SOCIETAS ROSICRUCIANA IN ANGLIA
SEVEN STEPS OF WISDOM : STEP 2
In What Ways is Rosicrucian Thought Distinctive?
Rosicrucian philosophy assumes in the first place that:
a) Each individual is a part of God, that the personality contains a divine spark; and that
b) The whole purpose of human existence is that this immortal element must find its way back to, and merge with, the divinity whence it came.
An Esoteric Tradition?
The appeal to both the Renaissance Mind of the 15th & 16th centuries and that of the 21st and late 20th century thinking human, of an inherited and largely secret, or at the least confidential and little known, body of knowledge was (and is) considerable and there is some circumstantial evidence to support the idea.
The Zelator ritual implies on several occasions that the 'doctrines taught by the society of the Rose and Cross' are ancient and, in the lecture on numbers towards the end of the ritual, unequivocally states the 'we (ie: the SRIA) trace the growth of our philosophy in the perpetual advent of Sages through the remotest avenues of time'.
The secrecy involved with any such body of knowledge is understandable: one has only to consider what happened to heretics in medieval times and to such scientists as Galileo, whose ideas challenged the inquisition and established Catholic ideas, to realize that any Group with a body of knowledge outside the accepted teachings of the Church was likely to be very wary of drawing attention to itself.
Part of any appeal would be, of course, a rebellion against the ruthless materialism of the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed many individuals in western society 'know' that there is nothing beyond the measurable, weighable material world and the discoveries of quantum physics are widely ignored as too complex to understand, especially when they throw into doubt the 'facts' of the 'real' world. In practice the discoveries and theories of quantum physics grow ever closer to what the Western Mystery Tradition had always held about reality, and a growing number of bio-physicists in the field of vibratory medicine are running foul of mainstream biochemical and medical ideas. In the routine testing of drugs the placebo effect can be as high as 60% - some doctors and physicists are beginning to investigate why this should be.
Possible Evidence of a Partially Lost Body of Knowledge
Because Mercury is much nearer to the sun than the Earth is, it orbits round the sun three times in each Earth year. Each year, therefore, Mercury lies exactly between the Earth and the sun three times (a 'superior' conjunction) and it is in line with the Earth on the far side of the sun three times (an 'inferior' conjunction). If you draw a circle and mark on it the three superior conjunctions as points 1, 2 & 3 and the three inferior conjunctions as points A, B & C and you link points 1, 2 & 3 and points A, B & C you get two perfect interlocking equilateral triangles Ð a hexagram: the Star of David (on an Israeli flag) or Seal of Solomon.
Venus orbits the sun eight times in five Earth years: the similar exercise produces a perfect pentagram.
Now, how is it that two very ancient symbols, treated throughout historical times as potent talismans - the Pentagram and the Hexagram - are actual representations of astronomical facts not known until the 20th century? One possible explanation is that they are part of a body of knowledge handed on by an esoteric elite. This, of course, begs the question of 'handed on from what'.
From: Movements & Rhythms of the Stars by Joachim Schultz; Flori;s 1987
The 'Great Work' - Return to the Source
The SRIA (and Christianity) represent one path among many of return to the source. Christianity speaks of atonement Ð 'at-one-ment' with the God who created all things and appeared in human form to pay for the sins of the world. The idea of a self-sacrificing God is a potent one, but one which is harder for the post-Darwinian thinker to accept, because what Jesus teaches flows against both the concept of survival of the fittest and the 'me' culture.
One of the later grades of the First Order looks in more detail at the other great religions of the world, for now it is enough to recognize that adopting one single path for yourself - as the right and true path for you - does not preclude another path as being more appropriate for another individual and this course will assume that you have chosen to adopt the Christian path back to oneness with God.
The Themes of the Grades of the First Order
The ritual leading from one grade to another of the First Order all contain a lecture which sets the theme for study in the grade. Unfortunately, these lectures (apart from the one in the Zelator ritual) are often omitted for lack of time. It is true that the one in the 4th grade is a very long, but one has a strong suspicion that the real reason is that many members do not understand them and either don't want to admit to not understanding or think they represent ideas they reject.
The ritual for each grade is given to the aspirant at the close of each ceremony and the aspirant could (and should) read the lecture, but that is no substitute for hearing it.
Zelator
Towards the end of the Zelator ritual is the lecture on numbers. This talk involves a short review of the importance of study to the individual member, a suggestion that the newly initiated Zelator study Kabbalism and a review of the significance of numbers to 12 (and multiples of 12) The lecture is often (usually?) read and sometimes by those who do not understand it.
If you have already studied, even briefly, the Kabbalah you will know that a detailed study can last a lifetime As the Grade V ceremony refers to the Kabbalah in fairly simple terms, it is possible to deduce that, while you should be aware of the main points before you get to the Second Order, you don't need to make an in depth study at this stage. It should, however, be pointed out that some new members are already well acquainted with it and following an interest in that direction is to be welcomed.
Some Rosicrucian Groups hold 'gemetria' - the meaning of numbers - as important and explore all the significances of number and the numerical value of words. This, however, relates to the fact that, in the Hebrew alphabet letters are also numbers, there being no digits. This is not clear in the SRIA lecture and there is some cause for saying that introducing the concept so early without more explanation tends to link it many minds with the more superstitious elements of numerology, which is unfortunate (and misguided).
Theoricus
The idea of this grade is that the aspirant in this grade expands the study begun as a Zelator, but still only looking at theory.
In the ritual of this grade the lecture is on colour. The lecture is interesting, but it doesn't do anything: the aspirant is not even told to study it further. All the same, most of us are at least dimly aware (and some of us very much aware) of the effects of colour in our environment and in healing. For the rest of us it should perhaps be a wake up call to explore the subject further.
Practicus
The lecture here is a long one on Alchemy and it is usually omitted sometimes with a mumbled injunction from the celebrant to 'read it'. Probably very few aspirants actually do!
Rosicrucian images often include the language and images of Spiritual Alchemy - turning the self from Spiritual dross to Spiritual Gold. The lecture explains the links between physical and spiritual alchemy. Before you decide that physical alchemy was a matter of either chasing a mirage or pulling a confidence trick, bear in mind that quantum physicists could actually make gold from base metals in a particle accelerator it just costs many times more to do than the gold is worth!
When the grade of Practicus refers to practice it does not refer to the practice of alchemy: what is meant that the aspirant will by this stage (assuming studies have been maintained) reached a level where ideas can be put into practice.
Philosophus.
The lecture in this Grade is not meant to be read as a part of the ritual, for it is far too long. The subject is comparative religion and philosophy and the point is made that, being certain of our own beliefs, we should be aware of the beliefs of others.
In The Lost Horizons (the 1930s book that told the fictional story of Shangi La) Chang makes the point that the 'principal belief of the lamasary is in moderation' and 'all religions are moderately true'. When Barnard says he is certain they are right, Chang says 'We, on the other hand, are only moderately certain'. Understanding breeds tolerance
Meditation and Study
Reading
Last week you were asked to acquire and read the introduction to The Rosicrucians: The History, Mythology and Ritual of an Esoteric Order by Christopher McIntosh. If you did obtain a copy, we would like you to read Chapter 1 and to study the illustrations that follow chapter 1. You should note that Chapters 2 & 3 are a confusing history of medieval Germany and unlikely to be of interest to many aspirants. We are not suggesting a ban on reading on if you're interested - just pointing out that we are not asking you to.
We'd like to suggest three other books that are more readable but would have the effect of widening your view of reality: Read any one of them to become aware of how close modern quantum physics is moving towards the mystery tradition:
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot, published by Harper Collins 1996 ISBN 0-586-09171-8;
The Field by Lynne McTaggart, published by Element, 2003 ISBN0-00-714510-1 ;
The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Kafka (this is an older classic in several different editions: one paperback is published by Flamingo (a Harper Collins imprint) 1982 but try any edition. The book takes more reading, but it is a scientist's view.)
Don't take this as a suggestion to buy three books! We are suggesting that either of the first two would be much easier reading than McIntosh and be more entertaining. Of course, if you think study has always to be a miserable grind, you possibly won't find a long term home in the SRIA.
Meditation Topics
Look through the illustrations following Chapter 1 of The Rosicrucians. Spend a few minutes studying them. Are you drawn to any of them? The usual reaction (there isn't a correct one) is to be put off by some of them and puzzled by some others but drawn to one or two.
We mentioned in Step 1 the need to hold an image in your mind. We said it was 'visualisation' and that it was a key skill in occult and esoteric activity, necessary if you are not to find other skills impossible and much of the esoteric world boring. You must first understand what it is you are doing, and then practice doing it.
Get a piece of paper and sign your name. Now try to write (or better still draw) a description of how you did it. How did you hold the pen? What was the angle between the pen and the paper? Close your eyes and see yourself doing it. Do it again and see whether you saw yourself correctly. You could try other very routine activities - tieing a tie, tying shoe laces. You are visualizing yourself doing these things.
Diary
Make a note in your diary each time you practice visualization and give yourself an assessment. Use a scale of: satisfactory; satisfactory + (when there is an improvement) and satisfactory - (when you are tired or distracted etc.) The main point is to do it and that's satisfactory in itself!
Look at your objectives and priorities from last week: do you still think they're right? Now that you're getting better at visualization, picture yourself achieving your objective. What will it mean for you? See yourself achieving what you want, but leave the matter of how you get it to synchronicity and your subconscious.
Questions for Contemplation
1. Do YOU think there is a 'mystery tradition'? Where else might the images of the Pentagram and Hexagram have come from? (In a paper to Metropolitan College Frater Audio Lego Igitur Cognosco suggested four possibilities, all equally unlikely.)
2. What is meant by the words 'Return to the Source'?
3. What is the 'Great Work' of Alchemy?
4. When
you 'visualise' something you are seeing it in your imagination – why
is imagination important and why should it not be dismissed as mere fancy?
Write down your answers to help order
your thoughts, though no one but you will see them. Thoughts to share with others
come soon enough!
