Rituaal voor de graad van Philosophus
Dit rituaal dateert uit
ca. 1880 en werd gebruikt door de Societatis Rosicruciana in Civitatibus
Foederatis
First Section
The Practicus is robed in Yellow in the Preparation Chamber outside the Porch.
Over his head and face is thrown a Green Veil, quite thin, while outside of it
there is bound on his forehead with Scarlet ties, a bright Silver Moon in first
quarter, with points up. The Practicus with his Conductor approaches the Porch,
when they halt and listen.
Song in Sacred Hall
Hark, the joyous song I bring
"Gualdi lives," and everything,
That breathes shall shout his praise
In ecstacy, through endless days.
Now the mystery he'll unveil
Death. no longer shall prevail,
Shout the tidings far and near
"Gualdi lives" Life has no fear.
The Herald approaches the door of the Sacred Hall which is open, and males
the following Proclamation:
Stand apart, and give due head. Thus orders the Magus and his Council.
Greeting to the outer-world, Gualdi lives, and death hath not the Victory. This
do I, son of Asterial, the Herald.
The Herald returns to his Station. The Guardian of the Caverns and the Torch
Bearer, whose torch is burning, approach the entrance to the Hall, just as the
Conductor of Novices and the Practicus are about to enter. All halting, the
Guard, says to T.B. as he sees the Cond.: Mark you, it is time for
our service.
Torch B.: ‘Tis true, but the general joy, has disrupted our
proceedings. Here is he who seeks to become a Philosophus, in charge of his
Conductor. Frater to the Canididate we have
news, but you cannot be a stranger to it now, the Proclamation has been made, 'Gualdi
lives'. I have just removed this constant burning Torch from the Hall of Rest,
where Gualdi sleeps in gentle perspiration. The Council had declared him Dead,
and a Requiem had been sung, but as his faithful watcher, I despaired not, for
discoloration or decay could not be traced. I believed in his having drunk of
that 'Cup of Life'.
Guard. of C.: Gualdi hath not yet spoken, and we are nettled with
impatience, but our Orders are to continue the discharge of our several duties
and abide the result which. shall be made known. to all of us in due season.
This Torch, the Symbol of the Sun, of Truth, will precede you in your further
search. In charge of your Conductor, therefore, follow the Bearer of the Torch.
The Guard. of C. retires to his Station, and the Torch Bearer precedes the
Conductor of N. and Practicus, as they make four circuits of the Hall, during
the Hymn.
Wake the lute and quiv’ring stings
Mystic truths Urania brings,
Friendly visitant, to thee
We owe the depths of Rosary.
Fairest of the virgin choir,
Warbling to the golden Lyre,
Welcome, here they art prevail,
Hail, divine Urania, hail.
Here in Friendship's sacred bower,
The downy-winged and smiling hour
Nirth invites, and social song,
Nameless Mysteries among
Crown the bowl, and fill the glass,
To every virtue, every grace,
To the Brotherhood resound
Health, and let it thrice go round.
We restore the times of old.,
The blooming glorious age of gold;
As the new creation free,
Blest with gay Euphrosyne;
We with godlike Science talk,
And with fair Astrea walk;
Innocence adorns the day,
Brighter than the smiles of May.
Pour the rosy wine again,
Wake a bisker, louder strain;
Rapid zephyrs, as ye fly,
Waft our voices to the sky;
While we celebrate the Nine,
And the wonders of the Trine,
While the angels sing above
As we below, of peace and love.
The circuits by the Cond. of Novices and the Practicus, preceded by the Torch
Bearer whose torch gives the only light in the Sacred Hall, cease as they
approach the West of the Sacred Chamber; they halt.
Cond. of N.: Frater Practicus, we are in the midst of physical
darkness and mental gloom and even the Soul is wandering in mazes preceded only
by the Light of Truth, symbolized by the blazing Torch. We are to approach
Creation, the breaking away of night, to enter upon the first rays of Lux. The
chaotic elements of Fire and Flood are to give place to a serene, calm,
passionless and pure existence of all things terrestrial and celestial; the
Heavens and. the earth are to take form, system and harmony. The fair Urania,
the Goddess of Astronomy, by the aid of the Divine will, is to guide our mental
footsteps. As the pure and heavenly Teacher
appointed 12 Apostles to make known his holy laws, so Astronomy, through the
wondrous mower of the Great Creator of all things, has 12 instructors called
"Gates", or signs of the Zodiac, which typify the 12 stones of
foundation of the holy City. The mind of the Father also decreed that all things
should be divided into threes, and so the Gates of the Zodiac are divided into
threes, accomplishing four in all, or the four seasons. There are three decades
in a month or sign and three months in a season. Let us proceed and ponder.
The Conductor, Practicus, and T. Bearer approach the First Sign (Medalist)
halting at Aquarius. A single taper in front of the medalist has been lighted.
Medalist, 1st Sign: The impending weight of darkness is being made
manifest. Motion becomes perceptible. The gloaming Light interchanges with
shadow. All is confused and formless: like a goodly body without a soul, like a
soul without God. As the creation is about to proceed and as the representative
of the Zodiacal sign Aquarius, I direct the the waters descend upon the soul,
that the hour and day of Conception may commence. In darkness and sorrow does
life come forth and time take beginning. Let Fomalhaut lead forth the heavenly
train.
The Conductor, Practicus and Torch B. approach the 2nd Sign (2nd Herald) and
thus halt at Pisces. Two tapers have been lighted in front of 2nd Herald, just
as the above were leaving the Medalist; the taper of the Medalist is left
burning.
2nd Herald, 2nd Sign: With God, all is as day; with man night
savoureth of Mortality. We tend toward the day, the morning of Light, and the
darkness of error and unbelief are passing away. The divine lux is foreshadowed,
for there was Light before the Sun. As the waters descend upon the Earth, and
life shall be given to Pisces, the fishes, so all nature prepares for the
reception of the seed. From the womb of darkness and despair, loving nature
prepares for the bursting forth of Life: and numberless Starlets shall wake in
the wake of Fomalhaut.
The Conductor and Companions proceed to 4th Ancient whose three tapers have
just been lighted. Hermid’s lights still burning.
2nd Ancient, 3rd Sign: From the great deep, the womb of moisture,
the welling of the fountains, the great ocean of the world, Nature has entered
upon its travail; the waves have become confined., the mountains stand forth,
the hidden treasures in. their seed are implanted in the bowels of the earth,
secretly laid up, the metals, the mineries, the material of quarries which shall
yield their riches in due time. Millions of wonders doth the very face of the
earth offer up, herbs, flowers, trees with leaves, seeds, and fruits; beasts and
worms; birds and insects, and the angelic stars in the firnament. How can we
utter sufficient praise to the Maker of all, whose wonderful wisdom is displayed
in all these works; the Infinite, the Eternal. For God created the Heavens and
the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and. the Stars.
All Nature smiles; My sign is that of Aries, the Ram, the opening of Spring,
nature’s childhood, the Vernal Equinox, the point from which we commence the
stairs of assension toward perfection. So let our thoughts climb as does the
Light arranging for the coming fruitification in Nature. The beautiful star
Arieus shall be my recognition.
The Conductor and Companions proceed to Secretary, whose four lights have
been lit. Tapers of preceding Officers still burning.
Secretary, 4th Sign: Man was first formed, and then inspired all
other things were made in different shapes, but Man after God’s image: others
with qualities fit for service, but Man for dominion. God made the great House
of the World, and furnished it, then he brought forth the tenant to occupy and
possess it. He made the Earth for him before his existence, and so He hath
prepared a place in Heaven for him, while he is yet upon the face of the Earth.
He hath given him a World for use, a Heaven for contemplation. So Man planteth,
that from the seed, in due time he may reap, end which it groweth, let us behold
the beauties of the firmament, for in any Sign there is growing strength. My
Zodiacal measure is that of Taurus, the Bull: in which are found the glorious
Pleiades, Hyades, Orion, Sirius, Aldebaran and Procyon.
Conductor and Companions proceed to Celebrant, whose five lights have been
lit.
Celebrant, 5th Sign: Man in his inception and before partaking of
the tree of Knowledge was his Maker’s prototype: other creatures grovel in the
earth and have their senses intent upon it, the creature Man is reared up toward
Heaven, with face toward it, yet possessing the offices of life, nourishment,
digestion and generation. How wonderful in all his structure. He was made last
because he was the worthiest, the soul was inspired last because yet more noble,
for it is the breath of the Holy Spirit. The Soul is liken unto God, for it is
one, immaterial, immortal, distinguished into three cowers which all make up one
Spirit. Yet observe how closely the Spirit and the Man are united, symbolized,
by the Zodiacal Sign, Gemini, or the Twins; and of which the the Stars of the
second Magnitude, Castor and Pollux are typical as they are termed
"Corposant", or body and Spirit.
Conductor and Companions proceed to 1st Ancient, whose six lights have just
been lit. The tapers of Medalist and 2nd Herald are extinguished.
1st Ancient, 6th Sign: Now, all created things move in harmony
toward the fulfillment of their destiny; the Heavens are studded with
brilliants, and the Earth swarms with life, and teams with apparent
fruitfulness. The terrestrial surface bears the impress of a Paradise, and all
Nature rejoices in fullness as doth man in his growing strength. Nature wells
forth. No herb, no flower, no tree is wanting for ornament or use, for sight,
scent or taste. The bounty of God supplies man’s necessities, comfort and
recreation.
The loving month of June displays its gorgeous constellation of minor stars,
and is represented by the Zodiacal Sign Cancer, the Crab. As Man has arrived at
his full estate, this is termed the "Gate of Man": it is the Fourth
step of the Ascending Signs, the Solaticial point, marking the Northern limit of
the Sun from the Equator.
Companions with Conductor proceed to Suffragan, whose five lights have just
been lit. Lights of 2nd Ancient out.
Suffragan, 7th Sign: Observe the human species in his completeness
of stature, the fullness of his physical strength, and mental amplitude from
instruction of the heart: he sees God’s sacraments spread out before him, and
in his dual character, as body and spirit, parttakes of food mortal and
immortal, visible and invisible.
He has grown in his power like the Lion in whose Zodiacal sign he resides, in
Leo, the 5th Sign of’ the ascending series, in whose measure the lustrous
Regulus and Denebola sparkle in their Creator’s praise.
Conductor with Companions proceed to Treasurer, whose four lights have just
been lit. Lights of Secretary out.
Treasurer, 8th Sign: The World grows old space to man, and bids
him prepare the sickle for the ripening harvests, for the growing crops bend
beneath the weight of’ fruitful product; the time approaches for the gathering
of stores to stay him in the coming time of rest, when labor will be
burthensome, and the strength of man shall fail. The power of the orb of day,
bids the husbandman be active, for in the Zodiacal Sign of Virgo, the sparkling
Arcturus and Spica give warning of the shortening of the hours of daily toil.
Conductor with Companions proceed. to 4th Ancient whose three lights have
been lit. Lights of Celebrant out.
4th Ancient, 9th Sign: The reapers have gathered in their store,
the rich gifts of Nature have been gathered, and provision for the future hath
been stored. The autumnal Equinox hath been reached, and the steps of the
Ascending signs to perfection have been passed. The Sciences have opened their
store of knowledge, the Kingdoms of the Earth, Vegetable, Animal and Mineral
have yielded of their abundance from the hidden treasure-house.
Libra, the equinoctial point hath warned us by its scales the Man is old, and
will be shortly gathered to the Earth whence he came. The four stars in
quadrangle are poised, and man tends to his long home.
Conductor with Companions proceed to 1st Herald whose two lights have been
lit. Light of 1st Ancient out. As 1st Herald recites gradually put out lights of
Suffragan and Treasurer.
1st Herald, 10th Sign: Prepare thee for a change in Nature. Man
becomes tremulous with age; normally God forewarns man by age of the coming end
of all things, for to man, this World is his all in the body; but for the Soul,
Death is but the entrance into Glory. In the Zodiacal Sign of Scorpio, we find
the second of the descending steps, and in whose measure is the double star
Antares, brilliantly red and known as the Scorpion’s heart.
Conductor and Companions proceed to Guardian of Caverns whose single taper
has been lit. Light of 4th Ancient out.
Guard. of C., 11th Sign: As true as the arrow of the Archer, the
shaft of Death will reach its mark. All Nature quivers and shrinks from the
coming blast. All forms terrestrial possessing life, shudder at the coming
winter of their being. Darkness again begins to brood over the waters. But let
not the shadows of despair overtake the soul.
As ye have sown, so shall ye reap, with a firm reliance on the just acts of
the past, hope on, and have Faith in an Omnipotent redepmtion and on Mercy. The
arrow of Sagittarius is brilliant with flaming Stars of Hope.
Conductor and Companions proceed to 3rd Ancient. Lights of 1st Herald and
Guard, of C. gradually extinguished.
3rd Ancient, 12th Sign: Behold the 'Gate of the Gods'. The Exit of
Life. Where we return to the dust as we were: the very door of Capricornus,
lighting the soul in its flight by fifty-one Stars, as it wings its way to that
eternal home where all shall be harmony, love, peace and rest. Kneel, Frater
Practicus, and let us give thanks to the Ever Merciful Father, for his loving
kindness in having spared us thus far on the journey toward old age, and the
haven of his divine and eternal care.
Kneel with arms crossed upon the breast.
Laudamus
3rd Ancient: We praise Thee, and give thanks to Thee, Oh, Thou
Creator of an illimitable Universe, whose powers thus exhibited to finite. Man
can only be exceeded by thine Omnipotent Love to the creatures of thy will. and
implanting thy divine Light the soul, the Lux, in thy noblest earthly creation,
thereby granting to him the boon of approaching Thee, and rendering thanks for
thy manifold blessings.
We praise Thee, we give thanks to Thee, we glorify Thee, Amen.
Conductor and Companions rise.
Before you repair to the central representative of the Zodiacal system,
around which you have now passed, under systematic instruction as to the
creation of the Heavens and the Earth as also Man and his advancement from
childhood to old age, together with some explanation of the changes of the
seasons, and the appearance of the heavenly Bodies in the different and
succeeding signs it is well to refreshen your mind with a few familiar thoughts.
The Zodiac is a belt of Stars extending eight degrees on each side of the
elliptic, hence it is 16 degrees wide, and is 360 degrees in making the
circumference. 30 degrees is assigned to each month or position of the Sun in
which is a group or constellation, hence there are 12 signs to complete the
circumference. The Zodiac, or belt, has four principal points, two of which are
Solsticial and two Equinoctial; and were anciently marked by Fomalhaut end
Aldebaran, Regtilus and Antares. The Solsticial points mark the Northern and
Southern limits of the Sun from the Equator, called Cancer and Capricornus. The
Equinoctial points are where the Sun crosses the Celestial equator. The Spring
crossing is called Vernal, when the Sun commences his ascending or Northern
march; and the Fall crossing is called Autumnal, when the Sun commences to
decline toward the South.. These points are in the signs Aries and Libra, or the
months of March and September. Properly March commences the New Year.
The Torch Bearer will now retire.
Proceed now to the Central point, about which you have made one circle as the
representative of the Earth in an annual course.
On the Triangular Altar in the senter of the Hall are 12 burning tapers in a
circle, with the Globular Mirror in the center. A Golden mirror is preferable.
Chief Adept east of, and Novice west of Altar.
Chief Adept: The central Figure in the Zodiacal System, represents
the source of Light. The "Seal of the Sun" opened by Divine will at
the seventh sounding of the Trump. It is the Aeon of the Gnastics of Phoenicia,
which is the point of development as Ion signified the generative faculty; it is
the Yoni of the Indians, the Yn off the Chinese, and the Ionia of the Greeks,
The Sun is emblematically in harmony and consonance with its Creator, in its
Essence is imaged the Father, in its Light the Word, and in its Heat the Spirit.
The Sun, the great center of the Solar System, from which emanates the
generative powers of the Planets, gradually reveals its own composition. This
wonderful incandescent Orb enveloped in many of our familiar elements in the
form of vapor, partially agueous, and partially glowing gas, nitrogen and
hydrogen forming their chief constituent elements. Much, although not all, has
been revealed of the constitution of the Sun, its colored projections
surrounding it, and the corona which lies beyond these prominences. For a full
knowledge of all these matters, man must await further revelation of Science. Yet
in the "Scheme of Suns" we know that many equal and may surpass our
Sun in magnitude and splendor, and that many star-cloudlets are of themselves
"Schemes of Suns", and the sun-stars are incandescent Orbs like unto
our Sun.
Chief Adept gives ****, all rise and form a circle about the C.Adept, Cond.
of N. and Candidate, arms crossed.
Before our further purposes and ceremonies can be revealed to you, we must
again pledge you to our Brotherhood. To this end you will now raise your Right
arm with the forefinger pointing toward Heaven, and listen to your pledge of
honor.
Pledge of Secrecy
Do you promise and declare in the presence of these Rosicrucian
Brethren,
upon your word of honor as a man, calling upon the Ruler of the Sun, Moon and
Stars as witness of the sanctity of your pledge, that you will ever conceal and
never reveal to any person whomsoever, by any willful act or process any, even
the least, of the secrets or Mysteries of the Grade of Philosophus of the
Society of Rosicrucians, which you already know, or may by any process
whatsoever become possessed of, unless it be to a Brother of this Grade of
Philosophus and not unto him, until after due trial, strict examination or sure
information by you had that he is constitutionally entitled to the same; or by
the sanction of the Ordinances in presenting the ceremonies, or giving
instruction to initiates lawfully entitled to the same.
Practicus: To all of these I pledge my sacred honor.
Cond. of N. removes the green veil and moon from the head.
Chief Adept: Now look around you. Those whose eyes are directed
toward you, are your Brethren; ready to discharge all the Offices of that
intimate relation, they now bid you welcome to their number and fellowship; to
their affections and assistance; to their privileges and joys; and through me
they promise to protect you by their influence and authority, to advise you by
their abilities and skill, to assist you in exigence by their liberality and
bounty, and to cheer you at all times with their kindness and love.
Your Conductor will now present you to the Celebrant, who will further
instruct you.
The Conductor and Novice repair to Celebrant’s Station near E.
Cond. of N.: Frater Celebrant, this seeker for intellectual Light
is referred to you for further instruction.
Celebrant: My Brother, it has been heretofore explained to you, that we do
not presume to teach new and startling truths, but we trust to guide your
thoughts in a given channel for a great, good and wise purpose and perchance we
may broaden the scope of your intellectual knowledge.
I call your attention to a brief History of Astrology.
Know there is no Science so intimately associated with Rosicrucianism, .as the
great one of Astronomy, whose study is so interesting, and furnishes such strong
proof and evidence at the wondrous power of the Great Creator of all things. It
could be impossible to contemplate the Heavens and not believe in the existence
of One Supreme Being of the Universe.
A consideration of this Science includes the movements, distribution, and the
physical characteristics of the Heavenly Bodies. Next to that of tilling the
soil to obtain sustenance for life, Astronomy is the oldest Science, for it
became essential to measure time, and this could be furnished only through a
study of the firmament.
The first recorded observations off any remarkable accuracy are those from
the Tower of Bel, at Babylon, by the Assyrians in the 23rd century before this
era. This powerful Empire understood the use of the Dial, the precession of the
Equinoxes, and within a fraction the exact length of the tropical year, they
even predicted in some cases, the return of Comets.
The chief seat of Astronomical learning among the Hindoes, was at Benares,
but the knowledge of the Indians in this Science was not equal to their
neighbors. The Egyptians, however, who erected their Pyramids with mathematical
precision, and not unlikely for astronomical purposes, and who erected numerous
monoliths to their Sun-God Ra, justly receive credit in astronomical history.
The remarkable coincidence exists, that through the inclined entrance of the
Great pyramid, the Star Draco, in Hesperides, at its upper transit was visible
day and night, and marked the period 2170 B.C. or the period when the
chronological mensuration takes 25,868 years to return to itself again. The
erection of that Pyramid marked the great year of the Pleiades.
The Astronomy of the Chinese is ancient though inexact. The wise Chwien-hio
marked 2449 years before Christ, as an Epoch, through the conjunction of
Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These ancient people understood, to some
extent, the Celestial motions, calculated Eclipses and slew two of their
philosophers, Ho and Hi, for not announcing an eclipse of the Sun, 2169 B.C.
The Ionian School of the Greeks was founded by Thales, of Miletus, 600 B.C.
It thoroughly comprehended the seasonal changes and length of the year.
To Hipparehus of Nicaea, however, 160 B.C. from whom the Ptolemaic School
took its rise, is astronomy indebted for evidence of skill and acumen. He
catalogued 1082 stars, calculated the motions of the Sun and Moon, made
observations of the planets, and described. their motions by a theory of
epicycles: he also invented plain and spherical trigonometry. Ptolency followed,
correcting the procession, but insisted in placing the Earth in the center of
his system.
The Arabians, impelled by the Mahomedan faith, swept down upon the Egyptians
in the 7th. Century, and by the destruction of the Alexandrian Library, the
great history of the astronomy of this past was mainly lost to the world. But
the Arabians surpassed the Greeks in practical astronomy. Continental Europe
took little interest in this Science until the 13th Century, and even then made
immaterial advancement until the Active days of the Rosicrucians when Fraters
Purbach and Reglementanus paved the way for our Brother Copernicus, who died in
1543, aged 70, and who founded the time System by placing the Sun in the center,
and thus overthrew the Ptolemaic system which had obtained. for 14 Centuries:
nevertheless it required Galileo, Keplar, Newton and others to perfect the
Copernican system, which was still entangled with the epicycles of Hipparchus
and which were removed together with the centries and concentries by Keplar,
through the theory of the Biblical astronomer Tycho Brahe, a Dane, who pointed
out the apparent fixity of the stars, or their enormous uncalculated. distances
from the Earth and Sun.
The invention of the Telescope now gave birth to new and certain Astronomic
knowledge. The discovery of the Satellites of Jupiter by Galileo presented a.
miniature of our planetary system and confirmed it. Then Newton announces tho
discovery of gravitation about 1660, and Picard gives the dimensions of the
Earth: Keplar establishes his three famous laws; the procession of the equinoxes
is accounted for by the law of gravitation; the theories of tides are
established, and the solution of the Earth's oblateness: the inequality of the
Moon
With this brief review of the history of our Science, you will repair to the
Suffragan for further instruction.
The Conductor and Practicus now pass the center of the East to the Station of
the Suffragan.
Suffragan: Whatever throws additional light on the marvels of the
aerial world, and into the starry depths, necessarily exercises a powerful
influence over the mind of the earnest Rosicrucian. Astronomy is an exact
Science, but an abstruse subject, yet a simple key opens much of its inner
mysteries. We divide the Heavens into three classes, the World of Air, the World
of Stars, and the Heaven of Heavens. The first embraces the Atmospheric
envelope, clouds, and attendant storms with their inhabitants. The Second
includes the infinite space containing the Stars, Planets, Asteroids, Meteors,
Comets, Star-Showers, Nebulac and the Universal system while the Third opens to
our view God's Holy of Holies, the Eternal Heavens, the Astronomical and Divine
evidence of a real or an ideal residence of the Deity.
To the Ancients, there were known but seven Planets, the Sun, .Moon, Mercury,
Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, revolving about the central Earth, Each
symbolized to them distinctive metals, Gold, Silver, Mercury, Steel, Copper,
Tin, and Lead: each had. its assigned color, nausical tone, animal
representative, Sacerdatal title, Alphabetical and Mytholigical designation, as
well as Sign, and emanations from the great Central Acon. The four elements,
Earth, Air, Fire and Water, embraced the three principles Body, Soul, and
Spirit; these exerted seven influences over the animal creation: there were
seven Virtues with corresponding Vices. Seven was the sacred number in all
theoginies and all symbols. It represents the magical power in its full force
through its composition of three and four, the Triangle and the Cube. It is the
Spirit assisted by all the elementary powers, the Soul served by Nature. It is
symbolized by a Warrior crowned, bearing a triangle on his cuirass, and standing
on a Cube, to which are harnassed. two Sphynxes, one White and the other Black,
making contrary exertions, anf turning the head to look backward.
You will now return to the Chief Adept and be mindful of his final
instructions.
Conductor of Novices and his Companion repair to the Chief Adept in the
center of the Hall.
Chief Adept: My Brother, thus far your instruction has teen mainly
directed to Historical and Physical Astronomy, but Man has within him a
Microcosmical Sun, Moon and Stars, that bear a. sympathy with the Celestial
Bodies, and in the center of which shines thee Divine Spirit. This Celestial
Spirit actuates and influences thee elementary essence and stirs it up to the
propagation of its like, for which Nature designed it, shining with a pure,
ethaerial, angelic part called the rational soul, being a Divine Light, or
stream flowing immediately from the Great Creator, and uniting Man with his
Maker.
'Vast chain of being which from God began,
Nature’s ethereal, human., angel, Man.'
The understanding and celestial faculties of man are formed from the ethereal
world, the sensitive powers of life and action are derived from the Celestial
World, and the gross and corruptable part, the flesh and blood consists of the
elementary world, being all subordinate the one to the other. This is the Rosaic
doctrine; knowing we are clothed in the enchanted armor off the spirit.
The first four grades of this Rosaic System constitute the First Order, and
are the 'Lesser Mysteries', the three that succeed them belong to the Second
Order and are the 'Greater Mysteries'.
The occult Philosophers, to whom we are now about to commit you in their
private Laboratory, will require your earnest attention and thoughtful
consideration, but that you may be admitted and recognized by them, it is
essential you should be provided with our Secret investiture.
Sign: Look upward, sweep a circle over the head with right forefinger and
point to its center.
Token: Make a circle on opponents forehead with right forefinger and point to
its center.
Password: Har-Ra-Tum (the Rising, Midday and Setting Sun).
Secret Word: I-ha-ho. ('God the Eternal' - see Mysteries of Serapis).
Battery: *** **** (3 end 4, Triangle and Cube = 7).
Repair now under the care of your Conductor beyond the Porch, and be clothed.
in a Mantle of Green., the emerald color of Spring, the symbol of your Hope in
Immortality, and of Victory, signified by the Crown of palm and of laurel, and
resembles the color of the Solar Spectrum, which is situated between the Yellows
and the Blue. The Battery of a Philosophus is 3 and 4, the reverse of that of a
Practicus, and has reference to the sacred number 7, symbolizing the Triangle
resting on the Cube, and as well the four Circles embracing the Sacred Delta.
All rise and form a circle, the Chief Adept, Cond. of N. and Practicus
remaining in the center.
By the presence of these Fraters, and in conformity with our Society. we do
proclaim our newly initiate a Philosophus entitled to all the rights, powers,
privileges end prerogatives of
the Fourth Grade of the First Order of The Society of Rosicruciam.
Frater, you may now retire.
Second Section
The Philosophus is robed in Green, and guided by the Cond. of N. toward the
entrance of the 4th Apartment, Astronomic Hall; in which there are four
Astrologers and Astronomers deeply immersed in their occupations. There is also
a vacant seat and desk. Before announcing themselves, the Cond. says to the
Philosophus: These wise Sages, to whom you are now to be introduced for scores of
years have been reverenced for their many virtues. Some are known as
Astrologers, the foretellers of future events, consequent upon a close study of
the movements of the Planets and. other Heavenly Bodies, and they understand the
effect and control these Bodies exert over all the movements off Nature and the
destinies Man. Astrology is the twin-science of Astronomy, or was, until the
great Galileo severed the bond. Through Chaldea, Egypt, Arabia, Continental
Europe and England as well; these Anchorites, these musty Monks have sought the
supposed unattainable in Chemistry, Alchemy, Astrology, or other Science; ever
intent on obtaining the Elixir of Life, the Vampire-food, that shall enable man
to live forever in unalloyed health, and this with the discovery of metallic
transmutation would enable them to enjoy luxury and ease of body to the extent
of their desire.
We will question them of things terrestrial, celestial and the Destiny of the
Soul, and meditate on what we hear. This is the Astrologic and Astronomic Cavern
of the Rosaic philosophers. Disturb not their calculations, but draw nigh in
silence, and we will abide our time.
The Cond. of N. taps 3 then 4, on the entrance. No response; again a little
louder; still no answer. The door is discovered to be ajar, is pushed open, and
they quietly enter and listen. One of the Astrologers is soliloquizing and
examining the shadow on a paper containing a circle and some lines and
measurements.
1st Astrologer: Great is thy power, Magnificent Star. If by this
conjunction I can gain the mastery of its interpretation, then will the solution
of this problem give me all I crave. Catharine de Medice you shall be answered,
the plottings of yourself and Counsellors shall not escape me, else there is no
ruling divinity in Heaven’s Astrology. Where then will be my reward. I could
be fool-hardy onward to claim the second at the throne. One line more and the
conjunction is complete. Well, I must wait. Now, watch the astrolabe. But see,
the projection of the spheres on the plane of the Meridian, the line is passed
and Francis the Second, your fate is sealed.. Again see, by poison to be
administered in the ear. The Secret’s, but hold, who comes, that stealthy step
and listening ear. You
The Conductor and Philosophus give the Sign.
Cond. of N.: Brother, and yet Father, you know us not, we gave the
secret Battery twice, and not being answered, found the door ajar and entered.
We come to crave a boon, and await your good time.
This Philosophus, in our Rosaic System, hath been sent by the Council to you,
knowing that you delve in Sciences terrestrial and celestial, and who Casting
the Horoscope, can solve wonderful enigmas by diviniation, grasping knowledge
from the Heavenly Bodies, when they appear singly or in conjunction, and
interpret the unknown, according to their starry signification. The Council
desires that you instruct this Philosophus further. He seeks to know the future
destiny of the Soul, his inner self, his undying and mortal part that must
account to an impartial judge.
1st Astrologer: My Son, thou seekest for that which an Omniscient
Deity has wisely veiled from man, save through reasen and that delicate Monitor,
the Conscience, planted in him. These tell us of immortality. But be more
specific in Thine inquiry. May it not be of things
Mortal, as well as immortal that now concerns thee? Dost thou wish to know of
thyself or of another, or is it of coming events of fearful import the dreaded
traversing Storm, or other fearful evaluating of Nature which unbidden and
unwelcome cause unrest as to the fate of some dear but distant friend? If thou
seekest to be informed of Nature's works, the Earth and its surroundings, speak
to Ben-Ardac, the Rosaic Arab there that is his study, and of it, he is the
Master. Our province, as Astrologers, is to seek the knowledge of startling
forces in Nature, and the destiny of Man through two Channels and we classiffy
them thus: The Arab grasps at Nature, the terrestrial, and the substance that
envelopes the Earth, the Air and its components, and watches, when twinkling in
the light, the fall of 'Star-dross', which you call gold, and which we produce
at will. The Second Class, in this much loved Astrology, comes within my sphere.
I seek not for precious gold nor deadly poison, nor the myriad effects of, or
by, Nature, but the abstruse, the judicial class, which foretells to
me the future of men and nations, their destined fate and acts, through the
movements of the Planets and other Heavenly Orbs. All governments, and rulers,
all powers in and by the people are through this noblest Science made bare to
me. Yet, behold, it has resulted in these straggeling grey locks, these sunken
eyes, and this frame made delicate by the intensity of thought, and the wearing,
interminable study of these tabulated figures of Alphonso the Tenth, called the
'Tesoro', and these far reaching signs and heavenly indications.
Cond. of N.: No, Father, we seek none of these, but how to
foretell the future as to the destiny of the Soul.
1st Astrologer: My Son, thou canst not find that here. If thou
seekest for gold, for mortal pleasure, for health and long life, come with us
and fret out thy years with seeking to prolong them, and attaining that which,
if found, might prove your life a greater burthen. than enjoyment. No, go thou
to the Council, if perchance they can answer thee, and heed their instruction;
if not, then to the Holy Father, the Seventh Element, who sits upon the throne
at Rome; and shouldest thou there fail, seek thine own closet and commune with
thy God, alone:
He will point out the Intercessor, which all men need, for He hath said;
'Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall
be opened unto you'.
Cond. of N.: Thanks, Father, for thy words of wisdom. We will seek
further.
1st Astrologer: But, hold, ask of that comrade, he is a Philomath.
The Conductor of N. and his Companion turn to the 2nd Philosophus indicated,
who is an Astronomer, and thus addresses him: Frater, we have taken
heed of the wise sayings of your Companion, the Astrological Sage; but he
disowns all ability to solve the future of the Soul, and bids us turn to your
wiser counsels, or to seek for knowledge from the Holy Father of the Church, and
if both fail, to commune alone with God within a Cloister, seeking direction and
guidance from Him, trusting the future in his hands.
2nd Philos.: My Comrade hath said well; but seek you at some early
day, wisdom from the Adepts, those philosophers of the Rosae Cross, of the
second Order, whose constant study is Natural and Revealed Religion, whose
knowledge of the Soul and all thereto pertaining is great; but as to these
Confreres, they can but say to you, 'if that which thou seekest thou findest not
within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee'.
Apart from Theosophy and Divinity, as Rosicrucians we discuss at our leisure
moments, that Occult Philosophy, adopted by Plato, from the more ancient
Mysteries, and which consisted of three principal parts. First the proceeding
from the doctrine of the "Soul of the Wold". Second, that derived from
the consideration of numbers, letters and sacred words; and, Third that
resulting from a pure and holy life, and these all summed up in one great system
of esoteric ethereal Truth. The Soul of the World is a difficult matter to
express, if not to comprehend. We say, the Constellations of the Zodiac govern
the earthly animals. Every Star has its peculiar Nature, property and function;
the seal and character of which it impresses through its rays upon plants,
minerals and animal life. The affinities of these planets and stars are of great
power, although it hath been taught, that each planet is active but one day in
the seven fold, and further that the precious stones are produced through the
Chemic operation of the Planets working secretly in the telluric body. We argue
that metals and minerals have but one base or foundation: and having this we
would have the key that could unlock the Universe. It hath been further taught
that by the Hermetic or Magnetic Light, we can augment and purify indifferent
stones and, give them greater value: thus, on sunday, expose yellow gems and.
gold, and their weight will increase through the attractive power by affinity of
the Sun; and thus by the Alchemic action of the Moon, pearls and stones of white
on monday are improved: On tuesday let Mars increase the fire of rubies, while
on wednesday, sapphires, turquoises and gems of blue reflect the brilliant
mercury. Jupiter in his majesty, and Thor, are supreme on thursday and give
lustre to Amythists and stones of sanguine tint. On friday, Venus favors
emeralds; and on saturday the oldest of gods, Saturn claims the lustrous
diamond.
The Planets, too, 'tis claimed, have direct power over the physical action of
man, as well as over his intellectual energies; his reason, appetites, senses,
and powers of generation. These are some of the theories which tend to prove our
Atmospheric envelope a delicate sensorium, promptly responding to every wave of
physical energy that beats upon it from stellar space. Future observations will
prove that the agency of planets in causing Solar disturbances is powerful to
influence the great luminary in causing terrestrial cyclones and earthquakes,
and that great magnetic and meteorological disturbances over the entire globe
are effected.
Cond. of N.: We were taught in the Council that Astronomy was an
exact Science, then why these uncertainties and trusting to a future?
3rd Philos.: Mark well, the depths of space lead into infinity in
the Universe, the invention of the Galilean Telescope has but opened the eyes of
the mind and our instruments though numerous, may be imperfect. The Telescope
has revealed the aberration of light, the proper motion of the Stars,
the determination of the Sun’s distance and the distances of the Stars, and we
hope soon to know their velocity, we have the cosmolabe and astrolabe, the
Equitorial, the transit instrument, the Mural circle, and a multiplicity of
contrivances; and we have great and calculating minds among us, like unto our
Frater Copernicus. Our advance is great, yet we lay the foundation only for that
glorious temple of astronomic knowledge which shall be God’s revelation of the
heavens to man.
Of all the glories off the Soul, of all the harmonies attuned to reason, to
the utmost capacity of mind to appreciate the ideal infinite, the wondrous works
of God, in their immensity as revealed by astronomy, call forth man’s greatest
praise and adoration of the Creator of All.
Three distinct notes on a silverytoned Bell, followed by four more as
defined, and sounded without, are heard.
4th Philos.: 'Tis the warning of the Herald, our converse must
soon close for this day marks an era with the philosophers of Hermes, it is
their triumph of Gualdi over death.
How intimately our Science of Astronomy is connected and harmonizes with
Alchemy. Our Zodiacal circle inclosing the square causes its four angles to
represent the four elements as it represents the commencement of the four
seasons; and again the embracing triangle is typical of the three principles,
all surrounding the central point, or Sun,or source of light ad life, the
celestial and glorious Soul.
It is not without some force that the 'Emerald Tablet' of Hermes Trismegistus
receives consideration and importance. The three principles of elementary matter
being Body, Soul and Spirit, are represented by Alchemists as Sulphur, Mercury
and essential Salt. The central or primal generative power they termed in their
magic language Mercury, Green-Lion, the Serpent, or Seed; the which giving a
seminal impression to animal, vegetable or mineral kingdom caused production.
This phoenix power so long sought for by our Chemists, is now presumed to be
within the knowledge of Gualdi: in its impure state it has solved the enigma of
the transmutation to Silver and Gold. It is the primitia or primordium solution,
the I.N.R.I., and is doubtless contained within the Aphoristic Motto, dropped by
the Magister Gualdi when overcome by the discovery.
Igne Nitrum Roris Inventur.
The silvery tones, 3 and 4 are again distinctly heard.
4th Philos.: Prepare, the Council requires our presence.
The 4 Astronomers, two and two, precede the Cond. of N. and his Cpmpanion.
When at the entrance they are met by the First and Second Heralds preceded by
the Guard. of the C.; as the 3 and 4 strokes are again heard from the bell. This
procession advances to the center of the Hall, halts and so separates as to form
two sides of a Triangle, the Apex toward the rest. The Officers of the Council,
have also formed two sides of a right-angle triangle with the Apex to the East,
so that the entire formation is a square. All Fraters present so far as possible
form a circle inclosing the square. In the center of the Hall is a passion-cross
supporting the Rose and resting on a Calavry. In the East, the curtains partly
open, is discovered Gualdi, clothed in white, standing upright but with head
bowed, and surrounded by the 33 burning candles, and the Flaming Altar of
Incense a short distance in front. Suspended above Gualdi is the "I.N.R.I.",
and above that the motto "Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis, sed tuam da Gloriam."
During the singing of the following Triumphal Hymn, which commences the
instant the procession enters the Hall, Gualdi and all present stand with head
bowed and arms folded on breast. At the moment the Hymn concludes, Gualdi
stretches forth his arms making the form of
a Cross, and disclosing on his breast a full blown Red Rose. Then with head
thrown back and looking upward, says: Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis,
sed tuam da Gloriam".
Hymn
All hail. The wondrous secret know,
Ye Blest on high, and man below,
The "Elixir of Life" above
Is the "Divine Creator’s Love."
Then why this struggle here on earth,
When soon we’ll hail a second birth,
When Life Eternal will be mine,
The Elixir, the "Love Divine"?
Hosannas now to Heaven we sing,
Our praises to the Almighty ring,
The "Elixir of Life" shall be,
The Love that God hath granted me.
Oh Holy, Righteous, Blessed Lord.
By every living thing adored,
Grant us the Elixir ye crave,
For "Love Divine" alone can save.
Immediately upon the pronouncement of the Latin aphorism by Gualdi, the 4
Ancients letter the word I.N.R.I., and the Chief Adept makes the Proclamation of
Closing, as set forth in. the Closing Ceremony.