© 2007 Fr L.I.E.

- SRC&SSA

can tell for sure that in modern philosophy, ni-

hilism has not only stepped in but also joined
us at the dinner table. This is the beginning of
a crisis that we now are desperately trying to
resolve. Jonas also quotes Pascal saying: “Cast
into the infinite immensity of spaces which I
am ignorant, and which know me not, I am
frightened”. This, I believe, is a key phrase
that describes very well the situation that we
are facing in this modern era. It is a situation
that is unparalleled in all of history. Jonas
himself has a very interesting point in saying
that the ones who shared the most similar way

I
of viewing the relation between man and the
n this article, it is my intention to share world with ourselves were the early gnostics.
some of my thoughts on the spiritual For them, the whole Greek idea of the beauti-
situation that “western” man faces in fully ordered cosmos, “with whose immanent
our era. I believe it to be of the highest im- logos my own can feel kinship”, was nothing
portance to reflect on these matters, so that more than wishful thinking, and they regarded
we be able to realize and put into perspective their place in the world more like the result
the purpose of our Order and the work that of a brute accident. Sometimes it was even
we aim to fulfill. viewed as a result of an evil demiurge casting
them into a prison, trapping them forever in
In the epilogue to his seminal work The Gnos- illusionary matter.
tic Religion, Hans Jonas discusses the similari-
ties and differences between the first centu- In a way our situation today seems even more
ries AD and our “modern” existentialist days absurd. At least the gnostics had been thrown
(the book was written in 1958). He presents a into the world by an (in some cases) malicious
very apt and vivid picture of what has come entity, which meant that they still could place
of modern man due to the great revolutions their own existence into a bigger picture. As a
of thought that have their root in the en- result of modern philosophy and science we
lightenment era of the seventeenth century. are in a similar position, the difference being
He quotes Nietzsche saying: “Nihilism, the that we don’t have anyone that has thrown us
weirdest of all guests, stands before the door”. into our world anymore. We are completely
Much has happened since then, and today we alone, tossed up into a world that just doesn’t
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Splendor Solis - No. VII - ! i d - 2007 A.D.

care! As long as the world was understood as In many ways, all we have left is our inner
“cosmos”, there was always a reason for us temple. All the facades of outer religion are
to be here. Now we are instead trapped into crashing down and being run over by “modern
existence in a remote corner of the universe, thought”, creating the impression that there
as caring entities in an uncaring environment. never was anything more to it than a big castle
A world without a hierarchical order is also a built in the air, fueled by superstition and un-
world removed of an ontological basis for val- conscious Freudian desires. This is, in a way, a
ues, which means that today the self is thrown good thing. We have finally the opportunity to
back to rely completely on itself to confer all get rid of the negative shadows that have been
meaning. clinging on to spirituality for the last 2000
years and only keep its pure essence. It is also
This is a difficult situation that we are born a good thing that we are standing completely
into. Like mentioned earlier, it is one that is his- naked, abandoned in a cold uncaring universe,
torically unique. All great changes of thought because now we don’t have any anthropomorf
in the latest century, from positivism to post- beings left to project ourselves upon. The
modernism, have contributed to the destruc- complete absurdness of the fact that we re-
turalization of the old self and its world that ally are here as caring creatures, as products of
we now are witnessing and taking part of. This a completely cold and neutral world, can and
has resulted in a society that is more techni- should be seen as a strange kind of sign that
cally and scientifically evolved than ever, but there might be some light to be found some-
with it’s active agent, man, being completely where after all. All we have is our inner temple,
lost. We can see the symptoms of confusion and all we can do is to turn and look within.
and ignorance all around us. Consumerism is
growing like a plague, infecting the minds of Here we can begin to sense what the purpose
everyone, reshaping our values into worship- of our venerable Order is destined to be. It
ing youth and success. People abandon or- must be one of the beacons that can help peo-
ganized religion, leaving the churches empty, ple cross this abyss and fulfill the process of
their stones withering. The most striking ex- reaching spiritual maturity. This cannot strictly
ample of western society’s incapacity to un- be done by hanging on conservatively to old
derstand matters beyond the mundane world ways and traditions, believing that peoples’
is the abhorrent and reprehensible demoniza- needs of today can be met by writing out old
tion that is being pursued against islam. The remedies of the past.
crimes that are being committed against these
servants of higher truth and light, in our so- Before we are in position to do any good for
ciety of profane shallowness and egomania, others, we need to take the journey ourselves.
are ultimate proofs that our understanding of This is why it is of utter importance to do the
spirit is alarmingly low. “lunar” work of the SRC as thoroughly as
possible. We need to be brutally honest with
So what should we do, then? Don’t get me ourselves on the way and be ready to plunge
wrong and think that the purpose of this ar- into that hole that we have been staring into,
ticle is to preach about the evils of modern ready to crystallize what is at the bottom. All
society, and how we must turn our back on of our unstable foundations need to be de-
relativism and embrace old traditional values stroyed, and somewhere along the way we will
and worldviews. Absolutely not. On the con- be standing naked realizing that our complete
trary, I believe that we need to see our current essence is resting on emptiness. There is noth-
situation as the birth pangs of something new ing there supporting, or even constituting, the
that contains great potential and great dangers person we imagined ourselves to be. The “me”
at the same time; As something that can be that sent out to save itself from the beginning
taken into completely different directions de- is the one who needs to be left behind. This
pending on our own choices, either into con- paradox points at the major obstacle on this
fused decadence or into elevated spirituality. side of the veil. It is a battle that I myself yet

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Splendor Solis - No. VII - ! i d - 2007 A.D.

only have seen the beginning of. Therefore I will probably be self-evident when it is real-
cannot provide any sure answers about how to ized, considering the axiom as above, so below.
move forward from here, but even the moon
can sometimes reflect some pure rays from the This brings me to contemplate our beautiful
sun, that can work as a guide in the darkness. symbol of the rose cross. The natural, and
probably only, way to make this rose bloom is
I believe that we need to fully realize that through self-sacrifice. Reaching out for union
when the “me” proves to be empty, the sav- with Christ means turning oneself inside out,
iour needs to come from somewhere else. nailing the dying microcosmical soul on the
Suddenly there is no such thing as “my salva- cross, and being reborn in perfect union with
tion” anymore. It merges into something infi- the macrocosm. This is the aim of the Great
nitely bigger. This brings to mind the symbol- Work, something that can only be accom-
ism of the tarot card of The Lovers (in this plished through Love and Will. So seek ever to
case the Marseille or Rider-Waite deck). Valen- awaken and fan the flames of love, desire and
tin Tomberg’s work Meditations on the Tarot sacred devotion in your hearts! Stare in Silence
contains some very profound insights about into the darkness of your soul. When the ves-
this card (as well as on all the others). I really sel has been emptied completely, the founda-
cannot recommend this book enough. In this tion for resurrection has been laid. Our Angel
card we can see the person standing before is awaiting our return, longing to unite with us
the choice between the way of the heart or the in the Bridal Chamber.
way of power. Tomberg reflects on the fact
that to ourselves, we always seem a little more Not until this has become a reality can the “so-
real than our surroundings do. This is because lar” work of the SSA begin. The holy work
in our current state we love ourselves most of theurgy, ascending to unite with the highest
of all. The way of the heart is, according to with the purpose of bringing down the light
Tomberg, pursued by extending the love that one back to earth, will not be possible before we
has for oneself to all other beings. Total commu- have completed the earlier mentioned work.
nion between One and Other, between two First we need to make conscious and free
polarised beings constitutes the absolute full- ourselves from the negative influences of the
ness of spiritual, psychic and physical being, planets and the zodiac. Then we can rebuild
in love. It is through love that we are able to ourselves with a pure nephesh, one that is al-
remember our original state of unity in Eden ways ruled by the sun of our ruach. Solve et
before the Fall. coagula!

This has resonance in the teachings of Val- To all my brothers and sisters in this Order I
entinus, Pasqually and Saint-Martin. All three wish the best of luck with this Great Work. It
stress that complete salvation through gnosis is important that we all take the time we need
is necessarily a cosmic event, not an individ- with the work on the inner development of
ual one. The latter is only partial. Valentinus ourselves, but keep in mind that the bigger
claimed that the material world is the result purpose is to affect the world at large. Our
of ignorance, and although one individual work shall be to the honour of the Lord of
reaching gnosis removes some of its illusion- the Universe, who works in Silence, and whom
ary qualities, the thing that really matters is the naught but Silence can express.
collective state. From this we can learn that
when the veils of illusion start to lift micro-
cosmically, the results naturally should extend Fraternally in LVX
outside of ourselves. The saving rays of the
sun and the fire of Shin, that enter from out- Frater L.I.E.
side and make the inner dawn possible, need
to be reflected back out on the world. This

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