Michael Terminology

Fragment: An individual person

Essence; Role in Essence: The unchanging part of any and all persons -- the nature of your soul -- that which is with you from first life until last. These are:
(1) Slave
(2) Artisan
(3) Warrior
(4) Scholar
(5) Sage
(6) Priest
(7) King

Polarities, and Neutralities: the relation of essences to one another in terms of function:
(1) Slave and (6) Priests are the Inspiration Polarity
(2) Artisans and (5) Sages are the Expression Polarity;
(3) Warriors and (7) Kings are the Action Polarity
(4) Scholars are Neutral.

Casting and Cadences: the order in which your essence was released into the Physical Plane. Like Role in Essence, this never changes from first life to last. Cadences are groups of seven fragments, all of the same Role in Essence -- all Slaves, all Warriors, all Sages, etc. -- cast at the same time. Each fragment (person) in a Cadence contributes to a whole. A Cadence is the smallest integrated unit that Michael recognizes. Casting order tends to color the Role in Essence for all persons. For example, a (4) Scholar fragment who is fourth cast in his or her Cadence will be more (4) Scholarly than a sixth-cast Scholar in the same Cadence, who will have a kind of (6) Priestlyness about him or her. By the same token, a (1) Slave cast seventh in his or her Cadence, will have a (7) Kingliness about him or her, that will shape the kind of Slave that particular fragment is. Cadences also have their casting number to consider -- a fifth-cast Cadence within an Entity will impart a certain (5) Sagey-ness to all its seven members, no matter what the essences of the Cadence may be. Greater Cadences -- that is, seven full Cadences -- also have a certain amount of casting impact, as well, although it is fairly diffuse. And keep in mind, all members of a Cadence are of the same Essence: all Slaves, all Priests, all Artisans, etc, and casting, like Essence, never changes during all the lives a fragment may experience.

Entity: a group of usually three or four Essences in Cadences, numbering from roughly one thousand to fifteen hundred fragments, or between 143 and 212 Cadences. If Cadences are like siblings, the members of the Entity are like cousins. The casting of the Entities also has a bearing on its members, although it tends to be very diffuse.

Cadre: a group of seven Entities, all part of the same casting event, and linked from beginning to end.

• Slaves: (1) Ordinal Inspiration, roughly twenty-five percent of the population. Slaves, unlike all other Roles in Essence, need no special circumstances to complete their Life Tasks; they come into their own at their first incarnation. From first life until last, they have the capacity for full realization of their Essence, which gives them an adaptability no other Essence experiences. Slaves serve the Common Good, however the Slave defines that within the limits of any given life. Slaves have the greatest inherent grasp of society and culture of any Essence. Slaves do not require recompense for the service they give. Slaves are acknowledged by civic commendations in all forms. Slaves have two channels of input. The sense associated with Slaves is touch. Slaves often have to come to realize that not all service is appropriate.


• Artisans: (2) Ordinal Expression, roughly twenty-one and a half percent of the population. Artisans come into their own in the Baby (2) Cycle. Artisans are concerned with all forms of structure, and are most likely to complete their Life Tasks through expressing some sort of structure, whether actual or theoretical. Artisans will tend to want to create structure in their lives, and to expect others to adapt to it. Artisans are acknowledged by access to projects and iconic awards. Artisans have five channels of input. The sense associated with Artisans is balance. Artisans often have to come to realize that not everything can be reduced to structure.


• Warriors: (3) Ordinal Action, roughly seventeen and a half percent of the population. Warriors come into their own in the Young (3) Cycle. Warriors are concerned with challenges, however they define them, and are most likely to complete their Life Tasks through engaging in some manner of activity. Warriors are protective as well as enterprising, and will be loyal and dutiful. Warriors are acknowledged with campaign ribbons and medals in all forms. Warriors have one channel of input. The sense associated with Warriors is hearing. Warriors often have to come to realize that not every question is a challenge.


• Scholars: (4) Neutral, roughly fourteen percent of the population. Scholars come into their own in the Mature (4) Cycle. Scholars are drawn to all forms of information and learning, and are most likely to complete their Life Tasks through study of one sort or another. Scholars have a remote quality, a detachment that allows them to evaluate and assess anything and everything. Scholars are acknowledged by diplomas and degrees of all sorts. Scholars have one channel of input. The sense associated with Scholars is sight. Scholars often have to come to realize that knowing is not necessarily understanding.


• Sages: (5) Cardinal Expression, roughly ten percent of the population. Sages come into their own in the Old (5) Cycle. Sages are concerned with all manner of communication, and are most likely to achieve their Life Task through the dissemination of understanding to others. Sages are engaging and have a flair for the dramatic. Sages are acknowledged by all manner of applause. Sages have three channels of input. The sense associated with Sages is smell/taste. Sages often have to come to realize that performing is not living.


• Priests: (6) Cardinal Inspiration, roughly eight percent of the population. Priests are always linked to the Astral Plane, and do not fully come into their own until their Physical Plane incarnations have been completed, so that completing Life Tasks can prove difficult for this Essence. Priests serve a Higher Ideal, however the Priest defines it in any given life. Priests are acknowledged by spiritual validation. Priests have two channels of input. The sense associated with Priests is orientation. Priests often have to come to realize that the Higher Ideal only applies to the Priest who has it.


• Kings: (7) Cardinal Action, roughly four percent of the population. Kings are always linked to the Causal Plane, and are not able to come into their own until the Causal Plane is reached, which makes completing Life Tasks difficult without the response and validation of others. Kings present the Mandate, whatever the King conceives that to be in any given life. Kings are acknowledged by coronations in all guises. Kings have one channel of input. The sense associated with Kings is relationality. Kings often have to come to realize that the Mandate is not a command but a revelation.

The Overleaves: While a person's Role in Essence (Slave, Artisan, Warrior, Scholar, Sage, Priest or King) remains unchanged for all of their incarnations, the rest of the Overleaves change from lifetime to lifetime. Mode, Goal, and Attitude are chosen by the fragment before incarnation. Centering is chosen by age three, and Chief Features fixate between ages 15 and 25. The Overleaves are a set of metaphorically labeled manifestations described by Michael. Overleaves are chosen by a person to help them accomplish their Life Plan and Life Task.

A person chooses most of their Overleaves prior to their incarnation. There are no bad Overleaves and regardless of their label, no Overleaf is capable of predetermining, limiting nor guaranteeing the realization of one's potential. Matters of personal choice and hazards of the physical plane will shape the course of the life.

Michael uses metaphoric labels to identify the Overleaves. It is useful to bear in mind that these labels are not intended to be taken literally. At a first glance some of the Overleaves may sound unflattering, but in Michaelean terms, ALL of the Overleaves may be used to accomplish evolution during the life.

In Michael terms, the metaphoric label, Slave, does not imply that those with this Role in Essence function as indentured servants. Slaves are not "beneath" Kings. Kings are not "above" the other Roles. Most of our world's greatest leaders have been Slaves. Slaves are the most grounded of the Roles in Essence, on the physical plane. This provides them with a greater means of flexibility to adapt to their surroundings than the other Roles, when the Slave chooses to do so. Generally Slaves move through their evolution more quickly than than the other Roles. Over half of all Nobel Prize winners are Slaves.

Old Souls are not "better than" Baby Souls; and Young Souls are not "less than" Mature Souls. Each of the different Soul Age Cycles (Infant, Baby, Young, Mature, and Old) has a different but equally valid perspective of their surroundings.

Cycles: The unique identification that fragmentation creates is operative for seven Cycles, or stages of evolution before the awareness of individuality is subsumed by the process of reunion. Five of the Cycles are manifest on the Physical Plane, two on the Planes immediately beyond the Physical Plane, the Astral and the Causal. Each Cycle has seven levels, and each level has a specific function in the evolutionary process.

• The Infant Cycle (1) is the first stage of physical evolution for Essence, and, like an infant, the fragments in this Cycle are learning to adapt to and accommodate the world around them. Fragments in this Cycle usually prefer simple cultural environments and limited forms of education. Infant Cycle fragments do not often incarnate in culturally diverse or technologically complex societies, since the focus of the Cycle is to acquaint the fragment with the nature, the characteristics, and limitations of the species in which the fragment is ensouled. The Infant Cycle Monad has to do with recognizing and validating identities and their limits. The youngest souls on this planet are fourth level Infant.


• The Baby Cycle (2) is the second stage of physical evolution for Essence, and has to do with a growing awareness of the nature of human interactions. The Baby fragment, much like a three-year-old, has a much better sense of what is due it than in what may be due to others by it. Baby fragments are a bit more culturally adventuresome than the Infant Cycle fragments are, but are marked by an exaggerated sense of propriety and a dogmatic adherence to social rules. Although they are somewhat more adaptable than Infant souls, they prefer to be in single ethnic-religious settings, with specific educational goals and assigned uses for technology. There is an on-going assumption that there is a correct standard for everything that must be adhered to; failure to support the standard puts the offending fragment beyond the concern of the Baby soul. The Baby Soul Monad has to do with experiencing the limits of immediate (family, tribe, clan) society.


• The Young Cycle (3) is the third stage of physical evolution for Essence, and has to do with taking on everything accessible to the fragment. Young fragments demand a lot of themselves and of others. They have a broad view of their environment, but all is regarded in the fragment's terms, through the fragment's expectations and requirements. If a Young soul likes a thing, it is because the thing accommodates the Young soul; if the Young soul dislikes a thing, it is because that thing is not in accord with the Young soul. Although less inclined to perceive matters in the black-and-white terms of the Baby soul, the Young soul does tend to sort things out as for me or against me, and assigns motives to both categories, assuming that any resistence to the Young soul's actions or desires is a deliberate act of personally motivated thwarting. The Young soul is eager to learn that which serves its purpose, and is perhaps the most gadget-happy of all the Cycles, putting faith in technology if that suits the Young soul's view of the world, or rejecting it utterly, if that is the Young soul's bent. The majority of souls on this planet -- human and cetaceans -- are Young souls. The Young Soul Monad has to do with achieving larger recognition at any cost.


• The Mature Cycle (4) is the fourth stage of physical evolution for Essence, and has to do with comprehension and perception of the world around them, which is constantly at variance with the Mature Cycle desire to be able to withdraw from that world. Mature fragments are inclined to identify with others, which is emotionally draining for them, although it does bring about a great deal of understanding as the Cycle is traversed. Mature souls have such a high capacity for identification with others that they often find it difficult to see beyond the identification to the actual impact of what the others are doing, and the impact it may have. Once the Mature soul realizes that identification is only half the job, a deeper comprehension is possible, and many insights are brought to bear. The Mature Soul Monad has to do with honorably serving a corrupt master -- at the very heart of the identification conundrum.


• The Old Cycle (5) is the fifth stage of physical evolution, and the last one done in full physicality; after the Old soul has finished the last incarnation, identity will be carried on by other means. The Old Cycle has to do with being, of discovering and expressing the fragment's chosen identity in any given life, and discerning the identity as being part of but separate from cultural-religio-social-familial definitions. Unlike the earlier Cycles, this establishment of identity does not impose anything upon others -- no conversion, no accommodation is required. For that reason, Old souls do not take kindly to being pressured by others to conform to anything not part of the Old soul's actualization, no matter how outwardly flattering such pressure may be. The Old Soul Monad has to do with recognizing and validating the validity of all lives for everyone, and the validity of each fragment's evolution.


• The Astral Cycle (6) is the sixth stage of evolution, and the first one that is undertaken without an actual body -- although Astral "matter" can be given brief form when such is called for. The Astral Cycle, having a capacity for tenuous physicality, also has a slight link to linear time, as you experience it on the Physical Plane. The Astral Plane is where Essence goes between lives for the Astral Review, and to make choices for the next life. Unless a fragment is the last fragment of an Entity on the Physical Plane, much Astral work has to do with catching up with Entity-mates who are between lives. Occasionally the Astral fragment will provide a degree of contact with incarnated fragments, some of it beneficial, some of it mischievous, some of it interpreted as religious, some of it to offer requested contact. Although lacking any viable physicality, Astral fragments are many times perceived as physically dangerous, which they are not. At the Astral Plane, the Cadences reunite as their totality. Incidentally, Astral fragments are not ghosts, for they have consciousness -- which ghosts do not -- and are not limited to a single manifestation presentation. The Astral Cycle is tied to the Transcendental Soul. The Astral Soul Monad has to do with inculcating the totality of the lives experienced by the fragment on the Physical Plane.


• The Causal Cycle (7) is the seventh stage of evolution, and the last in which identity as an individual perception exists. Michael is in this Cycle. The Causal reunited fragments do not take any physical form, although once in a very rare while they can have some effect on air and temperature when there is sufficient focus of physical fragments to allow such a manifestation.
  
  At the Causal Cycle, the Cadences reunite into their Entities, and the last vestige of individual identity is subsumed and integrated into the whole of the Entity. Part of this integration occurs as a result of the Entity providing information to living fragments undergoing evolution on the Physical Plane; the greater the validation from Physical Plane fragments, the greater the integration possible for the Causal Entity. The Causal Cycle is tied to the Infinite Soul. The Causal Cycle Monad has to do with imparting the validity of physical incarnation and individual identity as a means of releasing it.

Life Task: The issues the fragment choses to pursue.Life Tasks may take several lifetimes to complete, three being the average. Life Task is not necessarily associated with professions, but with the thrust of the life. It is associated with the Action Polarity.

The "Trues"" support the Life Task. When True Rest, True Play, and True Study are "balanced" with Life Task, there is more opportunity for evolution, recognition, and validation

• True Rest: Restores the fragment; it is associated with the Inspiration Polarity.
• True Play: Grounds the fragment; it is associated with the Expression Polarity.
• True Study: focuses the fragment: it is associated with the Neutral Position.

Lives of Note: When Michael refers to "lives of note," this means "noted" past lives have some bearing or resonance to the current life. This does not mean that the experience in the current life is a carbon copy of a previous "life of note." It means there are aspects of the life "then", which are experientially similar to the life "now." These resonances may be pleasant, neutral or unpleasant depending on the nature of the experiences in question.

A "life of note" does not imply that the past life was historically prominent.