THE EQUINOX
10. Before the Soul can hear, the image (man) has to be-
come as deaf to roarings as to whispers, to cries of bellowing
elephants as to the silvery buzzing of the golden firefly.
In the text the image is explained as ‘Man,’ but it more
properly refers to the consciousness of man, which con-
sciousness is considered as being a reflection of the Non-
Ego, or a creation of the Ego, according to the school of
philosophy to which the Student may belong.
11. Before the Soul can comprehend and may remember,
she must unto the Silent Speaker be united, just as the form
to which the clay is modelled is first united with the potter's
mind.
Any actual object of the senses is considered as a precipi-
tation of an ideal. Just as no existing triangle is a pure
triangle, since it must be either equilateral, isosceles, or sca-
lene, so every object is a miscarriage of an ideal. In the
course of practice one concentrates upon a given thing, re-
jecting this outer appearance and arriving at that ideal,
which of course will not in any way resemble any of the
objects which are its incarnations. It is with this in view
that the verse tells us that the Soul must be united to the
Silent Speaker. The words “Silent Speaker” may be con-
sidered as a hieroglyph of the same character as LOGOS,
378, or the Ineffable Name.
12. For then the Soul will hear and will remember.
The word “hear” alludes to the tradition that hearing is
the organ of Spirit, just as seeing is that of Fire. The word
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