The Apprentice

Grade of Earth: Rite of Formation

(Dissolution and Separation)

Summer Solstice, Noon

 

 

 

“Despise not death, but welcome it,

for nature wills it like all else.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

 

 

This ritual marks the transition from the Royal Art Society Candidate to the Apprentice Alchemist. The Candidate should spend at least one week of purification preceding this rite. Following the completion of this ceremony or visualization, the Candidate is invited to join the Royal Art Society as a full Apprentice.

Enter the Path of the Apprentice Alchemist

The Candidate must keep a perfectly clean and tidy residence; wear clean garments each day; cleanse the body each day and keep the body clean; sleep in linens cleaned at the beginning of the week, and keep impeccable hygiene. He or she will sleep six to eight consecutive hours per day if possible.

The Candidate should eat only healthy, natural and fresh foods, and only in moderation. He or she will abstain completely from indulgence in any activity, including over-work, and abstain completely from drugs, tobacco, alcohol, sexual activity, and verbal profanity.

The Candidate should walk outdoors one half hour every day, for exercise, accompanied by light neuro-muscular stretching. At least fifteen minutes per day must be devoted to mindfulness meditation. Consult a licensed physician or health care professional before making any changes to your diet or exercise regimen.

 

Participants may wear formal, semi-formal, or informal (lounge suit) attire. The Officers process to their stations clockwise and take up their implements: The Treasurer is the Eastern Officer (EO) with the Staff (the Prime Minister has given up his chair as he guides the Minister of Heaven thru the ceremony); the Archivist is the Southern Officer (SO) with the Sword; The Minister of Earth is the Western Officer (WO) with the Chalice; the Secretary is the Northern Officer (NO) with the Book of the Royal Art. The Candidate is blindfolded, led by the Master of Ceremonies (MC) to the North-east. MC unstops the vial of oil.

 

MC: With the presence of the symbolic oil we consecrate this time and place to the Great Work. Let not profane things of the mundane enter herein until after the vial is stopped. With this bell we begin the operation.

MC sounds the bell.

MC: Let us begin the Rite of Formation. Is it your will to proceed?

C: It is.

MC: Let us Go.

C & MC walk to altar, face East, and bow.

MC: In the name of the Ineffable, proceed to the East.

C & MC walk to the East, face the Eastern Officer.

EO raises the Staff, puts it into the hand of the C.

EO: The East is the Tree or Wood, symbolized as the Wand.

The East is, in the Chinese Five Phases, Wood, new growth;

In the Vedic worldview it corresponds with Brahma the One, the ultimate cause;

In Aristotelian Philosophy where Reason is the Way to clarity,

It is intuition and the Unknowable;

In the Christian faith it is God the Father;

In Hebrew Kabbalah it is Yod and Kether the Crown,

The Deity, Emanation, the Archetypal World;

In Tarot it is Wands and Kings;

In Magick, it is ‘Fire,’ the Sun, the Phallus, the Crux or Tau,

The Will, and the Bull of the Four Cherubs.

 

The Wand or Staff is carried by certain Vedic deities,

Like Vishnu and Shiva, as the club or trident.

It is carried by Hermes of Greece and Mercury of Rome as the Caduceus.

It is carried by the Pharaoh of Egypt, Moses of the Torah, the Nordic Odin, and many Daoist immortals.

In Renaissance Europe the Church permeated the State and monarchs displayed special emblems to symbolize united earthly and heavenly power: the scepter, the crown, the sword and the orb. The scepter represented the state or justice. Many other deities, magicians, priests, kings, shepherds and wanderers in the history of this world have carried the staff.

The tree is the pole of the sundial, the measuring rod, the body of a warrior’s spear, the torture stake, the scepter and crook, and the burned sacrifice. It is the Yule log, the Christmas tree and the Maypole. Tree spirits and trees are worshipped and the spirit of life was either a tree or the grain and the vine.

The spirit of fertility means generation: upon the earth, the seasons; in human beings, birth, marriage, reproduction, and death. Thus the phallic god of life, vegetation, love, cultivation, and domestication was also the god of death and spiritual rebirth. In ancient Egyptian legend it was Osiris, in Persian mythology it was Mithras and in the Middle Eastern (Jewish) Christian faith, Yeshua or ‘Jesus.’

The forces of good and evil have often been represented as certain vegetables, so the gods of many people were associated with a particular species. Thus the spirits or gods of certain trees or of certain staple crops have become associated with Lord Gods or Devils, such as the vine of the Greek Dionysus, the Celtic oak, and the May King or Green Man sacrifice.

The original symbol of the Grand Ultimate, or Taijitu (yin and yang), of China was the ridgepole of a house; the sunlight on one side, shadow on the other half. In the Yijing, the post-heavenly order of the Trigrams is represented by a tree: the ten Celestial Stems and the twelve Terrestrial Branches, which become the historical unfolding of events in time: natural elements and forces; the changing seasons; the growth and the decline of living beings; and so forth.

In the Ramayana of India the Tree of Dharma had its roots in the sky (heaven) and its branches were the earth. Vedic Vishnu’s Protective Weapon is the Mace, the Gunas three in one. In the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu eats bread which is the “staff of life.” To become a man he must drink wine from a goblet, anoint himself with oil, and wear a garment. In Revolutionary France, too, bread was called “the staff of life.”

In the Egyptian Book of the Dead the gods allowed the dead “Son of God” to eat of the tree of life as they do, so he may likewise live. So the dead Osiris, or soul, would live in heaven with the gods. The ancient Egyptians religiously ate the “Bread of eternity,” and drank the “Beer of everlastingness.” The Hebrew Torah and Kabbalistic tradition teach of the Trees of Life and Knowledge. The primary Christian sacrament is the eating of the body of Christ and drinking his blood, which are represented respectively by bread and wine.

The Greek “Stauros” or torture stake shaped as the letter ‘T’ became the Roman “Crux” or an upright pole. The ‘T’ was used as a sign of life, a symbol of the Babylonian and the Egyptian Sun gods, Tammuz and Ra, and the Roman Bacchus.

The word “Xylon” was used to describe the Christian messiah’s crucifix: it means piece of wood, log, firewood, timber, beam, post, cudgel, club, or stake on which criminals were impaled. It was meant as “tree” in Matthew 26:47 of the Gospel, and the same Greek term was used for clubs (carried by those men with Judas.) Jesus the Savior was crucified on a wooden cross, the symbol of his death and resurrection.

The Celtic sun god Llug’s spear, fashioned by Gorias was made of solid oak, and was one of the Four Treasures. The Druids held all trees to be sacred, especially the oak, yew and birch. In the Nordic Elder Edda, Odin the sky-father, chief and ruler of the gods, hung nine whole days on the World-tree Yggdrasil, “I was offered to Odin, myself to myself, on that tree of which no man knows.”

The Magickal Wand represents the cosmic and divine tree, the macrocosm and creative force; the middle-principle or divine man; and the actual tree and man (gender-neutral Homo sapiens), the microcosm and temporal universe. Thus are all principles symbolically contained in the Wand.

The Wand is the One, it is the conceptual, yet inconceivable absolute whole and the universe in the moment “now.” In the symbolism of the Four Elements of Classical Philosophy, it is Air in the Religious sense, for it is Communion: God in Man, and it is Fire in the Magickal sense, for it is the Divine Origin, the Sacred Fire.

Proceed now to the South.

EO retrieves and lowers the Staff.

C & MC walk to the South, face the Southern Officer.

SO raises the Sword, puts it in the hand of the C.

SO: The South is the Sacred Fire or Flaming Sword.

The South is, in the Chinese Yijing, Fire, full and abundant growth;

In the Vedas it is Vishnu, the creative energy of the One, the Good;

In Aristotelian Philosophy it is Awareness and Observation of the Universal;

In its Judeo- Christian aspects it is God the Creator, and the Holy Spirit,

As well as Christ the Light of the World and Lucifer the Light Bearer,

The Light from Darkness and Void, and the fires of hell;

In Hebrew Kabbalah it is the World of Creation;

In the Tarot it is Swords and Princes;

In Magick, it is He, the Mother, ‘Water,’ the Night Sky,

Infinite Space, the Yoni, Understanding, and the Eagle of the Four Cherubs.

 

The Sword is the Law, it is the process of learning and knowing relatively absolute qualities, quantities, and causes.

 

The Vedic Sacred Fire is Agni;

The Egyptian sun god was Ra;

The Greek goddess of the hearth was Vesta, the sun god was Apollo;

In Persia and Rome the sun god was Mithras;

The pre-Christian European totem of the hearth

Was a man’s personal and household god.

 

In the Judeo-Christian scripture, the flaming, ever-turning sword was placed in the hands of an angel outside of the Garden of Eden by the monotheistic god Yaweh to keep mankind out of paradise as punishment for the original sin. In the Christian legends, Lucifer, Jesus Christ and Saint Michael each represent an aspect of the powers of Light.

The Celtic Sword of Nuada, from Findias, was one of the Four Treasures. Vishnu’s active or fiery protective weapon is Rajas, the lotus flower. In the Middle Ages in all places from Ireland to Japan the sword meant life or death. In Renaissance Europe, the king’s ceremonial sword represented royal justice. It is Air in the Magickal sense, for it is the divine in man. It is Fire in the Religious sense, for as truth it shall burn away illusion and evil in its purification and judgment.

Proceed now to the West.

SO retrieves and lowers the Sword.

C & MC walk to the West, face the Western Officer.

WO raises the Chalice, puts it in the hand of the C.

WO: The West is The Grail, the vessel of the water, wine, or blood.

The West is, in the Chinese Five Phases, Metal, the decline of life;

In the Vedas it is Shiva, the actual; the ‘now’ in time-space;

In Aristotelian Philosophy it is God the Knowable, or Reason, itself;

Ultimate, Accidental, or Individual Qualities as opposed to Universals;

In the Christian faith it is Christ Jesus the Son and King;

In Hebrew Kabbalah it is the World of Formation;

Devils, Angels, Souls, and Forces of Nature;

In the Tarot it is Cups and Queens.

In Magick, it is the Son, ‘Air,’ The Child King Crowned and Conquering,

The Beast and Babylon, Intelligence, and the Man of the Four Cherubs.

 

Where the wand or disk is used as a symbol of the grain,

The grail is used as a symbol of the vine, or vegetation.

As Vishnu’s protective weapon it is Sattva, the conch shell.

In Egypt the corn was the body of Osiris, the spirit of life and fertility,

And the people ate the Bread of eternity.

The waters of life flowing through the river Nile sustained the kingdom

And the Beer of Everlasting nourished the gods and the blessed.

In Greece the grain was from Demeter, the wine from Dionysus.

In Rome the grain was from Ceres, the wine from Bacchus.

In the Christian faith the bread and the wine

Are the body and blood of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

The Celtic Dagda’s cauldron made in Murias, one of the Four Treasures,

Was kept by the Nine Sisters, and contained a panacea, the mead of inspiration.

In Nordic tradition Odin drank the mead from the Cauldron of Inspiration,

The well of Mimer, memory, to learn the wisdom of secret lore.

The three roots of the World-Tree Yggdrasill are watered by Mimer’s well;

The primeval waters of the ancient cauldron in the cold abyss of Niflheim

In the North, origin of life and Land of the Dead, protected by a dragon;

And the fountain of the South attended by the three maids, Past, Present and Future.

In the practice of Magick, the bread and the wine

Are symbolized by the Magickal Wand, the Will of God and Magus,

And the Holy Grail, Divine Mercy and reflection or meditation.

The Grail is the Good, the essence of life.

It is Water or Wine, the blood or spirit of God in Man.

Proceed now to the North.

WO retrieves and lowers the Chalice.

C & MC walk to the North, face the Northern Officer.

NO raises the Book, puts it in the hand of the C.

NO: The North is the Earth, the Bread of Life, the Disk.

The North is, in the Chinese Five Phases, Water, the end and beginning of life;

In Vedic philosophy it is Rta, the Law, the universal causes;

In Aristotelian philosophy it is the Universe of Perception;

The Ultimate mixed with Accidental Qualities;

The Whole and Individual Bodies or Acts;

In Hebrew Kabbalah, it is the World of Manifestation; the World of Action,

The Material World, the Physical, the Actual;

In the Christian faith it is the Church, the New Jerusalem,

The Bride of the Lamb.

In the Tarot it is Disks and Princesses.

In Magick it is the Daughter, ‘Earth,’ The Womb, Nature, the Woman,

Strength or Courage, the Lion of the Four Cherubs,

The Temple, Circle and Triangle, Altar and Pantacle.

 

It represents the earthly or manifest force of the universe.

It is the world-view of man and may be true or illusion.

It is Earth, the perishable parts

That form the sum of the whole of the eternal One.

As Vishnu’s Protective Weapon it is Tamas, the Chakra (‘Disk’);

It may be the symbol of a cross enclosed by a circle

Which was used by ancient Egyptians to represent the city;

In Celtic tradition the Stone of Destiny, brought to Tara soil from Falias,

Cries out when the true king of Erin sits above it. It is one of the Four Treasures.

In the Christian faith it is the cross in the circle, the Celtic Cross;

The Tarot Disks symbolize this concept;

In Magick it may also be a shield, a wheel, or a coin.

Proceed now to the Center.

NO retrieves and lowers the Book.

C & MC walk to altar, face East.

MC: Please kneel in reverence to the Source. (Candidate kneels.)

The Center is the Origin and governing force.

In all world-views it is the void before existence or Creation;

Of the Chinese Five Phases it is Earth, or Dao, or wuji;

In yoga it is Samadhi, in Buddhism Nirvana;

To Aristotle it was the Ultimate and the Universal;

In Kabbalah, it is Ain Sof, Void; Before Light;

The Nothing before the One,

Which exists only with the One as One;

In the Judeo-Christian tradition it is the Darkness and Void of the Beginning;

The Nordic peoples called it Ginnungagap;

It is the Tarot Trumps;

In Magick, it is ‘Spirit’ or ‘Aether,’ Cosmos, All, Pan, and Self-Awareness,

Or Knowledge and Conversation with one’s Holy Guardian Angel,

Beyond the Abyss, the Third Order, and the Secret Chiefs.

 

Western Esoteric Tradition makes the whole of nature symbolized in the number four. Man is symbolized in these four with three additional symbols, for a total of seven. The human being embodies the traditional attributions to the Four Worlds of Creation of the Kabbalah, as well as the three higher principles. Thus exist the mystical Seven Seals. Creation proceeds as a progressive degeneration from the divine to the physical. Thus witness the Coming of the Four:

 

Non-being; Creation; Formation; Manifestation.

Non-being has one element: itself.

Creation has two elements: opposites.

Form has three elements: beginning, middle, and end.

Manifestation has four cardinal directions, four elements (fire, air, water, and earth) and four seasons of life.

The sum of these is ten: the Whole.

1 (Non-Being) + 2 (Creation) + 3 (Form) + 4 (Manifestation) = 10 (One).

 

 

Where the four elements of manifestation map the horizontal plane, in the macrocosm the three principles of formation, creation and non-being rise upon the vertical plane. In the microcosm they are expressed as communication, contemplation, and inspiration. Man must be inspired, he must contemplate, and he must communicate. These processes have often been represented by a trinity of Lord gods, and sometimes they are in partnership with an entity that represents the gods in the world of the elements.

 

In Chinese religion, Laozi, Buddha and Confucius.

In India, Brahma, Vishnu, Rama, and Shiva.

In ancient Egypt, Neb-er-tcher; Khepera, Ra, and Thoth, or Ptah; Osiris; and Horus.

In Classical Greece, Kronos, Zeus, Dionysus, Apollo; philosophically the trinity was called Idea, Word, and Action.

In Nordic religion, Yggdrasil, Odin, Balder, Thor.

In Christianity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and Saint Michael.

The World is the Universe.

The Father is the One

The Word is the Law

The Holy Spirit is the Good.

“These three are in heaven” (John I: 7).

In Western alchemical tradition the trinity is the Sun, the Moon and Mercury.

In Daoist alchemy, essence (jing), life-force (qi) and spirit (shen.)

In tantric yoga, the trinity is Nada, Bija, and Bindu.

Nada is Knowledge, and the red menstrual fluid;

Bija is Action, the white semen;

Bindu is the Will, the Mixture or union of opposites.

It is understood to be the Triangle of Divine Desire, which is imbalance,

The Root of All Mantra, the Supreme (Shiva) from Brahma, the Sun;

Subtle (Shiva-Shakti) from Vishnu, Fire (Agni);

Gross (Shakti) from Rudra, the Moon.

Masonic Ouroboros and Winged Globe

• The Serpent, Dragon or Ouroboros: Man communicates through the Spirit, or Aether, which is symbolized by the serpent. It is the essence of man’s survival and happiness. It is Fire in the religious sense, the ‘Sacred Fire,’ for it is the secret that the essence of survival and happiness is not only the Good, but also the Evil. Positive and negative energy. It is life-force, the essence of the One.

 

• The Winged Globe: The Winged Globe symbolizes contemplation. It is knowledge, understanding and wisdom. This is the Way of Life. Life is perpetuated under conditions of a particular balance. Optimum balance is called Homeostasis. A system and practice of balanced life is self-empowering and harmonious with nature. This balanced way has many traditional names:

 

In ancient Egypt, the Lord, Maāt, Thoth.

In India, Rta and Dharma.

In China, the Golden Mean, dao, de or taiji.

In Israel and Christendom, Holiness, Righteousness.

In Islam, Obedience.

In Buddhism, the Middle Way.

In ancient Greece, Virtue.

In England, the way of the Gentleman.

In colonial America, Sacred Honour.

This way has always been contrasted with the opposite way,

So that in the Torah Moses contrasted Law and Ignorance,

In the Avesta Zoroaster set Good against Evil,

In the Christian scriptures God and Angels opposed Satan and Demons.

In the Koran, Mohammed wrote Allah and Spirits against Idol Worshippers and Devils.

Buddha’s Tripitaka contrasted the Middle Path and the Good Life

With Anger, Greed, and Ignorance.

Laozi in the Daode jing taught the Dao and Virtue instead of contrivance and misfortune.

 

 

 

• The All Seeing Eye: Man’s inspiration proceeds from the Eye in the Pyramid, the Third Eye, which symbolizes pure awareness set in balance between the macrocosm and the microcosm. Thus the opposites:

 

The Chinese Heaven and Earth,

The ancient and Classical Gods and the World,

Plato’s Eternal or Immortal and Perishable or Mortal,

Aristotle’s Universal and Ultimate,

Christianity’s Spirit and Matter,

Descarte’s Mind and Body,

Tantric ‘causal’ and ‘subtle’ versus ‘dense,’

Alchemy and Magick’s Macrocosm and Microcosm,

And finally, Ideal and Actual.

 

The All Seeing Third Eye in the Pyramid is the mystical union

Of Earth, Man, and Heaven,

Where the mortal can commune with the immortal.

 

C: Have we spoken yet of the eternal and constant Way?

MC: There is no actual or natural correspondence between these things. All of these correspondences apply only to the ideas of the topics of which you speak. Each topic is but a symbol. Forget these symbols. The eternal and constant Way cannot be spoken of. Let us proceed now to the Northeast, where you will leave the Temple to proceed with the Great Work. Is it your Will to proceed?

C: It is.

MC: No, it is the Will of Heaven. Let us Go. We stop the vial of oil and with this bell we close the operation in the name of the Great Work.

MC stops the vial of oil and sounds the bell.

MC: Here ends the Rite of Formation.

C & MC walk to Northeast, leave the Circle, and remove the Apprentice’s blindfold.

 

 

THE APPRENTICE proceeds by studying the Apprentice Alchemist’s Handbook, Syllabus II:

Apprentice Alchemist’s Handbook Curriculum: Syllabus II

 After one year of study and practice, THE APPRENTICE may advance to the level of the Second Degree: the Master Alchemist.