Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
mysteries and who join the Knights Kadosh to share with them in watching over the treasure under the orders of the mighty Princes of the Royal Secret .
At the “ center of the center ” there is therefore a treasure that can only be symbolic and that perhaps — almost certainly , even — constitutes the Royal Secret .
The animals represented in the center of the composition and at the tips of the triangle are the raven , the dove , and the phoenix — representations of the stages of the Magnum Opus : black with the raven ; red with the phoenix ; white with the dove . The ritual explains :
R A day will come when I will be permitted to learn more
D On what do you base this new hope ? R On an apparition D What objects were presented to you R 3 birds , a raven , a dove , and a phoenix D What does the raven announce ? R The blackness of its plumage symbolizes anguish , disorder , and death D What does the dove tell you ? R Its whiteness announces the regeneration of the creatures to me D What does the phoenix recall to you ?
R This bird that emerges from the flames to start a new life is the emblem of perfected nature , of a universal theory , and of boundless power .
If the dove and the raven are present from the founding episode of Noah , the phoenix and dove actively contribute here to the respiritualizing program of Creation suggested by Revelation , a book whose presence in the tracing board is hidden but real , if only by the mention of the tetramorph ’ s animals and the figure of the heptagon .
The triangle primarily shows the importance of the Trinity ; the candidate is received as Valiant Prince of the Royal Secret “ in the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity .”
Then placing his sword on the head of the candidate , he says : In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity , under the auspices of the Most Serene Grand Commander of the order and with the consent of the valiant princes here , I receive you and make you now and for always Valiant Prince of Royal Secret , Knight of Saint Andrew , and Faithful Guardian of the Sacred Treasure .
In this regard , it is important to recall the covert but real salience of the Trinitarian mark and logic that shape the degree . Here the center becomes spiritual , since to the ritual ’ s question : “ Where are you going ?” the recipient responds , “ To the Orient .” And he completes his response through the method used for the purpose : “ Where by means of a mysterious scale , I hope to arrive at the point of glory and splendor .”
The point of glory is identified with the Orient and the triangle radiating glory . Not only is the reference to glory present , as seen here , in the text of the ritual , but it also powerfully shapes the iconography .
B . The Cross or the Five-Pointed Star
There are numerous significant and
meaningful dualities in the center of the tracing board of the thirty-second degree . There is the cross that symbolizes Christ : in Romanesque art , Christ in his mandorla , or the cross , are systematically placed at the center of the tetramorph ( fig
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