by Gina Cerminara, and Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet (2000) by Sidney Kirkpatrick.
Throughout his life, Edgar Cayce claimed no special abilities nor did he ever consider himself to be some kind of twentieth-century prophet. The readings never offered a set of beliefs that had to be embraced, but instead focused on the fact that each person should test in his or her own life the principles presented. Though Cayce himself was a Christian and read the Bible from cover to cover every year of his life, his work was one that stressed the importance of comparative study among belief systems all over the world. The underlying principle of the readings is the oneness of all life, a tolerance for all people, and a compassion and understanding for every major religion in the world.
Today, the Cayce organizations continue the legacy begun by Edgar Cayce with an undergirding mission to “help people change their lives for the better—physically, mentally, and spiritually—through the ideas in the Edgar Cayce material.” Further information about Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E., as well as activities, materials, and services, is available at EdgarCayce.org.
An Overview of Edgar Cayce on
Creation and Evolution
Ever since the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859 discussing the process of evolution by natural selection, there have been proponents on both sides of the argument challenging the “truths” of creationism versus evolution. The most conservative of Creationists have argued for a literal interpretation of the Bible, the creation of the earth in six days, and the all-pervading hand of God integrally involved in every aspect of the cosmos. The staunchest proponents of evolution describe the biological processes that make the involvement of a Creator unnecessary and describe a cosmos devoid of any Divine Intelligence. Obviously, there are individuals who find themselves somewhere in between, describing a creation that relies upon both a Creator and the evidentiary scientific laws of evolutionary processes. Edgar Cayce, the most documented psychic of all time, was one such individual—seeing both creation and evolution as ongoing universal forces shaping the cosmos and humankind. Although describing the importance of each, however, Cayce presents some unique ideas about the purpose of Creation and the ultimate end of evolution that may be challenging to proponents of both sides of the argument.
Since the dawn of time, Creation myths have existed around the world over as a means of explaining how the world came into being and how humankind became inhabitants of planet Earth. Over a period of forty-three years in hundreds of psychic readings, the Edgar Cayce material presented its own perspective of Creation and how humankind came to inhabit this planet. This vast wealth of information might be summarized as follows:
At the moment corresponding to what scientists have called “the Big Bang,” a Divine Creator projected Creation from Himself. That creative spark moved into being the universe as well as souls that were given free will and the capacity to become like their Creator. For many millennia, these individual souls remained in tune with “spirit,” watching much of the cosmos come into manifestation through the evolutionary processes that had been set in motion after the creative spark. In time, however, with their capacity for free will, some of the souls began to make choices that were out of accord with their divine nature.
Some of these curious souls came into the earth to watch the plant and animal kingdoms evolve, becoming fascinated by physical processes. Eventually, they became “trapped” in physicality and would be able to return only to their Divine awareness by perfectly manifesting “spirit” in the earth through a series of incarnations. Many thousands of years ago, one soul, whom the Cayce readings called “Amilius” decided to take upon himself the pattern for raising spiritual awareness in the earth. He was born into the earth as Adam and experienced a series of lifetimes before finally re-attaining spiritual perfection in the earth during His incarnation as Jesus. It is for this reason that the Cayce readings describe Jesus as the Elder Brother for all of humankind—a soul who showed the way to spiritual attainment regardless of one’s religious background.
The readings also suggest that the souls first began projecting into the earth approximately 10 million years ago and that since then, two advanced civilizations had risen and fallen: a) the continent of Atlantis, which existed between 200,000 and 10,500 BC; and, b) an Egyptian civilization that predates (by many millennia) the timeline proposed by Egyptologists. Cayce’s own readings suggest that he had been a part of this early Egyptian culture during an incarnation as Ra Ta—a high priest with a highly developed level of spiritual consciousness.
The readings also assert that creation and evolution are ongoing processes. Each soul is essentially a creative being and is constantly “creating” his or her life through thought, choice and action. In terms of evolution, the ultimate goal of evolution is “spiritual evolution” in that we might spiritually evolve to more fully become companions and co-creators with God. The readings suggest that there is also physical evolution but humanity did not descend from the monkey. Instead, the human creature was a unique form that was created with the capacity to perfectly manifest the divinity of the Creator in the earth.
In one remarkable reading (5749–14) given to Thomas Sugrue, the author of Cayce’s biography, There is a River, questions were asked to provide a framework for the overarching philosophy and cosmology contained in the Cayce readings. Those questions included: a) the reason for Creation; b) the purpose for humankind’s tenancy on earth; and, c) the role of Jesus as a pattern for all of humanity in terms of spiritual evolution.
In terms of Creation:
(Q) The first problem concerns the reason for creation. Should this be given as God’s desire to experience Himself, God’s desire for companionship, God’s desire for expression, or in some other way?
(A) God’s desire for companionship and expression.
In terms of humankind’s tenancy on earth, the readings suggest that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience and that the “physical experience” was not necessarily required for our own spiritual evolution. However, once souls entered the environs of earth, they became subject to the universal laws governing same and would be required to reach “perfection” through a series of lifetimes in order to return to a full awareness of their spiritual essence:
(Q) The third problem has to do with the fall of man. Should this be described as something which was inevitable in the destiny of souls, or something which God did not desire, but which He did not prevent once He had given free will? The problem here is to reconcile the omniscience of God and His knowledge of all things with the free will of the soul and the soul’s fall from grace.
(A) He did not prevent, once having given free will. For, He made the individual entities or souls in the beginning. For, the beginnings of sin, of course, were in seeking expression of themselves outside of the plan or the way in which God had expressed same. Thus it was the individual, see? Having given free will, then—though having the foreknowledge, though being omnipotent and omnipresent—it is only when the soul that is a portion of God chooses that God knows the end thereof.
(Q) The fourth problem concerns man’s tenancy on earth. Was it originally intended that souls remain out of earthly forms, and were the races originated as a necessity resulting from error?
(A) The earth and its manifestations were only the expression of God and not necessarily as a place of tenancy for the souls of men, until man was created—to meet the needs of existing conditions.
In terms of the role of Jesus as a pattern for humanity:
