Once the consecrated line of the lodge has been anchored and the founding members of the group have the line within them, then it is time for the next phase of the foundation work in the creation of a magical lodge, which is the building of the inner temple.
The method that is used to build the inner temple and the form of construction depend mainly on what it will be used for and by whom. If the consecrated line has ancient inner contacts, then the temple needs to reflect that and have an access point for those inner adepts. If the line has beings that have come from the Abyss, then the temple needs to have a doorway to their level of the Abyss and to the inner temple of the deity that drew them in. If the line is connected to Divinity at the edge of the Abyss, then the temple will need to be a step down power-wise from the deep inner temple built of angelic patterns.
USES OF AN INNER TEMPLE
An inner temple is a necessity for a magical lodge/group to operate at a level of full power as it is the filter, doorway, meeting point, and information library for the majority of the inner work that a lodge will do. It is a place where beings of different realms can come together, a place where power can be shaped, and where major magical actions can be instigated safely and filtered out into the outside world. It is a higher octave of the outer temple and the two complement each other.
It is important for a temple to remain intact for a long time because hundreds of years after the builders have gone, the contacts, magic, and power will need to stay there to be worked with by future generations. To maintain the integrity of the work, the temple must be stable enough to survive long time spans and various waves of workers. To retain that stability, the foundations of the temple must be solid and well built so it is worth taking the time to ensure that everything is in place as it should be.
The inner temple operates on many different levels when constructed properly, and becomes a one stop shop for the magical group that is operating through it. To ensure that the construction is done properly it is wise to keep in mind all the various uses of the inner temple and ensure as each layer is put together so that the access points for people and power are in place for each use.
Power flow is one of the foundation uses of the inner temple. It becomes a filter for very deep universal power, tempering the force of that power as it is drawn through the temple and mediated out into the world, or used to construct something within the temple. Usually, there is only one type of universal power that is pulled through an inner temple, i.e. star power, fire, solar, underworld fire, water, destruction, creation etc. Those powers reflect the deep Divine power that has just taken on a quality or form that affects the outer world in one way or another.
Theoretically it is possible to have more that one power running through an inner temple, and to have two powers that complement each other creates a very stable useable power. I have not personally worked with more than two powers in a construction project like this, so I cannot talk from experience but it is theoretically possible to build an inner temple with multiple levels of power from many different sources. Two was enough for me!
The temple then operates as a threshold to other worlds, a centre for collection of knowledge and contacts, a building/working space, a place of regeneration, a threshold to Divinity, and an operating centre for the egregore.
THRESHOLDS TO OTHER WORLDS
When constructing an inner temple, the fact that it can potentially open out pathways to many different places should be taken into account. A well constructed inner temple will be a central point from which paths and doors lead to different temples, worlds, and powers. All of these places and powers will have some connection to the main powers that are being pulled through the inner temple. So for example: if you are using the power of the sun in the temple, then the main feature will be a fire that can be stepped through to access anywhere that is remotely connected with the lines, people, powers, deities, and civilisations that blossomed throughout time under the influence of that solar power.
As every power flows both ways, any priest/ess throughout time that is connected in some way to that solar power will be able to find their way to the inner temple that you are constructing. So you begin to see the layers upon layers of networks built with beings and powers flowing back and forth throughout time. You also begin to see that the Hierophant really needs to have a wide experience in various inner worlds and magical lines/inner adepts so that the temple construction is not limited by the Hierophant’s lack of knowledge. To counter that worry however is the fact that once a solid stable beginning has been built and a specific power has been pulled through, beings connected to that power will begin to join in and will add sections onto the temple. This dynamic used to fascinate me — every time I would work in the inner temple I would find an area that I didn’t construct and yet was blossoming as a powerful side temple with contacts, beings etc flowing through it.
If you approach the building of the inner temple with a sense of it being an organic construct that can be added to by others and that can grow organically, then the temple will become far more than you could have ever imagined. The basic form of the original construction acts as a filter which stops unhealthy or unwanted powers/beings/contacts getting in; so, with the frequency of the temple set, only beings on that frequency will find it. Also, other inner temples on a similar frequency, regardless of when they were constructed, will connect with the new construct enabling inner contacts and magical workers to flow from one temple to the other. Connecting doors are easily built and some develop naturally as part of the power flow. Over time the temple can develop into a central communal area that opens out through time and throughout the worlds. This keeps the inner education of the adepts strong and healthy as they are constantly, over generations, exposed to new worlds, new powers, and many different contacts. This is in direct contrast to some of today’s magical lodges and religious churches that work with a fixed inner temple which houses only a handful of contacts that do not change over time. Such an inner temple fossilises very quickly, freezing the advance of the inner work with it.
A CENTRE OF KNOWLEDGE
One of the other main functions of an inner temple is to provide a central location for the connected knowledge of the magical line. The established connection organically extends to other similar inner temples so that the stored knowledge and powers merge to create a vast repository of knowledge, contacts, and history. To some, this concept is historically known as the Inner Library (used by Dion Fortune and W G Grey) and is also what was known as the Akashic records, a concept first bandied around by the Theosophists.
A section of the construction is aimed at the intention of building an inner library and if the frequency of the work is compatible, then it will resonate with all other inner libraries that are part of the collective knowledge of humanity. So by building in that frequency, the inner temple library will open out onto the main collective library, but will retain some of its autonomy. This is an important factor to remember when doing the construction; the intention to keep some autonomy with the library is important.
If it is totally absorbed by the collective, then it becomes too overwhelming for the adept to access the knowledge intentionally; the large library quickly overwhelms the psyche so to extract information becomes a major struggle. If some autonomy is kept, then the magical knowledge that is pertinent to the line is easily accessible and the structure of the joined but autonomous library automatically produces an inner ‘librarian’ who can help the adept search the bigger communal library. (The librarian is part of the inner octave of the ‘separate but a part of’ dynamic; it is essentially a filter.)
The actual knowledge stored in the inner repository comes from the knowledge of each adept connected to the lodge, including the knowledge of their ancestors, which is stored in their blood. The inner repository holds the knowledge of the inner contacts that are connected to the lodge, plus all the knowledge of priests/esses of other lodges that are in the same stream of power. All beings that flow through the line, all ancient adepts, all deities, basically any conscious being that is connected to the line has their knowledge mirrored in the inner repository. The way that it works is that a fragment of that being stays in the inner temple and that fragment holds all of their knowledge. When lodge members die, a part of them passes into the inner temple and that fragment of them holds all of their experience, knowledge, and wisdom. So when you read a book or a scroll in the inner repository of knowledge, you are in actual fact communing at a deep level with an inner contact.
The repository can be used to learn about the powers of a deity, a line of adepts, a quality of magic, methods of working, constructing, healing, mediating etc. It becomes the inner training school for the adepts where they can tap into lines of work and absorb information into themselves that will unravel in time.
THE PREPARATION FOR CONSTRUCTION
The main preparation that needs to happen in the construction of an inner temple is the designing of the structural pattern that it will all centre around, and the mirroring of that pattern in the outer temple. So for example, some groups use a four directional pattern with an altar in each direction in the outer temple, or a five directional with four altars one in each direction and one in the centre. There are patterns of three, of two, of one, with or without threshold pillars, with or without acknowledgement of the cross quarters: the possible patterns are endless. The pattern should be chosen to complement the powers that run through the consecration line and to flow in harmony with the work that will be done over a long period of time in the lodge.
So for example, if the consecrated line is anchored in Divinity, then a single altar will probably be sufficient and will be simple enough for the line to flow unhindered. If the line uses deities, then the altars will need to reflect the direction that the deity traditionally is aligned to. If you are working with an inner priesthood then again the altar would be aligned to that priesthood, and if you work with more than one then you begin to work with multiple altars in a balanced pattern, i.e. the four directions.
In Chapter 3 the consecration line from Divinity had two threads, polarised powers of light/dark that can be focussed by using two altars, one for each power, or a single altar where the two powers are brought together. If using two altars, then they would need to be a part of a triangular pattern, as that is the pattern that expresses the relationship between those polarised powers as they flow down the Tree of Life from crossing the Abyss (pos/neg/void).
In times past, people imagined inner temples into being by using visuals of great temple constructions — the temple of Solomon was reproduced many times in the inner worlds by magical groups in their quest to find the perfect temple. I feel that we as a collective magical mind have moved on somewhat from that period and that we have the capability, if we let go of old patterns, to forge newer more organic and harmonic patterns that have less to do with the constructs of humanity and more to do with the constructs of the universe.
When you look at nature, be it a grain of salt, a strand of DNA, a snowflake, a particle, you begin to see the reoccurring patterns that flow through nature: they are balanced, mathematically pure and geometrically harmonised. This is why when you look at an angelic being at its depth, you see platonic solids which are some of the building blocks of the universe.
It would make sense to approach the construction of the inner temple in the same way, through harmonic frequencies, harmonic shapes, and the reoccurring patterns of nature. This in itself opens out huge amounts of power that are available for the construction. One of the main building ‘materials’ is angelic consciousness, and instead of approaching the angelic being by a human given name and visual appearance, we can connect and work with the being in its harmonic form, which is platonic shape and harmonic sound.
Working in that way, the visual filters that are normally put upon an angelic being which would therefore encase its power are cast aside and the angel is worked with in its pure form so none of its power is wasted or lessened. This in turn allows the angelic being to express its full potential in the construction, which brings lots of surprise gifts with it including doorways, protections, and contacts.
When the group has decided what outer pattern is to be used in the outer lodge, and have laid that pattern out in the lodge where the work will be done, then it is time to begin the inner work.
BUILDING THE INNER TEMPLE
Set the working room up in the pattern that the lodge will use and put the altar/s in place. If there is only one altar, then the Hierophant should sit before the altar; if there is more than one, place a worker in front of each altar. Using an element (candle, bowl of water, stone) as a focus, begin the vision by going into the void. The group needs to spend some time in the void dissolving their own structure and spreading out throughout everything — in the void the soul has no boundaries.
The Hierophant reaches out in the void for the root of the power that will flow through the temple (Divinity, stars, underworld, sea, sun, moon etc): as soon as the Hierophant focuses that intent a small movement will be detected within the depths of the void. The Hierophant moves the group closer to it and it grows into a power that streams out of the void. The group get a hold of the power or immerse themselves in it and flow out of the void with the raw power as it manifests in the physical world. The group will find themselves on the threshold of the inner landscape of that power and it is here that it will take form before fully manifesting physically.
The space is like a void but isn’t — it is full of potential and you will be surrounded by the power that you followed. In this space you become aware of the consciousness of the power that is all around you and you recognise how that consciousness expresses itself through the external expression as stars, or the sun etc. It is this level of raw power that you work with rather than the fully manifested power because besides being safer it is also less contaminated by past temples.
Before you begin construction with this power, you need somewhere to anchor it to and that fully depends on what power you are working with. If you are working with the stars, moon, or sun, then you would work out in the stars. If you are working with Divinity, it would be in the desert near the Abyss. If you are working with the Underworld, then it would be down the Abyss rather than down through the planet. The reason for this is that accessing the underworld by going down in to the earth is the finished ‘front’ door with all its filters in place. To do construction, you need to use the back door where there are no filters, so that you can put your own filters in place.
Because the place where you are holding the power is on the edge of the void, you can focus it anywhere. When you think about the place of anchor and build its image all around you, that action brings the edge of the void to that place. The point at which the edge of the void and the place of anchor are joined is the time to start building. There are a variety of angels who work with this type of construction and they are safer than some of the other more powerful conditional beings that would be willing to work with you.
Standing on the threshold of the void, call for the Sandalphon to come and work with you on the foundations. As these beings step out of the void hand them threads of the power as it streams out of the void and show them the pattern that will be used in the outer temple. The Sandalphon will tell you to grasp them and as you do, they turn into mud, rock, and mortar which you then use combined with the raw power to build the walls.
Be aware of what shape you need to build because the shape should be compatible with the outer pattern. The Sandalphon give the first layer of the inner temple boundaries and definition as that is what the Sandalphon are about: physical manifestation and foundations for humanity.
The outer shapes of the walls and floor are built ready for the web of power to be impressed upon the walls and the internal structure that upholds the roof needs to be in place. That internal structure upholds the heights of what the temple can achieve, the powers impressed upon the walls are memory and knowledge, and the foundations are the barriers, container and base line filters.
The internal structure is made up of two of the biggest angelic beings whose job it is to make sure that humanity never extends closer to Divinity than humanity is ready for. They are two beings who have opposing powers and, when put together, they create a seesaw with humanity as a fulcrum. One angel stops destruction, one angel stops creation and that allows us to be balanced in the middle — it basically stops us becoming gods.
To bring in this internal structure, the Hierophant calls upon the Archon and the Aeon that stand before humanity and God, and asks them to uphold this temple before the void. After a moments silence, a great wind will rise out of the void and will appear as a whirlwind that whips around the foundation structure. Then a second whirlwind emerges, its wind flowing in the opposing direction. The two whirlwinds fight each other around the foundations until they settle in the centre of the space and become two spinning tops that are magnetised: they cannot leave each other but they cannot touch each other.
Two of the group members who will become the pillars of the temple step forward and stand inside the two spinning tops. The whirlwinds flow through them and fill them with the archangelic power.
The two members assume the position of the internal support, which is hands crossed at the wrists, outstretched and holding on to the other person’s hands in the same position: this makes a figure of eight. Then right foot forward so that both right feet touch and foreheads together so that the two bodies make a horizontal and vertical figure of eight.
The Archon and the Aeon whirlwinds flow through this pattern and begin to take the pattern upon themselves. They begin to take on human form, with their legs touching, their hands crossed, but instead of touching heads, they outstretch their wings above their heads so that the wings touch to complete the vertical figure of eight.
The establishing of the two angels enables the two members withdraw from the whirlwinds, separating their arms first. As their arms/hands break apart, it opens a doorway between the angels where inner adepts, beings and angelic consciousness that works with the power being used can come through.
One by one, starting with the Hierophant, then the two pillars, and then the others, they each reach in to the opening between the angelic beings and pull out a thread. The threads are woven into the walls of the temple and as the workers weave, they start to see what is on the end of the thread. The consciousness on the end of the thread begins to commune with them and may even manifest themselves in the temple, offering service to the group.
Where the threads of beings have been anchored to the walls, doors appear that will lead off to the inner temple/realm of the beings that came out of the opening between the angels. These doors are filtered tunnels that will allow visitors and workers of the inner temple to access many different places in the course of their work. All the realms and temples that work with the same base power are interconnected and can be reached through the tunnels.
At that point the temple needs to be enlivened so that the consciousness of humanity can operate through the temple with full understanding, and the temple will then be in harmony with humanity and the outer world. To do this, the Hierophant goes to the crossed hands of the archangelic beings and places his hands upon them. The Hierophant then asks for the harmony of time and space to be brought through into the inner temple in the form that will work for humans. The group members must be stood around the temple with the two pillars stood in front of the Hierophant. It is not necessary to mirror this physically: it is enough for it to be done in vision.
The Hierophant then turns around so that his back is to the crossed hands of the angels that have the opening between them. A power builds up behind the Hierophant as power begins to surge through the opening. The power builds to a point where the Hierophant has trouble staying on his feet when something from behind them grabs the Hierophant by the hair and pulls his head back.
The Hierophant is commanded to speak. The Hierophant opens his mouth in the vision and out comes many harmonic sounds that take shape. The two adepts who are the pillars take up the shapes and use them to create altars, pillars, doorways, ceilings, floors, chairs etc. More and more sounds appear and some rise up to the ceiling and take up the image of star constellations. The sounds also take on the shapes of sigils that form on the doorways and upon the floor. These are sigils that will be mirrored in the outer temple.
Upon completion, the very last sound is breathed by the Hierophant into an element that is on the altar, be it a flame, water, or stone. The last utterance is breathed over and into this element which becomes the sacred doorway in and out of the temple.
When all is finished the group pass one by one through the element and emerge back in the outer temple. When everyone is back, if the element is a flame, it is blown out. If it is water, it is poured away on the earth; and if it is a rock, it is covered over with a cloth. The group will need to eat and rest now for an hour or so before the next round of work begins.
The use of angelic power as harmonic sound is a very interesting power to work with. It mirrors the ancient mystery of the harmonics of conception and death, and can be worked with consciously in the outer temple through chant and other uses of sound. Sound is a very important tool in inner work and can be used for many different things to affect the environment or the consciousness of a being.
Once the group has rested then it is time to stabilise the doorways, create a front door, connect to the realms of death, and make sure there is access to the Abyss. Although it is not strictly necessary to have an access point to the Abyss and indeed many groups do not work with the Abyss at all, I have found over the years that inner temples that are directly linked to the Abyss in one way or another tend to have a more stable foundation.
The other connection that the inner temple needs to have is direct access to the void from the inner temple. This is like having an inner window open and ensures that everything stays fresh and healthy: it draws out unhealthy powers and allows healthy fresh and unformed power to flow a little bit through the temple.
BUILDING THE PATH TO DIVINITY
A doorway is built on the wall to one side of the central element, and another door is built directly opposite. The first door is built by drawing the sigil of the lodge upon the wall with the intention of reaching the void. The void within all substance overpowers the wall and as the door opens, the Hierophant steps through and finds himself in the void. Within the depths of the void appears a simple stone narrow walkway that vanishes into the depths of the void.
The Hierophant walks the pathway, vanishing into the nothing until he comes to a stone platform. Standing there, the Hierophant becomes aware of the immensity of power within the void and the potential for all creation: this is the true power of Divinity. Everything that ever was and ever will be is here in its threshold potential. The hierophant bows and withdraws, walking back along the walkway and back into the temple.
He walks directly across the inner temple to the door on the opposite side, laying his hand upon the sigil of the lodge and opening the door to the pathway to Divinity within everything. The Hierophant steps again into the void and walks a narrow stone pathway that builds as he walks.
The pathway emerges out in a beautiful garden full of birds, animals, plants, insects, rain, sun and wind. Unable to step off the platform, the Hierophant is allowed to look at the beauty of Divinity within every living thing. Everything shines with the inner power of Divine substance, everything is in balance and everything flows in harmony. The Hierophant is allowed to look and to bring adepts here to stand in peace in the balance of the garden. The Hierophant withdraws and returns back into the inner temple and then into the outer temple, ready for the next phase.
GUARDIANS
For the next session, the group should use the element on the altar as an access point through the void and into the inner temple. To do this, the members see the element with their inner vision and then step into it. By stepping into it they find the void that is at the centre of all substance. This is a doorway through the void and by stepping out of the element on the other side, the members emerge into the inner temple.
The group gathers around the inner temple altar with the element before them and one by one they reach into the void within the element and pull out a guardian. This is done by sheer intent because when a worker is in the inner worlds in a temple constructed by angelic consciousness, any action with intent is amplified many times over. By simply focussing the mind on the need for temple guardians for the front door, the consciousness of the group is steered towards the realm where those beings can be reached. The element that holds the void within it acts as the gateway between the two realms, allowing beings to flow back and forth into the temple.
The guardian beings become the shape of the door, with a being for the threshold, a being for the lintel, beings for the two doors and a being for the lock. The members gather and place their hands upon the beings while visualising a door with hinges, threshold and locks. Beyond the door, there are steps leading away from the temple and emerging in the landscape of the realm that the temple draws its power from, i.e. the underworld (earth), the desert (sun), the sea (moon), a mountaintop (stars) etc. The steps leading away from the temple merge into the landscape which mirrors a landscape on the earth. This makes sure that there is front door access to the temple throughout time for other humans to be able to access the temple, or at least to find it should the elemental doorway ever be forgotten.
The guardians are told by the Hierophant that only people holding the sigil of the consecration are to be allowed into the temple and that if any human or parasite tries to gain entry, they should be blocked and she should be notified. The guardians acknowledge this as they reach out and touch a part of the Hierophant’s body. In the future this body part or area will burn or feel very strange if the guardians are trying to contact or warn him.
Now the back door must be built. This is the door that allows beings connected to humanity, regardless of what beings they are, to be able to be brought into the temple to work. This back door opens out onto a tunnel that emerges in the Abyss and will allow beings in the Abyss to be able to see the temple back entrance. It will be fully guarded but without Abyss access, bringing other beings into the outer temple will be more dangerous and much harder work. If they are brought into the outer temple by passing through the inner temple, then they are automatically filtered and checked by the guardians.
The back door position will usually be hidden so that casual access to the Abyss cannot be blundered into in the future by initiates. The Abyss can be a very dangerous and powerful place and access that is too easy is not a good thing. The best place for a back door is behind any deity or altar or in a far corner: the group will have to dig into the walls to create an opening with the intention of building a back door to the Abyss. A hole is dug out of the wall and the group chant or hum deep harmonics to awaken the powers within the walls. The Hierophant and the two pillars step through the hole and walk down the tunnel until they reach a ledge that juts out into the Abyss. Standing on the edge of the ledge, the Hierophant calls upon the Keeper of the Abyss to bring a guardian for the back door of the temple.
The Keeper will appear near the ledge and will bridge a being that will become the guardian of the back door. The guardian will stay at the mouth of the tunnel while the rest of the group go back down the tunnel and to the opening that gives access to the inner temple. The door to this opening will not really be a door; it will be more like a veil. The harmonics of the walls that are also sigils can be grasped like fabric. The two adepts who are the pillars stand one on each side of the hole and grasp the sounds/harmonies of the wall, pulling them together over the hole like curtains. The harmonics will operate through the sigil and the veil will search for the sigil within each being trying to gain access through this door. Only those with the sigil will be allowed to pass. Back inside the temple, the building work is now done and the group will need to rest for a little while. The best way to seal the work is to use the inner temple and to establish it within the outer temple.
FINAL STAGE
The group need time to rest and eat before the final stage can be finished. Again, using the element upon the altar, the group go one by one through the element, passing through the void and into the inner temple. As they arrive in the inner temple they become aware of their bodies sitting in the outer temple and of the element on the altar and of any other altars in the directions. The Hierophant opens one of the doors within the temple that leads to other temples/realms, and calls for an inner human contact to come and work with the group through the inner temple.
When the contact comes through the doorway, the Hierophant falls silent and each adept takes it in turns to physically stand up while still in vision and walk to the altar. Keeping awareness of being in both temples at once, the adept stands before the altar and builds up the vision of the inner contact on the other side of the altar. The adept communes with the inner contact, asking questions and talking advice: all of the group members should spend time in communion with the inner contact. When the group has finished, they withdraw from the inner temple and then clear the element to close the work. The inner temple will now need establishing upon the inner planes by regular use. It is like beating a path through the jungle; even though it is constructed, the use is what firmly roots it in the inner worlds.
First the adepts should go into the temple and explore the different realms through the doorways so that they become used to who is where and when. Then the inner library should be established in a section of the inner temple, which should be a room which has many doorways leading off to other temples where the priest/esses can flow back and forth freely, bringing their knowledge with them. The inner library will also become a part of the temple egregore once the egregore container is constructed.
The more the temple is used, the bigger and more powerful it will become. It is an organic consciousness that will grow and change over time depending on the interactions it has with humanity. Initiates can be brought into the temple to learn and to gain access to other realms. Adepts can go through the temple to the Abyss to do deep exploration work and to make connection with beings that will help in the deeper work of the mysteries.
The Hierophant can continue to work on developing the inner temple with the group to open out access to the death realm, and to the inner landscape of the land. The inner temple becomes a stopping off point, a meeting point, a place of learning, of resting and healing, and of powering up. It is a junction between worlds where many powerful beings can come together out of time to work on large projects, and the temple becomes a filter for Divine power as it is pulled into the temple to be transformed for the outer world. And finally, the inner temple becomes the inner landscape of the outer temple, keeping the inner and outer power in balance which is then reflected in the balance and power of the group that works through the temples.