"You are spiritual beings on a human path." The voice of Michael was first heard in recent times in the mid-1970's when a group of friends began connecting to the wise, loving, and humorous words of a higher entity calling itself "Michael."

(Note: because there is much terminology involved with this system, we have included a hovering glossary which you can use to view term descriptions by hovering your mouse over the term.  Glossary terms will show up in a double underline while regular links show up as a single underline. )

Who is Michael?

Michael is a higher-plane being that has been teaching for thousands of years. Comprised of over 1000 souls who have "moved on" from the earth plane, Michael speaks about ways to help us live more joyful lives on this planet.

The original publishing of this material was the book "Messages from Michael," written by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, the first in a series of four books that chronicles a three-decade-long "conversation" which resulted in what is now known as the "Michael Teachings". Since then there have been many other publications through different channels and authors. This information from the many channelers has to do with countless topics including: the evolution of the human soul, the inter-connectivity individuals share, the different types of soul ages within humanity, world politics, the nature of the universe, karma, reincarnation and "the overleaves."

Michael is a teacher of:

• a template of understanding about how the universe is structured.

• a system of understanding how people (most importantly, your own Self, or essence) are structured in their perceptions.
• a pathway towards agape, or an unconditional welcoming and allowing of life.

A core concept of the Michael teachings is: "all choices made are equally valid." So, in this teaching, should you choose to do so, you begin by studying yourself, by using the personality system ("the overleaves") as a living textbook. Through this process, you may develop a greater understanding of yourself -- and of the challenges and plans you have set out to fulfill in this lifetime. Through this process, you may develop a greater tolerance toward yourself and attain the balance that allows you to act as appropriately as possible and to actualize your fullest potential. Given that one person's definition of appropriate will not always resemble another person's definition of appropriate.

One aspect of the tools Michael gave is is known as the "Michael Overleaves ", or the "Michael Chart". This includes a typography system which includes: soul age , soul level , role , goal , mode , attitude , centering , chief feature, body type, frequency, male/female ratio, and others. However, what Michael teaches is far more than this tool; it is a way towards being fully who you are, in agape, and thus being in harmony within and without. Using the Michael teachings system is a wonderful way to gain deep self-awareness and awareness of others in your life.

Michael has been teaching a long time and is heard through many voices and many channelers. Back in ancient Egyptian days, for instance, Michael helped people live more joyful lives by teaching them ways to better get along with one another. It's much the same today.

A core concept of the Michael Teachings is: "all choices made are equally valid." So, in this teaching, should you choose to do so, you often begin by studying yourself, by using the personality system ("the overleaves") as a living textbook. Through this process, you may develop a greater understanding of yourself -- and of the challenges and plans you have set out to fulfill in this lifetime, without judgment or expectation that you should be something else. Through this process, you may develop a greater allowing of yourself and attain the balance that allows you to act as appropriately as possible and to actualize your fullest potential for empowerment and joy.

One aspect of gaining awareness is through the concept of "Essence" in this teaching. This is what is commonly known as your higher self. It is not anything separate from you - it is nothing but you, but without any blocks of perception. It is the core of You that is aware at all times of All That Is. Part of this teaching, and the journey of awareness, is concerned with increasing the conscious connection with Essence and removing blocks to this.

Related to this, the Michael Teachings has a very in-depth perspective on how fear affects our lives, blocks our perceptions, and can manifest suffering through what is called the chief feature . Learning specifically how this operates can bring great progress in our journey towards living in joy.

Essence and Personality

In the Michael Teachings what we know as an identity is part of our personality. Personality is the part of our greater self that usually is not aware of the greater Self and interconnectedness that exists. The "higher self" in the teachings is called Essence. This is the core of ourself that is aware at all times, but does not dictate anything to personality. At the core of the Essence is what Michael terms the spark which is still at one with the Tao.

The Michael Overleaves

"Overleaves" is a metaphorical term used by Michael to describe the various components of a personality system that can be likened to the 12 signs of the zodiac. Whereas the zodiac is based on 12 archetypal symbols, the Michael system of overleaves is based on the number seven. These metaphoric labels do not refer to social status or occupation and carry with them meanings that are unique unto this system of study. No one overleaf is better or worse. All overleaves are capable of helping a person achieve joy and expansion within their lifetime. The overleaf known as chief feature is the part of the personality where fear resides. Chief features work to convince us that it is good and necessary to be afraid. Overcoming the chief feature's influence is a major focus of the Michael material. The overleaves include:

Soul Age Cycles. These are "large lessons" that a soul goes through that encompass many lifetimes. The soul ages are: Infant Soul, Baby Soul, Young Soul, Mature Soul, Old Soul (the Transcendental Soul and Infinite Soul occur beyond the physical plane). Psychologically, the lessons associated with each in a nutshell are, respectively: Survival, Community, Competition, Relationships, and Being.

Level within the Soul Age - There are seven different levels within each soul age cycle; ie. 6th level infant, 7th level infant, 1st level old soul, etc.  This influences how you manifest the lessons withing each perceptual framework.

Role - A role is a fundamental "flavor" of the soul. It is a framework around how all lifetimes are experienced. The roles are: Server, Artisan, Warrior, Scholar, Sage, Priest, King. Note that slaves are generally not indentured servants and kings are usually not blue-bloods or rulers, but they will always manifest these flavors in their relationships and in how they interact with the world. For example, in all lifetimes a server will be focused on the common good and helping others as they see it. The perspective on how others are helped via the common good changes drastically from lifetime to lifetime, especially as the soul age changes.

Goal- This is essentially the main lesson that the soul is aiming for in a lifetime. It is not necessarily where they are at. It is an energetic framework surrounding how one manifests in life. The goals are: Re-Evaluation (previously known as Retardation or Abbreviation), Rejection, Submission, Flow (previously known as Relaxation or Stagnation), Acceptance, Growth, Dominance. For example, with a goal of dominance, the goal would be to be fully present, on top of things, and having an action-oriented effect on those around you in all moments. This needn't be overt.

Mode - This is essentially how the goal is attained. It is how the soul moves in the world. They are: Reserve (previously known as Repression ), Caution, Perseverance, Observation, Power, Passion and Aggression. For example, someone in Observation will always be a little detached, even if they have a goal of Dominance.

Attitude - This is the basic perceptual framework of the personality. It is the most immediately evident personality trait when you meet someone. The attitudes are: Stoic, Skeptic, Cynic, Pragmatist, Idealist, Spiritualist and Realist. You definitely know when you meet a Cynic!

Centering - These are energetic centers of perception in your body. They process input and give responses. Everyone has a primary center, which is where the identity is built around. The Centers are: Emotional Center, Intellectual Center, Moving Center, Instinctive Center, Higher Intellectual Center, Higher Emotional Center, and Higher Moving Center. No center is better than the other, and confusion can result when one person assumes that their centering is "of course" the only way that makes sense!

Chief Feature - These are the main blocks of perception that a personality encounters. Sometimes labeled one's "dragon" or even " ego", they are built around blocked experiences, and the fear of fear itself. They are: Self-Deprecation, Self-Destruction, Martyrdom, Stubbornness, Greed, Arrogance, Impatience. For instance, in Impatience the person has a fear of missing out, but because they don't wish to truly be present with the discomfort of the fear, they might be in a constant, pushy rush to make sure they don't miss anything and be thrown into the experience of missing out. This of course will make them miss out more.

Other non-primary overleaves, considered "Advanced Topics", include:

Body Types: each body has astrological influences which affect the "look", physiological structure, as well as what are the most active glands in your energetic system.  The primary types include: the Solar Body Type, the Lunar body type, Mercurial, Venusian, Martian body type, Saturnian and the Jupiter body type.  Secondary influences include: the Uranus body type, the Neptune body type, and the Pluto body type.  These latter influences are always minor but are powerful and can still have significant influences.

Casting:  Your casting is an additional "flavor" of energy that works with your role.  A large number of combinations can occur with this.  An artisan-cast sage, for example, will still be primarily a sage but will have the additional flavor of an artisan.  Including in the casting are the the primary casting, cadence (row), greater cadence ( block), and the side of entity.

Essence Relationships: Your essence chooses to have powerful and fundamental connections to others.  The most basic of these are your Essence Twin and your Task Companion(s).  You can also have karma with others, which creates an intensity in the relationship waiting to be balanced.  Soul agreements, such as a " mate agreement" and a "child agreements" are included in essence-based relationships as are connections to a spirit guide.


Other aspects also include the  " four trues", and other information coming from the original Messages From Michael book. All of these are included on a channeled overleaf chart.

Each overleaf has an   Expansive Pole and a Contracted Pole, which corresponds loosely to "joyful" and "fearfully blocked".  Part of our learning in each lifetime is learning how to manifest who we are in an expansive, joyful manner.  This can be done for any overleaf, even the overleaves that "sound bad" such as Rejection or Cynic.  There are no energies in this system that are not a pure gift to others.

The Michael Teachings elaborated in detailed fashion on how each overleaf manifests via its  and on the larger processes of evolution of the soul (called "essence" in this system) from Infant Soul to Baby Soul and beyond.

Spiritual cosmology

The Michael Teachings include the concept of reincarnation and the idea that everyone will eventually finish and rejoin the Tao.  The term "Tao" was used rather than "God" was used to provide a more neutral name for All That Is.   Ensouled beings who choose to begin their Grand Cycle (casting from the Tao and evolving through the 7 planes of existence until rejoining the Tao) in the human species complete the physical plane phase of the Grand Cycle reincarnating only as a human being as long as the planet is capable of sustaining human life. The cycle of rebirth continues with increasing wisdom on the physical plane until the fragment is finished with the lessons learnt here.  After moving on from the physical plane, the other planes of existance are explored: the Astral Plane, the Causal Plane, the Akashic Plane, the Mental Plane, the Messianic Plane and the Buddhaic Plane.

This is distinct from classical Christianity, which advocates one life and has the concept of eternal damnation, a concept totally foreign to the Michael Teachings. Jesus is, however, recognized in the Michael Teachings as one of a small handful of first rank spiritual teachers. Jesus was a 7th old King who had an agreement to bring the Logos, or, the Infinite Soul (The Tao, or Ultimate Source), into physical manifestation through his body. Jesus did not bring the Infinite Soul into his body until very late in his life, around thirty days before his death. The distorted record of his work is considered to be made up of these two perspectives.

Michael represents itself as a causal plane entity composed of 1050 individuals each of who lived a complete set of lifetimes on Earth. Michael is not the Archangel Michael.

The core concept is that all lessons learned are equally valid, and that dealing with choices and the ramifications thereof will carry each person in their own time, through their evolution on the physical plane. Each student is responsible for validating that love is immutable and that fear is temporary.

Polaris and Michael

Michael is not separate from Polaris; from our perspective, they are the same being.  One way of thinking of it is that Polaris is an expansive version of Michael with more and varied energy.  On the plane of existence where Michael exists, identity and separation do not exist as we know it. Energies, perceptions, identity and beingness are combined for growth and joy. This was how how the energy we know as Polaris came to be.

Polaris is the joining of the energy and awareness of Michael along with the different-flavored energies of Seth, Robert, Aesha, and three others. Each voice lends its own particular flavor which also melds perfectly as Polaris . There is a difference in the "flavor", energy, and phrasing; after all, Michael is composed of the roles of Kings and Warriors and Polaris has all of the roles through its different entities. But to Polaris, Michael, and the others, there is no difference nor separation between or among them. Polaris can bring the more focused energy of Michael with all their terminology and wisdom - and more. They are learning about oneness, much as we are.

Or to put it another way, they simply are one, as are we all.

Continue Reading on the Michael System:

• Each of these overleaves have their own page which goes into far more details than the definitions here.  You can read more about the Michael Overleaves , of which include:
  • • Soul Age and Soul Age Level
    • The Role of your soul
    • The Goal of a lifetime
    • The Mode that the goal is approached by.
    • The basic Attitude that is chosen as a framework to your perception and interactions.
    • Your Centering , which is how you process input and have your initial reactions from.
    • Your Chief Feature , which is also sometimes called the "chief stumbling block". It is your primary defense and basis of ego and how fear manifests in your life.
    • Your frequency and male/female ratio which doesn't change from lifetime to lifetime.

You can see how these interact with a sample Soul Profile, or extended overleaf chart. It is a great way to see how the overleaves work in a particular case and see that this system is not simply a typology system but is actually a useful and living tool that can help you increase self-awareness and allow you more joy in your life.

Curious about having your chart channeled or those close to you?  It can reveal great insights about your life and your interactions with others.  Look at the Michael Chart services.

Want to discuss this further? Post on our Michael Teachings Forum; there are many who will respond to any question. You can also visit the yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichaelCommunity/ for another forum.