Rosicrucian Beacon Magazine - 2012-09 - AMORC

and majesty of a higher state, and to reflect this in arespectful and reverential way whenever we wished toappeal to, communicate with, or receive inspiration fromit. Acknowledgement of this higher power required thepreparation and establishment of a special exalted place:a place of sanctity, a sacred space.The Creation of a Significant SpaceIn the early history of the human civilisation the conceptof the Temple was born. It may have begun with somethingcalled a templum. This is a Latin word describing a zone ofthe sky or earth marked out by the diviner or soothsayeras a suitable place in which to take auspices. He wouldobserve the flight and cries of birds within the templumand draw omens from these signs. It was a sacred space thatcould be inaugurated either in the sky or on the ground.A templum in the sky was marked off with imaginarylines which divided it into four regions according to thecardinal points. On the ground, the space might eitherbe marked off with imaginary lines or eventually, withphysical delineations such as trees or walls.It is at this point in human development that theconcept of the Temple was born. This was a major stepforward in the ascent of consciousness for early humans.The Temple-space was to be a distinct and holy placewhere one stepped out of the everyday activities of themundane world, cleansed the mind and body, and enteredthe silence to commune with the Absolute. It was a placeof sanctuary, a tabernacle where the Holy of Holies couldbe found.Some of the oldest sanctuaries were natural woods.In Sir James George Frazer’s book The Golden Bough,we can read about the creation of the Sacred Grove, andthe veneration and worship of the sacred Tree in manyThe Temple-space was a distinct and holy placewhere one stepped out of the everyday activities ofthe mundane world.different civilisations throughout human evolution.As the centuries passed, these sacred spaces becameincreasingly sophisticated, gradually evolving intomonuments, and ultimately into the beauty and majestyof the great temples, churches and cathedrals of the world.The central attribute of the Temple was the Altar itself,being the threshold of contact with the Holy Presence,the connecting bridge between the Earth plane and thespiritual.Within this temple space, human beings engagedin the most profound and meaningful expressions of theA templum in the sky was marked off with imaginary lines dividingit into four regions according to the cardinal points. Within it the flightand cries of birds would be observed by the diviner in order to abstractomens from such observations.higher aspirations of themselves. Whether in a forestgrove, surrounded by the beauty and harmony of nature,or in a cathedral, surrounded by inspiring lines of form andsymmetry, it functioned as a sanctuary where the mysticcould retreat for a while into the Silence. The sanctuaryof today remains the same: a place where illusions anderrors fall away, a place of enlightenment. Even now it issomewhere we can, for a moment, find meaning and peaceamidst the chaos of creation and the hustle and bustle ofour daily existence.Spiritual AscentThe development of the temple was commensurate withthe beginnings of a sense of humility, a recognition ofunworthiness giving rise to Will: the will to develop andaspire or rise to a state that brought human consciousnessin closer contact with that of the Divine.Regarding our own spiritual journey, thereis also that sense of ascent or rising associatedwith the reaching of the Temple. Whether inthe form of a quest or series of personal trials, wesymbolically cleanse and transform ourselves bymetaphysically ascending the steps of the sacrededifice. And the only way we can do this is through thelearning experience, and an increasingly enhanced levelof self-knowledge. In other words, we have to work toreach this special exalted place, to prepare ourselves, toimprove ourselves, to prepare to meet with the beautyand perfection of the Divine.Once we enter the Temple we set ourselves in relationto the universe. We are at a connection point with higherrealms, with the Divine. This is because the temple isthe place where both realms, the macrocosm and themicrocosm, meet and are one. It is where we recogniseThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 20123