Section 2

12. It is not permissible for a brother to kneel before anyone under any circumstance except when taking the Oath of Allegiance or before the Supreme God in secret prayer.
13. The brethren shall neither talk much nor shall they marry as other men do. Yet it shall be lawful for a brother to take wife and live with her in mystical marriage.
14. Brethren shall not stir up hatred or discord among men. They shall refrain from discourses on religion lest this be the cause of hatred and resentment. Should it be the desire of a brother to write a thesis on the subject, he may obtain permission from the Master, and, in such instance, be under the protection of the Order, provided only that such discourse be in harmony with the teachings of the Order.
15. A brother possessing the secret of the Elixir of Life shall not give of the same to any profane to lengthen life, irrespective of what he be offered in return. ‘To do so, is to call upon himself the curse of the Elemental Spirits.
16. Because many brethren may live in a city, it is not permitted them that they force their opinion upon anyone. They may teach the true Art of Living, but only to such as are ready and willing to hear. In the sight of the Brotherhood, all men are free in affairs of faith.
17. Should a brother desire to move to, or travel in, another country, it is requested of him that he so inform the Master and that he give the name of such country, and the name under which he will be known there. Should he fail to do this, he will forfeit all claim to the Brotherhood.
18. A brother shall not carry with him any printed or written description of the Secret Arts, but, should this become necessary, it must be so written, or printed, in characters, that no one but him- self be able to read it. The key must always be kept separate from
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the writing.
19. Should a brother who travels much or who takes active part in the affairs of government become known as a member of the Order to those who do not belong to it, he shall take such steps as may be necessary to assure his safety, even to the denial of his connection with the Brotherhood.
THE OATH
‘T, —————— ———., do solemnly swear by the eternal and living God not to make known the secrets which have been com- municated to me, to anyone outside of our Order. I further swear, before God, not to reveal any of the secret writings which may be entrusted to me during my natural term of life. Should I, at any time, leave the Order, or be expelled therefrom for any cause, I swear, by all that is holy and terrible, that I will thereafter, as now, hold all such teachings as secret, and that I will never, by word of mouth, or by writing, or in any other way, betray the trust which was placed in me. I further swear that I will never betray, or con- vey to another, a secret entrusted to me by a brother, but will hold such secret as sacred, even though I may leave the Order. Should I, at any time, reveal such secret, J shall willingly forfeit my right to life. I further swear that I will not reveal, even under punish- ment, curtailment of liberty, or under torture, anything concerning the Order, the name of the Master, or the location of the Inner Temple. I promise to keep eternally silent, by peril of my life, as God is my judge.”’
mob eOR MED OR TEE. ORDER
“Only those who are pure-minded and spiritual can possess true magical powers. Thought is the supreme power in man, and pure spiritual thought is the miracle-worker within him. If the thought and desire of man be bound in the flesh, deeply amalgamated with it and occupied with animal desires, it loses its power over the divine elements, and therefore of those who seek to exercise magical powers there are few who can succeed.
“Tf we desire to become spiritually developed, as is the desire of each member of the Order, we must try and find out how we can free ourselves of our animal instincts and propensities, and become rid of our sensuality and passions. We must, furthermore, attempt to rise up to a state of true spirituality. Without accom- plishing these two propositions we will never rise up to that state
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which is necessary to obtain the magical powers which result from the spiritual elevation and dignity of man.
‘We must therefore attempt to remove all external things which are in the way of our spiritual development, and to live in a state of purity. Our thoughts must be continually directed in- ward and within ourselves; for within ourselves is the element of consciousness, knowledge and power. Nothing hinders us from developing and exercising our own powers except our own miscon- ceptions, imaginations, and external desires. Therefore, the di- vine influence will only come to him who liberates his Soul of all such hindrances, carnal desires, prejudices and hallucinations. 4 diseased eye cannot bear to look at the Light; an impure Soul is repulsed by the divine light of Truth.”
SECOND MANIFESTO
OrpDER MILITIA CRUCIFERA EVANGELICA LUNENBURG, 1598
In consequence of the power of the church and the Holy Inqui- sition over the inhabitants of this country, a power which has been abused in a horrible manner, it has become necessary that we shall be not only a secret society, but that we shall be an Order for, and of, defense; that we shall have places where we can meet secretly and exchange our opinions and researches without being overheard by spies and traitors; where we may instruct our secret agents in their leadership of the people against the Holy Inquisition. Henceforth, those who seek admittance to our ranks must not only be true students of the Occult but they must likewise be desirous of receiving the priceless book of liberty of conscience, and of avoiding clerical persecution.
After almost three-quarters of a century we find that we are still of our former beliefs and that we hold to our articles of faith. Many new discoveries have been made by our members, and these, with such additional rules as we find necessary, shall now be incorporated in this, our Second Manifesto.
Our system of religious truth, the original esoteric Christianity, is not a popular one, nor is it a religion for the vulgar. It is a system of philosophy, given us in symbolism, and comprehensible only by those who have found the key. It is our duty to give such portions to the people as they can appreciate and apply, but the
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whole philosophy may be given only to those who are ready to receive it.
Our science embraces a knowledge of the most sublime and ex- alted truths, the deepest mysteries in nature, the knowledge of the nature of matter and energy, of the attributes and qualities of all things. By uniting the powers of nature and combining the lower with the higher the most surprising effects may be produced. This science is therefore the highest and most perfect of all; it is a sacred and exalted philosophy, the culminating point of all. We know this science as Magic.
The Natural Soul is the link by which the Spirit becomes united with the flesh and the body, through which the latter lives and acts and exercises its functions. This link is intelligent, but also cor- poreal; or perhaps more correctly, the Soul takes part in the materiality of the physical body. ‘This is the doctrine of all the Hermetic Philosophers. Man consists of the higher, of the inter- mediary, and of the lower principles. He is a perfect Trinity when properly developed. The higher ones are of the Illuminated Spiritual Soul, and this is what “God breathed into the nostrils of man and he became a Living Soul.” Jt is the Fire of God. ‘The lower ones are of the animal soul. The intermediate principle is the rational soul which connects the animal soul with the Divine, and takes part in the natures of both extremes. It is the silver cord of the Philosophers.
We have found that man’s power to think increases in propor- tion as the Ethereal and Celestial power of Light penetrates his mind, and strengthens his mental faculties. It may enable him to see and perceive that which he interiorly thinks, just as if it were objective and eternal. Spirit being independent of our ideas of space, and all men having essentially the same spirit, the Souls of men existing at places widely distant from each other may thus enter into communication and converse with each other exactly in the same manner as if they had met in their physical bodies. In this state man may perform a great many things in an exceedingly short period of time, so that it may seem as if he had required no time at all to perform them. Only such as those who possess a strong imagination and whose power of will is strong can do this. All brethren may, by following our arcane instructions, develop both the Imagination and the Will to develop into Masters.
While we believe that all men have identical spirits, we do not believe in the erroneous teachings that men are all equal, because
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the majority are so hard and sinful that it will take many re-incar- nations before they may become equal. We believe that all men belonging to our Order love God and seek to please Him, but even these are not equal, one to the other, because men are in different stages of spiritual growth and Soul enlightenment.
We do not believe in “‘death” or that anything really dies. We hold with the teachings of the thrice-wise Hermes, that every- thing is merely in a stage of transition. ‘The Soul of man leaves his body at intervals, but this is a change from one stage to another and not an actual death. Nothing is annihilated.
RULES, OBLIGATIONS AND PROFESSIONS
1. I will always, insofar as lies in my power, act only as is be- coming a worthy member of the Order. I shall, throughout the days of my life, be grateful to the one who first helped me on the Path to become a member of the Order.
2. That the name of the Order may be protected, I will, under no circumstances, unless permitted or ordered to do so, profess that I am a member, nor will I reveal the name of any person whom I know to be connected with the Order.
3. I promise that I will at once begin the work placed before me and that I shall, with the help of God, continue such work dur- ing my whole life. I shall keep all instructions conveyed to me as secret and rather lose my life and SAvE My Sout than reveal any- thing which may be intrusted to me by either the Master or a member of our august Fraternity.
4. I will communicate every new or useful discovery relating to the Work to the Master, or to the member appointed by the Mas- ter to receive such information, and will conceal nothing from such person, knowing that as a worthy member he cannot betray or abuse the confidence placed in him by me.
5. I promise that should I become aware of any plot against the Order, or against any member thereof, I will at once report such to the Master, and if possible protect the brother against whom such plot is designed.
6. I further promise that I will never, so long as I remain in my proper mind, accuse a brother of wrong. Should I have any reason to suspect a brother, I will report the matter to the Master and offer the brother an opportunity to vindicate himself. [| agree that I will abide by the decision of the Master and attempt no appeal therefrom. I further agree that should I accuse the
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brother before placing the matter before him I shall be held responsible and may be expelled from the Order for conduct un- becoming a member.
7. Should I travel and meet one I have reason to believe is a brother, I will first test him by the proper examination as instructed in the secret work, before conveying any information to him. Should I find that he is my superior, I will accordingly honor and respect him.
8. Should I be able to accomplish the Work, I will thank God for giving me the strength and the opportunity and will honor the brother who so kindly indicated the Path to me. I will devote my time to the pursuit of knowledge and doing all the good that lies in my power.
9. In all my dealings with men, I will be impartial and just. I will try at all times to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. I will sow the seeds of love, kindness and charity, so that wisdom and peace of mind may follow me all the days of myslite.
10. I solemnly promise that I will, so far as lies in my power, discourage all wickedness and wrongdoing and frown upon all acts which are an offense to God. I engage upon my Soul that no woman shall ever go wrong through my agency and that I will pro- tect the weak to the full extent of my ability.
11. Should my connection with the Order be discovered by one in power, I faithfully promise that I will sooner die than to con- nect him with, or help initiate him or reveal to him, the secrets of the Order. Should I find him worthy and willing to be bound by the Laws of the Order I will instruct him in his duty as a member and help him to the Path which will ultimately make him one with us.
12. Neither married man nor woman shall be accepted as a member on first application. Should they insist, however, and be found worthy, they may be elected, provided they are willing to take special oath to keep silent on all matters pertaining to the Order, its members and its teachings.
13. By appealing to the Master, brothers may be given special names, and such names shall be placed on the record of the Order. In conversation or in correspondence, such brothers may use their initiate names and thus remain unknown to the profane. Both the proper name and the initiate name may never be written in the same communication. This is expressly forbidden by all the
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182 MILITIA CRUCIFERA EVANGELICA
not only in the best of standing with the Order but, that they were also high Masons or members of the Illuminati. Arrangements were made, satisfactory to both sides, and acharter granted by the Supreme Grand Lodge for the establishment of the Order in America, and, also, covering the entire Western World. It was also arranged that all members of the Order in the Western World should henceforth pay homage to the Western branch. The first American Manifesto was issued the same year by the Brotherhood in America.
FIRST AMERICAN MANIFESTO ORDER MILITIA CRUCIFERA EVANGELICA SUPREME COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1902
Occult Philosophy is the god mother and pre- genitor of all intellectual forces, the key to all divine obscurities, and the absolute queen of society. Behind the veil of all mystical allegories, beneath the ordeals of Initiation, under the seal of all sacred writings, intheemblemsof theold works of alchemy, in the secret mysteries of the Bible, in the cere- monies of all secret societies, are found traces of a principle which is everywhere the same yet always carefully concealed.
The grandest acheivements in knowledge ever gained by man were originally concealed in the Ancient Mysteries. This knowledge was veiled in order to conceal it from the profane, and written in & universal language of symbolism that it might
Reproduction of Page 132 of the First Complete Handbook of the MILITIA CRUCIFERA EVANGELICA, 1905 Edition. Note Heading and Opening Paragraphs of First AMERICAN MANIFESTO, 1902.
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ORDER MILITIA CRUCIFERA EVANGELICA Laws of the Order.
14. The portals of our Order are never closed against the hon- est, aspiring man or woman; but neither earthly king nor one of lesser power can gain admission by reason of his position, station or influence. Manhood and womanhood are the sole test for admission.
Maho On LE
1B , of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God and my brethren, do hereby most sol- emnly and sincerely promise and swear, that I will not communi- cate the secrets belonging to this Order to any person or persons, except it be a true and lawful brother of higher degree.
I further promise and swear that I will willingly abide by all the laws, rules and regulations of the Order as they are conveyed to me by those in authority.
I further promise and swear that I will answer and obey all signs and summons sent me from the Order, or handed to me by a brother of the Order, and will carry out all instructions to the best of my ability.
I further promise and swear that I will not, under any circum- stances, reveal any of the secrets conveyed to me, or that have been placed in my care. I shall court death sooner than prove dis- loyal in word or deed.