Upside-down M solved [maybe]

Teheuti

Waite often says that a wymbol can mean several things. Why should this be any different?

W: Waite, Water, Womb , Word, World. . . .
M: Mem, Mother, Mary, Mystery, Magic, Malkuth . . . .

As to M standing for Mother Mary, it would help to have support for this in Waite's books, but I think you'll find that Mary is rarely, if ever, mentioned. Whereas "Mystery" is mentioned frequently, as a major theme, and always capitalized. I'm not saying that he wouldn't have found the association apt, because I think he would have, just that Mary may not have been his most direct referent.

People tend to over play his Catholicism. To my knowledge he was not a practicing Catholic and hadn't been since he was a boy. He saw himself as a Mystic for whom the *symbolism* of Christianity had reached the highest peak.
 

Richard

Waite believed that the Grail holds the mystery of the Eucharist, i.e., transubstiation. While The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail is primarily a literary analysis in which metaphors, such as "The Grail is Mary," would be out of place, he does explain transubstiation by means of an analogy with Mary's conception of Jesus.

I testify, therefore, that the true mystery of the Eucharist resides in the assumption by the Divine Life of the veils of Bread and Wine, and that even as once in time and somewhere in the world that life assumed the veils of flesh and blood, which became the Body of the Lord, so here and now daily on every worshipful and authorized altar over the wide, wide world — do those unspotted elements become again that sacred vehicle, so that he who communicates in the faith of spirit and of truth, receives that which is not less truly the Divine Body than the especial polarization of elements which was born in Nazareth of the sacred and glorious Virgin. Moreover, I am very certain that the one mystery was operated as if in the terms and valid forms of the other by the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the utter consecration of the elements. The reason is that given by Leo the Great, or another, so long and long ago — that Mary conceived in her heart before she conceived in her body. But having so conceived, the elements within her were transubstantiated into the Divine Body. I desire to add with all veneration and homage that this root mystery of redemption is that which lies behind the devotion to the Mother of God, which has ascended to such heights in the Latin Church. This Church is the one witness through the ages whose instinct on the great subjects has never erred, however long and urgently the powers of the deep and the powers of perdition have hammered at the outer gates. Among other things, she has always recognized in the withdrawn and most holy part of her consciousness that she who conceived Christ — by the desire of the mystery of God satisfied out of all measure in a consummated marriage of the mind had entered through her humanity into assumption with the Divine, and was to be counted no longer merely among the elected daughters of Zion.

A. E. Waite (2008-10-17). The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal (Kindle Locations 373-385). Salt City Publishing. Kindle Edition.​
 

Abrac

Mary, what is "wymbol?" I'm not familiar with that. Oh, scratch that. I'm sure it's a typo. :laugh:

I'm a man on a mission now. This is riddle I want to solve badly. I know it could mean a lot of things but I can't help believing either he or Pamela had something in mind. I may never find an answer that satisfies but I'll probably still be looking for it until I find it or I'm long gone. :)

In The New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry (1921), under "Eden and Freemasonry," he wrote "I am very certain, as a Catholic Mystic, that in the first place we come forth out of the Great Mystery and that in the last we return;"

He didn't participate in the "outer church" but still identified as a Catholic, albeit an unorthodox one.
 

Abrac

LRichard, that an interesting quote, thanks. I'll definitely ponder that.
 

Richard

.....He didn't participate in the "outer church" but still identified as a Catholic, albeit an unorthodox one.
That is sort of a paradox. I've tried to understand it in several different ways, but always when I think I have found a satisfactory explanation, I read something else in Waite which contradicts it.
 

Teheuti

Waite believed that the Grail holds the mystery of the Eucharist, i.e., transubstiation. While The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail is primarily a literary analysis in which metaphors, such as "The Grail is Mary," would be out of place, he does explain transubstiation by means of an analogy with Mary's conception of Jesus.

. . . Among other things, she has always recognized in the withdrawn and most holy part of her consciousness that she who conceived Christ — by the desire of the mystery of God satisfied out of all measure in a consummated marriage of the mind had entered through her humanity into assumption with the Divine, and was to be counted no longer merely among the elected daughters of Zion.​
Wonderful quote. As I've noted Mystery and Mary for Waite seem to be part of the same thing.
 

Teheuti

In The New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry (1921), under "Eden and Freemasonry," he wrote "I am very certain, as a Catholic Mystic, that in the first place we come forth out of the Great Mystery and that in the last we return;"

He didn't participate in the "outer church" but still identified as a Catholic, albeit an unorthodox one.
Another worthy quote. However he's quite clear in other places that he finds institutions lacking.

I'm out of town with an iPad and can't get to my resources right now.
 

Richard

Here is a rough, partial explanation of what I have gleaned from Waite's writings regarding his attitude toward the established church.

Waite believes that the Sacraments of the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church are valid and correct, but the external Church interprets them literally, therefore incorrectly. In a word, the Church does not correctly understand the significance of its own teachings. Waite believes himself to have a correct understanding (and acceptance) of these teachings of the official Church, and apparently believes that this justifies his calling himself a Catholic. In a sense, he therefore considers himself to be more truly Catholic that the average "card-carrying" member of the Church. Also, he was probably baptized (and possibly confirmed) in the Catholic church, and therefore technically he may be a Catholic even though lapsed.
 

Abrac

This has got to be it, M = Melchizedek. There is no W, only an upside-down M. It was turned upside-down to throw people off track.

Melchizedek originates in the Old Testament Genesis 4:18, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)” There's more to it, but I just quote that sentence as it illustrates my point.

Waite refers to Melchizedek several times in The Hidden Church as coming “carrying bread and wine.” Here's one example, “The Eucharist is administered at the steps of the chancel because it is taken from the hands of him who has received it from the altar itself, and thus he comes like Melchisedech carrying bread and wine...”

Here's another interesting quote from The Hidden Church, “Now, the perfect correspondence of these things in the symbolism of official Christianity, and the great mystery of perfect sanctification, is set forth in the great churches under the sacramentalism of the Holy Eucharist, behind which we see in the liturgies and ritual of the Graal a high rendering of the same subject under the same terms, as if there were secret wardens who were aware of certain insufficiencies and of the way in which they might be rectified. The same exalted mystery which lies behind the symbols of Bread and Wine, behind the undeclared priesthood which is according to the Order of Melchisedech, was expressed by the alchemists under the guise of transmutation...”

In the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Christ is described as being a type of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek also figures in Freemasonry. Waite refers to him in several places in The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry.

In Waite's second tarot, the Waite-Trinick, I believe we actually have illustrations of Melchizedek. According to Katz and Goodwin, these images correspond to Daath in Waite's revised system.

Melchizedek (Daath)

I know this won't convince everyone. The idea that's been floated for so long of Supernal Mother, Mary, etc., will be hard to shake, but I'm very confident myself this is what Waite had in mind. :)
 

Richard

That's certainly possible. Most Christians believe that the legend of Melchizedek refers in some fashion to the Elements of the Eucharist, but I don't know of any reference to it in the Grail literature. I am just wondering if it is specifically applicable to the Grail vessel itself or is only a type of the Eucharistic ritual. (Among other things, the Cup is a feminine symbol.)