Everyone reading Gornahoor is aware of Guenon’s belief that the West lost its Tradition with the dispersion of the Templars. On the other hand, we need to counterbalance that with Tomberg’s claim:
All through the Middle Ages right on down to the present, an unbroken stream of occult tradition has flowed in the West. This occult tradition has branched out and taken many directions yet all show a certain relation to each other. One branch of this tradition, the one pre-eminently characteristic of Western occult tradition, is the occult stream which usually calls itself Templar.
We alluded to this continuing tradition in The Russian Idea. What is occult is by definition hidden, and least it is hidden to those who do not know how to see it. There are two reasons:
- It is couched in sometimes obscure symbolism
- It requires a corresponding practice to properly understand the symbols
Tomberg explains:
The content of this Templar tradition passed down through time contains both a theory and a practice; but before one comes to the stage of practice, it is necessary to have acquired at least part of the theory. Now access to the theory is not an easy matter, for it is not brought forth openly as a system of thought, but is hidden in a comprehensive symbolic system.
Now the two exemplars that we intend to deal with have indeed made use of “comprehensive symbolic systems”. In the case of Tomberg, there is the Tarot, and Mouravieff has developed, or better, brought to light, a different class of symbols. We have been commenting on Tomberg’s Meditations in a mailing list. Mouravieff’s system, on the other hand, requires knowledge of the exercises corresponding to the text and symbols.
We have decided to inaugurate an online seminar on Boris Mouravieff’s Gnosis. There is no set termination for this, and it may possibly go on for years. This will not be a series of lectures, but rather an organized plan of practical exercises without which the written material is not fully comprehensible. Due to the personal nature of these seminars, membership will have to be limited and restricted.
The goal is for the participants to realize in themselves what has been discussed here in theory. Transcendence will become a real experience. The clearing or emptiness that lies above the turmoil of thoughts, emotions, and sense experiences will be recognized. The maxim that the “subtle rules the dense” will become a reality, not a wish or a hope. A strong and secure I will evolve so that the vagaries of the material conditions of life will have less and less impact on the personal sense of well-being.
Participants may leave at any time. Anyone interested should email me at gornahoor@gornahoor.net expressing that interest. I can also make myself available for any questions you may have about this.
There will be no degrees or grades associated with this seminar. Nor will there be an initiation, because in our era, there is now only one initiator.