An encyclopedic outline of masonic, hermetic, cabbalistic and rosicrucian symbolical philosophy. Being an interpretation of the secret teachings concealed within the rituals, allegories and mysteries of all ages

According to the Persians, two eternal principles existed together. The first of these, Ahura-Mazda, or Ormuzd, was the Spirit of Good. From Ormuzd emerged various ranks of good and beautiful spirits, including angels and archangels. The second of these eternal principles was called Ahriman. He was also a pure and beautiful spirit at first, but he later rebelled against Ormuzd because he was jealous of his power. However, this did not happen until after Ormuzd had created light, as Ahriman had not previously been aware of Ormuzd's existence. Because of his jealousy and rebellion, Ahriman became the Spirit of Evil. From his own nature, he created a host of destructive creatures to attack Ormuzd's work.

When Ormuzd created the earth, Ahriman entered into its denser elements. Whenever Ormuzd performed a good deed, Ahriman placed a principle of evil within it. Finally, when Ormuzd created the human race, Ahriman became incarnate in the lower nature of man. Consequently, in every person, the Spirit of Good and the Spirit of Evil struggle for control. For 3,000 years, Ormuzd ruled the heavenly worlds with light and goodness. Then he created man. For the next 3,000 years, he ruled humanity with wisdom and integrity. After that, the power of Ahriman began to take hold, and the struggle for the human soul continues through a third period of 3,000 years. During the fourth and final period of 3,000 years, Ahriman’s power will be destroyed. Good will return to the world, evil and death will be defeated, and at last, the Spirit of Evil will bow humbly before the throne of Ormuzd. While Ormuzd and Ahriman struggle for control of the human soul and for dominance in nature, Mithras—the God of Intelligence—stands as a mediator between the two. Many authors have noted the similarity between the god Mithras and the planet or element Mercury. Just as chemical mercury acts as a solvent, Mithras seeks to harmonize the two celestial opposites.

An engraving of Mithras slaying the bull (the Tauroctony). Mithras is depicted in a Phrygian cap and flowing cape, kneeling on a bull and stabbing it in the neck. A dog and a snake are present, as is a scorpion. Above the scene is an architectural arch with the translation: "To the Unconquered Sun God / Atimetus, servant and agent of our two Emperors / of the Romanian estates" original: "SOLI·INVICTO·DEO / ATIMETVS·AVGG·N·N·SER·ACT / PRAEDIORVM·ROMANIANORVM". Small figures and celestial symbols appear in the corners.

MITHRAS SLAYING THE BULL

The most famous sculptures and reliefs of this protokos first-born show Mithras kneeling upon the back of a large bull, driving a sword into its throat. The slaying of the bull symbolizes the sun’s rays (represented by the sword) releasing the earth’s vital essences—the bull’s blood—at the spring equinox. This blood, pouring from the wound made by the Sun God, fertilizes the seeds of all living things. Dogs were considered sacred to the cult of Mithras, symbolizing sincerity and trustworthiness. The Mithraists used the serpent as an emblem of Ahriman, the Spirit of Evil, and water rats were also sacred to him. Esoterically, the bull represents the Constellation of Taurus, while the serpent represents its zodiacal opposite, Scorpio. As the sun (Mithras) enters the sign of the bull, he slays the celestial creature and nourishes the universe with its life force.

There are many similarities between Christianity and the cult of Mithras. One reason for this is likely that Persian mystics arrived in Italy during the first century AD, and the early histories of both religions were closely intertwined. The Encyclopædia Britannica provides the following statement regarding the Mithraic and Christian Mysteries:

"The brotherly and democratic spirit of the early communities and their humble beginnings; the identification of their object of worship with light and the sun; the legends of the shepherds with their gifts and adoration, the great flood, and the ark; the artistic representations of the fiery chariot and the drawing of water from the rock; the use of bells, candles, holy water, and communion; the sanctification of Sunday and of December 25th; the insistence on moral behavior and the emphasis on abstinence and self-control; the doctrines of heaven and hell, primitive revelation, and the mediation of the Logos the Divine Word emanating from the divine; the atoning sacrifice, the constant war between good and evil, and the final triumph of good; the judgment of the dead, the last judgment, the resurrection of the body, and the final destruction of the universe—[these] are some of the resemblances which, whether real or only apparent, allowed Mithraism to resist Christianity for so long."

An engraving of Mithras' birth from a rock (the petra genetrix). Mithras is shown emerging from a rock, holding a torch in one hand and a sword in the other. Smaller figures are on either side. Inscriptions are visible on the base of the rock.

THE BIRTH OF MITHRAS

Mithras was born from a rock that split open to let him emerge. This event took place in the darkness of a subterranean chamber. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem supports the theory that Jesus was born in a grotto or cave. According to the scholar Dupuis, Mithras was put to death by crucifixion and rose again on the third day.

The rites of Mithras were performed in caves. In his work The Cave of the Nymphs, Porphyry states that Zarathustra (Zoroaster) was the first to dedicate a cave to the worship of God because a cavern symbolized the earth or the lower world of darkness. John P. Lundy, in Monumental Christianity, describes the cave of Mithras as follows:

"This cave was decorated with the signs of the zodiac, specifically Cancer and Capricorn. The summer and winter solstices were prominently featured as the gates through which souls either descend into this life or ascend to the Gods. Cancer was considered the gate of descent, and Capricorn the gate of ascent. These are the two paths for immortal beings passing between earth and heaven."

The so-called "Chair of St. Peter" in Rome was once believed to have been used in one of the pagan Mysteries, possibly those of Mithras. It was in these underground grottoes that the followers of the Christian Mys-

teries met during the early days of their faith. In Anacalypsis, Godfrey Higgins writes that in 1662, while cleaning this sacred chair of Bar-Jonas Simon Peter, carvings of the Twelve Labors of Hercules were discovered on it. Later, the French discovered the Islamic confession of faith written in Arabic on the same chair.

Initiation into the rites of Mithras, like many other ancient schools of philosophy, apparently consisted of three main degrees. Preparation for these involved self-purification, intellectual development, and control over one’s animal instincts. In the first degree, the candidate was presented with a crown on the tip of a sword and taught the mysteries of Mithras' hidden power. He was likely taught that the golden crown represented his own spiritual nature, which he had to realize and develop before he could truly honor Mithras; for Mithras represented his own soul, acting as a mediator between Ormuzd (his spirit) and Ahriman (his animal nature). In the second degree, he was given the "armor of intelligence and purity" and sent into dark underground pits to battle the "beasts" of lust, passion, and corruption. In the third degree, he received a cape decorated with the signs of the zodiac and other astronomical symbols. Once his initiations were complete, he was hailed as one who had risen from the dead. He was then instructed in the secret teachings of the Persian mystics and became a full member of the order. Candidates who successfully passed the Mithraic initiations were called Lions and were marked with a cross on their foreheads. Because of connections to the Egyptian cross, Mithras himself is often depicted with a lion's head and two pairs of wings. Throughout the ritual, there were constant references to Mithras as the Sun God: his birth, his sacrifice for humanity, his death so that others might have eternal life, and finally his resurrection and the salvation of all through his intercession before Ormuzd. (See Heckethorn.)

While the cult of Mithras did not reach the same philosophical heights as the teachings of Zarathustra, its influence on the Western world was profound. At one time, nearly all of Europe followed its doctrines. Rome spread these religious principles as it interacted with other nations, and many later institutions have shown traces of Mithraic culture. The references to the "Lion" and the "Grip of the Lion's Paw" in the Master Mason's degree have a strong Mithraic quality and may have originated from this cult. A ladder with seven rungs also appears in Mithraic initiation. The scholar Faber believes this ladder was originally a seven-stepped pyramid. It is possible that the seven-runged Masonic ladder originated from this symbol. Women were never allowed to join the Mithraic Order, though boys were initiated long before reaching adulthood. The exclusion of women from Freemasonry may be based on the esoteric reasons given in the secret Mithraic instructions. This cult is another excellent example of secret societies whose legends are largely symbolic portrayals of the sun and its journey through the heavens. Mithras rising from a stone is simply the sun rising above the horizon—or, as the ancients believed, emerging out of the horizon—at the spring equinox.

John O'Neill challenges the theory that Mithras was intended only as a solar deity. In The Night of the Gods, he writes: "The Avestan Mithra, the spirit of light, has '10,000 eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever-awake.' The supreme god Ahura Mazda also has one Eye, or it is said that 'with his eyes—the sun, moon, and stars—he sees everything.' The theory that Mithra was originally a title for the supreme god of the heavens—rather than just the Sun—is the only one that fits all the facts. It is clear that we find here many origins for the Freemason’s 'All-Seeing Eye' and its motto original: "nunquam dormio" 'I never sleep.'" Readers should not confuse the Persian Mithra with the Hindu Vedic Mitra. According to Alexander Wilder, "The Mithraic rites replaced the Mysteries of Bacchus and became the foundation of the Gnostic system, which prevailed for many centuries in Asia, Egypt, and even the distant West."