First published in The Cosmic Dawn, July 1930
Black and White
By C. F. Russell
The candidate for Initiation, that is, any
man or woman who aspires to the attainment
of Divine Love, Wisdom, and Power, finds
three sorts of esoteric disciplines which are
more often than not acroamatic in nature.
These three methods are the Mystical, Hermetic
and the Occult, or respectively the Religious,
the Philosophical, and the Scientific
and Artistic. The Adepts of these systems are
respectively the Priest, the Sage, and the Magician.
Having selected the Way of Attainment
best suited to develop his own personality,
sooner or later the aspirant learns that
the key of the Treasure-house seems to be
held equally by each of two societies or Orders,
who are open enemies, and who are
called respectively the White and the Black
Brotherhoods. He learns that there is a Dark
Tradition supposedly of Cainitic (Hamitic-Cushite)
origin, which consist of practices of
black magic, deals and pacts with the devil,
sexual aberrations practiced under the sanction
of religion, and the whole business
termed Bab-Il, "The Gate of God." On the
other hand, he finds this attempt to attain to
the heights of Divine Power through the instrumentality
of the Powers of Darkness
termed by the opposite school, Babel, "Confusion."
The White Brotherhood or Celestials
supposedly derive their traditions from Adam,
through Noah. The general idea is that black
is evil and white is good; the modern interpretation
is that black is selfish and white is
altruistic. But when it comes to applying
one of these two adjectives to any particular
act or detail the majority of both teachers
and pupils seem to have no clear cut conception
of just what to do. I have been expected
and asked many times to explain the
difference between black and white and also
to define my own stand or position with respect
to these two Paths. I hope this essay
will constitute a satisfactory answer.
II
Every true system of initiation provides
the candidate with a trinity of trials or crises,
the first two of which are in their proper
order called "The Angel" and "The Abyss."
The second of these is the real turning-point,
where the Left-hand Path and the Right-hand
Path diverge. The Left-hand path never
reaches the third trial or ceremony of initiation.
But the Brothers of the Left-hand path
have so confused the symbols that the mere
terms, black and white, cease to have any
meaning with reference to either path.
He who would attain the final initiation
must use formulae which cannot be described
to the uninitiated except through the use of
such terms as black and evil. Initiation is
a real or cosmic fact, not simply a personal
history, and every force of the universe is
subject to the will of the Magus. The purpose
of the initiate is that of Prometheus to
obtain an influx of divine power in order to
communicate the same to every other creature.
His aim is identical with the will of
God, namely the ultimate apotheosis of all
nature, including persons, elementals, elements,
and even the ultimate particles. This
is the object for which man was created —that
every creature both corporate and incorporate,
both vast and minute, may become equal
to the Infinite. Adam took the very first
step in this path when he ate the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge, which confers initiated
intelligence by stimulating latent possibilities
of structural growth. The Hebrew word in
Gen. 2, 25 which is translated "naked" or
"ashamed" has primitively the same meaning
as that of Gen. 3, 1, which is translated "most
intelligent," and refers to the arousing of the
vaso-motor brain, whose chief organ is the
pineal gland and the Serpent who taught man
to do this, the sorcerer with the "Evil-eye"
is really the Hierophant with the "All-seeing
eye," possessed of clairvoyant power. Thus
you see how the real black brothers have
succeeded in confusing the meaning of words
so that the aspirant is warned away from the
very things he needs and must have to attain
his goal. It is the same with many other
symbols and doctrines.
The only point where the subject of morals
and ethics bears on initiation concerns the
law that Hermes has expressed in the Emerald
Table: That which is above is like that
which is below for the performance of the
miracle of the one substance. This means
that he who would open the barriers above
himself must at the same time open those
which lie below him and separate himself
from those below. Everything secured during
his incarnation on this planet must be used
for the benefit of this planet and all its inhabitants.
He who would join the White
Brotherhood must have as his sole aim —attainment
for the purpose of communicating
attainment to others— as a Master he is an
instrument for the making of instruments. He
can only fulfill this mighty task by standing
not only with his head above the heavens
but also with his feet below the deepest hells.
Thus to the near-sighted he often appears to
be travelling wholly in a direction opposite
to that which they imagine is the right one.
Because he at all times strives to exercise an
infinite compassion his deeds often appear to
be wholly evil and his words black.
And there is another reason why the Brother
of the Right-hand path may seem to be a
Black Brother. The Force which he learns
to handle, symbolised by the Swastika, is
that light, or electro-magnetic wave, which
penetrates all bodies, and is described as
BLACK LIGHT.
The White Adept is determined to discover
the secrets of initiation in order that he may
initiate himself and confer initiation upon
others by imparting these secrets. This is
accomplished when he is able to articulate
a certain symbol. In articulation it is unimportant
who articulates, and it is extremely
important that the ego does not become articulate
along with the given symbol. The unpardonable
sin of the black brothers is to confuse
all issues, because they have not gotten
rid of their egos. In ordinary life this is true
too. Self-consciousness spoils any expression.
A clear and definite articulation requires
that the element articulated be dissociated
from every other and that the instrument
of articulation be consecrated and
devoted utterly and exclusively to one end.
There is only one way to achieve this, and
that is the absolute annihilation of the self.
You cannot always distinguish a white from
a black brother by the symbols employed, but
if you find that he has devoted himself entirely
to the service of the universe, that he
has made himself an instrument for the enlightenment
and illumination of his fellows,
you may rest assured that he is on the right
path. The inevitable defects of the personality
can often obscure and hide the blaze
of glory which dwells within.
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