If the Hierophant really, really wants to push the boat out for all time, then tapping into the powers of Divinity before the Abyss and drawing a consecration line from that power is about as foolhardy and inspired as one can possibly be. This is probably the deepest form of consecrated lineage that it is possible to bring through into humanity and it is one that lasts the longest. It is also the most dangerous thing to attempt and most times will result in at least some physical injury.
However, this work is powerful in its purity and steps back beyond the division between lodge and temple. It is a line of pure Divine power that needs no magic or worship to define it, as it is the true power of the universe manifest. By anchoring a human line of consecration to that power, you awaken within the consecrated priest/ess the true power of Divinity and all that such power reveals to the soul. The line between priest and magician vanishes, and the consecrated one simply becomes a mediator of power.
If the Hierophant was planning on building a temple and line that would work with Golden Dawn rituals and Wiccan love spells, this method of building a line is probably not the right one. This method is probably most suited to magical lines that have a full understanding of the flow of Divinity through nature, through magic and through our selves. By manifesting that power through a consecrated line we create a bridge through our humanity so that we can better connect with and understand the immensity of the Divine power that is around us and yet so poorly understood.
If this method is used for a lodge/group, then it is important to understand that the power line that the consecrated priest/ess will carry will bridge the role of priest/magician. Also, the consecrated person will probably be called upon by the inner worlds to act in both roles at some time. That does not mean that the lodge becomes a religious temple, rather the lodge becomes a doorway for the deeper mysteries that an initiate can immerse themselves in, rather than a magical lodge of service or a temple of worship.
The development of a consecrated line using this technique will, therefore, build a lodge of the inner/Greater Mysteries. The Hierophant and founding group will need to be aware of the responsibilities that go with such an immense undertaking. It is a minefield simply by nature of the levels of power involved, so it is a step that needs to be thought about very carefully.
The other dynamic that plays through such a line is the fast inner development of the founding members which can be awe-inspiring or terrifying, depending on how you view it. The ability to have any control at all over what happens in the lodge is quickly taken away from the members. What happens instead is that the natural flow and order of the universe is the only dynamic that can be used in the lodge without the power becoming unstable. As humans we are used to having certain levels of control over what we do and who we are but when that is taken from us we flounder unless we can surrender and trust. This was one of the inner mysteries of the near eastern religions that became distorted quickly into an outer dogma which controlled and suppressed.
A lodge that carries such a consecrated line will most likely develop into a lodge that operates at a deep magical level as a hive mediator for Divinity within humanity and nature. No outward discernable service will be apparent so the true service of such a lodge will be to work without knowing what they are doing or why. While this can seem strange to most humans, it is a deep dynamic of power whereby we become fulcrums for massive waves of power that sweep through time. It is these tides of power that create foundations for future civilisations, future waves of humanity and for destruction where it is needed.
There is no surface service like healing, death work etc because the work of an inner mystery lodge deals with the creation and destruction of the universe in its varied octaves and forms. This form of a lodge holds little glamour — no one ever knows what you do, or why you do it. Nothing is seen, nothing is spoken and the adepts and priest/esses are truly a mystery and pass among the crowds unseen and unrecognised. There is no hierarchy, no badge, nothing to be proud of, and nothing that can be used for personal gain: the power octaves are just too high to be used for individual focus. Because of this, very few groups in history have ever built these types of lodges, but some have and because of that selfless action we have access to deep levels of knowledge and power that have not manifested in our world for a very long time.
If the group and the Hierophant have considered all the downs and ups of such work and still decide that they wish to turn their lives over to the work of the Inner Mysteries then the preparations must begin.
THE PREPARATIONS
Because the work is so much more powerful than the other forms of creating a line, the preparations need a bit more care and attention, and require a much longer preparation time. The cleansing should start on the first new moon near or after the winter solstice and will involve a body, life, and spirit cleansing.
Because the adepts and Hierophant are going to be taking pure Divine power into themselves, their bodies and lives need to be balanced enough to be able to take the strain. Anyone who is old or sick should not attempt this and if any of the founding group becomes very ill during the preparations, then they can still work in a supporting/guardian role but they must not take on the full power. Any adept who attempts this must truly be an adept (not someone with the title after a weekend course), they should be over the age of 30, have a good deal of inner experience under his belt and have worked with angelic, demonic, and deity consciousness to a level of ease.
The first round of preparation begins with the body. All animal products, all mind altering substances, all medications, and all toxic substances must be eliminated. Any medicines needed should be herbs, homeopathy etc that do not ‘bully’ the body into behaving a certain way. This cleansing is not about being ‘pure’, but is about ensuring that the body chemistry, particularly in the bowel and brain, are balanced and able to take impact. The endocrine system and the brain with attendant neurotransmitters take the full impact of this work so these parts of the body need to be adequately prepared.
The person will need to gain some weight if they are thin because the impact on the body can be immense with this work and if the body has little ballast and fuel it will buckle under the strain. I attempted a similar action while weighing a light 7 stone (98lbs) and paid for it with permanent body damage. I have learned since to let my body tell me when it needs ballast and to not be swayed by societal fashions. This does not mean that the adept should pig out and get fat while eating his favourite cream buns, it means that the body needs to be suitably stocked with what it needs and no more. For women that means body fat on the thighs, inner legs, breasts, and hips. This is the estrogen storage area and the estrogen protects the body against inner impact. For men the weight distribution is more dispersed and there is a greater need in the men to have some muscle mass as testosterone functions through the deep muscle. So the men need to go for long walks!
Unhealthy weight will show in both men and women by carrying ‘upfront’ on the upper abdomen. Not only does this signal high cholesterol, it is also a type of fast burning visceral fat that inhibits certain levels of inner power from distributing through the body.
The body of the adept once basically clean, needs to become in tune with the power of nature as the threads of power that will be woven into them are powers that speak to and with nature in all its glory. One way to do this is to go out in storms, in weather, and commune with the storm. Do not try to affect it or draw it to you, just be with it and ‘listen’ to its power and be aware of its communion with the land. Similarly, regular visits to the forest, the sea, the desert, any local expression of the power of nature will help. Sit with power and let it talk to you. Feel yourself blend in with it and become a part of it and this will slowly heighten your inner sensitivity which will come in handy later on.
Upon gaining a good level of sensitivity, then it is time to start putting it into practice to exercise and deepen it. Go to a local zoo when it is a quiet time and be with the animals. Feel their distress, confusion, and feel their mental illnesses brought on by imprisonment. Feel their intelligence and spirit, feel their needs and wants, and feel their personalities. When you have a good connection with an animal, reach out from an inner point of view and take a portion of its suffering into yourself. Do this with as many animals as you can until you are full of their suffering. When you can take no more, sit down somewhere quiet and go into the void, let their suffering go and wait a while in the peace. The moment you feel your heart is still, draw out of the void the power of Divinity and go back around the animals that you helped and mediate that power to them — do not try and form it, rather just let it be whatever it needs to be.
This exercise not only prepares you for taking on and dispersing the suffering all around you, which is a side product of the work, it also teaches you to mediate Divinity without trying to form it in any way which is a major hallmark of the Inner Mysteries. You have no control over the power, where it goes or what it does: you are a doorway, nothing more.
Through the winter the adept will need to work on being healthy with the adjusted diet while building the levels of sensitivity within and preparing the soul for the impact of the work. The other preparation that is advisable over the winter is the adjustment of the personality. It is easy, particularly in a post Christian world, to fall into a trap of purity and denial with this work. This work attracts people who like control in one form or another, which also means control over themselves (me? A control freak? Nah…). This can be a good thing or a bad thing. It can be good in that the extreme discipline that is sometimes needed can be there, but bad in that such self denial can become a form of impressive martyrdom which becomes a badge and a glamour within itself; so tread carefully.
The personality and ego is something which truly drives us in the world and should not be denied in any way. It is healthier to be aware of it, of how it is something that allows you to operate successfully in this world, but it can also become a monster that controls you and destroys everything around you. A step towards preparing the personality for the Inner Mysteries is to begin to watch your personality and see how it operates. Be truthful with yourself in your observations and see how your personality tries to dodge things that can be difficult or unseemly.
Take responsibility for yourself and your immaturities by recognising where they come from, what they are trying to do and how you can achieve what is needed without allowing the personality to drive it. The ego and personality can be a powerful tool if it does not control you. Ego, like imagination, is one of the vehicles that drives us in the inner worlds and it becomes a juggling act to recognise what is harmless about your personality and what is harmful. Life is full of payoffs and if allowing part of your personality or ego to play out in a harmless way achieves a major job, then all is good. If the ego is playing out in a way that is taking over or abusing power, then it is not good and needs reining in.
By the spring the adepts should be ready and chomping at the bit to work. The last round of preparations should begin 4 weeks before the spring equinox. A weekly or twice weekly meeting of the group would allow the adepts to begin to build the visionary work that will facilitate the bringing through of the line. The initial action that will be needed will be for the group to go to the Abyss and ask the Keeper of the Abyss to place them before the angel of Judgement: this surrendering ones self to the re-balancing of this angel is a major step in most powerful inner work — the slate must be wiped clean before the vessel can take on Divine power.
While stood before the angel, all past actions will be weighed, along with actions done to the adept. If the balance is off, or the adept has not learned certain lessons as a result of actions, then the angel will gather up the strands of fate and weave them tightly so that the entire adept’s fate will be played out quickly and the books will be balanced. Another way that this angel can balance books is to weigh up the actions and then cast judgement. The judgement will have a consequence for the adept that the adept must be willing to accept the consequence and to learn from it. From this point on in time, the adept will have an immediate fate pattern, i.e. anything he has done while knowing it is wrong. The adept will have the rebalancing action in his life almost straight away. Similarly, any negative action directed at the adept will be tempered by a balancing action put in his path. This works for both good and bad actions.
The next step, after all the balancing work has been done, will be the building of a deep inner temple to filter the line. Most other methods of bringing through lines already have inner temples connected to that line in place, and the groups normally only need to build an inner temple to express their lodge work in the inner worlds. But in this instance an inner temple needs to be built before the line is anchored so that it has the deep inner temple as a first filter to pass through. Later the group will also need to build another inner temple that will be an inner meeting place for the priests/esses and initiates that is connected with the lodge work.
The creation of the deep inner temple can be built up over a series of work sessions that will also prepare the adepts for the line work. The Hierophant and the adepts will also be placing a part of themselves in the inner temple. When a deep inner temple is first formed, fragments of the builders are left in the building for future priests and priestesses to communicate with and learn from. The leaving of this fragment will not harm an adept because having parts of themselves in various places is all part of the work.
THE BUILDING OF THE THRESHOLD INNER TEMPLE
To begin the building, pass through the void and emerge out in the desert near the edge of the Abyss. This landscape is what is expressed through the Tree of Life with the Abyss to one end, Malkuth or life in the middle, and death at the opposite end of the desert to the Abyss. Beyond the Abyss is Divinity, beyond death is Divinity; they loop around to each other and are a part of each other.
Out in the desert the Hierophant calls upon the Sandalphon to assist the group in the creation of a threshold temple. The Sandalphon walk with the group to the edge of the Abyss and stand upon the edge of the Abyss. There they call in all directions for helpers. Angelic beings of all kinds come from all directions and prepare to work. The Hierophant is prompted to begin to weave the shape of the inner temple using the hair of the angelic beings around the group. The workers also join in, using their own hair along with the angelic hair to build an intricate pattern of platonic shapes that interconnect. Each pattern is a wall of the temple and each wall can be built over a session, so that the work is spread out over a few sessions. Upon completion of the walls, the group take turns to speak their birth names over the hair walls, leaving a fragment of their personality and history in their breath and their hair.
Once the building is complete, the temple should take on the shape of one of the platonic solids which gives it harmony and balance and also makes it harder for someone to hack into. In the remaining time up to the line work on the equinox, the group can prepare by gathering three or four times in the last week to go in vision and be in the temple. Once there, the group members mediate the stillness of the void into the temple so the temple has shape, angelic and human consciousness and also the void flowing through it. This will prepare the structure for what is to come and will also form it in to a vessel that can contain power without distortion.
The actual anchor work of the line should be done over a two day period that straddles the equinox, with a third day for decompression afterwards. It would be best if the group can be in one place for the whole three days without disruption and with meals etc provided so that no one has to worry about practicalities.
ANCHORING A DIVINE LINE
The group is best prepared at the beginning of the first day if a series of visions are done to connect with the void, the underworld and the stars, just to give orientation to the body and to begin a ‘stretching’ process for the spirit. An altar will be needed in the centre of the room with the use of a focus element to pass through (a flame, stone or bowl of water). Normally, the Hierophant would initiate the work by taking on the role of the one who will carry the biggest burden, i.e. the line itself, but in this case the burden is far too much for one human to carry and is best equally distributed throughout the group. The Hierophant however will be the voice of the visions and will lead each vision for the group.
Some inner stretching will need to be done before it is time to get to work. This can be achieved by working in vision through the element on the central altar and passing through the flame/stone/water into the void. There the workers let go of anything left in them that does not belong with them before stepping out of the void and beginning the walk through the desert to the edge of the Abyss.
At the Abyss, the adepts must be willing to surrender their life if necessary and put the fate of their souls in the hands of the universe. With this surrender, the adepts step out off the cliff of the Abyss and walk without aid to the other side. Gathered at the other side, they will be confronted by a deep mist that is full of power. At this point all the adepts and the Hierophant hold hands both in vision and physically and the group forges forward as one collective being towards the foot of Divinity. The reason for this is that to step before Divine Being alone is suicide; the burden must be shared equally between the workers who will become the foundation.
The collective group steps into the mist and walks forward. The mist becomes thicker and more powerful with each step they take until it is so thick it becomes an almost solid mass that they can hardly penetrate. The group must push on, pushing against the power of the mist until it takes every inch of their strength to move slowly forward. After what feels like an eternity, the mist vanishes and the group find themselves in a space which is both very light and very dark at the same time. The brain will probably not be able to interpret this part easily and the group must focus hard not to lose the contact.
The group must step forward once more with the intention of merging with the absolute darkness that is in the light. Without trying to form imagination pictures, the group steps forward and each member of the group opens their spirit up to the darkness, letting it flow through each member of the group until they are full of the darkness. Each cell in the body will respond and the body’s alarm systems will probably panic at this stage. Each adept should hold fast and not be tempted to break the contact. When the group are filled with the darkness, they will need to stay in it for a while to let it seep into their understanding and to commune with the darkness.
When the Hierophant feels that everyone is complete in the darkness, then it is time to open the awareness to the absolute light. The same experience is gone through once more — the group step forward into the total light that is within the darkness and they let it flow through them, filling them and lightening up the whole of the body’s endocrine system. The group should spend time in the light, feeling its power and feeling how it interacts with the darkness that is within them.
The light and the darkness must be held equally within each of the group. While staying in the space of the Divinity, the group needs to go to sleep to let the vision deepen. As everyone sleeps, even if it is for a short while, the polar energies of Divinity merge through the bodies of the adepts and prepare them for the patterning that is to come.
Upon awakening, the vision must be picked up again so that the workers find themselves once more within the light and the dark. From the power of the light and dark comes an angelic being that carries two threads of power. The angelic being is the filter for the unformed Divine power and creates a bridge for the lines of power to pass through. The two lines are tied into the centre of the adept’s bodies by the angelic being, so that each person has a light and dark thread woven deeply into them.
The angelic being turns each adept around and walks them back through the mist to the edge of the Abyss. Once there, the angelic being blows into the eyes of each adept to open their vision so that they no longer see as a human, but as an eternal being. Each of the adepts appears as a complex pattern of platonic solids, lines of script and threads connecting all the shapes together. The dark and light power weaves through the shapes lightening and darkening them so that the pattern has a true balance of light and dark within it. The light and dark threads hold all the stars, all life, all the elements, and all time: the polarisation of Divinity without form. On the threshold of manifestation, Divinity combines itself with the eternal pattern of the adept so that they become as one: humanity and Divinity entwined at the edge of the Abyss.
While holding the inner image of the pattern with the light and dark power, the adept steps out over the Abyss. The instant both feet are off the ground, the view before them on the other side of the Abyss changes from desert to the world, with its cities, nature, people, and themselves. Between the adepts and the world is a blanket of stars and planets that the adept must navigate to get back to the world.
As the adepts step back on to the solid ground on the edge of the Abyss, the deep inner temple appears with its patterns of hair and breath. The adepts step into the temple and let their patterns merge with the pattern of the inner temple. The adepts stand in the centre of the temple and watch as the patterns and shapes intermingle, strengthen, and take on a collective wholeness. That will be a good time for the workers to take a break. Instead of coming out of the vision via the void, the workers simply open their eyes while keeping awareness that a part of them is still in the temple. This is time to eat and share experiences.
After food, the group would probably benefit from some time out in nature or alone with their thoughts. If it is nearly evening, then the work should be paused for the day to be picked up in the morning. The merging of the two patterns is something that needs time to ‘cook’ on the inner, and that is a good opportunity for the group to rest and relax. The merging will deepen within each adept in sleep and each person may feel more than a little impacted in the morning.
The following morning, after a light breakfast, it will be time to pick up the work and bring in the next stage of merging. The group already have a part of themselves in the deep inner temple, so to begin the vision, the group only needs to be aware of the patterns and allow the image of the inner temple to build in their minds. The temple and the interwoven patterns of themselves should become strong images; and when they do, the group can resume work.
Each adept stands in the centre of the inner temple and reaches his arms out to bring the inner pattern back into and upon him. The adepts are once more aware of the dark and light thread that is still connected to them and that vanishes over the Abyss and into the mists. The adepts begin to walk slowly, as if to the beat of a deep drum, carrying the pattern with them like a giant construct all around them. The threads trail behind them as they walk, each person carrying a huge patterned structure made up of platonic solids and links. The inner temple is left behind, though parts of it remain in the adept’s pattern just as part of the adept’s pattern stays in the inner temple.
The walk takes them down the Tree of Life which is also the stars and planets. They feel the pattern that they carry change and adjust to different powers as they pass each planet on their path to the earth before them. As they pass through the moon, each adept will sense the interweave of their family line and ancestors which enhances the pattern and strengthens it. The adepts step onto the earth, finding themselves walking among cities, forests, fields and rivers, as though each step takes them many miles. The pattern changes everything it passes, and the pattern interacts with everything around it. Every change, no matter how minute is felt by the adept at a very deep level. It soon becomes apparent to the adept that they have the ability to affect change simply by interacting with life through the pattern.
As they walk, the adepts have the sense that they walk through time and through their own lives — they become aware of versions of themselves in various times as they pass by. It is important at this phase not to get distracted or drawn into what you are seeing as this is simply a passing through life and must not be interfered with.
Before the adepts appears a raging river and beyond the river rise high mountains whose peaks vanish into a mist. The adept steps into the raging river and walks through the water to the other side. As they climb out of the water the adepts will notice that the pattern they carry has changed a little, but the dark and light threads still trail behind them, connecting them to the other side of the Abyss. This is the river of death and the mountains ahead are the burdens that must be scaled before life can be renewed. As the adepts walk to the mountains, parts of the pattern drop away from them and melt into the earth. As they climb the path up the side of the mountain, other parts of the pattern change while yet more bits drop away. Climbing the mountain, the workers become aware of the amount of tangles, dogmas, and dead ends that spiritual and magical paths can have, and ways to clear through such tangles become apparent to the adepts as they climb higher and higher. With each understanding, a new part of the pattern renews itself.
Upon reaching the top of the mountain where the mist is, the Hierophant instructs everyone to lie down in the mist on their stomachs. Angelic beings emerge out of the mist and begin to work on the adepts and the patterns. They comb their fingers through the bodies of the workers and through the patterns, ensuring that everything is in order and ready for rebirth into the world. While they comb, the angelic beings recite over the adepts and the recitation burrows itself deep into their minds so that one day they will remember the power that is being passed on to them.
The moment everyone is completed, the angelic beings push each adept off the edge of the cliff at the top of the mountain; and instead of rolling down the hill and into the arms of the angelic Keeper of the Abyss, which is what happens to people in death, the adepts find themselves passing through the void and emerging back into the outside world. When they emerge though, they find they are extremely large and the pattern they carry all around them is even bigger and shines brightly with dark and light power. They realise that they are out on the land some distance from the building where their bodies are working and as they begin to walk across the land like giants so their feet sink into the earth, so that they are walking through the land rather than upon it. As the land and the patterns interact, the land changes as does the pattern: the land and pattern of Divinity begin a conversation.
The adepts slowly make their way back to the building where they started, interacting with the land and animals as they go. Coming back into the room, they have to make themselves small enough to fit into their bodies while still being able to uphold the pattern around them. The threads, which link them to the Abyss, are still trailing behind them.
At this point the Hierophant stands up while still in vision and goes to stand before the central altar. All the other workers hold the vision and wait while the Hierophant calls upon the Sandlaphon to help the adepts adjust their shape and absorb the pattern and power of Divinity within them. The angelic contacts appear at the altar, which signals the Hierophant to open her arms out and work with the angelic beings in vision to ‘fold up’ and assimilate the pattern of power into her human form. The two threads are altered so that, instead of trailing behind her, they now emerge out of the void in the centre of the body and weave their way down the arms of the Hierophant like two snakes. The lines go through the void to the edge of the Abyss and will stay connected for the rest of the person’s life. When the Hierophant has finished, the adepts go to the altar one by one until each person has assimilated their power and patterns and the threads are readjusted to come through their centre and down their arms.
These threads are the polarised powers of Divinity before form and when the adept works in vision, consecrates people, or even touches them or an object magically, these two Divine powers will work through and with them to bring about change. When the adept consecrates someone, these two lines of polarised Divine power will pass into the consecrated person to enliven them and connect them to the pattern of the inner temple at the edge of the Abyss. Upon consecration, the new priest/ess will become a literal part of the inner temple and the lines of Divine power will flow through them.
Once all the adepts have worked with the angelic beings, this phase of the work is over and the workers will need to relax. It is best to have a day together to decompress and get used to the sense of inner power and the two lines. Although there will be no issue with inner beings as is so prominent in the deity work, it is still an impact that needs adjusting to. The body is now irrevocably changed and will react to life in a very different way.
The powers that flow through each of the founding adepts are immense and the adept will have to learn how to develop and mould the powers to work with the lodge. Because of the two threads of power, certain aspects of nature will respond powerfully to the adepts, including weather, animals, and fault lines. This was why it was so important through the winter to be out in nature a lot, communing and getting to know the tides, feels, and flows of nature’s powers.
Because of this access to power, it is important that the Hierophant keeps a close eye on the founding members to ensure that the power does not go to their heads and that they wield it wisely and safely in the work of the lodge. The power is not meant to be used outside of the service of the lodge and the work of the adept. If an adept is tempted to use the power for personal means or power trips, some really hard lessons will be learned very quickly.
The power does not switch on like a Disney light bulb, rather it is a deep stirring and awakening that surfaces when triggered or needed and then it is truly immense. It is the power of storms, of death, of life, of earthquakes, of the seasons, and of the collective mind of humanity. This is why, when such a method for founding a line is used, the line/lodge will work with the very deep powers of change in the world rather than surface service.
The group will need time to decompress, discuss, and rest. They should then part for a week to allow the power to settle into everyday life. After the break, it will then be time for the group to begin the next phase of building for the lodge.