THE INITIATES OF THE FLAME/PART 7
CHAPTER VII.
THE MYSTERY OF THE PYRAMID
There
comes a time in the development of the occult student when he understands one
of the great secrets of the Initiates, and that is that every sacred thing
outside of himself stands for some organ or function within himself. This is,
of course, true in the case of the Great Pyramid, except that this particular
pile of stone said by many to be the oldest building on the surface of the earth,
is the great symbol of composite man. In other words it stands for man as a
unit.
Let us
first consider it simply from the exterior standpoint. When we first look at it
in the distance it seems to be one great stone, but as we come closer we see
that it is made of thousands of smaller stones, each one carefully fitted into
place. Here we see the first likeness between the pyramid and man. We consider
man to be a unit, but when we examine more closely, we find that he is a great
number of small units, each working in harmony with the others. It is the same
with everything. We take a successful life and we think of it as an entirety,
but when we examine it, we find that it is a number of small achievements
joined together.
Cross
Section of the Great Pyramid of Gizah.
As
thousands of workmen were used in the building of the pyramid, so there are
unnumbered workmen at work in the building of our bodies, which are symbolical
of the same building.
There are
many pyramids all over the world. We find them in South America and in Mexico;
we find mounds which were made to represent them among the American Indians,
and in Europe and Britain we find remnants of the same things. But there is
only one real pyramid in all the world. Even the others in Egypt are but copies
of the Great Pyramid, and were used as tombs for the Pharaohs, but nobody was
ever found in Cheops, nor were there ever any signs that it had been so used.
Now let
us continue our analogy between the pyramid and man. If you will look at the
accompanying illustration, you will see the pyramid laid flat, and you will
notice it is made of four triangles laid around the base square. The four-sided
base of the pyramid represents the four elements of which man’s bodies are
composed. These are hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon, or earth, water,
fire, and air. These are called the base of all things, and upon this base the
four bodies of man are raised, each from its own element. Thus the physical
body is raised from the earth. The vital body is raised from the water, the
emotional body from the fire, and the mental body from the air.
The
Pyramid:
Here we
see the pyramid laid out so that the four triangles and the square are clearly
seen. This represents man once again, and the ancient Pyramid is man offering
his higher being upon the altar of the Great Fire Spirit.
There are
twelve lines used in the drawing of the four triangles, which stand for the
twelvefold constitution of man when it is complete: the threefold body, the
threefold mind, the threefold soul, and the threefold spirit. It also gives us
the twelve signs of the zodiac, divided into their respective groups.
Out on
the desert stands the Sphinx, the Guardian of the Threshold mentioned by Bulwer
Lytton. It stands for the bodies of man, and is that strange being which must
be passed before the student can go on in his development. The four fixed signs
of which the Sphinx is a symbol are Taurus the Bull, Leo the Lion, Scorpio the
Eagle, and Aquarius the Man, or the human head.
The
Sphinx:
This is
that mysterious being suspended ’twixt heaven and earth, which has the head of
a human being and the body of an animal. In other words the Sphinx symbolizes
man.
I have
already given you some work on the sacrum bone, and I told you that it was the
grave digger’s spade. Here is a picture of the head of the Sphinx, and the
inverted sacrum bone when it has been turned upward. We see the Sphinx in the
inverted sacrum and also in it the inverted Masonic keystone. All this is very
interesting, but unless we realize the inner meaning of it, its true value is
lost. But it is not chance that these things should be so.
You have
most of you heard of the Dweller on the Threshold, that creature built by our
own actions and mistakes. Well out on Egypt’s desert it stands and bars the way
to the pyramid, the temple of the higher man. And the message that it gives to
the world is:
“I am the
bodies. If you would go on to the temple you must master me, for I am within
you.”
The
Sphinx again symbolizes man, with the mind and spirit of the human rising out
of the animal desires and emotions. It is the riddle of the ages, and man is
once more the answer.
It is
said that in ancient times the Sphinx was the gateway of the pyramid, and that
there was an underground passage which led from the Sphinx to Cheops. This
would make the symbolism even more perfect, for the gateway to the spirit is
through the bodies according to the ancients.
Let us
now enter the pyramid and passing through the corridors come to the King’s Chamber
as it is called. There are three great rooms in the pyramid which are of great
interest to the student. The highest is the King’s Chamber, then below that is
the Queen’s Chamber, and down below the surface of the earth is the Pit. Here
we again find the great correlation between the pyramid and man. The three
rooms are the three great divisions in man which are the seats of the threefold
spirit. The lower room is the generative system under the control of Jehovah.
The center room or Queen’s Chamber is the heart, under the control of the
Christ; and the upper room or the King’s Chamber is the brain, which is under
the control of the Father. In this upper room is the coffer made of stone, the
meaning of which has never been explained, but which the student recognizes as
the third ventricle in the brain.
It is
quite certain also that this coffer was used as a tomb during initiation, when
as is the case in the Masonic initiations of today, (which are the remnants of
the ancient mysteries) the candidate was buried in the earth and resurrected, a
symbol of the death of the lower man and the liberation of the higher.
It is
said that Moses was initiated in the Great Pyramid, and some also say that
Jesus was instructed there also. Be that as it may, we know that for
thousands of years since the time it was built by the Atlanteans it has
been the greatest temple of Initiation in the world. It seems also that its
work is not yet done, for mutely it is teaching those who will see the
mysteries of creation.
It is said
by many that it is the original Solomon’s Temple, but this we know is not true,
for while it may be the first and original material temple, the true temple of
Solomon is the universe, the Solarman’s temple, which is slowly being rebuilt
in man as the temple of the Soul of Man.
There is
probably no point that is as important in connection with the pyramid as that
of the corner stone. On the very top of the great pyramid is a comparatively
flat place about thirty feet square. In other words the TRUE STONE WHICH IS THE
HEAD OF ALL THE CORNERS IS MISSING. If we look at the reverse side of the
United States seal, we find again the pyramid from which the top is separated.
Omar Khayyam, the Persian Poet, gives us the secret of the keystone when he
says:
“From my base metal shall be filed a key,
Which shall unlock the door he howls without.”
The value
of the stone is better understood when you understand that it completes all of
the triangles at once, and without it none of them are complete.
The Key
and the Cross:
Upon the
cross of matter that forms our bodies, hangs the key to all the mysteries of
creation. It is our duty to take this key and with it unlock the door that
conceals from us the unknown. This key is the spirit. Release it.
This
stone is the spirit in man, which fell from its high position, and has been
lost beneath the rubbish of the lower man. This is the true cap stone that is
now hidden in the pit of man’s temple, and which he must exhume and place again
as the true crown of his spiritual pyramid.
He can
only do this when he calls the thousands of workmen within himself together and
binds them to the service of the higher man. There must be no traitors to
murder the builder this time. And Lucifer, the one rejected by man as the
devil, is the one who must through the planet Mars send man the dynamic energy
which man himself must transmute from the fire of passion to the flame of
spirit. He then must take the tools of the craft and cut and polish his own
being into the cap stone of the Universal Temple.
It is
interesting to note how the casing stones that once made the pyramid so
beautiful and true were carried away to build the cities nearby, and in
connection with that it is interesting to note how the soul and body of man,
the casing stones of his spiritual temple, have been sacrificed in order that
he might have material things.
As we
look at pictures of the ancient pyramid and Sphinx which have stood on Egypt’s
sands for ages, let us see in them our own mystery temple, made without the
sound of hammer or the voice of workman. And as we sadly think of this mighty
ruin, broken by ages of neglect, let us remember our temple, and that its
corner stone is missing also and our walls are falling with neglect. Let us
learn the lesson which it teaches, hasten to perfect our pyramid, cap it
with the stone of spirit, offer upon its altars our sacrifice to the Great Sun
Spirit, and bury our lower nature in its ancient coffer. Then for us will its
mysteries be revealed, and the sealed lips of the Sphinx give up their secret.
WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS,
THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO.
THE WHITE GRAIL
Choose
now your path
- Service.
·
Self-Sacrifice.
·
Purification.
·
Love.
·
Study.
THE BLACK GRAIL
Choose
now your path
- Prosperity at others expense.
·
Selfishness.
·
Short-cuts.
·
Mastered by appetite.
·
Comfort.
FINIS
END OF THIS BOOK.
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