I would like to share a few essays that compare the process of ego development with some of the more recognized landmarks of metaphysical and psychological research. I’ve used the grade system of the Golden Dawn as a convenient way of organizing this data using Israel Regardie’s book as a reference. I could just as easily have used terms used by psychology or some other school of thought. The main point is that even if different terms are used the experiences described are the same.
There is a universal experience that is true for all people even if it is highly subjective. Therefore these next chapters are tied together in a way that builds on what went before. What they propose is a progressive ladder or stairway we each must travel in the process of healthy ego development.
With a little imagination and memory work you will be able to identify personally with almost every stage that is listed. We achieve these stages all the time but do not recognize them for what they are. They offer a type of initiation that will act as a catalyst for personal growth and healing.
While my examples may not be strictly accurate they should be very evocative and I welcome comments that would help smooth these concepts out a little more.
NEOPHYTE DEGREE
In this degree the Neophyte or newborn begins explorations of the ego. What I’m really saying here is we move from an animal awareness into an awareness of “self”. Typically these levels are dealt with naturally during childhood. Each must be developed before we can move on and mature in a healthy way. This degree has eight levels of awareness. Each level deals with personal limitations and how our developing ego grows and adjusts to confront and gradually master these limitations.
I don’t know of any order or sequence these areas may fall into. I do know we are not complete until we have explored and come to terms with all of these areas. There are many similarities with Erickson’s “eight stages of Man”. Those familiar with his work will find this addition especially interesting.
Limitations of Language. So often in our lives words are inadequate to express the depth of our emotions and the intent of our actions. We feel no one understands us, no one will listen to what we are trying to say. Gradually we accept that we have a unique perspective on life and many things that happen will remain forever secret between ourselves and the God of our hearts. We are not able to share them with others and we will never be able to share them.
At least this is the healthy way things should be. All too often we expect others to understand and have insight into our personal situation. We want to think our loved ones know us but the reality is that no one can really know us that deeply, not even our loved ones.
Limitations of action. We learn very rapidly in life that certain things are acceptable and others are not. We think things are unfair. Why are bad things happening to us? Why can’t we do the things we want to do?
We learn there are consequences to our actions, that action causes reaction and we are in the highest sense responsible for our actions. We learn to do the right things at the right times so we are socially acceptable.
Our parents are a great help in this regard. We do unto others as we would have them do unto us. These are the beginning insights into the cosmic law of karma, cause and effect. They are also the beginnings of our natural sense of justice and fairness. There is pride in knowing we have earned the rewards we get in life.
Sadly generations of children are being raised without learning that their actions have natural consequences. Parents over protect their children and let them get away with things. How can children be expected to know how to behave when they turn eighteen if mom or dad always comes to the rescue?
Limitations of emotions. This deals directly with our strongest personal desires. Often we want things so badly we would do or give anything to achieve them. We feel hurt, anger and helplessness when they are taken out of our reach. We WANT these things and we can’t have them. This is especially true in relationships that involve other people. In time we learn to desire things that are within our grasp and our abilities.
It is very important our sights are aimed high early because otherwise we will lose our desire to succeed in life. Unfortunately many parents have killed the higher ambitions in their children by not giving them the emotional support they need when they need it. This is often during the critical teenage years.
Personal limitations. Now we deal with the limitations of our own newly developing ego. We realize our perceived shortcomings. Life is not fair. Why is my nose so big? Why am I so fat? Why am I so tall? Does any of this sound familiar? We come face to face with what we have been given in life and react with intense personal dissatisfaction. As we mature hopefully we grow above these things and accept ourselves as we are.
Learning to love ourselves goes hand in hand with believing in our abilities. This means to expose ourselves to life and be successful in our own eyes.
We are Gods and Goddesses Here we ponder what it would be like to live for ever and ever. As children we feel immortal and nothing can harm us. Life is huge and just goes on and on. We have no control over this at all. Awareness just goes on and on and on. We have a destiny to fulfill whether we want to or not. We believe we are important and have an important part to play in the universe.
Some children are told they will be judged according to their deeds and sentenced to heaven or hell upon death. Others exposed to reincarnation at an early age will see karma as a wheel of life where we are born again and again until we get some meaningless lesson right. It is easy to feel helpless and small as we consider these forces of destiny.
Right and Wrong. Here we deal with our desire for revenge and the destruction of the wicked. We know through our parents and others the difference between right and wrong. We try to do the right things and God help those who are doing the wrong things. We are on their case in an instant. As children we tattle and as adults we turn others in to the authorities. We feel a strong desire for reward and recognition because we are doing the RIGHT things. We also fear the pain and humiliation of punishment.
We’ re given an early understanding of life. We have now mastered the fundamentals. The stories and dogmas have been read to us. Our questions have been answered and our thoughts carefully directed to conform with the wisdom of our elders.
In their infinite wisdom they assure us there is nothing more to learn. Our education is over and we can take our place as adults even if we don’t feel like adults. We do this through ceremonies such as confirmation, baptism, and graduation. There is a strong sense of stagnation and we no longer question the way things are. Sadly many adults seem to be stuck at this stage of ego development.
Death. People die, animals die, plants die and we have a growing realization that we too will someday die. It is inevitable. What happens after we die? Where do we go? Is there life without the physical body? Does it hurt to die? Are ghosts real and can they hurt us?
Our parents and churches tell us we will go to heaven. They tell us heaven is the most beautiful place we can imagine. But they also tell us about hell and damnation. If we do not believe certain things and do certain things we will go straight to hell with eternal agony and torment. We need to save our immortal soul by not doing things our bodies want us to do. We learn to not trust our own bodies and instincts. We learn to die
Zelator Degree
When is the last time you have been passionate and excited about a cause? When have you believed in something so strongly that you became a zealot? Have you ever been “born again”? As we mature and confront reality we also deal with lower emotional baggage. This level is the awakening of the conscience. Normally this development takes place around ten or twelve years of age.
I was fourteen when it happened to me. Sadly it might never take place in some cases. The development of our ego can not continue in a healthy manner until this stage is completed. Most of us have a conscience but we might not always listen to it.
This degree has two levels of thought. In the first part of this degree we hear the voice of our conscience and either ignore it or give lip service to spiritual and noble goals. We have good intentions but identify with our physical body and human ego. We feel unworthy to have the things we desire.
We go to church on Sunday but keep falling short of our own expectations. In religious terms we don’t want to sin but we still do. Every day we do things over and over again that we are ashamed of and despair. We are sinners. We are unworthy. We think evil thoughts.
Heavy feelings of guilt and self loathing are encountered at this level of thought. A powerful force digs up our deepest subconscious psychic contents and exposes them openly to us. We are brought face to face with every word we ever regretted, every thought we were ashamed of. We feel little more than animals mindlessly reacting to physical and emotional stimulus. We are brought face to face with the mirror of our soul. We don’t care if God/dess forgives us because we can’t forgive ourselves.
This is a very hard time and many flee in terror at what they see in the mirror. They spend the rest of their lives in misery, guilt and shame, hating themselves and dreading the day they must face their final reward. This is the crisis point of the Zelator degree that must be crossed.
Once we have crossed this point we hear the call “repent sinner”. We change our lives and live differently. We no longer identify with our physical body. Instead we identify with our immortal body that lives on after death.
“He who believes shall never die.”
“You must be born again into a new spiritual body.”
“You must be saved.”
These are the messages we hear at this critical stage of ego development. Our conscience is erupting and when we are ready to listen huge changes take place in our lives.
There is a mental shift where life becomes a test and trial that is necessary to pass before we earn eternal salvation. If we can look in the mirror and do the best we can every day the inner voice of our conscience will forgive us for the errors we make.
Most importantly we learn to forgive ourselves. As we accept the inner voice of our conscience and strive to follow it we grow spiritually.
In this second level we are “born again”. We identify with a spiritual body or soul that is immortal. We get excited about the idea of living forever.
Because the ego is self-centered there is a feeling of separateness from others that occurs along with the joy of being “saved”. There is a sense of isolation and terrible loneliness that is bitter-sweet. We want others to experience what we have. It is hard to accept that others may not agree with us. We are forever alone with a unique personal perspective and path meant only for us.
When we try to share this perspective we can’t and this realization is devastating. The things that are so important to us simply do not matter to others. They laugh and ridicule us. Still this loneliness is the result of distorted thinking. We are never really alone because the entire universe is always a part of us and we are a vital part of it. Others don’t need to follow our path. They need to follow their path.
Our realization and experience of being “born again” causes us to weep for the loneliness and suffering of humanity. So much misery does not need to exist. People don’t understand what they are missing. At this point we develop compassion in our hearts for others. As we share our message and interact with others we become less lonely.
Our sharing becomes more mental as the material world becomes less important. Slowly concepts gain strength and reality over our lives. We live through conscious intent and will instead of passing fancy.
As this happens the emotions lose their control over our lives. We gain control over them and repress them until they are almost non existent. As this happens we depend more and more upon reason and logic.
This is a very painful period because we sense the coming death of the emotions. Life is no longer as fun as it once was. We have lost our “inner child”. Life without emotions is no longer life.
Practicus Degree
In this degree we struggle with the problem of how to be both body and spirit. In the last stage of ego development we discovered our spiritual nature and determined it was the most important. Now we are trying to live in the correct way.
We have been won over to the cause and now it feels like we have been a abandoned. Our false human ego is still identifying with our physical body but at the same time holds up rigid idealistic standards for itself and for others to live by. Here we have puppy love. We establish role models and become hero worshipers.
We have expectations for finding the perfect wife, the perfect husband, the perfect home, and the perfect job. We set our standards so high no one can fill them. Then we hate ourselves because of our failure.
These standards are mental concepts that are not integrated into physical reality. They are unworkable. We have entered the realm of logic and reason and the human ego is no longer supreme. The ideal, representing logic and reason is now supreme. Although they rule our lives logic and reason are unable to get at truth. The answers we get bring more questions. This turns into a vicious circle that rapidly gets out of control until we finally learn to stop asking questions.
Logic and reason distort things. We are no longer sure of what is good and evil, sin and salvation, or illusion and reality. Our head begins to spin and our overworked intellect feels inadequate.
In desperation we trust our intuition and conscience instead. The intellect can sense it’s approaching death even as the emotions did earlier. It feels threatened as it desperately tries to grapple with things and understand them.
We find ourselves in an intellectual fog where the only voice of sanity and reason lies with unquestioning faith. We identify more and more with our intuitions, with the Christ spirit within us and faith in the inner voice of our conscience. As we do this our intellect is screaming at us to stop. It is trying to tell us what we are doing is insane and makes no sense at all.
Trusting our intuitions and the inner voice of our conscience brings the birth of a higher level of consciousness. We think not with words but with the symbols given in our dreams and meditations. Our thought processes are more abstract and visual. There are no words for what we are thinking.
The first stage is an uncomfortable struggle with logic and reason. The second stage of this degree brings the decline of the intellect and the true birth of intuition. We trust our intuition above all other things. We develop a great spiritual pride that our inner self has won over the intellect and physical self. This is a very dangerous time for us!
We have a true feeling of accomplishment thinking we are one of the great adepts. We have little desire to try further but are content to stay right where we are. This is a great spiritual plateau and we must beware the poison of spiritual pride. This level marks the boundary between consciousness and higher-consciousness.
Our new consciousness with absolute faith in the intuitive self is still untamed, it is a beast. It is still joined to the lower personality and to the physical body. The spiritual vision is distorted and our intuitive self is hindered in its attempts to communicate with us. The intuitive self rules but it is an uneasy rule indeed.
Philosophus Degree
We find joy , peace and inspiration in mental travels and daydreams as we build a bridge of communication between our intuitive self and objective consciousness. There are three progressive levels in the Philosophus degree that occur naturally.
The first level is the realm of mentally traveling in imagination through time and space. This is the realm of avid readers and bookworms, especially readers of science fiction and fantasy. This is also the realm of heavy daydreaming. Our mind is constantly chattering away and we are enjoying it. This is a summary of all the previous levels and a great sense of peace and joy is found in loosing one’s self in imagination and creativity.
The Philosophus lets his or her imagination run wild as he or she explores all aspects of physical life and what could be. Anything and everything is possible. This stage begins the death of the lower human ego because the mental world is becoming more real than the physical world. There is a growing sense that all is one and the cares and worries of the distant world become vague and unreal. We are starting to become head trippers.
We are drawn toward abstract thoughts and spirituality. The spiritual life seductively begins to lure the Philosophus with promises of great treasures and rewards. More and more time is spent in mental pursuits until all of his/her free time and energy is caught up in this type of activity. Material and worldly affairs suffer as we become careless. Our relationships with family and friends disintegrate and we weep bitterly at losing these things but we can’t help ourselves and continue living in our heads.
In the second level of this degree we feel and appreciate the things we have lost in our mental pursuits. We feel them because they are no longer there and we miss them. Our bridge of communication with our intuitive self is not being built very fast and the cost we are paying is very high. Mental pursuits are no longer as fun and take on an aspect of desperation.
We explore the mystery of toil and the virtues of labor through intense study. In desperation we turn our vast creative energies exclusively to labor and study to build that bridge as soon as possible.
We recognize only then will we know our true path in life. Our efforts meet with failure after failure as we struggle to manifest what is in our heads. Trial and error are the ways to turn our ideas into actual experiences.
We consider one occupation after another and test it for intuitive approval. Time and time again our intuitive self says “no, this is not it”. Little by little we learn about ourselves by discovering what is hidden in our blind spots. Do we like to draw or work with people or perhaps write. What we should draw. Should we be commercial artists? Architects? Pure Artists? Comic book illustrators? Children’s books?
What should we write? Poems? Stories? Magazine articles? Political speeches? Possibly we should translate books from one language into another.
Slowly but surely our intuitive self guides us on a voyage of self-discovery where the goal is not as important as the journey is. Through trial and error we see our labors as a process of self unfoldment and self-expression. We are in a gradual process of evolution and constant change and so is the entire universe. It is through living and suffering that we learn wisdom.
We see all parts of the universe are working together as a big system and each individual’s part is very important. We see there is a specific path or place for us to fill and we can sense the importance of it.
Intuitively we comprehend the entire universe oscillates between states of potential and kinetic energy. We started out as passive spiritual beings of pure potential, divine sparks of light. Then we descended into physical bodies of pure kinetic energy, all motion.
Now we realize we are once more returning to the spiritual realms of pure potential energy. We are on the path of return to Source. We can use our abilities and become co-creators as God has always intended us to be.
In the third level of this degree we have a dramatic change in viewpoint. We think about being co-creators of the universe and Masters of our own lives. We contemplate ways to harness the energies of the higher planes and use them in the physical world. As we strive to bring these intuitive insights into physical focus we pour increased vigor and vitality into our studies. It becomes critical to build our bridge of perfect understanding between our intuitive self, the Christ spirit within us, and our conscious awareness.
We think about ideas and concepts without awareness of self or identity or ego. Form and formless merge into each other as we consider pure abstractions. Thought constructs become things that have a life and awareness of their own. We sense the entire universe is alive in some way and aware of our efforts.
Our consciousness becomes an eye that can see where ever it chooses. We see matter and spirit as valid realities. We become obsessed with the completion of our spiritual bridge. Our intensity borders on the very edge of insanity and we are driven. Nothing else matters to us at this point. We are driven by the seductive golden dream of what could be.
Adeptus Minor Degree
The Adeptus Minor is gaining insights and inspirations at regular intervals. Bits and pieces of abstract cosmic revelations are gathered one by one. At this point these scattered fragments have no rhyme or rhythm to them and they defy all attempts to make sense out of them.
The Adeptus Minor continues the philosophical study of pure abstractions and archetypal images. They are attempting to build a mental understanding of the cosmic realm from the bits and pieces received. The goal is to create a perfect reflection of the cosmic realm, a mirror image inside that reflects the world outside.
However, the developing image is very distorted. Existence appears as total annihilation. The Adeptus Minor recognizes they are a long way out into mental space and all alone. There are no familiar landmarks and the entire region seems an abomination full of horror and madness. Insanity is lurking around the corner. There is no color, no sound and no form.
Nothing is sacred. It is a realm where only ideas and more ideas keep coming and have no where to go. The Adeptus Minor still identifies with their physical body and human ego. If they are Christian they come face to face with their higher self or angelic body.
This is the part of them that continues on in awareness after the physical body dies. They realize this angelic body is more a part of their true self than the false human ego. The person exposed to the concept of reincarnation comes face to face with his or her reincarnating ego. The real self that lives from lifetime to lifetime. Physical life in the present body is seen as meaningless, a mere puppet following the prompting of a predetermined destiny.
Past and future lives are seen as all occurring at the same time. There is a strong sense of time and destiny flowing together. A shift of identity is needed to properly assimilate these new parts of the self. The Adeptus Minor must shift their identity from ego to super ego. The viewpoint must shift from a single human being to a multi-dimensional personality.
The second stage of this degree is when this shift of viewpoint occurs. The world and universe appear as a tremendous spinning wheel or machine with little sense or purpose. This wheel is both seductive and deceptive. The Adeptus Minor now has the ability to perceive both the big cosmic picture and the material world at the same time.
If their belief system permits they also gain the ability to perceive multi-dimensional life lines, probable realities, past lives, future lives and probable selves blending together and exerting subtle influences upon each other.
This level corresponds to the so called akashic records of mystical thought and psychic ability. Humanity is seen as evolving spiritually from the rim toward the center. We are all moving back toward “Source”.
As the Adeptus Minor perceives the subtle blending of all these influences moving together in harmony they understand the karmic need for violence, bloodshed and death. Good fights evil, life fights death and all progress must be individually earned.
Where harmony does not exist violence is the only means for awareness to leap across the chasm and assure the greater harmony of the whole.
No Adept can give insight to another. However, they can give initiation to another if the student is properly prepared and ready for it. This is one of the duties of the Adeptus Minor. They are developed in understanding to the point where they are able to plant seed thoughts into the receptive minds of those ready for it. They become spiritual teachers.
Initiation implies a drastic change and totally new outlook on life. True initiation is within the mind and emotional nature of the student and the Adeptus Minor is in a position to say the correct thing at the correct time based upon insights gained from personal experience.
Adeptus Major Degree
Blindly intoxicated by the elixir of the gods the Adeptus Major enters the vault of preparation. At least that’s what the old alchemical texts say. In modern terms we might say he or she is going around the bend. This stage is crucifixion and sacrifice. The inspired bits and pieces from the intuitive self form dimly perceived patterns. The Adeptus Major gets very excited about these “spiritual truths”. A new way of thinking is arising out of these fragments and is understandable as far as it goes.
Fascinated by this perception of “truth” the Adeptus Major commits the sacrifice of believing in their own visions rather than what physical reality says or demands. They identify exclusively with their higher self and their visions. The Adeptus Major is free of personal desires, emotions, thoughts, regrets and attachments.
Only one thing matters. Perfect union with the divine. They have lost themselves in their passion for mystical experience. To others the Adeptus Major has become a thing of wood with no emotional nature.
Close friends, relatives, and family members are hurt and confused by the distance between themselves and the Adeptus Major. They do not live in the same world and can’t reach their loved one .The Adeptus Major is so heavenly bound they are no earthly good.
The Adeptus Major next enters into a deep understanding of cause and effect. The smallest pebble creates ripples that travel throughout the entire universe. Everything that happens affects every other thing. All reality is seen as relative. Occurrences are the result of many small causes and not one big one. This is very compatible with modern chaos theory.
Everything is grey. All is in motion. Good and evil, right and wrong become meaningless concepts. Moral values are imposed by man and not by God/dess. All is pure existentialism. What you see is what you get. The universe is self evident and everything is right in plain view if we can only see it!
All things contain a passive element and an active element that must be balanced. Logic and reason are destroyed. They come to realize all things can logically be proven to be the best that ever happened or the worst that ever happened. Truth is relative. Values are real only to those that perceive them.
At this stage the Adeptus Major confronts their karmic load and understands what must be done to become karma free.
The Adeptus Major knows they are a spiritual being. Their all-consuming goal is perfect realization of the divine Christ spirit within them and complete harmony with their conscience.
By now the spiritual realms are revealed in their entirety. They have developed an incredibly perceptive “Christ Consciousness” and an understanding of their life’s work.
Unfortunately they perceive the goal but can’t reach it. Physical reality fights against them. They feel objective consciousness as an unruly beast that refuses to go where it is directed. It is badly in need of discipline. In real terms they don’t know how to physically manifest their vision and become very frustrated.
Gradually they work through false thinking and confront the realities of daily life. Hard work each day brings new freedom from the chains of cause and effect.
They may appear quite irrational and fear they are going insane. They may fear but their spiritual lust and intoxication drive them to plunge into spiritual oblivion.
Spiritual oblivion takes the form of intense joy and spiritual bliss. Life is a great joy and dance that needs no other purpose than itself. This mental state is called dancing in the light. The intense harmony holds them spell bound. With joy they realize they are not going insane after all. There is a physical, material purpose to what they are doing. In joy they unite the physical and spiritual within themselves and work toward a united purpose.
They are enthused about the great things they are doing even though no one else understands them.
Adeptus Exemptus Degree
Mental energy can only be taken so far and these adepts have reached the outer limits. Do you know what happens when your mind fails?
These people have left the world of form, the material world and live entirely in their heads. They are dead to the physical world and move about conducting their worldly affairs like zombies. When viewed from the purely physical point of view these people would be considered insane or severely troubled. They are emotionless, stern, solemn and constantly caught up in their own thoughts. They are not really there.
The Adeptus Exemptus has eliminated all personal desire and lust for life. There is a strong feeling of death and stagnation. They no longer have any desire for creativity. They live in total self absorbed darkness. Even the desire for Spiritual light is absent. Detached from their surroundings and from themselves, they are completely folded in upon themselves.
They have gone too far and there is no going back. They see nothing, hear nothing, and say nothing. All of their energy has gone inward in a total effort of spiritual selfishness. They seek only personal salvation and care nothing about others. They have no compassion or feeling at all. They are people that have used yoga, magic, meditation or prayer for personal gain and nothing can reach them. Now they are exploring the darker areas of their souls. They have gone too far and realize they are in trouble. In a desperate attempt to remain sane they freeze and try not to move in any direction at all.
If the Adeptus Exemptus has started their quest with compassion and concern for others karma will carry them forward into the temple of the Great White Brotherhood. This level emphasizes the importance of human compassion and concern for others. It represents the desire to help others with no thought for personal reward. People at this level are known as Avatars, Mahatmas…ect.
During this level a Master will appear and perform the baptism of the holy Christ spirit. The bridge between God/dess and conscious awareness has been built enough for the Christ spirit to descend in the form of a sacred baptism and initiation.
Those who refuse to share in the Great work can go no further. They have nothing to live for. All they have is a huge ego that shuts them off from others. They work only for personal gain and belong to the Black Brotherhood. They fear the abyss and death of the personal ego that lies ahead of them.
Members of the White Brotherhood recognize compassion for others is a sacred duty and holy trust. Spiritual selfishness must be eliminated with the death of the false ego. This degree is about the death of the false ego.
They stand on the brink of the Great Abyss. There is a sense of impending doom as the last bit of false ego cries out for survival. This is the brink of human consciousness. They are virtually at the very edge of their minds. Logic and Reason can not go beyond this point. There is a strong feeling of tension. There is expectation of an important event but nothing happens.
The tension is unbearable with a tug of war between pure spirit and matter. They are drawn toward God/dess across the abyss but fear the death of the ego because the ego can not cross. They have tasted union with the holy spirit at their baptism and now desire to merge with God/dess. But the spiritual bridge will not allow conscious awareness to cross it. Finally their deep longing wins and they plunge into the Great Abyss.
They take this plunge again and again until the false ego is totally destroyed. Their personality is no more. There is no sense of self. It takes courage and determination to achieve a permanent union with God/dess.
It requires long hard work and the spiritual bridge will only allow short moments of union with God/dess at a time. It will only allow brief glimpses, thoughts, and inspirations. Still the Adeptus Exemptus acquires the ability to achieve these insights at will and the day comes when their awareness will cross the abyss for brief periods at a time.
The feeling of crossing the Abyss is indescribable. They plunge into the arms of the great Cosmic Mother. They are surrounded in love and all embracing feminine warmth. They loose ourselves in holy bliss and rapture because they have truly achieved salvation. They know that spirit is reality and matter is illusion. This is the spiritual dawning of a new day and a new sense of self and awareness. This is the “Golden Dawn”.
Magister Templi Degree
In this degree the adept achieves the highest mystical state known to man. This has been called “Crossing the Great Abyss”, “Cosmic Consciousness” and “Christ Consciousness”. Their awareness merges permanently with the collective intelligence of the human race. They achieve a state of transcendence and unity.
The Magister Templi has achieved the Golden Dawn and prepares for the Holy Marriage with the Christ spirit. They realize their own divinity and understand their life’s work. They complete and perfect the spiritual bridge. They also complete a mirror image, the microcosm back on the mental plane. This creates a perfect bridge of understanding allowing constant communication between the mental and the spiritual planes.
The Magister Templi has completed the Holy Tree of Life within. The trunk and branches are solid channels for spiritual energies. The roots are buried in the mysterious earth and thick leaves cover branches reaching up to the stars. This analogy means the Magister Templi has constructed a personal belief system that allows them to function at will on the spiritual plane and the mental plane.
They enter into the plane of spiritual love. Here they find self love and love of others. They see others as mere illusions or extensions of themselves. They perceive they are real and all else is illusion. They are a drop of spirit slipping into a great spiritual sea where they seek to loose themselves.
Somehow they must rise above these feelings and recognize others as real. Their task becomes helping others on their spiritual journey. This is the way of return to the physical world.
All karmic residue becomes ashes here for the white adept. Their karma has been consumed and they become liberated.
The Adept learns there is no supreme Deity except the one within themselves. All truth is unknowable and replaced by realized truth. This is revealed by the Christ Spirit a little at a time. Each adept must seek their own truth deep within themselves. This is an individual journey.
The adept sees the forces of Chaos and Order locked in eternal struggle. The male energy represents Expansive Chaos and their will to change the physical world. They aspire to become co-creators with God/dess.
The female energy represents Restrictive Order and the way things are now. Together they manifest all levels below this one. The duality that creates the universe is perceived. It is a balance of expansion and restriction.
The Magister Templi becomes an agent of Chaos to achieve their own personal desires and the upliftment of humanity. They desire to change the way things are.
Physical reality resists them fiercely and they are stripped of all power and attainment. This is the curse of this grade and the mystery of “Sorrow”. The physical world seeks to “eject” them
Magus Degree
The Magus is ready to return back to ordinary physical existence. They have learned outer reality is intimately connected to inner subjective reality. They have achieved real wisdom and gained recognition of their own level of achievement and mastery. They have integrated their spiritual nature and now need to integrate their shadow aspect.
The Magus becomes the legendary philosopher’s stone which transmutes all that come in contact with it. They are a circle whose center is nowhere and whose circumference is everywhere. They are who or what they choose to identify with. Here the Magus learns to consciously control self at all levels of existence. They reawaken the emotions and the physical body. They regain control over their surroundings and pursue their true purpose in life.
Like the artist that is completely free to paint what they choose, the Magus can do as they choose in life as long as they allow others the same freedom. Life becomes a true joy and an expression of self through all levels.
Their duty and purpose in life is to be themselves. By doing this they transmute all that come in contact with them and inspire people to a higher level of living.
The Magus is not all knowing or all powerful. They are only as knowledgeable and powerful as their belief system allows them to be. This is the real secret of their power and ability. Their belief system is open ended and harmonious at all levels. They can learn as much about any thing as they wish before going on to something else.
Their belief system is all inclusive. It includes the entire cosmos. This belief system is entirely integrated. It is like a hologram in which each part contains every other part.
The things the Magus can not comprehend are considered non-self and there is a powerful attraction between what they know and what they wish to know.
Learning is an area of intense bliss and the Magus will joyously spend their life learning all they can about physical reality. They have traveled through the different levels of awareness and now long to become those levels.
This is the indescribable experience of non-duality or total union with God/dess.
There is a sense of gentle loving and sharing that completely fills them. They are the key or microcosm and the universe or macrocosm is the lock. The key is all they are capable of knowing and the lock is all that is possible to become.
As the microcosm becomes more like the macrocosm, the Magus gains power and strength from the fabric of the cosmos. They use this power to achieve their ultimate purpose.
In their struggle to reintegrate with physical reality the Magus is active on all planes activating a causal link between astral/etheric reality and physical reality. Physical reality continues to stubbornly resist their efforts but gives way and they move forward anyway. The Magus is exploring the mystery of Change and how to achieve his/her true destiny.
For everyone that has not achieved this degree of awareness life consists of one step forward and one step backward with a zero-sum gain. That is why it is so hard to get anywhere without compromising who you are or what you desire. The Magus uses both sides of his nature to make each step move forward in an unstoppable manner toward the desired goal.
For the Magus the shadow self and the spiritual self work together toward a common goal under the direction and rulership of the true human ego.
Ipsissimus Degree
When the Magus is ready to achieve the highest region of spirit and the first stages of non-duality they become an Ipsissimus. This is the highest stage of psychological and ego development known to the ancients.
In this degree all of the energies, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual are integrated in complete harmony. In addition the Ipsissimus has also returned back to physical reality and become integrated with the energies of the earth and with the energies of society. They become a little child or babe, the son or daughter of God. This is the level achieved by Jesus.
At this stage conscious awareness and intuitive awareness are one and the same. They encompass all things at will. This is the highest level man can enter and return in the physical body to talk about. They have found their true path and follow their destiny. Being and doing converge as much as human life will allow. The Ipsissimus is as free as it is possible to be as long as they do what they were born to do. There is no discord or inner tension, only complete joy and peace as they recognize their divinity.
Eastern religions talk of the creation of the “immortal physical body”. When this body is created the ordinary physical body is discarded or transformed and no longer needed.
The Gods and Goddesses of all religions were once normal humans that achieved this degree and became divine or immortal. This has always been the true goal of the secret teachings within any religion.
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