A common misunderstanding that I've seen within spiritual communities (especially within the New Age) is the conflation of the Black Sun with the Eighth Sphere, and vice versa. While there is overlap, these concepts are not the same and come with their own mysteries and complexities. This confusion seems to have its roots among new-agers holding a limited understanding of shadow work that negates the possibility of any influence operating outside of the immediate Self or "I." The argument is generally one that claims that failure to accept the Eighth Sphere and the beings and forces it houses (and integrate it/them into society) is a failure to integrate an aspect of humanity's shadow. While I understand the thinking behind this, it heavily lacks context, and this misunderstanding can open up humanity to the acceptance of forces and influences that are not looking to be transmuted, thus spreading across humanity like a spiritual disease or mind virus. It is distorted teachings like this that create space for evil where evil seeks to infiltrate. And, evil does so by taking a pre-existing esoteric truth and only slightly inverting it. Much could be said about this topic, but I will briefly summarize it here.
What is the Black Sun?
The Black Sun represents the Shadow Self and acts as a powerful catalyst for alchemy and transformation if we engage with this energy consciously and intentionally. This is the deep unconscious, unearthed! It is where we have the opportunity to face aspects of ourselves that formed out of trauma and pain and transmute that pain into spiritual power. Black Sun initiations are often represented by the term "Dark Night of The Soul" and are imperative in the process of not only initiation into the Spiritual but also individuation and the healthy development of the "I." The Black Sun can also be associated with the lower nervous system. While the lower nervous system is also associated with the Eighth Sphere, this is more representative of spiritual devolution that has exceeded the point of "no return" where alchemy is no longer possible due to the complete rejection of the Self, or Higher Forces or Impulses. This is because the Black Sun is also heavily associated with both Creation and Destruction. This incredible power, when wielded incorrectly or without proper understanding, has the potential to cannibalize the Soul from the inside out. It takes a very grounded, embodied, and often even well-studied individual to interact with these forces in a way that yields positive alchemical results. Inability to do so can cause severe mental, emotional, and spiritual degradation that, in turn, opens one up to the influences of the Eighth Sphere.
What is the Eighth Sphere?
The Eighth Sphere can be thought of almost as the "junk drawer" of the astral plane. It gives a container to all that is fallen, degraded, and subnatural. Though we can descend into the Black Sun and rise, transformed....the Eighth Sphere is not a place for descent or transformation, but rather, the home of the fallen. The Eighth Sphere acts not as a mirror, but as a Black Mirror, and is a place of deep, false-light confusion, and illusion. Gigi Young compared it to a false Cosmos. Unlike the Black Sun which has the potential to bring us closer to Truth, the Eighth Sphere presents a false truth, one that seeks to trap the undiscerning into a pit of deception and decay. Beings that end up here do so because they have fallen out of the lifewave, and out of alignment with natural, Cosmic order...they have nowhere else to go. This is where we see concepts like "Hell" and its various other religious interpretations arise. Clairvoyantly, the Eighth Sphere can be viewed as a black-mirror-esque overlay around the Earth Sphere. Initiation into Higher Realms, for the seeking mystic or psychic, often involves interaction with these lower subnatural realms to build discernment. One must pass tests of discernment at every turn to gain access to the wisdom and power that come with the engagement with and integration of Higher beings and forces. However, interacting with the Eighth Sphere in psychic work is not the same thing as being a soul that has fallen out of the lifewave and into this sphere, though it may lead to that. It is also important to understand that these fallen beings fell not simply due to trickery, but due to a rejection of the Self and of God that usually stems from the desire to BE God or to somehow override the wisdom of the Cosmos by paving their own way, calling their own shots. The Eighth Sphere is a place of trickery and deception, but we consent to this deception by prioritizing material evolution over spiritual evolution, leading to our own devolution over time. We fall victim to the Eighth Sphere by choosing to completely reject ourselves as spiritual beings, or otherwise use our spiritual power for selfish or material gain that neglects any responsibility or inner transformation. The further we go down this path of rejection, the closer we are to falling from "Grace" which early Christianity notes as the place where we receive Higher (virtuous) impulses from Higher beings. You could say that the Eighth Sphere is exactly where we go when this happens, which makes it significantly different to the Black Sun, as transformation is nearly impossible, if not impossible, at that point in the devolution of the Human Form.
1 comment
Iām grateful to come across your content! Especially this exploration on the black sun and the eighth sphere, the two are often conflated as you say; to understand each of the terms helps us in our semantics. To become clear in our understanding!
Thank you for all you do :)