In classical Neoplatonic accounts the body of light (augoeides) is part of a layered human constitution that corresponds to a layered cosmos: it is the luminous, immortal vehicle of the rational soul which enables the soul's travel through the heavens. Later Renaissance thinkers (notably Ficino) and subsequent occultists reinterpreted and transmitted this ancient taxonomy, describing the body of light as composed of aether/quintessence and as the interface by which human reason and imagination participate in stellar and divine realms.
Sources describe the body of light as luciform, subtle yet quasi-material: a luminous, fiery or 'starry' form rather than ordinary flesh. Neoplatonic terminology (augoeides, astroeides, augoeides okhêma) emphasizes radiance; Ficino speaks of an 'incorporeal light' with a 'fiery and starry nature'; Synesius is cited describing it as 'something very subtle, yet material' and equating its divine aspect with imagination (phantasia).
Functionally it serves as an intermediate vehicle for nonphysical capacities: the augoeides carries the rational, immortal soul through planetary spheres and underwrites ecstatic, mystical, or out-of-body journeys into higher realms. It mediates astrological or stellar influence because it is composed of the same subtle matter (aether/quintessence) associated with the heavens, and it is the locus for imaginative and rational faculties. Neoplatonists and Renaissance commentators also treat it as transformable by spiritual purgation or theurgical practice—proper purgation renders the vehicle more luminous, enabling ascent.
Weaknesses
- conditionimpurity / lack of spiritual purgation
- ritualfailure to undergo theurgical purification (Neoplatonic theurgy) — prevents the vehicle attaining its luminous/immortal form
Wards
- ritualtheurgical purification / spiritual purgation
- otherethical/moral discipline and contemplative practice (sources indicate these conditions enable the augoeides to be rendered luminous)
Amelius (Gentilianus)
Amelius (Gentilianus) was a 3rd-century Neoplatonic philosopher and one of Plotinus's chief disciples, known for prolific writings, memorization of Numenius, and for promoting the preservation of Plotinus's doctrines. The name also recurs later as a personal name in medieval and modern contexts.
Babalon
A central goddess-figure in the Thelemic system founded by Aleister Crowley; simultaneously an archetypal Great Mother/Binah, a sacralized principle of liberated female sexuality, a ritual vessel (the Grail), and an office manifested historically as the "Scarlet Woman."
Demiurge
A craftsman-like cosmic artisan who fashions and governs the sensible, material universe. In Platonic traditions the Demiurge is a benevolent ordering intelligence that shapes preexisting matter by imitating eternal Forms; in Gnostic systems the Demiurge is a lower ruler of the material realm whose moral status varies from ignorant/foolish to oppressive.
Egregore
A polyvalent Western‑esoteric concept naming an emergent, non‑physical collective form produced by sustained coordinated thought, will, ritual, or activity of a group. Usage ranges from a descriptive term for a 'collective mind' to a belief in a semi‑autonomous spiritual entity nourished by group devotion, and in contemporary discourse is often used metaphorically for organized online or political phenomena.
Gevurah
Gevurah (Hebrew: גְּבוּרָה, Găḇūrā) is the fifth sephirah on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, an emanation representing the divine principles of judgment, limitation, and disciplined strength. It functions as a structural attribute within Jewish mystical cosmology rather than an individual personal spirit.
Guardian angel
A guardian angel is a class of heavenly ministering spirit assigned to a particular person, group, or nation to watch over, guide, intercede for, and protect that charge. Found across Judaic, Christian, Zoroastrian, and later esoteric sources, the guardian angel functions as an intermediary carrying out divine behests and as a personal tutelary presence.
Bodach
A Gaelic folkloric personage literally meaning "old man" (Old Irish botach) who functions variously as a trickster, bogeyman, household figure and — in some accounts — an omen of death (Bodach Glas). The term also carries historical social meanings (tenant/peasant) and is sometimes identified with higher mythic figures (e.g., Manannán mac Lir) in specific tales.
Bodb Derg
Bodb Derg is a kingly figure of the Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish myth, attested as ruler of the Munster síd and later elected king of the Tuatha Dé Danann after their defeat and withdrawal into the sídhe. His name is etymologically linked to the war-crow figure Badb and is glossed in sources as 'Red Crow.'
Bodhisattva
A bodhisattva is a being or practitioner in Buddhist thought who has generated bodhicitta — the wish and compassionate intention to attain awakening (bodhi) for the benefit of all sentient beings. In Early/Theravāda contexts the term often denotes the Buddha in his pre‑awakening lives, while Mahāyāna expands it into an ideal and category of spiritually advanced, active helpers and devotees.
Boeotus (son of Poseidon)
Boeotus is a mythic eponymous ancestor in Greek tradition credited with giving his name to the region and people of Boeotia. He appears in genealogical accounts as a son of Poseidon (often with Arne) or in variant traditions as son of Itonus and the nymph Melanippe, functioning chiefly as a founding ancestor rather than an active cultic or supernatural agent.
Boethoos
Boethoos (also Boethous/Boethos) is a minor named figure in Greek mythological genealogy, attested as a Lacedaemonian son of Argeios (son of Pelops) and Hegesandra (daughter of King Amyclas of Sparta). He appears only as a genealogical descendant within Peloponnesian heroic lineages in the supplied sources.
Bogatyr
A bogatyr is the stock heroic figure of East Slavic (primarily Russian and Ukrainian) epic-poetic tradition (bylinas): an elite, exceptional warrior associated with the princely court (notably the Kievan court of Vladimir in many tales) who defends the land and people. Bogatyrs are literary/folk-epic archetypes rather than a class of supernatural beings, though some individual figures are mythic or giant-like.
Community Record
- [1]Body of light (Wikipedia). Wikipedia, 'Body of light' article — summary of Neoplatonic and later esoteric accounts (augoeides, astroeides, Ficino, Proclus, Synesius)wiki
- [2]Body of Light, Body of Diamond, Body of Prayer (Servants of the Light event page). Contemporary esoteric organization referencing 'body of light' terminology and training contexts (cited among source set as cultural reuse; not primary doctrinal source)other
- [3]Archive: A Mystery Of The Church | Ephesians 3:1-13. Included among provided materials; cited as adjacent thematic material but not supplying direct doctrinal detail on the body of light in the supplied excerptother