The Earth and the 4th Intiation

The Fourth Initiation of Earth
Humanity is now facing a major challenge. We are facing the challenge of deep
change for survival and psychological expansion, or catastrophe and potential
retardation. This crisis of decision is energised by an unusually strong alignment of
fourth ray influences upon our planet and people. The fourth is the Harmony Through
Conflict ray, which generates and resolves conflict between pairs of opposites. It can
stimulate progress and ultimately lead to better harmony for all. It has both long term
and short term consequences for our planet now.
Fourth Ray
The “seven spirits before the throne of God” in the Bible’s book of Revelation are
seven qualities of the divine, seven streams of consciousness issuing from a central
source, fractally throughout manifestation. They have various names but the “seven
rays” is perhaps the simplest. The rays can be most easily understood as bands of
active, conscious vibration, resonating sympathetic structures and energies, and
stimulating relevant experience within the period of their activity.1
The fourth of these rays, called Harmony Through Conflict, creates beauty and
harmony, based on the divine image through a process of struggle and conflict of the
opposites or dualities, including yin and yang, and higher and lower. Through
conflict, issues are eventually resolved and wisdom is generated. It has the qualities of
strong affection, sympathy, courage, generosity, combativeness, mood swings, drama,
conflict resolution, imagination, intuition, aesthetic taste, and the ability to create
peace and harmony.
At a higher level, 4th Ray masters the dualities and harmonizes soul and personality in
preparation for at-one-ment with spirit. It is able to see the thread of cause and effect
through which the dissonances in human life create experience, learning, growth and
eventual resolution of conflict. It produces wisdom and beauty, and acts accordingly.
The lower aspect of the 4th Ray is temperamental and torn, vacillating and
inconsistent. Constant turmoil, drama and emotional extremes lead to a life of
constant and seemingly needless crisis and battle. Acrimony may alternate with
agreeableness or appeasement for the sake of it. The lower 4th Ray can be
opinionated, impulsive, unstable and lacking in rationality. It inclines to overdramatization
of the self and its likes and dislikes, and this leads to a fickle
favouritism or antagonism to others.
Fourth Initiation of Earth
The devolution of the divine into seven major principles manifests in many ways,
such as the seven major chakras in the human body, the seven dimensions of
substance, the seven kingdoms of nature2, and the many cycles with seven periods, as
well as the rays. The fourth of the seven major principles is an exceptionally powerful
influence on Earth now because of an alignment of cosmic cycles in their fourth phase
1 Each ray stimulates specific qualities, described in AA Bailey, Esoteric Psychology I, Lucis Trust,
London 1961, and at www.progressions.info/3chap.pdf.
2 See www.progressions.info for descriptions of the various sevens.
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that resonate the energy of the fourth ray. This affects the psyche of humanity,
because it is the fourth kingdom which is itself governed by the fourth ray. We are
told that our planetary Logos is undergoing the fourth planetary initiation, which is
also ruled by the fourth ray. These remarkable cyclic alignments of the fourth
principle, with our planet and its humanity, create exceptional energy for global
conflict. It also guarantees its eventual resolution into harmony.
Alice Bailey’s A Treatise on Cosmic Fire and Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine
provide the information that our solar system is of the fourth order, and that we are
now in the fourth scheme of the system, the fourth chain in the scheme, the fourth
globe in the chain, and the fourth round of the globe.3 These are the multiple cosmic
alignments of the fourth principle that dramatically increase the power of the fourth
ray upon our planet. The planetary Logos’s fourth initiation4 provides a long term
affect upon our fourth ray humanity. The fourth initiation is called the Renunciation
or Crucifixion, and is about leaving behind the attachments to material life and
ascending into the refined, whollist and enlightened ways of an adept. The duality of
spirit and matter is reconciled. All levels of soul-beings eventually undertake this
great transition in some form or other, and when they do their component sub-souls
are affected. As above so below, and the energies of this great planetary Logoic
transition are now transmuting the cells of its body, the people and natural world of
Earth.
The fourth initiation stimulates the Heart chakra through the fourth ray. This middle
chakra then integrates the three higher with the three lower chakras at the fourth
initiation, enabling the spiritual to fully guide the material. Ego attachment to the
lower nature is left behind, and ascension to a higher, buddhic state of enlightenment
occurs. When this happens at a Logoic level, the Heart chakras and fourth ray
energies in humanity receive extra stimulation.5 They experience heightened energy
of the conflict of opposites, including right and wrong, them and us, weak and
powerful, yin and yang, spirit and matter that underlie the major problems of today. It
is for this reason that Earth has been called the planet of pain and sorrow, its people
living in the vale of tears caused by the mighty conflict of planetary transformation. It
occurs at large and small scales, in many places and globally. Crises are met,
decisions made, resulting either in release into a better and more harmonious way of
living, or in a regression into further pain and suffering until the lesson is learned. We
eventually search for the better and more cooperative way of life for all.
We need to master this fourth ray and fourth initiation stimulation because it will be
with us for a very long time. Cosmic cycles cover long periods, and although these are
not entirely clear from the esoteric texts, a planetary round is about a billion years.6
According to Bailey the planetary Logos will achieve the fourth initiation sometime in
the next, the fifth round! The powerful fourth ray energy will be with us seemingly
3 See A Treatise on Cosmic Fire pp 360-363, 498 and The Secret Doctrine (Adyar Edition, Volume
One) pp 207-235.
4 A Treatise on Cosmic Fire p 384.
5 It does not mean that all people go through the same process. It means that hundreds of thousands of
humanity are now taking the first and later initiations, becoming soul infused personalities, overcoming
the carnal nature of self-indulgence. See Alice Bailey, The Rays and Initiations, p 569-575.
6 The Secret Doctrine (Adyar Edition, Volume Four) p 134.
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forever. While this is the long view, the pressing events on Earth mean that we
urgently need to understand and use creatively these energies of conflict.
Today we are increasingly being pressured into identifying the sources of various
conflicts, facing them, and doing our utmost to resolve them harmoniously. What is
clear is that seeking a victory over others, or over nature, will not work because the
fourth ray conflict will continue until a harmony of those involved is achieved (this is
Hegel’s dialectic process of opposites creating progress). Where “others” includes
nature, then the entire living systems and kingdoms of nature on our planet are
involved, as is happening now with global warming and climate change.
Presages
Major issues of today that foreshadow worse things to come include political
violence, the rich-poor divide, destructive economic growth, a diminishing resourcesto-
population ratio, causes and effects of climate change, and increasing competition
for energy supplies, water and food. For example after peak oil, when it declines, the
demand for oil will continue to rise from major users such as the USA, Europe, China,
India and Japan. The competition will not be just commercial, but will include
political and in some cases military actions, as in the Middle East now. China, India
and Japan are currently increasing their military capacity.
Global warming and its consequences has become a USA national, a UN global and a
security issue for many countries including Australia because of its destructive
potential for life. It can force strong competition for declining resources, especially
when coupled with loss of energy supplies, and mass migrations and aggression over
causes and effects. Some third world countries are accusing rich countries of
“pollution aggression” due to it changing their climate and reducing their ecological
carrying capacity.
Unregulated economic growth is driving pollution and rapid depletion of resources as
the world population increases. It is estimated that for all Chinese to live at the same
standard as the USA will require the resources of more than six planet Earths to
support it under current conditions. Our one planet’s carrying capacity under present
conditions clearly cannot do this for all, so something has to give. Normally we would
look to technological change to ease the way. However, the rate of change and the
“efficient” corporate capture of technologies have led to some rigidity that stifles the
needed rate of technological evolution and adoption.
Chakra Psychologies
The source of these major issues lies in the chakra psychologies7 of human
development. There is one overriding “pair of opposites” that gives us the key to
resolve the conflicts and emerge into a more harmonious world. This is the divide
between the Solar Plexus and Heart cultures as they work out in economic, social,
political and intellectual activities.8 These are not the only chakra cultures at work but
globally they are the most significant for planetary conflict resolution.
7 These are detailed in www.progressions.info at chapter 2.
8 See www.progressions.info at chapters 4, 5 and 6.
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Today the Solar Plexus culture produces the selfish, rapacious, short-term competitive
and deceitful way of life. The Heart culture produces the unifying, whollist, open and
cooperative way that creates greater harmony and sustainability. The Solar Plexus
pushes for growth and expansion for the self regardless of others. As an economy it
integrates resources, capital and entrepreneurs to create competition, profits, industrial
and commercial growth and increasing material wellbeing.9 Unfortunately it has no
inbuilt regulator for sustainability and so must push to its inevitable limits, and
beyond. Its limits are in the form of endless debilitating warfare (commercial but
spilling into other kinds), conflicts with authorities and the populace, overreaching the
limits of resources and logistics, destruction of nature’s life support systems, and the
consequences of lies, spin and deception. The only way out of this conflict is to rise to
another level and engage in Hobbes’s social contract, guided by the properties of the
Heart chakra and the fourth ray.10
The people of Earth are facing increasing conflicts, chaos and disasters because of the
current Solar Plexus way of life. This means, at its worst, reduced food and water
supplies, reduced energy supplies, reduction in population, increasing warfare,
migrations and general disasters. The positive side of these conflicts might include
new ecological life systems and niches, diverse responses pioneering new ways of
living, and eventually increased global cooperation and coordination for survival and
the development of a new civilization.
The fourth ray influence shows that it is imperative that we work cooperatively with
others to overcome the problems caused by selfish growth and expansion. Global
economic management should include all interests. This means all countries, social
groupings, companies, voluntary organizations, political and scientific analyses,
international bodies, and stewards of the ecological integrity of our planet’s life
support systems. Without this cooperative action we will have no chance to change
the current destructive trends for the better. The worst-case predictions of the
international consensus of scientists about disasters caused by global warming, energy
shortages and warfare would then come true.
Panarchy Cycles
The fourth initiation governed by the 4th ray is the archetypal emblem of the death of
the old and the ascension to the new. It has its counterpart in some of the deep
structural dynamics that guide our struggling transformations. Ecological cycles and
the structure of scientific revolutions show that we go through one such process when
we go from one phase of existence to another. Recent work on complex adaptive
systems can help us here. Under the ecological heading of “Panarchy” this type of
analysis helps explain the dynamics of moving from one worldview and its
civilization to another.11 It suggests that we are now passing a “climax” in the practice
9 In its essential form it is called market fundamentalism or economic liberalism.
10 In the 17th century, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes concluded that the brutish competitive life in the
pursuit of selfish interests was too destructive, with outcomes too negative for all concerned.
Consequently, he concluded that people sought a “social contract” to overcome warfare, which would
need to be enforced by a sovereign authority.
11 Panarchy is derived from ecological modelling and is a multi-scale cyclic process that includes
whole of Earth variables. See Gunderson and Holling (eds), Panarchy: Understanding Transformations
in Human and Natural Systems Island Press, Washington 2002. Further good treatment is in Thomas
Homer-Dixon, The Upside of Down, Island Press, Washington, 2006, ch 9. A website where you can
read the first chapter of Gunderson and Holling is www.resalliance.org/593.php
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of fundamentalist capitalism in the world. It indicates that we need to reorganise
globally – to expand into a new level of awareness and action that incorporates yet
guides capitalism. This new awareness is integrative and cooperative, including all
life on Earth. It is not led by a limited discipline or ideology but is focussed on
principles of sustainability of life, and development of harmony between people,
nature and our highest aspirations.
In panarchy, ecosystems go through cycles of growth, collapse, regeneration and
growth again, at various geographic and time scales. There is a similar process in
economies and civilizations, including human psychologies and cultures. The growth
phase is one of rapid expansion of participants (e.g. species, people, ideas, resources),
energy use, exchange, and connectivity. Within the constraints of the system it
increasingly organises into efficiency patterns that exclude non-efficient players.
Consequently diversity and resilience decrease as the dominant efficiencies and
specialisations increase, making the system brittle and vulnerable to collapse from
unexpected shock. In an ecosystem this shock can be external, from drought, fire,
flood, people etc, and in a human economy or civilization it can be either external,
and/or internal from the cumulative effects of inadequate information, limited
ideology, rampant greed and poor management. The more the system is
interconnected, the faster its potential collapse. In today’s global economy and
ecology the rate of this interconnection has increased rapidly.
However, a collapse will normally lead to regeneration, though not exact replication.
The previous mature or “climax” system has produced varieties of participants or
products, and the non-efficient of that system may have become marginal but not
extinct. All of these now become available to commence a new system’s growth
during the period of chaos of the collapse of the old. This is the period of crisis and
choice. System parameters have changed, enabling development to a new pattern of
greater or lesser complexity. Resilience now increases because the rigidities of the old
efficient interconnectedness have vastly decreased. New options become possible and
new patterns of growth commence. The system reorganises, and learns by adapting to
the new constraints upon it, which are material, ecological, and psychological and
cultural in the case of people.
To rise to the challenge and make useful changes, we should now assess whether a
period of chaos and reorganisation is essential for transformation to a better way of
life. We need to face the consequences of continuing as usual compared to radical
change. All kinds of interests will compete, but a belief in harmony with all peoples
and nature is essential for the guidance of a new civilization. It would require
widespread agreement about guiding principles to maintain all life and human
development. This could be an enlightened form of Hobbes’s sovereign authority to
maintain the social contract. Some aspects of our current way of life will not vanish,
but we must adapt to broader and more inclusive values such as ecological integrity to
preserve global life and human development for everyone.
Other Ray Influences
The cosmic cycles mentioned above are those of great beings within which we live as
cells of varying consciousness. We are all part of the one life and purpose, interacting
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in a divine Panarchy, ever evolving.12 There is a cycle of around 2500 years that
commenced its influence on Earth in 1675. This is the seventh ray influence on
consciousness by which the divine is made practical in matter.13 It influences the
transmutation of consciousness, and the transference from one phase of existence to
the next. We now have this opportunity to use the re-organising and integrating
aspects of the seventh ray to bring divinely inspired harmony into all of our activities
on Earth. It can bring order out of chaos and stimulate development of a new
civilisation.14 However, if we misuse it, then it can strengthen the hand of the
separative, power hungry despots who would despoil the Earth for selfish purposes.
An additional influence is that of the root races. The 4th of these was the Atlantean,
which had to master powerful self-centred emotions. The immense conflict between
light and dark resulted in great destruction of their civilisation. However, the Old
Commentary says that for Humanity, the conflict began in the 4th race, reached its
climax and crisis in the 5th race (ours, now) and lessens in the next, the 6th race.15 This
corresponds to the archetypal process of initial crisis, followed by tension and
destruction of the old, and then emergence into a new and better way of life. As a
human race, we are now in the middle of the period of tension and destruction of the
old, though there is for some an early emergence into the 6th race qualities. When an
additional cycle of the 4th ray starts to engage Earth after the year 2025, we will see an
intensification of conflicts and a great drive to attain harmony of all our activities with
ethical or spiritual values benefiting the whole.
While the 4th ray governs the human kingdom, the 5th ray of Knowledge and Science
is also powerful for humanity.16 One creates turmoil leading to choice and harmony,
and the other creates discriminating choice that leads to knowledge and wisdom. Both
will guide us through this difficult period if we allow them.
Light Workers
Right now we face the trials of a major global change of level in humanity. It will
work out either in disaster to the three lower kingdoms plus humanity, or in a struggle
to overcome human recalcitrance, and the creation of a cooperative and whollist way
of life in harmony with nature and the divine. By bringing more light into the world
and its people, seeking assistance from the higher realms, light workers help to seed
harmony in the world. We can work together with the masters to bring enlightenment
more fully into all activities on Earth. This is our body, that of our planetary Logos in
which we live and learn illumination. We now need an understanding of the role of
chaos in renewal. Let’s play our part in raising its (our) frequency through our love,
light and vision of a far better world.
12 The esoteric side of this is presented in www.progressions.info, in the article on Divine Panarchy.
13 The 7th ray is that of White Magic, order and law. It has great organising power, aiming to make the
ideal a reality. The periods of this and other ray cycles are from Bailey, Esoteric Psychology I, p.26.
14 The ray is that of Order or White Magic; see Alice Bailey, The Rays and Initiations, p 572-573, and
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p 440-448. Its period corresponds to the Age of Aquarius, which is of
enlightened collective consciousness, and its planetary influence is that of Uranus.
15 Bailey, Esoteric Psychology I, p.345.
16 Ibid, p.343.
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But what of the predictions of disaster?
The current Earth system as mediated by humans is not working as it should. It has
raised the standard of living and awareness of many, but it is in danger of rigidifying
into a way that would inhibit the further development of people and the planet. The
Logos cannot allow this, yet must allow the process of free will to work out. Hence
conditions are set. Limits are put to actions and consequences made clear. Then free
will reigns. The negative consequences include the crumbling of the present human
system and all of its comforts and iniquities, through the foreshadowed disasters. The
positive consequences are freedom from the past limitations and their destructiveness
and emergence into a far more caring and constructive life. The probabilities are there
for people to calculate, yet we have free will to turn the system and where it is
heading around. This needs action on all levels, and conviction that it can be done.
There should be no discouragement or defeatism, nor blind optimism that leads to
inaction. The world is in our hands. Let us treat it, we all in the one body, gently and
well.
Evolution will continue, as will human life and civilisation. It remains to be seen
whether we make it difficult for ourselves, or whether we work in divine harmony to
create a new world of freedom and grace. We can choose this, but in so doing must
act on it, now. Life continues always, but what are we as humans creating?
* * * * *
“That time will come when desolation has wrought its beneficent work,
when all things have been destroyed, and men, through suffering, have
sought to be impressed by that which they had discarded in vain pursuit of
that which was near at hand and easy of attainment. Possessed, it proved to
be an agency of death – yet men sought life, not death.”
- Old Commentary17
“The Earth is currently moving up in vibration each day, and more souls are
rising to the occasion of living out a higher thoughtform. Soon, there will
not be room for those who do not act for the good of all.”
- Cassandra18
17 Alice Bailey, The Rays and Initiations, p 332. This refers to the present world period of the previous
and current centuries. It can apply at various levels of awareness.
18 In Robert Schwartz, Courageous Souls, Whispering Winds Press, USA 2007, p286.