- Review if needed, the Advance Preparation Notes.
- Be sure to have your octagon paper printed out and nearby, as well as your oath.
- Be sure to perform this rite of initiation in late evening or at night.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
1. One of the following: Red magic-marker,felt-tip pen, red crayon, red pencil.
2. Ruler or straightedge if you are generally fearful of drawing or art projects.
3. One Red candle, small table or other surface to use as your altar, you can sit it next to your computer if you have to
4. Single red rose with stem removed except for one inch.
5. Men: white boxer shorts, underwear.Combatant Women: white underwear and T-shirt or white sleeveless undershirt
6. Optional: prayer rope or rosary if you have one
7. Optional for non-combatants, required for combatants: Some kind of sword or blade. Any sword replica is fine. If you don’t have such a thing then find a blade, any blade, to put on your altar. Even a letter opener that looks like a sword, there are cute miniatures I’ve seen for sale. If you are short on supplies, a kitchen knife is indeed a flat blade, and will work for your “commitment to the blade archetype.”Non-combatants are encouraged to have a blade too, for representation on your altar. During the initiation the Grand Master’s sword is laid out on the altar so if you have a blade on yours it is quite fitting. The non-combatant relates more to the health of the person swinging the sword and to the horse under him, whereas the combatant must relate very directly to that blade, his/her “tool of the trade,” and means of survival. Therefore DoT’s do not make the blade commitment during initiation (by kissing the blade) and they are not presented with a Templar sword during initiation(they are presented with something else). But DoT’s may wish to have a sword on your altar as a symbol of the warrior path that you now walk. Remember that a “warrior” is not necessarily a combatant. Walking the warrior path is for both fighters and non-fighters who have chosen to face life with courage, to stand up against forces of spiritual darkness that seek to destroy life and rape innocence. The sword is the symbol of that path. (PS If you want to buy or just see a picture of an authentic Templar Sword, go to Amazon.com and type in “Templar Sword”in the search window).
ALTAR SET-UP: You need a simple altar surface, anything flat and large enough to hold all the supplies. The altar really should be facing Jerusalem, which is East for North Americans, but Southeast for you U.K. residents, and way Northwest for you Australians. Your red candle and sword (or blade to represent one) should be laid upon it. Pu tthe red candle in the middle of the altar surface, and lay the sword (or other blade) down in front of it stretched out sideways. Place your Sacred Cord on the altar behind the candle. Place your rosary or prayer rope in front of or draped across the blade. Have your oath handy so that you may read it at the appointed time. It is customary to fold up the written oath and place it on the altar somewhere in front of the candle. Then when it comes time to read it, you unfold it and read it. Then fold it back up and place it behind the candle. You may also wish to have a copy of the Lord’s and Lady’s Prayers handy in case you haven’t memorized them, that paper doesn’t need to be on the altar. Your red rose, octagon paper and red marker / pencil should not be on your altar yet, but nearby.
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COMBATANT INITIATION OF THE TEMPLE ROSE CROSS DEGREE
Step 1. Drawing inside the Octagons. You will draw the red Templar equal bar cross, variously called the cross “pattee” and the “maltese” cross, or the eight-pointed splayed cross of the Templars, inside some octagons. Get the page of blank octagons and your red marker / pencil.
In a few moments you will be entering a huge octagonal chamber, a special indoor arena used by the Templars for all initiations and certain advanced training exercises. (Some used an outdoor arena with a partial roof over it, a huge octagonal corral). Drawing these crosses in the octagons is called sacred geometry, and this exercise actually prepares your mind to enter the Octagonal chamber. Focus now on drawing a cross within each of the octagons on this page. You will be asked to mail these into us as part of your initiation report, so no skipping this step! As soon as they are drawn, lay the piece of paper flat on your altar, under the sacred cord behind the red candle. Make room though so that you can place your rose over what you consider to be the best of the red crosses you drew. Place the rose there now and put the sacred cord folded in half in a circle around it.
Step 2: In their book, “The Warriors& the Bankers” Dafoe and Butler have this to say regarding the 8-sidedchapel used by the Templars as the initiation chamber:
“This octagonal form of building which the Templars are believed to have developed from the Muslim’s “Dome of the Rock” in Jerusalem, served a threefold objective…Firstly its eight walls formed a superior edifice of structural ability. Secondly it called to mind the overall shape of the Templar Cross Patee, which can be easily formed within the confines of the octagon. Finally, the octagon, especially when combined within the circle, formed a sacred geometry associated with Gnostic beliefs, for which the Knights Templar were said to share an affinity. It is rumored that within this octagonal chapel, called a “Charola,” neophyte Templar knights were initiated on horseback.”
Step 3: Now to prove that the above is more than just a rumor….
You walk across the courtyard and step into the Charola. You must pass thru the huge black iron doors. You have always wondered what this forbidden building was like inside. It is night, Templar initiations were / are always held at night. In the early days of the Order the rule of secrecy was so strict that no king, no archbishop nor even a pope ever knew what went on inside. It is dark, and your eyes cannot penetrate thru the blackness within the cavernous building. You are standing just inside the door and you see two small curtained-off booths on either side of you.
If you are a male: the Standard Bearer greets you and directs you to strip to a loin cloth, ceremonially removing the “world” and other causes,even noble ones, that you have fought for. Please undress in real life, your boxer shorts can be the “loin cloth.” Loop your prayer rope firmly around your wrist or wear your rosary around your neck like a necklace.
If you are female: The Chatelaine and the Equestrian Dame greet you and direct you to undress to a pair of white briefs or shorts and sleeveless(or if you feel more comfortable, short-sleeved), white shirt. This ceremonially removes the “world” and other causes, even noble ones, that you have fought for. Please do this in real life. Loop your prayer rope firmly around your wrist or wear your rosary around your neck like a necklace.
NOTE: You will get your “other noble causes” back when you leave the Charola, don’t be afraid that you are forswearing any. But for the next few hours you must be a “blank slate” for this initiation to “take.” Historical Templars had to give up ALL other noble causes and would previously have had to obtain release from any former causes or liege lords they had sworn allegiance to.
Step 4: Both males and females: Leave the dressing area now as you are led by the Under-Marshal of our Order. He leads you into the gloom of the great octagonal room. (It is about the size of a large modern gymnasium.) You can’t see anything and are trying hard to focus on the back of the Under-Marshal as he moves quietly in front of you. Unfortunately you notice he has removed his white Templar tunic and is dressed in unrelieved black. You can hardly see him to keep on track, and are doing what your training taught you–focusing on the sound of his strides as well as the sight.
Then you notice an alcove with a sergeant standing in it. The only reason you see the sergeant is because he is holding a weak, barely flickering torch.He, too, is dressed in black and you wonder, “What IS this? A funeral or something?” As you approach, the sergeant reaches back and opens a door to the outside. You get a quick glimpse of the moon illuminating the figure of a cloaked woman—the Equestrian Dame—leading a saddled-up battle horse straight for you. They stop just in front of you, and the sergeant shuts the door behind them. You recognize the horse as the one you chose for your initiation. If you pass, he will be given to you permanently.
There is no expression on the face of the Equestrian Dame. In the dim torchlight,you see she is dressed in a long plum colored dress with the emerald green cloak of the Daughters of Tsion thrown back over her shoulders. You have met her before, you know she is friendly and quick to smile, yet now she seems deadly serious, almost another person.
Step 5: The Equestrian Dame presents you with your chosen horse.Take the reins and while still standing on your own two feet, make the horse covenant (below). As you say the last few words, mount up. If he lets you mount, that is his assent to the covenant.
Horse Covenant:
“Horse _______________. (name of horse).
O sacred beast of heroes, bearer of warrior burden.
Holy soldier—as am I.
Carry me now in my first initiation, as you will carry me thru smoke of battle.
Keep me
Carry me
May we be one
Each serving the other
Our bond be not undone”
[Consider for a brief moment: In what ways do humans serve the horse? The Knight or Knightress provides the very best feed, medical care, gives attention,exercise, grooming, shelter from bad weather, good shoes. It is not just the horse doing all the “serving;” it’s a symbiotic relationship. Sir Hauk, High-Marshal of our order says, “Also, a horse likes to work. Just like a human, she/he enjoys a task, enjoys companionship, doesn’t like to be idle. Work gives a purpose,meaning, makes the horse —just as it makes the human —feel valued and truly “alive.” The human who sits idly watching TV for hours then feels guilty and depressed afterward gets a poor self-image, feels unworthy. We’ve all felt that way, so we know this phenomenon. Do some hard work and we suddenly feel valuable and satisfied again. The horse is the same way.” ]
Step 6: You notice someone approaching. It is the Seneschal of the Order riding up on horseback accompanied by two mounted knights. Our current Templar Seneschal is Bishop James, who now charges you to state the Our Father and Our Mother prayers. You recite the two-part prayer from up on the horse, while surrounded by several mounted Knights and officials of the Order. The only other sound besides your voice is the stamping and occasional snorting of the steeds.. [Please recite it now, if you have trouble it is okay to use a printout to prompt you. But please don’t just read it straight from the paper. The lines of these prayers are ancient and profound, your subconscious surely knows at least half of them by heart.]
Step 7: Now the Grand Master himself,mounted on a huge destrier, appears out of the darkness. He has three armed and mounted knights with him whose faces are lost in the thick shadows of this place. You can make out the Grand Master’s features only because he is holding a dim torch. He prods his horse toward you. You’ve seen him once or twice before from a distance, and it seems like you could see him better then, even though now he’s so close you can feel the breath of his horse.
You glance back at the torch as it strains to stay alive. Is the air full of some black oily substance, you wonder? The torch seems to barely have enough to breathe. You decide that the black oily air is not from smoke,or you’d smell it. The torch is letting off a bit of smoke, but not enough to fill the arena. Still the air seems alive with something. You’re not sure it’s altogether friendly! (Think anti-matter or chaos magik). The Grand Master,his face still lit, urges his horse still forward, coming so close to you that he might knock you out of the saddle. He hands you the torch,then charges you to state the Templar Creed of Mission.
[Now light the single red candle on your altar, pick it up and hold it in your LEFT hand out to the left side of your body and lifted up a little as though holding a torch]
Now your voice rings out once again over the snorting and stamping of the four-legged beasts. These horses want to run, you can tell! You have a feeling they know much more about tonight’s activities than you do…
[Read the following while holding the candle in your left hand:]
The Templar Creed of Mission.
We walk the warrior path
Knights of Krist and Daughters of Tsion
We serve the Almighty
We defend the Innocent
We support the righteous
Fighting the Good Fight,
Obeying the Divine,
Answering the Call
We are the Templars of Krist and Sophia, the Word and Wisdom
We are the Templars of Adonai and Matronit, the Lord God and the Great Mother
Let no man, ruler nor evil spirit waylay our mission
Angeloi Protego, Angels go before us!
[make the sign of the cross over yourself while saying the last line]
En Toutoi Nika! By this sign we conquer!
[as you finish making the sign of the cross, close your right hand into a fist and thrust it out in front of you at chest height, as if to say, Charge!]
You finish the Creed, your voice trailing off in the immense man-made”cave.”
Step 8: Suddenly one of the mounted knights who rode up with the Grand Master surges forward and grabs the torch from you with a whoop. [Place it back on your altar]. He and the other two knights gallop off. It’s so hard to see! After a few yards the torch isn’t even visible anymore—or wait, there it is. It’s bobbing around in this thick gloom like a fire-fly, faraway, dim and flighty.
You weren’t paying attention to your immediate surroundings and as you turn your head back, the Grand Master slaps your horse hard on the flank. You hear him bellow out, “Ride! Ride! Fight the Good Fight!” as your horse tears out into the indoor arena, running headlong into utter darkness. The command was clear, you are to ride. You cannot rein in, you must do what is expected of you. This is an initiation after all, you are supposed to be frightened. You feel your horse turn in the darkness and begin to move in a circular pattern. You notice out of the corner of your eye a few torches in wall sconces and realize they are there to guide the horse.
Suddenly you are aware of dozens of Knights on horseback, the hooves thunder now on the hard packed dirt floor of the indoor arena. You go with the flow,your horse surging under you. He is at home with the other hero beasts all about him. You know the Templar horses are trained to kill in battle. If a man comes on foot to attack their rider, the horse will rear up and strike him with his hooves. They are trained to bite, kick and trample the enemy.Many of these mighty horses around you now snort with impatient fury. They want to smell blood! You pray there will be none of that shed this night…
You see a flash of white, just a little square. It’s the beauseant!—the banner of the Knights and focus of every Templar while on the battlefield.You can only see the white part of it and some of the whites of the horses’ and mens’ eyes. Their faces are all black, and with a twinge of fear you realize they are all wearing black masks with only their eyes glinting.Everything has been blacked over, their armor, the metal parts of the tack and bridle of the horses. Yet you are a white blur, half naked and wearing white, your face unmasked. They can see you easily. They seem to careen toward you as you are absorbed among the ranks. Some are brandishing—what’s that!—swords–also blackened, so that nothing glimmers.
More and more knights seem to be filling the frenzied current. They are all masked.
You are unarmed and half naked, yet the others are coming at you, cruelly jostling you, almost unseating you—all at full gallop in the narrow rat race of this indoor chamber. It is a flowing current of men and horses, a circular whirl like water swirling down a drain. This is a deadly game, even moreso as from left and right they race past you and try to slap you on the back or the thigh with the flats of their swords. It is taking all your concentration to stay in the saddle and keep the pace. You know that if you’re in in, if you show the slightest slowing, hanging back, or trying to move out of the furious flow, it will be a sign of weakness. You WANT to be a Templar, this is your sworn destiny. You must hold firm.
————
They are all starting to look like demons. And it’s not just because of the masks they are wearing. They look and feel like the enemy, both spiritual and physical. Is it magik? Are the First Lady of the Order, the Chatelaine and other high ranking Lady Templars working group magik to make almost all of these knights feel like agents of spiritual darkness? It must be some kind of magikal force which simulates enemy action. You would swear you can feel that force at work. Your mind is on the unseen members of the Order.The Lady magi. They must be around here somewhere, behind a curtain perhaps? Their magiks could also create this air, this ungodly air we’re breathing.
But the worst is yet to come. Obscene creatures have crept into the arena and linger on the sidelines next to the walls. Some have glowing eyes, all seem patently evil. They start up a howling. The horses go crazy and the riders have to control them while still keeping on track. Many knights nearly lose control of their mounts when the evil ones start banging and clattering on shields or something metal. Your horse does not approve either. What are these creatures? They want to feed, feed on the souls of those that fall in battle. There is a sense of very real spiritual warfare going on. The demons seem to be “fueling” some of the knights around you, the ones that keep trying to unseat you, the ones that are trying to choke you without even touching you. Are the hostile riders real men? Or are they some kind of projected evil warriors, the product of simulation magiks? Each time one comes at you all you see is the glint of an eye behind the mask before a smashing wave of darkness hits your chest and a choking sensation grips your throat. You have to deflect these unseen attacks with sheer will since you have no other weapon. You remind yourself that fear will only feed them,and work to keep that dangerous emotion in check. Your chest is starting to ache and your head isn’t doing so well either; these evil knights on horseback are wearing you out with their continued invisible assaults.
One of them nearly succeeds in choking you and causing you to fall. You lift your arm up toward him, the arm that is wearing your prayer rope, the only “tool” you’ve got. You send a powerful mental message that says”Block!” and “Back at you!” It seems to work, but then another comes at you , followed by another, and the fear is stirring in your stomach. Now, horror of horrors, there are flying creatures, black and nearly invisible that hurl themselves at you, two and three of them at a time screeching past like bats. Sometimes they scratch you slightly on each pass or get tangled up in the reins and your horse’s mane. Breaking free they zoom off, only to circle around and come back. Your gut lurches, and the fear rises up to your mouth. You are going to fail the initiation,you just know it. How can I keep this up for much longer?!
No, no, don’t panic, you tell yourself.
You don’t quite achieve “calm,” more like a lower degree of terror because the “bad” knights are also screaming now, bloodcurdling sounds, not really words, meant to intimidate. Every now and then one of the few “good ” riders goes down, or so it appears, and the glowing eyed demon-creatures on foot pounce on him as if to devour his spirit body. Demons of the lowest hell,your mind screams to you. You bite your lower lip until you taste blood.Focus. Stay in the saddle. You gulp air and realize you have been holding your breath.
Suddenly something tall and black, seething and oily, almost glowing–an ungodly shape–dashes in front of you–on foot! Your horse rears up,you barely maintain control. He spins around, ready to head in the other direction or off to the side. The two of you do a little circular dance and end up in the middle of the arena out of the traffic. Slowing him down and turning all the way around again, him prancing and rearing his head, you talk to him trying to calm him. Not easy in the midst of this alien evil. Just when you think you’ve regained composure and are about to get back into the flow of circular movement, another creature on foot dives at you, pulling you all the way out of the saddle and crashing to the ground.Your horse takes off without you, reins dragging mutely behind him.
You scramble to your feet with the sinking feeling that you have just failed the initiation, but there is no time to ponder this gloomy prospect because the evil creature, a werewolf looking thing about seven feet tall, black and oily yet glowing, rounds on you with a battle axe in one hand and a sword in the other. He is not human, there is no doubt about it, you can almost see thru him and his eyes are black seething pits. How can this be! He lunges at you below the knees trying to fell you again. You sidestep out of the way of the swinging axe. He lunges again; you dodge. Several of these huge evil things are in the arena now and have pulled other knights out of the saddle. All around you one-on-one combats are raging. It’s like a real battle, crazy and confused, loud as hell, terrifying as hell. But the swirling circular mad carousel horses are still going round and round in laps. It is dizzying to watch them from the inside. You don’t have time to watch anyway because you are busy staying out of the reach of this demon’s weapons. Still worse, the hideous flying creatures haven’t stopped whooshing past, tangling in your hair and scratching you. One of them hit your chest square in the middle and almost knocked the wind out of you. It had the force of a heavy punch.
The other “good” knights are armed, lucky them, and sparks are flying from the metal to metal contact of the individual battles. You are the only one being initiated tonight, so those “good” knights must be experienced knights.Is this play acting? Then why are they fighting these horrors with such whole-heartedness, seemingly totally absorbed in the task of destroying the creatures. And some of them are falling in the attempt. Some of the good guys are falling, but you can’t tell if anyone is actually dying. Their wounds seem real, as do their cries of pain and fear.
You are desperate for a weapon–anything–when one of those fallen knights throws you his sword before dashing off the field to safety. Just in time you snatch it up. The hell-spawn you are fighting is swinging and lunging at you. Your sword makes contact with his axe, and you leap back so that the sword in his other arm barely misses you. You continue fighting him for quite a long time, receiving more than a few close calls to your life. You are at the point of exhaustion when you at last succeed in ridding him of one of his weapons, the axe. Now he has to fight you like a true swordsman and you are not unskilled with the weapon. You’ve bee nworking with a sword for some years now, that is one of the reasons the Templars accepted your petition to join. But you are oh-so-tired. There is more to this than swinging a sword, there is spiritual warfare going on,too. If it were just physical sword play you could go on for hours, you have the endurance. But you have to fend off choking fits, chest heaves and crazed hallucinations in addition to powerful sword thrusts. They even try to make you lose your bladder, but haven’t succeeded in that. Your face has turned nearly purple a few times with gasping for air during a choke-attack, but you are still on your feet and your opponent’s blade has yet to even nick you. It is taking all you’ve got however; and with a sinking feeling you know you can’t go on much longer.
Fate decides to mock you then when two other demonic creatures show up and attack you from either side. Three to one, the famous Templar odds. Knights of the Temple are forbidden to leave the fight unless the odds are greater than three to one. They must die before retreating. And you are going to die this night before ever becoming one of them because there is no way you can take on these three. Maybe if they were men….Wait a minute, this is play acting, right? Or do they conjure real demons at initiations in order to test our mettle? No time for such puzzles. The evil ones close in on you making part of your mind say run!run to safety like the knight that gave you his sword, this isn’t fair! The other part of your mind, the warrior disciplined part, tells you to shut up and says we will face all enemies, be they flesh or demon. You plant your feet firmly and look at each of them in the eye, “come on then!”
They let out a sick laugh, one of the new ones belching out a sickening fume in the process. They come at you howling and hurling invisible sorcery blows. You pick up the battle-axe your opponent lost earlier and despite your exhaustion, start swinging both arms, sword and axe right at them. Waves of evil and stench, thick as smoke hit you, sweat is running into your eyes and you feel like your chest is going to implode, but you refuse to show fear. With a snarl almost as nasty as the sounds the demons make you give it all you’ve got….
Your opponents suddenly de-materialize right before your eyes. You stand therefor a minute, blinking, hands still on your weapons.
So were they hallucinations? You are quite confused. Did they ever exist? But wait—you can still smell the stench of them, and all around you are Templar knights leaning on their swords with heaving chests, catching their breath like you. They are the ones who were also on foot, having been pulled out of the saddle to fight one on one with the werewolf-like demons. Some have very real wounds, but nothing looks fatal. A few slap each other on the back in victory, but their triumph is subdued. They look at you, still in your scant clothing, you are scratched to hell and back, but nothing to worry about. There are about a dozen of them,and you. All around the deafening roar of hooves continues.
The screaming has stopped, the evil creatures on the sidelines and in the air seem to be gone, too—is the initiation over? The knight riders are still galloping. No, they’re slowing to a fast trot. Forming up into ranks. Thank god, no more screaming. And there seems to be no more “evil” knights among the riders. Some of the knights on foot in the middle with you are mounting back up. Where is your horse,you wonder. Futile to call his name in this din. Wearily you picture him in your mind, maybe you can call him mentally. Yeah, right —after this crazy melee I’m going to have mental focus enough to use telepathy. But suddenly there he is. Coincidence, you tell yourself wryly, to tired to analyze. Somehow you manage to get in t he saddle and back into the current.
You all move along in an orderly, but swift trot. Lap after lap. Youbecome one with the horse again, he doesn’t seem tired. You are exhausted,but more spiritually so than physically, if that makes sense. Things seem to be monotonous and you wonder how long this will go on. Will any more horrors show up?
A shout rings out–is it human? Or demon? It is an unmasked knight on a light-colored destrier warhorse. It is the Battle Marshal, the Marshal of the Order. (Our Marshal is Sir Ivarr of York who passed away in 2010 but is still with us in all our initiations and missions. Sir Ivarr rides forever with the Templars of the Past and with us). He is shouting quick staccato commands and the Standard Bearer, who is masked like all the rest, is waving the black and white banner. The two of them move into the flow and several knights take up positions behind them All the mounted knights then begin to form up, jostling for certain positions while still making patterned laps around the circular (though you know it’s octagonal) arena.
PART 2: The Holy Place
There is definitely a method to the madness now. The riders have formed into small groups of about ten each. You know that such a group is called a Banner of knights and each Banner has a commander. Several of the commanders have removed their masks. One of them motions you forward and over into the front Banner, almost behind the Marshal. Your Banner’s commander rips off his mask and issues a few short sounds to the men around him. He seems intent on what the Marshal is saying and doing. You know this is so he will in turn know how to command his Banner. The whole mass of you are coming together making a tight phalanx now. The Standard Bearer is right beside the Marshal, his mask gone, too. He looks to the Marshal,who nods and shouts something inaudible to anyone who isn’t right beside him. The Standard Bearer certainly heard the command, because he suddenly waves the beauseant in a circle, lowers it with a swoosh and points forward like a falcon ready to dive. The Marshal’s voice rings out again, more loudly this time, followed quickly by the sounds of the Banner commanders’ voices echoing him.
Is he telling us to charge???
Hell yes!
Off you go, swept up in this mass of flesh and thunder. From the throats of these hundred men comes a battle cry, “Theotokos Arise!”
The arena is only so big and you know there’s surely a wall coming up which rips apart to let you pass. It looked like a wall. Talkabout a leap of faith.
The horse’s hooves clatter loudly on a new surface, a stone floor. You pull up quickly, bringing the horse to a halt. He prances and stomps. This is a small chapel, an inner chamber, like the Holy of Holies. It has a high vaulted ceiling, and candles and oil-lamps are in sconces on the walls. A tall, very tall, solemn-faced Templar bishop materializes out of the shadows. It is Bishop James, our Order’s Seneschal and Guardian of the Chapel (in Latin, Custos Cappelae). He opens a door in the back of the Chapel for the Bishop-Prioress Katia and Chatelaine of the House (Lady Electa) to enter. They are wearing their dark green cloaks with hoods on their heads, but you can see their expressionless faces. Both ladies move to the altar. A few other figures are coming in. Practically all the officers of the Order now stand in front of the altar facing you. The Seneschal, the Bishop-Prioress, Chatelaine, Drapier, Under-Drapier, Marshal and now even the Grand Master has entered. You dismount to show respect and instinctively stand at attention facing the altar while holding the bridle of your horse.
The Equestrian Dame appears now and walks up to the Grand Master. She stops before him, and gestures at your horse with one arm in a graceful sweep. “To whom does this Horse belong, Reverend Master?” the Grand Master looks at the Seneschal, Bishop James who shows him something in his hand which you did not quite see. The Grand Master looks at you then and says, also gesturing, “To this Knight of the Temple.”
The Equestrian Dame takes the reins from you and departs with the horse. So this means you passed! You were not quite sure…
Next, the Seneschal catches your eye and then tosses something in the air to you. You snatch out your free hand and catch it. It is a single red rose [pick up your rose and hold it in your left hand]. The Seneschal approaches you now with something else in his hand. It is the white sacred cord of the Templars. You’ve seen other Templars wearing them. He places it around your neck resting it on your left shoulder and ties it together in its only knot at your right hip. [Pick up your sacred cord and put your head and left arm thru it so that it comes to rest on your left shoulder and down by the right side of your waist /hips. Since you made your cord in advance, your knot is already tied. So you should pinch the knot now between your right pinky and thumb and “hear” the Seneschal say the following words…] “You are sealed as a Knight [or Knightress] of the Rose Cross. This knot is tied as you are to the Divine Family and to the Order of the Temple which lives and moves only to serve them.” He steps back up on the altar dais (one step up) and now the Bishop-Prioress Lady Katia asks: “Do you swear the oath of secrecy and loyalty here before your sisters and brothers of the Order, here before the Godhead and the Angels whose presence is in this place? If so,please state your oath now.”
[Read the oath / vows you wrote previously, please do it out loud and feel the presence of Templars of old as well as current. They are with you,listening, nodding in approval, taking note of your sincerity. The Gods and angels hear your declaration, too.]
When you are finished stating your oath, the Grand Master says to you, “Be not forsworn!” Which is a formal warning as well as an encouragement,because to be forsworn (to break your oath) would bring you bad vibes,bad feedback from the Divine, and the Grand Master doesn’t want to see that happen to anyone. Oath breakers always end up to be miserable rejected souls, and our Reverend Master abjures you not to be one of them. He then nods at the Seneschal who turns and says, “Behold the Blade!”
PRESENTATION & Dubbing:
Sir Ivarr, the Marshal of our Order, strides in from behind the altar screen. He has donned his white Templar tunic but his black clothes from the battle exercise are still visible underneath. The Standard Bearer walks behind him carrying the ceremonial version of the standard of the Order,the black and white beauseant with the red Templar cross sewn over top of its middle. The Marshal is carrying the Grand Master’s Sword out in front of him, point down. You can see the beautiful hilt crest, a gold circle with the eight-pointed splayed cross of Templarism within. There are other scrollings, symbols and seals on the hilt and even on the blade. (Click on photo at left to see greater detail). It is a beautiful weapon,hard to imagine the Grand Master actually using it to shed blood. Sir Ivarr, the Marshal of the Order, ceremonially sweeps it in front of the group for all to see, then places it on the altar, bends and touches his lips to the blade. Straightening up, he drops to one knee and quickly backup again in what is called the ecclesiastical bow or bob. (“ecclesiastical”meaning churchly, as opposed to a courtly bow in which you bend at the waist). The Standard Bearer places the standard pole into a socket-hole in the floor,then stands beside it with his feet spread shoulder’s width, hands behind his back, elbows pointing out to the sides. (This is an ecclesiastical way of standing at attention).
The Under-Marshal gestures for you to step forward toward the Grand Master and the Seneschal Sir James who are standing together before the altar with our Templar Bishop-Prioress Katia. The Seneschal takes up the Grand Master’s sword and hands it to him. The Grand Master is a mysterious enigmatic figure who almost looks like an Archangel, or maybe the Master of Masters himself (Yeshua Kristos). Some say he is a Templar Grandmaster from the past, such as Jacques deMolay. Whoever he is, he takes the sword in a fluid motion, his gaze falling upon you as he puts both hands around the hilt. You instinctively know what to do. Dropping to your knees in a gesture as old as time, you bow your head, clasp your hands together as if in prayer, the rose enclosed inside them, and wait. [Do this now, kneel down on both knees in front of your burning candle. Clasp your hands with rose inside. Look into the flame. Try to sense the astral presences around you. In a moment you should feel something touch your shoulder.Try to feel a firm touch on one shoulder…]
The Grand Master touches the great sword to first your left and then your right shoulder, then back to your left.
If you are male: He announces, “I dub thee Sir ___________________, Knight of the Rose Cross.” [Important! Did you “hear” another name just now? If so, that is our Spiritual Grand Master choosing another name for you. Consider it guidance from on High to use that as your”brother name”. Otherwise you should have heard whatever Sir name you wish to go by.]
If you are female: He announces, “I dub thee Knightress___________________ , of the Rose Cross.” [Important! Did you “hear”another name just now? If so, that is our Spiritual Grand Master choosing another name for you. Consider it guidance from on High to use that as your”lady name”. Otherwise you should have heard whatever lady name you wish to go by.]
[Remote Dubbing: While still holding your rose in one hand, take your sacred cord all the way off, then put it back on, but resting on the right shoulder. Leave it there for only a heartbeat or two, then take it off and put it back on the way it was before, resting on your left shoulder. This is so that it comes in contact with each shoulder, the symbol of the sword actually dubbing you.]
Once again the Grand Master speaks: Non nobis, Domine, non nobis…
Everyone in the Chapel including you, answer: Not to us, Lord,not to us…
Grand Master: sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam
Everyone and you: but to thy Name give the glory
This is the official Latin motto of the Knights Templar. Watch this inspiring video of our motto now, then hit replay to play it again while you come back to this page and continue reading below.
Now the Marshal of the Order motions for you to get to your feet. He waves to the Standard Bearer who produces a brand new Templar Sword. It is not as ornate as the Grand Master’s, of course, but it has a lean and mean appearance with a beauty of its own stemming from the sheer utilitarian air it exudes. The Marshal takes this sword and stands next to the Grand Master. Both are holding swords now, in this posture: the blade out in front of the man, pointing sideways across the front of the chest, one hand on the hilt, the other hand palm down supports the blade on the back of each man’s leather wrist guard. The blades are therefore flat–parallel to the ground as though lying on an altar, only human hands are propping them up.
You are now required to make the Blade Covenant as follows: Briefly but firmly touch your lips to the flat of the blade of the Grand Master’s sword, then to that of your own brand new sword which is in the hands of the Marshal. [Touch lips twice to the blade you have on your altar.]
Now the Marshal, Sir Ivarr, hands your Templar sword to you by stretching arms and sword forward and releasing his grip on the hilt. He turns the hilt hand under so that the sword is propped on the backs of both his wrists. The hilt is empty now and your hand feels drawn to it. You take up the sword, eyes upon it, forgetting for a moment the people around you. [Please visualize this in your “mind’s eye” because as of this moment you are the proud owner of an astral sword to be used henceforth in your spiritual battles. Try in the coming months to find a “real” sword or sword replica so that your astral sword can anchor in it and thus become it.]
The Drapier, Lady Arianna, and Under-Drapier Lady Elda, now step up. Lady Arianna turns to Lady Elda who hands her something folded and white — it looks like a shroud. The Drapier unfurls it in a grand gesture and you see it is a white cloak, the cloak worn only by the Knights Templar. She places it around your shoulders. You are grateful for the cover, its folds fall around you, covering your bare legs. Salute with your sword, by bringing it up in front of you and touching the blade[of it to your forehead. The part of the blade that touches your forehead should be the flat of the blade just above the hilt.
[Visualize this, look at your hands and picture them holding a sword, lift your hands up in front of you as though both are on the hilt of a large weapon,shiny and new. If you have a sword now, lift it up and use it!]
You are a Knight of the Rose Cross, fully cloaked and sworded. Congratulations! The Grand Master motions for you to come stand beside him near the exit of the chapel. He stands holding his blade flat again. The knights and knightresses walk over to him on their way out, each touches his or her lips briefly to the Grand Master’s sword blade. They shake hands with you, issue greetings.
The ladies who are non-combatants do not kiss the blade, rather they kiss the man! They each kiss the Grand Master once on each cheek, right,left and right cheek again in quick succession. This is called the Kiss of Peace, or the tri-fold kiss. Next you are also given the Kiss of Peace by each of the Ladies present. It is a like reception line as you are congratulated, welcomed and received into the ancient Order of the Temple. Lastly the Standard Bearer delivers a salute, picks up the standard and leads the crowd out of the chapel into the cool night air.Many of the combatants from the battle exercise are standing around outside,talking, discussing the night’s work. Daughters of Tsion are among them,too. The knights send up a cheer when they see the Grand Master, the Seneschal and you come out, beauseant before you. Mingle with them awhile and feel welcomed.
THE END (see below for important notes and post-ritual instructions)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Please cut and paste the following and put in an email to the Mystery School with “KTInitiation 1 Report” in the Subject line.
Knights Templar First Degree Initiation Report:
1. Mail in your red crosses drawn in the Octagons
2. Date of Initiation:
3. Time of Day performed:
4. You were dubbed, Sir ____________ or Lady/Knightress _______________
Your Sacred Cord: Mail us your white sacred cord. It had contact with you during the initiation, with each shoulder, we now will put it in contact with the dubbing sword of the order, the exact one shown in the photo. This seals your Knighthood. We leave it there for awhile, then send it back to you. You should put it on and wear it awhile to let it transfer the energy from the dubbing to your body. Then you can where it whenever you want (always under your clothes) but should always wear it during Templar operations and battle missions or other school rituals, clergy workings.
Mail your cord to:
Esoteric Interfaith Church, Inc. Mystery School
7257 NW 4th Blvd #78
Gainesville, FL 32607
Your Rose should be prepared for future use as follows. Pull apart all the petals from it. Lay them on a cookie sheet or somewhere flat and allow them to dry out for a week or two. Place them inside an envelope, small cloth bag or box. Later when you are paired up with a Daughter of Tsion, she may ask for a few of your rose fragments to use in her magiks. She will have her own rose from her own initiation because the Daughters of Tsion do that part, too. The DoT’s put their own petals in a cloth bag to be tied or sewn shut and carried at their waist. Your petals will be sewn into a separate bag, never mingled in one bag with your partner’s. But she may sometimes put the bags together on the altar. Over the years the petals will eventually break up into fragments, and that is fine. The cloth of your bag will hold the fragments in. If you need help with how to make this bag, we will help you with it, just let us know. Another option: Craft stores sell little cloth bags with draw-strings. Be sure to draw the strings tight to shut the bag and then tie them good. That will suffice.
Rose Cross Degree: The first degree of Templarism is called the Rose Cross Degree. Rosicrucian concepts were studied and put into practice during this degree. Templarism and Esoteric Christianity gave rise to Rosicrucianism which was born in Germany in the early 1600’s when someone finally gave to the public many (but not all) of the secrets of Templarism’s first degree. The Templars were suppressed in 1307, the Church officially dissolving the Order of the Temple (as heretical) in 1314. For 300 years the teachings of the Rose Cross Degree stayed completely underground to be reborn as Rosicrucianism in the early 1600’s and later as Freemasonry. The higher degrees of Templarism have never been revealed to the public at large, and many of the Rose Cross practices are still for members only. But you have surely heard of the Rosicrucians, they did “go public” yet are still for their own members only. Ah, secrecy. Anyway, you are now a Rosicrucian, a Knight of the Rose Cross in the manner of the ancient original Rose Cross system. The mark of the Rosicrucians then and now, but especially in the 1600’s ,was to sign R+C after your signature. That is the mark of this Degree, so if you want you may use it after you sign your name. It looks like this, “Sir Hauk, R+C” or “Frater Hauk, R+C” Frater means brother, Soror would be used by females. This is NOT required, you don’t have to go around signing emails and documents with R+C after your name (even though that’s what they did in the Middle Ages and Renaissance). But you should realize if you sell your soul to anyone or sign your name in blood or something, this is technically part of your signature right now!
Your Cloak: You now own a white astral cloak. For now it exists only in the astral plane, and that is quite sufficient for our work.You may wish to someday make yourself one. Our Templar Bishop and the Order officers will help advise you on such a project. (And eBay has a few!)
Battle Cries: As Templars we steadfastly believe in the Christian Goddess as well as the God. Our battle cries illustrate our fierce loyalty to the often forgotten Goddesses of our Faith. Male Templars of old considered themselves married to Mary, the Queen of Heaven, Sophia the Holy Spirit and Mother of Angels or to Mary Magdalene the Patroness of Chivalry (according to the Roman Catholic Church, not just us). Her name or some form of her name or titles was in every single Battle Cry. “Theotokos Arise!” is the cry we used during your initiation. It means God-bearer Arise! God-bearer (Theotokos in Greek) is a formal title of Mother Mary used especially in Templar times and to this day in the Holy Land, Greece and Russian Orthodox Christian Churches. This Battle Cry is your first password as a Templar. It is pronounced”Thee-oh-TOKE-uss” but the Th at the beginning is like the -th in the word”with”, NOT like the th- in the word “the.” You will need this password to get into the next Templar Study Hall. All lower case and no space between words, you will type in exactly this when it asks for the password: theotokosarise
Our Motto: The Motto of the Order should be memorized too, at least in English, but preferably also in its original Latin form. Watch the inspiring YouTube video again to learn it in Latin forevermore.
Now that you are an initiated Templar, you must sign up for the InnerTemplars announcement list.
Now Click Here for a special symbolic”message”
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