by Bruce Johnson —
Bruce Johnson has over 30 years of study in the fields of Ancient Wisdom and occultism. He has taught classes on a wide range of topics, from Atlantis to mediums to Zoroaster. He is also a spiritualist minister, with a background in spiritual astrology. He lives in Colorado with his wife and their cat.
The sixth densest of the interpenetrating and concentric energy spheres surrounding planet Earth is variously known known as the astral sphere, the astral plane or Kamaloka. This is the plane of life the human soul resides in prior to and immediately after Earthly incarnation, and is filled with a variety of life. We might recall encounters with astral entities during sleep or astral projection experiences, and we will certainly be exposed to them after physical death. Let’s investigate four categories of some astral sphere entities.
1- Physically incarnated humans temporarily found on the astral plane include- Those progressed students who can traverse the astral plane in their mental body cloaked with astral matter, at times accompanied by an adept. Psychically developed individuals, including positive and negative magicians and their students, who can consciously travel in the astral vehicle while out of the physical body. The average person who floats about the astral plane often being unconscious or partially conscious of it, while their physical body is asleep.
2- The discarnate astral inhabitant category also contains disciples and initiates of both light and darkness as well as their teachers. There are astral-dwelling disciples who have foregone the bliss of a Devachanic rest and are temporarily staying on the astral plane awaiting opportunity for a near-immediate reincarnation. Additionally, a large group of previously incarnated people who encompass the range of human consciousness, occupy different levels of the Kamaloka. On rare occasions, certain great souls from higher spiritual planes temporarily contact the finest sub-planes the astral sphere.
Like the 1st death where the soul drops the physical body, at the 2nd death our soul discards its astral body and moves on to the Heaven-world. This astral corpse, sometimes called a shade, eventually resolves back into basic astral matter. Although the soul has left it, some small intellect, life and memory are retained for a while by the astral corpse that can be seen drifting on astral currents. The astral corpse in the last stages of disintegration is called a shell, is always negative, and like the shade, should be avoided by the astral traveler.
3- The astral residents of the third group are those beings called non-human. The seven classes of angels occupying the astral plane are called Kama Devas. They are overseen by Varuna, the great Deva Lord of the astral plane. Lesser in development than the astral angels, but of the same evolutionary line, are the nature spirits. Of these, the air spirits or sylphs are the most advanced, and unlike most nature spirits, dwell on the astral plane. Animals that have reached individualization live consciously for a relatively short time on the astral plane after death before falling into a happy sleep preceding a new incarnation.
4- A fourth classification incorporates that example of astral life known as the artificial elemental. An artificial elemental is created by pouring strong desire energy into a thought-form, producing a semi-intelligent living artificial entity whose life is proportionate to the energy it contains. The artificial elemental can be consciously or unconsciously fashioned to produce good or evil results depending on its core thought-form, and the nature of the energies and forces it was constructed from. Destroying thought-forms and artificial elementals of an evil nature created by diverse individuals and groups, is the primary work of certain white magician orders.
