by Stephen Cocconi © 2026

Includes: Genetics, Health Conditions, and your Physical Sense of Presence

“Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me is a miracle.”
Walt Whitman

• Unifying Set Image: Di Vinci’s Vitruvian Man Showing the full range of physical possibility.
• Common Color: None.
• Body Type cards will inherit the enclosure color that is representative of its Role Set
• Background Image: All different. They will often show some additional information.

What is the Significance of Body Type?

The Body is the most visible of all aspects of our personality’s. The Physical Plane is a realm that is substantive and individualistic. Nothing so facilitates these features as does a physical form. And with it, we take actions, we feel and sense, and we interact.

Bodies are the vehicles which house the Soul’s consciousness. In Biblical terms, “your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit”3 We are constructed from genetic materials which connect humans to each other and all other life on Earth. Our bodies present an image to the world for all to see. For a specific life, nothing is more important than care and feeding of the Animal4 (or the neglect thereof ). A body provides the first standard of our physical strengths and weaknesses, our stature and limitations, and our native advantages over other animals since we possess such diversity within our own species. Metaphorically, we can speak of how a person or group or situation is postured or it captures the shape of the situation. Such qualities would contrast aspects of whether one is humbled, or rigid, or flamboyant, are just a few adjectives one might use to assess the strength or weakness of someone’s “presentation.” Remember, two very important adages here: “looks can be deceiving” and “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Orthodox Michael Teachings

The Body Type is the most visible of attributes. As an Overleaf type, in comparison to others it is the least subject to change (other than aging), since it is built into the physical vehicle from incarnation.

The Body Type in the Michael Teachings employs the astrological influence of planetary archetype — a configuration of constitutional soundness and health, physicality of fragility or robustness, and disposition that influences how the (individual) personality inhabits their body. (i.e. whether they accept or reject themselves.) This further causes the psyche to experience itself as enjoying their physicality (great strength or attractiveness), or perhaps feelings of alienation (body dysmorphia) often learned from the social standards of a culture or the perceptions of other people projected on them. Under either category of like or dislike of one’s physical presence in the world, it affects the overall Psyche/Soloverse (Ego-Personality Complex) and thus how the internalized Overleaves programmed by Essence are liable to reveal themselves or be obvious in their presentation in a person.

The generally accepted view of Body Types within the Michael Teaching is that they are only ‘partially’ an Overleaf (defined as something chosen specifically by Essence between lives.) The idea is one of complexity and the acceptance of the vast array of genetic combinations possible to a person genotype and transmittable to their phenotype. As a caveat, some of us Channels also acknowledge the role of “epigenetic” activation of dormant genes – and thus expression of illness or other conditions, due to lifestyle choices or the presence of environmental factor not directly in one’s control.

Body Types are not identical to Role. Yet, when viewing the Role Set Categories as a column in the Overleaves Chart, one will notice that there is a specific association to one of the Body Types. (See the Sets and Groups for further associations.) Over many lifetimes, and Essence will undoubtedly “mix and match” various Body Type attributes to achieve greater diversity in experience. For instance, s Warrior in a Lunar (Server) body type, will move and appear in the world very differently from a Warrior in a Martial body, though both carry Warrior essence. The Body Type acts as a internal *filter* on the Role’s expression (i.e. the housing in which Essence operates.) And, how I might be treated by others because of the vehicle I drive. 😊

Mixed Types are the norm

Virtually all people carry more than one Body Type influence, that is a natural condition of DNA within the human species, though often there is a primary of dominant influential quality. The primary type (the dominant configuration) and typically one or two secondary influences. The blend produces the specific character of the person’s physical appearance and therefore perceived appearance presence. In the extremes it might be of beauty, or frightening or unusually large or small. The Common Image depicting a Body Type card is DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man.

General Categorization: Ectomorph, Endomorph, and Mesomorph

Bodies can, of course, vary in a number of ways. Yet, the trio of descriptions below, put forward in the 1940’s by Psychologist William Sheldon. Though the his theory of personality implications has largely been disproven, his classification of general shapes has survived and it a simple useful method.  Of the 10 types defined within the Michael Teachings, together it is a quick reference to notice what shape can be expressed by these below.

The Body Type Group

While the main 7 Body Types refer to the solar system as seen prior to Copernicus and Galileo, and includes the Sun and Moon, though not planets, as significant players, there are three additional or Exotic Body Type members. These are Pluto – Card 50, Uranus – Card 51, and Neptune – Card 52.

Overview of Qualities and Temperament

| Body Type | Planetary Association | Core Quality | Role Association |

| Mercurial  Card -43 | Mercury | Quick, communicative, nervous-energy | Artisan

| Jovial | Jupiter – Card 44 | Expansive, generous, large-scale | Sage

| Venusian | Venus – Card 45| Harmonious, sensual, beauty-oriented | Warrior

| Martial | Mars – Card 46 | Active, driven, combative | King

| Lunar | Moon – Card 47| Receptive, cyclical, absorptive | Server

| Saturnine | Saturn -Card 48 | Structured, deliberate, austere | Priest

| Solar | Sun – Card 49| Radiant, self-contained, centripetal | Scholar

|Plutonian| Pluto – Card 51| Remote, prodigy, mysterious| Expression Axis

|Uranian| Uranus – Card 52| Extreme, Evolutionary, mutant, disruptive| Action Axis

| Neptunian| Neptune -Card 53| Effusive, Faerie like, Fragile| Inspiration Axis