fredag 31 juli 2009

Att följa i Jesu fotspår

o

Det slår mig hur svårt det egentligen är att följa Jesu bud i det vardagliga livet. Vissa säger att det är omöjligt. Ett omöjligt ideal för en ”vanlig” människa.

Varför är det så?

Kan det vara så att Jesu budskap och levnadsförmaningar ursprungligen inte var tänkta för allmänheten?

De första kristna var ju sektliknade rörelser som levde i närmast kommunistiska ”kibbutz”-liknande kollektiv, där individen inte skulle ha några egna ägodelar eller med andra ord leva i fattigdom. Hans närmaste efterföljare Paulus hade förmaningar som var närmast sektlika till sin karaktär där bl.a. sträng celibat avkrävdes genom exempelvis förmaningar om kastrering.

Jesus själv var mycket tydlig över vad som krävdes av dem som ämnade följa honom, dvs. att de var tvungna att försaka och lämna sina föräldrar, fruar och barn för hans skull:
Jag har kommit för att skilja en son från sin far, en dotter från sin mor och en sonhustru från sin svärmor, och en man får sina egna till fiender. Den som älskar sin far eller mor mer än mig är mig inte värdig, och den som älskar sin son eller dotter mer än mig är mig inte värdig. Den som inte tar sitt kors och följer mig är mig inte värdig. (Matt 10:35,36)
Till en annan sade han: ”Följ mig!” Mannen svarade: ”Herre, låt mig först gå och begrava min far.” Jesus sade till honom: ”Låt de döda begrava sina döda, men gå du och predika Guds rike!” En annan sade: ”Jag vill följa dig, Herre, men låt mig först ta farväl av min familj.” Jesus svarade: ”Ingen som ser sig om sedan han har satt handen till plogen passar för Guds rike.” (Luk 9:59-62)
Vidare säger han i bergspredikan följande angående sinnenas och kroppens försyndelser:
Ni har hört att det blev sagt: Du skall inte begå äktenskapsbrott. Men jag säger er: den som ser på en kvinna med åtrå har redan i sitt hjärta brutit hennes äktenskap. Om ditt högra öga förleder dig, så riv ut det och kasta det ifrån dig. Det är bättre för dig att en del av din kropp går förlorad än att hela kroppen kastas i helvetet. Och om din högra hand förleder dig, så hugg av den och kasta den ifrån dig. Det är bättre för dig att en del av din kropp går förlorad än att hela kroppen kommer till helvetet. Det blev sagt: Den som vill skilja sig från sin hustru skall ge henne ett skilsmässobrev. Men jag säger er: den som skiljer sig från sin hustru av något annat skäl än otukt, han blir orsak till att äktenskapet kan brytas genom henne, och den som gifter sig med en frånskild kvinna bryter hennes äktenskap. (Matt 5:27-32)
Att sticka ut ögat om det förleder ens sinne eller hugga av armen som syndar är ju måhända fullt möjligt för en ”galen eremit”, som inte bryr sig om konsekvenserna i det vardagliga livet utan endast bryr sig om anden. Det finns många fler exempel i Bibeln i samma gnostiska anda.

Kan det vara så att den ursprungliga kristna läran egentligen var avsedd för en skara utvalda? Är Jesu läror egentligen avsedda för en skara invigda som avskiljer sig från sin omgivning och samhälle, likt esséerna (som var samtida med Jesus) eller gnostikerna?

Är det egentligen endast kristna munkar och nunnor som kan följa hans bud till punkt och pricka? Ta exempelvis Jesu pacifistiska lära så som den uttrycks i hans bergspredikan:
Ni har hört att det blev sagt: Öga för öga och tand för tand. Men jag säger er: värj er inte mot det onda. Nej, om någon slår dig på högra kinden, så vänd också den andra mot honom. Om någon vill processa med dig för att få din skjorta, så ge honom din mantel också. Om någon vill tvinga dig att följa med en mil i hans tjänst, så gå två mil med honom. Ge åt den som ber dig, och vänd inte ryggen åt den som vill låna av dig. Ni har hört att det blev sagt: Du skall älska din nästa och hata din fiende. Men jag säger er: älska era fiender och be för dem som förföljer er; då blir ni er himmelske faders söner. (Matt 5:38-45)
Man måste dock komma ihåg att dessa förmaningar i första hand riktade sig till Jesu 12 lärjungar:
När han såg folkskarorna gick han upp på berget. Han satte sig ner, och hans lärjungar kom fram till honom. Han började undervisa dem…(Matt 5:1,2)
Detta är ett bevis för att Jesus med dessa ord vände sig till individer som helt ville hänge sig åt Gud och försaka allt annat; mystiker i ordets sanna bemärkelse. Med dessa ord ville han sålla ut dem som var ovärdiga; endast de som hörsammade honom i hjärtat och ville ta till sig budskapet i handling skulle följa honom. Om man har en familj att ta hand om kan man omöjligen följa dessa bud. Men om du har ”övergivit” din familj för att följa (sektledaren) Jesus så har du redan valt att försaka alla band till det materiella (och även dig själv) för Gud. Jesus visar en kungsväg till Gud, en gräddfil om man får säga så. Fast i sanningen är det snarare en rakt och smal väg som kräver en hel del balanssinne; inte för var och en att följa.
Allt vad ni vill att människorna skall göra för er, det skall ni också göra för dem. Det är vad lagen och profeterna säger. Gå in genom den trånga porten. Ty den port är vid och den väg är bred som leder till fördärvet, och det är många som går in genom den. Men den port är trång och den väg är smal som leder till livet, och det är få som finner den. (Matt 7:12-14)
Det bor förvisso en munk eller eremit inom mig. Jag dras till munkarnas liv och beundrar dem och den stillhet i sina liv de eftersträvar. Men å andra sidan har jag barn och familj, och en livskamrat jag inte vill överge. Dessutom tror jag inte på att leva i celibat. Så någon ”äkta” Jesu lärjunge kan jag nog aldrig bli. Sedan har jag över ett decennium tillbaka valt en annan väg en den strikt katolska (den religion jag är född till) till min Kristus och min Gud. Jag har valt den esoteriska vägen som tillåter både fru (Soror Mystica) och barn (mina små ”Vise Stenar”). Vägen att vandra genom det vanliga ”yttre” livet är mer krävande och prövosamt, men mer belönande om man härdar ut och håller kvar vid sin avsikt, håller sig kvar på den raka och smala vägen. Men detta hindrar mig inte att samtidigt beundra Jesu ”lärjungar” som har valt eremitens väg.

Slutligen kommer vi till frågan om den fria viljans betydelse i dessa sammanhang. Jag tror att man måste vara kallad av ”Honom”; dvs. någon form av Gudomlig inverkan (”divine intervention”) behövs. Kalla det nåd. Detta skiljer ut vanliga kristna från Jesu lärjungar. ”Vanliga kristna” är de som har blivit inlärda att tro på Jesus; ett resultat av yttre påverkan. Lärjungarna är de som finner Jesus (eller Gud) i sitt hjärta, som hör hans tysta röst från sitt innersta (eller genom ett yttre tecken som är överväldigande när väl Herren har öppnat ögonen för oss).

Är det då ett fritt val att känna sin kallelse? Nej, det tror jag är en omöjlighet. Samtidigt kan man välja bort detta kall, så någon form av personligt val har vi ändock att göra med här. Detta är en paradox, men jag älskar paradoxer! Kanske är det därför som jag har valt den mystika vägen?

Alltså har människan en fri vilja, samtidigt som Gud bestämmer allsmäktigt över hennes liv. Paradoxernas moder!

Ljus kan både vara en partikel och en vågrörelse, beroende på hur du väljer att betrakta det. Samma sak med den mänskliga fria viljan eller ödesbestämdheten; det beror på hur du väljer att betrakta henne (människan). Man behöver inte ens tro på en gud för att vara en övertygad determinist. Samtidigt känner vi ju intuitivt att vi har ett personligt ansvar. Men försök att rymma båda föreställningarna samtidigt i hjärnan och reslutatet blir förvirring. Du måste välja perspektiv för varje given situation. Du kan till och med byta perspektiv på samma situation lite senare och se helt annorlunda på den, och få en djupare intuitiv förståelse. Men rent intellektuellt kan du inte förklara hur båda perspektiven (som är lika sanna) hänger ihop.

Perspektiven går dock att förena, men inte med det blotta intellektet. På samma vis förstår vi intuitivt att det är samma fenomen vi betraktar när vi observerar ljus, inte två olika saker; ljuset visar dock bara en av sina sidor för oss åt gången. På en annan (kalla den ”högre”) nivå kan vi dock betrakta ljuset utifrån dess sanna natur, vilket troligtvis är helt annat än både partikel och vågrörelse. Samma sak men människan och fri vilja kontra nåd.

Sålunda, för att använda kristen terminologi så kan inte alla bli sant frälsta. Det kräver ett förhärdat hjärta och en god jordmån för fröet att gro i. Den kraft som förbereder människan inför hennes frälsning är det som av många kristna associeras med Satan. Man måste dock i detta sammanhang inse att Satan är en aspekt av Gud; en mörkare återspegling av Honom. Men detta perspektiv blir endast förståeligt om man tror på reinkarnation, en tanke som är främmande för main stream kristendom. Men även den Heliga Qabalah bekräftar reinkarnationstanken. De kallar den Gilgul.

Själv så tror jag inte på ”Hin Onde” och Helvetet. Satan eller Lucifer är åklagaren, en av Guds Söner (hans konkreta Viljehandling). Satans uppgift i den stora rättsprocess vi kallar ”inkarnation” eller ”liv” är att vara åklagare. Jesus är domare, satt att övervaka domstolen på uppdrag åt Gud, den kosmiska staten. Vi, människan, är den svarande. Vår Helige Skyddsängel är advokaten.

S∴R∴

fredag 17 juli 2009

On Blogtalk Radio: The History of Qabalah in the Golden Dawn

o

Yesterday evening I did my third guest appearance on Blogtalk Radio and the show called Hermetics and the Golden Dawn with David Griffin and Golden Dawn Adepts, hosted by Julia Sherred. In this last podcast of a series of three we briefly mentioned the two pillars of the Golden Dawn Tradition, Hermeticism (and Alchemy) on one hand and the Qabalah (and Theurgy or Magic) on the other and the common origin of them both. After a general definition of the Qabalah we then entered into detail to analyse both the “Christian Kabbalah” (which later became the Hermetic Qabalah) and the “Orthodox Jewish” Sabbateian Kabbalah. Regarding the former we mentioned Pico della Mirandola, Cornelius Agrippa, Athanasius Kircher, and Christian Knorr von Rosenroth as important personalities which constituted the Christian lineage into the Golden Dawn, and the latter regarding Isaac Luria, Sabbathai Zevi, Nathan of Gaza and Jacob Frank. Regarding the Frankist tradition (the successor to the Sabbateian Kabbalah) we also described how that lineage was transmitted into the Golden Dawn through the Rosicrucian organization known as the Asiatic Brethren and the important Masonic Lodge L'Aurore Naissante.

After that introductory presentation of the history of the Qabalah of the Golden Dawn we went on to talk about how Qabalah is used in the teaching system and inititiatory system of the Golden Dawn. A presentation of the Grades as relating to the Qabalistic Tree of Life was made in quite some detail. We also briefly touched upon the subject of Grimoires and especially the most noble of them all, i.e. The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage as translated by S.L. MacGregor Mathers. In this context of the initiatic Grade system of the Golden Dawn the Abramelin operation was aligned to the initiatory process. Here an explanation was made regarding the peculiar assignment of numbers of the Grades. The analysis went into some detail about the three Grades of Adeptus Minor, Adeptus Major and Adeptus Exemptus, corresponding to the middle triad on the Tree of Life, and especially the important place that Demonic Evocation has in this level of the work. To better be able to follow this discussion of the Grades and the 10 Sephiroth of the Tree of Life I recommend making constant cross-references to the diagram of the Tree of Life, appended below.

The Grades upon the Tree of Life

Together we also talked somewhat about the Tarot and how this symbol system was developed in the Qabalistic context, and how it is used in the Golden Dawn and especially how it fits into the glyph of the Tree of Life. An analysis was made about the different divisions of the Tarot, the Greater and Lesser Arcanas, the Four Suits, the four Honours of each suit, and of the 22 Keys or Trumphs of the Greater Arcana that corresponds to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. We also briefly covered the four Colour Scales of the Golden Dawn, corresponding to the four Suits, Elements and Honours, and how the so called King and Queen, or masculine and feminine Scales are especially used in Ceremonial Magic and implemented in the design of the Vault of the Adepti. We also spoke about the last two implements of the Adept which wasn’t covered in the previous podcasts, the Magical Sword and the Rose Cross Lamen. A comparison was made between the Air Dagger and the Magical Sword, and the use thereof, and also how the beautiful Rose Cross Lamen can be seen as a synthesis of the entire Hermetic and Qabalistic system of the Golden Dawn.

The complete symbol of the Rose Cross

Even though I had the hardest time with my English in this podcast I was quite satisfied with it, which has to be viewed as the last of a series of three that revolves around the Golden Dawn and its Hermetic-Qabalistic system of Therugy. Between these three shows, Ceremonial Magic and the Golden Dawn Part 1 and Part 2, and this last one on the History of Qabalah in the Golden Dawn, I believe we have covered everything that I originally wanted to convey regarding the Golden Dawn System of Magic. Therefore I recommend listening to them all and in succession, starting with the podcast called Ceremonial Magic and the Golden Dawn Part 1.

However, unfortunately some things have to be clarified further about what was said in the last podcast. When I talk about the “mythical” history of the Qabalah I don’t mean that it is not real. All I'm saying is that it is based on tradition, such as written and oral, and not on historical scientific evidence. Perhaps it would have been better to use the world “traditional history” instead of “mythical”.

Later when I mention that there exists not only one but several Trees (of Life) in the Qabalistic system, I mistakenly say “10” Trees. It is not wrong to say that there exists 10 Trees per se, but in that context I was meant to say FOUR, one each for the Four Elements, Suits of the Tarot and the Four Qabalistic Worlds (that of Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah and Assiah). Then in each of these Worlds one can further divide each Sephiroth into yet another Tree of Life, making a sum total of 400 Trees.

When I talk about the origins of the Tarot I mention that there are two mains views, one of them as proposed by Paul Foster Case that it was invented by Hermetic Qabalists and the other (as proposed by people like S.L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley) that it has an Egyptian origin, referred to as “The Book of Thoth”. Here I mistakenly say “Qabalah” instead of “Tarot”. I of course am referring to the Tarot and nothing else.

Unfortunately I make some other blunders in the podcast, such as corresponding the Sephirah of Geburah with the Adeptus Minor Grade instead of that of the Adeptus Major, and Chokmah instead of Binah with the 3rd Sephira, but I spot my mistakes after a while and correct them in the podcast. I suppose these obvious errors, which should easily have been spotted even by a Neophyte of the Golden Dawn, may be attributed to the fact that I don’t speak English and therefore have to focus much on expressing myself intelligible. Hopefully I haven’t created to much of a mess of this quite complex topic and that some of you have been benefited from the podcast. Please accept my apologies if my mission has failed.

For what it's worth, here is the link.

Even though I regard this podcast as the last of a series, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the last one that I will make together with Julia Sherred. I have really enjoyed working with her and she has made my task very easy with her adequate and intelligent questions, and also in the way that she has helped me (and the listeners) to make my points more lucid despite of my badly spoken English. So, hopefully there will be more podcasts in the future. I have to consult with Julia about future topics as I have ran out of suggestions myself. Or even better, if you have any suggestions about future topics which you want me to elucidate, please write here on this blog or to me personally on the e-mail link on the sidebar, alternatively to Julia Sherred directly.

S∴R∴

söndag 12 juli 2009

The Path of the Red Dragon

o

My first experience of real, as opposed to “spiritual” Alchemy, was somewhere in the late 90’s and through the Humid or Wet Way of The Red Dragon, as thaught by an Adept of the Alpha et Omega and initiate of the Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix, or Elder Brethren of the Rosy Cross, commonly referred to as the F.A.R+C. Since then I have been very fascinated by the particular path of F.A.R+C but also to some extent by the organization itself. The myths and stories about its origins are particularly colorful and a bit typical of hermetically sealed Rosicrucian Orders, who often create fantastic stories about their origins and lineage when they do speak openly of it; it comes with the trade.

The F.A.R+C is a Templar and Chivalric Order which traces its origins, like the Gold und Rosenkreutz, to Templar refugees in Scotland. It is said to have been created in 1316 by 33 Templar Knights, and in particular the brethren Guidon de Montanor and Gaston de la Pierre-Phoebus, who practiced the Alchemical Arts they had received in the Orient from their eastern brethren, i.e. Arabic Sages. In the Legenda des Freres Aines de la Rose Croix the author Roger Caro lists amongst others the following individuals as their former Imperatores and successors to the supposed original founders: Robert Fludd (as the 33rd Imperator, between the years 1623-1630), Lord Bulwer Lytton (as the 51st, between 1849-1865), Eliphas Levi (as the 52nd, 1865-1874), William Wynn Westcott (as the 53rd, 1874-1892), Felix Leigh Gardner (as the 54th, 1892-1898), and Rudolf Steiner (as the 55th, between 1898-1900). While this list of course is a fantastic tale, and nothing more, it at least tells us something about which historical figures influenced the people behind the formation of the F.A.R+C. It is interesting to note two Golden Dawn Adepts amongst these people, i.e. F. L. Gardner and founder W.W. Westcott.

The Seal of the F.A.R+C

It is difficult to confirm the specific year when the F.A.R+C was founded. But according to some the first modern appearance of the Order was initiated by a Kamala-Jnana (who according to some was Jean Deleuvre and according to others Roger Caro), as the Temple Initiatique Alchimique d'Ajunta, in the late 60’s but according to its own published sources as early as in the late 50's. One of the last achievements of this first form of the Order was the publication of the book The Complete Great Work in Photographs, which shows the Path of the Red Dragon, or the “Cinnabre” Path, in full colour photographs during the entire process of creating the Red Powder, or Philosopher’s Stone, and the White Stone. This book shows a silver ingot and a gold plate, transmuted by these white and red stones. Although without the necessary keys, which only is received through initiation, nobody will be able to recreate this process.

Roger Caro

Some say that Roger Caro became the new Imperator after Deleuvre’s death and then changed its name into Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix or F.A.R+C. Its headquarters were in Paris and allegedly it only contained 33 official members, adhering to the Templar myth of the 33 founders. But there also existed unofficial bodies attached to the headquarters in Paris. There existed also a “Collegia Al-Kimia” which spread more openly, beyond the limited circle of the F.A.R+C, some aspects of their alchemical doctrines.

In 1973 the organizaton decided, according to specific Rosicrucian rules, to be “asleep” for 25 years. But, as it seems, Roger Caro continued with the sister organization or side body of the F.A.R+C called «l`Eglise Universelle de la Nouvelle Alliance» (E.U.N.A.), or Universal Church of the New Alliance, a clerical Rosicrucian organization founded in 1972 and steeped in the tradition of Roman Catholicism. This organization seems to have stopped all Alchemical activities after the death of Roger Caro in1992.

The Seal of the E.U.N.A.

Today, since the set time frame of 25 years has elapsed, there has resurfaced a Belgian branch of the Order calling itself the Ordre Souverain des Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix, with Philippe de Coster as Grand Master. As I don’t know very much about this latest particular branch and revival of the F.A.R+C, I cannot personally verify its lineage and authorization, but it seems to operate the Order according to traditional forms as set forth by Roger Caro. It has also been republishing the books of Roger Caro, which may easily be found on the internet. Since then also this following document has been circulating on the internet, which must be regarded as the official version of the founding of the F.A.R+C. The original is in French but I have made a tentative translation of it, thus:
Chapter VIII
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE E.U.N.A.

One could almost begin this history as with a fairy tale. Fifteen years ago, a group of friends gathered together to explore a very large subject of common interest, since the Hermeneutics is a science that aims to explore all the ancient texts.

It was decided that these 33 researchers should study the branches of their choice, some plunged into Astrology of St. Thomas Aquinas, others into the medical books of the Bishop of Regensburg, others into dowsing, and others into the Royal Art of two popes: Clement V and John XXII, and many other clergy, such as Blessed Raymond Lulle, Basil Valentine, Dom Pernette, etc..., etc... All members of our group had one thing in common, they were all Catholics.They took the name of Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix [Elder Brethren of the Rose Cross – transl.] because one day a Prelate visited them to demonstrate that the studies they were persuing were similar to the F.A.R+C Order, of which he was the chairman for over 40 years. Having satisfied our 33 friends, he took them under his wing, and at his death his great friend Roger Caro was elected as the head of the Order. However, as it held meetings only twice per year, it was decided that all Members should meet in St. Cyrsur on Wednesdays, and that each session should begin with a Holy Mass. Unfortunately, there was no clergy amongst the 33 brethren of the F.A.R+C and each time it needed to appeal to a priest from the outside, living in Salon-de-Provence. But one day, that support was lacking, and the Hermetic Order could no longer performe the Mass. But Heavenly Providence looked with favor, and, as Roger Caro had published numerous articles relating to both Roman Orthodox theology (He had been educated for years by Bishop Dahane and Professor Mohlbwerg of Rome in the Vatican) he was surprised to receive a letter from Belgium from the Primate of the l'Eglise Rosicrucienne Apostolique [the Rosicrucian Apostolic Church – transl.] (a direct descendant of St. Evode - 1st bishop consecrated by St. Peter at Antioch) and learned that he had been following his clerical journey and his articles on the Royal Art ... and that if he wanted, he could come to St. Cyr to be received into the Order and become its representative in France. After several exchanges of letters, the agreement was concluded, and on 10 June 1972, Archbishop Raymond Toussaint transmitted the minor and major to R. Caro, his representative in France. During the following months (while our group took the name «Eglise de la Nouvelle Alliance» [Church of the New Alliance – transl.]) while being subject to the Church of R+C in Belgium, leaflets and books were published. That's when the confusion starts, because when our Church was granted its promised autonomy, everything changed radically, but inwardly as we were not financially able to republish our books.The Mass of St. Pius V replaced that which we had been given by Bishop Toussaint, and succeeded to slightly modify the previous Pontifical Topics... In short, we became Catholic, following the Roman Law in all matters relating to the rituals, sacraments, prayers, offices, etc ... and the Gallican Right for everything that is administrative.

E.U.N.A. was registered on October 12, 1972, in the Prefecture of Toulon and was published in the Official Journal on 19th of the same month, page 10991.

On August 15, 1973, it was admitted to the «Collège Episcopal de Archevêques et Evêques de Siège de l'Eglise Catholique Gallicane» [Episcopal College of Archbishops and Bishops of the Headquarters of the Gallican Catholic Church – Transl.]. (Bishop Truchemotte Patriarch of the Gallican Catholic Church).

ENA being ecumenical, Bishop Caro did not hesitate to exchange sub Conditioner consecrations with many Prelates Friends, which permitted the achievement of the 32 Intercommunication days with sister churches of the same faith ... because we are pure, a sub conditioner re-consecration was never given or received with other intentions but to “strengthen ties between churches”, in other words to get or give new apostolic succession was in some way equivalent to enter or bring a friend into her own family. He had this point clarified once and for all.

As to our professed faith, the seven chapters are quite explicit ... but it is good to conclude this booklet to summarize our beliefs.
The question that immediately should be raised is, who was this “Prelat” which approached Roger Caro and his 32 associates? According to a recent suggestion this was an emissary of Max Heindel’s Rosicrucian Fellowship, which allegedly was using the name of Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix for its inner group. Perhaps he was but I suppose the only people who really know the truth about this matter would be the original 33 companions. And until anyone of them will come forward and corroborate this new information we, in my humble opinion, must suspend all our judgments. What we do know however is that according to the Rosicrucian Fellowship of Max Heindel’s, there did exist an Order called Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix that was created in 1313, which is reminiscent of the “Legenda” of Roger Caro. However there is a major discrepancy as there is no Templar connection in the Max Heindel version, who asserts that the founder was Christian Rosenkreutz himself and 12 of his associates.

Furthermore there has previously been raised more serious allegations regarding the founding of the F.A.R+C. According to these sources a Forrest Barber, a Templar researcher and Gnostic priest, got hold of some papers from the 17th century belonging to the descendants of Pierre Duese, the brother of the notorious Pope Clement V who dissolved the Order of the Knights Templars. This brother was however supposedly behind the establishment of the Order of Christ in Portugal (the direct descendent of the Knights Templar, who also sponsored Christopher Columbus and his expedition over the Atlantic), as well as being responsible for sending his nephew, Cardinal Jacques de Via, on a mission to Scotland to bring back to France a number of high-ranking Templars to form the Frères Aînés de la Rose Croix. Allegedly Roger Caro used these documents to create a historical legitimacy for his F.A.R+C. I haven’t done any in depth research behind these allegations, but to me it all seems like conjectures and speculations. I suppose Roger Caro took the real facts about the story behind the “Legenda” with him to his grave.

A F.A.R+C style alchemical laboratoy

Obviously these allegations raised against the F.A.R+C contradict each other. And what if it was true that Caro used some documents to create a fraud, or that there never existed an actual “Prelat” from the Original Rosicrucian Order? It wouldn’t be the first time that a Rosicrucian organization was dishonest about its true origins; remember the story about Westcott faking his letter correspondence with the alleged German Adept Freulein Sprengle? Still we must regard the Golden Dawn as a genuine Rosicrucian body, regardless of Westcott’s fraudulent behavior, as it carries with it a genuine Rosicrucian and Hermetic esoteric transmission. As the Golden Dawn tradition cannot be the sole result of the creativity of two eminent scholars, i.e. S.L. MacGregor Mathers and William Wynn Westcott, because of its complexity and beauty, the F.A.R+C Alchemical tradition cannot for the same reasons be the sole invention of Roger Caro and Kmala Jnana.

The only conclusion that we can make about this French organization is that one cannot be sure about anything regarding its true origins, as it was running a very secret operation. It was and still seems to be a very veiled organization and therefore we are only limited in using whatever information is coming from the organization itself to base our opinions. And as I already have stated, the legitimacy behind the F.A.R+C cannot rest solely on historical autencity but rather on its esoteric transmissions, i.e. its practical Alchemy being taught. So let us finally examine the particular Alchemical teachings and processing of the F.A.R+C.

The Separation of the Prime Matter

The particular Way as taught in the F.A.R+C is the Wet or Humid Way, as opposed to the Dry Way that uses vulgar fire in the Athanor. The Wet Way instead uses the “secret fire”, which is a Salt. This creates a much longer but more gentle approach towards the Great Work, compared to the Dry Way which is much more intense and shorter. Another difference is the matter of choice, the Materia Prima. The Wet Way of F.A.R+C uses the “Read Dragon”, as opposed to the “Black Dragon” or “Grey Wolf” (i.e. Antimony) often used in the Dry Way, such as taught by Basil Valentine and Fulcanelli. The Red Dragon of course being the ore Cinnabar, which is a red stone and a Mercury sulfide, i.e. naturally containing both Mercury and Sulphur.

The Red Dragon

This use of Cinnabar gives a direct hint towards the possible origin of the Path of the Red Dragon, i.e. China. Chinese Alchemists are well known to have used the Cinnabar to create life-prolonging elixirs, mainly used by the Chinese Emperors. However as some of these died by Mercury poisoning, eventually the Daoist “internal” Alchemical tradition was created as a substitute for the “external”, i.e. the practice of Qi-Gong. Unfortunately, mercurial poisoning was also quite common amongst the initiates of the F.A.R+C, which illustrates the dangers associated with this path if not handled with care.

The Secret Fire of the Red Dragon

But it seems as Indian Alchemists of the Araya Vedic tradition also used Cinnabar. So this prime matter has a long-standing eastern tradition behind it, which eventually must have been exported to the Middle East through the Silk Road and eventually found its way to Europe, perhaps as has been suggested by the Templars. In my opinion the Templars may have been the important link between the Arabic speaking Sages and Alchemists and the later Western Hermetic tradition. So legends created by the founders of any Order may contain grains of truth in them, however fantastic they may seem to us at face value. Remember that this Templar origin of the Rosicrucian tradition also were used in the 18th Century by the Gold und Rosenkreutz, and then again one Century later by the Memphis & Misraïm Rite.

It has also been suggested to me that this work with Cinnabar came down to Kmala Jnana and Roger Caro from the mysterious Alchemist Cyliani. This was transmitted mainly through G F Tiffereau, who allegedly brought a piece of gold from Mexico, which he claimed to have manufactured by the Art. Tiffereau managed to persuade Jollivet-Castelot and his acquaintances, which seems to have created a French Alchemical tradition that eventually found its way into the hands of Kmala Jnana. If one reads the only book written by Cyliani, Hermes Unveiled published in 1831, and compare it to the Kmala Jnana path they are both wet or humid paths and are very similar operatively, or almost identical. So there in fact exists a tradition of the Red Dragon prior to the F.A.R+C that in my opinion validates the particular form as taught by Kmala Jnana, and much more than any “Legenda” or story about a “Prelat” concocted in the minds of Roger Caro or anyone else.

The Peacocks Tail

According to this noble and ancient process of the Royal Art, the Mercury and Sulphur contained in the Cinnabar is gently separated using the “secret fire”. Now this Secret Fire is the most guarded secret of the F.A.R+C. It is composed of the enigmatic Sanskrit words Kshàra, Ogás, and Hingula, which are abbreviated into the letters “KOH”. However this in not an ordinary KOH as may be suggested but must be procured through a special process of preparation which has never been revealed in detail, to my knowledge. Even some members of the F.A.R+C got this compound wrong, as this witness attests regarding one of them who:
…clearly did not know how to accomplish the stone but instead was willing to settle for appearances. The missing key was the liquid salt (one of the fires) that decompounds the original cinnabar without external heat to produce living sulphur and mercury. (Note, this salt sounds like the Universal Menstruum of Urbigerus, or the Spirit of Philosophical Wine of Lully or the Alkahest of Philalethes, but is not ordinary KOH solution, which does not accomplish the separation.)
Another enigmatic term used in the F.A.R+C is the “philosophical month”, which does not correspond to any ordinary month of 30 days. Of course this key is also needed to be able to proceed correctly with the operation. The entire process takes approximately 28 philosophical months to complete. And besides a species of “Potable Gold” it is supposed to produce the Philosophers Stone.

The Philosopher's Stone

But the real attracting aspect of this process for me is that it is so beautiful and according to my own teachers wonderfully connects to the Hermetic Inner Alchemical tradition by analogy. According to the Portuguese Alchemist Rubellus Petrinus this path of the F.A.R+C processing is the most noble of all “external” Alchemical paths. Personally I concur with this view and do further believe the Wet Path of the Red Dragon to be on a higher arc of working compared to the Dry Path of the Black Dragon, and intermediary stage to working with the “internal” Ways of Hermetic Alchemy.

I recommend reading the material written by Rubellus Petrinus on his own webpage regarding the Wet Way of the Red Dragon, as they shed some more light upon this process. According to him, he was initiated into its mysteries by a French Adept of the F.A.R+C. This is also the only way to learn this process safely and accordingly, through the word of mouth and ritual initiation.

The F.A.R+C introduced a Seven Degrees initiatic Masonic style system that taught the entire process in steps. Before the initiate were eligible for advancement into the next Degree he had to prove that he had finished the part of the F.A.R+C process as related to his Degree. As an example, to be eligible for advancement into the Second Degree the initiate had to have produced the peculiar Salt or Secret Fire of the Philosophers. As I stated earlier the college of the F.A.R+C was restricted to only 33 initiates which would practice mainly this form of “external” alchemy, but apparently there also existed, according to some, another even more shadowy college of 12 adepts who themselves practiced the “internal” way.

A F.A.R+C medallion

As can bee gathered from the above-cited brief history it is quite obvious that the F.A.R+C was working within not only a Christian framework but also a Catholic one. This is clearly seen in its use of the allegory of the life and ministry of Jesus as metaphors for the different stages of Great Work itself. So it is clear that the F.A.R+C was in fact working within a traditional Rosicrucian paradigm, which always has been favorable to and integrated with the Christian tradition. And as the history of the German Gold und Rosenkreutz Orden (which predated the F.A.R+C by three Centuries) clearly shows, the Rosicrucian tradition had already left its original antipapal stance and hostility towards the Catholic religion, evidenced in the original two Manifestos, only one Century after their publications. As I myself have a Catholic background the F.A.R+C tradition obviously has a special place in my Rosicrucian heart.

S∴R∴

fredag 3 juli 2009

On Blogtalk Radio: Ceremonial Magic and the Golden Dawn Part 2 with Special Guest Tomas Stacewicz

o
Yesterday evening I did my second guest appearance on Blogtalk Radio and the show called Hermetics and the Golden Dawn with David Griffin and Golden Dawn Adepts, hosted by Julia Sherred. We did a follow-up on the previous podcast on Ceremonial Magic and the Golden Dawn. In this present podcast we managed to cover most of the topics that was left out in the previous, such as some more information about the three Wands used in the Golden Dawn, the Elemental Winged Globe Wand, the Planetary Phoenix Wand and the Zodiacal Lotus Wand, the method of consecrating one’s tools and of talismans, and how all of that relates to the training of the Magician in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

We also discussed the three major hierarchies of Ceremonial Magic, the Five Elements, the Seven Planets and the 12 Signs of the Zodiac, and how all of that is integrated in the curriculum of the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn, and also how the three hierarchies effects the initiate. Together we also covered energetic manipulation of the aura, i.e. how ritual invocation activates different forces and symbols into the aura. We also had an discussion about the initiatic process through the Elemental Grades of the Outer Order, and the necessary painstaking tests and tribulations the initiate has to face and learn to deal with, and how students are supervised and protected when being members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, to be able to persevere through the dark and daunting phases of the initiatory process.

Some other topics being discussed were the importance of the relationship between the student and the teacher (tutor), and the analogy between psychotherapy and initiation. Moreover, we also covered the topic of divination, such as geomancy, astrology and the Tarot, and also the significance of ritual timing using horoscopes. We also made comparisons between Theurgy and the work of consecration in relation to synchronization.

The definitions and differences between invocation and evocation were also discussed in more detail compared to the previous show, and hopefully were more fully clarified. Hopefully we also clarified the subject of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Knowledge and Conversation thereof, and how the initiatory process of the Outer Order is a preparation for this primary spiritual goal. We also covered the Emerald Tablet in relation to Ceremonial Magic and its significance of the Hermetic view upon the relation between the macrocosm and the microcosm, and again how this relates to the aura, or energetic body. The subject of “Skrying and Travelling in the Spirit Vision”, of astral projection were also covered, and how that particular technique is used in Ceremonial Magic.

I personally was quite satisfied with the result and believe we covered most of the subjects I wanted to bring in to the discussion, and whatever were left out I believe we will be able to cover in the upcoming program about Qabalah and the Golden Dawn scheduled for next week.

Here is the link. Hope you enjoy it and will benefit from it.

Errors: Listening to the podcast again I noticed that I mistakenly attributed sickness to the Element of Earth . It should of course be the Element of Air and nothing else.

I also for some mysterious reason attributed the four lowest Sephiroth of the Tree of Life only to the Earth Element, when they are supposed to be attributed to the Four Elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, corresponding to the Elemental Grades from Juniorus (or Zelator) to Philosophus respectively.

Perhaps all these Freudian slips into the Earth Element had someting to do with the fact that I did an Earth Invocation the same day, just some hours previous to the show.

S∴R∴