The seven Laws of Soul or Group Life

On the day of the Full Moon of Capricorn, an auspicious day for the initiatory elevation of humanity to the Gate of the Gods of the spiritual Kingdom, we introduce an essential subject in order to become ever more aware of our real Nature and our common Action as a human Group, as the Soul of the One Humanity.

In the texts of the Ancient Wisdom we are in fact told that the human Group of world servers must be conscious of the Laws that animate it in order to serve in a more powerful and focused way the demands of the Plan of evolution, set and ‘executed’ by the Hierarchy of Beings guiding the Planet and humanity: “Therefore we can look for the new laws, governing soul life, which is group life, to begin to function and make their presence felt”.

“What we call the Laws of Nature were the highest phase of the divine life possible in the first solar system. They are primarily the laws inherent in the life aspect of the form and have in them, therefore, the seeds of death.

The Laws of the Soul as they subordinate and render negative the Laws of Nature, are the highest laws to which humanity (the highest kingdom in nature at present) can respond, and these—when fulfilled—will conclude the purpose of the second solar system.

The Laws of Life itself will finally supersede the Laws of the Soul and will completely offset and negate the Laws of Nature; these laws will be distinctive of the third solar system—the last personality expression of the solar Logos through the medium of the seven planetary Logoi with their varying forms and soul expressions.

We have, therefore, three groups of laws which govern the expression of the living purpose in this second solar system—one developed and another developing, with the third latent and relatively quiescent.

1. The Laws of Nature—the separative laws of the form nature.
2. The Laws of the Soul—the blending laws of group integrity.
3. The Laws of Life—the dynamic laws of Being itself.”

(Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Healing, pp. 522/523)

“The Laws of the Soul concern the life of the soul upon its own plane, and the relation which the blending soul and personality learn to establish with other souls and with the Hierarchy. These are consciously and voluntarily obeyed, and are not just accepted as mandatory and as forced upon the man by force of circumstances, experience and evolution. They tend to bring about increasing relation between the Hierarchy of Souls and Humanity as a whole, between the great planetary centre which is the custodian of the principle of love and the planetary centre, humanity, which nurtures and distributes the energy of mind.” (Alice A. Bailey, Rays and the Initiation, pp. 157)

Here is the presentation of such Laws of the Soul (from A. A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology II, pp. 85-87):

“The seven Laws of Soul or Group Life [1]

We come now to a section of our study of the soul and its life which is of real moment to all who live (or begin to live) and function as conscious souls, through definite alignment and at-one-ment. This section will, however, be relatively abstruse to all those whose lives are centred in the personality…  Certain energies and tendencies, inherent in the soul itself… are governed by energies and laws which are of a nature different from those governing personalities. It is important to emphasise this and to bear in mind that the powers of the soul, as they are appearing in the world today, constitute (in their working out) a body of phenomena which would have been regarded as magical, impossible and superhuman several centuries ago.
The discoveries of science, the adaptation of the laws governing matter and directing material energy to the service and the growing needs of mankind, the subtle and delicate apparatus of the human body and the steadily increasing sensitivity of the human mechanism, have brought about a world consciousness and a civilisation which—in spite of its glaring defects, all based on the separative and selfish attitudes of the personalities through which the soul has yet to work—are a guarantee of the innate divinity of man, with all that may be inherent in, and inferred from that phrase.

What has not yet been grasped is that these emerging “godlike” qualities, these beneficent characteristics, and the slowly appearing virtues of humanity are only indications of hidden potentialities, which have not been scientifically studied. The qualities of goodness are so called because they are, in essence, the energies controlling group relations; the powers, called superhuman, are fundamentally the powers which express group activity, and the virtues are only effects of group life, rightly handled, which are attempting to express themselves on the physical plane. The growing science of social relations, of social responsibility, or coordinated civic life, of scientific economics and of human inter-relations, the steadily developing sense of internationalism, of religious unity, and of economic interdependence, are all of them indications of the energies of soul life upon the physical plane, and within the human family. Hence the conflict of ideals in the world today; hence the massed dualism which produces such bewilderment; hence the compromises and hence the inconsistencies. Here is to be found the cause of all the divergencies in the world of civilised ideals, and the conflicting and widely differing motives which impel people of good motive and intention and of high principle into antagonistic activities.
Two sets of principles are to be found controlling human life—the selfish and the unselfish, the individual good and the group good, the objective goal and the subjective goal, the material incentive and the spiritual impulse, national patriotism and the world ideal, separative religious belief and the federation of religions, and all the many massed dualities which simply indicate the realism of people who are personalities (integrated and separative) or of souls (aligned and group-conscious). Here is the major divergence in the world today; with the weight of the power on the side of separation, as it is the line of least resistance, and of critical differentiations. A balancing of the two will gradually take place, with the weight of world idealism gradually shifting into the realm of soul unification, until eventually (but not for quite a while) the emphasis of world thought will be definitely and permanently on “the side of the angels”… Therefore we can look for the new laws, governing soul life, which is group life, to begin to function and make their presence felt.
This will at first increase the world difficulty; hence the need to make the meaning of these laws clear, their objectives simple and their potencies understandable.”

The Seven Laws are:

1. The Law of Sacrifice.

2. The Law of Magnetic Impulse.

3. The Law of Service.

4. The Law of Repulse.

5. The Law of Group Progress.

6. The Law of Expansive Response.

7. The Law of the Lower Four.

“The Seven Laws of Group Work.

These can only be expressed largely through the medium of mystical terms, and it is left to the intuition of the student to apply them to the more material forms of life.

Law 1. The Law of Sacrifice. This involves the immolation and sacrifice of that which has been realised. This is crucifixion, the basic law of all group work, the governing principle which results in each human unit eventually becoming a Saviour.

Law 2. The Law of Magnetic Impulse. The law governing the primary realisations by any atom of its environing contacts, and the going out, or feeling after, by that atom so that eventually a relation between that which is realised as part of the group and the unit is established. This is not the same thing as making sense contacts, as the relation established is between the Self in all, and not between aspects of the Not-Self. This law is sometimes called “The first step towards marriage”, for it results in an eventual union between the man or atom and the group which produces harmonious group relations.

Law 3. The Law of Service. This law, for want of a better name, concerns the identification of an atom with the group interest, and the steady negation of the atom’s own material interests; it really deals with the process ormethod whereby an atom (positive in its own centralised life) gradually becomes responsive and receptive to the positive life of the group.

Law 4. The Law of Repulsion. This law concerns itself with the ability of an atom to throw off, or refuse to contact, any energy deemed inimical to group activity. It is literally a law of service, but only comes consciously into play when the atom has established certain basic discriminations, and guides its activities through a knowledge of the laws of its own being. This law is not the same as the Law of Repulsion which is used in connection with the Law of Attraction between forms which have relation to the material. The laws we are now considering have relation to the psyche, or to the [second] Vishnu aspect. One group of laws concern energies emanating from the physical sun; the ones we are now considering emanate from the heart of the Sun. The “repulsion” here dealt with has the effect (when consciously applied through the developed heart energy of a human atom, for instance) of furthering the interests of the repulsed unit and of driving this unit closer to its own centre. Perhaps some idea of the great beauty of this law as it works out can be gathered from an occult phrase in a certain old book:

“This repulsive force drives in seven directions, and forces all that it contacts back to the bosom of the seven spiritual fathers.”

Through repulsion, the units are driven home and the straying unconscious ones are forced towards their own centre. The Law of Repulsion, or the stream of energy for which it is but a name, can work from any centre, but as dealt with here, it must emanate from the heart if it is to bring about the necessary group work.

Law 5.  The Law of Group Progress. This is sometimes called “the Law of Elevation” for it concerns the mysteries of group realisation, and expansions of consciousness and the part each unit plays in the general progress of a group. In relation to the human family, for instance, the truth must ever be borne in mind that no human atom arrives at “fullness of life” without adding much to the general nature of his own group. The elevation of a unit results in the raising of the group; the realisation of the unit brings about eventually group recognition; the initiation of the unit leads finally to planetary initiation, and the attainment of the goal by the human atom and his achievement of his objective brings about steadily and ceaselessly group achievement. No man liveth to himself, and the crucifixion of the units throughout the aeons, and their realisation of their essential nature, only in order to offer up the best they have and realise to the interests of the group, are but themethods whereby the work of liberation is carried forward.

Sacrifice, Service, Magnetism (“I, if I be lifted up, will draw”),Group Progress, Divine Repulsion, these are but the inadequate terms whereby we seek to express the divine truth that the whole life and expression of the solar Logos will only be possible, and His purpose only be revealed, when He has brought each atomic unit to the stage of self-realisation. Then He will lead them on to the point of sacrificing that realised self so that divine purpose and will may be consummated, and the divine life and glory shine forth in perfect radiance.

This might be expressed in more material terms by saying that through the dominance of these laws of the Soul, the logoic physical body will become an active expression of His self-realised purpose.

The final two laws concerning group activity can only be very briefly treated as their true significance is only apparent to pledged disciples. They concern primarily the astral and the mental planes, and, therefore the corresponding vehicles of the group units. A group, it should be remembered, which is functioning on the physical plane is also found in a still larger form on the astral and the mental. Just as the astral body of a man is larger than his physical body, and, therefore, has built into its structure a larger number of atomic units, so a group contains (astrally considered) more units than on the physical plane. The laws we are touching upon concern the relation of the physical plane units to those units who form a part of the group, and yet are functioning without the physical plane sheaths or vehicles. The same idea must be applied to the units devoid of a physical vehicle who form a component part of the mental body of the group.

These two laws are termed:

6. The Law of Expansive Response.
7. The Law of the Lower Four.

These laws only become operative in units on the physical plane which are becoming responsive consciously to those group workers who are discarnate.

All these laws, from the point of view of a disciple, need only be considered as operative in the three worlds, though it is needless to point out that parallels will be found on all planes. These seven laws are those which are ascertained and consciously studied in all groups working under the Masters.

For each of these Laws, there is a definite formula and symbol. At this stage of teaching or through this Treatise, it is not possible to reveal or impart the formulas. The symbol may be described, and if the student will carefully ponder upon the nomenclature of the Law, its occult name and its symbol, much may be gathered anent group inter-relations. It is these laws which the coming cycle of regeneration will enunciate, and which the Great Lord will demonstrate upon His appearing, and it is these laws which will gradually be applied to the working methods of all organisations, brotherhoods, fraternities and masonic circles.

The symbols are as follows:

(Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 1220)

Law 1.  A rosy cross, with a bird hovering above it. [Symbols imagined and realized by Adriano N.]

Law 2. Two balls of fire united by a triangle of fire, thus picturing the triple interplay between all atomic structures.

Law 3. A pitcher of water, balanced on the head of a man, standing in the form of a cross. It is this law which brings in the energy, symbolised by the sign Aquarius, and this law is the governing factor of the Aquarian age. It might here be added that the symbol for Law 2 was the origin of the balance or scales of the sign Libra, but in the course of the ages its true form was distorted. Not all the astrological signs can be traced to the symbols, for only a few can be traced back as far as the Master’s ashram.

Law 4. Here we have the angel with the flaming sword turning in all directions. This symbolism is held true in the Bible where the Angel guards the treasure, and drives man forth in search of another way of entrance, thus forcing him through the cycle of rebirth until he finds the portal of initiation. This portal is occultly regarded as freed from the intervention of the sword as man has developed the ability to soar and mount as an eagle on wings. [Sign of Scorpio]

Law 5. The symbol for this is the mountain with a goat standing on the summit, and again an astrological sign, that of Capricorn, can be noted. All hard places can be surmounted, and the summit reached by the “Divine Goat”, symbol of the group, viewed as a unit.

Law 6. The symbol contains a flaming rosy sun with a sign in the centre—a sign symbolising the union of fire and water; below this sign is found a hieroglyphic which may not be given as it gives the clue to the Earth sign, and the keynote of the physical body of the planetary Logos.

Law 7. This symbol takes the form of a male and female figure standing back to back, the male figure holding above his head what looks like a shield or tray of silver, a great reflector, whilst the female figure holds aloft an urn full of oil.  Below this sign is another hieroglyphic which contains the secret of the astral plane, which has to be dominated by the mental.

These seven laws can be worked out along the line of correspondences. It will be found that the energy of any particular centre and that of any one law can be brought into line with each other.” (Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 1216-1222)

Below are the effects of the first 5 Laws that “have worked out into a definite activity upon the physical plane”.

“The effect or consequences of the impulses behind them produce the working out of the purpose of the Most High, and can be recognised upon the plane of phenomena.  They can all be so recognised, but at this time, the conscious awareness of humanity is such that only in five instances can the effect of these laws be noted, and then only by the most advanced of the world aspirants.”

Effects of the 5 Laws – from Esoteric Psychology II, p. 198

“The average man works from the organisation angle and having visioned some illuminating idea, he begins to build the outer physical form which will house and express it. The planetary Hierarchy, working under the inspiration of the Divine vision as it is embodied in the Plan, seeks to evoke a response to that Plan in every human heart, and by fostering and fanning that response, to evoke not only a mental understanding but also an aspirational desire. These together will produce finally the emergence of the Plan upon the earth and thus express a conditioning factor in human affairs.

When there are a sufficient number of people who are in conscious touch with their souls, then the sheer weight of their numbers, plus the clarity of their intentions and their widespread distribution over the face of the earth, must necessarily become effective… This then is the task of the Workers in the field of human affairs:  to awaken the soul ray to potency in the life of each human being [buddhi-manas: the thought guided by Love-Wisdom], beginning with those whose mental equipment and achieved integration would warrant the belief that—once awakened—they would use the new forces at their disposal with a measure of wisdom and planned constructive intention.” (Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology II, pp. 704-5)

May the Laws of the Soul restore
the Plan of Light and Love on Earth

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[1] Only 5 of the 7 Laws of the Soul will form the subject matter for related articles, for the following reasons given by the Tibetan Master:

“We can now, with great brevity, however, touch upon the sixth law and the seventh, for we will speak of them together. The other five laws have worked out into a definite activity upon the physical plane. The effect or consequences of the impulses behind them produce the working out of the purpose of the Most High, and can be recognised upon the plane of phenomena. They can all be so recognised, but at this time, the conscious awareness of humanity is such that only in five instances can the effect of these laws be noted, and then only by the most advanced of the world aspirants. The disciple and the initiate can dimly begin to recognise the effect of the sixth and the seventh laws, but no one else at this time.
These two laws are not capable of interpretation as above, because only those who are initiated or in preparation for initiation can begin to understand them. The enlightenment which is the result of initiation is necessary before one can touch the idea behind these expressions of purpose. We shall not, therefore, take any time dealing with The Law of Expansive Response, or with The Law of the Lower Four, beyond giving two ancient stanzas which will convey much to the initiate but may only be sounding words and meaningless symbolic phrases to the average reader and student.

6. The Law of Expansive Response

“The Sun, in all its glory, has arisen and cast its beams athwart the Eastern sky.  The union of the pairs of opposites produce, in the cycles of the time and space, both clouds and mists.  These veil a mighty conflagration…
The flood pours forth. The ark floats free… the flames devour. The three stand free; and then again the mists envelop.
Above the clouds of earth, a sign shines forth… Only the eye of vision sees this sign. Only the heart at peace can hear the thunder of the Voice which issues from the dark depths of the cloud.  Only an understanding of the law which elevates and lifts can teach ‘the man of fire and son of water’ to enter into mist. From thence he climbs on to the mountain top and there again stands free.
The triple freedom thus achieved has naught to do with earth, or water, or with fire. It is a freedom, triple in its kind, which greets the man who passes freely from the sphere of earth into the ocean of the watery sphere, and thence on to the burning ground of sacrifice. The sun augments the fire; it dissipates the mist and dries the earth. And thus the work is done.”

7. The Law of the Lower Four

“Four sons of God went forth. But only one returned. Four Saviours merged themselves in two, and then the two became the One.”

These two ancient writings—one mystical and the other occult—convey but little to most minds, and this we can easily see. Therefore it does not profit us to consider them too carefully. The time is not yet. These are given us, however, because they contain a magnetic potency which will aid in stimulating comprehension.
We stand today on the verge of great things. Humanity is on its way with renewed impetus. It stands no longer at the crossroads, but irrevocable decisions have been made, and the race is moving forward along a path which will lead it eventually into light and peace. It will find its way into “the peace which passeth understanding” because it will be a peace which is independent of outer conditions and which is not based upon what present humanity defines as peace. The peace which lies ahead of the race is the peace of serenity and of joy—a serenity, based upon spiritual understanding; and a joy which is untouched by circumstances. This joy and serenity is not an astral condition but a soul reaction. These qualities are not achieved as the result of disciplining the emotional nature, but demonstrate as a natural, automatic reaction of the soul. This is the reward of a definitely achieved alignment. These two qualities of the soul—serenity and joy—are the indications that the soul, the ego, the One Who stands alone, is controlling or dominating the personality, circumstance, and all environing conditions of life in the three worlds.” (EP II, pp. 199-200)