Overview

In A Vision the human being is a complex system of interrelated aspects and “bodies.” Some religious traditions recognize two components to the human being: a mortal body and an immortal spiritual aspect, termed soul or spirit. Others distinguish three elements: along with the body, there is an immortal aspect—usually termed the spirit—and between the two an impermanent but immaterial aspect—usually the soul. The Theosophical traditions that Yeats had studied also teach of mortal and immortal spiritual aspects, analyzing them further, so that there are seven elements of the human in total: four impermanent aspects and three permanent ones. The Cabalistic systems adopted by the creators of the Golden Dawn posit different but impermanent aspects and immortal ones, ranging from three to six elements, depending on how they are viewed or how far they are broken down.

A Vision posits four elements, called Principles, one of which is linked to the body but is not the same. The immortal aspect is made up of two Principles, Spirit and Celestial Body, and these remain the same from one incarnation to the next. These are accompanied in each lifetime by a freshly regenerated pair of transient Principles, Husk and Passionate Body. The table below outlines the Four Principles, with summaries that are my own condensations of Yeats:

There is a clear hierarchy of the Principles, with Celestial Body the most fully spiritual and Husk the least. The ultimate spiritual being is the union of Celestial Body and Spirit, and as this core prepares for a new incarnation the other two Principles emerge—in Yeats's terms, “appear”—and Spirit, rather than looking upward to Celestial Body, looks downward towards the new Passionate Body. This is the impetus to incarnation. As in the more general scheme, the solar Principles are the more spiritual, and the lunar Principles are connected with human life, becoming more active and dominant as incarnation approaches—“Husk and Passionate Body taken together are Nature, Spirit and Celestial Body are pure intellect.”

In the stage before birth, when the coming life is known, the Four Principles are all in play. At birth, or just before, these Principles are reflected into the human psyche and the reflected forms are the Four Faculties.