BF 1999 
 .C65 
 Copy 1 
 
BF 1999 
 .C65 
 Copy 1 
 
 
 
 , H pERlALISric Coi)N 
 
 fif" OF THE MAGI %\\ 
 
 
 
 
 THE ENTRANCE TO ALL FRATERNITIES 
 FORMING PART OF THE FEDERATION 
 ROYAL FRATERNITIES ASSOCIATION. IMC. 
 
1 
 
^ 
 
 
 MAGIC DEFINED 
 
 The Religion of the Ancient Magi, even those who 
 found, and visited, the child Jesus; a combination of Re- 
 ligion, Science, and Philosophy; a system of training hav- 
 ing to do with the whole of man — body, mind, and ,soul — 
 and recognizing man as a three-fold being, a Trinity of 
 body, mind, and soul. 
 
 This Trinity, when perfectly developed, makes man 
 one with God, and gives him the power of the Magi. 
 
 The Magi recognize each part of the threefold being 
 ?s equal in importance one with the other. They recog- 
 nize that the body is as real and important as the mind, 
 that the mind is as important as body and soul, and that 
 soul is as important as the other two. They recognize 
 £hat there can be no perfection in man so long as he de- 
 preciates the one or the other of his threefold nature, 
 knowing that the power of the Magi comes only to the 
 perfectly developed man. 
 
2 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 DEC 24 1914 
 
 ©CI, A 397969 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 In placing this booklet before you, in which we, the 
 Ancient Magi, are attempting to give some idea of the 
 things we hold as truth, holding as such because we have 
 tested and not found them wanting, it is necessary to 
 make a few comments as a foreword; and we can do no 
 better than to quote from Eliphas Levi, one whose teach- 
 ings are in harmony with the Magi but one who had not 
 reached the highest possible Initiation. 
 
 It is needless to say that this booklet will not appeal 
 to those who have no liking for the Sacred Science, nor is 
 it intended for such. It i,s issued, however, to give in- 
 formation to that fa,st increasing number of persons who 
 are beginning to take interest in the deeper things of life, 
 especially those things which concern the Soul and its 
 infinite powers. 
 
 The Magi have made no demonstration during the past 
 centuries simply because the time was not yet ripe for the 
 Priesthood again to be established. But that time is now 
 here; and many are enrolling, taking upon themselves the 
 sacred vows, and undergoing the training that is neces- 
 sary to make masters of men. 
 
 "Occult Philosophy seems to have been the nurse or 
 the god-mother of all intellectual forces, the Key to all 
 divine obscurities, and the absolute queen of society in those 
 ages when it was reserved exclusively for the education 
 of priests and of kings. It reigned in Persia with the 
 Magi, who at length perished, as perish all masters of the. 
 
4 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 world, BECAUSE THEY ABUSE THEIR POWER; it 
 endowed India with the most wonderful traditions, and 
 with an incredible wealth of power, grace, and terror in 
 its emblems ; it civilized Greece to the mu.sic of the lyre of 
 Orpheus; it concealed the principles of all the sciences 
 and of all human intellectual progress in the bold calcula- 
 tions of Pythagoras (one of our great Masters) ; fable 
 abounded in its miracles, and history, attempting to appre- 
 ciate this unknown power, became confused with fable; 
 it shook or strengthened empires by its oracles, caused 
 tyrants to tremble on their thrones, and governed all mind,s, 
 either by curiosity or by fear. For this science, said the 
 crowd there is nothing impossible; it commands the ele- 
 ments, knows the language of the stars, and directs the 
 planetary courses; when it speaks, the moon falls blood- 
 red from heaven; the dead rise in their graves and artic- 
 ulate ominous words as the night wind blow ( s through their 
 skulls. Mistress of love or hate, the science can disperse 
 paradise or hell at its pleasure to human hearts; it dis- 
 poses of all forms and distributes beauty or ugliness; with 
 the rod of Circe it alternately changes men into brutes 
 and animals into men;, it even disposes life or death, and 
 can confer wealth on its adepts by the transmutation of 
 metals and immortality by its quintessence or elixir com- 
 pounded of gold and light. Such was the magic from Zo- 
 roaster to Manes, from Orpheus to Appolonius of Tyanna, 
 when positive Churchism, with it,s vicarious atonement, 
 and belief in mere faith, at length victorious over 
 the brilliant dreams and titanic aspirations of the Alexan- 
 drian school, dared to launch its anathemas publicly against 
 this philosophy, and thus forced it to become more occult 
 and mysterious than ever." 
 
 That the claims made by the school itself were not 
 false, science now attests ; for this school was the forerun- 
 ner, the mother, of medicine, of pharmacy, of chemistry. 
 It taught all of that which is now taught in regard to the 
 
JHE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 5 
 
 powers of the mind, of human efficiency, or New Thought, 
 of Mystici,sm, and of Theosophy; only, this school went 
 much further, and taught, then as now, that man is three- 
 fold, that the threefold man has to be developed harmon- 
 iously in order to be all that he should be. 
 
 To-day the Council of the Magi stands as it did in 
 the hoary past. It condemns no philosophy, condemns no 
 branch of it, but has its own positive doctrines, still teach- 
 ing the powers of the body, of the mind, and of the soul. 
 In this it differs from the teachings of cults which rec- 
 ognize but one branch of philosophy, to the destruction 
 of the other branches, and, ultimately, to the destruction 
 of itself. 
 
 That the Council claims to possess the Ancient Ritual 
 of the Orders of the Magi, is not denied. It does still pos- 
 sess them, possesses all of the Sacred Mantrams, all of 
 the Sacred Invocations, and all that belongs to the Great 
 Philosophy. 
 
 The Magi do not unduly exalt the physical being; but 
 they do, and without fear, place the physical just where 
 it belongs, giving it equal importance with mind and soul, 
 thereby upholding the holy trinity. 
 
 But the Magi do claim this one thing as a truth; 
 That person who develops the physical will reach the sum- 
 mit of spiritual perfection much sooner than he who pays 
 no attention to the physical, believing falsely that mind, 
 or soul, no matter which, is all important. 
 
 Naturally, we can not give even a beginning of an 
 exposition of our works, and our beliefs, and our teach- 
 ings, in a treatise as short as this; but this booklet will 
 be sufficient as an introduction, giving to the interested 
 world a foreword of what is to be. 
 
 LIFE, FIRST NECESSITY. 
 In the Holy Art, it is life itself which must receive 
 
6 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 the first consideration of the Neophyte. Without Life, 
 nothing can be accomplished. The more of life we pos- 
 sess, the greater the possibilities before us. There are 
 millions who are apparently living, but who are in reality 
 dead. They have only enough of the Life Forces in their 
 possession to keep them moving. 
 
 It is the Life Forces within us which keep us on earth 
 and keep us moving and able to accomplish those things 
 which we must accomplish in order to eke out a mere ex- 
 istence. But it is also these same Life Forces which, pos- 
 sessed in abundance, gives us the energy, the power, to ac- 
 complish those things which are not absolutely necessary 
 in order to exist, but which are highly desirable if we really 
 want to LIVE. 
 
 There is a vast difference between LIVING and mere- 
 ly existing. The latter is simply to be on earth and barely 
 .to have those things which keep soul and body together. 
 But the life that is more than mere existence means posses- 
 sion of those things which make living really desirable and 
 truly profitable. Among the things that make life rich 
 may be counted the power to do good, to help those who 
 need help, to have flowers, music, love, and all those other 
 things which assist in awakening the soul, and in opening 
 the eyes of the soul to beauty. He does not truly live who 
 is blind to the beauty and the desirability of music, of 
 flowers, or art, and of the opera. All these things are of 
 jthe soul, and the more truly and fully the soul is awak- 
 ened, the more desirable these things become. They are 
 ;food to the soul, just as material food is necessary to keep 
 the body in perfect order. 
 
 WEAKNESS MEANS POOR LIFE FORCES. 
 
 Weakness, or only sufficient strength to keep soul and 
 body together, simply means that the Life Forces are weak, 
 Jthat there is a drain of the forces from the body, or that 
 the mode of living is not correct, and therefore there is 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 7 
 
 no accumulation of these forces. 
 
 The more of the Life Forces we possess, the greater 
 will be our capacity to work; and the greater our ca- 
 pacity to work, to plan, to execute, the more of the desir- 
 able things in life we may have. 
 
 To be poor is to be either a weakling or a .sluggard. 
 f There is no reason for man not to have the things he 
 should have except the one reason that he is not willing, 
 in the first place, to make the necessary effort to accumu- 
 late these Life Forces or Energies so that he shall possess 
 the Key to the Storehouse of strength and power. 
 
 THERE IS NO EXCUSE. 
 
 We can no longer make the excuse so long made by 
 the millions, that we are the slaves of conditions, of en- 
 vironments, of trusts, and of combinations. The fact re- 
 mains that the air we breathe is free, that the truly neces- 
 sary foods are inexpensive, and that the exercise indispens- 
 able to health and strength is easily obtainable. 
 
 Another great fact also remains, namely, that, if we 
 know how to make use of the air that is free, how to ex- 
 ercise, and how to select the foods, it is then, if we will, 
 within our power to draw to us all the forces and the pow- 
 ers and the energies, which WILL, ultimately, give us the 
 strength and the power to overcome ALL things. Bear in 
 mind, that there is no limitation placed upon us as to what 
 we may do; we simply limit ourselves. The world is to 
 the conqueror. It is only a question as to whether we 
 WILL TO DO or will to die. 
 
 WEAKNESS AND DEATH, SIMPLY IGNORANCE. 
 
 The Holy Sciences, the Sacred Art, have for centuries 
 taught that death i,s simply the penalty of improper living. 
 The millions have laughed at the Mystic. The millions still 
 laugh, and keep right on living in ignorance and death ; 
 and the result i,s death. But Science, though a laggard 
 
8 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 always, is now recognizing the fact that the Rosicrucian 
 myth, so-called, of the Elixir of Youth is not an idle dream, 
 but a wonderful fact, a thing which can be had, but a thing 
 which can not be bought and swallowed like a potion, but 
 which mUjSt be taken hold of and be held through a correct 
 mode of living and thinking. 
 
 THERE 'IS NO DEATH. In other words, death is 
 neither desirable nor necessary. But men make it possi- 
 ble by the way in which they live. They invite death, and 
 he who is invited usually enters sooner or later. 
 
 This is a treatise, not on the mysteries of life, but on 
 {he art of attainment. It is necessary, however, to call 
 attention to this subject of life and modes of living be- 
 cause, without life, we can not accomplish; and, therefore, 
 now as always, one of the first things that the Imperial- 
 istic Council of the Magi teaches the Neophyte on the 
 Path, is how so to live, breathe, and think, as to draw in 
 the Life Forces, the Powers, and the Energies, so that his 
 days may be long enough and of sufficient number to en- 
 able him to accomplish; and, in the Sacred Art, days are 
 necessary, life is necessary, the forces of life and energy 
 are necessary. This the Magi help the student to accom- 
 plish. 
 
 REGENERATION. 
 
 Twin to life, and just as necessary (for the two are 
 necessary), is Regeneration. This is the transmutation 
 cf the weaknesses of the physical, mental, and soul being, 
 into the strength that is possessed by the Magi. 
 
 Without this Regeneration, nothing is possible. With 
 this Regeneration, transmutation of the poor into the rich, 
 of the weak into the strong, of the bad into the good, is the 
 basis of all other Holy Work. Through this transmutation 
 the weak will becomes strong; and a strong, powerful Will 
 is the Key that unlocks every door in Magic, be what it 
 may. 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 9 
 
 And it must be borne in mind that in this ,sense Re- 
 generation is not religious, as that word is ordinarily un- 
 derstood, though, in truth, to regenerate always means to 
 change the undesirable into the desirable, which necessarily 
 implies the changing of evil into good. And he who be- 
 comes good is also become Holy. Therefore, the very foun- 
 dation of true White Magic is religious, though one seldom 
 thinks of it as such. 
 
 From this it will be seen, that, no matter what the ob- 
 ject of the Neophyte may be, no matter what his accom- 
 plishments, the end will not only bring him power, not only 
 bring him accomplishment, but it will also lead him, at the 
 pame time and through the same means, to the Door of 
 Immortality. 
 
 TRUE MAGIC, A RELIGION. 
 
 In other words, say what we will, true Magic is 
 actually a religion, the base of all religion, since it de- 
 mands of the Neophyte the LIVING of a certain mode of 
 life; and, through this mode of living, the Strength of the 
 Magician comes to him, also the Magician's Holy Power. 
 And, while this is coming to him, while he is developing it, 
 he is also drawing towards God, the Great Father, the 
 .Great Cause of all that is, and the Source of all lasting 
 and desirable power. 
 
 WORKS, ACTS, NECESSARY. 
 
 A Master, a Magus, of the past made this brief state- 
 ment: "We must act in order to be." Herein is contained 
 the whole Mystery of the Holy Art. 
 
 But even though the whole secret of attainment is 
 therein laid bare, it is but the foundation of the work; 
 'for, in order to act, we must know HOW to act. Herein 
 is where the Ancient School has been of so much service, 
 because it has ever been teaching the true seeker, the sin- 
 
10 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 cere Neophyte, how to act in order that he might be- 
 come. 
 
 To act is necessary in order that we may become; but 
 the Neophyte mu,st be carefully prepared so that he may 
 dare to act. He must be taught HOW to act, and WHEN, 
 and WHERE. He must be taught how to come into touch 
 with the Hierarchies of Potencies and Powers, so that 
 they may be with him, near him, and help him to obtain 
 ;the powers that he desires to possess. And it is just this 
 that the Magi have ever taught. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT, FIRST. 
 
 But, first of all, the Magi have taught their Neophytes 
 on the Holy Path how to live, what to do, in order that 
 they may strengthen the house in which the Soul, that Po- 
 tentate of Infinite Powers, lives. 
 
 Unle,ss the house is prepared, unless the house is 
 strengthened, unless it is freed from all weakness and sick- 
 ness, the Soul, the Potentate therein, can not be strong. 
 The Soul can only develop in harmony with the body ; and, 
 if there is weakness or illnes ( s in the body, so in like man- 
 ner is the Soul affected thereby. The first great work is 
 10 rebuild (regenerate) the body. The body is the very 
 foundation of the Soul, or the House of Power; and for 
 this reason physical strength and physical development are 
 of ,supreme importance. 
 
 The Council of the Magi does this to begin with. 
 And, once that is accomplished, then true development be- 
 gins. And following that is the higher work, the teaching 
 of the methods whereby the Hierarchies of all Powers and 
 all Potencies may be called upon, and help therefrom be 
 received. 
 
 You must LIVE in order to BECOME. But, in or- 
 der to live, in order to act, you must know how to live, 
 Jiow to act, and when to act, 
 
JTHE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 11 
 THEORIES CAN NOT ENTER THE WORK. 
 
 Thi,s work is not a theory. It is a terrible fact; and 
 all that which enters the work is a fact. 
 
 For instance, where is there a true horseman who 
 does not know how to take care of the horse, how to feed 
 him, how to exercise him, in order that he may be perfectly 
 rounded out, in order that he may gain the strength of 
 muscle, and the lung power, to be able to meet all compet- 
 itors of his class? These things, men who care, now know. 
 In like manner, the human body, being under the same 
 laws a,s the animal body, can be taken care of, and can 
 be brought to just as high a state of perfection as is the 
 body of the horse that is placed on the race track and 
 wins. 
 
 THE SOUL, UNDER SAME LAW. 
 
 The Great Law of Hermes, "As above so below," has 
 to do with this work, because the Laws that govern the 
 body also govern the soul. Here it must be understood 
 that, when we say the Soul, we have reference to the 
 Potentate of Power which resides in all men, no matter 
 what you may call it. 
 
 As stated, the Law that governs the body also gov- 
 erns the Soul; and thus it i,s true that, just as we use 
 the proper food, the proper exercise, for the body, in order 
 to have it become healthy and strong, so must we give the 
 proper thoughts and the proper Drills to the Soul in order 
 that it, likewise, may become pure and strong. It is for 
 this reason that the Magi are at liberty to say that the 
 Law.s of Diivine Experience are known, that they are facts, 
 and that he who lives, he who acts, will be able to obtain 
 the powers of the Magi. 
 
 EVERYTHING, UNDER ORDER. 
 
 There is nothing in Nature that is not under Law and 
 jQrder, All things that take place, be they what they may, 
 
12 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 are under some just law, a law that governs all things. 
 
 For this reason there are actually no Magical opera- 
 tions; because .such, as usually understood, would be con- 
 trary to Nature, and therefore foreign to God and His 
 Laws. 
 
 All operations, even by the greatest of the Magi, are 
 in harmony with Divine and Natural Laws; but they seem 
 Magical, or works of Miracle, simply because the vast 
 number of mankind can not comprehend that any such 
 thing could be accomplished by man. The ordinary man 
 doe,s not understand the fact that he who brings about such 
 work does it because he has placed himself, through right 
 living, right thinking, and Sacred Drills, into harmony with 
 the Inner Laws, and therefore works in harmony with, not 
 contrary to, Natural Laws. 
 
 There is no such thing as the supernatural. All that 
 happens is natural, and under natural law,s. Biat the cause 
 of many of the things that happen is unnatural. Conse- 
 quently, the effect of this unnatural cause is unnatural, 
 though under, and by, and through, natural laws. Bear in 
 mind, that, by taking poison, you bring about an unnatural 
 condition, because the thing taken is unnatural; but the 
 reason for it is entirely natural. As a consequence, the 
 effect must be unnatural, though the Law under which it 
 operates is. entirely natural. 
 
 It is these things that the Magi well understand; and, 
 understanding the Law, they always work in harmony with 
 the Law. And, wanting a natural effect, the Magu,s sets 
 into motion a natural cause; when an unnatural, for some 
 good reason, is desired, then he uses the means whereby 
 to produce an unnatural effect. 
 
 He becomes a Magus, or a Magician, not because he 
 does supernatural things, but because he understands nat J 
 ural and unnatural things, and uses means according to 
 the effect he desires. 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 13 
 THE MAGUS, ALWAYS A MYSTIC. 
 
 The Magus is always a Mystic, and, in one sen,se, a 
 dreamer. He receives his powers, his energies, and, above 
 all, his dreams, or plans, when in the most exalted ,state. 
 The exalted state can not be reached by the brute nature, 
 but must be reached through noble aspirations, and through 
 the purest of efforts. 
 
 The Magus, though perfect and just in his judgment, 
 nevertheless, at times, enters the exalted state, the state 
 wherein the physical is forgotten; and he consorts with 
 the gods, and from them, direct, receives his inspiration 
 for great and noble works to be accomplished. 
 
 A BROAD STATEMENT 
 
 This is naturally a bold statement to make in thi^ 
 materialistic age. But who is there to deny it? 
 
 Even the churchman claims that his pra3^ers reach to 
 the throne of the All Wise Creator, but there he ends. 
 He does not know, he ,simply believes ; and, in believing, 
 he does. But the Magus is not satisfied merely to believe. 
 He lives until he has reached the development wherein 
 he knows that he consorts, associates, with the god,s. 
 
 How does he know? How do you know that when 
 you listen to the opera you are hearing the most beautiful 
 singing, the most divine music? How do you know that 
 you see past history enacted before you? You tell me that 
 you hear and that you see. Well and good. Likewise, 
 and in like manner, the Magus meets with, consults with, 
 hears, the divine drama of the ages enacted by the gods. 
 From them he receives instructions; and if he i,s a true 
 Magus he obeys the instructions. 
 
 You say it is a dream. Well and good. How do you 
 know that, when you listen to the Operatic, you are not in 
 a dream? For, remember, much in life is not a reality by 
 any means, while much even in dreamland is a terrible 
 reality. 
 
14 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI 
 
 But the Magus does not dream. He is not a mere 
 inert, negative machine. He is very much awake; and, 
 when he is with the gods, he is more awake, more positive, 
 than when he is giving succor to some poor human being 
 who is very much in need of the helping hand. 
 
 VULGARITY, DEATH TO AN AESTHETIC 
 NATURE. 
 
 There is nothing vulgar about the Magus. If you find 
 a person who claims to be one of the Magi, and who you 
 see is vulgar, then you know that his claims are false, 
 that he is not that which he claims to be. 
 
 The Magus is always a gentleman. His tastes are 
 those of a gentleman; and, whether he lives in the hovel 
 cr in the mansion, he is a gentleman still. 
 
 The Magus is not a passionate creature, the slave of 
 passion, though as a rule, he is the possessor of great pas- 
 sion. It is only in passion that we find power. He holds 
 this passion as fully in check as does the. miser horde his 
 gold. He is the possessor, but he is also the master, of 
 passion; and he uses passion only when it should be used, 
 not because it is master of him and takes its own course, 
 but because he is the master, and directs the course of 
 passion. 
 
 Thus, he never flies into anger; though, at times, in 
 order to accomplish some worthy object, he may appear 
 as if in great anger; for it is only through anger, or sem- 
 blance of anger, that many of the sons and daughters of 
 men can be controlled, or prevented from doing wrong. 
 
 The base of passion is always the same. Whether it 
 be a passion for drink, for irresolute living, or what not, 
 it is passion simply taken in a different form. 
 
 The Magus controls his passion; he, therefore, is the 
 gentleman. He is sober, not given to strong drink; for 
 he who is given much to the drink that heats becomes a 
 glave thereto, and is no longer his own master, nor wil^ 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 13 
 
 he remain a gentleman. The Magus is temperate in all 
 things, though he does not forswear anything. To for- 
 swear is to admit being a slave, and the Magus recognizes 
 that all things are for use, and that all things are for his" 
 use, but that they must be rightly used. And it is in the 
 RIGHT USE of all things that the Magus finds his great 
 power. 
 
 THE SECRET OF ELIPHAS LEVI. 
 
 It was Eliphas Levi that wrote: "By means of per- 
 severing and graduated athletics, the powers and activities 
 or the body can be developed to an astonishing extent. It 
 is the same with the powers of the Soul. Would you 
 reign over yourself and others? LEARN HOW TO 
 WILL. How can one learn to will? This is the first Ar- 
 canum of Magical Initiation, and it was to make it under- 
 stood fundamentally that the ancient depositaries of priest- 
 ly art ,surrounded the approaches of the sanctuary with so 
 many terrors and illusions." 
 
 What man who is interested in the Holy Art can con- 
 tradict this teaching of Eliphas Levi? There is truly no 
 writer for the people who has produced greater works 
 than did he. 
 
 The WILL is the Magician. To develop the Will, that 
 is the mighty work of the Master and the Neophyte. With- 
 out the Ma,ster, the Neophyte never can pass the Thresh- 
 hold; but with the help of the Master whom he fully 
 trusts he may well pass it. 
 
 It is the Magi, the Masters of the White Art, who 
 have, for many centuries past, taught the Drills and the 
 system of development that have enabled many to pa,ss 
 the Threshold ; and they still, now as before, in their priv- 
 ate text-books, teach these systems. 
 
 But there is a difference as to overcoming in this 
 age from the ancient time. 
 
 Under present condition^, economically and otherwise, 
 
16 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 no illusions need be placed before the Neophyte; for there 
 are many things in life, which, if overcome, will strengthen 
 the will of the Neophyte sufficiently to make him a 
 Magus. 
 
 "I CAN NOT," THE SNARE UNDEjR WHICH 
 MANY FALL. 
 
 The greatest destroyer of Magical power, is the ever 
 ready, "I can not" do this or that. 
 
 Thus it is, there are many seeking for ,sublime powers, 
 for mastery in the Holy Art, who ever approach the Magi 
 for help and instructions; but, at the very beginning, they 
 complain that they can not do this or that, that they can 
 not overcome certain conditions, certain environments, or 
 that they can not get the money necessary for obtaining 
 the instruments and the valuable text-books, absolutely es- 
 sential in the Holy Art'. 
 
 This is where they fail. All men are tested. It may 
 be that the Master tests them, it may be that Nature or 
 the gods test them, in some way placing obstacles before 
 them. And let it be said right here, and without con- 
 tradiction, that he who- can not overcome these things can 
 not become a Magus ; for the very foundation of the power 
 that the Magus possesses, i,s obtained by OVERCOMING. 
 
 OVERCOMING, THE MEANS OF POWER. 
 
 Overcoming is the Key to Power. Overcoming is the 
 Key that unlocked the Door of Attainment. Without 
 overcoming, or where there is no overcoming, there is no 
 power to be had. But, by overcoming obstacles, be they 
 what they may — environments, conditions, finance^ — by 
 overcoming these, we gain power and strength; and it is 
 this power, this strength, which is absolutely necessary for 
 Mastership. 
 
 ThijS can not be gainsaid. This is a fundamental doc- 
 trine of, the Holy Art, of the Priesthood of the Magi, 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 17 
 
 Hereon rests the Temple that has withstood the tempests 
 fof the Ages. ONLY BY OVERCOMING can a man 
 gain strength. And the things that one must overcome 
 are not the things that the other must overcome. Each 
 one has a cross to bear, and the cross of one is not the 
 cross of another. Moreover, we may bear the cross and 
 reap no benefit from it, because the benefit we receive de- 
 pends entirely upon HOW we bear the cro l ss, and in what 
 spirit we meet unhappy conditions. 
 
 That which we must do we should do cheerfully and 
 with right good-will, recognizing the fact that it comes to 
 us because we need just that thing; and, if we overcome it 
 with that knowledge, then it is the very Key that we 
 required to enable us to enter the Storehouse of Power, 
 the Temple of the gods. 
 
 SELF-MASTERY, A REQUISITE. 
 
 The Magus i,s never an idler. He recognizes the one 
 great, divine, fundamental law — that God never rests, that 
 God is ever creating, ever giving forth, ever doing, and 
 that man, in order to become one of the gods, must do 
 likewise. 
 
 This is self-mastery. It is the gradual BECOMING 
 of an ever-active, ever alert, ever creating being. By do- 
 ing this, by becoming one with this active principle, he 
 will be continually drawing in power from the Universal 
 Source; and he will never feel that he must give up work. 
 He will know that he can continue to work, never becom- 
 ing tired, except in rare cases when he begins a new work, 
 or when he does the work of others, work which is not 
 his to do, but which he does for certain good reasons, 
 whether as a means of self-training and discipline or sim- 
 ply because he wishes to lighten the burden of others. 
 
 This is self-mastery. This it is to overcome. For 
 man must be ever ready to do the things that should be 
 done, be they what they may, and however undesirable. 
 
13 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 And he must be ready and willing to lift the load from 
 the shoulders of another when he finds the load too heavy. 
 Eut, with it all, be the work what it may, he must still 
 be the gentleman, and still do it with a thought of love; 
 otherwise, it ends in weakness and not in strength and 
 pelf-mastery. 
 
 ONE CONTINUED THOUGHT. 
 
 In order to become the Magus, it is necessary that 
 the mind, the whole desire, should be centered on one 
 thing, on one work to be accomplished; and, though much 
 other work may have to be done, though the duties of 
 life may be many, this one thought must be held stead- 
 fast throughout. 
 
 There is an old saying: "When you ,see a falling star, 
 think of that which you wish to accomplish, and it shall 
 be so." And this is one of the most true of all sayings. 
 
 He whose mind is so centered on hi,s desire that he 
 can recall it immediately, and during the time of the fall- 
 ing of a star, is sure to win, sure to accomplish; for the 
 thought is always in mind and that thought, thus stead- 
 fastly held, will attract him to the final victory, the ac- 
 complishment of the de,sire. 
 
 No matter what you may desire to accomplish or to 
 become, hold that thought, visualize the condition, and 
 then go to work, with heart and soul, for its accomplish- 
 ment, not however, shunning the duties of life as they 
 come before you. You must remember that it is a part 
 of your duties to fulfil your destiny, to fulfil your part in 
 the great Drama of Life, aside from your own one great, 
 all-powerful, all-embracing desire. 
 
 PLEASURES. 
 
 Contrary to what has been taught by pseudo-mystics 
 of many creeds, pleasures are not forbidden to the Master 
 gv tQ the Magus, 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 19 
 
 ' Like as to all other men, nothing is forbidden him. 
 On the contrary, all things are his to accept, with the un- 
 derstanding, however, that no pleasure shall be accepted 
 by him once he thinks he must have it. To think he must 
 have a thing is to be in bondage to it. To indulge be- 
 cause he desires the pleasure, while being free to accept 
 or to reject, is to be master of the condition. And Master- 
 ship always offers freedom. In this, as in all things else, 
 man must remember to be the master, and accept nothing, 
 do nothing, merely because he feels that he MUST have 
 it; for then it becomes an evil, a destructive power. He 
 must indulge or take only because he desires to do so. 
 
 ACTIVITY, THE MEANS TO POWER. 
 
 Activity, continual vibration, is the means, the road 
 to povoer. 
 
 Water that stands still becomes stagnant and a poison, 
 /destructive to life and reason. It is the spring of running 
 water that is ever fresh, ever life-giving. 
 
 It is thus with the powers of man. The wise man, 
 the true seeker for Magean power, recognizes that he must 
 use all of his faculties, including not only the faculties of 
 work, but the faculties of pleasure as well, if he desires 
 to be truly perfect, truly rounded out. For this reason, 
 idleness is not one of the things that the Magi can be ac- 
 cused of. Ever active, therefore never allowing any of 
 the powers or any of the parts of the being to become stag_ 
 nant, he is in like manner always and forever drawing 
 in new powers, new material, and thus, he is 
 EVER RENEWING HIMSELF. 
 
 And this is the mystery of life. This is the mystery 
 of powers. It is the secret of becoming one with the 
 gods. 
 
 WEALTH, NOT A MEANS. 
 The complaint, so often made by those who are seek- 
 
20 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 ing for the WAY to Mastership, that they are poor, that 
 they possess not worldly goods, is without a sound basis, 
 and, contrary to their expectations, does not open the Doors 
 of the Temple to them, but the more effectually closes it 
 against them. 
 
 Poverty, instead of withholding these powers from 
 men, and preventing them from reaching their highest am- 
 bition, has actually been the means of helping the many 
 Masters to the heights of attainment. 
 
 Thus we find that the greatest Masters in all ages and 
 of all countries were such as could well make this plea; 
 for they were, in many cases, the poorest of the poor. But 
 one thing was in their favor, one thing above all others 
 helped them towards the high road to success, namely: 
 
 THEY HAD TOO MUCH MANHOOD TO PLEAD 
 POVERTY. 
 
 And it was this manhood, this sterling quality within them, 
 which did not allow them to plead poverty, which forced 
 them to work, to slave, to suffer, and to deny themselves, 
 in order that they might accomplish, and they DID ac- 
 complish. 
 
 In regard to wealth and distinction, the Great Initi- 
 ates and. Masters have represented three classes. Typical 
 among these, was Boehme, a poor cobbler. He was born 
 into a poor family and continued poor all his life. Yet a 
 Master of Mysticism was he, of no mean ability. Tolstoi 
 represents another type. He was a man of wealth, aris- 
 tocracy, and royalty. Yet for the sake of the Great Art, 
 he renounced both wealth and title, and became a laborer 
 of the field. Yet who questions for one moment the su- 
 perior Mastership of Tolstoi? Again, Giounotti, born of 
 wealthy and royal parentage, retained his wealth and his 
 title, dedicating and using them in the Great Work. Thus 
 we see that it is not a question of wealth or poverty in 
 jtself, but the use made of one's condition and the atti- 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 21 
 
 tade of mind in regard to it. Wealth can not debar one 
 from Mastership. Neither can poverty prevent one from 
 attaining Mastership. 
 
 WHERE THERE IS A WILL. 
 
 Where there is a will there is a way. This is es- 
 pecially true in regard to the Hfoly Art. 
 
 It is not from the rich, not even from the well-to-do, 
 that the ranks of the Magi have been recruited. But it 
 is from the rank,s of the poor who were actually aristo- 
 crats in nature that the Masters of the past have come; 
 and so truly aristocratic in nature were these sons of men 
 that they were too proud, too noble, too truly men, to plead 
 poverty, but rather suffered, slaved, and starved, in order 
 to accomplish. 
 
 Moreover, it i,s a fact that those who make poverty 
 their plea, are nearly always shallow in nature. To offer 
 them a suggestion, to correct a weakness, to mention a 
 fault, is quickly resented by them ; and for this reason they 
 never reach the goal. 
 
 The one who desires to become a Magus must be 
 sensitive in nature; but his own nature must be so noble, 
 so broad, that he can not become insulted or grievously 
 offended; for a gentleman WILL not insult, and no other 
 can. 
 
 This the true seeker understands well; and therefore 
 no matter how weak he may be in some respects, when he 
 is corrected, lectured, aye, even punished, he accepts it a,s 
 bis due, not with sullenness and thoughts of revenge, but 
 with gladness, knowing that it is the only means which 
 will bring him to the desired goal of Mastership. 
 
 And this is the true aristocrat. 
 
 He is the man that is to be. 
 
 THE COUNCIL, NOT FOR WEAKLINGS. 
 From all of this it will be very plain that the Imper- 
 
22 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI.' 
 
 ialistic Council of the Magi is not seeking for weaklings, 
 that it does not desire those who are by nature weak and 
 who are content to remain weak. The Venerable Order 
 of the Magi does not cater to any man or woman. It is 
 ever ready to take the most lowly and to help them to- 
 ward the highest peak of attainment; but ,such must come 
 willing to dare and to do, willing to be instructed, willing 
 to be censured when necessary. And, above all else, they 
 must be willing to take, with right good-will, and with a 
 smile, the exposure of the weak points in their natures; 
 and, let it be understood, that these weaknesses are very 
 often the very things which we hold most dear, and which, 
 when torn from us, cause the severest suffering. 
 
 But these who are so willing, who are willing to do 
 their part, willing to give up weakness for strength, will- 
 ing to become one of the gods — these are the workers 
 who will be the true aristocrats. Men and women are they, 
 who no longer complain that the world, and mankind gen- 
 erally, is cruel and unjust to them, but who are willing 
 to admit that all that comes to them, whether good or ill, 
 properly belongs to them. 
 
 But this is not all, these are the one,s to be taught 
 how to become free from undesirable conditions, free from 
 that which is called Karma, through the doing of good acts 
 to others in order that the evil formerly committed may 
 be fully paid. 
 
 The richest man in the world may be the poorest in 
 his inner life; and equally true is it that the poorest man 
 in the world, the beggar sitting by the ,side of the road with 
 but a crust of bread to eat, may be the greatest gentleman, 
 the truest aristocrat. 
 
 He who fears to have his weaknesses exposed, fears 
 to be told the truth, fears to be corrected, fears to give up 
 the old for the new — he i,s not the one that can become 
 one of the Magi. Mastership is not for him, and never 
 will be hi,s until he is willing to be remodeled, willing to 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 23 
 be regenerated. 
 
 FAITHFULNESS 
 
 I have again recourse to the writings of Eliphas Levi; 
 for no\yhere else do we find the direct teachings pointed 
 out more clearly than by him. 
 
 "Finally, we may and should fulfill the duties and 
 practice the rites of the Cultus to which we belong." 
 
 The means, plainly and without any possibility of 
 evading it, that, if we want to reach the highest, then we 
 must be absolutely faithful to the Cult to which we be- 
 long. It is utterly impossible for one to be a Magus and 
 to be unfaithful to the Magi at the same time. 
 
 Only that returns to us which we send out. In other 
 words, the more truly faithful we are to the Holy Art 
 and its Sublime Society, the more we live up to it,s sacred 
 teachings and its Holy Invocations and Divine Mantrams, 
 the more of good will return to us. 
 
 Thus, in time, the power is like placing money in a 
 Bank. If we deposit a sum and allow it to remain, add- 
 ing to it continually, there is not only interest paid on 
 it, but there is the added compound interest. 
 
 In like manner, the more truly faithful we are to the 
 Holy Art, the more of this virtue we deposit, adding to it 
 continually, the more do we realize a certain full return, 
 and, besides this, interest and again the added compound 
 mterest. For this reason all true and sublime Orders in 
 times pa,st have demanded absolute faithfulness of their 
 members on penalty of expulsion. This faithfulness de- 
 manded is not only for the welfare of the Fraternity, but 
 is doubly to the interest of each individual member, be- 
 cause no chain is stronger than its weakest link; and no 
 Order can be stronger and more powerful for good than 
 its weakest member. 
 
 Eliphas Levi says further: "Of all forms of worship 
 the most magical i,s that which most realizes the miracu- 
 
24 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 lous, which bases the most inconceivable mysteries upon 
 the highest reasons, which has lights equivalent to its 
 shadows, which popularizes miracles, and incarnates God 
 in all mankind by faith." 
 
 Nothing can be truer than this. And those of the 
 Magi who have been fortunate enough to secure the third 
 private text-book with its sublime and sacred Invocative 
 Prayers and Mantrams, know that there can be no form 
 of worship, no form of Invocation, greater, deeper, more 
 sublime, and, withal, more simple, than those given in that 
 work. It is in this knowledge that the Master among the 
 Magi has produced the Masterpiece, not only in its sub- 
 limity, but in its value as a treatise, a complete text-book 
 en Invocative exercises of the highest type. 
 
 Concerning the Holy Art, Eliphas Levi further says: 
 
 "Our Magic is opposed to the geotic and necromantic 
 kinds; it is at once an absolute science and religion, which 
 should not indeed destroy and absorb all opinions and 
 a!l forms of worship, but should regenerate and direct 
 them by reconstituting the circle of Initiates, and thus pro- 
 viding the blind masses with wise and clear-seeing lead- 
 ers. 
 
 This is an undeniable truth. And this fact has been 
 clearly pointed out in a recent Magazine article, which 
 proves that the highest form of worship is the Invoca- 
 tive system direct to the Hierarchies. 
 
 The Magi have retained this form of worship, a form 
 which not alone depends upon faith in the goodness of 
 the All Father, but which depends upon knowledge, knowl- 
 edge secured through the living of the life. 
 
 But this Invocative worship, contrary to what might 
 be thought by the many because we use the word worship, 
 i,s, nevertheless, more than worship. It is at once the 
 most sublime form of worship and a direct appeal to, or 
 demand upon, the promises of the Highest Power for those 
 things which are required by the Neophyte. 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 25 
 
 This then, which is a Magic, which not only does NOT 
 use the dark force,s in order to accomplish, but which, on 
 the other hand, goes direct to the Godhead with its ap- 
 peal, is certainly the highest form of worship, the highest 
 form of a science-religion, that man can conceive of, and 
 is something so totally different from that known, or 
 though of, by mankind generally as to be almost unbe- 
 lievable. Nevertheless, it is a fact; for the text-books of 
 the Magi do not merely point to this sublime Art, but give 
 the whole of the Work in its entirety. 
 
 POWER OF, AND REASONS FOR, INVOCATIVE 
 MANTRAMS. 
 
 The profane world does not yet realize the necessity, 
 nor the power, of Invocative Mantrams. It has been 
 taught that prayer is effective, that prayer, if sincere, 
 reaches to the Godhead; but further than this it knows 
 not, never having been taught. 
 
 WORLDf, RULED BY HIERARCHIC POWERS. 
 
 It has well been said that the world is ruled, that 
 Nature is obeyed, and that God's work is done, by angels 
 and by men; but how or why has not been explained. 
 
 God has need of man, just as man has need of God. 
 God has given us a universe, broad fields wherein to grow 
 the things needed by the physical ; and God has placed man 
 in these fields. These fields are sowed, and the harvest 
 is reaped, by men, men created by God. Were it not for 
 these men, there would be no harvest, no necessity for a 
 harvest. True, God might make some other arrangements, 
 but it would still be the same thing in another form. 
 
 Just as the world needs men, just as God needs men 
 in the world, in order that certain things may be accom- 
 plished, so doe,s God need other Beings, by the Magi 
 called Hierarchic Potentates, in the other realm, that which 
 we call the Above, the realm from which all matters. 
 
28 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 not in the hands of man are managed. It is in the Hier- 
 archic Spheres that the Natural Laws are enforced; and 
 it is there where the Hierarchic Powers or Potentates 
 dwell. 
 
 THE LAW OF HBRMES. 
 
 All wise men now admit that the Law of Hermes, 
 "As above, so below," is an absolute law. 
 
 Thus we understand that, just as in this world there 
 is a ruling power with its man subordinates, so, in like 
 manner, there is a governing power in the Invisible Uni- 
 verse which rulers through subordinates. 
 
 Now, in the government of a republic, for instance, 
 we can esldom go direct to the seat of government; but 
 we can reach that seat through the ones to whom has 
 been given the carrying on of the laws. These persons 
 we can not reach through silence, nor can we reach any- 
 ruling power by silence. It is only by the spoken or 
 written word or request that we can reach the ruling pow- 
 er, or the one in power, and that only through those be- 
 low. 
 
 In like manner, all ,the powers that have to do with 
 the ruling of the universe, including all that is in it, even 
 mankind, are ruled by one Supreme Power, yet not direct- 
 ly, but through other and lesser rulers and potentates. 
 
 Thus, just as it i,s necessary to write or to speak our 
 request in the physical world in order to obtain that which 
 we desire, so, in like manner, is it necessary for us to do 
 so when we desire anything that i,s to come directly from 
 the Supreme Fount of all things, and, from there, indi- 
 rectly through the ones who are co-workers with the God- 
 head. 
 
 For this reason the Masters of old suffered, lived, 
 and practiced, in order that they might become the sons 
 of God and come to be like them. And this they have 
 accomplished; for this is the claim of all true Initiation. 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 27 
 
 It is then for this very reason that the Invocative 
 Mantrams, sublime and most sacred, which have come 
 down to us from the long ago past, are of such value. 
 And it is these sacred Mantram,s and Holy Invocations, 
 together with the Sacred Writings, that 
 
 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF MAGI 
 teaches to its Neophytes. 
 
 But these Invocative Mantrams do more than this 
 if they are employed by the sincere Neophyte who is will- 
 ing TO LIVE, TO BELIEVE, AND TO ACT. 
 
 They conjoin all the powers of the human soul in ac- 
 tion, and increase the creative foYce of the imagination; 
 for it is the gymnastics of thought in training for realisa- 
 tion which makes the effect of these sacred practices in" 
 fallible. They are fulfilled with absolute confidence by 
 tJsose whose duty it is to fulfil them. 
 
 Herein we have the whole secret of the power,s of the 
 Magi; and that the true Magi have such powers, has been 
 well proved in the past. Even the story of the Saviour 
 takes its strongest appeal for belief from the part played 
 by the three Magi. 
 
 OTHER POWERS IN NATURE. 
 
 The Hierarchic Powers are conscious powers, each 
 one being placed over ,some department of Nature and 
 ruling that part, but having no power whatever over any 
 other part of the universe. 
 
 It is from here that we receive our teachings regard- 
 ing the potency of holding to only one thing, and, through 
 that holding, to bring it into manifestation; for we here 
 see that these Hierarchic Powers, each one being at the 
 head of, and governing, that department, never makes a 
 mistake. And, in like manner, man, giving his whole at- 
 tention to one great work, will ultimately end by attain- 
 ing. 
 
 In nature, however, besides these Hierarchic Ruling 
 
28 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI 
 
 Powers, there are other powers which are not placed over 
 any special department, but which, like the citizens of a 
 city, are free and have power that can be obtained, al- 
 though they do not belong, properly speaking, to the gov- 
 ernment. These denizens of the heavens can not use 
 these powers of themselves. They can, however, use them 
 at the command of the Magi. 
 
 The Magus, with hi,s knowledge, can direct these deni- 
 zens, and can use the powers so possessed whenever he 
 will, only being careful never to use them for any selfish 
 or evil purpose, in which case the action would be like 
 the boomerang, the evil or destructive power returning to 
 him who had directed it. 
 
 But this same thing we see, by analogy, taking place 
 on this mundane sphere. Here we see men in power, sim- 
 ply because they possess certain knowledge, use and ex- 
 ploit other men who have power, but who have not the 
 will to use it, they of themselves being negative. When 
 the purpose is good, there can be no> evil results, since 
 the charging of such a negative man with some good, of- 
 ten results in giving such negatives a certain stimulus, 
 which, at times, starts them towards the path of attain- 
 ment. But, as is usually the case, if such negatives — will- 
 lcs ( s beings — are used for some selfish purpose, for ex- 
 ploitation, for profit, then sooner or later we see the re- 
 bound, and destruction or loss is the ultimate result. 
 
 The Magi know all these things; consequently, they 
 are careful how they use their powers and for what pur- 
 pose, knowing that while for a time they may use their 
 powers for exploitation, the end, the result, is certain de- 
 feat and disaster. 
 
 It is these things, these Invocative Mantrams and Holy 
 exercises, which the Imperialistic Council of the Magi 
 teaches to its Neophytes, at the same time, teaching many 
 of the laws, thus preventing the Neophyte from wrong 
 use through ignorance. 
 
; THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 29 
 CASTING OUT FEAR. 
 
 The first necessary thing 1 , if one desires to attain any 
 great power, is to cast out fear from the mind and soul, 
 hot always is this an ea,sy matter; but, like all else, it 
 is a thing that can be accomplished. 
 
 Thus it is said by those who know, that those who 
 are fearful of water can never reign over the Undines, 
 or the Elementals of water. Those who fear the fire can 
 never rule, or command, the Salamanders. Thi,s is for the 
 reason that man can never rule over any element or any 
 force so long as he fears that element or force; and the 
 first thing toward attainment is the overcoming of fear. 
 
 Fear, in fact, is but another name for ignorance. We 
 fear only that which we do not understand. Once we come 
 to know a thing, fully to understand it, we no longer fear 
 i 1- , because our knowledge gives us wisdom a,s to whether 
 it is best to make use of a certain thing or whether it 
 would be better to leave it entirely alone. 
 
 THE FOUR ELHMENTALS. 
 
 There are the rulers of the fouMelements of Nature. 
 Ey the Magi these have been called the Elementals. And 
 each of the four is over a certain department of the nat- 
 ural elements. 
 
 The process of obtaining the help of these has been 
 one of the most important processes taught by the Magi in 
 the past and present; and here we find the necessity of 
 overcoming certain faults or weaknesses within us. Thus, 
 we find it necessary to overcome four vices if we would 
 even think of ruling, or employing, any of the four Ele- 
 mentals. 
 
 These are vices because they are actual weaknesses. 
 They are: a shallow and capricious mind; an irresolute, 
 ccld, and fickle nature; a gross passion; and avaricious 
 greed. These are all vicqs, as is readily understood, which 
 stand in the way of man's becoming; a Magus, Therefore, 
 
EO THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 whether the Elemental Forces are ever to be used or not, 
 it is necessary to overcome these things, necessary to 
 transmute them, even in order to become a Magus. 
 
 THE MAGICAL SECRET OF POWER. 
 
 The sublime Order in which Eliphas Levi had been 
 trained, and in which he failed to reach the highest grade, 
 taught thus: "To will well, to will long, to will always, 
 but never to lust after anything, such is the secret of 
 power; and this is the magical arcanum which helps to 
 overcome all things." 
 
 It i,s the trained mind that overcomes; for the trained 
 mind, once it focusses its power on any object, is sure to 
 bring that object within its power and to become possessor 
 of it. 
 
 But, in order to do this right, in order that there may 
 be no penalty attached, it is necessary for us to use this 
 sublime will only in the doing of that which will bring 
 good. To use this power simply because we desire to ac- 
 complish something which has not in view anything good 
 and unselfish, is to ,sow the seeds of destruction. How- 
 ever, the true Magus does nothing at all unless there is a 
 good and sufficient reason for the doing. 
 
 CONSTANT STUDY PROHIBITED. 
 
 There is an erroneous idea held by the vast nurnber 
 who seek Occult knowledge, to the effect that they mu,st 
 give up all their attention to the Holy Art, once they 
 undertake to follow it. 
 
 Nothing is farther from the truth; and nothing would 
 be a greater preventive of meeting with full success in the 
 Sacred Science than to give all one's attention to the Sa- 
 fcred Work. 
 
 While we live on the earth plane, there are a number 
 of duties that we must perform; and among these is to 
 'do our full part towards earning our own daily bread 
 fcnd supporting those depending upon us, 
 
(THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 31 
 
 This will require about eight hours each day, and it 
 is the Divine Law that man should labor at some useful 
 work eight hours a day. Other eight hour,s are for rest 
 and sleep; and there then remain eight hours more, which 
 should be given to study, pleasure and recreation. 
 
 The Neophyte should, above all else, have a set rule- 
 of life. His life should be one of order; and every part 
 of his duties should be, when possible, performed at a 
 certain time. The early morning or the evening is best 
 for his studies and his practices ; and the amount of time 
 for practice need not be more than thirty minutes each 
 day; and, if this amount of time is faithfully given, suc- 
 cess is certain. 
 
 . DEDICATION OF LIFE. 
 
 In the Catholic church, it is an absolute law that 
 its Priest,s must vow continual and lifelong faithfulness 
 to the church. This was not original with the church, but 
 is really borrowed from the Order of the Ancient Magi, 
 which made it an absolute rule that its Neophytes ,should 
 dedicate their whole life to the Order and its work. Only 
 vows of secrecy concerning the private work were re- 
 quired. No vow as to faithfulness to the work during life 
 was required, but the church demanded a vow of faith- 
 fulness. 
 
 It is a fact that the student who enrolls in the Work, 
 and vows eternal faithfulness to the Work, is the one who 
 makes the greatest success; for his aims are single, and 
 the mere fact that he ,so dedicates himself, proves beyond 
 a doubt that his whole heart is in the cause in which he 
 has enlisted. 
 
 MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE. 
 
 Not only is it important that the Neophyte should 
 follow some honorable business career or some useful 
 Jabor, but it is ju,st as important to bis success in the 
 
32 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 Holy Art that he should seek innocent pleasures, that he 
 should seek recreation, and that he should cultivate his 
 tastes in art, in drama, in music. And, above all, where 
 possible, he should take up some work of culture, no mat- 
 ter if it be the culture of some favorite flower, the cul- 
 ture of living things, such as dogs, chickens, pigeons, or 
 other creature of which he is fond. He will find that, as 
 he develops these things from a lower state of development 
 up towards perfection, he, in like manner, also grows in 
 perfection; beside,s it gives him an incentive, an urge, 
 which is also an urge to the Soul. 
 
 MASTERSHIP. 
 
 It is now becoming a recognized fact that, only as we 
 become master of ourselves, can we become master of 
 other things or of others of our own family. 
 
 This is not intended to imply that we have the right 
 to be actual masters over others in that we rule their lives. 
 But the fact remains that, as mankind is constituted at the 
 present time, men capable of ruler ( ship are necessary to 
 prevent others from doing things which would be destruc- 
 tive to mankind generally. 
 
 Mastership, like love, is a thing that is felt, and, just 
 as the young lover, through love in his heart, radiates that 
 love and unconsciously draw.s others to him through the 
 love radited, so will the one who becomes master of him- 
 self, according to the degree of his mastery, draw others 
 to him, who will be able, and willing, to help him still 
 farther onward on the Path. This is the great Occult 
 Law — a Law that can not be set aside, not even by the 
 man himself. 
 
 THE FIRST NECESSITY. 
 
 The first necessity is for man to become truly a man. 
 Man is not a man merely because he bears the masculine 
 form, He may be simply a male animal on the human 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 33 
 
 plane, nothing more, often much less. But the male ani- 
 mal on the human plane may become a man; and that 
 is the first requisite in the Holy Art. 
 
 To become man in truth, i,s for us to silence that 
 which is called the lust and the fears of the body. The 
 carnal man is full of lust, and he is just as full of fear. 
 These things he must overcome. Lust must be transmuted 
 into holy passions, while fears he must change into love; 
 and he will find that, just in proportion as he takes up 
 some worthy object, some worthy work, puts his thoughts 
 and desires and gradually his love into it, so will this fear 
 that he formerly possessed be changed into love for his 
 work. 
 
 In like manner, the lusts of the flesh, so common to 
 mortal man and so destructive to himself and to those with 
 v;hom he comes into contact, can be changed, even forgot- 
 ten, if man will but seek something to love; and he will 
 find that true love will gradually eat up the lusts that for- 
 merly possessed him. 
 
 This is not to say that man should be passionless. 
 Not at all, for the passionless man is the soul-le^ss man. 
 There is a world-wide difference between passion and lust. 
 The one is of the body, it is entirely earthly; while pas- 
 sion i v s a combination of the lust of the body and the love 
 of the soul. These two in equal proportion becomes pas- 
 sion ; but passion without love is always lust and is destruc- 
 tive to all who possess it and give it a home. 
 
 OBEDIENCE, NECESSARY. 
 
 In the Holy or Royal Art, it is necessary, above all 
 else, that the Neophyte should render obedience to the 
 Order and to his Instructor until such time as he himself 
 is admitted fully as an Initiate. 
 
 This i,s necessary in all works. The young art stu- 
 dent, studying with the Master Artist, dares not for a 
 moment question the skill and the genius of his master, 
 
24 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAG*. 
 
 Moreover, he must render absolute obedience to the mas- 
 ter whom he has accepted a,s his instructor and guide. As 
 he does this, as he obeys, so does he also become master 
 of the brush. On the other hand, just as he exalts his 
 own little ,self, his own petty opinions, above that of the 
 Master, in that proportion does he fail to become the gen- 
 ius that the Master is. 
 
 It is in like manner with the Neophyte in the Holy 
 Art. Self-conceit, self-opinions, egotism, all these and 
 much more must be laid aside. The opinions, teachings, 
 and instructions must be explicitly followed, strictly obey- 
 ed, until such time as the faithful practice of them proves 
 them to be untrue. This is a safe statement to make ; for, 
 be it known, faithful practice has never proved them un- 
 true. 
 
 If the student holds his own opinions, holds his own 
 telf, above that of those who are to teach him, if he ac- 
 cepts teachings with reservation, and dabbles in other 
 things, in just the proportion of so doing, will he fail of 
 success; and in nearly all cases will he blame everything 
 but himself. Such is weak, frail human nature ! 
 
 But to the ,student who is sincere, whole-hearted, and 
 faithful, will be the reward of the faithful; and it is he 
 who will become the Magus, the one who can consort 
 with the gods, knowing good from evil, love from its op- 
 posite, and knowing that the soul of man can smile when 
 the body weeps. 
 
 ANCIENT INITIATION. 
 
 And what of the Ancient Initiation? Eliphas Levi 
 says : 
 
 "He (the candidate) entirely abandoned his life and 
 liberty to the masters of the Temples of Thebes or Mem- 
 phis; he advanced resolutely through unnumbered terrors, 
 which might have led him to imagine that there was a pre- 
 meditated outrage intended against him; he ascended fu- 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL' OF THE MAGI. 35 
 
 neral pyres, swam torrents of black and raging water, 
 hung by unknown counterpoises over unfathomed preci- 
 pices. * * * Was not all this a blind obedience in the 
 full force of the term?" 
 
 And that these are facts no true student of the Oc- 
 cult Art will deny. And where is there one student who 
 can point out to us that the Masters in the Temple were 
 not justified in these trials? Where is there one today 
 who can say that failure resulted when the student obeyed 
 and did not doubt? There were no failures; for the 
 material that enters into the composition of a man thus 
 willing to trust and to obey, is the kind of material that 
 makes man a Master. 
 
 Today no such things are required. There are other, 
 material things, which test the strength, the steadfastness, 
 and the honor of man just as much as did these tests in 
 ancient times ; and he who fails in the tests of today would 
 have failed then, or more likely, would never have at- 
 tempted to pass them. 
 
 Further, and this voices a mighty truth, one of the 
 most mighty that man can think of: "Is it not the most 
 absolute exercise of liberty to abjure liberty for a time 
 so that WF7 MAY ATTAIN EMANCIPATION ?" 
 
 Herein is the truth, herein is the mystery of absolute 
 and eternal freedom ; but the little mind, the mind of 
 small calibre, desires to hold that which he thinks is free- 
 dom, but which is the most absolute slavery to the' self, 
 that most cruel and treacherous of all mjasters, rather than 
 to become bound for a time in order to gain the greater 
 freedom. 
 
 Bliphas Levi further says: "This is precisely what 
 must be done, and what has been invariably done, by those 
 who aspire to the SANCTUM REGNUM of magical om- 
 nipotence." 
 
 It must be borne in mind that this does not require 
 man to give up his liberty of thought concerning religion, 
 
:6 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI 
 
 friends, family, labor, occupation, or aesthetic likes. It 
 hatS reference only to the Great Work and to training in 
 the Great Work. 
 
 POWER MUST BE WON. 
 
 "Life is a warfare in which we must give proofs if we 
 would advance; power does not surrender of itself; it 
 must be seized." 
 
 Herein we have the secret of power. It is not the 
 little, the fearful, the mistrustful, mind that reaches any 
 great height of true success. It is the broad, liberal, trust- 
 ful, and willing mind that reaches to the heights; for this 
 is the mind that dares to do and to die. This attitude 
 of mind is the only means to power. 
 
 FREEDOM FOR MANKIND. 
 
 Freedom will never come to mankind except through 
 the true Priesthood, not a Priesthood of dogma, but the 
 Priesthood of knowledge, of Initiation. 
 
 Give the ignorant property and power, and they will 
 be no more free than when they were in poverty and in 
 serfdom. Freedom- is not received without effort, free- 
 dom mu,st be won through knowledge. The man who, not 
 having earned it, receives property and power, remains 
 the slave of self, and his ignorance, together with power 
 and property, will cause him to be arrogant. 
 
 Freedom is only for those who have- merited it. Prop- 
 erty is only for those who have earned it. Give freedom 
 and property to those who have not deserved it, aye, even 
 give them power, and they will lose it again. And why? 
 Simply for the same rea,son why they had not these things 
 before. Had they the knowledge, and the power to get, 
 they would have had. Not having this knowledge, not 
 possessing the manhood, they can not ho ; ld that which they 
 themselves did not take. 
 
 Men are not equal except in opportunity. And to be- 
 
,THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 37 
 
 lieve that some have when they should not have, is to 
 say that the Divine Law is at fault, and not one of the 
 Magi is willing to admit that. 
 
 Knowledge i,s the only means to freedom. Teach man 
 the Law, dispel ignorance with enlightenment, and all men 
 will become free, brotherly, and hold the things they need. 
 
 You can not raise mankind upwards by lowering 
 yourself; but you can raise men heavenward by helping 
 him to climb up to where you may be. 
 
 MAGUS INCLUDES THE WHOLE MAN. 
 
 The work of the Magi does not include one part of 
 man only — that is, merely the gaining of power — but it 
 includes the whole man, developing every part of his na- 
 ture; and, just in proportion as he does this, will he find 
 that, a,s it includes the whole of himself, so does it also 
 reach out, in one great circle, to the whole of the Universe. 
 
 NOT EVEN THE MAGUS CAN STAND ALONE. 
 
 Not even the M'agus can stand alone. After the train- 
 ing of the Will, after the development of the Magus from 
 the man, then there is still something more to be done, and 
 that is, becoming one with all of the Magi. 
 
 This is the formation of, or the breaking into, the 
 Magnetic Chain; and it is only by doing this, by truly be- 
 coming one with all, that the Magus receives hi,s greater 
 power. 
 
 It is well known to all that only by the loyalty of ALL 
 members of any body of men does the body have power 
 to do good or evil. This is for the reason that one man, 
 standing alone, with others against him, can do but little. 
 But, where there are a number, and where that number 
 is individually strong, and where this number of individ- 
 ually (Strong men stand together as one concrete whole — 
 that is where we find almost infinite power. 
 
 And, with the Magus, the breaking into the Magnetic 
 
38 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 Chain, and becoming one with it, is not such a difficult 
 matter. It is simply that he must become as one of them, 
 heart-whole and sincere, faithful to the cultus, and will- 
 ing to help the whole assembly, in order that the whole 
 assembly may help him. If he is thus, then he becomes 
 one with the universal chain, and the power of the whole 
 becomes the power of himself. 
 
 DESIRE, NECESSARY. 
 
 Unless we have some strong desire, it is not possible 
 to become a Magus and be possessed of power. First 
 of all, we should be favorably inclined toward the Holy 
 Art. and, besides this, there must be a willingness to give 
 up in order that we may receive. 
 
 But, aside from these factors, there is still a greater 
 factor; and that is, we should desire one thing above all 
 others. This may be- a desire for the accomplishment of 
 some great work, a desire for -the development of some 
 great talent. Be it what it may, it should be a consuming 
 fire, a desire that is willing to give up all else in order 
 to accomplish; and, unles,s the desire is so great as to be 
 willing to give up everything else in its consummation, the 
 highest success is impossible. 
 
 Desire, whether good or evil, is the magnet that draw,s 
 us on. and on towards the ultimate consummation of that 
 desire; and, just in proportion as is the desire, in like 
 proportion will be the success if the desire i,s good, and, 
 in like proportion will be the destruction if the desire is 
 evil. 
 
 It is the desire that helps to accomplish; and desire 
 in itself is neither good nor evil. It i,s simply a drawing 
 power. 
 
 THE THREEFOLD WORK. 
 
 The secrets of the Great Work have a triple meaning; 
 jthey are religious, philosophical, and natural. More clear-? 
 
iTHE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 39 
 
 ly stated, they are religious, philosophical, and practical. 
 
 Man is a threefold being; and, in order that he may be 
 truly man, or man-god, the threefold being must be de- 
 veloped harmoniously. In other words, his entire being 
 mu,st be in equilibrium. 
 
 The Great Work has to do with the whole man; for, 
 first of all, it attempts to bring his physical being into 
 harmony, giving health in place of disease, strength in 
 place of weakness, and balance instead of unbalance. 
 
 The philosophical side should be developed in harmony 
 with the physical; for, as the physical reaches nearer per- 
 fection, it needs a philosophy that is in harmony with it; 
 in order that it may retain its perfection. As a man be- 
 lieves, as he thinks, so will he be. 
 
 The Great Work, or that part of the Great Work which 
 is Mystical or Magical, must naturally wait until the last; 
 for it is of no advantage for the Neophyte to attempt 
 training and development of Soul before he has developed 
 the physical, and before he has accepted a philosophy 
 that is, to him, most desirable. Even if he does begin 
 such a development, it is not lasting; for the very good 
 reason that a solid foundation is missing. 
 
 THE ANCIENT SCHOOL. 
 
 "The Holy Art is, therefore, at one and the same 
 time, a religion, a philosophy, and a natural science. Con- 
 sidered as religion, it is that of the Ancient Magi, that 
 most Ancient of Schools, and of the Initiates of all the 
 ages . as a philosophy, its principles may be found in the 
 school of Alexandria and in the theories of Pythagoras; 
 for it was Pythagoras that founded the present school, 
 known as the Council of the Magi. As a science, its prin- 
 ciples mu,st be sought from Paracelsus, Nicholas Flammel 
 and Raymond Lully, and all Masters of our school. 
 
 "This science appears true only to those who accept 
 and understand the philosophy and religion; and its pro- 
 
40 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 cesses are successful only for those who have been strict- 
 ly obedient to its teachings, and have thus become the mas- 
 ters of the elementary world through such obedience." 
 
 The school is old, it has never ceased to exist, though 
 at timqs there were but a few. But now again, there are 
 many seeking, and the divine fiat long since cast, that the 
 school of Initiate Priest should again become supreme, 
 seem,s to be going towards fulfilment. 
 
 THE POWER OF THE MAGI. 
 
 The Great Art really changes the nature of things, 
 and this according to the strength of the Will of the Magu,s 
 and his knowledge of the Great Laws and methods of 
 Invocation. 
 
 When the Magus, naturally considered infallible by 
 those who believe in him and his art, confers a title or 
 a name, or a power or a virtue, upon a given thing, he 
 actually transforms that thing into the substance signified 
 by the name. 
 
 This is not because of the mere speech, but because 
 of his faith, of his power, and moreover, because of the 
 knowledge he possesses. This knowledge gives him the 
 power to call upon the all-powerful Hierarchies in con- 
 trol of that special work, who are bound to obey him, 
 bound to honor him, just as the apprentice is bound to 
 obey the master wtorkman, because of the knowledge, and 
 therefore of the control, that the master workman possess- 
 es. 
 
 And it must not be thought that the Hierarchic Pow- 
 ers are unwilling servants. The contrary is true; for, just 
 as the apprentice is ever willing to obey and to serve the 
 master workman, so are the Hierarchic Powers ever ready 
 and ever willing to obey the call from one possessed of 
 knowledge, who calls upon that special department in the 
 Heavenly Departments of work. 
 
 The faith and the knowledge and the power of the; 
 
t THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 41 
 
 master workman in the Holy Art, all employed in calling 
 upon the Hierarchic Powers and their help, constitute the 
 force of the transmutation. 
 
 PROOFS OF THIS POWER. 
 
 That there are proofs to be had of this changing 
 power, we can witness in the instant healing of many dis- 
 eases by the Magi. Thus, even in the time of Jesus, which 
 was centuries after the Great Schools had been practically 
 closed, except to the very few, we witness cures which 
 seem to be miracles; but all these cures were based upon 
 the powers employed by those who knew, by the powers 
 of the Magi or such as had been taught by the Magi. 
 
 Cure of the sick is accomplished by transmutation, 
 or immediate changing, of a diseased part of the body or 
 cf the body as a whole into a state of health. Under most 
 conditions, thi,s is a gradual process; but, in some cases, 
 where the faith of the sufferer in the power of the healer 
 is great enough, an instant cure is effected. 
 
 Nature and the Hierarchic Powers will obey the one 
 who knows, and who feels himself to be strong enough to 
 tse this power and does use it with all hi,s might. It is 
 so not only in the cure of the ills of mankind, but in many 
 other departments of nature. It is for this reason that 
 Talismans, properly made and properly charged, have the 
 extreme power they do have. 
 
 THE UNIVERSAL MEDICINE. 
 
 ALL of the Magi have believed in, and held to, a 
 Universal Medicine. They have admitted, however, and 
 still do admit, that thi,s Universal Medicine, being a High, 
 Potential, Spiritual Essence, is of little strength to those 
 who have no faith in it; but to those who have faith in 
 it it is all powerful. 
 
 For the Soul, it is the Light of Truth, the Divine Il- 
 lumination, which makes man one with God and one of 
 
42 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 the gods. For the mind, it is truth that is practical and 
 may be applied to life's need,s. For the body, it is the 
 healing and the perfecting power, bringing health out of 
 weakness and making of man a worthy temple for God. 
 
 The Magus uses it for himself; and he can use it 
 in the cure of others. But for the profane it has neither 
 power nor virtue; for, living in death, and in the belief 
 of death, they are children of death, and death will be 
 their portion. 
 
 THE LAW OF EQUILIBRIUM. 
 
 Equilibrium, or balance, is the great law which the 
 Magi teach to mankind, and especially to their Neophytes. 
 
 They teach that the three departments of nature, or 
 the nature of man, mu,st be perfectly balanced; that the 
 mind, the body, and the soul must be evenly developed if 
 there is to be true and lasting power. And, until such 
 balance is obtained, there can be no true and lasting pow- 
 er. 
 
 These three departments of man's nature are covered 
 by the other three, namely, Religion, Philosophy, and 
 Science; and all of these are taught the sincere Neophyte. 
 
 This threefold law hold,s sway in all departments of 
 nature, and concerns not only the Neophyte of the Magi, 
 but all other men as well . and it is because of man's one- 
 sided life that weakness, sickness, and failure is the uni- 
 versal rule. 
 
 Even Love, the highest and most sublime power known 
 to man or the gods, is threefold — of the mind, the body, and 
 the Soul. And, as it is of the three in equal proportion, 
 so it is the more truly perfect and lasting. 
 
 NATURE DEMANDS HER OWN. 
 
 The destruction of bodies and souls that has ever fol- 
 lowed unsound and unholy doctrines can not be estimat- 
 ed; and it is for this reason that the Magi condemn all 
 
[THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 43 
 
 doctrines that have to do with only one department of the 
 nature of man. 
 
 The Magi have taught the power of the mind from 
 time past knowledge, taught it as no other school has ever 
 been able to teach it; but they have also taught that the 
 mind, exalted above the soul and the body, will simply 
 set up a mental image, a Moloch, and that thi,s god with 
 no existence will destroy, burn up, both the body and the 
 soul, and end in nothingness. 
 
 The Magi have taught the beauty, the perfection, and 
 the power of the material body, taught it as no materialis- 
 tic school has ever been able to teach it; for not only have 
 they taught the greatness of the physical and the material, 
 but they have taught the exaltedne,ss of the physical body, 
 its beauty and its perfection. Furthermore, they have 
 also taught that to think only of the body, to hold to the 
 body, or the material, in any department of nature, is to 
 become one with it, and thereby to revert back to it, re- 
 sulting in destruction of the individual form and return 
 to the storehouse of matter. 
 
 The Magi have taught the power of the Soul, that 
 the Soul is sublime and part of the great and glorious 
 Godhead. But they have also taught, and do now teach, 
 that the Soul without the mind and the body is as noth- 
 ing, and that, though the Soul may be exalted at the ex- 
 pense of the body, gradually a weakness in the body is 
 brought about; and, as the body is weakened and becomes 
 inert, so will it drag the Soul down to its own level, and 
 the end is death. 
 
 Only in threefold development is there perfection. 
 Only through this threefold development i,s Life, and 
 Strength, and Power, and true Success found. 
 
 THE HIERARCHIC POWERS. 
 Reference has already been made to the Hierarchic 
 
44 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 Powers; but, as the work of the Magus depends entirely 
 upon his own inner development, first, and, second, upon 
 his knowledge and power through the Sacred Formulae 
 wherewith to call upon the Hierarchic Power,s, it is neces- 
 sary to deal fully with this important question. 
 
 Bliphas Levi taught this truth: 
 
 God operates by his works — in heaven by angels 
 (Hierarchies), and on earth by men. Hence, in the circle 
 of angelic action, the angels can perform all that is pos- 
 sible for God, and in the human circle of action men can 
 dispose equally of divine omnipotence." 
 
 This the Magi hold as true today as did the Magi of 
 old; and the secrets of the Invocation of the Hierarchic 
 Powers, the Magi today possess and teach in their private 
 text-books to tho t se who become Neophytes in the Holy 
 Order. 
 
 GOD?S WILL. 
 
 Directly in harmony with the above, the Magi have 
 taught, and do still teach, that "nothing on earth can with- 
 stand a free and rational will." When the wise men (wise 
 because he has the knowledge) says, "I WILL," it is God 
 himself who wills, and all that He commands take,s place. 
 It is the knowledge of the physician, and the confidence 
 placed in him which constitutes the supreme virtue of his 
 prescriptions ; and therefore this is the only true, universal, 
 and efficacious remedy. 
 
 To this we hold; and this training of the Will the 
 Magi teach to their Neophytes. 
 
 THE HEBREW MAGUS SAID 
 
 "These are the powers and privileges of the man who 
 holds in his right hand the Clavicle,s of Solomon, and in 
 his left the branch of the blossomed almond (the Illumi- 
 nated and Initiated Soul). He beholds God face to face, 
 without dying, and converses familiarly with the seven 
 genii who command the entire celestial army. He is above 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 45 
 
 all afflictions, and all fears. He reigns with all heaven 
 and is served by all hell. He disposes of his own health 
 and life, and can equally influence that of others. He can 
 neither be surprised by misfortune, nor overwhelmed by 
 disasters, nor conquered by his enemies. He knows the 
 reason of the past, the present and the future. He possess- 
 es the secret of the resurrection of the dead and the Key 
 to Immortality." 
 
 He may fall, but he rises again. 
 
 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL. 
 
 In this booklet merely an idea is given as to the faith, 
 ihe doctrine, and the teachings of the Council. No at- 
 tempt is herein made to disclose the contends of its secret 
 books of instructions. 
 
 There are five books of instruction. All are secret, 
 and only to be obtained by members of the Council who 
 have become such by taking the Sacred Obligations. 
 
 While, as above stated, we can not, in thi,s booklet, 
 give any information concerning the contents of any of 
 the private text-books, we do desire to call the attention 
 of interested readers to the importance of these books in 
 the order in which they should be studied: 
 
 The order of study should be: 
 
 "Ritualistic Occultism; or White Magic." 
 
 "Kabballistic and Elohimic Magic." 
 
 "The Grand Grimore." 
 
 "The Imperial Ritual." 
 
 "Highest Divine Magic." 
 
 While we use the word, "Magic/' as title to some of 
 these books, and through this booklet, we desire to call 
 the attention of the reader to the fact that this word is 
 never u,sed in its vulgar sense, but only in its real, its inner, 
 sense, and not otherwise. 
 
 Those who receive this booklet may obtain full infor- 
 mation, concerning these books by writing for it, enclos- 
 
46 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 ir>g stamps. 
 
 Besides these secret book,s of instruction, there are 
 also letters of instruction which all members receive at the 
 time of issue. 
 
 The Neophyte also has the privilege of writing for 
 information on any subject within the 'limits of the work, 
 and no charge i,s made for such letters of instruction. 
 
 Where Temples are founded, all the members of the 
 Council have the right to visit, the right to receive the 
 Ceremonial Initiation, and all such privileges as belong to 
 le Temple. 
 
 THE IMPERIALISTIC DEGREE?. 
 
 While the work of the Council is practically that of 
 taking a Neophyte and gradually training and developing 
 him up so as to personify within himself the Temple with 
 all its powers, nevertheless, the Council has a Ritualistic 
 Degree which is conferred upon those who have proven 
 their worth. 
 
 While this degree, in a sense, is ceremonial and much 
 like the work of other Fraternities, it also embodies some- 
 thing more, in that the Ceremony in itself includes a cer- 
 tain process which very often brings the Neophyte face 
 to face with the Sacred Fire, and for this reason is to- 
 tally different from the usual ceremonial work. 
 
 This Degree is conferred only when a Sacred Con- 
 vention is held in any place where there is a Temple. All 
 Brothers of the Council, no matter where they may live, 
 are informed of such Convocation and invited to attend. 
 
 THE HIGHEST PRIVILEGES. 
 
 There i,s, besides this, another privilege granted to 
 all members, though, in a sense, this must be earned. 
 
 There is, as part of the Order, an Insignia which is 
 absolutely secret, and which can only be worn by those 
 who hare shown their faith in the Order, and their loyalty 
 
THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 47 
 
 to the Order. 
 
 Each year, this In,signia, or the right to wear it, is 
 conferred upon twelve members, and these twelve are 
 chosen from the whole membership. No partiality can 
 be shown, the right can not be bought, it must be earned. 
 
 This Insignia is held more sacred by the Magi than 
 is the Insignia of the Order, "Knights of the Garter;" by 
 it members, and well it may be ; for the Order of the Magi 
 dates back thousands of years before that other Order, 
 and its members in the past were Kings and Priests of the 
 noblest Order, Kings and Priests by Divine Right and by 
 Divine Power. 
 
 It i,s to be hoped that all members of the Magi may 
 some day wear the Insignia, but, in order to do so, they 
 must be an honor to the Order, as is the Insignia to them. 
 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE MAGI. 
 
 The Imperialistic Council is governed by a select Coun- 
 cil; but the personnel is not known to any but those few 
 in power. 
 
 The Council is a government, both religious and scien- 
 tific; and it selects its plenipotentiary from its most loyal 
 members, and these are responsible, in regard to their mis- 
 sion, only to the Government of the Council. 
 
 For very good reasons, it is deemed best that none who 
 belong to the Fraternity or who may be in power therein, 
 shall be known generally, and, in fact, only to the very 
 few of its members. 
 
 This^rule may be set aside at any time; but, until the 
 time is ripe to do so, the Order will work under the rule 
 of Silence. 
 
 All letters, all monies, should be addressed, not to the 
 Order, but to the Publishers of its text-books, who will be 
 responsible for all monies received, turning them over to 
 the proper parties immediately as such letters or monies 
 may be receive^, 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 001 018 874 fl 
 
 48 THE IMPERIALISTIC COUNCIL OF THE MAGI. 
 
 The members of the Publishing Firm are under sa- 
 cred obligation to consider all letters as private, and not 
 to give any information, under any circumstances, to any 
 one except the officers of the Order. 
 
 Communications must be addressed, therefore, to our 
 agents, as follows: 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
 Dept. B., Allentown, Pa. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 001 018 874 P •