Teheuti said:
2nd Sentence -
"The theory is that this doctrine has always existed--that is to say, has been excogitated in the consciousness of an elect minority; that it has been perpetuated in secrecy from one to another and has been recorded in secret literatures, like those of Alchemy and Kabalism; that it is contained also in those Instituted Mysteries of which Rosicrucianism offers an example near to our hand in the past, and Craft Masonry a living summary, or general memorial, for those who can interpret its real meaning."
No one wants to take this on? I'll provide a little more info but I don't want to be the only one to do so.
Instituted Mysteries, btw, simply refers to formalized rites and rituals of the various mystery schools and organizations. These include the Eleusinian mysteries and those of Isis, along with 'oriential' teachings (which Waite doesn't claim any expertise in) as well as the Christian mysteries.
Behind all spiritual traditions is a mystical unity of intent.
The "Secret Tradition" is discussed at length in the Prolegomena to Waite's _Secret Tradition in Freemasonry_. He says (among many other things):
"The Secret Tradition contains, 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 [the Grail Myths]. . . .
"The forms assumed, were, in respect of the Instituted Mysteries, of a ceremonial and liturgical kind; in respect of cryptic literature, there was more than one embodiment; in fine, there are some other forms which were emblematic in the pictorial sense, as for example, the pictures of Alchemy. . . .
"The evidence testifies to
(a) the aeonian nature of the loss [usually loss of a Word];
(b) the certitude of an ultimate restoration;
(c) in respect of that which was lost, the perpetuity of its existence somewhere in time and the world, although interned deeply;
(d) and more rarely its substantial presence under veils close to the hands of all. . . .
"The analogy of the Lost Word is the traditional Fall of Man. . . .
"Craft Masonry signifies a quest for that which was lost like the Word in Kabalism; for that which has been hidden like the holy Vessel of the Graal; for that which is communicated by God like the Mystic Stone of Alchemy; but Word and Vessel and Stone are all evasions. . . .
"This quest is embodied in allegory, in ritual, in legend, in symbolism. . . .
In other places Waite speaks of a mystical death and resurrection.
Here are some quotes from my RWS Minor Arcana article in the _Llewellyn Tarot Reader 2006_:
"The Secret Tradition consists of symbolic lore showing how a person is to make his or her heart into a sacred sanctuary and there undergo 'an intimate union which constitutes what is called mystically the marriage of the Hierophant.' The Hierophant’s spouse is 'the Shekinah [feminine face of God] restored to the Sanctuary.' Thus, the Secret Tradition shows the way to the Immanent Presence of God and the realization of that Presence. Waite felt the most important thing was an entering into the 'deeper understanding' veiled by the external forms of the stories and symbols. As he wrote in _The Holy Grail_, 'Everything depends on the individual mind’s capacity to make unto itself a living meaning behind the Symbols and the Sacraments.' This requires going beyond faith to a direct experience of Divine Will via, what he termed, 'internal organs of higher consciousness.'"
and
"In _The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal_, Waite wrote that the Secret Church (of which the Minor Arcana describe only the external form) is 'like the still, small voice; it is heard only in the heart’s silence, and there is no written word to show us how its rite is celebrated. . . . There are no admissions . . . the candidate inducts himself.'"
Mary
