Anatomy of the Ethereal Body, Part 1

From the moment we draw our first breath to our final sigh, the Ethereal Body serves as our living blueprint: a luminous, ever-shifting double of our physical form that not only outshines our flesh but also anchors the very rhythms of life, growth, and consciousness itself.

Defining the Ethereal Body

The Ethereal Body, or the “fluid” body of life, is the true energy of the physical body. It is regarded as the double physical body.

This is one of the bodies that we have in common with all other sentient beings that inhabit this planet. Furthermore, it is the design that sustains us all, as the “mold” of everything that exists. The ethereal body is not a sub-product of the physical body; it is an independent system in itself.

Characteristics and Appearance

For humans and plants, it gives them power through rhythm, growth, and reproduction. Its shape resembles the physical body, but it surpasses it since the physical body is less luminous. Usually, the Ethereal bodies match those physical bodies in size. However, they are always a little bit bigger in volume. They are made up of vital currents of different colors. These colors can vary with health status and the frequencies emitted by the heart.

Whoever has the gift of sight can see the subtle design of this Body when it comes out from the physical body of a dying man and merges within the other energy bodies, the emotional body, and the mental body.

The Silver Cord and Spiritual Traditions

The Bible references this in Ecclesiastes, XII, 6, where it discusses the breaking of the "Silver Cord":

“Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.... “

The Priest and the Initiate both work with their hands on a person's etheric body during rites of consecration or liberation. Likewise, the healer, the psychoanalyst, and the hypnotherapist do so.

Chakras and Energy Centers

We have different energy zones, or rather vortices, in the etheric body that reflect the emotional body (the Body of Desire or Astral Body), the mental body, and the causal body. In the case of the physical body, they are matched by the points of contact with certain glands of internal secretion. There are also connections to certain nerve plexuses. There are seven main plexuses or chakras.

Energy Circulation in the Ethereal Body

The energy body, our etheric body, acts as a subtle sheath around our physical body, extending a few inches beyond it. In it lie the energy centers or Chakras.

The Chakras form the basis of the Pranic movement, or Prana energy system, which feeds the etheric system. For this reason, it is imperative that these centers remain open and, at a minimum, be cleaned. This ensures that the flow and circulation of vital energy will never be interrupted.

Physiological Role of the Chakras

From a physiological perspective, the Chakras are involved in the reception and flow of higher energies, directing them to the cellular structures of the physical body through specific channels of subtle energy, the Nadis. They act as energy transformers. The energy, in turn, is translated into hormonal and physiological-emotional changes, mindsets, and eventually the entire cellular body.

Anatomically, each Chakra is directly associated with an endocrine gland.

The Four Ethers

While the entire ethereal body concerns the life force, one of its many layers is specifically related to life: the ether of life. The Arcane Schools of Wisdom discerned four layers pertaining to the ethereal body, which are:

The Ether of Life,

The Chemical Ether,

The Light Ether

The Heat Ether

The word “layer " may be a confusing concept for some individuals because the four ethers that are compounds of the ethereal body are not stacked one on top of another like layers of cake. In fact, they infiltrate one another, as water goes into a sponge.

Reiki

Cosmic and Physical Ether

According to the Eastern concept of energy, there is an immaculate essence that pervades the manifested universe, and this “Virgin” substance is called Cosmic Ether.

The cosmic ether flows through the pores of the planet Earth, which acts as a condenser of this ether. Under such conditions, the cosmic ether loses its characteristic of “virgin" or “pure” essence, to become an impregnated substance of impurities during the planet’s exudation, turning into the physical ether which will be irradiating from the earth itself.

You will also enjoy Anatomy of the Ethereal Body, Part 2