FISSAPRMM - Affiliation Rite

RITUAL OF AFFILILATION - FISSAPRMM

“An Initiate is oblig’d by his or her Tenure, to obey the spiritual and higher divine law; and if he or she rightly understands the Art, they will never be a prude nor an irreligious bigot, nutter, or Libertine. But though in ancient Times Initiates were charg’d in every Country to be of the Religion of that Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet ‘tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that Religion in which all Entities agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves; that is, to be good Beings and true, or Living and Incarnate Examples of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or Persuasions they may be distinguish’d; whereby Initiation becomes the Center of a Perpetual and Celestial Union, and the Means of conciliating true Kinship among all Peoples that must have a priori remain'd at a perpetual Distance.”

(2014 tweaking of Cf. Anderson Constitutions, London 1723).

The Lodge being duly called to assembly, the Chamber is opened on the Candidate's First Advancement, for the joyful and intoxicating celebration over an Initiate to a new Obedience must take him or her back to that precise moment in time when they initially received the Light and thus became an Initiate, a Fellow Star in the Great Celestial Lodge.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Dearest Sibling N…., you have asked to become an integrated link in that vast and most unique chain which constitutes the familial bonds of our Society. Taking note of your request, the Facilitators of this Lodge have summoned the force of Charity One with Justice and have heard the voice of the Celestial Choir, and it is with our most sincere joy and utmost admiration and affection that we embrace you and join with you forevermore, drawing us ever closer through those bonds of universal kinship and profound familial affection, which Universal Initiation has previously bestowed upon us, and compassionately established between us. Yet, it is still of much benefit that we receive you amongst us in a solemn manner befitting of your acceptance into the membership of this Lodge, and therefore we ask our Facilitator of Ceremonies and our Adoring Instructor in the Path of the True Light to gently conduct you before the Altar which rises bright as the Sun in the fixed East.

This is done.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Before proceeding with your request, we must warn you, my Dear Sibling, that our Sovereign Sanctuary expects us to remain faithful to certain customs that have been handed down to us in perpetuity. Therefore, I shall read to you from the Ancient Records of our Lodges, which are spread throughout myriad Worlds. Such records are read when one Ceremonially Facilitates the Rite of Affiliation of a new Initiate, or whenever a Lodge deems it necessary. This first chapter, also called The Obligations of an Initiate, constitutes the beginning of an entirely new interpretation of the famous Anderson Constitutions, written in London in 1723.

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The Reverend Facilitator now reads the text presented as an epigraph at the beginning of this chapter.

When this is done, the Facilitator remains silent for a few moments, then continues.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – As you have just heard, flesh of my flesh, and blood of my blood; it remains clear that our Organization will neither allow the imposition of any particular exoteric form of religion upon a Profane, nor any Initiate desiring to come amongst us. While we reject all forms of religious dogmatism, we immutably reject the outright denial of the atheist, and the vain and self-absorbed sterility of the materialist. And we don't particularly relish any of the other "ists" either. Now, in the presence of this Worshipful Assembly of Initiates, we ask that you manifest publicly that to which you have previously given your assurance privately. Hence, I ask you, on behalf of all the Stars within our Universe, to kindly reply “I believe” to each of the three questions traditionally required of an Initiate.

Short silence. Then, the Facilitator continues in a solemn tone:

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Child of the Widow, considering that philosophy leads us to conceive of, and observation to admit to, the probable existence of an Intelligence at work in the great Universe, an Intelligence whose elementary light is the first to tangibly manifest itself to Human Beings, and It is the Creative and Constructive Agent eternally acting upon Universal Matter or the Substantive Patient; and considering that this Universal Agent directs and conducts myriad Worlds, Stars, Galaxies, and Universes towards an end far beyond that distant horizon marking the utmost limits of earthly vision, our Tradition considers that it is beneficial to Humanity – and ever more so to the Initiate – to perpetuate this notion regarding the existence of an Universal Intelligence ever operating the vast stellar machinery of the near boundless Universe, an Intelligence which religion refers to as God, which the Pythagoreans specified under the term “God Geometrizes”, and it is for this reason that Memphis Misraim calls this vast Intelligence the “Grand Architect of the Universe”. Child of the Widow, do you believe this?

Candidate: – I believe!

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Child of the Widow, considering that the ancient Hermetic Tradition, as well as modern Science; mutually teach that Life truly resides in the bosom of the three kingdoms of Nature: the mineral, vegetable and animal, from the infinitely small to the infinitely large; and considering the incredible likelihood that it is the best for Nature, in the face of its fundamental manifestations and diverse finalities, to be equilibrated through a Universal Plan, so that the progress of each of the three kingdoms is harmonized, we believe that each Human Being is a Star, and as such has a duty towards Nature, and all other living beings and Stars, and that it is up to the Initiate to prove to their own Higher Self that they are an intelligent and wise steward. Child of the Widow, do you believe this?

Candidate: – I believe!

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Scion of the Widow, consider that it is an equal probability that Collective Humanity is, upon the terrestrial globe, through its innate talents and ability to reason, and through its undeniable material potential; the very reflection of this self-same Universal Agent at work in the immensity of our Universe; considering also that every human being is ultimately and similarly a lesser reflection of the entirety of collective existence – that is to say Humanity – we believe that each Initiate, each Fellow Star is very truly that which is expressed by our Password in the First Advancement, that is to say the Regent of the Universe. As any true title incurs certain responsibilities, the individual that truly merits it has duties to the collective, just as the collective has duties and obligations in regard to the individual. And so we consider all people our sisters and brothers, without any distinction of race, color, creed, or country.

Child of the Widow, do you believe this?

Candidate: – I believe!

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Because you have vanquished all doubt, you are already amongst us, as our very Kin. However, in the presence of your Fellow Stars, we ask you to pronounce the words of the Apprentice Obligation, since the ineffable Obligation of an Initiate has ever been constituted by this single promise.

Senior and Junior Guardians, please draw near the Candidate, sword in hand, and with the Adoring Instructor, form the Arch of Steel behind the Candidate…

This is done, the trio of officiants standing in a triangle to the sides and rear of the Candidate, forming the Arch of Steel, swords raised, points together.

Child of the True Light, raise your right hand and repeat after me …

OBLIGATION

“I, N…., … Illuminant, in the presence of the Supreme Architect of the Universe and this Worshipful Assembly of Initiates, solemnly and sincerely promise, and swear upon my honor as a person possessed of free will and intelligence in likeness unto the Divine Image, without any mental reservation nor moral equivocation whatsoever, to remain a faithful and loyal adherent to the ANCIENT AND PRIMITIVE RITE OF MEMPHIS-MIZRAÏM.

'I shall only reveal such mysteries and secrets which may hereafter be confided to me as my own Higher and Divine Genius shall allow, and I will be a loving, and tolerant Companion to my Fellow Stars, and a true and honourable Friend to fellow members of our Society."

“I shall, with all the power and ability at my disposal, maintain its Traditions, its Rites, its Teachings and its Symbols, without altering them or allowing them to be altered in a manner irreconcilable with my own Divine Purpose."

“I renew my Obligation of Apprenticeship, and reaffirm in every way that I shall only reveal the mysteries of Universal Initiation to enlighten Humanity and promote the evolution and transmutation of the Three Realms of Nature, and then only to the extent that my personal mores and conscience permit. I swear never to write, trace, or engrave them; nor form a single character whereby the secrets of Initiation may be revealed, without the authorization of my own Higher and Divine Genius, under the penalty symbolically represented by having my throat cut across, of being dishonored, and seeing my name forever inscribed upon the Column of Infamy, while my body is buried in the sands of the sea, so that the ebb and flow may carry me to eternal oblivion, ever living in conflict with Divine Will for the complete and utter shame over my entirely baneful and wicked existence.

“I promise and swear anew to consider all Initiates as members of my own family, to protect, assist and help them in their need, whether temporal or spiritual."

“I shall disseminate the teachings which I have received, so that a clear light may illumine the way of Collective Humanity and Individual Human Beings, and to do so without any distinction as to class, race, color, religion, or nationality."

“I shall strive to be a living manifestation of all that is virtuous, sacrificing all vanity, vain ambition, and desire for honor: and this not through the sterile pride of one's ego, but with the sole aim of inspiring others to follow a more virtuous path themselves. I shall exercise the loving embrace of all humanity to the fullest extent possible, as an example to my Fellow Stars."

“I shall support the weak, adamantly opposing injustice, and all unmerited violence from whence ever it may come, whether addressed to Psyche or Soma."

“May the Supreme Architect of the Universe assist me in this endeavor, through the Living Symbols upon which I now rest my hand.”

A short silence.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Thank you, my Heart. Please approach the Altar of the East.

The Reverend Facilitator grasps the Flaming Sword in the right hand, the Gavel in the left, which is then carried across the chest near the right shoulder. Each of these forms of investiture are accompanied by a touch of the Sword, on the right shoulder, left shoulder and the top of the Candidate’s head, each in succession.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – To the Glory of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, in the name and under the authority of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Mizraïm, by virtue of the powers which have been conferred upon me by this Worshipful Lodge, I receive you, N…, as an initiate and Fellow Star into the very bosom of our Collective Soul, an Initiate of the Rites of Egypt, and member of N… Lodge, at the zenith of …. Fellow Senior and Junior Guardians, please return to your Stations, and you my loving Facilitator of Ceremonies and Adoring Instructor in the Path of the True light, conduct our new Illuminant between the mighty Columns in the West.

This is done.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Blood of my Blood, Breath of my Breath, please rise and come to Order, facing the East.

He specifies the grade: Apprentice, Companion, Master or Mistress of the True Light, before the qualifier Initiate of the Rites of Egypt, since this Compatriot is already clothed in the Garments of the True Light through the Universal Initiatic Order.

This is done.

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Loving Family, Dearest Kin, our Lodge includes a new link in the very Chain of our Being.

Our Sibling N…has become an Initiate of the ancient Egyptian Rite. I ask you to celebrate this joyous occasion with the three-fold expression of Penetrating Divine Illumination, accompanied by the traditional “Vivat!”. Please join me in this, my Fellow Stars…

The Society gives the three-fold expression of Penetrating Divine Illumination three times by three and accompanies it with the traditional “Vivat!”:

All Fellow Stars: _____00…0..Vivat! _____00…0…Vivat! _____ 00…0…Vivat!

Most Reverend Facilitator: – Dearest Facilitator of Ceremonies and Adoring Instructor in the Path of the True Light, please accompany the newest member of our Society to the designated place, in the East closest to the Column that signifies their grade.

When this is done:

Most Reverend Facilitator: – My Beloved, Please be seated.

 (Adapted from Ambelain)