The Three Great Archetypes
Archetype is the word describing the original pattern or prototype from which copies are made or forms developed, and in particular the assumed ideal pattern of the fundamental structure of each great division of organised beings. In the Platonic sense, which is the sense intended here, archetype refers to a divine thought-form or idea that exists in the divine mind, the World of Spirit.
A spiritual archetype is thus identical with what is called an archangel (arch means 'chief' or 'original' and angel means 'divine thought-form'), which are the living ideas of God. They are also known as spirits or intelligences. These archetypes or spirits are the original or prototypical ideas on which all the various forms and processes of life in the universe are based, including the human form.
That is to say, the archetype of a human being is an archangel, referred to in Cabalistic tradition as Sandalphon ('Soul of the Messiah'). This archetype is our spirit. This is the divine idea that God has of us, which is perfect and immortal. Our souls, grappling with matter, are constantly striving to understand and manifest this perfect idea in matter, and in doing so grow in consciousness and knowledge of the divine, which is the fundamental purpose of the human soul.
The Great Archetypes are the supreme Archangels, the Great Spirits that stand before the Throne of God and are the Throne of God. They number ten in all, divided into two groups, one of Three and the other of Seven. The Three constitute what is called the Holy Trinity (Three-in-One and One-in-Three), otherwise known as God. The Seven are the sevenfold expression of the Holy Trinity known as the Throne (or Chariot when set in motion), just as the spectrum of colour is an expression of white light.
Although the diagram of the Tree of Life appears to show otherwise, the secret is that God (the Holy Trinity) sits within the Throne and forms the three axes of the 3-dimensional Throne or Cosmos, which becomes the flying, spinning Chariot when set in motion by means of love in action, the fundamental energy and law of the universe. For love, when expressed, is an emotion, which is (as the word says) a motion or movement out of the heart or centre of being, and all movement is energy. Love is the greatest movement or energy of all. It is the life-force that creates, motivates, evolves and transforms all life forms of the universe, eventually transmuting them into beautiful forms of light that manifest the divine love in all its manifold splendour and glory.
The Three Great Archetypes have a fundamental expression in ourselves and nature as the Wheel of Life, the Tree of Life and the Chakra system. They form an inseparable trinity-in-unity that manifests the divine Holy Trinity. They belong to the archetypal World of Spirit and manifest themselves in the Worlds of Soul (Psyche) and Body (Nature) as these three energy patterns. Although abstract and 'mathematical', they underlie, design, promote and govern all forms of expression in the Worlds of Soul and Body.
To have an understanding of these things is to grasp something of the universal laws of life, which can then be applied more consciously and successfully in our lives.
For Love, which is the essence and very nature of what is called God, the All-Good, has multitudinous ways and means of expressing itself, and of forms of life and situations in which to be expressed. Thus there is no end to what we can learn or develop, or to any perfection to which we might reach. Everything is relative. Everything is in movement and constant change. We are born to love each other, love life, love nature, love love; and to learn how best to do so, with all the wisdom, intelligence and power that true love has.
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