The Astrological Significance of Each Egyptian Tarot Card ... · The Astrological Significance of...

The Silver Key

The Astrological Significance of Each Egyptian Tarot Card Part XXI,The Sarcophagus

Elbert Benjamine

First printed in American

Astrology Magazine

September 1938

The position of the Moonin a birth chart maps that

thought structure within theastral body which affords themost open avenue by whichimpressions and informationfind access from the outsideworld to the unconsciousmind. The Moon-sign thusindicates the type of experi-ences most easily receivedand most readily assimilatedby that unconscious mind.And thus, the general trend ofthe mental activity is shownby the Moon. But the methodand facility with which suchthoughts, and those arisingfrom the character and thepersonality, express is mark-edly determined by the signoccupied, and the aspectsmade, by Mercury.

As the birth chart is a map ofthe soul, or unconsciousmind, showing its thought or-ganization at the moment ofbirth, every planetary posi-tion in it and every aspect issignificant of its structure.But as the Moon position isthe easiest avenue of access tothe unconscious mind, when

some one orb is sought tosymbolize this inner plane orga-

nization of thought and feeling,which alone survives the dis-solution of the physical body,this luminary is the one cho-sen.

Thus when the Masters ofolden times desired to explain,in the language of symbolicalpictograph, that man survivesbeyond the tomb, and thatfamily ties continue on the in-ner plane, they expressedthese ideas in the tarot designof Major Arcanum XX, whichis associated with the Moon.

The symbolism of this Moontarot card, which is here illus-trated, is simple and most ob-vious. A spirit in an aureoleabove sounds the trumpet ofresurrection, and a man,woman and child , s t i l lwrapped in their windingsheets, arise from a sarcopha-gus. The conspicuous conven-tionalized wings indicate theovershadowing of a benigndeific intelligence, and is usedcommonly wherever it was

Continued 1

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

The Church of Light Quarterly

Inside this issue …

The Astrological Significance of Each

Egyptian Tarot Card...Part XXI,

Arcanum XX The Moon

Elbert Benjamine

Editorial — Changes

Christopher Gibson

On the Nature of Numbers

Peter Tourian

The Tablets of AEth: Mars

Patrick Ramsey

Return to Spirit: A Journey of Enlightenment

Part 2 of 4

Allyn McCray

Plus …

Stellarian Honor Guard

Membership Room

Fall Issue 2006

ISSN: 009-6520Vol. 81, No.4

PUBLISHED BYThe Church of Light

EDITORPaul Brewer

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSChristopher Gibson

Vicki Brewer

The Church of Light Quarterly isthe official publication of theChurch of Light. It includes edu-cational and inspirational supple-ments to The Brotherhood ofLight Lessons.

There are four issues per year:Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.Please address all communica-tions to:The Church of Light2119 Gold Ave SEAlbuquerque, NM 87106-4072tele: 505 247 1338fax: 505 247 1321

Directors:

Paul Brewer, PresidentMargaret Joscher, VPVicki Brewer, SecretaryDonald Baker, TreasurerDave Carrothers, NevadaGail Carswell, TexasChristopher Gibson, New MexicoDorothy Fast Wissler, CaliforniaPatrick Ramsey, California

Honorary Directors:

Allan Curthoys, New YorkJulia Goldstein, Canberra ACT,AUSTRALIA

For Quarterly Submissions:

If you wish to submit material tothe Quarterly, please write or callfor guidelines.

Contribute Your Utmost To Universal Welfare

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

Editorial

Change

Christopher Gibson

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole ex-

perience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring

adventure or nothing.” - Helen Keller

For a little over a year now life has been a daring adven-ture for everyone working at Church of Light head-

quarters. In February 2005 we purchased a new property inAlbuquerque. By August we left the apparent security ofSouthern California and set out on the adventure of movingChurch Headquartersinto its new home. Notonly did our officesmove, but at the sametime like a game of musi-cal chairs each of us whowork at headquartersmoved our own homes.Since last summer it hasfelt as though someunique conspiracy hasengaged us all in remod-eling and landscape re-newal simultaneouslywith the process of land-scaping Church of Lightheadquarters.

Throughout the chaosand confusion of con-tractors and workers, de-moli t ion andconstruction, we havecontinued to work at thebusiness of managing theChurch of Light. As anygardener knows onceyou start disturbing thesoi l both crops andweeds have the opportu-nity to grow. Fortunately for us, amidst the disruptions inour personal and professional environments we havebrought forth remarkable fruit. The Elizabeth D. BenjamineMemorial Garden is nearing completion. Soon the plantswill be in the ground and continuing a growth cycle of theirown that will provide pleasure to many in the years to come.

Tarot Arcanum XX portrayed on the front page of thisQuarterly is the pictured symbolism of the energies of theMoon. These domestic energies express as home, nurtur-ing, family, growth, and evolution. We have just passed theyear mark since the Church moved into its nurturing new

home. Through classes,services, and seminarswe have developed afamily of well-wisherswho are now membersand passing the courses.Our membership at largeis also evolving. This hasbeen a record year formembers advancing tothe level of Hermetician.

Amajor accomplishmentin the last year was pub-lishing The Sacred Tarotin a handsome hard-bound format. Currentlywe are working on get-ting the remainder of thelessons similarly format-ted in order to eventuallypublish a complete set ofhardbound books. A col-ored deck of the Egyp-tian Tarot is also in theworks.

Another daring adven-ture of the past year hasbeen the reactivation of

The Order Of The Sphinx (TOOTS). The Order has takenup the task of coordinating the 2007 Church of Light Con-vention to be held June 22 – 24 in Albuquerque. You canread more about this exciting event in this issue. Hopefullyyou the membership will be up for the daring adventure oflearning and exploring with us at the convention next sum-mer. �

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


Stellarian Cosmology

On The Nature of Numbers

Peter Tourian, Hermetician

Numbers are familiar, in one sense or another, to everyindividual. They are used to count, make change, or

purchase a home. What is not as well known is that in theminds of the ancients, numbers were not simply quantities,but also qualities. Each number possessed a basic energy,which could notbe confusedwith anyother. It is inthis vein thatI begin towrite today.Through in-vestigations,I have cometo a point ofsatisfactionas to how togenerallysummarizethe ancientconceptionof numbers,not only asquantities,but as arche-types.

Where elseto begin whenspeaking ofnumber than with “One”? “One” is a Unified field, it iscomplete and perfect, and is not broken or divided in anyway. Perhaps one can think of “One” as the undisturbed sur-face of a pond. Its nature is uniform, potentiate. All thingsemanate from the One. In this sense, “One” is most closelyaligned with the Source and Creator of all things, God.While “One” certainly cannot be God, as God is greaterthan any label, and cannot be quantified or qualified, “One”is the number that best represents God, in the sense that theLord is Perfect and Universal in Scope.

Perpetuating existence simply as “One” however, is limit-ing, in the sense that so long as everything is uniform, noth-ing else may exist. For whatever, reason, the Lord deemed it

meet that manifestation and Creation should occur. The ar-gument that will be followed and elaborated in this essay isthat The Lord (1) divided (2) in order to interact (3), thusforming Reality (4). As we shall see, while this may or maynot entirely summarize the thinking of the ancients, it istaken by the author as a good start.

Following the argument above, then, the Lord deemed itmeet to create a Universe of multiplicity from the unifor-mity of the unmanifest state. The first logical step, then, is toportion off a part of the Universal Substance called “One”,thus yielding “Two”. That is, in order to introduce differ-ence and duplicity into the world, the Lord divided againstitself. This initiated that quantity that we call “Two”. “Two”then, introduces the concepts of polarity, opposition, andseparation. And it is in this framework that we compare it to“One”. Now, “One”, as the first of all the numbers, must bepositive to anything that comes after it. While in itsunmanifest state, there was no label that would be appropri-ate to give to “One” (as any label must be compared against

s o m e t h i n gelse for anyu t i l i t y ) ,o n c e“Two” wasc r e a t e d ,then “One”takes uponitself a rela-tive term aspositive to“Two”, itsn e g a t i v e .T h u s ,“One” and“ T w o ” ,when theyare in ac-tual mani-fes ta t ion ,form the ar-c h e t y p a le x a mp l e sof Positive


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

(1) and Negative (2). Thus, at this point in the State of Cre-ation, there exist two oppositions, but there is not yet inter-action.

As ideas, as premises completely, consider White andBlack. They are polar opposites. And as such, there is nohint of White in Black, nor Black in White. They are as farapart ideologically as possible. Thus, in this primitive state,when only “One”and “Two”, orPositive andNegative, ex-ist, there isyet no inter-action. It isonly with theadvent of“Three” thatany interac-tion whatso-ever becomesp o s s i b l e .“Three” is thebridge thato v e r c o me sthe gap be-tween oppo-sites of allsorts. It is thepoint of com-promise be-tween al lsuch polari-ties. If we con-sider White as “One” and Black as “Two”, then “Three” isGrey. It is the meeting point of all opposites. If “One” isPositive, and “Two” Negative, then “Three” is Neutral. If“One” is Acid and “Two” is Base, then “Three” is neutralonce again. The list goes on and on.

It is with the advent of “Three”, which in its mathematicaloperation is formed of the combination, or sum, of “One”and “Two”, that communication between the oppositesformed with the advent of “Two” is possible. Thus “Three”represents equilibrium, compromise, balance. It is the mid-point of extremes, and as such allows the Creation to comefully into being. Verily, in virtually all religions, the “Three”is essential to the platform of Creation. While God (as mostclosely demonstrated by “One”) stands back of and prior toCreation, it is only with the Trinity that Creation itself be-comes possible. That is, “Three”, as the mediator betweenextremes, allows not only diverse ideas, such as White andBlack, to exist, but also an interaction between them. It iswith this interaction that things are formed, and that com-munication of any sort occurs.

Recall that it is one of the premises of this paper that “TheLord (1) divided (2) in order to interact (3), thus formingReality (4)”. This then gets us ¾ of the way towards ourgoal. And as we shall see later, each of the other single digits(1-9) merely repeat this first basic pattern of positive, nega-tive, neutral, varying only upon the level in which this oc-curs.

“One” then, represents the Positive Creative Force that isback of all Creation. “Two” represents the Vessel, as it iscalled in Kabbalistic literature, that provides a fertile soil forthe action of “One”, and “Three” is the outcome of the unionof “One” and “Two”. Following “Three” is the number“Four”. Now, “Four” has a dual nature, in the sense that itdescribes the end result of one process, as well as the begin-ning of a second. If we imagine “One” as a Father, Positivein its nature, and “Two” as a Mother, negative in her recep-tion of the creative potentialities of the Father, then “Three”would represent their offspring, the child that results fromtheir union. That child is, genetically, partially derived fromits father and partially from its mother, and thus assumes aneutrality between them. Of course the sex of the child is notneutral, but in the sense that the child is comprised of por-tions of the father and portions of the mother, it is such.

This triad, though, Father, Mother, Child, introduces a newgroup, called the

Family. TheFamily isunified in itsexperience,yet com-posed of sev-e r a lindividuals.Thus as thesame time,the Family issingular andseveral. Thisnew unity,comprised ofF a t h e r ,Mother, andChild , de-scribes thenature of“ F o u r ” ,which is inone sense a

repetition ofthe original posi-

tive energy, as representing a singularity of a different order,and in another sense, a new and more complex creation, theresult of the interaction of the triad preceding it. All of thesingle digits that come between “Three” and Ten, then, arebut repetitions of the initial three energies established by the

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


first three digits. They do, however, differ in the complexityof their expression.

There is another vantage point from which we should ob-serve “Four”, however, and that is as has been expressedthrough the Four Element system of the ancients, the DivineName of God of the Jews, YHVH, and even the Tetraktys ofPythagoras. Perhaps the easiest way to penetrate this idea isto consider it geometrically. The simplest geometric form(if we can even call it that) which can be drawn is the point.This is the initiation of all creation, and is synonymous with“One”. It represents the potential to exist, but not existenceitself. If we move that point relative to itself, we arrive at thefirst one-dimensional structure, the line. The line haslength, and two directions, but no other dimensions. It rep-resents two, as two limits must necessarily encase one di-mension. The only form of motion that is possible, as well,is a vacillation between two extremes, which well describesour previous conception of “Two”.

If that line is again moved against itself, it describes a flatsurface, the first plane figure. To keep things simple, wewill consider this as a square, though it could also be a rect-angle of any size. Thus, in order to encompass a two-dimen-sional form, one that has length and width, but no depth,three limits are required. Finally, consider that this planefigure, a square, is moved against itself. The object that isformed, a cube, is the first three-dimensional figure. It is thefirst entity that has length, width, and depth. As such, it iswell descriptive of our world, which is three-dimensional incharacter. While modern science discusses four dimensionsand above, in the world in which we live, which is a three di-mensional world where objects occupy space, I cannotspeak with any degree of understanding regarding this.

Thus, we see that in a three dimensional world, four limitsare necessary to define any object. The same line of reason-ing applies to the formation of a point, line, triangle, and tet-rahedron, or a point, line, circle (if the line is rotated), andsphere. In all cases, four limits are needed to describe athree-dimensional world.

There are occult reasons that go beyond these as well, but itis not my place here to discuss or describe these. The stu-dent, in his or her own due time, will come across thisfour-fold schema as it relates to such things. Here, however,we have the justification for the four element system of theancients, which I hope you will see by now was not so sim-plistic a view as one may have supposed, the Tetragramma-ton of the Jews, and the Tetraktys of Pythagoras. That is, in athree dimensional world, it requires no less than four stepsto go from potentiality (as represented by “One”) to actual-ity (as represented by “Four”). This then, demonstrates thebasic thinking of our ancestors, and as will hopefully beshown, forms the basis of our entire numerical system.

The importance of the first three quantities, and the return tounity represented by “Four”, are essential to the under-

standing of number theory as it was created and propagatedby the ancients. Note that 1+2+3+4=10. Considered figura-tively, in order to actualize anything in the Universe, it isnecessary first to formulate it, incubate it, after which it willbe born. This triad results in a new unity of a higher order.The equivalence that may be drawn between 4 and 10 in ournumber system can be no accident. The ancients used twonumerical operations to relate numbers to each other. InTheosophical Reduction, the integers of a number aresummed until they reduce to a single digit number. This isthe basis of the argument that in truth there are but 9 arche-types, all numbers beyond this being reducible to a singledigit, and therefore possessing the basic quality of thatnumber. For example, the number 843 is composed of an 8,4, and 3. 8+4+3=15=1+5=6. Therefore, the number 843 hasthe quality of the number 6, which will be described shortly.All composite numbers can be reduced so. This plays animportant part in simplifying the numerical statements ofour spiritual ancestors.

The second mathematical operation used by the ancients iscalled Theosophical Addition, and has already been dem-onstrated. In Theosophical Addition, the numbers up to andincluding a chosen number are summed, and then reducedby Theosophical Reduction to a single digit. This processallows us to demonstrate mathematically the relationshipbetween 4 and 10.

4: 1+2+3+4=10=1+0=1

10=1=0=1

Therefore, in one way or another, though obviously not lit-erally, 4 and 10 are related to each other. They are, in theirown unique ways, each a return to the Unity represented by1. Summing 7 will also reveal that generally, as we have al-ready described, there are but three basic archetypes, eventhe single digits 4-9 being repetitions of these basic 3. Wewill investigate later why then we use 9 digits to countrather than three.

7=1+2+3+4+5+6+7=28=2+8=10=1+0=1

Applying the same techniques to any number removed bythree from 1 will reveal the same pattern: that every thirddigit is a return to the unity. In the same way, every thirdnumber from 2, such as 5, 8, etc. will be repetitions of theenergy of opposition. And finally, every third number from3, such as 6, 9, etc. will demonstrate the qualities of 3, theresolution and reunion of opposites.


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

A final note should here be added regarding the number 10.It is, in numerical symbolism, the perfect return to a unity ofa different order. The circle, which has been used from timeimmemorial to represent a completed cycle, is linked to oursymbol for unity, 1. The fact that the 1, however, is followedby a circle, representing the completion of one cycle, tellsus that 10 is indeed a unity, but one of a higher order.

All this talk, however, of the importance of the triad begsthe question, “If 3 is so important to the ancient conceptionof counting, why then do we consider 9 single archetypes?”(The tenth being similar to the fourth, in that it is both acompletion of one cycle, and the commencement of thenext.) While the numbers 4-9 are repetitions of the firstthree, they are so upon a different plane of action. Perhapsthe easiest way to demonstrate this is with the Tetraktys ofPythagoras.

�

��

��

��

This diagram was so important to the Pythagoreans thatthey used to swear an oath by it:

“I swear by the discoverer of the Tetraktys, which is thespring of all our wisdom, The perennial fount and root ofNature.” (The Pythagorean Sourcebook, p.28) As we havealready mentioned, the Tetraktys is one of the manners inwhich the ancient spiritual teaching that Creation is madepossible through the division and interaction of a whole, al-ways allowing for movement to a new level, is relayed. Ifwe again treat of the number 4, which represents a return tounity of a new order, and thus both a completion and a newstarting point, we see that at the same time it is both com-posed of 4 and 10. As “Four”, it represents a new unityformed of the individual components of 1,2, and 3. To clar-ify, remember our example of Father, Mother, and Child,creating a new unity of a higher order, the Family. As ten, it

is also possible to use Theosophical Addition to show that1+2+3+4=10. If instead of using abstract symbols to showthese numbers, we use dots, we will see that 4 is literally 10in some ways.

� + �� + �� + �� = ��

This demonstrates that “Four”, as we might so wonderfullyexpect from our spiritual ancestors, denotes both an endingand a beginning, a completion of one phase of existence,and the commencement of a new phase withal. We our-selves still operate under a similar frame of mind when wecall the graduation of a student from university a Com-mencement. As a graduation, it is the completion of alengthy and demanding period of study. However, as a com-mencement it is also the beginning of a new phase of activ-ity, one that holds much promise, but also new challengesand pitfalls. As there is an equivalence between 4, the com-pletion of an old phase of activity, and 10, the commence-ment of a new phase of activity, we are led to believe thatthese concepts were somehow linked in the minds of ourspiritual ancestors.

The second way in which to explain the use of 9 archetypesby the ancients is to again consider their perspective in de-veloping such a system. There is an old occult axiom thatwhere there is existence, there is intelligence, movement,and substance. (Course I, Laws of Occultism) Notice againthat we witness the Trinity: Intelligence, the positive factorrelates to the number 1, Movement, as an oscillation be-tween two poles, 2, and substance, 3, as the outcome of thefirst two energies. In the minds of the ancients, also, thereexisted not one, but three planes of existence: the SpiritualPlane, positive to all others, the Mental Plane, negative tothe Spiritual, and the Physical Plane, the outcome of the in-teraction of the first two. Put another way, Spirit, actingthrough Mind, creates Matter.

Recalling our axiom from before, we know that in theminds of our spiritual ancestors, in order for existence to oc-cur on any plane, there must be present Intelligence, Move-ment, and Substance. Therefore, for the Spiritual Plane, that

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


which is positive to all others, to come into being, it requiresIntelligence, Movement, and Substance of a spiritual sort.This triad relates to 1, 2, and 3. Once the Spiritual Plane ex-ists, it is possible to begin construction on the Mental Plane.Again, the Mental Plane, in order to be complete, must pos-sess Intelligence, Movement, and Substance. This triad re-lates to the numbers 4, 5, and 6, which are subordinate to 1,2, and 3, but superior to 7, 8, and 9, the final triad. Once theMental Plane is complete, all that is left is to install thePhysical Plane, of course remembering that here too we re-quire Intelligence, Movement, and Substance to do so. Thistriad relates to the numbers 7, 8, and 9, and completes ourennead. The number 10, and the return to a Unity of a higherorder that it signifies, reminds us that our God is Infinite,and that therefore His Creation is as well. While it might beeasier for us to conceive of “a Universe with borders”, itwould not be half as much fun! We would lose the wonderand mystery that come with being a person of faith, one whobelieves in the unsearchable nature of God, a God that con-

tinues to amaze us with novel Creations and Displays. Maythe Lord our God Bless you in your efforts, and may all ofthose efforts be guided by that Highest Principle that asks ofus to offer Good in all that we do.

Summary: We have here witnessed that all numbers are butalternative manifestations of three basic archetypes: that ofUnity, as represented by 1, Division, as represented by 2,and Interaction, as represented by 3. Recall that it is one ofthe basic assertions of this essay that The Lord divided in or-der to interact, creating Reality. This three-fold nature ofCreation (with “Four” representing a return to Unity of ahigher order) stands back of all number theory. We haveseen that there is a correlation between 4, a return to Unityof a higher order, and 10, the demonstration of a return toUnity, after having completed one cycle. And finally, wehave outlined a fair hypothesis as regards the link betweenthe three basic archetypes represented by numbers, and the9 single digits that we use for all of our mathematical needs.�

The Tablets of Aeth

Tablet The Fifth

Mars Ä

“An immense helmet on pedestal, across which a streak of

lightning lashes; beside it a naked child painting pictures on

the helmet; beneath, a broken sword.”

Lightning instantly reveals the clear light of truth to those who can perceive. The result of violence is death in varyingdegrees, but the path of life is in nurturing the masses, the paths of peace and the resolutions of the causes of war. The

fruit of bad leadership is death, but how many must die?

The irony of innocence breaks the sword of war, but for how long and how many generations until it finds new roots?Then what would one write to express the disappointment of such destruction or find words to express to prevent such fu-ture upheaval?

The creative urge must necessarily direct constructive paths for the positive benefit of serving the masses, not creativeways to destroy life. The true tests of tolerance, forgiveness, compassion and their relatives are during the most trying anddifficult moments. The Universe pauses and silently waits for the constructive or destructive personal and individualchoice: the reaction. It is there at the moment of reaction that the lightning strikes the clear flash of revealing truth. Pay at-tention then and perceive in ways to learn, grow and change toward enlightened paths.

Those who design war design their own ruin and failure as evidenced by the lessons of history. When will the masseslearn from history? The true legacy of violence is innocence and peace because the perpetrators either learn that the waysof violence are self-defeating or they perish in the process. Therefore use the energies and resources that would be de-voted to war to nurture all peoples. �

Patrick Ramsey,

Membership Minister


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

Mars

REFLECTION

Part II, Chapter II, TABLET THE FIFTH

“Can greater irony be shown than in this astral symbol. Mars is externallyrepresented as a fierce warrior, awful to behold; the reality, a little child,

painting toy pictures on the helmet, too big for his curly head. The lesson inthis is indeed, that the pen is mightier than the sword; that the big and bluster-

ing helmet will become a plaything for the child. Soon, that the sword ofbloodshed, rape, and ruin, will be broken and war relegated to the past,

looked at, but, as pictures, painted with hideous reality by the childhood ofthe race.

“The symbol also reveals the great executive forces of humanity, the child.The soul can paint, execute its ideas, its hopes and its fears in any color—thelurid red of blood, the black of ignorance and crime, or in the living light of

beauty. All the same, it is the childhood of man painting its ideas in thmaterial world.”

“O child of Adam, curb the anger of Mars, that thy painting may set the dove at liberty.Let the magic of thy soul transform the savage of the desert into the angel of mercy.”

�

Mars.

“An immense helmet on pedestal, across which a streak of lightning flashes; beside it a

naked child painting pictures on the helmet; beneath, a broken sword.”

From the Light of Egypt, Vol. II by T.H. Burgoyne“...The Tablets of AETH, ...constitute a

spiritual astrology, a spiritual science of the stars, void of mathematics, yet possessing all the

exactitude of figures, constructed on the principles of astronomy, yet expressed by

the methods of the Kabbalah.....”

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


Stellarian Honor GuardApril 1, 2006 – June 30, 2006

To those who financially support the workof spreading the Religion of the Stars, weare truly grateful.

Guardian Angels contribute more than

$500 in a quarter. The Stellarian Honor

Guard includes those who contribute be-

tween $100 and $500 per quarter. Regular

Contributors form the solid foundationfrom which the church can work and grow.Thank you.

May we all grow and prosper together!

Guardian Angels

AnonymousBarbara & Donald BakerSteve & Bessie CarrothersAdriana DonofrioRev. Dr. Russ Durocher &

Universal Life FellowshipMargaret JoscherJewell RichmanRay M. Watson TrustDorothy & Roland Wissler

Stellarian Honor Guard

AnonymousPatricia BeardKeith BenjaminDolly BonsalPaul & Vicki Brewer

Erika CasuseFlorence DawsonMeg DissingerSedrick EmeryRuben EstrellaChristopher GibsonShanti GomezBob & Shirley HallKate M. KennedyAllyn McCrayBlanchard NashRadine & Patrick RamseySylvia SetzlerEmma SungLyonna Tong

Regular Contributors

AnonymousNicole ArcandBenjamin BadowskiLaurie BattleEarik BeannBarbara BrandonAllan CurthoysDonna DeatheragePage DickeyViola DyerWinnie Fajardo & IrinCorrine FordRobert GilmanBarbara Kniffen

Maria Lozada &Dee Wellmon

Ann M. MartinJoan OuimetteRandahl PurchaseDavid RhodesL. Michael RussellJames Bryant Seals Jr.Dudley & William SladeIzabella SuleymanovaJoan Titsworth MarstellerFern Tucker


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

desired to express protection by such a higher power.

The only other conspicuous symbol is the scarab. Thescarab belongs to a family of beetles whose members arecommon not only in Egypt but also in America. They laytheir eggs in a little ball of filth which they roll along theground to a deep hole which they have excavated in theearth. They drop this ball, which is a miniature of our terres-trial sphere, into the hole and then fill in the space above itwith earth. When the larva hatch, they live on the organicmatter of the ball, stilldeep in the ground, asman born into earthlyconditions must gainmental food from sor-did as well as morepleasant experiences.

But the grub of thescarab — the Ameri-can variety of whichwhen they find them inthe cow pastures, asthey do commonly inspring, the farmerboys call tumble-bugs— does not remain en-cased in the filth, nordoes he stay deeplyburied in the darkground. When he has had enough food to mature, he under-goes a change, and emerges with wings. No longer is he tiedto earth, and no longer does he live in filth. Instead, now heis free, like the soul after death, to fly wherever his desiresshall prompt him.

Thus was the scarab sacred to the Egyptians as symbolizingthat most cherished thought, that the unconscious mind ofman does not perish with the change that overtakes the bodyin physical death, but arises from the earthly tomb and con-tinues life, with all its better associations, in a realm abovethe scene of its former sorrow and strife.

And although most religions hold to the persistence of thepersonality after physical death, a curious paradox exists;for most of these believers have set their faces obduratelyagainst anyone who is willing to offer definite proof thatsuch survival is an actual fact. But I need not here mentionand list the names of the many outstanding persons in thedomain of material science who have taken every precau-tion to prevent deception, and after investigating in a thor-oughly scientific manner, have publicly announced, eventhough they knew it meant a certain martyrdom to do so,that they had demonstrated satisfactorily the continuationof conscious life beyond the tomb.

Instead of citing these evidences which were consideredproof, it seems better to point to certain things we now know

in the realm of material science as indicative of how it ispossible for those after life experiences to take place, whichare implied by the tarot design of the family being resur-rected to continue its functions in other spheres.

Should I mention Einstein and his General Theory of Rela-tivity, at once many people will get the impression that I amtalking about something that perhaps only twelve people inthe world have enough brains to understand. And I certainlyam not one of the twelve who understand the complex math-

ematical equa-tion by whichEinstein ex-presses the gen-eral law which heseeks to prove; Ido not evenknow the signifi-cance of , thema t h e ma t i c a lsymbols used.

But to under-stand Newton’sconception ofgravitation as ap-plied to the orbsof the solar sys-tem it was notnecessary to un-

derstand the complex mathematics by which he could plotthe precise position of a planet in its orbit at any given time.Nor it is necessary to have much mathematical knowledgeto grasp many of the outstanding implications of Einstein’stheory. In fact, I feel sure that the average person, with a rea-sonable amount of study, can quite well grasp the signifi-cance of the principles involved in Einstein’s GeneralTheory of Relativity.

That theory was formulated in the attempt to explain ob-served facts in physics which classical mechanics and noprevious theory could explain. It may be true, and it may beerroneous; but at least it is an aggressive attempt to find asolution to a problem that so far had not been solved byother means. It may be only part true, and thus needs alter-ation. But we may be sure that man’s ingenuity before longwill find methods of testing it more fully in an experimentalway, and that as soon as such tests are devised in sufficientnumber, that it will become established as a part of scientificknowledge, or discarded in favor of some otherexplanation.

The only excuse for dragging in the controversial name ofEinstein is that some of the outstanding factors of his Gen-eral Theory of Relativity coincide with what is known of theinner plane on which the unconscious mind, or soul, of manfunctions after death. This theory holds that the classicalideas about time, space and gravitation are applicable to that

Continued from Page 1

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


which moves with the more commonly observed velocities;but that as the velocity of light is approached, the classicallaws of gravitation no longer apply, space no longer has therelations commonly assigned to it, and time slows down. Amaterial body, for instance, moving at the rate of 160,000miles per second, according to the Theory, would shrink toabout half of its previous length. As a body requires veloc-ity, it increases in mass also. And as a clock gains velocity, itslows down, until at the speed of light it comes to astandstill.

According to this General Theory of Relativity, “A materialbody cannot have a velocity greater than light. The velocityof light forms the upper limit of velocities for all materialbodies.”

Whether or not Einstein’s theory holds up in detail, certainof its implications fit with observed occult experience. TheGeneral Theory leads us to expect that if the velocity of lightwere exceeded, conditions would be present not dissimilarto those revealed by our inner plane experiences, in the ob-served influence of planetary energies upon human life, andin the exercise of Extra Sensory Perception.

It is not implied that time, space and gravitation are non-ex-istent on the inner plane, where I believe the velocity is inexcess of light; but they certainly do take on characteristicsnot possessed by material bodies, the velocities of which areless than that of light. In reference to gravitation,intelligences — possessing a thought-built body of innerplane substance — are able to move from place to place al-most instantly; and by changing the vibratory rate to ascendto higher planes, or descend to those lower. That is, throughthought and feeling, beings on the inner plane are able toovercome gravitational resistance.

It will be remembered that last winter the Zenith Foundationconducted, in connection with a highly commendable thirtyweeks radio program, a series of tests relative to telepathyand the little known powers of the mind. They were able tocollect a tremendous amount of material, and to conductmass tests, receiving over a quarter of a million pieces ofmail. They have issued a little summary of their findings. Inreference to time and space, I believe it will carry moreweight if I quote from this summary, than merely to citepersonal observation:

About space: “That distance and space are not factors intelepathic communications seems definitely indicated bycareful analysis of test returns by geographical divisions.”

About time: “Authenticated personal experiences indicatethat time is not a factor in telepathic communication. Pos-session of the ability to visualize in detail events which havenot happened, a phenomenon science calls precognition,seems but slightly less rare than telepathy itself.”

Summing up, this excellent preliminary report points out:“As a result, listener reports on many of the tests made on

Zenith radio programs indicate a deviation from mathemat-ical laws of chance by such a margin as to seem withoutquestion to indicate the functioning of little known mentalpowers. In fact, the odds against some of the test results be-ing attributable to chance reached the amazing total of 1 to10,000,000,000,000,000,000.”

Now if Einstein is correct, or even if his assumption is cor-rect, relative to the velocity of light being the upper bound-ary of that which belongs to the domain of the physical, thismeans that light, radiation, and electromagnetic waves,which often are classed as etheric energies, and which whentraveling in space have the velocity of light, are transitionalenergies, right on the line between the physical world andthe astral world. And all observation indicates that it is onlythrough etheric energies — the generation and radiation ofwhich was explained in some detail in connection with Ma-jor Arcanum I, in the February, 1937, issue of AMERICANASTROLOGY MAGAZINE — which have this bound-ary-line velocity, that the physical plane can in any way ex-ercise an influence over the inner plane, or that the innerplane can exercise any influence over the physical.

All the physical phenomena of mediumship utilize the elec-tromagnetic forces of the medium, and commonly of otherspresent also, to produce whatever results take place. Theelectromagnetic field of force can be given a consistency,for instance, by which it can be used as a cantilever to moveobjects at a distance. And every physical type of séanceroom occurrence — levitation, etherealization, trumpetspeaking, table rapping, and materialization — can satisfac-torily be explained through the use of this boundary-line en-ergy, which, whether the ether really exists or not, it isconvenient to generalize as etheric.

Furthermore, all that man experiences is retained by his un-conscious mind, which is an organization occupying the in-ner plane. Memory, or the recognition of anythingapprehended by the senses of the unconscious mind, re-quires that the boundary between the two planes be crossed,through imparting movements to the boundary-line ethericenergies, which in turn imparts them to the cells of the phys-ical brain. And objective thought itself, because it must al-ways utilize factors remembered, makes the crossingbetween the two planes through etheric energies necessary.

Let us recognize that mind and thought and a duplicate ofeverything of the physical world, and in addition many ob-jects and intelligences that have no physical world counter-part, occupy the inner plane. And by virtue of the velocitiescustomary on this inner plane that gravitation, space andtime are quite different than on the physical.

But let us not make the mistake of concluding that becausethey are different that on that plane they are non-existent. Itwas once thought that the transmission of light across space,from Sun to earth, for instance, was instantaneous. Nomethods of testing it had then been devised. And it is true


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

that such a velocity as 186,000 miles per second could notbe imagined a few hundred years ago.

I, along with others, find it easy to speak of the inner planeas a place of four dimensions, because the properties ofthings there in so many respects are those which another di-mension seems to imply. But this certainly does not signifythat all who thus speak of it consider time just another fixeddimension, down which our consciousness merely travelsits predestined way. In a recent very fine article, nearly all ofwhich I can endorse, the writer closes by quoting from SirArthur Eddington as follows:

“In a perfectly determined scheme the past and future maybe regarded as lying mapped out — as much available topresent exploitation as the distant parts of space. That anevent has occurred is merely to say that the observer has onhis voyage of exploration passed into the absolute future ofthe event in question. Events are no more successive thanthings in space. Past and present are not distinctions in real-ity, but only in our minds.”

The writer then goes on to say: “Read it and weep, Mr.Kelly, for Eddington says exactly what we astrologers be-lieve, something that your ‘scientific mind’ has not yetgrasped.”

I am inclined to believe, in her quite justified enthusiasmthis writer may have gone beyond what she really believes;and certainly I have no desire to criticize any little overstate-ment, in an otherwise splendid article. But at the same timein regard to the completely FATALISTIC attitude implied,in the defense of astrology itself from critics of astrologywho may use this as the basis of future attacks, I must reportthat I have in my file the names and addresses of 134 astrol-ogers, most of whom are teaching astrological classes, andthose who are not are practicing astrology, not one of whombelieves in the view expressed by Eddington.

Even material science, when it works with electrons, pho-tons and radiations, has no method of predicting the behav-ior of individuals. Things with smaller velocities, like theplanets moving in their orbits, have a course that can bemapped and predetermined, as instanced by the plotting inadvance of the positions of the planets at given moments oftime in the astrological ephemeris. But science does noteven pretend thus to be able to plot the individual action ofparticles having the velocity of light.

Instead, it resorts to the QUANTUM THEORY, in whichSTATISTICS are employed to determine from the averagebehavior of a group of particles the PROBABILITY thatany selected individual particle will behave so-and-so. Andas human character occupies a plane where velocities areeven greater than light, it, should not be expected that thebehavior of a particular individual can be positively prede-termined. Human conduct itself is NOT PREDETER-MINED by the stars or by anything else. But if an individualbelongs to a certain astrological classification, the PROBA-

BILITY that his behavior under a definite astrologicalcondition will be so-and-so may be better than 1,000 to 1.

From my own 38 years of astrological study, and the 14years work of The Brotherhood of Light Research Depart-ment, I have become convinced that it will never be possibleto predict with absolute certainty that such-and-such anevent will happen in an individual’s life. More and more Ibecome convinced that INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY existsrather than any PREDETERMINED COURSE. But I amequally convinced in regard to innumerable highly impor-tant matters of human life, that when the STATISTICS havebeen worked out as the Constant for a certain event or con-dition, that the PROBABILITY of it coming to pass as indi-cated by the astrological factors is much greater than onehundred to one.

Even when things are seen clairvoyantly, in the manner nowtermed precognition, they are NOT PREDESTINED. Ourexperience investigating ESP and inner plane life indicatesthat the PROBABILITY may be high that the matter willcome to pass as clairvoyantly seen. But we have had manyexperiences which convince us that even here liberty ofchoice and action exist, and that up to the moment an eventhas actually transpired — no matter if powerfully indicatedastrologically or perceived through precognition — thereoften is opportunity to prevent it, or to make it come to passin a different manner. I should like to go on record, there-fore, in this matter of looking down time as a fixed dimen-sion of unalterable events, that I voice the opinion of manyastrologers when I say that neither in the birth chart nor inprogressions have we ever found anything in support of thetheory of PREDESTINATION or FATALITY.

It certainly is true, that time relations change when the ve-locity of light is exceeded. Precognition proves that the un-conscious mind, belonging to the inner plane, is able toovercome the common limitations of time. But that does notsignify that events in time are unalterably fixed, merely thatthe unconscious mind is able to perceive the PROBABILI-TIES that certain things will come to pass, and that thesePROBABILITIES may be very great.

Space and gravitation also undergo vast changes. Thosewho have passed through the sepulcher, Arcanum XX, livehenceforth on the inner plane. And it is possible for them toclothe themselves through the processes of thought, to usethought to assist in the building of homes, and to moveabout and communicate one with another.

On whatever level of the inner plane they abide, they canwalk about much as we walk along the streets or through thegardens of earth. But — and this is one of the reasons whywe speak as if there were another dimension — they canalso move through great distances, from one location to an-other, almost instantly through the power of thought.

Strangest of all — and also giving the feel of another dimen-sion — the inner plane life is not lived on a single surface, as

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


is the case of earth. There are innumerable levels of exis-tence. Yet these are not levels in the common three-dimen-sional sense. Instead they are vibratory levels.

The principle of resonance is the deciding-factor, notmerely on what level an individual will function, but whatregion he will occupy at a given time on that level. We areno longer dealing with physical objects, we are dealing withvelocities, the nearest approach to which with which we arefamiliar are those used in radio. The unconscious mind ofeach individual, both while on earth and afterward, is both areceiving set and a broadcasting set. But on the inner plane,when one tunes in on a condition, that implies — becausespace relations there are different — that he is actuallythere.

In the United States there are 728 licensed radio stations.Let us suppose each was broadcasting on a different fre-quency a program which was characteristic of the refine-ment or gross tastes of the particular station. This wouldcorrespond to 728 distinct levels of the astral world on eachof which intelligences live, move and have their being.

If you have a proper receiving set — which in the after-lifemeans basic character vibrations and thoughts — you couldtune in on any one of these 728 different levels. And whenyou had thus tuned in — space and gravitation being differ-ent — you would actually be on that level taking part in itslife. And while on that level, you would probably be as un-conscious of what was taking place on the other 727 levels,as you now are of the programs being broadcast by the 727

other radio stations when in your own home you have tunedyour radio set to your favorite program.

Yet within the limit of your set — that is, in terms of after —death life, within the limits of your spirituality and ability toraise or lower temporarily the thought-vibration — you canshut off the program you now hear and tune in on another.On that inner plane, that means that you move up or down toa different level of existence.

The program there, however, is more adaptable to your re-quirements than that of radio; because on any one level —corresponding to so many kilocycles in radio — you canmove about with even more freedom than you do on earth,selecting spots to enjoy, or visiting places that are not pleas-ant. And on any such level, you converse with the inhabit-ants, observe the scenery, and have a freedom which theradio does not afford.

I do not think that the ancient wise ones who designed Ma-jor Arcanum XX, envisioned the development of radio, hadany conception of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity,or had gone into the QUANTUM Theory. But I am con-vinced, from what they relate on the tarot pictures, that theyDID NOT believe in FATE OR PREDESTINATION, andthat they knew much about the conditions of life afterphysical dissolution.

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Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

Travelogue: Egypt 2005

“Return to Spirit” ... a Journey of Enlightenment(part 2 of 4)

Allyn McCray

Day 2 - The Great Pyramids and the Sphinx

Call to prayer at 4:00 am. Sleep deprivation mounts. Afterour breakfast at the Garden Restaurant, we took a veryquick bus ride to the pyramids that towered over our hotel.Built supposedly to holdPharaoh Khufu’s tombsome time during the earlyOld Kingdom (2707-2216BC), this pyramid’s sheersize, astronomically pre-cise geographic orientationas it relates to the NorthPole, the North Star, and tothe constellation of Orion’sBelt, and geometricallyperfect architecture havegenerated centuries of con-troversy, speculation andmystery.

We began our visit by en-tering a building thathoused Pharaoh Khufu’sboat. It was found buried ina large rectangular holejust outside of the pyramid. The Japanese found anotherboat similar to it, which was housed outside of the pyramidin a separate building and not accessible to the public. Wehad to put on giant burlap booties to protect the hardwoodfloors. Clumsily, we made our way around this massive boatfor a close look. It showed signs of actual use and probablyneeded a crew of around 50 oarsmen to man it. It wasequipped with “air conditioning” which was accomplishedby dipping palm mats into the water and laying them overthe King’s stateroom.

Emil then parted the Red Sea and arranged for us to bypassthe crowds of people standing in line for a ticket to enter theGreat Pyramid. We went right in. Emil did this seamlesslyand almost without anyone’s notice. The Great Pyramid ofGiza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, wasthen closed to the public while our little group of 12 had 45minutes of private time. WOW, how special is that! We en-tered the Pyramid and began our long and steep ascentthrough the Great Gallery to the King’s Chamber, wherethere stands an uncovered sarcophagus. Michala had appar-

ently arrived before us and prepared a cloth altar for us inthe center of the chamber. It was then I remembered to pullout my pendulum and the coin that Meg gave me to place onthe altar. Michala then began to lead the group in a breathing

exercise meant for cleans-ing. The chamber was ago-nizingly hot and sticky.Every deep breath that cameforth from members of ourgroup seemed to intensifythe humidity My heart be-gan to slow as I laid flat onmy back listening to the mu-sic and the breathing. Myeyes fixated on the ceilingand for a few minutes I wasin a semi-paralyzed statetrying to zero in on thestrange but vaguely familiaranxiety that had settled onmy chest.

The chamber echoed withinhales and exhales thatgrew louder and deeper. Itsounded as if the walls

themselves were breathing and moaning in unison with us. Ibecame aware that Dean and Cary were not in the chamberand wondered briefly where they were. Michala camearound to ask me if I was okay. I wondered if she wasprompted to do so because I was acting strangely. In anyevent, I decided to get up and view this mysterious chamberfull of people laying flat on their backs engaged in rhythmicbreathing. Comic relief was provided to this otherwise sur-real experience by the youngest member of our group whohad apparently fallen asleep and was snoring in unison withthe deep breaths. The sarcophagus intrigued me so, aftermustering up enough nerve, I crawled into it. It felt like Ihad just stepped into Major Arcanum 20 of the Tarot, thecard representing Resurrection. The walls heaved as I lay inthe tomb. It was a perfect fit.

After the meditation and cleansing exercise was over, thelights were turned off by the guards for five minutes. It wasso completely dark in this chamber that it made no differ-ence whether your eyes were opened or shut. Five minutes

photographed by Dean Jones

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


went by faster than I thought it would, and that period ofcomplete silence and darkness came as a relief and comfort.

We descended the steps and made our way into the Queen’sChamber. As we did so, Dean was poised with his camera totake everyone’s picture as we came from the King’s Cham-ber. He and Carry had enjoyed themselves in the magnifi-cent Great Gallery discussing the grandeur and wonder ofhow this monument was built and who could have built it.They marveled at how these mighty granite stones could beso carefully stacked. Abalancing act defying all logic, thesestones, without benefit of motor, fit together as precisely asif they had been made in the 21st century. Asurgeon’s finestblade could not be run between them. How could this workbe accomplished within the lifetime of one pharaoh, andhow could this complex construction and precision beachieved in the Bronze Age? This pyramid’s constructionseemed to be built by a society that had technology far be-

yond what history has thus far attributed tothem. Emil had mentioned that there is a hi-eroglyphic symbol that references an ancientcity to the East, perhaps the city of Atlantis.Could it have been their technology that builtthis great pyramid?

In the Queen’s Chamber, there was a smallhole in the floor with sand, which I scooped upfor souvenirs. There was another small hole inthe wall. I recognized it because NationalGeographic sent a small robot spy into thishole to see where it led. It led to a small door.Beyond that door a few feet, there was anotherdoor. Then, the investigation stopped. Whydid it stop? Why haven’t the wooden parts ofthis pyramid been carbon dated? Why have somany mounds been left unturned? Politics andreligion have apparently played a big role inkeeping the secrets of Egypt secret and willcontinue to do so probably during my lifetime.Too bad. It was becoming clear to us that there

are, indeed, a lot of gaps in Egyptian history as there are inthe rest of world history, and that the truth may be foreverlost in time.

We began our final descent into a part of this pyramid that isnot open to the general public. It is called the Burial Cham-ber, and it is 300 feet below ground level. The climb downwas dark, narrow, steep and long. During the descent, thatfear I earlier experienced settled upon by chest once again. Isuddenly realized why it felt so familiar. Two dreams thatI’ve had frequently earlier in my life put me right here in thispyramid...climbing a narrow passageway. In the firstdream, I am in the dark making my way through a dark andnarrow passage that progressively gets smaller and smaller.In the second dream, I am in a large gallery where a stairwaysuddenly ends, dropping off into a dark abyss. Anotherstairway continues, however, I must straddle the gap acrossthe abyss in order to reach it. There was only one very small

Great Pyramid

Tracing the steps of our past....

Egyptian Initiation?


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

straddle in this pyramid, but when I made that step, thedream came flooding back to consciousness. It also mademe recall that when I first saw Paul and Vicki in a crowd ofhundreds of people. I instantly recognized them. Not evenknowing that they were married at the time, I couldn’t re-member why or how I seemed to know them. It was clearnow that it was because I’d seen them repeatedly in thesedreams so many years ago.They were with me then asthey are with me now.

We came to the bottom of theclimb. Some of the stepswere squeaky and loose.Some were missing. At thebottom, there was a smalltunnel. I had to take my back-pack off in order to squeezethrough it. The Burial Cham-ber was carved completelyout of the limestone bedrockbeneath the pyramid withtools available during theBronze Age. Michala ex-plained that the steep declineinto the chamber was proba-bly used as a slide to trans-port the coffins into thechamber.

The Great Pyramid experi-ence left me sore and hotfrom the climb but, more im-portantly, awe-struck be-cause it jarred from mysubconscious dreamslong-lost and in so doinggave me a sense of havingjust fulfilled a prophesy. Af-ter all, Emil had said that the pyramids were not tombs but“temples of remembering.” Perhaps this temple, noticeablywithout hieroglyphics, was meant to work its magic onlyupon the dark recesses of the minds of those who dare to en-ter.

We went on to see the Sphinx. Achain-link fence around thelarge pit that houses the Sphinx prevents the general publicfrom getting close to it. Much to the crowd’s displeasure,however, our little group was allowed to venture right be-tween the paws of this mysterious sculpture. The magnitudeof its power and presence seemed to course through myveins like an electrical shock wave. Emotionally over-whelmed, I began to feel a little faint and trembled before itin tearful prayer, thanking God for the honor and privilegeof standing before this testament to mankind’s mysteriouspast. Before leaving on this trip, Meg asked me to try to im-part mental images to her. I did so now knowing that theemotional power behind this transmission would surely getthrough to her. Meg told me that she was, indeed, slammed

by a powerful image of a lion accompanied by a powerfulrush of emotion that she knew must have come from me.

Michala explained that in one of the paws of the Sphinx, itis thought the right one, ancient records were once housed.There is also some archeological evidence that suggests achamber might have existed between its paws. This cham-

ber is where the Hermetic tra-dition tells us neophytes wereonce brought before the initia-tion stations as depicted bysymbols and admonitions thatwere the ancient ancestors ofour modern-day MajorArcanum. Anecdotal evidencethat I have accumulated sug-gests that the doorway betweenthe paws might have been a se-cret or that a bit of magic wasneeded to gain entry. The en-trance may have been sealedafter initiation to appear as if itdid not exist. Today, perhapsthe only passage into thischamber is through one’sdreams and then only by spe-cial invitation. Looking intothe face of the Sphinx is know-ing that God’s plan is great andlong, and begs the question,“What part do I play?”

After a brief Church of Lightceremony conducted by Paul,Emil explained that the stela, astone between the paws, wasput there by Thutmosis III whohad a dream that if he uncov-ered the Sphinx from the sand

(at that time only the Sphinx’s head was above the sand) hewould become Pharaoh. He did uncover the Sphinx, and hedid become Pharaoh. Every 20 years the desert sand shiftsin the wind so much that it will cover what is not regularlyswept away. For many years, it was thought that the Sphinxwas built at the same time as the nearby Pyramids, about4,000 years ago. Now geologists think that, based upon thewater erosion on the side of the rock quarry where theSphinx resides, it could have been built 10,000 years ago.The stela depicts a double, back-to-back image of theSphinx. It was thought at one time that there were actuallytwo Sphinx erected back-to-back. However, there is no evi-dence to suggest that a second ever existed. Emil explainedthat double images are common in Egyptian art. The twoimages always differ slightly in appearance. Emil believesthat one image represents the physical presence, while theother represents the astral presence.

The face of the Sphinx has been resurfaced at least once, orso it appears. Its face is still a matter of great controversy.

Cradled in the arms of Time

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


All previous Sphinxes have had the face of a woman, so it isalso speculated that this Sphinx might represent the transi-tion from the Age of Virgo into the Age of Leo. Michala ex-plained that the old story about the nose of the Sphinx beingdestroyed by Roman soldiers is now debunked. The ac-cepted belief now is that these statues represent the personas they live in the astral or spiritual realms. The act of chop-ping off a nose of a statue is like disabling the spirit’s abilityto breath and is, therefore, a form of “spiritual murder.”Throughout Egypt, it is common to see the noses of statuesdefaced.

We were then off to an outdoor restaurant for lunch. Color-ful fabrics that hung loosely over open wooden planks fil-tered and shaded us from the hot sun. A family-style lunchwas served including plenty of fresh pita bread, tahini,chicken and rice. There were also small plates of meatballsthat I immediately distrusted. Wondering what sort of meatwas ground up in the things, I ate one or two with caution.They were delicious but I still remained skeptical. We re-turned to the Mena House in the afternoon for a brief rest be-fore our evening was to unfold.

My hair is almost dry now and a cool breeze gently sweeps asoft curl against my face. Dean will be back from the pool ina few minutes and the time has come for me to get dressed. Ifall that has passed so far has taught me anything, it is thatEgypt has always been a part of my destiny.

Arrangements were made for our group to go into town thisevening for a tour of an essential oil factory. The factoryowners picked us up in three different cars. It was worth it tothem because there were members of our group who werewilling to place large orders. A big production was made ofit. Everyone in the shop was working late, and there was aspecial scent of anticipation in the air. We were seatedaround a reception area and offered cold karkadee. Theowner gave a formal speech about their history and product

line. Men came around to dab the various fragrances on ourwrists and arms. We all oo’d at the flower and spice es-sences of jasmine, narcissus, amber and musk and aa’d atthe special blends like Cleopatra (there were six Cleopatrasin Egyptian history!) and Secret of The Dessert.

In due time, purchases were made while Cary, Dean and Ileft early. One of the employees drove us back to the MenaHouse. It was very late and, although we were hungry, a

Lovely Ladies of the Al Fayed Parfume

Reaching into the After Life?

Al Fayed Parfume Shop

Mena House Courtyard View


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

light meal seemed in order. All three of us were cursed byPharaoh’s Revenge that night. I think it might have been themeatballs.

Day 3 - Great Religious Centers of Cairo and the

Cairo Museum

It was a rough night for Dean, and it would have been won-derful to have had a break today, but our schedule was full.After a very light breakfast at the Garden Restaurant, wejourneyed to the Great Mosque of Cairo, Al-Rifai, and thefinal resting place of the Shah of Iran. All the women in ourgroup were instructed to cover their heads. The Mosque iscovered in the casing stone that once covered the Great Pyr-amid Its hallowed interior was decorated only with orientalrugs and massive chandeliers. We visited the tombs withinthe Mosque of the last King of Egypt, Farook, and KingIshmael, who was in power during the time the Suez Canalwas built in 1869. King Ishmael’s three wives were buriedthere as well. His favorite wife, the youngest of the three,

was buried in the smallest tomb. She was a Christian and hertomb was adorned with a small crucifix.

A man in a turban followed us around the Mosque and afterawhile he invited us to sit down on the floor and listen to hiscall to prayer. His voice was powerful and expressive. Wechanted Allah with him until he went into a trance. Wechanted softer and more slowly until he came out of histrance as directed by Emil.

Next stop: the Coptic area of town where the Virgin Motherlived just before traveling to Israel and where she and thebaby, Jesus, hid for a time after his birth. It is a walled com-munity and stepping through that gate is like stepping back

into time some 2000 years. We entered a small chapel.Twelve columns, six on either side of the pews, representedthe apostles. One of the columns was black to represent Ju-das. This chapel is called Abu Serga, also known as St.Paul’s. It was built over the site where the Holy Family tookshelter after fleeing to Egypt with the infant Jesus. The shel-ter is now located beneath the altar and it was definitely notaccessible to the public. No pictures were allowed here andnot even Emil could pull strings in this part of town. Theshelter is now a marbled chamber and is visible from the topof the stairs leading down into it. I sensed the presence of Je-sus once before along the river banks of the Ganges in 1970,and I swear I felt his presence again at the top of these stairs.

I had enough time to light a candle and say a prayer for myrecently departed father before it was time to traverse downa narrow, winding, street to another small chapel. There, welistened to part of a mass spoken in Coptic, a very old lan-guage similar to Greek. Mass is said in a tiny room, almostlike a closet, where an altar would normally be. What tran-spires within this little room is visible only through its nar-row doorway. It made me feel as if I were eavesdropping ona secret ceremony

From there, we walked to Ben Ezra Synagogue. Jewish tra-dition holds that this is the site where Moses was drawn

Al Rifai

Abu Serga

Man with Turban & Emil

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


from the bull rushes. It was, of course, originally a Jewishsynagogue. The Christians, however, took it over after theMoslems invaded, and added 12 columns representing the12 apostles. At first the Moslems were tolerant of the Chris-tians, but as time went on, they began to charge the Chris-tians taxes on their churches. When the Christians could nolonger afford to maintain a church on this site, an individualby the name of Ben Ezra bought the property back and re-stored it to a synagogue. However, the 12 columns stillremain.

We were allotted 15 minutes orso to shop in this area. Duringthat short time, I managed toconfuse one of the women be-hind the counter into thinkingthat I was married to both Deanand Paul. She was mortifieduntil I was able to explain themiscommunication and that Ireally had only one husband.When she began to smile andlooked relieved, I knew I hadsomehow gotten through to her.

After shopping, we enjoyedlunch at the Arabesque Restau-rant, one of the more famousrestaurants in this district. Theenvironment was elegant, cooland comfortable. Our meal waspresented in courses, Egyp-tian-style. There was plenty ofred rice (made with cinnamon,paprika and tomatoes) beefstew, tomato soup, veal, breadwith “dips,” dessert and minttea.

On to the Cairo Museum…

Emil gave us a broad tour of the Cairo Museum having toyell “Helloooooooo” to us from time to for wondering offtoo far or doing something stupid. For awhile we were al-lowed to wonder on our own but it was tough going formany of us were sore from climbing the pyramids, sick fromPharaoh’s Revenge and still suffering from jet lag. Deanand I had tea and a light snack brought to our room and wentto bed early. For the first time our sleep was not disturbed by4:00 A.M. call to prayer. Apparently, we slept right throughit and awoke refreshed and diarrhea-free.

Day 4 - Minia

We set off early for our journey to Tel El Amarna, a fourhour drive through the countryside. During our drive, Emilspent a lot of time on the microphone telling stories abouthis family, politics, and life in Egypt. We learned today thatall tourists are protected by a special police force. Manyfolks on the bus were surprised to hear that Egyptian’s ap-preciate Americans. Emil believes that it is well thatSaddam was taken down, but he is a bit on edge now that theShiites have regained power. The Shiites, Emil explained,are the “guilty ones.” They were the tribe that was responsi-ble for the assassination of Mohammed’s son and rightfulheir to Islam. As a result, they try to make up for their guilt

with their fundamentalism. Emilpointed out that history is re-lived every day in the hearts andminds of middle-easterners.Battles that are long-forgotten inhistory to them happened onlyyesterday. It is a mentality thattruly differs from that of Ameri-cans who tend to forget whathappened six months ago.

Emil told the story of how hemet his wife, how theirfirst-born had died, and how amedicine man made certain thatthe spirit responsible for thisdeath was exorcized. He spokeabout his twin boys and howwell they were doing in school.Emil and his wife are bothChristian therefore, they mar-ried for love. Most marriages inEgypt, however, are arranged bythe parents involved. Men usedto have more than one wife, butas mass communication hasmade Egyptian woman aware ofwashing machines and othermodern appliances, most men

can now only afford to have one.

Arriving in beautiful Minia around lunch time, we werechecked in at the Mercura Hotel across the street from theNile. Our accommodations were not special, but we took

Ben Ezra Synagogue

Cairo Museum


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

into consideration that we might have gotten a little spoiledat the Mena House. The Mercura was clean, though, and weenjoyed a nice lunch in the dining hall off the lobby. Afterlunch, a few of us ventured out to walk acrossthe street to view the Nile. The guards at our ho-tel entrance told us this would not be possibleuntil they arranged security for us. About 15minutes later, they arrived, AK47’s and all. Wewere then escorted across the street and fol-lowed around as we walked the river bank. Wecame upon an upscale riverside hotel that had abarge Nile-side with tables and chairs. A guardgave us permission to enter. We spent the rest ofthe afternoon there watching the falookas sailby. Noel practiced a little Tae Kwon Do on thedock and that attracted two waiters to comedown and challenge him to an arm wrestle. Oneof the waiters had a girlfriend he wanted to im-press and asked if a photo could be taken of himarm wrestling so he could send it to her.Michala agreed to take the picture, Noel madesure he lost the contest, and it was all in goodfun.

Later on, we prepared to go out on the town for theevening. Emil took us to the riverside park. Miniais small, clean and somewhat reminiscent of SantaCruz, California. People come here to relax, andmany people come to get married and honeymoon.Young girls swarmed around our group asking forphotographs to be taken with them. They giggledand laughed on the arms of the women in ourgroup. Several of them wanted their pictures takenwith Dean, but we noticed their custom demandedthey remain at a distance from him. We crashed awedding photo shoot and had our pictures takenwith the bride! The highlight of the evening,though, was when we boarded a small river craftcalled “The Love Boat.” It was adorned withmulti-colored lights and speakers that blared thelatest Egyptian dance craze. It wasn’t long beforeall of us were dancing with the locals. Emil sangout “Shake it” a couple of times and everyoneclapped to the beat of the music. I even tried to

learn some moves from one of the girls, but couldn’t quiteget a handle on her subtle belly-dancing style. �

School Girls in the ParkThe Love Boat

Wedding Crashers

Hanging out in Minia

Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4


Services

Services are conducted by Rev. Meg Dissinger and Rev.Christopher Gibson from 11 A.M. – 12 noon on the thirdSunday of every month. The following are the dates andtopics for the last quarter of the year:

October 15, Riding the Phoenix

November 19, The Religion of the Stars

December 17, Reflections and Projections

Transitions

Howard Polk, a member of The Church of Light since 1933passed from the physical plane on September 2nd in Boul-der Colorado. Howard was an inspired teacher who touchedthe lives of many. Bon Voyage!

Classes

Ongoing astrology and tarot classes are held Tuesday andThursday evenings at Church of Light headquarters from6:30 – 8:30 P.M. For information call: 505-247-1338

September 5—October 10 Beginning Tarot withAllyn McCray

September 7—October 12 Beginning Hermetic

Astrology with Christopher Gibson

October 19 – November 30, Intermediate Her-

metic Astrology with Christopher Gibson

October 24– November 28, Intermediate Egyp-

tian Tarot with Christopher Gibson

Gail Carswell and Michael Foltz offer an ongo-ing study group on the Brotherhood of LightLessons the second Tuesday of every month atOwl’s Clover Bookstore in Fort Worth, Texas.For information call: 817-921-5809

Workshops

ESP – For Dummies

September 29 – October 1, 2006. Albuquerque, NM

With the proper attitude and training anyone can becomeskilled at using their psychic senses. Learn about divinationand how it works as well as other techniques for tuning into

your soul senses. Neil Cantwell, Meg Dissinger, and Chris-topher Gibson facilitators.

Order of the Sphinx

A meeting of The Order of The Sphinx (TOOTS) will beheld September 29 from 1 – 5 P.M. in Albuquerque, NM.This general meeting of TOOTS will coincide with the ESPretreat to take place that weekend.

Congratulations!

The following members have received their Hermetician’scertificates since the beginning of the year:

Helen Hendon

Peter Tourian,

Randy McDowell

David Winley

Lyonna Tong

Gail Carswell

Michael Foltz.

Gail Carswell was elected to the Board of Directors at theAugust membership meeting.

Sally Marion has become a Certified Teacher.

Membership Room

CofL Field Trip to Jemez State Monument


Fall 2006 Vol. 81, No. 4

Make the

celebration complete!

Convention 2007

Diamond Jubilee

celebrating 75 years

Join us in June 2007 for the Church of Light Convention.This year’s conference is being coordinated by The Orderof the Sphinx and will celebrate our Diamond Jubilee - 75years of “Living in the Light”.

The location of the convention will be the Wyndham HotelAlbuquerque located at 2910Yale Blvd. SE. This is the popularsite we used in 2003 which offerscomfortable rooms and free shut-tle service to and from the Albu-querque Sunport.

A special feature of this year’sevent will include pre-conferencetours to “Sacred Sites” OnWednesday June 20 we will visitHaak’u Cultural Center and thePueblo of Acoma.

The Pueblo of Acoma sits atop a367 foot high sandstone mesa ap-proximately 60 miles west of Al-buquerque. Commonly referredto as “Sky City” the Pueblo ofAcoma boasts of being the oldest continually occupiedcommunity in the United States. The Spanish colonizersused indigenous labor from 1629 - 1641 to build the mas-sive mission church of San Esteban Rey. The missionchurch and pueblo are both registered National HistoricLandmarks.

On Thursday June 21 – We will celebrate the Summer Sol-stice by soaking in the mineral rich waters of the geothermalsprings in the Jemez river valley. Included in this day tripwill be a visit to the archeological site of Giusewa or JemezState Monument. The ancestors of the Walatowa (JemezPueblo) people have occupied this region and used the heal-ing waters for over 700 years.

On Friday June 22 from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. we will be offeringa four-hour intensive with tarot master Christopher Gibson.In this workshop participants will learn about the use of thetarot in divination – the foreknowledge of future events.Special emphasis will be placed on creating an interpreta-tive story with the cards. Student will receive “hands-on”instruction in the use of several tarot card spreads.

Also on Friday from 2 to 5 P.M. we will hold our AnnualMembership Meeting. This is an excellent opportunity for

the membership to meet their directors and participate in theleadership of the organization.

Friday evening from 6 to 9 P.M. a reception and initiationswill be held in the Elizabeth D. Benjamine Memorial Gar-den at the new Church of Light Headquarters. Contact the

Order of the Sphinx in advance ifyou would like to participate in re-ceiving initiation into your gradelevel of the Church of Light.

We will offer two days of expertinstruction in Brotherhood ofLight teachings from 9 A.M. to 6P.M. on Saturday June 23 andSunday June 24. The speaker’spanel will include: Paul Bergner,Paul Brewer, Linda Bryant, NeilCantwell, Gail Carswell, MegDissinger, Michael Foltz, Christo-pher Gibson, Sandra Mayo, andPeter Tourian. Some of the topicsto be discussed are: Spiritual Al-chemy, Mental Alchemy, Occult-ism Applied, Higher

Consciousness and Archetypes, Tarot and Divination, ESP,Energy Patterns, the Hermetic System of Progressions, andMedical Astrology.

Convention Registration: Pre-registration prior to May 1,2007 is being offered at the incredibly low price of $125.Registrations made from May 2 – June 20, 2007 will be$135. After June 20 registration will be $150. Registrationincludes participation in all Saturday and Sunday program-ming, lunch buffet both days, and the Saturday night ban-quet. There will be a separate $30 fee for the pre-conferencetarot intensive. Nominal costs for the pre-conference tourswill be announced in May.

Hotel Reservations: We have been offered a spe-cial low room rate of $75 for single or double oc-cupancy. Each guest must make their ownreservations by calling 1-800-227-1117-or1-505-2843-7000 by May 15, 2007 and identifythemselves as members of The Church of Light.All reservations must be guaranteed and accom-panied by a first night room deposit or securedwith a major credit card. We strongly recom-mend making your reservations early. �

The Church

of Light

Non ProfitOrganization

US Postage PaidWhittier, CAPermit No. 1

Building a Better World with a Better Vision!

The Church of Light Vision for the 21st Century

OUR MISSION

To promote Universal Welfare and the exaltation of human-

kind by teaching and practicing the Religion of the Stars as

outlined in the writings of C.C. Zain.

WHAT WE TEACH

• There is a loving Cosmic Intelligence, of which we are all a

part, whose infinite goodness guides us through undeviat-

ing natural law.

• There is a Divine Plan, manifesting through progressive

evolution, in which each soul has a unique and important

role.

• A soul is completely moral when, to the maximum extent

of its abilities, it follows the universal moral code: Con-

tribute Your Utmost to Universal Welfare.

• Realization of the soul’s Mission and the attainment of

Self-Conscious Immortality is the spiritual goal toward

which each soul moves.

• Love is the way to life. Unselfish Love alone makes im-

mortality possible.

• Influence over one’s life and destiny, both here and hereaf-

ter, is achieved by exercising Directed Thinking and In-

duced Emotion.

• Astrology is the Golden Key that unlocks the door to un-

derstanding the Soul’s true character and potential.

• Extension of Consciousness is a valuable tool for realizing

each individual’s mission in the Divine Plan and for veri-

fying the survival of the soul after death of the physical

body.

• Religion is the sister of Science, and it evolves by incorpo-

rating new information as it is discovered and verified.

OUR VISION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

We are a powerful force for good and for spiritual enlighten-ment, because we expand the reach and experience of ourmembers by:

• Providing reliable and verifiable information regarding

the nature of the soul and its relationship to Deity and other

life forms;

• Seeking out reliable and verifiable information regarding

life on higher planes of existence, especially in regard to

the transition we call death, and the nature of the next life;

• Developing increasingly advanced tools and training in as-

trology, extrasensory perception, directed thinking and in-

duced emotion, toward the end of maximizing each

person’s happiness, usefulness and spirituality;

• Promoting the importance of the four essential freedoms:

Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear, Freedom of Ex-

pression and Freedom of Religion;

• Building a sense of community and spiri-

tual purpose, which uplifts and inspires

our members to Contribute Their Utmost

To Universal Welfare.

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