Issue 33
GNOSTIC
Communiqué
CIGA Circle for Investigation of Gnostic Anthropology
The Seven Vowels of Nature: I E O U A M S, resound in the entire Creation. Each flower, each mountain, each river, has its own particular note, its synthetic note. The ensemble of all the sounds produced in the planetary globe produces a SYNTHETIC NOTE in the immense core of infinite space. Each world has its KEYNOTE. The ensemble of all the Keynotes of the Infinite, from the ineffable orchestration of the starry spaces; this is the Music of the Spheres of which Pythagoras spoke to us about. VM Samael Aun Weor “Logos, Mantra, Theurgy ”
The Seven Vowels of Nature: I E O U A M S, resound in the entire Creation. Each flower, each mountain, each river, has its own particular note, its synthetic note. The ensemble of all the sounds produced in the planetary globe produces a SYNTHETIC NOTE in the immense core of infinite space. Each world has its KEYNOTE. The ensemble of all the Keynotes of the Infinite, from the ineffable orchestration of the starry spaces; this is the Music of the Spheres of which Pythagoras spoke to us about. VM Samael Aun Weor “Logos, Mantra, Theurgy ”
Editorial
Sound is at the very core of creation, sound is vibration and this is the origin of light, heat and colour-all the essential ingredients for life. The gospel of John reads: “In the beginning was the Word, Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence. Elements of music are pitch, rhythm, dynamics, structure, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. Music has great and powerful characteristics that can help the human being both spiritually or from a therapeutic point of view. Beethoven said that: “Music is the best mediator between the sensorial and spiritual parts of the human being.” Music has a vast influence over the psyche as well as the entire organism. Music relaxes us, makes us happy, happy, sad or inspires us. In ancient Egypt, the hieroglyph representing the word music is the same as the one representing ideas of happiness and well-being. Händel used to say that he did not try to entertain the masses with his music, but rather to make them better people. Given the fact that sound is the essence of our Being, and being aware that harmonic vibration such as Classical Music, Mantras, the sounds of Nature, etc., bring us closer to our authentic and genuine Identity, we are pleased to present this new issue of the Gnostic Communiqué. We We hope that by reading the articles and in this magazine, you may find the inspiratio inspiration n to enjoy this fine form of artMusic. Editors
THE INTERVALS AND HARMONIES OF THE SPHERES
From Stanley s History of Philosophy ʼ
In the Pythagorean 1 perception of the music of the spheres, the interval between the sphere of the fixed stars was considered to be a diapason-the most perfect harmonic interval. The following arrangement is most generally accepted for the musical intervals of the planets between the Earth and the sphere of the fixed stars: From the sphere of the Earth to the sphere of the Moon, one tone; from the sphere of the Moon to that of Mercury, one half-tone; from Mercury to Venus one half-tone; from Venus to the sun, one and one half-tones; from the Sun to Mars, one tone; from Mars to Jupiter, one half-tone; from Jupiter to Saturn, one half-tone; from Saturn to the fixed stars, one half-tone. The sum of these intervals equals the six whole tones of the octave.
1
Pythagoreans - Pythagoreanism is the philosophy of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras (ca. 570-ca. 490 BC)
Xth European Congress of Gnostic Anthropology
“THE
MYSTERIES OF THE GRAIL” 3rd - 9th of August 2009 Lisbon, Portugal
The Music of the Spheres by an instructor from Mexico, translated from Spanish
There exists an infinity of vibrations, imperceptible to man as well as to science. We would not be aware of their existence without the aid and guidance of the VM Samael Aun Weor and other great educators of humanity, who have generously explained to us the diverse and transcendent functioning of the Cosmos. It is important to recognize the necessity of perceiving these Great Masters, appealing to their Enlightenment to be able to understand such transcendence, because it is beyond ordinary human intelligence. With this perception, let us enter the infinite Cosmos; let us perceive our planet and our solar system travelling inside the galaxy with extraordinary speeds. We know that every body or every atom in existence in the Universe emits a vibration by being in movement, and all vibration produces a particular sound. Therefore, an infinity of sounds resound in our planet Earth, which combined form a key note, much in the same way
as a choir, which in spite of being a sum of individual voices, intones a single great voice, a specific key note. Other planets of our system, and of the Cosmos, are no exception. So, every existing planet in the Universe has its own key note. The cosmic resonance formed by the key notes of the different bodies in the infinite cosmos results in a tremendous cosmic symphony, of which the VM Samael says: " ...it resounds as a grand choir of ineffable music within the endless ether of the stars ..." This collection of sounds in the starry space is called by Pythagoras "The Music of the Spheres", and can be perceived after having entered into the state of meditation, allowing the soul to relate deeply to all of Beethoven's nine Symphonies. The VM Samael teaches that this ineffable music of the spheres resounds in the fifth dimension, in the world of natural causes, the world of music. Our five conventional senses are capable of detecting only a limited scale of vibrations. We can
study this through detailed analysis of the sense of sight. The human eyes are capable of detecting vibrations of colour forming the visible light scale: from red to violet. Conventional science has verified that the infrared scale exists below the colour red, and the ultraviolet scale exists above the colour violet. Equally, there exist an infinity of things that we cannot normally perceive, due to the slow speed of the vibrational wave, putting it below the limit of perception of our five senses, or so fast that it falls above this limit. The vibrations beyond the level of perception of our five senses constitute the Ultra of everything. These cosmic vibrations enormously influence our interior development, and therefore the study and learning to use these forces is indispensable. Special faculties, designed to perceive these ultra regions exist in the human machine. Therefore, to perceive the Music of the Spheres, it is necessary to develop the capacity to perceive other dimensions. The specialised organs of perception of other dimensions are the seven Chakras. Every student wishing to
listen clearly to the sublime melody of the Music of the Spheres must work intensely with the laryngeal, or Vishuda, Chakra. The VM Samael teaches us that this magnetic centre, mentioned in the Apocalypse of St John as the church of Sardis, grants us the gift of clairaudience, which allows us to hear and perceive, from great distances, the sound of the superior dimensions of nature. That is to say, the range of sounds beyond the ordinary auditory limits of the sense of hearing. The music of the spheres goes beyond a great cosmic performance that we would all like to perceive, and is of utmost importance to the interior development of the human being. It fulfills a very important role in the work in the second factor. When submerged in Selfremembering, in the state of profound perception of our soul and our Real Being, when we try to perceive how these planetary vibrations come to us, they have the capacity to crystallise in our internal bodies what is known as the “hamlemsoi” or the blood of the superior existential bodies of the Being.In order to facilitate the perception of the effect of the
vibration of the music of the spheres on us, let us analyse in detail the daily influence of the presence of planetary vibrations of our solar system. The Sun governs the heart, its regent is Michael and its hierarchies are the source of life that palpitates in the Solar System. The Sun receives the divine Christic waves emanating from the Absolute, and sends them towards all the planets and living beings of the Solar System. The Sun is the heart of the solar system and the human heart is the sun of our organism, the microcosm-Man. The fires of the heart serve as control for the spinal fires of the Kundalini, and it is where one finds the sacred Temple of the Internal Master, or the Heart Temple. In the same manner, each planet has a specific function. The VM Samael explains that the fast movement of the planet Mercury decisively influences the thyroid gland, where the root of the laryngeal Chakra is found, it also influences the Tattwa of the air, Vayu, whose colour is blue-green. The Lords of Mercury gave the human the Buddhic Body, or the spirit-soul. Raphael is the Genii of Mercury. He looks like an old man
with a long beard and a fiery face. He carries the trident of transformative atoms in his hand, and there, inside his Temple in the planet Mercury, he looks like a terrible Monarch shaking the Cosmic Mind. VM Samael mentions that the Lords of Mercury are teaching humanity to travel in the astral body. The Disciple has to learn how to travel in the astral body because the authentic schools of mysteries are in the astral world. The Gnostic Student must learn how to enter these sanctuaries of internal instruction to receive teachings directly from the Masters of the Great White Lodge. The Lords of Mercury help everyone who requests help. When practicing with the astral body, it is of great assistance to perceive the mercurial influences, transmitted by its Lords, from the heart temple of the planet Mercury. Venus is the star of Love. An eternal struggle exists between Venus and Mars. While Venus governs the thyroid, Mars governs the parathyroid gland. Venus is related to Love and Mars to War. The pineal gland is influenced by Mars and the pituitary by Venus, the pituitary
produces sleepiness and the pineal incites us to fight. The V.M. said: "The astrologer must learn to handle the twinkle of the stars..." The Lords of Venus gave the Causal, or the Body of Will to Man. Anael is the Genii of Love and Art, within his Laboratory of Love, he looks like a twelve year old child, with fair hair and pink face. The angels of Venus have the capacity to treat bitterness. Melchizedek, the Genii of the Earth and King of this world, prophesied the following in Tibet: "...Man (or better said, the rational mammal) forgets his soul increasingly and concerns himself only with his physical body. The greatest corruption is going to reign on Earth...” “ The entire Earth will be deserted, and even God will flee from it, and only night and death will remain... Then I will send new people (The Army of Worldwide Salvation), who will dig out the weeds and vice from the crop with a strong hand; and they will lead the few who remained faithful to the spirit of Man in the battle against evil… They will be the founders of a new life on Earth, purified by the death of the nations..."
Every serious Gnostic student, who seeks to be part of the Army of Worldwide Salvation and of the Order of Melchizedek, must perceive in his meditations the influence of the Genii of the Earth, who lives in the lands of Shangri La. The Moon acts as a mechanical control for the Earth, regulating and administering the solar power. Without the Moon acting as a powerful balancing force, all the liquids of the Earth would be thrown out from the terrestrial surface, due to the influence of the magnetic force of the Sun on the revolving Earth. In the centre of the pale Moon Selene is the Temple of Gabriel, who has power over the seas and tears of women; his hierarchies give the vital body to mankind. Gabriel has the power to prepare the physical body for practical magic and to make it invisible. VM Samael comments on this: " ... a well prepared body can become invisible. Neither a bullet, nor a dagger can enter a well prepared body..." Similarly, the moon influences the Thymus gland and its influence manifests in the masses as the animalistic mechanical nature in which the intellectual animal is
caught. Only by the revolution of the consciousness can we liberate ourselves from the lunar mechanisms. Mars is the planet of war, and its regent is Samael of the Ray of Force. The red hierarchies of Mars gave the astral body to mankind. Samael is the supreme chief of the astral plane. When meditating in the Tattwa Tejas or Igneous Ether, the powers of the astral body will be renewed. Mars deposits the atoms of Buddha into our seminal system to achieve the Christification. Mars is the Buddhic consciousness that currently creates new types of warriors, the warriors of Light, because Mars is now Buddhic. Jupiter is the symbol of our Intimus. That is why Jupiter is represented as the Father of the Gods. Its regent is Zachariel, and he appears in a white tunic and a white cloak or cape. This planet influences the femoral arteries, which allows us to totally magnetise the blood with Jupiter. Orifiel carries the sword of Justice and rules Saturn. The hierarchies of Saturn gave Man the Mental Body, which must be liberated from the yoke of illusions and reasoning. We need to create the
Christ-Mind within us through the fourth initiation of Major Mysteries and allow the mind to become an instrument of the heart; developing the intuition, or the voice of the "Intimus." When the soul disincarnates and enters into the worlds beyond death, it submerges into the ultraSaturnian sphere, feeling the whole infinite within, because Saturn is the Lord of Death. The vibrations of Uranus when received and assimilated within the organism produce chastity, originality and wisdom. Neptune is the planet of practical occultism. The influence of Neptune governs the pineal gland and allows us to develop a great attitude towards occultism and esotericism. When the Initiate calls upon Pluto, its influences have the power to protect him from the attacks of black forces, defending him from the tenebrous lords of the black magic. The VM Samael Aun Weor explains the importance of knowing the planetary influences saying: " ...Throughout your esoteric studies you will place yourselves under the direction of some planetary Genii, and they will call you with luminous signs that you will then learn to
recognize. Also, you will have to understand the twinkle of the star of your Celestial Father when he calls you to instruct you in the mysteries of the light..." As thought, the Music of the Spheres is not only the sound that the planets make when moving in the universe, it also includes the sound created by the suns and galaxies moving through the whole universe in all their planes and scales of vibration. The Music of the Spheres is an infinite symphony formed by the rhythm of the constant creation... Now it is indispensable to devote ourselves to the practical aspect of these studies, to develop faculties and real experience. The VM Samael Aun Weor instructs us about these mysteries saying: " ... Now we are only interested in the clairvoyants of the stars, the priests of the Sidereal Temples, now a new family of astrologers has been born, they are the illuminated of the new age, the Paladins of Aquarius. Now we do not need the horoscopes of mathematical calculations, now we converse with the Gods to know the destinies of Man!"
MANTRA means word of power. Know that sound produces visible and tangible effects for the whole world. A cannon ball, for example, causes the windowpanes of an entire block of houses to break with its sound. A soft word pacifies anger; an ironic word produces many feelings in the person who listens. So, sound is the causa causorum of all that is created. With just cause John said: “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE VERB, AND THE VERB WAS WITH GOD, AND THE VERB WAS GOD. THE SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD. ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM; AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE.” St John (Chapter 1, Verses 1,2,3) It is therefore important to know, brothers, that “mantra” are words of power. The vibrations of these words, of these letters, of these multiple combinations of sounds, awakens the powers that are latent in the human being. VM Samael Aun Weor “The Power of Mantra”
The Nature of Music By a Gnostic Instructor - Melbourne, Australia
"When we listen to the nine Symphonies of Beethoven, or the compositions of Chopin, or Liszt's divine Polonaise, the Soul is in communion with the Music of the Spheres. Music is the Word of the Eternal. Our words should be ineffable music; thus we sublimate the creative energy to the heart."
Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony, ch.8. Beauty is an expression of the Divine, a vibration of a superior kind, which, by its presence in our environment, enriches our experience of life. That which is most fundamental in us-our Essence-responds to beauty with a joy of being. That joy of being of our Essence in the face of beauty is always fresh, always new, always spontaneous-a natural affinity that gives rise to a sympathetic resonance. It is the planet Venus which governs beauty, love and the
arts, and it is under the Ray of Venus that the beauty and creativity of music unfolds. The nature of music is to be found in this mutual and sympathetic resonance. Like all true art, music is based in science and in the Laws of Nature. Its effect is felt by each in accordance with the level of Being or Consciousness, but its nature derives from laws that can be studied, defined and understood. Music can move the Soul, an experience like that of the Sufi "Lover" who seeks his "Beloved", in order to join with the Beloved and to become the Beloved. The Lover must come to know the Beloved; a relationship must be formed, and so, in this talk, we will look at some of the simple elements that are the building blocks of music. The greatest music is a physical manifestation of the Divine, which moves us emotionally and spiritually. The Gnostic
student seeks the same in his work with mantra, wishing to commune with the parts of his own Being and the Elementals of Nature by intentionally creating a harmony of vibration with them within his own organism. He seeks to attain a higher vibration within, creating an affinity with higher forces, using the larynx, the imagination and the will. Speaking of mantra and the Universal Vibration, V.M. Samael Aun Weor says:
in their resonance chambers, and were expressed through all the chakras with all the grandiose euphoria of the universe. These days, the human body is already completely disadapted to nature, and the powerful waves of the universe are unable to express through it. It is up to us to once again adjust the body to the bosom of the blessed Goddess Mother of the World. It is up to us to clean this marvelous organism and prepare the body so that it once again becomes a resonance chamber of nature."
"In ancient times man lived within the bosom of Mother Nature, and in that time, all the powers of the blessed Goddess Mother of the World resonated powerfully
Any body in which music sounds will resonate in sympathy with that music. Our own voice resonates within our body and the body vibrates in sympathy. Someone sings in a room, and the room resonates in sympathy, amplifying and enhancing the music. Those listening within the room also resonate in sympathy with the music, responding emotionally to it.
A musician plays an instrument. The strings vibrate, the air contained in the resonance chamber resonates in sympathy, amplifying and enhancing the sound. In their turn, the air in the room and, finally, the person listening begin to resonate to the music. All movement is co-essential to sound. There are, thus, two methods by which the air is set in motion to produce sound: 1. An elastic body, such as a string, rod, or membrane is stretched or suspended over a chamber which contains and constricts a mass of air. When the body is set in motion by striking or plucking, a vibration results which is amplified by the constricted and controlled body of air. The larynx works in this way, producing the sounds of the human voice. By changing the length or tension in the vibrator, the number of vibrations can be altered, producing vibrations of different frequencies.
2. A column of air contained within a chamber or pipe is set in motion, and this motion produces a resonance which depends on the length and volume of the air contained in it. All wind instruments work on this basic principle. By altering the length of the column of air the frequency of the vibration is altered, and different notes produced. Once vibration is produced, a sound is perceived, which is of a particular frequency of vibration. There are vibrations which we hear with the ears, and many others that are imperceptible to our physical senses, but exist either above or below the range of our hearing. Indeed, in past epochs, human beings were able to perceive much wider ranges both of sound and colour vibrations than is the case now. We resonate unconsciously to all of these unperceived
vibrations, and they can produce fundamental changes in our psychic state, whether or not we are aware of them physically. We continuously receive such vibrations from all corners of the universe and from our own planet. The same is true for light and colour, and in fact for the perception of all our senses. All sensation is a perception of vibration of different kinds.
These responses are law conforming, and thus, the science of vibration can be studied using number, geometry and proportion. Just as the Kabbalah studies the innate qualities possessed by numbers, so musical sounds have innate natures, and thus relationships with each other which can be studied. Natural relationships exist which depend on the number
In the range of vibrations that we perceive physically, each sound relates to each other sound either consonantly or dissonantly; that is, we instinctively compare any two sounds, and they either produce the effect of harmony or tension within our emotional centre.
of vibrations transmitted by the air, and these can be formalised and measured in periods of time. So we can speak of vibrations per second, and from this, certain naturally occurring relationships become obvious.
For instance, if a column of air in a pipe, or a string on a guitar vibrates with a certain frequency, when you halve the length of the column or the string another note is produced which vibrates twice as fast. This produces a note that, at the same time is identical to and different from the original, lower note. This note is expressed mathematically by the proportion 2:1, as it has twice the number of vibrations per second. For instance, the A below middle C on the piano vibrates at 220 cycles per second. By halving the length of this string, a vibration of 440 cycles is produced. Halve it again and 880 cycles is the result, and so on. As the string is divided 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, etc, the number of vibrations increases 2, 4 and 8 times. This inverse relationship is called the "octave," and is each time the same tone, but on a higher plane or dimension. THE LAW OF 3.
The Law of Three —"Triamazikamno"—creates. This creative Law is the
Trinity as found in all religion; the positive or active force, the negative or passive force and the neutral or reconciling force. In music we can say that the Active Force is Resonance, the Passive Force is Silence and the Reconciling Force is Rhythm. These are the creative principles of music. They are organised by the Law of Seven into the elements that produce dissonance and consonance, tension and resolution, conflict and harmony. THE LAW OF 7.
A string or pipe can be divided in proportions other than 1:2, which lead to the formation of 7 natural intervals that are the harmonic basis of all music.
These divisions, following on from the octave of 1:2, have the mathematical proportions: 2:3, 3:4, 4:5, 5:6, etc., and produce the seven tones of the musical scale, or "Octave" (Called "Octave" because these seven divisions plus the repetition of the fundamental note give in all eight tones which have harmonic relationships). Here we clearly begin to see the Law of Seven or "Heptaparaparshinokh" manifesting in the progression of sound, as it does in the progression of all things that are created. The ascending intervals in this octave, regardless of its starting, or Tonic Tone, are expressed in musical language as Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, Do.' If we look at these seven harmonically related tones, we see that they are not all equal. Looking at the white notes on the piano keyboard, which represent these harmonic tones, we see that the scale is interrupted twice in its progression by smaller intervals. This always occurs
between the third and fourth notes, and the seventh and eighth notes of any scale. These points correspond with the two "shocks" that V.M. Samael refers to when he speaks of the process of transformation. These two points of interruption are called "Semitones," being approximately half the size of a full harmonic tone. The existence of these half-tones thus means that each of the five whole tones can be divided into a semi-tone, thus creating in all a twelve note scale of equal divisions. This equally divided scale of twelve tones is called a "Chromatic Scale." THE 12 CHROMATIC TONES.
The 12-tone scale is called "Chromatic" because the twelve divisions constitute the twelve "Colours of Musical Expression." A seven-tone harmonic scale can be formed starting with any one of the twelve chromatic notes, and, by progressing through the harmonic structure of the Law of Seven, will arrive at
the octave of the first, or Tonic Note. Depending on which is the Tonic note, any scale will have its own particular quality. For instance, the scale of C is different from that of G, and so on. This difference is exactly analogous to the differences in psychological influences of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. A person born under the sign of Leo has certain qualities and one born under Gemini has others. THE NUMBER 13 AND THE CHRISTIC PRINCIPLE.
In the musical scale, then, the transcendent note is the thirteenth. The interval between the twelfth and thirteenth notes is the threshold of the new octave, the new dimension, which is identical to the former, but at a higher vibration, or Level of Being. We can see this clearly on the piano keyboard with its 12 semitones or on the fretboard of the guitar with its twelve frets. There is a clear analogy to be drawn with the Gnostic Teaching of the Twelve Self-Conscious
and Independent parts of the Being, with the Christ and His Twelve Disciples, Arthur and the Twelve Knights of the Round Table, the Thirteen Aeons, the Thirteen Repentances of Pistis Sophia, and the thirteen regions of the Kabalistic Tree. Thus, the Law of Three creates, the Law of Seven organises, and the result is the formation of the Twelve Categories of Matter, or the Twelve basic Hydrogens of which V.M. Samael speaks in this case, the twelve chromatic notes of the musical scale. It is also interesting to observe that the Christic Principle - that principle which mediates between matter and Spirit is the thirteenth element which, by mediating, unifies and awakens the twelve, leading them to their Death in this octave and their Resurrection, transformed in the next. The Card 13 of the Tarot, "Immortality" speaks exactly of this process. "I believe in the Son, in the Cosmic Crestos, the powerful astral mediation which unites
our physical personality with the supreme immanence of the Solar Father." (From an ancient Gnostic ritual.)
This Christic principle of mediation - the "strange symbiosis of God and Man..." to which V.M. Samael refers in the Great Rebellion, has a clear representation in the discipline of Geometry, which the German Initiate, Goethe called "frozen music." This representation is the "Vesica Piscis," that geometric form generated when two equal circles intersect at their centers. Its use in the construction of musical instruments will be discussed further on. This "Vesica Piscis" or "Bladder of the Fish" is the very symbol of the Christ himself, and He is often portrayed within the symbol of the Vesica. This Vesica, or Fish reminds us also of Leviathan, the Great Fish that swallowed Jonas, and the whale that swallowed Pinocchio. Both come forth from the whale transfigured. This transfiguration of the intellectual mammal into Man is the work of the Christ.
Thus, we see clearly expressed in the musical scale the whole Mystery of Death and Transfiguration. MAJOR AND MINOR SCALES AND CHORDS.
Another phenomenon occurs which fundamentally divides each of the twelve musical scales into two opposite natures. By changing just one note of the normal, or "Major" scale, a different scale, called "Minor" is produced. The third tone of the scale (Mi) is lowered by a half-tone, and the result is that the happy and positive emotional characteristic of the major scale changes to become sombre, melancholic or dramatic. From any major or minor scale, the principal harmonic notes, the third, fourth and fifth, can be played together in combination with the fundamental note and its octave, to create what are called "Chords" (from accord: to agree). These chords express the fundamental musical quality of the scale to which they belong. The Major and Minor Keys that have been
ACOUSTIC STRUCTURES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH MUSICAL PRINCIPLES.
employed in music since the eighteenth century, as also the earlier modes of ancient Greek and Medieval music, arise from these basic relationships, and exploit the particular characteristics that each key or mode exhibits. Thus there are twenty four tonal possibilities within the structure of the musical scale, and it is these twenty four possibilities that the composer utilises as the building blocks of all composition. Beyond the few points mentioned above are many other elements, all of which have a part to play in the infinite forms that music can take.
We have seen that all the structures that give music its innate emotional impact derive from the natural laws of number, proportion and harmony. If we look at the instruments of music, we will find that these same natural laws also define their shapes and structures. Any resonant structure—from the human larynx, to the violin, to the temple, church or cathedral in which sacred music is performed—is resonant and capable of amplifying and enhancing the qualities of music, because of its being designed according to the same harmonic principles as music itself. So, in the design of musical instruments and in sacred architecture we find repeated the same proportions and geometric forms that are to be found in music. The Spiral, the Golden Mean, the Vesica Piscis, the Pythagorean Triangle, etc., are all to be found in the
design of musical instruments and in architecture. In past centuries, an instrument maker always defined the proportions of his instruments with the square, the compass and the rule-the same tools as those of the Master Mason. He knew that the purposes of music could only be well served by an instrument which reflected in its design the same principles that gave form to the music that was to be played on it. The Lute and the Violin are excellent examples of this art of harmonic design. The beauty of their physical form parallels the beauty of the sounds they are able to produce in the hands of a master musician. In the East, in the traditions of Sacred Dance, we may see once again that all of the movements used by the dancer are formed and learnt in accordance with the same principles of harmonic proportion. The human voice is the ideal which all instruments seek to imitate. So also, the
architectural design of sacred buildings is intended to enhance and amplify the human voice; this is the science of ACOUSTICS. In past centuries, the same principles found in the structure of the human larynx and its resonance chambers in the head and chest, were also applied in an analogous way to musical instruments, and to the spaces in which music was performed. The fundamental design principle of all three is the same-the formation of a well proportioned chamber which controls and restricts the movement of the air contained within, in such a way that it leads to the formation of sympathetic resonances. These resonances, which form in accordance with what are called "Harmonic Series", determine the quality of any sound we hear, and thus, the emotional response it draws from the listener. THE HARMONIC SERIES.
V.M. Samael describes this harmonic series as being the very basis of the structure of our Universe with its seven
dimensions, of our Solar system, and of the planet on which we live and have our being. This harmonic series, expressed numerically as 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, etc, is the structure behind the innate qualities that all vibration exhibits. When we hear the note C on a violin, it sounds different from the same note played on a piano or a flute. This is due to the inner structure of the "Overtones" or
"Harmonics" which resonate sympathetically with the fundamental tone we hear. Subliminally, we hear not one but many notes at once, all in harmonic relation to one another. Together they constitute the quality of the musical note. We even hear and are effected by many such "Harmonics" that are inaudible to the physical senses, but which
nonetheless are perceived and responded to by our emotional centre. THE ESOTERIC SCIENCE OF VIBRATION.
It is the nature of music that it immediately and directly moves the emotions, without the need for thought or reasoning of any kind. The immediacy and irrationality of music make it a powerful tool both for good and for evil. It can, for instance, be used manipulatively, to appeal to the negative emotions of humanity, as in advertising, etc., and it may also serve to elevate the cultural level of our humanity, as with the best classical music. It also plays a vital role in the Awakening of Consciousness. Beethoven, speaking about the transcendental nature of music, calls it: "The electric soil in which the Spirit thinks, lives and invents."
Here, the Great Master of Music touches on an aspect which, for us as Gnostic students, is of supreme importance. There exists music which is composed in
accordance with the principles of objective consciousness. Such music is transcendental in nature, and as such, impacts upon the emotional centre in a very special way. For the Initiate, working for the awakening of Consciousness, the work on the negative emotions is of vital importance, and V. M. Samael says that the Christic Force crystallises within the Initiate through the nonexpression of negative emotions. To change our way of feeling, two works are needed. The first, related with the Mystical Death, is the control of the inferior emotions and the destruction the psychic crystallizations that cause them. The second is to cultivate the Superior Emotions, which means to intentionally seek those impressions and associations that edify, refine, regenerate and heal the emotional centre. This in turn implies intentionally avoiding all impressions and associations that lead to damage of the emotional centre or the reinforcement of negative
emotions. One must use everything at one's disposal to create an environment conducive to the growth of the Essence. One must: "Study the rituals of life and death until the officiant arrives." One must intelligently use the Gnostic Doctrine, meditation and the practices of self-observation and division of attention, and seek to surround oneself with an edifying and healthy cultural environment. In this sense, the great classical sacred music is the most immediate way to edify and educate the emotions. Every body has its own vibratory affinity, its own set of resonances, which, by their innate nature, respond or resonate when sympathetic vibrations are perceived. In our work with the development of the inner senses of our consciousness, the Chakras, we use the science of music and vibration in its most fundamental and powerful form. We employ four elements:
1. Single sustained chanted tones; 2. The natural series of seven vowel sounds that form in the cavities of our head, throat and chest; 3. The natural functions of Pranayama that transmutes our creative energies, 4. The directed imagination; in order to sensitize the centers of our inner perception. When awakened by this work, these centres give us our first contact with the internal worlds, the superior dimensions. The entire process of awakening Consciousness can be studied in terms of sound and vibration. Let us remind ourselves again of V.M. Samael's words: "...These days, the human body is already completely disadapted to nature, and the powerful waves of the universe are unable to express through it. It is up to us to once again adjust the body to the bosom of the blessed Goddess Mother of the World. It is up to us to clean this marvelous organism and prepare the
body so that it once again becomes a resonance chamber of nature."
All the capacities that we know as magical, which the Master insists we must develop as part of the Intimate Self-RealisationClairvoyance, Clairaudience, Intuition, etc., the capacity to consciously project the Astral, the capacity to place the physical body in hyperspace, etc.-all of these depend upon the quality of vibration within our organism and our psyche. All the grades, doors and thresholds of the Path are gained and passed by resonating in sympathy with them. This most delicate work is a form of musical composition that we undertake by attuning all our energies, and eliminating all the crystallizations that do not accord. From this tuning of our energies we obtain what V.M. Samael calls "The Taste of the work." The nature of music goes directly to the Soul of the human being and can help us to create the environment that we need for the correct
development of our Essence. It is for this reason that the great Masters of Music in both East and West also knew the Path. The greatest compositions that we have are left to us by Initiates who, whilst working and suffering on the Path of their own Self-Realisation of the Being, expressed for all humanity the processes of their Souls in this most sublime of art forms-music.
Clairvoyance permits us to see the ‘ultra’ and is intimately related with the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is located exactly between the two eyebrows. The fundamental vowel of this gland is the vowel ‘I’. All the mantras related with divine clairvoyance are sustained on this vowel. The vowel ‘I’ is pronounced in this manner: iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii This letter can be vocalised many times. Some consonants can also be combined with this vowel and the result is astonishing. This is how ‘Mantras’ are formed. There is a Mantra which permits us to develop clairvoyance in a very short time; this is the Mantra. ISIS VM Samael Aun Weor “The Power of Mantra”
THE MUNDANE MONOCHORD WITH ITS PROPORTIONS AND INTERVALS.
In this chart is set forth a summary of Fludd's 2 Theory of universal music. The interval between the element of earth and the highest heaven is considered as a double octave, thus showing the two extremes of existence to be in disdiapason harmony. It is signifies that the highest heaven, the sun, and the earth have the same time, the difference being in pitch. The sun is the lower octave of the highest heaven and the earth the lower octave of the sun. The lower octave (Γ to G) comprises that part of the universe in which substance predominate over energy. Its harmonies, therefore, are more gross than those of the higher octave (G to g) wherein energy predominates over substance. "If struck in the more spiritual part," writes Fludd, "the monochord will give eternal life; if in the more material part, transitory life." It will be noted that certain elements, planets, and celestial spheres sustain a harmonic ratio to each other, Fludd advanced this as a key to the sympathies and antipathies existing between the various departments of Nature.
2
Robert Fludd (1574-1637) prominent physician, astrologer, mystic
PROMINENT FIGURES
Ludwig Van Beethoven by Mario Roso de Luna
Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827, four years before H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society, was born; therefore he did not know about the ideas spread by her in a body of work containing the doctrine: "Isis Unveiled" (1875), or “The Secret Doctrine” (1888), her greatest work. Nevertheless, Beethoven possessed an innate esoteric knowledge; he believed in the great principle of the substantial unity of human kind, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour; he 3
supported a transcendental and abstract idealism, a teleological3 and pantheistic criterion, above any creed. Mystic and Illuminate, he felt the Divinity more or less evolved in all the beings, under the multiple transitory forms of nature. As profound intuitive, he perceives the palpitation in all things, of the Only Cosmic Effective Reality, the Divinity without name or worship, abstract, impersonal and unrevealed, hidden from the nameless masses. Beethoven extracted from the Mystery that surrounds us entire pages of truth and light, through musical harmonies. “...Philosopher of harmonic sonorities, fervent cultivator of archaic traditions, spirit totally possessed by Platonic idealism, Beethoven appears to us (says J.F. Carbonell) as a practical revealing agent of the Pythagorean divine theories. His life and the mission he carried out, was an incomparable
teleology - the explanation of phenomena by the purpose they serve rather than by postulated causes
priesthood. Because of it-adds this writer-when you have the Soul deeply agitated, you must listen to Beethoven. He will calm your tempest. Your pain, confusion, doubt or affliction: your obscure, confused, shaded feelings will doubly highlight all the treasures of majestic purity enclosed in his music... Your heart will swell with an immense piety and you will feel proud to be Man...” He was passionate, demanding, deeply religious in the most genuine sense of the word, but not a believer of any religion. His music raises us to superior regions, making us taste its celestial delights... Freedom was always the fundamental principle of his life, and his favourite book was Sturm's 4 "God in Nature", which he recommended to the priests to be distributed to the people. Beethoven saw the hand of Divinity - Karma - in the most insignificant natural phenomena. For the great musician God was the Supreme informing Principle of the Cosmos, to whom an anthem, with Schiller's lyrics, was intoned in the choral part of the 4
Christoph Christian Sturm (1740 - 1786)
Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's relationship with Divinity was that of a child with his father, entrusting him his sorrows and happy moments. In his testament he says to his brothers: "Teach your children to cultivate the virtue. Virtue, and not money, is what give real happiness. I talk to you from experience, because virtue is the only thing that has given me relief in my miseries. The love of virtue, as well as the love of my art, has saved me from the temptation of putting an end to my days." Of a generous heart, he conquers the setbacks, becoming stronger than them, dedicating his life to the future generations. He did not live for himself, but for other people. Beethoven's music is not a motive for study by technical scholars exclusively, because it is not music of form, but of idea; it does not contain any superfluous elements, every note has a meaning, every silence an emotion. Beethoven himself used to say, "Music is a more sublime revelation than any wisdom and any philosophy”.
Beethoven had neither childhood nor youth. He was born in Bonn, on the seventeenth of December 1770, of poor parents. His father and grandfather were also musicians. His infancy lacked the affection and the fondness that should correspond to the tender age of a child. He was a stubborn and rebellious boy in all ways, defects aggravated by the treatment of a brutal alcoholic father, who frequently punished him by pulling his ears, which might have been the origin of his subsequent deafness. One can hardly contain involuntary tears when reading those passages in biographies describing how the child is violently pulled out of his warm bed, during cold German winter nights, by a drunk father and the music teacher, to have a late night music lesson, which the two buddies could not give during the day, due to intemperance... Beethoven's physiognomy was severe and impressive since childhood; his eyes were big and had a penetrating look. He was short, and his square fingers did 5
not seem to have been made for the wonderful lightness that they had on the piano. Beethoven had an Initiate's ability and full musical possession of the supreme art of the symbol, which is the language of Gods, preceding in this even Wagner and his "leitmotif" 5symbols of prominent figures and ideas. Beethoven improvised on the piano real musical portraits of men and things, without paintbrush or word, hundreds of times. Like on the day, when not being able to express his sorrow for the misfortune of a mother, who had lost her son, instead of offering consolation through kind words, he sat at the piano in the mortuary, and without words expressed the feeling of immense pain with music, simultaneously pouring indescribable consolation into the heart of the unhappy mother... Beethoven's only relatively happy time spans between the years 1793 and 1800. He finds an enthusiastic audience for his works; he enjoys the fondness that he inspires... While receiving a pension from the Elector of
a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea or situation
Cologne, he is not burdened with financial difficulties, which cast a shadow on his later days. With the XIXth century Beethoven enters a period of bitterness, which tainted his Soul until death.:The conquest of the Rhineland 6, his fatherland, by the French; the fall and death of the archduke, his protector; his many disappointments in love, which deny him the happiness of forming a home; the ingratitude of his nephew Carlos, his lawsuits, and especially the beginning of his terrible deafness... Nevertheless, with resigned greatness he overcame all the surrounding miseries, and his spirit soared up to the skies of Art, where everything is harmony... On his desk, always in sight, was the ineffable Neith, the supreme Egyptian Isis, with an inscription in Beethoven's own hand: "I am the one that has been, is and will be, and no mortal has raised my Veil." The Colossus from Bonn, however, lifted a corner of the veil.
6
Honest to the point of being unable to disguise his opinions and feelings; impulsive and sweet, messy and absentminded, he offends his friends and later loyally repents for his violence; he is suspicious and distrustful, but at the same time innocent and generous, possesses the greatness of genius combined with childlike naivety. His favourite authors were Plato and his 'Republic'; Homer and Plutarch; Kant and Laplace, Shakespeare, Goethe and Schiller. He writes in his notebook of conversations: “Socrates and Jesus were my models."
the region in Germany through which the Rhine river flows
"The moral law in us and the starred sky above our heads” he used to say paraphrasing the philosopher of Königsberg 7. He dedicates his Third Symphony to Napoleon the republican, but on learning that he has been made crown emperor, tears up the dedication and weeps for his death in the colossal funeral march of the above-mentioned
Symphony, whose musical secret was unfortunately taken to the tomb. After a revelry of religious psalmody, he dreams about a third movement on the conciliation of the pagan world with the spirit of Christianity. When deafness isolated him completely from everything external, his giant spirit transcends the pain, and offers
symphony. He gets inspiration from the old Psalters of Gregorian chants for his greatest works: the Mass in D and the Ninth Symphony with choirs; during his last days he tries to compose music for the rebellious choirs of Goethe’ s Faust, and for his Tenth
his song of love (the immortal Ode to Joy) to future generations. At the same time he writes in his diary: "Resignation, absolute resignation to your destiny! In the future you will not live for you, but for others. From now on there is no more happiness for you, but in your art: Oh Divinity,
7
Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) - Königsberg, Prussia, Germany
grant me force to conquer myself…!” Beethoven lived, with brief intervals, isolated from the world during the last ten years of his life. No one can ignore the passion he then developed for Nature, passion that left so many traces in his works, especially in his Sixth Symphony. He wrote: “My kingdom is in the air; my Soul vibrates in the ripples of the wind ".
really worthy of such a name, counts only his volitional determinations in the hope of payment. " "Look only for asylum in Wisdom; be good and industrious, with happy spirit, since he whose spirit fades is unhappy, whereas the really wise man worries neither about the good thing nor of the bad things of this world, but preserves prompt and intensely the use of his reason and nothing
"Music is a revelation more sublime than any wisdom and any philosophy. It is the only incorporeal introduction to the superior world of knowledge; this world which surrounds man and which interior is not perceived in real ideas; the formal part of that is simply the necessary vehicle that reveals, by means of our senses, the spiritual life "... "Resignation, absolute resignation to your destiny! In your future you will not live for you, but for others. From now on there is no more happiness for you but in your art: Oh Divinity, grant me force to conquer myself! " Ludwig Van Beethoven
From the book by Friedrich Kerst, "Beethoven, the Man and the Artist as Revealed in his Own Words", we select the following: "Blessed he who has subdued all passions and comes rapidly to the energetic fulfillment of his duties under any circumstances, without worrying about success, since the motive of the action of the just person must rest in the fact itself, never in the favourable or unfavourable result. No man
is so precious as the use of all the matters of life…” "Freedom and Progress form an integral part of the world of art as much as of the universal Creation and even when the real art is always prosecuted, will always find asylum." His motto was always: "firmness in the most opposing times," because...intelligent courage, in the end obtains what it wishes. The unity of force always prevails
over the constantly divided spirit of the majority". What happened to him happens to all Geniuses who are ahead of their contemporaries; only being half understood and by a few. Convention and prejudice stood in his path, and the experts in technique were the most formidable enemies of the work of Beethoven. His work would have been buried in oblivion if not for the intervention of friends and admirers, with Wagner among them. During the final days of the master, only fragments of the Symphonies were performed in Paris, says his enthusiastic admirer Hector Berlioz. Habenek, the director of the opera, was forced to exercise monstrous cuts to satisfy the "hommes de gout", musical despots, without which the Symphonies would not have been given the honour of appearing in the programs of "Spiritual Concerts". A few years later, the heroic minority who perceived the Titan in the mutilations and reversals of the above mentioned concerts, founded the Society of the Conservatoire, in which the master of Bonn revealed himself completely in front of a different
public, tired of the trifle and frivolity of the music of the Italian opera. Wagner said of the Ninth Symphony: "We are so ingenuous that we continue writing Symphonies, without realizing that the last one was written some time ago". Chances are that without this precedent, that of the Mass in D and of the final Quartets, the most colossal works of Wagner, such as the Parsifal and the Ring of the Nibelung, would not have become what they are. According to biographers, after the composition of the Ninth Symphony Beethoven appeared transfigured and rejuvenated.The poetry of Friedrich Schiller had a great influence on Beethoven. The musician could connect his destiny with the poet, and from the partnership of the two supreme arts “The Anthem of Humanity” has arisen. This is how the lyrics and the music of the Ninth Symphony should have always been called. F. Schiller was inspired to compose the immortal strophes of his anthem "To Joy" in the climate of generosity and brotherly love, of holy friendship,
felt in the homes of a few friends in Leipzig, where he used to pass the calmest years of his life, the anthem whose real title is "To Voluptuosity" in the purest, transcendent and original sense of the word.
CIRCLE FOR INVESTIGATION OF GNOSTIC ANTHROPOLOGY Australia CIGA is an international voluntary charitable educational organisation. We investigate and teach VM Samael Aun Weor
systems of study and meditation for the physical wellbeing and inner development of the whole human being.
The word ‘Gnosis’ is a Greek word meaning ‘ultimate knowledge’, obtained by direct inner experience. Gnosis is the perennial philosophy which enlightened Buddha, Hermes, Christ, Orpheus, Quetzalcoatl, Krishna etc. While Gnosis has been expressed in many forms in different civilisations, by means of different symbols and structures, nonetheless beyond this illusory veil of differences exists the golden Thread which is Gnosis-the pure and universal expression of Love and Wisdom. Email:
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