Gnostic Church of L.V.X.
Member A.M.H.R.
Issued by Order of the Acting Council of Elders
The Greater Feast
The entire funerary rite takes place in two parts. The first is at the Funeral Parlor and the second at the Grave Site. Should the Will of the deceased call for cremation, then the grave site is at the final deposit of the ashes. No part of this rite takes place in the Hall of the Warrior’s L.V.X. as this is a place for Life.
The deceased is laid out in the Coffin holding the Magickal Wand along side a scythe. Black roses and white lilies adorn the carcass. The Orphic Egg and Serpent, Eagle, Scorpion and Fish compose a Crest affixed to the lid of the Casket.
Jasper and Jasmine perfume the air.
All Celebrants are robed to their highest grade. The most senior among these leads a procession into the parlor from the back of the room to the coffin in a straight line; hence the Tav is a central symbol of this rite. Each celebrant carries a red rose to be deposited in the coffin of the deceased.
As each approaches the casket and deposits the rose, the following verse is recited:
“Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu.”
AL II.44
They then in alternation form two perpendicular lines at the head and base of the coffin to form the Hebrew version of the letter Tav.The Senior Celebrant recites:”I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice.”
AL I.58
The other Celebrants respond with:”…a feast or life and a greater feast for death!”
AL II.41
The Senior Celebrant recites:”I am the flame the burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death.”
AL II.6
The other Celebrants again respond with:”…a feast or life and a greater feast for death!”
AL II.41
The Senior Celebrant recites:”I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hears of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all. It is a lie, this folly against self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong, o man! Lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this.” AL II.22
And again the other Celebrants respond with:”…a feast or life and a greater feast for death!”
AL II.41
The Senior Celebrant recites:”Fear not at all; fear neither men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything. Money fear not, nor laughter of the folk folly, nor any other power in heaven or upon the earth or under the earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit our light; and I am the strength, force, vigour, of your arms.”
AL III.17
And again the other Celebrants respond with:”…a feast or life and a greater feast for death!”
AL II.41
The Senior Celebrant finally recites:”Ah! Ah! Death! Death! Thou shalt long for death. Death is forbidden, o man, unto thee. The length of thy longing shall be the strength of its glory. He that lives long & desires much is ever the King among the Kings.”
AL II.73-74
And finally the remaining Celebrants respond with:”…a feast or life and a greater feast for death!”
AL II.41
The Celebrants then enjoin in single file and exit the room. This ritual is repeated on each of three successive evenings and is followed by a large feast at the home of the decedent.
On the fourth day, a Gnostic Mass is held and the grieved parties file back to the Funeral Parlor to follow the deceased to the final resting place. At the sight, the Senior Celebrant again properly robed recites the last funerary oration:
“Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and what shall be the sign? So she answered him, bending down, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my body.”
AL I.26
This is followed by ad hoc presentations by the grieved family and friends to speak on the life that they remember with the deceased. All return to the home of the decedent to the final and most elaborate feast. During this, any Last Will and Testament is read by its executor and any possession immediately transferable is transferred. Gifts are presented to any bereaved family at this home as a gesture of compassion.