Home›Planes›Belongs To TraditionBrowse ByBelongs To TraditionThis page groups realms by the wider field of belief that describes them. Wikipedia notes that "major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism, and metaphysics." Browsing by belongs-to-tradition lets a visitor find every realm described within the same field of belief.FactsLearn MoreBelongs To TraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedNon-physical levels of being. The heading is modern and Theosophical rather than traditional: the astral plane and the akashic records are late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century constructions, and material from other traditions is grouped with them by that modern scheme rather than by its own. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedModern Western esotericism, together with Tibetan and Indian Buddhist material read through it. The bardo and Shambhala belong to Buddhist traditions that do not call them planes. 2OriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedThe grouping of these under one heading of planes is Theosophical, from H. P. Blavatsky and her successors in the late nineteenth century, and passed from there into most later Western esoteric writing. 3Tradition: Modern TheosophyDirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRealms 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedUsed, but its validity as a comparative category is disputed 2Learn MoreThe Planes This group holds the planes, the levels of existence described especially in esoteric and Theosophical cosmology, where reality is understood as a graded series of planes (physical, astral, mental and higher) through which consciousness ascends. The scheme is largely a modern esoteric development. The browser will find the planes the atlas gathers. The entries describe each plane's character and place in its system, noting the chiefly modern, esoteric provenance of the plane cosmology.Belongs To TraditionFilter Results6 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll121,962 (1)324,000,000 (1)2,300,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll111,691 (1)324,000,000 (1)2,300,000,000 (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (1)Independent Survey (3)National Census (1)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (4)Era of Decline End YearAll1200 (1)Era of Decline Start YearAll651 (1)1000 (1)Establishment StatusAllDisestablished (1)Varies by Province (2)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCustomary Norm (1)Membership Figure As OfAll1927-01-01 (1)1972-01-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (3)2011-12-19 (1)2012-01-01 (1)2012-12-18 (1)2020-01-01 (2)2024-01-01 (1)2025-01-01 (1)2026-08-14 (1)Origin Period End YearAll600 BCE (1)400 BCE (1)50 (1)800 (1)1891 (1)1980 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll1500 BCE (1)500 BCE (2)30 (1)1875 (1)1970 (1)Position on SexualityAllThe body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (1)Practice StatusAllDiscontinued as a state religion (1)Living, and practised in varied local forms (3)Partly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (1)Status TodayAllHistorical; not practised continuously (1)Living tradition, practised today (5)TheologyAllDualist: two opposed cosmic principles (1)Emanationist: reality proceeds from an ineffable One (1)Monistic: one ultimate reality behind all appearance (1)Monotheistic: one God (2)Non-theistic: no creator god is central (1)Polytheistic: many gods (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareBuddhismBelongs To Tradition2 entriesChristianityBelongs To Tradition1 entryNew AgeBelongs To Tradition1 entryNorse PaganismBelongs To Tradition1 entryTheosophyBelongs To Tradition1 entryZoroastrianismBelongs To Tradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Agetier 1Olav Hammer, Brill, 2001chs. 3 and 5, on the Theosophical cosmology and its borrowingsView the Source3. The Theosophical Enlightenmenttier 1Joscelyn Godwin, State University of New York Press, 1994on Blavatsky and the Theosophical cosmologyView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.