The Philosophical ]Research Socieûy, ì[nc.

3910 Los Feliz Blpd. - Los Angele.r, Calif.90027 - 663-2167

[Link] P. HÁ,LL
President - Founder B HENRY L. DRÁKE
Vice-President

CONTRIBINOR,S' [Link] - OCTOBER 1977

THE ORACI,ES OF ANÎIQI'IÎÏ

DEAR FRIENDS:

0ST 0F THE NATIONS that fLor.¡¡lshed rrpon the earth ln older tfnes
believed that it ras possible to have [Link] comr¡nlcatlon rith
Delty in tlnes of unusual emergencíes. lt¡e Jerlsh prophets rê-
ceived conslderable attention in the OLd Testamentr and rnan¡r of
their rords tere accepted as direct comnrnlcations from God.
Very ltttle ls said to er¡llaln the clrcr¡¡nstances rhlch quallfled
these elder counselors for the high esteem in vhlch they rere generally he1d,
by their people. No one seened to questlon the luportance of prophetlc utter-
ances ancl they are incorporated lnto holy rrlt as divtnely lnsplred. these
sages and soothsayers reprÍnanded kfngs for thelr nfsdeeds, and rere seldom
prrnishecl for what night relL seem to be dfrect attacks on prevailing polfcles
and the general conduct, or misconduct, of natlons, co¡nnunlties, and prfvate
lfves. Perhaps one key to the situation car¡ be fourd fn the oLd AnerÍcan
Indian soclal structure.
Nearly all of the tribes rhloh popuLated, tbe Westerrr Eenlsphere prlor to for-
efgn co1-onlzatlon had their rlee men or tonen rûro clelmed to foretell the
futr¡re ar¡d direct the daily actlvitles of these trlbal g?oups. The Anerln-
dian soothsqyers rere natural psychlcs, possesslng rhat çe llke to ea1-l today
nextrasensor¡r [Link] and other r¡nusr¡aL [Link] of eonsciousness.
These old rlse ones are nor generally referred to as neclfcfne priests whlch
is actuall¡r a non-Indlan term usualLy bestored upon then by skeptlcs. The
word amediclnertr rhen referring to these natr¡raL 4rstlcs, ntght fncl_ude
heallng porers and nost of the prerogatlvea now assooLated rtth rellglous
leadershl,p. Each trlbe had three l-eaders. Flrst and foremost rvas the ten-
poral n¡l-er who ras [Link]-e for the general safety and rel-L-being of the
menbers of hfs trfbe. The second ln authoraty ras the nedlclne prlest rho
ras eonsul-ted vhenever serLor¡s problens arose. ltre nediclne prlest ras able
to comr¡n{cate rlth tT¡e tribal Detty rl¡i1e in a state of trance; }re cor¡l-d
leeve the physlcal body at 1111 and Jourrrey to the oeLestlaL lodge ln the
s\r vhere the lmortaLs assembLed to guard the destlny of thelr people. I'be
thlrd chleftain ras the rar ehief who ras in eharge of all ¡natters relatlng
to the defense of the tribe agalnst naraudlng bands that nlght attenpt to
encroach upon the plryslcal donain of hls peopLe.

Ä NoN-pRoFrr oRcANrz-{TroN, FoUNDDD rn 1934,neorcATED To rHE DISSET\IINATIoN oF USEFUL KNowLEDcE

IN THE [Link] PT'ILOSOPHY, COITP-ARATIVE RELIGION, AND PSYCHOLOCY
The medlcine prLest seldon received lnstructlon from a predecessor. He las
born to his office or grew into it at an early age. He vas nearly always a
quiet, lntroverted Indian, given to prayer and [Link]. He depended large3-y
upon the wisdom of ancestral spirlts, and tbese ln due course lnltlated hín
into the healing rites appropríate to the neecls of the trfbal comunity. All
Indla¡¡s perforned vigil, and ln tlnes of fasting rne¡nbodled or clisenbodied
entíties appeared to then, especially the being who ras to becone thefr toten
throughout-þtrysfcaf l-ife. The toten ras a guardlan preacher, usuaIl.y fn the
form of a spirlt [Link]. If an Indfan lad, during hls vigil, saw the thunder-
bird whlch was the A¡¡erLcan Indfan version of the phoenlx, he ras destlned to
become a priest. The most in¡lortant thfrrg to renember is that fn the corpar-
atively snall Amerindlan tribal rmlts the nedicÍne prlest had to be correct ín
most of hls prophecies and healing chants. I have hoçn several of these
priests who had served thefr people reJ-l, sone for as nsny as fifty yearsr and
were still held fn the nost profos¡d ¿dnlration. l

The nost celebrated of the Greek oracr¡Lar shrlnes ras the one at Delphl' and
the hlstory of this fanous place extended over a period of more than four
thousand years. It was detlicated to the god, Apollo, who spoke through his
entra¡ced prLestesses. These sanctÍfled wonen spoke fn hexameter verser and
theÍr words were translated and arranged by priestly [Link] for the benefit
of suppllcants. It could not be popular superstitÍon al-one that sanctÍfled
this oracle, the lnfluence of [Link] extended as far as Persfa and Rome. Every
t¡pe of question was brought to the altar of this shrine, and ít ras assuned
that the ansners rere given direetLy by the god, Apol-l-o, rhose statenents
were lnfallible. There is a great advantage in a religÍous doctrine rhfch
is belng continually reaffirned and expanded by one of the sovereLgn divlnities.
The Greek states were never vithout spirltual- guidance--not dependent upon a
prÍestly easte, but orlglnating ctlrectly tn the pronouncements of the [Link]
Will. The Delphic Oracle continued to influence MedÍterranean politics as
late as the sfrth centur¡r A.D.
The Rona¡s depended heavily upon augurles, and a aoll-ectLon of books dealing
with propheoy, known as the sibylline rrltlngs, were rurder the protectlon of
speeial offleers appolnted by the govertrment and could be consulted only in
natters of national luportance. Onens were derlved fron the flights of blrds,
the sor¡ncl of rind noving through the branches of trees, and rere pronounced
frm''an exa¡ninatfi¡n' of' thè entralLs of [Link] a¡¡iina1s.
After the coLlapse of classicaL civlllzation the belief ln patron deitfes
gradually fadetl aray and greater dependence tas placed on huma¡r schoLarsh5.p.
E:çerts Ln varlous fleLds ctlctated courses of aetion, but there is l-lttLe evi-
dence that decisions by the l-eerrned rere more effeotive or accurate than the
pronouncenents of entra¡reed prophets.

I'he Chlnese practiced nany types of augury, the nost unlquè belng oracLe bones.
the flat bones of large aninals were [Link] rlth various fnscriptlons and then
red hot instrunents Íere placed on the rnclersfde of the bones. The heat caused
a cracklLng end the lines thus fo¡ned traversed the inscrfptions [Link]
desÍgns vere studied and interpreted by prlestly schoLars. So¡¡erhat later, tbe
I Ching beea^me the prophetic book of Chinese soholars. Confucius wrote the
comentarl' e:çlaining the sirty-four basÍc hexagrarns. The rordfng, like that
of the Gréek oraeles, was obscure a¡rd alnost cornpletely symbolícal. It
requÍred oonsiderable intuitfve Judgrnent to ffnd the correct rneanlog of a
particular trlgrarn. ft woulcl seen that to ansrer his questLon, the lnquirer
nust retire lnto the depths of his orn ir¡ner conselousness, dependlng upon
rystlcal faculties rithln hinself to find the correct [Link]. the f Chlng
is rho have sensed its psycho-
now betng heaviLy studied by lflestern scholars
logical lupllcatlons and are beginning to r¡nderstand the baslc truths rmder-
lying prophesles a¡d oracles.
ïn the l¡Test there vas a long break throrrgh the Dark Ages, and nost peopLe
dependect entirely on the Cburch for spiritual insight. By the begfrurlng of
moderî times, tarot cards rere introcluced as a neans of questÍng out the por-
tents of destiny. The hr¡nan befng has alrays sought for some klnil of neta-
plrysical guidance. He neecled the erperience of direct conmunlon w'Íth a uni-
versaL prfncÍp1e superior to himsel-f. The tarot cards rere simÍ1ar to the
I Ching because a factor of chance ras involved and lt ras assuned that
eha¡rce was just another name for providence, bu-b varlous patterns of tarot
card layouts formed a llnk betreen physical circr¡nstances a¡d netaphyslcaS-
interventfon by ceLestlal porers.
For centurLes natr¡ral rystles and psychics rere persecuted as heretfcs. In
recent years, however, considerable attentlon is being given to rhat has
been called rthe nystical [Link] Under thls [Link] are vÍ[Link], fore-
warnlngs, and sudden inexpllcab1,e ex¡lansions of conseiousnegs. There is
considerabLe suspielon that the auriole of tbe heart ar¡d the oracles of
antiquity had a deeper neanlng than has general-l-y been suspected. Tbe god
in nar¡ certafnLy speaks at some tines and under certain [Link], and
tbls voice is an expressÍon of the Dfvine Power and the Divine t¿Vil1 at tbe
source of individual and collect'ive life. The ancient shrines have been
desecrated, but the link between hunanity and the Dlvine Power whlcb fashloned.
it has never aetually been broken. The rystio dlsciplines of the anclent
prlesthoods have srrrvived to us through the philosopbical teachlngs of
$rbhagoras, Plato, and Buddha.
Deprived of the high phiJ-osophical codes which regulated the tleveLopment of
msr¡rs psychic [Link], ttrere is no adeqrrate control of the psychlc faculties
whlch many persons possess. The resuLt has been much confusion and contra-
[Link] among accou¡rts deallng rrlth psycbic phenomena. The baslc fact that
ít exists, hovever, cannot'be denfed, When properly controlleùby-the-state¡--'
natural psychies nad.e vaLuable contributions to the cor¡ntrles 1n vhich they
1Íved. The prophetic arts can be expanded and reflned r¡¡til the hr¡nan belng
ean gain practlcal assistance ancl nystlcaL insplratlon fron the developnent
of his own psychic resources. Perhaps most of all, he feels that hls llfe
does not [Link] entlrely upon the r¡ncertain testinonies of the senses nor
the opinions of the mind. There is an indrelLlng truth rhlch can be reaehed
and will protect the sincere person fnon the falllbilities of hls own nature.
It was thls ray fron the DtvÍne rhich sustalned the oracLes of antiquityr arrd
as time goes on lt is virtually lnevitable that the detties riLl speak again
fron the adybun of the sanctuary of the heart. lÏe need no longer visit sone
distant plaee in search of guidance or Lnspiration. lïe can go in to the
llttle eloset of the heart and comune rlth the Spirít of the Innerr¡ost.
Most sfncerely yours,

fr¿r*, r //-,,/
A COnPAillOll voLUNE TO THE "llg ¡ool(" . . .

[Link] ON ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

An Introduction to Practical ldeals, by MANLY P. HALL

In the preface to this,book, Mr. Hall writes:

"Although complete in itself, this book is primarily

designed to complement and amplify the larger vol-
ume on Symbolical Philosoþhy published last year.
During the spring and fall of l92B I delivered two
series of lectures on Syrnbolism and the Ancient Mys-
teries-one in San Francisco and the other in Los
Angeles-to groups largely composed of subscribers
to An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Qabbalistíc
and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophv. These lec-
tures were carefully taken down in shorthand, and
form the basis of the present work."

Research for this volume expands the text of the former work and
will be of immediate value to all students of the esoteric philoso-
phies of the ancient world. Some Oriental material is introduced
for comparison. The chapters dealing with the Divine Triad at
the source of life, the Pythagorean symbolism of numbers, com-
parative theogony and cosmogony, and the mission of esthetics will
help the reader to understand and appreciate the deeper import
of the wisdom tradition.
5I3 pp., hardboundo illustrated with diagrams. Complete digest index.
Price $10.75

(Calitornia'ns, add current sales tøx)

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THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY, INC.
3910 Loe Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles' CA 90027