The Secret Doctrine · 589 of 727

Page 81 (part 7)

When the Chaldeans broke into the sanctuary and beheld this most astounding emblem, they naturally enough exclaimed, 'Is this your God, of whom you boast that He is such a lover of purity?' " (p.

441.) King thinks that this tradition "savours too much of Alexandrian philosophy to demand any credit," to which we demur.

The shape and form of the wings of the two cherubim standing on the right and left sides of the Ark, these wings meeting over the "Holy of Holies," are an emblem quite eloquent in itself, besides the "holy" Jod within the ark!

The Mystery of Agathadaemon, whose legend states, "I am Chnumis, Sun of the Universe, 700," can alone solve the mystery of Jesus, the number of whose name is 888." It is not the key of St.

Peter, or the Church dogma, but the narthex -- the wand of the candidate for initiation -- that has to be wrenched from the grasp of the long-silent Sphinx of the ages.

Meanwhile ---- The augurs, who, upon meeting each other, have to thrust their tongues into their cheeks to suppress a fit of laughter, may be more numerous in our own age than they ever were in the day of Sylla.

-------

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Themes

Christ Forcecosmology

In Western Hermetic Qabalah, the specific harmonizing cosmic force symbolised by Tiphareth, the central Sephira of the Tree of Life — the equilibriating, compensating, healing, redeeming, and purifying factor of the universe, recognised by the occultist as one power among the hierarchy of supreme cosmic forces rather than assigned the exclusive position it holds for the Christian mystic. Distinct from logos (the ordering principle through which the universe was created, not this specific mediating/healing Sephirotic force) and trinity (a claim about the Godhead's internal three-personed structure, not a single emanation's function within a tenfold system).

The passage treats 'the mystery of Jesus' as a cosmological puzzle to be solved by esoteric numerology (888) rather than by Church dogma, hinting at Christ as a cosmic force distinct from institutional theology.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The passage's central thrust is that the outward form (cherubim's wings, the Ark) conceals a deeper esoteric meaning (the 'holy Jod,' the 'Mystery of Agathadaemon') that only initiates can decode.

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Initiationpraxis

The ritual admission of an individual into esoteric knowledge or a sacred order through a formal rite of passage — testing, ordeal, or ceremony — marking a definite before/after threshold in the initiate's status and access. Distinct from hidden_sayings (the doctrine being concealed, not the rite of admission to it) and esoteric_lineage (the historical chain of transmission across generations, not a single individual's admission).

The 'narthex — the wand of the candidate for initiation' is explicitly invoked as the key that must be 'wrenched from the grasp of the long-silent Sphinx of the ages,' framing the passage's esoteric teaching in initiatory terms.

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Letters Of Creationcosmology

The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.

The 'holy Jod' (Yod) within the Ark is presented as a hidden letter with cosmological significance, aligning with the doctrine of Hebrew letters as building blocks of creation.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The passage explicitly assigns numerical values to divine names — 'I am Chnumis, Sun of the Universe, 700' and 'the number of whose name is 888' — treating number as the key to solving mystical identity.

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Related passages · 8 parallels

western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Qabbalah, the Secret Doctrine of Israel-k

“God is One above three, three are above seven, seven are above twelve, yet all are linked together. 9. There are twenty-two letters by which the I AM (YAH), the Lord of Hosts, Almighty and Eternal, designed and created by three Sepharim (…”

Shared concept: Letters Of Creation — The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Qabbalah, the Secret Doctrine of Israel-d

“The third volume used as a reference was the Sepher Yetzirah , by the late Win. Wynn Westcott, Magus of the Rosicrucian Society of England. The fourth was the Sepher Yetzirah , or The Book of Creation, according to the translation in the…”

Shared concept: Letters Of Creation — The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence. (derived)

jewish_mysticism|Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation)|Section 1d

“Resh, predominant in peace, crowned, combined, and formed Saturn in the Universe, the sixth day of the week, and the left nostril in man. Tau, predominant in beauty, crowned, combined and formed Jupiter in the Universe, the seventh day in…”

Shared concept: Letters Of Creation — The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Kybalion (Three Initiates)|Page 2 (part 2)

“There were always a few to tend faithfully the altar of the Truth, upon which was kept alight the Perpetual Lamp of Wisdom. These men devoted their lives to the labor of love which the poet has so well stated in his lines: "O, let not the…”

Shared concept: Hidden Sayings — Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Kybalion (Three Initiates)|Chapter VIII (part 6)

“Only those whose minds have been carefully trained along the lines of the Hermetic Philosophy for years--yes, those who have brought with them from other incarnations the knowledge acquired previously--can comprehend just what is meant by t…”

Shared concept: Hidden Sayings — Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth. (derived)

western_esoteric|Psychic Self-Defence (Dion Fortune)|14. The Motives Of Psychic Attack. II-a

“IT is a matter of general knowledge among occultists that it is not a pleasant thing to fall foul of an occult fraternity of which one has been made a member by means of a ceremonial initiation and to which one is bound by oaths. As we hav…”

Shared concept: Initiation — The ritual admission of an individual into esoteric knowledge or a sacred order through a formal rite of passage — testing, ordeal, or ceremony — marking a definite before/after threshold in the initiate's status and access. (derived)

neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII-au

“The Pythagoreans, likewise, adorned numbers and figures with the appellations of the Gods. For they called the equilateral triangle, Minerva Coryphagenes, or begotten from the summit, and Tritogeneia because it is divided by three perpendi…”

Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)

christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1d

“Nay, even the foundation and the boundaries of the heavens (as we forgot to say while 91 thinking of other matters) owe their origin to the Good. Such is this universe, which lessens not nor grows, and such the noiseless movements (if nois…”

Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)