The Gnostic Mass
With Annotations and
Commentary by Helena and Tau Apiryon
Copyright © 1995 Ordo Templi Orientis
All Rights Reserved. No part of
this document may be duplicated in any form; electronic or otherwise,
without the express written permission of Ordo Templi Orientis.
This version of the Gnostic Mass is based on the text as presented in
Appendix VI of Magick: Book IV, Parts I-IV by Aleister Crowley; edited,
annotated and introduced by Hymenaeus Beta; Second Revised Edition, Samuel
Weiser, York Beach, Maine 1997.
This document was edited from an HTML document originally prepared for
Makhashanah Lodge O.T.O. by Frater HRMS M.
Additional stage directions, suggestions and comments by Helena and Tau
Apiryon, when inserted in the text of the Gnostic Mass, are shown in square
brackets.
Use the "<Back" button on your browser to return to this page after reading
the notes.
I
OF THE FURNISHINGS OF THE TEMPLE
IN THE EAST , that
is, in the direction of Boleskine, which is situated on the South-Eastern shore
of Loch Ness in Scotland, two miles east of Foyers, is a shrine or High
Altar. Its dimensions should be 7 feet in length, 3 feet in breadth, 44
inches in height. It should be covered with a crimson altar-cloth, on which may
be embroidered fleur-de-lys in
gold, or a sunblaze, or other suitable emblem. [On the Altar are placed the
Priest's Robe and Crown.]
On each side of it should be a pillar or
obelisk , with countercharges in black and white.
Below it should be
the dais of three
steps , in black and white squares.
Above it is the super-altar
, at whose top is the Stèle of Revealing
in reproduction, with four candles on each side of it. Below the stèle is a
place for The Book of the Law , with six candles on each side of it.
Below this again is the Holy Graal , with
roses on each
side of it. There is room in front of the Cup for the Paten . On each
side beyond the roses are two great candles .
[NOTE]
All this is enclosed within a great Veil.
Forming the apex of an
equilateral triangle whose base is a line drawn between the pillars, is a small
black square altar, of superimposed cubes.
Taking this altar as the
middle of the base of a similar and equal triangle, at the apex of this second
triangle is a small circular font.
Repeating, the apex of a third
triangle is an upright coffin, or Tomb. [NOTE]
II
OF THE OFFICERS OF THE MASS
The PRIEST
. Bears the Sacred
Lance , and is clothed at first in a plain white
robe .
The PRIESTESS .
Should be actually Virgo Intacta or specially dedicated to the service of the
Great Order. She is clothed in white, blue, and gold. She bears the Sword from a red girdle , and
the Paten and Hosts, or Cakes of Light .
The DEACON . He is
clothed in white and yellow. He bears The Book of the Law .
Two
CHILDREN .
They are clothed in white and black. One bears a pitcher of water and a cellar
of salt, the other a censer of fire and a casket of perfume .
III
OF THE CEREMONY OF THE INTROIT
The DEACON, opening the door of the Temple, admits the congregation and
takes his stand between the small altar and the font. (There should be a
doorkeeper to attend to the admission.)
The DEACON advances and bows
before the open shrine where the Graal is exalted. He kisses The Book of the
Law three times, opens it, and places it upon the super-altar. He turns
West.
[
The Proclamation of the Law ]
The DEACON: Do
what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. [Liber AL I:40]
I proclaim the
Law of Light, Life,
Love, and Liberty in the name of IAÔ .
The CONGREGATION: Love is the law, love under will.
[Liber AL I:57]
The DEACON goes to his place between the altar
of incense and the font, [directs the
congregation to rise,] faces East, and gives the step and sign of a Man
and a Brother . All imitate him.
[ The
Creed (Credo) ]
The DEACON and all the PEOPLE:
I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one
Star in the Company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall
return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name CHAOS, the
sole viceregent of the Sun upon the Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all
that breathes.
And I believe in one Earth, the
Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they
shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON.
And I believe in
the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET.
And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic
Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELÊMA.
And I believe in the communion of Saints.
And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into
spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the
Mass.
And I confess one Baptism of
Wisdom whereby we accomplish the Miracle of Incarnation.
And I
confess my life one,
individual, and eternal that was, and is, and is to come.
AUMGN. AUMGN.
AUMGN.
[ The Entry of the Priestess and Children ]
Music is now played. The child enters with the ewer and the
salt. The VIRGIN enters with the Sword and the Paten. The child enters with the
censer and the perfume. They face the DEACON, deploying into line, from the
space between the two altars.
The VIRGIN: Greeting of Earth and
Heaven!
All give the Hailing Sign of a
Magician , the DEACON leading.
The
PRIESTESS , the negative child on her left, the positive child on her right,
ascends the steps of the High Altar. They await her below .
She places the
Paten before the Graal. Having adored it, she descends, and with the
children following her, the positive next her, she moves in a
serpentine manner involving 3 and a half circles of
the Temple . (Deosil about altar, widdershins about font, deosil about altar
and font, widdershins about altar, and so to the Tomb in the West.) She draws
her Sword and pulls down the Veil therewith.
[ The Entry of the Priest ]
The PRIESTESS:
By the power of Iron ,
I say unto thee, Arise. In the name of our Lord the Sun, and of our Lord ... ,
that thou mayst administer the virtues to the Brethren.
She
sheathes the Sword.
The PRIEST, issuing from the Tomb, holding the Lance
erect with both hands, right over left, against his breast, takes the first three
regular steps . He then gives the Lance to the PRIESTESS, and gives the three penal
signs .
He then kneels and worships the Lance with both hands.
Penitential music.
[ The Confession of the Priest ]
The PRIEST:
I am a man among men.
He takes again the Lance, and
lowers it. He rises.
The PRIEST: How should I be worthy to
administer the virtues to the Brethren?
[ The Lustration of the Priest ]
The PRIESTESS
takes from the child the water and the salt, and mixes them in the font.
The PRIESTESS: Let the salt of
Earth admonish the water to bear the virtue of the Great Sea. (Genuflects.)
Mother, be thou adored.
She returns to the West. on PRIEST with open hand doth she
make, over his forehead, breast, and body.
Be the PRIEST pure of
body and soul!
[ The Consecration of the Priest ]
The PRIESTESS
takes the censer from the child, and places it on the small altar. She puts
incense therein.
Let the Fire and the
Air make sweet the world! (Genuflects.)
Father, be thou adored.
She returns West, and makes with the censer before the PRIEST, thrice as before.
Be the PRIEST fervent of body and soul!
(The
children resume their weapons as they are done with.)
[ The Vesture of the Priest ]
The DEACON now
takes the consecrated Robe from High Altar, and brings it to her. She robes the
PRIEST in his Robe of scarlet and gold.
Be the flame of the Sun
thine ambience , O
thou PRIEST of the SUN!
[ The Coronation of the Priest ]
The DEACON
brings the crown from the
High Altar. (The crown may be of gold or platinum, or of electrum magicum; but
with no other metals, save the small proportions necessary to a proper alloy. It
may be adorned with divers jewels, at will But it must have the Uraeus serpent
twined about it, and the cap of maintenance
must match the scarlet of the Robe. Its texture should be velvet.)
[She
places the cap of maintenance and crown upon the head of the PRIEST.]
Be the Serpent thy crown, O thou PRIEST of the LORD!
[ The Consecration of the Lance, and the Invocation of the Lord ]
Kneeling, she takes the Lance, between her open hands,
and runs them up and down upon the shaft eleven times,
very gently.
Be the LORD present among us!
All
give the Hailing Sign. [All should be standing at this point.]
The
PEOPLE: So mote it be.
IV
OF THE CEREMONY OF THE OPENING OF THE VEIL
[ The Raising of the Priestess ]
The PRIEST:
Thee therefore whom we adore we also invoke. By the power of the lifted
Lance!
He raises the Lance. All repeat Hailing Sign.
A
phrase of triumphant music.
The PRIEST takes the PRIESTESS by her right
hand with his left, keeping the Lance raised.
I, PRIEST and
KING, take thee, Virgin pure without spot; I upraise thee; I lead thee to the
East; I set thee upon the summit of the Earth.
He thrones the
PRIESTESS upon the altar. The DEACON and the children follow, they in rank,
behind him. The PRIESTESS takes The Book of the Law, resumes her seat, and holds
it open on her breast with her two hands, making a descending
triangle with thumbs and forefingers. [The people may sit.]
The
PRIEST gives the lance to the DEACON to hold, and takes the ewer from the child,
and sprinkles the PRIESTESS, making five crosses, forehead, shoulders, and
thighs.
The
thumb of the PRIEST is always between his index and medius, whenever he is
not holding the Lance. The PRIEST takes the censer from the child, and makes
five crosses, as before. The children replace their
weapons on their respective altars.
The PRIEST kisses The Book of
the Law three times. [NOTE] He kneels for a
space in adoration, with joined hands, knuckles closed, thumb in position
aforesaid.
He rises, and draws the veil over the whole altar.
[ The Circumambulation of the Temple ]
All rise
and stand to order[at the direction of the Deacon].
The PRIEST takes the
lance from the DEACON, and holds it as before, as Osiris or Phthah . He
circumambulates the Temple three times, followed by the DEACON and the
children as before. ( These, when not
using their hands, keep their arms crossed
upon their breasts. )
[ The Ascent to the Veil ]
At the last
circumambulation they leave him, and go to the place between the font and the
small altar, where they kneel in adoration
, their hands joined palm to palm, and raised above their heads.
All
[the People] imitate this motion.
[ The Priest's First Oration Before the Veil ]
The PRIEST returns to the East, and mounts the first step of
the altar.
The PRIEST: O circle of Stars whereof our Father is
but the younger brother, marvel beyond imagination, soul of infinite space,
before whom Time is Ashamed, the mind bewildered, and the understanding dark,
not unto Thee may we attain, unless Thine image be Love. Therefore by seed and
root and stem and bud and leaf and flower and fruit do we invoke Thee.
"Then the priest answered & said unto the Queen of Space, kissing
her lovely brows, and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a
sweet-smelling perfume of sweat; O Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be
ever thus; that men speak not of thee as One but as None; and let them speak not
of thee at all, since thou art continuous!" [Liber AL, I:27]
[ The Priestess's Oration From Behind the Veil ]
During this speech
the PRIESTESS must have divested herself completely of her robe. See CCXX I:62.
The PRIESTESS: "But to love me is better than all things; if
under the night-stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before
me, invoking me with a pure heart, and the serpent flame therein, thou shalt
come a little to lie in my bosom. For one kiss wilt thou then be willing to give
all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall lose all in that hour. Ye shall
gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear rich jewels; ye shall
exceed the nations of the earth in splendour and pride; but always in the love
of me, and so shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me
in a single robe, and covered with a rich head-dress. I love you! I yearn to
you! Pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I who am all pleasure and purple, and
drunkenness of the innermost sense, desire you. Put on the wings, and arouse the
coiled splendour within you: come unto me!" [Liber AL, I:61] "To me! To me!"
[Liber AL, I:62] "Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes!
Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you. I am the blue-lidded
daughter of sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky. To
me! To me!" [Liber AL, I:63-65]
[ The Priest's Second Oration Before the Veil ]
The PRIEST mounts the second step.
The PRIEST:
O secret of secrets that art hidden in the being of all that lives, not
Thee do we adore, for that which adoreth is also Thou. Thou art That, and That
am I.
"I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core
of every star. I am Life, and the giver of Life; yet therefore is the knowledge
of me the knowledge of death." [Liber AL, II:6] "I am alone; there is no God where
I am." [Liber AL, II:23]
[ The Calendar ]
The DEACON and all rise to
their feet, with the Hailing sign.
The DEACON: "But ye, O my
people rise up and awake!
"Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy and
beauty!
"There are rituals of the
elements and feasts of the times.
"A feast for the first
night of the Prophet and his Bride!
"A feast for the three
days of the writing of the Book of the Law."
A feast for Tahuti and the
children of the
Prophet -- secret, O Prophet!
"A feast for the Supreme
Ritual , and a feast for the Equinox
of the Gods.
"A feast for fire
and a feast for
water; a feast
for life and a greater feast for
death!
"A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture!
"A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!"
[Liber AL, II:34-43.]
[The People may resume their seats.]
[ The Priest's Third Oration Before the Veil ]
The PRIEST mounts the third step.
The PRIEST:
Thou that art One, our Lord in the Universe the Sun, our Lord in
ourselves whose name is Mystery of Mystery, uttermost being whose radiance
enlightening the worlds is also the breath that maketh every God even and Death
to tremble before Thee -- By the Sign of Light appear Thou glorious upon the throne of the Sun. [NOTE]
Make open the path of creation and of intelligence between us and our
minds. Enlighten our understanding.
Encourage our hearts. Let thy light
crystallize itself in our blood, fulfilling us of Resurrection. [NOTE]
A
ka dua
Tuf ur biu
Bi a'a chefu
Dudu nur af an nuteru. [NOTE]
The PRIESTESS: "There is no law beyond Do what thou
wilt. " [Liber AL, III:60.]
[ The Opening of the Veil ]
The PRIEST parts the
veil with his lance. During the previous speeches the PRIESTESS has, if
necessary, as in savage countries
, resumed her robe.
The PRIEST: IÔ IÔ IÔ IAÔ SABAÔ
KURIE ABRASAX KURIE MEITHRAS KURIE
PHALLE .
IÔ PAN, IÔ PAN
PAN IÔ ISKHUROS, IÔ
ATHANATOS IÔ ABROTOS IÔ IAÔ.
KHAIRE PHALLE
KHAIRE PAMPHAGE KHAIRE PANGENETÔR.
HAGIOS, HAGIOS,
HAGIOS IAÔ.
The PRIESTESS is seated with the Paten in her
right hand and the cup in her left. [She then sets them down, the Paten to her
left, the Cup to her right.]
The PRIEST presents the Lance, which she
kisses eleven
times.
She then holds it to her breast, while the PRIEST, falling at her
knees, kisses them, his arms stretched along her
thighs. He remains in this adoration while the DEACON intones the
Collects.
All stand to order,
with the Dieu Garde ,
that is, feet square, hands, with linked thumbs, held loosely. This is the
universal position when standing, unless other direction is given.
V
OF THE OFFICE OF THE COLLECTS WHICH
ARE ELEVEN IN NUMBER
The DEACON: Lord visible and sensible of whom this earth is but a
frozen spark turning about thee with annual and diurnal motion, source of light,
source of life, let thy perpetual radiance hearten us to continual labour and
enjoyment; so that as we are constant partakers of thy bounty we may in our
particular orbit give out light and life, sustenance and joy to them that
revolve about us without diminution of substance or effulgence for ever.
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
The DEACON: Lord secret and most holy, source of light, source of
life, source of love, source of liberty, be thou ever constant and mighty within
us, force of energy, fire of motion; with diligence let us ever labour with
thee, that we may remain in thine abundant joy.
The PEOPLE:
So mote it be.
The DEACON: Lady of night, that turning ever about us art now visible
and now invisible in thy season, be thou favourable to hunters, and lovers, and
to all men that toil upon the earth, and to all mariners upon the sea.
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
The DEACON: Giver and receiver of joy, gate of life and love, be thou
ever ready, thou and thine handmaiden, in thine office of gladness.
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
The DEACON: Lord of Life and Joy, that art the might of man, that art
the essence of every true god that is upon the surface of the Earth, continuing
knowledge from generation unto generation, thou adored of us upon heaths and in
woods, on mountains and in caves, openly in the marketplaces and secretly in the
chambers of our houses, in temples of gold and ivory and marble as in these
other temples of our bodies, we worthily commemorate them worthy that did of old
adore thee and manifest they glory unto men,
(At each name the
DEACON signs with thumb between index and medius. At ordinary mass it is only
necessary to commemorate those whose names are italicized, with wording as is
shown.)
Lao-tzu and Siddhârtha and Krishna and Tahuti, Mosheh, Dionysus, Mohammed and To Mega Thêrion, with these
also, Hermês,
Pan, Priapus, Osiris and Melchizedek, Khem and Amoun and Mentu, Hêraclês, Orpheus and Odysseus; with Vergilius, Catullus , Martialis, Rabelais, Swinburne, and many an
holy bard; Apollonius
Tyanæus, Simon
Magus, Manes, Pythagoras , Basilides, Valentinus, Bardesanes and Hippolytus, that
transmitted the Light of the Gnosis to us their successors and their heirs;
with Merlin, Arthur, Kamuret, Parzival, and many
another, prophet, priest and king, that bore the Lance and Cup, the Sword and
Disk, against the Heathen; and these also, Carolus Magnus and his
paladins, with William of
Schyren, Frederick
of Hohenstaufen, Roger
Bacon, Jacobus
Burgundus Molensis the Martyr, Christian
Rosencreutz, Ulrich von Hutten, Paracelsus, Michael Maier, Roderic Borgia Pope Alexander
the Sixth, Jacob
Boehme, Francis Bacon
Lord Verulam, Andrea, Robertus de Fluctibus, Johannes Dee, Sir Edward Kelly, Thomas Vaughan, Elias Ashmole, Molinos, Adam Weishaupt, Wolfgang von Goethe, William Blake , Ludovicus Rex Bavariæ, Richard Wagner, Alphonse Louis Constant,
Friedrich
Nietzsche, Hargrave
Jennings, Carl
Kellner , Forlong
dux, Sir Richard Payne
Knight, Sir Richard
Francis Burton, Paul
Gauguin, Docteur Gérard
Encausse , Doctor
Theodor Reuss , and Sir Aleister Crowley
-- Oh Sons of the Lion and the Snake! With all thy saints we worthily
commemorate them worthy that were and are and are to come.
May their
Essence be here present, potent, puissant and paternal to perfect this feast!
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
The DEACON: Mother of fertility on whose breast lieth water, whose
cheek is caressed by air, and in whose heart is the sun's fire, womb of all
life, recurring grace of seasons, answer favorably the prayer of labour, and to
pastors and husbandmen be thou propitious.
The PEOPLE:
So mote it be.
The DEACON: Mysterious Energy, triform ,
mysterious Matter, in fourfold and sevenfold
division, the interplay of which things weave the dance of the Veil of Life upon
the Face of the Spirit, let there be Harmony and Beauty in your mystic loves,
that in us may be health and wealth and strength and divine pleasure according
to the Law of Liberty; let each pursue his Will as a strong man that rejoiceth
in his way, as the course of a Star that blazeth for ever among the joyous
company of Heaven.
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
The DEACON: Be the hour auspicious, and the gate of life open in
peace and in well-being, so that she that beareth children may rejoice, and the
babe catch life with both hands.
The PEOPLE: So mote it
be.
The DEACON: Upon all that this day unite with love under will let
fall success; may strength and skill unite to bring forth ecstasy, and beauty
answer beauty.
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
All stand, Head erect, Eyes open.
The DEACON: Term of all
that liveth, whose name is inscrutable, be favourable unto us in thine hour.
The PEOPLE: So mote it be.
The DEACON: Unto them from whose eyes the veil of life hath fallen
may there be granted the accomplishment of their true Wills; whether they will
absorption in the Infinite, or to be united with their chosen and preferred, or
to be in contemplation, or to be at peace, or to achieve the labour and heroism
of incarnation on this planet or another, or in any Star, or aught else, unto
them may there be granted the accomplishment of their wills; yea, the
accomplishment of their wills.
AUMGN. AUMGN. AUMGN.
The
PEOPLE: So mote it be.
All [the People] sit.
The DEACON and the
children attend the PRIEST and PRIESTESS, ready to hold any appropriate
weapon as may be necessary.
VI
OF THE CONSECRATION OF THE ELEMENTS
[The
PRIESTESS picks up the Cup and Paten.]
|
1 |
|
The PRIEST makes the five
crosses . 3 |
|
2 on paten and cup; 4 on paten alone; 5 on cup alone. |
The PRIEST: Life
of man upon earth, fruit of labour, sustenance of endeavour, thus be thou
nourishment of the Spirit!
He touches the Host with the Lance.
By the virtue of the Rod!
Be this bread the Body of God!
[He hands the Lance to the Deacon.]
He takes the Host.
TOUTO ESTI TO SÔMA
MOU.
He [replaces Host,] kneels, adores, rises, [takes Paten and
Host,] turns, shows Host to the PEOPLE [holding the Paten beneath it],
turns, replaces [Paten and] Host, and adores. Music.
He takes the
Cup.
Vehicle of the joy of Man upon earth, solace of labour,
inspiration of endeavour, thus be thou ecstasy of the Spirit!
He touches the Cup with the Lance.
By the
virtue of the Rod!
Be this wine the Blood of God!
He [hands
the Lance to the Deacon and] takes the Cup.
TOUTO ESTI TO
POTÊRION TOU HAIMATOS MOU.
He [replaces the Cup,] kneels,
adores, rises, [takes the Cup,] turns, shows the Cup to the PEOPLE, turns
replaces the Cup, and adores. Music.
[He takes the Lance.]
For this is the Covenant of
Resurrection.
He makes the five crosses on the PRIESTESS.
Accept, O LORD, this sacrifice of life [indicates Host] and joy
[indicates Cup], true warrants
of the Covenant of Resurrection.
The PRIEST offers the Lance to
the PRIESTESS, who kisses it; he then touches her between the breasts and upon
the body. He then flings out his arms upward, as comprehending the whole shrine.
Let this offering be borne upon the waves of Æthyr to our Lord
and Father the Sun that travelleth over the Heavens in his name ON.
He closes his hands, kisses the PRIESTESS between the
breasts, and makes three great crosses over the Paten, the Cup, and himself. He
strikes his breast. All repeat this action.
Hear ye all, saints
of the true church of old time now essentially
present , that of ye we claim heirship, with ye we claim communion, from ye
we claim benediction in the name of IAÔ.
He makes three crosses
on Paten and Cup together. [He hands the Lance to the Deacon.] He uncovers the
Cup, genuflects, takes the Cup in his left hand and the Host in his right. With
the Host he makes the five crosses on the Cup. 1
3 2
5 4
He elevates the
Host and the Cup. The Bell strikes.
[ The Trisagion or Sanctus ]
HAGIOS HAGIOS
HAGIOS IAÔ!
He replaces the Host and the Cup, and adores.
[NOTE]
[The
Priest takes the Lance. The Deacon returns to his usual station.]
VII
OF THE OFFICE OF THE ANTHEM
The PRIEST:
Thou who art I, beyond all I am,
Who hast no
nature and no name,
Who art, when all but Thou are gone,
Thou, centre
and secret of the Sun,
Thou, hidden spring of all things known
And
unknown, Thou aloof, alone,
Thou, the true fire within the reed
Brooding
and breeding, source and seed
Of life, love, liberty, and light,
Thou
beyond speech and beyond sight,
Thee I invoke, my faint fresh fire
Kindling as mine intents aspire.
Thee I invoke, abiding one,
Thee,
centre and secret of the Sun,
And that most holy mystery
Of which the
vehicle am I.
Appear, most awful and most mild,
As it is lawful, in thy
child!
The CHORUS:
For of the Father and the
Son
The Holy Spirit is the norm;
Male-female, quintessential, one,
Man-being veiled in Woman-form.
Glory and worship in the highest,
Thou Dove, mankind that deifiest,
Being that race, most royally run
To spring sunshine through winter storm.
Glory and worship be to Thee,
Sap of the world-ash, wonder-tree!
First Semichorus, MEN:
Glory to Thee from
Gilded Tomb!
Second Semichorus, WOMEN:
Glory to
Thee from Waiting Womb!
MEN:
Glory to Thee from
earth unploughed!
WOMEN:
Glory to Thee from
virgin vowed!
MEN:
Glory to Thee, true Unity
Of the Eternal Trinity!
WOMEN:
Glory to
Thee, thou sire and dam
And self of I am that I am!
MEN:
Glory to Thee, beyond all term,
Thy spring of sperm, thy
seed and germ!
WOMEN:
Glory to Thee, eternal
Sun,
Thou One in Three, Thou Three in One!
CHORUS:
Glory and worship be to Thee,
Sap of the world-ash,
wonder-tree!
(These words are to form the substance of the
anthem; but the whole or any part thereof shall be set to music, which may be as
elaborate as art can devise. But even should other anthems be authorized by the
Father of the Church, this shall hold its place as the first of its kind, the
father of all others.)
VIII
OF THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE AND CONSUMMATION OF THE ELEMENTS
The PRIEST takes the Paten between the index and medius of the right hand.
The PRIESTESS clasps the Cup in her right hand.
[ The Blessing of the Elements ]
The PRIEST:
Lord most secret, bless this spiritual food unto our bodies, bestowing
upon us health and wealth and strength and joy and peace, and that fulfilment of
will and of love under will that is perpetual happiness. [NOTE]
He makes with Paten and kisses it.
[He sets Paten on Altar and hands Lance
to Priestess.]
[ The Fractio ]
He uncovers the Cup, genuflects,
rises. Music.
He takes the Host, and breaks it over the Cup.
He
replaces the right-hand portion in the Paten.
He breaks off a particle of
the left-hand portion.
TOUTO ESTI TO SPERMA
MOU. HO PATÊR ESTIN HO HUIOS DIA TO PNEUMA HAGION.
AUMGN. AUMGN. AUMGN.
He replaces the left-hand part of the Host.
[ The Consignatio and Commixto ]
The PRIESTESS
extends the Lance-point with her left hand to receive the particle.
The
PRIEST clasps the Cup in his left hand.
Together they depress the
Lance-point in the Cup. [NOTE]
The PRIEST and the PRIESTESS: HRILIU .
The PRIEST takes the Lance.
The PRIESTESS covers the
Cup.
[ The Epiklesis
]
The PRIEST [hands the Lance to the Priestess] genuflects,
rises, bows, joins hands. He strikes his
breast.
The PRIEST: O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the
destroyer, be mighty among us.
O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the
destroyer, be mighty among us.
O Lion and O Serpent that destroy the
destroyer, be mighty among us. [NOTE]
[ The Consummation of the Elements ]
The PRIEST
joins hands upon the breast of the PRIESTESS, and takes back his Lance.
He turns to the People, lowers and raises the Lance, and makes upon them.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the
Law.
The PEOPLE: Love is the law, love under will.
He lowers the Lance, and turns to East.
The PRIESTESS
takes the Lance in her right hand. With her left hand she offers the Paten.
The PRIEST kneels.
The PRIEST: In my mouth be the
essence of the life of the Sun.
He takes the Host with the
right hand, makes with it on the Paten, and consumes it.
Silence.
The
PRIESTESS takes, uncovers, and offers the Cup, as before.
The PRIEST:
In my mouth be the essence of the joy of the earth!
He
takes the Cup, makes on the PRIESTESS, drains it and returns it.
Silence.
He rises, takes the Lance, and turns to the PEOPLE.
The PRIEST:
There is
no part of me that is not of the Gods.
(Those of the PEOPLE
who intend to communicate, and none other should be present, having signified
their intention, a whole Cake of Light, and a whole goblet of
wine, have been prepared for each one. The DEACON marshals them; they
advance one by one to the altar. The children take the Elements and offer them.
The PEOPLE
communicate as did the PRIEST, uttering the same words in an attitude of
Resurrection : "There is no part of me that is not of the Gods." The
exceptions to this part of the ceremony are when it is of the nature of a
celebration, in which case none but the PRIEST communicate; or part of the
ceremony of marriage, when none other, save the two to be married, partake; part
of the ceremony of baptism, when only the child baptised partakes; and of
Confirmation at puberty, when only the persons confirmed partake. The Sacrament
may be reserved by the PRIEST, for administration to the sick in their homes.
The PRIEST closes all within the veil.
[ The Benediction (Benedictio) ]
With the Lance
he makes on the people thrice, thus.
The PRIEST: The LORD bless you.
The LORD enlighten your minds and comfort your hearts and
sustain your bodies.
The LORD bring you to the accomplishment of your true Wills,
the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
He
goes out, the DEACON and Children following, into the tomb of the West.
Music. (Voluntary.) [NOTE]
NOTE: The PRIESTESS and other officers never partake
of the Sacrament, they being as it were part of the PRIEST himself. [NOTE]
NOTE: Certain secret formulæ of this Mass are taught to the PRIEST in
his Ordination. [NOTE]