An Egyptian Initiation
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An EgyptianInitiation,
or a Scribe’s Humble Account ofAkhnaton’s Message and the Initiations in the Temple of Aten
ByLuis E. Prada, F.R.C.,the Scribe.
Editor and Publisher of Brother Veritus’ Website,www.LuisPrada.com
Beloved Grand Master Akhnaton
Copyright 1997. All rights reserved. For possiblepublication in written text or video or audio format on a for-profit basis, please contactthe author at [email protected] .
"Haste, let us fly and allour sails expand, to gain our dear, our long-lost native land"
Homer, The Odyssey.
PRELIMINARY: The core of this story is based on a classin Creative Writing (1). This initiatic drama is fictional though it carries historical facts andis loaded with mystical symbology. When read, listeners are asked to vividly visualize itwith closed eyes identifying themselves with either the torchbearer, the initiate or thescribe. This is intended to be an inspirational aid for a visualization exercise inaffiliated bodies. Whether the story is true or not in all its details does not reallymatter but its inner message behind (2). SeeDiagram A (1MB, takesapprox. 7 min. to download) for a review of the initiations, the Zodiac in relation to thecycle of seasons is shown as it was 2,000 years ago, which is the archetype in current usetoday. Due to the Precession of the Equinoxes, the Spring Equinoctial sun arose in themiddle of the zodiacal sign of Taurus during the beginning of the Pharaonic civilizationwith the ‘Unification of the Two Lands’ (c. 3,240 BC). Diagram B shows thecorrespondences of the Initiations at Gizah to other two mystical philosophies.
Hall of the Scribes, Palace ofAkhetaten City, Spring Equinox
Detail from the Hieroglyphic Text of PopiI
Introduction
This is the account of a series of Egyptianinitiations conducted in the "Temple of Amen" (3) [Great Pyramid of Gizahor Pyramid of Cheops] aswere told to me by two witnesses: a Temple Guardian, here referred to as a torchbearer,and one of the initiates. The narrative is referred in first person by myself, the Scribe.
Pyramids of Geezeh from The Nile by DavidRoberts
(http://www.museum-tours.com/museum/roberts/roberts0.htm)
In the wonderful and awe inspiring Khufu Pyramid wasto be held another anxiously expected series of initiatic ceremonies under the auspices ofour Great Beloved Pharaoh Akhnaton, "Ankh-em-Maat"["Living-in-Truth"], "Beautiful-Essence-of-the-Sun" (4), toWhom all glory be forever, and our Beloved Sacred Brotherhood (5). The aspirantsgained this privilege after some much persistent supplication to the High Priest foradmittance to the most holy secrets of the Mysteries.
Being finally accepted and as aprerequisite for qualification into this unique series of ceremonies, these novices havespent forty days in fasting, prayer and study of the Mysteries.
The fasting consisted toabstain from all pleasures of the table, to eat no living thing, and to drink no wine(6).Part of their study was the memorization of long lines of text given by the priests andmagicians of our Inner Mystery School Circle and the reciting of certain magic formulae,declarations, incantations, spells, litanies and some funerary liturgy (7). Alsothe curriculum included certain riddles and mind puzzles of an esoteric nature, bearing aresemblance in form, but not in content, to those commonly used these days as pass timesin certain intellectual upper classes.
At the Midwinter evening ten aspirants gatheredby the altar between the paws of Hu [Sphinx‘s paws]waiting for their entrance into an antechamber located underneath the colossus’belly. It was a fresh peaceful evening still reflecting on the pyramids the crimsonafterglow of the sun Aton,"to Whom all creation worship".
The candidates talked among themselves abouttheir sacrifices and earnest preparation and fasting prior to the ceremony. Some steppedat the Thothmes stele at the Sphinx’s breast and read some of its lines.
The thrill inanticipation filling their hearts was perceived in their words as they recalled especiallythe last two weeks of work. As time passed, all quieted and sat absorbed in their ownthoughts and expectations. To some, the answering of the Sphinx’s riddle (8), asa password to get admittance into the temple, seemed a little bit scary (9)."CouldI actually answer it correctly?" That question preoccupied their minds. It was knownthat some students had failed to give the right answer and with embarrassment were askedto return home. Even if successfully answering the riddle, it was still that fear of theimminent trials, knowing that some past initiates, not using right judgment, did notsurvive the experience.
They waited patiently between the paws, insilence, that same silence of secrecy of initiation that Hu [the Sphinx] symbolized.
The Sphinx’s Riddle
As the initiates waited outside, a mantra wasbarely heard coming from inside. The Thothmes stele slowly and mysteriously moved half waysideways as if supported by invisible hinges. An entryway with a cleverly hinged bronzedoor was revealed at which they saw a torchbearer standing. He was carrying aloft a torch.The boy looked about 18 years old and reflected a clear determined countenance. His voicesounded so confident for a boy of his age. Actually he was a devout student of the Art anddedicated to practice it.
The Chamber of the Sphinx
(Source: The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid(Plate V) By H. Spencer Lewis, Former Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order)
The Sphinx
He asked the students this question: "Artthou, dwellers of the outer darkness where ignorance dwelleth, praying admittance into oursacred Temple to seek the Light of Initiation?" The candidates nodded affirmativelyresponding: "Yes, we are". Then he said, "The Path to initiation istreacherous and filled with trials and temptation. Art thou willing to take it?".They again responded affirmatively.
Next he asked them to make a line and escortedthe first in. The interior passageway was dark as night and musty. He stepped inside thepassageway, closed the door and with a soft voice asked the prospective initiate thefollowing question: "What is that animal which in the morning has four legs, two atnoon, and three in the evening?" The postulant gazed at the floor as he tried to findan answer to this strange and puzzling riddle he had never heard before. That descriptiondid not seemed to reflect the pattern of any living animal he has ever known.
After sometime of thinking, he murmured an answer to the torchbearer who nodded in affirmation andguided the initiate into a small chamber. Then he return to bring the next initiate in.Seven students were able to answer the riddle: four men and three women. Seven!, thenumber of the perfect man! (10)
After the stone slab was slowly closed at theSphinx’s breast and also the bronze door, they walked down a spiral staircase into asoundless passage that led them to the antechamber where all gathered, murmuring amongthemselves the answer in excitement: "it was man!".
The Sphinx’s Antechamber Dream
Underneath the Sphinx is located the Sphinx’sAntechamber, annex to a colonnaded Circular Temple. Also the Sphinx is connected to thePyramids through subterranean passageways. The tunnel passage from the Sphinx to theTemple of Aten [Great Pyramid] is commonly taken by the initiates during variousceremonies. Other hallways and rooms exist not to be mentioned here.
The Antechamber was illumined by six torchesmounted on holders located five feet above the ground, three torches on the East wall andthree on the West. The yellowish lights were mellow and flickering. The initiates, sittingon chairs located against the walls, had just started a short period of meditation whenthe torchbearer came in and invited the women to follow him to an annex room furnishedwith four beds and a desk with papyrus scrolls. The walls were decorated with holyscriptures and prayers.
The men were conducted to a separate and similar room. Both groupswere bade to rest and wait. That night some students had unusual dreams of a propheticnature anticipating the coming initiation.
The student that referred to me the story,described that… "at about midnight, I saw a floating glowing circle in the middleof the room, the circle slowly turned into a snake with a glittering back and a dark bellythat had written a final letter on her tail and a first letter on her head. Her head wasconstantly eating her tail without diminishing the size of her body (11). As Istared at the symbol, big Egyptian hieroglyphs were appearing on top of the symbolic snakestating: ‘Every End is the Beginning of a New Cycle’. Then all vanished in the dark!"
Zero Degree Initiation: EARTH(12)
0 Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part I: Preparation
Next day(13) the initiates were takento a lavatory and fountain place for lustration, to bathe and cleanse themselves and tomake their sacred ablutions of face and hands. Afterwards, they were garbed in white linenrobes and were given special frugal meals. This dietary meal, supplemented with specialsalts and a white powder, will continue to be supplied throughout the various initiationsas well as the initiates will be provided with places for study and meditation inside thepyramid.
Also, as a prelude to each initiation, ceremonies of lustration will be performedat the water basin adjoining the temple.
After waiting for hours, the group was escortedby the torchbearer to the Great Pyramid.Inside the pyramid halls, light was scarce. The colonnaded halls were beautifullydecorated with pictures, scripts and prayers to Amen, the Creator of AllThat Is. The tall columns were shaped like palm trees and terminated in capitals in theform of leaves girdled with lapis lazuli and gold and topped with geese bas-relieves.Marble and alabaster, granite of different colors finished the walls. The aroma of incensefilled the halls. In the holding of their breath, the initiates expressed a sense of fearand anticipation.
The initiate of my story tried to calm down by thinking of all theothers who had passed this way before and are now members of the Secret (14) andSacred Brotherhood. As the aspirants followed the torchbearer, our initiate in aweadmiration… "looked at the details of the passages, the incredible magnificence ofthe shining pillars, the paintings on the walls and the gorgeous capitals with iridescentsplendor that our Fathers, the Great Pharaohs, used to adorn it for eternity. Whata glorious moment only illumined by the dancing light of the torch reflected on the wallsand columns! By contrast, I knew, deep in my own heart shone ‘a Light surpassing that ofsun or moon’(15)."
The Chamber of the Sphinx, Top View
(Source: The Symbolic Prophesy of the Great Pyramid(Plate IV) By H. Spencer Lewis, Former Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order)
0Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part II: The Dark Light Chamber or Chamber of Chaos [The Pit]
The postulants were guided by a priest donning ahalf black and half gold Anubismask, , to the Dark Light Chamber or Death Pit, a chamber located in the lower part of thepyramid. The place represents the Zero Degree, the Underworld ruled by our God Osiris. Their conductorto this stage reenacted our black jackal-headed God, Master of Mysteries, guide across thethreshold to the Underworld, the Unseen symbolized here by a chamber inside of God Geb, the Earth(16).
Anubis
In the complete absence of visible light, thetest consisted in addressing issues that have not been resolved, to achieve a healingthrough the mastery of individual aspects of personality. Special experiences of psychicnature were lived there over and over in an iterative process. Reactive moments of painand suffering from their past came vivid during their meditation just like being reenactedfrom the pages of an old forgotten book. Dreadful aspect of horrors and wanderings indarkness! Affrightment, uncertainties, doubts.
Every particle of wisdom available wasneeded to vanquish the apparent power given to fear. Materializations of mind creations,creeping things, maybe hissing reptiles, were made real by the law of the participant.Illusion’s fires! (15). With the Eye of Horus, our cosmic El,they thoroughly saw these own distressful experiences to torment them no more!
After aheroic act of will during this period of germination, they triumphantly felt cleansed andstronger. (It is said that some in the past, unable to deal with their own fears, had notsurvived the experience dying in the depth of the chamber built from their own fears)(17).
After this dreadful Zero Degree initiation, thecandidates return home to their normal mundane activities, to assimilate the experienceand to continued their mystical preparation into the Mysteries before they were ready inthat coming Vernal Equinox to take their First Degree Initiation which I will describenext:
First Degree Initiation: WATER
1st Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part I: TheWomb of the Second Birth [Queen’s Chamber]
Prior to their First Degree Initiation, thegroup of candidates were taken to the chamber known as the "Womb of the SecondBirth" inside the Great Pyramid for a symbolic entering into the womb for a rebornexperience. This chamber is also known as the Chamber of Balance because here the initiatewill demonstrate his ability to balance the polarities of Light and Dark, similarly as wasprepared to demonstrate it in the Nile Temple at Kom Ombo, the Temple ofLight and Darkness.
Having experienced the Dark Light in the Pit and previously at KomOmbo, the natural tendency would be to overcompensate by moving into pure light, whichproduces unbalance, since the initiate lives in a world of both polarities (18).Here they will learn to master their emotions through love from the heart, Water being thesymbol of the emotional nature.
They were left there for periods of reflectionand meditation on these matters that lasted for seven days being administered by priestsand acolytes. In this, like in other initiations, the candidates were assigned for restingfully decorated and furnished chambers out of more than thirty available chambers insidethe pyramid.
Early at the seventh day and while a distantgong was heard, the initiated ones were asked by the Hierophant to enter inside a mummycase brought by a group of temple guardians and acolytes. The coffins bore scriptures andsymbols resembling the ones used to preserved the bodies of the departed ones. TheHierophant or High Priest of the Temple entranced the initiates, one by one, into amagical hypnotic sleep.
When the candidates were laid inside, the lids were closed andthey entered into a deep sleep. The coffins with the candidates inside were tied up to acarrier and with robes lowered down, one at a time, to the Chamber of Rebirth.
1st Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part II: TheChamber of Rebirth [The Grotto or The Well]
In thischamber the initiates remained in a semi lifeless state for three days. Unaware of theactivities of preparations for the ceremonies that followed, they were left in theirphysical and symbolic dream. To them, it seemed to last just few hours.
At midnight the coffin lids were opened and thedancing lights of the torches stroke their faces as ancient mantras sounded in thechamber. Then a song that tells about a rebirth to a Light State of Immortality was sung.One by one the initiates were taken from the coffins and to their surprise they found aroom packed with people. "We were greeted and embraced with joy by the Brethren. Thiswas a moving emotional moment: so far we had felt somehow lonely, left with the solecompany at times of the torchbearer. Tears fell from our eyes as we were greeted even bypeople we had never seen before. So many care to be aware of our initiation?", thistold me the initiate. Comments to what has happened so far were said to the great surpriseof the candidates. Happy laughter and cheers were filling the room!
The candidates have now completed their FirstDegree Initiation. As in the Zero Degree Initiation, the initiates were asked to returnhome to their normal affairs, to assimilate the experience and to continue their studiesbefore they were themselves ready to take their Second Degree Initiation during Midsummer.After the preparation time had lapsed, the candidates took the initiation that I will nowdescribe:
Second Degree Initiation: AIR
2nd Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part I: TheTemple of Maat [The Grand Gallery]
The Temple of Maat is also known as the"Hall of Truth in Light" or the "Temple or Hall of Illumination".These names are symbolic of the fact that "as the initiate ascended, he reached agreater height in his symbolical attainment of mystical Light" (19). Inthis degree of initiation the candidate will learn clear perception and understanding thatleads to illumination through the right use of their intellect. The intellectual nature ishere represented by Air and the blossoming of beautiful thoughts of the mind.
Grand Gallery
To receive this degree the candidates were takenagain inside the Pyramid of Khufu. With the help of the torchbearer and somemembers of the ritual, the candidates were three times blindfolded and, taken by theirarms, guided to cross the Second Threshold or the "Place of Crossing the Water ofLife". This is the pass to the "Temple of Maat." At this time two distantgongs, symbolic of the Second Degree, were heard.
Our initiate recalled… "went up with thegroup into what I felt based on the acoustic sound to be a spacious open hall. Theblindfolded ascension was difficult and cumbersome not knowing what the next move was orwhere to position the foot. Each initiate ascended the first two symbolical steps and thenwas taken back to chambers of instruction, meditation and rest and to endure trials totest their development and worthiness. Next day we went through the same ritual ofascension, to rise only two extra steps and return to the chambers for further instructionand trials. This ritual went on for seven days, each day ascending two extra newsteps."
2nd Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part II: TheAntechamber or Chamber of the Triple Veil
The seventh day they ascended all the fourteensteps arriving at the Great Stepat the top of the hall. Then they entered into the antechamber next to the "Chamberof the Open Tomb" [King’s Chamber]. This antechamber is known as the "Chamber ofthe Triple Veil". Here the three veils were removed, one at a time and the meaning ofeach veil was given to the initiates.
When they finally could see, they looked in alldirections at the room they have arrived at, so lavishly decorated. While in this chamberthey again were greeted by some members of the Brotherhood. "The bonds establishedamong the seven candidates were of Oneness, as we felt so close to each other we couldeven feel each other’s thoughts!"
They have now completed the Second DegreeInitiation. The initiates went now home and after some time of preparation got ready forthe next and so much waited culminating ceremony to be held in that coming AutumnalEquinox.
But before I continue with the description ofthe next ceremony, I will refer a short story of the torchbearer as he told it to me.These are his own words:
The Story of the Torchbearer
"My name is Amen-Hut. I was born in On[Heliopolis], the ‘City of the Sun’ and the Ben-Ben obelisk, in the year of theScorpio. At age 6, I was taken by my parents to the Temple of Aton [Temple of theSun], where our beloved Pharaohs are being coronated, to be instructed by the priests ofOn, less wealthy than those of Thebes but thoroughly more versed in ancient wisdom(20).
"I was and still am being trained in Mathematics, Astronomy, the magic sciences of healingand the history and geography of Egypt and adjacent lands. The mystical path is beingshown to me through the reading and explanation of the Ptah arcana. The secret symbologyhas been and is being revealed to me in various ways and, due to dedication and sincerity,I have been chosen as member of the ritualistic teams of both the Temple of On and theKhufu Pyramid and as a member of the Brotherhood.
"The day of the initiation, all was rushedin the great hall and the Chamber of Initiation. The female ritualistic performers withtheir musical instruments, harp, lute, lyre, sistrums, drums, castanets, harpsichord(21)and cymbals, were already in place, all the soloists and choruses have arrived as well asthe priests.
"The rehearsal was about to start when the gong player, darting to his gong,slipped on the floor and badly sprained his right wrist with which he so wonderfullyplayed the gong. Confusion filled the place! We were already way too late for therehearsal of the ceremony!
"The Hierophant’s daughter, who was serving as one of thevestals, rushed out to find a substitute in town. In the meantime the initiates werewaiting unaware of the endless rehearsals we went through that day in that chamber".
Third Degree Initiation: The Chamber of the Open Tomb [King’sChamber]: FIRE
3rd Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part I: TheMeaning of the Sacred Cobras
As a prerequisite for this initiation was againrequired to enter into the Pit and have similar experiences with the Dark Light as werepreviously described in the Zero Degree Initiation. From there the initiates moved to the"Chamber of the Open Tomb"(22).
The "Chamber of the Open Tomb" is alsoknown as the "Hall of Judgment and Resurrection" (23) or the"White Light Chamber". Here are customarily officiated symbolical ceremoniesinvolving the laws of transition, regeneration, resurrection and reincarnation. Rivalingthe elaborate and superstitious ceremonies of the priesthood of the profane world, theBrothers have prepared special rituals as the one that follows. These rites have thepurpose of impressing the minds of the new members with the purpose of Our Secret Societyof Wisdom (23) and to show the mastership of natural laws they may somedayacquire.
It was highly rewarded the effort of so manytrials suffered in previous initiations in this temple, in the adjacent pyramids and inother similar environments such as: The Temple of the Sun at On; Saqqara,the Temple of sound and vibration; Denderah,the Temple of Isis, temple of love, nurturing and healing; the Temple of Our Goddess Sekhmet, the breaker ofresistance; and Kom Ombo,the temple of the Dark Light.
And, for what I have heard, for the future initiates it is planned to build a temple dedicated to Amen-Ra and another dedicated to Osiris, bothat Karnak, near Luxor in Upper Egypt, likewise a temple of resurrection dedicated to Osiris, the Osirion, that there are plans to build it, if my memory does not fail me and if my source is right, in Abydos.
Dendera by David Roberts
(http://www.museum-tours.com/museum/roberts/roberts0.htm)
It was rewarded because it was now in the WhiteLight Chamber where the final initiation would be demonstrated. Once completed successfully,the initiate will no longer be subjected to death, illness or the limitations of lineartime. He will be a resurrected body mastering judgment, forgiveness, compassion and theillusions of fear and separateness. A resurrected body into a higher octave of expression(24)(25).
This initiation is also the culmination of twelve years of emotional training called inour school the "Left Eye of Horus". Each initiation in the series dealswith a specific fear related to a specific vortex of energy of the body.
This is the fruiting of so much dedication andtraining. It represents also the ideas learnt in the previous initiation put into actionin this, the Fire Initiation.
For this ritual the chamber was lit with candlesand incense was wafting in the air filling it with a rose fragrance. One solitary gongresounded through the halls of the pyramid announcing the beginning of the ritual.
Theseven white robed initiates stepped into the chamber following the torchbearer whoindicated them to position in line at the North wall by the chairs of the initiates. Someprayers and declarations to the bygone forefathers were spoken out by a priest at theSouth as a preliminary initiation to the ritual.
Then two gongs echoing through theconfines of the room were followed by soft entrance music while choruses sang a litanyas seven white robed figures filed into the Chamber toward the East, their faces hidden inthe shadows of their hoods.
The gong was played again three times to announce the entranceof the Hierophant (26),thesuccessor of Meri-Ra (27), a priest wearing a sky blue robe spangled withembroidered stars, girdled with a cord of gold. He also wore a cross upon his breast. Hewas followed by a group of priests from the Temple of On.
Grand Entrance, Luxor by David Roberts
(http://www.museum-tours.com/museum/roberts/roberts0.htm)
He stepped to the center of the room from hisSouth East station and from a papyrus scroll read to the aspirants a list of duties andresponsibilities to be observed, the prerogatives and benefits of the school and the vowsof secrecy to not divulge what they will experience, followed by a series of questionsthat were promptly answered revealing their preparedness and readiness.
At this point, the Hierophant moved near thesarcophagus of symbolical burial, a huge rose quartz granite casket of a single block, andlifting his hands to heavens to where our starry Goddess Nut dwells, pronouncedsacred words in Atlantean language that none of the initiates understood.
"The wallsof the chamber seemed to vibrate in resonance with the words as responding back to them. Achill cold filled the room, a strange breeze blew the faces of the participants. A deepmeaningful silence was present in the room and the East fire grew in size augmenting thesuspense and staging the moment." As in other special occasions, the torchbearer hadwitnessed similar deeds that through the world had made the Egyptian priests enjoy areputation of "mysterious power and hidden wisdom"(28). This is theknowledge he was yearning to possess someday.
The Sacred Cobras
A reptilian hissing sound filled the room.Behold! Two Egyptian cobras materialized on the floor and started to crawl toward the HighPriest, their proud narrow hoods straight up. He, gazing at the snakes’ piercingunblinking eyes, moved his extended right hand in an ascended commanding swing.
Thecharmed dark asps swayed against each other and started to levitate vertically in asinuous slithering movement until they formed two counter-sinusoids on an imaginary planeparallel to the East. They moved in a synchronized motion such that as one half sinusoidof one snake moved to the left, the other opposite half sinusoid of the second snake movedat the same speed in the opposite direction. The same happened along their entire bodies.
When everyone was staring at the vision, a ray of light shone between the serpents astheir faces looked at each other in a hypnotic deadly gaze while their forked tonguesflicked out in the typical sweeping motion. Then they started to spiral around the rod oflight, each one taking an opposite rotation (29).
As the serpentine illusion continued to rotate,the Hierophant, turning to the initiates, said: "Behold the Tempter and the Redeemer,their conflicting natures make all manifestations. And the change of consciousness(30)which they represent leads thee to wisdom".
Some of those present seemed astonished at thatunexpected display of occult power!
Slowly the enchanting apparition faded away…
3rd Deg. Initiation Ceremony, Part II:Akhnaton’s Message
The torchbearer now approached the initiatesindicating them to sit. He took the first in the row to the center of the chamberinstructing her to position in front of the sarcophagus. Then an acolyte carrying a lapislazuli platter with a small alabaster vessel approached her. The vessel had carved awinged Aton Disk wrapping its wings around the body. In it was Ben (31),the mysterious "What Then Is It" (32), a white powder dissolved inwater (33)(34)(35)(36). As a sacred act of communion, he handed her the vesselto drink.
After partaken of the Bread of Life, she was asked to lie in the tomb afterwhich the sarcophagus was closed down by the acolytes. Normally the initiate is left inthe casket for three days. In his entrancement the initiate feels a death of the flesh andexperiences all the impressions felt by the departed ones, a symbolical death as themurder of our God Osiris.He is then resurrected. In this special ceremony results are accelerated through the workof our Brethren as you will see next.
The musicians started to play and the sevenmysterious white figures approached the sarcophagus. Surrounding it, they formed a chainwith their hands and started to chant an ancient mantra. In ecstasy the initiate…"sensed a contact with the Essence of Aton. After what seemed for me aneternity inside, the symbolic tomb was opened and another initiate went through the sameprocess." When all had been in and had returned to their places in the North, anetheric soft and almost transparent white dove appeared hovering on the sarcophagus. No,it was not our sacred symbol of the Ba of the departed(37)but the symbol of the perfect thought. The dove was as light as the feather of our Goddess Maat, which this dovealso represents.
The Mystical Dove
La Trinidad, Detail, by El Greco (1540-1614)
Now that the atmosphere of the Temple wascharged with special vibrations due to the significance of the mystical symbols displayedand the beautiful chanting, one of the mysterious white figures stood up and moved to thecenter of the Chamber by the sarcophagus. He drew down the cowl to uncover hiscountenance. A special halo illumined his body as he started to speak. His figure lookedgraceful and classical (38), his refined movements were charged with an elegantauthority and his voice sounded young and musical. He was Our Beloved Pharaoh Akhnaton, "Nefer-kheperu-RaUa-en-Ra" ["Beautiful-essence-of-the-Sun, Only-one-of-the-Sun"](39),Grand Master of the Brotherhood and former High Priest of the Temple.
Akhnaton and Nefertiti
Exhibit of the Manssor Amarna Collection
The initiate of the story told me… "how Ifelt humble in His Presence. I felt that Our Beloved Pharaoh was there to bless us andgive us words of wisdom. Our King of Upper and Lower Kemet [Egypt] gave the messagethat the secret of the Path is "Life, Light and Love" and encouraged us to keepthose words and their inner meaning deep in our hearts. He expressed his eternal intenselove for all Creation, the feeling of Oneness with it and the striving for the unveilingof the flame that dwelleth hidden within the visible sun." He then returned to hissecluded place and robed himself unknown.
At the sound of the gong the Hierophant, theseven mysterious figures in white, priests and acolytes left the room, followed by otherwitnesses.
Now a vestal of the Temple approached the initiates and handed them anextinguished torch. The torchbearer guided the initiates to the East to light the torcheswith the vestal’s fire.
The group of initiates left the room carrying with them an"in flooding of insight and understanding… a profound sense of connection"(40)and the symbolic flame to other seekers of the Greater Light. AUM.
Other things, of course, eager reader, were doneand said during the preparation to the initiations and the actual rituals that I cannotdisclose to you here (41), even though you may burn to know them all!
After the transformation in the "Chamber ofthe Open Tomb" [King’s Chamber], the initiates were taken to the "Womb of theSecond Birth" [Queen’s Chamber] for a stabilization and balance (42).
Full illumination belongs to the Fourth DegreeInitiation, the Earth Initiation, not performed here at the Temple of Aten but in theworld, when the knowledge learnt in the heart is finally put to full test for the serviceto humanity.
I leave this record for future generations toremember. May Aton, our Eternal Sun-disk and Father from whence All That Exists came, forgive me if I went too far in revealing a sacrosanct knowledge that must be sealedfrom the minds of the unprepared! So mote it be!
The Scribe
Notes and References
- Collective work in Creative Writing conducted by Sandy Cook during a Rosicrucian Mystical Retreat held in Marconi Conference Center during June 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 1995. The class was divided in two groups: Each group independently developed a story of an Egyptian Initiation, Group A described it from the point of view of the Torchbearer, Group B from the Initiate’s. After being presented to the whole class, both stories looked dissimilar. It was then the work of the Scribe to merge them. Because of the dissimilarities the author decided instead to incorporate a historical research of the initiations in the Great Pyramid using some elements of the original works. Such is the way the present story was born. Without intending to sound profane, this work has a small sense of humor as a result of the fraternal mingling and the relaxed atmosphere of that occasion.
- I have three good analogies to symbolically illustrate this: 1. An alabaster vessel (the story) carries the Living Water (message) we all mystics are thirsty of, 2. The Holy Grail (the story) is the vessel that carries the blood of the wounds of the Master Jesus (the message), and, 3. In the blood the common salt, sodium chlorine (the story), carries the water (the message). Nobody can explain to the student the inner message. To illustrate this last point, let’s use St. Paul of Tarsus’ own words: "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." [I Corinthians 2, 14]. Please read all I Corinthians Chapter 2.
- The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid, by H. Spencer Lewis, F. R. C., Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC. In the Book of the Dead the pyramid is called "The Temple of Amen", which means "the Secret House of the Hidden One". It is also called "The House of the Hidden Places" and "The House of Light", see Chapter III, pages 72 and 73.
- Son of the Sun, by Savitri Devi, Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC, San Jose, CA.
- The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, by Levi H. Dowling, De Vorss & Co. Publishers, P.O. Box 550, Marina del Rey, CA 90291. See Chapter 47, verses 9 and 10. Please read the whole Section XI, Caph, Life and Works of Jesus in Egypt. The Redeemer is taken into different chambers to undergo trials.
- A Search in Secret Egypt, by Paul Brunton, published by Samuel Weiser, Inc., Chapter XI, page 175. Here Brunton quotes Apuleius. The student of this subject should read Brunton’s book for a better grasp of the Egyptian Mysteries. In several places I use Brunton’s work, numerous and scattered to be quoted.
- Son of the Sun, Chapter 5, page 135.
- The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall, The Philosophical Research Society, Inc., Los Angeles, California 90027, USA. Available in Diamond (hard and soft covers) and Deluxe Editions. On page XLI is presented the Sphinx’s riddle with exoteric and an esoteric explanations to Oedipus’ answer. Other information related to the Sphinx and the Pyramid of Gizah was taken from pages XLII and XLIII.
- This is alluding to the terror of the threshold. The torchbearer plays here the role of the Guardian of the Threshold questioning and trying the aspirants. The antechamber is the borderline state between the conscious and subconscious mind, between the profane and the sacred. Moses, in the Jewish allegory, never crossed this borderline to enter into the promised land of Canaan, Deuteronomy Chapter 32, verse 52. (The original name of Moses in Egyptian was Osarsiph. He was the High Priest of the Temple of the Sun at On or Heliopolis).
- The Aquarian Gospel, Chapter 48, verse 2.
- The first and final letters refer to the Hebrew letters Aleph, , (numerical value, 1) and Tav, , (numerical value, 400), respectively, or Alpha A and Omega W , the beginning and the end of a cycle of manifestation. In this narration the initiate saw the equivalent Egyptian hieroglyphics: Ahom, the eagle, and Thoth , , respectively. The ancient Egyptians in consecrating this last letter to Thoth, god of wisdom, whose name they gave it, regarded it as the symbol of the universal mind. The serpent of the vision is the Ouroboros of the Gnostics and alchemists. See Ref. 30. The colors of the serpent’s body signify to the mystic the good and bad of the material world, perfection and imperfection bound as one. In the Tree of Life it represents the tree and its hidden connection between the Crown (Kether) and Kingdom (Malkuth). In man, it is the body and the connection between head and feet through the water in the air he breathes.
- Arcadia, Studies in Ancient Wisdom, by Peter Dawkins, published by The Francis Bacon Research Trust. See Part I: The Ancient Egyptian Mysteries, pages 23 through 25. The associations of the Egyptian Initiations to the four elements were taken from this Chapter.
- The aspirants into the Mysteries were "outsiders" in the dark cold night praying admittance into the Temple of Initiation. After undergoing the process of test and purification , these neophytes saw the symbolic light of initiation who expels the shadows of ignorance as the physical light of the new day dispels the darkness of the night.
- Certain individuals did not identify themselves with the traditional religious beliefs of those times. They instead created a sub rosa secret order where knowledge was imparted privately through oral instruction.
- The Aquarian Gospel, Chapter 49, verse 21: "Begone, you men, begone, and leave me to this charming light; for while the sun shines not, within my soul there is a light surpassing that of sun or moon." The triumphant heroic act of will in the Pit carries some similarities to the Fifth Degree Initiation of Master Jesus, Heroism, endured in the den of unclean animals. In Chapter 52, verse 17 it reads: "But some day all man’s lessons will be learned and from the den of unclean beasts, and birds, and creeping things he will arise to walk in light." The soul in the dark night is guided by Love, the Fire. This reminds us of the poem "The Dark Night" by St. John of the Cross. Some of its verses say: "En la noche dichosa,/en secreto, que nadie me veía,/ni yo miraba cosa,/sin otra luz y guía/sino la que en el corazón ardía." ["On that glad night/in secret, for no one saw me,/nor did I look at anything/with no other light or guide/than the one that burned in my heart."]
- The Initiatory Process In Ancient Egypt, by Max Guilmot, Ph.D., F.R.C., published by the Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC, Inc., Rosicrucian Library, Volume XXXV, A Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum Publication. From Part III, Initiation in Abydos, we read: "To forget one’s temptations, to go down into this Earth, meant the same as to regain the energy that life had used up. Isn’t the Earth the welcoming matrix where the tree takes root to prepare its fruit? Isn’t she the mysterious Mother who wears on her body rocks and plants, beasts and men? Every thing draws life from her, and every thing returns to her at the time of death. In the maternal entrails, all being lies dormant, waiting to be reborn. When he dies, man also returns to this matrix, similar to the embryo, and there he prepares his rebirth." Earth for the ancient Egyptian was the god Geb, a masculine deity.
- Awakening to Zero Point: The Collective Initiation, by Gregg Braden, Sacred Spaces/Ancient Wisdom, published by LL Productions, PO Box 3010, Bellevue, WA 98009. See Chapter I, Section The Collective Initiation, page 77: "Realistically, this will probably be an iterative process with the "paralyzing" effect of the fear becoming less and less with each iteration."
- Ibid., Chapter I, page 78.
- The Symbolic Prophesy of the Great Pyramid, Chapter VIII, page 137.
- Son of the Sun, Chapter 2, page 20.
- Ibid., Chapter 7, page 175. Harpsichord is mentioned in the Aquarian Gospel, Chapter 53, to be among the instruments of the Beauty Parlors of the Temple of the Sun.
- Nothing in This Book Is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are, by Bob Frissell, published by Frog, Ltd., Berkeley, California, U.S.A., Chapter 10, pages 120 through 123.
- The Symbolic Prophesy of the Great Pyramid, Chapter VI, page 118. See also Chapters VIII, page 137 and IX, page 151.
- Awakening to Zero Point, Chapter I, Section The Collective Initiation, pages 74 and 78 through 82. That higher octave of expression is manifested in the Light Body, called Mer-Ka-Ba (Light-Spirit-Body) by the Egyptians, see Ch. II, page 154.
- Transcendental Magic, by Eliphas Levi, translated by A. E. Waite, published by Samuel Weiser, Inc. Box 612, York Beach, Maine 03910. In the introductory chapter, pages 10&11, Eliphas Levi gives a list of the twelve powers and privileges acquired in this superhuman state.
- The author prefers the High Priest to play the role of Hierophant following The Aquarian Gospel, Chapter 47, verse 11. The Hierophant (energy represented by Tarot trump 5) is the High Priest of the Temple. He is also the Magician, (Tarot trump 1). Certainly the feats he performs here are a sure sign of mental acuteness and sagacity. He is number 1, a number appropriate to magic, because his magic can only be performed and grasped by very few. The Hierophant was the principal teacher of the temple and interpreter of the Law. See Ref. 12, The Offices, page 65.
- Son of the Sun, Chapter 4, page 88, Chapter 6, page 163. In this story is pretended that our Hierophant was the successor of Meri-Ra , the High Priest of the Aton (the Sun), during Akhnaton’s time.
- Ibid., Chapter 1, page 14. Also see Exodus Chapter 7: verse 10: "And Moses an Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.", ver. 11: "Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.", ver. 12: "For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods."
- The first part is known as the Caduceus of Mercury or Hermes. The Hierophant is playing the Mercury role of subduing the serpents to the entwined position around the rod. See Ref. 30. The center rod and the two snakes represent the three channels of Kundalini or "serpent fire" traveling up the spine. A more appropriate symbol of the Kundalini, although more difficult to represent, is the fully three dimensional model shown in the last part of the magic feat, a spiraling swirl of the two snakes around a center staff.
- Serpents and Spirals, by Richard Majka, F.R.C., Rosicrucian Digest, No. 1, 1995, Vol. 73, No. 1. See the Section on the Caduceus. The change of consciousness occurs with the raising of the Kundalini, see Ref. 34.
- The Stairway to Heaven, by Zecharia Sitchin, paperback published by Avon Books, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019. See Chapter V, page 72.
- The Egyptian Book of the Dead (The Papyrus of Ani), Egyptian Text, Transliteration and Translation, by E. A. Wallis Budge, Dover Publications, Inc., New York. This "mysterious" substance was represented by the Egyptians as an elongated pyramidal triangle and was known by the Hebrews as manna . In the Papyrus of Ani is referred to as the "What Then Is It" or "What Is It", which translated into Hebrew means literally "manna." Other names for it are: "The Golden Tears from the Eyes of Horus" and "The Semen of the Father in Heaven". The white powder found in the King’s Chamber sarcophagus is in the British Museum, see Ref. 22.
- A David Hudson Lecture, by David Hudson, posted originally by Joe Champion in the Internet. This is the Philosopher’s Stone with all its miraculous properties. It is gold in its monoatomic state. See also David Hudson’s Patent 2180/CIP/fbl Rev. 4-1989: "Non-metallic, Monoatomic Forms of Transition Elements". There are multiple sources referring to the white powder of gold, some of which will be given below.
- New Teachings for An Awakening Humanity, The Christ, by Virginia Essene, published by S. E. E. Publishing Company, Santa Clara, California, U. S. A. See Chapter X, pages 196 and 198.
- The Book of Knowledge: The Keys of Enoch, by J. J. Hurtak, published by The Academy for Future Science, P. O. FE, Los Gatos, California 95031. Chapter 3-1-5, page 497. On verse 44 it reads: "The Holy Spirit regeneration changes extreme distortions of the spherical symmetry, found in some nuclei of atomic and subatomic particles, to a perfected harmony with the consciousness programs of the Elohim." Secret explanations of the reasons for Gizah, Great Pyramid and the City of On are found on pages 47 and 48.
- Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, by Robert Eisenman and Michael Wise, published by the Penguin Group U. S. A. Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U. S. A. The Essenes called the white powder of gold "The Teacher of Righteousness". The High Priest consumed it. They had a metallurgic foundry in the center of Qumran.
- Did Egyptians Believed in Reincarnation?, Rosicrucian Digest, No. 3, 1995, Vol. 73, No. 3.
- Son of the Sun, Chapter 4, pages 89 to 92.
- Ibid. Chapter 3, page 39. Also Chapter 6, page 152. These were some of his royal titles, more common than his name Akhnaton and are found throughout his reign in all inscriptions concerning him.
- Thutmosis III and the Mystery of Initiation, by Kristie E. Knutson, S.R.C., Past Grand Master, Rosicrucian Digest, Fall 1992, Vol. 70, No. 3.
- Mankind development, at the present time and even at certain levels of spiritual unfoldment, is not prepared yet to fully understand the significance of the Egyptian rites and deal with the energies they wake. Grecian philosophers partook of these initiations and yet revealed to the world very little of their details. Among the foreigners that were permitted to receive these Egyptian initiations were the Grecian Sophocles, Aristides, Aeschylus, Pindar, Lucius, Plato, Pythagoras, Thales, Lycurgus, Solon, Plutarch, Herodotus, Homer, Proclus, the Syrian Iamblichus, Heraclitus of Ephesus, the roman Cicero and Menippus of Babylon. Herodotus wrote about these rites "On these Mysteries which are really without exception known to me, I must guard my lips in religious silence." Plato wrote that the ultimate aim of the Mysteries was to lead men back to the principles from which the race originally fell. These rites, in a near zero point magnetic environment of the pyramidal structure and with the partake of the manna, rapidly awoke energies that otherwise would take years of preparation and attunement to awake. In the rites the 12 helix DNA were corrected reconnecting the individual with the Adam Kadmon image, the Christ Consciousness. See Ref. 35, pages 486 and 487.
- Nothing in This Book Is True, Etc., Chapter 10, page 123.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Frater Luis Prada is an Electrical Engineer with specialization in electrical power from General Electric, Schenectady, N. Y. He is now retired after working for several hi tech company of the SiliconValley in San Jose, California, U. S. A. Native of Colombia, South America, Frater Prada joined the Rosicrucian Order in August of 1985, little after he established himself with his family in California. In his spare timeFrater Prada enjoys painting using acrylics and watercolors as a media, singing in a community chorus, leading the Brother Veritus’ Community founded by him in the year 2008, and maintaining his website. He isnow an inactive member of the Rosicrucian Order. (Updated Jan. 28, 2014).
Initiations at Gizah See Text for Description |
Pythagorean Teachings |
Tetractys |
Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises |
EARTH
Zero Deg. Initiation |
First Stage: Chaos, Prima Materia, Darkness, Return to Beginning. |
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First Week: Meditation on personal Sin, Meditation on Hell. |
WATER
1st Deg. Initiation |
Second Stage: The Division of the Waters, the separation of the polarities of Chaos. The First Light in Darkness. |
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Second Week: Meditation on the Life of Jesus. |
AIR
2nd Deg. Initiation |
Third Stage: The intermediate promotes union of the opposite principles: Alchemical Marriage. The Second Death. |
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Third Week: Meditation on the events of the Passion. |
FIRE
3rd Deg. Initiation |
Fourth Stage: The Goal, the Philosopher’s Stone, the Creation of the Four Elements. The manifestation of God in Matter. |
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Fourth Week: Meditation on Divine Love and on the Resurrection. |
(EARTH ) (4th Deg. Initiation, Service to Humanity) |
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DIAGRAM B: CorrespondencesBetween Pythagorean Teachings, Ignatius of Loyola Spiritual Exercises and Initiations atGizah
Adapted andModified by Luis Prada from the Course "The Way and the Technique of Illumination ofthe Western Mystics" by Alberto LaCava, F.R.C.
© 1997
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