The Equinox (Volume III, Number I)

THE EQUINOX be of higher rank than the Second Degree; they must volunteer for this service at the conclusion of that ceremony; and therefore they give up their own pros- pect of advancement in the Order for one year, that they may serve their fellows. This is then the first lesson in our great principle, the attainment of honour through renunciation, “The degree of Knights of the East and West is but a bridge between the first and second series; but it is important, for in that grade a new pledge-form must be signed, and the new Knight vowed to devote his life to the Establish- ment of the Law of Thelema. “The members of the Fifth Degree are responsible for all that concerns the Social welfare of the Order. This grade is symbolically that of beauty and harmony; it is the natural stopping-place of the majority of men and women; for to proceed farther, as will appear, involves renunciation of the sternest kind. Here then all is joy, peace, well-being on all planes; the Sovereign Prince Rose Croix is attached equally to the higher and the lower, and forms a natural link between them. Yet let him look to it that his eyes are set on high! “In this degree the Most Wise Sovereign of each chapter will appoint a committee of four persons, two men and two women, to arrange for all social gatherings, banquets, dances, the performance of plays, and similar pleasures. They will also endeavour to promote harmony among the Brethren in all possible ways, and to compose any disputes by tact and friendliness without formal appeal being made to any more authoritative tribunal. “The next grade, that which lies between the Fifth and Sixth Degrees, is called the Senate. This is the first of the governing bodies, properly speaking, and here we begin to insist upon Renunciation. For within this body is the Electoral College of the O.T.O. “The principle of popular election is a fatal folly; its results are visible in every so-called democracy. The elected man is always the mediocrity; he is the safe man, the sound man, the man who displeases the majority less than any other; and therefore never the genius, the man of progress and illumination. “This electoral college consists of Eleven Persons in each country. It has full control of the affairs of the Men of Earth, appointing Lodge Masters at will. It has however no authority over the Chapters of Rose Croix. “Persons who wish to be appointed to this College by the Supreme and Holy King must volunteer for the office. The appointment is for Eleven Years. Volunteers must renounce for that period all further progress in the Order. They must give evidence of first-rate ability in (1.) Some branch of athletics. (2.) Some branch of learning. “They must also possess a profound general knowledge of history and of the art of government, with some attention to philosophy in general. 242