CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A COMMEMORATION OF HUMILIATION AND DESPAIR
The Temple of Saturn, where the Festival of Humiliation was held, was situated on Park Hill, southeast of the center of the city, near Mount Olympus. It represented one of the rings of Saturn, while a hill now occupied by an iron water-tank gave the outer ring.
The temple itself marked the orbit of Saturn, the reaper who gathers the harvest of the dead. It was a square edifice, and had towers which were of the same form at the base, but became round as the tall spires rose skyward. A high arched entrance of elaborately carved sandstone led to a long quadrangular hall. The ceiling was of heavy paneled redwood, polished and treated with copal, while the walls were an elaborate mural broken, double and single key patterns, interspersed with squares, circles and triangles in porphyry bas-relief. The floor was a succession of interlaced hoops and balls of blue enamel on squares of white marble.
Unlike the other temples, there was but one entrance, which faced west, signifying that all who entered the Hall of Death came by the same road; and, also, that the sun going down in the west was typical of physical life departing from the body.
An intricately carved ebony arch, relieved by pieces of crystal and tiny panels of isinglass, enclosed the eastern altar, containing a gold sunburst and throne of the same, on which was seated a green jasper statue of Maia—the Virgin Mother of all.
The elevated platform of black marble had incense vessels, urns, and vases of gold, set with black onyx and diamonds, in a delicate tracery of black enamel.
Emblematic brocades of pale blue silk hung between the square windows, whose innumerable small panes were of frosted glass set in a circular frame.
A circle inscribed within a square is the geometrical emblem of death, and the veiled light conveyed the same idea.
In the center of the southern wall, under a richly canopied entablature of arms of Atlantis, emblazoned on a heavily fringed and corded brocade of shaded blue, was a high granite slab, back of which was a square ark containing an aerolite stone.
The Immaculate Conception also pertains to the mystery of death, since it is a new birth, and the heaven-born stone signifies that the newly released spirit is immaculate. In other words, that its birth into the body and contact with material life have left no stain upon its intrinsic purity.
Before this shrine Yermah ordered a purple veil of Akaza to be placed. Skulls and crossbones in white were painted upon this, to show that he was master of the living as well as of the dead.
The queen of odors, jasmine, which corresponds to G in alt, or equilibrium, filled the perfumed lamp suspended in the center of the shrine; while ewers of oil, containing citron, lemon, orange-peel, verbena, and rose sat on either side.
The Azes recognized the octaves of odor, and offered the higher grade to age; while the lower, consisting of almond, heliotrope, vanilla, clematis and neroli, were placed in ewers on the altar opposite, as a sacrifice to youth.
Musically, these correspond to the lower bass and upper treble clefs.
On a square base of onyx rose a pyramid and obelisk of prismatic glass at each side of the northern niche. The pyramid was composed of glass squares, ingeniously piled up, and the obelisk was of round balls of glass, beginning with twelve, and ending with one. Several lighted lamps placed behind them gave a bewildering effect of color through the crystal.
The niche itself ended in a sharp triangle, and contained a blue enamel swastika, familiarly known to-day as the Keys of Saint Peter.
Astronomically, it is the sign Aquarius, which is Janus, or Saint Peter, while Pisces is the swastika in his hand. It is correlated to the spiral movements in nature everywhere, and its hieroglyph is a dragon, serpent meander, or two rivers of fire.
Three marble steps led to this altar, and there was a constant stream of people praying before it. They entered barefooted, and silently threw themselves on the floor before the altars. The swastika not only indicated the time, but also the unsettled condition, and they implored continually:
“O Thou who art master of all motion, hold Thou the earth fast in the hollow of Thy hand! Grant that it may no longer be swayed in its orbit, but may go in peace, freed from evil influence. Hear and answer, we beseech Thee!”
Rising at daybreak, the whole populace made their ablutions with scrupulous care, and dressed themselves in spotless white.
They waited in vain for a glimpse of the rising sun, and then betook themselves to the housetops.
Turning with infinite yearning to the north, they cried out:
“Spirits of the lost ones, come quickly, since thou art expected!”
This curious practice was kept up at this yearly festival until the time of the conquest of Mexico. All the native races of America believed with the Norsemen that hell was situated in the north doubtless in memory of the overwhelming destruction of the great Ice Age.
Esoterically, ice is spiritual fire.
Reëntering their houses, the populace took their canapas[15] which were the same as the Roman titular deities, and hastened to a great funeral pyre already smoking in front of the Temple of Saturn.
Since fire was the substance of the sun, and since the sun’s ray was the medium through which Deity contacted the earth, the devotees did not venture near it without prostrating themselves, kissing the earth, and making manifestations of abasement.
The worshipers made low obeisance to the four cardinal points, and threw cassia, cinnamon, sweet calamus and myrrh into the flames. Braving the heat, they held the canapas in the smoke until the figures warmed perceptibly, then wrapped them in linen scorched by the fire, and ran back to their houses.
It was no longer possible to summon them to the temples by ringing the big bell on top of the Observatory, as the tower still lay in ruins; so they waited for the trumpet-call.
Incense was burned on the sacrificial altars, and a pot-pourri of resinous gums was carried in the hand, in alabaster or jeweled boxes, along with palm branches, which indicated a new period of manifestation of matter.
A procession issued from the western gate of the Temple of the Sun, in the center of Tlamco. First came a troop of warrior-priests with spears held upright and garlanded with roses.
The next was Yermah, robed in cloth of gold, with a white linen mantle over his shoulder. His head was bared, and he had submitted to tonsure as a sacred observance.
The Azes considered the human head a magnet, having a natural electrical, irregular circle, moving in the path of the sun.
The os-frontis, sinciput, and os-sublime are the positive pole, while the occiput is the negative.
In the right hand of the Dorado was a lotus-headed scepter, an emblem of religious dominion; while in his left hand was a sword constructed in the form of a cross, with three pommels, or two crescents for guards. It had been newly consecrated by being thrust into a fire made of laurel and cypress woods, after which it was wiped and polished with the ashes and wrapped in a linen cloth.
Behind the Dorado were one hundred youths, dressed to represent the four seasons; and after them came Imos, the high-priest, in green robes and tiara, borne on a litter by twelve priests, representing the sun in one of its zodiacal houses.
Following, walked the Virgin of the Sun, Oahspe, who was to be offered up in sacrifice, as a solemn atonement for the people.
This observance did not involve the horrible rites of later superstition, because she did not represent death to the physical, but death of transgression and new birth into righteousness.
Back of her were one hundred vestals, dressed in white and crowned with myrtle. After them came boys and girls to the number of three hundred and sixty-five, each representing the sun and moon in their daily journey.
Last were five hundred warrior-priests clad in black, with white crosses on their backs and breasts.
The procession wound slowly around the serpentine avenue, and up the winding path to the temple, the priests chanting a hymn as they walked. Filing in, they stood ranged in rows on each side of the hall, and in the gray morning light their voices mingled with melodious strains of harps, flutes and lyres. The music rose grandly, floating through the dim aisles and out into the crowded spaces before the entrance. There were no lights on the altars, and the congregation moved like specters in the semi-darkness.
Imos knelt in the center before the veil which enclosed the figure of the ever-youthful Virgin. On his right side knelt Yermah, and on his left was Oahspe.
A hush fell over the people, the music ceased and all waited with bated breath to see if Divine help would be vouchsafed them.
Suddenly, through a rift in the clouds, shone a resplendent sun-ray, which flooded the figures and the statue with a golden light.
The tense, strained, fearful looks relaxed, and a long sigh of relief escaped their lips, while an electric thrill ran through the crowd, and many of them wept unrestrainedly.
The gates of the enclosure swung open, and Imos stood within, facing the sun. Then Yermah took Oahspe by the hand, and led her to Imos, who made a sign of hierarchal blessing and poured a few drops of olive oil over her hair. The high-priest stepped back, and, placing his right hand over his heart, held his left up to the figure of Maia, the Cosmic Virgin, and proclaimed in a loud voice:
“It is consummated!”
There was a moment’s silence.
The sunshine faded from the golden hair of Oahspe, and a light, made by no mortal hands, flickered around the statue, illuminating the whole niche.
“In thy strength and wisdom, O Father-Mother, join Thou the heavens above with the earth below!” cried the people in response.
Again the music swelled through the temple and the warrior-priests made use of their long spears to light the lamps.
Yermah received the three-handled silver cup of humiliation from the high-priest Imos, and partook of its bitter contents. From him it passed to Oahspe, then to Orondo, Setos, Alcamayn, Ildiko, Rahula, Cezardis, Ben Hu Barabe, and Alcyesta and then on to every man and woman in the temple.
The priests composed and arranged the music used in the temples; and now a choir chanted a funeral text from their sacred books, referring to the sinking in earlier cataclysms of the continents of Ruta and Daitya, which extended into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
These continents included the Azores, the Cape Verde and Grand Canary Islands, while the peaks of Teneriffe are all that is left of Poseidon’s kingdom. The latter, an island three hundred and fifty miles long and two hundred miles wide, contained the crystallization of ancient civilization, and had colonies in the four quarters of the globe.
The history of this race is written in the public works of the ancient kingdoms; in their bridges crossing great rivers and swamps; in the highways leveling mighty mountains and uplifting plains; in the matchless gardens and aqueducts; in the beauty and splendor of the cities; in fabulous treasures of gold and silver; and, more than all, in the grandeur of the mighty pyramids, temples and obelisks erected and dedicated to the glorification of a Supreme Being.
It was also written in the provident laws of the nation—in its progressive civic life, its happiness and its calm, delightful view of the world.
The priests chanted:
“The end of the Etherean column that extended to Kinevat, on the borders of the vortex of the earth, was made fast by the pressure of Thy wide heavens.
“And the vertex closed in from the extreme end, and, lo, the earth was broken!”
The people looked at each other and shuddered.
They understood the significance of Orion’s Belt, and they knew, also, that the three hills overlooking the Golden Gate, where the waters had lately rushed through, typified one end of the Bridge of Kinevat.
Some among them knew that this referred to initiation, but it was generally supposed that the mystery had reference to death.
One variant of this allegory was personated in the heavens by the constellation of Orion. The three bright stars in his belt represented Will, Aspiration and Harmony.
For this reason the Dorado was required to pray before a figure of Orion which was the official lares and penates of Iaqua. In the abstract, the statue symbolized the god-hood in man.
As an image of his own higher self, it was a something on which Yermah could concentrate all of his thought-forces.
A low, plaintive wail from the instruments, and a chill seized the audience.
“A mighty continent was cut loose from its fastenings,” sang the bass voices. “The fires of the earth came forth in flames and clouds and loud roarings.”
“And the land rocked to and fro like a ship at sea,” chimed the tenors.
“Again the vortex of the earth closed in on all sides,” they all sang together.
“By great pressure the land sank beneath the waters to rise no more,” they repeated three times. Then, after an impressive pause:
“The corporeans all went down to death!”
The wails and cries of the mourners drowned the music.
In the midst of the exercise, Yermah was invested with a purple robe and the pointed hat of a hierophant, while Imos took position in the northern niche, in front of the swastika. When quiet was restored the high-priest knelt with the entire congregation, and after a long and fervent supplication rose and hung a broken heart of rubies on a little gold hook in the center of the revolving cross.
“Sacred to thy memory, O Atlantis!
Fit semblance of our grief for thee, O Poseidon!
Reminder of our transition hence to Kinevat—
The bridge between us and eternity!”
chanted the entire assemblage, making genuflections continuously.
Yermah found his way to the platform, and as Imos gave the hierarchal blessing he handed the Dorado a parchment scroll, which the latter slowly unrolled and read:
BUNDLE OF WONDERFUL THINGS[16]
The Great King of the Dazzling Face, the chief of all the Yellow Faces, was sad, seeing the sins of the Black Faces. He sent his air-vehicles to all his brother chiefs with highest men within, saying:
“Prepare! Arise, ye men of the Good Law, and cross the land while dry! The Lords of the Storm are approaching.
“Their chariots are nearing the land.
“She is doomed, and they have to descend with her.
“The nether Lords of the Fires (gnomes and fire elementals) are preparing their magic-worked weapons.
“But the Lords of the Dark Eye are stronger than these elementals, and they are the slaves of the mighty ones.
“They are versed in Astra. Come and use yours.
“Let every Lord of the Dazzling Face cause the vehicles of every Lord of the Dark Face to come into his hands, lest any should by this means escape from the waters; avoid the rod of the four elements, and save the wicked people.
“May every Yellow Face send sleep from himself to every Black Face.
“May even they be free from pain. May every man who is true to the Solar Gods bind every man under the Lunar Gods, lest he should suffer or escape his destiny.
“And may every Yellow Face offer his life-water to the speaking animal watching beside the Black Face.
“Let him not awaken his master—The hour has struck—the black night is ready—Let their destiny be accomplished. We are the servants of the Great Four—May the King of Light return.”
“The Great King fell upon his dazzling face and wept.
... “When the kings assembled, the waters had already moved.... The natives had now crossed the dry lands. They were beyond the water-mark. Their kings reached them in their vehicles, and led them on to the lands of fire and metal (east and north)....
“Stars and meteors showered on the lands of the Black Faces, but they slept....
“The waters rose and covered the valleys from one end of the earth to the other. High lands remained dry.... There dwelt those who escaped—the men of the Yellow Faces and of the Straight Eye.
“When the Lords of the Dark Faces awoke, they bethought them of the vehicles, in order to escape from the rising waters, but they were gone. Some of the most powerful of the Dark Faces awoke first, and pursued those who had spoiled them. Many of the faint-hearted perished on their way.
“The pursuers, whose heads and chests soared high above the water, chased them. Finally the rising waves reached them, and they perished to the last man. The soil sank under their feet, and the earth engulfed those who had desecrated her....”
When Yermah ceased speaking, he crossed over to the southern altar, and laid a small wreath of jasmine on Akaza’s veil, saying:
“Thou hast quashed the will-o’-the-wisp of doubtful spirits. Thou hast crossed the Bridge of Kinevat[17] and art come into bliss.”
The congregation followed the example of the Dorado, and for the remainder of the day made offerings upon the different altars. They deposited palms in the eastern niche; on the north, cypress and aloes; on the south, quantities of white flowers; while about the entrance they strewed branches of weeping-willow.
The sun went down on absolute silence.
Every animal was either muzzled or shut up in a dark place.
There was not a light in the city, nor did a human being speak above a whisper.
Just before midnight the people retired, without breaking fast during the whole twenty-four hours.
In the dead watches of the night they communed silently with hordes of disembodied entities who had crossed the bridge which connects one phase of mind with desire, and the other with spirit. By this means the upward surging forces of the animal kingdom, are united with the downward cycling emanation of the Divine—the most profound myth associated with the Bridge of Kinevat.