Iamblichus,
An Egyptian initiation. Translated
from the original MSS by P. Christian [pseud.] Translated from the French MSS by
Genevieve Stebbins Astley, 1901. Denver
: E. L. Bloom, 1965. xi, l., 105 p. : illus. (col.) ; 28 cm.
The Ritual of Egyptian Initiation
C. C. Zain
THE Western World is fast becoming aware that beneath the
allegories and unconvincing verbiage of the sacred books there lies concealed a
primitive secret doctrine, that behind apparently meaningless religious usages
and pious jugglery there is a substance of sound psychological practice, that
even outside the consecrated precincts of the Church—notably in Freemasonry and
kindred fraternities—there are rites and ceremonies which convey by their
symbolism fragments of knowledge concerning the history and destiny of the
soul. Convinced of this, many worthy students are now endeavoring to raise the
veil that so long has shrouded the mysteries of antiquity, hoping to solve the
sacred allegories and correctly to interpret the symbolism of modern
fraternities. To assist these in their research, I here propose to describe in
detail the various steps, explaining the esoteric significance of each, of the
ritual of initiation as conducted anciently in Egypt.
Not that the ceremonies and elaborate rites of the Samothracian
Mysteries, those of Eleusis and Bacchus in Greece, and the Saturnalia of Rome,
as well as the ritual of modern Freemasons, lack in mystical significance do I
select Egypt, but because without exception these latter derived their
procedure from the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. Thus by interpreting these rites
at their common source, even though they have been sometimes obscured by later
transformations, we shall be able to perceive the fundamental concepts that underlie
them all.
In this work we are fortunate in having a treatise, not entirely
inaccessible to modern readers, that gives a detailed description of the
Egyptian Mysteries. Iamblichus, a noted scholar and Neo-Platonist who lived in
the first half of the fourth century, wrote a work upon the Egyptian Mysteries
in which he portrays the principal steps and trials imposed upon the candidate
during initiation. This description was translated into the French by P.
Christian, and has been drawn upon freely for information by the more eminent
students of the tarot, as it contains a complete description of the Egyptian
tarot. In 1901 it was translated from French into English by my good friend
Genevieve Stebbins, who has given me permission to make use of her translation
in this chapter and in Course VI, Sacred Tarot.
I, therefore, shall follow accurately the trials to
which the Egyptian candidate for initiation was subjected, as described by
Iamblichus, and shall endeavor at each step also to explain what originally was
intended to be conveyed to the mind of the candidate. Such trials in some form,
handed down from this remote period, persist today, as witnessed by the hazing
of newcomers at school, and the riding of the goat in our lodges.
But why should tests of fitness for initiation be called
riding the goat? This revolves about the significance of the five-pointed star
which from antiquity has been employed as the symbol of man. The star placed
with one point up has the significance of intelligence ruling the four
elementary kingdoms, reason dominating the instincts of the flesh. It is thus
the Grecian Hygeia, used by the Pythagoreans as the symbol of health. Now, in
the zodiac the head of man, organ of intelligence, is ruled by Aries, pictured
among the constellations as the Ram. In sacred works, consequently, to
designate that the creative forces are directed by intelligence, it is common
to refer to this circumstance as the lamb, and is so mentioned by St. John.
The five-pointed star when inverted, however, signifies man
standing on his head; reason dominated by lust, passion, and selfishness; and
is thus emblematical of chaos, the pit, black magic, and the devil. Zodiacally
the home sign of Saturn, the origin of our Satan, is Capricorn, pictured in the
firmament by a goat. The goat, whose beard forms the downward point, whose ears
form the two lateral points and whose horns form the two upward points of a
five-pointed star, therefore, as well as the inverted five-pointed star, is a
symbol of black magic and evil. St. John refers to this inverted star as a
falling star named wormwood. It will also now be apparent why the separation of
the good and the evil should be referred to in the Scripture as dividing the
sheep from the goats. The goat is the symbol of evil, and riding the goat
signifies that temptations have been vanquished, the devil overcome, and the
animal instincts sublimated into spiritual assets.
In the course of initiation, past or present, the candidate
comes into the possession of new knowledge and new powers that alike are
capable of either use or abuse, the proper application of which requires a high
moral standard. To become master of the occult sciences, which ancient
religious law forbade to be placed in writing, requires a strong intellect. The
practice of white magic demands fortitude, persistence, self-confidence, and
courage. Therefore, to prove the candidate’s mental, moral, and physical
fitness to receive the Hermetic Secret Doctrine, the strength of these
qualities were, and are, subjected to test.
The primary object of all ancient Mysteries, however, and
by far the most important use of the initiatory ritual, was to impress
indelibly upon the mirror of his consciousness, by means of
never-to-be-forgotten experiences, the past history, present opportunities, and
future destiny of the soul. During the course of his travail there was also
often another result attained. The stimulus received by his psychic faculties
frequently opened the senses of the soul to visions of transcendental realms,
and awakened the dormant powers of his divine self to new potency.
It is true that in some of the Mysteries the birth,
crucifixion, interment, and resurrection of the sun were celebrated. But the
initiate recognized in the sun’s annual pilgrimage a direct analogy to the
experiences of the soul in its cyclic journey. Likewise, in some, certain
experiences of the soul were given preeminence. Thus the ecstatic reunion of
the soul with its divine source gave rise to the Bacchic frenzies; the orgies
originally representing the reunion of separated souls, the wine being
emblematical of the mixture of masculine and feminine magnetism.
Now it is common knowledge that the classic nations, as
well as other people of antiquity, believed in the doctrine that the soul once
existed in a spiritual state of Edenic purity, was tempted to undergo
involution into material form for the sake of experience, and must ultimately
win its way back to paradisiacal bliss. While recognizing that sex symbols were
a prominent feature in the Mysteries, and that sex doctrines were an important
revelation, yet most commentators have preferred to omit them, either through
ignorance of their true function, or for fear of shocking the modern sense of
propriety. These sex doctrines of the ancient Mysteries are not what is
currently termed sex practices, being neither devoted to sex magic nor to
celibacy. They are doctrines of the true and pure relationship of marriage,
such as today would be approved by our most eminent physicians and
psychologists.
All life and activity being the result of polarity, the history
and the mission of the soul can only be comprehended in association with its
sexual activities. Now the ancient Secret Doctrine is very emphatic that in the
beginning the ego is androgynous. After its differentiation, corresponding to
birth, as it involves down from the celestial realm to the highest state of the
spiritual world it develops a soul sphere—a sphere of consciousness organized
in celestial substance. But to contact still coarser substance such as
spiritual substance, astral substance, and physical substance, these energies
become polarized into two separate channels of flow, into two organizations of
consciousness, into two souls. This is the separation of the Twin Souls; who
are overshadowed and energized by one ego, yet each develops individual
consciousness.
This separation is beautifully described in the Bible as Eve taken
from the original Adam, who had been created in the image of God: “Male and
Female created he them.” Yet after the descent into material conditions and
partaking of the evolutionary tree—gaining a knowledge of good and evil—to
become as gods, as the Bible states it, they must also partake of the Tree of
Life.
This tree of life is the reunion of the separated male and
female souls. This is portrayed in the Greek ritual as Dionysus, slain and
dismembered, after which the parts are collected and reunited in a new birth.
In Egypt, Osiris is portrayed as murdered and the fourteen dismembered parts
(each soul possessing a septenary constitution) sent floating down the Nile
(the current of involutionary life) finally to be cast upon the muddy banks of
the Delta (the material world). But faithful Isis (Nature) gathers together
these fragments and breathing upon them the breath of life they become reunited
and Osiris is born anew, never again to die. These allegories symbolically
picture the drama of the soul’s descent from the celestial state, the
separation of twin souls in the highest realm of the spiritual world, who after
a time Nature again brings together, breathes upon them the breath of love,
uniting them, and by their united strength they become immortal.
Now, in the description of the trials with which Iamblichus
has furnished us, the Sphinx of Gizeh served as the entrance to subterranean
vaults in which the initiation was conducted. From between the forward limbs
corridors closed by a secret door ran to crypts beneath the Great Pyramid.
As in modern fraternities, before the candidate was
admitted to participate in the trials he must be selected by unanimous vote.
Then he must give himself unreservedly into the hands of his guides and place
implicit confidence in them, obeying their commands without asking questions.
If we bear in mind that the whole ritual symbolically depicts the cycle of the
soul, we perceive that this represents the faith that the soul should have in
the wisdom and beneficence of Deity, and the obedience it should manifest to
Nature’s laws. The ego is called from an undifferentiated state by the
unanimous demand for souls to be fitted for specific work in the cosmic scheme
of things. During the earlier portion of their initiation into the mysteries of
life, these souls do not know the why or wherefore of the suffering they
endure; but if they place implicit faith in the guidance of their spiritual
tendencies, at last they will see the light shine through the darkness, and
following this, will be led into the glorious sunshine of Self-Conscious
Immortality.
At a distance from the Sphinx the neophyte’s eyes are
bandaged, and he is led to its foot an unknown distance, where a door of bronze
opens to admit him and then closes without noise. Bronze is an alloy of tin,
ruled by Jupiter, and copper, ruled by Venus. Venus is the planet of love, and
Jupiter in addition to being the planet of beneficence, through his rulership
of the sign Sagittarius, the sign of the higher mind, is in one of his aspects
considered the planet of wisdom. Bronze, therefore, represents not only a union
of a male and a female potency, but also a fusion of love and wisdom. Now, the
bandaged eyes of the neophyte represent the unconscious condition of the pure,
diffusive spirit before its differentiation as an ego. The journey of the
neophyte to the foot of the Sphinx represents the indrawing of this spirit
potency to the celestial matrix of the ego’s angelic parents. Its projection on
the toilsome journey of involution and evolution, through the intense
vibrations of wisdom and love of its angelic progenitors, is signified by the
neophyte silently passing through the door of bronze.
The Sphinx, into which the neophyte enters, is a synthetic
representation of all the energies in the zodiac, being composed in its
unconventionalized form of the emblems of the four quadrants of the heavens—a
lion, an eagle, a man, and a bull. It thus symbolizes a cycle, and because time
is measured by the sun’s passage through this cycle, it also signifies the
passage of time. For the ego time was not prior to its differentiation.
Next, the neophyte is led down a spiral stairway of 22
steps and through a second bronze door which when closed so harmonizes with the
wall of the circular chamber into which it opens as to be undetectable. He is
halted upon the verge of an abyss and commanded to cross his arms upon his
breast and remain motionless. In the heavens, the solstitial colure and the
equinoctial colure make a cross, the original of the swastika cross. This
heavenly cross, due to the revolution of the earth on its axis, apparently
moves around the heavens each day from east to west, and due to the procession
of the equinoxes moves through the constellations also from east to west,
though slowly, and is thus symbolized by the swastika with its points turned to
the left, this being the emblem of evolution. The swastika with its points
turned to the right is the emblem of involution.
The spiral stairway of 22 steps symbolizes the
involutionary descent through the embryonic celestial state of the seraphs, the
door being the passage into the paradisiacal worlds of the cherubs, where for
the first time vibrations of love and wisdom, represented by the door of
bronze, begin to disturb the tranquil innocence of the ego. Twenty-two steps
are emblematical of the zodiacal circle of 12 signs and the chain of 10 planets
which exert their influence upon the soul, and upon all Nature, throughout all
states, from the highest to the lowest. The soul’s spiral pathway through each
plane of existence is thus influenced by them. The candidate’s crossed arms
signify progress.
The candidate now halted upon the abyss, represents that
state in which a rib was being removed from Adam for the creation of Eve. The
abyss represents the grosser worlds into which the ego cannot descend; upon
which it directly can have no influence. Its vibrations are too fine to affect
substance coarser than that of the paradisiacal world, or upper realm of
spirit, represented by the circular chamber in which the neophyte now stands.
But during its descent through the seraphic realms it has evolved a soul
sphere, or organization of consciousness, containing both male and female
potencies. That it may transmit motion to grosser substance, this soul sphere
polarizes its motion and divides into two organizations of consciousness, into
two souls related to each other as male and female; the Adam and Eve of each
deific ego.
While the candidate stands motionless upon the verge of the
abyss, the two guardians who have accompanied him take from an altar, and dress
in, white linen robes. One wears a girdle of silver and a mask representing the
head of a bull, the other wears a belt of gold and a mask representing a lion’s
head. The robes of white symbolize purity, of linen, typify strength. Gold is
sacred to the sun, and the lion’s head is the sign Leo in which the sun exerts
its greatest power. Silver is sacred to the moon, and the sign where the moon
has its best influence is Taurus, symbolized by the head of the bull. Thus do
the two guardians, in a most spectacular manner, represent the masculine and
feminine portions of the ego’s soul sphere.
The Thesmothete, as the guardian is called,
representing Pi-Rhe, genius of the sun, stands at the neophyte’s right, while
the Thesmothete dressed as Pi-Ish, genius of the moon, stands at his left.
Suddenly, with a great noise, a trap door descends in front of the neophyte,
and at the same time the bandage is snatched from his eyes and he beholds the
two figures, one on either side. Standing thus he represents the ego at the
moment of parturition when the twin souls are born. The shock of their
separation is denoted by the noise, and as Adam and Eve they stand by his side.
Then, from out of the abyss, only half of its body visible,
rises a horrible mechanical spectre holding in its hands a huge scythe which,
barely missing him, sweeps past the neophyte’s neck seven times. This spectre
is the symbol of death. The scythe represents the changes which time brings.
Only the upper half of the spectre is visible, to designate that the higher
qualities of the soul alone survive the changes of time. The seven sweeps of
the scythe, weapon of death, indicate that the soul both in involution and in
evolution passes through conditions ruled by each of the seven planets.
Now, according to Kabbalistical doctrine, before the
creation of the universe there existed the all-diffusive spirit, called Ain
Soph Aur. From this the universe came into manifestation by means of ten
emanations, the first of which, called Kether, or crown, signifies motion, and
corresponds in human affairs to the ego. The next two emanations are Chocmah
and Binah, wisdom and intelligence, which involve the idea of polarity and
correspond to the positive and negative souls at the moment of their
separation. From this godhead, Kether, Chocmah, and Binah, the universe evolves
by means of seven other emanations, or impulses; and according to the law of
correspondences, the soul also builds its microcosmic universe about itself by
similar means, the seven-fold constitution of man being evolved, as was
indicated, by passing through environmental influences ruled by each of the
seven planets, a circumstance symbolized by the seven sweeps of the
death-dealing scythe, evolution being accomplished only after the separation of
the souls, by means of successive lives and deaths.
After the enactment of this drama, the Thesmothetes lead
the neophyte to the door of a small dark tunnel, giving him a lamp with which
to light his way. The lamp represents the inner promptings of the ego which if
listened to will direct the soul aright. He is now left to his own devices to
indicate that the twin souls each go their separate ways. The tunnel is so
small that to enter it he must proceed on hands and knees, and to indicate that
once the cycle of necessity has been entered there is no return except through
following out Nature’s plan, the door immediately shuts behind him. This tunnel
dips more and more downward as he follows it until finally it ends abruptly at
the brink of a crater formed like an inverted cone. The tunnel symbolizes the
descent of the soul through the spiritual realm, and the inverted cone, the
sides of which are polished to reflect the light of his lamp even as in the
astral world the astral light is seen, represents the astral world. Down the
side of this cone he observes an iron ladder of 78 rungs, and finding no other
method of advance open, he descends it. At the bottom of the ladder, he
observes when he arrives there, a yawning well. Therefore, to find a way out he
starts to ascend, looking carefully for a means of egress. Climbing seven steps
upward he notices a crevice in the rocks just large enough to admit his body,
and through this he squeezes, to find himself at the foot of an ascending
spiral stairway.
The ladder is of iron to indicate that after leaving the
spiritual realm the soul has entered a realm of force, a realm where animal
tendencies as well as those higher are present, where the planet Mars has full
sway. To indicate that during this period of its journey the soul is only a
rudimental form, at no time can the neophyte assume the upright position, the
position of the truly human. The 78 rungs of the astral ladder represent the
influences that exert their power over the descending soul: the 12 zodiacal
signs, the 10 planets, the 12 mundane houses and the denizens of the 4 astral
kingdoms, the 36 decanates of the zodiac, and the 4 quadrants of the zodiacal
circle.
The bottom rung of the ladder represents that point where
the involving soul can go no lower, the point where it contacts the mineral
realm and first incarnates in objective form. The 7 upward steps represent the
7 states of its evolution from mineral to man. In this seventh state the soul
has behind it those experiences which have given it a complex astral
organization, which enables it to be attracted to a human mother. The travail
at its birth into human form is represented by the neophyte when he painfully
squeezes through the narrow cleft in the rocks.
Now, from the beginning of its cyclic journey until it is
born as a human being there are just 108 steps—22 prior to the separation of
the male soul from the female soul, 78 involutionary steps through the astral
realm, 7 steps from mineral to man, and an 8th step representing birth into the
human form, symbolized by passing through the crevice in the rock. These 108
steps correspond to the 108 tablets of the more complete Egyptian tarot. The
set of 78 cards commonly known constitute the exoteric set such as was revealed
to all who succeeded in passing the trials here described. But initiates know
that at an advanced stage, after undergoing soul purification, and being
admitted to the rites of the inner sanctuary, the neophyte was instructed in
the use of an esoteric set, consisting of 22 Astro-Masonic symbols, and that at
a still higher point in initiation there was revealed to him a septenary of
Kabbalistical Pictographs, sealed with an 8th, thus constituting in all 108
tablets, completing the Deific number 9 (1+8=9).
Now, for all ordinary purposes the exoteric set of 78 tablets,
which constitutes the common Egyptian tarot, is quite adequate. These are
reproduced in Brotherhood of Light tarot cards. And here also, I believe, I
should designate where the tablets of the esoteric set are accurately
described. In ancient times these were kept most secret, but that they might
not be lost to coming generations, they have been fully described and commented
on in a book unfortunately now out of print, but which is possessed by many
students throughout the world. This book is Light
of Egypt, Vol. No. II, by T.H. Burgoyne. It presents this ancient esoteric
set under the caption THE TABLETS OF AETH. The first 22 are the Astro-Masonic
symbols referred to. Next is given a vision of the 10 great Kabbalistical
powers, or angels, of the universe. The first 7 of these, as given under,
VISION, are the 7 Kabbalistical Pictographs referred to. But that this esoteric
set may also be used separately as explanatory both of the Kabbalah and of the
33 degrees of Freemasonry, there is added an eighth, ninth, and tenth
pictograph, which were not included in the complete Egyptian set of 108
tablets. The seal, which is the seal of the earth, however, is given, a seal
that is dual yet is one, the obverse and reverse view being represented on one
tablet.
After the neophyte has passed through the cleft,
symbolizing his expulsion into the world of human activities through the sacred
yoni, he ascends the spiral stairway of 22 steps and halts before the entrance
to the sanctuary. These 22 steps, symbolical of the influence upon human life
of the 12 signs and 10 planets, signify his experiences under their influence
from birth to the time that he seeks occult initiation. A grating of
bronze—symbol of love and wisdom—bars his progress, but a magus, called a
Pastophore, opens the gate and welcomes him in. Thus always is there a master
ready to assist and instruct the neophyte who, in love and in devotion to
sacred science, has successfully passed the early ordeals.
The neophyte now finds himself in a long gallery sustained
by sculptured caryatides representing 24 sphinxes, 12 on either side. In each
space between two sphinxes the wall is covered with a frescoed painting, these
22 pictures being lighted by a line of 11 lamps that extends between the two
rows of figures.
A sphinx, representing the four quadrants of heaven,
symbolizes any cycle of time, and as here arranged they designate the 24 hours
of the day, as well as the 24 elders of the Apocalypse. The 22 frescoed paintings
picture the 22 Major Arcana of the tarot, the symbolism of which at this time
is explained to the neophyte and by him committed to memory. The eleven lamps
are crystal sphinxes in each of which burns an asbestos wick at the surface of
a sacred oil, each lamp being supported by a bronze tripod.
The flame of the lamp represents the ego, a living,
brilliant, changeless spark of Deity. The asbestos wick which ever feeds the
flame yet is never consumed, represents the immortal soul feeding the ego with
the results of its experiences. These experiences, gained through cycles of
time as symbolized by the form of the sphinx, and in objective realms as
indicated by the crystalline structure of the lamp, are typified by the oil.
The transparent quality of the lamp suggests that matter offers no barrier to
the sight of the initiate. The tripod, upon which the lamp rests, an alloy of a
positive and a negative metal, presents the symbolic aspect of two interlaced
trines. The negative trine symbolizes involution, and the positive trine
evolution, together constituting the support of the soul and making possible
its conscious immortal existence.
One of the lamps is set slightly apart from the other ten
and represents the final synthesis of the others, symbolizing also the point
from which the neophyte departs to undergo further perils. The 22 frescoed
pictures each correspond to one of the 12 zodiacal signs or 10 planets and
constitute an esoteric interpretation of their attributes and functions. The
22nd picture corresponds to the unknown; but each of the other 21 correspond
either to one of man’s seven physical senses, to one of his seven psychic
senses, or to one section of his seven-fold constitution. Each is also related
to one of the 21 branches of occult science that the neophyte is called upon to
master before he can aspire to adeptship. Taken as a whole—as shown in detail
in Course VI, Sacred Tarot—they constitute a science of the will
and an absolute religious doctrine, and each corresponds to a definite step in
the neophyte’s occult advancement. The 10 lamps represent the numerical decade
as well as the ten emanations of the Sephiroth of the Kabbalah, and together
with the 22 pictured Major Arcana point to the 32 paths of wisdom. With the
final lamp, or 33rd symbol, they constitute the exoteric view of the same set
of universal principles the esoteric side of which is set forth in the 33
TABLETS OF AETH previously mentioned. They, therefore, represent the original
ideas from which the 33 chapters of the Kabbalistical book, Sephir Yetzirah,
and the 33 degrees of modern Freemasonry, were derived.
The neophyte is permitted to remain in this Gallery of the
Arcanum under the instruction of his master until he has thoroughly
familiarized himself with all the symbols and their interpretations. This
symbolizes all that he may hope to attain from the physical world.
To progress farther on the path, the soul must temporarily
leave the physical world and soar into other realms where ascended souls will
conduct its initiation on the inner planes. To reach the spiritual plane,
either while still connected with the physical body or after death, the soul
must pass through the four kingdoms of the astral world. To symbolize this
journey, the neophyte leaves the Gallery of the Arcana. First, to represent his
travel through the realm of the gnomes he passes through a tunnel. At the end
of this tunnel, to represent the realm of salamanders, he is confronted with a
roaring fire through which he must go if he would not retreat. This fire is
really not so great as it at first appears, and he passes through it without
injury, but no sooner has he passed it than it is replenished by unseen hands
to make his return impossible. Thus he realizes an important truth; that in
occultism he who places his hand to the plow and then turns back is lost. Next,
as representing the influence of the undines, he is compelled to wade through a
stagnant lake the water of which rises to his chin, but by going on tiptoe he
manages to reach the opposite shore, and climbs dripping and cold upon a
platform which he sees in front of a closed door.
This door is of bronze, and is divided laterally by a
column on which is sculptured the head of a lion having in its mouth a ring
figuring a serpent biting its own tail. The ring in the form of a serpent
symbolizes eternity, and the lion symbolizes courage. Courage, therefore, he is
made aware, should sustain his efforts throughout eternity. To open the door he
grasps the ring, and as it resists he uses both hands. But no sooner does he
get a firm grip upon it than the platform beneath his feet drops from under him
and leaves him suspended in air, in the realm of the sylphs. The trap beneath
his feet rises again promptly, and he passes through the door which now opens to
permit his entrance. This bronze door symbolizes love and wisdom. It is divided
into a right, or positive, half, and a left, or negative, half; the dividing
column, placed where positive and negative forces join, symbolizing the tree of
life that confers immortality. The sign Leo is natural ruler of love affairs.
The lion’s head, however, as Leo is ruled by the sun, also typifies the male
element, while the circle in its mouth typifies the female element. The symbol
as a whole, therefore, represents the complete and harmonious fusion of the
sexes, actuated by love. Thus is conveyed to the neophyte’s mind the thought
that the door of the sanctuary opens only in the union of two harmonious souls
inspired by love and guided by wisdom. Not by one alone can the spiritual
heights be scaled, but through the mighty movement within the finer substances
of space caused by the soul union of both.
The neophyte thus having triumphed over the tests by earth,
fire, water, and air, representing his passage through the astral kingdoms, is
now met by 12 Necores. These men typify the translated souls of those who once
lived upon the earth and who belong to each of the 12 zodiacal signs. They
blindfold his eyes, to signify the dullness of the real spiritual perceptions
until higher initiation is attained, and lead him to a crypt beneath the
pyramid where the college of the magi awaits him. This crypt symbolizes the
spiritual world which he now ritualistically has entered. The pyramid above is
a symbol of the earth which he has abandoned, and being directly above this
crypt indicates the exact correspondence between the physical world and the
world spiritual, between that which is above and that which is below.
The walls of this crypt are sculptured with the pictures of
the 48 constellations that represent the influence and spiritual significance
of the 12 zodiacal signs and the 36 zodiacal decanates. There are also pictured
representations of the 7 planetary angels, and the 360 genii of the degrees of
the zodiac, through which the sun passes in one year. Beneath each of these
pictures is an explanation which can only be read by those possessing the key,
this key being that of Spiritual Astrology, which is treated in complete detail
in Course VII, Spiritual Astrology. At each of the four angles of
the crypt stands a bronze statue posed upon a triangular column, one having the
head of a man, one the head of a bull, one the head of a lion, and one the head
of an eagle. These figures denote—as each is posed on a trine—the four zodiacal
triplicities. Each head bears a cross—symbol of union of forces and of
earth—upon which is a light, as if engendered by the union and representing the
divine fire that permeates and vivifies earth.
The dome of the vault contains a golden rose of five
petals. The rose, because it is harbinger of spring, represents renewed life.
Five is the number of man, and gold is the metal sacred to spirit. This entire
symbol represents those who have attained spiritual regeneration. From the rose
are suspended seven lamps, each having three branches. The three branches
signify the three great divisions of occultism: astrology, alchemy, and magic.
Each of these is divided into 7 distinct subjects, the 21 branches signifying
the 21 branches of occult science which the neophyte is called upon to master
and which illuminate the mind of the adept.
Below this rose sits the Hierophant. He is dressed in
purple, sacred to Jupiter, the planet governing the higher mind, indicating
that he is master of the sacred sciences. His forehead is girt with a circle of
gold to indicate that his mind is fully cognizant of spiritual things. From
this band arise seven stars, indicating that he is in possession of the seven
states of consciousness that are the heritage of the perfect man. He occupies a
silver throne. This metal is sacred to woman, and indicates that he is not
ignorant of woman’s share in the attainment of spiritual victory. The throne is
placed upon a raised platform, and thus indicates the exalted position which
his knowledge and efforts have conferred upon him.
To indicate their purity, the other Magi are dressed in
white. And to indicate that they also have the spiritual light, there is a band
of gold about each brow. At right and left of the Hierophant they are arranged
in triple semicircles, there being three semicircles on the Hierophant’s right
and three on his left, so that he occupies the central, or seventh, point
between the two triads. The triad on the left is negative, and represents an
equal development of body, intellect, and soul in woman. The triad on the right
is positive, and represents an equal development of body, intellect, and soul
in man. Thus the Hierophant, himself masculine yet occupying a throne of
silver, by his unique position symbolizes the meeting and blending of the very
highest type of man and woman.
In the rear, under a purple canopy, symbolical of
beneficent Nature as she overshadows all, is a colossal statue of Isis. It is
composed of an alloy of lead, tin, iron, gold, copper, mercury, and silver;
each being a metal ruled by one of the seven planets and thus symbolizing one
of the seven active principles that pervade all nature. The statue wears a
triangular diadem of silver, with an aigrette of 12 rays, and upon her breast
is a golden rose in the centre of a golden cross. The arms are extended in
front in such a manner as to form an equilateral triangle with the forehead at
the apex. From each of the open fingers streams toward the earth a golden ray.
The rose upon the golden cross symbolizes the united
transmutation of positive and negative energies from a lower range of action to
a higher scale of vibration. The ten golden rays typify the chain of ten
planets through which Nature molds the destiny of all things. The silver
aigrette of 12 rays represents the 12 zodiacal signs that act as sounding
boards from which the vibrations of the planets are reverberated. The
equilateral triangle of silver signifies woman who has proportionally developed
her body, intellect and soul. The triangle from which flow the golden rays
indicates man who has cultivated in a harmonious manner his body, intellect and
soul. Thus their point at the top of the forehead of Isis denotes that Nature’s
crowning glory is the reunion of two such perfectly developed people.
Before the Hierophant is a table upon which rests a
planisphere, and it is here, before the assembled college, that the neophyte,
whose eyes are now unbandaged, is required to demonstrate his knowledge of
astrology by erecting and delineating a birth chart, calculating the progressed
positions and passing judgment upon the events that have taken place in some
person’s life, and the times when these events have taken place. In order to
check the accuracy of his delineations, the chart of some person known to
members of the college is selected, but its identity is kept secret from the
neophyte. He is expected to portray the temperament of the person, to select
the channels of activity into which the life has chiefly been turned, to
designate what departments of life are fortunate and what are unfortunate, and
to select the times and natures of the principal events that have transpired in
his life. Also he is expected to know something of all the other six branches
of astrology.
After his knowledge of astrology has been thoroughly
tested, he is required to demonstrate his knowledge of the tarot. He must be
familiar with the meaning of each of the Major Arcana in each of the three
worlds as well as the divinatory significance. He must know the vibratory
influence of names, numbers, colors, tones and flowers, and must have some
knowledge of the talismanic properties of gems. And he must know how a
particular name, number, or other vibratory influence will affect a certain
person, as revealed by comparing it with the birth chart. Finally, he is
required to lay out and correctly read a tarot spread, thus demonstrating his
ability to use these tablets as divinatory instruments.
After these tests of his knowledge, he is required to
take an oath, similar in its wording to that administered in modern
Freemasonry, never to reveal the sacred sciences or other portions of the
mysteries. Then he is required to take a second oath, vowing himself to
submission and obedience to the Hierophant. This second oath represents the
pledge the initiate makes to himself to obey always the voice of his
conscience. At this point a terrible noise is heard and an artificial tempest
is produced during which the Magi point their swords at his breast and accuse
him of past crimes, typifying the day of judgment when the soul will be called
upon to render an account of its deeds done while in the flesh. Next, two
Necores, each carrying a cup of wine, approach and offer the cups to him. Then
the startled candidate is told that one of the cups is quite harmless but that
the other contains a deadly poison. Reminding him of the oath he has just taken
to obey, the Hierophant commands the neophyte to make a choice of, and
immediately to drink, the contents of one of the cups.
The harmless cup symbolizes love and virtue; the
poison cup, passion and vice. Each soul is confronted with the trial of this
choice, and only by obeying the Voice of the Silence can it safely be passed.
If, in spite of his oath of submission, the neophyte refuses to obey, he is
informed that the initiation is broken and he is confined to a dungeon for
seven months and then allowed a second trial. If he thus fails at the first
test he may never rise higher in the ranks of the Magi, though he may gain
freedom later by successfully passing the test. In such a case he represents a
weak and wavering soul who fears to obey the dictates of his inner self. The
neophyte’s only hope of escaping extinction is to pass the ordeal, though once
failing he does not have the opportunities that would have been open to him had
he taken the decisive step at once. The laws of the Magi compel him to pass the
trial or perish in the dungeon cell.
Thus the soul, by virtue of moral integrity and
aspiration, is represented as triumphing over the barriers that confine it to
lower spiritual states. His blindfolded entrance to the crypt indicates his
entrance into the first state of the spiritual world; the tests of his
astrological and his Kabbalistical skill take him symbolically into the second
spiritual state; his first oath conducts him into the third spiritual state;
his second oath leads him into the fourth spiritual state; the trial of the
cups gives him entrance into the fifth spiritual state; and now, to represent
the sixth spiritual state, he is led into a neighboring hall which is furnished
luxuriously to convey the impression of a royal nuptial chamber.
His clothing is removed by attendants, indicating
that all grossness has been purged away. He is dressed in white linen to
symbolize the strength of purity. An exquisite repast is enjoyed while his ears
are refreshed by strains of rapturous music, emblematical of the higher states
of ecstasy and the music of the spheres. As he finishes the refreshments,
curtains are drawn aside, revealing to him beautiful young women dancing. To
conceal their identity, even as the body hides the soul, they wear masks
attached at the brow by a circle of gold, typical of intellectual illumination.
They are scantily clad in a gauzy veil spangled with golden bees, the veil
indicating how slight is the obstruction that bars man from realization, and
the golden bees signifying the divine creative essence in its most spiritual
aspect, and further, that the veil may be penetrated only by the industrious;
for the slothful soul will never penetrate the spiritual states. Across each
girl’s shoulders is thrown a filmy scarf, symbolizing the spiritual raiment
formed by exalted aspiration and devotion to truth; and each carries a garland
of flowers, indicative of innocence, joy and supreme happiness.
Delightful perfumes fill the air, and the neophyte
approaches the dancers. After a time two of their number throw their garlands
about him, encircling him with a chain of roses, while the others flee. These
two girls continue to dance about him, shaking their garlands by turn as if to
provoke his choice. The chain of roses represents the binding power of love.
If the neophyte dares to violate the sanctity of the
mysteries he is in actual danger, but if he continues to conduct himself with
propriety the Magi come to congratulate him upon passing the last of the
trials, and confer upon him the title of Zelator. This final act in the
initiation symbolizes the reunion of twin souls, which takes place upon the
boundary of the sixth and seventh spiritual states. While conveying the idea
that all passion must be evolved upward into pure unsullied love before this
state can be reached, and that this sacred union must not be profaned with
violence or carnal desire, it at the same time, by the two girls dancing about
the neophyte, symbolizes the original trinity that existed before the
separation of the sexes—ego, male soul, and female soul. It should be noticed
that this scene is very different from that representing the separation; for
that was a region of hideous monsters and dim consciousness; while this is a
place of joyous beauty, ecstatic sensations, and vivid perceptions. By this
union the soul is represented as passing into the seventh spiritual state
together with its long missing mate, and can no longer be considered human, for
it has now attained to the state of angelhood; immortality is no longer a
possibility, but an assured fact.
Lastly, to impress upon the new Zelator the fate of those
who follow the inversive path, he is led in the midst of 12 Necores,
representing the zodiacal signs, into the opening of a cavern. Here a pale,
uncertain light reveals to him a pit in which a sphinx is tearing the effigy of
a human form. So, according to tradition, will the cycles surely destroy those
who lose their immortality by following the fateful road of selfishness and
black magic. Thus ends the ritual of Egyptian initiation, portraying, as it
does, the cycle of the soul.
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