Liturgical Structure of the Eucharist

The structure to be used in South Africa is based on the same principles as were established by the Young Rite in the Netherlands. This means that next to the Traditional Form of the Holy Eucharist, experimental forms may also be developed and executed under the sole responsibility of the curate bishop, that is, bishop Johannes. In the South African Circle the experimental form endeavors to restore the equality in gender, as is believed to have been practiced in many mystery schools as also among the Cathars.

In the Holy Eucharist, the Priest consecrates the bread symbolic of the masculine line. However, the Priestess consecrates the wine and water, the chalice being symbolic of the womb. It is therefore symbolic of the feminine line. The consecration becomes valid when a piece is broken off the consecrated bread and is dropped in the chalice, this act being symbolic of the sperm entering the womb, establishing Holy Conception.

The Knights Templar built their churches in circular form. Hence the altar in the Young Rite is circular. The Priest stands in the West, facing East across the altar. From antiquity, consecration was shrouded in mysteries. The Sun rises in the East, and as the sun rises, the Divine Wisdom rises in the East. The rising sun in the East is symbolic of instructing and employing the Priest and Priestess to consecrate the oblations according to ancient rites.

The Priestess stands in the East. She faces West across the altar. From ancient times, the entrance to the church was in the West. In many cathedrals built according to ancient patterns, the entrance is either between two pillars, or between columns that arch towards the center, meeting in a point at the top. Either way, it symbolizes the birth between the two legs of the mother. Therefore passing through the entrance summons the clergy and devotees to experience entering a new life, leaving behind all the delights and sorrows of worldly life.

For the Holy Eucharist to be valid, it is imperative that both the Priest and Priestess each received their ordination as conferred upon them by a Liberal Catholic Bishop in accordance with the Liberal Catholic Liturgy.

The Father and the Holy Spirit

God the Father and God the Holy Spirit in their turn reflect the duality of masculine and feminine.

God the Father is the masculine expression of the Godhead. The diamond, placed centrally in the top of the dome above the altar, symbolizes His Presence. He commands. He sets the pattern of how the rite shall be enacted. The diamond is the hardest gem. It can even cut glass. The masculine aspect of the Godhead is therefore strict and strong, that of the Marshall that must fulfill what is to be fulfilled.

The World Mother and the five-pointed Star

God the Holy Spirit is the World Mother. In Her Motherly warmth she creates the temple with beauty. She expresses her power through five gems. This is how we experience the beauty of the Eucharist with our five senses. She symbolizes the five pointed star, in many ways an ancient symbol of the human, having the head at the top point of the star, the next two points at the fingers of the outstretched arms, and the bottom two points at the toes of the wide-spread legs. It is the five-pointed star pointing upwards. It is a sacred symbol of creativity. However, if the five-pointed star is drawn with the top pointing downward, the two top points then symbolize the horn of the goat. This is used in black magic. People practicing their black magic are called the “goat riders” (in Dutch “de Bokkerijders”)

In Genesis one reads: “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. It refers to the World Mother, God the Holy Spirit. In Genesis She creates Life. She separates light from darkness, heaven from earth, water from land, and then creates life in plants, in fishes, in birds, in animals, and finally in Adam and Eve. With the five-pointed star pointing upward, the World Mother brings peace, harmony, and beauty in all its magnificence. However, with the five-pointed star pointing downward, the World Mother is the fury, bringing destruction and death. It expresses the duality in the nature of the female, at one time the greatest joy, and then again the tears. Hence again the duality in the offering made in the chalice, the wine for joy, the water for the tears.

The Temple Entrance in the West

Among the five gems belonging to the World Mother as God the Holy Spirit, belongs the amethyst. This beautiful gem expresses ceremonial work. It is in the West, placed above the entrance, encouraging partaking with one’s feelings and mind in the beautiful rites of the Sacred Circle.

Thus far, six gems have been allocated a sacred role in the rite, one for God the Father and five for God the Holy Spirit, She Who is the World Mother. Finally, there is the seventh gem, the Sapphire. It represents the Lord Christ, and the Sapphire is placed centrally on the altar. Thus we have the seven candles on the altar. The Lord Christ is represented by the central candle. When facing east, the first candle to the right represents God the Father. The five remaining candles represent God the Holy Spirit, the World Mother.

Sophia and Christ

Is the Lord Christ representing only the masculine? In fact, this is not so. The Lord Christ represents the dual quality of Love-Wisdom. In the mystery schools Christ and Sophia were created as a twin, Sophia the Daughter, representing Love, and Christ the Son, representing Wisdom. In the beginning, Sophia was youthful and inclined to be naughty, yearning to meet the Father. This is forbidden, no one may seek to meet the Father. So for her sin, Sophia landed in the Underworld in total darkness. Only Christ, her Twin Brother, could go down to save her. Thus Christ became the Savior. In Luke 8:2, reference is made to Mary Magdalene, out of whom were cast out seven devils. Mary Magdalene reflects in fact Sophia, who desired to meet the Father. Only Christ could save Sophia, as also for Mary Magdalene, only Christ could save her by casting out the devils.

Why ritual is important

The altar is circular, and the congregation sits in a wider circle around the altar. At the altar, the Priest and the Priestess perform the ritual of consecrating the bread and the wine and water. For those who have studied the constitution of the human in an esoteric sense know that within us we have the secret Presence of God. It is variously called as the “God Within”, the “Higher Self”, the “Christ Within”.

Dr Carl Jung, the famous depth psychologist, was aware of this secret place within us. He called it the Unconscious. Because we are unconscious of this Divine Presence, we know nothing of this Unconscious within us. Yet it is there. If we feed this Unconscious with elevating experiences, we might from time to time receive an impulse to spur us on to do something. Performing a ritual that is meaningful enriches the Unconscious. By rituals, when performed with devotion, we call up divine spirits such as angels. In ancient times, temple rituals were performed just for this purpose, to invoke the Presence of Angels, messengers of the Holy Trinity.