Term: astral body

Also known as the "Astral Vehicle," the astral body is equivalent to the Sanskrit Kama-Rupa, the extra-biological part of our being, which exists as a conscious, intelligent, and indestructible entity.

It is the third Vehicle (“upward” in the general scheme) or level of consciousness, also called the Desire or Emotional Body, or Emotional “Envelope.” In the process of incarnation, the astral vehicle is composed of the planetary energies in their aspects to one another to form a matrix for the physical body. This matrix is, in a sense, the true horoscope guiding the structure of the body and defining karmic factors.

The Astral Vehicle is the Lower Self of Emotion, Imagination, Thinking, Memory and Will—all the functions of the mind in response to sensory perception and emotional reaction. It is the field of dreams and the subconscious mind. It is the vehicle for most psychic activities.

Yet, a distinction must be made: The Physical Body is the field of ordinary conscious mind and the Astral is that of the sub-conscious mind, and a doorway to the super-conscious mind and the collective unconscious.