30 ROSICRUCIANCOSMO-CONCEPTION
Each World is subdivided into seven Regions or
subdivisions of matter. In the Physical World, the solids,
liquids and gases form the three denser subdivisions, the
remaining four being ethers of varying densities. In the other
Worlds similar subdivisions are necessary, because the
matter of which they are composed is not of uniform
density.
There are still two further distinctions to be made. The
three dense subdivisions of the Physical World—the solids,
liquids and gases—constitute what is termed the Chemical
Region. The substance in this Region is the basis of all
dense Form.
The Ether is also physical matter. It is not homogeneous,
as material science alleges, but exists in four different states.
It is the medium of ingress for the quickening spirit which
impartsvitality to the Forms in the Chemical Region. The
four finer or etheric subdivisions of the Physical World
constitute what is known as the Etheric Region.
In the World of Thought the three higher subdivisions
are the basis of abstract thought, hence they, collectively, are
called the Region of Abstract Thought. The four denser
subdivisions supply the mind-stuff in which we embody and
concrete our ideas and are therefore termed the Region of
Concrete Thought.
The careful consideration given by the occultist to the
characteristics of the Physical World might seem
superfluous were it not that he regards all things from a
viewpoint differing widely from that of the materialist. The
latter recognizes three states of matter—solids, liquids, and
gases. These are all chemical, because derived from the
chemical constituents of Earth. From this chemical matter all
theforms of mineral, plant, animal, and man have been built,