6° Initiation
Oct. 20th, 2022 01:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
Here's the initiation ritual for the 6° grade of Initiate, the final grade in the FHR system and the doorway to your own independent work in occultism. Preliminaries and Preparations
This ritual is the final step in your initiation into the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose. It marks the completion of your formal training in the Fellowship and your acceptance of certain commitments and responsibilities as a custodian of the tradition. 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 of the preceding degrees in full. It is wise to go back over the rituals and instructional papers you have already studied, and be sure you have done the work to your own satisfaction.
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 in previous rituals. You will need your four elemental working tools—the pentacle, the cup, the book, and the wand. You will also need a single white candle in a candlestick. 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. (Some people apparently prefer to do ritual in the nude.) 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.
Before you Begin
Set up the altar in the center of the space with the chair on the western edge of the space, facing the altar. 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 white candle at the center. Do not put the pillars on the altar yet; put them in a convenient place until the opening ceremony begins. Near the pillars, place Trump VII, the Chariot, and Trump XIX, the Sun.
In the east of the temple, place your book of Air and Trump X, the Wheel of Fortune. In the south, place your wand of Fire and Trump VIII, Strength. In the west, place your cup of Water and Trump XII, the Hanged Man. In the north, place your pentacle of Earth and Trump IX, the Hermit. The cards should be placed so that you can see them and contemplate them while standing before them in the ritual. A diagram of the Tree of Life should also be someplace where you can see it while seated in the west.
When you are ready, perform the complete Opening Ceremony, placing the pillars on the altar and lighting the candle where the ritual instructs you to do so. In the appropriate places, instead of “...on the Candidate Grade, say “...on the Grade of Initiate.”
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. Further to the east, beyond the initiate in the yellow robe, stands your guardian angel or guardian genius, who watches over the ceremony. Imagine your guardian as a tall winged angelic figure in a white robe. 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 Teacher of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose who has completed all the requirements for advancement to the grade of Initiate, and I ask permission to enter and be received into the sixth grade of the Fellowship.”
The voice replies: “Teacher, 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 Teacher grade, present myself for advancement into the grade of Initiate. I have performed the required practices and studied the required texts assigned to the Teacher Grade, and I know of no reason why I should not advance to the Initiate 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. Place your hands on the sides of the altar, as though holding or embracing it. Say: “Having placed myself in due form, I now take on myself the obligation of the Grade of Initiate.
“I, (say your full name), in the presence of the Divine and of my guardian angel (or guardian genius) and in this temple of Initiates do solemnly and sincerely accept, now and forever, the labor, the duty, and the privilege of preserving the teachings, rituals, and practices of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, and of passing these things onto suitable students, so that the flame of the Hidden Wisdom shall not die out.
“As an inheritor of the traditions of this Fellowship and as an exponent of its teachings I will always remember that my action or inaction may reflect upon this Fellowship for good or ill, and will govern myself accordingly that the reputation of the Fellowship shall not suffer on my account.
“I will maintain cordial relations with the Universal Gnostic Church, the Order of Spiritual Alchemy, the Modern Order of Essenes, the Ancient Order of Druids in America, their officers and members, and those of any orders and traditions descended from them, as well as with other Initiates and members of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, so long as I may do so with a good conscience.
"Before the end of my life in this body I will make suitable arrangements whereby all the teachings, rituals, and practices of this Fellowship in my possession shall survive my death and come into the hands of suitable students in the future.
"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 six chimes. Then imagine a voice speaking out of the east, saying: “Arise, and be received into the Grade of Initiate. Long have you dwelt in darkness. Quit the darkness and seek the light.”
You rise to your feet and behold the altar, with the candle, the four elemental emblems, and two pillars. Say: “Having passed from darkness to light, I present myself to receive instruction in the step, sign, grip and word of the Grade of Initiate.”
Read the following passages aloud, and make each of the motions as it is described.
“The step of this grade is made by taking a half-step forward with your right foot, then drawing it back again, then replacing it.
“The sign of this grade is made by raising your right hand to the level of your right shoulder, hand closed as though holding the handle of a vessel of water. The left hand is held in front of the left hip, similarly closed. This is the position of the hands of the angel in Trump XIV of the tarot deck used by the Fellowship.
“The grip of this grade is made by making the step, so that your right foot ends up next to the right foot of the person you are greeting. Then place both your hands palm down on their tww shoulders. This grip should only be given to another member of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose.
“The word of this grade is ‘Via Solis.’* It is divided in half when used for working purposes. The member giving the grip shall speak the first half, ‘Via,’ and the one receiving the grip shall respond with the second half, ‘Solis.’”
*Pronounced Vee-ah So-liss.
Now imagine the voice in the east saying: “The words Via Solis are in the Latin language and have a double significance. They mean the Way of the Sun, and they also mean the Solitary Way, the Way of the Lonely Ones. The Way of the Sun is the path that leads beyond the realm of the four elements into the realm of Spirit, and this path can only be walked alone. If you wish to seek that path, take the censer of fire as your token and seek the quarter of Fire.”
Second Point
You pick up the censer from the south side of the altar and circle around the altar clockwise, ending in the southern quarter, where the wand of Fire and Trump VIII await you. Imagine the initiate in red waiting for you there. Make the step and sign, and then give him the grip and communicate the word. Release the step, sign, and grip. Imagine the initiate in red saying to you: “Initiate of our Fellowship, why come you to the southern quarter?”
You say, “I seek the Way of the Sun.”
“Have you a token?” he asks.
“The censer of fire,” you say, and set the censer down in the south.
“You will not find what you seek in the quarter of Fire,” the initiate tells you. “Behold this image of Strength.” He points to Trump VIII. “This is the strength of the Spirit, indicated by the sign of infinity over the head of the woman. Effortlessly she closes the mouth of the lion, and it meekly places its tail between its legs. As yet you have no such strength. Take this wand in exchange for your token, and return to the altar, for you cannot pass by.”
You take the wand and go back to the west side of the altar, facing east. Put the wand down on the altar where the censer was.
Now imagine the voice in the east saying, “One door is closed to you but three are left. Take the fan of air as your token and approach the quarter of Air.”
You pick up the fan from the east side of the altar and circle around the altar clockwise, ending in the eastern quarter, where the book of Air and Trump X await you. Imagine the initiate in yellow waiting for you there. Make the step and sign, and then give him the grip and communicate the word. Release the step, sign, and grip. Imagine the initiate in yellow saying to you: “Initiate of our Fellowship, why come you to the eastern quarter?”
You say, “I seek the Way of the Sun.”
“Have you a token?” he asks.
“The fan of air,” you say, and set the fan down in the east.
“You will not find what you seek in the quarter of Air,” the initiate tells you. “Behold this image of Fortune.” He points to Trump X. “The wheel of the cosmos turns constantly around an unseen center. For all its wisdom, the serpent is flung down to the depths, while the dog-headed man is carried up all unknowing to the heights. Only the sphinx has mastered the wheel, and the secret to its mastery is a riddle you cannot yet answer. As yet you have no such knowledge. Take this book in exchange for your token, and return to the altar, for you cannot pass by.”
You take the book and go back to the west side of the altar, facing east. Put the book down on the altar where the fan was.
Now imagine the voice in the east saying, “Two doors are closed to you but two are left. Take the bowl of salt as your token and approach the quarter of Earth.”
You pick up the bowl from the north side of the altar and circle around the altar clockwise, ending in the northern quarter, where the pentacle of Earth and Trump IX await you. Imagine the initiate in green waiting for you there. Make the step and sign, and then give her the grip and communicate the word. Release the step, sign, and grip. Imagine the initiate in green saying to you: “Initiate of our Fellowship, why come you to the northern quarter?”
You say, “I seek the Way of the Sun.”
“Have you a token?” she asks.
“The bowl of salt,” you say, and set the bowl down in the north.
“You will not find what you seek in the quarter of Earth,” the initiate tells you. “Behold this image of Solitude.” He points to Trump IX. “This is the solitude of the Spirit, the terrible isolation of those who rise above the level of ordinary humanity. The Hermit stands alone on the mountain top, his staff is his only support and his lantern his only guidance. All around him are the snow-covered peaks. As yet you cannot bear such solitude. Take this pentacle in exchange for your token, and return to the altar, for you cannot pass by.”
You take the pentacle and go back to the west side of the altar, facing east. Put the pentacle down on the altar where the bowl of salt was.
Now imagine the voice in the east saying, “Three doors are closed to you but one is left. Take the cup of water as your token and approach the quarter of Water.”
You pick up the cup from the west side of the altar and circle around the altar clockwise, ending in the western quarter, where the consecrated cup of Water and Trump XII await you. Imagine the initiate in blue waiting for you there. Make the step and sign, and then give her the grip and communicate the word. Release the step, sign, and grip. Imagine the initiate in blue saying to you: “Initiate of our Fellowship, why come you to the western quarter?”
You say, “I seek the Way of the Sun.”
“Have you a token?” she asks.
“The cup of water,” you say, and set the cup down in the west.
“You will not find what you seek in the quarter of Water,” the initiate tells you. “Behold this image of Sacrifice.” He points to Trump XII. “This is the sacrifice of the Spirit. To the eyes of ordinary humanity, those who embrace the Spirit set everything topsy-turvy. To the eyes of ordinary humanity, those who embrace the Spirit permit themselves to be hanged on the tree of pain, and what they gain in return for that offering, the eyes of ordinary humanity cannot see. As yet you cannot bear such a sacrifice. Take this cup in exchange for your token, and return to the altar, for you cannot pass by.”
You take the cup and go back to the west side of the altar, facing east. Put the cup down on the altar where the other cup was. Then put Trump VII on the altar between the candle and the cup of Water.
Third Point
Imagine a voice from the east speaking to you: “Four times you have ventured into the realms of the elements in search of the Way of the Sun. Four times you found the way closed, not out of any hostility toward you, but that you may learn the great lesson of this grade.
“Each of us finds certain elements comfortable and others less so. The intellectual loves the realm of Air and avoids the realm of Water. The romantic loves water and avoids air. The practical person relies on earth and mistrusts fire, while the spiritual person relies on fire and mistrusts earth. You cannot find the Way of the Sun by working within the element you like best. Nor can you find it by working within the element you like least. Nowhere around the circle of the elements can that Way be found.
“Know now that the circle of the elements is the rim of a wheel. The rim turns, but the hub is still. In the same way, the earth wheels through space, passing through the stations of the four elements. At the center of the wheel is the Sun. Each time you were sent back to the altar you were given the secret you sought, for it is from the center and not from the circumference that the Way of the Sun, the Way of the Lonely Ones, can be walked.
“Each time you were sent back to the altar you were given one of the keys of the mystery. The four elemental working tools, symbolizing all you have learned of the four elements, are those keys. In the grade of Sojourner you learned of the element of Earth. In the grade of Server you learned of the element of Water. In the grade of Student you learned of the element of Air. In the grade of Teacher you learned of the element of fire. It is because you have learned the secrets of the rim that you can advance to the hub. It is because you have mastered the circumference that you can stand at the center of all things and begin your ascent.
“Go to the northern side of the altar.” You do so. “Take up the pentacle and circle around the altar from north to north, saying, ‘By this pentacle and the element of Earth I take my first step on the Way of the Sun.’” You do so.
“This first step corresponds to Malkuth, the Place of Ignorance, the lowest sphere on the Tree of Life. Return the pentacle to its place and go to the eastern side of the altar.” You do so. “Take up the book and circle around the altar from east to east, saying, ‘By this book and the element of Air I take my second step on the Way of the Sun.’” You do so.
“This second step corresponds to the Path of Attention, which rises from the tenth to the ninth spheres on the Tree of Life. Return the book to its place and go to the western side of the altar.” You do so. “Take up the cup and circle around the altar from west to west, saying, ‘By this cup and the element of Water I take my third step on the Way of the Sun.’” You do so.
“This third step corresponds to Yesod, the ninth sphere on the Tree of Life. Return the cup to its place and go to the southern side of the altar.” You do so, and look at Trump VII, the Chariot.
“Before you is the tarot trump corresponding to a Path you have not yet traveled on, the Path of Freedom, which rises from Yesod to Tiphareth, the Sphere of the Sun. This is the Chariot which will carry you from where you now stand to the halls of light in the heart of the Sun. We cannot take you on that journey. We can only show you the way. You must make that journey yourself, for it is indeed the Solitary Way, the Way of the Lonely Ones.
“Take up the wand and circle around the altar from south to south, saying, ‘By this wand and the element of Fire I take my fourth step on the Way of the Sun.’” You do so. “Return the wand to its place. You now stand symbolically on the threshold of Tiphareth, the Sphere of the Sun. Proceed now to your seat in the West to hear the Initiate Lecture and learn how you may complete your journey.”
Remove Trump VII from the center of the altar and replace it with Trump XIX, the Sun. Go to the chair in the west of the temple and be seated. Read the following lecture carefully.
The Initiate Lecture
Before you is a white burning taper representing the element of Spirit which lighted your way to the place where you now stand. In the other grades of our Fellowship this white taper was not shown. Instead you were guided by the four burning tapers of the elements, which are the four forms through which the light of Spirit is shown to dwellers in the Place of Ignorance. About the white taper are the four elemental working tools you have prepared and consecrated during your journey through the grades of our Fellowship. With them is a placard representing Attainment.
Sunlight is brighter than moonlight or starlight. In sunlight the world can be seen clearly as it is. This indicates that you have learned all that the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose has to teach. For you, the Sun has arisen and the shadows flee away. This marks the passing of an important stage in your spiritual journey, but it does not mark the completion of that journey. You have passed through one portal, but portal upon portal waits for you further on up the path.
This is shown in the placard in two ways. The first is that the figure in the placard is a little child. It is true that you must become as a little child in order to enter into the kingdom of the Divine. It is not true that you must remain as a little child once you arrive there. To receive initiation into the mysteries is to be reborn. Now you must pass through your spiritual infancy and childhood and grow into your spiritual maturity, just as you passed through your physical infancy and childhood and grew into your physical maturity in this life. As a child of the Divine, you have much growing to do and many things to learn.
The second way in which the work ahead of you is shown is the wall behind the triumphant child. Though you stand now in the light of the golden sun, barriers still remain between you and the fullness of that light. You still have far to go and much to do before you can stand in the full light of the Sun of Tiphareth.
The teachings and traditions of this Fellowship cannot tell you how to accomplish that work. Neither can anyone or anything else. You stand now on the Path of Freedom, the Path of the Chariot. You are free to follow the path of your own spiritual development in whatever way seems best to you. You have already learned to pay attention, to remember, to imagine, to reason, to use your intuition, and to exercise discernment between what is right and wrong for you by means of your conscience. These are the tools in your spiritual workshop and they are the banners of the six directions of space by which you can find your bearings. Your task now is to choose which of them to apply to each situation you encounter: which tool to use and which banner to follow.
You have also learned a great many methods of occult and spiritual practice on your journey to this place. You have learned meditation, divination, ritual, and much more. These, too, are tools and sources of guidance for the work ahead. Here also you must decide which tool to use and which guidance to follow as you pursue your own spiritual path to the Sphere of the Sun and beyond it.
This diagram you have seen before. (Look at the Tree of Life diagram.) I direct your attention to the orange sphere at the lower left of the Tree of Life, Hod, the eighth sphere. Two paths go upward from that sphere into the upper parts of the Tree. When you took up the wand of Fire and went to the south to seek the Way of the Sun you attempted the first of these. This is the Path of Courage, and it runs from Hod to Tiphareth. Without first achieving balance, courage is not enough to take you on that journey.
When you took up the book of Air and went to the east to seek the Way of the Sun you attempted the second of the paths that rise up from Hod. This is the Path of Retribution, and it runs from Hod to Geburah. Without first achieving balance, no strength of yours is sufficient to face the challenge of this difficult path.
I direct your attention now to the green sphere at the lower right of the Tree of Life, Netzach, the seventh sphere. Two paths go upward from that sphere also into the upper parts of the Tree. When you took up the pentacle of Eatch and went to the north to seek the Way of the Sun you attempted the first of these. This is the Path of Instruction, and it runs from Netzach to Tiphareth. Without first achieving balance, instruction is not enough to take you on that journey.
When you took up the cup of Water and went to the west to seek the Way of the Sun you attempted the second of the paths that rise up from Netzach. This is the Path of Reversal, and it runs from Netzach to Chesed. Without first achieving balance, no strength of yours is sufficient to face the challenge of this difficult path.
Thus it was necessary for you to return to the center and proceed from there. I direct your attention now to the purple or violet sphere low down on the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, Yesod, the ninth sphere. From there one path alone rises into the upper parts of the Tree. This is the Path of Freedom, the Path of the Chariot. The two sphinxes who draw the Chariot are the two pillars of the Tree of Life. Standing between them, holding them in balance, the rider in the Chariot rises up through the Veil of the Sanctuary and completes the Way of the Sun.
Balance is equilibrium, and equilibrium is the Royal Secret. In all your work as an Initiate, find the point of balance, the moving equilibrium between opposed forces, and you will be able to rise above the opposition into the One from which the Two emanate.
This completes the Initiate Lecture.
Closing the Ceremony
After you have finished reading the Initiate 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 your guardian angel or guardian genius, thank all the other spiritual beings that have assisted in the ritual, and dissolve the astral forms you created for the guardian angel or genius 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 Initiate. This completes your initiation into the Initiate 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.
Tree of Life
Date: 2022-10-21 01:06 am (UTC)Re: Tree of Life
Date: 2022-10-21 02:10 pm (UTC)Cycling through the FHR
Date: 2022-10-22 12:30 pm (UTC)Not that I am there...yet... but when one has completed the initiation for the Initiate grade, is it ok to cycle back through the initiation rituals, from beginning to end, again? I have seen that people who follow a GD self initiation do this and report very good results.
She or he
Date: 2022-10-25 08:29 am (UTC)