PKT:Secret Trad#1 - Study Group

Teheuti

"The Tarot and Secret Tradition" continued

6. "Now Alchemy had two branches, as I have explained fully elsewhere, and the pictorial emblems which I have mentioned are common to both divisions.

7. "Its material side is represented in the strange symbolism of the Mutus Liber, printed in the great folios of Mangetus.

8. "There the process for the performance of the great work of transmutation is depicted in fourteen copper-plate engravings, which exhibit the different stages of the matter in the various chemical vessels.

9."Above these vessels there are mythological, planetary, solar and lunar symbols, as if the powers and virtues which—according to Hermetic teaching—preside over the development and perfection of the metallic kingdom were intervening actively to assist the two operators who are toiling below.

10. "The operators—curiously enough—are male and female."

Adam McLean's hand-colored emblems from the Mutus Liber: http://www.alchemywebsite.com/bookshop/prints_series_mutus.html
Original images, explanatory text in Spanish (use google translate):
http://www.odisea2008.com/2011/04/alquimia-mutus-liber.html

Mangetus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Manget
 

Teheuti

from Waite, The Secret Tradition in Alchemy on the "Mutus Liber", p. 402

“The general literature of Alchemy offers the following elements of symbolism, among many others: (1) the Marriage of Sun and Moon; (2) of a mystical King and Queen; (3) an union between natures which are one at the root but diverse in manifestation; (4) a transmutation which follows this union and an abiding glory therein. It is a recurring conjunction between male and female in a mystical sense, a bringing together by art of what is separated in the imperfect order of things, and the perfection of natures by means of such conjunction. . . . As already indicated, the suggestions of material Alchemy in the designs of Liber Mutus may have been adopted as a pretext only, and then the Ladder of Jacob in its two significant positions may intimate the ascent into union, into that state when the male is with the female, “neither male nor female."

p. 407:
“The keeper of this particular Door of Wisdom seems to bear the same testimony as other Wardens of the Portal which leads everywhere that a soul can desire to go: he shews forth after his own manner that the intent of Nature is to make gold on all planes of manifestation. He assists us to recognise, with every disciple of Hermes, that the same thing is everywhere—the same truth, the same possibility, the same grace of attainment and the same witness always in the world. The man also is not without the woman in the manifest order of things, and in the state of attainment . . . they are as Sun and Moon spiritualized."
 

INIVEA

:confused:
As far as I can figure, it is the idea that there is hidden knowledge of

salvation and understanding of God
and/or the comprehension of the universe
and/or the nature of the soul
and/or total ecstasy and harmony

which can be achieved internally through intuition, study, examination of the mind, etc after realizing this hidden knowledge.

I do like Waite (I have a stack of his decks that I keep buying over and over) but I don't really mesh well with all of it.

Thank you, thank you, :D
 

INIVEA

I do have paraphrased notes from this section that I had saved.
The summary of what I got from it, however, was Waite trying to demonstrate or justify how the symbolism of tarot is appropriate for communicating this hidden information.

Thank you too, This is fantastic, oh I am so glad already I joined the study group. :D

Don't mind me I am going to take a day or two to absorb this. I had no idea all this time. Wow I sure missed out, better late than never.
 

INIVEA

Waite's Secret Doctrine tells us that the Soul "cometh from afar" and that the Soul returns whence it came, but it delineates the Path of Ascent'." All esoteric practices and traditions, whether pagan mysteries, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, alchemy, the Hebrew Kabbalah, the legends of the Holy Grail, Rosicrucianism, Christian mysticism or Freemasonry, were secret paths to a direct experience of God.

The Secret Tradition is a perennial underground stream of writings and teachings, containing, 'firstly, the memorials of a loss which has befallen humanity; and, secondly, the records of a restitution in respect of that which was lost ... the keepers of the tradition perpetuated it in secret by means of Instituted Mysteries and cryptic literature.’ [In the Judeo-Christian tradition this appears as the loss in the Garden of Eden; in Masonic literature there's the loss of the Master Builder, Hiram Abiff.] 'The Secret Tradition is the immemorial knowledge concerning man's way of return whence he came by a method of the inward life.'

The Secret Doctrine is a House or Temple that must be built in the heart, within which is the Eternal Wisdom—
There came a time when the primeval knowledge began to be veiled in emblems, which resulted in initiatory mysteries. The True Initiation was revealed only to these, but in time they fell into corruption. The Valid Initiation remained, with its doctrine of union of an immortal soul with God and of living in harmony with the Eternal Will.

In his book, The Holy Grail, Waite writes that traces of the Secret Doctrine as relates to the Grail can be found in:
1) the Sacramental Mystery of Alchemy as corresponding to the Eucharistic Mystery of the Holy Grail;
2) the mystical pageant of Kabbalism as analogical to the Grail pageant;
3) certain quests in Masonry as synonymous with the Grail Quest.

"The Secret Church is the integration of believers in the higher consciousness."

The following terms, used by others, tend to refer to the same idea:
Wisdom of the Ages
Perennial Philosophy
Secret Teachings of the Ages
Ageless Wisdom Tradition
This tradition lies at the root of the New Age book & video "The Secret" (with additions from America's late 19th century "New Thought" teachings):
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Rhonda-Byrne/dp/1582701709/

I discuss this later lineage here: https://marygreer.wordpress.com/2007/10/16/articles/

Thank you as well Teheuti. Now I can comprehend, for years I didn't understand, now I am finally getting it. I will be referring back to this over the day or so, digesting this. sorry lol I feel so stupid. lol Thanks for starting the study group.

Well this explains, some stuff to me, first is I don't have faith or belief in a god. That may just be why I have lost interest (like the Kabbalah). Is that a bad thing? Maybe I am the one that has deferred from the path? but I don't even know what path to take, if I were to take one. hmmmm

I have watched "The Secret" so many times, I was able to comprehending some of it, but not all of it. now with this new information you shared, I'm going to re watch "The Secret".

My learning disability is that I have difficulty with comprehend what I see, or read. my wires get messed up, so I am a slow learner. Thanks to everyone taking the time to explain in easy to understand words. Makes my learning easier to comprehend. thanks :D
 

Teheuti

Regarding sentences 6-10 above. Waite seems to be obliquely referring to the spiritual union of the male and female (see text quoted from "The Secret Tradition in Alchemy"). Any thoughts as to why he mentions this?
 

Abrac

As I understand Waite, the Female represents the Soul and male the Spirit.
 

INIVEA

As I understand Waite, the Female represents the Soul and male the Spirit.

But aren't those the same thing ? well that is how I have always viewed Soul/Spirit, am I wrong?
 

Abrac

I gave the condensed version, but there's a little more to it. Soul is a part of every person and is normally in a state of separation from God. Unless and until they turn inward and seek God within they remain in separation. Spirit is the Divine principle in Nature, or the Universal Christ. These two are often referred to by Waite as the Beloved (Soul) and Spouse (Christ). The soul's inward journey is primarily occupied with attaining the mystic union in which both Soul and Spirit become one. :)
 

Teheuti

But aren't those the same thing ? well that is how I have always viewed Soul/Spirit, am I wrong?
The words are sometimes used interchangeably and sometimes starkly separated - depending on the culture, religion or author. I'm not aware of where Waite defines them in comparison to each other. Spirit usually refers to a transcendent "Divine" force, and Soul to that within us that responds to that force. As we'll see, the Shekinah is, for Waite, the feminine face of the Divine, whom the Hierophant/Priest marries in the Inner Temple in the heart - but this is the male perspective.

While both the Greater and Lesser Arcana (to use Waite's terms) have about the same number of identifiable male and female figures, Waite never presented the story from the female point of view. Some mystical Christians today consider the female story (in human terms) to be represented by the marriage of Mary, Priestess of Magdala, and Christ. But that's another tale not covered in PKT.

Added: I just saw your response, Abrac. It's an excellent one. What do you feel was Waite's understanding of the Shekinah?