Editing Astral plane (section)

{{short description|Concept of a world of celestial spheres}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Oresme Spheres (detail).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|The [[celestial spheres|astral spheres]] were thought to be [[plane (esotericism)|planes]] of [[hierarchy of angels|angelic existence]] intermediate between [[Sublunary sphere|Earth]] and [[heaven]].]]
{{planes of existence}}
The '''astral plane''', also called the '''astral realm''', or the '''astral world''', or the '''soul realm''', or the '''spirit realm''', is a [[Plane (esotericism)|plane of existence]] postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, [[Western esotericism|esoteric]], and [[New Age]] philosophies and [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystery religions]].<ref name="G.R.S. Mead, 1919">G. R. S. Mead, ''The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tradition'', Watkins 1919.</ref> It is the world of the [[celestial spheres]], crossed by the soul in its [[astral body]] on the way to being born and [[afterlife|after death]], and is generally believed to be populated by [[angel]]s, spirits, or other immaterial beings.<ref>Plato, ''The Republic'', trans. Desmond Lee, Harmondsworth.</ref> In the late 19th and early 20th century, the term was popularised by [[Theosophy]] and neo-[[Rosicrucianism]].

Another view holds that the astral plane or world, rather than being some kind of boundary area crossed by the soul, is the entirety of spirit existence or spirit worlds to which those who die on Earth go, and where they live out their non-physical lives. It is understood by adherents that all consciousness resides in the astral plane.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Astral H.D.|last=Robinson|first=Matte|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2016|isbn=9781628924176|location=United States of America|pages=15–47}}</ref> Some writers conflate this realm with heaven or paradise or union with God itself, while others do not. [[Paramahansa Yogananda]] wrote in ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]'' (1946), "The astral universe ... is hundreds of times larger than the material universe ... [with] many astral planets, teeming with astral beings."

The "World of ''[[Al-Ghaib]]''" and the "World of ''[[Barzakh]]''" are related concepts in [[Islam]] (also the concept of {{lang|ar-Latn|'âlam al-mithâl}} "[[Malakut|imaginal world]]" in [[Sufism]]). In [[Judaism]], it is known as the "World of ''[[Yetzirah]]''", according to [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] [[Kabbalah]].