Beloved Members of the Esoteric Hierarchy:
It seems appropriate at this juncture in our studies that we come to have an intimate feeling of what we have studied so far. It is not sufficient to understand what we have read. It must, if possible, also become an intimate part of our self. Particularly must it be a part of our psychic and emotional selves. We must feel in sensation and in sentiment the meaning of the different principles that have been presented to us.
May we use a simple analogy to convey this idea. Let us take the word charity. We all know the definition of the word and can give a comprehensive explanation of it to another, but how different it is to actually experience knowing a person who is desperately in need of charitable and humanitarian help! Perhaps it might be an impoverished family or a seriously ill child for whom a parent cannot afford proper treatment. Or again, it might be a deserted and forgotten elderly person. In such instances we are sympathetically and emotionally experiencing what charity really means far more than the word itself can ever convey to our consciousness.
So, on this occasion we have prepared a simple sanctum ritual which we believe will quicken the psychic consciousness in relation to specific principles that you have studied. Especially will this ritual be concerned with the mystical, the metaphysical, and the philosophical meaning of life.
You will gain much inspiration and insight from the performance of this ritual; therefore it should not just be read but actually participated in.
Preparation:
There are certain simple things you will need and will have to do to prepare for this ritual. So please carefully read the following and set aside a definite time for the performing of the ritual.
A. Enclosed is a small Crux Ansata, the Egyptian looped cross. Please paste this cross on a cardboard so that it will be rigid when upright. Then cut around the edges of the cross so that the cardboard does not show.
B. Take a small block of wood or any small object so as to form a base to which the cross may be fastened so that it will stand erect, as shown in the illustrations. The base, of course, is to be behind the cross.
C. Obtain two pieces of rigid cardboard of any thickness. Each is to be about six inches square.
One cardboard should be colored black. You could do this by pasting black paper over Illustration one side or by coloring it with black crayola or black watercolor. However, it must be black.
The other cardboard should be white and of the same size.
Each cardboard should be fastened to some kind of base so as to hold it erect as shown in the illustration below. Thumbtacks may be used to fasten the cardboard to any wood object that forms the base.
D. Use only one of your Rosicrucian candles. It is to be ignited at the proper time as explained in the ritual.
E. Attached to this ritual is a page of separate words. Detach just this page from the ritual. Cut out the words so that each word appears on a separate slip of paper. Next, shuffle the words about so that they are mixed and not in their original order. Turn all of them face down with the blank side of the paper up.
F. If you have a Rosicrucian recording of meditative music, or any other similar music that you can play in your sanctum, be prepared to do so. However, this is not necessary if you do not have such facilities.
Sanctum Arrangement:
When you have the articles prepared as suggested and it is the time that you have decided to perform the ritual, then arrange your sanctum as follows:
A. Place the one candle in the center of your sanctum altar. Remove all other objects. (Do not light the candle until instructed to do so in the ritual but have matches ready to light it.)
B. Place the gold Crux Ansata (looped cross) just in front of the candle as is shown in the illustration below.
C. Place the black cardboard, standing erect, to the left of the candle and slightly in front of it, but not concealing it or the cross.
Place the white cardboard on the right of the candle and in line with the black one.
D. The slips of paper with the names upon them should be placed in a little pile, face down, in front of the candle. See the illustration below for the arrangement of these things on your sanctum altar.
Ritual
ILLUMINATUS: (Throughout the ritual you will be referred to as the Illuminatus. The word Master, where used, will allude to your Ritual Master-as though youˇ were in one of our Rosicrucian Temples where such a Master is functioning.
Lighting: The lights in your sanctum chamber should be low, or extinguished, except for a necessary light to read this ritual. Low lighting is more conducive to a restful, meditative mood.
Music: If you have a recording of music suitable for meditation as, for example, one of the Rosicrucian records or tapes or any other, use same for a preliminary period of not longer than four or five minutes; however, this is not absolutely necessary.
ILLUMINATUS: (Be comfortably seated facing the sanctum and read):
MASTER: Beloved Illuminatus, Life, in the physical sense, is vitality, energy, and activity. I, therefore, direct that the flambeau (candle) upon your sanctum altar be ignited to so symbolize this physical aspect of life.
ILLUMINATUS: (You will now arise, go to your sanctum altar, and light the single flambeau (candle). Then return to your seat and continue with the reading and the instruction of the ritual.)
MASTER: The flame and the light that it emits have been one of the oldest sources of exciting man's thought about the mysteries of life and about himself. The light expels darkness and with it many of the superstitions and fears which darkness had cloaked.
The flame and light have also depicted human zeal and fervor as the inner emotions and motivating drives of man. It is for this reason that fire became symbolically important and that candles have played such a prominent part in all religions throughout history to the present day. It is also why fire, the flame, and light have been used symbolically by mystics and philosophical orders to portray certain spiritual and abstract values of the Cosmic and of man himself.
Beloved Illuminatus, meditate upon this thought a few moments.
ILLUMINATUS: (Either with eyes open or closed, reflect for three or four minutes upon what has been said; then, resume reading the Master's words):
MASTER: Beloved Illuminatus, observe the Crux Ansata. This was a revered symbol of the ancient Egyptians. It is one of the earliest forms of the cross known to man and the first to which a mystical and philosophical significance has been assigned. It depicts immortality, the eternal life of the soul personality and of all those qualities that man, in his various beliefs, has come to associate with it.
Beloved Illuminatus, life is, however, more than physical. It is more than the mobility of the body or the reproduction of its kind. Each thing that lives has its function. This function is the manner in which it uses and expresses its animation. In most forms of life this function is an involuntary compulsion. The living organism is compelled by its nature to do what it does.
MASTER CONTINUES: Beloved Illuminatus, man differs from these many other forms of life in one important way. Cosmically, man has been endowed with Will, the ability, the faculty of choosing preferred desires. He may have life serve him. He may have life provide specific values to himself. Where other animate things may just live, man may live to achieve an objective.
ILLUMINATUS: (Reflect a few moments upon this distinctive quality of human life, as has been related by the Master; then continue to read again.)
MASTER: Alas, Beloved Illuminatus, man's choice of values in life has not always been judicious or in harmony with cosmic law and his own nature.
Some of the things to which man attributes values are inharmonious and detrimental to his own ultimate welfare and to those of other human beings.
Therefore, some values which men pursue are of the realm of darkness. They are forbidding and harmful. Others are of light--that which is constructive and beneficent.
ILLUMINATUS: (Dwell a moment or two in thought upon the values man attributes to life. Then, again continue reading the Master's remarks.)
MASTER: Beloved Illuminatus, before you is a symbol of darkness, the black square. It depicts obscurity, ignorance, fear, and the torments that befall men therefrom. It is not because it is black but because of the concepts and behavior that men have associated with darkness.
Also before you is the opposite polarity, a white square, symbolizing illumination, unfoldment, and cosmic harmony.
Beloved Illuminatus, thou shalt now give thought to the personal values which you attribute to life.
Before you on the sanctum altar, lying before the lighted flambeau and the symbol of life, the Crux Ansata, are written words which have long represented life's values to men. Some of these values have led men astray. They have aroused all-consuming passions and in the end destroyed them physically and psychically. However, still others have borne men aloft to a life of noble and spiritual attainment.
MASTER CONTINUES: Beloved Illuminatus, arise and proceed to the sanctum altar. There, pick up the papers upon which the words have been written. Select one at a time and read it.
Then, while holding each, gaze for a moment or two at the lighted candle that symbolizes Life Force. In this manner the meaning of the word may be fully impressed upon your consciousness.
Thence, having read one word at a time, ask yourself, Has it a value in life that I accept as good, or has it one that is false and misleading? If you consider it good, place it before the white square. If you think it otherwise, place it before the black one.
ILLUMINATUS: (Proceed as you have been directed. Do so deliberately, with solemnity, realizing the importance and significance of your acts. By this you are evaluating life to yourself. When you have made the selection, pick up the papers you have placed before the white square-just these. Return with them to your seat. Then, for the next few minutes study each of these words separately.)
(Are you pursuing the values which they represent and which you have to yourself designated as being good? Are you really using your life so as to realize them?)
MASTER: Beloved Illuminatus, proceed to the altar as before. When there, place your left hand over your heart, and the right over your left. Stand thus for a few moments gazing at the Crux Ansata, the symbol that represents Cosmic Life Eternal. Finally, extinguish the lighted candle.
So mote it be!
ILLUMINATUS: (Kindly do as you have been instructed. This concludes the Ritual.)
Your report on this ritual ceremony and any experiences which you may have had in connection with it would be appreciated.
Sincerely and fraternally,
YOUR CLASS MASTER
These are the words that you are to cut out separately as instructed in the Ritual:
FAME POWER
AMBITION KNOWLEDGE
TOLERANCE WEALTH
HEALTH UNDERSTANDING
LONGEVITY SERVICE
INSIGHT UNFOLDMENT
BROTHERHOOD RECOGNITION
SECURITY PEACE