AbouttheAuthorBaronRudolfvonSebottendorff(1875-1945)wasaFreemasonandpractitionerof alchemy. In 1900 he moved to Turkey where he met the Jewish Termudifamily, who introduced him to Rosicrucianism and led to his initiation into alocal Masonic lodge. In 1910 he founded a lodge of the Bektashi Order inConstantinople.ReturningtoGermany,in1917hefoundedtheThuleSociety,anoccult organization that led to theGermanWorkers’ Party--joined in 1919 byAdolfHitler,whotransformeditintotheNaziParty.SebottendorfflefttheThuleSocietyasitbecameincreasinglypolitical,fleeingtoTurkey.

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Translationcopyright©2000,2013byRûna-RavenPress Introductionandpages3–54

©2013byStephenE.Flowers,Ph.D.

Originally published in German in 1924 under the titleDie Praxis der alten türkischen Freimauerei: Der Schlüssel zum Verständnis der Alchemie by TheosophischesVerlagshaus.

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorutilizedinany form orby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or byany information storage and retrieval system, without permissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Sebottendorff,Rudolf,Freiherr

von,1875–1945.[PraxisderaltentürkischenFreimaurerei.English]

SecretpracticesoftheSufifreemasons:theIslamicteachingsattheheartof alchemy/ Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorff ; translation, introduction, and commentarybyStephenE.Flowers.

p.cm.

“OriginallypublishedinGermanin1924underthetitleDiePraxisderalten türkischenFreimauerei: Der Schlüssel zum Verständnis der Alchemie by TheosophischesVerlagshaus.”Includesbibliographicalreferences.printISBN:978-1-59477-468-3ebookISBN:978-1-62055-001-4

1.Freemasonry—Symbolism.2.Freemasonry—Religiousaspects—Islam.3. Alchemy—Religiousaspects—Islam.4.Sufism.I.Flowers,StephenE.,1953–II. Title.HS425.S39132013366'.10882974—dc232012020452

DedicatedtotheMemoryoftheFormerSecretaryoftheTurkishEmbassyinBern,Mr.P.Schwidtal

Contents

CoverImageTitlePageDedicationIntroductionbyStephenE.FlowersChapter1:TheLifeofRudolfvonSebottendorff

CHRONOLOGYOFTHELIFEOFRUDOLFVONSEBOTTENDORFFWORKSANDIDEAS

Chapter2:TheBektashiSectofSufism

ISLAMSUFISMTHEBEKTASHIORDER

Chapter3:TheMysteriesoftheArabicLetters

MYSTICALMEANINGSOFARABICLETTERSMYSTICINTERPRETATIONSOFTHEARABICLETTERSTHEABBREVIATEDLETTERS

Chapter4:AlchemyandSufism

ALCHEMYEASTANDWESTTHEORYOFMYSTICALALCHEMY

ThePracticeofAncientTurkishFreemasonry

IntroductionChapteri:Practice

THEPRELIMINARYWORKTHEMAINWORKTHEPURSUANTWORK...SUMMARYOFTHEWORK

Chapterii:TheoryChapteriii:TheoryandPractice

AFTERDEATH—LIFE

ConclusionFootnotesEndnotesBibliographyAbouttheAuthorAboutInnerTraditions•Bear&CompanyCopyright&Permissions

Introduction

Youhavebeforeyouaverystrangebook. It isabookof secretSufiexercisesbasedonaparticularsect’steachingsaboutcertainsounds,gestures,andtheso-called abbreviated letters found at the beginnings of certain chapters of theQur’an. These exercises are reputed to be able to perfect the spirit of theindividual.Furthermore,thisparticularbookwaswrittenbyaGermanexpatriateandTurkish citizen,who is reputed by some to be themastermind behind theformationof a political order that eventuallybecameHitler’sNazis.Youhavebeenwarnedthatyouareembarkingonastrangeadventure.

Thetextofthe1924booktitledDiePraxisderaltentürkischenFreimauerei(ThePractice ofAncientTurkishFreemasonry) is in itself unusual. Part of itscontentiswellorganized,clear,andconcise;whileotherfeaturesofitaremixedwithelementsofaconfusingandchaoticnature.Themanualcouldhavebeenevenshorter.Itreallyconsistssimplyofadescriptionandscheduleofexercisestobeconductedregularlyoveraperiodofmanymonths.Noconcreteknowledgeisimpartedastowhattheseexerciseswillactuallydofortheindividual—butitisclearly implied that the rewardwillbegreatand thatall sortsofknowledgeandwisdomwillbeimparteddirectlytothepractitioner.

ThisbookisintendedtobenothingmorethanatranslationofSebottendorff’s1924textwithsomeexplanatoryinformationabouttheauthor,hisideas,andthegeneralspiritualworldthatgaverisetotheexercises.Itisnotanattempttoaddanythingnewordifferenttothetext,whichstandsonitsown.

I amnot aMuslimor a teacherofSufism. I am just a humble scholar.Noinsult, slight,ordisrespect isever intended towardMuhammad, theQur’an,orIslam.On the contrary, it is hoped that this bookwill open the eyes of a fewmorepeopletothegreatspiritualcontributionsofIslamtothemysteriousworldweallshareincommon.

STEPHENE.FLOWERSWOODHARROW

1

TheLifeofRudolfvonSebottendorffRudolfvonSebottendorffwasamanofmystery.Muchremainsunknownabouthis life and his death. He is shrouded in legend and surrounded bymisinformation. The true nature and motive of his life and work remain inquestion.Thatmuchofthisobscuritywasofhisownmanufactureisonethingthat seems certain. The answers to these questions about the author ofSecretPractices of the Sufi Freemasons may or may not be relevant to theunderstandingofthebookyouhavebeforeyou.ItmaybethathesimplyactedasaconduitfortheseSufitechniquestomaketheirwayintotheWest.Thisisatleastpartofwhatheseemstowanttoimplytothereader.OritmaybethathisworkinGermanyafterWorldWarI—workthatmostpeopletodaywoulddeemsinister—was a fundamental part of something intimately connected to thecontentsofThe Secret Practices of the Sufi Freemasons. It seemsmost likelythattheformeristhetruerofthetwopossibilities.TheexerciseswerelearnedbySebottendorff as part of his work with the Bektashi Order of dervishes inIstanbul.TheseandsimilarpracticesofMuslimorders,sects,andbrotherhoodswereseenbyhimtobeessentialintheage-oldsenseofsolidarityanddedicationtopurposeinherentintheseorders.Thesewerequalitieshewantedtore-instillintheGermanpeople(ashementionsinthetext).Therefore,itispossiblethatthe contents of the manual are not tainted with Sebottendorff’s Germannationalism;ratherhesimplywishedtoutilizetheSufiteachingsinanattempttoregenerate German solidarity and dedication to purpose in the dismal timebetween thewars. In any event, the fascination this book has held for peopleover theyearshasstemmedmore fromthe identityof itsauthor than fromthecontents of the exercises. In this volume I wish to reorient attention to thesubstance of the Sufi practices, and away from the personality of the author.However, the fascinating and important story of the mysterious author’s life

cannotgounmentioned.ThefirstmysteryofBaronRudolfvonSebottendorff’slifeliesinthefactthat

hewasnotbornabaron,norwashisnameSebottendorff.Heobtainedthenameandtitlelaterinlife.HewasbornAdamAlfredRudolfGlauerinHoyerswerda,near Dresden, onNovember 9, 1875. His father was a locomotive driver andveteran of the Prussian army, who fought in the Austro-Prussian campaign(1866)andtheFranco-PrussianWar(1871).Rudolf’sfatherdiedin1893leavingenoughmoneyforhissontofinishhisformaleducation.

Glauer began training as a mechanical engineer, but never finished hisstudies.Insteadhelivedalifeofadventureinexoticlocalesandonthehighseasuntil1900.InAustralia,afterattemptingtoprospectforgold,hereceivedaletterof introduction from a Parsi (Zoroastrian) to a wealthy Turkish landowner,HussainPasha.Hemanaged an estate atBursa for this landowner,whowas apractitionerofSufism.HewasalsointroducedtheretotheTermudifamily.Thepatriarch of this Jewish family, originally from Greece, was a student of theKabbalahandRosicrucianism.GlauerwasinitiatedintoaFreemasoniclodgeofwhichtheTermudisweremembers.HeremainedinTurkey,learnedTurkish,andstudied occultism until 1902. Then he returned to Germany, but around 1908somelegalmisadventuresinGermanycausedhimtoreturntoTurkey.

The next two yearswere pivotal for the adventurer. In 1910 he founded amystical lodge inConstantinople—which is a tariqatof theBektashiOrder ofSufis.ThenextyearheislegallyadoptedbytheGermanexpatriateHeinrichvonSebottendorff and also becomes a legal citizen of Turkey. This adoption waslaterrepeatedtwicemorebyotherSebottendorfffamilymembers,allofwhichindicatesjusthowimportanttheacquisitionofthenobletitlewastohim.

DuringtheBalkanWar(1912–1913)hewasondutywiththeRedCrescent,theIslamicversionoftheRedCross.Hewasactuallywoundedinbattleandfora timeaPOW.After thishe returnedoncemore toEuropeand lived inBerlinandAustria.

Itwas in themidst of the FirstWorldWar (1914–1918) that SebottendorffjoinedtheGermanenOrder(GO),atfirstbycorrespondenceonly.InSeptemberof1916hepersonallyvisitedHermannPohl,whowastheheadof theorderinBerlin.SubsequentlySebottendorffwaselectedmasteroftheBavarianprovince

oftheorderandbecamethepublisheroftheGOpublications.The true nature and scope of the Germanen Order remains shadowy.

Ostensiblyitwasformedasasortofmysticallodgewithinthemorepoliticallyoriented Reichshammerbund (Imperial Hammer League). The mastermindbehind these groups was the notorious anti-Semite Theodor Fritsch (1852–1933).¹ Fritschwas instrumental in the invention of a biologically based anti-Semitismtoappealtothosewhohadbecomedisenchantedwiththemassappealof the age-old religion-based anti-Semitism, with its origins in the medievalchurch. TheGOwas essentially a pseudo-Masonic orderwith ritual based onWagnerianimagery.²

As1918wasdrawingtoaclose,thefortunesofwarandpoliticshadturnedagainst the Germans. The GreatWar was being lost and inMunich left-wingrevolutionarieswereclamoringforpoliticalpower,inspiredbyrecentsuccessinthe Russian Revolution (1917). The nameThule-Gesellschaft (Thule Society)was adopted by the Germanen Order as a cover identity. The society metweeklyinrentedroomsattheHotelVierjahreszeiten(FourSeasons)inMunich.But it began to take on a life and identity of its own under Sebottendorff’sleadership.Occulttopicswerethesubjectoflecturesgivenbythebaron—thisinthemidstofopenrevolutioninthestreetsofMunich.

Sebottendorff only led the Thule Society from April 1918 to July 1919.DuringthistimeheformedamilitiatofighttheCommunists,wasinstrumentalin the formationof theGermanWorkers’Party,andacquiredanewspaper, theMünchnerBeobachter(MunichObserver).InAprilof1919,CommunistsseizedpowerinBavaria.InthisprocesstheytooksevenmembersoftheThuleSocietyhostageandsubsequentlyexecuted them.Thisatrocitybecamearallyingpointfor the right-wingmilitias. Themilitias were eventually successful in turningback the left-wing revolution.TheGermanWorkers’Partywassoon thereafterreformedbycharismaticleaderAdolfHitlerintotheNationalSocialistGermanWorkers’ Party (National-Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei—NSDAP),calledNazisby their detractors. The newspaperwas bought by that party andtransformed into its mouthpiece—Der völkische Beobachter (The NationalistObserver).

Obviouslyallof these factspoint toSebottendorff’sdeep involvementwith

*1

whatwas tobecometheNazimovement inpost-WWIGermany.Italsoseemsclear that Sebottendorff and others were guided and financed in their efforts.Whatislesscertainishowmuchthesemenwereengineersoftheseeffortsandhowmuchtheyweremerepawns.

ThechronologyofSebottendorff’slifeshowsthathewasmostlyinvolvedinpersonaladventureandspiritualormagicalpursuits—withashort,activecareer(1916–1919) as a political operative under the cover of occult organizations.AfterheleftMunichinJulyof1919,hereturnedtoesotericstudiesandwriting.Forfifteenyearshecontinuedinhisesotericpursuitsanditisduringthisperiodthat he wrote and published most of his major works, including The SecretPracticesoftheSufiFreemasons.

Astoundingly,SebottendorffreturnedtoGermanyafterHitler tookpowerin1933,triedtorevivetheThuleSociety,andpublishedabook,whichseemedtotrytotakecreditforgettingtheNationalSocialistmovementstartedfromwithinthe Thule Society. The book was entitled Bevor Hitler kam (Before HitlerCame).TheNaziswerenotpleased.Sebottendorffwasarrestedtwice;thebookwas banned, confiscated, and destroyed in 1934. He returned to Turkey. ThiswholeadventureappearedtobesimplyanattempttocashinonthesuccessoftheNazis, an attempt that failed.Or perhaps it did not fail entirely. The post-1934 life of the baron is quite mysterious. He was put on the payroll of theGerman Intelligence Service in Istanbul. His handler was Herbert Rittlinge.TurkeyhadbeenanallyofGermanyinWWI,butinWWIIitremainedneutraluntiltheveryendofthewar,whenitjoinedtheAlliedside.In1944theGermanembassywasclosedinTurkey,andSebottendorffwasgivenhisseverancepayofone year’s support. On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally.Sebottendorffdiedthatsameday.

Some controversy surrounds the death of Sebottendorff. The usual story isthathecommittedsuicidebyjumpingoffabridgeinIstanbulrightafterhearingof Germany’s surrender. If this is true it was probably more out of thedesperationofaseptuagenarianmanwithnoprospectsforthefuturethanoutofany loyalty to theNazis. On the other hand the possibility exists that hewasassassinated either by loyal Nazis whowanted to keep him quiet, or by theirenemieswhotookafinalmeasureofrevenge.

CHRONOLOGYOFTHELIFEOFRUDOLFVONSEBOTTENDORFF

1875 (November9)bornAdamAlfredRudolfGlauerinHoyerswerdainSaxony

1893 (June)hisfatherdies

1897 (October 1) reports for obligatorymilitary service, rejected forhealthreasons

1898 (March)privatetutorinHannover

(April2)beginsworkinmerchantshippingastechnician

1900 inAustraliaprospectingforgold

(earlyJuly)meetsHussainPashainAlexandria

(lateJuly)travelsfromAlexandriatoConstantinople(Istanbul)

(October)beginsaone-yearcontracttoworkforHussainonanestatenearBursa,meetsTermudiandisinitiatedintoamysticallodge

1901 returnstoGermany

1902–03

residesinMunich

1905 (March25)marriesKarlaVoss

1907 (May5)divorcesKarla

1908 returnstoConstantinople(Istanbul)

1909 inConstantinopleduringcounter-revolutionofSultanHamidII;involvedinGermancourtcase

1910 (December)foundsamysticallodgeinConstantinople

1911 becomesaTurkishcitizen,adoptedbyGermanexpatriateBaronHeinrichvonSebottendorff

1912– activewith theRedCrescent in theBalkanWar,wounded, and

13 brieflycaptured

1913 returnstoGermany,residesinBerlin

1914 repeatedadoptionbySiegmundvonSebottendorffvonderRose,leavesGermanyforAustria

1915 (July15)marriesBertaAnna Iffland inVienna, later returns toGermany

1916 lives in Bad Aibling in Bavaria, joins the Germanen Order(September), visitswithHermann Pohl, head of theGermanenOrderinBerlin

1917 recruitedfortheBavarianbranchoftheGO

(December)becomespublisherofGOpublication

selectedmasterofGOBavarianprovince

1918 (April17)ThuleSocietyceremoniallyfounded

(July) meetings of the GO begin at Hotel Vierjahreszeiten inMunich;ThuleSocietyusedasacover-name

(July)buys theFranzEherVerlagandtheBeobachter, renamedMünchnerBeobachter

(October) Arbeiterverein formed within the Thule, laterfashionedintoapoliticalparty:DeutscheArbeiterPartei

(November7)bloodlesscoupofSocialistsinBavaria

(November 9) delivers political speech against theSocialists attheThulemeeting

(November)stockpilesweaponsforcounter-revolution

1919 (January5)GermanWorkers’Partyformallyfounded

formationofThulemilitia

(April6)anarchistsproclaimtheBavarianSocialistRepublic

(April13)CommunistsseizepowerinBavaria

(April26)CommuniststakesevenThulemembershostage

(April 30) Thule members executed in basement of LiutpoldSchool

(June22)attendshislastThulemeeting

(July)leavesMunichforSwitzerland

(May 1) white (anti-Communist) forces enter Munich, Thulemilitiaalreadyinactioninthestreets

Communistsousted

1920 (October) succeeds Ernst Tiede as editor of AstrologischeRundschau(AstrologicalReview)

1920–23

continues editing Astrologische Rundschau, lives mainly inGermany

1923 (Spring) leaves Germany for Lugano, Switzerland, where hewritesTheSecretPracticesofSufiFreemasons

1924 TheSecretPracticesofSufiFreemasonspublishedasDiePraxisderaltentürkischenFreimauerei

returnstoTurkey

1926–28

actsashonoraryMexicanConsulinTurkey

1929–31

travelstoUnitedStatesandMexico

1933 returnstoGermanytorevivetheThuleSociety

(December) the book Bevor Hitler kam (Before Hitler Came)published

1934 secondeditionofBevorHitlerkamissued

(March1)BevorHitlerkambannedandconfiscatedbytheNaziParty

(JanuaryandMarch)brieflyjailedbyNaziauthorities

returnstoTurkeyemployedbytheGermanIntelligenceServiceunderHerbertRittlingeinIstanbul

1944 (September)German embassy closes in Istanbul, Sebottendorffgivenfundsforoneyear

1945 (May9)likelycommitssuicidebyjumpingoffabridgeintotheBosporus

WORKSANDIDEAS

Works

The life and legend of the adventurer known as the Baron Rudolf vonSebottendorff von der Rose is so fascinating and compelling that the moreimportant and useful information about his teachings and thoughts are usuallyglossed over. We do not want to let that happen here. However, it must beadmitted thatdiscoveringwhat thebaronreally thoughtcanbeadifficult task.This is because his did not write that much when compared to hiscontemporaries. Also what he wrote tended to be from different genres—forexample,novels,historiesofastrology,technicalastrologicaltexts,andthebookonSufiexercises.

WhenwelookatSebottendorff’swrittenoutputwediscover thatmostof itconcerned aspects of the practice of astrology. His works include: DieHilfshoroskopie (1921), Stunden- und Frage-Horoskopie (1921), Sterntafeln(ephemeriden) von 1838–1922 (Star Tables [Ephemeris] from 1838 to 1922)(1922),andAstrologischesLehrbuch(AstrologicalTextbook)(1927).PerhapstobecountedashismasterpieceinastrologicalstudiesisGeschichtederAstrologie(HistoryofAstrology),vol.I(1923).Nosecondvolumeappeared.

Besidestheseastrologicalworks,threeothersstandout.Thefirstoftheseisourtext,DiePraxisderaltentürkischenFreimauerei(1924).Secondisanovel,DerTalismandesRosenkreuzers(TheTalismanoftheRosicrucian)(1925).Thisissaidtobeathinlyveiledautobiographicalaccountfromwhichmanyeventsin

hislifearediscernible.Finallythereistheill-fatedBevorHitlerkam(1933).Thelatter twobooksare inonewayoranotherattempts tomanipulate thereader’sviewsof the author.Only in thePraxisdoesSebottendorff really speak to thereaderabouthisownphilosophy—ifonlyvaguely.

Sebottendorff’sIdeology

Sebottendorff,theman,remainsanenigma.Someofhiswritingswereprobablyproduced to achieve some specific political agenda thatwas not necessarily acreationofhisown thoughts.However, ifwe readhiswordscarefullywecanarriveatsomegeneralideasabouttheintellectualandspiritualcosmosinwhichhelived.InmanyrespectsSebottendorffwasthetypicalGermanofhistime—amanwith a split character: one part fierce nationalist, the other a lover of theexotic.InSebottendorff’slifetimehehadreasontobeproudofbeingGerman—Germans were the best educated, most technologically advanced andeconomicallydevelopedof allEuropeanpeoples.At the same time they lovedexotic ideasandexoticcultures; they studied them,and traveled to thematanenormous rate.Evennow,moreGermans travel outside their ownborders peryear than any other nation, and it is not coincidence that the German wordwanderlust,“astrongandirresistibleimpulsetotravel,”hadtobeborrowedintoEnglish.³AllthisaccountsforSebottendorff’sGermannationalismcoupledwithhis love of Turkey. To understand his ideology, we must divide the politicaldimension from theoccult aspect; althoughwewill see somecommongroundbetweenthetwo.

PoliticalIdeologyMostofSebottendorff’swrittenoutputwouldnotindicatemuchofaninterestinpolitics. It is far more oriented toward occult matters. However, both hisbiography and one book in particular, Bevor Hitler kam (1933), show hisinvolvementinfoundinganddirectinginsurgentpoliticaloperations.Whereandhowhecamebytheseskillsandinterestsremainmysterious.

In introductory sections of his 1933 book he describes his devotion to twoideasDeutschtum(Germanism)andsocialism.TheideaofDeutschtumhadbeencurrent inEuropeformanydecades.⁴On theonehand itcanbeunderstoodassimply nationalism. ButGerman nationalism, aswith other forms of this idea

elsewhere in the Old World, is heavily tinged with racial ideas. German (orEnglish or French or Russian) nationalism meant more than fanaticallysupporting a political state. Itmeant a belief that the culture of the nation, itslanguage, ethnicity, customs, and aesthetics, were to be promoted to theexclusionofforeignoroutsideelements.Italsowasboundupwithconceptsofantimodernism. Antimodernists saw industrialization, commercialism, anddemocracyasdestructivetothenationandtoDeutschtum.

TosomeextenttheseideaswererootedintheesotericteachingsofmensuchasGuidovonList(1848–1919)whocoinedandpopularizedagooddealoftheterminologyconnectedwith this idea.ClearlySebottendorffwassteepedin theteachingsofvonListandothers.Buthewasfarfrombeingaloneinthis.InfactList was himself merely another product of a larger neoromantic wave ofideologychampionedbyRichardWagnerandothersdecadesearlier.

TheotherpoliticalideathatmovedSebottendorffwassocialism.MainstreamhistoricalrevisionismquicklymovedtoignorethesocialisticaspectsofHitler’sNationalSocialism.ItreallyshouldnotbesurprisingthereforetoseeimmediateprecursorstoHitlerextollingtheideaofsocialism,whichmosttodaythinkofintermsof left-wingpolitics.Theessential theoretical factor that separatesHitlerfromStalinwasthattheformersawbiologyorraceasthedecisivefactor,whilethelattersaweconomicsandeconomicclassasparamount.Inpractice,however,both essentially practiced nationalistic socialism under a dictatorship oroligarchy.

Certainly Sebottendorff, like many of his German and Europeancontemporaries, envisioned a kinder and gentler form of socialism; one thatwisely and benevolently collected the wealth and privilege of the nation andredistributedit tothebenefitof thewholeofsociety.Suchdreamsalwaysleadimmediately to a Hitler or Stalin, when applied on a national scale. Nationalsocialismwouldattempttoapplysocialisticconceptsandmethodstothebenefitofasingleraceornationality—theGermans—ratherthantoaneconomicclass—theproletariat—asisthecasewiththeMarxists.

OccultIdeologyThe occult encompasses ideas of a secret or hidden nature, which representrejected patterns of thought (e.g., paganism, astrology, alchemy, magic) or

conceptsthathavenotbeenacceptedbymainstreamandestablishedintellectualauthorities (e.g., UFOs, ESP, orgone). Such ideas may be entirely taboo in asociety and forced into secret societies, or they may simply be marginalized.Despite its outsider status the realm of the occult often becomes the breedinggroundforrevolutionaryideas.

Sebottendorff’s occult ideology can be partially reconstructed from hisworks.Onefactorofgreatimportancetohimwasasortofunifiedfieldofrealitythatconnectedthingssuchasthestarswiththefateandcharacterofindividualhumans.HereweseeanechooftheIslamicinsistenceontheessentialunityofbeing(theArabicwahdat-al-wujûd).This alsoprovidesSebottendorffwith therationaleforhisfocusontraditionandnationaltraditions—whetherinGermanyorTurkey.Suchaunityofbeingalsoprovides for theplausibilityofalchemy.The base and the noble are, after all, parts of the same whole, or substance.Therefore the transmutation of one thing to another is theoretically possible,withoutchangingthenatureofreality.

One of Sebottendorff’s chief themes is the idea of the perfectibility of theindividual.Thisistherootconceptbehindtheexercisesbelongingtothescienceof the key, as the ancient practice of Freemasonry is sometimes known. Thefruitsofthislaborshould,however,betransferredtothelargersocietyinwhichthe individual lives and this doctrine of perfectibility spread throughout thecountry.This,weare told, is theoriginalmissionof thisbook.The individualcan,inamannerofspeaking,becomesomethingakintoaphilosopher’sstone.His presence can act as a catalyst for widespread transformation. Is this thesecretofSebottendorff?Somuchpowerandinfluencehasbeenascribedtohim,yet the facts of his life do not reflect such a man. How could a relativelyunknownoccultistandadventurerexertsuchhistoricalinfluenceandfadefromthesceneyearsbeforetheresultsofhisoperationweremanifest?Whythendidhe come back tomake a conspicuous return at themoment of the operation’sdarktriumph,beforeoncemorefadingintoobscurity?Isallofthisatestimonytothepoweroftheseexercises?Weretheseexercisesattherootofothermen’spower,menfromMuhammadtoHassan-i-SabbahtoSebottendorff?

CertainlyanotherofSebottendorff’sprincipal ideaswas that individualsarecapable of creating and re-creating their own environment. This concept wasjuxtaposed to the modernistic idea that individuals are products of their

environments.Allof thisagainbringsforthSebottendorff’sessentiallymagicaland alchemical view of man’s capacity. The human being, and especially theindividual who has been empowered by the secret practices revealed in thescienceofthekey,cantakeactivecontroloflifeandenvironment—butonlyinaccordancewiththewillanddirectionofGod.

2

TheBektashiSectofSufism

ISLAM

InordertounderstandtheBektashisectofSufismanditsplaceintheworkofthescienceofthekey,wemustcometosomeunderstandingofthehistoryandideasofbothIslamandSufismingeneral.Islamisobviouslyconsideredoneoftheworld’sgreat religions. Itnowclaimsapproximatelyoneandahalfbillionadherents worldwide. Just over fifty countries, stretching from Morocco toIndonesia,haveIslamastheirofficialreligion.Asareligionithasspreadfartherand faster than any known to history. Its founder, Muhammad (567–632),personallyoversawtheconquestandconversionofhisnativeArabia.Duringhislifetime, he dictated texts that were written down as theQur’an (recitation);editedandcompiledsomenineteenyearsafterthedeathoftheProphet.

The essence of Islam is submission of the will to God, for the very wordislammeans“submission” inArabic.ThemostessentialdoctrinesofIslamarethe Five Pillars of Faith: (1) the shalât, the practice of five daily prayers andprostrations;(2)thezakât,orobligatoryalmsgiving; (3)sawn,which is fastingfrom dawn to dusk during themonth ofRâmâdan; (4)hajj, or pilgrimage toMecca; and (5) the shahâdat, or profession of faith—“There is no God butAllah, and Muhammad is his Prophet.” This makes Islam originally andessentially simpler than Judaism or Christianity. Performing these obligatorypracticesisthecoreofIslamasoriginallypracticed.

Historically,IslamspreadoutfromArabiainthewakeofmilitaryconqueststo the east andwest of theArabian Peninsula. Egypt fell in 641, and by 711MuslimshadinvadedtheEuropeancontinentandconqueredVisigothSpain.ThevastPersianEmpirewasbrought into the Islamicworldbetween650 and750CE.Around the year 1000Muslimsmade significant inroads into India; from

thereIslamstagedfurtherexpansionseastward.FromearlytimesinthehistoryofIslamthereligionwaspracticedbymany

non-Arabic peoples—most notably Persians. The Persians were among theworld’s most intellectual and sophisticated peoples at the time they wereconqueredbytherelativelyunlearnedBedouinArabs.Persianculturalinfluence,already great in Arabia for centuries, would play a key role in the rapidlydevelopingIslamicintellectualcultureoftheeighthandninthcenturies.

The Turkic peoples had generally converted to Islam by the ninth century.They are a non-Arabic, originally nomadic group of peoples originallyinhabitingregionsincentralandnorthernAsia.DuringtheeleventhcenturytheymadesignificantconquestsinAsiaMinoragainsttheByzantineEmpire,whichtheMuslimscalledRûm,orRome.TheSeljukTurks’takingofJerusalemfromtheArabsand theirvictoryoverByzantiumat theBattleofManzikert in1071markedthebeginningofaTurkishonslaughtonEurope—whichreacheditspeakin1683at theBattleofVienna.HeretheTurksweredefeatedandturnedbackfromtheheartofcentralEurope.BythistimetheOttomanTurkshadconqueredthe entireBalkan region ofEurope, including present-dayGreece. In practicalmilitaryandstrategicterms,itwasagainstthebeginningofthisinvasionthattheso-calledCrusadeswereoriginallyaimed.Christendomwasunderattackinthewest(Spain)andintheeast(Balkans),andtheresponsewastocounterattacktheHolyLand.Following initial successesunder theNormansbeginning in1098,theCrusadeseventuallycollapsedafter repeatedcampaigns,and theChristianswereeventuallypushedoutoftheregionin1291.

These twocenturiesofconflictbetweenChristendomandIslam,whichstillleave theirmarksuponcontemporaryhistory,hadoneunintendedconsequence—the exposure of Christians to Islamic ideas and culture. Similarly, Islamicideas entered into Christendom from the west in Spain. These ideas werephilosophical (theMuslims had preserved Greek philosophy and science at alevel unknown in Europe), scientific, technological, mathematical, as well asmystical, and even romantic. The Muslims also enjoyed many luxuries thatwealthy Europeans wanted. Christian secular lords and the kings and theirknightswhofoughtintheCrusadesknewandrespectedtheirenemies,unlikethereligiousfanaticswhosawinIslamonlyaformofdevilworship.Itwasthroughtheseseculardoors that Islamic technology,magic,andmysticismentered into

Europe.The secret of Islamic advancement was its originally lax attitude toward

individualthought.Aslongasamanmethisreligiousobligations,hewasfreetothink about a wide variety of things—as long as it did not lead to outwardquestioning of Islam, the Prophet, or the supremacy of his book, the HolyQur’an.InthemedievalWest,bycontrast,therewasofficialreligiouscontrolonvirtually every aspect of philosophy, art, science, and all venues of culture.Islamic intellectual freedom preserved its cultural and military supremacy forcenturies.

AtthedawnofthewesternModernAge,justbefore1500CE,thingsbeganto shift. There was a renaissance of pagan, or pre-Christian, philosophy inEurope.TheMuslimswereeventuallypushedbackoutofEurope.TheSpanishcompletedtheirreconquestoftheircountryin1492andtheTurkswereleftwithonly one small foothold in Europe around Constantinople (Istanbul).Increasingly the Muslims were seized by a religious fundamentalism,exemplifiedby theWahhabist sect, and they lost their intellectualedge. Itwasduring this period that the balance of intellectual and scientific power shiftedfromtheIslamicsuperioritytoEuropeansecularsuperiority.Thisshift isagainseminaltounderstandingourtimes.SadlytheIslamicworldwentfrombeingtherichest andmost advanced culture in theworld to one of relative poverty andculturaldeprivation.

To illustrate this shift it has been noted that if the economic impact ofpetroleum is removed from economic calculations dealingwith the fifty or soIslamiccountries, allof them togetherwouldhaveacombinedgrossdomesticproductlessthanthatofanyoneofseveralsmallnorthernEuropeancountries.

SUFISM

Sufismis thebestknownesotericormysticaldimensionwithin thereligionofIslam.Itsdefinitionisdifficult,itsoriginsobscure,anditshistoryisfraughtwithcontradictory sects and teachings. Sebottendorff purported to represent theesotericpracticeofoneorderwithinthelargerSufiworld—thatoftheBektashis.But in order to grasp the importance of this, a general overview of Sufism isneeded.

Thewordsufiismostlikelyderivedfromsuf,theArabicwordforwool,andisareferencetothewoolengarmentsearlyadherentsofthesedoctrinesworeasinsignia.Supposedly,membersofMuhammad’sownentouragewereamongtheearliestof theSufis; forexample,Selman,Muhammad’sPersianbarber,whomhehadadopted.Ingeneral,SufismmaybedefinedasamysticalbranchofIslamthat seeks direct and personal knowledge and experience of God. This isopposed to the simple acceptance of theQur’an and obedience to the laws ofoutwardIslamicpractice.

Because Islam arose and spread through many lands, each with its ownreligious and mystical traditions, it would be difficult to imagine that thesewouldnothavelefttheirmarksintheIslamiccultureoverthecenturies.Sufismbecomes the general feature of Islamic culture that was capable of absorbingspiritual ideas, teachings, andpractices fromotherculturesas theywerebeingpoliticallyannexedintheexpansionofIslam.Theseinfluencescamefromsuchdiverse sources as Christianity, Neoplatonism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism,Buddhism,andHinduism.Thelatter-dayBektashisectintowhichSebottendorffwasinitiatedmayhavebeenlargelyeclecticanduniversalistic,however,inthisitiscarryingonanancienttraditionofbringingtogetherdisparatepracticesintoanIslamicorSuficontext.

As might be imagined there were many often cross-fertilizing orders ofSufismintheMiddleAges.TheearliestphaseofSufismwascharacterizedbyitsasceticism; for example, the teachings of Hasan al-Basrî (died 728 CE) orIbrâhimbinAdhamofeasternIran(died777CE).¹Followingthistherewereamultitude of Sufimasterswho seem to have arisen in Iran. It seems that theyoftencamefromtheeasternmostpartoftheregion,beyondtheOxusRiver.NotalloftheearlyIranianSufiswereveryorthodoxintheirviews,infactHussayn-ibn-Mansur al-Hallâj was executed for his teachings.² Another Iranian, Al-Ghazzâlî (died 1111) is credited with healing the rift between Sufism andorthodoxy.³ThisusheredinthegreatestageofSufismexemplifiedbyIbnArabî(1165–1240), the Persian Shihâboddin Yahajâ Suhrawardî (1155–1191), andMuhammadJalâlal-Din,betterknownasRûmî(theRoman)(1207–1273).ThesecondofthesemetthesamefateasAl-Hallâj—martyrdomforhisbeliefs.Thelast of these,Rûmî, is oneof themostpopular figuresproducedby Islam.HefoundedaSufiorder(târiqa)inAsiaMinor,whicheventuallybecameknown,in

Turkish,astheMevlânaOrder.Thesearethefamouswhirlingdervishes.

THEBEKTASHIORDER

AcontemporaryofRûmî,HajiBektashVeli(1209–1271),wasfromNishpurinnortheasternIranandwasdrivenfromhishomebyMongolinvasionswhentheywent toAsiaMinor.Therehe foundeda sectofSufis thatbearshisname, theBektashis.TheywerepartoftheAlevimovementinAsiaMinor,themembersofwhichworshipinassemblyhouses(Turkishcemevi),haveceremoniesincludingmusic and dance, conduct rituals together with women, and use vernacularlanguages (notnecessarilyArabic) forphilosophicaldiscourseandpoetry.TheAlevimovementismarkedbyitsspiritoftoleranceandegalitarianism.

OvertimetheBektashiopennesstooutsideinfluencesmadeitaready-madetoolforculturalandmysticalsyncretism.

Another essential piece in the puzzle presented by the contents ofSebottendorff’sbook is theroleofHurufismin theBektashi tariqat.Hurufismmeans “letterism.” The founder of the Hurufis was the Persian FazlallahAstarabadi (1340–1394), who wrote in his native language under the nameNaimi.He, aswas the casewith several otherSufi pioneers,wasmartyredbyorthodox interests. It is thebasic ideaofHurufism thatGodrevealshimself intheword,andthatthewordismadeupofsoundsorletterswithaccompanyingnumericalvalues.Thesearemademanifest in thehumanbody throughcertainexercises.Onewhohasgainedproficiencyinthismaybeabletoactinagodlikemanner.

Additionally, we can recognize influences from the Qalandariyya Orderfounded by Yusuf al-Andalusi (died 1070) in Spain. This order is marked byantinomianpractices, the consumptionof intoxicants, and theuseofgamblingandgames.Italsopracticessomethingcalledshahedbâzî,“witnessplay,”whichinvolvesinpartthecontemplationofthebeautyofthehumanbody.

TheBektashiOrderwastheofficialsectoftheTurkishJanissaries—anelitefightingforcewithintheTurkisharmymadeupoforiginallynon-Muslimboyswho fell into Turkish hands. The Janissaries were active from 1365 to 1826whentheyweredisbandedduetothegreatinfluencetheyhadgainedinTurkish

politics. During their long history the Janissaries were most prominent in theBalkanregion.

It appears that over time the Bektashi sect or order developed in twodirections,with some embracing themore heretical aspects of the ordermorethanothers.Thishas led toageneralopinionorfeelingamongmoreorthodoxMuslimsthattherearebadBektashisandgoodones.Insomeversions,however,all Bektashis are bad. In fact, of course, it is merely a matter of historicaldevelopment.One thing that appears to enrage orthodoxMuslims themost isthattheso-calledbadBektashisacceptevenJewsamongthem.ThefactthattheTermudi clanwho befriended Sebottendorffwere Jews speaks to the fact thatthesewere indeed thebadBektashis.SomeBektashishaveembracednotonlyAlevi practices, but that ofHurufism, aswell. It shouldbenoted that in 1925Kamal Ataturk banned all Sufi orders as a part of secularizing the nation ofTurkey.Duetotheirnature,however,suchorderssurvivedandlaterresurfacedunscathed.

3

TheMysteriesoftheArabicLettersThe very idea of writing has tremendous power and influence in a culture.Humans have beenwriting for somewhat over five thousand years, yetmanyremain illiterate—even in Islamiccountrieswith theiroverwhelming reverencefor the book. TheArabs ofMuhammad’s timewere generally illiterate, as hewashimself.Arabicwritingwaslargelydevelopedtorecordhisrecitations—theQur’an.

We see that many traditional cultures resisted becoming literate. TheBrahmans of India resisted for centuries. Caesar says of the Druids that theywould not write down their sacred teachings, because the concepts would beprofanedbywriting.TheGermanicpeoplesusedaformofwritingformorethana millennium—the runes—before ever using them for overtly profane texts.Writing can eventually have the effect of demystifying language, and thusfurther impoverish the human spirit. Robert Logan in his bookThe AlphabetEffectpoints to thought features such as “abstraction, analysis, rationality, andclassification”¹astheessenceofthiseffectonthosewholearntouseaphoneticscript.This is especially trueof later users of the script.Earlypractitioners ofwritingwere,aswehavenoted,oftensomehowawareofwhatmightbelostinthe absorption of such a profound tool. For this reason extralinguistic (oftenmystical,religious,ormagical)traditionsweredevelopedtokeepthemysteryoflanguagealive.Weclearlysee this in theIslamicworld,but it isalsoapparentwhen we look at the Greek alphabet, the Germanic runes, and perhaps mostfamiliarlytheHebrewtraditionofKabbalah.

TheArabicwritingsystemisbaseduponthatoftheOldSemitictraditiontowhich the Hebrew script also belongs. The names of the letters go back to aCanaanitesource,but theArabicnamesdonotoriginallyconveyanymeaningbeyondmerely being abstract names for the letters. The letter names do later

takeonsecondarymeanings.TheorderingofthelettersisalsooriginallyuniquetotheArabictradition,andnotbasedontheOldSemitictradition.Foresotericpurposesthelettershaveattimesbeenrearrangedtoreflecttheoldertradition.

The script appears tohavebeenadapted from theKuficwriting system foruse in transcribing the text of the Qur’an. The first such transcriptions weremade on various objects in the Prophet’s lifetime, so tradition tells us. ThesewerecodifiedintoafixedtextbyabouttwodecadesafterMuhammad’sdeathintheseventhcentury,althoughtheoldestsurvivingactualmanuscriptsdatefromabout a century later. Oddly the chapters, or suras, were arranged from thelongest to theshortest.As regards themysterious“abbreviated letters” (Arabicmuqatta’at)wecannotknowforcertainthattheywereoriginallypartofthetextor a somewhat later addition.However, theywere present in the oldest extantmanuscripts.

TotheMuslimtheQur’anismorethanabook.AtranslationoftheQur’anisnot the Qur’an. It is only a holy book when written in Arabic. Almost allMuslims, regardlessofwhat theirnative language is,useArabicasa liturgicallanguageforprayer,andtheQur’aniswritteninArabicwithArabicletters.

The Arabic writing system came to be used to represent many of thelanguages of the peoples the Islamic Arabs conquered—either militarily ordiplomatically.Persianadapted theArabicbyaddinga few letters to representsoundsnotfoundinArabic.Hindustani(Urdu)followedsuit.Turkiclanguagessimilarly adopted the Arabic script—although most of them now use eitherformsoftheRomanorCyrillic(Russian)alphabet.

MYSTICALMEANINGSOFARABICLETTERS

Besides the tradition of the abbreviated letterswhichwewill explore in somedetail below, there are many widespread teachings concerning the mysticalmeanings of the Arabic letters amongMuslims—especially in Sufi orders, ofcourse.

When approaching the science of letters (Arabic ‘ilm âl-Huruf or ‘ilm-âl-abjad)itismostfundamentaltoknowthatanArabicletterismadeupofthreebasiclevels:

1.Shape2.Sound3.Number

Any interpretationormeaningderives frommystical traditions involving theseelements. From a religious point of view the lettersmake up the parts of thewordofGodbywhichhecreatesandshapestheuniverse.

The symbolism of the moon has always been important to Islam. It sohappens that the twenty-eightphasesormansionsof themoonare reflected inthe fact that there are twenty-eight letters in the Arabic alphabet. There aretwenty-nineifwecountthehamza.Itisalsotruethattherearetwenty-ninesurasthathavetheabbreviatedlettersattachedtothem.Thesemattersareunlikelytobecoincidences.ThereisnooneexplanationofthesethingsinIslamictradition,but many Sufi teachers have used these features in their philosophies andpractices.WeonlyoffersomeoftheseideastoillustratetherichnessofMuslimletter symbolism, ofwhich the science of the key to the abbreviated letters isonlyonepart.

MYSTICINTERPRETATIONSOFTHEARABICLETTERS

In the following sections the twenty-nine Arabic letters will be depictedfollowed by a standard transcription in the Roman alphabet, the name of theletter and it numerical values, and the set of abbreviated letters said tocorrespond to that letter. Then there are other symbolic or mystical attributesascribedtotheletter.Regardingthenumericalvaluesthatappearinparentheses,the first is the value according to the normal or Moroccan system, and thesecondisthataccordingtotheEgyptiansystem,whichreflectsatraditionmoreinlinewithotherSemiticalphabeticnumerology.

Aalif (1/1)ALM(sura2)Divineaspectsascribed toA:divineessence, thefirst,theintellect,thepen

Bbâ (2/2)ALM(sura3)AspectsofGodattributed toBare the subtle, thejinn

T tâ (3/400) HM (sura 41) Attributes of God corresponding to T are thereckoner,theonewhocausescontraction,thesphereofether,andmeteors

Ththa(4/500)HMOSQ(sura42)DivineandcosmicaspectsascribedtoTharetheonewhonourishesandtheplanets

Jjim(5/3)ALMS(sura7)TheaspectsofGodandcosmoslinkedtoJaretheindependentandtheheavenaroundthezodiac

Hha (6/8)ALR(sura14)Divineandcosmicattributesare the lastand theuniversalsubstance

Khka(7/600)HM(sura43)Aspectsofthedivineandofthecosmosarethewiseandtheveryideaofform

Ddal(8/8)ALR(sura10)Aspectsofthecosmosandofthedivineinclude:theevident,theseventhheaven,themoon,andtheabodeofAdam

Dhdhal(9/4)HM(sura44)Attributesof thedivineandof theorderof theworldaretheonewhohumblesandtheanimals

Rra(10/200)S(sura38)Divineandcosmiccorrespondencesarethegiverofforms,thefifthheaven,Venus,andtheabodeofJoseph

Zza (20/7)ALMR(sura13)ThecorrespondingnameofGod translates asthelivingandthecosmiclinkisair

Ssin (30/60)ALM(sura29)Thedivineattribute is theonewhogives lifeandthecosmiccorrespondenceiswater

Sh shin (40/300) HM (sura 40) The divine correspondence is called thepowerfulandthecosmiclinkiswiththeheavenofthefixedstars

Ssad (50/90)ALM(sura32)TheattributeofGod is theonewho laysandthecosmiccorrespondenceisEarth

D dad (60/800) HM (sura 45) The divine name is the knowing and thecosmicattributesarethesecondheaven,Jupiter,andtheabodeofMoses

Tta(70/9)HM(sura41)Thedivineattributeisthereckonerandthecosmic

correspondencesarethesixthheaven,Mercury,andtheabodeofJesus

Zza(80/900)HM(sura46)TheattributeofGodhereisthepreciousandthecosmicmeaningismetalsandminerals

‘ayn(90/70)ALM(sura30)Thedivineattributeisthehiddenandthecosmicconceptisuniversalnature

Gh ghain (100/1000) Q (sura 50) The corresponding name of God is themanifestandthecosmicmeaningisuniversalbody

Ffa(200/80)ALM(sura31)ThenameofGodisthestrongandthecosmiclinkistheAngels

Q qaf (300/100) YS (sura 36) Here the divine attribute is the one whoencompassesallandthecosmicmeaningisthethrone

K kaf (400/20) TH (sura 20) The divine attribute is the grateful while thecosmicmeaningisthepedestal

L lam (500/30)TSM(sura26)ThenameofGodhere is thevictoriousandthecosmicmeaningsarethethirdheaven,Mars,andtheabodeofAaron

Mmim(600/40)TS(sura27)Thedivineattributeistheonewhogathersandthecosmicsignificanceisman

Nnun (700/50) TSM (sura 28)Here the name ofGod is the light and thecosmicmeaningsarethefourthheaven,thesun,andtheabodeofHermes

Hha(800/5)ALR(sura11)Thedivineattribute is theonewhocalls forth,whilethecosmiccorrespondencesaretheuniversalsoulandtheguardedtablet

Wwaw (900/6) ALR (sura 12) Here the divine attribute is the one whopossesses sublime degrees and the cosmic commentary is the hierarchicaldegreesofexistence,nottheirmanifestation

Y ya (1000/10) KHYOS (sura 19) The name of God is the Lord and thecosmiccorrespondencesarethefirstheaven,Saturn,andtheabodeofAbraham

hamza (no numerical value) N (sura 68) This falls outside of Ibn Arabî’s

cosmologicalsystem,butisapartofthescienceofthekey

If these letters are rearranged in the so-called secret, or Egyptian, order, thenumberofthesuratowhicheachsetofabbreviatedletterscorrespondswillbesequential.

TherehavebeenmanysuchdescriptionsofthesymbolicmeaningsofArabicletters over the centuries; their authority depends upon one’s faith in theparticularteacherwhoseinsightthedescriptionsrepresent.Thereiscertainlynoorthodoxstandard.ThislistrepresentstheteachingsofIbnArabîasfoundinhistreatise on astrology.² To this list has been added the transcription of theabbreviated letters that figure soprominently inSebottendorff’sbook.Wewillreturntotheseintheirownsectionbelow.

THEABBREVIATEDLETTERS

AmongthemysteriesoftheQur’anfewaregreaterthanthatofthemuqatta’at,orabbreviatedletters.Manytheorieshavebeengeneratedover thecenturies toexplain them. None is universally accepted, and the orthodox or conservativeMuslimtheologiansrefusetoacceptanyonetheoryovertheothers.Theyprefertodesignatethemasbeinginscrutablemysteries.

One article to be found on the Internet(http://thedisconnectedletters.wordpress.com)describeselevendifferenttheoriespurportingtoexplainthemuqatta’at,withoutevenmentioningtheonefoundinthis book. More common theories as to their meaning include that they aremnemonicdevicessummarizingthecontentsofagivensura,thattheyareaidsfororderingthetextoftheQur’an,thattheyareorthographicexamplesofhowtowritecertainletters,thattheyarenamesoftheeditorsofthesura,orthattheyindicatehowthesuraistoberecited.OthermoremysticalexplanationsarethatonlyAllahknowswhat theymean, that theyhavenumerical or numerologicalsignificance,thattheyalludetoEgyptianhieroglyphics,orthattheyaremysticalsigns of unknown significance.Apparently these letters have been amatter ofspeculationforcenturies.Mostofthisspeculation,however,appearsinwritingsinArabic,Persian,orUrdu.ItisknownthatvariousSufiorders,aswellastheBaha’i religion, have school- or sect-specific interpretations. The theory

presentedinthisbookcanonlypurporttobeonesuchexample.Itdoeshavetheadvantageofbeingatheorywithaveryfocusedandunifiedpurpose.Manyoftheothertheoriesstartoutasplausibleconcepts,butseemtobreakdowninthespecificsasfarastheirconsistencyisconcerned.

Muqatta’atintheQur’anSeriousdiscussionsoftheabbreviatedletterscannotdispensewithadescriptionofthemastheyappearinthetextoftheQur’an.Historicallythemuqatta’atwerepresent in theQur’an from its first editionmade by theCalifUthman around653.It isunclearwhoisresponsiblefortheirpresence.Abbreviationofknownphrases was common in early Arabic literature, but the possibilities forinterpretingtheabbreviatedlettersinthiswayaretoovastandtooarbitrarytobeverymeaningful.

Thefollowingfactsabout theabbreviatedletters leavelittledoubt that theirmeaningsareintimatelyconnectedtothestructureoftheArabicwritingsystemitself. There are twenty-eight or twenty-nine letters in the Arabic alphabet,dependingonwhether thehamzaiscounted.Fourteendifferent lettersoccur inthelistoftheabbreviatedletters:

Fourteenis,ofcourse,exactlyhalfoftwenty-eight.Theabbreviatedlettersoccurat the beginnings of twenty-nine different suras. The table below shows thefourteendifferentcombinationsofabbreviatedletters.

Muqatta’at Sura

SA 38

QA 50

NA 68

TAHA 20

TAS 27

YAS 36

40

41

42

HAM 43

44

45

46

2

3

ALAM 29

30

31

32

10

11

ALAR 12

14

15

TASAM 26

27

ALAMAS 7

ALAMAR 13

KAHAY’S 19

HAM‘OSAQ 42

Note: The spellings on the above list are the more standardtranscriptions. (seeTable)The spellings given bySebottendorff in thistext.

In theQur‘an, thealif (A) occurs in these formulaswritten as a horizontallineabove the letteror letters(ā).Thismakes theformulas intopronounceableforms and showshow, for example, thebasic formula “alm”becomes “alam.”This indicates that the formulas could be pronounced as depicted inSebottendorff’stext(seeTable).

Mostof theseformulasareeasyenough topronounce.TheonlydifficultiesposedforEnglishspeakersaretheglottalstop‘Orepresentedbytheletter‘ein,transliteratedhereas‘O,andtheQ(qaf).Theglottalstopisapauseinspeech.Itoccurs,forexample,inCockneyEnglishwater,pronouncedwa’er.Thesoundoftheqafismadebypronouncingk,butfartherbackanddowninthethroat.

PossibleSymbolicMeaningsoftheMuqatta’atInhismonumentaltranslationoftheQur’an,A.YusufAliofferssomenotesonthe possible meanings of the abbreviated letters. He, like most orthodoxcommentators,insiststhattheseinterpretationsareonlyconjecturalandthattheultimatemeaningsofthesemysterioussignsremainunknowable.

ALMThisreferstothemysteryofthebeginningandtheend,thepastandthefuture,lifeanddeath.

ALMSThisformulaistheALMplustheletterS,whichindicatesthatthesurainquestioncontainsanarrativeorstorythatillustratestheprincipleofALM.

ALMRAlicomments:“HerethereseemstobeacombinationofthegroupsALMandALR.Weconsiderherenotonly thebeginnings(A), themiddle (L)andtheend(M)ofman’sspiritualhistory,butalsotheimmediatefutureoftheinteriorofourorganization...”³

KHYOS It is thought that the first four letters refer to the names of thevarious prophets mentioned in sura 19, which is the only one with thesemuqatta’at.ThefinalSindicatesthepresenceofstoriesabouttheseprophets.

THWith the vowels this reads: ta ha, and is an interjectionmeaning “oh,man!”Thisreferstothesubjectofthesura,Moses,whoisinspiritualcrisis.

TSMYusufAliisnotsatisfiedwiththisinterpretation,butitseemscommontointerprettheselettersasreferringtoTur-i-Sînîn(MountSinai),plusthenameMoses.Thisisthethemeofsuras26and28.

TSIftheTSMinterpretationistrue,thenTSsimplyreferstoMountSinai.

YSYasinisconsideredamystictitleoftheProphetMuhammad.

S The interpretation of this letter as meaning stories or narratives, whichoccursintheformulasALMSandKHYOS,fitshereinsofarasthecontentofsura38hastodowithstoriesaboutDavidandSolomon.

HMThisoccursinaseriesofsevensuras(40–46).Theircommonthemeisajuxtapositionofgoodtoevil,faithtounfaith.

Q Yusuf Ali cites the interpretation that this stands for the Arabic phraseQudhiya-amru,“thematter has been decreed.”This reflects the eschatologicalcontentofsura50,towhichitisprefixed.

NTheletternamenûncanmeanfishoraninkholderinArabic.ThefactthatthePenorNûnisalsothetitleofthissura(68)strengthensthisinterpretation.

HM‘OSKThisuniquecombinationappearsonlybeforesura42.ItisamongaseriesofHMchapters.Thesignificanceof‘OSKisobscure.

Inourdescriptionof themysticalmeaningsof theArabic lettersderived fromthe teachings of IbnArabî appeared descriptions of theQuranicmuqatta’at toeachoftheindividualletters.Again,thatisjustonemoreorder-orsect-specificteaching.ButthefactthatthenumberofusesoftheabbreviatedlettersandthenumberoflettersintheArabicalphabetcoincideislikelytobesignificant.

Theoverridingandabidingtruthabouttheabbreviatedlettersisthattheyare,

andremainmysteries.Mostoftheattemptstomakesenseofthempresentedinthissectionarebasedtoonedegreeoranotheronrationalthoughtandin-depthanalysis leading to some sort of esoteric insight. The Bektashi doctrine inSebottendorff’swork takesanotherapproach. Itbypasses—in trueSufi fashion—therationalphasealtogether.Itsimplyinstructsthepractitionertodo—andtoreceiveesotericknowledge(gnosis)andspiritualdevelopmentdirectly.Itspeaksofusingmystic signsorgestures tounravel themysteriescontained inwrittentextsandsymbols.Inotherwordsthepolesarereversedhere.Theirrationalanddirectly experiential unravels the mysteries contained in intellectual material.NothingofwhathasbeensaidaboutthepossiblesymboliccontentoftheArabicletters or of the muqatta’at matter at all. The abbreviated letters cannot beunderstoodoranalyzedbytherationalmind.Theyareputtheretobeused.TheyareirrationalkeysembeddedinthetextoftheQur’aninordertopreservethemfor eternity, without betraying their mysteries. As such, although mostintellectualattemptstoexplaintheabbreviatedlettersspendagooddealofeffortto remain religiouslyorthodox, themostunorthodoxapproachmaybe theonethat takes the sentiment of religious commentators most to heart—that themuqatta’ataremysteriesknownonlytoAllahandrevealedtoMuhammad.

4

AlchemyandSufismAlchemyasitbecameknowninthelateMiddleAgesandRenaissancetimesinEurope is clearly an influence felt directly from theMuslimworld. Theworditself is derived from Arabic al-kimiyâ, “the art of transmutation.” This wasborrowed intoArabic from theGreekχημεια (khêmeia), “the (Egyptian) art oftransmutation.”TheartwasascribedtoEgypt,althoughmostevidenceforwhatbecame known as alchemy is derived from Greek sources generated inAlexandria and Harran, a place in the east to which pagan philosophers inGreecefledwhentheChristiansclosedtheirschools.

A quasi-mythical figure named Jabîr ibn Hayyân (known in the West asGeber),whomight be a conglomerate personamade up from severalMuslimwriters on alchemy andmagic, lived sometime in the eighth to tenth century.Arabicworks on alchemybegan to be translated intoLatin around 1150. Sufimasters such as Mansûr al-Hallaj, Aviccena, and Ibn Arabî emphasized thespiritualdimensionofthealchemicalart.

InalchemyweessentiallyseeanamalgamationofancientGreekscienceandchemistry (using the primitive periodic table of Fire-Air-Earth-Water) and theattempt to transform the individual human being using esoteric techniques. Ifphysical objects could be transmuted from one substance to another—if leadcould be turned to gold—then the human soul could likewise be transformedfromabasestateintoanoble,godlikestateusinganalogousformulas.

In fact it is far more accurate to see no distinction between the so-calledphysicalandspiritual transmutationsbecausebothof theseapparentcategoriesofbeingbelongtothesameunity.Physicalgoldandperfectionofthespiritualbeingarebothreflectionsofasinglehighersymbol—thelight.Thisidea,quiteesotericintheWest,waswellpreparedforintheIslamicworldwithitsessentialdoctrine of the oneness of being (Arabic wahdat-al-wujûd). Within the

overarchingcontext,outerphysicalmanipulationsand innerspiritualprocessescanbeunderstoodasequivalents.¹

So when Sebottendorff writes of medieval alchemical processes inconjunction with the science of the key, he is perfectly within the bounds ofhistorical possibilities. The well-known writer on Sufism, Idries Shah, in hisbook The Sufis, outlines several examples of Sufi knowledge passing intomedievalChristendom.²

TheTemplarsaremost likelyamong theWestern institutions influencedbytheSufis.LegendhasitthattheydiscoveredsomethinglinkingthemselvestothemysteriesofSolomonintheirexcavationsoftheTempleMount,atwhichtheyhad theirheadquarters inJerusalem.Thatanythingwouldremainundiscoveredafter almost five hundred years of Islamic occupation of Jerusalem and theTempleMountseemshistoricallyunlikely.MuslimsconqueredJerusalemin638and the Templars were established in 1120. What is more likely is that theKnightsTemplarencounteredlivingrepositoriesofwisdomamongtheMuslimsfromwhomthey learnedsecret teachings.Sucha theorywouldexplainagooddeal,includingthebasisforsomeofthechargesbroughtagainstthemin1307,whichledtotheirofficialdestruction.

ALCHEMYEASTANDWEST

The alchemical methods found in Sebottendorff’s The Practice of AncientTurkish Freemasonry remind one of the Chinese and Indic methods found inTaoist alchemy and yoga practices.³ Some have thought that these traditionsrepresentedArabic influence in theseEasterncultures,but this isprobablynotthecase.AlchemicaltextsintheEastdatefromasearlyasthefirstmillenniumBCE,soitisobviousthatthepagantraditionsofEgyptandGreecepassedintotheseculturesalongthetraderoutesfromaveryearlydate.Islamicalchemyisthe culmination of a long process, which in turn gave rise to a new cycle ofinterestinthisartintheWest.

InChinese alchemywe see a clear tradition of interiorizing the alchemicalprocess within a symbolic human physiology. Breath work in which a vitalelementiscirculatedbetweenheaven,locatedinthehead,andearth,locatedinthe lower abdomen, with an intermediary level in the heart, or center, is a

fundamental part of Chinese alchemy. The end product is an individualpossessedofanimmortalspiritbody.

TheseideaswereprobablyintroducedintoChinafromIndia.Therewefindarefined esoteric human physiology—for example, the doctrine of chakras,connectedwiththepracticeofyoga.Againtheexercisesofyogaareintendedtoproduceanimmortalbodyandaperfectedbeing.

In the East the interiorized symbolism is obvious and expressed as such.Perhapsthisisbecausetheauthorswerenottryingtohidetheirintentionsorthenature of their teachings from disapproving eyes. In theWest, however,mostalchemicaltextsalwaysappeartobedealingwithsomeexteriormanipulationofmaterial substances. Thus they often concealed their true meaning. The Sufitradition represented by Sebottendorff in The Practice of Ancient TurkishFreemasonry is not trying to hide anything. However, its fundamental theoryremainsobscuretothenoninitiate.

THEORYOFMYSTICALALCHEMY

Ithaslongbeenrecognizedthatthealchemicalprocesswasoftenaimedtowardpersonal transformation and that the instrument was not a piece of technicalapparatus, but the humanbody.The science of the keyworks in amiraculousway. The process is alchemical, but it is not forced by visualizations or overtintentions.Itjusthappensiftheformulasareappliedasdescribed.Theprocesshas a clear aim; a discernible model and method of operation leading to thestatedaimof individualcompletion.Theory,assuch, is relativelyunimportant,although the various doctrines surrounding the rich traditions that inform thescienceofthekeycouldkeeptheoreticalthinkersbusyforalifetime.

The aim of thework is stated as being the spiritualization ofmatter, or inother words, the raw uneven stone is transformed into a cubical one.Sebottendorff continually refers to various metaphors for the purpose of theworkbeingenlightenmentandself-completion.

The model of operation used to achieve this goal can be fairly easilydiscerned. Obviously the body is seen as the instrument of the alchemicalprocess. This is often completely obscure inWestern descriptions of alchemy.

Perhapsthisisbecausethealchemistswereattemptingtoconcealthetruenatureoftheirwork,asitwouldrivaltheaimsofreligionitself.IntheEast,inChinaand India, the idea that the location of the alchemical operation is within thehumanbodyisoftenmadeovertlyclear.InthecaseoftheexercisespresentedbySebottendorff it is obvious that the process occurs within the body of thepractitioner.Thelaboratoryinstrumentsmosteasilycomparedtothefunctionforthebodyinthisprocessaretheathanorandthealembic.Theformerisasortofoven,with a fire belowand a crucible in themiddlewith vapors rising to theupperlevelsoftheinstrument.Analembicisaninstrumentofdistillation—theprocess by which, for example, alcohol is produced. The word athanor isderived from Arabic al-tannur, “oven.” Alembic is similarly derived from anArabicword, al-anbiq, which was borrowed from a Greek term αμβυξ (fromambyx,meaning“still”).Ineithercase,energy(fire)isusedtocombine,mix,orseparate basic substances and transforms them into somethingmore subtle orspiritual.

ThemethodofthepracticesoftheancientTurkishFreemasonsdemonstratesa similar process. The spirit is distilled frommatter. This is done by drawingdownandsealingoff levelsofenergy in theesotericcirculatory systemof thebodybymeansof theformulasprescribedbytheQuranicmuqatta’at.Thefactthattheselettersareusedforthisesotericpurposeisofthehighestsignificance.IntheseformulasthewholepoweroftheBookiscontainedandcodified.Theyworkinamiraculousfashionthatdoesnotrequirethealchemisttovisualizeorforcephenomenatohappenwithinhissystem.Rathertheprocesshappensasamatterofcourseiftheinstructionsarefollowedexactly.InthepracticalsectionsofthetextSebottendorfflaysoutaclearandprecisecurriculumforattainingthisgoal according to a method he received from the Oriental Freemasons orBektashidervishes.

ThePracticeofAncientTurkishFreemasonry

THEKEYTOTHEUNDERSTANDINGOFALCHEMY

APresentationoftheRitual,Doctrine,andSignsofRecognitionamongtheOrientalFreemasons

BaronRudolfvonSebottendorff

1924

Introduction

Libellihabeantsuafata —themanuscriptbelongstothebook.Themanuscriptofthisbookhadalreadybeencompletedinanotherversionatthebeginningofthewar, butallsortsofopposingeventspreventeditsappearance.NowanotcompletelyvoluntarystayinSwitzerlandisgivingmetheopportunitytorevisethemanuscriptandprepareitforthepress.

And it was good that the book did not appear earlier. Souls have becomemore receptive. There is one discovery after another now, and each is adeathblow to thematerialistic philosophy and bogusmonism. Just yesterday Iread that they were successful in splitting the nitrogen atom, dividing it intohydrogenandhelium.

Thosewhohavebeenpayingattention toevents in theOrientover the lastfew years must continually wonder in amazement: “How is it possible that apeoplesuchastheTurks,whoaren’tevenahomogenouspeople,havebeenabletodevelopsuchperseverance,turnitagainstaworldofenemies,andeventuallycarryittovictory?Anyoneknowinghowexhaustedthepeoplealreadywerebytheongoingburdensofwar,whichonlyaMuslimcanbear,whentheyenteredtheWorldWarmustalsobeamazedbytheirpatienceandenduranceunderthemostdifficultconditions.What is thenthedifferencebetweenGermany,whichhasalmosthad tosuccumbunder theyokeofahorrendouspeace,andTurkey,whichrejectedasimilarpeaceandfoughtontoobtaindifferentconditions?”

Themodern intellectual, schooled inmaterialism,will thanklessly strive tofind the underlying reason for this because he is always focusing onexternalities.Hecan innowayunderstand that it is the spiritualguidanceandtrainingalone,whicheveryMuslimstrivesforfromhisyouthforward,thathavebornehimthroughthesehardtimes.Weareexperiencingtheshamefulspectacle

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*3

ofagreatpartof theGermanpeople throwing themselves into thearmsof theBolsheviks expecting every sort of benefit from those who have declaredmaterialism to be God, and we see that Turkey, this small, weakened land,certainlymadeuseof theaid theBolsheviksafforded them,but that theywerefar from throwing themselves into thearmsofBolshevism.On thecontrary, itfindsnoplaceamongthem.

We see that one people, which had been counted as one of the mostintellectuallyadvanced,decidedtotakejustsuchastepbackward,whileanotherpeople—previously scorned as being inferior—clearly recognized this step asruinous and declined to participate, and not only rejected the step in itsparticulars,butinitsentiretyaswell.

“Just tetheryourassandcommendit toGod,”goesaTurkishproverb.TheWesthasalwaysbeenofthebeliefthatIslamisstagnantasareligion.Nothingisfurther from the truth; Islam ismore viable than theChristian religion. It hasprovenitsviability.ThefollowingexplorationclearlyshowsusthewellspringofthepowerofIslam;itisuptoustomakethewellspringusefultotheChristianreligionaswell.Itwaslivingwaterfromthiswellspringthatbroughteverythingto fruition in the early period of the Church, and which produced the mostglorious flowering of the Middle Ages; only rationalism and materialismblockedthiswellspring.

I will not be committing any sacrilege or profanation if I reveal thiswellspring.Whoeverreadsthroughthisbookattentively,andresolvestodotheexercises shownhere,can innowaymisuse thepowersacquired, foronly theonewhoisupstanding,courageous,anddeterminedwillbeabletoperseveretotheendandprofitfromtheexercises.ByprofitIdonotmean,ofcourse,externalsuccess;thatonlymakesitsentrancewhenapersonhasbecomegoodinhisverycore.

The exercises of the Oriental Freemasons are nothing other than work ononeself, for ennobling, and for the acquisition of higher knowledge. From thesubsequentexplanationsitwillbecomeclearthat theycontainthesecretoftheRosicrucians and alchemists, and demonstrate the preparation of the stone,whichiswhattheseekerislongingfor.

Isaid:Nothingother—butthatisthehighest,themostuniquethingthatthe

seekerforknowledgecanstriveafter.Iwillnotrequirefaithinmywordsfromthe reader, but rather I will provemy explanations. I will prove that OrientalFreemasonryauthenticallypreservestothisdaytheancientdoctrinesofwisdom,which modern Freemasonry has forgotten, for it must be said here at thebeginningthattheFreemasonicConstitutionof1717wasadetourfromtherightway.

Lawsmade from the outside cannot provide for the salvation of humanity.Theselawsarealwaysbeingobliteratedbyotherlawsandarealwayshavingtobereplacedbydifferentlaws—butratheritistheworkfromtheinsideoutalonethat can bring us salvation. Those who can consciously live according to thedivinelawswillperceivethisasaduty,notassomethingcoerced,andwillactforthehighestbenefitofmankind,whichwillactuallybethehighestbenefittotheindividualaswell.Thedivinelawsare,however,absolutelyunambiguous.

TheonlyrequirementImakeofreaders is that theybeawareof theirunitywithin God. Without this awareness the exercises are useless. Whoever stillbelieves in the old monism, as propagated by Bückner and Haeckel, is justrequested,iftrueknowledgeisindeedbeingsought,toreadwithoutprejudiceanopponentofthisview,suchasSurya:WahrerundFalscherMonismus.

And now go forth, you little book, the hour is auspicious. I began thisintroduction on the third of February 1924 at 12:30 midday at latitude 46ºnorth and longitude 9º east. Righteously bring salvation to the multitudethroughtrueknowledge.

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Practice

Islammeanssubmission;thatis,submissiontothewillofGod.ThebelievercanjustcommendhimselftothewillofGodsimplybecauseitisthewillofGod.Hefeelssecureanddoesnotaskwhythisissoorwhythatisdifferent—hefulfillsthedivinelawsimplybecauseitistherevealedlawofGod.Heacceptshisfateasbeingimmutableand,atthemost,attemptsbymeansofprayertoimploreformercyfromGodwhentheburdenbecomestoogreatforhim.Butthesignofthetrue believer will consistently be that he does not ask for release from theburden,butratherforthestrengthtobeabletobearit.“Leadusinthewayofthosewhodonoterr,”theProphetprescribestothosewhopray.

Thisfaithfulconditioniswhatismostworthytostriveafteraccordingtoallreligioussystems.Actuallytheonewhoisfaithfulisalsothemosthappy,istheone theProphet valuesmost highly, and represents this as the only goal—andthereforethisreligioniscalledIslam.

Now,besidesbeliefthereissomethingelsethatmakesitequallypossibleforapersontoyieldtohisfate;itisnolongerfaithbutknowledge—knowledgeofthedivinelaws.Theonewhoknowsnolongerfulfillsthislawblindly,butratherknowingly.Thetrulywiseoneisveryneartothebeliever,butissuperiortothebeliever.

TheProphetcreatedaverywiseinstitutiontoopenthewaytoknowledgeforeveryonewhotrulyseeksit.AccordingtothissystemintheQur’anheprovidedexplicitsignsthatpointthewaytoknowledgeandthathavetorevealthelawof

creationtoonewhogainsknowledgefromwithinone’sownbeing.Thehighestform of knowledge will always lead the wise to yield to divine providencewithoutcomplaint—thatis,toIslamthroughknowledge.

Inwhat followswewillconcernourselveswith thispath.How theProphethimselfcameintopossessionofthisknowledgeisrecountedintheformofthefollowinglegend.

Not far fromMecca there lived at the timeofMuhammad an agedhermit,BenChasi,whowas teaching theProphet.When the lessonwasover hegavehimametallicplateuponwhichwereengravedformulas,themeaningofwhichthethenthirty-year-oldProphethadjustlearned.Soonthereafterthehermitdied,but Muhammad kept on teaching the secret of these formulas in the mostintimate circles. Abu Bekr, the first caliph, inherited the plate and theknowledge, which only spread within a small circle after the death of theProphet:thisisthesecretknowledgeoftheOrientalFreemasons.

In order to ensure against the loss of the formulas the Prophet distributedthemthroughouttheQur’anaccordingtoaprecisekey.Thekeyisknown,andthe formulas arepreserved in theQur’an, such that thepossibility remains forreconstructingthesystematanytime.

The formulas are preserved in the so-called abbreviated letters, themeaning of which is debated among orientalists as well as differentcommentators. Some are of the opinion that these letters are signatures.Individual suras certainly originated under highly variable conditions: theProphet dictated some, others he recitedwhile friendswrote them down, stillothers were recorded later from memory. When the suras were collected theletters that indicated the originator of the surawould have remained, but nowwithouttheirmeaning.

SomeEuropeanscholarsareoftheviewthattheselettersrepresentnotesbythescribe.ThusALMissupposedtomean:amara limuhamed—“Muhammadcommandedmetowrite.”

Arabic commentators view these letters as holy abbreviations. Thus ALMmean: allah latif madshid—“God is good”—or as another thinks: ana lahualamu—“IamtheGodwhoknows.”

Forothersthelettersaretobeinterpretedinakabbalisticsense.Certainlyall

*5

thesurasinwhichtheselettersoccurcontaindefiniteindicationsthattheyhavesomethingspecialtosay.

The Arabic language, like all the Semitic languages, does not write thevowels.Ifonedoesnotreadtheselettersassuch,butratheraswords,theyyieldnomeaning. For this reason people have been scratching their heads over themeaningoftheseletters.Butinactualitythesearethesecretformulasconcealedin the letters that someone who knows the truth can now easily read andpronounce. All of these formulas are compounds of the vowelA with one orseveralconsonants.

Now the secret doctrine shows that the sura in which the formula occursspecifiesthenumberofdaysinthesystemthegivenformulaistobepracticed.ThetableoftheProphetappearsonthenextpage.

Thenumberofdaysresultsintwenty-fivelunarmonthsinwhichthreedaysaremissing.Onthese threedays theonewhowasdedicated to theseexerciseswasoccupieddoingsomethingelse,towhichwewillreturnlater.

Numberofthesura Nameofthesura Formula

2 TheCow alam

3 Amran’sFamily alam

7 ElAraf alamas

10 Jonah alar

11 Houd alar

12 Joseph alar

13 Thunder alamar

14 Abraham alar

15 A-hijr alar

19 Mary kahayaas

20 Taha taha

26 ThePoet tasam

27 TheAnt tas

28 TheNarration tasam

29 TheSpider alam

30 TheGreeks alam

31 TheWise alam

32 Adoration alam

36 yasin yas

38 Sad sa

40 TheBeliever cham

41 RevelationsWellExpounded cham

42 Consultation chamasak

43 GoldAdornments cham

44 Smoke cham

45 Kneeling cham

46 Alahqaf cham

50 Qaf ka

68 TheFeather na

822days 14differentformulas

The formulas arepresent in twenty-nine suras.For thosewhodonotknowanything about astrology it is noted that astrology knows of twenty-eightmansionsofthemoon,whichamountstothetwenty-nine-daysynodicalrotationof themoon. The PersianmysticMahmudShebisteri, aMelMevlevi dervish,saysinthegulshenras:

AndbecauseCancerfounditselfrelatedtotheMoonItbounditselfbyheadandtailtotheMoonThroughstationstwenty-eightgoesitscourseItpositionsitselfinoppositiontotheSun’slightThenitshrivelsuplikeadate-stalkAsGodordained,whoisalonetheonewhowiselyContemplatesthiscorrectly,asaperfectmanUnderstandsitwell,thereisnothingvainaboutitSeekonlyintheQur’an,thereyouwillfindtheplanWhoevercan’tfindithasweakinsight.

Astrologically the zodiacal sign Cancer is the house of the moon, whichrepresentsthesoul.Herethehouseisusedforthehumanbody.Thetwenty-eightstationsthatrunthesoulthroughthesecrettableoftheProphetcorrespondtothepathoftheMoon—everystationisequaltothetimespaninwhichaformulaisexercised. Thus the first station is the two-day exercise of alam, the secondstation likewise the three-dayexerciseofalam, the third station the seven-dayexerciseofalamas,andsoforth.

Thisisthepaththedervishorderisaccustomedtotaking.Thisnotonlyhastodowithageneralsortofknowledge,buttheyalsoattempttoacquirespecialpowersbymeansofaspecialpractice.However,forthemostpartthedervishesare people who strive after higher knowledge, and from whom the spiritualleadersofIslamwillbedrawn.

Iftheypassthetimeoftesting,whichusuallylasts825days,thentheywillreceivehigher initiation, if theyarecapableandif theyhavethedesire.Or,ontheotherhand,theyreceivemorespecializedinstructioninordertoattaincertainmagicalcharacteristics. If theyshownofurthercapabilities they just remain inthelowergradesoftheorder.

ThishigherinitiationistheexerciseofFreemasonry,anditis,aswewillseelater,theworkofthealchemistsandRosicrucians.

TheseexercisesarecharacterizedbytheuseofthethreesignsofrecognitionemployedbymodernFreemasons:sign,grip,andword.However, theyarenot

*6

signsofrecognition,notmeresymbolsinanycase,butrathermagicaloperationsdesignedtoinductthefinerradiationofprimordialpower—toincorporatethemintothebodyandtherebymakethebodymorespiritual;togivethebalanceofpowertothespiritoverthebody.

Thesignsarethreedifferentpositionsofthehand,knownbythevowelsthattheydepict.

I. TheIsign

Therighthandisinafistandfromthefisttheindexfingerisextendedstraightout;thehandisputinsuchapositionthatthefingerisdirectedstraightupwardintotheheightssothattheletterIisrepresented.

II. TheAsign

Thehandisheldinsuchawaythatallthefingerslayinaflatplane;thethumbisnowextendedso that it formsanangleof90degrees,a rightanglewiththelineoftheindexfinger.

III. TheOsign

Oneistobendthefingersandthumboftheangledhandinsuchawaythat the tip of the thumb just touches the tip of the index finger. Thethumb, index finger and the part of the handbetween these twodigitsformacircle,anO.

Thegripsareperformedinproximitytodifferentpartsofthebody.

I. TheNeckGrip

Oneplaces the angledhandon theneck in such away that the thumbtouches therightcarotidartery, the indexfinger lieson the larynx,andthe other fingers are in a flat planewith the index finger. The angledhand is withdrawn sharply with the index finger moving across thelarynxuntilthehandissituatedinapositionequalinheighttotherightshoulder,thenitisallowedtodropdown.

II. TheChestGrip

This grip is performed over the chestwith the angled right hand. Thecorrectheightof thegrip isobtainedwhenoneplaces theangled righthandin theneckgripand thenpositions theangled lefthand insuchawaythatthethumbjusttouchesthelittlefingeroftherighthand.Thatisjust the right height.Thegrip is sopositioned that the tipsof the fourfingersjusttouchtheleftarm,sothatthepalmislyingontheleftbreast.Thehandwiththeoutstretchedthumbisdrawnovertotherightuntilthefingertipsaretouchingtherightsideofthebody.

III. TheMiddleGrip

Present-day Masonry no longer uses this grip, which is performedsomewhat lower down than the chest grip.The right position is foundwhenoneplaces theangled righthand in themannerof thechestgripand then again places the angled left hand in such a way that theoutspreadthumbjusttouchesthelittlefingeroftherighthand.

IV. TheMaster,orBelly,Grip

Thisgripispositionedbythebreadthoftheangledhandlowerthanthemiddlegrip.Itismovedfrombelowthenavelupoverthesolarplexus,andthusperformedinamannersimilartothepreviousgrips.

ThewordshavealreadybeengivenintheQuranictable.Beforetheseformulascanbeused,however,onefirstusesthreevowels:

IAOandlaterthecompounds:

ssasoIandsiareonlyusedinconnectionwiththeIsign,AandsaonlyinconnectionwiththeAsign,andOandsoonlyinconnectionwiththeOsign.

A question is posed to anyone taking on these exercises that must beansweredwithin a time spanof threedays.Whether the studentmustundergo

furtherinstructionormayimmediatelyenterintotheexercisesdependsupontheanswertothisquestion.Theseexercisescanlastforaperiodoftimefromthreeto twenty-fivemonths: thisdependsentirelyon the student.Thereareactuallyveryprecise signsbywhichonecan tellwhetheronecanproceed,orwhetheronemust start over from the beginning. The first condition that must bemetuponbeginningtheexercisesispatience,thesecondperseverance,andthethirdcourage.

The numbers I give here represent the shortest times, which should becomparedtothenumbersonthetable.Abovealloneshouldbeonnoticethatthework should not be rushed. “TheDevil is involved in a hurried shop,” says aTurkishproverb.

The indispesable condition upon entering the exercises is faith inGod; theawareness that the individual isonewithGod. I repeat this reminder for thosewhowishtobegintheseexercises,whichinnocasecancauseharmtoanyonewhohasaselflessspirit.Buttheymaybeharmfultothosewhoundertakethemwiththeselfishintentiontodelveintosecretsthattheyarenotsupposedtoknow.In that case such personswill perform the exerciseswithout success andwillbecomeannoyedathavingspentmoneyonsuchaworthlessbook.

Theworkisdividedintothreeparts:

I. ThePreliminaryWork

II. TheMainWork

III. ThePursuantWork

THEPRELIMINARYWORK

Onestandsupright,formstheIsignandconcentrateshiswholeattentionontheuplifted fingerwhile continuing to think of nothing other than, I-I-I. Onewillsoonnotice that the fingerbegins tobecomewarm inamostpeculiar fashion.Whenthiswarmingbecomesnoticeable,oneallowsthehandtofallandafterawhiletheAsignisformed.OneshouldattempttovivifytheAinasimilarwayuntilonefeelsadrywarmthinthethumb.

Then one immediately forms theO and animates it in the same way. TheOriental,whosequestershimself in thesolitudeofhis târiqa (i.e.,ofadervishestablishment),willfeeldefinitesignsofthekindindicatedonthefirstday;theOccidental,whowilldotheexercisefornomorethanabouttenminutesinthemorningorevening,willneedafewdayslonger.

AssoonasthewarmingtakesplacethestudentmustformtheIandanimatethefingerwithsi-si-siuntil thewarmingsensationisfelt.Thestudent thenletsthehanddropandimmediatelyformstheA.Theangledhand is thenanimatedwithsa-sa-saandafterawhilethehandisguidedtotheneck,thehandgripismade, and the inducted rarified forces of nature are thereby conducted to theneck.During this the student constantly thinkssa-sa-sa, then sharply removesthehandandformstheO,which,afterbeinganimatedawhilewiththesyllableso-so-so,ismovedtothesolarplexusinthemastergrip.

This preliminarywork encompasses a time span of ten days, consisting ofthreedaysofanimationwiththesimplevowelsoundsandsevendayswiththesyllablemadeupofthevowelcompoundedwithS.

THEMAINWORK

This work is performed daily for five to ten minutes. Repeat the indicatedexercisesofthepreliminaryworkforsevendays.Afterthesixthdaymovetheindexfingerofyourangledhand,afterithasbeenanimatedbysa,toyournose.Ifyousmellaslightsulfurousodor,youcanproceed.Ifsuchisnotthecase,youmustexerciseforsevendayslonger.

Thisworkisperformedtenminutesdailyforfourteendays.TheIis formedandanimatedbysi-si-si.Whenwarmthisfelt thehandisdroppedandtheA isformed,animatedbytheformulaalam.Thehandismovedintotheneckgripattheneck,whileconstantlyrepeatingtheformula.Afterawhileremovethehandsharply.ThentheOisformedagainasbefore.Afterfourteendaysthebittertasteofmercuricchloridewillbeperceivediftheindexfingeroftheangledhandisplacedonthetongue.

The followingwork is performed tenminutes daily for fourteen days. Thestudent forms the I sign,which is animatedwithsi, then theA sign,which is

animatedwith:

twodaysalamtwodaysalamassevendaysalarthreedaysalamar

Afterthefirstfourdaystherewillbeaperceptiblesaltytastewhenoneputsthe index finger of the angled hand on the tongue. Then it is time to sharpenone’s vision. If the student perceives a black shadow, this part of thework isfinished.

Concerningthenextphaseofwork,thetableoftheProphetindicatesatimespanof696days.Dependingontheindividualsinvolved,itfluctuatesbetweenthismaximumtermandtheminimumofthreelunarmonths.SeetableIcomparethedataoftheRosariusminortablewiththatoftheProphet.Noexacttimespancanbeset,italldependsonobtainingcertainresults.Whentheseareobtained,thestudentgoeson;otherwisetheexerciseisrepeateduntil theindicatedcolorappears.Once the student has glimpsed the blackish shadow, this day is to becelebratedasthebeginningofanewlife—thestudentreceivesalodgename.

In the next period of time the chest and middle grips come into use. ThestudentanimatestheIsignforashortwhileandthenimmediatelyshiftsintoA,whichisanimatedwiththeindicatedformula.OnceonehasanimatedtheAsign,itisthenincorporatedintothebodybymeansofthechestgrip.Ifthecolorbeingaimed for is attained early, the other formulas are just left out and the learnergoesontothenextexercise.Sincethestudenthastoreporttotheteacherwhatisseen every day, verification is easy. The formulas to be practiced during thisperiodofworkare:

alar,kaha-ya-as,taha,tasam,tas-tasam.

The colors that the student slowly begins to see are as follows: out of theblackishshadowevolvesablue,thenalightredthatsoonfadesintoapalegreenthatbecomesfresherfromdaytoday.Oncethegreenappearsveryclearly,thisworkisfinished.

Thestudentchangestothemiddlegrip,withwhichtheformulasalam,yas,

sa,chamcome intouse.Thedevelopingcolorsshowan intricate interplayandfinallyfadeintoayellowishwhite.Bymeansofthemastergripandtheformulascham,cham-asak,ka thisyellowishwhite is transformed intoabrilliantwhite,whichthemysticsoftheOrientcannotpraiseenough.

THEPURSUANTWORK...

shall turn thewhite of themainwork into amagnificent red.The tableof theProphetindicatesthattheonlyformulaforthisisshortna.Thisgripiscalledtheclosinggripby themastersbecause it isusedat theendof thewholeworkingsession.Itisbeguntotheleftofthenavelandisthendrawnbackoverthenavel.Thewhitefadesintoadirtygray,thenitbecomesyellowforashorttimebeforedevelopingintoafullred.

WiththistheworkoftheOrientalMasonisfinished—theworkupononeself.Araw,unevenstonehasbecomeacubicalone.

Thiscurriculumisnottobeinterrupted.Thestudentmaynotleaveoutasingleday.MostoftheOrientalMasonshaveonlyprogressedthroughthelesserwork,attheconclusionofwhichthesignsofrecognitionarecommunicated.

Theseconsistofcertainwordsandsigns.HandgripsarenotknowntothembecauseOrientalsdonotgreeteachotherbyofferingtheirhands.IfonesuspectsthatanothermightbeabrotherMasonthenonemakestheI signbyextendingone’s index finger horizontally so that the other one sees it: the second onerespondsbyspreadingout the thumbof the righthand. It isdemonstrated thatbothhaveproventhemselvestoeachotherwhentheybothformthecircle, theO.

Ifyoufindacandle,aroundbowl,andanopencompassonthetableofanOrientalpersonyoucanbecertainthatyouareinthepresenceofaninitiate.

If an Oriental Mason wants the aid and counsel of a brother in a socialsituationwherenoone isknown, theMasonwill findabrotherbyplacing theangledrighthandnonchalantlyover theleftshoulder,approximatelywherethechestgripstarts.Ifoneisingreatdistress,theangledhandwillbeliftedoverthehead;oftenalsoliftingbotharmsupandholdingoutbothhands.Itisadutytorushatoncetotheaidofabrotherwhogivesthissign.

Another sign of recognition is the so-called fire sign,which ismadewhenonewishestogreetabrotherfromadistance.Oneholdsthelefthandstretchedout flat, lays the righthandon it, likewise flat, andnowmoves the righthandquicklyandenergeticallyalongthebackofthelefthand.

Theso-calledstarsign,whichismadeinthelodge,isformedwiththerighthandbyholdingthetwomiddlefingerstogether,spreadingapartthesmallandindexfingers,andspreadingthethumboutaswell.

Thewordsofrecognitionare:key,water,fire, level,black,white,red,rose,stone.Aswillbeunderstoodlater,thesewordsdescribetheentirework.AmongtheOrientalMasonstheworkiscalledthescienceofthekey,Ilmelmiftach,andtheMasonsthemselvesoftenrefertothemselvesassonsofthekey,BenielMim.

Atmeetingstheoldestsheikhpresidesandawarden,asteward,andarunnerare appointed. The warden has to ensure that the meeting is conductedundisturbed;thestewardtakescareoftheguests,supervisestheservants,andattheconclusionof thegatheringcollectsanoffering that isdividedbetween thewardenandtheservants.Therunnersupportsthewardenandthesteward.

Thesheikhopensthesessionwiththefiresignandthewordalam,whichtheBeni elMimactuallyuse to indicate: “Let’sbegin.”After thequestions to thewarden, the steward, and the runner as to whether everything is in order, thesheikh says: “My brothers, we are secure, we are provided for, and we areserved. The sun is shining, let us open heaven. Brother runner, hast thou thekey?”

“Worthymaster,IamtheI.”“Brotherwarden,hastthouthekey?”“Worthymaster,IamtheA.”“Brothersteward,hastthouthekey?”“Worthymaster,IamtheO.”“Mybrothers,without thekey there isnoknowledge. I amwater, fire, and

level.Whatareyou?”Thewardenanswers:“Weareblack,white,red,rose,andstone.”Thenthemaster:“Holyisourscience.Letusacknowledge:thereisnoGod

but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Now everyone present

makesthestarsignontheirchests,whereupontheconfessionoffaithisrepeatedsimultaneouslybyall.

Thenthepresidingmembergoeson:“Godblesshimandgivehimsalvation.Hear the words of the holy sura: In the name of God the most merciful, thegracious.Chamosak.ThereforeGodthepowerful,thewise,giveshisrevelationtoyouandthosewhowerebeforeyou.”

Themasterrecitesthe42ndsuraandconcludeswiththewords:“Truearethewordsof theProphet,Godbless himandgivehim salvation.Brotherwarden,whatarethesunandmoon?”“Allahwaddin.”Thatmeans:“Godandsouloralsoreligionandfaith.”Din

is ambiguous, and so the question is one of the main questions of thebrotherhood.

All thosepresentrepeat theanswerof thewardenandtherebycomplete thestarsign.

Themastergoeson:“ToworshipGodandtomakethefaithgreat,isalwaysoureffort.”

All present answer with “alam,” and now the subject of the evening isentered upon. After the conclusion of the official segment, a convivial mealusuallytakesplace.

ThegreatestdiscretionisrequiredoftheBenielMim.However,inordertoforestalltheideathatthepresentbookisanysortofbetrayal,itmustbesaidthatit has been written by command of the chiefs of the order. The reason is asfollows:theso-calledcivilizedworldhasbeenovercomebyagreatorganizationof infidels—monstrous in extent—and religious institutions have already beenunderminedbythistosuchadegreethattheyarenotabletomountanyunifiedresistance.InthisemergencytheIslamicbrothersrememberedthatthetraditionsays that in earlier times the sciencewas known in Europe. They sought andinvestigated—andfound—inthewritingsoftheRosicruciansandthealchemiststhat these exemplified the science of the key perfectly. The assignment is tomakepeopleawareofthisandtoshowseekerstheway:therequirementsofthetimescauseanyconsiderationagainstpublicationtovanish.Maythetruthoftheprocess of victory begin and the clouds of darkness slowly, but all the moresurely,disperse.

“Alam.”

SUMMARYOFTHEWORK

PreparationAnimationofthesignsI,A,OthroughthevowelsI,A,OAnimationofthesignsthroughsi,sa,so

MainworkNeckgripusingformulas:alam,alamas,alar,alamarChestgripusingformulas:alar,kaha-ya,taha,tasam,tas,tasamMiddlegripusingformulas:alam,yas,sa,chamStomachgripusingformulas:cham,cham,asak,ka

PursuantWorkClosinggripusingformula:na

Theory

SofarwehavebeenintroducedtothepracticeofIslamicFreemasonry,nowwemust present evidence to show that the science of the key is actually thepreparation of the philosopher’s stone, themagnum opus, the mystery of theRosicruciansandalchemists.

Anyoneknowledgeable about thesewritingswill recognize the connectionswith ease, if they are not so stupid as to think that such a recognition isdetrimental—thatis,thedogmaoropinionthatonealreadyknowseverything.Ido not undertake to oppose such an opinion, for that would be a uselessbeginning.IconsolemyselfwithaverseIoncereadsomewhere:

ThephilosopherPythagorasconceivedAnewdoctrine,andsohebrought—Sincehewas,ofcourse,stillaheathen—AthousandsacrificialbullstotheGods.Isitnownowonder,iftheoxentrembleAssoonastheygetwindofanewtruth?

What I am revealinghere is old, primevalknowledge. I cannotbe creditedwithhavingdiscoveredthesecret;Iamonlythemeanstoanend,thetool.Andthistoolhasstruggledlongenoughagainstrevealingthissecret.Itwassupposedto be revealed only to a small circle in my Die Geschichte der Astrologie(HistoryofAstrology);Iconfessthatwasaconceitofmine.

Forthosewhoarenotfamiliarwiththemodeofteachingandsymbolismof

theRosicrucians,Iwillgivethenecessaryexplanations.Additionally, thereareenough books in the Theosophical Publishing House where more detailedinformation can be found. It is likewise with the symbols and signs ofrecognition of the Freemasons. Modern Freemasonry has truly preserved onethingandthatisthatagreatportionofthesymbolsarestillusedinthelodges,even though the meaning might have been lost or another external meaningmight have been applied. I once presented this years ago inmagical writingsunderthepseudonymLessingtheYounger(ConversationsErnstandFalk).

ModernFreemasonry,which since theConstitution of 1717was developedinto worldwide Freemasonry, both is and is not the continuation of the oldFreemasonry of the Middle Ages. It is so far as outward appearances areconcerned,butasconcernsthenatureandcontentoftheteachingithasentirelyabandoned the ways of ancient Masonry. It has placed itself on a purelyhumanistic basis and views salvation as amatter of external progressmovingfrom the outside inward. Ancient Masonry views, or rather viewed, itsassignment as the ennobling of the individual. It taught a systemwhereby theindividual being had to begin to become better, and it hoped that this personwould then function like leavening in themass of the people. This hopewasjustified as long as there remained a religious unity in theWesternworld.Assoonasthisunitybegantocrumble,thepowersoftheshadowstartedtowinthegameand theemergingEnlightenmentgraduallyoverwhelmed theold sourcescompletelysuchthatthemeaningsofthesymbolswereforgotten.

ModernMasonry has no systemof exercises such as ancientMasonry did.ThewordJachin,which is imparted to theapprentice,signifiesnothing tohimother than it is a sign of recognition of the 1st-degree.However, that the twovowelsIandAarecontainedinthisword,andthatthesearetheworkofthe1st-degree, has been forgotten. The column Jachin is the upward pointing indexfinger,justasstilltodayallminaretsaroundthemosquesarecomparedtoindexfingers.

ThecolumnBoasisthethumb.Inthe2nd-degreetheapprenticeistoworkontheAandtheO.Heistogofromthepointtotheline(I),fromthelinethroughthecompass(A)toaperfectcircle(O).ThisisthemeaningoftheletterG,whichmeansgeometry,oftheMasonic2nd-degree.

And what does the 3rd-degree mean to the present-day Mason? Thisapprenticereceivesthemasterwordandthemastergrip,butdoesnotknowthatthewordmustbemadetruebymeansofthegrip,sothatoutofthediscoloredashes the full redness of the rose can be engendered. Only through the blackshadowofdeathcanthespiritattainitscompleteunfoldment.

ItistellingenoughthatmosthistoriansofFreemasonryrejectRosicrucianismandalchemyasaberrations;butno,itwaspreciselythesethatembodiedancientFreemasonry.Ifwetraceourwaybackwewillfindsignificantconnections.Inmy second volume of Die Geschichte der Astrologie I will pursue theseconnections.Itistherethatonealsofindsthebasisoftheteachingsconcerninglettersandnumbers,whichIcanonlytouchonhere.

WewillbecomefamiliarwithnumerousalchemicalandRosicrucianwritersin the following presentation. I am concerned with demonstrating from thesewritingstheproofthattheexercisesoftheBenielMimembodythegreatwork,which the Rosicrucians and alchemists have described as the highest of all. Iwant to open the way to the understanding of these things so that even thedoubter canenterupon it.Withoutdoubt, further investigationsby thosemoresuitablethanIwillincreasetheproofs,butIknowthatformanythiswillnotbenecessary.

It isancient,secretknowledge thateverything in theworld—that thewholeuniverse—consistsofaprimevalsubstance,andthatmatterasweknowitisonlyan apparent form of this primeval matter. The ancients called this primevalmatteraether (ether),and they taught thatGod, theultimate, incomprehensibleunity,ismanifestedasspiritandether.Modernscienceexpressesthisbysayingthat every form of matter is determined by a different vibratory rate of theprimevalsubstance.Evenjusttwentyyearsagoitwastaughtthattheatomwasthesmallestthingandwasindivisible;todayitistaughtthatintheatomacertainnumber of electrons circulate around a fixed nucleus.The direction ofmotionandnumberoftheseelectronsdeterminethenatureofthematter.

Toknowthenatureofthisprimevalsubstanceisconceptuallyimpossibleforus, but its first apparent forms are recognizable. These are cosmic forcesdesignatedbytheancientsaselements:fire,water,air,andearth.Bymeansofthesethesevenforcesthatplayaroleinastrologyarefixed.

*7

God(Sun)ismanifestinthespirit(Moon)andmatter/ether(Saturn).Spiritandmatteraremanifestinthefourcosmicforces:fire(Mars),earth(Venus),air(Mercury),andwater(Jupiter).Inastrologyazodiacalsignisascribedtoeachoftheseforcesasadiurnalandnocturnalhouse.Thesequenceofzodiacalsignsasnocturnalhouses represents thematerializationof spirit,while the sequenceofthediurnalhousesrepresentsthespiritualizationofmatter.

Herethegoalofhumandevelopmentispresentedinthisorderingofthezodiacalsignsinthesimplestandmostcomprehensibleform.Eachpersonmustundergothisdevelopment;however,thefreewillofthehumanbeingmakesitpossibletoacceleratethisdevelopment.Onewaytospiritualizematteristhescienceofthekey.Iis thecreativeprinciple, thefirstunity.FromtheIarises theA, spirit,and

theO,matter.Bymeansofthethreevowels,spiritualcurrentsarestimulated.Wevery frequently find these two signs, andA, represented in images in ancientFreemasonicliterature,andlessfrequentlytheO.

Twovery good illustrations of the vowels are found in the 1619Hannoveredition ofHeinrichKhunrath’sAmphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae. KhunrathwasaphysicianinDresden.AlthoughtheworkdidnotappearuntilthreeyearsafterKhunrath’sdeath,hehadalreadysecuredimperialpermissiontopublishthebookfromthe thenmintmasterof theelectorby thenameofSebottendorff in1598.HislodgebrotherErasmusWolfartprovidedforthepublication.Thethreevowels are found on the first table, which shows two crossed torches in themiddle:theA.Overtheseisanowl,asasymbolofwisdom.Theowliswearingglasses: theO. To the right and left are two lights, which indicate the I. Theinscriptionbelowreads:

What’stheuseoftorches,light,orglassesIfthepeopledon’twanttosee?

Khunrathindicatesthewayinthefollowingwords:“Considerwhyyouhavecome into theworld: to learn toknowGod,yourself, and the spiritualworld.”Youarriveatthis:

I. Throughprayerintheoratory

II. Throughworkinthelaboratory

Thatisthehighestphilosophy.Anillustrationthatshowsushowthevowelsarerepresentedbythehandsis

foundonanotherpageofthesamework.Thefourthtableillustratestwowisemenintheforegroundwhoareshowing

thecrowdtheentrancestoart.ThewisemantotheleftisclearlyforminganI,theone to theright formsanAwithhis righthandandanOwithhis left.Anepigrammakesthesymbolsevenmoreclear;itsays:Capiatetsapiatquicapereet sapere potest, qui non vel taceat vel discat aut abeat aut talis, qualis est,maneat.“Graspanduseit,whosoevercangraspanduseit,whosoevercannotdoso,besilentandlearn,orremovehimself,orremainasheis.”

In theholdingsof theMunichStaatsbibliotek there is a prayerbookof theFrenchFreemasonJacquesCoeur,which isespecially instructive, thatcontainscopious illustrations of the three vowels. FranzBoll presented a study of thisprayerbookin1902.

JacquesCoeurwas amerchant fromBourgeswhowas often inDamascus,and who perhaps learned the science of the key there. He supported thecampaignofJoanofArc,wastheadvisorofKingCharlesVII,anddiedin1456ontheislandofChios.HistwohousesinMontpellierandBourgesarefamousinthe context of cultural history as we find in both a number of Freemasonicemblemsandepigrams.ThehouseinBourgesissetoffwithtwotowers,oneofwhichportraysanindexfinger,theotherathumb.

InthevestibuleofthecathedralinFreiburgarefigureswhosehandpositions

*8

are especially instructive. The series is derived from Albertus Magnus whomakes us aware of the entire system of ancient Freemasonry by means ofdescriptionsofthesamethingsinhisMineraliumlibriquinque.Forexample,hedescribes theformof theAas follows:Cassiope estVirgo sedens inCathedrahabens manus erectas et cancellatas. “Cassiopeia is a Virgin, sitting in anarmchairwithherhandsupliftedandcrossed.” Fromthesentencesthatfollow,it then becomes clear that the A is only made with the right hand. Muchinformation is made available in the books of Louis Herre concerning thevestibule cycle of sculptures and the Masonic interpretation of the Freiburgcathedral.Thisliteratureiseasytoobtain.

Fromtheplethoraofmaterial,Iwishtopresentanothertwoexamples,whichareespeciallyinstructive;theydemonstratethewayinwhichthewiseconcealedtheirwisdom.

InthebookvondemgroßenSteinderuraltendaransovieltausendMeisteranfangsderWeltherogemachthaben, publishedfor thebenefitof thesonsofphilosophybyJohannesThölden,Hessen,Zerbst1602—theauthorgivesusacluebymeansofariddlefromthetractateoftheBenedictineBasiliusValentinus(ca. 1550). It goes like this: for a final departure fromhere you should, of allthings,understandthatyoushouldweighontheheavenlyscale—ram,bull,crab,scorpion,andmountaingoat.Ontheothersideofthescale,however,youshouldput the twin, archer, water bearer, fish, andmaiden. Thenmake sure that thegold-richlionentersthewombofthevirgin,sothatthebalancewillbetippedtothatsideofthescale.ThenletthetwelvesignsofheavencomeintooppositionwiththePleiades,thusafinalconjunctionandconnectionofallthecolorsofthecosmoswill occur so that thegreatestwill become the least and the leastwillbecomethegreatestofall.

WewritetheLatinnamesofthezodiacalsignsintheusualwayoneundertheotherandreadthefinalletters:

Libra Gemini

Caper ars Arcitenens is

Taurus Amphora

*9

*10

Cancer Pisces as

Scorpio ros Vir-Leo-go

Aries Pleiades os

Thesolutionresultsinarsrosisasos.Artisatau [=dew]fromis,asortheartoftheroseisis,as,os.

We find the second proof in the secret figures of the Rosicrucians, whichwerereprintedinGermantranslationinAltonain1785.Idonotrecallwhetheritis contained in the reprint issued by Barsdorf (Berlin, 1918), the first part ofwhich is Aureum seculum redivivum von Henricus Madathanus, theosophus,medicus et tandem dei gratia aureae crucis frater. Madathan says: “Thenumber of my name is MDCXI, in which my whole name has been writtensecretlyinthebookofnaturewith11deadand7livingthings.Additionally,thefifth letter is the fifth part of the eighth and the fifth part of the twelfth. Letyourselfbesatisfiedwiththis.”

ThenameHENRICVSMADATHANVSconsistsof elevenconsonants andsevenvowels.IfthelettersthatcanalsostandforRomannumeralsarereadthedate1611results. ThefifthletterisI,theeighthS,thetwelfthA.IfwewritetheSinanangularmannerthusthenIisthefifthpartofSandthefifthpartofA,whichwithitscrossbaractuallyconsistsoffiveparts.SoMadathanalsogivesusthetwovowelsIandA,andtheconsonantS—isandas—asguideposts.

The Masonic neck grip is found very frequently in old sculptures; areproductionisgivenbyGuidovonListinhisBilderschriftderArio-Germanen.Besides this it is also addressed by LouisHerre in his books on the Freiburgcathedral.

InalchemisticliteraturethisneckgripisreferredtoasthesealofHermes,ormerely as the seal, or the bath of Mary. The Venetian physician LaurentiusVenturawrites: Studeergoadinveniendumhocsigillumsecretum:quiasineillo magisterium perfici non potest, et hoc est duplex modus: primus pertorturamcolli, that is: “. . . therefore concernyourselfwith finding this secretseal, becausewithout thatmastery cannot be attained.And there is a doubledmethodofpractice:thefirstisbymeansofencircling theneck.”

*11

†21

*12

†22

‡23

OntheseventhpageofthepreviouslymentionedworkbyBasiliusValentinuswe find a man who is holding a scale in his left hand, and the right handencompassesabottlewiththeneckgrip.ThelevelofimportancethetranslatorThöldeplaceson thisdrawingcanbeseen inhispolemic thathedirectedatagreedyreprinterofhisbook,whohadincorrectlyreproducedthedrawings.Thedistorteddrawingsarealso found in theStrassburgeditionsof1645and1666.Concerning the seal, or the bath of Mary—the expression comes from theAlexandrian alchemist, Maria Phrophetissa—Arnold of Villanovawrites: item nota, quod ignis primi gradus qui pertinet solum adputrefactionem, solutionem, mortificationem corporis, dicitur per quandamsimilitudinem balneum, quia balneum est res temperata, non intensa in calorenec etiam rigida sed calure remisso—“Likewise notice that the degree of thefirstfire,whichonlyextendstotheputrefaction,dissolution,andmortificationofthebody,issaidtobetheresultofacertainbathofsimilarity,becausethebathisamoderatething,neitherharshinitswarmth,norcold,butratherrelaxedinitswarmth.”

BeforeIgoontoadiscussionoftheworkitself,Iwanttoquoteyetanotherpassage,whichItakefromabookofanowunknownauthor.ItistheLiberdeMagniLapidisCompositioneetOperatione.Thesmallworkismadeupoffifty-sixshortchaptersandisfoundinthecollectionofFreemasonicwritingsthattheItalian physician Guielmus Gratrolus of Bergamo compiled and published inBasel in 1561. The title of this collection is Verae Alchemiae MetallicaeDoctrinaCertusqueModus.

Cap.XXXV

Primumopus:

Elixirubiquereperiri

ItemdeveracompositioneElixiris,quodestprimusopus,dicituraphilosophisquod illa res quae est vera, ubique reperitur, quia in quodlibet homine est etapudquemlibethominemreperitur:etAdamsecumapportaviteamdeParadisoetcummortuusfuit,ipsamsecumreportavitetcomeasepultusfuit:Etprotanto

*13

dicitsapientumAllegoria,quodistresestsolsubtiliatusisestarumsubtiliatumetconversuminvirtutemaximaminerali:undedicitur in librodehocauro,exgummanostraetpaucoauromultaemimus.SedsecundumAlbertuminlibrodeMineralibusdicituretprobatur,quodaurumubiqueestetreperitur,quianonestaliqua res ex quatuor elementis elementata, in qua non inveniatur aurum inultimaaffinationenaturaliter.EtquiaidemAlbertusdicitibidemetprobat,quodmaximavirtusmineralisestinquodlibethomineetmaximeincapiteinterdentesita quod in sepulchris antiquorum mortuorum inter dentes aurum in granisminutisetoblongissueriusinventumestinsuotempore,utipsedicit,quodessenonposset,nisiinhomineessetistavirtusmineralis,quaevirtusmineralisestinElixirinostropraedicto,velcomposito.Etprotantodiciturquodhiclapisestinquodlibet homine et quod, Adam, etc. His visis et intellectis ad propositumredeamus.

In the future I will not provide the Latin texts, but will limit myself to theirtranslations.

Chapter35

FirstWork:

TheElixirIstoBeFoundEverywhere

Likewisethephilosopherstellofthecompositionoftheelixir,whichisthefirstwork that is that thing,which is right and found everywhere, because it is inevery person and is found with every person. Adam took it with him fromparadise,heboreitbackwhenhedied,andhewasburiedwithit.Forthisreasontheallegoryofthewisesaysthatthisthingistherarifiedsun,thatisrarifiedgoldbroughttothehighestpowerofthemineral.Thereforeitissaidinabookaboutthis gold: we buy much from our gum and from little gold. According toAlbertusinabookaboutmineralsitissaidandproventhatgoldispresent,andcanbefoundeverywherebecausethereisnothingmadeofthefourelementsthatdoesnot quite naturally containgold in themost extremepurity.Therefore healsosaysthat it isfoundeverywhere.ThesameAlbertussaysandprovesrighttherethatthegreatestmineralpowerisineverypersonandmainlyinthehead

betweentheteeth,sothatinhistimegoldwasfoundinthegravesoflong-deadpersonsbetweentheirteethonthesurfaceinfineelongatedkernels,which,ashesays,wouldnotbepossibleifthatmineralpowerwerenotintheperson,apowerthatisalsointheelixirorcompositionwementioned.Forthisreasonitissaidthat thisstoneis ineveryperson,andthat,Adam,etc.Afterwehaveseenandunderstandthis,wegobacktooursubject.

We shouldn’t thinkbadlyof amodernperson if he shakeshis headover suchutterancesandputsthisbookaside.Itismeantevenlessforthecurious—itwillconfusehimaswellasthesuperficialindividual.Theoldphilosopherquotesanold book: the allegory of the wise, and wishes thereby to convey that theexpressiongoldistobeunderstoodaccordingtothewaythewiseunderstoodit.HequotesAlbertus,butincorrectlyinfact.Whoeverdoesnottakethetroubletoreadcloselywillgodownthewrongpath.

Thegoldbetweentheteethisthewordoutofwhich,accordingtotheGospelofJohn,everythingwascreated.Thekernelsofgold(syllables)areminutisandoblongis—“pointed”and“broad lengthwise.” IandA,whichanimate thebody(gum),thelittlegoldthatisnecessaryisrarifiedsolarpower.

Artefius teaches us in his Clavis Majoris Sapientiae the art “ faceredescenderespiritum” and provides the following forms inwhich the spiritwillinglyoverflows:IVXOandL.HerewehavetheIandtheO;VandXaretwoformsoftheA,theso-calledpointthatcomesaboutwhenthethumbisnotspread in a right angle and the breadth that is the right angle. TheLmeans alevelandasquare.

WefindverysignificantpicturesinthetreatiseoftheItalianphysicianIanusLacinius fromCalabria:Metallorum inmeliusmutationemTypusMethodusque(Venice, 1546).The first illustration shows a king,who draws attention to hisextended index finger—it is the beginning of the royal art. Another work isappended to this tractate, which is also very instructive: Pretiosa mararitanovellabyPetrusBonusFerrariensis.

EvenmoreimportantforusistheshortworkleftbehindbytheunfortunateSeton, and which Sendivogius published. Orthelius annotated this piece ofwriting:Novum Lumen Chemicum. Here there are twelve figures that clearlyshowwherethewayleads.

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BeforeIgoon, itshouldbementionedthatSetonwasanadeptseducedbyvanitywhowantedtomakeuseofhiswisdomtomanufacturegoldfromignoblemetals.HewasarrestedbytheSaxonElector,ChristianII,andcruellytorturedwithout ever betraying his secret. Sendivog freed him from prison, butunfortunatelytoolate,ashediedthreemonthslater—afterhehadsharedouttheelixirtohiswifeandSendivog.Sendivogiusmarriedhiswidowandsocameintopossession of the entirety of the elixir.Afterward he passed himself off as anadeptwithout,however,beingable toproduce theelixirhimself.Whoeverhasdiligently followed my discussion will already have understood that theproduction of the stone is only possible for someone who has mastered thescienceofthekey.Thisscienceis,however—atleastaccordingtothenotionsofthe world—so childish that Seton would prefer to have himself tortured andkilled rather than surrender it. He wouldn’t have been believed. At theconclusionIwillgiveanexamplewherethisismadeclear.Ifyouareinterestedinthespecialfieldofthealchemistsoftheartofmakinggold,Irecommendtoyou the book by Schmieder,Geschichte der Alchemie [History of Alchemy](Halle,1832).Youwillderivemuchinformationfromit.

We find Orthelius’ commentary in volume VI of theTheatrum Chemicum(Strassburg, 1661). This edition corresponds completely to the book I amreferringto:NovumLumenChymicumMichaelisSendivogiiPolniXIIFigurisinGermaniareperitisillustratum,1624.

Thefirstfigureshowsthefollowing:fromtheupperleftawellmaskedhandisextendedtowardthebottomright.Thethumbisindicatedbyasmallelongatedcloudover the topof the thirdhill.Onlythe indexfinger isclearlyshown, theotherfingerscannotbeseen.ThereisanoldsayingoftheRosicrucians,whichIwill translate:“Whoever isnotequippedwith thegoldenrodforfishinghas totakecommonquicksilver.”By thegoldenrod theymean theangledhand—theA.Bytheexpressionhastotakecommonquicksilver, theymean tosay thatheshouldkeephishandsoff.

Anotherdrawingshowsusachemicallaboratorywithafurnace.Thedrawingis surrounded by twenty circles; of these, seven are shown on the lengthwisesides, and three are shown above and below. On the furnace there is a largediagramthatshouldbecommentedupon.Inthemiddleofthediagramaflaskisshownwithasmallverticalmark—anI.Next to thefurnaceat thebottomisa

smallgrate,thecoverofaventforashesorair.Thegrateworkhastwenty-fourfields—the twenty-four letters. Concerning this, Orthelius provides thecommentarythattheIistobeconnectedtoafinger.

IwishtoexplainafewmoreofthediagramsbecausethediagramsofSetonareimportanttomepreciselybecausetheartofthisadeptisdoubtlesssolidandbecause a man who is irreproachable in all things, Surya, could not deriveanything from theNovum Lumen Chymicum, otherwise he would have madesomecommentonSchmieder’sassertion.

Suryawrites involumeXIof thecollectionOkkulteMedizin,“Setonius leftbehind only a single alchemical treatise in Latin under the titleCosmopolitaeNovum Lum chymicum. It concerns the stone of the wise in twelve chapters,which the author may have associated in his mind with the twelve gates ofRipey.” That no disclosure concerning the secret is to be expected from thiswork is made absolutely clear by the previously quoted oral remarks of theauthor.Onewhobetraysnothingintheheatofdisputationorundertorturewillcertainly be even more circumspect at his writing desk. This treatise waspublishedafterhisdeathbySendivogiusandappearedindifferenteditions.

Setonknewthetimehadnotyetcome,andhepaidforthisknowledgewithhis life. Inhisworkheclearlysetdown thescience for thosewhopossess thekey.Butthecursedhungerforgoldmadethemallgoastray.

WeknowthatthesunrepresentsGodandthemoonrepresentsthespirit,andthesoulaswell,sincethesoulandthespiritarethesamething;thesoulistheimmortal spirit that struggles back toward its primeval source. The medievalLatin alphabet of twenty letters had four vowels: A, E, I, O. The U wasexpressed by V. In addition there were sixteen consonants. Based on thisscholasticdivision,thevowelAwasoftenexpressedby thenumberseventeen.Nowweseeontheleftsideoftheillustrationatwo-handledwashtubwithsoilinit;ontherightsidethesoilhasdisappearedandthereappearssomethingakintothefingertipsofahand.Intheskyaboveshinethemoonandthesun.Themoonissurroundedbyseventeenstars,ofwhichsixteenarequiteclearlyshown,whiletheseventeenthisindicatedmorefaintly.HerethelettersareascribedtothefirstemanationofGod.Itshouldalsobeindicatedthattheselettersaretobespokenaloud.Thesunshowsthatthelettersaretobefulfilledbymeansofdivinespirit.

Astheaccompanyingtextemphasizes,thisonlyconcernstheseventeenthletter,theA.Theexplanationisthefollowing:thesoilinthewashtubontheleftistheTerra Adamica, the human being. The left segment of the figure is meant toindicate that the human being is the object of alchemy. The right segmentprovidesuswiththeactualmeansforthework—theletterA,thespirit,andthehand.Themoonandthestars,illuminatedbythesunintheskyintheupperpartofthesegmentontheright,symbolizethespirituallyanimatedletterA.ThehandstretchesitselfdowntowardtheA,readytograspit.Thetextbelongingto thisfiguresays,“Theaforementionedspiritualwateristakenupandbothwatersareblended in a single vessel and put outside under a clear, starry sky. Then thecelestial raysaremixedwith them.When,however, rainfallsyoucanoperate.Thelongeritissetout,thebetteritis.”

The two waters are the spoken and the spiritually animated A. They areconnected to each other in a single vessel,which is the angled hand, and putoutside—thatis,thehandisstretchedoutsothatitcandrawspiritualwateroutoftheether.Theexpressionunderaclear,starryskyissupposedtoindicatetheether. When the hand is extended in this way so as to animate the A in it,ethericalraysaremixedwiththeanimatedhandandtheyflowforthintoitlikerain.Once thehand is sufficiently saturatedwith this spiritualwater, thenoneproceedsontotheoperation—theneckgrip.

Thewaterisdefinedas“ourheavenlywaterthatdoesnotwetourhands,notnormalwater,yetalmostlikerainwater.”

Iwish to describe one last figure.On this onewe see an alchemistwho isholdingthetragulaaurea,“thegoldenjavelin,”inhislefthandwithwhichheispointing to awashtub. The tub is empty,whereby it is indicated that this hasnothingtodowithactualwater.Hisrighthandismakingagraspinggesture.Ona chair stands a smaller vesselwithwater, and if one carefully examines thisvesselasmallhandcanbeseentohavebeendrawnin.

WiththisIbelieveIhavefulfilledmyassignmentofprovidingproofthatthesecretof thealchemists ishiddeninthevowelsconnectedtosignsandgrips.Iwill therefore conclude, as Iwill quote othermasters later on,with thewordsthat Leonhardt Thurneisser, the much misunderstood Freemason of Basel,directedtowardhisreadersasaconclusion.In1586,Thurneisserforgedaunion

of Reformed and Lutheran lodges into one great league. The Fama of 1614acknowledgeshimas the fatherof theRosicruciansandalsomentionshis twodictionariesalongwiththewritingsofParacelsus.Thesedictionarieswereonlyknowninlodgecirclesandprobablyonlysurviveinafewcopies.Onebearsthetitle: Hermeneia, das ist ein Onomasticum Interpretatio oder erklerungeLeonhardtThurneysserszumThurmüberdiefrebdenvndvnbekanntenWörterinden schriften Theophrasti Paracelsi. It is ninety-five pages long and wasprinted in Berlin in 1574. The last two pages contain a rhymed poem to thereaderasaconclusiontothework.InthisThurneisserrepresentstheviewpointthatFreemasonicpracticeswillleadtobetterandhigherknowledgethangoingtothegreatestuniversities.Ourhandgrips,hesays,revealthetruthtousmuchbetter andmoreclearly thananybook.Also, all obscurewritingswill becomeclearbythesemeans,andwhateverwedonotunderstandinParacelsuswillbeeasilyunderstoodwhenweconnectthequestiontoahandgrip.WeinquirewiththechestgripandGodprovidestheanswerinourhearts.Theconcludingwordsread:

MuchofArtiswritten’bout,littleistrue,Hand-signsshowtheexperiment,workmakesitclear.Practiceconfirmsthethingsthatarewritten,Hand-signsaretheArtthusworkedthrough.Thehand-signisaninstrumentBywhichthemindconcludesallitscalculations.NaturerewardsthemindwithitsdesireOncethehand-signhasdoneitswork.Butnothingatallhappenswithoutthehand-sign—Theinfluencefunctionsinvisibly.SothatwhichIcannotreadIgraspwithmyhands,AnddelivermypraisetoGod,Thatwhichahundredcouldn’tdobyreading,Thereforeprattlingenvydoesnotconcernme.

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TheoryandPractice

Inwhathas alreadybeenwritten I haveprovidedproof that the systemof theRosicrucians and alchemists can only be understood when signs, grips, andwordsareused.Wearenowgoingtogothroughthewholesysteminlightofthescienceofthekey.PleaseallowmetogiveafewadditionalexamplesofprooffromRosicrucianwritingshere.ThesystemaccordingtowhichWesternersworkisnotcompletelyperfect,sincethemiddlegrip,theclosinggrip,andaseriesofthe formulas were not known to the West. All systems that were exercised,however,dovetailintothesystemoftheBenielMimwithoutcontradiction.

Thewish, and the hope, of thosewho assignedme the task ofwriting thisbookisthatagreatnumberofindividualswillwanttoundertaketheseexercises,thus building an unbreakable chain, which is the best defense against all thepowers of the shadow.To avoid anymisunderstandings, Iwould like to stressthatIrejecttheformationofanylodge,andIrequestalsothatInotbebotheredby letters. I will not answer; as those who know me from my astrologicalwritings can attest. What I have to say is so clear that a child can grasp it.Whoevercan’tunderstanditcannotbehelped.It iswritten,“Seekandyeshallfind”;but thisdoesnotmean thateverythingshouldbehandedoutonasilverplatter.

Theexercisescanharmnoone.Butoneconditionmustbemet—theycannotbeinterrupted.Missingonedaywillcauseasetbackofweeksandcallthewholeendeavorintoquestion.Andthemostimportantthingistheprayer—theprayerforadmission.

Theexercises,especiallyinthebeginning,shouldnotbeoverdone;otherwiseafewcomplaintsmightarise.Thesewouldnotbedangerous,buttheywouldbeuncomfortable.Iwillprovidefurtherexplanationsofthese.Youshouldpracticewhenyouarealoneandundisturbed.Anyonecanbesequesteredtenminutesadayfor this.Youshouldkeepquietaboutyourexercisesandonlyspeakaboutthemonceyourgoalismet—tosomeoneyourecognizeasanequalbrother—forthenitiseasy.

AquestionIhearaskedis:whatmodeoflifemustImaintain?Iwouldliketoanswerthisaswell.OnewhostudiesthelivesofthealchemistsandRosicrucianswillfindthattheyweremarriedandthattheylivedaseveryotherpersonlived.True wisdom automatically avoids any excess. The Oriental generally livesmodestly,consumingmilk,cheese,bread,andfruit;asheepisonlyslaughteredon festival days. This is perhaps not possible in the colder latitudes, but theconsumption ofmeat should be limited in a reasonableway.Alcohol in everyformisforbiddentotheMuslim.Nowaglassofwineorbeerwhenyouareinahappymoodwon’t hurt anything, but distilled liquors are strenuouslywarnedagainst.Thosewhogettotheendoftheexerciseswillknowpreciselywhatistobegivenup.

Itisbesttoundertaketheexercisesearlyinthemorningrightafterrising—theywillnottakeanymorethantenminutesaday.Duringtheday,whenyouarealone,youcandoashortrepetition,andintheeveningaswell.

I will not give a prescription concerning said prayer. Each individual willhavetosettlethatpersonally.Whosoeverasks,tohimshallbegivenaccordingtothe measure he possesses.Whoever understands this correctly knows what ismeant.

WereadthatfinerforcescanbeattractedbytheindexfingerheldverticallyandbythinkingoftheletterI.Thebodyoftheordinaryhumanisaninertmassthat,lefttoitself,willbecomeincreasinglymorematerial.Inordertobeabletoabsorb spiritual water a breach must first be opened and matter has to bestimulated.ThishappensbymeansoftheletterI,bywhichtheelementoffireisstimulated.AsIdiscussedinGeschichtederAstrologie(vol.I),Iis the is rune,whichisassociatedwithMars(fire);therunearorasbelongstoJupiter(water)andtheothalrunetoMercury(air).

InordertoanimatetheIcorrectlyoneplacesoneself inanerectpositionsothatthewholebodyisgiventheformoftheI.Onestretchesone’sarmstraightup to the sky andmakes a fist. Then the index finger is extended upward. Itshouldriseupnexttotheclosedfistlikeaslenderminaretbesidethedomeofamosque,assheikhJachyaremarksinhissmallbookCharameldin.Bythinkingthe vowel I the finger is animated. Some old instructions say: take thephilosophicalsteel(Chalyb’sindexfinger)andstrikethescintilla(sparks).Thentake the second steel (the thumb) andput themagnet (theA sign) into action,whichattractstheelementsandconductstoyouthewaterforwhichyouthirst.

Itwillsoonbefoundthatthefingerwillstarttobecomewarmandthenbyanactofwillthiscurrentcanbeconductedthroughoutthewholebody,ascanthecurrentstimulatedbytheA.Thiscanbedonewithoutinjury,butcareshouldbetaken not to influence the head—it must remain free. Otherwise a dangerousstate of intoxication could ensue. During the gradual course of the work thecurrentwouldautomaticallymake itsway into thehead;weconsciouslyblockentrance to the head by means of the neck grip. If we form the A sign andanimate it, we will first take in spiritual fire, but also some of the spiritualelementof earth,which canbenoticedbya certaindryness at thebaseof thethumb.Iftheangledhandhasbeensufficientlyprepareditwillbegintoabsorbthespiritualwater.

We supply spiritual air to the solar plexus bymeans of theO sign.Here Iwould like tomentionanexperiment thatmy teacherconducted.Heorderedastudent to form theA and to think of theO. After a while he cried out: “O,sheikh, look, it’s impossible, they are warping automatically.” “My son,”MehemedRafi said,“yousee that it is impossible tomixup thesignsand thewords.YoucanonlythinkoftheAintheAsignandnottheO,ifyouthinkofO,your fingerswill automatically try to close up.You see that the signs are notchosenarbitrarily,butratherarefoundedinnature.Itisourassignmentinlifetoseek the spirit, but we always work in harmony with nature. You also see,however, my son, that spirit acts acutely in our bodies as it forms the bodyaccordingtoitsimage.ItisnotonlytheI,theA,andtheO,whichanimate thebody, all vowels and consonants have this ability. The I spirit provides thebreadth,dignity,andresilience,theOspiritimpartslifeandmovement.”

Itwas at the beginning ofmy studywhen I heard thesewords that sheikh

MehemedRafispoke to theBektashidervish,whomhewas introducing to theIlm el miftach. I was very impressed—no astrologer could have defined theeffectsoftheplanetaryforcesmoresimply.

Approximatelytendaysarenecessaryforthepreparatorywork.Nothingwillbeharmedifthesimplevowelsandsyllablesareexercisedlonger—developmentwilltakeplacefasterthatway.Whenthepreparationisover,transitionismadeinto the main work, which is the actual chemical process. In the preparatorywork the spirit held in the fetters ofmatter is stimulated, or as the alchemistsexpressit,thematerialsaremadeready,thesoil,theearth,istilledinordertobeable to receive the seed. By means of the limited spiritual animation of thefinger, ether is absorbed and conducted to the body. The manifestations weobserve are: the body breathes quite freely, and the body seems to becomelighter.

Aswegofurtherintheworkwewillbecomeawarethatincreasingwarmthisdevelopingintheindexfinger.Becauseofitsform,thispointedmemberattractsmoreofthefireelement—whichshouldalsobebroughtaboutbymeansofthevowel I.Finally thewarmthbecomes so strong that fire flames forth from thepoint of the finger and creates a sulfurous acridity with the air that we canclearlyperceivewhenweholdourfingertoournose.Mostoldwritingsremarkfirst of all on the preparation of the sulfur. Flamelwrites about this:At last Ifoundwhat Iwas looking for,which I recognized at onceby its strong smell.WhenIhadthat,Ieasilyperfectedmymastery.This sulfurous smell is the first milestone on the path. Only one who

perceivesitcangofurther.Thentheexperiencewillbethatofacurrentflowingintotheangledhand,aflowthattheancientsverypointedlycomparedtowater.Thisisthewateroflifeourfolktalesaresoenthusiasticabout,theaquavitaeofthe alchemists. With the sulfurous smell the dissolution has begun, theputrefactioof alchemy.Theancientwritings, in agreementwithOriental texts,fixaminimallengthoffortydaysinwhichacertainresultmustbeobtained.AfewotherFreemasonictextsdeclare,however,thatitwouldtakeseventyorevenninetydaystocompletethefirstdegree.

The putrefactio, or decay, comes to an end when the disciple of the artglimpsesablackishshadow,theraven’sheadofthealchemists.

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Duringthistimeweareconductingthewateroflifeintothebodybymeansof the neck grip. This water has the characteristic of dissolving anddisintegratinganythingcoarse.Handinhandwiththisdisintegratingeffectgoesanotheronethatbuildsthingsup.Thefinerforcesinthepersonareconditionedin such a way that they can be awakened. Ancient Freemasons very oftencompared thebirthof thespiritualman tophysicalbirth.Theblackishshadowthediscipleseeswiththespiritualeyeistheevolvingspiritualperson.Nowwiththeapplicationoftheneckgrip,theonetheancientscalledtheBalneumMariae,care should be given to making this sign precisely. “Cut off the neck of thebeast,” says an old text. The grip should not be overdone, however, so that aslowannealingistheresult.Itcanhappen,andtheancientFreemasonsdescribethisprocessoften, that the fireelementbreaksoutandanneals thevertebra. Ifthisoccursdonotbeafraid,justbowyourheadandwaitfortheafflictiontobeover—theterribleflamewillgooutafterafewminutes.Ifyouarepreparedforthemanifestationyouhavenothing to fear.As a rule, however, this annealingoccursslowlyandgraduallywithoutbeingnoticed.Iftheflamebreaksoutitisasifaterribledemonisgrabbingthepersonbythescruffoftheneckandtakinghimdowntotheground.

Afterapproximatelytwoweeksofthisexercisenoonewillbeabletodoubtanylongerthattheneckgriphascausedchemicalchangesintheneck.Nowthetimehascomewhenthepoisonoustasteofmercuryisperceivedonthetonguewheneverthetongueistouchedwiththeindexfingeroftheangledhand.Thenlater the taste of salt is developed.About this Seton says: “Therefore the firebegantoaffecttheairandgeneratedsulfur.Foritsparttheairbegantoaffectthewater and generated quicksilver. Also thewater began to affect the earth andgenerated salt.” This process is described and concealed by alchemists in themostmanifoldways.Idonotwishtospeakaboutthebasisoftheusageoftheconsonants,andwhythevowelsworkinthisway,thatwouldleadusastrayandmake this book too bulky. If youwant to be informedon this further, seemyGeschichte der Astrologie. So, the formulas should be understood as they areintended:asmeanstodevelopthespiritualbody.

When our spiritual eye glimpses the blackish shadow the purification isconcluded, and now the main point becomes the unfolding of the evolvingspiritualbody—aworkthattakesvaryinglengthsoftime.Theneckgrip,orthe

bath of Mary, only works from the lower stratum out of which the spiritualperson, free of the fetters of the body, should rise. The earthly bodymust bemortifiedsothatthespiritualbodycanriseup.Hereanoteneedstobeadded.Thismortificationhasbeenmuchmisunderstood.Itwasbelievedthatthebodyhadtobekilledbymeansofasceticismandwithdrawalfromtheworld.Thisisnaturally only one possible path if the pilgrim has also completed a wholechangeinconsciousness.Without this,afalsemortificationensues.Asceticismandwithdrawalfromtheworldleadinmostcasestoadissolutioninwhichthepilgrim becomes easy prey for every type of evil influence.More than a fewblack magicians have in this way become the victims of the Prince of theShadow.

Truemortificationlies insublimation, inunification, in theuniomystica, inbecomingonewithGod.Theunificationbeginswithachangeinconsciousnesswhereinthemortificationofthesmallegoiscompletedandtheresurrectionofthe divine ego takes place. That is,moreover, the goal wewish to achieve—whichwemustandcanachieve.

Oncewehavearrivedattheendofourexercisewewillfeelthatourearthlybodiesarebecomingmoreandmorestrange,wearegrowingbeyondthem,weclearlyfeeltheyhavebecomedustandashes.Thisisthedeepestpoint,whichisreachedwhenwearesurroundedbythe terrorsofdarknessanddeath.For thisreason the ancient Freemasons only took courageous candidates into theircommunity, and the tests they had to undergowere very severe. Courage andperseverancewerethemostnoblevirtuesrequired.

Ourworkisaimedatanticipatingandovercomingdeath.Usuallythehumansoulpartsfromitsbodyonlyupondeath.Wedonotwantsuchaconclusiontoourlives.Wewanttoundergoavoluntarydeathinthemiddleofourlives.Theweakling will be terrified by the boldness of our undertaking. We can onlyconquernaturebymeansofnature—thelowerbymeansofthehigher,spiritualnature.Weremainstrictlyinconformitywiththespiritualandnaturaluniverse.

A person of little faith could accuse me of tempting God, of lackingnecessary humility, to which such a person voluntarily submits in the naturalcourseofaffairs,asweareusedtoit.IanswerbysayingthatIampointingtoapathoflifethatliesintheessenceofeverytruereligionandthatthiswayisalso

clearly recognizable in theNewTestament.Mostmodernpeopleunfortunatelyhavenotreadtheholyscripturesoftheirreligion.Thosewhohavefollowedmeto this point, but who now recoil, are advised to read no further—for what Ibringisnotmilkfortheweak,butfoodforthestrong.

Allreligionsteachthesevenfoldconstitutionofthebody.Preciseknowledgecanbestbeobtainedon thisby studying theRosicrucian lessonsofHeindel. Ican only offer a brief sketch here. The designations are of archaic origin, thetranslationsrendertheapproximatemeanings:

TheImmortalPart

1.Atma,theself,Godinus Sun

2.Buddhi,theheavenlysoul Moon

3.Buddhi-Manas,reason,causalbody Mercury

TheMortalPart

4.Kama-Manas,intellect Venus

5.Kama-body(astralbody),desire Mars

6.Prana(Linga-Bhuta,ethericbody),lifeforce Jupiter

7.Sthula-Bhuta,body Saturn

Apparently this table of correspondences is at variance with the versiongenerallyusedinTheosophy.However,thosewhohaveworkedintensivelywithplanetaryforceswillrecognizethatthisdifferenceisnotanessentialone.Withthe addition ofUranus andNeptune these two higher octaves ofMercury andVenus are assigned to a second principle—but herewe are not looking at themore developed person, rather we are only concerned with one who is justbeginning toevolve.ThereSaturn standsat the threshold, it is assigned to theKama-Manas,forusitistherepresentativeofthemostdenseformofmatter.

The lastquadrad iscalled“theanimal inus”byParacelsus.Thescienceofthekeygivesusthewaytoconquerthisanimalinusandtoascendtothecausal

plane. This is all the more necessary as the powers of darkness are alreadyworkingtomakeanooseforthepersonwhoismakingsuchprogress.Icanonlyalludetothingshere,butsomewillunderstandwhatImean.

Many of our brothers have advanced so far that they have ascended fromstageseventothesixthstageandtheyareinapositiontoprojectthefluidbody,whosevesselisthelifeforce,thussplittingthemselvesintwo.Thephenomenonof thedouble (Doppelgänger) canbe tracedback to this ability—ascanmanyother spiritualistic phenomena and occult experiences. Now during theprojectionofthefluidbody,itremainsconnectedtotheearthlybodybymeansof a cord. However, this connection is very loose. This is the point of attackwherethepowersoftheshadowwillstrike;wheretheymuststrike.

Forthisreasonitismostimportantthatthepossibilityofleavingtheplaneofeffects to gaze upon the causal plane is provided—this is what my teachersdesire.Everydangerlosesitsterrorassoonasitisunderstood.Butwewillnotceaseourwork.Wepressforwardthroughdeathtowardtruelife.Thebodywillalsoappear tousasdustandasheswhenwearefinishedwith theworkof theneck grip. Thus the writings of the ancient Freemasons warn us: cinerem nevilipendas. Weregardtheashes,thebody,withgreatcare,forweneeditforthe construction of the new, spiritual body. It is not enough that we havedeveloped the shadowof the spiritual body—wemust give it color, form, andthusanindependentlife.

AFTERDEATH—LIFE

For the development of the spiritual body we employ the other grips and, inaddition,usetheformulasoftheProphet.BeforeIgoonIwouldliketoquoteapassage fromthepreviouslycitedFlamel:“And truly, I say toyouoncemore,evenifyouworkwiththecorrectmaterials,if,atthebeginning,afteryouhaveput themixtures into the philosophical egg—that is, awhile after the fire hasacteduponit—youdonotseethisraven’shead,thisdeep-blackblackness,youmust start alloveragain.”Thephilosophicalegg is thebody; themixturesarethefinemixturesoftheelementswhichweconductedtothebodybymeansoftheneckgrip.Thereforeitisofthegreatestimportancethatthisshadowisseen.If it appears,youareon the right track.This raven’shead ismentionedbyall

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alchemists andwriters, and the colors that start to appear are correspondinglydescribedbyall.Themaincolorsare:black,white,red.Betweenwhiteandredthereareanumberofothercolors—especiallyacitrinecolor.Thespiritualbodyisdevelopedinthesecolors,thenaturalorderofwhichcanbedisturbedbyafirethatistoostrong—orasweliketoexpressit—byanexcessivefrequencyoftheuseofthechestgrip.Thisgripshouldnotbemademorethanfivetimesaday.Even if the old texts say “Boil, boil unceasingly,” theymean by this that oneshouldnotlosepatience.HereIwillcollatethetableofRosariusminorandthetableoftheProphetsothattheapprenticewillhavereferencepointsforthetimeperiods for the exercises. But first is the translation of this old text thatdemonstratestheprocessoftheworkmostclearly.

And this alone I reveal: Through such a regime youwill have completed thepurification in 124 days. Blackness is, however, the recognized sign ofpurification. Furthermore, youwill, bymeans of the aforesaid regime, have asecondsign—whichwillbearedness—thatabidesforthirtydaysanddevelopscompletelyinthesedays.Thethirdsignis,however,agreenthatiscompletedinseventydaysbymeansofwarmth.Betweenthethirdandfourthsigns,allcolorsthatcanbeconceivedofwillappear.Thenthemarriagewillbeconsummated—the union and blending of spirit and soul, for then the twowill rule together,while previously each ruled for itself under its own sign.Actually in the firstsignthebodyruled,inthesecondthespirit,andinthethirdthesoul.Thetimeofblendingwillbecompletedduringaregularlyincreasingregimeofseventydays.Nowthefourthsignwillappear,which is theprofitableAzymation—140dayswillgobyandthenthesignofwhitenesswillbeseen.

Work RosariusMinor TableoftheProphet

Preparation 14days 46days

Neckgrip 124days 58days

Chestgrip 100days 149days

Middlegrip 70days 236days

Mastergrip 140days 311days

Closinggrip 28days 68days

TotalDays 476days 868days

Lunarmonths 17months 31months

Itcanbeseenthatthedifferencesareconsiderable,andtheyareevengreaterinreality,becauseitdependsentirelyuponthetalentof theindividual—whatoneaccomplishesinaweekwilltakeanotheramonth,orseveralmonths.TherearedisciplesgracedbyGodwhohavecompletedthepathinthreemonths.

AncientFreemasons called the chest grip the cooking.While theneckgripdevelopsagentlewarmth,thechestgripcausestheunfoldingofapowerfulfire.With this grip the following will be experienced: after the angled hand isanimatedbytheformula,thespiritualwaterisabsorbed,afist ismadeandthethumboftheclosedhandisplacedupontheleftsideofthechest.Nowthehandisangledandopenedandthechestgripisperformedanddrawnoff.Thecolorsthat show themselves during this operationdevelop froma light blue, throughredtogreen.Thisredwascalledbythealchemiststhefalsered,thefalserednessincontrasttothepurplecolorduringtheclosingwork.Iftheysawthegreentheywouldcry:“Obenedictaviriditas.”

Sincemelted gold appears to have a green shimmer, the opinion of peoplewho see the alchemical process as the art ofmaking goldwas oncemore ledastray by this. The joyous cry had nothing to do with gold, but rather theFreemasonwashappytohaveglimpsedthesignthatprovedtohimthathewasontheright-path.

Thegreencolorbecomesfresherdaybyday,andwhenithasbecomelikethegreenofameadowinspringthispartoftheworkcanbebrokenoffandtherestoftheworkcontinuedwith.

Youarenowtomakethetransitiontothemiddlegripwithitscorrespondingformulas. The procedure is the same as with the chest grip. The colors thatdeveloppresentatruesymphonyofcolors.Blue,yellow,redarerepresentedineveryshade.Theancientscharacterizedthisplayofcolorasapeacock’stail.Byandbythecolorsfadeandbytheendoftheworkayellowishwhiteremains.

Thegripshouldnotbedonemorethanfivetimesaday.It isbetter todoit

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only three times, as too much can endanger the whole work. It should berepeatedthatitisimpossibletospeedthingsupwithmoreintensivework.

PatienceisdesirableatworkAquietspiritisbusyforyears,Onlytimemakesthefinebevelstrong.

AtthispointIwouldliketodiscussthechakrasbriefly.ThewordcomesfromSanskrit and means “wheel” (chakram, plural chakrani). Jung Stillingcharacterizesthemassmallflamesbecausetheyareinconstantflamingmotion.TheancientFreemasonscalledthembythenamesofthesevenplanets.Iftheyused this terminology for other things as well this only seems to be acontradiction. As I indicated for the constitution of mankind, so too canindividual constitutions be accordingly designated by the planets. Theirrelationship to eachother is describedbyAbbot JohannesTritheim. In thetexts we usually find the following schema, which is inscribed in concentriccircles.Iamrepresentingitinanotherform,becauseIwishtoavoidsymbols.

Saturn Pinealgland

Jupiter Forehead

Mars Thyroid

Sun Heart

Venus Pitofthestomach

Mercury Navel

Moon Sexualparts

The Sun is in the middle of the concentric circles, Saturn above, the Moonbelow.

These chakras, or little flames, are nothing other than the organs of thespiritual body. The Benedictine Basilius Valentinus speaks of them in thefollowing words: “the king wandered through six cities in the heavenly

*19

firmament,butintheseventhhebeheldhisseat.”HeretootheinvestigationsofStaudenmayer shouldbementioned. Inhisbook,DieMagieals experimentaleWissenschaft,heproves thatvariousnervebundles canbe specially stimulatedand special effects produced. We conduct spiritual forces to these easilystimulatedplacesandthusbuildthespiritualbody.

Oncetheyellowishwhiteisobtained,youtransformthisintoabrilliantwhitebymeansofthemastergripandthecorrectformulas.

IclosewiththewordsofHeinrichKhunrath:“WithmyowneyesIsawthegold—not the common kind but that of the philosophers—with my hands Itouchedit,withmytongueItastedit,withmynoseIsmelledit.HowwondrousisGodinhisworks.”

Conclusion

I have said everything that is to be said. We must only further discuss thepronunciation of the Arabic words. They are to be pronounced as they arewritten,thetranscriptionisveryprecise.TheSispronouncedlikeaZ,asistheZalso.Soonedoesnotsaynatzimbutrathernazim.Withwordsofmorethanonesyllable the emphasis is on the second syllable, alam—alám. The CH is agutturalthatmaycausesomedifficulties.ItisharderthanthechinGermanach,andtendsmoretowardtheKsound.

InArabicthescienceofthekeyisalsocalledthescienceofthescale:IlmelNazan. One also finds Ilm el Quimiya, the science of chemistry. This isextremely ancient material. Around 900 AD we find it in Venice, where thecornerstone of Freemasonrywas laidwhen the science assimilated the SyrianlegendofHiramAbifandlinkedtheindividualgradestotheconstructionoftheTempleofSolomon—andthusthesciencebecameamonopolyofthelodge.

The ancient Freemasons never thought of looking at it like that, as by thattime the alchemistic books were too widely disseminated. They placed greatweightonsecrecy,however,because itwasfeared thatbygivingup thesecrettheywould expose themselves to themockery of the people.Nowpeople canmock!

From an old treatise of the Austrian Freemason Lamp-spring, who livedaroundthemiddleofthefourteenthcentury,thesewordsaregiven,whichIhadpromised:

Ifyouunderstandmerightandwell

Thenyouwillbefreeoferror,Nothingismoreimportantthanthisonething,Inwhicheverythingelseisconcealed.Thereforedonotturnyourmindaway.Cooking,time,andpatiencearenecessary,Ifyouwishtopickthemostnoblefruit.TimeandworkshouldnotdispleaseyouForseedandmetalmayonlybecookedconstantlyandmoderately,Fromdaytoday,andperhapsallweeklong,Thenyouwill,inthisunpretentiousthing,Findandperfectthewholeworkofphilosophy,Whichcertainlyappearsimpossibletomostmen,Becauseitconcernssuchasimpleandeasywork—IfweshowedandmadeitknowntoothersCertainlywewouldbemockedbymen,women,andchildrenSobediscreetandsilentThenyouwillliveinpeaceandbewithouttroubleNotonlywithyourneighbor,butalsowithGodWhogivestheartandwishestoknowitsecretly.

AlchemyistracedbacktoHermesTrismegistus—oneofhissayingsisgiveninconclusion,andwithittheexplanationthatamodernresearchergives:

If you do not take the corporeal condition from bodies, and if you do notreformulate thenon-corporealsubstances intobodies,youwillnotobtainwhatyouexpect.Ifyouhavereadthisbooktoitsconclusionyouwillknowwhatismeant by this—and how Berthelot was mistaken when he explained: “If onedoesnotremovethemetallicconditionfrommetalsandifonedoesnotextractmetals from nonmetallic materials, the transmutation of metals will notsucceed.”

Footnotes

*1.ThewordThulecomesfromtheGreekexplorerandgeographerPythias,whomadea journeyto thefarnorthernregionsof theworldaround310BCE.HegavethenameThuletothelandinthenorthernmostregion.

*2.[“Booksaresaidtohavetheirowndestinies.”—Trans.]*3. [The Turkish Empire collapsed in September 1918, but quickly and

forcefullyreorganizeditselfastheTurkishRepublicunderthedictatorMustafaKemal. The Turks resisted efforts by the allies to carve up the heartland ofTurkey,andwereevenabletoholdontoConstantinople/Istanbul.—Trans.]

*4. [G.W. Surya is the pseudonym used by Demeter Georgievitz-Weitzer—Trans.]

*5.[ArabicAl-Muqatta’at.SeeAli,trans.TheHolyQur’an,2nded.,118–20.—Trans.]

*6.Thetwenty-ninthstationisthenthecompletionofthepath,thereturnofthesoultoahigherstage;thehouse,thebodyhasbecomemorespiritualized.

*7.[TheosophischesVerlagshaus,Leipzig(ReferstoC.W.LeadbeaterandA.Besant,Okkulte Chemie [Occult chemistry]. Leipzig: Theosophical PublishingHouse,1924.)—Trans.]

*8.ZeitschriftfürBücherfreundeVol.VI:2(1902)*9.OperaomniaParisiis,VolV(1890),LibIITractIII,Chap.V,page54*10.[Concerningthegreatstoneoftheancients,whichsomanythousandsof

mastershaveheroicallypursuedfromthebeginningoftheworld—Trans.]*11.[Taumeans“dew”inGerman.Dewisakindofalchemicaldistillationin

nature.—Trans.]*12. [These letters would be, when put in order: ICVMDV (1-100-5-

1000500-5addedtogetherequals1611)—Trans.]*13.DeDecoctioneLapidisPhilosophorum*14.[Thistranslatesas:“ofcausingtodescendintothespirit.”—Trans.]

*15. [Hermeneia that is anOnomasticum Interpretation or explanations byLeonhardt Thurneisser zumThurm concerning foreign and unknownwords inthewritingsofTheophrastusParacelsus.—Trans.]

*16.AlbertPoisson,NikolasFlamel:Savie,sesfondations,sesoeuvres,suividelaréimpressiondulivredesfigures.Paris(1893),p.173.

*17.[“Youarenottoholdashinslightregard.”—Trans.]*18.[“Oblessedgreencolor”(byassociation,“vigor”)—Trans.]*19.TractatuschemicusinvolumeIVoftheTheatrumchemicum†20.[ThisreferstotheFirstWorldWar(1914–1918)—Trans.]†21. [The Golden Age renewed by Heinrich Madathan—theosopher,

physician, and finally by the grace of God, a brother of the golden cross.—Trans.]

†22.DeLapidePhilosophorumch.XVIIprintedintheTheatrumChemicum,Strassburg.

‡23. [Sebottendorff translates as durch Pressen: “by means of pressing.”—Trans.]

Endnotes

CHAPTER1.THELIFEOFRUDOLFVONSEBOTTENDORFF1. For more information on Theodor Fritsch, see Goodrick-Clarke, The

OccultRootsofNazism,123–28.2.Ahistoricaldescriptionof theGermanen-Order isprovided inGoodrick-

Clarke,TheOccultRootsofNazism,123–34.3.SeeTheAmericanHeritageDictionary(1975),s.v.“wanderlust.”4.Thewholetopicofnineteenth-andearly-twentieth-centuryGermanentum,

especiallyinesotericcircles,isdiscussedbyGoodrick-Clarke,TheOccultRootsofNazism.

CHAPTER2.THEBEKTASHISECTOFSUFISM1.Arberry,Sufism,31–44.2.Al-HalâjisdiscussedbyFlowers,LordsoftheLeft-HandPath,122,127.3. Concerning the rift between orthodoxy and Sufism and for a more

contextual look at the place of Sufism in the history of religion, see Eliade,HistoryofReligiousIdeas,3:62–84,113–51.

CHAPTER3.THEMYSTERIESOFTHEARABICLETTERS1.Logan,TheAlphabetEffect,21.2. For a representation of this chart, see Burckhardt, Mystical Astrology

AccordingtoIbn‘Arabi,32–33.3.Ali,trans.TheHolyQuran,2nded.,602.

CHAPTER4.ALCHEMYANDSUFISM1.Forabasicdiscussionofthisconcept,seeBurckhardt,Alchemy,17–21.2.ForadiscussionofthesemedievalinfluencesofSufismonChristendom,

seeShah,TheSufis,232–80.3.SeeEliade,Yoga,274–92.

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