The Heart of the Master – Excerpt

Privately issued by the O.T.O.
BCM/ANKH
188, High Holborn, London. W.C.1
© 1938 Ordo Templi Orientis

The Voice

It is not given to flesh and blood, till they be seven times purged, purged through and through, to dwell in the sanctuary of the Heart of the Master.
My fervour is exhausted; my faith fails; I fall from the rapture of passion that pours through the abyss of space.
All things feel It; all things live by It; yet nothing that knows itself knows It as It is.

So now I , burning up, yet not burnt through, in the glory of that Light, vibrating to, yet not vibrating altogether with, the vigour of that Pulse, am just so far attuned to the Heart of the Master that what was pure Rapture in that sublime moment of union is translated into what seems a solemn music — borne very far through the still air — a Voice declaring the Secret of the Sanctuary to every ear in just such measure as that ear is able to receive it.

The Ten Secret Joys of the Master

At first the music is as if muffled, a murmur of
the wind behind impenetrable veils.

000. Nothing only exists, and is all things.
After a pause of deeply-rooted silence.
00. There is no limit.
Silence again, as if the very bowels of Nature
were thrilled with stillness:
0. The Sum of All is Boundless Light.
Now there is suddenly a gathering together of
the essence of Silence; it is as if focused at a Point:
1. Thou art that which thou choosest to think thyself,
immune to all, for it is nothing but a Point of View.
Now there bursts forth a Wave of Light,
and there rolls forth in majesty of Thunder:
2. Thy Name, which is thy Word, is the substance
of thy Will, whose mode of action constitutes
Existence. Chance.
The Music quickly sinks to a low brooding
rapture, solemn and slow:
3. That which you created is your understanding
of thy Love.
Then comes a sudden shaking and confusion,
as if the harmony were broken up into innumerable
fragments; clashing together, nor is there anyone
speech articulate; until a fearful blast peals
of the tempest sounds a Voice steady and stern, yet
full of peace and kindness.
4. The Necessity of the Universe is the Measure
of thy Righteousness.
Now follows martial music, wild and full of
the dwelling of Fire:
5. The Movement of the Universe is the
Fulfillment of your energy.
And this is blended with the echo of all
former voices and their music, so that the whole
Abyss is filled with their orchestration to one
Symphony.
6. The Order of the Universe is the Expression of
thy Rapture of Beauty.
This fades away into a deep and tender tune,
like nightingales beside a waterfall; and the voice
comes twittering:
7. The Sensibility of the Universe is the Triumph
of thine Imagination.
Quick thrills inform the air, the perpetual
quire of myriads of young boys and girls:
8. The Mutability of the Universe is the Splendor
of thy Ingenuity.
And now again all sound is gathered into one,
an endless monotone of power impregnable, like
the trumpeting of an elephant in Spring.
9. The Stability of the Universe is Change, the
Assurance of thy Truth.
Then, last of all, the soul of Music takes over
shape of a pure Maiden’s voice, and she sings:
10. The Perfection of the Universe is the Realization
of the Ideal of thy Passion.
Lo, in the Silence following in my spirit so
enlightened at its apprehension of these Secret Joys
of the Master, that I was once more lost to myself
and lived again for a little while in Him.