Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tl00161)

>Are you sure about that?  I've always thought two of the biggest problems in
>reading HPB were 1) the blinds, and 2) the often confusing use of the word
>astral to refer to "that CWL term which indicates the higher subplanes of
>the physical plane."

Yes.  G de Purucker says that HPB's "astral" or "astral light" refers to
the second cosmic plane (the one adjacent to the physical) which
is typically called the astral plane.  As far as I know, the name of
astral plane for the second cosmic plane is used alike by all of
the early theosophical writers.  Astral light was a generic term for
the astral, mental, and causal planes (in the same way as the
Egyptian Tuat or Dwat) until HPB and Theosophy began using it 
for the second plane only.  I don't recall HPB using the term etheric
plane at all.  That name came from the ether that was supposed
to fill the solar system, and was used a lot in neo-theosophy.

Astral and etheric are not interchangable words as they name
different regions of the Magical Universe.

	Jerry S.
	Member TI