Chapter XVIII

THE ROD THAT BUDDED

N the prologue of Faust, God is represented as say-
ing, concerning the hero :

"With vision imperfect he serves me now,
But soon I'll lead him where more light appears;
"When buds the sapling doth the gardener know,
That flow'r and fruit will grace its coming years. "

This is the actual fact concerning all mankind. At
the present time we all serve God imperfectly because
of our limited vision. We have not the real, true per-
ception of what is wanted and of how we should use
the talents wherewith we are now endowed. Never-
theless God, through the process of evolution is con-
stantly leading us into greater and greater light, and
by degrees we shall cease to be spiritually barren : We
shall flower and bear fruit. Thus we shall be able to
serve God as we would and not as we do.

While the foregoing applies to all in general, it ap-
plies particularly to those who stand in the limelight
as teachers; for naturally, where the light is the
strongest, the shadows are also the deepest, and the

150 MYSTERIES OF THE GREAT OPERAS

imperfections of those among us, who must take up
the burden of teaching, are naturally more marked on
that account.

In the story of Tannhauser, the Pope shuts the door
of hope in the face of the penitent because the letter
of the law requires it, but not thus is God's mercy
frustrated. The Pope's staff blooms to prove that
the penitent has been forgiven because of the sincere
penitence whereby the evil has been washed from the
record made upon the seed atom. Thus by a higher
law the lower has been superseded.

There is in this legend of the Pope's staff, a simil-
arity to the tale of the Holy Grail and the spear; to
the story of Aaron's rod which also bloomed, and to
the staff of Moses that brought the water of life forth
from the rock. All have an important bearing upon
the problem of the spiritual life of the disciple who
aims to follow the path to the higher life and seeks,
like Kundry, to undo the deeds of ill of former lives
by a present life of service to the higher self. The
legend of the Grail distinguishes between the Grail
cup itself and the Cleansing Blood which it held.

The story is told of how Lucifer, when he strove
with the Archangel Michael over the body of Moses,
lost the choicest gem in his crown. It was dislodged
in the struggle. This beautiful gem, comparable to
none, was an emerald named ' l Exilir. ' ' It was thrown
into the abyss but was recovered by the angels and
from that the chalice or Holy Grail was made which
later was used to hold the Cleansing Blood that flowed

THE ROD THAT BUDDED 151

from the Saviour 's side when it had been pierced by
the centurion's spear. Let us first note the fact
that this jewel was an emerald: it was green,
and green is a combination of blue and yellow, and
is, therefore, the complementary color of the third
primary color, red. In the physical world red has the
tendency to excite and energize, whereas green has a
cooling and a soothing effect, but the opposite is true
when we look at the matter from the viewpoint of the
desire world. There the complementary color is ac-
tive, and has the effect upon our desires and emo-
tions which we ascribe to the physical color. Thus the
green color of the gem lost by Lucifer shows the nat-
ure and effect thereof. This stone is the antithesis of
the Philosopher's Stone. It has the power to attract
passion and generate love of sex for sex, which is the
vice opposite to the chaste and pure love, symbolized
by the apocalyptic white stone, which latter is the
love of soul for soul. As this effect of the comple-
mentary colors is well known, though not consciously
realized, we also speak of jealousy, which is engen-
dered by impure love, as the green eyed monster.

The Holy Grail finds its replica in the chalice or
seed pod of the plant, which is green. The creative
fire slumbers within the seed pod. Likewise the same
phenomenon must become manifest within each one
who enters upon the quest of the Holy Grail. Will is
the male quality of the soul ; imagination is the female.
When will is the strongest attribute, the soul wears
male attire in a certain life, and in another, where the

152 MYSTERIES OP THE GREAT OPERAS

quality of imagination is greater, the female garb is
taken. Thus under the law of alternation which pre-
vails during the present age of the rainbow, the soul
wears, a different garment in alternate lives, but
whether the gender is feminine or masculine, the or-
gan of the opposite sex is present in an undeveloped
state. Thus man is now, and will be so long as the
physical body endures, botli male ana female.

In the hoary past, when his consciousness was fo-
cused in the spiritual world, he was a perfect creative
unit with both sex organs equally developed as are
many flowers today. He was then capable of generat-
ing a new body when the old one was worn out, but he
was not at that time aware to the same degree as he
is now of the fact that he had a body. Then some
who were pioneers — some who saw more clearly than
others — told to their compeers the astonishing story
that man has a body. They were often met with the
same skepticism which is now shown to those who af-
firm that we have a soul.

Thus the symbolical story of Lucifor losing the
green gem is the story of how man ceased to know
himself and began to know his wife ; of how the Grail
was lost, and of how it may only be found through
the cleansing of the passion filled physical blood which
was originally contained in that green vessel.

At a propitious time of the year, but neither before
nor after, the rays emanating from the heavenly orbs
pierce the planted seed and waken its latent genera-
tive force into activity. Then a new plant springs out

THE ROD THAT BUDDED 153

of the ground to again beautify the earth. Thus the
act of generation is accomplished in perfect harmony
with the law of nature, and a thing of beauty is gen-
erated to adorn the earth. The result is different in
humans since the feminine quality of imagination was
roused by Lucifer.

Now the generative act is performed regardless of
the propitious solar rays, and as a result sin and death
entered the world. From that time the spiritual light
has waned, and we are now blind to Heaven's glory.

In the hands of the divine leaders of mankind,
one of them signified by Aaron, the living rod was a
vehicle of power. Later the blooming rod dried up
and was laid away in the Ark, but we are not to con-
clude that there is no redemption on that account, for
as man was exiled from the heavenly state when the
green gem of passion and desire rolled from the crown
of Lucifer, who then led mankind through generation
to degeneration; so also there is the white stone, the
Philosopher's Stone, the symbol of emancipation. By
using the power of generation for regeneration, we
overcome death and sin. It then endows us with im-
mortality and leads us to Christ.

That is the message of the story of Tannhauser.
Passion is poison. Abuse of generation under the
sway of Lucifer, has been the means of leading us
downward into the gloom of degeneration, but the
same power turned into the opposite direction and
used for purposes of regeneration is capable of lift-
ing us out of the gloom and elevating us to a heavenly

154 MYSTERIES OF THE GREAT OPERAS

state, when we have thus won the battle. Through
passion the spirit has been crystallized into a body
and only by chastity can the fetters be loosed, for
heaven is the home of the virgin and only in so far
as we elevate love from that of sex for sex to the
standard of soul for soul can we shatter the shackels
that bind us. Then, when we learn to make conception
immaculate, saviours will be born who will loose the
fetters of sin and sorrow that now bind us.

In carrying out this ideal let us remember however
that supression of the sexual desire is not celibacy;
the mind must concur and we must willingly abstain
from impurity. This can only be done by what the
mystic calls "finding the woman within himself."
(Of course for woman, it is to find the man within
herself.) When we have found that, we arrive at the
point where we can live the same pure life as the
flower.

In this connection it may also be very illuminating
to remember that the " Dweller on the Threshold"
which we must confront before we can enter the super-
physical worlds always has the appearance of a crea-
ture of the opposite sex. Yet it seems to be ourselves.
It should also be understood that the more licentious
or lustful we have been, the worse will be the appear-
ance of this monster, and Parsifal standing before
Kundry, when his refusal of compliance has turned
her into a virago, is in fact at the very point where
the candidate finds himself face to face with the
dweller, before the spear is given into his hands.

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