The Stations of the Cross, 1962

Jesus, the First Begotten Son of God, came to earth to prove that complete ascension is attainable for every soul on earth, if that soul is willing to study, work hard, accept complete personal responsibility, to struggle to overcome and to conquer the little self, to cast off the ballast of earth in order to become buoyant enough to go home to the Father.
  To comprehend the fullness of mystical meaning offered in the fourteen Stations of the Cross, as taught on the Via Christa, you need a clear understanding of heaven as both a place and as state of consciousness. Edna Lister used an extensive prologue to explain the complexity of detail and interrelated concepts involved in this topic. This Bible study series transcript of four lectures is dated April 1962, Cleveland, Ohio. Scribes: Margaret Pratt Doan, Ruth Johnson, Lotus Landis, Irene White, Ross and Virginia Whitehead.

Edna Lister’s Lectures on the Stations of the Cross

Heaven Is a State of Consciousness

All over the world, small groups are living by Christian religious principles. Each group remains separate from the others because their differences of opinion about their religious dogma seem so important they they refuse to join together. For example, they argue over details such as what at age you should be baptized, and will you get to heaven before or after the Second Coming? Christians all believe in heaven, but most don't believe you can have heaven on earth.
  The third chapter of St. Paul's Letter to Ephesians sets the stage to understanding the mysteries of heaven. What does heaven mean to you? Heaven is whatever you decide it is. To some, heaven is bliss; to others, a state of grace. Each soul is free to make his own heaven based on his thoughts about the kind of heaven he desires. Therefore, there are as many heavens as there are opinions about heaven, and as many states of grace as there are people. You don't have to die to reach a state of grace, for grace is Christ's Light shining in you as God's love radiates from you.
  Ephesians 3 explains that comprehension, which is a combination of all soul virtues, flows from the love of Christ and surpasses knowledge. No virtue is or can be evil, but no virtue is complete within you if you still resent, criticize or judge others. You must lift your desires to mate with will before you can become who and what God intended your soul to be—"I AM," the perfect, heavenly state of Christ consciousness. You cannot attain heaven with soul taints, so when you criticize in any way, you invest your soul substance negatively.
  Whatever state of grace you occupy is your highest state of consciousness, and that is your heaven. So, you can have many heavenly states. As you reach one state, you must reach for a higher state. What you overcome today is not sufficient to meet tomorrow's need. Even today's best is not good enough for tomorrow. You can't remain satisfied with past achievements for even one hour. Your soul immediately desires a greater degree of conquering even when you self wants to lounge around awhile.
  With one breath, in one second, the worst sinner can contact a high Source and receive the answer to prayer. Between every layer of earth's atmosphere (including the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere, exosphere and magnetosphere) there is a barrier, a "ceiling." When you extend a line of Light to the Source in prayer, you form a lightning rod of Power that penetrates these ceilings, and the Light descends on the line you have established. The Power that descended on the shaft of Light to Daniel in the lion's den saved him.
  You have a personal atomic power station, here and now, and the atoms in your body are the carriers of that energy. The body is an instrument of Power, and its capacity is in strict accord with the greatness of your desire, ideas and beliefs about heaven.
  God created the pattern of law He desired for your soul, and cut it to suit your potential, which includes all spiritual gifts. Your task is to lift the difference between your potential and your practice. To see spiritually brings great responsibility to the one who is so privileged to see the unseen. The only right that spiritual seeing gives you is to help the other fellow get up, cleaned up and on his way.
  What is your soul's potential? What do you think you can do? God's love never fails. What fails is the doubt, fear and criticism your little self sends forth with love. You have the potential and can love enough to see God's glory beyond the appearances of earth. Now is the high time of your soul's glory.
  What is your idea of heaven? What is your goal? What is your potential? Declare, "As of this moment, everything I have in my hand is perfect." Then stand steadfastly until God solidifies and manifests your potential soul powers into instantly available kinetic energy.
  The Master left us so many explanations and instructions: Read Ephesians 6 and put on the whole armor of God. Then read the Beatitudes in Matthew 4, Romans 12 and 13, and Thessalonians 5 to learn the laws of right living and the principles of how to agree with God and to adjust with your fellow man. You can find laws everywhere, and Scripture is your first and best source. Since you must develop all the fruits of the Spirit, remember these laws:
  "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."—Mark 4:24.
  "The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth."—Ephesians 5:9.
  "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."—Philippians 1:11.
  "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."—Galatians 5:22-23.
  "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."—Philippians 4:8.
  What is your idea of forever? How long is your forever? On the Via Christa, forever is the duration of an intensely lived experience, a condition in time and space with respect to duration and endurance. Your consciousness has been conditioned, perhaps in ways that do not profit you, but your mind is the conditioner and you can recondition what you think. Forever lasts as long as you hold fast to that which you now have, gold or lead, useful or worthless. Is your love eternal? The perfection of your love lasts as long as you remain perfect in thought, word and deed.
  Always remember this: Man's extremity is God's opportunity. Your job is to be an instrument for the fulfillment of miracles. To accomplish a physical miracle, after having done all, you stand unwavering, immovable, untouchable by anything the world can say or do. Say, "I reach out with my arms of Light and bring it together for good!"
  When you believe you have it, you shall have it. Who can separate you from the love of God? Only your little self. Your doubts and criticism obstruct your prayers from reaching the Source of All Light. Power descends from the Source because "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."—John 5:17
  To accept lovingly, without rancor or hurt, is the true attitude of the ascending soul. To stand and say, "Father, I accept this and lift it as I cover the transgressions of others," is the way of almighty, powerful and glorious ascension. To begin the day with an expectant attitude and a desire to cover the transgressions of others, even to take the blame, lift the error and to give love and love and more love: this is the glory of your service to God, and the only way to open the full Kingdom of the Source.
  "I accept, I praise, I love." These words bring you the fruits of the Spirit in expression. To achieve, remember, there must be work equaling the Power moving through, and it must be backed by persistence, perseverance and a continuous need for the soul to ascend, to reach higher, to understand more, to comprehend more.
  Every "I accept" is a bearer bond granting the Power needed to fulfill the answer to prayer. The little words "I accept" are almost equal with "Father, I love Thee." Both are needed, and you cannot speak them too often. One day, after saying, "I accept," the release of Power, the illumination, the opening of comprehension on matters of law will be so great that the joy of it will be overwhelming.

Heaven Is a Place to Fill

These classes about heaven inspire you reach higher in consciousness and open new brain cells. Wherever you are now, that is your heaven. Wherever you are, you fill a space, a place. What kind of place do you occupy? Are you completely satisfied where you are? You are the sum of your imagination, thinking and desires.
  A 1,001 promises in the Bible tell you to look ahead, not to dwell in the past, to live each day in full faith believing. God promises, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."—Isaiah 65:24. Ask what you will. Look again, believe that you have it, and you will have it. You do not have to see to believe. On the Via Christa, you learn to believe to see the salvation of the Almighty. You can't believe by looking at the truth of appearances or living by any worldly ideas. That won't heal you or fill your purse.
  Forget your regrets; you cannot profitably say, "Why didn't I take that path way back there?" Don't play Lot's wife; don't look back or try to relive the past. Waste no time try to see the cause of a failure, but see God. Ascend consciously and stand in the Light, conscious of Him. No one under any circumstances can condition you from the outside without your consent. Blame no one else. Your environment can't condition you. You condition your own thinking, and if you think your situation is a mess, it is a mess.
  To understand how to see heaven as a place, you need a map, and some diagrams. Surrounding earth and our solar system [beyond the heliosphere] is the spherical area known as "the world," which is much greater than earth itself. Far beyond that we find the plane of the ecliptic, which is earth's orbit projected onto the celestial sphere, an imaginary line that marks the sun's annual path. The twelve signs of the Zodiac are constellations that lie along this line, each occupying a space of 30 degrees.
  The ancients named these constellations according to the symbols they saw in the night sky. For example, Aries is the Ram, Taurus the Bull or Ox, Gemini the Twins, Cancer the Crab, Leo the Lion, Virgo the Virgin, Scorpio the Scorpion, Sagittarius the Archer, Capricorn the Goat, Aquarius the Water-bearer, and Pisces the Fishes. Each sign is designated a division, subdivided into three ten-degree sections (a decan), making the full circle of 360 degrees.
  Earth rotates through the twelve signs daily, spending two hours in each. The entrance to each sign, the cusp of that sign, is called a Gate. Jerusalem, in Israel, has eight gates that are reflections of what exists on the inner. However, the New Jerusalem, here in the United States, reflects twelve inner Gates of Light:
  "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
  "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
  "And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."—Revelation 21:10-21.
  Each of the twelve Gates to New Jerusalem has its own rulers and administrators. For example, one group apportions Light to cover earth's spiritual debts as our planet rotates through the zodiacal signs. The Elect lift as much of this debt as they can through prayers for the world, which is their service. Thus, they collect some payment for man's soul debts daily, which is the meaning of Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.—Matthew 6:34. You are assigned to one of the twelve divisions for life, according to the astrological sun sign under which you were born. You report to a governing council within the decan in which you were born. You meet with that council often because they guide your progress through various sets of soul initiations designed to uncover remaining hidden taints of self. As you advance in accepting and discharging personal responsibility, you may be assigned to smaller personalized councils that specialize in aiding those of a similar degree of ascension.
  Every division has twelve virtues, soul powers that you must develop to their maximum strength. Each virtue is polar, having both positive and negative expressions—light and dark, faith and doubt, etc. Take time to learn the virtues of each sign so that you can always quickly detect what influence is currently in effect. Knowing and recognizing the virtues in action takes time and study, but is well worth the effort.
  "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."—Ecclesiastes 3:1. When something negative happens, you know it is the opposite pole of a positive virtue, then you can determine the degree under which you are paying a spiritual debt. This is knowing the "season" of your initiations. We cannot guarantee the "times" of initiations because all is subject to change and the individual's effort. Under the law of necessity (the law of change) the degree initiations may extend themselves beyond what is considered to be their "time."
  The twelve cardinal virtues (honor, love, joy, peace, harmony, truth, gratitude, praise, beauty, obedience, compassion and faith) correspond to the twelve Zodiacal signs to form 12 x 12 = 144 steps, each of which is a law and a lesser initiation. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."—Psalm 91:1.
  If you stand at the hub of the Zodiacal wheel in your sun center of Light and Power, the secret place of the most High, then nothing can shock or upset you. As you accept all that comes, miracles are your rewards. Accept a miracle joyously, even though it arrives ten years late. All that stands between you and your rewards are dark smudges of self.
  Life is a school, and you come here to see how well you have learned your lessons. Heaven itself is filled with many realms, each with its own schools. Since only your body sleeps at night, you are being educated all the time. Expect new lessons daily, for as long as you live, because there are so many degrees, steps and grades you must pass. Earth is a difficult school where you are constantly being tested on your acceptance, flexibility and poise. Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him Him" (Job 13:15), and his rewards came.
  Accept life as a school and you'll be able to adjust to the outer appearance of things much more quickly. You can tell the difference between one who repudiates his lessons and one who accepts life as a school by the way each adjusts to life. Acceptance is the first law of life. What comes to you today is part of today's lesson. When you get up in the morning, say, "I accept today's lessons." Make this part of your morning routine.
  The Seven Degrees of Initiation—the Neophyte, Disciple, Adept, Mystic, Master, Priest and Christos — overlap the twelve signs of the Zodiac, like a seven-pointed star overlaying a circle. Each degree has its own councils, which oversee every aspect of life and soul development. Each degree also has its own formal initiations, and is a law that every soul must learn and obey.

  To hold an advanced university degree, a Master's or Doctorate, you must earn it. In earth's universities and colleges, you complete a course of study, and continue. Those who use what they learn and integrate the new with the old, are the people we term "bright." For example, a doctor constantly adds to his knowledge base, but always maintains the pattern of what he has previously learned.
  Under ascension on the Via Christa, you don't pass a course and graduate, leaving your studies behind. Instead, you meet the temptations of the Seven Degrees from Neophyte to Christos every day. God has designed our course of study this way because He knows we need this to awaken brain cells constantly to keep us dedicated to soul growth and development. Otherwise we would forget the stringent rules of the path we follow.
  When you relax and begin to feel "good" about your progress, your vibration is already dropping back to the sleep stage. Just to feel "good" about what self is doing is a soul sedative. Instead, fuel your own excitement by praising God for your advances, and glory in your soul's learning and actions. God has put you each in the most divinely unpeaceful place God can, since that's the only way He can entice us to continue traveling to heaven.
  The Eastern philosopher is often pictured sitting beneath a banyan tree as he mentally practices the virtues to enter nirvana, his name for heaven. Mental meditation is passive work on just one degree, not active work on all degrees. If you pursue spiritual enlightenment this way, your vital centers may become atrophied and crystallized. By the time you think you should be ready for rajah yoga, the yoga of royal illumination, you end up low in vibration. Those who are afraid to live in the world because they cannot cope with the low vibration have wasted their time in this way in the past. Rest up joyfully, on a cloud of Light to raise your vibration, not down in the world wash of mental confusion.
  Everything in the universe operates according to its unique rate of vibration. Every number in the universe is a vibration, and every letter has a numerical value, its own glorious vibration. As you arrange letters into words, you combine and rearrange their vibrations. Knowing what kind of vibration you are creating and arranging in your life is wise. Being a creator is exciting. By arranging and rearranging your life, you increase your creative capacity. This is how you fill your own heaven.
  All words combine the numbers one through nine. All good and evil spring from different combinations. You have only blessings or curses, and contribute to the world's light or darkness as you think, speak and act.
  The study of numbers begins with mundane numerology, moves to the philosophical value of numbers, then to their mystical values. By knowing and understanding these values, you can unfold every mystery the "Word" contains. This is one way of expanding your consciousness. Everyone uses numbers throughout the day, every time you ask, "What time? How many? How much? What's the address? Do you have his phone number?"

  When you (1) declare everything good and look up to God (2), every power in the universe moves through instantly. This takes so much standing, holding and knowing the truth of reality. You can tell how unstable you have been by counting the flowers you've withered in your garden of soul. You are that Holy Family (3) within yourself, both Father and Mother, and your children are your goals, your creations. If you are just holey, your prayer molds leak and remain empty.
  God created you as an instrument for Power to use (4). To lay your gift of self on the altar is your precious gift to God in return, and you must give up self before you can help another. This is not freedom (5) to express self-will or act in a negative way. Always, you must agree and adjust. Six (6) is the double trinity of the Cosmic Father and Mother who create from a high point of Light. Seven (7) is the number of perfecting soul, your goal as you stand, looking toward the final climb. You tie your earth to heaven (8) by surpassing fate and grasping destiny (9).
  The analysis of the mundane and philosophical values of numbers open the mysteries contained within the Seven Degrees. They enable you, as a candidate for soul initiation, to enter the Gates of Light and go to the Temple of the Sun. However, teaching the higher mystical, Kabbalistic meanings releases tremendous Power and tends to drive away those students less devoted to God's law.
  Beyond algebra, nothing exists but the metaphysically postulated dot, which mystics understand is extended into a line of Light from the Source. This creates the platform, the plane upon which you stand at the hub of Ezekiel's Wheel of Light.
  Heaven is a place to fill. Where you are right now in consciousness is your heaven, and there you fill a space. Heaven has seven different grades or degrees of substance. We are using the number seven here as the most important dimension in a practical way, since it also refers to the number of vital centers in the molecular desire body. These centers may be atrophied, crystallized or low in vibration due to the soul's past misuse of Mind, Substance and Power.
  Everyone must finally mate his desires to his will in favor of God's desire and will for him, which is to ascend to the Christed I AM consciousness. Anything less than the "mind that was in Christ Jesus," clogs your body's vitality channels with the useless by-products of outdated emotions, thinking and imagination. To clean house and obey God's law is an imperative of soul.
  The Neophyte thinks about it. The Disciple talks about it and follows, often lagging behind. The Adept tries to make it work through demonstration. Eventually, effort that was a slow process in the lower degrees becomes an instantaneous act under mastery and the higher degrees. You become an usable channel of God's desire and will when you open the floodgates of Light and Power.

  Every ascending soul is required to take and pass the initiations of the Seven Degrees during everyday life. A Rebirth, for example, is a new awakening of conscience and what it means to obey law. Baptism by Water can be an outer baptism, or a new understanding that you cannot live by the standards of your old emotional life. Under a Baptism by Fire, the Hindu walks on hot coals. If you play with fire on the Via Christa, your idle words or deeds burn you, because you ignored your own protection. Transfiguration, the fifth initiation, is that moment of knowing the truth that soul conquering is a joy.
  No one just finishes these initiations and leaves them behind; you must pass them repeatedly, in different settings and ways. So, should you awaken at night feeling fearful, the Light is just excavating some negative in subconscious mind for you to cleanse. Praise and pray your way joyously through any such test. This is part of lifting your misused life sparks of soul substance and paying your spiritual debts. Be sure to zip up in a suit of Light before you go to sleep. Imagine yourself ascending through a tunnel filled with Light. Lift all the day's negativity you remember to God, and know that your thoughts travel on time through space to the highest seventh heaven instantly.
  Seven degrees of substance form seven rates of vibration and seven dimensions, all of which men have called "heaven" at some time in history. In the first dimension, earth is the first heaven. The vibratory rate in space under time in this dimension governs the substance of physical cells.
  The second dimension forms the so-called psychic plane, the dimension in which all fears and doubts are born in the molecular level of substance. The Purgatory of Roman Catholicism (an intermediate state between earth and heaven in which souls are purified after death) exists in this dimension of substance. Souls atone for their sins here.
  The third dimension heaven holds the desire plane, a rate of vibration in which your desires dictate the form of what you perceive. This includes beliefs such as "paradise," the "happy hunting ground," or the "dream time" of animist religions. The third dimension of atomic substance holds the form you build before leaving your physical body here on earth. All self-satisfied souls who desire a heaven of "rest," harps and choirs, go here. This is not, however, the nirvana of the Hindu or Buddhist, which is a heaven of endless Light, not form.
  The fourth dimension is the substance of electrons, of subatomic particles, an intellectual plane comprehensible only to pure reason and abstract thinking. It contains the philosophical categories such as being, reality, quality, quantity, etc. Purely metaphysical statements create the forms here. Electronic substance permeates your brain cells, enabling you to ascend into the high universal creator's rate of vibration.
  The fifth dimension is the substance of the one universal or Holy Breath that touches "the mind that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). The ascending soul must be strong and disciplined enough to reach this spiritual fifth breath, which nourishes the soul at a more rarified level than our physics currently understands. Thus, the fifth dimension is the first true freedom from the physicality of earth.
  The sixth dimension is the realm of purely creative action, which we may identify and understand as the action of the Father of Wisdom and the Mother of Love. This sixth dimensional substance fills your prayer molds to become form when you speak the Word from a universal state of Christ consciousness.
  The seventh dimension vibrates at the rate of the pure white Light of Christ, the place and point at which God spoke the Word, "Let there be Light," and Light expressed as what we could perceive as form. Eastern philosophy and religion recognize this as their universal nirvana.
  As you walk the Via Christa, you eventually comprehend the interrelatedness of all these degrees of Mind, Substance and Power, which form the essence and expression of all that you are as a son or daughter of God. The Thirty-three Via Christa Degrees are the means of your interaction with reality, eternity and infinity.
  Each of the thirty-three degrees is a great initiation on its own, yet you must also pass the Seven Degrees within each. The initiations under the thirty-second Via Christa Degree include first, inspiration through devotion. Second, illumination experienced as a new concept of responsibility. You use imagination, thinking and desire to achieve illumination. Eastern philosophy says you must be able to control them. On the Via Christa, you must surrender to God to let His desire, thinking and imagination use you.

The third of the Seven Degrees brings a seemingly endless succession of tests, temptations and trials during which you will be sorely tempted to quit. If you choose to work your way through, you will then experience the fourth degree initiation, the first release of Power from the Source of All Light. As the Power-as-Light moves through you, it confers added knowledge and ability to sublimate fear, and to make greater sacrifice self.
  At the fifth degree, you must endure a barren time of waiting, a time of tests of endurance. You open your journey through the degree of the burning sands of the desert in which you offer God 10,000 refusals instead of the acceptance that will clear your path. You can leave the burning sands behind anytime by arising and entering your Father's House to work out your salvation as you wait upon the Lord in the high place of consciousness.
  Under the sixth degree, you ascend repeatedly, only to fall back, until you finally climb to the place where you may dwell forever in the house of universal love in selflessness. At the seventh Christos Degree, you stand on the hub of the Wheel in conscious surrender, loving God with your all — heart, mind and soul — absolutely assured and confident that God works through you and as you, day and night.
  Service is the thirty-third degree in every manner of expression. To serve God in all ways you merely flip the Power switch and put love into action as you work. Thus, we have integrated number, words, vibration and substance to create within us a greater incentive to ascend.

The Fourteen Initiations of the Cross

The fourteen Stations of the Cross, which are tenets of the Roman Catholic and other Protestant Christian denominations, form a devotional meditation used on Fridays during Lent, culminating on Good Friday. The stations cover the time between when the Court of the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus until Joseph of Arimathea laid him in the tomb. Thus, the stations describe events on the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows.
  On the Via Christa, we view the stations as fourteen steps in self-mastery, each designed to teach the student spiritual responsibility for his life. The goal is to raise your consciousness from the appetites of self to live by the tenets of soul.
  Each of the fourteen stations requires that you make a series of choices. Their temptations and examinations are considered to be the minimum effort found acceptable if you desire to hold your place on the Via Christa, the path of Christ, and to pay your soul debts to the law.
  The Stations of the Cross introduce you to the greater soul mysteries, which concern your attitude toward God, the place you give Him in your consciousness, and how you apply the wisdom principles in your life. The Light, coming through to lift as you speak the Word, is always your invitation to conquer the grip of emotions and mere intellect.
  The greater mysteries of the Western schools include three sets of eleven degrees each, eleven being the number symbolizing the soul's mastery of the self. In dealing with the mysteries, to accept information at face value without pondering it first is unwise. For example, the thirty-three degrees can also be viewed as two sets of ten plus one set of thirteen degrees. Number conceals and reveals all mysteries.
  "Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all."—Genesis 14:18-20.
  Melchizedek, the king of Salem, taught the greater mysteries to Abraham first as the ten degrees of All, then to Moses, condensed within the ten Commandments. Solomon brought the truth of those degrees through the veil as three degrees long after Abraham had used them. Abraham, Moses and Solomon were each an incarnation of the Only Begotten Son of God, the Beloved, the personalization of the Logos, the Word. Each of his lives, and there were many, was a step in creating the template for ascension that we find in the Via Christa.
  The earnest student of the wisdom mysteries soon finds the similarities in certain teachings worldwide. Thus, it is not surprising that the Hindu raja yoga, the yoga of royal union of consciousness, also contains these degrees. Hatha yoga, the yoga of breath, also contains the fifteen lesser mysteries in its exercises and attitudes toward the world.
  Philology is the study of the roots and interrelationships of language. Through its principles we find that the roots of many mystical terms are similar in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit. Some early religious concepts are also strongly similar. For example, the evolution of a priesthood devoted to maintaining religious norms and practices.
  The fifteen lesser mysteries are feminine, and deal with your attitudes toward life and how to apply the love principle to live with your fellow man in a Christed way. When we say "feminine," we are referring to the Mother love aspect of the Godhead expressing as personality, the Father, the Mother and the Son, for example.
  In the Catholic tradition, five mysteries are joyful, five are sorrowful, and five are glorious. On the Via Christa, we arrange these mysteries in a different way. The joyful mysteries include the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, his parents presenting Jesus at the temple, and their finding Jesus in the temple after his Bar Mitzvah.
  The sorrowful mysteries include Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, his scourging, being crowned with thorns, carrying the cross, his Crucifixion and physical death. The glorious mysteries include Jesus' Transfiguration, the Last Supper Communion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
  On the Via Christa, we associate fifteen laws with these lesser mysteries—the nine Beatitudes and six laws of comprehension. The Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5:3-12, are attitudes of being or "be" attitudes.

  The remaining six lesser mysteries, the laws of comprehension, are based on other scriptures:

  This last law requires some clarification. The first chapter of Genesis illustrates the secret of perfect creations — to declare Light, to see the creation as perfect, and to name the creation good and very good. God declared His creations good seven times in Genesis, the first chapter:

  These verses reveal our original mandate for declaring, "This is good. Let there be Light." To conquer self, you start by remembering to declare all people and situations in your life good and very good. Stumbling to discover that you are not perfect is good, for then you will remember to declare it good.
  You can declare anyone or anything to be good, and God will move in and make it so. This is a solemn promise. Throughout the Bible you find the promise, "It shall come to pass," later followed by, "And it came to pass."

The Fourteen Stations of the Cross

The fourteen Stations of the Cross are Roman Catholic in origin, and largely traditional in nature rather than scripturally based. Dating to the 9th Century earliest, the Church standardized the Stations in the following order by the 17th Century:

  After Jesus' arrest in the garden, he was tried by the Court of the Sanhedrin and found guilty of blasphemy. Since they had no legal right to carry out a death sentence, they took Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect, for trial.
  he fourteen Stations of the Cross begin with Jesus' condemnation by the Sanhedrin and Pilate, and end with his entombment. These events, beginning with Jesus' arrest and trial, are recorded in Matthew 26:57-end and 27; Mark 14:53-end and 15; Luke 22:54-end and 23; John 18-end and 19.
  You face the Stations of the Cross between the initiations of Rebirth (under the Disciple Degree) and the glory of the Resurrection (under the degree of Priest). The overall set of initiations include Baptism by Water, Baptism by Fire, the burning sands of the desert, tests and trials on the outer, Transfiguration, the Crucifixion of selfishness, the self-centered will, and the corresponding lessons that the soul must learn. The Stations of the Cross teach you how to assume responsibility for your own life as a creator.
  Fourteen (14) is 1 + 4 = 5, and five is the number that represents freedom of personal choice under law, which ultimately brings soul freedom from earth bondage. Fourteen is also the number that represents choice and separation, which is making a choice to obey God's laws and adjusting to your fellow man. Once you have chosen, your choice sets you apart, and separates you from the path you formerly walked. Never try to drag the dead past with you. No matter what you choose or how often you change your mind, you carry a record of all your choices in your aura of lights and colors.
  You take nineteen great initiations between Resurrection and Ascension, and pass them by conquering earthly ideas, fears, doubts, emotional hurts, and frustrations. You can make a number diagram of this: 1 + 9 = 10, the number that represents polishing your soul virtues to stand and endure life's vicissitudes as Job did. The one (1) symbolizes the individual and nine (9) represents the universe, or the ascension from self, as symbolized by one (1), to the Father, symbolized by nine (9).
  Eventually, you must resurrect all the lost bits of your soul from the grave of self. Criticism, even irritating or unwanted, spurs soul growth, so welcome it. Learn to agree with God that this is good, and adjust to everyone you must work with in life. Emotional insults and hurts, real or imagined, tie you to earth. Your goal is to be free of the world, surrounded with Light, resilient, tough but not coarse, to view all slings and arrows objectively, even slander or stinging remarks deliberately aimed at you.
  Freedom does not render you impervious to testing, yet as you ascend, the Light surrounds you so that you often do not even recognize an intended hurt, which nonpluses an enemy to Light. When you are truly free, you no longer take darkness into your aura. You do not even hear an unfair word spoken.
  Eventually, you must stand under the Light devoted solely to pleasing God. To stand in the Light is to be balanced, to maintain your equilibrium physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Then you can just smile, agree with the adversary quickly, and adjust to the situation without arguing.
  Your task is to please God, not self. If you try to please everyone else, you simply waste time. These fourteen steps bring you to that high degree of soul freedom where you can stand invincible, invulnerable and untouchable, immovable except to right a wrong. You face fourteen great initiations in the Stations of the Cross:

  Tradition holds that Jesus fell while carrying his cross at the third, seventh and ninth stations. These stations introduce three trinities of initiation in learning how to agree with God and adjust to your fellow man. Within the first trinity lies the power of the individual unit (1) doubled (2), which symbolizes agreeing and adjusting within your own subconscious, conscious and super-conscious phases of mind (3). You must agree with yourself internally, permitting no inner conflicts between self and soul. Do not permit any inner battle between self and soul to rage within your consciousness. You cannot progress in ascension until you are free of this tendency.
  [Edna Lister frequently mentioned mental-emotional inner conflict and associated it with what we now call passive-aggression: behavior that expresses feelings of aggression in various passive ways, for example, by procrastination, stubbornness, sulky sullenness, deliberate inefficiency.]
  As a creator, you learn to agree with God and adjust with others in the second trinity. You agree and adjust with God in the third trinity. The number three represents self, six symbolizes mankind, and nine represents God. Three, six and nine are the numbers of important degrees of perfection, symbolizing God (3), man (6) and soul expression (9). You can stumble in your relationships with yourself, with others and with God.
  While carrying the cross, tradition says that Jesus fell three times, which symbolize the three temptations he faced at the hands of Satan in the wilderness, as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-14. You must conquer every temptation to misuse the divine principles of God's Mind, Substance, and Power at the physical, emotional and mental levels.
  Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones of the valley into physical bread. He tempted Jesus emotionally by offering him rulership of the kingdoms of earth if he would fall down and worship him. This includes pride and exaltation of self, which are subtle yet potentially devastating taints. Satan tempted Jesus mentally when he urged him to cast himself down so his Father would save him. Jesus answered, "Get thee hence, Satan."
  You are tempted anew before you begin every new level, as Jesus did while in the wilderness before he began his ministry. So, the temptations to misuse Mind, Substance and Power also serve as a cyclic polishing, a series of postgraduate courses in soul conquering.
  God is endless and all-encompassing. Begin with that statement as the basis of your study and understanding of the Path of Ascension. God is all that ever was, all that is, and all that ever will be. Initiations pervade your life. The whole of life is really one initiation after another. To comprehend this, you must understand the integration of the twelve Wheels of Ezekiel, the cosmic divisions (Zodiacal signs) and their keywords, the tribes of Israel, the Yetzirah Paths on the Tree of Life, the Seven Degrees, the Via Christa Degrees, and the Stations of the Cross.
  The twelve Wheels of Ezekiel cover twelve cosmic magnitudes of space. You can imagine these cosmic magnitudes as concentric spherical shells in which God is the All That Is, both at the center and the periphery of the known or postulated universe. From the rarified Source, descending in order but increasing in degree of density, they are:

  The outermost twelfth Wheel is also called the Zodiacal Path. Each wheel has a lower pole at which self controls the soul's expression, and a higher pole of selfless soul expression.
  Twelve cosmic divisions extend from earth to the Source. At their lowest level, the point at which we may perceive them, they are symbolized by constellations, known from antiquity as the signs of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. At the cusp of each sign is a Gate of Light. We are most familiar with Sagittarius, the Gate of Ascension.
  Each sign has a keyword, which is a virtue that describes a quality or inherent power of soul. Beginning with Aries, the keywords are origination, organization, reconciliation, regeneration, sovereignty, discrimination, equilibrium, increase, proclamation, consolidation, unification and realization. Many initiations are always associated with the nuances of a sign's keyword.
  The twelve Tribes of Israel represent twelve archetypes expressing as men and women, inhabitants on earth. The archetypes originally descended from Golden Cities on the inner, sent by God to rule and to set the pace for ascension. They are Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan and Naphtali. Their character strengths, weaknesses, and personality traits are universal. You will find them everywhere among your daily contacts with other people.

In two and thirty most occult and wonderful paths of wisdom did JAH the Lord of Hosts engrave his name: God of the armies of Israel, ever-living God, merciful and gracious, sublime, dwelling on high, who inhabiteth eternity. He created this universe by the three Sepharim, Number, Writing, and Speech.—Sepher Yetzirah

  The mystical work of the Hebrew Kabbalah teaches the thirty-two Yetzirah Paths of Wisdom. We have used the text, Sepher Yetzirah: The Book of Formation and the Thirty Two Paths of Wisdom, translated from the Hebrew into Latin by Joannes Stephanus Rittangelius, Amsterdam, 1642; translated into English by Dr. Wynn Westcott, London, 1887.
  Yetzirah is the Hebrew word for "foundation" or "formation." The thirty-two Paths include the ten Sephiroth and the twenty-two Hebrew letters, each supplying a type of divine power and attribute to the Tree of Life. In descending order, the ten Sephiroth are Keter, the Divine Crown, Hokhmah, Wisdom, Binah, Understanding, Hesed, Mercy, Din, Justice, Tiferet, Beauty, Netzach, Eternity, Hod, Glory, Yesod, Foundation, and Shekinah, God's Presence in the world. The Sephirot and letters form the thirty-two Yetzirah Paths of Initiation. The Hebrew word for "heart" is lev, which has a numerical value (gematria) of thirty-two (32).

The First Station: Jesus Is Condemned to Death

  "The chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled."—Mark 15:3-5.
  The Court of the Sanhedrin tried and condemned Jesus for blasphemy, but because they could not legally put him to death, they took him to Pontius Pilate, who sent him to Herod, who returned him to Pilate. Then Pilate presented Jesus to the mob, and asked the will of the people, who condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion in favor of the revolutionary and murderer, Barabbas.
  From his arrest until his death on the cross, Jesus remained silent when they unjustly accused and blamed him. "Do all things without murmurings and disputing: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world."—Philippians 2:14-15.
  Maintaining your golden silence under blame, offering no excuses or self-justification, is a basic law of initiation. Ideally, you simply accept the blame and cover it with Light, which pays the associated soul debts and frees you of the one who is blaming you and him of you. A fire, being fed no fuel, will burn out eventually. A fire smothered in silence will burn out even more quickly.
  Blame results when someone shirks his responsibilities. To defend the self when blamed only adds fuel to the fire. If everyone were suddenly to accept the blame from and for his family group silently, earth would be filled with heavenly families. Although the silent one may appear as a pacifist, he must still accept the blame for the fight. He remains silent, accepts, prays and releases Light as the substance to fill the craters that others create with their anger and sharp words of recrimination.
  This station is on the first Wheel ascending from earth, the Wheel of Terrah, also called the Wheel of Fate, which is the twelfth Wheel descending from the Source. The fate line relates to this: Those who live unconsciously under the Zodiacal signs live according to fate and the astrological influences on self, unaware of their divine destiny of soul. Every sign, as it transits the eastern horizon for two hours, releases Power according to its degree and kind, which is why horoscopes seem to work.
  At the first three stations, you bridge the abyss between self and soul, between fate and destiny. Fate results from obeying self's dictates regarding what it wants to have and to do. Destiny emerges from learning and doing what God wants. When you finally learn your lessons on obedience, you can bridge the abyss from the endless rounds of fate to your personal path of destiny.
  The first Yetzirah Path reveals the Primal Glory, the Admirable or the Hidden Intelligence. On the first Yetzirah Path, the appetitive soul must ascend from its creature-like instinctive intelligence to obey the rational soul's intellectual intelligence as a Son or Daughter of Man. This is a long, hard struggle.
  In studying truth, you constantly face challenges to your intellectual beliefs, tests that serve to shatter your opinions and prejudices. Eventually, you leave mental rigidity, the tightness of mind behind, to ascend from worshiping intellect to devotion to God. Most people start with a partner in their search for truth, yet many find themselves abandoned on the way because the partner leaves the path, unwilling to leave his cherished notions behind.
  Those who are of a strictly earthy consciousness blindly accept what their family group raised them to believe, and follow an old family pattern, a tradition, handed down from generation to generation. You will find such a pattern in every family that reveres a certain family name, for example, bestowing it on the eldest son or daughter in each generation. That soul then bears the burden of spiritual debt accrued to that name in their family.
  Many wealthy and learned men in Jerusalem hated Jesus because they would not tolerate change; they could not stand that he was destroying their hidebound intellectual concepts, and the traditions they had piled onto the need to obey the Law as given through Moses. They also feared that the freedom he taught could ruin them economically, socially and politically.
  The first station is in the first house, the sign of Aries, which is the pioneer, the entrepreneur, always daring to originate, to try new things. The tribe of Gad is associated with Aries: "And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad."—Genesis 30:10-11.
  "Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last."—Genesis 49:19. The name, Gad, means "troop" and "luck, good fortune." Gad is the warrior tribe, for whom "gadabouts" are named—they may gadabout doing good or just gossiping, but they keep going.
  The degree is the Neophyte, who is the beginner, and the lesson is to perfect your personal expression. Rebirth is the initiation associated with the Neophyte Degree, and it requires death of loving the self and being born anew in soul. The keyword is origination, the virtue of the creative pioneer, to begin something new.
  In the Hebrew alphabet, each letter is also a number and the name of something. For example, the letter-number associated with the first station is (א) aleph with the gematria (value) of one (1), symbolized as an "ox." The O symbolizes unity and X represents the soul crossing out self and its bondage to the world. At the first level of initiation, you are concerned with ego and individuality, and must learn how to unify with science, intellectually, and with God, the Source, mystically. You either cross out self, or it crucifies you. The initiation is the surrender and sacrifice of pride of self.

The Second Station: Jesus Accepts the Cross

  "And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha."—John 19:17. Jesus did not ask anyone else to carry his cross for him. He did not plead, "I and the Father are one," to escape the burden, nor did he testify of himself to anyone. The Disciple takes up his cross to follow the Master. Jesus, the Master of Masters, showed us how to follow the Father's Light.
  Acceptance is the first law of initiation for the ascending soul, a great law based on the absolute principle of nonresistance. The first great law of the Neophyte Degree is "I accept everything that comes to me as my own to love, to lift, to conquer, and to make into Light." The lesson of this initiation is to adjust to life as it is and to stand in serene acceptance. This is "dwelling in the house of the Lord."
  The second initiation is eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which concerns the brain's higher creative centers within the golden bowl—the pineal body, the pituitary gland, and the hypothalamus. This initiation involves beginning to master self, becoming strong and steadfast to resist temptation. Jesus mastered his remnants of self as he carried the cross. He kept his consciousness focused vertically while he resisted the temptation to ask for help horizontally.
  The eleventh Wheel descending from the Source is the second Wheel ascending from earth, the Wheel of Resurrection, also called the Wheel of Eve. As the second step in bridging the abyss between the fate line and the Path of Destiny, you resurrect everything of value from the life you formerly lived while leaving behind those habits and practices that were detrimental. The name, Eve (Chavah) means "mother of all living," which makes your choices here into matters promoting either life or death. Let the old ways die.
  The second Yetzirah Path reveals the Light of Visible Intelligence descended from above, which produces inspiration in its highest form. The number two (2) symbolizes agreeing with God and adjusting to man, moving from a single to a dual unit, which represents outer creation, mating, or assuming the burden of additional new units. The Light of God moves through everything you do while you carry your cross and walk bravely. You may fall by the weight of it, but pick yourself up and keep going.
  Kabbalistically, two (2) represents the Hebrew letter (ב) beth, meaning "house, home, temple, or container." The following verses are about containers: "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."—Psalm 23:6. "In my Father's house are many mansions."—John 14:2. Your physical body is the visible house your soul occupies while on earth.
  Taurus, the second sign of the Zodiac, is the House of Substance, which includes money, material goods, and real property. The keyword is organization in the world of expression. The Light of Visible Intelligence makes one an organizer.
  "And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher."—Genesis 30:12-13. The tribe of Asher, whose name that means "bounty, blessing, happiness," was the supplier of bounty to the king's table. "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties."—Genesis 49:20.

The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

According to an early tradition unsubstantiated by Scripture, Jesus fell three times while carrying the cross. Also not recorded in Scripture are the events of Jesus meeting his mother at the fourth station, and Veronica wiping his face at the sixth station. In this third step in bridging the abyss between fate and destiny, you learn to trust God's strength only and to draw upon it for all your needs. Look up in consciousness instantly, ascend all thoughts, imagination and desires, ignore the outer, and hunger and thirst only after righteousness.
  Jesus' three falls symbolize his recapitulation of the original three temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13), which he had sublimated and thereby conquered. The laws of initiation require that Jesus prove himself every step of the way, as we must do. In the wilderness, the devil urged him to turn a stone into bread, to manipulate the substance principle for physical aid, which Jesus did not do, even on his way to Golgotha, when he could have made the cross weight less than a feather.
  This is the tenth Wheel descending from the Source and the third Wheel ascending from earth. The number ten (10) represents the spiritualized individual who is learning to draw daily upon God's strength. This is the Wheel of Ascension of all thinking, imagination and desires. It is also called the Wheel of the Holy Spirit, the white Light of the Christ.
  The Yetzirah Path of Pure Wisdom and Spiritual Light is the Path of the Sanctifying Intelligence of enlightenment. The keyword is reconciliation. Your whole reconciliation of self to soul lies not in seeing to believe, but in believing to see and waiting upon the Lord for results. The best advice is to wait for spiritual fruition, never to pick your fruit before it's ripe.
  Gemini, the Twins, is the sign of the positive and negative twins who are juggling their inner conflicts while awaiting reconciliation. This is the sign of the Adept who reconciles his habit of using Power into serving Power.
  "God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar."—Genesis 30:17-18.
  "Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens; and he saw that rest was food, and the land that it was pleasant: and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute."—Genesis 49:14-15.

“You serve self until you master self.”

  The ancients called Issachar the "hireling" and a "burden-bearer" with good reason; he found a resting place and became a slave there. Unless you reconcile your life to your religious beliefs, you never can conquer the self. You serve self until you master self.
  Kabbalistically, (ג) gimel, the three (3) means "camel," whose virtue is endurance. You learn to endure while walking the path of enlightenment. This is the third law of initiation, to ignore the truth of appearances in the world while keeping your eye fixed on God's truth of reality. By ignoring appearances, you learn to hunger and thirst after God's righteousness only.
  Jesus took up his cross again to endure, reconciling himself to God while he waited upon the Lord, which requires time and mastery of self. If you pull on your outer lines of responsibility to others, you could strangle those for whom you are responsible. When you pull on the lines of Light between you and others, they easily become entangled in your negativity.
  Jesus lifted evil from earth and opened the Gates of Light we all could ascend. You learn the lesson of reconciliation by standing in the house of the Lord and ignoring any outer appearances of evil. Declare, "This is good. Let there be Light," and everything works together for good under God.

The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother

Tradition says that Jesus' mother wept when she saw him on the Via Dolorosa, and he comforted her. He did not weep with her, but continued bearing his cross, teaching us that having universal compassion is lawful, but not to be personal or sentimental. The initiation is to continue walking the Via Christa even when your loved ones accuse you of failing them.
  The lesson is empathy and compassion without sympathy or sentimentality. You cannot let tears hold you back, but must continue the journey of ascension, overcoming all tears of regret, since you cannot take them with you. Never absorb another's sorrow or fear, but lift it for them and from wherever it extends.
  Cancer is the fourth sign, the sign of the Mother of Earth, as Mary was Jesus' mother on earth. As a water sign, the ocean symbolizes Cancer, whose strength is the revitalizing magnetic vibration of the ocean. On the negative side, you may easily drown in Cancer's emotional excess. The keyword of Cancer is regeneration. Here, Jesus breathed deeply, Spirit regenerated him, and he was able to take up the cross again.
  Kabbalistically, four (4) is (ד) dallet, which symbolizes a "door," especially an open door. You may not weep tears of regret, possessiveness or self-blame for failing others, and still enter the door into Light.
  "Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun."—Genesis 30:20.
  "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon."—Genesis 49:13. The tribe of Zebulun, dwells by the sea and was "a haven for ships." Thus, Zebulun symbolizes being revitalized and quickened.
  The ninth Wheel descending from the Source is the the fourth Wheel ascending from earth. Nine (9) represents the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. This is the Wheel of the All-Seeing Eye, the wheel of prophets, seers and oracles. To see an eye with spiritual vision represents a door or Gate to Heaven that you may not force to open, but may enter only on love. The visionary eye reveals when your conquering of initiations has opened the heavenly door.
  The initiation here is on the fourth Yetzirah Path of the Heavenly Crowns and the glittering glory of God. The Master taught to love your brother as you love yourself. First you "see" only through your love of humanity (this wheel relates to the brotherhood of man). Later, crowned as a Mystic who communes with God directly, you see His glittering glory.

5th Station: Simon of Cyrene Carries the Cross

"As they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus."—Luke 23:26. Jesus was failing in physical strength after the flogging, so needing support, he let Simon the Cyrene help him carry the cross. Thus, Simon became known for "sharing the burden," a strongly Christian tenet. Help in carrying the cross can also mean that you receive comfort and help through the books you read, your teachers, parents and friends.
  The eighth wheel descending from the Source and the fifth wheel ascending from earth is the Wheel of the Servant of the Limitless Power wielded by Melchizedek, whose name means "the king of righteousness." The servant of Power is Manasseh, which means "he who causes one to forget." The soul experiences two instances of forgetting: When you descend from your heavenly home, you forget its glory. When you ascend from earth, you forget the toil and suffering you experienced here.
  The number five (5) represents the soul's freedom of choice under law. Unlimited Power cannot wield itself, yet it can build or destroy according to how it is used. Power used selfishly is destructive. Yet when you let Power use you selflessly, it is constructive — this illustrates choice and separation (14); the number diagram reveals that 1 + 4 = 5. Once you choose, you separate yourself from the paths you did not choose. Trying to return to a past path is difficult at best and may be tragic in its consequences.
  The fifth Yetzirah Path of Primary Vibration is associated with absolute and abstract laws. Primary law is absolute and forms the basis for the many relative laws that govern good living, which is why this is called the Radical Intelligence, because much wisdom radiates, or grows from it. In learning how to live by the higher, stricter interpretations of law, you begin to really understand descending and ascending in consciousness as you experience the effects of disobedience.
  Leo the Lion is the king of beasts and is the Throne of the Sun in its full Power. All three fire signs, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius deal with the Power of Light. Aries is the young Light of the newborn "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."—John 1:29. Sagittarius symbolizes the Light in transition from earthly to heavenly, the fully matured wisdom of age. The Degree is the Mystic.
  "[Rachel] called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son."—Genesis 30:24.
  "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren."—Genesis 49:22-26.
  The keyword is sovereignty. Joseph was not only his father's favored son but a man of spiritual discernment, able to dream dreams and interpret visions. His brothers were so jealous that they planned to kill him. Reuben tried to save him, but Judah was instrumental in selling him to Midianite slavers. So, Joseph began as a slave but ended by ruling as Grand Vizier in Egypt.
  On the vibration of sovereignty, soul is the ruler of your consciousness. You can step from complete failure to supreme success when you live by law consciously. The law of initiation in Leo is to tie your earth to heaven, integrating your consciousness to ignore the world of appearances, which requires you to cross out pride of self completely.
  Kabbalistically, five (5) represents (ה) he, which means "window." The initiation is crossing out pride, which you must do to open the window of soul to extend your view beyond your little world of self to new horizons. Ascend to the extended vision of God, the Source, to live in obedience to the law. The five wise virgins, who kept their lamps trimmed for the bridegroom, represent this. When you constantly trim pride of self, you always live high in consciousness.

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6th Station: Veronica Wipes Jesus' Face

Tradition holds that Jesus fell a second time at this station, and Veronica stooped to wipe his face with her veil. Many questions surround the mysterious Veil of Turin, which is supposedly her veil. Veronica's name literally means "true image." A medieval tradition identifies Veronica as the woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' garment and was thus healed. Regardless, if Jesus desired to leave his disciples a proof of the Power he chose not to use, he may have allowed the imprint of his face on Veronica's cloth.
  This second fall relates to Satan tempting Jesus to cast himself from a pinnacle. Jesus had been tempted to lean on Simon the Cyrene and his strength at the third Station, but Simon proved unequal to the task. The lesson is to stop depending on the world. Do not lean on anyone for anything, or expect others to fulfill their promises — you may love their promise but do not lean on it.
  This is the seventh Wheel descending from the Source and the sixth Wheel ascending from earth. The seventh Wheel is the Realm of the Lords of the Golden Flame, called the creative fire. Wherever the rulers under a wheel are mentioned, that particular cosmic magnitude is their home. The combination of the seventh wheel and sixth station is a number diagram: 7 + 6 = 13, the number signifying Christ.
  Discrimination is the keyword of the sign of Virgo the Virgin. Before you can discriminate the false from the true, you must discern the need to do so. After discrimination, you must apply discretion. The Degree is the Mystic.
  "And it came to pass, as [Rachel's] soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin."—Genesis 30:20.
  "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil."—Genesis 49:27. Benoni means "son of my sorrow." Benjamin means "son of the right hand," and he was Jacob's youngest and most favored son. "In the morning," youth grasps everything to the self, but in the maturity of years, the soul "shall divide the spoil," meaning wisdom and love.
  This is the sixth Yetzirah Path of the Intelligence of the Mediating Influence, because in it are multiplied the influxes of the emanations, for it causes that influence to flow into all the reservoirs of the Blessings, with which these themselves are united. We call this the Path of the All-Embracing Love of the feminine rulers of the universe, as it relates to the Tree of Life, above and below. Remember, Simon the Cyrene fell under Jesus' cross, so the temptation is to lean on friends instead of God's strength. Your friends may love you and desire to help, but the strength of the Almighty is incomparable and infallible.
  Kabbalistically, six (6) is (ו) vav, and as its form implies, it means "peg" or "hook," such as those used as hangers. As you learn to hang yourself on arms of Light, you find that using love as strength is the only way to carry your cross.
  Express only compassion while enduring pain. Too often people say, "I can't pray for anyone now, I'm in pain (or trouble) myself." You can pray your pain away by praying for others. Jesus expressed this principle through his compassion for others while enduring the agony of the crucifixion. Symbolically, crucifixion is the only way to burn away the silver cord and ascend into the Oversoul.

Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

Jesus lost his balance and fell a second time. He must have relived his entire earth life during these stations, wondering if he had done enough. He had perfected himself to express only soul, yet he could not have fallen had earth not bound him in some small way. Jesus was weighing what he had accomplished or left undone, beginning with the three temptations, ending with his tears at Gethsemane.
  "And [Jacob] went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me."—Genesis 29:30-32.
  "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch."—Genesis 32:3-4. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, yet he sinned with his father's concubine Bilhah, and lost his birthright, which was given to Joseph.

Libra, the sign of the scales of equilibrium, rules partnerships, marriage and other people. Here you learn to stand in balance, both as a servant to God and of the world, which illustrates a practical application of equilibrium. The Degree is the Master of all responsibility, which Libra shares with Scorpio. Libra learns the penalties of being irresponsible. Scorpio polishes the facets of the jewel of responsibility.
  The sixth Wheel descending from the Source and the Seventh Wheel ascending from earth is the Wheel of the Messengers of God, headed by Gabriel. It is the home of all original eunuchs. "All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."—Matthew 19:11-12.
  The seventh Wheel ascending also symbolizes the Via Christa, diagramed as 7 + 6 = 13. Thus, as the Wheel of Shekinah glory, it represents the pure white Light of the Christ, and his Cross. Shekinah means "radiance of the Presence" of God.
  The seventh Yetzirah Path of Occult Intelligence is the Refulgent Splendor of all the intellectual virtues which are perceived by the eyes of intellect, and by the contemplation of faith. This is not a blind faith, but knowing the truth. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."—John 8:32.
  The initiation is learning to stand strongly and firmly under pressure. Expect to stand alone and do not depend on anyone but God—you dare not do so on the outer. Jesus embodied this lesson when he depended on Simon the Cyrene, who proved weak.
  Kabbalistically, seven (7) represents (ז) zayn, a "weapon," which the form of the letter portrays. Honor, loyalty and integrity of soul are the greatest weapons of the soul. With loyal faithfulness to God, the answers to all questions in life appear in their rightful place.

Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Daughters of Jerusalem

"There followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."—Luke 23:27-29. Jesus was strong again after his second fall. He stood erect under the increased Power to comfort and reassure the women of Jerusalem who were weeping for him.
  The fifth Wheel descending from the Source and the eighth Wheel ascending from earth is the Wheel of the Lords of Creation. They execute Councils' Orders for lifting evil, and control the descent of the Light of the Oversoul Star, which culminates in the forty-ninth year of earth life.
  Scorpio, the eighth sign, is the sign of outer death, transformation and reproduction. The keyword is propagation or increase. An increase of Power at the eighth Station increases Substance in all ways as you stand under the Light.
  "And [Leah] conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon."—Genesis 29:33.
  "Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."—Genesis 49:5-7.
  Simeon means "hearing," but he did not listen. He and his brother, Levi, were noted for self-will and anger. The initiation is one of choice: You can be selfish or selfless in releasing Power. If you are selfish, you use your own soul substance without knowing it. Or you may become the selfless servant of all Power through mastery, which opens a direct channel to your Source.
  Eight symbolizes the joining of earth to heaven, in this case joining Jesus' general world with his particular heaven. The Degree is the Master. The eighth Yetzirah Path is called the Absolute or Perfect Intelligence, because it is the means of the primordial, which has no root by which it can cleave, nor rest, except in the hidden places of Gedulah, Magnificence, which emanate from its own proper essence. It ties earth to heaven.
  Kabbalistically, eight (8) is (ח) cheth, which means "enclosure." The symbol for number eight (8) consists of an upper sphere conjoined to a lower sphere. You must choose between enclosing yourself within the lower temporal-material eight or to surround yourself with Light, life and glory in the upper sphere.

The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

Jesus fell for the third time at the ninth Station. The number nine (9) represents conquering all forms of weakness — physical, emotional or mental. When the women of Jerusalem wept for him, he suffered with and for them, thereby lowering his vibration. Thus, he fell later through the remnant of sentimentality. Soft, mushy sentimentality is quite different from firm, brisk love.
  Jesus lifted the tears he wept in Gethsemane when he found his disciples asleep and felt he had not done enough. After Judas betrayed him, he could have held a taint of regret deep in his heart. He faltered with his mother, with Veronica, then with the women of Jerusalem. Jesus always exalted women and motherhood, and at the ninth station he opened the vibration for the future exaltation of womanhood.
  He faltered with the cross only under love and depth of his grief. He could not take the grief with him, but had to lift it. At his third fall, he must have recalled his every hesitation. Jesus surrendered all idea of pride when he rode the donkey colt into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Those three falls and his last words spoken from the cross opened the vibration to exalt women on earth in the Christed Age. Jesus then took up his cross and never faltered again.
  Within the nine Stations are three trinities. The first trinity represents the Holy Family, the Father, Mother and Son, which is the identity trinity. The second trinity is your relationship to your family and creations. The third trinity represents your relationship to God.
  The fourth Wheel descending from the Source is the ninth Wheel ascending from earth. Each wheel spans a cosmic magnitude, and the magnitudes are numbered from the Source. The outermost is the twelfth cosmic magnitude, so the twelfth wheel is the lowest and slowest rate of vibration.
  However, you cannot create on a twelve, but only on a one. The first Station of the Cross begins with the individual and they ascend subtlety and complexity from there. Thus, the fourth Wheel of Ezekiel, the Wheel of the Crown of Creation, is closer to the Source.
  The Father and Mother of Creation begin as a dual Androgynous Being. They differentiated themselves into "many" from their ruling divisions, descending to earth first from the divisions of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn, the signs that rule form.
  The mystery behind the ninth station is that the Master could have walked as a begotten creator god on earth. Using Power, he could have held his cross in one hand, but he was the way-shower and instead demonstrated what soft sentimentality does. It's so easy to slip when you allow pain, hurts or fears any room in your consciousness.
  The Yetzirah Path is the "Pure Intelligence, so called because it purifies the Numerations, it proves and corrects the designing of their representation, and disposes their unity with which they are combined without diminution or division." The ninth Yetzirah Path is Absolute Intellect, which is concrete thinking in words and ideas. You think in pictures, then apply abstract thoughts to some concrete problem.
  The lesson is that abstract thinking can be as weakening as self-centered thinking or self-centered emotions that leads to deluding yourself. Anything that makes you proud can be a weakness. Even a saint can be proud that he is a saint, albeit still be tainted with self.
  Sagittarius is the sign of soul ascension, ruled by the Degree of the Priest. The keyword is proclamation. The Priest forges ahead with no regret over the past. You must conquer all weaknesses to achieve divine comprehension in this initiation, to comprehend all you think you know. Conquering means returning, even after falling.
  "[Leah] conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi."—Genesis 29:34.
  "Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."—Genesis 49:5-7.
  Levi is the tribe that became the official priesthood of Israel: "The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance. Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them."—Deuteronomy 18:1-2. When God apportioned Levi among the other tribes, Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh became Levi's replacements, two as one.
  Kabbalistically, nine (9) is (ט) teth, the "serpent" that symbolizes God's Wisdom, both as being and as doing. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.—John 3:14. To lift up the Son of man is to sublimate the self.

  This word diagram illustrates the Father's Serpent of Wisdom. I symbolizes the line of Light extended directly from the Source when you ascend and sublimate the creative fire (S) to reach comprehension. D symbolizes the door to heaven, closed to self, which opens to the knock of love and creates unity (O) or brotherhood. The lesson is to conquer self through comprehension of soul. Nine symbolizes the Universal Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. Brotherhood cannot exist without comprehension.

Tenth Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

"And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."—Matthew 27:35.
  "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did."—John 19:23-24.
  The Roman soldiers stripped Jesus of his garments, which signifies being stripped of all outer protection before the world. The tenth Yetzirah Path of Resplendent Intelligence is the full Wisdom of God completely comprehended. To comprehend is to attain the right to know, but you must be faithful in practicing what you know. Faithful practice makes one a spiritualized individual comprehending God, stripped of all pretense of outer protection under the Christos Degree.
  The third Wheel descending from the Source and the tenth Wheel ascending from earth represents the Son of All Energy who stands between the Father and the Mother, Energy surrounded by Wisdom and Love. This energy flows through all twelve cosmic divisions as the Holy Spirit.
  "[Leah] conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah."—Genesis 29:35.
  Israel blessed Judah, saying, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."—Genesis 49:8-12.
  Judah became the royal house of Israel, but it was also a commercial tribe of merchants and canny traders. Judas Iscariot, the son of a wealthy merchant, was descended from the tribe of Judah. Capricorn is the sign under which you gather all you have learned and apply it to better organize your life. The keyword is consolidation. To conquer situations and limitations, you must consolidate all your lessons to use them as comprehension.
  Kabbalistically, ten (10) is (י) yod, is "hand," named for the Hand of God that upholds His entire Creation. The hand symbolizes what you hold and how you execute action. The initiation is to live up to "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."—John 5:17. To do this, declare, "I AM an instrument for God to use. Let all His Love and Power use me."

Eleventh Station: Jesus Is Crucified

At this station, the Roman soldiers raised Jesus on the cross and crucified him. Jesus took on the cross to fulfill the law. Of all the soul blindness man indulges, following his sacrifice, none is worse than allowing self to crucify soul. The epitome of self's weakness is to let someone on the outside condition your life. Never play the martyr or give another power over your happiness. Self-pity is the underlying reason anyone chooses crucifixion or martyrdom at the hands of self.
  The Master saved earth as the ultimate sacrifice. Weep if you must, but not in self-pity because of what's done to you. Keep yourself confidently and triumphantly armored in Light. You are divided within your own being unless you master the appetitive soul and ascend the self.
  Eleven is the number symbolizing soul mastery. Your destiny requires you to conquer until you become untouchable by the world or anyone in it. Build in mind a picture of Jesus glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration, then act as if you were right there beside him.
  The second Wheel descending from the Source is the eleventh Wheel ascending from earth, and is the Wheel of the Mother of All Love through the twelve cosmic divisions, governed by the Paradise Twins' Computer Mind of God. You ascend this Wheel on the Love vibration. Wisdom sends Creation forth, but Love draws it back to God.
  In a marriage of the Lamb, you consciously mate your personal desires and will to the desier and will of God for you, to the point where you finally lift and sublimate all expressions of self. The lesson in this is to master self until God's love has conquered through your soul. Then Jesus' cross of Crucifixion becomes the cross of Transfiguration, the cross of Supreme Power.
  The eleventh Yetzirah Path of Glittering Intelligence reveals the Throne of God to the faithful. All real brilliance of soul (not mere intellect) originates on this Path. The ancients called this the Path of the Scintillating Intelligence, because "it is the essence of that curtain which is placed close to the order of the disposition, and this is a special dignity given to it that it may be able to stand before the Face of the Cause of Causes."
  "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan."—Genesis 30:1-6.
  "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord."—Genesis 49:16-18. Dan, whose name means "judge," judges among the tribes, and awaits the salvation of the Lord. Aquarius, the Water Bearer, bears the waters of the River of Life.
  Unification, which is the keyword of Aquarius, is the first step higher than consolidation. You must speak the Word to unify Light and darkness because love draws everything back into itself. A word of caution: You can pass the tenth initiation of protection from the world and still have remaining taints. You are in danger of forgetting laws and responsibilities until you have unified them. You must unify the appetitive soul with the law, which means you are required to become law.
  Kabbalistically, eleven represents the awakened pineal body, pituitary gland, and all centers in the golden bowl fully functioning. This allows you to see and hear spiritually, for full Shekinah glory to descend, and to enfold all things good into one glorious whole of soul unity.

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

At the twelfth station, Jesus died on the cross. He said, "Father, unto thee I commend my spirit" and "gave up the ghost." The Power his sacrifice released was so great that it created an earthquake and other phenomena.
  "Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God."—Matthew 29:50.
  This is the first Wheel descending from the Source and the twelfth Wheel ascending from earth. Twelve represents a completed cycle. On this first Wheel of Ezekiel is the triune Supreme Holy Begotten Father of All Wisdom through the twelve cosmic divisions. All other Begotten Fathers of the Hierarchy of Creation descend from here.
  "The twelfth Yetzirah Path is the Intelligence of Transparency, because it is that species of Magnificence…whence issues the vision of those seeing in apparitions. (That is, the prophecies by seers in a vision.)" Thus, this is the Path of Prophetic Illumination. You negatively use illumination when you do not immediately hold these prophecies in the Light. This path carries the vibration of renunciation, which Jesus used to surrender earth. The other Stations were heavy initiations, and it took all twelve to strengthen him enough to surrender earth.
  Each Wheel of Ezekiel has twelve great virtues, and you must perfect a virtue for each sign before you leave earth behind. You polish all the virtues as you ascend.
  Pisces is the sign of the fishes, and long a symbol of Christ. Ichthys or ichthus is from 1st Century Greek ikhthýs (ἰχθύς), meaning "fish." ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthys) is an acrostic for "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ," Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr, which translates as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." Christ had called his disciples and followers to become "fishers of men," so the fish was among the earliest symbols Christians used to identify each other secretly.
  The Pisces fishes, bound together by a line of Light as they swim in opposite directions, symbolize the inner conflict between self and soul. The keyword of Pisces is realization, and the initiation involves realizing that you dare not disobey any law. The lesson is to be careful not to misuse the power of illumination, or to disobey law.
  The whole emphasis of Jesus' ministry was that he died to pay our soul debts. He taught us to cover the transgressions of others, to recognize evil and lift it, to cover all debts with love and compassion. As you learn to lift others' misdeeds into the Light, you will no longer slide down the greased pole of self while considering their wrong actions, but will cover their transgressions with love.
  The initiation includes meeting challenges of death to the little self, which people seem to repudiate most. The Holy Spirit o'ershadows you as the white Light of the Christ to be so in love with God that you become fearless, firm, bold in your love and openly declare it. You must love your fellow man as you love yourself, and must love yourself as God loves you. As you love, you draw closer to God and become more like Him. You love because of your joy and delight in God's perfect laws, not despite what others say or do.
  "And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali."—Genesis 30:7-8.
  "Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words."—Genesis 49:21.
  The tribe is Naphtali, whose name means "my struggle." Naphtali is said to give "goodly words," which are the words and messages of prophecy.

The Thirteenth Station: Jesus' Body Is Removed from the Cross

"And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children."—Matthew 27:55-56.
  "There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem."—Mark 15:40-41.
  Loving hands lifted Jesus from the cross. At his death, the Wheel of Christed Power descended to the etheric currents just below the upper rim of the Zodiacal Circle to save the world. The substance of this wheel forms the Christed souls of the planets descended to o'ershadow and permeate our solar system with all powers to lift and to heal.
  Keter, the Crown of Creation, governs this. The descent of this Christed Power opened God's law of salvation for earth, and the Elect received glorified justification through Jesus' sacrifice. We became the servants of his joy in soul conquering, spreading the good news that someone is always there to love us.
  The Thirteenth Path is named the Uniting Intelligence because it is itself the Essence of Glory. It is the Consummation of the Truth of individual spiritual things. To us, the thirteenth Yetzirah Path is Complete Union, the Via Christa, whose upper pole is Ascension. On the lower pole the thirteenth path symbolizes dissolution or transition, the death of the body, which is why some people traditionally fear the number thirteen (13). Thus, it is either the path of love and Light or the path of complete darkness, and this is each soul's choice.
  The number thirteen represents the white Christ Light that contains the Father and Mother virtues and principles of Wisdom and Love. The Power is always available to you to get off your cross and convert it into a ladder to climb above all that comes your way. Dedicate yourself to never again letting the little self crucify your soul.

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Laid in the Sepulcher

"Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand."—John 19:38-42.
  Loving hands laid Jesus in the tomb. This is the Fourteenth Yetzirah Path of the Illuminating Intelligence, and is so called because it is that which is the founder of the concealed and fundamental ideas of holiness and of their stages of preparation."
  On the Via Christa, we call this the Path of Holiness, devotion and preparation in its highest sense. Because it is the fourteenth path, it is also called the Path of Choice and Separation. You are free to choose your path of soul destiny and separate yourself from the little self's fate line.
  You can make this the path of separation of soul from self, or the path of holiness, devotion, and preparation for life, the path of choice. Charge your soul never to lay away a bit of the little self, lovingly cover it deep in the subconscious, then nourish and sustain it by hiding it from the Light. When you hoard grief, resentment, blame or greed, it drains your energy and dilutes your love. It depletes the body until you have little or no strength left for living.
  According to the Hebrew Kabbalah, the fourteenth Yetzirah Path symbolizes the full resurrection of everything old. You must resurrect everything you can from the old as you ascend, and burn the husks of self in the fires of love.
  Forgiveness is to give love for, to be able to say, "Though thou slay me, I declare it good!" This is forgiving, or giving love for whatever comes your way. Having mastered and conquered at the thirteenth and fourteenth Stations, you are ready to begin a new round of initiations.

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