The Hour of the Time may be contacted at HOT, that's H-O-T-T, P.O. Box 940, Eager, spelled E-A-G-A-R, in the state of Arizona, 85925. Our phone number is 928-333-2942. And our website is www.HourOfTheTime.com. The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time You're listening to The Hour of the Time. I'm William Cooper. The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time The Hour of the Time Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The amount of form of art. Yeah. Thank you. Why? Do you think? Are you listening to me, all you Freemasons out there who think that you're so smart? Well, you're not. This process produces a state in which the mind is pliant enough to have certain ideas implanted. Ideas which resist a great deal of counter-influence. This was the secret of the mysteries. This and nothing else. Echos of such training are to be seen in the rituals of certain secret societies without mystical pretensions which survive to this day. Trials, terror, expectancy, drinking, and the rest. That this fact was known in the past, folks, is evidenced by the words of Aristotle, who was exiled because he was said to have revealed something about the mysteries, and he said this, Those who are being initiated do not so much learn anything as experience certain emotions and are thrown into a special state of mind. Well, what was this special state of mind? Folks, it was a plasticity, in order that the conditioning might take permanent root. The psychologist William Sargent, the greatest authority on this subject, says in his classic battle for the mind, Quote, It seems, therefore, that there are common final paths which all individual animals, though initial temperamental responses to imposed stresses vary greatly, must finally take. If only stresses are continued long enough. This is probably the same in human beings. And if so, may help to explain why excitatory drumming, dancing, and continued bodily movement are so much used in such a number of primitive religious groups. The efforts and excitement of keeping the dance in progress for many hours on end should wear down, and if need be, finally subdue even the strongest and most stubborn temperament, such as might be able to survive frightening and exciting talk alone for days or weeks. Unquote. Now, understanding what I just read to you, this quote from Battle for the Mind by William Sargent, Can you still say that music plays no part in the conditioning of the mind? That the words in the music is not being entrapped by the subconscious of those young people who dance for hours listening to this music? If so, I think you'd better rethink that position. Dr. Sargent notes that Chinese experiments in mass excitation, breaking down and reconditioning, are based on the same physiological principles as religious conversion, and also group and individual psychotherapy treatments. Folks, these include the application of tension, fear, anxiety, conflict, to the point where the subjects are uncertain. And in this state, suggestibility is increased, and the old pattern of behavior is disrupted. The fact that the devotees of the mysteries were thoroughly conditioned to them, and felt that they were important in their lives, is seen in much historical evidence. Even in the fourth century of the Christian era, the Greeks were insisting that they, quote, would consider life unbearable if they were not allowed to celebrate those most sacred mysteries which unite the human race, unquote. Now, the work of those who have pointed out the function of the mysteries, as mind training and conditioning, has, of course, evoked no answer for those who still think that the rituals are mere symbolic representations of knowledge or facts. And indeed, they cannot admit this, simply because they would be admitting their own foolishness and stupidity in the process. So they will resist at all costs, and continue to go to their meetings, for to do otherwise would be to confront their own fallibility. And in human nature, that is one of the most difficult things for any individual to do. We all realize that. It's interesting to note, folks, that the ecstasy, which is produced by excitatory methods, and is followed by manipulation of the mind, is still sought by members of many secret cults who are aware of the scientific explanation. You see, irregardless, even when they know this, they still seek it out, because for them, it fulfills some terrible need way down deep inside their gut. Their reaction is that the experience may well be induced by physical methods, but in spite of that, and this is what they say, quote, it is nothing less than actual spiritual communion with a supernatural power, unquote. This is the point at which scientists and mystics cannot agree. The mystic feels sure that he has experienced something sublime. And who's to say that they haven't? For if you have not experienced it, you have no basis upon which to make a decision. But to experience it is to put yourself in a position to be controlled by others. So, we are in a quandary now. How do we explore this? The scientist tells the mystic that it is an illusion. He just simply will not believe it. The situation reminds one of the time when someone produced the soul of a departed relative to tell a spiritualist that there was no life after death. Although this is alleged to have happened in Ireland, one can visualize it taking place easily enough in the mutually heated atmosphere of scientists versus mystic anywhere in the world. The orgiastic side of the mysteries also has a place in the sphere of psychology. The catharsis, or the cleansing of the mind, which the secret cult of the Cathari experienced after ecstasy is paralleled by the modern therapist's procedure in bringing his patient to a state of excitement and then collapse before implanting what he considers more suitable ideas in the mind. Christianity, of course, has not been behind in its use of the mystery system for initiates, for it was not until A.D. 692 that every believer was ordered to be admitted to the worship of the Christians following the period when it was thought advisable to celebrate certain parts of worship in secret. You see, Christianity in the beginning was a secret society itself and the correct name for it was the friendly, open, secret society, although in the beginning there was nothing open about it. Traces of this survive in such customs as that of the Greek Orthodox Church where the priest celebrates divine worship behind a curtain which is only taken away during the elevation of the host. Quote, since at that moment the worshipers prostate themselves and are not supposed to see the Holy Sacrament. Unquote. The reason given for the secrecy of the practice of the Christian cult gives a clue in explaining that the celebrant must be prepared by expectation. St. Augustine laid down that secrecy was essential because the mysteries of Christianity were incomprehensible to human intellect and should not be derided by the uninitiated. Secondly, because this secret produced greater veneration for the rites. Thirdly, that the holy curiosity of those to be initiated into the experience of Christianity should be increased in order that they might attain to a perfect knowledge of the faith. And to tell you, quite frankly, folks, in my study of mind control, the Christian church would swell well beyond any conception or imagination of what their numbers could be if they had continued their secrecy. St. Basil, the Spirit of Sanctu, cap, let me see, that's the 17th, that's writing, folks, tells how the fathers of the church, quote, were well instructed to preserve the veneration of the mysteries in silence. For how could it be proper publicly to proclaim in writing the doctrine of those things which no unbaptized person may so much as look upon, unquote. Now this all sounds silly to us today. Believe me, folks, there is nothing silly about it and if it were practiced today as it was then, the Christian church would be more powerful than you could possibly conceive. Now remember, this is the results of our research. I myself consider myself to be a Christian and that I follow the teachings, the words of Christ in my daily life, not the dogma of any church, not the preaching of any minister or priest, but simply and only the words of Christ. seated upon the foundation of that which God gave us early in our history, the moral code called the Ten Commandments, as they were originally given to Moses and not as they were changed by man in the form of the Pope. The origin of mystery ceremonies seems to be India, or at least the place and time when the Brahmin priesthood started its initiations. The ceremonies were based upon the Hindu myths, but the procedure followed in training the aspirant is strikingly similar in Egypt, and Egypt profoundly influenced Greece. Now what's left out here, and the reason it's usually left out, is because any mention or discussion of the Babylonian mysteries or the Babylonian religion, is usually met with much criticism and derision by those who believed that it was a terrible institution. The mysteries definitely came from the East, and the East in the mysteries still survives today. When one Freemason greets another and he's not sure if he's really a Freemason, he'll ask him if he's a traveler, or if he's traveling, or if he is a fellow traveler, all I might add were the same code of identification used by the Communist Party in this country, because communism and the mysteries are the same entity as are socialism and the mysteries. When they meet, and this exchange takes place, the one being queried if he is indeed a member of the mystery religion will say, yes, I'm a traveler, to which the first, or the inquirer, will respond with, where are you going, or where are you traveling, from where to where? And the answer will be, from west to east, for the east is the position of the rising sun, where the knowledge comes from. sun, you see, for an early history, it certainly can be proven to have come from the east. And the sun was the symbol of the intellect. It began by being the symbol of the unseen god of the universe, and slowly transformed into the symbol of the intellect, the light of Cyrus, Ra, Lucifer. Prayer, fasting, and study were the first requirements when the Indian candidate prepared himself for the trials which were before him. All of this, folks, originated in Babylon at the dawn of civilization. For the actual sight of the great gods and for the final word, or teaching which would be implanted in his mind when it had become sufficiently prepared to receive it. And if the weather was cold, he would have to sit in the snow or rain naked. In the torrid heat, he sat in the full blaze of the sun, with four fires built around him to give additional heat. And this was the first part of the undertaking. While he repeated prayers and repetitions, which included the invocation for his complete conversion, this latter concentration, folks, upon the desires of the candidate is applied in more than one of the mysteries. Some of the initiation ceremonies were cruel and painful. Coupled with the word which is given during the ceremonies, it means that the power of suggestion is being applied continuously and should penetrate into the mind at every moment when it is able to receive it. this period of dedication was succeeded by one in which he visited the underground cave of initiation. And when it wasn't in a cave, it was in a tomb or a crypt, such as the pyramids of Egypt, which were never tombs of pharaohs, but were from the beginning until the end of their use. They were temples of initiation. Passing through a tunnel of complete darkness, the initiate emerged into the cavern where three priests dressed as gods awaited him in resplendent and intimidating array. After being addressed and partaking in the oration of prayers, the initiate walked rapidly around the temple several times, this called circumambulation, and was then carried through several subterranean and unlit caves. During this time, there were whales, whales, screams, and shouts from every side, while illuminated specters and other horrors abounded. At the end of this terrible experience, the aspirant came to two doors, rich, when thrown open to the sound of the sacred conch trumpet. The conch folks is a shell, revealed a scene of brilliance and glory. This hall was full of every delight in the form of pictures, music, and perfume. The initiate walked to an altar in the room, where he was again harangued and presented with his sevenfold cord which marked his passing through the initiation. Now, if we compare these proceedings with those which were said to be carried out among the Egyptians, the parallelism is startling even today. The candidate was taken to a well, which he had to descend until he came to a tunnel. Torch in hand, he passed through a door, which closed with a resounding noise, as if never to be opened again. He was met by frightful figures, which offered him a last chance of going back. Then he passed through a fire, swam through a dangerous underground stream, and as soon as he reached a door and touched a ring to open it, a blast of air blew out the lamp, which gave the only available light. Some type of machine swung him over a bottomless pit, and just as he was on the point of exhaustion, an ivory door opened and he found himself on the threshold of the resplendent temple of Isis. Here the priests received him into their company. After the series of tests, he had to undergo fasting and what would nowadays be called indoctrination before he could be considered completely initiated into even the first degree. The foregoing experiences were followed by the higher degrees, those of Serapus and Osiris. And in the process, the wives of the priests would tease him and conjole him and try to get him to make love to them. And if he successfully resisted, then he could say that he had passed all the tests. But if he succumbed to their advances, he was not considered worthy. It is needless to outline the beliefs and methods used in the Chinese, Japanese, South American, and other mysteries, because while the legends which are inculcated may vary in some way, they are all essentially and basically the same. The training hardly varies at all. The real mystery of the mysteries, folks, is how and when man first discovered the use of certain procedures to condition other men and thus rule them and control them. And whether the discovery was instantaneous or gradual, or simultaneous or at different times and places, but one cannot date doctrines as one can archaeological finds by radioactive carbon dating. And so you've reached another milestone in your education into the mysteries, and this program has only half completed. And again, I must remind you that we have just begun, for we are essentially covering 6,000 years of the history of a hidden religion, known simply as the mysteries. To Christians it is mystery Babylon. To others it is called the invisible college. In all cases, it belongs to those who consider themselves in possession of the only truly mature minds, and thus the only ones capable of knowing certain advancements in technology, sociology, and many, many other things. They call themselves the guardians of the secrets of the ages. And I can assure you, folks, they are in complete control of all elements of our society, military, and government at this time. So it is essential that you learn these facts about them and their organization, so that we can decide our future. Don't go away, folks. We've got to take a short break. I'll be right back right after this pause. on a . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Christianity believes that it won with the decline of the material virtues of the Romans, but there are people who worship the solar deity today, and even London has its Mithra temple. Mithra was said to give his worshippers success in this world, as well as security and happiness in the next. Sound familiar? Freemasons? He was originally a genie, the worldly representative of the invisible power which ruled the affairs of men. Later, and the cult probably has a history of over 6,000 years, he became thought of by his devotees as being not just one of the 28 geni, but the only one which mattered, and the only one who could cater for the wishes and needs of the people. Thus it was that the ancient Aryan worship of Ahura Mazda, the supreme being, was displaced by that of one of his representatives. Now one way, folks, you can tell who or which corporations or businesses or societies belong to these cults, is to look at these names, such as Saturn, Mazda, etc. Ahura Mazda, the supreme being, was displaced by that of one of his representatives, although archaeological research has produced little to give a clear picture of the rituals and beliefs of the Mithraists. A considerable amount of secret lore still survives in the East, which gives one a good idea of exactly how the members of the cult thought, and just exactly what their magical ceremonies were. Three ritualistic objects are used by Mithraeus. The crown, equivalent to the sun and power of the supernatural kind. The hammer, the club, symbolizing creative activity of mankind. And the bull, which stands for nature. Virility, increase. By the proper understanding of these objects, and just exactly what they represent, Mithraeus' habit that the ordinary man can transcend his environment, can become great or successful, or can achieve what he wants to do, and enters a delightful afterlife. What must he give in exchange? Nothing but worship to the principle, which presides over all destiny and control to the priests of the religion. Now let's regress just a moment, and let me explain to you why the bull. Throughout the ancient world, you see the symbology of the bull. Now you have to remember, this history goes back 6,000 years. The first 2,000 of which, looking back, is the Christian era. Now remember, this is the age of Pisces, or the two fish. The 6,000 year period started in antiquity when the sun was in Taurus, or the bull. That is the meaning of Baal, or Baal. The golden calf was the representation of the house of the sun, or the age of the bull, or Taurus. It was really the same old mystery religion, the worship of the unseen god of the universe, represented by the sun, which over the centuries and the millennia, has become the worship of the intellect, with the sun the representation of the light. Or Lucifer, the one who gave man the gift of intellect. Now after the age of Taurus, came the goat, or the ram. And this was symbolized by the symbol of the goat, or the goat of Mendes. For in Mendes there was a temple erected to the worship of the mysteries. And since the sun was in the house of the goat, or the ram, the object of the exoteric worship by the masses was the goat. When the sun passed into the house of Pisces, or the two fishes, the Christian era began. We are now on our way out of the age of Pisces into the age of Aquarius. Once you understand that the ancient religion was a religion of the worship of the heavens, then everything begins to come together. And when you understand that they ceased believing in an all-powerful, unseen god, or hidden god of the universe, and became essentially pantheists, believing that everything is god, they call this nature, or the natural way, then you can understand how man became to worship the intellect. The intellect. And the symbol which used to represent the unseen god of the universe came to represent the intellect. The use of which will bring man to the state of apotheosis, where man himself will become god. And then you begin to look at all the things that are happening today, and you see their symbology everywhere. Nowhere will you see it more prominently than the Looney Tunes fringe element, which call themselves ufologists. You will see that everything to do with the so-called UFO phenomena comes right out of the mystery schools. One reason, folks, for the loss of importance of the cult of Mithraeus, undoubtedly, is the admission was restricted to those who were thought worthy to receive the blessings which would come through the proper beliefs and use of the magical powers presided over by the Mithra priests. Christianity, for instance, was open to a far greater section of the population, even although the Christian mysteries were not accessible everywhere to all until relatively late in our history. At the same time, some of the Mithraeus ceremonials were of such obvious emotional appeal that scholars are agreed that the purely ritualistic side of Christianity owes much to those of the sun god of the Persians. And if you've been listening to this program, you already know that. The Christianity was actually merged with the religion of the worship of the sun into what is now known as the Vatican. The lowest degree of initiation was known as the sacrament and could be administered to anyone. Theoretically, who could be relied upon to keep a secret and who would eventually develop into a regular and devout worshiper. This degree was called that of the crow, and it symbolized, according to present-day Mithraeus, the death of the new member from which he would arise reborn as a new man, and today the crow is known as the phoenix. This death, or symbolic death, spelt the end of his life as an unbeliever and canceled his allegiance to former and unaccepted beliefs. The use of the word crow probably derives from the ancient Persian practice of exposing their dead to be eaten by carrion birds, which is still carried on by the Parsi community in India, who follow parts of ancient Iranian religion as supposedly taught by Zoroaster. But if the crow symbolized death, it was also the delegate privileged to take over the human body after death. Of course, this meant that in a sense it was superior to humanity. Thus it was that the members of the cult was superior to the ordinary run of mortals. They believed themselves to be a separate race of man and still do. The candidate descended seven steps into the temple, which was an underground one, fashioned in the shape of a cavern, and made to look as much as possible like a natural cave. Initiation tests now took place. The newcomer was pursued by wild beasts, priests in animal skins, demons in all sorts of terrors. He had to fast for three days. In this debilitated, altered, and plastic state, he was given a lecture by a priest on the responsibilities which were now his. Among these were the necessity to call brother only those who had been initiated. In the words of a Freemason today, whose son I happen to know, If you are not one of us, you are nothing. Those words were spoken to his son when he asked his father why the Freemasons that he knew and his father were persecuting a local businessman and trying to drive him out of business. Now bear in mind that his son was not a Freemason. Let me say those words again for you folks. Quote, If you are not one of us, you are nothing. Unquote. All family ties were severed. Nothing mattered except doing one's job well and carrying out the worship of Mithra. The final ceremony took place amid the clash of cymbals, the beating of drums, and the unveiling of a statue of Mithra himself. This latter showed Mithra as a man carrying a bull by the hind legs. Now the symbolism of this piece of sculpture was explained to him. The bull, in addition to symbolizing fecundity, was representative of animal passion, and it was also the house in which the sun dwelt in the first two thousand years of the religion. It was through invocations to Mithra that mankind first discovered how to overcome this force and how to discipline himself. Therefore, the secret of religion was partly that the worshiper must restrain himself physically in order to attain power over himself and over others. And this is the mystery of the Sphinx that man has been trying to decipher since man discovered the Sphinx in the modern world. It is simply this, that man is nothing but an animal with a brain, with an intellect. It is to remind us, folks. It is to tell us that no matter what you think or how high you get, you are still nothing but an animal with an intellect. Period. This graphic teaching of the diversion of sexual power into psychic channels shows that the Mithra has followed in essence the pattern of all mystery schools which believed in the production of power through discipline. In this, they are clearly distinguished from the more primitive and less important orgiastic schools which merely practiced indiscriminate indulgence, mass, immorality, and so on. The neophyte in this initiation then drank a little wine from the symbol to show that he realized that the symbol is the means whereby ritual ecstasy comes which puts him in touch with the higher powers. There are two long lines of initiates knelt on either side of the low stone benches which traversed the crypt. Remember, George Bush was initiated in the crypt or the tomb at Yale University into what is known as the skull and bones the Russell Trust, the brotherhood of death. Now, remember, two lines of initiates knelt on either side of the low stone benches which traversed the crypt and as the new member accompanied by the priests who were initiated him walked along the central aisle for the eating of the bread, a number of pieces of dried bread were placed on a drum similar to those which were being softly beaten by one of the priests. The candidate ate one morsel signifying that he accepted Mithra as the source of his food. This bread, according to their beliefs, had been exposed to the rays of the sun to absorb some of its quality and thus the worshiper was partaking of the nature of the sun itself in this ritual observance. But it goes deeper than that, folks, because the sun is what enables all life to exist on this planet being that the planet is at the perfect balance where it is even either too hot nor too cold and that the planet is tilted upon its axis creating the seasons which enable food to be grown in the more northern latitudes than if the earth was stable on an axis where only one portion of the globe always was in direct alignment with the sun. Then it would be too hot at the equator. There would be one narrow band in the northern southern hemisphere where crops could be grown and it would be too cold in the northern and southern hemispheres. So this ritual observance has scientific fact behind it in that the bread indeed did come from the sun. And now the initiate was taught the password of the cult which was to identify him to other members and which he was to repeat to himself frequently in order to maintain the thought always in his mind. quote, I have eaten from the drum and drunk from the cymbal and I have learned the secret of religion unquote. This is the cryptic phrase which an early Christian writer Maternus reports as being taught to the Mithraeus quote, by a demon unquote. The second degree of initiation was called the secret and during this the candidate was brought to a state of ecstasy in which he was somehow made to believe that he had seen the statue of the god actually endowed with life. Folks, it's not likely that there was any mechanical method by which this was done because no such apparatus has been found in Mithraic temples unearthed. The candidate was brought up to the idol to which he offered a loaf of bread and a cup of water and this was to signify that he was a servant of the god and that quote, by what sustains my life I offer my entire life to your service unquote. The grade of soldier may show that the military arts were responsible for a good deal of the power of Mithra worship in ancient Persia. Certain it is in any case that this degree greatly appealed to the Roman warriors who formed a very large part of the rank and file of the cult during its western expansion. A sign similar to a cross signifying the sun was made on the forehead of the initiate who was thus marked as owned by the deity. A crown was placed before him hanging from the point of a sword. This he took and placed it aside with the words, Mithra alone is my crown. And this, folks, this takes place in every, every mystery that there had ever been. Remember when Christ went into the desert for forty days and forty nights and was tempted by Satan? Satan offered him the crowns of any or all of the nations of the earth if he would just follow him and Christ rejected him. The same thing happens in the mystery school. The initiate is always offered a crown, sometimes by the king or the emperor himself. And if he accepts the crown, he's considered unworthy. And being, as it would be interpreted as a threat to the real wearer of the crown, probably would have been executed. It was considered only worthy if he rejected the crown symbolic of the ruler, the ruling of the nation or people or area. The Persian crown, it should be remembered, from which pattern all present-day crowns are eventually derived, is a golden sun disk with a hole in the center for the head. It is jagged at the edges representing the sun's rays just like that worn by the Statue of Liberty. And these projections are turned up to make what is still known in Western heraldry as the Oriental Crown. You can also see this representation as the halo in Christian art. Now the candidate has to prove himself in a mock combat with soldiers and animals in a number of caves. When the emperor Commodus went through this degree of initiation, he actually killed one of the participants, although he was supposed only to make a symbolic slaying. Passed through the soldier degree, the Mithraeist was eligible, after a lapse of time, to be promoted to the rank of lion. He was taken again to the cavern, and honey was smeared upon his brow as opposed to the water which had been used in his acceptance into the earlier degree, his baptism. The degree of lion was taken only by those who had decided to dedicate themselves completely to the cult, and who would henceforth have no truck with the ordinary world. The lion was, then, a sort of priest, but rather more of a monk. He was trained in the rites of the cult, and told certain secrets. The degree of lion, of Mithras, could only be conferred only when the sun was occupying the zodiacal sign of Leo, and that's about July 21st to August 20th, during the Persian month of Assad, the lion. Now, there's a good deal of astrological lore in Mithraism, and also an admixture with tabalistic numerology. The Greek branch of the Mithras, for example, worked out that the numerical equivalent of the name spelt by them Mitras, was 365, and thus corresponded to the number of days in the solar year. Well, since the deity was the sun, then this is exactly what it should have been. In the purely magical sense, Mithraism has it that both the name of the god and the rank which the individual holds in the cult have magical power. Thus, if a person wants to achieve anything, he has to concentrate upon the word Mithra, while preparing for himself the ceremonial repast, and beating alternately a drum and cymbals. That the effect of initiation was to produce someone of upright character is amply evidenced by literature of the Roman times, in which the Mithraeus were generally considered to be thoroughly trustworthy and improved people. Even their enemies could reproach their own followers with the vitality of the Mithraeus creed. Tertullian, in his De Corona, which is Latin, for the crown, which he composed in the third Christian century, upgrades the Christians, inviting their attention to the Mithraeus as examples. De Corona actually means the crown of thorns. You, his fellow warriors, should blush when exposed by any soldier of Mithra when he is enrolled in the cave. He is offered the crown, which he spurns, and he takes his oath upon this moment and is to be believed through the fidelity of his servants. The devil puts us to shame, he said. Now there were seven degrees of initiation in all, although there are some branches of the ecstatic side of the lore, which include certain others, making the total twelve. After lion came the Persian, then the runner of the sun, then father, and finally father of fathers. The twelfth degree, it is said, is king of kings, and where have we heard that before? And properly, this can be held only by the supreme king, and preferably the Shah Hinshah, or the king of kings of Persia. This very ancient cult, from which more than one present-day secret society is derived, is thus seen to contain many of the elements which underlie organizations of this sort. You see, folks, it is a training system. It attempts to produce in its members a real or imagined experience of contact with some supreme power. The magical element is there, too, shown in the belief in the power of certain names to achieve things which cannot be done by men. Mithraism was not an anti-social society in the sense that it did not conflict in its aims with the objectives of the countries in which it flourished, and hence it did not threaten the established order. It was tolerant of other creeds, just like Freemasonry is now. You can belong to any religion and join at the lowest level. But I guarantee you when you reach the highest, you will belong to only one religion. The tolerance of other creeds meant that it did not attempt to supplant them. Its greatest festival, the birth of the sun, on the 25th of December became Christianized, and it is claimed by those who still believe in its mysteries and celebrate them, that Christianity did not so much supplant Mithraism as absorb it, accepting some of its externals and averting them to its own use, and that is exactly what has happened. Perhaps, incongruously, a present-day follower of Mithra in England recently likened this phenomenon to the eclipse of the Liberal Party, quote, because the two other parties have taken over its objectives and widened the basis, only the actual initiates of Mithra know what has been lost in the process, unquote. So the young man in the faraging bonnet, sometimes seen as the conqueror of the bull, or even as a man with a lion's head, still has his devotees. And folks, the sun still shines. So what has all this got to do with stars and stardust? Many people believe that Venus is the morning star in the ancient days. They say that it was serious that rose just before the sun with a red cast to it and then turned a brilliant white as it rose up into the heavens. well, folks, if you really think about it, the sun is the morning star. Good night, and God bless each and every one of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And our website is www.hourofthetime.com.