Filename: RC1001.TXT
Source: "Ancient and Modern Initiation" by Max Heindel

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                                   FOREWARD:

   Within  the pages of this little volume are to be found some of the  most
priceless  gems belonging to the deepest phases of the  Christian  religion.
These  gems are the result of the spiritual investigations of that  inspired
and  illumined  Seer,  Max Heindel,  the authorized messenger of  the  Elder
Brothers  of the Rose Cross,  who are working to disseminate throughout  the
Western World the deeper spiritual meanings which are both concealed and re-
vealed within the Christian religion.

   The various important steps as outlined in the life of our Savior, Christ
Jesus,  form the general plan of Initiation for humanity.   Max  Heindel  in
this  work gives a deeper and more mystic insight into this alchemical  pro-
cess as it takes place in the body of man himself.  For we are but "a little
lower than the angels...and it doth not yet appear what we shall be."

   This volume will be a welcome addition to the libraries of many ministers
and church organizations throughout the world.   It will sound a new note of
inspiration and encouragement to all those who labor in His name.

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   The  Rosicrucian  School has a priceless heritage in the  opportunity  to
promulgate,  during this crucial time in the spiritual evolution of men  and
nations,  the esoteric teachings belonging to the Christian  Church.   "Unto
whomsoever much is given,  of him shall be much required."   Therefore it is
in  the  spirit of reverence and humility that  the  Rosicrucian  Fellowship
dedicates  the priceless teachings contained within this little book to  the
service of all humanity.

   May its Truth enlighten,  its Wisdom guide, and its Love enfold all those
who come to partake of its Waters of Life.   And may each one who comes find
the Illumined Way that is outlined herein.

   "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls.
Who,  when he had found one pearl of great price,  went and sold all that he
had and bought it."

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                      THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS:

                        THE ATLANTEAN MYSTERY TEMPLE:

   Ever  since mankind,  the prodigal spirit sons of our Father  in  Heaven,
wandered  into  the wilderness of the world and fed upon the  husks  of  its
pleasures, which starve the body, there has been within man's heart a sound-
less voice urging him to return;  but most men are so engrossed in  material
interests that they hear it not.   The Mystic Mason who has heard this inner
voice feels impelled by an inner urge to seek for the Lost Word;  to build a
house of God,  a temple of the spirit, where he may meet the Father face  to
face and answer His call.

   Nor is he dependent upon his own resources in this quest,  for our Father
in Heaven has Himself prepared a way marked with guide posts which will lead
us to Him if we follow.   But as we have forgotten the divine Word and would
be unable now to comprehend  its  meaning,  the  Father  speaks to us in the

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language of symbolism,  which both hides and reveals the spiritual truths we
must understand before we can come to Him.   Just as we give to our children
picture  books  which reveal to their nascent  minds  intellectual  concepts
which they could not otherwise understand, so also each God-given symbol has
a deep meaning which could not be learned without that symbol.

   God is spirit and must be worshipped in spirit.  It is therefore strictly
forbidden  to  make a material likeness of Him,  for nothing we  could  make
would convey an adequate idea.   But as we hail the flag of our country with
joy and enthusiasm because it awakens in our breasts the tenderest  feelings
for home and our loved ones,  because it stirs our noblest impulse,  because
it  is a symbol of all the things which we hold dear,  so also do  different
divine  symbols which have been given to mankind from time to time speak  to
that forum of truth which is within our hearts, and awaken our consciousness
to  divine  ideas entirely beyond words.   Therefore  symbolism,  which  has
played an all-important part in our past evolution,  is still a prime neces-
sity  in our spiritual development;  hence the advisability of  studying  it
with our intellects and our hearts.

   It  is obvious that our mental attitude today depends on how  we  thought
yesterday,  also that our present condition and circumstances depend on  how
we worked or shirked in the past.   Every new thought or idea which comes to
us we view in the light of our previous experience, and thus we see that our
present  and  future  are  determined by our previous living.  Similarly the

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path of spiritual endeavor which we have hewn out for ourselves in past  ex-
istences  determines our present attitude and the way we must go  to  attain
our  aspirations.   Therefore we can gain no true perspective of our  future
development unless we first familiarize ourselves with the past.

   It  is in recognition of this fact that modern Masonry harks back to  the
temple  of Solomon.   That is very well as far as it goes,  but in order  to
gain  the fullest perspective we must also take into consideration  the  an-
cient Atlantean Mystery Temple,  the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.   We must
understand the relative importance of that Tabernacle, also of the first and
second temples, for there were vital differences between them,  each fraught
with cosmic significance;  and within them all was the foreshadowing of  the
CROSS, sprinkled with BLOOD, which was turned to ROSES.

                      THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS:

   We  read in the Bible the story of how Noah and a remnant of  his  people
with him were saved from the flood and formed the nucleus of the humanity of
the Rainbow Age in which we now live.  It is also stated that Moses led  his
people out of Egypt, the land of the Bull, Taurus,  through waters which en-
gulfed  their  enemies and set them free as a chosen people to  worship  the
Lamb,  Aries,  into which sign the sun had then entered by precession of the
equinox.  These two narratives relate to one and the same incident,  namely,
the emergence of infant humanity  from the doomed continent of Atlantis into

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the  present  age  of alternating cycles where summer and  winter,  day  and
night,  ebb and flow,  follow each other.   As humanity had then just become
endowed  with mind,  they began to realize the loss of the  spiritual  sight
which  they had hitherto possessed,  and they developed a yearning  for  the
spirit world and their divine guides which remains to this day, for humanity
has never ceased to mourn their loss.   Therefore the ancient Atlantean Mys-
tery Temple,  the Tabernacle in the Wilderness,  was given to them that they
might meet the Lord when they had qualified themselves by service and subju-
gation of the lower nature by the Higher Self.  Being designed by Jehovah it
was  the  embodiment of great cosmic truths hidden by a  veil  of  symbolism
which spoke to the inner or Higher Self.

   In  the  first place it is worthy of notice that this  divinely  designed
Tabernacle was given to a chosen people, who were to build it from  freewill
offerings given out of the fullness of their hearts.  Herein is a particular
lesson,  for  the divine pattern of the path of progress is never  given  to
anyone who has not first made a covenant with God that he will serve Him and
is  wiling  to  offer  up his heart's blood in a  life  of  service  without
self-seeking   The term "Mason"  is derived from PHREE MESSEN,  which is  an
Egyptian term meaning "Children of Light."  In the parlance of Masonry,  God
is  spoken  of as the Grand Architect.  ARCHE is a greek  word  which  means
"Primordial substance."  TEKTON is  the  Greek name for builder.  It is said

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that Joseph, the father of Jesus,  was a "CARPENTER,"  but the Greek word is
TEKTON--builder.   It  is also said that Jesus was a  "tekton,"  a  builder.
Thus every true mystic Freemason is a child of light according to the divine
pattern  given him by our Father in Heaven.   To this end he  dedicates  his
whole heart,  soul,  and mind.   It is, or should be,  his aspiration to  be
"greatest  in the kingdom of God,"  and therefore he must be THE SERVANT  OF
ALL.

   The next point which calls for notice is the location of the temple  with
respect to the cardinal points,  and we find that it was laid directly  east
and  west.   Thus we see that the path of spiritual progress is the same  as
the star of empire;  it travels from east to west.   The aspirant entered at
the  eastern gate and pursued the path by way of the Altar of  Burnt  Offer-
ings,  the Brazen Laver,  and the Holy Place to the westernmost part of  the
Tabernacle,  where the Ark,  the greatest symbol of all,  was located in the
Holy of Holies.   As the wise men of the East followed the Christ star west-
ward to Bethlehem, so does the spiritual center of the civilized world shift
farther  and farther westward,  until today the crest of the spiritual  wave
which started in China on the western shores of the Pacific has now  reached
the eastern shores of the same ocean, where it is gathering strength to leap
once more in its cyclic journey across the waste of waters, to recommence in
a far future a new cyclic journey around the earth.

   The ambulant nature of this Tabernacle  in the Wilderness is therefore an

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excellent  symbolical  representation of the fact that man is  migratory  in
hisnature, an eternal pilgrim, ever passing from the shores of time to eter-
nity and back again.   As a planet revolves in its cyclic journey around the
primary sun, so man, the little world or microcosm, travels in cyclic circle
dance around God, who is the source and goal of all.

   The great care and attention to detail regarding the construction of  the
Tabernacle in the Wilderness shows that something far more exalted than what
struck the eye of sense was intended in its construction.  Under its earthly
and material show there was designed a representation of things heavenly and
spiritual  such as should be full of instruction to the candidate  for  Ini-
tiation and should not this reflection excite us to seek an intimate and fa-
miliar  acquaintance with this ancient sanctuary?   Surely it becomes us  to
consider all parts of its plan with serious, careful, and reverential atten-
tion,  remembering at every step the heavenly origin of it all,  and  humbly
endeavoring to penetrate through the shadows of its earthly service into the
sublime  and glorious realities which according to the wisdom of the  spirit
it proposes for our solemn contemplation.

   In  order  that we may gain a proper conception of this sacred  place  we
must consider the Tabernacle itself,  its furniture and its court.   The il-
lustration opposite page 33 may assist the student to form a better  concep-
tion of the arrangement within.

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                         THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE:

   This  was an enclosure which surrounded the Tabernacle.   Its length  was
twice its width, and the ate was at the east end.  This gate was enclosed by
a curtain of blue,  scarlet, and purple fine twined linen,  and these colors
show  us  at once the status of this Tabernacle in the Wilderness.   We  are
taught in the sublime gospel of John that "God is Light," and no description
or  similitude could convey a better conception or one more enlightening  to
the spiritual mind than these words.   When we consider that even the great-
est  of modern telescopes have failed to find the borders of  light,  though
they penetrate space for millions and millions of miles,  it gives us a weak
but comprehensive idea of the infinitude of God.

   We know that this light,  which is God,  is refracted into three  primary
colors by the atmosphere surrounding our earth, viz., blue, yellow, and red;
and it is a fact well known to every occultist that the ray of the Father is
blue,  while that of the Son is yellow,  and the color of the Holy  Spirit's
ray is red.  Only the strongest and most spiritual ray can hope to penetrate
to the seat of consciousness of the life wave embodied in our mineral  king-
dom, and therefore we find about the mountain ranges the blue ray of the Fa-
ther  reflected  back from the barren hillsides and hanging as a  haze  over
canyons and gulches.   The yellow ray of the Son mixed with the blue of  the
Father gives life and vitality to the plant world,  which therefore reflects
back  a  green color, for it is incapable of keeping the ray WITHIN.  But in

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the  animal  kingdom,  to which unregenerate man belongs  anatomically,  the
three rays are absorbed,  and that of the Holy Spirit gives the red color to
his flesh and blood.   The mixture of the blue and the red is evident in the
purple blood,  poisoned because sinful.  But the yellow is never evident un-
til it manifests as a soul body, the golden "WEDDING garment"  of the mystic
Bride of the mystic Christ evolved from within.

   Thus the colors on the veils of the Temple,  both at the gate and at  the
entrance  of the Tabernacle,  showed that this structure was designed for  a
period  previous  to the time of Christ,  for it had only the blue  and  the
scarlet  colors of the Father and the Holy Spirit together with  their  mix-
ture,  purple.   But white is the synthesis of all colors, and therefore the
yellow Christ ray was hidden in that part of the veil until in the  fullness
of time Christ should appear to emancipate us from the ordinances that bind,
and initiate us into the full liberty of Sons of God,  Sons of Light,  Chil-
dren of Light, Phree Messen or Mystic Masons.

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                         THE BRAZEN ALTAR AND LAVER:

   THE BRAZEN ALTAR was placed just inside the eastern gate, and it was used
for the sacrifice of animals during the temple service.   The idea of  using
bulls and goats as sacrifices seems barbaric to the modern mind, and we can-
not realize that they could ever have had any efficacy in that respect.  The
Bible does indeed hear out this view of the matter,  for we are told repeat-
edly  that  God  desires not sacrifice but a broken spirit  and  a  contrite
heart,  and that He has no pleasure in sacrifices of blood.  In view of this
fact it seems strange that sacrifices should ever have been commanded.   But
we  must realize that no religion can elevate those whom it is  designed  to
help  if its teachings are too far above their intellectual or moral  level.
To appeal to a barbarian, religion must have certain barbaric traits.  A re-
ligion of love could not have appealed to those people,  therefore they were
given a law which  demanded  "an  eye  for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

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There  is not in the Old Testament any mention whatever of immortality,  for
these people could not have understood a heaven nor aspired to it.  But they
loved  material possessions,  and therefore they were told that if they  did
right  they  and  their seed should dwell in the land  forever,  that  their
cattle should be multiplied, et cetera.

   They loved material possessions, and they knew that the increases of  the
flock  were due to the Lord's favor and given by Him for merit.   Thus  they
were taught to do right in the hope of a reward in this present world.  They
were  also deterred from wrongdoing by the swift punishment which was  meted
out to them in retribution for their sins.   This was the only way to  reach
them.   They could not have done right for the sake of right, nor could they
have understood the principle of making themselves "living sacrifices,"  and
they probably felt the loss of an animal for sin as we would feel the  pangs
of conscience because of wrongdoing.

   The Altar was made of brass, a metal not found in nature, but made by man
from  copper  and  zinc.   Thus it is symbolically shown that  sin  was  not
originally contemplated in our scheme of evolution and is an anomaly in  na-
ture as well as its consequences, pain and death, symbolized by the sacrifi-
cial victims.   But while the Altar itself was made from metals artificially
compounded,  the fire which burned thereon unceasingly was of divine origin,
and  it  was kept alive from year to year with the most  jealous  care.   No
other fire was ever used, and we may note with profit that when two presump-

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tuous and rebellious priests dared to disregard this command and use strange
fire,  they met with an awful retribution and instant death.   When we  have
once taken the oath of allegiance to the mystic Master, the HIGHER SELF,  it
is extremely dangerous to disregard the precepts then given.

   When  the candidate appears at the eastern gate he is "poor,  naked,  and
blind."   He is at that moment an object of charity,  needing to be  clothed
and  brought  to the light,  but this cannot be done at once in  the  mystic
Temple.

   During the time of his progress from the condition of nakedness until  he
has  been clothed in the gorgeous robes of the high priest there is  a  long
and difficult path to be traveled.   The first lesson which he is taught  is
that  man advances by sacrifices alone.   In the Christian Mystic Initiation
when the Christ washes the feet of His disciples,  the explanation is  given
that  unless the minerals decomposed and were offered us as embodiments  for
the plant kingdom,  we should have no vegetation;  also,  did not the  plant
food furnish sustenance for the animals, these latter beings could not  find
expression; and so on, the higher is always feeding on the lower.  Therefore
man has a duty to them,  and so the Master washes the feet of His  disciples
symbolically performing for them the menial service as a recognition of  the
fact that they have served Him as stepping-stones to something higher.

   Similarly,  when the candidate is brought to the Brazen Altar,  he learns
the lesson that the animal is sacrificed for his sake, giving  its  body for

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food and its skin for clothing.   Moreover, he sees the dense cloud of smoke
hovering over the Altar and perceives within it a light,  but that light  is
too dim,  too much enshrouded in smoke, to be of permanent guidance to  him.
His spiritual eyes are weak,  however, and it would not do to expose them at
once to the light of greater spiritual truths.

   We are told by the apostle Paul that the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was
a  shadow  of greater things to come.  It may therefore be of  interest  and
profit to see what is the meaning of this Brazen Altar,  with its sacrifices
and burning flesh, to the candidate who comes to the Temple in modern times.
In  order that we may understand this mystery,  we must first grasp the  one
great  and  absolutely essential idea which underlies  all  true  mysticism,
viz.,  that these things are WITHIN and not without.   Angelus Silesius says
about the Cross:

   "Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born,
   And not within thyself thy soul will be forlorn.
   The Cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain,
   Unless within thyself it be set up again."

   This idea must be applied to every symbol and phase of mystic experience.
It is not the Christ without that saves, but THE CHRIST WITHIN.   The Taber-
nacle was built at one time; it is clearly seen in the Memory of Nature when
the interior sight has been developed to a sufficient degree;  but no one is
ever helped by the outward symbol.  We must build the Tabernacle within  our

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own hearts and consciousness.   We must live through, as an actual inner ex-
perience,  the whole ritual of service there.  We must become both the Altar
of sacrifice and the sacrificial animal lying upon it.   We must become both
the  priest  that slays the animal and the animal that is slain.   Later  we
must learn to identify ourselves with the mystic Laver, and we must learn to
wash therein in spirit.  Then we must enter behind the first veil,  minister
in the East Room,  and so on through the whole Temple service till we BECOME
the greatest of all these ancient symbols,  the Shekinah Glory,  or it  will
avail us nothing.   In short, before the symbol of the Tabernacle can really
help us,  we must transfer it from the wilderness of space to a home in  our
hearts so that when we have become everything that that symbol is,  we shall
also have become that which it stands for spiritually.

   Let  us then commence to build within ourselves the Altar  of  sacrifice,
first that we may offer upon it our wrongdoings and then expiate them in the
crucible  of remorse.   This is done under the modern system of  preparation
for discipleship by an exercise performed in the evening and  scientifically
designed  by the Hierophants of the Western Mystery School for the  advance-
ment of the aspirant on the path which leads to discipleship.  Other schools
have given a similar exercise,  but this one differs in one particular point
from  all previous methods.   After explaining the exercises we  shall  also
give the reason for this great and cardinal difference.  This special method
has such a far-reaching effect that it enables one to learn now not only the

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lessons  which one should ordinarily learn in this life,  but also attain  a
development which otherwise could not be reached until future lives.

   After  retiring for the night the body is relaxed.   This is very  impor-
tant,  for when any part of the body is tense,  the blood does not circulate
unimpeded;  part  of it is temporarily imprisoned under  pressure.   As  all
spiritual development depends upon the blood,  the maximum effort to  attain
soul growth cannot be made when any part of the body is in tension.

   When perfect relaxation has been accomplished, the aspirant to the higher
life begins to review the scenes of the day,  but he does not start with the
occurrences  of the morning and finish with the events of the  evening.   He
views  them  in REVERSE order:   first the scenes of the evening,  then  the
events  of the afternoon,  and lastly the occurrences of the  morning.   The
reason  for this is that from the moment of birth when the child  draws  its
first complete breath, the air which is inspired into the lungs carries with
it a picture of the outside world, and as the blood courses through the left
ventricle  of the heart,  each scene of life is pictured upon a minute  atom
located there.   Every breath brings with it new pictures, and thus there is
engraved  upon that little seed atom a record of every scene and act in  our
whole life from the first breath to the last dying gasp.   After death these
pictures from the basis of our purgatorial existence.   Under the conditions
of the spirit world we suffer pangs of conscience so acute that they are un-
believable  for  every  evil  deed we have done, and we are thus discouraged

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from continuing on the path of wrongdoing.   The intensity of the joys which
we experience on account of our good deeds acts as a goad to spur us on  the
path of virtue in future lives.   But in the post-mortem existence this pan-
orama of life is reenacted in reverse order for the purpose of showing first
the  effects  and then the causes which generated them that the  spirit  may
learn how the law of cause and effect operates in life.   Therefore the  as-
pirant  who  is under the scientific guidance of the Elder Brothers  of  the
Rosicrucians is taught to perform his evening exercise also in reverse order
and  to judge himself each day that he may escape the purgatorial  suffering
after  death.   But let it be understood that no mere perfunctory review  of
the scenes of the day will avail.   It is not enough when we come to a scene
where we have grievously wronged somebody that we just say,  "Well,  I  feel
rather sorry that I did it.  I wish I had not done it."  At that time we are
the sacrificial animal lying upon the Alter of Burnt Offerings,  and  unless
we can feel in our hearts the divinely enkindled fire of remorse burn to the
very marrow of our bones because of our wrongdoings during the day,  we  are
not accomplishing anything.

   During the ancient dispensation all the sacrifices were rubbed with  salt
before being placed upon the Altar of Burnt Offerings.   We all know how  it
smarts  and  burns when we accidentally rub salt into a fresh  wound.   This
rubbing  of salt into the sacrifices in that ancient Mystery Temple  symbol-
ized the intensity of the burning which we must feel when we as living  sac-
rifices place ourselves upon the  Altar of Burnt Offerings.  It is the feel-

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ing  of  remorse,  of deep and sincere sorrow for what we have  done,  which
eradicates the picture from the seed atom and leaves it clean and stainless,
so that as under the ancient dispensation transgressors were justified  when
they  brought  to the Altar of Burnt Offerings a sacrifice which  was  there
burnt,  so we in modern times by scientifically performing the evening exer-
cise  of retrospection wipe away the record of our sins.   It is a  foregone
conclusion  that  we cannot continue evening after evening to  perform  this
living sacrifice without becoming better in consequence and ceasing,  little
by little,  to do the things for which we are forced to blame ourselves when
we have retired for the night.   Thus, in addition to cleansing us from  our
faults  this exercise elevates us to a higher level of spirituality than  we
could otherwise reach in the present life.

   It is also noteworthy that when anyone had committed a grievous crime and
fled to the sanctuary,  he found safety in the shadow of the Altar of sacri-
fice, for there only the divinely enkindled fire could execute judgment.  He
escaped  the  hands  of  man  by putting himself  under  the  hand  of  God.
Similarly  also,  the aspirant who acknowledges his  wrongdoing  nightly  by
fleeing  to the altar of living judgment thereby obtains sanctuary from  the
law  of cause and effect,  and "though his sins be as scarlet they shall  be
white as snow."

                              THE BRAZEN LAVER:

   The Brazen laver was a large basin  which  was always kept full of water.

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It  is  said in the Bible that it was carried on the backs of  twelve  oxen,
also  made of brass,  and we are told that their hind parts were toward  the
center of the vessel.  It appears from the Memory of Nature,  however,  that
those  animals  were not oxen but symbolical representations of  the  twelve
signs of the zodiac.   Humanity was at that time divided into twelve groups,
one  group  for each zodiacal sign.  Each symbolic animal attracted  a  par-
ticular ray, and as the holy water used today in Catholic churches is magne-
tized by the priest during the ceremony of consecration,  so also the  water
in this Laver was magnetized by the divine Hierarchics who guided humanity.

   There  can be no doubt concerning the power of holy water prepared  by  a
strong and magnetic personality.   It takes on or absorbs the effluvia  from
his vital body,  and the people who use it become amenable to his rule in  a
degree commensurate to their sensitiveness.   Consequently the Brazen Lavers
in the ancient Atlantean mystery Temples, where the water was magnetized  by
divine Hierarchs of immeasurable power,  were a potent factor in guiding the
people  in  accordance  with the wishes of these ruling  powers.   Thus  the
priests were in perfect subjection to the mandates and dictates of their un-
seen  spiritual  leaders,  and through them the people were made  to  follow
blindly.  It was required of the priests that they wash their hands and feet
before  going into the Tabernacle proper.  If this command was  not  obeyed,
death  would follow immediately on the priest entering into the  Tabernacle.
We  may  therefore  say  that  as  the  keyword  of  the  Brazen  Altar  was

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"justification" so the central idea of the Brazen Laver was "consecration."

   "Many  are called but few are chosen."  We have the example of  the  rich
young man who came to Christ asking what he must do to be perfect.   He  as-
serted  that he had kept the law, but when Christ gave the command,  "Follow
me,"  he could not, for he had many riches which held him fast as in a vise.
Like the great majority he was content if he could only escape condemnation,
and like them he was too lukewarm to strive for commendation merited by ser-
vice.   The Brazen Laver is the symbol of sanctification and consecration of
the  life  to service.   As Christ entered upon His  three  years'  ministry
through  the  baptismal waters,  so the aspirant to service in  the  ancient
Temple  must sanctify himself in the sacred stream which must sanctify  him-
self in the sacred stream which flowed from the Molten Sea.   And the mystic
Mason endeavoring to build a temple "without sound of hammer"  and to  serve
therein must also consecrate himself and sanctify himself.  He must be will-
ing to give up all earthly possessions that he may follow the CHRIST WITHIN.
Though  he may retain his material possessions he must regard them as a  sa-
cred  trust to be used by him as a wise steward would use his master's  pos-
sessions.   And  we must be ready in everything to obey this  Christ  within
when he says,  "Follow me," even though the shadow of the Cross looms darkly
at the end, for without this utter abandonment of the life to the Light,  to
the higher purposes, there can be no progress.  Even as the Spirit descended
upon Jesus when he arose from the baptismal water of consecration,  so  also

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the  mystic Mason who bathes in the Laver of the Molten Sea begins dimly  to
hear  the voice of the Master within his own heart teaching him the  secrets
of the Craft that he may use them for the benefit of others.

                           EAST ROOM OF THE TEMPLE:

   HAVING MOUNTED the first steps upon the path the aspirant stands in front
of the veil which hangs before the mystic Temple.  Drawing this aside he en-
ters into the East Room of the sanctuary,  which was called the HOLY  PLACE.
No  window or opening of any sort was provided in the Tabernacle to  let  in
the  light  of day,  but this room was never dark.   Night and  day  it  was
brightly illuminated by burning lamps.

   Its furniture was symbolical of the methods whereby the aspirant may make
SOUL GROWTH BY SERVICE.  It consisted of three principal articles:   The AL-
TER  OF INCENSE,  the TABLE OF SHEWBREAD,  and the GOLDEN  CANDLESTICK  from
which the light proceeded.

   It was not allowable for the common Israelite to enter this sacred apart-
ment  and behold the furniture.   No one but a priest might pass  the  outer
veil and go in even as far as this first room.   The Golden Candlestick  was
placed on the south side of the Holy Place so as to be  to  the  left of any

[PAGE 22]

person  who stood in the middle of the room.   It was made entirely of  pure
gold,  and  consisted of a shaft or principal stem,  rising upright  from  a
base, together with six branches.  These branches started at three different
points on the stem and curved upward in three partial circles of varying di-
ameter,  symbolizing the three periods of development (Saturn, Sun, and Moon
Periods) which man went through before the Earth period,  which was not half
spent.   This  latter period was signified by the seventh  light.   Each  of
these  seven branches terminated in a lamp,  and these lamps  were  supplied
with the purest olive oil, which was made by a special process.  The priests
were  required to take care that the Candlestick was never without a  light.
Every day the lamps were examined,  dressed,  and supplied with oil so  that
they might burn perpetually.

   The  TABLE OF SHEWBREAD was placed on the north side of the apartment  so
as to be in THE RIGHT HAND of the priest when he walked up toward the second
veil.   Twelve  loaves of unleavened bread were continually kept  upon  this
table.   They were placed in two piles, one loaf upon another, and on top of
each  pile there was a small quantity of frankincense.   These  loaves  were
called shewbread, or bread of the face, because they were set solemnly forth
before the presence of the Lord,  who dwelt in the Shekinah Glory behind the
second  veil.   Every Sabbath day these loaves were changed by the  priests,
the  old  ones being taken away and new ones put in their place.   The bread
that was taken away was used by the priests to eat,  and  no  one  else  was

[PAGE 23]

allowed  to taste it;  neither were they suffered to eat it anywhere  except
within the Court of the Sanctuary,  because it was most holy,  and therefore
might  only be taken by sacred persons upon holy ground.   THE INCENSE  THAT
WAS  UPON THE TWO PILES OF SHEWBREAD WAS BURNED when the bread was  changed,
as an offering by fire unto the Lord, as a memorial instead of the bread.

   The ALTAR OF INCENSE or the Golden Altar was the third article of  furni-
ture  in the East Room of the Temple.  It was situated in the center of  the
room,  that  is to say,  halfway between the north and the south  walls,  in
front of the second veil.  No flesh was ever burned upon this Altar, nor was
it ever touched with blood except on the most solemn occasions, and then its
horns alone were marked with the crimson stain.   The smoke that arose  from
its top was never any other than the smoke of burning incense.  This went up
every morning and evening,  filling the sanctuary with a fragrant cloud  and
sending a refreshing odor out through all the courts and far over the  coun-
try on every side for miles beyond.   Because incense was thus burned  every
day it was called "A PERPETUAL INCENSE before the Lord."

   It was not simple frankincense which was burned,  but a compound of  this
with other sweet spices, made according to the direction of Jehovah for this
special purpose and so considered holy,  such as no man was allowed to  make
like unto for common use.  THE PRIEST WAS CHARGED NEVER TO OFFER STRANGE IN-
CENSE on the Golden Altar, that is, any other than the  sacred  composition.

[PAGE 24]

This Altar was placed directly before the veil on the outside of it, but be-
fore the Mercy Seat,  which was within the second veil;  for though he  that
ministered  at the Altar of Incense could not see the Mercy Seat because  of
the interposing veil, yet he must look toward it and direct his incense that
way.  And it was customary when the cloud of fragrant incense rose above the
temple  for  all the people who were standing without in the  Court  of  the
Sanctuary to send up their prayers to God, each one silently by himself.

           THE MYSTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EAST ROOM AND ITS FURNITURE:

                          THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK:

   As previously said,  when the priest stood in the center of the East Room
of the Tabernacle, the Seven-branched Candlestick was ON HIS LEFT toward the
SOUTH.   This was symbolical of the fact that the seven lightgivers or plan-
ets  which tread the mystic circle dance around the central orb,  the   sun,
travel  in  the narrow belt comprising eight degrees on either side  of  the
sun's  path,  which is called the zodiac.   "God is Light,"  and the  "Seven
Spirits before the Throne"  are God's ministers;  therefore THEY ARE MESSEN-
GERS  OF  LIGHT to humanity.   Furthermore, as the heavens are  ablaze  with
light when the moon in its phases arrives at the "full"  in the eastern part
of  the  heavens,  so also the East Room of the Tabernacle was  filled  with
LIGHT, indicating VISIBLY the presence there of God and His seven Ministers,
the STAR ANGELS.

[PAGE 25]

   We may note,  in passing, the light of the Golden Candlestick,  which was
clear and the flame odorless,  and compare it with the smoke-enveloped flame
on the Altar of Burnt Offerings, which in a certain sense generated darkness
rather  than  dispelled it.   But there is a still deeper and  more  sublime
meaning in this fire symbol,  which we will not take up for discussion until
we  come to the SHEKINAH GLORY, whose dazzling brilliance hovered  over  the
Mercy Seat in the WEST ROOM.  Before we can enter into this subject, we must
understand all the symbols that lie between the Golden Candlestick and  that
sublime Father Fire which was the crowning glory of the Holy of Holies,  the
most sacred part of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

                           THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD:

   The  East  Room of the Temple may be called the Hall of Service,  for  it
corresponds  to the three years'  ministry of Christ,  and contains all  the
paraphernalia for soul growth,  though,  as said,  furnished with only three
principal  articles.   Among the chief of these is the Table  of  Shewbread.
Upon this table, as we have already seen, there were two piles of shewbread,
each containing six loaves, and upon the top of each pile there was a little
heap of frankincense.   The aspirant who came to the Temple door "poor,  na-
ked,  and blind"  has since been brought to the light of the  Seven-branched
Candlestick,  obtaining a certain amount of cosmic knowledge, and THIS HE IS
REQUIRED  TO USE IN THE SERVICE OF HIS FELLOW MEN;  the Table  of  Shewbread
represents this in symbol.

[PAGE 26]

   The grain from which this shewbread was made had been originally given by
God,  but  then it was planted by mankind,  who had  previously  plowed  and
tilled the soil.   After planting their grain they must cultivate and  water
it;  then when the grain had borne fruit according to the nature of the soil
and the care bestowed upon it, it had to be harvested, threshed, ground, and
baked.   Then the ancient SERVANTS OF GOD had to carry it into  the  Temple,
where  it was placed before the Lord as bread to "SHEW"  THAT THEY HAD  PER-
FORMED THEIR TOIL AND RENDERED THE NECESSARY SERVICE.

   The God-given grains of wheat in the twelve loaves represent the OPPORTU-
NITIES  FOR SOUL GROWTH given by God, which come to all through  the  twelve
departments of life represented by the twelve houses of the horoscope, under
the dominion of the twelve divine Hierarchies known through the signs of the
zodiac.  BUT IT IS THE TASK OF THE MYSTIC MASON, THE TRUE TEMPLE BUILDER, TO
EMBRACE  THESE OPPORTUNITIES,  TO CULTIVATE AND NOURISH THEM SO THAT HE  MAY
REAP THEREFROM THE LIVING BREAD WHICH NURTURES THE SOUL.

   We  do not,  however,  assimilate our physical food IN TOTO;  there is  a
residue, a large proportion of ash, left after we have amalgamated the quin-
tessence into our system.   Similarly,  the shewbread was not burned or con-
sumed  before the Lord,  but two small heaps of frankincense were placed  on
the two stacks of shewbread,  one one each pile.   This was conceived to  be
the aroma thereof,  and was later burned on the Altar of Incense.   Likewise
the  soul sustenance of service gathered daily by the ardent Mystic Mason is

[PAGE 27]

thrown  into  the mill of retrospection at eventide when he retires  to  his
couch  and  performs  there  the scientific exercises  given  by  the  Elder
Brothers of the Rose Cross.

   There is a time each month which is particularly propitious for  extract-
ing  the frankincense of soul growth and burning it before the lord so  that
it may be a sweet savor,  TO BE AMALGAMATED WITH THE SOUL BODY and form part
of  that golden,  radiant "wedding garment."   This as at the time when  the
moon is at the full.   Then she is in the east,  and the heavens are  ablaze
with  light  as was the East Room of the ancient  Atlantean  Mystery  Temple
where  the  priest  garnered  the pabulum of the  soul,  symbolized  by  the
shewbread  and the fragrant essence,  which delighted our Father  in  Heaven
then as now.

   Let the Mystic Mason take particular note,  however,  that the loaves  of
shewbread  were not the musings of dreamers;  they were not the  product  of
speculation upon the nature of God or light.   THEY WERE THE PRODUCT OF  AC-
TUAL TOIL, of orderly systematic work, and it behooves us to follow the path
of actual service if we would garner treasure in heaven.   Unless we  really
WORK and SERVE humanity, we shall have nothing to bring, no bread to "shew,"
at the Feast of the Full Moon;  and at the mystic marriage of the higher  to
the  lower self we shall find ourselves minus the radiant golden sold  body,
the mystic wedding garment without which the union with Christ can never  be
consummated.

[PAGE 28]

                            THE ALTER OF INCENSE:

   At the Altar of Incense, as we saw in the general description of the Tab-
ernacle and its furniture,  incense was offered before the lord continually,
and the priest who stood before the altar ministering was at that time look-
ing toward the mercy Seat over the Ark,  though it as impossible for him  to
see it because of the SECOND VEIL which was interposed between the first and
second apartments of the Tabernacle,  the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
We have also seen in the consideration of the "shewbread"  that INCENSE sym-
bolizes the extract,  THE AROMA OF THE SERVICE we have rendered according to
our opportunities;  and just as the sacrificial animal upon the Brazen Altar
represents the deeds of wrongdoing committed during the day,  so the incense
burned upon the Golden Altar, which is a sweet savor to the Lord, represents
the virtuous deeds of our lives.

[Continued with file "RC1002.TXT"]

End of File

