In the matter of introduction, read the ESSAY Chapter XI The cincture is the most significant symbol in the Greater and Lesser Mysteries. Even across the centuries, it remains the Priestly Sign par excellence.

The cincture knew different modifications; from a simple knotted rope tied around the waist, (the Anchorites), to the belt of the Prophet, without forgetting the lace or "KUSTI"; the cincture underwent some modifications according to the necessity of the moment.

In the Zoroastrian ritual, for example, it is required of every adolescent 16 or older to wear the Kusti.

The ritual consists of passing the Kusti two times around the waist of the recipient dressed in the preliminary Sacred Robe. A slack knot attached to the front letting fall two ends of unequal length. The longer extremity is moreover rolled up around the waist and a second knot to the first is made at the front.

This cincture a la Zoroaster contains six strings. Each string is formed from twelve threads of silk realizing a total of 72 threads. The six strings represent the six festivals of the year. The twelve threads of each string represent the twelve months. The whole of the 72 represents the chapters of the religious book titled "AVESTA".

In India, the cincture is of prime importance in the execution of a ritual. It is the first object passed to the Postulant before the proceedings of the ceremony.

The cincture is the sacrosanct element par excellence. To place it on the Hindu signifies, for him, to receive a new birth and also a very great divine influx.

The Brahmans, members of the priestly caste, wear the cincture on the left shoulder. On the occasion of funerals, it is worn on the right shoulder to differentiate life from death.

It is only at the age of eight that the Brahman is invested with the cincture. The priest proclaims the following:

IT IS THIS CINCTURE WHICH PROTECTS US AGAINST THE ATTACKS OF THE WICKED, PURIFYING OUR FAMILIES LIKE A PURIFICATOR, IT ENVELOPS US IN THE POWER OF OUR INHALATIONS AND OUR EXHALATIONS.....THIS GREAT POWERFUL GODDESS IS OURS ....THIS BLESSED CINCTURE........

After having repeated this sacramental formula three times, holding the cincture in his hands, the officiating priest passes it around the waist of the recipient saying:

TO YOU THE SACRIFICIAL ROPE
I INVEST YOU WITH THE ROPE OF SACRIFICE

Then the initiate receives in the ceremony the purifying powers of the gods. If the initiate so invested lives faithful to his DISCIPLINE, he will in every time and in every place be invested and surrounded by the Spirit and the Powers emanating from the gods who make up the genies and the spiritual group to which he makes an appeal.

Finally, the cincture has become an integrated part of the ecclesiastical uniform, particularly in the Christian Church and different religious denominations.

Generally it consists of a narrow band of linen (silk or cotton). The stole is a two to three inch band of embroidered linen, a large part of which is hung around the neck, in it is the final transformation.

For the Muslim Sufi, the cincture symbolizes the bond of obedience. It signifies that the disciple of Sufism is bound by his faith in observing the commandments of ALLAH by the Islamic law of total submission.

The Bible makes an allusion to the cincture in Psalm 18 v--32 and Psalm 39 v--11

For the Druids, we find this sacramental passage in a ritual:

THE BELT OF FINNEN IS AROUND ME
IT PROTECTS ME IN MY LEAVING AS IN MY ENTERING...

The phylactery which were no other than preservatives designed from strips of parchment covered with biblical inscriptions that the Jews carried in the left arm and on the forehead. They were composed from sacred letters of which we will say nothing about here. The letters are found in a box attached to a sort of narrow cincture or thong attached to the nape of the neck and the arm.

The usage of the cincture and of the phylactery was not condemned by Jesus. (Matthew 23, v5) Jesus reproached the Pharisees for their ostentation when bearing these two ornaments.

Extracts: Louis Second
Diverse Sources

Translated from the French
Under the Auspices of
Monseigneur Robert M. Cokinis
Presiding Bishop of the Midwest
Ecclesia Gnostica Apostolica Catholica