The Magic of America:
The Past and The Call To The Present
by Aeptha

I was in meditation aware that this time is a deep time in which much that has been hidden is coming forward. This is a time in which both our personal selves as well as humanity on a global level are being asked, being challenged, being faced with a choice to be conscious or to continue to be unconscious.  I was considering this in relationship to our July 4^th celebration in this country this year. We can certainly turn our backs and say that it doesn’t concern us; we are about our own affairs, our own relationships.  In the face of this, we can take the position of the observer where we just observe; this might even be a comfortable place to be.  When you observe, it is an action, a choice that at least gives you the appearance of a distancing from any responsibility.  We can become angry and feel victimized because of what “they”, the terrorists, are doing to us.  We can even become pious and say that God or Karma will get them.

This has led me to a deep process of introspection in particular as we move into the celebration of the birth of America and what it means.  And I have to say that part of my process in this has been my own discomfort because there are aspects, which I view from my personal level of what America is, that I question, that I challenge.  Some friends of mine that have traveled extensively and spent a great deal of time in Europe and Asia, and who are very gifted teachers, say that they are embarrassed to be Americans when they are in Europe because of the arrogance and the small-mindedness here.  All of this has been churning around in my cauldron.  When I went back to my altar and said, “OK.  This is all here.  Show me.”  I found myself thrust into a study and a reminder of what it means to be an initiate, and of what it means to be an adept; what it means for all of us sitting in this room because you are students of the mysteries.  You would not be here otherwise; you would be elsewhere. 

What does that mean?  What has that always meant?  What does that mean in relationship to what is happening now?  What is our responsibility, opportunity, and challenge at this present time?  I was drawn back to the studies of the Mayans, to the Aztecs, and I to a vigil that I underwent in 1986 to the heart of the tree where it was said the very heart of Quetzalcoatl is buried.  When I was taken back to that vigil I was reminded that esoteric schools, schools of adepts, schools of initiation are not something that is recent.  The seeding, the schools, the holders of the visions, the holders of humanity, the truth seekers, what has often been called the road of inner light has long been here throughout the world.  This was not confined to the Mayans and to the Aztecs.  This spread across all of the Americas.  It spread into that which we call the American Indian tribes.  There were esoteric orders, true esoteric orders, in the tribes.  Does this surprise you?  There were those who were initiated, those who were taught, those who were selected to hold true to the vision, those who were challenged to be the upholders, no matter what, of integrity, of vision, of freedom—selected, challenged, going through rigorous training, rigorous self-discipline and deep, deep challenges. 

Let me tell you something about adeptship.  It is not a thing about you.  It is nothing about your individual interest, your individual achievement, your individual initiation.  It is about the whole.  It is about vision for the whole.  It is about working for the whole.  And often, most often, it is not about being known, or even seen.  These adepts, these initiates who carried out the work, who carried the seeding of the great plan and who continue to do so often at the expense of their own lives and their own well being, were not in it for themselves.  True adeptship, true initiation, is always about the whole.  So these men and women who were both initiated and trained in the mysteries throughout the Americas, throughout Europe and throughout Asia were trained to hold the vision for the whole, to hold the truth, to seed, to work endlessly and selflessly without consideration for their own personal self-grandizement.  And every one of us has an opportunity to do the same thing now.  These holders of the mystery schools birthed what many moved into that which we have called Free Masonry.

Now the Free Masons, no disrespected intended to them, and what is happening in the modern Masons are two very different things. I have no doubt that there are still enclaves within the Masons now that hold to and explore the deeper mysteries, that are indeed about the deeper mysteries. The road of light, the secret societies, the secret schools of mysteries, the paths of the adepts, be it on the plains of America, in the tribes, be it in the jungles and the temples, be it in a European city, be it in a temple in the Himalayas, these secret societies that trained in the mysteries were societies that focused on bringing about the Great Plan, the Great Work, the liberation and the freedom for all of humanity.  It was said that there were three things, ignorance, superstition, and fear that the mystery schools focused on to free the bondage that enslaved and held humanity in tyranny. Ignorance is the lack of the knowledge needed.  Superstition is addiction to that which you believe you need.  Fear is anxiety over your sense of responsibility for what all humanity does and your experience of having no input into those choices.  And it is still going on now.  While there has been a freeing to the level of the physicality at least to a degree, we are still imprisoned in our mind and in our heart.

It was said and has been said and is known that America and all of the people, who are called here, are charged with a powerful and unique part of the mission of the great plan.  We know that the planning of America and what its role in what the mission was has been in plans, in construction, in process, for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before America was allegedly even discovered.  In fact, America’s name is a reference to the plumed serpent, Quetzalcoatl.  It is said that the formation, the preparation, the seeding of what America was to be was being taught in the Mayan temples, and that Adepts all over the world did their part and held the vision of the Great Plan. 

It is interesting that so little is known about Columbus.  The speculation has been anywhere from that he was an ignorant seaman to that he was very well learned.  The little bit that is kept on his records, and by the way this was no accident, was very purposeful. Historically the secret societies made sure that they kept things hidden.  Very little was known about their initiates and adepts and their initiates and adepts truly kept to secrecy. They would not disclose the secrets because they knew they could be horribly, terribly misused.  It is said that Columbus was one such initiate.  It is said that he had mystical, magical communications, and there is documentations of such in his voyages of which he would speak to an unseen person and receive back words of wisdom, words of directions, being told what to do.  There are writings on which there is cipher on the writings, symbolic.  There is every indication that he was associated with Roger Bacon who is said to be very closely associated with the forming of America. He himself was a great adept and a great teacher of the mysteries, and a great mover and shaker throughout Europe, and, as we know, was very closely in the inner court of Elizabeth. It is also noted that Columbus would sometimes appear in a monk’s robe.  That is how he was dressed when he died—in his robe with his girdle of initiation.

We also know that at this time there was a deep, extensive conflict between Spain and England. There was claim that the Pope wanted control and dominion over all of the Americas. England, beginning with Henry VIII and continuing with Elizabeth, would be removing itself out from under the control of the Roman Church with the construct of the Church of England. This was absolutely necessary if America was to fulfill its destiny to be a land that was not interlocked with church and state.  It has been said that the positioning of this was something that was being maneuvered for hundreds of years, even to the point that there were heads of states that knew of the new world, but they were not allowed to go until it was time, until everything was in place and the highest chance of success could be afforded. 

There are two stories I would like to share with you about the magical, mystical roots of which we are all connected.  One story is in 1775 when they met to design the colonial flag. Among those present included Dr. Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as well as others.  This is documented historically, but I would suspect you did not hear about this in school.  There was a very dashing figure of a man who showed up for the meeting with a case that he kept continuously locked.  During the course of this meeting he would take these books out when he was on his own and would translate.  As soon as he got through he would put them back into the case and lock it.  He was called the professor.  He was very well known and warmly acknowledged by Benjamin Franklin as well as the others present.  While he was a dashing figure, he was somewhat unusual because, unlike what was customary of the time he was a vegetarian and ate neither meat, nor he partake of any alcoholic beverage.  He would take long, solitary walks and for those who observed him, he seemed to be talking to unseen personages.  He talked with ease of historical events that had happened one and two hundred years earlier as though they had just happened yesterday.  He was unassuming and very careful about what he said.  He gave the formula for the construction of the flag, and it was accepted without question down to the very last detail.  Then, right before he left he, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington stayed up until the wee hours of the morning discussing things that seemed to be of great importance to those who observed them.

Another such story is of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Of the fifty-six who signed this document, fifty were known Free Masons.  Nevertheless, when they gathered in the hall to sign the document there was a great deal of uneasiness and uncertainty and anxiety.  People were getting distracted and diverted, and through this nervousness there started to be a breaking up of the foundation of the vision.  A tall figure of a man came in.  If he was recognized, no on called his name.  He strode in and started to speak.  The room was mesmerized.  He spoke fluently and eloquently and inspiringly.  At the end it was said that he collapsed into a chair exhausted, perspiration running down his face and pale as though the spirit, the voice, the power that had come through him and had literally electrified the room had spent him.  Then he slipped out and was never seen again. 

Make no mistake this nation was founded on great, great magic, and that magic is still underway.  But it is not done by someone else; it must be your choice also. I have put nine blue candles on the altar in recognition of the Blue Masonic Lodge of the Nine Sisters.  This is the lodge into which many of the founding fathers were initiated.  The primary facility of this lodge was in Paris.  It was a lodge that was based upon the intention, the dedication, and the liberation of the body, the liberation of the heart, and the liberation of the mind from tyranny.  It was not based upon creed.  It was not based upon a particular faith.  It was not based upon a political system, dogma, or institution.  People came in with different belief systems, but they worked in harmony. In fact this lodge, as did others of the time, and its members, which included liberal priests, politicians, women, seemed to have the capacity to transcend people.

The inner seven red lights on the altar are in acknowledgment of the mysteries and the teachings of the red lodges, which are tied deeply into the mysteries of the blood, of love, and of the Seven Great Mothers.  In the center I have the image of Horus, the falcon, but it is also in acknowledgment of the Phoenix that rises from the fire.  I told you I was going to tell you two stories, but I am going to tell you another one.  I think it is very important because there is such a thought form around our perceptions, including those of our own American Indians, and the rites that were passed in many ways from generation to generation and from lodge to lodge.  The red lights reminded me of this story of a hero.

There was an initiate named Red Hand who did great works, who did great healing, who through the great mystery came also to understand the great mystery of the inner connectedness of all life which he was able to connect and communicate with the plants, trees and animals.  He was most loved and beloved not only by the people who came for teaching and guidance but also by the animals and the plants, by the insects and by the creepy crawlies.  It is said that Red Hand was taken by one who was seeking to keep the status quo, who did not want to have people free, who wanted dominion over, and who wanted Red Hand to reveal the secrets of adeptship so that he could misuse the power. Red Hand refused and was subsequently poisoned.  When the word went out amongst the animal and the plant kingdom that their beloved was lying dead, they came together and offered a part of themselves that he would be resurrected.  The last to come forward was the great bear.  The bear reached down and took the hand of Red Hand and pulled him up, and he was then resurrected.  For those of you who are familiar with the Masonic rites, this is the third degree of initiation. 

This initiation, this rite of passage by both men and women, took place in the halls of initiations of the tribes for hundreds of years.  Do not ever be arrogant.  Even for those that are perceived by some as lacking or ignorant, it is because it is within themselves.  The eyes rarely perceive what is really there. Do not judge it; have only compassion.  I would ask us all to consider our positions, our choices, our responsibilities as initiates, as those that are being trained in the mysteries, as those who perhaps now are being called to the mysteries—what it truly means.  As we move into this time in which perhaps our vision of what America is truly about is being challenged by outer circumstances, I would charge us to go to the heart of the mysteries, to the road of light, and to hold and know the true vision of what America’s work is in the Great Work.  This has been acknowledged in many ways by many teachers.  We know that Alice Bailey wrote often of America’s role in the upcoming New Age and the New World.  Blavatsky wrote of why the Rosicrucians positioned themselves here.  Let me tell you something about the Rosicrucians. If anyone tells you they are Rosicrucians, they are not for the Rosicrucian go about their business in the way they do best, which is very secretively, very powerfully, very quietly, very lovingly.  So I would invite us now to move into our Path working.

Begin by just moving your breath in and out of your bodies of consciousness.  I invite us to join as one heart as we connect heart to heart.  As we connect heart to heart, we open, we deepen, with the one heart.  As we deepen with the one heart, we open to new areas of mind as we expand, expand, expand.  We are being called, invited, to the ocean of the great mystery, and as we move toward this vast ocean from our place of vision, we see streams that move out from this ocean.  These streams have many names, but they are all from the same source, and they all return to the same source: Alpha and Omega.  As we hover over this mighty ocean, we feel the very cells of our bodies responding, for this ocean is rooted in depths, and the deepest of loves, and the wisdom. We see it spiraling, spiraling, spiraling through the depths, the heights, and the widths of this vast ocean.  We call now to the powers of the Illuminators, but it comes not from above, but as we gaze down deep into this ocean of wisdom with this spiral coming forth from the center, coming forth from the center, not unlike a wormhole, we see a light, a light coming up from deep through the spiral.  It is brighter than a million suns.  It is coming up.

It is moving through the spiral.  In this ocean of the great mysteries there is love and there is light.  Bathe in this ocean if you so choose.  Swim in this ocean.  Drink, drink, drink deep in this ocean of the mysteries, the true mysteries, seeded in love, empowered with the spiral of wisdom and illumined by light.  You may find you feel called to stay close to the shore or the surface, or you may be called to plunge deep, deep, deep, but we go, not as individuals, we go as one, we go as a group.  Be strengthened here.  Be sustained here.  Be fortified.  Seek the truth of your own heart.  Liberate your own heart.  If you choose, go to the light that is radiating, that is moving, through the wormhole from the bottom of the sea of the mysteries, brighter than a million candles, and illumine your mind, liberate your mind. 

Now we are being invited, privileged, and honored, to go to one of the halls of the mysteries.  We rise up together from the ocean, the vast ocean.  Before us is a hall.  It seems to be suspended in the starry sky.  There is a column of pillars that line up two by two. Like so many before us, we move down the hall in procession, two by two.  As we move past the pillars on either side, we know them now for they are living fonts.  They are hope.  They are vision.  They are clarity.  They are faith.  They are love.  They are strength.  They are mysticism.  They are magic.  They are commitment.  They are dedication.  They are self-less service.  

As we proceed down this hall we bless, we give thanks and we honor, not because they need or want it, rather because our hearts are so full, our hearts are so grateful, for all those who have walked before us who have carried the vision, who have carried the torch, who have stood in the love, who have suffered, who have given unceasingly, and we give thanks.  We give thanks.  We give thanks, for they have allowed us to be here now.  It is their great work that is a part of the greater work. We are not shackled.  We are not in tyranny except by our own hands.  We are not bound or chained except by our own fears.  But there are those who still are.  There are those who still are.  I acknowledge the watch keepers from the lodge of the seven sisters and the lodge of the nine sisters.  For they have joined us.  And I salute them now.  For in seven we are imbued and sustained and rooted in the highest level of mysticism in its truest form, the vertical, and in the nine, the highest rites of white magic.  The vertical and the horizontal have now been joined—mysticism and magic, for one cannot be sustained without the other, without loss of balance.  You must have love as well as illumination. 

Rest for a moment in the womb of the Great Mothers.  You look down upon Earth, love her and all life, and return now to America, the place of the Winged Serpent.  There is a moment here because we are being worked with.  I do not want to interrupt that in any way, so please just stay with me for a moment in the wonder.  I invite you to take a few minutes to offer your prayers, your intentions, for America, for the world.