APPENDIX C A Stella Matutina Hying Roll

APPENDIX C A Stella Matutina Flying Roll

After the split in the original Order the appearance of various schismatic Orders (see Introduction) there was a considerable amount of unintelligent tampering with the Flying Rolls. This was particularly noticeable in the fraternity known as the Stella Matutina.

The Stella Matutina also produced several supplementary Flying Rolls. I have examined several of these and I am of the opinion that they are of little value save for one on the Tarot trumps, written by Dr. Felkin's wife, Soror Quaestor Lucis, and one on the use of the Vault, written by Dr. Felkin himself. Both these late documents are included in Regardie's Golden Dawn.

The Chiefs of the Stella Matutina were responsible for rewriting many of the Flying Rolls. In my opinion their versions of this material are not only quite different from the originals but markedly inferior. As a specimen I reproduce herewith the Stella Matutina version of Flying Roll XXV-a very different piece of work to the original included in Part II of this book. 'Consider the relationship of Man as Microcosm to the Universe as Macrocosm. The former is a reflection in miniature of the latter, in the same way that in a field a dewdrop might present a tiny image of trees, fields, mountains etc. 'Thus everything is pictured in each man's Sphere of Sensation, or akashic envelope. If h e is conscious of the picture as reflected he will be possessed of all knowledge. Initiation makes such knowledge possible and available. 'Seeing that the brain and sensorium are physical, it is necessary at first to use physical means to produce the sensitivity required to perceive images consciously. 'The readiest way is the use of symbols. These produce visions in the physical brain and make it more sensitive. A large number of well-known symbols have a definite relationship to certain portions of the Sphere of Sensation, the corresponding regions of the Cosmos, and the related regions of the physical brain. 'The experimenter must thoroughly know the attributions 265

A P P E N D I X C and meanings of the symbol employed, as this knowledge produces an immediate concentration of thought, vital energy, nerve force, and actual physical blood in the part of the brain related to the chosen symbol. 'For example, if the Tejas Tattwa be taken, the knowledge that it belongs to fire will at once charge with nerve force and blood all the brain centres relating to fire. It will involuntarily recall the various Divine and Spirit Names learned beforehand; the vibration of these Names will increase the effect. The force will be further increased by gazing fixedly at the symbol and holding the appropriate magical implement, which is also a symbol of the same tract of the physical brain. Eventually every other brain cell is muted and inhibited, and the whole consciousness concentrated on the function of Fire. Thus the physical brain becomes sensitive, translucent, and able to perceive the Macrocosmic Fire as reflected in the Sphere of Sensation. 'The sensation is as if one had stepped out of a door into a new world. At first it seems as if everything one sees is just the product of one's own imagination. However, experience shows that 'the next country' has its own inviolable natural laws, just as the physical world has. One cannot make it and unmake it at will. The same actions produce the same resultsone is a spectator, not a creator. The conviction dawns on the experimenter that he is perceiving a new and extended range of phenomena-the Astral. 'Taking every symbol whereof you know the meaning, the abstract idea associated with the symbol comes first (as Fire or Water in the abstract), then comes a pose of mind cognate or sympathetic thereto, a desire of that particular element-not keen but perceptible. Then, gradually, comes the feeling of the physical effect of that element. Attention is slowly withdrawn from all surrounding sights and sounds. A grey mist or steam surrounds everything and from this the form of the symbol is projected-this is due to the withdrawal of blood and nerve force from other centres of the brain and their consequent inhibition. 'The consciousness then seems to pass through the symbol to realms beyond it : probably visions and pictures from other 266

A P P E N D I X C planes come on to the hypersensitive brain centres. The sensation is as if looking at a series of moving pictures, and although there are beings with whom one can converse and animals one can dominate, there is no more solidity than in a cinema film. In time, however, the sensitivity of the brain increases, and one gains the power of actually going to the scenes of the visions and seeing them as three dimensional-indeed, one actually becomes capable of doing things in the vision and producing effects upon it. This is what is technically known as 'Travelling in the Spirit Vision' and whether it is more than an extension of the power of seeing the moving pictures on the Sphere of Sensation (the akashic envelope) is difficult to determine. The stages of 'Travelling in the Spirit Vision are as follows: -

(1) To become conscious of a figure walking amidst the scenery of an unfamiliar country. (2) To realise that it is one's own figure. (3) To look through the eyes of the figure. (4) To feel with the :figure's sensations. (5) To gain the ability to consciously direct its operations, to control its inhibitions, and to get it to visit unfamiliar people and places.

'It is as though consciousness was extruded from one's own body and taken over a body either created for the purpose or invoked out of the astral sphere. It seems probably that as the Sphere of Sensation reflects everything on the physical plane it contains a reflection of the material body of the percipient. If this is so it would follow that the body could be made to travel within the Sphere of Sensation and visit all things reflected therein. 'The perception of the Astral Plane is peculiarly liable to delusion arising from defects in the sensorium or physical brain -an object seen through a faulty glass is distorted. As the brain can be rendered sensitive is any particular direction by symbol, so these errors can be corrected by symbol. The various qualities in each man's mature nature are symbolised by the planets, hence planetary symbols can be used to correct such errors. 267