From the top of the Caduceus, something akin a crystal ball, shone with an intense, transparent light. Paul kept focusing. The wings seemed to have come to life, fluttering noiselessly up and down, right and left, transporting the light from the middle point, and diffusing its glorious radiance all around. Within the spiral-elliptical movement of the light, an image that seemed to have crossed time and space hovered in the air, a few meters above their heads. It was the sacred letter Aleph, miraculously beaming amidst the mystical circle.
A sense of deep serenity inhabited Paul’s mind.
“In the Spiritual world,” Dr. Najem began, “The letter Aleph symbolizes the Absolute Being from whom all life sprung. In the mental world it denotes Unity—the Equilibrium of life; whereas on the physical plane it means the Microcosmic man, who—by expanding his occult faculties—would elevate himself into the spheres of the infinite Macrocosm, God,” and pausing briefly, he added, “What is God?”
“It is impossible for the human intellect to rightly conceive what God is,” answered Professor Michel. “One cannot describe with physical concepts that which is immaterial and eternal.”
“Indeed, the eternal is an actual perception of the spirit, the other is not,” Dr. Bechara carefully continued, “That which can be perceived by our senses, can be described by our words; but that which is incorporeal, invisible, and without form cannot be realized through our ordinary senses.”
“I understand thus, O Thot, I understand that God is ineffable,” Nabil uttered cogently, and signaled for Paul to repeat his words.
Paul abided at once, with a sideways glance in his direction, “O Hermes, I understand that God is ineffable.”
A moment of sacred silence ensued…
“Please,” Dr. Najem then urged in a gentle tone, “Please, repeat after me the Glorious Hymn that Hermes taught his direct disciples, and then, unto us through a succession of Keepers of the Word.” He took a deep breath, and with a voice full of reverence he intoned, “Holy is God the Father of all beings…”
“Holy is God the Father of all beings,” Paul repeated with the same zeal.
“Holy is God, whose wisdom is carried out into execution by his own Powers… Holy art Thou, who through the Word created all,” they all continued in unison, and Paul followed.
“Hence, keep in mind not to speak of God without Light, for God is the True Light. Accept ‘It’ with a free spirit,” Dr. Najem advised with authority.
“I believe in Thee, and vow to live freely the Life I’ve obtained, I shall work hard to perceive the Light,” they chanted in a melodious prayer.
“Although God is ineffable,” Dr. Najem resumed in an earnest tone, “the most appropriate names given to God all start with the letter Aleph. I name: Al-El, the Phoenician God, the Most High; Aton, the Egyptian Monotheistic God of Akhenaton; Al-Apollo, the Pythagorean God; Abba, the Father of all, preached by Jesus Christ; and Allah, the Muslim God of the Sufis.”
To Paul’s dismay, Dr. Najem addressed him, saying, “The door to the other world is now open for you to continue the Journey. We are going to leave you now by yourself. Alone, you will have to meditate on the meanings of the words you will find in the papyrus of the Magician. It is the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, the Sacred Tablet of the Shepherd.”
Paul gawked at him in a moment of dread then swallowed with difficulty. His time had come much sooner than he had expected. He glanced at the others, their eyes conveyed warmth and encouragement. Professor Michel held Paul’s eyes for a moment, before he uttered an explanation, “Tradition has it that an Initiate of the Great White Fraternity found the Tablet on the dead body of Hermes, in the land of the Kabirim—the ancient land of Phoenicia,” he paused for an instant. He then continued, after a profound reflection, “For centuries, the Hierophants of Hermes have whispered the words herein, into the ears of new adepts during their Initiation. It contains the essence of the Enochian wisdom.”
“Now,” he added, “After you read the words inscribed on the papyrus, you will have to open the secret door that leads you all the way to the Mystery Chamber.”
“Where is it? How can I open it?” Paul rushed his questions, feeling a bit lost and confused.
Dr. Bechara came to his rescue, “All you have to do is turn the head of the Phoenix, at the top of the Caduceus, to the right. Go on my brother, and… rejoice in the Wisdom of the Ages.”
His words and the mystical power his eyes conveyed shook Paul’s being and unhinged him in a way he could not fully understand. But the Keepers of the Word, as it turned out, truly held a great knowledge of the secrets—the secrets of life.
.47.
The Wisdom of the Ages
Wednesday, December 15, 01:07 AM
Paul watched them disappearing, one after the other, behind the door that bolted close with a dreadful sound. He felt trapped for a moment, alone with his thoughts, as he prepared himself to meet with destiny. Time had escaped him, or so he reasoned in his solitude. Were they minutes, hours, or perhaps days, he couldn’t tell. Yet, when he stood, to walk the distance separating him from the Magician, his feet felt unexpectedly light. He stood in front of the statue of Hermes in a paramount moment of reverence, retrieved the papyrus from his hand, and took a sitting position in the middle of the five-pointed star, where the statue stood. With trembling hands, he untied the golden ribbon, unrolled the old paper, and read in a murmur:
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes
The Sacred Tablet of the Shepherd
What I speak is True, without error, true and most certain:
1- What is below is like that which is above, and what is above is similar to that which is below, to perform the miracles of the one thing, the Unitas.
2- As all things were produced by the mediation of one being, so all things arose from this one thing by adaptation.
3- Its father is the Sun; its mother is the Moon, while the Wind carried it in its bosom, the Earth nursed it.
4- Its Father is that of all perfection, dispersing throughout the whole world.
5- Its power is vital if changed into Earth.
6- Separate the Fire from the Earth, the subtle from the gross, gently and with a good deal of sagacity.
7- It ascends from Earth to Heaven and again descends to Earth, and revives the strength and unites the power of things, superior and inferior, God and Man.
8- Thus, you will possess the light and the glory of the whole world, therefore, all obscurity will flee from you.
9- This is the strong fortitude of all fortitudes, for it overcomes every subtle thing, and penetrates every solid thing.
10- This is how the world was created…
Hence, all wonderful adaptations were of this manner, therefore, I am called Thrice Great Hermes, possessing the three parts of the Philosophy of the whole world, and that which I have written is achieved through the Operations of the One.
Paul took the necessary time to meditate upon every word until a strange feeling of Unity inhabited his mind at last. He inhaled the mysterious, universal, magical agent, and exhaled all darkness. The Akasa, Akasha—the Astral light—began its circulation inside him, while the correlations of its Forces endowed him with the Philosopher’s Stone and the elixir of life.
He was now ready to receive the Wisdom of the Ages.
Full of renewed confidence and determination, he grabbed the Head of the Phoenix with both hands and spun it to the right, effortlessly. A click, followed by a splinting sound, echoed all around the Star Chamber. The floor beneath him slid open in a flash. Darkness swallowed him speedily, down a narrow tunnel and into the underworld. When his feet met solid ground again, he found himself standing inside a corridor. He looked straight ahead.
Hung on yellowish cracked walls of stone, some iron torches illuminated the long corridor, stretching out in front of him from both sides. He took a deep, long breath before courageously departing into the unknown, walking with firm steps between the ancient walls. Their moldy condition and rancid
smell bespoke of antiquity and underground conditions. He could tell from what he saw and smelled that it belonged to a period equivalent to that of the city of Gebel and the Mystery Chamber itself.
The air turned gradually chillier, as he advanced farther into the past. Finding warmth in the intense light of the torches, he surprised himself smiling in defiance. The path was rendered enjoyable albeit enigmatic, and the long march enthralled him with the vivid memory of the Ancients. As he reached a small cedar-wood door within a stone arcade, he felt the reminiscences of all those who had halted there before him.
Paul stood still for a few minutes. This door takes me inside the Mystery Chamber, he thought then visualized the countless dangers the Ancients might have encountered along their historical and spiritual trail—the trail that had led him to the secrets of the Fraternity, the Keepers of the Word.
“Kadmus!” he invoked out loud, but the door did not open. He frowned, glanced over his shoulder then back at the door, mulling over a clue. “Thor!” he let out in sudden intuition. A swishing sound resonated, as if coming from the past… and the door unbolted open.
Inside the Mystery Chamber of Gebel he paused, mesmerized once again, in front of the beautiful Great Altar. A few seconds later, the Alphabet rose from its slumber in great glory.
His eyes opened…
Shining above the crescent moon, the Sun reached over the darkest regions of planet Earth. Something, however, appeared to have radically changed. The Sun stood like a King in the center, amidst the Heavenly bodies—moving in circular motion across time and space and all around it.
Great Temples—dedicated to the Sun—rose on top of High Mountains. The moon had vanished. No more illusions, no more false religious ceremonies and rituals to non-existing gods, and no more bloody sacrifices to any god.
Before that time, people who were guided by the so-called religious men of all nations did not raise their minds and hearts in prayers to whatever resided beyond the visible heaven. They followed not the true invisible light, but rather, the luminous bodies that blazed in the firmament. They had ascribed divinity to the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars! And the drama continued, as religions—false religions—haunted the minds of people, the king-priests declared the Divinum Jus doctrine by which they led their flocks, blinded by imagination.
However, only a few Initiates had conceived a clear and different vision. Blindness took no part in their choice of visualizing the world beyond the physical. Into the Mysteries they had entered, and sought the Truth, in order to open their eyes to the True Light. And inside, in the deepest sanctuary of God, the new adepts met with Man and his odyssey in life. The Secrets, therefore, became knowable. What was concealed to the profane revealed now to the eyes of the Initiate. The door, shut in the face of the weak and naive, opened wide to those who dared to knock. The veil of Isis—the holder of the Secret Doctrine—lifted up, and the rays of Osiris shone over him, the newborn son, Horus the Initiate.
The Mysteries somehow resembled each other, not only in Egypt and Phoenicia but almost everywhere across the ancient world: in India, Greece, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Germany, among others. However, the Truth had remained one. Very rare were those who could see it, and preserve it. Paul was among those who had received the honor, and had been allowed access to the Mysteries. With great awe, he had entered the domain of the Secret Order. There—in front of the Great Altar—stood the Hierophant, clad in his bright white tunic. A purple robe draped over his shoulder added to the sense of mysticism in his countenance.
His voice rose, loud and clear in Paul’s ears, “The Stars, the Sun, and the Moon—which ornament the ceiling: the sky above our heads—are neither objects of worship nor are they personified images of the Deity, as the vulgar think. They are only symbols… allegories to Higher Truths. Shamash—the Sun—shines during the day, and dives into the ocean later at night. It is Aton—Osiris—whom Typhon killed. However, on the third day he rises sublime and powerful again, akin to a god. The same thing happened to Adonis. And when, later at night, the Sun gave its place to the Moon, Isis—to shine, and persist in guiding people throughout the dark moments—this second luminary became a goddess too.
“It is because of that… because Light wins over the Darkness, that people considered them divinities and worshipped them. Planets, stars, and the Zodiac also played an important role in the theology of the ancients. Now, here in the abode of Mysteries, in the Temple of the ‘One’, the celestial objects mentioned above, fall… they just fall. So, beware the illusions! Here, in the domain of the Secret Order, we do not worship anything from the visible world as true divinities, but only as reflections or manifestations of an invisible Truth—the Word, the Word uttered by God—the Universal Mind that diffuses everything, our Father who art in heaven.
“There is a spark of God in each of us, embedded inside, deep within our minds—the only bridge between Heaven and Earth, or shall I say, between Spirit and Body. Man is a tri-une being, set in disorder most of the time. Lost between two worlds, and sunk in duality, man remains a wanderer inside a labyrinth of error. Let the mind be conscious of itself, as holder and keeper of the word, so that it can connect the body and spirit in one Unity Point of Truth. Accordingly, creation of Harmony will occur, and Order will be established.”
Silence echoed in the Chamber for a few seconds.
The Hierophant moved towards the altar, and stood majestically behind it. The sign of Pisces appeared, inscribed on the visible side of the altar. He took a cup of wine in his hand, raised it, and uttered mystically, “The cup of wine is the spirit, and the piece of bread is the body.” He paused, as Paul watched him in silent admiration, not knowing if he had appeared from the world of visions or the world of realities.
Then it dawned on him. He was the Priest of the Most High… he was Melki-Sedek!
A melodious susurrus slowly started to become audible, and it seemed to be emanating from the two beautiful Pillars by the sides of the Great Altar. The golden stone on the left Pillar twinkled. Its light grew steadily, ever more intensely. At the same time, the purple stone—on the peak of the right Pillar—beamed softly, and filled the room with exquisite colors.
“The Pillars are alive!” Paul whispered in wonder.
The wheat—engraved on the left golden Pillar—shone vividly, and changed into bread. Meanwhile, the vine—ascending along the purple right Pillar—gleamed with a bloody red light, and turned into wine. The powerful words of Melki-Sedek had brought life to the Pillars, and the light emerging from the Stones had fused into one, at the point where the sign of Pisces shone on the Great Altar… and the two fishes merged into one!
Magically, on the ancient wall behind the Great Altar, the painting of the most sacred rite of all times—that of ‘bread and wine’—regenerated gradually into a new one, as the few pieces of the puzzle found their hidden yet determined places, forming a complete image of the Last Supper. There, at the table, Jesus Christ and his disciples shared the bread and wine.
Most certainly, it was not the painting described in The Da Vinci Code! Paul thought.
“I elevate the loaf of bread and the cup of wine to you, Abba, so you can bless the people of Earth, and unify them with you, Oh, Universal Mind,” the High Priest intoned. He then ate and drank in a ritual of unification, and asked Paul to do the same in real life. A great sense of sacred presence overwhelmed Paul, as he recognized the Truth in the High Priest’s words, which entered into his very realm, like the very first rays of Sun—the Son—that shine over the darkened world.
“The cup of wine is the remembrance of the Spirit that inhabits us all, and leaves us at the moment of death.” He took a moment, and then said, “The piece of bread is the assurance, which the Body gives to life,” he continued softly. “Death and Life—the great riddle of the human mind—will no longer be an enigma to you, brother, but rather, an answer to your query.”
“Know that death is not a complete breakdown of the human being. It is not
the end. It is just death in the Body, and life in the eternal Spirit. That God has resurrected, be it Osiris or Adonis does not matter anymore. What matters is you, my brother! Understand that you too will resurrect one day above the cycle of generation. It will happen when the light of the dawn of time shines upon you, and lifts you up in a final resurrection, out of the circle of necessity and into the abode of the Father.” He waited in silence, and added, “Let Justice and Mercy be the eternal lights that guide you through the refinement of your spirit and the perfection of your Body. Henceforth, under the Eye of Providence and with perpetual effort, I, Melki-Sedek, bid you to live by the virtues and moralities, as a true witness to the Secret Order. You are the true Keeper of the Word!”
“Along the great history of the Mysteries, Keepers have always been the announcers of the coming of the son of man, who will whisper the eternal dictum of ‘Universal Love and Peace’ into human ears. He will awaken the Divine Truth in the human Mind. He will do all that before leaving the Planet Earth, the Sphere of Generation, to finally merge with the ultimate Truth, as a Son of God, in the realm of the One,” Melki-Sedek concluded eloquently.
Hearing that, Paul looked at the Hierophant of God, the Most High, ‘El-Alyon’, with great respect, honor, and a feeling of commitment. He was one of the few true Keepers of the Word, yearning and waiting for the great coming of the Kosmic Man!
Immediately after that—from the carving of the fish on the Great Altar—a Cross—the Sacred Tau—appeared in all its glorious light. It was the final letter of the Sacred Alphabet. Smoothly but energetically the Divine Sign—bathed in the Eternal Light of Abba—entered Paul’s eyes, conveying its essence into the closing realm of visions.
.48.
The Phoenician Code Page 41