ition as a member and brother. A further apprenticeship
of two more years was required before he was admitted to full
membership, and extended the right hand of fellowship. Additional time
was required for further advancement, and even time alone did not
entitle the member to certain high degrees, the requirements being
that actual knowledge, power and attainment must first be manifested.
As in all true Occult Orders the candidate must "work out his own
salvation," neither money nor influence having any weight.

Absolute obedience to the Rules of the Order; absolute poverty of
material possessions; absolute sexual continence--these were the
conditions of membership to be observed by both Neophyte and Initiate,
as well as High-degree Master. Understanding this, one may imagine the
disgust inspired in John by the amorous solicitations of Salome, which
caused him to lose his life rather than to break the vows of his
Order, as is so startlingly pictured in the stage productions of
modern times.

One of the ceremonies of the Essenes was that of Baptism (literally,
"dipping in water") which was administered to Candidates, with
appropriate solemnity and rites. The mystic significance of the
ceremony which is understood by all members of Occult Orders, even
unto this day, was a part of the ritual originated by the Essenes, and
the rite itself was a distinctive feature of their Order. The
performance of this rite by John the Baptist, in his ministry, and its
subsequent acceptance by the Christian Church as a distinctive
ceremonial, of which the "sprinkling of infants" of to-day is a
reminder and substitute, forms a clear connecting link between the
Essenes and Modern Christianity, and impresses the stamp of Mysticism
and Occultism firmly upon the latter, as little as the general public
may wish to admit it in their ignorant misunderstanding and
materialistic tendencies.

The Essenes believed in, and taught the doctrine of Reincarnation; the
Immanence of God; and many other Occult Truths, the traces of which
appear constantly in the Christian Teachings, as we shall see as we
progress with these lessons. Through its Exalted Brother, John the
Baptist, the Order passed on its teaching to the early Christian
Church, thus grafting itself permanently upon a new religious growth,
newly appearing on the scene. And the transplanted branches are still
there!

Of course, the true history of the real connection between the Essenes
and