The Story of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland and of the new Gospel of Interpretation Part 6

For, from the beginning, the Fig-leaf covered the shame of Incarnation, because the riddle of existence can be expounded only by him who has the Woman's secret. It is the riddle of the Sphinx.

Look for that Tree which alone of all Trees bears a fruit blossoming interiorly, in concealment, and thou shalt discover the Fig.

Look for the sufficient meaning of the manifest universe and of the written Word, and thou shalt find only their mystical sense.

Cover the nakedness of Matter and of Nature with the Fig-leaf, and thou hast hidden all their shame. For the Fig is the Interpreter.

So when the hour of Interpretation comes, and the Fig-Tree puts forth her buds, know that the time of the End and the dawning of the new Day are at hand,--"even at the doors."

On handing me the first portion of the instruction of which the foregoing is the conclusion, "Mary"--to use the name which meanwhile had been bestowed on her by our Illuminators in token of her office as representative of the Soul and Intuition--confessed to some perplexity.

Her usual Illuminator for revelations of this order was Hermes, whose Hebrew equivalent is Raphael. But on this occasion it had been a Hebrew one, Gabriel. Her surprise and delight were great on being reminded that Gabriel was Daniel's own inspirer in respect of the prophecy in question, and that he had prophesied his return, saying, "Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.... Thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."

The explanation given us was that both Daniel's own spirit and his illuminating angel had come to her, the former serving as the vehicle of the latter. As with all our other results similarly obtained, we judged it entirely by its own intrinsic merits, and not by its alleged derivation. We knew too well the propensity of low influences to appropriate to themselves great and even divine names, and the liability of the recipients to be deceived and to make the names the criterion instead of the communication itself. But in no instance did it happen to us that we had any cause to distrust the genuineness either of messenger or of message, even when both claimed to be divine.

The difference between the two interpretations or applications given us of the incident at the "Marriage in Cana of Galilee," was explained to us as an instance of the manifoldness of the sense of Scripture. The parables have a separate meaning for each of the four planes of existence[39].

We wondered much whether there were any parallels in history to our work and to the manner of it; and especially as to how far an a.s.sociation such as ours coincided with the ideas of the Hebrews. It was true that they had both prophets and prophetesses, but did they work like us in supplement and complement of each other? As regarded the recovery of knowledge acquired in a previous life, Ezra also had ascribed his recovery of the long lost Law to intuitional recollection occurring under special illumination, saying, "The Spirit strengthened my memory."

But no mention is made of a female coadjutor. Nor does it appear that the Vestal Virgins were similarly supplemented, except to be thrown into the magnetic trance-state. In her zeal for her s.e.x and her corresponding distrust of men--sentiments which seemed to be inborn in her--"Mary" was disposed to think that most of the prophesying of old had been done by women, but that the credit had been appropriated by men. The answer to these questionings was of a kind altogether unexpected by us, both as regarded its manner and its matter. For neither of us had the smallest suspicion that the book referred to was capable of the interpretation given us of it. This was the book of Esther. The incident was as follows:--

The occasion was an Easter Sunday[40], and we were at Paris. Electing to remain indoors rather than encounter the crowds of holiday makers, "Mary" was moved during the afternoon to sit for some communication by joint writing. But we were no sooner seated than it was written,--

"Do you, Caro[41], take a pencil and write, and let her look inwards, and we will dictate slowly."

"Mary" then became entranced, and delivered orally, repeating it slowly, without break or pause, after a voice heard interiorly, the following exposition of the book of Esther, an exposition entirely novel, as I have said, to us, and, we believed, to the world. Some divines have called the book a romance, but none have discovered that it is a prophecy in the form of a parable. Luther, indeed, p.r.o.nounced both it and the Apocalypse to be so worthless that their destruction would be no loss.

The most important book in the Bible for you to study now, and that most nearly about to be fulfilled, is one of the most mystic books in the Old Testament, the book of Esther.

This book is a mystic prophecy, written in the form of an actual history. If I give you the key, the clue of the thread of it, it will be the easiest thing in the world to unravel the whole.

The great King a.s.suerus, who had all the world under his dominion, and possessed the wealth of all the nations, is the genius of the age.

Queen Vasthi, who for her disobedience to the king was deposed from her royal seat, is the orthodox Catholic Church.

The Jews, scattered among the nations under the dominion of the king, are the true Israel of G.o.d.

Mardochi the Jew represents the spirit of intuitive reason and understanding.

His enemy Aman is the spirit of materialism, taken into the favour and protection of the genius of the age, and exalted to the highest place in the world's councils after the deposition of the orthodox religion.

Now Aman has a wife and ten sons.

Esther--who, under the care and tuition of Mardochi, is brought up pure and virgin--is that spirit of love and sympathetic interpretation which shall redeem the world.

I have told you that it shall be redeemed by a "woman."

Now the several philosophical systems by which the councillors of the age propose to replace the dethroned Church, are one by one submitted to the judgment of the age; and Esther, coming last, shall find favour.

Six years shall she be anointed with oil of myrrh, that is, with study and training severe and bitter, that she may be proficient in intellectual knowledge, as must all systems which seek the favour of the age.

And six years with sweet perfumes, that is with the gracious loveliness of the imagery and poetry of the faiths of the past, that religion may not be lacking in sweetness and beauty.

But she shall not seek to put on any of those adornments of dogma, or of mere sense, which, by trick of priestcraft, former systems have used to gain power or favour with the world and the age, and for which they have been found wanting.

Now there come out of the darkness and the storm which shall arise upon the earth, two dragons[42].

And they fight and tear each other, until there arises a star, a fountain of light, a queen, who is Esther[43].

I have given you the key. Unlock the meaning of all that is written.

I do not tell you if in the history of the past these voices had part in the world of men.

If they had, guess now who were Mardochi and Esther.

But I tell you that which shall be in the days about to come[44].

On consulting the Bible-dictionary, we found this relation between Esther and Easter. The feast of Purim, which was inst.i.tuted in token of the deliverance wrought through Esther, coincides in date with Easter.

And it was on Easter day that this was given us, by way of enhancing the correspondence between the parts a.s.signed to us and those of Mordecai and Esther. Later it was shown us that the parts a.s.signed to Joseph and Mary were, in one aspect, also identical with those of Mordecai and Esther. This is the aspect in which Joseph represents the mind, and Mary the soul in the regenerated human system.

Besides "Hermes," "Mary" received much of her illumination from her "Genius," her relations with whom far surpa.s.sed not only my relations with mine, but any that are recorded in history, the experiences of Socrates, the chief instance on record, being insignificant both in quant.i.ty and in quality as compared with hers. It is important, therefore, to give an account of the nature and office of this order of angels, which shall be rendered in his own words.

Every man is a planet, having sun, moon, and stars. The Genius of a man is his satellite; G.o.d--the G.o.d of the man--is his sun, and the moon of this planet is Isis, its initiator or Genius. The Genius is made to minister to the man, and to give him light. But the light he gives is from G.o.d, and not of himself. He is not a planet but a moon, and his function is to light up the dark places of his planet.

The day and night of the microcosm, man, are its positive and pa.s.sive, or protective and reflective states. In the projective state we seek actively outwards; we aspire and will forcibly; we hold active communion with the G.o.d without. In the reflective state we look inwards; we commune with our own heart; we indraw and concentrate ourselves secretly and interiorly. During this condition the "Moon" enlightens our hidden chamber with her torch, and shows us ourselves in our interior recess.

Who or what, then, is this moon? It is part of ourselves and revolves with us. It is our celestial affinity,--of whose order it is said--as by Jesus--"Their angels do always behold the face of My Father."

Every human soul has a celestial affinity, which is part of his system and a type of his spiritual nature. This angelic counterpart is the bond of union between the man and G.o.d; and it is in virtue of his spiritual nature that this angel is attached to him....

It is in virtue of man's being a planet that he has a moon. If he were not fourfold, as is the planet, he could not have one.

Rudimentary men are not fourfold, they have not the Spirit.

The Genius is the moon to the planet man, reflecting to him the Sun, or G.o.d, within him. For the Divine Spirit which animates and eternises the man, is the G.o.d of the man, the Sun that enlightens him.... And because the Genius reflects, not the planet, but the Sun, not the man (as do the astrals), but the G.o.d, his light is always to be trusted....

The memory of the soul is recovered by a threefold operation--that of the Soul herself, of the Moon, and of the Sun. The Genius is not an informing spirit. He can tell nothing to the soul. All that she receives is already within herself. But in the darkness of the night, it would remain there undiscovered, but for the torch of the angel who enlightens. "Yea," says the angel Genius to his client, "I illuminate thee, but I instruct thee not. I warn thee, but I fight not. I attend, but I lead not. Thy treasure is within thyself. My light showeth where it lieth."...

The voice of the Genius is the voice of G.o.d; for G.o.d speaks through him as a man through the horn of a trumpet. Thou mayest not adore him, for he is the instrument of G.o.d, and thy minister. But thou must obey him, for he hath no voice of his own, but sheweth thee the will of the Spirit.

We noted that the inspiring angel of the Apocalypse had twice similarly spoken when the seer was about to wors.h.i.+p him;--"See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: Wors.h.i.+p G.o.d."

The like positive injunctions were given us also against according divine honours to Jesus.

Besides Socrates, there is another notable historical "Spiritualist" of whom our experiences vividly reminded us. This was Joan of Arc. The correspondence between her and "Mary," in gifts, experiences, and personal characteristics, was of the closest. We had no difficulty in believing her history. Each of them, moreover, had a mission of deliverance, the one political and national, the other spiritual and universal.

Although we had learned to trust our Illuminators implicitly long before the receipt of the above instruction, we were still without a.s.surance as to the source and method of the revelation. Be the knowledges received by us as new as they might to our external selves, they never failed to be familiar as recovered memories, excepting in such cases as they were couched in terms of which the sense, being mystical, was not at once recognised. But such difficulties were soon overcome, and the doctrine, when fully apprehended, was always to us as necessary and self-evident truth, and such as to excite wonder at the potency of the glamour which had hitherto withheld it from the world's recognition. In every detail, the revelation represented for us Common-Sense in its loftiest mode. For the agreement it represented was not that of all men merely, but that of all parts of Man: of mind, soul and spirit, intellect and intuition, and these purified and unfolded to the utmost, and perfectly equilibrated.

Whatever the manner of its communication, whether heard by the interior ear, seen by the interior eye, flashed on the mind as vivid ideas, whether acquired waking or sleeping, or in the intermediate state of trance-lucidity, or given in writing, it always seemed that we knew it before, and did not require to be told it, but only to be reminded of it.

The problem specially exercised myself. "Mary" had other work than the a.n.a.lysis of our spiritual experiences. That was my special function. I learnt to see in her a soul of surpa.s.sing luminousness and variousness, who had been entrusted to my charge expressly in order that by my study of her I might recover for the world's benefit the long-lost knowledge of the soul's being, nature, and history. And so many and various were her spiritual states, that she seemed to me to represent in turn every stage of the soul's evolution, and to be "not one, but all mankind's epitome."