Initiation: Difference between revisions

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In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view it is frequently applied to the initiation into the [[occult path]] which marks the acceptance as a member of the Brotherhood of Adepts.
In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view it is frequently applied to the initiation into the [[occult path]] which marks the acceptance as a member of the Brotherhood of Adepts.


[[H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:


[[H. P. Blavatsky]] defined it as follows:
<blockquote>'''Initiate.''' From the Latin Initiatus. The designation of anyone who was received into and had revealed to him the mysteries and secrets of either Masonry or Occultism. In times of antiquity, those who had been initiated into the arcane knowledge taught by the Hierophants of the Mysteries; and in our modern days those who have been initiated by the adepts of mystic lore into the mysterious knowledge, which, notwithstanding the lapse of ages, has yet a few real votaries on earth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 156.</ref></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>'''Initiation'''. From the same root as the Latin initia, which means the basic or first principles of any Science. The practice of initiation or admission into the sacred Mysteries, taught by the Hierophants and learned priests of the Temples, is one of the most ancient customs. This was practised in every old national religion. In Europe it was abolished with the fall of the last pagan temple. There exists at present but one kind of initiation known to the public, namely that into the Masonic rites. Masonry, however, has no more secrets to give out or conceal. In the palmy days of old, the Mysteries, according to the greatest Greek and Roman philosophers, were the most sacred of all solemnities as well as the most beneficent, and greatly promoted virtue. The Mysteries represented the passage from mortal life into finite death, and the experiences of the disembodied Spirit and Soul in the world of subjectivity. In our own day, as the secret is lost, the candidate passes through sundry meaningless ceremonies and is initiated into the solar allegory of Hiram Abiff, the “Widow’s Son”.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 156.</ref></blockquote>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==

Revision as of 16:52, 28 March 2012

Initiation is a rite of passage, ceremony, marking entrance, or acceptance into a group or society. In an extended sense it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role.

In the Theosophical view it is frequently applied to the initiation into the occult path which marks the acceptance as a member of the Brotherhood of Adepts.

H. P. Blavatsky wrote:

Initiate. From the Latin Initiatus. The designation of anyone who was received into and had revealed to him the mysteries and secrets of either Masonry or Occultism. In times of antiquity, those who had been initiated into the arcane knowledge taught by the Hierophants of the Mysteries; and in our modern days those who have been initiated by the adepts of mystic lore into the mysterious knowledge, which, notwithstanding the lapse of ages, has yet a few real votaries on earth.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Theosophical Glossary (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 156.
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