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Transcript of forgottenbooks.com€¦ · ECHOES FROM THE GNOSIS. Under this general title is n ow being published...
THE
THEOSOPH ICALPUBLISHING
SOC IETY
A
MITHRIAC
RITUAL
ECHOES FROM THE
GNOSIS.
Under th is general title is n ow being publisheda series of small volumes, drawn from,
or basedupon
,the mystic
,theosophic and gnostic w ritings
of the ancients, so as to mak e more easily audiblefor the ever-w idening ci rcle of those wh o love suchthings
,some echoes of the mystic experiences and
initiatory lore of their spiritual ancestry. Thereare many wh o love the life of th e spirit
,and wh o
long for the light of gnostic illumination,but who
are n ot suffi ciently equipped to study the writingsof the ancients at fi rst hand
,or to follow un
aided the labours of scholars . These little volumesare therefore intended to serve as introductionto the study of the more diffi cult literature of th esubject ; and it is hoped that at the same timethey may become for some, who have, as ye t, noteven heard of the Gnosis, stepping-stones tohigher things .
G . R . S . M .
A MITHRIAC RITUAL.
CONTENTS
PREAMBLE
THE RITUAL
COMMENTS
Tex t ! Dieterich Ein e M ithmslz’
turgz’
e (Leipz ig ,
E CH O E S FR OM T H E
GN O S I S
VOL. I . THE GNOS IS OF THE M IND.
VOL. I I . THE HYMNS OF HERMES.
VOL . I I I . THE VIS ION OF ARIDE US.
VOL. IV. THE HYMN OF JESUS .
VOL. V. THE MYSTERIES OF M ITHRA .
VOL. VI . A M ITHR IAC R I TUAL .
A MITHRIAC RITUAL.
PREAMBLE.
Th e last little volume gave the reader abrief outline of what is known of the cultof Mithra and the spread of the MithriacMysteries in the Western world . We
have n ow to deal with a Mithriac Ritualof the most instructive an d intenselyinteresting character, which introducesus to the innermost rite of th e carefullyguarded secrets of the Mithriaca .
This Ritual is all the more preciousin that our knowledge of the Liturgiesof the ancient Pagan cults of the West isof the scantiest nature . A few fragmentsonly remain
,mostly in the form of
hymns ; whereas the Ritual before us
is complete,and the only complete on e
so far discovered . Dieterich calls it a
B 9
Liturgy ; but a Liturgy is a service inwhich several take part , whereas it isplain that our Ritual was a secretan d solemn inner rite for one persononly .
Th e credit of unearthing it from theobscurity in wh ich it was buried
, an d
of conclusively demonstrating its parentage , is due to Dieterich ; for thoughCumont in his great work quotes severalpassages from the unrevised text
,he
does so only to rej ect it as a genuineMithriac document .
It is dug out of the chaos of the greatParis Magic Papyrus 574 (Supplémen t
grec de la B ibliothe‘
que n ation ale) , the dateof which is fixed with every probabilityas th e earliest years of the fourth centuryA .D . Th e original text of the Ritual has,however , been plainly worked over b y a
school of Egyptian magicians , who
inserted most of th e now unintelligiblewords and names (c
’
z'
cmua n omin a
barbam ; n omin al arcan a ) , and vowelcombinations an d permutations (voces
IO
mysticw) , of their theurgic lan guage ,MITHRIACwhich were known in Egypt as words RITUAL.
of power .
”
The subj ect is naturally on e of the mostobscure that is known to scholarship , andso far no one has thrown an y real lighton it . T hat , however, there was oncein Egypt an d Chaldaea a science of thisnature language ,
” or tongue of thegods ,
” which subsequently passed intothe superstition of a purely mechanicaltradition ,
is highly probable ; and onemeans towards a recovery of the understanding of its nature is a study of
the still living tradition of man tra-vidyd ,
or the science of man trdh , or mysticutterances and invocations , in India ofto-day .
Wh en these evidently later insertionsare removed , there still remains a certainnumber of n omin a d rama and mysticcevoces which cannot be removed withoutdoing violence to the text . It
,therefore ,
follows that these stand as part of theRitual . Did they, however , form part
I I
of the origin al Ritual ? The originalRitual must have contained , one wouldhave imagined ,
Persian names . But thedistinguished scholar Bartholomae
, whomDieterich has called in to his assistance ,declares that nothing Persian can bemade out of them without violent changesof the letters . But why , it might beasked
,should not the original Persian
Ritual h ave con tained n omin a arcan e!
taken over from Chaldaea ? Howeverthis may be , our Greek Ritual evidentlycontained certain names an d words of
power,
” before it reached the hands ofthe Egyptian magical school who in
serted the maj ority of the mantricformulae in our present text .
The latter are , of course , entirelyeliminated from the translation , whilethe former are marked by obeli .On the whole the most likely sup
position is that we have before us (whenthe latter insertions are removed ) a
Ritual translated or paraphrased intoGreek , and adapted for use in Egypt ,
12
an d that,too,
for picked members of
the most esoteric circles . For our Ritualis not for the initiation of a neophyte ofthe lower grades , but for a candidatewho is to self-initiate himself in thesolitary mystery of apotheosis , wherebyhe became a true Father of the inmostrites
, on e possessing face to face knowledge an d gnosis .
Dieterich thinks that this Greek ritual
AMITHRIACRITUAL .
was first made in Egypt about 100- 150
A .D .,and was used in the Mysteries until
200 AD . I t was then that it got intothe hands of the magical school, andwas included ,
together with many otherpieces
,some of them similarly treated ,
in a collec tion which was copied on thepapyrus which we now possess , about
300 A .D .
It is exceedingly probable , therefore ,that we have in this Ritual of initiationcertain theurgic practices of Egyptiantradition combined with the traditionalMithriac invocations done into Greek .
As to the chantin g of the vowels , it is
I3
Of interest to learn from Demetrius , OnIn terpretation , 0 . 71 (p . 20 that
In Egypt the priests hymn the Godsby means of the seven vowels , chantingthem in order ; instead of the pipe an d
lute the musical chanting of these lettersis heard . So that if you were to takeaway this accompaniment you wouldsimply remove the whole melody an d
music of the utteranceTh e statement of Nicomachus of Gerasa ,
the musician an d mystic (secondcentury is still clearer for he n ot
on ly tells us about the vowels an d con
sonants , but also of certain other un
articulated sounds which were usedby the theurgists
,and which are directed
to be used in the rubrics of our Ritual.
In speaking of the vowels or soundingletters —each of the seven spheres beingsaid to give forth . a different vowel or
nature-tone—Nicomachus (c . 6 ) informsus that these root—sounds in nature are
combined with certain material elements ,as they are in spoken speech with the
14
consonan ts ; but just as the soul with Athe body, and music ' with the lyrestrings , the on e produces living creaturesand the other musical modes an d tunes ,so do those root-sounds give birth to
certain energic and initiatory powersof divine operations . It is because ofth is that whenever theurgists are awestruck in an y such operation , they makeinvocation symbolically b y means of
hissings and p0ppin gs and uh
articulated an d discordant sounds .
The exact translation of the Greek terms,amp ly /n os
"
an d 7rovr7rvowo'
9, is somewhatof a difficulty . Th e first denotes a shrillpiping sound or hissing , the Latin stridor.
It is used of such different sounds as therattling of ropes , the trumpeting of
elephants and a singing in the ears .
The second is used of a clicking or clucking with the lips an d tongue , an d of thewhistling , cheeping , chirruping , warblingor trilling of birds . It is used of thesmack of a loud kiss and also of the cryhush .
”Both Aristophanes and Pliny
IS
tell us that it was used as a protectionagainst , or rather a reverent greeting of,lightning ; an d the latter adds that thiswas a universal custom .
Th e English pop perhaps representsthe idea of the Greek most nearly . Inth e Ritual, however , I have rendered itby puff as it is connected with breath .
It is evident that we have here to dowith certain nature-sounds
,which have
disappeared from articulate speech ,ex
cept in some primitive languages suchas the clicking ” of the Z ulus . Itpertains to the art of on omatopoiia oron orn atopotésis, or the forming of wordsexpressive of natural sounds . The rootidea seems to be that in mystic Operationsdesigned to bring man in touch with thehidden powers of nature , the language ofnature must be employed .
As we have said , the Ritual before usis not of the nature of a church or templeservice ; on the contrary,
it containsdirections for a solitary sacrament , inwhich the whole effort of the celebrant
16
18 to.
stir 1nto.
act1v.
1ty, and.
bring intoMITHRIACcon sc10us operatlon , h ls own h ldden nature RITUAL.
or the root-substance of his being . Itis a yoga
-rite (un to mystica ) , or act for
union,in which the physical breath , the
etheric currents , an d the psychic aurae,or life-breaths
, or prdn a’
s , work togetherwith the in b reathin g_of the Great Breath ,
or Holy Spirit , or Atmic Energy .
It should therefore prove of very greatinterest to many who have of late heardmuch concerning yoga ,
both in its highercontemplative modes , and also in itsmodes of deep an d psychic breathing
(hatha-
yoga ) ; for it may be news to
many that in the ancient West , especiallyin Egypt , there was a high art of thisselfsame yoga which has been developedso elaborately in India .
We will now give a translation of the
Ritual and then proceed to comment on
it . Th e prayers an d utterances are
printed in italics,
an d the rubrics or
instructions in Roman type .
THE RITUAL.
I .
[THE FATHER’S PRAYER.)
0 Providen ce , O Fortun e , bestow on me
Thy Grace—impartin g these the Mysteries
a Father on ly may han d on , an d that, too,
to a Son alon e—his Immortality— [a Son ]in itiate, worthy of this our Craft, with
which Sun Mithras , the Great God, com
man ded me to be en dowed by His Arch
an gel ; so that I ,Eagle [as I am,
by min e
own self] alon e , may soar to Heaven , an d
con template all thin gs .
I I .
THE INVOCATORYUTTERANCE (LOGOS) .
I . 0 Primal Origin of my origin ation
Thou Primal Substan ce of my substan ce
18
of the [N ew] Dawn , the Water that doth
cause [the Soul] to thrill ; an d that theLife-bestowin g E ther which surroun ds
[all thin gs] may give me Hearin g .
3 . For I am to behold to-day with
Deathless Eyes—I , mortal, born of mortal
womb,but [n ow] made better by the Might
of M ighty Power, yea , by the In corruptibleRight Han d—[I am to see to-day] byvirtue of the Deathless Spirit the DeathlessE on , the Master of the Diadems of FireI with pure purities [n ow ] purifi ed, thehuman soul-power of me subsistin g for a
little while in purity which [power] Ishall again receive tran smitted un to mebeyon d the in sisten t B ittern ess that presseson me, N ecessity whose debts can n ever
go un paid—I, N . N . , son of N . N . (fem . )accordin g to the Ordin an ce of God that
n aught can ever chan ge .
4 . For that it is beyon d my reach that,born ben eath the sway of Death , I should
[un aided] soar in to the Height, together
with the golden sparklin gs of the Brillian cythat kn ows n o Death .
20
5 . Stay still, 0 n ature doomed to perish ,[n ature] of men subject to Death ! An d
straightway let me pass beyon d the N eed
implacable that presses on me for that Iam His Son I breathe I am /
[THE FIRST INSTRUCT ION.]
I . Take from the [Sun -]rays breath,
inhaling thrice [as deeply] as thou canstan d thou shalt see thyself being raisedaloft , an d soaring towards the Height
,
so that thou seem’
st to be in midstof Air .
2 . Thou shalt hear naught , nor man
n or beast ; n or shalt thou see aught of
the sights upon the earth , in that samehour ; but all things thou shalt see willbe immortal.
3 . For thou shalt see , in that sameday an d hour , the Disposition of theGods— the Ruling Gods ascending heavenwards
,the other ones
‘
descending .
AM ITHRIACRITUAL.
And through his Disk—é—the God’s,
my Father’s—there shall be seen theWay
-oi—going of the Gods accessibleto sight .
4 . And in like fashion also [shall beseen] the Pipe , as it is called , whencecomes the Wind in service [for the day] .For thou shalt see as though it were a
Pipe depending from His Disk ; andtoward the regions Westward , as thoughit were an infinite East Wind . But ifthe other Wind ,
toward the regions ofthe East , should be in service , in the likefashion shalt thou see , toward the regionsof that [side ,] the converse of the sight .
5 . And thou shalt see the Gods gazingintently on thee an d bearing downupon thee .
Then straightway lay thy dexter fingeron thy lips an d say
[THE FIRST UT TERANCEJ
O Silen ce ! Silen ce / Silen ce !
AThe Symbol of the Living God beyond M ITHRIACDecaY RITUAL.
Protect me , Silen ce ! i t
Next hiss forth long ! S S
Then puff saying ! f !
And thereon shalt thou see the Gods
gaz ing benignly on thee , an d n o longerbearing down upon thee , but proceedingon the proper order of their doings .
[THE SECOND INSTRUCTION
When ,then
,thou see’st the Upper
Cosmos clean an d clear , with n o one ofthe Gods (or Angels ) bearing down onthee
,expect to hear a mighty thunder
clap so as to startle thee .
Then say again
THE [SECOND]UT TERANCE (LOGOS) .
I . O Silen ce ! Silen ce !
I am a Star, whose Course is as your
Course, shin in g an ew from out the Depth f .
Upon thy saying this,straightway
His Disk will start expanding .
2 . And after thou hast said the secondutterance—to wit , twice Silen ce and therest hiss twice , an d puff twicean d straightway shalt thou see a mightyhost of stars , fi ve-pointed , emerging fromHis Disk , and filling all the Air .
3 . Then say again
0 Silen ce ! Silen ce !
And when His Disk is opened [fully]out
,thou shalt behold an infinite Eu
circling and Doors of Fire fast closed .
Straightway set going then the utterance that follows , closing thy eyes !
24
THE THIRDUTTERANCE (LOGOS).
I . Hear me, give ear to me—N . N . , A
son of N . N . (fem .
—O Lord, who with fiffi fl“
Thy Breath hast closed the Fiery Bars ofHeaven , Twin bodied , Ruler of the
Fire Creator of the Light ; 0,
Holder
of the Keys In breather of the Fire ;Fire-hearted On e , whose Breath gives
Light Thou who dost joy in Fire B eau
teous of Light ; O Lord of Light, whoseBody is of Fire , Light
-
giver [an d] Firesower , Fire loosen er, whose Life is in
the Light , Fire-whirler, who sett’
st the
Light in motion ; Thou Thun der-rouser ;0 Thou Light-glory,
Light-in creaserCon troller of the
"
Light Empyrean 0
Thou Star-tamer
2 . Oh ! Open un to me ! For on accoun t
of this , the bitter an d implacable N ecessitythat, presses on me
,I do in voke Thy
Deathless Names, in n ate with Life
,most
worship/‘ul, that have n ot yet descen ded
C
un to mortal n ature , n or have been madearticulate by human ton gue, or cry
'
or
ton e of man !
E eb oéeb’ "
iéb oé eeo eec oéeo
ibb ceee bee boé ié 56 06 oé i eo'
o'
e'
o'
oe'
ieboé ieeo eé to oé ioé’
555 ece oeb bié biéeb Oi i n ece
due éb'
oée eoei a aéaeéa eeee eee
eeé ieb ecb oéeeoé éeb eub oé eié
éé 5a 5a bé cc ooouib’
é !
3 . Utter all these with Fire and Spiritonce unto the end ; an d then beginagain a second time , until thou hastcompleted [all] the Seven Immortal Godsof Cosmos .
When thou hast uttered them, thundersan d crashin gs shalt thou hear in theSurround , and feel thyself a-shake withevery crash .
Then once more utter Silen ce ! [and]the utterance [following it] .
4 . Thereon open thy eyes ; and thoushalt see the Doors thrown Open , and theCosmos of the Gods that is within the
26
[THE FIFTH UTTERANCE .]
I . Hail Lord ! 0 Thou of mightyPower O Kin g of mighty Sway Greatest
of Gods 0 Sun Thou Lord of Heaven
an d Earth ; 0 God of Gods ! Stron g is
Thy Breath stron g is Thy Might !
O Lord , if it seem good to Thee , makeThou an n oun cemen t of me un to God
Most-high , who hath begotten an d created
Thee !
2 . For that a man—I, N .N .,son of
N .N . born of the mortal wombof N .N . an d of spermatic icho
’
r,
yea , of this [ichbr] , which at Thy Han ds
to-day hath un dergon e the tran smutation
of re-birth on e , from so man y ten s ofthousan ds , tran sformed to immortality in
this same hour, by God’s good
-pleasure ,of God tran scen den t Good [a man , I
say,] presumes to worship Thee, an d
supplicates with whatsoever power a mortal
hath .
3 . Upon this utterance He shall come Ato the Pole , and thou shalt see Him figgfi
f "
moving round as on a path .
Then gaze intently,an d send forth a
prolonged bellowing,
”like to a hom
note , expelling the whole breath,with
pressure on the ribs,an d kiss the amulets ,
and say first to that upon th e right
[THE SI! TH UTTERANCE.)
Protect me f
When thou hast uttered this,thou
shalt behold the Doors thrown open,
an d ,issuing from the Depth
, SevenVirgins , in byssus-robes , with serpentfaces , an d golden sceptres in their hands .
These are they who are the so-calledHeaven ’s Fortunes (Tychai) .
When thou dost see these things, make
salutation thus
[THE SEVENTH UTTERANCE.)
I . Hail Heaven’
s Seven Fortun es;Virgin s august an d good, ye sacred on es
who live an d eat with f ! Ye holiest
Protectors of the Four Supports !
Hail thou, the First, f !
Hail thou, the Secon d, f !
Hail thou,the Third, f !
Hail thou, the Fourth , f !Hail thou, the Fifth
, f !Hail thou, the Sixth , f !
Hail thou, the Seven th , f !
2 . There come forth others,too
Seven Gods , with faces of black bulls , inlinen loin-cloths , with seven golden filletson their heads . These are the so-calledHeaven ’s Pole-lords .
And in like fashion unto each of
them thou must make salutation withhis special name .
[THE EIGHTH UTTERANCE.]
I . Hail Guardian s of the Pivot, ye
sacred sturdy Youths , who all, at on ce,
revolve the spin n in g Axis of Heaven’
s
Circle, ye who let loose the thun der an d
the lightn in g, an d earthquake-shocks an d
thun der-bolts upon the hosts of impiousfolk , but [who bestow] on me , who piousam an d worshipper of God, good-health ,an d soun dn ess of my frame in every part;an d proper stretch of hearin g an d of sight,an d calm, in the n ow presen t good-hoursof this day, 0 mighty Rulin g Lords an d
Gods of me !
thou,the First,
thou, the Secon d,
thou, the Third,
thou, the Fourth ,
thou,the Fifth ,
thou,the Sixth ,
thou, the Seven th .
31
2 . Now when they [all] are present inth eir order
,here an d there , gaze in the
Air intently , an d thou shalt see lightmings down—flash in g , an d lights a-
quiver ,an d the earth a-shake ; an d [then] a
God descending, [a God] transcendingvast , of radian t Presence , with goldenLocks , in flower of age , [clad] in a Robeof brightness
,with Crown of gold [upon
His Head] , and Garments [on His Legs] ,holding in His Right Hand the goldenShoulder of the Calf .
This latter is the Bear that movesthe Heaven[-dome] , and changes its direction , n ow up now down
,according to
the hour .
Then shalt thou see lightnings leapfrom His Eyes an d from His Bodystars .
3 . Straigh tway send forth a bellowing prolonged , with belly-pressure , tostart thy senses going all together—prolonged unto the very end
,kissing again
the amulets and sayin g !
32
! II I .
[THE NINTH UTTERANCE.]
f , [O Lord] of me—N . N .
—abide with
me , within my Soul ! Oh ! leave me n ot !
For f bids thee [remain ] .
And gaze intently on the God, withbellowing prolonged
,and thus salute
Him
! IV .
[THE TENTH UTTERANCE .]
Hail Lord, Thou Master of the Water !
Hail, Foun der of the Earth ! Hail, Prin ceof Breath !O Lord ,
bein g born again , I pass awayin bein g made Great, an d
,havin g been
made Great, I die .
B ein g born from out the state of birthan d-death that giveth birth to [mortal]lives, I n ow , set free , pass to the state
tran scen din g birth , as Thou hast stab
lished it, accordin g as Thou hast ordain ed
an d made the Mystery.
33
A
M ITHRIACRITUAL.
COMMENTS.
First we have the Prayer of the Father,who invites the Presence or Glory(Hvaren Oas it is called in ancient Persian )of his Father
,the Great Father of all
Fathers , or Supreme Initiator,Mithra
the Invincible,to be favourable both
to himself an d also to his.
belovedSon who is deemed worthy of having thefinal secrets imparted to h im , so that hein his turn may become a Father .
Th e high est initiates of the Mithriaca
(as of many other mystery-associationsof the time ) were called the Fathers .
They were also called Eagles , an d doubtless in Egypt also Hawks , for they hadto be born anew as Horus . The sacrament is the mystery of the B irth ofHorus in one of its variants ; the riteis that Of Athan asia or Immortality , of
Church by sacramen tum,an d Dieterich
(p . 93 ) thinks that dyn amis is . a synonymof sacramen tum. And this particularDynamis or Craft is a synonym of theGreat Work of the Alchemists
,as we saw
from a quotation from Z osimus in our
last volume (p .
Initiation,however
,does not mean
Consummation . An initiation is the starting of things going it lies with the candidate entirely to make the initiationvalid , to seal up the link so to speak .
Without this,information will all be
vague there will be retained only vaguememories , hints and suspicions .
I am inclined to think that in Sun
Mithra we have the gloss of an ignorantCopyist . Mithra was not the Sun , eitherin the Iranian religion or in the MithriacMysteries ; as He is clearly also not theSun in the rubrics of our Ritual . On thecontrary
,the Sun is rather the Archangel
of Mithra,the Light
,an d is thus for us
th e chief mind-power of the Mind of allmasterh ood .
Speakin in a still more mysticalA
fashion,a
gFath er, as a master
,may be
“gt
said to be one who can stud his ow n
heaven , or great surround ,or buddhic
substance,with his own stars
,or mind
powers . Such a on e is capable of beingan Initiator into Great Things , or cosmicmysteries . He is capable of proj ectinghis immortality
,or super-human power
,
or atmic radiance .
Thus an Eagle is one capable of risinginto the true Air an d looking straigh tat his ow n Sun . Such a on e does nothave to see God reflected in Nature asordinary man does ; he is capable of
grasping or understanding the Divinewithout form . Heaven for such a con
sciousn ess is the Great Surround in whichall things the things-that-are—arestudded as Stars or to put it oth erwise
,
where every part or portion is a wholeor wholeness (to use Platonic terms ) ;they are all on e with another
,
”as
Plotinus has it .
We n ow come to the Ritual proper , an dto the first solemn utterance (logos) or
invocation . Th e Theurgist invokes hisperfect or cosmic body , from the
depths of his own substance . This isthe mystic en formation according tosubstance ,
” which is set forth in cosmicterms in the Sophia-mythus or Wisdomsaga of the Christianized Gnosis (F .F .F
z ud ed . , pp . 335 ,General Gnostic tradition teaches that
it is b y the definite use of all the organsof the body that perfected man is brough tinto contact with the Great Cosmos , forin a very definite way the body whenperfected is a microcosm . We have thusto think of every part of the body possessing sense capable oi conveying to con
sciousn ess things of an outside andinside world .
I . This great sensitivity is broughtabout by a transmutation in substance ,a rearran gement of atoms so to speak .
38
Th e Theurgist , or Operator of the DivineWork ,
evokes from the depths of his ownbeing his own primal substance or rootplasm
,the On e Element
,differentiated
according to the modes of the fourcosmic elements—the elements of hismortal body being all permutations of
the Earth-element alone ; namely , fieryearth
,airy earth , watery earth
,earthy
earth . This Great Four is the Tetrak tysof the Pythagoreans—the Fourfold Rootof Everflowin g Nature —in on e of itsaspects .
It will be noticed that that which bringsabout this Blending of the blendingsin h im is Fire . This is it which makeshim not only of the blending or temperament called man , but also is the meanswhereby his blending can be transmuted .
Five is God-given ,
” and the chief in strument of the Divine Creator in His fashionin g of this fundamental body, the On eBody of the man that can be transformedinto any shape .
It is probable that the Honoured
39
AMITHRIACRITUAL .
Arm and Incorruptible Right Han d isnot purely a figure of speech , but belongsto a precise symbolism . I am somewhattempted to connect this “
Arm withthe Shoulder of the Calf (which comeslater on in the Ritual) , typifying theseven pole-lords
,the servants of the
Pivot on which all things turn . It isHe who makes the spheres revolve
,and
turns all things upon the cosmic lathe,
or potter’s-wheel .This “ fashioning of substance , is not
the splitting up of matter into geometricalforms
,but far more fundamental, and is
therefore done in a world that is prior todifferentiated light an d life as we know it .
“N . N . ,
son of N .N . (fem . ) signifythat here must be inserted the names of
the candidate and of his mother . Th e
mention of the name of his mother an d
not father is remarkable . N0 womenwere admitted unto the Mith riaca ; thewomen were initiated into the associatedMysteries of the Magna Mater , or GreatMother .
2 . He n ow prays to the great powersof his Single Body ,
his Wholeness,his
Cosmic Vesture,his Sun -barque , his
Pegasus,to translate him from Death
to Life , from appearance to reality , fromDarkness to Light . Th e bonds of theprisoner are at last to b e freed ; theknot of personality in the “ heart
(as the Upanishads phrase it ) is to beunloosed ; the man is n o longer to be a“Procession of Fate
,
” but is to set hisfoot upon the Spheres of Fate , an d makethem theWheels of his Chariot , free in Air .
Fate,Insistent Need
,Necessity , Death ,
is what a Buddhist or a Brahman ordin arily means b y Karma . E lsewhere inthe Ritual it is called “ bitter .
” It isthe Bitterness
,which constric ts , which
presses on one,the power of gravity, of
condensation .
And here we may note a phrase froma mystic cosmogony of the early centuries
Through the Bitterness of God , thereappeared Mind that restrainsthe heart
,an d was called Hermes .
”
D
AMITHRIACRITUAL.
Also compare the Hymn at the endof the J. source of the Naassen e Document
,where speaking of the wandering
deer,
” the human soul, it says !Far from Thy Breath away shewanders
Sh e seeks to flee the bitter Chaos,
And knows not how she shall escape .
And again,from a document of the
Christianized Sethian Gnosis !He (the Light-spark ) was a Ray from
Above,from that Perfect Light
,over
powered in the sinuous an d awesomeand bitter an d blood-stained Water .
”
And yet again for on e of the Orationsof the Emperor Julian ,
who was bothinitiate into our Mysteries and alsoknew the Hellenized Mago-ChaldaeanOracles
The Oracles of the Gods declare thatth rough purification not only our soulbut also our bodies are j udged worthy ofbeing greatly helped an d preserved
,for it
is said in them The mortal vesture of
bitter matter is preserved .
’
in their true nature the Holy Fire theDeep of the New Dawn and the Waterof Life the All—surrounding [Ether thatwill give h im cosmic hearing
,when his
Single Body becomes all-ear .
As the Initiate in the TrismegisticVirgin of theWorld treatise says (0 .
But wh en the Sun did rise for me ,
and with all-seeing eyes I gazed upon thehidden mysteries of that New Dawn .
Th e Deep of the New Dawn is the realsubstance of true Mind ; an d
_Dawn
suggests the rising of the Sun or Atmanabove the horizon of the lower mind
, so
that you begin to see into the depthsof Mind .
The Holy Breath breathing in theman is the first stirring of his true Airbody . That is to say, the substance of
the Single Body becomes as it weresponge-like , so that the cosmic Air caninter-penetrate it ; the man has withinhimself a link between himself an d
Greater Air,a new Airy sense or centre
,
which is also a great circumference .
44
We can only understand , enj oy or
really grasp a thing if we possess a
fraction of it already ; it is only thus wecan experience . Even to get ideas abouta thing (which is other than experiencing )it is necessary at least to possess withinnormal consciousness something to correspon d to the conception that is bein gshown us .
3 . Deathless eyes the eye is symb olical of mind ,
and the deathless mindis the higher mind . Compare the greatverse of Manilius (iv . 905 )
He stands alone upright and , Victor ,Sends forth his starry eyes unto theStars .
”
The Might of Mighty Power is thePower of Atman
,whereby the man is
to behold the Deathless E on , E ternity ,
the Lord of time an d space , and SupremeCreator , the Master of the Diadems of
Fire . These Diadems of Fire are foreshadowings of the ordered constellationsthat will be ranged round the man’sHeaven ,
his Great Surround or Envelope .
45
AM ITHRIACRITUAL.
They are Fiery ,all Fires an d Flam es ,
Rays and Brilliance , creative powers likearchangels .
Th e beginning of this Greatness isalready within h im
“ subsisting inpurity
”; that 18 perhaps in a state of tran
quillity or equilibrium ,not conceiving
an y form .
4 . The golden sparklings of theBrilliancy that knows n o Dea th is abeautiful phrase . It is always diffi cultto say precisely what these mystic phenomena may denote
,for they can be
regarded from so many points of V iew ;
but keeping within the range of inter
pretation we have chosen,the phrase
may be said to suggest that the man has
already attained to a stage when he can ,
to a limited extent , at any rate,proj ect
his fiery current and watch it fly forthas myriad sparks of Brilliancy
,an d thus
light up and make apparent to himselfhis own world-body . But he cannotfollow with that part of consciousnesswhich brings with it full sensation . We
46
may watch and know a great deal about A
a thing , but we do not really master it , fifgfi‘
ffij‘ c
till we fully experience it and thus makeit become us .
5 . Th e body is n ow reduced to absolute
quietude before the mystic breathing isbegun . No longer is the man to breatheas a mortal he is to take into his inmostse lf deep draughts from the Divine Air .
He is to breathe as a Son of God .
Compare with this the followin g utterance from a Ritual of the Gnostic Herac
leon itae
I,the Son from the Father , the Father
Pre -existing,but the Son in present ex
isten ce,came to behold all things—things
both other than my own an d of my own
yet things n ot al together other than myown , but of Achamoth (Wisdom) , theMother who is female
,an d made them
for herself . But I derive my Race fromthe Pre -existing
,an d I am going back
unto my ow n whence I have come .
(See my World-Mystery, 2n d ed ., p .
I . We now come to the first instructionor practical directions .
Now in the Great Work there is whatmay be termed a proj ection an d an establish in g . What are called the firesof the body are definitely used to proj ectconsciousness forth into the greater Air .
Fire is thus used for the first proj ectionforth but the fire is the man’s Life-fi re ,and in proj ecting it he uses his own
bodily organs,for within the physical
body lie dormant all the necessary organsfor contacting the cosmos .
To this side of the mystery our Ritualdoes n ot refer ; it deals with the use of
Breath and for similar purposes . Breathis as it were a spouse of the Fire whichhas already been proj ected . That is tosay , the Ritual is intended only for thosewho have alreadymade themselves ready"they must be worthy of this our Craft .
Fire h as to do with what we may call
the Spark -side of things,the masculine
48
creative fire . After the implanting of Aeach Light-spark
,
”as the Christian
l
gggfir
Gnosis phrases it , there is what may becalled a feminine descent , or a furtherclothing and freeing of the imprisonedSpark ,
” for this cloth ln g IS a robeof power .
Thus one Spark ,an d we have the
mineral kingdom ; this clothed upon bythe feminine descent or life-outpouring
gives birth to the vegetable kingdom .
Two Sparks bring into existence theanimal kingdom ; and this multipliedby the feminine descent gives birth toman . Beyond this there is a thirdSonship ” of Fire
,an d a_ third descent
of the Great Breath— the Atmic mystery .
Breath is in a sense the reverse of Fire .
The on e dries the substance,the other
causes the dryin g to cease and establishesthe buddhic plasm with a certain definitecapacity for holding together ; it isn o longer watery .
It is to be noted that the Theurgisth as to keep touch with his physical body
all the time ; he goes forth , yet he re
mains—it is the mystery of emanation .
Th e operation is to be effected insun-light . Th e man breathes into hisbody that which dwells within every rayof sun -light b y means of this breathhe gets into touch with the soul of eachray . After thus breathing in a specialway as deeply as possible three times ,he begins to feel himself get light (inweight ) . This feeling is said to be ex
perien ced at the back of the head . Th e
man then feels himself as it were risingin the air .
2 . He then begins to se e a differentorder of things , which are in our Ritualset forth symbolically according to thetradition of the school. These appearan ces will differ according to the mindcon teht of the man .
3 . Wh atever be the forms , the ascending an d descending Gods are in an y casethe man’s ow n soul-powers forth and in .
Th e Vision would seem to be the casting of the shadow of himself,—of his
to make them alive , an d to see,
themfrom as many points of view as possible .
All true symbols should first of all bemade solid , then made interpenetrable ,then made alive , in -breathing and out!
breathing .
The natural breath ing through on e
nostril for two hours , succeeded by abreathing through the other for a similarperiod , is a well ascertained fact , and acommon-place in treatises on hatha
yoga . This,however
,is but a reflection
of a great law ,which is set forth sym
b olically in our text . Mystically the Pipeis the central tube of life , whether weregard the great body as a great atomin -breathing an d out-breathing , or eachsmall atom as of a similar nature , thewhole system been polarised b y therelation of these tubes or pipesto one another . It is through this Pipethat the true cosmic currents of Fire ,Air
, Water , and Earth can pass withoutkilling the man . As they pass throughthis Pipe the man who is initiated ,
becomes possessed of the power of wh ich $1ITHRIACever cosmic element is playing through RITUAL.
h im . This Pipe is also a Pole or Axisor Pivot , an d is connected with his GreatPerson or Higher Self .
In a very extended interpretation of
the symbols , East ” would signify theCosmic Power playing forth towardsbirth ,
an d“West the return j ourney
back to the Greatness .
5 . This seems to indicate the watchingof the man’s own universe of gods or
soul-powers—the powers of his HigherSelf
,an d also, from another point of
view , perhaps the essence , so to speak ,
of such of his past lives as are worthyof immortality ; as he watches them ,
they gaze intently on him and drawnear .
Th e laying the dexter finger on thelips reminds us of the well-knownfigure of Harpocrates , the symbol of
silence . Harpocrates (Heru-
p-kharf ) ,
Horus the Younger or the Child , symb oliz ed the young man -
god ,or super-man
AMITHRIACRITUAL;
he was a form of the Rising Sun,of
which the Egyptians distinguished sevenaspects .
Th e visions that now present themselves to the inner eye of the initiateare of so sublime a nature that he cannothold himself steady
,but is shaken
,or
moved wholly,
as the ChristianMystery Ritual h as it (Hymn of j esus ,p . an d the appearances are couse
quently blurred an d appear inimical.These an d similar visions of initiation are
referred to by classical writers variouslyas ! figures or schemas
,the technical
term for the appearances of the Gods ;blessed apparitions and b eatifi c visions ;mystic sights and wonders ; what ismost beautiful to see in the world holyappearances ; sacred shows ; ineffable anddivine apparitions . (See my Notes on
the Eleusinian Mysteries ,”Theo. Rev. ,
xxii,156 , note ) .
Tranquillity and equilibrium , an d withMITHRIACthem the restored b en igmty of the appear RITUAL.
an ces , are ob taln ed by the solemn 1n voca
tion of Silence (Sige) , the SupernalMother of all things , and Spouse of theDivine .
Wh ile the lower nature of the man
would utter this as an invocation , thehigher would issue it as a comman d , - a
powerful utterance , or word of power , —tost0p what appear as hurricanes , so tospeak , to on e who is experiencing suchnew fOrces for the first time .
When a man first becomes consciousin his world-body things are naturallysomewhat tumultuous , and this man trais used to protect himself , so to speak ,
from his own gods , or world-powers , andit brings down the power of h is own
Great Person who dwells in silence .
As the Heathen commentator of the
Naassen e Document saysThis same Man the Phrygians also
call Papa ; for He calmed all thingswhich
,prior to His own manifestation ,
were in disorderly and inharmoniousmovement .
For the name Papa is the Soundingoi-all-things-together in Heaven an d on
Earth ,an d beneath the Earth , saying .
Calm , Calm the discord of the cosmos .
(T . G. H .,i. ,
But the greater disturbance takes placein the physical body ; and as it is ab so
lutely essential that this should be keptsteady,
so that the link of memory benot broken , physical means are resortedto in order to restore its equilibrium .
I have hesitated long before adoptingthe translations of hiss and pufffor the Greek terms . I feel fairly sureabout the hiss ,
” for the sibilant s’
s
are added ; but the precise meaning ofthe second word escapes me . It wouldseem to mean that in the one case thebreath is expelled contin uously,
an d in theother there is an expulsion of breath thatis broken by a series of short puffsit may be what has been called thecleansing breath in yoga-breathing .
Curiously enough a friend_of mine A
who has passed through some mystic gfggflc
experiences of a somewhat similar nature ,was given as a man tra what sounded likethe English phrase
“Cheer up !” But th is
was to be pronounced in a special way ,
Cheeeeee—which is very similar to hissing forth long ”
, then a very distinctlyrolled r, with a very distinct explosionfor the up—which is not so far from thepop in poppysmos .
With regard to such sounds it maybe of interest to remind the reader of
the otherwise strange expression in theBook of the Comin g
-forth by Day, thehissing an d clucking of theGreat Cackler - the Great B ird orMother who hatches forth the eggs ofmen
Having r egained his attention and withit a clean and clear field of vision
,a
deeper shaking ” than that of sigh t
57
AM ITHRIACRITUAL.
takes place , which he hears as a roar as
of thunder . Th e substance of his worldbody is being moved b y the very rootsounds of n ature
I . Again he utters Silence ! ” Thishe follows with the great declaration Iam a Star —ah E on . With this com
pare the utterance of the Orphic initiateChild am I of Earth an d Starry
Heaven ; n ay ,my Race is Heaven ’s
[alone]These words are from a portion of an
ancient Orphic Ritual, on a gold tablet ,which had been rolled up and placed ina hexagonal cylinder
,hanging from a
gold chain . It was found in a grave at
Petelia ,in Southern Italy ,
and is nowin the British Museum . Gold OrnamentRoom (Table-Case
Shining anew from out the Depthseems to mean that
'
in his resurrectionhe rises out of th e Watery Spheres , the
58
And Mesopotamia is the Stream ofGreat Ocean flowing from the Middle of
the Perfect Man .
” i .This was the Gate of the Lesser Mys
teries but when the Pagan Mystic speaksof the Greater Mysteries , our JewishGnostic continues !
This Mystery is the Gate of Heaven,
and this is the House of God , where theGood God dwells alone into which Housen o impure man shall come . But it iskept under watch for the Spiritual alonewhere when they come , they must castaway their garments , and all becomebridegrooms
,obtaining their true man
hood through the Virginal Spirit .
“For this is the Virgin big w ith child
,
conceiving an d bearing a Son—a blessedE on of E ons . i .Th e man now so to speak begins to
enter into himself . The Disk seems toexpand and the myriad hosts of heavenin angelic form seem to people all spaceuntil he again becomes confused at themarvels of the heavenly panorama , the
60
celestial bioscope of his own nature .
A
He therefore stops the vision with an1
1211
3 53"
other utterance of Silence .
”
3 . He thus finds himself in his own
Great Sphere , which he n o longer seesas an obj ective Disk
,but which h as
now become himself or the field of h is
consciousness . There is an Infinite Encircling and yet again Doors of Fire ,“ fast closed .
He is n ow substantially at on e with hisGreat Person or Higher Self, an d theseDoors of Creative Fire will, when theyare opened , introduce him to his FellowGreatnesses . Though the Candidate h asrisen into his ow n Great Body he is n ot
yet in direct touch with the Cosmos, an y
more than a baby is in touch with thephysical world the moment he is born
,
though he h as the necessary vehicle .
The Candidate is now born into h is
cosmic vehicle he has the powers of hisworld-sphere properly ordered
,but his
senses forth into the cosmos are closed .
He must now close his eyes . That is
61
togsay , he must n ot be too interestedin his new world body he must closehis eyes to it , an d try to go forth again ,
an d use the mighty sphere as a vehicleonly , as a single eye in the world ofthe Gods .
1 . Thereon follows a magn ificent invocation to the E on , his ow n Atman
,who
is all Opposites , male female and the rest .
Th e Breath is the feminine power of
Atman which h as bestowed on h im hisworld-body ,
has closed him m an d givenhim a Great Surround , a true Air-body!Th e praise of the might of the E on shouldbe compared with the description of thesymbolical image of the E on given inout last small volume (pp . 70 ,
2 . I have retained this specimen of
magical chanting to give the reader someidea of on e mode of theurgic language .
Th e vowels are all Open flowing sounds ,are all feminine there are no consonants
62
or . masculi e arr sti to out these An e ngsM ITHRIACgreat waves of sound up 1n to forms . RITUAL.
Th e sounds can interpenetrate each otherand stir the deepest substance .
The throat is opened an d the breathis a llowed to come forth in differentshapes shapes
, n ot formsshapes may be said to be more
fundamental than forms . Th e breathmust be sent forth without contactingan y organs
, so to speak,without being
cut up b y the tongue or lips or teeth ,
j ust shaped by the shape of the throat ,root-sounds , so to say .
The Candidate is trying to get outsideor beyond his own Great Person (thoughindeed he moves n ot ) , an d so link himselfon with other Great Personae . You can
only get out of yourself , it is said , byattaching yourself to someone else .
3 . Perhaps the sevenfold utterancemeans that the utterance has to bechanted or intoned in seven keys .
The root-sounds on the physical plane ,issuing from the depths of the body ,
b ut
63
without contact with the organs of articulate speech , sympathetically inducechanges which are , so to speak
,the
way-forth out of the man’s world-sur
round . Th e inner spiritual power , or
Fire , goes forth at first unconsciouslywithout Breath ; so there must bechanting if consciousness is to accompanythe man , and he would still keep hold of
h iS‘
phySical body .
These root-sounds play upon the greatsurround , and then the man begins tohear real cosmic sounds , such as a Voiceth at roars with a roar of thunder all
round the Sphere ; yet though it utterson e sound only it means all the world tothe fortunate hearer . It means whateverhe may choose to turn his attention to ,and can teach him anything he maydesire for it is Intelligence . This Voicecauses h is whole world-body to tremble .
4 . Th e Spiritual Doors are thus againthrown open . He has
,as it were , shat
tered his world-body,or risen above it ,
to use it and not dwell within it .
64
The Beatifi c Vision bursts upon h im .
A
His true Spirit Or Consciousness runs out fiffgflm
of his Sphere , through the energizing ofAtman , and goes forth to meet CosmicConsciousness .
He has n ow to retain his individualityno longer b y means of an y body or sur
round , but by steady attention , b y gazingat the Spark of his Divinity . Thus hebecomes a conscious Spiritual Atom in
God , an d he draws Breath or a newmode of Consciousness from the Divine ,beyond even h is ow n Great Person or
Higher Self .
VIII .
1 . He now receives consciously theThird Spark , his Highest Self .
The invocation Draw nigh, O Lord
'
reminds us of perhaps the most magnifi cen t passage in Plotinus which describes the secret of his ecst asy .
Let there , then , be in the soul somesemblance of a sphere of light transparent
,
65
havin g all th ings in it , whether movin gor still, an d some of them moving andothers still.
And , holding this sphere in themind , conceive in thyself another sphere ,removing from it all idea of mass takefrom it also the idea of space , and thephantom of matter in thy mind and don ot try to image another Sphere merelyless in mass than the former .
Then invoking God who hath madethat true sphere , of which thou holdestthe phantom in thy mind , pray that Hemay come .
And may He come with His own
cosmos , with all the Gods therein—He
being one an d all,an d each on e all
,
united into on e , yet different in theirpowers , and yet , in that on e power of
multitude , all on e .
” i .
Thus His Rays are turn ed upon theman ,
and a new Golden Splendour becomes
66
or these atoms of spirit , have b y th e
Presence of the Glory and the Flame unitedinto a true living fi ve-fold Star ; he hasrisen upon atmic spirituality into beinga Spirit . The fi ve-fold is of the natureof Mind .
3 . Upon this utterance He shall cometo the POle . However this may betaken astrologically
,or according to the
schema of the theurgical astronomy of
the adyta of those days , the Pole for thetrue mystic can only mean the man’sow n Pole , that is his Great Person , or
Higher Self , that which in his lowercosmos “
has stood , stands an d willstand —h is individuality . From thepoint of view of substance and of symbolicvision , this can be equated with theHeaven-Pole
,the Pivot on which all
doth turn .
”But in this subj ective-ob
jective vision the truth is reversed . Th e
God does n ot really move round on a
path ; it is He who is the True On ewho stands . It is the monic
,or the
starry body of the man , the augoeides
68
or astroeides , that turns on this Pivot asMITHRIACon an axis
,in a course that is now as RITUAL
the course of his fellow Stars .
3 . In order to keep pace with thepower of the Great Experience throughwhich the Epopt is passing
,a new an d
deeper mode of breath is to be practisedphysically , so that the link with thephysical body may be retained . But
this mode of breath is perhaps ratheretheric than physical ; it is not exactlya physical alteration which could bedetected outwardly , for ordinary breathingmay go on all the time .
Nor do I think it necessary in conn ection with this bellowing ,
”to refer
to the Sacred instrument called thebull-roarer —used in the mystery-cults
of certain primitive peoples,in New
Mexico , Australia , New Z ealand andAfrica , to summon the God or an
nounce his coming , and upon which nowoman may look and live. I need onlyremark that it evidently typifies aninstrument of virile power .
69
In yoga , -and our Ritual before all elseis a yoga- rite , - the b ellowmg mustbe connected with the power of thebull,
”or creative power , the use of which
for spiritual operations constituted thegreatest secret of the Mithriaca .
In the prdn aydma (or restraint of thebreath ) practices in yoga , the internalbellowing would connote the result of
drawing the deepest breath possible an d
causing it to vibrate or throb or roar , an dso press on , or set going , certain centres .
These centres are the amuletsproper but in ceremonial magic physicalphylacteries were used ,
an d placed onthe corresponding external centres .
The bellowing is in Greek theutterance of the sound moo —and thisis in some sort an inversion of the sacredsyllable om.
! I.
This operation if successfully aecom
plish ed will open out the consciousnessstill further . Th e imagery and symbolism
are doubtless derived from Egyptian A
tradition , superimposed on Chaldaeanastral doctrine .
It is to be noticed that the SevenVirgins are called ! Ye holiest Pro
tectors of the Four Supports .
” Withthis compare the Mystic Ritual of the
Baptism of the Water of Life in theBook of the Great Logos , where the Masteran d Saviour (Ab eramen thO) utters the
following prayer , prefixed with an invocation in the mystery-tongue , interspersedwith triple Amens !
Hear Me , My Father,Father of all
fatherhood ,Boundless Light , Who art
in the Treasure of Light ! May theSupporters come , who serve the SevenVirgins of Light who preside over theBaptism of Life ! May they come andbaptize My disciples with the Water of
Life of the Seven Virgins of Light , an d
wash away their sins an d purify theiriniquities , and number them among theheirs of the Kingdom of Light I” (F .F .F
2n d ed . ,
And Proclus (In Tin t , ii . 137 B
Schneid . with regard to Phaneswhom he calls the All-perfect LivingOn e ,
”an d characterizes as the Para
digmatic or Intelligible Cause , that is theLogos—tells us that the Theologist (sci .
Orpheus ) sings of Him as alone bearingthe glorious seed of the Gods ,
” implantedby the Hidden Deity . And from Phanesis derived the secondary ordering of theGods , as supports of the primary . Thusthe true Heaven an d the true Earth procoed as an intelligible unity—FatherMother . And She , the true HeavenlyMother
, Sh e in her turn gave birthto the extended [primal] Heaven an d
Earth —that is , extended in space . Andthen Kronos unites with Rhea ; at thethird birth , this Earth , the Mother,brought forth again
Seven Virgins fair , bright-eyed andpure, and Seven kingly and down -coveredYouths .
It is to be noticed that this visionpresent s itself after the Doors are thrown
72
open for the third time ; that is afterthe third great change of consciousnesson the return j ourney .
It is also to be noticed that the Virginscarry the gold in their hands and theYouths wear it on their heads . They arethe children of the Mother-side of thingsan d the progeny of the Lord of the Pole ,Kronos or the E on , the Great Individuality or Person .
Th e spouse of Kronos is Rhea . ThisMother-substance is in a chaotic or everflow in g condition (Rhea , from rhein , toflow ) , that is flowing in all directions atonce . But when the Third Spark em
braces the world-body of the man , hismother-substance b ecomes differentiatedinto seven pure elements—seven insteadof four , as h as previously been the casethat is , with powers of contact with theseven planes of cosmos . Th e Virginsseem to symbolize the substantial sideof things , while the black-faced Youthsare poles or pivots , in their turn , cords ,supports , or radii . The black faces seem
F 73
AM ITHRIACRITUAL.
to symbolize powers , turned from theSun ,
an d going forth on their ow n account,
independent , intelligent .
Th e On e Substance , or Mother-octave ,or Ogdoad , h as n ow become seven spheres ,all revolving independently, yet in perfect order . Th e man’s Body h as beenmade a perfect correspondence with theGreat Cosmos . True cosmic instinct isthus bestowed upon h im at this rebirth .
When the Mother-octave is spoken of ,it connotes the relationship betweenthe man’s world-body an d the GreatElements or Cosmos ; when the Son
octave is referred to , it indicates how thissame world-sphere is linked up with theman’s true Person ; while the Fatheroctave suggests that this same worldoctave is linked on to a still vastermystery . And yet it is all on e
mystery .
In the case of normal man the linkingup is with Four an d n ot with E ight orSeven .
of physical conception s of the universewhich modern science has outgrown ,
may we venture to suggest that to thedeeper mystic consciousness , a heliocentric or a geocentric theory of phenomena is a matter of indifference ; bothare equally far from the reality , nomatter how superior the on e may be tothe other for purposes of intellectualtraining .
On e has doubtless been over-bold insome of the above speculations ; but
after many years of study of the con
temporary literature of the Gnosis andthe Mysteries , of Theosophy and Theurgy ,
many things which at first appearedutterly irreconcilable seem somehow nowto fall together ; ideas unite , symbolismbecomes more plastic .
It would , of course , be impossible inso small a compass as this little volumeto set forth all the thoughts which so
rapidly flash through the mind in meditating on this Ritual
,and the many
passages that could be quoted in
76
illustration of the many poin ts of mysticinterest that have been touched upon .
That would require a long and learnedtreatise , and this is not the purposeof these booklets .
I have , therefore , simply attempted toset forth the impression that this re
markable Ritual has made upon myself,in the hope that some of my readersmay recognise a fellow-feeling in themselves and that some day they may beable to say with the Victormade victoriousby the Invincible On e
Being born from out the state ofbirth-and-death that giveth birth tomortal lives
,I now
, set free , pass tothe state transcending birth
,as Thou
hast stablished it,according as Thou
hast ordained an d made the Mystery .
AM ITHRIACRITUAL .
PRINTED BY PERCY LUND , HUMPHRIES AND co. , LTD.,
THE COUNTRY m e ss, BRADFORD ‘
3 , AMEN CORNER , LONDON , E .C . ;
AND 97, BRIDGE ST REET , MANCHESTER .
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