The Mysteries Of The Kingdoms Of The Seven Spheres

The Holy Catholic Church,

Or, kingdom of heaven within, man;

= Hermes, or Peter, the Spirit of Understanding, and rock whereon the true Church is built, the guardian and interpreter of the holy mysteries.

The Communion of Saints,

Or, the elect;

= Aphrodite, Venus, love, the Spirit of Counsel, or principle of sympathy, harmony, and light, whereby heaven and earth are revealed to each other and drawn together.

The Forgiveness of Sins,

Or, passing-through of souls;

= Iacchos, the initiator, Lord of transmigration, whereby alone Karma is satisfied and sins wiped out by expiation and repentance. As the Spirit of Power, he represents the force whereby creation and redemption alike are accomplished, the direction only being reversed.

The Resurrection (which is the redemption) of the Body,

From material limitations;

=Ares, or Mars, the war-god, and Spirit of Knowledge, of whom comes contention, at the cost of suffering and death, for the divine knowledge whereby man learns the secret of transmutation, which is the crowning conquest of matter by spirit.

The Life Everlasting;

= Zeus and Hera, rulers of heaven, the dual Spirit of Righteousness or godliness, which is justice, or the perfect balance, and the secret of eternal generation.

And the Amen,[A]

Or, final consummation.

= Saturn, or Satan, the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, being the angel--unfallen--of the outermost sphere, and keeper of the boundary of the divine kingdom, within which is the perfection, and without which, the negation of being.