The House of Life

Soul

As a container for a psycho-spiritual path of awakening, the School you to step onto the path of conscious becoming. This is a journey like no other which takes you into deep into the realms of sacred psychology as the injunction ‘Know Thyself,’ takes on increasing significance.  Now at a time of transition and radical change, the  School of the Mystreries has a vital part to play in the creation of new values and ideas. Its teachings are now seen to have a value, its message is welcomed, its method is needed. Society made stale by the inertia of a material philosophy, now cries out for the vivifying power of a spiritual philosophy.

Harprocrates - Making the gesture of silence
    

The Four Magical Injunctions:

To Dare

To Know

To Will

To Be Silent

The present time offers unparallel opportunities to all spiritual seekers. Although this school adheres to the principles upon which the Western tradition is founded, it has also consciously shed some of the weight once deemed necessary to the functioning of a school of esoteric teachings.The Mysteries are redefined for each new generation not in content but in style.

This School seeks to be Aquarian in style and spirit, language and intent reflecting the incoming Aquarian energy. Symbolized by a naked kneeling figure carrying a flowing urn on one shoulder, this is one of only two zodiacal signs to be depicted in human form. The two qualities of nakedness and humanness speak of a new transparency and simplicity.

The Aquarian School offers a human face to the world. Alice Bailey foresaw this shift in emphasis. Writing about the emergence of a new style of esoteric training, she wrote, 'They will have no time to play around with group names and insignia and badges and the technicalities of fraternities when they meet together. World needs, world opportunities and the rapid development of the consciousness of mankind and the initiation of humanity into the spiritual realities that they will have no interest in purely physical place arrangements nor in laying emphasis upon their own personal growth.' This statement encapsulates a new attitude, the 'technicalities' of the fraternity belong to the past.This School recognizes its vitalizing relationship to the greater issues of our time, the evolution and consciousness and the initiation of humanity, for these are the age old concerns of the Great Work.

The symbolism related to Aquarius offers important insights about our changing  times. As the Water-Bearer, Aquarius, holds either one or two urns streaming with water. This image holds the promise of new waters and the possibility of drinking from a fresh stream. As an air sign, Aquaruis brings a baptism into the realm of shared mind, of new ideas and possibilities. Aquarius is the bringer of a new vision, which is both universal and humanitarian in scope. These new waters are already running fast and deep through institutions, organizations and belief systems; a spiritual renaissance is in progress. The sign of Aquarius is written as two zig-zag lines, one above the other as mirror images; 'As Above, So Below' says the Hermetic axiom.

As a sign composed of two zig-zag lines, the symbolism is also suggestive of an electrical current or connection, a fitting signature for the age of the Internet, global communication and even space travel. Aquarius is traditionally characterized by the qualities of  communication and brotherhood - more properly, the universal human family, but being ruled by Uranus, it is also a sign of technology and revolution. The Aquarian Mystery School is to be found not in bricks and mortar but at the computer terminal and in the medium of global communication speaking directly mind to mind, heart to heart. This is the nature of the revolution at our feet, intensely humanizing in purpose, unashamedly technological in approach.

Aquarius is ruled by the planetary power of Uranus, and this influence can also be felt at the present time. Uranus is the eccentric and the visionary, the bringer of radical change and unexpected upheaval. As the higher octave of Mercury, the reasoning mind, Uranus stands for the possibility of intuitive knowing, the potency of realization, the moment of breakthrough and the flash of insight. As the bearer of such an idiosyncratic power, Uranus is also unpredictable and not subject to control. However, this liberating force is restrained through a natural brake provided by a shared co-rulership with the planetary power of Saturn. Where Uranus is revolutionary, Saturn is restrictive. Where Uranus pushes existing boundaries, Saturn upholds them. Where Uranus strikes out towards the future, Saturn measures the present. These twin forces can also be seen at work in the transition taking place in our midst.

The Aquarian Mystery School must contain and express all these energies in balanced partnership. To surrender entirely to the potency of Uranus would be to shift from a graduated initiatory path to routes of rapid but short-lived revelation. To adhere to the Saturnian injunction would mean an inseparable dependence on the ways and rituals of the past. The balance point is expressed succinctly in the time honored phrase, 'Make Haste Slowly.' As a place of esoteric learning and practice, the Mystery School has a duty to provide a structure through which its students may come to the Uranian heights of gnosis.

This Mystery School chooses to found itself upon Aquarian principles while remaining faithful to the work of the Mysteries and the nature and purpose of a Mystery School. Our presence is in alignment with the development envisaged by Alice Bailey; 'There may emerge certain esoteric groups and schools for development in order to rapidly equip them for world service. In these schools modes of meditation, the intensification of vibration and laws of the universe will be taught.' The Lucis School founded by AB doubtless fulfills these requirements. We too however share in these goals. The stated purpose of this school is aligned to 'the idea of service and the uplift of humanity.' This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

'The times they are a changing'

Bob Dylan, visionary of the age still to come  

Paradigm Shift - Can you feel it happening ?

The Baptism of Aquarius

The Age of Aquarius is said to be characterized by the twin concepts communication and brotherhood, (perhaps better expressed as 'the family of humanity') Signs of these principles are evident through the Internet and its impact, globalization, and the response to the greatest natural disaster of our times. The following emergent trends are quoted by Danah Zohar in the book The Quantum Society (see reading list) as foundation markers of an ongoing paradigm shift:

Holistic in Setting
The interdependence of nations has never been clearer. Global commerce, travel and the revolution in communications is currently effecting widespread social and political change. The world-wide web is here to stay both as practical reality and as a new metaphor. Isolationism is no longer a possibility. A powerful trigger whether political or economic now reverberates through the entire global system.

Personally Meaningful in Operation
Social organisations must provide a sense of individual value purpose and meaning in order to balance the age old dichotomy between the individual and society. Societies based on the extremes of social organisation have proved hollow. The time is ripe for a new model of self, community and society.

Plural in Expression
The ongoing revolution in communication makes a pluralistic vision both possible and inescapable. Diversity can become a source of strength and creativity. Confidence in a single truth rigorously upheld and widely shared, is giving way to the desire for a broader, multi-faceted, inclusive and embracing value system.

Responsive in Practice
The mechanistic model and its metaphors has proved itself too rigid to channel the full range of human potential. Organic metaphors include paradigms for adaptability, growth and evolution. A new model must be more flexible and less hierarchical.

Emergent by Nature
The top-down social and political structures imposed by tradition, hereditary revelation or outside authority no longer suit the mood and needs of the time. responsibility at grass root level needs to be encouraged and validated.

Green through Choice
Environmental issues such as pollution, global warning and resources transcend national and political boundaries. The old paradigm which treats nature only as a infinite storehouse, is visibly seen to have created many of the current. problems There is a hunger for an integrated philosophy which places value on the natural world.

Spiritual by Consensus
The decline of orthodox and structured religion is being matched by a rising interest in informal and unstructured spirituality. The need for personal meaning and human values must be acknowledged if a new model is to provide a sense of meaning.

Scientific in Strength
Science and religion have long been considered to be antagonistic to one another. But the radically new scientific understanding now emerging harmonises with a spiritual perspective. As a reflection of the quantum scientific model, the quantum social model represents a healing of the old antagonism.




Education or Initiation

Dion Fortune  

The Ageless Wisdom

The House of Life seeks to face the needs of life in the 21st century. The Ageless Wisdom is not a dogma but a living tradition which encompasses new understanding without loss of integrity.We believe that it is important to support the transmission of metaphysical and practical systems, practices and approaches which uphold and further the integration of mind, body and spirit, and we chose to do this through our alignment with the House of Life. Accordingly this School of the Mysteries upholds the following principles:

Honour Mystery
We honour the Central Mystery at the heart of life and respect all practices which affirm this. We therefore uphold the naturalness and importance of our human instinct for spiritual expression and value its many diverse forms.  

Seek self-realization
We believe that the quest towards self realization is a natural and vitalizing journey which awakens from within the individual. We make no attempt to proscribe any single form but welcome all paths which offer techniques for self awareness and practices which promote self knowledge.

Support a holistic philosophy
We recognize that many people now yearn for a holistic philosophy to heal the wound lying deep at the heart of our present culture. The many ramifications of a philosophical schism between spirit and matter have damaged human endeavor and natural expression. Mystical spiritual traditions have always preserved a unity of being through teachings and experience. The teachings and experiences offered through this school belong to a mystical tradition and serve to heal divisions and develop a deep sense of connectivity to life in every aspect.

Alignment with the Mystery School tradition
We have aligned ourselves to the principles of the Mystery Schools and the philosophy of the Ageless Wisdom. Accordingly we also value initiatory rites of passage as landmarks on the self chosen road of awakening.

Engagement with contemporary society
We uphold that the development of an inner spiritual life serves to produce an effective and empowered individual who can take up a meaningful life in the outer world. The development of an awakened consciousness and dedicated heart brings a much needed enlightened consciousness at a time of transition and change. We accordingly support all personal endeavors to acquire new practical skills and working knowledge which arise in response to new goals and life aspirations.

 

What is the difference between becoming part of a Mystery school and undertaking my own spiritual journey?

Undertaking your own spiritual journey has never been easier but the School  has a unique experience to offer by providing a structured path of initiation and group mind.This School chooses to open its doors at a time of unique opportunity as we face a transition from one age to another. You are invited to share in this momentous shift. Our curriculum aims to generate a personal sense of rebirth and renewal.

Jean Houston describes the work of the Mysteries as a sacred psychology. In the book, The Search for the Beloved, she summarizes the purpose and path of a contemporary Mystery School with the following words: ‘A commitment to the transformational work of sacred psychology states formally and dramatically the evolutionary fact of your readiness to be born into an extended body, an amplified mind, a compassionate heart, a deepened and active soul, and a new life of high service to whomever and whatever comes your way. High service is never exclusive; it serves the God-in-Hiding in all forms of life, in every opportunity. Thus you are reborn with a much fuller instrument to be a citizen in as much larger universe, with a response- ability to help co-create the culture of extended reality, wherever you are.’ This is indeed what a contemporary Mystery School offers and you are warmly invited to join.  

 

The Tree Of Life