The Gnostic and Esoteric Mysteries of Freemasonry, Lucifer and the Great Work.
The Origins of Freemasonry
“Freemasonry rests upon three fundamental degrees, summarizing the triple study which must occupy the mason:
- where he comes from (the study of God);
- what he is (the study of himself and his perfection),
- and where he is going (the study of his transformation).
In 1646, Elias Ashmole (helped by initiates) who had observed the decreasing number of the actual Guilds of masonic workmen in the ‘corporation of workmen’ which served to shelter them and which were still alive in England, protected by their separation from the continent of Europe, Ashmole occupied himself with regenerating the mysteries of ancient indian and egyptian initiation under the architectural veil of masonry, and of giving to the new association a goal of union, of fraternity, of perfection, of equality and of science, by means of a universal bond, based upon the laws of nature and upon love for humanity.
He created (according to the ancient traditions and the documents that he was able to collect) the first degree in 1646, the second degree in 1648, and the third degree in 1649”
The Degrees of Freemasonry
“1st DEGREE. Freemasonry is called the royal art: art, because all work is only achieved through a certain combination of principles tending towards the accomplishment of the subject that the artist proposes; royal, in order to paid homage to the wise king, who possessed in depth laws of the philosophical work.
The object of research for the masons is the knowledge of the art of perfecting that which nature left imperfect in the human being and of arriving at the treasure of true morality, symbolized in ancient philosophy as the philosophical stone. The purification or ‘divesting the matter of its impurities’ has its symbol in masonry as well, one must divest the candidate of all the prejudices and of the error of their dangerous passions, in order to bring them to virtue and to perfection. This is the same brute stone [or rough ashlar] that the masons work with or polish, and with which they seek to remove the superfluousness, which in moral masonry is called the destruction of vices.
2nd DEGREE. This is where the truth of Masonry is proven; the sense of things is explained, such as the blazing star, etc. Masonry has adopted the primitive doctrine, proclaimed the G. A. of the universe, whom it honors through praises free of all cult and of superstition; it recommends: the love of one’s neighbor, the practice of virtue, of equality and of charity, and the horror of vice, of lies and of hypocrisy, as well as tolerance for opinions, submission to the laws, respect for the rights of others, universal kindness and the perfection of oneself through instruction and the spirit of fraternity.
In masonry, the celestial quintessence is designed or manufactured through the five pointed blazing star, called the central fire of nature by the philosophers, and also symbolized by the letter G, which means generation of bodies.
3rd DEGREE. Is where actual mastery is known. It is (in its summary) only a pale reflection of primitive initiation, where the allegorical drama was disfigured by the succession of political events at the time of its renovation. Such that the moral symbolism leaves a great part of the philosophic symbolism behind, the alteration of the system is such (and the developments are so incomplete) that today, one must have the skill of a venerable instruction in order to give some insight into the interpretations of the condensed hieroglyphs (even the Phoenix has disappeared) from this beautiful degree.”
The Roots and Customs of Freemasonry
Modern Freemasonry honors as its great teachers Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Plato, and many others, and has adopted their teachings and in some of its degrees, it even gives a brief summary of their doctrines. These great teachers were all initiated into the Mysteries, and fundamentally their doctrines were all the same. All of these ancient teachers taught the existence of the Great Architect of the Universe, the importance of the Soul, and the unqualified Brotherhood of all of Humanity.
The whole superstructure of Masonry is built upon the traditions of the universal Science and the sublime philosophy, that was once taught in the Great Mystery Schools of Egypt, Chaldea, Persia, India, and other nations of antiquity and Masonic Ritual serves as a living monument to the Great Mystery Schools of the past.
“The Degrees of Masonry are one-act plays often staged with costume, scenery, special effects, and the full rigging of any production. Their purpose is to examine different philosophies, ancient religions, and systems of ethics. Theater is the oldest known means of teaching, especially of teaching abstract ideas. It was one of the principal means of instruction in the Middle Ages as well as in ancient Greece and Rome. Most of the [Masonic] Degrees are set in ancient Israel because it is from the legends surrounding King Solomon’s Temple that Masonry takes many of its parables and lessons, but Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe also serve as Degree settings.”
-paraphrase of “A Bridge to Light” from Scottish Rite Bulletin of Freemasonry,
Alexandria, VA (Feb. 2000)
In the Ancient Mysteries: Theater, Dance and Music were used to educate the initiates in the Higher Knowledge. In this way, the initiates were able to receive information in the “3 brains”: The Intellectual, Emotional and Motor-Instinctive-Sexual. These form part of the esoteric anatomy of the soul.
Through a performed story (or what we might call an Opera or Drama) the initiates were able to receive a lot of information, and it could be recalled somewhat easily, allowing the symbolic meaning of the story to be discovered anytime afterwards.
“The sacred dances in the times of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, etc., transmitted tremendous cosmic, anthropo-genetic, psycho-biological, mathematical truths, etc. Modern artists no longer know anything about the sacred dances of the ancient mysteries. The tenebrous ones have stolen the theatre and the stage. They have profaned it and totally prostituted it.
The Sabbath, the day of the theatre, the day of the mysteries, was very popular in the ancient temples. Marvelous cosmic dramas were then presented. Drama served to transmit valuable teachings to the Initiates. Different ways to experience the Being and the manifestations of the Being were transmitted to the initiates by means of drama. The cosmic dramas are based on the Law of Seven. Certain intelligent deviations of this law were always utilized in order to transmit transcendental teachings to the neophyte.
In music it is well known that certain notes can produce happiness in the intellectual center, other notes can produce sadness in the emotional center and other notes can produce religiosity in the motor center. Indeed, the old Hierophants never ignored that integral knowledge can only be acquired through the three brains. A single brain cannot give complete information.
The sacred dance and the cosmic drama, wisely combined with music, served to transmit tremendous archaic teachings of a cosmo-genetic, psycho-biological, psycho-chemical, metaphysical type, etc., to the neophytes. In addition to this, it is suitable here to mention sculpture. The latter was grandiose in bygone times. The allegorical beings chiseled on hard rock reveal to us that the ancient Masters never ignored the Law of Seven. Let us remember the Sphinx of Giza, in Egypt. The sphinx depicts for us the four elements of nature and the four basic conditions of the Superior Human Being.”
– paraphrase of ‘Art’ from Ch. 7 of Revolution of the Dialectic by Samael Aun Weor
The traditions, symbols and ritual of Modern Freemasonry cluster around:
- the Building of the Temple of Solomon,
- the Legend of the “Widow’s Son” (Hiram-Abiff, who lost his life in the defense of his integrity),
- and the search for the Lost Word of the Master.
All of its elements play their role to symbolically teach us something about the Spiritual Path and the development of the Soul.
Masonic Symbolism and the Legend of Hiram Abiff
An Interpretation of the Masonic Legend and its relationship with the Egyptian Legend
“One finds, in the modern masonic rite, the reproduction of the egyptian fable, only, instead of Osiris, inventor of arts, or the sun, the name of Hiram is taken, which signifies risen, raised or elevated (an epithet that belongs to the sun) and who was skillful in the arts. Let us examine the movement of the sun from the summer solstice and the allegory, in this decreasing period, with the last three months, represented as three companion assassins.
The explanation of this astronomical occurrence and of the instruments of the so-called murder will give us the interpretation of the degree:
The sun, in the summer solstice, provokes (among all those who breathe) songs of remembrance; so, Hiram, who represents it, can give (to whosoever has the right) the sacred word, that is to say the life. When the sun descends in the inferior signs, the mutism of nature begins, Hiram can then no longer give the sacred word to the companions who represent the three last inert months of the year (1).
[Note: (1) In ancient initiation, the wicked companions were: the hippopotamus of the Nile, the greek Python (anagram of Typhon), the boar who mortally wounds the handsome Adonis; the Giants, who undertook the goal to dethrone Osiris: the Titans, who attempted to climb Mount Olympus; the genii of darkness and evil; the three months of winter; the scandinavian wolf; the chinese dragon, who hunts the sun, Arhiman. One of these companions is named, in some degrees, Abi-Bamah (one who overturns the father). These monsters, men or animals seem to struggle against the ostensible father of men (the sun)…]
The first companion is supposed to have weakly struck Hiram with a ruler of 24 inches, image of the twenty-four hours that last for each daily revolution: first distribution of time which, after the exaltation of the great star, attends weakly to his existence, by giving him the first blow.
The second struck him with a square of iron, symbol of the last season, represented in the intersections of the two right lines which divide the zodiacal circle in four equal parts, the center of which symbolizes the heart of Hiram, where the dividing point of the four squares represents the four seasons: second distribution of time which, in this age, carries a greater blow to the solar existence.
The third companion struck him mortally in the forehead with a strong blow of the mallet, the cylindrical form of which symbolizes the year that is to say a circle, or ring: third distribution of time, the accomplishment of which carries the last blow to the existence of the expiring sun (1).
[Note: (1) The image of this successive and natural law of things, terrible law of the life over death, of the present over the past, a law which has been so abused, is ingeniously symbolized in this degree. In fact, each period or cyclic empire can only be established by the murder or deletion of one who represented the empire or the previous epoch: thus the seed (son) kills the grain of wheat (his father) in the womb of the earth (his mother); as Uranus kills his father Acmon, as Saturn kills his father Uranus; as Jupiter, lord of good, mutilated, in order to reign, his infertile father Saturn, who, relegated to the dark Tartarus, where the Titans [are] chained; as the twelfth apostle Judas, left Jesus, his master, to die like the twelfth month (December) kills the year that ends; like Saturday kills the week. Our [west or] occident (from occidere, meaning to kill), which kills the stars, has no other origin; and it is with this mystical language of imaginary assassins, such as that of Abel, etc., that charlatans have added monstrous superfluities to the degree of master…]
From this interpretation, one concludes that Hiram, founder of metal, became the hero of the new legend (with the title of architect) and is Osiris (the sun) of modern initiation; that Isis, his virgin, is the Lodge, emblem of the earth (in sanscrit loga, the world) and that Horus, son of Osiris (or of the light) and son of the virgin, is the freemason, that is to say, the initiate who lives in the terrestrial lodge (child of the virgin and of the light).
The Building of the Temple of Solomon (part 1)
Now let’s take a look at the Temple. Remember that in 1st Corinthians 6:19, it says:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?…”
The building of the Temple is a symbol for the process of the development of the Soul, and is related to what is called the Holy Spirit in Christianity. The “Holy Spirit” is one part of the Trinity of God (the Triple Unity): the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These are the Christian names for the 3 Primary Forces (other religions use different terms to describe these same aspects).
In Gnosis, the Triple Unity of God is known as “the Logos” in its Unified aspect and as “the First Logos (Affirming), the Second Logos (Denying), and the Third Logos (Reconciling)” in its Triple aspect.
“The Father, the Son and Holy Spirit are substances, forces, they are transcendental and extremely divine energies. That is all. What happens is that people, unfortunately, have a marked tendency to anthropomorphize these superior forces.”
– paraphrase from Ch. 33 of The Perfect Matrimony by Samael Aun Weor
So what is called the Holy Spirit, or the Third Logos, is the Holy Reconciling Force. The building of the Temple or the development of the Soul requires a reconciliation between the individual and the Divine, between humanity and God, between Spirit and Matter.
Reconcile means to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent.
Reconciliation means:
- an act of reconciling or the state of being reconciled.
- the process of making consistent or compatible.
Therefore, we need to bring ourselves into agreement or harmony with God, that is: to make ourselves consistent or compatible with the Divine, which is (of course) the purpose of Religion. Religious Principles or Eternal Values are what we call the Esoteric Knowledge which was transmitted to the neophyte in the Mystery Schools.
Spirit and Matter both exist and our goal is not the exclusion of one over another. Our goal is to make it so that the Spirit is not a slave of Matter, so that Spirit controls Matter. The purpose of this is so that we are not slaves of our Senses, our Desires, or our Fears. Buddhism emphasizes this concept very well and Christianity also stresses its importance. And this is (of course) the reason that the candidate had to be “Duly and Truly prepared” before their entrance into the Mystery School.
Our senses, our desires and our fears serve a purpose within us and in order to understand that purpose, we must study Gnostic Psychology. My senses give me information, and I can use that information Consciously, but what I must not do is become a slave of that information and live only for it, neglecting the Spiritual aspect of life (including the faculties of the Soul which I may need to develop).
The Building of the Temple of Solomon (part 2)
The building of the Temple at Jerusalem is mentioned in the Bible (see 1 Kings Ch. 6, 7, and 8). Here are some highlights:
6:1-2 In the four hundred and eightieth [480] year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth [4] year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second [2] month, he began to build the house of the Lord. The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty [60] cubits long, twenty [20] cubits wide, and thirty [30] cubits high.
In Masonry the measurements and proportion of the temple are highlighted in order to emphasize the science of numbers, form, and proportion, which manifest themselves in architecture, and to connect them with the “spiritual temple” to which they are kabalistically related.
6:7 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
6:29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.
If we also consider the statement that the temple was constructed without the sound of hammer or any tool of iron, then it becomes clear that this is more likely referring to the Spiritual Temple, “not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (from 2nd Corinthians 5)
7:1 Solomon was building his own house thirteen [13] years, and he finished his entire house.
7:13-14 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.
[Note: Bronze is a metal alloy of copper (Venus) and tin (Jupiter)]
7:40 … So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord
8:6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.
In the Masonic Legend, Hiram Abiff is dramatically represented to have lost his life when the temple was near completion, yet in the Bible it says that he completed the temple and elsewhere it is recorded that after the completion of the temple Hiram labored for years constructing and decorating a palace for King Solomon.
The Symbolism in the Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodges are dedicated to the Saints John: one of whom is John the Evangelist, who opens his Gnostic Gospel with the Greek philosophy of the Logos; and the other is John the Seer of Patmos, who wrote Revelations, a book symbolic of ancient initiations, which many un-initiated persons has tried in vain to interpret.
There is a deep significance in the dedication of Lodges to the Saints John, because of what we already know about the “Verb” (Logos) and because in Revelations we learn about the establishment of the Heavenly Jerusalem (the City which we already know is the location of the Temple of Solomon)
Let’s take a look, for example, at Revelations 21:16-17, where it says,
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth;
and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand [12,000]
furlongs. The length, and the breadth and the height of it are equal [a
perfect cube].
And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is an angel.
The language is evidently a veil, designed to conceal the real meaning from the uninitiated. As the measure of man; that is, a perfect man, or “angel,” we have the cube as a symbol of perfect proportion. Hence a Square Man, meaning an Right, Just or Upright human being: a Balanced Human Being.
The temple of Solomon; the Cubical City—which unfolded becomes a cross, and hence the “measure of a man”—all these refer to the work of regeneration, or initiation.* (* See Plate XIII from Mystic Masonry)
This is reminds us of the “Cubic Stone of Yesod”, and the “Stone that the builders refuse” mentioned in Psalm 118:22, which is the foundation of the Spiritual Work and the development of the Soul. In Masonry this Stone or Rock is called the “Ashlar/Ashler” and is something that must be transformed from the Rough Ashlar into the Smooth/Perfect Ashlar.
Lets remember what Jesus says about the Rock [Petros/Petra] in Matthew 16:17-19,
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
And I tell you, you are Peter [Petros], and on this rock [petra] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
And then again in Luke 6:47-49,
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock [petra]. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it was founded upon a rock [petra].
But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.
The building the house or the temple of God which is not made with hands
is directly related to the Alchemical work, and clearly refers to
spiritual development and progress (the Solar Work) from which results
perfect proportion and perfect harmony. This is something symbolic that
will be missed by those who are not “seeking something deeper” in their
approach to their life and spirituality.
The Cubic Stone and the Initiatic Path
This symbol of the Stone or Rock has often been misunderstood and misrepresented. The Cornerstone of the Temple, the Philosopher’s Stone, the Authentic Cubic Stone, has 9 corners and looks like a cube with a pyramid on top.
So why 9? The number nine has deep esoteric significance. In Kabalah, it is the ninth Hebrew letter: Teth ט, and corresponds to the 9th Sephiroth “Yesod”, the Ninth Sphere, which is translated as “Foundation”.
Eliphas Levi says that the “number 9 represents the complete truth, perfect initiation…” (from Letter #145 written in 1862 to Baron Spedalieri). He describes the Hieroglyphic for Teth as follow:
“A sage leaning on his staff, and holding a lamp in front of himself; he is completely enveloped in his cloak. His inscription is THE HERMIT OR THE CAPUCHIN [a Monk], because of the hood of his oriental cloak; but his true name is PRUDENCE…”
-from Ch.22 of Ritual of High Magic by Eliphas Levi
Prudence is the ability to choose the appropriate actions at a given time; meaning to choose the best thing to do in a given situation.
Regarding this number Samael Aun Weor says:
“ARCANUM 9 – THE HERMIT: INITIATION: Solitude. Suffering.” (from Ch. 86 of Tarot & Kabalah)
“This Arcanum is that of the Hermit; he appears as an old man who carries a lantern in his right hand.
This lantern must be raised up in order to have light on the path, it must be elevated, raised high in order to illuminate.” (from Ch. 31 of Tarot & Kabalah)
“Arcanum № 9: Is the Hermit, prudent and wise; it is Solitude.” (from Ch. 95 of Tarot & Kabalah)
Why is this number Solitude? Because the Spiritual Path is very personal and individual work, which is particular to our own psychology.
“Arcanum № 9 clearly indicates the 9 Spheres of the atomic infernos of Nature and the 9 Spheres of the 9 Heavens. This Arcanum also indicates the 9 Planets represented in the 9 Spheres of the Planet Earth. The Initiate has to descend to the 9 Submerged Spheres in order to later attain the 9 Heavens which correspond to each planet.” (from Ch. 9 of Tarot & Kabalah)
“One must learn to understand, one must learn to suffer, to be resigned [uncomplaining]. Those who do not, fail.” (from Ch. 95 of Tarot & Kabalah)
“Those who only concern themselves with their own Spiritual progress and do not work for others get absolutely nothing. Whosoever wants to progress has to sacrifice themselves for others… INITIATION is life itself, intensely lived, with rectitude and with love.” (from Ch. 9 of Manual of Practical Magic)
So the number 9 is the number of Initiation. It is related to the work upon ourselves, the process of the development of the Soul, and freeing of the Spirit from the bondage of Matter. This is the meaning of the work with the Stone or the Rock upon which the Temple of the Soul (the House of God) must be built.
n our present state we are the Raw or Brute Stone, but once we have refined ourselves, chiseled away our defects, our passions and our vices, then we are the Perfect Stone. Then our Psyche is clean and pure allowing the Divine to inhabit its House.
The Death of Hiram and the Three Traitors
Returning now to the Legend of Hiram Abiff.
When Hiram’s body was first buried, an Acacia bush was planted upon his grave. What is the symbolism of this plant? According to Albert Pike, the significance of Acacia is as follows:
“The genuine Acacia also is the thorny tamarisk, the same tree which grew up around the body of Osiris. It is a sacred tree among the Arabs, who made the Idol Al-Uzza from it, which Mohammed destroyed. It is abundant as a bush in the desert of Thur, and of it the ‘crown of thorns’ was composed, which was set on the forehead of Jesus of Nazareth.
It is a fitting sign of immortality because of its tenacity of life; for it has been known, when planted as a door-post, to take root and shoot out budding boughs above the threshold.”
(from Ch. 3 of Morals and Dogma)
A brief analysis of the history of religion and mystery ‘cults’ will enable any person to recognize in the ‘master mason’ Hiram:
- the Osiris of the Egyptians,
- the Mithras of the Persians,
- the Bacchus of the Greeks,
- and even Jesus of the Christians who’s passion, death and resurrection, is still celebrated today
In astrology, Hiram is the related to the Sun, who’s “death” at the winter solstice and rebirth soon thereafter has been celebrated near the 21st and 22nd of December in all cultures.
Whether any of these Solar Heros or Redeemers were historical characters or not, the symbolism of their lives always teaches the same eternal truths. Hiram is, therefore, the prototype for our spiritual development. But then why was he killed?
He is killed because the enemies of our Soul’s development are a real danger for our spiritual progress and his death highlights these dangers through symbolism. There are three main principles or forces which take us away from the Spiritual Path (symbolized by the three Traitors). They are the misuse of the 3 Primary Forces within ourselves:
“So there are three degrees in the hierarchy, like there are three doors to the temple;
There are three rays in the light;
There are three forces in nature;
These forces are symbolized by the ruler, which unites, the lever which raises and the mallet or hammer which affirms.
The rebellion of brutal instincts, against the aristocratic hierarchy of wisdom, successively arms itself with these three forces with which it diverts harmony.
There are three typical rebels: The rebel of nature; The rebel of science; The rebel of truth.
They were symbolized in the hell of the ancients by the three heads of Cerberus.”
-paraphrase from Eliphas Levi’s History of Magic, Ch.7 of Book 5
“These three traitors are also called the Black Dragon with three heads.
The three rebels are:
- The first is the one who struck Hiram with the ruler, so the righteous are killed in the name of Law and Order. {This is the history of justice put to death by human passions, in the name of law and order.}
- The second one struck Hiram with the lever or crowbar, this is like the prejudices and beliefs of each epoch leading to the death of the great initiates. {It is thus that the popular lever or square of an insane equality becomes the instrument of tyranny in the hands of the multitudes…}
- The third finished off Hiram with the hammer, {Just as the brutal instincts do, when they want to create order in the name of violence and fear…} This is like the violence of any epoch which assassinates the righteous and prohibits the diffusion of the Secret Doctrine.
These three traitors control the three bodies called: Astral, Mental and Causal (Willpower). The great clairvoyants have studied these three vehicles, but unfortunately they have not studied what is within them. The Astral is controlled by Sebal, the father of desire. The Mental is controlled by Ortelut, the horrible demon of the Mind and the Body of Willpower (the Causal Body) is controlled by Stokin, the terrible demon of ill-will.
These three traitors constitute that which is called the Prince of the World. The sacrificed victim is always the internal Christ of all human beings who come to the world. Hiram is our Internal Christ. Hiram is the Sun King.
Jesus Christ was assassinated by three traitors:
• Caiaphas, the high priest,
• Judas Iscariot
• and Pilate.
It is necessary for us to revive the Christ inside ourselves. This is only possible by decapitating the three traitors…”
-paraphrase from Ch. 4 of Samael Aun Weor’s Mountain of Juratena,
Eliphas Levi’s History of Magic, Ch.7 of Book 5
This is the Esoteric work: to convert the Lunar elements (desire, inferior mind or subjective reasoning, and ill-will) into their Solar counterparts (Superior Emotion or Love/Compassion, Superior Mind or Objective Reasoning, and Conscious Willpower). This is what the Spiritual Path is about: the Esoteric Knowledge is the method of converting ourselves into better people, and ultimately into Perfect Human Beings.
But this can only occur if we understand that our enemies (the traitors) are within ourselves: we must overcome and conquer ourselves. This is the true meaning of a ‘Master’: to be a master of oneself. And in order to become masters of ourselves we must know ourselves: “Man know yourself and you will know the Universe”. This is why we study Gnostic Psychology, so that we can really know what we are: what we have in excess and what we lack. It is only in this way, by working on ourselves, that we can truly perfect ourselves.
Those who take the Legend of Hiram in a literal way, do not understanding its depth or its spiritual significance, and will continue to misuse the 3 Primary Forces.
“Instead of avenging the death of Hiram, they avenge that of his assassins.
They take the ruler, the square and the mallet, and write upon them the words liberty, equality, fraternity.
That is to say: liberty for desires, equality in degeneration and fraternity for destruction.”
Final Note – Generation vs. Regeneration
At the end of the 19th Degree in the book “Thuileur des trente-trois degrés de l’écossisme de rit ancien dit accepté” (1813) by François-Henri-Stanislas de L’Aulnaye, it says:
“This degree has as its object the new Jerusalem, that is to say Masonry Regenerated, crushing the three-headed serpent (the false and vain Masonry).” (p.149)
From this we can see two very interesting things mentioned:
- The emphasis on the Regeneration of Masonry
- and the 3-Headed Serpent
Here the 3-Headed Serpent symbolizes the misuse of the 3 Primary Forces and crushing it symbolizes the need to stop this misuse in order to ‘Regenerate Masonry’. So what is Regeneration in terms of the 3 Primary Forces?
In order to understand what Regeneration is, we must first understand what Generation is. At the end of the 33 degrees listed in the same book quoted above (“Thuileur des trente-trois degrés…”), the author has a short explanation of Generation, which he calls “System of the Universal Generation of all Beings”
The author says that “religions, ancient and modern, are all equally physics, and it is only through the principles of Nature that one must search for the Gods of the nations” and since we have learned that “the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit are substances, forces, they are transcendental and extremely divine energies”, then we can understand what he is referring to. He explains his understanding of the Phenomenon of universal Generation by saying that it is related to several principles: Cause, Subject, Intermediate, Effect and Product (and that “Five powers accomplish the act of Generation”), but he does not explain Regeneration nor its principles very clearly (example: “The last of the five Powers … can be considered as … Regenerator.”).
His explanation of Generation makes sense in itself, but he often uses Generation and Regeneration almost interchangeably (suggesting that he does not make a distinction between the two). If he does know something about authentic Regeneration, he is not saying it explicitly or explaining it very clearly.
Regeneration is directly related to the 3rd Force or 3rd Logos, the Reconciliation of Spirit and Matter (and actually both Generation and Regeneration are related to the 3rd Logos). If we understand Generation, then we are prepared to study Regeneration. If we want to Regenerate ourselves and kill the Three Traitors (the 3-Headed Serpent or Black Dragon), then we must first of all comprehend what these two concepts are and how to start Regenerating. Samael Aun Weor explains these two concepts very clearly in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of his book The Perfect Matrimony. Basically Generation is to create something else which is new, whereas Regeneration is to renew something already created: transforming it into something new.
Symbolism concealing the “SECRET DOCTRINE”.
There is no fact in history more easily and completely demonstrable than the existence of the Secret Doctrine in all ages among all people, and of Adepts or Masters who were familiar with its teachings, and more or less capable of expounding its principles. It is equally demonstrable that this Secret Doctrine was the real foundation of every great Religion known to man; and that only the initiated knew the real doctrines…
Furthermore, the Sacred Books of all religions, including those of the Jews and the Christians, were and are no more than parables and allegories of the real Secret Doctrine, transcribed for the ignorant and superstitious masses.
All commentaries written on these Sacred Books, whether on those of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets of Judaism, the Gospels of the Gnostics and Christians, or those written on the Sacred Books of the East all either make more confusion when written by one ignorant of the Secret Doctrine, or, when written by initiates, further elaborate the parables and allegories.
The Secret Doctrine is the Primitive Wisdom Religion (it is the Esoteric Knowledge). This Doctrine is everywhere and at all times essentially the same; only the outer gloss, the parables and allegories concealing it differ among different people. Underlying this Secret Doctrine was a profound philosophy of the creation or progressive development of the Universe and of the human being.
The Symbolic Teaching of the Mysteries
In ancient times, long before the Egpytian Empire even began to flourish, there existed an ancient type of Mystery School Ritual or Occult Masonry which was beautifully symbolic.
“Those rituals differed so greatly from those that currently exist in the world, that it would be impossible for the modern mason to admit that they were masonic. The colors black and white were combined on their clothing to represent the struggle between spirit and matter. The symbols and the tools of work were used inverted, to represent the drama that is projected into the centuries: the descent of spirit toward matter. So they surprisingly had inverted scepters, inverted chalice etc., everything was inverted.
Life was at this time descending towards matter, and it was necessary then to give symbolic expression to this. The sacred processions were grandiose. They made the great mysteries and the supreme descent of Spirit towards matter understandable. This was a magnificent event that was awaited through the course of the centuries. It was awaited with as much yearning as is today the return of the human being to the superior worlds.”
-paraphrase from Ch. 31 of Perfect Matrimony by Samael Aun Weor
“God made Himself man in order to deify man. Heaven united itself with earth to transform earth into heaven. But in order that these divine transformations can take place, an entire change, a complete and absolute overturning and upsetting of our being, is necessary. This change, this upsetting, is called re-birth. To be born, simply means to enter into a world in which the senses dominate, in which wisdom and love languish in the bonds of individuality.
To be re-born means to return to a world where the spirit of wisdom and love governs, and where animal-man obeys. The re-birth is triple; first, the re-birth of our intelligence or understanding; second, of our heart and of our will; and, finally, the re-birth of our entire being. The first and second kinds are called the spiritual, and the third the corporeal rebirth.
Many pious men, seekers after God, have been regenerated in the mind and will, but few have known the corporeal rebirth. This last has been attained to but by few men, and those to whom it has been given have only received it so that they might serve as agents of God, in accordance with great and grand objects and intentions, and to bring humanity nearer to felicity or great happiness.
It is now necessary, my dear brothers, to lay before you the true order of rebirth. God, who is all strength, wisdom, and love, works eternally in order and in harmony. He who will not receive the spiritual life, he who is not born anew from the Lord, can not enter into heaven. Man is engendered through his parents in original sin, that is to say, he enters into the natural life and not the spiritual. The spiritual life consists in loving God above everything, and your neighbor as yourself. In this double-love consists the principle of the new life.”
Paraphrase from LETTER VI in The Cloud upon the Sanctuary by Karl von Eckhartshausen
The Philosophical Death of the Masters
“Initiation means death and rebirth into another life : occupy yourselves with learning the truth…”
The Philosophical Death of the Masters is the Death of the Ego. This is something very serious and must be understood, so that we can know the meaning of the symbolism of Death which is present in all the Mystery schools.
This is a subject which Gnostic Psychology explores in depth, but, at this point, let us say that the “Ego” as it is understood in Gnostic Psychology is used to describe all of the subjective likes & dislikes, desires, aversions, opinions, beliefs, etc., that we carry within. Due to the Ego, we lack Objectivity, Continuity of Purpose and generally miss out on all true opportunities in Life.
The Ego keeps us in a ‘dream’, it filters our perception of reality so that we do not see thing as they truly are. As a result, we are trapped in a way of thinking, feeling and acting which only leads us to more suffering and pain (Buddhism emphasizes this concept very clearly). In order to end this confusing mess, we must find the cause.
“Our present life is the effect of our past life; it is a continuation of our past life, it is the effect of a former cause. Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause. Every cause transforms itself into an effect; every effect was converted from a cause. Our present life is the cause of our future life. The cause of our future life will be this present life with all of its errors and miseries.
To continue the way we are means to postpone our errors and pain.
Therefore, what we must do is die from instant to instant in order for
us not to continue the way we are. It is better ‘to be’ than to
continue.”
“The “I”, the ego, is constituted by thousands of little “I’s”, which only wish to satisfy their desires and to create karma.”
The “I” is the origin of error and of its consequence, which is pain. Thus, as long as the “I” exists, pain and error will continue to exist.”
-from Ch. 4 of The Dissolution of the “I” (1965) by Samael Aun Weor
So the “Philosophical Death” is the psychological death of oneself, to die to all the causes of our pain and suffering, to end with our Subjective way of Being in order to seek for Authentic Objectivity. This process of ‘Dying’ occurs when we change our perspective on life, and this leads to a change in our Level of Being, and then we will begin to see that the causes of our present life exist within ourselves.
And as we address these causes begins, then new effects are produced and our life is changed step by step into something different, into something more profound, into something with Authentic Value. So all of this is related to our Psychology, our way of Thinking, Feeling and Acting, our Internal State: our Attitude or Perspective on Life.
Initiation is Life Itself
The Main thing that we need to understand about initiation, is that:
“INITIATION is your life itself, it is profoundly internal and profoundly individual.”
-paraphrase from Ch.4 of Manual of Practical Magic (1954) by Samael Aun Weor
“Those who resolve to lay the heavy cross of Initiation upon their shoulders will find themselves persecuted and even hated by those spiritualist brethren who live talking daily about initiation.”
“In this day and age, the Masonic Lodge grants its degrees based on money and social status. Many people sell initiations. Many people are bestowed with initiations. All of this is exploitation and black magic.
Authentic degrees and authentic white initiations are received in the consciousness. These initiatic ceremonies are performed within the superior worlds. They are intimate experiences of the consciousness. They must not be revealed, nor spoken about. No one can grant initiations to anyone. Initiation is attained through life itself.
In this day and age, everybody wants to be a master. We say that there is only one master, the internal Christ of every human being who comes to the world. Only HE is the Master…”
-paraphrase of Ch.21 The Major Mysteries (1956) by Samael Aun Weor
Understanding the Path of Initiation
As we mentioned in previous classes, all the ancient mystery schools tested their Initiates before allowing them to enter into their studies of the Esoteric side of Religion. In the past these tests were performed physically.
“In the solitude of those Mysterious Sanctuaries the Neophytes were submitted to the 4 Initiatic Ordeals. The ordeals of Fire, of Air, of Water and of Earth always defined the different purifications of the neophytes. The Neophytes are submitted to the 4 Initiatic Ordeals which are verified in the Internal Worlds.
Man is still not king of Nature, but he is called to be so after the order of Melchizedek. The disciple must be tested in the 4 Elements, in order to examine him he is submitted to ordeals in the 49 Regions of Thought. These ordeals are for all men and women.”
-from Ch. 26 of Tarot & Kabalah by Samael Aun Weor
“In the ancient Egypt of the pharaohs these four trials had to be faced
in the physical world. Now candidates have to pass these four trials in
the supra-sensitive worlds.
Ordeal of fire: This ordeal is to prove the serenity
and sweetness of the candidate. The wrathful and angry inevitably fail
this trial. The candidate is persecuted, insulted, wronged, etc. Many
are those who react violently and return to the physical body having
failed completely. The victorious are received in the Chamber of the
Children and are welcomed with delightful music.
Ordeal of air: Those who despair because they lose something or someone, those who fear poverty,
those
who are not willing to lose what they most love, fail in the ordeal of
air. The candidate is thrown into the depths of a precipice. The weak
cry out and return terrified to the physical body. The victorious are
received in the Chamber of the Children with celebration and feasting.
Ordeal of water: The great trial of the water is really terrible. The candidate is thrown into the ocean and believes himself to be drowning. Those who do not know how to adapt to the various social conditions of life, those who do not know how to live among the poor, those who after being shipwrecked in the ocean of life reject struggle and prefer to die; they, the weak inevitably fail in the trial of the water. The victorious are received in the Chamber of the Children with cosmic festivities.
Ordeal of earth: We must learn to take advantage of the worst adversities. The worst adversities bring us the best opportunities. We should learn to smile before all adversities, this is the Law. Those who succumb to pain before the adversities of existence, can not victoriously pass the trial of the earth. In the superior worlds the candidate finds himself between two enormous mountains that menacingly close in on him. If the candidate screams with horror, he returns to the physical body, having failed. If he is serene, then he is victorious and is received in the Chamber of the Children with great festivity and immense happiness.”
-from Ch. 19 of Perfect Matrimony by Samael Aun Weor
The Plan of the Church, Temple, or Lodge, which is the Tabernacle of the Human Soul
In all the Ancient Mystery Schools, the real Temple is the Tabernacle of the Human Soul. And in Freemasonry this Temple is symbolized by the Masonic Lodge.
Gnostic Kabalah teaches that the Soul (the
vehicle of the Spirit) must be created, that we do not have a Soul
unless we manufacture it and that, right now, instead of the Soul, what
we have are the 3 Rebels or 3 Traitors (Desire, the Mind and Ill-Will).
What we do have is the Seed of the Soul or the ‘Essence’, the ‘building materials’ which we must use to manufacture the Soul. And this is the symbolism of the Rough Stone which must be converted into the Perfect Stone (the Cubic Stone with its 9 corners).
Klipoth is the inverse of the 9 superior sephiroth, but that lack the ‘light’ or divine aspect that the superior aspects contain. The Sephiroth of Klipoth are often referred to as “cortices” or “shells” because they are hollow or empty compared to the Superior Sephiroth of the Tree of Life.
“Kabalists call sin a cortex: the bark, they say, is formed as an outgrowth that shrivels on the exterior through the sap which clots instead of circulating; so the bark dries and falls off.
Similarly, the man who is called to cooperate with God’s work, and to complete himself by perfecting himself through the act of his liberty, if he instead lets himself clot in the divine sap which must serve to develop his faculties for the greater good, then that man accomplishes a retrograde process, he degenerates, and falls down like dead bark.
But, according to the kabalists, nothing leads to evil in nature, evil is always absorbed by good; the dead bark may still be useful by being picked up by the farmer who burns them and warms himself through their heat, then he makes from their ash a nutritive manure for the tree, or better, in putrefying themselves at the foot of the tree, they nourish it and return to the sap through the roots.
In the ideas of the Kabalah, the eternal fire which must burn the wicked is then the regenerative fire that purifies them, and through these painful, but necessary, transformations, makes them serve for the general utility of the good, and eternally renders them to the good which must triumph.
God, they say, is absolute good, and there can only be two absolutes: evil is the error which will be absorbed by the truth; it is the bark that, whether putrefied or burned, returns to the sap, and contributes anew to universal life.”
-from Eliphas Levi’s to his student Mrs. Hutchinson
Masonry and the Vault of Secrets
In a Masonic Catechism from 1785 we have the following exchange, where the “Most Venerable” asks the Apprentice a series of questions:
“Question: My Brother, where do you come from?
Answer: Most Venerable, [I come] from the Lodge of St. John.
Q. What is done at the Lodge of St. John?
A. Temples are raised to virtue, and vaults are dug for vices.
[Footnote explains:] Among the [Mystery Schools of the] Ancients, the
Initiates were purified before being admitted into the lesser Mysteries.
In the early days of Christianity, no Proselyte was made [a member of
the Mysteries] until after they were baptized. When these new initiates
came into the Lodge, they were asked this same question, understanding
that their response, (‘I come from the lodge of St. John’) explicitly
means: ‘I just came from being purified by the waters of Baptism’.
Remember that it was St. John who instituted the Sacrament of Baptism, which is the great art of conquering one’s passions and of the practicing of virtues.”
-paraphrase from ‘CATÉCHISME DES APPRENTIFS’ in
“RECUEIL PRÉCIEUX DE LA MAÇONNERIE ADONHIRAMITE”
[PRECIOUS COLLECT OF ADONHIRAMITE MASONRY] (1789)
by Louis Guillemain de Saint-Victor
‘Temples are raised to virtue’ makes sense, but why are ‘vaults dug for vices’? (from the second answer above)
In a Masonic Encyclopedia, we learn of the re-building of the Temple of Jerusalem which occurred at a later time after it had been destroyed by a conquering army:
“As a symbol, the Secret Vault does not present itself in the primary degrees of Masonry. It is found only in the high degrees … where it plays an important part. [Here are some extracts] of the Masonic legend of this vault:
“The foundations of the Temple were opened, and cleared from the accumulation of rubbish, that a level might be procured for the commencement of the building. While engaged in excavations for this purpose, three fortunate sojourners are said to have discovered our ancient stone of foundation, which had been deposited in the secret crypt by Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty, to prevent the communication of ineffable secrets to profane or unworthy persons. …The secret vault had been built by Solomon as a secure depository for certain secrets would inevitably have been lost without something like this being done for their preservation…”
The vault was, therefore, in the ancient mysteries, symbolic of the grave; for initiation was symbolic of death, where alone Divine Truth is to be found. The Masons have adopted the same idea. They teach that death is but the beginning of life; that if the first or evanescent temple of our transitory life is on the surface, we must descend into the secret vault of death before we can find that sacred deposit of truth which is to adorn our second temple of eternal life.”
-paraphrase from Vault, Secret in “An encyclopedia of freemasonry and its kindred sciences” (1874)
by Albert Gallatin Mackey
So from this we can see that
- the Secret Vault (or Crypt) is where the Foundational Stone is found [the Corner Stone, or the Cubic Stone of Yesod], along with ‘certain secrets’;
- and in the Ancient Mysteries, the Vault was symbolic of the grave and death, which is related with Initiation.
Therefore we have 3 things that are interrelated:
- the Vault, Crypt, or Grave
- the Ancient Stone of the Foundation, or Cubic Stone of Yesod
- and Initiation
But how is all of this related to the ‘vices’ mentioned by the Apprentice? In order to understand this we must remember what has already been said about the significance of the number 9 and the esoteric principle: “we must descend in order to ascend”.
The Work upon Oneself
Something that seems confusing, and is often misunderstood, is the work on oneself. If we wish to get rid of our vices and replace them with virtues, then we have to first become aware of the vices.
In Gnosis, this self-awareness is achieved through what is called Self-Study and:
“The chief method of self-study is self-observation.”
-from Ch. 6 of In Search of the Miraculous by P.D. Ouspensky
By studying oneself, one is able to discover the defects or vices and observe them before they are acted upon. If we act on them, then we are the defect or vice that we have carried out, we effectively become it since we did it. But if we study ourselves and see the vice come up (in our thinking and feeling) but we don’t act on it, we don’t carry it out, then we have begun the process of becoming a better person.
So in order to be a better person, we have to stop doing the things that are making us a worse person. Samael Aun Weor explains this concept very well when he says:
“In order to start being someone we are not, we have to stop being the person that we are.”
-paraphrase from Ch. 1.44 ‘THE MENTAL STOMACH’ in Revolution of the Dialectic
Another way of saying this is: that in order to be a different person, we have to die to the person we are.
This is why the symbol of death is used: the grave, the crypt, etc.
The process of becoming a better person by discovering our vices is
symbolically represented as descending into “the Abyss” or “the Well of
the Abyss” or “the Deep Well of the Universe”. This is why it is said
that “In order to ascend one must descend.”
In order to become better we must first discover what is making us what we presently are, and this is a process of confronting ourselves and who we really are. And of this is clearly related to the Level of Being [see more information about this in ‘The Level of Being’ from Part 1]. All the topics of Self-Study are covered in detail in the field of Gnostic Psychology. Gnostic Psychology is ‘the study of principles, laws and facts related to the individual’s radical and definitive transformation’.
We must descend into ourselves, submerge ourselves in the profound Study of who and what we are. This will lead us to some deep truths about ourselves. It will allow us to know ourselves as we really are… (“Know yourself and you will know the Universe and its Gods…”). But, of course, we must know how to do all of this CONSCIOUSLY, that is: with profound Awareness. Remember that in Gnosis Consciousness is ‘a very particular kind of apprehension of inner knowledge which is totally independent of mental activity’.
Our Consciousness is presently trapped in our vices, passions and
defects. It is asleep, or dreaming, about who and what we are. So, we
must work in order to awaken it, and Gnosis has scientific methods to
achieve that goal. When we practice the techniques and the methods,
then we get some inner knowledge, which is related to our own personal
psychological states. This is why studying Gnostic Psychology
is so helpful, not only for understanding the knowledge we receive, but
also for the techniques it has to Awaken the Consciousness.
If we apply the techniques of Gnostic Psychology (studying and observing ourselves), then we will discover that throughout the day we spend an enormous amount of time unaware of the present moment. During this time, we are either ‘thinking’ about the past or the future, what was, what could have been, what will or could potentially be, etc.
“If I had done this, then things would have been different now” or “I am so glad I did that, wasn’t that a good time?” We wish, we recount, we dwell (on both the good and the bad), all while forgetting that the power to make life whatever we want it to be: is right NOW.
As we have said, the Level of Being is directly related to the present moment and if we want to change who we are: we can only do it now (not in some remote past or in some distant future). Therefore in order to Awaken our Consciousness, we must start by become aware of ourselves here and now. If we go into the abyss, without the esoteric technique of Self-Observation, then we are going to get stuck there and we will not be able to escape.
The sacred truth, the secrets, which are found in the vault are about ourselves and our own particular psychology. This is why Masonry says: ‘we must descend into the secret vault of death before we can find that sacred deposit of truth’. Once we discover, confront and admit the truth of what we are, about our vices, passions and defects, then we can stop doing them, kill them and DIE to these things in order to become a better person.
This is how Death is related to the Vault and to Initiation. And, as we have already said, Initiation is related to the number 9.
“The Initiate has to descend to the 9 Submerged Spheres in order to later attain the 9 Heavens…”
In the Bible (Ephesians 4:9-10) it says:
“Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.”
If we look at the illustration of the Vault (which can be found in many Masonic Manuals), we will discover something very interesting: it too contains 9 levels. If we study Dante’s Divine Comedy then we will also see that 9 hells are described. This 9 indicates the individual work that we must all do if we really want to know ourselves.
But we do have a helper, our own personal trainer in this work. It is our Coach or Trainer, who tests us in the Work on ourselves… An often misunderstood character who personifies our defects… and goes by the name of Lucifer.
Lucifer: our Psychological Trainer
“Religious Esotericism does not teach any kind of atheism, except in the sense implied by the Sanskrit word NASTIKA: meaning that there is to be no admission of idols, included in this is the anthropomorphic God of the ignorant (the idea of a celestial dictator, sitting up there on his throne of tyranny, throwing thunderbolts against our sad human anthill). Esotericism does teach about a LOGOS or collective “CREATOR” of the universe, an DEMIURGE architect.
This DEMIURGE is not a personal Deity as many wrongly suppose, but only the collective of the DHYAN CHOHANS, Angels, Archangels and the rest of the forces. GOD IS GODS. It is written with characters of fire in the resplendent Book of Life, that God is the Army of the Voice, the Great Word, The Verb.
…We can and must radically eliminate all the passions, vices, or subjective psychic aggregates which we have inside; however, we will never be able to dissolve the shadow of the intimate Logos within ourselves.
LUCIFER is the antithesis of the Creator Demiurge, its living shadow projected into the profound depths of the MICRO-COSMOS-MAN. LUCIFER is the Guardian of the Door and of the keys to the Sanctuary, so that only those anointed and possessing the secret of Hermes can enter it.”
-paraphrase from Ch.2 “Religion” in The Three Mountains by Samael Aun Weor
“Each one of us has our own PARTICULAR LUCIFER. In the Egypt of the Pharaohs, the Midday Sun, the Sacred Absolute Sun, was always symbolized by Osiris while his Shadow, his Reflection, his Lucifer, was allegorized by TYPHON [aka SET]. In the Sacred Temples of the old Egypt of the Pharaohs, when the neophyte was at the point of suffering the ordeals of Initiation, a Master drew near to him and quietly murmured into his ear this mysterious phrase: “REMEMBER THAT OSIRIS IS A BLACK GOD”.
Obviously this is the specific color of darkness and of the cumaean shadows; it is the color of the Devil, who was always offered black roses, and it is also the color of Primitive Chaos where all the elements and seeds of life are totally mixed and disordered ; the symbol of the Earth Element, of the Night and of the radical Death of all the Psychic Aggregates which in their conjunction constitute the Ego, the Myself.
We need with maximum and unpostponable urgency to “WHITEN THE DEVIL”, and this is only possible by fighting against ourselves, by dissolving that ensemble of Psychic Aggregates which form the “I”, the Myself, the Oneself. Only by dying within ourselves can we ‘Whiten the brass’ and contemplate the Midnight Sun (the Father). This means overcoming temptations and eliminating each and every one of the Inhuman Elements that we carry within (Anger, Greed, Lust, Envy, Pride, Laziness, Gluttony etc., etc., etc.).”
-paraphrase from Ch.15 of The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of the Tarot and Kabalah by Samael Aun Weor
“When we have dissolved the Ego, the “myself”, we will discover with mystical astonishment that there is something which is not possible to dissolve, and that “something” is hated by the people of all the religions. This “something” is the biblical Satan (we know the role that the Devil has played in the Old Testament), and we must comprehend what Satan is.
That Devil, which scares us so much, is less harmful than we are led to believe… But all the religious people think that Satan is very harmful, and if we pronounced ourselves in favor of Satan, they declare us to be “satanists”, “black magicians”, “sorcerers”, “witches”, “damn people”, etc. However, you should remember that Satan is the shadow of the Eternal one.
We can dissolve the Ego, reduce it to dust, but Satan we cannot dissolve because it is the shadow of the Eternal one. If we go on a terrace, we protect our own shadow, (we protect it from the light of the Sun). So, too, does the Eternal one project its shadow in each of us. Remember that each one of us has a Divine Spark, Virginal, Ineffable (which is our intimate Logoi, our Seity). It projects its shadow into our psyche, and that shadow is indeed Satan, Mephistopheles, or Lucifer.
Satan, the shadow of the Eternal in each of us, must be transformed into Lucifer. Lucifer is the “Giver of Light”, the “Star of the Morning”, and also the “Vespertine Star”. We must, then, transform the Devil into Lucifer. When we see our own Devil (in the superior worlds of Cosmic Consciousness), we comprehend the necessity to transform it.
But here is what is spectacular : to transform, to convert that black shadow, that Devil into Lucifer, and this becomes possible when we eliminate the animal Ego, when we destroy the “inhuman elements” that we carry inside. Then that shadow of the Eternal can dress itself in the Tunic of Glory and convert itself into an Archangel of Light.
So: it is necessary to turn the Devil into Lucifer, to modify that black and tenebrous aspect of the shadow of the Eternal, to whiten it in order to make it pure, and perfect; to embellish it, through the dissolution of the animal Ego.”
-paraphrase of RIGORES DE LA ÉTICA SUPERIOR
[RIGORS OF THE SUPERIOR ETHIC]
from pages 194-195 of EL QUINTO EVANGELIO
“LUCIFER IS ONLY THE SHADOW OF GOD, the Shadow of the Intimate Logos within ourselves; or better said, our Profound Inner Logos, the Intimate Christ, projects its Shadow within us; and that Shadow is useful, we need it…
If you read the “Divine Comedy” by Dante, you will see how Virgil and Dante descended on the Stairs of Lucifer. Each hair of Lucifer’s body seemed like a beam , by which they went down and also up, until arriving at the top, where “The Golgotha” [where Jesus was Crucified] is; this is symbolic: “Lucifer is the stairs to go down. Lucifer is stairs to go up”…
The Christ disguises himself as Lucifer in order to serve as stairs for us and to get us out of the Abyss, carrying us to the Light. Therefore, we must look at Lucifer from a new point of view.”
-paraphrase of EL AUTÉNTICO SIMBOLISMO DE LA NAVIDAD
[THE AUTHENTIC SYMBOLISM OF CHRISTMAS]
from page 65 of EL QUINTO EVANGELIO
“LUCIFER is the Spirit of the Spiritual Illumination of Humanity and of the Freedom of Choice and, metaphysically, the torch of humanity; the LOGOS in his superior aspect, and the adversary in his inferior aspect; the Divine and chained PROMETHEUS; the active and centrifugal energy of the universe; fire, light, life, struggle, effort, consciousness, liberty, independence, etc., etc., etc.
The Sword and the Scale of Cosmic Justice are entrusted to LUCIFER, because he is the standard of weight, measure and number. Inside each one of us, LUCIFER is the reflection of the Intimate LOGOS, shadow of the Lord projected onto the depth of our Being… So, Lucifer is the “Divine Daimon” of Socrates, our special trainer in the Psychological Gymnasium of Life…”
-paraphrase from Ch.46 “The Eleventh Labor of Hercules”
in The Three Mountains by Samael Aun Weor
Lucifer trains us by testing us through temptation. If we fall into temptation, then we fail the test, but if we triumph over temptation, then we pass. As we pass more and more tests, we climb up the ladder or staircase of Lucifer, converting the Shadow of God into an Archangel of Light.
“By the stairs of Lucifer one must descend, and one must ascend…”
-from Ch. 9 of Tarot & Kabalah
Each test is an individual aspect of ourselves which is called an Ego and some Egos are stronger than others… As we convert our vices into virtues, we become better and better people.
There is a very interesting Poem called Psychomachia [“Contest of the
Soul”] written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (around AD 410) which
helps us to understand the conversion of Vices into Virtues. It
describes the battle of good virtues and evil vices and helped
popularize the Christian concept of the 7 deadly sins and the 7 heavenly
virtues.
VIRTUE
- Chastity (proper sexual conduct)
- Temperance (self-control)
- Charity (generosity)
- Diligence
- Patience
- Kindness (being caring)
- Humility (being humble)
VICE
Lust
Gluttony
Greed/Covetousness
Sloth/Laziness
Wrath/Anger
Envy
Pride (vanity and shame)
[see more information about the Seven Virtues of Christianity]
As we eliminate our Egos of Lust, Gluttony or Greed, etc., they are replaced with a virtue of Chastity, Temperance or Generosity, etc. This is the purpose of the Esoteric work and the Initiatic Knowledge: to kill the defect, vice, passion or traitor and build a Temple to Virtuousness.
This Temple is the House for God, our Soul. It is something that we must create by changing our Level of Being and no one else can do this for us. This is the Mystery of why we have Free-Will, so that we can choose to get closer to God, or not, we don’t have to, it is our choice…
Esoteric Initiatic Symbolism
The object set before the candidate for initiation is the search for the Lost Word, which entitled them to receive a Master’s wages. The wages of the real Master were the revelations and internal experiences which flow from the possession of Virtues. The Esoteric Knowledge is of value only when one comprehends how to apply it. This is, in part, the symbolic meaning of “knowing the Master’s word” and “knowing how to pronounce the Word.”
“Each degree of the [Masonic] order possesses a word which expresses intelligence. There is only one word, but this word is pronounced in three different ways.
- One manner is for the apprentice … and is explained by work.
- Another manner is for the companions … and is explained by study.
- And yet another manner is for the masters … and is explained by wisdom.”
-paraphrase from Eliphas Levi’s History of Magic.
The concept and the principal of all initiations is that knowledge is unfolded by degrees in an orderly, systematic manner, step by step, as the person’s ability to comprehend opens up more and more. The result is not a possession, but a growth, a progressive development of the Consciousness.
To change one’s Being is to apply the Knowledge so that a progressive
change or transformation of the original structure converts the
candidate into a better and better person. Real Knowledge (or the
growth of Wisdom in us) is an Eternal Becoming; a progressive
transformation into the likeness of the Supreme Being.
Now lets continue our Masonic Catechism from the late 1700’s:
“Q. What do you come here to do?
A. Vanquish my passions, submit my willpower, and to make new progress in Masonry.
Q. Why [did] you [want] to be received [as a] Mason?
A. Because I was in darkness and I desired to know the light.
Q. What does this light signify?
A. The knowledge and all virtues together, symbol of the great Architect of the Universe.
Q. Are you [an] Apprentice?
A. I believe I am.
Q. If you believe it, why do you not say yes?
A. This is because
Masonry is an assembly of all the virtues, there is no good Mason who
claims that they are perfect, and especially an Apprentice of whom the
feelings are not yet certain.
Q. What is the work of the Apprentice?
A. To polish and smooth the brute stone.
Q. What is the word?
A. Féix-Féax.
Q. What do these two words mean?
A. Academy or School of virtue.
Q. What is this school?
A. Masonry.
Q. What do you understand Masonry [to be]?
A. I understand it [to be] the study of sciences and the practice of virtues.
Q. What are the greatest duties of a Mason?
A. They are to fulfill that of the state where Providence has placed them, to flee vice and to practice virtue.
Q. Was nothing more given to you when receiving you [as a] Mason?
A. They gave me a white apron and the gloves of a man and a woman [both] of the same color.
Q. What does the apron mean?
A. It is the symbol of the work; its
whiteness shows us the candor of our morals, and the equality which must
prevail between us.
Q. Why have you been given white gloves?
A. To teach me that a Mason must never dip his hands in iniquity.
Q. Why have you been given women’s gloves?
A. To show the
Recipient that he must esteem and cherish his wife and that he cannot
forget her for [even] a moment without being unjust.
-combination of and paraphrase from CATÉCHISME DES APPRENTIFS in
“RECUEIL PRÉCIEUX DE LA MAÇONNERIE ADONHIRAMITE” (1785)
and from CATÉCHISME D’APPRENTIE in
“MANUEL DES FRANCHES-MAÇONNES” (1787)
by Louis Guillemain de Saint-Victor
The Esoteric Significance of the Three Traitors
The decapitation of the “three traitors” requires work, study and understanding. The three traitors are within ourselves, they are our: Negative Emotions, Negative Thoughts and Negative Intentions & Actions. By eliminating them: we perfect ourselves.
Jesus explains this in the Bible by saying:
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
– Matthew 16:24
We need to learn what it means to “deny ourselves”, to “take up the cross” and to “follow the Christ”. In this way, we will achieve the sanctity that is required to become Better Human Beings.
What is Religion for, if it is not:
• to become better people?
• to end suffering?
• and to make us comprehend why we are on this planet?
This is what the Ancient Mysteries taught, the path: to purity, to sanctification, to perfection. This is how we “Christify” ourselves.
All the Religions of the world have always taught the same Religious Principles (although the Religious Forms have changed based on the culture and the time period). And this is why (mentioned in the second class) St. Augustine said:
“For what is now called the Christian religion existed even among the ancients and was not lacking from the beginning of the human race until ‘Christ came in the flesh’. From that time, true religion, which already existed, began to be called christian.
…For this reason, I said: ‘In our times, this is the Christian religion,’ not because it did not exist in Former times, but because it had received this name in later times…”
-from Ch.12 of The Retractions (427) by St. Augustine
“The greatest thing that Christ did was to make the ancient doctrine public on the roads of Jerusalem.”
– paraphrase from Ch.1 in The Book of the Virgin of Carmel by Samael Aun Weor
This Ancient Doctrine is the Esoteric Knowledge, the teaching which must be applied to ourselves in order to see its effect. And its results depend on its application. The starting point of this Path is to recognize who we are and what we are. What are we doing with our energy?, with our thoughts, feelings and actions? If we really want to change, to transform ourselves, then we have to become serious.
If we are serious, then we will recognize
• our lack of continuity,
• our lack of inner stability
• and lack of continuous purpose.
We are inconsistent and we lack Spiritual Objectivity. We need to be serious about what we want out of life,
because
when we die, we will look back and say: ‘What did I really do with my
life?’ If our present answer does not satisfy us, then lets take
advantage of the time we have to change our direction.
Remember (quoting from the third class) that:
“To revive the Christ within ourselves is only possible by decapitating the three traitors…”
-paraphrase from Ch. 4 of Samael Aun Weor’s Mountain of Juratena
The three Traitors exist within ourselves. We must eliminate them from our thoughts feelings and actions.
“THE OBJECTIVE OF OUR STUDIES IS TO STOP BEING DEMONS.
1: JUDAS IS THE DEMON OF DESIRE. He is a terribly perverse demon; which is what the whole world has [within themselves]; and all [of us] are demons. To stop being so corresponds to the Initiatic Mysteries. We have to begin by recognising that we are demons.
2: PILATE IS THE DEMON OF THE MIND. He is the one who always washes his hands and continues on washing them.
3: CAIAPHAS IS THE DEMON OF ILL-WILL. He who does not do the Will of the Father is disobedient. THE WILL OF THE FATHER MUST BE DONE, HERE, AND IN THE INTERNAL WORLDS.
The Will of the Father is done:
IF THERE IS RIGHT THOUGHT.
IF THERE IS RIGHT FEELING.
IF THERE IS RIGHT ACTION.
If we do something “crooked” or wrong, it is not the Will of the Father. We must totally eliminate the Ego, so that there does not remain a single Subjective Element within, and be of Pure Spirit in order to attain this, one must pay and the price of this is life itself.
[Note: This is why it is said that ‘Initiation is life itself’]
The vanities of the
world must be forgotten, and one must dedicate one self to the Great
Work; to work and work and work until attaining it.”
-paraphrase from Ch. 44 of Tarot & Kabalah by Samael Aun Weor
Mark Passio An Introduction To Light & Dark Freemasonry Part 1
Mark Passio An Introduction To Light & Dark Freemasonry Part 2
WOEIH 54 Esoteric Freemasonry w/ Mark Passio - Full
WOEIH 57 Esoteric Freemasonry w/ Mark Passio - Full
WOEIH 58 Esoteric Freemasonry w/ Mark Passio - Full
Conclusion
“The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force”
– Matthew 11:12
This is an ethical force, a spiritual courage, and the first great battle is for the conquest of self,
“Man know thyself, and you will know the Universe and its Gods…”
This battle for oneself is the battle to conquer that part of us that worships time, matter, idea and sensation, that (when worshiping the idols of the flesh) is blind to the truths of the eternal spirit. It is the battle against the Ego, the battle to free ourselves from psychological slavery. Whosoever conquers these battles will become a Master.
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