They studied the Books of the Eternal Mother in this Temple, and in it as well the power and wisdom of Amon’s Priests by means of the Esoteric Schools of Amon as polytheism reached the summit.
The esoteric school that might be called polytheistic reached its summit in Egypt, eventually decayed and its temples remained entirely buried in the sand.
Moslems impeded their search and just recently, hardly half a century ago, temples and sepulchers were excavated and entirely exoteric inscriptions deciphered.
In full Christian flourishing, the Esoteric Schools first were the heritage of Initiated Knights, and later, of Military Orders.
The Hellenic and Roman esotericism, which had watered abundantly the principles of Christendom through Neoplatonism, entirely disappeared.
For ancient Initiates, the year is the movement of the sun through the twelve zodiacal houses, the way of the soul, from birth to death, in its quest for perfection. So for them annual festivities are important because symbolize different steps and aspects of the material and spiritual life.
The physical Order is an image of the Astral Order.
Certain souls renounce in the Astral World to the peace and bliss of higher planes in order to continue their work for the sake of Mankind and, especially, for the sake of their brothers of the Order, those who fight for the same purpose and the same ideal: self-reformation and sanctification of the souls.
In the ancient Mysteries of Eleusis, their rites were related to this astral Initiation. Also the Egyptian priests represented this Realization leading the aspirant through four trials. The Christians imitate the ancients and repeat these ceremonies in connection with raiment and taking of vows.
Now if you consider the teachings of Amon, not in his refuge but among men that fight and suffer, you shall observe during the first century before Christ the existence of numerous Schools, none of them purely devoted whether to the concept of “Non-Being” or to that of “Being.
The Inquisition suppressed the Military Orders, subjected other Orders to a sort of bondage, and destroyed any psychical research; then, the languishing Esoteric Orders incarnated in alchemists of the Renaissance, who had sought refuge in several European Courts, especially in that of France.
Now, at this strange Court of Catherine of Médicis, in sixteen century, we shall refer to the most important astrological oracles of her time, and to Luca Gaurico and Nostradamus, closely related to the Médicis’ family.
Scientistic Magic of Renaissance and of the Catherine of Médicis’s times led however to restore the Esoteric Orders.
Halls and bars of Paris, where social unrest, curiosity and also intellectual curiosity of the times is reflected, swarm with occultists of good faith and charlatans among which, fearing the ones and the others, is Eteilla Alliette, a fortune-teller and so-called disciple of the Count of Saint-Germain.