The Seven Rays of Life

Seven great rays of the One light influence humanity on each level, spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. In our solar system the second ray of Love and Wisdom is the prevailing influence aiding all of us. The seven sub-divisions of this ray constitute the "seven rays"; they set up the endless variations in  each individual's "ray chart" These seven rays are the seven dominant characteristics of life. Every life at each stage of evolution  belongs to one of the seven rays.

A ray is a name for a specific type of energy. The quality which that energy or force demonstrates is important rather than the form that it creates. These seven rays are listed below:

Rays of Aspect: the Primary Rays

1.  The Ray of Power, Will and Purpose.
2.  The Ray of Love-Wisdom.
3.  The Ray of Active Creative Intelligence
 

Rays of Attribute:

4.  The Ray of Harmony through Conflict.
5.  The Ray of Concrete Science or Knowledge.
6.  The Ray of Idealism or Devotion.
7.  The Ray of Order or Ceremonial Magic.

Every human being is basically an expression of five ray forces:

1. The ray of the soul.
2. The ray of the personality.
3. The ray governing the mental body.
4. The ray governing the astral equipment.
5. The ray of the physical, etheric, nature.

The sub-ray on which a man or woman is found varies from incarnation to incarnation. This is the personality ray and adds coloring to that life. It is a secondary hue. The ray of the Soul is the predominating ray to which a man's causal body vibrates. It may correspond to the ray of the Monad, or it may be one of the complementary colours in Rays 1, 2, or 3. The ray of the personality varies from life to life until all seven sub-rays have been passed through.

Every human being, is found upon one or other of the seven qualifying rays, and his appearance is coloured by the quality of his basic ray. His personality is found, in every life, in varying rotation according to the ray of the soul .With average advanced people, who are struggling to reach the ideal, similarity of the soul ray will produce mutual understanding and friendship follows . When you have the same ray of personality and the same ray of the soul, then you have a perfect friendship, a successful marriage, an unbreakable link between the two. This is rare indeed.

Each ray brings, through its energy, its own physical conditions, and determines the quality of the astral-emotional nature; it colours the mind body; it controls the distribution of energy, for the rays are of differing rates of vibration, and govern a particular centre in the body (differing with each ray) through which that distribution is made. Each ray works through one centre primarily, and through the remaining six in a specific order.

The ray predisposes a man to certain strengths and weaknesses, and constitutes his principle of limitation, as well as endowing him with capacity. It governs the method of his relations to other human types, and is responsible for his reactions in form to other forms. It gives him his colouring and quality, his general tone on the mind, emotions, and physical body and brain of the personality, and it moulds his physical appearance. Certain attitudes of mind are easy for one ray type, and difficult for another. This explains the changing personality shifts from ray to ray, from life to life, until all the qualities are developed and expressed.

Certain souls, by their "ray destiny", are found in certain fields of activity, and a particular field of endeavour remains relatively the same for many life expressions. . . .

When someone is two-thirds of the way along the evolutionary path, his soul ray type begins to dominate his personality ray, and will therefore govern the trend of his expression on earth. . . . .

Disciples upon the different rays will all have the same goal, make the same experiments, go through the same experiences, and arrive equally at divine expression. However, their qualities and their modes of approach, their reactions and their distinctive natures, will differ according to their ray type.

Each great ray. . . . . brings new knowledge to humanity. The world's many civilisations - past and present - are the result of this.

Adapted by LH from The Rays and the Initiations and Esoteric Psychology I by A. A. Bailey