FIRST MOUNTAIN
CHAPTER XII
THE GNOSTIC CHURCH
Those who have already crossed to the other shore know well the nature of the rigorous ordeals of Initiation...
To separate ourselves from the thousand-faced monster (humanity) in order to assist it efficiently is no crime.
I was thirty years of age when I was subjected to terrible and harrowing trials... What I saw then, what happened to me, is well worth recounting.
It was on the night of mystery when I felt the howl of the hurricane close by; then I understood...
How alone I was that night, and yet... wherever I placed myself—here, there, or yonder—I soon found myself surrounded by multitudes; I know not how the people came to me, and then...
Once again, only the hurricane howled; then I understood what the wind had carried away. Today I speak because...
““What distant murmur
breaks the silence
of the serene,
black night?”
Is it the horse’s swift career,
stretched out in headlong flight,
or the harsh roar of a hungry beast,
or perhaps the whistling of the North Wind,
or the hoarse echo of distant thunder
rumbling in deep caverns,
or the sea that threatens—with his swollen breast, a new Lucifer,to the throne of God ?
For all those specters of the mysterious night were also seen by that poet who sang thus:
““Dense fog
shrouds the sky
and teems
with spirits—
wandering ones
that cross here
and there,
misty and
countless;
now gathering,
now swirling,
joining together,
then withdrawing;
now hiding,
now appearing,
wandering, flying.”
“A vague swarm of idle phantoms
of diverse shapes and varied hues,
mounted on goats, serpents, and ravens,
and on broomsticks, amidst a muffled din...”
“They pass, they flee,
they return, they swell,
they wane,
they evaporate,
they take on color,
and amidst shadows
and reflections,
near and far,
they fade from sight;
now they shun me
in fear;
now they seethe
with fury
in a fantastic aerial dance
all around me.”
Amidst all the shrieks, howls, hisses, neighs, screeches, bellows, squawks, meows, barks, snorts, rumbles, and croaks, the visionary poet continues to listen, speaking to us in words that are like the livid, phosphorescent brushstrokes of El Greco, conjuring extraordinary apparitions akin to those in Goya’s *Caprichos*.
Everywhere there are coats of arms—featuring rampant lions, the Shells of Compostela, beheaded Moors, fleurs-de-lis, and trout—and on every side, ruined palaces and grand old houses; poverty, and yet more poverty. Many times I had to bravely confront the dark Powers mentioned by the Apostle Paul of Tarsus in Chapter II of the Epistle to the Ephesians.
Undoubtedly, the most dangerous adversary of that night bore the fateful title of “ANAGARIKA.” I wish to refer emphatically to the Demon Cherenzi.
That loathsome, shadowy creature had taught “Black Tantrism” to the world (Sexual Magic involving seminal ejaculation).
The result was plain to see: a developed diabolical tail and horrifying horns.
That Left-Hand Path Tantric approached me, accompanied by two other demons.
He seemed quite pleased with the “abominable Kundartiguador organ”—that terrible, witch-like, Satanic tail—and the sexual fire projected from the coccyx into man’s atomic hells, the consequence and corollary of Black Tantrism.
Point-blank—as the saying goes—I fired the following question at him: “Do you know me?”
His reply: “Yes! I saw you one night in the city of Bacatá when I was giving a lecture.”
What happened next was certainly not pleasant: that “ANAGARIKA” had recognized me and, in a rage, spewed fire from his eyes and tail... he tried violently to strike me; I defended myself using the most potent High Magic conjurations, and finally, he fled with his companions...
I continued alone on my path through the Night of Mystery; the hurricane howled... In the deep recesses of my consciousness, I had the strange sensation of bidding farewell to everything and everyone...
Gasping for breath and weary—having fought many times against the tyranny of the Prince of the Powers of the Air, the Spirit who now reigns over the children of disobedience—I entered the “Gnostic Church.”
It was a temple of luminous marble, though its unusual transparency made it seem more like crystal.
The terrace of that Transcended Church stood unconquered—like a glorious acropolis—overlooking the solemn expanse of a sacred pine grove...
From there, the brilliantly star-studded firmament could be contemplated just as it was in ages past in the Atlantean temples—those now-buried temples longingly evoked in the extraordinary poetry of Maeterlinck. It was from there that Asura-Maya, the astronomer and disciple of Narada, made the preliminary observations that led to the discovery of chronological cycles spanning millennia—teachings he would later share with his beloved disciples by the light of the pale moon, a practice continued to this day by his devoted successors.
I moved forward slowly, walking with great deliberation and reverence within that holy place.
Yet, I was taken by surprise: I saw a figure step into my path, blocking my way. Another battle? I braced myself for defense, but the figure smiled sweetly and exclaimed in a voice that sounded like paradise:
“You don’t scare me; I know you very well!...”
Ah! I recognized him at last... it was my Guru Adolfo—whom I had always called by the diminutive “Adolfito.” Good heavens and Holy Mary! But... what was I doing?
“Forgive me, Master!” I hadn't recognized you...
My Guru leads me by the hand into the Gnostic Church... The MAHATMA takes his seat and then invites me to sit beside him; it is impossible to decline such a splendid invitation.
The dialogue that subsequently ensued between Master and Disciple was truly extraordinary.
“Here in the Gnostic Church,” the Hierophant said solemnly,
“you may be married to only one woman—not two.”
“In the past, you gave false hope to a certain lady—let us call her XX—who, because of that, and despite the passage of time and distance, is still waiting for you.”
“Obviously, you are unwittingly causing her great harm, for while she waits for you, she lives in a city in a state of utter destitution.”
“That lady could easily return to the bosom of her family in the countryside; clearly, that would resolve her financial problems.”
Astonished and perplexed upon hearing these words, I embraced my Guru, thanking him infinitely for his counsel.
“Master,” I said, “what can you tell me now about my wife, Litelantes?” “She is indeed suitable for Sexual Magic—*Sahaja Maithuna*; with this LADY ADEPT, you can work in the ‘Ninth Sphere’ (Sex).”
“Oh, Guru! What I yearn for with infinite longing is the awakening of the Kundalini and union with the Innermost—no matter the cost...”
“But what is this you say, oh disciple?” “At whatever cost?”
“Yes, Master, that is what I said...” “Tonight, a man here has been paid and subsequently entrusted with the task of helping you awaken the Kundalini.”
“You have passed the test, Direne,” the Hierophant exclaimed; then, placing a turban of immaculate whiteness—adorned with a gold stud on the forehead—upon my head, he said: “Let us go to the altar.”
Rising promptly, I walked with my Holy Guru toward the Holy Altar...
I still remember that solemn moment when, kneeling before the sacred altar, I had to take a solemn oath...
“At whatever cost!” My Master exclaimed in a mighty voice, and this phrase, vibrating intensely, echoed from sphere to sphere...
I then covered my SOLAR PLEXUS with the palm of my left hand and extended my right over the “HOLY GRAIL,” saying: I swear it!
A terrible oath!...
Genuine legends of Castile—such as the tale of Alfonso VII wresting the famous bowl or Grail (or rather, *chalice*) from the hands of the Moors of Almería; a vessel carved from a massive emerald and said to have been used by the great KABIR Jesus at his Last Supper—are terribly Divine...
To swear before the Holy Vessel?...
Ancient legends say that Joseph of Arimathea gathered in that chalice, at the foot of the cross on the Mount of Skulls, the blessed blood flowing from the wounds of the Adorable One...
This very Vessel had previously been gifted by the Queen of Sheba to Soliman or Solomon—the Solar King—and was, according to others, a possession of the Tuatha Dé Dannand, a “JINA” race of the Gaedhil (British Galicia).
It is not known how this venerated relic came to the hermitage of San Juan de la Peña in the Pyrenees; from there, it continued its pilgrimage—now to Salvatierra in Galicia, now to Valencia in the time of James the Conqueror, now to Genoa, having been received by the Genoese in days of old as a reward for the aid they rendered Alfonso VII during the siege of Almería.
EPILOGUE
Early in the morning, I wrote to the noble, suffering lady who awaited me in the distant city...
I advised her, with infinite tenderness, to return to the land of her ancestors and to forget about my insignificant self—a person of no worth...
CHAPTER XIII
THE FIRST INITIATION OF FIRE
When dealing with transcendental and practical esotericism, we can—and indeed must—emphasize the following:
Everything that has been said in pure occultism regarding our geomantic charts, astrology, magical herbs, and wondrous parchments bearing cryptographic scripts—while absolutely noble and true—is, in fact, merely the KINDERGARTEN, the lesser aspect of the inherited Great Wisdom of the East. That wisdom consists of the radical transformation of the self through the revolutionary asceticism of the New Aquarian Age (an extraordinary blend of sexual yearning and spiritual aspiration).
We Gnostics are, in reality, the chosen possessors of three great treasures, namely:
- A) The “Philosopher’s Stone.”
- B) The “Key of Solomon.”
- C) The “Genesis of Enoch.”
These three factors constitute the living foundation of the Apocalypse, alongside the collections of Pistorius, the Theosophy of Porphyry, and many other ancient secrets.
An absolute, radical change within ourselves—here and now—would be impossible without the “Philosopher’s Stone.”
Speaking clearly and without equivocation, I declare: The “ENS SEMINIS” (the entity of the semen) is precisely that venerable substance—cited by Sendivogius—with which we must fashion the “Philosopher’s Stone.”
SEXUAL MAGIC is the path... this is what I realized in my current incarnation when I sought to create the “Philosopher’s Stone.” By means of that blessed stone, we can fulfill that alchemical maxim which says: “Solve et Coagula.”
We need to dissolve the Psychological I and coagulate within ourselves the Sexual Hydrogen B-12 in the form of solar bodies, inner powers, virtues, etc., etc., etc.
The “Philosopher’s Stone” is what gives value to the sexual seed and grants it the power to germinate—like a mystical leaven that causes the entire metallic mass to ferment and rise, bringing forth the King of Creation in his complete form; I refer here to the authentic man, not the intellectual animal mistakenly called man.
The Will—THELEMA—acquires the power of transmutation that converts base metals into gold—that is, evil into good—in all circumstances of life.
For this reason, transmutation requires a minimal amount of the “Philosopher’s Stone” or “Powder of Projection.”
Each base metal dissolved in the crucible of Sexual Alchemy is always replaced by the pure gold of some new virtue. (Solve et Coagula).
The *modus operandi* is found in Chapter Eleven, Fifth Account, of this very treatise. (For further information, study my book titled: *The Mystery of the Golden Blossom*).( posted previously look for if you are interested)
Kindling the individual FOHAT—the Flame of Eros—in our Sexual Alchemical Laboratory is truly the foundation of the Dionysian Wave; I understood this deeply while studying at the feet of my Guru.
Unquestionably, I was always assisted during the metaphysical copulation; that other Divine Guru—who received his wages in the temple (see Chapter 12)—kept his pledged word.
That Great Soul assisted me astrally during the chemical coitus; I watched him perform powerful magnetic passes over my coccyx, spine, and the crown of my head.
When the erotic, fiery serpent of our magical powers awakened to begin its journey inward and upward along the spinal canal, I felt an intense thirst and a sharp pain in my coccyx that lasted for several days.
I was then honored in the temple—something I have never been able to forget.
that great cosmic event...
At that time, I was dwelling in peace in a small house by the sea, in the tropical zone of the Caribbean coast...
The ascent of the KUNDALINI, vertebra by vertebra, took place very slowly, in accordance with the merits of the heart...
Each vertebra is very demanding; from this, we can infer that there are difficult trials. As a corollary, we affirm: The ascent of the KUNDALINI to this or that vertebra is not possible unless we fulfill the precise moral conditions required.
In the Higher Worlds, these thirty-three spinal vertebrae are referred to by symbolic terms such as: “Cannons,” “Pyramids,” “Holy Chambers,” etc., etc., etc.
The mystical ascent of the flame of love—vertebra by vertebra and chakra by chakra along the spinal canal—was certainly accomplished through the practice of Sexual Magic, involving sanctification and sacrifice.
The assisting MAHATMA aided me by guiding the sacred fire from the coccyx—the base of the spine—up to the pineal gland, located (as is well known to physicians) in the middle part of the brain.
Subsequently, that “GREAT SOUL” masterfully caused my erotic fire to flow to the region between the eyebrows.
The First Initiation of Fire came about as a result when the Igneous Serpent of our Magical Powers made contact with the Atom of the Father within the magnetic field at the root of the nose.
It was, in fact, during the mystical ceremony of the Last Supper that the cosmic date for the Initiation was set.
The Holy Grail! Like a sacred ember, it shines with scorching brilliance upon the Paschal banquet table.
The true history of this Holy Grail is written in the stars and finds its foundation not in Toledo, as Wolfram von Eschenbach claims...
The principal known origins of all these chivalric legends related to that of the Holy Grail are:
- A) The history *Rerum in Partibus Transmarinis Gestarum* by William of Tyre (d. 1184)—a Latin work translated into French as the *Roman d'Eracle* and the book serving as the basis for the *Gran Conquista de Ultramar* (Great Conquest of Overseas Lands), which was translated from French into Castilian in the late 13th or early 14th century. This conquest narrative summarizes the five main branches concerning the First Crusade cycle: the *Chanson d'Antioche*, the *Chanson de Jérusalem*, *Les Chétifs* (or *The Captives*), and *Élias* (the Knight of the Swan).
- B) The *Dolopathos* by John of Haute-Seille, written around 1190.
- C) The poem that Paris calls "Elioxa" or "Heli-Oxa"—the Solar Heifer—which is the primitive name for the Isomberta or Isis-Bertha figure associated with the Knight of the Swan; the latter work bears great analogies, according to Gayangos, to the famous *Amadis of Gaul*.
- D) *Parzival* and *Titurel* by Eschenbach.
- E) The *Grail Count* (*Conde del Graal*) by Chrétien de Troyes (1175), and *Lohengrin* or *Swan-Ritter* (the Knight of the Swan)—an anonymous 13th-century Bavarian work published by Görres in 1813.
- F) *Tristan and Isolde* by Gottfried von Strassburg (1200–1220) and the various similar *Tristan* tales found in literature.
- G) The *Quest of the Holy Grail* (*Demanda del Sancto Grial*), recounting the wondrous deeds of Lancelot and his son Galahad (14th century), along with all related works.
I awaited the date and hour of the Initiation with infinite anxiety; it was to take place on a most sacred 27th...
I desired an Initiation like the one Commander Montenero received in the temple of Chapultepec, or like that other one...
...that Ginés de Lara—the reincarnated Deva—experienced in that *Sancta Sanctorum* or *Adytum* of the Knights Templar, on the extraordinary night of a lunar eclipse.
But my case was certainly very different, and—incredible as it may seem—on the night of the Initiation, I felt let down.
Lying in infinite anguish on my hard bed inside a humble hut by the seashore, I spent the night awake, waiting in vain...
My priestess-wife was sleeping and snoring; at times she would stir in her bed or utter incoherent words...
The sea, with its furious waves, pounded the beach, roaring terrifyingly as if in protest...
Dawn broke, and—nothing! What a wretched night, my God!... Heaven help me, and Holy Mary!...
What intellectual and moral storms I had to endure during those agonizing night hours!
Truly, there is no resurrection without death, nor any dawn—in nature or in man—without being preceded by the darkness, sorrow, and nocturnal lethargy that make the light so much more precious.
All my senses were put to the test, tortured by mortal agonies that made me exclaim: "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not my will, but Yours, be done."
As the Sun rose—like a ball of fire seemingly emerging from the stormy ocean—Litelantes awoke and said to me:
"Do you remember the celebration they held for you up there? You received the Initiation..."
"What? What are you saying? A celebration? An Initiation? Which one? All I know is that I have spent a night more bitter than gall..."
"What!" —Litelantes exclaimed in astonishment— “So, you brought no memory of it back to your physical brain?
Don’t you remember the great chain? Have you forgotten the words of the Great Initiator?”
Overwhelmed by such questions, I asked Litelantes: “What did the Great Being say to me?”
“You were warned,” the Lady-Adept exclaimed, “that from this day forward, you would bear a double responsibility for the teachings you impart to the world...”
“Furthermore,” said Litelantes, “you were clothed in the white linen robe of the Adepts of the Occult Fraternity and presented with the flaming sword...”
Ah! Now I understand. While I was enduring such bitterness on my bed of penitent and anchorite, my real inner Being was receiving the Cosmic Initiation...
Good heavens! What is happening to me? Why am I so slow?
I am a bit hungry; I think it is time to get up for breakfast...
Moments later, Litelantes gathered some dry logs in the kitchen to serve as fuel for lighting the fire...
Breakfast was delicious; I ate with a hearty appetite after such a painful night...
A new day of routine; I worked as always to earn my daily bread, then rested on my bed around noon...
Indeed, I was sleep-deprived, and a brief rest seemed appropriate; besides, I felt contrite at heart...
Thus, I had no objection to lying down in the *decubitus dorsalis* position—that is, flat on my back with my body fully relaxed.
Suddenly, while fully awake, I saw someone enter my bedroom; I recognize him; he is a *Chela* of the Venerable Great White Lodge...
That Disciple carries a book in his hands; he wishes to consult me, and to request a certain authorization...
When I wished to respond, I spoke with a voice that astonished even myself; ATMAN responding through the creative larynx is terribly Divine.
"Go," my Real Being told him, "fulfill the mission entrusted to you." The Chela withdrew, grateful...
Ah! How changed I have become... Now, yes! Now I understand! These were my exclamations after the Chela had withdrawn...
Joyfully, I rose from my hard bed to speak with LITELANTES; I needed to tell her what had happened...
I felt something superlative, as if a profound, transcendental change of a divine, esoteric nature had taken place within my consciousness...
I longed for the coming night; that tropical day felt to me like the vestibule of wisdom. I wanted nothing more than to see the Sun, like a ball of fire, sinking once again into the stormy ocean waves...
When the Moon began to cast a steely sheen over the turbulent waters of the Caribbean—at that moment when the birds of the air return to their nests—I urged LITELANTES to finish her household chores.
That night, we went to bed earlier than usual; I was longing for something; I was in an ecstatic state.
Lying once again on my hard bed of penitent and anchorite. —in that Hindustani *asana* of the dead man (supine position, face up, body relaxed, arms at the sides, heels touching with toes splayed outward like a fan)—I waited in a state of alert perception, alert to the new...
Suddenly, in a fraction of a second, I remembered a distant mountain; What happened then was something extraordinary, something unprecedented...
I found myself instantly there, upon the distant summit, far removed from the body, from emotional attachments, and from the mind...
ATMAN, unbound, far from the dense body and in the absence of the supra-sensible vehicles...
In such moments of Samadhi, the Cosmic Initiation received the previous night was for me a palpable fact, a stark, living reality that required no act of memory...
When I placed my right hand upon the golden belt, I joyfully perceived that the flaming sword was there, precisely on my right side.
All the details LITELANTES had given me proved accurate. How happy I felt now as a SPIRIT-MAN! Clad, indeed, in a robe of white linen...
In a state of Dionysian ecstasy, I launched myself into infinite sidereal space; blissfully, I moved away from planet Earth...
Immersed in the ocean of the Universal Spirit of Life, I wished never to return to this valley of sorrows, and so I visited many planetary abodes...
When I alighted gently upon a giant planet within the unchanging infinite, I drew the flaming sword and exclaimed: "I hold dominion over all this!"...
"Man is called to be the ruler of all creation," replied a Hierophant standing beside me.
I sheathed the flaming sword in its golden scabbard and, plunging even deeper into "the still waters of life," I performed a series of extraordinary invocations and experiments.
"Buddhic Body, come to me!"... Answering my call, the beautiful Elena—Guinevere, Queen of the "Jinas," my adorable spiritual soul—came toward me. She entered into me and I into her, and together we formed that famous ATMA-BUDDHI of which Eastern Theosophy speaks so much.
It has rightly been said that BUDDHI (SPIRITUAL SOUL) is like a vessel of fine, transparent alabaster,
...within which burns the flame of PRAJNA (Atman).
Continuing in succession with those singular invocations made from the very depths of chaos, I then called upon my human soul, saying:
"Causal Body, come to me!..."
I saw my human soul gloriously clad in the causal vehicle (Theosophical Higher Manas).
How interesting was that moment when my human soul blissfully entered into me...
In those instants, I was integrating—with extraordinary lucidity—that Theosophical Triad known by the Sanskrit terms: ATMA-BUDDHI-MANAS.
Unquestionably, ATMA—that is, the INTIMUS—possesses two souls. The first is the Spiritual Soul (Buddhi), which is feminine. The second is the Human Soul (HIGHER MANAS), which is masculine.
Subsequently, inebriate with ecstasy, I called upon my mind thus:
"Mental Body, come to me!..."
I had to repeat the invocation several times, for the mind is slow to obey; yet, at last, it appeared with great reverence, saying:
"Lord, here I am; I have answered your call—forgive my delay! Did I carry out your orders well?"
Just as I was about to reply, the solemn voice of my Pythagorean Monad emerged from my profound inner depths, saying: "Yes!... you obeyed well; enter..."
That voice was like that of the RUACH ELOHIM which, according to Moses, moved upon the waters at the dawn of life...
It is worth emphasizing that I concluded these invocations by calling upon the Astral Body. It, too, took a while to respond to my esoteric call, but finally, it entered into me. Clad in my supra-sensible vehicles, I could have summoned my physical body—which at that moment lay upon its hard bed of penitent and anchorite—from the Chaos or Primordial Abyss; and obviously, that body would have answered my call.
This is never impossible: my physical body—lying on its hard bed during such fascinating moments—could have left the three-dimensional region of Euclid to answer my call, with the aid of the fourth aspect of DEVI KUNDALINI.
However, I chose instead to re-emerge from that deep, boundless "VACUUM"—in the sense of a space filled with substance—to return to planet Earth...
In those moments, I resembled a solitary ray of light emerging from the Abyss of the Great Mother...
The return to this planet of sorrows, governed by forty-eight laws, was relatively swift.
Frankly and unequivocally, I declare: with full SELF-AWARENESS, I re-entered the physical body, penetrating it through that marvelous gateway of the Soul cited by DESCARTES—I refer to the Pineal Gland.
It is a pity that Cartesian philosophy is ignorant of the nature of OBJECTIVE Knowledge.
Since such pure knowledge is accessible to my cognitive faculties, I have been able to write these lines for the benefit of our dearly beloved readers...
Samael Aun Weor: Red Christ of Aquarius Era...
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