Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Discussions on the stanzas of the first volume of The secret doctrine

Answer: There is no secret to it, though our modern astrologers are ignorant of these planets. One is an intra-mercurial planet—which was supposedly discovered and named Vulcan in anticipation—and the other is a planet with a retrograde motion, sometimes visible at a certain hour of the night and appearing near the moon. The occult influence of this planet is transmitted through the moon.

Question: What is it that made these planets sacred or secret?

Answer: Their occult influences, as far as I know.

Question: Then do the Planetary Spirits of the Seven Sacred Planets belong to a different hierarchy than that of the Earth?

Answer: Evidently, since the terrestrial spirit of the Earth is not of a very high rank. It must be remembered that the planetary spirit has nothing to do with the spiritual man, but rather with material things and cosmic beings. The gods and rulers of our Earth are cosmic rulers; that is to say, they shape and fashion cosmic matter, for which they were called Cosmocratores original: "Cosmocratores," Greek for "world-rulers". They never had any concern with the spirit; the Dhyani-Buddhas, belonging to quite a different hierarchy, are specifically concerned with the latter.

Question: These seven Planetary Spirits, therefore, have nothing really to do with the Earth except incidentally?

Answer: On the contrary, the "Planetary Spirits"—who are not the Dhyani-Buddhas—have everything to do with the Earth, both physically and morally. It is they who rule its destinies and the fate of humanity. They are Karmic agencies.

Question: Do they have anything to do with the fifth principle—the higher Manas the human mind or intellect?

Answer: No; they have no concern with the three higher principles; they do, however, have something to do with the fourth. To summarize, therefore: the term Dhyan-Chohan is a generic name for all celestial beings. The Dhyani-Buddhas are concerned with the human higher triad in a mysterious way that does not need to be explained here. The "Builders" are a class called Cosmocratores, as I already explained, or the invisible but intelligent Masons who fashion matter according to the ideal plan prepared for them in what we call Divine and Cosmic Ideation. Early Masons called them collectively the "Grand Architect of the Universe," but now modern Masons have turned their G.A.O.T.U. Grand Architect of the Universe into a personal and singular Deity.

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Question: Are they not also Planetary Spirits?

Answer: In a sense they are—just as the Earth is also a planet—but they are of a lower order.

Question: Do they act under the guidance of the terrestrial planetary spirit?

Answer: I just said that they collectively are that spirit themselves. I want you to understand that they are not a single entity, like a personal God, but forces of nature acting under one immutable law; it is certainly useless for us to speculate on the nature of that law.

Question: But are there not builders of universes and builders of systems, just as there are builders of our Earth?

Answer: Assuredly there are.

Question: Then the terrestrial builders are a planetary "spirit" like the rest of them, only inferior in kind?

Answer: I would certainly say so.

Question: Are they inferior according to the size of the planet or inferior in quality?

Answer: The latter, as we are taught. You see, the ancients lacked our modern conceit—especially theological conceit—which makes this little speck of mud of ours seem ineffably grander than any of the stars or planets known to us. For instance, if Esoteric Philosophy teaches that the "Spirit" (again, collectively) of Jupiter is far superior to the terrestrial spirit, it is not because Jupiter is so many times larger than our Earth, but because its substance and texture are so much finer and superior to that of the Earth. It is in proportion to this quality that the hierarchies of respective "Planetary Builders" reflect and act upon the ideas they find planned for them in the Universal Consciousness, the truly great Architect of the Universe.

Question: The Soul of the World, or Anima Mundi original: "Anima Mundi," Latin for "Soul of the World"?

Answer: Call it so, if you like. It is the original model for these hierarchies, which are its specific variations. The one impersonal Great Architect of the Universe is Mahat, the Universal Mind. And Mahat is a symbol, an abstraction, an aspect that has taken on a hazy, personified form in the overly-materialistic conceptions of humans.

Question: What is the real difference between the Dhyani-Buddhas in the orthodox and the esoteric conceptions?