MESSAGE TO FIRST DEGREE INITIATES:

 

When you cross this threshold you have taken the first step of your spiritual evolution.  Until now everything you have learned and studied has been bathed in shadow and shrouded with confusion.  Beginning today you have entered the path that will lead to Enlightenment, Mastery, and True Understanding.

 

I must ask you to adopt a solemn manner of respect for the masters and initiates of higher degree who have initiated you and whose footsteps you must one day follow, a reverence for the Masters of the Past, the Astral Chain, the Angelic Beings you are seeking to become, and a dedication to the Mystic Path and the Laws and Traditions of Magick.

 

You are now under the protection of the Mystic Brotherhood, the otherwise known Great Aryan Brotherhood of White and Black Magick.  As an Initiate of the First Degree, (roughly equivalent to the Apprentice Grade of the Freemasons) you are expected to lay the foundation for the mastery you will later achieve.  If the foundation is uneven, the whole building will be off kilter.  If the foundation is firm, the walls will raise straight and true.

 

A course of study has been outlined for you.  We do not ask that you know everything it contains.  It has been designed to show you what fields of study to become familiar with, the information you will need to know, and where to find it.  The course of study at first seems difficult but with time and practice I assure you it becomes easier.  Your scholarship will develop over time.  There are exercises to develop psychic abilities and mental disciplines which will be necessary to achieve mastery.  You do not have to struggle or feel that you will be left behind. A slow gradual development is preferable to a rapid uneven development.  You are no longer alone.  You will have help and assistance not only from the members of the order but also from astral chain, the Masters of the Past.

 

When you are ready, you will be asked to demonstrate your knowledge, usually by simple example.    You will be examined by another Initiate.  Our standards are mild, not strict. When you have demonstrated sufficient ability you will be recommended for initiation to the 2nd degree of the Order.

 

                                                                                       --Magister Templiis  (Master of the Temple)