Chief among the components of a magical paradigm is the consideration of universal nature and how magic exists and functions therein. This nature could be as confined as the sphere of day-to-day experience or as broad as what scientists and philosophers call the universe.
The Multiverse
This phrase could of course mean a few different things, but in the current context it refers to a paradigm shared by many magicians today, wherein our universe consists of multiple planes or realms that exist concurrently with our physical reality. Sometimes this is expressed as seven planes, or nine, or eleven. Other versions teach of three, four, or five “worlds”. Numerous versions of the paradigm enumerate the distinct worlds or realities a bit differently and utilize various terminologies to explain the whole affair.
Purpose and Core Proposition
The multiverse idea, or the magical universe paradigm, is as old as our species. In one form or another we have always entertained the idea that beyond our direct and conscious experience there are other realms that influence or dictate events and shape our destinies.
Such notions are part of us. They may exist as archetypes in the psyche or part of our genetic memories. Wherever they originate, these ideas are powerful, holding tremendous potential for influencing our unconscious minds and directing subtle forces.
This is the essence of magical potency, for the unconscious mind interacts with the so-called spirit world and oversees the movement of unseen or subtle energies once a magical operation has set things into motion. After the spell has been cast or the ritual is completed, once your conscious mind has moved onto other affairs, it is the unconscious and the beings and currents of the unseen, mystical worlds that carry on, finishing the work you set into motion.
In numbered item format, the core proposition of the Magical Universe idea is:
- There is more to reality than our material world and physical phenomenon.
- These mysterious or unknown aspects of reality play a crucial role in our life experience and are certainly of central importance to the working of magic.
As a thesis statement, this might be expressed as:
What we call reality is actually a multi-faceted and many-tiered energetic hierarchy composed of different frequencies that correspond to ascending realms. Each realm serves a specific purpose in the collaboration of reality, is home to unique beings, and relates to the human consciousness and magic in a particular way. This overall schema is responsible for all creation, preservation, and destruction and understanding these workings results in greater magical capability and power.
It doesn’t matter whether the perceived magical universe or multiverse is objectively real or exists exclusively in your imagination. The important thing is that you have, through this paradigm, a strong conceptual foundation from which to draw power and through which to focus empowered intention.
The vividly imagined, well understood concept of the magical universe is both a battery providing unlimited energy, or fuel for magical work and a lens that can direct intense desire and specific intent.
Again, it matters not whether you espouse a system of grand scale or take up a model concerned only with the human or anthropocentric scale. The important point is the multi-faceted or multi-dimensional handing of the function of magic, for this both addresses common impediments of rational concern for accuracy and mitigates the danger and damage resulting from overthinking and obsessing.
The Five Planes or Five Worlds Paradigm
I adopted a version of the story involving five planes, (or realms, worlds etc.) in total, which include our material universe and all its alternate timelines (per the Many Worlds Interpretation of physics) and undiscovered dimensions (ala String Theory, et al).
LET ME STOP RIGHT HERE AND CLARIFY: I used those two terms or phrases from high school textbooks to make a connection you might easily relate to. Most folks are at least casually aware of Many Worlds and String Theory, and recognize in them the effort contemporary academia is making to explain or reconcile ages-old ideas about other realities just beyond our five senses. I am not a scientist, nor do I pretend to understand the premises, mathematics, applications, or extrapolations of these advanced interpretations and theories.
Like all versions of magical universe model, the five worlds of my understanding exist in a hierarchy, arranged according to frequency from highest to lowest or vice versa. the dense material universe represents the lowest frequency or slowest rate of vibration, with each higher realm representing an elevation in frequency, or vibrational rate.
From the perspective of vibration, or how short/fast or long/slow energetic wavelengths are relative to one-another, consider the ranges of visual light and audible sound. Light exists well below and above the frequencies or wavelengths our eyes can process. Infrared and ultraviolet represent the ends of visual access to light at the high and low ends of the spectrum. Sound is similar, occurring beyond the frequencies detectable by our ears, with infrasound and ultrasound again representing the boundaries of our sense perception. Objects and beings existing at higher or lower frequencies than the phenomena of our material world might similarly be unavailable to our senses.
The higher realms in fact share space and time with us on the material plane. They are simply undetectable by our material senses, which operate on the frequency of our physical bodies and universe.
Multidimensional Reality
People sometimes refer to these planes or worlds as other dimensions. This is fine, although I don’t know how they fit into the scheme of dimensions according to the theoretical physicist.
Just as we have a physical body as the vehicle for navigating this world, we also have an energetic body that corresponds to each of the other planes of existence.
We therefore have our being not only in the physical realm, but also in the ether, on the astral, and so on. These energy bodies are part of your overall Personal Energy Matrix, which you can learn more about by clicking here.
As our physical body interacts with the physical world and our mind and mental body interact with the mental plane, so too do our other energetic bodies function and move upon the plane with which they are associated. This is of particular interest in magic, for the higher energy bodies are responsible for much of the magical workload, guided by the unconscious mind, beings from the higher worlds, and the magical forces unleashed by magical acts and operations.
Conceiving the Hierarchy of Planes
As mentioned, the five worlds all exist here and now, interconnected and simultaneous, all to the extent that time is applicable, for some energies are not beholden to the construct of linear time. This can all be (obviously) difficult to mentally contend with, and so the idea of the various worlds or planes of reality existing in a layered matrix has become a popular way to teach, learn, and discuss the topic.
The five worlds or planes are considered by their relative frequency or vibrational state, with our material world being the most dense or lowest frequency and the realm of spirit being the finest, or highest frequency state. This theme is consistent through most mystical, New Age, or spiritual ideologies and constructs.
In ascent from this material universe upwards, or vice versa, these five planes are:
- Material Plane
- Etheric Plane
- Astral Plane
- Mental Plane
- Spirit Plane
- Spirit Plane
- Mental Plane
- Astral Plane
- Etheric Plane
- Material Plane
The ordering of these planes is subject to a whole range of considerations. A mystic seeking to ascend to the upper worlds would start at the material level, 1 and proceed from there. When discussing the creation of our reality, most teachings and lore suggest divinity as the source and so begin with the spirit plane, 1 and descend. Also note each of these worlds are known by various names.
Artist Interpretation of the Five Worlds
In the image above I have tried to illustrate the interconnected nature of the planes while providing an image that I hope is fit for contemplation.
The Material Plane
At the bottom is the material realm with our universe. This is only one part of multiverse where we have our being but also the plane we most readily identify as “reality”. This is because of the potency of the very dense substances of the physical plane and their ability to overwhelm our senses and dominate our experiential processes. Still, the other worlds are accessible from this material space when we quiet our minds and learn to sense the subtle flows.
The Etheric Plane
This state is the material that borders the physical and astral. It is, in many ways, the crossroads and the veil that separate thus mundane world from the Other worlds and at the same tie unites our physical form with the rest of our energetic being.
The realm earthbound spirits and ghosts travel or abide within and the place where the vital force or life force that animates living things originates. It is a mirror image of the physical plane yet it exists on a higher frequency and is made up of finer, or more subtle etheric substance and material.
The Astral Plane
The Mental Plane
The Spirit Plane
