In the late eighteen-hundreds
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky introduced the West to the Mysteries of the East.
In doing so she re-vitalised the way in which we in the west think about
religion: she changed us for good. Theosophy became all the rage and group
and societies sprang up all over Europe and England. A great deal of good
came out of this because it made it obvious to those who thought deeply that
the East held a lot of magical knowledge we had never heard about. It made
the West hungry for more.
But it was not enough. There were those who, while they
admitted the importance of what Blavatsky had done, felt that the West
should seek out its own ancient ways of the higher Mind. They turned to
Greece, to Rome, to Sumeria and of course to Egypt seeking to understand
what the ancient believed in and how they worshipped. The East, they argued,
has much to offer, but it most benefits those of Eastern descent. The
romance of it all caught the imagination of many, but, as always, for some
it was the research, the study, the serious side of it all that beckoned.
Slowly, gradually they began
to unravel the long forgotten rites and beliefs of the Western Tradition.
This was very different to that of the East. Thousands of years lived in a
cold, harsh, and dangerous climate had made life a hazardous business. It
made Westerners evolve in a very different way. They are people of action
and intent, motivated to search and build and so their belief system needs a
more postive approach and a philosophy to match. A more active discipline
that emphasise the Westerners' need to overcome obstacles. Then the Golden
Dawn burst upon the scene and within a few short years our world had changed
beyond belief and would never be the same again. This lecture, however, is
not about history, rather it is about the way of the Western Tradition
itself, its many off-shoots, its ways of training, its beliefs and sources.
However before one even begins to think about training it is important to
know something of the subject itself.
With the possible exception of
sex, the occult and all things pertaining to it must be the most
misunderstood, misinterpreted and misjudged subject of our time. Bring up
the word magic in casual conversation and 90% of the time your listeners
will equate it with BLACK MAGIC, blood sacrifices, spiritual and
moral degradation, ritual abuse of children and wholesale perversion. They
will listen politely if they are British, with blatant disbelief if they are
European and then mark you down as mad, bad, and dangerous to know.
Now while it is true that
there will always be those who delight in the pain and humiliation of
others, who seek not knowledge and wisdom but simply power over others, they
form a very small part of the occult. What is more to the point, you will
find an even higher percentage of such people in the orthodox religions
and/or the ordinary walks of life. Those who rage hysterically against the
occult are often to be found among those who support vivisection, commit
incest, beat up their wife and families and run amok with guns. They forget
the nine million men women and children who were hung, burnt, and tortured
to death during the Burning times.
Most of these objectors see
occultists as people who run around naked luring young and innocent youths
and girls into lives of perversion. If only one tenth of this were true,
virgins would be an endangered species and the rest of us would be dying
like flies of exhaustion and double pneumonia. In Britain very few people go
sky-clad or star clad for two very good reasons: 1) the climate, you would
have chilblains and frost bite in very tender parts of your anatomy, and 2)
there are very few places in Britain private enough to do such things. More
often than not a group of Scouts or Guides will tramp past, or a posse of
leather shorted tourists will decide to have their picnic in the middle of
your circle, or , worst of all, a delegation of Japanese businessmen will
appear and take photographs.
Remember that here we are
speaking of The Old Religion, which is just one aspect of the Western Way.
There are a few of them that still work in the old ways but most of them
have long warm woolen wood cloaks in which to hold their rites, while the
ceremonial magician often wears vestments that may have been handed down
over a hundred years or more. The majority of occultists work actively with
the Forces of Light and those great Beings responsible for the Cosmic Laws
of the universe.
Those who today study the
ancient mysteries practice the teachings of wise men and women who lived and
taught when the world was younger and more stable. For the most part they
are deep-thinking people who search for ways to bring the best of the old
ways into alignment with the best of the new, in order to serve the needs of
the future. But persecution is by no means dead. The modern occultist is
still denied the right in many places to believe and to worship as they
wish. This despite the UN charter giving all the basic right to
worship as they please. The pyre and the rack may have gone, but the threat
of publicity, the tabloid press, loss of jobs and social ostracism still
pose a threat.
Despite this people still
search for entry into schools such as the Servants of the Light because they
hold an inner vision. They feel, and rightly so, that by entering one of the
sacred contacted schools they will become part of the living tradition that
has never ceased to practice the ancient mysteries.
Of those ancient mysteries most used today the best known are
the Eleusinian or Greek, the Egyptian, Celtic, and Qabalistic, as well as
those pertaining to the mysteries of the great School of Alexandria and its
wonderful library, deliberately set on fire - though more was saved than is
generally known. These are the Traditions that have had - and still have -
the greatest influence upon the Western world.
The Western mind inquires,
dissects, experiments, probes and puzzles out the secrets of the world about
it. It is not enough to know, they must also know Why and How, When and
Where. Then comes a need to improve, change and adapt what they have
discovered. In the East there is acceptance of the higher will, a way
evolved over many centuries, a willingness to allow Fate to have the last
word, something that is not acceptable to the West. Both ways are valid for
those born to them, but when a choice of teaching is offered it is better to
choose one's own racial type.
Sumeria, Chaldea, Egypt and Greece were the cradles of the
Western Way. Greece was the birthplace of abstract thought, and philosophers
like Thales of Miletus, Anaxamander and Anaxagoras taught a thought process
that was excitingly new to Western minds. It opened a cosmic-sized pathway
along which the curiosity-ridden mind of the West could travel. These new
ways of thinking enabled the human mind to really see and understand the
true nature of the world around and within him. From this sprang the first
new mode of thought since the decline of the great Egyptian temples of
learning. Once its value was recognised, its used was expanded and
incorporated into the training of the neophytes and used to its full
potential. In many ways our present position as we come to the end of both a
century and an Age is analogous to what happened in ancient Greece. Our
mental and physical capabilities have expanded so fast and so far that we do
not always take enough time to consolidate them and are in danger of
out-running ourselves. We are in the middle of learning how to think in new
and sometimes very strange ways.
While the Greeks were learning to think around corners, the
school of Alexandria concerned itself with the collection and preservation
of what was ancient knowledge even then. Within its walls a cross-section of
the finest minds of the time might be found. Herbalists from Cathay
exchanged ideas with Therapeutoi from the Desert Peninsula and astrologers
from Sumeria, white robed Druids walked with the dark-skinned priests of
Nubia. The Rune Masters of the cold, far North taught their art to the
shaven headed Egyptian priests from Heliopolis, and the scribes copied it
all down. It was a place where the known and often unknown world sent its
finest minds to both learn and teach. Such harmony between nations has never
been surpassed, rarely has it even been equalled.
In the mist-wrapped islands of
the far North there were other, older colleges of learning whose founding
priests had come as survivors from the drowned lands of the West. Theirs was
perhaps the most ancient of all schools; the primal source of the Mysteries
as we know it - the fabled Atlantis. On the shores of Britain and the
surrounding islands, once perhaps the furthest outposts of their empire, the
Atlanteans raised places of learning to train those who proved themselves
worthy of the teaching. It is from this time that so many of the legends and
myths of the Celts have come down to us. There are still faint echoes of
this ancient world, and it surfaces in our old customs and festivals. It was
from this source that the Celts received their love of poetry and music.
All Western schools lay
emphasis on personal effort, both mental and physica, as a means of
obtaining self-knowledge. Time has not changed this aspect of the Western
Mysteries. You will find no real school of the Mysteries that offers
knowledge without effort - none, that is, that has anything of value to
teach. In the East, humanity lived at a slower pace, in a warmer and more
productive climate foodwise. A more introspective approach was taken which
suited the lifestyle, but for the West a more active way was needed.
In our time the mind of
humanity is stirring once more and preparing to make another leap of
understanding of the cosmos in which we live and of ourselves, both mentally
and physically. As a species we are changing, becoming taller, stronger and
developing new areas of the brain. Once more men and women are beginning to
approach the Pylon Gate of the Mysteries because those ancient priests had
experienced the same kind of leap and left records and clues that can and
will help us to make our own transit in the coming Age. Some look and pass
on, others hesitate, enter, then retreat back to the safe, warm known world.
But there are always a few who will enter and stay and find what they have
been seeking within its walls. It is not always the same thing; each man and
woman is different and find what it is meant for them to find, which is not
always what they want or would like.
As we move towards the end of
this century, material, teachings, knowledge that was prepared for us
hundreds if not thousands of years ago, and hidden against the time when it
would be needed, will come to light. Old manuscripts, reprints of books not
fully understand when they were first written, a fuller understanding of
facts, fables, myths long forgotten as well as new scientific discoveries
that will underline them will come into the open. We are already finding
material with which we may build a bridge across the gulf of time that
separates one era from another .
Reluctantly and screaming
every step of the way, sceince is being forced to look at what they call The
Paranormal, and admit its existence. They have discovered, as did the
Egyptians 3,500 years BC, that the mind is an incredible tool that
has in no way reached its full potential, The ancient search to Know
Thyself has been resumed in earnest. When you come to the Pylon Gate you
are answering the same call as did those young hopefuls who assembled
outside the temples of On, Eleusis, and Alexandria, waiting and hoping to be
chosen for training by the priests. Only the years stand between you; the
urge to know is still the same, but we have no need to travel far from home
and family: communications, e-mail, fax machines and so on mean we can
search the libraries of the world for information. But - the need for
dedication, time and study is still there, more so in fact. We also have the
Qabalah with which to compare and file what we find.
The symbol of the Tree of Life
is so wonderfully flexible that it can and does incorporate all tradition
within itself. Though pertaining in its highest form to the purest mystical
traditions of the Jewish faith, it lends itself without difficulty to the
ways of all Western thought. To do justice to it requires a lifetime of
dedicated work. The Western tradition does not use it or even fully
understand it as do the learned Rabbis of the the ancient city of Sefat in
Israel, but we do treat it with the respect it merits. In those Western
schools where it forms the basis of the curriculum, great effort is made to
see that it is not debased.
One of the first rules you learned in Alexandria was never to
decry the faiths and belief systems of others. Share the teaching of your
own path, and listen to the wisdom of a different way, but do not seek to
turn anyone away from the path of their race. If they wish to change they
must seek it for themselves.
The Western Mystery Tradition
uses the Tree of Life for its capacity to hold, explain, unite, and expand
the multi-patterned universe in which we live. Its study gives a firm
foundation to Jew, Gentile, Christian, Craft, Orphic or Egyptian tradition.
The call that rings you to the
Pylon Gate of the Western Way will also take you into dangerous, un-mapped
and even lawless regions of the Inner Kingdom of the mind. Your first need
is to reclaim that kingdom for your own and learn to rule it wisely and
well. This is known as The Quest and it is the subject of many a myth and
fairy tale all over the world. The Prize at the end of the Quest changes
from from race to race, but it is always there for the seeking. The Western
aim is the integration of the whole person, not a casting away of the
physical, but a recognition of its vitality, its powers and potential.
This kind of knowledge and the
wisdom that comes from the study, use, and practice of it is not something
you can learn in a weekend seminar. It requires a solid basis of data,
theory, and years of practice and constant updating. It must be pursued with
the same dedication and determination and respect you would give to
years of studying for a Ph.D. Only you can do the work; the teacher
simply shows you how to use what you are learning. Asking questions is good,
for a question is intended to obtain a clearer view of the subject; any
school that does not encourage questions on the subjects it teaches should
be viewed with suspicion. A student comes to a school like an onion with
many layers built up over the years. Those layers have to be peeled off, and
this is neither easy nor painless. It should be regarded in the same way as
a Rite of Passage undergone in order to gain a greater sense of Self. Such a
time marks the passing from one kind of existence to another and much wider
one.
The Western Way is not meant
to be exclusive, but rather it is for as many as will come seeking it. The
values, ideals, and principles of the Western Mysteries may appear strange
to some, for they are used to a world where everything must be seen to have
a high monetary value in order to have worth. The Mysteries follow the law
that stipulates that those who come to the Gate of the Mysteries are judged
on their abilities and their capacity for hard work, not what they may or
may not have in worldly wealth. In the old days on acceptance into the
temple a neophyte stripped naked before the door and ceremoniously knocked
for entrance. He/she was then bathed and given a coarse robe, sandals and a
cloak, and fed bread, salt and wine and anointed with oil; thus the body and
the soul were cared for and welcomed into the Temple. When you come to the
Door in the modern world, this should be held in the mind as an example.
At this time, close the end of
what is possibly the most momentous and most crucial century in the recorded
history of humankind, we are reaching back into the past for clues to help
us through the next decade, to unite the simplicity of the old with the
impetus and knowledge of the new. If we succeed we might possibly make it to
the next century. But such gifts of the mind as trained by the methods of
the Mysteries are not to be had just for the asking, nor will all who come
to the gate pass through to attain the high levels they hope for. We have
become too used to the idea that what we want, we are entitled to have.
Unfortunately this is not the way it happens.
Some minds are peculiarly
adapted to working in such ways, but it is a talent like music, singing,
being able to paint or write or sew. It requires certain gifts, an ability
to imagine things visually so well that the everyday world seems strangely
unreal when you return to it. A lucid and adaptable memory that can supply
information rapidly, concisely and cross index items with ease and
correctness. A mind that is encyclopaedic in its ability to store
information of all kinds, with insatiable curiosity. Total dedication to the
study, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. A certain dramatic flair for
ritual, a love of silence and loneliness for what it can offer to the still
mind.
But unless you try, you will
never know if you could have succeeded. If you do try, the least of your
rewards will take you far beyond what you would have been. Your
concentration and ability to cope with Life's storms will be increased, you
will be able to cope with situations others find impossible. You will have
more ability to control your environment and your life and will enjoy it
more.
Some of those who do pass
through may go a certain way and decide to go no further: this is enough for
them in this lifetime. They may return to it in another time and go on from
where they have left off. We say in the Mysteries that it takes three
lifetimes to make an initiate.The first when you come to it new and
uncertain, touching the edges so to speak; the second where you enter the
Mysteries and go as far as you can or wish to go; the third life you
progress rapidly to where you stopped last time and go on from there.
What does such a training
offer a candidate? A priceless gift, that of knowing yourself. To many who
seek immediate power over others this seems like a big let down. But the
wise ones of ancient times knew very well that the love of power can corrupt
even the finest and most dedicated. They always trained their pupils to look
first of all at themselves, to know and be able to assess their best and
worst traits and talents. This is a long and tedious job, it takes years and
often the impatient ones leave because there is no excitments, no battle on
the astral, no moments when they are THE MIGHTY MAGICIAN THAT CONQUERS
ALL. If that is your airm, forget the Mysteries, train as an actor,
become a writer of fantasy books, become a dreamer, you will do better that
way.
Some people dream of doing
great things; wise people stay awake and do them.
If you cannot control
yourself, you cannot control others well and wisely, or your environment.
The Magi of the West aim to
lift physical matter to the higher levels of spirituality, not to abandon it
. To study and practice the Western Mysteries does not mean you have to
abadon the orthodox faiths of your upbringing. All faiths truly based on the
Light are part of the greater whole. But you will alwys reach a deeper level
of understanding with regard to that faith, because your perception of its
underlying principles will have been brought into a much sharper focus.
Those new to the Mysteries are
at first filled with enthusiam about all of this. They want to tell everyone
about it. This is understandable; you are like those that were called to
serve the Saviour of thePiscean age, you become evangelistic, the spreader
of good news. But you will meet with doubt, hostility and even at time
violence. The age of persecution is not yet past. We have been fortunate for
many years in being tolerated but our beliefs are not yet fully accepted.
But the pendulum is always swinging and it may yet fall back to outright
condemnation of our ways and when that comes it will be a great testing
time. You may well find yourself nailed to an emotional cross.
As you go deeper into the
Mysteries, the world in which you once lived will be turned upside down.
This is made clear to everyone who enters a contacted school. The Inner
Plane Teachers accept nothing without testing it, sometimes almost to
destruction. You will be called upon to accept any changes in your life, if
not right away then certainly within the year. This does not mean you have
done anything wrong; you are simply being cleared of all that has become
un-necessary in your life and in your way of thinking. It is the first part
of the cleansing of the Channel of Light you were intended to be. For those
who are destined to become channellers of the Teacher themselves this is
even more traumatic and far reaching. In actual practice there are no
absolutely clear channels, we all have areas of blockaege in our mental and
spiritual make-up.
Many students who enter our
school give up by the fifth lessons of the main course. It is not exciting
enough fo them, they are frightened by the amount of change occurring in
their lives, or they find the work too difficult. Of all these, about one
third return, often years later, having adjusted their lives, or arranged it
so that the dues of the Hearth Fire have been met, or simply because they
have grown up enough to cope with it.
This kind of training is long,
hard, arduous, demanding, time-consuming and at times dull and boring to
boot. Endless repetitions are required, not so much for memory as for the
purpose of getting you to react the the same experience on different levels
of understanding. but the personality sees this as the same thing and hates
it. But there are good times as well as bad, the elation of finally
understanding something you have been working with for months. Realisation
when you pick up a book and are able to grasp every nuance of what the
author is saying. Long conversations with friends of like mind and training.
Or simply understanding the universe around you and knowing that you are
part of it and it is a part of you.
Every day brings unseen
advances more control over one's mind and emotions. A stronger, better
character emerging out of the old one. Better, deeper relationships, the
ability to do one's every day work with better control and enthusiam. The
days when someone comes to you because they feel you will understand their
pain or trouble, or that they can trust you. The one will become the many
and your time of service will have begun. Time and again people come to the
gate of the Mysteries asking what it can offer; when you pass through, it
changes to "How May I Serve?"
Many come seeking magic in the
Disney sense. That is a beautiful fantasy: save it for pathworkings. Real
magic causes changes inside the mind, body, and soul. It is caused by your
own desire to change and grow. It has nothing to do with your teacher; he or
she is merely a rung on a ladder which you are climbing to get a better view
of yourself. The change you undergo is all to do with your desire to know in
order to serve. The same instinct causes the legendary phoenix to cast
itself into the fire of its desires and rise renewed from the flames. Every
phoenix starts out as an unhatched egg. You can either let life boil you and
bash your head in with a spoon, or roll along until you find a warm place in
which to grow and hatch out. When you do, you will be like the ugly
duckling: clumsy and unsightly and untrained. You will go through many
moultings and many changes of plumage before you obey the summons to the
mountain-top and begin to build your fiery bed on which you will endure the
final change.
Does all this sound as if I am
trying to put you off joining a Mystery School? Well, in a way I am.
Unless you come to us knowing
what you are in for, you will get discouraged and dejected and will finally
leave, unable to believe in what is before you. You will lose and we will
lose. Don't just look at one school, look at many. You are an individual,
schools are different. What suits one will not suit another. We know we
cannot be the school for everyone - not everyone is the right pupil for us.
Choose carefully, and ask questions if you wish. Wait for the feeling that
says, "this is the one".
When you find it, sit down and
think over its' material and what it will be asking of you. Family must be
considered. The changes you will go through will also affect them. Sometimes
- often in fact - partners will be violently opposed to your studies.
Sometimes the changes involved will mean a change of job, house, country,
beliefs and even... partners. Ask yourself if you can accept the discipline
involved. Can you spare the time for reading and study? It is no good if you
will have to give up in six months' time. Many never even start because the
first lessons are not magical enough for them. Others because they do not
begin doing rituals right away. Well, you don't put nitroglycerine into a
baby's cup and then hand it to him to throw on the floor. Ritual work for
the unprepared is just as dangerous and not just for the student. If you
prove to be a good student, your supervisors will work you even harder and
be even tougher on you. Only the best is good enough for the Masters.
Don't think you can make it to
the top in a year... Take a look at a few of the things you will need to
have in your mental data bank. Biology, psychology, and chemistry, physics,
archaeology, geology, philosophy and literature - your own and other
countries' - history, art, mathematics, music, languages, voice training,
things like sewing and cutting out robes, woodwork for making your own wands
and altar. Anthropology, comparative religions, dancing, singing, astrology,
tarot, geomancy, memory training, palmistry, crystals, healing, colours and
vibrations... there are some more but I do not want to frighten you too
much. You won't have time to get bored if you are serious about this.
The aim of a school is not to
grab as many students as it can, but to turn those they have into fully
trained, responsible occultists. So many begin with enthusiasm and then tail
off when studies interfere with a full socisl life , dancing, clubs, cinema,
television etc. It is heart-breaking and annoying to spend time and effort
on a promising pupil and then see them drop out often without even the
courtesy of a letter. Your time is precious; so is ours. If you mean it, be
welcome: we will train you hard and well. Every tutor has been through what
you are experiencing, they can help you recognise the stumbling blocks and
help you over them, if you really want to do that. There are no doors in the
Pylon gates - but only the most determined get through.
Borrowed
Article Copyright Permission Pending
©
Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
