As an entity passes on . . . from this present [time] or this solar system, this sun, these forces, it passes through the various spheres—leading first into that central force . . . known as Arcturus [this star is Cayce’s “star gate” in and out of our solar system]—nearer the Pleiades—on and on—through the eons of time, as called—or space . . . [Eventually, an entity passes] into the inner forces, inner sense, then may they again—after a period of nearly ten thousand years . . . enter into the earth to make manifest those forces gained in its passage. In entering, [the entity] takes on those forms that may be known in the dimensions of that plane which it occupies, there being not only three dimensions—as of the Earth—but there may be seven, in Mercury—or four, in Venus—or five, as in Jupiter. There may be only one as in Mars. There may be many more as in those of Neptune, or they may become even as nil—until purified in Saturn’s fires.
311-2
Keep in mind that he is not talking about landing on the physical surface of these planets but rather entering their higher dimensional realms of consciousness, vibration, and non-physical existence. Think of our world and our condition here as H2O in solid form or ice, and then the next highest realms or heavens are like H2O in a more fluid, liquid form, and the even higher realms are as H2O in vaporous or cloud-like forms. This may help us get some sense of how a being can exist in different conditions—solid, liquid, and vapor—and yet retain its fundamental essence, H2O in this example. These conditions of H2O are comparable to physical, mental, and spiritual conditions: solid, liquid, and vapor.
Let’s continue. Cayce identifies our soul’s motivation as follows:
“As [the entity] moves from sphere to sphere, [it] seeks its way to the home, to the face of the Creator, the Father, the first cause.” (136-83) Cayce identifies the first cause as: “. . . that the created would be the companion for the Creator.” This is the reason we were created, and as a result, the created (our soul) is given opportunities to “show itself to be not only worthy of, but companionable to, the Creator.” (5753-1) Now we should realize that we are talking about being companionable to the Creator of the entire universe, so we do not want to be boring companions! For this reason, our souls are well motivated to explore, learn, and grow!
As I mentioned earlier and wrote about in my book Edgar Cayce and the Kabbalah, there are Kabbalah texts teaching one how to ascend through the “heavenly palaces” (Hekhalot means “palaces of heaven”) and what the experience will be in these various non-physical palaces or realms of the seven heavens. There are also Kabbalah texts teaching how one may draw down angelic spirits to interact with us. Cayce’s readings are not against this, but they encourage us to let God send the guides and angels, for God knows best, and we have a tendency to attract the wrong energies, or at least the lesser ones. Cayce’s instruction would be to ask God to send angelic help rather than attempt to evoke such with our own will and desire. And whenever possible, Cayce encourages us to lift our minds and hearts up into the heavens rather than draw entities down from heaven—just as the channeled angel instructed earlier.
There are several larger documents of the Hekhalot texts, such as Hekhalot Rabbati (in which six of the seven palaces of God are described), Hekhalot Zutarti, Shiur Komah, and 3 Khanokh (which is also known as 3 Enoch, and contains “The Book of the Palaces,” “The Book of Rabbi Ishmael the High Priest,” and “The Revelation of Metatron”). There are also hundreds of small documents, many little more than fragments, which address the concept of heavenly realms (palaces, firmaments, and planes) and describe methods for traversing them (though this is very dangerous and requires much practice and skill—as well as a pure heart and a focused and shielded mind). I’ll describe these in a moment.
The meditative journey through the seven heavens was also known and practiced among various Gnostic groups and some early Christians—often in secret. As I wrote earlier and bears repeating, it would appear that the disciple Paul had made this passage: “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know; God knows), such a one caught up into the third heaven.” (II Corinthians, 12:2) Paul appears to have used a method in which the Spirit draws us up into a level of Its presence. In this case, Paul was “caught up” to the third heaven. Notice also that Paul could not determine if he was in his body or out of it. Out-of-body experiences are so much a part of our modern culture that we now have an acronym for them: OBE. But this is not just a modern phenomenon, it was known back in Paul’s time as well, coming from the Greek term for “self watcher,” meaning viewing the surrounding environment from a position outside of one’s body. The English word for the original Greek word is “autoscopy.” Also associated with OBE are astral projection (meaning the separation of the astral body from its connection to the physical body), soul travel, and spirit walking, even the most modern of experiences—“near-death experiences” (NDEs)—are among out-of-body experiences—they are a result of modern medicine’s abilities to revive a dead body under certain circumstances, and the revived person then describing how they saw their dead body and what the doctors and nurses did to revive it. Paul experienced one of these transcending events, and it allowed him to visit, or at least perceive, the third level of the heavens.
In the Koran, dictated to Mohammed by the archangel Gabriel, it is written, “See you not how Allah [literally in Arabic, “the God”] has created the seven heavens one above another, and made the moon a light in their midst and made the sun a lamp?” (Sura 71)
In most teachings of the Kabbalah, the seven heavens are listed from lowest to highest as follows:
1. Veil (Hebrew, Vilon—the curtain, the veil of heaven (Vilon Shemaim); taken from Isaiah 40:22, “It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and earth’s inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain [or veil], and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.”
2. Firmament (Raki’a—the firmament, the canopy, the expanse of heaven, which are the stars, moon, and sun; mentioned in Gen 1:14-18, “‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
3. Cloud/Sky (Shehakim—the clouds from which the manna from heaven fell to nourish the seekers. Here is where the well of the “water of life” is and the fountain of gardens. These associations are taken from Psalm 78:24-26, “And He commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven; and He caused manna to rain upon them for food,” and the “cloud” in 1 Kings 8:10-13, “And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has set the sun in the heavens, but has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built thee an exalted house, a place for thee to dwell in forever.’”
4. Mansion (Zebul—the lofty dwelling, “mansion of holiness” (zevul kodshekha) taken from Psalm 93:5, considered the temple-mansion in the Golden City. As found in I Kings 8:13, “I have surely built Thee a house of habitation, a place for Thee to dwell in forever. And whence do we derive that it is called heaven?” and in Isaiah 63:15, “Look down from heaven, and see, even from Thy holy and glorious habitation.” And Jesus refers to mansions in John 14:1-4, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”