This presentation discusses aspects of the Element Earth in respect of The Diagram of Everything Living. Watch the presentation on YouTube. The content of the seminar comes from the recently published book: Gurdjieff's Hydrogens: Volume 1 The Ray of Creation. The Presentation series is organized by The Austin Gurdjieff Society. (The group website is: https://austingurdjieff.org/) One of the Group leaders is Robin Bloor, a pupil of Rina Hands who was, in turn, a pupil of Gurdjieff. He is the author of several books on The Work. For more information on his books click on the following link: https://tofathomthegist.com/books/ [Seminar content includes: The first three squares of the Step Diagram—kernel—a forge?—metals—minerals—the rock cycle—the Law of Falling—life underground, silicon life forms—no lives are slow, subjectively—igneous rock—iron and magnesium—the life processes of rock]

1. THE ELEMENT
EARTH

2. We begin a Tales Reading
Group on September 29th.
For more details visit
https://tofathomthegist.com/
tales-study-the-details/

3. SUBJECT MATTER
1. The Lifeform of The Side Octave
2. The Step Diagram and Four Elements
3. The Three Earth Squares
4. The Law of Falling
5. The Earth’s Core
6. The Periodic Table
7. Birkeland Currents
8. The Rock Cycle
9. Crystals
10. Minerals and Biological life

4. THE LIFEFORM OF THE SIDE OCTAVE
Lifeforms, like the bee are composite. Such
composite lifeforms are fundamental to the local
Trogoautoegocrat.
The spreadsheet fragment shown constructs a triple
octave within the Side Octave from the Sun.
In theory that octave creates a lifeform or possibly
multiple lifeforms. For want of a better designation
let us call this Nature. This extends our usual idea of
nature to include rock.
We can think of nature as the physical body of the
Earth. Thus the Earth will also have an essence and a
body of reason about which we know very little.
Nature consumes the elements of earth (minerals and
metals). It breathes the atmosphere of Earth and its
inner impressions come through Man and
Vertebrates.

5. ”
“
In every man there has been implanted
a need for knowledge,
differing only in its intensity.
Gurdjieff

6. THE STEP DIAGRAM AND FOUR ELEMENTS
The number of orders of Laws that apply are shown
in the top corner.
The being classes Minerals, Invertebrates, Man
(and also Archangels and Kernel) bridge between
two states of matter.
The being classes Metals, Plants, Vertebrates and
Angels are static. They appear to have less
possibility of evolution.
The mi-fa interval in the Ray of Creation appears to
be bridged by just one element, AIR.
The mi-fa interval in the Side Octave is bridged by
plants.
In this seminar we discuss do-re-mi: the Kernel,
Metals, Minerals triple.

7. THE EARTH TRIPLE
We only witness the realm of Earth at the surface,
dramatically with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Less noticeable is erosion of rock by waves, wind and ice,
and the subduction of rock below the Earth.
We can think of this as the digestive activity of Nature. As
such we should expect it to be much slower than breathing.
Nature’s appears to breathe once per day, about 25,000
times slower than Man.
If we say man takes a day to digest food, and apply the
same ratio to Nature, then Nature takes about 70 years to
digest its food. This equates approximately to the lifetime
of a Man.
Most of what is digested in the realm of Earth is waste
matter from higher realms.

8. THE LAW OF FALLING: KERNEL
“This cosmic law which he then discovered, St.
Venoma himself formulated thus:
“‘Everything existing in the World falls to the
bottom. And the bottom for any part of the
Universe is its nearest “stability,” and this said
“stability” is the place or the point upon which
all the lines of force arriving from all
directions converge.
“‘The centers of all the suns and of all the
planets of our Universe are just such points of
“stability.” They are the lowest points of those
regions of space upon which forces from all
directions of the given part of the Universe
definitely tend and where they are concentrated.
In these points, there is also concentrated the
equilibrium which enables suns and planets to
maintain their position.’
The Tales p66
We named the lowest square “Kernel” to
indicate that it is a seed of a kind.
The way down is also the way up.
It is unlikely that material involves to this
low level (the very core of Earth
—
high
density, low energy) without a possibility
of rising back up.
Our view is that the Kernel acts as a forge
for heavy elements
If so, it is the growing point of the Earth.
(We discuss the growth of the Earth in a
later seminar).

9. THE EARTH’S CORE
It is reasonable to assume the core is hot
due to compression and radioactive decay.
We assume denser materials accumulate in
the core.
Wikipedia suggests a temperature of
700000K for Earth’s core: a gradient greater
than 10000C per 100 km depth.
The deepest borehole ever drilled was
12.3km (in Russia). Below 12km, the
temperature was 180+0C.
A 9.1km borehole (in Germany) found a
higher temperature, 260+0C.
The diagram shows a simple model of the believed
inner structure of the Earth. The core is said to be
mostly iron, surrounded by the mantle which is
primarily magma.
Above the mantle is the thin solid crust, no deeper
than 35km and only 8km deep in some places.
The crust is broken up into tectonic plates, which
“ride” on top of the mantle and rub up against each
other. Earthquakes occur primarily at the points
where these plates meet.
Some earthquakes can occur deeper down. The
deepest earthquake on record occurred beneath
Vanuatu at a depth of 735.8 km in 2004. This
implies that at that depth two very solid masses of
rock were pushing against each other.

10. THE ELEMENTS (OF EARTH)
The Periodic Table of Elements
The elements indicated as
required for human life (in
pink) are all “light.”
The Ansapalnian Octave gives
an indication of this (although
we cannot take atomic weight as
indicative of a specific
Hydrogen).
Some of the elements not
required for human life may be
required for other life forms.
Evidence suggests that there are
bacteria that can engage with
pretty much every element.
In general the non-metals appear
to be less dense. As elements,
they are poor conductors of heat
and electricity
A metalloid (as an element) is a
semiconductor. Metals are
conductors of heat and
electricity.
Radioactivity is a curious
phenomenon, since radioactive
elements naturally ascend.
Most likely radioactive elements
have a function in the life of the
Kernel or of Metals, or both.
They may not be as unstable
underground

11. BIRKELAND CURRENTS & CYLINDERS
The Kernel (of a new star) seems to be born
from a plasmoid.
It is fed by the ions that are found in
Birkeland Currents.
The outer layer of the cylinders is Helium (an
inert noble gas). The other layers are
dominated by the elements of life: H, O, N, C,
S, Fe, Si, & Mg
It may be that small amounts of these
elements are delivered to Earth by Birkeland
Currents.
Aside from that, the Earth receives an
estimated 40,000 tons of space dust each year.
Most likely neither of these is a significant as
a source of material.

12. THE METALS LIFEFORM
The Metals lifeform is difficult to identify. It is too
slow for us to see clearly.
Perhaps volcanoes and fragments of tectonic plates
are lifeforms. Currently this is just speculation.
Metal ores may be aspects of this lifeform. They
are usually oxidized or combined chemically with
other compounds. We would expect them to be
mixtures (the Harnel Miatznel).
Theoretically it makes sense to separate
sedimentary rock from igneous rock and thus to
assign igneous rock as being an aspect of the metals
lifeform.
To make more sense of this, it helps to consider
the rock cycle

13. THE ROCK CYCLE
Rock
Rock is a crystalline substance. While we may think of
rocks and stones as solid, a microscopic view reveals
otherwise.
Th
ere is an interspersing of Earth, Water,
Air & Fire, as Gurdjie
ff
suggests.
Rocks have internal spaces between their crystals,
which can and do contain water, air and plasma.
Th
is
characteristic of rock is referred to as porosity. It is
measured to be the percentage of the rock or stone
that is not solid/crystalline.
Th
e porosity of rock depends on a number of factors,
but primarily on the arrangement of its grains. “Hard”
rock such as granite has low porosity (<1%). In
contrast, sandstones have very high porosity in the
range of 10–35% because the individual sand or
mineral grains don’t
fi
t together well.
It is more like a loosely associated collection of
crystals than a crystalline mass.
Magma
Magma is by de
fi
nition molten rock and hence no
longer crystalline when below ground. It exists as lava
“momentarily” during volcanic eruptions but soon
cools to form a solid crystalline mass.
Geologists suggest that about 20% of the Earth’s
mantle is magma. As temperature increases with
depth, it is expected that substances at greater depths
and under great pressure are likely to be magma.
Geologists categorize magma by analyzing the
igneous rock it forms when it cools.
Th
ey classify
magmas according to the percentage of silica (SiO2)
they contain, the proportions of Iron and Magnesium,
the temperature (it ranges between 900 and 1500°C),
and the viscosity.
As silicon is the dominant element in all rock it seems
reasonable to assume it plays a similar role in “rock
life” as carbon does in biological life.
Igneous Rock
When magma cools it becomes igneous rock. If it is
on the surface it is called “extrusive”, if below it is
called “intrusive.” It is rich in silicon and usually
includes amounts of oxygen, iron, magnesium,
calcium, sodium, and potassium.
Th
e dominance of
silicon varies between 44% to 69%.
Igneous rock can form in di
ff
erent ways. It can form in
a granular, crystalline manner, or as natural glass. On
the surface, it is found in a wide range of geological
se
tt
ings, not just in lava
fl
ows.
Th
e majority of surface igneous rock is intrusive
igneous rock formed beneath the surface that later
becomes exposed. Because intrusive igneous rock
cools very slowly, the rock is coarse-grained, as
opposed to the
fi
ne grained igneous rock of lava
fl
ows.
Th
e central cores of whole mountain ranges can
consist of intrusive igneous rocks
—
usually granite.
Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rock is formed from sediment
—
accumulated deposits of small mineral or organic
particles. Once su
ffi
cient pressure is applied, the
particles fuse to create rock.
Th
e particles can be from dust blown on the wind,
erosion by wind and rain, organic shells reduced to
particles of sand by waves on a beach, mineral
precipitation, dust from space and dust ejected from
volcanoes. Sediment gathers at the bo
tt
om of the sea,
in lakes, on river beds and even on dry plains.
Sedimentary rock forms in layers called “beds” or
“strata,” which can be anywhere between centimeters
and several meters thick. In some tidal
fl
ats, top layer
sediment can build up by more than a meter in a day.
On the deep ocean
fl
oor, it is more likely to be a few
millimeters per year. Layers form when the
composition of the sediment laid down changes.
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is distinct from sedimentary and
igneous rock. Metamorphism occurs in rock (usually
sedimentary but possibly also igneous rock or a
mixture) under severe pressure (100+ megapascals)
and high temperature (1500+0C).
Metamorphic rock is classi
fi
ed by texture and by
chemical and mineral content. It may be formed
simply by sinking deep enough beneath the surface to
encounter the right temperatures and pressure. It can
also form through tectonic processes.
About 12% of the Earth’s land surface is metamorphic
rock, 15% is igneous rock and 27% is sedimentary
rock. Curiously the surface below the sea is very
di
ff
erent
—
almost entirely igneous rock covered with
sediment.
Metamorphic rock rises to the surface, through the
rising of the Earth crust. It becomes exposed by the
erosion of layers of sedimentary rock above it.
Metamorphism
Metamorphism changes rocks at the particle level. For
example, small calcite crystals in sedimentary
limestone and chalk can be recrystallized into larger
crystals in the metamorphic rock we know as marble.
Metamorphosed sandstone can become very compact
quartzite.
Th
e high temperatures cause the atoms and
ions in solid crystals to migrate, thus reorganizing the
crystals.
During metamorphism, chemical reactions can be
provoked by heat, leading to the formation of other
minerals. Chemicals from neighboring rocks can
change the rock’s chemical composition. Alternatively
change may be provoked by water transporting
chemicals from distant rock formations. Water will
also conduct some chemicals away.
It is di
ffi
cult not to see this as very similar to
biological processes. Water proves to be the blood of
the realm of Earth.
Th
e Biological Component
Some rock is biological in origin. Limestone is formed
from the bones of organisms, particularly corals and
mollusks. Coal deposits are primarily the compression
of peat. Oil is also believed to be compressed organic
life, reduced to hydrocarbons as layers form above it.
Deposits of chert (a sedimentary rock) form from the
accumulation of the siliceous skeletons of microscopic
organisms.
Fossils are most commonly found in sedimentary rock
because such rock forms at low temperatures and
pressures and thus does not destroy fossil remnants. In
normal circumstances, dead organisms are consumed
completely by scavengers or bacteria.
Th
e realm of Earth acts as a kind of waste disposal
layer for the detritus of organic life. It is a kind of
failsafe component of the Trogoautoegocrat.

14. CRYSTALS
Solid substances are arrays of crystals. A crystals may be the
equivalent of a cell in the domain of Earth. Crystals are solid
material whose molecules arrange themselves in a highly
ordered structure, referred to as a crystal lattice.
The lattice produces predictable geometric shapes. Because
the lattice can extend in any direction, crystals can grow
surprisingly large. For example, geologists have found
gypsum crystals 12 meters long in caves in Naica, Mexico.
Icebergs are crystals, and so are snowflakes. Most inorganic
solids are polycrystals
—
groups of fused microscopic
crystals. Gemstones are crystals, some pure like diamond,
and some polycrystals like opal.
Pearls are an example of organically grown crystals.
Fingernails, kidney stones and wood are other examples.
Scientists grow crystals of DNA to study the structure of the
molecule.
There are also amorphous solids that are not crystals. Glass,
wax, and many plastics are examples; they have no lattice.

15. MINERALS, WRIT LARGE
Minerals occupy a corner square in the Step Diagram,
belonging both to the domain of Earth and the
domain of Water. They can thus fall either under 48
Laws or 96 Laws.
Stones, rocks and mountains are are under 96 laws
—
laws that enforce immobility.
Man’s buildings, including his skyscrapers, are
mineral and metal constructions. According to
Gurdjieff, Nature wants man to build up high at the
moment.
Man’s pottery and his tools are largely minerals. His
cars are minerals. All are subject to erosion and will
in time be reduced to dust.
Man’s history is written in minerals.

16. MINERALS AND BIOLOGICAL LIFE
Minerals also make up soil and sediment which is
usually a medium for other life forms
—
probably under
48 laws.
The most effective agents of erosion are plants and
Man. Both play a large hand in reducing minerals to
small particles, plants more productively than Man.
Minerals thus become soil which is semi-liquid.
The role of bacteria is not known in great detail, but is
probably of extreme importance. There are bacteria
miles below the surface that are feeding on rock. There
are even some bacteria that accumulate uranium.
The central role played by magnesium (in
photosynthesis) and iron (in oxygen circulation in
animals) is surprising and important.
It’s there in Birkeland currents, it’s there in animals, it’s
there in plants, its there in minerals and metals.

17. ”
“
Everything in the Universe has
a place in a scale.
Gurdjieff

18. THE TROGOAUTOEGOCRAT
• The Diagram of Everything Living shows the
“splinter” of The Trogoautoegocrat that involves
Earth and Moon.
• The realm of Earth forms the lowest triple and
its function appears to be to provide elements
for use by the realm of Water, which is under
fewer laws.
• The density of materials in these three squares
suggests that the center of the Earth is dense and
provides a kind of foundry for the creation of
heavy elements.
• The Minerals sound the note mi and thus the
square sits on the edge of the mi-fa interval,
requiring help of some form to progress.

19. UNEXPLORED
The domains of Water, Air and Earth.
The possible impact of Birkeland
currents underground.
The growth of the Earth.
The relevance of this to the Moon.
The impact of the Planets and the Sun.
Elementals

20. THE
Q & A