And the numbers of these three words, Hoa Atah Ani, are 12, 406, and 61, which are resumed in the key numbers of 3, 10, and 7, by the Qabalah of the Nine Chambers, which is a form of the exegetical rule of Temura." It is useless to attempt to explain the mystery in full.
Materialists and the men of modern Science will never understand it, since, in order [[Vol.
1, Page]] 79 PRIMEVAL RADIATIONS FROM THE UNITY.
to obtain clear perception of it, one has first of all to admit the postulate of a universally diffused, omnipresent, eternal Deity in Nature; secondly, to have fathomed the mystery of electricity in its true essence; and thirdly, to credit man with being the septenary symbol, on the terrestrial plane, of the One Great U NIT (the Logos), which is Itself the Seven-vowelled sign, the Breath crystallized into the W ORD.* He who believes in all this, has also to believe in the multiple combination of the seven planets of Occultism and of the Kabala, with the twelve zodiacal signs; to attribute, as we do, to each planet and to each constellation an influence which, in the words of Ely Star (a French Occultist), "is proper to it, beneficent or maleficent, and this, after the planetary Spirit which rules it, who, in his turn, is capable of influencing men and things which are found in harmony with him and with which he has any affinity." For these reasons, and since few believe in the foregoing, all that can now be given is that in both cases the symbol of Hansa (whether "I," "He," Goose or Swan) is an important symbol, representing, for instance, Divine Wisdom, Wisdom in darkness beyond the reach of men.
For all exoteric purposes, Hansa, as every Hindu knows, is a fabulous bird, which, when given milk mixed with water for its food (in the allegory) separated the two, drinking the milk and leaving the water; thus showing inherent wisdom -- milk standing symbolically for spirit, and water for matter.
That this allegory is very ancient and dates from the very earliest archaic period, is shown by the mention (in Bhagavata Purana) of a certain caste named "Hamsa" or "Hansa," which was the "one caste" par excellence ; when far back in the mists of a forgotten past there was among the Hindus only "One Veda, One Deity, One Caste." There is also a range in the Himalayas, described in the old books as being situated north of Mount Meru, called "Hamsa," and connected with episodes pertaining to the history of religious mysteries and initiations.
As to the name of Kala-Hansa being the supposed vehicle of Brahma-Prajapati, in the exoteric texts and translations of the [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * This is again similar to the doctrine of Fichte and German Pantheists.
The former reveres Jesus as the great teacher who inculcated the unity of the spirit of man with the God-Spirit (the Adwaita doctrine) or universal Principle.
It is difficult to find a single speculation in Western metaphysics which has not been anticipated by Archaic Eastern philosophy.
From Kant to Herbert Spencer, it is all a more or less distorted echo of the Dwaita, Adwaita, and Vedantic doctrines generally.
[[Vol.
1, Page]] 80 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
Orientalists, it is quite a mistake.
Brahma, the neuter, is called by them Kala-Hansa and Brahma, the male, Hansa-Vahana, because forsooth "his vehicle or Vahan is a swan or goose" (vide "the Hindu Classical Dictionary.") This is a purely exoteric gloss.
Esoterically and logically, if Brahma, the infinite, is all that is described by the Orientalists, namely, agreeably with the Vedantic texts, an abstract deity in no way characterised by the description of any human attributes, and it is still maintained that he or it is called Kala-Hansa -- then how can it ever become the Vahan of Brahma, the manifested finite god?
It is quite the reverse.
The "Swan or goose" (Hansa) is the symbol of that male or temporary deity, as he, the emanation of the primordial Ray, is made to serve as a Vahan or vehicle for that divine Ray, which otherwise could not manifest itself in the Universe, being, antiphrastically, itself an emanation of "Darkness" -- for our human intellect, at any rate.
It is Brahma, then, who is Kala-Hansa, and the Ray, the Hansa-Vahana.
As to the strange symbol chosen, it is equally suggestive; the true mystic significance being the idea of a universal matrix, figured by the primordial waters of the "deep," or the opening for the reception, and subsequently for the issue, of that one ray (the Logos), which contains in itself the other seven procreative rays or powers (the logoi or builders).
Hence the choice by the Rosecroix of the aquatic fowl -- whether swan or pelican,* with seven young ones for a symbol, modified and adapted to the religion of every country.
En-Soph is called the "Fiery Soul of the Pelican" in the Book of Numbers.** (See Part II.
"The Hidden Deity and its Symbols and Glyphs.") Appearing with every Manvantara as Narayan, or Swayambhuva (the [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * Whether the genus of the bird be cygnus , anser , or pelecanus , it is no matter, as it is an aquatic bird floating or moving on the waters like the Spirit, and then issuing from those waters to give birth to other beings.
The true significance of the symbol of the Eighteenth Degree of the Rose-Croix is precisely this, though poetised later on into the motherly feeling of the Pelican rending its bosom to feed its seven little ones with its blood.
** The reason why Moses forbids eating the pelican and swan, classing the two among the unclean fowls, and permits eating "bald locusts, beetles, and the grasshopper after his kind" (Leviticus xi.
and Deuteronomy xiv.) is a purely physiological one, and has to do with mystic symbology only in so far as the word "unclean," like every other word, ought not to be read and understood literally, as it is esoteric like all the [[Footnote continued on next page]] [[Vol.
1, Page]] 81 PRIMEVAL DIFFERENTIATIONS.
Self-Existent), and penetrating into the Mundane Egg, it emerges from it at the end of the divine incubation as Brahma or Prajapati, a progenitor of the future Universe into which he expands.
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The passage describes the infinite Brahma as 'an abstract deity in no way characterised by the description of any human attributes' and the Ray as 'antiphrastically, itself an emanation of Darkness — for our human intellect, at any rate.'
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The passage maps the same Hansa/swan symbol across Hindu, Rose-Cross, and Kabbalistic traditions, and combines planetary and zodiacal numbers, suggesting structural correspondence across scales.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The passage attributes to each planet and constellation an influence 'proper to it, beneficent or maleficent' and states the planetary Spirit is 'capable of influencing men and things which are found in harmony with him and with which he has any affinity.'
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The passage narrates the origin of the cosmos: the primordial waters of the 'deep' as universal matrix, the one Ray (Logos) containing seven procreative rays, the Self-Existent (Swayambhuva) penetrating the Mundane Egg, divine incubation, and emergence of Brahma/Prajapati as progenitor of the Universe.
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The Hansa symbol represents 'Divine Wisdom, Wisdom in darkness beyond the reach of men,' and the passage states 'It is useless to attempt to explain the mystery in full.'
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
The passage requires 'admitting the postulate of a universally diffused, omnipresent, eternal Deity in Nature,' which is a clear statement of divine immanence pervading all of creation.
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The 'primordial Ray' and 'one ray (the Logos)' that contains seven procreative rays function as a luminous emanation from the divine source, with the 'deep' as its matrix.
The infinite, unknowable aspect of the divine prior to and beyond all emanation; the hidden root from which the Sephirot unfold.
En-Soph is explicitly named as the 'Fiery Soul of the Pelican,' and the 'One Great UNIT' functions as the infinite, unknowable source beyond all emanation.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage describes the Logos containing seven procreative rays, the Ray emanating from the 'deep,' and the Self-Existent emerging from the Mundane Egg as Brahma, forming a clear cascade from the One to multiplicity.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage explicitly distinguishes exoteric from esoteric meaning: 'For all exoteric purposes, Hansa... is a fabulous bird' versus 'Esoterically and logically, if Brahma, the infinite... it is quite a mistake,' and states 'It is useless to attempt to explain the mystery in full.'
The doctrine that the divine or a spiritual principle takes on a specific, bounded material or bodily form — descending from an unconditioned state into individual, corporeal existence — as a discrete act rather than a diffuse pervading presence. The Christian Word made flesh, the Hindu avatara, the Egyptian pharaoh as living Horus, the Vajrayana tulku. Distinct from divine_immanence (the general claim that the divine pervades all of creation diffusely, not a specific embodiment-event) and separation_from_source (the felt exile FROM origin, the opposite motion) in describing a specific, individuated descent INTO a particular body or form.
The Ray descends and manifests as Brahma/Prajapati, a specific individuated descent of the divine principle into a particular form as progenitor of the Universe.
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
The passage describes a directional process: the unconditioned 'deep' giving rise to the Ray, which descends and manifests as Brahma, a staged descent from unconditioned principle to materialized progenitor.
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
The Logos is the central mediating principle of the passage: 'the One Great UNIT (the Logos), which is Itself the Seven-vowelled sign, the Breath crystallized into the WORD,' and 'that one ray (the Logos), which contains in itself the other seven procreative rays or powers.'
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The passage explicitly states one must 'credit man with being the septenary symbol, on the terrestrial plane, of the One Great UNIT (the Logos),' making the human the privileged mirror of the cosmic principle.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The entire passage is built on numerical mysticism: the Gematria values 12, 406, 61 reduced to key numbers 3, 10, 7 via the Qabalah of Nine Chambers, the septenary Logos, seven procreative rays, seven planets, twelve zodiacal signs, and the seven young ones of the Rose-Cross symbol.
Combining, transposing, or cycling through letters or names as a meditative or theurgical technique.
The passage references 'the exegetical rule of Temura' (transposition) as the method by which the key numbers 3, 10, and 7 are derived from the Gematria values.
Organized, persisting groups — fraternities, orders, lodges — that maintain esoteric knowledge or practices as an institution distinct from public religion or mainstream society, holding 'the keys' collectively rather than through any one master-disciple pair. Distinct from esoteric_lineage (a genealogical chain of individual transmission, not an institution) and hidden_sayings (the concealment of a teaching's meaning, independent of whether any organized body holds it).
The Rose-Cross is referenced as having a specific symbol for its Eighteenth Degree, implying an organized initiatory body with graded esoteric knowledge.
The ten attributes or emanations through which the Ein Sof (Infinite) reveals itself and creates the universe in Kabbalistic theology.
The Qabalah of the Nine Chambers, the key numbers 3, 10, and 7, and the reference to En-Soph all point to the sephirotic framework as the structural basis of the passage's numerology.
The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.
The combination of seven planets with twelve zodiacal signs and their attributed influences on men and things implies stellar governance, though the passage is more descriptive than soteriological.
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The passage references the Adwaita doctrine (non-duality), the 'One Great UNIT,' and the footnote noting that Western metaphysics from Kant to Spencer is 'a more or less distorted echo of the Dwaita, Adwaita, and Vedantic doctrines generally.'