The Chamber of Reflection: An Archaic Technique For Achieving Altered States of Consciousness

This is not the first time that the Chamber of Reflection has been the subject of consideration on this blog. No doubt it will not be the last time. It is among existing Masonic rituals perhaps the single aspect of initiation which holds most true to the eldest spiritual initiation practices of Homo Religiosus.  It is precisely that connection with ritual practices of ancient origins which deserves more consideration.

There are mysteries embedded within Freemasonry, the purposes and origins of which unfortunately, the mainstream of the craft today suffer amnesia. In seeking to uncover these spiritual, metaphysical, and psychic secrets, the average mason has to rediscover the hermetic past of our traditions. Most have done this in partial and sometimes flawed ways. Saying this is not a critique of those efforts, nor is it a preface to the unveiling of a perfected system. Spiritual discovery is always tentative, partial, and subject to revision.

However, the resources available for examining and reconsidering Masonic history, and especially the origins of Masonic rituals, are expanding. Before the 19th century, the texts which early Masons, both speculative masons and those who preceded them, because I believe that operative masons were not only engaged in speculative spiritual studies, but in all likelihood knew more about them than today's Freemasons do, were fairly limited and often represented derivative survivals and redactions of a handful of classical works, themselves influenced by earlier Egyptian, Middle Eastern and Eastern texts.

The consensus view since the 18th century at least, is that Freemasonry descends from the philosophical and metaphysical principles of ancient Egyptian Hermeticism and Alchemy, the ritual practices of Mythraism, the teachings of the Essenes, Jewish Cabbalism, and according to one subset of Masonic traditions, the Knights Templar. Depending on which masons you ask, the correct answer is “any of the above”, “all of the above”, or “none, because the only reason this complex set of ritual traditions exist is so that bored men can escape from spending their evenings with their wives.” If you suspect that I consider the “social club” explanation of Freemasonry is spurious, you are indeed astute.

For my own part, I think that elements of all of the supposed spiritual and philosophical antecedents to Freemasonry noted in the previous paragraph are the accurate sources of its traditions. It should be emphasized, although it really shouldn't be necessary to do so, that it is not necessary to prove any documentable line of inheritance to make such a claim. In truth, looking for such a direct inheritance actually is missing the point. Freemasonry is the spiritual and intellectual inheritor of those traditions whether or not any direct lineage existed. Ideas, philosophies and beliefs will resurface across space and time where and when there are people open to what they have to offer, as history and indeed the history of Freemasonry has documented.

The modern disciplines of Anthropology, Ethnology, Folklore and Folklife Studies, as well as the more  visionary elements within Religious Studies have developed a far more nuanced and detailed understanding and account of human spiritual practices past and present across the globe. Modern scholarship has refined our awareness of the ancient origins of practices relating to altered consciousness, including the use of entheogens and oneirogens (spiritually powerful hallucinogenic plants and dream or vision inducing plants) as well as a wide range of other non-plant methodologies for inducing alternative states of consciousness, visionary, ecstatic, and trance. Some have speculated that the accidental discovery of hallucinogenic substances was the initial inspiration for humanity's search for God, and certainly all ritual was at least initially intended to alter human states of consciousness, whether through audio driving techniques (music, especially percussion) movement (dance), the aforementioned chemical stimulants (which range from psychedelic mushrooms to alcohol and tobacco), as well as physical deprivation (fasting) and of special relevance in this case, sensory deprivation.

If we look to the classical sources, the earliest influences upon modern Freemasonry, a couple of texts stand out. Perhaps the most important of these are the dialogues of Plato and Porphory's essay “ On Homer's Cave of the Nymphs.”  Examining these, we may see possible sources for some of Freemasonry's philosophical positions, and at least one of its rituals – the Chamber of Reflection.

Plato presents his understanding of the human condition with an image of unenlightened beings whom he describes as imprisoned in what we today might describe as psychological darkness, unaware of the  limits of their understanding. A fortunate individual may free themselves from the limitations of this “cave” and as a result of personal self improvement, as described by Carl Jung, becomes aware of the higher ethical and moral value of experience. Modern Masons, like Plato, view this sort of enlightened individual as able to serve as a source of moral leadership in the larger society. Freemasons viewed and view themselves as embodying this model.

One possible, if not the probable source for the imagery utilized in the development of the Masonic ritual of the Chamber of Reflection may be Porphyry's words. Porphyry drew repeatedly on Mithraic Mysteries stating that "the Persians, mystically signifying the descent of the soul into the sublunary regions, and its regression from it, initiate the mystic (or him who is admitted to the arcane sacred rites) in a place which they denominate a cavern.”  While this may be a stretch, deductive reasoning suggests it as a real possibility, and would also explain the eventual claims of  Freemasons that they are inheritors of Mithraic mysteries.

Turning to the spiritual technology behind the Chamber of Reflection, we must look beyond the myths and legends with which some in Freemasonry link their rituals with Mithraism and even their philosophical underpinnings in Greek Philosophy. Since the actual details of Mithraism remain, for all the scrutiny to which they have been subjected over the centuries, largely obscured, we must examine other sources of information. While we may be tempted to look to the modern discoveries of apparently ancient ritual spaces in Paleolithic European caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet, Coliboaia, and El Castillo and  similar highly decorated spaces in Africa, Australia and South America, we are frustrated because what ultimately were the uses ancient humanity made these spaces for remain, like the details of Mithraism, indeterminate. However, we are none the less, not without the means of approaching the spiritual activities of our ancestors.

Thanks to the research of the modern social sciences, we are aware of a near universal set of spiritual practices of what formerly was pejoratively referred to “primitive” societies. We have documentation of human techniques of altering consciousness for spiritual purposes. We also benefit from extensive theoretical writing linking these recent practices with those of ancient populations. It has in fact been argued that such techniques form the basis of the world religions. While the term “Shamanism” is problematic, not only because the academics who first used the term in their writings were perhaps guilty of utilizing a name with very specific cultural references for a broader set of phenomenon it was never designed to encompass, but even more so because of its further abuse and trivialization by a modern popular school of spiritual practitioners, it must serve because it will be readily familiar to many, and precisely because it has been so widely used to describe humanity's earliest stages of spiritual experimentation.

Evidence from cave art, stretching back perhaps as much as 30,000 years, hints to the use of caves for ritual purposes. The location of some of these caves suggests arduous effort having been necessary to even reach these ancient ritual chambers. It can be aruged that the solitude experienced in such caves served as an initiatic technique intended to explore the psyche.

While modern Shamanic techniques emphasize both movement and sonic or auditory driving techniques (dance and drumming), it should be noted that more passive techniques are well documented as existing in various traditions now identified as Shamanic or containing Shamanic elements. Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, distinguished between “samadhi with support” (consentration meditation)  and “samadhi without support.” (opening-up meditation) By this, he referred respectively to meditation which fixed attention upon an object, thought, or even a word, and a meditation in which no intentional focusing object is used, but rather in which the individual attends to whatever thoughts or images his unconscious mind presents to him.

It should be clear by now that the Chamber of Reflection may be regarded as partaking of elements of both approaches. The Masonic imagination combined the stories provided by the Greek writers, the exotic imagery of Mithraism, with what may (or may not) have been an intuitive discovery of a technique which when combined with an initiatory ritual, which also rests upon ancient models and technologies of the spirit, quite effectively serves to intensify and enhance experience of altered states of consciousness intended to inspire the growth of self awareness and enlightenment.

Quaerentibus lumen.

The Temple in Memory: Masonic Meditations

It is easy to believe, if you have spent any time observing contemporary Esoteric communities and traditions, of almost any stripe, that there exists a mysterious alchemical process whereby whenever anyone has a new or creative idea, the ethers take ahold of it and by the time they have a chance to share this new technique or vision with another, it has magically been converted into an ancient and timeless tradition. Gnostic and Hermetic traditions, being the closest in those circles to Freemasonry are no exception to this occult phenomenon. At least that is my independent judgment. Of course, the same may be said of Freemasonry itself, where when all else fails, it is possible to raise Frederick the Great from both his coma and his death bed to sign a charter for your fledgling obedience.

One such time honored technique of magical practice is that which today is commonly identified by the name of Pathworking. It is a fanciful term to describe a meditation based upon visualization. It is one technique, which if not originally grounded in Hermetic arts, is certainly in harmony with Hermetic principles. The basic concept is that if you can visualize forcefully, you can enter into an inner experience convincingly enough that for the duration of the exercise, you actually experience the events you visualize, or at least an emotional or spiritual equivalent of them. Any child who has ever daydreamed, or any avid movie buff, has experienced this, so there is no outlandish claims in this, at least on the surface. The fact that I had already been married for the second time before this word was first seen publicly in print, apparently does not affect its hoary antiquity as a technique.

To go beyond that, of course requires the assumption of metaphysical components or impacts deriving from these practices. I make it a habit to offer two observations whenever such matters come up in public. The first is to assert that I do not attempt to influence nor debate anyone else's belief or skepticism concerning spiritual matters. The second is to quote, depending on your adherence or non-adherence to certain conspiracy theories, either Shakespeare or Bacon,  "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

My skepticism of the antiquity of the technique not withstanding, there is some justification for its adoption in Western Mystic traditions, and even for its use by Freemasons. Of course, we have to ignore the fact that when the first Grand Lodge convened in London in 1717, they clearly stated in the documents, which you can see today if anyone ever finds them, that Freemasonry is only a social club, and besides initiation ceremonies filled with obscure symbolism, its only legitimate purpose is to read treasurer's minutes and to hold fish fries. Cigars and Single Malt may be consumed on premises only if you are in Scotland.

So, why would I claim that there's some legitimate connection between Freemasonry and the modern esoteric practice known as Pathworking? Quite simply due to the ancient, still remembered by at least a handful of people, practice known as "The Palace of Memory." That is the name of a technique first enunciated by the ancient Greek orators to assist in recalling lengthy speeches.

The long and short of it is that the technique refers to mentally associating elements of your lecture or speech with items or locations in a building you have imagined. This can also be used to remember or contemplate any other materials you may choose. This location may be your home, a public building, or even a path through the woods. In the examples we will discuss below, we will suggest the Chamber of Reflection and the Masonic Temple.

Let me first note that while I am not suggesting that any Masonic Obedience that I know of currently has formal teachings relating to meditation, apart from the active stage of initiation in those rites where the Chamber of Reflection is part of the initiation, which may legitimately be considered a contemplative process of intellectual and psychological meditation, I consider it a useful thing for Freemasons to consider, perhaps privately and quietly if they are members of obediences that pride themselves on being BBQ masters only. 

Further, one need not be committed to any form of spiritual or metaphysical practice to justify the exercise. If you are purely a materialist in outlook, a Masonic meditation can be adapted to some rather practical outcomes. An active visual meditation based upon the concept of the Palace of Memory may be used to aid an individual in memorizing ritual, or exploring the symbols used in Masonic practice and teaching. Imagine creating your own mental movie in which the ritual may be carried out with commentary provided by your inner voice, or in which the symbols come to life and explain themselves, or if that is too fanciful, where you can view them as if in a hologram while reviewing their meanings. All in all, it's a dramatic technique that remains a lot cheaper than producing your own educational videos.

If you are of a more metaphysical turn of mind, you can enact the rituals in full in your imagination, creating an experience on whatever higher plane you consider to be real, and strengthening, if your belief system includes such things, a masonic egrigore. If you are working with a lodge where the members are open to such ideas on any level, and not restricted by more intrusive regulations, you may well find that such a practice has practical implications for the energy and vibrancy of your more brick and mortar meetings when they occur. At the least they may inspire a more spirited participation when you meet for the "real" thing.

I realize that such an idea may appear fanciful to some masons, and that is fine. In spite of the attempts of some obediences to micro-manage what is acceptable practice, I feel that Freemasonry is at a juncture where some creativity in how we approach masonic education is called for. Since in our day and age, even quite mainstream psychology, thanks in large part to the imaginative work of Carl Jung, whose grandfather after whom he was named was Grand Master of Switzerland during his lifetime, recognized the value of contemplative practices including a variety of meditational forms, such an idea needn't be merely the reserve of the more esoterically minded Freemason.



Lastly, lest I be accused of "borrowing" other people's ideas, allow me to recommend a couple of published resources where such ideas, in one form or another are developed. There is an excellent little book, available as far as I know only in French, and only electronically, entitled "Meditation Maçonique: Le Secret du Ritual de Méditation Maçonnique" by Franck de Magellan. The other, which is more of a traditional application of Cabbalistic techniques, is available in English. It is Jean-Louis de Biasi's "Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons: Sacred Mysteries, Rituals and Symbols Revealed." I leave it to the individual reader to address for themselves the merits of these author's views of Freemasonry. However, I am interested in the practical techniques presented by these authors in the broadest interpretation possible as potential tools in personal education and in seeking more light. Fiat Lux!

The Chamber of Reflection in the French Rite

The following is the first installment in a very lengthy piece posted by my friend and brother Victor Guerra on one of his many blogs, in Spanish. Since I tend to post shorter pieces on my blog, and since I have to juggle many items, including other work I am translating, I will be posting this work in a serial form. I hope you all enjoy. 

Please feel free to offer comments and feedback. As part of my long term goal is to provide access to Continental materials which have long been absent in the American literature, feedback will be very helpful.


The Chamber of Reflection and its Symbolic Artifacts
A view from the French or Modern Rite and its contrasts with other rites 
By Victor Guerra.

 Introduction. -
To start it is necessary to indicate something that seems obvious, not all Rites contain the Chamber of Reflection, or at least it is not interpreted in the same way, and that chain as Philippe Langlet explains, is  "from the dark room of the Emulation Rite, the RER preparation chamber, through the Cabinet "type" of the AASR, or the French Rite ".

Its essence is constituted, as the respected Freemason Oswald Wirth explained - and based upon two sets of symbols, "one representing death and the other life ", combined to create the old mythic image of the cave - which at the end of the day " comes to represent a simplified summary of the message that comes from the macabre dances and art from the Middle Ages and plays an important role as an initiation rite. "

Despite being one of the quintessentially Masonic elements to have penetrated the popular consciousness in so-called "Masonic Mysteries", we find that as a symbolic subject, it has not been addressed much, much less within the Modern Rite.

Primarily within the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, we find paradoxically, the chamber has been magnified and so loaded with inks and colors and schools of thought, that the result could said to have ended up defining the "standard model" or image of the Chamber of Reflection, although the inheritance comes from the "modern", the "old" ended up modifying it to tailor it to the needs of the times and fashions.

Do not forget that in the Emulation Rite there is no such Chamber of Reflection, and that the rituals of this rite should "not make the mistake of subjecting the candidate to it". The layman must be placed in a dark and secluded space free of symbols or inscriptions, on the other hand in the York Rite there is provided instructions to create a preparation room, but no further details.

Therefore we can state without fear of contradiction that the Chamber of Reflection found its way to France through the development of the first settlement of Masonry with the creation of the French rite and then underwent a fuller development within the REAA.

This does not mean we can expect to find much information on the Chamber of Reflection in  REAA literature or even of the Masonic initiation ceremony, or on the form in which it develops in much of the popular literature on Masonry. Indeed, there are many references, but they tend to be circular, each referring back to the other. A demonstration of this intellectual scarcity, is that hardly more than a single reference work of any quality exists, that being G. Persigout:  Simbolique du Gabinet Reflection. It is out of print and when it can be found in bookstores can reach as much as 300 euros, although Beresniak has also written a book about it.

What evidence exists on the subject takes the form of many and varied small pieces of work generally intended for Masons to read in Lodge. These generally relate to the symbolic elements. Why do we find a such a large gap in terms of thinking about the presence and development of as significant and unique an element in Masonic ritual as this and silence on the presence of such unique elements as those found in the Chamber of Reflection?

This explains why when scholars and authors like Frau Abrines touch on the issue of the Chamber of Reflection, they do a juggling act. and move on to other topics without giving a precise explanation of the phenomenon, which shows the difficulty that  these authors encounter looking for a logical thread explaining why something that was not present in the primordial English Freemasonry,  and which still does not have a place there, develops through a complex but apparently unobserved process leading to the current Chamber of Reflection, a feature so important in the continental Masonic world.

Moreover, this calls attention to its becoming a major element in the early Mason initiation, yet it is paid so little attention to in the same rituals, and in many cases we are hardly offered more than a slight description or sketch, even though its symbolic forcefulness not otherwise mentioned in the work within the lodge, remains the first contact that the layman has the Masonic endeavor.

This lack at least from a historical point of view does not make much sense, as   Rene Le Moal notes in his introduction to the work of  "Le Cabinet of reflection. simboles Des pour toute une vie" , which was published in the prestigious journal  La Chaine d ' Union,  No. 6 - July-2012.

It was this article which has led me to investigate The Chamber of Reflection in the French Rite, because despite the anger of certain pseudo French brothers by the publication of our work, it seems that the French Masonic world wishes to claim as its own the French or Modern Rite and its different parts, and yet offers little on a topic as innocuous yet as significant as the Chamber of Reflection.

This led me to check its impact on the REAA of the GODF apart to see what its presence in the ritual texts was, and also what might be found in the various publications associated with the GODF, such as the magazine cited above: La Chaine d'Union,  number 6, July 2012 where you can check the weight and substance of the published work, which is mostly related to Escossism.

For that reason through this modest blog, I intend to further investigate the role of the Chamber of Reflection in the Modern French Rite as the French Brothers who practice this ritual do not seem interested in extending their examination and as history suggests  La Chaine d'Union , and apart from other minor works in the lodge collection logiales Paris, collected within the GODF between 1979 and 1989, that seek to patent it, or who seem to see its significance within the corpus of reflections GODF French Masons of the time, and so it will wither, René Le Moal, need not to worry now essentially the question is moot. TO BE CONTINUED...

To see the original in its entirety, in Spanish, click here: http://www.ritofrances.net/2012_07_29_archive.html