The Ceremony of Reception into each grade of Adeptship is performed by three Officers; an Inductor, in the East; an Expositor, in the West; a Conductor to the North of the Expositor beside the Portal. Small pedestals should be provided for the Inductor and Expositor and on these pedestals an illuminated transparency of a red cross should be placed, that for the Inductor being a calvary cross and that for the Expositor being an equal armed cross. To the South of the Expositor there is a chair for the Candidate.
The College of Adepts meets in a chamber called the Vault of the Adepts. In the anteroom the Acolyte prepares the Candidate and instructs him how to knock for admission.
In this Ritual, those portions of the Lecture, which have been marked in Blue, may be omitted from the ceremony, but in such case the Candidate must be told that the Printed Ritual contains a fuller version, which he must study for himself as soon as possible.
In this Grade the Vault is prepared by placing upon the floor a pastos, with its head near the centre of the Vault and its foot to the West. The Bible is placed on the pastos at the foot, and a lighted lamp at the head: a memorial tablet may be placed on the pastos, and if this is done it should be placed sa that it can be read from the West.
The chairs should, as far as is practicable, be set out to form a seven-sided shape, with apex to the East. The Vault is but dimly lit. In the anteroom, by the entrance to the Temple, should be a banner or chart of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, with a light to illuminate it during the explanation (This will apply only if the Prologue is to be given).
The candidate must be a Philosophus, Grade IV, and must wear the Jewel of the First Order of the Society.
He must have been a member of the Society for not less than four years: if exceptionally, it is desired to permit earlier advancement, a Dispensation must be obtained from the Secretary-General before the ceremony can take place.
Opening in the Grade of Adeptus Minor
Inductor: Right/Very Worthy Conductor, please confirm that all within the Vault are of Grade V or higher.
Conductor: Right Worthy Inductor, I confirm this.
All rise.
Inductor: Very worthy Fratres, I open this College of Adepts by giving five and one knocks and with the Mystic Word Th....
The knocks are repeated by the Expositor and Conductor: the Conductor opens the V.S.L.
The Minutes of the last Adept Grade meeting in the Province should be read at this point, unless they have already been read in Grade VII or Grade VI: the Inductor then calls on the Prov. Secretary. to produce and read the Form bearing the authority of the Supreme Magus or Chief Adept for the advancement of the Candidate.
The general lighting is extinguished
Reception of an Adeptus Minor
The Candidate in the outer chamber (or Chamber of Meditation) and is instructed by the Acolyte to knock as a Philosophus, one and four on the portal.
Conductor: Right Worthy Inductor, A Frater Philosophus seeks admission to our Vault. (goes to the Portal)
Prologue
This part of the ceremony should be audible to all within the Vault.
Inductor: I will accompany you and see if he is one of the chosen.
Inductor follows Conductor to the Ante-room and stands in the doorway.
Inductor: Who are you, and what do you seek?
Candidate (prompted by Conductor): I am a Philosophus and I seek Adeptship; if I am received I will never break my covenant with you.
The Banner is illuminated, and the Inductor indicates with a pointer or by hand the points marked. * See also Appendix 5.
Inductor: Worthy Frater Philosophus, for four years and upwards you have been seeking the path of the return of the Soul to its Source. In the symbolism of the Kabalistic Tree of Life you started as a Zelator in the Sephirah of Malkuth and, in subsequent Grades you have progressed to the Sephiroth of Yesod; Hod and Netzach Thus prepared you have returned to Yesod on the middle pillar but now you are looking upwards towards the Supernals. Before you is the path of Samech which leads to the Sephirah of Tiphareth, the Christ-centre, while beyond is the hidden Sephirah of Daath where all things are dissolved into one.
Across the Path of Samech is the Veil of Paroketh, but my Frater, this Veil has been rent asunder by the Redeemer of Mankind and the way laid open for all who follow Him. Are you, my Frater, in all humility, resolved to follow on that path and dedicate yourself to the Christ-life?
The candidate answers.
Beyond this portal is the Vault of the Adepts; it is a sanctuary of seven sides and seven angles wherein you may learn to travel the Path. No earthly sun can shine therein, but the glimmering ray of a sanctuary lamp serves to make darkness visible. You seek to be an Adept and must learn that the centra! maxim of the true life of Adeptship is Jeheshua Mihi Omnia - Jesus is all things to me.
You may now enter the Vault but your eyes are still veiled and a Conductor must lead you.
The light on the banner is extinguished and the Inductor returns to the East in the Vault.
Inductor: V.W. Fratres, the candidate has proved himself one of the chosen and the Conductor will admit him.
The Conductor places a black veil over the head of the Candidate, leads him into the Vault and stops before the Expositor.
Conductor then places his right forefinger upon the lips of the Candidate, saying: Speak not, but follow me.
The Conductor leads the Candidate once round the Vault in profound silence, and as they pass the Inductor the Conductor utters the word of the 4th Grade, Theosophia.
Inductor: Pass Theosophia.
They proceed for another full circuit and stop in the East facing the Inductor.
The Inductor places his right forefinger on the lips of the Candidate saying.
Inductor: I remove the seal of Silence.
They proceed onward and stop in the West facing the Expositor.
Expositor: Frater, who art thou?
Conductor (for Cand.): I am one who mourns in darkness because of the King of Terrors; my days are compassed with griefs, and my nights with sorrows. Show me the dawn of that Celestial light, which crowns with joy the perfect man.
Expositor: Are you a Christian?
Candidate: I am
Expositor: Enough; watch and pray till the True Light shineth.
The Conductor places the Candidate at the foot of the pastos facing the East.
Inductor: Worthy Frater, It was the practice of a distinguished Sage to enjoin strict silence upon all who sought instruction in the mysteries. The disciples of this great Teacher were not permitted to speak for a certain number of years, when the seal of silence was removed by the potent voice which had imposed it. This was a sure test of the Candidate's prudence and discretion, and of his ability to keep the secrets with which he might be entrusted. In accordance with the custom thus observed by Pythagoras, we require a proof of obedience in this respect from each one who seeks the rank of an Adept of the Second Order of our Society.
You have obeyed the injunctions of your Conductor, and are doubtless impressed with the importance of Secrecy and Silence in the manifold affairs of our Society.
In days of peril and persecution, when priests and princes sought the lives of all who truly worshipped the Creator, our vows of Fidelity, Secrecy and Silence secured the Order from the attacks of pretended friends and of open foes; therefore, even as the Holy Prophet Jeremiah exclaims in the 5th verse of the 50th Chapter of his Prophecies, "Came, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten."
The Anthem is then recited or read, not necessarily by the Inductor.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when you say "I have no pleasure in them".
While the sun or the light, or the moon or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain.
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the window be darkened.
And the doors shall be shut in the streets 1, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low.
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets.
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.
The Conductor restores the Candidate to light.
Inductor: Are you ready and willing to enter into a sacred and solemn Covenant with the Adepts of the Rose and Cross?
Candidate: I am
Inductor: Let the Candidate kneel.
The Expositor, Candidate and Conductor kneel at the foot of the Pastos - It is permissible for the Expositor and Conductor to stand if it is impractical to kneel.
Inductor: Then you will place your left hand beneath the Sacred Volume and extend your right hand upwards. State your Christian and Surnames, and the Motto by which you are known in the Society of the Rose and Cross and say after me.
Repeated by Candidate.
I, ..., in the presence of the living God, Who hath triumphed over death and the terrors of the grave, solemnly swear that I will ever obey the just commands of the Supreme Magus; that I will not communicate to any living Soul, unless to a duly sworn Adept, the time, place and occasion of the induction; that I will study the mysteries of the Three Worlds, Elemental, Intellectual and Celestial; and finally that I will consider myself bound to the Fratres of this Grade by a peculiar tie, respecting and loving them while living, and mourning for them when dead. So help me, the Lord and Arbiter of Life and Death, and keep me faithful to this solemn Covenant.
Inductor: You will now once kiss the Sacred Volume which you hold.
This is done and the Sacred Volume is replaced on the Pastos.
Inductor: Having entered into the Covenant of the Adepts, you may rise.
The Expositor, Conductor and Candidate rise and the Expositor returns to his place.
Inductor: Let me now inform you that the time of your reception as an Adeptus Minor is midnight, the place a Grave. The Word is Thanatos, which signifies 'Death'. Pronounce the Word Thanatos I recognise you, Frater, by that Word. In some jurisdictions the word is Tedah, it being an anagram of Death.
I meet you here, my Frater, at this solemn hour and in this solemn place and by the influence of that power we shall all be brought at no distant day to lie down where the rich and poor sleep together, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest, not to awaken your sympathies by allusion to the grief and anguish caused by death throughout the world, but that henceforth you and I may have something more in common - the precious heritage of the faithful and discreet that you may learn that only by dying to your lower self, with its passions and prejudices, and being raised to a higher plane of life and knowledge can you accomplish your task as a Rosicrucian Adept, and guide those learners who may be committed to your charge.
The Conductor leads the Candidate to the Inductor in the East who communicates the Secrets.
Inductor: The sign of Adeptship is that of a teacher, stand erect and copy me.
I also give you the Grip of Adeptship; in this position we repeat the Secret Word already given, Thanatos.
The grip implies that perfect bond of fidelity which should henceforth exist between us; it is within our hearts that this bond originates; and while Truth has her residence there, it can never be weakened nor destroyed. The Knocks are 5 and 1: five implying Adeptship and one the first of the Adept Grades.
Be seated, my Very Worthy Frater, in the vault of the Adepts, and the Expositor will read a Lecture on the aims and duties of an Adeptus Minor.
Lecture
Expositor: Right Worthy Inductor, and Very Worthy Fratres Adepti. Frater Adeptus Minor, you were chosen for admission to the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia because having attained the rank of a Master Mason in a duly warranted Lodge, you had in that position shown yourself a man of worth and discretion, seeking more knowledge of the Mysteries that encompass us.
You have been received into the Second Order of our Society this day, because you have made steady progress in the studies and duties allotted to Fratres while they are members of the Four Grades of the First Order.
In the Grade of Zelator you were recommended to study the powers and properties of Numbers, and the philosophy of the Hebrew Qabalah, in which the relations between Numbers, Letters, Words and Things are defined.
In the Grade of Theoricus, the mysteries of Nature, of mineral, vegetable and animal life, are proper studies, and its ritual of admission teaches you that beyond the colours, as well as the farms of objects, there are occult relations which need investigation.
The Grade of Practicus has special relation to the ancient art of Alchymy and particularly in its spiritual aspects. And lastly the Grade of Philosophus teaches the need of the highest mental culture in order to comprehend the works of the philosophers, and the sacred volumes of the World-Religions.
The Theology of the Christian Church suggests a study of the older Jewish Faith, and this leads to researches into the pagan beliefs and the realms of the Greco-Roman mythology, also to the religions of Ancient Egypt and the great Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic Faiths.
Your studies in the First Order should have been so extensive as to give you broad views of human knowledge, life and duty. Your reception into Adeptship introduces you into a new status - that of the Teacher - and be assured, my Very Worthy Frater, that your long probation and extensive tuition has not been only for your own benefit.
Your studies should have been directed and your mind well stored with science, and your hands well trained in art, in order that you might teach others.
What you have received, that freely give. Know, then, that in the First Order you are learners, in the Second Order you are Teachers, while in the Third Order you may become Rulers.
The Right Worthy Inductor has conferred upon you the Sign, Grip, and Word of the Grade of Adeptus Minor. To these secrets I now add that the Jewel of the Rosicrucian Society should still be worn, but suspended by a yellow ribbon, which may bear your Grade number.
In addition the Adept Grades have their own jewel, which is a triangular plate of gold, an equilateral and equiangular triangle, suspended by a ribbon of yellow colour. Upon its face is engraved the Tetractys, so called of Pythagoras, the famous Greek philosopher of Crotona, who lived about 520 B.C.
If desired, a transparency of the Tetractys may he illuminated, or the Candidate may be handed a diagram with a light shining upon it, during the following explanation.
The Tectractys consisted of ten stars, which were in later times replaced by ten Yods, or Jods, the Chaldee or Hebrew letter corresponding to the English I or Y. These were arranged in four rows of 1, 2, 3, and 4, so as to be seen also as four rows in the alternative position. The Yod was considered as the Sacred Symbol of God. In Hebrew Numeration Yod was the Number Ten, called the Decad by ancient philosophers, and in this figure the Decad is considered as composed of:-
One Yod referring to God, Unity, the Monad
Two Yods refer to I.H., Jah; as above, so below; the Dyad, Matter.
Three Yods refer to I.H.V.; to Adam, Seth and Enoch; and to the Holy Trinity of the Christiar, Faith.
Four Yods to I.H.V.H. - the Tetragrammaton, becoming I.N.R..I in the Christian symbolism.
Around this figure of the Tetractys are spaces in which the names and numbers of the Three Grades can be engraved.
On the reverse side are the words - Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia; around this are the Divine initials I.H.V.H. and I.N.R.I., and there may be added the initials of the owner and of his motto.
The Decad was called the emblem of the Universe. If we further consider the Decad and the Tetractys of Pythagoras in the light of the Hebrew Qabalah, and according to the numerical values of the Hebrew letters we shall find that the important symbolic number, Seventy-two is produced :-
Y od, I, al one is ten,
Yod, Heh, I.H. is ten and five, that is fifteen.
Yod, Heh, Vau, I.H.V. is ten, five and six that is twenty-one.
Yod, Heh Vau, Heh , I.H.V.H. is ten, five, six, five, that is twenty-six.
The total is seventy-two, the number of steps of the Ladder of Jacob which reached from earth to heaven; upon each step, says the Talmud, was an Angel bearing one of the names of God. These names are derived from the words and letters of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first verses of the fourteenth chapter of the book of Exodus, and to each name is added the angelic title of A.L. or A.H. as a termination.
The number 72 is the numeration of the name Chesed. Cheth-8, Samech-60 , Daleth-4, rneaning Mercy; it is the 4th Sephirah in the Qabalistic Tree of Life and one of the Divine attributes of the Ten Holy Sephiroth.
As has been already stated, the work of the Adepts is that of Tuition as well as self improvement; as an Adeptus Minor it is your special duty to teach the Zelatores and the Fratres of the Grade of Theoricus, while in the College ceremonials you should be at all times able and willing to perform the du ties of an Ancient.
You may feel well assured my Frater that the most sure way to fix any knowledge in the memory, is to practise the art of teaching that knowledge to others who are seeking to reach your own stage of progress.
Right Worthy Magister Inductor my task is done.
Conductor leads the Candidate to the Inductor, who invests him with the Jewel of the Grade, and presents him with a copy of the Ritual. They return to their seats in the North.
All rise and the Inductor gives one knock.
Inductor: Fratres, the admission of our Frater to the grade of Adeptus Minor is now completed. May he long be spared to pursue his studies, and to assist others in their efforts to attain the Summum Bonum. - True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
Closing in the Grade of Adeptus Minor
Inductor: With the Mystic Word Thanatos and with the knocks 5 and 1, I close this college of Adepts.
Expositor and Conductor repeat the knocks.
Conductor doses Sacred Volume.
Inductor gives the Benediction: Benedictus Dominus Deus noster per saecula saeculorum.
Amen.
Appendix 1
Layout of Temple - Adept V & VI
Appendix 2
