Before passing to the consideration of [676] those devas who are concerned with the construction of man's causal body, and who are the linking group between the Triad and the Quaternary, both in man and the Logos, we will briefly enumerate the principal groups of Agnisuryans on the systemic astral plane, as they, in their totality, form the body of manifestation of the great deva or Raja-Lord of the plane.

• First. The Raja-Lord of the Plane, the great deva Varuna, Who is the central Life of the substance of the astral plane of our planetary scheme. He is Himself an outpost of the consciousness of that greater Deva Who embodies the substance of the solar astral plane, or the sixth subplane of the cosmic physical plane. He again in His turn reflects His prototype, that great cosmic Entity Who ensouls the cosmic astral plane.
• Second. Seven great Devas, who are the positive force of each of the seven subplanes of the systemic astral plane.
• Third. Various groups of devas, performing different functions carrying out varying activities, and producing constructive results. They might be enumerated as follows, bearing in mind the fact that we are but touching upon a few of the many groups, and that there are numbers whose name is utterly unknown to man and would be unintelligible if mentioned:

1. Those devas who form the permanent atomic substance of all the Monads, both in and out of physical incarnation. They are divided into seven groups according to the Ray of the Monad.
2. Those devas who form the "liquid" aspect in the physical body of the planetary Logos and of the solar Logos. They are myriads in number, and include deva existences ranging all the way from those who ensoul the astral plane, and the astral currents of the highest religious and aspirational nature, to the little water [677] spirits which are reflections of such astral entities precipitated in watery physical matter.
3. A group of devas, who form the desire body of that great entity who ensouls the animal kingdom. They are the total kamic manifestation (divorced from mentality) of animal desire in its incentive impulsive aspect.
4. Certain devas who - being of the third order - form the Heaven of the average orthodox Christian or believer of any faith. Another group - being the seventh order - form the Hell for the same class of thinker.
5. Those devas who form the astral life of any thought-form. These we will deal with later when studying thought-form construction.
6. A mysterious group of devas intimately connected at this time with the sex expression in the human family on the physical plane. They are a group who are, at this juncture, swept into being, and they embody the fire of sex expression as we understand it. They are the impulse, or instinct, back of physical sex desire. They were peculiarly dominant in the fourth root-race, at which time sex conditions reached a stage of unbelievable horror from our point of view. They are gradually being controlled, and when the last of the Lemurian Egos has passed into the fifth root-race they will be slowly passed out of the solar system altogether. They are connected with the passional "fire" of the solar Logos and with one of His centers in particular; this center is being gradually obscured and its fire transferred into a higher center.
7. There is also a group of devas connected with the Lodge of Masters, whose work it is to build the aspirational forms towards which average man may aspire. They are divided into certain groups - three in number - connected with science, religion and philosophy, and through these groups of deva substance the Heads of the three departments reach men. It is one of Their [678] channels for work. The Master Jesus is particularly active at this time along this line, working in collaboration with certain adepts on the scientific line, who - through the desired union of science and religion - seek to shatter the materialism of the west on the one hand and on the other the sentimental devotion of the many devotees of all faiths. This is made possible now through the passing out of the sixth Ray and the coming in of the seventh. It should be borne in mind by all students when considering the planes, plane substance and energy that they are in a condition of flux and change all the time. The matter of all planes circulates, and cyclically certain portions become more energized than others; the matter of the planes is thus under a threefold influence, or - to word it otherwise - deva substance is subjected to a threefold cyclic stimulation:
   1. Ray stimulation, dependent upon any Ray being in or out of power. It is intersystemic and planetary.
   2. Zodiacal stimulation, which is an extra-systemic stimulation, and is also cosmic and cyclic.
   3. Solar stimulation, or the impact of direct solar force or energy upon the substance of a plane; this emanates from the "Heart of the Sun" and is peculiarly potent.

   All the planes are subjected to this threefold influence but in the case of the buddhic and the astral planes, the force of this third stimulation is very great. The adepts - working in conjunction with the great devas - utilize cyclic opportunity to effect definitely constructive results.

8. A group of devas closely connected with the mysteries of initiation. They form what is esoterically called the "path of the Heart," and are the bridge between the astral and the buddhic planes. They are in no way [679] connected with the permanent atoms in the causal body, but are very definitely associated with the central tier of petals in the egoic lotus, or with the "petals of love." Force interacts between these three petals on the one hand, and the devas who form the "Path of the Heart" upon the other, those who are the bridge of astral-buddhic matter whereby initiates of a certain mystic type make the "great approach."
9. Devas of all degrees and vibratory capacity who make up the bulk of the desire forms of every kind.
10. The devas of transinutative force. They are a peculiar group of devas who embody the "fires of transmutation" and are called by various names, such as:
    • The furnaces of purifications.
    • The melting elements.
    • The gods of incense.

    It is impossible to enumerate more now, and likewise profitless and it has only been deemed advisable to bring these many types of deva substance to the notice of students on account of the pre-eminent importance of the astral body in the three worlds. It is by the domination of these deva lives, and the "transmutation of desire" into aspiration, and by the purificatory fires of the astral plane that man eventually succeeds in attaining buddhic consciousness.

    It has been the recognition of the cleansing power of the occult fluids - water and blood - that has led to the emphasis laid by Christians (even though erroneously interpreted) upon these two.