"SPIRITUAL GLEANINGS IN FREEMASONRY"
by
W.Bro.J.A. GILCHRIST, L.G.R., P.M., Lodge No. 1679.

BRETHREN,

Since the beginning of time all men have sought a way to perform
Acts of Worship to the Almighty Giver of Life, according to
Ancient Ritual, and although, of course, the Rituals of today are
now in line with modern civilisation, the guiding principle has
been at all times the same:-

Gratitude to the Most High for his many blessings, and an
expression of hope for the continuance of His Goodness.


These paths have been many and varied - but a path followed by
vast numbers of mankind throughout the centuries has been that of
Masonry.  This does not, of course, altogether mean the
Freemasonry of today, with its co-relation to social and business
functions, and - let it be emphasized - with its charity on a
broad and generous scale.  In this Circle we have a far different
conception of what constitutes a Mason and what ideals the Craft
should represent.  Of this we shall learn more later.  But first
let us summarize a considerable body of teaching which will serve
to introduce the subject.

As a commencement it would be better to differentiate between the
popular conception of Freemasonry already referred to, and that
infinitely greater truth which might be called the original or
ancient craft of Masonry which we are told springs from the very
roots of time and is as old as humanity itself.  Could we begin
at the beginning - if there is a beginning - and were our vision
able to pierce the inconceivable eras of time which lie between
us and that beginning, we should find (so we learn) that this
ancient Masonry was communicated to the first men by teachers
from some other planet far older than the earth who came here to
minister to man in his newness and strangeness in a new and
strange world.

At once we come up against objections. "Science has declared,"
will say our critic, "that life (as we know human life) is
impossible on any one of the solar planets and still less say
upon the sun itself, which is but a ball of inconceivable flame."
Such an argument appears rather naive upon examination because we
men though spiritual in origin, most certainly have bodies made
from the substance of the earth, and therefore possess earth-like
qualities of mind and outlook.  A more spiritual being therefore
existing upon, say, Venus, or Mars or Jupiter, would of necessity
have its more ethereal form made of the substance of the planet
whereon it lives; likewise an angelic being existing say upon the
sun itself would be a son of the flame, clad literally in a body
of flame.  With this possibility in mind we come back again to
those first men.

Actually occult science tells us that the first men did not
inhabit bodies such as ours, but instead had their being upon
some nearby astral plane.  Only at a certain stage did they
descend to dwell upon earth itself, then they became clad in
bodies of flesh or "coats of skin" - as the story goes in
Genesis.  Surely Genesis makes the whole matter clear, once we
grasp its symbolism.  Are we not told how Adam and Eve lived in
the Garden of Eden, where sin was not and where beauty reigned -
which Eden was obviously never upon earth but upon some other
plane or stratum of existence. Then came the Temptation.  One of
the teachers bestowed upon Eve and Adam a knowledge of evil, so
that thereafter good and evil were contrasted in their  minds.
Having tasted evil, there followed the Fall.  They became clothed
in "coats of skin" (or bodies of flesh, as we understand the
words to-day) and were of necessity barred from their Eden by the
angel with a sword of light.

Possibly men were at this stage of physical, mental and spiritual
development when the principles or Craft of ancient Masonry were
revealed.  Because of this revelation man became primarily and
fundamentally a constructive instead of a destructive being, as
exemplified by Cain.  Man cannot help but build or construct
because of some urge within his nature - although, perversely
enough, since the Cain-aspect is not entirely erased in us, he
destroys also on occasion.  Man is principally a builder, then,
of homes, farms, houses, temples, of castles, towns and
civilisations.  When at his best and sanest he constructs, and at
his worst and maddest he destroys; and man with fundamental good
sense very properly calls construction good - and destruction "
evil."

Masonry as a Craft is designed to stress and enhance all that is
constructive.  Its very name indicated a craftsman who hewed and
shaped the rough stone from which homes, temples and cities were
once built.  The working of stone was once as universal as is the
use of bricks and mortar today, and the Mason was ever a builder
and constructor.  But there is more than this labour of the hand. 
Man can build by exercise of his powers of mind and thought. 
Therefore, anyone bringing forth knowledge or invention which
contributes to the welfare of mankind is (in the broadest sense)
a Mason also, a builder with the mind.  But away and beyond all
this the Craft of the ancient Masonry is concerned with the
building of the soul or the soul-temple of man; all its symbology
and ritual revolves about and centres upon this upbuilding of the
soul, and the first God-men came to visit this new strange earth
and the human units marooned thereon to promote this upbuilding
of the soul-power in man.

Having by now cleared the way, and perhaps defined the Craft (or
fundamental urge within man) of ancient Masonry, let it be
stressed that members of the Craft (again in the broadest sense)
among mankind even in this materialistic age must be innumerable:
simply because man has been and can still be roughly segregated
into two divisions - the destructive and the constructive, the
war-makers (no matter whether the war be financial, social,
industrial or with actual gun and bomb), and the peace-upholders
or upbuilders, which comprises all those who contribute something
to the material, mental and spiritual advancement of mankind. 
All belonging to this latter division constitute a vast
brotherhood of toilers for the betterment of man.  It matters not
at all whether they have ever been formally initiated into any
Lodge of Freemasons, learnt any "secrets," or shared in any
ritual.  Our Lodges exist to-day as an outer expression or
recognition of the fact that the ancient Craft of Masonry once
had its being, still persists and still challenges mankind to
spiritual endeavour.  Those who brought the Craft of modern
Freemasonry into being a few centuries ago had in mind the
provision of Lodges or Brotherhoods which would foster the growth
of the constructive urge within mankind.  Freemasonry, as we know
it to-day, is presumedly based upon the Ritual and Craft of far
earlier Lodges extant in ancient Israel and Egypt.  Such
Freemasonry has become formalised, conventional, orthodox, and
therefore, as with all other orthodoxies, has lost its great
"secret." Nevertheless, it is still possible to trace amid its
ritual that ancient origin and universal truth which once gave
rise to the original Craft.

In essence, then, the ancient Masonry, as bestowed at the
beginning, revealed to the soul a path, so that it might lay a
foundation or even build for itself that temple or celestial body
without which no soul can enter the glories of heaven.  In order
to respond to the beauties of God's creative universe, man must
foster and nurture by effort and work, by endurance and
discipline, by suffering, pain and joy, the delicate and
beautiful instrument of the spiritual body.

When the inmost soul refuses to respond and stays deaf, blind and
dumb, it remains (in the Masonic phrase) in a "state of darkness"
through its own folly or ignorance.  Once the soul becomes
illumined it becomes clothed with that wedding garment without
which it could not return to its mystical "marriage" or re-union
with God.

Without question the first Masonry was founded upon sun-worship. 
Symbolically, it is said that the light ever comes from the East. 
If you study the origin of modern Freemasonry you  will find that
it largely concentrates upon the construction of a building known
as the "Temple of King Solomon." What does this symbolise ? To
interpret, let us find the inner or soul meaning; true enough,
once there lived a great and wise king called Solomon, who
doubtless built many a temple.  But the truth lies deeper.  Here
we have yet another parable which may be likened to the many
parables of the Master Jesus.  When such parables become
understood in the light of the sun (here again a parable) each
reveals some truth concerning the evolution of the soul.  The
masonic Temple of King Solomon, then, is always the Temple of the
Sun.  The visible sun is itself the vehicle through which the
spiritual life-force manifests - the sun and the attendant twelve
signs of the zodiac, In Hebrew mythology the zodiacal signs are
sometimes called the "twelve tribes" or the twelve "sons" which
mean the twelve archetypal men - the twelve grouped around the
king or the twelve perfect types of humanity (Royal Arch Masons
learn of these things), because every human being can be
segregated into a "type" which in following incarnations will be
influenced by one or other of the twelve "signs." By its
continued evolution each ego will eventually contain the
influence of all the twelve and will then be perfected by full
illumination, which means its blending and absorption into the
centre or sun of life, or God.

This does not mean that we shall lose our own self.  Because of
this misconception many dread the thought of letting go of the
self. We all cling to "I," forgetting that our real and true ego
(not the shadowy outer "I") has always formed a part or unit in
the Universal or, if you like the word better, in the Christ.  It
is always a soul's separation from the Christ light or sun which
causes human suffering, as we try to explain when we say that joy
and sorrow are actually one; because only when the soul becomes
separated from its true self does a gulf come between joy and
sorrow.  Then joy and sorrow begin to operate in the individual
life as teachers leading the soul onward and back to God.

THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

References to the Ancient Wisdom and to the holy lives lived by
members of the ancient Brotherhood of Freemasons can be found
throughout history and in almost every country.  Those who enter
the Craft of to-day learn that the candidate must concern himself
with the "liberal arts and sciences."

Their studies will comprise the arts and sciences of Grammar,
Rhetoric, Logic, Geometry, Mathematics, Music and Astronomy:
Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic to aid men to express truth; Music,
Mathematics, Geometry and Astronomy (Astrology) to help men to
assimilate truth.  It must never be forgotten that the building
of a soul operates on the same principle as the building of a
temple of wood and stone, in so far as both forms of construction
should be based upon law and perfect measurement.  The physical
body itself is governed by proportion.

Many thousands of years ago the great temples of the past (of
which ruins are found in many places in both East and West) were
built upon these principles with a symbolic meaning in their
structure.  More recently buidings have been erected in ignorance
of the ancient principles of true masonry.  Later, when following
this subject, we will consider and compare the architecture of
the past and present.  In some respects architecture is a lost
art, or an art which lies hidden, and until man again opens to
the Ancient Wisdom perfect structures as of old cannot be built.


OPERATIVE AND SPECULATIVE MASONRY

I hope I have not confused you between the actual construction of
a temple and the building of the individual soul.  On the one
hand, we have what is known as "operative" Masonry, and on the
other, the Masonry of the soul, known as "speculative" Masonry. 
We do not ask any Freemason to accept what follows, but we think
that any Masonry of the soul must be operative also; if it be
only speculative, it can remain a passive thing; but when it
becomes operative, it will find a channel of expression in action
and through service.  That is why we feel that the true brother,
the true Mason in the broadest sense, must ever be busy, not only
with prayer and devotion but with honest service.  Freemasons and
all true brothers must become operative Masons, and in the degree
in which they reconstruct their own lives, so raise the lives of
their brethren, and so work for humanity.

"IN A STATE OF DARKNESS"

As you all know, there are certain steps without which a
candidate cannot enter the Craft of Freemasonry.  There comes a
point in each man's life when he hungers for more knowledge. 
Then and then only he  becomes a candidate for truth.  We are
told in the Sacred Writings to "knock, and the door shall be
opened." In this fashion the candidate knocks upon the door of
the Lodge; and after the Teachers are satisfied that he is
genuine they reveal certain knowledge.  Whereas the candidate was
before living in a state of darkness, mortality and ignorance,
after that wonderful experience he should know through the mind
and through spiritual illumination, that he has found something
beyond all price.  This, then, is the first step, or the First
Degree.  All this is experienced (or better, given in symbolic
form) both in a Freemasons Lodge and in the wider and universal
Craft of Masonry.

Then comes a period of waiting.  This is where many a candidate
feels disappointed and sometimes deluded.  After the first step
many a test of integrity and sincerity comes to the candidate . .
. many little snags appear.  The tempter of the earthly mind
argues with the higher self, saying: "Don't believe in it!
Nothing exists but the things you see, and which you contact
through your senses.  This mystical business is all imagination."
Thus the tempter whispers in the mind of man.  If allowed to get
out of control mind can destroy every vesture of faith.  The
intellect can be a valuable asset and a good friend-but also a
bad enemy.  Through intellect, then, can come that which will
turn the soul off its path.  But from the higher aspect it can be
seen that this mind which would destroy serves also as a "tester"
trying out the quality of the soul.  If the soul rests secure in
what has been revealed to it through the light, then the next
step is permissible and assured.

THE NEXT STEP
 
The next step is somewhat harder and is where many candidates
flinch, for it is here that the soul must put into action what it
has learnt in the First Degree.  It is always easy to talk about
the brotherhood of man but difficult indeed to practise it.  Yet
every man is our brother and the Great Architect of the Universe
our Father; and we like the rest of humanity are His workmen, and
His craftsmen; our task being not only to build the temple of our
own soul, but to help forward the evolution of all men to assist
in the construction of that mighty, grand Temple in the Heavens. 
In operative Masonry the Master Mason tests the work to see that
it is exact and perfect.  The Mason must handle chisel and gavel,
square and compass, and labour until he has transformed the rough
stone into the smooth and perfect cube.  Our souls are those
rough stones, my friends, which by aspiration and constant
discipline must be perfected! Our arrogant mind can be too sure
that all is well; our inner self (the Master Mason) sees many a
remaining fault - weakness, lack of truth, susceptibility to
flattery, vanity, irritability - these, and others also; even
habitual depression is a failing most difficult to remove.

These things are not eradicated in a day or a week; and when we
least expect it, they come again and again.  Selfishness takes
many forms.

So we must get down to hard work in preparation for the Second
Degree, and perfect ourselves through many a life-experience; and
then, having satisfied the Senior Brethren that we are ready, we
are allowed to take the Second Degree.

We are workmen, craftsmen; and we shall learn that the harmony
existent in the universe can be conveyed to us in the form of
music which can be such an important aid to the progress of the
soul.  Moreover, music or harmony is an expression in itself of
the same principles which govern the building of a temple - for
that matter, of a universe - Perfect Vibration.

II
THE DIVINE ARCHITECTURE

When we consider this teaching from the ancient past, we speak
not from the plane of human knowledge but from that of intuition. 
We endeavour to put into words truths almost incomprehensible to
the material mind; and not so much in the phrases used as in the
spiritual power they can impart is the message to be read.

With the subject of Masonry in particular we feel how inadequate
are words to convey the wonder and truth of this Ancient Wisdom. 
Although we shall now deal with architecture, here again we are
not architects in the understood sense; nevertheless, we shall
endeavour to translate from the spiritual plane a knowledge
symbolised by the word "architecture" in Freemasonry; which word
immediately calls to mind the great buildings and grand
cathedrals in our midst.  We reach back in memory also to those
buildings now destroyed - the temples of the now-lost continents,
the remnants on Easter Island, the ruins in Southern America. 
The remains of temples far more glorious that now lie beneath the
waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

To cite a particular example, let us recall the ruined Abbey of
Glastonbury, which we may regard as modern compared with the
temples of the past.  Can you reconstruct in your imagination
that great Abbey built upon holy ground by those who held
knowledge not merely of construction but of symmetry, proportion,
harmonious vibration, and a spiritual insight into the powers
within man's own cathedral, the temple of man? For this spiritual
knowledge, brethren, was the guiding principle used by the
ancient architects, the ancient Frcemasons, in building the
temples in which they afterwards laboured, lived and worshipped.

So you may conceive such churches and abbeys as buildings erected
to the glory of God, fitting houses in which to worship the
Creator.  More than this, we suggest that these temples were an
outward expression of an inner spiritual wisdom; that the
builders were themselves Initiates of the Ancient Wisdom and
brought into action all the powers of the spirit in their
creations.  The ideal thus made manifest in stone and timber
possessed powers to draw the vibrations which would stimulate the
soul - qualities of the worshippers within the temple ; and
vibrations which would in due course enable them to open centres
of light within their own temple.  Each portion of the structure
of these ancient buildings was so designed as to harmonise with
the planetary influences; each was an expression of the inner
harmonies of the great Universe; and such temples were primarily
temples of Initiation.

The whole purpose of man's many incarnations is that he may learn
through every stage of life to surmount his environment, master
that weaker self that lends that environment its power to corrode
the happiness which is his by right, and come back again into the
heaven world fully conscious of his God-powers.  Did he not once
in the long ago, although intrinsically a divine spirit or son of
God, descend into the temple of the flesh, or of the earth? In
Masonic terms this man of earth is called a stone, or the rough
Ashlar, and is destined to be shaped by the Master Mason within
into a perfect cube.

This opens yet another aspect of the symbolic truth of Masonry. 
All aspects will harmonise.  The Craft reveals how the human
spirit descended to take up residence in the temple of a fleshly
body, built or prepared for the incoming spirit by the Great
Architect; or by Him or They, Who, when constructing the vast
Universe, constructed also the little universe - the being of
man. Within this soul-temple are to be found the sacred places
for the working of the Master Mason ... the sacred centres, or
the centres of spiritual power within.

Again, even as the buildings of the past were built to receive
vibrations from the higher worlds, in like manner each point in
the physical body - the pineal and pituitary glands in the head,
the throat centre, the heart centre, the generative centre, and
the resting place of the fire-power (known to the Eastern student
as the centre of Kundalini) - all these were represented in the
buildings of long ago.  The ancient Secrets, the key acknowledged
as long lost by modern Freemasomy - all lie within.

To some this may seem obscure, but it cannot be made more plain. 
Where you cannot now follow, you will be helped to understand;
and as you meditate and work for yourself, light will break in
upon you.

The temples of the past were so constructed that on a certain
hour and day of each year the sunlight came through some small
aperture or dormer, and illumined the sacred altar, the Holy of
Holies, in the innermost sanctuary.  This has several
interpretations, but one we offer is that it symbolises the sun
or life-force entering the human body and resting in the creative
centre of man (generation itself being considered a sacred ritual
in the ancient mysteries).  Man is reputed to have fallen from
his true state.  Shall we rather interpret the so-called "fall"
of man by saying that man descended into the depths of matter (or
into, the "stone" temple) in order to learn, and to receive
within his being the creative powers . . . the power to build, to
create a bodily habitation for yet another soul; so that after
undergoing many vicissitudes and through sweat and labour he may
return at last into the heaven world, into the Kingdom of God,
and thus by his own effort become regenerated.

THE PATH SPLENDID

Brethren, this is the splendid path we tread.  Do the little
affairs of earth matter so much then? We rebel while in the
flesh, we laugh, we weep; we react reluctantly and sometimes
violently to the gentle chisel and our protests and rebellions
are actually of little use, for the steady work of shaping the
rough stone goes forever forward.  Is it not all worth while? ...
every effort, every disappointment, every sorrow? Nothing can be
wasted, for the aggregate of all our experiences serves to create
in us the true state, the perfect Ashlar some day to find its
appointed place in the temple we ourselves are building in the
heavens; and each of these separate and individual temples is
gradually being perfected by the Great Architect for its
inclusion in the Grand Temple of the Universe.

This expresses in Masonic terms the fact that we as individuals
are ever being moulded and harmonised to fit into the great plan,
together with all our fellow creatures, souls breathed forth from
the divine Creator since the foundation of the world.

The buildings of the past had peculiar acoustic properties.  The
Masons of old possessed knowledge which enabled them to create
chambers which proved receptive to sounds from the invisible
worlds.  Today some occultists attempt to invent instruments to
receive the finer sound waves, so that messages can be received
from the astral plane and possibly from the planets.  In ancient
times this was common knowledge; voices from afar were heard and
actual communications from other planets were received, this fact
establishing a great harmony, a linking-up of the human with many
other aspects of life contained within the solar system and the
spheres above, beyond and beneath or within the earth.


THE MARK OF THE MASON

Many have noted the Mason's Mark on ruined churches and abbeys -
markings placed in some inconspicuous place to indicate the
builder.  The masonic markings of the true Initiate are always to
be found.  Consider Jesus, the Master Initiate and the Christ:
those who understand can recognise upon His Temple (shall we call
it the Temple of Jerusalem, the Holy City?) the stamp of the true
Initiate or Master Mason.  But never does the true Mason
advertise or speak of his qualifications.  Remember, silence is
itself the hall mark.  To-day this ancient rule of silence is
interpreted to mean that no masonic secret may be divulged
outside the Lodge.  But we tell you there are no secrets in
Masonry! Much ado is made of so-called secrets, we know, but the
true secrets lie hidden within the heart, within the life of the
Master Mason.  No true Initiate will proclaim himself by saying:
"I am so and so, of such and such a degree!" By his marks shall
ye know him.  How futile, then, for man to cry his wares in the
market place! The true mark of the soul - or Masonic quality of
the man is his ability to reach out, touch, help and heal the
heart and hurt of his brother, to bring light into his brother's
shadowed life.  A true Mason recognises another without sign or
word by the light in the eyes, the vibration in the aura of his
brother.  Words and grips are not necessary.  His light shines
forth - in his eyes, his voice, his touch and his heart, for be
alone has powers born of God that can see and heal world sickness
and distress.

So, brethren, let us go our way with quiet mind and steadfast
heart.  What matters the babble of the market place? We live with
understanding for our fellow men, with service in our hands, with
courage in our heart and on our lips.  We lift our vision to the
skies; we stand in worship at the foot of our brethren in nature,
the trees, and listen to the harmonies of the universe whispering
through their branches.  We are formed bodily as are those trees
. . . the man-made structures of old were built upon the
formation of the trees.  The strength and grace of trunk and
branch taught the builders the secret of pillar, arch and groin. 
The harmonies of creation find expression in the trees, as in the
human body to-day.

Many a symbol, many an interpretation of truth exists.  Truth
finds an outlet in the march of the seasons, in the rotation of
night and day, in the sun, the moon and the encircling seven
planets; the twelve gates of the holy city, the twelve tribes of
Israel, the twelve signs of the zodiac; each and all symbolise
some divine truth; the thirty years of Christ tell us of the
thirty degrees of the signs of the zodiac! The raising of Lazarus
is representative of the raising of the candidate as from death
unto life, symbolising the raising of the life-essence in the
candidate as from the floor (the base of the spine) to the
heavens (the higher mind) to illumine the pineal and the
pituitary glands.  Whatever is in nature can be found also in
man, and that which is man exists in the heavens also! "As Above
- so Below! "Nothing less than this is the grand Architecture,
the Plan of the Great Architect of the Universe.


III

This, in rough outline, is our conception of the early stages of
Masonry, ancient and modern.  Although considered by some to be
but one school of teaching, we ourselves accept Masonry as the
ancient mystery school, established since the foundation of the
world; and we worship its Grand Master as the Son, known to most
as Christ and by many other names.  Christ again is symbolised by
the sun, and upon sun-symbolism, together with the twelve signs
of the zodiac and the seven planets, Freemasonry is constructed. 
To illustrate our point let us turn to the ancient home of
Egyptian Masonry, now called the Great Pyramid.  Within this
ancient Temple of the Craft we may read all the secrets of
Masonry.  Indeed, we need not limit the revelations of Masonry to
the Egyptian Pyramid alone for Masonry has had its home in many
an eastern land, and even in the west are to be found remains
which bear clear evidence of having once been sun temples, or
temples of the Masonic Craft; and when reviewing the Masonic
truth declared by the structure of the Egyptian Pyramid we shall
find those same truths also recorded in other parts of the world.

The very word "Freemasonry" is derived from the sun . . . a
Freeman is a brother in the light; a Bondman is one in the
darkness.  From the sun all life is born.  The House of Light
was, therefore, the name given by the ancients to the Great
Pyramid, and the candidate to the inner mysteries sought wisdom
and knowledge therein.  As opposed to popular ideas, this was
never used or designed as a tomb of kings, nor any place of
mortality, but formed rather as a birth-place for the King in
man; for the symbolism of which the Great Pyramid is the material
outcome, tells how the soul enters through a secret entrance into
the inner chambers of the mysteries, not (be it noted) only of
that vast stone pyramid, but (symbolically speaking) of the
candidate's own temple or soul.  As he successfully surmounts all
grades and degrees of tests and trials, he at last wins admission
into the King's Chamber; the King's Chamber symbolises the
Christ-nature, the Christ being - the King's Chamber being the
Holy Royal Arch with the King as its Keystone ... for Christ is
ever the Keystone of the Holy Royal Arch Degree.

After passing all tests and trials, and coming at last face to
face with the great Initiator (the Master who dwelt within the
Pyramid, and who was neither seen nor heard untit all tests were
undergone) upon the candidate was laid the symbol of the Key,
known as the Ankh, or the Crux Ansata . . . the very symbol of
life.  Once the candidate had won to this treasure, he was said
to possess a key which would unlock all mysteries.  All initiated
into Freemasonry will recognise the solemn question from the
lectures: "Where hangs the key?" Not in the skill of the hand or
power of the mind, as many young brethren imagine.  The intellect
alone will never unlock the door of the Ancient Wisdom.  In the
King's Chamber stands the Altar whereon burns the everlasting
flame . . . the torch, the light which God has placed within
every man.  This torch is the flame of man's highest self, and
through this self the Master speaks.

Can you read the riddle of the Sphinx inscrutable ? In this
symbol of the mysteries we have a representation of the four
elements: earth, air, fire and water.  Also we have here
portrayed the man, the lion, the ox and the eagle - the eagle
without whose wings man cannot soar away from earthliness - the
wings representative of the fifth sphere of Mercury, which 
(astrologically speaking) forms the link between the higher and
the lower planes of thought.

TEST AND TRIAL

Through a secret door, hidden between the paws of the silent
Sphinx, the candidate passed, and then commenced a long and
arduous training.  He was allowed to withdraw before the first
step, if he wished, as in Freemasonry to-day.  If any were found
unready, or if only idle curiosity proved to be their motive,
they could not progress far; for the passage through which they
had thought to advance brought them back again to their starting
point.  The secrets of the Ancient Wisdom were absolute! which
simply means that it was thought impossible for anyone once
initiated to reveal the secrets of the Order.  Nevertheless, at a
certain stage in the history of Freemasonry enemies did creep in,
and then came a division, a breaking away by some from the
original and sacred Order.  Of this we can say no more at
present.  But from that time greater stringency arose.  However,
on the inner planes it is true that when the candidate has once
advanced his lips are sealed ; his throat centre having been once
vivified by the word of initiation, cannot, cannot speak words
which would profane the sacred mysteries.  This does not always
apply to an outer brother.  At each initiation in the Great
Pyramid, one by one, and in due order, the centres of the body
were brought into activity, and the candidate was later taught
how to use wisely the power thus released; and shown also that
misuse of such power would mean only a destruction of the inner
self which would automatically throw the soul back into the fire
for purification, and back to where it started.

Our ancient brethren, after due trial, were instructed in the
methods necessary to free themselves from the bondage of the
cross if we accept the cross as symbolic of the material self,
for thus it was regarded in Egypt.  Therefore the base of the
pyramid forms a square (again representing earth, air, fire and
water), which is yet another portrayal of the cross, from which
has originated the frequent references to "the square" in
Masonry.  Candidates attaining the higher degrees were also
instructed in the mysteries of the stellar constellations and the
planets, their relationship and influence upon human evolution
and regeneration; for it was known and taught that man had fallen
from the pure spiritual state of life, had descended within the
veil of darkness and taken upon himself the obscurity of the
flesh, all in search of wisdom; which wisdom could only come
about through steadfast endeavour and hard work an the base or
basic material of his nature - upon the square or cross of
himself.  Through his own endeavour and work, therefore, and not
by reason of the effort of others, would he be at last fitted to
receive the key of the heaven world.

In other words, the creative life-force which in incarnate man
had descended into the depths and become localised within the
lower psychic centres, must be released, must arise and be
transmuted to the head, heart and throat, and thus energise a
higher triangle erected upon the square or the base of the
pyramid - or, in other words, erected upon the cross, symbolising
man's lower nature.  This base of the pyramid or square was
crowned by four triangles (this again symbolised the four
elements) the whole depicting the Risen or Perfected Man
symbolised by the divine pyramid of creative life-power and
illumination.

THE PURE GOLD

A similar path of progress is revealed in Rosicrucian symbolism. 
By transmutation of base metals our Rosicrucian brethren create
pure gold, so it is said. In other words, by the transmutation of
the lower nature, man causes to bloom upon his cross (the lower
self of man) the divine rose, symbolic of the perfected manhood
of Christ, the Initiate and Master, a presentation of the
perfected man of earth! Thus we may realise Christ as a
revelation of the divine man in heaven, reborn in the King's
Chamber ... re-born of the Light of the Sun!

As old as the hills ... as wide as the universe is this vast and
ageless brotherhood of the Sun . . . of the Light!

It is known that the wise men of old journeyed to Egypt to take
their degrees in the great brotherhood.  It is said also that
numbers of other candidates tried unsuccessfully to be admitted
to these grand ceremonies.

It is thought by some that records pertaining to the Initiation
of the Master Jesus himself will be found when certain as yet
undiscovered chambers in the Great Pyramid are opened.  Our
answer to this is that when man is ready to hear he will learn of
these things.  We would add that vibration, colour and sound
played an important part in the ceremonies within the Sun Temple. 
Use was made of the sun's rays in healing by methods which were
revealed to the Initiates.  These same methods of healing are
still known, and are being employed to-day by those who know the
secret of focusing solar rays upon certain sensitive points of
the human body.  The sun's rays, thus centralised by and through
human agency, can affect growing crops and herbs.  The priests
were also instructed in the arts of healing, and of astronomy or
astrology (for the two sciences were then one), Music was
employed in the art of penetrating the invisible worlds, taking
active part in helping the spirits of men bound down on earth. 
To-day these arts are lost.  Tomorrow, when man humbles himself
and bows his proud head so that he can enter beneath the Sphinx,
the man of earth will be again initiated into the doctrines and
mysteries of the Sun Life - the Christ principle.

IV
THE TRUE MASONIC LAW

In Masonry one law should rule all Lodges.  Let the elder brother
instruct his younger brother.  And as simply as possible, bearing
in mind that simplicity is the bedrock of profundity, and that in
the simplest language may be presented the grandest truths.

We remind you that you will always find varying presentations of
the same truth.  We ourselves give from time to time symbols
covering different aspects of truth.  They do not necessarily
contradict, however.  A thoughtless man might say "My left hand
contradicts my right!" Not so; this may indicate another meaning
to the saying "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand
doeth." It also indicates some spiritual development when a soul
can listen to the many teachings given forth, and say: "Yes,
there is truth in all."

Some may know that the full complement of man's vehicles is not
yet functioning.  But we all move in time up that spiral.

The greater his expansion of consciousness, the more
comprehensive will be a man's understanding of all the schools of
thought, which to the man on the lower plane at first appear
contradictory and even chaotic.  We should, therefore, endeavour
to remain as calm and uncritical as we can.  What we do not
understand, that which seems to contradict, let us not declare to
be wrong ; let us rather say: " When I attain to a greater
expansion of consciousness, I shall take this stone also and
build it into the Grand Temple." Or, changing our simile, " I
shall find that this tapestry that I weave (with my life and all
its happenings) requires certain threads to bring out the light
and shade.  So I shall take this new strand and weave it into the
pattern." It is unwise, therefore, to be too definite or too
dogmatic on matters spiritual.

THE FLXED MIND

We see that the minds of many students are fixed.  Being certain
they have arrived at the truth, they remain like a gramophone
which jams in the middle of a record and continually repeats the
same word or phrase of music.  Let your record play out the
harmonies of the heavens.  Do not reject that which does not
coincide with your own particular ideas.  Put it aside for a time
and wait.  Some day you will see how wonderful are all these
different aspects and interpretations of truth.

Candidates initiated into a Masonic Lodge of today become
familiar with the story of Hiram Abiff, a mythical character who
was slain within the temple he was building by three ruffians and
buried.  Take careful note.  He was slain . . . he was buried ...
and yet he was rased agaih to life.  The resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ immediately comes to our mind.  He also was put to
death by three ruffians.  What were the three ruffians in his
case? Surely - the church . . . the state . . . and the mob.  He
was buried and in three days He rose from the dead, ascended into
heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father of all.

Thus the far older parable of Freemasonry can be found also in
Christianity.  Some say it originated in Atlantis, and since then
many other religions present it in some form or other.  Actually
the story embodies the life history of man and indicates that
experience through which every man will some day pass.  Here we
find (told in symbolic form) yet another of the sun-myths, which
describes how the sun itself was taken and slain while in its
temple (the heavens) at a certain time of the year by three
ruffians.  Let us see who the ruffians were ... Some schools of
thought would name "Libra, Scorpio, Saggitarius," who were
reputed to have slain the autumnal sun, which lay dormant for
three days (actually three months); and then at the birth of
spring the sun was raised from the dead and re-united to his
former companions.  Who were those companions? Surely the kindly
blossoming of spring - the flowers, the fruits and the trees -
these are the beloved companions of the sun.

THE SLAIN HERO

In this, we have a symbolic tale of the descent of the slain hero
into the tomb (down into Scorpio) which signifies the lower
centres of man . . . the generative organs . . . within which
lies the seed, or the life essence which in due course is to be
reborn.  We have described the temple and its aperture through
which, once yearly, the sun's ray fell directly upon the Holy of
Holies within - by which the ancient Egyptians symbolised the sun
(life, seed or essence) as penetrating the temple of the future
mother's body, and being nurtured in the womb ; and symbolised
also the descent of the human spirit from the heavens to earth,
there to be held in the darkness and imprisoned by the flesh for
perhaps many cycles of life by cycles we mean series of
incarnations, since each cycle of seven incarnations is intended
to produce a certain state of consciousness or development in the
soul.

So we read into this story of the slaying of the sun by Scorpio
the story of man's descent into dense matter.  Within the womb is
held the secret of life.  This, then, is the secret of the lost
Keys of Masonry.  They also lie within.  When man has awakened,
when he learns how to liberate the fire (or creative power) and
raise it to the thirty-third degree (some masons will understand)
or bring it up through the thirty-three segments of the spinal
column to the head centre, this will again be the raising of the
sun of life as from the dead.  Seven steps are supposed to lead
to the crown, and these seven are centred upon the spinal column. 
These seven sacred centres of the human body are each related to
a particular planet, although the influence of one only of the
seven planets predominates during each of the seven incarnations. 
Nevertheless, each planet will affect in turn one of the seven
signs or centres of the human body ; and at the end of seven
incarnations man should arrive at a definite point on his spiral
of evolution. . . .

The whole plan of Freemasonry is, therefore, based upon the
development or evolution of the soul of man through his various
experiences and lives, and relates them to the planetary and
heavenly influences which affect those lives.  To-day, whilst the
outer Freemasonry is a shadow of what it was, the occult, or
esoteric Freemasonry, is still to be found, and it is the duty of
every true mason to search for it.

FORCING THE PACE

You will ask how you can quicken or hasten your development.
Well, maybe some of us in the past were in too great a hurry.  We
suffer still perhaps from the same failing.  The Craft teaches a
great truth.  Those candidates who would rush forward are
restrained by a cord.  If they persist, they come up against the
very sharp point of the poignard.  This means that in the past we
have tried to force certain centres of power without the
necessary development and training to sustain us in the ordeals
and trials which follow.

For all occult knowledge there is payment demanded.  If you want
goods you must pay for them; failing this, something unpleasant
happens.  This is the law of everyday affairs, it is also the law
of the spiritual life.

THE PRICE OF WISDOM

What is the price demanded, and how does one pay? We answer that
if you seek wisdom and love, you must pay by self-denial, by
restraining the demands of the flesh and the desire body ; you
must obey certain laws - and very stringent laws they are! If you
disobey, you come immediately against that sharp instrument. 
Purity of motive, constancy of purpose, love towards life, a
surrender of self to the Law, or to the will of God - these are
the prices.  One must watch every act and thought, and learn to
control your speech and emotions.  If you neglect these things,
remember that instrument is very sharp.

The majority of people seem to go through life with no ideas
above the material, the main object apparently being to have a
good time.  Some of us are tempted to comment on this.  But
immediately you criticise others you come up against it.  The
wise man will consider his words and say, "Yes, but they will
gain experience and will leam.  Some day they will find something
more interesting, more vivid and far greater than that which
to-day they find but amusing."

THE CHOSEN FEW

Never believe, brethren, that we are numbered among the chosen
few.  Indeed, no! We are all exactly the same in the eyes of God,
and with us all humanity is slowly but surely moving forward. 
The sun brought down by the ruffians, slain and buried in the
earth, will in due course rise again, as do the flowers of
spring.  So also will humanity come into the fulness of a sunlit
world.

Our duty, therefore, is to mind our own business - one of the
most difficult things in the world to do.  We rather want to
interfere with the affairs of others, often with the best
intentions and desire to help.  But instead of poking our finger
where it is not wanted, let us join left and right hand together,
thus pointing upwards to God! The two hands thus joined are
significant, since they are centres of power.  What
potentialities for helpfulness the hands contain! They can
labour; they can heal - they can soothe the weary and help the
poor.  But they must not meddle! And when tempted (how the
fingers sometimes itch to get at something or somebody) let us
remember.  First - hands together, spine erect, head raised. 
Then let us pray to our Father God that His will may be done -
not our will.

Let us not try to put other people right.  Let us try to remember
that all souls are in exactly the best condition to learn certain
lessons and to acquire powers.  They may know nothing of these
powers to-day; they may know nothing in the next incarnation. 
Nevertheless the fact remains that they are where they are, and
do what they do because they are striving to quicken such powers. 
Sometimes the vision glorious inspires you with eagerness.  You
know that great gifts, grand realisations are waiting, that you
are working towards them! But do not think that you are the only
person thus engaged ; remember that the man by your side, who
perhaps seems to waste his time and substance on vain things - he
or she, too;, may also be approaching Godwards, though from a
different angle. Many a ray of light pours forth from the sun. 
Each ray is a path leading back to the same sun.  Such paths will
bear different names and those pursuing them may be called
Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Hindus, and even the
native worshipping his totem pole is on the way.  But all are
moving towards the same end.  Thus, if you hear certain occult
things which do not quite fit in with your own ideas, remember
all spiritual aspects, methods and teachings are of the truth and
contain fundamental truth.  Man must need worship the highest as
he sees it.

It is clear that those men and women born under the three
autumnal signs need not necessarily partake of the "ruffian"
nature.  Contained in each of the four sequences, autumn - winter
- spring - summer - are three signs, under each of which certain
spiritual qualities are being developed on different levels of
consciousness during an incarnation.  It is therefore necessary
for the soul to pass in time through the influences of all the
twelve signs of the zodiac.  Do not think you can attain to
perfection in any one incarnation, or can become perfect by
undergoing one incarnation under the major influence of Aries. 
When you realise how minute can be the spiritual growth in one
incarnation as compared with the ideal, and realise what it means
to become like that ideal, perhaps your ideas will expand. 
Remember, not only on this earth will you incarnate.  There are
other conditions of life to which you will pass.  You will learn
of these things in due time.

THE NEW AGE - AQUARIUS
 
Great changes are coming to humanity in the New Age.  The
vibration and polarisation of the earth is changing, and with it,
the very substance of the physical body.  Those whose soul -
vibrations are not sufficiently mature to withstand these more
powerful vibrations will be cared for, but they will sleep for a
while (here again the story of Hiram Abiff waiting to be raised
to life) till the next great call sounds forth across heaven and
earth. "At the sound of the trumpet they will rise! " The trumpet
shall sound that call which those ready for initiation will hear. 
Then will the candidate awake as from a tomb of earthliness, or
from the tomb of materialism and go forth.

V

In these days we are conscious that the lower mind of man is full
of turmoil and perplexity; but peace be with you, brethren.  All
is well.  The divine plan is laid, and the children of God
(remember, we include all races, classes and conditions of
mankind) are sheltered within His heart of love.  These are not
merely pretty words, but express a fundamental cosmic truth. 
Peace be with you ... peace on earth, and goodwill.

It is sad that the intellect would often destroy the very
foundations of human life in its attempts to refute the great and
wonderful story of resurrection as told in the Ancient-Wisdom. 
There are schools of thought which do not yet accept the
illumination of eternal truth and which doubt or deny the reality
of the life and death of the Master.  We can only tell you of
that which has been revealed; we do not say one must accept these
teachings - but leave it; knowing that within the heart lies the
spirit of truth, which will reveal this wonderful cosmic story,
which is also a great fundamental truth vitally affecting the
lives of all did we but truly understand it.

The Master Christ was a figure vouched for by history.  But he
was more - being in comparison with the mass of mankind as a
pillar in the heavens, a peak towering above all humanity; and
through Him and the golden words of truth which issued from His
lips, the shining inner life possible to every son of God is
revealed.  If you would yourself grasp, understand and master the
complexities of this earth life, enter in simplicity and humility
to the inner sanctuary ; and there you will find inscribed the
whole history of man's creation, and that pursuit of matters
spiritual through mortal life after mortal life which leads him
onward, upward to liberation, to illumination.  On that path he
himself experiences and partakes of every detail of the
Eastertide story, as related in the four gospels . . . ultimately
he himself journeys up the hill of Calvary, consciously; and
consciously finds himself nailed upon the cross - the cross of
earth, because, remember, the sign of the cross is astrologically
symbolical of the earth.  Then, when his eyes are opened and he
calls upon his Father, the Christ Spirit cometh down and he is
crowned, not with thorns but with the crown of illumination, that
which thenceforward gives him dominion absolute over his own
earthliness and material nature.

This age-old story of Easter is to be traced through every
religion.  In it is to be read both the story of the heavens and
of man on earth.  Christianity is based upon the ancient pagan
religions. Teachings incorporated within the Christian teachings
are traceable to the ancient Greek, the Egyptian, Aztec, and
Hebrew religions.  All are impregnated with the same wonderful
story of Easter, which in its symbolism concerns the twelve signs
of the zodiac, and the rebirth of the sun at spring time.  Whilst
Christianity has an exoteric or outer story (we liken the
astrological aspect to the outer) it has also an inner
revelation.  When the so-called heathens were once supposed to
worship the sun, the moon and the stars, in truth they worshipped
the spiritual symbolism expressed by the sun and its planets.  If
you study more closely the fundamentals of Christianity, you will
recognise that you too worship the spiritual symbolism of the sun
- the light-giver, the life force, the light of life; because
astrologically, with the coming or birth of Jesus of Nazareth,
there was revealed to the Wise Men who journeyed from the east to
welcome the Holy One, the coming of the then new age - the
Piscean Age.

THE PISCEAN AGE

Let us remember that the age preceding the Piscean was that of
the Jewish prophet and priest and was concerned with the
sacrifice of the lamb (or the ram) as typified by Abraham
sacrificing the lamb to his God - the ram or the lamb being
symbolical of the preceding astrological sign of Aries.  With the
coming of Jesus we entered upon the Piscean age of the fishes. 
Astrologers will know that the sign of Pisces is  connected with
the two feet, or the understanding of man, upon which rock of
understanding Christ founded his church.  He drew His disciples
from fishermen or men of Pisces.  The Church was founded upon the
esoteric influence of Pisces, as we who have now passed through
from the Piscean into the Age of Aquarius can recognise.

THE MAN WITH THE WATER POT

"Let us now consider the wonderful astrological symbolism
contained in the gospel story, easily understandable even to
those ignorant of astrology.  Are we not told that at Easter
Jesus sent forth some disciples to find a certain man carrying a
pitcher of water.  Since the astrological symbol of Aquarius is
that of a man bearing a pitcher of water and since the water is
symbolical of spirit, the man the disciples sought was
representative of the sign of Aquarius.  Jesus knew that His
teaching and work during the short years of His ministry would
serve to lay the foundation during the Piscean Age for the coming
of Aquarius - the age of spirit, or the age of the air which you
are now entering upon.  Do not think that man's conquest of the
air will always be used for destructive purposes.  Those who have
given their services to the air are children of the New Age; so,
while becoming familiar with all aerial experiments and
inventions, we should remember to develop, side by side with this
material attainment, the spirit of Christ.

The disciples sought and met, even as Jesus had said, the man
carrying a pitcher of water.  Jesus had told his disciples that
the man would lead them to an upper chamber, wherein they would
make ready and later gather to participate in the holy supper. 
All happened as foretold, and the landlord of the inn prepared
the upper room.  Eventually they were all seated, twelve of them. 
Each represented a sign of the zodiac, or (and you will be
equally correct) a certain type of humanity resulting from the
influence of that sign.  Jesus broke the bread, and each disciple
was given bread to eat and wine to drink.  Therefore each type of
mankind thus shared the bread prepared and presented by the Son
of God.  Every one of the disciples ate of the bread of life,
every one partook of the wine of life, the life-force of the
divine spirit.  In such a communion, brethren, you also may
participate, if you follow the Life Spiritual.  Think over this
wondrous symbolism, and see for yourself how you might even now
hold communion with the Son of God ...

This, then, is the gift God has prepared for His children.  This
the Way, the Truth, and the Life.


JUDAS

One of the disciples present later betrayed the Master; to the
Scribes and the Pharisees and those concerned only with material
things, he delivered up his Master! Judas was the betrayer. 
Before we condemn Judas let us ask ourselves if we too are not
partners with him in the act of betrayal.

We also deny Christ our Master, and deliver Him into the hands of
the money changers, the war merchant, the profit seekers - those
who judge only by the material standards! Yes, indeed : and
therefore, although Judas denied his Master; and although we,
following in Judas' footsteps, deny our Master; and although our
Master by us is condemned to torture and death, His is truly the
way all men must some day walk.  Shall not we ourselves some day
be condemned by the ignorant, be judged and crucified on the
cross of the world? And then, when crucified - or in other words,
when we have sacrificed the self-hood in our being, when we have
denied self and surrendered ourselves... then at last the crown
of thorns - symbolical of the sorrows caused by the earth man to
the soul - is cast away, and the golden crown of divine
illumination won.  Then at last we open our eyes and see the sun
shine forth.  Are we not told that at the crucifixion the earth
was darkened ... darkness fell like a shadow o'er the face of the
earth and water? The truer interpretation is that the light of
Heaven shone forth so brightly that by contrast all the
earthliness of man appeared as plunged into darkness. - Darkness
Visible!

Notice also how the number three predominates throughout the life
of Christ; even to the three nails which pierced the hands and
the feet - the hands and the feet being well-known psychic or
power centres through which flow the light and power of the
invisible life.  Remember three is the number corresponding to
the planet Jupiter, the planet of philosophy and spiritual
teaching, and ruler of the sign Pisces.  Even at the age of
twelve (four threes) Jesus was found in the temple talking with
the wise men.  He was 30 years preparing for His Ministry, and 3
years teaching and working His miracles.

Jesus overcame the earth, the earth body.  His life and all the
teaching of the Christian Church (by which we mean the Christ
Church in the heavens and the Church of the Age of Pisces) made
ready for the coming of this present Age of Aquarius, the New
Age, when, as you will remember, the " Woman clothed with the
Sun" will be raised up in the heavens.  For the Aquarian age, the
new age in which womanhood will once again come into her rightful
place - the emancipation of women will bring great peace, and the
preparation for the new spirit of The Brotherhood of man upon
earth.

THE AQUARIAN AGE

Think on these things and take up your life with renowed courage
and hope.  Nay, with more than hope, my brethren, conviction and
surety that this new age of Aquarius is dawning as surely as the
disciples once found the man bearing a pitcher of water - as
surely as they made ready the upper chamber, that upper chamber
which signifies the higher or spiritual mind.  Only with the mind
of the spirit can man comprehend the brotherhood of man and the
Fatherhood of God; only with the mind of spirit can we understand
the Companionship of Mankind - the realisation that you are not
alone - that you are one of many on the Pathway to Happiness.

Some there are who will tell you that man was born in sin - that
pain and suffering are man's inheritance.  This is not so! God
created man to be happy - to share his heaven and Earth with
others and to communicate happiness to all.

Therefore, may the spirit of love ever rule in the lodge and in
the lodge of the human body.  May the arrogance of the mind be
laid aside.  May we not criticise others ; may we learn to raise
as from the dead the creative fire of love, so that it may shine
in our hearts and beautify our being as did the sunshine of Eden. 
May the voice of the Lord of Life speak to us in the cool of the
evening.  May the angel who guards the gates open them at our
approach, hearing the pass-word sound forth from our heart.  Even
thus may we mount the ladder to heaven, and hear, as we kneel
before the throne of the Most High, the words: "Enter thou into
the harvest of thy labours, thou good and faithful servant."