“What the sun is to the solar system, the spirit is to the bodies of man; for his natures, organs, and functions are as planets surrounding the central life (or sun) and living upon its emanations. The solar power in man is divided into three parts, which are termed the threefold human spirit of man. All three of these spiritual natures are said to be radiant and transcendent; united, they form the Divinity in man.

“Man’s threefold lower nature—consisting of his physical organism, his emotional nature, and his mental faculties—reflects the light of his threefold Divinity and bears witness of it in the physical world. Man’s three bodies are symbolized by an upright triangle; his threefold spiritual nature by an inverted triangle. These two triangles, when united in the form of a six-pointed star, were called by the Jews ‘the Star of David,’ ‘the Signet of Solomon,’ and are more commonly known today as ‘the Star of Zion.’ These triangles symbolize the spiritual and material universes linked together in the constitution of the human creature, who partakes of both Nature and Divinity. Man’s animal nature partakes of the earth; his divine nature of the heavens; his human nature of the mediator.”

–Manly P. Hall

Solar System of Man

Mr. Hall says man’s organs and functions are like planets around the central life, or sun. We could think of that center of life in the physical body to be the heart, though others might say it is the brain. Either way, we can see that the body is organized much like a solar system. As above, so below.

Solar Power in Man

Hall says we have a threefold spirit, which he refers to as the solar power in man. While he might mean it in a different way, this certainly fits well with the teachings of Cosolargy. While we don’t think of our spirit as being our solar power, we do know that it is Light from the sun that awakens and nourishes the spirit. Hall says the three spiritual natures are all radiant, and united, they form the Divinity in man. We in Cosolargy think it is more that the Soul is the Divinity in man, and the Soul becomes conscious when spiritual development techniques are practiced regularly.

Lower Nature

Man does have a lower and a higher nature. Hall calls the three parts of the lower nature, the physical body, the emotional nature, and the mental facilities, or the mind. We would say it is the body and the mind which includes the emotional nature of man. Hall says this lower nature was symbolized by an upright triangle. Hall adds that this lower nature reflects the light of our higher nature. That is true to some degree, but not always. It is true that many things start on the spiritual level, move down to the mental level, and then finally to the physical. But some things, such as certain physical illnesses may begin on the mental level, or even be only on the physical level.

Higher Nature

Strangely, Hall doesn’t go into an explanation of the threefold spiritual nature. He does say that this nature was represented by a downward-pointing triangle. Personally, I think he has it backward. I think the spiritual triangle points up toward heaven where it originated, while the physical triangle points down to show that it represents the nature of Man that has fallen from above, meaning from higher (spiritual) dimensions.

Six-pointed Star

Hall says the six-pointed star formed by overlaying the two triangles symbolizes the spiritual and material joined together in man, which makes sense. He doesn’t explain why this matters, or how it helps us develop. In Cosolargy, we use a different symbol, a complex version of a cross that represents the Higher Self, Christ, God, and the fully developed Soul. While many Christians are not aware of it, the oldest symbol used to represent God was a simple cross inside of a circle, the circle representing the sun.

Threefold Nature of Man in Cosolargy

So in Cosolargy, we are taught that the threefold nature of man is, (1) the physical body, (2) the psychic body, and (3) the spirit. The sun-gazing techniques we practice can benefit us on all three levels, but the goal is to get light mostly from the spiritual sun to benefit and develop the spirit.

“There is nothing more secret in this world than the Kingdom of Christ; and it is often so, that he who supposes he has it, and lives therein, has it not, but has the Kingdom of Antichrist, and has the Serpent’s Figure; and his heart also is but the heart of a greedy wolf, and he stands not in the angelical image.

“On the contrary, many a one is in great anguish, and longs after it, and generates very painfully, he would fain have it, but then the Devil rushes upon him, and stirs up vexation and discontent, and overwhelms him with great sins, so that he knows not himself, and then rejects him with impatience and doubting; and his heart stands continually in Anguish, it would fain get out of Evil, and endeavors continually for abstinence or forbearance, many times with groans, sighing, and longing, but then the Devil holds his sins before him, and bars up the door of the Grace of God, that he might despair.

“Yet he sows the Pearl in his anguish, and the Devils covers it in him, that he may not know it, neither does he know himself, he sows in the Kingdom of God.”

-Jacob Boehme

The Secret Kingdom

What Boehme says about there being nothing more secret than the Kingdom of Christ, or more accurately, the spiritual process for connecting with that Kingdom, may have been true when he wrote the quote several hundred years ago. Nowadays, I think there are probably government secrets that are even more protected than those spiritual ones. Still, the point is a sound one.

He who Supposes He Has It

This point is probably even truer today than it was when Boehme was alive. Spiritual development has become popular, and with that comes the charlatans and con men who see this as a quick way to make a buck, so they write all kinds of half-truths and partial truths in books and start schools to teach these partial, or completely false systems, and unfortunately, many people fall for it. In a time of instant gratification, someone offering a plan to make you a spiritual master in two weeks instead of the several years that people used to spend in the great Mystery Schools and Gnostic Schools sounds wonderful, but as they often warn people, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.

Devil Rushes Upon Him

What Boehme is trying to say is often hard to follow, which may be at least partially due to poor translations of his original. But I think that what he is saying here is that very often when we are trying to sincerely develop our spiritual side, the Devil, or more likely one of his demonic minions, will pull us off the path into doing the wrong things. The wrong things are not always obvious “sins” such as murder, but may simply be choosing material things over the spiritual. If the demons succeed in getting you to do something of a material nature and skipping your spiritual practices for the day, it makes it a little easier for them the next time. Before long, they have you skipping your spiritual practices more often than you are doing them.

Then when you realize that you have been turned away from the spiritual, and try to get back on track, the demons will bring up all your “sins” and try to convince you that it is too late to get back on the spiritual path. Don’t listen to them! It is never too late to get back on the spiritual path unless you are lying on your deathbed about to expire.

This is one of the main reasons Cosolargy emphasizes community. When you are part of a community of like-minded people, you can help each other fight off temptations, and get back on the proper path when we do get off it.

So practice your spiritual growth techniques, and remove the veils over the Kingdom of God and Christ, and eventually achieve your own Christ Consciousness.