.
Sukhavati
The Western paradise of Amitabha, the Dhyani Buddha of infinite Light. This is similar to the Heavenly realms of the Christians.
Sun, The
The source of Light and Life to all within our Solar System. The disc that lights up the day is but the externalised Sacral centre of our Solar Logos, and can be considered the Physical Sun. The Sun is the symbol of the Soul, or the vehicle of the Son in incarnation, manifesting a dense form (the Solar System) for the Purpose of salvation and resurrection of the lives (atoms) embodied within its form. It is a sphere of activity wherein the consciousness-aspect of all embodied life comes to be and evolves. It contains a number of lesser Flowers, Chakras, the Logoi of the Planetary Schemes that are vitalised and unified by the Magnetism and Light of the Greater Luminary. See also (Solar) Logos, (Planetary) Schemes and Chains, the Heart of the Sun, the Central Spiritual Sun. Also, in Esoteric Astrology the Sun stands as a non-sacred planet governing the second Ray of Love-Wisdom.
Sunyata
The literal meaning is “Void, Space, that from which all discernible characteristicsis are absent.” It is equated with the highest state of enlightenment, and thus can be related to buddhic perception, Moksha.
Surya
The Deified Sun in the Vedas.
Sushumna nadi
The central nadi that rises up the spinal column from the base of the spine centre to the Head centre. It relates to the Father aspect of the trinity Sushumna (Father, the abstracting, liberating energy), Pingala (Son, or consciousness-engendering), and Ida (Mother, or form sustaining) nadis. It is the Energy of the Spirit or Monad that descends down the spinal column at the appropriate time to awaken the sleeping Kundalini, and fuses with it, to rise up again to liberate the individual.
Sutra
Meaning “a thread or string”. A verse, rule, or precept of the sacred canonical writings of Buddhism and Hinduism.
Sutratma
The “Life-line”, or thread of the (human) Monad/Spirit which interrelates or links this Father aspect to the Soul, and then to the personality. It is anchored in the Heart centre, and is thus the link of the Monad that allows It to utilise a vehicle (a personality) in cosmic Dense Physical substance, to fulfill Its Compassionate Purpose (the redemption of matter).
Svabhavat
Universal world-forming substance; the “plastic essence” of concrete matter. It can thus be equated with etheric substance, or that of the fourth cosmic Ether.
Svadhisthana Chakra
The Sacral Centre, consisting of six petals that have an overall sun-like appearance. It is located in the lower part of the lumbar region, and expresses the sexual, animal, or physically vital forces in us. It is very strongly developed in most, especially the sensual, physical, types of people. When fully unfolded it gives us the control of the vital energy (prana), of bio-magnetic fields, healing currents, and insight into the etheric realm. It forms an esoteric unity with the base of spine centre.
Svaha
A mantric utterance – “so be it”.
Svapna
A trance or clairvoyant faculties, the dream consciousness.
Svaraj
Sva = self and raj = resplendent or luminous. An epithet given to many of the Gods.
Sylphs
The Elementals (lesser Devas) of the air. Part of the army of the Voice. They are of many shapes and sizes and can be quite human-like, though often possessing wings of energy, and can be quite fierce in composition, as are the Sylphs that embody storms.
Swami
A spiritual preceptor, a learned Brahman, or ascetic.
Swastica
Also Svastika. This is the mutable cross, the active moving cross of matter, the Mother, the Creative Deity, and embodies the powers of the vajra or Dorje. The version of the Swastica that Hitler used as the symbol of his “Aryan” regime is the left hand version as opposed to that associated with the white dharma.
Swayam-bhu
The spontaneously self-produced or self existent being. A name of Brahma the Creator.
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