Chapter XII

SACRAMENTS

In all religions there exist certain ceremon-
ials, or rites, which are regarded as of vital
importance by the believers in the religion,
and which are held to confer certain benefits
on those taking part in them. The word
Sacrament, or some equivalent term, has
been applied to these ceremonials, and they
all have the same character. Little exact
exposition has been given as to their nature
and meaning, but this is another of the sub-
jects explained of old in the Lesser Myster-
ies.

The peculiar characteristic of a Sacrament
resides in two of its properties. First, there
is the exoteric ceremony, which is a pictorial
allegory, a representation of something by
actions and materials — not a verbal alle-
gory, a teaching given in words, conveying
a truth; but an acted representation, certain

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definite material things used in a particular
way. The object in choosing these mat-
erials, and aimed at in the ceremonies by
which their manipulation is accompanied, is
to represent, as in a picture, some truth
which it is desired to impress upon the
minds of the people present. That is the
first and obvious property of a Sacrament,
differentiating it from other forms of wor-
ship and meditation. It appeals to those
who without this imagery would fail to
catch a subtle truth, and shows to them in
a vivid and graphic form the truth which
otherwise would escape them. Every Sacra-
ment, when it is studied, should be taken
first from this standpoint, that it is a pictor-
ial allegory; the essential things to be stud-
ied will therefore be: the material objects
which enter into the allegory, the method
in which they are employed, and the mean-
ing which the whole is intended to convey.

The second characteristic property of a
Sacrament belongs to the facts of the invis-
ible worlds, and is studied by occult science.
The person who officiates in the Sacrament
should possess this knowledge, as much,
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though not all, of the operative power of
the Sacrament depends on the knowledge of
the officiator. A Sacrament links the mat-
erial world with the subtle and invisible
regions to which that world is related ; it is
a link between the visible and the invisible.
And it is not only a link between this world
and other worlds, but it is also a method by
which the energies of the invisible world are
transmuted into action in the physical ; an
actual method of changing energies of one
kind into energies of another, as literally as
in the galvanic cell chemical energies are
changed into electrical. The essence of all
energies is one and the same, whether in
the visible or invisible worlds ; but the energ-
ies differ according to the grades of matter
through which they manifest. A Sacra-
ment serves as a kind of crucible in which
spiritual alchemy takes place. An energy
placed in this crucible and subjected to cer-
tain manipulations comes forth different
in expression. Thus an energy of a subtle
kind, belonging to one of the higher regions
of the universe, may be brought into direct

relation with people living in the physical

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Sacraments

world, and may be made to affect them in
the physical world as well as in its own
realm; the Sacrament forms the last bridge
from the invisible to the visible, and enables
the energies to be directly applied to those
who fulfil the necessary conditions and who
take part in the Sacrament.

The Sacraments of the Christian Church
lost much of their dignity and of the recog-
nition of their occult power among those
who separated from the Eoman Catholic
Church at the time of the " Reformation."
The previous separation between the East
and the West, leaving the Greek Orthodox
Church on the one side and the Eoman
Church on the other, in no way affected be-
lief in the Sacraments. They remained in
both great communities as the recognised
links between the seen and the unseen, and
sanctified the life of the believer from cradle
to grave. The Seven Sacraments of Christi-
anity cover the whole of life, from the
welcome of Baptism to the farewell of Ex-
treme Unction. They were established by
Occultists, by men who knew the invisible
worlds; and the materials used, the words
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Esoteric Christianity

spoken, the signs made, were all deliberately
chosen and arranged with a view to bring-
ing about certain results.

At the time of the Reformation, the
seceding Churches, which threw off the yoke
of Kome, were not led by Occultists, but by
ordinary men of the world, some good and
some bad, but all profoundly ignorant of the
facts of the invisible worlds, and conscious
only of the outer shell of Christianity, its
literal dogmas and exoteric worship. The
consequence of this was that the Sacraments
lost their supreme place in Christian wor-
ship, and in most Protestant communities
were reduced to two, Baptism and the
Eucharist. The sacramental nature of
the others was not explicitly denied in
the most important of the seceding
Churches, but the two were set apart from
the five, as of universal obligation, of
which every member of the Church must
partake in order to be recognised as a full
member.

The general definition of a Sacrament is
given quite accurately, save for the super-
fluous words, "ordained by Christ Him-

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Sacraments

self," in the Catechism of the Church of
England, and even these words might be
retained if the mystic meaning be given to
the word " Christ." A Sacrament is there
said to be: "An outward and visible sign
of an inward and spiritual grace given unto
us, ordained by Christ Himself, as a means
whereby we receive the same and a pledge
to assure us thereof."

In this definition we find laid down the
two distinguishing characteristics of a Sac-
rament as given above. The "outward and
visible sign " is the pictorial allegory, and
the phrase, the "means whereby we receive
the" "inward and spiritual grace" covers
the second property. This last phrase
should be carefully noted by those members
of Protestant Churches who regard Sacra-
ments as mere external forms and outer
ceremonies. For it distinctly alleges that
the Sacrament is really a means whereby
the grace is conveyed, and thus implies that
without it the grace does not pass in the
same fashion from the spiritual to the physi-
cal world. It is the distinct recognition of
a Sacrament in its second aspect, as a means
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whereby spiritual powers are brought into
activity on earth.

In order to understand a Sacrament, it is
necessary that we should definitely recog-
nise the existence of an occult, or hidden,
side of Nature ; this is spoken of as the life-
side of Nature, the consciousness-side, more
accurately the mind in Nature. Underlying
all sacramental action there is the belief
that the invisible world exercises a potent
influence over the visible, and to understand
a Sacrament we must understand some-
thing of the invisible Intelligences who
administer Nature. We have seen in study-
ing the doctrine of the Trinity that Spirit
is manifested as the triple Self, and that
as the Field for His manifestation there is
Matter, the form -side of Nature, often
regarded, and rightly, as Nature herself. We
have to study both these aspects, the side
of life and that of form, in order to under-
stand a Sacrament.

Stretching between the Trinity and
humanity are many grades and hierarchies
of invisible beings ; the highest of these are
the seven Spirits of God, the seven Fires, or

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Sacraments

Flames, that are before the throne of God.1
Each of these stands at the head of a vast
host of Intelligences, all of whom share His
nature and act under His direction ; these
are themselves graded, and are the Thrones,
Powers, Princes, Dominations, Archangels,
Angels, of whom mention is found, in the
writings of the Christian Fathers, who were
versed in the Mysteries. Thus there are
seven great hosts of these Beings, and they
represent in their intelligence the divine
Mind in Nature. They are found in ail
regions, and they ensoul the energies of
Nature. From the standpoint of occultism
there is no dead force and no dead matter.
Force and matter alike are living and
active, and an energy or a group of energies
is the veil of an Intelligence, of a Conscious-
ness, who has that energy as his outer
expression, and the matter in which that
energy moves yields a form which he guides
or ensouls. Unless a man can thus look at
Nature all esoteric teaching must remain
for him a sealed book. Without these
angelic Lives, these countless invisible Intei-

1 Rev. iv. 5.
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Esoteric Christianity

ligences, these Consciousnesses which en-
soul the force and matter1 which is Nature,
Nature herself would not only remain unin-
telligible, but she would be out of relation
alike to the divine Life that moves within
and around her, and to the human lives
that are developing in her midst. These
innumerable Angels link the worlds to-
gether ; they are themselves evolving while
helping the evolution of beings lower than
themselves, and a new light is shed on evo-
lution when we see that men form grades
in these hierarchies of intelligent beings.
These angels are the "sons of God 55 of an
earlier birth than ours, who "shouted for
joy " 2 when the foundations of the earth
were laid amid the choiring of the Morning
Stars.

Other beings are below us in evolution
— animals, plants, minerals, and elemental
lives — as the Angels are above us ; and as
we thus study, a conception dawns upon us

1 The phrase " force and matter " is used as it is so well-
known in science. But force is one of the properties of
matter, the one mentioned as Motion. See Ante, p. 262.

2 Job xxxviii. 7.

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Sacraments

of a vast Wheel of Life, of numberless
existences, inter-related and necessary each
to each, man as a living Intelligence, as a
self conscious being, having his own place in
this Wheel. The Wheel is ever turning by
the divine Will, and the living Intelligences
who form it learn to co-operate with that
Will, and if in the action of those Intelli-
gences there is any break or gap due to
neglect or opposition, then the Wheel drags,
turning slowly, and the chariot of the
evolution of the worlds goes but heavily
upon its way.

These numberless Lives, above and below
man, come into touch with human con-
sciousness in very definite ways, and among
these ways are sounds and colours. Each
sound has a form in the invisible world,
and combinations of sounds create compli-
cated shapes.1 In the subtle matter of those
worlds all sounds are accompanied by col-
ours, so that they give rise to many-hued
shapes, in many cases exceedingly beautiful.

1 See on forms created by musical notes any scientific
book on Sound, and also Mrs. Watts-Hughes' illustrated
book on Voice Figures.

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Esoteric Christianity

The vibrations set up in the visible world
when a note is sounded set up vibrations in
the worlds invisible, each one with its own
specific character, and capable of producing
certain effects. In communicating with the
sub-human Intelligences connected with the
lower invisible world and with the physi-
cal, and in controlling and directing these,
sounds must be used fitted to bring about
the desired results, as language made up of
definite sounds is used here. And in com-
municating with the higher Intelligences
certain sounds are useful, to create a
harmonious atmosphere, suitable for their
activities, and to make our own subtle
bodies receptive of their influences.

This effect on the subtle bodies is a most
important part of the occult use of sounds.
These bodies, like the physical, are in con-
stant vibratory motion, the vibrations
changing with every thought or desire.
These changing irregular vibrations offer an
obstacle to any fresh vibration coming from
outside, and, in order to render the bodies
susceptible to the higher influences, sounds

are used which reduce the irregular vibra-

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tions to a steady rhythm, like in its nature
to the rhythm of the Intelligence sought
to be reached. The object of all often-
repeated sentences is to effect this, as a musi-
cian sounds the same note over and over
again, until all the instruments are in tune.
The subtle bodies must be tuned to the note
of the Being sought, if his influence is to
find free way through the nature of the
worshipper, and this was ever done of old
by the use of sounds. Hence, music has
ever formed an integral part of worship,
and certain definite cadences have been pre-
served with care, handed, on from age to age.

In every religion there exist sounds of a
peculiar character, called " Words of Pow-
er,5' consisting of sentences in a particular
language chanted in a particular way; each
religion possesses a stock of such sentences,
special successions of sounds, now very gen-
erally called " mantras," that being the
name given to them in the East, where the
science of mantras has been much studied
and elaborated. It is not necessary that a
mantra — a succession of sounds arranged in
a particular manner to bring about a defi-

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nite result — should be in any one particular
language. Any language can be used for
the purpose, though some are more suitable
than others, provided that the person who
makes the mantra possesses the requisite
occult knowledge. There are hundreds of
mantras in the Samskrit tongue, made by
Occultists of the past, who were familiar
with the laws of the invisible worlds. These
have been handed down from generation to
generation, definite words in a definite order
chanted in a definite way. The effect of
the chanting is to create vibrations, hence
forms, in the physical and super-physical
worlds, and according to the knowledge and
purity of the singer will be the worlds his
song is able to affect. If his knowledge be
wide and deep, if his will be strong and his
heart pure, there is scarcely any limit to the
powers he may exercise in using some of
these ancient mantras.

As said, it is not necessary that any one
particular language should be used. They
may be in Samskrit, or in any one of the
languages of the world, in which men of
knowledge have put them together.

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Sacraments

This is the reason why, in the Roman
Catholic Church, the Latin language is al-
ways used in important acts of worship.
It is not used as a dead language here, a
tongue "not understanded of the people,"
but as a living force in the invisible worlds.
It is not used to hide knowledge from the
people, but in order that certain vibrations
may be set up in the invisible worlds which
cannot be set up in the ordinary languages
of Europe, unless a great Occultist should
compose in them the necessary successions
of sounds. To translate a mantra is to
change it from a "Word of Power" into
an ordinary sentence; the sounds being
changed, other sound-forms are created.

Some of the arrangements of Latin
words, with the music wedded to them in
Christian worship, cause the most marked
effects in the supra-physical worlds, and any
one who is at all sensitive will be conscious
of peculiar effects caused by the chanting of
some of the most sacred sentences, especially
in the Mass. Vibratory effects may be felt
by any one who will sit quiet and receptive
as some of these sentences are uttered by
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Esoteric Christianity

priest or choristers. And at the same time
effects are caused in the higher worlds di-
rectly affecting the subtle bodies of the wor-
shippers in the way above described, and
also appealing to the Intelligences in those
worlds with a meaning as definite as the
words addressed by one person to another
on the physical plane, whether as prayer or,
in some cases, as command. The sounds,
causing active flashing forms, rise through
the worlds, affecting the consciousness of
the Intelligences residing in them, and
bringing some of them to render the defin-
ite services required by those who are
taking part in the church office.

Such mantras form an essential part of
every Sacrament.

The next essential part of the Sacrament,
in its outward and visible form, are certain
gestures. These are called Signs, or Seals,
or Sigils — the three words meaning the
same thing in a Sacrament. Each sign has
its own particular meaning, and marks the
direction imposed on the invisible forces
with which the celebrant is dealing, whether
those forces be his 'own or poured through

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him. In any case, they are needed to bring
about the desired result, and they are an
essential portion of the sacramental rite.
Such a sign is called a "Sign of Power," as
the mantra is a " Word of Power."

It is interesting to read in occult works of
the past references to these facts, true then
as now, true now as then. In the Egyptian
Booh of the Dead is described the post-mor-
tem journey of the Soul, and we read how
he is stopped and challenged at various
stages of that journey. He is stopped and
challenged by the Guardians of the Gate of
each successive wrorld, and the Soul cannot
pass through the Gate and go on his way
unless he knows two things : he must pro-
nounce a word, the Word of Power: he
must make a sign, the Sign of Power.
When that Word is spoken, when that Sign
is given, the bars of the Gate fall down, and
the Guardians stand aside to let the Soul
pass through. A similar account is given
in the great mystic Christian Gospel, the
Pistis Sophia, before mentioned.1 Here the
passage through the worlds is not of a Soul

1 See ante, p. 137 and p. 300.
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Esoteric Christianity

set free from the body by death, but of one
who has voluntarily left it in the course
of Initiation. There are great Powers, the
Powers of Nature, that bar his way, and till
the Initiate gives the Word and the Sign,
they will not allow him to pass through the
portals of their realms. This double know-
ledge, then, was necessary — to speak the
Word of Power, to make the Sign of Power.
Without these progress was blocked, and
without these a Sacrament is no Sacrament.

Further, in all Sacraments some physical
material is used, or should be used.1 This
is ever a symbol of that which is to be
gained by the Sacrament, and points to
the nature of the "inward and spiritual
grace" received through it. This is also
the material means of conveying the grace,
not symbolically, but actually, and a subtle
change in this material adapts it for high
ends.

Now a physical object consists of the
solid, liquid, and gaseous particles into

1 In the Sacrament of Penance the ashes are now usually
omitted, except on special occasions, but none the less they
form part of the rite,

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Sacraments

which a chemist would resolve it by analysis,
and further of ether, which inter-penetrates
the grosser stuffs. In this ether play the
magnetic energies. It is further connected
with counterparts of subtle matter, in which
play energies subtler than the magnetic, but
like them in nature and more powerful.

When such an object is magnetised a
change is effected in the ethereal portion,
the wave-motions are altered and systemat-
ised, and made to follow the wave-motions
of the ether of the magnetiser; it thus
comes to share his nature, and the denser
particles of the object, played on by the
ether, slowly change their rates of vibration.
If the magnetiser has the power of affecting
the subtler counterparts also, he makes them
similarly vibrate in assonance with his own.

This is the secret of magnetic cures: the
irregular vibrations of the diseased person
are so worked on as to accord with the reg-
ular vibrations of the healthy operator, as
definitely as an irregularly swinging ob-
ject may be made to swing regularly by
repeated and timed blows. A doctor will
magnetise water and cure his patient there-
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with. He will magnetise a cloth, and the
cloth, laid on the seat of pain, will heal.
He will use a powerful magnet, or a current
from a galvanic cell, and restore energy to
a nerve. In all cases the ether is thrown
into motion, and by this the denser physical
particles are affected.

A similar result accrues when the materi-
als used in a Sacrament are acted on by
the Word of Power and the Sign of Power.
Magnetic changes are caused in the ether of
the physical substance, and the subtle coun-
terparts are affected according to the know-
ledge, purity, and devotion of the celebrant
who magnetises — or, in the religious term,
consecrates — it. Further, the Word and
the Sign of Power summon to the celebra-
tion the Angels specially concerned with
the materials used and the nature of the act
performed, and they lend their powerful
aid, pouring their own magnetic energies
into the subtle counterparts, and even into
the physical ether, thus reinforcing the en-
ergies of the celebrant. No one who knows
anything of the powers of magnetism can
doubt the possibility of the changes in mat-

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erial objects thus indicated. And if a man
of science, who may have no faith in the
unseen, has the power to so impregnate
water with his own vital energy that it
cures a physical disease, why should power
of a loftier, though similar, nature be deni-
ed to those of saintly life, of noble charac-
ter, of knowledge of the invisible? Those
who are able to sense the higher forms of
magnetism know very well that consecrated
objects vary much in their power, and that
the magnetic difference is due to the vary-
ing knowledge, purity, and spirituality of
the priest who consecrates them. Some
deny all vital magnetism, and would- reject
alike the holy water of religion and the
magnetised water of medical science. They
are consistent, but ignorant. But those
who admit the utility of the one, and laugh
at the other, show themselves to be not wise
but prejudiced, not learned but one-sided,
and prove that their want of belief in relig-
ion biases their intelligence, predisposing
them to reject from the hand of religion
that which they accept from the hand of

science. A little will be added to this with

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regard to "sacred objects" generally in