Archetypal Structure of the Heavenly Jerusalem-I

Metaphysical System of Co-ordinates

In the Post, Heavenly Jerusalem as a Majestic Zodiac-Mandala, from December 5, 2022, I introduced the essence of the Heavenly Jerusalem as the reality where humankind will ascend in its new cosmic cycle of evolution. In order to get familiar with the concepts, please, refresh this and the surrounding Posts: Exodus and Contemplation of the New Heaven, from December 1, 2022, and The Heavenly Jerusalem – Mandala Meditation, from December 12, 2022.

I strongly believe that after the tragic events in the Middle East, in Ukraine, and in other hot spots on our traumatised beloved planet Earth, humankind have to start its Exodus. First the Exodus will be to the Garden of Paradise, and then to the higher world of the Heavenly Jerusalem. In order to prepare the people for the Exodus to this Divine metaphysical reality, I will, in a series of Posts, introduce its archetypal spiritual structure. Perhaps I will repeat some ideas from the previous Posts, but this is important in order to clarify and explain the archetypal structure of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

So, the presented above Zodiac-Mandala of the Heavenly Jerusalem is the psycho-cosmic system that connects the microcosmic level of Being with the macrocosmic level.  On the macrocosmic level it reveals the map of the Heavenly Jerusalem; on the microcosmic level this Mandala ‘structures’ the states of evolution of human consciousness.  All the elements of the Mandala – the centre, the circumference, the horizontal and vertical axes, the cycles – have mythological significance and symbolise different phases in the development of human consciousness, both individual and collective. Below I will briefly introduce the metaphysical system of co-ordinates of the suggested Zodiac-Mandala of the Heavenly Jerusalem, presented in the Scheme:

The Centre

The centre represents the Absolute Origin of Being, the Primal Cause, the unknown Divine Spirit through whom the whole of Creation was brought into existence. All is Spirit, all is Light, all emanates from the eternal source – G-d. G-d, the Father/Mother of Creation, is unconditional Love, infinite Wisdom, and absolute Truth. The Absolute Origin of Being, beyond time, space and matter, is acknowledged in Judaism, as the I Am That I Am, (i.e. the Transcendent Man, Adam Ilaa, also called Adam Kadmon, the ‘Principle Man’, in Hinduism as the Absolute, in Buddhism as the Great Void, Sunyäta, in Christianity as G-d the Father, and in Islam as the Essence of Allah. Because G-d is absolutely transcendent, beyond any description, the Centre could be identified as the Immanent Man, Metatron (i.e., G-d’s whole spiritual manifestation), the Little Yahweh, G-d the Son, the Primordial Being, Adi Buddha, etc.  

The three concentric circles

The models of Creation in the spiritual traditions are different and this is understandable because each one of them reflects the structure of the Universe from a unique perspective in accordance with the historical epoch. In every cosmology however we can find the basic archetypal three-fold structure of the Universe which consists of three hierarchically placed worlds:

A) The physical, material world – the material cosmos in Hinduism, the world of gross forms in Buddhism, the sensory and corporeal world of made-fact in Judaism, the physical, material universe in Christianity and the phenomenal world, mulk, in Islam. (This is the world which the majority of people understand and live in. The whole earthly culture is built on this understanding.  For the experience of the higher Celestial world, however, the people have to enter into the esoteric traditions of the world religions.)

B) The heavenly, angelic world woven by celestial colour rays of light, spiritual music, sacred words and inhabited by myriads of light beings. This world corresponds to the astral cosmos in Hinduism, the world of subtle forms in Buddhism, the world of formation ‘inhabited by angels, genii and souls, with seven heavens’ in Judaism, the celestial world with seven heavens in Christianity, and the world of angelic and spiritual forms, malakut, in Islam. (Entry into this celestial world requires the awakening and blossoming of the human soul.  People with awakened souls exist in all world religions and they form the esoteric spiritual community in each one of them.)

C) The highest Divine world which allows the contemplation of all Creation – the causal cosmos in Hinduism, the world without forms in Buddhism, the world of creation filled with the Divine immanent presence alone in Judaism, the world around the Throne of God in Christianity, and the world of His dominion, jabarut, in Islam. (The ascent to this Highest Divine World requires the awakening of the Higher Self in the human being and receiving a Divine enlightenment.  These people are the initiates in all world religions who form the mystical core in each one of them).

The Cycles

G-d as the great Spiritual Sun at the metaphysical centre of the Universe unceasingly radiates light and creative energy. Because of the cosmic law of involution and evolution, however, this light falls at varying ‘angles’ on human consciousness (just as the rays of the Sun fall upon the Earth), and determines the different phases in the development of the human being and human civilisation. As the Earth is subject to the day/night cycle and the turn of the seasons, so the involution and evolution of the human being can be compared with the cycle of metaphysical day/night, while the involution and evolution of human civilisation is comparable to the cycle of the metaphysical seasons. Thus, the cycles of the Mandala represent both the cosmic-spiritual day/night and the cosmic-spiritual year in the development of the human being and of human civilisation respectively.  

The Day/Night Cycle

Every stage in the journey of the human being – spiritual dusk, night, dawn and noon – is a long period and characterises the main phases in his/her development. For example, the spiritual ‘dusk’ depicts the process of human involution and the gradual crystallisation of the ego. This process is marked by the loss of spiritual qualities and abilities, the loss of the spiritual perception of the world and it leads to increasing immersion in the material world. During the spiritual ‘night‘ the ego is completely crystallised, the human being loses the direct link with the Divine source of life and becomes totally absorbed in the material world. The spiritual ‘dawn’ of the human being is the awakening of the soul and an entry into the spiritual reality.  During this spiritual ‘sunrise’ the inner light of the cosmic Sun constantly increases, new qualities and abilities develop and new spiritual bodies of the human being are formed. At the spiritual ‘noon’ the human being awakens his or her higher Divine Self and builds him/herself into a Temple of God. In this Temple the Divine Spirit as a dove comes to live forever.

The Four Seasons Cycle On the collective level – human civilisation – the development follows the pattern of the changing seasons. In a similar way, the cosmic- spiritual Sun energises human civilisation. For instance, the cosmic- spiritual Summer corresponds to the epoch of the Golden Age when human civilisation develops under the bright Divine Light of the Spiritual Sun – G-d Himself. During the spiritual Autumn of civilisation, the luminosity of the Spirit is still a reality, but the perception of Truth gradually diminishes until spiritual darkness obscures the light. In the spiritual Winter human civilisation is cut off from the direct link with the cosmic Sun. As a result, humankind experiences spiritual ignorance, coldness, hate, fear and separation. During the spiritual Spring the life-giving cosmic-spiritual Sun begins to shine on all forms and processes of life and gradually they become filled with Divine Light. With this awakening comes transfiguration: the soul starts to blossom, melting the ice of hate and egocentricity, and the scope of the mind expands, as the spiritual essence of Creation becomes evident. During the spiritual Summer the whole Universe is spiritualised and glows in the aura of Divine Truth. Humankind returns to the higher levels of Being and begins its new Golden Age.

The Processes of Involution and Evolution

Thus, the day/night cycle of the cosmic-spiritual Sun is linked with the development of the human being, while the annual cycle of the seasons symbolises the development of human civilization.  The system of co-ordinates within the circle indicates the spiritual ‘horizon’ and the spiritual ‘meridian’.  The ‘horizon’ is the line that divides spiritual light from spiritual darkness.  The half-circle above the ‘horizon’, culminating in the zenith, symbolises the great cosmic-spiritual day (from dawn to dusk on the level of the individual human being and from Spring to Autumn on the level of human civilization) through which humankind develops with complete clarity and with consciousness of the spiritual essence of the Universe and of the life-giving Spirit of God. The half-circle below the ‘horizon’, with the lowest point at the nadir, symbolises the great cosmic-spiritual night (from ‘dusk’ to ‘dawn’ and from Autumn to Spring).  Through this ‘night’ humankind journeys without the light of spiritual truth, sunk in ignorance, darkness and isolation, devoid of the order and spiritual purpose of life.

The balance between spirit and matter (spiritual and material life), between light and darkness, is indicated by the horizontal line.  A substantial decrease in light in consciousness begins in the spiritual Autumn (after the ‘Autumn Equinox’) reaching complete darkness in the Winter.  The spiritual light begins to increase in the Spring (after the ‘Spring Equinox’) reaching culmination during the cosmic-spiritual Summer. The spiritual meridian indicates the maximum and minimum perception of the Divine Light.  It symbolises the processes of spiritual involution and evolution: from Summer to Winter, from ‘noon’ to ‘midnight’ – the gradual process of descending into the material world; from Winter to Summer, from ‘midnight’ to ‘noon’ – the gradual process of ascending to the celestial realms. The metaphysical system of co-ordinates also symbolises the process of objectification and subjectification of the spiritual reality.  Above the ‘horizon’ the spiritual reality manifests itself externally, objectively, culminating at the zenith where the scope is enlarged and light intensity increased, and there is objective realisation on a collective basis.  Below the ‘horizon’ the spiritual reality reveals itself internally, subjectively, culminating at the nadir, reaching maximum intensity and depth of subjectivity with the possibility of inner realisation.  At ‘dusk’ there is a balance between the objective and subjective, between the collective and individual on the involutionary path; on the opposite side, at ‘dawn’, there is a balance between the subjective and objective, between the individual and collective on the evolutionary path.

Thus, the centre of the Mandala, the circle, the meridian and the horizon are fundamental metaphysical concepts symbolising God as the spiritual Sun at the centre of the Universe, the cosmic processes of involution and evolution, objectivity and subjectivity.  They show the stages of development of the human being and how humankind is linked with God – the supreme source of life.  Analogous to the seasonal changes in Nature, the Mandala depicts the spiritual changes in human beings as they pass through the different metaphysical seasons and stages. These stages represent the development of human consciousness and its relation to the Primal Cause.  From this perspective, the development of humankind follows the phases of a new, invisible, spiritual Nature where God the Father/Mother is the great cosmic-spiritual Sun and the numerous ‘forms of life’ are the myriads of living beings in the Universe. The evolution of human beings and civilizations follows the rhythm of this invisible, rich and tangible   spiritual   Nature. In a similar way as we can see the seasonal changes in Nature and describe them, so every epoch in the development of the human being and civilization can be seen and described.  Within this cycle the initiates will have inspiring spiritual visions for every ‘season’.  In the cosmic Winter they will see the dormant spiritual forces which lie within the human being; in the cosmic Spring they will see the manifestation of the Spirit everywhere which will bear fruit in the Summer. The initiates will penetrate to the depths and meaning of the cosmic-spiritual processes within human consciousness and will understand the work of the Divine energies within the individual human being and human civilization in accordance with the nature of each spiritual season.  Thus, the metaphysical system of co-ordinates of the Mandala provides the foundation for understanding and describing the inner meaning of these ‘invisible’ but deeply perceptible spiritual processes.

Symbolic Scheme of the Zodiac-Mandala of the Heavenly Jerusalem