Bridging the Gap: P.1

You may not know how the mechanics and electrics of a car work, but you can still drive it effectively.

When you hit send on an email you are probably not aware of the complexities involved in data transfer and email server management, yet the email still arrives.

There are those in the world who understand the ins and outs of building vehicles, running data centres, and writing software – for without these people, we would not have cars or emails.

Everyone, if they choose to, can access the knowledge and information required to learn such skills.

However, most of us leave it to the experts and focus upon our own areas of expertise.

Would you agree that, in certain circumstances, those who have the hidden knowledge of fixing cars or being an I.T. expert will have advantages over those who don’t?

Cars go wrong. Technology plays up. Someone who can make roadside fixes on their own vehicle if it breaks down will save time and money compared to someone else who calls a roadside car breakdown service.

Likewise, when Microsoft Windows one day refuses to boot and your laptop gives you a blank screen, someone trained in I.T. will save themselves time and money over somebody else who takes a trip to the local computer store.

The above are just examples of hidden knowledge being useful, but not necessary for a product or process to work.

The same analogy can be applied to everything in the world that requires specialised training. To the untrained, there is a vast gap of the unknown between hitting send on an email and it landing it another inbox. The same applies to switching on a car and driving to the shop.

To the uninitiated, aviation engineering is esoteric. But to a trained and experienced aviation engineer, it is normal everyday life and therefore becomes exoteric.

Below are some dictionary definitions of esoteric:

“Designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone” – Merriam Webster Dictionary
“Requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group” – Merriam Webster Dictionary
“Not known by or suitable for the public” – thefreedictionary.com
“Understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest” – dictionary.com

Here are some dictionary definitions of exoteric:

“Suitable to be imparted to the public” – Merriam Webster Dictionary
“Belonging to the outer or less initiate circle” – Merriam Webster Dictionary

To the uninitiated outsider, Freemasonry may appear completely esoteric as the teachings and practices remain unknown to them.

The candidate for initiation may not know what to expect but will soon have certain knowledge that he previously did not.

Now, there are some Freemasons who view Freemasonry as purely exoteric. They have received training and knowledge, and – like the trained aviation engineer – have enough understanding of what they have been taught within Freemasonry to, in their opinion, class it as exoteric.

In the second degree ceremony, the following instruction is given:

“You are now permitted to extend your researches into the hidden mysteries of nature and science”

It is up to him how he responds and proceeds.

Those who seek secrets beyond that which the Masonic degree material and modern science provide will likely encounter esoteric knowledge related to Rosicrucian training, Theosophy, Gnostic and Hermetic teachings etc.

These esoteric systems are an attempt to provide humanity with the hidden science (or occult science, from the Latin word “occultus”) responsible for the creation and running of the universe.

Some Freemasons may be confused by the above phrase within the second degree ceremony, and may not know how to proceed from this instruction or be aware of where to look.

Others may attempt their research but find it less than fruitful.

But why is this instruction not given in the first degree initiation?

The training provided within Freemasonry between the first and second degrees will assist the candidate to begin smoothing out character imperfections and following a strict moral code.

In certain esoteric schools, a strict moral code is also enforced before the initiate can be trusted with certain hidden mysteries of nature and science.

“With knowledge comes power, and for power to be used for the greatest good one must have wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge put into right action so he who wields knowledge and power must therefore follow strict morals to ensure the safety of himself and others.”

– Anon

This rule applies to anyone in a position of power in the world, or who has access to potentially harmful technologies.

Without right morals, they would be able to cause great harm either mentally, emotionally, or physically by having vast power over millions or billions of people worldwide.

Following the right moral code, such a person will likewise be in a position to help, protect and serve many.

The previous article about egregores hinted that there may be similarities between the initiation ceremonies used within Freemasonry, witchcraft covens, and high magic orders.

Take three cars that look different on the outside. If you look beneath the surface, the same blueprint is used to make them work – switch on the power, release the break, and press the accelerator to make it move.

An experienced driver will carry this process out effortlessly as second nature but if he attempts it in the wrong order, or misses out a part of the process, he will either go nowhere or cause damage.

The driver doesn’t need to know what happens between turning the key or pressing a button to initiate the engine into activity, nor does he need to know the hidden processes that happen before the car begins to move. Yet move it will.

The same applies to initiation ceremonies used not only in the above-mentioned groups, but for thousands of years in initiatory systems all over the world.

There is a blueprint hiding behind the steps the candidate is taken through in any initiation ceremony.

Neither the candidate nor those performing the ceremony necessarily need to know how the ritual works or why, yet work it will as long as the steps are carried out correctly and in the right order.

The hidden or occult science behind the ritual blueprint is often as invisible to those involved as the digital and mechanical activity of a car is to its driver.

However, just like there are those in the world who are trained in the knowledge of writing software, maintaining servers, and building aircraft, there are others who are trained and experienced with the occult knowledge of nature and science.

The Ancient Mystery teachings, shrouded in allegory and symbolism, have been hidden from the masses and revealed only to a few through a gradual process to the trusted initiate.

Much of this has been published and revealed to the public, however most will not know where to look or what to look for to obtain the most accurate and helpful information.

The hidden or occult workings of the human mind, body and soul, as well as of mother nature and the universe, are imparted with great secrecy to the initiate who has sworn to use this occult knowledge only for the Highest Good.

So just how and why do rituals and ceremonies work, whether a Masonic initiation or a god form invocation in high magic?

This may not be a question you have asked yourself.

Even if, after a particular ceremony, you have felt different in some way but couldn’t explain why, you may not have been given all the answers within the Masonic degree material.

But if there was actually an answer with an exact yet hidden/occult science behind it, could it possibly be of benefit for you to know?

Firstly, there must be an altered state of awareness within the candidate. The Greeks referred to this as gnosis (see previous article) meaning “direct knowledge of the Divine”.

There are many methods of attaining a state of gnosis, and the Masonic initiation ceremony definitely and effectively employs some of them.

Those partaking in the ritual need not know what is happening under the surface, just as you don’t need to know how an email sever works to send an email.

But what if everyone involved in the ceremony knew the hidden science behind its working? Could this potentially make the running and taking part in rituals even more effective than they already are?

And could it possibly shine a light on why some rituals may appear to have “lost their magic” over time since being changed and stripped of phrases which certain individuals and groups have deemed to be “unimportant”?

Some people have joined Freemasonry, become a Master Mason, and then left due to being disillusioned, feeling like there was something missing.

If every Freemason was directly given some secrets of nature and science which begin to illuminate the hidden workings behind the ritual blueprints and the purpose of the path through the degrees, instead of being prompted to seek it alone outside of Freemasonry, would a gap then be bridged between practice and understanding?

Western Esoteric orders may well use similar initiation ceremonies but will then provide the initiate – who swears an oath of secrecy – with hidden/occult knowledge as part of his training.

The initiate may also seek further secrets of nature and science elsewhere if he so chooses but will receive esoteric blueprints and training directly within the order they have just been initiated into.

There are many gaps that require bridging:

Exoteric – Esoteric
Conscious Mind – Subconscious Mind
Matter – Spirit
Symbolism – Meaning
Brain Wave Frequency – Gnosis
Beliefs and Behaviour – Mind Programming
Personality – Soul
Effect – Cause

The blueprints behind rituals used in Freemasonry and Western Esoteric practices can be said to take all the above into consideration using a hidden or occult science.

In modern psychology, the mind can be programmed to behave in specific ways using techniques such as Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).

Such methods are employed extensively with great power and effect by corporations and governments to influence the beliefs, behaviour, thought patterns, and desires of the masses.

This is implemented by using specific imagery, symbols, colours, trigger words, and precise phrases to evoke powerful emotions such as fear, anger, and desire.

It is this knowledge put into action that makes the difference between a marketing campaign that makes a loss, and another that makes $10m.

The subconscious mind works in symbolic form, hence why most road signs are symbols rather than effects.

The instant you see a white circle with a diagonal black line in the UK, you know you’re entering a national speed limit zone. The understanding is immediate, and you don’t even need to think.

If the sign said, “National Speed Limit”, this would instead require the activity of your conscious mind which would have to read, interpret, and decide an action.

The time taken could mean the difference between life or death when on the road. Looking at a symbol, the conscious mind is bypassed so the effect on your awareness is instantaneous and effortless.

Using the correct blueprints, symbols and activity, rituals can also have an effect on making lasting changes on the candidate’s psyche.

The formula involved is not too dissimilar to NLP – using a darkened room, specific words and phrases combined with symbols and the symbolism of the ceremony itself add up to make significant alterations upon the candidate’s subconscious.

But is there any more at play here than simply using an ancient form of NLP to help the initiate shape his behaviour in line with better morals?

As there are hidden forces within the human mind and body, there are also hidden forces within and behind nature.

Science has unravelled many of nature’s mysteries and has given those discovered yet invisible forces and energies names, turning them from something hidden and esoteric into something visibly measured and exoteric.

But, as we know, science is nowhere near its job of unravelling all the mysteries of mother nature and the universe.

So, until this has been completed, we must accept that there are many hidden truths which remain undiscovered and unmeasured by modern science. All such unrevealed and unmeasured aspects of the cosmos we call esoteric science, or occult science.

In the distant past, a thunderstorm was seen to be the most powerful occult phenomena around…until science became able to measure it.

Thunder and lightning were then explained using concepts that can be measured and proven, so therefore has been classed as exoteric science ever since. But not all of nature’s hidden forces have been discovered, measured, or explained by modern science.

This is where the temples of initiation all over the world over thousands of years have played their part – to impart the hidden mysteries of nature and science to the trusted initiate.

Part two of this article will expand on some of the ideas mentioned above. Until then, here is a question to ponder on:

Is there is a chance that Freemasonry may now benefit from all Freemasons of the second degree and above being given direct training in the “hidden mysteries of nature and science”, so that the ceremonies and initiation process can be better understood rather than being performed in blind faith under the belief they are “purely symbolic” or “they just work”?

The article is an excerpt from a course currently under construction by the author to be published on the Square Academy.