Before the beginning of Time, a child is born—titanic son of the Thunderer and his Queen. Hideous, grotesque, deformed—not a fitting child for such noble and mighty ones as these. Repelled by his deformity, they cast him out of Heaven, forcing him to live deep within the Earth. 

Far beneath the Fire Mountain, the Blacksmith labors at his forge, stoking the fires that burn fiercely within the Heart of the Great Mother. Forging the universe from the raw materials—the dross of matter—in the primordial furnace of the Earth.

On a ledge above his head crouches Salamander—the Beast of Fire—who dwells with him inside the volcano. From its piercing eyes, red light blazes, filling the chamber with lightning.

Fire, smoke, and heat—incredible, omnipresent, all-encompassing heat—these are the elements of the Blacksmith’s world. The thunderous hiss of steam as it rises from the boiling, bubbling pools of lava, the roar of the furnace, the striking and crushing hammer as it smites the anvil—these are the never-ending sounds that fill his ears.

The cavern surrounds him on all sides, its slick, moist walls blackened with soot. Naked save for a leather apron, glistening with perspiration, he pauses to mop his brow, resting one bare foot on the anvil, hefting the hammer, gift of his father—God of Vengeance and Justice.

Powerful muscles rippling, the raw, primal man leans backward, craning his mighty neck to watch the molten living rock as it rises through a hole above his head. Shooting upward with enormous force and pressure, welling up and collecting in the caldera, it finally spews forth in a geyser of leaping liquid fire.

Smiling with appreciation for the Mother, the artist and artisan returns to his labor. Hammer and anvil are the tools of his trade. Hammer and anvil—the Duality—active and passive, positive and negative, the male and female formative processes of Nature.

Smelting the ore, he pours the molten liquid. Forming the metal, tempering the steel, molding it in the artificer’s fire. Laboring outside the bounds of Time, for as long as it takes until the work is completed.

“It is finished!” he exclaims at last. His fierce expression softens, and he looks at his masterpiece with pride and satisfaction. “The Spear—whoever shall possess it with an understanding of the powers that it serves, that same one shall hold the destiny of the world in his hands, for good or evil.”

In response, a mighty Voice from the heavens cries out to the master craftsman. “The Spear cannot exist by itself. As with all things, there must be two. As you have created the Spear, so also shall you create the Sword.”

The Blacksmith obeys, doing as the Voice had commanded. At last, from out of the steaming, swirling mist, he exclaims again, “They are finished—the Spear and the Sword, the Talisman of Power and the Hard Lightning!”

Now the heavenly Voice speaks a second time, summoning the messenger. “O Winged One, come forth. I charge you with the delivery of these gifts. Take them to the surface, to the world of humankind, and place them at the beginning of the Grail Path. For it is by these weapons that the human ones shall learn to walk along the Path and learn the way to enlightenment and the Consciousness of Freedom.

“Each shall oppose the other. The Spear shall bring death and destruction, suffering and change. The Sword shall be the counterbalance, bringing peace and harmony, cooperation and serenity. Long shall they last, passing from hand to hand, from age to age, from form to form. One against the other, holding the Tension of the Opposites.

“Indestructible, all-powerful, beautiful. In the world, but not of the world. Until the final day when they will be laid aside in favor of a better way.”

“I obey,” replies the Winged One. A flash of color, a rush of feathers, and the shimmering messenger is gone.

The gifts are brought to the surface, to be given to that strange new creature who walks upright and erect, hairless and bold, fragile and fierce. Beloved child of the Creator and the Great Mother.

On the bosom of the Great Mother, the Mystical Pair stand ready to receive—the Two, the Twins, the Opposites. One light, the other dark; one following the straight path, one following a darker, more tortuous path. No matter—the goal is the same, the destination is the same.

For they shall walk through the ages
Along the Grail Path,
At the end of which
Lies the Lapsis Excellis—
The precious stone, the Holy Grail.

Gradually developing
The inner life of the Soul,
Step by step,
Degree by degree.

Romancing the Grail,
Beginning in dullness akin to sleep,
Walking through doubt and fear,
Arriving at a single point in Time—
At the moment of spiritual awakening,
When the Third Eye opens
To a marvelous and glorious vision.

Behold!
The hidden secrets of the universe are revealed,
And the meaning of human destiny.