An encyclopedic outline of masonic, hermetic, cabbalistic and rosicrucian symbolical philosophy. Being an interpretation of the secret teachings concealed within the rituals, allegories and mysteries of all ages

the Christian Era. In A.D. 385, Theodosius—who sought to be the exterminator of pagan philosophy—issued his memorable edict On the Destruction of the Idol of Serapis original: "De Idolo Serapidis Diruendo". When the Christian soldiers, following this order, entered the Serapeum at Alexandria to destroy the image of Serapis that had stood there for centuries, their veneration for the god was so great that they did not dare touch the image. They feared the ground would open at their feet and swallow them. Eventually, overcoming their fear, they demolished the statue and looted the building. As a final climax to their assault, they burned the magnificent library housed within the high apartments of the Serapeum. Several writers have recorded the noteworthy fact that Christian symbols were found in the ruined foundations of this pagan temple. Socrates, a church historian of the fifth century, declared that after the pious Christians had leveled the Serapeum at Alexandria and scattered the "demons" who lived there in the guise of gods, they found the monogram of Christ beneath the foundations!

Two quotations further establish the relationship between the Mysteries of Serapis and those of other ancient peoples. The first is from Richard Payne Knight’s Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mythology:

“Therefore Varro [in On the Latin Language original: "De Lingua Latina"] says that Heaven and Earth original: "Coelum and Terra"—that is, the universal mind and the productive body—were the Great Gods of the Samothracian Mysteries. These were the same as the Serapis and Isis of the later Egyptians, the Taautus and Astarte of the Phoenicians, and the Saturn and Ops of the Latins.”

The second quotation is from Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma:

“Martianus Capella, in his hymn to the Sun, says: ‘The dwellers on the Nile adore you as Serapis, and Memphis worships you as Osiris; in the sacred rites of Persia you are Mithras, in Phrygia you are Attis, and Libya bows down to you as Ammon, and Phoenician Byblos as Adonis; thus the whole world adores you under different names.’”

THE ODINIC MYSTERIES

The date of the founding of the Odinic Mysteries is uncertain. Some writers declare they were established in the first century before Christ, while others say the first century after Christ. Robert Macoy, 33°, gives the following description of their origin:

“It appears from the northern chronicles that in the first century of the Christian Era, Sigge, the chief of the Aesir (an Asiatic tribe), emigrated from the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus into northern Europe. He directed his course northwest from the Black Sea to Russia, where, according to tradition, he placed one of his sons as a ruler, just as he is said to have done over the Saxons and the Franks. He then advanced through Cimbria to Denmark, which acknowledged his fifth son, Skiold, as its sovereign. He then passed over to Sweden, where he was welcomed by Gylfe, the ruler who did homage to the wonderful stranger and was initiated into his mysteries. Sigge soon made himself master there, built Sigtuna as the capital of his empire, promulgated a new code of laws, and established the sacred mysteries. He himself assumed the name of Odin and founded the priesthood of the twelve Drottars (Druids?) Drottars: High priests or lords in the Scandinavian tradition who conducted secret worship and the administration of justice and, as prophets, revealed the future. The secret rites of these mysteries celebrated the death of Balder the Beautiful and represented the grief of gods and men at his death and his eventual restoration to life.” (General History of Freemasonry.)

After his death, the historical Odin was deified, and his identity merged with that of the mythological Odin, the god of wisdom whose cult he had promoted. Odinism then replaced the worship of Thor the Thunderer, who had been the supreme deity of the ancient Scandinavian pantheon. The mound where, according to legend, King Odin was buried can still be seen near the site of his great temple at Uppsala.

The twelve Drottars who presided over the Odinic Mysteries evidently personified the twelve holy and inexpressible names of Odin. The rituals of the Odinic Mysteries were very similar to those of the Greeks, Persians, and Brahmins, after which they were patterned. The Drottars, who symbolized the signs of the zodiac, were the guardians of the arts and sciences, which they revealed to those who successfully passed the ordeals of initiation. Like many other pagan cults, the Odinic Mysteries were destroyed as an institution by

A circular diagram showing the 'Nine Worlds of the Odinic Mysteries'. At the center is 'Midgard'. Radiating from it are circles for Asgard (top), Hel-heim (bottom), Vana-heim (left), and Jötun-heim (right). Four smaller circles are placed at the diagonals: Alf-heim, Nifl-heim, Muspells-heim, and Svart-alfa-heim. Arrows and lines connect the spheres, and the cardinal directions N, S, E, W are indicated.

The Nordic Mysteries were performed in nine chambers or caverns, with the candidate advancing through them in a specific order. These chambers of initiation represented the nine spheres into which the Drottars divided the universe: (1) Asgard, the Heaven World of the Gods; (2) Alf-heim, the World of the light and beautiful Elves or Spirits; (3) Nifl-heim, the World of Cold and Darkness located in the North; (4) Jötun-heim, the World of the Giants located in the East; (5) Midgard, the Earth World of human beings located in the center or "middle place"; (6) Vana-heim, the World of the Vanir original: "Vanes" located in the West; (7) Muspells-heim, the World of Fire located in the South; (8) Svart-alfa-heim, the World of the dark and treacherous Elves located under the earth; and (9) Hel-heim, the World of cold and the home of the dead located at the very lowest point of the universe. It is understood that all these worlds are invisible to human senses except for Midgard, the home of humans. However, during initiation, the candidate’s soul—freed from its earthly shell by the secret power of the priests—wanders among the inhabitants of these various spheres. There is undoubtedly a relationship between the nine worlds of the Scandinavians and the nine spheres or planes through which initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries passed in their ritual of rebirth.

Christianity, but the underlying cause of their fall was the corruption of the priesthood.

Mythology is nearly always the ritual and symbolism of a school of Mystery. Briefly stated, the sacred drama that formed the basis of the Odinic Mysteries was as follows:

The supreme, invisible Creator of all things was called the All-Father. His representative in Nature was Odin, the one-eyed god. Like Quetzalcoatl, Odin was elevated to the status of the Supreme Deity. According to the Drottars, the universe was fashioned from the body of Ymir, the frost giant. Ymir was formed from the clouds of mist that rose from Ginnungagap, the great cleft in chaos into which the primordial frost giants and flame giants had thrown snow and fire. The three gods—Odin, Vili, and Ve—slew Ymir and formed the world from him. From Ymir’s various body parts, the different aspects of Nature were created.

After Odin had established order, he built a wonderful palace called Asgard on the top of a mountain. Here the twelve Aesir (gods) lived together, far above the limitations of mortal men. On this mountain was also Valhalla, the palace of the slain, where those who died heroically in battle fought and feasted day after day. Each night their wounds healed, and the boar they ate renewed its flesh as quickly as it was consumed.

Balder the Beautiful—the Scandinavian equivalent of Christ—was the beloved son of Odin. Balder was not warlike; his kindly and beautiful spirit brought peace and joy to the hearts of the gods. They all loved him except for one. Just as Jesus had a Judas among His twelve disciples, one of the twelve gods was false: Loki, the personification of evil. Loki tricked Höthr, the blind god of fate, into shooting Balder with a mistletoe arrow. With Balder’s death, light and joy vanished from the lives of the other gods. Heartbroken, the gods gathered to find a way to resurrect this spirit of eternal life and youth. This effort resulted in the establishment of the Mysteries.

The Odinic Mysteries were conducted in underground crypts or caves. These nine chambers represented the Nine Worlds of the Mysteries. The candidate seeking admission was assigned the task of raising Balder from the dead. Although he did not realize it, the candidate himself played the part of Balder. He called himself a wanderer, and the caverns he passed through symbolized the worlds and spheres of Nature. The priests who initiated him represented the sun, the moon, and the stars. The three supreme initiators—the Sublime, the Equal to the Sublime, and the Highest—were similar to the Worshipful Master and the Junior and Senior Wardens of a Masonic lodge.

After wandering for hours through intricate passageways, the candidate was led into the presence of a statue of Balder the Beautiful, the model for all initiates. This figure stood in the center of a large room roofed with shields. In the middle of the chamber stood a plant with seven blossoms, representing the planets. In this room, which symbolized the house of the Aesir, or Wisdom, the neophyte took his oath of secrecy while standing on the naked blade of a sword. He drank sanctified mead from a bowl made of a human skull. Having successfully passed through all the tortures and trials designed to turn him from the path of wisdom, he was finally allowed to unveil the mystery of Odin—the personification of wisdom. He was presented, in the name of Balder, with the sacred ring of the order. He was hailed as a man reborn, and it was said of him that he had died and been raised again without passing through the gates of death.

Richard Wagner’s immortal composition, The Ring of the Nibelung original: "Der Ring des Nibelungen", is based on the Mystery rituals of the Odinic cult. While the great composer took many liberties with the original story, these operas—considered the greatest series of music dramas in the world—have remarkably captured and preserved the majesty and power of the original sagas. Beginning with The Rhinegold original: "Das Rheingold", the action proceeds through The Valkyrie original: "Die Walküre" and Siegfried to an awe-inspiring climax in The Twilight of the Gods original: "Götterdämmerung".