Consummation of the Masonic Quest
Note: Polarity marks the supreme and final consummation of the Thirty-second Degree. This attainment is termed the Royal Secret. The Initiate of this degree becomes the "Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret." Polarity is also the keyword of the exalted Song of Songs which could have been written only by one familiar with the Royal Secret, namely, the highest of all Masonic Masters, King Solomon of Jerusalem.
The Song of Solomon is one of the world's most exquisite bits of literature. General readers and critics have long considered it a sensuous love song; but for the discerning the wise King Solomon is drawing aside the veil from the Holy of Holies.
The coming of the beautiful Queen of Sheba marks the crowning triumph in the life of Solomon. The wisdom of which he sings as "being above the price of rubies" is at last in his possession. Before its full acquisition he never could have penned his matchless Song of Songs, the Song of the Mystic Marriage. It has been called "a love song set to lilies." It proclaims the final blending of the lower nature with the higher, the transmutation of matter into spirit, and the completion of that divine alchemy which must take place within the consciousness and body of a disciple before he is lifted into communion with celestial realms wherein the glory of the Song is his own personal experience.
The Song of Solomon contains two principal characters, one masculine and the other feminine. The former bears the name of Shelomah (peaceable); the other, Shulamith (perfect). It is significant that each name is a variation of the same root word, its termination indicating the gender. Shulamith is the feminine form of Solomon. In English translations the two characters are not differentiated as they are in the Hebrew language.
The fair Shulamith is the Divine Sophia of the Ancient Wisdom, the Philosopher's Stone of medieval alchemists, the Beloved Lady of St. John's Epistle.
In Masonic symbology we have noted the importance of number sever as referring to the lifting of personality and uniting it with spirit. This sublimation constitutes the chief work in all schools of higher philosophy, a category which includes Masonry. It is eminently fitting, therefore, that fundamental work in all such schools consists primarily of seven degrees. Hence, this ruling applies to Masonry, other and higher degrees being essentially an elaboration of the fundamental seven.
The profound masonic wisdom of the Grand Master, King Solomon, reaches its consummation and synthesis in his victorious soul chant, the Song of Songs. It likewise follows the great cosmic numerological pattern, being divided into seven important steps or degrees. And we find that these seven correlate to the seven basic Masonic Degrees. They all have to do with the upliftment of the human personality to a point where it attains union with its higher spirit-self.
In the ancient Babylonian School the seven Degrees were described as follows:
First — The Quest; Second — Awakening of Love (the mystic); Third — Attainment of Knowledge (the occult); Fourth — Detachment; Fifth — Unification (the blending); Sixth — Annihilation; Seventh — Consummation.
These Degrees were related cosmically to the seven planetary spheres. Terminology differs, but in the work to be accomplished and in the goal to be attained all schools follow a similar pattern and procedure.
In the Babylonian system the First Degree came under the jurisdiction of the Moon, ruler of sense life. The Second Degree came under Mercury, ruler of man's mind and planet of wisdom and discrimination. At this stage reason is called upon to govern emotion, to purge passion of its vices, and to root out selfishness, lust and those desires which are the besetting sins of man.
The Third Degree was governed by Venus, Goddess of Love. Its work was directed toward awakening consciousness to where it glimpsed something of the inner light of the soul. "Live the life and ye shall know the doctrine" has been the admonition of Wise Ones to all aspirants down through the ages.
The Fourth Degree comes under the dominant influence of the Sun, source of illumination and sustainer of life. Emphasis at this stage is· on the regenerative and transmutative processes within the body of man. It is where, as St. Paul phrased it, man puts off the terrestrial and puts on the celestial.
The Fifth Degree takes up work under the dynamic drive of Mars. Herein begins true inner-plane work for building a bridge to connect outer planes with inner realms so communication between the two may be carried on at will.
The Sixth Degree comes under the rulership of Jupiter, planet of universality - for by this time the candidate has learned to walk safely and securely under the direction of the light within himself.
The Seventh Degree is assigned to Saturn, guardian of the final step, Consummation. Now the aspirant has completed his Quest, having become one with the Light. The work of both the Sixth and Seventh has to do primarily with inner realms.
In each of these seven Degrees a candidate is given a "magic word" that reveals to him the hidden meaning of the specific Degree to which it relates. These are the same keys given by the Master to Peter, wherewith to unlock secrets of heaven and earth - the aim and purpose of all initiatory work.
Many pass beyond the first veil; some succeed in qualifying for the Second and Third Degrees. At the fourth step "Many are called but few are chosen." Rarely, indeed, is an aspirant advanced enough to qualify for t s Degree of Detachment (according to the Babylonian system) and to pass on to higher Degrees. Still rarer is the exalted soul who is found worthy to enter the higher work for attainment of Consummation, the Seventh and last Degree.
The Song of Solomon recounts these steps leading to cosmic consciousness and spiritual seership. They are sometimes termed ''veils" and are variously defined, but all are designed to lead a candidate to one and the same goal. The fundamental truths embodied in them are essentially the same.
In the Song of Solomon the first step, correlated to the masonic Degree of Apprenticeship, is that of dedication. As previously noted, the ceremonial of the Apprentice Degree calls for complete dedication of spirit, soul and body to the Quest of Light. No real or lasting progress can be made upon the Path until such dedication has been made.
The coming of Solomon represents the beginning of the Quest, while the arrival of the Queen of Sheba marks entrance into the Second Degree, passage through the veil of love. This blending of the two poles of spirit constitutes the Mystic Marriage — with which St. John opens his Gospel — and its music accompanies every verse of Solomon's beautiful marriage song. Veiled for those not yet ready for the Quest under the likeness of a vividly beautiful love song, the Song of Solomon is a revelation from the Holy of Holies, wherein an Initiate stands face to face with Light Eternal, no longer seeing "as through a glass darkly" but with transcendent clearness.
Polarity is the answer to the question, What is Truth? that has echoed down through the ages. Many and varied have been the answers given by sages and philosophers, but the illumined Albert Pike gives it simply as Equilibrium, a harmonizing of contraries.
Polarity is the basis of all creation. Fire (masculine) moves upon the face of the waters (feminine) to create. "Male and female created he them." Polarity is the foundation of all the activities of nature. Spring and summer are masculine; autumn and winter are feminine in potency. Day is masculine; night, feminine. The full moon is masculine; the new moon, feminine. An incoming tide is masculine; an outgoing tide, feminine.
In the fine arts we find this same working of polarity. Music is based upon major and minor chords. The major is masculine; the minor, feminine. In painting there are light and shade. Light is masculine; shade, feminine. Vibrant red tones are masculine under Aries; delicate blue tones are feminine under Taurus. In architecture the verticle lines are masculine; the horizontal lines, feminine. This interchanging, interblending, diverging and harmonizing point always to ultimate divine union. They make of the fine arts one of the most fascinating and, at the same time, most challenging quests for spirit.
In his lecture to Thirty-second Degree Masons, Albert Pike states: "The Royal Secret, of which you are a prince, if you are a true Adept if knowledge seems to you advisable, and philosophy is, for you, radiant with a divine beauty, is that which the Zohar terms The Mystery of the Balance. It is the Secret of the UNIVERSAL EQUILIBRIUM: ...
" ... Of that Equilibrium in the Diety, between the Infinite Wisdom and the Infinite Divine Power, from which results the Stability of the Universe, the unchangeableness of the Divine Law, and the Principles of Truth, Justice, and Right which are a part of it; and the Supreme Obligation of the Divine Law upon all men, as superior to all other law, and forming a part of all the laws of men and of nations.
"... Of that Equilibrium also, between the Infinite Divine Justice and the Infinite Divine Mercy, the result of which is the Infinite Divine Equity, and the Moral Harmony or Beauty of the Universe. By it the endurance of created and imperfect natures in the presence of a Perfect Deity is made possible; and for Him, also, as for us, to love is better than to hate, and Forgiveness is wiser than Revenge or Punishment."
In his exquisite Song. Solomon refers in many ways and through many symbols to this blending of the two poles of spirit in order to achieve an interior balance. Again, this is the theme of the Zohar, prize repository of rabbinical esotericism.
At the time of the separation of the sees, the masculine aura partook of the golden glory of the Sun while the feminine partook of the silvery beauty of the Moon. King Solomon unites them again in the body of an Initiate, which he calls the raiment of his beloved:
My beloved is mine and I am his; he feedeth among the
lilies.
— Song of Solomon 2: 16
In this lovely verse Solomon is sounding the keynote of purity, achieved only through chastity, conservation and transmutation. Through such regeneration are the greater and lesser selves united in the Mystic Marriage, at which union man's whole being exalts with Solomon in the estatic song "My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies."
If life is attuned to God, every action is set to music. Music and color form the setting for this triumphant chant, which breathes the fragrance of rose gardens and the deep loneliness of midnight skies lighted by blue-white stars.
This verse is the chorus, the sacred mantram of Solomon's Song. It sounds the keynote of the Fifth Degree, Unification. Translated literally, this means that when one learns to seek God as the first and supreme realtiy in his life, he finds that God is seeking him with the same eager intensity. The blending of human consciousness with God-consciousness is productive of the exultant declaration of the soul's true awakening: "My beloved is mine, and I am his."
There are seven plexuses of primary importance. They are quickened into functioning by the ascending spinal spirit fire, and they correspond to the seven steps of the Illumined Way previously enumerated. These awakened plexuses, spiritually discerned, are revolving centers of light. As the spinal fire ascends toward the head they increase in volume; their power permeates the entire body, flooding every atom with a rare luminosity. When the serpent fire reaches the head and finds its center of expression therein-instead of in the lower part of the body-mind is unified with spirit and man becomes superman, all his organs spiritual rather than physical or material. Such an one has builded a fire-mist body possessing a radiance surpassing that of a diamond or ruby. This attainment places him in the vanguard of human evolution. He is a pioneer of the new race and, as such, is "chiefest among ten thousand" in having passed the Fifth Degree of Unification.
The Song of Songs reveals the Shekinah descended. The object of this glorious canticle is to reveal the history of the feminine in man, the mystery of the lover and the beloved throughout the ages of election. It contains "all that hath been, is, and ever shall be" for it is the story of that Isis who is Shekinah from the first verses concerning the kisses of her mouth to the last rapture on "the mountain of spices."
Following is the tribute of the Zohar, the Book of Light, to this matchless Song of Solomon: Verily, "All the days of the world added together are not as meritorious as the day on which the Song of Songs was written" because it means the awakening of the masculine soul in woman and of the feminine soul in man, the supreme goal of earthly evolution and the final glorious consummation of the sevenfold perfected way.
This the mystic Mason understands to be the inspired message of King Solomon and his Temple Builders. He was the highest Initiate of the Old Testament Dispensation. His sublime Song voiced the ecstasy of spirit possible only when the human has become one with the divine. Thus it is that his Song of Songs intones the highest spiritual keynote of the Old Testament.
The complete dedication of self upon the alter of service by both visible and invisible watchers of heaven and earth at the dedicatory (Apprentice) step is expressed in the following: "Rise up my love... and come away, For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; and the time of the singing of birds is come..."
The second step is that of Love, the attractive and cohesive principle underlying all activities of the universe. Nothing worth while on any plane of manifestation can be acomplished without it. To the wise, therefore, the development of love as the motivating force in life always accompanies supreme dedication. An Ancient Wisdom mantram declares that you may have all knowledge, yet if you do not have love you possess not a single letter of the alphabet of true wisdom.
In the outset of evolution, love was a sensation under the influence of the Moon. At present love is largely a sentiment under Venus, the average person having slight concept of love aside from reciprocating personalities. With such a limited concept the Song of Songs has no concern. Its inspired words point toward that high status of spiritual unfoldment known as the unversalizing of the heart. It is pure Christed or Uranian love, which is all inclusive, all enfolding; excluding no one for any reason; a love so powerful that flood cannot drown nor fire burn. Such was the love with which King Solomon "paved" his chariot made from "the rare cedars of Lebanon" (site of one of the earliest and most renowned Temples of Zion.) In other words, the Second Degree develops attributes of the heart; hence, the Song correlates with the Second or Fellowcraft Degree in Masonry. It is feminine or heart Degree that leads a candidate into the inner chamber of the Temple where he finds that by love only may he rend the veil which hangs before the Holy of Holies so he no longer sees "as through a glass darkly, but face to face."
This third step is knowledge. "Get wisdom, get understanding," admonishes Solomon; for in his wisdom he knew that in a well balanced life head and heart must be united Occult knowledge cannot be acquired safely until after one's motivation is love.
Both material and esoteric scientists learn that the fundamental law of all creative activity is bi-polar, operative alike in building an atom or a universe. The biblical story detailing the separation of Eve from Adam relates to the separation of the two poles in humanity, one remaining active and the other latent in each individual. It is in accordance with the predominant power of the masculine or feminine pole within an Ego that its outer body is male or female.
This separation of the poles of spirit causes the inharmony and lack of equality between man and woman in the objective world. As we approach the Aquarian Age the two poles are drawing into more balanced relationship. This fact is having its repercussions in the physical world. Woman is reflecting masculine qualities and man is affecting feminine attributes. Feminine qualities are gentleness, understanding, artistry, love of the beautiful. Masculine attributes are strength, determination, courage, self-emancipation. It can be noted that the full blending of these qualities will produce the composite androgyne, the ideal of the approaching Age of Aquarius, and it is also the sublime secret of the Thirty-Second Masonic Degree. That King Solomon had learned this magic formula is revealed in his exquisite Song.
The third step correlates with the Third Degree, the Master's, in Masonry. True mastery means Polarity. Equalizing power between the masculine and feminine is the inner meaning of the double-headed eagle, symbol of the Thirty-Second Degree of Ancient Scottish Rite Masonry.
The fourth step of the Illumined Way is Detachment. Oriental students usually find this step much easier of accomplishment than do the Occidentals. Detachment, in modern parlance, means living in the world yet not being of it. That the rewards which follow its attainment far out weight any difficulties encountered is the testimony of all who have made even slight progress toward that goal.
To gain spiritual detachment an aspirant does not need to decrease his love for those about him; on the contrary, when love is no longer centered in personalities its power is increased immeasurably. Through detachment one learns that whatever he tries to bind and hold he will lose; but whatever he sets free he cannot lose. Regarding the step of detachment the song intones: "My beloved put his hand in the hole of the door. .. and my hands dropped with myrrh, my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock." Myrrh is a fragrant Arabian plant that emits its greatest fragrance when crushed, just as sorrow is the supreme transformer in human life. One rarely makes much progress along the Way of Detachment before passing through sorrow's refining crucible.
The fourth step correlates in general with the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Degrees of the Scottish Rite. It is the signature of a true Master. Eager and restless searching for things is the mark of an immature soul; but a life dedicated through detachment to God and in His service inevitably attracts everything essential, so no other seeking is ever necessary. The deeper joy, the larger freedom and the wider scope for service made possible by detachment is voiced in the song thus: " ... eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved."
The fifth step is Unification. As the two poles draw into closer rapport, harmonization rather than differences becomes the keynote of one's life. The poles no longer repel but increasingly reflect one another. When unification becomes the keynote of a person's life, he will no longer be dominated by violent extremes. Such an one ceases to be animated by fiery, emotional loves or intense hatreds. His judgment will be tempered by mercy; all differences will be amiable in expression. The very presence of such a balanced individual is a blessing, his words a benediction.
It is of this high attainment that the Song choruses, the masculine theme being "As a lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters;" to which the feminine responds, "As the apple tree among the trees of wood, so is my beloved among the sons." The more perfect the attunement between the two poles, the more successful will be the marriage relationship in the physical world. Schools and universities would do well to base their success-in-marriage curriculums on the equalization of the two poles in each partner thereof. No man can understand or appreciate a woman until he develops the feminine attributes within himself; no woman can properly- evaluate the problems and responsibilities confronting a man until she awakens the masculine pole within herself.
That which may be termed the chorus of the beautiful Song is the theme of this perfect blending: "My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth me among the lilies." Some inspired New Age musician will set these mantramic words to music, and it will then be used in advanced spiritual schools to aid in effecting polarity among the students.
The fifth step, Unification, correlates with the work of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Degrees of the Scottish Rite.
In ancient parlance, the sixth step in the Quest for the one Light was termed Annihilation, which means complete submergence of personality. Modern aspirants use the terminology "practice of the presence of God." Definitions are not important, for both the ancient and the modern apply to an identical state of consciousness. They indicate the awakening of the spinal spiritual fire which consumes all the dross of self-centered living, leaving no room for any interest other than that of the "divine beloved" (the Christed self), to use the language of the Song. This is the soul climax wherein a victorious Questor stands face to face with the Light of all lights and realizes that the seen is temporal while the unseen is eternal. To this the Song thus pays homage: "My beloved is unto me as a cluster of comphire in the vineyards of Engendi. .. thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies." It was only spiritual realization of supreme ecstasy or complete at-one-ment with the Divine Lover that could produce this Song.
The Sixth Step correlates generally with the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Degrees of the Scottish Rite. These Degrees pertain to the completion and dedication of Solomon's Temple, and to the downpouring of fire from heaven. Solomon's Temple is really a symbol of man's own spiritualized body.
The seventh step is that of consummation. The Supreme Master made reference to this, the highest degree of consciousness possible while the Ego is in embodiment, when he declared "I am in the Father, and the Father in me." The Song describes it as follows: When the sexes (Adam and Eve) separated, the feminine partook of the glory of the Moon; the masculine, of the radiance of the Sun. Solomon, by his mastery, united these forces again. It is the consummation of this union that he commemorates in the beauty of his Song: "Who is she that looketh forth in the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?" The multi-colored banners are symbolic of the luminous auric emanation radiating from one who has attained unto the seventh step, that of Consummation. This final Step correlates with the Thirteenth Degree of Scottish Masonry, the Rite known as the Royal Arch of Solomon.
It is in this Degree that the ancient Mysteries unite with the Mysteries of later times, and the seven degrees become nine. The Nine Lesser Mysteries, as previously stated, were a direct preparation for the coming of the Lord Christ, He whose chief work was to bring the Christ Mysteries to mankind. It was upon these Mysteries that the early Church was founded. It is also in these same Christ Mysteries that the higher Masonic Degrees are centered.
The Thirteenth Degree marks that attainment wherein a candidate is caught up into the heights and becomes a "living stone," the capstone of the arch. This is, in deed and in truth, the stone which the builders rejected but which must become the chief cornerstone of the perfected Temple.
Thus we note how Solomon, Grand Master of Masonry, has placed immortal and eternal keys within the cadences of his Song, keys which unlock the seven most important portals to mystic attainment in Masonry. Consequently, this glorious Song becomes a most valuable text for serious students of esoteric Masonry. It will enable them to comprehend the profound significance of a statement gleaned from the Zohar, one of the most illuminating treatises extant on the Ancient Mysteries: "Of all the days of all the world, the most important was that in which the Song of Songs was written."
— Corinne Heline
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