“A Sane Mind, A Soft Heart, A Sound Body” March/April 2004—$5.00

THE LETTER TO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIATHE TRANSMUTATION

ASTROLOGY, POLARITY, AND THE ALPHABETMAGIC—WHITE AND BLACK

A CHRISTIAN ESOTERIC MAGAZINE

Back cover: The Resurrected Christ, Jacqueline Bayeux, 1996. Front Cover: Corel Professional Photos.

TWO PRAYERS FOR ALCHEMISTS

1

Light Supreme, who art the Divine in Natureand dwellest in its innermost parts as in Heaven,

hallowed be thy qualities and laws!

Wherever thou art, all is brought to perfection; may the realm of thy Knowledge become subject unto thee.

May our will in all our work be only thee, self-moving Power of Light! And as in the whole of Nature thou accomplishest all things,

so accomplish all things in our work also.

Give us of the Dew of Heaven, and the Fat of the Earth, the Fruits of Sun and Moon from the Tree of Life.

And forgive us all errors which we have committed in our work without knowledge of thee, as we seek to turn from their errors those who have offended our precepts.

And leave us not to our own darkness and our own science, but deliver us from all evil through the perfection of thy Work.

Amen

2Hail, pure self-moving Source, O Form, pure for receiving the Light!

The Light of all things unites itself with thee alone.

Most blessed art thou among all receptive forms, and blessed is the Fruit that thou conceivest,

the Essence of Light united with warm substance.

Pure Form, Mother of the most perfect Being, lift thyself up to the Light for us,

now as we toil and in the hour when we complete the Work.Amen

—Karl von Eckartshausen (1752-1803)translated by Joscelyn Godwin

This Issue...Feature

Watching, Listening...Geoff Sweeting ..................................................................2

EditorialRosicrucians—True and False...............................................................................3

Mystic LightGoethe’s The Mysteries—An Interpretation (Part 2)...Ann Barkhurst .................4The Transmutation...Reginald Oakley...................................................................8The Highest Human Privilege...Pearl A. Williams .............................................12Justice and Judgment...Carl Weaver....................................................................15Wands and Serpents...Manly P. Hall ...................................................................17A Modern Magician (Part 1)...Kitty Cowen and Max Heindel ..........................20The Gardener...Prentiss Tucker ...........................................................................24

From Max Heindel’s WritingsMagic—White and Black....................................................................................27

Readers’ QuestionsOccult Reading of a Masonic Legend.................................................................30Who Rules Your Nerves? Alien Presence ...........................................................31

Western Wisdom Bible StudyA Study in Values—Jonah and Peter...Gene Sande ............................................32The Two “Doves” and the Two Halves of the Earth Epoch...Max Heindel .......34

AstrologyAstrology, Polarity, and the Alphabet...George Weaver......................................35Uranus and Neptune...Augusta Foss Heindel .....................................................40God’s Message Through Aries...Rosicrucian Fellowship Staff Members ..........45

Spiritual Science and ArtAndrogynous Man...Corinne Heline ...................................................................49

News PerspectivesAnimal vs Human “Intelligence” ........................................................................51

Book ReviewsJohn Calvin and the Founding of America...A Probationer ................................52

Nutrition and HealthSeeking the Light...M.T........................................................................................54

HealingSpiritual Nutrition—First Aid for Will Power ....................................................56

For ChildrenAurea’s Trip...Dagmar Frahme............................................................................57

MiscellaneousThe Habit of Perfection (poem)...Gerard Manley Hopkins ................................14Retrospect (poem)...A. Nolten ............................................................................16“How Readest Thou?” (poem)...Unknown .........................................................26On Recollection (text)...Albert the Great ............................................................55The Sunflower’s Lesson (poem)...Unknown ......................................................60March/April 2004 Ephemerides.....................................................................61-62

“A Sane Mind,A Soft Heart,

A Sound Body”© 2004 The Rosicrucian Fellowship

A Christian Esoteric Magazine

Established byMax Heindel

June 1913

Volume 96, No. 2

March/April—2004USPS 471080—ISSN 0744-432X

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Watching, Listening

FEATURE

Don’t judge what is written, Search for the Spirit of the words.Revealed on a lonely mountain, No coat and no hat. Being born on that day, Now the trust grows. Faith is the only way.

Eight birds fly off into the distance, Each a different road. Two stay close together,Searching for a home.

Eyes closed, watching.Ears closed, listening.

One is perched upon a rock, The other nestled into a star.One is the left foot, the other the right. One is the left hand, the other the right.

Trust binds them, Faith unites them. They do not fly apart,

they do not lose their way.Where there is one,

there is always the other.The heart and mind find harmony together.

—Geoff Sweeting

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Reconciliation

WHAT are sacraments? They “consti-tute our life in Christ." They are win-dows between two worlds, one oflight, one of material darkness. TheGreek term for sacrament is mysteri-

on, mystery. A mystery, in the true religious sense, isnot simply an enigma, an unexplained problem. A truemystery is a cosmic reality which is revealed for ourunderstanding, yet never totally revealed because itreaches into the infinity of God. The mystery of allmysteries is the incarnation of Christ; therefore allother sacraments are founded this ray of living light.

Sacraments are media that convey healing energies.To heal is to make whole. Fallen man is broken, frag-mented. Through spiritual healing man regains unity ofindividual being and conscious union with God. It is foreach of us to know, “I cannot bring peace and unity tothe world unless I am at peace and unity within myself.If I establish the spirit of peace thousands around mewill find salvation." Conversely, “If I am inwardlydivided, I shall spread that division to others.” Political,ethnic, and religious conflict arise from the singlehuman heart that does not will and project peace.

As humans we stand at the center and crossroads ofCreation. Saint John Chrysostom thinks of the humanperson as bridge and bond. Each of us then, is a littleuniverse, a microcosm; each of us is imago mundi—anicon of the world. Each of us reflects the manifolddiversity of the created order.

Saint Gregory Nazianzen, the Theologian, distin-guishes two main levels of the created order. On onehand, there is the spiritual or invisible order, on theother there is the material or physical order. Angelsbelong only to the first order. They are bodiless, spiri-tual beings. In Saint Gregory's view, animals belong tothe second order—they are material and physical.Humans, uniquely in God's creation, exist consciouslyon both levels at once. Anthropos, man, the human per-son alone, has a twofold nature, both material and spir-itual. Saint Gregory goes on to speak of ourselves asearthly yet heavenly, temporal yet immortal, visible yet

intelligible, midway between majesty and lowliness,one selfsame being, yet both spirit and flesh.

Now because we stand in this way on the crossroads(or cross) of creation, because each of us is a laborato-ry or workshop that contains an essence of myriads ofcreated things, we have a special vocation, and that isto mediate, to connect, to bind together, to unite.Standing at the crossroads—in the earth yet from heav-en, in a body yet conceived as spirit—our human voca-tion is to reconcile and harmonize the differing levelsof reality in which we participate. Our vocation is tospiritualize the material. That is why reconciliation andpeace are such a fundamental aspect of our personhood.

But having said that humans are a microcosmicimage of the world, we have not yet said the mostimportant thing—that we are created in the image ofGod. We are a created expression of God's infinite anduncreated self-expression. Our true glory is that we aremade in God's image—we contain and reflect thedivine. We are called not only to unify different levelsof the created order, but to join earth and heaven. So dowe pray, “Thy kingdom come. May the world of spiritbe the realized Earth existence, through thy servant.”

We are not only imago mundi but also imago dei—weare images of God. Is God plural? No. But God is infi-nite and all-containing. All that is is one in God. Theseare our two vocations: as “king” of matter, and priest ofthe spirit, we are to unify creation through the right useof our heart and mind, and to offer creation back to theCreator, so humanized, transfigured, to God. The greatuniverse is not the world around us, nor the countlessdistant galaxies, but the far vaster inner spaces of the heartand mind, where stars are born, and seen, and known.

We unify by imaging the One God, by being transparentto His will so that His presence may shine through us.Christ lived in opaque human flesh, yet radiated this Divinelight. So did He say, “I am the Light of the World.” So didHe say, “I and the Father are one.” To this we aspire. Thisis our mission: to live sacramentally. This is our calling: togenerate peace and light. May we be about it, this, ourFather’s work, through Christ, now and always. p

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Made in the Image of God

EDITORIAL

STANZAS 3 TO 10, INCLUSIVE. BROTHER MARKSEEKS THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE CROSS

FOLLOWING THE BROADCAST ofthe invitation to the Wisdom Feastwhich Goethe gives in the first twostanzas of The Mysteries, we are intro-duced to a pilgrim, by name Brother

Mark, who has arrived at the foot of the mountainrange, searching for the monastery headquarters ofa Brotherhood which he knows is situated amongits summits.

Who is this pilgrim, sent on a sacred mission byone brotherhood to another, arriving at the foot ofthe steep mountain somewhere in Germany? fromwhere, and by whom sent?

The answer to these questions is not yet to berevealed. Goethe says only that the journey hasbeen undertaken from the most exalted of motives.Weary from the day’s long journey, the poem tellsus, Brother Mark arrives, on a beautiful evening, atthe foot of a high mountain, staff in hand after themanner of a holy pilgrim.

He has been travelling on foot; he is tired andhungry. He longs for a little food and drink, and ahospitable roof to shelter him for the night, for thesun is already descending toward the west and hisgoal is not in sight.

He has, it seems, wandered off the beaten trackand must clamber through wooded gorges wherethere is neither footbridge nor road. But at last hethinks he discerns the faint traces of a footpaththrough the thickets, which he hopes will lead himup out of the gorges and to the summit of the steep

mountain that stands before him.We think here of another poet who, writing of

his descent into the Inferno, said:

In the midway of this our mortal life I found me in a gloomy wood, astrayFrom the path direct.

Had Goethe read Dante’s Divine Comedy? Itcannot be doubted. Dante says that he was “mid-way of this our mortal life”—that is, about thirty-five or thirty-six years of age—when he wanderedoff his course. Goethe does not tell us the age ofthe pilgrim, Brother Mark, but we surmise that heis a young man, even a very young man. Can he be,perhaps, a type of the young Goethe himself?

The faint path which he has stumbled upon inthe thickets winds steadily upward, circling craggymountain faces, up which Mark must climb, untilat last, pausing to look back, he sees himself uplift-ed high over the valley, for the whole mountainslope lies below him. He has come by a steep anddirect way, a difficult way which turned and twist-ed up the mountainside, and yet has brought himspeedily out upon a high place. On the West hesees the sun magnificently throned between darkclouds sinking toward the horizon. Shadows havealready fallen into the deeply wooded gorges overwhich he has climbed. How beautiful, how friend-ly, the sun shines again for him now, here on theheights!

Yet darkness is not far away, and he turns to sur-vey the upward path: There the summit, the peakitself, stands stark against the evening sky. Hesummons strength to essay the final height, hoping

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Goethe’s The Mysteries—An InterpretationPart 2

MYSTIC LIGHT

that he has reached the end of his journey and willsoon receive the reward of his labors. Now, hespeaks to himself, now must it be discovered if anyhuman beings dwell near this place.

When he turns to continue climbing, the clangorof bells resounds upon his ears. As one newborn,says the poet, he stands, hearkening to the sound,and looking down in the direction whence the bell-sound has come, his quiet eyes light with pleasureas he sees close by a green valley, softly cradledamong the peaks.

Then, all at once, he sees a beautiful buildinglying in a green field before the woods; the lastlevel rays of the setting sun fall upon it, as if intryst, as if to point it out to him. He hastensthrough the dew-wet meadow toward themonastery which, says the poem, “lightens towardhim,” seems to beckon him, lying there lit up bythe shafts of the setting sun. (Or perhaps we are tounderstand that the lamps are being lit within themonastery.)

Here is the end of his journey, this quiet, tranquilplace. He knows it. His spirit is filled with calmand hope. The portal is shut but (presumably) asthe sun dips lower behind the peak, its beamstouch and illuminate a mystery-filled symbolwhich is raised high above the closed portal.

The symbol is familiar, for indeed it is the crossof Christ; yet this is not the cross as he has knownit heretofore. He stands and ponders, whisperinglow the words of prayer which well up in his heart.He asks himself, What meaning has this Sign toconvey? He is unaware of the setting sun as hestands lost in thought; nor does he realize that thepealing of the bells has ceased.

He muses: The Sign, which is here so magnifi-cently erected on high, stands to all the world forconsolation and hope. How many thousands ofsouls have pledged themselves to this Sign! Howmany thousands of human hearts have ardentlyimplored its aid! This is the Sign that has broughtto nothing the power of death; the Sign that hasshone forth on so many victory-banners over bat-tlefields, one understands the poet to mean, wheremen have fought and conquered in its Name. Avery stream of comfort and refreshment flowsthrough Brother Mark’s weary limbs, as he casts

down his eyes in prayer.Praying, he feels anew the salvation flowing

from the holy Sign; he feels anew the faith of halfthe world; but now, he feels within himself some-thing more, a power penetrating every atom of hisbeing. It is as if a whole new sense has floweredwithin his mind, awakened by the Sign whichstands here upraised before him. Once more hecontemplates the cross, his attention focusing nowon the garland of roses which presses against thecenter from every side; and he puts the question:Who added to the cross the wreath of roses?

There they cling in a thick cluster of ruby petals,so that it looks as if the hard and rigid wood of thecross were soft and burgeoning with life, as if thedead wood had burst forth into these living roses!Do we see here an oblique comparison of the RoseCross with Aaron’s rod that budded, or with theblossoming thorn o£ Glastonbury, which wastaken from the Holy Land as a dry staff and plant-ed in England, where it blossoms on ChristmasEve?

Take note that Brother Mark’s question is not:Who added to the cross the rose, or roses? but:Who added to the cross the wreath of roses

Several great families of Europe possessedcoats-of-arms which included roses, cross, andstar, separately or together; and when these fami-lies endowed schools or colleges, these also wereallowed the privilege of using the family emblem,or a variant of it, which thus constituted a sort of“seal” of noble or kingly approval.

The family of Valentin Andreas (who, it is said,claimed in a posthumously published article thathe had written the Fama Fraternitatis at the age ofsixteen)* has as its coat-of-arms the St. Andrew’scross (X) with four roses, one in each angle of thecross. The golden rose of Eleanor of Aquitainedescended to her son Richard Lion-Heart, whichhe combined with the red cross of St. George; andlater we come upon the red and white roses ofLancaster and York directly descended from this.Families in Italy, as well as in Germany, whosecoats-of-arms bore the rose insignia in one form oranother, might also be mentioned. The rose sym-bolism implicit in Dante’s Paradiso is too wellknown to need discussion here, but it is well to

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note that the Fama Fraternitatis first appeared asan appendix to the 1614 edition of Boccalini’ssatiric work The Universal Reformation ofMankind. Because Martin Luther had includedrose and cross in his coat-of-arms*, which wastherefore the principal insignia of the Reformation,the Catholic hierarchy looked upon allRosicrucians as “Lutherans”—as Andreas assured-ly was. The Confessio Fraternitatis appeared in1615, and the last of the three Manifestoes, theChemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, in1616, the year of Shakespeare’s death.

Three years after Shakespeare’s death thereappeared in England a work published by RobertFludd, in which he described the Rose Cross as theplain Latin cross with a rose at the center, standingupon a pyramid of three steps. This seems to havebeen adapted as the emblem of a new Rose CroixDegree of Masonry about the middle of the eigh-teenth century, coinciding with the period ofGoethe’s birth.

But why do we now find the wreath added to thecross? “Who added to the cross the wreath ofroses?”

Observe that the German word for wreath orgarland is kranz, which also means crown; and wesee that Goethe may have had in mind the famousBook M (“On the Secret Forces of Nature”), trans-lated by Father C.R.C. from the Arabic, accordingto the legend. The book is supposed to have beenlost, but we learn that John Heydon, anotherEnglish Rosicrucian, in his book The Wise Man’sCrown or, Glory of the Rose Cross, published in1664, says that this work is a faithful copy of theBook M belonging to Christian Rosenkreuz.

A new wave of Rosicrucianism swept Europe in1710 and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the NewWorld; and we can observe its European floweringin the young Wolfgang von Goethe, who was bornin 1749, and whose youth thus paralleled the newdynamic and revolutionary impulse emanatingfrom the ancient Order. It is precisely in thewreath, or the Book M, that the key to Goethe’swork is to be found; and not only Goethe’s workbut that of all succeeding messengers of theRosicrucian Order of the nineteenth and twentiethcenturies, most of whom did not announce them-

selves as such but are known by their fruits.The rose-garlanded cross appears first in world

literature in Goethe’s The Mysteries, heralding notmerely the dawn but the bright day of a new scien-tific-spiritual revelation.

*******As our pilgrim, Brother Mark, gazes in rapt con-

templation of the mysterious emblem high upliftedbefore him, winds from the peak drive the hover-ing silver clouds across the heavens, and againsttheir motion the cross and roses seem to be mov-ing, to be flying, upward!

Out of the midst of the wreath, from the centralpoint of the cross, a sudden beam of light shinesforth. This is no ordinary light, no reflected beamof the sun or any such mundane thing. It is a streamof living light, sacred, holy, and it is threefold,flowing from the central point, pressing out fromthe central point, in three separate beams. Goethedoes not say that these three beams form a triangle;but they do, obviously, represent the divine Trinity,and in sacred art the Trinity is always representedby the triangular halo: “Goal is Light.” Andwe recall the custom of writing ChristianRosenkreuz’s initials thus: C... R... C...

The Cross stood densely hung about with roses!Who added roses to the Cross?The garland of roses swelled, spread on all sidesTo surround the hard wood with softness.

Light silvery clouds soared,Rose upward with Cross and roses,And from the center sparang holy life—A threefold ray from a single point.

Of course we may, if we want to be very prosa-ic and literal-minded, suppose that Goethe isdescribing a lamp or lantern which thus sends outits patterned beams into the gathering desk; andindeed, in Rosicrucian legend the Ever-burningLamp of Father C.R.C. is very much in evidence,symbolical at a glance of the unquenchable fire ofTruth.

Here, however, there is something more added.This is the placement of the Light at the midpointof the cross, at the central point, within the wreath.

Philosophically, the point refers to the Monad,

6 RAYS 04

from which all creation presses outward into man-ifestation from increate spirit. The metaphysics ofthis symbolism would require a treatise to itself.Suffice it to say that mathematically all of the geo-metric figures are in a sense “pressed out” from the“point,” which has position but no magnitude; thepoint becoming the line, the line the plane, theplane the solid. The point pressed out in everydirection becomes the sphere. The point, circle,and sphere represent God, whose center iseverywhere and circumference nowhere.

The point is also, in humanity, the VirginSpirit, commonly termed theMonad in all modern philoso-phy, which is triune in essence,just as Deity is, in whose image it ismade. In the Kabbala the point is theYod, the smallest letter of the Hebrewalphabet, which is called the Workmanof Deity, the “Seed” of creation. It is nomore than a tiny bent flame on a micro-scopic stem. In the PythagoreanTetractys, the “dot” is this same Monad whichequates to the Yod.

But not a word surrounded the imageTo give the mystery sense and clarity.In the gathering dusk growing gray and grayer,The pilgrim stood, pondered, and felt himself

raised up.

By no words is the holy symbol surrounded tobring sense and clarity to the mystery. There itstands, raised high up over the portal, the threefoldbeam of living splendor pouring out of the CentralPoint, where the arms of the Cross intersect theupright. What significance has this point for theRosicrucian student today? It is precisely here thatthe single white rose is placed upon the Rose Crossfor esoteric and healing exercises, in the center ofthe red rose garland which hangs upon the cross.

The value of this becomes clear in the light ofwhat was told by a certain student who said that,on an evening when the healing meeting was beingheld at Mt. Ecclesia, he sat meditating, in the man-ner directed, on the Rose Cross which hangs on thewest wall of the Chapel. Suddenly the white rosedisappeared from his mental view and he found

himself gazing into a brilliant light, like a search-light, which sent out its beams into mental space,reaching toward infinity. This student had not readThe Mysteries, either in the original or in transla-tion, but the symbol spoke for him as it had spokenfor Goethe more than a century before.

Goethe does not, it is true, mention the Star, whichis conspicuous in the modern emblem; but this isimplicit in the beams of splendor emanating from

the Central Point, for it is at once apparent thatin the modern emblem the golden rays of the

Star are in fact shooting out from theCenter.

There is no writing, noinscription, nothing to indicate the

significance of the emblem asBrother Mark sees it, and this reminds

us of Plato’s words “...about the subjectsI seriously study...there does not exist,nor will there ever exist, any treatise ofmine dealing therewith. For it does notat all admit of verbal expression like

other studies, but, as a result of continued applica-tion to the subject itself and communion therewith,it is brought to birth in the soul on a sudden, aslight that is kindled by a leaping spark, and there-after nourishes itself.”

Goethe furnishes no further details of the ancientemblem than those here described. He does notdescribe the color of the cross, which one mustassume is simply “woodcolor” from what is said.The garland or crown is described, but with nospecific number of roses mentioned; and there issome possibility that ‘he envisioned the rose planttwining about the entire cross, although the rosescluster about the intersection of the arms, orCentral Point.

Raised high above the portal of the monastery,the emblem would be the last to receive the rays ofthe sun as it sank behind the mountain peak.

Such is the Mystery which Brother Mark rever-ently contemplated as the twilight grew ever deep-er and greyer about him.

At last, when already the high stars are turningtheir bright eyes down to him, he knocks at thedoor. (Continued) p

—Ann Barkhurst

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EASTER IS THE TIME when the glo-rification of transmutation is at its sub-limest. It is the season when Natureproves conclusively that “there is nodeath,” for life is prevalent everywhere;

as the light appears to come forth from the darkness,so life emerges from the apparent dead. That whichis within is transmuted, proceeding upward and out-ward to express itself. The ascension of the lifeforce manifests as creation: thus we see myriads ofnew forms coming into existence at the season ofspring.

Christ arises to the Father at Easter, the time ofresurrection or transmutation, and we, too, maycome in touch with the Father through the Son bychanging our vibrations, transmuting our life force,responding to the Divine call, placing ourselves inharmony with that wonderful tone. Thus we willexperience in a small measure the power of love thatirresistibly draws the child to the Father, the part tothe whole, the spark to the flame.

We have heard much of the transformation of theapostles from weaklings to spiritual warriors, fromslaves of fear to masters of courage, but of the storyof the woman who accomplished this great chargealone through her great love, untiring zeal, and mag-nificent courage, little has been written or appears inthe histories of the world.

As the coming age will be the age of woman, thisstory of one who arose from the depths of degrada-tion to the spiritual heights may perhaps help somein their hours of darkness, and others who wouldclimb higher, even as the flower lifts itself to thelight. The present is the outcome of the past, there-fore greater things can be done now than were pre-viously accomplished. To achieve and maintain cor-rect balance of head and heart—flooding the men-

tality with the radiance of the heart’s love, the greattransmuter—becomes our goal.

* * * * *In the days of the distant past, when the empire of

Parthia alone remained in its splendor, unconqueredby the armies of Caesar, stretching from the valleyof the Indus to the Euphrates, from Iberia in thenorth to the Persian Gulf in the south, whenVonones was king of that wonderful nation of horse-men who rode to battle without saddles, clad in theirscaled armor, striking terror into the hearts of thesoldiers of Rome, there came to the new city ofHatra, Balthazar, the Magian.

This new city of Hatra which lay in the upper partof the land between Two Rivers, was built in theform of a circle whose diameter extended over threemiles, and had four entrance gates and two detachedforts on hills, commanding the approach to the cityfrom the east and north. It was the beginning of alarge, fortified city that was to be, and which laterplayed a prominent part when the wars with Romewere renewed. Here the palace of the Parthianemperor was being constructed, and there not faraway stood the Temple of the Sun, famous and cel-ebrated for the value of its accumulated offerings.

It was with some difficulty that Balthazar foundthe home of his old friend, Pacorus, in the new city,after his long and tiresome journey. However, thewarmth and hospitality with which he was receivedswept away his fatigue. After he had washed andrefreshed himself, and. partaken of the eveningmeal, he turned to Pacorus, who was eagerly wait-ing to hear the result of his travels in the west.

The tale of his journey to Bethlehem of Judea, thefinding of the Prince of the World, the Deliverer ofMankind, was told in a soft voice with reverenceand love, as the evening twilight stole gently across

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The Transmutation

MYSTIC LIGHT

this Land of Magic. To Pacorus, listening, came anewborn love of sweetness and admiration as hepictured the finding of the Babe whose coming thestars had so clearly foretold.

Pacorus, the stately scholar, was clad in a long,flowing robe of silk, the dress of the Medes, underwhich was his white tunic of pure linen. Around hisneck was a wonderfully designed collar of gold overwhich fell his black hair in straight locks. It was thedress of a Parthian noble, yet, the winged circle ofgold on his breast proclaimed him a follower ofZoroaster, a worshipper of the God of Purity andLight.

“ I am glad thy search hath given thee such a richreward,” said he, “and am pleased to share thy hap-piness, but sorrow hath fallen upon my house sincelast we were together. My wife, Vasda, died whilegiving birth to a child whom you shall now see—astrange and unusual child!”

He led the way to a room that overlooked theTemple of the Sun, a room having walls decoratedwith silk of different hues of yellow, while tiles ofamber composed the ceiling which was studdedwith stones of an orange hue. There asleep upon alittle bed lay the babe of Pacorus.

A tone of sadness crept into his voice as he con-tinued: “My little girl will be a child of sorrow andsuffering, for when she was born, the sign of theSerpent was rising, and at the highest point of theheavens I saw the new red star draw to a conjunc-tion with our blue one in the sign of the Lion. Withno mother to love and care for her, she is indeedunfortunate, and oftentimes into the babe’s eyesseems to came the look of the Evil One, Ahriman.Therefore my heart is heavy.”

“Stay, my friend,” said Balthazar. “Thou knowesthow hard it is for us to read the thoughts of theEternal, yet I tell thee that some day thy child shallbe foremost among women. She will break this spelland become a child of the King. She shall indeedhave the wisdom of the Serpent, but not before shehas felt its sting.”

As if in gratitude for this prophecy, the little oneopened her dark eyes and stretched her arms out tohim. With great tenderness the Wise Man took herup, and she who seemed to understand, clasped herchubby arms around his neck and hid her face uponhis shoulder. This token of love warmed the heart of

the traveler, for had he not seen the same sight atBethlehem with mother and Child? The thought ofwhat this motherless babe would be denied causedalook of pain to pass over his face. Truly, she mustbe a child of sorrow!

Time passed and the love between the Wise Manand the child grew. Often she would hear the storyof the Babe of Bethlehem and his mother, never tir-ing of asking questions. She demanded that she, too,be called Mary.

Then came the time when Balthazar took hisdeparture for Borsippa in Babylonia, and with itcame the beginning of the little maid’s knowledgeof sorrow. She had only her father left now, but hecontinued to instruct her in the wisdom of the Magi,which was the greatest teaching of the ancientworld.

This great religious science was composed ofthree branches: divination, incantation and astrolo-gy. The first class of Wise Men who practiced div-ination were called soothsayers; those whobelonged to the second class were the magicians orsorcerers; while the third class was represented bythe astrologers. Thus as this child grew up shebecame well versed in the arts of magic, but everwith her at certain times was the evil influence thatdirected her to use magic in the wrong way. Theknowledge of the secrets of Nature, the healingpower of fire, air, earth, and water, the beneficialstrength of herbs, possessed by Pacorus seemed ofno avail against the unknown force that at timestook possession of his child and caused him muchgrief.

As the years passed, Vonones, the Emperor, dis-pleased his nobles by trying to introduce intoParthia the western civilization, which he hadlearned at the court of Rome, and so he wasdethroned by Artabanus and Arsacid. In fleeing toArmenia, he attempted to carry off part of the trea-sure from the Temple of the Sum at Hatra. It wasthen that Pacorus lost his life, but saved the treasureof the Temple. Now his child, grown to a woman,was left all alone. The additional pain and sufferinghardened her heart, but her great pride hid this fromher neighbors. Always, those she loved were takenfrom her! Where now was the God of Love andPurity? Of what use was this magic she had learned,if she must suffer all her life? Then she remembered

RAYS 04 9

the Prince of Salvation, the Babe of Bethlehem.Could He save her? She would see this King of theJews! Selling all her possessions, she started for thatcountry to which Balthazar had traveled years before.

She journeyed with the merchants that traveledfrom Parthia to Rome, laden with silks and carpets,spices of bedillium, and the sweet-scented bulrush,but when they reached Damascus she was forced torest a while in those beautiful gardens and orchardsamid the thickets of myrrh and roses, and the cool,refreshing waters that made it the Garden of theWilderness. Then as she set forth again, she saw thesnowy ridges of Hermon in the distance, and pass-ing the Blue Waters of Merom, crossed the Jordanand came to the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida andCapernaum had no interest for her, but the plain ofGennesaret with its fruitfulness and beauty, its vine-yards and orchards, caused her to linger for a while.Then at the southern extremity of this plain shecame to the little village of Magdala.

She knew not why, but something compelled herto stay, to forget her mission, to build her homehere. She appeared to yield to the grip of the darkspirit that brooded over the region. To her, it seemedas if something deep and dark within responded tothis external power, this spirit that ruled over thedistrict, which forced her to abide here.

It was indeed an evil and wicked place, for, saidthe Jews: “How could it be otherwise with the hea-thenism of the north and the Samaritanism of thesouth?”

Under these conditions, she changed rapidly, theunseen force taking complete charge of her as shebecame one with it. Soon the inhabitants told of herwonderful house which became a little palace: ofthe coffers filled with rarest stuffs and sparklinggems, of vases of gold and silver, of the purple andsilk which adorned her walls, of her numerousattendants, and how she was in league with the evilspirits, working miracles through her incantationsand sorceries. The realization of her fascinatingpowers over all who came in contact with her addedto her womanly beauty, gave her a dangerous power,indeed. No wonder the Romans looked upon her asa divine person, a favorite of the gods.

Her attendants who saw her in moments of sad-ness, catching a gleam of a sudden, wild flash of hertearless eyes, said she was “possessed”; some said

her eyes became those of a serpent; yet others whohad seen those eyes assume a soft, mellow luster ofsweetness, worshipped her. She was a person ofmoods. At times her voice was rich and sweet as thetones of a lute, but when passion was aroused, itbecame more like the scream of a panther, strikingterror in the hearts of all who heard it. Thus she wasalternately loved and hated.

To her came the story of the miracle worker whocast out a legion of devils into the sea. If He wasable to do this, she reasoned, then He had a knowl-edge which surpassed hers, for she was not able toeject demons. She decided to see this stranger.

Coming to Tabor, she saw His disciples fail tocast out a demon from a young man, but immedi-ately when He appeared, the spirit was rebuked andfled. In answer to their question as to why theyfailed, He replied, “If ye have faith, nothing isimpossible.”

“Faith in whom,” asked the woman fromMagdala. “Would that I had this faith, for it is apower over the Prince of Darkness himself.”

“Faith in the living God,” replied the Master, ashe bent His piercing gaze upon her, from which shewithdrew.

From the people round about she learned that thisteacher was the Messiah, the King of the Jews, andthe Babe of Bethlehem that Balthazar had traveledso far to see, the chosen of God, the King of Israel.Where was His court, His army, princes and nobles?No! It could not be. And she went away in sorrowand disappointment.

Yet there was no more peace in her palace, for shehad contacted that which irresistibly drew her backagain to Him. It was at Nain she again saw thepower of this man in restoring life to the apparentdead. Then she became aware of some mysticalpower that gave her happiness only when she was inthe presence of this Teacher; His very voice wasmusic to her.

It was in the house of a Pharisee that, in order tobe near Him, she performed the duties of a servant.Here in a long robe of white Tyrian silk, borderedwith gold and embroidered with pearls, aroundwhich was fastened at the waist a flowing scarf cov-ered with gems of various colors, while jewelsadorned her ears and arms, and a wonderful neck-lace of sapphires rested on her breast, she placed

10 RAYS 04

herself at the Master’s feet. Throwing off her richturban of white silk edged with gold, causing herluxuriant hair to fall over her shoulders and shapelyneck, she took the sandals from off His feet.

Then a strange thing happened. Suddenly, like thebreaking of an immense dam and the pouring forthof powerful waters upon the countryside, so came agreat torrent of tears which shook her whole body.The hardness of her heart had been smitten, and theredeeming waters gushed forth in a sweeping flood.That tremendous pressure that lad been increasingall her life was now released, and her dark, fascinat-ing eyes became fountains of tears which rolleddown her cheeks in sparkling splendor, bathing herSaviour’s feet.

With her rich, glossy tresses she wiped his feet,kissing them in thankfulness for her freedom.Taking from her bosom a costly and highly per-fumed ointment, she bathed His feet with this fluid.

The words of the Master, “Thy sins are forgiven.Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace,” were morethan she could understand, but, the dark spirits thathad reigned in her breast were gone; a peace andcalm came over her troubled soul, like the soft andsoothing rays of the moon on a midsummer’s night.Gone were the wild fiery flashes of her demonizedeyes; in them now rested the soft and gentle glanceof heavenly love. From a child of darkness she hadbecome a child of light; the serpent had become theangel; the follower of Lucifer had become the disci-ple of Christ.

Mary returned to Magdala, but now how differentwas her life! She now understood the transmutationof her inner power when put to right use. No dangercould terrify her, no trial or sacrifice could disheart-en her. From that time on the true devotion, loftybearing, and inflexible integrity which she pos-sessed became an inspiration to others. The extentand purity of her love was so great that it is no won-der she received the marks of honor from the Lord.

Her palace was sold and her attendants invited tocome with her as she followed in the steps of theMaster.

Though witnessing His suffering and humiliation,though present at His trials, and scourging, andmockings, yet never for one moment did she falterin her attachment. Alone she stood when all theapostles fled in the Garden; with John she stood at

Calvary, and there again her tears washed His feet,while the blood that fell from His pierced side sprin-kled her person. In the darkness and earthquake shewas still by His side, standing fearless as an angel ofLight to watch her crucified Lord. With Joseph andNicodemus she laid His body to rest. Is it to he won-dered at that, as a reward for her faithfulness in love,the Risen Lord appeared first to her?

Mary of Magdala was present at Pentecost, andlater comforted the Virgin Mother. She accompa-nied the beloved disciple to Ephesus, where underDomitian persecution he was banish Patmos and shewas sent to the stake.

With a firm and undaunted step, she movedthrough the crowd to her death and in accents softand sweet we hear her voice: “For Thee, dearChrist!”

A woman burned at the stake was seen,A child of love and light; Behold! Mary the Magdalene,A red rose turned to white. p

—Reginald Oakley

RAYS 04 11

St. M

ary Magdalene, ©

Anna M

ay McC

allum

AM O N G the many statements in theWestern Wisdom Teachings thatbear much valuable spiritual fruitwhen taken into meditation is thisparticularly significant one: “The

use of words to express thought is the highesthuman privilege and can be exercised only by areasoning, thinking entity like man.”

“The use of words to express thought. “What aprivilege, indeed—and also what a responsibility.As the apostle James tells us: “Therewith bless weGod, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,which are made after the similitude of God.” Truly,speech is a two-edged sword, and it is our privilegeand responsibility to motivate our words with log-ical and reasoned thought so that their greatestpower may be unleashed.

Ralph Waldo Emerson reminded us that “Speechis power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to com-pel.” The Rosicrucian Initiate-inspiredShakespeare left us a golden treasury of words andmemorable aphorisms about words, such as: “Onedoth not know how much an ill word may empoi-son liking,” and “These words are razors to mywounded heart.” Percy Bysshe Shelley, from anillumined poet consciousness, wrote, “We knownot what we do when we speak words.” Cicero,brave statesman of the pre-Christian era in Rome,said “We should be as careful of our words as ofour actions, and as far from speaking ill as fromdoing ill.” John Dryden, a seventeenth centuryEnglish poet, gave us this gem:

Speech is the light, the morning of the mind;It spreads the beauteous images abroad,Which else lie furl’d and shrouded in the soul.

Certainly there is no power exercised by the

indwelling human Spirit that has a more directlyspiritual origin or that has a higher destiny thanthat of the spoken word, and consequently there isno lesson more essential for the spiritual aspirant tolearn than that of using his words constructively.

There is also probably no power so freely andthoughtlessly misused as the spoken word. Manypeople dissipate this force by aimless chatter abouttrivial things; others pervert it by consciouslyseeking, as in the case of the designing Iago inShakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, to sully the“good name” of another:

Good name in man and woman, dear my Lord,Is the immediate jewel of their souls:Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something,

nothing;‘Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to

thousands;But he that filches from me my good nameRobs me of that which not enriches himAnd makes me poor indeed.

Criticism, itself a double-edged sword, is proba-bly the most freely practiced misuse of thoughtsand words that human beings are guilty of.Concerning the value and detriment of criticism,Max Heindel writes that “Constructive criticism,which points out defects and the means of remedy-ing them, is the basis of progress, but destructivecriticism, which vandalistically demolishes goodand bad alike without aiming at any higher attain-ment, is an ulcer on the character and must beeradicated.” He also adds that “gossip and talebearing are clogs and hindrances,” and that weshould avoid harsh thoughts not only because theyharm ourselves, but because they form arrowlike

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The Highest Human Privilege

MYSTIC LIGHT

thought forms, which, passing out-ward from us, “pierce and obstructthe inflow of good thoughts con-stantly radiated by the Elder Brothersand attracted by all good men.”

The student of the WesternWisdom Teachings learns that “inancient Lemuria language was some-thing holy. It was not a dead lan-guage like ours—a mere orderlyarrangement of sounds. Each sounduttered by the Lemurian had powerover his fellow beings, over the ani-mals, and even over Nature aroundhim. Therefore, under the guidanceof the Lords of Venus, who weremessengers of God—the agents ofthe Creative Hierarchies—the powerof speech was used with great reverence, as some-thing holy...It was never abused or degraded bygossip or small talk.”

Later on, in Atlantis, the rudiments of a languagecame into being. The Atlanteans “evolved wordsand no longer made use of mere sounds, as did theLemurians. The Rmoahals began to give names tothings. They were yet a spiritual race and, theirsoul powers being like the forces of Nature, theynot only named the objects around them, but intheir words was power over the things they named.Like the last of the Lemurians, their feelings asSpirits.. inspired them, and no harm was ever doneto one another. To them language was holy, as thehighest direst expression of the Spirit. The powerwas never abused or degraded by gossip or smalltalk. By the use of definite language the soul in hisrace first became able to contact the soul of thingsin the outside world.”

Since evolution proceeds on a spiral, conditionsand faculties that have existed in the past are con-stantly reappearing, though always in a higherform. This is true of speech. The power of the spo-ken word used by the Lemurians has been lost dur-ing our descent into matter, with its accompanyingselfishness and cruelty. However, one of the objectsof our evolution is that we regain the word of powerand use it consciously and independently to create.

During the early part of our present Great Day of

Manifestation, while the Earth was still a part ofthe Sun, man was supplied by the solar forces withall the sustenance he needed, “and he uncon-sciously radiated the surplus for the purpose ofpropagation. When the Ego entered into posses-sion of its vehicles it became necessary to use partof this force for the building of the brain and lar-ynx...Thus the dual creative force which had hith-erto worked in only one direction for the purposeof creating another being, became divided. Onepart was directed upward to build the brain and lar-ynx, by means of which the Ego was to becomecapable of thinking and communicating thoughtsto other beings.”

However, the brain, at best, is only. an indirectmethod of gaining knowledge, and it is destined tobe superseded by an inner knowing much higherthan the present brain consciousness.When thatstage is attained, as it has, been by the Adepts,man’s spiritualized and perfected larynx will againspeak “the lost word,” the “Creative Fiat,” which,under the guidance of great Teachers, was used inancient Lemuria in the creation of plants and ani-mals.

Man’s speech is thus a microcosmic manifesta-tion of the same power that is expressed by theMacrocosm, God, in creating a universe. It is anexpression of the divine Creative Power of Godinherent in every human being. We are made in His

RAYS 04 13

Oil on canvas, Jacopo Tintoretto (1519-1594), Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice

The Creation of the AnimalsThe artist presents a figurative version of a Day in creation where the Word“speaks” living forms into being. As all creatures partake of qualities of theircreator, the dynamism of the Logos is echoed in the movement of animals.

spiritual image, and obviously the developedpotentialities of such a power are not to be entrust-ed to one who would use them selfishly or destruc-tively. Hence only those who show themselvesworthy of the possession of this power by con-structively using it during their training period oflife-days here on Earth can ever attain its fulldevelopment. We may well give pause when werealize how lightly we regard this potentially mightyforce we possess as gods-in-the-making, and howwe reveal our true spiritual status to the HigherOnes by the speech we use and the way we use it.

The wise aspirant, fully aware of the divine ori-gin of speech, recognizes it as a. most practicalmeans for attaining spiritual unfoldment. Hechooses his words carefully, and strives to speakonly with altruistic purpose so that his words maybe imbued with the power of the Christ—the Love-Wisdom power of God.

We are taught that “In the Jupiter Period an ele-ment of a spiritual nature will be added (to the fourthat already exist: fire, earth, air, and water), whichwill unite with the speech so that words will invari-ably carry with them understanding—not misun-derstanding, as is frequently the case now. Forinstance, when one says ‘house,’ he may mean acottage, while the hearer may get the idea of a ten-ement flat building.”

“When a man of the Jupiter Period says ‘red’ orspeaks the name of an object, a clear and exactreproduction of the particular shade of red of whichhe is thinking, or of the object to which he refers,will be presented to his inner vision and will alsobe quite visible to the hearer. There will be no mis-conception as to what is meant by the words spoken.”

Self-discipline is the watchword of every sincereaspirant, and since speech dissipates energy, hedisciplines himself to maintain moderation ofspeech, thereby conserving his energy. He particu-larly disciplines himself to be silent in the presenceof harrowing circumstances. Neither evil, persecu-tion, nor suffering moves him to excessive speech.

The vigilant aspirant wastes no time in verbalcomplaints and sorrowful demonstrations, butsends forth his love energy from the heart to thoseabout him, ever striving to speak and do only thatwhich is helpful. By expressing faith, confidence,

and appreciation to others, he encourages them onthe Way, and above all, he is cheerful and happy ashe willingly serves, ignoring the criticism of othersin forgetfulness of self and confidence in the Godwithin.

Eventually, the time will come when he, too,will join the ranks of those illumined ones whohave attained to the spiritual heights of Divinitythat manifests by means of the Spoken Word ofPower. p

—Perl Amelia Williams

14 RAYS 04

The Habit of Perfection

ELECTED Silence, sing to me And beat upon my whorlèd ear, Pipe me to pastures still and be The music that I care to hear.

Shape nothing, lips; be lovely-dumb: It is the shut, the curfew sent From there where all surrenders come Which only makes you eloquent.

Be shellèd, eyes, with double dark And find the uncreated light: This ruck and feel which you remark Coils, keeps and teases simple sight.

Palate, the hutch of tasty lust, Desire not to be rinsed with wine: The can must be so sweet, the crust So fresh that come in fasts divine!

Nostrils, your careless breath that spend Upon the stir and keep of pride, What relish shall the censers send Along the sanctuary side!

O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet That want the yield of plushy sward, But you shall walk the golden street, And you unhouse and house the Lord.

And, Poverty, be thou the brideAnd now the marriage feast begun,And lily-coloured clothes provideYour spouse not laboured-at, nor spun.

—Gerard Manley Hopkins

AS SPIRITUAL aspirants, we seek toimprove our faculty of judgment, inthe sense of “discernment” or “dis-crimination.” Conversely, we seekto overcome any tendency to judge

our brethren—“judge” in this context meaning “tocriticize” or “condemn.” Judgment as employed inthe second sense is under consideration here.

The New Testament makes clear and urges thevirtue of non-judgment: “Let us not thereforejudge one another anymore: But judge this rather,that no man put a stumbling block or an occasionto fall in his brother’s way” (Rom, 14:13).

The irony of judgment is that it perpetuates theact it judges and, by its censure and verdict ofrepudiation, it reinforces that which it might havewished to balance out or obliterate. To bring judg-ment against an action by punishing or persecutingthe actor strengthens the injustice and makes theprosecutors equally, if not more, guilty of violationand negativity. Punitive “justice” is a perniciousdownward-cycling of offense. Illegal offenses arenot neutralized by legal offense waged against the“malefactor.” Murder in passion is not adjusted bythe certified murder known as capital punishment.

Life is holy and whole. All that would tendtoward separation is sin. The lex talionis moralityof “eye for eye” would reduce human life to noth-ing, for there is none without sin. The accuser, thefault-finder, would do well to take to heart thewords of Christ Jesus: “He that is without sinamong you, let him first cast a stone” (John 8: 7).Rather, if thine eye offend thee—that is, if one per-ceives offense—pluck out the eye. In other words,

there is nothing unclean of itself, but if we deem itto be, so is it. (Rom. 14:14) Let us first attend tothe beam in our own eye before we fault the otherfor the mote in his eye.

This mechanism, whereby we see our own errorsand inner conditions generally as objectified andproceeding from others, is termed “projection” inclinical psychology. The science of Spiritdescribes it as “seeing through the aura.” If ourown desire and mental atmospheres are murky andagitated, we see through a glass darkly; we see dis-tortions, and we locate negativities in our sur-roundings. When our auras are bright and clear,when we exist in and express love, optimism, andharmony, then we see “face to face.” We discernthe good, the noble, and the true in others, for thesequalities condition our own beings. Their highvibratory nature discloses similar vibrations andcreates immunity to the influences of dark, selfish,and coarse elements in our environment.

To judge with an eye to condemnation is to seewith the physical eye only, to see the outer, the obvi-ous, the literal, the superficial, to see, ultimately, thetransitory. Thus, of the exoteric mind it is said, “having

RAYS 04 15

Justice and Judgment

MYSTIC LIGHT

Christ the Judge

Fresco, detail of the vault of the S

tanza dell’Incendio,Pietro P

erugino, Vatican, R

ome

eyes to see, they see not” (Matt. 13:13-14). The greatereffort we make to see spiritually, the more we shallunderstand what we see and have no need for judg-ment, condemnation, and alienation. Judgmentdeclares: “I am not what I see. I would separate itfrom me, cancel it out, kill it.” But this process ofdenial energizes the object of judgment, which is athought in the judge’s own mind. The salutary solu-tion is to comprehend all content of consciousnessbut to let the negative be, honoring it with no ener-gy of denial or requital, although always affirmingand reinforcing the positive contentof awareness.

From another angle, “judge not,lest ye also be judged.” Or again,“with what measure ye mete, soshall it be measured unto you”(Rom. 14:13). All sin and error arethe expressions of ignorance.Thus, one who knows fully doesnot express anger with those wholive ignorantly, for that knowledgeincludes loving. Therefore, thosewho live in darkness and errorevoke understanding and pathos inthe compassionate Spirit. For thisreason, Christ Jesus would havegathered the people of Jerusaleminto the circle of His solicitude asa mother hen gathers her flock under her wings.For this reason, also, did Christ Jesus petition fromHis cross of agony: “Father, forgive them, for theyknow not what they do.” If they had known, theywould not have done it.

All actions carry with them, germinally, butimplicitly, their own consequences; they are, infact, their own judgments. Man need not set him-self up as “impartial” judge and arbiter of anoth-er’s acts and destiny. To do this simply points tothe arrogance and ignorance of him who deemshimself so qualified. “I speak to your shame. Is itso, that there is not a wise man among you? No,not one that shall be able to judge between hisbrethren....Why do ye not rather take wrong? Whydo ye not suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” (ICor. 6:5, 7) Christ Jesus suffered the judgment ofdeath. He took and takes the wrong of humanity on

His blameless person, that man’s planetary com-plicity might be annulled and that man might live,not by law, but by love.

As a further implication of judgment, we maysay that constant self-criticism frustrates spiritualdevelopment. Paul writes that he judges not him-self (2Cor. 4:3) and even less heeds he the judg-ment of men. Yet we know that the man who diesdaily is more demanding of his conduct, speech,and interior life than is his harshest critic. Heanswers not to the judgment of men, but to that of

God. He does not pretend to knowGod’s judgment, other than byprofessing and preferring God’sinfinite Love in the Being ofChrist Jesus, Who gave Grace andLife to man in return for sin anddefiance.

Let us be honest, if not bold, andspare ourselves unnecessary self-deprecation and the pretension ofpersonal judgment. Legitimatemoments for impersonal self-observation and remorse may bereserved for nightly retrospectionof the day’s events. We shouldrealize that much that passes forpious self-criticism is a subtleform of self-love, whereby one is

special by dint of particular faults or inabilities thataccount for failure. Self-judgment then becomes,in effect, self-justification.

Let our own persons be the sole objects of ourjudging, and that with a mind to self-improvementrather than pity or moribund self-disparagement.We would do well to remember that our moral eyesare focused on the mortal man, the lower self, inorder to raise it, transmute it, and align it with ourhigher natures. Our constructive self-analysis isdirected to reflecting and expressing our innatedivinity in our lower vehicles, making of themclear vessels that they might fully reveal and mag-nify the Love, Light, and Life of the God within.Finally, we may bear in mind the words of Christ

“I came not to judge the world but to save theworld” (John 12:47). p

—Carl Weaver

16 RAYS 04

RETROSPECTIF words be crystal goblets,What have I served in mine?The milk of human kindness,Or gossip’s giddy wine?

The bitter brew of satire,An acid sip of wit,Or did I seek with honeyTo flatter, just a bit?

And what of those left empty?With rash, unlovely soundThey struck a golden momentAnd dashed it to the ground.

—A. Nolten

FOR COUNTLESS agesthe wand has been usedas a symbol of the mys-tic arts. Far back inEgypt and Chaldea the

magicians of the temples carriedwith them the staffs of their arts,consecrated upon the altars of theirgods, and frequent references aremade in the Bible to the wands orrods of Aaron and Moses and ofthe magicians of Egypt. In the NewTestament we find mention of thereed by which the Temple wasmeasured, and we are also told thatthe Christ was a branch of Jesse.

In the accompanying illustrations we see threewands or staffs which are now but relics of sup-posedly forgotten superstitions.

Figure A represents the wand which in children’sfairy stories performs strange and wonderful mar-vels when in the hands of elves and fairies. It isbest described as a long ebony stick with a fairystar at the upper end. Modern magicians use thiswand in their performances, omitting the star.Sometimes these wands are of plain wood (aboutfifteen inches long), while the more elaborate oneshave metal or ivory tips. The stage magician oftoday little dreams that he carries one of the mostsacred symbols in all the world, for the key to themeaning of the magic wand has been lost. The staffis symbolical of the spinal column of man, and thisis the true wand of the magicians: for it is throughthe power within this column that so-called mira-cles are performed. The star of light at the upper

end of the staff is nothing more norless than the flame that burns eter-nally at the upper end of the lampof the true alchemist. This tinyflame is fed by the pure oil of thetransmuted life force.

Figure B shows us a wand that issaid to have been used bySolomon, the king of the Israelites.and upon it are inscribed in thecelestial languages sacred namesand words. This drawing is takenfrom “The Keys of Solomon, theKing,” a rare manuscript in theBritish Museum. It bears the samesymbolism as the first, represent-

ing a hollow tube through which the forces of lifeplay in an ascending and a descending stream.

Figure C shows us still another type of wand,this one made to represent a snake. It is said thatduring the Middle Ages when magic and sorceryrose to a tremendous height, strange rites and ritu-als were performed under the direction of hiero-phants, who carried this snake wand made of flex-ible wood; during the ceremony the wand wasbent, and the tail of the snake was placed betweenits teeth. The serpent has for thousands of yearsbeen the symbol of the spirit fire in man, whichwas known to the ancients as the serpent power.

With this slight introduction we will take up thestudy of the wands and serpents as we find them inthe Bible. First let us consider the serpent ofGenesis. We have gone over a number of famouspaintings where the Fall of Man was the theme,and in nearly every case the snake is represented as

RAYS 04 17

Wands and

MYSTIC LIGHT

Serpents

A. B. C.

Figure 1.

coiled around a tree, head downward. In the major-ity of cases the artist probably did not understandthe mystery he portrayed, but in reality the down-ward-turned serpent is the key to the problem. Theserpent of Genesis is the down-going spinal fire,sent thus by Jehovah to build form. The result ofthe going downward of this force was crystalliza-tion and the awakening of the passion centerslocated at the base of the spine. This crystallizationso lowered man’s vibration that he was nolonger able to remain in the ethericEden but was cast out or fell, and thesword of passion (the flame ofpurification) stood between himand the world from which hefell.

In the same way man’s lifetoday is a contest between thehigher and lower principles.When the spiritual powers are cen-tered in the emotion and passions,man starts into action the force thatinevitably result in crystallization anddeath. But when he lifts them upthrough altruism and service, the spir-itual fire flows upward and creates thefive-pointed star which heralds thecoming of the Christ within himself.

In Figure 2 we see the two serpents, oneblack and the other white,which were used by theancients to symbolize thistwofold use of the spiritpower. That which tends atour stage of evolution to drawthese powers downwardthrough selfishness and ego-tism is on the path of the blackserpent, while the traits withinourselves in which altruism predominates raise thespirit powers upward through the white serpentand finally liberate the spiritual consciousness.

Now let us consider the story of how the rodswere turned to serpents in the court of Pharaoh, aswe find it recorded in the 7th chapter of Exodus:“And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, andthey did so as the Lord had commanded; and

Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, andbefore his servants, and it became a serpent. ThenPharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcer-ers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did inlike manner with their enchantments. For they castdown every man his rod, and they became ser-pents, but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”

For many generations Egypt had stood for blackmagic and evil. This is in accord with occult teach-

ings, for we know that the ancientEgyptians were the remnants of the still

older Atlanteans, and that Atlantissank because black magic had sup-

planted the white forces, and theGreat Ones who were guidingthe destinies of men were forcedto take those who remained trueout of the world of darkness and

onward to the promised land. Theserpent of the black magicians of

Egypt, called up by invocation andthrough negative processes, represents

the lower passions and desires withwhich the black forces are even todayfilling the world through the mediumof thoughtless persons who allow their

emotions and desires to master them.The serpent of Aaron, developed as com-

manded by the Lord, corresponds to thewhite serpent or transmutedspirit fire, the wand of the ini-tiate which eats up (transmutesrather than kills) the lowerforces of the black magicians.

In Kundry, that wonderfulcharacter in the opera ofParsifal, the girl dressed inthe skins of snakes, we findanother symbol of the serpent

power or spirit fire, for the word Kundry is evident-ly taken from Kundalini, which means a sleepingserpent. While undeveloped or under the spell ofevil it serves the black forces, but when transmut-ed it is true to the Knights of the Grail.

There came a time when it was necessary forman to lift the spiritual consciousness which hadbeen sent downward to develop form, and this we

18 RAYS 04

Figure 2.This figure, known variously as the doubleuroboros or lemniscate, is a symbol of eternity.The serpent is true to the principle of wisdom,for it tempts man to the knowledge of himself.The tree that grows in the Garden of Eden is thespinal fire, knowledge of which is the gift of thegreat serpent. The serpent “is the symbol andprototype of the Universal Savior, who redeemsthe worlds by giving creation the knowledge ofitself and the realization of good and evil.”

find explained in the story of the brazen serpentwhich Moses raised up in the wilderness. In Figure3 we see an ancient alchemic drawing which rep-resents this serpent of Moses. The ancient Hebrewword used to signify a serpent in this part of theBible can also be translated savior. There is a con-nection between this serpent which was raised, andthe Christ principle which is represented by thecrowned serpent.

From the standpoint of the occult student there isprobably no more important explana-tion of spiritual unfoldment thanthat of the rod that budded. It issaid in some of the ancientbooks that the rod of Aaron,like the spear of Odin, was cutfrom the Tree of Life. Now letus consider the Tree of Life. It isthat great tree which is said to haveits roots in heaven and its branchesupon the earth. When we study thiscarefully we find that man is the rod ofAaron, which was cut from the Tree ofLife when his connection with thehigher worlds was severed that he mightbetter learn the lessons of individualresponsibility. The student who does notseek to carry his own burdens buttries to find others to do his work forhim is losing the great opportunity oflearning these lessons.

Man in his fallen state is symbol-ized by the dead stick in which thegerm of life is too weak to manifest.We know how in the early fall the sapof the tree goes to its roots and the tree appearsdead. It was the same with primitive man, for hislife forces were sent downward, and the staff cutfrom the Tree of Life, as far as its spiritual devel-opment was concerned, was dead. But when theChrist Spirit became indwelling in the earth, manbegan turning his egotism to altruism, and by thepower in his own life is helping to lift the spirit fireupward, contacting one by one the spiritual centersin the body. It nourishes them, and one by one theblossoms on the dead staff burst forth. One by onethe seven centers are awakened and become blos-

soms. The blossoms on the rod of Aaron corre-spond to the roses on the Rose Cross or the lotusblossoms of the East. As told in Tannhauser, whenthese flowers blossom forth we know that our sinshave been forgiven.

Many students of occult philosophy wonder whythe Great Ones do not come to them. This is notbecause of neglect. These students do not under-stand the mystery of the rod that blossoms and donot know that the higher ones on the invisible

planes are watching breathlesslyfor those whom they can use forthe betterment of humanity; thatthe way by which they identi-fy the purified candidate is notthrough his words but by the

blossoms on his staff or cross.These spiritual centers, when

awakened by right thinking andright action, are lights by which our

development is judged. The reason wedo not attract the higher ones is thatthere are no roses on our cross, and theyknow our purification is not complete.In the same way the black forces tell

by our negative development, which isthe reverse of the positive, when we are in

a position to be of service in thework of destruction. When we real-ize that we are the staff and that ourown development is the rod onwhich we must lean, then we betterunderstand the miracles performedby those who have raised the brazenserpent in the wilderness. When we

realize that it is the serpent power which brings tothe brain the vital energy with which we think, wealso realize what Christ meant when he said, “Beye wise as serpents”; and we also understand whyChrist was symbolized in the ancient mysteries asa serpent coiled around a staff, head upward.

So let us go through life with a firm resolve to solive that the rod within ourselves, cut from the Treeof Life and depending upon us for its development,will flower with the spiritual blossoms that tell ofMastership. p

—Manly P. Hall

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Figure 3.The Brazen Serpent raised byMoses in the Wilderness (thephysical body) was a prophe-cy of the crucified Man to comeand is an emblem to aid indi-vidual spiritual development.

WHAT’S THE TROUBLE,Brownleigh, the book or theweather?* It has been hot,deucedly hot, down town, butout here on the veranda, a big

rocker and a good book seem rather ideal to me.”“Sit down, Captain. It is fine out here after a

busy day in the city. A club house is a boon fortired, unattached business men. It was the book Iwas thinking about when you came. I suppose youhave seen it and possibly read parts of it. The thingI cannot understand is how a man, otherwise intel-ligent, sane, and logical, ever happened to getmixed up in this sort o—what would you call it—not rubbish or twaddle—inane, that’s the word; itis inane imaginings. What does the man expect togain by such writing? Surely he cannot hope tohave his readers take him seriously.”

Alfred Benson took the proffered book andturned several pages thoughtfully before replying.

“Sir William Henderson’s Son, Beckworth, I see.To a man of your beliefs and understanding I sup-pose this book is somewhat unintelligible. But tomyself and many others it has proven quite inter-esting and there are a number of men I could men-tion who consider it not only far from being inanebut a very long way from being at all impossible.”

“Captain, you talk as though you were one ofthose who are actually inclined to countenance thissort of stuff. I sincerely trust that being in the wardidn’t turn your head a bit, eh? You made a recordover there that we are all proud of, and you wentthrough hardships enough to kill half a dozen men,

and you may have your little joke with men if youlike, but don’t, I implore you, insinuate again thatyou take any stock in the kind of material withwhich this book is constructed.”

Captain Benson remained silent for somemoments.

“Ever do any investigating along psychic orspiritualistic lines, Brownleigh?”

“Lord, man, no! I’ve been too busy for such non-sense were I so inclined. I’m not even orthodox.I’ve been a sort of a student, and a good deal of athinker all my life. I’ve observed believers andnonbelievers, priests and preachers, deacons anddeaconesses, and I tell you, Captain, they are allalike. It is money and position everywhere. And itmakes mighty little difference to any of themwhere or how they get it, just so it as obtained.Gold is the idol of the whole world today. It is theonly thing that counts. Get it by some hook orcrook, and more often than not, it is crook, butonly be smooth enough, and get enough, and lo!presto change! you are a captain of industry andthe world lies groveling at your feet.”

“That is your viewpoint, Brownleigh. But youwere not in the war. You didn’t fight in ArgonneWoods. You are proud to designate yourself as ascoffer, a skeptic, materialist, and proclaim moneyas your God. But I want to tell you, my friend, thatthere are a vast number of boys in the world rightnow who know there is something bigger, higher,more worthy of attainment. There is more than oneboy in America today who wore the khaki overthere, that will tell you with white lips and batedbreath that the story of Mary’s Son is not a myth,that the Christ did walk between the trenches, that

20 RAYS 04

A Modern MagicianA Story of the World’s Greatest War—Soul Versus Self

MYSTIC LIGHT

*The plot for this story, written by Kittie Cowen, was pro-vided by Max Heindel.

He was there to succor, cheer, and sustain when theworld’s soul lay all but crucified in the bleedingforests of Argonne. To one whose eyes have seen,Brownleigh, such talk as yours is idle. I doubt not,however, that you are honest and sincere as far asyou have gone, but the trouble is that you haveonly gone in one direction. Now suppose youcease to theorize and speculate and do a little real,unbiased, firsthand investigating for yourself. Areyou willing to lay aside, for a time, all your pre-conceived ideas and give me an opportunity toprove to you that even now, at this moment, we arestanding on the very verge of a new order ofthings?”

“I have just told you that I have no faith in unre-alities. Nothing but the real thing appeals to me.”

“Well, who has asked you for an exhibition ofyour faith or evinced a desire that you believe inunrealities? I am asking you if you would like toknow? If you would, and will go about it inearnest, I think I can show you a few things thatwill surprise you enough to lift you quite out ofyour skepticism and give you something decided-ly out of the ordinary to think about.”

“What’s the idea, Captain?”“Your brains, your energy, and your ability. We

need just such men as you more than anything inthe world if you will only use what you get in theright way. You have the courage of your convic-tions, Brownleigh, and men like that are hard tofind. Three fourths of the world’s population arenot thinking at all. That requires too much effort ontheir part. They simply let the thoughts of theforceful few, be they good or bad, drift into theiridle brains, accept the usurpers as their own cre-ations, and move serenely along without even athought for the morrow. But that is getting awayfrom our subject. How about it, are you willing anddo you really care to do a little first-hand investi-gating with me?”

“Why, certainly, if you mean what you say in allseriousness. The whole proposition looks like ajoke tome, but I am willing to try anything once,Captain.”

“Very well. I am going to spend the evening witha friend. Be prepared to accompany me. We willleave here about half past seven.”

Mrs. Boyington evinced no surprise whateverwhen a few hours later Captain Benson presentedhimself at her door in company with a stranger.Brownleigh was not slow in discovering in her awoman of charming manners, refined, sensitive,and well informed on the various subjects thatcame up for discussion.

They had been in the lady’s company some timewhen suddenly Captain Benson looked her verysteadily in the eyes for a moment and then said,“Mrs. Boyington, my friend, Mr. Brownleigh, tellsme he has become a confirmed materialist.Doesn’t believe in anything that is not perfectlytangible to the five senses, and all that.”

“And is he sure he believes in all the things thatare tangible to the five senses?”

“Yes, I think I am.” Brownleigh responded.Mrs. Boyington smiled inscrutably and turned to

the soldier. “Have you noticed a draft in the room,Captain? I have turned off the electric fan and yetI observe that Mr. Brownleigh’s hair is blowingforward across his forehead.”

Brownleigh cast back the suddenly distortedlocks, but as quickly they again fell forward andthis time the entire top of his head seemed to havebeen swept across by an electric current. Again hetossed the vagrant locks in place and again they asquickly returned bearing the electric current withthem accompanied by the distinct touch of whatseemed like fingers. His glance traveled quicklyfrom Mrs. Boyington to Captain Benson. Bothremained silent. Neither had changed position, andboth were across the room. Then quickly he turnedto see who might be standing near. His chair wasseveral feet from the wall and only empty spaceintervened. The man’s face suddenly blanchedwhen even as he gazed a strong current fairly alivewith electric tingling abruptly swept him fromhead to foot, and with a startled exclamation heinvoluntarily sprang from his seat, placing his backto the wall, only to see the vacated chair suddenlyappear to take on life and begin to gaily cavortabout the room, tipping tipsily first on the frontlegs, then on the back, and then, as if suddenlyaware of its extraordinary demeanor, settle downon the floor and glide noiselessly back into place.

“Great God! Captain, are you trying to electrocute

RAYS 04 21

me?” Brownleigh angrily exclaimed.“Electricity requires wires to carry its current

does it not, Brownleigh? Better examine thechair.” This Brownleigh proceeded at once to do.Scarcely had he replaced it when two fingers out ofnowhere tapped him lightly but distinctly on theforehead. Again he glanced quickly at his twocompanions only to find that neither had apparent-ly changed position. And then he could have swornhe heard a faint mocking laugh ring in his very earand that with it he felt for the moment the contactof lips.

“I give it up,” he said brokenly, and droppeddown in the chair. “If it’s a trick, it’s a very cleverone, and if it isn’t, I’ve had enough anyway.”

“It is not a trick, Mr. Brownleigh, and it is a veryunusual demonstration. But I believe our friendhere promised you that you would be shown. Itrust I have not been over zealous in my endeavorto furnish you with proof. And now that you haveboth felt and seen, would you care for any furtherdemonstration?”

“Great God, no! Not if I am to be the victim!”“But how else, my friend, could you possibly

know? ““How is it done, Mrs. Boyington?“It is not done very often by me, and then only

in cases, like this for instance, when a friend ofmine has a friend in whom he recognizes unusualability, which same ability is capable of becominga power if rightly used. My sole object has been toprove to you the reality of the unseen forces. Howwould you like to take up a study, Mr. Brownleigh,that would teach the truth relative to the unseencauses that produce all the effects which we seearound us? It seems to me such a study would beinteresting in the extreme. I know nothing really ofthis great force which you might say I discoveredby accident. Our friend, the Captain here, is anoccult student, and has warned me so often of thedangers connected with my discovery that I have

decided to pursue it no further, but have prevailedupon him to give me occult training in spiritualdevelopment. Suppose you join us and we willform a little class all our own. It will be so muchmore interesting to have someone to talk thingsover with occasionally.”

“I’ll do it,” Brownleigh replied after a fewmoments reflection. “I’ve already read and thoughtsome along occult lines, but I have never yet founda book or a person that gave out a thing but theo-ry. If you can prove to me, Captain, that I havewithin me these latent powers the occultists dis-cuss so knowingly, I am not only ready but eagerto begin work.”

“Even though it subverts all your preconceived

ideas?”“What is any idea worth if it can not be proven?

That is exactly what I am looking for. Somethingthat can be proven. You have most skillfully upsetall of my theories tonight, so I am quite willing totry out yours.”

“We have the proof, Brownleigh, but we are nothypnotists or fortune tellers. Neither are we magi-cians in the ordinary acceptance of the term. Andwe use our power when acquired only for the goodof mankind. It must never be used for self. I shallbe glad to have you join us if you are willing toaccept the conditions.”

“I am quite willing to accept anything for truth’ssake. To know the truth is well worth any price.”

“Yes, to know it, and then live it. Remember thatis the real price. We must live the life. If, afterthinking the matter over carefully, you find you arestill of the same opinion, you may come here againwith me one week from tonight and we will beginwork. But you must remember from the very firstthat your development, your progress, everythingthat you acquire along the lines of higher develop-ment depends in the ultimate, wholly upon your-self. Others can only point out the way.”

Promptly on the appointed hour a week later

22 RAYS 04

You must remember from the very first that your development,your progress, everything that you acquire along the lines of

higher development depends in the ultimate, wholly upon yourself. Others can only point out the way.

Brownleigh returned with Captain Benson readyand eager to begin the work. And the man’sprogress was little short of phenomenal, so untir-ing was his energy, so determined and unswervinghis will. His advancement was rapid from the firstfor truly “In His Law did he meditate day andnight.” Each step in his development thrilled himwith delight. Gone was the scoffer, the materialist,for in all things created he searched and found theliving God. Ere long, bit by bit, fragments of otherlives came floating back to him across the darkabyss of time. Then he began contacting the invis-ible world. He was beginning to see sightsunknown to the physical senses, and later, throughthe aid of his Teacher, he learned to function in aninvisible body. Evening after evening he spentwith Captain Benson, sometimes in the privacy ofhis own room, at others in a secluded corner of theclub house veranda, or in the home of Mrs.Boyington.

The two men had just returned from a walk oneevening and Brownleigh was upbraiding himselffor his former arrogance, stupidity and materialis-tic pride, when a car drew up before the lodge anda gentleman alighted and signaled Captain Bensonto meet him on the walk. Brownleigh noted thesplendid air and easy assurance with which theman, though past middle life, carried himself, andthought musingly of the days not so far distantwhen his sole ambition had been to acquire a size-able bank account and then assume just such an airof being some one, the acquaintance of whom waswell worth cultivation. But he had indeed gone along way since that day. Why, at this very momentthe power was his to make the advancement he hadonce so vainly coveted. He smiled contemplative-ly at the thought as he reverently recalled the vowshe had so recently taken for an unselfish use of thatpower and never, never to use it except in thebehalf of others. Truly he had traveled a long, longway, when he could so happily lay ambition andearthly power aside to serve in humanity’s cause.

As he thus mused, his eyes wandered on past thetwo men on the pavement until they reached thewaiting car and there they quickly focused on theface of the young girl seated therein. Brownleighhad seen pretty women, plenty of them, but in this

girl, just past the first flush of youth, what was itthat held his eyes as by a spell? Her face was inprofile, but the tilt of the head, the small, well-formed nose, the firm young chin, and the lightlyclosed lips, all conjoined in one charming, fasci-nating whole to lure him on with desire to knowmore, to gain a closer view.

And then the two men, their consultation ended,parted and in another moment the auto rolledaway.

“And who are the friends, Captain?”Brownleigh interrogated upon the soldier’s return.

“Judge Cathcart and his daughter. Live up onTerrace Heights. They are entertaining some digni-tary from the East next week and want me to attenda reception they are giving in his honor. That’swhat comes of being a soldier. They have evenasked me to give a little talk. It is a terrible bore,Brownleigh.

“But you are going?” Brownleigh questionedhalf enviously.

“Oh, I suppose so. That may be just the placewhere I can drop the seed. There is always achance when one is called upon to speak.Otherwise I should have refused, point blank.”

“Know the young lady well?”“Fairly. She is really a fine girl to have been

reared the way she has, on a golden spoon, so tospeak. She has brains and a lot of good commonsense. But like all the others out in the world she isambitious and proud. Let people once make moneytheir god and there seems to be no half-way groundwith them. The millionaire wants a billion. The bil-lionaire has his gaze fixed steadfastly on furtheracquisition. There is no limit to where the lure ofgold will lead you once you yield to its fascination.I haven’t a cent to my name but my salary and Ithank God for it.”

“She certainly is very beautiful.”“She is a splendid young animal, but it seems to

me she is getting about old enough to know better.She is twenty-four years old I heard her say