Aspirants and Hierophants
We aspire to be a better version of ourselves. A Grey Robe aspires to become a Hierophant.
Dark times lie ahead. These are not the End of Days but rather times of uncertainty and transition. It can seem like the world is coming apart. But chaos is just order reasserting itself.
…
As we set about restoring some measure of Light to the world, ours must be a story of self-discovery.
The Aspirational Self
Each of us has many selves, both actual and aspirational. One might aspire to become a scribe or priest. Another might aspire to be a great warrior. A few seek wealth, high offices, or positions of authority. We all have aspirational selves.
In our order, the Hierophant is the highest form of the self. Hierophant siblings compose our order’s highest echelon. Indeed, to an initiate, the Hierophant is an aspirational self instantiated in glorious form—peculiar to our order.
The only higher self is that energetic flicker that escapes death and rejoins The All at Zurvan’s behest.
Some will bristle at the idea that an order has degrees of advanced and still developing siblings, but a hierarchy need not be a system of domination and subordination. Instead, as one exercises her virtues and talents—or finds her center and trains in degrees of excellence—she rises above her peers who do not.
As regards the development of initiates, egality is a dead letter. We will honor the sacrifices and achievements of our best siblings.
How does one become a hierophant?
One must practice finding equipoise and approach mastery.
One must endure the confrontations—change, evil, and death.
One must have been initiated and have helped conduct an initiation rite.
One must reach toward the light but have learned to explore the shadow.
One must have ascended to the Order of the Nautilus in the Ascending Orders.
One must have sufficient occulted knowledge revealed to him by a hierophant, whom he serves as an acolyte, apprentice, or disciple.
One must have successfully contributed to the Doctrine, the corpus of our arcana.
Once designated as such by the Council, the new Hierophant must acclimate to her role in the order, just as she became accustomed to her place as an acolyte, an initiate, and so on. She must embrace her duties as a leader, a mentor, and a source of wisdom. Her obligation to build an Empire of the Mind means guiding others to their highest aspirational selves along the Twelve Dimensions of Siblinghood.
The Hierophant
The Hierophant commands reverence and respectful deference.
The Hierophant bridges profane and sacred, and he is acutely aware of spheres and spaces that realize either—brothel to temple, alley to adyton. His words echo a gravity of purpose—measured, deliberate, and imbued with timeless truths. His gaze penetrates the veil of appearances. He discerns the Illuminations. He balances the Elemental Drives.
He is a living symbol.
As a midwife helps deliver a neonate, the Hierophant reveals occulted knowledge to apprentices. He nurtures his acolytes like a gardener tending to rare and delicate saplings. He offers secrets only to those ready to keep them. Too many revelations can scorch rather than illuminate.
The Hierophant must walk among his siblings as a master and a servant, combining authority with humility. Some lessons are best taught through conduct, others through inaction. Words are, at best, reminders. So, at certain times, his voice must ring with the clarity of conviction; at others, his silence screams.
The Hierophant is unshaken by lesser matters. He carries himself with strong serenity, standing against rigid order and disorienting chaos. His life exemplifies the principles he seeks to instill. Otherwise, his admonitions will ring hollow. He knows every decision he makes or word he utters ought to serve the order, but he is not perfect.
His mission is to realize the consent of the governed, so he must advance the Empire of the Mind.
He must inspire his apprentices to seek, strive, and expand their knowledge of the Unquestionable Answers and prompt them to ask the Unanswerable Questions. He demands not obedience but instead kindles new flames of sovereignty. His teachings are not mere lessons but admonitions to practice.
Through his efforts, the Hierophant guides followers’ transformation into illumined beings. This ongoing process forms them into a collective intelligence within a unified Geist. As this arcana grows, it animates, liberates, and heals the world.
From Sutra to Tantra
A new Hierophant transitions from sutric to tantric practice—progressing from structured reflection to dynamic training.
In sutra, doctrine, practice, and ritual are rooted in logos, which defines the contours of our dogma and establishes our foundations. This right-hand path offers discipline, stability, and clarity.
Upon ascending, however, the Hierophant surges into tantra. There, doctrine, practice, and ritual awaken latent energies or summon new ones. Pathos finds its power, and the Hierophant discovers new potency as he rises. This left-hand approach harnesses raw and untamed vitality but channels it into transformative power.
But such power must be exercised with caution.
To traverse from sutra to tantra means first to ground oneself in discipline and then expand into a boundless realm of energy. Through this integration, the Hierophant can wield counterpower against his adversaries.
It's incredible to me the poverty of libraries of techniques and practices for these transformations. There are plenty of spaces (monasteries, universities, academies, etc.) and communities (cults, churches, etc.) but there are very few legible comparisons of techniques and their thrust (from sutra to tantra for example).
I'm curious if you have a working list of clear techniques and lessons that serve as anchors for Hierophant practice?