Cicero - Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition_Part 01

124 SELF-INITIATION IN10 lHE GoLDEN DAWN 'fRAomoN
The Hegemon leads you back to the officer/ godform of the Hiereus in the West.
The Hiereus then brings you Southeast of the altar to the diagram of the Sevenbranched
Candlestick. Continue the guided visualization of the Tabernacle as
before. Imagine the following:
(In your mind's eye you return to the Holy Place where a large golden candelabrum
is located opposite the Tableof Shewbread. The implement is huge, nearly
six feet in height and almost as wide, weighing about one hundred pounds. Made
of beaten gold, the candlestick is composed of a base with a shaft rising out of it,
six arms which come out by threes on opposite sides of the shaft. The arms and
the shaft are ornamented with seventy-two almond-shaped cups, apples and
flower blossoms. Each of its seven lamps ends in a cup-shaped depression supplied
with cotton and olive-oil, enough to burn through the night until moming.)
The Hiereus brings your focus back to the diagram at hand. (Seediagram on page
198.)Examining it you say:
On theSouthern side oftheHoly Place stood theSeven-branched Candlestick,
wherein was burned pure olive oil. It is an image oftheMysteryof
the Elohim, the Seven Creative Ideas. The symbolic drawing before me
represents its occult meaning. The Seven circles which surround the Heptagram
represent the Seven Planets andthe Seven Qabalistic Palaces of
Assiah, the Material. World-which answer to the Seven Apocalyptic
churches which are in AsiaorAssiah-as these again allude totheSeven
lamps before thethrone onanother Plane.
Within each circle is a triangle to represent the Threefold Creative Idea
operating in all things. On the right-hand side of each is the Hebrew
Name of theAngel who governs the Planet, on the left-hand side is the
Hebrew Name of thesphere of the Planet itself, while theHebrew letter
beneath the base is one of theduplicated letters of the Hebrew alphabet
which refer totheSeven Planets.
The Seven Double Letters of theHebrew alphabet each have twosounds
associated with them, one hard and one soft. They are called "Double"
because each letter represents a contrary orpermutation: Life andDeath,
Peace andWar, Wisdom andFolly, Riches andPoverty, Grace andIndignity,
Fertility andSolitude, Power andServitude.
The Seven letters point out seven localities, Zenith, Nadir, East, West,
North, South, andthePlace ofHoliness in themidstsustaining allthings.
The Archetypal Creator designed, produced, combined andformed with
them thePlanets of theUniverse, the Days oftheWeek, andin Man,the
Gate oftheSoul. Hehas loved andblessed the number seven more than all
things under his throne. The powers of these seven letters are also shown