Sunday, July 20, 2008

The Order of the Red Path has officially opened its doors. Anyone interested will be asked to join the Aspirant group where they can learn more. If they the become interested and wish to join the Order, they will reviewed and upon acceptance, inducted into the Order. The following is an overview of the Order.

What is the Order of the Red Path?

It's probably easier to begin by asking what the Order of the Red Path (ORP) is not. It is NOT a Tradition, in that it does NOT follow a certain Pantheon or local God and Goddess structure. It is however a model for spiritual progress that draws on different mystical systems and creates bridges between those mystical systems. It is not a new system, many have found similar correlations and bridges and are using and teaching them.

The aim of ORP is to progress both spiritually and mystically, in an informed and structured manner. Many people are now seeking the Mysteries on an individual level, and so it is the aim of ORP to provide some guidance to such people and still allow them to work as independent figures on their own spiritual path. The basis of the system draws on archetypes which the individual can use to map his or her own traditional leanings, although specific deities will be alluded to from time to time. These archetypes are five in number, relating to the Pentagram, which plays a very large part in the Red Path, they being Daughter, Son, Mother, Father and Child.

The progress starts with a person working in Malkuth on Tree of Life, takes them into Yesod where they enter the Underworld, journey through the Underworld Tree and find the Light, the Child. They also find their Fetch Beast and then progress up to Tiphareth where they find their Fetch Mate or Holy Guardian Angel and progress from there is wholly dependent on the person and the True Will which is realised as soon as Knowledge and Conversation with the HGA is formed.

The structure that takes place in ORP is mainly due to this progression. When first wishing to join the Red Path you will be brought into a group of like minded individuals with the same aim. You will be shown how to work in Malkuth and prepare yourself for the movement into the Underworld Tree, extending from Yesod. Once you begin to move within the Underworld, you will move into a new group where people of that same level are working to gain what is necessary in that area of the progression. And the same will happen again when you move into Tiphareth, and again when moving beyond, when you raise the Child to Daath and over the Void.

When first joining ORP at 1st degree level (into the Field of the Black Kingdom, beyond the level of Aspirant), you will be inducted to the Order and connected to the Egregore. The Degrees are as follows:

Aspirant
0 Degree
This is the Seeker of the Paths, the one that is new to the Occult, Magick, Mysticism and Witchcraft. The Aspirant’s task is to read, learn, ask questions and become accustomed to the ways of the Magician and Witch on a basic level. It is suggested that the Aspirant take one year do learn, and then if they still require passage into ORP, they can request it.

Field of the Black Kingdom
1st Degree
The member is inducted into the Order and connected to the Egregore. This is where the member forges the Magickal Body, connects to the Power of the Land.

Field of the Red Roots
2nd, 3rd and 4th Degrees
The member progressing into learning about the Astral Realms, but this Level is mostly focused on the areas of the Underworld, or Elfhame, the Lands of the Pale People. The member will attain the Fetch Beast/Familiar Animal here and will Journey into the Lands Within.

Field of the White Splendour
5th, 6th and 7th Degrees
From there the member of ORP will begin to perform Evokational Work and will work toward Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel, or Fetch Mate. Once this union or marriage has been attained, True Will is then known.

Field of the Golden Child
8th and 9th Degrees
This is the movement beyond the Void and it is very dependant on the members own True Will and the direction they are supposed to go. This level is split into two degrees because the member can either choose to move back down the Tree and discover more, or move across the Bridge and beyond the human experience.

This group will also be one which is fluid and not static. This means that as time progresses the model of the Red Path itself could shift and grow and certain things may be replaced. The universe is forever in flux and motion and never still and as Fate weaves the Wyrd, the course of the steps may need to adjust slightly to better fit in with the new strand of the warp and weft that takes place. It would be no good going forward if you are fixed to a model of progression in a particular manner and kept in that fixed state, only to find that the language of the Age has changed, and you are still stuck in that static framework. This is possibly where many groups have fallen down in the past century.

The Red Path is also NOT New Age Philosophy as we may commonly assert to what New Age means. The Red Path follows the language of the New Aeon which is the New Age, but finds itself in the Hidden Mysteries as opposed to airy, fairy butterfly wings.

In order to gain access to the Order of the Red Path, or just to ask questions, please email Grand Master Red Oak on mabonis@yahoo.com

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