The Astral Body is a subtle body theorized by many philosophers as an intermediate between the intelligent soul and the mental body, composed of a subtle material.
The word "astral" means "of the stars", thus the astral plane, consisting of the celestial spheres, is held to be an astrological phenomenon. This idea is rooted in common worldwide religious accounts of the after life in which the soul's journey is described as "an ecstatic mystical experience, where the spiritual traveler leaves the physical body and travels in his/her subtle body or astral body into ‘higher’ realms".
The Astral Body is composed of “astral’ matter, which appears to be a subtle substance of very high frequency, much greater than the Etheric body. The Astral body is sometimes said to be visible as an aura of swirling colours. It is widely linked today with out-of-body experiences, astral projection and astral travel. According to esoteric sources, the astral body also has chakras. Similar to the etheric chakras, the astral body chakras are transformers of energy. The astral chakras both transmit and receive energy, which is apparently passed on to the etheric chakras. This connection clarifies the idea that our emotions can disturb or enhance our health.
As per Richard Gerber, MD, author of the body of knowledge that I often refer to (Vibrational Medicine), the following is a diagram on how he saw the complete human frequency spectrum:
The Human Frequency System
There are three energetic bodies tied to our human physical body:
1. Etheric body
2. Astral body
3. Mental body
The Etheric body is the densest of the energy bodies. And tied to our physical body. We are quite familiar with the existence of this body, as it contains all of the chakras that exists within the human body.
So, what exactly is the function of the Astral Body? It appears that the Astral Body equates to the seat of human emotions. In the past century, the medical profession has now recognized how the stresses of emotions can cause to the physical body!
In his book, The Astral Body by A. Powell (1927), he describes the astral body as a vehicle in which feelings, passions, desires and emotions are expressed, and which acts as a bridge between the physical body and the mind. Fear is apparently one of the dominant astral energies which is currently affecting people in today’s society!
Powell believed that few people are aware of their astral body, or can control and function in it in full consciousness. One function of the Astral Body that is now well recognized is the NDE - Near Death Experience. According to Richard Gerber, M.D., since the physical body and its organs (sight and hearing) are disabled upon “death”, how can someone have such amazing recall of their experience when floating out of their physical form?
Speaking of the limitless possibilities of the Astral Body, Powell stated:
“We shall see that the physical senses, invaluable as they are, by no means represent the limit of what man’s vehicles may teach him of the world in which he lives. The awakening [of the] astral faculties reveal a new world… and when a man becomes able to read its significance, he will obtain such an expanded view of his own life, and all nature, as will reveal to him the almost limitless possibilities latent in men.” (Powell, 1927, p. 4).
During life, it is said that the astral body is tied to the physical body by a type of umbilical chord. Supposedly, at the time of death, the chord is severed. This allows the Astral body to depart and leave behind the physical body.
During sleep, some individuals claim to travel and remember their adventures. We normally attribute these to dreams. Who can tell?
We have not yet been able to photograph the Astral Body yet, but we might one day. And if the Astral Body does exist, we might be further along in explaining the behaviors of this higher dimension of the human!
Reiki Blessings and Regards,
Suzanne
Sources:
1. https://energyhealinginstitute.org/astral-body/
2. Vibrational Medicine, Richard Gerber M.D.
3. https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/astral-projection/?astral_deep