early 20th century, Max Heindel presented in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception a cosmology related to the scheme of evolution in general and the evolution of the Solar System and the Earth in particular, according to the Rosicrucians. He establishes, through the conceptions presented, a bridge between modern science (currently starting research into the subtler etheric plane of existence behind the physical) and religion, in order that this last one may be able to address man's inner questions raised by scientific advancement. Emanation vs. Big Bang Most cosmologists today believe that the universe expanded from a singularity approximately 13.8 billion years ago in a 'smeared-out singularity' called the Big Bang, meaning that space itself came into being at the moment of the big bang and has expanded ever since, creating and carrying the galaxies with it. However, in esoteric cosmology expansion refers to the emanation or unfolding of steadily denser planes or spheres from the spiritual summit, what Greek philosophy called The One, until the lowest and most material world is reached. According to Rosicrucians, another difference is that there is no such thing as empty or void space. "The space is Spirit in its attenuated form; while matter is crystallized space or Spirit. Spirit in manifestation is dual, that which we see as Form is the negative manifestation of Spirit--crystallized and inert. The positive pole of Spirit manifests as Life, galvanizing the negative Form into action, but both Life and Form originated in Spirit, Space, Chaos! On the other hand, Chaos is not a state which has existed in the past and has now entirely disappeared. It is all around us at the present moment. Were it not that old forms--having outlived their usefulness--are constantly being resolved back into that Chaos, which is also as constantly giving birth to new forms, there could be no progress; the work of evolution would cease and stagnation would prevent the possibility of advancement." The planes Many occult, psychic, metaphysical, mystical, and esoteric teachings assert that at least four separate planes of existence exist; however, these differing occult and metaphysical schools often label the planes of existence with differing terminologies. These planes of existence often tend to overlap with each other heavily in both description and conception (especially between schools), and can roughly be delineated into "physical", "mental", "spiritual", or "transcendent" categories. Do note that the listing of planes below is based mostly on Theosophy.