Descent and Sacrifice

There is always a choice of two paths, and it is a choice which must,

for the human being, be guided by free will.

Reprinted from The Beacon, September-October 1989

by Sarah McKechnie

The mystery of the descent or "fall" to Earth of the rebellious angels—the solar angels or agnishvattas—is said to be the mystery hinted at in the Scriptures, and "the secret of the ages" (Esoteric Psychology II, p. 93). Thus it is not surprising that there is so much confusion and misunderstanding concerning the "fallen angels" of which Lucifer is the best known representative.

The secret of the "fallen angels" is essentially the mystery which lies behind the very Plan of evolution, for the solar angels' willingness to "fall", to sacrifice themselves in order to bring the light of the principle of mind to what was then animal man, marked the coming into action of the great Law of Duality by which matter, form—negative and passive—could be quickened by spirit. This act of sacrifice at the dawn of human history is a thread woven throughout the great scriptures and mythologies of the world, including the myth of Prometheus who stole fire (mind) for man, and the biblical story of the Prodigal Son, who left the Father’s home to embark upon the path of experience in the life of form and the senses—the journey to "the far country".

The role of the solar angels and their sacrifice on behalf of humanity is discussed at length in The Secret Doctrine by H.P. Blavatsky. In fact, in 1887 the magazine of the Theosophical Society took "Lucifer" as its name in an effort to bring clarity to what it regarded as an unfairly maligned sacrificing angel.

The name "Lucifer" comes from the Latin words, Lux or Lucis (light) and ferre (to bring); thus Lucifer literally means "light-bearer". It is linked with the planet Venus in Revelations XXII: 16 when Christ says "I am the bright morning star", which is Venus, heralding the coming into full light of the Sun—the Son, the Christ. Interestingly the role of "light-bearer" is linked with Mercury, or Hermes—the divine messenger for the Gods in Greek and Roman mythology. In Christianity Mercury’s function is served by St. Michael, "the Angel Guardian" of Christ, according to St. Thomas. The esoteric interrelationship of this Angel Guardian and Christ is further illumined in the statement by the Tibetan teacher with whom Alice Bailey collaborated to write a series of books on the Ageless Wisdom, that "Mercury and the Sun are one".

Esoterically, the role of Guardian Angel was made possible by the sacrifice of the solar angels in their preservation of the principle of mind or, occultly, fire, through persistent repeated incarnations in form until animal man became thinking man and, finally, began to awaken to his true spiritual heritage: human/divine man. Thus the solar angel creates the form for the incarnating soul principle—the causal body—and it also withdraws that body at the fourth initiation, when the link between form and spirit has been permanently fused and the causal body is shattered.

The notion of the "rebellious angel" seems to trace back to the poet John Milton in Paradise Lost, which seemed to anchor in human consciousness the idea of the descent of the solar angels as an act of rebellion and therefore a fall from grace. ("To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.") Yet this spirit of rebellion and ensuing pain is not found on Venus, we are told by the Tibetan. The rebellious spirit appears to rest squarely on Earth, for the Tibetan suggests that this spirit of rebellion qualified the attitude of our planetary Logos himself, the "Divine Rebel". The Tibetan quotes the Old Commentary:

He entered into life and knew it to be death.

He took a form and grieved to find it dark.

He drove Himself forth from the secret place and sought the place of light, and light revealed all that he sought the least.

He craved permission to return.

He sought the Throne on high and Him who sat thereon.

He said "I sought not this. I looked for peace, for light, for scope to serve, to prove my love and to reveal my power. Light there is none. Peace is not found. Let me return.

But He who sat upon the Throne turned not his head. He seemed not even to listen nor to hear. But from the lower sphere of darkness and of pain a voice came forth and cried: "We suffer here. We seek the light. We need the glory of an entering God. [I can find no other words except these last two to express the ancient symbol from which I am translating.] Lift us to Heaven. Enter, 0 Lord, the tomb. Raise us into the light and make the sacrifice. Break down for us the prison wall and enter into pain.

The lord of Life returned. He liked it not, and hence the pain.