A decorative vignette consisting of a small flourish at the top and a horizontal ornamental border made of repeating floral or scroll patterns above the main heading.

SECOND DEGREE,

Neocoris.

If the Pastophoris Pastophoris The title for the first degree of initiation; historically, these were lower-ranking Egyptian priests who carried the sacred shrines (pastos) in processions. showed signs of aptitude during his year-long period of study, a strict fast was imposed upon him 19).

Upon the completion of this fast, the Neocoris Neocoris The second degree of initiation. The name is derived from the Greek word for a temple warden or "temple-sweeper" responsible for the sanctuary's upkeep. was led into a black room called Endymion 20).

Delicious foods, brought to him by beautiful women, restored his exhausted strength; these were the wives of the Priests, who visited him like the companions of Diana The Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon. In this ritual context, it refers to a test of the initiate's self-control against worldly temptations., enticing him toward love in every possible way.

19. Arnobius Arnobius of Sicca, an Early Christian apologist who wrote "Adversus Nationes" (Against the Heathen) in the 4th century; he is frequently cited in 18th-century occult texts for his descriptions of pagan mysteries., Book 5.
20. Endymion means: a simulated cave Original: "подражаемая пещера" (podrazhaemaya peshchera). In Greek myth, the beautiful Endymion was put into an eternal sleep in a cave so the Moon goddess could visit him.. Nothing more substantial is found in the descriptions of it, except for what pertains to the well-known fable.