Part III. Harvest, Festival of the Dead, Samhain, Halloween:
The Underworld Fast (Fermentation Part I)
October 31, Six O’clock Evening
Players must practice the Dance of the Dead together as described at the end of the ritual until it is perfected. It is wise to begin practice a month in advance of the rite. The whole ceremony, from the wandering of the Quest, to the Feast, ought to be practiced with all players present at least once.
The Apprentice wears old clothes, plain colors, no prints. At six o’clock the Master of Ceremonies will direct the Apprentice to a comfortable place under the Sacred Tree in the Courtyard, to lounge upon fresh linens. Drinking water ought to be supplied.
MC: Use this time to relax. I shall return in one quarter of an hour.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at six fifteen.
MC: Meditate on the element, Earth.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at six thirty.
MC: Meditate on the element, Water.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at six forty-five.
MC: Meditate on the element, Air.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at seven o’clock.
MC: Meditate on the element, Fire.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at seven fifteen.
MC: Meditate on the Spirit, keeping No-Mind.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at seven thirty.
MC: Please walk, in silence, in a wide circle about this area.
MC leaves the Apprentice alone and returns at seven forty-five. A lit candle, placed in a large, flat bowl of sand or dirt, is upon or beside the linens. A relaxing drink of the Apprentice’s preference, such as a glass of water, nectar, wine, beer, or pot of fresh tea or coffee is brewed, and placed near the linens, on a tray.
MC: Please rest and relax, and enjoy this refreshment, that you may be fortified.
I shall return in one quarter of an hour.
At eight o’clock the MC returns with the Book of Life.
MC: You are to recite a portion of the contents of this book aloud at least once, and contemplate what you read. I shall return in one quarter hour with a White Assistant for you, at which time you shall follow me and lead your White Assistant wherever I may roam. We shall undertake the Quest, but whom or what we seek you shall know not. Is it potable refreshment, or a wild stag, a virgin or an enemy?
All that you shall know is that if you fail to recognize our prize, you will wander forever in darkness and ignorance, suffering and death. I shall take you through this hunt in silence, and nevermore shall you hear my voice as your guide through the degrees of the Royal Art Society. You shall have only your servant, and when you are at the threshold of the Sacred Grove, you shall command him thus:
“Give my challenge to the Enemy, for I am to take my place as an immortal in the Heavenly Kingdom.” Go in Peace.
MC makes the Sign of Silence and leaves the Apprentice alone. At eight fifteen the MC returns in silence with the WA, to lead the Apprentice to the Inner Temple. The players are dressed in old clothes, plain colors, no prints. After one quarter of an hour of wandering, the MC leads his entourage to the Inner Temple. The players are in formal dress, with appropriate sashes. As the players take their places, the WA addresses the Apprentice.
WA: Master, you are at the threshold of the Sacred Grove, now challenge your adversary!
A: Give my challenge to the Enemy, for I am to take my place as an immortal in the Heavenly Kingdom.
WA leads the Apprentice to the South, then proceeds to the North, to give the Apprentice’s challenge to the Black Assistant.
WA: The White Knight gives challenge to the Black Knight.
BA bows to WA, then turns to the BK.
BA: The White Knight gives challenge to the Black Knight.
WA returns to Apprentice and leads him to the Throne in the East, while BA and MT walk to the Throne.
BA: O One, O Law, You made Evil and Good, and the challenge has been made!
The High One gives one-handed sword to BA. Then, the MC gives two-handed sword to WA. Apprentice, WA, MT, and BA bow, and return to respective locations. The Assistants dress and arm their respective masters. The opponents bow to each other and circle the altar thrice and 5/12ths around.
MC: The spirit of the blade awakens to battle Evil within and without, fearing neither death nor life, but embracing perfect no-mind.
Each officer has a unique duty during this stage of the ceremony. The individual alchemist doing private visualization can play the part of each officer, beginning with the MC, then alternating WA and BA, then the Apprentice and the MT together, and finally the High One.
The High One keeps No-mind in silent meditation, in the Paternal Deity (traditionally, “The God”) Posture.
The MC meditates “Seven Traditional Alchemical Processes in the Making of Alchemical Gold,” left hand resting in lap, making the Sign of Receptivity (palm up, thumb touching index finger, other fingers together and slightly curved); right hand in upright position, stationary and/or mobile, making the Sign of Activity (thumb covering nails of little and ring fingers, middle and index fingers together and erect, as used in the sign of silence and Wudang taiji sword forms.)
The BA concentrates on exhalation; manifesting the god in the individual, the self, contracting and sinking into Earth; grounding into stability, strengthening devotion and resolve to be with the spirit, dying to self. The BA evokes the deities or aspects of the Nameless One:
- I pray to Mars. He is survival. Come, now, god of war.
- I pray to Earth. She is the self. Come, now, essence of self.
- I pray to the Elements. They are the physical universe. Come, now, guardians of the four corners.
- I pray to the Moon. She is meditation, mysticism and Magick. Come, now, god of secret wisdom.
- I pray to the Sun. He is the strength and beauty of life. Come, now, god of immortal life.
- I pray to Mercury. He is the messenger between the earthly and the divine. Come, now, god of inspiration.
- I pray to Venus. She is love. Come, now, goddess of love.
- I pray to Pluto. He is death. Come, now, god of the dead.
- I pray to Jupiter. He is power and law. Come, now, king of heaven and earth.
- I pray to Saturn. He is freedom and ecstasy. Come, now, god of true Will.
- I pray to Uranus. He is intuition and balance. Come, now, god of innovation.
- I pray to Neptune. He is the transcendental. Come, now, god of the Mysteries.
The WA receives energy on inhalation; as a microcosm of heaven, expanding throughout all heaven; relaxing and opening the mind to increase potential for the spirit (prana, qi); receiving the spirit, the life-force, being filled with spirit and life. The WA invokes the deities by intoning the Hymn of the Twelve Roots and Twelve Branches of the Tree of Life (notes are included here for clarity):
- I am Aries; Cerebral; “In the Beginning was the royal High One (Royalty)
- I am Taurus; Nervous; “that created the world (Fertility)
- I am Gemini; Pulmonary; “and the family of life (Empathy, Family, Community)
- I am Cancer; Digestive; “originally in the sanctuary of Great Peace, (Sanctuary)
- I am Leo; Cardiac; “in strength, (Physical Strength, Will)
- I am Virgo; Alimentary; “purity, (Life-force, Purity)
- I am Libra; Renal, Urinary; “and freewill to choose between Good and Evil (Balance, Justice).
- I am Scorpio; Generative; “In Evil is mortality and death (Immortality):
- I am Sagittarius; Hepatic; “in Good is wisdom, (Wisdom)
- I am Capricorn; Skeletal; “wealth, (Wealth)
- I am Aquarius; Circulatory; “enlightenment, (Enlightenment)
- I am Pisces; Lymphatic; “and love. (Love)”
Hymn of the Twelve Roots and the Twelve Branches of the Tree of Life
In the Beginning was the royal High One
That created the world
And the family of life,
Originally in the sanctuary of Great Peace,
In strength,
Purity,
And freewill to choose between Good and Evil.
In Evil is mortality and death;
In Good is wisdom,
Wealth,
Enlightenment
And love.
So mote it be.
The BA and WA then simultaneously meditate upon the twelve macrocosmic spirits and their microcosmic manifestations:
- Spirit of Energy… respiratory, urinary, digestive and circulatory systems
- Spirit of Support… skeletal system, muscular system, fascia
- Spirit of Balance… homeostasis
- Spirit of Action… endocrine system
- Spirit of Purification… respiratory, urinary, digestive and circulatory systems
- Spirit of Healing… lymphatic system
- Spirit of Protection… endocrine, nervous, integumentary systems, nails, hair
- Spirit of Reproduction… reproductive system
- Spirit of Sense… nervous system
- Spirit of Love… reproductive, endocrine and nervous systems
- Spirit of Truth… nervous system
- Spirit of Divinity or Wholeness… endocrine and nervous systems
The BA and WA then visualize and feel their own Twelve Microcosmic Alchemical Organs:
- Physical body: the material elements‑ fire, water, air, earth‑ which combine to form an environment of which the non-material element (mind, consciousness, or spirit) is an integral part. Be aware of balance and form.
- Senses: the instruments through which we observe the world. The ability to observe events.
- Autonomic nervous system: the involuntary reflexes and internal movements naturally beyond conscious control, which may be cultivated to optimum health through alchemy.
- Will: the ability to direct motion through the use of force. Use pure will.
- Emotion: irrational yet influential nervous and hormonal reactions. “These are my emotions.”
- Consciousness: awareness. What we observe is not an actual world, just our impressions of an actual world.
- Imagination: the faculty of producing artificial perceptions in the mind with or without the use of the senses. “This is when I am using my imagination.”
- Intellect: our thoughts, be they based on experience (experiment) and reason, or general fallacy; balance or exaggeration. “I am thinking.”
- Memory: the ability to observe a sequence of events, and to retain and recall impressions of those observations.
- Understanding: the proper organization of knowledge.
- Wisdom: the proper coordination of knowledge in one’s actions.
- The One or the Way: the total sum of all the elements and the harmony between them. Harmony is achieved by the alternate relaxation and concentration of the twelve functions.
Dance of the Dead
The Apprentice follows this formula, and the MT its opposite:
From the East I traverse clockwise thrice around.
Arriving in the South-west I draw my blade.
- Attacking to the lower left, the North-east,
I kill my foe, conquering, victorious, but he lives again and attacks.
- Thus I defend the center left attack from the East,
- Attack the upper left to the South-east,
- Defend the crown attack from the South,
- Attack the upper right to the South-west,
- Defend the center right attack from the West,
- Attack the lower right to the North-west,
- Defend the root attack from the North and reverse my step,
Attacking the root to the North, then
- Defend the lower right attack from the North-west,
- Attack the center right to the West,
- Defend the upper right attack from the South-west,
- Attack the crown to the South,
- Defend the upper left attack from the South-east,
- Attack the center left to the East,
- Defend the lower left attack from the North-east,
But my foe prevails, and I am killed.
Part III closes with the death of the Apprentice.
Assistants strip their respective knights of adornments and give them each a new, white robe. The four move to before the throne and the Assistants return the respective swords to the High One and the Master of Ceremonies, bowing.
MC: White Knight, take the Graal.
Apprentice takes Graal, lifts it to the High One.
A: All who join the Quest are on the Path, the Way of the Royal Art.
The High One nods, closing the left eye, to indicate that the procession may begin. The MC stands.
MC: Apprentice, to drink the elixir of immortality and life from the Graal is everlasting life. Immortal life means an end to isolation, and complete union between observer and observed. It is a cessation of suffering and a celebration of life, light, and peace. Let us go forth, to celebrate in thanksgiving, enlightenment, happiness, and peace.
A: Only by the chance or Grace of the indifferent and unintelligent Grand Architect might mortal flesh be destined to partake of immortal life. Let us keep patience until it pleases the Spirit to bid us drink.
Apprentice drinks from the Graal and it is passed from officer to officer until it finally passes to the hands of the High One, who drinks and returns the grail to the Apprentice, who returns it to the Altar of the Royal Art. The Apprentice then returns with the officers to the Tombstone in the Courtyard. The High One remains seated in the throne.
MC: You have drunk the blood of the Graal in the sight of Heaven and you have been burned in the fires of purification upon the pyre of truth; take joy in one last look at life. As it is said, “the eye takes pleasure while it yet beholds.” Now aught lay here but dust buried in the ground.
The Apprentice lies down in the grave in the Death Pose of the Phoenix Elixir. The officers leave the Apprentice alone and return in procession to their stations in the Inner Temple.
NEXT:
Part IV: Winter Solstice: The Chymical Funeral or Rite of Rebirth
(Fermentation Part II)
December 22 or the Sunday Between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1, Midnight