Great Women Initiates

96 Pages·2015·2.594 MB·English

by  Hélène Bernard

GREAT WOMEN INITIATES

by Hélène Bernard
Translation from the French by Michelle Ziebel
Illustrations by Nelly Lopetuso & Chantal Thiebaux
© 1984 and 2015 Supreme Grand Lodge Of The Ancient and Mystical
Order Rosae Crucis. All Rights Reserved.
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Dedication
I dedicate this book:
—to the eternal and profound, just, pacifist, generous, altruistic, and
open woman who will always know how to say YES but also how to say
NO
—to all the women who do not appear in this book and in this dedication
...
CONTENTS
Introduction
1 Jeanne Guesdon
2 Esclarmonde de Foix
3 Tiy and Nefertiti
4 Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
5 Hildegarde de Bingen
6 Mâ Ananda Moyî
7 Lady Pernelle
8 Maria Deraismes
9 Tiphaine de Raguenel
10 Joan of Arc
11 Dona Béatrice
12 Mary
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
W
ITHOUT LITERARY PRETENSIONS, this book is by no means a
philosophical work or a complex and refined mystical analysis; it is not even
one of those veiled messages so pleasant to decipher. Echoing all that has
been written on and in favor of women, I am only trying to say that in the
mystical and initiatory world “they do exist” also.
If, to the sincere mystic and intelligent being, barriers between races, social
classes, and human beings in general have never existed, among so-called
traditional and initiatory organizations there has been, and still is, a rejection
of the female polarity. This situation perhaps explains “the great emptiness”
that one feels near the adepts of these societies. Behind pale, uninteresting,
and senseless phrases and attitudes, they hide their great ancestral fear of the
power of the female principle. Since fear, like many mental illnesses, can be
cured, I suggest to them that they begin the treatment as soon as possible, so
that together we may then catch a glimpse of the Golden Age. These ideas
and this book are a continuation of a short article that I wrote some time ago
and which will be my introduction:
At all times and in every field, women have been misunderstood or
intentionally ignored. But it is in religion and mysticism that they have had
the greatest difficulty in asserting themselves. We fight what we fear. Men
have always feared the great strength and the occult power that women
exhibit. One cannot reject one polarity of life and expect everything to go
well. Each cell is composed of two polarities. When one of them is fed better
than its counterpart, an imbalance results, which causes a great discomfort,
often illness, and sometimes death. When male supremacy understands that
everything is easier with two, the world will live in peace. But, will it be
soon? Certainly not, for in every country the women who give life are often
under the control of those who destroy it.
Many are the writers who recognize the definite role of woman in history,
but she is always in the background. In antiquity, woman was worshiped, but
of course such did not go beyond mythology. Then the Catholic Church came
with God the “Father,” its popes and its bishops. Between wars or tax
collections, all these clergymen were asking themselves: “Has woman a
soul?” Upon meditating, they thought it desirable to concede to her a soul, no
matter how inferior it may be; for otherwise, how could they pretend that the
devil may take possession of it? Later, this decision permitted the Church to
sell a great many indulgences to these evil female creatures, black with sin,
who should undergo a “washing of the soul.” The witches’ hunt, you know?
Men called themselves most often alchemists. The Middle Ages also
witnessed the birth of a great many secret societies and sects of all kinds.
Were they going to take into consideration misogyny, that ailment the world
has been suffering from for millennia? Not at all! Opposed to church and
kings in matters of politics and interest, most of these orders became the
allies of the government to disparage and degrade woman.
Alone, through the centuries, ideas, and fashions, the Order of the Rose-
Croix, despite the opposition and mockery directed against it, has undertaken
to preserve this natural and desirable balance that constitutes equality
between man and woman. It is most regrettable to notice in this day and age
that, in certain fraternities, misogyny has remained one of the bases of
outdated teachings, ignorant of the Cosmic energies, vibrations, and other
principles that could lead to a better understanding between “male and
female” and to the uniting of the two polarities of expression, somewhat
different on this Earth, but blended one into the other in the heart of Cosmic
Unity—our Mother.