Ray of Creation

Key takeaways

Ray of Creation belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ray of Creation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ray of Creation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Ray of Creation is an esoteric cosmology which was taught by G. I. Gurdjieff as part of his Fourth Way teaching. It is a diagram which better represents the place which Earth occupies in the Universe. The diagram has eight levels, each corresponding to Gurdjieff's Law of Octaves (see In Search of the Miraculous, chapter 7).

Levels The first level is "The Absolute", followed by "All Worlds", "All Suns", "Sun", "All Planets", "Earth", "Moon", and "The Absolute":

The bottom of the cosmos, below life - "The Absolute" Earth's satellite - "The Moon" Our planet - "Earth" All of the planets in the Solar System to which Earth belongs to - "All Planets" The planets belong to the "Sun" or the Solar System The Sun belongs to the Milky Way galaxy or the "All Suns" combined All galaxies put together belong to "All Worlds" All Worlds form a final whole called "The Absolute" This lineage indicates and compares the construction of all of the levels, matters, and laws of the Universe, placing them in scale with one another. Both levels called "The Absolute" reflect the will of God (in Fourth Way terms); the all-encompassing Absolute in that it is the undivided will of God from which creation branches out, and the bottom Absolute in that it is the final end or limit of creation's branching out.

Laws It was taught that in "The Absolute" the three holy forces form a whole, and thereby there is only one law (force) in the Absolute (which is the Will of the Absolute). The three forces of this law converge to form "All Worlds", whose level, now, being a part of the whole now has three laws. This level also having three forces, acts in creating "All Suns" in a similar process, and thereby "All Suns" has six laws (three new ones and three of the All Worlds level). Similarly, "Sun" has 12 laws, "All Planets" 24 laws, "Earth" 48 laws, "Moon" 96 laws, and "The Absolute" 192 laws. Each level after the one-law Absolute has a bigger number of laws which govern it. Therefore, the further the level is away from the Absolute, the more mechanical the living things in it are. By this comparison it is claimed that there are 48 laws governing the life of living beings on Earth, thereby also claiming that the life on Earth is quite mechanical. Note that "The Absolute" mentioned here does not refer to God in conventional Christian terms, but as understood in terms of Gurdjieff's "esoteric Christianity" as he also called his Fourth Way teaching.

Matter Similarly to the difference of laws on each level, the level (in this case 'density') of matter differs in the same way. "The Absolute" has a matter density of one, "All Worlds" has a density of 3 (one atom of "All Worlds" has a three times the density as one atom of "The Absolute"), "All Suns" 6, "Sun" 12, "All Planets" 24, "Earth" 48, "Moon" 96, "The Absolute" (which in this case represents dead matter) 192. This way everything in the universe according to this cosmology is classified as matter. (Note that even the matter of density 12 is too rarefied for contemporary science to classify it as matter.)

Higher bodies

Gurdjieff's classification of Higher Bodies can be better represented on this scale. Physical body has the properties of the "Earth" level (that is, it has a density of 48 and it is subject to 48 laws). In comparison, a higher plane body would have a lighter density and it would be subject to a lesser number of laws (the amount varies on the level that the body falls under). In the book Gnosis I, author Boris Mouravieff explains the names given to the notes of the solfege:

DOminus (God) SIdereus orbis (Starry sky/Ensemble of all Worlds) LActeus orbis (the Milky Way) SOL (the Sun) FAtum (Fate: the Planetary World, with direct influence on human destiny) MIxtus orbis (the Earth, under the mixed rule of Good and Evil) REgina astris (the Moon, ruler of human fate) The names of the notes have historically been attributed to the hymn 'Ut queant laxis' by Paulus Diaconus, where UT is used instead of DO. Mouravieff explains UT as indicating the uterus in the birth of flesh, and SI as representing "the door of the second Birth, according to the Spirit".

Other properties There are many properties which the Fourth Way relates to the Ray of Creation such as: the evolution of the substances in the Universe, relationship between the cosmoses and the human body, etc. Many of the properties of the law of octaves could be displayed using the Ray of Creation. "Involution" describes the branching out of the Ray of Creation from the level of God to the most mechanical and law-bound, and processes going in that direction. "Evolution" describes processes going in the opposite direction, as in the goal of Fourth Way development to transcend the level of the physical body, as well as cosmic processes. The law of octaves relates all processes which occur in time to the diatonic scale, ascribing a particular meaning to the intervals corresponding to the just diatonic semitone (a pitch ratio of 16:15). All vibrations are said to proceed with periodic unevenness corresponding to the diatonic scale.

Ray of Creation in history According to G. I. Gurdjieff, some of the ancient geocentric models don't represent an Earth-centered universe at all, but in reality display the Ray of Creation. This confusion was due to a lack of knowledge on the part of those examining the diagrams. Thus, the Ray of Creation is a part of ancient knowledge. Gurdjieff also claimed to have learned it in Asia and the Middle-East, during the end of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.

See also G. I. Gurdjieff Earth Level Fourth Way Enneagram The Fourth Way Centers (Fourth Way)

References

External links A description A somewhat advanced and multidisciplinary overview of Gurdjieff's cosmology Gurdjieff cosmology

Illustrations

Ray of Creation: Ray of Creation — Ray of Creation

Ray of Creation: Higher bodies placed in the Ray of Creation — Higher bodies placed in the Ray of Creation

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ray of Creation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ray of Creation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ray of Creation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ray of Creation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ray of Creation

In research: Ray of Creation appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ray of Creation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ray of Creation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Esoteric cosmology, Fourth Way terminology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ray of Creation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Ray of Creation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ray of Creation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ray of Creation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ray of Creation in simple terms?

The Ray of Creation is an esoteric cosmology which was taught by G. I.

Why does Ray of Creation matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ray of Creation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ray of Creation.