Plato's Divided Line and the Grades of Knowledge Possessed by the Three Aspects of Brahman in the Context of the Orphic Theogony

Orphic Theogony (G. R. S. Mead)

The twelvefold circle lists the rulerships and exaltations of houses 4, 6, 7, 10, and 12, with the rulerships drawn closest to the circumference and the exaltations closest to the center. The rulership of house 5 is also listed.

In similar diagrams, these pairs of rulerships and exaltations are associated with the four sections of Plato’s Divided Line, with the pairs in the second quadrant associated with intuition, the pair in the third quadrant with reasoning, or rational cogitation, the pair in house 10 with sensation, and the pair in house 12 with phantasy, or perception.

In this diagram, on the far right, these pairs are associated with the knowledge possessed by the three beings who preside over each quadrant: the pairs in the fourth quadrant are labeled “Vaishvanara’s knowledge,” the pair in the third quadrant is labeled "Hiranyagarbha’s knowledge,” and one of the pairs in the second quadrant is labeled “Ishvara’s knowledge.” Note that according to the text in the diagram, Hiranyagarbha’s knowledge includes the third and fourth quadrants, and Ishvara’s knowledge includes the second, third, and fourth quadrants.