Toward Ecosophy

My British publisher Aeon Books contacted me to let me know that one of the books of John Gilbert's writings I edited, The Doors of Tarot, has been shortlisted for one of the International Cartomancy Awards sponsored by TABI, the Tarot Association of the British Isles. These awards have a two-stage process -- committees pick the ten best products in each category, and then there's a public vote for the winner. Voting is now open to the public...

https://tabi.org.uk/carta-awards_/

...and will be open until June 30. If you enjoyed this book, the publisher and I would both count it as a personal favor if you could take a few minutes to vote for it. Thank you!

During the years when the Universal Gnostic Church flourished, the Minor Orders were open to anyone who was interested in them, and most church members went through the Gnostic Lessons as an ordinary part of their membership. The priesthood or priestesshood was something else again. It required a serious and sustained commitment to study and practice in the UGC tradition, demonstrated by the completion of a series of tolerably stringent requirements. As explained in the Prospectus, candidates for the priesthood were expected to complete the Gnostic Lessons, to complete the system of training of at least one of the UCG’s affiliated orders, to establish a regular personal spiritual practice, and to engage in systematic reading and study of certain basic textbooks and of at least three holy scriptures, only one of which could be from the candidate’s own faith tradition.

As a bishop in the Universal Gnostic Church I am prepared to ordain candidates who meet these criteria. I am also prepared to consecrate priests and priestesses as bishops in the UGC tradition, provided that they meet the criteria for consecration.  All these requirements are covered in the Propectus. What I propose to discuss here are the practical details.

First, it is not necessary to complete the qualifications for ordination in any particular order. If you are still working on the Gnostic Lessons and one of the affiliated orders, you can begin the reading and study now.  What matters is that you have fulfilled all the requirements before you contact me to come to Rhode Island for your ordination. You will of course need to document your completion of the Gnostic Lessons and the affiliated order, as well as your personal spiritual practice; keeping a regular journal of your practices and experiences is recommended, so that you will have answers to the questions I will ask.

Second, since I don’t expect candidates for the priesthood and priestesshood to move to Rhode Island for the duration of their studies, we will be conducting seminary training online, using Dreamwidth as a venue.  I have created an invitation-only group for seminarians.  In order to join, you must have a Dreamwidth account; a free account is fine.  Once you have your Dreamwidth account, send me a personal message at my Dreamwidth account giving your legal name, date of birth, mailing address, and at least 500 words explaining why you want to be ordained as a priest or priestess in the Universal Gnostic Church.  All these communications will be kept confidential.

Third, the group will be set up to permit discussion of topics relevant to the Universal Gnostic Church. It will be moderated, of course, and there will be specific rules, which will be sent to each person accepted for membership. Violation of those rules will get you suspended or expelled from the group and the seminary program, and no, there is no recourse: my seminary, my rules. This is not a game, nor is it a venue for you to sell things or work out your emotional problems. (The Order of Spiritual Alchemy lessons are meant to help you with the latter.) Imagine that you’re asking to be enrolled in a genuine brick-and-mortar seminary, and the Dean of Students is observing you with the old, cold, bleak expression of someone who has seen every kind of nonsense students get up to and is bored with all of it.

Fourth, one of your assignments will be to post reviews of each chapter of each of the three required books. Yes, you need to review each chapter. The review will be at least 500 words in length and will demonstrate that you have read and thought about the chapter. Please do not simply cut and paste passages from the text—I am interested in your personal understanding of the ideas presented in the chapter, any insights you may have arrived at, any situations in which the material was reflected in your life experience, and the like. I want to know what you think and how you feel about these teachings.

You will also be expected to write a review of each of the sacred scriptures you read. These will cover the entire scripture and will be at least 2500 words in length. Again, cutting and pasting does not qualify; your personal reactions, insights, and reflections are what I want to see, and the goal again is to be sure that you’ve read and thought about the scripture.

Each of your book reviews is to be posted as a friends-only entry to your personal Dreamwidth account, and you and I are the only people who are to have access to it. I will read your review and, provided that it shows that you’ve read and thought about the material, you will get credit for it.

Fifth, when you have completed the Gnostic Lessons, contact me via a Dreamwidth personal message and I’ll ask you some questions to be sure you’ve done the work. In the same way, once you finish your work with the affiliated order you’ve chosen, contact me the same way and be prepared to field questions. So long as you’ve done the work you’ll have no trouble at all answering the questions and getting credit for the work.

Sixth, once you have completed all the requirements, get in touch and we’ll talk about your visit to Rhode Island and your ordination ceremony. You will have to pay all your own expenses for this but there is no other fee for ordination.

Finally, you’ll doubtless have noticed that the training for the UGC does not include instruction in specific kinds of liturgy or religious ceremony, nor does it include instruction in counseling, running a church, or what have you.  This is traditional, and quite deliberate. What forms you want to use in your own religious practice, what services you want to perform for other people (or whether you want to perform services for other people at all), and what else is part of your personal religious path is up to you. Few priests and priestesses of the UGC ever had a conventional church and congregation, though there were exceptions. Most walked unique personal paths in their service to the Divine. Much of what you will be doing during the course of your training for the priesthood or priestesshood is determining exactly what kind of path you feel called to walk.

So there you have it. The door is open. Will you pass through it into the light of the Universal Gnosis?  Only you can decide.

Back in John Gilbert's time, the Universal Gnostic Church always had a recommended reading list posted on its website, which was edited from time to time. I've done a little editing and updating of my own, but the books below include most of the titles that John recommended to UGC members and other interested people.  If you're studying the Gnostic Lessons, if you're interested in the Order of the Universal Monk or the Order of the Universal Nun, and especially if you feel a call to the priesthood or priestesshood of the UGC, books from the list below would be worth adding to your bookshelf (or electronic equivalent).

I am interested in expanding this list, within reason. If there's a book you'd like to recommend -- especially if it's in the field of mysticism, which is not my strong suit -- please post a comment explaining why you think it should be included. Books available for free download will get preference, as inflation is making life difficult for so many people.

Please note that this is the last post on the UGC I will be putting up before mid-September. It is not the last post in the sequence, however. I need to make some arrangements and set up some things online before I proceed. There has been enough interest expressed by readers of my blogs and books, and students of the various UGC-related traditions, that I'm going to go ahead with the process of making training for ordination in the UGC available. Stay tuned for the details -- and in the meantime, you know what to do. (Hint:  Practice!)
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On to Gnostic Lesson 5, covering the fourth of the UGC's minor orders, the Order of Healer.

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.

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Here's the third Gnostic Lesson, which is the material covering the second of the UGC's minor orders, the Order of Doorkeeper. The work of this lesson, like the last, should take you at least a month. Again, it's seemingly very simple, but the simplicity conceals unexpected lessons.

(The image is another illustration from Jung's Red Book. He had an extraordinary gift for painting.)

* * * * *

Gnostic Lesson Three

The Order of Doorkeeper

The training of the Doorkeeper is dedicated to the analysis of our emotional life, assigned to the soul or psyche by some classical Gnostics. Throughout the course of this lesson, emphasis will be placed on heightening both your physical, emotional (psychic), and spiritual intuition; we hope also to impart to you, the seeker, useful techniques for harnessing and controlling your emotions to aid in the quest for spiritual enlightenment.  We are not our mere physical beings,  we are more than creatures of matter.  We also possess an emotional self. 

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The training program the Universal Gnostic Church offered for its lay members and aspirants to monastic and priestly vocations alike was a set of six Gnostic Lessons, which also involve preparation and ritual entry into the Minor Orders of the UGC. (The minor orders of most established churches tend to be highly selective, but in the UGC and most other independent sacramental churches, it's normal for the laity to receive them.) Each one other than the first will take a month of study and practice.

The Gnostic Lessons

The six Gnostic Lessons are a lightly revised version of the training that was provided to aspirants to the Minor Orders in the Universal Gnostic Church (UGC). During John Gilbert’s day, the Gnostic Lessons were made freely available to anyone who was interested, and completing them was a prerequisite for advancement to the higher grades of initiation in several of the orders and organizations under the UGC’s umbrella.

In the Universal Gnostic Church there are five Minor Orders and two Major Orders. The five Minor Orders are Cleric, Doorkeeper, Reader, Warder, and Acolyte. The two Major Orders are Priest or Priestess, and Bishop. Ordination as a priest or priestess and consecration as a bishop can only be earned by extensive study and practice, but it was normal during the heyday of the UGC for most active members to receive one or more of the Minor Orders and to exercise the functions and spiritual gifts of those Orders under the supervision of a priest, priestess, or bishop.

The Major Orders can only be passed on by personal contact through laying on of hands and anointing.  It has been traditional for many years in the UGC, however, for the Minor Orders to be conferred through study and practice of spiritual disciplines, followed by a ceremony of commitment which may be performed by the aspirant alone or by a priest or bishop for the aspirant. That custom is followed in these lessons.

In the Universal Gnostic Church, the Minor Orders have a threefold function. First, they pass on certain spiritual gifts of their own.  Second, they form part of the preparation for ordination to the Gnostic priesthood or priestesshood. Finally, it was also standard for postulants to the Order of the Universal Monk, the Order of the Universal Nun, and the other monastic orders that once exixted in the UGC, to complete the Gnostic Lessons as part of the preparation for taking vows. It is not necessary to commit to either the second or third of these functions in advance. If you feel that studying the Gnostic Lessons would be valuable to you, for whatever reason, you may proceed with them.

If you have already decided that you intend to seek ordination to the Gnostic priesthood or priestesshood, or to take vows as a monk or nun, it is important to perform the five ceremonies of commitment for the Minor Orders, and to practice the sacraments that are assigned to each Order. If you have previously studied the Gnostic Lessons and did not perform the ceremonies of commitment, you should plan on reviewing the Lessons and performing the ceremonies as part of your preparation for ordination or monastic vows. In the meantime, of course, the books listed in the prospectus for this course should be on your reading list.

With that said, we can proceed. ( Read more... )

This post is purely for geeks, and geeks of an unusual type at that. Every church that claims apostolic succession -- that is to say, a direct lineage from one of the apostles of Jesus of Nazareth -- traditionally has the responsibility to list that lineage somewhere for public examination. While the Universal Gnostic Church is not strictly Christian -- it affirms the right of its clergy and members to seek gnosis of the Divine in whatever form, and through whatever channels, they find appropriate -- its historic roots are in the independent Christian sacramental movement, and those deserve to be acknowledged and honored.

Furthermore, like most independent sacramental churches, the UGC recognizes that apostolic succession is not a mere formality.  It is a transmission of spiritual power that has definite, recognizable effects on both the recipient and those who receive sacraments and blessings at the reciplent's hands. Like most Gnostic churches, the UGC does not agree with the theological opinions expressed about Jesus of Nazareth by the religious mainstream, but recognizes the presence of spiritual power and blessing in the lineage that stems from him.

The details of the lineage? Those are below the cut.

(The image, btw, is one of many mystically inspired paintings by Carl Jung, one of the most influential Gnostics of the twentieth century.)
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I've finished the process of turning the Essene lesson material into PDF files for ease of distribution. They're being released under a Creative Commons license, meaning you can copy and distribute them freely so long as nobody charges any money for the material. Copies are currently being hosted by the Order of Spiritual Alchemy and the Inclusive Sacramental Church of Christ:

https://octagonsociety.org/archives/modern-order-of-essenes/

https://lumenecclesiachristi.weebly.com/our-liturgy.html (scroll down -- there's a lot of other good stuff on this page)

Please host and circulate the Essene material anywhere you like.

The Order of Spiritual Alchemy page linked above also has a set of sound files of John Gilbert teaching portions of the Apprentice work and giving the Apprentice attunement. John was always editing and altering his material, and so what you'll hear him saying isn't quite the same as the material I published. You can make use of either version, of course, or do the traditional thing and come up with your own version on the basis of your own experiences and meditations.

Finally, the OSA has also set up a forum for practitioners of the Modern Order of Essenes, the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, and other orders affiliated with the OSA; it has a couple of MOE-specific pages.  You can find it here:

https://octagonsociety.org/forum/

You'll need to set up a free account and log in to access it.

So there you have it. I'm looking forward to passing on the necessary information to those who qualify as Essene Master Teachers, but other than that, the Modern Order of Essenes is back on its feet, or as close to it as I can manage. In due time -- it's going to be a few months at least -- I'll proceed to the final step in passing on the material I received from John Gilbert:  the reactivation of the clergy training program for the Universal Gnostic Church. Stay tuned!

I will be performing my end of the Healer attunement for the Modern Order of Essenes at noon and 6 pm Eastern daylight time on Saturday, May 20. If you have already received the Apprentice attunement and want to take the next step, or if you have already received the Healer attunement and would like to receive it a second time -- yes, you can do that -- here's what you need to do. 

Instructions for the Healer Attunement

To receive attunement as an Essene Healer, you will need to have learned and practiced all the Candidate, Apprentice, and Healer lessons, and to have received the Apprentice attunement

You will also need to choose some name of the Divine to invoke in your attunement. This may be a personal or an impersonal name.  If you have a relationship with a deity, you may choose to use the name of that deity. If not, you may use an impersonal term such as “the Divine” or “the Universe” in the relevant place.

If you have a religious or spiritual name distinct from your ordinary name, you may use this in the ritual, and there is a specific place for you to reference this in the attunement. If you intend to use your ordinary name, say your full name instead.

Approximately ten minutes before the attunement:

Dress comfortably, leaving the top of your head uncovered.  Sit in a comfortable position, with room for a person to stand behind as well as in front of you. Activate your palm centers as you have already learned to do.  Then enter into meditation, using whatever method you have practiced.

At the time of the attunement:

Become aware of the initiator standing behind you. Hear the following questions being asked, and give the answers out loud.

            Question:          What is your intention?

            Answer:            To become the Healing Heart of (name of the Divine)

            Question:          By what name do you wish to be initiated?

            Answer:            (States religious or spiritual name, magical motto, or ordinary name)

The initiator then says:

            (Name) become now the Healing Heart of (name of the Divine). 

The initiator traces a secret sign on the crown of your head, and then says:

            (Name) receive now the Breath of (name of the Divine) to activate your Healing Heart. 

The initiator breathes on the crown of your head, and traces four more secret signs, then says:

            This will help you establish the Pillar of Love to support your Healing Heart. 

The initiator moves around you to stand in front of you and says:

            In the name of (name of the Divine), I proclaim you Healer (Name).

This completes the attunement.

After the attunement:

Remain in meditation for a few more minutes to allow the attunement process to complete itself. For the weeks that follow, it is helpful to keep track of any new experiences you may have and to write down any unusual dreams you may recall.

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I will be conferring the Master attunement at the same times on Saturday, May 27. I'll be giving instructions for that in advance, of course, but the process is fairly similar to the Healer attunement

Longtime reader and commenter Tunesmyth, who coordinates the Ecosophia Prayer List, had a useful suggestion over on this week's open post on my main blog: 

"Over in the thread on the prayer list where this discussion first came up, there have now been two MOE practitioners who have piped in with somewhat different perspectives about what is desired or needful regarding bringing healer and those needing healing together via the internet. I am certainly happy to play a part in making something happen, perhaps integrating or linked with the current prayer list in some way. But I think there first needs to a bit more of a conversation between those who are planning to do this work about what they would like to see happening, exactly, when it comes to making a site, and/or possibly adjusting the “healing” section of the Ecosophia prayer list.

"JMG, might I suggest that you might start a new MOE thread on the Dreamwidth site in order to facilitate a discussion within the full MOE practitioner community about this?"

That strikes me as a very good idea. So -- let's have that conversation. Those of you who want to practice Essene healing online, what do you need to direct healings and blessings toward people who need it? Those of you who need healing, what level of contact are you comfortable having? What other issues might need to be addressed?  Have at it.