Teacher Lesson 5
Sep. 29th, 2022 01:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
Here's the fifth lesson for the 5° grade of Teacher, including the solo version of the Summer Solstice ceremony. Enjoy! * * * * *
Summer Solstice Ceremony
This ritual should be performed within 48 hours at most of the moment of the solstice, which you can find online or in any almanac. It is around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. The ceremony is performed as follows.
Set up the altar with all four candles on it, place a chair in the west facing the altar, and open the temple in the grade of Seeker with the opening ceremony.
Speak aloud the following words.
“The Summer Solstice has arrived, and the Sun and Earth manifest the polarities of being. In this time of balanced powers, I invoke the blessings of the powers of nature upon myself, the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, and the Earth.
“In the world of nature, spring’s promise has given way to summer’s fulfillment and the Sun now stands at his highest point in the sky, preparing for his long journey into darkness. The land is mantled in green as every growing thing bends its strength toward the harvest. Life rejoices in the golden afternoon of the year even as it makes its preparations for the cold months to come.
“The ancients knew this season as the year’s bright summit, and waited in their temples for the fiery sign of midsummer sunrise, the seal of harmony that unites the turning worlds. They recognized at this time the power of destiny born from the innermost self and the kindling flame of the awakening spirit; they turned their faces to the Sun and set their feet upon the Earth to accomplish the work of their wills.
“Therefore the work of this season begins from the quarter of fire.
Face south. Visualize the presence of the elements of earth and fire in their quarters, and feel the polarity between them. Say: “South; North. Fire; Earth. The realm of the Spirit; the realm of the Body. May they enter into the great harmony.”
Visualize the presence of the elements of water and air in their quarters, and feel the polarity between them. Say: “East; West. air; water. The realm of the Mind; the realm of the Heart: May they enter into the great harmony.”
Visualize the presence of all four elements in their quarters, and feel the complex fourfold relationship among them. Say: “The realm of the Flames; the realm of the Waves; the realm of the Stones; the realm of the Winds. May they enter into the great harmony.”
Face east. Say: “By the hawk of May in the heights of morning, I invoke the air and the powers of the air! May their blessings be with all beings during the season to come.” While saying this, imagine a blazing star at the zenith, almost infinitely far above the temple.
Face south. Say: “By the white stag of the summer greenwood, I invoke the fire and the powers of the fire! May their blessings be with all beings during the season to come.” While saying this, imagine a ray of light descending from the star at infinite height to the golden sphere of the Sun, blazing at zenith above the temple, high above but much closer than the star.
Face west. Say: “By the salmon of wisdom who dwells in the sacred pool, I invoke the water and the powers of the water! May their blessings be with all beings during the season to come.” While saying this, imagine the ray of light descending further from the blazing Sun to the sphere of the full Moon standing at zenith above the temple, high above but much closer than the Sun.
Face north. Say: “By the great bear who guards the starry heavens, I invoke the earth and the powers of the earth! May their blessings be with all beings during the season to come.” While saying this, imagine the ray of light descending from the shining Moon all the way to the temple itself. The entire temple is seen to be filled with rainbow-colored light, which radiates outward in all directions.
Face the altar and say: “In this season of summer may the Sun make manifest the power of Light. May the Earth reflect that manifestation in the power of Life.”
Be seated and enter into meditation, taking the season of summer as your theme. When you have meditated for a time, cast a divination using any divinatory method you prefer, and take it as a guide for your work during the season ahead. Perform the closing ceremony to finish.
* * * *
At this stage the twelfth chapter of The Kybalion may be studied with advantage.
CHAPTER XII: Causation
Symbolism:
Grade: 7°, Adept
Emerald Table: “Thus the world was created.”
Cabala: Netzach to Chesed, the Path of Reversal
Tarot: Arcanum XII, the Hanged Man
Geomancy: Tristitia—Saturn in Aquarius
Text:
“Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.”–The Kybalion.
The great Sixth Hermetic Principle–the Principle of Cause and Effect–embodies the truth that Law pervades the Universe; that nothing happens by Chance; that Chance is merely a term indicating cause existing but not recognized or perceived; that phenomena are continuous, without break or exception.
The Principle of Cause and Effect underlies all scientific thought, ancient and modern, and was enunciated by the Hermetic Teachers in the earliest days. While many and varied disputes between the many schools of thought have since arisen, these disputes have been principally upon the details of the operations of the Principle, and still more often upon the meaning of certain words. The underlying Principle of Cause and Effect has been accepted as correct by practically all the thinkers of the world worthy of the name. To think otherwise would be to take the phenomena of the universe from the domain of Law and Order, and to relegate it to the control of the imaginary something which men have called “Chance.”
A little consideration will show anyone that there is in reality no such thing as pure Chance. Webster defines the word 'Chance” as follows: “A supposed agent or mode of activity other than a force, law or purpose; the operation or activity of such agent; the supposed effect of such an agent; a happening; fortuity; casualty, etc.” But a little consideration will show you that there can be no such agent as “Chance,” in the sense of something outside of Law–something outside of Cause and Effect. How could there be a something acting in the phenomenal universe, independent of the laws, order, and continuity of the latter? Such a something would be entirely independent of the orderly trend of the universe, and therefore superior to it. We can imagine nothing outside of THE ALL being outside of the Law, and that only because THE ALL is the LAW in itself. There is no room in the universe for a something outside of and independent of Law. The existence of such a Something would render all Natural Laws ineffective, and would plunge the universe into chaotic disorder and lawlessness.
A careful examination will show that what we call “Chance” is merely an expression relating to obscure causes; causes that we cannot perceive; causes that we cannot understand. The word Chance is derived from a word meaning “to fall” (as the falling of dice), the idea being that the fall of the dice (and many other happenings) are merely a “happening” unrelated to any cause. And this is the sense in which the term is generally employed. But when the matter is closely examined, it is seen that there is no chance whatsoever about the fall of the dice. Each time a die falls, and displays a certain number, it obeys a law as infallible as that which governs the revolution of the planets around the sun. Back of the fall of the die are causes, or chains of causes, running back further than the mind can follow. The position of the die in the box; the amount of muscular energy expended in the throw; the condition of the table, etc., etc., all are causes, the effect of which may be seen. But back of these seen causes there are chains of unseen preceding causes, all of which had a bearing upon the number of the die which fell uppermost.
If a die be cast a great number of times, it will be found that the numbers shown will be about equal, that is, there will be an equal number of one-spot, two-spot, etc., coming uppermost. Toss a penny in the air, and it may come down either “heads” or “tails”; but make a sufficient number of tosses, and the heads and tails will about even up. This is the operation of the law of average. But both the average and the single toss come under the Law of Cause and Effect, and if we were able to examine into the preceding causes, it would be clearly seen that it was simply impossible for the die to fall other than it did, under the same circumstances and at the same time. Given the same causes, the same results will follow. There is always a “cause” and a “because” to every event. Nothing ever “happens” without a cause, or rather a chain of causes.
Some confusion has arisen in the minds of persons considering this Principle, from the fact that they were unable to explain how one thing could cause another thing–that is, be the “creator” of the second thing. As a matter of fact, no “thing” ever causes or “creates” another “thing.” Cause and Effect deals merely with “events.” An “event” is “that which comes, arrives or happens, as a result or consequent of some preceding event.” No event “creates” another event, but is merely a preceding link in the great orderly chain of events flowing from the creative energy of THE ALL. There is a continuity between all events precedent, consequent and subsequent. There is a relation existing between everything that has gone before, and everything that follows.
A stone is dislodged from a mountain side and crashes through a roof of a cottage in the valley below. At first sight we regard this as a chance effect, but when we examine the matter we find a great chain of causes behind it. In the first place there was the rain which softened the earth supporting the stone and which allowed it to fall; then back of that was the influence of the sun, other rains, etc., which gradually disintegrated the piece of rock from a larger piece; then there were the causes which led to the formation of the mountain, and its upheaval by convulsions of nature, and so on ad infinitum. Then we might follow up the causes behind the rain, etc. Then we might consider the existence of the roof. In short, we would soon find ourselves involved in a mesh of cause and effect, from which we would soon strive to extricate ourselves.
Just as a man has two parents, and four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents, and sixteen great-great-grandparents, and so on until when, say, forty generations are calculated the numbers of ancestors run into many millions–so it is with the number of causes behind even the most trifling event or phenomena, such as the passage of a tiny speck of soot before your eye. It is not an easy matter to trace the bit of soot back to the early period of the world's history when it formed a part of a massive tree-trunk, which was afterward converted into coal, and so on, until as the speck of soot it now passes before your vision on its way to other adventures. And a mighty chain of events, causes and effects, brought it to its present condition, and the latter is but one of the chain of events which will go to produce other events hundreds of years from now. One of the series of events arising from the tiny bit of soot was the writing of these lines, which caused the typesetter to perform certain work; the proofreader to do likewise; and which will arouse certain thoughts in your mind, and that of others, which in turn will affect others, and so on, and on, and on, beyond the ability of man to think further–and all from the passage of a tiny bit of soot, all of which shows the relativity and association of things, and the further fact that “-there is no great; there is no small; in the mind that causeth all.”
Stop to think a moment. If a certain man had not met a certain maid, away back in the dim period of the Stone Age–you who are now reading these lines would not now be here. And if, perhaps, the same couple had failed to meet, we who now write these lines would not now be here. And the very act of writing, on our part, and the act of reading, on yours, will affect not only the respective lives of yourself and ourselves, but will also have a direct, or indirect, affect upon many other people now living and who will live in the ages to come. Every thought we think, every act we perform, has its direct and indirect results which fit into the great chain of Cause and Effect.
We do not wish to enter into a consideration of Free-Will, or Determinism, in this work, for various reasons. Among the many reasons, is the principal one that neither side of the controversy is entirely right–in fact, both sides are partially right, according to the Hermetic Teachings. The Principle of Polarity shows that both are but Half-Truths–the opposing poles of Truth. The Teachings are that a man may be both Free and yet bound by Necessity, depending upon the meaning of the terms, and the height of Truth from which the matter is examined. The ancient writers express the matter thus: “The further the creation is from the Centre, the more it is bound; the nearer the Centre it reaches, the nearer Free is it.”
The majority of people are more or less the slaves of heredity, environment, etc., and manifest very little Freedom. They are swayed by the opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world, and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They manifest no Mastery, worthy of the name. They indignantly repudiate this assertion, saying, “Why, I certainly am free to act and do as I please–I do just what I want to do,” but they fail to explain whence arise the “want to” and “as I please.” What makes them “want to” do one thing in preference to another; what makes them “please” to do this, and not do that? Is there no “because” to their “pleasing” and “wanting”? The Master can change these “pleases” and “wants” into others at the opposite end of the mental pole. He is able to “Will to will,” instead of to will because some feeling, mood, emotion, or environmental suggestion arouses a tendency or desire within him so to do.
The majority of people are carried along like the falling stone, obedient to environment, outside influences and internal moods, desires, etc., not to speak of the desires and wills of others stronger than themselves, heredity, environment, and suggestion, carrying them along without resistence on their part, or the exercise of the Will. Moved like the pawns on the checkerboard of life, they play their parts and are laid aside after the game is over. But the Masters, knowing the rules of the game, rise above the plane of material life, and placing themselves in touch with the higher powers of their nature, dominate their own moods, characters, qualities, and polarity, as well as the environment surrounding them and thus become Movers in the game, instead of Pawns–Causes instead of Effects. The Masters do not escape the Causation of the higher planes, but fall in with the higher laws, and thus master circumstances on the lower plane. They thus form a conscious part of the Law, instead of being mere blind instruments. While they Serve on the Higher Planes, they Rule on the Material Plane.
But, on higher and on lower, the Law is always in operation. There is no such things as Chance. The blind goddess has been abolished by Reason. We are able to see now, with eyes made clear by knowledge, that everything is governed by Universal Law–that the infinite number of laws are but manifestations of the One Great Law–-the LAW which is THE ALL. It is true indeed that not a sparrow drops unnoticed by the Mind of THE ALL–that even the hairs on our head are numbered–-as the scriptures have said. There is nothing outside of Law; nothing that happens contrary to it. And yet, do not make the mistake of supposing that Man is but a blind automaton–far from that. The Hermetic Teachings are that Man may use Law to overcome laws, and that the higher will always prevail against the lower, until at last he has reached the stage in which he seeks refuge in the LAW itself, and laughs the phenomenal laws to scorn. Are you able to grasp the inner meaning of this?
* * * *
The following text from the Gnostic Lessons is presented for your reflection, meditation, and study.
GNOSTIC LESSON FIVE
The Order of Healer
The fourth of the minor orders was in ancient times given the title of Exorcist, and in some churches it still retains that title. Many centuries ago, however, the difficult and spiritually challenging practice of exorcism was transferred to the priesthood, and to specially trained and qualified members of the priesthood at that. For this reason, in the Universal Gnostic Church, this order has been renamed Healer.
The spiritual and religious dimension of healing has been seriously neglected in modern times, not least because the medical industry is jealous of its prerogatives (and of course its income) and has therefore tried to drive every alternative mode of healing out of existence. This is a source of great suffering in our time, because—though there are certainly forms of illness and injury that take place mostly or entirely on the material plane—there are many more that extend higher up the ladder of being.
Illnesses that are rooted in blocked life energies, tangled emotions, mistaken beliefs, or spiritual hungers cannot be cured by medicines or surgery. At most, physical methods of healing can provide temporary relief from the material consequences of such illnesses. As a Healer of the Universal Gnostic Church, it is your duty and privilege to use the traditional methods of prayer, blessing, and anointing to help yourself and others to heal spiritually.
There are many other modes of spiritual and energetic healing. Your ceremony of commitment as a Healer will not qualify you to practice any of them. However, if you have learned another method of healing before now, or go on to become qualified in some other healing method hereafter, you may practice that as part of your ministry as a Healer. Always remember that your practice must be conducted in accordance with the laws of the country and locality where you live. Doing anything else reflects badly on the Universal Gnostic Church and can land you in a great deal of legal trouble. Check your local laws before you begin to practice spiritual healing for anyone else’s benefit!
In the Universal Gnostic Church, the healing ministry was closely allied with the work of the Modern Order of Essenes, about which you learned while passing through the Student grade. You may find it useful to revisit those papers at this time, and consider resuming the practice of spiritual healing taught in them. At a later time I hope to publish the full set of instructional lectures of the Apprentice level of the Modern Order of Essenes; if they have been published by the time you reach this stage in the Fellowship’s training, consider studying them and practicing them as part of your work in this Order.
Please also review the instructions given in previous Gnostic lessons on the sacrament of blessing, and continue to practice it daily. Remember the more you bless, the more you will be blessed.
You have already learned that you are more than your material body, that you are more than your emotions, and that you are more than your ideas and thoughts. Now you must learn that you are more than your spiritual gifts and capacities. There is a spark of the Divine at the center of your being, around which all the other aspects of yourself have formed. Make an effort to become aware of that spark of the Divine. Turn your attention to it, especially but not only when you pray. The more attention you direct toward it, the more it will reveal itself to you, and in the process you will become more and more aware of what you really are, a child of the Divine.
Hearing and Intuition
The Order of Healer is associated with the faculty of hearing. When you listen with your outer ear, you hear the words and the emotions behind those words. But when you listen with your inner ear you also hear the awareness, intentions and beliefs of the speaker. True, you are already hearing those things with your subconscious mind, but you become a much more powerful healer if you tune into your inner self and listen also with your inner ear.
Practice listening more and more with your inner ear by listening to the Divine. In your meditation practices, make it a habit to include your devotions and then listen for the response of the Divine. Listen and you will hear. As you practice listening to the Divine you'll gain many new insights into yourself and the people, places and things in your life. You can even open communication with other spiritual beings. You decide which of these you wish to invite into your life.
The more you open your inner ear, the more opportunities you'll have to serve others and the more you'll hear of what they have to say. Practice hearing what others and the Divine wish to communicate to you until you've mastered the art of hearing more deeply than before.
Hearing and listening are called the lost arts. Busy people seldom take the time to really listen, to really hear another person. Since most everybody is busy, very few people are left to listen and to hear. One important part of being a Healer is to listen, because healing requires a mastery of the art of listening to others. We cannot hear as long as we're talking. We can listen only by being silent and tuning into the other person with our mind, heart and soul. Then we hear. We truly hear.
Make it a daily practice to stop and listen to other people. Hear what they're saying with their words, feelings, awareness, intentions and beliefs. Listen and when you're ready to speak, wait and listen some more. Continue to listen until you understand the communication on every level, then formulate your thoughts and finally speak.
This is a big order, but if you really want to serve others, remember you serve them best by listening. You epitomize the best of being a Healer in the Universal Gnostic Church by listening intently and with focus.
Practice hearing what other people are really saying. Remove the filters of your own awareness, intentions and belief systems to the best of your ability. Open yourself to true communication by listening to others.
If we take the time to listen to our fellow man, we will also hear. We'll hear far more than we expected and in much greater detail than we may have needed. But hidden within this load of garbage are pearls of wisdom. We just need to listen. Some times the Divine will communicate to us in this way and other times the Divine will communicate to us in the silence between the words we hear. We just have to listen.
We can use this same technique to speak with our spirit guides and Guardian Angel. The only difference between speaking with our guides and angel than speaking with the Divine is our intention. If we intend to commune with the Divine, we will. If we intend to communicate with our spirit guides, we will. If we intend to communication with our Guardian Angel, we will. We just make out intention clear.
In a like manner we can speak with any discarnate beings that have the time to speak with us. But be careful. If you put out an intention to speak with anybody you may not like what you hear. For this reason we suggest keeping yourself inside a sphere of Divine love when you want to speak with entities other than your spirit guides, Guardian Angel and the Divine. Any form of protection taught by esoteric schools will work. We suggest you explore the spheres of protection taught by the Druids and the Golden Dawn.
Decide what communications you want with the "other side," set your intentions and meditate. Ask for Divine guidance and protection as you practice and you will receive it. Meditate and listen. Listen for those you are trying to contact and you will hear. With a little practice, you will hear.
Your Work as a Reader
As you study to become a Healer, it is important to remember that you remain a Cleric, a Doorkeeper, and a Reader. Continue to make the practice of daily prayer part of your life, alongside the daily practices of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, and perform the sacraments of blessing, naming, and teaching as often as you are called on to do so.
Now is a good time to go back and review all the practices you are doing. Read the instructions over again and make sure you haven’t forgotten any of the details. If you started working with a set of practices such as the exercises to develop your intuition, and let them lapse after a while, consider taking them up again. You do yourself a very great service if you do these practices every day even if it means putting your advancement on hold while you make up for lost ground. You do yourself a great disservice by neglecting the foundations of your practice in a mistaken rush toward advancement.
As a Reader you're well advised to pay attention to your senses of smell and taste on both the mundane physical level and with your intuitive mind. Continue to develop these senses as you continue to advance on your spiritual path. You're also well advised to continue moving toward health on all the planes by keeping up the practices you have already been taught. Take the time to review these materials if you need to do so. The work that is before you depends upon these things.
The Sacrament of Anointing
Oil is traditionally used in anointing though there is no prohibition against using other liquids such as water, salt water, vinegar, wine or any other solution. It is possible to do anointing with a paste rather than a liquid, but this is rarely done. When using a paste, some material is usually pulverized into a powder and oil is added to make the paste. The sacrament is called anointing whether an oil or a paste is used.
Anointing can be done in a manner similar to baptism or naming a child. It is usually done as part of another ceremony but may be done alone as a blessing. Prayers are usually offered before and following the anointing. The first prayers are to prepare the candidate for the anointing and the latter for thanksgiving.
Anointing may be done to a person, animal, plant, mineral or any object of any kind. The material being anointed and the material used for anointing is not critical to the ceremony. The intention of the person doing the anointing is. When it comes to anointing, intention is everything - at least, it's almost everything. Our suggestion is to plan your anointing ceremonies accordingly.
Anointing can be used for spiritual healing. So can prayer, laying on of hands and the use of anything the Divine inspires you to use. The only admonition that applies is to do nothing against the will of the individual or the Divine. Keep in mind, the Divine will never ask you to do anything harmful to anything; the Divine will always ask you to do everything according to the Law of Love.
Healing Prayer is Unction and Unction is Healing Prayer. Extreme Unction or Supreme Unction is Healing Prayer for the dead or dying.
Healing prayer is best done with the heart rather that the head according to most mystics. The more emotion we put into our prayers the more impact they have on the dead and the dying. Our emotion is not to convince the Divine of anything, for the Divine hears us no matter what. Our emotion is for the dead and the dying so they know they are loved as they pass over into the other world. This makes their transition so very much easier.
Ceremony of Commitment for a Healer
Once you have put at least a month into the work outlined above you will have completed the traditional requirements to become a Healer in the Universal Gnostic Church. This title confers no special privilege upon you. It doesn’t give you the right to tell other people what to do, or to preen yourself on your supposedly superior spiritual status. It simply reflects a commitment on your part to enter into a relationship with the Divine and to bless the world around you.
The ceremony is optional but we suggest it to you as a way of honoring your acceptance of the work before you. It's a ceremony of commitment, which affirms that you understand what it means to be a Healer and accept whatever the Divine may ask you to do. In order to perform this ritual, you will need all the same items you used in the your Cleric and Doorkeeper ceremonies of commitment. The one difference is that you will wear your alb, since you are already a Cleric.
The ritual itself consists of seven steps.
Step One is setting up your temple. As a member of the Grade of Teacher in the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose you should prepare the space for the standard opening ritual.
Step Two is preparing your altar. Again, you should use the altar of the FHR for this purpose. All four candles should be placed on the altar.
Step Three is to open your ordination in an appropriate manner. The opening ritual you have learned should be used for this purpose. Open the temple on the Grade of Teacher. Then follow the opening ceremony with a prayer in which you thank the Divine, using whatever name you prefer, for all the gifts bestowed upon you. Ask for Divine blessings upon this holy space, the holy altar, the holy items placed upon the altar and ourselves. Ask the Divine to be present and to accept you as a Healer. You may use a spontaneous prayer, or write out a prayer in advance.
Step Four is to vow to the Divine to uphold the office of Healer and to serve as a Healer to the best of your ability; and then ask the Divine to assist you in keeping and fulfilling these vows.
Step Five is to purify yourself with holy water. This is done by dipping your fingertips into the water and using them to moisten your eyelids, your ears, your nostrils, and your lips with holy water. Dip your fingers into the water between each of these. While purifying yourself, say something like this: “I purify my senses so that I will be able to perceive the spiritual realms of existence, so help me (name of the Divine being used).”
Step Six is to anoint yourself with holy oil on your ears and the palms of your hands. In anointing yourself, say something like: "I anoint myself to perform all the duties of a Healer, so help me (name of the Divine being used).”
Step Seven is to close the ceremony. First say a prayer of thanksgiving, thanking the Divine for the blessings that have been conferred on you. Then close the temple in the Teacher Grade with the usual ritual, and go about the rest of your life.
Please note that the point of this ritual is not to impress anybody, including yourself. You gain no special status nor any authority over other people by becoming a Healer. The point of the ceremony is to humbly and sincerely communicate with the Divine, take your vow, and bless the work the Divine will hereafter ask of you. Having completed the ceremony you are a Healer. You are now ready to go forth and do such work as the Divine asks of you.
Techer Lesson 5
Date: 2022-10-01 12:53 pm (UTC)The worker is in the workshop,
Ian
Re: Techer Lesson 5
Date: 2022-10-01 05:10 pm (UTC)