4° Initiation
Jul. 21st, 2022 01:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
Here's the initiation ritual for the Student Grade, the fourth level of initiation in the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose.
Preliminaries and Preparations
This ritual is the fourth step in your initiation into the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose. It builds on the initiations you have already taken and the work you have already done. Be sure to read the text of the ritual carefully before deciding whether or not to perform it. If you decide to proceed, certain preliminaries are necessary, and certain preparations need to be made.
The preliminaries are straightforward. Before you perform the ceremony, you should have completed all the work assigned to the 3° grade of Server: that is, you should have made and consecrated your book of Air, you should have practiced the exercise of entering into the elemental world of Air at least three times; you should have read the papers assigned to the Server grade, and in addition, at least three other books on occultism; you should have continued your weekly practice of the temple opening and closing ritual, and your daily practice of ritual, meditation, and divination.
The preparations are equally straightforward. You will need the chair, altar, pillars, Rider-Waite tarot deck, and the basic emblems of the elements (incense burner and incense, folding fan, cup of water, and bowl of salt) you have used already. You will need only one of the candles, the yellow candle of Air, and you will need your book of Air and a printout of the Tree of Life diagram. You will also need a room or other space large enough that you can set up the altar in the middle and walk around it in a circle, and an hour to an hour and a half of uninterrupted time.
It was standard practice in Juliet Ashley’s Holy Order of the Golden Dawn to perform initiation rituals only on a solstice or equinox. Under John Gilbert’s leadership that was changed, and members were encouraged to perform the initiation rituals on the day immediately following the new moon. You may do either of these, or choose a day that numerologically adds to 1, when combined with your personal time number. Choose the day for your initiation using any of these methods.
You may wear a robe or other ceremonial clothing or not, as you prefer. White robes were standard wear in Juliet Ashley’s time, according to what I learned from John, but his rule was that each initiate got to make his or her own choice of ritual garments, or wear ordinary clothing, or nothing at all. Choose which of these options is right for you.
Finally, you will need to decide how you will call on the Divine. You may use any divine name you choose, or simply say “Source of all that is” or some other abstract term. Settle on what you are going to say before the ceremony. You need not use the same name you used in earlier initiations.
Before you Begin
Set up the altar in the center of the space. Put the emblems of the four elements on the four sides of the altar—the fan to the east, the incense burner to the south, the cup to the west, and the bowl of salt to the north. Put the yellow candle of Air on the eastern side of the altar, near the fan. Place your consecrated book of air in the center. Place your chair in the east, the direction of air.
Do not put the pillars on the altar yet; instead, put them in a convenient place until the opening ceremony begins. Near the pillars, place Trump II, the High Priestess, Trump III, the Empress, and Trump XVII, The Star; you will be putting these on the altar at certain points in the ritual as indicated.
Put water in the cup, light the incense, and then perform the complete Opening Ceremony, placing the pillars on the altar and lighting the candles where the ritual instructs you to do so. In the appropriate places, instead of “...on the Candidate Grade, say “...on the Grade of Student.”
When you have completed the opening ritual, take a few minutes to build the astral forms you will need for the initiation. There are five of these. In each of the four quarters there stands an initiate; the one in the east wears a yellow robe, the one in the south a red robe, the one in the west a blue robe, and the one in the north a green robe. You may fill in all the other details as you wish.
Before you in the east, beyond the initiate in the yellow robe, stands Raphael, the archangel of Air. Imagine him as a tall winged being in a yellow robe edged with violet and purple. His hair is brown and his face is lean and intelligent, with keen eyes. He holds a book in front of him, of the same kind as your book of Air.
Remember that imagination is not the same as visualization. If you can visualize these forms, that’s good. If not, simply imagine that they are there.
Once you have done this, leave the space. Close the door behind you if there is one. Sit or stand, wait for a little while, and then go to the door and knock three times. (If there is no door, knock on a wall or some other surface.) Imagine a voice responding, saying, “Who are you, that dares to approach this temple?”
You reply aloud: “I am a Server of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose who has completed all the requirements for advancement to the grade of Student, and I ask permission to enter and be received into the fourth grade of the Fellowship.”
The voice replies: “Server, you may enter.” Go into the temple space.
First Point
Go to the west of the altar, facing east. Say aloud: “I, (say your full name), an initiate of the Server grade, present myself for advancement into the grade of Student. I have performed the required practices and studied the required texts assigned to the Server Grade, and I know of no reason why I should not advance to the Student Grade. I therefore purify myself with the four elements to prepare for my initiation.”
Circle around clockwise to the east of the altar, pick up the fan, and wave it to send a stream of air against your face. Say: “I purify myself with the element of Air, and I invoke the spirits and powers of Air. May they bless me and further my work.”
Put down the fan, go to the south of the altar, pick up the incense burner, and use one hand to waft incense smoke over your face and head. Say: “I purify myself with the element of Fire, and I invoke the spirits and powers of Fire. May they bless me and further my work.”
Put down the incense burner, go to the west of the altar, dip your fingers into the water, and flick droplets of water onto your head and face. Say: “I purify myself with the element of Water, and I invoke the spirits and powers of Water. May they bless me and further my work.”
Go to the north of the altar, take a pinch of the salt between thumb and forefinger, open your mouth, and place it on your tongue. Say: “I purify myself with the element of Earth, and I invoke the spirits and powers of Earth. May they bless me and further my work.”
Go around clockwise to the west, facing east across the altar. If you are able to do so, kneel on both your knees. Take your Book of Air in both hands and raise it up as high as you can reach above the altar. Bow your head. Say: “Having placed myself in due form, I now take on myself the obligation of the Grade of Student.
“I, (say your full name), in the presence of the Divine and of my guardian angel (or guardian genius) and in this temple of Students do solemnly promise that I will take up the studies and practices of the Grade of Student so long as I may do so with a clean conscience, and will persevere in them while I remain a Student and a member of this Fellowship.
"I further promise that I will continue to practice the rituals, meditations and studies of a Seeker, a Sojourner, and a Server to gain further knowledge and assist myself on my own spiritual path.
"I further promise that I will always hereafter treat the element of Air with due respect, both in my ordinary life and in my occult studies and practices; that I will offer proper reverence to the archangel and angels of Air; and that I will always treat the nature spirits and elementals of Air with courtesy and compassion.
"To all this I solemnly and sincerely promise in the name of (speak the name of the Divine you have chosen).”
Imagine that you hear the sound of a bell somewhere in the east, ringing three chimes. Then imagine a voice speaking out of the east, saying: “Arise and be received into the Grade of Student. Long have you dwelt in darkness. Quit the darkness and seek the light.”
You put the Book back on the altar, rise to your feet and behold the altar, with the candle, the cup, the four elemental emblems, and two pillars. Say: “Having passed from darkness to light, I present myself to receive instruction in the sign, grip and word of the Grade of Student.”
Read the following passages aloud, and make each of the motions as it is described.
“The sign of this grade is made by standing with your feet together, and raising your hands in front of you to shoulder height, forearms nearly parallel to the ground, palms down, fingers pointing forward and slightly spread. This is the position of the hands and arms of the angel in Trump VI of the tarot deck used by the Fellowship.
“The grip of this grade is similar to the grip of the Server grade, with your left foot next to the left foot of the person you are greeting, your right hand on their left shoulder and your left hand on their right shoulder. This grip should only be given to another member of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose.
“The word of this grade is ‘Greater Awareness.’ It is divided in half when used for working purposes. The member giving the grip shall speak the first half, ‘Greater,’ and the one receiving the grip shall respond with the second half, ‘Awareness.’”
Now imagine the voice in the east saying: “The Temple of Servers which you have just quitted is in the sphere of Yesod the Foundation, but the Temple of Students is in the sphere of Hod. To ascend to it you must travel two paths, and to begin the first you must start once again in the Place of Ignorance. Let this remind you that no matter how much you learn you must always be ready to begin once more at the Place of Ignorance.”
Second Point
Now take the Book of Air off the altar, putting it someplace nearby, and in its place put Trump II, the High Priestess. Then stand at the west of the altar facing east. Imagine before you, on the far side of the altar, the figure of the High Priestess from the trump you have placed on the altar. Imagine her saying:
“Before you may proceed you must approach and give me the grip and password of a Student.”
You circle around the altar and give her the grip and the first half of the password. She responds with the second half, and then says:
“What is the name of the place from whence you came?”
You answer, “The Place of Ignorance.”
“What is the esoteric lesson you learned in the Place of Ignorance?”
You answer, “To become Aware.”
Read the passages below, imagining that the High Priestess is saying them.
“I applaud your decision to become aware, but to proceed you must learn to remember for you are now walking the Path of Memory.
“Having become aware that you lived in the World of Ignorance was the first step of your spiritual journey in the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose. You completed the second part of your journey by entering the Place of Awakening where you were advanced to the rank of Server.
“You returned to the Place of Ignorance where you found this path. This is the Path of Memory. This path leads from the Place of Ignorance toward you know not where. What you do know is that when you pay attention to your awareness you become more aware. And when you remember what you learn, you become even more aware of new and different things. Paying attention or not paying attention to our awareness is the first choice all people make when they become aware. Remembering everything and especially our awakening is the second. But, remembering is a choice we make. Even a newborn has the choice to remember or not.
“You became aware of the Sphere of Ignorance at the bottom of the Tree of Life when you became aware that we all live in a World of Ignorance. By paying attention to that awareness you were awakened from your sleep to the reality of life. By remembering you will become more aware of your own destiny and the meaning of life. Return now to the west of the altar and await the next lesson that you will need to remember.”
You return to the west of the altar and face east. Remove Trump II, the High Priestess, from the center of the altar, and put Trump III, the Empress, in its place. Once you have done so, imagine before you, on the far side of the altar, the figure of the Empress from the trump you have placed on the altar. Imagine her saying:
“Before you may proceed you must approach and give me the grip and password of a Student.”
You circle around the altar and give her the grip and the first half of the password. She responds with the second half. Read the passages below, imagining that the Empress is saying them.
“You have now risen from the Place of Ignorance to the Place of Awakening, for it is from Yesod, the ninth sphere of the Tree of Life, that you must begin to travel the second path that leads upward to the eighth sphere Hod. That second path is the Path of Imagination
“Paying attention or not paying attention to our awareness is the first choice all people make when they become aware. Remembering everything and especially our awakening is the second. Using our imagination to imagine the future or not is our third choice. Even a new born has the choice to imagine the future or not.
“We can imagine what we might have learned, done or said in the past. We may learn valuable lessons from that exercise. Remembering the past bears much fruit, but imagining alternative pasts bears little fruit and much anguish. Imagining future possibilities bears much fruit and is the best use of our imagination.
“You became aware of the Sphere of Ignorance at the bottom of the Tree of Life when you became aware that we all live in a World of Ignorance. By paying attention to that awareness you were awakened from your sleep to the reality of life. By remembering and imagining you are becoming more aware of your own destiny and the meaning of life. By remembering you are awaking more and more. The sister to remembering is imagining. They work best together when you remember the past and imagine the future
“Traveling the Tree of Life requires that you remember where you have been and what you have done. It also requires you to imagine what you can do with the knowledge you gain, to imagine future possibilities.
“To proceed further on your journey, you must go clockwise around this temple twice, from east to east. This symbolizes your ascent of the Paths of Memory and Imagination, the Paths of the High Priestess and Empress. Proceed now on the Paths.”
You circle slowly clockwise around the altar twice from east to east. As you do this, imagine that you are climbing a spiral stair which takes you up out of the temple you have opened into another temple of the same nature above it. When you finish your journey in the east you find the High Priestess and Empress waiting there for you.
Now imagine the High Priestess saying: “Approach the eastern quarter, where the Master of Air will instruct you on how you may continue your journey from darkness to light.”
Third Point
You face east. Imagine an initiate standing there, dressed in a yellow robe. Make the step and sign, then place your hands on his imagined shoulders in the grip, and communicate the word. Release the step, sign and grip, and then read aloud the passages below, imagining that the figure in yellow is speaking to you.
"Welcome. I congratulate you on attaining the rank of Student and journeying up the Paths of Memory and Imagination to this Temple of Students. My station and duty you already know. You will now take up your Book of Air and return to this station, so that I may instruct you in the use of the book and invest you with the rank of Master of Air.”
You go to the place where you put the book, and return with it to the station of the Master of Air.
“Your Air book is one of the four great elemental working tools you will make as you advance through the grades of our Fellowship. The book is a magical expression of the Element of Air designed to draw the powers of all the Elements into this physical reality in order to banish the effects of ignorance and inattention by bringing knowledge and wisdom wherever they may be needed. May it serve as a constant reminder of your commitment to help yourself and serve others by quitting the darkness and seeking the light. Your book of Air will serve you well if you take it in your hand during any working involving the element of Air and it is recommended that you try that for yourself.
“This representation of the Tree of Life you have seen before.”
The Master of Air shows you an image of the Tree of Life.
“I now draw your attention to the path going upwards from the Place of Ignorance at the bottom of the Tree to the orange sphere. This is the Path of Memory, which you have just traveled. This path is blocked by the Veil of Ignorance, which is also known as the Veil of Forgetfulness.
“On this side of that veil you begin to remember who and what you truly are. You begin to learn the truth that will set you free. Hence another name for this veil on the Path of Return is the Veil of Remembering.
“When returning up the Tree you cross the veil of Ignorance on the Path of Attention you are crossing the Veil of Truth and you start to learn the truth that will set you free of all physical shackles. When you cross the Veil of Ignorance on the returning Path of Memory, you are crossing the Veil of Remembering and you start to remember. You start to remember your true spiritual being and your spiritual home.
“I now draw your attention to the path going upwards from the Place of Awakening, the purple sphere, to the orange sphere. This is the Path of Imagination, which you have also partially traveled. Here you learned that you must use your skills of remembering the past and imaging the future in order to recover full memory of your true spiritual being and knowledge of your spiritual home. These are the skills you are to master as you leave your ignorance behind and enter the orange sphere: become aware, make strong intentions, pay attention, awaken, believe in yourself, remember and imagine.
“I draw your attention now to the orange sphere at the bottom of the Tree on your left. In Hebrew the name of this sphere is Hod, which means Splendor and alludes to the splendor of the mind. Hod also alludes to the expansion of splendor and thus to expansion of the mind or the attainment of greater awareness.
“Two skills that help us expand our consciousness are the skills one learns on the Path of Memory which brings us from the Place of Ignorance to this place, and the Path of Imagination which brings us to this place from the Place of Awakening. Remembering and Imagining are two skills to help us expand our own consciousness. The other tools are awareness, intention, belief, compassion, attention and awakening.
“The names attributed to this orange sphere are the Worlds of Splendor, Mind, Consciousness, Expanding Mind, Expanding Consciousness and the World of Intellect. It is also called the Place of Intelligence, Expanding Mind or Greater Awareness.
“Since you have received a part of the knowledge you seek, you are qualified to fill the role of Master of Air in a temple of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose. Stand before this chair, which represents the station of the Master of Air.” You do so. “Imagine the emblem of Air in front of you, and enlarge it, just as you did when passing into the elemental realm of Air.” You do so. “Now, holding your Book of Air as regalia of your office, step through it and seat yourself in your station as Master of Air.”
You do this. Stay in the chair for a little while, feeling the energies of the element of Air around you.
You then hear a voice from the east saying, “Arise, Master of Air, and return to the altar.”
Step out through the emblem of Air and imagine it dwindling to a small point in your aura, as you have done before. Place your Book somewhere near the chair. Then circle back to the west of the altar and face east. Say: “Having presented myself to the Master of Air and received his/her instructions and blessings, and having been installed as Master of Air, I ask for further instruction in the secrets of this Grade.”
The voice from the east says, “Proceed now to your seat in the East to hear the Student Lecture.”
Remove Trump III from the center of the altar and replace it with Trump XVII, the Star. Go to the chair in the east of the temple and be seated. Read the following lecture carefully.
The Student Lecture
Before you is the yellow burning taper representing the Element of Air which lighted your way to the place where you now stand. The Book of Air has been replaced by a placard representing Hope.
Starlight is dim light indeed, but we see more in the starlight than we do in complete darkness. This means a little knowledge is better than no knowledge at all. A little knowledge gives us hope that there is more knowledge to learn and we can learn it. The main figure in this card is the Angel of Hope pouring consciousness into the water and upon the land. The land represents consciousness and the water represents sub-consciousness.
This card represents the expansion of consciousness on every level of our being. When we expand our consciousness we become more aware, we learn more, we remember more, we imagine more and our mind is more open. As you continue your studies, you’ll learn more about what our greater awareness can accomplish.
Look into this card of Hope, this card of Greater Awareness often. Study it well and learn more about how you are awakening more and more to the truth that you are not your body, not your mind, not who you thought you were, but you are a Child of the Divine traveling a spiritual path as a Student.
By completing the work of a Seeker you gained a little light and it is easier for you to see your own spiritual path. By completing the work of a Sojourner and a Server, you gained a little more light and your path became easier. You gained more light and knowledge as a Student. If you continue to seek more light as a Teacher, you will discover still more light and it will become even easier for you to see and understand your own unique spiritual path. I challenge you to continue moving back the darkness of ignorance and seeking more and more light.
In the Place of Ignorance, you and I play many roles. We choose which roles we will play. Before we were born we decided to be a son or daughter. As we grew, we played that role, and we continue to play it to this day. Along the way we decided to play other roles like friend, acquaintance, student, teacher, husband or wife, parent, employee, manager and boss. We assume the persona of each of those roles and we play our part to the best of our ability.
In the World of Earth we all assume the personas we want to portray to the world. Each persona is different and we play each part as we decide to play it. We act the part of each persona we play. We wear the mask for each persona. We choose that mask and we wear it while we play that part. As we move from place to place and situation to situation, we change our persona appropriate to that place and that situation.
The World of Earth is the Place of Ignorance, the Physical World of Manifestation, the Place of Personas. On this side of the Veil of Ignorance we are no longer ignorant, we no longer manifest a physical body and we are removed from the Place of Personas. We have risen to a world of Greater Awareness.
The World of Greater Awareness is the bottom sphere on the Pillar of Cloud, which is the right-hand pillar on the Tree of Life. Remember that as you look at the Tree of Life you are looking at a picture and not a mirror image. The right-hand pillar appears to be on your left as you look at the picture, but it is the right side of your body and the orange sphere is near the top of your right hip.
The Pillar of Cloud is also called the Pillar of Darkness because the top sphere on this pillar is black in color. It also alludes to the fact our mind is dark and chaotic. We hide things in the deepest recesses of our mind when we don’t want to face them. Our subconscious and unconscious minds are relatively unknown to us, we are ignorant of them. The symbol for ignorance is blackness or darkness.
The Pillar of Cloud is also called the Pillar of Water, Pillar of Anger, Pillar of Fear and Pillar of Sorrow. These names allude to the middle sphere on the Pillar of Cloud. Other names for the Pillar of Water include the Black Pillar, the Pillar of Belief, the Pillar of Power and the Pillar of Empowerment. The first two names allude to the black sphere and the other two to the red sphere on the Pillar of Cloud.
According to ancient traditions, it was the Pillar of Cloud that led the Jewish nation out of Egypt and across the desert to the promised land. In the ancient vocabulary of the Jews, Egypt meant Bondage, Bondage referred to the Place of Ignorance and desert was a symbol for the memory. If this is true, then the Jews traveled from the Place of Ignorance on the Path of Memory to the promised Land of Expanding Consciousness.
This completes the Student Lecture. It will serve you well to study these things until you understand them with every fiber of your being. Then proceed with the teaching materials of a Teacher. These teachings will be made more clear to you by a further understanding of the Temple in which you were initiated.
Closing the Ceremony
After you have finished reading the Student Lecture, spend at least a few minutes meditating on the ceremony you have performed and the symbols and teachings embodied in it. Then rise, thank the archangel of Air, thank all the other spiritual beings that have assisted in the ritual, and dissolve the astral forms you created for the archangel and the four initiates. (You do this simply by imagining the forms disappearing.) Once you have done so, perform the complete closing ceremony to close the temple in the Grade of Student. This completes your initiation into the Student Grade.
It is highly recommended that you devote time in the days and weeks ahead to meditating on the ceremony you have just passed through. Every detail of that ceremony has something to teach you. The more attention you give to the ceremony, the more meaningful it will be for you and the more you will gain from it.
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Date: 2022-07-21 08:29 pm (UTC)MILLICENTLY LURKING
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Date: 2022-07-22 05:17 pm (UTC)Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose PDF
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Here is one in book layout