The Tomb of CRC

8/4/2019 The Tomb of CRC

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The Tomb of CRC

The Symbolism of the Seven Sidesby Jack Courtis

The Tomb of CRC is described in the Fama Fraternitatis as a seven-sided vault. On each of itsseven walls, there are inscribed 10 symbols or figures. They are neither described nor explainedin the Fama. In the late 19th Century, the Hermetic Order of the GoldenDawn created thesymbolism of the seven sides based on 40 per wall and not 10. Dr Wynn Westcott, one of thefounders of the Order, gave an explanation part of which is quoted below from Israel Regardie'sbook, The Complete GoldenDawn System of Magic. The symbols are also from his book.


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We may regard the GoldenDawn symbolism as a development of the Fama. I will add my owncomments where they may be helpful in order to highlight certain issues. For example, according

to the GoldenDawnthere are 40 squares on each of the walls. Why 40? We are told bythe Fama that each wall is 5'x 8', therefore taking this as a guide, 5 x 8 = 40. What does thismean? There are 4 levels of Reality and there is a Tree of Life on each level. There are 10spheres on each Tree therefore 10 x 4 = 40. Hence implied in the symbolism of the seven sidesof the tomb, is the notion that the tomb exists on each of the 4 levels of Reality, simultaneously.What we do here in the Below, affects the Above and vice versa. Thus to enter the tomb is toenter another dimension and to take an initiation. How do we enter the tomb? By finding theDoorkeeper. He will test us and if we pass the test, he will give us the key.


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Let us see what Dr Westcott has to say.

The seven sides are all alike in size, shape and subdivision, and the forty squares on eachside bear the same symbols. But the colouring is varied in the extreme, no two sides are alike intint, and none of the squares are identical in colour excepting the single central upper square ofeach wall, that square bearing the Wheel of the Spirit. The Seven Walls are under

theplanetarypresidency, one side to each planet. The subsidiary squares represent thecolouring of the combinedforces of the planet. The symbol of each square is represented by theground colour, while the symbol is in the colour contrasted or complementary to that of theground.

Each of the 7 walls is attributed to one of the astrological planets. The wall attributed to Venus isactually the door through which we must enter. That is because Venus symbolises desire. Weusually misinterpret that as sexual desire. In fact it is desire for life which ultimately, is desire forGod. Note also that each wall has 8 horizontal rows. They can be attributed to the Ptolemaicspheres of the fixed stars (top row) and the astrological planets from Saturn for the second row,through to the Moon for the bottom row. The five vertical columns can be attributed to thealchemical elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and the Quintessence. Thus the astrological andalchemical attributions form a grid which can give extended meanings to the symbols.

Now theseplanetarysides are found to be in a special order, neither astronomical norastrological. The common order of the succession of the planets is that defined by their relativedistances from Earth, putting the Sun, however in the Earth's place in the series thus: Saturn,Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. Saturn is farthest from the Earth, and the Earth isbetween Mars and Venus. Beginning with Saturn in the case of the Walls of the Vault, the orderis Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon. Here Mercury and Venus are transposed.

The order of the planets is very significant. The order given here is not the usual order, but adifferent order. Why is this important? The planets are a "blind" for the chakras and this is not theusual attribution of planets to chakras.

But there is something more than this. For Saturn, the farthest off, is neither the door nor the

East, nor anywhere else that is obviously intended. For it is the corner between the South and thesouthwest sides. Nor is Luna, at the other side of the scale, in any notable position on the oldlines.

There is, then, a new key to their order to be found and used, and such as are very intuitivesee it at a glance. The planets are in the order of the rainbow colours, and in colours because ofthe Adeptus Minor grade is the especial exponent of colours. You Adepti are in the Path of theChamelion - Hodos Chamelionis.

The key is the rainbow order of colors. That is, the planets are attributed in a new way that ismost unusual. The real issue is that this is a statement about the chakras. The position of thechakras follows the normalplanetary attribution, but the rainbow attribution is the order in whichthey are activated. But there is a problem here. What Dr Westcott has said above about therainbow order, is contradicted by him below, when he assigns colors to the planets. Let us look at

this in the following table:

Astrological orPtolemaic order of

planets

Chakras Usual attribution ofplanets to chakras

Rainbow attribution of

planets to chakras

Moon Crown Mercury Mars Red

Mercury Brow Moon Sun Orange


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Venus Throat Venus Mercury Yellow

Sun Heart Sun Venus Green

Mars Navel Mars Moon Blue

Jupiter Sacral Jupiter Saturn Indigo

Saturn Base Saturn Jupiter Violet

In each case in the table, the attribution of planets to chakras changes. The position of thechakras does not change. Hence it is the order ofactivation that changes. There is the usualorder ofactivation and the Rainbow order ofactivation. What is the difference? Is one a blindfor the other?

If now you take theplanetarycolours and affix the planets and arrange them in the order ofthe solar spectrum and then bend up the series into a ring and make the chain into a Heptagram,and turn the whole about until you get the two ends of the series to meet at the Eastern point, youwill have this mysterium:

Violet - Jupiter . Indigo - Saturn.Blue - Moon. Green - Venus. Yellow - Mercury.Orange - Sun. Red - Mars.

Here is another subtlety. The Rainbow commences with violet and Jupiter, butthe planetary attributions commence with Saturn. The Rainbow activation therefore begins withthe sex chakra and this is quite logical because here we are dealing with the desire for life and forGod.

Science teaches, and has rediscovered a great truth, that however valuable the seven coloursof the prism may be, there are rays invisible to us and so not demonstrated here by space.Beyond the red end of the spectrum begins the violet, and these have a great chemical orYetziratic force. These forces, ever present and unseen, are represented by the Chief Adeptstanding erect at the Eastern angle, the most powerful person in the group, and delegate of the

Chiefs of the Second Order, and through them of the mystic Third Order. He it is who has,symbolically at any rate, passed from death unto life, and holds the keys of all the creeds. And heit is who may place in our hands the Keys of the locked Palace of the King if we were able tomake our knocking heard. Representing the East, he faces the Western World, bringing intuitionwith him. Before him lies the symbolic body of our Master C.R.C, our grand exemplar andfounder, or at other times, the empty Pastos, from which he has arisen, the Chief Adept.

Please note the comment about the Chief Adept holding the Key to the palace of the King. Hehas passed from death to life; that is, he has had the Resurrection experience and is "twice born."He is actually the Doorkeeper of the Mysteries and we cannot proceed unless he gives us thekey.

He has Mars and GEBURAH at his right hand, and Jupiter and GEDULAH at his left hand. He

faces Venus in the West, the Evening Star, which represent the entry of the Candidate who hastoiled all day until the evening. At evening he enters the Western door of the planet Venus, thatsole planet unto whose symbol alone all the Sephiroth are conformed.

The Doorkeeper has Mars on his right and Jupiter on his left. That means that he is standing withhis back to the Tree of Life and is merged with it. On the other hand the candidate is facing theTree when he or she has reached the door. The candidate enters the tomb through Venus andthat is a reference to Netzchach on the Tree. It tells us where we need to be on our inner journey.Since Venus represents desire for life, the tomb becomes the womb.


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At evening time there shall be light, the light of the mixed colours. So the newly admittedAdept comes in contact with the totality of theplanetaryforces for the first time. A greatopportunity opens before him. Let him see well that he use it worthily. He enters through thegreen side of the Vault. Green is the colour of growth. Let him see that he grows.

Now read carefully what Dr Westcott has to say below about the 5 x 8. He tells us this is a blind,

but he does not say enough.

Upon each side of the Vault are forty squares, five vertical series and eight horizontal, thewhole being symbolically 5' x 8'. Now the published and printed Fama Fraternitatis says theseforty feet were divided into ten squares. If you are mathematicians you would know that tensimilar squares could not alone be placed in such an area and yet fill it. Ten squares alone to fill arectangle could only be placed in an area of the shape 5' x 6'. Hence in the Fama, ten squares isa blind which we know to represent Ten Squares are marked and salient, that is they are theSEPHIROTH.

Dr Westcott has drawn our attention to the ratio of 5:8. This is the same ratio as 1:1.6 and puttingit all together the complete ratio is 1:1.6::5:8. "So what," did I hear you say? The 5' x 8'measurement comes from the Famaand it has very skilfully drawn our attention to

the Golden Proportion of 1.61 that is usually designated by the Greek letter (phi). Without along digression into Pythagorean mathematics, it is enough to say that represents the internaldivision of Unity. This is a reference to the doctrine of emanation and emanation requires anasymmetrical division in order to create the dynamics necessary for the progression andextension of Unity. Like Dr Westcott, I will simply draw your attention to this issue and leave the

full explanation to your Initiator. For now, symbolises rebirth and regeneration. These are theprecise reasons why you wish to enter the Tomb of CRC.

The 5 x 8 rectangle is both a door and also a generator of life. We must find this door and walkthrough it. How shall we find it? By recognizing the Doorkeeper.

Besides the Ten Sephiroth, there are the following: There are Four Kerubim, Three AlchemicalPrinciples, Three Elements, Seven Planets, Twelve Zodiacal Signs, One Wheel of the Spirit, thus

40 Squares in all. The Spirit Wheel is on every side and always in the centre, and is alwaysdepicted unchanged in black upon white.

We shall now follow Dr Westcott's detailed description of the symbols of the seven sides of theTomb. I have shown each set of symbols separately to make it easier to follow his explanation. Istart as he does with the Tree of Life and point out that each Hebrew letter that designates asphere on the Tree, is the first letter of the Hebrew word for the name of that sphere.

According to the 16th Century Jewish sage Isaac Luria, God first withdrew from Himself, createda void and then emanated from Himself a spark of light into that void. This is the First Keter. Next,God created the four levels of Reality from top to bottom: Atzilut (Emanation), Briah (Creation),Yetzirah (Formation) and Assiah (Action). From the First Keter in Atzilut He emanated thespheres of the Tree of Life in this order: Keter, Chakhmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet,Netzchah, Hod, Yesod and Malkhut. God emanated a Tree on each of the four levels of Reality,but there is also a Great Tree that commences from the First Keter and encompasses all fourlevels in this manner:

First Keter in Atzilut. Chakhmah and Binah in Briah. Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzchah and Yesod in Yetzirah. Malkhut in Assiah.


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Thus there are five Trees, the Great Tree and each of the Trees on each of the four levels ofReality. Why is this important? The Tree is the meaning of the statement in Genesis that we aremade in the image and likeness of God. This is not what we look like, but this is what we are.Likewise, the Tree is not what God looks like, but it is what He is. This is the ultimate meaning ofthe saying, "as Above, so Below."

Genesis Chapter 1 tells us as a "blind" but with precision how God created the Tree. The textuses these expressions and has theses meanings:

God saidx 10. These are the 10 spheres of the Tree, named above. God made x 3. These are the 3 horizontal paths on the Tree. God sawx 7. These are the 7 vertical paths on the Tree. 12 single references to God.

These are the 12 diagonal paths on the Tree. Isaac Luria correlated the 3 Mother letters of theHebrew alphabet to the 3 horizontal paths, the 7 Double letters to the vertical paths and the 12Single letters to the diagonal paths. Note that God created the Tree in four ways: He spoke it intoexistence, He made it, He saw it as existing and then He immersed Himself in it. Each of the fourmethods of creation correlates with each of the four levels of Reality.


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Next, we look at the Kerubim and note that with the exception of Scorpio, their astrological signdepicts them. Since Scorpio has three aspects, scorpion, snake and eagle, Dr Westcottemphasizes the highest aspect of this Kerub by using a picture of an eagle rather than theastrological sign of Scorpio.

Upon the sides there are always the Four Kerubic emblems Zodiacal, yet different, for theEagle replaces Scorpio. (Scorpio has three forms, the Scorpion, the Eagle, and the Snake for theEvil Aspect.)

These Kerubim represent the letters of the name YHVH and note that they are always


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arranged in the Hebrew Order of the letters. Yod for the Lion, Heh for the Eagle, Vau for the Man,Heh final for the Ox, the Tauric Earth.

Note that these four Zodiacal signs are not in their own colours, but as symbols of theElements have elementary colours.

As Zodiacal signs, then they are found to be compounds of the ZodiacalandPlanetarycolours, but they are here as Kerubic emblems compounded of the Elementalcolour and the Planetarycolour of the side.

What are the Kerubim? They are the Four Holy Living Creatures of Ezekiel and of the vision ofJohn in the Book of Revelation. In John's vision, they surround the Throne of God. They areaspects of His being. In the Tomb of CRC this is depicted by the Kerubim having the Spirit Wheel


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in their midst. Although the colors of the Kerubim change according to the planetary attribution ofthe particular wall of the Tomb, the Spirit Wheel is always the same. God is changeless. Note thatthe Spirit Wheel also symbolizes the Quintessence of the alchemists. Thus the four Kerubim andthe Spirit are the Above and the four alchemical Elements and the Quintessence are the Below. Itis time to look at the alchemical attributions on the wall of the Tomb.

The Three Principles are composed of the colour of the alchemical Principles and the colourof the planet of any particular wall. Mercury being fundamentally blue, Sulphur red and Saltyellow.

The Three Elements have fundamentally the usual three colours, Fire red, Water blue, Airyellow. Note that Earth is missing.


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Let us start with Dr Westcott's observation that the element of Earth is missing. The obviousconclusion is that it has to be left out in order to make exactly 40 squares. More subtly however,we are already in the Earth, that is, our present reality and we are reaching out for a greaterreality. That is why the 40 squares are a door to a higher level of consciousness. The alchemicalPrinciples are "blinds" for our vehicles of consciousness, spirit (Mercury), soul (Sulfur) andphysical body (Salt). The Elements are "blinds" for subdivisions of our physical body: Water forour etheric body, Fire for our emotional (astral) body and Air for our mental body.

Let us now look at the astrological planets.


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The planets are a "blind" for the chakras. We have already noted the usual attribution of planetsto chakras: Saturn - Base, Jupiter - Sacral, Mars - Navel, Sun - Heart, Venus - Throat, Moon -Brow and Mercury - Crown. This is a convenient place to point out that the symbol for alchemicalMercury is different from astrological Mercury. The reason is that they are different but related.Alchemical Mercury symbolizes our spirit while astrological Mercury symbolizes our Crownchakra. The relationship is that through our Crown chakra we communicate with our spirit. Oncemore I remind you of the Rainbow attribution of planets to chakras. This is the key to the entireRosicrucian system.

The Seven planets have their colours as are often stated, and note that each of the seven isset beside its appropriate Sephirah, so that there are three Sephiroth which have no Planet:KETHER, CHOKMAH, and MALKUTH.

Here we must look carefully at Dr Westcott's statement. He is correct that the three spheres henames have no planet attributed to them. However that statement is also a "blind" because if thenon-sphere of Da'at (Knowledge) is brought into manifestation, then Saturn is attributed to it. Inthat event, the three alchemical Principles are attributed: Mercury to Keter, Sulfur to Chakhmahand Salt to Binah. That is another lesson from your Initiator.

Let us look at the 12 Signs of the zodiac.


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The Twelve Zodiacal Signs are the lower portion of the sides of the vertical column. Thecentral one has none of the twelve; they are so allotted between the four remaining columns.

Further note that there are only three ranks, the 5th, 7th, and 8th. None are in the 6th rank fromabove.

This arrangement then shows: Four Triplicities and Three Quaternaries. Observe well thearrangement; it is complex but not confused.

1. KERUBIC. Fixed. Shining Rank.2. CARDINAL. Fiery. Solar Rank.3. COMMON. Mutable. Airy Subtle Rank.


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From above down, or in Columns these are: Earthy Signs. Airy Signs. Watery Signs. FierySigns.

Reading the 5th row down the vertical columns from the left, the Earth Signs commence withTaurus, the Air Signs commence with Aquarius, the Water Signs commence with Scorpio and theFire Signs commence with Leo. This is the Quaternary that has the quality of being "Fixed". This

quality is explained by the fact that the signs are read from right to left (as in Hebrew) for theirattribution to God's principal Name, the Tetragrammaton, IHVH, in this manner: I (Yod) Leo (Fire),H (Heh) Scorpio (Water), V (Vav) Aquarius (Air), H (Heh - final) Taurus (Earth). They are fixedbecause God is unchangeable.

Rank 5. The KERUBIC line shows the signs in the order of TETRAGRAMMATON read inHebrew.

The 7th horizontal row has the quality of being "Cardinal," that is, being enterprising andoutgoing. Dr Westcott explains why they are read in the Hebrew manner, right to left.

Rank 7. The Cardinal line shows the signs from the right in the order of astronomicalsequence of the solar course: vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, and winter

solstice.

The 8th horizontal row has the quality of being "Mutable," that is, changeable. This time they areread in a different order as explained by Dr Westcott.

Rank 8. The Common line shows the signs again in a different position. Here the earliest inthe year is Gemini on the left of MEM, and passing left to Virgo, you then go round to the extremeright to Sagittarius, pass centreward to Pisces close to MALKUTH.

The rationale of 4 and 6 will be evident with a little study in the chart of any wall on the Vault.

The rationale is that rows 4 and 6 contain only planetary attributions to the spheres on the Treeof Life. There are no zodiacal attributions. However row 5 does contain signs of the zodiac in theform of IHVH, the principal Name of God and this row is between rows 4 and 6. Thus God isamong the planets. The point is very subtle. The signs are "fixed" stars and the planets are"wandering" stars. Between them they are the mechanism of God's will. Think of the Lord'sPrayerwhere it says, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Is this just a poetic clich ordoes it have a specific meaning? Today, a popular way of speaking about God's will, is to speakof karma. Astrology helps us to find our karma, but then we have the free will to change it. Howdo we get the power to change it? By finding and entering the Tomb of CRC and using it as a lifegenerator.

The colouring of each square is dual, a ground colour, and the colour of the emblem. Theground colour is a compound of the colour of the Planet of the side tinting the colour of the Forceto which the Square is allotted.

Each side has the Square of its own Planet in its own unmixed colour, and with exception allthe coloured grounds are compound. The Emblem colour is always complementary to the groundcolour.

The Ritual of the Adeptus Minor gives the definite colours of each planet and sign which areto be used in this system. There are other allotments of colour to each of these symbolsandforces, but these are retained as mysteries yet to be evolved and revealed when you havebecome familiar with the present simple and elementary system.

We end with the issue of colors. This is a "blind" for the properactivation of the chakras. Sincethere are seven walls in the Tomb of CRC that contain the same symbols but with different colors,this is the central mystery. It is a mystery that must be left to your Initiator.


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Copyright 2001 by Stepney Nominees Pty Ltd (ACN 008 869 485) Trustee for Courtis No4 Trust

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The Tomb of CRC