DESCRIPTION of BOOKS available from LULU.COM MYSTERIES OF THE CHRISTOS: Revelations of the Logos & the Celestial Grail A study in mystical philosophy, comparative religion, art, and literature. 304 pages. In Mysteries of the Christos the figure of Christ is used as a touchstone for addressing the subjects of cosmology, mystical experience and spiritual transformation. Initially, the book offers a model of Jesus as an initiatory adept whose disciples John and Mary received a special mystical teaching. Through an examination of Hindu, Platonic, Gnostic, Buddhist, and Kabbalistic texts, it is shown how Jesus may be placed in a worldwide tradition of initiation and adeptship. The final half of the book concerns the Western mystical/philosophical teaching known as Hermeticism, with examples from Hermetically trained artsits, Dante, Raphael, Shakespeare, Blake, etc. Throughout, the book addresses the issues of the Logos and the Holy Grail. The idea of the Logos as Seed and template of universal order is the ultimate concern of this book. All other considerations, be they Jesus' teachings, the art of Western civilization, Jungian archetypes, the ancient Mysteries, theories of modern physics, are introduced in order to clarify the universal meaning of the Logos. Over 80 illustrations.  MASTER OF THE GUILD: A Hermetic Legend Novel. 406 pages. Ramar Beeman, a Guild apprentice, leaves his small village and travels to the lands of the East. Due to his special powers of song and inner vision, Ramar is sent by his Master to the Grand Lodge, Monsolvat, in order to receive advanced initiation into the Mysteries of the Universal Guild. He is accompanied on his journey by a group of wandering Paterini and a young woman, Berenice, who is also a gifted musician and visionary. Both Ramar and Berenice, who belongs to the Matriarchal Order of the Artemar, undergo many trials, of mystic initiation, distant travel, and war. The narrative reflects themes or archetypes drawn from the myths of Orpheus, Tsarevich Ivan, Eschenbach's Parsifal, the Mysteries of Delphi, the Grail/Guild operas of Wagner. The book is illustrated with over a hundred pen & ink drawings, head-pieces and tail-pieces. THE ACORN MAN: A Creation Tale Children's book. 32 pages. This picture book tells a story of first creation and the first man. The Acorn Man was inspired by the spirit of ancient Mesoamerican culture and the art of the Mayans and Aztecs. The book also offers an important environmental lesson, warning against man's disregard for Nature and the animal kingdom. THE SUN'S CALENDAR: A Book of Hours & the Ancient of Days Poetry. 80 pages. This illustrated book of poetry uses the sun's annual journey as a means to express the odyssey of the human soul through its cycles of birth, joy, sorrow, death, and rebirth. The poems vary from the personal to the symbolic to the mystical. Through art and poetry, homage is paid to illuminated manuscripts, to the Hermetic emblem and pastoral poetic traditions. APHORISMS OF LIGHT: The Hermetic Wisdom. Philosophy, Spirituality & Mysticism. 106 pages. Aphorisms of Light reveals the spiritual, mystical, and cosmological principles that lay at the heart of the sacred Mysteries, expressed in the form of aphorisms. Inspired by the Pythagorean, Platonic, Kabbalistic, Yogic, and Hermetic traditions, as well as his own initiatory and mystical experiences, the author provides the keys to personal transformation, cosmic order, and divine understanding. The book is profusely illustrated with decorative borders, pen & ink drawings and mandalas. COSMOLOGOS: The Cosmologos and Black-Seed Paintings. Art book. 48 color pages. Cosmologos is the fist volume in a series of the collected art of Daniel Gautier. The Cosmologos paintings are arranged to provide a story of cosmic creation, accompanied by the words and wisdom of the world's great philosophers, cosmographers and mystics. The Black-Seed paintings are accompanied by verse inscriptions by the artist, providing a symbolist, evolutionary narrative to compliment the images. MYTHOLOGOS: The Mythologos paintings and Dreams of the Mask. Art and prose-poem. 56 color pages. Mythologos is the second volume of the collected art of Daniel Gautier. First are presented the visionary Mysterium paintings. The last half of the book consists of the Dreams of the Mask paintings and accompanying narrative. Dreams of the Mask describes a woman's inner journey, renderd in Symbolist prose and painting. The prose-poems tells of a woman's search for self-understanding, and of her mythic odyssey through the world of visions and dreams. IDEOGRAMS: The Paintings. Art book. 32 pages. Ideograms is the third book in a series of the collected art of Daniel Gautier. It includes color reproductions of some of his most recent paintings, rendered in symbolist, visionary, and abstract genres. The paintings represent archetypes or symbolic principles to be found in various mystical, mythical, and idealist philosophical traditions. SONGS of CREATION: Ideogram paintings – The Poetic Transcriptions Art & Poetry. 132 pages. This book serves as a companion to the book Ideograms: The Paintings. Each painting is accompanied by a poem that captures the essence of the artwork and the philosophical or mystical idea it represents. The paintings, poems, and corresponding commentaries have been arranged to form a cosmological and human narrative, offering a story of universal creation and the oddyssey of the soul. Illlustrated in black and white.   The KEY, The BOOK, and The MOUNTAIN 188 pages. Illustrated children's fantasy novel. Four children, quadruplets, search for their deceased Grandfather in the otherworldly lands of Nosisis, encountering many adventures and mythic creatures along the way. The children travel through the four elemental realms in order to reach the great Mountain and their Grandfather's lost domain. The book is intended for adults as well as children, offering social satire, humorous word-play, and an allegory of the search for Universal Spirit/God. The book is illustrated with over eighty pen and ink drawings, head-pieces and tail-pieces.                                                                                              Excerpts from the Book                                                                                       MYSTERIES OF THE CHRISTOS                                                                                                                             PROLOGUE     Mysterious is the source of revelation, born in the hidden depths of human consciousness. Divine illumination may come softly, unexpectedly, from the glint of sunlight off a silver dish, as occurred with the German mystic Jacob Boehme. Or it may burst upon the mind with fiery fury, as in the case of the holy seer Hildegard of Bingen. Most often it comes after years of assiduous study, meditation and prayer.     Even with the world's greatest spirits, the path to illumination was not simply found. The way was often tortuous. For wisdom comes as a result of relentless query and passionate striving. Such are the demands of finding truth in the maze of the material world. And the world is nothing if not the reflection of our labyrinthine interiors.     No one book, no single myth or individual can fully describe the path within. For the ways to the One are as many as there are souls on earth and stars in the sky. Answers reside in many times and places, as they are uttered by the voices of many women and men.     Through the ages, the religious Mysteries have provided bright beacons for weary travelers of the spirit.     Holy women have offered words of hope and wisdom.     Wise men have offered illuminations of the sun.     Some men have claimed the answers to every question.     Yet the reply of the religious Mysteries has always been this:         all answers lie ultimately within. Each individual holds         the key to revelation.     For in each of us lies the first seed and Matrix of creation.     Within each of us lies the cosmos in full.     Within each of us resides the Mind divine.     Within each of us lives a perfect, changeless truth.     Within each of us lives the Christos, the anointed soul, the         perfect spirit, the fully realized woman or man.     This is the message of the sacred Mysteries.     This is the light of the gnostic path.     This is the wisdom of Pythagoras, Buddha, and Jesus.     This is the blessing of the Logos.     This is the brightest wonder of the celestial Holy Grail.   PREFACE     Throughout history elements of legend and symbol have been woven into Jesus' human character, making it difficult to separate the man from the myth. The Biblical Gospels, which were written at least a generation after Jesus' death from secondary sources, have undergone various revisions and translations, making their accuracy subject to scholarly debate. However, it is not my intention to try to unravel the complex tapestry of fact and fiction in Jesus' life. My approach to the figure of Jesus will be more speculative, poetic, and associative.     The figure of Jesus will be used as a touchstone for addressing the broader subjects of revelation, cosmology, mystical experience, creative genius, and the process of spiritual transformation. Rather than simply searching for the historical Jesus, we seek to understand the greater nature of the Christ as a luminous power that resides in every woman and man and is provided for in various religious faiths. We will approach Jesus as he relates to the more ancient Greek notion of the Christ, the Christos or anointed one of the Mysteries, that illumined woman or man who has undergone a spiritual or initiatory awakening, passing beyond the threshold of human limitation to behold the very core of God, man, and creation. I will provide a conjectural model of Jesus Christ as an initiatory adept whose beloved disciples, John and Mary Magdalen, were specially chosen to continue their master's mystical teaching after his death.     Regardless of the literal truth of the Gospel tales, they can be understood as reflecting the inner spirit of the original Jesus; just as later Gnostic texts can be seen to reflect some important truths about the disciples John and Mary Magdalen. In examining these texts, as well as Hindu, Platonic, Buddhist, and Kabbalistic writings, I will illustrate how Jesus may be placed in a larger, world-wide tradition of initiation and adeptship, a tradition that transcends culture or religion or specific time and place.     While recognizing that some of the Gospel accounts of Jesus and his disciples may be inaccurate or fictionalized, I will sometimes approach these episodes literally, in order to demonstrate larger spiritual or mystical principles. For even if these stories are not historically accurate, they reflect fundamental spiritual or metaphoric truths and indicate inner experiences that would have been shared by Jesus and his disciples, just as they have been experienced by men and women of other religious faiths.     It is this book's contention that, like many of the greatest spiritual leaders throughout history, Moses, Buddha, Pythagoras, and Plato, Jesus' work and vision were a product both of timeless revelation and some form of traditional initiatory process. While Jesus was likely affected by ancient strains of Jewish mysticism, I will also explore the possible influence of Hellenic, Gnostic, Pythagorean, and even Indian beliefs and, in so doing, shed light upon those mystical principles which underlie the world's religions. Yet despite some compelling linkages, one cannot with any certainty claim the influence of one spiritual tradition or another upon Jesus beyond his fundamental roots in the Hebrew faith.     In any case, examination of Jesus and his disciples only occupies the first part of this book. The final portion is concerned less with the man Jesus than with that great body of Western mystical/philosophical teaching known as the Hermetic tradition, in which Jesus figures so prominently. The overall structure of the book follows the initiatory pattern of the sacred Mysteries, proceeding from simpler, more mundane ideas, building through increasingly complex symbolism to more broad and abstract philosophical conceptions.     Throughout, the book addresses two crucial and related issues: the nature of the Logos and the Holy Grail. Indeed, it is only in the context of the greater Western mystical tradition that the concept of the Holy Grail and the Logos/Word, like Jesus himself, may be fully understood.     An essential part of this perennial mystical tradition concerns the question of the Logos, expressed in a variety of forms. While most associate the Logos solely with Jesus and the Christian faith, and more specifically with the Gospel of John and his notion of the Word, as we will learn, the term has much broader and more ancient associations.     It is the idea of the Logos as seed and template of universal order that is the ultimate concern of this book. All other considerations, be they Jesus' teachings, the great art and artists of Western civilization, Jungian archetypes, the ancient Mysteries, the cosmological theories of modern physics, are introduced in order to clarify or expand upon the universal meaning of the Logos. In some cases, analogies may have been stretched in order to demonstrate some greater truth concerning the creational Logoic Order.     This book's approach to the Logos is shaped by the author's personal experiences in the initiatory and mystical process, as well as with the Hermetic philosophical tradition. My own understanding of the Logos and the Grail is marked by a revelatory encounter with the Logos, in the form of The Grand Pentadic Matrix, that I experienced many years ago, wherein the whole of the cosmos, man and nature was shown to be an extended variation on a single fivefold theme. This experience occurred before I had any knowledge of the Hermetic or Platonic tradition, and the Logoic, emanational theories of Pythagoras, Plato, and subsequent Neoplatonic masters. Discovery of this ancient legacy, traceable through many of the greatest artists and philosophers of Western civilization, only reinforced the power, wonder, and relevance of my original experience. This personal epiphany has shaded my under-standing of Jesus' life and the world's religions, as well my interpretation of the great works of Western art, science, and literature.     I hope that, in the following attempt to make sense of it all, I am able to shine some light on the sacred Mysteries of revelation, spiritual transformation, and the underlying seed of universal unity.   Excerpt from the Article "Manifesto of the Three" (Crescent Magazine, Winter 2004)        "All life and nature follows a threefold and, by extension, a fivefold pattern of creation. Everything emanates from this primal Matrix. Most of us have some familiarity with trinitarian groupings in myth and religion. According to this threefold scheme, the First Principle of the Matrix-Seed is generative, active and willful. The Second Principle is material, receptive and formative. The Third Principle is harmonizing, rational and integrative. Many metaphors have been used to describe these abstract forces: fire/water/air, father/mother/son, energy/mass/mind, etc.     The primal Matrix-Seed is invisibly inscribed on every atom in the cosmos, as well as in the heart of every human and the heart of the sun. One may describe the whole of the manifest universe as an extended variation on a single threefold theme. This divine Thought-seed, or "rational principle," was referred to by the Greeks as the "Logos."

Excerpts from the book APHORISMS OF LIGHT: The Hermetic Wisdom *The extraction of our essential Self, expressed in word or sound or line or color, this is our essential creative task. * Art is the tool of regeneration and inner sight. * Art is the experience of life transmuted, made timeless and everlasting. *The greatest Masters of Art & life incorporate all levels of being in their vision, & reveal to the world the Whole. * At the root of great art is the conscious expansion of particulars into Universals. * Spirit is the sentient Fire which drives our souls to completion. * Spirit is the will of Infinity imposing its fullness on the fabric of the world. * By attuning to the harmonies of number & nature & art & music, one may experience the perfect, primal Order that unites all things. * The cynosure of symbol converts the flesh to flash & flame. * Art has this much in common with dying, it takes one from the simply physical, and reaquaints one with the vastness & beauty of the interior world. * Spirit is Energy completing itself through Mind. * Spirit is Energy comprehending itself as Mind made manifest. * Symbol, myth & metaphor form the language of Eternity. * The world we see & seek is a reflection of our interiors. * The path we follow is the maze of the Mind. * At first words lead us; then we become the living Word, leading others, filling them with renewing Light.

Excerpt from the Book MYSTERIES OF THE CATHEDRALS [Vakler Press] Accompanying the Platonic credo of a divinely proportional, orderly cosmos, was a belief that the visible world, the microcosm, reflected the patterns of the hidden universal order, the macrocosm. Plato taught that the physical world has a secondary, variable reality in relation to the immutable eternal order. He believed that the eternal realm "must have been constructed on the pattern of what is apprehensible by reason and understanding and eternally unchanging; from which again it follows that the physical world is a likeness of something else. [Timaeus]" However, as the microcosm, or the earthly realm, was an imperfect reflection, he taught that the physical senses did not readily perceive the hidden macrocosmic order. It is thus philosophy and the disciplines of the quadrivium that can lead one to the original harmony, which according to Plato is "a thing invisible, incorporeal, perfect, divine." Excerpt from the article, "Maps of the Eternal" [Gnosis Magazine, Spring 1993] Plato expressed his deepest wisdom through metaphor, myth and fable, just as Christ revealed divine truth through his parables. The relationship of metaphor, or "fabula," to their underlying truth bore the same relationship as the visible, material world did to the divine cosmic order. According to Plato, by applying higher reason and the harmonic principles of mathematics, music, art and astronomy, the veil of matter and metaphor might be removed and the divine order revealed. In this way, geometry, "which aims at knowledge of the eternal," may serve to "draw the soul toward truth and create the spirit of philosophy, and raise up that which is now unhappily allowed to fall down [Plato, "Republic"] Such revelation would lead to a restoration of the godly nature, a process Plato termed anamnesis, or a recollection of one's lost divinity.

Excerpt from MYSTERIES OF THE CHRISTOS (The Threefold Sound Seed) “The Mind of the Father whirled forth in echoing roar, comprehending by invincible will Ideas Omniform.” Chaldean Oracles     In Hinduism, the Threefold Law finds expression in the Universal Mantra, the sound OM or AUM. Within this mantra lies the Seed-Matrix of creation. AUM (rendered as OM or AUM in translation) is the first sound of creation, from which arises the whole of the cosmos. AUM is “the quintessence of the essences, the highest, the supreme ... threefold knowledge proceeds with it” (Chandogya Upanisad).     Like the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, AUM is the first word of life, the symbol of first creation, and thus the key to transformation. In this sense, the universal Mantra is a form of the Logos. In the Gnostic Trimorphic Protennoia, the first Word/Logos is described in terms of sound. The Trimorphic Protennoia proclaims, “I am a Voice. I exist from the first. I dwell within the silence ... It is I who am hidden within radiant waters. I am the one who gradually put forth the All by my Thought. It is I who am laden with the Voice. It is through me that Gnosis comes forth. I dwell in the ineffable and unknowable ones. I am perception and knowledge, uttering a Voice by means of thought. I am the real Voice.”     This first Voice who dwells in the silence may be understood in terms of vibration. For vibration is the root of sound, as the movement of air brings sound to the inner ear, which in turn vibrates in accordance with sound’s numerical ratios. Protennoia’s first, celestial voice may be equated with those quantum vibrations which form the basis of material existence. According to String Theory in subatomic physics, in the most fundamental sense, on the quantum level all creation exists but as immeasurably small vibrating strings of subatomic resonance.     This analogy may be extended to the Logoic Christ. The early Church father Clement (b. 150 C.E.) in his Exhortation to the Greeks spoke of Jesus and the Logos in musical, Orphic terms.     “The Lord fashioned man a beautiful breathing instrument, after his own image ... melodious and holy, the wisdom that is above this world, the heavenly Word [Logos]. What then is the purpose of this instrument, the Word of God, the Lord and the new song?” Clement, who was well versed in the Greek Mysteries, describes Jesus in terms that would have been familiar to people of the Mediterranean and Near East; for Jesus, like Orpheus and Pythagoras before him, heals and succors through the power of his musical Word. It is the duty of the divine Prophet to bring humanity back, via the Logos, to the original harmony of creation.     We also find the equation of Word = Sound in the writings of the Christian mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard named the Word of God, “Dhabar.” She says that it is called the Word because, “by the sound of its voice the entire creation was awakened and called to itself.”  In this sense, the Word or Dhabar is like the Hindu AUM, the universal Sound-seed. It is with the utterance of the universal mantra AUM that the cosmos became manifest. This threefold Seed sound, like the Pentadic Matrix, resonates throughout the cosmos and serves as the foundation for all material forms. The Word/Dhabar/AUM may be likened to the background radiation left over from the creational Big Bang. This vibrational constant is a reminder of the original act of creation, whose mark remains indelibly stamped upon every micron of the cosmos. It is in the context of this creational model, wherein the whole of the cosmos is perceived as a vast chorus of harmonic resonance, that sound has been used in mystical practice. In Raja Yoga, the AUM Sound-seeds are associated with particular parts of the body. The masculine A or Ah sound [I] resides in the heart. In the heart lies the subtle power center named Anahata. The placement of the Anahata chakra is appropriate since the heart is the body’s generative life center, pumping out the fiery liquid energy of blood. The feminine U or Oo sound [II] resides in the throat, home of the Vishuda chakra. That the maternal U sound should reside in the throat is also appropriate, since this is the place where the human word comes to manifestation. The harmonizing M sound [III] is located at a point in the forehead, between our two eyes. Here lies the Ajna chakra, also known as the third eye in Hinduism and yoga.     By vocalizing the fundamental sound-seeds, using the body as a divine instrument, a method praised by Plato, one can reshape the human form into a resonant vessel, vibrating in consonance with the creational Holy Word. By this method, whether the spiritual aspirant be Platonic, Gnostic, or yogic, the soul may ascend and return to its divine source.     In the Maitri Upanisad it is said, “There is a channel called the shushumna, leading upward, conveying the breath, piercing through the palate. Through it, by joining the breath, the syllable OM, and the mind, one may go aloft.”     Be it through universal AUM, through Sufi wazifas, through Buddhist chants, through the Catholic “Hail Mary” or Amen, through Hindu mantras, or Kabbalistic voicing of the Tetragrammaton, IHVH, the human soul can come to resonate with the divine source of all. Through the various mystic disciplines, one is taught how to use sound and breath to achieve spiritual transformation. By becoming as one with the perfect sound or symbol, one becomes as the Perfect One Itself; for each one of us is ultimately a reflection of the universal all.     All the powers of sound and symbol reside within us, planted in our souls at the beginning of time. Through these sounds and symbols, one may discover the first forces, the first Ideas or reasons of creation. As Gemistus Pletho in the 14th century expressed the principle, “the Paternal Mind, the Sedulous Maker of the substance of the Soul, has engrafted Symbols of the Images of Intelligibles in Souls, by which every Soul possesses in herself the reasons of Beings” (Exposition of the Oracles).     The Hermetic Law of Correspondence states that the universe is joined together in a vast web of similitudes, with symbols and archetypes linked to specific sounds, forms and objects.     One will find, in comparing AUM with the Hindu Tattva symbols, that the shape of the alphabetical letters correspond to the shape of the Tattva symbols: where [I] A = the upward pointing triangle of Tejas and [II] U = the crescent moon of Apas. The A and the triangle suggest the actual shape of a fire, just as the U and the crescent suggest the shape of a cup or a receptacle of water.     Correspondences between sound and symbols may also be found when comparing different religious or language systems. The Ah sound is usually associated with the first, father principle. Take, for example, the name of fAther in Christianity; BrAhman, the father of the Hindu Trinity; AbbA, the Father in Judaism and the Kabballa. Similarly the O or U sound is essential to the HOly MOther, the HOly GhOst, SOphia, and VishnU. It is the nature of symbols that the shape of a particular glyph will often reflect the quality of the Eternal Idea which it represents. This is frequently true with the Hebrew letters of the Kabbalah, a notion that is discussed in the Bahir, particularly as regards the first letter Aleph. In English, the A or upward triangle suggests the active fiery motion, evolutionary ascent, and generative force associated with the first Primal Principle [I]. Similarly, the U or half crescent suggests the material containment (the cup or womb) and receptive qualities of the second Primal Principle [II]. The M suggests the electrical vibrancy of the Third Primal Principle, the divine Sun/Son, and its role as a harmonizer and intermediary [III]; just as the letter M’s four diagonals join the five points of the Pentad together, the three points below [. . .] link to the two points above [. .]. It is interesting to note that the symbol for the androgynous Son [III] Aquarius is similar to the shape of the vibrational M. It is due to their capacity for extended associations that symbols have been used to describe the nature of God and the eternal Powers. Just as a symbol has the power to capture a multitude of meanings in a single figure, so the single Seed-Sound may provide the root for innumerable words. In this sense, the symbol or a root-sound may be said to resemble the nature of divine consciousness itself, wherein a single abstract Thought-Seed contains countless variations of form and substance. (The Delphic E)     The Mystery of the Five was known to the Greeks, and was an essential component of Delphic initiation. One of the most famous sayings in the ancient world was an adage inscribed over the portal of the temple of Delphi. The inscription read: “Know thyself.” This maxim referred to the preparatory phase of the lesser Mysteries, prescribing that process of self-discovery and self-analysis which must be undergone before the initiate could proceed to the more advanced, mystical stages of the Work. The mind of the initiate must be carefully prepared before the greater powers of the cosmos be unleashed within. In addition to the well-known “Know thyself,” another symbolic key was inscribed over the Delphic temple. This key took the form of a glyph: the letter E. The Platonic philosopher and initiatory master Plutarch (2nd c. C.E.) made note of this inscription and devoted a chapter in his book Moralia to “The E at Delphi.” Plutarch provided a number of explanations for the significance of the Delphic E. E was the fifth letter in the ancient Greek alphabet and was used to denote the number 5. The Greek sound for the fifth letter was the diphthong EI. E was also the second person singular of the verb “to be” or “thou art,” as well as the Greek word for “if.” The connection between EI and “if” was important in terms of the Oracle of Delphi; for when questioning the Oracle the petitioner would ask the soothsayer whether he or she should succeed, or “if” he should do one thing or another. Furthermore, EI was often used in prayers to the god, when the aspirant would plead “if only.” “If” is also a crucial word in logic in constructing a syllogism and thus is an agent of reason. EI was used to mean “thou art,” and when a petitioner addressed Apollo, this address indicated that the god had eternal being. The fact that E was the fifth alphabetical letter and represented the number five was extremely important; for according to Plutarch, five is a crucial number in philosophy, physiology, mathematics, and music. Quoting Eustrophus the Athenian, Plutarch wrote that the E “has come to be held in honor as the symbol of a great and sovereign number, the pempad, from which the wise men gave the name “pempazein” to counting which is done by fives.” The associations of E with the words “if” and “thou art” are significant even beyond Plutarch’s explanations. In a larger sense, the phrase “thou art” refers to the ultimate, subjective power of Godhead. When one addresses God as “Thou art,” this means that God IS; God IS the ultimate force; God IS the ultimate Being; God IS pure being, with-out an other, without separation, embracing the whole of consciousness and creation. Such is the significance of God’s fourfold declaration to Moses, “I AM that I AM (IHVH).” When using “if” to describe God, one is saying that everything is dependent upon God; everything is an “if” in relation to God; every-thing is contingent upon the existence of God; everyone and everything exists only IF God first exists. In this respect it is the force of E, or the 5 as a refection of ultimate Being, which defines and leads one to God. In mystical practice, the E may be used as a transformational sound source. For E possess the highest vibrational level of the five vowels. Just as in physics’ string theory, where the frequency of the vibrating string determines what a particular subatomic particle or element may be, and just as the vibrational frequency of the oscillating string determines the tone on a violin, so the different dimensions of being or levels of consciousness may be expressed in terms of vibrational frequency. Indeed, the Pythagoreans linked the hierarchy of the planetary spheres to the relative frequency of musical tones (Fig. 40). In a similar sense, a spiritual practitioner may use the E sound as a force of mystical transformation. We have already seen how the sound of the Hindu AUM or the AMEN may be used in mystical practice. The A, U, and M lead one up the subtle centers along the spine from the heart center (A), through the throat (U/O), to the head (M). Similarly, the Hebrew name of the Lord (A-dO-N-aI) may be used to lead one’s consciousness from the heart (A sound), through the throat (d-O), and to the head (N) and beyond (I/E). Using the power of the aI, which in this case has the sound of the long E, it must be uttered at the highest pitch, projected to a point above the crown of the head. In this way consciousness may be led beyond the body to the ethereal realms beyond. When applied in this manner, the E becomes the ultimate sound-symbol, a transformative tool which enables bodily dissolution, mystic ascent, and divine transformation. As the highest sonic force, the E has the power of ultimate positive negation (+). As in the ancient Greek language, E is the fifth letter of the English alphabet, and as such embodies all the power of the Pentad.

Excerpt from the book THE SECOND POWER The World as Energy & Number-as-Idea Prologue - Alpha & Omega According to the opening words of the Bible, the first act of creation was the formation of the polar pair, the celestial and the earthly spheres. Lao Tzu echoes this theme in the beginning of the Tao Te Chang, when he declares, "having no name, the Tao is the originator of heaven and earth." Using similar images the two texts refer to the same universal principle: from the unmanifest Absolute (ie. God, Tao, Ain, Brahman), the extremes of being are first established. From the polar pair, from the idea of contraries, all creation arises. The first creative act is the logical outgrowth of the divine impulse toward infinite variety. If the reason for creation is for the unmanifest Source to experience the greatest possible fullness of Its being, then the greatest disparity of opposites must be created. Initially, these primal "Powers" or "Principles" are extremely abstract, all-inclusive, and nonspecific. Existing before manifestation, they may be best understood as "seeds of intent" or "universal inclinations." It is for woman and man, as the inspired poet, the artist, the scientist, the mystic, the philosopher, to provide metaphors which will make these abstractions comprehensible to each successive age. Empedocles called these dialectical powers love and strife. Schopenhaur identified them as will and representation. Lao Tzu referred to them as yang and yin, Kapila as purusha (spirit) and prakriti (matter). The twofold motif has been expressed in creation myths around the world, as well as by illumined mystics and philosopher. All life and form may be understood as a set of variations on a single abstract theme. We call this nexus the "Matrix-Seed" of creation. While the original twofold model may be expanded to a three (Proclus), four (Pythagoras), or fivefold scheme (Coleridge), the underlying dyadic root remains the same. Many metaphors have been used to describe these abstract forces: fire/water, energy/mass, spirit/soul, thesis/antithesis. Just as the polar pair lies at the root of all creation, so this dichotomy lies at the base of human consciousness. The interplay of these dual forces shapes our thoughts and actions and drives us, unconsciously, toward evolution and completion. Our very existence depends upon the incessant exchange of first and second Principles, through the exhalation [I] and inhalation [II] of our breath. Our twofold breath makes possible the third, harmonizing spirit, which is life itself. The extent to which we can identify and willfully wield these two forces in our lives goes a long way toward determining how aware and self-realized, how successful and happy we will be. To be excessively swayed by the force of either impulse or form is to risk becoming a slave to limits and the pains of disharmony. Just as the polar pair animate the world, so the balance, the dance of opposites brings completion. Each is essential to our being, each serves the same ultimate end, light united to dark, spirit feeding flesh, matter completing energy through the thought of the all. DIONYSOS & APOLLO: THE DIVINE DYAD In the early twentieth century, Karl Jung labeled the polar forces in our psyche as the animus [I] and the anima [II]. Jung identified animus as the masculine principle, creative and active. The feminine, formative, receptive force he designated as anima. For thousands of years these two forces have been known by different names and in various forms. In the ancient Mysteries of Delphi the two were identified as the Greek gods Dionysos and Apollo. The Delphic rituals revolved around these two eternal powers. Dionysos (animus) was a singular god and the vegetative form of the Sun Lord, the solar force as manifested in nature. Dionysos is the embodiment of the first creative Principle. He is a god of impulse, instinct, revelry, ecstasy, music and dance. He may be understood as active and fiery. Apollo (anima) was a twofold god, forever tied to his sister, Diana, the watery moon. Apollo is the embodiment of the second Matrical Principle, and represents the solar power as manifested in man. He is the force of civilization and control, of invention, art, order, institutions, and convention. Like the two-faced god, Janus, the forces represented by Dionysos and Apollo are two sides of the same solar coin. The force of Apollo is needed to bring beauty, balance and form to impulsive, unreflective acts. In this manner, Apollo shapes the irrational creative/destructive power of Dionysos. On the other hand, Dionysos drives the soul to create and evolve. Dionysos gives inspiration and energy to lifeless forms. Like the Hindu god Shiva, he destroys the old order, providing the renewing force of evolution and revolution. These two forces, Dionysos and Apollo, live within each of us. They drive and lead us while vying with each other for domination. The most advanced initiates recognize the need to balance these dialectical forces within themselves, for inner peace and self-realization can not otherwise be achieved. They have learned that the way to attain this harmony is through the power of the Three, and through the forces of imagination, universalism, synthesis, art and ultimately, wisdom. In considering the Dionysian/Apollonian pair, the force of the Three is embodied in the goddess Athene-Sophia. As the ultimate power of Wisdom, she brings the brothers Dionysos and Apollo together into harmonious union. Through her art and universality she weds the two as an all-inclusive One. THE FIVEFOLD HUMAN BRAIN Modern science and psychology have revealed the two and threefold structure of the human brain. On one level, which we will call the horizontal [II] or functional plane, the brain may be understood as being twofold. According to this right brain/left brain model, the right side is said to control the intuitive, qualitative, nonverbal, creative and global functions. These traits correspond to those of the Dionysian force. In contrast, the left side controls the verbal, analytical, rational, and quantitative functions. These qualities correspond to the Apollonian force. On the vertical [I], evolutionary plane, the brain has a threefold structure. These levels are: I. the reptilian II. the mammalian III. the human. As the human species has evolved so has the brain grown and evolved, layer upon layer, expanding in depth and complexity. At its root lies the reptilian portion of the brain, the instinctual core that is responsible for autonomic functions and the physical survival of the species. In the reptilian brain lies the impulse for self-preservation, propagation, territoriality, and reflexive aggression. The reptilian portion of the brain may be equated with the Dionysian force. It embodies the intuitive and the impulsive. Over this reptilian core developed the mammalian brain. Here arose the instincts for social bonding, nurturing and hierarchal structure. The mammalian portion may be equated with the Apollonian force and thus the formative, herd-like or self-containing impulse. Finally, with the development of the neocortex, man developed into a fully creative being, capable of higher reasoning, artistic creativity, language, writing, unlimited invention, advanced states of consciousness, even unto powers bordering on the divine. Many holy men and philosophers, as well as the ancient mystery religions, have reminded us that man is not simply an animal, doomed to respond blindly to instinct and conditioning. Through the exercise of right and left brained harmony, through a balanced use of higher reason, discipline, love and imagination, he may emerge as a creature divine. In this light did the Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola state: "whichever of these seeds a man shall cultivate, the fruit will he bear in him. If vegetative, he will become a plant; if sensual, he will become and animal; if rational, he will reveal himself a heavenly being; if intellectual, he will be an angel and the son of God (Oration on the Dignity of Man)." Men and women, as animals, may draw upon the divine joy of nature's abundance, communal building and sensual delight. Unlike other animals, women and men also have the capacity to identify the primal forces within themselves, and through the strength of will, compassion, creativity and reason channel them constructively. Unfortunately, a portion of humanity periodically feels the destructive impulse within, be it the herd-like cry of paranoia and conformity or the angry, reptilian scream, and responds unthinkingly to the call. With compulsive drives and emotions holding sway, the instincts of fear, self-preservation, and animal aggression may be transformed into acts of violence and injustice, and territorial hunger may turn to war. At a certain point in his evolution, man must face the irrational forces of the psyche, those titanic monsters of the unconscious. In ancient myth these forces were often symbolized by the serpent or dragon. Thus the various solar heroes, Perseus, Hercules, Rama, Jason, Saint George, had to confront the dragon/serpent before their life's quest could be complete. It is for man, using his powers of reason, to recognize the source of his various impulses. If not sufficiently aware, empathetic or educated he will respond rashly to his fears. Fear of differences, fear of the unknown, which were necessary for survival in the wild but unnecessary in our modern times, can lead to hate, bigotry and war in the "civilized" world. The fiery force of Dionysos, like that of blind Eros/Cupid, must by its very nature be released. For Dionysos is, most simply, the inexorable will to act. He represents the ceaseless creative flame which ever seeks to be expressed. He embodies the intuitive joy of life and motion. The Dionysian power of libido may for a time be suppressed or it may be transmuted, but it can never be extinguished. It can be expressed in one of two ways, through creation or destruction. It for man and woman and their greater natures to choose between the two.