Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition 2 - Israel Regardie.pdf - Francis Israel Regardie - adad.molo

CHAPTER FOUR

The Practicus Grade

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n the 3 = 8 grade the initiate takes the third Elemental initiation into

the eighth Sephirah, Hod, on the Qabalistic Tree, continuing the

process of spiritual Alchemy within the aspirant's psyche. For the

first time the initiate is faced with the prospect of stepping off the

~.Si relative "safety" of the Middle Pillar and onto the Black Pillar of

.. Severity. The Practicus grade thus represents a point in the initiate's

spiritual growth where more weight is theoretically placed on one side of the aspi-

rant's psychic scales of balance. It is important to remember that once the student

begins on this path of Elemental introspection, allfour Elemental Initiations should

be completed. Even if the student decides in the middle of this course that the

Golden Dawn System is not his/her spiritual path, all of the Elements should still

be equilibrated within the mind for the sake of harmony. One should not be left

hanging off balance on one pillar or the other.

The title of Practicus is derived from the Greek word for "practitioner."

The Element offered for the process of transmutation in this grade is Water, or

rather the watery portion of the aspirant's psyche (in actuality it is the Water of

Malkuth in Assiah).77

Initiates of this grade usually experience a sense of ease and relief at having

passed through the astral turbulence of Yesod (Although the initiation ceremony

itself can sometimes prove to be quite eventful.) In fact the nurturing Waters of Hod

can feel truly comforting to those initiates who have experienced firsthand the

harmful effects of an unbalanced materialistic society. The problem is that some-

times students are reluctant to leave the Water temple for the Fire grade of Philoso-

phus. There is also an increased awareness of student's own creative faculties, some

of which may have remained dormant until this time. The Planet assigned to this

grade is Mercury, the orb of the Intellect, communication and expression.

The 3 = 8 ceremony can be summed up as follows: After the standard (self-

initiatory) rite of opening, the forces of Elemental Water are invoked. Then the

candidate must prove that s/he has grasped the secrets of the Theoricus grade

and swear an oath. Between the spheres of Malkuth and Hod lies the 31st Path of

Shin, a journey of psychic purification and consecration through Elemental Fire.

On this path, the candidate is confronted by three figures known as the Kabiri, or

godforrns from the Samothracian Mysteries. These figures symbolize the various

77 And also Hod of Malkuth.

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SELF-INITIATION INTO THE GoLDEN DAWN TRAOmON

aspects and attributes of Elemental Fire. On the path of Shin the Kabiri expose the

candidate to the different energies of Fire which are used to purge the aspirant of

psychic impurities before the Water temple is entered. After completing the 31st

Path, the candidate is shown the Tarot card of Judgment.

Next the mysteries of the 30th Path of Resh are revealed to the candidate

by the Kabiri who take on various Solar and seasonal aspects. The Path of Resh is

a journey of intellectual awareness where the student is exposed to the Higher

Powers that have gone into the formation of his/her own personality. (Whereas

the 31st Path is a journey of purification, the 30th Path is one of consecration.)

When the journey on the Path of Resh is finished, the candidate is shown the Tarot

card of The Sun.

The later part of the ritual, involves the initiate's entry into the temple of

Hod. During this time the aspirant is shown symbolism concerning the Garden of

Eden before the Fall and the Practicus Hall. The secrets of the 3 = 8 grade are

divulged, until at length, the Powers of Water are released.

It is important to note that in this grade, two fiery paths are traversed in

order to arrive at a watery Sephirah. This shows the constant equilibration which

is inherent to the G:. D:. system. Fire and Water, the two primary opposing Ele-

ments, are always counterbalanced one against the other so that neither is allowed

to overpower the energies of the other. Water is maternal and nurturing, while

Fire is paternal and inseminating. The aspirant is led to the receptive Waters of

Hod by way of the vitalizing energies of Fire. Thus the union of the two is the only

possible route to building a firm creative base for spiritual attainment. The Waters

of Intellect must never be allowed to become stagnant and insensitive; they must

be ever excited by the passionate Fires of Emotion;

There are only three officers stationed in the Practicus Hall besides the Dais

officers-these are the three Middle Pillar officers only-the Keryx is no longer pre-

sent. This leaves three officers who form an approximate equilateral triangle. The

triangle, whose apex is marked by the station of Hierophant, refers to the Fire trian-

gle and the Fiery nature of the 31st and 30th Paths in relation to the Tree of Life. The

placement of the pillars in the Northeastern part of the Hall suggests the actualloca-

tion of these paths on the diagram of the Tree. In the final part of the ritual the Hiero-

phant takes up a temporary position West of the altar, forming a Water triangle with

the other two officers (like that indicated by the items on the altar).

Many of the speeches in the 3 = 8 grade are symbolically given by the

Samothracian Kabiri, but are in actuality taken from excepts of the Chaldean Ora-

cles, a body of work which is from a much later time period than the Samothra-

cian mysteries.e

The Samothracian Mysteries

Samothrace was the name given to a Greek island in the Northeast portion of the

Aegean Sea that was the center of the oldest of the Greek mystery cults. This island

was said to be settled by the ancient Pelasgi, early Asiatic colonists in Greece. The

esteem shown the Samothracian Mysteries by ancient literary sources proved that

The Practicus Grade

329

they once ranked alongside the Eleusinian Mysteries in importance and popular-

ity. This stormy, mountainous and wooded island was renowned as the home of

the mysterious gods known as the Kabiri (or Corybantes, as they are sometimes

referred to). So great was the respect for the mystery rites of Samothrace that the

island itself was considered sacred, a sanctuary to be respected by all nations.

Not much is now known of the Kabiri or "great gods" whose name is

derived from the Kabira mountains or Phrygia.?" The rituals are immersed in

profound secrecy. It is certain though that great festivals were held to worship

these gods and initiate new candidates into their mystery rites.

The mysteries of Samothrace included the rites of the Kabiri and the rites of

Hecate. Hecate's secret mysteries were said to have taken place in the cave of Zeryn-

thia, called the Grotto of Hecate, where a nocturnal ritual was performed by torch-

bearing participants who sacrificed dogs to honor the goddess of the Underworld.

Near the door of the temple of the Kabiri on Samothrace, there were two

bronze statues (it is unclear whether they were both masculine or if one was fem-

inine). They represented the Heavens and the Earth-the two primary portions

into which the world is divided-the active and passive principles of universal

generation. Within the temple were three altars dedicated to the Kabiri, the Great

gods of Samothrace: the Great, the Powerful and the Influential (or Helpfulj.??

Some claim that there were a total of seven Kabiri and referred them to the

seven Planets. Others spoke of them as the seven Spirits of Fire before the throne

of Saturn. Some ancient writers say there were but two Kabiri who represented

Zeus the Elder and Dionysus the younger. At Samothrace the Kabiri were thought

of as lesser gods who were sworn to the service of greater deities such as Rhea. At

Thebes they were allied with the cult of Demeter and Kore, for their temple was

located near a grove sacred to these deities. At Lemnos the Kabiri originated as

benevolent gods or genii of volcanic (Fiery) Earth. They were either the sons of

Hephaestus or the sons of Zeus and Calliope. These first metal-workers were said

to be the noisy and never-resting assistants of Hephaestus at his forge. They

would at times shake the earth with their tumultuous rumbling. At Thessaly there

was a legend of a Kabir who was killed by his brothers and buried at the foot of

Mt. Olympus. It is this Kabiric myth in particular which relates to the Practicus rit-

ual of the Golden Dawn.

Initiation into the Kabiric mysteries at Samothrace concerned four of these

"great gods." Their names were Axieros, Axiokersa, and Axiokersos. Axieros was

associated with Demeter, Axiokersa with Persephone, and Axiokersos with

Hades. The fourth Kabir, known as Kasmillos, was attributed to Hermes. so

The names of the first three Kabiri bear a resemblance to the Greek word

axioma which means something worthy or something that is self-evident. The

name Kasmillos is based upon the word camilla which refers to a handmaiden

78 The name "Kabiri" has also been associated with the Phoenician word qabirim which means "the

powerful." The word Cabar "great" can be traced to Hebrew, Phoenician and Arabic languages.

79 The Kabiri were later adopted into Roman mythology as the Penates.

SO The Samothracians derived their doctrines concerning the Kabiri and Hermes from the Pelasgians,

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SELF-INITIATION INTO lHE GoLDEN DAWN TRADmON

assistant who aids in matters of a secret nature. A camillus was an assistant at a

wedding who carried a basket of unknown contents during the service.w In the

Samothracian mysteries, the name Kasmillos is used to describe a divinity who

attends upon the greater gods.

In Secret Teaching of All Ages, Manly P. Hall also examined the mysteries of

the Samothracian Kabiri:

Whilea vast numberof deities are associated with the Samothracian Mys-

teries, the ritualistic drama centers around four brothers. Thefirst three-

Aschieros, Achiochersus, and Achiochersa-attack and murder the

fourth-e-Cashmala (or Cadmillus). Dionysidorus, however, identifies

Aschieros with Demeter, Achiochersus with Pluto, Achiochersa with

Persephone, and Cashmala with Hermes. Alexander Wilder notes that in

the Samothracian ritual "Cadmillus is made to include the Theban Ser-

pent-God, Cadmus, the Thoth of Egypt, theHermes of the Greeks, and the

Aesculapius of the Alexandrians and Phoenicians." Here again is a repe-

tition of the story of Osiris, Bacchus, Adonis, Balder, and Hiram Abiff.82

The worship of Atys and Cybele was also involved in the Samothracian

Mysteries. In the rituals of the Cabiri is to be traced a form of pine-tree

worship, for this tree, sacred to Atys, wasfirst trimmedinto theform of a

cross and then cut down in honorof the murdered god whose body was

discovered at its foot.

"If you wish to inspect the orgies of the Corybantes," writes Clement,

"then know that,havingkilled theirthirdbrother, they covered the head of

the bodywith a purple cloth, crowned it, and carrying it on the point of a

spear, buried it under the roots of Olympus. These mysteries are in short,

murders and funerals. (This ante-Nicene Father in his efforts to defame

the pagan rites apparently ignores thefact that like the Cabirian martyr,

Jesus Christ wasfoully betrayed, tortured, and finally murdered!) And

the priests of these rites, who were called kings of the sacred ritesby those

whose business it is to name them, give additional strangeness to the

tragic occurrence, by forbidding parsley with the roots from beingplaced

on the table, for they think that parsley grewfrom the Corybantic blood

thatflowed forth; just as the women, in celebrating the Thesmorphoriase

abstain from eatingthe seeds of the pomegranate, whichhavefallen on the

ground, from the idea that pomegranates sprangfrom the drops of the

blood of Dionysus. Those Corybantes also they call Cabiric; and the cere-

mony itself they announced as the Cabiric mystery."

81 Children employed in the temples were called Mercuries or Casmilli.

82 In Masonic legend, Hiram Abiff was the architect of King Solomon's temple, who was killed by

three of his workers who were also brothers. The body was buried at the foot of a mountain and an

acacia tree was planted over it. This legend is re-enacted in the Third Degree of the Master Mason.

83 A festival of the Eleusinian Mysteries which celebrated the departure of Kore into the underworld.

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