|
PUBLICATION FOR PROBATIONERS
By
Issued by authority of the Master Therion of the Great White Brotherhood of the A∴A∴
Frater Progradior Imperator Australia
Gorton, Printer, 38 Blue Street, North Sydney
The A∴A∴ is a Scientific Method whereby the Probationer who conscientiously follows out the practices here recommended will attain at least to the first step of the path which will ultimately lead him to Divine Enlightenment.
The degree of that enlightenment depends upon his own capacity, zeal, devotion to the Order, and also upon his readiness for Initiation. But even an indifferent student is bound to obtain some result. For true knowledge is gained by experience, and this method puts into the hands of the Probationer the means of gaining experience for himself; whilst at the same time teaching him to protect himself that he avoids all fear of becoming obsessed, a prey to madness, or a slave to illusion.
It is most important that at all times the student should retain the mastery of his own mind; so let him bring before the tribunal of reason any phenomena that may occur, before attributing to them objective reality or philosophical validity.
It is not always possible, nor would it be desirable at this stage, to fully explain to the student all the reasons for the practices here advocated, nor the ultimate results to be obtained by them.
Yet as he progresses and attains to a certain degree of development, all becomes clear to him, and he sees how he has been led step by step to the awakening of the inner senses, so that finally Divine Consciousness becomes his, and he attains unto the Knowledge and Conversation of His Holy Guardian Angel.
The following items are worthy of consideration:—
Prejudice being a grave stumbling-block and an ever-fertile source of error, strive to keep the mind unbiased. Look at the question under discussion from your adversary's standpoint as well as from your own.
Remember too, that fear is the cause of failure, whereas courage leads to success.
Ignorance is limitation; hence gain knowledge whenever possible.
Control the emotions, and aim at equilibrium in all ways.
All unbalance is evil. Undue severity becomes cruelty, whilst undue mercy is weakness.
Learn to control thought, admitting only ideas that are helpful to the desired end. Fixed thoughts are a great power.
Avoid all extremes; try to live a rational, reasonable life.
If you do not succeed straight away; do not lose courage, but work on patiently. Remember Rome was not built in a day.
Since the student is a man surrounded by material objects; if he wishes to master one particular idea, he must make every material object about him directly suggest that idea. In Ceremonial Magick this is always borne in mind; so that objects of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are all employed in such a way that they may send their message up to the operator's brain, so as to lead his mind to one-pointedness.
There are three important practices connected with all forms of Ceremonial Magick. These are:
(1) Assumption of God Forms. (This practice belongs to a higher Grade.) (2) The Vibration of Divine Names. (3) Rituals of Banishing and Invoking. (Invoking Rituals also belong to a higher Grade. NOTE: Do not confuse Invoking Rituals with Invocations.)
The God-names are Words of Great Power, and have been used by the Great Ones of all ages. By the way in which they impinge upon the Ether certain results are produced. They should be vibrated with all possible force and energy; used in this manner, the student obtains the greatest benefit.
IT IS IMPERATIVE that before commencing other work the experimenter first perform Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram of Earth. This, when correctly performed, protects absolutely from all evil influences; for all evil and averse elemental forces must give way before the Words and Signs of Power employed in the Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.
The vibrating of the God-Names is used as a further means of identifying the human consciousness with that pure portion of it which man calls by the name of some God. To learn to vibrate the Divine Names, act thus:—
(a) Stand erect with arms outstretched. (b) Breathe in deeply through your nostrils, imagining the God-Name entering with the breath. (c) Let that name descend slowly from the lungs to the heart, the solar plexus, the navel, the generative organs, and so on to the feet. (d) The moment that it appears to touch the feet, quickly advance the left foot about twelve inches, throw forward the body, and let the hands (drawn back to the side of the eyes) shoot out, so that you are standing in the typical position of the "Enterer", and at the same time imagine the Name as rushing up and through the body, while you breathe it out through the nostrils with the air, which has been till then, retained in the lungs. All this must be done with all the force of which you are capable. (e) Then withdraw the left foot, and place the right forefinger upon the lips, so that you are in the characteristic position for denoting "Silence."
It is a sign that the student is performing this correctly when a single vibration entirely exhausts his physical strength. It should cause him to grow hot all over, or to perspire violently, and it should so weaken him that he will find it difficult to remain standing. The greater the power of the student's imagination in working this operation, the more potent will be the result; and the longer the time required for the return of normal perception the better.
The following Ritual must be committed to memory:—
THE RITUAL OF THE PENTAGRAM OF EARTH
Stand in the centre of the room
(i) Touching the forehead, say Ateh (unto Thee)) (ii) Touching the breast, say Malkuth (The Kingdom) (iii) Touching the right shoulder, say ve-Geburah (and the Power) (iv) Touching the left shoulder, say ve-Gedulah (and the Glory) (v) Clasping the hands upon the breast, say le-Olahm, Amen (to the ages, Amen) (vi) Turning to the East, make a Pentagram of Earth, say (i.e. vibrate) IHVH (pronounce Ye ho wau) (vii) Turning to the South, the same, but say ADNI (pronounce Adonai) (viii) Turning to the West, the same, but say AHIH (pronounce Eheieh) (ix) Turning to the North, the same, but say AGLA (pronounce Agla) (x) Extending the arms in the form of a cross, say (xi) Before me Raphael. (xii) Behind me Gabriel. (xiii) On my right hand Michael. (xiv) On my left hand Auriel. (xv) For about me flames the Pentagram. (xvi) And in the Column stands the six rayed Star. (xvii xxi)
Repeat (i) to (v) the Cabbalistic Cross.
Thus that symbol of great Power, the Five Pointed Star, is traced in the air. In doing this figure, the arm must be kept quite rigid throughout; and in turning to the Cardinal points, a straight line must be traced from Pentagram to Pentagram, by keeping the arm pointed straight outwards. This Ritual should, if necessary, be repeated over and over again, until such time that the operator is confident that he is thoroughly protected. Success in banishing gives to the atmosphere a very "clean" feeling.
The student must also learn to keep perfectly still, with every muscle tense for long periods at a time. This spoken of as Asana, or Posture. It is essential that the spinal column should be kept free, with chest, neck, and head in a straight line.
Kneeling is a good position; and for those accustomed to it there is no reason why they should change. For those who are not yet habituated to any special position the following is a very convenient one: Sit on a chair, head up, back straight, knees together, hands (palms downwards) on the knees, feet together, eyes closed. It is not advisable to change from the position to which the body has become accustomed; so long as the spinal column is kept in a straight line, any position will do.
To those who have not as yet paid any attention to the practice of deep breathing, it is advisable that they commence with the Rhythmic Breath. This they can practice while out walking, thus economising time. For the Rhythmic Breath, breathe in and out at regular intervals, according to the capacity of the lungs. It is easy to count in walking by the step. Make the breath as long as you can, without over-straining the lungs, or allowing the breath to become jerky or too rapid. Aim at deep, full, regular breathing. Rhythmic Breathing induces mental calm, and prepares the way for Concentration.
INVOCATIONS:—Active Concentration is a great force for the attainment of God consciousness, and invocations rightly given produce active concentration. The Invocations should be committed to memory, and spoken aloud with all the vigour, vehemence, force, feeling, and imagination of which the student is capable.
The more he can identify with the idea, the greater will be the result, for thus the attention is kept fixed, and One-Pointedness is gained.
When, by repeated saying of the Invocation, a vibrating throughout the body has been produced, so that even though the voice has ceased, yet mentally the repetition and the vibrating is continuing, whilst at the same time the mind is fixed on the vibrating idea then true active concentration has been achieved, and expansion of consciousness may take place at any moment.
The invocations given (hereafter) have been specially selected as covering all the ground needful for the Probationer. They should be repeated over and over again many times. A feeling of Holiness shows that some success has been attained.
After having vibrated the Invocations, take up your Asana, and rest bathed in the Spiritual Power which you have drawn into yourself, keeping the mind in an active state of active expectation, awaiting and expecting the realisation of that for which you have striven during the Invocation.
The following is a good method for arranging the Order of the work:
(1) Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram of Earth (this includes the Vibration of God Names.) (2) Invocations. (3) Asana.
After you have worked through the Ritual and the Invocations, then take up your chosen Asana, and meditate on the work you have been through, acquiring unto a higher consciousness. Thus gradually shall you unfold the inner senses of your being, which will lead eventually to the Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy Guardian Angel.
No special mention is made here of breathing exercises, as it is presumed that you will practice them whilst out walking.
It is as well to set out each day a definite time for carrying out your work. It will further be necessary for you to obtain a notebook in which to keep an exact record of all your work, for the A∴A∴ takes no official account of work unless this condition is complied with, The record should be written up immediately, or at least as soon after the practice as possible. Make the record as scientific as possible. State the exact time given to each practice, and any further remarks on any experiences that may accompany it, written down as briefly as possible. It is from this record that the Adept judges the Probationer's progress, and his capacity to pass the Test of Initiates to the Grade of Neophyte.
FIRST INVOCATION
Invocation to the Higher Self.
Come forth unto me, Thou that art my true self; my light; my Soul! come forth unto me; Thou art crowned with Glory; Thou art the Changeless; the Unnameable; the Immortal God-head, whose place is in the unknown: and whose dwelling is the Abode of the Undying Gods. Heart of my Soul: self shining Flame, Glory of Light, Thee I invoke. Come forth unto me, my Lord: to me, who am Thy reflection in the mighty Sea of Matter! Hear Thou, Angel and Lord! Hear Thou in the habitations of Eternity: come forth, and purify to Thy Glory my Mind and Will! Without Thee I am nothing: in Thee am I all self-existing in Thy selfhood to eternity! Heart of my Soul; Thee I invoke! Come Thou forth unto me: who art my very selfhood! mine Essence, my Light: and do Thou guard me and guide me through the Manifold Paths of Life; that I may at length become one with Thine Immortal and Imperishable Essence! Unto thee, Sole Wise, Sole Mighty, and Sole Eternal One, be Praise and Glory for Ever. Amen, Amen, and Amen.
INVOCATION
O self Divine! O living Lord of Me! Self shining Flame, begotten of beyond. God head Immaculate! Swift tongue of Fire, Kindled from that Immeasurable Light The boundless, the immutable. Come forth, My God, my lover, spirit of my heart, Heart of my Soul, white virgin of the Dawn, My Queen of all Perfection, come thou forth From thine abode beyond the Silences To me the prisoner, me the mortal man, Shrined in this clay: come forth, I say, to me. Initiate my quickened soul: draw near And let the glory of thy God-head shine Through all the luminous aethers of the air Even to earth, thy footstool: unto me Who by these sacred invocations draw The holy influence within myself To strengthen and purify my will And holy aspirations to thy life, Purge me and consecrate, until my heart Burn through the very limits of the veil, And rend it at the hour of sacrifice, That even the secret pillar in the midst May be made manifest to mortal eyes. Behold upon my right hand and my left The mighty pillars of amazing fires, And terrible cloud. Their tops in Heaven are veiled, Whereupon the everlasting lamps rejoice; Their pedestals upon the Universe Are set in rolling clouds, in thunder gusts, In vivid flame and tempest: But to me Balanced between them, burns the holy light Veiless, one liquid wheel of sacred fire, Whirling immutably within itself And formulating in the splendid sun Of its white moony radiance, in the light Of its immaculate eternity. Thy glorious vision! O Thou starlight face And crowned diamond of my self and soul, Thou Queenly Angel of my higher Will, Form in my spirit a more subtle fire Of God, that I may comprehend the more The sacred purity of thy divine Essence! O Queen, O Goddess of my life, Light unbegotten, Scintillating spark Of the All-Self! O holy, holy Spouse Of my most godlike thought, come forth! I say, And manifest unto thy worshipper In more candescent fulgurs! Let the air Ring with the passion of my holy cry Unto the highest. For persistent will And continual fervour of my soul Have led me to this hour of victory This throne of splendour, O thou Beauty's self, Thou holiest crown thus manifest to me, Come forth, I say, come forth! With mightier cries Than Jesus uttered on the quivering cross: "Eli, Eli, Iama sabachthani." Thee, thee, thee only I invoke! O Soul Of my own spirit, let thy fervid eyes Give me their light; for thou dost stand as Gods Thy music moves, coequal, coeternal, Thou, Lord of Light and Life and Love! Come forth! I call thee in the holiest name of Him Lord of the Universe, and by His Name, Osiris perfected through suffering Glorious in trial; by his Holy Name, Jesus, the God-Head passing through the gates Of Hell, that even there the rescuers Might find the darkness, and proclaim the light; For I invoke thee by the sacred rites And secret words of everlasting power; By the swift symbol of the Golden Dawn And all its promise, by the Cross of Fire, And by the Gleaming Symbol; by the Rose And the Cross of Light and Life; by the holy Ankh The Rose of Ruby and the Cross of Gold By these I say, Come forth! my holy spouse And make me one with thine abundant ray Of the vast ocean of the unmanifest Limitless Negativity of Light, Flowing, in Jesus manifest, through space, In equilibrium, upon the world Illumined by the White Supernal gleam, Through the red Cross of Calvary: Come forth, My actual Self! Come forth! O Dazzling one Wrapped in the glory of the Holy Place Whence I have called thee; Come forth to me And permeate my being, till my face Shine with thy light reflected, till my brows Gleam with thy starry Symbol, till my voice Reach the Ineffable: Come forth, I say And makes me one with thee, that all my ways May glitter with the holy influence, That I may be found worthy at the end To sacrifice before the Holy Ones: That in thy Glory, Strength and Majesty, And by the Beauty and Harmony of Heaven That fills its fountains at the Well of Life I may be mighty in the Universe. Yes, come thou forth, I mightily conjure, Thy radiant perfection to compel All spirits to be subject unto me, That every spirit of the Firmament And of the Ether, and upon the Earth And under the Earth and the stable land, Of water, of the whirling of the air, Of the all-rushing fire; and every spell And scourge of God the Vast One, may be made Obedient to me, to the All-Good And ultimate redemption: Hear me, thou!
Eca, zodocare, lad, goho Torzodu odo kikale qaa! Zodacare od zodameranu! Zodorje, lape zodiredo Ol Noco, Mada, das ladapiel! Ilas! hoatahe Iaida!
Crowned with starlight! Winged with emerald Wider than Heaven! O profounder blue Of the abyss of water! O thou flame Flashing through all the caverns of the night, Tongues leaping from the immeasurable Up through the glittering Steeps unmanifest To the ineffable! O Golden sun! Vibrating glory of my higher self! I heard thy voice resounding in the Abyss: "I am the only being in the deep Of Darkness: let me rise and gird myself To tread the path of Darkness: even so I may attain the light. For from the Abyss I came before my birth; from those dim halls And silence of a primal sleep! And He, The Voice of Ages, answered me and said: Behold! for I am He that formulates In darkness! Child of Earth! the Light doth shine In darkness; but the darkness understands No ray of that initiating light!" Now by Initiation's dangerous path And groping Aspiration, came I forth Where the White Splendour shone upon the Throne Even to the Temple of the Holy Ones: Now, by that light, come forth, I say, to me My Lady of the Starlight and the Moon! Come and be the absolute within my mind That I may take no dim remembrance back To drown this glory with the earth's quivering gloom But, O abide within me! Every hour I need the lofty and the limpid stream Of that White Brilliance: leave me not alone O Holy Spirit! Come to comfort me, To draw me, and to make me manifest, Osiris to the weeping world: that I Be lifted up upon the Cross of Pain And Sacrifice, to draw all human kind And every germ of matter that hath life, Even after me, to the Ineffable Kingdom of Light! O holy, holy Queen! Let thy wide pinions overshadow me!
I am the Resurrection and the Life! The reconciler of the Light and Dark. I am the Rescuer of mortal things, I am the Force in matter manifest I am the God-head manifest in flesh, I stand above, among the Holy Ones, I am all purified through suffering. All perfect in the mystic Sacrifice, And in the knowledge of my selfhood made One with the Everlasting Lords of Life. The Glorified through Trial is my Name: The Rescuer of Matter is my Name. I am the heart of Jesus girt about With the Swift Serpent! I, osirified, Stand in this Hall of Twofold Truth and say: Holy art Thou, Lord of the Universe! Holy art Thou, whom Nature hath not formed, Holy art Thou, O vast and mighty One! O Lord of Darkness and O Lord of Light! Holy art Thou, O Light above all Gods! O Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy King. Ineffable, O Conscious Divine In whose white presence even I, a god, A god of gods, prostate myself and say: I am a spark of Thine abundant flame I am the flower and Thou the splendid Sun Wherefrom my life is drawn! All hail to Thee. For Holy, Holy, Holy is Thy Name! Holy are Thou, whom Nature hath not formed! Holy art Thou, O vast and mighty One! O Lord of Darkness and O Lord of Light!
I see the darkness fall as lightning falls! I watch the Ages like a torrent roll Past Me: and as a garment I shake off The clinging skirts of Time. My place is fixed In the abyss beyond all Stars and Suns. I AM, the Resurrection and the Life!
Holy art Thou, Lord of the Universe! Holy art Thou, whom Nature hath not formed, Holy art Thou, the Vast and Mighty One! O Lord of Darkness and O Lord of Light!
The following works are recommended for serious study: Liber CCXX. The Book of the Law. The Equinox, Vol 1, Nos. I X Book 4, Parts 1, 2, and 3. [Book 4-Part I, Book 4-Part 2, & Magick in Theory and Practice] The Star in the West (Fuller) The Tao Teh King The Upanishads The Bhagavad Gita Raja Yoga (Swami Vivekananda) The Bible Varieties of Religious Experience (James)
The following works may also be read with advantage: The Light of Asia (Arnold) The Song Celestial (Arnold) Zanoni (Lytton) A Strange Story (Lytton) The Blossom and the Fruit (Mabel Collins) Kim (Kipling) The Arabian Nights (Sir R. Burton's trans.)
If any difficulty is encountered in these practices and ritual, further enlightenment will be gladly forwarded by Frater Progradior on receipt of a stamped addressed envelope.
FRATER PROGRADIOR
Collegium Ad Spiritum Sanctum (Sydney) 15, Emmett Street, Crow's Nest, Sydney, N.S.W.
|