What is a Mystery School? — The Still Room

“Gnothi Seauton” is Greek for “Know Thyself”. These words are written above the entranceway to the Temple of Apollo, home to the Oracle of Delphi, Greece, and are said to have begun with Gnostic King Solomon. These words form the central tenet of all Mystery teachings.

Who am I? What am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? What is my purpose? These are the essential questions explored by the world’s mystery schools. Our ancient ancestors left evidence of advanced knowledge in the areas of architecture, philosophy, chemistry, physics, astronomy, astrology, mathematics, farming, healing, as well as in man’s relationship to nature, himself and the cosmos; both the seen and the unseen. They lived in connection to the seasons, to the stars and within a relationship to self and the creator (the divine, the great mystery, God).

But most of this ancient knowledge has been lost. Some of it is hidden or has gone underground because of ideas and knowledge that contradict the fundamental beliefs of the world’s religions. Some knowledge and pieces of the story are now being rediscovered in archaeological sites around the globe. Why was this knowledge lost?

Our European ancestors were called pagans (Celts, Druids, Essenes, Copts, Cathars, Nazarenes, Gnostics). Although all followed the teachings of Jesus Christ, they were labelled “heretics” by the Church out of Rome and a systematic genocide took place in Europe for 300 years. The famous female orator, philosopher and mathematician Hypatia (Alexandria) was murdered and torn to pieces at the hands of the Roman Catholics. This high profile murder, combined with the systematic destruction of the largest library in the world, is said to have plunged Europe firmly into the dark ages. The worlds main religions spread this genocide, also crossing oceans and damaging the psyche of the world. We are just now beginning to wake up.

In 2016 I found my way to Eleusis, the site of the most famous Mystery School in Greece. It was January, and I was there alone with whispers from the past. Having come for some personal enlightenment and solace for a broken heart, I had connected with the myth of Demeter and Persephone. At the time, I didn’t fully comprehend the full power of this place of learning and profound revelation.

For over 1000 years Eleusis was a place of initiation into hidden wisdom. The events at Eleusis were shared only with the invited. Those who did witness the revelations, were changed forever.

Part of initiation into the mysteries was ingesting a ritualistic drink made from the ergot (fungus containing lysergic acid) that grew on the barley grass. Like the brew Ayahuasca, Peyote, and Psilocybin mushrooms, ingesting this drink in a controlled setting allowed participants and initiates to see “beyond the veil”. The “veil” is the limitation of our human sensory and discerning powers. Initiates experienced a shared vision, and came away without fear of death.

Ceramonial Ayahuasca tea www.corespirit.com

What became clear to me when I found my way to the sacred site, was that Eleusis had been forgotten. The Sacred Way (road from Delphi to Eleusis) is now a highway of pot-holes through meat packing plants and oil refineries. The head of the monumental statue of the goddess, Demeter, was stolen from Eleusis, sunk in the ocean where it now languishes in a British museum. This place of initiation is not highlighted in the tourist literature, even though kings, scientists, politicians, philosophers and artists were all initiated at Eleusis.

But even before Eleusis, the tradition of a “Mystery School” came directly from ancient Egypt. Timeless teachings were passed down to initiates through word of mouth, by priests and priestesses, kings and queens. Striking synchronistic symbols and messages appear in carvings in the temples of the world’s ancient cultures. Sacred geometry and precise mathematical synchronicity connected architecture to the constellations and to gridlines around the globe. Hieroglyphics tell the story of Isis and Osiris, and of ascendance. Temples had built in “star-gates”. Astological history and predicition were written in stone. Advanced technology was evident in the architecture.

Star Gate: The Abu Sir Pyramids, site of Abu Ghurab, has claimed to be one of the oldest sites on the planet. Within Abu Ghurab, lies an ancient platform made of alabaster (Egyptian crystal) and is said to be in tune with the “vibration” of Earth. I… — Star Gate: The Abu Sir Pyramids, site of Abu Ghurab, has claimed to be one of the oldest sites on the planet. Within Abu Ghurab, lies an ancient platform made of alabaster (Egyptian crystal) and is said to be in tune with the “vibration” of Earth. It can also “open the senses” in order for a person to communicate and “be one” with higher, sacred energies of the Universe. Essentially, it is a stargate and the sacred energies were the Neters (gods). Roland Unger

When I was in Egypt standing in the shadow of the great pyramid, mathematical patterns and architectural miracles were impossible to ignore. In Abydos, the flower of life is etched clearly into the stone. There is mounting evidence of an earlier race of humans who were technologically advanced, and in the areas of archaeology and geology, scientists are now exploring the evidence that those earlier cultures were wiped out by catastrophic events on earth; asteroids, floods, ice ages. There is clear signs of water erosion on the ancient Sphinx. This is not the history we learned in school.

What is it about the ancient knowledge that is causing a resurgence in Mystery Schools? Science is now proving a connected universe. Quantum physics, entanglement and vibrational energy are redefining “cause and effect” and we are now pondering a singularity. A famous saying from the Emerald Tablet, (Hermes Trismegistus); “As above, so below”, shows us that our ancestors understood unified consciousness. We are just beginning to.

The School of Alchemy and Aromatic Arts intends a profound space of self-inquiry and exploration of the connected universe through the rediscovery of ancient wisdom and the conception of what is now possible. A curious and open mind will take us into the future.

Intuitive tarot and astrologer Maya Doytchinovaphoto credit Sheryl Williams — Intuitive tarot and astrologer Maya Doytchinova
photo credit Sheryl Williams

As the poet Rumi said, “…beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.’

Written by K. Van Dyck for The Still Room Perfumery