IMMORTALISATION

INTRODUCTION

The text of which we give here the first Italian translation from the Greek original, compared with the German version by A. DIETERICH (Eine Mithrasliturgie, Leipzig, 1903) and the English version by G. R. S. MEAD (A Mithriac Ritual, London and Benares, 1907), is found in the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris (no. 574 of the Supplément grec of the Bibliothèque Nationale. — For variant readings, cf. WESSELY, pp. 12 ff. of the Jahresbericht des kk. Staatsgymnasium Hernals, 1899, and N. NOVOSSADSKY, Ad papyrum magicum bibl. Parisinae not. additivæ palaeographicæ, St Petersburg, 1895).

In it we have the only ritual of the Pagan Mysteries to have come down to us complete, in a recension which dates, in all probability, to the beginning of the fourth century AD. The tradition to which it belongs is that of Mithras — the regal tradition of the ‘Slayers of the Bull’, the ‘Rulers of the Sun’, those regenerated in the ‘Strong Force of the Forces’ — the very tradition which contended with Christianity for the inheritance of Roman splendour and the destiny of the West, in a struggle which has not ended, but which perhaps is only now truly beginning.

In the text, elements of Mithraic theurgy are intermingled with elements belonging to Egyptian-Gnostic magical traditions, particularly in the many ‘names of power’ — nomina arcana, voces mysticæ, mantra — with which it abounds. This does not prevent the whole, beyond any strictly philological or historical concern, from constituting a unity, in which these various elements do not contradict one another, but complement one another in the practical realisation of the ritual itself.

In this regard, we should say that this ‘Mithraic rite’ has an altogether special significance. It would not appear to be a ceremony in which several persons take part (hence the inaccuracy of the term ‘liturgy’ used by Dieterich), but rather a purely individual operation directed towards the awakening and transformation of the deepest human nature; a self-initiation proper to the Greater Mysteries, that is, reserved for a small group of elect who had already passed through the lower grades of initiation. The character of the ‘rite’ is neither purely interior nor magical in the sense of ordinary ceremonial magic. It is not purely interior because, unlike the path of Indian yoga, and also that which emerges, for example, from Hermetic-alchemical symbolism, what is involved is not a hierarchy of states of consciousness and metaphysical meanings to be apprehended directly, in their ineffable, formless essence. Instead, these meanings are given through invocatory and ritual acts and projected into magical images and visualisations. Nevertheless, the sphere of ceremonial magic in the strict sense is transcended, since ritual action does not stop at an external relationship with astral apparitions, nor does it make use of them for any particular purpose, but directs the experience so that everything converges upon the aim of a transcendent realisation of the self. Something intermediate and mixed, therefore, as is indeed common to everything that is theurgy.

We should also point out that the experiences described or indicated in the ritual, in our view, take place neither outside the body nor in the normal state of subjection to bodily conditions, but in a special state of fluidic intoxication — well known to anyone who has practised magic — in which contact with the ‘Astral Light’ and the consequent isolation from everything proceeding from the animal senses do not prevent contact with the physical body from being maintained, nor even prevent it from being directed in particular ritual acts. For this reason, references in the text to the various apparitions are given together with logoi, which need not necessarily be pronounced only mentally, and with actual physical acts, such as closing the eyes, breathing, pressing upon the abdomen, etc. In this connection, it is not without interest to note that the Mithraic ritual confirms that the science of breath and that of particular organic, physiological and psychic conditions (asana) were not exclusive to Indian yoga, but were also known in the ancient Mysteries of the West, especially in Egypt — whence a ‘Book of Breathings’ has come down to us in hieroglyphs — and the same may be said concerning the science and use of ‘names of power’ or ‘salvation’ (mantra), as one may wish to call them.

We may reconstruct as follows the path travelled by the Mithraic initiate, following the Ritual.

First of all, it is necessary to tear oneself free from the ‘law of the waters’, from need, from the harsh, incessant necessity that weighs upon man and binds him to the lower and mortal nature. In the first logos, the Mithraic initiate, like the Orphic initiate, declares his title of nobility — that he is His son, still mortal, but already made better by the ‘Strong Force of the Forces’ and by the ‘incorruptible Right Hand’. He invokes his own transcendent reality — his own ‘Perfect Body’ — and from the corruptible elements of which animal nature is composed, the invocation ascends to their essence, to the primordial, celestial, incorruptible elements. He resists and subsists: he holds firm, fixed beneath himself, in ‘purity’, the power of his own soul; and he commands that the way be left open to him, so that the force may be released and the eye opened to transcendent vision.

Then, having realised the moment of ‘purity’, he makes contact, through the breath, with the element of Air and brings about the first ‘transformation’: the experience of Air — a state of disembodied lightness, of diffuse spiritual sensitivity, free from the fetters of the physical senses.

The experience of Air is followed by the experience of Wind, the principle by which the supersensible ether is moved and modulated and which makes it possible to ascend to the causes, to the ‘entities’, to a first hierarchy (or a first mode of being) of ‘Gods’. Here the initiate withdraws from their influence, which would tend to overwhelm him, and resolves the tension produced by their appearance through the invocation of Silence, that is, by placing himself in a state of immutability, of abyssal calm, of the deepest being-in-itself. And when the vision grows clear once more, he proceeds.

The ‘thunder’ mentioned in the second instruction may be regarded as an indication of passage through one of the so-called ‘points of indifference’ (layabindu — according to the corresponding Sanskrit expression), with a consequent, lightning-like transformation of ‘mode’ or ‘substance’. Indeed, from the second logos it appears that the initiate assumes the mode of being proper to the very Gods of this order, and thereupon the cyclical, solar vision opens before him, vertiginously, from which the stellar essences that fill the ethereal space are creatively apprehended. The experience closes with the vision of an immense ‘wheel’ and of closed ‘gates of fire’, signifying universal necessity, a terrible vision, unbearable to behold, causing a state of bewilderment which the initiate seeks to overcome through the magnificent impulse contained in the third logos of the Ritual, in which, through his ‘Names’, the state of ‘Lord of Necessity’, ‘Prince of Fire’, ‘Ruler of the Wheel’ (the cakravarti of the Indians) is invoked, aroused, attracted and fixed.

Then the circle opens. In a new leap or transformation, in which ‘Silence’ gives new strength to the soul, the celestial world appears liberated, clarified, no longer constrained by fate but, beneath the shadowing presence of the higher principle, transparent as a world of Gods, producing exaltation and rapture in consciousness.

The invocation continues: at first there arises the experience of a new, ‘central’ mode of being, proper to this world; then follows the apparition or projection of the Solar God. The subsequent rite brings the initiate into contact with the elementary cosmic power, with the primordial nature of the very κόσμος τῶν θεῶν. The Solar God is brought to the ‘Pole’, that is, to the ‘central point’ or ‘base point’. As he proceeds further, he must be ‘fixed’, while simultaneously, through ‘bellowing’, the primordial animic and taurine force is awakened, the ‘power of powers’ known to the Tantras as ‘kundalinī’ and to magical initiations as UR. This brings about a second opening of ‘gates’ and the consequent emergence, from the depths, of the sevenfold hierarchy, experienced first in its ‘feminine’, manifest and dynamic aspect, and then in the further masculine, unmanifest, regal aspect of the ‘Lords of the Celestial Pole’.

Nor does the ritual operation end here. This same hierarchy is transcended and, through a further deepening and fixing (corresponding to the passage into the ogdoad of which the Gnostics speak), the Great God himself, the nature of Mithras, is actualised — he who has subdued the Sun and slain the Bull, that is, he by whom the taurine, cosmic force, bearer and mover of all things, has been assumed and mastered. Experienced at first as a projection or image, this supreme principle is subsequently drawn inward and realised immanently. Upon the awakened Mithraic nature, recreated within himself and mastered through a new ‘bellowing’, the initiate reasserts himself: he fixes it and commands it to remain, so that with it the supreme fulfilment may remain, the state of one who is free from necessity, from birth and death.

As regards the translation, we have followed Dieterich’s reading for the most part. At many points where the text is uncertain or susceptible to different interpretations, we have endeavoured, within the limits of philological correctness, to provide something comprehensible and coherent — since the purpose of this publication is by no means to contribute to the profane philological sciences, but to indicate to men of good will the meaning of that towards which the Pagan Mysteries were directed. In this connection we should add that, in the development of the material in Ur, we do not intend to present this ritual for actual and practical use (which would presuppose many things and experiences not yet discussed), but rather to offer a first glimpse of the horizons proper to classical initiation.

TEXT

χρὴ οὖν σε, ὦ θύγατερ, λαμβάνειν χυλοὺς βοτανῶν μὴ ἐξαλλόντων σοι ἐν τῷ τέλει τοῦ ἱεροῦ μου συντάγματος. [You must therefore, O daughter, take juices of herbs that will cause you no harm in the completion of my sacred treatise.]

I. PROPITIATORY FORMULA

Providence and Fortune, be propitious to me as I write these first Mysteries, to be transmitted to the Son alone, (to whom shall be given) Immortality, to the Initiate worthy of this our Power — (Mysteries) which the great God Sun-Mithras commanded me, through (his) own Archangel, to transmit; be propitious (to me), that I alone, Eagle, may reach Heaven and contemplate all things.

II. INVOCATORY LOGOS

First Origin of my origin AEEIOYÒ; Principle of my first principle PPP OOOPHR; Spirit of the spirit, of the first breath in me MMM; Fire, that which God has given in the mixture of mixtures in me, (Fire) first of the fire in me EYEIAEE; Water of the water in me, (Water) first of the water in me OOOAAAEEE; first Earthly Essence of the earthly essence in me YEYÒE; Perfect Body of me — of N. (name), born of N. (mother) — which honoured Arm and incorruptible Right Hand have formed in the dark and transparent world, inanimate and which became animate YEIA YI EYÒIE!

If it seems good to You, (grant) that I, still held by my lowest nature, may be raised to Immortal Birth, so that, beyond the insistent necessity which terribly bends me, I may contemplate the immortal Principle through (the virtue of) the immortal Breath ANCHRE PHRENESUPHIRINCH, through (the virtue of) the immortal Water ERONOYIPARAKOYNETH, through Earth and Air EIOAÈPSENABÒTH; that I may be reborn to intelligence KRAOCHAXRO, that I may give myself a beginning (lit.: begin) and breathe within me the Holy Breath NECHTHEN APO TOY NECHTHINARPIÈTH, that I may behold the Sacred Fire KYPHE, that I may contemplate the abyss of the East, terrible Water NYÒTHEGÒ ECHÒ OYOCHIECHÒA, and that the life-giving Ether diffused around me ARNOMETHPH may hear me; for I — mortal, born from a mortal womb (but now) made better by the force of the supreme Force and by the incorruptible Right Hand — (I) wish today to behold with immortal eye, with imperishable Breath, the immortal Aeon and Lord of the Crowns of Fire.

Having been purified by sacred ceremonies, the human force of my soul subsisting pure within me for a brief time, I shall receive it again beyond the insistent and stinging necessity which bends me, (against which every) lament is vain: I, N. (name), born of N. (mother), (will this) according to the inflexible command of God EYEYIAEEIAÒEIANIYAIIEÒ.

(But) since it would not be possible for me, born mortal, to rise together with the golden flashing of the immortal splendour, (I command you) ÒÈY AEÒ ÈYA EÒÈ YAE ÒIAE: Stand firm, O nature of mortals destined to perish, and immediately let me (pass) beyond inexorable and pressing necessity. For I am the Son, I breathe MOYOPROCHÒ PRÒ A, I am MOY PRÒ — breathing PRÒ E (I am)!

III. FIRST INSTRUCTION

Draw breath from the (solar) rays, inhaling three times as (deeply) as you can, and (behold) you will see yourself lifted on high and passing beyond every height, so that it will seem to you that you are in the midst of the air.

You will (no longer) hear anyone, neither man nor (any other) living being, nor likewise will you see anything, at this same time, of the mortal things of the earth, but all that you see (will be) immortal.

You will also see the divine ordering (proper to) the (present) day and hour, (you will see) the Gods turning as they ascend towards heaven, others descending, and the course of the visible Gods through the Disc (of) my Father — God — will be made manifest (to you).

(You will) also (see) the so-called Flute, in like manner, the principle of the Wind at the service of the Work. For you will see (something like) a flute hanging from the Disc, towards the regions where (the celestial currents) have their source and (from which there blows of) itself, (as) an infinite east wind; (but) if then the other (wind, that which is directed) towards the regions of the east should appear, similarly towards these regions you will see (it, though as) the reciprocal of the thing seen.

And you will also see the Gods staring fixedly at you and about to hurl themselves upon you. Then place your right finger upon your mouth and say:

IV. FIRST LOGOS

Silence Silence Silence

Symbol of the incorruptible living God, protect me, O Silence NEKTHEIRTHANMELY!

Then hiss at length: S! S! and then blow, saying:

PROPROPHENGÈ MORIOS PROPHYR PROPHENGE NEMETHIRE ARPSENTEN TITETMIMEÒYENARTHPHYRKEKÒPSYRIDARIÒTYREPHILBA!

And then you will see the Gods looking upon you benevolently and no longer about to hurl themselves against you, but proceeding instead according to the order proper to their (actions).

V. SECOND INSTRUCTION

When, therefore, you see the upper cosmos free and quite clear, and none of the Gods and Angels about to hurl themselves upon you, expect to hear a great crash (like) thunder, so that you will be stunned. (But) say again:

VI. SECOND LOGOS

Silence! Silence!

I am a star that proceeds with you and shines from the abyss
OXYOXERTHUTH!

As soon as you have said this, the (solar) Disc will immediately begin to expand.

And after you have pronounced this second logos — that is, twice ‘Silence’ and the rest — hiss twice and blow twice, and immediately you will see numerous pentagram-shaped stars projecting from the Disc, which (will shortly) fill the whole space.

(Then) say again:

Silence! Silence!

and (when) the Disc (has) opened, you will see an immense wheel and tightly closed gates of fire.

Closing your eyes, (then) rapidly pronounce the following logos:

VII. THIRD LOGOS

Hear me, listen to me — N. (name), son of N. (mother) — O Lord who hast closed the fiery bolts of Heaven to the spirit! (Thou) of the twofold body, (thou) who dwellest in the Fire PENPTERUNI, Creator of Light, possessor of the Keys SEMESILAM, fiery breath PSYRINEY, soul of Fire IAÒ, breath of Light AOI, joy of Fire AILURE, beautiful in Light AZAIAIÒNACHBA; (thou) Lord of Light PEPPERPREPEMPIPI whose body is Fire PHMUÈNIOK, giver of Light, propagator of Fire AREIEICHITA, releaser of Fire GALLABALBA; (thou) who in the Light hast life AIAIÒ (and) art the power of Fire PYRIKIBOOSÈIA; (thou) who movest the Light SANKERÒB and unleashest the Lightning IEÒÈIÒÈIÒ, glory of Light BAIEGENNETE, increaser of Light SUSINEPHI, (thou) who rulest the Empyrean Light SUSINEPHI ARENBARAZEI MARMARENTEY, (thou) leader of stars!

Open to me PROPROPHENGE EMETHEIRE MORIOMOTYREPHILBA! For because of the bitter, stinging necessity which drives me I invoke thy revered, living, immortal Names, those which have never yet descended into mortal nature, which have never yet been articulated in human speech, in mortal voice or tongue!

ÈEÒ . OÈEÒ . IÒÒ . OÈ . ÈEÒ . ÈEÒ . OÈEÒ . IÒÒ . OÈEE . ÒÈE . ÒOÈ . IÈ . ÈO . OÒ . OÈ . IEÒ . OÈ . ÒOÈ . IEÒOÈ . IEEÒ . EÈ . IÒ . OÈ . IOÈ . ÒÈÒ . EOÈ . OEÒ . ÒIE . ÒIÈEÒ . OI . III . ÈOÈ . ÒEÙ . ÈÒ . OÈE . EÒÈIA . AÈAÈEÈA . ÈEEE . EEÈ . EEÈ . IEÒ . ÈEÒ . OÈEEOÈ . ÈEÒ . EYÒ . OÈ . EIÒ . ÈÒ . ÒÈ . ÒÈ . ÒÈ . EE . OOOYIÒÈ

Say all this with fire and spirit from beginning to end, then again a second time (and so on) until (you) have completed the seven immortal Gods of the cosmos.

After saying this, you will hear thunder and an upheaval of everything surrounding (you), and you will then feel inwardly shaken. Once again say ‘Silence’ (with the) invocation (which follows).

After this, open your eyes, and you will see the gates opened and the world of the Gods which is within them; and through the joy and delight of the vision, your spirit rushes forth and rises.

Then, remaining still, draw breath from the divine, gazing fixedly within your spirit.

And when your soul has been restored, say:

VIII. FOURTH LOGOS

Come, Lord.

ARKANDARA PHÒTAZA PYRIPHÒTAZA BYTHIX
ETIMENNERO PHORATHENERIE
PROTHRIPHORATHI

When you have said this, the solar rays will converge upon you. You will be their centre.

When this has been accomplished within you, you will see a young God, beautiful, with hair of flame, in a white tunic and scarlet mantle, with a crown of fire.

Immediately greet him with the greeting of Fire:

IX. FIFTH LOGOS

Hail, Lord, (thou) of great Power, King of great influence, highest among the Gods; Sun, Lord of Heaven and Earth, God of Gods, mighty is thy breath, mighty thy force.

Lord, if it seems good to thee, announce me to the supreme God who begot and brought thee forth, since a man — I, N. (name), son of N. (mother), born from the mortal womb of N. and from spermatic fluid, today having been regenerated by thee; (I,) made immortal among myriads (of beings) at this instant by the will of the transcendent good God — (a man, I say) asks to worship thee according to human power.

As soon as you have pronounced this, He will proceed to the Pole, and you will see him going as though along a road. (Then), gazing fixedly (at him), emit a prolonged bellow, like the sound of a horn, expel the whole breath while (simultaneously) compressing the ribs, kiss the amulets and say first towards the right:

X. SIXTH LOGOS

Protect me, PROSYMÈRI

Having said this, you will see the gates opened and seven Virgins in byssus rising from the depths, with serpentine faces. These are called the ruling Fates, golden arbiters of Heaven. Seeing (all) this, greet them thus:

Hail to you, O seven celestial Goddesses of the Destinies (οὐρανοῦ Τύχαι), august Virgins, good and sacred, whose life is of the same mode as MINIMIRROPHOR; you, most holy guardians of the four columns:

Hail (to thee), the first — KREPSENTHAÈS!
Hail (to thee), the second — MENESKEÈS!
Hail (to thee), the third — MEKRAN!
Hail (to thee), the fourth — ARARMAKÈS!
Hail (to thee), the fifth — EKOMMIÈ!
Hail (to thee), the sixth — TIKNONDAÈS!
Hail (to thee), the seventh — ERUROMBRIÈS!

XI. SEVENTH LOGOS

Then there come forward seven more Gods, with the faces of black bulls, girded with linen about their loins, with seven golden diadems. These are the so-called Lords of the Celestial Pole, whom you must (likewise) receive, (greeting) each by his own name:

Hail, Guardians of the Pivot, you sacred and strong youths who at a command together turn the whirling Axis of the Celestial Wheel, and unleash thunder and lightning, earthquakes and thunderbolts against the race of the impious. But to me, who love the Good and worship God, (grant) health of body, perfection of intellect (lit.: of sight), steadfastness of gaze, and calm, in these present good hours of this day, O my Lords and great mighty Gods!

Hail (to thee), the first — AÌERÒNTHI!
Hail (to thee), the second — MERKEIMEROS!
Hail (to thee), the third — AKRIKIUR!
Hail (to thee), the fourth — MESARGILTÒ!
Hail (to thee), the fifth — KIRRÒALITHÒ!
Hail (to thee), the sixth — ERMIKTHATHÒPS!
Hail (to thee), the seventh — EORASIKÈ!

When they have arranged themselves here and there in their order, gaze intently into the air and you will see lightning and shining lights fall, and the earth (will be) shaken, and a God will descend, immense, of radiant presence, young, with golden hair, in a white tunic and golden crown and flowing garments (ἀναξυρίδες), bearing in his right hand the golden shoulder of the Calf.

This is the Bear, which moves and turns the heaven, upwards and downwards according to the seasons.

Then you will see flashes springing from his eyes, and stars from his body.

Immediately emit a long bellow, pressing the stomach so that all five senses together may be excited; prolong it to the end and, kissing the amulets again, say:

XII. EIGHTH LOGOS

(Thou,) MOKRIMOPHERIMOPHERERIZÒN of me — N. (name), born of N. (mother) — remain with me in my soul. Do not depart from me, for I command thee ENTHOPHENENTHROPIÒTH.

Gaze intently at the God, bellowing at length, and thus greet him:

XIII. NINTH LOGOS

Hail, Lord, Ruler of Water; hail, Origin of Earth; hail, Sovereign of Spirit!

Lord, in the palingenesis I die integrated, and in integration I have attained fulfilment.

Born of animal birth, (now) liberated, I am carried
beyond (mortal) generation
as Thou hast established,
as Thou hast decreed,
and as Thou hast accomplished, O Mystery!

Correspondences: