Daimons, Elementals, and Astral Beings Formed on the Inner Plane of Astral Light

Posted On November 9, 2023 / Written by Dr. Linda Gadbois

Astral Light, which makes up the basis for what we perceive as ‘reality’, exists fundamentally in a state of polarity, forming what we perceive as an inner and outer aspect of the same plane, and upper and lower parallel planes which are unified in producing what we can think of as a third element. This third element is formed through the reconciliation of polarized aspects which expand and contract simultaneously forming a coherent firmament of highly organized light. These polarize aspects of the same thing function in an analogous manner on both levels as ‘the One that produces Many, and Many that are analogies of the One’. In a previous article I discussed what we can call the outer plane of Astral Light, which I’m providing a link for in the body of this article, which is produced as what we can think of as an ‘outer reflection’ of our inner thoughts and imagining. In this article I’m going to focus on the correlating ‘inner plane’ of Astral Light, which is also correlated to what we can call the ‘upper plane’ of Light, which is known inwardly as a direct and immediate experience. These two levels of the same overall plane are complementary and paradoxical in nature, which means they perform different aspects and operations in producing and maintaining the same coherent field of organized light as a single reality.

Correlating Article:

Elementals, Elementaries, and the Formative World of Astral Light

In order to understand this dynamic relationship, we can form a concept of the outer aspect being composed of white light, because white light is comprised of all colors of the spectrum in a harmonious unification, and colors are sensory attributes that shape and give texture to material forms, making them appear the way they do. In the outer realm, light is formed as an illumination of the outer atmosphere in which material objects are structured and interwoven in an organized and logical manner, whereas on the inner planes the outer atmosphere appears dark, and light emerges out of the darkness in what appears as prismatic glowing substances that are dynamic and alive, continuously moving and morphing into different shapes as a kind of evolutionary flow through a current of correlated possibilities. While the outer appears somewhat fixed and stationary, with activity taking place within what appears to be a stable structure, the inner appears as more of a dark void (like outer space) where light as a fluid-gaseous essence moves in and out of existence, and flows in what appears to be a continuous state of becoming. It takes on a shape and then fluxes and flows through endless variations of the same metaphorical idea, before dissipating and then reemerging and taking on a new form of a similar nature (birth, life as a process of development, death, and the rebirth into a correlating idea). The outer plane is illuminated and contains numerous forms in a structured format, while the inner plane is dark and contains singular forms that are metaphorical in terms of their relation to the outer plane.

On the inner plane we have the full spectrum of incoherent and semi-coherent forms and activities that appear as prismatic impressions of spiraling, pulsating light that fluctuates with a luster, while in a constant state of movement. It’s a flowing energy that often takes on a generalized shape, transpires systematically through what seems like an evolutionary progression of that shape, before dissolving and dispersing, and then forming into a new, corresponding shape. While the process in which inner light can be seen and apprehended is similar for everyone, the astral forms and elemental beings that appear to inhabit this plane, so to speak, are different for everyone because they come as a reflection or representation of our own psyche and archetypal makeup. The inner plane is only perceivable using the faculty of our imagination, which is an aspect of our higher mind used as a kind of medium and transducer for translating universal ideas into personal possibilities. Our imagination is what you can think of as the ‘womb of creation’ and is embryonic in nature. It conceives ideas as electrical impulses, gestates them into analogous forms on the inner plane of the mind and then births them on the outer plane as a means of experiencing them.

The inner planes of the mind only become active when the outer plane is made inactive and thoughts are stilled, usually through meditation, contemplation, concentration, or when sleeping. When we fall asleep, it’s only our conscious mind, which is our thinking, self-aware mind, which actually sleeps in terms of becoming outwardly unaware and silent, while our subconscious remains fully active on the inner planes. Everything that takes place on the inner planes is a direct reflection of our own psyche, because we’re the one forming it as a reflection of ourselves that not only includes known aspects of our mind and self, but also the hidden, unknown, repressed aspects of our character that we’re not fully aware of in our waking state. Whatever aspects of our own nature and character we repress and refrain from expressing in our daily life, remain active within us and become expressed and known to us in dreams, inner visions, and as astral beings or archetypes formed on the Astral Plane.

An easy way to understand this is by realizing the entire material plane, which is composed of light, is passive, receptive, and magnetic in nature, and our conscious mind, which is the part of us that thinks and creates by imagining ideas, is electric and projective, and is what acts to both order and organize the material plane as a reflection of its own archetypal nature, as well as attract and congregate whatever instinctual energies and essences are correlated and compatible with it. It’s very important to understand the nature of archetypes, kingdoms, classes, and species, because this is the hierarchical order and structure of all life, both in the natural realm of the Earth’s soul and planetary essence as an archetype (all planets are archetypal beings), but also in the higher realm that’s complementary to this one, populated by divine beings of the heavenly realm called gods, deities, angels, and daimons. 

The inner plane takes on the symbolic form or archetype that represents our state of mind, which directly correlates with the outer field which is formed as a variation and unique possibility of that class and species. All inner astral forms are metaphorical representations that are analogous with the outer field, and usually appear as a single idea or icon. Images formed on the inner plane of our mind come in a variety of ways as pictures, images, or scenes that mimic a reality or phantom-like being, much like an imaginary idea that comes to us without us intentionally manufacturing it, which we tend to call premonitions or prophecies of what’s about to come or transpire through a natural course of events that seem to come beyond our ability to control or alter them. These images are similar to the images that form our daydreams and make up our nightly dreams, where they’re symbolic representations that we have to interpret using our rational mind in order to find the meaning they have for us. They often appear as a photographic or dream-like impression positioned out in front of us that we’re looking at and able to cognize in some fashion as a means of extracting its meaning or hidden message.

Other images, ones formed while in a meditative state, often come more as what appears to be living beings formed out of fluorescent light that emerge and take shape briefly as archetypal beings in a constant state of fluidity and motion. These beings, whose native plane is on the inner levels of the Astral Plane, like all Nature, have a hierarchical structure which combines two levels, making it more difficult to discern accurately. The archetypal forces associated with the lower level of the Earth’s instinctive field, form elementary beings, which can often seem bizarre, ghoulish, or demonic in nature. These are always composite beings that can have multiple attributes from each of the four kingdoms – mineral, plant, animal, and human – as well as attributes associated with the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth. These have been classified in Esoteric Sciences as gnomes (earth), sylphs (air), undines (water), and salamanders (fire). This classification also serves to describe, to a certain extent, what attributes and characteristics form how they tend to appear in the Astral Light, yet all astral beings and formations are constantly shape-shifting based on how they’re influenced by our mental interaction. We’re always ‘acting on’ the Astral Light mentally to shape it into an image that reflects back to us our own thoughts and beliefs.

Some appear to be comprised of dominant human or animal qualities, which become somewhat fixed in form while continuing to shimmer with consistent small changes, much like the glowing coals of a fire; others are more wispy, smokey, and ghost-like, forming out of a greyish essence that steadily becomes vivified with colors based on our reaction to it; while others appear as translucent, glass-like images that leave a rippling tail as they move in a flowing manner, much like fish swimming in water produce a turbulence; or they come as fiery images of intense prismatic colors that start off as pulsating impressions or swirling light that steadily crystallizes into lattice-like chromatic shapes, before gradually dissipating and fading back into the darkness they emerged out of.

Elementaries are the natural forces of the Earth’s instinctive field and always take on whatever shape they do by how we interact with them mentally and emotionally. They have no consciousness or morality of their own, and are an aspect of our subconscious which is ‘passive and receptive’ in nature and is what gives our thoughts form within the faculty of our imagination. It’s the stuff of memory that’s shaped in our mind as a representation for a particular type of experience. They’re the ‘shapeshifters’ of the underworld and conform to whatever thoughts and beliefs we have, because our conscious mind is electric in nature and is what forms the magnetic forces of the Earths plane into an analogous image of itself. These astral forms, we perceive as beings, appear in whatever way matches our beliefs or corresponds to whatever emotions we’re experiencing at the time we perceive them.

They’re not living entities in the sense of being conscience and independent, but only possess the conscience we infuse them with and that they act as a container for when forming them. Astral Light absorbs the patterns of our thoughts and activities, retains and records them as memory, while reflecting them as a mirror image, allowing us to behold them. They form initially as an impression, and then fluctuate in shape and color, based on our own reaction (to our self in another) and interaction with them. This can be understood metaphorically by realizing that each time we recall a memory (which we constructed using astral light), we adapt it to our current state and life situation, modifying it to be appropriate, use it as the means for interpreting the current situation to mean the same thing as the past, and then play it out in a different way as a means of creating a similar type of experience. As we create the same idea in a new way, we evolve the original memory through the integration of its own offspring as a unique possibility. As we watch these astral images, we orchestrate their transformation through our own mental state, usually without realizing it.

The impression that emerges out of darkness and begins taking shape is born out of the activity of our own mind. It’s the inner projection of our own thoughts. Astral Light has no conscience or will of its own and is a ‘blind force’ that we direct mentally through thinking and visualizing. Our imagination is the faculty of the mind that operates on the inner plane to shape light into ideas that become archetypal representations for producing corresponding experiences on the outer plane, as well as the womb that acts as a gateway between the higher plane of pure ideas and the material plane of analogous manifestation. We not only form them within our mind, we also animate them with our life energy and imbue them with the qualities and activities they take on. The Astral Light absorbs the energy of our thoughts and mental state, assimilates it into a corresponding image, and then reflects it back to us as a means of perceiving ourselves through our own image. This idea is expressed in Biblical analogy as the beginning or genesis of life, where the Word (thought) moved across the darkened waters (Astral Light and essence), calling forth (giving form to) the heavens and the Earth, and all life throughout the cosmos; and then later when its stated that man, who was created in the image and likeness of God, was given dominion over all life on Earth, because we were bestowed with the ability to think and willfully create the correlating reality of our thoughts using our imagination. Will is exercised in the imagination. As we think, we simultaneously call forth (will) the world of our thoughts, and experience ourselves through our own outer projection.

Many people become confused about this because they associate the mind and consciousness with the brain and nervous system, instead of realizing the mind is an invisible sphere of energy that not only surrounds, permeates, and encapsulates our body, but also extends quite some distance from our body and is always acting on the Astral Field to organize it into whatever shape it takes on. Psychologically we know when something is about to happen 3 to 5 seconds before it does because its activity has penetrated our energy field and comes as a form of premonition or symbolic preview allowing us to prepare for it. This is a natural function of instinct, where we sense the state and activity of everything around us by blending with it energetically. This same principle of the mind takes place on multiple levels and scales in an equal manner, and forms what can come as a surreal feeling of deja’vu, daydreams of events that end up coming true, and prophetic visions of the future that represent major events that act to set whole new stages of life into motion.

While we tend to only attribute this idea to people who are psychic or have prophetic visions, the reality is we all have this ability, the only difference is some realize and develop it, while others pass it off as meaningless, spooky, and random or dreadful thoughts. Even when they do realize they’re having what seems like a premonition or vision of a possible occurrence or future event, it seems spooky and eerie or mysterious, like something born out of superstition, witchcraft, or wishful thinking, and so they don’t heed it as a warning or preview of what’s about to occur, and instead blow it off or push it into the background because they don’t want to face or deal with what its implying.

Elemental Beings and Thoughtforms

Because Astral Light absorbs and reflects the energy of thought and only possesses the conscience inherent in the thought, elementary forms can be created by concentrating an idea into a sensationalized representation for activity and experience. If you take an idea and develop it using intense sensory attributes, infusing it with passion and strong emotions that cause it to come alive with sensation, while impressing it with a strong desire for a particular type of activity and experience, it can become a permanent astral form that eventually takes on a life of its own apart from its creator, and serves as a substitute archetype for producing a particular type of experience. It’s permanently recorded in the Astral Light where it acts as a form of virtual memory. If the astral form as a field of activity is then projected onto another person by visualizing them and willing it onto them (impressing it in their energy field), programmed with an analogous intention or wish of some kind, it enters their mind as a sensationalized thought that excites their imagination. Because it comes from what seems like an outside source or living idea inherent in the space around them, they don’t realize it’s being willfully projected onto them by another person, and instead perceive it as a conscious entity or spirit that’s actively engaging with them or haunting them for some reason.

Thoughtforms developed into what appears as an astral being made out of the instinctive (elemental) forces of Nature, designed to produce certain types of activity and experience, form the basis for what’s known as a psychic attack, enchantment, spell, or curse, commonly practiced in black magic. Magnetism is the basis for inducing a hypnotic trance, and the image transmitted acts as a hypnotic suggestion which, once planted in a fertile imagination, takes on a life of its own and systematically performs the operation that results in a particular type of experience. Some of the astral forms that populate the space around us are made by people through active use of will and imagination motivated by an intention, strong emotion, or desire of some kind. This can make them difficult to recognize as such when someone doesn’t understand what they actually are and how they take shape through a primary form of self-emergence or mental transmission that’s intentionally being directed towards you by someone else.

If you control your own reaction to them and remain neutral and detached while simply beholding them, you can sense their inner essence as a motive and what they’re designed to do, and often the person who made and willed them will also become known. This is because all mental creations bear our energetic signature, which usually comes as a picture, image, or name. But if you take them on by allowing them to excite your imagination, you then come to possess them, and often become obsessed with them. Once they take hold and you begin building them into whole realities as a possible experience or reflection of your own mind, they act to take control of your will (will is exercised through the imagination) and you become subject to them. This has historically been referred to as demonic possession, with the term demon referring to invisible beings who infect your mind causing hysteria and hallucinations.

Daimons, Gods, and Angels

In a like manner, there are also archetypal beings and forces that exist on the higher level of the mind that form our own archetypal nature, called daimons, gods, deities, and angelic beings. This level differs from the lower level in the sense that the archetypes native to it are divine in nature, which means they’re pure beings that are singular in nature and distinct in their own right and are nearly always display a human-like constitution and appearance. This is the realm of the conscious mind, which originates and resides on the higher plane apart from the body, and is self-creating, self-generating, and self-determined in nature. Whereas the entire material plane of Nature is comprised of created beings, on this plane all beings are self-created and act to create the entire reality of lower plane as their own mental offspring. The beings of this realm are fully conscious and willful, and represent what you might call the group mind or collective consciousness of the higher plane.

As humans we’re multidimensional in nature, possessed with both a subconscious and conscious mind which partake in different aspects and roles in forming a unified dimension. We have both an animal soul and nature, associated with our subconscious, and a divine, archetypal soul of our own making, associated with our higher conscious mind. Daimons are what you can think of as the gods and goddesses of mythology, and the deities of various spiritual traditions, which are essentially astral beings known to take on many forms at will, which make up the astrological archetypes of the Zodiac. For this reason, each one of us has a daimon that represents our own higher nature and character. Daimon is also a term used in referring to our higher-self or higher mind, which acts as a medium between the higher plane of divine archetypes and the lower plane of instinctive forces and animal archetypes, and so they’re always a composite being shaped through our own will and desire. Daimons don’t necessarily take on a distinct astral form, where they come as an image in our mind, but come more as an “inner voice†that’s instructive and inspiring in nature. Daimons are often portrayed symbolically as ‘muses’ of the arts that inspire creativity of various forms, because all creativity and innovation comes from our higher mind.

This can be understood by realizing that our conscious mind is the part of us that thinks by talking, and as we think, we form internal realities of our thoughts. Most of us experience what we call our higher self as an inner voice that we’re always having a conversation with through our own thoughts. When beings of the higher plane do take on an astral image they differ from instinctual forces in the sense that they’re nearly always strikingly beautiful, mesmerizing, alluring, and magnetic. They elicit a deep sense of love and inspiration that causes us to feel elated and more alive. When they do take on a form, they can, and often do, appear in what can clearly be called a demon-like being, where they’re prismatic, glowing, and have a crystalline, lattice-like structure that can resemble reptilian features, yet they’re stunning to behold and fill you with a sense of love, wonder, and awe. They tend to captivate you with their presence and always have a benevolent and omnipotent feeling about them. They nearly always emanate a majestic and authoritative presence.      

In a similar manner, some astral beings of light have a distinct angelic quality and appearance, with rays of light spiking out of their back resembling wings, and are usually of either a single color or shade, or comprised of complementary colors of the spectrum. This is because they have a pure nature (they’re not composite beings) and represent a single archetype which has select qualities that function consistently in performing a specialized operation. They don’t vary and waver in the sense of crossing and mingling with other beings vibratory nature. Angelic beings never combine with other archetypes and maintain a singular constitution, although they do have polarities, like all living essences do, and are always accompanied by a correlating counterbalance force known as daemons.

True daemons, like angels, are not combinations of diverse archetypal attributes and characteristics, but are pure and specialized in terms of always functioning in the same way. Each performs a distinct operation that’s the polar opposite of its angelic counterpart, and therefore complementary in relation. These have also been called dark angels or negative forces that are usually destructive and demoralizing, and when seen on the astral plane have a distinctly demonic appearance, which, like daimons, are not hideous or repulsive, but are beautiful, tantalizing, and seductive. These are the forces of ‘trial and temptation’ that provide us with the means for redeeming ourselves by challenging us with our greatest fears and weaknesses.

Beings on the higher level of the Astral Plane appear as divine, beautiful, perfect specimens, represented by the divine beings and gods of mythology, whereas elemental beings of Nature take on the appearance of our own nature, which is usually a combination of both divine or human qualities, and animal, plant, and mineral-crystalline qualities. Sometimes they form as cute and earthy looking beings that seem friendly and compliant, while at other times they appear as monstrous, vulgar, and disgusting. It all depends on what level, quality, and mode of consciousness it’s being formed by and serving to reflect as an outer image. As humans we’re both god and animal, which is represented symbolically by the devil, the god Pan, or the archetype of Baphomet, which is formed as a combination of both man and animal, and usually appears hideous and repulsive.

Astral forms are also formed in the atmosphere around us as a representation of the energy and mode of consciousness actively expressing or imprinted in that space. Whenever your in a group situation or actively partaking in a community of some kind, especially where activities are a ritual or ceremony that synchronizes the group mind as a particular type or mode of consciousness and morality, and you close your eyes, relax your body and quiet your thoughts, an astral image will form that’s a symbolic representation of the collective mindset. I’ve been in a church gathering where a mesmerizing prismatic daimon formed that had a distinct demon, reptilian-like, crystalline appearance to it, as well as one where a perverse, conniving, manipulating one was formed.

You can get a clear idea as to the nature of the group mind being formed by viewing the internal images formed in your mind that don’t result from you thinking about it. It’s all based on the collective consciousness involved. Another time I had to stay in a motel one night while on a road trip that was attached to a casino and night club, and when going to sleep, I kept seeing a cartoonish image of a red devil that had a depressed and perverse sense about it. Every time I participate in a group meditation, ritual, or group activity, I get a distinct feeling and impression that overshadows it, and if I blur my focus, moving my attention out into the periphery, becoming aware of everything around me, or I simply look down or focus on a distant space, an impression forms as a symbol or being that represents the overall mood and character of the group. I can also sense who’s in their element and who’s not, or I can form impressions of their anxious thoughts and insecurities.

Images Imprinted in Our Aura

In the same way we discussed Astral Light absorbing, holding, and reflecting an image that represents our thoughts as an outer reality, our own astral field of our mind is also populated with the mental impressions of our thoughts and feelings. Anyone who has developed their inner senses and psychic abilities, can be present with someone, form a neutral state, move their vision out into the peripheral space around them, and pick up on both the color of their mood and the mental images of their thoughts and activities. Thoughts formed but not acted on aren’t imprinted permanently, and appear as vague and wavering impressions, while ones that formed the basis for activity in forming an experience, come in a much more defined and vivid form. But you have to engage in this process with a neutral mindset, where you don’t think about, judge, evaluate, or try to interpret what you’re seeing, because the moment you do you’re projecting your own thought into the astral field, influencing the forms to take on the qualities of your discernment. You must develop the ability to simply witness the images impressed in it without thinking about them. Very few people make this distinction and perform psychic readings that are formed out of their own projections without realizing it, and act to deliver a form of ‘hypnotic suggestion’ as a result, due to the person receiving it being wide open and willingly taking in and manifesting whatever they’re being told.

Part of the art involved in any form of psychic or mental endeavor is to begin by understanding the nature and power of your own mind in being able to directly impose an influence on the mind of others. Once we realize that we’re the one actually determining and forming what we perceive as astral beings and elementals on the inner plane of our subconscious mind, and we have observed the influence our own thoughts have in causing it to shape-shift and take on correlating attributes that reflect back to us our own nature, it breeds a whole new level of self-awareness and understanding. As a general rule, the archetypal beings, elemental forms, symbolic impressions, and pulsating vivified essence we experience on the inner plane of our mind, where we’re ‘in here’ watching it take form and transpire in the empty space in front of us, are formed by our own thoughts, mental model, and state of mind.

Our Hidden Shadow Nature

Our thoughts act as an electric charge that causes the magnetic field of the Astral Plane to self-organize, forming an image of our inner constitution that includes our hidden, repressed, or shadow nature. It takes on the analogous shape of our own archetypal nature. When we think and emote, we directly influence it to reflect back to us our own thoughts and feelings, and when we still our thoughts and calm our emotions, it reflects our entire archetypal nature (mental paradigm), including the parts we’re unaware of having. The unconscious aspects that make up our shadow or dark side, are usually what we imagine as being an entity that’s detached from us and exists on its own without us projecting it. These images are formed the same way our nightly dreams are, born exclusively out of our subconscious activity as symbolic representations, where every aspect and character in the dream reflects an aspect or part of our own character and psychological makeup.

When we fragment our mind through trauma or by repressing unwanted parts of our own nature, they still remain a part of us and continue to actively express by becoming what we call subpersonalities. These are disowned parts of yourself that come as an inner voice that has a novel perspective and attitude and forms a part of your inner dialogue, which usually comes as a form of group discussion. The voice is your own inner voice, being utilized by what seems like a different personality and attitude. If you observe your own internal dialogue, you’ll notice that you have ‘different parts of you’ that are always talking and discussing things internally. As you contemplate something a group discussion ensues that debates it from different angles and attitudes. This group discussion between different parts of yourself is often expressed as the inability to make a decision or draw a rational conclusion because ‘one part of you’ wants to do one thing, while ‘another part of you’ wants to do something else. On the inner planes of your mind, which is the Astral Plane, these parts are personified as actual beings. You don’t recognize them as being your own reflection because you’ve hidden and repressed them, where you lost a direct awareness of them, yet they’re still an active part of your psyche.

All healing, in the most basic sense, comes by recognizing your own shadow nature, and in doing so, bringing it into the light of awareness where you can find an appropriate way to express it. The reason we repress parts of our character is because we were judged harshly for having them and we couldn’t find an appropriate way to express it that would fit the image we were building of ourselves. Once we realize that our shadow is forming the disturbing aspects we see in others and the demons that haunt us on the inner planes of our own mind, we can embrace them by finding an appropriate and healthy way of expressing them that’s congruent with our identity. As we begin expressing them as a natural part of our character, we release them from the deep pit of our own mental prison, and they become a harmonious part of our whole being, and no longer haunt us.

Dr. Linda Gadbois

Transpersonal Psychologist, Mind-Body Medicine Consultant, and Spiritual Teacher