The Magister 1

by Marcus Katz

  Set up a geomantic figure for the result of the presidential election in November, and forecast the consequences to the U.S.A.

  Give an account of the Rosicrucian philosophy, laying stress on the true meaning of the symbol of the Rosy Cross.[207]

  Whether there was a particular rationale or intent behind this selection of questions, or the manner in which the student response would be assessed, is undocumented and unclear. The six questions range between the subject areas of kabbalah, correspondence, yoga, Buddhism, grimoire magic, geomancy, and Rosicrucianism. The answers to these questions also range from the easily assessed – there are established correspondences to the letter Teth, so ‘Virgo’ would be incorrect but ‘Leo’ would be correct – to the entirely subjective interpretation of a geomantic figure – a task which also involves a practical exercise of casting the geomantic oracle.

  The nature of these questions, particularly those regarding the Rosy Cross and the Rosicrucians, may have rather served a dual purpose of implying that the group demanded a prescribed and high level of knowledge prior to joining, i.e. was selective and hierarchical, but more importantly, held the answer to these questions. For those searching for the ‘real’ Rosicrucians, being asked prior to joining what was meant by the ‘true meaning’ of the symbol of that group would no doubt pique the curiosity of the earnest student.

  Where also would the erstwhile applicant have located the answers to these questions, if it were intended that such answers be available rather than merely setting up an implied statement of knowledge on behalf of those setting the questions?

  A Student Case Study: Frater Maximus

  The trajectory of a Western esoteric student encountering the path of a well-known teacher is no better illustrated than the barely known Sidney French (?-?) whose place in the story of Aleister Crowley is relegated to a single line in Kaczynski’s biography of Crowley, Perdurabo, (2002) and then that likely mis-referenced as a Mrs. French.[208] As particularly notable with Crowley, a teacher often left in their wake a great deal of flotsam and jetsam in the form of disappointed students wondering where their teacher – and often, their cash – had gone to.

  Sidney French was a chiropractor in New York with an eclectic range of studies. A series of letters between him and Gerald Yorke, during 1932, which were passed by Crowley for comment, recounts a typical first year of distance studentship. In this case, a rather unsatisfactory one, for Yorke and Crowley were in the midst of business arguments, culminating in Crowley filing for damages against Yorke in September 1932.[209]

  French enquired about studentship in January 1932. Acting as Crowley’s secretary, Yorke requested that French submit a magical diary – a journal of his existing practices – in March. This was followed in April by a more succinct list of tasks to be practiced by a Probationer to the A∴A∴. It is unfortunate that we do not possess a full record of French’s journal – it is possible that Yorke passed these records with those of another Probationer he was supervising to Kerman when he and Crowley fell out.[210] However, we see that within a few days, French was welcomed into the A∴A∴ as a Probationer, taking on the ambitious magical name, Frater Maximus, ‘the greatest’.[211]

  In the initial flurry of correspondence granted to a new Probationer – perhaps provoked by the possibility of a new stream of income – whilst suggesting that French contact Dorothy Olsen (1892?-), Yorke also sets out the learning agenda more explicitly. He asks that French practices the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (a standard ritual form taking about ten minutes to perform, with the intention of providing an area of protection and stability about the student, and a protection against adverse influences), the Assumption of Harpocrates (a god-form assumption, that is, placing the body in the represented form of a deity – typically Ancient Egyptian – in order to access the qualities embodied by that deity). These are referenced to ‘Liber O’, a short series of notes which Crowley described as:

  ... given for elementary study of the Qabalah, Assumption of God forms, Vibration of Divine Names, the Rituals of Pentagram and Hexagram, and their uses in protection and invocation, a method of attaining astral visions so-called, and an instruction in the practice called Rising on the Planes.[212]

  It is this short list of techniques that provides the closest to a ‘beginner’s curriculum’ that we possess for this time. In fact, it is Crowley’s synthesis and simplification of the Golden Dawn teachings, which now came to represent the outer order work of his own teachings.

  In this curriculum Crowley talks of the advantages for the student pursuing these techniques, being chiefly “a widening of the horizon of the mind” and “an improvement of the control of the mind.”[213] He also alludes to the consequences of success, where the student will be “confronted by things (ideas or beings) too glorious or too dreadful to be described.”[214]

  The encounter with these “ideas or beings” is certainly a key attraction to the student, as exemplified by French. A few months after receiving ‘Liber O’, French replied at length to Yorke, with reference to an article in The Equinox magazine, Volume III.[215] Although he had yet to master the points of the pentagram and their correspondences in the Lesser Banishing Ritual, a ‘rote-drill’ method for the beginner, he was already concerned about far more profound matters. He wished to find out more “about the problems attending the ‘Brothers of the Shadow’ and their relation to that black horror [actually, “blind horror” as given in The Equinox article] whose name is Choronzon.”[216]

  Crowley’s response, which was added to Yorke’s reply, was to return French to the basic drills. Crowley commented:

  Diary kept in correct form from 31/5/32 onwards. It is important to keep a steady breathing cycle, and notice the relationship to thought. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram should be done first in the physical and then in the astral.[217]

  However, by now, the working relationship between Yorke and Crowley had broken down, and as often happened, the student was left floundering in their wake. There is no more mention of French – although it is possible that his journal was passed to Kerman in September[218] – until a final short letter from him to Yorke in November 1932, asking for feedback as he had not heard from Yorke for “several months.”[219]

  Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley

  That those who were to become teachers of Western esotericism made contact with each other is of course no surprise, as throughout the last century it has been a small market, albeit highly stratified.[220]

  In this brief case study, I will focus upon a brief but unpublished correspondence between Dion Fortune (originally Violet Firth, 1890-1946) and Gerald Yorke, with reference to Aleister Crowley, dated 1928. It is unsurprising that this letter and explicit quotations have not yet been incorporated into studies of Fortune’s relationship to Crowley, as the letter is misfiled under Fortune’s original name, in a stack of far more anonymous letters simply labelled “Letters from Disciples.”[221]

  [ILLUS. Photo of 2 sheets letter from Violet Firth to Gerald Yorke].

  [ILLUS. Photo of 2 sheets letter from Violet Firth to Gerald Yorke].

  We see that Fortune was interested in the specifics of the “ritual of Thoth,” namely the correspondences. She requested clarification of the colour of robes, the significance of the scales of colour, and whether they were utilised in ritual. She asks about the timing of the ritual and enquires as to whether Thoth belongs to a “fiery or airy triplicity” (in terms of zodiacal correspondences).

  Fortune was aged 38 when this letter was written, so it perhaps may seem somewhat surprising as to the elementary nature of the questions. However, this was still ten years prior to Fortune’s more mature work in fiction, such as The Sea Priestess (1938), and non-fiction, including her classic Mystical Qabalah (1935).

  What is more relevant to the present case is her attitude to Crowley. She explains to Yorke her reserve and regret that he has sent on her prior letter directly to Crowley. She claims that this makes
a “magical point of contact,” one she felt no doubt she would have to guard herself against. She refers directly to Crowley as an “awkward customer” and explicitly states that:

  I admire the man’s works, but fear the man.

  Her relationship is furthermore couched in terms of a parable:

  I have the greatest admiration for his intellect, but like the earthen pot in the fable, I am disinclined to go to the well in the company of the brazen pots.[222]

  THE TITLES OF THE GRADES

  As we have depicted throughout this volume, the notion of grading spiritual experiences and consequent responsibility is an ancient one. The Gnostic sect of the Manichees (200 A.D.) divided their sect into three progressive groups: the Auditors, the Elect and the Perfect. This threefold division occurs in many esoteric groups; even in the earliest writings upon the subject, it is suggested that the Rosicrucians are divided into three such grades: Initiates, Philosophers and Mages.[223]

  A similar division occurs in the most obscure of esoteric groups – for example, the Masonic order of the African Brothers, where J.M. Ragon in Orthodoxie Maçonnique describes the Apprentice, the Alethophilote (‘friend of truth’) and the highest order of the Knights of Everlasting Silence.[224] He furthermore indicates that the object of these grades is self-knowledge and the exposition of the intimate connection between man and the world. This progression is intimated in each of the grades within the three divisions and we will now examine one indication of the progression through the titles given to each grade. In the Cipher Manuscripts of the Golden Dawn, likely composed by Kenneth McKenzie, based as we have seen on earlier orders, the early grades of esoteric progression are given Hebrew titles, indicating a little of their nature. The grades are also given ‘brotherhood names’ taken straight from the German Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross.[225] We will here examine the outer order words and names and in subsequent volumes expand upon these under their relevant grades.[226]

  Grade

  Grade Word

  Brotherhood Name

  Neophyte

  MThChIL

  (Converted)

  Zelator

  ThLMID

  Pereclinus de Faustus (Disciple)

  Theoricus

  BLHDA’aTh

  Poraios de Rejectis (Consuming Knowledge)

  Practicus

  BA’aLAMZ

  Monoceros de Astris (Owning Speech)

  Philosophus

  PhLMVNI

  Pharos Illuminans (Gaining Certainty)

  We can see from the grade words that the path of the initiate is to be converted (literally, ‘turned around’) from the apparent world and, through discipline, take up knowledge, gain identity with one’s own representation of the world (‘speech’), and attain certainity of self-knowledge. At this point, the Veil becomes apparent (the noise created by our lack or imbalance of the foregoing) and the work enters the ‘Portal’ grade to prepare for the dropping of that Veil. There is a constant battle between signal and noise, and a totally different experience of the world awaits when there is only a clear signal in the silence. Whilst others have attempted to explain the brotherhood names through alchemical or colour symbolism – even tarot (which is unlikely to have carried the same correspondences during the work of the G&RC) – the explanation given here is based upon the experience of the grades themselves, through the collective intelligence of initiates passing through them, most unaware of the similarity of their experience to other travellers.

  Neophyte (MThChIL)

  This is likely MThIHD, meaning ‘converted’. The root of the word ‘converted’, other than its obvious usage in religious terminology, is ‘to turn around’. It signifies a turning around of attention to that which is not apparent. It is when the person in Plato’s cave first wonders about the shadows on the wall and turns around to see from where they are being cast. This begins a new phase in their life, hence ‘Neophyte’, one ‘new’ to that direction.

  In everyday terms, this often manifests as a curiosity in obscure and occult subjects, a yearning and seeking, a feeling that something just isn’t quite right. Many people remain Neophytes, as whilst they are aware of the shadows, for many reasons – habit, fear and attachments – they do not progress once they have turned around. It is possible to become a very experienced and knowing Neophyte, fully cognisant of the nature of the shadows and full of plausible explanations or possibilities of what might be casting them – but no real experience or knowledge of the journey beyond that viewpoint.

  The word MThChIL is also similar to MThIChH, meaning ‘stretched’, ‘extended’. The conversion or transformation that goes on at Neophyte is one where the person is stretched but not necessarily changed beyond that. This produces a certain tension that can be utilised by the initiator in order to catalyse the next stage of the journey. Like Lot’s wife, it is dangerous, once having made this turn around, to look back. That is to say, once you have begun to act as if you are looking ‘beyond’ the world as it appears, there will be a necessary and inevitable re-framing of your perspective on the ‘old’ world, and more particularly those who still inhabit it. It can be that Neophytes become very anxious to proselytise their new perspective, even whilst not having fulfilled it themselves.

  Interestingly by gematria, the word has the value of 488, the same value as PhThCh, meaning ‘gate’, ‘entrance’, ‘insight’.

  Zelator (ThLMID)

  This means simply ‘student’ or ‘disciple’, but in the sense of a student of the Torah, or Law. It is also usually referred to in the context of a student-teacher relationship. The Zelator, having moved from the Neophyte position, is now zealously studying, discovering and fervently enthusiastic to their newfound passion. This is when the student starts to buy all the books, join all the groups, read all the websites, and live and breathe their esoteric studies.

  This can be very concerning to all around them; sometimes it may be seen as a phase or even treated with anxiety and disturbance. It must be contextualised and compared with the same stage in any other pursuit, for example sport, or watching sport.

  The Zelator benefits from a teacher who can at least assist direct study and provide reflective material. There is a danger that the Zelator will imagine that they are consuming the work, whilst in fact the work is consuming them. They may not see opportunities to grow beyond their fervent studies, nor the dead ends likely in the labyrinth they have unlocked.

  The Zelator stage usually lasts a number of years, although like any grade it can be maintained indefinitely without progressing beyond it. It is also important to note that the grades are progressively built upon one another, so that as the alchemists said, “Cease not calcinations,” that is to say, maintain the zealous state throughout most of the journey. As a Pereclinus/Perecline de Faustus (‘blessed adventurer’) the Zelator is seen as a learner, an adventurer, blessed in that they have turned away from the trials and distractions of the world.[227] They are put under ‘trial’ for the period of a year, testing their patience in a mundane manner, and their faith at a higher level. It is the same story as the applicant being turned away at the Shaolin Monastery, and waiting stood outside for a whole year in the outer courtyard. Eventually a monk comes out, and gives them a broom to start sweeping the courtyard. And after that – after perhaps another year of that apparently meaningless work – they are let into the inner courtyard.

  Theoricus (BLHD A’aTh)

  This is likely a conflation of BLH, ‘to consume’, ‘spend time’, ‘mix’ and Da’aTh, ‘knowledge’. Here the Theoricus, corresponding to Yesod on the Tree of Life map of the initiatory journey, starts to actually spend time recanting or re-framing their knowledge and experience gained at Zelator into a change of ‘knowledge’. They begin to re-cast their life in a new perspective and start to perceive how that will change them, their values and their behaviour. The techniques given at this grade catalyse, promote and provide a lens through which this process may be managed.

 
; The Theoricus stage is – as the Hebrew name suggests in the Cipher Manuscripts – a dim reflection of ‘Crossing the Abyss’, corresponding to Da’ath on the Tree of Life. This is also seen in the position of Yesod on the Tree of Life in the Middle Pillar, reflecting Da’ath below Tiphareth. In practical terms this shows the impact of the work at this stage on disolving a core sense of self-identity, as new knowledge is mixed into the old, and the stable sense of identity challenged and consumed. That this all takes place in the field of awareness is indicated on the map by Tiphareth.

  The Theoricus stage is one of self-knowing. The techniques applied are geared to a ‘solution’ (the alchemical process corresponding to this grade, as we will see elsewhere) of the self; a promotion of internal reflection (the Moon corresponds to Yesod).

  This stage can continue many years or merely a matter of nine months or so.

  As a Poraios de Rejectis (‘brought forth from the rejected’) the initiate is concerned with the “realisation of gold without labour,” according to the S.R.I.A. ritual. This intimates the nature of the Theoricus work as redeeming certain aspects of the self from what has been rejected. This cannot be done in the active way of the Zelator, it must be done “without labour” – an area that we will discuss in the volume concerning this grade.

  Practicus (BA’aL AMZ)

  Again, a probable conflation – of Ba’aL, meaning ‘Lord’ or ‘owner’, ‘possessor’ and AMR, ‘word’, ‘utterance’, ‘speech’. The long journey of Theoricus, its tests and trials (which we cover elsewhere in terms of the map of tarot), culminates in a specific event which demonstrates that the Practicus has reached the other side of the ‘path of the Sun’ (The Sun tarot card connecting Yesod and Hod, Theoricus and Practicus) and is now in touch with the perspective indicated by The Hanged Man, the card corresponding to the path leading from Hod to Geburah.