4. I did as I was bidden, and when I had penetrated into the Chamber I beheld a King upon his throne, and before the Majesty of his face I prostrated myself. Presently I heard him say: 'I am not the Absolute Absolute; I am for Humanity the Realization of the Absolute; I am the will of the Unity; my Sceptre is the sign of Power; with it I rule Mankind, for my Law shall be his Law; to me man must turn for all that relateth to the World in which he moveth'.

      5. Then I withdrew from the presence of the King, and followed my Guide into the Fifth Chamber. Here likewise I beheld a man seated upon a throne, but he wore not on his head the crown of a King of this World but a Mystic Sign, and he was arrayed in the white robes of Sanctity. And these words he spoke to me: 'Kneel and worship, for I am not a King of this World; my Sceptre is the Sign of Authority; with it I rule the Souls of Men. I am the Voice of the Law of the Spirit. I am the bond of Reunion between man created and the Breath from which his creation proceeded'.

      6. When he had ceased speaking, with awe in my heart I withdrew, following my Guide to the Sixth Chamber, which lay in the third angle of the Second Level of the Tower. When I had entered it I found myself in darkness, but gradually a dim light seemed to descend from the summit of the Chamber, and it grew in intensity, and when I looked up I beheld with astonishment as it were the Eye of a Spiritual Being looking down upon me. Then my Guide said to me: 'Behold the Eye of the World! Through it the mind realizes the Beauty of the Manifestation of the Unity; - through it Love reaches the Soul, bringing Man and Woman to the completion of their Destinies. Learn and understand the Mystery of this Sign. This is the point from which two Roads diverge; along the one descends the Spirit of Light; along the other descends the Spirit of Darkness'. The Vision faded from my sight and meditating deeply on what I had seen, I followed my Guide, who led me out of the Chamber.

      7. With my Guide I began the ascent to the Third Level of the Tower, and when we had reached it we entered together the Seventh Chamber, which lay above the Fourth Chamber and the First Chamber below. Therein I saw nothing for a time; then I heard the whizz of an arrow, and beheld in the misty distance a noble stag struck down by it. Looking round, there appeared to me the majestic vision of a man, radiant like a conqueror, holding in his extended hand the bow of Power from which the arrow had been discharged. He said to me: 'What seest thou?' I said: 'I saw the weak overcome by the strong'. He said to me: 'Behold, I am the Man Conqueror; Man as the Emblem of the Creator. I am more than Nature; I am Nature illuminated by The Spirit of the Eternal, and therefore do I overcome mere Nature'.

      8. When this Vision had disappeared from my sight, I passed with my Guide to the Eight Chamber. Herein I saw a Sword standing unsupported on the point of its hilt, and in astonishment I exclaimed: 'What meaneth this Sign?' My Guide replied: 'Between Man and Nature a permanent struggle exists; what Man attaineth by labour he loseth again if his labour should cease. This is the Sign of Equilibrium, the balance between opposing Forces, between Good and Evil in the Created World. This is the Sign of the Spirit of Justice which with the Power of the Sword separates the opposing combatants'.

      9. When I had gazed for some time upon this symbol, I proceeded to the last Chamber on this Level of the Tower, which was the Ninth Chamber. When the veil by the entrance had fallen behind me, I found myself face to face with an aged Dervish, whose countenance was serene and radiant; for him age seemed to have no afflictions, and Wisdom shone forth from his eyes. In his right hand he held aloft a burning lamp, and in his left hand he held a staff, on which he leant. I saluted him with reverence, and he addressed me thus: 'When I was young I selected the Path of Light, and my reward has been great. Wisdom have I imprisoned in the lamp which illuminates my Path. Round my Soul have I drawn the Mantle of Protection which shall ward off Evil when it shall assail it. This staff of strength have I found upon my path, and on it I can lean with security in the ascent towards Truth'.

      The serenity of this old man filled my Soul with elation, and the glow of Divine Love seemed to penetrate into myself like a precious gift from his presence.

      10. When I issued from the last Chamber I followed my Guide up the ascent to the next Level of the Tower, where with him I entered the Tenth Chamber, which lay above the Seventh and the Fourth and the First Chamber below. Here I beheld a Circle turning upon no visible axis, and my Guide said to me: 'Behold the Symbol of Eternity, the symbol of the incessant action of Time. The Circle is ever moving; it ascendeth and descendeth; so ascendeth the Spirit of God to the summit; so descendeth the Spirit of Evil into the abyss, yet the Circle is unbroken; so from Good the descent to Evil is possible, so from Evil the ascent to Good is possible. This is a Chamber of Equilibrium. Below in the Seventh Chamber hast thou seen the Conqueror, - the Holder of Power, the Symbol of Creative Force. In the Chamber above thou shalt see the Symbol of Destruction. Here thou seest the ascent and the descent, yet the Circle is one and unbroken: but a vaster Circle existeth which the eye of man cannot see; it turneth and turneth through Eternity without ceasing; the Spirit of Creation createth, and the Spirit of Destruction destroyeth; and the Circle is the Equilibrium without which there would be no manifestation of the Unity, and if there were no manifestation of the Unity, the Unity would be dead and unconscious of Himself'.

      11. When my Guide has ceased speaking he led me to the Eleventh Chamber, and there I saw a Virgin standing before me radiant in all the splendor of youth and strength. With a voice which had the ring of silver without tremor and without fear she spoke to me thus: 'In me lies hid the germ of Vitality. To thee my hand seems weak, but strength lieth in the Spirit, and because my heart is pure, know I no fear, and with my foot do I curb the Dragon beneath me'. It was so sweet a vision that it made my heart leap with joy, and when it vanished from my sight, pensively I followed my Guide tot he Twelfth Chamber, with my mind still full of the beautiful young Virgin who had appeared to me.

      12. In this chamber I found myself in complete obscurity, but as I gazed into the darkness a sign appeared to me by degrees in the form of a Cross. My Guide said: 'Behold the Sign of the Revealed Law; out of the Darkness it proceedeth, and Man must bow to it'. As I gazed more intently, the face of a man seemed to appear to me enclosed by a triangle, hanging downwards at the base of the Cross, and I marvelled and exclaimed: 'What meaneth this transformation?' My guide replied: 'Woe unto the man who filled with pride presumeth to rebel against the Revealed Law, for on him waiteth destruction. Vain is it of Man to seek to rebel against that which the Eternal hath revealed unto him; by submission he will rise; by rebellion his face will be turned away from the Light, and his advancement delayed'.