Philosophical: Research Sociefy

The Philosophical Research Sociefy, Inc
3910 Lo¡ Feliz Blad. - Lot Angeles, Calif. 90027 - 663-2167
MÁNLY P. HALL ts HENRY L. D&IKE

P¡eside¡t . Founder Vice-Presideot
CONTRIBUTORS' BULLETIN - i'UI{E 1974
The Stafmqy To Heaven
Dear Frlends:
early every tourist to Egypt vislts the Pyramid s of Giza whlch are but a
short distance from Calro. Fel-, horever ) make the more dífficult trip to
the Step Pyramid of Sakkara. Thi slsbu it t of terraces which converge to-
ward the apex and is said to be the o ldest fn the Egyp tlan arra. Actual ly,
step pyramids were rel atively cofimon in the Valley of the Euphrates where
they were called ttzi ggurats. o One of the nnst famous of these ziggurats stood ln the
city of Borsippa. This nholy mountainr" as it tras called, was described on a clay
cylinder written by llebuchadneåzar and deposited ln a comer of the zlggurat of Bips
Ni,twod.
HThe Temple Spheres, the Taner of Borslp, which a former king
of the Seven
had built ...
but had not finished its up.per part, fron remote days had fallen
into decay. The channel for drawing off the water had not been properly pro-
vided¡ raln and tempest had washed away lts brlck¡ the brlcks of the roof
were cracked¡ the bricks of the buildings were washed away into heaps of rub-
bísh. The Pyramid is the Temple of the Heaven and Earth, the seat of Marduk,
the chief of the Gods. The place of the 0racle, the spot of His rest, I have
ordained in'the fonn of a cupola with shlning gold."
Zlggurats or Holy Mounds, usually rose in seven terraces and are refemed to in the old
writings as üHouses of the Seven Climates" and ascendlng from the bottom, the terraces
were of different colors to represent the Seven Lights of the Earth: the Sun , Moon and
fÍve Planets with their orbits. According to Rawllnson, the terraces were of the fol-
lowing colors in ascending order: btack (Saturn), red (ttlars)r gold (the Sun) pale
' (the
yellow (Venus), azure blue (Mercury), orange (Juplter), and the top sÍlver-pl ated
Moon).
In his Dioine Conedy, Dante reverses this order. He follqrs the Ptolemaic
arangement ascendiñg from the lowest heaven, the I'loon, to-the seventh and
higheõt heaven, SatuÉn. He then assigns an elghth heaven (the ftxed stars)¡
a ninth heaven. the great cosmic Suni and the tenth heaven, the Empyrcan
(tne eUo¿e of God). (Note: The above references ane frrom the Tenrpled of tlø
2rient ød TTtein I'teeeage by Lady E,A. Gordon.
A NoN-pRoFIT oRc.ANIz,{TIoN, FOUNDED IN 1934, DEDICÂTED To rHE DISSEMINATIoN oF USEFUL KNo!øLEDGB

IN THE FTELDS OF PHILOSOPHY, COMPARATM RELIGION, AND PSYCHOLOGY
CONTRIBUTORSI BULLETIN - .¡UNE 1974
Page two
l,lost ancient peoples believed that the

superior regions of creatÍon were above
the earth, whereas the inferior parts
werc subterranean as suggested in Ðante'a
lnferøo. In the Great Pyramid of Giza
the interior rooms are arranged in a
mone or less vertical order, evidently
to svmbolÍze the three major dÍvisions
of the theological cosmos of antlouity --
heaven, earth and hell, It has been
suggested that tombs rrere the earliest
forms of Temples. They represented
gateways leadlng from the realms of
mortalÍty through death to eternal life.
The souls of the dead were regarded as
powerful spirits, guardíans of the living;
and it t.las assuned that in the afterlife
the deceased person would contlnue the
type of existence he had known in this
world. In ChÍna the Jade Cicada was
The Step Pyramid of Sakkara placed in the mouth of the dead to sig-
nify by the fluttering of its wings, the
breath of eternal life. The scarab was the Egyptian version of the cicada and representa-
tÍons of it
were placed over the heart of the deceased person, and drawlngs of this insect
adorn the munmy case and the mortuary aparünent.
There is a strange conflict Ín the anclent concept of death, due probably to an unrecon-
ciled mlngling of several different streams of belíef. Generally, however, the soul -- to
escape from the realm of mortal illusion -- must ascend the ladder of seven rungs, the upper
end of which pointed to the Constellation of the Grcat Bear, the Jewel of Seven Stars. This
concept formed part of the initiation rites of the Perslan God, Mythras, which were çelebrat-
ed unäer the citv of Rome. It
was a Mythraic stone of the Sun-Goã slayinq the Bull (over-
coming the consieltatÍon of Tauius) f-ound in Britaln, that gave us thä wõrd "0xford.n The
Step Pyramíds were therefore ladders leading uplard into the skies. Some of them reached
a height of over 300 feet and among these zÍggurats or symbolic mountains, must be included
the Tower of Babel. There is legend that says that those who reached the top of this tower
¡
could hear the angels singing in Paradise.
Towers or mounds certainly originated in the worship of mountains, and everyvlhere among the
religions of mankind, there are sacred mountains. Some of these, like 0lympus and Kailas
(Mt. Þleru), are actually physical peaks as was Mount Slnal where Moses received The Ten
Cormandments. It is probable that volcanic mountains were held in speclal reverence as they
have been ln all the countries bordering on the "Ring of Fire" surrounding the Paciflc Ocean.
In the Babytonlan myth of Ishtar and Tar¡muz, the order of descent through the seven regÍons
is clearly indicated. Tar¡nuzr the culture hero and a vegetation deityr dies and descends
into the Undemorld. Ishtarr-the Queen of Heaven, then descends along the seven orbits of
the ziggurat Ín search of Tanmuz ln order that she may restore him to llfe. As she descends
she muit pass through the seven gates and each of the gatekeepers demands payment in the
form of one of the adornments that Ishtar we8rs. l{hen she reaches the Undenrorldr therefore,
all of the symbols of her Divinity have been taken away from her. She does rescue Tarmuz,
but from this point on, the legend falls into the complexities of Babylonian theolggJ. _The
imptÍcation ls-that Ishtar signifies both the Universal Spirit and the Human Spirit. The
Spirit descending into embodiment is deprived of its spiritual po'rers (adornments) as g re-
sult of the physlcal body gradually obscuring the activities of consciousness. l{hen the
CONTRIBUTORSI BULLETIN - JUNE I974
Page three
spi rit has transmuted or redeemed the body, the two deities return to the upper world and
the adornments of Ishtar are returned to her.
The Masonlc wrÍter, Frank C. Higgens, in his book Aneient Freenaaontg includes an ingenious
and unusual díagram to support his belief that the great monumental centers of antiquity
were distributed around the earth accordlng to a definite formula. He writes, "For Ínstance,
a line straight through the earth on degrees of east and west longitude, would pass from
Lhasa, Thibet, to New Orleans, but the present delta of the MississÍppi was either hopeless
swamp or far out in the Gulf of Mexico in previous times, whereas the closest point of terra
firma irmediately South is on the peninsula of Yucatan, ..,"
HÍggens shows the poínts of
a six-poÍnted star bordering the 30th Parallel of North Lat-
itude. The first pofnt, at the top coincides wlth the as-
sumed Iocation of Atlantis¡ the second point with the Mayan
city of Ux¡nal ¡ the third point in Hawaiit the fourth with
the Ganges River in India; the fifth with the cathedral at
Lhasa ín TÍbet¡ and t.l¡e ERINq slxth with the Pyranid of Giza.
It is a fascinating specu- THE
THIRTIE'TH lation and may coincide with
important magnetic centers PARALLTL
a
on the earth's surface. The
ancient Egyptians believed OF that the physicat planet, Earth,
was stratified internally NORTH LATI
like the rings of an onion, and
also that the magnetic TIMES
field of the earth radiating
outward was also divided into bands. Life descending to
embodiment falls downward from the outer band of the earthrs
magnetic field.
Ancient star-gazers built observatories on the sunrnits of
natural htlls, or on tåeir ziggurats and before the invention of tlre telescope r{ere already
representing Venus as a crescent, and gíving the body of the Deity representlng Srturn a
surrounding ring. By observatlon and careful recording they unfolded the art of mundane
astrology. Thus the ziggurat helped ancient man to orient himself ín tlme and space. Astro-
logy and theology were closely associated as is testified to by the Druidic rituals at Stone-
henge and Carnac in Brittany, Even physÍcally therefore, the Step Pyramids are stailays
leading up to the greater universe which man discovered, sought to understand and foolishly
believed he could conquer. These were the monuments set up in Egypt, the altars of unknown
Gods and roads of light leading upward fron the dark house of hidden places which we call
our t'mortal world.t'
Perhaps the above meanderlngs will have special interest as Ì{e approach the Sumer Solstice
which occurs about the 20th of June. At this tlne the sun has reached the nortåern extrcnity
of ìts orbit bringÍng surmnr to our hemisphere. To our remote ancestors the annual reblrth
of the sovereign sun was a tÍme of great reJoÍcing, and vúas appropriately a revelation of
the Divine Plan to bring all life to physical and spfrítual maturity. l{e hope that you ane
planning an interesting-and relaxing vacation, and that whlle resting ïe can remind you to
continue growing.
Always most sincerrely,
hqFtr'l
COI{TRIBUTORSI BULLETIN - JUI{E 1974
Page four
The follorlng llst of books are lncluded in Mr. Hall's list

of rnecorrended reading and
have long been rare and out of print. These books may be.ordered directly from The
Phitosophical Research Society, Inc. (address on page one). Please add 35û for handling
on orders of.less than $5.00. and Sales Tax is to be included by California residents.
f{0TE: Prices'are subJect to-change rlthout notfce,
TITLE At,THCIR PRTCE
Saturn, The Reaper Alan Leo P) $ 2 a 00

Selected Sqyings fron the Perfection of llisdom Edward Conze P) 2 .75
Sermons of a Buddhist Abbot Trans. Suzukl (Shaku) (P) 2 a 50
The Signature of AII Things Jacob Boehne 5 a 00
Scientific Evldence of the Exlstence
of the Soul Benlto F. Reyes (P) 2.45
Striving Towards llholeness Barbara Hannah 7.00
Secret Science Behlnd l{iracles l,lax F. Long 5,50
The Story of Atlantis and The Lost Lemuria ll. Scott Elllot 5.50
Studles in 0ccult Philosophy G. de Purcker 3.00
Secrets of the Great Pyramid Peter Tompklns t 2.50
Secrets of Chinese Meditatlon Charles Luk 3.50
The Science of Yoga I. K. Talml tËt 2.95
The Surangana Sutra Charles Luk 6.95
Synchronicfty & Human Destlny Ira Progoff 6.50
Starting Polnts (Poetry) Artåur Lerner 4.50
The Secret Life of Plants Peter Tompklns 9.95
A Search in Secret Indla Paul Brunton (P) 3.50
The Secret Path Paul Brunton (P) 1,25
A Search in Secret Egypt Paul Brunton (P) 3.50
The Secret Gospel Morton Smith 5.95
The Soul & Its Mechanisn Alice Bailey (P) 1.75
Sacred ftysteries Among tåe Myar & Quiches LePlongeon 7.00
The Spirit of !'lasonry Foster Bafley (P) 1.75
Table of Houses for l{orthern Latitudes Raphael 3.50
The Tarot Paul Case 4.00
The Tarot of the Bohemians Papus (P) 3.00
-
Tertium 0rganum A Key to the Enigmas
of the tbrld P. D. Ouspensky (P) 2,95
Things Japanese I'lock Joya 15.00
This Man From Lebanon Young 4.50
Thonas Taylor, The Platonlst
Selected tlritlngs lntro. K. Raine & Harper I 50
Three Pillars of Zen P. Kapleau 7 a 95
Tibetan Book of the Dead Evans-l{entz (P) 2 95
TÍbetan Yoga & Secret Doctrine Evans-Ientz (P) 2 a 95
The Trainlng of A Zen Buddhlst Monk D, T. Suzukl 6 a 00
Tro Essays on Analytlcal Psychology #7 C. G. Jung 9 a 00
BOOKS BY MA¡{LY P. [AI.L

The Guru $s .25 I $ 6. 50
Cotlected llritings, Vol.
Pathrays ofPhllosophy 6 a 50 llords to the llise 6, 50
Buddhi¡m and Psychotherapy 6 a 50 Questions and Answers 6. 50
The llay of Heaven 5 a 00 Journey ln Truth 6. 50

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The Philosophical Research Sociefy, Inc

3910 Lo¡ Feliz Blad. - Lot Angeles, Calif. 90027 - 663-2167

MÁNLY P. HALL ts HENRY L. D&IKE

CONTRIBUTORS' BULLETIN - i'UI{E 1974

The Stafmqy To Heaven

A NoN-pRoFIT oRc.ANIz,{TIoN, FOUNDED IN 1934, DEDICÂTED To rHE DISSEMINATIoN oF USEFUL KNo!øLEDGB

l,lost ancient peoples believed that the

The follorlng llst of books are lncluded in Mr. Hall's list

Saturn, The Reaper Alan Leo P) $ 2 a 00

BOOKS BY MA¡{LY P. [AI.L

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