Toward Ecosophy

...and here we are! It's been a long road since February, when I posted the first entry in this sequence, but the entire curriculum of the FHR has now been posted publicly. I want to thank everyone who commented or otherwise took part for their enthusiasm and encouragement. 

The entire set of teachings and rituals has also been released in four PDF volumes under a Creative Commons noncommercial-use license, meaning that it can be freely copied, distributed, and hosted  online. My reading of the Creative Commons license is that any other noncommercial use is valid -- for example, if someone wants to do the work of making it available as a print-on-demand printed book and selling it for the cost of manufacture, that's legit, and it would also be within the license to produce a version as a fundraiser for a charitable purpose. ( Read more... )

...and here is the last of the Teacher lessons. Next week I'll be posting the initiation ritual for the 6° grade of Initiate, and then there's one more post and we're done. (Whew.) I've already got the whole course formatted and ready to roll as a set of four PDF documents and arranged for them to be hosted by a couple of websites; these include the temple versions of all the initiation, solstice, and equinox rituals, so those of you who want to establish temples and work with other FHR initiates will have everything you need. (If anyone else has a website that can handle hosting 3.5 MB worth of PDF files for public download, and wants to have the books available, let me know; they're issued under a Creative Commons license and so can be circulated freely.)

Winter 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 December 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.

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Here's the fifth lesson for the 5° grade of Teacher, including the solo version of the Summer Solstice ceremony.  Enjoy! 

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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.  

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Since the autumn equinox takes place on Thursday this week, and one of my readers has asked for the FHR equinox ritual so he can celebrate it, I've decided to pull the rite in question out of its regular sequence in the lessons and post it here. In order to perform this ceremony you need to know the opening and closing ceremony and you need to have all the hardware for working in an FHR temple -- the altar, the two pillars, the four candles, and the fan, censer, water cup, and salt bowl to represenjt the four elements. (You can find the details here if you need a reminder.) 

This version of the ceremony is designed as a solo ritual; there's another version that involves four people, but you need to get to the 5° grade of Teacher before you're qualified to do that. In the meantime, here's the ceremony; enjoy! 

Autumn Equinox Ceremony

This ritual should be performed within 48 hours at most of the moment of the equinox, which you can find online or in any almanac.  It is around September 22 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 your current grade with the opening ceremony.

Speak aloud the following words.  

“The Autumn Equinox has arrived, and the Sun and Earth renew the bonds that unite them. 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, summer has given way and the Sun sinks from the heights of heaven into the south.  The leaves of the trees blaze with orange and red as the fields turn harvest gold.  The cries of the geese sound overhead as they begin their long journey toward their winter homes. Squirrels leap from branch to branch as they prepare for the long cold months to come; the sound of clashing antlers rings through the woods as stags test their strength  before the watchful eyes of does. 

“The ancients knew this season as the harvest time of the year, not only for those who gathered in the sheaves and led the cattle down from summer pastures but also for the wise whose harvest is the lore of past ages and the whispers of the Unseen.  They recognized at this time the power of the desire cherished in the heart’s silence and the bonds that reach from person to person like the sea uniting shore with shore; they called down power from the Sun and called up wisdom from the Earth to illuminate their hearts.

“Therefore the work of this season begins from the quarter of water.”

Face west. Say the following words, visualizing the presence of the elements of air and water in their quarters, and feeling the polarity between them:  “West; East. water; air. The realm of the Heart;  the realm of the Mind.  May they enter into the great harmony.”

Say the following words, visualizing the presence of the elements of fire and earth in their quarters, and feeling the polarity between them:  “North; South. Earth; Fire.  The realm of the Body; the realm of the Spirit.  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 Waves; the realm of the Stones; the realm of the Winds; the realm of the Flames. May they enter into the great harmony.”

Face east and 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.”  As you say this, imagine a blazing star at the zenith, almost infinitely far above the temple; this is Regulus, the Royal Star governing the ceremony.

Face south and 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.”  As you say this, imagine a ray of light descending from the star to the golden sphere of the Sun, blazing at zenith above the  temple, high above but much closer than the star.

Face west and 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.”  As you say this, imagine the ray of light descending further to the sphere of the full Moon standing at zenith above the  temple, high above but much closer than the Sun.

Ninth, face north and 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.”  As you say 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 autumn may the Sun send forth his rays of blessing; may the Earth receive that blessing and bring forth her abundance.” 

Be seated and enter into meditation, taking the season of autumn 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. 

I'm late getting this posted, I know, but here's the second of the seven lessons for the Teacher grade of the FHR. Enjoy!

Founding a Temple of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose

As an initiate of the Teacher Grade you have the right and the privilege, if you desire it, to found and run a temple of the Fellowship. In order to exercise this right and privilege you will need to find four other members of the Fellowship to assist you, as follows:

·         One member who is at least an initiate of the Student Grade, as Master of Air

·         One member  who is at least an initiate of the Server Grade, as Master of Water

·         One member who is at least an initiate of the Sojourner Grade, as Master of Earth

·         One member who is at least an initiate of the Seeker Grade, as Conductor
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This week's installment is the self-initiation ritual into the grade of Teacher, which brings with it the right to establish a temple of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, initiate qualified candidates, and perform the rituals of the solstices and equinoxes. There's a lot of material to post before we finish with this grade and get to the final degree of initiation. Stay tuned! 

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5° Initiation

Preliminaries and Preparations

This ritual is the fifth 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.

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Another round of FHR papers: the introduction to the inner work of Fire, another chapter of the Kybalion, and practical instructions for charging your hands with healing energy, according to the Modern Order of Essenes. Enjoy!

Working with the Element of Fire, Part One

The Element of Fire represents our wants, needs, desires, passions, cravings and addictions. It is the “juice” that makes us strive to accomplish anything. Fire is the energy fueled by our thoughts and emotions that gives us drive and ambition. Your striving, energy, force and drive are expressions of the Element of Fire.  Fire is our sexual energy and our sex drive. It is our personal and individual reality, the reality of what drives us and what motivates us.

We call Fire our personal reality but mystics of all ages and common sense tells us it's really not "real" at all.  It's all an illusion but we're living and thinking in this illusion and our senses and our mind tells us this illusion is real.  For us, at this stage of our spiritual evolution, it is real.  Knowing that this physical-emotional-intellectual-energetic reality is an illusion and living in that illusion is called the human condition of the mentally alert person.

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This is the first paper to be studied once members of the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose have performed the 3° initiation, which was posted last week.  It summarizes the work ahead. I've added another chapter of the Kybalion, and the first of several introductory papers from another of John Gilbert's orders, the Modern Order of Essenes. 

4° Overview

Welcome Student!  Once you have completed the studies of the previous grades grades and performed the initiation rituals of the Seeker, Sojourner, Server, and Student grades, you are an initiate of the 4° grade of Student. By this point you have a good deal of experience with the work of the Fellowship and should find the lessons of this grade relatively straightforward.

The requirements you must fulfill to complete the work of the Server grade and proceed to the next stage, the 5° grade of Teacher, are as follows:

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This week's installment rounds out the training for the Server grade. Next week I'll post the initiation for the 4° grade of Student, and we'll proceed from there.  

Ritual for Working with the Element of Air

To prepare for the following ritual, place a chair in the east or stand to the west of a chair in your room.  Make a list of questions you want to ask about the Elemental World of Air.  Face the east and trace the yellow circle and line symbol for Air in front of you as you would in creating a Sphere of Protection.

Invoke the Air Element according to your usual method.  Expand that yellow Air symbol to be as large as a door.  Stand there and ask for permission to enter the World of Air for instruction about the Element of Air and the Elemental World of Air.  Wait for permission.  It may take a minute, just relax, breathe deeply and listen.  Soon you’ll hear or feel the message to enter.

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The making and consecration of the Air Book is one of the requirements for advancement to the next grade in the Fellowship of the Hermetic Rose, the 4° grade of Student. Since it may take you some time to make or buy a suitable Book, this paper is issued now so that it can be studied early on in your Seeker work.

The Air Book

The Book of Air may be a blank book of any kind, bound in any material you prefer.  It may be painted or otherwise decorated.  It may be any convenient size.  What you choose for your own personal Book is strictly a matter of personal taste.  After all, it is your Book.

Most practitioners purchase a blank book and consecrate it as their Book of Air. You may do the same or, if you have the necessary craft skills, you may make a Book yourself and decorate it however you wish.

You will need to consecrate your Book of Air before you complete the work of the Grade of Server and proceed to the next grade, the Grade of Student.

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