Israel Regardie - The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic.pdf

THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN SYSTEM OF MAGIC
man once to die and after that the Judgment. But that which in the things which are
above is manifested as Divine Love in Justice among the things which are below. Death,
properly understood, is the examination, in fine, of the Candidate, prior to his admission
within the Hall of the Greater Mysteries. The Portal to the Centre is through the Gate of
the Tomb, and there is no other way opened to man whereby he can enter into his rest. The
Mystical Death, however, does not regard the dissolution of the bodily part, but is that
which the Qabalists term the Mors Osculi. The concern thereof is to put away the earthly
substance of the mind, that whatsoever is imperishable within us may be joined with that
which does not pass in the Universe, with those things great and high which have their
sphere of operation above the trammels of the senses. It is necessary on this account that
you should be unclothed of all insignia because naked we came into the world. Purity
alone, symbolised by your white robe, can accompany your entrance into the Tomb. (The
Candidate is stripped of his vestments, excepting the white robe, and led to the northern
side of the Tomb, and there left. The Celebrant in Chief takes up his position behind the
taper at the head of the coffin, and the Second Celebrant in the south, facing the Candidate.
The lid of the coffin is removed.)
Second.
It is time now that we take up scrip and wallet, and enter into the Mystery of
Death.
Chief.
If it were not for cool, restful and wholesome death, we should never have part in
the Resurrection.
Second.
It is the call of every man ultimately to stand alone, that is to say, independently of
his kind.
Chief.
But when a man is alone so far as the world is concerned, he is the nearer to the
Presence of God.
Second.
Herein is the Divine help which always remains with us, in the equipoise of faculties,
the adjustment of the powers of the mind, and the coordination of the soul's phases, which
is the condition of Eternal Life.
Chief.
Beloved Brother, we also have slept in the deep sea of the senses; we have paid the price
of our exile. (The Celebrant in Chief joins the Second Celebrant in the South, and they
proceed again to take up their places on either side of the Candidate, whom they assist to
enter the coffin and dispose therein. This being done, the Celebrant in Chief says:)
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