Inner Circle Practice
.
This is an outline of the way my first school: the Australian branch
of The Brotherhood of Light, also known as The Great White
Brotherhood, and as The Hermetic Order of the Brotherhood of Light,
delineated areas of Craft practice. This school was finalised in 1992.
My new, slightly differently structured Order, conceived in the year
2000, is called The Great Circle of the Order of the Red Rose. It is a
Circle of Magic and Mystery. Of Love and Balance. Members around the
world are linked by a desire to bring this understanding to its
Highest Potential.
Although still part of the original Hermetic Order, it is a Daughter
group of the Australian branch of the Brotherhood, and as such is not
affiliated with any Rosicrucian Orders.
And, except for what I offer to you here, it does not yet offer
Inner Circle information.
Towards the end of my training in the Brotherhood of Light, along with
my named position of Messenger, and my 'Ascension' to fully trained
independence (I was rigorously tested for that!), my teacher, Eddie
Pielke also gave me the title of Keeper of the Flame. So that when the
school was finalised, I was the one who held the seed knowledge of the
Inner Circle as taught by our branch of the Brotherhood.
Since it's now under my purview to choose when and where to
disseminate this information, I choose to offer this next to you.
Some of you may have heard of a 'secret' Inner Circle within the
structure of the Brotherhood, but may not know what is taught there. I
know I've spent the last 10 years or so on the internet looking for
this information online, and offline in 'real life', but so far I
haven't seen or heard it anywhere.
I've certainly seen lots of 'spiritual' and 'witchy' and 'neo-pagan'
information during that time, but it seems either no-one has Inner
Circle knowledge - as I understand it - or, if they do they're not
willing, or perhaps not allowed, to offer what they can of it.
So, as I was trained to understand and use Inner Circle information,
and as a Third Level practitioner and Initiate (after 22 years) of
that Inner Circle, I'm now willing to offer a small insight into those
teachings. It won't be in-depth, because it can't be in this setting.
But it might give you something to chew over for a little while...
It is of the Craft.
First of all, this Inner Circle is not the same as the natural inner
circle of any group. Even though these things exist within it, this
Inner Circle is not delineated by a depth of comrade-ship or other
'inner' knowledge gathered by a core of practitioners.
It is delineated by the kind of information taught within the Circle itself.
Also, although Inner Circle information is usually only taught to
Third Level practitioners: those who have crossed the Abyss and
returned, this outline does not describe those three Levels of
training, which, in my practice, are something like grades starting
with the first level and finishing with the third.
This outline is a description of the three main Circles, or areas, of
Craft practice as understood by those of the Inner Circle.
These Circles are labelled:
The Outer Circle,
The Middle Circle, and
The Inner Circle.
The Outer Circle:
The Outer Circle is to do with the practice of the personification,
and worship of natural events - usually the Sun as 'God' or the Moon
as 'Goddess'. This includes all religious ritual where the focus is on
an external 'being' or 'god/dess', or talisman representing such,
where the worshippers don't actively study the 'natural' background of
their ritual but base their practice on faith, and/or who take their
guidance from a Priest-type person who leads them in the ritual.
These practitioners are called "The Followers of Isis" due to the
principle they use of following the guidance of the priest-type
leaders, and most particularly because of the act of Projected
Personification Worship of The Sun, Moon or Stars. The act of
religious practice they use is termed "Calling, or Drawing Down the
Moon" (also often called Prayer) and is to do with the desire of the
practitioner for the chosen deity to 'bless' or 'strengthen' them as a
consequence of their various prayers, rituals, or sacrifices - calling
on the external personification's energy to support them.
This is called an 'Act of Faith' and is based in either Hope or Fear.
When it is based in Hope, it's called 'White'. When it is based in
Fear, it's called 'Black'. Mixing the two leans towards Black because
confusion often arises as an outcome.
Using the Act of Faith principle, Outer Circle practice also includes
the Casting of Spells, where an external talisman, 'deity' or other
such personification is called upon to do the work, but only if what
lies behind the natural or psychological aspects of the casting is not
understood by the practitioner.
If those aspects are understood then the Spellcraft is of the Middle
Circle.
The Outer Circle includes all faith-based religions.
The Middle Circle:
The Middle Circle is mostly an exploration into the understanding of,
and interaction with, Natural Events.
The main practice within the Middle Circle is very much to do with
transcendence of "Mundane" thought to more "Open Minded" awareness,
and, in the deeper (higher) levels of this circle, with the
understanding and manipulating of natural energies and events.
Depending on the approach of the practitioner this can include: the
sciences - particularly physics and chemistry; psychology and the
interaction of the human mind with its surroundings; cooking; farming;
sex; medical practice and various other healing arts; mathematics; all
art forms which create 'something from nothing': music, art, dance,
writing etc, and; mystical religious studies as undertaken by some
priests who lead the various Outer Circle flocks, also Zen Buddhists,
Yogis, Shaman, Medicine Men and Women, and Christian and other
religious mystics.
Most particularly the Middle Circle involves the study and practice of
Astronomy/Astrology, Parapsychology, Metaphysics, Alchemy, and, if the
principle behind the ceremony is understood, Ceremonial Magic.
In general it's these practitioners - Alchemists, Astrologers,
Metaphysicists or Parapsychologists, and Ceremonial Magicians (where
the magicians understand the principles behind their ceremonies,
otherwise they belong to the Outer Circle) - who are usually called
"Witches" by outsiders, and by friends on the fringe (those who don't
'practice' but who are interested in visiting), and by some Outer
Circle practitioners, who themselves have been called Witch from time
to time, and who occasionally even choose that title.
Because it was already reasonably well known within the general
community, so learning it didn't require the joining of any specific
groups or Orders, our branch of the Brotherhood didn't practice
Astrology in depth, preferring to concentrate on Parapsychology,
Metaphysics, and - because my teacher, Eddie, was a silversmith, and
members of the group were variously into science, electronics, art,
and music - Alchemy.
However, Astronomy/Astrology is one of the major practices of the
Middle Circle because, even though it includes the 'personification'
of natural events, it involves observing (not 'worshipping') the
movements of Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars and noticing how celestial
events coincide with events on earth, and within human behaviour, and
the mapping of these events and behaviours.
Parapsychology is also a major aspect of Middle Circle work. This
practice involves understanding the human mind, including how humans
think and use their minds to interact with, and sometimes manipulate,
their surroundings using thought. It's known as "That which goes
beyond the psychological" and requires a strong understanding of the
control of Emotions.
Metaphysics involves the study of natural energies contained within
physical events. This study includes physics - particularly the
quantum aspects of physics. It overlaps into Parapsychological areas
when studying telepathy and other psychic events - inasmuch as
telepathy etc is an energy caused by and contained within thought -
and the mind.
The mind is where all these things meet. Open it!
Metaphysics also involves understanding phenomena such as time,
ghosts, the internal and external 'spiritual' manifestations of
physical and non-physical things, and talking to the 'other side'. It
is known as "That which goes beyond the physical".
Alchemy is basically the transmutation of 'One thing to Another", and
can involve anything from working with metals and chemicals, to the
use of naturally occurring substances and effecting their change to
represent the Transcendence of the Mundane. This Transcendence, along
with Parapsychological understanding, teaches some of the wisdom of
the Ascended Masters, and is also where today's science, medical and
other healing practices, mathematics, geometry and art can become
strongly involved.
While the Middle Circle practice sometimes includes practices -
particularly in ritual - of the Outer Circle, the main thrust of the
Middle Circle involves all those who practice these various arts and
sciences with open-minded interest, and a sense of awe, with a view to
moving beyond 'worship' based philosophies towards the Great Quest of
Self Knowledge: "Know Thyself".
This is sometimes called "The Great Work".
While a thorough knowledge of each of these aspects is not required to
gain entry to the Inner Circle, it's essential to have a good
understanding of them, and of ALL aspects of one's Self.
At its core, the Middle Circle, from Second Level onward, teaches of
the Law of the Paradox, which opens the door to an understanding of
how things "are, yet are not". Understanding this is the main
introduction to Inner Circle work.
The Inner Circle:
The Inner Circle teachings are held as sacrosanct because they involve
a deep understanding of the Law of the Paradox, and most particularly
an understanding of "Creation, and How it Occurs".
Because these teachings work actively with the Law of the Paradox,
they are only suitable for those who have worked extensively with
Middle Circle practice, or for those who are capable of extending
their minds beyond the limits of "what is already known" without hope
or fear, or 'judgement', without losing their Balance. It is extremely
rare for someone to be given Inner Circle knowledge without the
supporting training involved in at least two areas of Middle Circle
practice (mine are Parapsychology and Metaphysics), and a deep
understanding (without fear) of the Law of the Paradox.
Even though Inner Circle understanding can be learned concurrently
with Middle Circle training, achieving this level of understanding
requires a specific focus which can take years to attain, and can only
be done with the guidance of someone who is already an Inner Circle
practitioner.
May your days and nights be blessed
Love