Quintessence – The Fifth Element of the Pentad, Self-Perfection, and the Holographic Principle
The term ‘quintessence’, which can be translated as meaning the fifth element or primordial essence, is represented by taking an idea and forming it into an ‘ideal’ where it serves as a prototype for bringing divine qualities into perfect expression. It represents what you can think of as a state of ‘self-perfection’, achieved by using your higher conscious mind to transform weaknesses into strengths as a means of purifying your intrinsic nature. What we commonly refer to as our ‘soul’ is formed as an ‘archetypal matrix’ comprised of a unique formula of attributes and qualities that make up our ‘character’, energetic constitution, and essential nature, out of which all our thoughts, feelings, and actions naturally form as a means of self-expression. This idea forms what’s called the fifth element of the aether or subtle energy of the mind, which is formed by coalescing the four primary elements (fire, water, air, and earth) of the subtle plane into a single element, where four are made into one.
The 5th element of the aether and the principle through which it operates is symbolized esoterically by the pentagram, which holds the 4 elements in an ordered, balanced, and symmetrical state as a mental construct. The aether, like the mind of which it’s an inherent part, exists as a field of archetypal information as ‘ideas’ in their potential state, that populate the luminiferous aether as possibilities for expression in order to produce particular types of experience. The concept formed by the pentagram as a five-pointed star within a circle, represents the mind (circle) as encompassing and infusing the 4 elements (lower triads) into a 5th element. Our mind exists as a ‘field of information’ formed into a cohesive ‘memory’ as our mental paradigm that vibrates at a particular frequency, and is what forms the ‘perceptual lens’ that we look through to see the reality formed by our paradigm.
When we use the term ‘planes’, which represent a hierarchical structure of higher and lower planes that exist as interwoven ‘aspects’ of each other, where one systematically evolves out of the other, we can also view this idea as larger fields that contain smaller fields within it that are all of the same ‘nature’ as a vibratory frequency. This idea can be thought of as a larger field that regenerates itself as smaller fields formed out of the same type of information in a more concentrated and solidified state. For example, the mind is represented as originating and residing on a higher level that oversees the lower plane and contains the lower plane ‘within it’ in its ‘entirety’ as a whole cycle of formation (life cycle). This is because the mind is the ‘model that’s constantly being used to ‘activate information’ inherent in the greater group mind of mass consciousness, where selected bits of information are then formed into a unique whole that acts as a ‘mirror’ for experiencing the reality of our own paradigm.
The 4 elements of esoteric sciences can also be thought of as the ‘4 states of matter’, which describe the process of generation where an invisible idea is used as an energetic form to coalesce light into outer shape of the same nature. The 4 states of matter, which describe a process of solidification, result from a ‘spark’ (electrical impulse) that electrifies plasma (an invisible source of energy), causing it to begin organizing as a gaseous shape, that appears fleeting and ghost-like, and then becomes more concentrated and solidified into a liquid, flowing, unified movement of crystallized light, which then becomes solid as a biological, living entity. We can observe this same process of creation taking place on various time-lines throughout the universe as nebula that births star-systems, which ultimately represent archetypal energies that are impressed in the very fabric of space itself, and not only represent a psychological state, but also acts on ‘other minds’ to influence them into the same state as a mode of operation or particular type of expression.
The mind is an invisible field of organized information (mental model) that acts as an electric charge (frequency) that electrifies plasma (etheric substance) causing it to form as a highly organized living system of information. It’s the ‘life energy’ that constructs an ‘outer reflection’ of itself within the astral plane, and is what animates its own form with life. The mind forms itself as an outer light body (shell) that it then uses as the means of perceiving and forming an experience of itself through its own mental construct. A body of light is created out of the 4 ‘states’ matter (Primordial substance) goes through in forming into what appears as a solid, yet fluent physical body that it both encompasses and permeates, forming a pentagonal symmetry, where the 5th element of the mind (subtle body) resides on a higher plane or greater level and is what orders (selects), organizes (constructs), and animates (gives life to) the lower or outer plane of material formation, we call reality. All of what we perceive as a material reality (dimensional construct of light) operates through the principle of polarity, and just as the higher plane contains and maintains the entire lower plane within it as a reflection of itself, it also operates on the same plane (linear) to form an inner and outer, where the outer is being produced as a reflection of the inner. This is represented by the center of the star forming a pentad that’s a reverse image (orientation) of the outer form it’s acting to emanate and maintain as a stable construct. Once the outer is formed to reflect the inner as a projection, they’re then combined to form an ‘experience’ as a process of self-regeneration, personal growth, and developing ourselves by way of our own expression.
The Pentagram – Upright and Inverted
The 5-pointed star has always been used as a symbol of excellence and brilliance. It’s a symbol of superiority, power, and authority used for warding off or overcoming evil, represented by an inverted star where the elemental instincts driven by passions govern the mind. When inverted it forms the general shape of what we have come to perceive as the ‘devil’, which is also represented by the archetype known as Pan. The term ‘pan’ means ‘all’, symbolized with horns (a divided mind), red hair, hooves, and a tail (a man combined with an animal), representing the lustful fertility of Nature, which induces frenzied excitement and panic or pandemonium (chaos and disorder). The upright star represents ‘mind over matter’, where the higher, human mind of rational thought and reasoning has control over the lower, animal mind of the subconscious, and when inverted represents the reverse, or resistance to positive qualities of excellence, purity, and goodness.
The pentagram represents ‘regeneration’, where the mind regenerates itself as an outer projection in order to experience and come to ‘know itself’ through its own creation as a mirror image of itself. The principle of regeneration and growth comes as an incremental process of accumulating experiences of yourself that are built up over time and used to grow and evolve yourself. This process of self-evolution is represented by the Fibonacci Sequence of numbers, also called the Golden Mean, which represents harmony and beauty in how the ‘part’ relates to the ‘whole’. The Golden Mean demonstrates how the most recent past forms the basis for the present, which are then combined to form the basis for the future as a natural process of growth and development that evolves itself through the ‘feedback’ acquired from its own expression and activity. 1+1=2, we then add (combine) 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, 5+8=13, 8+13=21, and so on.
The human body, when the arms and legs are extended to form an ‘X’, form the shape of a pentagram. This number, symbol, and idea correlates with the Hierophant of the Tarot, and Tiphareth on the Tree of Life, both of which represent the higher, conscious minds ability to govern and work through the lower mind as the means of experiencing itself. In Egypt the Pentagram was used to symbolize the ‘underworld’ (Duat), which was represented as being ‘below’ as the ‘foundation’ out of which the material world was formed and held in place, setting the atmosphere and circumstances necessary for the activity of the higher mind to self-express as a means of ‘knowing itself’ through its own outer reflection. This idea symbolizes our ‘spiritual arising’ as the birth of the sun (star) into daylight, which provides us with a formula as a process for consciously conducting our own ‘rebirth’. We regenerate ourselves as a higher divine being by ruling over the elements of Nature, which are controlled and directed by ‘thought’ and ‘will’, bringing order to chaos, and using our higher mind to purify and perfect ourselves. Stars and star-systems have a powerful impact on us psychologically and bear specific influences based on their position as a co-ordinance, their placement within the heavens, and the constellations they serve as a part in.
Fractal Patterns and the Nature of Mental Offspring
What science has come to call ‘fractal patterns’ can be thought of as a ‘parent pattern’ that reproduces itself as offspring that form the same ‘type or kind’ of pattern, on a smaller scale. This idea of a parent-pattern (mental model) regenerating itself to produce a similar pattern, is the same way that our inner essence acts to produce itself (same pattern) as an outer reality, which then sets the stage for experiencing ourselves, and the experiences we formed serve to grow and develop us through the unique variations formed. Our outer reality is generated by our inner nature as a holographic pattern that’s used as the means for shaping the outer to be of an equivalent nature as the inner, setting the stage for the activity we engage in that allows us to ‘know ourselves’ through the experience created. The part (inner self) and the whole (outer reality formed by the self) are the ‘same thing’ on different scales and levels of existence, necessary in order to know ourselves through the outer reality of our own making. The part propagates wholes, and the whole propagates equivalent parts, both of which are formed out of the same ‘essence’. This forms the basis for fractal mathematics that demonstrate the creative process of the holographic principle of self-creation.
The Holographic Principle of Regeneration
The pentagram represents the holographic principle of how the higher mind acts on the lower plane of the material world to shape it using the same attributes and qualities that it possesses. It describes how the inner forms the outer as a reverse image, held together by a ‘medium’ formed as an energetic lattice or structuring mechanism (electromagnetic field) that allows us to perpetuate our own image as a means of ‘perceiving ourselves’ through a greater whole formed out of the same archetypal matrix. Our archetypal matrix contains all the ingredients necessary for shaping our character which expresses naturally to tell a particular type of story by living it. Our inner nature forms our basic character, and our outer reality forms a corresponding stage and atmosphere for us to act out our life-story as a generalized theme. We shape everything around us to resemble us because we’re viewing it ‘through’ our mental paradigm. One of the reasons we have trouble comprehending this is because we’re always working simultaneously out of both a conscious and unconscious state, and we tend to think of our ‘self’ as being our body and physical appearance, rather than being our ‘mind’ as a ‘mental model’ that’s formed out of all our life experiences synthesized into a single idea that plays out as a theme.
What we call the ‘principle of formation’ operates through vibration, which contains both the pattern (idea) and a self-assembling mechanism that constructs the idea into a 3-dimensional form. The ‘pattern’ exists as a coherent 3-dimensional model or cohesive idea that vibrates at a frequency that’s unique to the pattern, and acts on the outer field of the group mind to only ‘vibrate’ and call forth in an active state what ‘matches it’ and can be used to assemble the same idea on a greater, more inclusive level. This process works through sympathetic resonance, which means it happens in a completely automatic (natural) way directly below the level of awareness. Each part is ordered in the same way as the whole, and is comprised of the same qualities and characteristics. A mental model is an invisible field of an energetic structure that activates only correlated (polarized) elements in everything else, which means we only perceive in the outer world what is of the same nature and idea as our inner world of thought and imagination. The inner and outer are symmetrical images of each other, where one (inner) forms a metaphor that plays out naturally through a larger, ongoing theme born out of the same qualities to produce a consistent type of experience.
Symmetry and the Principle of Phi
What we call ‘Phi’ in science isn’t a number, it’s a ‘relationship’ formed as an accumulative process of ‘halving and doubling’, that forms the basis for manifesting through a process of self-regeneration. It’s a self-replicating rhythm of ’cause and effect’, where different sequences become more exact at different rates, forming ‘values’. It demonstrates a self-replicating system of dividing in half as an outward projection of yourself, similar to positioning mirrors so that they face each other. You can tell the ‘whole’ by looking at the ‘part’, because the part contains the same values as the whole, and therefore resembles it. The part and the whole vibrate at the same frequency and act to organize the same model as a thematic idea on a smaller and greater level. All our thoughts and feelings propagate naturally out of our mental paradigm as an expression of it, and our perception of reality reflects back to us our own thoughts about it, which we then ‘interpret’ using the same model that birthed them as a means of making them ‘mean something’. We interpret activities and events to give them meaning based on how we mold them into our ongoing story and narrative about things. We then translate our experiences into memory by molding them back into the same memory-model that formed them as an outgrowth, evolving it based on any new information attained. The same idea is acted out in many different situations and with different people, while still forming the same type of experience.
As two ideas or fields of information combine they naturally form a third element. A new field as a variation is formed through how polarized aspects of the same idea interact. This process is represented by the 4 elements, which are really comprised of 2 primary elements that combine to produce a 3rd, which is then concentrated through an evolutionary process to form a 4th. These 2 primary elements, which are polar opposites of each other, combine to form a complementary 3rd. The 2 primary elements are Fire and Water, which combine to form ‘Air’, which is the subtle light-body (atmosphere formed out of astral light) of the Earth. The earth element, which represents the manifestation of the “3 into 1â€, is formed as a combination of light, water, and air, synthesized into a single form.
What we have come to call ‘reality’ is formed by the interaction and relationship of 2 minds (fields of correlated information), where only the qualities they share in common actively express in forming a ‘joint experience’ of a ‘shared reality’. The basis for reality as an outer awareness can be thought of as an interaction formed between and individual mind (part) and a much larger and more inclusive group or universal mind. The universal mind, also called the Aether or astral field of ‘living memory’, contains all the information as attributes and qualities that form characteristics in a ‘latent state’ of decoherence, and only forms into a coherent state when being ‘observed’ (mentally interacting with) by the individual mind.
A coherent state means the information contained becomes organized into a light construct that’s of the same frequency (3-dimensional form) of the individual mind forming a relationship with it. The field of decoherent light (exists as what looks like a cloudy mist) is neutral in nature, not possessing any ‘active’ component of its own, and exists in a chaotic and random state of ‘probability’, which means it forms the basis for an infinite variety of possibilities as a ‘wave-form’ that’s only shaped into one possibility based on the mind interacting with it. Our energy field (frequency) is constantly collapsing the outer field into a coherent construct that forms a mirror image of our mental model, where we each experience a reality of our own making. This can be readily recognized by simply observing that every person who’s a part of the same event or situation ‘experiences’ it in a different way that’s unique to them based on their own perspective, life-story, and mental paradigm.
You can know the unknown aspects of any equation and situation by how they exist in relation to the ‘known parts’ of the same equation. The Golden Mean represents the relationship where the whole and the part simultaneously relate to each other in the same way. If you take a line as a segment and you divide it into 3 equal parts (thirds), and you combine 2 of the parts to form a larger segment, each part is still ‘proportionately’ the same. The 2/3 represent Phi, symbolized as a circle with a line dividing it in half, and the Golden Mean represents the remaining 1/3. All growth comes by regenerating ourselves to form an equivalent outer form that mirrors back to us our own mental creation as the means for experiencing ourselves and shaping ourselves by way of our own self-produced experiences. Phi represents the relationship formed as an accumulative process, where we combine consistently with the same essence as qualities in everything else to produce a unique variation of the same idea. We repeat this process indefinitely as a means of consistently producing new experiences of ourselves, which are then integrated back into our mental model, upgrading and evolving it to a more expanded and inclusive form of the same overall idea.
The pentagram represents the elements being held in perfect (symmetrical) balance as an ‘ideal’. 1+1=2 as a multiplication of 1, which then reproduces by doubling – 2+2=4, 4+4=8, 8+8=16 and so on – which is the process of cellular growth (mitosis), where one cell regenerates itself billions of times, each time differentiating to perform a specialized function in the greater whole of which it’s a part. It does this by using a ‘spatial map’ as a hologram (body of synchronized information to form a system) that’s an invisible template used as a form of blueprint for intricately constructing a material replica of itself. Our soul exists as a field of concentrated memory acquired through an accumulative process of self-regeneration that’s ‘imprinted’ in and on the Pineal gland, known as the ‘seat of the soul’, as a hologram or coherent field of crystallized memory (light) that acts not only as the ‘builders plan’ for the body and personality, but also for the reality emanated through the brain and nervous system of the body. The subtle body, also called our etheric-double or astral body, exists and functions systematically through 10 primary principles, represented by the concept of the ‘Tree of Life’ as 10 centers (spheres), 3 outside the body that encase the other 7, which form an energetic circuit as an axis for consciousness to function within the body. The 3 principle aspects of the mind that contain the other 7 within it, can be thought of as the Supernal or Superconscious that never enters into it’s own physical formation and always resides on the outer periphery formed by the 6 principles of the Formative Plane (2 Triads of the Conscious and Subconscious), which coalesce and manifest in the 7th.
Becoming Whole
All growth towards perfection comes as ‘ideal proportions’, where 2 combine to form a third as a cohesion of shared qualities. The large part is identical proportionately to the smaller part in terms of the properties that make up their constitution. We can understand how polarized planes function by realizing the upper plane is the whole and the lower plane is the ‘part’ (body) located within the whole, where we live and experience ourselves within the reality of our own making. You can recognize your own ‘repressed nature’ and the parts of your self that you’ve disowned by how they form a natural part of your outer reality and the relationship you form with them as a reaction. We disown, deny having, and refuse to express the parts of our us that have been judged as being bad or wrong by others. As we were judged for having certain traits, we also came to judge ourselves in the same way, where we refused to express them and denied having them as a result. Yet these repressed parts of our own nature are hidden within our subconscious mind and still form a natural part of our perception of the outer world. As we perceive them in others or as playing out in a situation, we form a reaction to them using the same judgment. The basis of what we call spiritual or psychological healing comes by recognizing the disowned parts of ourselves and using our rational mind of reasoning to find a way to bring them into expression in an appropriate and beneficial way.
Quintessence and the Process of Self-Perfection and Creation
The way to work consciously in being able to create our own experiences and develop our character in an intentional and deliberate way, is laid out for us through a model of complementary aspects called ‘vices and virtues’. Vices can be thought of as weaknesses and character flaws that form addictions and are destructive in nature, and virtues are strengths that empower us and provide us with the means for transforming weaknesses into strengths. We can act on ourselves to evolve ourselves to a higher and more divine nature by first recognizing what our weaknesses are and then intentionally employing the opposite trait as a means of transforming them. The other system that’s been laid out for us to use as a psychological means for developing ourselves to be of a more ‘divine nature’ is the archetypes of the Zodiac (our archetypal matrix), and the pantheon of the gods of mythology. These systems portray an assortment of characters (gods) whose nature is formed out of a dynamic combination of qualities and characteristics that express to form natural behaviors as a way of functioning that play out naturally in telling a particular type of story as a way of creating ourselves through our ability to express divine qualities.
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When we use divine, god-like qualities to shape ourselves through the experiences created while expressing them, we shape ourselves to be god-like and divine in nature. This comes by taking a quality as a way of being and concentrating on expressing it in the best and most accurate way you can. For example, you can choose a state of ‘calm’, and embody that quality as a ‘state of mind’ and way of being where, no matter what situation you’re in as you go through your day, you use it to practice remaining cool, calm, and collected. No matter what’s going on around you or what’s being projected towards you, you stay focused and cultivate a sense of inner calm in relation to it. If you start reacting or taking on the attitude and emotions being actively expressed by others around you, catch yourself, realize what’s happening, and intentionally work within yourself to induce a state of peace and inner calm.
Take an attitude of developing skill in managing your own state of mind, and what you’ll realize pretty early into it is that it produces a similar affect on everything around you. By keeping yourself calm and relaxed you’ll tend to cause everyone else to feel calm in your presence. If volatile emotions are being expressed by someone near you, you can ‘neutralize’ their emotions by simply not taking them on and allowing them to affect you, where, instead of amplifying them, you act to ‘mirror them back’ to the person expressing them. This same process works with any quality, which is formed as a mental state, such as excitement and enthusiasm, joy and happiness, understanding and exercising compassion, feeling sad and discouraged, and so on. Pick a quality as a characteristic, and practice being that way until you perfect it within your own being. Cultivate it until you can induce it willfully as a means of determining and managing your own state of mind and creating new and more desirable experiences of yourself. As you consistently practice being a certain way, you begin acquiring new experiences which, when built up over time and accumulated in a consistent fashion become a natural part of your own character.
Modeling & Imitating – Becoming Like Another
We’re all born into the world as children with the natural ability to create ourselves through imitating and pretending to be like our favorite characters and super heroes, but as we mature, this gets taught out of us. If you’re not quite sure how to ‘be’ a certain way, or what you need to do with your physiology as a means of embodying certain qualities, you can find someone who naturally displays the qualities you want to cultivate, and you can start by studying them to see how it is they do whatever they’re doing. For example, if you want to cultivate ‘confidence’, find someone you know that exudes an air of confidence, and ask yourself what are they doing that makes them appear confident? Notice how they hold their body, what their posture is, gestures, facial expression, tone and rhythm of their voice when they speak, how they talk, and how they conduct themselves as a normal way of being. Once you illicit the formula of behaviors, practice being that way yourself. Think of this in the same way you did when you were a kid and you were playing with friends by imitating your favorite movie characters.
As you begin embodying certain traits and qualities notice how it makes you ‘feel’. Keep working to perfect the behavior by adjusting what you’re doing until it makes you feel the way you want to feel. Once you get it just the way you want it, practice being that way repeatedly until it starts becoming natural and you develop it into a habit. Any behavior practiced consistently for a period of four to six weeks, becomes built into the muscle as memory, where you start doing it as your natural way of being. Also, keep in mind as you begin practicing new postures and ways of being that at first it’s going to feel awkward and unnatural. This is simply due to the fact that you haven’t become familiar with it and developed it into a habit yet. All of what we call ‘natural behaviors’ were formed through our conditioning as kids where we were trained by others around us to imitate the same character traits and behaviors being utilized by everyone who was a part of our family dynamic. Think of transformation as a form of ‘self-conditioning’ where you start by forming a vision of yourself as what you consider to be the best version of yourself as your highest ‘ideal’. You can only ‘create’ in an intentional manner when you have a vision and well-formed idea of what it is you’re creating. So you want to start by forming a vision of yourself as your highest possibility, and then ask yourself what new qualities you’ll need to develop in yourself in order to be that way, and what character flaws or weaknesses you need to transform by employing their complementary opposite as a virtue.
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About The Author
Dr. Linda Gadbois
Linda is a scholar in Esoteric Sciences and holds a doctorate in Spiritual Sciences, and a BS in Clinical Hypnotherapy, along with numerous specialty certifications in various healing modalities. She's a certified Health and Success Coach, NLP Master Practitioner, and Board Certified in Regression Therapy. She's professional writer, artist, educator and Mentor, and offers a wide variety of Mentoring and Consulting Services, along with professional training programs. Her specialties include Personal Transformation, Self-Mastery, Spiritual Sciences, Transpersonal Psychology, and Integrative Mind-Body Medicine. For more info visit our Personal and Professional Services pages in the top menu bar of this site, or email us at: info@drlindagadbois.com