The issue of secrecy is not a new issue. The word brings up an interesting connotation. Actually, there were many levels within the Mysteries, and have been in teachings throughout the ages. There were teachings that were the outer level teachings, and then there were those that were the inner level teachings. It's not unlike the levels within a court. You have what is called the Chamber of Chambers, the Inner Sanctum, and it is said that here is where the clarity, the purity, the absolute refinement of the teaching is found. It is a place that some never reach in any given lifetime. Then there's another level outside of that. In some schools they actually refer to the seven levels, with the outer level being a level that is a reflection, -perhaps a very dim reflection, perhaps even a somewhat distorted reflection, but none the less, a reflection -in the outer courts, of what is happening in the inner sanctum.

In the Christian tradition we recognize the parables as such. The parables were actually secret teachings. Those teachings were not only not known, but were not revealed, except to those within the inner court, and those in the outer court received them up to a certain level. The reason is, in part, that to reach that level of understanding required training. It required a discipline, and a use of tools. We tend to think in terms of a single lifetime. It has always been understood by those, who had that level of insight, that we do not live a singular lifetime, but that lifetimes are on a continuum. So it isn't about keeping something from someone, but it's more a question of timing.

That is why it is said that historically, students who were seeking a teacher, not only had to find one, but you hear stories of students that would camp out in front of the temples, and just sit and wait. And then perhaps they would be allowed into the outer court of the temple, and there they would wait. And then perhaps they would be allowed to come in and sweep the floors for ten or twelve years. There was the recognition that what this person is about is not just their desire, their light, that has been built up in this lifetime, but has been built through many lifetimes, with the desire to learn. And that that focus, the willingness to sit, even if it's in the outer chamber, at the feet of the master and wait for the teachings, did nothing but serve them, not only in that lifetime, but in lifetimes to come, because they learned focus, discipline, and clarity. They began to refine their personality. The Mystery Schools were not designed for secrecy. They were concerned with the unfoldment of awareness. And so while it may seem as if there is secrecy in one lifetime, it is the absolute truth that the secret will always be revealed in its perfect timing. So in truth there are no secrets.

THE REALITY of EVIL

There's a compilation, a very valuable text, called the Nag Hammadi, which is a translation of early Gnostic information which states that in the very process of coming into form, evil is created. Evil is inherent in matter. The question of evil is not resolved until there is no longer form. Its ultimate resolution is only when the in breath occurs, and there is no longer form. The Christian orientation concerning evil was that evil is that which has not been exposed to, or imbued with good. In other words, everything has the potentiality for good. Gnosticism says no; there is an evil aspect in form that is inherent in the creation of form, not just in the earth, but in any form. There is the wonderful story of Lucifer, and it's time for creation, and God/Goddess is looking around and says that everything just is because it is. And so because it is, there's no opposing force, there's no choice, and so there isn't any opportunity to be anything but what it is.

So God/Goddess asked all of the angels if they would go down and be the opposer. Their reply was that they loved God so much that they couldn't do that. But Lucifer said, "I love you so much that I will do that. " Opposition results in Fire by Friction. Some of the Rosicrucian doctrines came from Gnosticism, and there was the exploration of the reality of evil as being inherent in form versus just simply being absence of good. Some of the doctrines also came from Egyptian mysticism and the Kabbala -in fact the ten degrees of initiation within Rosicrucianism is the working on the paths of the Tree of Life. The material from the Tibetan, the Master Djwhal Khul, speaks of the seven levels of initiation.

It is said that on the 3rd level, which is when an integrated personality becomes soul infused, that person' s energy cannot operate in alignment with the dark brotherhood, with the left-handed path, as that is out of alignment with the soul. It is only with grades of initiation lower than that, that one can operate with the dark brotherhood. The other component is that there are those, in keeping with the cosmic plan, that are of a very high level, that would operate in what we would call the left hand path, because of their relationship to the cosmic plan. This operates at the level of cosmic consciousness, where it is of a nature of the movement of universes, cosmology .We are talking about huge, huge forces, and these beings that are operating to create these points of tension, are not under this particular understanding of these initiations. They operate in a different way. Remember that without points of tension, there is no growth. That is what we call fire by friction. What does evil mean? We get into an aspect of our personality that has a perception of what is good, and what is evil. There are different levels.

THE ROSICRUCIAN SYMBOL OF THE ROSE AND THE CROSS

This symbol is also found in the Knights Templar. There is found the crossing of these two orders with some of the symbols. One of the aspects of the cross and the rose is that they are associated with regeneration, both of them being phallic symbols. The cross is the male phallic symbol and the five-petalled rose is associated with the female, the womb. This symbol was used as part of the evidence in some of the inquisitions to claim that there was sexual perversion, and this was used as testimony to show sexual perversion and misuse of sexuality .The cross itself is six paneled, and the rose in the center is five-petalled. With the six paneled cross, if you were to fold it, it would be a cube. The cube symbolizes the form world. The five-petalled rose is a symbol of the microcosm, man, the pentagram. The petals represent the five senses and the desire nature. When the rose is fastened to the cross, it is a symbol of the desire nature of man that has been brought into manifestation in the form world, in accordance with the One Law. Part of our challenge is not to want to walk away from the form world, but to come in alignment with it, to bring it into harmony, the Law.

THE NATURE OF THE ASTRAL PLANE

We have, within our own consciousness, an astral body. It is our emotional body. Also, the planet itself, has an astral body, and we are a part of it. The planet is a living being, and we are a part of it. This astral body is fluidic and emotional, and has been created by the life of the planet, of which we are a part. It is said that eventually, when we reach a certain level of initiation, we will absorb our astral body. We are nowhere near that point yet. This is true also of the planet, which when it reaches a certain level of initiation, its astral body will be reabsorbed. The astral body touches all life, but humanity being individualized souls, it is of a particular resonance with the astral. Our emotions, our thoughts, our desires, all feed the astral plane, and it's also there that we have the mass images that we have built up.

For instance we have an image of what we as a consciousness think Jesus should look like. There's a good chance that if you go to the astral, and look for a blond haired, blue-eyed, rosy cheeked Jesus, you will find one, because that's what a lot of people believe. It is built there on the astral, and the image is strong. We're not judging it, it just is. And we can use that, because it's a doorway. We talk about building astral images and then using them. They are the alchemical container for the magical working that is undertaken. But you can't build the images haphazardly. If you really want it to work, you build the images very carefully and consciously. You build meaningful images that will do the work you need to do. You can also build your images using the color spectrum. Color affects the mood. We always are impacting all life. The question is, do we want to impact consciously or unconsciously. That is one of the understandings of the true initiate. We are talking about the use of consciousness.

MAGICAL WORKINGS

One of the things in your early training that you learn is that if you are doing a magical working you need to gauge how much energy it requires. It is similar for a dancer, as the energy you put into a single pirouette is less than the energy you use for a triple pirouette. You don't need to expend more energy than is needed for what you are doing, or it may leave you depleted for the rest of the performance. In a magical working, when you get to a certain level of training you learn how to use your energy very specifically. You learn how to use just the right amount of energy for the magical working. If you're doing what is called a lower level working, -lower in the sense of something that is done with people that aren't as experienced ceremonially -you have to do a lot to build up the energy .You will do a lot more mantras, a lot more movement, a lot of building and creating of the energy, and you're going to put a lot more energy into this type of working. As you get into higher and higher levels of working, with people that have the capacity to hold those higher levels, those who are at the higher levels of initiation, the working tends to be very still. It's done very succinctly, very telepathically, very controlled, because everybody can do this. You can call in the energy very easily, and the working is done.

MAGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE SPILLING OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

It has been said that the implication of Christ's blood being spilled on the earth at the crucifixion was magically very purposeful. It was the imbuing in the elemental form of the earth of an actual frequency that then would allow humanity -because we are all made up of the elements -to be able to hold the consciousness of love/wisdom. It is said that as you go through initiations, ( expansions of consciousness ), that your blood actually changes, and that there will come a point in time when there will be a sophistication of instruments that will actually measure the changes in the bloodstream itself. The expansions of consciousness are actually carried in the blood itself. There is also the implication that there is a whole new level of understanding of the Eucharist - the blood and the body of Christ. There are many levels of understanding of this, one of which is that when you are taking in the body of the Christ, you are binding the lower elements in alignment with Christ's energy.

When you are taking in the blood of the Christ, you are taking in the transcendent consciousness, the continuous flowing life force. The chemical formula of this imbuing of matter was part of the initiatory process, not only of the one we call Jesus, and of the Christ, but also for the earth herself. The bringing of the spear ( of Longinus) was also the forerunner of what you and I would call the destiny of humanity .What I mean by that is that humanity's destiny is to hold in perfect balance and power, the will and love/wisdom. The spearing of the side was also tied in with the forerunner that there was to be a balancing in the human, as it were, through what we would call death- or the appearance of death. It wasn't death at all, but an initiatory act, an act of transformation. But these two forces coming together was an alchemical formula that was the forerunner of what all of humanity is to step forward with. A joining and transformation of will power and love/wisdom, in the form, which is active intelligence.

So we have a formula when you are bringing down the triune energy into matter. There are always those who are called the forerunners. The job of the avatar of the age is not only to seed what is to be in that age, but also to begin bringing in the possibility for the avatar of the age that is to follow. It is part of this initiation process that was undertaken included the portent of what is coming in the Age of Aquarius. The rod of initiation of power, the rod of the spear, is the uplifted kundalini energy. The cutting point is like the sword, the blade. It cuts through. It was a portent of what humanity is seeking to step into, which is an illumined consciousness, which is the true implication of the fully risen kundalini. The illumined consciousness holds the spear of truth, and this joins in union with love/wisdom, out of which transformation occurs, in active intelligence, which is matter.

Matter is transformed. We look at time and we see it linearly. Time is not linear. It is the creation of humanity. It's hard to conceive what that means. Past, present and future is all happening simultaneously. Jesus was going through a level of initiation, and the indweller within Him was also going through initiation. As these processes were going on, there was also something that was taking place for humanity in that particular time and space, and for the upcoming age. But there was also the portent of what was to come. It was like bringing in the thread of energy of what the destiny is, and it was symbolized by the coming together of the spear into the body that was the living, breathing temple of what we call love/wisdom. And so you had, as opposed to a knife, or a sword, you actually had a shaft, which was symbolic of the illumined mind. There was the shaft of the rod of initiation symbolized by your upright spine. You had the spearhead, which is what pokes through, the justice, the truth, and you had the grail energy, the body, or temple of love/wisdom. Out of that was apparent death, which symbolizes transformation, But this is transformation of what we call active intelligence, which is the pattern, the plan of the formation of the world. So you had the three-fold God-head, which is love/wisdom, active intelligence, and will power, being anchored.