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On The Ancient Lodges, Or Places Of Initiation Into The Cabiric Mysteries.
the first horse , Sisyphus , was produced by Neptune out of a rock ; the Argonautic Jason was educated in the cave of Chiron ; Mithras was supposed to have been born out of a rock ; and the most mysterious rites of the Samothracian Cabiri were performed within the dark
recesses of the cave Zerinthus' " . These caverns were considered as appropriate symbols of the world , probably from their form , and from their natural and artificial contents , comprising the four elements , united with an allusion to the ark of Noah , of which the cave was a figurative type ; for while floating on the waters it contained the whole visible remains of the Old World ;
and they had a reference of an astronomical character , which proceeded from the intimate connexion between the Sabian and the Arkite worship ; for the two solstitial points of the Zodiacal circle are termed by Plato Gates , and these bear a decided analogy to the Homeric mundarie Cavern with its north and south gates , the one earthly for mortals , the
other celestial for immortals . Many of these mysterious caverns remain , and have been minutely described by travellers of credit , although they are uniformly mistaken in supposing them to be sepulchral . To show , however , that they were really p laces of initiation into the spurious Masonry of Pagan nations , it will be necessary to describe the process of this fearful ceremony .
The candidate was introduced into an inner apartment , and being purified with fire and water , was solemnly put through the SEVEN STAGES of initiation . First he beheld a deep and dangerous vault from the precip ice where he stood , into which a single false step might precip itate him down to the " throne of dreadful Necessity , " ivhich was an emblem of those infernal regions through whicli he was about to pass .
Threading the circuitous mages of the gloomy cavern , he was soon awakened from his trance of thought by seeing the sacred fire , at intervals , fearfully flash through its recesses , and illuminating his path ; sometimes
sometimes bursting from beneath his leet - descending un his head in a broad sheet of white and shadowy flame . Amidst the terror thus inspired , his admiration was excited by the distant yelling of ravenous beasts ; the roaring of lions , the howling of wolves , the fierce and threatening bark of dogs . Enveloped now in the blackest darkness , he was at a loss where to turn for safety ; but was
impelled rapidly forward by Ms attendant , who maintained an unbroken silence , towards the quarter from whence the appalling sounds proceeded ; and at the sudden opening of a door , he found himself in a den of wild beasts , dimly enlig htened with a single lamp . His conductor exhorted him to courage , and he was immediately attacked , amidst the most tremendous uproar , by the initiated , in the forms of lions , tigers , wolves , griffins , and other monstrous beasts ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Ancient Lodges, Or Places Of Initiation Into The Cabiric Mysteries.
the first horse , Sisyphus , was produced by Neptune out of a rock ; the Argonautic Jason was educated in the cave of Chiron ; Mithras was supposed to have been born out of a rock ; and the most mysterious rites of the Samothracian Cabiri were performed within the dark
recesses of the cave Zerinthus' " . These caverns were considered as appropriate symbols of the world , probably from their form , and from their natural and artificial contents , comprising the four elements , united with an allusion to the ark of Noah , of which the cave was a figurative type ; for while floating on the waters it contained the whole visible remains of the Old World ;
and they had a reference of an astronomical character , which proceeded from the intimate connexion between the Sabian and the Arkite worship ; for the two solstitial points of the Zodiacal circle are termed by Plato Gates , and these bear a decided analogy to the Homeric mundarie Cavern with its north and south gates , the one earthly for mortals , the
other celestial for immortals . Many of these mysterious caverns remain , and have been minutely described by travellers of credit , although they are uniformly mistaken in supposing them to be sepulchral . To show , however , that they were really p laces of initiation into the spurious Masonry of Pagan nations , it will be necessary to describe the process of this fearful ceremony .
The candidate was introduced into an inner apartment , and being purified with fire and water , was solemnly put through the SEVEN STAGES of initiation . First he beheld a deep and dangerous vault from the precip ice where he stood , into which a single false step might precip itate him down to the " throne of dreadful Necessity , " ivhich was an emblem of those infernal regions through whicli he was about to pass .
Threading the circuitous mages of the gloomy cavern , he was soon awakened from his trance of thought by seeing the sacred fire , at intervals , fearfully flash through its recesses , and illuminating his path ; sometimes
sometimes bursting from beneath his leet - descending un his head in a broad sheet of white and shadowy flame . Amidst the terror thus inspired , his admiration was excited by the distant yelling of ravenous beasts ; the roaring of lions , the howling of wolves , the fierce and threatening bark of dogs . Enveloped now in the blackest darkness , he was at a loss where to turn for safety ; but was
impelled rapidly forward by Ms attendant , who maintained an unbroken silence , towards the quarter from whence the appalling sounds proceeded ; and at the sudden opening of a door , he found himself in a den of wild beasts , dimly enlig htened with a single lamp . His conductor exhorted him to courage , and he was immediately attacked , amidst the most tremendous uproar , by the initiated , in the forms of lions , tigers , wolves , griffins , and other monstrous beasts ;